Concerning the Mortification of the Flesh

5/28/2018 Concerning the Mortification of the Flesh

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Adyar Pamphlets Concerning the Mortification of the Flesh No.

Concerning the Mortification of the Fleshby G.R.S. Mead

Reprinted from The Theosophical Revie!" #ol. $$$%#" May" 1&'(

P)*lished in 1&+'

Theosophical P)*lishing ,o)se" Adyar" Chennai -Madras %ndiaThe Theosophist /ffice" Adyar" Madras. %ndia

0TRA T,/23,T0 /N T,4/0/P,

For if ye live after the flesh" ye shall die5 *)t if ye thro)gh the 0pirit do mortify the deeds of the *ody" shall line!.

Pa)l" 6etter to the Romans" viii" 17.

Mortify therefore yo)r mem*ers hich are )pon the earth fornication" )ncleanness" inordinate affecti

evil conc)piscence" and coveto)sness . . . anger" rath" malice" *lasphemy" filthy comm)nication o)tyo)r mo)th . . " p)tting off the old man ith his deeds and p)tting on the ne man ho is ever *eingmade ne into 9noledge : -that is to say reneed : according to the image of ,im ho created h: in hom is no 3ree9 and ;e!" Circ)mcision and 2ncirc)mcision! -nay nor any foreigner " . . sla-or freeman *)t Christ is all things and in all things.

Pa)l" 6etter to the Colossians" iv" ,/ of )s ho see9s after >isdom" does not love the old Mystics and their strivings ? >ho of )s" evif e do not give assent to some of their propositions" does not delight to hear of their rapt)res ? >ho)s does not sympathise most profo)ndly in all their endeavo)rs to str)ggle )pard" in their most galla

efforts to solve the riddle of e@istence ? And yet" ho of )s does not at moments feel that their heroicmeas)res are fre)ently an impatient c)tting of the *affling 9not rather than a patient )ntying of themystic tangle ? >ho of )s today" in the active" *)stling >estern orld at any rate : ho of )s at leasith the *lood of *attle still hot in o)r veins : *)t feels that the fre)ent )rgings to escape" the repeapromptings to flee" the apparently a)thoritative commands to hate the orld" hich so fre)entlycharacterise the less ise )tterances of co)ntless mystics of the past" are *)t the gi**erings of theghosts of things gone *y" and no sol)tion of the enigma of the present so)l of man" no fit victory for th>arrior today ?

The FleshB!. CarnalB! >hat hatred and hostility are ro)sed in the p)ritanical heart *y these ords

fear and trem*ling in the heart of the ascetic and the contemplative B For" is not the flesh one of thePersons! of the %nfernal Trinity5 the >orld" the Flesh" and the evil ? The evil the Father" the >orldMother" and the Flesh the 0onB [Page 3]

Poor" poor *ody B 6ead )s not into temptation! : says the great prayer attri*)ted to the Master *)t am thy 3od" not thy Detrayer! says the earliest Mystery=rit)al of Christendom. Poor" poor *ody of o)r>hat" after all" has it done to deserve the hate and fear of s)ch )nreasona*ly angered and frightenedpossessors of it : if indeed they possess their *ody" and their *ody does not possess them ? For s)

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s)ch a vie 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 escapo)t of this 0odom of a orld" o)t of this 3omorrah of a *ody ? The orld is very evil!" says pop)larChristianity in that most prolific *reeder of heresy" the Ch)rch ,ymnal the orld is false! : sayspop)lar #edantism the orld is sorro!" says pop)lar D)ddhism. 0in" )ntr)th" pain is the mother of

s)ch a om* is it *orn and the seed of it is the evil" the father of lies!" Agnoia, Avidya, Moha. %t is.tFlesh that 9eeps )s from the 3nosis" the #idya" the harma.

0o have the mortificatory race averred in many a clime and age" and the people have often feigned tofollo after them in ord" amaed at their stren)o)sness" at the intensity of their assertion. They havhoever" rarely folloed after them in deed" and this in all li9elihood *eca)se at the *ac9 of their dimreasonings as the overmastering int)ition of that [Page 4] saving tr)th that *)t for the *ody" *)t for thFlesh" there o)ld *e no 3nosis" no #idya" no harma. % am thy 3od" not thy DetrayerB! D)t hy shonot the ascetic have his evil as ell as another man his ? 6et the envio)s say B And that the asceticGevil is very fre)ently his Flesh" p)re and simple" let the delightf)l mystics of Thrice=greatest ,erme

itness hen they rite5

D)t first tho) m)st tear off from thee the cloa9 hich tho) dost ear" the e* of ignorance" thegro)nd of *ad" corr)ptionGs chain" the carapaceof dar9ness" the living death" sensationGscorpse" the tom* tho) carriest ith thee" the ro**er in thy ho)se" ho thro)gh the things heloveth" hateth thee" and thro)gh the things he hateth" *ears thee malice.

0)ch is the hatef)l cloa9 tho) earest that throttles thee -and holds thee don to it" m orderthat tho) mayest not gae a*ove" and" having seen the *ea)ty of the Tr)th" and 3ood thatdells therein" detest the *ad of it having fo)nd o)t the plot that it hath schemed against thee"

*y ma9ing void of sense those seeming things hich men thin9 senses for that it hath ithmass of matter *loc9ed them )p and crammed them f)ll of loathsome l)st" so tho) mayGst nothear 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 HDerlin 18


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Cleanse and sco)rge the hatef)l thing" the insidio)s and treachero)s parasite" the vampire" the dellon the threshold that ever s)c9s the life=*lood of the tr)e man tear it off" 9ill it o)t . . . and yo) shall thenEoy even finer and rarer delights : far s)*tler sensationsB >e hasten the f)neral of the old race" the may play midife to the ne *rood. Against this ay of intenser contin)ance e have no ord to e@cept that e do not see that any sol)tion of the pro*lem of sensation is th)s ac)ira*le. D)t perhapafter all" this is not necessary" and it is eno)gh to live and drin9 deeply and ever more deeply of the c)ntil e *ecome tr)ly 3od=into@icated. This is the path for those ho apparently oppose matter to a shich is *)t matter ritten finer and therefore more potent there are" hoever" others ho thin9 theyo)ld fain pierce thro)gh the ever seeter sirl of sense=delights into the calm mind of the mystery" athe 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" thenailing 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 M

Mind" that is to say" self=generated" *egotten of itself alone" alone *egotten. For the /ne" so say the omyths of >isdom" prod)cing ,imself from ,imself" perpet)ally sends forth ,is on Tho)ght of ,imseand 0he" the ivine Mother" ,is Tho)ght" conceives ,im in ,erself as Father Mind" and *rings ,im fointo manifest *eing as 0on : and yet" All is /ne. The Dreath of the Father arms %t Hthe /ne ThingIDreath of the Mother cools %t!. And Father is the mystery e call 0pirit" and Mother is the mystery e 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 0pirit ho shalhate Form and love 6ife" hate Dody and love 0o)l ? 0)rely it is all a great mystery" and not a cr)deantithesis" a naLve d)alism ?

The orld is evil! : say the ren)nciators" the mortificatory fol9. The orld is good : say the optimithe la)ghter=lovers" the 3ree9s! of the orld. The orld is mi@ed! : say so*er philosophers. The 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 arate" on strict asceticism" is f)ndamental ith co)ntless schools of mystics the orld over" no one illdeny. %t is )ite tr)e that" as a r)le" no Eo)rneyer on this path stops to en)ire very strictly into themeaning 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 9ind it re)ires no E)stification other than e@perience" it m)st *e felt. 4no)gh for theprofane to 9no that even in its *eginnings it is some intenser sensation" some loftier emotion" someecstatic e@perience. >hether or not a ord of isdom! might *e of more general and gen)ine servicthe orld" fe ho have once e@perienced the inner delights" stop to en)ire" and nat)rally so.

D)t the greatest p)le of all is ho men *egan to practise asceticism. 0)rely they m)st have *eg)nnat)rally they co)ld not have started ith priorinotions that if they 9noc9ed off their physical geeseand 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 naturallye@perienced these more s)*tle and poerf)sensations" as naturallyrefrained from the food and ha*its of normal man of their time even as e alno nat)rally hen e are engaged on some [Page "]a*sor*ing mental or creative or9 hich enthrao)r hole attention" or are ta9en o)t of o)rselves *y some deep an@iety or highly pleas)ra*lee@citement. %n the *eginning" then" some of those ho heard of the strange inner delights of their ecs

comrades" o)ld do)*tless desire to enEoy s)ch sensations in their on persons" and o)ld accordinset themselves to copy the o)tard *ehavio)r of the nat)ral mystics of this 9ind : the things theynaturallydid or refrained from doing" because their attention was absorbed elsewhere. The e@otericso)ld then copy the o)tard *ehavio)r of the esoterics" hoping that so they might share ith them thinternal delights.

Fe of s)ch o)tard imitators" hoever" e may s)ppose" ever s)cceeded *eca)se of s)ch )nintelliimitation alone those ho s)cceeded did so *eca)se they ere already at the germinating stage for pec)liar species of groth ithin they ere already folloing the ay of the seers and hearers andfeelers ithin" in their on internal economy. And certainly in s)ch cases it seems reasona*le to ass)

that the o)tard copying ill hasten the inard groth" and rapidly )ic9en it.

D)t if a manGs charismis not of this 9ind" then he may mortify himself and a*stain" fast and disciplinehimself ith )tmost rigo)r" and not even the sad visions of sic9ness and deadly fee*leness ill visit heyes. /f co)rse there *e those" many of them" [Page #] ho discipline themselves for p)re love ofchastising themselves for their sins in order to please their 3od : *)t e may leave these to this 3otheir on devising" for s)ch a 3od has not created o)r cosmosof *ea)ty.

For those" then" hose charism" or special so)l=dharma" is not vision or prophecy" apocalyptic orsoothsaying" 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 thingof other ranges of sensation to ma9e )p for their a*stinence don here! B Most of )s )nregeneratesfancy % hear them plead" o)ld *e very content to p)rchase ecstasies at so cheap a rate" if it erepossi*le. D)t for most of )s it is not possi*le" simply *eca)se it is not o)r partic)lar charism" o) migell say that e can all *ecome poets or architects" or engineers or doctors!.

Consider another charismHtho)gh Pa)l does not incl)de it in his listI : m)sic. The ay of the m)siciis certainly not )s)ally the ay of the ascetic and s)rely the m)sician is *lessed ith s)*tle senses ion line ? >hat can *e more *ea)tif)lly e@pressive of the highest emotions than a masterpiece of thgreat creators of harmony ? And yet do e not read of some of them" the greatest creators" that they

ere gross feeders and drin9ers" nay" verygross feeders and drin9ers ? The ascetic [Page $%] illperhaps reEoin5 D)t they did not rite Gspirit)alG m)sic!. They rote at any rate m)sic hich can ta9esome of )s o)t of o)rselves" raise )s to vast heights of holy emotion" and at=one )s ith greatnessotherise )nattaina*le. D)t perhaps m)sicians do not co)nt in this are not entirely on the line of o)raverage h)man evol)tion perhaps some of them are n)rslings of the gods! ho 9nos ?

Then again ho has not heard strange stories of poets ? /f some ho have po)red forth their chiefesmasterpieces hen strong drin9 had to all o)ter seeming samped them of one of the greatest 4ngl

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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 his song of another ho" hen eaned from the c)p *y a philistine friend" never rote a reada*le linagain ? Tr)ly does 3od seem to *e no respecter of persons in this ? D)t the ren)nciators ill say5 ee have heard of these things" *)t ho m)ch more Gspirit)allyG o)ld they have ritten if they had *easceticsB ! May*e *)t in one case at any rate" the friend ho converted! his friend" gained a so)l! *ro**ed the orld of a poet! and ho shall say hether the orld is the richer or the poorer there*y ?>ho 9nos ? Man is a mystery hen e thin9 e have solved the pro*lem" it appears again to moc9in a still more s)*tle g)ise. >ho 9nos ? : % say for % am riting not for the Nonconformist conscie*)t for those ho [Page $$] conform their conscience to the facts of life" and especially the less commfacts.

And this reminds me of a strange rite in anti)ity" a manner of doing things hich indicates" to my d)*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 ndo)*t *)t that the neophytes on their initiation into the mystery=lore of their clans" ere given to drin9the potent E)ice of some sacred plant : Soma" or Haoma. %n later times and in higher grades of c)lt)of co)rse all this as changed" and the primitive rites ere sym*olised and spirit)alised into processe

inner p)rification and psychic discipline. D)t in the earliest times there seems to *e no do)*t *)t that senses of the neophytes ere )ic9ened ith the into@icating E)ice of some sacred plant" that is to saplant hich as otherise taboo. %n this cr)de state of entheism! : to coin a ord : they sa!.0eeing" hoever" that they ent thro)gh a co)rse of stern training *eforehand" fasting and p)rifyingthemselves" seeing that they entered into the rites ith ind)ced feelings of great ae and fearsomee@pectancy" ith feelings that they ere approaching the confines of death" and a*o)t to pass into thmystic depths of the )n9non : this into@ication" instead of proving a c)rse as it does hen profaneproved a great *lessing" *eing sanctified *y the [Page $2] sanction of Religion as a rite reserved only fholy 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. %nancient Cappadocia" instead of haoma" or ine" they are said to have )sed moly" the mystic plant s)of *y one of the poets of the /dyssean cycle. [Molyis said to *e a Cappadocian ord" and in the,ellenised Mithraic tradition is fo)nd as a s)*stit)te for the haomaof the Avestan traditions ]. %n ancMe@ico they )sed hat is no called hiuliB [A name given to several small species of cacti hich livmonths after they have *een rooted )p" and as the eating of them ca)ses ecstasy" they are loo9ed )pas demi gods and treated ith great reverence! Hsee /n the >atch=Toer!" 0eptem*er n)m*er 1&'7I : E)st as the 0oma is personified and reverenced in the Rigvaidi9 Mantrah ]among the ,)ichols othe 0ierra Madre del Norte and this reminds )s strongly of the so=called Mescal *)ttons!" also proc)from a species of cact)s. And ho in this connection ill not remem*er the most sacred American %nd

rite of the smo9ing of the cal)met! and other allied sacraments! and comm)nions! of still e@istingprimitive c)lt)res! ?

0trange for the ordinary citien of no imagination to reflect that his glass! and his pipe! are thelegitimate s)rvivals of original mystery=rites" [Page $3]things strictly reserved for solemn occasions" ofsacramental 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 hereithal of the means comm)nion co)ld not *e p)rchased at every street corner for a penny" and that too even *y the most

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degraded. The Temples of Dacch)s ere not profaned" and the orgies! ere respecta*le : nay sac

A strange chapter from the history of the ed)cation of the h)man race and perhaps even stranger stthe evidence from those early days hen men! ere more closely 9in to the animals! than they aretoday" hen indeed there as no chance of dominating the animal *y the mind alone" as far at any raas o)r then infant race as concerned the mind as yo)ng in them and fee*le" the life as strong an

chaotic. Th)s e hear of some in those early days of ild enth)siastic rites" ho" for certain maEesticp)rposes" in freny 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 amongthose ho had. *een ta)ght the *o)ndaries of the path of the 3ood 6a!" do e not hear of a li9e de*eing done *y one of the greatest minds of anti)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)hat ho *elieved ith all his so)l ,is Master commanded in hat he loo9 to *e the most a)thoritativesayings5 %f thy right hand offend thee" c)t it off!. And hat apologist even today has ritten it satisfactdefence of the isdom of that mon9ish prono)ncement p)t into the mo)th of the Master *y the gospe

ma9ers ? ]

D)t to pass from s)ch e@tremes of mortification do e not 9no that in the 4le)sinian rites vario)s dere still )sed for certain p)rposes ?

;)st as the hierophant also : not emasc)lated as Attis" *)t made e)n)ch ith hemloc9 E)iceand divorced from all fleshly generating : in the night" at 4le)sis" from *eneath many a clo)dof 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 re)ires no evidence to sho that mystics from the very earliest times" the Flesh has *een set straitly over against the 0pirit. The deaththe one as ta9en to mean the life of the other 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 themortification of the flesh. %n *rief" the pres)pposition that matter is evil" inimical" has *een at the *ottomost of the p)rificatory forms of religion and in some form or other of the teaching of nearly every sch

of mysticism. [Page $5]

Noadays" hoever" it hardly re)ires more than the statement of the proposition to convince it of itsinherent fallacy. The hole of the present activity of the orld is *ased )pon a far more Eoyo)s vie othings" a far more E)st appreciation of the val)es of the divine *lessings. There is a general ineradicaint)ition : indeed there has alays *een a conviction hidden in the heart of the vast maEority of 3odcreat)res : that not only is the orld good for man" *)t that those ho see9 to escape o)t of it and faay" are traitors to the common h)manity" gr)m*lers against the las of the common eal" fa)lt=findith the isdom of the divine economy : in *rief" that they are paying the 3ood 3od the orst possi

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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 itthe speediest possi*le end.

This hostility to the flesh is at *ottom the ea9 spot in all mon9dom as a profession" of all selfishvirginity! as a protest against evil the co)nter proposition and cr)de antithesis to hich is the saying;eish isdom5 ,e ho is itho)t a ife is half a man!. >iser far as the policy of ancient Aryan %nd

that first a man sho)ld f)lfil his d)ty to his race and co)ntry *y living the ho)seholderGs life" *efore givhis )ndivided attention to other=orldliness!" and the artificial freeing of himself!. [Page $] 0)ch alsoas the r)le apparently among the original Pythagoreans.

%t is" hoever" to *e do)*ted hether in the past the vast maEority of striving mystics co)ld have got aitho)t these o)ter safeg)ards" these strict antitheses the mind as yet as not generally strong eno)even in the mystic race. ;)st as it has not *een possi*le in the past for the vast maEority of fol9 to getalong itho)t adhesion to some special form of faith" some sect of religion" so has it *een necessary the mystic race itself to have sectarian forms of mysticism strict alls of separation have had to *e *)p. They have had to retire from the orld and isolate themselves 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*leta*oos on things physical.

D)t today" no that the mind is leaping forard ith s)ch *o)nds" today no that the tr)ly divine ideaReligion as aspiration itho)t sectarianism" of there *eing as many nat)ral ays to >isdom : to 3oas there are so)ls of men" that tr)ly divine int)ition of )nity in m)ltiplicity" is charming menGs minds anarming their hearts ith its s)n=clear simplicity no that this ne spirit of tr)e tolerance" the germ oreal love of h)manity" has ta9en root in the soil of h)man passion" and is removing the mo)ntains ofancient preE)dice in its infant p)shings=forth to gro into that great tree of life and light" [Page $!] )ndehose *eneficent shade all creat)res shall some day rest : today e can )nderstand ho that not oon 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 a*lood. 6ove them really and not ith that refinement of calc)lated ill=ill that renders apparent good fevil" so that coals of fire! may *e heaped on the head! of the )nfort)nate foe. [Clearly a saying! incirc)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 on ho)sehold. 6ove all the creat)re3od rightly" fearlessly" )nderstandingly. De a Man not a priest" or a prophet" or a mon9" or a n)n and

*e all things" these as ell as others : *)t not one of the lesser things alays" as if that ere the onegreat thing.

D)t all this is do)*tless as o*sc)re as ,eracleit)s or more so" for he as isely o*sc)re" so at any ranti)ity *elieved" hereas all this" for all % 9no" may *e very foolishly o*sc)re. et see ho some oat any rate or9s o)t in morals. At first" even as at first in cr)de mysticism" there is the strait setting ofone thing over against the other" *lac9 over against hite Hinstead of not=*lac9I" 3od over against the[Page $"] evil" virt)e over against vice for even a Plato in his ethics ma9es a virt)e the antithesis of

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vice. More s)*tly did an Aristotle perceive that a virt)e as a mean *eteen to e@tremes" to vicesfor instance" co)rage is a mean *eteen coardice and foolhardiness. Nearer still to the mystery ethe Pythagoreans" hen they ta)ght that the secret of all virt)es as harmony and therefore the leadof the chain of virt)es ith them as E)stice : not p)rity" not o*edience" not faith these latter are themore feminine virt)es of devotion" admira*le each in their on ay" and resolva*le *y philosophy intohand=maidens of E)stice" even as" perchance" from the ren)nciatory point of vie" E)stice is the servathis trinity of graces.

0o too" ith regard to the practice of contemplation" the diffic)lty is to get rid of the antagonism of d)aof the effort of mind to dominate *ody" or at any rate a material vehicle of some 9ind" no matter hos)*tle it may *e. The sol)tion of the p)le is do)*tless" as the old *oo9s say" the t)rning of the minditself" not on a *ody : self=contemplation 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 nothat the mind is some st)ff set over against the matter of the sensational orld it is a far deeper mystfor Mind itself in last analysis creates the very matter of the sensational orld for [Page $#]is not thedivine 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 orld e can carry o)r monastea*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. Tode need not hate the Flesh e can admire the onderf)l or9 of o)r Mother as nat)rally as did theancient 3ree9s. For )s the )n=h)man saying ascri*ed" tho)gh do)*tless erroneo)sly" to0han9aracharya5 >oman is the gateay of hell! : hich" if % remem*er rightly" as also a favo)riteaphorism of Tert)llianGs" and certainly of co)ntless n)m*ers of >estern mon9s : is no ord of isdo*)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 thegro)nd" and a*ove all things never to loo9 at a oman" for fear he sho)ld *rea9 his voB e gods ofcommon sense B ho fee*le m)st s)ch an one *e" ho far *elo the average" even hat child=so)lsm)st *e those of o)r dear neophytes of this typeB >hat virt)e is there in this for s)rely the tr)econ"uereris 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" liviat a time hen the p)ritanical fear of the [Page 2%] orld" the flesh" and the devil as still sco)rging thland" ere no hit p)rer in reality than o)rselves in fact they ere far grosser in their imaginationsnat)rally. Their very ta*oos are proof of it. A yo)ng man in those days ho ent to a theatre or itnes

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 thehad made their 3od for themselves they o)ght to have 9non. Today o)r children" as soon as they catoddle" go to theatres" gae thro)gh opera glasses at the *allet" and learn to ma9e a *rea9 as soon atheir chins are a*ove the *illiard ta*le. The conse)ence is that for most of them the iles of the devs)ch cr)de fashions at any rate" are of little all)rement they have *ecome the normal" the *anal" thethings they have gron )sed to.

Then" too" the )ncharita*leness of the ancient ascetics" and modern ones for that matter" the rage

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against the acc)rsed thing! in the *reasts of the mortificatory fol9 and that" too" in spite of the ord isdom! that it is not that hich goeth into the mo)th that defileth the man" *)t that hich cometh o)D)t )se is s)rely not acc)rsed it is a*)se" at this stage of the mystery=play" at any rate" that dis)alifithe candidate 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! it is a [Page 2$]trespass against all those seet old tr)ths that are so 9indgiven 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 toards >isdom :ascetics" mortifiers of the flesh?! : the anser m)st *e5 Dy no means necessarily so!. 0ome" manyare of co)rse a*stainers for certain p)rposes : *)t they do not call their a*stinence asceticism ormortification of the flesh nor does their a*stinence" from hatever they a*stain" ma9e them desire toimpose their private discipline on others" or in any ay to pres)me to find fa)lt ith those ho do notfollo their ay" or to *oast themselves as more virt)o)s than their fellos.

They 9no too ell that men are of different types" that there are races" nay tri*es and families" of so

even as there are of *odies" and that the c)stoms and ta*oos of so)ls are as rigid as those of *odiesThey do not necessarily e@pect an artist" for instance" to *e nat)rally a saint" any more then they e@pa saint to *e nat)rally an artist they do not e@pect a physician to *e nat)rally a general" any more thathey 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 natural seldom can a man reallys)cceed on more than one line there is a 9ey=note to [Page 22] his nat)re" to hich" if he *e ise" he *etter t)ne himself. There is a talent hich he is not to hide in a nap9in" a something in potentiality his 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 fairstate here e shall sho forth o)r on special characteristic in ever f)ller perfection" hile reflectingthe potentiality of all the other types *)t he alone can manifest them all in perfection ho is Master omasterhood" 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 hisfelloship in 3alatia than to the saints! at Rome. %n his 6etter to the 3alatians he reflects the isdomhis Msster" setting forth the tr)e 6esser Mysteries : those 6esser Mysteries in hich ho fe s)cceethe testsB For those ho do s)cceed are verily and indeed Christs" and they alone are initiated into th

3reater Mysteries. ,e alone ho is Master can tell hat is the tr)e Mystery of Man the rest" even theill)minate mystics" m)st distort the light=ray thro)gh the prism of their preE)dices" even tho)gh thosepreE)dices *e their holiest convictions and so they can *)t spea9 it forth in s)ch *ea)tif)l *)t enigma)tterances as5

This is the 3ate of ,eaven" and this is the ,o)se of 3od" here the 3ood 3od dells alone"into hich no [Page 23] imp)re man shall come" no psychic" no fleshly man *)t it is 9ept )nderatch for the spirit)al alone" here they m)st come" and" casting aay their garments" all*ecome *ridegrooms made virgin *y the #irginal 0pirit. For s)ch a man is the virgin ith child"

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ho can conceive and *ring forth a son" hich is neither psychic" nor fleshly" *)t a *lessedaeon 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" andperhaps for my readersG patience.

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Concerning the Mortification of the Flesh

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