There is a very important statement in H. P. Blavatsky’s article titled “What Shall We Do for our Fellow-Men?”

There she says: “There is no infallible intuition.”

How can we understand this in light of the fact that Theosophy also rates intuition, intuitional knowledge, and intuitional perceptions so extremely highly?

Perhaps we may explain it by saying that, just like everything else in manifestation, intuition must be sevenfold. Perhaps at its lowest and most material level it is purely physical, physiological instinct, and its highest level is that direct, pure, spiritual, accurate, and perhaps mostly infallible intuition, such as possessed and utilised by great Initiates, Adepts, and Masters of Wisdom. For Them it is directly linked with the opening or activation and conscious usage of the Eye of Dangma or Eye of Shiva, the Third Eye, the occult faculty associated with the pineal gland within the brain. Somewhere in between must be an astral and psychic sort of intuition.

There is nothing “bad” about lower forms of intuition; the issue only arises when we automatically believe that our own intuitions must necessarily be correct and accurate, simply because we feel them strongly or clearly.

In some things, an intuition or intuitive feeling can be verified, either through research or by waiting to see whether things turn out the way we intuitively perceived that they would. But in other things, it is not possible to verify by any physical plane methods. Intuitions about spiritual or metaphysical matters are often in this category. Here is where we need to be the most careful and to combine our intuitions with our intellectual, rational, and logical faculties.

After all, by relying solely on the fallible type of intuition, one can end up believing and acting on some extremely questionable, implausible, and unphilosophical things. This fallible intuition is frequently coloured strongly by our existing beliefs, ideas, knowledge, biases, and personal preferences, likes and dislikes.

As long as we hold – whether consciously or otherwise – to the idea that TRUTH – spiritual, divine Truth, the real reality of things – must surely be the way that we would like it to be and must surely match up with our personal religious preferences and inclinations, simply because those are what we feel the most comfortable with . . . we are never likely to get very close to pure, spiritual, divine Truth, Reality as it is, which takes no account of how we might like it to be.

Therefore, on the basis that there is no infallible intuition, we find William Q. Judge in his posthumously published article titled “Occultism” advising us: “It behooves us to take each step with care, to question the intuition, and to analyze with the brain; in short, to discriminate.”

So you ought to question your intuitions, before you view them as perfect, reliable, or infallible.

Again, in his entry on “The Heart Doctrine” in the “Subjects for Discussion” pamphlet he states that the mind is “needed to verify and to interpret intuition, the resulting experience being the true doctrine of the heart. . . . Both reason and intuition [are] necessary; reason to be used as interpreter and verifier.”

The Master K.H. once wrote to his chela or disciple, the Indian Theosophist Damodar K. Mavalankar: “The higher spiritual progress must be accompanied by intellectual development on a parallel line. . . . make the best of the present favourable opportunity to improve yourself intellectually while developing your intuitions. Remember that no effort is ever lost and that for an occultist there is no past, present or future, but ever an Eternal Now.”

Truly spiritual intuition is possible because we ourselves are, inwardly, spiritual beings . . . divine beings . . . in fact, according to Theosophy, we are gods. And more than that, we are “GOD” Itself, the Absolute, the Infinite, the One infinite Divine Life, the Causeless Cause, Rootless Root, Sourceless Source, the Ultimate Reality, whether you call it the Brahman of the Hindu Upanishads, the Adi-Buddha of the Buddhist Kalachakra, the En-Sof of Jewish Kabbalah, and so on.

Hinduism’s Chandogya Upanishad says “Tat Tvam Asi” – That Thou Art, or Thou art That. Yes, you are THAT. It is not simply that you came from That or that you are One with That, but you literally are That, in the innermost, highermost core of your being. And this is equally true of all human beings and indeed of every atom in the manifested Universe. In the Seven Principles or sevenfold components of the human being, this is the highest Principle, Atma or Atman, the ONE Universal Self – “Self” in the sense of “Essence” – of all: pure eternal, impersonal, universal Spirit.

The Light of Atman shines within the Lamp of Buddhi, the second highest Principle and perhaps the most mysterious, and these are both focused, focalised, or centralised, within the Higher Manas, the higher, immortal, divine, mind-entity within us, which far transcends the brain-mind or Lower Manas with which we are all so familiar, but which is however linked with it. This Atma-Buddhi-Manas are primordially, inherently, and eternally ONE, an eternal Triad, one in three and three in one. Spiritual intuition is possible because that is the case.

In “The Ocean of Theosophy,” William Judge says:

“Manas, or the Thinker is the reincarnating being, the immortal who carries the results and values of all the different lives lived on earth or elsewhere. Its nature becomes dual as soon as it is attached to a body. For the human brain is a superior organism and Manas uses it to reason from premises to conclusions. This also differentiates man from animal, for the animal acts from automatic and so-called instinctual impulses, whereas the man can use reason. This is the lower aspect of the Thinker or Manas, and not, as some have supposed, the highest and best gift belonging to man. Its other, and in theosophy higher, aspect is the intuitional, which knows, and does not depend on reason. The lower, and purely intellectual, is nearest to the principle of Desire, and is thus distinguished from its other side which has affinity for the spiritual principles above. If the Thinker, then, becomes wholly intellectual, the entire nature begins to tend downward; for intellect alone is cold, heartless, selfish, because it is not lighted up by the two other principles of Buddhi and Atma.” (p. 54)

Students of Theosophy often speak of our Buddhi principle (and Buddhi in Sanskrit literally means “Wisdom”) and spiritual intuition as being synonymous; in other words that true, spiritual intuition is a property or faculty of Buddhi. But although they are extremely closely related, H. P. Blavatsky emphasises that they are not one and the same. In “The Secret Doctrine Dialogues” she clarifies in these words:

“Intuition is in Manas for the more or less light shed on it by Buddhi, whether it is assimilated much or little with Buddhi.” (p. 621)

“Buddhi by itself can neither have intuition, nor non-intuition, nor anything; it is simply the cementing link, so to say, between the higher spirit [i.e. Atman] and Manas.” (p. 621)

“Intuition belongs to Manas.” (p. 621) And by this, she obviously means the Higher Manas, our own inner God, the permanent spiritual individuality, the higher, reincarnating Ego.

When asked the question “Is the apprehension of highest abstract ideas the function of Manas, or of Buddhi?” she answered emphatically –“Buddhi can have the apprehension of nothing.” (p. 633)

This is probably because Buddhi is not an “individual” or an “entity” that can perceive or understand or intuit things. The individuality or entity that can directly think, understand, perceive, and interact with things is Manas.

But this doesn’t mean it is necessarily wrong to speak of intuition as something Buddhic. Almost all Theosophical writers have done this and HPB herself does it in various places. And in the article “Sat and Sattva” by Raghavan Iyer, we see intuition expressed in this way:

“Very often people ignorantly associate intuition with inexplicable hunches or vague guesses. Self-indulgence and self-rationalization of such psychic tendencies are quite harmful to the true awakening of Buddhi, and should never be confused with it. It is far better to be humble than to pretend to have exact knowledge when one does not. It is even better, in fact, to avoid talk about Buddhi and Buddhic awareness than to be involved in the shadowy world of pseudo-speculative knowledge. True Buddhic understanding is real knowledge, which comes in the Silence. At times, it comes with a laser-like flash of instantaneous directness and recognition so exact that one might call it microscopic omniscience. This is, however, nothing alien to human nature. It is none other than the highest subtlest material field within the hebdomadic [i.e. sevenfold] human vestures. Buddhi is to Atman like spiritual subliminal and noumenal matter lit up, made radiant in relation to the perpetual motion and light-energy of the Atman. Buddhi, activated and aroused, is pure Sattva, refined pure knowledge, free from all taint of separateness, all taint of selfhood. It is totally unblemished by any trace of partiality, any bias of partisanship, any vestige of attachment and possession. As pure knowledge, it is a principle entirely independent of the standpoint, or even the existence, of the lower self. It is the living wisdom of eternal life itself.”

That is not incorrect; the point we were trying to make a moment ago is simply that none of our Principles – neither the higher nor the lower ones – operate or function in isolation from one another. The process of genuine intuitional perception involves Manas or the mind drawing close to Wisdom or Buddhi, always associated with the spiritual Heart quality, which in turn is a receptacle and radiator of the Light that is Atman, the One Universal Self or the divine Fire of Space, underpinning, sustaining, and energising all.

In the second section of “The Voice of The Silence,” which HPB translated from a still secret esoteric Yogacharya Buddhist text referred to as the Book of The Golden Precepts, we read: “That which in thee knows, for it is knowledge, is not of fleeting life: it is the Man that was, that is, and will be, for whom the hour shall never strike.” An explanatory note on this says: “Mind (Manas) the thinking Principle or EGO in man, is referred to [as] “Knowledge” itself, because the human Egos are called Manasa-putras the sons of (universal) Mind.”

If the human soul, the higher Mind-Entity within you, your own inner God, the Ego or Individuality, the Manasaputra or Kumara or whatever other name you may apply to it, is an individualised ray of the Universal Mind, how can you not potentially know everything, within yourself? It’s taught that our Higher Manas or Manasaputra is unconditionally omniscient – all-knowing – on its own plane.

Most of us have probably had glimpses of this occasionally, when we have had intuitions that turned out to be accurate and reliable, and premonitions, and even prophetic images or messages in dreams. But it can become more than just an occasional and unexpected experience, if one actively takes steps to turn towards and draw closer to the God within: that within you which knows, for it is pure Knowledge Itself – an immaculate beam of light, your life-guide, your watcher, your true Self, in the words of “The Voice of The Silence.” In fact, it is the Voice of the Silence within you, also called the “Silent Speaker.”

Our intuitions are not solely due to the presence of this Immortal within us, however, but, as the soul goes through successive lives on Earth, experience in different fields is gathered, along with an accumulated knowledge, understanding, and perception of, and appreciation for, particular subjects and abilities. A natural intuitive affinity or skill or talent or comprehension for a particular subject or philosophy or activity or discipline or line of work is due largely to this. Not all such accumulations will manifest in every single subsequent incarnation, since that is determined by our Karma, but some of them will. When you find yourself having an understanding, aptitude, and skill for something beyond the level of sheer intellect and reason, it is likely due to positive accumulations from previous personalities in which the real you was embodied.

This relates to what Buddhism and Theosophy call the Skandhas, the Karmic ingredients that cause us to arrive in one lifetime with a particular personality and character already there and which are then so coloured, influenced, and altered by us over the course of that lifetime, as to leave a somewhat different set of Skandhas, which in turn will go to create and form our personal self and psyche in the next incarnation.

We are also to endeavour to exercise and apply our intuition in connection with our study and understanding of Theosophy and its teachings.

“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 278, says: “Since . . . as confessed before, this work withholds far more than it gives out, the student is invited to use his own intuitions.”

That doesn’t mean one should present to others one’s own intuitions as if they are Theosophy itself; the doing of that by various people is what caused great damage to the Theosophical Movement in the first half of the 20th century . . . but it does mean that we are to make our interaction with the Theosophical teachings an intuitional and not merely intellectual exercise and process. The book “The Secret Doctrine” withholds far more than it gives out, or conceals a greater amount than that which it reveals, and it is also the case that it withholds, even within the text itself, through esoteric concealment, far more than it overtly gives out or directly states.

Hence why one who reads “The Secret Doctrine” slowly, carefully, meditatively, with humility and an open mind, coupled with true gratitude and reverence towards Those – the Master K.H., Master M., and Master Narayan (see Who Wrote “The Secret Doctrine”?) along with HPB – who produced that massive work for us, inevitably gains far more from the book than those who read it merely with the intellect, and also those who just treat it as a reference book, to look up something in and then put aside.

Elsewhere in that book, after a particularly complex and cryptic statement regarding Aquarius, Virgo, Venus-Lucifer, and the South Pole, HPB says: “Let the student exercise his intuition by placing these facts together; no more can be said.” (Vol. 2, p. 786)

And at the start, just before giving the English translation of seven stanzas on Cosmogenesis or the origins and evolution of the Cosmos, from the most ancient Eastern esoteric records, the Secret Book of Dzyan (pronounced “Djan,” as explained in Vol. 1, Introductory, p. xx), she says “it must be left to the intuition and the higher faculties of the reader to grasp, as far as he can, the meaning of the allegorical phrases used. Indeed it must be remembered that all these Stanzas appeal to the inner faculties rather than to the ordinary comprehension of the physical brain.” (Vol. 1, p. 21)

A slow, calm, meditative reading and reflection on the Stanzas, taking one at a time and devoting an hour or more to it, is almost the only way to unlock their highly mystical and often mystifying language and imagery, and in so doing we unlock the intuitive faculties within us.

The Master K.H., Koot Hoomi or Kuthumi, once wrote to the English Theosophist A. P. Sinnett:

“On close observation, you will find that it was never the intention of the Occultists really to conceal what they had been writing from the earnest determined students, but rather to lock up their information for safety-sake, in a secure safe-box, the key to which is – intuition. The degree of diligence and zeal with which the hidden meaning is sought by the student, is generally the test – how far he is entitled to the possession of the so buried treasure.” (“The Mahatma Letters” p. 279)

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