The Unconditional Renunciation of our Personal Self

THE word magic is largely misunderstood, because there are various kinds of so-called magic, much of which is deception and trickery.

But there is a magic which might be called the unseen and hidden power to bring to pass certain desired results, without revealing its methods. It is called intention.

Its successful use requires a knowledge far beyond any kind of trickery, and is based on an innate spiritual force in man and nature.

Those who practiced it in ancient times were the initiates, the wise, called Magi — the source of the word magic.

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It is relatively easy to learn tricks and spells, Mme. Blavatsky writes, “and the methods of using the subtler, but still material, forces of physical nature.”

The force of selfish human desire awakens darker powers, Theosophy says. Unless the motive is pure, destructive passions are often aroused, and even unconsciously will do harm to others and to nature.

In the article Practical Occultism, H. P. Blavatsky warns of this: “it is the motive alone which makes any exercise of power become black, malignant, or white, beneficent Magic,” she writes, “and unless the intention is entirely unalloyed…

“the spiritual will transform itself into the psychic, act on the astral plane, and dire results may be produced by it.”

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“It is impossible to employ spiritual forces, she maintains, “if there is the slightest tinge of selfishness [or separateness] remaining in the operator.”

Zen Samurai

“Sow a Thought, Reap an Act;
Sow an Act, Reap a Habit;
Sow a Habit, Reap a Character;
Sow a Character, Reap a Destiny.”

-Upanishads

Spiritual Knowledge

“Cut asunder with the sword of spiritual knowledge,
this doubt which existeth in thy heart.”

 – Krishna, (Bhagavad-Gita, Ch. IV)

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Karma and Intent

Excerpts from Occultism
by H. P. Blavatsky

“The powers and forces of animal nature can equally be used by the selfish and revengeful, as by the unselfish and the all-forgiving.

“The powers and forces of spirit lend themselves only to the perfectly pure in heart, and this is DIVINE MAGIC.”

“In reality, there is no such thing as ‘Separateness’ — and the nearest approach to that selfish state, which the laws of life permit, is in the intent or motive.”

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“It is an occult law, moreover, that no man can rise superior to his individual failings, without lifting, be it ever so little, the whole body of which he is an integral part. In the same way, no one can sin, nor suffer the effects of sin, alone.”

“True occultism or theosophy is the ‘great renunciation of SELF,’ unconditionally and absolutely, in thought as in action.”

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“And, although it is the intention that decides primarily whether white or black magic is exercised, yet the results even of involuntary, unconscious sorcery cannot fail to be productive of bad karma.”

“It is altruism, not egoism even in its most legal and noble conception, that can lead the unit to merge its little self in the universal selves.

“It is to these needs and to this work that the true disciple of true occultism has to devote himself, if he would obtain theo-sophy, divine wisdom and knowledge.”

A Force in Nature

Mind Control

As with any spiritual work, controlling the thought-producing mind is the first step. The necessity of discerning reality from illusion, is taught in the Voice of the Silence.

And recognizing the false superiority of matter and form, sensing instead the energy and reality of consciousness.

“Having become indifferent to objects of perception,

the pupil must seek out the rajah of the senses, the Thought-Producer, he who awakes illusion.”

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“The Mind is the great Slayer of the Real,” repeats the Voice: “Let the Disciple slay the Slayer”— because it is our minds that create our illusions.

Awakenings

Gradual awakenings are a hallmark of H. P. Blavatsky’s teachings in The Secret Doctrine. “As we rise in the scale of development we perceive that during the stages through which we have passed,” she writes, “we mistook shadows for realities.”

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“… and the upward progress of the Ego is a series of progressive awakenings, each advance bringing with it the idea that now, at last, we have reached ‘reality.'”

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“But only when we shall have reached the Absolute Consciousness, and blended our own with it, shall we be free from the delusions produced by illusion.”

Intent to Heal

Centers of Attraction

But what practical measures can we take to achieve freedom from delusion? An example of the popular idiom “be careful what you ask for” is the law of attraction, described first in the article Karma, by William Q. Judge:

Directing our mind to the physical world and desires, he warns, “a ‘fire’ or centre of attraction, is set up there, in order to feed and fatten it.”

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“The energies of the whole upper plane [intentions] are drawn down and exhausted in supplying the need of energy which exists below due to the indulgence of sense gratification.”

If 0ur energy is centered instead in our highest intentions, “then all the needed energy goes there,” he says, “to result in increase of spirituality.”

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“It must be remembered that Nature is all bountiful and withholds not her hand. The demand is made, and the supply will come.”

“Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometime in your life, you will have been all of these.”

~ Gautama Buddha