In the underworld of man there is a division of nature where climatic temperatures seldom vary. It is an abode of ignorance, despair, and hunger, and is inhabited by sluggards. There hunger causes acute physical suffering, for it is a hunger for the recognition and notice of beings above them, yet the density of their bodies prevents them from rising to these higher levels of intelligence.
Whenever there is dampness and moisture in our atmosphere, these discarnate beings can appear upon the level of humanity at night. Light is their enemy, and when the rays of the sun dissolve the globules of moisture, they sink back into their lower levels. You can gain very little knowledge from them. They can sometimes give their names, but if you want to aid them, they do not understand what help really means. They are surrounded by an atmosphere of despair and suffering, for they have not left a pressure of love behind them in their late earthly life. When a human being through misfortune is hungry or cold, these discarnate beings are attracted by his melancholy despair, for like attracts like.
The more intelligent of these nocturnal visitors gain some sort of recreation by tormenting human minds with an overflow of their own mental states and conditions. This may be likened to a sick man being surrounded by violent inmates of an asylum, subhuman beings whose earth lives have been steeped in ignorance or sin, and who very often inspire their victims to actions contrary to the law.
A suffering, despondent man has very little will power, and often acts upon the spur of the moment. These denizens of the lower world sometimes suggest to him when passing a shop that he should steal, and if he succumbs to the suggestion they are overjoyed because their victim has become subject to the fear and custody of the law.
Nearly all criminals are egotists and love to earn a reputation for cleverness, and this in the end invariably brings about their downfall. When the student is taken out of his body for the first time and accompanies his teacher upon a mental flight, he is not taken into these underworlds of being until he has become proficient in the art of levitation.
Later by passing into the deeper densities of the world beneath our feet he is shown the evil of the world, and when he returns, his first exclamation is, “I must take a bath,” for he feels as if he had been into the Ghetto or the slum area of some foreign city.
As the student has now become deeply sensitive, his “light” is easily recognized by these dwellers of the underworld, and they are attracted to him as a moth is attracted to a candle. Many people on leaving their body in deep sleep, go to these underworld spheres in order to minister to these beings. What we here call mid-day has its correspondence there in what might be called the atmosphere of a London fog, and I have seen thousands of these beings collected together in an amphitheater listening to these helpers, for “out of the body” man has a double gift of oratory.
I at first heard with amazement the orations delivered by these helpers who on the earth plane are often incapable of making any speech. I even know of people who are looked upon as failures on this earth, but when out of the body they beam with intelligence and sincerity and are able to do a great work for God in these ignorant underworlds.
Just as this world of ours is divided into countries, so the ignorant of the underworld inhabit their own place. In one division are the indolent and stupid, in another those obsessed with anger and hatred, while, in other divisions men who are masters of eloquence and logic are grouped together; for also there are evil men of learning who have wrought destruction in previous lives.
The student will be astonished at the scintillating intellect of these scholars which is seldom to be witnessed on the earth plane. They excel in hypnotic pressure and often find channels of expression through contacting sensitive minds on our earth plane. The deeper the student descends into this underworld, the more brilliant and scintillating is the evil thereof, for the more we receive from the light of Truth, the more capable we become of descending deeper into the darkness of ignorance.
These brilliant intellects from the evil side portray to the student’s mind what might be called the good of evil and the evil of good, and when he is “out of the body” there is that instrument within the student which measures the light of the spirit in any individual that he meets. This is his safeguard, and in the early days of his career he is taught to banish fear, but he finds that it takes real courage to work in these conditions.
Still there is an element in nature which removes fear from the human heart and gives the student courage to become the instrument of God’s purpose.
There are still lower densities in nature, where the debris and filth of all time are collected. It is an area of slime and degraded intelligence, where the passions are quickly aroused against all who act contrary to the atmosphere of this underworld of being.
In this debris we find traces of the passions and desires of past civilizations as well as of the present, and the inhabitants which live in this slime have natures similar to those prehistoric creatures that lived in the alluvial slime when the water receded from the earth.
The form patterns of these inhabitants do not conform to the human and animal life of today. They are monstrosities possessing an intelligence which is quick, ferocious, and alert, imprisoned in bodies ranging from forms like slugs, toads and spiders to malformed animals and human shapes.
By the use of seances, will, and imagination, these entities may be evoked into our world of being. Usually seances attract astral entities, seeking to draw upon mankind, but others are sometimes called up, who through misuse of the law have fallen into this prison-house from a higher position in nature. Like a brilliant financier, imprisoned for breaking the law, these entities retain brilliant intellect and the consciousness of evil wisdom. They also desire to escape from their prison-house and when, by magic, they are evoked into the world of man they are able to attain their desire and to injure humanity.
There are many schools of the “left hand” side of magic seeking to gain power and control over the youth of today, particularly when they are rich. Youths, who are drawn into these circles by curiosity, are invariably given opportunities to gratify their passions and desires through sex worship. It is difficult for one who has been enticed into ceremonial magic of the darker side to become clean again, for there is a law dealing with all “black” magic, which is that if the hierophant fails he becomes the prey of the forces which he has evoked. For instance, if he attempts to bring filth into the places occupied by people whom he wishes to annoy (for which he is often paid large sums of money) and fails because his intended victims possess the knowledge of how to protect themselves, he must persist more intensely and use every means in his power to bring about the result which he desires, for unless he succeeds, he goes under and often loses his life.
For this reason people have often been persecuted for years by the malicious mind of a magician, realizing that unless he succeeds, the evil power which he evokes rebounds upon himself, and the result is a quick degeneration of his physical and moral nature. These black societies have their “rackets” and are guided by master minds, who prey upon the curiosity of those whom they wish to ensnare into their net. The student of Yoga, after meeting his teacher, observes their objectives while “out of the body” from a sphere of vibration which it is impossible for these astral entities to reach. This is similar to looking down upon them from a place just above the picture molding of a room and observing what is taking place.
These entities have weight, and are of the consistency of jelly. They also have great speed and quickness of movement, and no man should experiment or seek the aid and activities of these souls who have fallen so deep into matter. When you meet a master of black magic “out of the body” and witness his brilliancy of evil, you cannot help admiring his great powers, but you always hear ringing in your ears, “O Lucifer, Son of the Morning, how deeply hast thou fallen!”
These scintillating intelligences often place men in prominent positions of wealth in order to influence them to become great destructive agents. There is an old Hermetic saying, “When your adversary cannot gain power over you when you are poor, he will make you rich, and his task may become easy.”
A great magician, who had surrendered his soul to the adversary, once appealed to a great “white” teacher that he might be allowed to “come back,” for he realized that devotion to good was the only way to freedom. Unfortunately these men always search for deficiencies in a teacher’s character in order to undermine his work. They are past masters of ridicule, have a deep knowledge of the powers of suggestion, and they seek to break up the unity in any group which is dedicated to service or devotion to God.
They often train assistants to enter groups of instruction in order to work the downfall of the group leaders; they are clever in praising the work of so-called spiritual teachers, leaving a suggestion however which fires the imagination of the listeners.
Leaders in this warfare of good and evil often meet to measure their opponent’s strength. Some of the greatest criminals in society seemingly live ideal lives, love their children, and bring beauty into the home. They are pleasant people to meet on the surface, for they are past masters in the art of dissimulation.
A friend of mine was of great service to a lady who was in distress in the last Great War. He told me that the lady’s husband had always been his arch enemy, but the lady did not know this, and he wondered what the husband would say when he discovered who it was that had saved his wife’s life! We have heard the old saying that there is honor among thieves, and we sometimes find examples of this among the racketeers of crime.
I was once invited to dinner to meet some very distinguished people, whose names are very well known all over the world. As the guests were passing into the dining room, a “personage” beckoned me to remain behind. He looked around to see if anyone had observed our delay, then he came up to me and shook his fist in my face, saying, “We hate you.” This was a process of trying to cast fear into my mind; however, this great churchman afterwards asked me for aid, saying that his soul was in hell, and he wanted my friendship but he lived only three years longer. It interested me very much to find that among the guests were some of the great spiritual leaders of the land!
Now and then amongst the great religious leaders of all denominations you find the occultist and the Yogi. In the past these leaders have often been denounced and martyred by their followers because they failed to practice the law of discretion, but most of the great souls in our churches pass apparently unnoticed and unheeded by mankind.
Where there is light, souls will be drawn for encouragement and teaching. The world is athirst for instruction which will lead men to God Realization. The great initiate teachers say that every man whom the great Master Jesus looked at while on this earth has been unified with the Christ consciousness—God Realization.
It may be news to the student that the great devas in nature exalt the names of those who have gained God Realization, whether widely known as avatars, prophets, or known only to the few.
The sincere student sometimes contacts these great souls hidden from humanity, and he then realizes that it is chiefly through their efforts that great changes in the welfare of nations are brought about. It has been written that there was a man behind Washington, and those other great minds which brought the United States into being. Several good instances of great souls who remained behind to educate and enlighten the world are Savonarola, Dante, Botticelli, and Spinoza.
Ever behind humanity are these great souls working to bring light into darkness—working to bring the consciousness of Truth to humanity. In Yoga we often pray to the great light bringers who have been messengers to mankind, and we send them our love, but humanity in general does not think of these undying ones who are always watching over us and attracting us to nobler efforts to become fit instruments of God’s purpose.
Man in general is like the frog, seemingly contented with the mud of his environment, and seldom knows or seeks to know what is above the mire.
