Those of us whose names are known in connection with theosophical work usually receive a great deal of correspondence. It often happens that those who have, as they call it, "lost" friends or a break in relations due to death, write to us in order to get any information about them, or at least general consolation. In addition to this, we receive numerous reports of past mental experiences, as well as a variety of events that go beyond the ordinary. From these stories we have compiled a very remarkable series called In The Twilight.
Recently I received from one of the members of our Society (I mean the Theosophical Society, founded in 1875 by H. P. Blavatsky. The headquarters is in Adyar, India) a story so unusual that it seems to me worth it to be quoted here. I immediately wrote to that gentleman, asking permission to publish it and he kindly agreed, on the condition, however, that the names of the people and the name of the area where this happened will not be indicated, since he does not want to be disturbed in connection with this story … I am giving his story.
Once I was working in my garden, and the time was about three days. My wife left the house dressed as for a walk and told me she was going to go to town to do some shopping. I noticed to her that a thunderstorm was about to come and she might get caught in the rain, but it seemed to her that she still had to go, since it was Friday, and she really needed some little things about the house. So she left, and the entire time she was away I worked diligently in my garden.
Our house is at a decent distance from the city, and she had to take a car, but to at least get to it, she would have to walk about twenty minutes, and most of it along the railroad. When she returned, I noticed that she looked unusually pale and sat down to rest a little. Recovering a little from her tiredness, she said that she had had a very strange experience. She said that after she left me, she was walking along the railway track, as usual, and suddenly she heard footsteps, as if someone was following her. Looking around to see who it was (since the place was deserted), she saw with surprise that it was me, and asked if I had decided to join her on a walk to the city. I did not answer her, and a moment later she was alone. Although she was amazed at my disappearance, she decided to herself,that this is an illusion caused by a disorder of her mind and continued on her way, however, very nervous.
When she reached the city, she visited various shops, and as soon as she left the first, it started raining heavily. In a hurry, she crossed the street, entered another store and saw me standing near the counter, but I disappeared again and she began to think that what happened to me was some kind of accident. (I must clarify that she herself was previously a medium and is less afraid of such events than other ladies.) As she walked to the car to return, she again noticed that I was following her. When she got out of the car and began her journey along the railway line, I was not visible.
It was getting very dark, a storm arose, and in order to avoid puddles and slush, she went straight along the railway track. Suddenly, someone grabbed her and lifted her over the road, immediately a steam locomotive swept past. She didn’t hear him coming, so no doubt this intrusion saved her life. She thought that she was completely safe, walking along the tracks, because she knew that at that time there should have been no train for several hours, but she did not think that a shunting light locomotive could go. When she turned around to thank the man who had saved her life, she saw that it was me, and disappeared again as soon as she tried to speak to me. However, several times further on the way home, she turned around and saw me following her at a short distance, but when she again tried to speak, I disappeared.
I was fully conscious and busy with hard work during her absence, and although it seems to me a very wonderful case, I was already inclined to attribute it to my wife's imagination and did not attach such great importance to it, although I, of course, was grateful that the wife was saved from such imminent danger. But about a year later, there was a similar phenomenon about which I could not make any assumptions.
This time on Saturday, at about four in the evening, I went fishing on a boat, accompanied by a sailor. We anchored our boat, dropped our rods and waited patiently, but we were unlucky and at eight o'clock we gave up and returned home for dinner. The next day, Sunday, I went into town and called the well-known and fashionable pharmacist's shop who was a friend of mine. (I have to clarify that our pharmacist sells a variety of soft drinks in the summer, and his store is used, like a cafe, as a meeting place - people sit at small tables on the sidewalk, chatting and drinking soft drinks.) When I went there, there was about twelve people sat and talked, among them was the mayor of the city, some doctors whom I knew (myself and myself a doctor) and a famous lawyer. When my pharmacist friend stood up to greet me,I noticed that his right arm was bandaged, and immediately asked what was the matter. Instead of answering, he laughed and looked at me strangely. Seeing that I was surprised, he said:
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“Nice little business! You ask me what happened to the hand when he himself stood next to me and witnessed all the deeds that happened last evening! You can imagine how surprised and protested I was - they say I was not in the city last night. My pharmacist friend continued to laugh at me sincerely, and his amusement attracted the attention of the other gentlemen present. When they asked him what was funny, he explained that I was trying to convince him that I had not been in town last night. All the gentlemen present also began to laugh and said that, of course, I was trying to avoid being summoned to the court as a witness to the incident.
I could not understand anything and could only assume that they conspired and decided to play a trick on me, so I turned and left the store. Immediately after that, my friend, who works as a detective, came up to me and I, laughing, told him how funny my friends had played me, but to my great surprise, he told me the full story of what really happened there last night. I should probably explain that my friend's shop is located near City Hall, in front of which there is a square surrounded by trees - there is an orchestra playing there in the evening and people have a habit of walking around. All the houses around the square have balconies and families often sit there enjoying the music and the fresh air.
As I understand it, a few gentlemen sat outside one of the store doors last night talking about politics. Among them was one whom we will call Mr. Smith. Immediately, among the strollers, there was another gentleman (let's call him Mr. Jones), who was undoubtedly friendly to Mr. Smith; and when he passed by, he threw him a mocking remark. Mr. Smith, already somewhat excited by the conversation, jumped up in anger and struck Mr. Jones with his cane. The latter immediately lost his cheerful mood and responded in kind, so that something like a fight began. Smith suffered more and fell heavily to the ground.
“At that moment,” continued the detective who was telling me this story, “you came and helped me to lift the man off the ground and carry him to the pharmacist's shop. Once he was safe, you left without a word, and it seemed to me remarkable that you, as a doctor, did not stay to examine his injuries. As for the pharmacist, he got a hard hit on the arm when he tried to separate the two."
I assured the detective that he was making a strange mistake, since I was not in the city for the whole last evening, but I was fishing all this time, and I can confirm this with the testimony of the sailor who was with me, and my family, who saw me leave. and returned.
The detective just smiled and said that he fully understands my position, and that as a business person I do not want to be involved in a lawsuit related to politics, but there can be no doubt that I was there - he recognized me for sure, and not only he, but also several other gentlemen who were present there. He also added that some of those who watched from the nearby balconies had testified in connection with the fight and some of them noticed me among those who were nearby. All this was completely incomprehensible to me, but I saw that it was impossible to convince the detective and did not say anything more, but left him and went home.
A few minutes later I met a doctor on the street, who was a good friend of mine, and asked him if he had been in the square the previous evening and if he knew anything about the fight. He told me that he arrived when the incident was settled, but he definitely saw me leaving the scene and watched me climb into the car. I felt quite discouraged, but left my friend without making any comments. The next day, as I was walking down the street, I met my detective friend again and he informed me that when in court the judge asked him to draw up a list of witnesses, he omitted my name (having many others to question) because of his affection for me. because according to my words yesterday, I did not want to be involved in the case. I thanked him heartily and that was the end of it. You can seethat in this case there were at least twenty reliable witnesses who saw me in the city while I was definitely several miles away and engaged in a completely different matter.
Just a few days later, there was another similar incident, but in some way the opposite of what I just described. This time I was in town and attended a meeting of my lodge (Local Branch of the Theosophical Society). I returned home at about eleven o'clock and upon reaching my house, I noticed that it was unusually brightly lit, and my wife and eldest son were standing at the door waiting for me. I thought that something unusual was happening and was scared that maybe someone got sick or some other trouble happened, but my boy ran out to meet me and said that his mother was in a terribly nervous state, because she saw my double (like we call him) this evening for a long time and even talked to him.
Of course, I asked my wife to tell me what happened, and she said that when she walked up the stairs with our youngest son in her arms to put him to bed, she saw me entering the house through the front door. She was somewhat surprised that I returned much earlier than usual and went up the stairs to the bedroom, and I followed her. I went into our bedroom and changed my clothes and shoes; while I was doing this she asked me a few questions, to which I answered quite satisfactorily and in the usual manner. Then I left the room and she followed me, but on the way down I suddenly disappeared and she thought I was trying to play some kind of joke on her. She asked my son, who was sitting in the room downstairs teaching his homework, if he had seen me. He answered in the negative. “Okay,” said my wife,“You must have gone deep into your problems if you haven't seen your father. He walked right next to you, went into his room, changed his clothes and shoes, and talked to me for a while, and I think he must have hid in the bathroom to play a trick on us. " My son jumped up and ran to the bathroom, but found no one there. Then my wife began to call me and examined the whole house in search of me and, making sure that I was really nowhere, began to get nervous, despite the fact that my boy, who knows a lot about the subjects of our research, explained that this does not mean that I am dead. as people often leave their bodies for different purposes.that he must have hidden in the bathroom to play a trick on us. " My son jumped up and ran to the bathroom, but found no one there. Then my wife began to call me and examined the whole house in search of me and, making sure that I was really nowhere, began to get nervous, despite the fact that my boy, who knows a lot about the subjects of our research, explained that this does not mean that I am dead. as people often leave their bodies for different purposes.that he must have hidden in the bathroom to play a trick on us. " My son jumped up and ran to the bathroom, but found no one there. Then my wife began to call me and examined the whole house in search of me and, making sure that I was really nowhere, began to get nervous, despite the fact that my boy, who knows a lot about the subjects of our research, explained that this does not mean that I am dead. as people often leave their bodies for different purposes.because people often leave their bodies for different purposes.because people often leave their bodies for different purposes.
The fact, which may or may not be related to this phenomenon, is that I can often perform work related to my professional duties at night in a sonambulistic state. One day at midnight, my wife called me to provide medical assistance to one of the children who was very ill, and said that I did my job as if I was awake, but the next day I did not understand what she was talking about and was convinced that he did not leave his bed. On another occasion, I worked for two hours at night, helping one of my boys because he had a bad heart. He felt relatively better the next day, and I did not think about it for three months, until the boy began to show symptoms of the same disease and my wife reminded me to apply what I did last time.but I could not immediately remember what I did that time. These are, of course, examples of common sonambulism; but sometimes I think that my physical body remained in bed all the time, and the work was done by this mystical double …
There are several possible explanations for this case. A double can be a thought-form, but it does not follow from this that it is created by its original - it can also be created by someone else. For example, I heard about a case when a lady who loved him very much created a similar shape for one person. It usually takes strong stimuli like this for the average person to create a thought-form strong enough to be visible. Such a thought-form, once created, can be populated and used by any dead person or even a natural spirit. It is a common belief that the “I” of a person whose image is such a thought-form can use it and from time to time carry out certain work with it, here in India, but we still do not have direct evidence. If this theory is correct, then perhapsit was our friend himself who saved his wife's life by lifting her over the railway line, but it may also be that the invisible assistant who happened to be nearby, seeing that she was in danger, decided that the form of her husband would be most suitable for helping, avoiding her fear from the sight of a stranger …
Author: C. Leadbeater