The True Mystic, Holden Sampson (1914)

7/30/2019 The True Mystic, Holden Sampson (1914)

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THE TRUE MYSTICBY THE

REV. HOLDEN E. SAMPSONAUTHOR OF" PROGRESSIVE CREATION," " PROGRESSIVE REDEMPTION "" THE MESSAGE OF THE SUN "ETC.

LONDONWILLIAM RIDER & SON, LIMITED

1914


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TO THE MEMORY OFASA MAHAN, D.D., LL.D.

ONE-TIME PRESIDENT OF OBERLIN UNIVERSITYU.S.A.

MY SPIRITUAL FATHER, FRIEND ANDTEACHER, IN THE BEGINNING

OF MYSPIRITUAL LIFE

I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME


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PREFACETHE Lectures contained in this volume weredelivered in December last at Folkestone,England, and also in London. In theseLectures I have put together the salient andfundamental principles belonging to thegreat subject of Mysticism, which will befound more exhaustively treated in mybooks " Progressive Creation " and " Pro-gressive Redemption." 1 The Lectures con-tain necessarily a very brief and inadequateoutline and sketch of the great subject.I have therefore to make apologies to myreaders for the sketchiness of this effort toelucidate so wide and profound a theme.Considering the immense area of the groundcovered primordial, primeval, prehistoric,primitive, medieval, and modern eras oftime the reader will forgive me if he findscause to complain of inconvenient but

1 Obtainable from Glaishers, Ltd., Holborn, London,W.C.


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vi Prefacenecessary omissions, and general cursoriness.I may also venture to express the hope thatthese Lectures may whet the appetite ofmany who read them, and induce them tostudy the above-mentioned larger works, towhich this small volume may rightly bedescribed as an introduction.In sending this volume forth, I must notbe found wanting in acknowledging myindebtedness to those many writers ofdistinction whose contributions to Mysticalknowledge have proved of the greatest valueto myself. By way of personal testimony,of interest to Mystical students, I feel itincumbent upon me to say that the substanceof these books came to me from intuitiveand mystical sources, the result of ten years'practice of the methods herein specified asthe

" Four Tokens of the Mystic." It wasliterally " in the wilderness " that thesethings came to me, and I wrote them downat "first hand." Reading and study of thelarge body of literature, of antiquity and ofmodern times, have confirmed every line ofthe teaching I received. Memory declinesto recall every writer's name whose worksI have read, to confirm the original funda-


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Preface viimenta of my books. But some notableworks stand out strongly in my recollection,and for the benefit of my readers I herename them, and commend them to theirnotice :"The Perfect Way, or the Finding of Christ,"by Anna Kingsford and Edward Mait-

land." Fragments of a Faith Forgotten," byG. R. S. Mead." Mysticism " and " The Mystic Way," byEvelyn Underbill." The Hidden Church of the Holy Grail," byEdward A. Waite." On a Gold Basis" by Isabelle de Steiger." Superhumanity," by the same author,published serially in " The Path," 1913." The Idea of Reincarnation," by Kehler." The Philosophy of Natural and RevealedReligion," by Chevalier Ramsay, Arch-bishop of Cambray, published in theearly i8th century." Isis Unveiled" and " The Secret Doctrine,"by H. P. Blavatsky.Articles by various writers in " The OccultReview."


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viii Preface" The Interior, or Hidden Life of the Soul,"by Dr. Upham." The Life of Madame de la Mothe Guyon,"

by Dr. Upham." Hebrew Mysticism," by Prof. Abelson." Esoteric Christianity," by Annie Besant.Works of Darwin, Spencer, Huxley, Lodge,and other scientists.Emerson's Essays, Maeterlinck's " Treasure

of the Humble," etc.If in any statements made in this volume

I have criticized movements and propa-ganda in language calculated to hurt thefeelings of others, I take this opportunityof expressing my sorrow. Religious viewsalways tend to unfortunate divisions amongthose who ardently and sincerely followthem, and too often the personal feelingsare aroused when religious views come intocontact with other variants of thought.True Mysticism has no variance of thought,and the firm belief of the writer is that thedispersal of religious " sectarianism " andmutual intolerance will be in proportion tothe general acceptance of the tenets of TrueMysticism. All that is True, in all sects and


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Preface ixdivisions of the religious unit, finds itsperfect expression in Mysticism.

If, again, I have been so unfortunate asto have unfairly represented any teachingI have ventured to criticize, mine be thefault, and no one will be more ready toacknowledge the error, and more pleased tolearn that he is mistaken, than myself.

It may be, also, that some critical readersmay complain of dogmatism in this book,when I have spoken with emphasis on thespecial features of experience in Mysticism.It is not, however, in the spirit of dogmati-zation that I have spoken, nor as " layingdown the law." I would not be thought toassert that there is absolute uniformity ofexperience in attaining the Mystic State.Human character and disposition vary ineach person. Pre-natal differences are asnumerous as human characters. The passageof the Soul through the " Wilderness-journey " for some may be like Abraham'sjourney to Canaan, without tribulation, andwith a " retinue " of pleasant circumstances.For others, it may be like that of theChildren of Israel under Moses, full ofwanderings and affliction. Some may have


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x Prefacethe experience of a Paul, and be able torecord their " rapture " to the " thirdheaven." Others may have these passagesin states of unconsciousness. All who reachthe Mystic State, nevertheless, have certainKnowledge of the Way they journeyed, andabsolute assurance of the results of thejourney in their Soul's experience. //, then,the end is gained the Mystic State that isthe main point ; and I earnestly hope thatthis book may help many to " know them-selves " and to pursue the Path.

H. E. S.January, 1914.

FOLKESTONE, ENGLAND.


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CONTENTSFIRST LECTURE PAGE

MYSTICISM OF THE PAST . i

SECOND LECTUREMYSTICISM OF THE PRESENT . 66

THIRD LECTUREMYSTICISM OF THE FUTURE . . .117


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The True MysticFIRST LECTUREINTRODUCTORY

Mysticism " in the air." It is not needfulto remind you that, at the present time, thesubject of Mysticism is much to the front inpeople's minds.

Mysticism is "in the air " to-day as itnever has been for many ages past. It isan historical fact connected with all newdevelopments of thought, that what at onetime floats mistily " in the air," becomes aconcrete and accepted belief at a later time.That it will prove the same in regard toMysticism, I have not the least doubt.Many of us probably have spent the

greater part of our lives groping, more orless blindly, after the things unseen. Weknow they are realities, but no light appears


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2 The True Mysticto be shed upon them, to enable us to traceand grasp them.Some of us have suffered constantly, bothin material and spiritual circumstances, inthe conscious and unconscious struggle oursouls have made to reach and grasp spiritualrealities, which to all the world around usboth religious and secular seem so unreal,so unimportant. We cannot make light ofthem as all the world seems to do. We haveto brave much comment and criticism in thisstruggle for the light. The way leads to somany deviations from beaten tracks.Our souls have had that much of experi-ence, at certain sacred and memorable timesin our lives, to certify to these realities. Wecannot doubt them, nor quench the hungerand thirst for their fulness. Yet at thesame time they are for the most part stillungrasped, and we are incapable of express-ing or demonstrating them.How near to us these mysteries have been,and yet how far they are ! Sometimes wethought we had grasped them, but theyreceded from us when our hands stretchedout to seize them.We have had so-called " occult " experi-


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Introductory 3ence of them, we have had inexpressibledreams of them, we have had feelings ofthem, baffling our intelligence and ourdescriptive powers. They remain " mys-teries " to us to-day, as they were from thebeginning.

Mysticism is the quest of the mystic life.Now this kind of experience of quest andseeking is what is broadly termed " Mysti-cism." Yet not one of us, who has comeso far on the path, can be denominated a" Mystic."A " Mystic " is one who has attained the" Gnosis," the " Sophia," the Wisdom of the

Divine Mysteries, the " Theo-Sophia." Heis an Initiate, a " Gnostic."But Mysticism is the search for andscience of the Theo-Sophia. It is the spiritof enquiry, and the process of attainment,which, if persevered in, ends in attain-ment, and the " Mystic" Life.Tokens of experience. There are certaincognizable tokens of experience which invarying degrees mark the " Mystic," anddistinguish him from other persons (how-ever much pursuing Mysticism) who havenot attained to the Mystic.


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4 The True MysticA state of being. For it is a state of being

that constitutes the Mystic, and places himapart from other men.Yet the Mystic may seem not in the leastunlike other men who are not Mystics, andthe latter may seem more like Mystics thanthe Mystic himself.

This is so because the " state of being "constituting the Mystic is not outwardlydemonstrable, nor dependent on " pheno-mena," or peculiar attributes.

Attributes and phenomena of the Mysticnot exhibited. The Mystic has peculiarattributes, and he is a phenomenal person.But he does not exhibit his phenomena, norannounce his peculiar attributes. If theyare drawn from him by the force of outwardappeal, or prayer, or faith, or by theattraction of those whose sympathiesand needs call them forth, he respondsfreely.

Spiritualist " mediumship." The Spirit-ualist deals in objective phenomena. It ishis metier to do so. Spiritualism is basedentirely on phenomena ; they are necessaryto justify its claims. The Mystic makes noclaims, has no need of phenomena to adver-


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tise a propaganda, or to make good hispretensions.The Mystic makes no pretensions. Itdoes not concern him whether or not peopleknow him to be a Mystic.

Discernibility of the Mystic not easy.Therefore it is not an easy thing to discerna Mystic. Mystics discern themselvesclearly, intuitively ; but they do not goabout saying, " I am a Mystic." Nor dothey presume to declare that other people,who say they are Mystics, are not Mystics,even when their intuition informs them thatthey are not.There are many people who, because theyhave had some experiences of an " occult "nature, say they are Mystics ; but theMystic knows that they are not. He wouldnot, however, say they are not. A singlerose does not make a summer." Occultism " has so many illusions.Touch its fringe, and experience is so strik-ing, so wonderful, that many go no furtherthan the " fringe," the borderland ofMysticism, and fancy themselves Mystics.They dwell on that wonderful " fringe "experience, and dream not of anything


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6 The True Mysticbeyond it. Whereas they have not thesmallest inkling of the journey they musttake before the Mystic state is reached.

It is this which creates trouble forMysticism, and prejudices it in the eyes ofreligious and orthodox people.

Disasters of misguided Mysticism. Fornearly always pseudo-Mysticism ends indisaster and grief, injuring the sacred causeof Mysticism. Premature Mysticism pre-cipitates disaster. And the disasters frommisguided Mysticism are very serious.One is reminded of the little girl, who,running too hastily into the drawing-room,

fell over the door-mat. Asked by hermother how she came to meet with themishap, she answered in tears, " / c-comedin afore I c-comed ! " There are many too-eager Mystics who

"come in before theycome."

Reticence of the Mystic. I have said thatthere are certain cognizable and generaltokens of a Mystic. But do not expect thata Mystic will readily talk to you about thesetokens in himself. You will always find theMystic to be a very meek and humbleperson, and most reticent about himself.


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Introductory 7Ask a Mystic if he is a Mystic, and he willbe silent. Ask him if any other persons, of

the past or the present, are or were Mystics,and he will be silent. But ask him what arethe Tokens of the Mystic, and you will findhim eager and eloquent. He is always eagerto propagate Mysticism, to induce people topursue the Mystic Path. It is his " mission "to do so. Only he is cautious for fear thathe may be " casting his pearls before swine."His life proclaims the Mystic, his characterreflects the Mystic, his teaching, and thepower behind his words, prove the Mystic.But do not look for " miracles," or wonder-ful sensations of " occult " phenomena,from him. They may occur, they sometimesdo occur ; but never in response to curious-minded expectancy, nor to sensation-lovingphenomena-hunters.There are plenty of people who deal inthe wares of phenomena, miracles, andpsychical wonders psychometry, clairvoy-ance, trance-mediumship, astrology, palmis-try, psycho-therapeutics, and such like.They are not Mystics by such tokens.The Mystic hides himself when peoplebuzz around him, asking curious questions,


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8 The True Mysticand saying,

"Show us a sign,"

"Prove to usthat you are a Mystic." He does not traffic

in " signs" ; he is not a phenomenalist.

I. THE FOUR TOKENS OF A MYSTICThe indefinable Tokens of a Mystic. Youask, What are the Tokens of a Mystic ?

I will endeavour to give an answer to thatquestion. It can only be done partially,for there are certain tokens and criteria ofthe Mystic impossible to define in words,and other tokens impermissible to speak of.The following Tokens, I would ask you tobear in mind, are not uniform experiencesin all Mystics, nor are they always necessarilyexperiences of an objective kind. ManyMystics have attained the Mystic statewithout the ability of defining these tokensas definitely conscious experiences. Asceti-cism, for instance, is a relative term, definingthe perfect Renunciation of the Senses forthe attainment of the Christ in them.

There is a " Holy Ground " in the Mystic'sexperience which the Mystic alone can anddare tread. The tokens within this " HolyGround " are the surest and most defined


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The Four Tokens of a Mystic 9tokens of all. Every person who is a Mysticknows them, and by them he is certain ofhis Mystic state.

If you have reached this " Holy Ground "you will never have a doubt, though all theworld turns against you, and shouts denial.On this " Holy Ground

"you are broughtface to face with " the Christ " in the " Burn-

ing Bush." The " Real Presence " is moreclearly manifest to you than by the naked eye.The definable Tokens of the Mystic are asfollows :

(1) Asceticism.(2) Ekstasis, or Rapture.(3) Initiation.(4) Intuition, or Vision.

(i) Asceticism and RENUNCIATIONAsceticism and Renunciation are ideas

deeply embedded in the Religion andPhilosophy of the ancient Theo-Sophia, orWisdom of God. It is inseparable fromMysticism. To become a Mystic, a personmust always become an Ascetic, always anAscetic in spirit and intention, often anAscetic in act and fact.

(i) Asceticism. There are also times, in


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io The True Mysticthe Path of the Mystic, when he must inspirit become a Hermit. Some Mystics havebeen Ascetics and Hermits all their days, inthe most literal sense, not from personalnecessity, but for reasons of special vocationand choice.

During certain specific periods in his life, aMystic becomes both an Ascetic and Hermit.Asceticism being an attitude of mind and

will, it is a matter purely of outward cir-cumstances if the rigid course of experienceis compelled. Many Mystics have, bycircumstances, been

"driven into the wilder-ness " in the most physical and literal sense.Many others have maintained the attitude

of Asceticism, in mind and will, and havenot been compelled by circumstances toadopt the literal Ascetic and Hermit life.In spirit and will, all Mystics are Asceticsand Hermits. The Mystic is indifferent to the

pleasures of the senses. He is free from thebehests of the body and mind which he hasrenounced. When occasions drive him intothe wilderness, to fast and pray, or toundergo his

"Temptations," he is as happyand contented as if called to feastings and

pleasures.


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The Four Tokens of a Mystic nHis body is recognized and gratified onlyfor the sake of the soul. It is a necessary

instrument of the soul, and must be nourishedor deprived as the soul requires.Sometimes the soul requires an attenuatedand etherealized body ; sometimes, to func-tion in the body, the soul requires it wellnourished ; and sometimes, for the cause ofthe Faith, the soul requires the body to feastand banquet.

Necessity for Asceticism. Asceticismoperates usually, in Mysticism, for certainspecific purposes, to fit the body for corre-spondence with the soul in certain conditionsin the pursuit of the Mystic Path. Amongthese are the following instances : Tempta-tions, Ekstasis, Initiation, Contemplation,Special " Missions," Penance, and Sacra-ments.

TEMPTATIONSThe purposes of Temptations. Asceticism

is generally practised in times of Temptation." Temptations " are experiences precedingthe passage of the soul into

" Ekstasis " for" Initiation." They follow after a course ofInstruction and Training in the special


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12 The True MysticTeaching connected with the degree ofInitiation at the time contemplated.

Solitude. Temptations are undergone inSolitude, after a period of rigorous abstinencefrom food, and of intense mental concentra-tion. The disciple departs into some desertplace, unfrequented by mankind, or, likethe monks of old, interns himself in his cell.By fasting, prayer, and mental concen-

tration, he gradually attunes himself, hisphysical nature to his spiritual nature.Then he begins to find himself consciouslyfunctioning in his spiritual nature. Hebecomes clairvoyant and clairaudient, andsees and hears his Spiritual Teachers in thephysically unseen.He follows their guidance and instructions,and is passed through severe Tests, orTemptations, directed to prove his cour-age, obedience, faith, and love. Evilattacks him in alluring forms, appealingto his senses, his passions, and his appetites.Forms of seductive temptations are pre-sented before him, or suggested to him.Evil spirits whisper in his ear, and seek toseduce him to commit acts of sin, dis-obedience, or to distrust his Masters.


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The Four Tokens of a Mystic 13If he fail under these ordeals, and yieldin any way to the wiles of evil, he is putback and forbidden farther progress for the

time, until, by continued Prayer and Fasting,if he remains steadfast and penitent, he isagain tested, and again, until he is fit toproceed to his Initiations, or to carry outthe special duties for which these Tempta-tions were to fit him.You will see, therefore, that Temptationsare in many cases an important factor inMysticism, and a part of the Ascetism whichis a Token of the Mystic.

(2) EkstasisNothing in connection with Mysticism

has suffered more from misconstruction andmisrepresentation than the mystical statewhich is called Ekstasis. A term that moreclearly defines this experience is Rapture, forreasons which shall be shown.

Experience only can define Ekstasis. It isdifficult to name any spiritual experiencethat so defies the art of language to describeor define it. Being an experience, it canonly be comprehended by experience. Aswell try to define in words the taste of a


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14 The True Mysticstrawberry, or the bouquet of a specialvintage of wine, as try to define this experi-ence, its meaning and its phenomena.

Warnings about Ekstasis. ConcerningEkstasis warning is needed of many kindsof pseudo-experiences often mistaken forEkstasis. They are known in the commonexperiences of spiritualism, or psychicphenomena. Indeed, in each of the fournatures of man's constitution, a form ofexperience may be developed, open toconfusion with what the Mystic means byEkstasis. In Psychics the strange pheno-menon of Katalepsis experienced by de-veloped " trance-mediumship " bears soclose a resemblance, physically, to Ekstasis,that the two are often taken for one and thesame thing. Any person who has experi-enced Ekstasis knows what a gulf liesbetween them. The Mystic never con-fuses them ; they are entirely dissimilar.Ekstasis is the harmonious correlation ofthe whole being, of all the four Natures, inperfect equilibrium and union. Body,Mind, Soul, and Spirit are awake and alert,in the conscious activity of their faculties.The " sleep " of the physical body is no


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The Four Tokens of a Mystic 15indication of its actual unconsciousness. Inthe sleep of Ekstasis the body is sub-consciously functioning all the time thatthe cognate natures are also functioning ontheir several planes.Paul describes Ekstasis, or Rapture, in thefollowing words :

Paul's Ekstasis." I will come to visions and revela-tions of the Lord. I know a man inChrist, fourteen years ago (whether inthe body, I know not ; or out of thebody, I know not] ; such a one caughtup into the third heaven and I knowsuch a man (whether in the body, orapart from the body, I know not ;God knoweth) ; how that he wascaught up into Paradise, and heardunspeakable words, which it is notlawful for man to utter."

The purpose of Fasting. In the state ofEkstasis the body is first freed, by Fasting,from all material obstructions, and the mindis clarified from all clouds, by Prayer andmental concentration. The Soul then be-comes en rapport with the Body. The mind


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16 The True Mysticand body become as " sounding-boards,"the body responsive to the vibrations of themind, and the mind to the vibrations of thesoul.The physical organism is freed from the

clogging of matter caused by food-digestion.The nerve-forces for the time being arecentred on the promotion of the state ofEkstasis, and the psychic and mental organsare reinforced and sensitized.

Psychic Communion. Temptation andAsceticism having performed their part, theInitiate is drawn into psychic and mentalcommunion with the Spirit-Being who ishis Celestial Teacher and Guide. TheInitiate places himself unreservedly in hishands, and obeys his instructions. The factthat every Soul has a Celestial Master andGuide is taught and acknowledged by allMystics. That all Mystics consciouslyvisualize or know their Masters is notalways the case. But no man is a Mysticwho is not consciously following a definitesystem in conscious obedience to his Master,whether or not the Master has revealedhimself to him. Then comes the time in hisInitiations when he cannot help visualizing


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The Four Tokens of a Mystic 17and knowing his Master, and not him only,but all the Celestial Beings.

Safety of True Ekstasis. At this stage,of spiritual and psychic communion, afterAsceticism and Temptation have done theirwork, the neophyte, or disciple is qualifiedto pass into Ekstasis. Under such ineffableconditions he is safe, as under no otherconditions is it safe to venture into anyoccult state whatsoever. Promiscuous andmisguided " occultism " is extremely riskyand dangerous, and utterly unbeneficial,when it is realized how great and power-ful is the environment of evil that besetsus in this fallen world and its astral environ-ment.

The Process of Ekstasis. Ekstasis beginsby the Initiate falling into a gentle sleep,which gradually passes into torpor. Thebody becomes rigid. The mind is preter-naturally active and acute. He sees, hears,and knows every detail that is happening.He never loses mental or psychic conscious-ness, and physically he is in a subconsciousstate of sensibility, though wrapt in thetorpor of sleep.The " cord " of life. Gently he emerges

c


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i8 The True Mysticfrom his torpid and recumbent body,stands over it, and surveys it, as an objectoutside of himself. A fine ray of lightattaches himself to his body all the while,accompanying him wherever he goes apsychical

"umbilical cord," which, so longas it is not broken, maintains the life of the

body. The " cord " broken means instantdeath to the body, and its speedy dissolution.The Spiritual Plane. He finds thematerial plane recede from him into mist-like shadow, and the spiritual plane assumesa quasi-physical and objective aspect. Hefunctions organically on the spiritual plane,and corresponds to spiritual environment,with the same objectivity in which, in theflesh, he functioned on the material plane.

Spiritual Company. He discovers him-self to be not alone. In the darkness of theastral plane he has entered he is surroundedby a company of the Heavenly host, whopanoply him, and protect him from theastral dangers. For, in the astral plane (theScripture

" Hades "), besides its being thevestibule, as it were, to the planetary circlesof the Kingdom of Heaven, are the abodesof spirits of darkness, departed this life in


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The Four Tokens of a Mystic 19rebellion against God, and in various condi-tions of degeneracy, and of hatred towardsGod, malignant and pernicious beings whoprey upon mortals, and make victims ofpassing spirits. Therefore the Company ofHeaven surround and protect the souls of thegood passing through Hades, and neverleave them to be the prey of evil spirits,conveying them in due time to theirplanetary Paradises.

Familiarity with the Planetary regions andpeople. Under this sublime escort he iswafted upward to the planetary circles,through the crowded regions of Hades. InHades he stays and converses with soulsdiscarnate, and by sympathy and counselhe aids some to rise with him to Paradise.For many souls remain in the purgatorialstate of Hades, unable to reach the purestate that loosens the earth-grip and liberatesthem for translation to Paradise.

In the Paradisaical regions he findseverything is familiar to him, that he isreturning on a visit to places of a formerresidence. People and surroundings arefamiliar to him. Paradise is his real home,his true fatherland. His companions are


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2o The True Mystichis real friends and brethren. Earthlyfriendships are as nothing to these eternalcosmic friendships.He also perceives that many of his earthlyfriends and loved ones, those still in theincarnate life, and many in Hades andParadise, belong also to his heavenlyfriendships.Thus he is " caught up into Paradise." Hehears and sees things that are " unspeak-able," which " it is not lawful for a man toutter."

This is " Ekstasis," the Second Token ofa Mystic. He cannot demonstrate it, andrarely will he be drawn out to speak of it.Ekstasis is in the power of all to attain, andone of the peculiar experiences appertainingto the Mystic state.

(3) InitiationInitiations heavenly ceremonies, not earthly.Concerning the subject of Initiation muchhas been surmised and written that is

misleading.The general supposition seems to be thatthe ceremonies of Initiation are performed

upon the earth, in certain " Lodges," or


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The Four Tokens of a Mystic 21" Temples," of material construction, bymen who are called " Masters."Hence the numbers of people who have

passed these material " initiations " thinkthat it is the real thing, and that, by virtueof them, they are real initiates. Theysuppose that they know the " Mysteries "by virtue of these material ceremonies.This assumption is not to be denied tosome, given that the True and Real Initia-tions in the Heavenly places have trulypreceded them.

Earthly Counterpart-Initiations. It is alsothe truth, in every " Ekklesia," or " Lodge,"where the Mysteries are known and taughtby Initiate-Masters, there are earthly cere-monies of Initiation, counterparts of theInitiations that already have taken placein the planetary spheres. Unless theseSpiritual Initiations have taken place, theearthly counterpart-ceremonies of Initiationare empty performances, even though, bytheir solemnity, their sublime ritual, andtheir content of profound mystical teach-ing, they are most illuminating and in-spiring.Modern survivals of Counterpart-Initia-


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22 The True Mystictions. The Seven Sacraments of the Church,the Initiation-Rites of Free-Masonry, and ofRosicrucianism, and similar institutions, aresurvivals of these counterpart-Initiationswhich follow the Heavenly Ceremonies ofInitiation. The performance of initiation,or the solemnization of the Sacraments, inearthly Lodges, Temples, or Churches, donot, in these days, signify any sequence ofthe Heavenly Rites they were originallyinstituted to follow and certify.The Heavenly rites are not performed,after a spiritual and unconscious manner,

simultaneously accompanying the earthlyrites, and as a matter of course. They arethe most clear and conscious Ceremonies,remembered for ever in the minds ofInitiates, and followed afterwards bymaterial forms in earthly Rites, attesting andcertifying the Heavenly Ceremonials theycounterpart.

Counterpart-Initiations are certifications ofHeavenly Initiations. In fact, earthlycounterpartal Initiations are really certifica-tions and attestations in the earthly Ekklesiaof the Real and True Initiations ; and onlyare they so if they have followed the clearly


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The Four Tokens of a Mystic 23remembered and conscious initiations pre-viously performed in the heavens.

Planetary Spheres the scenes of Initiation.Let it therefore be understood that theearth is not the scene of these sublime Rites.Actual Initiation can only take place in theplanetary spheres, in a Divine Temple ofthe Holy Mysteries.The Supreme Master of Initiation. TheOnly Initiator is the Supreme Master of theMysteries, the Great High-Priest of Heavenand Earth, the Only-Begotten Son of God.No intermediary or deputy can performthese Sacred Rites. Masters of earthly" Ekklesiae," or Lodges, can only performthe earthly Rites of counterpartal Initiation.Seven Planetary Temples of Initiation.There are Seven Temples in the HeavenlySpheres in which the Rites of Initiation areperformed, One Temple in each of the SevenPlanetary Circles, each answering to one ofthe Seven Mysteries, representing one of theSeven Gates in the Path of the Mystic.

Into each one of these Temples, to theSupreme Temple of the Seventh Gate, theCandidate-Initiate is brought, in the severaltimes of his Ekstasis, and there he is


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24 The True MysticInitiated in the Mystery of the PlanetaryCircle in which the Temple is constituted.These Seven Mysteries anciently werecalled the " Seven Gates of the Mystic Pathof the Kingdom of Heaven."The Seven Mysteries, or Gates. The SevenGates, or Mysteries,

of the Kingdom ofHeaven were defined and designated by theSeven Acts of the Incarnate Life of the LordJesus Christ :

(1) BIRTH. (4) DEATH.(2) BAPTISM. (5) BURIAL.(3) PASSION. (6) RESURRECTION.(7) ASCENSION.Ekstasis, the mode of entrance to the

Planetary Circles. These Seven Initiationstake place at the time when the Initiate isin the state of Ekstasis, and is " Rapt," or" Caught up " to the " Heaven " of theMystery in which he has qualified to beInitiated. By means of Ekstasis, followingAsceticism, he enters the Kingdom ofHeaven.

(4) IntuitionIntuition is the faculty of Thought, and

interior Sight, by development. Each


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The Four Tokens of a Mystic 25nature has its own organic system ofThought and Sight, which a person maydevelop to perfect harmony and union withthe whole constitution, so that all the nature-systems of Thought and Sight are OneSystem, operating from the interior to theexterior, and vice versa, as the solar systemsof the cosmos operate from the Sun to itsoutermost circles of sidereal systems. Thework of Mysticism is to create harmony andunion in the human constitution, brokenand destroyed by the sin of man.

Intuition reaches the perfect state byInitiation. In this state a man becomes a" Prophet " and a " Seer."Intuition springs from Spirit. Intuition

springs from the Spirit of God in the humansoul. It is proportionately perfect as theSoul is purified and freed from the dominanceand material bands of the body. The Spiritis the " sun " of the human constitution, asthe sun is the centre of the cosmic constitu-tion.The Spirit of God in man permeates and

governs the Soul, Mind, and Body, in greateror lesser degree as the Soul, Mind, and Bodyare purified from matter, and equilibrated


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26 The True Mysticand harmonized. Mysticism is the processof equilibration and harmonization. Intui-tion is the state of equilibration and har-monization.

Spirit, the link between God and man.The Spirit is the Divine link between manand God, through which man, in body,mind, and soul, functions in perfect relationto God, when the state of Intuition isperfectly attained ; and relatively, accordingto the degree attained by the processes ofMysticism.God is the Fount and Centre of All-Truthand All-Knowledge. A Mystic is one whohas travelled the whole of the Mystic Path

to the Centre of All-Truth and All-Know-ledge. He has At-Oned with God.

Consciously and actively the Mystic func-tions in Spirit, in God. He is One with theInfinite Divine Being.

At-Onement. This One-ness, or At-One-ment, is the meaning of the Mystical term" Unio Mystica," or Divine Union, the Goalof Mysticism. This Goal is reached whenthe Initiate completes all his Initiations.All the Mysteries are in him, and he is in allthe Mysteries.


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The Four Tokens of a Mystic 27Sabbatic Rest. Arrived at the Centre,the End of his Initiations, he Rests in God.He Rests from all his Labours, and keeps

his Eternal " Sabbath," He " Sits withChrist in the Heavenly Places." God is inHim, he in God. He speaks in God, andGod speaks in Him. He walks in God,and God walks in him. He thinks inGod, and God thinks in him.He needs no human " teacher," he is" taught of the Lord." Mentally he functionsfor the Spirit in spiritual things, register-ing the Thought of God in his mind, andexpressing It in speech, writing, power, andaction.

Perfect Intuition in the " Gnostic." Thisis Intuition. He speaks from the Fulnessof Interior All-Knowledge. He " knowethall things." He is a

"Gnostic." He possessesthe " Gnosis."

Development of Intuition. Intuition isdeveloped and perfected by the samemethods as Ekstasis and Initiation, byPrayer and Fasting, by Temptation, Re-nunciation, and Asceticism.Many persons have glimpses of this faculty,and are conscious of possessing it latently.


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28 The True MysticIn some sensitive spiritual minds Intuitionis comparatively a joyous and blessedpossession. This knowledge of the latentpossession of Intuition should encouragethem to seek its Fulness of development.

II. THE HISTORY OF MYSTICISMThe Science of Mysticism. Mysticism is

the science of the Mysteries, and the uni-versal method of approaching the Mysteries.

It has descended from the ages, and hasoften suffered from the decay of the Know-ledge of the Mysteries. In the present daythe idea of the Mysteries has becomegenerally a thing apart from the Mysteries.We rarely find, in writings upon Mysti-cism, much direct reference or appeal to theMysteries, and allusions to the Four Tokensof Mysticism are generally made withoutknowledge of their meaning and purpose.Asceticism, for instance, is deprecated andavoided, as a necessity of Mysticism. It isnot a subject of pleasantness, and manypeople seem to teach a mysticism that knowsno need for it, and views the practice of itamong reputed Mystics of the past as in no


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The History of Mysticism 29way an indication of the rule of Mysticismgenerally, and as a mere question of tasteor expediency. No person likes Asceticism,but those who love and desire the Mysticstate will welcome Asceticism with un-reserved joyfulness. Ekstasis also is anexperience rather deprecated, as a moreor less useless and unusual indulgence indangerous forms of spiritual emotionalism ;whereas in fact it is a necessary factor ofMysticism. For so long a period haveexperiences of the Spiritual plane beenunknown or unheard of, except in formsof psychic phenomena, that good and right-thinking people are afraid to countenanceany kind of experience beyond those per-taining to the five physical senses. Yet theyare obliged to admit that these experiencesare frequently recorded in Holy Scripture,and form some of the principal evidenceson which the Christian Faith is established.But according to these the days are overfor the occurrence of Spiritual experiences.They may occasionally take place, but thenthey are described as

"supernormal

";

whereas the truly normal is the super-normal, and what is " normal " now is in


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3o The True Mystictruth " abnormal." Mysticism restores theright order, and makes that which now isput aside as " supernormal," the " normal "order of life.

Essentials of bona fide Mysticism. Let itbe understood that there is no bona fideMysticism that does not acknowledge beliefin the Mysteries, and in the legitimacy andregularity of the Four Tokens of the Mystic.The Mystic state cannot be attained withoutthe experience of the Four Tokens. Mysti-cism has no other purpose but to lead up tothe Mysteries, and the Mysteries cannot beattained except by the Initiations, and theInitiations are made possible only by theprocesses of Mysticism through the FourTokens of the Mystic.

Nevertheless, even interest in Mysticism,the thought and study of it, enquiry intothe lives and experiences of the Saints whohave generally been included among theMystics, and all approximate attainments ofthe Mystic state, however far short of theperfect attainment of True Mysticism, isan advance, and a hopeful sign that thehuman mind is concerned in the idea of theMystic, for which we may be most thank-


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The History of Mysticism 31ful, and encourage ourselves in the promo-tion of a Mystical Mission.

Catholicity of Mysticism. Mysticism is inthe roots of all humanity the most catholicof all human ideas. It is found in thenegroes of Africa, the aborigines of theAmericas, Mexico, and Australasia. TheOrient is its most ancient and cherished" home." From the East the great Masterssent their Royal Embassy to be the first toacknowledge their Great Master, JesusChrist, the Incarnate Son of God, at HisBirth.

Early Europe and Druidism. From timeimmemorial the Mystic Religion of Druidismwas the cult of the people who were our ownancestors. Druidism was the religion ofBritons, Danes, Norse, Normans, andRomans, all of whom intermixed in thoseearly times and created the British, orAnglo-Saxon race.When the whole of Europe, in those earlydays of Druidic Mysticism, was rising frombarbarism, and evolving in its earlieststages, to become the centre of Westernculture and civilization, the Orient wasshining with the effulgence of an old-


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32 The True Mysticestablished Faith of Mysticism of the purestforms.

Oriental Mysticism. In the OrientalSchools of Mysticism the Mysteries havebeen taught and attained from the earliestknown times, by the same methods as havebeen described, with precisely the sameFour Tokens of the Mystic. The Orient wasclosely associated with the Egyptian andChaldaic Schools, many of whose greatesthistorical teachers journeyed to the East,and learned there the great principles ofMysticism which made early Egypt sofamous, and raised so many great philo-sophers.Beneath the outer crust of Oriental life,the cult of the Mysteries, and the seekingof the Mystic state, are as strongly andausterely followed by more thousands thanthe Western missionaries and residents inIndia have any idea of. To judge of Orientalmysticism from the outside in India is asunfair as to judge of Christianity from theoutside in Europe.Mysticism in thefoundations of all religions.The Tokens of the Mystic, and the Princi-

ples of the Ancient Mysteries, are the same


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The History of Mysticism 33always, and in every place. Time altersthem not, racial differences, language, en-vironment, have never changed nor destroyedone detail of the universal synthesis of theMystical philosophy underlying every re-ligion of the world, and all their varyingsymbolisms and creeds.The Theo-Sophia of Antiquity. The Theo-Sophia of the Mysteries flourished in theOrient no less in ancient days than now.It was contemporary with, and, in fact, thesource of, the Schools of Mystic Philosophyin Chaldaea, Egypt, Greece, and Italy.It has recently been proved that, in theworld's most primitive times, of prehistoricdate, there were important centres of theculture of the Mysteries in Mexico, in Northand South America, in Africa, and in thesubmerged lands now buried beneath thewaters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.Monuments of ancient Mysticism. The

ruins of ancient temples, time-preservedmonuments and inscriptions, unearthed fromthe sand, soil, and waters of waste places,testify to the primitive existence of ancienthierarchies and systems of the universalWisdom-Religion. Even the wonderful


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34 The True Mysticmystical " lore " of the South Africannatives bears strong surviving reminiscencesof the once flourishing and highly culturedWisdom-Religion of their ancient, highlydeveloped ancestors.

Aborigines are the descendants of highlyevolved extinct people. It is a mistake tothink that the aborigines of so-called" barbarian " countries are unevolved, orpartially evolved, peoples, centuries behind-hand in evolution ; or that the so-called" New Continents," and their indigenousinhabitants, are races not far removed inevolution from the " ape." They are, infact, the real " aristocrats " of the world,being the decadent descendants of morehighly evolved and cultured races than existto-day in the most civilized countries.Apart from the knowledge which Mysticismenables us to ascertain to this effect, theabove-mentioned archaeological discoveries,and the testimony of anthropological andmorphological scientists, confirms this state-ment. They tell us that the cranium andbrain of the South African negro are those ofa people of a high degree of evolution, andquite equal to the civilized white races.


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The History of Mysticism 35The Cataclysms, Atlantis and Lemuria.Previous to the great cataclysms ushering

in the " Glacial Period," great continents,where now the waters of the Atlantic andPacific oceans cover their ancient cities andtemples, united the Western and Easternworld. The whole earth was then onehomogeneous whole, until the cataclysmsbroke up the earth-crust, and the oceanicdeluges divided the remainder of the world.

Centuries of coral formation, silting ofsand, soil, and marine garbage, have buriedthese monuments of the past beneath milesof oceanic waters. Under the depths ofdesert sands also, in the African deserts, areburied great cities, like the Greek Pompeii,full of antiquarian interest of like signifi-cance.

The pre-oceanic earth, At that pre-oceanicperiod there was no separation of land-areas. The present oceans and seas anddeserts are entirely of post-cataclysmicorigin, after the earth became " tohu bohu"(" without form and void ") ; and before theforming of the earth as it now exists. Theworld was then intercommunicable in waysunknown to to-day's science. We are now


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36 The True Mysticon the material ascent towards scientificknowledge of the ancient ways of communi-cation, and this century will not concludewithout scientific discovery of a great manytruths which will transcend all that hasbeen unearthed in the centuries that havepassed since the Renaissance and the re-vival of Science.

Separation of the human family. Thecataclysms broke up the earth and separatedthe human family. Each portion of theWisdom-Religion segregated in these humanbranches became a distinct cult and com-munity, and, as time went on, they variedin their exoteric uses, forms, rites, andverba sapientis.

Esoterically the same catholic cult of theMysteries has survived the wrack of time,and remains comparatively intact, anduncorrupted, at the bottom of all the world'sexoteric varieties.Modern Oriental Mysticism. In modern

times the Oriental Schools have kept them-selves very exclusive. Only in the most recenttimes have the facilities of travel andtransportation brought the West and theEast together, while the decadence of the


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The History of Mysticism 37Mysteries in the West made any specialrapprochement between East and West,in mystical things, extremely difficult andthe work of considerable time. The oppo-sition of Western Christianity to Orientalmysticism rendered any fraternizationpractically impossible, until the rise ofTheosophy, and its Western developments,largely opened the way to a closer fellowshipbetween the East and West.The Eastern School is the oldest in

existence, and in it the Ancient Mysteriesare preserved with careful secrecy by theirMasters and Mystics. Only in our own life-time have we come to the discovery of thisancient Worship, and the treasures of the" Gnosis " for so long a time kept guarded andclose-sealed in the Orient. Whilst cautiousand severely reticent to all Western peoplewho show curiosity concerning their occultand mystical teachings, and wisely tolerant ofthe " missionaries " who, in their ignorance,preach the " heathenism " of India ; tosincere seekers after Mystical Truth, theMystics and Teachers of Oriental Mysticismare always frankly open to the enquiry andquest of the Wisdom-Religion.


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38 The True MysticModern Theosophy. Whatever be our

personal opinions concerning much thatgoes by the name of " Theosophy," wemust all acknowledge that the work of thelate esteemed teacher, H. P. Blavatsky,and the labours of many of her successors,have been in the main a dispensation oflight.

Oriental exclusiveness. The exclusivenessof the Orient was not so great in pre-Christian times. When, from the thirdcentury, the Christian Church, under thePapacy, rejected the Mysteries and dis-honoured and persecuted the Mystics, thecleavage between the East and West be-came irreconcilable. Mysticism, whichnever ceased to be cultivated in the East,became a practically forbidden pursuit inthe West.

Hermes. The first historical character ofancient ages, who shone as a Great Masterof the Mysteries, was Hermes, the " Thrice-Greatest," by whom the Sacred Mysteries,and their occult teaching, were establishedin Egypt. From this great Philosopher, notonly the ancient Egyptian Mystery-Religionderived its establishment and general belief,


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The History of Mysticism 39but also all the forms of the Mystery-Religionin the Western world emanated.Much that is counted in these days as

legendary and mythical surrounds the nameof Hermes, the " Divine Pymander." Manylearned people deny that he ever existed,and others hold that he was only a nameapplied to the Egyptian Osiris. There canbe not the slightest doubt that Hermes wasa human and historical personality. Theevidence on record is as strong in favour ofthis assumption as of the historical existenceof Abraham or Moses. Some authoritieshave given the weight of their opinion tothe identity of Hermes with Enoch, men-tioned in the " Book of Genesis," also inthe " Epistle of Jude." Historians havealso associated his name with that ofThothmes, the great King-Hierophant ofEgypt of a period of famous memory inEgypt's greatness. Like others of theworld's Great Masters, Hermes has beenplaced among the legendary " Gods."There are evidences that Hermes so-journed in the Orient, and that the AncientMystery-Religion which he inculcated wasof Oriental origin, receiving its stimulus from


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4o The True Mysticthe Orient. No Great Master that hasappeared to illumine the world with DivineTeaching but has, directly or indirectly,received the teaching of the Mysteries fromthe Eastern Sages, or received their im-primatur. Our Lord Jesus Christ receivedthe homage of the King-Priests of the East,an event of remarkable significance, whichChristian theologians have never properlygrasped. History shows, and will continueto show, that the East has been, and will be,bound up with the religious destinies of theworld.Hermes is the great personage at thebeginning of the world's history and tradi-tion, who laid the foundations of theMystery-Religion in the Western world.The Hermetic philosophy embraces theWisdom of the Mysteries, and their attain-ment by Initiation as the goal of life, theend of human destiny. And it taught theFour Tokens of the Mystic as the system ofpractical attainment.

Pythagoras. Following later in the teach-ing of Hermes, the next prominent schooland cult of the Mysteries is centred in thepersonality of the great scientist and


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The History of Mysticism 41philosopher, Pythagoras. Nothing in writingis supposed to exist directly from his penor dictation. This is due to the fact prob-ably that his method of teaching followedthat of most Masters of esoteric teaching,and was entirely oral. What has survivedof his teaching is to be found in the writingsof his pupils. Pythagoras stands forwardamong Mystical philosophers as the greatestof all scientists. To this day and particu-larly at the present conjuncture of scientificthought Pythagorean scientific philosophyis becoming more and more the philosophyof the modern researcher. And Pythagoras,be it remembered, was a Mystic Philosopher,whose teaching of natural and cosmicalscience he himself derived by mysticalprocesses of intuitive intelligence. ThisGreat Master likewise inculcated in hisstudents the method of Mysticism and theFour Tokens of the Mystic.We need to lay these things to heart, forwe shall see, in due course, that ancientscience and philosophy were the output ofMysticism. All True Science and Philosophythat the world has ever known are thesynthetic knowledge which every Mystic


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42 The True Mysticknows by Intuition. Mystical science ofnature can never be contradicted by thescience of the world, and Mystical Science,as it was originally the foundation of allscience, will yet come to its own as thedetermining and originating factor of modernscientific discovery and attainment.

Greek Mysticism. At the same time thatPythagoras stands in history as the leader ofMystical Science, the ancient Greek philos-ophy of Orpheus and the Eleusinian Mysterieswas strongly in the ascendant, and closelyassociated with Egypt and Italy. This is thewonderful romantic and poetic period ofGreek and Italian ancient philosophy andmysticism. It was the age of the classicalromantic poet Homer, whose poems convey,in the guise of exquisite myth, the SecretDoctrine of the Wisdom - Religion. TheOdyssey and Iliad may well be described asthe " Kabbala " of the Greeks. Also at thisperiod Herodotus wrote his great historicalworks ; and Virgil and other great mysticalwriters, gave to the world, for all time, theirclassics, which to this day entomb the doc-trines of the Wisdom. As " Classics " theyare with us, but as " Mystical literature "


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The History of Mysticism 43no one to-day gives them even passingheed.

Greek Romanticists. These romanticistshanded down in cryptic legendary language,in poesy and history, the Ancient Mysteries,under the veil of parable, myth, legend, andallegory. The Mystic only can interprettheir hidden meaning. Beneath their beautyof diction, their often wild imaginativeness,their heroic grandeur, are the same truths andprinciples, the same science and philosophy,of the Ancient Mysteries, which Hermes andPythagoras taught, and have been thefoundation of all that mankind has knownand practised from the beginning to the endof time. And in these classical works theFour Tokens of the Mystic are denned andinculcated.

Socrates and Plato. Following the Pytha-gorean period, and the age of the Orphicand Eleusinian Mysteries, came the philo-sophical era of Socrates and Plato, pupils ofPythagoras, and exponents of the Hermeticphilosophy. The teaching of these Mysticalphilosophers, and those contemporary withthem, embraced a general system of in-struction on the many questions of science


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44 The True Mysticand philosophy, and the higher teaching ofMystical science and philosophy among themore advanced pupils. Many who crowdedto their Schools were merely devoted to thesolution of curious questions, but many morewere those who resorted to the Schools forknowledge to make them " wise untosalvation," to whom the teachers impartedthe esoteric knowledge of the Gnosis, andtaught them the Secret Doctrine of theMysteries. The Four Tokens of the Mysticwere not wanting in the Socratic andPlatonic philosophy.The Eremitic movement. During thisperiod, and onward for centuries afterChrist, a great Eremitic movement sweptover the world. The fruits of Mysticismwere manifesting in a devout and longingdesire to practise the Four Tokens of theMystic, and to free the life from the ob-structing, hampering, and distracting in-fluences of the world and its environmentand influence. Many thousands of personssought Initiation, and to further their desireresorted to the caves of Northern Egypt andPalestine, and desert places, where the lifeof the world could not intrude upon their


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The History of Mysticism 45meditations and prayers. There they prac-tised the purpose of their espousal, and soughtthe attainment of the Mystic state, by theFour Tokens of the Mystic.

Ascetics and Hermits. This was a remark-able movement of that age. Large com-munities of ascetics and hermits formedthemselves, each choosing one of theirnumber, of holy and noble repute, as theirhead, or Abbot. They practised the socialcommunistic principles always associatedwith Mysticism, and tending towards thatultimate Age of Happiness which Mysticismcounts as one of its " missions " to promote,the adjustment of social and economicconditions without which Mysticism mustend in failure as a generally accepted system.They lived the common life, disowned

the possession of property, placed theirpossessions, and those who were wage-earners, their wages, in the common treasury,labouring each for the needs of all, thatnone of the community might not be equallyas happy and well-provided as themselves,so far as simplicity of life demanded fitprovision. They practised purity, poverty,chastity, and benevolence. They likewise


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46 The True Mysticexercised the Gift of Spiritual Healing.Moreover they were" diligent in propagatingthe Mystic Faith, sending forth theirInitiates, in the Spirit of Prophecy and ofthe power to heal the sick and succourthe afflicted, into the world outside, toteach and benefit mankind. Many of thesestrenuous souls attained such high gifts andqualities of Spirit, that thousands journeyedto their caves and cells and desert hiding-places, to receive Wisdom and Counsel,Healing and Grace.The Therapeutce and Essenes. On accountof their healing work these communities

received the popular name of " Thera-peutce " in Egypt, and " Essenes " inPalestine, both terms being the vernacularfor " Healers." From the earliest timesthese communities abounded in Egypt andPalestine. The river Jordan was a favouriteplace for centres of such communities.Most of them consisted of Hebrews,drawn out of the official Hebrew Churchthrough the decay of the Mosaic Faithso far back as the reign of Solomon, andmore especially after the Babylonian exile.These large assemblages of Mystical Jews


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The History of Mysticism 47held firmly to the Esoteric Mysticismof Abraham and Moses, which the latterimparted to his followers in the wildernessin the Inner Circle of Israel. After thebeginning of the Kingdom of Israel underhuman kingship, the Esoteric Faith ceasedto be taught and practised by the officialpriesthood, and it sank out of memory, tobe revived for a brief time by one or anotherdevoted king, such as Josiah and Hezekiah.During this time of darkness and degeneracyfrom the Covenant of God, the Light of theMysteries was kept alive in the

" Schools ofthe Prophets," communities of Mystics whopractised the principles of Mysticism, andpreserved the Esoteric Faith. These werethe earlier pioneers of the later communitiesof the Therapeutae and Essenes. To thembelonged the line of the Prophets, amongwhom were Samuel, Ahijah, Elijah, Elisha,Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.The Essenes in Palestine. At the time ofthe Birth of Jesus Christ the Essenes wereestablished in several large communities inthe country of Palestine. Noted centreswere at Carmel, Nazareth, Samaria, andEn-geddi on the Jordan. They differed


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48 The True Mysticlittle from the Egyptian Therapeutae, andboth were in communion with the Persian" Magi " and the Oriental Mystics. Thedisciples of our Lord were of the Essenes,and Jesus Himself, His father and mother,also were Essenes. The membership of theEssene Brotherhood was so secretly keptthat many of the priests and Pharisees wereEssenes. At the time Jesus was born thewhole Mystic Fraternity from Egypt andGreece, to the farthest East, were expectingthe Birth of Jesus Christ, the Great Master,and

"waiting for the consolation of Israel."John Baptist. Every characteristic of

John the Baptist, his life and personality,his asceticism, his desert-abode, and hispractice of the Mystic Rite of Baptism,proclaimed him an Essene and an Initiateof the Mysteries. From the Essenes hetook his commission as the pre-MessianicProphet and Witness of the coming GreatMaster. Joseph and Mary were likewiseMystics of the Essene Fraternity, bothbeing " virgins," the Mystical term denotingan Initiate, or one who has purified himself,and become the Temple of God by Initiationand the Four Tokens of the Mystic. Jesus


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The History of Mysticism 49taught nothing " new " in His Message andMinistry. He taught that which was knownby all Essenes, practised by them, andpropagated by them. This accounts for thegeneral rallying of the people to Him whenHe commenced His Ministry, and for theremarkable success of His Apostles afterHis Ascension and the descent of the HolySpirit upon them at Pentecost. The Essenesknew well, and had taught well, the Mysticalsignificance of the Passion, Death, Burial,Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ.Therefore the people flocked into His Churchafter the day of Pentecost.The " Diaspora." Mention must be madeof one remarkable fact of these ages, viz.that the Hebrews, especially those of the" Diaspora," or Dispersion, mainly were thepeoplewhoformedthecommunitiesofAsceticsand Hermits, the Therapeutae and Essenes.The decay of Hebrew Mysticism. Afterthe decay of the Esoteric Faith of Abrahamand Moses, in the Hebrew nation, caused bythe insistence of the people in having atemporal king, like other nations, therebyrenouncing the faith and obedience of God,through His priests and prophets in the


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50 The True MysticDivine Hierarchy ; the oral teaching of theMysteries carried out by Moses to the InnerCircle of the Congregation ceased to beemployed. The nation became more tem-poral, worldly, and imspiritual. They failedeven under Joshua to purify the countrywhich God had chosen for them, and ledthem into. By this failure, and theiremulation of the conditions of the nationsaround, they opened the door to the intru-sion of false, superstitious, and depravedpaganism which had corrupted the once pureFaiths of the Canaanites and Phoenicians.The faithful Hebrews then retired into

secret communities, conserving the HolyMysteries, and practising the Faith, undertheir Masters and Initiates, from which theProphets came forth at various periods towarn the people and their rulers, and toteach and comfort the faithful.

Oral teaching of the Hebrew Mysteries.The oral teaching of Moses and the " Teach-ing Priesthood " of the Temple was the sameMystery-Religion of Hermes, taught in theSchools of Egypt. In these Schools Moseswas trained and instructed, and became" learned in all the Wisdom of Egypt."


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The History of Mysticism 51Abraham, the founder of Israel, was himselfa Priest of the Mysteries in the ChaldaeanSchool, from whence he was drawn forth tocarry out his mission as the " father " of theChosen People, from whom the Great Master,Jesus Christ, eventually was to be born.Abraham and Moses. Abraham handeddown the oral teaching of the EsotericMysteries to his descendants, and Mosescontinued the same teaching. The wilder-ness-journey was symbolical of the MysticWay, as the life of Jesus Christ at a laterperiod gave the same symbolization.The " Law " exoteric. In the Pentateuchis embodied the " Law of Moses," whichconsists of a compendium of " exoteric "teaching and legislation, connected bothwith the Mysteries, their earthly mediariesin the sacrificial and sacerdotal system, andwith the social and domestic order andregulation of community life.The " Prophets " esoteric. The " esoteric "teaching of the Mysteries is contained in the"Prophets," and was given to the Congre-gation of Initiates and disciples orally and

in secret. These teachings were handed downand transmitted in the Order of the Priest-


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52 The True Mystichood and Prophets, from generation togeneration. The Holy Scriptures do notcontain this oral teaching. It was notcommitted to writing till a later date inHebrew history than the books of the Pen-tateuch and most of the Prophetic writings.The " Kaballa." Not until some centuriesafter Christ was this oral teaching com-mitted to writing in the ancient Hebrewuncials. So carefully was this transcriptioneffected by the employment of glyphs andsymbols, numerical and geometrical signs,that practically the whole of the SecretDoctrine was preserved to the Initiates,who alone were competent to decipher andinterpret them.These ancient Hebraic writings were calledthe

" Kaballa." Until quite recently theyhave been almost inaccessible to Europeanstudents. It is interesting to note that inthe year 1912 the " Kaballa " was translatedverbatim in the French language. A mostuseful and informing book by ProfessorAbelson, published by the

"Quest Society,"entitled " Hebrew Mysticism," throws newand important light on the Mysticism of the" Kaballa."


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The History of Mysticism 53The " Talmud." Following the compila-

tion of the secret doctrine of the Mysteriesin the Kaballa, a series of " Commentaries "on the Kaballic doctrine was compiled,forming a " text-book " on the HebrewMystic Teaching, and treated with greatreverence amongst the Jews to this day.This compilation is called the " Talmud."In the Talmud the teaching is fully Mystical.In both the Kaballa and the Talmudcontaining the Esoteric Faith of Abrahamand Moses the doctrines of Pre-existenceand Reincarnation are prominently set forth.In fact, the whole content of cosmogony ofthe Kaballa presupposes these doctrines.Professor Abelson, the most able and learnedof Hebrew exponents of the Kaballa andTalmud, mentions this fact, which is themore interesting when we remember thatJesus and the Apostles were taught in thedoctrines of the Kaballa and Talmud, there-by indicating the fact that they believedand taught the doctrines of Pre-existenceand Reincarnation. Paul's doctrine ofPredestination has only one possible inter-pretation, in the idea of Pre-existence andReincarnation, as taught in the authorita-


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54 The True Mystictive doctrines of the Hebrew Faith, of whichPaul was a profound exponent.Both these ancient works show clearlythat the Hebrew Faith, the Faith of Abra-ham and Moses, embodied in them, is thesame Mystery-Religion of the ancient world,of the Orient, of Chaldaea, Egypt, Greece,and Italy, and of the prehistoric peoplesand hierarchies now for ages extinct, exceptin their late survivors among the " abori-gines " of the old continents of the pre-Glacial period.

Only One Catholic Religion. There is, andeternally has been, Only One True Religionunder the sim the Religion, the OneTheo-Sophia, which Mysticism representsand inculcates that Religion which one day.God willing, will be restored to our present-day denuded and depleted Christianity.III. THE MYSTICISM OF JESUS CHRIST AND

HIS APOSTLESI will in this lecture touch very brieflyon the Mysticism of Jesus Christ and the

Apostles, as in my next lecture I shall speakmore fully of the Historical and the MysticalChrist.


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The Mysticism of Jesus Christ 55What I desire now to show to you is thatJesus was a Teacher of the Ancient Mystery-

Religion which I have traced down the agesfrom the beginning of time ; that He Him-self in the flesh attained the Mysteries, andpractised and taught the Four Tokens ofthe Mystic.The Birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christwas born of Joseph and Mary, both of whomwere " Virgins," or pure Initiates of theMystery-Religion, under the Essene rule.Both came to birth from a long line ofhereditary

"Virginity," and therefore werefit mediaries of the "Seed" of the Son of

God Most High for natural generation." Virgin-Birth." In our present state ofChristian ignorance and superstitious be-liefs concerning the Mystical idea of " Vir-ginity

"of birth, we have become accustomedfor centuries to think that the " Virginity "

of Mary was a physical and sexual virginity,and that Joseph had no procreative sharein the birth of Jesus. " Virginity " of birthis purely a Mystical term denoting nothingof a unique or

" miraculous " nature ofconception. Virginity is the state of con-ceptual and procreative conditions that all


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56 The True Mysticmankind normally should enjoy, and whichMysticism will restore, so that " immaculateconceptions," through pure Virginity of menand women in Marriage, shall become general.The Mystery-Life of Jesus Christ. TheLife of Jesus Christ was a life of Mystery ;i.e., His Life-Epochs are symbolical of theLife-Epochs, or Initiations, of the Mystic.The Life-Epochs of Jesus Christ were thesame Seven Mystery-experiences of theMystic's Initiations :

(1) BIRTH. (4) DEATH.(2) BAPTISM. (5) BURIAL.(3) PASSION. (6) RESURRECTION.

(7) ASCENSION.The early Fathers, to the time of Augus-

tine, spoke of Initiation in the Mysteries ofChrist as definite experiences, associatedwith the Seven Sacraments. Every Mysticwill tell you that the Seven Epochs of theLife of Jesus Christ are the Seven Steps, orGates, of the Mystic Way, severally passed inInitiations, to reach the " Sabbath " state ofRest, the

"Session at the Right Hand of God,"or the " Unio Mystica," sometimes termed

the " Divine Marriage."


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1. BIRTH.

IV.V.

BAPTISM.PASSION.

The Mysticism of Jesus Christ 57The Seven Golden Keys of the Seven Gatesof the Mystic Path. The Mystic Path hasbeen shown to have Seven Gates of Initia-

tion, marked by the Seven Life-Epochs ofthe Life of the Lord Jesus Christ. EachGate has a Golden Key, the attainment ofwhich opens the Gate to the faithful Disciple.The Golden Keys are these :

The Golden Key SELF-ABNE-GATION.

,, EQUILIBRIUM.INSENSI-BILITY, or In-difference topleasure orpain.

,, DETACHMENT.DETERMINA-TION, or Per-severance.KNOWLEDGE IGNOSIS.SABBATH :REST, or Ses-sion at theRight Handof God.

DEATH.BURIAL.

VI. RESURRECTION.Vll. ASCENSION.


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58 The True MyshcJesus Christ, for His own body's sake, andfor the Redemption of the bodies of all

humanity, entered into these Gates ofInitiation, and qualified to enter by theattainment of the Seven Golden Keys. As" Captain of our Salvation " He passed the"Ordeals," endured the " Temptations,"and was Crowned the Conqueror of

Death. " Christ died for us, leaving usan Example, that we should FOLLOWHIS STEPS."Apostolical Mysticism. The Apostolical

teaching unfolds the Mystical purpose of theMaster, Jesus Christ. John, Peter, andPaul speak as with one voice of the Mysteriesof the Kingdom, and the Way of theirattainment. In his Epistles Paul makesfrequent use of the term " Mystery." Suchan expression, among numerous otherMystical terms found so repeatedly in theApostolical writings, is of the greatestsignificance. In the days they were writtenthese terms belonged only to the tech-nology of Mysticism, and gave the Mysticsign to their writers, as Masonic terms andexpressions found in certain literary worksto-day point to their Masonic authorship.


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The Mysticism of Jesus Christ 59Paul speaks technically of Mysticism asfollows :

" Unto me was this Grace given, topreach unto the Gentiles the unsearchableriches of Christ, and to make all men seewhat is the dispensation of the Mysterywhich from all ages hath been hid in GodWho created all things."Pauline doctrine of Mysticism. Already

I have shown that this Mystery of Mysteriesis the same that has been the search andquest of Mystics and Saints, in all ages, andin all parts of the world. It is no monopolyof any one religion. No religion claims orholds exclusive copyright and entail of theSacred Mysteries.The " Mystery " which the Apostle de-clared he was called to make known, ofwhich the Master gave command to all HisApostles to " make disciples " in " all theworld," " of every creature," is the Mysteryof Christ which embraces the Seven Gatesof the Mystic Way.These Seven Gates are Seven graduatedSteps of Initiation and attainment, won bythe Four Tokens of the Mystic Asceticism,


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60 The True MysticEkstasis, Initiation, and Intuition. Themost elementary knowledge of Mysticismwill enable us to detect Paul's Mysticmeaning. He speaks of being :(a) "Baptized into Christ'' BAPTISM.(b) " Suffering with Christ" PASSION.(c) " Crucified with Christ " DEATH.(d)

" Buried with Christ " BURIAL.(e)

" Raised with Christ " RESURRECTION.(f)

" Ascended with Christ " ( ASCENSION \ R(g) "Seated with Christ " I SESSION /These applications of the Life-Epochs ofChrist to the Disciples of Christ are referred

to as definite and distinct experiences ofthe body and soul in this life. No sanctionis found in any part of the Scriptures for a" vicarious " or " substitutionary " experi-ence of the same by Christ only, and imputedto the believer.The purpose of the Incarnation of Jesus

Christ. We thus may comprehend that theSupreme Divine Mediator incarnated in ourfallen and corruptible flesh, the commonflesh of fallen humanity ; that He partookof the abnormal, mortal, and sufferingnature of " His Brethren," was Tempted,


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The Mysticism of Jesus Christ 61Suffered, Died, was Buried, Descended intoHades, was Raised from the dead, Ascendedinto Heaven, and Sat down on the RightHand of God, "from henceforth waitinguntil His enemies be made His footstool."The Via Dolorosa. Traversing the " ViaDolorosa " alone, on His Own account as oneof fallen mankind, and on behalf of man-kind, He opened and entered each Gate ofthe Path.Through each of the Seven Gates His

Disciples individually must pass, that theirpersonal At-Onement may be sealed in eachDegree of the Mysteries, by Initiation.

In passing each of the Seven Gates the" Twelve Labours of Heracles " must be per-formed, the " Sisyphean Task " fulfilled,not once only, but Four Times, for thePurifying and Liberating of the FourNatures Body, Mind, Soul, and Spirit.We see the real purpose of the Incarnationof the Son of God, to restore this fallenearth to union with God, and with theCosmos ; to " make Propitiation," or "At-Onement."

The Redeeming of the body. The In-carnation of Jesus Christ had special refer-


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62 The True Mysticence to the " body," in which the souls ofall creatures are imprisoned in corruptmatter. The body is the " dead-weight " ofall creatures, from man downwards in thescale of creation. Animals of all speciessuffer this soul-imprisonment, even morematerially than do human beings. The sinof man, and its consequences, have fallenmore acutely on these innocent creaturesthan on ourselves, who, in the beginning,were personally partakers in, and responsiblefor, the Fall, and all the Evil it has broughtupon creation.

Immortality. This " dead-weight " of Sinand Corruption drags us down, and sinksus earthward, when we naturally should riseheavenward. We have lost our "Immor-tality," and become the creatures of"Mortality," from the time that "Sinentered into the world," and " Death by Sin."Our bodies have become " bodies of death."The Christ incarnated that He might " bringLife and Immortality to light."

Mortality. The body is an intrinsic partof the creature-organism. It is not themere earthly " shell " that is cast off atdeath, like the shell of a mollusc, or that of


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The Mysticism of Jesus Christ 63a nut. A being, in all states of existence,is an incomplete organism if he is soulwithout body. " Mortality " has seizedupon his being at his reincarnation, and hecan only be made immortal by Redemptionand Regeneration. Until the body isRegenerated, as well as the soul, and therebyRedeemed, it remains mortal, and cannothave Eternal Life, nor abide in the spheresof Immortality. To attain Eternal Life andImmortality, a being must " Follow in theSteps of Christ " to the Mystical Gate ofResurrection, and Regenerate his body, asChrist Redeemed and Regenerated His body,by the Christ in Him. For all men havethe Christ in them, needing to be " quick-ened " and "formed" in them. It is theChrist in them that is the RegeneratingPower.

Until the " body " has been Redeemedfrom " mortality," man and beast aredoomed to reincarnate continually, thebeing alternating between the life here andthe life beyond, fluctuating and restlesssouls, longing for Paradise and Rest, butperpetually frustrated by the mortal ele-ments persisting in the flesh, chaining them


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64 The True Mysticto the earth. By Mysticism, therefore, aman not only frees himself from " mortality,"but from reincarnation. Once Mystically" Dead," he " dieth no more," " death hathno more dominion over him," for he re-incarnates no more.

The Mystery of Christ in the flesh. Forthe sake of Redeeming man's body, and sosaving his soul, the Christ Himself incarnatedin mortal flesh, and, by the Christ in Hismortal flesh, He Redeemed it. He destroyeddeath in His flesh, by the Christ in Hismortal flesh, suffering, dying, buried, raised,and glorified in the flesh. It is the sameChrist in the flesh, the same " Mystery, ofChrist in you, the Hope of Glory," that willRedeem you and me in the flesh, by the sameSevenfold Mystery of Mysteries.No more death. The reward of theMystic is, that, dying, he dies no more.He returns no more to the earth, or re-incarnates, for the sake of his own Redemp-tion. He has fulfilled all that his reincarna-tions required of him. He has Redeemedhis body from mortality, and broken awayfrom the " dead-weight " of matter whichheld him bound to the earth.


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The Mysticism of Jesus Christ 65The Restitution of all things. In his longhome in Paradise he is waiting, with all the" Blessed dead," who have Redeemed

themselves from mortality, for the " Re-stitution of all things," the Redemption of" the whole creation which groaneth andtravaileth together with humanity, waiting forthe Adoption, to wit, the Redemption of thebody."

END OF FIRST LECTURE


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SECOND LECTUREMYSTICISM OF THE PRESENT

I. ALEXANDRIAN MYSTICISM AND GNOSTICISMIN the preceding lecture the fact was pointedout that the early Mysticism of Egypt,which became an established Cult throughthe propagation of the Hermetic and Pytha-gorean Philosophy, was largely a Hebrewdevelopment, after the decay of the Esoteric"Law of Moses " and the " Faith of Abra-ham." The Hebrews who remained faithfulto the "Law and the Prophets," maintainedthe Faith in exile in Egypt, and in the wil-derness security of the Essene communitiesof Palestine.Through the combined influences of Greekand Italian philosophy, the teachings of

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and other greatphilosophical Mystics, and of the HebrewMysticism, later embodied in the " Kaballa,"a powerful and influential eclectic School, orUniversity, of Mystical Philosophy grew up

66


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Alexandrian Mysticism and Gnosticism 67in the great City of learning, built by Alex-ander the Great as a Centre of Learning inhis world-empire, Alexandria.

Alexander the Great. Alexander, whoseconquest of Egypt raised him to the suprememonarchy of the Western world, himselfbecame an Initiate. The dream of his lifewas the notable one of uniting corporatelythe Mystical Schools of the East and the West.He saw, as many in this day are seeing, thatthe Faith of the Mysteries was the same inthe Orient as in the Occident, and that thisFaith was the Divine and natural focal centreof unity in the world. To create a world-hierarchy was his dream. In order to ac-complish it, the world must be conqueredby force of arms, the antagonism of ignorantand superstitious people, forming the thickouter crust of society everywhere, must besubjugated. The kernel of society, thepeople who were awakened to the Mysteries,the pure and holy Mystics and Saints, whomhe recognized as the " salt of the earth," mustgain the ascendancy in the world-polity,and be drawn from obscurity and seclusion,and united in fellowship, for the Regenera-tion of the world. Therefore he set forth to


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68 The True Mysticconquer the East. To unite Alexandria withthe central seat of Oriental learning, so togirdle the world with the One Faith of theMysteries, this was his dream, his greatenterprise. How nearly he succeeded !But on his great expedition to the conquestof India he died ; and so his great dream wasunfulfilled. Yet it was a true dream, onlythe time of its fulfilment was not yet. Itstill awaits it, and the present day, theBritish occupation of India, the open water-way and land-way, and the free inter-course between Orient and Occident, haveprepared the way for this dream of Mys-tical unity between the Mystery-Religion ofthe East and the Mystery-Religion of theWest.Alexandrian Gnosticism. The Alexan-drian development of Mystical philosophy

led to the amalgamation of Oriental, Egyp-tian, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew Mysticism.Alexandria became the greatest metro-politan Seat of Learning in the world, ofan international Cult of Divine Wisdom andPhilosophy, under the name of " GNOS-TICISM." Initiates, Masters, and philoso-phers of this world-embracing School of


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Alexandrian Mysticism and Gnosticism 69the Mysteries were denominated " Gnostics,"or, people who know. They taught with the" authority " of Intuitive Knowledge, " andnot as the Scribes," whose knowledge was" book-learning " and merely intellectualism,In the early days of Gnosticism the Mysteriesand the Gnosis were purely and powerfullytaught, orally, in the many Schools ofMasters and Philosophers at Alexandria.The city grew to be a great University ofMysticism, and students flocked to it fromall parts of the world,

Degenerate and Pseudo-Gnosticism. Asalmost invariably happens in connectionwith highly spiritual and occult movements,discredit is brought upon them by the influxof false professors of the pure teaching andpractice, and their exploitation of the powersof occultism to ulterior and often evil ends.So, in the case of Alexandrian Gnosticism,many spurious, injudicious, distorted, or falsedoctrines and practices came into vogue.Strange and sensational perversions of theGnosis, wild and pernicious heresies andoccult practices, perverted the Secret Doc-trine. Many were deceived and corruptedby the occult manifestations of " Black


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7O The True MysticMagic," simulating the psychic and spiritualphenomena of the Pure " White Magic " ofthe true Gnostic Mystics. They departedfrom the Faith of Mysticism, led away togross thaumaturgical rites and doctrines,and magical arts, and fell into the snare ofastral necromancy and demoniacal divina-tion, forming many " sects " of spuriousphilosophy, which they scrupled not tolabel with the same term, " Gnosticism."This evil encroachment of the " BlackMagic," astral Gnosticism, ultimately causedthe philosophers of the true Gnosticism toteach and practise the Faith in secrecy.Finally, after continuing for a time in theAlexandrian Schools, the false Gnosticismhaving gained greater ascendancy, the trueGnosticism, after a period of grievous perse-cution and trouble, ended in almost totalextinction in Alexandria, when most of theirInitiates and Masters were put to death, andthe rest disappeared, with their valuableliterary treasures and archives.

Alexandria, the Seat of Mysticism. Tryto picture in your minds this wonderful cityand country of the prehistoric Faith of theChrist-Logos, whose primeval Mystery-


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Alexandrian Mysticism and Gnosticism 71Wisdom was memorialized and taught inthe greatest monument of Mystical Masonrythe world still has kept preserved for ourwonder and perplexity the PYRAMIDand SPHINX. To-day the scientist andarcheologist are only beginning to pierce thegreat Mystery veiled in these marvellousstructures. The Mysticism of the Gnosticswas the identical knowledge and practice ofthe Mysteries secreted in the dimensions andinterior construction of these venerablepiles of prehistoric origin.

Picture thisgreat cosmopolitan Univer-sity, containing most of the virile intellectand spirituality of the noblest age of in-

tellectuality and spirituality, of Jews andGreeks and Egyptians, Persians, Orientals,Italians, and people from the scattered racesof Africa and the Far West ; the crowds ofmen and women, and boys and girls, drawnto Mysticism, flocking to Alexandria, andfilling the auditoria of the Schools, drinkingthe Gnosis hungrily a cosmopolitan multi-tude of earnest thinking souls, eager to treadthe Path of the Cross, the Mystic Way of theChrist, hailing from the four quarters of theworld ; all this wonderful Mystical activity


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72 The True Mysticbefore the birth of Christ, and the era ofChristianity !The Roman Empire. We now come to theperiod of the Roman conquest, the age of theCaesars. The Golden Day of Greece, itsMysticism and culture, has waned, and thegrey dawn of the Iron Day of Rome swallowsup the horizon in gloomy clouds of darkportent. Egypt and Greece, after Alex-ander's death, were breaking up. Theancient regime that fostered the nobletraditions and philosophy of Hermes,Pythagoras, and Moses was rapidly indecline. Terrible events were looming,already foreseen by the Alexandrian Mystics.The crisis of Gnosticism. In this transi-tional hour, behind the imminent tragedy,the Mystics remained calm and unperturbed,as Mystics always are, whatever befalls inthe circumstances of life. They knew thatthe very events that were to bring disasterto their temporal destinies were that seriesof occurrences which Mystical foreknowledgeand prophecy foresaw, but did not seek toavert. They recognized in them the signalof a New Age, a " Dispensation " of time,when the Gnosis was to take a new departure

Documents

The True Mystic, Holden Sampson (1914)