The Secrets of the Human Aura
The Secrets of the Human AuraCHAPTER I. WHAT IS THE HUMAN AURA?CHAPTER II. THE PRANA-AURA.CHAPTER III. THE ASTRAL COLORS.CHAPTER IV. THE AURIC KALEIDOSCOPE.CHAPTER V. THOUGHT FORMS.CHAPTER VI. PSYCHIC INFLUENCE OF COLORS.CHAPTER VII. AURIC MAGNETISM.CHAPTER VIII. DEVELOPING THE AURA.CHAPTER IX. THE PROTECTIVE AURA.Copyright
The Secrets of the Human Aura
SWAMI PANCHADASI
CHAPTER I. WHAT IS THE HUMAN AURA?
The above question is frequently asked the student of occultism by
some one who has heard the term but who is unfamiliar with its
meaning. Simple as the question may seem, it is by no means easy to
answer it, plainly and clearly in a few words, unless the hearer
already has a general acquaintance with the subject of occult
science. Let us commence at the beginning, and consider the
question from the point of view of the person who has just heard
the term for the first time.
The dictionaries define the word aura as: "Any subtle, invisible
emanation or exhalation." The English authorities, as a rule,
attribute the origin of the word to a Latin term meaning "air," but
the Hindu authorities insist that it had its origin in the Sanscrit
root Ar, meaning the spoke of a wheel, the significance being
perceived when we remember the fact that the human aura radiates
from the body of the individual in a manner similar to the
radiation of the spokes of a wheel from the hub thereof. The
Sanscrit origin of the term is the one preferred by occultists,
although it will be seen that the idea of an aerial emanation,
indicated by the Latin root, is not foreign to the real
significance of the term.
Be the real origin of the term what it may, the idea of the human
aura is one upon which all occultists are in full agreement and
harmony, and the mention of which is found in all works upon the
general subject of occultism. So we shall begin by a consideration
of the main conception thereof, as held by all advanced occultists,
ancient and modern, omitting little points of theoretical variance
between the different schools.
Briefly, then, the human aura may be described as a fine, ethereal
radiation or emanation surrounding each and every living human
being. It extends from two to three feet, in all directions, from
the body. It assumes an oval shape—a great egg-shaped nebula
surrounding the body on all sides for a distance of two or three
feet. This aura is sometimes referred to, in ordinary terms, as the
"psychic atmosphere" of a person, or as his "magnetic
atmosphere."
This atmosphere or aura is apparent to a large percentage of
persons in the sense of the psychic awareness generally called
"feeling," though the term is not a clear one. The majority of
persons are more or less aware of that subtle something about the
personality of others, which can be sensed or felt in a clear
though unusual way when the other persons are near by, even though
they may be out of the range of the vision. Being outside of the
ordinary range of the five senses, we are apt to feel that there is
something queer or uncanny about these feelings of projected
personality. But every person, deep in his heart, knows them to be
realities and admits their effect upon his impressions regarding
the persons from whom they emanate. Even small children, infants
even, perceive this influence, and respond to it in the matter of
likes and dislikes.
But, human testimony regarding the existence and character of the
human aura does not stop with the reports of the psychic senses to
which we have just referred. There are many individuals of the
race—a far greater percentage than is generally imagined—who have
the gift of psychic sight more or less developed. Many persons have
quite a well-developed power of this kind, who do not mention it to
their acquaintances for fear of ridicule, or of being thought
"queer." In addition to these persons, there are here and there to
be found well-developed, clear-sighted, or truly clairvoyant
persons, whose powers of psychic perception are as highly developed
as are the ordinary senses of the average individual. And, the
reports of these persons, far apart in time and space though they
may be, have always agreed on the main points of psychic phenomena,
particularly in regards to the human aura.
To the highly developed clairvoyant vision, every human being is
seen as surrounded by the egg-shaped aura of two or three feet in
depth, more dense and thick in the portion nearest the body, and
then gradually becoming more tenuous, thin and indistinct as the
distance from the body is increased. By the psychic perception, the
aura is seen as a luminous cloud—a phosphorescent flame—deep and
dense around the centre and then gradually shading into
indistinctness toward the edges. As a matter of fact, as all
developed occultists know, the aura really extends very much
further than even the best clairvoyant vision can perceive it, and
its psychic influence is perceptible at quite a distance in many
cases. In this respect it is like any flame on the physical
plane—it gradually fades into indistinctness, its rays persisting
far beyond the reach of the vision, as may be proved by means of
chemical apparatus, etc.
To the highly developed clairvoyant vision, the human aura is seen
to be composed of all the colors of the spectrum, the combinations
of colors differing in various persons, and constantly shifting in
the case of every person. These colors reflect the mental
(particularly the emotional) states of the person in whose aura
they are manifested. Each mental state has its own particular
combination formed from the few elementary colors which represent
the elementary mental conditions. As the mind is ever shifting and
changing its states, it follows that there will ever be a
corresponding series of shifting changes in the colors of the human
aura.
The shades and colors of the aura present an ever changing
kaleidoscopic spectacle, of wonderful beauty and most interesting
character. The trained occultist is able to read the character of
any person, as well as the nature of his passing thoughts and
feelings, by simply studying the shifting colors of his aura. To
the developed occultist the mind and character become as an open
book, to be studied carefully and intelligently.
Even the student of occultism, who has not been able to develop the
clairvoyant vision to such a high degree, is soon able to develop
the sense of psychic perception whereby he is able to at least
"feel" the vibrations of the aura, though he may not see the
colors, and thus be able to interpret the mental states which have
caused them. The principle is of course the same, as the colors are
but the outward appearance of the vibrations themselves, just as
the ordinary colors on the physical plane are merely the outward
manifestation of vibration of matter.
But it must not be supposed that the human aura is always perceived
in the appearance of a luminous cloud of ever-changing color. When
we say that such is its characteristic appearance, we mean it in
the same sense that we describe the ocean as a calm, deep body of
greenish waters. We know, however, that at times the ocean presents
no such appearance, but, instead, is seen as rising in great
mountainous waves, white capped, and threatening the tiny vessels
of men with its power. Or again, we may define the word "flame" in
the sense of a steady bright stream of burning gas, whereas, we
know only too well, that the word also indicates the great hot
tongues of fiery force that stream out from the windows of a
burning building, and lick to destruction all with which it comes
in contact.
So it is with the human aura. At times it may be seen as a
beautiful, calm, luminous atmosphere, presenting the appearance of
a great opal under the rays of the sun. Again, it blazes like the
flames of a great furnace, shooting forth great tongues of fire in
this direction and that, rising and falling in great waves of
emotional excitement, or passion, or perhaps whirling like a great
fiery maelstrom toward its centre, or swirling in an outward
movement away from its centre. Again it may be seen as projecting
from its depths smaller bodies or centres of mental vibration,
which like sparks from a furnace detach themselves from the parent
flame, and travel far away in other directions—these are the
projected thought-forms of which all occultists are fond of
speaking and which make plain many strange psychic
occurrences.