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H.P. Blavatsky The Light-Bringer

By GEOFFREY A. BARBORKA

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Writing By Precipitation

PRECIPITATION in connection with writing generally signifies the materialization of a message on paper (or other substance). By extension of meaning it also has come to have the added significance of the delivery of the message, although the latter is actually a distinct process from the former.

As an introduction to this type of writing, a comment made by Mme. Blavatsky in one of her letters to A. P. Sinnett, dated Adyar, March 17, 1885, is worthy of note :
 I have never, before beginning the service for you and Mr. Hume, transmitted and received letters to, and from Masters, except for myself. If you had any idea of the difficulties, or the modus operandi you would not have consented to be in my place.

And yet I never refused.f Writing on precipitation, she gave an explanation of the method used, with specific reference to the Mahatma letters received by Sinnett and Hume. Nevertheless, this also clarifies the process Mme. Blavatsky would have been called upon to employ for precipitations she herself performed.

Those having even a superficial knowledge of the science of mesmerism know how the thoughts of the mesmeriser, though silently formulated in his mind are instantly transferred to that of the subject. It is not necessary for the operator, if he is sufficiently powerful, to be present near the subject to produce the above result. Some celebrated practitioners in this Science are known to have been able to put their subjects to sleep even from a distance of s everal days' journey. This known fact will serve us as a guide in comprehending the comparatively unknown subject now under discussion. The work of writing the letters in question is carried on by a sort of psychological telegraphy; the Mahatmas very rarely write their letters in the ordinary way. An electromagnetic connection, so to say, exists on the psychological plane between a Mahatma and his chelas, one of whom acts as his amanuensis. When the Master wants a letter to be written in this way, he draws the attention of the chela, whom he selects for the task, by causing an astral bell (heard by so many of our Fellows and others) to be rung near him just as the despatching telegraph office signals to the receiving office before wiring the message. The thoughts arising in the mind of the Mahatma are then clothed in word, pronounced mentally, and forced along the astral currents he sends towards the pupil to impinge on the brain of the latter. Thence they are borne by the nerve-currents to the palms of his hands and the tips of his finger, which rest on a piece of magnetically prepared paper. As the thought-waves are thus impressed on the tissue, materials are drawn to it from the ocean of a kasa (permeating every atom of t he sensuous universe), by an occult process, out of place here to describe, and permanent marks are left.

From this it is abundantly clear that the success of such writing as above described depends chiefly upon these things: (i) The force and the clearness with which the thoughts are propelled.

 

and (2) the freedom of the receiving brain from disturbance of every description

 

Further information is provided in an interview Charles Johnston once had with Mme. Blavatsky, although the report of the occurrence was not published until after her death. Of special interest is the explanation given of how a Mahatma is able to produce the precipitation in English even though knowing nothing of that language. H. P. Blavatsky opened her explanation with a question she herself proceeded to answer:

 

Have you ever made experiments in thought-transference ? If you have, you must have noticed that the person who receives the mental picture very often colours it, or even changes it slightly, with his own thought, and this where perfectly genuine transference of thought takes place. Well, it is something like that with the precipitated letters. One of our Masters, who perhaps does not know English, and of course has no English handwriting, wishes to precipitate a letter in answer to a question sent mentally to him. Let us say he is in Tibet, while I am in Madras or London. He has the answering thought in his mind, but not in English words. He has first to impress that thought on my brain, or on the brain of someone else who knows English, and then to take the word-forms that rise up in that other brain to answer the thought. Then he must form a clear mind-picture of the words in writing, also drawing on my brain, or the brain of whoever it is, for the shapes. Then either through me or some Chela with whom he is magnetically connected, he has to precipitate these word-shapes on paper, first sending the shapes into the Chela's mind, and then driving them into the paper, using the magnetic force of the Chela to do the printing, and collecting the material, black or blue or red, as the case may be, from the astral light. As all things dissolve into the astral light, the will of the magician can draw them forth again. So he can draw forth colours of pigments to mark the figure in the letter, using the magnetic force of the Chela to stamp them in, and guiding the whole by his own much greater magnetic force, a current of powerful will.

 

With regard to the synchronization of the two minds—the Mahatma's and the chela's—a sloka from the Yogasutras may be quoted :

The nature of the mind of another person becomes known to the ascetic when he concentrates his own mind upon that other person.

 

Mme. Blavatsky gave an explanation of a different type of precipitation, which illustrates the use of another method :

 have often seen M. sit with a book of most elaborate Chinese characters that he wanted to copy, and a blank book before him and he would put a pinch of black lead dust before him and then rub it in slightly on the page; and then over it precipitate ink; and then, if the image of the characters was all right and correct in his mind the characters copied would be all right.