Blavatsky Blogger
Taking Theosophical
ideas
into the 21st
century
An
Unlikely Student of Theosophy
Prince
Felix Yussupov
(Reputed murderer of Gregori Rasputin)
Relax!
Yussupov was never a Theosophist
Posted
Prince
Felix Yussopov
First lets
make it clear that there is no evidence whatsoever that Felix Yusopov was ever
a member of the Theosophical Society at any time. It seems, however, that an
interest in life after death and a desire to develop psychic powers for his own
ends led him to study Theosophical ideas.
From Lost
Splendour – The Autobiography of Felix Yussupov
It was at
this time (1906) that Nicholas and I promised each other that the first of us
to die would appear to the survivor. The Almighty God, the afterlife and
self-perfection were constantly on my mind.
A priest
with whom I talked freely on these matters told me: "Don't try and find an
answer to all these questions. Don't philosophize too much. just believe in
God." But this wise advice did not satisfy my craving for knowledge. I
immersed myself in the study of occult sciences and Theosophy. I had difficulty
in believing that it was possible, during the course of our brief sojourn on
earth, to earn the right to eternal life, as the Christian doctrine teaches us.
The theory of reincarnation seemed, to my mind, a much better solution of the
problems which preoccupied me. I learned that certain exercises of bodily and
spiritual discipline could little by little develop in one a superhuman power
which enabled one to master one's own weaknesses and dominate other people.
With the conviction that I was inspired by a divine truth, I devoted myself to
the practice of Yoga exercises. Every day I took a special course of gymnastics
and did an incalculable number of breathing exercises; at the same time, I
tried to concentrate and develop my will power. I soon noticed a change in
myself: my mind became clearer, my memory improved, and my strength of will
increased. Several people told me that even my expression had changed. I myself
noticed that some people could not look me in the eye, and I concluded that I
had acquired a sort of hypnotic power. To test my capacity for bearing pain, I
held my hand over a lighted candle. I suffered the most excruciating pain, but
it was not till the smell of roast flesh filled the room that I withdrew my
hand. Having to undergo a particularly painful dental operation, I amazed the
dentist by refusing an anesthetic.
I felt
proud of having acquired so much control over myself and I no longer doubted
that I could also control other people.
Later that year Felix Yussopov’s brother,
Nicholas, is killed in a dual and he finds that an occultist had a hand in the
affair and a strange hold over his brother
. Later,
when going through my brother's papers, I found a letter proving that a certain
Chinsky,
a very
well-known occultist, had played a sinister part in this affair. They showed
clearly that Nicholas was completely under his influence. He told my brother
that he was his guardian angel,
directed
by God's will; Chinsky made out that it was my brother's duty to marry the
girl, and he encouraged him to follow her to
Chinsky
also warned Nicholas against revealing his intentions to his parents or to me.
__________________________
Prince Yussupov’s interest in the
development of the powers latent in man must have helped to determine his
attitude to Rasputin. Later in his autobiography he describes a meeting with
Gregori Rasputin and the hypnotic power he had. Possibly he came to envy
Rasputin’s powers as they far in excess of anything he had been able to
develop. Both men appear to have been motivated by a need for power and
influence.
Further
extract from Lost Spelndour
Rasputin
had tremendous hypnotic power. I felt as if some active energy were pouring
heat, like a warm current, into my whole being. I fell into a torpor, and my
body grew numb; I tried to speak, but my tongue no longer obeyed me and I
gradually slipped into a drowsy state, as though a powerful narcotic had been
administered to me. All I could see was Rasputin's glittering eyes: two
phosphorescent beams of light melting into a great luminous ring which at times
drew nearer and then moved farther away.
I heard
the voice of the starets but could not understand what he said.. I remained in this state, without being able
to cry out or to move. My mind alone was free, and I fully realized that I was
gradually
falling into the power of this evil man. Then I felt stirring in me the will to
fight his hypnosis. Little by little the desire to resist grew stronger and
stronger, forming a protective armor around me. I had the feeling that a
merciless
struggle
was being fought out between Rasputin and me, between his personality and mine.
I knew that I was preventing him from getting complete mastery over me, but
still I could not move: I
had to
wait until he ordered me to get up.
There is some satisfaction that Yussopov
was able to resist Raputin’s power
Although
be watched me closely, he did not realize that he could not read all my
thoughts; my resistance to his hypnotic power had escaped him. A satisfied
smile lit up his face, and the assurance
in his
voice betrayed his conviction that he had got me in his power.
The reference here to the Kabbala
indicates the extent of Yussopov’s esoteric studies
A friend
of the starets (Rasputin) is supposed to have had in his possession a letter
from the occultist Papus to the Tsarina. It was written toward the end Of 1915
and the last sentences were: "From a cabalistic point of view, Rasputin is
a vessel similar to
Pandora's
box; this vessel contains all the vices, all the crimes, all the faults of the
Russian people. If it were ever to be broken, its frightful contents would
immediately spread all over
______________________
The Blavatsky
Blogger
Taking Theosophical
ideas
into the 21st
century
__________________________
Postings
to this Website reflect
the
views of The Blavatsky Blogger.
Please
don’t go looking for anyone else.