But whatever

After all, no matter what we say, each man lives by himself entirely. I am alone, utterly so, and have been so ever since I was born and up to the present time: I suppose I will be so always, or until I have solved the riddle of existence. When I think deeply about life I see that the purpose of my existence is solely to solve that very riddle; to discover what it is that has produced the great panorama of life around me; to discover what my friends are, what I am myself; to know God. So perhaps I shall unveil the mystery in the course of time. results I obtain will be results based upon reflection or meditation combined with perception, not upon perception alone. True perception or intuition comes only of the contemplation of the soul in nature by the raising of the self higher and higher until it acts in unison with something that is true to its own nature, with a great centre in life; but it cannot so act until it has achieved a separation from things evil or foreign to itself. And we say: Use your intuitions by all means; go as far as you can, for they alone will lead you anywhere; but be sure that you are pure if you would avoid error, and the only way you shall get them pure is by utilizing the analyzing faculties to remove the dross of things which appear to us good and true simply because we have been associated with them so long that we are in a measure hypnotised by them.

All men have many selves. The external is a selfish personality; within there are other selves that act from mixed motives; only deep within us, and often hidden entirely by our other selves. is to be found our true and pure nature, the unselfish self. People constantly do things which they fancy are done from unselfish motive. If they analyzed themselves they would discover that something stands behind them on almost every occasion which makes them act principally with a selfish purpose in view. Men fear to analyze their motives or perceptions, to find out if there is evil in them; they prefer to say "all is good". I say people who do that are simply disobeying the highest law of nature, which aims at making of man a sage and afterwards a god. old saying is that there is John as his friends know him, John as he knows himself, and John as God knows him; meaning thereby there is the individual who appears to men evil or good, misjudged always; the individual who lives alone, saturated with selfish motives; and the high, calm, true, theosophical self who waits and stands behind, and with which we aspire to unite ourselves. Let us be honest in this endeavor! Let us fairly try to set ourselves free from those things which affect us from the outside, and to which we are chained by the links of selfishness and

An

vanity, which bind the soul! So rare is it for us to perform a truly divine and unselfish act that when one does so-one who has analyzed his every motive, and has absolutely assured himself of his unselfishness-he will be surprised with himself; because he has discovered that mankind is not altogether evil and that every inmate or inhabitant of all the countries is not altogether hollow. When once we find ourselves performing an act out of a purely unselfish motive, our tendency is almost to cry over it for pleasFor we are nearer to divinity than we ever were before. And such acts are only to be performed after careful analysis of ourselves, so that we may right our motive and clear away those things which separate us from our truest Self.

ure.

Many say: We can grow. Yes we can, but we may not force growth. Growth is a law of nature. It is natural and is not to to be acquired. But the conditions are not always present. What we have to do is to produce the conditions of growth, to clear away the rocks and to plow the field; and growth is then certain, for it is natural. Our endeavor must be to get rid of error and superstition: we can only do this by using our analyzing or sifting faculty, by reasoning or reflecting, by discrimination of good and evil.

One object of the Theosophical Society is to raise great philosophers, who are true, who are strong of nature, who have their forces under control, who are in no way to be called foolish or childlike, innocent, or too good to live; men who understand other men and the world; above all, men who understand themselves. Sages who, while they have deep and pure intuitions, at the same time have their mental faculties well developed. Some will say that such would be materialistic; since they would not be guided wholly by their so-called intuitions. Not so, if their reflections and reasonings and meditations are conerning their highest internal perceptions and nature as a whole, and not merely with regard to the few objects they see around them. This is the basis of all true metaphysic. To rely on "intuitions" of any kind without reflecting upon them or reasoning about them will lead humanity once again into those paths it has struggled so hard to get away from-the paths of error, superstition, and fanaticism. Cultivate by all means the higher side of your nature! Educate the finer, religious character, the faculties which you venerate and contemplate and adore! Listen to the voice of the Spirit! But while you thus aspire, while you raise the soul and endeavor to be true to your conscience, do not fail to employ also your understanding. Keep your religion, but do not neglect your reason!

ΤΗ

OCCULT VIBRATIONS.

A FRAGMENT OF CONVERSATION WITH H. P. B. IN 1888.

HE following was written by me at the dictation of H. P. B. in 1888 with the purpose of printing it at that time. But it was not used then, and as I brought it home with me it is now of interest.-W. Q. J.

Ques-It has struck me while thinking over the difference between ordinary people and an adept or even a partly developed student, that the rate of vibration of the brain molecules, as well as the coördination of those with the vibrations of the higher brain, may lie at the bottom of the difference and also might explain many other problems.

H. P. B.-So they do. They make differences and also cause many curious phenomena; and the differences among all persons are greatly due to vibrations of all kinds.

Q. In reading the article in the PATH of April, 1886, this idea was again suggested. I open at p. 6, vol. I. "The Divine Resonance spoken of above is not the Divine Light itself. The Resonance is only the outbreathing of the first sound of the entire Aum. . . . It manifests itself not only as the power which stirs up and animates the particles of the universe, but also in the evolution and dissolution of man, of the animal and mineral kingdoms, and the Solar system. Among the Aryans it was represented by the planet Mercury, who has always been said to govern the intellectual faculties and to be the universal stimulator." What of this? H. P. B.—Mercury was always known as the god of secret wisdom. He is Hermes as well as Budha the son of Soma. Speaking of matters on the lower plane, I would call the "Divine Resonance" you read of in the PATH "vibrations" and the originator, or that which gives the impulse to every kind of phenomena in the astral plane.

Q.-The differences found in human brains and natures must, then, have their root in differences of vibration?

H. P. B.-Most assuredly so.

Q.-Speaking of mankind as a whole, is it true that all have one key or rate of vibration to which they respond?

H. P. B.-Human beings in general are like so many keys on the piano, each having its own sound, and the combination of which produces other sounds in endless variety. Like inanimate

Remember

nature they have a key-note from which all the varieties of character and constitution proceed by endless changes. what was said in Isis Unveiled at p. 16, vol. I, "The Universe is the combination of a thousand elements, and yet the expression of a single spirit, ‚—a chaos to the sense (physical), a cosmos to the reason (manas).

Q.-So far this applies generally to nature. Does it explain the difference between the adept and ordinary people?

H. P. B.—Yes. This difference is that an adept may be compared to that one key which contains all the keys in the great harmony of nature. He has the synthesis of all keys in his thoughts, whereas ordinary man has the same key as a basis, but only acts and thinks on one or a few changes of this great key, producing with his brain only a few chords out of the whole great possible harmony.

Q. Has this something to do with the fact that a disciple may hear the voice of his master through the astral spaces, while another man cannot hear or communicate with the adepts?

H. P. B.-This is because the brain of a ehela is attuned by training to the brain of the Master. His vibrations synchronize with those of the Adept, and the untrained brain is not so attuned. So the chela's brain is abnormal, looking at it from the standpoint of ordinary life, while that of the ordinary man is normal for worldly purposes. The latter person may be compared to those

who are color-blind.

H. P. B.—What is considered normal from the view of the physician is considered abnormal from the view of occultism, and vice versa. The difference between a color-blind signal man who mistakes the lamps and the adept who sees is that the one takes one color for another, while the adept sees all the colors in every color and yet does not confuse them together.

Q. Has the adept, then, raised his vibrations so as to have them the same as those of nature as a whole?

H. P. B.-Yes; the highest adepts. But there are other adepts who, while vastly in advance of all men, are still unable to vibrate to such a degree.

Q. Can the adept produce at his will a vibration which will change one color to another?

H. P. B.—He can produce a sound which will alter a color. It is the sound which produces the color, and not the other or opposite. By correlating the vibrations of a sound in the proper way a new color is made.

Q. Is it true that on the astral plane every sound always produces a color?

H. P. B.—Yes; but these are invisible because not yet correlated by the human brain so as to become visible on the earth plane. Read Galton, who gives experiments with colors and sounds as seen by psychics and sensitives, showing that many sensitive people always see a color for every sound. The colorblind man has coming to him the same vibrations as will show red, but not being able to sense these he alters the amount, so to say, and then sees a color corresponding to the vibrations he can perceive out of the whole quantity. His astral senses may see the true color, but the physical eye has its own vibrations, and these, being on the outer plane, overcome the others for the time, and the astral man is compelled to report to the brain that it saw correctly. For in each case the outer stimulus is sent to the inner man, who then is forced, as it were, to accept the message and to confirm it for the time so far as it goes. But there are cases where the inner man is able to even then overcome the outer defect and to make the brain see the difference. In many cases of lunacy the confusion among the vibrations of all kinds is so enormous that there is not correlation between the inner and the outer man, and we have then a case of aberration. But even in some of these unfortunate cases the person inside is all the time aware that he is not insane but cannot make himself be understood. Thus often persons are driven really insane by wrong treatment. Q.-By what manner of vibrations do the elementals make colors and lights of variety?

H. P. B.—That is a question I cannot reply to though it is well known to me. Did I not tell you that secrets might be revealed

too soon?

I

CORRESPONDENCE.

"THE SUPPORT OF THE T. S."

AN glad to be able to state that my communication in April PATH on the above subject has not gone altogether without response, although there is still room for many additional Fellows in the "classes" that are forming. Up to this date [April 21st] the following have been reported: A. M. S. 1oc. per month; P. S. and L. S., 25c. per month; J. F. L., S. P. C., and M. E. H., 50c. per month; M. H. B., C. H. L., F. B. D., S. W. C., and W.