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Laukika or Lokothra

Since the earliest days of Theosophical Society,

H P Blavatsky warned that acquiring Psychic powers

does not necessarily denote Spiritual Development.

Posted 1/1/07

 

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In her article “Spiritual Progress”, H P Blavatsky includes this warning against being led up a blind alley by adopting a philosophy which merely opens up the psychic faculties which are latent within us rather than pursuing real spiritual progress.

 

There are of course those who pursue psychic powers as an end in themselves and they will sooner or later have a Karmic bill to pay for this.

 

Extract from Spiritual Progress

By H P Blavatsky

 

“we would warn all our members, and others who are seeking spiritual knowledge, to beware of persons offering to teach them easy methods of acquiring psychic gifts; such gifts (laukika) are indeed comparatively easy of acquirement by artificial means, but fade out as soon as the nerve-stimulus exhausts itself. The real seership and Adeptship which is accompanied by true psychic development (lokothra) (sometimes lokottara) , once reached, is never lost.”

Lakika and Lokothra (Lokottara) are Sanskrit words often found in Hindu and Buddhist philosophies.

Laukika is commonly used and relatively easy to define:-

Laukika - worldly, mundane, secular, pertaining to the material world.

     

Laukika-jnana - worldly knowledge, knowledge of worldly phenomena.

     

Laukika-sraddha - worldly regard; faith which is based on custom or tradition and not on a deep understanding of the sastra.

 

Lokothra (Lokottara) means transcendent but is used to denote a number of esoteric concepts and purification of the soul.

 

Spiritual Progress By H P Blavatsky

(Complete text)

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