"But such beings DO exist. But like most others of fundamentally criminal intent, they like to operate in a relatively behind the scenes way if possible"
In Egypt they operated in the open on behalf of the living representative of God. But even though they tried to do good, they lost their magical powers over the centuries. I wonder if the Egyptian plagues may shed any light on the many questions which magical powers suggest?
As you remember, both Moses and Aaron as well as the magicians of Egypt were doing magical (and very unpleasant) tricks for God. The Pharaoh was the living representative of God on Earth--and Moses an intermediary for God.
They both did very similar magical tricks. Moses turned all the water in Egypt into blood at the behest of God. The Egyptian magicians duplicated this feat. Moses then sent frogs all through Egypt. The Egyptians also sent frogs all through Egypt--for God, through the Pharaoh.
Next Moses sent Lice to infest the Egyptian people. This must have been very uncomfortable for everyone. At this point the Egyptians were unable to duplicate the magic.
Next, the plague of flies
Plague five was intended to kill the cows
Plague six was boils
Plague seven was a hailstorm
Plague eight was locusts
Plague nine was a terrible sandstorm
Plague 10 was genocide of all first born. Some of these first born were grandfathers and grandmothers as well as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. Others were young innocents, uncontaminated by the intrigues and passions of the world--tiny children with the innocent love and trust of those unsullied by betrayal and evil. Of course, all the firstborn of the livestock and pets were also killed in order to demonstrate the incredible power that God had. The Pharaoh was unable to relent as God had forcibly hardened his heart to prevent him from relenting and thereby destroying his demonstration of egoic power in any way.
So how is one to consider these displays of magical powers such as you have alluded to as being divided between the white and the dark, the good and the bad? The Egyptian magicians were working on behalf of the earthly representative of God--the Pharaoh--yet they are often considered to be bad. Why is that? Also, it appears that their power was not much less than that of Moses acting through God. This does not support an hypothesis that there is something intrinsic which significantly impacts the magical abilities of those judged to be "bad".
If things work out I might develop magical powers some day. I would hope to avoid any intention or act which would (through an unknown mechanism) dilute these abilities. However, how does one take prophylactic measures against such an eventuality? The Egyptian magicians believed they were honouring God to the very best of their abilities, yet the desert magic has obviously been lost. I wonder if Adi Da has any idea how to keep magical powers from dissipating? |
