DOCSLIB.ORG

The Apex of Magic and Science

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Apex of Magic and Science The Apex of Magic and Science Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society’s Practice and View of Astral Projection Erik A. Karlström Department of Ethnology, History of Religions and Gender Studies M.A. Degree 30 credits History of Religions Master’s Course (30 credits) Autumn term 2020 Supervisor: Egil Asprem The Apex of Magic and Science Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society’s Practice and View of Astral Projection Erik A. Karlström Abstract The rise of spiritualism in the late nineteenth century raised new ways to perceive the dead. A new possibility to communicate with the deceased attributed novel characteristics to the human soul. Building upon this spiritualist discourse, the prominent theory-crafter of the Theosophical Society, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891), thought the spirit of the dead, which she differentiated from the soul, to be a separate but connected component of the physical body. As such, this component should be separable from the physical body before death. Blavatsky developed the theory into an ontology (theory of what there is), cosmogony (the origin of the universe), physiology (the constitution of the human body), and soteriology (a doctrine of salvation). The separation possible before death became known as astral projection and it was a way to liberate the ‘astral body’ from its physical sheath, enabling the individual to travel spatially and temporally. Astral projection was regarded the apex of magic and a highly valued goal, actively pursued. Unlike previous studies, this thesis aims to explain the phenomenon of astral projection, how it was perceived and constructed, from both an emic as well as etic perspective. Using discourse analysis, this thesis aims to explore and discuss how Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society diachronically constructed their understanding of the practice and the mechanisms enabling it. In addition, this thesis also aims to trace the evolution of astral projection in the Theosophical Society from its founding in 1875 to Blavatsky’s death in 1891 as well as what functions the practice filled. This is achieved in two sections, through three steps, split between the ‘early’ and the ‘later’ Theosophical Society; this thesis examines the physiology presented, followed by the second step of surveying the ontology represented, which lastly explores how these are used to explain the phenomenon of astral projection. Keywords Blavatsky, Astral Projection, Discourse Analysis, the Theosophical Society, Magic and Science, Soul Separation, Spiritualism, Esotericism, Occultism. Contents Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Purpose and Research Questions ............................................................ 3 Methodology ........................................................................................... 4 Discourse Analysis ............................................................................................. 5 Limitations ........................................................................................................ 8 Spirits, Spiritualism, and Separations of the Soul in the Late Nineteenth- Century ................................................................................................. 10 Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society ................................................ 17 The Earlier Period of Theosophical Thought .......................................................... 23 Blavatsky’s Metaphysics ................................................................................. 24 The Phenomenon of Astral Projection ............................................................... 33 The Later Period of Theosophical Philosophy ........................................................ 43 Blavatsky’s Physiology and Ontology ............................................................... 44 The ‘New’ Astral Projection ............................................................................. 50 Comparing the Theosophical Societies ................................................................ 54 Blavatskyan Astral Projection ............................................................... 60 References ............................................................................................ 65 Introduction We stand upon the brink of a precipice. We peer into the abyss – we grow sick and dizzy. Our first impulse is to shrink from the danger. Unaccountably we remain.1 There is an allure in the unknown and the unseen. Contemplating, perceiving or even visiting alternatives to our mundane, corporeal world has been of interest since archaic times. To transcend the boundaries of our physical, opaque world and experience what is beyond was attempted in Ancient Greece and some mysteries probably had their origin in Neolithic practices.2 Narratives in which the soul travels, either by a descent into the underworld, an ascent into the heavens, a pre-mortem journey in which the soul strives to rendezvous with the body, or a post-mortem travel through the beyond, were so common in the Mediterranean world of antiquity that they have been treated as a genre of their own.3 Narratives alone did not constitute the entirety of ancient soul travels. The idea of a soul, as an entity separate from the physical body, was presented by many philosophers. Pythagoras (c. 570-495 B.C.E.) believed in metempsychosis, the transmigration of the soul, leading him to preach to animals in order to help their spiritual development.4 Plato (c. 428-384 B.C.E.) continued Pythagoras’ influence and determined that the soul was an entity different from, and shackled by, the body: divine, immortal and indestructible.5 Developing Plato’s idea, Plotinus (205-270 C.E.) connected the soul with its divine and eternal reservoir with which a unification was possible.6 His disciple Porphyry (234- c. 305 C.E.) pushed these theories even further, claiming that the transcended soul could not be spatially located but was everywhere and nowhere.7 Some thought this diverted too far from Plato, one of them being Iamblichus (c. 240-325 C.E.). He emphasized the idea of a materialized soul, mortal and disconnected from the divine soul and divinity. However, with the aid of the gods and certain physical 1 Edgar Allan Poe: The Imp of the Perverse. 2 Stein, (2016), p. 3 3 DeConick, (2017), p. 82 4 Russel, (1946), pp. 41, 45 5 Russel, (1946), p.135, Burkert, (1985), p. 322 6 Shaw, (2006), p. 834 7 Plaisance, (2016), p. 390 1 actions and objects the soul could come close to the divine.8 Plato was being translated into English in the nineteenth century and became “a hot commodity” in America at the same time as Spiritualism began to come into vogue.9 The main subject of this thesis, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (née von Hahn, 1831-1891), names all of the philosophers above as individuals who had overcome the limitations of the physical body and achieved a new level of existence. They had, according to Blavatsky, achieved a form of immortality.10 These claims were not completely taken out of thin air. Blavatsky produced copious amounts of texts outlining an ontology revealed to her by the Mahatmas, spiritually advanced adepts altruistically working in secret to progress mankind. She, and the Theosophical Society, also had a custom to invoke the teachings of Neoplatonists as being the same teachings as theirs. To build credibility, they claimed a clear continuity between the teachings.11 Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society interpreted the ancient teachings through contemporary advances in science. However, the science they employed consisted of statements and terminology. Science was not a method of inquiry; it was just a system of belief like any other.12 In this manner Theosophy created a synthesis of all, to them relevant, available knowledge, a style of syncretization Blavatsky would sustain throughout “as the only possible key to the Absolute in science and theology.”13 Blavatsky constructed a remarkable ontology which claimed unperceivable aspects of nature enabling living humans to project a concomitant body, the astral body. Astral projection, as this practice became known as, enabled the projector to read minds, travel great distances in seconds, relive history, and ultimately conquer death. This practice is the main focus of this thesis. Blavatsky also founded the journal Lucifer. It aimed to “bring light ‘to the hidden things of darkness’”14 and she choose that name because it meant “light-bringer”.15 Helena, in turn, means “the bright, shining one” or “the torch.”16 Many regarded her as a bringer of intellectual and spiritual light in a dark, materialistic world. What she illuminated and how it was done, however, is another question entirely. 8 Shaw, (2006), p. 835. A practice also known as theurgy. 9 Gutierrez, (2009), p.8. Of additional interest is the fact that the new English translations of Plato sparked reading groups which allowed both men and women to partake. However, it is worth remembering that just as Platonists and Neo-Platonists expressed their discourse, their basic ontological premises are in this case located within another context through which they must be understood. 10 Blavatsky, (1877), p. 2:159, see also Chajes, (2019), pp. 128-129. 11 Plaisance, (2016), pp. 389-390 12 Hammer, (2001), p. 204 13 Blavatsky, (1877), p. 1:vii 14 Blavatsky, (1887), p. 1 15 Blavatsky, (1887), p. 3 16 Carlson, (1993), p. 43 2 Purpose and Research Questions The aim of this thesis is to chart the practice of astral
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cosmic/Heavenly/Akashic Reading: Accessing the Divine Intelligence
    The Master ( Introduction to Tantra Siddha Maha Yogi Shastrishree Paramahamsa Dr.Rupnathji ) *A rare living Avatar from India, Tantra Siddha Maha Yogi Shastrishree Paramahamsa Dr.Rupnathji, is a compelling spiritual force of this millennium. Working and sharing with over 20 million people worldwide every year, Tantra Siddha Maha Yogi Shastrishree Paramahamsa Dr.Rupnathji is committed to help humanity make the next big evolutionary breakthrough: into Superconsciousness. *As a spiritual genius with an enlightened insight into everything from management to meditation, from relationships to religion, and from success to sannyas, Dr.Rupnathji brings to us a wealth of practical wisdom, ancient meditation techniques and powerful tools for lasting inner transformation. An incomparable spiritual healer, Rupnathji has healed thousands of people of diseases ranging from depression to cancer, often with a single touch. Today, Tantra Siddha Maha Yogi Shastrishree Paramahamsa Dr.Rupnathji is currently the most watched spiritual master on youtube, and the bestselling author of over 300 books in 27 languages. *Tantra Siddha Maha Yogi Shastrishree Paramahamsa Dr.Rupnathji is named among the 100 most spiritually influential living personalities on the planet by the world’s largest and oldest esoteric magazine Mind, Body, Spirit – a spiritual magazine published in UK! His name is mentioned along with Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Paulo Coelho and others. Cosmic/Heavenly/Akashic reading: Accessing the divine intelligence *As Tantra Siddha Maha Yogi Shastrishree Paramahamsa Dr.Rupnathji read, a number of surprising revelations came to light on topics as diverse as why did Judas betray Jesus and what is the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, to locating a missing husband.
    [Show full text]
  • A Journey to Other Worlds – Artifacts Journal - University of Missouri Page 1 of 5
    A Journey to Other Worlds – Artifacts Journal - University of Missouri Page 1 of 5 University of Missouri A Journal of Undergraduate Writing A Journey to Other Worlds Daniel Miller Daniel Miller graduated from MU with a bachelor of English in May 2014, and he is a first-year masters’ student now in English at MU. His fiction has appeared in ZONE 3, Puerto del Sol, and Hobart, among other publications. He selected to write about this topic simply because he has always been fascinated with astral projection and lucid dreaming. He tried to achieve this state while researching and writing the paper. The astral body appears in many different cultures throughout time and throughout the world. In Egypt, the “KA was not the soul of man . but its vehicle” (Muldoon & Carrington, 2011, p. xxii). In the Qur’an, Muhammad’s astral body travels in the Isra and Mi’raj story. And, among other sacred and secular texts, the astral body appears in Hindu scripture, Taoist practice, and even Christianity. In his article regarding the afterlife, Woolger (2014) notes that “in such journeys in the world religions and innumerable tribal practices” scholars have “described a common pattern of ‘ascent’, which is to say an ecstatic, mystical or out-of body experience, wherein the spiritual traveler leaves the physical body and travels in his/her subtle body into ‘higher’ realms” (para. 4). Dually, this quotation makes apparent the historical depth of astral projection as well as uses specific terms—spiritual, mystical, and the idea of ‘higher’ realms—that separates astral projection from other types of out-of body experiences (OBEs).
    [Show full text]
  • AN AKASHIC RECORDS MEDICINE RETREAT with Calista Goh, Claire Eli & Noel Tuan Akashic Records
    INNER IlluminationS AN AKASHIC RECORDS MEDICINE RETREAT with Calista Goh, Claire Eli & Noel Tuan akashic records . plant medicine . SHAMANISM . yoga . MOVEMENT Sacred Valley, Peru | 15 - 25 September 2020 BE THE CHANGE THAT CHANGES YOUR BEING Nestled in the stunning foothills of the Andean mountains in Peru, let the forces of nature and ancestral spirit illuminate your magic and uncover your purpose . This is an invitation to discover who you are beyond your persona, to tap into your own wisdom, and come home to your authentic self. You will be guided through an unforgettable 10 day transformational journey of exploration, healing, embodiment, and celebration. Daily workshops will explore the basic elements of shamanism, heart-based tantra and conscious communication. You will learn to access the Akashic Records of yourself and others; as well as receive Guidance on how to navigate within the Akashic Fields. Classes will meet your level regardless if you are a beginner or an advanced practitioner. Your stay will include 2 Ayahuasca ceremonies with an indigenous shaman and healer, who is experienced in holding a safe and traditional ceremonial space. We will also be working with the ancestral wisdom of various other plant medicines to enhance our exploration of self and deepen our connection with Nature. We will be integrating the wisdom and power of these Medicines through the practices of yoga, movement, mantra, meditation and a native Andean Temazcal sweat lodge ceremony. An overnight visit to the sacred site of Machu Picchu will leave plenty of time to reflect amongst the breath-taking views of the sacred valley.
    [Show full text]
  • Automatic Writing and the Book of Mormon: an Update
    ARTICLES AND ESSAYS AUTOMATIC WRITING AND THE BOOK OF MORMON: AN UPDATE Brian C. Hales At a Church conference in 1831, Hyrum Smith invited his brother to explain how the Book of Mormon originated. Joseph declined, saying: “It was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.”1 His pat answer—which he repeated on several occasions—was simply that it came “by the gift and power of God.”2 Attributing the Book of Mormon’s origin to supernatural forces has worked well for Joseph Smith’s believers, then as well as now, but not so well for critics who seem certain natural abilities were responsible. For over 180 years, several secular theories have been advanced as explanations.3 The more popular hypotheses include plagiarism (of the Solomon Spaulding manuscript),4 collaboration (with Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, etc.),5 1. Donald Q. Cannon and Lyndon W. Cook, eds., Far West Record: Minutes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1844 (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983), 23. 2. “Journal, 1835–1836,” in Journals, Volume. 1: 1832–1839, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Richard L. Jensen, vol. 1 of the Journals series of The Joseph Smith Papers, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Ronald K. Esplin, and Richard Lyman Bushman (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2008), 89; “History of Joseph Smith,” Times and Seasons 5, Mar. 1, 1842, 707. 3. See Brian C. Hales, “Naturalistic Explanations of the Origin of the Book of Mormon: A Longitudinal Study,” BYU Studies 58, no.
    [Show full text]
  • Adyar Pamphlets Theories About Reincarnation and Spirits No. 144 Theories About Reincarnation and Spirits by H.P
    Adyar Pamphlets Theories About Reincarnation and Spirits No. 144 Theories About Reincarnation and Spirits by H.P. Blavatsky From The Path, November, 1886 Published in 1930 Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Chennai [Madras] India The Theosophist Office, Adyar, Madras. India OVER and over again the abstruse and mooted question of Rebirth or Reincarnation has crept out during the first ten years of the Theosophical Society's existence. It has been alleged on prima facie evidence, that a notable discrepancy was found between statements made in Isis Unveiled, Volume I, pp. 351-2, and later teachings from the same pen and under the inspiration of the same Master.[ See charge and answer, in Theosophist. August 1882] In Isis it was held, reincarnation is denied. An occasional return, only of “depraved spirits" is allowed. ' Exclusive of that rare and doubtful possibility, Isis allows only three cases - abortion, very early death, and idiocy - in which reincarnation on this earth occurs." (“C. C. M." in Light, 1882.) The charge was answered then and there as every one who will turn to the Theosophist of August, 1882, can see for himself. Nevertheless, the answer either failed to satisfy some readers or passed unnoticed. Leaving aside the strangeness of the assertion that reincarnation - i.e., the serial and periodical rebirth of every individual monad from pralaya to pralaya - [The cycle of existence during the manvantara - period before and after the beginning and completion of which every such "Monad" is absorbed and reabsorbed in the ONE
    [Show full text]
  • Theosophy and the Arts
    Theosophy and the Arts Ralph Herman Abraham January 17, 2017 Abstract The cosmology of Ancient India, as transcribed by the Theosophists, con- tains innovations that greatly influenced modern Western culture. Here we bring these novel embellishments to the foreground, and explain their influ- ence on the arts. 1. Introduction Following the death of Madame Blavatsky in 1891, Annie Besant ascended to the leadership of the Theosophical Society. The literature of the post-Blavatsky period began with the very influential Thought-Forms by Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, of 1901. The cosmological model of Theosophy is similar to the classical Sanskrit of 6th century BCE. The pancha kosa, in particular, is the model for these authors. The classical pancha kosa (five sheaths or levels) are, from bottom up: physical, vital, mental, intellectual, and bliss. The related idea of the akashic record was promoted by Alfred Sinnett in his book Esoteric Buddhism of 1884. 2. The Esoteric Planes and Bodies The Sanskrit model was adapted and embellished by the early theosophists. 2-1. Sinnett Alfred Percy Sinnett (1840 { 1921) moved to India in 1879, where he was the editor of an English daily. Sinnett returned to England in 1884, where his book, Esoteric 1 Buddhism, was published that year. This was the first text on Theosophy, and was based on his correspondence with masters in India. 2-2. Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 { 1891) { also known as HPB { was a Russian occultist and world traveller, While reputedly in India in the 1850s, she came under the influence of the ancient teachings of Hindu and Buddhist masters.
    [Show full text]
  • Archons (Commanders) [NOTICE: They Are NOT Anlien Parasites], and Then, in a Mirror Image of the Great Emanations of the Pleroma, Hundreds of Lesser Angels
    A R C H O N S HIDDEN RULERS THROUGH THE AGES A R C H O N S HIDDEN RULERS THROUGH THE AGES WATCH THIS IMPORTANT VIDEO UFOs, Aliens, and the Question of Contact MUST-SEE THE OCCULT REASON FOR PSYCHOPATHY Organic Portals: Aliens and Psychopaths KNOWLEDGE THROUGH GNOSIS Boris Mouravieff - GNOSIS IN THE BEGINNING ...1 The Gnostic core belief was a strong dualism: that the world of matter was deadening and inferior to a remote nonphysical home, to which an interior divine spark in most humans aspired to return after death. This led them to an absorption with the Jewish creation myths in Genesis, which they obsessively reinterpreted to formulate allegorical explanations of how humans ended up trapped in the world of matter. The basic Gnostic story, which varied in details from teacher to teacher, was this: In the beginning there was an unknowable, immaterial, and invisible God, sometimes called the Father of All and sometimes by other names. “He” was neither male nor female, and was composed of an implicitly finite amount of a living nonphysical substance. Surrounding this God was a great empty region called the Pleroma (the fullness). Beyond the Pleroma lay empty space. The God acted to fill the Pleroma through a series of emanations, a squeezing off of small portions of his/its nonphysical energetic divine material. In most accounts there are thirty emanations in fifteen complementary pairs, each getting slightly less of the divine material and therefore being slightly weaker. The emanations are called Aeons (eternities) and are mostly named personifications in Greek of abstract ideas.
    [Show full text]
  • The Seven Sacred Bodies - Terms Excerpted from the Glossary of Empowerment
    The Corpus Christi - science of the rainbow body The Seven Sacred Bodies - terms excerpted from the Glossary of Empowerment By Richard Rudd The Corpus Christi — One of the journeys making up the Gene Keys Synthesis, the Corpus Christi is the complete science of the ‘Rainbow Body’ — the true underlying nature of all human beings. The Corpus Christi is a synthesis of transmissions, teachings and techniques that underpins the 64 Gene Keys. Representing the higher ‘Mystery School’ teachings of the Gene Keys, it includes the teaching of the Seven Seals, the Seven Sacred Bodies and the Nine Initiations. Deep immersion in the teachings of the Corpus Christi assists you in grounding and embodying the higher frequencies of light into your everyday life. These are the teachings and techniques that allow you to draw the transmission of the Gene Keys layer by layer into the subtle bodies that make up your aura. Literally meaning ‘The Body of Christ’, the Corpus Christi prepares you to work with higher evolutionary frequencies by progressively purifying the many dimensions of your inner being, beginning with your physical body. The 1st Sacred Body - The Physical/Etheric Body Etheric Body — Sometimes known as the ‘etheric double’, the etheric body is the counterpart of your physical body, extending out beyond it into the aura. As the closest of the subtle bodies to the physical, the etheric body is quite well understood by many cultures, in particular in its relationship to our physical health. Systems such as acupuncture or energy medicine work directly on the etheric body, which consists of a vast network of subtle pathways, meridians or ‘nadis’, which create the fundamental grid of the aura.
    [Show full text]
  • FDA Misdirection in the Najarian and Burzynski Cases
    The Criminalization of Innovation: FDA Misdirection in the Najarian and Burzynski Cases The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation The Criminalization of Innovation: FDA Misdirection in the Najarian and Burzynski Cases (1997 Third Year Paper) Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:9453691 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA 1 Introduction John Najarian, transplant surgeon. He is a man whose intelligence, genius, and skill in the operating room have allowed him to pioneer an entire field of medicine. Over the past three decades he has performed countless organ transplants, first at the University of San Francisco and most recently as chief of surgery at the University of Minnesota. In doing so he has almost single- handedly developed the practice of organ transplantation into what could be considered a routine procedure. His collegues in academia revere him: \a gi- ant of 20th century medicine," in the words of the University of Pennsylvania's Arthur Caplan.1 His patients worship him: \I'd go to the ends of the Earth for him," says Charles Fiske of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the father of Jamie Fisk, whose 11-month old kidney Najarian successfully replaced in 1982.2 There is no question that this 69-year-old son of Armenian immigrants who passed up a professional football career to practice medicine is a model of the American success story.
    [Show full text]
  • The Theosophical Symbolism in Yeats's Vision
    Studi irlandesi. A Journal of Irish Studies, n. 2 (2012), pp. 7-20 http://www.fupress.com/bsfm-sijis The Theosophical Symbolism in Yeats’s Vision Arianna Antonielli Università degli Studi di Firenze (<[email protected]>) Abstract: In his Introduction to A Vision, Yeats defined his work as “a last act of defense against the chaos of the world”. A last act though which he wanted to give unity, through a rich symbolic substrate, to the space outside of nature and the space within his own mind. A unity he first met and fully understood when he joined Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society in 1887. This essay aims to examine the influence theosophy on Yeats’s literary works, namely on A Vision and how theosophical methodologies of investigation helped him to discover and adopt a metaphysical approach in his own internalisa- tion and representation of material and spiritual realities. Keywords: Symbolism, Theosophy, Unity, Vision, Yeats . I am glad to see such a genuine sincere thirst for knowledge in the Irish Fellows. It is the Irish invaluably who were, and are the best members of the TS [Theosophical Society] and my best loved and trusted friends. […] I trust in the Irish and I love the Irish ever since 1851 when Johnny O’Brien saved my life in Greece and got nearly killed himself. (Quoted in Cranston 1993, 464) In his “Introduction” to A Vision, Yeats defines his work as “a last act of defense against the chaos of the world” (quoted in Unterecker 1963, 43); a last act to give unity, through a rich symbolic substrate, to the space outside of nature and the space within his own mind.
    [Show full text]
  • The Health Bulletin
    NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY OF HEALTH DIGITAL COLLECTION The Health Bulletin Volume 64 (1949) DOCUMENT NO. NCHH-04-064 || http://hsl.lib.unc.edu/specialcollections/nchealthhistory || This item is part of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection. Some materials in the Collection are protected by U.S. copyright law. This item is presented by the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for research and educational purposes. It may not be republished or distributed without permission of the Health Sciences Library. The North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection is an open access publishing initiative of the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Financial support for the initiative was provided in part by a multi-year NC ECHO (Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) digitization grant, awarded by the State Library of North Carolina, and funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). For more information about the collection, or to search other volumes, please visit: || http://hsl.lib.unc.edu/specialcollections/nchealthhistory || . MEDICAL LIBRARY U. OF N. C N. Cjlj^ CHAPEL HILL. C I This Bulletin wJl be sent free to on^dtizerv of the State vipon request! Published monthly at the office of the Secretary of the Board, Raleigh, N. C Entered as second-class matter at Postoffice at Raleigh, N. C. under Act of August 24, 1912 Vol. 64 JANUARY, 1949 No. 1 Paul Pressley McCain, M. D. 1884-1946 MEMBERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH S. D. GILA.IG, M.D., President Winston-Salem G.
    [Show full text]
  • The Astral Body with Blavatsky's Principal of ‘Kama’ (Desire) and Called It the Emotional Body
    The Astral and Causal Bodies The first references to the Astral and Causal Bodies are found in the Upanishads the Ancient Philosophy of India. Historians have put the date of composition of the Upanishads to between 800 - 400 BC. The founder of Theosophy Helena Blavatsky also refers to the Astral and Causal Bodies. Theosophists C.W. Leadbeater and Annie Besant, equated the Astral Body with Blavatsky's principal of ‘Kama’ (desire) and called it the Emotional Body. The terms Astral Body, Desire Body, and Emotional Body have become synonymous. The Astral Body in later Theosophical writings is said to be ‘the vehicle of feelings and emotions’ through which ‘it is possible to experience all varieties of desire’. The Astral and Causal Bodies are also mentioned in the writings of Alice Bailey. Her books were written between 1919 and 1949. Her books were telepathically dictated to her by the Tibetan Master Djwal Khul. The texts describe him as a member of the 'Spiritual Hierarchy', or 'White Brotherhood', he is one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, defined as the spiritual guides of mankind. Mandukya Upanishad The Mandukya Upanishad refers to the ‘Self’ (Soul) as having four "feet" or states of consciousness. These are - waking, dreaming, dreamless sleep, and the transcendent (Turiya). Each of these is associated with both an individual state of consciousness and a cosmic state. These four states of consciousness are linked to the four bodies – Physical, Astral, Causal and the Soul. Koshas According to Vedantic philosophy the Soul or Atma has five coverings or sheaths. These are called the Koshas.
    [Show full text]