Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism | Page 2

the lapse of time.
We do not mean that the Eastern teachers insist upon the student blindly accepting every
truth that is presented to him. On the contrary, they instruct the pupil to accept as truth
only that which he can prove for himself, as no truth is truth to one until he can prove it
by his own experiments. But the student is taught that before many truths may be so
proven he must develop and unfold. The teacher asks only that the student have
confidence in him as a pointer-out of the way, and he says, in effect, to the student: "This
is the way; enter upon it, and on the path you will find the things of which I have taught
you; handle them, weigh them, measure them, taste them, and know for yourself. When
you reach any point of the path you will know as much of it as did I or any other soul at
that particular stage of the journey; but until you reach a particular point, you must either
accept the statements of those who have gone before or reject the whole subject of that
particular point. Accept nothing as final until you have proven it; but, if you are wise, you
will profit by the advice and experience of those who have gone before. Every man must
learn by experience, but men may serve others as pointers of the way. At each stage of
the journey it will be found that those who have progressed a little further on the way
have left signs and marks and guideposts for those who follow. The wise man will take
advantage of these signs. I do not ask for blind faith, but only for confidence until you are
able to demonstrate for yourselves the truths I am passing on to you, as they were passed
on to me, by those who went before.
We ask the student to have patience. Many things which will appear dark to him at first
will be made clear as we progress.
THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN.

Man is a far more complete being than is generally imagined. He has not only a body and
a soul, but he is a spirit possessing a soul, which soul has several vehicles for expression,
these several vehicles being of different degrees of density, the body being the lowest
form of expression. These different vehicles manifest upon different "planes," such as the
"physical plane," the "astral plane," etc., all of which will be explained as we proceed.
The real self is pure spirit, a spark of the divine fire. This spirit is encased within
numerous sheaths, which prevent its full expression. As man advances in development,
his consciousness passes from the lower planes to the higher, and he becomes more and
more aware of his higher nature.
The spirit contains within it all potentialities, and as man progresses he unfolds new
powers, new qualities, into the light.
The Yogi philosophy teaches that man is composed of seven principles - is a sevenfold
creature. The best way to think of man is to realize that the spirit is the real self, and that
the lower principles are but confining sheaths. Man may manifest upon seven planes, that
is, the highly developed man, as the majority of men of this age can manifest only upon
the lower planes, the higher planes not having as yet been reached by them, although
every man, no matter how undeveloped, possesses the seven principles potentially. The
first five planes have been attained by many, the sixth by a few, the seventh by practically
none of this race at this time.
THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF MAN.
The seven principles of man, as known to the Yogi philosophy, are herewith stated,
English terms being substituted for Sanscrit words, so far as may be:
7. Spirit.
6. Spiritual-Mind.
5. Intellect.
4. Instinctive-Mind.
3. Prana, or Vital Force.
2. Astral Body.
1. Physical Body.
We will briefly run over the general nature of each of these seven principles, that the
student may understand future references to them; but we will defer our detailed
treatment of the subject until later on in the lessons.
1. The Physical Body.

Of all the seven principles of man, the physical body is of course the most apparent. It is
the lowest in the scale, and is the crudest manifestation of the man. But this does not
mean that the physical should be despised or neglected. On the contrary, it is a most
necessary principle for the growth of man in his present stage of development - the
temple of the living Spirit and it should be carefully tended and cared for in order to
render it a more perfect instrument. We have but to look around us and see how