The True Occult Path by P.G.

Bowen

The True Occult Path

by P.G. Bowen

Published in the 1930's

The matter contained in this little book was originally gi en in the !orm o! a lecture to the "ublin #odge o! the $dyar Theoso%hical &ociety. #ater' at the re(uest o! the editor' it was recast and %ublished in its %resent !orm in the maga)ine * T+,O&OP+- ./ .0,#$/". The $uthor' 1a%t. P.G.Bowen' who was then an inde%endent student o! the $ncient 2isdom' has since become %resident o! T+, +,03,T.1 &O1.,T-' "ublin' ha ing been a%%ointed to that o!!ice by the !ounder o! the &ociety' the late "r. George 0ussell 45$.,5.6 1a%t. Bowen has gi en his assent to the %ublication o! his article in book !orm. 7rom T+, T08, O118#T P$T+ the writer o! this 7oreword has gleaned many grains o! s%iritual hel%' and sends the booklet !orth into the world' trusting and belie ing that others will gain as much' or more !rom its study. .ts true alue may not disco er itsel! to the su%er!icial reader9 but the real seeker' who knows that nothing o! worth is gained without e!!ort will not begrudge it the concentrated study it needs and merits. To such a seeker' the writers is assured' will accrue an abundant har est. The booklet goes !orth in a s%irit o! true !raternity' and is the mite which the writer o! these words contributes towards the sustenance o! those who seek to tread the way o! the s%irit. ,.$. $nsell.

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The True Occult Path by P.G. Bowen

&,,: O8T T+, 2.&"O3 2+.1+ $B.",& ./ &,10,T' $/" $## ,#&, &+$## B, -O80& 2+,/ -O8 +$;, 7O8/" .T. Theoso%hy' or True Occultism' is the %ursuit o! True 2.&"O3. True 2isdom is "i ine 2isdom' because nothing that is not "i ine can be wholly true. 3en gi e many di!!erent meanings to the word T+,O&OP+-' to suit their own %articular %ur%oses9 but the meaning which . gi e to it is its only true meaning. Occultism is a much less de!inite term' and there!ore may with more <ustice be used in a %romiscuous way to indicate the %ursuit o! secret knowledge o! any kind. But T08,' or "i ine Occultism means but one thing' and that is T+, P80&8.T O7 ".;./, 2.&"O3 B- &,10,T P$T+&. Other !orms o! Occultism may lead to knowledge and %ower o! one kind or another9 but knowledge and %ower are not 2.&"O3. =Page 3> 2.&"O3 is a state o! %oise and balance. Only !rom an immo ably %oised and balanced iew%oint can true wisdom be e?ercised. .ts e?ercise im%lies a condition in the indi idual o! com%lete non*attachment to anything whatsoe er. .! attachment to' or attraction towards anything e?ists' then the man will !a our that thing9 and will there!ore e?hibit re%ulsion !rom' and se%aration !rom other things9 he will !ail to hold that e en balance between all things' without which wisdom cannot b e?ercised. True 2isdom means a condition o! absolute non*attachment to ,;,0-T+./G in #i!e' and this means e(ually absolute $TT$1+3,/T to #i!e an an indi isible whole. The %ursuit o!' or %ractice o! any other secret art or science %recludes the e?ercise o! wisdom' because it entails attachment to one %articular as%ect o! li!e' and there!ore se%aration !rom others. The would*be /eo%hyte must ha e understanding o! what . ha e said be!ore he becomes ready to mo e a ste% on the Path o! True Occultism. =Page @> To e ery man who sets himsel! to seek !or Truth two Paths will a%%ear. The !irst lies outside himsel!' stretching towards the centre o! the boundless uni erse' on the edge o! which he a%%ears to stand' an insigni!icant atom. The second' beginning where the !irst begins' runs inward towards the unknown centre o! the man's own being. .gnorant man who !ounds all his <udgments on a%%earances in ariably turns towards the !irst. +e sees that he is hel%less and ignorant' and thinks there!ore that whate er truth there may be must be !ound outside himsel!. +e begins accordingly by worshi%%ing and adoring whate er being or beings he may !ind who a%%ear to %ossess wisdom' thus ho%ing to gain their !a our' and to share in that which they %ossess. +is belie! sets him running' now to this %erson' now to that' who may claim to be nearest the source o! truth' begging a !ew crumbs !rom the other's store. But he gains nothing by his e!!orts' as any student o! Page A

The True Occult Path by P.G. Bowen

#i!e can see !or himsel!. The Outer Path is the Path humanity in general has !ollowed throughout the ages. That it does not lead to the "i ine can be =Page B> clearly seen by com%aring the state o! a &tone*age sa age' like the Bushman' with that o! ci ili)ed man. .n material and intellectual achie ements there is an immense gul! between them9 but &%iritually' i! there is any gul! at all it is not wide. 0emo e the laws and customs' ci ili)ed man has established to !urther his material interests' and will he show himsel! to be more imbued with the s%irit o! 8ni ersal Brotherhood than the sa ageC #et common +istory' which is the +istory o! 2ar' 1on(uest and e?%loitation o! the weak' gi e answer. The Outer Path does not lead to the "i ine. .t does not indeed lead anywhere. 2e can see on all hands that those who ha e !ollowed it long enough' !ind it !ading out and lea ing them in a oid o! unbelie! in anything "i ine. -et those who ha e reached that state o! unbelie! are nearer the "i ine than those still tra eling outward in %ursuit o! it. This . will make more clear be!ore . conclude. Turn now and look at the .nner 2ay * the 2ay that leads !rom man's outer' worldly sel!' back into the dee%s o! his being. 3an may look at long without seeing more %romise =Page D> o! Truth along it than along the Outer Path. But i! he looks long enough' and intelligently enough' he will sooner or later begin to %ercei e that this is the Path which all who show any a%%roach to 2isdom are tra eling u%on. 2hen this %erce%tion arises in him he is at the %arting o! the 2ays. 7ew' howe er' e er get beyond the cross*ways in the li!e in which they get their !irst glim%se o! a distant ray o! the Truth. They ha e grown so accustomed to de%endence u%on e?ternal aid' that they !ear to enture a ste% u%on the .nner Path9 because it is a 2ay which the Pilgrim must walk alone. Those who do enture a !ew hesitating ste%s along it almost always turn back again' terri!ied at standing alone. They rush back to the 1rossways where many G8.",& stand' !ashioning crutches !or the !eeble and selling ma%s and %lans o! The 2ay to the ignorant. But those Guides are not hel%ers' but hinderers9 their charts are !alse' !or they themsel es ha e ne er trodden the .nner 2ay9 their crutches are useless to the Pilgrim' because there is no room on the .nner Path !or anything but his own !eet. =Page E> $nd yet the man may see the Truth' and usually does see it9 but notwithstanding' he will waste a li!etime at the 1rossways trembling and hesitating' !earing to enture inward. +e may e en close his ears to the low oice' and his eyes to the !aint distance light o! Truth' and acce%ting the aid o! one o! the Guides' wander blindly back into the %ro!itless Outer Path. But there are others' besides those Guides' standing at the 1rossways. They do not !ashion crutches' nor o!!er charts9 but silently' and with in!inite %atience' they PO./T TO2$0"& the .nner 2ay. 2hy do they %ersist when not one in millions heeds or notices themF They know they ha e a royal reward i! but one in ten millions walks where they %oint. +ow o!ten has it not been taught' and realised by many through inde%endent thought' that knowledge cannot be bestowed u%on a man' but must arise within himsel! be!ore he can truly be said to %ossess itF 3en talk o! Teachers' yet no Teacher e er bestows knowledge' in the sense o! %lacing something within Page 3

The True Occult Path by P.G. Bowen

a mind where nothing was be!ore. Be!ore one =Page G> can sayone has learned anything' that thing must ha e e?istence in the mind. /ot long ago in a %hiloso%hical discussion with a young !riend' . had occasion to use a mathematical calculation' in the solution o! which . used as an a?iom the well*known algebraical !ormula' that H %lus -' multi%lied by H minus - e(uals H s(. minus - s(. $t the conclusion . said to my !riend' 5 -ou acce%ted as an a?iom the !ormula abo e mentioned. $re you satis!ied o! its truthF5 5 1ertainly' it is true'5 he re%lied. 5 But how do you come to :/O2 that it is trueF5 . %ersisted. 5 +ow I well o! course . learned it at school.5 5 -ou mean that some teacher told you it was true' and you acce%ted his word !or it' is that soF5 5 -es'5 was the re%ly. 5 But do you really :/O2 that he in!ormed you correctlyF 2ould you' !or instance' stake our li!e on his wordF5 =Page 9> 3y !riend hesitated. "oubt a%%eared on his !ace. 1learly he did not know whether the e(uation was true or not. 5That is strange5' he said. 5. belie e . don't really know whether the rule is correct or not5. 52hy not !ind out the truth !or yoursel!5' . said. 5H and - are unknown' abstract (uantities I say those three match sticks !or H and those two !or -5. +e did as directed' and (uickly %ro ed the statement to be correct as anyone may do. /ow not until he had demonstrated the rule thus !or himsel! did my young !riend :/O2 it. There!ore' not until that moment had he really learned anything about it !rom his teacher. Pre iously he had been sim%ly acce%ting another's assurance blindly' and imaging it to be knowledge. 3ore than this' one can see i! one e?amines the matter closely that it was only $7T,0 true knowledge had come into e?istence in his own mind that he could say he really had learned !rom his teacher The sim%le !act is' though !or the many to a%%reciate it will take much thinking on =Page 10> their %art' Page @

The True Occult Path by P.G. Bowen

that all real knowledge is %re*e?istent within onesel!9 and that that which a%%ears to come !rom outside is but the inner knowledge ob<ecti!ied. Be!ore one truly knows anything' that thing has taken sha%e within onesel! 7rom this it will a%%ear how useless it is to e?%ect to recei e hel%' or wisdom !rom any %erson' or !rom anything whatsoe er without onesel!. The instant that you :/O2 that the Teacher or his words are T08T+' he has ceased to teach you. Be!ore that he is not teaching you but gi ing you something which you either acce%t blindly' and which there!ore remains outside yoursel!9 or which you translate into an ob<ecti e !orm commensurate with the little knowledge already de elo%ed within yoursel!. Those who understand this much must conse(uently understand also that all the !og and con!usion they %ercei e in the ob<ecti e world is the %roduct o! that de%artment o! their own nature in which their consciousness dwells. The 2orld I The 8ni erse is each man's =Page 11> own sel!' ob<ecti!ied. 7rom this understanding9 again' one must see that the ".;./, which one %ictures as dwelling in the central de%ths o! &%ace' does not dwell there' but in the centre o! one's own being. /o Teacher can ,/T,0 one's being and lead one back towards its centre. ,ach man must tread that %ath alone. $ll that he has been relying u%on outside himsel! must be let go' because it is but holding him back !rom his inward marchC he cannot take it with him. -et as he mo es inward he will !ind other teachers arising' some !rom whom he will know he has learned' others whom he must not stay to heed lest they hold him back. The Teacher o! Teachers stands at the !ar end o! the Path' not counseling' nor yet %ointing' but beckoning onward. But these last words are not yet to be understood. 2hen once a man sees into' and through and through anything which is to him ob<ecti e I that means when he truly :/O2& it I that thing ceases to matter to him. +e has sucked it dry9 and whate er o! alue it contained has become %art o! himsel!9 he lets the em%ty husk go without regret. But so =Page 1A> long as an e?ternal ob<ect seems im%ortant to a man' so that he clings to it' a!raid to let it go' <ust so long is he ignorant o! it' and held at a standstill by it. $ll men cling to one thing' or to another' !ondly imagining that such things are hel%ing them9 whereas all they do is to gi e him the sense o! security which comes !rom being !irmly anchored. The world o! men are anchored to the world' because to them it seems a necessary thing9 yet all that is necessary in it is the truth which its a%%earances conceal. 2hen men %ercei e this it has no longer a use !or them' and they let it all go. Then they know that all that is real in it is %art o! themsel es9 the rest is a husk I an a%%earance not real. 3an begins his true %rogress by realising that the more im%ortant does any e?ternal ob<ect a%%ear to him' the more certain it is that he knows it not.

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2hat . say is not any new thing' but old' so old that there ne er was a time when it was not. 7rom age to age it has been =Page 13> re%eated' and will be re%eated !rom age to age. -et !ew who ha e heard it stri e to act u%on it' deeming it too di!!icult a thing. 2hile o! the !ew who try to !ollow it' !or the most %art they do so without knowledge9 it is a thing which has not become a %art o! themsel es. Thus are !ound those who acce%t the word without understanding it' !leeing !rom the world and its !orms into deserts and cloisters and thinking that thus they are %racticing the teaching. /ot thus is it %ractised. To !lee into desert or cell is not to esca%e the ignorance and con!usion o! one's own nature' o! which the busy world is the ob<ecti e image. 7linging away any outward !orm whatsoe er hel%s in no way' but rather hinders. One may close his consciousness to its e?istence' as the ostrich hides his head in the sand9 but doing that only anchors the man more !irmly I the world o! con!usion holds him' and because he does not %ercei e it he has ceased to stri e to know it' and is a slee%ing instead o! a waking' struggling ca%ti e to it. =Page 1@> #et the 3an !ree himsel! !rom that state o! ignorance which e?ists in himsel! which bids him regard as im%ortant any !orm whatsoe er o! this ob<ecti e world I home' country' society' church. #et him see the truth within those things' o! which they are each and all narrowed and distorted !orms. .! knowledge o! that truth s%rings awake within him' the !orms become ob<ects o! indi!!erence to him. Being indi!!erent to them' he will not seek to run away !rom them' or to concern himsel! with destroying them. #et him think that i! he !inds it necessary to !lee !rom a !orm o! this world' or to try to destroy it that !orm must be an im%ortant thing !or him. . ha e said' and showed that that which seems im%ortant to the man is so only because he does not know it. .t has been said to me by one o! our younger brothers that much thinking o! this kind will lead many into a state o! blank negation' or agnosticism. This is true. .t is a necessary state' and one all %ass' or will %ass be!ore true ad ance begins. .n this state the man recognises his own ignorance' =Page 1B> and such recognition is the necessary %relude to true learning. $ll anchors to outer authority must be sli%%ed be!ore one begins to mo e inward. There!ore a time must come I it may last a moment' or many li!etimes I when the man stands alone in a oid I when nothing e?ternal holds or su%%orts him' and nothing he can gras% has as yet arisen within himsel!. .t is the !ear' conscious or unconscious' o! this lost and lonely state which kee%s so many clinging to e?ternal su%%ort. Time a!ter time the man may sli% into' or be dri en into this state' only to rush back again and gras% a now anchorage. But he gains nothing till at last he takes his courage in both hands and ste%s alone into the oid. 8ntil that courage comes' or until he sei)es it with determined will' the man is not a Theoso%hist. 3embershi% o! any 1hurch' or o! any society' or o! any circle calling itsel! Theoso%hical does not make a man a Theoso%hist. .t may indeed be %re enting him !rom becoming one9 though as . ha e shown it need not do so. But when any human institution %roclaims itsel! to be the instrument o! Truth' or the !orm in which Truth =Page 1D> mani!ests' is it not likely that a man may think that by becoming a member o! it' he himsel! must become a reci%ient o! the TruthF But o! course he becomes nothing o! the kind.

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2hate er Truth may be held by his !ellows is theirs' not his' because it remains e?ternal to him. +e does not become a co*sharer in the knowledge which his brethren may %ossess by his association with them' any more than did my young !riend by his membershi% o! the college become a sharer o! his Teacher's knowledge until it arose within him through his own e!!ort and e?%erience. There!ore enrolling himsel! as member o! a 1hurch' or o! any other association cannot in any way hel% a man' or relie e him !rom the necessity !or indi idual e!!ort. .n most cases it means nothing !or him but a shi!ting o! anchors !rom a s%ot which has grown insecure to a !irmer one. But do not think because o! this that a man should cut himsel! o!! !rom his 1hurch' or !rom any association o! which he is a member. .! he has not em%tied the !orm o! its Truth and made it his own' then the =Page 1E> !orm remains a thing o! im%ortance to him9 and whether he is' or is not a member o! it in name he remains de%endent u%on it. #ikewise' i! he has drained the !orm o! its truth' and sees it but as an em%ty husk' where is the meaning in cutting himsel! o!! !rom a thing which has no signi!icance !or himF #et no man attach himsel! to any !orm with the idea o! !inding hel% !rom it9 and let no man se er himsel! !rom any !orm' thinking thus to secure liberation !rom it. .! he is hel%ed' the hel% has been !ound within himsel!' and the !orm only ob<ecti!ies it. .! he is held the !orm is also only the ob<ecti e image o! a binding as%ect o! his own nature !rom which !leeing will not release him. 2hether the man stands alone' or is one o! a select body o! millions o! members' his %osition is the same. .! he is a medium o! Truth' Truth will shine through him. .! he is not' no association with others will make it do so. &u%%ose that his 1hurch or Order be re%resented by a ast window made u% o! a million %anes' some o! which are clear and let the %ure light shine through them9 =Page 1G> while others are dull' and o! arying degrees o! o%acity down to blank blackness. /ow i! any one o! those %anes be remo ed !rom the window' and !itted into an isolated a%erture by itsel!' is its nature alteredF The sunlight still %enetrates it e?actly in accordance with its (uality whether it stands alone' or in association with others. .! the 2ise Ones' or The Teachers be clear %anes in some ast mosaic in which a man is a dull' clouded %ane' does the Truth which shines through them make any di!!erence to his natureF .t does not. +e can re!lect some o! the light which shines through others I that means he can re%eat it. But re%eating it alters in no way his own nature. Bearing in mind all . ha e said and illustrated concerning true :/O2./G' what is it that brings Truth to the manF .t is that thing within the man I The :/O2,0' The One T08, &,#7 which alone gi es Truth. This :/O2,0 which knows Truth and which gi es Truth' is Truth itsel!. To the e?tent to which this True &el! is awake in a man I to that e?tent' and that only will =Page 19> he recognise the e?istence o! e?ternal Truth. +e will not know a true disci%le o! 2isdom until he becomes one himsel!. The 2ise Ones and the Teachers will %ass him by in the street' and he will not know them until he himsel! is growing to be one o! their com%any. 3any' or most o! you who listen to these words ha e thought and meditated u%on many as%ects o! the Philoso%hy which we call Theoso%hy9 but !ew seem to hold in mind the central doctrine' without which all else must !all to the ground. That central doctrine is T+, 78/"$3,/T$# 8/.T- O7 $## ,H.&T,/1,. ,?istence is a 8/.T- I One and ./".;.&$B#,. .! a man then be conscious o! e?istence he must himsel! be that 8nity and nothing less. .! he were less he could not be conscious' because the whole is indi isible and has no %arts. Page E

The True Occult Path by P.G. Bowen

Or again' we hear and re%eat constantly that 3an is the 3icrocosm. 2hat is a man's conce%tion when he re%eats this doctrine F 2ill it not be something like thisC he will concei e the :osmos as a ast s%here o!=Page A0> in!inite as%ects. 3an' the 3icrocosm' he will concei e as a tiny s%here' with attributes which are miniature 1o%ies o! the great s%here. .! he considers the relationshi% between the great and the little' will he not ine itably concei e himsel! as the tiny s%here occu%ying an in!initesimal %oint within the great s%here' the 3acrocosmF +e will there!ore be %icturing two se%arable things' one in!initely greater and su%erior to the other. That conce%tion does not re%resent the Truth. The Truth lies in the a?iom o! +ermes' Thrice Great 3asterC 5$s is the .nner' so is the Outer9 as is the Great' so is the &mall9 as abo e' so below9 there is but O/, #.7, $/" #$2C nothing is .nner' nothing is Outer9 nothing is Great' nothing is &mall9 nothing is +igh' nothing is #ow' in the ".;./, economy.J 3an' the 3icrocosm is not a s%here in!initely small' and the :osmos is not a s%here in!initely great. There are not two s%heres' but only one thing' as it might be when iewed through the di!!erent ends o! a gigantic telesco%e. Through one end man sees e?istence =Page A1> in!initely magni!ied. Through the other he sees it in!initely reduced. -et he is looking at one thing' not two. +e will see its reality only when he %uts away his glass. The O/, ,H.&T,/1, a%%ears as two' one great and one small only as iewed through the di!!erent ends o! the glass o! a limited consciousness. The 2ise Ones and The Teachers e?ist' and are to be !ound within the man himsel!. 8ntil he !inds them there he will ne er know them in any ob<ecti e !orm. To the e?tent that the man :/O2& with certainty within himsel! that another's words and ways are truth' to that e?tent' and to that only the other becomes 3aster or Teacher !or him. But ha ing recognised an as%ect o! Truth in any man' let no man on that account acce%t all else he may say and do' blindly' and without knowledge. .! he does that he will ha e anchored himsel! again' and will ha e become the mere adorer o! a !orm which once ob<ecti!ied !or him a ray o! Truth. $ll the religions o! the world which ha e arisen around the name o! a teacher owe their e?istence to this error. $ !ew disci%les' or others' recognised in some words or actions =Page AA> o! the Teacher the ob<ecti e !orm o! a ray o! Truth <ust risen in their own being. 7rom that !lash o! knowing they lea%t to blind acce%tance o! the Teacher as the embodiment o! absolute truth' and !orgot that as !ar as they had any true knowledge he was but the embodiment o! a single s%ark o! it. 7$.T+' which is so constantly en<oined' is a word the true meaning o! which has become almost wholly !orgotten. The world acce%ts it as meaning blind' or unreasoning belie!. .ts real meaning is ery di!!erent. .t is true that it im%lies belie! that is not !ounded on reason' but !ar !rom being blind this belie! de%ends u%on that certain knowledge which comes to the man when The :/O2,0' the True' .nner &el!' wakes within him. The in<unction so o!ten laid u%on man' to ha e 7aith' is not a command to bind himsel! in ignorant de otion to another' or to his words. .t is on the contrary a command to release himsel! !rom bondage I the bondage o! that com%arati ely low' and ery limited as%ect o! the 3ind which is called 0eason. The :/O2,0 dwells beyond reason' and beyond all that common man knows as Thought. =Page A3>

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2hen the man has this real 7aith in the Teacher' it means that the :/O2,0' the One Teacher is awake within him9 the !orm in which the Teacher a%%ears is sim%ly the ob<ecti e image o! that which has stirred to wake!ulness within the man. K2hy do the 2ise Ones remain hidden' when they may come out and light the world with their wisdomF5 is the constant cry' s%oken or uns%oken' o! (uesting man. +ow does common man know that they do not come outF +ow does he know that these ery words which . s%eak are not s%oken by a 2ise OneF .! . assured you that it is indeed so' some among you might belie e' and some would not. But none would know whether . s%oke truth or not' because in none is the :/O2,0 yet awake. .! . caused those ornaments to !ly !rom the walls all would belie e in my su%erhuman %ower' and %erha%s acce%t me as a 2ise One9 yet in doing so they would be but binding themsel es to their senses' and be no nearer to the !reedom o! true knowledge that they were be!ore. The 2ise Ones' and the Teachers' and their lesser sel es' The 3essengers' ha e =Page A@> a%%eared' and do still a%%ear in the world o! men. -et all they can do is to %oint the way to man' and tell him to tra el it !or himsel!. Their message is e er the same I the sim%le message . am gi ing to you. $ll the books on the Philoso%hy o! #i!e which ha e been written in their names9 all the systems and sciences o! #i ing which they taught' what were theyF /othing but sim%le sign*%osts %ointing to the 2ay which man must walk by his own strength. The Philoso%hies indicate the 2+- o! man's e!!orts9 the systems and sciences indicate the +O2' and that is the end. 3an' each one o! you who hear me' must do the work' !or which the Philoso%hy su%%lies the reason' and the systems and sciences show the means9 no one can do it !or him. 5. am the 2ay' the Truth and the #i!e5' said the Teacher9 but he s%oke o! that eternal 5.5 which is the centre o! all being' and o! e ery being. #et man identi!y himsel! with that 5.5 by retreating towards it along the .nner Path' and at last he will become that :/O2,0 which is T08T+.

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