Occult science in medicine

by Franz Hartmann

INTRODUCTION.

“There are two kinds of knowledge. There is a medical science and there is a medical wisdom. To the animal man belongs the animal comprehension; but the understanding of divine mysteries belongs to the spirit of God in him.” (Theophrastus Paracelsus, “De Fundamento Sapientiæ.”)

A great deal has been written in modern books on pathology about the difficulty of defining the word “disease.” The dictionary calls it “lack or absence of ease, pain, uneasiness, distress, trial, trouble,” &c., but against either of these definitions objections may be raised. James Paget says: “Ease and disease, well and ill, and all their synonyms are relative terms, of which none can be fixed unconditionally. If there could be fixed a standard of health, all deviations from it might be called diseases; but a chief characteristic of living bodies is not fixity, but variation by self-adjustment to a wide range of varying circumstances, and among such self-adjustments it is not practicable to make a line separating those which may reasonably be called healthy from those which may as reasonably be called disease.”

To this occult science answers that such a standard of health exists for us as soon as we recognise the unity and supremacy of the law; that the results of obedience to the law are harmony and health, and the results of disobedience are called discords or disease.

Shakespeare says:—

“The heavens themselves, the planets and this centre

Observe degree, priority and place,

Insisture, course, proportion, season, form,

Office, and custom, in all line of order.”

—(Troilus and Cressida, i. 3.)

If we regard the order, which “is Heaven’s first law,” as the creation of the self-adjustment of accidentally arising circumstances, leaving out of consideration the fundamental Unity of the All and its one purpose, we would then probably find various laws of order in the universe, being essentially different from each other; and it would be difficult to know which of these laws it would be best to follow; but if we recognise in the order that rules all things a manifestation of one eternal law of order and harmony, the function of Supreme Wisdom acting in nature but not being the product of nature, it will remain for us only to know that supreme Law and obey it. The universe is only one, and is ruled by only one source of all laws; but there are many unities within the constitution of this great Unity; they constitute as many selves within Self, whose separate interests are not identical with that of the whole, and therefore the order obeyed by these temporary selves is not the same as that of the eternal whole. Thus the battle for existence, far from being the cause of the order observable in the world, is in fact the cause of the disorder existing therein.

If man, like his divine prototype, were a perfect unity, a manifestation of will and thought identified and one, there would be only one law to obey: the law of his divine nature; he would be forever in harmony with himself; there would be no disharmonious elements in his nature, seeking to create an order of their own, and thereby causing discords and disease; but man is a compound being, there are many elements in his nature, each representing to a certain extent an independent form of will, and the more one of these modifications of will succeeds in departing from the order that constitutes the whole, and to enact, be it intelligently or instinctively, a will of its own, the greater will be the disharmony which it causes within the whole organism and the greater will be the disease.[1] “A house divided against itself will fall.” Disease is the disharmony which follows the disobedience to the law; the restoration consists in restoring the harmony by a return to obedience to the law of order which governs the whole.

The key to the cure of diseases is therefore in the understanding of the fundamental law which governs the nature of man, and for this purpose it is necessary that a rational system of medicine should know the constitution of man; not only that of his physical body, which is merely the lower part of the house wherein he dwells; but the whole physical, astral and mental constitution of that being called “Man,” which is still the greatest mystery to science, and of which little more than the anatomy, the physiological functions and the chemical composition of the material organs and substances composing his corporeal form is either known to or taught by our modern academies.

Great progress has been made by modern science in investigating all the minor details of the shell which man occupies during his life upon this planet; but as regards the inhabitant of that house, the inner man, who is neither wholly material nor wholly spiritual, the ancient sages knew more about his true nature than is ever dreamed of in our medical schools, and it will be undoubtedly worth while to examine their views. Moreover, if the outward body of man is, as they teach, only the outward expression of the qualities and functions of a more interior and invisible human organism; then it appears that many bodily diseases, such as are not caused by direct physical injuries, are the results of disorders existing within that inner organism, and as every true physician should seek to know the causes of diseases, and not merely destroy their external effects, such a knowledge of the “causal body” of man, whose visible image is his “phenomenal form,” may open a new field for pathology and therapeutics, from which a rich harvest may be gathered for the benefit of mankind.

I.
THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN.

From times immemorial the sages have taught that we shall never know immortal truth, if we do not discover it within our own selves. Experience has long ago corroborated this theory, for in spite of all progress in scientific researches concerning the nature of Man, and which were carried on by means of researches in the external kingdom of nature, the real constitution of Man and that which constitutes his essential being has not yet been discovered. We know that from the ovum the fœtus, from the fœtus the child, from the child the body of man becomes developed; we know the order in which these processes take place; but we seem to know nothing about the powers that produce them. Such an alchemical trick of nature as to make a man grow out of a cell in which no man is contained would seem absurd, incredible and miraculous, and would be believed by nobody, if it were not a well-known fact, and being of daily occurrence it has ceased to appear surprising, so that it appears now strange if anyone wonders how such a thing is possible.

Horne says: “By a silent, unseen, mysterious process, the fairest flower of the garden springs from a small insignificant seed.” A similar mysterious process takes place in the evolution of the human body. All these processes are evidently the effects of the action of a cause adequate to produce them; to deny this would be identical with affirming the self-evident absurdity, that something could grow out of nothing, and the law of logic furthermore makes it clear that although a physical cause can produce a physical effect, a living body can only be produced by a living power, an intellectual organism by an intelligent being. Whether or not the animal body of man has evoluted from the lower animal kingdom, or whether certain animals are the products of a perversion and degradation of the nature of man, does not concern us at present. What we know is, that no life and intelligence can become manifest in a form unless these powers are contained therein, and we also know that life cannot be created by death nor can intelligence be created by that which has no intelligence.

But if popular science confessedly knows nothing about the origin of the manifestation of life, nothing about what is vaguely termed “soul,” nothing about the nature and origin of the mind (whose functions are required for the purpose of enabling the brain to investigate such things) nothing about the spirit and nothing about the higher constitution of man, whose external expression and symbol is his physical body; it will not be inappropriate to apply to other sources for information and hear what the ancient sages taught concerning the principles that go to make up the constitution of man. The first requisite of a rational and perfect system of a medicine is a thorough knowledge of the whole constitution of man; of the whole, and not merely of a part of his nature.

The ancient Indian sages compared man to a lotus flower, whose home is the water (the world), whose roots draw their nutriment from the earth (material nature), while it raises its head to the light (the spiritual kingdom), from which it receives the power to unfold the powers latent in its constitution.

A great deal has already been said in Theosophical literature about the sevenfold constitution of man: but for the sake of completeness we will delineate it again.

1. Rupa. The physical body, the vehicle of all the other “principles” during life.

2. Prana. Life or vital principle.

3. Linga Sharira. The astral body. The ethereal image or counterpart of the physical body, the “phantom body.”

4. Kama rupa. The animal soul. The seat of animal desires and passions. In this principle is centred the life of the animal and mortal man.

5. Manas. Mind. Intelligence. The connecting link between the mortal and immortal man.

6. Buddhi. The spiritual soul. The vehicle of pure universal spirit.

7. Atma. Spirit. The radiation of the Absolute. (For further explanation see: H. P. Blavatsky, “Key to Theosophy.”)

Goethe says: “A word comes in very conveniently when a conception is absent.” In our material age the very meaning of terms signifying spiritual powers and conditions has become lost and perverted; “God” is supposed to mean an unnatural supernatural being outside of Nature; “Faith” has become credulity and belief in the opinions of others; “Hope” has become personal greed; “Love” is supposed to be selfish desire, etc., etc. It is therefore not surprising if the above terms are incomprehensible to many or misinterpreted by them, for they all represent certain states of consciousness, and no one can know a state of consciousness which he has never experienced. Therein is contained the mystery.

The philosophers of the middle ages symbolised these seven principles by the signs of seven “planets” from which seven cosmic bodies visible in the sky received their names; and if this is understood, it will at once become clear that those who deny the sevenfold division of the planets, only expose their own ignorance and misconceptions. No one can really criticise that which he does not understand; but self-conceit imagines itself to be superior to everything, and thinks itself wiser than all the sages; forgetting that Shakespeare says: “The fool thinks he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” (As You Like It, V., i.)

The ancients based their science of medicine upon the recognition of a universal, eternal, self-existent, self-conscious cause, the source of universal life, where popular modern medicine recognises only the outcome of a blind force. The secret medicine of the ancients was therefore a religious[2] science, while modern popular medicine recognises no religious element and therefore no real truth. To separate science from religious truth is to put it upon an irrational basis; for “religion” means the relation which man bears to his divine origin. To leave out of sight the source from which he originated is to ignore his true nature and to relegate medicine to the realm of the lowest plane of his existence; namely, that of his most gross and material form. This is exactly the position which modern medicine occupies at present, and there is nothing that can elevate it higher than a recognition of the higher nature in man, and a re-discovery of divine truth. Such a higher knowledge was formerly considered necessary for the purpose of constituting a real physician, and for this reason the practice of medicine was in the hands of those who were born physicians, sages and saints by the power of the true grace of God, while among popular practitioners there are, now as then, many dunces and rascals, having neither spirituality nor morality; for what the modern physician of the materialistic school requires for his success is a certain amount of memorizing of the contents of his books, so as to enable him to pass his examination, and a talent to profit by the credulity of the people.

When the ancients spoke of “seven planets,” they referred to seven spiritual but nevertheless substantial states, of which popular science knows nothing but their external manifestation in the realm of phenomena. It has truly been said that no one ever saw even the earth; that which we see is merely a manifestation or appearance of a spiritual principle called “earth” ♁ The real essence of “matter” is beyond the conception of the terrestrial mind.

Seen from this point of view, the “seven planets” in the constitution of man as well as in the constitution of nature as a whole, represent the following elements, powers, essences, or forms of existence:—

I.

Saturn (Prakriti). Matter; the substance and material element in all things in all the three kingdoms of nature (the physical, astral and spiritual plane). It is invisible and known only by means of its manifestation. It is that which gives fixity and solidity, it is substantiality itself.

II.

Luna, “the Moon” (Linga). The “ethereal or astral” body of man; the kingdom of dreams, fancies, illusions, in which exists only the reflection of the true life and light of the sun; it also represents intellectual speculation without wisdom (recognition of truth), and the forms belonging to that kingdom are as changeable as are the opinions of men.

III.

Sol, “the Sun” (Prana). Life on the physical and spiritual plane (Jiva). The centre of the planetary system.[3] It is that which produces the manifestations or activity of life upon every plane of existence.

Mars (Kama). The passional, emotional, animal element in man and in nature; the seat of desire and self-will; that which becomes manifest as greed, envy, anger, lust and selfishness in all its forms; but which is also a source of strength. There are many diseases caused by the excessive or irregular action of powers belonging to this kingdom; when by combining with

they become of a terrestrial nature.

Mercury (Manas). The Mind; the principle of intelligence manifesting itself as intellectual power in the kingdom of mind; giving in its combination with

rise to earthly thoughts, but in combination with

constituting spiritual knowledge.

Jupiter (Buddhi). The principle which manifests itself as spiritual power, be it for good or for evil. Reason, intuition, faith, firmness, recognition of truth.

Venus (Atma). The principle which in its purity manifests itself as universal divine love, it being identical with divine self-knowledge. If united with

(intelligence) it constitutes wisdom. Acting within the animal plane it produces animal instincts, and upon the physical plane it causes the attractions of opposite polarities, chemical affinities, &c., &c.

All this is said merely to indicate the key to this kind of science; for the combinations in which these principles may enter, and the modifications of their manifestations under different conditions are almost innumerable; neither can this spiritual science be taught to a mind (Manas) unillumined by the light of the higher understanding (Buddhi). The practical study and application of anything requires first of all the possession of the object, and if this is true in regard to physical objects, it is no less true in regard to spiritual principles, whose nature can only be known when their presence is realised within one’s own consciousness. The higher aspects of all of these powers belong to the higher nature of man, and he who desires to know and apply these laws in the practice of medicine, must first of all seek to develop his own higher nature by freeing himself from the elements that govern his lower nature; in other words, he must enter from the animal-human into the human-divine state, to which the true physician belongs.

One of such adept-physicians was Theophrastus Paracelsus, the great reformer of medicine of the sixteenth century, who is properly regarded as the father of modern medicine, although his successors are still far from realising the truths which he taught, and will, on the whole, perhaps not grow up to an understanding of his doctrines for centuries to come.[4] He was far in advance not only of the science of his days, but also of that of our present days; for although he may have known less than we do in regard to the phenomenal appearances of the manifestations of life on this planet, he knew a great deal more than our modern science in regard to the causes of these manifestations and in regard to the inner nature of things. He was and still is ridiculed and belittled by those who were and are not capable of understanding him; but he proved the truth of his theories by performing cures which even modern medicine with all its new acquisitions cannot perform.[5] He was the first to abolish a system of unmitigated quackery, based upon mere empiricism, the remnants of which exist even to-day. He was hated and persecuted by the quacks and pretenders of those times, who did a lucrative business, thriving upon the ignorance of the public, as some are doing to-day, and the vilifications and calumnies thrown out against him by such still inspire the opinions of many in regard to his person, although we may safely believe that few of his critics have ever read his books and still fewer have understood them. Numerous biographies have been written about him and his personal habits, and it seems that the majority of his critics have been able to comprehend that when he died he left a pair of leather pantaloons to his heirs; but as to his philosophy, this is a terra incognita, which surpasses their understanding; neither could such a knowledge of the secret sciences be expected from anybody knowing nothing about the fundamental principles in the constitution of man.

Whether Paracelsus obtained his knowledge in the East, as has been claimed, or whether it was revealed to him by his own perception of truth, does not concern us; but there can be no doubt that he knew that sevenfold classification, for we find him speaking of the following seven aspects of man:—

1. The Corpus, or the elementary body of man. (Limbus.)

2. The Mumia, or the ethereal body; the vehicle of life. (Evestrum.)

3. The Archæus. The essence of life. Spiritus Mundi in Nature and Spiritus Vitae in man.

4. The Sidereal body; made up of the influences of the “stars.”

5. Adech. The inner man or the thought-body, made of the flesh of Adam.

6. Aluech. The spiritual body, made of the flesh of Christ; also called “the man of the new Olympus.”

7. Spiritus. The universal Spirit.

There is hardly a page in the philosophical writings of Paracelsus which does not refer to the twofold nature of man, his terrestrial and celestial aspect, and of the necessity of the development of his higher nature and superior (spiritual) understanding.

“Above all, we must pay attention to the fact that there are two kinds of spirit in man. (One originating in nature, the other coming from heaven.) Man ought to be a human being according to the spirit of (divine) life and not according to the (terrestrial) spirit of the Limbus. It is a truth that (the heavenly) man is an image of God, having in him a divine spirit (life). In all other respects he is an animal, having as such an animal spirit. These two are opposed to each other, but one of the two is bound to succumb. Man is destined to be a human being and not an animal, and if he is to be a human being, he must live within the spirit of (immortal) life and do away with the animal spirit.” (“Philosophia Occulta,” Lib. I., Prologue.)

The mysteries of the inner temple of nature are not accessible to the vulgar and the profane, because every being can realise only that which corresponds to its own nature. To penetrate into the realm of truth a true soul is required; an animal can realise only the animal side of existence.

One well known medical authority on a recent occasion said:

“Paracelsus, who pronounced the anatomy of the dead body to be useless,[6] and sought for the basis of life (immortality) as the highest goal of knowledge, demanded ‘contemplation’ (spiritual) before all else, and just as he himself arrived in this way at the metaphysical construction of the Archaeus, so he unchained among his followers a wild and absolutely fruitless mysticism.”[7]

For this unchaining of mysticism, not Paracelsus is to blame, but the incapacity of his followers, whose animal minds were not capable of becoming illumined by the spirit of truth. Whenever the terrestrial mind seeks to grasp the spirit of wisdom, and being unable to rise to the perception of divine truth to drag it down to its own level, a wild and absolutely fruitless and foolish mysticism will be the result. With the same right we may say that the doctrines of Christ filled the world with superstition, causing the crimes of the crusades, the horrors of the inquisition, and sectarian intolerance. It is not the fault of the truth if it is misunderstood.

The vast majority of mankind seek for knowledge for the purpose of deriving from its possession some personal benefit; be it the acquisition of wealth or luxury, the gratification of ambition, the desire to parade before the world as a being in possession of something great, or for the purpose of satisfying a laudable scientific curiosity. But the acquisition of medical wisdom requires a love of the truth, and love means self-sacrifice. The acquisition of wisdom is therefore possible only if the illusive self with all its desires is sacrificed to it. The way to wisdom can be shown; but wisdom can only be taught by wisdom itself; he who loves the realm of illusions cannot see its true light. How many of the would-be followers of Jesus of Nazareth have become Christs, and who can understand the profundity of his thoughts and exercise his divine powers, but he who has become like him? None of the would-be followers of Paracelsus have grown to be like this master, none of the representatives of modern medical science have penetrated deeply into his wisdom.

Popular medical science, being based upon the objective observation of phenomena, knows more about the realm of visible nature (Maya) than was known at the time of Paracelsus; but the reason why this popular medical science, in spite of the aids which it received from chemistry and physiology, is still incapable of performing the cures which were performed by Paracelsus, is because its followers only speculate and draw inferences, while they do not cultivate that spiritual power of soul knowledge which is called “interior contemplation,”[8] but which Paracelsus called the Faith; a faculty which is at present so entirely unknown that even an explanation of the meaning of this term is exceedingly difficult. It is a power which belongs neither to the physical, nor to the animal, nor to the intellectual nature in man, but to the spiritual man (Atma-Buddhi-Manas); to that higher part of his being, which in the vast majority of mankind, however intellectual they may be, has not yet awakened into life, but is still latent, buried in the tomb of materiality into which the light of divine truth cannot penetrate.

“What are ye men in your own powers but nothing? If you wish to obtain strength take it from faith. If you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you will be as strong as the spirits, and although you now appear as men, your faith will make your strength and power equal to the spirits such as were also in Samson. For by means of our faith we become spirits ourselves, and whatever we accomplish that surpasses our (terrestrial) nature is done by the power of faith acting through us as a spirit and transforming us into spirits.” (“De Origin, Morb. Invisib.” Introduction.)

Man, even if he obtains occasionally a glimpse of divine truth, is only too prone to forget it again at the next moment, as the action of his terrestrial mind is stronger in him than that of his spirit, and it seems therefore necessary to be reminded over and over again that the faith of which Paracelsus speaks is not the illusory faith of the brain, the product of speculation, but a power belonging to those few living spirits walking within this sleeping world. As physical powers belong to the physical and terrestrial man, so spiritual powers belong to the spiritual man who must be born before he can know and exercise these powers. As yet there appear to be few even among our eminent scientists and successful practitioners who have become regenerated in the spirit of truth and filled with the light of divine wisdom, and if there are any such, we would ask all the students of medicine to follow their example and by learning the great art of self-control to become masters over their own nature and over the nature of others. Humanity is only one, and the realization of this truth will open a new field for the science of medicine in the future. That part of us which lives within the heart of others is our own truest and “most profound Self.”[9] If this self, which lives in the hearts of others, has awakened to its own consciousness, it will realize its own universal existence and its own power to act within those in whom it lives. Thus the physician, having become self-conscious of his own higher nature, will become a saviour for all the rest of mankind, not only in regard to their moral evils, but also in regard to their physical ills; for the spirit and soul and body of man do not live separately; they are one organic whole, as is the body of humanity, even though the personalities constituting that body are separated from each other by the illusion of form.