Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism | Page 9

as physical
love, hatred, envy, malice, jealousy, revenge, are a part of it. The desire for the physical
(unless as a means of reaching higher things), the longing for the material, all belong to
this plane. The "lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life," are on this plane.
This principle is the most material of the three mental principles, and is the one which is
apt to bind us the closest to the earth and earthly things. Remember, that we are not
condemning material or "earthly" things - they are all right in their place; but man in his
unfoldment grows to see these things as only a means to an end - only a step in the
spiritual evolution. And with clearer vision he ceases to be bound too tightly to the
material side of life, and, instead of regarding it as the end and aim of all things, sees that
it is, at the best, only a means to a higher end.
Many of the "brute" instincts are still with us, and are much in evidence in undeveloped
people. Occultists learn to curb and control these lower instincts, and to subordinate them
to the higher mental ideals which open up to them. Be not discouraged, dear student, if
you find much of the animal still within you. It is no sign of "badness," or evil; in fact the
recognition of it by one is a sign that his unfoldment has begun, for, before, the same
thing was there and not recognized for what it is, whereas now it is both seen and
recognized. Knowledge is power; learn to know the remnants of the brute nature within
you and become a tamer of wild beasts. The higher principles will always obtain the
mastery, but patience, perseverance, and faith are required for the task. These "brute"
things were all right in their time - the animal had need of them they were "good" for the
purpose intended, but now that man is reaching higher points on the path, he sees clearer
and learns to subordinate the lower parts of himself to the higher.
The lower instincts were not implanted in your nature by "the devil"; you came by them
honestly. They came in the process of evolution as a proper and right thing, but have been
largely outgrown and can now be left behind. So do not fear these inheritances from the
past; you can put them aside or subordinate them to higher things as you journey along
the path. Do not despise them, though you tread them under foot - they are the steps upon
which you have reached your present high estate, and upon which you will attain still
greater heights.
(5) The Intellect.

We now reach the mental principle which distinguishes man from the brute.
The first four principles man shares in common with the lower forms of life, but when the
fifth principle begins to unfold he has reached an important stage of the journey along the
path of attainment. He feels his manhood manifesting within him.
Now, remember, that there is no violent change or marked transition from the
consciousness of the fourth principle into that of the fifth. As we have before explained,
these principles shade into each other, and blend as do the colors of the spectrum. As
intellect unfolds, it illuminates faintly the fourth principle, and endows instinctive life
with reason. Simple consciousness shades into self-consciousness. Before the fifth
principle dawns fairly, the creature having the four principles well developed has
passions but no reason; emotions but not intellect; desires but no rationalized will. It is
the subject awaiting the monarch, the sleeper awaiting the magic touch of the one who
has been sent to awaken him from the enchanter's deep sleep. It is the brute awaiting the
coming of that which will transform it into a man.
In some of the lower animals, the fourth principle has attracted to itself the lowest
shading of the fifth principle, and the animal manifests signs of a faint reasoning. On the
other hand, in some of the lower forms of man - the Bushman, for example-, the fourth
principle has scarcely been perceptibly colored by the incoming fifth principle, and the
"man" is scarcely more than a brute, in fact is more of a brute, mentally, than some of the
higher domesticated animals, who, having been for many generations in close
companionship with man, have been colored by his mental emanations.
The first sign of the real unfoldment of the fifth principle, intellect, is the dawning of
self-consciousness. In order more fully to understand this, let us consider what
consciousness really is.
Among the lower animals there is very little of that which we call consciousness. The
consciousness of