(--H.P. Blavatsky)




Contemplation


A general misconception on this subject seems to prevail. One confines
oneself for some time in a room, and passively gazes at one's nose, a
spot on the wall, or, perhaps, a crystal, under the impression that such
is the true form of contemplation enjoined by Raj Yoga. Many fail to
realize that true occultism requires a physical, mental, moral and
spiritual development to run on parallel lines, and injure themselves,
physically and spiritually, by practice of what they falsely believe to
be Dhyan. A few instances may be mentioned here with advantage, as a
warning to over-zealous students.

At Bareilly the writer met a member of the Theosophical Society from
Farrukhabad, who narrated his experiences and shed bitter tears of
repentance for his past follies--as he termed them. It appears from his
account that fifteen or twenty years ago having read about contemplation
in the Bhagavad Gita, he undertook the practice of it, without a proper
comprehension of its esoteric meaning and carried it on for several
years. At first he experienced a sense of pleasure, but simultaneously
he found he was gradually losing self-control; until after a few years
he discovered, to his great bewilderment and sorrow, that he was no
longer his own master. He felt his heart actually growing heavy, as
though a load had been placed on it. He had no control over his
sensations the communication between the brain and the heart had become