Question: I thought occultism was something like black magic. Can you explain what it is?
Sri Chinmoy: Yes. Occultism in the lowest sense is black magic. Occultism in the purest sense is the dynamic aspect of the Divine Force, the Universal Force. When occultism is practised to destroy God’s universal harmony, it is called black magic. This black magic that we see in the East and the West is absolutely perverted occultism. Black magic deals very often with the impurity and darkness of our nature. Pure occultism, true occultism, has nothing to do with black magic or black magicians.I know of a woman in Miami who used black magic to make her sister give birth to a stillborn child. The woman did not have the power herself, so she went to a black magician in Haiti who used his power. He created all kinds of problems, just by using occult power from Haiti. The sister suffered from many ailments which the doctors could not cure. She will have to go all the way to Haiti to beg this stupid black magician to help her out of the difficulties created for her by her own sister.
In Manhattan we had two or three cases of this kind of black magic. A disciple’s sister went to Haiti. Afterwards, her husband could not walk, dishes full of food dropped while he was holding them and many other things happened — all from occult power. The husband came to the Indian Consulate to meditate with me. He even came once or twice to see me at my house. He was cured, and then he left.
In the occult world, ordinary occultists fight like cats and dogs. Worse, in fact, for at least cats and dogs get tired. Ordinary occultists meditate, get a little power, and then, instead of following the right, spiritual path, they use their power to try to steal the power of other occultists.
A black magician can never harm a spiritual person who is realised or has spiritual power. A realised spiritual person, however, has the power to threaten the occultists and the black magicians, but he usually will not do it. When a spiritual person uses occultism, he uses it in a divine way. If there is a serious attack and somebody is going to fall from the spiritual path or is going to have a serious accident in his inner or outer life, I shall immediately use occult power if the Divine at that time wants me to be the instrument to help that particular person. This is pure occult power.
In India, black magicians have tried many times to punish spiritual Masters or destroy their spiritual power. The result was that they had to surrender all their black magic powers to the spiritual Masters. Many times occultists have tried to steal the powers of spiritual Masters who were sleeping. The Masters rest for only two or three hours, sometimes not even taking any sleep. When they lose consciousness, they do not keep any connection with the physical. At that time, an occultist can enter into the spiritual Master and try to take away his spiritual power. But these occultists are fools because spiritual Masters are always guided and protected by the Omniscient and the Omnipotent. The occultists will lose and have to surrender all their occult powers to the spiritual Masters. Then the occultists cry and cry. Some of these former occultists are now disciples of the spiritual Masters who have taken away their powers. Some black magicians who came to torture spiritual Masters lost their undivine, evil tendencies and became white magicians. They went to a person who was all compassion; and they were saved.
At the end of 1963, a very well-known Indian Muslim occultist from Hyderabad came to Pondicherry. He was an occultist, an astrologer and a black magician combined. A very close friend, an admirer of mine, said, “How I wish you would come and see this occultist.” I said, “I do not care to see an occultist. If it is an occultist, I don’t want to go.” But my friend was adamant in his request, so I went to see the occultist at his hotel. When I went to his room, I just stood at the door while the occultist was sitting in a chair. What he saw in my eyes God knows. But he was so shocked that he sank onto the table and could not open his eyes for five minutes. He could not look at my eyes. He was crying and crying as if somebody had just saved his life. Then he rose and came to me with folded hands and said: “At this hour of my life, you have come. God gave me occult powers but I used them only on women and on wine. I used them so that people would appreciate and admire me and touch my feet. But I see in you a real flood of spiritual powers.”
Then what did he do? He said to me, “I am not worthy of touching your feet, but I am touching your feet only to be pardoned, only to be blessed.” He touched my feet and showed his devotion in many other ways.
When a spiritual Master stands before an occultist, the occultist, if he is a sincere man, will simply cry. He will weep because of the way he has misused his power. The spiritual life is flooded with purity and peace, and this peace and purity can easily swallow all the poisons of the occult world.
