Adyar Pamphlets

Concerning the Mortification of the Flesh

No. 118

Concerning the Mortification of the Flesh

by G.R.S. Mead
Reprinted from The Theosophical Revie !" #ol. $$$%#" May" 1&'( P)*lished in 1&+' Theosophical P)*lishing ,o)se" Adyar" Chennai -Madras. %ndia The Theosophist /ffice" Adyar" Madras. %ndia 0TRA1 T,/23,T0 /N T,4/0/P,1 For if ye live after the flesh" ye shall die5 *)t if ye thro)gh the 0pirit do mortify the deeds of the *ody" ye shall line!. Pa)l" 6etter to the Romans" viii" 17. Mortify therefore yo)r mem*ers hich are )pon the earth8 fornication" )ncleanness" inordinate affection" evil conc)piscence" and coveto)sness . . . anger" rath" malice" *lasphemy" filthy comm)nication o)t of yo)r mo)th . . " p)tting off the old man ith his deeds and p)tting on the ne man ho is ever *eing made ne into 9no ledge : -that is to say rene ed. : according to the image of ,im ho created him : in hom is no 3ree9 and ;e !" Circ)mcision and 2ncirc)mcision! -nay nor any. foreigner " . . slave -or. freeman8 *)t Christ is all things and in all things. Pa)l" 6etter to the Colossians" iv" <" 8" &=11. [Page 2] >,/ of )s ho see9s after >isdom" does not love the old Mystics and their strivings ? >ho of )s" even if e do not give assent to some of their propositions" does not delight to hear of their rapt)res ? >ho of )s does not sympathise most profo)ndly in all their endeavo)rs to str)ggle )p ard" in their most gallant efforts to solve the riddle of e@istence ? And yet" ho of )s does not at moments feel that their heroic meas)res are freA)ently an impatient c)tting of the *affling 9not rather than a patient )ntying of the mystic tangle ? >ho of )s today" in the active" *)stling >estern orld at any rate : ho of )s at least" ith the *lood of *attle still hot in o)r veins : *)t feels that the freA)ent )rgings to escape" the repeated promptings to flee" the apparently a)thoritative commands to hate the orld" hich so freA)ently characterise the less ise )tterances of co)ntless mystics of the past" are *)t the gi**erings of the ghosts of things gone *y" and no sol)tion of the enigma of the present so)l of man" no fit victory for the >arrior today ? The FleshB!. CarnalB! >hat hatred and hostility are ro)sed in the p)ritanical heart *y these ords8 hat fear and trem*ling in the heart of the ascetic and the contemplative B For" is not the flesh one of the Persons! of the %nfernal Trinity5 the >orld" the Flesh" and the Cevil ? The Cevil the Father" the >orld the Mother" and the Flesh the 0onB [Page 3] Poor" poor *ody B 6ead )s not into temptation! : says the great prayer attri*)ted to the Master8 *)t % am thy 3od" not thy Detrayer! says the earliest Mystery=rit)al of Christendom. Poor" poor *ody of o)rsB >hat" after all" has it done to deserve the hate and fear of s)ch )nreasona*ly angered and frightened possessors of it : if indeed they possess their *ody" and their *ody does not possess them ? For s)rely Page 1

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Concerning the Mortification of the Flesh

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is )nreasona*le" nay" is not only )nreasona*le" *)t )nE)st" than9less.

For hat" after all" is the cry of the mortificatory *rotherhood the orld over ? %s it not5 >e m)st escape o)t of this 0odom of a orld" o)t of this 3omorrah of a *ody ? The orld is very evil!" says pop)lar Christianity in that most prolific *reeder of heresy" the Ch)rch ,ymnal8 the orld is false! : says pop)lar #edantism8 the orld is sorro !" says pop)lar D)ddhism. 0in" )ntr)th" pain is the mother of it8 in s)ch a om* is it *orn8 and the seed of it is the Cevil" the father of lies!" Agnoia, Avidya, Moha. %t is.the Flesh that 9eeps )s from the 3nosis" the #idya" the Charma. 0o have the mortificatory race averred in many a clime and age" and the people have often feigned to follo after them in ord" amaFed at their stren)o)sness" at the intensity of their assertion. They have" ho ever" rarely follo ed after them in deed" and this in all li9elihood *eca)se at the *ac9 of their dim reasonings as the overmastering int)ition of that [Page 4] saving tr)th that *)t for the *ody" *)t for the Flesh" there o)ld *e no 3nosis" no #idya" no Charma. % am thy 3od" not thy DetrayerB! D)t hy sho)ld not the ascetic have his Cevil as ell as another man his ? 6et the envio)s say B And that the asceticGs Cevil is very freA)ently his Flesh" p)re and simple" let the delightf)l mystics of Thrice=greatest ,ermes itness hen they rite5 D)t first tho) m)st tear off from thee the cloa9 hich tho) dost ear" the e* of ignorance" the gro)nd of *ad" corr)ptionGs chain" the carapace of dar9ness" the living death" sensationGs corpse" the tom* tho) carriest ith thee" the ro**er in thy ho)se" ho thro)gh the things he loveth" hateth thee" and thro)gh the things he hateth" *ears thee malice. 0)ch is the hatef)l cloa9 tho) earest8 that throttles thee -and holds thee. do n to it" m order that tho) mayest not gaFe a*ove" and" having seen the *ea)ty of the Tr)th" and 3ood that d ells therein" detest the *ad of it8 having fo)nd o)t the plot that it hath schemed against thee" *y ma9ing void of sense those seeming things hich men thin9 senses8 for that it hath ith mass of matter *loc9ed them )p and crammed them f)ll of loathsome l)st" so tho) mayGst not hear a*o)t the things tho) sho)ldGst" nor see the things tho) sho)ldGst *ehold. From the sermon The 3reatest ill of Men is %gnorance of 3od!. PartheyGs te@t HDerlin8 18<(I" p. JJ. All of hich" tho)gh it of co)rse comes earlier in date" reminds )s strongly of that despairing and mo)rnf)l mon9ish cry of the ghostly co)nsellor of the ascetic so)l in The Voice of the Silence -page 7" first edition." ho f)nereally remar9s5 %f thy so)l smiles hile *athing in the s)nlight of thy life8 if thy so)l sings ithin her chrysalis of flesh [Page 5] and matter8 if thy so)l eeps inside her castle of ill)sion K . . . 9no " / disciple" thy so)l is of the earth. %n s)ch *rilliant and po erf)l phrases of stri9ing similes" in s)ch stren)o)s=l)g)*rio)s" mo)rnf)l= enth)siastic sentences" e have the gist of the hole matter" the theory of all mortification" the challenge to the death h)rled in the face of the Flesh.

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Cleanse and sco)rge the hatef)l thing" the insidio)s and treachero)s parasite" the vampire" the d eller on the threshold that ever s)c9s the life=*lood of the tr)e man8 tear it off" 9ill it o)t8 . . . and yo) shall then enEoy even finer and rarer delights : far s)*tler sensationsB >e hasten the f)neral of the old race" that e may play mid ife to the ne *rood. Against this ay of intenser contin)ance e have no ord to say" e@cept that e do not see that any sol)tion of the pro*lem of sensation is th)s acA)ira*le. D)t perhaps" after all" this is not necessary" and it is eno)gh to live and drin9 deeply and ever more deeply of the c)p" )ntil e *ecome tr)ly 3od=into@icated. This is the path for those ho apparently oppose matter to a spirit hich is *)t matter ritten finer and therefore more potent8 there are" ho ever" others ho thin9 they o)ld fain pierce thro)gh the ever s eeter s irl of sense=delights into the calm mind of the mystery" and the tho)ght of the Master for them ta9es form in s)ch sentences as5 0ee tho) therefore in Me the slaying of a >ord H6ogosI" the piercing of a >ord" the *lood of a >ord" the [Page ] o)nding of a >ord" the hanging of a >ord" the passion of a >ord" the nailing of a >ord" the death of a >ord. And *y >ord % mean Man. [ From The Acts of ;ohn" see Fragments of Faith Forgotten" Page (78] And *y Man" as Thrice=greatest ,ermes tells )s" as meant Mind : Mind" /nly *egotten 0on! of Mind8 Mind" that is to say" self=generated" *egotten of itself alone" alone *egotten. For the /ne" so say the old myths of >isdom" prod)cing ,imself from ,imself" perpet)ally sends forth ,is o n Tho)ght of ,imself8 and 0he" the Civine Mother" ,is Tho)ght" conceives ,im in ,erself as Father Mind" and *rings ,im forth into manifest *eing as 0on : and yet" All is /ne. The Dreath of the Father arms %t Hthe /ne ThingI8 the Dreath of the Mother cools %t!. And Father is the mystery e call 0pirit" and Mother is the mystery e call Matter" and %t is the Mystery of mysteries : Man. ,o then shall e hate o)r Mother" the Tho)ght of 3od" in o)r love of o)r Father the 0pirit8 ho shall e hate Form and love 6ife" hate Dody and love 0o)l ? 0)rely it is all a great mystery" and not a cr)de antithesis" a naLve d)alism ? The orld is evil! : say the ren)nciators" the mortificatory fol9. The orld is good : say the optimists" the la)ghter=lovers" the 3ree9s! of the orld. The orld is mi@ed! : say so*er philosophers. The orld is a mystery! : say the lovers of the 3nosis. [Page !] That the pres)pposition that spirit)al! ill)mination is dependent )pon mortification of the flesh" or at any rate" on strict asceticism" is f)ndamental ith co)ntless schools of mystics the orld over" no one ill deny. %t is A)ite tr)e that" as a r)le" no Eo)rneyer on this path stops to enA)ire very strictly into the meaning and the val)e of spirit)al! ill)mination. %t is eno)gh to 9no that it is of the nat)re of *eatific vision of some 9ind8 it reA)ires no E)stification other than e@perience" it m)st *e felt. 4no)gh for the profane to 9no that even in its *eginnings it is some intenser sensation" some loftier emotion" some ecstatic e@perience. >hether or not a ord of isdom! might *e of more general and gen)ine service to the orld" fe ho have once e@perienced the inner delights" stop to enA)ire" and nat)rally so. D)t the greatest p)FFle of all is ho men *egan to practise asceticism. 0)rely they m)st have *eg)n nat)rally8 they co)ld not have started ith priori notions that if they 9noc9ed off their physical geese and ale they o)ld *ecome one ith /siris and enEoy celestial ale and geese no and for everB

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Perhaps it as that in the *eginning those ho naturally e@perienced these more s)*tle and po erf)l sensations" as naturally refrained from the food and ha*its of normal man of their time8 even as e all do no nat)rally hen e are engaged on some [Page "] a*sor*ing mental or creative or9 hich enthralls o)r hole attention" or are ta9en o)t of o)rselves *y some deep an@iety or highly pleas)ra*le e@citement. %n the *eginning" then" some of those ho heard of the strange inner delights of their ecstatic comrades" o)ld do)*tless desire to enEoy s)ch sensations in their o n persons" and o)ld accordingly set themselves to copy the o)t ard *ehavio)r of the nat)ral mystics of this 9ind : the things they naturally did or refrained from doing" because their attention was absorbed elsewhere. The e@oterics o)ld then copy the o)t ard *ehavio)r of the esoterics" hoping that so they might share ith them their internal delights. Fe of s)ch o)t ard imitators" ho ever" e may s)ppose" ever s)cceeded *eca)se of s)ch )nintelligent imitation alone8 those ho s)cceeded did so *eca)se they ere already at the germinating stage for this pec)liar species of gro th ithin8 they ere already follo ing the ay of the seers and hearers and feelers ithin" in their o n internal economy. And certainly in s)ch cases it seems reasona*le to ass)me that the o)t ard copying ill hasten the in ard gro th" and rapidly A)ic9en it. D)t if a manGs charism is not of this 9ind" then he may mortify himself and a*stain" fast and discipline himself ith )tmost rigo)r" and not even the sad visions of sic9ness and deadly fee*leness ill visit his eyes. /f co)rse there *e those" many of them" [Page #] ho discipline themselves for p)re love of chastising themselves for their sins in order to please their 3od : *)t e may leave these to this 3od of their o n devising" for s)ch a 3od has not created o)r cosmos of *ea)ty. For those" then" hose charism" or special so)l=dharma" is not vision or prophecy" apocalyptic or soothsaying" perhaps the good things! of this orld need not *e so strictly ta*oo. %ndeed the )nre= generate can arg)e that there o)ght to *e some compensation" for have not the seers the good things! of other ranges of sensation to ma9e )p for their a*stinence do n here! B Most of )s )nregenerates!" % fancy % hear them plead" o)ld *e very content to p)rchase ecstasies at so cheap a rate" if it ere possi*le. D)t for most of )s it is not possi*le" simply *eca)se it is not o)r partic)lar charism" 1o) might as ell say that e can all *ecome poets or architects" or engineers or doctors!. Consider another charism Htho)gh Pa)l does not incl)de it in his listI : m)sic. The ay of the m)sician is certainly not )s)ally the ay of the ascetic8 and s)rely the m)sician is *lessed ith s)*tle senses in his o n line ? >hat can *e more *ea)tif)lly e@pressive of the highest emotions than a masterpiece of the great creators of harmony ? And yet do e not read of some of them" the greatest creators" that they ere gross feeders and drin9ers" nay" very gross feeders and drin9ers ? The ascetic [Page $%] ill perhaps reEoin5 D)t they did not rite Gspirit)alG m)sic!. They rote at any rate m)sic hich can ta9e some of )s o)t of o)rselves" raise )s to vast heights of holy emotion" and at=one )s ith greatness other ise )nattaina*le. D)t perhaps m)sicians do not co)nt in this8 are not entirely on the line of o)r average h)man evol)tion8 perhaps some of them are n)rslings of the gods!8 ho 9no s ? Then again ho has not heard strange stories of poets ? /f some ho have po)red forth their chiefest masterpieces hen strong drin9 had to all o)ter seeming s amped them8 of one of the greatest 4nglish Page 4

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singers" ho invaria*ly im*i*ed a *ottle of so m)ndane a thing as port" *efore he charmed all ears ith his song8 of another ho" hen eaned from the c)p *y a philistine friend" never rote a reada*le line again ? Tr)ly does 3od seem to *e no respecter of persons in this ? D)t the ren)nciators ill say5 1es" e have heard of these things" *)t ho m)ch more Gspirit)allyG o)ld they have ritten if they had *een asceticsB ! May*e8 *)t in one case at any rate" the friend ho converted! his friend" gained a so)l! *)t ro**ed the orld of a poet!8 and ho shall say hether the orld is the richer or the poorer there*y ? >ho 9no s ? Man is a mystery8 hen e thin9 e have solved the pro*lem" it appears again to moc9 )s in a still more s)*tle g)ise. >ho 9no s ? : % say8 for % am riting not for the Nonconformist conscience! *)t for those ho [Page $$] conform their conscience to the facts of life" and especially the less common facts. And this reminds me of a strange rite in antiA)ity" a manner of doing things hich indicates" to my d)ll *rain at any rate" the g)iding of a hand of isdom. %n the most primitive s)*strata of %ndo=Aryan and %rano=Aryan civilisation" in those far=off archaic mystery=traditions of o)r mother=stoc9" there seems no do)*t *)t that the neophytes on their initiation into the mystery=lore of their clans" ere given to drin9 of the potent E)ice of some sacred plant : Soma" or Haoma. %n later times and in higher grades of c)lt)re of co)rse all this as changed" and the primitive rites ere sym*olised and spirit)alised into processes of inner p)rification and psychic discipline. D)t in the earliest times there seems to *e no do)*t *)t that the senses of the neophytes ere A)ic9ened ith the into@icating E)ice of some sacred plant" that is to say a plant hich as other ise taboo. %n this cr)de state of entheism! : to coin a ord : they sa !. 0eeing" ho ever" that they ent thro)gh a co)rse of stern training *eforehand" fasting and p)rifying themselves" seeing that they entered into the rites ith ind)ced feelings of great a e and fearsome e@pectancy" ith feelings that they ere approaching the confines of death" and a*o)t to pass into the mystic depths of the )n9no n : this into@ication" instead of proving a c)rse as it does hen profaned" proved a great *lessing" *eing sanctified *y the [Page $2] sanction of Religion as a rite reserved only for holy occasions : nay" the holiest of all occasions" namely" the very possession! *y the 3od. 0o too" apparently" in the earliest forms of the Dacchic! traditions" hen ine as discovered" it as )sed *y the instr)cted priesthood for sacramental p)rposes in the primitive rites of certain nations. %n ancient Cappadocia" instead of haoma" or ine" they are said to have )sed moly" the mystic plant s)ng of *y one of the poets of the /dyssean cycle. [ Moly is said to *e a Cappadocian ord" and in the ,ellenised Mithraic tradition is fo)nd as a s)*stit)te for the haoma of the Avestan traditions ] . %n ancient Me@ico they )sed hat is no called hi uliB [A name given to several small species of cacti hich live for months after they have *een rooted )p" and as the eating of them ca)ses ecstasy" they are loo9ed )pon as demi gods and treated ith great reverence! Hsee /n the >atch=To er!" 0eptem*er n)m*er 1&'7" p. MI : E)st as the 0oma is personified and reverenced in the Rigvaidi9 Mantrah ] among the ,)ichols of the 0ierra Madre del Norte8 and this reminds )s strongly of the so=called Mescal *)ttons!" also proc)red from a species of cact)s. And ho in this connection ill not remem*er the most sacred American %ndian rite of the smo9ing of the cal)met!8 and other allied sacraments! and comm)nions! of still e@isting primitive c)lt)res! ? 0trange for the ordinary citiFen of no imagination to reflect that his glass! and his pipe! are the legitimate s)rvivals of original mystery=rites" [Page $3] things strictly reserved for solemn occasions" of sacramental efficacy" moans here*y the man as ind)ced to feel more holy" to feel even 3od= possessed!B ,o ise as the economy of those timesB %n those days the here ithal of the means of comm)nion co)ld not *e p)rchased at every street corner for a penny" and that too even *y the most Page 5

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degraded. The Temples of Dacch)s ere not profaned" and the orgies! ere respecta*le : nay sacred B A strange chapter from the history of the ed)cation of the h)man race8 and perhaps even stranger still is the evidence from those early days hen men! ere more closely 9in to the animals! than they are today" hen indeed there as no chance of dominating the animal *y the mind alone" as far at any rate as o)r then infant race as concerned8 the mind as yo)ng in them and fee*le" the life as strong and chaotic. Th)s e hear of some in those early days of ild enth)siastic rites" ho" for certain maEestic p)rposes" in frenFy emasc)lated themselves" as for instance the ascetic priests of the 3reat Mother. Not only so" *)t later on" in days hen s)ch cr)de literalism sho)ld have ceased" at any rate among those ho had. *een ta)ght the *o)ndaries of the path of the 3ood 6a !" do e not hear of a li9e deed *eing done *y one of the greatest minds of antiA)ity" *y the most learned" *y far the most [Page $4] ascetic" of the Fathers of the Ch)rch" /rigenes Adamanti)s? [And yet /rigen did *)t literally carry o)t hat ho *elieved ith all his so)l ,is Master commanded in hat he loo9 to *e the most a)thoritative of sayings5 %f thy right hand offend thee" c)t it off!. And hat apologist even today has ritten it satisfactory defence of the isdom of that mon9ish prono)ncement p)t into the mo)th of the Master *y the gospel= ma9ers ? ] D)t to pass from s)ch e@tremes of mortification8 do e not 9no ere still )sed for certain p)rposes ? that in the 4le)sinian rites vario)s dr)gs

;)st as the hierophant also : not emasc)lated as Attis" *)t made e)n)ch ith hemloc9 E)ice and divorced from all fleshly generating : in the night" at 4le)sis" from *eneath many a clo)d of fire" accomplishing the great and ineffa*le mysteries" sho)ts and cries alo)d" saying5 /)r 6ady hath *orne a sacred sonB ! [ ,ippolyt)s" !hilos." v. &. ] D)t eno)gh of these dim memories from the *)ried past. %t s)rely reA)ires no evidence to sho that ith mystics from the very earliest times" the Flesh has *een set straitly over against the 0pirit. The death of the one as ta9en to mean the life of the other8 the 9illing of the one" the *irth of the other. A death" )nto sin" and a ne *irth )nto righteo)sness! as *)t too often" nay )p to a certain time )niversally" translated as a 9illing o)t of the nat)ral for the sa9e of the s)pernat)ral" and hence the mortification of the flesh. %n *rief" the pres)pposition that matter is evil" inimical" has *een at the *ottom of most of the p)rificatory forms of religion and in some form or other of the teaching of nearly every school of mysticism. [Page $5] No adays" ho ever" it hardly reA)ires more than the statement of the proposition to convince it of its inherent fallacy. The hole of the present activity of the orld is *ased )pon a far more Eoyo)s vie of things" a far more E)st appreciation of the val)es of the divine *lessings. There is a general ineradica*le int)ition : indeed there has al ays *een a conviction hidden in the heart of the vast maEority of 3odGs creat)res : that not only is the orld good for man" *)t that those ho see9 to escape o)t of it and flee a ay" are traitors to the common h)manity" gr)m*lers against the la s of the common eal" fa)lt=finders ith the isdom of the divine economy : in *rief" that they are paying the 3ood 3od the orst possi*le Page 6

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of compliments" in that they ma9e common ca)se ith those )nhappy and than9less pessimists ho *elieve the orld=process a fail)re" and that the highest *lessing to all concerned o)ld *e to *ring it to the speediest possi*le end. This hostility to the flesh is at *ottom the ea9 spot in all mon9dom as a profession" of all selfish virginity! as a protest against evil8 the co)nter proposition and cr)de antithesis to hich is the saying of ;e ish isdom5 ,e ho is itho)t a ife is half a man!. >iser far as the policy of ancient Aryan %ndia" that first a man sho)ld f)lfil his d)ty to his race and co)ntry *y living the ho)seholderGs life" *efore giving his )ndivided attention to other= orldliness!" and the artificial freeing of himself!. [Page $ ] 0)ch also as the r)le apparently among the original Pythagoreans. %t is" ho ever" to *e do)*ted hether in the past the vast maEority of striving mystics co)ld have got along itho)t these o)ter safeg)ards" these strict antitheses8 the mind as yet as not generally strong eno)gh" even in the mystic race. ;)st as it has not *een possi*le in the past for the vast maEority of fol9 to get along itho)t adhesion to some special form of faith" some sect of religion" so has it *een necessary in the mystic race itself to have sectarian forms of mysticism8 strict alls of separation have had to *e *)ilt )p. They have had to retire from the orld and isolate themselves8 they have *een compelled in every ay they co)ld to try to reinforce their ea9 ills" and so they have laid the most stringent possi*le ta*oos on things physical. D)t today" no that the mind is leaping for ard ith s)ch *o)nds" today no that the tr)ly divine idea of Religion as aspiration itho)t sectarianism" of there *eing as many nat)ral ays to >isdom : to 3od : as there are so)ls of men" that tr)ly divine int)ition of )nity in m)ltiplicity" is charming menGs minds and arming their hearts ith its s)n=clear simplicity8 no that this ne spirit of tr)e tolerance" the germ of a real love of h)manity" has ta9en root in the soil of h)man passion" and is removing the mo)ntains of ancient preE)dice in its infant p)shings=forth to gro into that great tree of life and light" [Page $!] )nder hose *eneficent shade all creat)res shall some day rest : today e can )nderstand ho that not only on the s)rface of religion as c)lt" *)t also in its depths as inner discipline" there can *e tolerance and )nderstanding and reasona*leness" and that too of the idest and holiest 9ind" D)t % say )nto yo)" love yo)r enemies! : yes" yo)r inner enemies as ell as those itho)t of flesh and *lood. 6ove them really and not ith that refinement of calc)lated ill= ill that renders apparent good for evil" so that coals of fire! may *e heaped on the head! of the )nfort)nate foe. [Clearly a saying! in circ)lation among the saints! of the *ody" and not a 0aying of the Master. ] 6ove even those ho are" or ho yo) thin9 are" the foes of yo)r o n ho)sehold. 6ove all the creat)res of 3od rightly" fearlessly" )nderstandingly. De a Man8 not a priest" or a prophet" or a mon9" or a n)n8 and yet *e all things" these as ell as others : *)t not one of the lesser things al ays" as if that ere the one great thing. D)t all this is do)*tless as o*sc)re as ,eracleit)s8 or more so" for he as isely o*sc)re" so at any rate antiA)ity *elieved" hereas all this" for all % 9no " may *e very foolishly o*sc)re. 1et see ho some of it at any rate or9s o)t in morals. At first" even as at first in cr)de mysticism" there is the strait setting of one thing over against the other" *lac9 over against hite Hinstead of not=*lac9I" 3od over against the [Page $"] Cevil" virt)e over against vice8 for even a Plato in his ethics ma9es a virt)e the antithesis of a Page 7

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vice. More s)*tly did an Aristotle perceive that a virt)e as a mean *et een t o e@tremes" t o vices8 as" for instance" co)rage is a mean *et een co ardice and foolhardiness. Nearer still to the mystery ere the Pythagoreans" hen they ta)ght that the secret of all virt)es as harmony8 and therefore the leader of the chain of virt)es ith them as E)stice : not p)rity" not o*edience" not faith8 these latter are the more feminine virt)es of devotion" admira*le each in their o n ay" and resolva*le *y philosophy into the hand=maidens of E)stice" even as" perchance" from the ren)nciatory point of vie " E)stice is the servant of this trinity of graces. 0o too" ith regard to the practice of contemplation" the diffic)lty is to get rid of the antagonism of d)ality" of the effort of mind to dominate *ody" or at any rate a material vehicle of some 9ind" no matter ho s)*tle it may *e. The sol)tion of the p)FFle is do)*tless" as the old *oo9s say" the t)rning of the mind on itself" not on a *ody : self=contemplation8 then and then only is the sensi*le orld transcended in a )nion that incl)des all sensation" and at the same time sanctifies it ith the holiness of reason" %t is not that the mind is some st)ff set over against the matter of the sensational orld8 it is a far deeper mystery" for Mind itself in last analysis creates the very matter of the sensational orld8 for [Page $#] is not the divine spo)se of Mind Tho)ght" and is not Tho)ght the mother of all things ? Today the mind need not fear to contin)e in the orld" to live in the orld8 e can carry o)r monasteries! a*o)t ith )s" e have no need of *)ilt places of ood and stone to sh)t )s in and the orld o)t. Today e need not hate the Flesh8 e can admire the onderf)l or9 of o)r Mother as nat)rally as did the ancient 3ree9s. For )s the )n=h)man saying ascri*ed" tho)gh do)*tless erroneo)sly" to 0han9aracharya5 >oman is the gate ay of hell! : hich" if % remem*er rightly" as also a favo)rite aphorism of Tert)llianGs" and certainly of co)ntless n)m*ers of >estern mon9s : is no ord of isdom! *)t a *lasphemy against the motherhood of man. %ndeed" hat confidence can the virile so)l of man have in a mon9ish neophyte ho Has" for instance" among the D)ddhistsI is ordered *y his short=sighted s)periors ever to 9eep his eyes fi@ed on the gro)nd" and a*ove all things never to loo9 at a oman" for fear he sho)ld *rea9 his vo B 1e gods of common sense B ho fee*le m)st s)ch an one *e" ho far *elo the average" even8 hat child=so)ls m)st *e those of o)r dear neophytes of this typeB >hat virt)e is there in this8 for s)rely the tr)e con"uerer is he ho can say his prayers as calmly in the harem as in his cell ? 0aner far are modern conditions" in this co)ntry at any rate" as it seems to me. /)r grandparents" living at a time hen the p)ritanical fear of the [Page 2%] orld" the flesh" and the devil as still sco)rging the land" ere no hit p)rer in reality than o)rselves8 in fact they ere far grosser in their imaginations nat)rally. Their very ta*oos are proof of it. A yo)ng man in those days ho ent to a theatre or itnessed a *allet" or even played a game of *illiards" as *elieved to have fallen into the pit!" as already *)rning in the fires of hell!. /)r orthy fore*ears of those days had no do)*t on the point" and as they had made their 3od for themselves they o)ght to have 9no n. Today o)r children" as soon as they can toddle" go to theatres" gaFe thro)gh opera glasses at the *allet" and learn to ma9e a *rea9 as soon as their chins are a*ove the *illiard ta*le. The conseA)ence is that for most of them the iles of the devil" in s)ch cr)de fashions at any rate" are of little all)rement8 they have *ecome the normal" the *anal" the things they have gro n )sed to. Then" too" the )ncharita*leness of the ancient ascetics" and modern ones for that matter" the rage Page 8

Adyar Pamphlets

Concerning the Mortification of the Flesh

No. 118

against the acc)rsed thing! in the *reasts of the mortificatory fol98 and that" too" in spite of the ord of isdom! that it is not that hich goeth into the mo)th that defileth the man" *)t that hich cometh o)t!. D)t )se is s)rely not acc)rsed8 it is a*)se" at this stage of the mystery=play" at any rate" that disA)alifies the candidate8 for a*)se is the destr)ction of harmony" the ref)sal to o*ey the voice of the isdom= herald5 Nothing too m)ch!8 it is a [Page 2$] trespass against all those s eet old tr)ths that are so 9indly given in s)ch fair ords as temperance" so*riety" moderation" continence" tolerance" E)stice" fitness" reasona*leness. %f then it *e as9ed5 Are Theosophists! : *y hich e mean those ho try to in to ards >isdom : ascetics" mortifiers of the flesh?! : the ans er m)st *e5 Dy no means necessarily so!. 0ome" many" are of co)rse a*stainers for certain p)rposes : *)t they do not call their a*stinence asceticism or mortification of the flesh8 nor does their a*stinence" from hatever they a*stain" ma9e them desire to impose their private discipline on others" or in any ay to pres)me to find fa)lt ith those ho do not follo their ay" or to *oast themselves as more virt)o)s than their fello s. They 9no too ell that men are of different types" that there are races" nay tri*es and families" of so)ls" even as there are of *odies" and that the c)stoms and ta*oos of so)ls are as rigid as those of *odies. They do not necessarily e@pect an artist" for instance" to *e nat)rally a saint" any more then they e@pect a saint to *e nat)rally an artist8 they do not e@pect a physician to *e nat)rally a general" any more than they e@pect an admiral to *e nat)rally an architect" and so on thro)gh the great series. 0ometimes" of co)rse" there are com*inations" *)t rarely are they natural8 seldom can a man really s)cceed on more than one line8 there is a 9ey=note to [Page 22] his nat)re" to hich" if he *e ise" he had *etter t)ne himself. There is a talent hich he is not to hide in a nap9in" a something in potentiality hich is his to *ring forth into act)ality" and so to delineate it into the image of its greater self. The ;ac9 of all trades is master of none!" and the ne@t great nat)ral stage for )s" it is said" is that fair state here e shall sho forth o)r o n special characteristic in ever f)ller perfection" hile reflecting the potentiality of all the other types8 *)t he alone can manifest them all in perfection ho is Master of all masterhood" and that is the end and no intermediate stage. D)t to concl)de here e *egan" ith the ords of Pa)l. More )nderstandingly does he rite to his fello ship in 3alatia than to the saints! at Rome. %n his 6etter to the 3alatians he reflects the isdom of his Msster" setting forth the tr)e 6esser Mysteries : those 6esser Mysteries in hich ho fe s)cceed in the testsB For those ho do s)cceed are verily and indeed Christs" and they alone are initiated into the 3reater Mysteries. ,e alone ho is Master can tell hat is the tr)e Mystery of Man8 the rest" even the ill)minate mystics" m)st distort the light=ray thro)gh the prism of their preE)dices" even tho)gh those preE)dices *e their holiest convictions8 and so they can *)t spea9 it forth in s)ch *ea)tif)l *)t enigmatical )tterances as5 This is the 3ate of ,eaven" and this is the ,o)se of 3od" here the 3ood 3od d ells alone" into hich no [Page 23] imp)re man shall come" no psychic" no fleshly man *)t it is 9ept )nder atch for the spirit)al alone" here they m)st come" and" casting a ay their garments" all *ecome *ridegrooms made virgin *y the #irginal 0pirit. For s)ch a man is the virgin ith child" Page 9

Adyar Pamphlets

Concerning the Mortification of the Flesh

No. 118

ho can conceive and *ring forth a son" hich is neither psychic" nor fleshly" *)t a *lessed aeon of aeons. [Fragment of a 3nostic Commentary preserved *y ,ippolyt)s. !hilos#" v. 8 ] D)t my tho)ghts on this s)*Eect have already strayed to too great length for my editorial so)l" and perhaps for my readersG patience.

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