1.   Belief and Superstition

Every country seems to have certain beliefs which are called beliefs by the believers and superstitions by those who do not believe. There are beliefs which arise from some subtle experiences of life, and some which spring from intuition, and they are believed by some who are inclined to believe and they are mocked at by some who cannot understand their meaning, and often by those who do not wish to trouble themselves to investigate the truth in them. It is easy to laugh at things, and it takes patience to endure and tolerate things that cannot appeal to one's reason. And it is difficult to investigate the truth of such beliefs, for it requires something more than reason to probe the depths of life. Those from whom the beliefs come, naturally could not give the explanation of those beliefs to everybody; for the man who is capable of believing a thing is not necessarily capable of understanding it by an analytical explanation. There are natures which would be willing to believe a thing if it is for their good, if it comes from someone who they trust, but it is too much trouble for them to go deeply into the matter. For some among them it is better that they should not have an analytical knowledge of a belief, for to some the belief is helpful but its explanation confusing. It is a certain grade of evolution that enables man to understand a certain belief, and a man must not be told what he is incapable of understanding, for, instead of helping him, it puts him off.

There is a great deal of psychic law which can be traced in such beliefs, and in time such beliefs turn into customs. There is a vast field of knowledge in the beliefs of Indians. India has been a country where beliefs have existed for thousands of years unchanged, and some beliefs have become customs. At first sight an intellectual person who cannot look any further than the surface of things is apt to think that people in India are full of superstitions. Their whole life seems based on them; not only in religion do they have beliefs, but even in their domestic affairs. In their everyday life every move they make, every word they say is in accordance with some underlying belief.

No doubt a tendency of taking interest in superstition should always be avoided; for the more thought one gives to superstitions, the more he seems to be drowned in the thought of superstitions. Wherever the superstitious man looks he gets an impression of some fear, some doubt, some suspicion, which generally leads to confusion. But for the wise a disregard of superstitions is not satisfactory, for by wisdom man becomes capable of understanding them, and understanding them is better than to mock at them or even than to believe in them. For the one who believes in superstitions is, so to speak, in the water, and knows that he is in the water; but he who mocks at them is in the water, but he does not know that he is in the water. By understanding them man is capable of swimming in the water, and by mastering them he walks on the water. The man who knows all things and acts according to his knowledge becomes the master of life.

2.   Belief

The term 'belief' is used of an idea that one believes and for which one cannot give reason. When such ideas are of an ordinary nature they are termed superstitions, and when they are of a sacred nature they are call beliefs.

Often man confuses belief with truth. Many people, without understanding their own belief hold it not as a truth but as the truth, and thereby ignore every other belief which seems to them different from the truth they possess. In reality belief is not the truth nor is the truth a belief. When a person has risen to the understanding of the truth it is no more a belief for him, it is a conviction.

The beliefs of a sacred nature, which come in the realm of religion, are as steps towards the goal which is called truth, and when man stops at a belief the belief holds him and he holds the belief. Neither can the belief push him onward nor can he advance. In many cases belief, which should serve as wings on which to soar toward the height, becomes as nails fixing man onto the earth. Every belief in the beginning is a step in the dark, but as man draws nearer to the goal, he at every step becomes more and more illuminated. Therefore there is hope for the believer, but the case of the unbeliever is hopeless.

There are souls who are capable of believing, even capable of understanding their belief, who yet for some reason or other are not willing to believe and reject a belief before the understanding comes. The wise course in life would be to try to become a pupil, a pupil of one teacher as well as a pupil of all beings; it is then that one will become the pupil of God. Then the wise course would be to investigate the truth of belief instead of giving up one's belief, also to be patiently tolerant of the belief of another until one see from his point of view the truth of his belief. When man sees only from his own point of view, he sees with one eye and the other eye is close. The complete view is in seeing from both points of view, however contrary they may be. It is this tendency which will balance things and will give the right idea of things. In order to view a building one must stand in the street and view it, instead of standing inside it and wanting to see the outside.

In understanding beliefs one must be able to neutralize one's spirit, and to the extent to which it is neutralized man becomes capable of seeing the belief in its right sense. When man says, on hearing something from another, 'That is not what I believe', he shows his weakness, he show his incapacity to view the belief of the other from the point of view of that other. Knowledge comes by readiness to learn, and when we refuse it in life it is by lack of readiness. No matter from what source knowledge may seem to come, it is from one source in reality, and when the mind becomes a free receptacle knowledge flows freely into the heart. There is some truth hidden in every religious belief, and often it is of greater value than it may seem to be. And believing in a thing without understanding is a first step forward to knowledge, and refusing to believe when a belief is presented means taking a step backward. When a person is content with his belief that is a comfortable state of being, but it is the understanding of the belief which is ideal.

3.   Customs (1)

There are many customs that have existed in different countries for ages which have some psychical significance, and yet scarcely anybody knows about it. Customs in the form of greeting one another, and asking after one another's health, even such habits as that of talking about the weather, arise from a psychical basis. This shows that the ancient people, in the East or in the West, had more magic in their lives than the man of today. The world has lost the magical charm, so to speak, which was the inheritance of the human race, owing to the ever increasing material life and the ignorance of things that are beyond matter.

It is of late that science is discovering some psychological truths in human life. The process that science follows in discovering these truths is contrary to that of the mystics. The scientist wishes to climb the mountain from the level ground. The mystic, by the way of meditation, tries to reach the summit of the mountain, and from there he sees the whole beauty of the mountain. Therefore, naturally, the horizon before the eyes of the mystic is incomparably wider than the horizon before the scientist. Yes, the scientist may see things clearly, distinctly, and in detail, whereas the mystic has a general idea of things. Often the vision of the mystic is vague in comparison with the analytical examination of a scientist. And yet, while the mystic sees through objects the scientist can reach as for as their surface.

Owing to the greater activity in Western life all things change more quickly in the West, while in the East changes come very slowly. Therefore, one finds many customs of ancient origin in the East which show the development of Eastern people in psychical things. Even ordinary customs, such as that of shaking hands, or rising from one's seat to receive someone, bowing, bending, waving the hands, or clapping the hands, have a psychical significance. When two people shake hands with one another magnetism is exchanged between them and a balance of life-force is made between them. The one who lacks strength, energy, or magnetic power gains, and through the one from who they overflow they are used for a better purpose. By rising to show respect to a person, and by walking a few steps to receive a person, a man makes himself ready to withstand the forces of the one who is coming. By standing up and walking a step or two he makes his pulsation regular and puts his circulation in order, thus making himself psychically and morally ready to defend himself if the one who is coming should happen to be a foe, and ready to meet him harmoniously and on the same level, physically, mentally, and morally, if he happens to be a friend. Bending the head in a bow quickens not only the circulation in the head but also the magnetic current in it, for the head is the chief moral and spiritual factor in man. You will always find that a person with a tendency to bow is thoughtful, and it often happens that the one who keeps his head erect and avoids bowing is foolish. Man's life depends upon rhythm, rhythm in his breath, in the pulsation, in the beats of the heart and head, and it is irregularity of the rhythm of his heart or of his pulse that shows disorder in his health. It is regularity of rhythm that keeps man in a fit stage to go on through life. And when people applaud a speaker, a singer, or a player, it is a suggestion for him to continue his rhythm, physical, mental, or moral. Even the waving of the hand in parting from a friend suggests the same meaning: continue to be in a fit state to live and enjoy life. There is a custom in the East that when a person is yawning a friend by his side claps his hands or snaps his fingers. Yawning naturally makes the rhythm slow, it is going down, so to speak, and the clapping of the hands or the snapping of the fingers on the part of the friend is suggestive of continuing the same rhythm as before. Different peoples have different customs, and customs that one is not in the habit of seeing seem not only strange and meaningless but often also ridiculous. It is the work of the seer to see into things and it is this way of viewing that is called insight.

4.   Customs (2)

There are different customs in greeting, and in every custom there is some suggestion that explains some psychical meaning behind it. The Hindus greet by joining the palms of the hands, which has the significance of perfection, since the right hand represents the positive power and the left hand the negative power, and when the positive and negative are joined together this sums up in perfection. The idol of Buddha, which is worshipped by millions of people in the world, signifies perfection – sitting crosslegged with the two palms joining, the eyes closed, all of which shows that the negative and positive powers are united and made into one. The greeting of the Chinese is the clasping of the hands, either touching the clasped hands of the other, which means that the perfection of power from both should meet. And for the same reason the Arabs shake hand with both hands, for giving one hand is like giving half of one's magnetism, but by giving both hands you show that you keep nothing back. The Persians touch the heart, which suggests the friendly feeling expressed from the bottom of the heart, that the greeting is not merely superficial, that it comes from the very depth of feeling. Among a great many people belonging to different parts of the world there is a custom; of greeting by embracing one another, and no doubt there is a great psychical meaning in this. The two arms are the two directions of magnetic power, positive and negative, and in the breast is the center of these two powers. And the custom is that they embrace twice, distinctly on the right and left sides. This is also the exchange of Prana, the very life, the center of which is in the breast. There is a custom in Persia and in India that when a younger person greets an older one he bows his head, bringing it closer to his breast, and the elder person, taking his arms, raises him up, as if the younger person wanted from the elder person, love, light and life, and the elder person gives it to him and raises him with it. It also suggests a sentiment of modesty and humility on the part of the one, and help and encouragement on the part of the other.

Customs have sometimes been much exaggerated, and yet, if the sentiment is a true one, no external expression can ever be an exaggeration. Among people of religion and culture in all periods of civilization there has been a custom of kissing the hand. The custom has originated from a natural instinct in life. What smells good the animal wants to bite first, and everything that interests the infant it puts in its mouth first. That shows that the lips are the most sensitive part in man and they are capable of giving and taking life, which may be called magnetism. Therefore the greatest fondness that one can show to another in greeting can be shown by kissing the hands. This custom can be seen all over the world, in the East and in the West.

If a skeleton plan of man's spirit be drawn one can draw it as a sun in the midst and five rays shooting out around, one straight upwards, two at the sides rising upwards, and two downwards, and it is this which make the five-pointed star. Man's head, two arms, and two legs are the outward expression of these rays. The idea of the Hindus in touching the holy feet of the saint is to reach first the rays that can first be reached, and when one reaches these first two rays, the three other rays naturally fall over his head, when the saint puts his arms over his head and bends his head while blessing, looking at the center of the head of the one who is blessed.

5.   Hanuman

There is a custom in the East of offering oil to Hanuman, the idol that is pictured in the image of a monkey, and this idol is worshipped by pouring oil upon it. This custom can be seen also at Indian weddings; maidens anoint with oil the head, shoulders, arms and hands, and knees and feet of the bride and bridegroom. One sees this custom in some churches, for instance in the Catholic church. In Russia there was a custom of anointing the Tsar's forehead with oil on the day of his coronation.

Oil has the significance of softening. Leather, iron or steel is made softer or smoother by putting oil on it. Anointing, as is done in India, is a psychical suggestion to the bride and bridegroom that the hands and feet of each shall be ready to serve the other, and that they shall not show themselves stiff, one to the other, that if there were any hardness in their nature it should be softened, since harmony is the blessing of a home; it teaches that forgiveness is required for becoming friends and keeping friendship; as one's mate is not so flexible and docile as one's own imagination conceives.

The idol of Hanuman is suggestive of primitive nature in man, and in the pouring of oil in the service of Hanuman there is a lesson for the worshipper to learn. However great your evolution may be, regard and consideration for the primitive nature is necessary, for all adjusts itself in the wider scheme of nature. When man stands with his hands folded in humility before the image of a monkey, there is in this some lesson for him to learn: that life is such that with all your evolution you lack something if you have no regard to the primitive nature that is in man. Christ has taught, 'Resist not evil', and 'If one sue thee for thy coat, give him thy cloak also'. This teaches the same lesson, that life becomes difficult without regard and consideration for the primitive nature. By resentment one partakes of it, by rebelling against it one gives fuel to that fire. One would soften it in oneself and in another by wisdom, patience, and gentleness.

The anointing of the forehead of the king signifies that he should have an easy expression, not frowning brows and a puckered face, but a smiling forehead, as the Persian phrase is. Poor and rich, all must come to the king in their troubles and difficulties, and his glance must comfort them and bring them ease. The great lesson one can learn from this custom is that the great education in life is to soften one's feelings, one's thoughts, words and actions, that they may give ease to ourselves and that we may create an atmosphere of ease that may benefit all who come in contact with us.

6.   Bells and Gongs

The secret of the religious custom of having gongs and bells in temples and churches lies in the great science of the Hindus, which is Mantra Yoga. In the first place, this custom unites several religions, since bells are rung in Christian churches, in the temples of the Hindus, and in Buddhist pagodas. Many think that it is a call to prayer, but from a mystical point of view it is something more than that. The idea of the mystic is to make his heart capable of resonance, that every voice that rises on earth or descends from heaven may have its re-echo in his heart. The Sufi prepares himself by his exercises of zikr and fikr to make his heart capable of producing that resonance that may be caused on earth or descend from heaven. When the centers of the body and faculties of the mind are prepared to produce that resonance, then they respond to every sound, and every time the bells is rung it has its re-echo in the heart of the mystic, and every center of his being begins to think of God and to feel God. Vibration is a greater stimulant than wine. Wine gives intoxication to the brain, but vibration produces ecstasy in the heart. Therefore Sufis have called it wine.

The custom of having flowers in the house of prayer and the custom of burning incense in the place of worship also exists in almost all religions and has existed in almost all periods. Color and beauty also have a power, an influence upon the mind and body, and those who can enjoy the beauty of color and the delicacy of the flower receive help by the way of the eyes. Its effect opens the heart, which then responds to the blessing from above. This shows that the beauty of the earth can be best used to obtain the blessing from heaven. The perfume of flowers or incense has a deeper effect still, because color and beauty are only reflected upon the heart through the eyes, but perfume and incense, rising through the breath, touch the heart, making it capable of spiritual exaltation. But nothing has a greater influence on the human soul than sound. Therefore hymns are sung in all churches, prayers are offered, and chants are recited, all in order to wake the spirit within to life, which enables the soul to respond to the perfection of God.

7.   The Custom of Drinking the Health of Friends

This custom has a psychological meaning. Wine has an influence that takes away the worries and anxieties of life and makes one unconscious of one's environment, and this only may be called the proper condition for concentration. Those who cannot concentrate will realize by studying the condition of their mind that they are either worried or anxious about something, or they are conscious of the environments of their life; it is that which keeps them back from concentration.

All those who have become great in the worldly, artistic or spiritual aspects of life have arrived at their destination by the power of concentration. It is by concentration that a person, from being poor becomes wealthy, it is by concentration that one invents things that the world has never known, it is by concentration that one arrives at a desired position in life, and it is by the power of concentration that man enters the world unseen.

The custom of drinking somebody's health therefore proves to be based on a psychological idea, the idea that one holds a wish in one's mind at a time when one's mind is in a state of concentration, so that during the time that the mind is in that state the thought of the friend's health will be predominant.

There is a custom of touching glasses, which is supposed to be a promise of friendship. It can be defined symbolically in this way that the cup is the symbol of the heart, for in the heart there is the capacity of holding the divine love, which is the sacred wine. So the cup touching the cup means heart united with heart. According to the mystical view it is two becoming one.

8.   The Origin of the Custom of the Seclusion of Women

The custom of the seclusion of women has its source in mystical thought. There used to be the mystical orders of people in the East who contemplated in solitude and lived in seclusion. The magnetism and power of influence that they developed by seclusion was in itself a marvel. This gave power to their gaze, power in their word, and influence in their atmosphere. This custom of seclusion was then imitated by the kings and people of high rank.

They had two ways of veiling themselves when away from home. One was to put a covering over the back of the head, which was made to hang down in front, so that the eyes could be half-covered; and the other was to put a veil over the face. It was a sort of mantle that they put on their head. Every prophet of Beni Israel had this. In the ancient pictures of the prophets of the Semitic race one will always see the head covered with a mantle. In the Hindu race also many orders of Buddhists and Yogis wore a mantle over the head. The veil which the kings also used, which was called Makna, later became customary in the East, and ladies of high rank wore what is called in Turkish the Yashmak. For thousands of years it has been the custom among Parsis that during their religious services the priest covers his head with a turban together with a mantle, and the Parsi women have kept the custom of covering the head with a white cloth, though it is less observed at the present time. In India, among Hindus as well as among Muslims, there is a custom at weddings of veiling the faces of bride and bridegroom with a veil of jasmine flowers.

Under all these different customs of veiling the head and face one finds a mystical significance. Man's form is considered by Sufis as consisting of two parts, the head and the body, the body for action and the head for thought. Since the head is for thought its radiance is incomparably greater than that of the body, and the hairs are as rays of that radiance in a physical form. It is a constant outpouring of light that one observes in man's life. Every action of looking, or breathing, or speaking, robs so much of the radiance out of man's life. By preserving this radiance the mystic develops within him that influence, power and magnetism which in the average person are wasted. For instance, closing the eyes, which is a custom among mystics, not only helps in concentration and repose of mind, but during the moment when the eyes are closed, it preserves the radiance from flowing out. These customs were helpful to the kings and commanders for developing their power and influence, and they were valued for ladies of rank for preserving their beauty and charm. We learn by this that a life but little exposed to the outer world, whether through seclusion, or silence, or a perfect state of repose with the closed eyes, clasped hands and crossed legs, has a great influence.

9.   The Custom of the Seclusion of Women (1)

The custom of the seclusion of the mystics remains only in the mystical Orders, but one finds the seclusion of women prevalent in the East. When a custom takes root in a section of society certainly it can be used and abused as people may choose. No doubt jealousy, which is in human nature, is a proof of love, but jealousy can be the source of a great many crimes. Man has always guarded the treasures that he values most in all sorts of coverings, and since that which man can love most is woman he has often ignorantly tried to guard her in the same way as all things of value and importance. And the custom of seclusion has been in his hand a means that has enabled him to control his household in the manner he likes.

However, it is not true that this custom was the outcome of the teaching of the Prophet. There are only two places in the records where an utterance of the Prophet on the subject is to be found. In one place it is told that when some coarse dances were going on among the peasants of his land, he said that women must be clad properly. In the other place that when the ladies of the Prophet's household were returning home after taking care of the Prophet and his army during a battle, they were disinclined to look at the battle-field and to show themselves to their enemies, and the only thing that could be advised by the Prophet was that now that peace had been made if they did not like to show themselves they might veil their faces.

In India one sees the custom that an aged woman covers her face, a widow covers her face and a bride veils her face. There is some little psychological meaning in it. It is the nature of every soul to wish to hide its sorrow, and by veiling her face the widow veils her sorrow from others. And the veil that one sees on the face of an aged woman is there for the reason that in age the emotions become more visible and one has little control so as to hide them from; others, and when the heart has become softened at every little touch, however gentle, it is easily moved, and the covering is as a shield over it. On the face of a bride the veil is for the preservation of her charm, of the magnetism; at the same time the finest beauty in human nature is modesty, in whatever form it appears.

10.   The Custom of the Seclusion of Women (2)

From the physical as well as the occult point of view, woman is more impressionable than man. The task of woman as a mother is of a greater importance than that of man on any position. Woman with her thought and feeling molds the character of the child, and as she is susceptible to outward impressions, her impressions always have their influence on her child. During the period before motherhood very great care must be taken, for any word spoken to her reaches the depth of her being, and it re-echoes in the soul of the child. If a word made her bitter at the time or cross at a moment, it can create bitterness or crossness in the child. Especially during that period woman is more sensitive and susceptible to all impressions, beautiful or ugly. Anything striking impresses her soul deeply. A color, lightning, thunder, storm, all make impressions upon her. Conditions of life, misery or joy, all tell upon her more than on every person. Having this in consideration, the custom of seclusion has been kept in the East, and still exists among certain communities.

No doubt there is another side to consider: that home and state are not two separate things. Home is the miniature of the state; and if woman performs a part equally important at home, why must she not perform an equally important part in the outward life. No doubt these ancient customs, even with their psychological importance, often make an iron bar before the progress of the generality. In the East, for the maid and mistress both, there are days set apart for rest in every month, in all different religions, among Hindus, Parsis, and Muslims. The life in the world is a constant battle, and a hard battle one has to fight, if one has any fineness of feeling, any decency of manner. The position of woman in this battle is worse than that of man. It greatly robs her of her womanly fineness and delicacy of sentiment. Man is more dependent upon woman than woman on man. From the first moment any child, whether boy or girl, opens his eyes in the world, he seeks the protection of woman. Woman, as his mother, sister, daughter, friend, or wife, in every form, is the source of his happiness, comfort and peace. In whatever form man may express it – in a crude custom like the seclusion in the East or in many different ways – to guard her against the hard knocks which fall on every soul living in this world of selfishness is the first duty of a thoughtful man.