2 human nature and religious feeling. Aesthetic feelings and religious experiences
In the 1990s, a direction was formed in Western religious studies that returned the study of religion to the mainstream of explanatory theories. Their authors associate the origin of religious consciousness not with something metaphysical, but with the peculiarities of language and thinking. They consider belief in supernatural forces as a form of cognitive activity, which is explained by evolutionary processes.
Back in 1979, researcher Stuart Guthrie wrote the article "The Cognitive Theory of Religion", which caused a wide resonance among anthropologists and religious scholars. Stewart put forward the idea of religious anthropomorphism, according to which people tend to imagine forces unknown to them as living and similar to them.
In 1980, anthropologist Pascal Boyer outlined an alternative concept in his book The Naturalness of Religious Ideas. In his opinion, belief in higher powers is a special case of combining explicit and intuitive ideas.
“Apparently, some forms of religious thinking are the path of least resistance for our cognitive systems. In contrast, disbelief in general is the result of deliberate and difficult work against our natural cognitive tendencies, ”writes Boyer.
Thus, it is recognized that faith is inherent in almost everyone, that atheism is rather an anomaly, but the analysis of the origin of religiosity is reduced to biopsychic mechanisms. Some cognitive scientists even compare religion to a virus that thrives on brain functions not originally designed for religious thinking.
At the same time, experts emphasize: the hypothesis of the natural character of religion does not assert, as some might think, that religiosity is something innate or instinctive.
“She argues that religious behavior and religious beliefs, in all their splendor, grow rapidly and are passed down from generation to generation for millennia because they are the best fit for innate, instinctive psychological mechanisms and processes. Religious beliefs are not a matter of deliberate choice. They survive because they correspond to the traits selected by the very process of evolution, ”notes Ph.D. Marianna Shakhnovich.
Who thinks more, believes less?
In 2012, Will Gervais and Ara Norenzayan of the University of British Columbia (Canada), conducted research with students, came to a conclusion that may support a cognitive theory of religion. Scientists have stated that when people think analytically, they are less likely to express strong religious beliefs.
In the first experiment, participants took a test of analytical ability and answered questions about their attitude to religion, after which the researchers compared the religiosity and rationality of the subjects. Experience has shown that people with an analytical mind and high cognitive ability have less faith in supernatural powers compared to students who tried to solve problems using intuition.
In the second experiment, scientists asked volunteers to complete intellectual tasks, switching their brains to analytical mode, or showed them the attributes of mental activity, after which they conducted a questionnaire. The results showed that the strength of faith of participants with intuitive thinking decreased slightly and approached the values typical for people with innate analytical abilities.
“Our research reinforces previous experiments in this area that have identified the connection between intuitive thinking and religion. Our findings indicate that activating the analytical thinking system in the brain can undermine intuitive faith, at least for a while, ”concludes Norenzayan.
A stone in the cognitive garden
However, a new study by a group of scientists from Oxford and Coventry University (UK) shows that religious belief is not associated with intuition or rational thinking.
The participants were people who made a pilgrimage to the alleged tomb of St. James (Santiago de Compostela, Spain). The experiment consisted of brain stimulation and testing. The subjects were asked how strong their religious beliefs were, how much time they spent on the pilgrimage trip, and so on.
Then the scientists assessed the level of intuitive thinking of the pilgrims. They were asked to take a test to assess the likelihood of a particular phenomenon.
The test was structured in such a way that each question could be answered logically or intuitively. Researchers have failed to establish a relationship between religiosity and intuitive or analytical thinking.
In the final experiment, two electrodes were connected to the subjects' heads, between which an electric current was flowing. The procedure was painless and harmless. Thus, the volunteers were stimulated to suppress unwanted thoughts (a function of analytical thinking).
The experiment showed that the pilgrims had an increased level of thought control, but the level of conviction in the existence of higher powers did not change.
“Why do we believe in God? Is this a rational or intuitive choice? Do we choose with heart or mind? There have been and are many disputes on this score. Our research proves that a person's religiosity is not determined by how much they rely on intuitive or analytical thinking. People are not born with a predisposition for faith and atheism. A person's religious convictions develop in the process of his upbringing, and they are in no way connected with the peculiarities of a person's thinking. Human innate intuition is not a prerequisite for religiosity. It is entirely a matter of educating a person, ”says Miguel Farias, one of the study's authors.
What is faith?
However, the question arises: if the origin of religious consciousness is not explained by biopsychic mechanisms, is everything reduced to social factors?
Doctor of Medicine and psychiatrist Fedor Kondratyev gives a negative answer to this question. In his opinion, the idea that belief in supernatural forces can be instilled and imposed is more than ridiculous.
“Religiosity cannot be taught: if there is no religious feeling, then a person cannot become religious. Knowing the details and subtleties of any religious teaching does not make a person religious. For example, the militant atheist Stalin was a religiously educated person, he studied at a theological school and theological seminary. A religious scholar, an expert on the fundamental principles and subtleties of his science, may not have a religious feeling, and, therefore, he will not be a religious person. Knowledge of religious teachings in the absence of religious feeling does not make a person religious, just as the knowledge of musical notation obtained as a result of training in the absence of hearing and feeling of music does not make a person musical, ”Kondratyev notes.
At the same time, the scientist emphasizes: the feeling of connection with the extra-material, spiritual world is the basis of faith, and the highest manifestation and the main evidence of religiosity is not the acceptance of any creed, but the feeling of the reality of this connection.
From death to meaning
This point of view is close to another direction in religious studies - phenomenological. Its supporters attach particular importance to the views of adherents of religion and seek to reveal its essence, abstracting from scientific and generally accepted values and prejudices.
One of the representatives of this approach is the historian of religion Andrei Zubov. Emphasizing that belief in higher powers is characteristic of almost any nation, he connects the nature of religiosity primarily with the spiritual sphere. Namely, with the experience of three existential problems - the inevitability of death, the deep alienation of people from each other and human imperfection.
Feeling his helplessness in front of these existential facts, a person is looking for a connection with what rules over them - the immortal, unifying and perfect absolute, the knowledge of which exists in the ancestral memory, notes Zubov. According to his concept, where there is a desire to overcome death, alienation and imperfection through connection with a transcendental force felt at the existential level, religion begins.
Zubov's conclusions correlate with the views of existential psychologists. For example, psychotherapist Irwin Yalom, analyzing his many years of experience with clients and the results of various studies, writes that human life is tied to four ultimate given - death, freedom, loneliness and meaninglessness. Confrontation with them, Yalom emphasizes, generates deep intrapersonal conflicts.
In turn, psychologist Viktor Frankl, who went through four concentration camps and created logotherapy (therapy with meaning), claims that the key motivational factor that manifests itself in a person is not the will to pleasure (Sigmund Freud) or power (Alfred Adler), but to meaning ...
Frankl writes that life becomes meaningful in one of three cases - through activity, through love, or finding meaning in suffering when it is inevitable. Religion, according to the scientist, gives a person an unprecedented opportunity that he is not able to find anywhere else - the opportunity to strengthen and establish himself in the transcendental and absolute.
E. Cassirer was unconditionally right when he wrote that of all cultural phenomena, religion and myth are the worst amenable to logical analysis. According to Thomas Aquinas, religious truth is supernatural and super-rational, but not irrational. With the help of reason, we cannot penetrate into the secrets of faith. However, these secrets do not contradict reason, but complement and improve it. Nevertheless, there have always been religious thinkers who have resisted all attempts to reconcile these two opposing forces - faith and reason. Tertullian's dictum (155 / 165–220 / 240) "I believe, for it is absurd" never lost its power. B. Pascal proclaimed the darkness and unknowability of the true elements of religion. S. Kierkegaard described religious life as a great paradox, an attempt to mitigate which for him meant the denial and destruction of religious life.
"And religion," writes Cassirer, "remained a mystery not only in a theoretical, but also in an ethical sense: it is overflowing with theoretical antinomies and ethical contradictions. It promised us communion, unity with nature, with people, supernatural forces and the Divine itself. Result, however, it is exactly the opposite: in its concrete manifestation, it became the source of the deepest strife and fanatical fights between people. Religion claims to possess absolute truth, but its history is a history of delusions and heresies. It promises and predicts the other world - far beyond our human experience, but itself remains human, too human. "
However, Cassirer believes that the problem will appear in a completely different light as soon as we decide to change our point of view. The German philosopher considers it possible to consider religion as an anthropological phenomenon, as a phenomenon that expresses human nature. But haven't we talked about man so far? Didn't our versions of the origin of religion take into account the image of a person? Of course they did. But at the same time, man was taken not in his integrity. We talked about him, captured by fear, the tragedy of parricide, economic need, the need to honor dead ancestors, a vague sense of transcendental feeling. As for Cassirer, he comprehends human nature as an individual called a symbolic animal.
Yes, objects of faith, creeds, theological systems are involved in an endless struggle. Even ethical ideals are very different and rarely agree with each other. But all this, according to Cassirer, does not interfere with the existence of a special form of religious feeling and the inner unity of religious thinking. Religious symbols are constantly changing, but the underlying principle, symbolic activity, remains the same: religion is one in its diversity.
So, human existence takes place in symbolic forms. Philosophical anthropologists of the last century drew attention to the well-known "insufficiency" of the human being, to some of the features of its biological nature. Scientists believed that the animal-biological organization of man contains a certain "under-fulfillment". However, they were far from the idea that man on this basis was doomed, forced to become a victim of evolution.
Nature has the ability to offer every living species many chances. The person also had such a chance. Lacking a clear instinctual program, not knowing how to behave in specific natural conditions for the benefit of himself, man unconsciously began to look closely at other animals, more firmly rooted in nature. He seemed to have gone beyond the framework of the specific program. This was the manifestation of its inherent "peculiarity", because many other creatures failed to overcome their own natural limitations and became extinct.
“A person is doomed to all the time, - writes Yu. N. Davydov, - to restore the broken connection with the universe ...” The restoration of this violation is the replacement of instinct with the principle of culture, i.e. orientation towards culturally significant subjects. The new acquisition has completely transformed the entire human life. A person is not able to get rid of this property, he can only accept the conditions of his own life. From now on, he is found not only in the physical, but also in the symbolic universe.
A person no longer confronts reality directly, he does not face it, so to speak, face to face. Physical reality seems to move away as the symbolic activity of a person grows. Instead of turning to the things themselves, man is constantly turned to himself. He is so immersed in linguistic forms, artistic images, mythical symbols or religious rituals that he cannot see or know anything without the intervention of this artificial mediator.
Language, myth, art, religion are parts of this universe, those different threads from which the symbolic web, the tangled fabric of human experience, is woven. Rather, a person lives among imaginary emotions, in hopes and fears, among illusions and their losses, among their own fantasies and dreams. Consequently, man can be defined not so much as a rational animal, but rather as a symbolic animal.
E. Cassirer notes: "Primitive religion is perhaps the most consistent, vivid and decisive affirmation of life in all of human culture." The symbolic nature of religion is beyond doubt.
Here lies a truly amazing discovery of Cassirer, who much deeper than Freud or Weber interprets religious phenomena: not an economic, practical need and not an ambivalent attitude towards the ancestor, not the cult of ancestors and not primitive fear - the sources of religious experiences. However, the question of why a person's need to create symbolic worlds was realized precisely in a religious experience remains unclear.
Conclusion
Explaining the secret of religion, the reasons for its appearance from a secular position is a rather difficult task. Unfortunately, religious studies have long been content with primitive explanations. It ascribed to primitive man a feeling of inescapable fear, ignoring the magical world of magic he had lived in. Religious studies linked the origin of religion with a reverent attitude towards death, overlooking the fact that this attitude is not universal, but turns out to be different in specific cultures. Religious studies saw the earthly roots of religion in social collisions that are long gone, but religion itself remained. Experts talked about the complexity of the process of cognition, which is fraught with the "flight of fantasy", but religion has retained itself in the face of a critical rethinking of the entire epistemological activity of man. Meanwhile, over the past decades, ethnography and cultural studies have accumulated enough material to approach the discussion of these issues from broader philosophical positions. Philosophical anthropology, which reveals the human world in its complexity and integrity, can be of great help here.
Although all religions are based on the mystical experience of the experiences of their creators and saints, among the broad mass of the believing people, far from all are mystics. Nevertheless, the religiosity of people is always associated with feelings and experiences. These experiences are different.
They are due to various features of the perception of the world, including different levels of intelligence and knowledge. Depending on what the perception of the world and experiences are, the forms of religiosity also differ. If they are primitive, the form of religiosity is also primitive. If they are deeper, then the form of religiosity is also deeper.
Albert Einstein in his article "Religion and Science" reveals the relationship between the nature of feelings and the form of a person's religiosity. He writes that the cradle of religious ideas and experiences has a wide variety of feelings, and considers three types of religiosity: the "religion of fear", the religion of moral sentiment and the "cosmic religion."
“In primitive people,” Einstein writes, “religious ideas are primarily caused by fear, fear of hunger, wild animals, disease, and death. Since at this stage of being, the understanding of causal relationships is usually at an extremely low level, the human mind creates for itself a more or less analogous being, on whose will and actions the phenomena that are terrible for it depend on.
After that, they begin to think about how to appease this creature. To do this, they perform certain actions and make sacrifices, which, according to the beliefs passed down from generation to generation, contribute to the pacification of this creature, that is, make it more merciful towards a person. In this sense, I am talking about the religion of fear.
The stabilization of this religion, but not its emergence, is largely facilitated by the formation of a special caste of priests who take on the role of mediators between people and those beings whom people fear, and based on this their hegemony ... ".
The religion of the Old Testament corresponds exactly to the characteristics described by Einstein. Much of the Old Testament is a "religion of fear," based on the Law of Moses for the Jews. The Bible describes the story of receiving the Law in extremely formidable tones: lightning flies and thunders are heard across the sky, and Mount Sinai is smoking, like a volcanic eruption begins. This is how a feeling of fear of God is instilled in people: no one can approach this terrible God and stay alive. And immediately there is a need for a caste of priests who have the right to approach God and propitiate Him with the sacrifices of animals.
In our time, preachers and priests interpret the biblical concept of "fear of God" as "reverence" and "humility." However, it is obvious that in its original meaning "fear of God" meant exactly fear, and not something else. And only with the evolution of people's consciousness did the concept of "fear of God" begin to change.
Christianity is born in the depths of Judaism, therefore it also contains many elements of the "religion of fear" inherited from the Mosaic Law. Although Jesus himself, of course, was a preacher of a different type of religion - "moral".
Einstein writes: “The desire for guidance, love, and support serves as an impetus for the creation of a social and moral concept of God,” writes Einstein. “God's providence protects man, rules over his destiny, rewards and punishes him. God, in accordance with the ideas of people, is the keeper of the life of the tribe, of humanity, and life in the broadest sense of the word, a comforter in misfortune and unsatisfied desire, the keeper of the souls of the dead. This is the social or moral concept of God.
The transformation of the religion of fear into a moral religion can already be traced in scripture. The continuation of this evolution can be found in the New Testament. The religions of all cultural peoples, in particular the peoples of the East, are essentially moral religions. In the life of a people, the transition from a religion of fear to a moral religion means important progress.
It should be warned against the misconception that the religions of primitive people are religions of fear in their pure form, and the religions of civilized peoples are also moral religions in their pure form. Both are something mixed, although at the higher stages of development of social life moral religion prevails. "
In the early stages, a feeling of fear prevails in religion, which is later replaced to one degree or another by higher feelings. We can say that the frightening image of God prevails in the Mosaic Law - a god who can be called evil: he blesses wars, punishes sinners mercilessly, demands sacrifices to "atone for" sins. But already in the writings of the prophets, the idea of a loving and merciful God appears, a God who, although he punishes for sins, he never rejects, continuing to keep people, as a father or mother cares about their children. There is no need to be afraid of such a loving God. He can be trusted, and this, in fact, is the essence of faith.
The good God need not be propitiated by any sacrifice. He can be freely called the Father. "Abba, Father!" - this is how Jesus himself prays and leaves the prayer "Our Father" to his disciples. Despite this, many elements of the "religion of fear" continue to persist in Christianity. Especially in the West, where for many years the so-called “legal” way of understanding the mission of Christ prevailed: Christ had to suffer on the cross to “propitiate” an angry God.
Most Protestants to this day adhere to this monstrous concept. "Why did it take a sea of blood of sacrificial animals, if God can forgive sinners just like that ?!" - an opponent asked me in indignation at one of the Christian forums. Instead of asking this question to yourself and thinking: "How can you believe in God, who needs suffering and a sea of blood of innocent animals, and then - innocent Christ, in order to" quench "your anger? !!" But Protestants blindly worship the biblical letter and believe in just such a God. Therefore, in order to turn to God as Father, they need a personality metamorphosis called "being born again."
This is well illustrated in William James's study The Diversity of Religious Experience. The feeling of their sins haunts the founders of Protestantism and many of its movements. They do not expect anything good from God, no love, except damnation and hell. And only faith in the “redemptive,” that is, the “propitious” sacrifice of Christ, “quenching” the wrath of God, brings them the joy of forgiveness and salvation.
The "Protestant" ("purely biblical") god, therefore, is by no means a kind God and by no means a God who loves his creation. On the contrary, it is the god of damnation, for he curses all those who have not believed in Christ. Without this faith of people, He is not able to “extinguish” His “righteous” anger towards them. In "unbiblical" (also based on tradition) Orthodoxy and Catholicism, to a greater or lesser extent, such an image of God is overcome.
Nevertheless, Christianity for many people continues to be nothing more than a "religion of fear." It is based on all the same biblical texts that speak of an evil, wrathful and punishing God, whom one has to fear and "propitiate" in all possible ways: repentance, prayers, fasts, visiting temples, good deeds, etc., so as not to end up in hell.
Likewise, many similar elements of the "religion of fear" are found in Judaism and, especially, in Islam. Obedience to God is the only way to earn His favor, in order to gain His blessing on earth and get rid of hell after death.
But there is also a third type of religiosity. It is based on a sense of the beauty and harmony of the Universe and on the disinterested (not dependent on fear of punishment and the desire to receive a reward) human need to move towards perfection.
Once a man came to Buddha and asked if there is a God. The Buddha answered with parables: “When I was young, I was very fond of horses and distinguished four types. The first is the most stupid and stubborn, no matter how much you hit her, she still won't obey. Many people are like that. The second type: the horse obeys, but only after the blow. There are many such people. There is also a third type. These are horses that don't need to be beaten. You just show her the whip and that's enough. There is also a fourth type of horse, which is very rare. A shadow of a whip is enough for them. " After saying this, the Buddha closed his eyes and fell silent. The man also closed his eyes and sat in silence with the Buddha. The Buddha opened his eyes, and the person sat in this state for another hour. His face was peaceful and light. Opening his eyes, the man touched the feet of the Buddha with deep gratitude, thanked him and left.
At a high spiritual level, a person no longer needs a "whip" in the form of a punishing God. In the religiosity of such people, the anthropomorphic (human-like) image of God disappears. A person in his religiosity is no longer inspired by a feeling of fear and not a need for otherworldly help and care, but completely different feelings.
“Common to all these types is the anthropomorphic nature of the idea of God,” writes Einstein of the “religion of fear” and “moral religion”.
But in both those and others there is also a third stage of religious feeling, although in its pure form it is rare. I will call this stage a cosmic religious feeling. It is very difficult for someone who is alien to this feeling to explain what it consists of, especially since there is no anthropomorphic concept of God corresponding to it.
The individual feels the insignificance of human desires and goals, on the one hand, and the sublimity and wonderful order that manifests itself in nature and in the world of ideas, on the other. He begins to consider his existence as a kind of imprisonment and only perceives the entire Universe as a whole as something unified and meaningful.
The beginnings of a cosmic religious feeling can be found at earlier stages of development, for example, in some of the psalms of David and the books of the prophets of the Old Testament. A much stronger element of cosmic religious feeling, as Schopenhauer's writings teach us, is found in Buddhism.
Introduction
In the religious sphere, feelings play a special role.
Many theologians, philosophers and sociologists have long noticed the fact that feelings play an important role in the sphere of religion. Christian theologians, starting with the "father of the church" Augustine (IV-V centuries), emphasized the importance of religious feelings and sentiments.
The traditional position of theologians and most bourgeois philosophers is that every person has a certain innate religious feeling, a special desire, gravitation towards God, and that this religious feeling differs from all other emotional processes that a person experiences by its uniqueness.
Many theologians and idealist philosophers emphasize at the same time that religious feeling is essentially incomprehensible to reason. They try to convince that "communion with God", communion with religion is an act of mystical illumination, which is based on religious feeling.
They see the source of religious feeling in God.
Specificity of religious feelings
religion feeling believer society
In reality, there is no innate "religious feeling" that is fundamentally different from other human emotions. Emotional processes of believers from the point of view of their physiological basis and basic psychological content do not contain anything specific in themselves. Religious beliefs are associated with the most common human feelings and fear, and love, and hatred, and anger, and admiration, etc. Therefore, an attempt to psychologically isolate religious feeling, opposing it to all others, is untenable.
But, opposing the understanding of religious feeling by theologians and idealists, we must not forget that, in connection with religious ideas, the emotions of believers acquire a certain specificity.
The originality of the psychology of believers should be sought not in the area of their neuro-physiological mechanisms. There are no special physiological processes or mechanisms that would lie only at the basis of religious consciousness, which would be inherent exclusively to religious people. The physiological laws of higher nervous activity that underlie mental processes and phenomena are the same for both believers and non-believers. Therefore, with the help of the physiology of higher nervous activity, it is impossible to detect the specifics of religious consciousness. Attempts in this direction inevitably led to the biologization of religion.
This does not mean that the data on the physiology of higher nervous activity are useless and unnecessary for atheists. Since physiological laws underlie all mental activity, including the mental activity of believers, knowledge of them is necessary to find the correct ways and methods of influencing the consciousness of people. But the physiology of higher nervous activity is powerless to reveal the peculiarities of religious consciousness.
This task cannot be solved by general psychology. General psychology studies those general laws of human mental activity that are characteristic of him in any special conditions, in any society.
Only with the help of social psychology can we identify the main feature of religious feelings, which consists in the fact that they are directed at a fictional, illusory, supernatural object. This determines the specific social orientation of religious emotions, their role in the life of society and the individual. The object of religious feelings of believers is God, spirit, "evil spirit" and similar imaginary images created by human fantasy. Since the object of religious feelings does not really exist, to the extent that all feelings experienced by a believer are directed into emptiness, they represent a fruitless waste of his energy, his spiritual and physical strength.
In cases where religious feelings, it would seem, are directed at a real-life object, for example, at some person ("saint", "righteous", etc.) or at a material object ("miraculous" icon, "holy" source and etc.), they are in reality always associated not with the object itself, as such, but only with the supernatural properties attributed to it - the ability to perform miracles, heal the sick, etc.
In all circumstances, religion directs a person's emotions in the direction of fiction, to which reality is attributed. This is what leads to the deformation of ordinary human feelings.
The believers themselves do not realize the harm of religious emotions. They often say that religious emotions bring them some relief, "forgetting the hardships of life," help to overcome life's difficulties and hardships. Indeed, purely subjective, psychologically, religious feelings act as a means of overcoming conflicts in a person's consciousness, they create a certain psychological resistance to external trauma, and in some cases give a special emotional "release" of accumulated negative impressions. But such overcoming of life conflicts and difficulties is illusory in nature, because religious emotions do not contribute to a change in the real living conditions of people, but only temporarily "turn off" a person from the world around him. "Resolution" of life contradictions, which religion offers, is an escape from them into the world of illusions and fictions. Although it seems to the believer that religion has brought him relief, in fact, his conditions of life have remained the same. Religious feelings lead a person away from reality and thereby interfere with its transformation, obscure social antagonisms and contradictions.
Emotional processes are among the most mobile elements of religious consciousness. The religious sentiments and religious feelings of the masses are very sensitive to changes in social conditions of life. Recall, for example, the influx of fanatical religiosity of the masses during the era of the Crusades, or the sudden widespread occurrence of so-called heresies.
The rapid spread of religious feelings and sentiments is largely due to the action of socio-psychological mechanisms of imitation and suggestion. The mechanisms of psychological suggestion and imitation have been skillfully used and are used by churchmen in order to enhance religious emotions. These mechanisms play a special role in the collective prayers of some sects, where religious feelings are artificially aroused with the help of some special means of psychological influence (during the prayer, for example, long-term collective repetition of individual words, rhythmic body movements, etc. are practiced). As a result of such frenzied prayers, a person sometimes reaches ecstasy, he ceases to perceive the environment, shouts out meaningless words. The Pentecostals consider such a state of man to be the "highest spiritual illumination", the descent of the "holy spirit" upon him.
What kind of feelings are used by religion, what feelings are most characteristic of believers? The feelings of believers of different denominations, different historical eras differ significantly from each other. Nevertheless, if we bear in mind modern monotheistic religions, and in particular modern Christianity, we can distinguish several emotions that play a dominant role in the experiences of the "average", the most typical representative of believers.
Vague religious feeling. Rice. 14 shows us another shapeless spinning cloud, but this time it's blue instead of crimson. It points to a vaguely experienced religious feeling - more of piety than of faith. In many churches a huge cloud of dull blue can be seen hovering over the heads of the congregation - undefined in shape due to the vague nature of the thoughts and feelings that evoke it. Very often it is covered with spots of brown and gray, because ignorant faith with deplorable ease absorbs into itself the oppressive mixture of stach and selfishness; but no less, great potential prospects for the future are looming, showing our eyes the first weak flutter of one of a pair of wings - faith and wisdom, through which the soul rises to God, from which it came.
A sublime impulse of faith. The form in fig. 15 c is in the same relation to the form in fig. 14, in which the clearly outlined swift form in fig. 10 - to the undefined cloud in fig. 8. It is difficult to find a more striking contrast than that between the nebula of Fig. 14 and the courageous energy of the magnificent edge of highly developed religious feeling that appears before us in fig. 15. It is not a vague half-formed feeling, it is a throw-in into the expression of a sublime emotion deeply rooted in the knowledge of fact. A person experiencing such a feeling is one who knows who he believes in; the one who creates such a thought-form is one who has learned to think. The definiteness of the upward impulse indicates courage, as well as the conviction of its creator, while the sharpness of the lines shows the clarity of the concept, and the impeccable purity of the color indicates its extreme disinterestedness.
The answer to religious feeling. In fig. 17 we see the result of the previous thought - the response of the Logos to the call directed to him - the truth on which the highest and best part of persistent belief in answer to prayer is based. This requires a few words of explanation. On each plane of his solar system, the Logos pours out his light, his power, his life, and naturally, on the higher planes, divine power can be given most fully. Each descent to the next plane from below means an almost paralyzing limitation - a limitation that is completely unperceivable, except by those who have experienced the highest possibilities of human consciousness. Thus the divine life proceeds with incomparably greater completeness on the mental plane than on the astral; and the splendor of the mental level is indescribably superior to the splendor of the buddhic plane. Usually, each of these powerful waves of influence spreads horizontally along its corresponding plane, but does not pass into the darkness of a plane lower than the one for which it was originally intended.
However, there are conditions under which the grace and power inherent in the higher plane can be brought to some extent into the lower plane and spread widely there with amazing effect. This is possible only when a special channel is opened for a while, and this work must be done from below by the efforts of a person. It was previously explained that whenever a person's thought or feeling is selfish, the energy that produces it moves in a closed curve, and thus inevitably returns and is spent at its own level; but when a thought or feeling is absolutely disinterested, energy breaks out along an open curve and thus does not return in the usual sense, but penetrates the plane that is higher, because only in these higher conditions, with its additional dimension, can it find space for its spread ... But with this breakthrough, such a thought or feeling, figuratively speaking, leaves open the door of the size corresponding to its own diameter, thus providing the required channel through which the divine power corresponding to the higher plane can be poured onto the lower one with amazing results, not only for the thinker, but and for others. In fig. 17 an attempt is made to express this and indicate the great truth that an endless stream of the highest type of force is always ready and waiting for the opportunity to pour through the provided channel, one might say, like water waits for the opportunity to flow through the first open pipe.
The result of the descent of divine life causes an influx of strength and spiritual uplift in the one who created the channel and the spread of the most powerful and beneficial influence all around him. This effect is often referred to as an answer to prayer and is considered "special by providence" instead of the imperative operation of a great and unshakable divine law.
Self-denial. Rice. 16 presents us with another kind of religious feelings that produce an exquisite and beautiful thought-form of a type completely new to us - in which one can at first glance take these graceful outlines for an imitation of living nature. For example, fig. 16 somewhat resembles a half-open flower bud, while other forms may resemble shells, leaves, or tree outlines. However, in reality they are not and cannot be copies of plant or animal forms, and it seems likely that the explanation for this similarity lies much deeper. A similar and even more remarkable fact is that some very complex thought-forms can be imitated by the action of certain mechanical forces, as mentioned above. While, with our present knowledge, it would be unwise to try to find a solution to this very exciting problem represented by this remarkable similarity, it seems likely that we get a glimpse from the threshold of a great riddle - for if, with the help of certain thoughts, we produce forms that are also created and natural processes, then at least we can make the assumption that these forces of nature act along lines, in some way similar to the action of these thoughts. Since the universe itself is a mighty thought-form brought into being by the Logos, it may well be that its small parts are also thought-forms of lesser beings engaged in the same work; in this way, perhaps, we can advance towards an understanding of what the three hundred and thirty million devas of the Hindus mean.
This thought-form of the most beautiful light azure color, with the splendor of white light shining through it, required all the skill of a tireless artist who worked hard to grasp it as accurately as possible. This is what Catholics call a certain “act of faith,” or better yet, an act of extreme disinterestedness and self-denial.
Intelligence
Rice. 18 and 18a
Vague mental pleasure. Rice. 18 represents an undefined cloud of the same order as those observed in Figures 8 and 14, but in this case yellow instead of crimson or blue. Yellow in each of a person's bodies always indicates intellectual ability, but its shades are different and this can be complicated by the admixture of other tones. Generally speaking, the darker and dimmer the shade, the more the intellect is directed to the lower channels, and the more the objects of the intellect are selfish. In the astral and mental bodies of the average person, this manifests itself as the color of yellow ocher, while pure intellect devoted to the study of philosophy or mathematics manifests itself often in gold and gradually rises to a beautiful clear and luminous lemon or yellow primrose shade, when a powerful mind works completely disinterestedly for the good of humanity. Most yellow thought-forms are clear-cut, and vague clouds of this color are relatively rare. They signify intellectual pleasure — a high appreciation of ingenuity, or the joy felt in mental work. The pleasure that a common man gets in contemplating a painting usually depends mainly on the feelings of admiration, love, or pity that it evokes in him; or sometimes, if she is portraying a scene familiar to him, her charm lies in her ability to evoke memories of past pleasures. The artist, however, may derive pleasure from a painting of a completely different nature, based on his recognition of a work well done and the subtle intelligence shown in achieving such results. Such pure intellectual satisfaction shows itself as a yellow cloud; the same effect can be produced by the enjoyment of musical design or the discernment of the argument given. A cloud of this nature indicates the complete absence of any personal emotions, because if they were present, they would inevitably tint the yellow with their own color.
The intention to find out. Rice. 19 is interesting as telling us something about the growth of a thought-form. The early stage, which is shown by the top form, is not uncommon, and indicates the intention to solve some problem - the desire to know and understand. A thought-form of this type often accompanies a question, and if, as sometimes unfortunately happens, the question is asked not so much with a sincere desire to know, how much in order to show the questioner's insight, the form is strongly colored with a deep orange, which indicates self-conceit. This particular form was seen in the meeting and was accompanied by a question that showed deep thought and insight. The answer given at first was not entirely satisfactory to the questioner, who seemed to get the impression that the lecturer was trying to get around this problem. His decision to receive a complete and comprehensive answer to his question became even more definite and the thought-form acquired a more saturated color and changed into the second type, much stronger than before, resembling a corkscrew. Forms like these are constantly being created by idle and frivolous curiosity, but since in this case the intellect is not attracted, the color is no longer yellow, but resembles something like the one shown in Fig. 29, expressing the desire for alcohol.
High ambition. Rice. 20 gives us another manifestation of desire - the desire for office or power. This ambitious quality is shown in a rich and deep orange color, and desire is shown by the hook-like appendages that are in front of the thought-form as it moves. This thought is one of the good and pure thoughts of this kind, since if it was based on something low or selfish, it would inevitably show itself as a darkening of clear orange with dull tones of red, brown or gray. If this person desired a high position or power, it was not for his own benefit, but out of the conviction that he could do the job well and honestly for the benefit of his fellows.
Selfish ambition. The lowest type of ambition is shown in fig. 21. We have here not only a large dull brown-gray spot of egoism, but also a significant difference in form, although it has the same definiteness in outlines. In fig. 20, the shape is constantly rising in the direction of a certain object, since you can see that the central part of it definitely resembles a projectile, as in fig. 10. In fig. 21, on the other hand, is a floating form, and well expresses the usual grasping tendency - the desire to grab for oneself everything that is within sight.
Anger
Rice. 23 and 22
Murderous rage and prolonged anger. In fig. 22 and 23 we have two dire examples of the dire effects of anger. A grim flash from dark clouds (Fig. 22) was taken from the aura of a rude and partially drunk man in London's East End when he knocked a woman down; a flash darted in her direction just before he raised his hand and caused such a feeling of trembling with horror, as if it could kill. The precisely directed stiletto-shaped dart (fig. 23) was a thought of constant anger, a strong desire for revenge, hatched for years, and directed towards the person who seriously injured the one who sent it. It should be noted that both thoughts take the form of lightning, however, the upper one is impermanent in its appearance, while the lower one represents the constancy of the impulse, which is much more dangerous. The basis of extreme egoism, from which the upper form arises, is very characteristic and instructive. The difference in color between the two is also worth noticing. At the top, the dirty brown color of selfishness is so strong that it even tints the outburst of anger; at the same time, in the second case, although selfishness undoubtedly also lay at the root, the original thought was forgotten in constant and concentrated anger. Studying illustration of the 13th century will be able to imagine the state of the astral body from which these thought-forms protrude, and surely even a simple look at these pictures, even without studying them, will give an object lesson about what evil the feeling of anger brings.
Explosion of anger. In fig. 24 we see how anger of a completely different nature is presented. There is no constant hatred here, but just an energetic outburst of irritation. It is immediately evident that while each of the creators of the forms shown in fig. 22 and 23, directed his anger against a specific person, the person responsible for the explosion in Fig. 24, was temporarily at war with the whole world.
It is instructive to compare the emissions from this illustration with those shown in Fig. 11. Here we see a real explosion, instantaneous in its passage and disorderly in its effects; the empty center shows that the feeling that led to it is a thing of the past, and power is no longer generated. In Figure 11, on the contrary, the center is the strongest part of the thought-form, showing that it is not the result of a temporary outburst of feeling, but there is a constant inflow of energy, while the rays demonstrate, by their quality, length and uniformity of their spread, a constantly supported effort that creates them.
Alert and angry jealousy. In fig. 25 we see an interesting, albeit unpleasant thought-form. Her special brownish-green color immediately indicates to the experienced clairvoyant that this is an expression of jealousy, and her curious appearance demonstrates the fervor with which a person considers her object. The remarkable resemblance to a snake raised its head aptly symbolizes the foolish approach of this man, vigilantly trying to detect signs of what he least would like to see. The moment he sees it, or imagines that he sees, the form changes into a much more ordinary one, shown in Fig. 26, where jealousy is already mixed with anger. It should be noted that here jealousy is usually a vague cloud, however, speckled with very clear outbursts of anger, ready to strike those who allegedly injured a person, while in Fig. 25, where there is still no anger, jealousy itself has very definite and very expressive contours.
Sympathy
Vague sympathy... In fig. 18A we have another of the undefined clouds, but this time its green color shows us that this is a manifestation of sympathy. We can conclude from the vague nature of its outlines that it is not an explicit and active sympathy, capable of immediately turning from thought to action; it is rather the usual feeling of condolence that can be experienced by a person who reads a message about an accident, or who stands in the doorway of a hospital room and looks at patients.
Fear
Sudden fright. One of the most pitiful objects in nature is a person or an animal in a state of humiliated fear, and the study of illustration from the 14th century "Man visible and invisible" shows that under such circumstances the astral body does not make a better impression than the physical one. Thus, when the astral body of a person is in a state of frenzied trembling, his natural tendency is to throw out formless explosive particles, like a rock mass thrown out by an explosion, as can be seen from Fig. thirty; but when a person is not in a state of terror, but is seriously frightened, an effect similar to that shown in Fig. 27 is often produced. It is noteworthy here that all the crescents on the right side, which were obviously released earlier than others, show nothing but a bluish-gray color of fear , but a moment later the person has already partially recovered from the shock and begins to feel anger that he allowed himself to be scared. This is indicated by the fact that the later crescents are outlined in crimson, indicating a mixture of anger and fear, while the last crescent is purely crimson, telling us that fear has already been completely overcome and only irritation remains.
Greed
Selfish greed. Rice. 28 gives us an example of selfish greed - of a much lower grade than rice. 21. It should be noted that there is nothing even as sublime as ambition, and the shade of dirty green indicates that the person in whom this unpleasant thought was born is ready to use deception in order to get the object of his desire. While the ambition in fig. 21 was of a general nature, the desire in fig. 28 is directed at a specific object to which it is drawn; after all, one must understand that this thought-form, like the one in fig. 13 remains attached to the astral body, which can be assumed to be to the left of the drawing. Such thought forms may vary in color according to the exact amount of envy or jealousy that is mixed with the desire for possession, but a shape very similar to that shown in our illustration will be found in all cases.
Thirsty for a drink. In fig. 29 we have presented another version of the same feeling, perhaps in even greater degradation. Once again, the hooked outgrowths indicate greed, while the color and rough texture indicate the low and sensual nature of desire. Sexual desires often manifest themselves in exactly the same manner. As people climb the scale of evolution, the place of this thought-form will gradually take over, resembling that shown in Fig. 13 and very slowly, as it develops, it will in turn go through the stages shown in Fig. 9 and 8, until finally all selfishness is dropped and the desire to have is transmuted into the desire to give, and we achieve the magnificent results shown in fig. 11 and 10.
Various emotions
At a shipwreck. A very serious panic caused the emergence of a very interesting group of thought forms, which are shown in Fig. 30. They were seen at the same time, positioned exactly as shown. Although their relative positions were retained amid the indescribable confusion, it would be more appropriate to explain them in reverse order. They were caused by a terrible incident, and they are instructive, showing how sudden and serious danger affects people in different ways. One of them shows nothing but a rash of a gray-gray color of fear, arising against the background of extreme selfishness, and unfortunately, there were many like this. The scattered nature of the thought-form shows the strength and completeness of the explosion, which in turn indicates that the whole soul of this person was seized by blind, furious horror, and that an overwhelming sense of personal danger excluded for a while any higher feelings.
The second thought-form represents at least an attempt at self-control and shows an attitude assimilated by a particular person who has a certain amount of religious feeling. She seeks comfort in prayer, thus trying to overcome her fear. This is evidenced by a point of grayish-blue, which, fluctuating, rises up; the color indicates, however, that the attempt is only partially successful, and we also see from the lower part of the thought-form, with its uneven outlines and falling out fragments, that there is in fact almost as much fear as in the previous case. But at least this woman had enough presence of mind to remember that she should pray, and she tries to imagine that she is not so afraid at all, when otherwise there was absolutely no thought behind the selfish horror. One retains the ability to restore self-control, while the other is a slave to overwhelming emotions.
A striking contrast to the weakness shown in these two forms is the magnificent strength and decisiveness of the third. Here we do not have a formless mass with trembling contours and explosive fragments, but a powerful, clearly outlined and definite thought, obviously full of strength and decisiveness. Since this is the thought of an officer on duty - the person responsible for the lives and safety of passengers - he meets danger in the most satisfying way. He did not even show a shadow of fear - he did not have time for this. However, the crimson tip of his weapon-like thought form shows his anger at the accident, the bold orange curve directly above him speaks of complete self-confidence and confidence in his ability to cope with difficulties. A brilliant yellow indicates that his intellect is already working on a problem, while a green running alongside denotes the empathy he has for those he intends to save. A very impressive and instructive group of thought forms.
At the premiere. Rice. 31 also presents an interesting specimen - perhaps unique as it represents the thought-form of an actor waiting to appear on stage for a premiere production. The broad band of orange in the center is very clearly defined, and this is an expression of justified self-confidence - the result of many previous successes, and a reasonable expectation that another will be added to their list in this case. Despite this, there is also a fair amount of inevitable uncertainty about what impression this new play will make on the public; and in general, doubt and fear outweigh confidence and pride, for there is more pale gray than orange, and the whole thought-form flutters like a flag flapping on a stormy vter. It should be noted that while the outlines of the orange are of excellent definition, the outlines of the gray are much dimmer.
Players. The shapes shown in fig. 32 were observed simultaneously in a huge gambling house. Both represent some of the worst human passions, and it is hardly worth choosing between them, despite the fact that they represent the feelings of a lucky and unlucky player, respectively. The shape below bears a strong resemblance to a gloomy, shimmering eye, but this should be just a coincidence, since after analyzing it, we will find that it will not be difficult to understand the meaning of its constituent parts and colors. The background of all thought is a jagged cloud of deep depression, markedly marked by a dull brown-gray color of selfishness and a bluish tinge of fear. In the center we find a brightly marked crimson ring, showing deep anger and resentment at a hostile fate, and inside this there is a well-delineated black circle expressing the hatred of a ruined person towards those who won his money. A person capable of sending such a thought-form is undoubtedly in imminent danger, since it is clear that he has descended to such depths of despair that it is possible that he will seek an imaginary refuge in suicide, only to discover upon awakening into astral life that he has only changed his position for the worse instead of the better, as is always the case with suicide, because his action cut him off from the happiness and peace that usually follow death.
The upper form represents a state of mind that is perhaps even more harmful in its consequences, since it is the jubilation of a lucky player. Here the contours are completely definite, and the decision of a person to continue his line of behavior is undeniable. The wide stripe of orange in the center shows very clearly that although when a person loses, he attributes it to an inconstancy of fate, while winning, he completely associates this success with his own genius. Perhaps he invented some system on which his faith rests, and which he is extremely proud of. But it should be noted that on each side of the orange there is a solid line of egoism, and we see how it, in turn, dissolves into stinginess and becomes the usual animal greed for possession, which is also very clearly expressed by the claw-like endings of the thought-form.
In case of a street incident. Rice. 33 is instructive as showing the different forms that the same feelings can evoke in different individuals. These two indications of emotion were seen simultaneously among those observing a street incident - an incident in which someone was hit by a passing carriage and sustained minor injuries. Both of those who created these thought-forms reacted with keen interest and deep sympathy to the victim of the incident, and therefore their thought-forms show exactly the same colors, although their outlines are completely different. Whoever is floating above that vague spherical cloud thinks "poor guy, what a pity", while whoever generates this well-defined disk has already rushed forward to see how he can help. One is a dreamer, albeit with a keen sensitivity, the other is a man of action.
At the funeral. In fig. 34 we have an overwhelmingly impressive example of the superiority of knowledge and of the fundamental changes in human attitudes resulting from a clear understanding of the great laws of nature that govern our lives. Extremely different in every respect in color, shape and meaning, these two thought-forms were seen simultaneously, and they represent two points of view regarding the same event. They were observed at funerals and show the feelings evoked in the minds of two participants in the funeral procession by the contemplation of death. Both were associated with the deceased in the same relationship, but while the one was in ignorance about the superphysical life, the other had the advantages of Theosophy. In the thoughts of the first, we do not see the expression of anything other than deep depression, fear and selfishness. The fact that death had moved so close, clearly caused in his mind the thought that one day it might also come to him, and the anticipation of this was terrible for him; but since he does not know what it is that he is so afraid of, the clouds in which his feeling is manifested are very vague. His only definite sensations are despair and a sense of personal loss, they show themselves as regular stripes of brown-gray and lead-gray, while a very curious outgrowth on the lower side, in fact, descending into the grave and clothe the coffin, is an expression of a strong selfish desire to return the deceased to physical life.
It will be quite refreshing to move from this gloomy picture to the surprisingly different effect produced by the same circumstances in the mind of a person who understands the essence of what happened. You can see that these two did not have a single common emotion at all; in the previous case, everything was horror and despondency, while in this case we find nothing but the highest and most beautiful feelings. At the base of the thought-form we find the full expression of deep sympathy; light green shows understanding and condolences of the participants in the funeral, while the deeper green bar shows the attitude towards the deceased himself. Deep pink shows love for both the deceased and the living, while the upper part, consisting of a cone and stars rising from it, indicates the feeling that arose when thinking about the subject of death - blue expresses its religious aspect, while purple shows the thought of a noble ideal and the ability to correspond to it, and gold stars reflect the spiritual aspirations that these reflections evoke. The stripe of clear yellow that is visible in the center of this thought form is very significant as showing the whole attitude of a person based on an intellectual perception of the situation, it also shows the regularity of the arrangement of colors and the certainty of the lines of separation between them.
Comparing the two illustrations shown in this figure is, of course, very impressive evidence of the value of knowledge given theosophical teaching. Undoubtedly, this knowledge relieves of all fear of death and makes life easier, since we understand its purpose and its end and realize that death is a completely natural incident in its course, a necessary step in our evolution. There is no dark impenetrable abyss behind the grave, but instead there is a world of life and light, which can be known to us as clearly, fully and in detail as this physical world in which we live now. We have created darkness and horror for ourselves, like children intimidating themselves with scary stories, and we only need to study the facts of the phenomenon, and all these artificial clouds will dissipate in a moment. We have an evil inheritance associated with this, since we inherited all kinds of funeral horrors from our ancestors, and since we are accustomed to them, we do not see their absurdity and monstrosity. The ancients were wiser than us in this respect, since they did not associate all this phantasmagoria of darkness with the death of the body - probably partly because their method of getting rid of the body was more rational - a method that is not only infinitely better for the dead and healthier for the living, but also free from the hideous assumptions associated with slow fading. They knew much more about death in those days, and because they knew more, they mourned less.
Meeting a friend. Rice. 35 gives us an example of a good, well-defined and expressive thought-form, where each color is well separated from the others. It represents the feeling of a person when meeting a friend from whom he has been separated for a long time. The convex surface of the crescent is closer to the thinker, and its two ends stretch out towards the approaching friend, as if trying to embrace him. Pink, naturally, speaks of experienced love, light green shows the depth of sympathy for him, and pure yellow is a sign of intellectual pleasure, with which the creator of this thought anticipates the revival of delightful memories of days gone by.
Evaluation of the painting. In fig. 36 we have a rather complex thought form representing admiration for a beautiful picture on a religious theme. A strong pure yellow marks an enthusiastic recognition of the artist's technical prowess, while all other colors are expressions of the various emotions evoked in him by studying this magnificent work of art. Green shows his sympathy for the central figure of the picture, deep religious feelings are manifested not only in a wide strip of blue, but also in the contours of the whole figure, while purple tells us that the picture caused the viewer to think about a high ideal, and made it, although would be for a while, answering him. We have here the first example of an interesting class of thought forms, numerous examples of which we will find later - those where light of one color shines through a network of lines of a completely different shade. It should be noted that in this case numerous wavy lines rise from the mass of purple, flowing like rivulets along the golden plain; from this it is clear that high aspirations are not vague at all, but are firmly based on an intellectual perception of the situation and a clear understanding of the method by which they can be realized.
