the infidels, laugh at Moses, Magicians, and Occultists, and would
blush to give one serious thought to such "superstitions." This, because
there is no term in existence to show the difference; no words to
express the lights and shadows and draw the line of demarcation between
the sublime and the true, the absurd and the ridiculous. The latter are
the theological interpretations which teach the "breaking of the laws of
Nature" by man, God, or devil; the former--the _scientific_ "miracles"
and enchantments of Moses and the Magicians _in accordance with natural
laws_, both having been learned in all the Wisdom of the Sanctuaries,
which were the "Royal Societies" of those days--and in true OCCULTISM.
This last word is certainly misleading, translated as it stands from the
compound word _Guptâ-Vidyâ_, "Secret Knowledge." But the knowledge of
what? Some of the Sanskrit terms may help us.

There are four (out of the many other) names of the various kinds of
Esoteric Knowledge or Sciences given, even in the exoteric Purânas.
There is (1) _Yajña-Vidyâ_,[C] knowledge of the occult powers awakened
in Nature by the performance of certain religious ceremonies and rites.
(2) _Mahâ-Vidyâ_, the "great knowledge," the magic of the Kabalists and
of the _Tântrika_ worship, often Sorcery of the worst description. (3)
_Guhyâ-Vidyâ_, knowledge of the mystic powers residing in Sound (Ether),
hence in the _Mantras_ (chanted prayers or incantations) and depending
on the rhythm and melody used; in other words a magical performance
based on Knowledge of the Forces of Nature and their correlation; and
(4) Âtma-Vidyâ, a term which is translated simply "Knowledge of
the Soul," _true Wisdom_ by the Orientalists, but which means far more.

This last is the only kind of Occultism that any Theosophist who admires
_Light on the Path_, and who would be wise and unselfish, ought to
strive after. All the rest is some branch of the "Occult Sciences,"