Bhagavad Gita (limba romana)

Bhagavad Gita (în limba sanscrită: भभभभभ भभभभ - Bhagavad Gītā, "Cântarea lui Dumnezeu" sau
"Cântecul divin"[1]) este un vechi text epic sanscrit cuprinzând 700 de versete (sau 701 după unele
recenzii) din Mahabharata (Bhishma Parva capitolul 25 – 42[2]).
Krishna, a a cum îl ș numește autorul Bhagavad Gita ca Bhagavan[3] (cel divin) și chiar versurile
însele folosesc stilul sanscrit (metrul sanscrit - chandas cu sinonime și metafore). Lucrarea este
scrisă într-o formă poetică, permițând cântatul ei tradițional; de aici și titlul care se traduce
"Cântecul celui divin". Bhagavad Gita este venerată ca fiind sacră de către marea majoritate a
tradițiilor hinduse și în special de așa-numiții adepți ai lui Krishna. În vorbirea curentă este citată ca
"Gita".

Cartea înâia numită
DESCUMPĂNIREA LUI ARJUNA

Dhritarashtra a spus:
1. Ce au făcut, Sanjaya, ai mei şi fiii lui Pandu, adunaţi gata de luptă, în Câmpia Legii, în Kurukshetra?
Sanjaya a spus:
2. După ce a văzut armata fiilor lui Pandu, desfaşurată în linie de bătaie, regele Duryodhana apropiindu-se de
învăţătorul [său] a rostit cuvintele:
3. Priveşte, învăţătorule, marea armată a fiilor lui Pandu, desfaşurată în linie de bătaie de către priceputul tău discipol, fiul lui Drupada.
4. Acolo sunt viteji, mari arcaşi de seama lui Arjuna şi Bhima, în bătalie: Yuyudhana, Virata şi Drupada cu carul [său] mare,
5. Dhrishtaketu, Cekitana şi puternicul rege din Kashi, Purujit, Kuntibhoja şi regele Shaibya cel [puternic ca un] taur [printre] oameni.
6. Şi Yudhamanyu cel îndrăzneţ şi Uttamaujas cel puternic, fiul lui Subhadra şi fiii lui Draupadi, toţi cu care mari.
7. Cunoaşte-i pe cei mai de seamă dintre ai noştri, tu primul între cei de două ori născuţi; ca să-i ştii, ţi-i voi numi pe aceşti conducători ai oastei mele:
8. Tu [ânsuţi] şi Bhishma şi Karna şi Kripa, învingători în bătălii, Ashvatthaman şi Vikarna, precum şi fiul lui Somadatta,
9. Şi mulţi alti eroi care au renunţat la viaţa pentru mine, cu felurite arme de atac, îndemânatici în luptă.
10. Puţină este oastea noastră, aflată în seama lui Bhishma, multă este oastea lor, aflată în seama lui Bhima.
11. Oriunde aţi fi, toate măriile voastre, fiecare din locul în care stă, doar pe Bhishma să-l păzească.
12. Spre bucuria acestuia11, cel mai bătrân din [neamul] Kuru, străbunul cel voinic, dând un răcnet puternic ca de leu, a suflat în scoică.
13. Atunci, scoicile şi tobele mari, tobele mici, trompetele mari răsunară deodată; vuietul a fost clocotitor.
14. Atunci, în marele lor car tras de cai albi, Madhava şi Pandava, suflară în scoicile lor divine.
15. Hrishikesha [a suflat] în [scoica] Pancajanya, Dhananjaya în Devadatta şi Vrikodara cel crunt în fapte, în marea scoica Paundra.
16. Regele Judhishthira, fiul lui Kunti [a suflat] în Anantavijaya, Nakula şi Sahadeva în Sughosha şi Manipushpaka.
17. Marele arcaş din Kashi şi marele războinic Shikhandin, Dhrishtadiumna şi Virata şi neânvinsul Satyaki,
18. Drupada, fiii lui Drupadi şi regele Saubhadra cu braţul mare, din toate parţile, o rege, faceau să sune fiecare scoica sa.
19. Sunetul tumultuos a sfâşiat inimile celor ai lui Dhritarashtra, făcând să răsune cerul şi pământul.
20. Atunci, văzându-i pe cei ai lui Dhritarashtra gata [de luptă], Pandava, al cărui steag purta o maimuţă [ca semn], când să înceapă lupta, ridicându-şi arcul,
21. Îi spuse, o rege, aceste vorbe lui Hrishikesha: „Opreşte-mi carul meu, o Acyuta, între cele două oşti,
22. Ca să-i văd aliniaţi şi dornici de luptă pe cei cu care mi-e dat să mă lupt în această bătalie ce se stârneşte.
23. Pe cei strânşi aici, îi văd dornici să se lupte, dornici să facă în luptă placul netrebnicului fiu al lui Dhritarashtra. ”
24. La aceste cuvinte ale lui Gudakesha, o Bharata, Hrishikesha oprind între cele două armate carul neântrecut,
25. În faţa lui Bhishma, Drona şi a tuturor regilor, spuse: „O, fiu al lui Pritha, priveşte-i adunaţi pe toţi aceştia din nemul lui Kuru.”
26. Fiul lui Pritha zări atunci cum stateau în ambele oşti, părinţi, străbuni, învăţători16, unchi, fraţi, copii, nepoţi şi ortaci, socri şi prieteni.
27. Fiul lui Kunti văzându-şi toate rudele aliniate, în descumpănire, vorbi îndurerat: Arjuna a spus:
28. Privindu-mi neamul, o Krishna, adunat dornic de a se bate, mi se înmoaie picioarele, gura mi se usucă.
29. Prin trup îmi trece un fior, mi se ridică părul, [arcul] Gandiva îmi scapă din mână şi pielea îmi arde;
30. Nu mă pot ţine pe picioare, mintea mi se risipeşte, iar semnele, o Keshava, le văd potrivnice;
31. Şi nu văd la ce-ar fi bun să-mi ucid rudele în bătalie; nu doresc izbinda, o Krishna, nici domnia şi nici plăcerile.
32. La ce ne este bună domnia, o Govinda, la ce ne sunt bune bucuriile sau [chiar] viaţa?
33. Cei pentru care dorim domnia, bucuriile şi plăcerile, iată-i, stând [gata de] luptă, renunţând la viaţă şi la avuţii;
34. Învăţători, părinţi, fii, precum şi bunici, unchi, socri, nepoţi, cumnaţi şi rubedenii,
35. Pe aceştia nu vreau să-i omor, de-ar fi să mă omoare ei, o Madhusudana, nici pentru domnia celor trei lumi; darămite pentru cea a pământului?
36. Ce bucurie am avea, o Janardana, ucigându-i pe cei ai lui Dhritarashtra? Păcatul ar cadea pe noi, ucigând aceşti nelegiuiţi înarmaţi.
37. De aceea, noi nu putem ucide pe cei ai lui Dhritarashtra, care ne sunt rude; ucigându-ne rudele, cum am putea fi fericiţi, o Madhava?
38. Chiar dacă aceştia nu văd, cu mintea pradă pasiunii, păcatul de a-ţi distruge familia şi păcatul de a ataca prietenul,
39. Cum să nu ştim noi să ne oprim de la acest păcat, o Janardana, noi care cunoaştem ce-i păcatul de a-ţi distruge familia?
40. Familia fiind distrusă, pier Legile eterne ale familiei; pierind Legea, fărădelegea pune stăpânire pe întreaga familie.
41. Când stăpâneşte fărădelegea, o Krishna, femeile se depravează; depravarea femeilor, o Varshneya, duce la amestecul castelor.
42. Acest amestec aduce infernul, nu numai pentru cel ce-şi ucide familia, dar chiar pentru familie: străbunii lipsiţi de ritul turtelor (pinda) şi al apei cad [ân infern].
43. Prin aceste păcate ale celor ce ucid familia, care produc amestecul castelor, sunt răsturnate legile eterne ale castei şi ale familiei.
13 „Madhava” - epitet al lui Krishna; în cursul textului Krishna va apărea frecvent şi sub alte epitete: Acyuta, Govinda, Janardana,
Madhusudana (distrugator al lui Madhu), Varshneya, Hari, Keshava (pletosul) şi Hrishikesha (stapanul divin al simţurilor).
14 „Pandava”: epitet al lui Arjuna („fiu al lui Pandu”), care, ca şi Krishna, va aparea frecvent şi sub alte epitete şi perifraze descriptive: fiu al lui Kunti, fiu al lui Pritha, Bharata, (urmaş al lui Bharata), Dhananjaya, Gudakesha etc.
15 „Fiu al lui Dhritarashtra”: Duryodhana.
16 „Învăţător”: sk. guru. În vechiul brahmanism termenul desemnează preceptorul spiritual sau fondatorul unei tradiţii spirituale. Elevul trebuie să-i acorde supunere totala în timpul noviciatului şi un respect total în restul vieţii. În hinduism şi în sectele religioase tardive importanta învăţătorului spiritual creste fiind considerat ca o divinitate încarnată si, ca atare, obiect al unei adoraţii cu caracter religios.
17 „Kunti”: epitet al lui Pritha.
18 „Ritul turtelor şi al apei”: ceremonia Shraddha care ofera străbunilor aflaţi în pitri-loka, „lumea străbunilor”, daruri simbolice, pentru a-i menţine în acest loc temporal şi a-i impiedica să cadă în infern (naraka). Fericirea străbunilor este legată de faptele urmaşilor lor, depinzând direct de faptele lor meritorii sau de păcatele lor. Actul ofrandei sporea atat meritul urmaşilor cât şi pe cel al străbunilor.
44. Celor care strică legile familiei, o Janardana, infernul le este lăcaşul orânduit; aşa am aflat.
45. Vai, eram hotărâţi să facem un mare păcat când ne pregăteam să ne ucidem familia de dragul plăcerilor şi al domniei.
46. Mi-ar fi mai bine dacă, fără să mă opun, şi neânarmat, cei ai lui Dhritarashtra m-ar ucide cu arma în mână. Sanjaya a spus:
47. Vorbind astfel, Arjuna, în plină bătălie, s-a aşezat în car, lăsând [să-i cadă] arcul şi săgeţile, cu inima cuprinsă de mâhnire.

Most Holy Trinosophia, by Count St.Germain - THE RAREST OF OCCULT MANUSCRIPTS

OF THE UTMOST SIGNIFICANCE to all students of Freemasonry and the occult sciences is this unique manuscript La Très Sainte Trinosophie. Not only is it the only known mystical writing of the Comte de St.-Germain, but it is one of the most extraordinary documents relating to the Hermetic sciences ever compiled. Though the libraries of European Rosicrucians and Cabbalists contain many rare treasures of ancient philosophical lore, it is extremely doubtful if any of them include a treatise of greater value or significance. There is a persistent rumor that St.-Germain possessed a magnificent library, and that he prepared a number of manuscripts on the secret sciences for the use of his disciples. At the time of his death . . . or disappearance . . . these books and papers vanished, probably into the archives of his society, and no trustworthy information is now available as to their whereabouts.

The mysterious Comte is known to have possessed at one time a copy of the Vatican manuscript of the Cabbala, a work of extraordinary profundity setting forth the doctrines of the Luciferians, Lucianiasts and the Gnostics. The second volume of The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky (pp. 582-83 of the original edition) contains two quotations from a manuscript "supposed to be by the Comte St.-Germain". The parts of the paragraphs attributed to the Hungarian adept are not clearly indicated, but as the entire text deals with the significance of numbers, it is reasonable to infer that his commentaries are mystical interpretations of the numerals 4 and 5. Both paragraphs are in substance similar to the Puissance des nombres d’après Pythagore by Jean Marie Ragon. The Mahatma Koot Hoomi mentions a "ciphered MS." by St.-Germain which remained with his staunch friend and patron the benevolent Prince Charles of Hesse-Cassel (See Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett). Comparatively unimportant references to St.-Germain, and wild speculations concerning his origin and the purpose of his European activities, are available in abundance, but the most exhaustive search of the work of eighteenth century memoir writers for information regarding the Masonic and metaphysical doctrines which he promulgated has proved fruitless. So far as it has been possible to ascertain, the present translation and publication of La Très Sainte Trinosophie affords the first opportunity to possess a work setting forth . . . in the usual veiled and symbolic manner . . . the esoteric doctrines of St.-Germain, and his associates.

La Très Sainte Trinosophie is MS. No. 2400 in the French Library at Troyes. The work is of no great length, consisting of ninety-six leaves written upon one side only. The calligraphy is excellent. Although somewhat irregular in spelling and accenting, the French is scholarly and dramatic, and the text is embellished with numerous figures, well drawn and brilliantly colored. In addition to the full-page drawings there are small symbols at the beginning and end of each of the sections. Throughout the French text there are scattered letters, words, and phrases in several ancient languages . . There are also magical symbols, figures resembling Egyptian hieroglyphics, and a few words in characters resembling cuneiform. At the end of the manuscript are a number of leaves written in arbitrary ciphers, possibly the code used by St.-Germain’s secret society. The work was probably executed in the latter part of the eighteenth century, though most of the material belongs to a considerably earlier period.

As to the history of this remarkable manuscript, too little, unfortunately, is known. The illustrious Freemasonic martyr, the Comte Allesandro Cagliostro, carried this book amongst others with him on his ill-fated journey to Rome. After Cagliostro’s incarceration in the Castle San Leo, all trace of the manuscript was temporarily lost. Eventually Cagliostro’s literary effects came into the possession of a general in Napoleon’s army, and upon this officer’s death La Très Sainte Trinosophie was bought at a nominal price by the Bibliothèque de Troyes. In his Musée des Sorciers, Grillot de Givry adds somewhat to the meager notes concerning the manuscript. He states that the volume was bought at the sale of Messena’s effects; that in the front of the book is a note by a philosopher who signs himself "I.B.C. Philotaume" who states that the manuscript belonged to him and is the sole existing copy of the famous Trinosophie of the Comte de St.-Germain, the original of which the Comte himself destroyed on one of his journeys.The note then adds that Cagliostro had owned the volume, but that the Inquisition had seized it in Rome when he was arrested at the end of 1789. (It should be remembered that Cagliostro and his wife had visited St.-Germain at a castle in Holstein.) De Givry sums up the contents of La Très Sainte Trinosophie as "Cabbalized alchemy" and describes St.-Germain as "one of the enigmatic personages of the eighteenth century . . . an alchemist and man of the world who passed through the drawing rooms of all Europe and ended by falling into the dungeons of the Inquisition at Rome, if the manuscript is to be believed".

The title of the manuscript, La Très Sainte Trinosophie, translated into English means "The Most Holy Trinisophia" or "The Most Holy Three-fold Wisdom". The title itself opens a considerable field of speculation. Is there any connection between La Très Sainte Trinosophie and the Masonic brotherhood of Les Trinosophists which was founded in 1805 by the distinguished Belgian Freemason and mystic Jean Marie Ragon, already referred to? The knowledge of occultism possessed by Ragon is mentioned in terms of the highest respect by H. P. Blavatsky who says of him that "for fifty years he studied the ancient mysteries wherever he could find accounts of them". Is it not possible that Ragon as a young man either knew St.-Germain or contacted his secret society? Ragon was termed by his contemporaries "the most learned Mason of the nineteenth century". In 1818, before the Lodge of Les Trinosophists, he delivered a course of lectures on ancient and modern initiation which he repeated at the request of that lodge in 1841. These lectures were published under the title Cours Philosophique et Interprétatif des Initiations Anciennes et Modernes. In 1853 Ragon published his most important work Orthodoxie Maçonnique. Ragon died in Paris about 1866 and two years later his unfinished manuscripts were purchased from his heirs by the Grand Orient of France for one thousand francs. A high Mason told Madam Blavatsky that Ragon had corresponded for years with two Orientalists in Syria and Egypt, one of whom was a Copt gentleman.

Ragon defined the Lodge of the Trinosophists as "those who study three sciences". Madame Blavatsky writes: "It is on the occult properties of the three equal lines or sides of the Triangle that Ragon based his studies and founded the famous Masonic Society of the Trinosophists". Ragon describes the symbolism of the triangle in substance as follows: The first side or line represents the mineral kingdom which is the proper study for Apprentices; the second line represents the vegetable kingdom which the Companions should learn to understand because in this kingdom generation of bodies begins; the third line represents the animal kingdom from the exploration of which the Master Mason must complete his education. It has been said of the Lodge of the Trinosophists that "it was at one time the most intelligent society of Freemasons ever known. It adhered to the ancient Landmarks but gave clearer and more satisfactory interpretations to the symbols of Freemasonry than are afforded in the symbolical Lodges". It practiced five degrees. In the Third, candidates for initiation received a philosophic and astronomic explanation of the Hiramic Legend.

The Egyptianized interpretation of Freemasonic symbolism which is so evident in the writings of Ragon and other French Masonic scholars of the same period (such as Court de Gabelin and Alexandre Lenoir) is also present in the figures and text of the St.-Germain manuscript. In his comments on the Rite of Misraim, called the Egyptian Rite, Ragon distinguishes 90 degrees of Masonic Mysteries. The Ist to 33rd degrees he terms symbolic; the 34th to 66th degrees, philosophic; the 67th to 77th, mystic; and the 78th to 90th, Cabbalistic. The Egyptian Freemasonry of Cagliostro may also have been derived from St.-Germain or from some common body of Illuminists of whom St.-Germain was the moving spirit. Cagliostro’s memoirs contain a direct statement of his initiation into the Order of Knights Templars at the hands of St.-Germain. De Luchet gives what a modern writer on Cagliostro calls a fantastic account of the visit paid by Allesandro and his wife the Comtesse Felicitas to St.-Germain in Germany, and their subsequent initiation by him into the sect of the Rosicrucians—of which he was the Grand Master or chief. There is nothing improbable in the assumption that Cagliostro secured La Très Sainte Trinosophie from St.-Germain and that the manuscript is in every respect an authentic ritual of this society.

The word Trinosophie quite properly infers a triple meaning to the contents of the book, in other words that its meaning should be interpreted with the aid of three keys. From the symbolism it seems that one of these keys is alchemy, or soul-chemistry; another Essenian Cabbalism; and the third Alexandrian Hermetism, the mysticism of the later Egyptians. From such fragments of the Rosicrucian lore as now exists, it is evident that the Brethren of the Rose Cross were especially addicted to these three forms of the ancient wisdom, and chose the symbols of these schools as the vehicles of their ideas.The technical task of decoding the hieroglyphics occurring throughout La Très Sainte Trinosophie was assigned to Dr. Edward C. Getsinger, an eminent authority on ancient alphabets and languages, who is now engaged in the decoding of the primitive ciphers in the Book of Genesis. A few words from his notes will give an idea of the difficulties involved in decoding:

"Archaic writings are usually in one system of letters or characters, but those among the ancients who were in possession of the sacred mysteries of life and certain secret astronomical cycles never trusted this knowledge to ordinary writing, but devised secret codes by which they concealed their wisdom from the unworthy. Each of these communities or brotherhoods of the enlightened devised its own code. About 3000 B. C. only the Initiates and their scribes could read and write. At that period the simpler methods of concealment were in vogue, one of which was to drop certain letters from words in such a manner that the remaining letters still formed a word which, however, conveyed an entirely different sense. As ages progressed other systems were invented, until human ingenuity was taxed to the utmost in an endeavor to conceal and yet perpetuate sacred knowledge.

"In order to decipher ancient writings of a religious or philisophic nature, it is first necessary to discover the code or method of concealment used by the scribe. In all my twenty years of experience as a reader of archaic writings I have never encountered such ingenious codes and methods of concealment as are found in this manuscript. In only a few instances are complete phrases written in the same alphabet; usually two or three forms of writing are employed, with letters written upside down, reversed, or with the text written backwards. Vowels are often omitted, and at times several letters are missing with merely dots to indicate their number. Every combination of hieroglyphics seemed hopeless at the beginning, yet, after hours of alphabetic dissection, one familiar word would appear. This gave a clue as to the language used, and established a place where word combination might begin, and then a sentence would gra dually unfold.

"The various texts are written in Chaldean Hebrew, Ionic Greek, Arabic, Syriac, cuneiform, Greek hieroglyphics, and ideographs. The keynote throughout this material is that of the approach of the age when the Leg of the Grand Man and the Waterman of the Zodiac shall meet in conjunction at the equinox and end a grand 400,000-year cycle. This points to a culmination of eons, as mentioned in the Apocalypse: "Behold! I make a new heaven and a new earth," meaning a series of new cycles and a new humanity.

"The personage who gathered the material in this manuscript was indeed one whose spiritual understanding might be envied. He found these various texts in different parts of Europe, no doubt, and that he had a true knowledge of their import is proved by the fact that he attempted to conceal some forty fragmentary ancient texts by scattering them within the lines of his own writing. Yet his own text does not appear to have any connection with these ancient writings. If a decipherer were to be guided by what this eminent scholar wrote he would never decipher the mystery concealed within the cryptic words. There is a marvelous spiritual story written by this savant, and a more wonderful one he interwove within the pattern of his own narrative. The result is a story within a story."

In the reprinting of the Freneh text of the Trinosophia, the spelling and punctuation is according to the original. It has been impossible, however, to reproduce certain peculiarities of the calligraphy. In some cases the punctuation is obscure, accents are omitted, and dashes of varying lengths are inserted to fill out lines. The present manuscript is undoubtedly a copy, as "Philotaume" stated. The archaic characters and the hieroglyphics reveal minor imperfections of formation due to the copyist being unfamiliar with the alphabets employed.

The considerable extent of the notes and commentaries has made it advisable to place them together at the end of the work rather than break up the continuity of the text by over-frequent interpolations.

La Très Sainte Trinosophie is not a manuscript for the tyro. Only deep study and consideration will unravel the complicated skein of its symbolism.Although the text matter is treated with the utmost simplicity, every line is a profound enigma. Careful perusal of the book, and meditation upon its contents, will convince the scholar that it has been well designated "the most precious known manuscript of occultism."

COUNT ST.GERMAIN - THE MAN WHO DOES NOT DIE

HE GREAT ILLUMINIST, Rosicrucian and Freemason who termed himself the Comte de St.-Germain is without question the most baffling personality of modern history. His name was so nearly a synonym of mystery that the enigma of his true identity was as insolvable to his contemporaries as it has been to later investigators. No one questioned the Comte’s noble birth or illustrious estate. His whole personality bore the indelible stamp of gentle breeding.

The grace and dignity that characterized his conduct, together with his perfect composure in every situation, attested the innate refinement and culture of one accustomed to high station.

A London publication makes the following brief analysis of his ancestry: "Did he in his old age tell the truth to his protector and enthusiastic admirer, Prince Charles of Hesse Cassel? According to the story told by his last friend, he was the son of Prince Rakoczy, of Transylvania, and his first wife, a Takely. He was placed, when an infant, under the protection of the last of the Medici (Gian Gastone). When he grew up and heard that his two brothers, sons of the Princess Hesse Rheinfels, of Rothenburg, had received the names of St. Charles and St. Elizabeth, he determined to take the name of their holy brother, St. Germanus. What was the truth? One thing alone is certain, that he was the protege of the last Medici." Caesare Cantu, librarian at Milan, also substantiates the Ragoczy hypothesis, adding that St.-Germain was educated in the University at Sienna.

In her excellent monograph, The Comte de St.-Germain, the Secret of Kings, Mrs. Cooper-Oakley lists the more important names under which this amazing person masqueraded between the years 1710 and 1822. "During this time," she writes, "we have M. de St.-Germain as the Marquis de Montferrat, Comte Bellamarre or Aymar at Venice, Chevalier Schoening at Pisa, Chevalier Weldon at Milan and Leipzig, Comte Soltikoff at Genoa and Leghorn, Graf Tzarogy at Schwalback and Triesdorf, Prinz Ragoczy at Dresden, and Comte de St.-Germain at Paris, The Hague, London, and St. Petersburg." To this list it may be added that there has been a tendency among mystical writers to connect him with the mysterious Comte de Gabalais who appeared to the Abbe Villiers and delivered several discourses on sub-mundane spirits. Nor is it impossible that he is the same as the remarkable Signor Gualdi whose exploits Hargreave Jennings recounts in his book The Rosicrucians, Their Rites and Mysteries. He is also suspected of being identical with Count Hompesch the last Grand Master of the Knights of Malta.

In personal appearance, the Comte de St.-Germain has been described as of medium height, well proportioned in body and of regular and pleasing features. His complexion was somewhat swarthy and his hair dark, though often powdered. He dressed simply,' usually in black, but his clothes were well fitting and of the best quality. His eyes possessed a great fascination and those who looked into them were profoundly influenced. According to Madame de Pompadour, he claimed to possess the secret of eternal youth, and upon a certain occasion claimed having been personally acquainted with Cleopatra, and at another time of having "chatted familiarly with the Queen of Sheba"! Had it not been for his striking personality and apparently supernatural powers, the Comte would undoubtedly have been considered insane, but his transcending genius was so evident that he was merely termed eccentric.

From Souvenirs de Marie Antoinette, by Madame la Comtesse d’Adhemar, we have an excellent description of the Comte, whom Frederick the Great referred to as "the man who does not die": "It was in 1743 the rumour spread that a foreigner, enormously rich, judging by the magnificence of his jewelry, had just arrived at Versailles. Where he came from, no one has ever been able to find out. His figure was well-knit and graceful, his hands delicate, his feet small, and the shapely legs enhanced by well-fitting silk stockings. His nether garments, which fitted very closely, suggested a rare perfection of form. His smile showed magnificent teeth, a pretty dimple marked his chin, his hair was black, and his glance soft and penetrating. And, oh, what eyes! Never have I seen their like. He looked about forty or forty-five years old. He was often to be met within the royal private apartments, where he had unrestricted admission at the beginning of 1768."

The Comte de St.-Germain was recognized as an outstanding scholar and linguist of his day. His linguistic proficiency verged on the supernatural. He spoke German, English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French with a Piedmontese accent, Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic and Chinese with such fluency that in every land in which he visited he was accepted as a native. "Learned," writes one author, "speaking every civilized language admirably, a great musician, an excellent chemist, he played the part of a prodigy and played it to perfection." Even his most relentless detractors admitted that the Comte was possessed of almost incredible attainments in every department of learning.

Madame de Pompadour extols the genius of St.-Germain in the following words: "A thorough knowledge of all languages, ancient and modern; a prodigious memory; erudition, of which glimpses could be caught between the caprices of his conversation, which was always amusing and occasionally very engaging; an inexhaustible skill in varying the tone and subjects of his converse; in being always fresh and in infusing the unexpected into the most trivial discourses made him a superb talker. Sometimes he recounted anecdotes of the court of the Valois or of princes still more remote, with such precise accuracy in every detail as almost to create the illusion that he had been an eyewitness to what he narrated. He had traveled the whole world over and the king lent a willing ear to the narratives of his voyages over Asia and Africa, and to his tales about the courts of Russia, Turkey and Austria. He appeared to be more imtimately acquainted with the secrets of each court than the charge d’affaires of the king."

The Comte was ambidextrous to such a degree that he could write the same article with both hands simultaneously. When the two pieces of paper were afterwards placed one upon the other with the light behind them the writing on one sheet exactly covered the writing on the other. He could repeat pages of print after one reading. To prove that the two lobes of his brain could work independently he wrote a love letter with his right hand and a set of mystical verses with his left, both at the same time. He also sang beautifully.

By something akin to telepathy this remarkable person was able to feel when his presence was needed in some distant city or state and it has even been recorded of him that he had the disconcerting habit of appearing in his own apartments and those of his friends without resorting to the conventionality of the door.

He was, by some curious circumstances, a patron of railroads and steamboats. Franz Graeffer, in his Recollections of Vienna, recounts the following incident in the life of the astonishing Comte: "St.-Germain then gradually passed into a solemn mood. For a few seconds he became rigid as a statue; his eyes, which were always expressive beyond words, became dull and colourless. Presently, however, his whole being became reanimated. He made a movement with his hand as if in signal of departure, then said 'I am leaving (ich scheide) do not visit me. Once again will you see me. Tomorrow night I am off; I am much needed in Constantinople, then in England, there to prepare two inventions which you will have in the next century—trains and steamboats'."

As an historian the Comte possessed an uncanny knowledge of every occurrence of the preceding two thousand years and in his reminiscences he described in intimate detail events of the previous centuries in which he had played important roles. "He spoke of scenes at the court of Francis I as if he had seen them, describing exactly the appearance of the king, imitating his voice, manner and language—affecting throughout the character of an eyewitness. In like style he edified his audience with pleasant stories of Louis XIVth, and regaled them with vivid descriptions of places and persons." (See All the Year Round).

Most of St.-Germain’s biographers have noted his peculiar habits with regard to eating. It was diet, he declared, combined with his marvellous elixir, which constituted the true secret of longevity, and although invited to the most sumptuous repasts he resolutely refused to eat any food but such as had been specially prepared for him and according to his recipes. His food consisted mostly of oatmeal, groats and the white meat of chicken. He is known on rare occasions to have taken a little wine and he always took the most elaborate precautions against the possibility of contracting cold. Frequently invited to dinner, he devoted the time during which he naturally should have eaten to regaling the other guests with tales of magic and sorcery, unbelievable adventures in remote places and intimate episodes from the lives of the great.

In one of his tales concerning vampires, St.-Germain mentioned in an offhand way that he possessed the wand or staff with which Moses brought water from the rock, adding that it had been presented to him at Babylon during the reign of Cyrus the Great. The memoir writers admit themselves at a loss as to how many of the Comte’s statements could be believed. Common sense, as then defined, assured them that most of the accounts must be fashioned out of whole cloth. On the other hand, his information was of such precise nature and his learning so transcendent in every respect that his words carried the weight of conviction. Once while relating an anecdote regarding his own experiences at some remote time and suddenly failing to recollect clearly what he considered a relevant detail, he turned to his valet and said, "Am I not mistaken, Roger?" The good man instantly replied: "Monsieur le Comte forgets that I have only been with him for five hundred years. I could not, therefore, have been present at that occasion. It must have been my predecessor."

The smallest doings of so unusual a person as St.-Germain would, of course, be meticulously noted. Several interesting and amusing bits of information are available relative to the establishment which he maintained in Paris. He had two valets de chambre. The first, Roger, already mentioned, and the second a Parisien engaged for his knowledge of the city and other useful local information. "Besides this, his household consisted of four lackeys in snuff-colored livery and gold braiding. He hired a carriage at five hundred francs a month. As he often changed his coats and waistcoats, he had a rich and expensive collection of them but nothing approached the mangificence of his buttons, studs, watches, rings, chains, diamonds, and other precious stones. Of these he possessed a very large value and varied them every week."

Meeting St.-Germain one day at dinner Baron Gleichen chanced to focus the conversation upon Italy and had the good fortune to please St.-Germain, who, turning to him remarked: "I have taken a great fancy to you, and will show you a dozen pictures, the like of which you have not seen in Italy." In the words of Gleichen: "Actually, he almost kept his word, for the pictures he showed me were all stamped either with singularity or perfection, which rendered them more interesting than many first-class works. Above all was a Holy Family by Murillo, equal in beauty to that by Rafaelle at Versailles. But he showed me other wonders—a large quantity of jewels and colored diamonds of extraordinary size and perfection. I thought I beheld the treasures of the Wonderful Lamp. Among other gems were an opal of monstrous size, and a white sapphire (?) as large as an egg, which, by its brilliancy, dimmed all the stones compared with it. I flatter myself that I am a connoisseur in gems, but I can declare that it was impossible to perceive any reason for doubting the genuineness of these jewels, the more so that they were not mounted."

As an art critic St.-Germain could instantly detect the most cleverly perpetrated forgeries. He did considerable painting himself, achieving an incredible brilliance of color. He was so successful that Vanloo the French artist begged him to divulge the secret of his pigments but he refused. He is accredited with having secured astonishing results in the painting of jewelry by mixing powdered mother-of-pearl with his colors. What occurred to his priceless collection of paintings and jewels after his death or disappearance is unknown. It is possible that the Comte’s chemical knowledge comprehended the manufacture of luminous paint such as is now used on watch dials. His skill as a chemist was so profound that he could remove flaws from diamonds and emeralds, which feat he actually performed at the request of Louis XV in 1757. Stones of comparatively little value were thus transformed into gems of the first water after remaining for a short time in his possession. He frequently performed this last experiment, if the statements of his friends can be relied upon. There is also a popular story to the effect that he placed gems worth thousands of dollars on the place cards at the banquets he gave.

It was in the court at Versailles that the Comte de St.-Germain was brought face to face with the elderly Comtesse de Gergy. Upon beholding the celebrated magician, the aged lady stepped back in amazement and the following well-authenticated conversation took place between the two:

"Fifty years ago," the Comtesse said, "I was ambassadress at Venice and I remember seeing you there looking just as you do now, only somewhat riper in age perhaps, for you have grown younger since then."

Bowing low, the Comte answered with dignity: "I have always thought myself happy in being able to make myself agreeable to the ladies."

Madame de Gergy then continued: "You then called yourself the Marquis Balletti."

The Comte bowed again and replied: "And Comtesse Gergy’s memory is still as good as it was fifty years ago."

The Comtesse smiled. "That I owe to an elixir you gave me at our first meeting. You are really an extraordinary man."

St.-Germain assumed a grave expression. "Did this Marquis Balletti have a bad reputation?" he asked.

"On the contrary," replied the Comtesse, "he was in very good society."

The Comte shrugged his shoulders expressively saying: "Well, as no one complains of him, I adopt him willingly as my grandfather."

The Comtesse d’Adhemar was present during the entire conversation and vouches for its accuracy in every detail.

Madame du Hausset, femme de chambre to Madame de Pompadour, writes at some length of the astonishing man who often called upon her mistress. She records a conversation which took place between la Pompadour and St.-Germain:

"It is true, Madame, that I knew Madame de Gergy long ago," the Comte affirmed quietly.

"But, according to that," replied the Marquise, "you must now be more than a hundred years old."

"That is not impossible," enigmatically returned the Comte with a slight smile, "but I admit that it is more possible that this lady, for whom I have infinite respect, talks nonsense."

It was answers such as this which led Gustave Bord to write of St.-Germain that, "he allows a certain mystery to hover about him, a mystery which awakens curiosity and sympathy. Being a virtuoso in the art of misleading he says nothing that is untrue. * * * He has the rare gift of remaining silent and profiting by it." (See La Franc-Macennerie en France, etc.)

But to return to Madame du Hausset’s story. "You gave Madame de Gergy," pressed la Pompadour, "an elixir surprising in its effects; she pretends that tor a long while she appeared to be no older than twenty-four. Why should you not give some to the king?"

St.-Germain allowed an expression feigning terror to spread over his face, "Ah! Madame, I should be mad indeed to take it into my head to give the king an unknown drug!"

The Comte was on very friendly terms with Louis XV with whom he had long discussions on the subject of precious stones, their manufacture and purification. Louis was amused and thrilled by turns. Never before had so extraordinary a person trod the sacred precincts of Versailles. The whole court was topsy-turvy and miracles were the order of the day. Courtiers of depleted fortunes envisioned the magical multiplication of their gold and grandames of uncertain age had dreams of youth and favor restored by the mystery man’s fabled elixirs. It is easy to understand how so fascinating a character could relieve the boredom of a king who had spent his life a martyr to royal fashions and was deprived by his position of the pleasure of honest work. Then, again, rulers become victims to the fads of the moment and Louis himself was dabbling in alchemy and other occult arts. True, the king was only a dilletante whose will was not strong enough to bind him to any lasting purpose, but St.-Germain appealed to several qualities in the royal nature. The Comte’s fund of knowledge, the skill with. which he assembled his facts to the amusement and edification of his audiences, the mystery which surrounded his appearances and disappearances, his consummate skill both as a critic and technician in the arts and sciences, to say nothing of his jewels and wealth, endeared him to the king. Had Louis but profited by the wisdom and prophetic warnings of the mysterious Comte, the Reign of Terror might have been averted. St.-Germain was ever the patron, never the patronized. Louis had found the diplomat in whom there was no guile.

De Pompadour writes, "He enriched the cabinet of the king by his pictures by Valasquez and Murillo, and he presented to the Marquise the most precious and priceless gems. For this singular man passed for being fabulously rich and he distributed diamonds and jewels with astonishing liberality."

Not the least admirable evidence of the Comte’s genius was his penetrating grasp of the political situation of Europe and the consummate skill with which he parried the thrusts of his diplomatic adversaries. At all times he bore credentials which gave him entry to the most exclusive circles of European nobility. During the reign of Peter the Great M. de St.-Germain was in Russia, and between the years 1737 and 1742 in the court of the Shah of Persia as an honored guest. On the subject of his wanderings, Una Birch writes: "The travels of the Comte de Saint-Germain covered a long period of years and a great range of countries. From Persia to France and from Calcutta to Rome he was known and respected. Horace Walpole spoke with him in London in 1745; Clive knew him in India in 1756; Madame d’Adhemar alleges that she met him in Paris in 1789, five years after his supposed death; while other persons pretend to have held conversations with him in the early nineteenth century. He was on familiar and intimate terms with the crowned heads of Europe and the honoured friend of many distinguished persons of all nationalities. He is even mentioned in the memoirs and letters of the day, and always as a man of mystery. Frederick the Great, Voltaire, Madame de Pompadour, Rousseau, Chatham, and Walpole, all of whom knew him personally, rivalled each other in curiosity as to his origin. During the many decades in which he was before the world, however, no one succeeded in discovering why he appeared as a Jacobite agent in London, as a conspirator in Petersburg, as an alchemist and connoisseur of pictures in Paris, or as a Russian general at Naples.  Now and again the curtain which shrouds his actions is drawn aside, and we are permitted to see him fiddling in the music room at Versailles, gossiping with Horace Walpole in London, sitting in Frederick the Great’s library at Berlin, or conducting illuminist meetings in caverns by the Rhine." (See The Nineteenth Century, January, 1908.)

In the realm of music St.-Germain was equally a master. While at Versailles he gave concerts on the violin and on at least one occasion during an eventful life he conducted a symphony orchestra without a score. In Paris St.-Germain was the diplomat and the alchemist, in London he was the musician. "He left a musical record behind him to remind English people of his sojourn in this country. Many of his compositions were published by Walsh, in Catherine Street, Strand, and his earliest English song, Oh, wouldst thou, know what sacred charms, came out while he was still on his first visit to London; but on quitting this city he entrusted certain other settings of words to Walsh, such as Jove, when he saw, and the arias out of his little opera L’Inconstanza Delusa, both of which compositions were published during his absence from England. When he returned, in 1760, he gave the world a great many new songs, followed in 1780 by a set of solos for the violin. He was an industrious and capable artist, and attracted a great deal of fashionable attention to himself both as composer and executant."

An old English newspaper, The London Chronicle, for June, 1760, contains the following anecdote: "With regard to music, he not only played but composed; and both in high taste. Nay, his very ideas were accommodated to the art; and in those occurrences which had no relation to music he found means to express himself in figurative terms deduced from this science. There could not be a more artful way of showing his attention to the subject. I remember an incident which impressed it strongly upon my memory. I had the honour to be at an assembly of Lady , who to many other good and great accomplishments added a taste for music so delicate that she was made a judge in the dispute of masters. This stranger was to be of the party; and towards evening he came in his usual free and polite manner, but with more hurry than was customary, and with his fingers stopped in his ears. I can conceive easily that in most men this would have been a very ungraceful attitude, and I am afraid it would have been construed into an ungenteel entrance; but he had a manner that made everything agreeable. They had been emptying a cartload of stones just at the door, to mend the pavement; he threw himself into a chair and, when the lady asked what was the matter, he pointed to the place and said, 'I am stunned with a whole cart-load of discords'."

In his memoirs the Italian adventurer Jacques de Casanova de Seingalt makes numerous references to his acquaintance with St.-Germain. Casanova grudgingly admits that the Comte was an adept at magical arts, a skilled linguist, musician and chemist who won the favor of the ladies of the French court not only by the general air of mystery surrounding him but by his surpassing skill in preparing pigments and cosmetics by which he preserved for them at least a shadow of swift departing youth.

Casanova describes a meeting with St.-Germain which occurred "in Belgium under most unusual circumstances. Having arrived at Tournay, Casanova was surprised to see some grooms walking spirited horses up and down. He asked to whom the fine animals belonged and was told: "To the Comte de St.-Germain, the adept, who has been here a month and never goes out. Everybody who passes through the place wants to see him, but he makes himself visible to no one." This was sufficient to excite the curiosity of Casanova, who wrote requesting an appointment. He received the following answer: "The gravity of my occupation compels me to exclude everyone, but in your case I will make an exception. Come whenever you like and you will be shown in. You need not mention my name nor your own. I do not ask you to share my repast, for my food is not suitable to others, to you least of all, if your appetite is what it used to be." At nine o’clock Casanova called and found that the Comte had grown a beard two inches long. In discussion with Casanova, the Comte explained his presence in Belgium by stating that Count Cobenzl, the Austrian ambassador at Brussels, desired to establish a hat factory and that he was taking care of the details. Upon his telling St.-Germain that he was suffering from an acute disease, the Comte invited Casanova to remain for treatment, saying that he would prepare fifteen pills which in three days would restore the Italian to perfect health.

Casanova writes: "Then he showed me his magistrum, which he called athoeter. It was a white liquid contained in a well stopped phial. He told me that this liquid was the universal spirit of Nature and that if the wax of the stopper was pricked even so slightly, the whole of the contents would disappear. I begged him to make the experiment. He thereupon gave me the phial and the pin and I myself pricked the wax, when, lo, the phial was empty." Casanova, being somewhat of a rogue himself, doubted all other men. Therefore, he refused to permit St.-Germain to treat his malady. He could not deny, however, that St.-Germain was a chemist of extraordinary skill, whose accomplishments were astonishing if not practical. The adept refused to disclose the purpose for which these chemical experiments were intended, maintaining that such information could not be communicated.

Casanova further records an incident in which St.-Germain changed a twelve-sols piece into a pure gold coin. Being a doubting Thomas, Casanova declared that he felt sure that St.-Germain had substituted one coin for another. He intimated so to the Comte who replied: "Those who are capable of entertaining doubts of my work are not worthy to speak to me," and bowed the Italian out. This was the last time Casanova ever saw St.-Germain.

There is other evidence that the celebrated Comte possessed the alchemical powder by which it is possible to transmute base metals into gold. He actually performed this feat on at least two occasions, as attested by the writings of contemporaries. The Marquis de Valbelle, visiting St.-Germain in his laboratory, found the alchemist busy with his furnaces. He asked the Marquis for a silver six-franc piece and, covering it with a black substance, exposed it to the heat of a small flame or furnace. M. de Valbelle saw the coin change color until it turned a bright red. Some minutes after, when it had cooled a little, the adept took it out of the cooling vessel and returned it to the Marquis. The piece was no longer of silver but of the purest gold. Transmutation had been complete. The Comtesse d’Adhemar had possession of this coin until 1786 when it was stolen from her secretary.

One author tells us that, "Saint-Germain always attributed his knowledge of occult chemistry to his sojourn in Asia. In 1755 he went to the East again for the second time, and writing to Count von Lamberg he said, 'I am indebted for my knowledge of melting jewels to my second journey to India'."

There are too many authentic cases of metallic transmutations to condemn St.-Germain as a charlatan for such a feat. The Leopold-Hoffman medal, still in the possession of that family, is the most outstanding example of the transmutation of metals ever recorded. Two-thirds of this medal was transformed into gold by the monk Wenzel Seiler, leaving the balance silver which was its original state. In this case fraud was impossible as there was but one copy of the medal extant. The ease with which we condemn as fraudulent and unreal anything which transcends our understanding has brought unjustified calumny upon the names and memories of many illustrious persons.

The popular belief that Comte de St.-Germain was merely an adventurer is not supported by even a shred of evidence. He was never detected in any subterfuge nor did he betray, even to the slightest degree, the confidence entrusted to him. His great wealth—for he was always amply supplied with this world’s goods—was not extracted from those with whom he came in contact. Every effort to determine the source and size of his fortune was fruitless. He made use of neither bank nor banker yet moved in a sphere of unlimited credit, which was neither questioned by others nor abused by himself.

Referring to the attacks upon his character, H. P. Blavatsky wrote in The Theosophist of March, 1881: "Do charlatans enjoy the confidence and admiration of the cleverest statesmen and nobles of Europe, for long years, and not even at their deaths show in one thing that they were undeserving? Some encyclopaedists (see New American Cyclopedia, xiv. 266) say: 'He is supposed to have been employed during the greater part of his life as a spy at the courts at which he resided.' But upon what evidence is this supposition based? Has anyone found it in any of the state papers in the secret archives of either of those courts? Not one word, not one shred of fact to build this base calumny upon, has ever been found. It is simply a malicious lie. The treatment this great man, this pupil of Indian and Egyptian hierophants, this proficient in the secret wisdom of the East, has had from Western writers, is a stigma upon human nature."

Nothing is known concerning the source of the Comte de St.Germain’s occult knowledge. Most certainly he not only intimated his possession of a vast amount of wisdom but he also gave many examples in support of his claims. When asked once about himself, he replied that his father was the Secret Doctrine and his mother the Mysteries. St.-Germain was thoroughly conversant with the principles of Oriental esotericism. He practiced the Eastern system of meditation and concentration, upon several occasions having been seen seated with his feet crossed and hands folded in the posture of a Hindu Buddha. He had a retreat in the heart of the Himalayas to which he retired periodically from the world. On one occasion he declared that he would remain in India for eighty-five years and then return to the scene of his European labors. At various times he admitted that he was obeying the orders of a power higher and greater than himself. What he did not say was that this superior power was the Mystery School which had sent him into the world to accomplish a definite mission. The Comte de St.-Germain and Sir Francis Bacon are the two greatest emissaries sent into the world by the Secret Brotherhood in the last thousand years.

The principles disseminated by the Comte de St.-Germain were undoubtedly Rosicrucian in origin and permeated with the doctrines of the Gnostics. The Comte was the moving spirit of Rosicrucianism during the eighteenth century—possibly the actual head of that order—and is suspected of being the great power behind the French Revolution. There is also reason to believe that Lord Bulwer-Lytton’s famous novel, Zanoni, is actually concerned with the life and activities of St.-Germain. He is generally regarded as an important figure in the early activities of the Freemasons. Repeated efforts, however, probably with an ulterior motive, have been made to discredit his Masonic affiliations. Maags of London are offering for sale a Masonic minute book in which the signatures of both Comte de St.-Germain and the Marquis de Lafayette appear. It will yet be established beyond all doubt that the Comte was both a Mason and a Templar; in fact, the memoirs of Cagliostro contain a direct statement of his own initiation into the order of the Knights Ternplars at the hands of St.-Germain. Many of the illustrious personages with whom the Comte associated were high Masons, and sufficient memoranda have been preserved concerning the discussions which they held to prove that he was a Chaster of Freemasonic lore.

Madame d’Adhemar, who has preserved so many anecdotes of the life of the "wonder man", copied from one of St.-Germain’s letters the following prophetic verses pertaining to the downfall of the French Empire:

"The time is fast approaching when imprudent France,

Surrounded by misfortune she might have spared herself,

Will call to mind such hell as Dante painted.

Falling shall we see sceptre, censer, scales,

Towers and escutcheons, even the white flag.

Great streams of blood are flowing in each town;

Sobs only do I hear, and exiles see.

On all sides civil discord loudly roars

And uttering cries, on all sides virtue flees

As from the Assembly votes of death arise.

Great God, who can reply to murderous judges?

And on what brows august I see the swords descend!

Marie Antoinette was much disturbed by the direful nature of the prophecies and questioned Madame d’Adhemar as to her opinion of their significance. Madame replied, "They are dismaying but certainly they cannot affect Your Majesty."

Madame d’Adhemar also recounts a dramatic incident. St.-Germain offered to meet the good lady at the Church of the Recollets about the hour of the eight o’clock mass. Madame went to the appointed place in her sedan chair and recorded the following conversation between herself and the mysterious adept:

St.-Germain: I am Cassandra, prophet of evil . . . Madame, he who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind . . . I can do nothing; my hands are tied by a stronger than myself.

Madame: Will you see the Queen?

St.-Germain: No; she is doomed.

Madame: Doomed to what?

St.-Germain: Death.

Madame: And you—you too?

St.-Germain: Yes—like Cazotte—Return to the Palace; tell the Queen to take heed of herself, that this day will be fatal to her . . .

Madame: But M. de Lafayette . . .

St.-Germain: A balloon inflated with wind. Even now, they are settling what to do with him, whether he shall be instrument or victim; by noon all will be decided . . . The hour of repose is past, and the decrees of Providence must be fulfilled.

Madame: What do they want?

St.-Germain: The complete ruin of the Bourbons. They will expel them from all the thrones they occupy and in less than a century they will return in all their different branches to the rank of simple private individuals. France as Kingdom, Republic, Empire, and mixed Government will be tormented, agitated, torn. From the hands of class tyrants she will pass to those who are ambitious and without merit.

Comte de St.-Germain disappeared from the stage of French mysticism as suddenly and inexplicably as he had appeared. Nothing is known with positive certainty after that disappearance. It is claimed by transcendentalists that he retired into the secret order which had sent him into the world for a particular and peculiar purpose. Having accomplished this mission, he vanished. From the Memoirs de Mon Temps of Charles, Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, we gain several particulars concerning the last years before the death or disappearance of the Hungarian adept. Charles was deeply interested in occult and Masonic mysteries, and a secret society, of which he was the moving spirit, held occasional meetings upon his estate. The purposes of this organization were similar to, if not identical with, Cagliostro’s Egyptian Rite. In fact, after studying the fragments left by the Landgrave, Cagliostro’s contention that he was initiated into Egyptian Masonry by St.-Germain is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The "Wonder Man" attended at least some of these secret meetings and of all whom he met and knew during life, he confided more in Prince Charles than in any other man. The last years of St.-Germain’s known life were therefore divided between his experimental research work in alchemy with Charles of Hesse and the Mystery School at Louisenlund, in Schleswig, where philosophic and political problems were under discussion.

According to popular tradition, it was on the estate of Prince Charles that St.-Germain finally died at a date given out as 1784. The strange circumstances connected with his passing lead us to suspect that is was a mock funeral similar to that given the English adept, Lord Bacon. It has been noted that, "Great uncertainty and vagueness surround his latter days, for no confidence can be reposed in the announcement of the death of one illuminate by another, for, as is well known, all means to secure the end were in their code justifiable, and it may have been to the interest of the society that St.-Germain should have been thought dead."

H. P. Blavatsky remarks: "Is it not absurd to suppose that if he really died at the time and place mentioned, he would have been laid in the ground without the pomp and ceremony, the official supervision, the police registration which attend the funerals of men of his rank and notoriety? Where are these data? He passed out of public sight more than a century ago, yet no memoirs contain them. A man who so lived in the full blaze of publicity could not have vanished, if he really died then and there, and left no trace behind. Moreover, to this negative we have the alleged positive proof that he was living several years after 1784. He is said to have had a most important private conference with the Empress of Russia in 1785 or 1786 and to have appeared to the Princess de Lambelle when she stood before the tribunal, a few minutes before she was struck down with a billet, and a butcher-boy cut off her head; and to Jeanne Dubarry, the mistress of Louis XV as she waited on her scaffold at Paris the stroke of the guillotine in the Days of Terror of 1793."

It should be added that the Comte de Chalons, on his return from an embassy to Venice in 1788, said that he had conversed with the Comte de St.-Germain in the square at St. Mark’s the evening before his departure. The Comtesse d’Adhemar also saw and talked with him after his presumed decease, and the Encyclopedia Britannica notes that he is said to have attended a Masonic conference several years after his death had been reported. In concluding an article on the identity of the inscrutable Comte, Andrew Lang writes: "Did Saint-Germain really die in the palace of Prince Charles of Hesse about 1780-85? Did he, on the other hand, escape from the French prison where Grosley thought he saw him, during the Revolution? Was he known to Lord Lytton about 1860?  Is he the mysterious Muscovite adviser of the Dalai Lama? Who knows? He is a will-o’-the-wisp of the memoir-writers of the eighteenth century." (See Historical Mysteries.)

The true purpose for which St.-Germain labored must remain obscure until the dawn of a new era. Homer refers to the Golden Chain by which the gods conspired to bind the earth to the pinnacle of Olympus. In each age there appears some few persons whose words and actions demonstrate clearly that they are of an order different from the rest of society. Humanity is guided over critical periods in the development of civilization by mysterious forces such as were personified in the eccentric Comte de St.-Germain. Until we recognize the reality of the occult forces at work in every-day life, we cannot grasp the significance of either the man or his work. To the wise, St.-Germain is no wonder—to those who are limited by belief in the inevitability of the commonplace, he is indeed a magician, defying the laws of nature and violating the smugness of the pseudo-learned.

The Children of The Law of One & The Lost Teachings of Atlantis - BOOK

Know your true self, and you will know the true story.

 Know your whole self, and you will know the wholeness of the truth.

All is One. There is no other. Thus it always was, and thus it always shall remain.

We once experienced only Oneness. One being, with no divisions or separate parts. 

There was no “time”, no “space”, nothing other than the Us.

When you are only One, there is only you, nothing “else” to

interact with. In order to experience interaction - to experience

being with someone “else”, to experience “play”, the One

divided within itself, duplicating the One, thus creating many

Ones, many Be-ings, within the One. 

Still One being - now in many parts were we - capable of

“pretending” to be other than One, while still being One in harmonious

consciousness.

By Vibration was it done - division, multiplication, and

expansion of the One. Set into motion, were vibrations throughout

the Universe. On it went, dividing, multiplying, creating new

aspects of vibration through the overtones of harmony and ripples

of the interacting vibratory reflections. Created this

many new things, and also initiated the “time” and “space”.

Each of us were the entity of the One, the entirety of the

One - the dark, the light, the stars, the planets - all of us

macrocosms of the One. In “clusters”, “groups”, WE WERE in all

directions. WE BEING the entire UNIVERSE, we then roamed

OURSELVES, as consciousnesses, as beings, that cannot be

described or understood by the present Earth consciousness. 

Yet describe I will try, as best I can.

Our existence was (as close as you can comprehend in your

present consciousness) as beings of spirit - energy - light, star

groups, “solar” systems, the groups that be the foundation of

vibratory frequency in creating the physical plane, of matter,

the appearances there, and that which forms the bodies of that

plane. Unattached, ever flowing with the flows of the Universal

One were we, enjoying all the wonders of our new creation.

Our consciousness, both semi-separate from, yet still One

with, the entire creation of the Universe, allowed us the experiencing

of new and different things. But within this new creation

were the “material planes”. These were the realms in

which existed the most “dense”, or “slowest” spectrum of vibrations.

There were many “material planes” throughout the

Universe, the Earth being just one.

The story I am about to tell, is only of those who manifested

in the realm of the Earth. But others of us manifested

in the material planes of other solar systems. Some are

now of the higher consciousness, kindred beings are they from

other worlds. But some from other worlds are of the selfish

and “evil”.

When we came upon the world of the Earth, we had no

comparison, no experience of the like, no expectation of what

would be. The first group of us to discover this “material

plane” were in awe of the new sensations it offered. This first

group, or first wave of souls to materialize, was the first to

enter the vibrational spectrum of ‘matter’, in the time-space of

the Earth. They experienced such pleasure from “playing” in it,

that they projected themselves deeply into matter, in thoughtforms
that were the MOST STIMULATING, the MOST SENSATIONAL - those of

the animal realm creations. In creating these bodies, assorted

aspects of different animals were often combined to achieve

what they thought would be very desirable blends - Bird

head/human bodies, Horse body/human head, Goat head/human

body, Fish tail/human torso - and many, many more variations.

These would much later become known in Greek and Roman

mythology by many names - Centaurs, Minotaurs, Mermaids, etc.

Unfortunately, these ones, our close kindred, had no way of

knowing that as soon as they “hardened” their thought-forms

into matter, becoming these creatures, that they would lose all

awareness, all consciousness, of most things beyond their new

bodies and their immediate environment. They became trapped

in these forms. The seven ports (chakras) were closed, cutting

off their contact of the full vibrational spectrum, and thus all

their perceptions and interactions were thus based only on the

limited vibrations they could detect through only five vibrational

sensors. These five “senses” could only monitor very limited

frequency bands of the full Universal vibrational spectrum

- and even in that, they focused on only those vibrations relevant

to the material plane of existence, leaving these “humanimals”

without any senses of the spiritual planes of existence.

Cut off from the consciousness of the One, and thus the very

Universe itself, the humanimals experienced animal consciousness,

but the beings inhabiting these forms were not animals, and

originally of angelic consciousness. The combination of the

consciousness that was meant to be of a higher form, blended

with the animal consciousness, was a very inharmonious and disruptive

mix. They lost the purity of animal consciousness, and

the purity of spiritual consciousness. So this was a new kind of

consciousness that was foreign to the animal realm. This new

consciousness was “separate consciousness”, and was of a fixedfocus

nature, and reverse-polarity in comparison to the consciousness

of the One. Intelligence was also severely curtailed

in the humanimals, being similar to the intelligence of the types

of animals that they were “modeled” upon, but again, this was

adversely afflicted by the negative effects of separate consciousness.

Thus were the humanimals “stuck” in this limited

plane - in limited forms, with limited intelligence, in a new limited

consciousness. They didn’t “fit in” anywhere - they didn’t

belong in the spiritual realms any longer, nor did they belong

in Earth’s nature. Thus their introduction into the Earth plane

was also disruptive and polluting to the flow of nature.

Those of us who did not project ourselves into matter, were

quite aware of the predicament and fates that had befallen our

kin. From the vantage point of our natural, etheric state of

existence, we were still of One mind, One being. Seeing part of

us in such matter-bound prisons as the humanimals had become

trapped in, was very painful - after all, the creatures were us,

were our “sisterbrothers”, and their misfortune was our misfortune.

In the terminology of some, they might also be called the

first “fallen angels”, but they fell not of ill intent, but by virtue

of ignorance of the purest kind. We decided to save them - no

matter what the cost. We knew we could only do this if we

could function on the same vibratory plane as they, so we too

projected ourselves into thought-forms that could function

within the realms of the Earth-Mother.

Led by the great being who became known as the Atlantean

Amiliaus, then known later as Thoth, and eventually well

known as Jesus much later, the second wave of our entering into

the planes of the Earth-Mother began. Careful to stay as

beings free from the lower-vibratory planes, or “hardening” into

the matter, we projected ourselves into the material plane with

thought-form bodies that were semi-etheric - matter, but not

matter. Thus were we still able to function on all vibrational

frequencies of the Universal spectrum - free to enter or leave

the limited spectrum of the material plane at will. But most

importantly, we were very intent upon maintaining our consciousness

of Oneness, so that we would not fall to the same

fate as the humanimals.

The manifestation was achieved more or less successfully,

and as we became subject to the vibratory conditions which

affect this realm, we saw the numerological representations of

the physical plane, 2 and 5, appear in many aspects of our

manifestation. For example, the beginnings of the 5 races

occurred, and later, the 2 sexes, each being having 5 appendages

(2 legs, 2 arms, 1 head), with 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 legs, 2 of many

organs, etc., and 5 fingers/toes on the arms and legs.

Despite our precautions and great efforts, some of us still

fared not as well as others, losing more consciousness and hardening

more than others. Those who manifested in Atlantis with

Amiliaus fared the best - but for many, this was to be short

lived.

Until this time, we were “composite” beings, macrocosms of

the One. Our bodies were not as they are now. Our male and

female elements had not yet separated - as composite beings we

each had one body that contained both “sexes”, rather than the

male and female bodies we have now. The “sexes” then, being just

the inner and outer elements, and outflowing and inflowing

parts of our whole being. These were “soulmate” groups as they

are called now. Each composite being had different numbers of

parts (a different number of “soulmates”) - each part a being

itself, but fully as one with the whole being. We were like beings

INWHICH planets orbit a star, or the atoms of matter in

which elements of different polarity (male and female) are

attracted to each other, each finding a place where they harmoniously

function together within the whole, as one entity, one

being. As such composite beings, we existed in a state of

“Unselfish Love” - constant flow, outflowing/giving fully of our

life energies to each element of ourselves, within ourselves, and

receiving within ourselves - and without (in our relationship with

the One, which each composite being also “orbited”, creating the

even greater, ultimate composite being of the One).

Now, for the first time, SOME of us had begun to separate

within ourselves, manifesting as individual bodies representing

the polarity elements. Bodies of opposite polarities then

came into existence (male or female “sex”).

The work of freeing the humanimals began. It was arduous

and complex, but it proceeded well - at first.

Unfortunately, the contamination of separateness slowly began

to creep in. We started slowly “tasting” many of the things

that had instantly trapped the humanimals.

Divisions began to occur between Atlanteans, over opinions

and desires. The next symptom of our dis-integration was upon

us, and this disease would eventually bring down Atlantis. Even

in this higher state of manifestation (which we thought would

keep us safe from the loss of consciousness that plagued the

humanimals), some of us succumbed to the lure of material sensation.

Like the drug addict would behave with an unlimited supply

of drugs, we began to delve more into the indulgences of this

plane until we were lost in it - drowning in it. In the frenzy

of our addiction to physical sensations, we disregarded all our

precautions and wariness. Soon our thoughts and actions had

“collected” matter from this material world that surrounded

us... and hardened our thought-forms, making us matter-bound

also. Our consciousness simultaneously slipped, and our gradual

loss of consciousness of Oneness gave way to that new consciousness

of predominant “separateness”. The consciousness of

predominant “separateness” was foreign to us, a totally new

experience. And along with this new consciousness, came new

emotions - some pleasurable and some painful. Strange new

things like greed, envy, lust, excitement, fear, desire.

Some of us vigorously strived to maintain a semblance of

our consciousness of Oneness, along with the new consciousness,

and we were able to experience the emotions without being ruled

by them. Such were the Children of the Law of One.

But others lost, or chose to deliberately suppress, even a

glimmer of awareness of the One. These beings became lost, and

enmeshed in separateness. Outside of the consciousness of

Oneness, they became subject to being tossed to and fro by the

tides of emotional onslaught, and ultimately became devoted to

personal power and pleasure in this physical plane. These

beings became known as the Sons of Belial (even if they were

female).

Take heed of the ancient warnings and prophecies about the

Belialians: “Lizard-like are they - not in apparent physical

description, but in spirit form, in the heart - in the soul.

Beware even now of your lizard kin, for they rule the world,

with greed, and without compassion, while maintaining ‘appearance’

of good and righteous. As MEN (& Women) do these Sons

of Belial walk the Earth. Model citizens. Successful leaders

who are the envy of the uninitiated. While some appear disgusting

and strange to the eye, look not to see the ugliness of

the Belialians with your eye, for some are handsome to the eye.

SEE you will NOT, their TRUE lizard-like appearance with

your earthly eyes. See their TRUE nature, you will, only with

the inner-eye, or in glimpses from the corner of the eye.”.

When this division came within the people of Atlantis, many

things went awry, and turmoil began. To function harmoniously,

beings need to have omni-presence - their vision MUST

include the ‘whole’ picture. But when the ‘attention’ is fixed and

focused in the reverse-polarity of separation, all that is seen

are PARTS of the whole picture - those parts that are not

filtered out by the illusions of separate consciousness. It is a

limited view at best, and often is a lens distorted by emotions.

Without awareness of the “whole” picture, and the guidance of

a coordinating force, actions become un-coordinated with others.

To understand this better, imagine how well your present day

body would function if each limb did not have awareness of what

the other limbs were trying to do, or if each limb wanted to do

different things from each other - no longer working together

as one. Now imagine further - imagine this lack of coordination

keeping your eyes, ears, fingers, tongue, and mouth, from

working together as a team. Now consider the chaos and eventual

destruction that would occur if every single cell in your

body operated with no unified guiding force that keeps them

coordinated with the whole (in fact, that’s what “cancer” is). You

see, this became the problem with our very lives once some of

us lost consciousness of the One. Such uncoordinated independent

activity becomes a logical evolution when such a separation

occurs and one is left with only an awareness of separateness.

Thus it came to be that the two Atlantean socio-political

groups evolved, with one very essential difference: The Children

had a consciousness of both separateness and Oneness. The

Belialians rejected the consciousness of Oneness entirely, and

maintained only a consciousness of separateness. The differences

of opinion between the two groups were great and many

(including “environmental issues”), but nothing was more of an

issue than the morality of how the humanimals were to be

dealt with. Those of the Law of One, remembering still that

we originally came to this plane just to help release the

humanimals from matter-bondage, continued trying to free our

trapped siblings. The kindred also created ways (known to the

initiate) to aid in the maintenance of the consciousness of

Oneness, so we would never lose sight of our goals. But the

Belialians wanted to use the humanimals for their own comforts

and pleasures. Since those of us from the second wave

were of greater consciousness than the humanimals, and could

still function on higher planes to some extent, we had powers

of the mind, both spiritual and psychological, that made it easy

for us to control humanimals. The Children refused to use

their abilities to control the humanimals, while the Belialians

relished the power, and wanted to use them as slaves.

The other great division in opinion between the Children and

the Belialians was over the “environment” as it is called now.

The Belialians used methods of generating power (like electrical

power), that were dangerous and destructive to the Earth.

Thus did the great conflict between the Children and the

Belialians of Atlantis begin. A conflict between light & dark,

between selfishness, & Unselfish Love. And the conflict that was,

continued throughout history, and continues to this day.

The Belialians’ lust for power and lack of care or awareness

of the balances of nature, led to the destruction of

Atlantis. This was due in great part to the abuse of their

power generation plants.

When the final destructions occurred, Grand Master

Thoth then led us to the land of Khem, to complete the Great

Work of evolving the humanimals. As gods were we to the people

of Khem, and yea did they think the humanimals to be gods.

And so it was done. The humanimals were brought to

human levels, to choose their path from there. Yet, there are

the residual effects. Have you not seen the humans that look

much like pigs, or goats, or this or that animal still? These

were they.

But even though the humanimals were no more, the

Belialians had not lost their taste for slavery. Thus the great

conflict with the Belialians was far from over, and still continues

on, with the Children of the Law of One as lamps, illuminating

the path of Unselfish Love, helping the lost find their

way home to their spiritual heritage of the One, and to find

freedom - while the disguised Sons of Belial (and their pawns)

do everything possible to maintain their decadence and power,

and maintain slavery (whether it be direct or by means of liveli-

hood and social control). And they seek to destroy all those who

would shine Light into this world of darkness. All those who do

not actively work for the Light, are to varying degrees, pawns

of the Belialian Darkness.

KYBALION - FILOSOFIA HERMETICĂ

        Din Egipt ne vin învăţăturile ezoterice, fundamentale, care au influenţat filosofiile tuturor raselor, de mai multe mii de ani.

        În Egipt se afla loja misticilor. Prin porţile templelor intrau neofiţii şi plecau adepţii, maeştrii şi hierofanţii, în toate colţurile lumii. Printre aceştia a fost şi Hermes Trismegistul, tatăl înţelepciunii oculte, fondatorul astrologiei şi alchimiei. 

Egiptenii l-au zeificat numindu-L THOTH. Mai târziu, grecii îl aşează în Panteonul zeităţilor proprii, numindu-l HERMES, zeul înţelepciunii.

Egiptenii i-au cinstit memoria zeci de secole, considerându-l "scriitorul zeilor", ajungând, în cele din urmă, să-i dea vechiul nume, Hermes Trismegistul, care înseamnă "de 3 ori mare", "Mai Marele Marilor", "mai mare decât toţi Marii". În toate ţările, numele de Hermes Trismegistul era sinonim cu Fântâna Înţelepciunii.

În primele zile ale Antichităţii existau un anumit număr de doctrine secrete fundamentale ce se transmiteau de către Maestru elevului şi care erau cunoscute sub numele de Kybalion. Sensul exact şi semnificaţia cuvântului s-au pierdut de mai multe secole. Principiile acesteia nu au fost scrise niciodată; era o culegere de maxime, axiome şi precepte, complet neinteligibile pentru profani, dar pe care adepţii le înţelegeau imediat ce erau aplicate.

Între cuvintele Kybalionului se găsesc acestea: "Sub paşii Maestrului, urechile celor care sunt pregătiţi să înţeleagă doctrina să se deschidă cât mai mari şi când urechile elevului sunt gata să asculte, atunci vin buzele pentru a le umple de înţelepciune."

Când elevul va fi gata să primească adevărul, atunci va începe studiul acestei lucrări, atunci va lua cunoştinţă de existenţa ei. Aceasta e Legea Principiului Hermetic al Cauzei şi Efectului sub aspectul de Lege a Atracţiei, ea va uni buzele şi urechile, elevul şi lucrarea, AŞA SĂ FIE!

Principiile Adevărului sunt în număr de şapte. Noi le vom numi Legile Universale. Acela care le cunoaşte şi le înţelege posedă cheia magică ce VA deschide toate porţile Templului, chiar înainte de a le atinge. 

Cele 7 Legi hermetice pe care se bazează întreaga filosofie hermetică sunt următoarele:

1. Legea Mentalismului.

2. Legea Corespondenţei.

3. Legea Vibraţiei.

4. Legea Polarităţii.

5. Legea Ritmului.

6. Legea Cauzei şi Efectului.

7. Legea Genului (distincţia).

 

1. LEGEA MENTALISMULUI

"Totul este Spirit; Universul este mental" - KYBALION

Legea implică adevărul că totul este Spirit. Ea explică faptul că totul este realitate substanţială, aflându-se în toate manifestările şi aparenţele exterioare, pe care le cunoaştem sub numele de Univers material. Fenomene ale vieţii, Energie, Materie, într-un cuvânt, tot ce este aparent simţurilor noastre este Spirit, incognoscibil în el Însuşi şi indefinibil; însă acesta poate fi considerat şi gândit ca un Spirit Universal, Infinit. Ea explică chiar faptul că Lumea sau Universul Fenomenal nu-i decât o creaţie mentală a Totului, subiect al legilor lucrurilor create, Universul fiind considerat, în întregul său sau în părţile sale, ca o experienţă în Spiritul Totului, în acest Spirit noi trăind, lucrând şi fiinţând. Această Lege, stabilind natura mentală a Universului, explică foarte uşor toate fenomenele mentale şi psihice, atât de variate, care ocupă un loc important în viaţa oamenilor şi care fără a fi explicate sunt neinteligibile, dispreţuind orice interpretare ştiinţifică.

A înţelege această Mare Lege al Mentalismului, înseamnă a permite individului să înţeleagă cu uşurinţă Legile Universului Mental şi să le aplice, spre a-şi îmbunătăţi starea şi spre a se perfecţiona. Discipolul în hermetică este capabil să aplice inteligent Marile Legi Mentale, în loc să se servească de ele la întâmplare.

Intrând în posesia Cheii Măiestriei Universale, practicantul poate să deschida nenumărate porţi ale Templului Mental şi Psihic al Cunoaşterii, reuşind să pătrundă în el liber şi inteligent. Această Lege explică natura veritabilă a Energiei şi a Puterii, a Materiei, dar mai ales de ce, pentru ce şi cum sunt ele subordonate stăpânirii Spiritului.

Unul dintre Maeştrii hermetici a scris demult: "Acela care înţelege adevărul naturii mentale a Universului este deja bine înaintat pe drumul Măiestriei". Aceste cuvinte sunt tot atât de adevărate astăzi pe cât erau la timpul la care au fost scrise. Fără cheia Măiestriei (cheia conducătoare, principală, universală) adevărata Măiestrie este imposibil de realizat, iar elevul va bate zadarnic la nenumăratele porţi ale Templului.

2. LEGEA CORESPONDENŢEI

"Ceea ce este Sus este ca şi ceea ce este Jos; Ceea ce este Jos este ca şi ceea ce este Sus" - KYBALION

Această Lege implică adevărul că există întotdeauna un raport constant între legile şi fenomenele diferitelor planuri ale fiinţei şi ale vieţii. Vechea axiomă hermetică este în aceşti termeni: "Ceea ce este sus este ca şi ceea ce este jos; ceea ce este jos este ca şi ceea ce este sus".

Înţelegerea acestei Legi conferă mijloace destule în a rezolva paradoxuri obscure şi destule secrete ale naturii. 

Există planuri ale vieţii pe care noi le ignorăm complet, dar când aplicăm Legea Corespondenţei devenim capabili să înţelegem mai departe că nu este posibil să facem altfel. Ele se manifestă şi se aplică peste tot în Univers, pe diferitele planuri ale acestuia: material, mental şi spiritual, acest fapt fiind considerat o Lege Universală. Vechii hermetişti îl considerau ca fiind unul dintre instrumentele mentale cele mai importante, cu ajutorul căruia omul este capabil să răstoarne obstacolele care i se ridică în faţă, în faţa necunoscutului. Acestuia i-a fost posibil a înlătura voalul lui ISIS, la punctul la care a întrezărit, într-o lumină, o parte a zeiţei. La fel cum cunoaştem principiile geometriei, şi această cunoaştere permite astronomului aşezat în faţa observatorului său să măsoare distanţele dintre aştri, urmărind mişcările lor; la fel, cunoaşterea Legii Corespondenţei permite omului să deducă inteligent, din necunoscut, cunoscutul. Studiind Monada, el înţelege Arhanghelul.

3. LEGEA VIBRAŢIEI

"Nimic nu stă, totul se mişcă, totul vibrează" - KYBALION

Aceasta Lege implică adevărul că totul se află în mişcare, totul vibrează, neexistând nimic în stare de repaos; fapte pe care ştiinţa modernă le acceptă şi pe care orice nouă descoperire ştiinţifică tinde să le verifice.

Sunt mii de ani de când învăţaţii vechiului Egipt au enunţat această Lege Universală. El explică diferentele existenţe între diferitele forme ale materiei, ale energiei, ale sufletului şi chiar ale spiritului ca fiind consecinţele unor proporţii inegale ale vibraţiei. Pornind de la acel "TOT" care este Spiritul Pur şi până la formele cele mai grosolane ale materiei, totul vibrează; cu cât este mai intensă vibraţia, cu atât este mai înaltă poziţia pe scara evoluţiei. Vibraţia este atât de intensă şi atât de infinit de rapidă încât, practic, Spiritul Pur este în repaos, la fel ca o roată care se învârteşte atât de repede încât pare că stă pe loc. În cealaltă extremitate a scării se află formele grosolane ale materiei, ale căror vibraţii sunt atât de lente încât parcă nici nu ar exista - la fel ca şi sunetele de joasă frecvenţă pe care urechea omeneasca nu le poate percepe; între aceşti doi poli sunt milioane şi milioane de grade ale vibraţiei; de la corpuscul la undă, de la atom la moleculă, până la lumi şi universuri, totul vibrează.

Aceasta este la fel pentru energie şi pentru forţă, care nu sunt decât grade diferite ale vibraţiei. Aceasta corespunde şi în planul mental, căruia vibraţiile îi guvernează starea, cât şiplanului spiritual.

Discipolul hermetist care înţelege bine această Lege şi formele sale corespunzătoare este capabil să-şi controleze propriile vibraţii mentale şi, de asemenea, pe ale altora.

Maeştrii folosesc în mod egal această lege, în diferite maniere, pentru a învinge forţele naturii.

"Cel care înţelege Legea VIBRAŢIEI a câştigat sceptrul puterii", a spus un vechi ocultist.

4. LEGEA POLARITĂŢII

"Totul este dublu; orice lucru are doi poli; totul are două extreme; asemănătorul şi neasemănătorul au aceeaşi semnificaţie; polii opuşi au o natură identică, însă de grade diferite; extremele se ating; toate adevărurile nu sunt decât semiadevăruri; toate paradoxurile pot fi conciliate" - KYBALION

Această Lege implică adevărul că Totul este dublu, totul are doi poli, totul are două extreme. Aceste fraze sunt vechi axiome hermetice. Ele explică vechile paradoxuri care au creat atâta perplexitate oamenilor şi se exprimă după cum urmează: teza şi antiteza au o natură identică, însă de grade diferite; contrariile sunt asemănătoare şi nu diferă decât prin gradul lor, polii opuşi putându-se concilia; extremele se ating; totul este şi nu este în acelaşi timp; toate adevărurile nu sunt decât semiadevăruri; orice adevăr este pe jumătate fals; acelaşi lucru are două faţete, etc.

Legea Polarităţii explică faptul că în orice lucru sunt doi poli, două aspecte diferite, opuse, şi că în realitate contrariile nu sunt decât extreme ale acestui obiect, între care sunt intercalate grade diferite, de exemplu căldura şi frigul, deşi sunt opuse, în realitate unde se termină căldura şi unde începe frigul? Nu există un frig şi nici o căldură, absolute. Cei doi termeni, cald şi frig, indică numai gradele diferite ale aceluiaşi lucru; acest lucru care se manifestă cu frig şi cald este numai o variantă a vibraţiei. Astfel, cald şi frig nu sunt decât doi poli a ceea ce numim căldură, iar fenomenele care îl însoţesc sunt manifestările Legii Polarităţii. Acelaşi fenomen este adevărat în cazul luminii şi întunericului, care sunt unul şi acelaşi lucru, deosebirea constând într-o diferenţă de grade a celor doi poli ai fenomenelor; când ne părăseşte noaptea şi când începe ziua?

Ce diferenţă este între mare şi mic; între tăios şi tocit; între calm şi neliniştit; între sus şi jos; între pozitiv şi negativ? Legea Polarităţii explică aceste paradoxuri şi nici unul nu-l poate înlocui pe celălalt. În planul mental, tot acest principiu lucrează.

Să luăm însă un exemplu extrem de radical: al urii şi dragostei, două stări mentale în aparenţă total diferite. Sunt, însă, grade diferite în ură şi dragoste; de asemenea, sunt sentimente intermediare, pentru care noi folosim cuvintele simpatic şi antipatic, care ajung să se confunde atât de mult, încât uneori este o dificultate a şti dacă vreunul vă este simpatic sau antipatic, dacă vă simţiţi atras de el sau vă este indiferent. Aceste sentimente opuse nu sunt decât grade diferite ale unui sentiment unic, aşa cum îl veţi putea gândi şi înţelege dacă veţi medita o clipă la aceasta. Mai mult decât atât, şi hermetiştii îi acordă o importanţă deosebită; este posibil de schimbat vibraţiile urii în vibraţiile dragostei, atât în propriul tău spirit cât şi în spiritul altora. Mulţi dintre cei care citesc aceste rânduri au avut experienţe personale de tranziţie rapidă, involuntară, între dragoste şi ură, sau invers, în propria persoană şi a altora. De-abia acum veţi înţelege că este imposibil să realizaţi acest lucru cu ajutorul voinţei, folosind formulele hermetice. Binele şi răul nu sunt decât doi poli diferiţi ai aceluiaşi lucru; hermetismul cunoaşte arta de a transforma răul în bine prin aplicarea Principiului Polarităţii. În totalitate, arta polarizării este o fază a alchimiei mentale, cunoscută şi aplicată de Maeştrii vechi şi moderni ai hermetismului.

Înţelegerea acestei Legi permite modificarea polarităţii proprii, tot atât de bine ca şi pe a altora; pentru a deveni un maestru al acestei arte trebuie să-ţi consacri timpul studiului necesar.

5. LEGEA RITMULUI

"Totul se scurge înăuntru sau în afară; orice lucru are durata sa; totul evoluează, apoi degenerează; balansul pendulei se manifestă în totul; măsura oscilaţiei sale la dreapta este asemănătoare cu măsura oscilaţiei la stânga; ritmul este constant" - KYBALION

Această Lege implică adevărul că în orice lucru se manifestă o mişcare înainte şi înapoi, o mişcare asemănătoare unei pendule, ceva asemănător unei maree, unei mări înalte şi unei mări scăzute. Această mişcare de plecare şi venire se produce între doi poli a căror Lege a polarităţii ni s-a demonstrat că există.

Este întotdeauna o acţiune şi o reacţiune, un progres şi un recul, un maxim şi un minim. Tot aşa este pentru toate elementele Universului: sori, lumi, oameni, animale, spirit, energie, materie.

Această lege se manifestă în creaţia şi distrugerea lumilor, în progresul şi decadenţa naţiunilor, în viaţa oricărui lucru şi, în sfârşit, în starea mentală a omului; pentru acest din urmă lucru, hermetiştii apreciază importanţa înţelegerii acestei Legi.

Hermetiştii au înţeles-o bine şi au găsit că aplicarea acesteia este universală. Ei au descoperit anumite mijloace pentru a anihila prin ele chiar efectele, prin folosirea de formule adecvate.

Ei implică legea mentală a neutralităţii. Ei nu pot anula Legea Ritmului, nici să-i opreasca cursul; dar au învăţat să-i oprească, mai bine zis să-i evite, efectele asupra lor înşişi, într-un anumit grad, care depinde de nivelul de măiestrie atins. Ei au învăţat s-o utilizeze, în loc de a fi utilizaţi de ea; în acest lucru şi în metoda de asimilare constă arta hermetiştilor.

Maestrul în hermetică se polari

zează el însuşi la punctul unde vrea să rămână, apoi neutralizează balansul ritmic al pendulei, care tinde să-l transporte către celălalt pol. Toţi cei care şi-au însuşit un anumit grad de măiestrie personală lucrează astfel, într-o oarecare măsură, mai mult sau mai puţin inconştient. Maestrul, din contra, o face conştient, prin folosirea voinţei sale. Astfel, el ajunge să atingă un grad de echilibru şi de fermitate mentală, aproape de necrezut, din partea undelor care sunt târâte înainte şiînapoi, ca o pendulă.

Această Lege, ca şi cea a polarităţii, precum şi metodele pentru a le contracara (a le neutraliza) au fost studiate în amănunt de hermetişti, iar folosirea lor constituie o parte importantă a alchimiei mentale.

6. LEGEA CAUZEI SI EFECTULUI

"Orice cauză are efectul său; orice efect are cauza sa, totul se întâmplă conform Legii. Hazardul este un nume dat unei legi necunoscute. Sunt numeroase planuri ale cauzalităţii, însă nimic nu scapă Legii" - KYBALION

Acest principiu implică faptul că există o cauză pentru orice efect produs şi un efect pentru orice cauză. El explică că totul se întâmplă conform unei legi, că niciodata nimic nu se întâmplă accidental, neprevăzut, că hazardul nu există şi că, deoarece există planuri diferite de cauză şi efect, planul superior domină totdeauna planul inferior.

Nimic nu poate scăpa în întregime legii.

Hermetiştii cunosc până la un anumit punct arta şi metodele de a se ridica deasupra planului obişnuit al cauzei şi efectului. Ridicându-se mental la un plan superior, ei devin cauză, în loc de a fi efect. Mulţimile se lasă docil duse, ele ascultă de tot ce le înconjoară, de voinţa şi dorinţa celor mai puternici, de ereditate, sugestie, de toate cauzele exterioare care le dirijează ca pe simpli pioni ai vieţii.

Maeştrii, din contra, se ridică în planul superior, dominând sentimentele şi caracterul lor, calităţile şi puterile, tot aşa de bine ca pe tot ce-i înconjoară. Ei devin stăpâni, în loc de a fi jucaţi şi dirijaţi de voinţa altora, precum şi de influenţele exterioare. Ei se servesc de Lege, în loc de a fi instrumente. Maeştrii ascultă de cauzalitatea principiului superior, însă ei comandă planul lor. În această afirmaţie există o bogăţie de cunoştinţe hermetice.  LE ÎNŢELEGE CINE VA PUTEA.

7. LEGEA GENULUI

"Este un gen în toate lucrurile; TOTUL are principiile sale: masculin şi feminin; genul se manifestă în toate planurile" - KYBALION

Această Lege implică adevărul că genul există peste tot. Principiile masculin şi feminin sunt în acţiune constantă. Acesta e adevărul nu numai în plan fizic, ci şi în planurile mental şi spiritual.

În Planul Fizic, Legea Genului se manifestă sub forma sexului, în plan superior el ia forme mai elevate, însă este mereu acelaşi.

Nici o creaţie fizică, mentală sau spirituală nu este posibilă fără el. Înţelegerea legilor sale va arunca lumină asupra multor obiecte care în mod constant au uimit spiritul oamenilor.

Legea Genului a lucrat întotdeauna pentru a crea şi regnuri. Orice lucru, orice individ conţine cele două elemente, masculin şi feminin, sau chiar Marele Principiu.

Orice element masculin are elementul său feminin, şi invers.