“The Astral Plane: its general appearance, inhabitants and phenomena” ( Eng. The Astral Plane: its scenery, inhabitants and phenomena ) - a book by Charles Leadbeater , a member of the Theosophical Society ; It was first published in 1895 [1] . Describes the world order and the inhabitants of the astral plane , in terms of spiritualism and occultism . It is the fifth of a series of manuals designed to give the reader, as far as possible, a simplified description of the Theosophical teaching [K 1] .
| Astral plan | |
|---|---|
| The astral plane | |
 Cover sheet 1st edition | |
| Genre | occultism |
| Author | Charles Leadbeater |
| Original language | English |
| Date of writing | 1894 |
| Date of first publication | 1895 |
Content
- 1 Writing and Publication History
- 2 Superphysical worlds
- 3 Criticism
- 4 Reprints and translations
- 5 See also
- 6 Comments
- 7 notes
- 8 Literature
- 9 References
Writing and Publication History
In 1894, in the London Lodge of the Theosophical Society, of which A.P. Sinnett was president, several meetings were held in which members of the Lodge and several representatives of the "upper classes", of whom Sinnett intended to interest theosophy, took part. Once, he instructed Leadbeater to deliver a lecture at one of these meetings, and on November 21, 1894 he made a message on the subject of the “ Astral Plan ” [K 2] . C. Ginarajadas participated in the preparation of the manuscript for publication in the Proceedings of the London Lodge. [3] [K 3]
Superphysical Worlds
According to the ideas of Leadbeater and other Theosophists, the world in which we live consists of seven “plans”. [K 5] And although man’s consciousness is limited by the lower physical plane, he “functions” also on other planes, for which purpose the corresponding “bodies” serve him. That is why he can “travel”, for example, in his astral body according to the astral plane, and in his mental body according to the mental. For most people, such an experience takes place during sleep, but, as a rule, is not remembered; for the clairvoyant and the occultist, he is available at any time and is not forgotten. According to Leadbeater, during the year in India he developed his occult abilities under the guidance of experienced mentors . [7] [K 6]
Criticism
Ray Morgan in his work “Life after death in Kamaloka” noted some discrepancies on this issue of the concept of C. Leadbeater with what was previously stated in the publications of E. P. Blavatsky and in the letters of the Mahatmas . In particular, he cited a quote from the "Astral Plane", which, in his opinion, contradicts the original theosophical doctrine:
“The average person before his death has not yet freed himself from all lower desires, and in order to allow the forces generated by him to develop and thereby release him, the ego will require a long period of more or less conscious life on different subplanes of the astral plane.” [K 7]
According to Morgan, Leadbeater sometimes pretended to be theosophical traditional ideas of spiritualists . [9]
In connection with the frequently asked question: did Leadbeater really have astral vision, it should be borne in mind that he always refused to any suggestion to conduct a test of his abilities in any scientific or objective way. He stated that such a test was unacceptable to him, and there were occult reasons for that. So, he rejected the offer to read the letter in a sealed envelope. [10] [K 8]
Reprints and translations
For more than a hundred years after writing, the book was regularly reprinted in the original language, as well as in other European languages: French, Spanish, Danish, Russian. [K 9]
The first Russian translation by A. V. Troyanovsky from the French edition of the book was published in 1908 in St. Petersburg by the publishing house of V. L. Bogushevsky. [4] A modern translation made by K. A. Zaitsev from the English supplemented edition was published by Eksmo Publishing House in 2002 in the collection Reality of the Astral Plane.
See also
- Musical forms
- " Thoughtforms "
- " Rose of the world "
- " Death and beyond the grave "
- Spiritualism
- Colors of the Astral Plane
- “ Man: where, how and where ”
- Esoteric Buddhism
Comments
- ↑ “The Theosophical Manual series included The Seven Principles of Man (1892), Reincarnation (1892), Death - And After (1893), Karma (1895), and Man and His Bodies (1896) by Mrs Besant , and The Astral Plane (1895) and The Devachanic Plane (1896) by Leadbeater; they all remain in print in modern editions. " [2]
- ↑ The lecture was published in the Proceedings of the London Lodge, No. 24. [1]
- ↑ Published in 1895, the book was a supplement by Leadbeater: "Written in expansion of an address delivered at a meeting of the London Lodge on the 21st of November, 1894, on" The astral plane "." [four]
- ↑ "In Leadbeater's Theosophy the world in which man lives is made up of seven" planes "." [5]
- ↑ Radhakrishnan wrote: “The ordinary boundaries of human observation are not the boundaries of the universe. There are other worlds besides the world that our senses open to us. ” [6]
- ↑ “A highly developed person can, during sleep, meditation or trance, leave his body and act in higher worlds. There are no spatial and temporal barriers. Communication between human and non-human beings is completely free. ” [8]
- ↑ Cit. Leadbeater CW The Astral Plane, 8th Adyar ed., P. 49. [9]
- ↑ Buddha forbade the demonstration of siddhi : “You should not, oh bhikka , flaunt superhuman powers before the laity. Whoever does this will be guilty of a bad deed ”( Vinaya-pitaka , II, 112). [eleven]
- ↑ "66 editions published between 1895 and 2012 in 5 languages and held by 195 WorldCat member libraries worldwide." [12]
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Tillett, 1986 , p. 1077.
- ↑ Tillett, 1986 , p. 984.
- ↑ Tillett, 1986 , p. 190.
- ↑ 1 2 Formats and Editions .
- ↑ Tillett, 1986 , p. 936.
- ↑ Radhakrishnan, 1957 , Chapter 5/18.
- ↑ Tillett, 1986 , pp. 162, 936.
- ↑ Trefilov, 1994 , p. 238.
- ↑ 1 2 Morgan .
- ↑ Tillett, 1986 , p. 873.
- ↑ Eliade, 1970 , p. 180.
- ↑ WorldCat .
Literature
- Formats and Editions of "The astral plane" . OCLC WorldCat . Date of treatment December 29, 2015.
- Leadbeater, Charles Webster 1854-1934 . OCLC WorldCat . Date of treatment December 29, 2015.
- Eliade M. Yoga: Immortality and Freedom . - Reprint. - Princeton University Press , 1970 .-- 536 p. - ISBN 9780691017648 .
- Morgan, Ray Life After Death in Kamaloka (the Astral World) . HP Blavatsky versus CW Leadbeater Blavatsky Study Center (2003) . Date of treatment May 12, 2016.
- Tillett GJ Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854-1934), a biographical study . - Sydney: University of Sydney , 1986. - 1169 p.
- in Russian
- Ginarajadasa C. How the "Astral Plan" was written // Bulletin of Theosophy: journal. - 2008. - No. 1 . - S. 24-26 .
- Radhakrishnan S. Indian Philosophy = Indian Philosophy / Per. from English Ya. V. Vorobyov, G. A. Zaichenko and others under the general. ed. V.A. Malinin. - M .: Publishing house of foreign literature , 1957. - T. II.
- Trefilov V.A. Chapter XVII. Superconfessional syncretic religious philosophy // Fundamentals of Religious Studies. Textbook / Ed. I.N. Yablokova . - M .: Higher school , 1994. - S. 233-245. - 368 p. - ISBN 5-06-002849-6 .
Links
- The Astral Plane
- “Astral Plan” , “Astral Plan” - translation by K. A. Zaitsev.