The Theosophical Society,
The Writings of W Q Judge
W Q Judge 1851 – 96
Theosophy Defined
By
William Q Judge
Theosophy
[from Gr. theosophia knowledge of divine things, deriv. of theosophos wise about
God; theos God + sophos, wise]: a name which, as specifying a religious
philosophy, was originated by Ammonius Saccas in the third century of our era. The body of
ethical, philosophic, and scientific doctrines to which that title applies is,
however, as old as humanity itself, and contains everything that is true in all
other and later systems. Esoterically preserved and transmitted in its entirety
by adepts and initiates, from time immemorial, their messengers -- known to the
world as "great teachers" and "saviours"
-- have, at periodic intervals
determined by cyclic law, exoterically taught as much of it as could safely be
given out and which any considerable portion of our race could at such times
receive and assimilate.
Theosophy
teaches a knowledge of the laws governing the evolution of the
universe. It is not based upon assumed divine
revelation, but upon
consciousness. It sees no unsolvable
mystery anywhere, throws the words
coincidence and chance out of its vocabulary, and
affirms the omnipresence and omnipotence of law and perfect justice. Theosophy
postulates an Eternal
Principle,
unknowable except in its manifestations, which is in and is all
things, and which, periodically and eternally,
manifests itself and recedes from manifestation -- evolution and involution.
Its opposite poles in the manifested universe are spirit and matter, which are
coexistent and inseparable. In manifesting itself the spirit-matter
differentiates on seven planes, which are of progressive density down to that
within our sensuous perception, the substance in all being the same, but
differing in the proportions of its two compound elements. Through all thrill
ceaselessly vibrations which are the inexhaustible impulse from the First
Cause. These vibrations are distinct, each from all the others, and each always
the same in mode upon every plane, but
differing in rate according to the rarity or density of the substance of
the plane. By means of these vibrations are brought about all forces --
phenomena in nature, specialized differentiations and effects of creation,
preservation, and mutation -- in the world of forms as well as upon the ethereal
planes.
Thus
every atom of the universe is infused with spirit, which is life in one of its
phases of manifestation, and endowed with qualities of consciousness and
intelligence -- likewise phases of the spirit -- in conformity with the
requirements of its differentiation.
On the lowest material plane, which is that of humanity, the spirit focalizes
itself in all human beings who permit it to do so. Its rejection is the cause
of ignorance, from which flow all sin, suffering, and sorrow; by its conscious acceptance
man becomes partaker of the Divine Wisdom, "one with the gods,"
entering into possession of an ever-increasing
power of consciousness, and attains oneness with the Absolute. This is
the ultimate destiny of all beings; hence Theosophy affirms the perfectibility
of the race and rejects the concept of innate unregenerable
wickedness. From the theosophic point of view the
world is compounded of the Egos or individual spirits, for whom it emanates
from the Divine Will; and its evolution is due to the impulse imparted by its
spiritual element, that force manifesting itself
from the beginning in the primary conditions of life
-- far below the sentient stage -- and
having in the evolvement of higher forms, including man, the guidance and direction of intelligent,
perfected beings from other and older evolutions. Hence man is deemed a
conscious spirit, the flower of evolution;
while below him, in the lower kingdoms, are other less-advanced classes
of egos, all, however, on the way of ascent to the human stage, which they
will eventually reach when man has gone
on still higher. The perfecting of self-consciousness is the object of
evolution. By this man is enabled to reach more exalted stages of existence.
And his conditioned mortal life is for the purpose of affording him experience
by which that self-consciousness may be developed and cognition of the spirit
attained.
Man
is a spirit and requires vehicles with which to come in touch with all the
planes of nature included in evolution, and it is these vehicles that make of
him an intricate, composite being, liable to error, but at the same time able
to rise above all delusions. He is in miniature the universe, for he is, as
spirit, manifesting himself to himself by means of seven differentiations. Therefore
he is characterized in Theosophy as a septenate or
sevenfold being. His immortal being comprises a trinity, spirit (Atman), the
spiritual soul or discernment (Buddhi), and mind (Manas). This triad requires
as vehicles or instruments through which to operate and gain cognition in
matter four lower mortal principles. These are: The animal passions and
desires, unintelligent and productive of ignorance through delusion (
Sarira). The principle
designated as Jiva is a special differentiation for
the
energizing of the human being from the great pranic ocean of the life-principle, which is one of the
distinctive vibrations already spoken of, and a phase of manifestation of the
spirit. It does not cease when the collective entity called man dies, but
simply continues its vibrations in the myriad of lives that make up the cells
of the body without animating them in harmonious aggregate action.
The
Linga Sarira belongs to the
astral plane of matter, which, being next above that of our tangible world in
refinement of its substance, is just beyond our normal
sensuous perception. As the physical body is at death reabsorbed into the
material elements whence it was drawn, so the astral body is eventually
dissipated in and absorbed by the substance of its plane; but its permanence is
much greater than that of the gross body.
During
life it is from the earliest moment until the last the model upon which are
molded the physical molecules of which the body is composed, and through it the
life-principle is enabled to animate the aggregate mass as a collective entity.
These lower four principles or sheaths are the transitory, perishable part of
man -- not himself, but in every sense the instruments he uses -- given up at
the hour of death and rebuilt at every new birth. The trinity is the real man,
the thinker, the individuality that passes from house to house, gaining
experience at each rebirth, while it suffers and enjoys according to its deeds.
In each successive earth-life he is known to others as a new personality, but
in the whole stretch of eternity he is one individual, conscious of an identity
not dependent on name, form, or recollections of personalities.
This
doctrine of reincarnation is the very base of Theosophy, for it explains life
and nature as no other hypothesis can; and it is an essential to the scheme of evolution,
for without such re-embodiment on the plane of experiences and atonements there
could be no evolution of the human soul. The Ego returning to mortal life only
goes into the family which either completely answers to its whole nature, gives
an opportunity for its evolutionary progress, or is connected with it by reason
of events in past incarnations and causes mutually created. Inseparable from
the doctrine of reincarnation is that of Karma, or justice, sometimes called
the "ethical law of causation." Mere entry into life is no fit
foundation for just reward or punishment, which must be the deserts for prior
conduct. But such consequent awards determine entry into life, and with
unerring equity establish the sequence of good and evil happenings in requital
of the past. Effect is always in cause, and thus the body, brain, and
intellectual faculties furnished by reincarnation being products of one's own
deserving, become the field from which must be gleaned the harvest planted by
acts in the past.
The
law of Karma applies in physical nature as well as in ethics to solar systems,
planets, races, nations, families, and individuals. With reincarnation the
doctrine of Karma explains the misery and suffering of the world, and no room
is left to accuse nature of injustice. The misery of any nation or race is the
direct result of the thoughts and acts of the Egos who make up the race or
nation. If they did wickedly in the past, they must suffer the inevitable
consequences. To this end they must go on incarnating and reincarnating until
the effects they caused have been exhausted. Though the nation thus suffering
chastisement should for a time disappear, the Egos belonging to it could not
leave the world, but would reappear as the founders of some new nation in which
they would continue to receive their karmic due.
With
reference to postmortem conditions, Theosophy teaches two states of
existence somewhat analogous to the Christian
"purgatory" and "heaven." The
first, immediately subsequent to earth-life, is Kama-loka, where the immortal triad takes leave of the
lower principles remaining after separation from the body. Thence the Ego
passes into Devachan. The former is, as its name indicates, a place -- the
astral plane penetrating and surrounding the earth -- the latter a state of
being, or rather of consciousness. In Kama-loka all
the hidden passions and desires are let loose, and enough mentality is retained
to make them tortures. When the astral body in which they cohere is
disintegrated, as it is in time, they remain a sort of entity in the Kama-Rupa, a form of still less materiality than the Linga Sarira. Eventually this too
is said to fade out, leaving only their essence, the Skandhas, fateful germs of
karmic consequence,
which, when the Ego emerges from the devachanic state, are by the law of
attraction drawn to the new being in which it
incarnates. Owing to the law of cohesion between the principles, which prevents
their separation before a given time, the untimely dead must pass in Kama-loka a period almost equal to the length life would
have been but for the sudden termination. Losing the body has not killed them.
They still consciously exist in the astral body, and
in the case of very wicked and forceful persons -- some executed criminals, for
instance -- may be even more harmful on the
astral plane than they were in life. Prolonged kama-lokic
existence is no injustice to the victims of accident, since death, like
everything else, is a karmic consequence. Finally, it may be said of Kama-loka that it is the last conscious state of the
thoroughly evil human souls bereft of the spiritual tie and doomed to
annihilation (Avichi). Having in life centred the consciousness in the kamic
principle, preserved intellect and rejected the spirit, leading persistent
lives of evil for its own sake, they are the only damned beings we know.
Pure
souls speedily pass from Kama-loka to the devachanic state. It is a period of rest; a real existence,
no more illusionary than earth life, where the essence of the thoughts of life that were as high as character permitted expands and is
garnered by the soul and mind. When the force of these thoughts is fully
exhausted the soul is once more drawn back to earth, to that environment which
will best promote its further evolution. No new ethics are presented by
Theosophy, as it is held that right ethics are forever the same. But in the
doctrines of Theosophy are to be found the philosophical and reasonable basis
of ethics and the natural enforcement of them in practice.
The Theosophical Society,