Chapter IV: The Virtue of the Physician (3)

Forever the truth shines in the eternal kingdom of Light but the world of mind wherein our terrestrial nature moves, has its astrological laws, comparable to those that rule in the visible world and are known to astronomy. As the earth recedes from the sun in winter time and approaches it in the summer, so the spiritual evolution of man has its periods of spiritual enlightenment and of mental darkness, and there are little periods within the large periods, as here are days and nights in the year. Man, whether considered as representing humanity as a whole, a nation a people, a family, or an individual, resembles a planet revolving around its own axis between the two poles of birth and decay. That which is uppermost turns down and that which is below rises again to the surface. Truths disappear and are forgotten only to reappear again embodied in new and perhaps improved forms. Civilizations, systems of philosophy, religion and science come and go and come again, the absurdities of fashion that have been the pride of our parents and were laughed at by us become again the objects of admiration for our children, and the forgotten wisdom of the past will be again the wisdom of future generations. Thus the wheel would ever revolve in a circle, there would be no progress and no object of life, if the presence of the eternal sun of Divine Wisdom acting upon the centre of the wheel did not attract it towards itself and thus in the course of ages gradually transform the circular motion into a spiral gyration. At every turn of the great wheel its axis moves imperceptibly a little nearer to the source of all Life, although every period of evolution begins again at the foot of the ladder. The ladder upon which we are climbing stands perhaps upon a little higher ground than the one upon which our ancestors climbed, or which we climbed ourselves during previous incarnations; but there are many steps upon it which our forefathers have ascended and which we shall have to reach. The science of medicine forms no exception to this general rule, and we may safely assert that _the system of medicine of Theophrastus Paracelsus, in its recognition of fundamental laws of nature is of such a high character that it will be for the medical science of the coming centuries to grow up to its understanding_, nor will this advance in science be possible without a corresponding development, and this development will be inaugurated by a correct conception of the constitution of man.

While modern medical science has become degraded almost into a mere trade, flourishing under the protection of its self-interests which it receives from Governments, the medicine of the ancients was a holy art, requiring no artificial protection, because, standing upon its own merit, it rested upon its own success. The adept-physicians of the past performed cures which whenever exceptionally performed at present are called miraculous, and their possibility is denied by the majority of the learned; because they are not in possession of the spiritual powers required for their accomplishment, and consequently cannot conceive of the existence of such powers. Where is the physician of the present day who knows the extent of the power of the spiritually-awakened will acting at a distance of thousands of miles, or the power which human thought can exercise over the imagination of nature? Where is the professor of science who can consciously transfer his soul to a distant place by the power of thought and act there as if he were bodily present? The proof that these things have been done and are done even now is established as much as any other fact resting upon observation and logic; nevertheless it is popularly considered “scientific” to deny such facts and to treat the theory which explains them with contempt. The finer forces of nature are so thoroughly unknown to gross material minds that to mention their existence raises a roar of merriment among those who, being ignorant of the extent of the powers hidden in the constitution of man, require a sledge-hammer to kill a fly and a cannon to shoot at a sparrow.

While the eyes of material science are directed downwards, seeking within the bowels of matter and finding only perishing treasures, the sentimental idealist revels in dreams without substance. Being habituated to objective contemplation, the idealist obtains nothing real; for keeping distant from the object of his research for the purpose of seeing it objectively, he prevents himself from becoming identified with that object, and he cannot have any self-knowledge of that which he is not himself. Neither can the materialist who denies the existence of Spirit in the universe have any real knowledge, for he ignores that which alone is real and deals only with the relations existing between phenomena which the unknown spirit produces. Real knowledge such as is the product not of mere knowing, but of _becoming_, ought to be the basis of all true science. This it is which constitutes that _Theosophia or Self-recognition of Truth_, which will be the guiding star of the physician in the future as it has been in the past.

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FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: _Jacob Boehme_ says: “If an essence (a form of will-substance) enters into another whose nature is of a different character, an antagonism is created and a strife for supremacy ensues. One quality disrupts the other, which ultimately causes the death of the form; for whatever is not in harmony cannot live eternally; but whatever is in perfect harmony has no elements of destruction within itself; for in such an organism all the elements love each other, and love is the creator and preserver of life.”—“Mysterium magnum,” xxi. 5.]

[Footnote 2: Let it be clearly understood that by using the term “religious” we do not refer to any of the existing systems of religious doctrines or forms of worship; but to the spiritual recognition of divine truth.]

[Footnote 3: The order here adopted is to facilitate the comparison with the above given classification; the planets not being stationary, but shifting their positions and significations according to the aspects we take.]

[Footnote 4: Even of his cotemporaneous disciples there were few capable of grasping his ideas and of leading the life necessary for that purpose. He says: “Twenty-one of my servants have become victims of the executioner (the spirit of this world); Gode may help them! Only a few have thus far remained with me.” (“Defensio,” VI.)]

[Footnote 5: See “The Life of Theophrastus Paracelsus,” London, 1887.]

[Footnote 6: This is not correct; Paracelsus says: “The anatomy of man is twofold. One aspect consists in dissecting the body, so as to find out the position of its bones, muscles, veins, &c.; but this is the least important; the other is more important, and means to introduce a new life into the human organism; to see the transmutations taking place therein, to know what the blood is and what kind of {symbol}, {symbol} and {symbol} (Sulphur, Salt and Mercury) it contains.” (“Paramirum,” Lib. I. Cap. 6.)]

[Footnote 7: Prof. Rud. Virchow’s lecture on Pathology, delivered in London, March 6th, 1893.]

[Footnote 8: The word “contemplation”—from _con_=with, and _templum_=temple—means evidently not mere objective observation, but an indwelling in the same temple with the truth which is to be known, an identification of subject and object in the light of divine wisdom, the temple of truth. The attainment of knowledge by such a contemplation is only possible for those whose spiritual perception is open. A blind person may dwell forever in the temple of truth without being able to know it. To those who by an unfoldment of their spirituality have attained this power of contemplation, its sufficiency for the attainment of spiritual knowledge is self-evident and requires no arguments. Those who do not possess this power will find it difficult to understand the meaning of this term, and suppose it to be imagination.]

[Footnote 9: Herder.]

[Footnote 10: Only very recently in the courts of Vienna during a sensational trial in regard to the state of _non compos mentis_, concerning a nobleman, who left a considerable fortune to his servants, the total ignorance of the experts on “psychology” regarding all matters concerning the soul, and their total incapacity to judge of the character and motives of a person, became so plain and was exposed in such a ludicrous manner, that it became the public opinion, which was also expressed by the judge, that the custom of calling in medical men as experts in such things ought to be abandoned, and that actors, novel-writers, or such as possess more capacity to know the motives of human nature should be selected for that purpose.]

[Footnote 11: We may read at any time that the views of the ancients in regard to this or that were “very vague”; while in fact the vagueness is with the critic who does not understand what the views of the ancients were. Words are made for the purpose of expressing ideas, and if the ideas are not perceived the words are only misleading. If we interpret the meaning of a term according to our own fancy, we shall find therein only the misconception put into it by ourselves, but not the original meaning.]

[Footnote 12: We call this the _sensual plane_, merely because it includes that which is perceived by the senses of our _physical_ body. If the senses of the _astral_ form are developed, the astral plane will also be our _sensual_ plane. There can be no knowledge without perception, and no perception without a sense for that purpose. A system of philosophy based merely upon speculation, and without any perception of truth, is no philosophy at all; but consists merely of vagaries, illusions and dreams.]

[Footnote 13: See Rama Prasad’s “Nature’s Finer Forces.”]

[Footnote 14: See “Magic, white and black,” 4th edition, London, 1893 (Kegan, Paul and Co.).]

[Footnote 15: The more the minds of men become complicated by attending to a multiplicity of details, the more will they lose sight of simple facts. Thus the action of the sunlight and its various colours, of which each has its special therapeutic qualities, is far too simple a thing to find popular favour.]

[Footnote 16: “The Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians,” II., pp. 16. (Occult Publishing Co., Boston, Mass., 1888).]

[Footnote 17: “Paracelsus,” p. 168. (London, 1887: Trübner & Co.)]

[Footnote 18: The regenerated spiritual man is not a dream or an unrealisable ideal, but far more substantial than the terrestrial man. _William Law_ says: “Where Christ is born or His Spirit rises up in the soul, there all self is denied and obliged to turn out, there all carnal wisdom, arts of advancement, with every pride and glory of this life, are so many heathen idols, all willingly renounced, and the man is not only content, but rejoices to say that his kingdom is not of this world.” (“William Law,” London, 1893.) See also “Jacob Boehme,” page 263. London, 1891.]

[Footnote 19: “Theosophical Siftings.” Alchemy. (London: Theo. Pub. Soc., 1891.)]

[Footnote 20: We purposely say “carbogen” and not “carbon,” because we refer to that invisible element, whose product upon the visible plane is carbon or coal.]

[Footnote 21: As we are not writing for children, it is unnecessary to refute the puerile objection and say that the sixty-four so-called single bodies of chemistry are not elements of nature, although they may be regarded as the elements of the science of chemistry.]

[Footnote 22: In everything are there five elements or qualities contained, because everything consists of vibrations of the one element, called by the Alchemists _prima materia_, in which these qualities are latent (potentially contained). Everything is a manifestation of substance. That which is essential in it, is the substance and not the form. Thus for instance that which is essential in a diamond is the carbon; but carbon is not composed of diamonds. Carbon is a substance universally distributed in nature in solid, watery, gaseous, fiery form, and all these forms of carbon are certain states of the one element “Carbogen” which is at the root of their existence.]

[Footnote 23: _Vach._—If we remember that according to the Bible all things were made of the _Word_, and that “the Word was God” (John i., 1), we may obtain the key to the understanding of what generated the _Akâsa_.]

[Footnote 24: Occult Publ. Co., Boston, Mass.; and Theosoph. Publ. Soc., London.]

[Footnote 25: Occult Publ. Co., Boston, Mass.; and Theosoph. Publ. Soc., London.]

[Footnote 26: _Jacob Boehme._]

[Footnote 27: “Secret Doctrine,” Vol. I., p. 106.]

[Footnote 28: “Superstition”—from _super_ = over and _sto_ = to stand—is a belief in the knowledge of the attributes of a thing, while these attributes are beyond our conception. A superstition is therefore a misconception of an existing thing, or a creation of fancy: an erroneous conclusion arrived at by the observation of a phenomenon, without an understanding of the law which produced the phenomenon.]

[Footnote 29: _Richard Quain_, “Dictionary of Medicine,” 1883.]

[Footnote 30: “Paracelsus.” (London: Trübner and Co., 1887.)]

[Footnote 31: The word “substance” comes from _sub_, under, and _sto_, to stand, and means the principle underlying phenomenal existence, the basis of the manifestation of power. It is only too customary to give to such terms a wrong interpretation, and then to fight the man of straw created by oneself.]

[Footnote 32: “_Ens_” means a beginning.]

[Footnote 33: It is hardly necessary to furnish examples, such as, for instance, presented by Strychnine, composed of C₂₁ H₂₂ N₂₂ O₂₂, a very poisonous substance; while the same elements combined in a different proportion are contained as gluten in our food. If we accept the theory of vibration, which appears as a necessary result of the universe being substance in motion, the cause of such secrets will easily be found in the discords existing between the vibrations constituting these substances. This theory of harmony will also explain why certain chemicals combine with others in certain proportions.]

[Footnote 34: In the recognition of the law is contained the key to the understanding of chiromancy, phrenology, physiognomy, psychometry, etc., and their value in practising medicine; for although the physical form, owing to external physical conditions, may not be an exact image of the internal nature of man, nevertheless the character of the mind is to a certain extent impressed visibly upon each part of the body, and being a whole and a unity, the whole of that character may be read in every part of the body, if we know how to read it; in the same sense as a botanist can tell the character of a tree by examining one of its leaves, for he knows at once to what class of trees it belongs.]

[Footnote 35: “The character of a man and his talents, aptitude, dexterity, etc., are not given to him by (terrestrial) nature. His spirit is not a product of nature, but comes from the incorporeal realm. You should not say that he receives these things from nature; the sages never said so.” (“Paramirum,” L. I., Tr. iii., C. 2.)]

[Footnote 36: “Then shall the dust return to earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.” (“Ecclesiastes,” xii., 7.)]

[Footnote 37: See: “Magic, white and black,” “Paracelsus,” “Boehme,” etc.]

[Footnote 38: “Key to Theosophy,” p. 121 (London, 1889).]

[Footnote 39: “There is an invisible organism in man, not placed within the _three substances_; a body which (unlike the material one) does not come from the _Limbus_ (matter) but has its origin in the living breath of God. It is not a body coming into existence after death, to rise up on the judgment day; for the physical body being a nonentity (unreal) cannot become resurrected after death, neither shall we be called upon to give account about our physical health and disease; but we shall be judged according to the things that have issued from our will. This spiritual body in man is the flesh that comes from the breath of God. There are two bodies, but only one flesh.” (“Paramir.” _Lib._ II., 8.)]

[Footnote 40: Any person wishing for information on such points may find it in the literature of spiritism, mediæval witchcraft, in the “Lives of the Saints,” etc., etc. Volumes might be filled with such accounts, but phenomena are proofs only to him to whom they occur. A person having no experience of a thing is always at liberty to deny its existence, and it is far easier to call it a “superstition” than to arrive at its understanding by studying secret laws.]

[Footnote 41: See: _Thomson Jay Hudson_. “The Law of Psychic Phenomena.”]

[Footnote 42: “Arcanum” means mystery. The key to a mystery is its understanding. The Arcana of Paracelsus were not, as has been asserte by certain “authorities,” patent medicines whose composition he kept secret; but they were his knowledge of the means for effecting a cure. He says:—“If there is a stone in the bladder, the _arcanum_ is the knife (for performing lithotomy), in (acute) Mania phlebotomy is the arcanum. An arcanum is the entering into a new state, the giving birth to a new thing.” (_Lib._ “Paramir.,” I. 5, II. 2.) Every plane of existence has its own mysteries and arcane remedies.]

[Footnote 43: H. P. Blavatsky’s “Key to Theosophy,” p. 201.]

[Footnote 44: The cause of a certain disease may exist not only in one of these five classes, but in more. For instance, a hæmorrhage of the womb may be caused by mental excitement in connection with a state of weakness of resistance in the tissues of the organs; insanity may be caused by mental, moral or physical circumstances; blindness may be the result of physical causes or of mental excitement; a bodily defect the result of antenatal _Karma_, or of physical causes. In the clockwork of nature all the wheels are connected by one common chain. Therefore not only one of these causes but all of them ought to be known and taken into consideration; but each of the corresponding five methods of treatment contains in itself all the elements for effecting a cure. It is therefore not necessary that a physician should practise all the five methods of treatment; but he should have a thorough knowledge of the method which he has chosen, and be well versed in it and stick to his method; but he should not believe his own method to be the only true one, and reject others of which he knows nothing.]

[Footnote 45: The soothing power of blue, the exciting effects of red, the invigorating effects of yellow, etc., deserve a great deal more attention than they receive at present. The reason why the “blue light cure” has caused only a passing excitement, is because it was indiscriminately used and its laws not understood.]

[Footnote 46: “Paracelsus,” p. 141.]

[Footnote 47: Professor O. Korschelt in Leipzig invented an instrument for that purpose.]

[Footnote 48: See “Paracelsus,” p. 138.]

[Footnote 49: All forces may become manifest in a threefold form. There are universal, animal and spiritual “magnets”; a physical electricity, an electricity of life, a spiritual electricity, etc., etc.]

[Footnote 50: _Dr Babbitt’s_ “Principles of Light and Colour.”]

[Footnote 51: F. Hartmann, “Eine neue Heilmethode.” W. Friedrich, Leipzig, 1893.]

[Footnote 52: “Magic, white and black.” (London, 1893.)]

[Footnote 53: I. Timothy, III., 7.]

[Footnote 54: Romans, IX., _ib._]