Họp Thông Thiên Học ngày 21 tháng 9 năm 2013

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[9/21/2013 6:11:33 PM] Thuan Thi Do: It must ever be remembered that it is by thought that desire can be changed, and finally mastered. As mind learns to assert control, desire becomes transmuted into will, the governance then not being by external objects that attract or repel, but by the spirit of the man, the ego, the inner ruler. We shall now return to our more specific “Theosophical” authorities, and proceed
to consider certain other factors in the development and training of the astral body. It is obvious that the student should aim at mastering and eliminating certain minor defects, such as emotional weaknesses or vices. In this task it is important to recollect that such a vice as irritability, for example, which has become a habit through repeated indulgence, is stored up, not in the ego as an inherent quality, but in the astral permanent atom (see page 207). However great the force that is there piled up, it is a scientific certainty that perseverance will in due time lead to victory. On the side of the ego, there is the force of his own will, and behind that the infinite force of the Logos Himself, because progress by means of evolution is His will. A grasp of the idea of unity thus gives the man an adequate motive for the undoubtedly hard, and at times distasteful, work of character-building. However great the struggle, the forces of infinity being on his side, he is bound ultimately to overcome the finite forces for evil which he has stored up in his past lives. A man who seeks to kill out desire, in order to balance his karma perfectly and so obtain liberation for himself, may achieve his object. He cannot, however, escape from the law of evolution, and sooner or [Page 223] later he will be swept forward again into the stream by its resistless pressure, and so be forced into re-birth. Killing out desire is not the path of the true occultist. Personal loves are not to be killed out, but are to be expanded till they become universal: loves are to be levelled up, not down. The failure to realise this, and the tremendous difficulty of the task, when realised, have led in some cases to the stifling of love instead of its growth. But overflowing love, not lovelessness, will save the world. The Mahâtmâ is the Ocean of Compassion: not an iceberg. To try to kill out love is the way of the left-hand path. It is, however, necessary to kill out completely the lower and coarser desires; the remainder must be purified and transmuted into aspirations, and resolution. It is waste of force to desire or wish: the occultist wills instead. Will is a higher aspect of desire. It has also been said that we should slay the “lunar form”, i.e., the astral body. This does not mean that all feelings and emotions should be destroyed, but rather that the astral body should be completely under control, that we should be able to slay the lunar form at will. As the man develops, he makes his will one with the will of the Logos, and the Logos wills evolution. Needless to say, such an at-one-ment ipso facto eliminates such desires as ambition, desire for progress, and the like. The Voice of the Silence warns us that beneath each flower in the astral world, however beautiful it may be, lies coiled the serpent of desire. In the case of affection, for example, everything of a grasping nature must be altogether
transcended: but high, pure and unselfish affection can never be transcended, since it is a characteristic of the Logos Himself, and is a necessary qualification for progress upon the Path which leads to the Masters and to Initiation. [Page 224]
CHAPTER 26 DEVELOPMENT OF ASTRAL POWERS

THE possession of psychic powers does not necessarily involve high moral character, any more than does the possession of physical strength, neither are psychic powers in themselves a sign of great development in any other direction, e.g., that of intellect. While, therefore, it is not true that the great psychic is necessarily a spiritual person, it is true, on the other hand, that a great spiritual person is inevitably psychic. Psychic powers can be developed by anyone who will take the trouble, and a man may learn clairvoyance or mesmerism just as he may learn the piano, if he is willing to go through the necessary hard work. Astral senses exist in all men, but are latent in most, and generally need to be artificially forced if they are to be used in the present stage of evolution. In a few they become active without any artificial impulse; in very many they can be artificially awakened and developed. The condition, in all cases, of the activity of the astral senses is the passivity of the physical, and the more complete the physical passivity the greater the possibility of astral activity. Clairvoyance is often possessed by primitive peoples, or by ignorant and uncultured individuals of more advanced races. This is sometimes called the lower psychism, and is by no means the same thing as the faculty possessed by a properly trained and more advanced man, nor is it arrived at in the same way. The occasional appearance of psychism in an undeveloped person is a kind of massive sensation vaguely belonging to the whole vehicle rather than an exact and definite perception coming through specialised organs. This was especially characteristic of the Atlantean [Page 225] (Fourth) Root Race. It works not through the astral Chakrams, but through the astral centres connected with the physical senses.
[9/21/2013 6:11:55 PM] Thuan Thi Do: These are not distinctively astral, although they are aggregations of astral matter in the astral body. They are of the nature of connecting bridges between the astral and physical planes, and are not developed astral senses in the proper sense of the term. “Second sight” belongs to this type of sensitiveness, and is often symbolical, the perceiver transmitting his knowledge in this curious symbolical way. To stimulate the centres which are bridges, instead of evolving the Chakrams, which are the astral organs, is a complete
blunder. This lower psychism is also associated with the sympathetic nervous system, whereas the higher psychism is associated with the cerebro-spinal system. To revive control of the sympathetic system is a retrograde and not a forward step. In course of time the lower psychism disappears, to re-open at a later stage when it will be brought under the control of the will. Hysterical and highly nervous people may occasionally become clairvoyant, the fact being a symptom of their disease, and due to the weakening of the physical vehicle to such a degree that it no longer presents any obstacle to a measure of etheric or astral vision. Delirium tremens is an extreme example of this class of psychism, victims of the disease often being able temporarily to perceive certain loathsome elemental and etheric entities. For those who have not yet developed astral vision, it is desirable to appreciate intellectually the reality of the astral world, and to realise that its phenomena are open to competent observation just as are those of the physical world. There exist definite methods of Yoga by which the astral senses may be developed in a rational and healthy way. But it is not only useless, it may be dangerous, to attempt these until the preparatory stage of purification has first been passed. Both the physical and the astral body must first be purified, [Page 226] by breaking the bonds of evil habits in eating, drinking, giving way to hate-emotions of all kinds, etc. Speaking generally, it is not desirable to force the development of the astral body by artificial means, for until spiritual strength is attained the intrusion of astral sights, sounds, and other phenomena is apt to be disturbing and even alarming. Sooner or later, according to the karma of the past, one who follows the “ancient and royal” path will find knowledge of astral phenomena gradually coming to him: his keener vision will awaken, and new vistas of a wider universe will be unfolded to him on every side. It is an illustration of the saying: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all these things shall be added unto you.” The attainment of astral powers as an end in itself inevitably leads to what is called in the East the laukika method of development: the powers obtained are only for the present personality and, there being no safeguards, the student is extremely likely to misuse them. To this class belong the practices of Hatha Yoga, prânayama or breath-control, invocation of elementals, and all systems which involve deadening the physical senses in some way, actively by drugs (e.g., bhang, haschish, etc.), by self-hypnotisation, or, as among the dervishes, by whirling in a mad dance of religious fervour until vertigo and insensibility supervene: or passively by being mesmerised — so that the astral senses may come to the surface. Other methods are crystal-gazing (which leads to nothing
but the lowest type of clairvoyance), the repetition of invocations, or the use of charms or ceremonies. A man who entrances himself by the repetition of words or charms may probably return in his next life as a medium or at any rate be mediumistic. Mediumship should not be regarded as a psychic power at all: for a medium, so far from exercising power, on the contrary abdicates control over his own bodies in favour of another entity. Mediumship is thus not a power but a condition.[Page 227] There are many stories of some mysterious ointment or drug which, when applied to the eyes, enables a man to see fairies, etc. Anointing of the eyes might stimulate etheric sight but could not by any possibility open astral vision, though certain ointments rubbed over the whole body will greatly assist the astral body to leave the physical in full consciousness — a fact, the knowledge of which seems to have survived to mediaeval times, as can be seen from the evidence given at some of the trials for witchcraft. The lokottara method consists of Râja Yoga or spiritual progress, and this is unquestionably the best method. Though slower, the powers gained by it belong to the permanent individuality, and are never again lost, while the guiding of a Master ensures perfect safety so long as His orders are scrupulously obeyed. Another great advantage of being trained by a Master is that whatever faculties the pupil may achieve are definitely under his command and can be used fully and constantly when needed: whereas in the case of the untrained man such powers often manifest themselves only very partially and spasmodically, and appear to come and go, as it were, of their own sweet will. The temporary method is like learning to ride by stupefying the horse: the permanent method is like learning to ride properly, so that any horse can be ridden. The permanent method means real evolution, the other does not necessarily involve anything of the sort, as the powers gained by it may perish with the death of the body. The wider sight of the astral plane is not an unmixed blessing, as it reveals the sorrow and misery, the evil and greed of the world. The words of Schiller spring to mind: “Why hast thou cast me thus into the town of the ever-blind, to proclaim thine oracle with the opened sense ? Take back this sad clear-sightedness; take from mine eyes this cruel light! Give me back my blindness — the happy darkness of my senses; take back thy dreadful gift! ” [Page 228] Clairvoyant power, if properly and sensibly used, may be a blessing and a help: misused, it may be a hindrance and a curse. The principal dangers attendant upon it arise from pride, ignorance, and impurity. It is obviously foolish for a clairvoyant to imagine that he or she is the only one thus endowed, and the one person specially selected under angelic guidance to found a new dispensation:
[9/21/2013 6:12:21 PM] Thuan Thi Do:
and so on. Moreover, there are always plenty of sportive and mischievous astral entities ready and anxious to foster such delusions and to fulfil any rôle that may be assigned to them. It is useful for a clairvoyant to know something of the history of the subject and to understand something of the conditions of the higher planes, as well, if possible, as to possess some knowledge of scientific subjects. Further, a man of impure life or motive inevitably attracts to himself the worst elements in the invisible world. A man who is pure in thought and life, on the other hand, is by that very fact guarded from the influence of undesirable entities from other planes. In many cases a man may have occasional flashes of astral consciousness without any awakening of etheric vision at all. This irregularity of development is one of the principal causes of the extreme liability of error in matters of clairvoyance in at any rate its earlier stages. In the normal course of things people awake to the realities of the astral plane very slowly, just as a baby awakes to the realities of the physical plane. Those who are deliberately and, as it were, prematurely entering upon the Path, are developing such knowledge abnormally, and are consequently more liable to err at first. Danger and injury might easily come were it not that all pupils under proper training are assisted and guided by competent teachers who are already accustomed to the astral plane. That is the reason why all sorts of horrible sights, etc., are shown to the neophyte, as tests, so that he may understand them and [Page 229] become accustomed to them. Unless this were done, he might receive a shock which might not only prevent his doing useful work but might also be positively dangerous to his physical body. The first introduction to the astral world may come in various ways. Some people only once in their whole lives become sensitive enough to experience the presence of an astral entity or some astral phenomenon. Others find themselves with increasing frequency seeing and hearing things to which others are blind and deaf : others again begin to recollect their sleep-experiences. When a person is beginning to become sensitive to astral influences, he will occasionally find himself suddenly overpowered by inexplicable dread. This arises partly from the natural hostility of the elemental world against the human, on account of man's many destructive agencies on the physical plane, which react upon the astral, and partly to the many unfriendly artificial elementals, bred by human minds. This has been especially noted in and near such a city as Chicago.
Some people begin by becoming intermittently conscious of the brilliant colours of the human aura: others may see faces, landscapes, or coloured clouds floating before their eyes in the dark before they sink to rest. Perhaps the most common experience is to begin to recollect with increasing clearness experiences of the other planes acquired during sleep. Sometimes a person once in his whole life will perceive, for example, the apparition of a friend at the point of death. This may be due to two causes, in each the strong wish of the dying man being the impelling force. That force may have enabled the dying man to materialise himself for a moment, in which case, of course, no clairvoyance is needed: more probably it may have acted mesmerically upon the percipient and momentarily dulled his physical and stimulated his higher sensitiveness. A man with developed astral vision is of course no longer limited by physical matter: he sees through all [Page 230] physical bodies, physically opaque substances being to him as transparent as glass. At a concert, he sees glorious symphonies of colours: at a lecture, he sees the speaker's thoughts in colour and form, and is therefore in a position to understand him more fully than one without astral vision. A little examination will reveal that many people gain from a speaker more than the mere words convey: many will find in their memory more than the speaker uttered. Such experiences indicate that the astral body is developing and becoming more sensitive, responding to the thought-forms created by the speaker. Some places afford greater facilities for occult work than others: thus California has a very dry climate with much electricity in the air, which is favourable for the development of clairvoyance. Some psychics require a temperature of 80 degrees in order to do their best work: others do not work well except at a lower temperature. A trained clairvoyant being able to see a man's astral body, it follows that on the astral plane no man can hide or disguise himself: what he truly is, that he is seen to be by any unprejudiced observer. It is necessary to say unprejudiced, because a man sees another through the medium of his own vehicles, which is somewhat like seeing a landscape through coloured glass. Until he has learnt to allow for this influence, a man is liable to consider as most prominent in another man those characteristics to which he himself most readily responds. Practice is needed to free oneself from the distortion produced by this personal equation so as to be able to observe clearly and accurately. Most of the psychics who occasionally get glimpses of the astral world, as well as most of the communicating entities at spiritualistic séances, fail to report many of
the complexities of the astral plane which are described in this book. The reason is that few people see things as they really are on the astral plane until after very long experience. Even those who do see fully are often [Page 231] too dazed and confused to understand or to remember, and hardly any one can translate the recollection into physical plane language. Many untrained psychics never examine their visions scientifically: they simply obtain an impression, which may be quite correct, but may also be half false, or even wholly misleading. Also, as we have seen, frequent tricks are played by sportive denizens of the astral world, against which the untrained person is usually defenceless. In the case of an astral entity who constantly works through a medium, his finer astral senses may even become so coarsened as to become insensitive to the higher grades of astral matter. Only the trained visitor from the physical plane, who is fully conscious on both planes, can depend upon seeing both astral and physical planes clearly and simultaneously. True, trained, and absolutely reliable clairvoyance demands faculties belonging to a plane higher than the astral. The faculty of accurate prevision also belongs to that higher plane: yet flashes or reflections of it frequently show themselves to purely astral sight, more especially among simple-minded people who live under suitable conditions — what is called second-sight among the Highlanders of Scotland being a well-known example. There are astrally, as well as physically, blind persons, so that many astral phenomena escape ordinary astral vision. At first, in fact, many mistakes may be made in using astral vision, just as a child makes mistakes when it first begins to use its physical senses, though after a time it becomes possible to see and hear as accurately on the astral as on the physical plane. Another method of developing clairvoyance, which is advised by all the religions alike, and which if adopted carefully and reverently can do no harm to any human being, is that of meditation, by means of which a very pure type of clairvoyance may sometimes be developed. A succinct account of the processes [Page 232] involved in meditation is given in The Other Side of Death, by C. W. Leadbeater, pages 469-476, as well of course as in many other books. By means of meditation extreme sensitiveness can be developed, and at the same time perfect balance, sanity and health. The student will readily recognise that the practice of determined meditation builds higher typ...
[9/21/2013 6:12:56 PM] Thuan Thi Do: higher types of matter into the bodies. Grand emotions may be felt, which come from the buddhic level, i.e., from the plane next above the higher mental, and are reflected in the astral body. It is, however, necessary also to develop the
mental and causal bodies in order to give balance. A man cannot leap from the astral consciousness to the buddhic without developing the intervening vehicles. With feeling alone we can never obtain perfect balance or steadiness: grand emotions that have swayed us in the right direction may very readily become a little twisted and sway us along less desirable lines. Emotions provide motive force, but directing power comes from wisdom and steadiness. There is a close connection between the astral and the buddhic planes, the astral body being in some ways a reflection of the buddhic. An example of the close relationship between the astral and buddhic planes is found in the Christian Mass. At the moment of Consecration of the Host a force rays out which is strongest in the buddhic world, though also powerful in the higher mental world: in addition, its activity is marked in the first, second and third astral sub-planes, though this may be a reflection of the mental or an effect of sympathetic vibration. The effect may be felt by people even far away from the church, a great wave of spiritual peace and strength passing over the whole countryside, though many would never connect it with the Mass being celebrated. In addition to the above, another effect is produced as a result of and in proportion to the intensity of the conscious feeling of devotion of each individual during the celebration. A ray, as of fire, darts from the [Page 233] uplifted Host and sets the higher part of the astral body glowing intensely. Through the astral body, by reason of its close relation with it, the buddhic vehicle also strongly affected. Thus both buddhic and astral vehicles act and react on one another. A similar effect occurs when the Benediction given with the blessed Sacrament. [Page 234]
[9/21/2013 6:17:09 PM] minh546melinh nguyen: Chị Thuấn cho tôi ao ra sau chị áp lại, vì tôi o điều khiển được mic
[9/21/2013 7:12:53 PM] Thuan Thi Do: http://thongthienhoc.net/truongbigiao/DaiCuongTiengVoThinh3.htm
[9/21/2013 8:26:07 PM] Thuan Thi Do: Mười bốn điều Phật dậy được loan truyền nhiều nhất là:
1.- Kẻ thù lớn nhất của đời người là chính mình
2.- Ngu dốt lớn nhất của đời người là dối trá
3.- Thất bại lớn nhất của đời người là tự đại
4.- Bi ai lớn nhất của đời người là ghen tị
5.- Sai lầm lớn nhất của đời người là đánh mất mình
6.- Tội lỗi lớn nhất của đời người là bất hiếu
7.- Đáng thương lớn nhất của đời người là tự ti
8.- Đáng khâm phục lớn nhất của đời người là vươn lên sau khi ngã
9.- Phá sản lớn nhất của đời người là tuyệt vọng
10.- Tài sản lớn nhất của đời người là đạo đức
11.- Món nợ lớn nhất của đời người là tình cảm
12.- Lễ vật lớn nhất của đời người là khoan dung
13.- Khiếm khuyết lớn nhất của đời người là kém hiểu biết
14.- An ủi lớn nhất của đời người là bố thí
[9/21/2013 8:27:02 PM] Thuan Thi Do: http://thuvienhoasen.org/D_1-2_2-149_4-12895/muoi-bon-dieu-ran-cua-phat-la-gia-mao.html
[9/21/2013 9:33:33 PM] *** Call ended, duration 3:27:23 ***