Tricky Questions

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How did you choose these questions? Purely by the frequency with which people asked them, or to put it another way, the public made the choices. There are certain Occultists take every statement literally, so perhaps I had better explain that no single individual ever asked all these questions, neither did they arrive in the order that I present them here. It would have been altogether too boring if I simply listed them, one after the other, so I have done some arranging. I have put them into groups and then shuffled them round into sections-or clusters and clots.

Have you kept to the sense of the questions? It is impossible to say. I have to interpret. What does 'What are you doing here?' mean? My answer could be 'I am reading your question', or 'my car ran out of petrol'. Or else I could be philosophical - 'I would far rather be doing it somewhere else, but it was raining'.

For some reason, Occultism attracts a disproportionate number of dyslexics along with stutterers, stammerers, and people who are shy, retiring or timid. They do not fit into society very well, but Occultism makes them more welcome. I do not know why people respond how they do, but some of them feel 'called'. Occultism appeals to them and I have to accept it. I do edit their questions though. There are budding authors and weirdoes, as well as some who cannot write clear English.

Does everyone ask the same questions? More or less. If there were time, people could be sorted into categories according to the particular bees that were buzzing in their bonnet. You will be surprised to learn that only a few people ask to meet me in person. They think I might have cloven hoofs and a forked tail. Others would find that intriguing, and hope I have leathery foldable wings.

Young folk begin naively by asking if I agree with some important issue that they hold dear, for example, am I vegetarian. I always reply that I only ever eat students, but they must have been fattened on organic corn. Communists ask my favourite colour, antiabortionists ask my views on condoms, and so on. All set off on the spiritual quest by picking the truth that they find palatable. It takes a mature mind to deal with truths that are harder to swallow. However, unless they intend to wed me, people are silly to check whether our views are in harmony.

No. There is only one truth, but everyone is free to believe what he wishes. This means that most people's opinions are wrong because Eternal Truth does not change, and neither can it be tailored to suit. Free will often gets mixed up with dreaming, and this does not help at all. In the Sudan, the followers of the Mahdi believed that they were invulnerable to British bullets and they got killed, of course. We know they were wrong, but it is impossible to say if they are sorry. Instead of proclaiming our views on a soapbox at Hyde Park Corner, it behoves all of us all to approach truth in a spirit of becoming humility.

If I know more than you, can I teach you? If you want to open your own academy, do not pretend to be a pilgrim. I teach what I know, and I have been authorised to do so. Even so, I make sure that I am not deceiving myself. I did not invent the truth, so it is not arrogance if I defend it. I am open to correction if you can show that I am wrong-and every student must be able to say the same. Many will not say so because they are independent and wilful. They ride into town like Billy the Kid intent on a shoot-out, but the crosses on Boot Hill prove that being cocksure is not the same as being the fastest gun in the West.

Is it wrong to go carefully? Excessive caution causes stress, and it can kill. From the spiritual angle, proceeding with care is often the same as not budging an inch. Door-to-door evangelists take advantage of this inertia. They know when to give up and when to persist. They can judge which people might be open to persuasion so, once you open the door, it is hard to get rid of them. One outcome of all this is that ordinary people mistake any eloquence for the 'hard sell'. It is not a bad thing to have the gift of the gab-it is essential for a teacher-but tongue-tied and inarticulate folk are suspicious of anyone who can speak well.

'I am just as bloody English as you are!' One lout yelled at his teacher. 'Not quite,' chided the other, 'You do not speak the language.'

Books make me angry.

Don't be silly! How can a book upset you? It does not 'do' anything. It just stays where you put it, resting peacefully. Not even the words printed on the book's pages should make you angry. The author may be dead; he may not have meant what you assume, and if he knew how badly you reacted, he would probably apologise. No, no, no. What makes you angry is the stuff inside your own head. Cream goes sour because it is cream. If it were not cream, then it would not go sour. Whatever part of you gets angry-it could just as easily choose not to get angry. If it stayed calm, kept its cool, and examined the disagreeable ideas sensibly, then it would be better able to deal with them. Whatever else, anger is not a helpful state of mind.

Why do you 'push' Occultism? Do I? Or is it just you are determined to resist? You may ridicule anything I say. You are free to accept my words or reject them. It makes no difference to me. I write with particular kinds of people in mind, i.e., those who want an explanation. If you do not need one, skip to some other question. You could compare my tone to that of a politician, a salesman, or a doorstep missionary. Or delve into one of those books on New Age Occultism-like Scrooge's Christmas Dinner, all stuffing and no meat. I am not selling anything; I do not want your vote, and, sorry to dash anyone's hopes, I am not looking for a partner. Quite simply, I am trying to share my knowledge with people who need it.

Will this book try to convert me? Conversion involves turning someone away from one belief towards another. It is like throwing a lever to switch the points on a railway track. Do you think this is happening to you? Was your mind already hurtling in one direction and did I stop it? If it was so easy, it could not have been going very fast. If you stopped, you wanted to stop. Perhaps the question is just a red herring as you try to convert me.

Do you intend to change my views? If you already had strong views, you would not be reading this book-unless, of course, you hoped to convert me or entice away some of my followers. Please feel free. I do not look upon people as sheep whose flanks are marked to show which farm they belong to. Religion is not a prairie divided into fields by barbed-wire fences. Every man and woman is free to work out his own beliefs in light of their own conscience. I do not hold with conversion. Other faiths do not approve of Occultism, but they do not like one another either. I am happy for anyone who finds a path that suits them. I have no exclusive claim to the flanks of the Sacred Mountain.

Will you lure me into Occultism? Would it give me a thrill, do you think? If I were a rat-catcher and got fifty-pence a head, you would have cause to be wary, but there is no incentive for grabbing occult students. Let us turn the question round though and ask why you are flirting with danger? Were you a child who stuck their tongue out and yelled "Yah boo, can't catch me"? Sorry. I do not feel like chasing anyone today.

What do you want from me? I beg your pardon. I thought you wanted something from me. You picked up the book, after all, so you must be curious. What do you want to know? If you did decide to become a student, you would need to be satisfied with my credentials, and a little less cocky. Most masters have a waiting-list, so you would be wiser to be polite.

Should you be nicer towards people? What can you mean? I am nice. My God! You should see me when I am nasty! I do not remain nice when others are rude, and I am sad to say that an interest in Occultism is no guarantee of good breeding. Just as nervous dogs will bite, so twitchy people tend to be offensive, and I am only an Occult Master-I never said I was a saint.

Everyone who writes to me thinks their letter is unique. No one else has asked such brilliant, penetrating questions, and they expect me to be grateful. One or two are hoping for some special recognition and are quite put out when I do not provide it.

Should I take the plunge? Why talk of plunges? Occultism is not something you either commit yourself to or quit. She is not a sensitive damsel who feels affronted if you want to lift the veil before you marry her. Climb one step at a time and take it gently. Watch where you put your feet, and do not go forward unless you know it is safe. This is only a book. You can toss it aside if you get windy, so why behave like a fly who is being invited to tea by a spider? Caution yes, but do not overdo it!

Can I ask anything I want? If people are genuinely interested then every question deserves an honest answer. Some folk are just having fun, or passing time between bouts of boredom. Nobody who reads a book like this is going to be totally objective or one hundred per cent neutral. Most will be either eager or hostile, and almost everyone will be biased. It all depends on what fears are lurking in your heart. Do not rush into Occultism with gay abandon. Look before you leap. On the other hand, do not be intellectually stubborn. I am ready to satisfy the reasonable qualms of an average person, but I will not be pushed into a silly, no-win situation.

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