POKROV IS A SPIRITUAL ASSOCIATION OF ESOTERIC.
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The Friendly Philosopher- Living the Life
The friendly philosopher
Letter One
OUR letter of ‘Wednesday is here; a good brave letter, and true all through, covering the ground. Yes, if we were quite
certain that They were on hand always to pull us out of holes we walk into carelessly, or have made possible by past neglect,
we would never become as They are. All the same we are helped, and in the right way, the way our nature needs, not
necessarily according to the way we assume would be the proper one. If helped at all, it must be so. “Ingratitude is not one
of our vices,” is Their written statement, and it is lived up to; the very best that can be done for us is done, and being done all
the time. At times we may doubt, but this arises from the personal uncertainty, fear of some or another kind of consequence.
We should take it that whatever arises is a necessary position for us to be in, in order for us to do further and greater work
for Them. This must be, if we are true to Them; so, while doing all we can to make the way sure and clear according to our
light, we step forward with strength and boldness because the Path is ours and Theirs. We lay our strength and our
weaknesses on the altar of sacrifice. Does not the Gita say “Place all thy works, failures and successes alike, on me”? The
fact that some are recognized as bad means their relinquishment, sooner or later. The reason for this seems plain; if we
waited till we were saints, would we ever begin? We would not. So, recognizing this interiorly—if not in words—we go on
and keep going. This is the gist of your letter, and it warms me up to have you write it.
This is a school and everything that comes for us to do contains a lesson for us. ‘We should not forget that, ever. What
comes at any time contains in it the thing we need; so whether it seems hard, troublesome, or pleasant, there is something
in it for us. Also it is well to bear in mind that W. Q. J. says in the “Spiritual Will,” that the essence of eradicating the personal
element lies in doing the things we dislike to do. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to hunt them up. They come to us right
along. If we had to hunt them, we might let a lot of them go by, as not the right kind, or for some other reason. Being Arjunas,
we have the battles ready to our hand.
There comes a time in our development when work seems useless and irksome, but W. Q. J. says, “the disciple must work,”
notwithstanding. I think that in the irksome work is the clearing up of Karma, and clarification of the sheaths. We are doing it
all, bearing it all, for the Self. It is by the giving up of self that the White Adept becomes. That which galls, that which hurts, is
the personal desire unattained, or feared to be unattainable. We know it very well, but find the pressure hard many times.
We also know that “realization comes from dwelling on the thing to be realized;” so we have to keep on, and “dwell” as much
as we possibly can. Every effort brings the time of realization nearer.
I was amused at the remark of the lady, “If we could see on the astral plane, we could find there that H. P. B. made
mistakes.” I would say, “Perhaps if we could understand English, our mother tongue, and could understand the simplest
information in regard to a thing we had never heard before, and knew the very first laws of Occultism, we would keep
silence, try to learn, and refrain from showing our ignorance.” This “parrot-talk” has a tendency to make me “tired.” I have
heard it before, and I am not gentle with it as I am with other things. It is so unspeakably silly; I often quietly say things that
tend to startle such people out of their goose-like assurance. (You have seen geese and heard them!)
These people should be told to stop taking as a fact what other people tell them, and if they want to know anything, go study
the history of the Movement from every point of view. We have done it, and are giving out the result, which they can verify if
they choose. What we are giving cannot be refuted in any way but by that history, assimilated and understood. We stand on
the whole record, without omissions or interpolations. Of course, the study needs a modicum of power to understand the
meaning of words and their application; if they have it not, then they would better follow some “leader” or another until they
have acquired it. This is not their class.
When the lady asked if never lectures on “what Theosophy is,” it would have been a great opportunity to have her tell what it
is. I imagine she would have exposed her ignorance. Such people—many of them—think that talk about Lemuria and
Atlantis, Parabrahm, the Logoi, Pitris and what not, is Theosophy; none of them understand even what they talk about. No
very explicit information was given out by H. P. B., and there is none other to be had. The races are simply sketched so as
to give a general comprehension of the history and nature of the preceding races; if we knew every detail about them, it
would not help us any. True knowledge does not lie in the direction of book-study, as we know, and as doubtless you have
told them.
They — were asking last night in respect to the “Declaration.” I had said at one time that the very words were Mr. Judge’s;
they evidently got the idea that he had “communicated” the Declaration to me. I told them that I had been looking for the right
thing to put Out as a Declaration of Principles and that while on that hunt, you had sent me the very thing I wanted, further
explaining that the Messengers had left all that was necessary for us, and that it was for us to apply the right things at the
right time and places. thought that was rather discouraging, evidently thinking that we should have direction in ways and
means. I tried to show we could not do any good, if directed in everything; we would not grow in discrimination, power and
judgment; we would be but automata, and would never fill the necessary place. No doubt we would be helped by
readjustment rather than direction, so we should not look for the latter, but using our best Theosophical judgment, move
forward, feeling sure that if our understanding of the nature of the task is good,and our motive pure, the right way will appear
to us. Such would be guidance of the right sort, one that leads to growth. Should it be necessary to have “direction” at any
time, we may be sure that it, also, will come. In the meantime we live and learn; and we should not forget that They and we
are working for the future, and for the same end.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Two
Glad that you had such a good and large meeting, and that your courage increases as time goes on. You would not have
believed a year ago that such progress in the work and in understanding could be made in the time elapsed. Think of the
numbers of souls awakened and set upon the right path by going the way yourself and pointing it out to others. This is
something that falls to the very few. “Just to thy wish the door of heaven is found open before thee, through this glorious
unsought fight which only fortune’s favored soldiers may obtain.” The kind of fighting was not our choosing, but was and is
that of fortune’s favored soldiers; the end of the battle is not seen until the enemy has surrendered. He may be defeated in
one place to stand and give battle in another; so the fight keeps on because a soldier of the Kshatriya tribe has no duty
superior to lawful war. War is his business, and he should find joy in the battling with difficulties presented to him to try his
courage, to test his strength and endurance. “Make pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, the same to thee,
and then prepare for battle, for thus and thus alone shalt thou in action still be free from sin.”
I can readily imagine the troubles found in getting people to really study; as a rule, the necessity is not perceived, and this, I
think, on account of the present methods of education wherein the soul and mind are considered as mere recorders. Is it not
strange that plain statements are not grasped, that the superficial meanings of words are taken to be the applications of
them? All of which is chargeable to our modern educational methods. Most men think that when they have heard a
statement made, they know it.
Some one or two may wake up, among a number of those interested, and therein lies the hope; also we know that those
who merely listen or read with attention get something in the way of a trend that sometime will develop into greater things. It
is not labor lost, although results at times do not appear to be commensurate with the effort put forth. We make the effort,
and the effort brings results: this is enough. We may not look for any specific kind of results, but keep on doing the best we
know and can; this includes all proper ways and means open to us.
What you say about Consciousness is right, as I see it. There is consciousness and its perceptions, the latter becoming
more and more objective creations on different planes of matter on account of the Creative, Preservative and Destructive
powers inherent in Consciousness, or, more properly, the Self. ‘Whatever state of consciousness the Perceiver may be in,
the things of that plane are for the time being his only realities.” It is all relativity and here is where the knowledge of the Real
and the Unreal frees from bondage. The whole universe exists only for purposes of Soul. Soul is individualization of Being;
we, as self-conscious beings, have to remain in the bondage of matter long enough to give lower segregated entities the
necessary impetus toward self- consciousness. The majority do this work unconsciously, partly right and partly wrong. It is
possible to do it consciously and free from attachment, as well as rightly.
A good comprehension of the processes is wise and necessary, for the sake of others who need to see that the way of
devotion is not that of merely being good. The books of devotion contain the rules of war, the duties—individual and
collective—of the warrior, the right conduct in the field. Moreover, they give the maps of battle-grounds where the foe is to
be met, and tell how the battle should be fought—to win. All the works of the Teachers have their places, and all of Them had
a particular work to do. Those who think that the Teachers can be pigeon-holed— as some do—have failed to grasp the
meaning of the Movement. We can see how the work of one Teacher so clearly and so beautifully complemented that of the
other. You remember what H. P. B. wrote to W. Q. J.: “As you in America will prevail, if you only remain staunch to Master’s
program.” There is no way under heaven by which we shall know that program except through the record left by those Two.
The more we proceed on the line we are going, the more clear does it show itself to be according to the “program.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Three
I am rejoiced that you find lessons in all these things that come to pass: this is the realizing of the meaning of life. Most
people take it to mean eating, drinking, waking, sleeping, enjoying, doing business for gain in order to do these things—and
learning nothing, frittering away opportunities, multiplying difficulties, avoiding by every possible means those things from
which they might learn.
Our attitude should be that if there is work and we can do it, we must, regardless of results; we know that the Law takes care
of them, without thought or effort on our part, and with exactitude undisturbed by our sentiments. We see that and admit it,
yet fear to trust, even when we know that there is nothing else that can be done by us.
One finds spiritual knowledge springing up spontaneously within him, not because of his mental exertions, but because of
his “attitude of mind.” “Place thy heart on me as I have declared myself to be, serve me, offer unto me alone, and thou shalt
come to me; I swear it, for thou art dear unto me.” Krishna calls these “my supreme and most mysterious words”; he adds,
“He who expoundeth this supreme mystery to my worshippers shall come to me if he performs the highest worship of me,
and there shall
not be among men any one who shall serve me better than he, and he shall be dearest unto me of all on earth.” What
determines it? Thought determines it. Motive determines it.
I am glad that you wrote R— and put it up squarely. I think that was the right thing to do; if it hurt personal pride for you to do
it, the hurt showed the need. A sore place like that is not right; some massaging will not do it any harm. The fact that you felt
better after writing shows you knew that it was the right thing all the time, but hesitated, like the boy with the tooth and the
string. The personality is what you say—a “peach.” It can play all parts, from lord of all creation to Uriah Heep, as its
occasion requires, and the man is involved in its pretensions. But he learns, and some time Mr. Personality will be “out of a
job”; “there won’t be no such thing”; instead, there will be a whole man.
I can understand the trepidation that arises in such a transaction as you mention; one does not want to make a mistake
because of the large loss that would be incurred, and yet one must decide to do or not to do. The nature of your business
contemplates a certain amount of risk based on the probable action of others. It is a sort of gamble; probabilities are better
in some cases than in others, but in any, there is no certainty to be obtained. To be able to determine accurately one would
have to know all the converging factors, to see them all in their several courses, and this is not possible to us; so we have to
guess on probabilities to a great extent. It is this uncertainty which un nerves us. We do not want to make a loss, and we do
not want to lose a business opportunity. The only course left, is seems to me, is to determine whether it would be
considered a fair risk; if so, we would be justified in taking it, because there is no way by which results can be absolutely
assured. Our judgment would then be centered on the quality of the risk, leaving results to general average—that being all
that we can do.
The Conditioned is surely unlimited in its capacity for wrong action, but we might remember that the Unconditioned does not
and cannot act. “The Self acts only through its creatures;” the conditioning is collective. The conditioned has also to exercise
its capacity for right action; its ascertained errors lead in this direction, and the possibilities are also unlimited. All being is
conditioned, but in it there is an infinite variation. If we rise out of one set of conditions we are in another. The secret would
seem to be non-identification with conditions of any kind, while working in and with those which on any plane surround us,
improving our judgment and discrimination in regard to them all the time, as well as the instrument in use on that plane,
giving the conscious lives of which that instrument is composed the right direction.
Had we transcended physical conditions, we should not be trammelled by them, would not be in them, except by choice.
Even then we could not do other than put ourselves under their operations and limitations, in order to gain a full
comprehension of them in all their bearings upon those in that condition by necessity. We have to abide by the rules of
whatever game we are playing; at the same time we may know better games.
It is good to have that “touch of heart” which transcends time, space and conditions. I fully appreciate it, and you know that it
exists on my part. Love to you and the highest success in your endeavors.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Four
While situations are not always agreeable, or what we would choose, yet they are the very apparatus by means of which we
learn discrimination; you know that. Seeming misfortunes turn into blessings if taken right; this must be true if the purpose of
life is to learn. Everything that comes is a part of life, and when it comes to us, it is a part of our life; so all must be right for
us if our object is to learn. If people could only look at it in that way, they would learn more, get through with less friction, be
happier, and, in reality, have fewer difficulties to surmount; the necessity for learning ceasing, no means are drawn to us for
that purpose. It is Karma, all of it, and as students we should realize and benefit by the knowledge. But it takes time for most
to do so, and opportunities are lost and energy uselessly expended in the meantime. Our work is with ourselves, however,
and we can do only what we can for others, giving them such opportunities as are beyond us to take; then they must choose.
W. Q. J. said there are two things needed—to hold on firmly, and to have perfect confidence. I think therein lies the door to a
safe refuge. (He used the words “hold on grimly”—which is more expressive of determination.)
It is true that when we are relying on other things, we are not relying on the law. Yes, it looks a good deal darker than it really
is. We have to grow accustomed to another kind of light, and we shall then see as plainly, or more so, than before. The very
sacrifices made to relieve the trials of others are also tests for ourselves, and means of growth, growth coming from the
sacrifice of the lower to the higher in every way, as well as on every plane of being. It is spiritual fire that burns out all the
dross. At no time is the way easier, but it is sure, and the refining goes on. If we must go down, it will be with our flags flying,
fighting to the very last. That is the worst that could happen, and even that is not very bad for us, though others might suffer
because of our removal to another field. We may now regret the possibility, but then we would not, because no more could
be done.
Also, your thought that we are not deserted must be right. Too often we think all depends upon our effort and continuance;
yet we must know that all these things are provided for, and there are always those who are near us, who see and know, and
will never fail us, even though we have to go through the gates of death to get a wider vision and understanding. All the trial
and training tend to pull us out of one place in order that we may lay hold of another and better one, when we determine to
“suffer or enjoy whatever the Higher Self has in store for one by way of discipline and experience.” It is the Higher Self that
pulls us into places and conditions that the personality would run in affright from, if it alone were acting. It shrinks from the
unknown like the steed, but the rider by spur, bridle, and encouragement makes it carry him where he desires to go, for he
knows where food, shelter, and rest await both.
In this work natures are intensified; good and bad come to the surface, but the cleansing process is gradual. Each must do
his own work of elimination where such is seen to be needed; it is a process of purpose and discrimination, and events
bring us opportunities. Wise are those who take advantage of opportunities and examine motives in the handling of events.
The Law works in strange ways at times; it is never idle and it makes no mistakes. Let us rely on IT, for there is nothing else
on which we may. If I were utterly worthless, your love and faith and courage would bring results to you just the same, and
your sacrifice to an ideal bring out in you all that the ideal holds. And when it is Truth itself we seek and serve, nothing can
dismay us or turn us aside. It is much to have gained this understanding—worth its cost ten thousand times.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Five
You have it right about passing from plane to plane daily but relating everything to the brain circle of necessity and thus
losing the meanings. I think both a dwelling on the fundamentals and a giving it to others is what produces the best results.
W. Q. J. says, ‘ it (the Will) is freed from the domination of desire and at last subdues the mind itself. But before the
perfection of the practice is arrived at, the will acts according to desire, only that desire is for higher things and away from
those of material life.” The ordinary events and duties of the day do become fatiguing and harassing to the earnest student
by the very nature of the change of attitude and plane of action, and of the changes going on in the body itself; but this has to
be overcome. The disciple must work, must do every duty, not in order to get it done, but as though his whole interest were
in it and it were the only thing to be done. This, you will see, is because desire is working in the new field.
As to memory: you see that memory is a faculty of perceiving registration. Registration is there, but oftentimes remote from
the plane of perception, the impression being pressed upward, as it were, from below. Physical memory can be trained to
greater effectiveness, a close observation and notation of every thing and every circumstance being the principal agent. We
have many careless habits of letting things impress us without definite notation. For instance, people often look at their
watch and put it back in the pocket; then, being asked, “What time is it?” have to look again, being unable to tell. In such
cases, the object was to see what time it wasn’t, and observation went no further in the way of notation. To carefully note
things and not allow the notation to affect our proper course of conduct—that is, to note impersonally—is studying the hearts
of men who make up the world in which we live; is studying man as a whole, in fact, for the whole is made up of the parts.
Such an attitude neither judges nor condemns, but votes, in order to help understandingly. This careful notation works both
ways, inwardly as well as outwardly, and tends to effectiveness of the physical registry. Motive counts in this as well as
elsewhere; otherwise, it might descend to “peering about.” One sees without giving any indication of having done so, and
without the slightest intention of making any personal use of perception so gained. When we can read the thoughts of
others, such knowledge is never used to the detriment of others but ever for their benefit and with wisdom; like the saying of
the Masons, it is “locked in the safe and sacred repository of the heart.”
I think you have the understanding of “Look not behind or thou art lost.” The context says, “Kill in thyself all memory of past
experiences.” If we do not do this, we live in them and rejuvenate them. Having in the past made a deep impression, while
we have now increased our power of thought, they are re-lived with increased power and expression. Reliance on the Self—
“That Thou Art”—is the way out. “As we admit the reality of the Higher Self, we should embrace the idea, dwell on it day in
and day out until the will and desire naturally incline to it and have it as the subtone or aim of thought. This process will make
the line of influence brighter and better with every thought. When the influence grows strong it pervades the entire nature and
strengthens as well as improves. It will give knowledge and also energy. This is the real and only road to the Masters, the
Adepts, the Mahatmas.”
What you say is true, that any other position than that of the Self is all the more disastrous because temporarily strong.
Whatever a man relies upon, to that he goes; he, only, who relies upon the Self is not subject to rebirth. It does require an
immortal courage to have an immortal point of view, and to hold to it while watching and guiding the lower forces in unity, for
the Self of All. The Spiritual Will cannot act so long as there is any selfishness in the action or the desire for its results. The
only way out is renunciation of self-interest in the fruits of actions, and while the perfection of renunciation may not now be
ours, growth in that direction is always possible, and each modicum of growth makes for better attainment.
It is well to have recognized that for a long time the hidden activity of the spiritual aspiration manifests most in the increased
activity of the lower nature, and this may also mean in the circumstances of life. It is the hastening of Karma, which may be
good quite as well as what we might be disposed to call ‘ Karma. Good Karma is that which is pleasing to Iswara; bad
Karma is that which is displeasing to Iswara—the best definition of the two kinds.
We need not mind what we have not done nor yet what we have done. Have care only for what we are doing; so shall we
best work and serve. Like St. Paul, we find the spirit willing but the flesh weak, yet the latter gets stronger all the time. It
looks weaker than it is because of the higher standard of judgment we apply to it. Always the inner is the more perfect, and
it is that which does the work of perfecting. He who seeth that all his actions are performed by nature only and that the Self
within is not the actor sees indeed.” Our Declaration says, “A truer realization of the Self, a profounder conviction of
universal brother-hood.” We are beginning to realize what those words mean, and we realize it by teaching it and
endeavoring to live it.
The Perceiver having to be understood as changeless troubles a good many. This is because we identify that which
perceives with its perceptions. Each person has what he calls his mind, but many think that the present attitude of mind is
the Perceiver, although he had other attitudes at one time, and will have still others because He changes his mind as He
perceives need for such change. The mind is therefore only his instrument for comprehending things and natures on the
plane upon which it is used. That instrument can be strengthened and improved; it is and must be something permanent
which uses, strengthens, and improves the instrument. The mind might be likened to a telescope in use by the Man, the
Perceiver, in order to be able to perceive the nature of the things about him. He can act only in accordance with what He
perceives through the telescope. If the telescope is not properly adjusted or out of focus, the perception will be out of true,
and wrong action will follow. The Perceiver must there-fore learn, by experience and through the experience of others like
himself with similar instruments, the proper adjustment and focussing of the instrument upon which right perception and
action depend. If he became any particular perception or perceptions gained through his instrument, he would immediately
lose all relation with other possible attitudes to be obtained, together with those that have been obtained.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Six
You ask about the Ego leaving the astral body. I think that the best comprehension of the subject can be had by analogy.
‘When one is said to be asleep, the Manas or mind is no longer receiving nor transmitting impressions through the body; he
passes into the dreamless state, where he functions as a spiritually self-conscious being until the cycle of return comes to
function through the body again. Now if we regard death as a more complete sleep, a final one for that body, the Ego would
simply cease forever to function through that body; the linga sarira or “form” astral would immediately begin to disintegrate,
remaining with the body until its last particle, except the skeleton, is dissipated. The Ego, however, is no more tied to the
one than to the other; the Kama Rupa, or desire form, aggregates itself from the skandhas or tendencies of the lower nature
clothed in astral matter (not the linga sarira), and the Ego ascends to Devachan clothed in his highest essence. The Kama
Rupa quickly or slowly fades out, according to the grossness of the nature of the man in life, but its “seeds” remain, awaiting
the return of the Ego from Devachan. As the Ego while inhabiting a body, and during the sleep of the body, may ascend to
Devachanic regions without hindrance by the fact of the existence of that body or the desires pertaining to it, so, after the
death of the body, the Ego is not held by the disintegrating process of his lower principles, but may quickly pass through the
kama-lokic (dreaming) to the Devachanic state. The kama-rupa is but the mass of desires and passions, abandoned by the
real person who has fled to “heaven.” Yet, as some dream more than others and in different ways, there is a period of
greater or less extent before the segregation of the kama-rupa is complete, before the Triad is entirely free. You will note
that Mr. Judge writes, “When the separation is complete (between the body that has died, the astral body and the passions
and desires) . . . the Higher Triad . . . immediately goes into another state.”
If it is remembered that the real Man is the Perceiver of all states, the different states will simply mean his perceptions on
different planes. When he finally leaves his lower principles or instruments, he has no further perceptions of those sorts, but
has others of a higher sort. He never ceases to perceive, while in manifestation, on any plane; he simply changes the
direction of perception. While occupying a body and during waking hours, he is affected by the stimuli received through the
body; after the body sleeps, he is affected by the repetition of the stimuli more or less during the dream; these die out and
he is free as Ego on a still higher plane. At death these have a wider range, each of the lower principles beginning to
disintegrate immediately upon the death of the body, for it was the field of their operation.
Body of itself has no consciousness, no power of perception; it is the gross, concrete, earthly part with which we contact
earthly things. One of the Teachers wrote, “Chelaship does not Consist in any kind of eating or drinking, in any practices,
observances, forms, or rituals; it is an attitude of mind.” Another Teacher said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all
the rest shall be added unto you.” The reason for this is that it is the mind which is involved. If we resort to practices, then the
mind is bent upon them, becomes more and more implicated in them, and as they are concrete things, the mind becomes
of that complexion. Jesus said, “Be ye not as the Pharisees who make clean the outside of the platter.” The inner nature has
a diet out of our thoughts and motives. If those are low or gross or selfish, it is equivalent to feeding that nature upon gross
food. True Theosophic diet is therefore of unselfish thoughts and deeds, untiring devotion to the welfare of Humanity,
absolute negation of self, unutterable aspiration to the Supreme Soul. This only is what “we can grow upon, and vain are the
hopes of those who pin their faith on any other doctrines.”
As to bodily food. It is that which best agrees with you, taken in moderation, neither too much nor too little. If your
Constitution and temperament will permit vegetarianism, then that will give less heat to the blood. “If from illness or long
habit a man cannot go without meat, why, by all means let him eat it. It is no crime; it will only retard his progress a little; for
after all is said and done, the purely bodily functions are of far less importance than what a man thinks and feels, what
desires he encourages in his mind and allows to take root and grow there.” (H. P. B.)
I am saying so much on this subject because experience has shown that it is so easy for students to slip into bodily
observances and stay there; this is the wrong end to begin on. It is best not to make any particular selection as to diet; take
what best agrees with you and sustains your body best. There is nothing in vegetarian diet to create spirituality. The Hindus
who have been vegetarians for centuries are, for the most part, degraded, and the better portion have as much difficulty as
the western man in the acquirement of spiritual knowledge. Also, cows and sheep would be spiritual if such food had that
kind of effect. It is the motive that counts, too, in anything. If a person stops eating meat in order that he may, by complying
with that condition, attain to a development he has set before him, he misses the mark and has acquired a selfish motive for
the line thus adopted. Also, of course, you should know that it has proved to be a real danger for western peoples, whose
digestive organs have become habituated to a meat diet, to change to a vegetarian one. The trouble does not arise from
weakness following lack of meat, but from imperfect digestion causing disease—due to the retention in the stomach of
vegetable matter for so long a time that yeasts and other growths, including alcoholic fermentations, are thrown into the
circulation, sufficiently to bring on nervous diseases, tuberculosis, and manifold other derangements. It is well known that a
man who has melancholia due to systemia cannot expect to reach a high development in occultism.
The first thing, then, is to have the right kind of thoughts; the other, and by far the least important, is diet, in which the main
thing to be observed is, eat whatever will keep the body in the best working condition, so that it may be as effective an
instrument for work in the world as possible. It is quite true that the foods of the present time are not ideal. In the future better
products will be had, but they will come from right thinking; our present work is to think from a right basis and become
established in that basis, and assist others to do likewise. From this will flow what is in accord with it, from within, outward—
a natural growth.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Seven
No one who sees his mistakes can be a hopeless case. The moment we see that we are deluded, that moment we are no
longer deluded, although we may be surrounded by the consequences of delusion and have to work through them. Any
trouble and hindrance come from self-identification With delusion and mistakes; this is the delusion of delusions.
The way you are furnishing the motive power for the business is great. One feels less and less desire for the things of this
world, but he must work. It is Karma, and Karma is Dharma—duty; duty, not ‘inclinations,” is what is required of us. The
motive is duty, not love of the game as it is played; we would not play for love of it. But if we aspire to become as Masters
are, we work as those do who work for themselves and for ignoble aims. We work just as they do, but our work is not theirs.
It is well to keep the mind off the future as much as possible, as far as results are concerned, and to concentrate on the
immediate work in hand; do that and the rest will follow and find you ready to go on with it—whatever it may be. Above all,
avoid being carried away by the excitement of effort; be calm and confident; cultivate calmness and confidence; by them
one preserves his best judgment and highest powers. Each day contains no more than a day’s work; each day contains so
many hours for the appointed work; let each day and hour be attended to as it arrives. Avoid useless sacrifice of thought
and effort; conserve energies; work without strain.
If help is to come into the Movement we have at heart, the ways by which it will come are provided, and the opportunities will
be presented. All we have to do is to take advantage of the opportunities, step by step, as they arrive, doing the best we
know, but fearing no failure, courting no success. Keep the attitude “I am doing nothing” before you; it will serve to lessen the
strain that makes you tired. Take the position that everything is going to be for the best, and that your part is to perform
whatever comes before you to do. It then becomes the performance of duty, and should arouse no more strain than routine
work. And build no castles in the air: they cause only fear of their destruction, and in themselves are useless. Take what
Karma brings you and make good use of it. Karma will bring to us what belongs, so there can be no cause for worrying over
any future. There is need only that we hold all our powers in readiness to make good use of what is brought to us, and this is
best done by a quiet, calm, confident performance of what we are able to do, day by day, from day to day.
I am glad that M— is getting on right lines. Hope that he will get on a straight line of thought and action. So many mystical
minds from their love of mystic meanings turn over the dust heaps of times when hidden meanings were absolutely
necessary, and overlook the clear unequivocal truth which is before their very eyes. This is lack of discrimination. If they
studied the work of the Lodge down the ages, they would know better than to spend much time on past efforts, the only
record of which is found in the impress made on minds of the time, and they would at once take up the lines laid down in the
present effort.
Yes, it is war; but not against persons. War for the Truth— the eternal ideas, the eternal thought in the Eternal Mind; war
against error, cant and hypocrisy. When the Eternal Verities are presented to the world, they are always presented through
persons. Some worship or lean on the persons; others curse, defame or be little them; none of these look at what is brought
forward and handed on. So, too, when error is pointed out, it has to be designated and names used to specify; again, the
thoughtless see an attack upon persons. In an age of “personality,” the ordinary mind cannot see beyond it, unless care is
taken on each occasion to explain it. The war is to help “personalities” to become “living souls.” It is the Mahabbarata—the
Holy War. Ideas are ideas by whomever written or expressed; so, they can flow through anyone who is in the right condition.
We find Theosophical ideas in every direction, in all classes of thought, speech, and writing; pieces here and there are as
good as any that Theosophy gives, but there is no synthesis. Theosophy is synthetic and spells unity in diversity, the
diversity being only apparent, not real. “Meanwhile the world of real Occultists smiles silently, and goes on with its laborious
process of sifting out the living germs from the masses of men. For occultists must be found and fostered and prepared for
coming ages when power will be needed and pretensions go for naught.”
When we consider—as we must—that our individual lives stretch back for untold ages, and have an illimitable future, and
that the present bodily existence is but one small aspect of that great continuous Being, we rise above the temporary, while
acting in it, and, seeing more of the right proportions and relativities, are less involved or troubled by “what may come to
pass.” This of itself is much to have gained; it gives the steadiness of the warrior in the fight. “Forget not this lesson, the
spiritual man is in this world to get rid of defects. His external life is for this only, hence we are all seen at a disadvantage.”
Looking at life from this point of view, everything that comes is an opportunity to be taken advantage of by that “spiritual
man,” and in everything we find that “glorious unsought fight that only fortune’s favored soldiers may obtain.”
You will remember what W. Q. J. wrote: “None of us, and especially those who have heard of the Path, or of Occultism, or of
the Masters, can say with confidence that he is not already one who has passed through some initiations, with knowledge of
them. We may already be initiated into some higher degree than our present attainment would suggest, and are undergoing
a new trial unknown to ourselves. It is better to consider that we are, being sure to eliminate all pride of that unknown
advance we have made.” We may all take comfort and encouragement from what is there said, for it may be especially true
of those who are fired with zeal for Master’s work. Well, I will close now; grieve not, fear not, but cut all doubts with the sword
of knowledge.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Eight
What you say about “incarnations like H. P. B. and W. Q. J. being evidently governed by conditions widely different from
ordinary humanity” is correct. If we would look at the bodily H. P. B. as a mirror which reflected from above and from below
as well, giving back to each who confronted it his own reflection according to his nature and power to perceive, we might
get a better understanding of her nature. To the discriminative, it was a well of inspiration; in it the commonplace, the Judas,
the critic, and every other saw himself reflected. Mighty few caught a glimpse of the real individuality. Each got the evidence
that he sought. We have the Master’s words that the body of H. P. B. was the best that they had been able to obtain for
many centuries. Those who looked at the body and its human characteristics got what that view was capable of giving them;
those who looked at the mind behind got what came from it, in the degree of their comprehension; those who were able to
look into the causes of things saw what their depths of sight gave them—more or less of Truth. “By their fruits, shall ye know
them.”
The Jews are still looking for a coming Messiah. It is very, very few who discover the “Presence,” and among them, even,
the tendency is to relate it to the present times and surroundings only, and so miss the greater scope. Many years after such
Visits, one here and there begins to see landmarks that indicate that “some one of importance” has been among the
people; but they too relate everything to their “present time.” And so it goes, each “discoverer” putting his construction on the
facts, while there results an exoteric degradation of Truth—a regard of events and persons, rather than an understanding of
truths imparted; finally, someone else has to come, facing similar treatment. All the time, however, and each time, an
impress is made upon the thought of the age and humanity gains a little: there is no other way.
It is interesting to turn to the “Esoteric Character of the Gospels,” by H. P. B. “Theosophists—at any rate some of them—
who understand the hidden meaning of the universally expected Avatars, Messiahs, and Sosioshes and Christs—know that
it is no end of the world, but the consummation of the age—that is, the close of the cycle—that is fast approaching.” [ was
written November and December, 1887, and January, 1888.] She said, “There are several remarkable cycles that come to
a close at the end of this century
[ nineteenth ] . First, the 5,000 years of the Kali-Yuga cycle; again, the Messianic cycle of the Samaritan (also Kabalistic)
Jews, of the Man connected with Pisces. It is a cycle historic and not very long, but very occult, lasting about 2155 years, but
having a true significance only when computed by lunar months. It occurred 2410 and 255 B. C. or when the equinox
entered into the sign of the Ram, and again into that of Pisces. When it enters, in a few years, the sign of Aquarius,
psychologists will have some extra work to do, and the psychic idiosyncrasies of man will enter on a great change.” This
“great change” I think can be stated in three words:
Susceptibility to suggestion, good, bad or indifferent. Look about you and see if this is not so. Are the “Messiahs” of today
using suggestion? And was there ever a time when men should use their reason more than at the present time, based upon
the widest possible consideration of facts collected for humanity? Jesus said, “Take heed lest no man lead you astray, for
many shall come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and shall lead many astray.
If any man shall say unto you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ go not forth; ‘behold he is in the inner chambers,’ believe
them not. For as the lightning (light) cometh from the East, and is seen even in the West, so shall be the presence of the Son
of Man.” The esoteric savior is no man, but the divine principle in every human being. What is needed is a knowledge of the
Path that leads to Him or It. The foolish look for a “Man”; the wise look for a “Message.” Few know the Messenger when He
comes, but it is possible for many to know a true Message by putting it to every conceivable test. The “Messiah” has come
and gone; but He has left the “Comforter”—His Message. He will return, but not for several generations of men. It is possible
for men to get at the truth of these things if they will take the trouble to make the search in all sincerity.
H. P. B. said, “Do not follow me nor my path; follow the Path I show, the Masters who are behind.” This she knew to be the
safe course for all, for each one will judge of the words and deeds of a personality from his own standpoint and
understanding, some under-rating, some exaggerating, and some with indifference. At the same time, for those who are
able to see behind the veil of physical maya, there is recognition of those who are travelling the same path, and in that
recognition, there is comfort and help which extends from the smallest to the greatest—a great band of brothers which
includes the Masters as the Guides and the Consummation. “Whosoever does it unto the least of these, does it unto me.”
A Siddha-Purusha (perfect man) is like an archeologist who removes the dust and lays open an old well which has been
covered up by ages of disuse. The Avatara, on the other hand, is like an engineer who sinks a new well in a place where
there was no water before. Great Men give salvation to those only who have the waters of piety hidden in themselves, but
the Avatara saves him too whose heart is devoid of love and dry as a desert.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Nine
I think you have taken the right position in your letter and I like it very much. There are just two positions. One stands fairly
and squarely upon the Messengers, Their Message, and the admission of Their knowledge as to the needs of the interim
between Their appearances, that period being clearly stated by Them so that there could be no vain imaginings that we
were left alone in the world and to our own devices. The other position holds that They could not see ahead, that They did
what They could, and left what They did to the tender mercies of the world and the imperfect knowledge of Their followers;
that, in fact, there was no guidance in what They left of record, as to study, philosophy, and propaganda.
We stand in and on the first position; there we are sure. The closer we stick to it and to what They left us, the nearer we will
be to the lines They laid down. You will remember what is covered in that article of
W. Q. J.’s on “The Future and the Theosophical Society”:
“There must be adherence to the program of Masters. That can only be ascertained by consulting her and the letters given
out by her as from Those to whom she refers. There is not much doubt about that program.” ... This is the moment to guide
the recurrent impulse which must soon come and which will push the age toward extreme atheism or drag it back to extreme
sacerdotalism, if it is not led to the primitive, soul-satisfying philosophy of the Aryans.’ ... “We must follow this program and
supply the world with a system of philosophy which gives a sure and logical basis for ethics, and that can only be gotten
from those to which I have adverted.” ... “By our unity the smallest effort made by us will have ten-fold the power of any
obstacle before us or any opposition offered by the world.” ... “Our destiny is to continue the wide work of the past in
affecting literature and thought throughout the world, while our ranks see many changing quantities but always holding those
who remain true to the program, and refuse to become dogmatic or give up common sense in Theosophy. Thus we will wait
for the new messenger, striving to keep the organization alive that he may use it.”
Our friends may claim that they are affecting literature and thought in the way they pursue, but is it true that they could do so
with any purpose or direction, were it not for those who stand by the program and uphold the standard of true philosophy
and the scientific basis for ethics? Besides, it is recorded in scripture well known to our friends, “No man putteth new wine
in old bottles, lest the bottles break and the wine be lost.” The inevitable result will be as just stated. Literature is not affected
that way, nor religion. Christianity is a “revealed religion”; its basis lies in the Bible revelation, and nowhere else; to change
it, the true basis must be given without pandering to error; otherwise, there is only a change of error. We may well remember
that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, and dispense the leaven, leaving the leavening process in both literature and
religion to take its own course, as it undoubtedly will if we are true to our trust.
Theosophy is for those who want it and for none others. Our standard is clear and unequivocal, and we may be able to help
even old and sincere students by our inquiries. Either there is true knowledge or there is not; if there is, and we are assured
in our-selves of it, let us assert it, maintain it, and let error correct itself. It looks hypocritical to me to get in with a lot of church
people and pretend that we think just as they do, to say that Christianity is just what we believe, is, in fact, Theosophy, when
what is understood by the word “Christianity” is antagonistic to the Eternal Verities, and we know it. Is Theosophy to be
administered surreptitiously? If so, will the unfortunate “patients” ever know where they are? If they get a distaste for
Christianity as it is taught, what will they have a taste for? We know where we stand and why.
Perhaps the lack of any real success in all these years is a lack of real faith in Masters, as well as the attitude of being “poor
miserable sinners” and unworthy; hence, the lack of strength of Conviction. If there is to be learning, the student must have
confidence in his Teacher, and follow the lines he sets forth, or no good result can come. When he knows more, or thinks he
does, than his Teacher, let him seek another more advanced. If one desires to teach another, there must be a “tone of
settled conviction” to carry any weight. It will appear if the Teacher has any real knowledge. But this does not carry with it any
more “authority” than the student accords, and in Theosophy could never rightly be imposed, as the appeal is to the reason,
intelligence, and inner perception. What does it matter if the writer believes he speaks from a higher plane of knowledge
than that with which the reader is acquainted, if he seeks to impose nothing? is not the whole effort of students to acquire
knowledge in order to pass it on? How can they pass on what they have not? Are there different degrees of knowledge, and
are they to be recognized and sought after? To sum up in a nutshell: There are older students; without them there would be
no younger ones, and no work done; this line runs from the very youngest to the Masters. “We are all alike and some
different.”
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Ten
I suppose it is inevitable that you should find yourself head over heels in work on your return home. It is a “muddy civilization,”
and we have to wade through the “mud” of it; but there is comfort in the thought that we are not any of the mud and can go
through it and look toward the end in view—the goal to be reached—for the sake of those who are hopelessly floundering.
So, perhaps we take upon ourselves the muddiest kind of mud in performing the task we have undertaken. If we look at all
the pressures and strains in this way, we shall not be discouraged by anything that may come to pass. In our course we
have to take advantage of conditions as we may, and always of such as tend to the end in view. Is it not so that mountains
are climbed? Also, we can reach the valley only by careful descent. Do we not thus climb and descend, figuratively, all the
time?
About men and women “as such,” and the ideas which prevail with each in regard to the other: these must change, being
based on physical differentiations and on accentuation of separateness mentally and physically. We have to look at souls
and minds, regardless of the kind of body which envelops them, and get away from the hard and fast conclusions so
common in the world. These differentiations are not at once to be gotten rid of, but a better recognition must have its
beginning, and who should have this, most clearly, but those who see the Triad in every human being?
The present movement of women is such an assertion; it is neither a fad nor a fancy, but an urge of the rising cycle.
Necessarily it must follow, at first, the ordinary lines of thought and action pursued by the men in general; but it is bound to
work into lines which affect the home, the family, and general human interests, rather than possessions. Errors of judgment
and mistakes will doubtless be made, but from them better judgment will come. No one can help the restrictions of time,
place and circumstance; they should be recognized, and what is to be done, done as best may be under them.
Most men are burdened with positivity, right or wrong; most women with negativity, right or wrong; both men and women
having these qualities in balance, or approaching it, are nearer to the “double spinal cord,” which must come about in the
race as a whole. I share your opinion as to women speakers in general, but I am not blind that there are exceptions, and I
look for them, and am glad when I see signs of such in the work; for they can best help that side, and they can and do
express a quality of devotion which mighty few men possess.
As you say, not only much but all that was ever written was by way of “pointers.” Each soul is held by some conception,
some interest, which he takes to be the "summum bonum”; the consideration of these is necessary in order to lead the mind
from the unreal to the Real. There is no other way. Even those who know real things get caught up in the “turba,” the
phantasmagoria that we create for ourselves, and have difficulty in reverting to the Real and Eternal—such is the strength of
objective consciousness which begets the idea of separateness. We have to see and know all these classifications in
pointing to the unity of which they are impermanent expressions. True it is that there are but few books necessary.
“Let me say one thing I know; only the feeling of true brotherhood, of true love toward humanity aroused in the soul of some
one strong enough to stem the tide, can carry us through. For love and trust are the only weapons that can overcome the
Real enemies against which the true Theosophist must fight.” “Let us all draw together in mind and heart, soul and act, and
try thus to make that true brotherhood through which alone our universal and particular progress can come.”
“The number of true Theosophists is not legion. The ranks are not crowded. They are not to be known or judged by
standards of the world, but by the strength of their convictions. They are one and all dead in earnest. They are those who
though they may not have outwardly renounced, have inwardly relinquished, and who will be glad when the incidentals are
swept away, and only the essentials remain. They are those who move from age to age invincible and eternal.”
One asked me a question the other day: why, in view of our undoubted relations in past lives, are we placed in positions that
are so difficult and so dark, when the obviously fortunate one was so near and so clearly defined. The answer that came to
me was:
Long ago you took a vow, one of the meanings of which was to step out of sunlight into shade to make more room for
others.” We should remember that this was voluntarily done by the inner man, and that now, the very principles of our nature
compel us to act, as it were, against our inclination. We should also remember the harder the battle, the greater the victory,
and nothing but victory will suffice us. Yes, the present is the test; the past we will meet in the future—that present which has
not yet ripened. Yet it is said that the process of development consists in the recovery of the memory of the past. This,
however, cannot mean the sordid details of physical existence, nor would there be much concern whether one wielded a
battle-axe, or what “part” one played in the various dramas of existence, but a something larger, finer, greater—the memory
of the divine Ego, and those functions of our real life which go on during sleep.
It is all lived out in the mind. Most minds instead of living and acting out their ideals in the present, and fulfilling their present
known duties to others, waste most of their opportunities in memory and anticipation. To live and act fully and rightly in the
present is the whole of life; the dynamic force of the brain would then act fully and rightly, and there would be no exhaustion.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Eleven
As the work goes on and new elements are added to it, there must occur the process of assimilation. Each new nature is a
new element and has its peculiar effect, but there is nothing in this to cause any surprise or dismay. All the time there must
be the getting closer together of the “living germs”; this goes on while we work, each in his own way. Few of us have
pleasure in the works themselves that are our Dharma, but we know we are there to do, and they are there to be done.
One of the great troubles we make ourselves, I think, is the construction of a mechanical universe. And it will not work out to
our satisfaction. This way is swimming against the stream. The Universe is guided from within outwards and all possible
knowledge of “outwards” will give no real understanding. In trying to gain a knowledge of “outwards,” there is an exercise of
what we are pleased to call the mind; but from what foundation and to what end? The problems that the “mind” has are
before it here and now, and concern not what has been or what is to be. What if we do know all the laws and forces, all the
processes; will that fit us any better to do whatever comes before us? The law works in us and through us; we are ministers
of the law, and while recognizing this, while doing our best with what we have and see, further power and perception come.
The Upanishads say that this “real knowledge is not to be gained by the mind, but by the subtle sight of the subtle—sighted”
—---the Perceiver.
What is your confusion about Mind? The Self only eternally Is. Now what are all the rest? Perceptions, I think; some
permanent, being related to the Self, or of the Self; others, perceptions of perceptions and impermanent in that they are in
constant change. The two classes or bundles of perceptions in individuals would be Higher and Lower Mind. Perhaps
Higher and Lower Self would be better, but no set terms can give anything but approximations of differences of perceptions.
We may call what is perceived “matter,” or “prakriti,” that basis by which action may take place. It would seem that this basis
is the general result of the interpenetration, interblending, and interaction of the perceptions of multitudinous classes of
beings.
The “mind” with which we work is just a bundle of perceptions of this physical plane wherein every idea held has a physical
basis. Can such a “bundle” include or solve that which is the cause, or sustaining power itself? Each plane has its own
mode or “mind,” and the only way by which we in lower manas can approximate the inner is by rising to that plane where the
perception and the mode is different. Can it be wondered at that all at tempts to solve by brain-mind must be temporary
hypotheses, one after the other discarded as we see its futility? Yet the very exasperation induced sometimes opens a door
to us.
There is a state of Soul as Spectator without a spectacle, also many states of “spectacles” more or less circumscribed.
Spirit, I think, would not be the whole of any given class, although such a condition might be called “spirituality,” if the ideas
were the eternal verities. Naught adheres to Spirit.
There must be that Mind or Power to Perceive which takes in primal causes as well as subsequent effects; also that other
circumscribed action which deals with minor causes and effects. Mind is the power to perceive, residing in the Perceiver,
its manifold perceptions and possibilities presenting kinds of mind and separate ideas and actions. All spiritual beings are
the same in kind, differing only in degree. Terms are confusing, but ideas may be had out of the confusion, if we adhere to
the One Reality—which is both Being and Non-Being. Each has his own way of seeing and translating what he sees.
The question as to whether one could, or could not, get benefit from hearing of Theosophy before death, depends on one’s
ability to realize its truth; the mere listening to the words without realization or acceptance could have no place in the
thoughts of the thinker. The karma, however, that brought the dying one in contact with those desirous of so helping, will
bring him again in contact with that knowledge and probably under better auspices. No effort is lost. Our love for others is
truly shown in our desire to serve, and love is the great bond. The highest love that we can have for those nearest and
dearest to us should be the standard which we should strive to hold toward our other selves—an intense love of humanity,
one which seeks their highest good, which seeks nothing for self, but has all that fortuitously comes. “Friends for the future.”
A mental change or glimpse of truth may make a man suddenly change to the truth even at death, thus creating good
skandhas for his next life. But the karmic effects of the past life must follow. H. P. B. said that the Ego was drawn before
birth to the scenes of his former life, saw the meaning and trend of it all and the karmic results that must ensue, and knows
the justice of it. There is also the “summing up” after death—cause and sequence, and “Being’s ceaseless tide.”
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Twelve
It is well to hold the position you do—to maintain the true attitude of the “higher carelessness.” It makes no difference what
ever what we do; how we do anything is what counts. And as there is always something doing, we have always opportunity
to practice right doing.
It is no good being anxious; all we have to do is to do our best with each moment and live it as it comes. “If the candidate
has firm reliance on the Law, he will not have to wait too long.” In this way whatever comes will be right for him. We must
take the position that whatever is right will come about, and while making use and taking advantage of every opportunity,
feel that if what seemed good did not come our way, it was best that way for the main object that we worked for. In this case
we preserve our best energies, and are neither elated nor cast down by whatever comes to pass.
We are apt to overlook the good we afford to others by our effort. Every one we affect, even in a slight degree, affects
others, and no one can say what may be done for the future through in direct methods. There is much encouragement in this,
and encouragement means a continuation of courage. We have but to keep on in the courage with which we began, for in all
great effort there is sure to be reaction; and knowing this to be the Law, we are prepared, and never downcast, but like the
song, “We wait for the turn of the tide,” and ride higher on it.
I was looking over the magazine article you mentioned. It is interesting, instructive in places, intelligent and bountifully
interspersed with diagrams. It gives the impression of great learning on the subject. But it speaks here and there of the
Logos and His care of His children. Too much of the personal God under another name, thus leaving “His” poor, ignorant,
sinful children none the wiser as to their godlike nature! The article made me think of the way the Jesuits side-tracked
Masonry. They entered it, obtained its secrets, invented “higher degrees” to draw attention from what lay hidden in the
original ones, and gradually made it innocuous, and incapable of leading to the knowledge that they feared. Much that is
going on and has gone on in the . . . society has the appearance of leading into innocuous desuetude. This is the mode of
working of Brahmano-Jesuitical forces, and the ordinary thinker is unable either to perceive, or credit it if warned. It is not
believed that there are Dark Forces and their agents in the world, and that they war within that which they would destroy; that
they dress themselves up in “sheep’s clothing” so as to be unsuspected. But it is too true. Every failure to establish the
Wisdom- Religion is to be traced to the work of the Dark ones among the unsuspecting stupid “sheep,” who are appealed
to through their weakness and led astray. There is no panacea for stupidity and ignorance but self-knowledge,
discrimination; anything that leads away from them leads to desolation. Would that there might be some way by which eyes
could be opened to a wise and proper consideration of all things. Yet, if one should publicly point out these
things, “untheosophical” would be the least charge laid at his door. All that we can do is to accentuate the difference
between the Eye Doctrine and the Doctrine of the Heart with full exemplification. The talk glibly of these, but in the words of
Kipling, “what do they understand?” Those in that society who have the “heart-desire” may find that doctrine, but the mass
have it not, and are kept from its consideration by every means.
Without any conceit, you know it would be admitted by
those who listen to you that it would be an easy matter for you to draw diagrams, and lecture on the differentiation of
species, on the various Logo, Dhyanis, and classes of beings, Rounds and Races and so forth; but you know, and anyone
can see, that if one had all these qualities at his tongue’s end, he would not be one whit better in character, nor would he
possess any real knowledge—the knowledge that leads to the wisdom and power of the Adept. Intellectual acquaintance is
well enough for those who are entertained by that sort of thing, but those who seek self-knowledge, who will not be satisfied
with anything else, go not by that road. Self-knowledge is the first desideratum; the other is incidental, and useless without
the first. The first requires whole-heartedness, self-discipline, constant service, unflagging determination. It is undertaken
only by determined souls and continued by increased heroism—of such are the immortal heroes of the ages. The second
can be followed by any schoolboy, and is necessary to some extent, as an equipment for the sake of others, but unless
subservient to the first, it is useless as a means of growth. The general tendency is toward “intellectualism,” and it is easy to
follow that line of acquisition. The effort should therefore be to present and practice the study that leads to growth, using the
“process” only to assist the understanding. The opposite is too generally the practice. There are Theosophists in name and
Theosophists by nature; they are different.
BACK
NEXT
Letter One
OUR letter of ‘Wednesday is here; a good brave letter, and true all through, covering the ground. Yes, if we were quite
certain that They were on hand always to pull us out of holes we walk into carelessly, or have made possible by past neglect,
we would never become as They are. All the same we are helped, and in the right way, the way our nature needs, not
necessarily according to the way we assume would be the proper one. If helped at all, it must be so. “Ingratitude is not one
of our vices,” is Their written statement, and it is lived up to; the very best that can be done for us is done, and being done all
the time. At times we may doubt, but this arises from the personal uncertainty, fear of some or another kind of consequence.
We should take it that whatever arises is a necessary position for us to be in, in order for us to do further and greater work
for Them. This must be, if we are true to Them; so, while doing all we can to make the way sure and clear according to our
light, we step forward with strength and boldness because the Path is ours and Theirs. We lay our strength and our
weaknesses on the altar of sacrifice. Does not the Gita say “Place all thy works, failures and successes alike, on me”? The
fact that some are recognized as bad means their relinquishment, sooner or later. The reason for this seems plain; if we
waited till we were saints, would we ever begin? We would not. So, recognizing this interiorly—if not in words—we go on
and keep going. This is the gist of your letter, and it warms me up to have you write it.
This is a school and everything that comes for us to do contains a lesson for us. ‘We should not forget that, ever. What
comes at any time contains in it the thing we need; so whether it seems hard, troublesome, or pleasant, there is something
in it for us. Also it is well to bear in mind that W. Q. J. says in the “Spiritual Will,” that the essence of eradicating the personal
element lies in doing the things we dislike to do. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to hunt them up. They come to us right
along. If we had to hunt them, we might let a lot of them go by, as not the right kind, or for some other reason. Being Arjunas,
we have the battles ready to our hand.
There comes a time in our development when work seems useless and irksome, but W. Q. J. says, “the disciple must work,”
notwithstanding. I think that in the irksome work is the clearing up of Karma, and clarification of the sheaths. We are doing it
all, bearing it all, for the Self. It is by the giving up of self that the White Adept becomes. That which galls, that which hurts, is
the personal desire unattained, or feared to be unattainable. We know it very well, but find the pressure hard many times.
We also know that “realization comes from dwelling on the thing to be realized;” so we have to keep on, and “dwell” as much
as we possibly can. Every effort brings the time of realization nearer.
I was amused at the remark of the lady, “If we could see on the astral plane, we could find there that H. P. B. made
mistakes.” I would say, “Perhaps if we could understand English, our mother tongue, and could understand the simplest
information in regard to a thing we had never heard before, and knew the very first laws of Occultism, we would keep
silence, try to learn, and refrain from showing our ignorance.” This “parrot-talk” has a tendency to make me “tired.” I have
heard it before, and I am not gentle with it as I am with other things. It is so unspeakably silly; I often quietly say things that
tend to startle such people out of their goose-like assurance. (You have seen geese and heard them!)
These people should be told to stop taking as a fact what other people tell them, and if they want to know anything, go study
the history of the Movement from every point of view. We have done it, and are giving out the result, which they can verify if
they choose. What we are giving cannot be refuted in any way but by that history, assimilated and understood. We stand on
the whole record, without omissions or interpolations. Of course, the study needs a modicum of power to understand the
meaning of words and their application; if they have it not, then they would better follow some “leader” or another until they
have acquired it. This is not their class.
When the lady asked if never lectures on “what Theosophy is,” it would have been a great opportunity to have her tell what it
is. I imagine she would have exposed her ignorance. Such people—many of them—think that talk about Lemuria and
Atlantis, Parabrahm, the Logoi, Pitris and what not, is Theosophy; none of them understand even what they talk about. No
very explicit information was given out by H. P. B., and there is none other to be had. The races are simply sketched so as
to give a general comprehension of the history and nature of the preceding races; if we knew every detail about them, it
would not help us any. True knowledge does not lie in the direction of book-study, as we know, and as doubtless you have
told them.
They — were asking last night in respect to the “Declaration.” I had said at one time that the very words were Mr. Judge’s;
they evidently got the idea that he had “communicated” the Declaration to me. I told them that I had been looking for the right
thing to put Out as a Declaration of Principles and that while on that hunt, you had sent me the very thing I wanted, further
explaining that the Messengers had left all that was necessary for us, and that it was for us to apply the right things at the
right time and places. thought that was rather discouraging, evidently thinking that we should have direction in ways and
means. I tried to show we could not do any good, if directed in everything; we would not grow in discrimination, power and
judgment; we would be but automata, and would never fill the necessary place. No doubt we would be helped by
readjustment rather than direction, so we should not look for the latter, but using our best Theosophical judgment, move
forward, feeling sure that if our understanding of the nature of the task is good,and our motive pure, the right way will appear
to us. Such would be guidance of the right sort, one that leads to growth. Should it be necessary to have “direction” at any
time, we may be sure that it, also, will come. In the meantime we live and learn; and we should not forget that They and we
are working for the future, and for the same end.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Two
Glad that you had such a good and large meeting, and that your courage increases as time goes on. You would not have
believed a year ago that such progress in the work and in understanding could be made in the time elapsed. Think of the
numbers of souls awakened and set upon the right path by going the way yourself and pointing it out to others. This is
something that falls to the very few. “Just to thy wish the door of heaven is found open before thee, through this glorious
unsought fight which only fortune’s favored soldiers may obtain.” The kind of fighting was not our choosing, but was and is
that of fortune’s favored soldiers; the end of the battle is not seen until the enemy has surrendered. He may be defeated in
one place to stand and give battle in another; so the fight keeps on because a soldier of the Kshatriya tribe has no duty
superior to lawful war. War is his business, and he should find joy in the battling with difficulties presented to him to try his
courage, to test his strength and endurance. “Make pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat, the same to thee,
and then prepare for battle, for thus and thus alone shalt thou in action still be free from sin.”
I can readily imagine the troubles found in getting people to really study; as a rule, the necessity is not perceived, and this, I
think, on account of the present methods of education wherein the soul and mind are considered as mere recorders. Is it not
strange that plain statements are not grasped, that the superficial meanings of words are taken to be the applications of
them? All of which is chargeable to our modern educational methods. Most men think that when they have heard a
statement made, they know it.
Some one or two may wake up, among a number of those interested, and therein lies the hope; also we know that those
who merely listen or read with attention get something in the way of a trend that sometime will develop into greater things. It
is not labor lost, although results at times do not appear to be commensurate with the effort put forth. We make the effort,
and the effort brings results: this is enough. We may not look for any specific kind of results, but keep on doing the best we
know and can; this includes all proper ways and means open to us.
What you say about Consciousness is right, as I see it. There is consciousness and its perceptions, the latter becoming
more and more objective creations on different planes of matter on account of the Creative, Preservative and Destructive
powers inherent in Consciousness, or, more properly, the Self. ‘Whatever state of consciousness the Perceiver may be in,
the things of that plane are for the time being his only realities.” It is all relativity and here is where the knowledge of the Real
and the Unreal frees from bondage. The whole universe exists only for purposes of Soul. Soul is individualization of Being;
we, as self-conscious beings, have to remain in the bondage of matter long enough to give lower segregated entities the
necessary impetus toward self- consciousness. The majority do this work unconsciously, partly right and partly wrong. It is
possible to do it consciously and free from attachment, as well as rightly.
A good comprehension of the processes is wise and necessary, for the sake of others who need to see that the way of
devotion is not that of merely being good. The books of devotion contain the rules of war, the duties—individual and
collective—of the warrior, the right conduct in the field. Moreover, they give the maps of battle-grounds where the foe is to
be met, and tell how the battle should be fought—to win. All the works of the Teachers have their places, and all of Them had
a particular work to do. Those who think that the Teachers can be pigeon-holed— as some do—have failed to grasp the
meaning of the Movement. We can see how the work of one Teacher so clearly and so beautifully complemented that of the
other. You remember what H. P. B. wrote to W. Q. J.: “As you in America will prevail, if you only remain staunch to Master’s
program.” There is no way under heaven by which we shall know that program except through the record left by those Two.
The more we proceed on the line we are going, the more clear does it show itself to be according to the “program.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Three
I am rejoiced that you find lessons in all these things that come to pass: this is the realizing of the meaning of life. Most
people take it to mean eating, drinking, waking, sleeping, enjoying, doing business for gain in order to do these things—and
learning nothing, frittering away opportunities, multiplying difficulties, avoiding by every possible means those things from
which they might learn.
Our attitude should be that if there is work and we can do it, we must, regardless of results; we know that the Law takes care
of them, without thought or effort on our part, and with exactitude undisturbed by our sentiments. We see that and admit it,
yet fear to trust, even when we know that there is nothing else that can be done by us.
One finds spiritual knowledge springing up spontaneously within him, not because of his mental exertions, but because of
his “attitude of mind.” “Place thy heart on me as I have declared myself to be, serve me, offer unto me alone, and thou shalt
come to me; I swear it, for thou art dear unto me.” Krishna calls these “my supreme and most mysterious words”; he adds,
“He who expoundeth this supreme mystery to my worshippers shall come to me if he performs the highest worship of me,
and there shall
not be among men any one who shall serve me better than he, and he shall be dearest unto me of all on earth.” What
determines it? Thought determines it. Motive determines it.
I am glad that you wrote R— and put it up squarely. I think that was the right thing to do; if it hurt personal pride for you to do
it, the hurt showed the need. A sore place like that is not right; some massaging will not do it any harm. The fact that you felt
better after writing shows you knew that it was the right thing all the time, but hesitated, like the boy with the tooth and the
string. The personality is what you say—a “peach.” It can play all parts, from lord of all creation to Uriah Heep, as its
occasion requires, and the man is involved in its pretensions. But he learns, and some time Mr. Personality will be “out of a
job”; “there won’t be no such thing”; instead, there will be a whole man.
I can understand the trepidation that arises in such a transaction as you mention; one does not want to make a mistake
because of the large loss that would be incurred, and yet one must decide to do or not to do. The nature of your business
contemplates a certain amount of risk based on the probable action of others. It is a sort of gamble; probabilities are better
in some cases than in others, but in any, there is no certainty to be obtained. To be able to determine accurately one would
have to know all the converging factors, to see them all in their several courses, and this is not possible to us; so we have to
guess on probabilities to a great extent. It is this uncertainty which un nerves us. We do not want to make a loss, and we do
not want to lose a business opportunity. The only course left, is seems to me, is to determine whether it would be
considered a fair risk; if so, we would be justified in taking it, because there is no way by which results can be absolutely
assured. Our judgment would then be centered on the quality of the risk, leaving results to general average—that being all
that we can do.
The Conditioned is surely unlimited in its capacity for wrong action, but we might remember that the Unconditioned does not
and cannot act. “The Self acts only through its creatures;” the conditioning is collective. The conditioned has also to exercise
its capacity for right action; its ascertained errors lead in this direction, and the possibilities are also unlimited. All being is
conditioned, but in it there is an infinite variation. If we rise out of one set of conditions we are in another. The secret would
seem to be non-identification with conditions of any kind, while working in and with those which on any plane surround us,
improving our judgment and discrimination in regard to them all the time, as well as the instrument in use on that plane,
giving the conscious lives of which that instrument is composed the right direction.
Had we transcended physical conditions, we should not be trammelled by them, would not be in them, except by choice.
Even then we could not do other than put ourselves under their operations and limitations, in order to gain a full
comprehension of them in all their bearings upon those in that condition by necessity. We have to abide by the rules of
whatever game we are playing; at the same time we may know better games.
It is good to have that “touch of heart” which transcends time, space and conditions. I fully appreciate it, and you know that it
exists on my part. Love to you and the highest success in your endeavors.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Four
While situations are not always agreeable, or what we would choose, yet they are the very apparatus by means of which we
learn discrimination; you know that. Seeming misfortunes turn into blessings if taken right; this must be true if the purpose of
life is to learn. Everything that comes is a part of life, and when it comes to us, it is a part of our life; so all must be right for
us if our object is to learn. If people could only look at it in that way, they would learn more, get through with less friction, be
happier, and, in reality, have fewer difficulties to surmount; the necessity for learning ceasing, no means are drawn to us for
that purpose. It is Karma, all of it, and as students we should realize and benefit by the knowledge. But it takes time for most
to do so, and opportunities are lost and energy uselessly expended in the meantime. Our work is with ourselves, however,
and we can do only what we can for others, giving them such opportunities as are beyond us to take; then they must choose.
W. Q. J. said there are two things needed—to hold on firmly, and to have perfect confidence. I think therein lies the door to a
safe refuge. (He used the words “hold on grimly”—which is more expressive of determination.)
It is true that when we are relying on other things, we are not relying on the law. Yes, it looks a good deal darker than it really
is. We have to grow accustomed to another kind of light, and we shall then see as plainly, or more so, than before. The very
sacrifices made to relieve the trials of others are also tests for ourselves, and means of growth, growth coming from the
sacrifice of the lower to the higher in every way, as well as on every plane of being. It is spiritual fire that burns out all the
dross. At no time is the way easier, but it is sure, and the refining goes on. If we must go down, it will be with our flags flying,
fighting to the very last. That is the worst that could happen, and even that is not very bad for us, though others might suffer
because of our removal to another field. We may now regret the possibility, but then we would not, because no more could
be done.
Also, your thought that we are not deserted must be right. Too often we think all depends upon our effort and continuance;
yet we must know that all these things are provided for, and there are always those who are near us, who see and know, and
will never fail us, even though we have to go through the gates of death to get a wider vision and understanding. All the trial
and training tend to pull us out of one place in order that we may lay hold of another and better one, when we determine to
“suffer or enjoy whatever the Higher Self has in store for one by way of discipline and experience.” It is the Higher Self that
pulls us into places and conditions that the personality would run in affright from, if it alone were acting. It shrinks from the
unknown like the steed, but the rider by spur, bridle, and encouragement makes it carry him where he desires to go, for he
knows where food, shelter, and rest await both.
In this work natures are intensified; good and bad come to the surface, but the cleansing process is gradual. Each must do
his own work of elimination where such is seen to be needed; it is a process of purpose and discrimination, and events
bring us opportunities. Wise are those who take advantage of opportunities and examine motives in the handling of events.
The Law works in strange ways at times; it is never idle and it makes no mistakes. Let us rely on IT, for there is nothing else
on which we may. If I were utterly worthless, your love and faith and courage would bring results to you just the same, and
your sacrifice to an ideal bring out in you all that the ideal holds. And when it is Truth itself we seek and serve, nothing can
dismay us or turn us aside. It is much to have gained this understanding—worth its cost ten thousand times.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Five
You have it right about passing from plane to plane daily but relating everything to the brain circle of necessity and thus
losing the meanings. I think both a dwelling on the fundamentals and a giving it to others is what produces the best results.
W. Q. J. says, ‘ it (the Will) is freed from the domination of desire and at last subdues the mind itself. But before the
perfection of the practice is arrived at, the will acts according to desire, only that desire is for higher things and away from
those of material life.” The ordinary events and duties of the day do become fatiguing and harassing to the earnest student
by the very nature of the change of attitude and plane of action, and of the changes going on in the body itself; but this has to
be overcome. The disciple must work, must do every duty, not in order to get it done, but as though his whole interest were
in it and it were the only thing to be done. This, you will see, is because desire is working in the new field.
As to memory: you see that memory is a faculty of perceiving registration. Registration is there, but oftentimes remote from
the plane of perception, the impression being pressed upward, as it were, from below. Physical memory can be trained to
greater effectiveness, a close observation and notation of every thing and every circumstance being the principal agent. We
have many careless habits of letting things impress us without definite notation. For instance, people often look at their
watch and put it back in the pocket; then, being asked, “What time is it?” have to look again, being unable to tell. In such
cases, the object was to see what time it wasn’t, and observation went no further in the way of notation. To carefully note
things and not allow the notation to affect our proper course of conduct—that is, to note impersonally—is studying the hearts
of men who make up the world in which we live; is studying man as a whole, in fact, for the whole is made up of the parts.
Such an attitude neither judges nor condemns, but votes, in order to help understandingly. This careful notation works both
ways, inwardly as well as outwardly, and tends to effectiveness of the physical registry. Motive counts in this as well as
elsewhere; otherwise, it might descend to “peering about.” One sees without giving any indication of having done so, and
without the slightest intention of making any personal use of perception so gained. When we can read the thoughts of
others, such knowledge is never used to the detriment of others but ever for their benefit and with wisdom; like the saying of
the Masons, it is “locked in the safe and sacred repository of the heart.”
I think you have the understanding of “Look not behind or thou art lost.” The context says, “Kill in thyself all memory of past
experiences.” If we do not do this, we live in them and rejuvenate them. Having in the past made a deep impression, while
we have now increased our power of thought, they are re-lived with increased power and expression. Reliance on the Self—
“That Thou Art”—is the way out. “As we admit the reality of the Higher Self, we should embrace the idea, dwell on it day in
and day out until the will and desire naturally incline to it and have it as the subtone or aim of thought. This process will make
the line of influence brighter and better with every thought. When the influence grows strong it pervades the entire nature and
strengthens as well as improves. It will give knowledge and also energy. This is the real and only road to the Masters, the
Adepts, the Mahatmas.”
What you say is true, that any other position than that of the Self is all the more disastrous because temporarily strong.
Whatever a man relies upon, to that he goes; he, only, who relies upon the Self is not subject to rebirth. It does require an
immortal courage to have an immortal point of view, and to hold to it while watching and guiding the lower forces in unity, for
the Self of All. The Spiritual Will cannot act so long as there is any selfishness in the action or the desire for its results. The
only way out is renunciation of self-interest in the fruits of actions, and while the perfection of renunciation may not now be
ours, growth in that direction is always possible, and each modicum of growth makes for better attainment.
It is well to have recognized that for a long time the hidden activity of the spiritual aspiration manifests most in the increased
activity of the lower nature, and this may also mean in the circumstances of life. It is the hastening of Karma, which may be
good quite as well as what we might be disposed to call ‘ Karma. Good Karma is that which is pleasing to Iswara; bad
Karma is that which is displeasing to Iswara—the best definition of the two kinds.
We need not mind what we have not done nor yet what we have done. Have care only for what we are doing; so shall we
best work and serve. Like St. Paul, we find the spirit willing but the flesh weak, yet the latter gets stronger all the time. It
looks weaker than it is because of the higher standard of judgment we apply to it. Always the inner is the more perfect, and
it is that which does the work of perfecting. He who seeth that all his actions are performed by nature only and that the Self
within is not the actor sees indeed.” Our Declaration says, “A truer realization of the Self, a profounder conviction of
universal brother-hood.” We are beginning to realize what those words mean, and we realize it by teaching it and
endeavoring to live it.
The Perceiver having to be understood as changeless troubles a good many. This is because we identify that which
perceives with its perceptions. Each person has what he calls his mind, but many think that the present attitude of mind is
the Perceiver, although he had other attitudes at one time, and will have still others because He changes his mind as He
perceives need for such change. The mind is therefore only his instrument for comprehending things and natures on the
plane upon which it is used. That instrument can be strengthened and improved; it is and must be something permanent
which uses, strengthens, and improves the instrument. The mind might be likened to a telescope in use by the Man, the
Perceiver, in order to be able to perceive the nature of the things about him. He can act only in accordance with what He
perceives through the telescope. If the telescope is not properly adjusted or out of focus, the perception will be out of true,
and wrong action will follow. The Perceiver must there-fore learn, by experience and through the experience of others like
himself with similar instruments, the proper adjustment and focussing of the instrument upon which right perception and
action depend. If he became any particular perception or perceptions gained through his instrument, he would immediately
lose all relation with other possible attitudes to be obtained, together with those that have been obtained.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Six
You ask about the Ego leaving the astral body. I think that the best comprehension of the subject can be had by analogy.
‘When one is said to be asleep, the Manas or mind is no longer receiving nor transmitting impressions through the body; he
passes into the dreamless state, where he functions as a spiritually self-conscious being until the cycle of return comes to
function through the body again. Now if we regard death as a more complete sleep, a final one for that body, the Ego would
simply cease forever to function through that body; the linga sarira or “form” astral would immediately begin to disintegrate,
remaining with the body until its last particle, except the skeleton, is dissipated. The Ego, however, is no more tied to the
one than to the other; the Kama Rupa, or desire form, aggregates itself from the skandhas or tendencies of the lower nature
clothed in astral matter (not the linga sarira), and the Ego ascends to Devachan clothed in his highest essence. The Kama
Rupa quickly or slowly fades out, according to the grossness of the nature of the man in life, but its “seeds” remain, awaiting
the return of the Ego from Devachan. As the Ego while inhabiting a body, and during the sleep of the body, may ascend to
Devachanic regions without hindrance by the fact of the existence of that body or the desires pertaining to it, so, after the
death of the body, the Ego is not held by the disintegrating process of his lower principles, but may quickly pass through the
kama-lokic (dreaming) to the Devachanic state. The kama-rupa is but the mass of desires and passions, abandoned by the
real person who has fled to “heaven.” Yet, as some dream more than others and in different ways, there is a period of
greater or less extent before the segregation of the kama-rupa is complete, before the Triad is entirely free. You will note
that Mr. Judge writes, “When the separation is complete (between the body that has died, the astral body and the passions
and desires) . . . the Higher Triad . . . immediately goes into another state.”
If it is remembered that the real Man is the Perceiver of all states, the different states will simply mean his perceptions on
different planes. When he finally leaves his lower principles or instruments, he has no further perceptions of those sorts, but
has others of a higher sort. He never ceases to perceive, while in manifestation, on any plane; he simply changes the
direction of perception. While occupying a body and during waking hours, he is affected by the stimuli received through the
body; after the body sleeps, he is affected by the repetition of the stimuli more or less during the dream; these die out and
he is free as Ego on a still higher plane. At death these have a wider range, each of the lower principles beginning to
disintegrate immediately upon the death of the body, for it was the field of their operation.
Body of itself has no consciousness, no power of perception; it is the gross, concrete, earthly part with which we contact
earthly things. One of the Teachers wrote, “Chelaship does not Consist in any kind of eating or drinking, in any practices,
observances, forms, or rituals; it is an attitude of mind.” Another Teacher said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all
the rest shall be added unto you.” The reason for this is that it is the mind which is involved. If we resort to practices, then the
mind is bent upon them, becomes more and more implicated in them, and as they are concrete things, the mind becomes
of that complexion. Jesus said, “Be ye not as the Pharisees who make clean the outside of the platter.” The inner nature has
a diet out of our thoughts and motives. If those are low or gross or selfish, it is equivalent to feeding that nature upon gross
food. True Theosophic diet is therefore of unselfish thoughts and deeds, untiring devotion to the welfare of Humanity,
absolute negation of self, unutterable aspiration to the Supreme Soul. This only is what “we can grow upon, and vain are the
hopes of those who pin their faith on any other doctrines.”
As to bodily food. It is that which best agrees with you, taken in moderation, neither too much nor too little. If your
Constitution and temperament will permit vegetarianism, then that will give less heat to the blood. “If from illness or long
habit a man cannot go without meat, why, by all means let him eat it. It is no crime; it will only retard his progress a little; for
after all is said and done, the purely bodily functions are of far less importance than what a man thinks and feels, what
desires he encourages in his mind and allows to take root and grow there.” (H. P. B.)
I am saying so much on this subject because experience has shown that it is so easy for students to slip into bodily
observances and stay there; this is the wrong end to begin on. It is best not to make any particular selection as to diet; take
what best agrees with you and sustains your body best. There is nothing in vegetarian diet to create spirituality. The Hindus
who have been vegetarians for centuries are, for the most part, degraded, and the better portion have as much difficulty as
the western man in the acquirement of spiritual knowledge. Also, cows and sheep would be spiritual if such food had that
kind of effect. It is the motive that counts, too, in anything. If a person stops eating meat in order that he may, by complying
with that condition, attain to a development he has set before him, he misses the mark and has acquired a selfish motive for
the line thus adopted. Also, of course, you should know that it has proved to be a real danger for western peoples, whose
digestive organs have become habituated to a meat diet, to change to a vegetarian one. The trouble does not arise from
weakness following lack of meat, but from imperfect digestion causing disease—due to the retention in the stomach of
vegetable matter for so long a time that yeasts and other growths, including alcoholic fermentations, are thrown into the
circulation, sufficiently to bring on nervous diseases, tuberculosis, and manifold other derangements. It is well known that a
man who has melancholia due to systemia cannot expect to reach a high development in occultism.
The first thing, then, is to have the right kind of thoughts; the other, and by far the least important, is diet, in which the main
thing to be observed is, eat whatever will keep the body in the best working condition, so that it may be as effective an
instrument for work in the world as possible. It is quite true that the foods of the present time are not ideal. In the future better
products will be had, but they will come from right thinking; our present work is to think from a right basis and become
established in that basis, and assist others to do likewise. From this will flow what is in accord with it, from within, outward—
a natural growth.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Seven
No one who sees his mistakes can be a hopeless case. The moment we see that we are deluded, that moment we are no
longer deluded, although we may be surrounded by the consequences of delusion and have to work through them. Any
trouble and hindrance come from self-identification With delusion and mistakes; this is the delusion of delusions.
The way you are furnishing the motive power for the business is great. One feels less and less desire for the things of this
world, but he must work. It is Karma, and Karma is Dharma—duty; duty, not ‘inclinations,” is what is required of us. The
motive is duty, not love of the game as it is played; we would not play for love of it. But if we aspire to become as Masters
are, we work as those do who work for themselves and for ignoble aims. We work just as they do, but our work is not theirs.
It is well to keep the mind off the future as much as possible, as far as results are concerned, and to concentrate on the
immediate work in hand; do that and the rest will follow and find you ready to go on with it—whatever it may be. Above all,
avoid being carried away by the excitement of effort; be calm and confident; cultivate calmness and confidence; by them
one preserves his best judgment and highest powers. Each day contains no more than a day’s work; each day contains so
many hours for the appointed work; let each day and hour be attended to as it arrives. Avoid useless sacrifice of thought
and effort; conserve energies; work without strain.
If help is to come into the Movement we have at heart, the ways by which it will come are provided, and the opportunities will
be presented. All we have to do is to take advantage of the opportunities, step by step, as they arrive, doing the best we
know, but fearing no failure, courting no success. Keep the attitude “I am doing nothing” before you; it will serve to lessen the
strain that makes you tired. Take the position that everything is going to be for the best, and that your part is to perform
whatever comes before you to do. It then becomes the performance of duty, and should arouse no more strain than routine
work. And build no castles in the air: they cause only fear of their destruction, and in themselves are useless. Take what
Karma brings you and make good use of it. Karma will bring to us what belongs, so there can be no cause for worrying over
any future. There is need only that we hold all our powers in readiness to make good use of what is brought to us, and this is
best done by a quiet, calm, confident performance of what we are able to do, day by day, from day to day.
I am glad that M— is getting on right lines. Hope that he will get on a straight line of thought and action. So many mystical
minds from their love of mystic meanings turn over the dust heaps of times when hidden meanings were absolutely
necessary, and overlook the clear unequivocal truth which is before their very eyes. This is lack of discrimination. If they
studied the work of the Lodge down the ages, they would know better than to spend much time on past efforts, the only
record of which is found in the impress made on minds of the time, and they would at once take up the lines laid down in the
present effort.
Yes, it is war; but not against persons. War for the Truth— the eternal ideas, the eternal thought in the Eternal Mind; war
against error, cant and hypocrisy. When the Eternal Verities are presented to the world, they are always presented through
persons. Some worship or lean on the persons; others curse, defame or be little them; none of these look at what is brought
forward and handed on. So, too, when error is pointed out, it has to be designated and names used to specify; again, the
thoughtless see an attack upon persons. In an age of “personality,” the ordinary mind cannot see beyond it, unless care is
taken on each occasion to explain it. The war is to help “personalities” to become “living souls.” It is the Mahabbarata—the
Holy War. Ideas are ideas by whomever written or expressed; so, they can flow through anyone who is in the right condition.
We find Theosophical ideas in every direction, in all classes of thought, speech, and writing; pieces here and there are as
good as any that Theosophy gives, but there is no synthesis. Theosophy is synthetic and spells unity in diversity, the
diversity being only apparent, not real. “Meanwhile the world of real Occultists smiles silently, and goes on with its laborious
process of sifting out the living germs from the masses of men. For occultists must be found and fostered and prepared for
coming ages when power will be needed and pretensions go for naught.”
When we consider—as we must—that our individual lives stretch back for untold ages, and have an illimitable future, and
that the present bodily existence is but one small aspect of that great continuous Being, we rise above the temporary, while
acting in it, and, seeing more of the right proportions and relativities, are less involved or troubled by “what may come to
pass.” This of itself is much to have gained; it gives the steadiness of the warrior in the fight. “Forget not this lesson, the
spiritual man is in this world to get rid of defects. His external life is for this only, hence we are all seen at a disadvantage.”
Looking at life from this point of view, everything that comes is an opportunity to be taken advantage of by that “spiritual
man,” and in everything we find that “glorious unsought fight that only fortune’s favored soldiers may obtain.”
You will remember what W. Q. J. wrote: “None of us, and especially those who have heard of the Path, or of Occultism, or of
the Masters, can say with confidence that he is not already one who has passed through some initiations, with knowledge of
them. We may already be initiated into some higher degree than our present attainment would suggest, and are undergoing
a new trial unknown to ourselves. It is better to consider that we are, being sure to eliminate all pride of that unknown
advance we have made.” We may all take comfort and encouragement from what is there said, for it may be especially true
of those who are fired with zeal for Master’s work. Well, I will close now; grieve not, fear not, but cut all doubts with the sword
of knowledge.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Eight
What you say about “incarnations like H. P. B. and W. Q. J. being evidently governed by conditions widely different from
ordinary humanity” is correct. If we would look at the bodily H. P. B. as a mirror which reflected from above and from below
as well, giving back to each who confronted it his own reflection according to his nature and power to perceive, we might
get a better understanding of her nature. To the discriminative, it was a well of inspiration; in it the commonplace, the Judas,
the critic, and every other saw himself reflected. Mighty few caught a glimpse of the real individuality. Each got the evidence
that he sought. We have the Master’s words that the body of H. P. B. was the best that they had been able to obtain for
many centuries. Those who looked at the body and its human characteristics got what that view was capable of giving them;
those who looked at the mind behind got what came from it, in the degree of their comprehension; those who were able to
look into the causes of things saw what their depths of sight gave them—more or less of Truth. “By their fruits, shall ye know
them.”
The Jews are still looking for a coming Messiah. It is very, very few who discover the “Presence,” and among them, even,
the tendency is to relate it to the present times and surroundings only, and so miss the greater scope. Many years after such
Visits, one here and there begins to see landmarks that indicate that “some one of importance” has been among the
people; but they too relate everything to their “present time.” And so it goes, each “discoverer” putting his construction on the
facts, while there results an exoteric degradation of Truth—a regard of events and persons, rather than an understanding of
truths imparted; finally, someone else has to come, facing similar treatment. All the time, however, and each time, an
impress is made upon the thought of the age and humanity gains a little: there is no other way.
It is interesting to turn to the “Esoteric Character of the Gospels,” by H. P. B. “Theosophists—at any rate some of them—
who understand the hidden meaning of the universally expected Avatars, Messiahs, and Sosioshes and Christs—know that
it is no end of the world, but the consummation of the age—that is, the close of the cycle—that is fast approaching.” [ was
written November and December, 1887, and January, 1888.] She said, “There are several remarkable cycles that come to
a close at the end of this century
[ nineteenth ] . First, the 5,000 years of the Kali-Yuga cycle; again, the Messianic cycle of the Samaritan (also Kabalistic)
Jews, of the Man connected with Pisces. It is a cycle historic and not very long, but very occult, lasting about 2155 years, but
having a true significance only when computed by lunar months. It occurred 2410 and 255 B. C. or when the equinox
entered into the sign of the Ram, and again into that of Pisces. When it enters, in a few years, the sign of Aquarius,
psychologists will have some extra work to do, and the psychic idiosyncrasies of man will enter on a great change.” This
“great change” I think can be stated in three words:
Susceptibility to suggestion, good, bad or indifferent. Look about you and see if this is not so. Are the “Messiahs” of today
using suggestion? And was there ever a time when men should use their reason more than at the present time, based upon
the widest possible consideration of facts collected for humanity? Jesus said, “Take heed lest no man lead you astray, for
many shall come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and shall lead many astray.
If any man shall say unto you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ go not forth; ‘behold he is in the inner chambers,’ believe
them not. For as the lightning (light) cometh from the East, and is seen even in the West, so shall be the presence of the Son
of Man.” The esoteric savior is no man, but the divine principle in every human being. What is needed is a knowledge of the
Path that leads to Him or It. The foolish look for a “Man”; the wise look for a “Message.” Few know the Messenger when He
comes, but it is possible for many to know a true Message by putting it to every conceivable test. The “Messiah” has come
and gone; but He has left the “Comforter”—His Message. He will return, but not for several generations of men. It is possible
for men to get at the truth of these things if they will take the trouble to make the search in all sincerity.
H. P. B. said, “Do not follow me nor my path; follow the Path I show, the Masters who are behind.” This she knew to be the
safe course for all, for each one will judge of the words and deeds of a personality from his own standpoint and
understanding, some under-rating, some exaggerating, and some with indifference. At the same time, for those who are
able to see behind the veil of physical maya, there is recognition of those who are travelling the same path, and in that
recognition, there is comfort and help which extends from the smallest to the greatest—a great band of brothers which
includes the Masters as the Guides and the Consummation. “Whosoever does it unto the least of these, does it unto me.”
A Siddha-Purusha (perfect man) is like an archeologist who removes the dust and lays open an old well which has been
covered up by ages of disuse. The Avatara, on the other hand, is like an engineer who sinks a new well in a place where
there was no water before. Great Men give salvation to those only who have the waters of piety hidden in themselves, but
the Avatara saves him too whose heart is devoid of love and dry as a desert.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Nine
I think you have taken the right position in your letter and I like it very much. There are just two positions. One stands fairly
and squarely upon the Messengers, Their Message, and the admission of Their knowledge as to the needs of the interim
between Their appearances, that period being clearly stated by Them so that there could be no vain imaginings that we
were left alone in the world and to our own devices. The other position holds that They could not see ahead, that They did
what They could, and left what They did to the tender mercies of the world and the imperfect knowledge of Their followers;
that, in fact, there was no guidance in what They left of record, as to study, philosophy, and propaganda.
We stand in and on the first position; there we are sure. The closer we stick to it and to what They left us, the nearer we will
be to the lines They laid down. You will remember what is covered in that article of
W. Q. J.’s on “The Future and the Theosophical Society”:
“There must be adherence to the program of Masters. That can only be ascertained by consulting her and the letters given
out by her as from Those to whom she refers. There is not much doubt about that program.” ... This is the moment to guide
the recurrent impulse which must soon come and which will push the age toward extreme atheism or drag it back to extreme
sacerdotalism, if it is not led to the primitive, soul-satisfying philosophy of the Aryans.’ ... “We must follow this program and
supply the world with a system of philosophy which gives a sure and logical basis for ethics, and that can only be gotten
from those to which I have adverted.” ... “By our unity the smallest effort made by us will have ten-fold the power of any
obstacle before us or any opposition offered by the world.” ... “Our destiny is to continue the wide work of the past in
affecting literature and thought throughout the world, while our ranks see many changing quantities but always holding those
who remain true to the program, and refuse to become dogmatic or give up common sense in Theosophy. Thus we will wait
for the new messenger, striving to keep the organization alive that he may use it.”
Our friends may claim that they are affecting literature and thought in the way they pursue, but is it true that they could do so
with any purpose or direction, were it not for those who stand by the program and uphold the standard of true philosophy
and the scientific basis for ethics? Besides, it is recorded in scripture well known to our friends, “No man putteth new wine
in old bottles, lest the bottles break and the wine be lost.” The inevitable result will be as just stated. Literature is not affected
that way, nor religion. Christianity is a “revealed religion”; its basis lies in the Bible revelation, and nowhere else; to change
it, the true basis must be given without pandering to error; otherwise, there is only a change of error. We may well remember
that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, and dispense the leaven, leaving the leavening process in both literature and
religion to take its own course, as it undoubtedly will if we are true to our trust.
Theosophy is for those who want it and for none others. Our standard is clear and unequivocal, and we may be able to help
even old and sincere students by our inquiries. Either there is true knowledge or there is not; if there is, and we are assured
in our-selves of it, let us assert it, maintain it, and let error correct itself. It looks hypocritical to me to get in with a lot of church
people and pretend that we think just as they do, to say that Christianity is just what we believe, is, in fact, Theosophy, when
what is understood by the word “Christianity” is antagonistic to the Eternal Verities, and we know it. Is Theosophy to be
administered surreptitiously? If so, will the unfortunate “patients” ever know where they are? If they get a distaste for
Christianity as it is taught, what will they have a taste for? We know where we stand and why.
Perhaps the lack of any real success in all these years is a lack of real faith in Masters, as well as the attitude of being “poor
miserable sinners” and unworthy; hence, the lack of strength of Conviction. If there is to be learning, the student must have
confidence in his Teacher, and follow the lines he sets forth, or no good result can come. When he knows more, or thinks he
does, than his Teacher, let him seek another more advanced. If one desires to teach another, there must be a “tone of
settled conviction” to carry any weight. It will appear if the Teacher has any real knowledge. But this does not carry with it any
more “authority” than the student accords, and in Theosophy could never rightly be imposed, as the appeal is to the reason,
intelligence, and inner perception. What does it matter if the writer believes he speaks from a higher plane of knowledge
than that with which the reader is acquainted, if he seeks to impose nothing? is not the whole effort of students to acquire
knowledge in order to pass it on? How can they pass on what they have not? Are there different degrees of knowledge, and
are they to be recognized and sought after? To sum up in a nutshell: There are older students; without them there would be
no younger ones, and no work done; this line runs from the very youngest to the Masters. “We are all alike and some
different.”
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Ten
I suppose it is inevitable that you should find yourself head over heels in work on your return home. It is a “muddy civilization,”
and we have to wade through the “mud” of it; but there is comfort in the thought that we are not any of the mud and can go
through it and look toward the end in view—the goal to be reached—for the sake of those who are hopelessly floundering.
So, perhaps we take upon ourselves the muddiest kind of mud in performing the task we have undertaken. If we look at all
the pressures and strains in this way, we shall not be discouraged by anything that may come to pass. In our course we
have to take advantage of conditions as we may, and always of such as tend to the end in view. Is it not so that mountains
are climbed? Also, we can reach the valley only by careful descent. Do we not thus climb and descend, figuratively, all the
time?
About men and women “as such,” and the ideas which prevail with each in regard to the other: these must change, being
based on physical differentiations and on accentuation of separateness mentally and physically. We have to look at souls
and minds, regardless of the kind of body which envelops them, and get away from the hard and fast conclusions so
common in the world. These differentiations are not at once to be gotten rid of, but a better recognition must have its
beginning, and who should have this, most clearly, but those who see the Triad in every human being?
The present movement of women is such an assertion; it is neither a fad nor a fancy, but an urge of the rising cycle.
Necessarily it must follow, at first, the ordinary lines of thought and action pursued by the men in general; but it is bound to
work into lines which affect the home, the family, and general human interests, rather than possessions. Errors of judgment
and mistakes will doubtless be made, but from them better judgment will come. No one can help the restrictions of time,
place and circumstance; they should be recognized, and what is to be done, done as best may be under them.
Most men are burdened with positivity, right or wrong; most women with negativity, right or wrong; both men and women
having these qualities in balance, or approaching it, are nearer to the “double spinal cord,” which must come about in the
race as a whole. I share your opinion as to women speakers in general, but I am not blind that there are exceptions, and I
look for them, and am glad when I see signs of such in the work; for they can best help that side, and they can and do
express a quality of devotion which mighty few men possess.
As you say, not only much but all that was ever written was by way of “pointers.” Each soul is held by some conception,
some interest, which he takes to be the "summum bonum”; the consideration of these is necessary in order to lead the mind
from the unreal to the Real. There is no other way. Even those who know real things get caught up in the “turba,” the
phantasmagoria that we create for ourselves, and have difficulty in reverting to the Real and Eternal—such is the strength of
objective consciousness which begets the idea of separateness. We have to see and know all these classifications in
pointing to the unity of which they are impermanent expressions. True it is that there are but few books necessary.
“Let me say one thing I know; only the feeling of true brotherhood, of true love toward humanity aroused in the soul of some
one strong enough to stem the tide, can carry us through. For love and trust are the only weapons that can overcome the
Real enemies against which the true Theosophist must fight.” “Let us all draw together in mind and heart, soul and act, and
try thus to make that true brotherhood through which alone our universal and particular progress can come.”
“The number of true Theosophists is not legion. The ranks are not crowded. They are not to be known or judged by
standards of the world, but by the strength of their convictions. They are one and all dead in earnest. They are those who
though they may not have outwardly renounced, have inwardly relinquished, and who will be glad when the incidentals are
swept away, and only the essentials remain. They are those who move from age to age invincible and eternal.”
One asked me a question the other day: why, in view of our undoubted relations in past lives, are we placed in positions that
are so difficult and so dark, when the obviously fortunate one was so near and so clearly defined. The answer that came to
me was:
Long ago you took a vow, one of the meanings of which was to step out of sunlight into shade to make more room for
others.” We should remember that this was voluntarily done by the inner man, and that now, the very principles of our nature
compel us to act, as it were, against our inclination. We should also remember the harder the battle, the greater the victory,
and nothing but victory will suffice us. Yes, the present is the test; the past we will meet in the future—that present which has
not yet ripened. Yet it is said that the process of development consists in the recovery of the memory of the past. This,
however, cannot mean the sordid details of physical existence, nor would there be much concern whether one wielded a
battle-axe, or what “part” one played in the various dramas of existence, but a something larger, finer, greater—the memory
of the divine Ego, and those functions of our real life which go on during sleep.
It is all lived out in the mind. Most minds instead of living and acting out their ideals in the present, and fulfilling their present
known duties to others, waste most of their opportunities in memory and anticipation. To live and act fully and rightly in the
present is the whole of life; the dynamic force of the brain would then act fully and rightly, and there would be no exhaustion.
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Eleven
As the work goes on and new elements are added to it, there must occur the process of assimilation. Each new nature is a
new element and has its peculiar effect, but there is nothing in this to cause any surprise or dismay. All the time there must
be the getting closer together of the “living germs”; this goes on while we work, each in his own way. Few of us have
pleasure in the works themselves that are our Dharma, but we know we are there to do, and they are there to be done.
One of the great troubles we make ourselves, I think, is the construction of a mechanical universe. And it will not work out to
our satisfaction. This way is swimming against the stream. The Universe is guided from within outwards and all possible
knowledge of “outwards” will give no real understanding. In trying to gain a knowledge of “outwards,” there is an exercise of
what we are pleased to call the mind; but from what foundation and to what end? The problems that the “mind” has are
before it here and now, and concern not what has been or what is to be. What if we do know all the laws and forces, all the
processes; will that fit us any better to do whatever comes before us? The law works in us and through us; we are ministers
of the law, and while recognizing this, while doing our best with what we have and see, further power and perception come.
The Upanishads say that this “real knowledge is not to be gained by the mind, but by the subtle sight of the subtle—sighted”
—---the Perceiver.
What is your confusion about Mind? The Self only eternally Is. Now what are all the rest? Perceptions, I think; some
permanent, being related to the Self, or of the Self; others, perceptions of perceptions and impermanent in that they are in
constant change. The two classes or bundles of perceptions in individuals would be Higher and Lower Mind. Perhaps
Higher and Lower Self would be better, but no set terms can give anything but approximations of differences of perceptions.
We may call what is perceived “matter,” or “prakriti,” that basis by which action may take place. It would seem that this basis
is the general result of the interpenetration, interblending, and interaction of the perceptions of multitudinous classes of
beings.
The “mind” with which we work is just a bundle of perceptions of this physical plane wherein every idea held has a physical
basis. Can such a “bundle” include or solve that which is the cause, or sustaining power itself? Each plane has its own
mode or “mind,” and the only way by which we in lower manas can approximate the inner is by rising to that plane where the
perception and the mode is different. Can it be wondered at that all at tempts to solve by brain-mind must be temporary
hypotheses, one after the other discarded as we see its futility? Yet the very exasperation induced sometimes opens a door
to us.
There is a state of Soul as Spectator without a spectacle, also many states of “spectacles” more or less circumscribed.
Spirit, I think, would not be the whole of any given class, although such a condition might be called “spirituality,” if the ideas
were the eternal verities. Naught adheres to Spirit.
There must be that Mind or Power to Perceive which takes in primal causes as well as subsequent effects; also that other
circumscribed action which deals with minor causes and effects. Mind is the power to perceive, residing in the Perceiver,
its manifold perceptions and possibilities presenting kinds of mind and separate ideas and actions. All spiritual beings are
the same in kind, differing only in degree. Terms are confusing, but ideas may be had out of the confusion, if we adhere to
the One Reality—which is both Being and Non-Being. Each has his own way of seeing and translating what he sees.
The question as to whether one could, or could not, get benefit from hearing of Theosophy before death, depends on one’s
ability to realize its truth; the mere listening to the words without realization or acceptance could have no place in the
thoughts of the thinker. The karma, however, that brought the dying one in contact with those desirous of so helping, will
bring him again in contact with that knowledge and probably under better auspices. No effort is lost. Our love for others is
truly shown in our desire to serve, and love is the great bond. The highest love that we can have for those nearest and
dearest to us should be the standard which we should strive to hold toward our other selves—an intense love of humanity,
one which seeks their highest good, which seeks nothing for self, but has all that fortuitously comes. “Friends for the future.”
A mental change or glimpse of truth may make a man suddenly change to the truth even at death, thus creating good
skandhas for his next life. But the karmic effects of the past life must follow. H. P. B. said that the Ego was drawn before
birth to the scenes of his former life, saw the meaning and trend of it all and the karmic results that must ensue, and knows
the justice of it. There is also the “summing up” after death—cause and sequence, and “Being’s ceaseless tide.”
LIVING THE LIFE
Letter Twelve
It is well to hold the position you do—to maintain the true attitude of the “higher carelessness.” It makes no difference what
ever what we do; how we do anything is what counts. And as there is always something doing, we have always opportunity
to practice right doing.
It is no good being anxious; all we have to do is to do our best with each moment and live it as it comes. “If the candidate
has firm reliance on the Law, he will not have to wait too long.” In this way whatever comes will be right for him. We must
take the position that whatever is right will come about, and while making use and taking advantage of every opportunity,
feel that if what seemed good did not come our way, it was best that way for the main object that we worked for. In this case
we preserve our best energies, and are neither elated nor cast down by whatever comes to pass.
We are apt to overlook the good we afford to others by our effort. Every one we affect, even in a slight degree, affects
others, and no one can say what may be done for the future through in direct methods. There is much encouragement in this,
and encouragement means a continuation of courage. We have but to keep on in the courage with which we began, for in all
great effort there is sure to be reaction; and knowing this to be the Law, we are prepared, and never downcast, but like the
song, “We wait for the turn of the tide,” and ride higher on it.
I was looking over the magazine article you mentioned. It is interesting, instructive in places, intelligent and bountifully
interspersed with diagrams. It gives the impression of great learning on the subject. But it speaks here and there of the
Logos and His care of His children. Too much of the personal God under another name, thus leaving “His” poor, ignorant,
sinful children none the wiser as to their godlike nature! The article made me think of the way the Jesuits side-tracked
Masonry. They entered it, obtained its secrets, invented “higher degrees” to draw attention from what lay hidden in the
original ones, and gradually made it innocuous, and incapable of leading to the knowledge that they feared. Much that is
going on and has gone on in the . . . society has the appearance of leading into innocuous desuetude. This is the mode of
working of Brahmano-Jesuitical forces, and the ordinary thinker is unable either to perceive, or credit it if warned. It is not
believed that there are Dark Forces and their agents in the world, and that they war within that which they would destroy; that
they dress themselves up in “sheep’s clothing” so as to be unsuspected. But it is too true. Every failure to establish the
Wisdom- Religion is to be traced to the work of the Dark ones among the unsuspecting stupid “sheep,” who are appealed
to through their weakness and led astray. There is no panacea for stupidity and ignorance but self-knowledge,
discrimination; anything that leads away from them leads to desolation. Would that there might be some way by which eyes
could be opened to a wise and proper consideration of all things. Yet, if one should publicly point out these
things, “untheosophical” would be the least charge laid at his door. All that we can do is to accentuate the difference
between the Eye Doctrine and the Doctrine of the Heart with full exemplification. The talk glibly of these, but in the words of
Kipling, “what do they understand?” Those in that society who have the “heart-desire” may find that doctrine, but the mass
have it not, and are kept from its consideration by every means.
Without any conceit, you know it would be admitted by
those who listen to you that it would be an easy matter for you to draw diagrams, and lecture on the differentiation of
species, on the various Logo, Dhyanis, and classes of beings, Rounds and Races and so forth; but you know, and anyone
can see, that if one had all these qualities at his tongue’s end, he would not be one whit better in character, nor would he
possess any real knowledge—the knowledge that leads to the wisdom and power of the Adept. Intellectual acquaintance is
well enough for those who are entertained by that sort of thing, but those who seek self-knowledge, who will not be satisfied
with anything else, go not by that road. Self-knowledge is the first desideratum; the other is incidental, and useless without
the first. The first requires whole-heartedness, self-discipline, constant service, unflagging determination. It is undertaken
only by determined souls and continued by increased heroism—of such are the immortal heroes of the ages. The second
can be followed by any schoolboy, and is necessary to some extent, as an equipment for the sake of others, but unless
subservient to the first, it is useless as a means of growth. The general tendency is toward “intellectualism,” and it is easy to
follow that line of acquisition. The effort should therefore be to present and practice the study that leads to growth, using the
“process” only to assist the understanding. The opposite is too generally the practice. There are Theosophists in name and
Theosophists by nature; they are different.
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