crowley aleister book of magic

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the purpose of this message from the Unseen? How shall I interpret this Word of God Most High?" The Magus thinks:
"How shall I use this slug?" And in this course he must persist. Though many things useless, so far as he can see, are
sent to him, one day he will find the one thing he needs, while his Understanding will appreciate the fact that none of
those other things were useless.
So with these early practices of renunciation it will now be clearly understood that they were but of temporary use.
They were only of value as training. The adept will laugh over his early absurdities -- the disproportions will have been
harmonized; and the structure of his soul will be seen as perfectly organic, with no one thing out of its place. He will
see himself as the positive Tau with its ten complete squares within the triangle of the negatives; and this figure will
become one, as soon as from the equilibrium of opposites he has attained to the identity of opposites.
In all this is will have been seen that the most powerful weapon in the hand of the student is the Vow of Holy
Obedience; and many will wish that they had the opportunity of putting themselves under a holy Guru. Let them take
heart -- for any being capable of giving commands is an efficient Guru for the purpose of this Vow, provided that he is
not too amiable and lazy.
The only reason for choosing a Guru who has himself attained is that he will aid the vigilance of the sleepy Chela,
and, while tempering the Wind to that shorn lamb, will carefully harden him, and at the same time gladden his ears with
holy discourse. But if such a person is inaccessible, let him choose any one with whom he has constant intercourse,
explain the circumstances, and ask him to act.
The person should if possible be trustworthy; and let the Chela remember that if he should be ordered to jump over a
cliff it is very much better to do it than to give up the practice.
And it is of the very greatest importance not to limit the vow in any way. You must buy the egg without haggling.
In a certain Society the members were bound to do certain things, being assured that there was "nothing in the vow
contrary to their civil, moral, or religious obligations." So when any one wanted to break his vow he had no difficulty
in discovering a very good reason for it. The vow lost all its force.
clause in the Golden Dawn initiations as the third defense for his publishing the Golden Dawn rituals. See Equinox I,
4, page 5, "Editorial".>>
When Buddha took his seat under the blessed Bo-Tree, he took an oath that none of the inhabitants of the 10,000
worlds should cause him to rise until he had attained; so that when even Mara the great Arch-Devil, with his three
daughters the arch-temptresses appeared, he remained still.
Now it is useless for the beginner to take so formidable a vow; he {77} has not yet attained the strength which can
defy Mara. Let him estimate his strength, and take a vow which is within it, but only just within it. Thus Milo began
by carrying a new-born calf; and day by day as it grew into a bull, his strength was found sufficient.
Again let it be said that Liber III is a most admirable method for the beginner,
carefully read. Its essence is that the pupil swears to refrain from a certain thought, word, or deed; and on each breach
of the oath, cuts his arm sharply with a razor. This is better than flagellation because it can be done in public, without
attracting notice. It however forms one of the most hilariously exciting parlour games for the family circle ever
invented. Friends and relations are always ready to do their utmost to trap you into doing the forbidden thing.>> and it
will be best, even if he is very confident in his strength, to take the vow for very short periods, beginning with an hour
and increasing daily by half-hours until the day is filled. Then let him rest awhile, and attempt a two-day practice; and
so on until he is perfect.
He should also begin with the very easiest practices. But the thing which he is sworn to avoid should not be a thing
which normally he would do infrequently; because the strain on the memory which subserves his vigilance would be
very great, and the practice become difficult. It is just as well at first that the pain of his arm should be there "at the
time when he would normally do the forbidden thing," to warn him against its repetition.
There will thus be a clear connection in his mind of cause and effect, until he will be just as careful in avoiding this
particular act which he has consciously determined, as in those other things which in childhood he has been trained to
avoid.
Just as the eyelid unconsciously closes when the eye is threatened,
few people in the world who were not blind.>> so must he build up in consciousness this power of inhibition until it
sinks below consciousness, adding to his store of automatic force, so that he is free to devote his conscious energy to a
yet higher task.
It is impossible to overrate the value of this inhibition to the man when he comes to meditate. He has guarded his
mind against thoughts A, B, and C; he has told the sentries to allow no one to pass who is not in uniform. And it will
be very easy for him to extend that power, and to lower the portcullis.
Let him remember, too that there is a difference not only in the frequency of thoughts -- but in their intensity.
The worst of all is of course the ego, which is almost omnipresent {78} and almost irresistible, although so deeply-
seated that in normal thought one may not always be aware of it.
Buddha, taking the bull by the horns, made this idea the first to be attacked.
Each must decide for himself whether this is a wise course to pursue. But it certainly seems easier to strip off first the
things which can easily be done without.
to attack are those who confuse it with a sense of private property. Many petty thieves use denial of the ego as an
excuse. Three book-thieves and any number of shop-lifters come to mind.>>
The majority of people will find most trouble with the Emotions, and thoughts which excite them.
But is is both possible and necessary not merely to suppress the emotions, but to turn them into faithful servants.
Thus the emotion of anger is occasionally useful against that portion of the brain whose slackness vitiates the control.
If there is one emotion which is never useful, it is pride; for this reason, that it is bound up entirely with the Ego...
No, there is no use for pride!
The destruction of the Perceptions, either the grosser or the subtler, appears much easier, because the mind not being
moved, is free to remember its control.
It is easy to be so absorbed in a book that one takes no notice of the most beautiful scenery. But if stung by a wasp
the book is immediately forgotten.
The Tendencies are, however, much harder to combat than the three lower Shandhas put together -- for the simple
reason that they are for the most part below consciousness, and must be, as it were, awakened in order to be destroyed,
so that the will of the Magician is in a sense trying to do two opposite things at the same time.
Consciousness itself is only destroyed by Samadhi.
One can now see the logical process which begins in refusing to think of a foot, and ends by destroying the sense of
individuality.
Of the methods of destroying various deep-rooted ideas there are many.
The best is perhaps the method of equilibrium. Get the mind into the habit of calling up the opposite to every thought
that may arise. In conversation always disagree. See the other man's arguments; but, however much your judgment
approves them, find the answer.
Let this be done dispassionately; the more convinced you are that a certain point of view is right, the more determined
you should be to find proofs that it is wrong.
If you have done this thoroughly, these points of view will cease to trouble you; you can then assert your own point
of view with the calm of a master, which is more convincing than the enthusiasm of a learner. {79} [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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