A LECTURE
by J. D. BUCK, M.D.
Delivered at the Annual Convention of the American Theosophical
Societies,
at Chicago, U.S.A., on April 28th, 1889.
reprinted
from “Theosophical Siftings” Volume - 2 -
A LECTURE
by J. D. BUCK, M.D.
Delivered at the Annual Convention of the American Theosophical
Societies,
at Chicago, U.S.A., on April 28th, 1889.
reprinted
from “Theosophical Siftings” Volume - 2 -
THEOSOPHY is the very last subject to be intruded upon unwilling
auditors; but, on the other hand, no one in the least
deserving the name, Theosophist, will withhold his testimony
when given a fair chance and a courteous hearing. It is
but just, that I should at the outset explain in what sense
I am a Theosophist.
Theosophy is sometimes defined as "the Wisdom of God".
I am not a Theosophist in any sense that implies the possession
of such wisdom. When the tyrant of Syracuse asked Pythagoras, "Are
there in your country no wise men ? " the sage replied, " No,
we are not wise, but lovers of wisdom". In this sense
am I also a Theosophist, and a member of the Theosophical
Society. I could most sincerely wish that one more able to
define and express that which for myself I know to be true,
might address you in my place. Just as a fond mother dresses
her beloved and bedecks her with flowers, anxious that she
shall appear at her best and be somewhat to others what she
is to her mother's heart, so would I desire that, that transcendent
truth, not indeed a child of mine, yet beloved all the more,
should appear to you comely and attractive, and so win your
approval. I can, indeed, put forth no more than I apprehend,
and give only as I have received; and so far as that contains
the truth, you will, no doubt, receive and welcome it. Whatsoever
of obscurity and unattractiveness my statements may contain,
that is all mine; whatsoever appears beneficent and desirable,
belongs to truth, and so much, at least, we may hold in common.
Science has made wonderful advancement in modern times, and
philosophy is again coming to the front. With the ceaseless
revolutions in human thought, old words gain enlarged and
sometimes entirely different meanings, and hence our lexicons
seldom keep pace with our vocabularies. Words are sometimes
found to be inappropriate and very often inadequate to express
ideas. To undertake to define theosophy from the basis of
philology and phonetics would be as useless as it would be
found difficult. Old speculations are constantly appearing
under new [Page 2] names,
though seldom without modifications and additions. It is
thus that certain legends are found in many languages and
in every age. Sometimes we can trace the direct lines of
transmission, and discern very close relations and similarities;
and again only faint resemblances, with one basic idea running
through the group. The foremost scholars of the age are at
present engaged in just this line of research. When in its
earlier history philology was more closely confined to the
phonetic values and relations of words, progress was necessarily
slow and uncertain. The real genius of a people may be embodied
rather than expressed in its language. Even with modern languages
and contemporaneous scholars, the number of individuals who
really and thoroughly master any language but their own is
comparatively small; and they are fewer still who are enabled
to habitually mould their thoughts to a foreign tongue, except
after many years' residence in the foreign land, and habitual
association with its people. When, however, the language
is foreign and its people extinct or absorbed into other
races, the difficulty is greatly increased. With every change
in the range and form of human thought, comes a corresponding
change in the mode of expression.
Our religions and mythologies and most of our traditions
come from the far East. We may trace all these to a people
who, born under genial suns, were sensuous and imaginative
to the last degree. Ideas there clothed themselves with fantastic
garb, and words were rich in imagery. Myths, legends, parables,
and allegories, were the common stock, and even the plebeian
breathed a classic atmosphere. When these old forms of thought
and speech have been brought down to modern times, and the
attempt has been made to reduce them to plodding speech in
an age of steam, the goddesses that once held open court
on high Olympus and wove their silken veils in distant legends,
are often reduced to country witches with wooden shoes; the
dance is ended, and the music gone. The scriptures that are
known to us as the old and new testaments, come from the
Greek and the still more ancient Hebrew originals; and much
of these can be traced to a still earlier source. In rendering
these ancient manuscripts into modern English, the literal
learning of the schools has had much to do, and knowledge
of their original meaning, very little. Traditional authority,
not as to what these books originally meant, but as to what
they should now mean, has given a strong bias to all such
translations. Greek and Hebrew words have been literally
rendered into English prose, divested of all original imagery;
or, when this could not be done, imagery has almost invariably
been sacrificed to so-called orthodoxy. Not only do these
two languages abound in imagery almost wholly unknown in
modern times, not only are these writings full of art speech
and ideographs, but with both Greek and Hebrew this art speech
was embodied in a system of philosophy, [Page
3 ] dramatically represented in the mysteries
of initiation. The text, therefore, if fully written, which
was seldom the case, and correctly translated, which is still
more rare, would be to the original, what one of the plays
of Shakespeare is to its dramatic representation with star
actors in every rôle, and with perfect stage
appointments. Probably the only place where any adequate
idea of the meaning of these ancient Hebrew ideographs can
be gleaned is in some of the degrees of modern masonry; though
unfortunately, the student would even here have himself to
supply the key to the "lost word". Among the ancient
Greeks there were the lesser and the greater mysteries. No
complete description of these initiations has ever come down
to modern times, for the very good reason that no such descriptions
were ever allowed to be written. Vague references to them
may be found in many places, particularly in the writings
of Plato and the neo-Platonists, but when these references
have been translated into English, unaccompanied by the key
to their interpretation, they are fantastic, whenever they
pass beyond vapid nonsense. If, however, one can gain some
insight into the purpose and meaning of these ancient initiations,
he will not only be able to bring order out of confusion,
but he will be thereby enabled to interpret other ancient
writings, with the unqualified assurance that he is deriving
their real meaning. The key to one is the key to all.
One of the greatest of modern writers has declared that, "to
go back to Plato is to make progress". but it makes
all the difference in the world by what route we enter ancient
Greece, and with what shibboleth we knock at the gates
of those ancient temples, where, after purification and due
initiation, men like Plato and Pythagoras were admitted to
the banquet of the Gods. It may be stated in brief, that
the lesser Greek mysteries constituted a school of training,
in which the neophyte was prepared for the real work and
grander initiation vouchsafed in the greater mysteries. In
the lesser mysteries the neophyte's purpose was tried and
his character formed; the science and the philosophy of life
were inculcated. History informs us that many candidates
were never able to pass these preliminary degrees. In the
lesser mysteries the journey of the soul through time, and
as embodied in matter was dramatically represented. The candidate
thus informed and disciplined, fortified by wise counsel
and repeated trial, at last undertook the great initiation.
Here began the
real conflict with evil, where the soul of the postulant
was the field of battle. All this had been previously explained
and dramatically represented in the lesser mysteries. The
candidate must now fight with evil in every form, and fight
single-handed for the possession of the empire of his own
soul. It was said that he who endured to the end, was given
a white stone, in which was a name written that no [Page
4 ] man could read save he who had received
it. He who conquered was admitted to the banquet of the Gods.
The coffer in the king's
chamber of the great pyramid of Gheza was an altar, used
in the last degree of initiation in some of these mysteries.
The meaning of life, the nature, the ministry, and the destiny
of man, thus became clear to him who had thus both theoretically
and practically wrought out its varied problems in his own
life, and so gained the supremacy of his own soul. Read again
the writings of Plato with even this crude outline of a key,
and see how pregnant they become with meaning, and how lucid
many obscure passages now appear. The mason who comprehends
the use made of numerals, and remembers the perfect points
of his entrance, ought also to get a glimmer of light with
his “working tools". No one will get any adequate
idea of that which was and is accomplished in these real
initiations, till he learns experimentally by intelligent
and persistent effort to master his lower animal nature.
Without this personal experience he will discredit, if he
does not also ridicule any statement of the result of this
self-conquest.
Among the ancient Hebrews a similar system
prevailed. The Cabballah was to the initiated Hebrew what
the mysteries were to the Greek. In “The Romance of
Spinoza's Life", as related by Auerbach, may be seen
a remnant of this ancient wisdom of the Jews.
The graphic account therein given of the excommunication
of Spinoza, the indignities and anathemas to which he fell
a victim, remind one of the tragic fate of
Socrates. Each paid the penalty at the hands of the rabble
for unveiling the mysteries. Socrates was accused of corrupting
the Athenian youth; Spinoza, of heresy and apostacy to his
religion. The masses cannot endure, nor does an ignorant
priesthood desire, the simple truth. The prophets of Israel
denounced alike the sins of the people, and the profanations
of the priests; and Jerusalem was hailed by the Master as, “Thou
that stonest the prophets". In his very learned .and
able treatise on the Jewish Cabballah, Ginsburg gives, no
doubt, all that secular or profane history has to give in
regard to these mysteries; but if one possess even a
little knowledge of the nature and purpose of these ancient
initiations, and some slight ability to read between the
lines, he will be aware of a deeper significance than Ginsburg
discloses to the profane reader. Whether this learned scholar
purposely conceals, and possesses more knowledge than he
unfolds, is a matter of little consequence. Tradition is
at this point far more lucid than history, and the Cabballah
that Molitor discloses is to that of Ginshurg, as a living
soul to a dead body. If a modern scholar, versed in
the technical meaning of words, and the rules of grammar,
and restrained by orthodox bias to certain limits and usages,
attempts to
translate the cabballistic books, he will make of the so-called
lesser and [Page 5] greater "Holy
Assemblies " little
more than an association of lunatics, or a congregation of
fools, as has often been done.
These writings, so far as the profane world is concerned,
were never meant to be understood, any more than the monitors
of modern masonry are meant to reveal all
that occurs in a lodge room. These writings were not meant
to reveal but to blind, and to conceal from all but the initiated
the real truths and the sublime wisdom to which they referred,
and which to the initiated were common property. Just here
a question naturally arises and presses for an answer. If
this concealed wisdom was so profound and so beneficent,
why was it so jealously guarded and so constantly concealed
? It is not my province to explain, nor my purpose to defend
these mysteries. I desire only to show their existence, their
general characteristics, and their co-ordinate relation through
the ages. The purpose and the effect of this secrecy may,
however, be explained. Let us suppose, for example, a community
of ignorant and superstitious men and women, possessing but
little intelligence, a low
moral sense, and held in check by fear of the law, and by
superstitious reverence for the outer forms and ceremonies
of religion. Such a community would be unable to understand
the philosophy lying back of all religious forms, or to appreciate
any higher moral restraint than fear. By misinterpretation
of that brighter light that blinds where it cannot illuminate,
and by misapplication of that larger liberty that so easily
degenerates into license with the selfish and the ignorant,
the full truth would be destructive.
Imagine such a community suddenly set free from all accustomed
restraints. No law, no religion, no God, no Devil, in any
sense that they could understand, every man and every woman
a slave to the bodily lusts and a law to self. Everyone can
foresee the result. Ask yourselves, my hearers, what would
be the logical result amongst certain classes in our own
land, were they to hold your own more advanced views regarding
many of these things, without first having grown up into
larger liberty, through loyalty to the higher light of reason,
justice, charity and humanity. The natural relation between
ignorance and superstition, vice and fear, are thus easily
discerned.
If the truth is to make us free, loyalty
to truth must first make us worthy of freedom. So long as
superstition has its votaries, will fear exercise over the
ignorant a wholesome restraint. The higher truth revealed
in the mysteries of initiation served to illumine, not to
dethrone religion; but where they could not illumine they
would inevitably dethrone; they have therefore been always
guarded from the profane, and veiled in symbols and allegories
capable of many interpretations, only the most crude and
harmless of which are likely to become known. The more intelligent
often scorn these interpretations; they can, however, make
no greater mistake than to suppose that none others are both
possible and rational. [Page 6]
I have so far referred
to but two forms of ancient initiations, selecting
these for the reason that it is from them that we have derived
the larger number of our traditions.
It could easily be shown, however, that similar structures
lie back of all the world's great religions, and mingle more
or less with all our traditions and myths. While we may be
unable to trace all these to one common source, they can
all be shown to refer to the same great truth, viz., the
divinity in man and his victory over himself. The clue to
the labyrinth in one of these traditions is the key to all.
The outer garb and form of expression differ, the principle
is everywhere the same, and this principle was embodied in
symbols and ideographs, variously interpreted, yet capable
in the hands of an initiate of harmonious and co-ordinate
interpretation. Paul sat at the feet of the wise Gamaliel
and was learned in matters of the law; and Jesus is believed
to have been an Essene, as his teachings are perfectly consistent
with those of that sect of communists as recorded by Philo
and Josephus.
If the foregoing conclusions are valid (and
they are supported by the most overwhelming testimony), it
follows, that any literal rendering of the crude surface
meanings of ancient writings which in art-speech, glyph,
and parable, refer to these deeper mysteries, fail entirely
to give their real meaning. In modern times this literal
rendering of ancient text is fast losing its hold on the
minds and consciences of men. A portion, at least, of the
present humanity have outgrown the bondage of sense that
finds its counterpart in superstition, and its restraint
in fear; and has but slight regard for these ancient records,
which were formerly held to be so sacred that to alter a
word or a letter of them was to be accursed.
When, however, these records come to be regarded in an entirely
different light, and
are divested of all superstition, and when it is shown that
our artists and architects have revealed to us only the scaffolding
that was used in the construction, and which have been made
to conceal these ancient temples, erected to God and dedicated
to the service of Truth and the elevation of man, a new interest
will again centre in these old truths, and the smouldering
fires will be rekindled on ancient altars. But why, it may
be asked, need we rehabilitate these ancient shrines, and
re-illumine these ancient altars ? Why not create anew ?
Man cannot divest himself of his past. We are involved in
the history and the heredity of all past ages, and destined
still to unfold their sequence. Man is involved in humanity,
and humanity is without beginning or end. Man receives from
the father and transmits to the son. The genius of humanity
with one hand points to the past, till the vision is bewildered
by the night of time; with the other she points to the future,
till the vision fails in the light of coming dawn. Only as
we correctly interpret the past, and wisely forecast the
future, can we hope to apprehend the present. And I might
add [Page 7] —only
as we apprehend the present can we read the past or forecast
the future. The present is but a point, moving ceaselessly
around the endless cycles of time.
Enough has perhaps now been said to show that no
mere dictionary definition of the words, Cabballah, and Mysteries,
could adequately define them. Theosophy is a word of similar
import, and to define it as the "wisdom of God",
would be meaningless. Neither is the meaning of the word
to be apprehended by a hasty glance at the history and outward
promulgations and manifestations of the present Theosophical
Society, though one at all familiar with ancient landmarks,
will trace many resemblances.
Theosophy comprises that body of truths which in many forms,
under many names, and in all ages, constitutes the substance,
and the essence of the true initiation; and which undertakes
to explain and to apply the everlasting principles of truth
and righteousness to the individual life of man, and the
elevation of humanity today. The fire of life and the light
of truth are eternal; and the fires on ancient altars that
for centuries were not allowed to expire or to grow dim symbolized
this light of truth.
To the interested student and the searcher
after truth, theosophy may be apprehended as unfolding on
parallel lines. These parallel lines may be designated as
the theoretical and the practical; or the ideal and the real;
or again, as designated in scripture, as the doctrine and
the life. Each of these lines pre-supposes the other. The
theory that certain results will follow certain actions,
suggests the act, in order to verify the result. It is true
that in still another sense one may theorize in regard to
theosophy as in regard to any truth; and such speculation
may lead to opinion or to prejudice without leading to any
real knowledge, or to any higher life. Hence comes very early
in the theosophical quest the test of motive. Theosophy deals
with the deep things of life, and the real and lasting interests
of the human soul; and he who has but an idle curiosity in
regard to these will hardly seek the truth in such manner
as is likely to bring any lasting reward or satisfaction;
though he may find food for speculation or even for ridicule.
The neophyte is therefore challenged at the outer gate: "What
seek ye?" The body of man is the temple of initiation
and both the challenge and the reply, come from within; and
according as the neophyte makes answer, will be his entrance
through the gates and his passage beyond the first veil of
initiation. If to the challenge: "What seekest thou,
O soul of man?" the answer comes, "O nothing
in particular, I was just looking idly around to see what
amusement I could find"; man would hear in response
only the voice of the passions and bodily appetites which
are always [Page
8] seeking fresh gratification, and
be deaf to the still small voice heard in the soul only when
all else is still. We are dealing with the journey of life
and the experience of the soul; not as a matter of sentiment
but as a sober reality. Suppose that each one of us were
to pause just here and ask of his own soul the following
questions: What is the real meaning of life ? What is my
own purpose in life ? What are the chances of its accomplishment
? How far does it concern the welfare of others ? Can I conceive
of a higher object with a better motive, and can I hope in
any degree to accomplish that? This self-examination is the
first step in the real study of theosophy, and for myself
I can say, without a moment's hesitation, that satisfactory
answers come to all such inquiries; not upon outside authority
that must not be questioned, and in answers that cannot be
understood, but in conscious agreement and co-ordinate harmony
that satisfy the soul. The real self-conscious centre in
man seldom governs in the affairs of life. We long for love,
we lust for fame or power or gold; and we are led to this
lusting and longing, not so much by conscious purpose and
deliberate choice, as by the clamorous passions and the fickle
appetites that hold us in bondage, and lead us in chains.
Even here, when the mind and soul become consciously centred
on any of these pursuits, and when man bends his will to
the accomplishment of his object and is ready to sacrifice
all else to win success, failure is well-nigh impossible;
though dust and ashes are the result. Schopenhauer is right
; the will of man is supreme; and people fail even in ordinary
pursuits because they scatter their forces instead of concentrating
them under the guidance of the will. All such success, however,
brings man back to himself, dissatisfied and hungry still.
In the flood-tide of prosperity, when the soul is drunk with
the purple flood of life as with the fumes of wine, we seldom
pause to take account of stock; we seldom stand face to face
with ourselves. When, however, love grows cold, or the beloved
one slips from our embrace into the unseen, when the laurel
wreath becomes a crown of thorns; when gold no longer glitters
or when it takes to itself wings; when the power we sought
to wield has become a very tyrant, and we realize the meaning
of the saying, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown";
then it is that man is brought face to face with himself,
and the lesson deeper than words is burned into his soul.
Man stands speechless and bewildered, benumbed and terrified,
gazing into the mirror as though he had seen a ghost — the
ghost of his higher self born of the pure ideals he has lost.
For such a one the wine of life never again touches the brim,
or bubbles into careless joy. He drinks cautiously, looking
for the serpent coiled in the bottom of the cup.
"The wine of life is drawn,
And naught remains but lees. [Page 9]
Many who thus
for a brief space stand face to face with truth waken from
the dream insane; some rush to suicide, and others become
melancholy cynics. All who have carefully studied human
life know that this great awakening come sooner or later
to everyone who passes life's meridian. If the years flow
on with measured tread, and uniform health and prosperity
bring the neophyte in life's mysteries down to the grave,
the revelation still comes, even though it is the angel of
death that bears the challenge: “Awake thou that sleepest".
The awakening comes to sad-eyed children who hear a voice
in the midst of their play as an echo of the still eternities;
and these
little ones become our guides or our inquisitors. The dial
of time counts not by years, save only when we are drunk
with the passions and are deceiving ourselves. Whenever the
sun of truth rises, the day of the soul begins; and man may
face to the dawn if he will, or he may wrap the mantle of
night about him and forever refuse light. The neophyte in
the mysteries of being may face his destiny without fear
of the sphynx. What holdest thou, O stormy hearted goddess
breeding by the fertile Niles of life ? Ho, marble effigy!
I conjure and I defy thee! “I will terrify thee with
thyself, O white-faced neophyte; divested of all thy trappings
and shorn of all thy glitter: nay, take them all; 'tis thus
I cast them in thy face, and still defy thee I know thy riddle,
and I scorn thy power ! Pass on, O neophyte; and may thy
head be gently pillowed on the bosom of Isis; may Osiris
protect and defend thee, I cannot harm thee". A Persian
monarch once propounded to a captive in chains this riddle: “Which
is the greater, the strength of the king; the strength of
women ; or the strength of wine?" and
the captive, himself a prince, made answer: "Great
are all these, O king, yet above them all is the power and
the majesty of Truth": and the king replied: “Blessed
be the God of Truth".
The real student of Theosophy is a neophyte, seeking initiation
into the mysteries of life. He may have teachers and guides,
and these may instruct and prepare him, but when he touches
foot on the threshold of the greater mysteries he stands
alone. Step by step must he feel his way, guided only by
experience, and the light of truth in his own soul. All around
him dance and glimmer the fitful rays of the will-o'-the-wisp.
Nothing will hinder him from following these should he so
desire. None of these can deceive him if he sincerely desires
the light of truth, that brings to everyone the message, “He
that seeketh me diligently shall surely find me". The
ideal life is not fantastic and visionary as many suppose,
nor does it take man out of the world and away from temptation;
nor yet does it destroy his usefulness and unsettle his reason.
The true ideal is the only real life. It despises not the
common things, but holds them at their true value, and puts
them to the most beneficent use. It is thus that the neophyte
lives and learns, and learns to live. [Page
10]
As an integral factor of the great body — humanity — the
neophyte is related to his fellow-men, and as body and soul
are blended in man, so is man related to humanity. While,
therefore, the physical life of the body outwardly unfolds
and man adjusts his relations to his fellow-men, the spiritual
life of the soul illumines and guides the life. As the spirit
is informed, the body is transformed, and the neophyte slowly
mounts the winding stairway of initiation. To learn, and
to apply, to study and to unfold, is the method of all true
initiations. The lines of doctrine and of life run parallel
and must be continually adjusted, else all progress will
cease.
The Theosophical Society was organised for the purpose
of promulgating the Theosophical doctrines, and for the promotion
of the Theosophic life. The present Theosophical Society
is not the first of its kind. I have a volume entitled: "Theosophical
Transactions of the Philadelphian Society", published
in London in 1697; and another with the following title: "Introduction
to Theosophy, or the science of the mystery or Christ; that
is, of Deity, Nature and Creature, embracing the philosophy
of all the working powers of life, magical and spiritual,
and forming a practical guide to the sublimest purity, sanctity,
and evangelical perfection; also to the attainment of divine
vision, and the holy angelical arts, potencies, and other
prerogatives of the regeneration", (published in London
in 1855). The following is the dedication of this volume: "To
the students of Universities, Colleges, and Schools of Christendom:
To Professors of Metaphysical, Mechanical, and Natural Science
in all its forms; To men and women of Education generally,
of fundamental orthodox faith: To Deists, Arians, Unitarians,
Swedenborgians, and other defective and ungrounded creeds,
rationalists and sceptics of every kind:
To just-minded and enlightened Mohammedans, Jews, and oriental
Patriarch-religionists; but especially to the gospel minister
and missionary, whether to the barbaric or the intellectual
peoples, this introduction to Theosophy, or the science of
the ground and mystery of all things, is most humbly and
affectionately dedicated", in the following year(1856)another
volume was issued, royal octavo of 600 pages, diamond type,
of "Theosophical Miscellanies". Of the last-named
work 500 copies only were issued, for gratuitous distribution
to Libraries and Universities. These earlier movements, of
which there were many, originated within the church, with
persons of great piety and earnestness, and of unblemished
character; and all of these writings were in orthodox form,
using the Christian expressions, and, like the writings of
the eminent churchman William Law, would only be distinguished
by the ordinary reader for their great earnestness and piety.
These were one and all but attempts to derive and explain
the deeper meanings and original import of the Christian
Scriptures, and to [Page
11] illustrate
and unfold the theosophic life.
These works were soon forgotten and are now generally unknown.
They sought to reform the clergy and revive genuine piety,
and were never welcomed. That one word, "Heresy",
was sufficient to bury them in the limbo of all such Utopias.
At the time of the Reformation John Reuchlin made a similar
attempt with the same result, though he was the intimate
and trusted friend of Luther. Orthodoxy never desired to
be informed and enlightened. These reformers were informed
as was Paul by Festus, that too much learning has made them
mad, and that it would he dangerous to go farther. Passing
by the verbiage which was partly a matter of habit and education
with these writers, and partly due to religious restraint
through secular power, and coming to the core of the matter,
these writings were theosophical in the
strictest sense, and pertain solely to man's knowledge of
his own nature and the higher life of the soul. The present
theosophical movement has sometimes been declared to be an
attempt to convert Christendom to Buddhism, which means simply
that the word "Heresy" has lost its terrors and
relinquished its power.
Individuals in every age have more or less clearly apprehended
the theosophical doctrines and wrought them into the fabric
of their lives. These doctrines belong exclusively to no
religion, and are confined to no society or time. They are
the birthright of every human soul. Such a thing as orthodox
theosophy has never existed, for the simple reason that all
of life's problems must be wrought out by each
individual according to his nature and his needs, and according
to his varying experience. This may explain why those who
have imagined theosophy to be a new religion have hunted
in vain for its creed and its ritual. Its creed is simply
Loyalty to Truth, and its ritual "To honour every truth
by use".
To the casual observer the sentiment of the
majority of the members of the T .S., whenever and howsoever
that sentiment may he determined, may no doubt appear to
represent the doctrines and status of the society. Or again,
the irresponsible utterances and erratic genuflections of
the veriest crank who boasts of his membership in a society
from which none are excluded who desire to enter, may be
taken as "orthodox theosophy", as has often been
done. Everyone must read for himself; not only the signs
of the times, but the signals of truth, and far be it from
true theosophy to say him nay.
No intelligent theosophist follows blindly any outward authority,
whether he be taught by the ancient wisdom, or by that noble "woman
to whom every true theosophist owes a debt of gratitude,
and whom every lover of truth will one day honour, for he
knows that he must find his guiding star in the inner temples
of his own soul. The two large volumes recently issued by
Mme. Blavatsky are an aggregation of ancient literatures,
traditions and mythologies, [Page
12] bearing on the
real initiation of man into the mystery of being. The comments
and explanations found on nearly everyone of these 1,600
royal octavo pages of the “Secret Doctrine" are
both interesting and instructive to all who patiently and
persistently seek the truth. Many a blind hint and obscure
meaning are thus made plain. Such a mine of ancient wisdom
has probably never been given to the world since history
began. The truth is there for those who desire it.
Most persons
nowadays are familiar with the phenomena of modern spiritualism,
and those who believe all such phenomena to arise from fraud
or self-deception, are still compelled to stop in the presence
of the recent phenomena called hypnotic, and admit the fact
of psychic phenomena. Theosophy has something to say in regard
to both classes of phenomena, not only in the way of instruction,
but also in the way of admonition.
Between a medium under invisible control, and a hypnotic
subject under magnetic control, there lies the unfolding
of man's higher nature, and the development of psychic power
independent of all outward control, and guided by the light
of reason and intuition; and it is this natural evolution
of the higher self in man that theosophy recommends and assists.
There are two terms frequently employed in referring to psychic
phenomena. These are unconscious cerebration; and hypnotic
suggestion.
The former expression is now less frequently used since hypnotism
has come to be the fashion, and may very profitably be discarded
altogether, for it is based on a fallacy, born of presumption,
and ministers only to pedantry. The phrase is made up of
two factors, and refers to consciousness and to cerebral
activity ordinarily giving rise to thought. The condition
referred to is, in its way, as conscious as any other; hence
to apply the expression “unconscious" to it is
a misnomer. Designating this
peculiar form of cerebration as “unconscious" gives
rise to the idea that the more ordinary form is itself a
matter of consciousness, and thus is a fallacy. Who among
us at the present moment is conscious of the varied and complicated
cerebral changes that every physiologist knows to accompany
the process of thought ? We are conscious, and we are thinking.
We may think of consciousness, and we are conscious of thought;
but we are not conscious of the rhythmic flow of the blood,
or of those intricate molecular changes that make thought
possible. If we designate all these changes as “cerebration",
and then re-christen them as “thought," we lose
sight of the fact that we are aware of no such thing as thought
apart from consciousness.
Consciousness and thought are inseparable in all manifested
intelligence. Therefore, cerebration without consciousness
cannot be shown to give rise to thought at all; and cerebration
without either thought or consciousness never manifests intelligence,
but is purely [Page
13] physiological, and soon becomes
pathological and destructive. The phrase "unconscious
cerebration" is
meaningless so far as the process to which it refers is concerned;
but its use leads to still another fallacy, and that is,
the supposition that by thus naming the process we have in
any sense apprehended it. If we inquire of those who so flippantly
make use of this expression, " What is clairvoyance
and clairaudience?" for example; the ready answer
comes: " Why, don't you know ? unconscious cerebration,
of course", and we are correspondingly enlightened
and so much obliged. The term hypnotic suggestion certainly
refers to a fact in psychology, often demonstrated, and easily
repeated; but it by no
means enlightens us as to the real nature of man, the process
of thought, or the nature of consciousness; though it suggests
the relations of the last two factors in all manifested intelligence.
The objection to all this nomenclature lies in the fact that
it arises from the material side of the equation, and practically
claims that there is no other side. The equation stands in
this way: The sum of all manifested intelligence and all
life equal zero.
We cannot get rid of the cosmic form even here; would it
then not be the part of wisdom to seek the true value of
the zero side of the equation ?
The method of investigation
usually employed, and that specially characterizes modern
times, proceeds from a physical basis, and regards only the
phenomenal existence. The idea that the phenomenal world
of sense and time is really but one side of the present existence,
seems very seldom to have dawned on the understanding of
man. The average man of the world is likely to possess an
average of the virtues, and equally an average of all the
vices. To suppress the latter and to encourage the
former is the aim of most codes of moral ethics, and is in
every way commendable and desirable. It is generally supposed
that when the vices are all removed, and when there thus
results a life that is blameless, the highest point in human
achievement has been reached. This blameless life may, however,
be not only negative and colourless, but even imbecile. One
has hardly accomplished the full purpose of being when he
has ceased to harm himself or others. Viewed in this light,
the last step in the ladder of human perfection is the first
step in the life that is truly divine. It is in regard to
this negative goodness that the sacred writer declares — "I
would have you either hot or cold, but because you are neither
hot nor cold I have
spewed you out of my mouth." The wisdom religion not
only reveals the purpose of life, but unfolds and develops
the powers of man, so that he may become a god in the sense
that the Platonic writers use that word.
In the ancient mysteries all theoretical teachings and dramatic
representations were followed by experimental efforts on
the part of the neophyte. As to the result of such experiment,
when wisely directed after due preparation [Page
14] and instruction, it is enough to say that it opened new avenues,
and developed new powers, and introduced the candidate into
the subjective world. This may seem a strong draft either
upon credulity or imagination. To those, however, who are
familiar with the method usually employed to develop so-called
mediumistic powers, and with the results that often follow,
even without any previous training, or any knowledge of the
laws governing development, will readily see the force and
meaning of the true initiation. Nothing can be more undesirable
or dangerous than trifling with these unknown powers, for
insanity and suicide lie that way. Nothing can be more beneficent
than the unfolding of man's higher nature as the result of
complete harmony of development. What but this is the aim
of the true Christian life, which has the promise of being
able to perform even greater works than Christ himself performed
? In everyone of these mysteries the theosophic life has
promise of the same reward, for the wisdom religion lies
back of one and all.
In organizing the present Theosophical Society three objects
were declared to be its chief motive. First, to establish
a nucleus of Universal Brotherhood without distinction of
race, creed, sex, or colour; second, to investigate ancient
religions and mythologies, for reasons that I trust are now
plain; third, to study and unfold the latent psychical powers
in man, for reasons now also apparent. In joining the society
the candidate is required to subscribe to the first declaration
only. Assent to the doctrine of the unqualified and universal
brotherhood of man is made essential; the
other two incidental; and the candidate is free to investigate
ancient religions and the latent powers of his own soul,
or not, as he sees fit. It could not otherwise happen than
that some who have joined the society should have forgotten
the essential brotherhood, and become phenomenon hunters;
for no restraints have been imposed beyond the candidate's
own declaration upon honour, and no trials for heresy or
apostacy have been instituted or are likely to be. Neither
coercion nor restraint are imposed. In all initiations ancient
and modern, the candidate's first declaration is this: "I
come of my own free will and accord".
Since the organization of the T. S. one thing is quite apparent,
and that is, that investigation into ancient religions has
greatly increased. Comparisons have been instituted, and
if these comparisons have at times seemed odious, the odium,
instead of resting always, as heretofore, upon some other
religion, has sometimes rested upon our own. Tardy justice
has thus sometimes taken the place of odium born of self-interest
and egoism. All religions are found to contain an element
of truth, and each religion formulates that truth, and designates
its creed; and its ceremonies, according to the genius of
the age in which it abounds, and the needs and abilities
of the people where it exists. As each of these formulations
[Page 15] differs from the
rest, Theosophy seizes hold of the element of truth lying
back of all forms, and holds this truth to be essential,
and all else incidental. This truth of Theosophy is not a
happy after-thought, a mere deduction or generalization from
the outer forms of all religions, but arises from an apprehension
of the core of all religions as revealed by the secret doctrine,
or the process of initiation into the wisdom religion. The
test of fellowship and the bond of union in all modern religions
is the creed, or formulated belief, and conformity to their
ceremonies and usages. All these religions hold as a secondary
proposition, the principle of charity; though this principle
is practically curtailed beyond the bounds of sect-communion,
as has been illustrated in all religious wars, and most sectarian
disputes. Theosophy makes this law of charity universal and
unqualified, the bond of union and the principle of all correct
living, and expresses it as, Universal Brotherhood.
While, therefore, theosophy thus supplements many religions,
it really antagonizes none; and in thus bringing charity
to the front, it seeks the substantial unity of the whole
human race. As a result of this common bond of brotherhood
and basis of agreement, there are found in the society persons
of all colours, nationalities, and religious beliefs; and
according as they sincerely hold, and intelligently manifest
and interpret this principle of charity and toleration, will
be found the benefits which they receive and bestow.
When
to each of these religionists it is clearly pointed out,
that back of his own religion lies the secret doctrine, explaining
the powers, the ministry, and the destiny of man, he returns
to a study of his own religion with a new zeal and with an
added inspiration. The Theosophical Society stands as a witness
to these great truths, the apprehension and promulgation
of which it was organized to promote; and in spite of misapprehension
on the part of some of its members, and misrepresentation
on the part of its enemies, it has promoted these great objects
to an extent but little known and seldom realized. Theosophy
has never sought to overthrow any religion, or to substitute
one form of religion for another, but rather to purify, elevate,
and reform all.
When it is once clearly perceived that lying back of all
great religions is the Old Wisdom Religion, to which not
only Rawlinson, but many other writers refer, and that this
stands to the outer form of all religions, as soul to body;
and when the principles of this secret doctrine are clearly
explained, it will be found to be a key to the interpretation
of all religions.
The two large volumes of the "Secret
Doctrine" recently issued by Mme. Blavatsky, furnish
just this key, dealing as they do with the origin and nature
of creation and with the origin and nature of man. After
referring to the nations of antiquity that had lost, or partially
lost, all [Page 16] knowledge
of the primeval religion, Rawlinson says: "There were
others again who lost scarcely anything, but hid up the truth
in mystic language and strange symbolism."The
only theory", he says, " which accounts for all
the facts, for the unity as well as the diversity of ancient
religions, is that of a primeval revelation variously corrupted
through the manifold and multiform deteriorations of human
nature in different races and places". In his "History
of Secret Societies", Heckthorne makes a similar statement,
and summarizes the tenets of this ancient religion.
The revival
of this ancient wisdom, and the recovery of lost arts and
long-forgotten learning, may not, after all, appeal to this
utilitarian age with any degree of force. What, then, are
its practical bearings on the present time and the needs
of man today ? As it relates to humanity as a whole, it
aims to bring about the reign of peace and universal toleration
without persuasively or forcibly transferring sectarians
from one cult to another, so that, with the largest liberty
of thought, it aims at the practical unity of the race, and
this no single religion has ever attempted.
The practical
value of the wisdom-religion will be that it will reveal
to individual man his own nature, and assist him to realize
his high destiny. The inquiry will come, " Does not
the Christian religion accomplish this much for man ? " I
answer yes; and so do many others, if man but reads intelligently
and wisely utilizes the lessons therein contained.
He who imagines, however, that no divine star ever shone
on this sin-stricken world till the Babe was born in Bethlehem
a few hundred years ago, has misinterpreted both the divine
beneficence, and the long and sorrowful journey of the children
of men. The guiding star has shone over other cradles and
been called by other names. Its rays brighten at the birth
of every man and every woman who is to feel the common sorrow,
and help to lift the common load that oppresses all humanity
and degrades the toiling, sorrowing, children of men. The
lonely captive loaded with chains, and the martyr in his
chariot of fire, have seen the heavenly star, and the Comforter
has come unto them when the divine voice has whispered in
their souls, "They persecuted me, they will also persecute
you, but blessed, thrice blessed are ye". This sublime
exaltation of faith, and triumph of soul means far more than
a formulated creed, or an intellectual belief. It means the
foundation of the kingdom of heaven in the enlightened soul
of man.
The most curious interest attaches to theosophy on
account of its vein of so-called occultism. Whether or not
this occult vein shall be able to justify itself, quite certain
it is that it is this phase of the subject, which more than
anything else has called attention to theosophy; and while
this phase of theosophy invariably attracts the lovers of
the marvellous, it has often repulsed the more thoughtful
who have, nevertheless, given the subject [Page
17] but little study.
Occultism may be regarded as a department by itself, with
a literature of its own. It has so often been cultivated
by charlatans, and made use of to impose on the ignorant
and the credulous, that it has very justly fallen into disrepute.
Let us remember, however, that where there is no true coin
there can be no counterfeit. The more subtle forces of nature
and the finer sensibilities of man are but little understood,
and yet these form an essential part of nature and of man;
and we are constantly surrounded by these powers and exercising
these functions unconsciously. These things seem to us fantastic
and unreliable only because we are ignorant of their nature
and the laws that govern them. Because of this subtlety and
our own ignorance, this is pre-eminently the domain of superstition.
The antidote for both ignorance and superstition is real
knowledge. It is a great mistake to assume that these things
have no real existence, and those who do this are generally
as superstitious in their way as anyone. Very few persons
seem able to form any rational conception of the unseen universe,
and yet it is from this invisible world that every object
in nature comes, and to it all material things return. It
is this process of appearance and disappearance that constitutes
the phenomenal world which most persons imagine to be the
only real existence. We fail to note the changes because
they are so uniform, so silent, and so slow.
If we seek an
illustration of the subtle forces of nature we have not far
to look. Suppose we take a stroll some afternoon, and, pursuing
a varying course, wander for miles from home. An hour or
two after our departure, a favourite and intelligent dog
that has regretfully seen us depart and been ordered back,
escapes from restraint. He sniffs the air and dropping his
muzzle to the ground, follows our every step with little
regard for varying wind or weather, or for crossing footsteps. "O
yes". you reply, "we all know that a good dog will
follow the scent of its master".
But it is not the dog that so much interests us as the logical
deduction from the phenomenon. We are hardly conscious that
we are so full of some subtle essence that it sifts from
us at every step, and gives its secret qualities to every
footprint, even through the heavy-soled shoes. We are hardly
conscious that we leave this same invisible yet material
quality of our peculiar personality on every object that
we touch; yet such would seem to be the case; and there are
persons in almost every community who possess the psychometric
power of distinguishing it. Neither is this
essence so subtle, nor are our senses so dull, that we always
fail to detect these personal emanations. As our garments
shape to our bodies, so do they become saturated with ourselves.
Our dwellings are full of our presence even when we are invisible,
and the very paper on our walls contains the tinctures of
our lives. There are dwellings that are saturated with [Page
18] hate, with lust, and with greed. The ghostly
echoes of evil thoughts and the shadows of still more evil
deeds, ring their changes and come and go in the heavy laden
atmosphere where degraded human
beings abide. Who, indeed, has not felt this influence when
meeting individuals, or when entering houses ? We call it
natural sympathy or antipathy, but we seldom pause to examine
and analyse it. Neither are these evil influences formless
and powerless. They have not only material qualities and
individual attributes, but they have form and malignity,
and when the principle now called "hypnotic suggestion" is
better understood, it will be seen that these malignant influences,
born of the evil natures of human beings, have power to poison
the weak and sensitive, and to induce disease or to suggest
crime.
There is no known principle of heredity which denies that
evil propensities are equally inherited with the good. The
atmosphere of vice is not a purely imaginary and immaterial
thing, but a malignant, material reality. When we realize
that we have it in our power to make our own lives just what
we please, and that we may fill our homes with blessing instead
of cursing; when we learn the importance of saturating the
very walls of the habitation we call home, with love, with
gentleness, and with kindness and forbearance, then these
homes will be to the souls of all who enter them, like the
balm of Gilead, and as the health-bearing breezes of the
delectable mountains. Then we will realize that it is the
invisible or occult forces of nature more than any others
that work for human weal or woe. How insignificant compared
with these divine guests, that come at our call, are costly
draperies and trappings of gold and precious woods; and yet
these benedictions may rest within the homes of the poor,
and are as often found there as in the palaces of the rich.
Theosophy studies and explains these subtle forces, and applies
the real knowledge thus derived, for the benefit of man.
Theosophy thus stands for righteousness; for manly and womanly
lives, and for the health and the happiness of man. I have
touched upon but a single picture in the realm of so-called
occultism, and that the simplest and most easily understood.
The bible is full of references to this very subject, and
there are whole books, like those of Job, and the Revelation,
that deal almost. exclusively with these occult phases of
the subject. In the Cabballah, the building of the tabernacle,
and the temple of Solomon, with all their measurements, details,
and furniture, are made to refer to nothing else but man.
These outer buildings and physical things were merely ideographs,
used both to convey and to conceal the real meaning, and
this principle of symbolism applies equally to the sacred
books of all religions, and to all mythologies. There is,
moreover, no essential difference in the principle or the
truth so concealed. It is everywhere the same; viz., to reveal
the divinity in man, and to assist him in recovering his
divine inheritance: [Page 19] one
truth in numberless forms running through the countless ages,
and known to the initiated as the "Secret Doctrine".
He
who would thus recover his lost inheritance, must put off
his garb of selfishness, and be able to conceive of ideal
truth, while he exercises universal charity. This is the
way, the truth, and the life; revealed alike in the teachings
and the life of Christ, of Zoroaster, and of all the Buddhas
and Avatars since the beginning of human life on this old
planet. I will close this somewhat disjointed essay with
a Sufe (sufi) legend illustrating the quest of the soul for
Divine truth. The Sufes (Sufis) , it may be remembered,
are to the Mohammedans what the Essenes were to the Christians,
viz., those initiated into the Secret Doctrine.
Listen to—
“A PARABLE OF JELLALEDDEN."AT the beloved's door a timid knock was heard,
And a voice came from within, sweeter than morning bird,
Softer than silver drops that from splashing fountains fall,
"Who is there? and the stillness stirred
For a moment, and that was all.And the lover who stood without, eager and full of fear.
Answered the silver voice—“It is I who am waiting here;
Open then, my beloved, open thy door to me."
But he heard the response ring clear:—
"This house will not hold me and thee".And the door remained fast shut, and the lover went away,
Far into the desert's depths, to wait, and fast, and pray:
To dwell in the tents of Sorrow. and drink of the cup of Grief;
And Solitude taught him each day,
And Silence brought him relief.And after a year he returned, and knocked at the close-shut door,
And he heard the Beloved's voice as it answered him once more;
" Who is there ? " And soft as the dew, or the velvety rose-leaf's fall..
And as low as when angels adore,
He said, " 'Tis thyself that doth call".And his heart stood still with fear, and his eager eyes were dim;
Then through the silent night rang the sound of a marriage hymn,
And the bolts and the bars flew back, and the door was open wide,
And fair on the threshold's rim
Stood his Beloved, his Bride.
ΔΔ
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