Darkness Is Inner Light

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, G.R.S. Mead · Confusing Words Series · 7 pages

A short compilation from The Secret Doctrine built around a single reversal. The much-prized light of the worldly man is treated as Maya-illusion, a fleeting mass of shadows and sorrows brought about by an outward-looking mind and senses; and mundane darkness as lack of true knowledge caused by I-ness, selfishness and false learning — though, as the file notes, most people regard both states as entirely normal.

For those familiar with occult cosmogony and theogony the two words change places: true darkness is inner light or soul-wisdom, the Heart Doctrine, and what is ordinarily called light is a mere flicker of head-learning, the Eye Doctrine. The line the piece closes on is from the commentary on Stanza IV of The Secret Doctrine — that thus the Sons of Light clothed themselves in the fabric of Darkness, said of the planets which were all comets and suns in their origin and which evolve into manvantaric life from primeval chaos, and which are called allegorically the Heavenly Snails on account of their formless intelligences inhabiting unseen their starry homes and carrying them along as snails do. Material from G.R.S. Mead is used alongside.

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