My Guide read my thoughts, “Yes!” he said, “the old man is not mental. He gave himself mental indigestion by reading everything and anything and not absorbing any of it. He imagines that he is a great man, a man of surpassing spirituality. Instead he is a poor old blunderer who deceives no one so much as himself.” The Lama sighed sadly and said, “He is spiritually bankrupt, knowing all but knowing nothing. The insensate, indiscriminate (ukritiske) and ill-advised reading of all that comes one’s way is dangerous. This man followed all the great religions and, understanding none of them, he yet set himself up as the greatest spiritual man of all.”
“Honourable Lama!” I said, “if it be so harmful to have books, why are there books?” My Guide looked blankly at me for a moment. “Ha!” I thought, “he does not know the answer to that one!”
Then he smiled again and said, “But my dear Lobsang, the answer is so obvious! Read, read, and read again, but never let any book overpower your discrimination (skjønn) nor your discernment. A book is meant to teach, to instruct or even to amuse. A book is not a master to be followed blindly and without reason. No person possessed of intelligence should ever be enslaved by a book or by the words of another.” I sat back and nodded my head. Yes, that made sense. But then, why bother with books?
“Books, Lobsang?” said my Guide in answer to my query. “Of course there must be books! The libraries of the world contain most of the knowledge of the world, but no one but an idiot would say that mankind is the slave of books: Books exist merely to be a guide unto mankind, to be there for his reference, for his use. It is indeed a fact that books misused can be a curse (forbannelse), for they lead a man to feel that he is greater than he is and thus to lead him to devious (omveier) paths in life, paths which he has not the knowledge nor the wit (forstand/vett) to follow to the end.” “Well, Honourable Lama,” I asked again, “what are the uses of books?”
My Guide looked hard at me and said, “You cannot go to all the places in the world and study under the greatest Masters of the world, but the printed word – books – can bring their teachings to you. You do not have to believe everything you read, nor do the great masters of writing ever tell you that you should, you should use your own judgement and use their words of wisdom as a pointer to what should be your words of wisdom. I can assure you that a person who is not ready to study a subject can harm himself immeasurably by getting hold of a book and – as it were – trying to raise himself above his kharmic station by studying the words and the works of others. It may well be that the reader is a man of low evolutionary development, and in that case, in studying the things which at the present are not for him, he may stunt rather than enhance (øke) his spiritual development. I have known many such cases and our Japanese friend is just one.”
My Guide rang for tea, a most necessary adjunct to all our discussions! When tea had been brought by the monk-servant we again resumed our discussion, My Guide said, “Lobsang! You are going to have a most unusual life, and to that end your development is being forced, your telepathic powers are being increased by any method at our disposal. I am going to tell you now that in just a few months you are going to study by telepathy allied to clairvoyance some of the greatest books of the world – some of the literary masterpieces of the world, and you are going to study them irrespective of lack of knowledge of the language in which they are written.”
I am afraid that I gaped at him in real astonishment, how could I study a book written in a language which I did not know? That was a matter which puzzled me, but I soon received an answer. “When your powers of telepathy and clairvoyance are a little more acute – as they will be – you will be able to pick up the whole thoughts of a book from people who have just recently read the book or are at present engaged upon such reading. This is one of the lesser known uses of telepathy which, of course, must in such cases be allied to clairvoyance. People in other parts of the world cannot always get to a public library or to one of the leading library centres of a country, they may pass the door but unless they can prove that they are a genuine student in search of knowledge, they are not admitted. Such a bar will not be placed on you, you will be able to travel in the astral and study and that will help you all the days of your life, and to the time when you pass beyond this life.”
He told me of the uses of occultism. Misuse of occult power or the domination of another person by occult means brought a truly terrible punishment. Esoteric powers, metaphysical powers, and extrasensory perceptions were to be used only for good, only in the service of others, only to increase the sum total of knowledge contained in the world.
“But, Honourable Lama!” I said, urgently, “how about people who get out of their bodies with excitement or with interest, how about when they fall out of their bodies and then nearly die of fright, can nothing be done to warn them?” My Guide smiled rather sadly at this as he said, “It is true, Lobsang, that many many people read books and try experiments without having a suitable Master at hand. Many people get out of themselves, either through drink or through over-excitement or through over-indulgence (ettergivenhet) in something which is not good for the spirit, and then they panic. There is one way in which you can help, throughout your life you should warn those who enquire that the only thing to fear in occult matters is fear. Fear allows undesirable thoughts, undesirable entities to enter and even to take control of one, to take possession of one, and you, Lobsang, should repeat again and again that there is naught ever to fear other than fear itself. In casting out fear, then you strengthen humanity and make humanity purer. It is fear which causes wars, fear which makes dissension (uenighet) in the world, fear which turns man’s hand against man. Fear, and fear alone, is the enemy, and if we throw out fear once and for all then – believe me – there is nothing more that need be feared.”
Fear, what was all this talk about fear? I looked up at my Guide, and I suppose he saw the unspoken question in my eyes. Perhaps instead he read my thoughts telepathic-ally, whatever it was he suddenly said, “So you are wondering about fear? Well, you are young and innocent(uskyldig)!”
I thought to myself,’ “Oh! Not so innocent as he thinks!” The Lama smiled as if he enjoyed that private joke with me – although of course I had not uttered a word – and then he said, “Fear is a very real thing, a tangible (håndgriplig) thing, you will have heard tales of those who are addicted (henfallen)to spirits – who become intoxicated (beruset). They are men who see remarkable creatures. Some of these drunkards claim to see green elephants with pink stripes, or even more bizarre creatures. I tell you, Lobsang, that the creatures which they see – so-called figments of their imagination – are real creatures indeed.”
I was still not clear about this matter of fear. Of course I knew what fear was in the physical sense, I thought of the time when I had had to stay motionless outside the Chakpori Lamasery so that I could undergo the test of endurance before being permitted to enter and be accepted as the humblest of humble chelas. I turned to my Guide and said, “Honourable Lama, what is all this fear? In conversation I have heard of the creatures of the lower astral, yet I myself in all my astral travels have never encountered aught which caused me even a moment’s fear. What is all this fear?”
My Guide sat still for a moment, then, as if reaching a sudden decision, he rose swiftly to his feet and said, “Come!” I rose also and we went along a stone corridor and turned to the right and to the left and to the right again.
Continuing our journey we at last turned into a room where there was no light. It was like stepping into a pool of blackness, my Guide went first and lit a butter lamp which was standing ready beside the door, then, motioning to me to lie down, he said, “You are old enough to experience the entities of the lower astral. I am prepared to assist you to see these creatures and to make sure that you come to no harm, for they should not be encountered unless one is adequately prepared and protected. I will extinguish (slukke) this light, and do you rest in peace and let yourself drift away from your body – let yourself drift whither you will, regardless of destination, regardless of intention – just drift and wander as the breeze.” So saying he extinguished the lamp and there was no glimmer of light in that place when he had shut the door. I could not even detect his breathing but I could feel his warm, comforting presence near me.
Astral travelling was no new experience to me, I was born with the ability to travel thus and to remember always, everything. Now, stretched upon the ground, with my head resting upon part of my rolled-up robe, I folded my hands and put my feet together and dwelt upon the process of leaving the body, the process which is so simple to those who know. Soon I felt the gentle jerk which indicates a separation of the astral vehicle from the physical, and with that jerk there came a flooding of light. I seemed to be floating at the end of my Silver Cord. Beneath me was utter blackness, the blackness of the room which I had just left, and in which there was no glimmer of light. I looked about me, but this was in no way different from the normal travels that I had undertaken before. I thought of elevating myself above the Iron Mountain, and with the thought I was no longer in that room but hovering above the Mountain, hovering two perhaps three hundred feet. Suddenly I was no longer aware of the Potala, no longer aware of the Iron Mountain, no longer aware of the land of Tibet nor of the Valley of Lhasa. I felt sick with apprehension (oppfattelsen), my Silver Cord trembled violently and I was appalled to see that some of the “silver-blue” haze which always emanated from the Cord had turned into a sickly yellow-green.
Without warning there was a terrible twitching, a terrible tugging(rykk og -trekkning), a sensation as if insane fiends (vanvittige djevler )were trying to reel me in (innspole). Instinctively I looked down and nearly fainted away at what I saw.
About me, rather, below me, were the strangest and most hideous (heslige)creatures such as were seen by drunks. The most horrible thing I had ever seen in my life came undulating (bølgende) toward me, it looked like an immense slug (enorm snegle) with an ugly human face but of such colours as no human ever wore. The face was red but the nose and ears were green, and the eyes seemed to revolve within their sockets. There were other creatures too, each seemed to be more horrible and more nauseating (kvalmende) than the one before. I saw creatures which no words could describe yet they all seemed to have a common human trait of cruelty about them. They reached, they tried to pluck at me – they tried to tear me away from my Cord. Others reached down and tried to separate the Cord by pulling at it. I looked, and shuddered, and then I thought, “Fear! So this is fear! Well, these things cannot hurt me, I am immune from their manifestations, I am immune from their attacks!” And as I thought thus, the entities disappeared and were no more. The ethereal Cord joining me to my physical body brightened and reverted to its normal colours; I felt exhilarated (opplivet), free, and I knew that in undergoing and surmounting this test I should not again be afraid of anything which could happen in the astral. It taught me conclusively that the things of what we are afraid cannot hurt us unless we permit them to hurt us through our fear.
A sudden tugging at my Silver Cord attracted my attention again and I looked down without the slightest hesitation, without the slightest sensation or feeling of fear. I saw a little glimmer of light, I saw that my Guide, the Lama Mingyar Dondup, had lighted that little flickering butter lamp, and my body was drawing down my astral body.
Gently I floated down through the roof of the Chakpori, floated down so that I was horizontal above my physical body, then, gently so very gently, I drifted down and the astral and the physical merged and were as one. The body which was now “I” twitched slightly, and I sat up. My Guide looked down at me with a loving smile upon his face. “Well done, Lobsang!” he said. “To let you in to a very very great secret, you did better on your first attempt than I did on mine. I am proud of you!”
I was still quite puzzled about this fear business, so I said, “Honourable Lama, what is there to be afraid of really?” My Guide looked quite serious – even sombre (dyster) – as he said, “You have led a good life, Lobsang, and have nothing to fear, therefore you do not fear. But there are those who have committed crimes, who have done wrongs against others, and when they are alone – their conscience troubles them sorely. The creatures of the lower astral feed on fear, they are nourished by those of troubled conscience. People make thought forms of evil. Perhaps at some time in the future you will be able to go into an old old cathedral or temple that has stood for countless years. From the walls of that building (such as our own Jo Kang) you will sense the good that has occurred within that building. But then if you can suddenly go to an old old prison where much suffering, much persecution has taken place, then you will have indeed the opposite effect. It follows from this that the inhabitants of buildings make thought forms which inhabit the walls of the buildings, wherefore it is apparent that a good building has good thought forms which give out good emanations, and places of evil have evil thoughts within them, wherefore it is again clear that only evil thoughts can come from an evil building, and those thoughts and thought forms can be seen and touched by those who are clairvoyant while in the astral state.”
My Guide thought for a moment, and then said, “There are cases, as you will be aware, when monks and others imagine that they are greater than their own reality, they
build a thought form, and in time the thought form colours their whole outlook. There is a case which I recall at this moment where an old Burmese monk – a remarkably ignorant man too, I have to say – he was a lowly monk, a monk of no understanding, yet because he was our brother, and of our Order, we had to make every allowance. This monk lived a solitary life as do so many of us, but instead of devoting his time to meditation and contemplation and other things of good, he imagined instead that he was a mighty man in the land of Burma. He imagined that he was not a lowly monk who had hardly set foot upon the Path of Enlightenment. Instead, in the solitude of his cell, he imagined that he was a great Prince, a Prince of mighty estates and great wealth. At the start it was harmless, it was a harmless if useless diversion (fornøyelse). Certainly no one would have condemned (fordømt) him for a few idle imaginings and yearnings, for, as I say, he had neither the wit nor the learning to really devote (vie) himself to the spiritual tasks at hand. This man throughout the years, whenever he was alone, became the great, great Prince. It coloured his outlook, it affected his manner, and with the passage of time the humble monk seemed to disappear and the arrogant Prince came to the fore. At last the poor unfortunate man really believed most firmly that he was a Prince of the land of Burma. He spoke to an Abbot one day as if the Abbot was a serf(lavstatus) upon the princely estate. The Abbot was not such a peaceful Abbot as some of us, and I am sorry to say that the shock which the poor monk-turned-princeling (monken som ble prins..) sustained put him off balance, and reduced him to a state of mental instability. But you, Lobsang, have no need to worry about such things; you are stable and well balanced and without fear. Remember only these words by way of warning: Fear corrodes (forvitrer) the soul. Vain and useless imaginings put one on the wrong path so that with the passage of years the imaginings become reality, and the realities fade from sight and do not come to light again for several incarnations. Keep your foot upon the Path, let no wild yearnings nor imaginings colour or distort your outlook. This is the World of Illusion, but to those of us who can face that knowledge, then the illusion can be turned into reality when we are off this world.”
I thought of all that, and I must confess that I had already heard of that monk-turned-mental-prince, because I had read about it in some book in the Lamas’ Library. “Honourable Guide!” I said, “what are the uses of occult power, then?” The Lama folded his hands and looked straight at me. “The uses of occult knowledge? Well, that is easy enough, Lobsang! We are entitled to help those who are worthy of help. We are not entitled to help those who do not want our help, and are not yet ready for help. We do not use occult power or ability for self-gain, nor for hire or reward. The whole purpose of occult power is to speed one’s development upwards, to speed one’s evolution and to help the world as a whole, not just the world of humans, but the world of nature, of animals everything.”
We were again interrupted by the Service starting in the Temple building near us, and as it would have been disrespectful to the Gods to continue a discussion while they were being worshipped, we ended our talk and sat in silence by the flickering flame of the butter lamp, now burning low.
CHAPTER EIGHT
It was pleasant indeed lying in the cool, long grass at the base of the Pargo Kaling. Above me, at my back, the ancient stones soared heavenwards and, from my viewpoint flat on the ground, the point so high above seemed to scrape the clouds. Appropriately enough, the “Bud of the Lotus” – forming the point symbolised Spirit, while the “leaves” which supported the “Bud” represented Air. I, at the base, rested comfortably against the representation of “Life on Earth”. Just beyond my reach – unless I stood – were the “Steps of Attainment”. Well, I was trying to “attain” now!
It was pleasant lying here and watching the traders from India, China and Burma come trudging by. Some of them were afoot while leading long trains of animals carrying exotic goods from far far places. Others, more grand maybe, or possibly just plain tired, rode and gazed about. I speculated idly on what their pannier bags contained, then pulled myself together with a jerk; that was why I was here! I was here to watch the aura of as many different people as I could. I was here to “divine” from the aura and from telepathy what these men were doing, what they were thinking, and what were their intentions.
Just off to the opposite side of the road a poor blind beggar sat. He was covered with dirt. Ragged and commonplace he sat and whined at passing travellers. A surprising number threw coins to him, delighting in watching him, blind, scrabble for the falling coins and finally locating them by the sound they made as they struck the earth and perhaps chinked against a stone. Occasionally, very occasionally indeed, he would miss a small coin, and the traveller would lift it and drop it again. Thinking of him, I turned my lazy head in his direction and sat upright in sheer dazed astonishment.
His aura! I had never bothered to observe it before. Now, looking carefully, I saw that he was not blind, I saw that he was rich, had money and goods stored away and that he was pretending to be a poor blind beggar as it was the easiest way of making a living that he knew. No! It could not be, I was mistaken, I was overconfident or something. Perhaps my powers were failing. Troubled at such a thought, I stumbled to my reluctant feet and went in search of enlightenment from my Guide the Lama Mingyar Dondup who was at the Kundu Ling opposite.
Some weeks before I had undergone an operation in order that my “Third Eye” might be the more widely opened. From birth I had been possessed of unusual powers of clairvoyance, with the ability to see the “aura” around the bodies of humans, animals and plants. The painful operation had succeeded in increasing my powers far more than had been anticipated even by the Lama Mingyar Dondup. Now my development was being rushed; my training in all occult matters occupied my waking hours. I felt squeezed by mighty forces asthis lama and that lama “pumped” knowledge into me by telepathy and by other strange forces whose workings I was now so intensively studying. Why do classwork when one can be taught by telepathy? Why wonder at a man’s intentions when one can see from his aura? But I was wondering about that blind man!
The story continues in part 12: Link to part 12
