The Mystical Life

The Mystical Life

Karma and reincarnation; the laws of cause and effect. Cause is the mental behaviour or intention. Effect is the manifestation of this in our own life world, that of our fellow human beings, and the positive or negative energy fields that arise from it. The so-called "paying off debts from past lives" is an outdated, moralistically narrow-minded concept of karma. As soon as a person purifies and transforms their spiritual and mental disposition, this purification reflects in their own aura or energy field, as well as in the energies around themselves. If they do not change this, they take the "debt accumulated on earth," as well as the beautiful pure karma, that is, their interpretation of reality, as characteristics of their personality, also into future incarnations.

The ultimate redemption, reaching and being Samadhi, through the gates of death, the earthly vale of tears.

Spiritual rebirth, merging again with the great All. The drop falls into the ocean. The cosmic human merges with the Source of all Life. Where that purely perfect spirit stands that is described in the Upanishads, luminous, pure, supporting the world but not active in it, without nerves of energy, without gaps of duality, without the scar of division, unique, identical, free from all forms of relation and multiplication – the pure Self of Advaita, the non-active Brahman, the transcendent silence. And the spirit that suddenly goes through these gates, without intermediate transitions, gains the feeling of the unreality of the world and the only reality of the silence which is one of the most powerful and convincing experiences to which the human mind is capable.

The world is a dream, and when I dream, I am not of this world.

Yoga

The term ‘religion’ is traditionally derived from the Latin word for ‘bind,’ i.e., the reuniting of the soul with the divine principle or Essence, the Source of all Life. The Sanskrit word Yoga implies such a union, as it is derived from the root ‘to unite.’ Yoga consists of practical, carefully thought-out methods for self-development to bring about the reunion of the individual soul with the Universal (Cosmic) Soul. Yoga is the fourth of the six orthodox systems of Hindu philosophy, all aimed at liberating the incarnated ego from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. They are called orthodox because they are based on the Vedas. The exact development of Yoga from its origins in the Indus Valley is hard to trace. Some forms can be attributed to the predecessors of the Aryans, and parts of the yoga teachings are linked to ancient sages like Yajnavalkya, who teaches about the Self in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. From distant traditions concerning many wandering thinkers, similar to the Greek sophists, we learn about exercises from earlier times, including breath control, prolonged periods of trance-like meditation, the recitation of mantras or magical formulas, and mystical exercises performed to acquire occult powers. The Bhagavad Gita is the great scripture of Yoga, part of the much larger work, the Mahabharata. It honors karma-yoga (approaching the great-All through good deeds) and Jnana-yoga (approaching the divine through knowledge); both systems are valuable for different types of people. But there is also a higher form of Yoga, bhakti-yoga – approaching the Eternal Great Source through personal devotion. The deity of the Yoga texts is merely one of the various kinds of souls, though the highest of them all, and is usually not the object of contemplation during yoga practices.

There are various types of Yoga, which over time were reduced to about six and later branched out in many directions. For example, mantra-yoga deals with chants and magical formulas. The seed syllable, for instance, is the most potent mantra in Hindu mysticism, consisting of a single syllable ending in a resonant overtone. This Aum or Om mantra is vibrantly chanted throughout the Orient and beyond.

Next is Kundalini Yoga, which aims to utilize the power of ‘sexuality’ – and fire for spiritual development and liberation. These forms are naturally connected with the experience of Tantra and meditation. Magnificent images (carved in rocks) can be seen in the temples of Khajuraho in India. Dharma-yoga deals with the saving virtues of religious duties; Kriya-yoga holds value for, among other things, daily life and domestic rituals. The priority of karma over bhakti was as hotly debated by the medieval pandits (scholars, priests) as the ‘faith’ of Paul and ‘works’ of James were by the theologians during the Reformation.

Raja-yoga or ‘Royal Yoga’ is an ethical and spiritual discipline outlining methods through which the highest qualities in man can flourish. Raja-yoga is also the yoga of the ajna chakra, (the forehead chakra or ‘the third eye’) so named because, in these spiritual training paths, many occult powers can be released, such as; clairvoyance, clairsentience, claircognizance, the ability to astral project, experience vivid astral journeys, and so on.

By far the most practiced part of the eightfold Raja-Yoga are the Hatha-Yoga asanas. Many asanas are, in a sense, plastic forms assumed by the body, reflecting one or another manifestation of a plant or animal or also imaginary, in the belief that the yogi who adopts such a form will thereby be inspired. There are asanas named after the lion, the bull, the camel, the swan, the tortoise, the crane, the locust, the scorpion, the tree, the lotus, the lightning bolt, the bow, the plow, and many others. Each asana has its special benefits, and the idea is that by resonating with the form, e.g., plant or animal, one identifies with it; empathetic vibration.

A simple asana, for example, is done by standing on one foot, a posture believed to awaken occult power. The Druid priests of ancient Britain stood on one leg and pointed one finger at someone who was in violation as they pronounced their dreaded curse. One-legged asanas promote concentration and focus. Yogis can stand on one leg for hours.

The exalted path of subtle breathing. Of great importance is the ability to truly utilize the breath, for the air we inhale contains a life essence that can flow through both the physical body and the etheric double, the subtle energetic body. This essence, called prana in India, chi in China (tai chi chuan), ki in Japan (aikido), and ka in ancient Egypt, charges the entire human being with positive, life-giving energy. In ancient Egyptian mythology, ka represents the spirit and vital force of a person and also of the gods. Ka, together with ba (the soul), forms the immortal elements. These are separated from the body at death but return to their mummy afterward. Ka, as the essence of vital force, is considered a guardian spirit protecting the deceased against dangers during their astral journeys or wanderings in the stellar world or cosmos. The sun god Ra possesses fourteen ka’s. The hieroglyph for ka is two upraised arms with open palms. Prana thus also means ‘life’ and ‘soul.’

When one fills the lungs with a breath, the body must extract the prana and propel it through the subtle channels of the ethereal body. Through pranayama techniques, this prana can be fully utilized, transforming the body into a living talisman. Once the body is entirely under control, the practice of mental abilities follows. The fifth, sixth, and seventh stages of hatha yoga concern spiritual growth and gradually increase in difficulty as preparation for the decisive super-spiritual stage, the climax of samadhi (liberation).

Yoga itself is considered the ‘science of contemplation’ and is sometimes equated with a kind of self-hypnosis called yoga-nidra, or yoga sleep.

It is interesting to note that the Japanese term Zen traces back to the Sanskrit word dhyana. Zen is the name of a school of Mahayana Buddhism based on contemplation and specific methods for attaining enlightenment. The ultimate goal of yoga is to break the cycle of birth and death by uniting with the Essential Principle, whether this principle is a pantheistic power or force spread throughout the entire universe, or a personal deity. Yoga is sometimes described as a sort of prohibition of all mental activity so that not a single thought causes a ripple on the still surface of the mind. This goal is achieved in the eighth and final stage of yoga, namely samadhi. Samadhi could be described as a ‘trance state.’ It is beyond the scope and reach of the intellect or reason, and no matter how much physical training, concentration, and meditation one does, none of this guarantees that one will experience it. It comes when the time is ripe. Some people have experienced samadhi on their first attempt, without any preparatory work. Others have failed to experience it after a lifetime of preparation.

But many achieve it through yoga practice. Suddenly, you are there. You reach that state, and it is indescribable. It is the nirvana of the Buddhists, the ecstasy of the saints and the Sufis. It encompasses many kinds of mystical experiences and exalted realizations.

There is a level in ‘the state of enlightenment’ or samadhi, where the yogi retains their identity and, from their individual consciousness, experiences the vision of the divine presence. But they can also merge into the vision, lose their ego and identity, and thus lose all sense of self; the flame of the self is extinguished. The drop falls into the ocean. 

The Auras and the Seven Chakras in Humans

The aura is sometimes called the ‘human rainbow.’ In the same realm, we also speak of the astral body and the etheric double. In esotericism and occultism, the astral body is considered the matrix of the material or visible world, a faster and more subtle vibration form, and the formative energy and creative force of all that exists. The astral body is a meta-organism, an energy body or double that reflects its origin and growth in the stellar world or cosmos. This is extensively described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Akashic Records. In astral projection, the ability is used to separate from the physical body while retaining full perception and consciousness; this allows access to the astral realm, the atmo

sphere where emotional processes of living beings take place, as well as many other levels in the reflections of the human soul. These accesses are guarded by various ‘guardians of the thresholds’ or other subtle beings. We also see this happening in the Divine Comedy when Dante, guided by his initiator, the poet Virgil and Beatrice, enters these worlds up to the divine essence. Access points to the astral include; meditation, raja yoga, Kabbalah, the tarot, hypnosis, visions, dreams, drugs, and deep psychology. Auras are layers of colored light or swirling energy fields that flow through the human body, as well as through animals. This is also true for plants, where we speak of the ‘spirit of plants.’ Even in the mineral world, auras are radiated. Clairvoyants and paranormally gifted individuals can perceive these auras, interpret them, and possibly complete them with various healing rituals, magnetism, or consciousness transfer, depending on the degree of initiation they have achieved. The different colors and patterns in the aura indicate the emotional, mental, or spiritual state in the manifestations of the beings that radiate them.

One of the many interpretation systems would read as follows; gold for spirituality and the energy we receive from the sun and its associated celestial beings. Light blue and violet for inspiration and healing power, in accordance with the energies of the planet Uranus flowing through the sahasrara chakra, (the thousand-petalled lotus at the crown of the human head) and the force fields of the planet Jupiter acting through the ajna chakra between the eyebrows. The ajna chakra or two-petaled lotus is also called ‘the third eye’ in many mystery schools. Pink for pure love and friendship flowing in from the planet Venus, through our heart chakra or anahata. Red for desire and anger, but also for ‘the new life fire’ that is sometimes kindled in us by the planet Mars. These energy fields then flow through the manipura chakra around the navel area. Green is associated with the plant world, and human intellect, the rational mind. Brown and gray tones stand for earthly vibrations and shadow experiences, on the negative sides for diseases or depressions. A shriveled aura indicates decay, Death is seen as an astral gate to rebirth on the other side, waiting there to reincarnate into a grosser body after cosmic journeys. It is an old and widespread belief that beings of great spiritual power radiate light. This is seen in both Christian and other religious arts, where gods and saints are depicted with a halo of light, a nimbus. The Theosophist C.W. Leadbeater included illustrations of auras with different colors and effects in his book “Men Visible and Invisible.” Kirlian photography, for example, is a process that can capture the bioluminescent patterns of living beings on film, invented by S.D. Kirlian, a Russian electrical engineer.

But now we return to meditation on the chakras. These are called ‘plexuses’ (nodes) and padmas or ‘lotuses.’ According to the Hindu and Egyptian mystery schools, they are points where the physical body and the astral or subtle body are connected, and centers of paranormal energy. Hindu occultism identifies 88,000 such points; located on the sushumna (the central pillar), the ida and the pingala, and the many nadis (nerve channels in the subtle body and also the physical body), but only about 30 are significant enough to have separate names. There are seven main chakras, six within the body, including the muladhara or sacral node in the perineum, which is ‘the seat of life-giving and nurturing feelings’ and the origin of desires on the physical plane. The seventh is the sahasrara, the Lotus with a Thousand Petals, located ‘about four finger widths above the crown of the head and thus outside the body,’ and is said to be the radiance of the cerebral cortex or neocortex. Through this subtle crown chakra, high inspirations flow into our inner life.

Closely related to hatha yoga and considered an adjunct of it, is laya yoga, dedicated to the subtle or astral body. As we have seen, the physical and subtle bodies touch at certain points called chakras or ‘wheels, lotuses, plexuses.’ They are occult nerve centers, power points, and above all ‘worlds of consciousness and their corresponding manifestations for the meditating yogi. Typically, for most Westerners, all the chakras are partly latent, but activating the chakras, bringing them to life, is part of laya yoga. All seven main chakras are located along the spine, within which is an extremely important subtle channel called sushumna. To the left and right of it run two subtle auxiliary channels, the pingala nadi and the ida nadi. In the normal state, the central channel remains closed, and the two side channels are open. The muladhara chakra at the very base of the spine is the seat of what is called kundalini, a subtle center of ‘sex and fire,’ considered the residence of Shiva’s consort Shakti. In Tantra, the mystical doctrine where sexual energy is sublimated to experience ecstatic states, the two energy fields, such as; sun and moon, sun god Sol and moon goddess Luna, yang and yin, heaven and earth, man and woman, are merged into one energy field, united as it were, to thus experience the highest bliss.

Figuratively, kundalini is compared to a serpent coiled up asleep at the base of the spine. In mythology, we see this symbol as the ouroboros, the serpent biting its own tail. Its almost imperceptible breathing sends a slight vibration through the chakras, but otherwise, the entire chakra system is at rest. Awakening and purifying the chakras is the goal of kundalini yoga, and the whole process begins at the muladhara, (root chakra). The art of learning to awaken kundalini is a long and arduous process, also involving guidance from an initiate who thoroughly knows these experiences. Many physical and mental exercises are required; such as asanas (body postures), mudras (hand gestures), pranayama (breath control), mandalas (mystical diagrams), and mantras (magical chants). But above all, walking ‘the golden middle path,’ the path of continuous meditation. Practicing two types of breathing or wind is a first step towards perfection.

One type of wind arises in the subtle body and the other in the physical body, one moves downwards, and the other upwards along the spine. At a certain point, the airflows collide, and their full force is directed at the dormant kundalini. This causes the two side channels in the spine to close and the sushumna or central channel to open, revealing a mysterious process. All this is supported by the great life energy, prana. Prana is the cosmic breath of life for the Hindu, as chi is the life force for the Chinese and ki for the Japanese. We see this, for example, in; Tai Chi Chuan or Aikido. The awakened kundalini begins to vibrate, uncoils itself, and begins its journey upwards, piercing each chakra in the center and causing it to open its petals. Each chakra, as it opens, contributes to awakening a particular occult power, and the yogi gradually attains enlightenment or samadhi, also called the spiritual orgasm in Tantra. In ancient traditions, it is believed that no progress is possible with ordinary yoga methods beyond the forehead chakra. From that point, higher esoteric techniques and initiations are needed before kundalini can ascend to sahasrara. The union of kundalini and sahasrara is the ultimate moment, for then the god and goddess unite, and the yogi in whom this mystical experience occurs participates in the immortal bliss of the divine union, also described as sat/chit/ananda or bliss (Ananda-loka). Ananda is the highest truth, the essence of Being.

untranslated image of mantras and sanskrit symbols

The Esoteric Way of Life and Magic in Service of Mysticism

Magic has the power to experience and comprehend things that are inaccessible to the human mind. For magic is a great secret wisdom, whereas the mind is a great general folly.

Paracelsus (1493-1541) Paracelsus – Theoprastus von Hohenheim studied medicine at Italian universities and then led a somewhat erratic, wandering life. He traveled as far as the East (the Orient). From 1526-1528, he was a professor of medicine at the University of Basel. He is called the ‘father of chemistry’ because he introduced the distillation and sublimation of medicines. He left his incredible knowledge to the world in 400 writings, most of which were written in German. These are now preserved in 14 volumes in the famous Sudhoff Collected Edition in the original text.

Magic is the traditional science of the secrets of nature, handed down to us through magicians. Through this science, the initiate is endowed with a kind of relative omnipotence and can act superhumanly – that is, in a way that exceeds normal human capabilities.

Eliphas Lévi (1810-1875) Alphonse Louis Constant (pseudonym Eliphas Lévi) was one of the leading figures of the French revival of occultism in the 19th century, whose books on magic still have widespread influence in France and elsewhere. He was enrolled at the seminary of Saint-Sulpice to be trained as a priest. But he abandoned this intention before taking his final (and binding) vows. The idea of becoming a cleric still lingered in his mind, but he ultimately gave it up in 1844. His first treatise on magic was ‘Le Dogme de la Magie.’ His occult mentor was the Polish mathematician and occultist Hoene-Wrónski. During his first visit to England, he magically summoned the ancient Greek wonder-worker Apollonius of Tyana in a house in London. After his death, his books became a source of inspiration for a new generation of occultists, including the leaders of the French Kabbalistic order of the Rosicrucians. The human urge to understand and control invisible forces is a common thread in history, as seen in various systems of religion, science, and philosophy.

The esotericist recognizes the world of energies behind all phenomena and human evolution as a fundamental approach; these energies move and work under the Law of Cause and Effect. "For the imagination changes of its own accord and according to the nature and impulses, primarily altering the physical appearance by changing the inner event and moving the spirit up or down, inward or outward."

Agrippa (1486-± 1535) 

Agrippa, whose real name was Heinrich Cornelius, was an unfortunate genius of more than contemporary fame. He attended the University of Cologne, where he studied the Neoplatonists, particularly the work of Proclus, and discovered the Kabbalah. From these two sources, Agrippa distilled the theme that would shape his life's work – the possibility of uniting human consciousness with the One at the center of all things. After wandering through Europe, he settled for a time in Dôle, France, where he became a prominent lecturer in Kabbalistic studies and received a doctorate in theology. In Dôle, at the age of 24, Agrippa wrote his masterpiece on magic, for which he is best known. His treatise on the philosophy of the occult is a three-volume work still considered one of the most important texts on the subject. The stories around Agrippa are almost Faustian. Later in his life, Agrippa turned away from magic and began theological studies.

The esoteric student must understand that he is a composition of inherited and determined forces, genetically, culturally, and spiritually, as well as an opposing force without principle, the physical body. He is sensitive to and becomes increasingly aware of energies that penetrate hidden forces and phenomena. This requires many initiations and mastery over them. Furthermore, he must distinguish between purely physical energy, which automatically responds to other inner energy fields and matrices, and the energies of the emotional and mental realms of consciousness, the subconscious, and be able to enter the super-conscious. Events, circumstances, incidents, and physical phenomena of every kind are the many symbols of what happens in the inner worlds, and the esotericist enters these worlds to perfect his perception. According to the esotericist, everything that exists is, in reality, spirit in manifestation. We see this happening among the initiates in all mystery schools and sacred mysteries and cults in ancient times and around the world today. This was also true for the ancient Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato.

Socrates (469-399 B.C.) 

Socrates passed on secret initiations to his student Plato. When the oracle of Delphi named Socrates the wisest man in Greece, he began questioning others with a reputation for wisdom and exposing their pretensions. And then there were his fierce critiques of the democracy of his time. How could it be that Athens, the first stronghold of democracy, violated its own principles by condemning a philosopher for his non-conformist views and teachings? Socrates died by drinking the poison hemlock. His last hours are known to us through the dialogue "Phaedo" by his student Plato. The poison was prepared from the unripe fruit of the spotted hemlock (conium maculatum). The poison causes paralysis of the skeletal muscles and, ultimately, the respiratory center, leading to sudden death. Consciousness usually remains intact until the very end. Socrates spent his last years in his villa in Ephesus.

Plato (426-347 B.C.)

Plato was inspired by the teachings of Socrates. Contact with the Pythagoreans in Magna Graecia showed him that in geometry, we deal with propositions that are never more than approximately true regarding the visible world, but absolutely and unchangeably true concerning the triangles and circles we can contemplate through thought. This led him to his theory of Forms (or Ideas). In "The Republic," he compares humanity to prisoners in an underground cave, who are dazzled by the shadows on the walls. The philosopher is the one who frees himself and thus comes into the daylight. At first, he is blinded by the brightness, but gradually his eyes adjust to the daylight, and he sees objects, not shadows, and he knows the shadows for what they are. If he then returns to the cave and tells the prisoners that they live in a world of illusions, they do not believe him, and he is laughed at. But despite everything, he must return to the light. The soul that knows the Forms must itself be immortal since these are eternal, and only like recognizes like. In "Meno" and "Phaedo," Plato put forth a doctrine of recollection or anamnesis. The soul has known the Forms before birth, ‘but our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting’ and material objects can serve as reminders of eternal truths. Plato adopted the doctrine of transmigration and reincarnation from the Pythagoreans. He set out the immortality of the soul in mythical form at the end of "Phaedo" and "The Republic." But the soul itself has a rational and an irrational element, and it seems that ultimately only the rational soul survives. It is remarkable that in the Theosophical Society and Anthroposophy, from karma research, Kuthumi is considered the spiritual inspirer as the reincarnation of Pythagoras himself. While here, we are speaking in the time period of the twentieth century. The striving of the soul for higher experiences is called Eros or Love. Plato discusses it in "Phaedrus" and "The Symposium" (about platonic love). In this last book, the ultimate vision is that of beauty. Here is an intriguing passage; ‘Whoever has been led thus far into the mysteries of love by their guide, gazing at all the beauty, one after the other, in proper order, will at last, nearing the final initiation of Eros, suddenly behold a beauty of wondrous nature in full clarity... first of all, eternal and neither coming into being nor passing away, neither growing nor decaying, further neither partly beautiful, partly not, nor sometimes beautiful, sometimes not, or beautiful here and ugly there, nor beautiful in one respect, ugly in another. Nor will the beauty appear as a face or as hands or as anything of the body, nor as any rule or specific knowledge nor as existing in any other being, for instance, in a living being whether on earth, in the heavens, or elsewhere, no, but beauty itself, alone by itself, with itself always multiple, while all other forms of beauty partake in it in a manner that can be described as follows. While all other forms of beauty come and go, it neither increases nor decreases in any way, nor is it affected by any influence... Do you consider it an inferior existence, the life of such a man who always directs his gaze there and always dwells on that marvelous beauty with the proper organ (the mind) and always immerses in it? Or do you not realize that only there he will experience – so only in the contemplation of the beautiful with the only eye with which it can be viewed (the third eye or forehead chakra) – to bring forth, but not mere shadows of values – he is not stirred by shadows – but real values, as he is moved by the truth. And that it is destined for him who has given birth to and nurtured true virtue to gain the favor of the gods and, such a person, surely he, will become immortal?’ ("Symposium" 210 E-212 A) Very clear parallels of similar experiences can also be found in the work of Dante in the "Divine Comedy." Here, the guide or beloved initiate is, of course, Beatrice. It is remarkable when considering that Dante, in medieval times, saw Beatrice only a few times as a spectator in his social life. In "Theaetetus" (176 A-B), Plato wrote that we should try to escape the earth due to its imperfections as quickly as possible to the place where the gods and goddesses dwell. Escape means combining righteousness and piety with wisdom. This notion of ‘becoming like God’ is found in many mystery schools and esoteric religions. This is referred to as the androgynous God-Man. The divine human lives in the highest forms of consciousness and fulfills his earthly ‘duties’ with joy and dedication. Plato's most influential work on subsequent religious thought was "Timaeus," a sort of creation hymn. The divine Craftsman is good and wishes all things to be like him. Therefore, he brings order out of chaos and creates a world soul, also called the anima mundi; thus, the cosmos is a living creature endowed with living beings and intelligence. These cosmic philosophies resonate strongly with the inspirations of Freemasonry with the great Architect and the creative work in matter. These roots can also be traced back to the ancient Egyptian sun mysteries. The material universe contains fire and earth to become visible and tangible, and the other elements to provide proportion. The Father and the Cosmic Goddess (from Tantric mysticism) create the divine heavenly bodies, the visible gods and goddesses, and entrust them to create the mortal part of humans, themselves creating, from what remains of the creation of the world soul, as many souls as there are stars. Physical objects are made by the impression of Forms on matter, within the matrix of space. The vital aspect of the Timaeus cosmology is that the soul bridges the worlds of Being and Becoming.

Plato, with his corresponding ideas, actually stood at the root of nearly all Western mystical philosophy.

The Esoteric Human and the Mystical Light

The origin of light mysticism is partly traditional and partly derived from immediate meditative experience. The imagery is strong in the Bible and equally strong in many writings from the Eastern Mediterranean region. It is powerful in Persia, in connection with the gâtâ’s of Zarathustra and the war between Light and Darkness, as we can perceive in the Luciferian past and the Ahrimanic future. It is also present in all astrological religions that focus on the sun, moon, and stars, in Egypt with the glorification of Ra and Aten, in the Hellenistic mysteries where enlightenment can be expressed in a glow full of light, or in the liberation of the initiate from a blindfold into the light. Mystical experiences are permeated with light or luminous apparitions. Mother Isabel Daurelle says: “The light that has filled my soul has not come from books, but from the Holy Spirit.”

Hildegard von Bingen provides an excellent example. She was a seer who saw all her visions through a dazzling light. “From my childhood,” she says, “I have always seen this light in my mind… brighter than the Sun.” She calls God Lux vivens, living Light, and reality she calls; Cloud of the living Light. Her visions of the Zelus Dei, the Fiery Glow of God, combine radiant light with intense and terrifying movements. She describes the falling angels: “I saw a great star, beautiful and resplendent, and with it an overwhelming number of falling sparks following the ether to the South, and sometimes I behold within the light (of the visible world) another light that I call the ‘living light itself’.”

For some mystics, the light appears to be the essence of their experiences. Experiencing the highest being as Light naturally works very liberatingly and transforms overall consciousness. “What is God?” asked Bernard. “I can think of no better answer than: ‘He who is.’” It is difficult to see how it is possible to make meaningful statements about the Ultimate, but many mystics describe God as infinite, eternal, First Cause, Source, the One, almighty, all-knowing, all-encompassing, omnipresent, goodness, and compassion. Typical images for God are King, Father (or sometimes Father and Mother), Creator or Builder, and (in mystical experiences), Bride or Bridegroom, and in impersonal images, Fire and Light. Two important experiential principles of mystical religions are those of God as Love (the driving force of Love and as the Universal Self). Not all mystics connect their mystical experiences to God. Buddhism is a mystical religion without a personal God. Some nature mystics are at least vague in their language. Some do not believe in a God, although they speak of ‘the ineffable existence, infinitely higher than earthly life and yet all-pervading’. This is unusual, but it shows that mysticism does not have to be incompatible with atheism.

But now back to Western forms of expanding consciousness. For Augustine, the goal of contemplation is a kind of spiritual contact with unchangeable light. For Angela of Foligno, the sacrament shone brighter than the sun.

When Sadhu Sundar Singh converted to Christianity, he thought the room was on fire. Indian mystical philosophy often uses light as the manifestation of pure Being. The Bridhadaranyaka Upanishad has a symbolic comparison; “Lead me from the unreal to the real, lead me from darkness to light, lead me from death to immortality.” And the Chandogya Upanishad affirms that this light, which shines in the highest worlds above which there are no higher, is the same light that shines within the human heart. Krishna appears to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita as the simultaneous radiance of a thousand suns, blazing like fire and completely blinding. In the Mahabharata, Vishnu appears in a flash of lightning, as bright as the light of a thousand suns, and it is said that ‘by penetrating the light, mortals skilled in Yoga attain the ultimate liberation or Mahasamadhi.’ Thus, the Buddha also beheld the Pure Bright Light of the Universal Void at the moment of his enlightenment, colorless, without stain or shadow, the light of the morning sky, and this is the symbol of Buddhahood. In general, the purpose of mysticism is to realize the Pure supercosmic Light within the heart. Thus, the human body becomes the symbolic grail or cup, and the spiritual human filled with the highest forms of consciousness merges with the Source of all Life.

In the doctrine of subtle bodies and the aura with the seven chakras, we see the spiritual heart on the right side in the human aura. It is a sure sign of the revelation of the purest reality that one looks into it and finally disappears and dissolves,… Someone who reaches the Light and recognizes themselves in it attains a way of transcendent Being that far surpasses the reach of the imagination. In Islam, in the account of the beatific vision by al-Arabi (†1240), the Vision penetrates the chosen one with divine light, which fills their being itself and radiates from them, as if reflected by mirrors. The direct light of the vision is too great for them to enjoy, but in the reflected light, they find joy. In a certain stage of the mystical journey, for example, seven colored lights appear before the inner or symbolic third eye, and in the deepest experience… ‘the lights and fires of the dhikr never go out, and the memories never fade’.

Among the Eskimo shamans, clairvoyance is the result of qaumaneq, which means ‘lightning’ or ‘illumination’. After the ‘shaman sickness’, a mysterious light is reached that the shaman suddenly feels in their body, within their head, within the brain, radiating in the forehead chakra, enabling them to see both literally and figuratively in the dark, for they can now, even with open or closed eyes, see through the darkness and perceive things and coming events that are hidden from others. With the experience of the light comes a sense of rising, seeing far, clairvoyance, perceiving invisible entities, and foreknowledge of the future. There are interesting similarities here with the initiations of the Australian medicine men, who undergo a ritual death and are filled with materialized light in the form of quartz crystals; when they return to life, as spiritually reborn, they have corresponding abilities for forms of clairvoyance and extrasensory perception. Similar initiations are described in the Celtic Book of the Dead. The clairvoyant initiates were called ovates. They had the same status as kings and emperors. From shamanism and Indian cultures, we also see initiations involving psychedelic experiences induced by drugs such as cannabis, peyote, and so on. These give similar radiation and light experiences. From yoga initiations, we know in the subtle realms of the forehead or ajna chakra, two main paths to experience the higher worlds between the forehead and crown chakra. The ajna chakra, or two-petaled lotus, gives the yogi, the raja yogi, the possibility to enter higher levels of consciousness through ascetic abstinence from sensual pleasure. But certain plant-based drugs were also given to the initiates in the ancient cults as a reflection of the spiritual path being followed. Thus one traveled through ‘the gate’ of one or the other ‘lotus petal’ to exalted spiritual worlds. This transcendence, induced by drugs, does not belong to the Western person. The ‘great golden middle way’ remains the pure natural meditation that the Yogi follows on their spiritual and mystical journey, through the sahasrara chakra or thousand-petaled lotus, to renewed cosmic consciousness and pure liberation. The image or symbol of light is also common, and Ruusbroec provides a good example of this. The contemplative person must learn to lose themselves in the darkness, and in the dark abyss, they begin to find God: ‘For in this darkness shines and is born an incomprehensible light, where we behold eternal life. And in this Light, one becomes seeing. Blessed are the eyes that see this, for they possess eternal life. (The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage).

On this, the master Jesus spoke in symbolic and accusatory language to the blind people; ‘see them there, the living dead, they are seeing blind, let the dead bury their dead. Experiencing and radiating creative light energy is considered the true spiritual life, and those who become blind in matter wither and dry up. They are compared to dead branches on the ‘tree of life’. The path to higher mystical atmospheres is liberating and redemptive; security in freedom, as an immediate experience.

Hermes and Aphrodite

In ancient texts, Hermes is described as follows; the Greek god of travellers and roads, merchants and trade. He was born as the son of Zeus and the nymph Maia. Hermes is, by his divine nature, the craftiest, most cunning, and most human-friendly god of Olympus. He is the swift messenger of the gods, guiding the souls of the deceased to the underworld, the realm of Hades. Hence his title ‘psychopompos’ = guide of souls. He protects thieves and deceivers, but as ‘nomios’ (pasture god) also the meadows and shepherds (the ram-bearer). It is Hermes who manages to kill the giant with a hundred eyes, Argos. He is also seen as the giver of eloquence and persuasion and the inventor of writing, mathematics, astronomy, and various useful and pleasant things such as the lyre, flute, measures and weights, sports, etc. Hermes is also very skilled in clairvoyance and divination, sorcery and magic, and is aided by his herald's staff (the staff of Caduceus), an olive branch decorated with bands and entwined by two snakes. With this staff or his golden magic wand, he opens and closes eyes. The symbolism with the ‘staff of initiates’ is very clear. In the inner life of the initiate, the staff is the middle channel or the sushumna, the pillar on which the seven chakras are located, and the two snakes form the ida and the pingala. The wings are seen as the freedom of the spirit that blows where it wills. Hermes is depicted as a young man with wings on his helmet or footwear and with the herald's staff (also with the money purse) in hand or as a shepherd carrying a ram. He is the Mercury of the Romans.

The beloved Aphrodite is colourfully described as follows; the beautiful goddess of fertility, love, and beauty, whose name is said to mean ‘rising from the sea foam’. In ancient Greek mythology, she is a daughter of Zeus and Hera (or of Dione) and is married to Hephaestus. She is also the lover of Ares and Adonis. Her sons are Eros, Himeros, Hymenaios, and Aeneas (fathered by the Trojan Anchises). Originally, Aphrodite is an Old Asian goddess, comparable to the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar and the Syrian-Palestinian Astarte. The legend of her love for Adonis also originates from Asia. In ancient Greece itself, her most famous sanctuary was on the Acrocorinth, the fortress of the cosmopolitan port city of Corinth. Here courtesans and priestesses performed services for her (including temple prostitution). In general, Aphrodite is the blessing mother and protective goddess of flora and fauna. She is particularly regarded as the guardian goddess of seafarers. Her associated attributes include the swan, dove, dolphin, myrtle, pomegranate, and deer. The Romans identified the ancient Italian goddess Venus with Aphrodite. The birth of Venus is sometimes an allegory of the birth of Beauty, both in the essence of the universe itself and in the material world. In the myth, Saturn castrated Heaven and threw his testicles into the sea; from the agitated foam, Venus was born. This represents potential fertility that is latently present. The divine spirit pours this into the soul and matter (‘called the sea’). The fertilized soul creates Beauty within itself. Mars is the strongest among the planets because he makes people stronger, but Venus overpowers him. Mars never overpowers Venus. The clearest sign of the driving force of love is that all things and phenomena obey love. Love obeys no one. Gods love, goddesses love, all creatures love, all animals, all people, wise ones, brave ones, rich and poor. The essence of love submits to no one. Love is free. It arises in the free will, which even God cannot force, for he willed it to be free. Love rules over everything and submits to no one. Light and Love are one and the same. The clothed Aphrodite and the open, honest, naked Heavenly Aphrodite, both good but nullifying each other unless one rises from the former to the latter, from sensual love to spiritual love, is indeed a Neoplatonic allegory.

The androgynous being combines male and female forces and energies, also called hermaphrodite. Many mystical religions view the Supreme Power or the Source of all life as bisexual. This is also explicitly seen in the Corpus Hermeticum. Eighteen treatises, generally known as the Corpus Hermeticum, have come to us from Egypt, the writings of a small mystical sect that identified the Egyptian god Thoth with the Greek Hermes, revered with the title Trismegistus (“Thrice Greatest”).

Hermaphroditos Lat: Hermaphroditus, in mythology, a being with both male and female characteristics, worshiped as a deity especially in Eastern mythologies. According to ancient tradition, Hermaphroditos is a child of Hermes and Aphrodite. At the request of the fountain nymph Salmacis, whose love Hermaphroditos spurned, their bodies were forever joined, transforming the youth into a bisexual being. In Indian Tantrism and Chinese Taoism, the highest beings are often depicted as a loving couple, and bisexual fertility gods are found worldwide. Even in modern India, many rituals are still performed around images of the Lingam in the Yoni. The fertile lingam as the creative phallus in the birthing Yoni or life-giving vagina. In many Gnostic theosophies, human perfection is represented as an unbroken unity. Aristophanes provides an entertaining image in Plato’s "Banquet" of an originally spherical humanity, sexually divided, where each half seeks its companion. A similar deeper symbolism is also seen in the yin and yang symbols in ancient China.

Carl Gustav Jung, the renowned Swiss psychiatrist, also delved into the alchemical doctrine; the union of opposites in the world and man. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1/4) shows similar views. Christian Gnosticism contains many texts demonstrating that a reunited humanity would find omnipotence, eternal life, and the Kingdom. The master Jesus speaks thus in the Gospel of Thomas; “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one so that the male is not male, and the female is not female… then you shall enter the Kingdom.” Many mystics, both past and present, give similar descriptions. The Gospel of Philip states; Christ came to recreate what was separated in this manner in the beginning and to unite the two. Those who died because they were separated, he will bring back to life by uniting them. The appearance of the androgynous or divine human, representing the confluence of opposites, plays a predictable and important role in alchemy. Some mystics and philosophers adopted the idea of the alchemists. According to them, Sophia, Divine Wisdom, was part of the Original Man, but when he tried to dominate her, she was separated from him. Some initiates do not hesitate to compare this to the crucifixion of Christ. All exalted love of man for the mysterious woman is, in reality, the mystical longing for the lost part of oneself, Divine Wisdom.

The Essence of Love and the Myth of Isis and Osiris

We see Universal love in the love for the Source of all life, love for our parents or children, loving our neighbour as ourselves, loving a spouse, loving nature, art, work, and so on. In classical Greek, from which many European traditions are derived, there are four different words to express separate aspects of the experience of love. Storge means natural affection. Philia means friendship or mutual love. Eros means sexual desire. Agape is the New Testament word for Love, and the noun had to be invented, so to speak, to express it. Eros is roughly seen from mythology as follows; Eros is the Greek god of love, son of Aphrodite and Ares, and is depicted as a playful, winged boy with a bow and quiver of arrows. With a shot of his arrow, he ignites love. In an ancient cult in Boeotia, Eros was worshiped in the form of a stone fetish as the chthonic creative urge. In Plato, Eros is the human striving for the beautiful, the good. Amor or Cupid is his Roman counterpart.

The two great words for love have been agape and eros. Especially the Platonic tradition considered Eros as striving for God, a kind of sublimated sexual desire, a directing of the libido towards the spiritual; and Plotinus even dared to form the phrase ‘God is Eros’. This may be nothing more than a response to the Christian ‘God is agape’. But perhaps it also says that the striving for God itself is God. Anders Nygren provides in a famous book tables for the antitheses between Eros and Agape.

·         Eros is egocentric love, a form of self-affirmation of the highest, noblest, and most exalted kind. Eros seeks to win life, a divine and immortal life. Eros is wishing and desiring. Eros is an upward movement. Eros is the way from man to God.

·         Agape is selfless Love ‘Seeks not its own’ and gives itself away. Agape lives the life of God, therefore dares to ‘lose’ it. Agape is sacrificial giving. Agape comes down. Agape is the way from God to man.

Nygren thus distinguishes between mysticism, with the symbolism of the heavenly ladder and asceticism, deification, natural immortality, ecstasy, vision, and bliss, all belonging to the world of eros; and revelation, which requires nothing but faith and comes from agape.

Eastern mystics of all traditions, but mainly the Sufis, use the language and images of sexual love in their expressions of the experience of unity. Thus Rumi, as the founder of the Order of the Dervishes: love is the remedy for our pride and self-overestimation, the healer of all our diseases. He calls love ‘the star-measurer of the secrets of God’. Hindu bhakti-yoga is related to Christian agape. Love for man leads to love for God. Moreover, love is omnipotent. The motto of the Jains in India is ‘Love conquers all.’ The Chinese philosopher Mencius says ‘Love cannot be surpassed.’ And in the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu: ‘Love triumphs in attack and is invulnerable in defense.’

In Christian thought, the identification of God with love goes back to the New Testament (I John 4.9). Ruusbroec identifies love with the Holy Spirit, born from the interaction of the Father and his Eternal Wisdom. In Eckhart, we read; ‘But if God is love, then love is also God.’ In one of the most beautiful passages in ‘The Mirror of Simple Souls’ we read “I am God,” says love “for love is God and God is love.” And this soul is God in the state of love; but I am God from the Divine nature. This soul is the eagle that flies high, so very high and ‘much higher than any other bird, for its wings consist of pure love’. In this way, love transforms the soul. Jewish mystics, although they speak of love for God, think of it as the love of a child for its father. Unlike Christians, they do not interpret the Song of Songs in terms of love for God for the soul. There is an exception to this. The shekhinah is thought of as a female principle, and the mystics constantly speak of God's love for his shekhinah. For the Platonic element in the Kabbalah required that every earthly manifestation had its perfect opposite in the world of the Infinite, and this sacred union between the King and the Queen, the Divine I and the Divine Thou, gives meaning to divine love and actually to human existence. In a wonderful passage, the experience of Moses' ‘encounter with God’ is actually described as communion with the shekhinah: this is remarkable.

Love is the means of purification. ‘Love,’ said Al-Shibli, ‘is a fire in the heart that consumes everything except the Will of the beloved.’ ‘Love,’ said Juan de la Cruz, ‘has set the soul on fire and transformed it into love, extinguished and destroyed it for everything that is not love. Love leads us ever further and higher. ‘Love,’ said Rabia, ‘has come from eternity and passes into the need for love.’ Love is the wine that warms the heart of man.

An overwhelming mythological story that clearly describes the transcendent energy of love is about the goddess Isis and her beloved god Osiris in ancient Egypt. Isis belongs to the Ennead of Heliopolis. Within this group of gods, she is inseparably connected with Osiris. Isis, the ancient Egyptian goddess, was possibly the personification of the throne (her name is written with the hieroglyph for throne). She was worshiped as a divine mother (archetype), faithful companion of Osiris, and devoted mother of the god Horus. The Osiris myths tell how Isis searches for the dead body of her husband Osiris, who was murdered by his brother Seth, and receives her son Horus from her deceased husband. This can be seen as a very strong symbol of spiritual rebirth and cosmic justice. Isis magically finds the place where the phallus and creative power of her beloved Osiris are still alive and unites with it. She gives birth to her child in the swamps of Chemnis in the Nile Delta, where she raises him in secret to protect him from Seth's tricks. She knows how to resurrect Osiris from the dead, making her the protector of the dead. Many magical powers are attributed to her, allowing her to even deceive the sun god. Isis is depicted as a woman with a sun disk between cow horns on her head (analogous to Hathor). Also well-known is the image of Isis with Harpocrates (the child Horus) on her lap. These images served as the basis for later images of Mary with the child Jesus on her lap in the Christian religion. Isis was one of the most popular goddesses throughout Egypt, even into Roman times. Even then, she was worshiped by many followers, priests, and priestesses. Although ‘the nobility’ of the Roman classes resented the women or priestesses when they sometimes devoted themselves to purification and chastity rituals. Many beautiful temples were built for her, and in the Hellenistic period, Isis was the protector of sailors. Osiris, whose name means; ‘seat of the eye’ (or third eye), as an initiate, conquered many hearts with his human qualities. In Lower Egypt, the center of his cult was the city of Busiris in the Nile Delta (now Abusir). Here Osiris takes on certain traits of the local god Anedjti, protector of the goat herders. From this god, he also borrows some attributes such as the shepherd's staff and the whip. As the ‘good shepherd,’ he is the king god. Thus we also see his form and mask worn by the young pharaoh Tutankhamun. In one of the Osiris myths, Osiris is again murdered by Seth. He cuts the corpse into fourteen pieces and buries them in different places (the Osiris graves). Sacred trees and groves grow at these graves. Hence Osiris is also worshiped as the god of vegetation, fertile earth, water, and also of the waxing moon and the flooding of the Nile. But above all, he is the personification of divine life that spontaneously rises from the dead. The divine child Horus will later avenge his father's death. Meanwhile, Osiris has become the ruler of the underworld. Here he presides over the judgment of the dead, where the heart of the deceased is weighed against the emblem of Ma'at. Osiris is often depicted as a mummy with an erect phallus, indicating procreative power.

Horus, the Son of Isis and Osiris

Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, was originally a sky god, ruler of the heavens and the stars. He appears, even in some meditative experiences, in the form of a falcon whose eyes symbolize the sun and the moon. We also see comparisons here in the symbolic language of later alchemy (sun and moon and their figurative union) and the sun and moon energies in Hatha yoga. Horus means 'he who is above' or 'he who is far away'. Early on, he became the god and protector of the Egyptian kings who incarnate Horus on earth and incorporate his name into their own. Horus is merged with Re in the Ennead of Heliopolis to become Re-Harakhty. He is also considered a son of Hathor. In one of the Egyptian myths, he battles Seth, leading to a division of their spheres of power, with Horus receiving Lower Egypt and Seth receiving Upper Egypt. In a symbolic court case before the gods, Horus is recognized as the heir of his father. Horus was worshiped in many forms: as Harakhty, Harmerti, Haroeris, Harpocrates, and Harsiesis. The Greeks equated him with Apollon. In the Egyptian city of Edfu, between Luxor and Aswan, stands the well-preserved Temple of Horus (begun 237 B.C., completed 57 B.C.), with depictions and inscriptions of the Osiris myths.

The four sons of the Egyptian god Horus, called the Horus children, accompany the deceased on their journey to the afterlife. They protect the canopic jars (urns in which the organs of the mummies are preserved). Their heads are depicted on the lids of the canopic jars: Imsety as a human on the jar of the liver, Hapi as a baboon on that of the lungs, Duamutef as a jackal on that of the stomach, and Qebehsenuef as a falcon on that for the organs of the lower abdomen. They represent the four cardinal directions and are also depicted on the corners of the coffin. Extensive rituals were performed in the practice of mummification, many of which can be read and studied in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Students were called neophytes and had to undergo many initiations before they became adepts or initiates in the priesthood or other spiritual functions. Priestesses were initiated for years and enjoyed the same rights and duties as their male counterparts.

In these times, the Egyptian mysteries remain sometimes enigmatic and enchanting with their spiritual realms and magic.

Esotericism and Psychology

Carl Gustav Jung, as a Swiss psychiatrist, was often pointed out by colleagues as an esotericist or ‘occultist’ with the proverbial finger. His extensive studies on alchemy and other mystical teachings gave him the image of the mysterious, learned initiate. Jung spoke of the founder of anthroposophy, the doctor of philosophy Rudolf Steiner, with very critical and strict judgment. Contemporary professor, physician, and industrial psychologist Bernard Lievegoed, on the other hand, went through many initiation paths developed and liberated by Steiner and anthroposophy. Bernard Lievegoed extensively described the karmic influences and manifestations in the ancient Greek schools and their return in current times from higher cosmic driving spheres. These ancient Greek spirits who have reincarnated can now work together in more positive developmental spirals, without being caught in old feuds and jealousy. We can thus sufficiently understand the process of Socrates and the Platonic spheres that are working in a renewing way in these times. Koot Hoomi, as the Greek Pythagoras, has already sent out many teachers and initiates in the Theosophical Society, each in their own profound world. All cosmic waves and developments that repeatedly emerge in a renewing way and incarnate as reborn avatars through the many psychocosmograms of this time. When we consider the psychological conflict that arose between Jung and Steiner, we can understand, unravel, and reinterpret it as old feuds between different mystery schools from the distant past. Regardless, many fascinating parallels can be discovered between Jungian developments and initiation paths of anthroposophy, which are deeply intertwined in deeper ‘psychic underworlds’.

For example, Jung writes in his book ‘Western Consciousness and Eastern Insight’ about the psychology of Kundalini Yoga, and thus we arrive at Indian mysticism. In the autumn of 1932, Jung interrupted the ongoing Vision Seminars for a series of lectures in four parts on the chakra symbolism in Tantra-Yoga of the Kundalini system. Jung regularly spoke about Kundalini in his collected works, and this system of images formed an essential part of his psychological language. Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist who earned his medical degree in Basel. He studied under Pierre Janet and was friends with Sigmund Freud, whose theories and psychoanalytic views he initially supported but later criticized. Eventually, a rift developed between Jung and Freud. Jung then developed analytical psychology. Jung became known for his theory of psychological typologies, and we owe to him the distinction between introverted and extroverted attitudes, combined with the distinction of functional emphasis between sensations, thoughts, feelings, and intuition. Intuition is defined by him as perception via the unconscious; introverted intuition can produce fantastic monomaniacs, but also the mystical dreamer and the seer. It is important to say that one rarely or never encounters an absolutely pure type. Moreover, many typologies have emerged over the course of cultural history. One of Jung's other significant contributions was identifying the archetypes of the collective unconscious. Images that various people in different times and places shared, and that, for example, appear in dreams or during meditations. It was the study of the archetypes of the collective unconscious that led Jung to the conclusion that humanity possesses a religious function, and he even went so far as to say that the primary task of education was to bring the archetype of the God-image to the conscious mind. For Jung, the God-image is an archetype of the Universal Self, and the relationship of God to the inner person, and finding the Self in God and God in the Self, are important aspects of mysticism. Moreover, Jung found certain recurring symbols, mainly the Mandala, which he considered symbols of the Self, especially in the Orient but also in the West. He found an unexpected kinship between dreams and their symbolism and the concepts of alchemy. Jung came to the conclusion that wholeness, whether achieved in the normal development of spiritual maturation and initiations or as the restoration of a mental illness, could be described as the complete experience of the archetype of the Universal Self, also known in Eastern traditions as Self-realization or finding God within us. He found an example of the entire process in the Chinese mystical treatise ‘The Secret of the Golden Flower.’

Towards the end of his fruitful life, Jung delved more deeply into the phenomenon of synchronicity, which clearly presented itself to him during one of his therapeutic sessions with a patient. This woman from the wealthier social class suffered from depression and oppressive dreams. After many sessions under Jung's supervision, she had decided to stop her therapies. However, she recounted a strange dream she had experienced the previous night. In that dream, she found herself in a dark cave and felt oppressed and confined, desiring more breathing space and fresh air, but above all, longing for freedom, light, and the sun in nature. In this dream, a scarab, the Egyptian dung beetle, flew towards her and showed her the way to the liberating opening in the cave. Jung saw the deeper symbolism of this dream very clearly and described it extensively to his client. Annoyed by the woman's unnecessary decision, Jung walked to the large window. Simultaneously, a large insect crashed against the glass. Jung opened the window, and on the windowsill lay a rare subspecies of the scarab beetle. He took the beetle between his fingers and placed it on the desk in front of the astonished woman. ‘Well,’ said Jung, ‘here is your answer to your nonsensical decision.’ The young woman was so amazed and fascinated that she continued her entire therapy with Jung. Jung continued to work throughout his life with his mystical, intuitive insights and remains an inspiration for mystics, scholars, and artists.

Dr. M. Lietaert Peerbolte was also inspired and influenced by this. The Hague neurologist discusses in writing the connections between analytical psychology and mysticism; in Het Mystieke Streven, psychologisch gezien (1940) Peredus de Zoeker (1945); in Psychocybernetica, een psychisch-energetische inleiding (1968), he tests the humanities with modern cybernetics. In De Verschijning Mens (1971), the emphasis is placed on states of expanded consciousness in which man can experience his unity with the cosmos and have a fully conscious understanding of his own Being. In Eros als bevrijding (1970), a number of psychodramatic sketches around the Krishna myth are published in the style of classical initiation rituals. And especially important for Western consciousness; in Maithuna (1972), a plea is made for a ‘love-yoga’ as a ‘non-violent avalanche effect’ that can profoundly change human consciousness and social life. Poimandres (1974) studies an ancient Hermetic writing in this context. Kosmisch Existentialisme (1977) introduces the concept of psychagogy as opposed to psychotherapy: a soul-guidance aimed at the full development of the psyche.

Sabina Spielrein and the Development of Psychoanalysis

The young Sabina Spielrein suffered from depressive feelings and emotional outbursts. The diagnosis was hysteria. She sought treatment in Zurich from Carl Gustav Jung, for whom she developed a passionate attachment. Jung 'abused' his position and entered into an intimate relationship with his patient. Later, Sabina studied medicine and specialized as a psychiatrist. She moved to Vienna, where she joined the circle around Sigmund Freud. Both Jung and Freud benefited from Sabina's advanced ideas in developing their psychoanalysis. After the Russian revolution, she returned to Russia with her husband, a Russian doctor. During the occupation of Rostov in 1941, Sabina and her two daughters were murdered by German soldiers.

The psychology that developed was experienced by Jung as a path of salvation. The German word has a double meaning; a method of healing and a sacred path. The designs Jung 'painted' of the psyche were based on a separation between the conscious and the unconscious; the personal unconscious was, as it were, a branch on the tree of the collective unconscious. The journey of the self involved bringing into consciousness what lives in the unconscious. The path of salvation was a comprehensive method for individuation – for the differentiation of the Self from the common unconscious, which is the matrix of being. There were various stages and levels on the path to individuation. The first was the encounter with the ‘shadow,’ which was Jung's term for bringing to consciousness those aspects of the Self that one's personality type had caused one to ignore. In esotericism, this shadow is also called the doppelgänger. This involved the disappearance of the persona, or the illusory Self with which the spiritual journey had begun. Next, the traveller encountered the ‘indiopsyche,’ the anima or animus: these terms denote the feminine aspects of every man (the anima), and the masculine aspects of every woman (the animus). These spheres of consciousness were truly experienced in ancient Greece during the Dionysian ritual festivals. Men dressed as women, identified their personality as much as possible with being a woman, and fulfilled all the rights and duties that went with it. The women then lived for several weeks (according to astrological indications) in ‘male forms.’ Later, various archetypes appear; for men, the image of the ‘old wise man’ and for women ‘the great mother,’ but also the archetype of the virgin, the priestess. Medea as the murderer, Salome as the seductress, the archetype of the muse, etc. For men, also pure and dark archetypes; the old wise man, the healer, the priest, the father, the magician, the hero, the murderer, etc. The archetype is a concept that corresponds to the Platonic idea, but with this difference that it embodies both the good and the evil sides of the phenomena it represents. The appearance of so many archetypes in dreams, fantasy worlds, or meditation – signifies the birth or rebirth of the self and the dissolution of the polarity of the conscious and the unconscious. The break with Freud plunged Jung into a period of inner turmoil, during which he wrote little. In 1917, he published his ‘Die Psychologie der Unbewussten Prozesse’ which he himself described as an ‘intuitive leap into the dark’ with ‘endlessly abstract formulations and unfinished thoughts.’ The first exposition of the individuation process is contained in a remarkable little work, ‘VII Sermones ad Mortuos,’ which Jung published anonymously. The psychologist describes how he undertook the journey of discovery in his subconscious, each time anew. The absolute low point in ‘the world of darkness’ was experienced by Jung while writing his book ‘Answer to Job.’ Jung then said: ‘I have landed at the deepest bottom of hell.’ But his travels to mystical India transformed this darkness, and Jung experienced many ‘mystical heights.’

In 1916, there was a period when Jung's household seemed to be besieged by entities (spiritual beings or spirits of the deceased). Jung felt that something had to happen; he asked the question: ‘But what is all this?’. Then they shouted in unison: ‘We have returned from Jerusalem where we did not find what we sought’. With these words, Jung begins his VII Sermones: ‘The dead came back from Jerusalem, where they had not found what they sought. They begged me to let them in, and so I began my lessons’.

‘The Seven Sermons to the Dead,’ written by Basilides in Alexandria, the city where the East meets the West. Basilides was a Gnostic writer, Alexandria the city of Neoplatonism and alchemy, and the synthesis of Eastern and Western traditions would occupy much of Jung's time. The message of the Seven Sermons is that of the path to individuation. Jung begins with the Pleroma – in which ‘nothing and everything is,’ and about which ‘it is entirely pointless to think’ – from which being, man must distinguish himself at all costs, according to the principle of individuation, or risk falling back into the Pleroma and losing all individuality. When we view the development of all humanity, we indeed see how self-consciousness has undergone many phases since its inception over long timescales of human evolutionary growth. Man must free himself from the domination by ‘Abraxas,’ the name of the highest principle of Basilides, here used to indicate the ‘illusory reality’ of ‘power, duration, and change.’

Jung made important modifications, particularly the idea of ‘individuation’ as the necessary path to ‘spiritual progress.’ Individuation as a level of consciousness bears great similarity to the Self-realization described in the ancient Vedic scriptures. In Greek temples, the inscription ‘Know Thyself’ was carved above the gate of the ‘house of initiation.’ Jung himself wore an Egyptian ‘Gnostic’ ring, whose symbols he had changed into a Christian sense. He was certain of the existence of cults of a purely Gnostic nature and regarded the revival of occultism as comparable to the heyday of Gnostic thought in the first and second centuries A.D. There was a ‘Universal Gnostic Church’ with its headquarters not far from Jung's residence, and in the 1930s, one could buy ‘Abraxas’ bracelets in Berlin.

Jung and the Occult

Jung found in many occult ideas and Eastern philosophies, material and inspiration to clarify and explain his interpretation of the mystical and spiritual journey of man. It's remarkable what he borrowed from astrology, his association with the orientalist Richard Wilhelm (I Ching), or the forewords he wrote for Evans-Wentz's editions of Tibetan texts. The best illustration of how the psychologist used traditional sources lies in the parallel he drew with alchemy. According to Jung himself, he began his research into alchemy following a dream in which he ‘was trapped in the 17th century’ (possibly a regressive experience from previous lives), and the insight that the alchemical process itself was a path of salvation (initiation path) came after reading "The Secret of the Golden Flower," a Chinese alchemical text sent to him by his friend Richard Wilhelm. But in an earlier treatise, "A Study of the Individuation Process," Jung told a different story. Here he interpreted a series of paintings made by one of his patients representing different phases in the individuation process. Kristine Mann's connection to the Swedenborgian New Church is significant for two reasons. First, there has always been a connection between Swedenborg and alchemy in the minds of those engaged in traditional thinking, especially in the American New Church. Secondly, Charles Holbrook Mann, the patient's father, himself played a leading role in the Swedenborgians' 19th-century attempts to develop a systematic ‘method of healing the soul.’ He was part of a movement that, more than half a century before Jung, advocated the method Jung would use in treating Mann's daughter: that drawings should be used to indicate the spiritual progress of those on whom the Swedenborgians' ‘soul cure’ was applied. Kristine Mann later wrote a treatise on ‘The Self-Analysis of Emanuel Swedenborg’ for the Jungians in New York, and Jung turned his attention to alchemy itself. In his "Psychology and Alchemy," we see an in-depth study of the alchemical side of the revival of occultism. In the bibliography, one finds Mrs. Atwood, A.E. Waite, Arthur Avalon, and G.R.S. Mead alongside lesser-known esotericists. In his idea that medieval alchemy ‘resembled an undercurrent of Christianity that ruled on the surface,’ Jung was undoubtedly indebted to A.E. Waite, and in the notion that ‘the central ideas of Christianity are rooted in Gnostic philosophy,’ (think of the Mithras society, for example), he repeats the reasoning of Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland, whose ‘esoteric Christianity’ was so influential in the revival of occultism. Jung was careful to claim originality only for discovering the psychological significance of alchemy and applying the process outlined by the alchemists as a model for the individuation process to be completed by man, which according to him, never emerged under analytical treatment. Esotericists consider Jung's individuation process as one of the many initiation paths or mystery schools humanity and its cultural history are rich in. Jung's psychology was recognized as such, and a crowd of kindred spirits began to gather around him. Kristine Mann is just one example, and to name a few others before World War II: Maurice Nicoll, who was designated by Jung as his successor in Great Britain, left his Swiss master to go to Gurdjieff's Institute in Fontainebleau, William MacDougall had become interested before World War I, and when Jung led study groups in England in 1923 and 1924, they were recorded by the Theosophist and writer on magic, W.B. Crow. After 1933, scholars, mystics, and artists who shared Jung's worldview had a ‘forum’ in the Eranos Conferences held in Ascona, Switzerland. This was an idea of Olga Froebe-Kapteyn (1881-1962), who built a special auditorium in her villa on Lago Maggiore for a project initially referred to as a ‘summer course for the study of theosophy, mysticism, the esoteric sciences and philosophies and all forms of research of the spirit.’ One of the visitors to Ascona was Jacob Wilhelm Hauer, whom Jung had met through his principal student in Munich, and who led a study group on yoga for Jung and his followers in Zurich in 1932. In 1934, he gave a lecture at Eranos on number symbolism, which greatly influenced Jung, and in the same lecture, he used the idea of the collective unconscious to show that there was a race-unconscious with a symbolism belonging to the race. In esotericism, one makes distinctions between personal karma, group karma, family karma, etc., but also between karmic influences or energy fields that penetrate the soul from outside to then be liberated by the higher spirit of man himself. The karma that man has brought as a soul structure from prenatal life and previous lives and thus developed himself, is experienced as ‘heavier and harder to bring to enlightenment.’ Thus one speaks of; folk souls, family spirits, plant elves, water nymphs, earth beings, and so on.

From a vast array of ideas, inspirations, and initiation cults, Jung harvested the fruits he deemed essential. But there may also have been some diseased fruits among them.

Like every living being, Jung had his heavenly ‘sun side’ and pure insights and experiences, but he also had dark shadows from which he had to free himself repeatedly. But the wise man from Zurich was a skilled esotericist, mystic, scientist, doctor, psychiatrist, and a man full of compassion and understanding.

Krishnamurti, Rudolf Steiner, and the Theosophical Society

Jiddu Krishnamurti was discovered as a young boy by Charles Webster Leadbeater, the then ‘spiritual father’ of the Theosophical Society. The young child wandered neglected near Adyar in India, where the Theosophical Society had established one of its centers. The young Indian Krishnamurti lived in a beautiful life aura and was infused with ‘high spiritual energies’. Together with Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater, he experienced many Theosophical initiations and was later considered the “World Teacher” or “Maitreya Buddha”. Krishnamurti rejected this role later in life, and in 1929, he renounced the society and all religious sects and organizations; since then, he has continued with teaching and lectures and has published numerous books. Krishnamurti spoke of perfect spiritual freedom, free from all dogma, religion, occult hierarchies, and traditions.

The Theosophical Society was founded in New York on December 13, 1875, by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, and William Quan Judge. An earlier attempt had been made to establish an occult group, called the ‘Miracle Club’ by Madame Blavatsky, and the first Theosophists of that time represented many occult movements. We speak of the medium Emma Hardinge-Britten, Dr. Seth Pancoast from Philadelphia, a scholar of the Kabbalah and practitioner of colour therapy, a Portuguese Jew named De Lara, who was likely also knowledgeable about European occult traditions, and many others such as artists and ‘life philosophers’. The opening address of the new society was given by an engineer, George Felt, on the topic ‘The Lost Canon of Proportion of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans’. A large group of admirers was strongly influenced by H.P. Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott with their Eastern and spiritualistic ideas. During this period, a large number of occult societies emerged in the major cities of Europe and America, as the early wonders of spiritualism and the movement of mesmerism and hypnosis gave way to more targeted exploration of the worlds of the invisible.

The Theosophical Society slowly grew from ‘the exploration of latent and hidden powers in man’ to the core formation and development for a ‘world brotherhood of humanity’. There was a vague collective desire for a better world, a great need to find a replacement for the divine and spiritual expelled from ‘creation’ by materialistic natural science, and a longing for the world of magic and mystery, which seemed to have been completely abolished by the age of the machine. The ‘Western man’ sought his old mystical roots from the distant past.

In 1866, H.P. Blavatsky succeeded in penetrating Tibet. She came into contact with the Himalayan Lodge, a brotherhood of Adepts, composed of Indian races. This brotherhood imparts higher spiritual knowledge through mystics when the spheres are ripe for it. Two Adepts, Morya and Koot Hoomi, deemed the time ripe to pass this knowledge to Madame Blavatsky. For five years, she received instruction in the secret teachings about the nature of man in relation to the cosmos. When she arrived in America in 1871, she was an initiate in occult sciences. Leadbeater regarded this Koot Hoomi as the reincarnation of Pythagoras, who had already taught the idea of reincarnation in his mystery school.

Mahatma Kuthumi

Mahatma Kuthumi was born in the early 19th century to a Punjabi family settled in Kashmir. He studied at Oxford University in 1850 and is generally believed to have published ‘The Dream of Ravan’ around 1854 before returning to his homeland. This Brahmin spent the rest of his life in his Lamasery in Shigatse, Tibet. His contact with the outside world included didactic teachings sent by mail to his most devoted students. These letters are now preserved in the British Museum. One of Kuthumi's incarnations was Thutmose III, a Pharaoh, Prophet, and High Priest in the New Kingdom around 1460 B.C. Kuthumi was also on earth as Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher in the 6th century B.C., who was considered the ‘Blonde Samian’ (someone from Samos) and was regarded as a son of Apollo. Every soul in a new incarnation eventually goes to lands and places where it has left higher energies in a previous incarnation. As Pythagoras, this incarnation of Thutmose III could easily receive the initiations of Isis again.

Ascended Master Kuthumi Kuthumi was until recently the Chohan (Lord or Master) of the Second Ray of Divine Enlightenment and now serves as World Teacher along with Jesus. He is the High Priest of the Nature Cathedral in Kashmir, India, and head of the Brothers of the Golden Robe. Kuthumi also resides in Shigatse, Tibet, where he plays sacred classical music from the East and West. He plays compositions from both the Heavenly Hosts and the earliest Root Races of the Earth on an organ tuned to the music of the Spheres, and he uses the sacred sound of God to draw souls from the astral world to the etheric retreats of the Brotherhood.

El Morya Tibetan Master Chohan of the First Ray – Blue Associated with the Throat Chakra Chohan of the Darjeeling Council of the Great White Brotherhood. He is associated with the Temple of the Will of God. He leads all esoteric schools. He transforms the evil in humans into good. El Morya was once incarnated as Abraham. He also helps control one's willpower in times when everything in life seems difficult. Divine qualities: Omnipotence, Perfection, Protection, Faith, the desire to do God's will through the power of the Source. Retreat residence: Darjeeling, India

Serapis Bey Master and Chohan of the Fourth Ray – White Associated with the Base Chakra. He keeps the Ascension door open at the Temple of Ascension on the etheric plane in Luxor, Egypt. He balances and activates the energy needed to introduce the art and beauty of all areas of life. He is known as the great disciplinarian and inspects the candidates for Ascension. In the 19th century, Serapis Bey worked closely with El Morya, Kuthumi, Djwal Kul, and other Masters in establishing the Theosophical community.

Serapis Bey was incarnated as a high priest in Atlantis more than 11,500 years ago. He was Pharaoh Amenhotep III, c. 1417-1379 B.C., known as the magnificent. He brought Egypt to prestigious heights politically and achieved the same in terms of prosperity and peace. Divine qualities: Purity, wellbeing, the Desire to know God through the purity of body, mind, and soul via the consciousness of the Divine Mother. Retreat residence: Temple in Luxor, Egypt.

Lady Master Nada Master and Chohan of the Sixth Ray – Purple with Gold, connected to the Solar Plexus. The ascended Lady Master Nada is the Chohan of the ruby red ray of Ministry, Peace, Justice, freedom, and reverence for the source. Lady Nada is an active member of the karmic council. Originally, the Pink Ray was the third ray of Divine love, and she will now continue to work with both rays. Each of us is surely connected to one of the Seven Rays. Lady Nada was a priestess of divine love in Atlantis. In the etheric plane, the temple still exists, and a Pink Rose is the symbol for it, this retreat place is located above New Bedford, Massachusetts. Together with Mother Mary, Kuan Yin, and Lady Athena, Lady Nada oversees another etheric temple above Lake Titicaca, in Peru, where the female energies from the divine source are distributed to the earth to balance the male energy. Divine qualities: The soul care of Christ, the Desire to serve God through the mastery of Christ. Retreat residence: New Bedford, Massachusetts Lake Titicaca, Peru

So now we have described some great cosmic influences that wonderfully work into the spiritual development of humanity.

But now we return to the life of Leadbeater. Leadbeater was an Anglican clergyman who was won over by Madame Blavatsky, although he always claimed that his first contact with theosophy had taken place in the school of Pythagoras on Samos in 540 B.C. He was an incurable romantic and dreamer, and he made a name for himself in Theosophical circles as a clairvoyant. Together with Mrs. Besant, he conducted investigations through clairvoyance concerning thought forms; the forms that feelings and thoughts take in the subtle and ‘invisible’ worlds, and here we see strong similarities with the views of the Greek philosopher Plato and ‘occult chemistry’ to understand the nature of matter.

The ultimate objectives of the Theosophical Society are: to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or colour; to encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy, and science; to investigate unexplained laws of nature and the latent powers in man. Especially the pursuit of truth and the desire to seek the highest insight is central to the Theosophical Society.

In 1885, H.P. Blavatsky began her life's work ‘The Secret Doctrine.’ It is a three-volume work that respectively sets out the formation of the cosmos (cosmogenesis), the formation of man (anthropogenesis), and the meaning of esotericism. She provided many keys for mystics in the West (seen as Europe and America) and many Theosophists and spiritual people in an esoteric manner. In her occult teachings, the cosmos appears as a totality that has a material and a spiritual side, an outside and an inside, built in sevenfold. This sevenfold construction of the cosmos (described in the Akashic Records and The Tibetan Book of the Dead) is recognizable on a micro level in the sevenfold composition of the human body. Thus we see the seven spheres take shape in the seven chakras in the human aura. This body now develops through seven root races in seven cultures in conjunction with the development of the planets, the ancient principle of ‘as above, so below’ and the insights of Hermes Trismegistus. In a subtle manner, many yogis have explained how the physical body is related to the astral body and the forming mental body. It is the astral or ‘star body’ that can come into contact with the higher worlds. For example, in meditation and contemplation, the atmospheres between waking and sleeping and the lucid dreams, daydreams, or nightly dreams. As this astral body develops better, it will separate more easily from the physical body. This allows astral travel to occur, which is extensively described in the teachings of Tibetan Lamas. When the astral body becomes a very subtle energy field, it can increasingly spiritualize after death, according to the law of karma. Through the atmic, buddhic, and causal bodies, the ultimate union with the divine universe can then take place. This phenomenon is called Maha-Samadhi. Reincarnation is no longer necessary. The person has become immortal forever, a son or daughter of the Source of all Life, the divine Universe.

This Buddha nature lives in all living beings. Buddha as the Enlightened One is in Buddhism the term for one who has attained ‘enlightenment’ and thereby entered nirvana (complete rest and perfect inner peace, the absolute destruction of all desire and becoming). After the Buddha has reached nirvana, he has no more relationship with the world, and contact with him is no longer possible, not even through prayer.

In Hinduism, Buddha as the founder of Buddhism is the ninth incarnation (avatar) of the great god Vishnu, who inaugurated the current era. The Chinese name for Buddha is Fa, and the Japanese name is Butsu.

From Buddhism, we also know the bodhisattvas. These are victorious beings or enlightened spirits who sometimes incarnate in human form. From Buddhahood, they voluntarily return because they care about the well-being of humanity. The bodhisattvas are then venerated in their subtle appearances and invoked in all cases of need and suffering. The five Dhyani-Bodhisattvas and the eight Maha-Bodhisattvas are well-known. The bodhisattvas are depicted in princely attire and a five-part crown.

But now back to Theosophy; in antiquity, through the Alexandrian philosophers the Philaletheans, Theosophy as a divine wisdom teaching was expounded by Ammonius Saccas (175-242 A.D.) and his students in an eclectic (selected) theosophical system. From Ammonius himself, the spiritual father of Neoplatonism, no writings are known. Students such as Origen, Herennianus, Plotinus, and Longinus made many notes based on the esoteric teachings of Ammonius and later elaborated on them. The essence of his teaching, however, was never written down. The main reason was the danger of misuse by the uninitiated. Therefore, Ammonius required his students to swear an oath never to make the secret teachings or knowledge public. Drawing from the teachings of Hermes (the Egyptian...)

Thoth, Plato, and Pythagoras

Ammonius Saccas, drawing from the teachings of Thoth, Plato, and Pythagoras, asserted that the prologue of John contained the same depth, and that Jesus, with his coming as a high solar being on earth, aimed to return the ancient wisdom in its original form to humanity.

Neoplatonism fundamentally focuses on the One, the absolute transcendent divine Energy, and all else consists of emanations from this ultimate first cause. Through Dionysius the Areopagite, Neoplatonism influenced the traditions of religious mysticism in Christianity and Islam. It experienced a revival during the Renaissance with Pico della Mirandola and Marsilio Ficino. Thus, we can truly observe the significant influence of Neoplatonism in the artistic world.

Returning to the Theosophical Society, the growth process of this movement saw many spiritual heights and numerous shadow sides and illusions. Several levels of initiation and occult training paths emerged, with supporters and opponents and many gradations in between. The most serious case of ‘desertion’ was that of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, the head of the German section of the Theosophical Society. The two main reasons for this were, first, the fact that Annie Besant had reinstated Hugo Vallrath, a subject expelled from the section by Steiner; and second, increasing emphasis was placed on the Order of the Star in the East within the Theosophical Society in general, and especially around the new ‘world teacher’ Krishnamurti. Just as the Masters had caused division in an earlier stage, the cult of the future World Teacher led to internal strife. At some point, the enormities of the Order of the Star became too much for Steiner, and in 1913 he left the society to found his own Anthroposophical Society, which had nothing in common with any Theosophical society. In Vienna, Steiner had met the influential Theosophist Friedrich Eckstein, who introduced him to the circle of Viennese idealists led by Marie Lang; and with her young lions, she surrounded Eckstein, the politician Victor Adler, and the writer Hermann Bahr, at Café Griensteidl, on Michaelerplatz. Through Eckstein and his friends, Steiner became acquainted with mysticism and the handbooks of Theosophy; but at the same time, he befriended the feminist Rosa Mayreder and became involved in progressive social ideas. He also became entirely fascinated by Goethe, and in 1883 he was asked to edit Goethe's scientific writings for the standard edition. In Weimar, Steiner continued his work on Goethe and published several philosophical books. In 1897, he moved to Berlin and became the editor-in-chief of the "Magazin für Literatur." Steiner soon became a man of significance in the intellectual and socially engaged world of the capital. He befriended John Henry Mackay, a somewhat notorious half-Scottish, half-German anarchist, who had read Steiner's book "The Philosophy of Freedom" with admiration. When Steiner married the widow Anna Eunicke in October 1899, Mackay was a witness. This first marriage of Steiner led to various accusations back and forth, but what is certain is that it was not a success, and Steiner's wife left him in 1906. When she died in 1911, the ultra-occult publications spread the rumour that Steiner had ‘astrally strangled her.’

The developments Rudolf Steiner went through show parallels with those of Annie Besant, and by the time his first wife left him, the former Goethe scholar had fully converted to the prophet of esoteric teachings. As we have seen, in 1913, most German Theosophists left the society; they followed Steiner into his new Anthroposophical Society. Rudolf Steiner's mystical system pertains to a Theosophy that places man at the center instead of God. The intention is for the mystic to reach an ‘intuition’ through concentration and meditation, enabling their lower self to have a vision of their higher Self.

Anthroposophy thus brings together currents from various parts of the world, such as India, Persia, Egypt, and Palestine. It also teaches the doctrine of reincarnation and the escape from matter through and in the spirit.

In 1891, Steiner earned his doctorate in philosophy. His dissertation laid the foundation for a spiritual worldview, which is further developed in his later Anthroposophy. Between 1902 and 1913, Steiner's thinking underwent significant development. He gradually built up a group of followers and established his reputation permanently through a series of lectures he gave in Paris in 1906. In the same year, Steiner accepted a charter from an occult organization of dubious origin, the OTO (Ordo Templi Orientis), which authorized him to hold a lodge of the order, called the Mysteria Mystica Aeterna. Steiner claimed his motive was to achieve a sort of ‘apostolic succession’ and that he never intended to ‘work in the spirit of such an organization.’ The OTO practiced sexual magic, and Steiner's numerous opponents later used this fact to attack the Anthroposophists. It is highly unlikely that Steiner adopted the sexual practices of the OTO, but it is likely that he harboured the ambition to establish a great occult federation based on the structure of the Rosicrucian associations linked with the OTO. At the same time, this study probably gave him the impetus to develop his own vision of the Rosicrucian teachings, which included unspecified meditation exercises. Steiner's teachings on the Rosicrucians were, like his Theosophy, a personal creation. He adopted the principles of karma and reincarnation from the Theosophists, mixed them with elements of European occultism, and added much from Goethe and a new kind of Christianity of his own making. For example, in 1895, he published a work defending the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Especially during Nietzsche's illness, it became clear to Steiner how poorly ‘the genius’ of Nietzsche was understood. Steiner claimed to have developed his clairvoyant abilities at the beginning of his Viennese period, although in his book ‘Pictures from My Youth,’ he describes remarkable occult experiences. Later, he linked certain meditation exercises to Goethe's method of penetrating to the essence of things. As man develops his ‘spiritual eyes,’ beings from higher worlds will reveal themselves to him, and he will deepen his knowledge. He could gain insight into the truth through clairvoyance to lead his followers, and he was also able to use his supernatural gifts to understand the past and thus write the history of Atlantis and Lemuria. This was entirely in line with H.P. Blavatsky, with the difference that, according to Steiner, humanity does not evolve forward but backward, returning to the divinity it once possessed but lost. The ‘Eternal Truth’ within us must be rediscovered each time. Thus, there are seven successive races on earth, also called root races; the Polaric (or Adamic), the Hyperborean, the Lemurian, the Atlantean, the Aryan, and two future races. The first root race lived at the North Pole and was invisible as they consisted of fire mist; the second lived in North Asia and was just visible – they invented sexual intercourse, and in these energies, the different sexes developed; the third root race was the ape giants of Lemuria, who communicated through telepathy and did not think in our way, the fourth race was the people of Atlantis, who were wiped out by black magic; we are the fifth human race, a people on the spiritual threshold with positive and negative experiences, also in world karma; the sixth root race will develop from the current human race and will again live on Lemuria (in the South Pacific); after the seventh root race, life will leave our earth and begin on higher cosmic levels on Mercury.

Achieving perfection would be hindered by two powers, which Steiner called Lucifer and Ahriman (Luciferian past and Ahrimanic future). This view likely originates from Gnosticism and the writings of Zarathustra, the Gathas of Zarathustra. Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Light, the Lord of Wisdom, the One Universal Energy, reflects through the Representative of Humanity, whom Steiner sculpted in a large wooden sculpture in the first Goetheanum (in Dornach, Switzerland).

The first Goetheanum was designed and built by Steiner from the same types of wood as a violin. It consisted of two dome constructions, the larger one slightly more spacious than the dome of St. Peter's Basilica; the whole was highly flammable. On New Year's Eve 1922, an arsonist set the nearly completed building on fire, to the delight of Steiner's local opponents. The second Goetheanum, as remarkable as the first, is made of concrete. They are ancient temples materialized in these times, and all parts of them reflect ancient cultures and their initiation rituals (the building impulse of Rudolf Steiner). The area where Anthroposophical teachings have been most successfully applied is education. As a tutor and later as a lecturer, Steiner had great experience in this field, and although his views were based on his occult theories, these did not cloud his familiar view of reality. All his insights – occult or not – made Steiner a prominent figure among progressive educators shortly after World War I, and by 1962 there were over 70 schools worldwide, based on Anthroposophical principles.

Steiner's theories on colour and proportions, derived from Goethe and a long tradition of metaphysical thinking, influenced various artists and architects of that time. Kandinsky and Jawlensky attended his lectures, and Mondrian highly valued his writings. Many of Steiner's books have been published by the Rudolf Steiner Press. In many of the Anthroposophical developments, we hear the old Theosophies resonate, and we then consider Theurgy as a metaphysical phenomenon. Theurgy is considered the direct action of God or the Supreme through man. In essence, Theosophy in the broadest sense finds its pinnacle in wisdom and understanding, Theurgy in supernatural actions and powers; strictly speaking, Theurgy pertains to the Eternal Universal Energy that flows through us, although the word is loosely used for other spiritual forces. R.A. Vaughan wrote: "I would use the term 'theurgic' to characterize that mysticism which generally claims supernatural powers, performs miracles, not like black magic with aid from below (psychic forces from the ‘underworlds’ or shadow sides of the lower chakras), but like white magic, with the help of talismans or the cross, demigods, angels, and archangels."

Theurgy held a privileged place among some Gnostics, who believed divine power was revealed to the initiate. It was particularly important among the later Neoplatonists, mainly Iamblichus and Proclus, who believed in ‘Intelligences’ or cosmic forces that would come into the mystic's soul and endow him with superhuman powers. There was a significant revival of Theurgy during the Renaissance among Neoplatonists like Pico and Theosophists like Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Boehme. Agrippa von Nettesheim, Heinrich Cornelius (1486-1535), was born in Cologne. He was a scholar and alchemist, theologian and magician, lawyer, and secret service agent. In his work "Occult Philosophy," written when he was a young man but not published until 1531, he presented a system in which everything is connected in a single whole that is God. Man, made in the image of God, is a microcosm, a small universe. The macrocosm, being like man, has a world soul. The anima mundi is a universal philosophical concept that has had its own descriptions in all ancient cultures. There have been ‘correspondences throughout the universe, secrets that only a few 'chosen ones' can master by penetrating them. Man has within himself 'All that is encompassed in the greater world.' He has in him the four Elements in the correct proportion (earth, water, fire, and air) and the quintessence of Ether, the chariot of the soul. In him is the vegetative life of plants and the world of minerals, the senses of animals, of heavenly spirits, the Angelic reason, and the Divine 'understanding.' Man receives and encompasses even God Himself. In those times, these were daring statements, contrary to church doctrines. In "The Uncertainty and Vanity of Sciences and Arts," Agrippa outlines the knowledge of his time with precise scholarship, but he concludes that this is nothing compared to the divinely revealed Word of God.

In 1651, Agrippa's "Occult Philosophy" was translated into English. We read the following: "This is true and exalted Occult Philosophy." To understand the mysterious influence of the intellectual world on the heavenly, and of both on the earth; to know how to position ourselves and equip ourselves to be able to receive the superior workings of these worlds, whereby we can gain the ability to perform marvellous things through natural forces; to know the secret deliberations of people, increase wealth, overcome enemies, gain the favours of people, eliminate diseases, maintain health, extend life, renew youth, predict future events, see and know things that happen far away, and such. These things may seem incredible, but read the preceding treatise, and you will see how the possibility is affirmed by reason and example.

And now, to conclude our reflections on the Theosophical Society. Writers who have published in "Theosophia" (since 1894), the Dutch organ of the Theosophical Society, include Frederik van Eeden, Henri Borel, Tony de Ridder, and Mrs. Selleger-Elout, J.W. Boissevain, J.L.M. Lauweriks, Johan van Manen, Prof. J.J. Poortman, H. Van Praag, R.A. Reddingius, and especially Prof. Bernard Lievegoed, physician and industrial psychologist, who has brought his own works to light.

Former Theosophists in the Netherlands were: Rico Bulthius, André Peters, Pam Ructer, Roel Houwink, Nico van Suchtelen, Hella Haasse, and Roel van Duyn. Gustav Meyrinck was a member of the Prague Lodge in the 1890s, W.B. Yeats was deeply influenced by Theosophy, composers like Skrjabin and Cyril Scott were Theosophists, as was Maria Montessori; Max Heindel – Rosicrucian, and Rudolf Steiner (as discussed extensively) began as a Theosophist. Modern astrology was introduced by the work of the Theosophist Leo; R. Assagioli, founder of psychosynthesis, was a student of the Theosophist Iasink. Architects like Basel were influenced by Theosophy, Karel Rensburg painted 'astral faces.' Krishnamurti and his liberation from the Theosophical Society (and all religious movements and occult organizations) can be seen as a ‘transcendental event’ with enormous spiritual influences for himself and the development on many levels of consciousness for many other initiates and mystics.

Time will tell that Krishnamurti, in his next ‘incarnations,’ will free himself from all illusions and thus live as a simple man among people. Simplicity adorns all forms of life.

Krishnamurti ultimately was never fully able to detach from his life path psychology.

It is a great desire of us all to, as Krishnamurti himself wrote, let go of the past.

A mother lovingly nursing her child can naturally reach heavenly ecstasy in unity with her child. Heavenly energy or spiritual fulfillment flows through all living beings, and in our earthly lives, we experience these cosmic events every now and then, like an angelic being in the fleeting wind.

Both H.P. Blavatsky, Leadbeater, Annie Besant, and Krishnamurti considered the siddhis (occult and ‘paranormal powers’) as obstacles or subtle illusions on the path to perfect liberation or spiritual freedom. From esotericism, the highest experience is to repeatedly relive spiritual rebirth and fully live through ‘the essence of mystical enlightenment.’

When we philosophized with Krishnamurti about twenty-five years ago, the last time Krishnamurti gave lectures in Amsterdam, some of my friends mentioned that Krishnamurti sometimes came across as ‘cold and distant’ from his ‘emotional life.’

Jiddu Krishnamurti was born on May 11, 1895, in Madanapalle, in an orthodox Brahmin family. The small town of Madanapalle was located in Andhra Pradesh. In 1909, his family moved to Madras along with Krishnamurti. As we know, Leadbeater ‘discovered’ Krishnamurti and studied his past lives. Krishna underwent many initiations through the Theosophical Society and was later adopted by his ‘spiritual mother’ Annie Besant. Later in life, Krishnamurti rejected his role as ‘world teacher’ and even dissolved the Theosophical Society. The Theosophical Society has continued to develop in its own way to this day.

But now we follow one of his inspired speeches: Taken from "Speeches at Madras and Benares, 1947-1949" (Found in an old issue of Theosophia) - The audience presumably full of Theosophists, as always when Krishnamurti spoke in Madras, it even seems from the text that a group of Theosophists had invited him. February 6, 1949)

Jiddu Krishnamurti on the Theosophical Society

Question: You have crusaded against blind faith and organized religion. Would it be incorrect if I said that, despite condemning Theosophical doctrines in words, you still fulfill the core that lies in Theosophy? You preach true Theosophy. There is no real contradiction between your standpoint and that of the Theosophical Society, whose great President first introduced you to the world.

(Laughter)

Krishnamurti: Let us not discuss certain individuals, Dr. Besant and me, as that would make us lose the thread. Let us determine whether I am crusading against blind faith, superstition, and organized religion. I am merely stating a fact. A fact can be interpreted by anyone according to their own limitations, but it will still remain a fact. I may interpret it in a way that suits or does not suit me, but the fact itself does not change; it is still the same. From this follows that belief, superstition, or the organized dogma of a religion cannot help you understand the truth. One must look at the truth without the veil of all these things, only then can one understand, and not according to one's desires; organized beliefs, religions, these organized dogmas cannot help me understand life. They can help me interpret life according to my limitations, but that is not understanding life; it means, once again, that I interpret life according to my instrument, my capacity, and my limitations.

But that is not experiencing life, and religion is not experiencing life through belief; religion is the direct experience of life without any limiting environmental influence. Therefore, one must be free from all organized religion, etc.

And what is now the Theosophical standpoint? If the questioner says that I realize the core idea of Theosophy, then you and I must find out what that core idea of Theosophy is and what the questioner means by the Theosophical Society. So, what is the core point of Theosophy? I really don't know, but let us delve into it. What are the core facts of Theosophy: divine wisdom? At least, that is what the word means (interrupted). "No Religion Higher than Truth." Is that the core point? Theosophy and the Theosophical Society are two very different things. Which of the two are you referring to? Please, gentlemen, let me assure you, above all, that I am not attacking or defending anything. We want to try to find what is true here, at least I want to. You may not; at least the adherents, those who have tightly bound themselves to it, those who have vested interests in Theosophy, continue to insist that this is Theosophy - but they are not truth-seekers; these people are only dependent on their established interests and hope to be rewarded; they are therefore not truth-seekers.

Now we must determine whether there is a difference between Theosophy and the Theosophical Society. The teachings of Christ are different from the Church. The teachings of Buddha are different from Buddhism, the organized religion. That is clear. The teaching is one thing, and the organized association, the organized religion, the organized teaching is another thing, isn't it?

Theosophy and the Theosophical Society are therefore two different things. What is it about, then, the core point of Theosophy or the Theosophical Society? If you are interested in the core of Theosophy, divine wisdom, how do you think you can approach it? The central point in Theosophy is wisdom, isn't it? Isn't that so, gentlemen? You can call it divine or human, it doesn't matter. But can one find wisdom in a book, can wisdom be given to you by someone else, can wisdom be described, can it be put into words, can it be learned and repeated - is that wisdom? When I repeat the words of Buddha's experience, is that wisdom, or is it merely repeating a lie? Mustn't wisdom be experienced directly? And I cannot experience wisdom if I only have data on someone else's wisdom.

Gentlemen, those of you who want to find the core point in Theosophy, please listen attentively and do not close your ears. Can wisdom be organized, can it be spread, as you spread political propaganda or political principles? Can wisdom be organized and disseminated for the benefit of others? Can one grasp wisdom through authority, doesn't wisdom come through direct experience, and not through the technique of knowing what someone else has said about wisdom? When you say there is no religion higher than the truth, it means that the core point of Theosophy is to find the truth, isn't it? Discovering the truth, understanding and loving the truth? Is truth something that can be repeated and learned? Can you learn a truth, as you learn a technique? Again, mustn't it be experienced directly, felt directly, known directly? I'm not saying that Theosophy does not encompass all this. We are discussing what its core point is. I have neither read Theosophical books nor have I ever read other religious books...perhaps that's why one can think a little freer about all these things. Can that core point of Theosophy - wisdom and truth - be expressed through an organized association, or can an organized association help someone achieve it? Let's leave it here regarding the core point of Theosophy. Now, the Theosophical Society. How attentive you suddenly are. I don't know why you place so much importance on all this!

What is an organized association, what is the function of an organized association - not what you would like it to be - but what is it, factually? What is the function of an organized association, especially this type of association; to spread wisdom, right? And what else? To interpret that wisdom, to create a platform where people can come together to seek that wisdom? You would agree to that, right? That means, it is an organized association where those who seek truth and wisdom can come together? Of course! Right? (Someone interrupts) Gentlemen, I am not trying to catch you out, but after all, an association must exist for a reason. Now, we have suddenly become advocates, him on one side and me on the other. (Laughter) Him, the board of an association or a section of the association, and me, the opponent. My listeners, I want to say again that I am not your opponent, but I feel that such associations are a hindrance to insight. Why does your association exist? To propagate certain ideas? Or to help people seek the core of Theosophy? Or to act as a kind of platform of tolerance, where various people with different views have the opportunity to interpret the truth according to their environmental limitations? Or are you a group of people who feel connected to each other and say: We are in this association because we share the same views; or have you come together with the intention of seeking the truth and helping each other find it. So there are four possibilities, and we can add a few more. But all these things essentially come down to two things: that we come together in an association to seek the truth and propagate that truth. But can you propagate the truth and can you seek the truth? Let's investigate that.

Can you propagate the truth? What do you mean by propagate? For example, you believe that reincarnation is a fact. I take that as an example; you say, let us propagate that, it will help people, it will alleviate their suffering, etc. - that means you know the truth of reincarnation. Do you really know the truth of reincarnation, or do you only know the idea expressed in words that there is a continuation? You read that in a book and now you propagate that, those words; do you follow this, gentlemen? But is that spreading the truth? Can you propagate the truth? Now you might turn the tables and say to me: what do you do then? I assure you, I do not propagate the truth; we help each other be free so that the truth can come to us. I propagate nothing, I do not give you a specific "idea." What I do is help you see what the obstacles are that prevent you from directly experiencing the truth. Does he who propagates the truth speak the truth? Really, this is a very serious question. You can make propaganda, but your propaganda is not the truth, right? The word "truth" is not the truth. You only spread the word "truth," "reincarnation," or explain it; but the word "truth" is not the truth. It must be experienced, and therefore your propaganda is mere words and untrue.

Another point is: People come together to seek the truth, that is part of it. But can you seek the truth, or must the truth come to you? There is a huge difference. When you seek the truth, you want to use it. You use the truth as a guarantee or to derive comfort from it, or safety, or this or that; you use it as a means to your own satisfaction, or whatever you want. When I seek something, that is my object; let us not deceive ourselves with a stream of words. If I seek power, I am after it and will use it. And if you seek the truth, that means you already know it; because you cannot seek the unknown. If you know something, you intend to use it. What you know is self-protective, and therefore it is not the truth. Can the truth be found, or can you receive the truth through belief?

Now, regarding the Theosophical Society - of course, you understand that I have nothing to do with it, I am entirely done with it. You now want to know whether what I say and teach and the core of Theosophy and the Theosophical Society are the same. I say, it is clear that they are not. You would like to patch it together and say, we brought you up, so you are part of us, like a baby is part of its father and mother. That is a fitting argument, but in reality, the boy, now that he is a bit older, is entirely different from the father.

Truly, my listeners, when you become more important and climb the spiritual ladder, you deny the truth, right? The truth is not at the top of the ladder, the truth is where you are, in what you do and think and feel, when you kiss and caress and when you exploit - you must see the truth in all of that and not a truth at the end of countless life cycles.

To think that you will one day become a Buddha is merely another form of projected self-exaltation. That is immature thinking and unworthy of people who are alive, who think deeply and feel warmly. If you think you will be something in the future, then you are not it now. And it is about the now, not tomorrow. If you are not brotherly now, you will never be brotherly tomorrow, because tomorrow is again the now. You have come together here as an association and you ask me if you and I meet somewhere. I say, we do not. You can twist it to say we "meet"; you can twist everything as it suits you. You can claim that white is black; but a mind that does not go straight, that cannot perceive things directly as they are, only thinks in terms of vested interests, whether in the field of faith, property, or its so-called spiritual position. I do not say you should leave your association. I do not care at all whether you leave or stay in it; but if you think you are truth-seekers and have come together to find reality, then I fear you are approaching it wrong. You might say: "That is your opinion?". I would say you are completely right. If you say: "We are trying to be brotherly," I would say again that you are approaching it wrong, because brotherhood is not at the end of the passage, and when you say you "cultivate" tolerance and brotherhood, I would say that brotherhood and tolerance do not exist. They cannot be cultivated, you do not cultivate tolerance. Only someone who has no love in their heart cultivates tolerance. That is again such an intellectual achievement. When you say your association is not based on any belief, either internally or externally, I would reply that you are a factor of separation through both your external and internal actions and not of unity. You have your secret rites, your secret teachings, your secret Masters, and all that points to separation. It is precisely the function of an organized association to create separation in this sense. So I fear that if we delve deeply into the matter, you, the Theosophical Society, and I do not meet. You might like to arrange it so that we would meet, but that is a very different point - which does not mean you should leave your camp and join this camp. There is no "this camp," the truth has no different sides and no paths, not all paths lead to the Truth. There is no path to the Truth, it must come to you.

The Truth can only come to you when your mind and heart are simple and clear when there is love in your heart, not when your heart is filled with things of the spirit. When there is love in your heart, you do not talk about an organization for brotherhood; you do not speak of faith, you do not speak of division or the forces that cause division and you do not need reconciliation. Then you are simply a person without a label and without a country. That means you must rid yourself of all these things and let the Truth be born; and that is only possible when the mind is empty, when the mind no longer creates. Then it will come without you asking. Then it will come as swiftly as the wind and unannounced. It comes in secret, not when you keep watching and longing for it. It is there suddenly like sunlight and pure as the night, but to receive it, the heart must be full and the mind empty. But you have the mind full and the heart empty.

Here are some profound sayings of Jiddu Krishnamurti, one of the most renowned philosophers of the 20th century:

·         The purpose of all experiences is to discover the true value of things.

·         When love is pleasure, it contains pain and fear, and thus love flies out the window, and life becomes a problem.

·         The realization of the destiny of man is to be total, which is the awareness of the whole. It is not a matter of losing oneself in the absolute, but of becoming whole through growth, through constant conflict, through adaptation.

·         As long as you do not understand yourself, as long as you do not fathom your own depth, you can be dominated and caught in the wheel of continuous struggle.

·         When you begin to understand what you are, without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.

·         The mind must be empty to see clearly.

·         If you lose contact with nature, you lose contact with humanity.

·         Pain itself destroys pain. Suffering itself liberates a person from suffering.

·         Sorrow is not in death, but in loneliness, and conflict comes when you seek comfort, oblivion, explanations, and illusions.

·         If you had no memory of yesterday, totally no memory of any kind, would you think?

·         Can a person behave the same from within, no matter the circumstances? Can behavior come from within without depending on what people think of you or how they see you?

·         Is it possible to live in this world without an image of yourself?

LOVE You know, people talk endlessly about love: love your neighbor, love God, be kind. But as it is now, you are not kind, gentle. You are so concentrated on yourself that you lack love. And without love, there is only sorrow. This is not just an aphorism that you can repeat. You must discover it, you must encounter it. You must work hard for it. You must work for it with insight into yourself, without ceasing, with passion. Passion is something different from lust; one who does not know what passion is will never know love. Love can only arise with total self-surrender. And only love can bring about order, a new culture, a new way of living.

ATTENTION Attention cannot be cultivated. There is no method, no system, no exercises by which you can get attention. For if you follow a method to become attentive, it shows that you nurture inattentiveness; what you are then concerned with is cultivating attention by being inattentive. If you follow a system, a method, what are you doing? You mechanically develop certain habits, you repeat certain activities, which only dulls the mind and does not sharpen it. Whereas, if you are fully attentive even for just a second or a minute, you will see that this brief total attention wipes out whatever caused you fear. In that attention, there is no observer and nothing that is observed. The observer is then the observed. But to see that, to investigate that, you must delve into the whole problem of space and time.

To be radically free from fear, you must be aware of fear and leave it alone, without any judgment, without trying to do anything about it. Merely knowing that there is fear and being still brings about a fundamental revolution in which fear has no place.

Esoteric traditions and occult powers as obstacles to spiritual liberation; Krishnamurti repeatedly rejected these hindrances. Remarkably, Krishnamurti never denied reincarnation and philosophized around mystical insights to be free from all illusions and delusions.

Books by Jiddu Krishnamurti:

·         Security in Freedom

·         Inner Freedom -> India

·         Awakening Intelligence -> Europe

·         Tradition and Revolution -> America

·         As Two Friends

·         Looking in the Mirror

·         The Self as Violence -> England

·         Notes

·         Living and Dying

Youth and Awareness: Years of Fulfillment by Mary Lutyens

We can experience the ‘Masters and Mistresses’ who inspired the initiates of the Theosophical Society as ‘cosmic energy fields,’ or reflections of gods and goddesses from mystery religions or ancient cults. In this way, we recognize these divine spheres in our higher Self as spiritual inspirations, and as we transcend these cosmic levels, we are again filled by the Unspeakable Luminous Source of All Life. Every person consciously or unconsciously strives for this perfect state of consciousness. Some reach it naturally, spontaneously, from the Self, while others follow various mystical or occult training paths or initiations.

Mystical or Spiritual Marriage and Tantra as Psychosexual Liberation

We can view reincarnation as the transition of spirit and soul after death from one body to another, but also as living experiences from one state of consciousness to another consciousness experience. The terms 'transmigration' and 'metempsychosis,' soul migration or 'traveling in spirit,' are used synonymously, although these sometimes imply the transition into an animal or even plant being or life. For the Yogi or mystic, this happens during meditations in a form of cosmic consciousness, where the mind transcends the forms and dimensions of time and space and then merges with other forms of consciousness in the subtle realms. Empedocles said: ‘I have been a boy and a girl, a bush, a bird, and a mute fish in the sea.’ The Tibetan Book of the Dead describes how, after death, consciousness ‘that has no substratum rides the horse of breath as a plaything of the wind. Then the moment comes when, terribly and unbearably, the fierce wind of karma chases you with wild gusts.’ After a while, the thought will come to you: ‘Oh, what would I not give to possess a body.’ Then the soul will be tempted by visions of copulating people and animals and will feel a compulsion to take the place of one of them. ‘Do not try to take the place of any of them,’ says the Book of the Dead. ‘The feeling you would then experience would make you faint, just as egg and seed unite. And afterward, you will realize that you have been conceived as a human or animal.’

In the West, the doctrine of reincarnation was not readily accepted. It appeared in Plato and in the Greco-Egyptian esoteric writings from before the birth of Christ called the Hermetica. A fragment of it was translated into English by G.R.S. Mead in his book Thrice-Greatest Hermes: "From one soul in the universe all souls descend... these souls undergo many changes, some for the better, others for the worse. Those of creeping creatures change into those of water creatures; those of water creatures into those of land creatures; air creatures change into humans. Human souls that conquer immortality change into holy powers. Thus they pass into the realm of the Gods... And that is the perfect glory of the soul."

The early church fathers were influenced by the Hermetica, and many of them believed in reincarnation. Origen, one of the most influential church fathers, taught a form of incarnation. He claimed that souls had existed in previous worlds and would be reborn in future worlds. Origen's teachings were later condemned by the church, and the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 AD anathematized the doctrine of soul migration. However, the doctrine continued to live in various underground Gnostic movements that occasionally openly opposed the Church, including the Cathars in the Middle Ages, such as the Albigenses and the Bogomils in the Balkans. They were almost entirely eradicated by the church through cruel means, and their belief in reincarnation was declared heretical. Philosophers, writers, and poets have always been attracted to the idea, even when it was out of fashion. Schopenhauer, Goethe, Heine, and Thoreau, to name just a few, were fascinated by it.

Sometimes it is believed that reincarnation takes place within a family. Among the Yoruba in West Africa, a child born shortly after the death of a grandparent may be named Babatunda (‘Father has returned’) or Getunde (‘Mother has returned’). Many mystery religions and mystical systems are associated with the belief in reincarnation and offer an escape from ‘the exhausting wheel of birth and death.’ The belief is strong in India and is found in both Hinduism and Buddhism. It was probably from India that Pythagoras introduced the idea into the Greek world, and Plato adopted it into his system from the Pythagoreans. Orthodox Christianity never adopted the idea, as we have seen, but it does play a role in some Christian esoteric and Theosophical schools. For example, Maria of the Incarnation (1600-1672) described her spiritual marriage as: ‘Unless the soul first leaves God, I feel that He will never fail to make her sensitive to His presence.’ Thus, we enter the realms of spiritual marriage.

Ruusbroec wrote about The Realm of Lovers and The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage. Spiritual marriage is therefore participation in Divine Life. In Christian thought, the idea of spiritual marriage goes back to Origen's allegorical interpretation of the Song of Songs. In the experience of spiritual marriage, a clear duality can be observed. On one hand, the experience of the Divine embrace or being fully infused with Divine grace, and on the other hand, the experience of the ‘Spiritual Orgasm’ or the ‘Ultimate Ecstasy.’ There seems to be no doubt that mystics, at the peaks of mystical unity, experience a feeling of being embraced by a kind of spiritual sexuality. In Teresa of Jesus' "Conceptions of the Love of God," there is a fascinating passage in which she swings between God as spouse, woman, and mother: ‘When this most abundant beloved deems it fit to enrich souls and caress them even more tenderly, He converts them so thoroughly to Himself that, like someone who is beside themselves with excessive pleasure and joy, that soul perceives itself as being lifted by those divine arms and resting on that divine side and those divine breasts; through the divine milk with which her beloved continues to feed her... she sees herself... caressed by Him who knows how and is able to do so; she knows not how to compare it except with the caresses of a mother tenderly loving her baby, and nurturing and stroking him in this way.’

In some forms of mysticism and mystery religions, spiritual union is expressed through physical union. A good example of this is the Tantric maithuna, where the mystical nature of the union is evident in the fact that there should be no ejaculation. These are then forms of white tantra, where all experiences are kept in the subtle. We also know of red tantra, where male seed energy is freely given to the beloved women and ‘mother earth,’ either factually or ritually. But on the shadow side, some sects also practice forms of black tantra. The origin of Tantrism is obscure. According to one tradition, it originated outside India, somewhere in the northwest in a place with various names, such as Udyana, Oddiyana, Shambhala, and Agharta, around which fantastic legends have arisen. In India, there is a tradition from the distant past about this mysterious region of Oddiyana, which produced its own semi-mythological princes and beautiful princesses, as well as the extraordinary rites of sexual mysticism to which they devoted themselves. One of Tibet's most prominent initiates, Padma Sambhava (±750 AD), was born in Oddiyana, came to India, taught at a Tantric university in Bihar, and then travelled to Tibet to found a famous school of philosophy based on Tantric principles. The word tantra means a work. It can simply mean a book, but it also has a connotation regarding the correct execution of something, such as performing a ritual. The writings in which the teachings of this cult are embodied are called tantras. This name is derived from a word meaning ‘loom,’ referring to the two principles, male and female, that form the warp and weft from which the fabric of the universe is woven. The texts often consist of a dialogue between Shakti and Shiva (the dancing Shiva), in which the teachings are expounded. Much of this teaching is kept hidden in a secret ‘twilight’ language that seemingly means one thing while intending another. Tantric texts are open to more than one interpretation. Therefore, the tantras are texts intended for a narrow circle of initiates: "This hymn cannot be revealed to all and everyone, for if it becomes known to one who is unworthy, evil will befall him. Therefore, it must be carefully hidden."The main deity in tantrism is the feminine principle, embodied in the goddess Shakti. In tantric mysticism, one speaks of the ‘cosmic yoni’ because all life is born from the cosmos or the ‘Divine Mother’, or biological mother. The Lingam (male principle) or phallus in the yoni (female principle) or vagina, is the final spiritual union and leads to salvation, moksha or samdhi (spiritual enlightenment).

Shakti means ‘Power’ and she represents the primal force of the cosmos.

She has many manifestations, some with a benevolent appearance, like Parvati, goddess of beauty, another ferocious one, like the goddess Kali, who is depicted with a garland of skulls around her neck, a blood-stained sword in hand, and lips red with the clotted blood of her many human victims. Shakti's spiritual spouse is Shiva, and these two, Shakti and Shiva, together form the cosmos: he represents the constituent elements, she the dynamic principle that makes these elements function. A tantric saying goes, ‘Shiva without Shakti is a lifeless body’. Shiva as Nataraya, the ‘king of dance’ balances the cosmos dancing while trampling a demon with his foot. Shiva, the benevolent is one of the most popular gods of the Hindu pantheon and the personification of both the destructive (death) and creative aspects (life) of the cosmic forces. Creator and Destroyer at the same time. Shiva is also god of fertility and his asceticism should be considered as a preparation for his marriage and his prolonged sexual intercourse with his wife Durga or Parvati as his Shakti. In his dark aspect, Shiva appears as Ugra (the ‘violent one’), Mahakala (the ‘terrible one’) or Bhairava (the ‘death one’). In his beneficent aspect, he is called Mahayogin (‘great yogi’) or Nataraya (‘king of dance’), who maintains the rhythm of the universe with his dancing and induces ecstatic rapture. Shiva is depicted with one head (or five heads) and four arms, dancing or in sexual intercourse with his consort. His emblems are the trident, the crescent moon and a third eye. His riding animal is the white bull Nandi which, like his symbol the lingam or phallus, emphasises his fertility and creative power. In the famous sculpture ‘fall of the Ganges’ carved from two huge granite blocks.(mid-Pallava period 625-674) at Mamal-lapuram, in south-east India, on the Indian Ocean, the Shiva figure plays an important role. At Khajuraho, in central India, the Kandariyamahadeva temple was built for the god.

Shakti is also seen as mother goddess Devi, from whom everything originates.

According to tantrists, every age has its own text. As we read in the Vedas and the Mahabharata, historical time can be measured in recurring phases of four aeons, or yugas, succeeding each other in an endless circular progression, with a global rotation at the end of each cycle, after which it begins anew. Thus we can witness a great cosmic spiral being transformed to ever higher cosmic levels. The first era is a Golden Age, in which people live long lives, are beautiful in their radiance, their auras and their inner lives, they know no envy, malice, guile, pride, hatred, cruelty or lust. Nostradamus also speaks of this Golden Age in his quatrains for the future. The next three eras, the last being the Kali Yuga or Black Age, show an increasing decline in humanity's vitality and moral qualities. We are currently living in the Kali Yuga, the fourth and also last phase, which began five thousand years ago and is now approaching its climax. It is a time of violence and strife, of degeneration and moral decay. In these times, the young no longer have respect for the old and many of the old no longer deserve such respect. Little or no value is placed any more on marriage vows, social contracts, personal obligations and duties, and people everywhere are completely preoccupied with sensual pleasure and material gain.

Man has become like a pasha or an ‘animal creature’. For this era, the older vedata texts are apparently of zero and no value. But there is a proper method to meet this. What man does in these energies he has to make into a ritual and sensual passion, lust and selfish sexual gratification have to be elevated and transformed into a worship service purifying these spheres as much as possible. While the low-to-the-ground gratification of carnal lust belongs to the pasha herd, the tantrist must dedicate the expressions of his senses and spirit to the gods and goddesses, but especially to the Supreme Source, as a consecrated sacrament. The main themes of tantra consist of rituals and worship. These have to do with women, gods and goddesses and fertility cults. Sexual energy is important to religious knowledge, so are wine and meat, (in contrast to India's almost complete vegetarianism). Tantric ritual is basically characterised as ‘the five m's’: madya (intoxicating drinks), mamsa (meat), matsya (fish), moedra (ritual gestures and postures), and maithuna (ritual sexual union). So where Hinduism tends to deny this world in all its manifestations because they are maya (illusions), tantrism in general is a kind of affirmation of it and they want to infuse the material world with positive and creative energy, as it were. In Hinduism, one has to escape this world, in tantrism enjoy it. In tantrism, joy, vision and ecstasy are the foundations of religious experience, and in sexual union conceived as a natural and total union of two human beings, who are face to face with each other, there is the experience of union with the ultimate. The truth that is the conclusion of all those imbued with the Vedas and the highest philosophies is that what yogis see as the One, all-pervading, subtle, beyond all attributes, motionless and static; it is the ultimate state of the Great Goddess and her consort Shiva. What yogis see as the eternal, imperishable, solitary, pure, exalted Brahman, that is the ultimate state of the Great Goddess and her consort Shiva.

That all-embracing existence, higher than the highest, universal, beneficent and faultless, which is in the genitalia of Prakriti, that is the ultimate state of the Great Goddess and her consort Shiva. That which is white, spotless, pure, without attribute or distinction, that which is only realised in the Self, that is the ultimate state of the Great Goddess Shakti united with her beloved Shiva. Although strong emphasis is placed on the feminine, visually and imaginatively, the ultimate creative force is bisexual, or as a divine couple, or symbolised by the two sexual organs, the lingam or phallus (male) encased in the yoni (female, vagina, womb).

The Devatas or divine incarnations or principles are depicted in human form. Many temples depict divine beings making love. This is all part of the feeling that energy, joy and creativity throughout the universe are one and the same.

Throughout India, we see sculptures of the erect lingam or phallus in the receiving yoni or vagina. These are ritually purified and wreathed with flowers while chanting mantras or sacred chants. At the temples in Kajuraho, we can behold beautiful sculptures carved into the rock. All possible sexual unions are depicted as meditative asanas or postures to raise the sexual energy or kundalini through the chakras up to through the saharara chakra or crown lotus to experience the most sublime ecstasy. Tantrism is a mystery religion. Its goal is the union of man's energy and creative impulses with the energy and creative impulses of the cosmos. This is achieved through a meticulous pattern of repeated rituals and through meditation focused on the realisation that even the smallest object or movement - the resurrection of a bubble, the vibration in a mosquito's leg - arises from the creative joy of the goddess Shakti and her beloved Shiva and is an essential part of cosmic bliss. Sexual initiation or union with an initiate of the opposite sex, who is thus an instrument of divine energy, flooding various subtle realms, is part of the mystery. The complex symbolism of yantras and mandalas as well as mantras help focus the mind and enhance understanding of higher levels of consciousness. One also often uses the creative visualisation of certain spheres, gods or goddesses to let those or their energy fields flow through oneself. The initiate will occasionally catch a glimpse of cosmic bliss; his ultimate goal is union with the divine, with the Source of all life or Tao.

Tao or Tau is the Chinese term meaning ‘the Way’ the ultimate reality of the universe and all forms of life and the way all phenomena manifest. The concept of Sacred Marriage (hieros gamos) was also important in ancient Greek religion; it was the union of heaven and earth.

Human union could be used as a means to promote cosmic fertility. Ritual prostitution, in one form or another, was widely found in classical times in the eastern Mediterranean, for example in Cyprus and along the coast of Palestine. In Armenia, the daughters of the aristocracy regularly served for a time as temple prostitutes of Anaitis before marrying. Anahita or Anaitis was an Oudiraan water goddess, protector of fertility and women, also a war goddess, whose name means ‘the immaculate one’. She was much loved and is one of the forms of the ‘Great Goddess’ found in all ancient Eastern religions (including the Syrian-Phoenician Anath). After the conquest of Babylonia (6th century BC) by Iran, she acquires traits of Istar and temple prostitution becomes part of her cult. At Tralles in Lydia, one Aurelia Aemilia proudly reports on an inscription about her service and that of her mother and other ancestors. The experience itself was accompanied by elaborate rituals and was a kind of mystical identification with the goddess. In Corinth, there was a large company of consecrated prostitutes attached to the temple of Aphrodite. In 464 BC, a wealthy citizen called Xenophon ordained twenty-five girls into her service as a thanksgiving. Pindarus wrote a hymn on this occasion: he says that the goddess received a hundred new limbs: hospitable girls, companions of temptation in rich Corinth, you who offer the amber-grey tears of fresh resin incense, often in your souls lift up to Aphrodite, heavenly mother of love. But the great field of temple prostitution has been India; in service to Shiva and Vishnu, as we have already described, priestesses were honoured as ‘brides of God’, and the dancing girls attached to many temples took part in religious worship services of ecstasy and fertility. No doubt, in some mystery religions, the drama of sacred marriage was used for the initiates all over the world to express the relationship between spirit and the inspired man. For instance, in Ethiopia, the zar-initiated bride is named and given two ‘witnesses’ to help in difficulties with her spiritual husband. In the voodoo of Haiti, men and women make spiritual marriages to one of the Loa; there are ceremonial weddings with marriage certificates, and sometimes even a bed is made for the spiritual partner. In the black-magic sides, then, there are rituals and poisons to turn people into living zombies. (including with the neurotoxic poison of the blowfish). In Haiti, ritual magic and incantations are very deeply rooted. So we also read in the biography of the artist Paul Gaugin, who spent his last years of life in Haiti. Loas are deities in voodoo beliefs in the Caribbean who are concerned with people and often personify natural phenomena. The voodoo world is densely populated with Loa. Their leader is Damballa. Some Loa protect certain places or areas ( graveyards, road intersections, the sea, etc.), others are ancestor spirits. Among the Saora of Orissa, the initiation of the inspired priest is celebrated by marriage to a female spirit; from the marriage, spiritual children may be born; upon his death, the priest leaves his earthly partner for his heavenly one. Among Chuckee of the Arctic, the male shaman often has a spirit-wife; but female shamans have a harder time, as their spiritual partners do not like the birth of children, and leave them at that time. Among the Eskimos, the climax is qaumaneq or enlightenment, a mysterious light that the shaman suddenly feels within himself and that enables him to see in the dark and make astral journeys. Sometimes there is the experience of the spiritual wedding to a spirit of the opposite sex. The initiation period often involves an ascension rite, usually climbing a tree, which is linked to the ability to fly. The initial ecstasy is followed by a long period of meditation and practice that often includes a method of communicating with animals. Corresponding ideas are widespread in Asia and Africa. To conclude, some good books on tantra are: The Eastern Game of Love by Kamala Devi, Sexual Secrets and Mountain Ecstasy by Nick Douglas and Penny Slinger, Tantra, Yoga and Meditation by Eric Bruijn, The Magic of Tantra by Margo Anand and Eroticism, Energy and Ecstasy by David and Ellen Ramsdale.

The Artist's Soul and the Archetype of the Muse

The great mystery is that all human life is born through the consciousness of the woman as the divine mother, also literally, during birth, through the vagina or vulva, as described in Tantric mysticism as the 'cosmic yoni.'

The woman is the creator of the universe,

the universe is her form;

the woman is the foundation of the world,

she is the true form of the body.

Whatever form she assumes,

that of a man or a woman,

that is the highest form.

In the woman is the form of all things,

of everything in the world that lives and moves.

There is no jewel rarer than the woman,

no state higher than that of the woman.

There is, there was, and there will not be a destiny

that can equal that of a woman;

no kingdom, no wealth

that can be compared to a woman.

There is, there was, and there will not be

any holy place like a woman.

There is no prayer that can equal a woman.

There is, there was, and there will not be

a yoga comparable to a woman,

no mystical chant, no ascetic rule

that can match a woman.

There are, there were, and there will not be

riches more valuable than a woman.

Saktisangama Tantra

Muses or Miousai in Greek mythology are daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (goddess of memory). This memory, as a source of inspiration from the collective unconscious, represents for the male artist a whole experiential world of feminine energies and power fields. In depth psychology, these soul patterns are called the anima. For the woman, all creative male subtle phenomena that present themselves to her are called the animus. The muses were originally goddesses of song, later also of art and science. Their number usually amounts to nine. Homer's works mention that number but not the names. He often invokes the Muses, as at the beginning of the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Muses often reside on Olympus, where they entertain the gods. They also dwell on Helicon (now the Zagora mountain in central Greece), where they continue to collaborate in ethereal realms, and at the Hippocrene spring, and on Parnassus. Their leader is the god Apollo. Apollo is a son of Zeus and Leto. He was born together with his twin sister Artemis on the island of Delos. Apollo is the Greek god of goodness and beauty. He personifies harmonic tranquillity, maintains justice and order, and brings catharsis (the purification of conscience). Thus, we can perceive the collaboration between Apollo and the Muses as daughters of the goddess of memory and how they influence the deep soul structures of artistic people, increasingly manifesting in the higher consciousness of the inspired individual.

With his silver bow and arrows, Apollo strikes down the arrogant and can sow death and destruction. But he also brings healing (Asclepius is his son). He is also the god of wisdom, light, music, and poetry and the lord of the Muses. Above all, he is an oracle god who reveals the will of the gods. Especially in the sacred Delphi but also in many other places, he spoke to humans through the mouths of oracle-interpreting priests and priestesses. His title Phoebus (the shining) is one of the most widespread and indicates his function as a sun god.

The eros of the Muses is directed at themselves. They do not seduce men because they are in love with them but because they strive to be worshipped by them, to enchant their hearts and souls. Such Muses rob men of their souls while remaining as cold and indifferent as the darkness of the waning moon. The dark sides of the Muses are intertwined with the power of the goddess Hecate; she was originally an Anatolian goddess whose cult later spread to Greece. She is considered a Titan child (daughter of Zeus, Demeter, or Perse). She is also the goddess of the underworld and the new moon (and as such identified with Artemis). Since the 5th century BC, she has been especially revered as the goddess of witchcraft and sorcery. She helps witches prepare their poisons and roams with howling dogs at night over graves in cemeteries and elsewhere. Her altars stood before many homes and especially at crossroads, hence her Latin nickname Trivia (of the three-way junction). Honey and dogs were offered to her there. Hecate is depicted with three bodies or three heads. In the 11th century, Diana, the classical moon goddess, who bears many similarities to the witch queen Hecate, was identified with Holda, a Germanic fertility goddess. One of Diana's forms, called Artemis by the Greeks, was that of a multi-breasted symbol of fertility. It is beyond doubt that the worship of Diana – the personification of the positive aspects of the moon powers, as Hecate represents the negative dimensions – continued long after the triumph of Christianity over paganism. We can imagine the moon aspects of Hecate, Queen of Hades, blood drinker, mistress of the night, and goddess of the witches of Thessaly. Cerberus, the hound demon of Hades, the underworld from classical mythology, was the archetype of the hellhounds, the companions of Hecate, goddess of witchcraft. Yet, Hecate's dark sides are also illuminated when she remains the only one loyal to Zeus during the Titan rebellion. Zeus rewards her for this with power over heaven, sea, and earth. Fishermen, hunters, and shepherds are under her protection. The forms of the Muses are countless. The ‘essence of the muse’ can be both inspiring and demonic. It was in the realms of ancient European times that the Goddess became the inspirer and Muse of artists, poets, and singers. Many myths and symbols in paintings, poetry, and songs inspired by the Muse developed in the Mesopotamian lands. The fundamental symbols that have been preserved concern the Triple Goddess: ‘Diana among the green leaves, Luna shining brightly, Persephone in the underworld,’ (Skelton, Garland of Laurel). William Blake wrote about this: ‘O! How I dreamed of impossible things.’ The myth is the collective dream of impossible things, while the dream is the personal myth that tells of impossible things.

Persephone is the Greek goddess of the underworld, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She is abducted by the god of the underworld Hades while picking flowers as a young girl. He takes her to his underworld without anyone noticing the abduction and marries her. Since then, she has been sought by Demeter, and when Demeter learns from the sun god Helios that Persephone resides in the underworld, she strikes the earth with infertility. Consequently, Zeus sends his messenger Hermes to Hades, who must send Persephone back to earth. Hades lets her go on the condition that she spends one-third of the year in the underworld with her husband Pluto. Persephone, also called Kore (maiden), was particularly revered with her mother in the Eleusinian mysteries.

Luna is a Roman moon goddess (identified with the Greek Selene) and a sister of the sun god Sol. Later she is identified with Diana and Hecate.

Diana is the ancient Italian goddess of fertility and vegetation, also a moon goddess, and was especially worshipped in sacred groves and traditionally identified with the Greek Artemis (e.g., as goddess of the hunt). From an esoteric perspective, many spiritual luminous beings gather in the bright side of the moon. Old ‘Masters,’ angels and archangels, the ‘World Teachers,’ and high intelligences work together, via the bright side of the moon, profoundly influencing the purity of humanity and world development. Diana also works from these realms as the protector of feminine life. Her name is explained from ‘Diviana’ (=the luminous). She received a temple in the populous neighbourhood on the wooded Aventine Hill in Rome, where she was mainly worshipped by the lower classes (the plebs) and was regarded as the patron goddess of slaves. Diana is depicted as a huntress, with a short dress and quiver, accompanied by a doe.

Artemis, as the Greek goddess of the hunt, the moon, and fertility, protects women in childbirth. As Lochia, she is ‘she who delivers.’ Accompanied by nymphs, she roams the mountains, forests, and fields, protecting animals, but also hunting and killing them. One of her oldest attributes is that of the goddess of death, and in ancient times, human sacrifices were even made to her (in Tauris). Her renowned sanctuary, the Artemisium, was located outside Greece, in Ephesus. Here she was depicted with numerous breasts as a sign of her creative power.

From the bright clear side of the moon, we perceive the illuminated pure spirit of the Muse, as we can experience in Dante's Divine Comedy. Dante chose Beatrice as his muse. She was the pure light that led the artist from the dark abyss of Hell through Purgatory to the eternal Source of all life. ‘A wild angel had appeared to him, the angel of mortal youth and beauty, a messenger from the fair courts of life, to open for him in a moment of ecstasy the gates of all paths of wandering and glory.’

Thus, the Artist and his Muse are reflections of each other from earthly life to the highest realms of the Infinite cosmic Source of all life.

Namaste

I greet the Eternal soul in You and in all living beings.

-Karel Meul (in loving memory) 

Published in the summer of 2007

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