... Tlemcen in Algeria where Max Theon and his wife Madame Theon lived. Theon was European, either Polish or Russian, but more probably Russian, of Jewish descent. When she saw him, she recognised him as a being of great power. _____________________ ¹ Mother's Agenda, Vol. 2, p. 404. Page 29 And he bore a certain likeness to Sri Aurobindo: Theon was about the same size (not a... will, through successive exteriorizations. It was a voluntary process. Mother's life in Tlemcen was very interesting and Theon and Madame Theon taught her many things. Theon also taught me how to turn aside lightning.... Oh (laughing), he had a formidable power! Theon had a formidable power.... One stormy day (there were terrible thunderstorms there), he climbed to the high terrace above the... her experiences; so on this occasion, Theon told Mother to repeat this mantra to him. Mother refused as it was inwardly indicated to her that it was meant only for her and that it should not be communicated to Theon. Theon became violently angry and the link that connected Mother to her body was cut. When he realised the catastrophe his anger had caused, Theon grew afraid (for he knew who Mother was) ...
... middle of the living room, with Theon himself standing there in his dark purple toga. There was also an Arab gong, which had the strange habit of resounding all by itself, whenever Theon looked at it somewhat seriously. I really saw all kinds of things there, Mother would tell us, and we can well believe it. But there was also another person, and that was Mrs. Theon. Another personality altogether... well. Theon, too, understood—he had easily learned his lesson. All in all, it was quite pleasant ; one got on with everything—one got on and everything got on with everything within the complicity of a different law where nothing was “another thing” or "another” body. When Mrs. Theon needed her sandals, she did not go to get them; she made them come to her, very quietly; or else, like Theon, she rang... him in the trembling whispers of a young neophyte. "He" lived far away in Algeria, in Tlemcen. That was all. And "He” knew. Then, one fine day, Max Theon unexpectedly turned up in Paris—he already knew who Mirra was. Indeed, he knew many things. Theon was rather tall, about the same size as Sri Aurobindo, and thin, slim, with quite a similar profile. But Mirra immediately knew that he was not the ...
... 18 —Dear Theon has gone to Alger about autos. "1913, October 24—Theon came home accident with the auto." He must have suffered agonies, because she went on to note down: " 1913, November 1 —Doctor has now set the fracture, so dear Theon will suffer less & less now, I hope, for he has suffered terribly." Then two months later, she wrote: "1914, January —Theon left his... to Tlemcen to try and find out more about Theon and visit Zarif where Mother had had so many experiences. After several false trails he hit upon the idea of visiting the local old men's club. At first the old men shook their heads when he asked them if they remembered Max Theon or Aia Aziz. No, the names evoked no response. Then he brought out a photo of Theon and showed it to them. It was then that... barely found? My own feeling is that Madame Theon left only after she had met Mirra and was assured that their work, for which she and Theon had come, would be carried on and completed. She gone, he was lost. But he was too great to remain just a miracle-maker. To quote Satprem, "We Page 265 would be doing an injustice to Theon were we to think he was in pursuit of the great ...
... work of a certain French metaphysician who was well known around the turn of the century—his name began with a B. He met Theon in Egypt when Theon was with Blavatski; they started a magazine with an ancient Egyptian name (I can't recall what it was), and then he told Theon (Theon must have already known French) to publish a Cosmic Review and the "Cosmic Books." And this B. is the one who formulated... which, according to Théon, always address themselves to more or less hostile beings. Theon also used to say that man was born perfect, but had taken a tumble. The story of the earthly paradise? No, Theon always said that the "Serpent" had nothing to do with Satan, it was the symbol of evolution (Theon was entirely pro-evolution), the spiral path of evolution, and that the earthly paradise... is the result.... "Mortality"! What a word! Page 451 Infant mortality! "Mortality is the effect whose cause is disequilibrium. It is accidental and temporary...." According to Theon, you know, the world has been created and destroyed—creation and pralaya—six times. And each time, a particular attribute was manifested, but since that attribute couldn't reach fulfillment, the world ...
... 129 sort of semi-priest responsible for the upkeep of the tombs. Pilgrims go there as well. Theon was friendly with one particular sage, and would always converse with him —that's when I would see the mischief in Théon's eyes —and speak to him of one thing and another. One day, Theon took me along. I should have been fully covered, you know, to conform with those Muslims over there, but... when she could talk freely to Satprem. She retold him the stories about the Lord of the Snow, about the musical toad, and other tales of Tlemcen. Towards late afternoon Mirra went walking with Theon to explore the neighbour hood. But when one day he took her to visit the ancient marabout's tomb, he put her in an embarrassing situation and had his little revenge on her. "We used to go for walks... but I always went out in a kind of kimono!" This remained her dress even when she went to the markets. "Theon spoke to him in Arabic; I didn't understand what he said but the sage rose, bowed to me very ceremoniously and went off into another room. He returned with cups of sweetened mint tea —not teacups, they put it in special little glasses —extremely sweet tea, almost like mint syrup. The sage looked ...
... fourth,” turiyam svid. So Mirra was working. Theon was not satisfied with making speeches, he wanted results. It would last for an hour every morning, a dangerous work, at that—all the body's vital energy would go out—all of it, as it does when you die. And She would go from plane to plane, methodically, twelve times in a row, like Madame Theon: I could even do it with great dexterity; I could... death—quite a dangerous power in the wrong hands. Inwardly, She knew that She should not speak, so She stopped just when Theon was beginning to find it all extremely interesting. He broke into a rage, which cut the thread—Mirra barely had time to whisper "cut,” and in a flash Theon realized the enormity of what he had just done. He must have broken into a cold sweat. All of Theon’s power and all of Mother’s... forms or faces. And now it was as if She were at the crossroads of evolution with Theon, perhaps facing an old resurrection of Atlanteans—who would secretly walk their path right up to Hitler—and a totally unknown but perceptible path which She was treading gropingly with Sri Aurobindo, over there, and a hesitant Theon. A Certain Fourth A very peculiar experience was going to occur during those ...
... 9 Madame Theon "I shall tell you about Madame Theon." Mother addressed her class of very young children. As there was no bar to their elders listening to her, many of us attended these 'classes.' "Madame Théon was born in the Isle of Wight," began Mother. "She lived in Tlemcen with her husband who was a great occultist. Madame Theon herself was an occultist with... beginning of the century; very prosperous merchants lived there and, from time to time, they came to visit Theon. They knew nothing, they understood nothing, but they were greatly interested. "One day, towards evening, one of them turned up and began putting questions, ridiculous moreover. So Madame Theon said to me, 'You will see, we shall have some fun.' "In the verandah of the house there was a... It was massive, you know, and heavy. Chairs had been arranged at some distance from the table for receiving the man. Page 121 He sat at one end, Madame Theon at the other; I was seated on one side, as was Mr Theon. All the four of us were there. Nobody was near the table, we were all at quite a distance. Well then, he went on asking questions, as I said rather ridiculous ones, on the ...
... twice, but I am not sure about the second time as I was alone. The first time was in Tlemcen and I was with Theon. My body was in a cataleptic state and I was in a conscious trance. But it was a special kind of catalepsy, in that my body could speak. I could speak, although very slowly —Theon had taught me how to do it. Well, anyhow, it can be done because the 'life of the form' always remains and this... experience was," Mother said laughingly, "impossible to enter that!" Then in a more serious vein she went on, "When I wanted to return, when it was time to return, I couldn't get through. But Theon was there —Theon was scared stiff! But I was able to warn him. I alerted him, saying, 'The cord is cut.' "He was capable; he knew —he knew how to 'pull.' So he used his power and his knowledge to make... — you begin to belong to another world. You feel this quite distinctly. Now, Theon instantly asked me to concentrate —I was getting ready to go wandering off! He was in a mortal dread that I would die on him! He entreated me to concentrate, so I concentrated on my body." An impossible situation, surely! "But Theon was there," so the reentry into the body was made possible. Knowledge was ...
... the power to create life (and to withdraw it, as well). Theon, an incarnation of the Asura of Death, was of course quite interested and told Mother to repeat this mantra to him. Mother refused. Theon became violently angry and the link was cut (the link that connected Mother to her body). When he realized the catastrophe his anger had caused, Theon grew afraid (for he knew who Mother was) and he then... there is no longer this physical base. Once when I was at Tlemcen with Theon (this happened twice, but I'm not sure about the second time because I was alone), my body was in a cataleptic state and I was in conscious trance.... It was a peculiar kind of catalepsy in the sense that my body could speak, though very slowly—Theon had taught me how to do it. But this is because the 'life of the form' always... should bring you the passage where he speaks about it. Yes, because I don't quite understand. You see, the subtle physical extends a long way beyond the body. Page 302 Then comes what Theon called the 'nervous sub-level,' which lies between this subtle physical and the vital. And it acts as a protection: if it is stable, harmonious and strong, it protects you—it protects you even phys ...
... asked a perplexed Satprem. "Beg pardon! Theon always maintained that the 'Serpent' wasn't at all Satan, but the symbol of evolution—Theon was wholly pro-evolution —evolution in a spiral; and the earthly Paradise, on the contrary, was under the domination of Jehovah, the great Asura who claimed to be unique —who wanted to be the only God. For Theon, there is no one and only God, there is the U... who can make contact with this region. Page 89 After pondering some more, she said: "Theon also used to say that man was born perfect, but had taken a tumble. Evidently, these things can always be explained symbolically. Take the explanation of man's 'exile' from Paradise, Theon explained it like this: When the Being, the hostile Being, assumed the status of the Supreme Lord vis-á-vis... why does the animal always give us this evil feeling?" he asked. "Christians say it is the spirit of evil," she Page 90 answered. "But all this is mere incomprehension. "Theon always told me that the true interpretation of the biblical story —about Paradise and the serpent — was that man wanted to pass from the state of animal divinity, like the animals, to the state of conscious ...
... amazing things," she said. Then she dropped her bombshell of a revelation. "Theon also showed me how to deflect lightning." "Can it be done?" asked an astounded Satprem. "Ah, yes!" she was positive. "He used to do it." "But it takes a formidable power!" "Oh, he had a formidable power!" She laughed, "Theon had a formidable power. "I saw him deflect a bolt of lightning! I SAW... "You'll say it's impossible; but / saw it swerve. It went and struck a tree farther away. "I asked Theon, 'Did you do that?' He nodded." Mother left no doubt about the Occultist's power. "Oh, that man was terrible, you know. He had a terrible power. But outwardly, perfectly correct!" And Theon could outrank any teacher of occultism. "At least, he taught me well occultism. At that time I was... at them; the greatest have both railed at them and performed them."' One of the miracles Mirra performed took place on the high seas. This time, Theon went with her on her return journey. "When I went back from Tlemcen the second time, Theon accompanied me. He was going to go on a tour of Europe." This was 1907. Not planes but steamships were then the means of transport across the seas ...
... simplest method. There is also what Theon and Madame Theon used to say. They never spoke of 'Supermind,' but they said the same thing as the Vedas, that the world of Truth must incarnate on earth and create a new world. They even picked up the old phrase from the Gospels, 'new heavens and a new earth,' 1 which is the same thing the Vedas speak of. Madame Theon had this experience and she gave me... seconds. 7 But I was doing another type of work with Theon—dangerous work, at that—and it would last for an hour. Then all the body's vital energy would go out, all of it, as it does when you die (in fact, that's how I came to experience death). But it isn't necessary to have all those experiences, not at all—Sri Aurobindo never did. (Theon didn't have experiences, either; he had only the knowledge—he... to do the same thing, and with great dexterity; I could halt on any plane, do what I had to do there, move around freely, see, observe, and then speak about what I had seen. And my last stage, which Theon called 'pathétisme,' 2 a very barbaric but very expressive word, bordered on the Formless—he sometimes used the Jewish terminology, calling the Supreme 'The Formless.' (From this last stage one ...
... return to the Divine came about through Theon, when I was first told, 'The Divine is within, there,'" Mother tapped her breast. "Then at once I felt, 'Yes, this is it.'" Who was Theon, that mysterious person? How did Mirra come to know about him and his teaching? It was from Louis M. Thémanlys, Matteo's college friend, that Mirra first heard about Theon and the Cosmic Philosophy. Thémanlys... Whereupon he sent a letter to Theon enclosing a nominal subscription to the Cosmic publications. Then he met the Théons on one of their visits to France. It was only in 1907 that Louis and Claire visited Tlemcen, in Algeria, where the Théons lived. The young couple stayed there for three months, from April to June. It was then that Page 16 Madame Theon told them one day how, as soon... in her charge the publication of the Cosmic Philosophy's mouthpiece, the French periodical, La Revue Cosmique. The Cosmic Review was a monthly. In it Theon expounded his philosophy, but the greater part was contributed by Madame Theon. "It was dictated in English by Théon's wife while she was in trance," said Mother to Pavitra and Satprem one day in 1960. In those days she met Satprem in Pavitra's ...
... thrown out into the canal. "I related all this to Theon and Madame Page 155 Theon, and he too remembered one of his past lives there, during that very period. In fact, I had seen in Venice a portrait that was the spitting image of Theon! The portrait of one of the doges. Absolutely — it was a painting by Titian —it was absolutely Theon! his portrait, you know, as if it had just been... read this to Mother, "Charming!" she exclaimed sarcastically. "It's absolutely the characteristics of the vital, that which Theon called, 'the nervous world'." But with all his knowledge and power Theon was unable to prevent the accident to his wife's eye. "Theon couldn't even protect her!" After more than sixty-five years Mother still felt bitter about it. That is why, when Satprem asked... she trained her sleep, the number of nights when Mother could not drill it was minimal. "To speak of how I became conscious of my nights. I learned this from Theon. And now that I know all these things of India, I realize what a real expert Theon was." So was Mother. Thus she could at once refute somebody who stated to her, "If somebody kills you in a dream, it doesn't matter, since it is only a ...
... can speak about in detail. There is also what Theon and Madame Theon used to say." She remarked upon the vision of Theon and Madame Theon converging on that of the Veda —the world of Truth which must incarnate on this earth and create a new world. "They even picked up the old phrase from the Gospels, 'New heavens and a new earth.' "Because Theon also knew about it. He knew and called it 'the... solution one day that the body of the Superman would be a sphere! Theon said, 'It may be, but it would be very inconvenient if people want to kiss each other!'" 1 Although Theon had all the knowledge, it was actually his wife who had all the experience FOR him. Mother gave a graphic description of the process she used. "Madame Theon had this experience, and it is she who, not actually taught me... lot with Sri Aurobindo." To whom she also told what Theon had said to her about Barlet and his "idea that the perfect man, the immortal man, would be spherical." And Sri Aurobindo, who always enjoyed a joke, repeated it in an informal chat with his disciples. "This question about the nature of the Supramental body was answered by Theon. He was in France at that time and he said the Supramental ...
... responsible for the tomb. Pilgrims go there as well. Theon was friendly with one particular sage, and would speak with him and tell him things (at these times I would see the mischief in Theon's eyes). One day, Theon took me along. (According to Islamic tradition I should have been fully covered, but I always went out in a type of kimono!) Theon addressed the sage in Arabic; I didn't understand what... due to a lack of understanding. Theon always told me that the true interpretation of the Biblical story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden is that humanity wanted to pass from a state of animal-like divinity to the state of conscious divinity by means of mental development, symbolized by eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. And this serpent, which Theon always said was iridescent, reflecting... finished, I turned around and he gave me one last 'Poff!' and hopped away. It was comical! Theon also taught me how to turn aside lightning. Is it possible?! Ah, yes-he used to do it. Page 64 But it must take a formidable power! Oh ( laughing ), he had a formidable power! Theon had a formidable power.... One stormy day (there were terrible thunderstorms there), he climbed ...
... driver Theon was! He rarely returned without upsetting the cab or the car he was driving. So, when they returned safe from their outing, she noted the event in her diary: "September 13, 1906 —Went with Theon & M. & Madame Morisset to the Cork Forest." Teresa's diary, 1 its pages yellowed with age, has numerous entries; she kept in it a record of the comings and goings and doings of Theon and Théona... was much taken with the view the countryside presented and the colour full locals. But it is almost certain that he was less taken with Theon. Mother, while talking to Pavitra and Satprem about Madame Theon, recalled an episode figuring the above two. "Madame Theon was an extraordinary occultist. She was a small woman, fat, soft almost, giving you the impression that if you were to lean against her... I was there in Tlemcen with Andre's father —a painter, an artist — who had come to join us. "Now, Theon was wearing a dark violet robe. So Theon told him, 'This robe is purple.' "The other one replied, 'No, in French it is not Page 171 purple, it is violet.' "Theon bristled, 'When I say purple, it is purple!' "When suddenly a flash came out of my head: 'No, it's ...
... Chronicles - Book Three 5 Pralaya "I was taught the history of occult traditions by Theon," said Mother. In the Cosmic Tradition, as developed by him, "there were many things —Madame Theon was the clairvoyant and it was she who got the visions, she was excellent—but many things, which I myself had seen and known before meeting them,... going to be dissolved, everything is going to crumble." She considered the problem, "But looking at it in the true light, it can only be a lovelier manifestation! Theon told me this was the seventh and the last. I told Sri Aurobindo what Theon said. Sri Aurobindo concurred, for he said, 'This one will see the transformation towards the Supermind.'" Sri Aurobindo always gives us hope. "The Iron Age... clouds spout torrents of water for ages of ages. The apocalyptic fire is finally extinguished. The earth looks like 'the world of waters wild.' "You see," Mother explained to Satprem, "according to Theon, the world was created and destroyed — creation and pralaya—six times. And each time a particular attribute was manifested. But as this attribute could not fulfil itself, the world was 'swallowed up' ...
... Tradition" —was to become the Movement's mouthpiece. Its first editor was Charles Barlet 1 ; and Theon, under the name of Aia Aziz, was its Director. Theon declared that his wife was the moving spirit behind this idea. Thus, it was thanks to Madame Theon that all the science of the occult that Theon had accumulated could be put into practice. 1. F. Charles Barlet was the nom de plume... necessary — there will be a continuous ascent. This conception was held in that ancient tradition." She added as an afterthought, "Sri Aurobindo hadn't yet written anything when I met Theon, who told me very clearly about it. Theon had written all kinds of things —not philosophy, it was all stories, fantastic stories! Yet this same knowledge was behind them. And when asked about the source of this knowledge... Veda do we find the key to this imagery which conceals the hope or the Page 62 wisdom of a prehistoric humanity." 1 Mother continued. "The other tradition, which Theon said was the origin of Cabala — he said both the Cabala and the Vedas originated from it —also held the same concept of divine life and a divine world as Sri Aurobindo: that the summit of evolution ...
... cigarettes , which he did with disconcerting rapidity. Theon was a man of many moods: whimsical , gay or depressed , brilliant or forceful. In contrast , Madame Theon was full of a serene dignity, unruffled and equable. "Madame Theon was an extraordinary occultist, " said 'Mother. ' "That woman had incredible faculties , incredible. " Theon, for his part , always admitted that effectively it was... ." Mother made a gesture which showed Theon starting as if he had been burned. "I acquired that psychic consciousness just before leaving for Tlemcen. And it grew stronger there." Theon turned on his heels and silently led Mirra to the house. As the visitor entered, she was met by a small woman dressed in a red, flowing dalmatic. It was Madame Theon, waiting to receive Mirra. The older woman's... these amazing faculties his wife possessed that they could reach the lost or the as-yet-unexplored regions of knowledge. And Mother, on her side , whenever she referred to Madame Theon -e-it was always 'Madame' Theon spoke with a note of admiration , of regard, of respect. But let Mother herself tell about her memories of Tlemcen. Page 117 ...
... superior to the gods. Theon insisted greatly on this: throughout his story, humans are far superior to gods and should not obey them—they should only be in contact with the Supreme in his aspect of perfect Love. I don't know how to put it.... To me, those gods always seemed... (not those described in the Puranas, they're different... well, not so very different!) but the way Theon presented them, they... on. 1 Page 54 But I also remember reading The Tradition , before I met Sri Aurobindo (it was like a novel, a serialized romance of the world's creation, but it was very evocative; Theon called it The Tradition ). That was where I first learned of the universal Mother's first four emanations, when the Lord delegated his creative power to the Mother. And it was identical to the ancient... , and Light became darkness; Ananda became suffering, Love became hate; Life became Death; and Truth became Falsehood. And they were instantly thrown headlong into what became Matter. According to Theon, the world as we know it is the result of that. And that was the Supreme himself in his first manifestation. But the story is easy to understand, and quite evocative. On the surface, for intellectuals ...
... idea on the Jewish-Christian God. "He was an Asura who wanted to be the 'one and only God,' that's why he became the most Page 180 terrible despot imaginable," Mother said quoting Theon. "That's what Anatole France said too. I now know that Anatole France hadn't read Théon's story; but where did he pick that up? I don't know. It's in The Revolt of the Angels. He says that Satan is... God, he perceived that he was immediately taking on all the failings of Jehovah! So he refused. He said, 'No-no, thank you very much!' It's an admirable story. And in exactly the same vein as what Theon said. As it happens, that was the first thing I asked Anatole France." She interrupted herself to say to Satprem, "I told you once that I met him. Common friends took me to him. The first thing I asked... complete her sentence. "It was just five years before the Chinese revolution. I have told the story." She repeated, "I know I told it. But it was never noted down." She explained, "I used to dictate. Theon had taught me to speak while in trance —that is, he had taught my BODY to express itself—and I would tell him everything I was doing while doing it. And he never noted any of it down. I suspect ...
... knowledge in it. Madame Theon was an extraordinary occultist. That woman had incredible faculties, incredible. She was a small woman, fat, almost flabby—she gave you the feeling that if you leaned against her, it would melt! Once, I remember ... I was there in Tlemcen with Andre's father, who had come to join us—a painter, an artist. Theon was wearing a dark purple robe. Theon said to him, 'This robe... is purple.' 'No, it's not purple,' the other answered, 'it's violet.' Theon went rigid: 'When I say purple, it's purple!' And they started arguing over this foolishness. Suddenly there flashed from my head, 'No, this is too ridiculous!'—I didn't say a word, but it went out from my head (I even saw the flash), and then Madame Theon got up and came over to me, stood behind me (neither of us uttered a... my brother's schoolmate; he wrote books, but he was lazy-minded and didn't want to work! So he had passed that job on to me. But it was impossible, you couldn't do a thing with it. And what words! Theon would invent words Page 441 for the subtle organs, the inner senses; he had found a word for each thing—a frightful barbarism! And I took care of everything: I found the printer, corrected ...
... with a study of sensations, which culminated in the occult development with Theon; Page 267 then, at around the same time, an intensive mental development which lasted from 1908 to approximately 1920, a little less but especially before coming here in 1914." As the year 1908 ebbed, it swept away Madame Theon with it. Then bidding adieu to the Earth it shook her hand —on 28 December... them. Ten years of intensive mental studies leading me to . . . Sri Aurobindo." In between Sri Aurobindo who was to come and Theon who was gone, who was to bring Mirra the key to the Mind? Not just any middling teacher would do for her. Just as we may say that Theon was occultism personified, so may we say that Mr Mind presented himself in person. His name was Paul Antoine Richard, and he was born... 24 Mister Mind Mirra's destiny was in a hurry; it never allowed her to stay put with any one experience. That boundless Heart was in a constant forward motion. Madame Theon gone, no backward pull tied Mirra to the occult world. She had thoroughly explored it and tested its boundaries, and the barriers had ceded beneath her touch. It was time to go on to the next exploration: ...
... 100 from the remote past, this Jewish mystic thought was committed as secret doctrine to a privileged few in the eleventh century. Theon did not always agree with the secrecy. He said one day, "We are working to de-occultize the occult." Theon, the excellent gardener that he was, had culled many seeds from the Cabala and cross-fertilized them with others from various ancient traditions... that Christ rebelled? Christ? He brings us back to Mother and Theon. She said in a laughing voice, "He used to call Christ, 'that young man'!" Vast as was Max Théon's reservoir of knowledge yet he knew God only as the Master of man ; I doubt he had any conception of God as man's 'infinite Lover' as said Sri Aurobindo. "Theon had no idea of the path of bhakti, none whatsoever," said Mother... and again in his wide and profound occult waters and came up with so many treasures! "Theon was the first to give me the idea that the earth is symbolic, representative —symbolic of universal action concentrated to allow the divine forces to incarnate and work concretely. I learned all this from him." Theon was a great teacher, and he taught Mirra a multitude of things. But that Love Incarnate ...
... tradition—Theon spoke to me very clearly of it, and Sri Aurobindo hadn't yet written anything when I met Theon. Theon had written all kinds of things—not philosophy, but stories, fantastic stories! Yet this same knowledge was behind them, and when asked about the source of this knowledge he used to say that it antedated both the Kabbala and the Vedas (he was well-versed in the Rig-veda). But Theon had... the 'forefathers' spoken of were men who had realized immortality upon earth. (Who knows, they may still be alive!) Their conception of things was similar to Sri Aurobindo's. The other tradition—Theon said it was the origin of both the Kabbala and the Vedas—also held the same concept of divine life and a divine world as Sri Aurobindo: that the summit of evolution would be the divinization of everything... the immanent Divine and of union with That. And he said that by uniting with That and letting That transform the being one could arrive at the divine creation and the transformation of the earth. Theon was the first one to give me the idea that the earth is symbolic, representative—symbolic of concentrated universal action allowing divine forces to incarnate and work concretely. I learned all this ...
... during the last few centuries. As for Theon, he was.... It was not by choice that I met all the four Asuras —it was a decision of the Supreme. The first one, whom religions call Satan, the Asura of Consciousness, was converted and is still at work. The second [the Asura of Suffering] annulled himself in the Supreme. The third was the Lord of Death (that was Theon). And the fourth, the Master of the... Falsehood; Richard was an emanation, a vibhuti , 1 as they say in India, of this Asura. Theon was the vibhuti of the Lord of Death. It's a wonderful story, a real novel, which will perhaps be told one day... when there are no more Asuras. Then it can be told. Anyway, it was because of Theon that I first found the 'Mantra of Life,' the mantra that gives life, and he wanted me to give it... in theological philosophy in order to pass the pastoral examinations, studying all the modem philosophy of Europe (he had a rather remarkable metaphysical brain). Then I met him in connection with Theon and the Cosmic Review , and I led him into occult knowledge. Afterwards, there were all sorts of uninteresting stories.... He became a lawyer during the early period of our relationship and I learned ...
... it's only an impression.) When I saw him I recognized him as a being of great power. And he bore a certain likeness to Sri Aurobindo: Theon was about the same size (not a tall man, of medium height) and thin, slim, with quite a similar profile. But when I met Theon I saw (or rather I felt) that he was not the man I saw in my vision because... he didn't have that vibration. Yet it was he who first taught... be done.... It's a great pity you never met him.... Perhaps it's best. It's very difficult to rise above appearances. 3 Here, just to give you an example: when I first began to work (not with Theon personally but with an acquaintance of his in France, a boy 4 who was a friend of my brother), well, I had a series of visions (I knew nothing about India, mind you, nothing, just as most Europeans... was that it was premonitory, that one day something like it would happen. And it remained in the background of the consciousness , not active, but constantly present. Page 404 As for Theon, he was European and wore a long purple robe that wasn't at all like the one in my vision. (I'm not sure, but I think he was either Polish or Russian, but more probably Russian, of Jewish descent, and ...
... 'natural' to Mirra. "But flung like that!" Mother mused awhile, then resumed. "Later on, when I was working with Theon, I saw it was an entity, what the Europeans call angels . . . 'Guardian Angels,' that's right. They have wings by free choice, because they find them pretty! Well, Mme. Theon saw two of these beings always near me. Yet, she knew me after more than ten years. It appears they were always... gladdened by the ecstatic appreciation of her music from a . . . yes, a toad! "I was playing —don't know what, a Beethoven or a Mozart piece —in Tlemcen." Mirra was on a visit to Theon, the occultist, in Algeria. "Theon had a piano, because his English secretary played the piano. The piano was in his drawing-room, which was on a level with the mountain, halfway up, almost at its top. That is to say ...
... three: Sat-Chit-Ananda (Sat is Existence, expressed by Life; Chit is Consciousness, expressed by Power; Ananda is Bliss, synonymous with Love). But according to Theon, there were four (I knew them by heart). Well, these emanations (Theon narrated it in such a way that someone not a philosopher, someone with a childlike mind, could understand), these emanations, conscious of their own power, separated... There is always what could almost be called a popular way of presenting things. Take the whole Story of the Creation, of how things have come about: it can be told as an unfolding story (this is what Theon did in a book he called The Tradition —he told the whole story in the Biblical manner, with psychological knowledge hidden in symbols and forms). There is a psychological manner of telling things and... say that Sri Aurobindo did it for fun (I saw him do it). Someone had spoken to him about different religions, different philosophical methods—Theosophy, Madame Blavatski, all those people (there was Theon, too). Well, each one had made his diagram. So Sri Aurobindo said, 'I can make a diagram, too, and mine will be much more complete!' When he finished it, he laughed and said, 'But it's only a diagram ...
... Soon thereafter, she went to Tiemcen in Algeria to work with Max Theon and his wife Madame Theon. Theon was well versed in the Rigveda and he was the first to talk to the Mother of the idea that the earth is symbolic where universal action is concentrated allowing divine forces to incarnate and work concretely. Madame Theon was an extraordinary occultist, having incredible faculties. She could... married a pupil of Gustave Moreau, Henri Morisset, and she came to know Rodin and the great impressionists of that era. The second direction in which she turned was opened up when she heard of Max Theon and his teachings. At this stage, she had a series of visions, and in several of these visions she saw Sri Aurobindo just as he looked physically, but glorified. She was to meet Sri Aurobindo ten ...
... Soon thereafter, she went to Tiemcen in Algeria to work with Max Theon and his wife Madame Theon. Theon was well versed in the Rigveda and he was the first to talk to the Mother of the idea that the earth is symbolic where universal action is concentrated allowing divine forces to incarnate and work concretely. Madame Theon was an extraordinary occultist, having incredible faculties. She could... married a pupil of Gustave Moreau, Henri Morisset, and she came to know Rodin and the great impressionists of that era. The second direction in which she turned was opened up when she heard of Max Theon and his teachings. At this stage, she had a series of visions, and in several of these visions she saw Sri Aurobindo just as he looked physically, but glorified. She was to meet Sri Aurobindo ...
... of Arabic origin meaning 'the beloved'). Then, when he began setting up his Cosmic Review and his 'cosmic group,' he called himself Max Theon, meaning the supreme God (!), the greatest God! And no one knew him by any other name than these two—Aïa Aziz or Max Theon. He had an English wife. He said he had received initiation in India (he knew a little Sanskrit and the Rig-Veda thoroughly), and... occultists and those of Eastern occultists exhibit great similarities. The only difference is in the way they are expressed, but the manipulation of the forces is the same. I learned all this through Theon. Probably, he was ... I don't know if he was Russian or Polish (a Russian or Polish Jew), he never said who he really was or where he was born, nor his age nor anything. He had assumed two names:... tradition which he called the 'cosmic tradition' and which he claimed to have received—I don't know how—from a tradition anterior to that of the Cabala and the Vedas. But there were many things (Madame Theon was the clairvoyant one, and she received visions; oh, she was wonderful!), many things that I myself had seen and known before knowing them which were then substantiated. Page 219 So personally ...
... Book Three 2 The Cosmic Tradition They met 'ere long.' By that time Mirra had read every available scrap of the Cosmic Philosophy. "Theon called it 'The Tradition'." She drank and she drank at this fount of knowledge. It seemed to her that she had long thirsted for something which was now being given to her in abundance. And she just... power, they could act and they acted. They forgot their Origin." It is due to this initial oblivion that they changed. "And instantly they were thrown headlong into what became Matter. According to Theon, the world as we know it is the result of that. And that was the Supreme himself in his first manifestation." Therein lies the power, the force of the first burns, the Asuras. "And once the... me a lot." A slow smile spread across her face. "It was written in English and I am the one who translated it into French —into horrid French, perfectly horrid, because I put in all the words Theon had dreamed up. Then again, what words! He made a detailed description of all the faculties latent in man, and it was remarkable —but with such barbaric words! You can make up new words in English and ...
... the experiences that Madame Theon, while she was in trance, dictated to her English secretary: an entire initiation in the form of stories. 1 But it was the Story that interested her, and everything else slowly receded like the old, superfluous garment of a “something” that She widely experienced, without initiatory walls or spiritual constructions. And finally, Theon would disappear one day as... down on the rocks of the Isle of Wight while walking in trance along the cliffs. An "accident” that was no accident; she had probably seen that Theon was not destined to bring down the new world—therefore she no longer had any raison d’etre. Having lost her, Theon had lost his base. He was suddenly no more than an old Atlantean from an outdated world, and despite everything, he was too great to be satisfied ...
... to an end, as did her own strength. Richard kept on philosophizing all the same. Sustained by Mother’s force, he was perhaps dreaming of becoming a mental superman, just as Theon had dreamed of becoming a vital superman. But Theon did not lack for greatness. It is a strange experience, sometimes, to realize how literally covered over we are by our mental constructions, so elegant and refined, often even... upon one element or another, and how can one speak of "transforming the world", if one is unable of transforming what is right next to one? To a certain extent, She had transformed, or neutralized, Theon and the rather formidable power he represented, but Richard was more elusive—a thunderbolt can be caught, but who can catch an octopus? The mental octopus with its thousands of tentacles slithering... freedom of thought of a god. 24 The granddaughter of Mira Ismalun, who had taken Paris by storm with her sky-blue tarboosh tipped low, had come to the end of her journey—the pupil of thundering Theon, the friend of Rouault, Rodin, Matisse, the patient student of all the mental and spiritual gymnastics, the mathematician sister of Matteo, the musician of a great blue note, was going to lay down her ...
... Aswapati must be meant to represent Theon. What has Theon to do with it? If Aswapati is he, I'll learn about his role from the poem—but couldn't you say something about him in direct reference to Mother and yourself? This incarnation is supposed to have taken place in far past times when the whole thing had to be opened, so as to "hew the ways of Immortality". Theon and the circumstances of this ...
... It was at Tlemcen, in Algeria. While Mother was in trance, Theon caused the thread which linked Mother to her body to break through a movement of anger. He was angry because Mother, who was in a region where she saw the 'mantra of life,' refused to tell him the mantra. Faced with the enormity of the result of his anger Theon got hold of himself, and it took all Mother's force and all Theon's... it. Once, long back, I was in a so-called cataleptic state, and after awhile, while still in this state, the body began living again 2 ; that is, it was capable of speaking and even moving (it was Theon who gave me this training). The body managed to get up and move. And yet, everything had gone out of it! Once everything had gone out, it naturally became cold, but the body consciousness manages ...
... deformed state that it's repugnant. The idea that things are not in their place, mon petit, is something I understood even as a youngster, and it was eventually explained to me by Theon. In his cosmogony, Theon accounted for the successive pralayas 2 Page 267 of the different universes by saying that each universe was an aspect of the Supreme manifesting itself: each universe... in a recurring and apparently endless and aimless series of cosmic births which, like our own human births, develop, attain some sort of 'summit,' then collapse, always to begin again. According to Theon, our present universe is the seventh—but where is the 'beginning'? × Note that modern astronomy is ...
... Subliminal consciousness, 257-60 Tagore, Rabindranath, 60 Subtle physical, 157-8, 207, 216-7, 258 Telepathic phenomena, 258 Testing, 88 Theon, Max, 28-30, 32, 33-8 Theon, Madame, 29-34, 38 Tiemcen, 29-31, 33, 35 Tokyo, 58 Transformation, 3, 38, 72-6, 87, 165, 175, 181, 199, 202-6, 206-8, 221, 234, 260-1, 268... dynamic, 253-5 Mind, externalising, 253-4 Mind of light, 105 Mother, 1878 (Birth), 25 (Experiences during childhood),25-27 1904 (Meeting Theon), 29-30 1910 (Reversal of Consciousness), 50 1910-20 (Mental studies), 40, 47-8 1911 (Beginning of the Journal 'Prayers and Meditations'), 40 1912 (Endless ...
... she felt a lack of something. "But it's still not luminous in the dark. Because normally what's luminous in the dark is something else. I had that Page 246 when I was working with Theon —after returning to France we had group meditations, he called it 'repose,' and we used to do that in a darkened room — and there was ... it was like phosphorescence, exactly the colour of phosphorescent... what manifests is vital. "Whereas now it's absolutely and clearly the golden supramental light in ... an extraordinary pulsation, vibrant with intensity. But probably it still lacks a . . . what Theon used to call 'density,' an agent that would enable it to be seen in the dark —but then it would be seen golden, not phosphorescent." The question of light apart, this new Vibration enhanced the... "Curious, this impression," she said. "It's something more . . . more compact, denser than the physical. The New Creation. One always tends to think of it as something more ethereal, but it's not! Theon always said with insistence, 'It will have a greater density.' That's what he said, 'A greater density.' And the feel I get of this atmosphere is of something more compact — more compact and, at the ...
... always be explained symbolically. Theon explained man's 'exile' like this: when the Being—the hostile Being—assumed the position of the Lord Supreme in relation to the terrestrial realization, he didn't want humanity to Page 123 progress mentally and gain a knowledge permitting it to stop obeying him!... That is Theon's occult explanation. According to Theon, the serpent wasn't the spirit... That was when... oh, it seems like a fall into a pit—into ugliness, darkness! Everything became so dark, so ugly, so difficult, so painful. Really... really the sense of a fall. ( silence ) Theon used to say it wasn't... (how to put it?) inevitable. In the total freedom of the manifestation, this voluntary separation from the Origin is the cause of all the disorder. How to explain it?... Words ...
... 'it's an endless work! Nothing seems to get done— everything is done and then constantly has to be done all over again.' Then I gave him my personal impression, which went back to the old days with Theon: 'It will be like that until we touch bottom.' So instead of continuing to work in the Mind, both of us (I was the one who went through the experience... how to put it?... practically, objectively;... That was how we worked. And it was only when I descended into the Inconscient that I found the Divine Presence—there, in the midst of Darkness. It wasn't the first time; when I was working with Theon at Tlemcen (the second time I was there), I descended into the total, unindividualised—that is, general—Inconscient (it was the time he wanted me to find the Mantra of Life). And there I suddenly found... p. 203.) Note that in 1925 the Nazi Party was founded. Page 82 of iridescent light reclining with his head on his hand, fast asleep. All the light around him was iridescent. When I told Theon what I was seeing, he said it was the 'immanent God in the depths of the Inconscient,' who through his radiations was slowly waking the Inconscient to Consciousness. But then a rather remarkable ...
... Morocco being in the west and Tunisia in the east. During summer, the place becomes unimaginably hot - so hot that you cannot imagine it. I had been there to learn occultism from a great master, Monsieur Theon, who was probably a Polish Jew. During the hot noon, I used to sit under an olive tree daily for meditation. I could endure the heat all right. One day, during deep meditation, I suddenly began to feel... keeping my stare fixed and exerting will force. At last the vicious snake suddenly lowered its hood and quickly turning round jumped into the waters of the nearby tank. Later I told this incident to Theon. He told me that we all know that the snake lives there in the hole. After his bath it wanted to go to its abode, but since you barred the passage, that's why he was angry. If you give him some milk... then, all fear of snakes has left me. Formerly I used to shrink at the sight of a snake; I had an acute aversion that I could not check. But that has left me for good. Page 21 Theon said that Mother was the Supreme Occultist, the greatest occultist ever born. Let me say in parenthesis that, of all things, I'm most afraid of snakes - even ghosts I can stand, but snakes - they're ...
... met Theon and came to understand the mechanism, I also understood why I wasn't conscious at that level. I think I told you how I spent ten months of a year working between two layers — two layers of consciousness — because the contact wasn't established. There was a whole gamut of things that I didn't get spontaneously, because the contact wasn't established. Page 313 "Theon had explained... told me. I did it." But she worked at it "day after day, day after day, for one year" to bridge that gap. It was the sole object worth living for. "You see," Mother said to Satprem, "Madame Theon had told me, and I knew what my mission on earth was, and all that —that's telling you —she told me, 'there's an undeveloped layer between this part and that part.' "So I was exclusively concentrated ...
... atmosphere when I was propelled into the future. It's something more... more compact, denser than the physical: the New Creation. One always tends to think of it as something more ethereal, but it's not! Theon spoke of it, but he didn't express himself very well; his Page 356 way of speaking didn't have the power of revelation (it was based on experience, but the experience wasn't his, it was... standpoint of experience—unique—but with no real intelligence... oh, she was intelligent and cultivated, but no more than that, and it didn't amount to much). But they really had come as forerunners , and Theon always insisted, 'It will have a greater density.' Scientifically, this seems like heresy, for 'density' is not used in that sense—but this was what he said, 'A greater density.' And the impression ...
... this.... There's a type of woman I have met more or less periodically throughout my life. These beings are under the influence, or are incarnations of, or in any case are responsive to forces which Theon called 'passive'—not exactly feminine forces, but on the Prakriti 2 side of the universe: the dark Prakriti side (there is an active dark side, the asuric forces, and a passive dark side). And... for obtaining the particular power that comes through an identity with all material things, a power possessed by certain persons—not always yogis, certain mediums, for instance. I saw it with Madame Theon: she would will a thing to come to her instead of going to the thing herself; instead of going to get her sandals when she wanted them, she made the sandals come to her. She did this through a capacity ...
... the central being; of course, he had millions of emanations in the world, but this was the central being in person. The others... let's keep that for another time. He agreed to take on a body. Theon wanted to keep him there: "Don't let him go," he told me. I didn't answer. This being told me he didn't want to be more material than that, it was sufficient—you could feel him move the way you feel... will take place in exactly five years," he told me. He knew it before he left. "And that," he continued, "will be the beginning, the first terrestrial movement heralding the transformation of...." (Theon didn't use the word "supramental"; he used to talk about "the new world on earth.") 2 But I did note that down. I had forgotten the whole story, because I now live constantly in the Becoming ...
... directions. It no longer has any limits. But it's still not luminous in the dark. What is normally Page 460 luminous in the dark is something else ... I had that when I was working with Theon (after returning to France, we had group meditations—though he didn't call it 'meditation,' he called it 'repose,' and we used to do this in a darkened room), and there was ... it was like phosphorescence... above, but what manifests is vital. Whereas now it is absolutely, clearly the golden supramental light in ... an extraordinary pulsation, vibrant in intensity ... But probably it still lacks a ... what Theon used to call 'density,' an agent that enables it to be seen in the dark—and then it would be visibly gold, not phosphorescent. But it is very, very concrete, very material. I wonder if at night ...
... become so limpid! All the contrary theories, all that could be found there below (Mother looks from above), and all the explanations, all that Sri Aurobindo has said, and also certain things that Theon had said, all that, as a consequence of the experience: each thing in its place and absolutely clear. At that moment, I could have told you, now it's going to be a little difficult. Indeed, many... could call 'diffusion'; but it's absurd, it's not a diffusion—we ourselves live with the sense of space, so we say diffusion and concentration, but it's nothing of the sort. And I understood why Theon said that we were in the age of 'Equilibrium'; that is to say that it is by the equilibrium of all these innumerable points of consciousness and of all these opposites, that the central Consciousness ...
... the tremendous force she bore within herself.' Around 1906 Mirra came in contact with Max Theon, a Polish exile who was a great adept in occultism. His wife Alma was also highly gifted spiritually. They lived in Tlemcen, a small town in Algeria on the border of the Sahara desert. This meeting with Theon strengthened Mirra's resolve to study occultism in greater depth and for the next two years she ...
... times and that of the future, that tireless quest to find the Secret, track down the old tricks; and Tlemcen, the great blue Note bursting forth, the world exploding like impressionist pictures. And Theon, Richard, all the dangers She went through with a laugh, all the phantoms She pierced through to reach the Reality of the earth. Then Sri Aurobindo like a minute of eternity: alone in front of that... present individuals or what people will say or think of it — wrest it from its present, tiny reality, in order to change it into a great Symbol of the transformation of the Earth. Yes, there is Theon, Richard, Pranab, the great shadows of Death, all that resists and refuses or only wants the old way, the whole old species thrashing about. No, She is not a saint, She is a great Adventuress and ...
... She was going to gulp down a big dose of the mechanism in the most painful experience of her life—for truly, the Mind is always the pain of being or the pain to be. And if She had touched death with Theon, She would touch the worlds Falsehood with Paul Richard. We always meet in life the obstacles that help us to perfect the very realization we have to accomplish, and finally, there are no obstacles... On several occasions, in Tlemcen and before, She had clearly seen an entirely different world of consciousness above, far above, a world Sri Aurobindo would come to call the "Supramental,” which Theon inelegantly named "pathetism” (one really wonders why!) and which She called the World of Harmony , probably because it seemed to unite or dissolve all the opposites. But how to bring this world down ...
... period of Schure... Page 87 Yes, it was the period of Schure. It was still the period of Gurdjieff. And Mother met someone who was called Theon. Someone who was a super-Gurdjieff – Gurdjieff was a little boy compared to Theon. A man who had a lot of occult knowledge. We only know the laws of matter, you see. There are other laws behind, that's quite obvious. Other laws that are ...
... as it is.' Within half an hour she was dead. These things are very interesting. They must form part of the work I have come on earth to do. Because even before encountering Page 233 Theon, before knowing anything, I had experiences at night, certain types of activities looking after people who were leaving their bodies—and with a knowledge of the process; I didn't know what I was doing... remember exactly) for months and months and months. All sorts of extraordinary things happened during that time—extraordinary. I could tell long stories.... Then, when I went to Tlemcen, I told Madame Theon about it. 'Yes,' she told me, 'it is part of the work you have come on earth to do. Everyone with even a slightly awakened psychic being who can see your Light will go to your Light at the moment of ...
... what's responsible for this interminable rain. And they offer so many other things ... oh, what they parade past me! You could write books on all this! But generally—and this is something Theon had told me (Theon was very qualified on the subject of hostile forces and the workings of all that 'resists' the divine influence, and he was a great fighter—as you might imagine! He himself was an incarnation ...
... little beyond my head. A solid block... one single piece. And it was denser than my physical body. 2 We shall often come across that particular feature. Already in Tlemcen, fifty years earlier, Theon had spoken of—and Mother had perceived—"a substance denser than physical Matter." What this dense matter exactly is we do not know for the moment, but it is a fact. The Upanishads do mention a "dense... its own results. Not unlike Madame Theon's sandals that came automatically to her feet: the vibration of this unit of matter (the sandals) responded to the vibration of another unit of matter (Madame Theon), because it was all the same conscious Matter. It is no longer a divine revelation on the summits of Nirvana in some soporific consciousness, but a divine revelation... in a bottle of mouthwash (And ...
... In the beginning, I did not understand what She meant, until the day it struck me as a veritable revelation. First, I asked Mother why She did not use very material occult powers, like those of Theon, for example. No, no use at all—absolutely no use, 20 she answered. And She told me that both Sri Aurobindo and She had always refused to perform what are called miracles, because performing these... illnesses, the disorders, the pain] was for obtaining the particular Power that comes through an identity with all material things, a power possessed by certain mediums, for instance. I saw it with Madame Theon: she would will a thing to come to her instead of going to the thing herself; instead of going to get her sandals when she wanted them, she made the sandals come to her. She did this through a capacity ...
... than with the physical body. Sri Aurobindo then recounted the story of how Mother was once on the point of death in Algeria when she was practicing the yoga with Theon and his wife both of them great occultists. Madame Theon particularly was a remarkable woman. The Mother exteriorized and visited Paris and met her friends. The exteriorization was sufficiently material to enable her to ...
... That is to say, a higher yogic power had been applied to cure the body. The same famous power that performs every possible miracle, if you know how to wield it. It is with this power that some Theon or super-Theon could have made a very miraculous and astounding world. Those are the higher powers of the Mind, which we hardly know or do not know at all (and so much the better). But they are powers imposed ...
... Vishwajit Conversation of 24.Jun.1961 - Mother's Agenda .... These things are very interesting. They must form part of the work I have come on earth to do. Because even before encountering Theon, before knowing anything, I had experiences at night, certain types of activities looking after people who were leaving their bodies—and with a knowledge of the process; I didn't know what I was doing... remember exactly) for months and months and months. All sorts of extraordinary things happened during that time—extraordinary. I could tell long stories.... Then, when I went to Tlemcen, I told Madame Theon about it. 'Yes,' she told me, 'it is part of the work you have come on earth to do. Everyone with even a slightly awakened psychic being who can see your Light will go to your Light at the moment of ...
... I wrote to him: "I should like to know something about Théon who is said to have taught the Mother in Egypt. What role has he played in this new manifestation of yours?" Sri Aurobindo replied: "Theon was merely the Mother's guru in occultism — he had some idea of the aim to be achieved, but got much of it wrong. Moreover, what was true came from his wife and was not originally his." One ...
... stirred an old, old memory of something which had tried to manifest—a creation—when I was very small and which had again started trying to manifest at the very beginning of the century, when I was with Theon. Then all that was forgotten. It came back with this letter: all at once, I had my plan for Auroville .... The Mother, Words of the Mother - I: Early Talks ...
... because even mistakes - even, from a certain viewpoint, waste - serve the general progress: these are lessons learned the hard way. (silence) I always remember what Th6on used to say (Theon was completely opposed to philanthropy); he used to say, "Philanthropy perpetuates human misery, because without human misery, it wouldn't have any reason to exist!" And you know that great phil ...
... have the power to destroy it. When the hour comes, all this will disappear, without any need to do anything. × It was Theon. ...
... soul, that is, the eternal, immutable and divine soul—essentially divine. He wrote this when he was in contact with certain Theosophical writings, before I introduced Theon's vocabulary to him. For Theon, there is the 'divine center' which is the eternal soul, and the 'psychic being'; similarly, to avoid using the same word in both cases, Sri Aurobindo speaks in later writings of the 'psychic being' ...
... faculty of forming thoughts is now there, up above; it's no longer here ( Mother points to her forehead ). And that's contrary to their teachings. The tantrics recognize seven chakras, 2 I believe. Theon said he knew of more, specifically two below the body and three above. That is my experience as well—I know of twelve chakras. And really, the contact with the Divine Consciousness is there ( Mother ...
... eating, enjoying life; they regard these as the essentials, and as for the rest, well, when there's time they think about it. But what Sri Aurobindo brought down, precisely ... I remember at Tlemcen, Theon used to say that there was a whole world of things, such as eating, for example, or taking care of your body, that should be done automatically, without giving it any importance—'it's not the time to ...
... meet with accidents in the vital world that leave their trace for hours after awakening. Page 224 × Madame Theon. ...
... There would be many interesting things to tell about sleep, because it's one of the things I've studied the most—to speak of how I became conscious of my nights, for instance. (I learned this with Theon, and now that I know all these things of India, I realize that he knew a GREAT deal.) But it bothers me a lot to say 'I'—I this, I that. I'd rather speak of these things in the form of a treatise or ...
... is snapped somehow, the man dies. NIRODBARAN: I have heard that the Mother had such an accident in Algeria. SRI AUROBINDO (surprised) : How do you know that? She went to Algeria to study with Theon who was a great occultist; his wife was still more so. From there once the Mother visited Paris and was among her friends and wrote something on a paper with a pencil. That paper was here even the other ...
... Divine, Vol.19, p.891. 93 The Mother was born in Paris on 21st February, 1878. She had spiritual experiences from childhood, but she received the first explanation of her experiences from Max Theon, a powerful personality of extraordinary occult capacities. She also learnt occultism from him at Tiemcen in Algeria. In 1914, she came from Paris and met Sri Aurobindo. In 1920, she came to Pondicherry ...
... painting and higher mathematics. A student of the French painter Gustave Moreau, she befriended the great Impressionist artists of the time. She later became acquainted Page 510 with Max Theon, an enigmatic character with extraordinary occult powers who, for the first time, gave her a coherent explanation of the spontaneous experiences' occurring since her childhood, and who taught her occultism ...
... Calcutta. . ¹ Sri Aurobindo, On Himself , p. 390. Page 203 CHAPTER IX Pondicherry: 1910-1926 11 July. Veiji Thakersi Shah came from Cutch. 12 July. Talk on Theon, who knew the Mother before she came to India. During the evening talk Sri Aurobindo said: "What I find is that it is not necessary to have a full and rich development of the mental and vital being ...
... book suggests, our journey will lead us into occultism. "A brief period," said Mother. Yes. But that period laid the cornerstone of her life's work. The knowledge that Mirra then acquired from Theon was to serve Mother as the springboard to attain the unborn Truth. So now I shall not keep you waiting any longer. Turn the page and read on! Page 10 ...
... y activities. 1903 Sri Aurobindo has the experience of the Infinite. 1904 Mother has her first vision of Sri Aurobindo. Sri Aurobindo begins yoga. Mother’s first meeting with Max Theon. 1905-06 Voyages to Tlemcen. 1906 Mother founds her first group, Idea. 1907 First arrest of Sri Aurobindo. 1908 Divorce from Henri Morisset. Mother moves to 49 rue de Levis ...
... microscopes. And what was Mother seeing at the end of her direct microscope, “in situ,” if one dares say? And there, strangely, her oft-repeated experience, repeated dozens of times, meets up with that of Theon at the beginning of the century when he spoke of “A Matter denser than physical Matter, but with qualities that physical Matter doesn’t have, like elasticity, for example.” And what is the most curious ...
... Mother's Chronicles - Book Three 19 Mirra Learns to Discourse They landed in France. We presume that Max Theon proceeded to rejoin his wife who had gone to Italy. As for Mirra, at a guess, she went to her new apartments in Paris' 17 th arrondissement. This was on 49 Rue de Levis, a multistoreyed building. Her flat was on the ...
... Sometimes the aura protected me." We shall soon see how. "All sorts of things. My life was rarely limited to the physical body. And this is useful, it's good. Necessary also —it enhances your capacities. Theon told me right from the start, 'You people deprive yourselves of the most useful kind of senses, EVEN FOR ORDINARY LIFE.' And it's true, absolutely true," Mother confirmed. Page 291 ...
... Frontispiece Mirra in Tlemcen in 1906 22 Facsimile of a cover of La Revue Cosmique Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris) 26 Théon's postcard to Mirra (courtesy Noren Nahar) 45 Theon, a sketch by Mother (courtesy Abhay Nahar) 54-55 Facsimile of the entry of marriage (courtesy Christian Chanel) 113 An impression of Zarif (by Michel Danino) 132 Zarif: Mirra ...
... MORISSET, is born in Paris. 1903-1904 -First contact with the Cosmic Movement. -Series of visions of Sri Aurobindo, or Krishna as Mirra thought. 1905 -Mirra meets MAX THEON. 1906, 14 July to15 October -First visit to Tlemcen. 1906 1907,July to October -Second visit to Tlemcen. 1908 -Mirra lives in 49 Rue de Levis. 1908,March -Divorce from ...
... of the Con- gress. 1905 - Einstein sets forth the special theory of Relativity and postulates the existence of the photon. - Sri Aurobindo writes Bhawani Mandir. -Mother meets Max Theon. January — Sri Aurobindo becomes Vice-Principal of the Baroda College. January 22 -"Bloody Sunday" massacre in St. Petersburg: repression from the Czar against petitioners. April 4 - ...
... obviously have to be altered. How far the constitution Page 294 of the body will be changed and in what direction is another question. As I said it may become as you suggest radio-active: Theon (Mother's teacher in occultism) spoke of it as luminous, le corps glorieux . But all that does not make it impossible for the supramental to act in the present body for change. It is what I am looking ...
... stirred an old, old memory of something which had tried to manifest—a creation—when I was very young and which had again started trying to manifest at the very beginning of the century, when I was with Theon. Then all that was forgotten. It came back with this letter; all at once, I had my plan for Auroville. Now I have my overall plan, I am waiting for Roger to draw the detailed plans, for I had said from ...
... impressionist sketch of him and waited for it to spring to life some day for even her physical eyes. A number of years she spent in Algeria, learning the higher occultism from a Polish adept, Theon by name, and his still more profoundly experienced English wife: Alma. Under them she would put her physical body into a trance and awake progressively in her subtle sheaths: putting to sleep ...
... the gods; beware of the gods." All this is merely a question of language to me—words to suit each one according to his nature. I've had conscious contacts with all the beings of the tradition Theon made known to me, and with all the beings described in Indian tradition; in fact, as far as I know I've had contacts with all the deities of all the religions. There's a gradation ( gesture of levels ...
... brief period of occultism, serving both as a transition and a basis for spiritual development. × In fact, Mother met Theon for the first time one day in 1904, in Paris. Then she went to Tlemcen in 1905 and again in 1906. × ...
... The Mother has stated in one of her writings: I saw a Being of irised light reclining with his head on his hand, fast asleep. All the light around him was iridescent. When I told Theon what I was seeing, he said it was "The Immanent God in the depth of the Inconscient." According to Sri Aurobindo the Inconscient is the Superconscient's sleep. That experience of descending ...
... stirred an old, old memory of something which had tried to manifest―a creation―when I was very young and which had again started trying to manifest at the very beginning of the century, when I was with Theon. Then all that was forgotten. It came back with this letter; all at once, I had my plan for Auroville. Now I have my overall plan, I am waiting for B to draw the detailed plans, for I had said from ...
... Mother laughs. ) Au revoir, mon petit. × In putting this question, Satprem was thinking in particular about Madame Theon, who, rather than going to get her sandals, made them come to her. × What Mother seems to mean is ...
... became an accomplished artist. Gifted from an early age with a capacity for spiritual and occult experience, she went to Tlemcen, Algeria, in 1906 and 1907 to study occultism with the adept Max Theon and his wife. Between 1911 and 1913 she gave a number of talks to various groups of seekers in Paris and began to record her deepening communion with the Divine in the diary later published as Prayers ...
... 5 him, whom she knew she would meet on earth some day, that the divine work was to be done. A number of years she spent in Algeria, learning the higher occultism from a Polish adept, Theon by name, and his still more profoundly experienced English wife. Under them she would put her physical body into a trance and awake progressively in her subtle sheaths: putting to sleep the subtle sheath ...
... made thorough studies in piano, painting and higher mathematics. At the age of 26, she had several dreams of Sri Aurobindo - of whom she had never heard before. She later became acquainted with Max Theon, an enigmatic character with extraordinary occult powers, who for the first time gave a coherent explanation of her experiences and taught her occultism during her two long visits to his estate in Algeria ...
... education of music, painting and higher mathematics. A student of the French painter Gustave Moreau, she befriended the great Impressionist artists of the time. She later became acquainted with Max Theon, an enigmatic character with extraordinary occult powers who, for the first time, gave her a coherent explanation of the spontaneous experiences occurring since her childhood, and who taught her ...
... all, at least this earth with which we are so much concerned and which seems to us so real, so authentic? It would perhaps be very wise on your part if you did not! I have often spoken to you of Theon. He was truly a sage in his own way. People used to come to him and ask questions. Many asked why there was an universe. He would answer, "But what is that to you?" Some would ask, "Why is the universe ...
... pranks. But as she was leaving the room, she said to us, "I can see everything. I have eyes at the back of my head." Imagine our discomfiture! We had heard that she was the greatest occultist known to Theon, her teacher in occultism. We had no small amount of personal experience in support of it. Still, this small incident from its manner and occasion left us flabbergasted. She must have had her inner ...
... Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol. 1 Modernist Poetry A Modernist poet sings – O bright Apollo “Tin’ andra, tin' heroa, tina theon," What god, man or hero Shall I place a tin wreath upon! and a modernist critic acclaims it as a marvellous, aye, a stupendous piece of poetic art; it figures, according to ...
... at all, at least this earth with which we are so much concerned and which seems to us so real, so authentic? It would perhaps be very wise on your part if you did not! I have often spoken to you of Theon. He was truly a sage in his own way. People used to come to him and ask questions. Many asked why there was a universe. He would answer, "But what is that to you?" Some would ask, "Why is the universe ...
... cyclone and a deliberate action, because human forces are not at all natural). Who would ever imagine that Matter, through its own radiation, without any extrahuman or occult powers like those of Theon and all yogis, could by itself erect such an invisible barrier that a human mob is suddenly stopped without knowing why? Though in truth people always do things without knowing why. The more reasons ...
... remained 'theoretical,' she showed the way to a practical form. For Mirra had brought with her all the accumulated knowledge of her own experiences, over and above all that she had learnt from Max Theon and Alma. She shared it all with Sri Aurobindo. She also shared Sri Aurobindo's love for India, which she made her home for more than fifty years. On the day of Independence, 15 August 1947, standing ...
... months after the last piece of New Lamps for Old appeared in the Indu Prakash, a new series of articles was begun on Bankim Chandra Chatterji 'by a Bengali' who signed himself 'Zero' (and not: Max Theon, the supreme God!). From criticizing the Congress to Bankim the novelist! Those unacquainted with our young A. Ghose may be surprised at this prodigious jump from one pole to the other. True, A ...
... an endless work! Nothing seems to get done — everything is done and then has to be constantly done all over again.' "Then I gave him my personal impression, which went back to the old days with Theon, 'It will be like that until we touch bottom.' Inconscient, and little by little, they awaken in each thing, in each atom as it were, the aspiration to Consciousness and the beginning ...
... when a special work is to be done and in crises of the evolution." Elaborating, he said, "Avatar hood would have little meaning if it were not connected with the evolution." Sri Aurobindo, like Theon, was wholly pro-evolution. Sri Aurobindo took "the Puranic list of Avatars and interpreted it as a parable of evolution, so as to show that the Page 41 idea of evolution is implicit ...
... has its Shakti. The chakras 1 are sort of doors opening a communication to a certain type of world. "I think the Tan tries acknowledge seven chakras," Mother said to Satprem (11 Oct. 1960). "Theon however used to say that he knew more, notably two below the body and three above. That's my experience too; I know twelve." The seven Mother referred to are the main chakras. In Sri Aurobindo's ...
... all-powerful Beauty may manifest and put an end to all that mess. And at first I was shocked when Sri Aurobindo told me that; previously, in this life, it hadn't even crossed my mind. In that sense Theon's explanation had been much more (what should I say?) useful to me from the standpoint of action: the origin of disorder being the separation of the primal Powers—but that's not it! HE is there, blissfully ...
... dead). The first experience at Tlemcen is probably the one when Théon had a fit of anger while Mother had gone out in her vital body in search of the "mantra of life," and the link was cut off by Theon's anger. ...
... I learned—and it was NOTHING. None of it explained anything to me—nothing. I couldn't understand a thing! To know!... It was to happen to me two years later when I met someone who told me of Theon's teaching. When I was told that the Divine was within—the teaching of the Gita, but in words understandable to a Westerner—that there was an inner Presence, that one carried the Divine within oneself ...
... experience opening up, a field as old as the Pleistocene and as young as a child’s smile. We are around 1908, Mirra has just left a more and more distant "artist’s life” by having divorced Morisset. Theon's fireworks have already burned out. In the end, there only remains what one is, or is not. The Shattering of the Fishbowl But what is that little drop of being?—Poetry? Maybe so, because it ...
... perfection. A will for perfection : oh, whatever I did always had to be the best I could do. And then, a limitless consciousness. These two things. And my return to the Divine came about through Theon’s teaching, when I was told for the first time, "The Divine is within, there." Then I felt at once, “Yes, this is it." 2 It was like a wall collapsing. We are all behind a wall—the enormous ...
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