Yogis, Magic and Deception – II

Posted by Phil Hine in History, Occult, tantra  |  December 4th 2019  |  About poster:

In the previous post in this series, I briefly sketched out the orientalist position on yoga & yoga powers before outlining how the extraordinary abilities attributed to yogis became associated with stage magic and deception. Now I will take a look at how yoga powers were represented in the writings of the leaders of the Theosophical Society.

“Theosophical Orientalism”
The basic premise of orientalism is that of an essential divide between “the West” and “the East” – sometimes expressed in terms of a polar opposite between the dynamism and rationality of the West and the frozen passivity and “mystical quietude” of the East.

Scholars such as Christopher Partridge have coined the useful phrase “Theosophical Orientalism” in order to distinguish Theosophical discourse from other forms of orientalism. Here are some key features.

Theosophical Orientalism in part drew on earlier forms of romantic orientalism which saw India as the repository of timeless wisdom combined with a general view of its populace as quiescent and spiritual. The work of comparativists such as William Jones and Thomas Colebrook led to a rise of interest in viewing India as the cradle of civilization. Gradually the image took root of India as a culture which had seemingly rejected the ills of modernity (such as rationalism or materialism) in favor of the spiritual life, existing in a kind of unchanging, Rousseauean dream. Blavatsky was excited by the possibility of locating the roots of all esoteric knowledge – the hidden wisdom tradition of which she was the sole representative – in the Orient.

Blavatsky, as with scholarly orientalists such as Max Muller believed that contemporary India had lost touch with its wisdom traditions (see this post for some related discussion). Although initially enamored of movements such as Swami Dayananda Sarasvati’s Arya Samaj, cordial relations did not last, and Blavatsky soon began to claim a superior authority in providing an initiated perspective on Indian esoteric traditions:

“But we may find worse opponents than even the Western Scientists and Orientalists. If, on the question of figures, Brahmins may agree with our teaching, we are not so sure that some of them, orthodox conservatives, may not raise objections to the modes of procreation attributed to their Pitar Devatas. We shall be called upon to produce the works from which we quote, while they will be invited by us to read their own Puranas a little more carefully and with an eye to the esoteric meaning. And then, we repeat again, they will find, under the veil of more or less transparent allegories, every statement made herein corroborated by their own works.” ¹

In a similar way that scholars such as Muller and Horace Hayman Wilson sought to distinguish between a noble philosophical tradition of yoga and its degenerate practitioners, Blavatsky made a distinction between esoteric truth and exoteric practice.

Another feature of Theosophical Orientalism is the optimism that science was on the verge of demonstrating the truth of the perennial wisdom-tradition. Drawing on theories of physics, magnetism, and psychology – as well as more contested disciplines such as Mesmerism, Theosophical authors strove to assert that their metaphysical premises operated according to natural laws:

“For Asiatics this magnetic revival has a paramount interest. Every advance made by Western Science in this direction brings out more clearly the grandeur of Indian Philosophy … It cannot be denied that modern magnetism makes it easy to understand ancient Yoga Vidya.” ²

As Karl Beier points out (2016), Theosophical Orientalism established an intercultural space – in particular with respect to journals such as The Theosophist where European and South Asian Theosophists could participate in creating new understandings of ancient wisdom according to scientific principles. For South Asian Theosophists in particular, this became an important space for forging a new identity beyond British dismissal of indigenous traditions.

On Yogis

“A Yogi in India is a very elastic word. It now serves generally to designate a very dirty, dung-covered and naked individual, who never cuts nor combs his hair, covers himself from forehead to heels with wet ashes, performs Pranayam, without realizing its true meaning, and lives upon alms. It is only occasionally that the name is applied to one who is worthy of the appellation.” ³

The attitude of Madame Blavatsky and other senior Theosophists to yoga and yogic powers is perhaps most easily expressed as a linking of binary oppositions between lower and higher forms of praxis. In a similar way that Theosophical discourse made a distinction between “black magic” and “true Occultism”; or between Mesmerism and hypnosis – Blavatsky was stridently anti Haṭhayoga.

For Blavatsky, a true yogi was that rare individual who had entirely renounced the world and joined with the Universal Soul. As Elizabeth de Michelis points out(2004: 178), Blavatsky makes a distinction between an inferior Haṭhayoga and a superior Rājayoga and identifies the latter with the Yogasutra of Patañjali – an association which was later continued by Vivekananda and continues to circulate today.

Senior Theosophists frequently issued warnings about the dangers of pranayama and attempting yogic postures. William Quan Judge, in his 1890 “interpretation” of the Yoga Aphorisms of Patañjali states that Raja Yoga is “spiritual” whilst Hatha Yoga is not, and only produces psychic development at the expense of the spiritual.

This antipathy to Haṭhayoga was picked up later by Vivekananda. In his 1896 work Raja Yoga he says of Haṭhayoga: “we have nothing to do with it here, because its practices are very difficult, and cannot be learned in a day, and, after all, do not lead to much spiritual growth”.

A key figure in the translation and dissemination of yoga-related texts is Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu. His translations of the Śiva Saṃhitā (1893) and Gheraṇḍa Saṃhita (1895) were published by Theosophical Presses. ⁴

In his “Introduction to Yoga Philosophy” (1915) Vasu makes a distinction between “True Yoga” and false yogis, in other words:

“In India, many understand by the word Yogi, those hideous specimens of humanity who parade through our streets debaubed with dirt and ash – frightening the children, and exhorting money from timid and good-natured folk by threats, abuse or pertinacity of demand. Of course, all true Yogis renounce any fraternity with these. If these painted caricatures by any stretch of language can be called Yogis, surely their yoga (communion) is with ash and dirt, mud and money.”

He is also critical of Hatha Yogins “those strange ascetics who by inflicting tortures and exquisite pains to their flesh, hope to liberate their spirits.” He also hits out at those yogis who “think that it is impossible to practice Yoga in household life” and that “one must leave father and mother, wife and children, and run to deserts or high mountains.”

Real Yogis, for Vasu, can be discerned “by that inexpressible serenity of his countenance… It is impossible to see a Yogi without being pleasantly influenced by him. … In short, a Yogi carries his credentials on his face.”

Yoga Powers

Blavatsky recognized that the siddhis or powers existed but again makes a clear distinction between “higher” and “lower” siddhis. The lower siddhis could be brought about by drugs, “paralysis of the physical senses” or manipulating the breath – but were akin to sorcery and were harmful. Blavatsky, of course, was held to have demonstrated siddhis, but these were spiritual and taught to her by her inner plane masters, rather than mere psychic tricks. The improper development of “psychism” or the lower siddhis could only, in her view, result in “dangerous delusions and the certainty of moral destruction.” ⁵

An essay on “Yoga Vidya” by F.T.S. ⁶ appearing in the November 1879 edition of Theosophist discusses the Siddhis in some detail. The author stresses that some siddhis apply to the astral, rather than the physical body, and goes on to discuss how powers such as levitation are not miracles, but “a very simple affair of magnetic polarity.”

One of Blavatsky’s first encounters with claims of yogic powers was a meeting between her, Colonel Olcott, and one Śrī Sabhāpati Swāmī in Lahore on November 8, 1880. It seems that both Blavatsky and Olcott had held Sabhāpati in some regard, but when they met for the first time, the Swami told them of an experience whereby he had flown to Mount Kailāśa to commune with Mahādeva. According to Olcott, neither he or Blavatsky would accept that this had been an actual experience (perhaps an astral flight would have been more palatable to them) and they ceased to give any support to Sabhāpati’s work. ⁷

In the February 1880 edition of the Theosophist, Blavatsky comments on a piece entitled “An Indian Aethrobat”, by Babu Krishna Indra Sandyal, in which the author is discussing yogic siddhis such as Anima (reducing the body in size to the smallness of an atom) and proposing a scientific rationale for their existence. In her editorial note, Blavatsky opines:

“”The Babu is also mistaken in supposing that this body of flesh can be separated into atoms and made to fill the whole void of space, or compressed into one infinitesimal atomic point like a diamond-grain. Let him reflect but one instant upon the nature of bioplastic matter and he will see the fact as it is. It is the inner self which, by virtue of its ethereal nature and its relationship to the all-pervading “Anima Mundi” or World-Soul, is capable of exhibiting the properties of Anima and Mahima. Anything in Aryan literature seeming to convey a contrary idea may be at once taken as figurative language intended to be understood only by the wise. The sages who wrote these books were adepts in psychological science, and we must not take them to have been ignorant of its plainest laws.” (italics as in original)

In a not too dissimilar move to those western orientalists who propose that apparent yogic powers are down to hypnotism or hallucination, Blavatsky states that one should not accept statements about these powers as being literally true – but rather, statements about the inner self. To take the existence of yogic powers at face value runs counter to her notions of scientific acceptability – and in arguing that “the sages” were masters of such science, reinforces her dismissal of the possibility of accepting such powers at face value.

Blavatsky’s attitude to the powers of yoga is thus somewhat ambivalent. On the one hand, the presence of these abilities in texts such as the Yogasutra and the Bhagavad-Gītā proved that the ancient sages were masters of an esoteric natural science – which current exoteric scientists were inexorably moving towards; a science which would validate the ancient wisdom which was the root of all sciences, religions, and philosophies. However, such powers could not be taken at face value when they seeming flew (sometimes literally) in the face of established “physical laws”. Moreover, the powers, like any other facet of the secret wisdom, required careful interpretation, and more often than not, this took the form of Blavatsky enlightening Indians on the proper interpretations of their sacred texts.

Sources
Karl Beier “Theosophical Orientalism and the Structures of Intercultural Transfer: Annotations on the Appropriation of the Cakras in Early Theosophy” in Julie Chajes and Boaz Huss (eds) Theosophical Appropriations: Esotericism, Kabbalah, and the Transformation of Traditions (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press 2016).
Keith E. Cantú Śrī Sabhāpati Swami: The Forgotten Yogi of Western Esotericism (Paper delivered at the American Academy of Religion annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, November 2016).
Elizabeth de Michelis A History of Modern Yoga: Patañjali and Western Esotericism (Continuum, 2005).
Christopher Partridge, “Lost Horizon: H.P. Blavatsky and Theosophical Orientalism” in Olav Hammer & Mikael Rothstein (eds) Handbook of the Theosophical Current (Brill 2013).
Mark Singleton Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice (Oxford University Press 2010).
Sharada Sugirtharajah Imagining Hinduism: A postcolonial perspective (Routledge 2003).

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