The Theosophical Society,
The Result of Theosophical Study
From
A Textbook of Theosophy
By
C
“Members of the Theosophical Society study
these truths and Theosophists
endeavor to live them”. What manner of men then
is the true Theosophist in
consequence of his knowledge? What is the result in
his daily life of all this study?
Finding
that there is a Supreme Power who is directing the course of evolution,
and that He is all-wise and all-loving, the
Theosophist sees that everything which exists within this scheme must be
intended to further its progress. He realizes that the scripture which tells us
that all things are working together for good, is not indulging in a flight of
poetic fancy or voicing a pious hope, but stating a
scientific fact. The final attainment of
unspeakable glory is an absolute certainty for every son of man, whatever may
be his present condition; but that is by no means all. Here and at this present
moment he is on his way toward the glory; and all the circumstances surrounding
him are intended to help and not to hinder him, if only they are rightly
understood. It is sadly true that in the world there is much of evil and of
sorrow and of suffering; yet from the higher point of view the Theosophist sees
that, terrible though this be, it is only temporary and superficial, and is all
being utilized as a factor in the progress.
When
in the days of his ignorance he looked at it from its own level it was
almost impossible to see this; while he looked from
beneath at the under side of
life, with his eyes fixed all the time upon some
apparent evil, he could never
gain a true grasp of its meaning. Now he raises
himself above it to the higher
levels of thought and consciousness, and looks down
upon it with the eye of the
spirit
and understands it in its entirety, so he can see that in very truth all is
well – not that all will be well at some remote period, but that even now at this
moment, in the midst of incessant striving and apparent evil, the mighty current
of evolution is still flowing, and so all is well because all is moving on in
perfect order toward the final goal.
Raising
his consciousness thus above the storm and stress of worldly life, he
recognizes what used to seem to be evil, and notes
how it is apparently pressing
backwards against the great stream of progress;
but he also sees that the onward
sweep of the divine law of evolution bears the same
relation to this superficial
evil as does the tremendous torrent of
surface. So while he sympathizes deeply with all
who suffer, he yet realizes what will be the end of that suffering, and so for
him despair or hopelessness is impossible. He applies this consideration to his
own sorrows and troubles, as
well as to those of the world, and therefore one
great result of his Theosophy
is a perfect serenity – even more than that, a
perpetual cheerfulness and joy.
For
him there is an utter absence of worry, because in truth there is nothing left
to worry about, since he knows that all must be well. His higher Science makes
him a confirmed optimist, for it shows him that whatever of evil there may be
in any person or in any movement, it is of necessity temporary, because it is
opposed to the resistless stream of evolution; whereas whatever is good in any
person or in any movement must necessarily be persistent and useful, because it
has behind it the omnipotence of that current, and therefore it must
abide and it must prevail.
Yet
it must not for a moment be supposed that because he is so fully assured of
the final triumph of good he remains careless or
unmoved by the evils which
exist in the world around him. He knows that it is
his duty to combat these to
the utmost of his power, because in doing this he
is working upon the side of
the great evolutionary force, and is bringing
nearer the time of its ultimate victory. None will be more active than he in labouring for the good, even though
he is absolutely free from the feeling of
helplessness and hopelessness which so
often oppresses those who are striving to help their
fellowmen.
Another
most valuable result of his theosophical study is the absence of fear.
Many
people are constantly anxious or worried about something or other; they are fearing
lest this or that should happen to them, lest this or that combination
may fail, and so all the while they are in a
condition of unrest; and most serious of all for many is the fear of death. For
the Theosophist the whole of this feeling is entirely swept away. He realizes
that great truth of reincarnation. He knows that he has often before laid aside
physical bodies, and so he sees that death is no more than sleep – that just as
sleep comes in between our days of work and gives us rest and refreshment, so
between these days of labor here on earth, which we call lives, there comes a
long night of astral and heavenly life to give us rest and refreshment and to
help us on our way.
To
the Theosophist death is simply the laying aside for a time of this robe of
flesh. He knows that it is his duty to preserve the
bodily vesture as long as
possible, and gain through it all the experience
he can; but when the time comes
for him to lay it down he will do so thankfully,
because he knows that the next
stage will be a much pleasanter one than this. Thus
he will have no fear of
death, although he realizes that he must live his
life to the appointed end, because he is here for the purpose of progress, and
that progress is the one truly momentous matter. His whole conception of life
is different; the object is not to earn so much money, not to obtain such and
such a position; the one important thing is to carry out the Divine Plan. He
knows that for this he is here, and that everything else must give way to it.
Utterly
free also is he from any religious fears or worries or troubles. All such
things are swept aside for him, because he sees clearly that progress toward
the highest is the Divine Will for us, that we cannot escape from that progress,
and that whatever comes in our way and whatever happens to us is meant to help
us along that line; that we ourselves are absolutely the only people who can
delay our advance. No longer does he trouble and fear
about himself. He simply goes on and does the duty which comes nearest in the
best way that he can, confident that if he does this all will be well for him
without his perpetual worrying. He is satisfied quietly to do his work and to
try to help his fellows in the race, knowing that the great divine Power behind
will press him onward slowly and steadily, and do for him all that can be done,
so long as his face is set steadfastly in the right direction, so long as he
does all he reasonably can.
Since
he knows that we are all part of one great evolution and all literally the
children of one father, he sees that the
universal brotherhood of humanity is no
mere poetical conception, but a definite fact; not a
dream of something which is
to be in the dim distance of Utopia, but a
condition existing here and now. The
certainty of this all-embracing fraternity gives
him a wider outlook upon life and a broad impersonal point of view from which
to regard everything. He realizes that the true interests of all are in fact
identical, and that no man can ever make real gain for himself at the cost of
loss or suffering to some one else. This is not to him an article of religious
belief, but a scientific fact proved to him by his study. He sees that since
humanity is literally a whole, nothing which injures one man can ever be really
for the good of any other, for the harm done influences not only the doer but
also those who are about him.
He
knows that the only true advantage for him is that benefit which he shares
with all. He sees that any advance which he is able
to make in the way of
spiritual progress or development is something
secured not for himself alone but
for others. If he gains knowledge or self-control,
he assuredly acquires much
for himself, yet he takes nothing away from any one
else, but on the contrary he
helps and strengthen others. Cognizant as he is of
the absolute spiritual unity
of humanity, he knows that, even in this lower
world, no true profit can be made
by one man which is not made in the name of and
for the sake of humanity; that
one man’s progress must be a lifting of the burden
of all others; that one man’s
advance in spiritual things means a very slight
yet not imperceptible advance to
humanity as a whole; that every one who bears
suffering and sorrow nobly in his
struggle toward the light is lifting a little of
the heavy load of the sorrow and suffering of his brothers as well.
Because
he recognizes this brotherhood not merely as a hope cherished by
despairing men, but as a definite fact following in
scientific series from all other facts; because he sees this as an absolute
certainty, his attitude towards all those around him changes radically. It
becomes a posture ever of helpfulness, ever of the deepest sympathy, for he
sees that nothing which clashes with their higher interests can be the right
thing for him to do, or can be good for him in any way.
It
naturally follows that he becomes filled with the widest possible tolerance
and charity. He cannot but be always tolerant,
because his philosophy shows him that it matters little what man believes, so
long as he is a good man and true. Charitable also he must be, because his
wider knowledge enables him to make allowances for many things which the
ordinary man does not understand.
The
standard of the Theosophist as to right and wrong is always higher than that of
the less instructed man, yet he is far gentler than the latter in his feeling towards
the sinner, because he comprehends more of human nature. He realizes how the
sin appeared to the sinner at the moment of its commission, and so he makes more
allowance than is ever made by the man who is ignorant of all this.
He
goes further than tolerance, charity, sympathy; he feels positive love towards
mankind, and that leads him to adopt a position of watchful helpfulness. He feels that
every contact with others is for him an opportunity, and the additional
knowledge which his study has brought to him enables him to give advice or help
in almost any case which comes before him. Not that he is perpetually thrusting
his opinions upon other people. On the contrary, he observes that to do this is
one of the commonest mistakes made by the uninstructed. He knows that argument
is foolish waste of energy, and therefore he declines to argue. If anyone
desires from him explanation or advice he is more than willing to give it, yet
he has no sort of wish to convert anyone else to his own way of thinking.
In
every relation of life this idea of helpfulness comes into play, not only with
regard to his fellowmen but also in connection with the vast animal kingdom
which surrounds him. Units of this kingdom are often brought into close
relation with man, and this is for him an opportunity of doing something for
them. The Theosophist recognizes that these are also his brothers, even though
they may be younger brothers, and that he owes a fraternal duty to them also –
so to act and so to think that his relation with them shall be always for their
good and never for their harm.
Pre-eminently
and above all, this Theosophy is to him a doctrine of common
sense. It puts before him, as far as he can at
present know them, the facts
about God and man and the relations between them;
then he proceeds to take these facts into account and to act in relation to
them with ordinary reason and
common sense. He regulates his life according to the
laws of evolution which it
has taught him, and this gives him a totally
different standpoint, and a
touchstone by which to try everything – his own
thoughts and feelings, and his
own actions first of all, and then those things
which come before him in the
world outside himself.
Always
he applies this criterion: Is the thing right or wrong, does it help evolution
or does it hinder it? If a thought or a feeling arises within himself,
he sees at once by this test whether it is one he
ought to encourage. If it be
for the greatest good of the greatest number then
all is well; if it may hinder
or cause harm to any being in its progress, then
it is evil and to be avoided.
Exactly
the same reason holds good if he is called upon to
decide with regard to anything outside himself. If from that point of view a
thing be a good thing, then he can consciously support it; if not, then it is
not for him.
For
him the question of personal interest does not come into the case at all. He
thinks simply of the good of evolution as a whole.
This gives him a definite
foothold and clear criterion, and removes from
him altogether the pain of
indecision and hesitation. The Will of the Deity is
man’s evolution; whatever
therefore helps on that evolution must be good;
whatever stands in the way of it
and delays it, that thing must be wrong, even
though it may have on its side all
the weight of public opinion and immemorial
tradition.
Knowing
that the true man is the ego and not the body, he sees that it is the life of
the ego only which is really of moment, and that everything connected with the
body must unhesitatingly be subordinated to those higher interests. He
recognizes that this earth life is given to him for
the purpose of progress, and
that that progress is the one important thing. The
real purpose of his life is the unfoldment of his
powers as an ego, the development of his character. He knows that there must be
evolvement not only of the physical body but also of
the mental nature, of the mind, and of the
spiritual perceptions. He sees that
nothing short of absolute perfection is expected
of him in connection with this
development; that all power with regard to it is in
his own hands; that he has
everlasting time before him in which to attain this
perfection, but the sooner it is gained the happier and more useful will he be.
He
recognizes his life as nothing but a day at school, and his physical body as
a temporary vesture assumed for the purpose of
learning through it. He knows at
once that this purpose of learning lessons is the
only one of any real importance, and that the man who allows himself to be
diverted from that purpose by any consideration whatever is acting with
inconceivable stupidity. To him the life devoted exclusively to physical
objects, to the acquisition of wealth or fame, appears the merest child’s play
– a senseless sacrifice of all that is really worth having for the sake of a
few moment’s gratification of the lower part of his nature. He “sets his
affection on things above and not on things of the earth”, not only because he
sees this to be the right course of action, but because he realizes so clearly
the valuelessness of these things of earth. He always
tries to take the higher point of view, for he knows that the lower is utterly
unreliable – that the lower desires and feelings gather round him like a dense
fog, and make it impossible for him to see anything clearly from that level.
Whenever
he finds a struggle going on within him he remembers that he himself is the
higher, and that this which is the lower is not the real self, but merely an
uncontrolled part of one of its
vehicles. He knows that though he may fall a
thousand times on the way toward his goal, his
reason for trying to reach it
remains just as strong after the thousandth fall
as it was in the beginning, so that it would not only be useless but unwise and
wrong to give way to despondency and hopelessness.
He
begins his journey upon the road of progress at once – not only because he
knows that it is far easier for him now than it will
be if he leaves the effort until later, but chiefly because if he makes the
endeavor now and succeeds in
achieving some progress, if he rises thereby to
some higher level, he is in a
position to hold out a helping hand to those who
have not yet reached even that
step on the ladder which he has gained. In that way
he takes part, however humble it may be, in the great divine work of evolution.
He
knows that he has arrived at his present position only by a slow process of
growth, and so he does not expect instantaneous
attainments of perfection. He
sees how inevitable is the great law of cause and
effect, and that when he once
grasps the working of that law he can use it
intelligently, in regard to mental and moral development, just as in the
physical world we can employ for our own assistance those laws of nature the
action of which we have learnt to understand.
Understanding
what death is, he knows that there can be no need to fear it or to
mourn over it, whether it comes to himself or to
those whom he loves. It has
come to them all often before, so there is nothing
unfamiliar about it. He sees
death simply as a promotion from a life which is more
than half physical to one
which is wholly superior, so for himself he unfeignedly welcomes it; and even
when it comes to those whom he loves, he recognizes
at once the advantage for them, even though he cannot but feel a pang of regret
that he should be
temporarily separated from them so far as the
physical world is concerned. But he knows that the so-called dead are near him
still, and that he has only to cast off for a time his physical body in sleep
in order to stand side by side with them as before.
He
sees clearly that the world is one, and that the same divine laws rule the whole
of it, whether it be visible or invisible to physical sight. So he has no
feeling of nervousness or strangeness in passing
from one part of it to another,
and no feeling of uncertainty as to what he will
find on the other side of the veil. He knows that in that higher life there
opens before him a splendid vista of opportunities both for acquiring fresh
knowledge and for doing useful work;
that life away from this dense body has a vividness
and a brilliancy to which all earthly enjoyment is as nothing; and so through
his clear knowledge and calm
confidence the power of the endless life shines out
upon all those around him.
Doubt
as to his future is for him impossible, for just as by looking back on the
savage he realizes that which he was in the past, so
by looking to the greatest
and wisest of mankind he knows what he will be in
the future. He sees an
unbroken chain of development, a ladder of
perfection rising steadily before
him, yet with human beings upon every step of it,
so that he knows that those
steps are possible for him to climb. It is just
because of the unchangeableness
of
the great law of cause and effect that he finds himself able to climb that
ladder, because, since the law works always in the same way, he can depend upon
it and he can use it, just as he uses the laws of Nature in the physical
worlds.
His
knowledge of this law brings to him a sense of perspective, and shows him that
if something comes to him, it comes because he has deserved it as a consequence
of action which he has committed, of words which he has spoken, of thought to
which he has given harbor in previous days or in earlier lives. He comprehends
that all affliction is of the nature of the payment of a debt, and therefore
when he has to meet with the troubles of life he takes them and uses them as a
lesson, because he understands why they have come and is glad
of the opportunity which they give him to pay off
something of his obligations.
Again, and yet another way, does he take them as an
opportunity, for he sees
that there is another side to them if he meets them
in the right way. He spends
no time in bearing prospective burdens. When
trouble comes to him he does not
aggravate it by foolish repining but sets himself
to endure so much of it as is
inevitable, with patience and fortitude. Not that
he submits himself to it as a
fatalist might, for he takes adverse circumstances
as an incentive to such
development as may enable him to transcend them, and
thus out of long-past evil he brings forth a seed of future growth. For in the
very act of paying the
outstanding debt he develops qualities of courage
and resolution that will stand
him in good stead through all the ages that are to
come.
He
is distinguishable from the rest of the world by his perennial cheerfulness,
his undaunted courage under difficulties, and his ready sympathy and
helpfulness; yet he is at the same time emphatically a man who takes life seriously,
who recognizes that there is much for everyone to do in the world, and that
there is no time to waste. He knows with utter certainty that he not only makes
his own destiny but also gravely affects that of others around him, and thus he
perceives how weighty a responsibility attends the use of his power.
He
knows that thoughts are things and that it is easily possible to do great harm
or great good by their means. He knows that no man liveth
to himself, for his every thought acts upon others as well; that the vibrations
which he sends forth from his mind and from his mental nature are reproducing
themselves in the
minds and the mental natures of other men, so that he
is a source either of mental health or of mental ill to all with whom he comes
in contact.
This
at once imposes upon him a far higher code of social ethics than that which
is known to the outer world, for he knows that he
must control not only his acts
and his words, but also his thoughts, since they
may produce effects more
serious and more far-reaching than their outward
expression in the physical
world. He knows that even when a man is not in the
least thinking of others, he
yet inevitably affects them for good or evil. In
addition to this unconscious
action of his thought upon others he also employs it
consciously for good. He
sets currents in motion to carry mental help and
comfort to many a friend, and in this way he finds a whole new world of usefulness
opening before him.
He
ranges himself ever on the side of the higher rather than the lower thought,
the nobler rather than the baser. He deliberately
takes the optimistic rather than the pessimistic view of everything, the
helpful rather than the cynical, because he knows that to be fundamentally the
true view. By looking continually for the good in everything that he may endeavour to strengthen it, by striving always to help and
never to hinder, he becomes ever of greater use to his fellow-men, and is thus
in his small way a co-worker with the splendid scheme of evolution. He forgets
himself utterly and lives but for the sake of others, realizing himself as a
part of that scheme; he also realizes the God within him, and learns to become
ever a truer expression of Him, and thus in fulfilling God’s will he is not
only blessed himself, but becomes a blessing to all.
The Theosophical Society,