the Astral Body-1927.pdf

8/10/2019 the Astral Body-1927.pdf

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P:BLISHER;S PRE&ACE

THE author6s purpose in copiling the boo+s in this series as to sa-e students

uch tie and labour by pro-iding a condensed synthesis o/ the considerableliterature on the respecti-e sub7ects o/ each -olue, coing ostly /ro thepens o/ Annie 5esant and . W. Leadbeater. The accopanying list shos thelarge nuber o/ boo+s /ro hich he dre. So /ar as possible, the ethodadopted as to e2plain the /or side /irst, be/ore the li/e side8 to describe theob7ecti-e echanis o/ phenoena and then the acti-ities o/ consciousness thatare e2pressed through the echanis. There is no attept to pro-e or e-en

7usti/y any o/ the stateents. 9arginal re/erences gi-e opportunity to re/er to thesources.

The or+s o/ H. P. 5la-ats+y ere not used because the author said that the

necessary research in The Secret (octrine and other ritings ould ha-e beentoo -ast a tas+ /or hi to underta+e. He added8 0The debt to H. P. 5la-ats+y isgreater than could e-er be indicated by :uotations /ro her onuental-olues. Had she not shon the ay in the /irst instance, later in-estigatorsight ne-er ha-e /ound the trail at all.0

INTROD:CTION
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THE purpose o/ this boo+ is to present to the student o/ Theosophy a condensedsynthesis o/ the in/oration at present a-ailable concerning the Astral 5ody o/an, together ith a description and e2planation o/ the astral orld and itsphenoena. The boo+ is thus a natural se:uel o/ The Etheric (ouble and Allied

Phenoena published in !"#%.As in the case o/ The Etheric (ouble, the copiler has consolidated thein/oration obtained /ro a large nuber o/ boo+s, a list o/ hich is gi-en,arranging the aterial, hich co-ers a -ast /ield and is e2ceedingly cople2, asethodically as lay ithin his poer. It is hoped that by this eans present and/uture students o/ the sub7ect ill be sa-ed uch labour and research, being ablenot only to /ind the in/oration they re:uire presented in a coparati-ely sallcopass, but also, ith the help o/ the arginal re/erences, to re/er, should theyso desire, to the original sources o/ in/oration.

In order that the boo+ ay /ul/il its purpose by being +ept ithin reasonablediensions, the general plan /olloed has been to e2pound the principlesunderlying astral phenoena, oitting particular e2aples or instances.Lecturers and others ho ish speci/ic illustrations o/ the principles enunciated,ill /ind the arginal re/erences use/ul as a clue to the places here thee2aples they see+ ay be /ound.

Again, so /ar as the cople2ities and rai/ications o/ the sub7ect perit, theethod has been to e2plain the formside /irst, be/ore the lifeside8 i.e., todescribe /irst the ob7ecti-e echanis o/ phenoena, and then the acti-ities o/consciousness hich are e2pressed through that echanis. The care/ulstudent, bearing this in


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Arthur E.Poell

CHAPTER I

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

the ind?body.

While e-ery an possesses and uses an astral body, coparati-ely /e areconscious o/ its e2istence or can control and /unction in it in /ull consciousness.In the case o/ large nubers o/ persons it is scarcely ore than an inchoateass o/ astral atter, the o-eents and acti-ities o/ hich are little under thecontrol o/ the an hisel/>the Ego. With others, hoe-er, the astral body is aell?de-eloped and thoroughly organised -ehicle, possessing a li/e o/ its onand con/erring on its oner any and use/ul poers.

(uring the sleep o/ the physical body, an unde-eloped an leads a dreay,-ague e2istence, in his relati-ely priiti-e astral body, reebering little ornothing


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understanding o/ its coposition and o/ the ays in hich it operates is o/considerable -alue in understanding any aspects o/ an6s psychology, bothindi-idual and collecti-e, and also pro-ides a siple e2planation o/ theechanis o/ any phenoena re-ealed by odern psycho?analysis.

A clear understanding o/ the structure and nature o/ the astral body, o/ itspossibilities and its liitations, is essential to a coprehension o/ the li/e intohich en pass a/ter physical death. The any +inds o/ 0 hea-ens0, 0 hells 0 andpurgatorial e2istences belie-ed in by /olloers o/ innuerable religions, all /allnaturally into place and becoe intelligible as soon as e understand the natureo/ the astral body and o/ the astral orld.

A study o/ the astral body ill be o/ assistance also in our understanding o/ anyo/ the phenoena o/ the s@ance roo and o/ certain psychic or non?physicalethods o/ healing disease. Those ho are interested


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Astral atter, being uch /iner than physical atter, interpenetrates it. E-eryphysical ato, there/ore, /loats in a sea o/ astral atter, hich surrounds it and/ills e-ery interstice in physical atter. It is o/ course, ell +non that e-en in thehardest substance no to atos e-er touch one another, the space beteen to

ad7acent atos being in /act enorously larger than the atos thesel-es.)rthodo2 physical science long ago has posited an ether hich interpenetratesall +non substances, the densest solid as ell as the ost rare/ied gas; and 7ustas this ether o-es ith per/ect /reedo beteen the particles o/ densest atter,so does astral atter interpenetrate it in turn, and o-es ith per/ect /reedoaong its particles. Thus a being li-ing in the astral orld ight be occupying thesae space as a being li-ing in the physical orld ; yet each ould be entirelyunconscious o/ the other, and ould in no ay ipede the /ree o-eent o/ theother. The student should thoroughly /ailiarise hisel/ ith this /undaentalconception,


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Astral atter corresponds ith curious accuracy to o/ten so dense that theoutline o/ the physical and is thus /itted torespond to stiuli connected ith the passions and appetites. In siCe, it e2tendsin all directions about ten or tel-e inches beyond the physical body.

In an a-erage oral and intellectual an the astral body is considerably larger,e2tending about ! inches on each side o/ the body, its aterials are orebalanced and /iner in :uality, the presence o/ the rarer +inds gi-ing a certainluinous :uality to the hole, and its outline is clear and de/inite.

In the case o/ a spiritually de-eloped an the astral body is still larger in siCe andis coposed o/ the /inest particles o/ each grade o/ astral atter, the higherlargely predoinating.


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There is so uch to be said regarding the colours o/ astral bodies that thesub7ect is reser-ed /or a separate chapter. Here, hoe-er, it ay be stated that inunde-eloped types the colours are coarse and uddy, gradually becoing oreand ore luinous as the an de-elops eotionally, entally and spiritually.

The -ery nae 0 astral,0 inherited /ro ediae-al alcheists, signi/ies 0 starry,0being intended to allude to the luinous appearance o/ astral atter.

As already said, the astral body o/ a an not only pereates the physical body,but also e2tends around it in e-ery direction li+e a cloud.

That portion o/ the astral body hich e2tends beyond the liits o/ the physicalbody is usually tered the astral 0aura.0

Intense /eeling eans a large aura. It ay here be entioned that increased siCeo/ the aura is a prere:uisite /or Initiation, and the 0 Duali/ications0 should be

-isible in it. The aura naturally increases ith each Initiation. The aura o/ the5uddha is said to ha-e been three iles in radius.

The atter o/ the physical body ha-ing a -ery strong attraction /or the atter o/the astral body, it /ollos that by /ar the greater portion about "" per cent.< o/ theastral particles are copressed ithin the periphery o/ the physical body, only thereaining


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se-ered portion o/ the physical. onse:uently the astral counterpart o/ the libill not be carried aay ith the se-ered physical lib. Since the astral atterhas ac:uired the habit o/ +eeping that particular /or, it ill continue to retain theoriginal shape, but ill soon ithdra ithin the liits o/ the aied /or. Thesae phenoenon ta+es place in the case o/ a tree /ro hich a branch has

been se-ered.


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There are se-en sub?types in each type, a+ing /orty?nine sub?types in all.

The type or ray is peranent through the hole planetary schee, so that aneleental essence see p. '< o/ type A ill in due course ensoul inerals, plantsand anials o/ type A, and /ro it ill eerge also huan beings o/ the sae

type.The astral body sloly but constantly ears aay, precisely as does the physical,but, instead o/ the process o/ eating and digesting /ood, the particles hich /allaay are replaced by others /ro the surrounding atosphere. *e-ertheless, the/eeling o/ indi-iduality is counicated to the ne particles as they enter, andalso the eleental essence included ith each an6s astral body undoubtedly/eels itsel/ a +ind o/ entity, and acts accordingly /or hat i/ considers its oninterests.

Black8 in thic+ clouds8 hatred and alice.

Red8 deep red /lashes, usually on a blac+ ground8 anger.

A scarlet cloud8 irritability.

Brilliant scarlet8 on the ordinary bac+ground o/ the aura8 0 noble indignation0.

Lurid and sanguinary red8 unista+able, though not easy to describe8 sensuality.

Bron!grey8 dull, hard bron?grey8 sel/ishness8 one o/ the coonest colours inthe astral body.

Bron!red8 dull, alost rust?colour8 a-arice, usually arranged in parallel bars


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across the astral body.

"reenish!#ron8 lit up by deep red or scarlet /lashes 8 7ealousy. In the case o/ anordinary an there is usually uch o/ this colour present hen he is 0in lo-e0.


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Surprise is shon by a sharp constriction o/ the ental body, usuallycounicated to both the astral and physical bodies, accopanied by anincreased glo o/ the band o/ a//ection i/ the surprise is a pleasant one, and byan increase o/ bron and grey i/ the surprise is an unpleasant one. The

constriction o/ten causes unpleasant /eelings, a//ecting soeties the solarple2us, resulting in sin+ing and sic+ness, and soeties the heart centre,causing palpitation and e-en death.

It ill be understood that, as huan eotions are hardly e-er uni2ed, so thesecolours are seldo per/ectly pure, but ore usually i2tures. Thus the purity o/any colours is died by the hard bron?grey o/ sel/ishness, or tinged ith thedeep orange o/ pride.

In reading the /ull eaning o/ colours, other points ha-e also to be ta+en intoconsideration8 -iC., the general brilliance o/ the astral body8 the coparati-e

de/initeness or inde/initeness o/ its outline8 the relati-e brightness o/ the di//erentcentres o/ /orce see hapter %


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High unsel/ish a//ection and de-otion belong to the highest atoic< astral sub?plane, and these re/lect thesel-es in the corresponding atter o/ the entalplane. They thus touch the causal higher ental< body, not the loer ental.This is an iportant point o/ hich the student should ta+e especial note. TheEgo, ho resides on the higher ental plane, is thus a//ected only by unsel/ish

thoughts. Loer thoughts a//ect, not the Ego, but the peranent atos see p.#B$


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gradually becoing adaptability. Anger is still ar+ed8 a//ection, intellect andde-otion are ore proinent and o/ a higher :uality. The colours as a hole areore clearly de/ined and distinctly brighter, though none o/ the are per/ectlyclear. The outline o/ the body is ore de/ined and regular.

(eveloped ,an.> Undesirable :ualities ha-e alost entirely disappeared8across the top o/ the body there


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counicating a pain/ul sense o/ unrest and orry. It is 7ust because illions o/people are thus unnecessarily agitated by all sorts o/ /oolish desires and /eelingsthat it is so di//icult /or a sensiti-e person to li-e in a great city or o-e aongstcrods. The perpetual astral disturbances ay e-en react through the ethericdouble and set up ner-ous diseases.

The centres o/ in/laation in the astral body are to it hat boils are to thephysical body > not only acutely unco/ortable, but also ea+ spots throughhich -itality lea+s aay. They also o//er practically no resistance to e-ilin/luences, and pre-ent good in/luences /ro being o/ pro/it. This condition ispain/ully coon8 the reedy is to eliinate orry, /ear and annoyance. Thestudent o/ occultis ust not ha-e personal /eelings that can be a//ected underany circustances hate-er.

)nly a young child has a hite or coparati-ely colourless aura, the coloursbeginning to sho only as the :ualities de-elop. The astral body o/ a child is

o/ten a ost beauti/ul ob7ect > pure and bright in its colours, /ree /ro the stainso/ sensuality, a-arice, ill?ill and sel/ishness. In it ay also be seen lying latentthe gers and tendencies brought o-er /ro his last li/e see p. #!!


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alost obscured.

Analysis disco-ers /our separate e//ects8 >

!< ertain coils or -ortices o/ -i-id colour are to be seen, ell?de/ined and solid?

loo+ing, and gloing ith an intense light /ro ithin. Each o/ these is in reality athought?/or o/ intense a//ection, generated ithin the astral body, and about tobe poured /orth /ro it toards the ob7ect o/ the /eeling. The hirling clouds o/li-ing light are indescribably lo-ely, though di//icult to depict.

#< The hole astral body is crossed by horiContal pulsating lines o/ crison light,e-en ore di//icult to represent, by reason o/ the e2ceeding rapidity o/ theirotion.


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these -ery undesirable -ibrations.

A sudden shoc+ o/ terror ill in an instant su//use the hole body ith a curiousli-id grey ist, hile horiContal lines o/ the sae hue appear, but -ibrating


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hold.

(eep depression produces an e//ect in grey, instead o/ bron, -ery siilar to thato/ the iser. The result is indescribably glooy and depressing to the obser-er.*o eotional condition is ore in/ectious than the /eeling o/ depression.

In the case o/ a non?intellectual an ho is de/initely religious, the astral bodyassues a characteristic appearance. A touch o/ -iolet suggests the possibility o/response to a high ideal. The blue o/ de-otion is unusually ell de-eloped, butthe yello o/ intellect is scanty. There is a /air proportion o/ a//ection andadaptability, but ore than the a-erage o/ sensuality, and deceit and sel/ishnessare also proinent. The colours are irregularly distributed, elting into oneanother, and the outline is -ague, indicating the -agueness o/ the de-otionalan6s conceptions.

E2tree sensuality and the de-otional teperaent are /re:uently seen in

association8 perhaps because these types o/ en li-e chie/ly in their /eelings,being go-erned by the instead o/ trying to control the by reason.

A great contrast is shon by a an o/ a scienti/ic type. (e-otion is entirelyabsent, sensuality is uch belo the a-erage, but the intellect is de-eloped to . W. Leadbeater.

As e ha-e been dealing here ith colours in the astral body, it ay beentioned that the eans o/ counication ith the eleentals, hich areassociated so closely ith an6s astral body, is by sounds and colours. Studentsay recollect obscure allusions no and again to a language o/ colours, and the/act that in ancient Egypt sacred anuscripts ere ritten in colours, ista+es incopying being punished ith death. To eleentals, colours are as intelligible asords are to en.


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!. To a+e sensation possible.#. To ser-e as a bridge beteen ind and physical atter.F. To act as an independent -ehicle o/ consciousness and action.

We ill deal ith these three /unctions in se:uence.When an is analysed into 0 principles,0 i.e., into odes o/ ani/esting li/e, the/our loer principles, soeties tered the 0Loer Duaternary0, are 8>

Physical 5ody.Etheric 5odyPrKna, or itality.3Ka, or (esire.

The /ourth principle, 3Ka, is the li/e ani/esting in the astral body andconditioned by it8 its characteristic is the attribute o/ /eeling, hich in rudientary/or is sensation, and in cople2 /or eotion, ith any grades in beteenthese to. This is soeties sued up as desire, that hich is attracted orrepelled by ob7ects, according as they gi-e pleasure or pain.

3Ka thus includes /eelings o/ e-ery +ind, and ight be described as thepassional and eotional nature. It coprises all anial appetites, such ashunger, thirst, se2ual desire8 all passions, such as the loer /ors o/ lo-e,hatred, en-y, 7ealousy; it is the desire /or sentient e2istence, /or e2perience o/aterial 7oys > 0the lust o/ the /lesh, the lust o/ the eyes, the pride o/ li/e0.

3Ka is the brute in us, the 0ape and tiger0 o/ Tennyson, the /orce hich osta-ails to +eep us


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practically synonyous8 strictly, hoe-er, eotion is the product o/ desire andintellect.

The astral body is o/ten +non as the 3Ka =pa8 and soeties, in the oldernoenclature, as the Anial Soul.

Ipacts /ro ithout, stri+ing on the physical body, are con-eyed as -ibrationsby the agency o/ PrKna or itality, but they ould reain as -ibrations only,erely otion on the physical plane, did not 3Ka, the principle o/ sensation,translate the -ibration into /eeling. Thus pleasure and pain do not arise until theastral centre is reached. Hence 3Ka 7oined to PrKna is spo+en o/ as the 0breatho/ li/e0, the -ital sentient principle spread o-er e-ery particle o/ the body.


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The astral body is thus -eritably a bridge beteen our physical and our entalli/e, ser-ing as a transitter o/ -ibrations both /ro physical to ental and /roental to physical, and is, in /act, principally de-eloped by this constant passageo/ -ibrations to and /ro.

In the course o/ the e-olution o/ an6s astral body, there are to distinct stages8the astral body has /irst to be de-eloped to a /airly high point as a transmittingvehicle8 then it has to be de-eloped as an independent body, in hich the ancan /unction on the astral plane.

In an, the noral brain?intelligence is produced by the union o/ 3Ka ith9anas, or 9ind, this union being o/ten spo+en o/ as 3Ka?9anas. 3Ka?9anasis described by H. P. 5la-ats+y as 0 the rational, but earthly or physical intellect o/an, encased in, and bound by atter, and there/ore sub7ect to the in/luence o/the latter0; this is the 0loer sel/0 hich, acting on this plane o/ illusion, iagines

itsel/ to be the real Sel/ or Ego, and thus /alls into hat 5uddhist philosophyters the 0 heresy o/ separateness0.

3Ka?9anas, that is 9anas ith desire, has also been pictures:uely describedas 9anas ta+ing an interest in e2ternal things.

It ay, in passing, be noted that a clear understanding o/ the /act that 3Ka?9anas belongs to the huan personality, and that it /unctions in and through thephysical brain, is essential to a 7ust grasp o/ the process o/ reincarnation, and issu//icient o/ itsel/ to sho ho there can be no eory o/ pre-ious li-es so longas the consciousness cannot rise beyond the brain?echanis, this echanis,together ith that o/ 3Ka, being ade a/resh each li/e, and there/ore ha-ing nodirect touch ith pre-ious li-es.

9anas, o/ itsel/, could not a//ect the olecules o/ the physical brain cells8 but,hen united to 3Ka, it is able to set the physical olecules in otion, and thusproduce 0 brain?consciousness0, including the brain eory and all the /unctionso/ the huani.n?na#a/a)o(a t(e Dicri#inatin. (eat( Hi.(er Mana and


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+?#a

% Mano#a/a)o(at(e (eat( o0 Intellect andDeire

Lo5er Mana and+?#a

$ Pr?na#a/a)o(a t(e >italit/ (eat( Pr?na

' Anna#a/a)o(a t(e &ood (eat( Dene !(/ical 8od/

In the di-ision used by 9anu, the prKnaaya+osha and the annaaya+osha areclassed together, and +non as the 5htKtan or eleental sel/, or body o/action.

The -ignKnaaya+osha and the anoaya+osha he ters the body o/ /eeling,gi-ing it the nae GM-a8 he de/ines it as that body in hich the 3noer, the3shetragna, becoes sensible o/ pleasure and o/ pains.

In their e2ternal relations, the -ignKnaaya+osha and the anoaya+osha,especially the anoaya+osha, are related to the (e-a orld. The (e-as aresaid to ha-e 0entered into0 an, the re/erence being to the presiding deities o/the eleents see page !


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9anas ay be regarded as the /lae, 3Ka and the physical brain as the ic+and /uel hich /eed the /lae. The egos o/ all en, de-eloped or unde-eloped, the use, de-elopent, possibilities and liitations o/ theastral body on its on plane > ill be dealt ith step by step in ost o/ thesucceeding chapters. 4or the present it ill su//ice to enuerate -ery brie/ly theprincipal ays in hich an astral body can be used as an independent -ehicle o/


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consciousness. These are as /ollos 8 >

!. (uring ordinary a+ing consciousness,i.e., hile the physical brain andsenses are ide?aa+e, the poers o/ the astral senses ay be brought intoaction. Soe o/ these poers correspond to the senses and poers o/ action

possessed by the physical body. They ill be dealt ith in the ne2t chapter, on%hakrams.

#. (uring sleep or trance it is possible /or the astral body to separate itsel/ /rothe physical body and to o-e about and /unction /reely on its on plane. Thisill be dealt ith in the chapter on Sleep!Life.

F. It is possible so to de-elop the poers o/ the astral body that a an ayconsciously and deliberately, at any tie that he chooses, lea-e the physicalbody and pass ith unbro+en consciousness into the astral body. This ill bedealt ith in the chapter on %ontinuity of %onsciousness.

&. A/ter physical death the consciousness ithdras itsel/ into the astral body,and a li/e, -arying greatly in intensity and duration, dependent upon a nuber o//actors, ay be led on the astral plane. This ill be dealt ith in the chapters on

After!(eath Life.

These di-isions o/ our sub7ect, ith nuerous rai/ications, ill constitute thea7or portion o/ the reainder o/ this treatise.

CHA+RAMS

THE ord ha+ra is Sans+rit, and eans literally a heel, or re-ol-ing disc. Itis used to denote hat are o/ten called 4orce?entres in an. There are suchha+ras in all an6s -ehicles, and they are points o/ connection at hich /orce/los /ro one -ehicle to another. They are also intiately associated ith thepoers or senses o/ the -arious -ehicles.

The ha+ras o/ the etheric body are /ully described in The Etheric (ouble, andthe student is re/erred to that or+, as a study o/ the etheric ha+ras illaterially assist hi to understand the astral ha+ras.

The etheric ha+ras are situated in the sur/ace o/ the etheric double and areusually denoted by the nae o/ the physical organ to hich they correspond.

They are8 >

!. 5ase o/ Spine ha+ra.#. *a-el ha+ra.F. Spleen ha+ra.
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&. Heart ha+ra.%. Throat ha+ra.'. 5eteen the Eyebros ha+ra.$. Top o/ the Head ha+ra.

There are also three loer ha+ras, but as these are used only in certainschools o/ 0 blac+ agic,0 e are not concerned ith the here.

The astral ha+ras, hich are /re:uently in the interior o/ the etheric double,are -ortices in /our diensions see hapter !


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'. Beteen the )ye#ros %hakram.>This ha+ra con/ers the poer topercei-e de/initely the shape and nature o/ astral ob7ects, instead o/ erely-aguely sensing their presence.

Associated ith this ha+ra appears also the poer This ha+ra rounds o// and copletes the astralli/e, endoing the an ith the per/ection o/ his /aculties.

There appear to be to ethods in hich this ha+ra or+s.

In one type o/ an, the si2th and se-enth ha+ras both con-erge upon thepituitary body, this body being /or this type practically the only direct lin+ beteenthe physical and the higher planes.

In another type o/ an, hoe-er, hile the si2th ha+ra is still attached to thepituitary body, the se-enth ha+ra is bent or slanted until its -orte2 coincidesith the pineal gland. In people o/ this type the pineal gland is thus -i-i/ied andade into a line o/ counication directly ith the loer ental, ithoutapparently passing through the interediate astral plane in the ordinary ay.


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continuously in any o/ the ha+ras. )n the contrary, all the particles o/ theastral body pass through each o/ the ha+ras.

Each ha+ra has the /unction o/ aa+ening a certain poer o/ response in theparticles, hich /lo through it, one ha+ra the poer o/ sight, another that o/hearing, and so on.

onse:uently, any one astral sense is not, strictly spea+ing, localised or con/inedto any particular part o/ the astral body. It is rather the hole o/ the particles o/the astral body hich possess the poer o/ response. A an, there/ore, ho hasde-eloped astral sight uses any part o/ the atter o/ his astral body in order tosee, and so can see e:ually ell ob7ects in /ront, behind, abo-e, belo, or toeither side. Siilarly ith all the other senses. In other ords, the astral sensesare e:ually acti-e in all parts o/ the body.

It is not easy to describe the substitute /or language by eans o/ hich ideas arecounicated astrally. Sound in the ordinary sense o/ the ord is not possible in

the astral orld ? in /act it is not possible e-en in the higher part o/ the physicalorld. It ould also not be correct to say that the language o/ the astral orld isthought?trans/erence8 the ost that could be said is that it is the trans/erence o/thoughts /orulated in a particular ay.

In the ental orld a though is instantaneously transitted to the ind o/another ithout any /or o/ ords 8 there/ore in the ental orld language doesnot in the least atter. 5ut astral counications lies, as it ere, hal/?aybeteen the thought?trans/erence o/ the ental orld and the concrete speecho/ the physical, and it is still necessary to


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!? A great shoc+ o/ the astral body, e.g.$a sudden /right, ay rend apart thisdelicate organis and, as it is coonly e2pressed, dri-e the an ad.

A treendous outburst o/ anger ay also produce the sae e//ect, as ay anyother -ery strong eotion o/ an e-il character hich produces a +ind o/ e2plosionin the astral body.

#? The use o/ alcohol or narcotic drugs, including tobacco. These substancescontain atter hich on bra+ing up -olatilises, soe o/ it passing /ro thephysical to the astral plane. E-en tea and co//ee contain this atter, but only inin/initesial :uantities, so that only long?continued abuse o/ the ould producethe e//ect.


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that case the eb retains to the /ullest degree its position and acti-ity, and yet isno longer a barrier to the per/ect counication, hile it still continues to pre-entclose contact ith the loer and undesirable sub?planes.

F ? The third ay in hich the eb ay be in7ured is that +non in spiritualisticparlance as 0sitting /or de-elopent0.

It is :uite possible, in /act -ery coon, /or a an to ha-e his astral ha+rasell de-eloped, so that he is able to /unction /reely on the astral plane, and yethe ay recollect nothing o/ his astral plane hen he returns to a+ingconsciousness. With this phenoenon and its e2planation e shall deal oreappropriately in the hapter on (reams.


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and e-en destroy physical li/e. It ay also do peranent in7ury to -ehicles higherthan the physical.

)ne -ery coon e//ect o/ rousing it preaturely is that it rushes donards inthe body instead o/ upards, and thus e2cites the ost undersirable passions ?e2cites the and intensi/ies their e//ects to such a degree that it becoes :uiteipossible /or the an to resist the, because a /orce has been brought intoplay in hose presence he is :uite helpless. Such en becoes satyrs,onsters o/ depra-ity, the /orce being beyond the noral huan poer o/resistance. They ay probably gain certain supernoral poers, but these illbe such as ill bring the into touch ith a loer order o/ e-olution, ith hichhuanity is intended to hold no coerce, and to escape /ro its thralldo ayta+e ore than one incarnation.

There is a school o/ blac+ agic hich purposely uses this poer in this ay, inorder that through it ay be -i-i/ied those loer ha+ras hich are ne-er usedby /olloers o/ the 1ood La.

The preature un/oldent o/ 3undalini has other unpleasant possibilities. Itintensi/ies e-erything in the an6s nature, and it reaches the loer and e-il:ualities ore readily than the good. In the ental body, abition is -ery readilyaroused, and soon sells to an incredibly inordinate degree. It ould probablybring ith it a great intensi/ication o/ intellect, accopagnied by abnoral andsatanic pride, such as is :uite inconcei-able to the ordinary en.

An uninstructed an ho /inds that 3undalini has been aroused by accidentshould at once consult soe one ho /ully understands these atters.

The arousing o/ 3undalini ? the ethod o/ doing hich is not publicly +non ? and

the attept to pass it through the ha+ras ? the order o/ hich is


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through the head and escape into the surrounding atosphere, and it is li+elythat no har ill result beyond a slight ea+ening. *othing orse than ateporary loss o/ consciousness need be apprehended. The orst dangers areconnected, not ith its upard rush, but ith its turning donards and inards.

Its principal /unction in connection ith occult de-elopent is that by being sentthrough the ha+ras in the etheric body, it -i-i/ies these ha+ras beteen thephysical and astral bodies. It is said in The -oice of the Silencethat hen3undalini reaches the centre beteen the eyebros and /ully -i-i/ies it, it con/ersthe poer o/ hearing the -oice o/ the 9aster ? hich eans, in this case, the-oice o/ the ego or higher sel/. The reason is that hen


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CHAPTER 7

THO:GHT2&ORMS

The ental and astral bodies are those chie/ly concerned ith the production o/hat are called thought?/ors. The ter thought?/or is not holly accurate,

because the /ors produced ay be coposed o/ ental atter, or, in the -asta7ority o/ cases, o/ both astral and ental atter.

Although in this boo+ e are dealing priarily ith the astral, and not ith theental body, yet thought?/ors, as 7ust said, are, in a -ast a7ority o/ cases, bothastral and ental. In order, there/ore, to a+e the sub7ect intelligible, it isnecessary to deal -ery largely ith the ental as ell as ith the astral aspect o/the sub7ect.

A purely intellectual and ipersonal thought ? such as one concerned ithalgebra or geoetry ? ould be con/ined to ental atter. It on the other hand

the thought has in it soething o/ sel/ish or personal desire,it ill dra rounditsel/ astral atter in addition to the ental. I/, /urtherore,the thought be o/ aspiritual nature,i/ it be tinged ith lo-e and aspiration or deep and unsel/ish/eeling, then there ay also enter in soe o/ the splendour and glory o/ thebuddhic plane.

E-ery de/inite thought produces to e//ects8 /irst, a radiating -ibration8 second, a/loating /or.

The -ibration set up in and radiating /ro the ental body is accopanied ith aplay o/ colour hich has been described as li+e that in the spray o/ a ater/all asthe sunlight stri+es it, raised to the nth degree o/ colour and -i-id delicacy.

This radiating -ibration tends to reproduce its on rate o/ otion in any entalbody on hich it ay


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The distance to hich a thought?a-e can radiate e//ecti-ely also depends uponthe opposition ith hich it eets. Wa-es in the loer types o/ astral atter areusually soon de/lected or o-erheled by a ultitude o/ other -ibrations at thesae le-el, 7ust as a so/t sound is droned in the roar o/ a city.

The second e//ect, that o/ a /loating /or, is caused by the ental body throingo// a -ibrating portion o/ itsel/ shaped by the nature o/ the thought, hich gathersround itsel/ atter o/ the corresponding order o/ /ineness /ro the surroundingeleental essence see page '< o/ the ental plane, This is a thought?/or pureand siple, being coposed o/ ental atter only.

I/ ade o/ the /iner +inds o/ atter, it ill be o/ great poer and energy, and aybe used as a ost potent agent hen directed by a strong and steady ill.

When the an directs his energy toards e2ternal ob7ects o/ desire, or isoccupied ith passional or


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essence and the electric charge to the thought?eotion. And 7ust as a Leyden 7arhen it touches another ob7ect discharges its stored electricity into that ob7ect, sodoes an arti/icial eleental, hen it stri+es a ental or astral body, discharge itsstored ental and eotional energy into that body.

The principles hich underlie the production o/ all thought?eotion /ors are 8 ?

!. %olouris deterined by the 0ualityo/ the thought or eotion.

#. 1orm is deterined by the natureo/ the thought or eotion.

F. %learness of &utlineis deterined by the definitenesso/ the thought oreotion.

The li/e?period o/ a thought?/or depends upon N!O its initial intensity; N#O thenutrient a/terards supplied to it by a repetition o/ the thought, either by thegenerator or by others. Its li/e ay be continually rein/orced by this repetition, athought hich is brooded o-er ac:uiring great stability o/ /or. So again thought?

/ors o/ siilar character are attracted to and utually strengthen each other,a+ing a /or o/ great energy and intensity.

4urtherore, such a thought?/or appears to possess instincti-e desire toprolong its li/e,and ill react on its creator, tending to e-o+e /ro hi reneal o/the /eeling hich created it. It ill react in a siilar, though not so per/ect,anner on any others ith ho it ay coe into contact.

The colours in hich thought?/ors e2press thesel-es are identical ith thecolours /ound in the aura, -ide page !!?!#.

The brilliance and dept o/ the colours are usually a easure o/ the strength andthe acti-ity o/ the /eeling.

4or our present purpose e ay classi/y thought?/ors into three +inds 8 !

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