How may it be possible for anyone, who has no independent means, to subsist upon entering Chelaship? Reply by H.P. Blavatsky. During the eleven years of the existence of the Theosophical Society I have known, out of the seventy-two regularly accepted chelas on probation and the hundreds of lay candidates — only three who have not hitherto failed, and one only who had a full success. Can the Mahatmas be selfish? True knowledge consists in getting at the root of all phenomena, and thus arriving at a correct understanding of the primal cause, the “rootless root,” which is not an effect in its turn but THAT, the ever incomprehensible Causeless Cause (Be-ness) of both spirit and matter, and the oldest dogma in Occultism. Is the desire to live selfish? The only difference between an ordinary man, who works along with Nature during the course of cosmic evolution, and an Occultist, is that the latter, by his superior knowledge, adopts such methods of training and discipline as to quicken the process of his evolution, and thus ascend in a comparatively short period of time to that apex of physical and spiritual perfection (a god on earth) towards which the ordinary man may take billions of years to reach. Beyond the Hall of Learning is the Great White Lodge, the magnificent hierarchy of Masters, Gurus and Chelas all over the world. Every aspirant to chelaship has a Guru, although he many not be aware of it. Guru is the chela’s benefactor. If we have reverenced our teacher, we will now revere our unknown Guru. We must place our hand in his hand with all love, and trust, and confidence, for it is to mighty Karma we have appealed, and the Guru is an agent of Karma. The faith and love between Guru and chela act as a stimulus to both, and as a purifier to the mind of the chela. The business of the Guru is to keep adjusting the chela’s progress, and not to submerge him with knowledge, or push him forward. The Guru–chela affinity is sacred and precious, not lightly taken up or lightly dropped.

Loyalty and devotion to Truth make up the right attitude. The aspirant must unlearn all that he knows, prepare himself for martyrdom, and begin to learn a new alphabet on the lap of Mother Nature, every letter of which will afford a new insight to him, every syllable and word, an unexpected revelation. Nature gives up her secrets and imparts true wisdom only to Philaletheians because they love Truth for her own sake. Christianity has always put down and martyred those who have the audacity, in this time of social abasement and corruption, to live up to its ideals. The only scientific basis of morality is to be sought for in the doctrines of Lord Buddha and Sri Shankaracharya. Occultism requires unflinching loyalty and devotion to Truth. Otherwise, the faint-hearted will be ridiculed and chaffed by the masses, and partake in the terrible fate of Oedipus. But Truth should not be sought for intellectual acquisitiveness, pleasure, contempt of others, profit, fame, honour, promotion, and for other inferior ends. A clean life is the first step towards the Temple of Truth. An outward looking mindset, trapped in the gloom and doom of separateness, invariably gives rise to pessimism. But the abyss of despair has its advantages: 1 It encourages a mental U-turn from exterior preoccupations to interior realms of being and spirituality. It is like a chink in the dark prison walls of earth-life, through which breaks in a ray of light from the eternal home and which, illuminating the inner senses, whispers to the prisoner in his shell of clay the origin and the dual mystery of our being. 2 It is a tacit proof of the presence in man of that which knows, without being told, i.e., that there is another and a better life, once that the curse of earth-lives is lived through. Charity and mercy, harmlessness and humbleness, kindness and gentleness, define the right approach. Before you even think of treading the path, purify the material self. Otherwise you will end up degrading the spiritual. You have to fathom the mysteries of the heart, before you can hope to unravel the mysteries of the soul. Superhuman powers are stones on the path. Faculties and abilities will come naturally to those who are mentally and ethically fit to use them for the common good. Mere desire for powers is a form of selfishness, and receives no encouragement from our Teachers. If aroused prematurely, they will hinder rather than help. Self-interest can neither reveal the powers latent in man, nor can it alleviate the woes of the “Great Orphan.” Take heed of the words of a Master of Wisdom. Even virtues can be vices in the eyes of the beholder. Silently and quietly endure what life brings, without expecting neither plaudits nor feedback. Pristine efforts cannot be thwarted by criticism and apathy. Nor can anyone hide from the all-seeing Law. Woe to those who live without suffering. Prerequisites for study and self-knowledge. · Awareness of the ignorance and deception of the world we live in. · Conviction that self-knowledge can be obtained by personal effort. · Determination to obtain and face that knowledge. Eastern Occultism is the origin and fount of all we know and can possibly learn. There is nothing new under the Sun, nothing new except what is forgotten. The aim of education proper is the art of revealing to the ignorant the world of thought and law, of marvels and mysteries, of moral beauty and ideal truth that lies within us and about us. The aim of science proper is to trace unity in diversity and to sum up the laws that govern their manifold operations in Nature. Reasoning out the unknown from the known and vice-versa, i.e., inductive and deductive reasoning, is what meditation proper is all about. Having reasoned out the Eternal and Universal, then by purity and virtue we may begin to ascend towards the “Sacred Majesty of Truth.” Tarrying on the particulars will sink the mind in the shifting sands of doubt and despair, and any insight of the universals previously gained will be lost. One has to take into account that many of the extant Sanskrit authorities are far from being sacred. For no truly esoteric doctrines were ever written. Many things are orally explained, and always have been. In any case, intellectual study alone is never enough, unless corroborated by application, practice, and experience. Unselfishness is likely to aid the mind and protect it from error. Alas, too many Theosophists are content to read books and too few strive to further the interests of Brotherhood. If mastering a narrow domain of modern science requires years of unremitting study, how much longer will it take one to fathom out the world’s religions and philosophies? Only those Lovers of Truth who are self-reliant and willing to think for themselves can hope to progress by working out a conceptual structure of the Teachings which (a) stands to reason and (b) explains every mystery, and triumphantly demonstrates the nature of every phenomenon. Key occult terms that will have to be understood by neophytes include: · Spirit and Matter, Force and Space; · Reality and Unreality, Formless and Form, Dream and Waking. · Subjective and Objective, both as sensuous and as psychic perceptions. Arguments, contentions, objections, and dissensions about the Teachings stifle intuition and are likely to sever the link between Guru and Chela. Immoral atmosphere saps siddhis. Co-operation with Nature, diligent study, fortitude and perseverance in the face of adversity and, above all, unconditional love for humanity and all that lives, make up the right conduct. Aspirants to the narrow and thorny Path should be deeply studying the philosophy of Occultism before entering upon the practical training. One must ascend the Golgotha of sentient life step by step unaided, by his own initiatives and exertions, ever moving onward and upward. Woe to him who, instead of studying the half-defaced landmarks, he pronounces them indecipherable. The Doctrine of Heart alone, can make of him an elect. You cannot be one with ALL, unless all your acts, thoughts and feelings synchronise with the onward march of nature. You can only approach ALL through unconditional love of, and devotion to, Humanity and all that lives by turning away from selfishness, which is the main of sin and sorrow. Don’t even think of circumventing Karman through masterly inactivity. For inaction on the physical produces adverse effects on the spiritual planes. “Inaction in a deed of mercy becomes an action in a deadly sin.” The physical inactivity of a Mahatman or a Raja Yogin is quite different from the that of solitary fakirs, hermits, and Hatha Yogins. The former are working for mankind on high spiritual realms; the latter are afflicted from spiritual selfishness here, on Earth, the plane of illusion, and the greatest of all hells. Stop pushing yourself forward. “Be restrained, be liberal, be merciful.” Forget yourself in the midst of so many selves. Consider whether “turning the other cheek” may encourage offenders to re-offend. Stop abusing and tormenting animals, and eating their flesh. Desist from gossiping, for gossip fans flames! Condemn the sin, not the Sinner within. Do not set yourself as example to others, for “the camel cannot see its own hump.” But by example you can imprint upon the astral light pictures of higher aspirations and thus aid advanced souls from other spheres to descend. Stones on the Path. Practical Occultism is fraught with dangers. It requires total, unreserved and unswerving commitment, and loyalty to Truth. The aspirant must choose between the life of the World and the life of Occultism. After a pledge is given, any sensual or even mental self-gratification will forfeit the power of spiritual discrimination. And, regardless of motive, the renegade will retrogress and sink deeper into the mire. Only implicit faith to the Teachings and explicit service to mankind can admit the disciple to the Kingdom of Heaven. Neither success nor safety is to be found outside self-development. Woe to those who, driven by selfishness and vanity, dissent from the aim and ideals of the Theosophical Society and its motto. Disunity is the first condition of failure; rivalry, the second. Chelas, Disciples, Shravakas, Upasans: united in thought and deed. The sine qua non of “Chelaship is a spirit of absolute unselfishness and devotion to Truth; then follow self-knowledge and self-mastery.” Chelaship is a psychic resolvent, which eats away all dross and leaves only the pure gold behind. Real gurus are not simply Adepts in Occult Sciences: they are Living Men of profound knowledge and noble ethics. They are masters of human nature and of the secrets of Nature herself. Entrance to the mysteries of Inner Life requires a pledge of seven years’ probation. Unswerving faith, trust, and confidence to the Master are indispensable. But many are unworthy of the honour. “The results have been far from encouraging so far, and it is to show these unfortunates the cause of their failure as much as to warn others against rushing heedlessly upon a similar fate, that the writing of the present article has been ordered.” Masters normally select Chelas from natural mystics in the East. Exceptions of accepted Chelas in the West include Fludd, Thomas Vaughan, Paracelsus, Pico della Mirándola, and Count de Saint-Germain. When you see the light, that light is from you and it is you!

Wisdom on the Path of Enlightenment Chela is Sanskrit for “disciple” of a spiritual teacher, or guru. The guru-chela relationship is far more than that of ordinary teacher and pupil, since it involves a profoundly spiritual interrelationship. Now, in this new volume, William Wilson Quinn has compiled and organized selections from several extraordinary gurus–primarily of India and Tibet–who were highly advanced and authentic spiritual teachers. Their advice focuses on chelaship–of how to become, and remain, a chela of one of their qualified successors. Distilled to its essence, and borrowing from their words, this handbook succinctly offers a guide to cultivating the chela’s inner qualities and virtues, as well as his or her outer behaviors. These inner qualities include, among others, open mindedness, purity of heart, an eager intellect, a sense of duty to the spiritual teacher, and a willing obedience to the behests of Truth. For the chela, these inner pursuits are effective only when matched with corresponding outer behaviors such as loving kindness toward others, selflessness, and a genuine compassion and charity for all who suffer. For seekers of spiritual truth and students of the perennial philosophy wanting to explore spiritual wisdom at depth, The Chela’s Handbook offers a guide for becoming and remaining a chela, and thereafter traversing the spiritual path toward the ultimate goals of enlightenment and liberation from the wheel of death and rebirth.

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