,,invisible ,,helpers ,,by ,c4 ,w4 ,,leadbeater ,,american ,,revised ,,edition ,,with ,,index ,,chicago3 ,,the ,,theosophical ,,book ,,concern 8,krotona10 ,hollywood1 ,,los ,,angeles1 ,,california ,,london3 ,,the ,,theosophical ,,publishing ,,society1 #c ,,langham ,,place ,,benares3 ,,the ,,theosophical ,,publishing ,,society ,,madras1 ,,the 8,,theosophist0 ,,office1 ,,adyar4 #aiae ,,contents4 ,,page4 ,,chapter ,i4--,,the ,,universal ,,belief ,,in ,,them #e ,,chapter ,,ii4--,,some ,,modern ,,instances #i ,,chapter ,,iii4--,a ,,personal ,,experience #ah ,,chapter ,,iv4--,,the ,,helpers #be ,,chapter ,v4--,,the ,,reality ,,of ,,superphysical ,,life #cd ,,chapter ,,vi4--,a ,,timely ,,intervention #ci ,,chapter ,,vii4--,,the 8,,angel0 ,,story #db ,,chapter ,,viii4--,,the ,,story ,,of ,a ,,fire #ej ,,chapter ,,ix4--,,materialization ,,and ,,repercussion #ef ,,chapter ,x4--,,the ,,two ,,brothers #fc ,,chapter ,,xi4--,,wrecks ,,and ,,catastrophes #gb ,,chapter ,,xii4--,,work ,,among ,,the ,,dead #gh ,,chapter ,,xiii4--,,other ,,branches ,,of ,,the ,,work #ib ,,chapter ,,xiv4--,,the ,,qualifications ,,required #ig ,,chapter ,,xv4--,,the ,,probationary ,,path #ajh ,,chapter ,,xvi4--,,the ,,path ,,proper #aah ,,chapter ,,xvii4--,,what ,,lies ,,beyond #abi ,,index #ace ,,invisible ,,helpers ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,universal ,,belief ,,in ,,them4 ,it is one of the most beautiful characteristics of ,theosophy that it gives back to people in a more rational form everything which was really useful and helpful to them in the religions which they have outgrown4 ,many who have broken through the chrysalis of blind faith1 and mounted on the wings of reason and intuition to the freer1 nobler mental life of more exalted levels1 nevertheless feel that in the process of this glorious gain a something has been lost--that in giving up the beliefs of their childhood they have also cast aside much of the beauty and the poetry of life4 ,if1 however1 their lives in the past have been sufficiently good to earn for them the opportunity of coming under the benign influence of ,theosophy1 they very soon discover that even in this particular there has been no loss at all1 but an exceeding great gain--that the glory and the beauty and the poetry are there in fuller measure than they had ever hoped before1 and no longer as a mere pleasant dream from which the cold light of common-sense may at any time rudely awaken them1 but as truths of nature which will bear investigation--which become only brighter1 fuller and more perfect as they are more accurately understood4 ,a marked instance of this beneficent action of ,theosophy is the way in which the invisible world 7which1 before the great wave of materialism engulfed us1 used to be regarded as the source of all living help7 has been restored by it to modern life4 ,all the charming folk-lore of the elf1 the brownie and the gnome1 of the spirits of air and water1 of the forest1 the mountain and the mine1 is shown by it to be no more meaningless superstition1 but to have a basis of actual and scientific fact behind it4 ,its answer to the great fundamental question 8,if a man die1 shall he live again80 is equally definite and scientific1 and its teaching on the nature and conditions of the life after death throws a flood of light upon much that1 for the ,western world at least1 was previously wrapped in impenetrable darkness4 ,it cannot be too often repeated that in this teaching as to the immortality of the soul and the life after death1 ,theosophy stands in a position totally different from that of ordinary religion4 ,it does not put forward these great truths merely on the authority of some sacred book of long ago2 in speaking of these subjects it is not dealing with pious opinions1 or metaphysical speculations1 but with solid1 definite facts1 as real and as close to us as the air we breathe or the houses we live in--facts of which many among us have constant experience--facts among which lies the daily work of some of our students1 as will presently be seen4 ,among the beautiful conceptions which ,theosophy has restored to us stands pre-eminent that of the great helpful agencies of nature4 ,the belief in these has been world-wide from the earliest dawn of history1 and is universal even now outside the narrow domains of protestantism1 which has emptied and darkened the world for its votaries by its attempt to do away with the natural and perfectly true idea of intermediate agents1 and reduce everything to the two factors of man and deity--a device whereby the conception of deity has been infinitely degraded1 and man has remained unhelped4 ,a moment's thought will show that the ordinary view of providence--the conception of an erratic interference by the central power of the universe with the result of his own decrees--would imply the introduction of partiality into the scheme1 and therefore of the whole train of evils which must necessarily follow upon its heels4 ,the ,theosophical teaching1 that a man can be thus specially helped only when his past actions have been such as to deserve this assistance1 and that even then the help will be given through those who are comparatively near his own level1 is free from this serious objection2 and it furthermore brings back to us the older and far grander conception of an unbroken ladder of living beings extending down from the ,logos ,himself to the very dust beneath our feet4 ,in the ,east the existence of the invisible helpers has always been recognized1 though the names given and the characteristics attributed to them naturally vary in different countries2 and even in ,europe we have had the old ,greek stories of the constant interference of the gods in human affairs1 and the ,roman legend that ,castor and ,pollux led the legions of the infant republic in the battle of ,lake ,regillus4 ,nor did such a conception die out when the classical period ended1 for these stories have their legitimate successors in medival tales of saints who appeared at critical moments and turned the fortune of war in favour of the ,christian hosts1 or of guardian angels who sometimes stepped in and saved a pious traveller from what would otherwise have been certain destruction4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,some ,,modern ,,instances4 ,even in this incredulous age1 and amidst the full whirl of our nineteenth-century civilization1 in spite of the dogmatism of our science and the deadly dullness of our protestantism1 instances of intervention inexplicable from the materialistic standpoint may still be found by any one who will take the trouble to look for them2 and in order to demonstrate this to the reader ,i will briefly epitomize a few of the examples given in one or other of the recent collections of such stories1 adding thereto one or two that have come within my own notice4 ,one very remarkable feature of these more recent examples is that the intervention seems nearly always to have been directed towards the helping or saving of children4 ,an interesting case which occurred in ,london only a few years ago was connected with the preservation of a child's life in the midst of a terrible fire1 which broke out in a street near ,holborn1 and entirely destroyed two of the houses there4 ,the flames had obtained such hold before they were discovered that the firemen were unable to save the houses1 but they succeeded in rescuing all the inmates except two--an old woman who was suffocated by the smoke before they could reach her1 and a child about five years old1 whose presence in the house had been forgotten in the hurry and excitement of the moment4 ,the mother of the child1 it seems1 was a friend or relative of the landlady of the house1 and had left the little creature in her charge for the night1 because she was herself obliged to go down to ,colchester on business4 ,it was not until everyone else had been rescued1 and the whole house was wrapped in flame1 that the landlady remembered with a terrible pang the trust that had been confided to her4 ,it seemed hopeless then to attempt to get at the garret where the child had been put to bed1 but one of the firemen heroically resolved to make the desperate effort1 and1 after receiving minute directions as to the exact situation of the room1 plunged in among the smoke and flame4 ,he found the child1 and brought him forth entirely unharmed2 but when he rejoined his comrades he had a very singular story to tell4 ,he declared that when he reached the room he found it in flames1 and most of the floor already fallen2 but the fire had curved round the room towards the window in an unnatural and unaccountable manner1 the like of which in all his experience he had never seen before1 so that the corner in which the child lay was wholly untouched1 although the very rafters of the fragment of floor on which his little crib stood were half burnt away4 ,the child was naturally very much terrified1 but the fireman distinctly and repeatedly declared that as at great risk he made his way towards him he saw a form like an angel--here his exact words are given--a something 8all gloriously white and silvery1 bending over the bed and smoothing down the counterpane40 ,he could not possibly have been mistaken about it1 he said1 for it was visible in a glare of light for some moments1 and in fact disappeared only when he was within a few feet of it4 ,another curious feature of this story is that the child's mother found herself unable to sleep that night down at ,colchester1 but was constantly harrassed by a strong feeling that something was wrong with her child1 insomuch that at last she was compelled to rise and spend some time in earnest prayer that the little one might be protected from the danger which she instinctively felt to be hanging over him4 ,the intervention was thus evidently what a ,christian would call an answer to prayer2 a ,theosophist1 putting the same idea in more scientific phraseology1 would say that her intense outpouring of love constituted a force which one of our invisible helpers was able to use for the rescue of her child from a terrible death4 ,a remarkable case in which children were abnormally protected occurred on the banks of the ,thames near ,maidenhead a few years earlier than our last example4 ,this time the danger from which they were saved arose not from fire but from water4 ,three little ones1 who lived1 if ,i recollect rightly1 in or near the village of ,shottesbrook1 were taken out for a walk along the towing-path by their nurse4 ,they rushed suddenly round a corner upon a horse which was drawing a barge1 and in the confusion two of them got on the wrong side of the tow-rope and were thrown into the water4 ,the boatman1 who saw the accident1 sprang forward to try to save them1 and he noticed that they were floating high in the water 8in quite an unnatural way1 like10 as he said1 and moving quietly towards the bank4 ,this was all that he and the nurse saw1 but the children each declared that 8a beautiful person1 all white and shining10 stood beside them in the water1 held them up and guided them to the shore4 ,nor was their story without corroboration1 for the bargeman's little daughter1 who ran up from the cabin when she heard the screams of the nurse1 also affirmed that she saw a lovely lady in the water dragging the two children to the bank4 ,without fuller particulars than the story gives us1 it is impossible to say with certainty from what class of helpers this 8angel0 was drawn2 but the probabilities are in favour of its having been a developed human being functioning in the astral body1 as will be seen when later on we deal with this subject from the other side1 as it were--from the point of view of the helpers rather than the helped4 ,a case in which the agency is somewhat more definitely distinguishable is related by the well-known clergyman1 ,dr4 ,john ,mason ,neale4 ,he states that a man who had recently lost his wife was on a visit with his little children at the country house of a friend4 ,it was an old1 rambling mansion1 and in the lower part of it there were long1 dark passages1 in which the children played about with great delight4 ,but presently they came upstairs very gravely1 and two of them related that as they were running down one of these passages they were met by their mother1 who told them to go back again1 and then disappeared4 ,investigation revealed the fact that if the children had run but a few steps farther they would have fallen down a deep uncovered well which yawned full in their path1 so that the apparition of their mother had saved them from almost certain death4 ,in this instance there seems no reason to doubt that the mother herself was still keeping a loving watch over her children from the astral plane1 and that 7as has happened in some other cases7 her intense desire to warn them of the danger into which they were so heedlessly rushing gave her the power to make herself visible and audible to them for the moment--or perhaps merely to impress their minds with the idea that they saw and heard her4 ,it is possible1 of course1 that the helper may have been some one else1 who took the familiar form of the mother in order not to alarm the children2 but the simplest hypothesis is to attribute the intervention to the action of the ever-wakeful mother-love itself1 undimmed by the passage through the gates of death4 ,this mother-love1 being one of the holiest and most unselfish of human feelings1 is also one of the most persistent on higher planes4 ,not only does the mother who finds herself upon the lower levels of the astral plane1 and consequently still within touch of the earth1 maintain her interest in and her care for her children as long as she is able to see them2 even after her entry into the heaven-world these little ones are still the most prominent objects in her thought1 and the wealth of love that she lavishes upon the images which she there makes of them is a great outpouring of spiritual force which flows down upon her offspring who are still struggling in this lower world1 and surrounds them with living centres of beneficent energy which may not inaptly be described as veritable guardian angels4 ,an illustration of this will be found in the sixth of our ,theosophical manuals1 p4 #ch4 ,not long ago the little daughter of one of our ,english bishops was out walking with her mother in the town where they lived1 and in running heedlessly across a street the child was knocked down by the horses of a carriage which came quickly upon her round a corner4 ,seeing her among the horses' feet1 the mother rushed forward1 expecting to find her very badly injured1 but she sprang up quite merrily1 saying1 8,oh1 mamma1 ,i am not at all hurt1 for something all in white kept the horses from treading upon me1 and told me not to be afraid40 ,a case which occurred in ,buckinghamshire1 somewhere in the neighbourhood of ,burnham ,beeches1 is remarkable on account of the length of time through which the physical manifestation of the succouring agency seems to have maintained itself4 ,it will have been seen that in the instances hitherto given the intervention was a matter of but a few moments1 whereas in this a phenomenon was produced which appears to have persisted for more than half an hour4 ,two of the little children of a small farmer were left to amuse themselves while their parents and their entire household were engaged in the work of harvesting4 ,the little ones started for a walk in the woods1 wandered far from home1 and then managed to lose their way4 ,when the weary parents returned at dusk it was discovered that the children were missing1 and after enquiring at some of the neighbours' houses the father sent servants and labourers in various directions to seek for them4 ,their efforts were1 however1 unsuccessful1 and their shouts unanswered2 and they had reassembled at the farm in a somewhat despondent frame of mind1 when they all saw a curious light some distance away moving slowly across some fields towards the road4 ,it was described as a large globular mass of rich golden glow1 quite unlike ordinary lamplight2 and as it drew nearer it was seen that the two missing children were walking steadily along in the midst of it4 ,the father and some others immediately set off running towards it2 the appearance persisted until they were close to it1 but just as they grasped the children it vanished1 leaving them in the darkness4 ,the children's story was that after night came on they had wandered about crying in the woods for some time1 and had at last lain down under a tree to sleep4 ,they had been roused1 they said1 by a beautiful lady with a lamp1 who took them by the hand and led them home2 when they questioned her she smiled at them1 but never spoke a word4 ,to this strange tale they both steadily adhered1 nor was it possible in any way to shake their faith in what they had seen4 ,it is noteworthy1 however1 that though all present saw the light1 and noticed that it lit up the trees and hedges which came within its sphere precisely as an ordinary light would1 yet the form of the lady was visible to none but the children4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,a ,,personal ,,experience4 ,all the above stories are comparatively well-known1 and may be found in some of the books which contain collections of such accounts--most of them in ,dr4 ,lee's ,more ,glimpses of the ,world ,unseen2 but the two instances which ,i am now about to give have never been in print before1 and both occurred within the last ten years--one to myself1 and the other to a very dear friend of mine1 a prominent member of the ,theosophical ,society1 whose accuracy of observation is beyond all shadow of doubt4 ,my own story is a simple one enough1 though not unimportant to me1 since the interposition undoubtedly saved my life4 ,i was walking one exceedingly wet and stormy night down a quiet back street near ,westbourne ,grove1 struggling with scant success to hold up an umbrella against the savage gusts of wind that threatened every moment to tear it from my grasp1 and trying as ,i laboured along to think out the details of some work upon which ,i was just then engaged4 ,with startling suddenness a voice which ,i know well--the voice of an ,indian teacher--cried in my ear 8,spring back60 and in mechanical obedience ,i started violently backwards almost before ,i had time to think4 ,as ,i did so my umbrella1 which had swung forward with the sudden movement1 was struck from my hand1 and a huge metal chimney-pot crashed upon the pavement less than a yard in front of my face4 ,the great weight of this article1 and the tremendous force with which it fell1 make it absolutely certain that but for the warning voice ,i should have been killed on the spot2 yet the street was empty1 and the voice was that of one whom ,i knew to be seven thousand miles away from me1 as far as the physical body was concerned4 ,nor was this the only occasion upon which ,i received assistance of this supernormal kind1 for in early life1 long before the foundation of the ,theosophical ,society1 the apparition of a dear one who had recently died prevented me from committing what ,i now see would have been a serious crime1 although by the light of such knowledge as ,i then had it appeared not only a justifiable but even a laudable act of retaliation4 ,again1 at a later date1 though still before the foundation of this ,society1 a warning conveyed to me from a higher plane amid most impressive surroundings enabled me to prevent another man from entering upon a course which ,i now know would have ended disastrously1 though ,i had no reason to suppose so at the time4 ,so it will be seen that ,i have a certain amount of personal experience to strengthen my belief in the doctrine of invisible helpers1 even apart from my knowledge of the help that is constantly being given at the present time4 ,the other case is a very much more striking one4 ,one of our members1 who gives me permission to publish her story1 but does not wish her name mentioned1 once found herself in very serious physical peril4 ,owing to circumstances which need not be detailed here1 she was in the very centre of a dangerous street fracas1 and seeing several men struck down and evidently badly hurt close to her1 was in momentary expectation of a similar fate1 since escape from the crush seemed quite impossible4 ,suddenly she experienced a curious sensation of being whirled out of the crowd1 and found herself standing quite uninjured and entirely alone in a small bye-street parallel with the one in which the disturbance had taken place4 ,she still heard the noise of the struggle1 and while she stood wondering what on earth had happened to her1 two or three men who had escaped from the crowd came running round the corner of the street1 and on seeing her expressed great astonishment and pleasure1 saying that when the brave lady so suddenly disappeared from the midst of the fight they had felt certain that she had been struck down4 ,at the time no sort of explanation was forthcoming1 and she returned home in a very mystified condition2 but when at a later period she mentioned this strange occurrence to ,madame ,blavatsky she was informed that1 her karma being such as to enable her to be saved from her exceedingly dangerous position1 one of the ,masters had specially sent some one to protect her in view of the fact that her life was needed for the work4 ,nevertheless the case remains a very extraordinary one1 both with regard to the great amount of power exercised and the unusually public nature of its manifestation4 ,it is not difficult to imagine the modus operandi2 she must have been lifted bodily over the intervening block of houses1 and simply set down in the next street2 but since her physical body was not visible floating in the air1 it is also evident that a veil of some sort 7probably of etheric matter7 must have been thrown round her while in transit4 ,if it be objected that whatever can hide physical matter must itself be physical1 and therefore visible1 it may be replied that by a process familiar to all occult students it is possible to bend rays of light 7which1 under all conditions at present known to science1 travel only in straight lines unless refracted7 so that after passing round an object they may resume exactly their former course2 and it will at once be seen that if this were done such an object would to all physical eyes be absolutely invisible until the rays were allowed to resume their normal course4 ,i am fully aware that this one statement alone is sufficient to brand my remarks as nonsense in the eyes of the scientist of the present day1 but ,i cannot help that2 ,i am merely stating a possibility in nature which the science of the future will no doubt one day discover1 and for those who are not students of occultism the remark must wait until then for its justification4 ,the process1 as ,i say1 is comprehensible enough to any one who understands a little about the more occult forces of nature2 but the phenomenon still remains an exceedingly dramatic one1 while the name of the heroine of the story1 were ,i permitted to give it1 would be a guarantee of its accuracy to all my readers4 ,another recent instance of interposition1 less striking1 perhaps1 but entirely successful1 has been reported to me since the publication of the first edition of this book4 ,a lady1 being obliged to undertake a long railway journey alone1 had taken the precaution to secure an empty compartment2 but just as the train was leaving the station1 a man of forbidding and villainous appearance sprang in and seated himself at the other end of the carriage4 ,the lady was much alarmed1 thus to be left alone with so doubtful-looking a character1 but it was too late to call for help1 so she sat still and commended herself earnestly to the care of her patron saint4 ,soon her fears were redoubled1 for the man arose and turned toward her with an evil grin1 but he had hardly taken one step when he started back with a look of the most intense astonishment and terror4 ,following the direction of his glance1 she was startled to see a gentleman seated directly opposite to her1 gazing quietly but firmly at the baffled robber--a gentleman who certainly could not have entered the carriage by any ordinary means4 ,too much awed to speak1 she watched him as though fascinated for a full half-hour2 he uttered no word1 and did not even look at her1 but kept his eyes steadily upon the villain1 who cowered trembling in the furthest corner of the compartment4 ,the moment that the train reached the next station1 and even before it came to a standstill1 the would-be thief tore open the door and sprang hurriedly out4 ,the lady1 deeply thankful to be rid of him1 turned to express her gratitude to the gentleman1 but found only an empty seat1 though it would have been impossible for any physical body to have left the carriage in the time4 ,the materialization was in this case maintained for a longer period than usual1 but on the other hand it expended no force in action of any kind--nor indeed was it necessary that it should do so1 as its mere appearance was sufficient to effect its purpose4 ,but these stories1 all referring as they do to what would commonly be called angelic intervention1 illustrate only one small part of the activities of our invisible helpers4 ,before1 however1 we can profitably consider the other departments of their work it will be well that we should have clearly in our minds the various classes of entities to which it is possible that these helpers may belong4 ,let that1 then1 be the portion of our subject to be next treated4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,helpers4 ,help1 then1 may be given by several of the many classes of inhabitants of the astral plane4 ,it may come from devas1 from nature-spirits1 or from those whom we call dead1 as well as from those who function consciously upon the astral plane during life--chiefly the adepts and their pupils4 ,but if we examine the matter a little more closely we shall see that though all the classes mentioned may1 and sometimes do1 take a part in this work1 yet their shares in it are so unequal that it is practically left almost entirely to one class4 ,the very fact that so much of this work of helping has to be done either upon or from the astral plane goes far in itself towards explaining this4 ,to any one who has even a faint idea of what the powers at the command of an adept really are1 it will be at once obvious that for him to work upon the astral plane would be a far greater waste of energy than for our leading physicians or scientists to spend their time in breaking stones upon the road4 ,the work of the adept lies in higher regions--chiefly upon the arupa levels of the devachanic plane or heaven-world1 where he may direct his energies to the influencing of the true individuality of man1 and not the mere personality which is all that can be reached in the astral or physical world4 ,the strength which he puts forth in that more exalted realm produces results greater1 more far-reaching and more lasting than any which can be attained by the expenditure of even ten times the force down here2 and the work up there is such as he alone can fully accomplish1 while that on lower planes may be at any rate to some extent achieved by those whose feet are yet upon the earlier steps of the great stairway which will one day lead them to the position where he stands4 ,the same remarks apply also in the case of the devas4 ,belonging as they do to a higher kingdom of nature than ours1 their work seems for the most part entirely unconnected with humanity2 and even those of their orders--and there are some such--which do sometimes respond to our higher yearnings or appeals1 do so on the mental plane rather than on the physical or astral1 and more frequently in the periods between our incarnations than during our earthly lives4 ,it may be remembered that some instances of such help were observed in the course of investigations into the subdivisions of the devachanic plane which were undertaken when the ,theosophical manual on the subject was in preparation4 ,in one case a deva was found teaching the most wonderful celestial music to a chorister2 and in another one of a different class was giving instruction and guidance to an astronomer who was seeking to comprehend the form and structure of the universe4 ,these two were but examples of many instances in which the great deva kingdom was found to be helping onward the evolution and responding to the higher aspirations of man after death2 and there are methods by which1 even during earth-life1 these great ones may be approached1 and an infinity of knowledge acquired from them1 though even then such intercourse is gained rather by rising to their plane than by invoking them to descend to ours4 ,in the ordinary events of our physical life the deva very rarely interferes--indeed1 he is so fully occupied with the far grander work of his own plane that he is probably scarcely conscious of this2 and though it may occasionally happen that he becomes aware of some human sorrow or difficulty which excites his pity and moves him to endeavour to help in some way1 his wider vision undoubtedly recognizes that at the present stage of evolution such interpositions would in the vast majority of cases be productive of infinitely more harm than good4 ,there was indubitably a period in the past--in the infancy of the human race--when it was much more largely assisted from outside than is at present the case4 ,at the time when all its ,buddhas and ,manus1 and even its more ordinary leaders and teachers1 were drawn either from the ranks of the deva evolution or from the perfected humanity of a more advanced planet1 any such assistance as we are considering in this treatise must also have been given by these exalted beings4 ,but as man progresses he becomes himself qualified to act as a helper1 first on the physical plane and then on higher levels2 and we have now reached a stage at which humanity ought to be able to provide1 and to some slight extent does provide1 invisible helpers for itself1 thus setting free for still more useful and elevated work those beings who are capable of it4 ,it becomes obvious then that such assistance as that to which we are here referring may most fitly be given by men and women at a particular stage of their evolution2 not by the adepts1 since they are capable of doing far grander and more widely useful work1 and not by the ordinary person of no special spiritual development1 for he would be unable to be of any use4 ,just as these considerations would lead us to expect1 we find that this work of helping on the astral and lower mental planes is chiefly in the hands of the pupils of the ,masters--men who1 though yet far from the attainment of adeptship1 have evolved themselves to the extent of being able to function consciously upon the planes in question4 ,some of these have taken the further step of completing the links between the physical consciousness and that of the higher levels1 and they therefore have the undoubted advantage of recollecting in waking life what they have done and what they have learnt in those other worlds2 but there are many others who1 though as yet unable to carry their consciousness through unbroken1 are nevertheless by no means wasting the hours when they think they are asleep1 but spending them in noble and unselfish labour for their fellow-men4 ,what this labour is we will proceed to consider1 but before we enter upon that part of the subject we will first refer to an objection which is very frequently brought forward with regard to such work1 and we will also dispose of the comparatively rare cases in which the agents are either nature-spirits or men who have cast off the physical body4 ,people whose grasp of ,theosophical ideas is as yet imperfect are often in doubt as to whether it is allowable for them to try to help some one whom they find in sorrow or difficulty1 lest they should interfere with the fate which has been decreed for him by the absolute justice of the eternal law of karma4 8,the man is in his present position10 they say in effect1 8because he has deserved it2 he is now working out the perfectly natural result of some evil which he has committed in the past2 what right have ,i to interfere with the action of the great cosmic law by trying to ameliorate his condition1 either on the astral plane or the physical80 ,now the good people who make such suggestions are really1 however unconsciously to themselves1 exhibiting the most colossal conceit1 for their position implies two astounding assumptions2 first1 that they know exactly what another man's karma has been1 and how long it has decreed that his sufferings shall last2 and secondly1 that they--the insects of a day--could absolutely override the cosmic law and prevent the due working-out of karma by any action of theirs4 ,we may be well assured that the great krmic deities are perfectly well able to manage their business without our assistance1 and we need have no fear that any steps we may take can by any possibility cause them the slightest difficulty or uneasiness4 ,if a man's karma is such that he cannot be helped1 then all our well-meant efforts in that direction will fail1 though we shall nevertheless have gained good karma for ourselves by making them4 ,what the man's karma has been is no business of ours2 our duty is to give help to the utmost of our power1 and our right is only to the act2 the result is in other and higher hands4 ,how can we tell how a man's account stands8 ,for all we know he may just have exhausted his evil karma1 and be at this moment at the very point where a helping hand is needed to give relief and raise him out of his trouble or depression2 why should not we have the pleasure and privilege of doing that good deed as well as another8 ,if we can help him1 then that fact of itself shows that he has deserved to be helped2 but we can never know unless we try4 ,in any case the law of karma will take care of itself1 and we need not trouble ourselves about it4 ,the cases in which assistance is given to mankind by nature-spirits are few4 ,the majority of such creatures shun the haunts of man1 and retire before him1 disliking his emanations and the perpetual bustle and unrest which he creates all around him4 ,also1 except some of their higher orders1 they are generally inconsequent and thoughtless--more like happy children at play under exceedingly favourable physical conditions than like grave and responsible entities4 ,still it sometimes happens that one of them will become attached to a human being1 and do him many a good turn2 but at the present stage of its evolution this department of nature cannot be relied upon for anything like steady co-operation in the work of invisible helpers4 ,for a fuller account of the nature-spirits the reader is referred to the fifth of our ,theosophical manuals4 ,again1 help is sometimes given by those recently departed--those who are still lingering on the astral plane1 and still in close touch with earthly affairs1 as 7probably7 in the above-mentioned case of the mother who saved her children from falling down a well4 ,but it will readily be seen that the amount of such help available must naturally be exceedingly limited4 ,the more unselfish and helpful a person is1 the less likely is he to be found after death lingering in full consciousness on the lower levels of the astral plane1 from which the earth is most readily accessible4 ,in any case1 unless he were an exceptionally bad man1 his stay within the realm whence alone any interference would be possible would be comparatively short2 and although from the heaven-world he may still shed benign influence upon those whom he has loved on earth1 it will usually be rather of the nature of a general benediction than a force capable of bringing about definite results in a specific case1 such as those which we have been considering4 ,again1 many of the departed who wish to help those whom they left behind1 find themselves quite unable to influence them in any way1 since to work from one plane upon an entity on another requires either very great sensitiveness on the part of that entity1 or a certain amount of knowledge and skill on the part of the operator4 ,therefore1 although instances of apparitions shortly after death are by no means uncommon1 it is rare to find one in which the departed person has really done anything useful1 or succeeded in impressing what he wished upon the friend or relation whom he visited4 ,there are such cases1 of course--a good many of them when we come to put them all together2 but they are not numerous compared to the great number of ghosts who have succeeded in showing themselves4 ,so that but little help is usually given by the dead--indeed1 as will presently be explained1 it is far more common for them to be themselves in need of assistance than to be able to accord it to others4 ,at present1 therefore1 the main bulk of the work which has to be done along these lines falls to the share of those living persons who are able to function consciously on the astral plane4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,reality ,,of ,,superphysical ,,life4 ,it seems difficult for those who are accustomed only to the ordinary and somewhat materialistic lines of thought of the nineteenth century1 to believe in and realize fully a condition of perfect consciousness apart from the physical body4 ,every ,christian1 at any rate1 is bound by the very foundations of his creed to believe that he possesses a soul2 but if you suggest to him the possibility that that soul may be a sufficiently real thing to become visible under certain conditions apart from the body either during life or after death1 the chances are ten to one that he will scornfully tell you that he does not believe in ghosts1 and that such an idea is nothing but an anachronistic survival of an exploded medival superstition4 ,if1 therefore1 we are at all to comprehend the work of the band of invisible helpers1 and perchance ourselves to learn to assist in it1 we must shake ourselves free from the trammels of contemporary thought on these subjects1 and endeavour to grasp the great truth 7now a demonstrated fact to many among us7 that the physical body is in simple truth nothing but a vehicle or vesture of the real man4 ,it is put off permanently at death1 but it is also put off temporarily every night when we go to sleep--indeed the process of falling asleep consists in this very action of the real man in his astral vehicle slipping out of the physical body4 ,again ,i repeat1 this is no mere hypothesis or ingenious supposition4 ,there are many among us who are able to perform 7and do perform every day of their lives7 this elementary act of magic in full consciousness--who pass from one plane to the other at will2 and if that is clearly realized1 it will become apparent how grotesquely absurd to them must appear the ordinary unreasoning assertion that such a thing is utterly impossible4 ,it is like telling a man that it is impossible for him to fall asleep1 and that if he thinks he has ever done so he is under a hallucination4 ,now the man who has not yet developed the link between the astral and physical consciousness is unable to leave his denser body at will1 or to recollect most of what happens to him while away from it2 but the fact nevertheless remains that he leaves it every time he sleeps1 and may be seen by any trained clairvoyant either hovering over it or wandering about at a greater or less distance from it1 as the case may be4 ,the entirely undeveloped person usually floats close above his physical body1 scarcely less asleep than it is1 and comparatively shapeless and inchoate1 and it is found that he cannot be drawn away from the immediate neighbourhood of that physical body without causing serious discomfort which would in fact awaken it4 ,as the man evolves1 however1 his astral body grows more definite and more conscious1 and so becomes a fitter vehicle for him4 ,in the case of the majority of intelligent and cultured people the degree of consciousness is already very considerable1 and a man who is at all spiritually developed is as fully himself in that vehicle as in this denser body4 ,but though he may be fully conscious on the astral plane during sleep1 and able to move about on it freely if he wishes to do so1 it does not yet follow that he is ready to join the band of helpers4 ,most people at this stage are so wrapped up in their own train of thought--usually a continuation of some line taken up in waking hours--that they are like a man in a brown study1 so much absorbed as to be practically entirely heedless of all that is going on about them4 ,and in many ways it is well that this is so1 for there is much upon the astral plane which might be unnerving and terrifying to one who had not the courage born of full knowledge as to the real nature of all that he would see4 ,sometimes a man gradually rouses himself out of this condition--wakes up to the astral world around him1 as it were2 but more often he remains in that state until some one who is already active there takes him in hand and wakens him4 ,this is1 however1 not a responsibility to be lightly undertaken1 for while it is comparatively easy thus to wake a man up on the astral plane1 it is practically impossible1 except by a most undesirable exercise of mesmeric influence1 to put him to sleep again4 ,so that before a member of the band of workers will thus awaken a dreamer1 he must fully satisfy himself that the man's disposition is such that he will make good use of the additional powers that will then be put into his hands1 and also that his knowledge and his courage are sufficient to make it reasonably certain that no harm will come to him as a result of the action4 ,such awakening so performed will put a man in a position to join if he will the band of those who help mankind4 ,but it must be clearly understood that this does not necessarily or even usually bring with it the power of remembering in the waking consciousness anything which has been done4 ,that capacity has to be attained by the man for himself1 and in most cases it does not come for years afterwards--perhaps not even in the same life4 ,but happily this lack of memory in the body in no way impedes the work out of the body2 so that1 except for the satisfaction to a man of knowing during his waking hours upon what work he has been engaged during his sleep1 it is not a matter of importance4 ,what really matters is that the work should be done--not that we should remember who did it4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,a ,,timely ,,intervention4 ,varied as is this work on the astral plane1 it is all directed to one great end--the furtherance1 in however humble a degree1 of the processes of evolution4 ,occasionally it is connected with the development of the lower kingdoms1 which it is possible slightly to accelerate under certain conditions4 ,a duty towards these lower kingdoms1 elemental as well as animal and vegetable1 is distinctly recognized by our adept leaders1 since it is in some cases only through connection with or use by man that their progress takes place4 ,but naturally by far the largest and most important part of the work is connected with humanity in some way or other4 ,the services rendered are of many and various kinds1 but chiefly concerned with man's spiritual development1 such physical interventions as are recounted in the earlier part of this book being exceedingly rare4 ,they do1 however1 occasionally take place1 and though it is my wish to emphasize rather the possibility of extending mental and moral help to our fellow-men1 it will perhaps be well to give two or three instances in which friends personally known to me have rendered physical assistance to those in sore need of it1 in order that it may be seen how these examples from the experience of the helpers gear in with the accounts given by those who have received the supernormal aid--such stories1 ,i mean1 as those which are to be found in the literature of so-called 8supernatural occurrences40 ,in the course of the recent rebellion in ,matabeleland one of our members was sent upon an errand of mercy which may serve as an illustration of the way in which help upon this lower plane has occasionally been given4 ,it seems that one night a certain farmer and his family in that country were sleeping tranquilly in fancied security1 quite unaware that only a few miles away relentless hordes of savage foes were lying in ambush maturing fiendish plots of murder and rapine4 ,our member's business was in some way or other to arouse the sleeping family to a sense of the terrible danger which so unexpectedly menaced them1 and she found this by no means an easy matter4 ,an attempt to impress the idea of imminent peril upon the brain of the farmer failed utterly1 and as the urgency of the case seemed to demand strong measures1 our friend decided to materialize herself sufficiently to shake the housewife by the shoulder and adjure her to get up and look about her4 ,the moment she saw that she had been successful in attracting attention she vanished1 and the farmer's wife has never from that day to this been able to find out which of her neighbours it was who roused her so opportunely1 and thus saved the lives of the entire family1 who but for this mysterious intervention would undoubtedly have been massacred in their beds half an hour later2 nor can she even now understand how this friend in need contrived to make her way in1 when all the windows and doors were found so securely barred4 ,being thus abruptly awakened1 the housewife was half inclined to consider the warning as a mere dream2 however1 she arose and looked round just to see that all was right1 and fortunate it was that she did so1 for though she found nothing amiss indoors she had no sooner thrown open a shutter than she saw the sky red with a distant conflagration4 ,she at once roused her husband and the rest of her family1 and owing to this timely notice they were able to escape to a place of concealment near at hand just before the arrival of the horde of savages1 who destroyed the house and ravaged the fields indeed1 but were disappointed of the human prey which they had expected4 ,the feelings of the rescuer may be imagined when she read in the newspaper some time afterwards an account of the providential deliverance of this family4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the 8,,angel ,,story40 ,another instance of intervention on the physical plane which occurred a short time ago makes a very beautiful little story1 though this time only one life was saved4 ,it needs1 however1 a few words of preliminary explanation4 ,among our band of helpers here in ,europe are two who were brothers long ago in ancient ,egypt1 and are still warmly attached to one another4 ,in this present incarnation there is a wide difference in age between them1 one being advanced in middle life1 while the other was at that time a mere child in the physical body1 though an ego of considerable advancement and promise4 ,naturally it falls to the lot of the elder to train and guide the younger in the occult work to which they are so heartily devoted1 and as both are fully conscious and active on the astral plane they spend most of the time during which their grosser bodies are asleep in labouring together under the direction of their common ,master1 and giving to both living and dead such help as is within their power4 ,i will quote the story of the particular incident which ,i wish to relate from a letter written by the elder of the two helpers immediately after its occurrence1 as the description there given is more vivid and picturesque than any account in the third person could possibly be4 8,we were going about quite other business1 when ,cyril suddenly cried1 #8,what's that8' for we heard a terrible scream of pain or fright4 ,in a moment we were on the spot1 and found that a boy of about eleven or twelve had fallen over a cliff on to some rocks below1 and was very badly hurt4 ,he had broken a leg and an arm1 poor fellow1 but what was still worse was a dreadful cut in the thigh1 from which blood was pouring in a torrent4 ,cyril cried1 #8,let us help him quick1 or he'll die6' 8,in emergencies of this kind one has to think quickly4 ,there were clearly two things to be done2 that bleeding must be stopped1 and physical help must be procured4 ,i was obliged to materialize either ,cyril or myself1 for we wanted physical hands at once to tie a bandage1 and besides it seemed better that the poor boy should see some one standing by him in his trouble4 ,i felt that while undoubtedly he would be more at home with ,cyril than with me1 ,i should probably be more readily able to procure help than ,cyril would1 so the division of labour was obvious4 8,the plan worked capitally4 ,i materialized ,cyril instantly 7he does not know yet how to do it for himself71 and told him to take the boy's neckerchief and tie it round the thigh1 and twist a stick through it #8,won't it hurt him terribly8' said ,cyril2 but he did it1 and the blood stopped flowing4 ,the injured boy seemed half unconscious1 and could scarcely speak1 but he looked up at the shining little form bending so anxiously over him1 and asked1 #8,be you an angel1 master8' ,cyril smiled so prettily1 and replied1 #8,no1 ,i'm only a boy1 but ,i've come to help you2' and then ,i left him to comfort the sufferer while ,i rushed off for the boy's mother1 who lived about a mile away4 8,the trouble ,i had to force into that woman's head the conviction that something was wrong1 and that she must go and see about it1 you would never believe2 but at last she threw down the pan she was cleaning1 and said aloud1 #8,well1 ,i don't know what's come over me1 but ,i must go and find the boy4' ,when she once started ,i was able to guide her without much difficulty1 though all the time ,i was holding ,cyril together by will-power1 lest the poor child's angel should suddenly vanish from before his eyes4 8,you see1 when you materialize a form you are changing matter from its natural state into another--temporarily opposing the cosmic will1 as it were2 and if you take your mind off it for one half-second1 back it flies into its original condition like a flash of lightning4 ,so ,i could not give more than half my attention to that woman1 but still ,i got her along somehow1 and as soon as she came round the corner of the cliff ,i let ,cyril disappear2 but she had seen him1 and now that village has one of the best-attested stories of angelic intervention on record6 8,the accident happened in the early morning1 and the same evening ,i looked in 7astrally7 upon the family to see how matters were going on4 ,the poor boy's leg and arm had been set1 and the great cut bandaged1 and he lay in bed looking very pale and weak1 but evidently going to recover in time4 ,the mother had a couple of neighbours in1 and was telling them the story2 and a curious tale it sounded to one who knew the real facts4 8,she explained1 in very many words1 how she couldn't tell what it was1 but something came over her all in a minute like1 making her feel something had happened to the boy1 and she must go out and see after him2 how at first she thought it was nonsense1 and tried to throw off the feeling1 #8but it warn't no use--she just had to go4' ,she told how she didn't know what made her go round by that cliff more than any other way1 but it just happened so1 and as she turned round the corner there she saw him lying propped up against a rock1 and kneeling beside him was the #8beautifullest child ever she saw1 dressed all in white and shining1 with rosy cheeks and lovely brown eyes2' and how he smiled at her #8so heavenly like1' and then all in a moment he was not there1 and at first she was so startled she didn't know what to think2 and then all at once she felt what it was1 and fell on her knees and thanked ,god for sending one of his angels to help her poor boy4 8,then she told how when she lifted him to carry him home she wanted to take off the handkerchief that was cutting into his poor leg so1 but he would not let her1 because he said the angel had tied it and said he was not to touch it2 and how when she told the doctor this afterwards he explained to her that if she had unfastened it the boy would certainly have died4 8,then she repeated the boy's part of the tale--how the moment after he fell this lovely little angel came to him 7he knew it was an angel because he knew there had been nobody in sight for half a mile round when he was at the top of the cliff just before--only he could not understand why it hadn't any wings1 and why it said it was only a boy7--how it lifted him against the rock and tied up his leg1 and then began to talk to him and tell him he need not be frightened1 because somebody was gone to fetch mother1 and she would be there directly2 how it kissed him and tried to make him comfortable1 and how its soft1 warm1 little hand held his all the time1 while it told him strange1 beautiful stories which he could not clearly remember1 but he knew they were very good1 because he had almost forgotten he was hurt until he saw mother coming2 and how then it assured him he would soon be well again1 and smiled and squeezed his hand1 and then somehow it was gone4 8,since then there has been quite a religious revival in that village6 ,their minister has told them that so signal an interposition of divine providence must have been meant as a sign to them1 to rebuke scoffers and to prove the truth of holy scripture and of the ,christian religion--and nobody seems to see the colossal conceit involved in such an astonishing proposition4 8,but the effect on the boy has been undoubtedly good1 morally as well as physically2 by all accounts he was a careless enough young scamp before1 but now he feels #8his angel' may be near him at any time1 and he will never do or say anything rough or coarse or angry1 lest it should see or hear4 ,the one great desire of his life is that some day he may see it again1 and he knows that when he dies its lovely face will be the first to greet him on the other side40 ,a beautiful and pathetic little story1 truly4 ,the moral drawn from the occurrence by the village and its minister is perhaps somewhat of a non sequitur2 yet the testimony to the existence of at least something beyond this material plane must surely do the people more good than harm1 and after all the mother's conclusion from what she saw was a perfectly correct one1 though more accurate knowledge would probably have led her to express it a little differently4 ,an interesting fact afterwards discovered by the investigations of the writer of the letter throws a curious side-light upon the reasons underlying such incidents4 ,it was found that the two boys had met before1 and that some thousands of years ago the one who fell from the cliff had been the slave of the other1 and had once saved his young master's life at the risk of his own1 and had been liberated in consequence2 and now1 long afterwards1 the master not only repays the debt in kind1 but also gives his former slave a high ideal and an inducement to morality of life which will probably change the whole course of his future evolution4 ,so true is it that no good deed ever goes unrewarded by karma1 however tardy it may seem in its action--that ,though the mills of ,god grind slowly1 ,yet they grind exceeding small2 ,though with patience stands ,he waiting1 ,with exactness grinds ,he all4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,a ,,fire4 ,another piece of work done by the same boy ,cyril furnishes an almost exact parallel to some of the stories from the books which ,i have given in earlier pages4 ,he and his older friend1 it seems1 were passing along in the prosecution of their usual work one night1 when they noticed the fierce glare of a big fire below them1 and promptly dived down to see if they could be of any use4 ,it was a great hotel which was in flames1 a huge caravanserai on the edge of a great lake4 ,the house1 many stories in height1 formed three sides of a square round a sort of garden1 planted with trees and flowers1 while the lake formed the fourth side4 ,the two wings ran right down to the lake1 the big bay windows which terminated them almost projecting over the water1 so as to leave only quite a narrow passage-way under them at the two sides4 ,the front and wings were built round inside wells1 which contained also the lattice-work shafts of the lifts1 so that when once the fire broke out1 it spread with almost incredible rapidity1 and before our friends saw it on their astral journey all the middle floors in each of the three great blocks were in flames4 ,fortunately the inmates--except one little boy--had already been rescued1 though some of them had sustained very serious burns and other injuries4 ,this little fellow had been forgotten in one of the upper rooms of the left wing1 for his parents were out at a ball1 and knew nothing of the fire1 while naturally enough no one else thought of the lad till it was far too late4 ,the fire had gained such a hold on the middle floors of that wing that nothing could have been done1 even if any one had remembered him1 as his room faced on to the inner garden which has been mentioned1 so that he was completely cut off from all outside help4 ,besides1 he was not even aware of his danger1 for the dense1 suffocating smoke had so gradually filled the room that his sleep had grown deeper and deeper1 till he was all but stupefied4 ,in this state he was discovered by ,cyril1 who seems to be specially attracted towards children in need or danger4 ,he first tried to make some of the people remember the boy1 but in vain2 and in any case it seemed scarcely possible that they could have helped him1 so that it was soon evident that this was merely a waste of time4 ,the older helper then materialized ,cyril1 as before1 in the room1 and set him to work to awaken and rouse up the more than half-stupefied child4 ,after a good deal of difficulty this was accomplished to some extent1 but the boy remained in a half-dazed1 semi-conscious condition through all that followed1 so that he needed to be pushed and pulled about1 guided and helped at every turn4 ,the two boys first crept out of the room into the central passage which ran through the wing1 and then1 finding that the smoke and the flames beginning to come through the floor made it impassable for a physical body1 ,cyril got the other boy back into the room again and out of the window on to a stone ledge1 about a foot wide1 which ran right along the block just below the windows4 ,along this he managed to guide his companion1 half balancing himself on the extreme edge of the ledge1 and half floating on air1 but always placing himself outside1 of the other1 so as to keep him from dizziness and prevent him from feeling afraid of a fall4 ,towards the end of the block nearest the lake1 in which direction the fire seemed less developed1 they climbed in through an open window and again reached the passage1 hoping to find the staircase at that end still passable4 ,but it1 too1 was full of flame and smoke2 so they crawled back along the passage1 ,cyril advising his companion to keep his mouth close to the ground1 till they reached the latticed cage of the lift running down the long well in the centre of the block4 ,the lift of course was at the bottom1 but they managed to clamber down the lattice work inside the cage till they stood on the roof of the elevator itself4 ,here they found themselves blocked1 but luckily ,cyril discovered a doorway opening from the cage of the lift on to a sort of entresol just above the ground floor4 ,through this they reached a passage1 which they crossed1 the little boy being half-stifled by the smoke2 then they made their way through one of the rooms opposite1 and finally1 clambering out of the window1 found themselves on the top of the veranda which ran along in front of the ground floor1 between it and the garden4 ,thence it was easy enough to swarm down one of the pillars and reach the garden itself2 but even there the heat was intense1 and the danger1 when the walls should fall1 very considerable4 ,so ,cyril tried to conduct his charge round the end first of one1 then of the other wing2 but in both cases the flames had burst through1 and the narrow1 overhung passages were quite impassable4 ,finally they took refuge in one of the pleasure boats which were moored to the steps of the quay at the side of the garden next the lake1 and1 casting loose1 rowed out on to the water4 ,cyril intended to row round past the burning wing and land the boy whom he had saved2 but when they got some little way out1 they fell in with a passing lake steamer1 and were seen--for the whole scene was lit up by the glare of the burning hotel1 till everything was as plain as in broad daylight4 ,the steamer came alongside the boat to take them off2 but instead of the two boys they had seen1 the crew found only one--for his older friend had promptly allowed ,cyril to slip back into his astral form1 dissipating the denser matter which had made for the time a material body1 and he was therefore now invisible4 ,a careful search was made1 of course1 but no trace of the second boy could be found1 and so it was concluded that he must have fallen overboard and been drowned just as they came alongside4 ,the child who had been rescued fell into a dead faint as soon as he was safe on board1 so they could get no information from him1 and when he did recover1 all he could say was that he had seen the other boy the moment before they came alongside1 and then knew nothing more4 ,the steamer was bound down the lake to a place some two days' sail distant1 and it was a week or so before the rescued boy could be restored to his parents1 who of course thought that he had perished in the flames1 for though an effort was made to impress on their minds the fact that their son had been saved1 it was found impossible to convey the idea to them1 so it may be imagined how great was the joy of the meeting4 ,the boy is still well and happy1 and is never weary of relating his wonderful adventure4 ,many a time he has regretted that the kind friend who saved him should have perished so mysteriously at the very moment when all the danger seemed over at last4 ,indeed1 he has even ventured to suggest that perhaps he didn't perish after all--that perhaps he was a fairy prince2 but of course this idea elicits nothing but tolerant smiles of superiority from his elders4 ,the krmic link between him and his preserver has not yet been traced1 but no doubt there must be one somewhere4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,materialization ,,and ,,repercussion4 ,on meeting with a story such as this1 students often enquire whether the invisible helper is perfectly safe amidst these scenes of deadly peril--whether1 for example1 this boy who was materialized in order to save another from a burning house was not himself in some danger--whether his physical body would not have suffered in any way by repercussion if his materialized form had passed through the flames1 or fallen from the high ledge on the edge of which he walked so unconcernedly4 ,in fact1 since we know that in many cases the connection between a materialized form and a physical body is sufficiently close to produce repercussion1 might it not have occurred in this case8 ,now this subject of repercussion is an exceedingly abstruse and difficult one1 and we are by no means yet in a position fully to explain its very remarkable phenomena2 indeed1 in order to understand the matter perfectly1 it would probably be necessary to comprehend the laws of sympathetic vibration on more planes than one4 ,still1 we do know by observation some of the conditions which permit its action1 and some which definitely exclude it1 and ,i think we are warranted in saying that it was absolutely impossible here4 ,to see why this is so we must first remember that there are at least three well-defined varieties of materialization1 as any one who has at all an extended experience of spiritualism will be aware4 ,i am not concerned at the moment to enter upon any explanation as to how these three varieties are respectively produced1 but am merely stating the indubitable fact of their existence4 #a4 ,there is the materialization which1 though tangible1 is not visible to ordinary physical sight4 ,of this nature are the unseen hands which so often clasp one's arm or stroke one's face at a sance1 which sometimes carry physical objects through the air or make raps upon the table--though of course both these latter phenomena may easily be produced without a materialized hand at all4 #b4 ,there is the materialization which though visible is not tangible--the spirit-form through which one's hand passes as through empty air4 ,in some cases this variety is obviously misty and impalpable1 but in others its appearance is so entirely normal that its solidity is never doubted until some one endeavours to grasp it4 #c4 ,there is the perfect materialization which is both visible and tangible--which not only bears the outward semblance of your departed friend1 but shakes you cordially by the hand with the very clasp that you know so well4 ,now while there is a good deal of evidence to show that repercussion takes place under certain conditions in the case of this third kind of materialization1 it is by no means so certain that it can occur with the first or second class4 ,in the case of the boy-helper it is probable that the materialization would not be of the third type1 since the greatest care is always taken not to expend more force than is absolutely necessary to produce whatever result may be required1 and it is obvious that less energy would be used in the production of the more partial forms which we have called the first and second classes4 ,the probability is that only the arm with which the boy held his little companion would be solid to the touch1 and that the rest of his body1 though looking perfectly natural1 would have proved far less palpable if it had been tested4 ,but1 apart from this probability1 there is another point to be considered4 ,when a full materialization takes place1 whether the subject be living or dead1 physical matter of some sort has to be gathered together for the purpose4 ,at a spiritualistic sance this matter is obtained by drawing largely upon the etheric double of the medium--and sometimes even upon his physical body also1 since cases are on record in which his weight has been very considerably decreased while manifestations of this character were taking place4 ,this method is employed by the directing entities of the sance simply because when an available medium is within reach it is very much the easiest way in which a materialization can be brought about2 and the consequence is that the very closest connection is thus set up between that medium and the materialized body1 so that the phenomenon which 7although very imperfectly understanding it7 we call repercussion1 occurs in its clearest form4 ,if1 for example1 the hands of the materialized body be rubbed with chalk1 that chalk will afterwards be found on the hands of the medium1 even though he may have been all the time carefully locked up in a cabinet under circumstances which absolutely preclude any suspicion of fraud4 ,if any injury be inflicted upon the materialized form1 that injury will be accurately reproduced upon the corresponding part of the medium's body2 while sometimes food of which the spirit-form has partaken will be found to have passed into the body of the medium--at least that happened in one case at any rate within my own experience4 ,it would be far otherwise1 however1 in the case which we have been describing4 ,cyril was thousands of miles from his sleeping physical body1 and it would therefore be quite impossible for his friend to draw etheric matter from it1 while the regulations under which all pupils of the great ,masters of ,wisdom perform their work of helping man would assuredly prevent him1 even for the noblest purpose1 from putting such a strain upon any one else's body4 ,besides1 it would be quite unnecessary1 for the far less dangerous method invariably employed by the helpers when materialization seems desirable would be ready to his hand--the condensation from the circumambient ether1 or even from the physical air1 of such an amount of matter as may be requisite4 ,this feat1 though no doubt beyond the power of the average entity manifesting at a sance1 presents no difficulty to a student of occult chemistry4 ,but mark the difference in the result obtained4 ,in the case of the medium we have a materialized form in the closest possible connection with the physical body1 made out of its very substance1 and therefore capable of producing all the phenomena of repercussion4 ,in the case of the helper we have indeed an exact reproduction of the physical body1 but it is created by a mental effort out of matter entirely foreign to that body1 and is no more capable of acting upon it by repercussion than an ordinary marble statue of the man would be4 ,thus it is that a passage through the flames or a fall from a high window-ledge would have had no terrors for the boy-helper1 and that on another occasion a member of the band1 though materialized1 was able without any inconvenience to the physical body to go down in a sinking vessel 7see p4 #gg74 ,in both the incidents of his work that have been described above1 it will have been noticed that the boy ,cyril was unable to materialize himself1 and that the operation had to be performed for him by an older friend4 ,one more of his experiences is worth relating1 for it gives us a case in which by intensity of pity and determination of will he was able to show himself--a case somewhat parallel to that previously related of the mother whose love enabled her somehow to manifest herself in order to save her children's lives4 ,inexplicable as it may seem1 there is no doubt whatever of the existence in nature of this stupendous power of will over matter of all planes1 so that if only the power be great enough1 practically any result may be produced by its direct action1 without any knowledge or even thought on the part of the man exercising that will as to how it is to do its work4 ,we have had plenty of evidence that this power holds good in the case of materialization1 although ordinarily it is an art which must be learnt just like any other4 ,assuredly an average man on the astral plane could no more materialize himself without having previously learnt how to do it than the average man on this plane could play the violin without having previously learnt it2 but there are exceptional cases1 as will be seen from the following narrative4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,two ,,brothers4 ,this story has been told by a pen of far greater dramatic capability than mine1 and with a wealth of detail for which ,i have here no space1 in ,the ,theosophical ,review of ,november1 #ahig1 p4 #bbi4 ,to that account ,i would refer the reader1 since my own description of the case will be a mere outline1 as brief as is consistent with clearness4 ,the names given are of course fictitious1 but the incidents are related with scrupulous accuracy4 ,our dramatis personae are two brothers1 the sons of a country gentleman--,lancelot1 aged fourteen1 and ,walter1 aged eleven--very good boys of the ordinary healthy1 manly type1 like hundreds of others in this fair realm1 with no obvious psychic qualifications of any sort1 except the possession of a good deal of ,celtic blood4 ,perhaps the most remarkable feature about them was the intensity of the affection that existed between them1 for they were simply inseparable--neither would go anywhere without the other1 and the younger idolized the elder as only a younger boy can4 ,one unlucky day ,lancelot was thrown from his pony and killed1 and for ,walter the world became empty4 ,the child's grief was so real and terrible that he could neither eat nor sleep1 and his mother and nurse were at their wits' end as to what to do for him4 ,he seemed deaf alike to persuasion and blame2 when they told him that grief was wicked1 and that his brother was in heaven1 he simply answered that he could not be certain of that1 and that even if it were true1 he knew that ,lancelot could no more be happy in heaven without him than he could on earth without ,lancelot4 ,incredible as it may sound1 the poor child was actually dying of grief1 and what made the case even more pathetic was the fact that1 all unknown to him1 his brother stood at his side all the time1 fully conscious of his misery1 and himself half-distracted at the failure of his repeated attempts to touch him or speak to him4 ,affairs were still in this most pitiable condition on the third evening after the accident1 when ,cyril's attention was drawn to the two brothers--he cannot tell how4 8,he just happened to be passing10 he says2 yet surely the will of the ,lords of ,compassion guided him to the scene4 ,poor ,walter lay exhausted yet sleepless--alone in his desolation1 so far as he knew1 though all the time his sorrowing brother stood beside him4 ,lancelot1 free from the chains of the flesh1 could see and hear ,cyril1 so obviously the first thing to do was to soothe his pain with a promise of friendship and help in communicating with his brother4 ,as soon as the dead boy's mind was thus cheered with hope1 ,cyril turned to the living one1 and tried with all his strength to impress upon his brain the knowledge that his brother stood beside him1 not dead1 but living and loving as of yore4 ,but all his efforts were in vain2 the dull apathy of grief so filled poor ,walter's mind that no suggestion from without could enter1 and ,cyril knew not what to do4 ,yet so deeply was he moved by the sad sight1 so intense was his sympathy and so firm his determination to help in some way or other at any cost of strength to himself1 that somehow 7even to this day he cannot tell how7 he found himself able to touch and speak to the heart-broken child4 ,putting aside ,walter's questions as to who he was and how he came there1 he went straight to the point1 telling him that his brother stood beside him1 trying hard to make him hear his constantly repeated assurances that he was not dead1 but living and yearning to help and comfort him4 ,little ,walter longed to believe1 yet hardly dared to hope2 but ,cyril's eager insistence vanquished his doubts at last1 and he said1 8,oh6 ,i do believe you1 because you're so kind2 but if ,i could only see him1 then ,i should know1 then ,i should be quite sure2 and if ,i could only hear his voice telling me he was happy1 ,i shouldn't mind a bit his going away again afterwards40 ,young though he was at the work1 ,cyril knew enough to be aware that ,walter's wish was one not ordinarily granted1 and was beginning regretfully to tell him so1 when suddenly he felt a ,presence that all the helpers know1 and though no word was spoken it was borne in upon his mind that instead of what he had meant to say1 he was to promise ,walter the boon his heart desired4 8,wait till ,i come back10 he said1 8and you shall see him then40 ,and then--he vanished4 ,that one touch from the ,master had shown him what to do and how to do it1 and he rushed to fetch the older friend who had so often helped him before4 ,this older man had not yet retired for the night1 but on hearing ,cyril's hurried summons1 he lost no time in accompanying him1 and in a few minutes they were back at ,walter's bedside4 ,the poor child was just beginning to believe it all a lovely dream1 and his delight and relief when ,cyril reappeared were beautiful to see4 ,yet how much more beautiful was the scene a moment later1 when1 in obedience to a word from the ,master1 the elder man materialized the eager ,lancelot1 and the living and the dead stood hand in hand once more6 ,now in very truth for both the brothers had sorrow been turned into joy unspeakable1 and again and again they both declared that now they should never feel sad any more1 because they knew that death had no power to part them4 ,nor was their gladness damped even when ,cyril explained carefully to them1 at his older friend's suggestion1 that this strange physical reunion would not be repeated1 but that all day long ,lancelot would be near ,walter1 even though the latter could not see him1 and every night ,walter would slip out of his body and be consciously with his brother once more4 ,hearing this1 poor weary ,walter sank to sleep at once and proved its truth1 and was amazed to find with what hitherto unknown rapidity he and his brother could fly together from one to another of their old familiar haunts4 ,cyril thoughtfully warned him that he would probably forget most of his freer life when he awoke next day2 but by rare good fortune he did not forget1 as so many of us do4 ,perhaps the shock of the great joy had somewhat aroused the latent psychic faculty which belongs to the ,celtic blood2 at any rate he forgot no single detail of all that had happened1 and next morning he burst upon the house of mourning with a wondrous tale which suited it but ill4 ,his parents thought that grief had turned his brain1 and1 since he is now the heir1 they have been watching long and anxiously for further symptoms of insanity1 which happily they have not found4 ,they still think him a monomaniac on this point1 though they fully recognize that his 8delusion0 has saved his life2 but his old nurse 7who is a ,catholic7 is firm in her belief that all he says is true--that the ,lord ,jesus1 who was once a child himself1 took pity on that other child as he lay dying of grief1 and sent one of ,his angels to bring his brother back to him from the dead as a reward for a love which was stronger than death4 ,sometimes popular superstition gets a good deal nearer to the heart of things than does educated scepticism6 ,nor does the story end here1 for the good work begun that night is still progressing1 and none can say how far the influence of that one act may ramify4 ,walter's astral consciousness1 once having been thus thoroughly awakened1 remains in activity2 every morning he brings back into his physical brain the memory of his night's adventures with his brother2 every night they meet their dear friend ,cyril1 from whom they have learned so much about the wonderful new world that has opened before them1 and the other worlds to come that lie higher yet4 ,under ,cyril's guidance they also--the living and the dead alike--have become eager and earnest members of the band of helpers2 and probably for years to come--until ,lancelot's vigorous young astral body disintegrates--many a dying child will have cause to be grateful to these three who are trying to pass on to others something of the joy that they have themselves received4 ,nor is it to the dead alone that these new converts have been of use1 for they have sought and found some other living children who show consciousness on the astral plane during sleep2 and one at least of those whom they have thus brought to ,cyril has already proved a valuable little recruit to the children's band1 as well as a very kind little friend down here on the physical plane4 ,those to whom all these ideas are new sometimes find it very difficult to understand how children can be of any use in the astral world4 ,seeing1 they would say1 that the astral body of a child must be undeveloped1 and the ego thus limited by childhood on the astral as well as the physical plane1 in what way could such an ego be of use1 or be able to help towards the spiritual1 mental and moral evolution of humanity1 which we are told is the chief concern of the helpers8 ,when first such a question was asked1 shortly after the publication of one of these stories in our magazine1 ,i sent it to ,cyril himself1 to see what he would say to it1 and his answer was this3 8,it is quite true1 as the writer says1 that ,i am only a boy1 and know very little yet1 and that ,i shall be much more useful when ,i have learnt more4 ,but ,i am able to do a little even now1 because there are so many people who have learnt nothing about ,theosophy yet1 though they may know very much more than ,i do about everything else4 ,and you see when you want to get to a certain place1 a little boy who knows the way can do more for you than a hundred wise men who don't know it40 ,it may be added that when even a child had been awakened upon the astral plane the development of the astral body would proceed so rapidly that he would very soon be in a position upon that plane but little inferior to that of the awakened adult1 and would of course be much in advance1 so far as usefulness is concerned1 of the wisest man who was as yet unawakened4 ,but unless the ego expressing himself through that child-body possessed the necessary qualification of a determined yet loving disposition1 and had clearly manifested it in his previous lives1 no occultist would take the very serious responsibility of awakening him upon the astral plane4 ,when1 however1 their karma is such that it is possible for them to be thus aroused1 children often prove most efficient helpers1 and throw themselves into their work with a whole-souled devotion which is very beautiful to see4 ,and so is fulfilled once more the ancient prophecy 8a little child shall lead them40 ,another question that suggests itself to one's mind in reading this last story of the two brothers is this3 ,since ,cyril was somehow able to materialize himself by sheer force of love and pity and strength of will1 is it not strange that ,lancelot1 who had been trying so much longer to communicate1 had not succeeded in doing the same thing8 ,well1 there is of course no difficulty in seeing why poor ,lancelot was unable to communicate with his brother1 for that inability is simply the normal condition of affairs2 the wonder is that ,cyril was able to materialize himself1 not that ,lancelot was not4 ,not only1 however1 was the feeling probably stronger in ,cyril's case1 but he also knew exactly what he wanted to do--knew that such a thing as materialization was a possibility1 and had some general idea as to how it was done--while ,lancelot naturally knew nothing of all this then1 though he does now4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,wrecks ,,and ,,catastrophes4 ,sometimes it is possible for members of the band of helpers to avert impending catastrophes of a somewhat larger order4 ,in more than one case when the captain of a vessel has been carried unsuspecting far out of his course by some unknown current or through some mistaken reckoning1 and has thereby run into serious danger1 it has been possible to prevent shipwreck by repeatedly impressing upon his mind a feeling that something was wrong2 and although this generally comes through into the captain's brain merely as a vaguely warning intuition1 yet if it occurs again and again he is almost certain to give it some attention and take such precautions as suggest themselves to him4 ,in one case1 for example1 in which the master of a barque was much nearer in to the land than he supposed1 he was again and again pressed to heave the lead1 and though he resisted this suggestion for some time as being unnecessary and absurd1 he at last gave the order in a somewhat hesitating way4 ,the result astounded him1 and he at once put his vessel about and stood off from the coast1 though it was not until morning came that he realized how very close he had been to an appalling disaster4 ,often1 however1 a catastrophe is krmic in its nature1 and consequently cannot be averted2 but it must not therefore be supposed that in such cases no help can be given4 ,it may be that the people concerned are destined to die1 and therefore cannot be saved from death2 but in many cases they may still be to some extent prepared for it1 and may certainly be helped upon the other side after it is over4 ,indeed1 it may be definitely stated that wherever a great catastrophe of any kind takes place1 there is also a special sending of help4 ,two recent cases in which such help was given were the sinking of the ,drummond ,castle off ,cape ,ushant1 and the terrible cyclone which devastated the city of ,st4 ,louis in ,america4 ,on both these occasions a few minutes' notice was given1 and the helpers did their best to calm and raise men's minds1 so that when the shock came upon them it would be less disturbing than it might otherwise have been4 ,naturally1 however1 the greater part of the work done with the victims in both these calamities was done upon the astral plane after they had left their physical bodies2 but of this we shall speak later4 ,it is sad to relate how often when some catastrophe is impending the helpers are hindered in their kindly offices by wild panic among those whom the danger threatens--or sometimes1 worse still1 by a mad outburst of drunkenness among those whom they are trying to assist4 ,many a ship has gone to her doom with almost every soul on board mad with drink1 and therefore utterly incapable of profiting by any assistance offered either before death or for a very long time afterwards4 ,if it should ever happen to any of us to find ourselves in a position of imminent danger which we can do nothing to avert1 we should try to remember that help is certainly near us1 and that it rests entirely with ourselves to make the helper's work easy or difficult4 ,if we face the danger calmly and bravely1 recognizing that the true ego can in no way be affected by it1 our minds will then be open to receive the guidance which the helpers are trying to give1 and this cannot but be best for us1 whether its object be to save us from death or1 when that is impossible1 to conduct us safely through it4 ,assistance of this latter kind has not infrequently been given in cases of accidents to individuals1 as well as of more general catastrophes4 ,it will be sufficient to mention one example as an illustration of what is meant4 ,in one of the great storms which did so much damage around our coasts a few years ago1 it happened that a fishing boat was capsized far out at sea4 ,the only people on board were an old fisherman and a boy1 and the former contrived to cling for a few minutes to the overturned boat4 ,there was no physical help at hand1 and even if there had been in such a raging storm it would have been impossible for anything to be done1 so that the fisherman knew well enough that there was no hope of escape1 and that death could only be a question of a few moments4 ,he felt great terror at the prospect1 being especially impressed by the awful loneliness of that vast waste of waters1 and he was also much troubled with thoughts of his wife and family1 and the difficulties in which they would be left by his sudden decease4 ,a passing helper seeing all this endeavoured to comfort him1 but finding his mind too much disturbed to be impressionable1 she thought it advisable to show herself to him in order to assist him the better4 ,in relating the story afterwards she said that the change which came over the fisherman's face at sight of her was wonderful and beautiful to see2 with the shining form standing upon the boat above him he could not but think that an angel had been sent to comfort him in his trouble1 and therefore he felt that not only would he himself be carried safely through the gates of death1 but his family would assuredly be looked after also4 ,so1 when death came to him a few moments later1 he was in a frame of mind very different from the terror and perplexity which had previously overcome him2 and naturally when he recovered consciousness upon the astral plane and found the 8angel0 still beside him he felt himself at home with her1 and was prepared to accept her advice as regards the new life upon which he had entered4 ,some time later the same helper was engaged in another piece of work of very similar character1 the story of which she has since told as follows3 8,you remember that steamer that went down in the cyclone at the end of last ,november2 ,i betook myself to the cabin where about a dozen women had been shut in1 and found them wailing in the most pitiful manner1 sobbing and moaning with fear4 ,the ship had to founder--no aid was possible--and to go out of the world in this state of frantic terror is the worst possible way to enter the next4 ,so in order to calm them ,i materialized myself1 and of course they thought ,i was an angel1 poor souls2 they all fell on their knees and prayed me to save them1 and one poor mother pushed her baby into my arms imploring me to save that at least4 ,they soon grew quiet and composed as we talked1 and the wee baby went to sleep smiling1 and presently they all fell asleep peacefully1 and ,i filled their minds with thoughts of the heaven-world1 so that they did not wake up when the ship made her final plunge downwards4 ,i went down with them to ensure their sleeping through the last moments1 and they never stirred as their sleep became death40 ,evidently in this case1 too1 those who were thus helped had not only the enormous advantage of being enabled to meet death calmly and reasonably1 but also the still greater one of being received on its farther shore by one whom they were already disposed to love and trust--one who thoroughly understood the new world in which they found themselves1 and could not only reassure them as to their safety1 but advise them how to order their lives under these much altered circumstances4 ,and this brings us to the consideration of one of the largest and most important departments of the work of invisible helpers--the guidance and assistance which they are able to give to the dead4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,work ,,among ,,the ,,dead4 ,it is one of the many evils resulting from the absurdly erroneous teaching as to conditions after death which is unfortunately current in our western world1 that those who have recently shaken off this mortal coil are usually much puzzled and often very seriously frightened at finding everything so different from what their religion had led them to expect4 ,the mental attitude of a large number of such people was pithily voiced the other day by an ,english general1 who three days after his death met one of the band of helpers whom he had known in physical life4 ,after expressing his great relief that he had at last found some one with whom he was able to communicate1 his first remark was3 8,but if ,i am dead1 where am ,i8 ,for if this is heaven ,i don't think much of it2 and if it is hell1 it is better than ,i expected40 ,but unfortunately a far greater number take things less philosophically4 ,they have been taught that all men are destined to eternal flames except a favoured few who are superhumanly good2 and since a very small amount of self-examination convinces them that they do not belong to that category1 they are but too often in a condition of panic terror1 dreading every moment that the new world in which they find themselves may dissolve and drop them into the clutches of the devil1 in whom they have been sedulously taught to believe4 ,in many cases they spend long periods of acute mental suffering before they can free themselves from the fatal influence of this blasphemous doctrine of everlasting punishment--before they can realize that the world is governed1 not according to the caprice of a hideous demon who gloats over human anguish1 but according to a benevolent and wonderfully patient law of evolution1 which is absolutely just indeed1 but yet again and again offers to man opportunities of progress1 if he will but take them1 at every stage of his career4 ,it ought in fairness to be mentioned that it is only among what are called protestant communities that this terrible evil assumes its most aggravated form4 ,the great ,roman ,catholic ,church1 with its doctrine of purgatory1 approaches much more nearly to a conception of the astral plane1 and its devout members at any rate realize that the state in which they find themselves shortly after death is merely a temporary one1 and that it is their business to endeavour to raise themselves out of it as soon as may be by intense spiritual aspiration1 while they accept any suffering which may come to them as necessary for the wearing away of the imperfections in their character before they can pass to higher and brighter regions4 ,it will thus be seen that there is plenty of work for the helpers to do among the newly dead1 for in the vast majority of cases they need to be calmed and reassured1 to be comforted and instructed4 ,in the astral1 just as in the physical world1 there are many who are but little disposed to take advice from those who know better than they2 yet the very strangeness of the conditions surrounding them renders many of the dead willing to accept the guidance of those to whom these conditions are obviously familiar2 and many a man's stay on that plane has been considerably shortened by the earnest efforts of this band of energetic workers4 ,not1 be it understood1 that the karma of the dead man can in any way be interfered with2 he has built for himself during life an astral body of a certain degree of density1 and until that body is sufficiently dissolved he cannot pass on into the heaven-world beyond2 but he need not lengthen the period necessary for that process by adopting an improper attitude4 ,all students ought clearly to grasp the truth that the length of a man's astral life after he has put off his physical body depends mainly upon two factors--the nature of his past physical life1 and his attitude of mind after what we call death4 ,during his earth-life he is constantly influencing the building of matter into his astral body4 ,he affects it directly by the passions1 emotions1 and desires which he allows to hold sway over him2 he affects it indirectly by the action upon it of his thoughts from above1 and of the details of his physical life--his continence or his debauchery1 his cleanliness or his uncleanliness1 his food and his drink--from below4 ,if by persistence in perversity along any of these lines he is so stupid as to build for himself a coarse and gross astral vehicle1 habituated to responding only to the lower vibrations of the plane1 he will find himself after death bound to that plane during a long and slow process of that body's disintegration4 ,on the other hand if by decent and careful living he gives himself a vehicle mainly composed of finer material1 he will have very much less post-mortem trouble and discomfort1 and his evolution will proceed much more rapidly and easily4 ,this much is generally understood1 but the second great factor--his attitude of mind after death--seems often to be forgotten4 ,the desirable thing is for him to realize his position on this particular little arc of his evolution--to learn that he is at this stage withdrawing steadily inward towards the plane of the true ego1 and that consequently it is his business to disengage his thoughts as far as may be from things physical1 and to fix his attention more and more upon those spiritual matters which will occupy him during his life in the heaven-world4 ,by doing this he will greatly facilitate the natural astral disintegration1 and will avoid the sadly common mistake of unnecessarily delaying himself upon the lower levels of what should be so temporary a residence4 ,but many of the dead very considerably retard the process of dissolution by clinging passionately to the earth which they have left2 they simply will not turn their thoughts and desires upward1 but spend their time in struggling with all their might to keep in full touch with the physical plane1 thus causing great trouble to any one who may be trying to help them4 ,earthly matters are the only ones in which they have ever had any living interest1 and they cling to them with desperate tenacity even after death4 ,naturally as time passes on they find it increasingly difficult to keep hold of things down here1 but instead of welcoming and encouraging this process of gradual refinement and spiritualization they resist it vigorously by every means in their power4 ,of course the mighty force of evolution is eventually too strong for them1 and they are swept on in its beneficent current1 yet they fight every step of the way1 thereby not only causing themselves a vast amount of entirely unnecessary pain and sorrow1 but also very seriously delaying their upward progress and prolonging their stay in astral regions to an almost indefinite extent4 ,in convincing them that this ignorant and disastrous opposition to the cosmic will is contrary to the laws of nature1 and persuading them to adopt an attitude of mind which is the exact reversal of it1 lies a great part of the work of those who are trying to help4 ,it happens occasionally that the dead are earth-bound by anxiety--anxiety sometimes about duties unperformed or debts undischarged1 but more often on account of wife or children left unprovided for4 ,in such cases as this it has more than once been necessary1 before the dead man was satisfied to pursue his upward path in peace1 that the helper should to some extent act as his representative upon the physical plane1 and attend on his behalf to the settlement of the business which was troubling him4 ,an illustration taken from our recent experience will perhaps make this clearer4 ,one of the band of pupils was trying to assist a poor man who had died in one of our western cities1 but found it impossible to withdraw his mind from earthly things because of his anxiety about two young children whom his death had left without means of support4 ,he had been a working man of some sort1 and had been unable to lay by any money for them2 his wife had died some two years previously and his landlady1 though exceedingly kind-hearted and very willing to do anything in her power for them1 was herself far too poor to be able to adopt them1 and very reluctantly came to the conclusion that she would be obliged to hand them over to the parish authorities4 ,this was a great grief to the dead father1 though he could not blame the landlady1 and was himself unable to suggest any other course4 ,our friend asked him whether he had no relative to whom he could entrust them1 but the father knew of none4 ,he had a younger brother1 he said1 who would certainly have done something for him in this extremity1 but he had lost sight of him for fifteen years1 and did not even know whether he was living or dead4 ,when last heard of he had been apprenticed to a carpenter in the north1 and he was then described as a steady young fellow who1 if he lived1 would surely get on4 ,the clues at hand were certainly very slight1 but since there seemed no other prospect of help for the children1 our friend thought it worth while to make a special effort to follow them up4 ,taking the dead man with him he commenced a patient search after the brother in the town indicated2 and after a great deal of trouble they were actually successful in finding him4 ,he was now a master carpenter in a fairly flourishing way of business--married1 but without children though earnestly desiring them1 and therefore apparently just the man for the emergency4 ,the question now was how the information could best be conveyed to this brother4 ,fortunately he was found to be so far impressionable that the circumstances of his brother's death and the destitution of his children could be put vividly before him in a dream1 and this was repeated three times1 the place and even the name of the landlady being clearly indicated to him4 ,he was immensely impressed by this recurring vision1 and discussed it earnestly with his wife1 who advised him to write to the address given4 ,this he did not like to do1 but was strongly inclined to travel down into the west country1 find out whether there was such a house as that which he had seen1 and if so make some excuse to call there4 ,he was a busy man1 however1 and he finally decided that he could not afford to lose a day's work for what after all might well prove to be nothing but the baseless fabric of a dream4 ,the attempt along these lines having apparently failed1 it was determined to try another method1 so one of the helpers wrote a letter to the man detailing the circumstances of his brother's death and the position of the children1 exactly as he had seen them in his dream4 ,on receipt of this confirmation he no longer hesitated1 but set off the very next day for the town indicated1 and was received with open arms by the kind-hearted landlady4 ,it had been easy enough for the helpers to persuade her1 good soul that she was1 to keep the children with her for a few days on the chance that something or other would turn up for them1 and she has ever since congratulated herself that she did so4 ,the carpenter of course took the children back with him and provided them with a happy home1 and the dead father1 now no longer anxious1 passed rejoicing on his upward way4 ,since some ,theosophical writers have felt it their duty to insist in vigorous terms upon the evils so frequently attendant upon the holding of spiritualistic sances1 it is only fair to admit that on several occasions good work similar to that of the helper in the case just described has been done through the agency of a medium or of some one present at a circle4 ,thus1 though spiritualism has too often detained souls who but for it would have attained speedier liberation1 it must be set to the credit of its account that it has also furnished the means of escape to others1 and thus opened up the path of advancement for them4 ,there have been instances in which the defunct has been able to appear unassisted to his relatives or friends and explain his wishes to them2 but these are naturally rare1 and most souls who are earth-bound by anxieties of the kind indicated can satisfy themselves only by means of the services of the medium or the conscious helper4 ,another case very frequently encountered on the astral plane is that of the man who cannot believe that he is dead at all4 ,indeed1 most people consider the very fact that they are still conscious to be an absolute proof that they have not passed through the portals of death2 somewhat of a satire this1 if one thinks of it1 on the practical value of our much-vaunted belief in the immortality of the soul6 ,however they may have labelled themselves during life1 the great majority of those who die1 in this country at any rate1 show themselves by their subsequent attitude to have been to all intents and purposes materialists at heart2 and those who on earth have honestly called themselves so are often no more difficult to deal with than others who would have been shocked at the very name4 ,a very recent instance was that of a scientific man who1 finding himself fully conscious1 and yet under conditions differing radically from any that he had ever experienced before1 had persuaded himself that he was still alive1 and merely the victim of a prolonged and unpleasant dream4 ,fortunately for him there happened to be among the band of those able to function upon the astral plane a son of an old friend of his1 a young man whose father had commissioned him to search for the departed scientist and endeavour to render him some assistance4 ,when after some trouble the youth found and accosted him1 he frankly admitted that he was in a condition of great bewilderment and discomfort1 but still clung desperately to his dream hypothesis as on the whole the most probable explanation of what he saw1 and even went so far as to suggest that his visitor was nothing but a dream-figure himself6 ,at last1 however1 he so far gave way as to propose a kind of test1 and said to the young man1 8,if you are1 as you assert1 a living person1 and the son of my old friend1 bring me from him some message that shall prove to me your objective reality40 ,now although under all ordinary conditions of the physical plane the giving of any kind of phenomenal proof is strictly forbidden to the pupils of the ,masters1 it seemed as though a case of this kind hardly came under the rules2 and therefore1 when it had been ascertained that there was no objection on the part of higher authorities1 an application was made to the father1 who at once sent a message referring to a series of events which had occurred before the son's birth4 ,this convinced the dead man of the real existence of his young friend1 and therefore of the plane upon which they were both functioning2 and as soon as he felt this established1 his scientific training at once reasserted itself1 and he became exceeding eager to acquire all possible information about this new region4 ,of course the message which he so readily accepted as evidence was in reality no proof at all1 since the facts to which it referred might have been read from his own mind or from the records of the past by any creature possessed of astral senses6 ,but his ignorance of these possibilities enabled this definite impression to be made upon him1 and the ,theosophical instruction which his young friend is now nightly giving to him will undoubtedly have a stupendous effect upon his future1 for it cannot but greatly modify not only the heaven-state which lies immediately before him1 but also his next incarnation upon earth4 ,the main work1 then1 done for the newly dead by our helpers is that of soothing and comforting them--of delivering them when possible from the terrible though unreasoning fear which but too often seizes them1 and not only causes them much unnecessary suffering1 but retards their progress to higher spheres--and of enabling them as far as may be to comprehend the future that lies before them4 ,others who have been longer on the astral plane may also receive much help1 if they will but accept it1 from explanations and advice as to their course through its different stages4 ,they may1 for example1 be warned of the danger and delay caused by attempting to communicate with the living through a medium1 and sometimes 7though rarely7 an entity already drawn into a spiritualistic circle may be guided into higher and healthier life4 ,teaching thus given to persons on this plane is by no means lost1 for though the memory of it cannot of course be directly carried over to the next incarnation1 there always remains the real inner knowledge1 and therefore the strong predisposition to accept it immediately when heard again in the new life4 ,a rather remarkable instance of service rendered to the dead was the first achievement of a very recent recruit to the band of helpers--one who is hardly as yet a fully-fledged member4 ,this young aspirant had not long before lost an aged relation1 for whom he had felt an especially warm affection2 and his earliest request was to be taken by a more experienced friend to visit her in the hope that he might be of some service to her4 ,this was done and the effect of the meeting of the living and the dead was very beautiful and touching4 ,the older person's astral life was already approaching its end1 but a condition of apathy1 dullness and uncertainty prevented her from making any immediate progress4 ,but when the boy1 who had been so much to her in earth-life1 stood once more before her and dissolved by the sunlight of his love the grey mist of depression which had gathered around her1 she was aroused from her stupor2 and soon she understood that he had come in order to explain to her her situation1 and to tell her of the glories of the higher life toward which her thoughts and aspirations ought now to be directed4 ,but when this was fully realized1 there was such an awakening of dormant feeling in her and such an outrush of devoted affection towards her earnest young helper1 that the last fetters which bound her to the astral life were broken1 and that one great outburst of love and gratitude swept her forthwith into the higher consciousness of the heaven-world4 ,truly there is no greater and more beneficent power in the universe than that of pure1 unselfish love4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,other ,,branches ,,of ,,the ,,work4 ,but turning back again now from the all-important work among the dead to the consideration of the work among the living1 we must briefly indicate a great branch of it1 without a notice of which our account of the labours of our invisible helpers would indeed be incomplete1 and that is the immense amount which is done by suggestion--by simply putting good thoughts into the minds of those who are ready to receive them4 ,let there be no mistake as to what is meant here4 ,it would be perfectly easy--easy to a degree which would be quite incredible to those who do not understand the subject practically--for a helper to dominate the mind of any average man1 and make him think just as he pleased1 and that without arousing the faintest suspicion of any outside influence in the mind of the subject4 ,but1 however admirable the result might be1 such a proceeding would be entirely inadmissible4 ,all that may be done is to throw the good thought into the person's mind as one among the hundreds that are constantly sweeping through it2 whether the man takes it up1 makes it his own1 and acts upon it1 depends upon himself entirely4 ,were it otherwise1 it is obvious that all the good karma of the action would accrue to the helper only1 for the subject would have been a mere tool1 and not an actor--which is not what is desired4 ,the assistance given in this way is exceedingly varied in character4 ,the consolation of those who are suffering or in sorrow at once suggests itself1 as does also the endeavour to guide toward the truth those who are earnestly seeking it4 ,when a person is spending much anxious thought upon some spiritual or metaphysical problem1 it is often possible to put the solution into his mind without his being at all aware that it comes from external agency4 ,a pupil too may often be employed as an agent in what can hardly be described otherwise than as the answering of prayer2 for though it is true that any earnest spiritual desire1 such as might be supposed to find its expression in prayer1 is itself a force which automatically brings about certain results1 it is also a fact that such a spiritual effort offers an opportunity of influence to the ,powers of ,good1 of which they are not slow to take advantage2 and it is sometimes the privilege of a willing helper to be made the channel through which their energy is poured forth4 ,what is said of prayers is true to an even greater extent of meditation1 for those to whom this higher exercise is a possibility4 ,besides these more general methods of help there are also special lines open only to the few4 ,again and again such pupils as are fitted for the work have been employed to suggest true and beautiful thoughts to authors1 poets1 artists and musicians2 but obviously it is not every helper who is capable of being used in this way4 ,sometimes1 though more rarely1 it is possible to warn persons of the danger to their moral development of some course which they are pursuing1 to clear away evil influences from about some person or place1 or to counteract the machinations of black magicians4 ,it is not often that direct instruction in the great truths of nature can be given to people outside the circle of occult students1 but occasionally it is possible to do something in that way by putting before the minds of preachers and teachers a wider range of thought or a more liberal view of some question than they would otherwise have taken4 ,naturally as an occult student progresses on the ,path he attains a wider sphere of usefulness4 ,instead of assisting individuals only1 he learns how classes1 nations and races are dealt with1 and he is entrusted with a gradually increasing share of the higher and more important work done by the adepts themselves4 ,as he acquires the requisite power and knowledge he begins to wield the greater forces of the mental and the astral planes and is shown how to make the utmost possible use of each favourable cyclic influence4 ,he is brought into relation with those great ,nirmnakyas who are sometimes symbolized as the ,stones of the ,guardian ,wall1 and he becomes--at first of course in the very humblest capacity--one of the band of their almoners1 and learns how those forces are dispersed which are the fruit of their sublime self-sacrifice4 ,thus he rises gradually higher and higher until1 blossoming at length into adeptship1 he is able to take his full share of the responsibility which lies upon the ,masters of ,wisdom1 and to help others along the road which he has trodden4 ,on the mental plane the work differs somewhat1 since teaching can be both given and received in a much more direct1 rapid and perfect manner1 while the influences set in motion are infinitely more powerful1 because acting on so much higher a level4 ,but 7though it is useless to speak of it in detail at present1 since so few of us are yet able to function consciously upon this plane during life7 here also--and even higher still--there is always plenty of work to be done1 as soon as ever we can make ourselves capable of doing it2 and there is certainly no fear that for countless ons we shall ever find ourselves without a career of unselfish usefulness open before us4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,qualifications ,,required4 ,how1 it may be asked1 are we to make ourselves capable of sharing in this great work8 ,well1 there is no mystery as to the qualifications which are needed by one who aspires to be a helper2 the difficulty is not in learning what they are1 but in developing them in oneself4 ,to some extent they have been already incidentally described1 but it is nevertheless as well that they should be set out fully and categorically4 #a4 ,single-mindedness4 ,the first requisite is that we shall have recognized the great work which the ,masters would have us do1 and that it shall be for us the one great interest of our lives4 ,we must learn to distinguish not only between useful and useless work1 but between the different kinds of useful work1 so that we may each devote ourselves to the very highest of which we are capable1 and not fritter away our time in labouring at something which1 however good it may be for the man who cannot yet do anything better1 is unworthy of the knowledge and capacity which should be ours as ,theosophists4 ,a man who wishes to be considered eligible for employment on higher planes must begin by doing the utmost that lies in his power in the way of definite work for ,theosophy down here4 ,of course ,i do not for a moment mean that we are to neglect the ordinary duties of life4 ,we should certainly do well to undertake no new worldly duties of any sort1 but those which we have already bound upon our shoulders have become a krmic obligation which we have no right to neglect4 ,unless we have done to the full the duties which karma has laid upon us we are not free for the higher work4 ,but this higher work must nevertheless be to us the one thing really worth living for--the constant background of a life which is consecrated to the service of the ,masters of ,compassion4 #b4 ,perfect self-control4 ,before we can be safely trusted with the wider powers of the astral life1 we must have ourselves perfectly in hand4 ,our temper1 for example1 must be thoroughly under control1 so that nothing that we may see or hear can cause real irritation in us1 for the consequences of such irritation would be far more serious on that plane than on this4 ,the force of thought is always an enormous power1 but down here it is reduced and deadened by the heavy physical brain-particles which it has to set in motion4 ,in the astral world it is far freer and more potent1 and for a man with fully-awakened faculty to feel anger against a person there would be to do him serious and perhaps even fatal injury4 ,not only do we need control of temper1 but control of nerve1 so that none of the fantastic or terrible sights that we may encounter may be able to shake our dauntless courage4 ,it must be remembered that the pupil who awakens a man upon the astral plane incurs thereby a certain amount of responsibility for his actions and for his safety1 so that unless his neophyte had courage to stand alone the whole of the older worker's time would be wasted in hovering round to protect him1 which it would be manifestly unreasonable to expect4 ,it is to make sure of this control of nerve1 and to fit them for the work that has to be done1 that candidates are always made1 now as in days of old1 to pass what are called the tests of earth1 water1 air and fire4 ,in other words1 they have to learn with that absolute certainty that comes not by theory1 but by practical experience1 that in their astral bodies none of these elements can by any possibility be hurtful to them--that none can oppose any obstacle in the way of the work which they have to do4 ,in this physical body we are fully convinced that fire will burn us1 that water will drown us1 that the solid rock forms an impassable barrier to our progress1 that we cannot with safety launch ourselves unsupported into the ambient air4 ,so deeply is this conviction engrained in us that it costs most men a good deal of effort to overcome the instinctive action which follows from it1 and to realize that in the astral body the densest rock offers no impediment to their freedom of motion1 that they may leap with impunity from the highest cliff1 and plunge with the most absolute confidence into the heart of the raging volcano or the deepest abysses of the fathomless ocean4 ,yet until a man knows this--knows it sufficiently to act upon his knowledge instinctively and confidently--he is comparatively useless for astral work1 since in emergencies that are constantly arising he would be perpetually paralyzed by imaginary disabilities4 ,so he has to go through his tests1 and through many another strange experience--to meet face to face with calm courage the most terrifying apparitions amid the most loathsome surroundings--to show in fact that his nerve may be thoroughly trusted under any and all of the varied groups of circumstances in which he may at any moment find himself4 ,further1 we need control of mind and of desire2 of mind1 because without the power of concentration it would be impossible to do good work amid all the distracting currents of the astral plane2 of desire1 because in that strange world to desire is very often to have1 and unless this part of our nature were well controlled we might perchance find ourselves face to face with creations of our own of which we should be heartily ashamed4 #c4 ,calmness4 ,this is another most important point--the absence of all worry and depression4 ,much of the work consists in soothing those who are disturbed1 and cheering those who are in sorrow2 and how can a helper do that work if his own aura is vibrating with constant fuss and worry1 or grey with the deadly gloom that comes from perpetual depression8 ,nothing is more hopelessly fatal to occult progress or usefulness than our nineteenth-century habit of ceaselessly worrying over trifles--of eternally making mountains out of molehills4 ,many of us simply spend our lives in magnifying the most absurd trivialities--in solemnly and elaborately going to work to make ourselves miserable about nothing4 ,surely we who are ,theosophists ought1 at any rate1 to have got beyond this stage of irrational worry and causeless depression2 surely we1 who are trying to acquire some definite knowledge of the cosmic order1 ought by this time to have realized that the optimistic view of everything is always nearest to the divine view1 and therefore to the truth1 because only that in any person which is good and beautiful can by any possibility be permanent1 while the evil must by its very nature be temporary4 ,in fact1 as ,browning said1 8the evil is null1 is naught1 is silence implying sound10 while above and beyond it all 8the soul of things is sweet1 the ,heart of ,being is celestial rest40 ,so ,they who know maintain unruffled calm1 and with ,their perfect sympathy combine the joyous serenity which comes from the certainty that all will at last be well2 and those who wish to help must learn to follow ,their example4 #d4 ,knowledge4 ,to be of use the man must at least have some knowledge of the nature of the plane on which he has to work1 and the more knowledge he has in any and every direction the more useful he will be4 ,he must fit himself for this task by carefully studying ,theosophical literature2 for he cannot expect those whose time is already so fully occupied to waste some of it in explaining to him what he might have learnt down here by taking the trouble to read the books4 ,no one who is not already as earnest a student as his capacities and opportunities permit1 need begin to think of himself as a candidate for astral work4 #e4 ,unselfishness4 ,it would seem scarcely needful to insist upon this as a qualification1 for surely everyone who has made the least study of ,theosophy must know that while the slightest taint of selfishness remains in a man1 he is not yet fit to be entrusted with higher powers1 not yet fit to enter upon a work of whose very essence it is that the worker should forget himself but to remember the good of others4 ,he who is still capable of selfish thought1 whose personality is still so strong in him that he can allow himself to be turned aside from his work by feelings of petty pride or suggestions of wounded dignity--that man is not yet ready to show the selfless devotion of the helper4 #f4 ,love4 ,this1 the last and greatest of the qualifications1 is also the most misunderstood4 ,most emphatically it is not the cheap1 namby-pamby backboneless sentimentalism which is always overflowing into vague platitudes and gushing generalities1 yet fears to stand firm for the right lest it should be branded by the ignorant as 8unbrotherly40 ,what is wanted is the love which is strong enough not to boast itself1 but to act without talking about it--the intense desire for service which is ever on the watch for an opportunity to render it1 even though it prefers to do so anonymously--the feeling which springs up in the heart of him who has realized the great work of the ,logos1 and1 having once seen it1 knows that for him there can be in the three worlds no other course but to identify himself with it to the utmost limit of his power--to become1 in however humble a way1 and at however great a distance1 a tiny channel of that wondrous love of ,god which1 like the peace of ,god1 passeth man's understanding4 ,these are the qualities toward the possession of which the helper must ceaselessly strive1 and of which some considerable measure at least must be his before he can hope that the ,great ,ones who stand behind will deem him fit for full awakening4 ,the ideal is in truth a high one1 yet none need therefore turn away disheartened1 nor think that while he is still but struggling toward it he must necessarily remain entirely useless on the astral plane1 for short of the responsibilities and dangers of that full awakening there is much that may safely and usefully be done4 ,there is hardly one among us who would not be capable of performing at least one definite act of mercy and good will each night while we are away from our bodies4 ,our condition when asleep is usually one of absorption in thought1 be it remembered--a carrying on of the thoughts that have principally occupied us during the day1 and especially of the last thought in the mind when sinking into sleep4 ,now if we make that last thought a strong intention to go and give help to some one whom we know to be in need of it1 the soul when freed from the body will undoubtedly carry out that intention1 and the help will be given4 ,there are several cases on record in which1 when this attempt has been made1 the person thought of has been fully conscious of the effort of the would-be helper1 and has even seen his astral body in the act of carrying out the instructions impressed upon it4 ,indeed1 no one need sadden himself with the thought that he can have no part nor lot in this glorious work4 ,such a feeling would be entirely untrue1 for everyone who can think can help4 ,nor need such useful action be confined to our hours of sleep4 ,if you know 7and who does not87 of some one who is in sorrow or suffering1 though you may not be able consciously to stand in astral form by their bedside1 you can nevertheless send them loving thoughts and earnest good wishes2 and be well assured that such thoughts and wishes are real and living and strong--that when you so send them they do actually go and work your will in proportion to the strength which you have put into them4 ,thoughts are things1 intensely real things1 visible enough to those whose eyes have been opened to see1 and by their means the poorest man may bear his part in the good work of the world as fully as the richest4 ,in this way at least1 whether we can yet function consciously upon the astral plane or not1 we all can join1 and we all ought to join1 the army of invisible helpers4 ,but the aspirant1 who definitely desires to become one of the band of astral helpers who are working under the direction of the great ,masters of ,wisdom1 will make his preparation part of a far wider scheme of development4 ,instead of merely endeavouring to fit himself for this particular branch of their service1 he will undertake with high resolution the far greater task of training himself to follow in their footsteps1 of bending all the energies of his soul to attain even as they have attained1 so that his power of helping the world may not be confined to the astral plane1 but may extend to those higher levels which are the true home of the divine self of man4 ,for him the path has been marked out long ago by the wisdom of those who have trodden it in days of old--a path of self-development which sooner or later all must follow1 whether they choose to adopt it of their own free will1 or to wait until1 after many lives and an infinity of suffering1 the slow1 resistless force of evolution drives them along it among the laggards of the human family4 ,but the wise man is he who eagerly enters upon it immediately1 setting his face resolutely toward the goal of adeptship1 in order that1 being safe for ever from all doubt and fear and sorrow himself1 he may help others into safety and happiness also4 ,what are the steps of this ,path of ,holiness1 as the ,buddhists call it1 and in what order they are arranged1 let us see in our next chapter4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,the ,,probationary ,,path4 ,eastern books tell us that there are four means by which a man may be brought to the beginning of the path of spiritual advancement3 #a4 ,by the companionship of those who have already entered upon it4 #b4 ,by the hearing or reading of definite teaching on occult philosophy4 #c4 ,by enlightened reflection2 that is to say1 that by sheer force of hard thinking and close reasoning he may arrive at the truth1 or some portion of it1 for himself4 #d4 ,by the practice of virtue1 which means that a long series of virtuous lives1 though it does not necessarily involve any increase of intellectuality1 does eventually develop in a man sufficient intuition to enable him to grasp the necessity of entering upon the path1 and show him in what direction it lies4 ,when1 by one or another of these means1 he has arrived at this point1 the way to the highest adeptship lies straight before him1 if he chooses to take it4 ,in writing for students of occultism it is hardly necessary to say that at our present stage of development we cannot expect to learn all1 or nearly all1 about any but the lowest steps of this path2 whilst of the highest we know little but the names1 though we may get occasional glimpses of the indescribable glory which surrounds them4 ,according to the esoteric teachings these steps are grouped in three great divisions3 #a4 ,the probationary period1 before any definite pledges are taken1 or initiations 7in the full sense of the word7 are given4 ,this carries a man to the level necessary to pass successfully through what in ,theosophical books is usually called the critical period of the fifth round4 #b4 ,the period of pledged discipleship1 or the path proper1 whose four stages are often spoken of in ,oriental books as the four paths of holiness4 ,at the end of this the pupil obtains adeptship--the level which humanity should reach at the close of the seventh round4 #c4 ,what we may venture to call the official period1 in which the adept takes a definite part 7under the great ,cosmic ,law7 in the government of the world1 and holds a special office connected therewith4 ,of course every adept--every pupil even1 when once definitely accepted1 as we have seen in the earlier chapters--takes a part in the great work of helping forward the evolution of man2 but those standing on the higher levels take charge of special departments1 and correspond in the cosmic scheme to the ministers of the crown in a well-ordered earthly state4 ,it is not proposed to make any attempt in this book to treat of this official period2 no information about it has ever been made public1 and the whole subject is too far above our comprehension to be profitably dealt with in print4 ,we will confine ourselves therefore to the two earlier divisions4 ,before going into details of the probationary period it is well to mention that in most of the ,eastern sacred books this stage is regarded as merely preliminary1 and scarcely as part of the path at all1 for they consider that the latter is really entered upon only when definite pledges have been given4 ,considerable confusion has been created by the fact that the numbering of the stages occasionally commences at this point1 though more often at the beginning of the second great division2 sometimes the stages themselves are counted1 and sometimes the initiations leading into or out of them1 so that in studying the books one has to be perpetually on one's guard to avoid misunderstanding4 ,this probationary period1 however1 differs considerably in character from the others2 the divisions between its stages are less decidedly marked than are those of the higher groups1 and the requirements are not so definite or so exacting4 ,but it will be easier to explain this last point after giving a list of the five stages of this period1 with their respective qualifications4 ,the first four were very ably described by ,mr4 ,mohini ,mohun ,chatterji in the first ,transaction of the ,london ,lodge1 to which readers may be referred for fuller definitions of them than can be given here4 ,much exceedingly valuable information about them is also given by ,mrs4 ,besant in her books ,the ,path of ,discipleship and ,in the ,outer ,court4 ,the names given to the stages will differ somewhat1 for in those books the ,hindu ,sanskrit terminology was employed1 whereas the ,pli nomenclature used here is that of the ,buddhist system2 but although the subject is thus approached from a different side1 as it were1 the qualifications exacted will be found to be precisely the same in effect even when the outward form varies4 ,in the case of each word the mere dictionary meaning will first be given in parentheses1 and the explanation of it which is usually given by the teacher will follow4 ,the first stage1 then1 is called among ,buddhists3 #a4 ,manodvravajjana 7the opening of the doors of the mind1 or perhaps escaping by the door of the mind7--and in it the candidate acquires a firm intellectual conviction of the impermanence and worthlessness of mere earthly aims4 ,this is often described as learning the difference between the real and the unreal2 and to learn it often takes a long time and many hard lessons4 ,yet it is obvious that it must be the first step toward anything like real progress1 for no man can enter whole-heartedly upon the path until he has definitely decided to 8set his affection upon things above1 not on things on the earth10 and that decision comes from the certainty that nothing on earth has any value as compared with the higher life4 ,this step is called by the ,hindus the acquirement of ,viveka or discrimination1 and ,mr4 ,sinnett speaks of it as the giving allegiance to the higher self4 #b4 ,parikamma 7preparation for action7--the stage in which the candidate learns to do the right merely because it is right1 without considering his own gain or loss either in this world or the future1 and acquires1 as the ,eastern books put it1 perfect indifference to the enjoyment of the fruit of his own actions4 ,this indifference is the natural result of the previous step2 for when the neophyte has once grasped the unreal and impermanent character of all earthly rewards1 he ceases to crave for them2 when once the radiance of the real has shone upon the soul1 nothing below that can any longer be an object of desire4 ,this higher indifference is called by the ,hindus ,vairgya4 #c4 ,upachro 7attention or conduct7--the stage in which what are called 8the six qualifications0 7the ,shatsampatti of the ,hindus7 must be acquired4 ,these are called in ,pli3 7a7 ,samo 7quietude7--that purity and calmness of thought which comes from perfect control of the mind--a qualification exceedingly difficult of attainment1 and yet most necessary1 for unless the mind moves only in obedience to the guidance of the will it cannot be a perfect instrument for the ,master's work in the future4 ,this qualification is a very comprehensive one1 and includes within itself both the self-control and the calmness which were described in chapter xiv4 as necessary for astral work4 7b7 ,damo 7subjugation7--a similar mastery over1 and therefore purity in1 one's actions and words--a quality which again follows necessarily from its predecessor4 7c7 ,uparati 7cessation7--explained as cessation from bigotry or from belief in the necessity of any act or ceremony prescribed by a particular religion--so leading the aspirant to independence of thought and to a wide and generous tolerance4 7d7 ,titikkh 7endurance or forbearance7--by which is meant the readiness to bear with cheerfulness whatever one's karma may bring upon one1 and to part with anything and everything worldly whenever it may be necessary4 ,it also includes the idea of complete absence of resentment for wrong1 the man knowing that those who do him wrong are but the instruments of his own karma4 7e7 ,samdhna 7intentness7--one-pointedness involving the incapability of being turned aside from one's path by temptation4 ,this corresponds very closely with the single-mindness spoken of in the previous chapter4 7f7 ,saddh 7faith7--confidence in one's ,master and oneself3 confidence1 that is1 that the ,master is a competent teacher1 and that1 however diffident the pupil may feel as to his own powers1 he has yet within him that divine spark which when fanned into a flame will one day enable him to achieve even as his ,master has done4 #d4 ,anuloma 7direct order or succession1 signifying that its attainment follows as a natural consequence from the other three7--the stage in which is acquired that intense desire for liberation from earthly life1 and for union with the highest1 which is called by the ,hindus ,mumukshatva4 #e4 ,gotrabh 7the condition of fitness for initiation72 in this stage the candidate gathers up1 as it were1 his previous acquisitions1 and strengthens them to the degree necessary for the next great step1 which will set his feet upon the path proper as an accepted pupil4 ,the attainment of this level is followed very rapidly by initiation into the next grade4 ,in answer to the question1 8,who is the ,gotrabh80 ,buddha says1 8,the man who is in possession of those conditions upon which the commencement of sanctification immediately ensues--he is the ,gotrabh40 ,the wisdom necessary for the reception of the path of holiness is called ,gotrabh-gna4 ,now that we have hastily glanced at the steps of the probationary period1 we must emphasize the point to which reference was made at the commencement--that the perfect attainment of these accomplishments and qualifications is not expected at this early stage4 ,as ,mr4 ,mohini says1 8,if all these are equally strong1 adeptship is attained in the same incarnation40 ,but such a result is of course extremely rare4 ,it is in the direction of these acquirements that the candidate must easelessly strive1 but it would be an error to suppose that no one has been admitted to the next step without possessing all of them in the fullest possible degree4 ,nor do they necessarily follow one another in the same definite order as the later steps2 in fact1 in many cases a man would be developing the various qualifications all at the same time--rather side by side than in regular succession4 ,it is obvious that a man might easily be working along a great part of this path even though he was quite unaware of its very existence1 and no doubt many a good ,christian1 many an earnest freethinker is already far on the road that will eventually lead him to initiation1 though he may never have heard the word occultism in his life4 ,i mention these two classes especially1 because in every other religion occult development is recognized as a possibility1 and would certainly therefore be intentionally sought by those who felt yearnings for something more satisfactory than the exoteric faiths4 ,we must also note that the steps of this probationary period are not separated by initiations in the full sense of the word1 though they will certainly be studded with tests and trials of all sorts and on all planes1 and may be relieved by encouraging experiences1 and by hints and help whenever these may safely be given4 ,we are apt sometimes to use the word initiation somewhat loosely1 as for example when it is applied to such tests as have just been mentioned2 properly speaking it refers only to the solemn ceremony at which a pupil is formally admitted to a higher grade by an appointed official1 who in the name of the ,one ,initiator receives his plighted vow1 and puts into his hands the new key of knowledge which he is to use on the level to which he has now attained4 ,such an initiation is taken at the entrance to the division which we shall next consider1 and also at each passage from any one of its steps to the next4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,path ,,proper4 ,it is in the four stages of this division of the path that the ten ,sayojana1 or fetters which bind man to the circle of rebirth and hold him back from ,nirva1 must be cast off4 ,and here comes the difference between this period of pledged discipleship and the previous probation4 ,no partial success in getting rid of these fetters is sufficient now2 before a candidate can pass on from one of the steps to the next he must be entirely free from certain of these clogs2 and when they are enumerated it will be seen how far-reaching this requirement is1 and there will be little cause to wonder at the statement made in the sacred books that seven incarnations are sometimes required to pass through this division of the path4 ,each of these four steps or stages is again divided into four3 for each has 7#a7 its ,maggo1 or way1 during which the student is striving to cast off the fetters2 7#b7 its ,phala 7result or fruit7 when he finds the results of his action in so doing showing themselves more and more2 7#c7 its ,bhavagga or consummation1 the period when1 the result having culminated1 he is able to fulfill satisfactorily the work belonging to the step on which he now firmly stands2 and 7#d7 its ,gotrabh1 meaning1 as before1 the time when he arrives at a fit state to receive the next initiation4 ,the first stage is3 ,i4 ,sotpatti or ,sohan4 ,the pupil who has attained this level is spoken of as the ,sowani or ,sotpanna--8he who has entered the stream10--because from this period1 though he may linger1 though he may succumb to more refined temptations and turn aside from his course for a time1 he can no longer fall back altogether from spirituality and become a mere worldling4 ,he has entered upon the stream of definite higher human evolution1 upon which all humanity must enter by the middle of the next round1 unless they are to be left behind as temporary failures by the great life-wave1 to wait for further progress until the next chain of worlds4 ,the pupil who is able to take this initiation has therefore already outstripped the majority of humanity to the extent of an entire round of all our seven planets1 and in doing so has definitely secured himself against the possibility of falling out of the stream in the fifth round4 ,he is consequently sometimes spoken of as 8the saved0 or 8the safe one40 ,it is from a misunderstanding of this idea that there arises the curious theory of salvation promulgated by a certain section of the ,christian community4 ,the 8onian salvation0 of which some of its documents speak is not1 as has been blasphemously supposed by the ignorant1 from eternal torture1 but simply from wasting the rest of this on or dispensation by falling out of its line of progress4 ,this also is the meaning1 naturally1 of the celebrated clause in the ,athanasian ,creed1 8,whosoever will be saved1 before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith0 7,see ,the ,christian ,creed1 p4 #ia74 ,the fetters which he must cast off before he can pass into the next stage are3 #a4 ,sakkyadihi--the delusion of self4 #b4 ,vichikichchh--doubt or uncertainty4 #c4 ,slabbataparmsa--superstition4 ,the first of these is the 8,i am ,i0 consciousness1 which as connected with the personality is nothing but an illusion1 and must be got rid of at the very first step of the real upward path4 ,but to cast off this fetter completely means even more than this1 for it involves the realization of the fact that the individuality also is in very truth one with the ,all1 that it can therefore never have any interests opposed to those of its brethren1 and that it is most truly progressing when it most assists the progress of others4 ,for the very sign and seal of the attainment of the ,sotpatti level is the first entrance of the pupil into the plane next above the mental--that which we usually call the buddhic4 ,it may be--nay1 it will be--the merest touch of the lowest sub-plane of that stupendously exalted condition that the pupil can as yet experience1 even with his ,master's help2 but even that touch is something that can never be forgotten--something that opens a new world before him1 and entirely revolutionizes his feelings and conceptions4 ,then for the first time1 by means of the extended consciousness of that plane1 he truly realizes the underlying unity of all1 not as an intellectual conception merely1 but as a definite fact that is patent to his opened eyes2 then first he really knows something of the world in which he lives--then first he gets some slight glimpse of what the love and compassion of the great ,masters must be4 ,as to the second letter1 a word of caution is necessary4 ,we who have been trained in ,european habits of thought are unhappily so familiar with the idea that a blind unreasoning adhesion to certain dogmas may be claimed from a disciple1 that on hearing that occultism considers doubt as an obstacle to progress1 we are likely to suppose that it also requires the same unquestioning faith from its followers as modern superstitions do4 ,no idea could be more entirely false4 ,it is true that doubt 7or rather uncertainty7 on certain questions is a bar to spiritual progress1 but the antidote to that doubt is not blind faith 7which is itself considered as a fetter1 as will presently be seen7 but the certainty of conviction founded on individual experiment or mathematical reasoning4 ,while a child doubted the accuracy of the multiplication table he would hardly acquire proficiency in the higher mathematics2 but his doubts could be satisfactorily cleared up only by his attaining a comprehension1 founded on reasoning or experiment1 that the statements contained in the table are true4 ,he believes that twice two are four1 not merely because he has been told so1 but because it has become to him a self-evident fact4 ,and this is exactly the method1 and the only method1 of resolving doubt known to occultism4 ,vichikichchh has been defined as doubt of the doctrines of karma and reincarnation1 and of the efficacy of the method of attaining the highest good by this path of holiness2 and the casting off of this ,sayojana is the arriving at absolute certainty1 based either upon personal first-hand knowledge or upon reason1 that the occult teaching upon these points is true4 ,the third fetter to be got rid of comprehends all kinds of unreasoning or mistaken belief1 all dependence on the efficacy of outward rites and ceremonies to purify the heart4 ,he who would cast it off must learn to depend upon himself alone1 not upon others1 nor upon the outer husk of any religion4 ,the first three fetters are in a coherent series4 ,the difference between individuality and personality being fully realized1 it is then possible to some extent to appreciate the actual course of reincarnation1 and so as to dispel all doubt on that head4 ,this done1 the knowledge of the spiritual permanence of the true ego gives rise to reliance on one's own spiritual strength1 and so dispels superstition4 ,,ii4 ,sakadgm4 ,the pupil who has entered upon this second stage is spoken of as a ,sakridgmin--8the man who returns but once0--signifying that a man who has reached this level should need but one more incarnation before attaining arahatship4 ,at this step no additional fetters are cast off1 but the pupil is occupied in reducing to a minimum those which still enchain him4 ,it is1 however1 usually a period of considerable psychic and intellectual advancement4 ,if what are commonly called psychic faculties have not been previously acquired1 they must be developed at this stage1 as without them it would be impossible to assimilate the knowledge which must now be given1 or to do the higher work for humanity in which the pupil is now privileged to assist4 ,he must have the astral consciousness at his command during his physical waking life1 and during sleep the heaven-world will be open before him--for the consciousness of a man when away from his physical body is always one stage higher than it is while he is still burdened with the house of flesh4 ,,iii4 ,angm4 ,the ,angmin 7he who does not return7 is so called because1 having reached this stage1 he ought to be able to attain the next one in the life he is then living4 ,he enjoys1 while moving through the round of his daily work1 all the splendid possibilities of progress given by the full possession of the priceless faculties of the heaven-world1 and when he leaves his physical vehicle at night he enters once more into the wonderfully-widened consciousness that belongs to the buddhi4 ,in this step he finally gets rid of any lingering remains of the two fetters of #d4 ,kmarga--attachment to the enjoyment of sensation1 typified by earthly love1 and #e4 ,patigha--all possibility of anger or hatred4 ,the student who has cast off these fetters can no longer be swayed by the influence of his senses either in the direction of love or hatred1 and is free from either attachment to or impatience of physical plane conditions4 ,here again we must guard against a possible misconception--one with which we frequently meet4 ,the purest and noblest human love never dies away--is never in any way diminished by occult training2 on the contrary1 it is increased and widened until it embraces all with the same fervor which at first was lavished on one or two4 ,but the student does in time rise above all considerations connected with the mere personality of those around him1 and so is free from all the injustice and partiality which ordinary love so often brings in its train4 ,nor should it for a moment be supposed that in gaining this wide affection for all he loses the especial love for his closer friends4 ,the unusually perfect link between nanda and the ,buddha1 as between ,s4 ,john and ,jesus1 is on record to prove that on the contrary this is enormously intensified2 and the tie between a ,master and his pupils is stronger far than any earthly bond4 ,for the affection which flourishes upon the path of holiness is an affection between egos1 and not merely between personalities2 therefore it is strong and permanent1 without fear of diminution or fluctuation1 for it is that 8perfect love which casteth out fear40 ,,iv4 ,arahat 7the venerable1 the perfect74 ,on attaining this level the aspirant constantly enjoys the consciousness of the buddhic plane1 and is able to use its powers and faculties while still in the physical body2 and when he leaves that body in sleep or trance he passes at once into the unutterable glory of the nirvic plane4 ,in this stage the occultist must cast off the last remnants of the five remaining fetters1 which are3 #f4 ,rparga--desire for beauty of form or for physical existence in a form1 even including that in the heaven-world4 #g4 ,arparga--desire for formless life4 #h4 ,mno--pride4 #i4 ,uddhachcha--agitation or irritability4 #aj4 ,avijj--ignorance4 ,on this we may remark that the casting off of ,rparga involves not only getting rid of desire for earthly life1 however grand or noble that life may be1 and astral or devachanic life1 however glorious1 but also of all liability to be unduly influenced or repelled by the external beauty or ugliness of any person or thing4 ,arparga--desire for life either in the highest and formless planes of the heaven-world or in the still more exalted buddhic plane--would be merely a higher and less sensual form of selfishness1 and must be cast off just as much as the lower4 ,uddhachcha really means 8liability to be disturbed in mind10 and a man who had finally cast off this fetter would be absolutely unruffled by anything whatever that might happen to him--perfectly impervious to any kind of attack upon his dignified serenity4 ,the getting rid of ignorance of course implies the acquisition of perfect knowledge--practical omniscience as regards our planetary chain4 ,when all the fetters are finally cast off the advancing ego reaches the fifth stage--the stage of full adeptship--and becomes ,v4 ,asekha1 8the one who has no more to learn10 again as regards our planetary chain4 ,it is quite impossible for us to realize at our present level what this attainment means4 ,all the splendor of the nirvic plane lies open before the waking eyes of the adept1 while when he chooses to leave his body he has the power to enter upon something higher still--a plane which to us is the merest name4 ,as ,professor ,rhys ,davids explains1 8,he is now free from all sin2 he sees and values all things in this life at their true value2 all evil being rooted from his mind1 he experiences only righteous desires for himself1 and tender pity and regard and exalted love for others40 ,to show how little he has lost the sentiment of love1 we read in the ,metta ,sutta of the state of mind of one who stands at this level3 8,as a mother loves1 who even at the risk of her own life protects her only son1 such love let there be toward all beings4 ,let good will without measure prevail in the whole world1 above1 below1 around1 unstinted1 unmixed with any feeling of differing or opposing interests4 ,when a man remains steadfastly in this state of mind all the while1 whether he be standing or walking1 sitting or lying down1 then is come to pass the saying which is written1 #8,even in this life has holiness been found4'0 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,what ,,lies ,,beyond4 ,beyond this period it is obvious that we can know nothing of the new qualifications required for the still higher levels which yet lie before the perfect man4 ,it is abundantly clear1 however1 that when a man has become ,asekha he has exhausted all the possibilities of moral development1 so that further advancement for him can only mean still wider knowledge and still more wonderful spiritual powers4 ,we are told that when man has thus attained his spiritual majority1 whether in the slow course of evolution or by the shorter path of self-development1 he assumes the fullest control of his own destinies1 and makes choice of his future line of evolution among seven possible paths which he sees opening before him4 ,naturally at our present level we cannot expect to understand much about these1 and the faint outline of some of them which is all that can be sketched in for us conveys very little to the mind1 except that most of them take the adept altogether away from our earth-chain1 which no longer affords sufficient scope for his evolution4 ,one path is that of those who1 as the technical phrase goes1 8accept ,nirva40 ,through what incalculable ons they remain in that sublime condition1 for what work they are preparing themselves1 what will be their future line of evolution1 are questions upon which we know nothing2 and indeed if information upon such points could be given it is more than likely that it would prove quite incomprehensible to us at our present stage4 ,but this much at least we may grasp--that the blessed state of ,nirva is not1 as some have ignorantly supposed1 a condition of blank nothingness1 but on the contrary of far more intense and beneficent activity2 and that ever as man rises higher in the scale of nature his possibilities become greater1 his work for others ever grander and more far-reaching1 and that infinite wisdom and infinite power mean for him only infinite capacity for service1 because they are directed by infinite love4 ,another class chooses a spiritual evolution not quite so far removed from humanity1 for though not directly connected with the next chain of our system it extends through two long periods corresponding to its first and second rounds1 at the end of which time they also appear to 8accept ,nirva10 but at a higher stage than those previously mentioned4 ,others join the deva evolution1 whose progress lies along a grand chain consisting of seven chains like ours1 each of which to them is as one world4 ,this line of evolution is spoken of as the most gradual and therefore the least arduous of the seven courses2 but though it is sometimes referred to in the books as 8yielding to the temptation to become a god10 it is only in comparison with the sublime height of renunciation of the ,nirmnakya that it can be spoken of in this half-disparaging manner1 for the adept who chooses this course has indeed a glorious career before him1 and though the path which he selects is not the shortest1 it is nevertheless a very noble one4 ,yet another group are the ,nirmnakyas--those who1 declining all these easier methods1 choose the shortest but steepest path to the heights which still lie before them4 ,they form what is poetically termed the 8guardian wall10 and1 as ,the ,voice of the ,silence tells us1 8protect the world from further and far greater misery and sorrow10 not indeed by warding off from it external evil influences1 but by devoting all their strength to the work of pouring down upon it a flood of spiritual force and assistance1 without which it would assuredly be in far more hopeless case than now4 ,yet again there are those who remain even more directly in association with humanity1 and continue to incarnate among it1 choosing the path which leads through the four stages of what we have called above the official period2 and among these are the ,masters of ,wisdom--those from whom we who study ,theosophy have learnt such fragments as we know of the mighty harmony of evolving ,nature4 ,but it would seem that only a certain comparatively small number adopt this course--probably only so many as are necessary for the carrying on of this physical side of the work4 ,in hearing of these different possibilities1 people sometimes exclaim rashly that there could of course be no thought in a ,master's mind of choosing any but that course which most helps humanity--a remark which greater knowledge would have prevented them from making4 ,we should never forget that there are other evolutions in the solar system besides our own1 and no doubt it is necessary for the carrying out of the vast plan of the ,logos that there should be adepts working on all the seven lines to which we have referred4 ,surely the choice of the ,master would be to go wherever his work was most needed--to place his services with absolute selflessness at the disposal of the ,powers in charge of this part of the great scheme of evolution4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this then is the path which lies before us1 the path which each one of us should be beginning to tread4 ,stupendous though its heights appear we should remember that they are attained but gradually and step by step1 and that those who now stand near the summit once toiled in the mire of the valleys1 even as we are doing4 ,although this path may at first seem hard and toilsome1 yet ever as we rise our footing becomes firmer and our outlook wider1 and thus we find ourselves better able to help those who are climbing beside us4 ,because it is at first thus hard and toilsome to the lower self1 it has sometimes been called by the very misleading title of 8the path of woe20 but1 as ,mrs4 ,besant has beautifully written1 8through all such suffering there is a deep and abiding joy1 for the suffering is of the lower nature1 and the joy of the higher4 ,when the last shred of the personality is gone all that can thus suffer has passed away1 and in the perfected ,adept there is unruffled peace and everlasting joy4 ,he sees the end toward which all is working1 and rejoices in that end1 knowing that earth's sorrow is but a passing phase in human evolution4 8,that of which little has been said is the profound content which comes from being on the path1 from realizing the goal and the way to it1 from knowing that the power to be useful is increasing1 and that the lower nature is being gradually extirpated4 ,and little has been said of the rays of joy which fall upon the path from loftier levels1 the dazzling glimpses of the glory to be revealed1 the serenity which the storms of earth cannot ruffle4 ,to any one who has entered on the path all other ways have lost their charm1 and its sorrows have a deeper bliss than the best joys of the lower world40 7,vhan1 vol4 v41 ,no4 #ab47 ,let no man therefore despair because he thinks the task too great for him2 what man has done man can do1 and just in proportion as we extend our aid to those whom we can help1 so will those who have already attained be able in their turn to help us4 ,so from the lowest to the highest we who are treading the steps of the path are bound together by one long chain of mutual service1 and none need feel neglected or alone1 for though sometimes the lower flights of the great staircase may be wreathed in mist1 we know that it leads up to happier regions and purer air1 where the light is always shining4 ,,index4 ,adept1 #bf1 #ie1 #aji1 #abg1 #abi1 #acc ,adeptship1 #aji1 #aae1 #abg ,angm1 #abd nanda and the ,buddha1 #abe ,angels and ,gods1 ,hierarchies of1 #g1 #h ,angel ,story1 #db ,anuloma1 #aad ,arahat1 consciousness of1 #abf ,arparga1 #abf ,asekha1 #abg1 #abi ,astral body1 #cf1 #cg of children1 #fi after death1 #ha1 #hb active consciousness in1 #cg1 #fg physical elements1 no obstacle to1 #ii1 #ajj ,astral world1 power of thought in1 #ii ,athanasian ,creed1 #abj ,avijj1 #abf ,awakening pupils on the astral plane1 tests for1 #ii-ajj ,bhavagga1 #aai ,black magicians1 #id ,bodies1 effect of coarse ones1 after death1 #ha ,buddha and nanda1 #abe ,buddhas1 some in early races1 from deva evolution1 #bh ,calmness1 a requirement on the ,path1 #aja ,children1 useful as helpers1 #fi1 #gj ,consciousness1 apart from physical body1 #bi1 #cc-cg1 #abd active astral1 #cg1 #fg1 #fh of the ,arahat1 #abf buddhic1 #aba1 #abd1 #abf ,cyril1 ,angel ,story1 #db-dh ,fire ,story1 #ej-ee ,two ,brothers1 #fc-ga materialized form1 #ef1 #eh1 #ei1 #fj1 #ga ,dead entity1 not realizing his death1 #hg ,devas1 kinds of help given by1 between incarnations1 #bf1 #bg help on the mental plane1 #bg supplied ,buddhas in early races1 #bh evolution of1 #aca ,discipleship1 #aji1 #aaf1 #aah ,dreams1 impressed on living1 #he ,earthbound entitles1 #hc1 #hg ,story of a father1 #hd ,ego1 #gd1 #hb1 #abe ,eternal punishment1 belief in1 after death1 #gi ,evil1 counteracting effects of black magicians1 #id ,evolution1 accelerated in lower kingdoms1 #ci deva1 #aca current of1 too strong to resist1 #hc1 #ajc ,faith1 true meaning of1 #abb ,fifth ,round1 critical period of1 #aji1 #aai ,gotrabh1 #aad1 #aai ,guardian ,wall1 #ie1 #aca ,hell1 effect of belief in1 after death1 #gh ,holiness1 four paths of1 #aji ,immortality of the ,soul1 #f1 #g1 #hg ,initiation1 #aji1 #aad1 #aaf1 #aai ,invisible ,helpers1 classes of1 #be1 #bh pupils of the ,masters1 #bi danger of repercussion1 #eh1 #fj1 #fa work with the dead1 #gc1 #hc1 #hi work hindered by fear1 #gd1 #gh1 #hj methods of impressing the living1 #ad1 #dj1 #gc1 #ge1 #he1 #hf1 #ib1 #ic1 #id spiritual instruction1 given by1 #hi1 #ic1 #id qualifications necessary for becoming1 #ig ,jesus and ,s4 ,john1 #abe ,kamaloka1 factors deciding length of stay in1 #ha1 #hc entity in1 not realizing death1 #hg ,kmarga1 #abd ,knowledge1 kind required on the ,path1 #ajj1 #ajb ,karma1 interference with another's1 impossible1 #cj1 #hj illustrated by ,angel ,story1 #dh how carried out by ,masters1 #ba determines possibilities of becoming helpers1 #gj inevitable catastrophes1 #gc ties of karma1 in astral work1 #dh1 #ee after death1 #ha of the ,invisible ,helpers1 #ic1 #ih ,krmic obligations1 #ih ,love1 #ajc1 #abe1 #abh ,maggo1 #aah ,mno1 #abf ,manus1 some from deva evolution1 #bh ,manodvravajjana1 #aaa ,materialists1 after death1 #hg ,materialization1 three kinds of1 #eg production of1 at sances1 #ei1 #fj matter for1 where drawn from1 #ei economy in using force for1 #eh exceptional cases of1 #fa1 #fb1 #fe1 #fg1 #ga knowledge necessary for1 #ga in cabin of sinking ship1 #gf in railway carriage1 #bc ,materialized body not injured by fire or water1 #fa1 #gg ,masters training ,helpers1 #bh1 #fj1 #ie1 #ig1 #ajb1 #ajf1 #aba1 #abe1 #acb guarding an advancing soul1 #ba ,lords of ,compassion1 #fd felt as a ,presence1 #ff restrictions placed upon ,helpers by1 #hh confidence in1 #aad and pupils1 love between1 #abe ,medium1 possibilities of repercussion1 #ei1 #fj occasional good work done by1 #hf dangers of communication through1 #hg1 #ij ,memory1 waking1 of night's experience1 #cg waking1 caused by great shock1 #fg1 #fh of teachings received after death1 #ij ,mental plane1 work upon1 #aaa ,mind1 effect of attitude of1 after death1 #ha1 #hb1 #hg1 #hi how easily influenced1 #ib helps in problems of study1 #ic ,mother-love1 value of1 #ad1 #cb1 #abh ,mumukshatva1 #aad ,nature-spirits1 help to man1 rare1 #ca ,nirmnakyas1 #ie1 #aca ,nirva1 #aah1 #abf1 #abg1 #acj ,parikamma1 #aab ,path1 ,the1 #id1 #ig1 #ajf1 #ajg1 #aac four means of reaching1 #ajh three divisions of1 #aji of holiness1 four stages of1 #aji probationary1 #aaj1 #aaf official period of1 #aji1 #acb ,patigha1 #abd ,personality1 #abc1 #abe1 #acc ,phala1 #aah ,prayer1 answer to1 #aa1 #ab1 #ic ,proofs1 phenomenal1 forbidden1 #hh ,psychic faculties1 #abc ,purgatory1 teaching of1 helpful1 after death1 #gi ,qualifications for becoming ,invisible ,helpers1 #ig-ajf ,repercussion1 when possible1 #ef1 #eh1 #ei1 #fj ,rounds1 critical period of ,fifth1 #aji1 #aai ,seventh1 #aji ,rparga1 #abf ,saddh1 #aad ,sakadgm1 #abc ,sakkyadihi1 #abj ,salvation1 origin of ,christian idea1 #abj ,samdhna1 #aad ,samo1 #aac ,sayojana1 #aah1 #abb ,sances1 #eg1 #ei1 #fj1 #hf1 #ij ,self-control1 qualification required1 #ih ,seventh ,round1 #aji ,shatsampatti1 #aac ,slabbataparmsa1 #abj ,single-mindedness1 qualification required1 #ig ,sotpatti or ,sohan1 #aai1 #aba ,stories of ,invisible ,helpers1 saved from fire1 #i1 #aj1 #aa1 #dh saved from falling into a well1 #ad saved from drowning1 #ab saved from being injured by horses1 #ae saved from being lost in the woods1 #af saved from massacre1 #dj help given in cabin of sinking ship1 #gf help given an earth-bound father1 #hd help given materialistic scientist1 #hh help given in catastrophes1 #gb1 #gc help given drowning man1 #ge rescue from a mob1 #bj rescue from falling over a cliff1 #dc warnings given the author1 #ai warnings to captain of a boat1 #gb the two brothers1 #fc protection in railway carriage1 #bc release from astral world1 #ij ,suggestion1 power of1 #ib-ic ,teachings given by ,invisible ,helpers after death1 #hb1 #hc1 #hi1 #ij1 #ia during life1 #ib1 #ic ,tests of earth1 water1 air and fire1 #ii ,thought1 power of1 on astral plane1 #ii ,titikkh1 #aac ,uddhachcha1 #abf ,upachro1 #aac ,uparati1 #aac ,vairgya1 #aac ,vichikichchh1 #abj1 #abb ,viveka1 #aab ,warnings given by ,helpers1 #ai1 #gb1 #ij1 #id ,will1 power of1 over matter1 #fa man's1 never dominated by ,helpers1 #ib cosmic1 not to be overcome1 #hc1 #ajc free1 of the ,asekha1 #abi ,,transcriber',s ,,notes3 #a4 ,original spellings were standardised only when a dominant version was found4 #b4 ,misspellings of words that occur only once have been corrected4 #c4 ,obvious typographical errors have been corrected4 #d4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4