| Previous Next Table of Contents |
 |
| Esoteric Healing - Chapter V - The Process of Restitution |
| 3. Two Questions of Importance I have sought, in the preceding pages, to give an insight into the true nature of that which we call death. Death is the withdrawal, consciously or unconsciously, of the inner living entity from its outer shell, its inner vital correspondence, and finally it is the relinquishing of the subtle body or bodies, according to the point in evolution of the person. I have also sought to show the normality of this familiar [479] process. The horror which attends death upon the battlefield or by accident consists in the shock which it precipitates within the area of the etheric body, necessitating a rapid rearrangement of its constituent forces and a sudden and unexpected reintegration of its component parts in response to definite action which has perforce to be taken by the man in his kama-manasic body. This action does not involve the replacing of the inner man again within the etheric vehicle, but requires a coming together of the dissipated aspects of that body under the Law of Attraction, in order that its final and complete dissolution can take place. Before taking up our theme (which is the Art of Elimination), I want to answer two questions which seem to me of importance; they are frequently asked by earnest and intelligent students. The first question is, in reality, the expression of disappointment in this series of instructions. It can be framed as follows: Why does not the Tibetan Teacher take up definite or basic diseases, and deal with their pathology, give their cures or suggested treatment, indicate their direct causes and give, in detail, the processes of recovery? Because, my brothers, there is little that I can add technically to what has already been ascertained by medical science anent the symptoms, the localities and the general trends in which diseased conditions are found. Observation, experimentation, trial and error, success and failure have given to modern man a wide and definitely accurate knowledge of the outer aspects and effects of disease. Time, and constant trained observation, have equally definitely indicated cures or ameliorative processes or preventive measures (such as vaccination for smallpox), and these have proved after many years to be helpful. Investigation and experiment and the steadily growing facilities which science provides are adding to man's capacity to help, to cure at times, to ameliorate [480] frequently, and to lessen the reactions of pain. Medical science and surgical skill have advance by leaps and bounds - so much so that what is today known and somewhat grasped is of so vast a nature and so intricate in its scientific and therapeutic aspects that they have given rise to specialists - to those who concentrate upon a particular field, and who therefore deal only with certain conditions of ill health and disease, thereby attaining much skill, knowledge and frequent success. All this is good, in spite of what cranks and people with a pet method of cure may say, or even those who have no use for the medical profession and prefer some cult or some of the newer approaches to the problem of health. The reason that these newer approaches exist is that medical science has made such progress that it has now reached the limits of its purely physical area or field and is now on the verge of advancing into the realm of the intangible and is thus drawing nearer to the world of causes. It is for this reason that I have wasted no time with the details of disease, with enumerating or considering specific diseases, their symptoms or their treatment because that is fully covered in the textbooks available; they can likewise be seen in their many and various stages in our great hospitals. I have, however, dealt with the latent causes of disease - such as tuberculosis, syphilis and cancer - inherent in the individual man, in humanity as a whole, and also in our planet. I have traced the psychological basis of disease and have indicated a practically new field wherein disease - particularly in its earlier stages - can be studied. When the psychological basis of disease can be realized and its factual nature is admitted by the orthodox physician, the surgeon, the psychologist and the priest, then all will work together in this developing area of understanding, and what is today vaguely called "preventive medicine" will come into its own. I prefer to define this phase of medical [481] application as the organization of those methods whereby disease will be avoided, and the development of those techniques whereby correct psychological training will be given - from youth up - and by right emphasis upon the inner spiritual man, those conditions will be negated and those habits avoided which today lead inevitably to ill health, definitely symptomatic disease and eventual death. In the above statement, I refer to no affirmative or speculative science such as Christian Science or those schools of thought which trace all disease to the power of thought. I am concerned with the immediate necessity of right psychological training, based upon a knowledge of the constitution of man, upon the science of the seven rays (the forces which condition man and make him what he is), and upon esoteric astrology; I am concerned with the application of the knowledges, hitherto regarded as peculiar and esoteric, which are slowly coming under general consideration, and , which have made great progress during the past twenty-five years. I am not concerned with the abolition of medical treatment, nor am I concerned with endorsing the newer modes of treatment - all of which are still in the experimental stage and all of which have somewhat to contribute to medical science as a whole; out of the united contribution should come a richer and more fluid medical approach to the patient. |
|
| Previous Next Table of Contents |