Alchemy and the Art of Self transformation
A journey into esoteric Alchemy as I understood it as a young aspirant, and the evolution of my understanding as I got to experience it, both internal and external Alchemy as I knew it then.
Written in 3 parts.
1st part: An introduction to the journey as it happened to me.
2nd part: Describing the practices and the experiments.
3rd part: Meeting a true Alchemist, And Alchemy on the Siddha Path.
Part I
The Journey:
As a teenager I was always drawn to the esoteric and the occult, and was very fortunate that my family was open to it and that I had an uncle that was a practicing Rosacrucian for many years and who was kind enough to answer a lot of the questions that I would usually pester him with when I had the chance to see him. (The Rosacrucians were a popular esoteric group from the early 1900’s, who claimed they were the keepers of the Egyptian’s occultism secrets.) It was through him that I first heard of Hermes Trismegistus, Paracelsus, Roger Bacon, and others considered to be the earliest alchemists at least in the western world. My uncle claimed his group belonged to a Secret Order and that this Brotherhood or Order was behind many of the great inventions that mankind has used and also behind many other great discoveries in science and in other fields. But I also learned about how secretive they were and how they mainly worked behind the scenes. For whatever reason, I wasn’t interested in joining the Rosacrucian’s group, so I had to keep searching since they don’t divulge much of their core teachings to outsiders.
It was at that time that through books I became acquainted with some of the teachings of the Theosophical Society through a student of Alice Bailey and through “The Bridge to Freedom.” Shortly after, an opportunity came my way to move from my home in Venezuela to study in the USA. It just so happened that one of my professors in the USA belonged to one of the offshoots of this Society. All it took was for him to speak in some metaphysical terms for me to know that he was the link to my quest. Without even minding the other students, I interrupted the class in order to ask him more questions, which came to him by surprise, but he later told me that he was hoping that someone would have caught on with what he was truly trying to convey in class. He was himself a very interesting person: kind, bright and very observant. He was a living example to me of someone who walked the talk. Despite being paralyzed for years due to a car accident, he was able to walk again with only a very minor limp. His life was an example of great discipline, tremendous will power, and a very enthusiastic attitude as an apprentice of Esoteric Alchemy. He was a full fledge metaphysician. It was him who introduced me to the group that were trying to practice this science to the best of their abilities through books.
Even though making or precipitating gold was one of their far-fetched goals, they knew very well that the process of self-transformation or “the Philosopher’s stone” was the key element that would allow the true transmutation of the base metals into gold. There was a good understanding that the base metals were related to the base feelings, emotions and character of man, and that gold represented the highest possibilities that man could aspire for. They knew that all of the base elements within would have to be changed first in order to even have a chance at the possibility to physically change base metals into gold.
What is Alchemy?
Today Alchemy is defined as “a medieval forerunner of chemistry that concerned itself with the transmutation of base metals into gold or the finding of a universal Elixir.” This concept is not even close to what Alchemy truly was back then and is today.
The name really means All composition, but what does that mean? In simple terms, it means that all compounds are originated from the combination of the 5 basic elements (ether, air, fire, water and earth) and perhaps even further to one basic essential element. What this implies is that since all came from that One element, then the Alchemist could manipulate any such elements originating from It and change it into any other element by transmuting it, thus the concept that the base elements such as lead, mercury, iron and others can be changed into the highest elements such as Silver, Gold, etc. There was also the belief that a universal Elixir made up of a quintessence element could be used to heal, rejuvenate and extend a practitioner’s life span by 50 to 100 years. It can even be used in Alchemical experiments for the transmutation of metals.
To Know, to Do, to Dare and to Be Silent was the code that Hermes Trismegistus set in place, which was carried on by this group, as well as by others for a long time. It is difficult to truly become even just an apprentice by merely finding the necessary knowledge through books. A Real Alchemist is needed in order to study true Alchemy. Even though we were aware of this fact, we figured that the Alchemist would appear when we were ready, so we pressed on.
The required knowledge that had to be mastered encompassed the combination of different disciplines: from chemistry, to physics, to memorization and visualization of the elements (that had to be worked on,) to composition, to molecular and atomic weight structure, to the use of sound, etc. It took me close to 2 ½ years before I even tried an actual tangible external experiment, even though I was working in the internal purification and edification of the body and mind all along.
Part II
Internal and external alchemy practices: As I did them
I was barely 18 years old when my English professor introduced me to the group. I was in total owe, not only their place was beautiful, surrounded by mountains and with a lake right on the middle but also must of the members had beautiful complexions and very shiny eyes, never had I seen anything like It, I questioned myself a few times and thanked my lucky star for allowing me to be a part of this group.
As I got more involved with my newly found group I quickly realized that in order to get the type of results that I was looking for, I would need to commit a significant amount of time to doing all of the exercises and practices recommended, I also realized that in every group there are different types and levels of commitment and I saw the clear difference between the two.
The first step in realizing one’s true potential…I was told, was to change our diets and to cleanse the body from all the built up toxins that had accumulated as a result of having a poor diet, of course I fitted in that category, since my diet was that of a typical teenager living on his own. I was living in the downtown section of a big City, due to the proximity to the school I was attending, but the meeting place was far and hard to get to using public transportation, so I depended a lot on my professor to give me weekly rides on weekends. No sooner my school semester was finished I made the decision to stop regular school and to move closer to the group’s hub. I volunteered to do whatever work was needed and found work part time from a couple of members that owned businesses on that area. At that time working for money was not important for me and all that I wanted was to make enough to pay my bills and to spend the rest of the time doing the practices. Perhaps due to my enthusiasm I started to make nice progress… I followed the suggested vegetarian diet, I fasted once a week and once a month I would fast for 3 days, in conjunction with a 3 days fast, I would take food grade Hydrogen peroxide drops ( a tremendous blood cleanser) and to cap it off there were weekly colonics ( enemas or colon irrigation therapies) in order to flush all toxins been washed out by the fasting and vegetarian eating. In a 3 months period I had lost any excess weight, eliminated my pimples and skin blemishes and my complexion and eyes begun to look like those of the rest of the members.
Mental and spiritual purification: In order to keep the mind supple and active all members were advised not to watch TV or go to the movies and not to involve themselves with any mundane activities that would occupy the mind, therefore blocking our visualization and memorization abilities, and also disturbing our meditations which were very important in the process of creating anything at any level. The daily practice was two hours plus of a combination of meditation, chanting and affirmation, 4:00 to 4:30 am was suggested as the starting time, due to less mental and emotional congestion in the environment at that time. I was not familiar with chanting at all, especially the type of chanting that the group did ( which according to a friend and very knowledgeable member, was adopted from Tibetan style chanting in which a base sound is modulated and on top of that affirmations are chanted) for me all of these was new, so when I first entered a room where this chanting was taking place, it sounded like an Om as the background and some other strange words on top of that. The effect was quite mesmerizing and it helped to calm the mind so that it could properly visualized either certain color of light around us or the desired results that the affirmations where directed to. One of the most important and beautiful practices that we did was called: sexual sublimation: All single members were encouraged to walk the path of celibacy and married couples to practice “conscious” love making. Being a teenage this helped me out tremendously since I was able to sublimate this energy without having to suppress it. The practices that I did for this sublimation was a combination of pranayama (rhythmic breathing), Hatha yoga, listening to uplifting beautiful classical music, reading poetry and physical exercises, and of course the meditation and chanting and prayers that went along with it made a big difference on the ability of the single members to remain celibate . I was told that the key for any successful endeavor was sublimating this energy, and I took this at face value.
Together with the practices already mentioned, there were other practices that I have chosen not to mentioned or just briefly name them without going deep into it since is not important for the context of this blog. And in order to respect some of the “ secrets” that the group would only share with old time member. Even Though I left the group, I respected how I was treated by them and how much of this beautiful teachings I learned from them.
Practicing basic Alchemical experiments: The inner transformation as well as the Physical transformation was encouraged from every member of the group; but practicing the external Alchemical experiments was not really openly suggested even though it was openly explained in theory on how to manifest small objects and things to start with. Two of my friends and I decided to try on our own the exterior alchemy and see if it was possible by following all the steps.
The basic steps: 1) Knowing the element wished to precipitate, from chemical composition to molecular structure, atomic weight etc. 2) place and medium for precipitating the object. 3) Using sound and mantra (using their specific technique) 4) visualizing the desired object and all of its characteristics. (In theory there was a white smog like substance with oscillating pinpoints of light that would manifest if we followed the previous steps. 5) and final step was to keep our experiment totally secret from everyone. My friends and I decided to start by precipitating an elixir to heal and rejuvenate our bodies, since one of my friends was double my age and having already minor health issues, we agreed on going for this elixir first, and we decided on getting together once a week in the evening after work and do this one hour procedure for 3 months , We placed a Chalise on a table with a small amount of water in. Even though we didn’t get to see the whitish substance, after every exercise my friends and I would drink of the water. For 3 months we continued with this and the three of us believed that the ‘Elixir” was very beneficial to us and at the end of the projected time we though that our experiment was a success at least in part (even though it could have been either our blind faith or the placebo effect ) and therefore it was time to go for the Gold. There was a powerful esoteric symbol that we wanted to create in Gold, and that was to be our first experiment. We decided on the size and added our own particular twist, since we wanted to precipitate our Gold out of the water element we applied the same principles as before. We tried for close to two weeks but nothing that we could see was happening and after trying for at least two more weeks decided that our gold experiment had failed and that an experiment of this caliber could not be done without the help of a true Alchemist. We did continue with the inner Alchemy part. Waiting to make ourselves ready. 5 years or more passed by and my friends and I left the group, each of us for different reasons but the three of us were very grateful for all the wonderful things we learned from them, but for us we were looking for the Real Alchemist. Few years after this, one of the original members of our “ Alchemical group” presented me with mono atomic gold he had made and mentioned that it was sort of and Elixir for rejuvenation and many other things, When I questioned him how he made it he told me he learned it from some one in Arizona that made it by pouring sulfuric acid on the very alkaline soil, and that out of this he was able to make mono atomical Platinum and out of that the mono atomical gold. I took a look at it and decided not to take it internally.
End of part II
Part III
Meeting the Alchemist: Quite a few years went by after leaving my first group, without even touching any books on Alchemy or even studying any metaphysical books for the most part. I decided to join a yoga meditation group and work on being more settled within myself. My original experimental Alchemical friend never quite gave up on “Experimenting”. In my opinion, he had become a full fledge sorcerer apprentice, and he would once in a long while bring his “discoveries or gadgetries” for me to look over and give him my opinion. I don’t even know why he did so because most of the time I would debunk his stuff, and with the exception of a small hydrogen generator and a water structuring device, I thought he was wasting his time. I had turned my attention on growing my bread and butter business and had to wear many hats to keep it rolling. Things were going well until health issues presented themselves to me and my wife in 2018. We didn’t get serious enough to actually make a decision on how to tackle the challenges until 2019 when we traveled abroad to Poland looking for less expensive options than in the States. But in Poland the same system of just cutting, discarding and substituting natural systems with synthetic drugs is as rampant as in the USA. After looking at a few alternatives, my wife decided India was the place she wanted to go; Southern India to be specific. The reason: A well-known Author-Siddha healer lived there, and after Zofia read “Siddhas Masters of Nature” by Palpandian, she wanted to meet with him.
Enter the Alchemist: Both Zofia and I were excited about meeting the Siddha Healer/Teacher. What we didn’t know was that at the same time I would be meeting The Alchemist that I had being waiting for. Zofia and I went together for our first one on one meeting with him. She went first, and when my turn came to speak with him, I mentioned the pressing issues that happened to me prior to coming. He took care of it so quietly as if it was something very minor. Only I knew what had taken place. It was only later that I chose to share it with Zofia. This major event left me convinced that I was in the presence of a real Alchemist, especially seeing the humble way in which he operated, without telling anyone anything and not even acknowledging it. No words were spoken, there was only a deep sense of gratitude for what had just taken place. We went to his MM (minimalistic movement) and Varma (Siddha’s ancient healing art) classes, after which a new world of hope and possibilities opened up for both of us, just like it had for the students he has all over the world.
His name is Palpandian, and he comes from a lineage or tradition that is over 1000 years old. The Aga Guru Thiruvadi tradition has used the ancient method of propagating its teaching through oral tradition mainly, and even though there are very ancient manuscripts that have been left as a legacy of the Siddha System, they cannot be easily understood unless a real teacher has given you the keys for interpreting the twilight language that it was written in.
As I was thinking and contemplating the succession of events that brought me to meet Palpandian Sir, I thought of the 18 years old me, looking and yearning for a true Alchemy Teacher who could have guided him on the real first steps to learning that wonderful Art. What type of questions would I have asked him as someone sincerely yearning to start on this beautiful path? And the thought came—why don’t you ask him? Not only for me, but for the many young people truly desiring to know more, and who are out there still waiting for that one opportunity to realize their life’s calling. Well, I asked, and he generously accepted the invitation to communicate with any one wondering what true Alchemy is all about and if it does have any relevance in this modern world of ours that continues to change and move at a pace that makes most of us wonder: what is the point and purpose of life as we have been programed to believe? Does it get any better from here? Or do we have to stop and slow things down in our own lives, in order to give us the space to ponder and assimilate some of the ancient wisdom that has been already shared, but is not so readily available to us?
Because of Palpandian Sir’s multiple demands of his time, I waited for a while for our meeting, but that time turned out to be a great blessing in disguise, since it gave me more space to settle deeper in the questions and by doing that, I unknowingly prepared myself for what was to come. Just before our meeting, a very deep feeling of gratitude and humility began to run through me as I identified with the 18 years old kid, and tears began to swell in my eyes. The time came, and right after greeting Palpandian Sir, I got ready to start asking the questions I had prepared. However, to my great surprise he turned the tables on me, and begun at once asking me questions with such profound and fundamental depth, that they started laying the foundation that would open my heart for a deeper understanding of this magnificent art, and how it can be truly used as a tool, to not only produce great healing medicines, but to also bring forth the ability to change things for the better within ourselves and outside of the USA.
After our meeting was over, I was left in total awe about what “Siddha Alchemy” was. The amount of joy I felt about this new “Siddha Alchemy” and its down to earth possibilities was very difficult to contain, but as I was barely able to put myself together, I realized that I needed more time to really assimilate the teachings imparted that day. I proceeded slowly to change all the previously organized schedules for completing this blog and instead focused on extracting the perceptions, inspired by what Palpandian Sir chose to share that day. Due to his inspiration I started to see more clearly why my friends and I “failed” in our second experiment and how that eventually led us to quit too early.
Palpandian Sir made me understand that in our original experiment we had a very specific goal—to manifest a gold symbol within a very specific time limit (two months). But what my friends and I had failed to realized was that Alchemy is a living Science and Art, and that as we work with it, it surely works through us. In truth, how I see it now, after talking with Palpandian Sir, is that Nature was trying to tell us that perhaps we were going about our experimentations in the wrong way. What was required instead of more knowledge was for us to drop our rigidity of seeing things in a one dimensional mode only. We needed to become more flexible and adaptable in order to continue the experiment with an entirely open mind, and more in touch with the livingness in Alchemy. In other words, it wasn’t the formulas or steps or rituals that had failed us, but rather our inability to “see” with an open heart. Now I understand that it is not possible for anyone to bring forth or manifest externally, what hasn’t already been manifested internally. Do I mean that we should have manifested an internal gold symbol first? No. What I mean is that in order to be able to bring forth anything from the invisible to the visible, our minds must be free from our own rigidity of seeing only through our “eyes,” and accepting all the preconceived notions of what is possible or not. The second reason behind our failed experiment is the one of having a true motive. I was guided to see that having the right motive is as important as or perhaps even more important than having all the other parts of the puzzle together.
What Palpandian Sir made me understand was that having the right motive is about being very clear on why the Alchemical experiment is so important to me, and the answer must align with my highest principles and it must be for the benefit of many. Is this Alchemical Journey that important, that we are willing to dedicate the rest of our life pursuing it? Or is it only a passing fancy, or worse yet, something one wants to learn to feed our already swollen egos? In the case of Siddha Alchemy, our motives must be big enough as to make us dedicate our entire life to it. Only then we can show Nature, our Teacher, ourselves, that our commitment is real, and only then will Nature reveal herself to us, because we have become adaptable enough for Her to open and to mould us as needed. Only then can we get ready to start the inner process of authentic Self transformation, the beginning stages according to what I understood, of a True Alchemist.
End of Part III