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Occultist versus Mystic

 A contemplative meditation on yesterday's post regarding Assagioli's journal synthesis suddenly connected a few dots in my mind on the spiritual line of Assagioli (which was of course AAB's line).  It seems he was on the line of mystics (in contrast to occultist) and his deep reverence for Sri Aurobindo's mystical poem displaying harmony. To illustrate the finding, I compiled a small comparative table of occultist versus mystic. I hope brooding over this table will also serve the dual task of assisting one of my friend to overcome his guilt and frustrations, who is a mystic but is surrounded by occultists (the table gives typical vices of both mystics and occultists).


To quickly illustrate the point, Djwal Khul gave Assagioli his rays (F.C.D in Discipleship in New Age I,II):  


1. The soul or egoic ray—the second Ray of Love-Wisdom.

2. The personality ray—the fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict.

3. The ray of the mind—the first Ray of Power or Will.

4. The ray of the astral body—the second Ray of Love-Wisdom.

5. The ray of the physical body—the seventh Ray of Ceremonial Order or Magic.


From this information and the table, we can infer that Assagioli was a modern western mystic (a second ray soul on his way towards greater synthesis) and his personality ray on the fourth (though he was never artistic or cultural much) explains his affinity with works and synthetic vision of Sri Aurobindo.


Another humble western mystic, whose life story might help my friend to overcome his frustration, is Peter Mt. Shasta. Especially the fact that he possessed none of that sophisticated outer knowledge of the occultists, yet his encounters with Saint Germain illustrates that purity of intention is of utmost importance as Blavatsky (herself evolved through occultist path) had emphasized. 


The post and the following words Sri Aurobindo (from Letters on Poetry and Art volume to a painter in the Ashram in 1933) might help the mystics (their vital/emotional beings are strong) in healing and motivating themselves: 


"That is a great error of the human vital — to want compliments for their own sake and to be depressed by their absence and imagine that it means there is no capacity. In this world one starts with ignorance and imperfection in whatever one does — one has to find out one’s mistakes and to learn, one has to commit errors and find out by correcting them the right way to do things. Nobody in the world has ever escaped from this law. So what one has to expect from others is not compliments all the time, but praise of what is right or well done and criticism of errors and mistakes. The more one can bear criticism and see one’s mistakes, the more likely one is to arrive at the fullness of one’s capacity. Especially when one is very young — before the age of maturity — one cannot easily do perfect work. What is called the juvenile work of poets and painters — work done in their early years — is always imperfect, it is a promise and has qualities — but the real perfection and full use of their powers comes afterwards. They themselves know that very well, but they go on writing or painting because they know also that by doing so they will develop their powers. 


As for comparison with others, one ought not to do that. Each one has his own lesson to learn, his own work to do and he must concern himself with that, not with the superior or inferior progress of others in comparison with himself. If he is behind today, he can be in full capacity hereafter and it is for that future perfection of his powers that he must labour. You are young and have everything yet to learn — your capacities are yet only in bud, you must wait and work for them to be in full bloom — and you must not mind if it takes months and years even to arrive at something satisfying and perfect. It will come in its proper time, and the work you do now is always a step towards it. But learn to welcome criticism and the pointing out of imperfections — the more you do so, the more rapidly you will advance."



I close with words of DK on serving - 


"The aspirant becomes a light or lamp set in a dark place and illumines the way for others. Only thus can the light within be fanned to a flame. This process of lighting others and being a lamp must always precede that wonderful experience wherein the mystic turns his lamp and light into other realms and finds the "way of escape" into those worlds where the Masters work and walk."


Images: Comparative table (occultist vs mystic) and Peter Mt. Shasta in the lowermost row sitting in the center (or third from either side) in his young days with Baba Ram Das in search of a Guru.





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