The Angel and the Demon in Human Nature - S. J. Neill (Excerpted from Theosophical Manual no.

12, "The n!el and the "emon," r#an Theosophical $ress, 1%&', 1%2&, $oint (oma, )a.* Contents - The Demon in Human Life - The Angel in Human Life - The Demon in Crime - Psychic and Cognate States and Practices - Death, its Lights and its Shadows -------The Demon in Human Life The medie+al "e+il has ,een for some time ,anished from the pulpits. -e had ,ecome useless as a ,o!e#, ho.e+er con+enient and eas# as an explanation of e+il. /t does not follo., for all that, that the medie+al conception had no relation to a fact, ,oth in human and cosmic nature. /f .e ta0e the smallest care in examinin! .hat !oes on .ithin us, .e find t.o perfectl# distinct centers and acti+ities of consciousness, classified from time immemorial as the upper and lo.er natures. The ,rain is reall# a 0e#,oard for thou!ht, at the disposal of either of the t.o com,atants in human life. The one pole ori!inates all the impulses that aim at the .elfare of others, at ser+in! and !i+in!1 the other all that aim at !ettin!, !ettin! enhancement of sensation and the means to it. 2ne loo0s out to others, the other in to self. 3oth emplo# the instrument of thou!ht to secure their ends. 4hen man finall# allies himself, a,sor,s himself, .ith or in one or the other, he ,ecomes either one of the sa+iors of humanit# or one of its curses. /n the animal 0in!dom ,elo. man, it is mainl# the lo.er, the matter-,orn, of the t.o forces .hich appears in consciousness. 2n the .hole the animal5s consciousness is selfish. Selfishness is the moti+e po.er that dri+es it to all, or nearl# all, its acti+ities, and leads to the perfection of its po.ers. 3ut ,# no., .ith us, it should ha+e finished its .or0. ll that it can do can ,e ,etter done ,# a hi!her force, spiritual, ,e!innin! to appear in man5s consciousness as the altruistic impulse, compassion, lo+e, ,rotherhood, friendship. 6nder that impulse man can !o on perfectin! e+er# po.er, includin! man# - the hi!hest - to .hich the other is an a,solute ,ar. Most men accept ,oth impulses in themsel+es as the# come. n appeal to their s#mpath#, if it does not re7uire too much ima!ination to understand, or too much self denial, !ets a response. The# are .illin! to help and to !i+e. 3ut the .hole transaction is somethin! of an interruption to their ordinar# current of action and purpose, .hose trend is ta0in!, !ettin!. /f the t.o tendencies are in

this ordinar# ,lend, .e ha+e the ordinar# man. -e ta0es up no definite attitude to.ards them, not seein! the lar!er issues ,ehind and esta,lishin! no fixed ha,it. /f the point is pressed upon his attention, he .ill ,esto. his a,stract appro+al upon the polic# of !i+in!1 ,ut he .ill dou,t .hether life could ,e li+ed on a common-sense ,asis, or e+en preser+ed for lon!, if that .ere exclusi+el# pursued ,# societ#. Selfishness he admits to ,e reprehensi,le in its extreme forms, ,ut considers as in the main necessar# for continued existence. 8et it is possi,le to ma0e life one entire !ift to humanit#, and to ,e deepl# !i+in! .hile superficiall# ta0in!. Mone# ma# ,e amassed1 ,ut to ,e !i+en ,ac0 in +arious attempts to promote the !eneral .elfare. )omforts, e+en luxuries, ma# ,e secured1 ,ut in order that .or0, ,ecause of such surroundin!s, ma# ,e ,ettered and facilitated. 9ecreation and pleasure ma# ,e used as means instead of ends. -ealth ma# ,e carefull# de+eloped and protected1 ,ut onl# as the necessar# ,asis for the ,est .or0. /n all these !ettin!s, a man ma# ha+e the .elfare of others as his sin!le final o,:ect. /n the same spirit the in+entor ma# in+ent1 the musician and poet compose1 the artist paints; the cheerful will to give underl#in! all that is done. The .hole of the pains and e+ils of human life come from the opposite, the self-see0in!, moti+e. The other and hi!her, competent to ensure the .hole future of human e+olution, is ,ecomin! a more and more acti+e po.er. To ,elie+e that e+olution .ill continue to depend upon the lo.er, upon that one accordin! to .hich Nature perfects her t#pes and the po.ers of her children up to man, is to ha+e a picture of ultimate societ# as an e7uili,rium of fiends - an e7uili,rium momentaril# #ieldin! and then read:ustin! itself .hen one of them happened to slip his foot or ,e for a moment off his !uard. To ta0e, .ith intent to !i+e no.here present in the mind, is no. an affront to the spirit of e+olution. /t is a re+ersion to animalism. 4estern ps#cholo!# has ne+er properl# understood man5s mind as a creati+e po.er. There is no "creation" an#.here in nature, in the sense of ma0in! somethin! from nothin!. ")reation" is the .or0in! of the formless into form. That, man5s mind does .ithout intermission. The formation of e+er# ha,it is the creation of an entit# in consciousness, ali+e then until it is 0illed or let die, and .ith a po.er !ro.in! as lon! as its re7uirements are o,e#ed. /t is a constant presence, in some cases asleep ,et.een the inter+als of periodic demands for !ratification1 in others ne+er asleep. /t is an entit# in the su,liminal consciousness, the field of .hich is full of them, hierarchies of them. There are also ha,its .hich the mind did not create, ,ut found present .hen it came into the ,od#1 for example, the impulse to eat. 3ut upon some of these the mind sei<es, creatin! them into potencies of unnatural +i!or. Each ha,it created de novo ,# mind, or accentuated ,# it, ,# thou!ht, has access to it and uses it .ith more or less pertinacit# and s0ill. The ha,it is in fact intelli!ent, 0no.s .hat it .ants, practicall# 0no.s and cares for nothin! else, thin0s out in the mind the .a#s of !ettin! .hat it .ants, and ma# finall# dominate and e+en 0ill its creator. And it may then survive the body E+er# +ictim of, for example, the morphine or alcohol ha,its 0no.s that he is in the !rip of a will too often stron!er than his o.n, comin! upon him at its pleasure, .hich in the end is not his1 a conscious entit# s.eepin! in irresisti,l#

upon his consciousness, and often usin! his mind .ith supreme cunnin! to secure the poison. -e 0no.s all this as soon as his attention is called to it. 2ther.ise, ,ecause he created the ha,it, ,ecause it uses his mind, ,ecause in earl# #ears he concurred full# in its .ishes, he .ill re!ard it as himself. Theosoph#, .hich teaches 9eincarnation, teaches also that some of these ha,its ma# follo. their creator from ,irth to ,irth, attachin! themsel+es to him as he incarnates, and !raduall# manifestin! as ph#si7ue and opportunit# permit. Man# m#steries in human life thus find their explanation; the sudden de+elopment of alcoholism, sudden chan!es of character, sudden out,rea0s of criminalit#, total dualit# of character. Ste+enson5s Dr !e"yll and #r Hyde pictures a fact in human life. 3ecause the -#de at times displaced him .as no proof that Je0#ll .as a h#pocrite. ne. and ,etter life ma# ,e!in under the ,lac0 shado. of old e+il, and the shado. ma# for lon! ha+e its hours of terri,le alternation .ith the li!ht. /t is still a li+in! presence in the outer field of consciousness, al.a#s a.aitin! its opportunit#. /t .as stron! enou!h to sur+i+e the time-space ,et.een death and the follo.in! ,irth, and is the ".eller on the Threshold of its once creator and no. +ictim. 6nless .e understand and accept 9eincarnation as a fact in nature, .e cannot understand a process !oin! on in our midst, .ith .hose results, later, humanit# .ill ha+e to rec0on. Not onl# ma# ha,its ,e created, ,ut ha,it - a permanent direction of thou!ht and conduct. There are man# .ho are !raduall# all#in! themsel+es more and more full# .ith that li!ht shinin! throu!hout nature, .hich .ill ultimatel# ,e the sole !uide of human action - the tendenc# to !i+e. The# are creatin! from the su,stance of this force, as it flo.s throu!h them, a +estment, a ha,it, a di+iner self-sheath. t each opportunit# the# let this self come in and rule their action. /t !ro.s stron!er and stron!er. /t ,e!ins to tincture the .hole mind. /t ,ecomes a constantl# felt presence. The entities connected .ith ordinar# ha,its push into consciousness onl# periodicall#, and ,et.een.hiles remain latent and inacti+e. The man has the .elfare of others more and more constantl# in +ie. in all he does. -e places more and more of his mental ener!# at the ser+ice of the n!el, and attracts to it more and more of that conscious ener!# of nature. Thou!h the man !ro.s no,ler and no,ler, his ideal is al.a#s risin!, and ,e#ond him. -e has created it, #et it is also part of the soul of nature. /t is recepti+e of much in Nature of .hich he 0no.s nothin!. /t ,e!ins to em,od# her idea and ideal of the future man. /t passes ,e#ond the care of its creator, in a sense, !ro.in! no. ,# force of its o.n +italit# .hilst he sleeps and .or0s. /t is nourished ,# the 2+ersoul, since it .as at the first a sei<ed droplet, a detained ra#, of that. nd it is nourished ,# all the di+ine and compassionate thou!ht and feelin! that the no,lest men ha+e e+er thou!ht ,ac0 to the -i!her Self, the )hristos. The man ma# 0no. that presence a,out him or .ithin him, felt in his moments of aspiration, pra#er or endea+or1 or he ma# call it ,# a name dra.n from his reli!ion - not .holl# .ron!l# nor #et .holl# ri!htl#. fter the death of his ,od#, he ,ecomes one .ith it. 3ut unless he has achie+ed that unit# .hile #et in the flesh, at his next ,irth the t.o are a!ain separate. 2nl# no. his impulses to

!ood are o+er.helmin! and continuous. (ea+in! this picture for further de+elopment in the next chapter, let us consider the opposite. -ere the .hole tendenc# of consciousness is a.a# from others, in.ards to.ard self. 2thers are onl# considered in so far as the# ma# ser+e. simple classification presents itself at once; on one side of the line are those .ho ma# ,e called their o.n +ictims1 on the other, those .ho ma0e +ictims of as .ide a circle of their fello.s as the# can reach. 8et to sa# of the first class that its mem,ers are their o.n +ictims, is ,ut a superficial .a# of spea0in!. The# are +ictims of entities that the# ha+e created as ha,its. Each such entit#, .hether of drun0enness, dru!-ta0in!, or an# other form of sensualism, is at first a speciali<ation of the man5s ps#choph#sical consciousness in that direction. This portion !ro.s, finall# ,ecomin! a center of consciousness on its o.n account. /t finds its life in the satisfaction of its sin!le instinct1 it has indeed no other life. /ts demands tend to increase in fre7uenc# and imperiousness, and if unresisted the# .ill finall# entail the sacrifice of the .hole remainin! ener!ies of the ,od# and lead it to its death. Such an entit# can ,e called neither moral nor immoral1 it simpl# 0eeps on doin! .ith increasin! intensit# the one thin! it .as created to do. /ts +ictim5s ,od# and +italit# are its means and instruments. -e himself ma# continue to side .ith it, or he ma# stru!!le .ith or .ithout success to thro. off the #o0e a,out his o.n nec0. /f he stru!!les, he .ill not onl# find the stren!th of his ad+ersar#, ,ut its intelli!ence. -e .ill find a thousand reasons and excuses comin! into his mind apparentl# of themsel+es, as; /t is no. necessar# for his health1 it .ould ,e safer to relin7uish it !raduall#1 he .ill relin7uish it on Ne. 8ear5s "a#1 some other man has it .hom it does not harm. nd so on fore+er. /t .ill out-reason him as lon! as he lets it tal0. -is difficult# is that he re!ards these pleadin!s as from himself and treats them .ith correspondin! respect. 3ut if he ma0es no stru!!le, sidin! .ith his enem#, it .ill a,sor, his personal consciousness more and more completel#1 the soul .ill .ithdra. at last from a personalit# .hich .ill no lon!er render an# response to its stron!est efforts1 and .hat .as a man is no. merel# an em,odied +ice, an appetite. 4hen death frees it, it remains in the earth5s aura. 6na,le no. to !ratif# its one passion directl#, it ,ecomes a source of constant dan!er to sensiti+es and mediumistic natures. These, in some of the states of utter ne!ati+it# .hich the# permit or deli,eratel# induce, often place themsel+es ,e#ond the protectin! po.er of their o.n souls, thro. their ,odies open to the entr# of one of these creatures, and suddenl# find themsel+es the +ictims of cra+in!s the# can neither account for nor resist. 2rthodox science ma# for the next fe. #ears scout such an explanation of phenomena for .hich it has no explanation ,ut a name1 in the end it .ill ,e found +alid. Thus teaches Theosoph#. further +ie. opens from this point. The .hole !roup of ha,its and tendencies created ,# the impulse to see0 self-!ratification of an# 0ind, .hether sensual or hi!her, are themsel+es children of a profounder thou!h impersonal ha,it rooted in material nature herself. 3# it, as .e ha+e pointed out, the units of life esta,lished their nature and perfected their po.ers to the limit .hich that

impulse ma0es possi,le. This impulse ma# ,e called selfish onl# at the human le+el - .here a hi!her comes into +ie.. 4hen one particular form of sensualit#, of self-see0in!, is found ,# the indi+idual to ,e oppressi+e, for example drun0enness, and he attempts to con7uer it in the interests of his o.n personalit# (that is, from a moti+e that is still selfish*, he has, it is true, that particular force a!ainst him. 3ut he has not #et deli,eratel# chosen to all# himself .ith the hi!her side of nature. -e remains morall# a,out .here he .as. /f he .ins his fi!ht, his .ill is stron!er, ,ut he is still in un,ro0en alliance .ith the force of self-see0in!. -e has merel# selfishly cleared an o,stacle out of his .a#. T.o thin!s ma# no. happen. The force of the con7uered !ratification ma# diffuse itself out into other 0inds of sensualit#; he ma# ,ecome la<ier, addicted to !lutton#, excessi+e use of to,acco, coffee, su!ars, etc1 or more sensual in the limited meanin! of that .ord. /n the other case, .ith his ne.l# cleared consciousness and stren!thened .ill, he ma# deli,eratel# set out upon a lar!er career of selfishness .hich man# others enter from the first. 6nder the influence of am,ition he, li0e some of them, ma# use his .ill to con7uer all lo.er failin!s, and to de+elop e+er# po.er, sacrificin! and uprootin! e+er# impulse .hose !ratification is in the .a# of po.er. There are profounder depths of selfishness that simple sensualism does not ordinaril# reach. Sensualism, sa+e in extreme de!rees and forms, is compati,le .ith the continuance in the nature of much that is #et !ood. /t rather tends to cro.d the ,etter impulses to the .all, to dull them, than to exchan!e itself for them. 3ut the selfishness .hich see0s po.er loo0s directl# to, not i!nores, other men. The sense of po.er o+er others, !ratified am,ition, is the enhanced sense of self-,ein!1 it is esta,lished ,# personalit#1 it is the +er# +italit# of the self-centered person, a plane of +italit# 7uite distinct from the ph#sical or ph#siolo!ical. /t is the material-nature impulse at last in flo.er, reachin! the consummation .hich human life alone renders possi,le. 4hen the end is reached, the man has ,ecome a fiend. Most men are too .ea0 to pursue this path +er# far. The# .ill 0eep their failin!s, una,le to uproot sensualit#, tr#in! to !et the respect of men (.hich !i+es the sense of po.er* either ,# .hat the# are not, or ,# ostentation of .ealth. =arious 0inds of culture and s0ill, and sometimes orator#, can ,e ac7uired .ithout more sacrifice of sensualit# than the# ha+e stren!th for1 and these the# ma# accordin!l# ac7uire. 9eli!ious charlatans especiall# find the path to po.er o+er certain minds +er# eas#1 and the# are correspondin!l# numerous. 3ut their rei!n is short1 their o.n failin!s, .ea0nesses and i!norance of human nature sooner or later pric0 the ,alloon from .ithin. Each moreo+er is ,ut a unit, the onl# fi!hter for his o.n hand, ,ac0ed ,# nothin! and no one. Ne+ertheless, .hile his po.er lasts, and o+er those .hom it affects at all, it is +er# !reat. The am,ition of the !reat militar# ad+enturer is ,ut to control the ,odies of men1 political am,ition and the am,ition of the orator aim no farther than men5s minds. 3ut this man !ets farther in; men and .omen offer him their consciences1 his dominion ma# ,e nearl# a,solute o+er their .hole natures.

The full possi,ilities of am,ition are little reali<ed in our da# ,ecause the cumulati+e effect of successi+e incarnations, pointin! more and more directl# in one direction, is left out of account. s soon as am,ition for selfish po.er leads to, is the moti+e of, the surmountin! of a sensual .ea0ness - or still more, a course of self-discipline, - the man5s nature hardens 7uic0l#. -e li+es ,# the li!ht of an e+il ideal1 it ,ecomes infused .ith the life-force .hich he .ithdra.s from his con7uered tendencies1 finall# it ,ecomes a conscious presence in his life. /t sur+i+es the inter+al ,et.een death and the re,irth follo.in!1 and then, as in the case of lesser lefto+er ha,its, there .ill ,e a stru!!le. 4ith most men this stru!!le is not decided for a!es. 4ith each ,irth, accordin! to its herita!e, there is more or less sensual tendenc# to ,e a!ain surmounted or #ielded to. There are a thousand appeals to affection and compassion, hard to den#, and if not denied !eneratin! an opposi+! force as readil# cumulati+e as the other - and li0e the other tendin! to concrete into a center of consciousness, henceforth the n!el in that man5s life. There are the .a#s of life itself, al.a#s tendin! to ,rin! am,ition to its end .ith a crash of dis!race, or ,# final disappointment. 3ut in a fe. cases in e+er# centur# the created "emon of utter selfishness is stron! enou!h to pre+ail, little ,# little, o+er all. >raduall# the appeal of humanit# loses all its po.er1 life after life the .ill stren!thens and the lo.er .ea0nesses are more and more easil# surmounted. The man and the ?ran0enstein-monster he has created enter at last into complete union, and the soul - no !leam of .hose li!ht is allo.ed to enter consciousness - departs. The man is an initiate in e+il, and, .ith an intelli!ence far ,e#ond that of common humanit#, remains in its midst. As such, such a man is unreco!nised ,# societ#1 for societ# as #et 0no.s nothin! of the possi,ilities of human de+elopment to.ards !ood or e+il. Theosoph# is the onl# force that can unif# all nations, that can illuminate and purif# all creeds, that can sho. each nation its path to its o.n no,lest de+elopment. /ndi+idual am,ition has to disappear1 another and opposite .or0in!-force, that of unit# and altruism, must replace it as the purer and hi!her stimulus to effort. To demonstrate that it can do so, is the .or0 of Theosoph#. Therefore, as .e said in the first chapter, the middle and later #ears of this centur# .ill not ,e the continuation of the Nineteenth. The li!ht of Theosoph# .ill ,ecome !enerall# reco!nised. /ts messa!e concernin! life .ill ,e accepted. Men .ill more and more see0 its Teacher - .hether, as no., @atherine Tin!le#, or her successor - and that Teacher5s accredited pupils for the solution of pro,lems no. ,e!innin! to ,e thou!ht insolu,le. There is a solution to them all1 life may easil# ,e transformed into its hi!hest terms1 there is no inherent need for an# of its pains1 there is no need for humanit# to ,e in dar0ness or i!norance. Theosoph# can sho. it to ,e possi,le and eas# to ma0e earth a hea+en, to strip death of its terror. s soon as the appeal is made the ans.er .ill ,e !i+en. Then .ill ,e!in the Ne. 2rder of !es. The Angel in Human Life $n vino veritas - .ine un+eils the true man - is a ,it of c#nicism .hich used

to ,e more often heard than no.. /t implies that the creature set free ,# .ine is the "real man" (A*, e!otistic, tal0ati+e, sensual, 7uarrelsome. Suppose there .ere another 0ind of .ine .hich silenced the animal man and freed the spiritual, as the .ine .e 0no. silences the spiritual and frees the animal. 4ine ma0es some men nearl# fiends1 the other .ine .ould ma0e some nearl# !ods. That faint !lo. of di+init# .hich .e see here and there in all men - the su!!estion of thin0er, poet, artist, saint, hero - .ould shine out perfect and undimmed. 4ine .ould ma0e all men fiends, if, .hile a,solutel# shuttin! off the spiritual, it not merel# left the intellect untouched, ,ut cleared and sharpened it. The other .ine .ould ma0e all men !ods, if, .hile a,solutel# shuttin! off the sensual and selfish, it raised the mind to the po.er of full expression of the spiritual. Man5s consciousness has its poles in the .orlds of matter and of spirit. /n lendin! his mind, from moment to moment, to impulses from one or the other, he is creatin! the n!el and the "emon. The# ,ear his superscription, ,ut the matrix and essence of one of them is di+ine li!ht. -e has !i+en of his "/" to the impulse, !i+en selfhood1 and that second self li+es on and !ro.s in po.er. So if a man finds himself, as .e ha+e seen, the constant recipient of su!!estions of e+il, it is also true that in the di+iner part of his nature he has indi+iduali<ed - or can at an# moment ,e!in to indi+iduali<e - the ampl# counter+ailin! force of !ood. 3et.een the opposin! su!!estions he has al.a#s the po.er of choice. -e can !raduall# learn, ,# openin! his mind in one direction, to close it in the other. Mind cannot har,or the t.o forces at one and the same time. /f it admits one, the other, for that time, must !o. 3ut the man .ho .ould redeem himself from some ,esettin! failin! must not .ait for the hour of ur!ent temptation to in+o0e the n!el in his ,ein!. Stren!th !athers ,# constant in+ocation of its li!ht throu!hout the inter+als. /f he does that, +ictor#, ho.e+er deferred, is ultimatel# certain. -e is in+o0in! the .hole force of e+olution. ?or thou!h the n!el is in a sense the creation of the man, he has created it in and of this di+ine force. /n itself it is uncon7uera,le, nor can it e+er cease to ,e. /t is an indi+iduali<ed portion of the "i+ine /ntelli!ence. To in+o0e it, to feel after it in dail# life, is therefore the path not onl# to purit#, ,ut to .isdom and to po.er. To ,e saturated .ith its li!ht is to ha+e ,ecome more than man. ?rom the first it is his hi!hest self, his >od, and his path to the >od. /f .e accuratel# translate Jesus5 "first and !reat commandment," .e shall find him referrin! to this $resence and descri,in! in pre!nant terms the ri!ht attitude to.ards it. The ordinar# +ersion runs; "Thou shalt lo+e the (ord th# >od .ith all th# heart, and .ith all th# soul, and .ith all th# mind." ( nd .e can note in passin! that this "first and !reat commandment" .as not a "o %ot, ,ut a "o. /ts 0e#note .as not that of the Ten )ommandments.* 2ur retranslation runs; Thou shalt lo+e the Master (&urios*, the >od (Theos* of thee (sou* .ith all th# heart ("ardia, re!arded as the seat of ima!ination and feelin!*, and .ith all th# soul ('suche, the animal soul*, and .ith all th# mind (full human intellect, dianoia*. E+er# part of consciousness .as thus to ,e en!a!ed, to ,e tuned to reco!nition of, and lo+e of, "th# di+ine Master." The other command, "li0e unto it," .as, "Thou shalt lo+e th# nei!h,or as

th#self." 2n another occasion, spea0in! still more specificall#, Jesus )hrist said of little children that "their n!els" ,ehold al.a#s the face of the ?ather in -ea+en. 2f this sa#in!, the )hristian )hurch, .hich has lost the ancient teachin! of the n!el and the "emon in human nature, a teachin! .hich .as e+er#.here part of the M#steries, has no real explanation to offer. @atherine Tin!le#, spea0in! in one of her instructions to her pupils, sa#s of these t.o forces; "/n+isi,le companions formed of man5s o.n essence, one e+il, one di+ine, the secretion or o,:ecti+ation of the opposite poles of his o.n selfconsciousness, the# represent his !ood and e+il an!els, the u!oeides and its counterpart, each see0in! to a,sor, his ,ein!. 2ne of them in the end must pre+ail o+er the other, and one or the other is stren!thened ,# e+er# act and thou!ht of his life. The# are his hi!her and lo.er potentialities passin! slo.l# into potenc# as the ener!ies (,oth !ood and e+il, note* of the soul are a.a0ened.... nd if effort ,e continual, if no failures or falls discoura!e the aspirant and are al.a#s follo.ed ",# as man# undaunted stru!!les up.ard," he has al.a#s the help and counsel of the di+ine ""aimon," the "4arrior"1 and +ictor#, ho.e+er far a.a#, is certain. ?or this is an uncon7uera,le po.er, "eternal and sure," an actual presence and inspiration if #ou .ill ,ut reco!nise it." She is of course addressin! those .ho ha+e full# entered upon the path of self-con7uest1 ,ut in de!ree her .ords appl# to all .ho ha+e ,e!un to face the pro,lems of life. The existence of the t.o depends, as .e ha+e said, on man5s dualit# of nature. t one pole he is animal, .ith all the self-see0in! animal tendencies1 at the other di+ine, .ith potentiall# !odli0e po.er, understandin! and compassion. )hrist5s "!reat commandment," .ith its 'suche and dianoia, the animal and spiritual souls, contains a reference to this dualit#. /n his animal nature man is complete1 either temporaril# latent and folded a.a# durin! e+olution in other directions, or in full acti+it#, he has e+er# animal po.er. 4hate+er can ,e ac7uired ,# stru!!le either has alread# ,een ac7uired, or can no. ,e ac7uired ,# a no,ler method. The force of matter has done its ,est1 it is no. time for another e+olution. The flo.ers of mind and heart and soul .ill not ,loom in an atmosphere tense .ith conflict actual or threatened, .ith :ealous#, hate, en+# and !reed. /t is the turn of the di+ine force, of the li!ht that li!hteth e+er# man that cometh into the .orld, the direct radiation of the Supreme. This is man5s hi!hest consciousness1 .hen, ,# ,e!innin! to follo. its ,ehests, he indi+iduali<es it from the sea of li!ht, it is his n!el. 4hen he is full# at one .ith it he ,e comes a !od. /ts pressure is to.ards unit#, harmon#, compassion. /t is the atmosphere in .hich alone men can mo+e on to ideal life. The closer man stands to it, the profounder is his feelin! for ,eaut#, the more is his intellect illumined .ith comprehension of the meanin! of life. -e 0no.s of immortalit# .ith a certaint# ,e#ond ar!ument, for he is ,e!innin! to assimilate that .hich is life itself. The +eiled poet, artist, thin0er, hero, is ,e!innin! to stand forth. -e feels at e+er# hour the :o# of a spiritual !ro.th that can ha+e no limit. The path to this !ro.th opens immediatel# ahead of e+er# man at e+er#

moment. The +er# desire for it is a mar0 of the presence of the n!el, .hose inspiration can ,e constantl# felt comin! into the mind as a .aft of hi!her impulse in the pauses of common thou!ht. Sei<ed and held to, it stills perplexities, cools the ,rain, and sho.s the path to peace. /n the end, if it is permitted, it .ill clear the human ta,ernacle of all ,ut itself, and the man is redeemed. "eath can no more ,rea0 the thread of his consciousness. S"e'ticism as to the 'ossibility of this is the chief reason why it ha''ens with such e(cessive rarity Men .ill not understand that the $resence .hich comes upon them at their ,est moments, .hich is their ,est moments, .aits constantl# at their el,o., and that those moments .ill ,ecome continuous if the# ,ut see0 them .ith fixit# of purpose1 that the di+ine $la#er is al.a#s read# .hen the instrument is1 that his harmonies are limited onl# ,# the instrument1 that the instrument is the man himself as he 0no.s himself in dail# life1 and that this $resence ha,ituall# ma0es itself felt in him as the pressure of conscience, as the call to dut#, as the perception of !randeur, real ,eaut# of e+er# 0ind, and of no,ilit#, and as compassion. The ,od# is the soundin!-,oard of all the phases of consciousness of the man .ho d.ells in it1 e+er# mental chan!e, e+er# chan!e of feelin!, modifies some part of the ,od#, some or!an or ner+e-center. nd once this chan!e has occurred, it tends after a lon!er or shorter time to reproduce itself automaticall#, and to re-excite in the consciousness that attitude, thou!ht, or feelin! .hich first caused the ,odil# chan!e. Thus are ha,its !enerated. The man, ,# his thou!hts, leads the ,od# into temptation a lon! time ,efore the ,od# pic0s up the ha,it and leads the man .here first he led it. /t is the man that is .ea0 and the flesh .illin!. The ,od# follo.s and re!isters the man .ho li+es in it1 if he !rant a desire from it toda#, it .ill demand the same tomorro., perhaps .hen he is .antin! to thin0 a,out somethin! important1 if he !rant all its desires, the di+ine $la#er .ill ,e permanentl# excluded from the instrument, since the# .ill !ro. so fast that there is no room for an#thin! else1 ,ut if he .atches for this $la#er, and .elcomes its ad+ent, its promptin!s .ill ,ecome plainer and plainer, pass from +a!ue .a+es of feelin!, half-,lind impulse to dut#, into more and more definite !uidance of e+er# step in life, fillin! it .ith peace and ,eaut#. 9eal )hristians are .ell a.are of this Presence .ithin the field of their consciousness, ,ut the# ha+e seriousl# limited the truth in their interpretation1 callin! it ")hrist," and confusin! it .ith the !reat Teacher .ho li+ed 2&&& #ears a!o, the# ha+e ta0en no note of the fact that it is the "(i!ht .hich li!hteth e+er# man that cometh into the .orld," and that potentiall# or actuall# present .ith the same fullness in those .ho ha+e and ha+e not heard of Jesus )hrist. The Teachers ha+e tau!ht of it, ,ein! Teachers :ust ,ecause the# had full# assimilated it, and e+en the name )hrist .as in use amon! the >ree0s, in this connection, lon! ,efore our era. 4e are dealin! .ith the process of un+eilin! somethin! present in all men, and the +eil that separates them from it is .o+en of their desires. /f a man is thin0in! hi!h thou!hts, and one of the common desires suddenl# o,trudes itself, those thou!hts must stop until he has either 7uelled or satisfied that desire, and he must resume them nearer the ,e!innin! than .hen he left off. That .hich

inspired them remains as a po.er, ,ut it has recei+ed a chec0 in its operations. /f he is thin0in! of doin! a no,le and unselfish thin!, that .hich prompts him remains there e+en thou!h, ,ecause of some selfish or personal consideration, he dela#s or a,stains from the action. 4hat then .ould happen in the case of a man .ho had remo+ed all selfishness from his mind, and all other desires from his ,od# than those .hich conser+e healthB The n!el .ould ,e constantl# in action, and .ould inspire him to hei!hts of thou!ht and feelin! and a !randeur of character that .ould ma0e him a !reat .orld-helper. The tas0 of remo+in! these hindrances of desire seems hard, ,ut a +er# little effort produces !reat results. The attempt to find or feel that $resence in consciousness is the .ithdra.al from desires, and the moment that is done the# ,e!in to .ither s.iftl#. The 0e# to success is ne+er to !i+e up the effort, ne+er to let an hour pass .ithout an attempt. 6no,ser+ed, softl#, surel#, the di+ine plant !ro.s, a,sor,in! and transmutin! into its o.n ,ein! the life of the .eeds. Then, one da#, the man suddenl# finds himself free from some fault or +ice or failin! he had thou!ht .as uncon7uera,le. /t .as con7uered ,# that )ther, in the dar0ness, that 2ther .hich is also himself and .ho is the real +ictor in all .orth# +ictories. The s.ord in its hands is .elded ,# the slo.l# hoarded stren!th of our aspirations and our faith. /n this fi!ht a!ainst the lo.er in oursel+es there is no chance of final defeat for the man .ho tries1 the onl# defeat is to !i+e up tr#in!. The tr#in!, the fi!htin!, consists in turnin! to.ard the di+ine in oursel+es, tr#in! to feel the companionship of the n!el, the 4arrior, its constant presence. That attempt is the fi!htin!. E+er# critical act and thou!ht in e+er# da# (and .hat acts and thou!hts are not criticalB* is the outcome of a conflict, often unnoticed ,# us, ,et.een the !ood and e+il. -o. eas# to see that if on risin! and retirin! .e see0 the !ood in thou!ht and meditation for fi+e minutes, e+er# conflict throu!hout e+er# da# .ill !o ,etter than if .e had not done so. Some of the e+il in our nature is so deepl# rooted that it ma# ta0e #ears for this "i+ine Man to sei<e and destro# it, ,ut if .e loo0 to that place of help dail#, not so much holdin! the e+il remorsefull# in mind and thus multipl#in! the difficult# in ima!ination, as holdin! in faith to the di+ine and lettin! that do the .or0, then .e ha+e an assured +ictor# not onl# o+er the chief e+il ,ut also o+er .hat .e thin0 the lesser ones. nd that +ictor# is .on, not ,# some extraneous po.er, ,ut trul# ,# the +er# self of the man, that part of himself .hich his accumulated moments of thou!ht, .ill, and aspiration ha+e made in+inci,le. There is a slo.l# !ro.in! ,od# of men on earth .ho ha+e pled!ed themsel+es to the li!ht to .or0 .ithout pause for human .elfare. To the .orld at lar!e the# are not so 0no.n, thou!h some of them, of +arious !rades of pro!ress, li+e and .or0 in the common life. Their pro!ress lies in the e+olution of faculties and po.ers, .hich, thou!h latent in all men, are as #et not !enerall# e+en ,elie+ed and of .hose application in human ser+ice it .ould therefore ,e useless to spea0. Their ,od# has ,een in existence for man# a!es, and those .ho ha+e full# entered its mem,ership return to it .ith each re,irth. /ts ran0s are open to all men, and no one ta0in! in his heart the pled!e to put aside self and .or0 for human .elfare, .or0 that all men mi!ht find the li!ht, .ould remain lon! in i!norance of this ,od#. E+er# one of humanit#5s !reat Teachers .as and is

amon! its .or0ers, as .ell as man# of .hom the .orld 0no.s nothin!, or 0no.s onl# as o,scure or prominent fi!ures on the !eneral sta!e. -. $. 3la+ats0# and her successors, 4illiam C. Jud!e and @atherine Tin!le#, are of this ,od#, and in pursuance of its .or0 founded and sustained the *niversal +rotherhood and Theoso'hical Society. Theosoph# is the totalit# of the .isdom, the hi!hest 0no.led!e of life, .hich comes of unit# .ith the li!ht, of complete unit# of man .ith the n!el. nd ,rotherhood of thou!ht and act is the first essential step of the path to that unit#. The ,od# in 7uestion is ,ut an anticipation of the future for all humanit#. nd as the indi+idual man ,# aspiration and ri!ht action calls his n!el to ,irth in the sea of li!ht, so such a ,od#, ,# its unit# of purpose, calls into o,:ecti+e ,ein! a +aster $o.er, .hich it henceforth ser+es. nd this is the real !uide of humanit# to its e+er li!htenin! future, the )hristos of the ne. earth. The Demon in Crime 6pon the su,:ect of ordinar# crime there is little more to ,e said. There remains onl# to ma0e a classification of crimes, to note at .hat point the impulse to them runs o+er into .hat is ordinaril# counted as insanit#, and to stud# the part pla#ed ,# the "emon in their commission. Especiall# is such an examination desira,le in +ie. of the increasin! pre+alence of infantile or child crime, crime often of an astonishin!l# extreme, heartless and purposeless character. 4hat mi!ht ,e called ordinar# crime is an act done in pursuit of some comprehensi,le aim. 4hether it ,e theft, rape, murder, or .hat not, the o,:ect is clear, and the means emplo#ed to !ain it ha+e a fairl# intelli!ent and ,alanced relation to the end. nd, so far, thou!h the criminal is mista0in! the path of his o.n .elfare and permanent happiness, he is actin! in harmon# of aim .ith his e+il insti!ator1 he is not ,ein! s.ept off his feet ,# an impulse of .hose source he is i!norant. 3ut .hat are .e to sa# of those impulses to crime .hose ener!# outruns that .hich is necessar# to !ain the intelli!i,le and manifest end, or those .hich seem 7uite ,lind and to ha+e no intelli!i,le aim, and .hat of those cases in .hich e+er# +esti!e of normal humanit# seems to ha+e departed and .here there remains onl# an utterl# conscienceless creature de+oid of an# impulses sa+e for self-!ratification, possi,l# .ithout the po.er to postpone e+en a small !ratification that is immediate in order to retain the capacit# for en:o#ment of a !reater, a little in the futureB /n passin!, it ma# ,e noted that there is a .hole a,#ss ,et.een such creatures, utter sla+es of impulse, of the "emon - and the full initiates of selfishness .ho are not the sla+es of, ,ut utterl# and consciousl# at one .ith, the "emon. The former, li0e the ha,itual drun0ards, are sla+es1 the latter freed in e+il, of iron .ill, the dominators of such parts of their nature as .ould if !ratified stand in the .a# of their attainment of their conscienceless po.er. The# ha+e su,dued the animal, the ,east, that it ma# not stand in the .a# of the fiend. The acts of such creatures are outside ordinar# classification. nd of some of the others .e can ma0e no real explanation (to call them "insane" is not an explanation* unless .e assume that the human ad+ersar#,

lon! permitted to !uide and rei!n unchec0ed, at last ac7uires an a,solute and, so to spea0, contemptuous domination o+er the man, his ori!inal creator1 .ho no lon!er needs to ur!e or reason .ith his tool, ,ut treats a,solutel# as his o.n the or!ans of action of the man in .hose ,od# he d.ells. /t is from a stud# of the utterl# a,normal that .e can !et more li!ht upon the nature and mode of life of the human +ampire. s .e ha+e seen, its impulses are !ratified at the expense of the life of the man, and ,# their !ratification its !ain runs 'ari 'assu .ith his loss. -e ma#, and usuall# does, ta0e his pleasure in acts .hich nourish his demon, for men are more or less sensual and selfish. /f his nature is +er# ,ad he ma# maintain the alliance, and if the pair let the lo.er sensual rule, the man is on a s.ift descent in the scale of life1 if, still maintainin! the alliance, he use his .ill and intelli!ence to restrain the lo.er and purel# sensual e+il in order that it ma# not o,struct his pursuit of po.er o+er his fello.men, then he is still on the path of descent1 ,ut a path .hich, thou!h lon!er than the other, is more dan!erous, more irretracea,le, ,ecause the compass of .ill is firml#, consciousl# and intelli!entl# set thither. 3ut in other cases the "emon ma# impel a man to acts .hich, e+en in the moment of their doin!, ma# horrif# him1 acts .hich ,ecause of their not rare anti(rather than in-* humanit# .e call insane. s a (no.* separate center of life, its acts ma# ,e mar0ed ,# utter .ant of relationship .ith the ordinar# or ori!inal tastes and ha,its of its creator, and its performances, attempts and impulses ,ear not onl# no such relation, ,ut also none to his stren!th, reason or :ud!ment, from that point of +ie. .e are :ustified in callin! such acts insane, thou!h the# ma# ,e sane and .ell-,ased enou!h from the "emon5s standpoint, since for a time the# increase its stren!th and no. independent +ia,ilit#. /t ma# therefore ur!e the man to crimes of the most purposeless or ill-:ud!ed character, often of the most extreme ferocit# and causelessness, and to attempt .hich, ,# reason of his inade7uate stren!th or the +i!ilance of societ# or of his +ictim5s friends are foredoomed to failure. Much li!ht .ill come upon the stud# of crime as soon as crime is thus considered and its real author5s often 7uite separate indi+idualit# ta0en in to account. (et us ma0e a rou!h classification of crimes and the impulses to them. (1* There is that simple and comprehensi,le form of crime .hich consists in ta0in! .hat is desired from the propert# of another. The thin! desired ma# ,e an#thin! from a necessit# to a luxur#, and of course its de!ree of criminalit# lies in the nearness to one or the other extreme. /n the insane +ariet# of it, 0no.n as 0leptomania, that .hich is ta0en is useless to the thief, and the act is an irrational !ratification of the desire to possess, apart from an# contemplated emplo#ment of the stolen article. The "emon, una,le to ma0e his creator a conscious and rational thief, adopts the simple method of compellin! him (usuall# her* to act as such for a reason that is ,elo. his rational consciousness. @leptomania is an instructi+e example of the .or0in! of the "emon independentl# of the man, thou!h the man in his extreme .ea0ness of .ill has to ,e a conscious spectator. /nsanit#, that is, irrational action, .ith respect to the man, the act is .ith respect to the "emon, sane1 for it is (from its standpoint* a perfectl# rational and natural and uncomplicated !ratification of the desire to possess, to ta0e.

3ut .hen a man is hindered in the carr#in! out of his desires, .hether ,# a person or ,# ,lind circumstance, irritation arises. /rritation ma# also arise from the th.arted desire for comfort, apart from an# concrete desired o,:ect. -ence the irrita,ilit# of the !out# man. /rritation ma# ,rea0 forth presentl# as increased effort, since it is a ,an0in! up of the force of desire, and ma# then act rationall# in the attainment of an o,:ect1 or, if the o,:ect ,e unattaina,le ,# actions (as comfort in the case of !out* ma# ,rea0 out irrationall# - as .here the unoffendin! cat is 0ic0ed, or the .ife and children snu,,ed and snarled at. /n an extremer form, irrita,ilit# ma# ,ecome ra!e, and here the ,an0ed-up force al.a#s ,rea0s forth irrationall# - that is, .ith more or less unrelationship to the attainment of an o,:ect. ?or this reason it has to ,e classed as an (at an# rate temporar#* insanit#. /t is, ho.e+er, ordinaril# called insane onl# .hen .holl# causeless, and if extreme ma# amount to mania. /n an# case, ra!e is of course a disinte!rati+e process, and is an affair of the "emon. ?or thou!h Nature is al.a#s slo.l# disinte!ratin! our ,odies, it is onl# done in this +iolent and conscious .a# .hen the disinte!rati+e force has ,een entitated or s#nthesi<ed under human influence. 9a!e recei+es the name of mania .hen it is a lon! continuin! condition, +er# +iolent and .holl# out of control. s a rule the ordinar# personalit# of the man disappears, and his functional place is a,solutel# ta0en ,# the "emon in 'ro'ria 'ersona, li,erated from all control and no lon!er needin! or condescendin! to a+ail itself of the cloa0 of rationalit# or imitated +irtue. 4ith respect to it, mania is not insanit#. There is a pleasure in the expenditure of force1 (that is .h# snee<in! is pleasant*1 ra!e, in its course, has for the same reason a pleasure of its o.n. /n mania the "emon must experience this pleasure in the expenditure of its +ictim5s ph#sical and ps#cho-ph#sical force. /t is a ph#sical case of the same process .hich, on another plane, in time ,rin!s a,out e+en its o.n destruction and disse+erance into the ,undle of elementar# forces of .hich it .as ne+er more than a temporaril# focali<ed s#nthesis. /f the man .as in total alliance .ith it, he is then of necessit# shorn of all the no. disse+ered elements that made up his personal consciousness and is a!ain at the foot of the ladder of human e+olution. $ro,a,l# this ma# ta0e place ali0e ,efore or after death1 if ,efore, there remains nothin! ,ut a !i,,erin! idiot. /t ,elon!s to this +ie. of the case that all forms of criminall# insane action are onl# insane and purposeless .ith respect to the man. Examined .ith respect to the "emon the# ,ecome perfectl# comprehensi,le. 3ut until the "emon is scientificall# reco!ni<ed, the .ord "insane" must co+er a hiatus of 0no.led!e. /n still other cases, the expelled force ma# cause irrational mo+ements of the ,od#, ,e#ond, ,ut strictl# in line .ith, those of ra!es and a con+ulsion .ill result. This is called epileps#, and is reall# a sort of ra!e of motion so extreme as to dro.n consciousness. (2* 2ur second class is therefore made up of crimes committed in ra!e or mania, and either ha+in! no human o,:ect or a relation of !reat excess to their o,:ect. (D* (astl#, .e come to crimes of cruelt# 'er se1 that is, .here the cruelt# is not for the !ainin! of an# o,ser+a,le or easil# comprehensi,le end, ,ut apparentl# moti+eless. The# are cases .here the pleasure of the cruelt# is not

e+en comprehensi,le to the man .ho commits it, ho.e+er real it ,e. /n the simpler +arieties of such cases, crimes of cruelt# of this nature ser+e to !ratif# the sense of po.er-holdin!, po.er-.ieldin!. The desire to !ratif# this sense, in cases .here selfishness is 7uite complete, .here the "emon rules in uno,structed alliance .ith the man, and .here facile opportunit# presents, .ill certainl# lead to crime of this 0ind. The alliance, that is to sa#, the presence of the normal consciousness of the man, differentiates such crimes from those due to mania, thou!h that .ord is often here also applied. The# are also done to rectif# the sense of po.erlessness, as .here a ,o# .ho has ,een .orsted ,# a ,i!!er ,o# tortures a smaller. /n still another class of cases this does not appear to ,e the .hole of the moti+e. Ma# it not ,e that there is a direct transference of life-ener!# from the +ictim to the operator, that the latter !ains stren!th and life as the +ictim #ields them in his pain, that .e are in fact dealin! .ith true +ampiri<ationB The !ained life, thou!h at first passin! to the ph#sical man .ho is .or0in!, is after.ards of course appropriated ,# his "emon, the real operator, and sooner or later intense reaction follo.s1 since the su,se7uent acts of the man proceed on the supposition that the ne. stren!th is permanentl# his, .hereas it is alread# passin! in, to the "emon. No., ta0in! all of these forms of crime into consideration, do the# not of themsel+es su!!est the existence of an e+il consciousness separate from that of the man, his insti!ator to their performanceB nd does not such a h#pothesis ma0e clear much that .ould ,e other.ise inexplica,leB The simpler and more +enial acts of selfishness are performed ,# the man from the standin!-!round of his elemental nature, in that department. of his ,ein! .here resides, the impulse to selfishness and to see0in! of sensation that is pleasant. 4hile standin! therein he !raduall# li!hts up a center of consciousness a,out .hich such impulses !roup themsel+es, and this center remains ali+e, acti+e, fermentin!, .hen the man has temporaril# !one up hi!her in his nature. $roducts of this in+isi,le fermentation in the shape of sudden impulses, occasionall# in:ect themsel+es into his consciousness .hen it is other.ise occupied, and to these he is apt to #ield, thin0in! the resultin! acts to ,e of his o.n +olition. 3# this the center continues to !ro., preser+in! a line of impulses that are continuall# stron!er, and ma# ultimatel# s.eep him into crime. nd in the commission of each such act the "emon (.hich is this center* !ains po.er. /t ma# !ro. constantl#, a,sor,in! more and more of the life of the man, until at last he is .ell-ni!h po.erless. Then, if he 0no.s nothin! of the philosoph# of life, is i!norant that he is a soul capa,le of triumphin! o+er an#thin! in his o.n ,ein!, he must perforce continue to identif# himself .ith the "emon he has created and .hich is his all-a,sor,in! +ampire. /n the ordinar# case, death .ill separate the t.o, since the# are of di+erse nature. The "emon must remain .here it .as created, .here its impulses hold it - in the earth5s atmosphere, reinforcin!, ,# communit# of feelin!, the li0e elements in li+in! men. The man, the all-potential soul, !oes to its o.n place ("hea+en"* for a .hile, hea+en ,ecause existin! no. in its o.n unclouded spiritual nature, released from the ,od# .hose forces and sensations insti!ated it

on its i!norance to sensualit# and selfishness in its search for pleasure. ?reed, it ma# ta0e another and more !lorious part in the .or0 of the uni+erse. 3ut .hen its hour comes, it must ,# the la. of its o.n ,ein! reincarnate on earth - ,# that (a. .hich presses it throu!h endless experiences in countless successi+e ,irths until it learns the real .a# to li+e and the real purpose of life. So it must come in contact .ith the e+il impulses .hich at death it left ,ehind in the earth5s atmosphere - perhaps e+en .ith the "emon, if in the last life it had created one .ith so stron! a central impulse of life that it could remain that much time as a conscious unit, not splittin! up into the separate e+il elemental impulses of .hich it is a fusion and focus. So the .hole is dra.n !raduall# into the infant ,od# and ,rain little ,# little as fast as their !ro.in! structure permits. nd from this time the n!el too, the man5s ,etter self, his !uide, ultimatel# to ,e his redeemer, ,e!ins ane. his part of that ,attle .hose field is the man5s em,odied life. So the fi!ht of the former life is resumed, thou!h the man, in the thron! of e+ents and sensations that is ane. upon him, loses the memor# of it, al,eit he is the same com,atant, .ith the same all#, the same enem#1 al,eit he ta0es up the com,at .here and as he left it ,efore. /n the end, +irtues and unselfishness #ield :o#, inner peace and the lo+e of men1 +ices, and selfishness their exactl# proportioned pain and loneliness. 3# this :o# and pain is man0ind slo.l# and .ith man# and man# a lapse led alon! the path of life throu!h the :un!les of experience until it a.a0es into the +ast li!ht, feels a,out it the protectin! and !uidin! presence of the n!el of li!ht, out!ro.s need for the punishin! and re.ardin! hand of Nature, ,ecomes its o.n teacher and la.-administrator, and redeems not onl# itself ,ut all the lesser thin!s .hich until then tra+ail and .ait..... Psychic and Cognate States and Practices 4e can no., in ta0in! another step for.ard, sum up .hat .e ha+e said of the t.o po.ers concerned in human life. The man .ho has to an# real de!ree a.a0ened to sense of responsi,ilit# and ,e!un to ma0e conscious choice ,et.een !ood and e+il, is focusin! his hi!her and lo.er nature, is creatin! himself or mirrorin! himself in the uni+ersal spiritual and the uni+ersal material. The t.o nascent centers of consciousness forth.ith enter upon their o.n c#cle of !ro.th. Each .idens out1 from the first the# are in touch respecti+el# .ith all that is ,est and .orst in the mental atmosphere, an atmosphere made up of the contri,utions of all past and present ci+ili<ation. /t has ,een necessar# to spea0 hitherto as if the ener!# of matter and that of spirit .ere di+erse in essence and a,solutel# at .ar. The# are ho.e+er in truth ,ut one, the force of one di+ine plan .or0in! itself out in t.o sta!es. The form onl# of its .or0 chan!es .ith the ad+ent of human life. ssuredl# the cosmic purpose cannot ,e defeated1 ,ut it can ,e and has ,een delayed1 and it ma# ,e lon! #et ere the "emon, the lo.er aspect of human life, man-created, is crushed under the .heels of pro!ress. 6ntil then it is li0e an intelli!ent po.er in human life, the uni+ersal opponent of !ood. ?rom it come all the su,tlest inspirations to e+il in human life, the !erms of ideas, s#stems,

philosophies, .hich some other a!es than our o.n .ould reco!ni<e as insane or ,ase, ,ut .hich no. command read# adherents and defenders1 and su!!estions to practices .hich can onl# .rec0 mind and ,od#. Tendencies to am,ition, crime and cruelt# are fanned1 anta!onisms ,et.een men and classes and nations accentuated. Thou!h some fe. men are its conscious ser+ants, most of its instruments 0no. not .hat the# do. 2f late #ears .e are hearin! more and more of .hat is called ps#chism. n actual chan!e in human consciousness, a sensiti+it# to a ne. order of impressions, is !oin! on. Speciall# mar0ed in merica, there are man# indications of it all o+er the 4estern .orld. /t is in the normal course of e+olution, and therefore ine+ita,le1 ,ut the transition period is full of dan!er. /t is (a,stractl# spea0in!* a step to.ards the inte!ration of humanit# into an or!anism. Mind is ,ecomin! more sensiti+e to mind, more recepti+e of thou!hts and feelin!s and impulses from .ithout. Mental poise is more easil# distur,ed, insanit# more fre7uent than e+er ,efore. Semi-de!enerate minds, .ith a ,ent to e+il .hich in other times mi!ht ne+er ha+e sho.n itself, ,ecome the sudden +ictims of those "su!!estions from the air" of .hich .e ha+e spo0en. The temptations of morphine and the li0e dru!s - eminentl# stimulators of the ps#chic nature, thou!h su,se7uentl# the# infalli,l# in+ol+e it in the !eneral ruin - .ere ne+er so mar0ed. lon! .ith this dru!-ha,it, the special e+ils or confusions produced or fa+ored ,# the period of transition, a transition that .ill end in an understandin! and .ise use of ne. po.ers :ust ,e!innin! to !erminate, are h#pnotism, ps#chism, as the .ord is popularl# used, "faith-" and "mind-healin!" and mediumism. 4e .ill consider them seriatim. s a horse that has once ,een do.n is ne+er a!ain exactl# as ,efore, so a once h#pnoti<ed human ,ein! is ne+er a!ain exactl# as responsi,le for his actions. 4hether the h#pnotic state .as induced ,# the direct !a<e of the operator, or ,# some mechanical method, the su,:ect5s .ill has ,een to a !reater or less de!ree loosened from its hold in conduct. )onduct is fore+er after more lia,le to slip ,e#ond +olition. Moreo+er, the mind, once thorou!hl# opened to su!!estion, remains open, remains more ne!ati+e than it .as ,efore, more sensiti+e to su!!estion spo0en and unspo0en, to the silent influence of others and to the currents of thou!ht and impulse .ith .hich the atmosphere is full. /t is a little nearer insanit#, a little more lia,le to the reception of .ild and fanatical ideas and more read# to carr# them into action. The +olume of e+il tr#in! to !et into human life finds in such a mind a readier and sometimes a completel# read# channel, and the outcome has often ,een the assassin5s ,om, or ,ullet. -#pnotism is, in fine, an all# and instrument of the forces see0in! the confusion and destruction of societ#. nd instead of reco!ni<in! its dan!er .e permit its exhi,ition on pu,lic platforms to hundreds e+er# e+enin! of the #ear. -o. man# of these immediatel# ,e!in to practice on their o.n accountB 4hat is ordinaril# called ps#chism stands some.here ,et.een h#pnotism and mediumism, related to ,oth and readil# passin! entirel# into one or the other. t present, in the immense ma:orit# of the persons in .hom one or more of the

ps#chic faculties are openin!, .e are dealin! .ith .hat is practicall# a disease, one of arrested de+elopment or of de!eneration. The mind is not in sound and normal relationship .ith the ,od#, - .ith the apparatus of sensation. /t is loose and incoherent in its operations, su!!esti,le, and profoundl# affected ,# su,tle surroundin!s to .hich normal persons are almost insensiti+e. Nor can it close itself at .ill to external influence. Jud!ment is +er# often fee,le1 and +anit#, of .hich such persons are peculiarl# the pre#, leads to the further culti+ation ,# exercise of a facult# that had ,etter ha+e ,een disre!arded. Epileps# and hallucinations are common1 and the +er# fact that some of the "po.ers" upon .hich the ps#chic prides himself are often exhi,ited ,# patients in the later sta!es of exhaustin! fe+ers, ,# +ictims of alcohol or morphine, ,# those near death or in the h#pnotic state, mi!ht teach him somethin! of their real nature and cause. -e is ho.e+er extremel# li0el# to ta0e the title of $rofessor, to .rite ,oo0s upon a su,:ect of .hich he has not the sli!htest comprehension, and to ta0e mone# for tal0in! +er,ose and mischie+ous nonsense to people .ho are en+ious of his malad#. 4hen he actuall# teaches an#thin! it is usuall# some tric0 in self-h#pnotism, methods of distur,in! and permanentl# impairin! the ,reathin! mechanism, or some futile and half understood !leanin!s from ,oo0s of /ndian ma!ic. Those .ho follo. his instructions naturall# fail to achie+e the promised "de+elopment," since the teacher does not 0no. ho. he came ,# his o.n. 4hat the# do achie+e is loss of health, of mental ,alance, of self-control, and of .illpo.er- e+en thou!h !reat increase in the last is one of the prominentl# ad+ertised re.ardsA The lunatic as#lum sees the last of no fe. of them. Mediumship is an extreme de!ree of a mor,id disrelationship of mind and ,od#. t its culminatin! moments in the seance room the union is almost suspended. The ,od# ,ecomes semi-conscious or unconscious, the .ill alto!ether ceases to act1 and the mind passes into a state .hich in most cases can onl# ,e descri,ed as a mixture of dream and delirium. t ,est it ,ecomes the recipient of a set of impressions .hich it .holl# misunderstands and misinterprets. Some de!ree of this condition remains permanent, and the extreme de!ree ma# at an# time super+ene. Mediums .ho for mone# or other similar reason culti+ate their malad# nearl# al.a#s end in some form of o,+ious mental disease or in epileps#. The circles .hich ma# depend on them for "spiritual instruction" !et at ,est platitudes1 at .orst, ,ecause of their intensel# expectant recepti+it#, seeds of su!!estion .hich ma# later ripen into o+ert act. 2f morphinism and of the similar use of cocaine and hashish .e need not sa# +er# much, for the# ha+e practicall# no defenders. 3ut these forms of ps#chic de,aucher# are !reatl# extendin! their s.a#. The# ultimatel# induce the patholo!ical ps#chic and mediumistic conditions of consciousness. 3ut from the first the# are of course reall# .rec0in! mind and ,od#. )omparati+el# latel# it has ,een noticed that ,# the continual repetition of and d.ellin! upon certain 7uasi-philosophical or reli!ious formulae the mind can ,e made to act upon the su,conscious ,odil# processes. 4hate+er the +ariations in these formulae, their common element, expressed or implied, is concerned .ith ph#sical health. The mind is held upon the idea, feelin!, and picture of that, and in some cases the desired result follo.s. 3ut some other

results, neither desired nor suspected, also usuall# follo. - namel# a diffuse h#pnotic state and a !radual loss of the po.er of !enerous mental ratiocination. The mind has set in a mold and too often intellectual pro!ress ceases. The formulae furnished ,# the founders of the +arious sects are repeated, +aried, diluted, in the mind. nd these occupations more or less effecti+el# hide the fact that no real thou!ht is !oin! on, no fresh !round ,ein! opened, no seeds ,ein! recei+ed from the hi!her nature. /n such cases in7uirin! and perhaps initiall# spiritual minds that mi!ht ha+e found and disseminated real li!ht, ha+e ,een closed and stultified. Such are some of the special confusions of our time, flourishin! ,ecause of the special conditions no. o,tainin! in men5s minds. The remed# lies in the populari<ation of that deeper 0no.led!e of ps#cholo!#, of human nature, that Theosoph# alone can offer. Death, its Lights and its Shadows /n the lo.er 0in!doms of nature, death comes easil#1 the instrument of sensation is relin7uished .ithout pain. nd in the normal course of e+olution the sense of indi+idualit# is, so far as necessar#, readil# mer!ed into the common, lar!er, hi!her consciousness that ,elon!s to a communit# - .hether the communit# consist of separate units li0e a hi+e of ,ees, or of onl# partiall# separate units li0e the cells of an or!an in the ,od# or the se+eral or!ans themsel+es. Mer!ence is a natural process, as natural as death1 ,ut mer!ence does not mean o,literation of the Self. 3ut man has demoni<ed ,oth ,# his fierce mental esta,lishment of himself in sensation. /n sensation and in e!otism lies the onl# life he can concei+e. 3ac0 of all the casual thou!hts and doin!s of the hour, sound continuousl# t.o deep notes - fear of death, and self-centered e!otism. -e does not reco!ni<e that there is no need to hold to this false self, no need to ma0e "self-reali<ation" a +er# cult of the da#. Self is an eternal unit, and it can onl# reali<e itself ,# !oin! .ith the current of e+olution. /ts essential consciousness, can ,e no more submer!ed ,# mer!ence than is that of a mem,er of an orchestra .ho, that a s#mphon# ma# result, sin0s his indi+idualit# in the ,od# of .hich he is a necessar# part. Man .ill not lea+e himself in the hands of nature and follo. her path so clearl# indicated. So, tied as he is to sensation and self ,# nearl# e+er# mental thread, death appears to him - e+en .hen there is some dim li!ht of faith or hope - as a purel# horri,le amputation. /f he .ould ,ut find his o.n proper central consciousness, he .ould find it to ,e di+ine, .ith 0no.led!e of its eternit# and .ithout fear of an#thin!. 3ut he has created a,normal and persistentl# conscious entities in the +arious centers of sensation, e+er see0in! to a,sor, his .hole +italit#1 and, ,ehind them, a still more efficient focus of artificial selfhood, the "emon, at once himself ,ecause made of his o.n essence of consciousness, and #et not himself. /t is not the eternal inner man and must sometime fade out. The pain of death is rarel# at the moment of death. 3# then, often lon!

,efore then, the pain is o+er. The real pains of death are the pains of all the smaller and !reater maladies of later life, the aches, the sense of disa,ilit#. These are the snappin! and .earin! throu!h of the threads ,# .hich man has so stron!l# tied himself to his ,od#. "eath need not ,e feared for its pain. /n the ordinar# case, passion for selfhood in sensation and po.er also lapses into a,e#ance, and nothin! hinders perfect and ,lissful spiritual rest. /f the man has died the +ictim of the alcohol or morphine ha,its, he .ill still - unless that ha,it has alto!ether a,sor,ed his humanit#, a very rare case - ha+e his rest in freedom, meetin! his old ha,it a!ain onl# after re,irth and ,ein! then, pro,a,l#, the ,etter a,le to deal .ith it. No sli!htest stru!!le is e+er lost, ho.e+er apparentl# futile. 3ut there can ,e no such rest for those .ho ha+e entirel# silenced their hi!her consciousness, .ho ha+e .holl# mer!ed it in the lust for po.er. Such either remain as e+il entities in the .orld5s atmosphere, co-.or0ers of e+il, and inspirers of e+il e+er#.here, or the# reincarnate at once. The connection in such cases ,et.een the eternal man and the created "emon is so close that it onl# dissol+es - once dissolution ,e!ins - after a!es of mental a!on#, 'ari 'assu .ith the dissolution of the "emon. nd then the spiritual monad must ,e!in a!ain the slo. lon! tas0 of .ea+in! the fa,ric of mind. Short of this unusual case, the center of this passion a.aits the conclusion of the time of rest, and then on re,irth in+ades the soul that created it. /f it ,e +er# stron!, its attempts at domination, alternatin! .ith the man5s ,etter nature, !i+e rise to those startlin! transitions of conduct of .hich Ste+enson has depicted a +ariet# in his stor# of Dr !e"yll and #r Hyde Man5s fear of death has ,een used, and also accentuated for still more effecti+e use. Time .as .hen there .as no such fear. 3ut that .as a time .hen 9eincarnation .as as naturall# and fran0l# credited as .e no. credit toni!ht5s sleep .ith ,ein! the precursor of tomorro.5s a.a0enin!, a time .hen the life of sensation did not seem the onl# possi,le 0ind of life. 3ut as sensation !raduall# o+erlapped and came ni!h to extin!uishin! spiritualit#, the clear intuition of 9eincarnation dimmed do.n to a mere ,elief or faith in it. The spirit of the a!e at last sei<ed an opportunit#, declarin! 9eincarnation a ,aseless heres# and at the same time de+elopin! and enforcin! the conception of a hell from .hich onl# confession and final a,solution could sa+e. ll the circumstances .or0ed to!ether, and since then the fear of death has dar0ened all the #ears of life. /t is pictured in men5s ima!inations and on the can+ases of artists as a ,lac0 specter mo.in! do.n human ,ein!s .ith a sc#the1 as a !ulf, !loom# and #a.nin!, into .hose sullen and sunless .aters fall the shi+erin! souls :ust di+orced from the sunli!ht of life1 as the portal to the pit and to the furnaces in .hich an an!r# >od .rea0s his .rath on his o.n creatures. /t is silence, finis, chill and putrescence, a conception .hich .e enforce on the +er# children and on the mothers of the un,orn ,# the ,lac0 and ,ar,aric s#m,olism of our funerals and ,# the ,ro0en columns of our !ra+e#ards. Such are our pictures of nature5s merciful rest-fields, of the opportunit# she !i+es us for a ,lissful sleep filled .ith dreams more realistic than realit# the .hile she rene.s in us the stren!th our o.n passions ha+e .astedA Naturall#, such e+il pictures of death, of .hich the +er# air is full,

.ith .hich .e are h#pnoti<ed ere .e are ,orn, ha+e dri+en some to the mad philosoph#. Let us eat, drin", and be merry, for tomorrow we die. nd others into despairin! faith in do!mas that proclaimed themsel+es as necessar# intermediaries at the hour of death ,et.een souls and their Source. That man# churchmen ha+e ,een men of no,le hearts does not alter the fact that the demon of lust for po.er, .ith an intelli!ence of .hich men are mostl# una.are, !raduall# sa. its chance to inspire the do!mas to ,e used in its Ser+ice. (on! since there .ere men .ho sou!ht selfish po.er .ith a concentration and intensit# .e can no. hardl# concei+e of, sou!ht it life after life .ith a,solute de+otion until e+er# spar0 of human feelin! .as dead, until the# ,ecame ,itter and uncompromisin! opponents of e+er# ,reath of influence that mi!ht a.a0en man to his po.er and di!nit#. Transcendentali<ed in e+il, the# li+e #et, intensel# intelli!ent forces of opposition to enli!htenment. 4or0in! on recepti+e human minds, the# instil ideas .hose source is profoundl# +eiled sa+e for the +er# fe.. nd from this source come the last touches of man5s horror of death. Strictl# spea0in!, death as it exists is a,normal for humanit#. Man should not die li0e the animals. -e is a soul, and if he held himself accordin!l#, his mind .ould so animate his ,od# that for lon! #ears repair .ould e7ual .aste. 3ut ,# t#in! it do.n in sensualism, he has limited its po.er. The ,od# must suffer in its death the result of that disharmon# .hich one or another o+er!ro.n appetite and, passion induces. /t is onl# .hen held in control ,# a mind and .ill that stand consciousl# superior to it, that it ceases to ,e ,ut one of the animals, su,:ect to the la.s of the merel# animal life, and ac7uires a ne. po.er of reparation. /t must ,e lon! ,efore humanit# reaches that point1 ,ut a transitional de!ree in .hich death ma0es no ,rea0 in consciousness is possi,le for the near future, possi,le for man# no. li+in!. (et those .ho ha+e not reached that point remem,er that death is ,ut sleep. The ,rea0 in consciousness that occurs .hen life closes, and a!ain .hen a ne. life opens at ,irth, is li0e that on ,oth sides of deep sleep. /n deep sleep, ,et.een the dreams of earl# ni!ht and mornin!, the man comes to his o.n real nature as a soul. /t is the soul5s ,reathin! time and opportunit# - and hence the importance of the last thou!hts ere rest. "eath too is follo.ed ,# dreams and then ,# the soul5s full a.a0enin! to itself. /mmediatel# after memor# has ,rou!ht up all its stores and the lessons of the :ust closed life ha+e ,een learned in that clear retrospect, the li!ht of consciousness is turned do.n for a moment .hile the scener# is ideali<ed, spirituali<ed, for that ne. act .hich is a !racious dream. s that comes to its close, the soul a.a0es to its full consciousness. t ,irth the li!ht a!ain !oes do.n, and .hen a!ain it ,urns up full#, a ne. life in flesh has ,e!un. Ne. and +i+id sensations ,lot a.a# the memor# of the spiritual rest and dream, and slo.l# the old po.ers of thou!ht return .ith de+elopin! ,rain. 4hat is there to fear in all thisB "eath is release, and infanc# and #outh the opportunit# for .iser ,e!innin!s that ma# end in the !reat +ictor#, that .ill so end .hen parents and teachers 0no. the secrets and possi,ilities of their hi!h dut#.... -----------------