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ARS VIVENDI (ART OF LIVING) |
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CHAPTER 11: VRIL AND INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE IT was shown in Chapter 5 that there were many points in which the particular form of force known as Nerve-Energy differed from Electricity and Magnetism. It is, therefore, necessary for the scientific worker to employ a term that will convey to the mind a clear idea of this difference, in order to prevent the confusion and waste of time that would otherwise result. The term "Personal Magnetism" has been rather extensively used within the last few years, but there are many objections to it, though from a popular standpoint it does fairly well. Reichenbach, coined the term Od or Odyle, but this does not, somehow or other, carry sufficient weight to render it an ideal word. Unquestionably the best term of all is that used, and so far as I know coined, by Lytton in "The Coming Race." It expresses, with precision, nerve-energy and will-force combined in the developed individual. The word itself suggests the very noblest and highest ideas connected with mankind. The Romans used the words "vir" and "virilis" in a very different sense from "homo." The latter signified a mere man pure and simple, while the former expressed a lofty conception of the genus homo. The word vir or vri has the same signification, more or less, in all the Aryan languages, e.g., in MacDonell's Sanskrit Dictionary, the following is given: -- Vi-rá, m. (vigorous: √ vi) man, esp. man of might, hero, champion, chief, leader. Vir-yá, n. Manliness, valour, power, potency, efficiency, heroic deed, manly vigour. Vra-tá, n. (willed, √ vri, perh. old p.p.) will, command, law, ordinance, dominion. The term "vril," therefore, naturally signifies the height of dominion attained by cultivation of man's latent power, and, as such, is the best that could possibly have been devised. While adoption of the term "vril" is sufficient to emphasise the distinction between Nerve-Energy and Electricity and Magnetism, still there are so many points in common between them that an acquaintance with the laws of Electricity and Magnetism will serve to explain many perplexing problems connected with the operation of Vril. To take the familiar example of seemingly unaccountable "likes" and "dislikes." It has often happened in the experience of every person that a feeling of more or less violent attraction or repulsion springs up suddenly, and "without rhyme or reason," towards a stranger. There are various degrees of this feeling -- on the one hand, from hardly perceptible "liking," to the passionate love at first sight, that upsets as easily as a house of cards the deep-laid schemes of prudent mothers who have marriageable daughters to dispose of; and, on the other hand, from scarcely felt "dislike" to the utter loathing of another's presence. No reason can be given beyond the simple fact -- "I feel like that, and I can't help it." When, however, the nature and properties of Nerve-Energy are understood, these phenomena cease to perplex, for they are perceived to be caused by the law of Polarity, which is shown in Nerve-Energy as well as in Magnetism and Electricity. Reichenbach, in a series of beautiful experiments, incontrovertibly demonstrated that every man and woman is surrounded by an atmosphere or cloud, visible to sensitives as a luminous glow, generally of white or greyish colour. This atmosphere, or aura, acts in a similar manner to the "magnetic field" of a magnet -- that is, it manifests polarity, and exercises an attractive or repulsive influence on the auras of other individuals, in the majority of instances quite unconsciously, and sometimes even against the will of the individual. It is this aura which is the unknown cause of "love" and "hate," and the scientist of the future who makes a special study of "the lines of force" of Nerve-Energy will be able to predict to a nicety the kind of person Edwin or Angelina will fall violently in love with. LUCK AND ILL-LUCK It is this "aura," again, which is really the determining factor in luck and ill-luck, and explains why one person succeeds in life while another fails. The sphere of radiant Nerve-Energy is incessantly at work on surrounding Nature, attracting and repelling, according to its strength, winning esteem or rousing enmity. Just as magnets vary in strength, so individual auras differ enormously in power; and just as the strength of a magnet is measured by the magnetic force it exerts upon the other magnets, so the strength of an individual man or woman is measured by the force exercised by his or her aura upon other individuals. The inequality between man and man is enormous in the scale of natural power. Just as one magnet can lift a weight that another magnet cannot, so one man can do with ease what another would find absolutely impossible. Emerson in his fine essay on "Character" treats the subject with marvellous insight. "Higher natures overpower lower ones by affecting them with a certain sleep. The faculties are locked up and offer no resistance. That is the universal law. When the high cannot bring up the low to itself, it benumbs it as man charms down the resistance of the lower animals. They exert on each other a similar occult power. How often has the influence of a true master realised all the tales of magic; A river of command seemed to run down from his eyes into all those who beheld him, a torrent of strong sad light, like an Ohio or Danube, which pervaded them with his thoughts, and coloured all events with the. hue of his mind. 'What means did you employ?' was the question asked of the wife of Concini, in regard to her treatment of Mary of Medici; and the answer was, 'Only that influence which every strong mind has over a weak one.' This is a natural power, like light and heat, and all nature co-operates with it. The reason why we feel one man's presence and do not feel another's is as simple as gravity Truth is the summit of being; justice is the application of it to affairs. All individual natures stand in a scale, according to the purity of this element in them. The will of the pure runs down from them into other natures, as water runs down from a higher into a lower vessel. This natural force is no more to be withstood than any other natural force." Whatever his detractors may say, it is impossible to deny that Napoleon Buonaparte towered above all his contemporaries in force pure and simple. His influence over people was prodigious. One lady, probably a first-rate sensitive, records that her impression on seeing him for the first time was as if he had an aureole round his head. His presence overwhelmed her. Napoleon's aura acted upon the men and women that came in contact with him precisely as a very strong magnet acts upon weaker ones. From the point of view of Nature, he ruled "by Divine right," for the "magnetic field" of his Nerve-Energy was overpowering. "The lesson he teaches," wrote Emerson, "is that which vigour always teaches -- that there is always room for it. To what heaps of cowardly doubts is not that man's life an answer!" Napoleon showed the all importance of the individual, and demonstrated in actual life the superiority of Mind and Nerve-Energy over brute force, stupidity, and tradition. This lesson is more than ever necessary in the twentieth century, for there is more demand and more scope for individual action and individual initiative. Ars Vivendism is not for the masses or the classes, but for individuals who draw their strength from within. CAN NERVE-ENERGY BE STORED UP? The individual being the centre of a field of radiant energy akin to Electricity and Magnetism, a very interesting question presents itself, whether this energy can be accumulated and stored up in a manner similar to the storage of Electric energy. Unfortunately Nerve-Energy cannot be stored up quite as easily as the electrician stores up electricity -- at all events, not till the individual gets thoroughly expert in the process. The individual has no visible tools to work with, no dynamo, and no storage battery, for he himself is the dynamo and the storage battery. Consequently, the beginner is apt to feel very much like treading on air until he understands the nature of the problem he is dealing with. After a little while he will get accustomed to the process, and realise that the magnificent ideals of Lytton's "Zanoni" and "The Coming Race" are actual possibilities in store for the developed individual. But I emphatically warn the student against the idea that books can supply all that is necessary. The path of development is not by any means as easy as is given out in some of the books of the present day. There are so many snares and pitfalls that it is far easier to go wrong than to go right. The very subtlety of the force that one is trying to master renders caution and skill and experienced guidance absolutely necessary. Those who maintain that books can supply the place of the living master display an utter ignorance of the elements of the Art they profess to give out. You might just as well expect to become a first-rate singer by poring over books on singing, without personal training under a competent master. Those who really know something about the intricacies of the Supreme Art and the Supreme Science, such as for example, the Rishis of ancient India, have warned that books are only to be used as a kind of commentary on the personal teaching of a master. In my own experience, I have repeatedly come across persons who, with the best intentions and the most ardent aspirations, had gone on a path that would have inevitably landed them in the lunatic asylum if they had persevered a few months longer on those lines. Remember always that the brain is a most delicate instrument, and must be treated as nicely as an electrician treats his instruments, otherwise it will get wrong; and then the last state is infinitely worse than the first. With these few words of salutary caution, I will now deal with the main principles of the accumulation of Nerve-Energy. NERVE-ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY Inasmuch as all the natural forces are modifications of One Force, a general analogy runs throughout the laws governing accumulation and dissipation. Thus a striking and valuable lesson in the accumulation of Nerve-Energy is derived from the laws of Electricity. The electrician knows that the distribution of electricity varies on differently shaped insulated conductors, e.g., on a sphere the density is uniform, on a pear-shaped conductor the density is greatest at the pointed end. As bodies become more and more pointed, the electricity becomes so great on the pointed end that it can no longer be retained, and discharge takes place. The action of points is such that it causes a continual loss of electricity. If you, therefore, want to keep it from escaping, you must avoid points on conductors as much as possible. And as there is always a tendency of accumulated force of any kind to leak off into the surrounding air and ether, through the action of the Law of Equilibrium, a knowledge of the best method of circumventing this tendency is of great importance in the application of force in a practical manner. The reason why electricity leaks off at points is that the tension or stress is so great there that it overpowers the restraining force, while in a rounded sphere it is so evenly distributed that there is little or no tension.
Applying this law to the distribution and discharge of Nerve-Energy, we
find precisely identical results. On a rounded sphere Nerve-Energy
is evenly distributed and has little tendency to escape, but on uneven
surfaces and at points the stress is great, and it is discharged. The "points of escape" of Nerve-Energy are different from the
"points of
escape" of Electricity,
and the alarmed reader need not incontinently
eschew all use of pins, needles, knives, and forks, and things of the
kind, for fear Nerve-Energy may leak off unnecessarily. The "points of
escape" are slightly different, and, I am afraid, will not be discarded
as easily as the electrician avoids points on his conductors. However,
Knowledge is Power, or, at all events, the first step to Power, and once
the mind knows the points of escape of Nerve-Energy it will gradually
and slowly avoid them.
Meditation over the chapter on "Manners" is the first step forward. The reason why Ideals, such as Zanoni, etc., are always pictured by the novelist as calm, serene, and unruffled by the cares and sorrows of ordinary mortals is simple. They comply with the law of accumulation of Nerve-Energy, and consequently they are truthfully portrayed as masters of themselves and their surroundings, whereas the ordinary man and woman is the victim and the slave. The best comment on the above is silence. NERVE-ENERGY AND MAGNETISM Just as a valuable lesson in the storage of Nerve-Energy is derived from Electricity, so we can derive an equally valuable lesson from Magnetism. The most feasible theory of magnetism, perhaps, is that in all magnetic substances, each molecule has a current of Electricity circulating round it. Before Magnetisation the current moves irregularly; after Magnetisation, regularly in one direction. So that the group of molecules constituting the magnet would present one even and harmonious motion. There are degrees of perfection in magnetisation. The perfect magnet has only two poles; the imperfect magnet may have several intermediate poles in addition to the two principal ones, caused by irregular magnetisation. A piece of steel thus magnetised would really consist of several little magnets, with reversed polarities which would prevent its being one strong magnet, for its force would be irregular -- one part counteracting the action of the other, and neutralising the possibility of united action of all the molecules. In the same way, the ordinary man has many intermediate poles in the sphere of his Nerve-Energy, one part pulling this way, another that, another notable to pull at all, or dragging back another, till the collective force is frittered away in vain, haphazard, and irregular endeavour. This irregular action is in itself extremely fatiguing, so that force is all but exhausted long before it has an opportunity of doing its work in the external world. The developed individual is the perfect magnet, attracting or repelling, calmly, steadily, harmoniously, and irresistibly, within the sphere of his influence, and to the extent of his power. The attainment of definite polarity in the sphere of Nerve-Energy is of unspeakable importance in daily life. On the one side will be perfect Intuition, and on the other perfect Action. In actual life, it is very seldom we come across the two. When we do, it is an absolute certainty that the individual rises to eminence. Napoleon used to calculate with mathematical precision the various movements of his campaigns. He had drawn up the plan of operations for the Italian war two years before he had the opportunity to put it into practice. The Mathematical Theory of the Calculation of Probabilities becomes a fascinating study when applied to the practical affairs of individual, social, and political life. The indispensable condition is a Trance-like state of mind, in which the ordinary emotions of fear, anxiety, prejudice, and other disturbing influences cause not the slightest ripple in the reflecting mirror; the Will, or Positive Pole, must not interfere at all in the working out of the Calculation, unless it is dispassionately inserted as a factor in the predicted result. The Will comes in when the plan has been calmly matured. This constant, calm, and unruffled state of Nerve-Energy, along with the habitual Practice of Calculation, will eventually develop the lucent sight of Intuition or Clairvoyance. RULES FOR DEVELOPING VRIL 1. Avoid leakage of Nerve-Energy, and cultivate a calm and serene state of mind. 2. Pay attention to all the laws of health outlined in the preceding chapters. 3. Be of a firm and steadfast determination. The basis of everything is Steadfastness of Will. On this point it is necessary to observe that steadfastness of body is a very different thing from steadfastness of mind. The wise men of India thousands of years ago recognised this principle of Steadfastness, as applied to the mind and will. But unfortunately it degenerated, in the hands of ignorant followers of Hatha Yoga, to a stupid and utterly ridiculous practice -- that of standing on one leg, or holding up an arm for months and years, in order to gain the required Steadfastness. They only succeeded in becoming freaks and curiosities of Nature. Unfortunately, much of the advice given in modern books is copied, from the stupidities of the old treatises, and the reader is led to suppose that marvellous and speedy results can be obtained in a week by staring at oneself in a glass, or looking the wall out of countenance, etc. 4. Do not argue or talk with people whose only delight in life is to do both. Check sternly this tendency, both in yourself and others. 5. Whatever you are saying or doing, go straight to the point, and leave it when it is done. 6. The sun is the great source of energy on the physical plane. Therefore have as much of the direct rays of the sun as you can -- of course, modifying it according to the season of the year. 7. The moon has a more intimate connection with magnetic attraction than the sun. The moon is magnetic, while the sun is electric. Walk much in the moonlight, especially in the second quarter and at the full, but remember that the moon is dangerous under certain conditions. The idea that people are affected by the moon is quite correct. Reichenbach, in one of his experiments, proves this very clearly. He desired to find out the influence of the moon's rays upon a sensitive person who was in bed in a room looking towards the north, out of the direct moonshine. He placed one end of an iron wire one-twelfth of an inch thick and about 100 feet long, in the hand of the sensitive person, and attached the other end to a large copperplate on which the moon was shining. "The effect of the moon," he says, "was described by the patient as of a very violent and mixed kind, so that her accounts of it did not evince her usual clearness. But a point which did not occur in the sunshine, and manifested itself as peculiar to the moon, was a distinct kind of attraction toward the wire through the whole arm, so that she felt induced to follow along the wire with her hand. She ran her finger slowly along the wire, when she felt the attraction and would have been inclined, if not in bed, to trace it out along its whole length. We meet here with something similar to that strange attraction which we have observed in the magnet for cataleptic persons, and from which little doubt remains that it is the irresistible attraction which so powerfully seizes somnambulists, and which, therefore, being conductible, may be conveyed by metals. The patient regarded it as really magnetic, only she said that this attraction was much stronger than that of the magnet." The influence of the moon on the earth is strikingly shown in the tides of the sea, and in innumerable other ways, belief in which is often regarded as popular superstition, but in reality is the result of thousands of years of observation. The sun is the father, and the moon is the mother, the preserver of Nerve -Energy. 8. Drink occasionally a tumbler of water exposed to the direct sunlight or moonlight for about ten minutes. By this means the peculiar power of either is carried along with the water to the blood.
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