elementary theosophy

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THEOSOPHICALMANUALS

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ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHY

f)P56538The Aryan Theosophical Press

Point Lomaf California


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ofChe 'theological Seminar;?PRINCETON NEW JERSEY

FROM THE LIBRARY OF THECHARLES ROSENBURY ERDMAND.D., LL.D.

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The Aryan Theosophical PressPoint Loma, California


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THEOSOPHICAL MANUALS

ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYBY

A STUDENT

THIRD EDITION

The Aryan Theosophical PressPoint Loma, California

1912


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Copyright, 1907, by Katherine Tingley


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PREFACEnpHE remarks under this head are intended'' to be introductory to each of the Manuals.First, as to the spirit in which they are of-

fered. These Manuals are not written in acontroversial spirit, nor as an addition to thestock of theories awaiting public approval.The writers have no time to waste in arguingwith people who do not wish to be convinced,or who ridicule everything which is new totheir limited outlook. Their message is forthose who desire to know those who areseeking for something that will solve theirdoubts and remove their difficulties. For such,all that is needed is a clear exposition of theTheosophical teachings; for they will judgeof the truth of a teaching by its power to an-swer the questions they ask. People realize,much more now than in the early days of theTheosophical Society, the value of Theosophy;


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iv PREFACEfor the ever-increasing difficulties engenderedby selfishness and materialism, by doubt andthe multiplicity of theories, have created anurgent demand which it alone can satisfy.

Again, it is necessary to state clearly andemphatically the genuine teachings of Theo-sophy, as given by the Founder of the Theo-sophical Society, H. P. Blavatsky, and hersuccessors, William Q. Judge, and KatherineTingley. For, as H. P. Blavatsky predicted,there are persons who have sought to pervertthese teachings and turn them into a sourceof profit to themselves and their own selfishand ambitious schemes. The true teachingsdo not lend themselves to such purposes ; theirideals are of the purest and most unselfish.Hence these persons have sought to promul-gate under the name of Theosophy a pervertedform of the teachings, from which Brotherli-ness and other pure motives are omitted, andwhich contains doctrines which H. P. Blavat-sky showed to be maleficent and destructive.As these pseudo-Theosophists have gained acertain amount of notoriety by using the namesof the Theosophical Society and its Leaders,it is necessary to warn the public against them


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PRBPACB Vand their misrepresentations. Their teachingscan easily be shown, by comparison, to be di-rectly contrary to those of H. P. Blavatsky,whom they nevertheless profess to follow. In-stead of having for their basis self-sacrifice,self-purification, and the elevation of the hu-man race, these teachings too often pander toambition, vanity, and curiosity. In many casesthey are altogether ridiculous, and only cal-culated to make people laugh. Nevertheless'^;as these travesties have served to discredit thename of Theosophy and to keep earnest in-quirers away from the truth, it is well that thepublic should know their nature and origin.They are the work of people who were at onetime members of the Theosophical Society,but who did not find in it that food for theirown personalities of which they were really insearch. So they turned against their teachersin wounded pride and vanity, and started littlesocieties of their own with themselves atthe head.The writers of these Manuals have no per-

sonal grievance against any such calumniators.Inspired by a profound love of the sublimeteachings of Theosophy, they have made it


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vi PREFACEtheir life-work to bring the benefits which theyhave thereby received within the reach of asmany people as possible. And they feel thatthey will have the hearty sympathy and co-operation of the public in exposing folly andbringing the truth to light.Theosophy strikes unfamiliar ground inmodern civilization, because it does not come

under any particular one of the familiar head-tngs of Religion, Science, Philosophy, etc., intowhich our age has divided its speculative ac-tivities. It dates back to a period in the historyof mankind when such distinctions did not ex-ist, but there was one Gnosis or Knowledgeembracing all. Religion and Science, as wehave them today, are but imperfect growthsspringing from the remnants of that greatancient system, the Wisdom-Religion, whichincluded all that we now know as religion andscience, and much more. Hence Theosophywill not appeal to the same motives as religionand science. It will not offer any cheap andeasy salvation or put a premium upon mentalinactivity and spiritual selfishness. Neither canit accommodate itself to the rules laid downby various schools of modern thought as to


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PREFACE viiwhat constitutes proof and what does not.But it can and does appeal to the Reason.The truth of doctrines such as Theosophymaintains, can only be estimated by theirability to solve problems and by their harmonywith other truths which we know to be true.But in addition to this we have the testimonyof the ages, which has been too long neglectedby modern scholarship, but which is now beingrevealed by archaeologists and scholars, asH. P. Blavatsky prophesied that it would inthis century.It may perhaps be as well also to remindthose who would criticise, that the state ofmodern opinion is scarcely such as to warrantanybody in assuming the attitude of a judge.It would be quite proper for a Theosophist,instead of answering questions or attemptingto give proofs, to demand that his questionersshould first state their own case, and to behimself the questioner. The result would cer-tainly show that Theosophy, to say the veryleast, stands on an equal footing with anyother view, since there is no certain know-ledge, no satisfying explanation, to be found


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viii PREFACESince the daj^s when the wave of material-ism swept over the world, obliterating the

traces of the ancient Wisdom-Religion andreplacing it by theological dogmatism, our re-ligions have had nothing to offer us in the wayof a philosophical explanation of the laws ofBeing as revealed in Man and in Nature.Instead we have only had bare statementsand dogmatic assertions. The higher natureof man is represented by such vague wordsas Spirit and Soul, which have little or nomeaning for the majority. The laws of theuniverse are briefly summed up under theterm " God," and all further consideration ofthem shut off. Then came a reaction againstthe dogmatism of religion, and man pinnedhis faith to knowledge gained by study andreflection, limiting his researches, however, tothe outer world as presented by the senses,and fearing to trench upon the ground whichdogmatic theology had rendered the field ofso much contention. The result of this hasbeen that neither in religions nor sciences,have we any teaching about the higher natureof man or the deeper mysteries of the universe.This is a field which is left entirely unexplored,


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PREFACE ixor is at best the subject of tentative and un-guided conjectures.

Until, therefore, religious teachers havesomething definite, consistent, and satisfac-tory to offer, and until science can give ussomething better than mere confessions ofnescience or impudent denials with regard toeverything beyond its own domain, Theosophycan afford to assume the role of questionerrather than that of questioned, and does notowe anybody any explanations whatever. Itis sufficient to state its tenets and let themvindicate themselves by their greater reason-ableness; and any further explanation thatmay be offered is offered rather from goodwill than from any obligation.Theosophy undertakes to explain that which

other systems leave unexplained, and is, onits own special ground, without a competitor.It can issue a challenge to theology, science,and other modern systems, to surpass it ingiving a rational explanation of the facts oflife.

Again, there are some questions which it isbeyond the reach of the human mind, in its


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X PREFACEit would scarcely be just to arraign Theosophyfor not answering these.Judgment should in all cases be preceded

by careful study. There are always thosewho will impatiently rush to questions whicha further study would have rendered un-necessary; and it is safe to say that themajority of " objections " raised to Theosoph-ical teachings are such as could have beensolved by the objector himself, had he beena genuine student. In the ordinary coursesof education, scholars are required and arecontent, to accept provisionally many of theteachers' statements, in full confidence thatfurther study will explain what in the begin-ning cannot be made clear. In the samespirit an earnest student of Theosophy willbe wise enough to hold many of his difficul-ties in reserve, until, by further investigation,he has gained better acquaintance with hissubject. In the case of those who are notwilling to adopt these wise and patient meth-ods of study, it may be reasonably questionedwhether they are the more anxious to learnor to disprove.Above all it is sought to make these Man-


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PRBFACB xiuals such that they shall appeal to the heartand not merely to the head; that they shallbe of practical service to the reader in theproblems of his daily life, and not mere intel-lectual exercises. For there have been inpast days books written by persons more dis-tinguished for a certain grade of mental nim-bleness than for heartfelt devotion to thecause of truth; and these have appealed onlyto those people who love intricate philosophi-cal problems better than practical work. Butas H. P. Blavatsky so frequently urged, themessage of Theosophy is for suffering human-ity; and the great Teachers, whose sole pur-pose is to bring to mankind the Light ofTruth and the saving grace of real Brother-liness can have no interest in catering forthe mental curiosity of merely a few well-to-do individuals. Even soulless men, saidH. P. Blavatsky, can be brilliantly intellectualbut for those who are in earnest in their de-sire to reach the higher life intellectual fire-works alone will have little attraction. Weintend, therefore, to keep the practical aspectof the teachings always to the front, and to


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xii PREFACEthey claim to be the gospel of a new hopeand salvation for humanity.

These Booklets are not all the product ofa single pen, but are written by differentStudents at the International Headquartersof the Unive:rsal Brotherhood and Theo-SOPHICAL Society at Point Loma, California.Each writer has contributed his own quota tothe series.

For further explanations on Theosophygenerally, the reader is referred to the BookList published elsewhere in this volume and tothe other Manuals of this series, which treatof Theosophy and the various Theosophicalteachings.


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CONTENTSPAGE

Elementary Theosophy 1Who is the Man ? 5Body and Soul 10Body, Soul and Spirit 16Reincarnation 22Karma *^^The Seven in Man and Nature 39The Meaning of Death 48The Source of Theosophical Teaching . . 53


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ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYT^VERY one knows that the great rehgions

of the world dijfcr from each other ; andalso that in respect to the path of life inwhich they tell men to walk, they resembleeach other. They present also many other re-semblances and identities.

It has not yet occnrred to our scholarsthat there may be one great religion of whichall these are parts.

Nations have always differed in their char-acteristics, the difference being sometimes dueto the region in which they dwelt, sometimesto other causes. One people would be imagin-ative, another philosophical, another simpleone pastoral, another nomadic; one peaceful,another active and warlike. One dwells amidsmiling plains, another by the rock-ribbed sea.

If we were to tell some storv of science,


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2 ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYsay about atoms and molecules, to the classesof a school, we should not use the same lan-guage to the little children as to the elders.To every class we should tell the story differ-ently. If we were wise we should illustrateit from the games and stories that the childrenalready knew. To the very little ones wemight make the atoms talk and play, andso we might teach chemistry in the guise ofa fairy tale. To the boys that were olderwe might picture the atoms as marbles andballs ; to artistic children we might dwell moston the colors and sounds resulting from themovements and groupings of atoms and mole-cules. And to the higher classes we shouldbegin to introduce some of the abstrusemathematics which are concerned in thesequestions. We might put the case so differ-ently to the highest and lowest classes thatanyone who heard us talking to both mightnot guess that we were talking about the samethings. Yet we should be. And if the child-ren, on going home, tried to tell their parentsin their own words what they had heard, the


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BIBMBNTARY THEOSOPHY 3unlikeness would become still greater, forthey would be adding and leaving out.The word Theosophy is a blend of two

Greek words. Together they mean divinewisdom, and also wisdom concerning divinethings. There is a similar Sanskrit compound,Brahmavidya, properly meaning the samethings.

Theosophy itself is that complete story ofthe world and man, of which a part has beentold to every people, a part suited to theirneeds and development and peculiarities, andtold in language appropriate to their under-standing.

But however simply it had to be told, therewere always some among every people whosecomprehension ran beyond that of their fel-lows, and who had prepared themselves to fol-low the path of life more stedfastly. To such,more was told. And so we find everywherethis fact of two doctrines, one for the multi-tude and one for the few that latter, forcertain reasons mentioned elsewhere, alwaystold under pledge of secrecy. Jesus Christ, for


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4 ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYexample, said that to the multitude he spokein simple parables like the fairy-stories ofour illustration ; but that to the elect he spokefully the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven like the abstruse mathematics of our illus-tration.

Sometime in the near future, scholars willbe compelled by the force of their own factsto recognize the common container and sourceof the world's great religions. Their research-es would immediately be easier and morefruitful if they would but take its existenceas a hypothesis only. Prosecuting their studiesin its light they would soon be rewarded byseeing emerge from the confusion the majesticoutlines of the religion-philosophy now knownas Theosophy, But those who wish to under-stand it need not wait till then, nor need theyproceed by that method.


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II

WHO IS THE MAN?'T'HE first question answered by Theosophy,

a question upon which all else depends,is: Who am If If the answer: You areyourself, seems silly, that is only at firstglance.Nearly every one thinks of himself as identi-cal with the body. Is this the case? If itis, any talk about the soul, or immortality,is necessarily absurd.

We use the body: command it; work withit and train it, all as we w^ill. With it wesee, hear, touch, taste, and smell, employingeach sense just as we choose. It is obviouslyan instrument at our disposal, a wonderfullycomplicated tool.Can it then be the man? Can a player

be identical with his instrument, a carpenter


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6 ELBMBNTARY THBOSOPHYourselves to the difference by saying / amill, or growing old, forgetting that so faras we know, it is the body only, not the man,which is subject to these changes.

If then the man, the soul, is not identicalwith the body, it will be natural to ask whatbecomes of him when, as we say, he is un-conscious, or asleep, or dead; when in oldage his memory is gone, his mind childishonce more, his limbs stiff or paralysed. Sure-ly we must admit that in these cases the manhimself must have changed.From this point of view it does look as

if the man and his body were one and thesame, since he seems to change with itschanges. Let us go a step or two further andthen come back.

All the waking hours we are conscious ofa stream of thoughts. We cannot stop thestream, but we can generally direct it wherewe will. We can cause our thought to occupyitself with whatever we choose. We can stopthinking of any one thing and think of anyother. It is not always easy, for the mind


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WHO IS THE MAN? 7seems to be a living thing with wishes of itsown; but it is always possible.

So for two reasons it seems clear that themind is not the man. First because, like arestive horse it often opposes the wishes ofits owner ; and secondly, because the man can,if he uses will enough, turn it where he willas a carpenter turns a chisel. Yet again wemust ask what becomes of the man when hismind becomes delirious in fever or childishin old age.And then there are the feelings, emotions.These too go on all day. We are by turnshappy or miserable, hopeful or despairing, irri-tated or calm, compassionate or resentful.But these too we can control, especially ifwe have practised doing so. We can refuseto be miserable or ruffled; we can compelourselves to be hopeful, compassionate, con-siderate. Feelings also have a life and per-sistency of their own and may object to be-ing controlled. But as, with practice, we cando it, it seems that they also cannot be the man.


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8 BLBMBNTARY THEOSOPHYare, or ought to be, both under control of theman, the soul, through his will, we note nextthat there is a limit to this control. Bothneed a healthy body for their perfect health,and if the body is fevered or very old, mindand feeling are likely to be dim and feeble,or even quite distorted, despite every effortof the will. We have no warrant for sayingthat the man necessarily varies with variationsin his body; but we must say that to a verygreat extent the mind and emotions do. Sofar as they do not, it is because they are sus-tained and guided by the will.

This leads to the next point. However illor old the body may be, however unrespon-sive to the man's will, and however dimmedmay be the mind and feelings, the will itselfand the man who uses it may be quite un-changed. We sometimes see that up to thevery moment of death, the man may be usinghis will in its full strength. The results maybe small ; the stiffening lips may refuse toutter more than a few words, perhaps of loveand encouragement to those about ; but it


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WHO IS THE MAN? 9is evident that whatever else is dying, the manand the will are not. Even at the very momentof death the eye may still be speaking itsmessage. The man, the soul, and its will,are passing on in full consciousness. Andthe last gleam we get of that consciousnessis often one of unchanged, unlessened lovefor those remaining behind.So w^e have arrived at some answer to our

question: JVJiaf, or ivho, am If Let us call" I " the soul,, and read our answer thusThe soul, the I, the self, is that consciouspower which dwells during life in the body,amidst the bodily feelings, amidst the emo-tions, capable of dominating them ; using themind and capable of dominating it; havingfor its instrument of control the will. Sofar as we can see, neither the soul, nor itswill, nor its degree of love for those it leavesbehind, are necessarily affected by illness orbv death.


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Ill

BODY AND SOULTF we now turn to Paul's description of

man as a compound of body, soul, andspirit, we can more easily understand whathe meant.By soul he seems to have meant the sameas we do the man himself with his will

and power of choice; by body, not only thecasement of flesh, but all the impulses arisingfrom it which tend to pull the man downward ;and by spirit, the divine part.The body made up of millions of littleliving cells congregated into various organs,which should all work harmoniously togeth-er is an animal, the highest of all the ani-mals. It is the highest because of the devel-opment of its brain ; and because of thatit is a fit tenement for the soul, the man him-


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BODY AND SOUL Uhighest sort of matter-hfe. In order that itmay do that, that it may have that experience,is, according to Theosophy, one of the reasonswhy it enters the body and shares the body'sHfe from birth to death.

In order to understand its entry, let usimagine a countryman suddenly set down forthe first time in the midst of a throngingcity. People are hurrying in every directionthere are a thousand sounds at once, voices,the feet of horses, the roar of vehicles.Accustomed to the quiet of the country, the

man would be dazed by so much activity;he would hardly know himself. His usualcurrent of thoughts would be broken up. Itwould seem to him as if he would never findhis way through the maze of streets. Alto-gether it would be a sort of new birth forhim, the confused beginning of a new life.

In the eyes of a new-born infant we cansometimes see signs of a similar bewilderment.The soul is just then beginning to enter thelittle body. The body is alive with the intense


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12 ELBMBNTARV THEOSOPHYgans. Besides all the growth and activitythat is going on in the body itself, the sensesare opening and stirring and bringing in allthe new sights and sounds of the outer world.Is it not natural that in all this rush of newêxperiences, the soul should forget itself andthe world it has just left?To return to the illustration. After a while,

beginning to understand his new surround-ings, the man would begin to take pleasure inthem and be absorbed in them. Laying asideall his old country habits and thoughts, hewould enter thoroughly into the nevr life ofthe city. He would become accommodated toits wâys and dive into the rushing stream ofits business and activities. His nature mightseem to change altogether and in a few yearshe might have lost all trace and almost allmemory of having lived the quiet life of thecountr}Ând so again with the soul. During the

first few years of its new life, after the firstconfusion has worn away, it becomes thor-oughly absorbed in the life of the body. Its


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BODY AND SOUL 13pleasures are those of the body ; its aims aremostly to get more of these pleasures ; itsthoughts and feelings are all occupied withthe world of which its body is a part. Itthinks of the body as itself and of itself asthe body. The higher life it had before birthis quite forgotten. And as it grows older in-to manhood or womanhood and the strain ofour modern competitive life begins to be felt,its absorption into the world becomes com-pleter. All its ambitions may be directed togetting things for the body's comfort andluxury. Its forgetfulness of the other lifemay be so complete as to lead to disbelief init altogether, to materialism. At best, thememory of the other life is so vague that thereare no details, no clear picture. It is sovague that we do not know that it is memoryand call it faith. And for a reason whichthe man therefore cannot give to himself, butwhich is really this faith-memory, he acceptstlie accounts of the higher life which someone of the various religious creeds gives him.

creeds


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14 ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYspeak of the soul entering a higher life afterdeath, some of them say nothing of the soulleaving the same higher life at birth.We can see now why the body is sometimesspoken of as the enemy of the soul. It tendsto drown the soul's memories, the soul's know-ledge of itself. It often paralyses the will,substituting for the will some passion of itsown for example, to get money or position.Such people are really slaves, not masters;though they only know their slavery whenthey try to free themselves, when they tryto use their will to conquer the master passion.We must remember that though the body isan animal, it is an animal which has becomehumanized through the presence of a humansoul in its midst. The soul lights up in it ahigher intelligence than it could ever havegotten as a simple animal. And so it hasthoughts and aims which are not possible toany of the simpler creatures below man. Ifthe soul yields to it constantly, never assert-ing its will, letting itself be carried upon


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BODY AND SOUL 15point at which he gives not a single sign ofbeing a soul at all. Some of these peopleare mere sensualists, the utter slaves of somedegrading passion. But they may be highlyintelligent, cruel, selfish and ambitious, with-out the slightest care for the welfare of anyother person. The animal has won the battleof that life, and after death the soul's keyto its own proper world is too rusty for use.

It is by resisting passions, by resisting self-ishness, and cultivating compassion and bro-therliness, by constant aspirations, and by try-ing to live the life of the higher nature, thatthe soul comes while in the body to a know-ledge of itself and its immortality.


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IVBODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT

\7t7HY, then, if entry into the body meansso much loss to the soul, even if only

temporary, does it come there at all?The answer given by Theosophy is that

it may gain higher life, and that it may givehigher life. It is divine, but it has to recog-nize that while in the flesh ; and there isalways a fuller divinity possible to the veryhighest man.

Theosophy sees life everywhere; nowhereanything dead. It may at once be askedis not a human body dead when the soul hasleft it for another world?

If we had eyes that could see, we shouldfind that the body was as much alive as ever,but with a different kind of life. The littlebusy souls of the millions of cells, which,while man present, served him


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BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT 17left the body with him, or very soon after.Their place is taken by throngs of lower lives,germs, in their way just as busy. Part ofeach cell goes to form their minute livingbodies; the rest separates into molecules ofwater, various gases, and salts. But the mole-cules too are alive. They behave like a drillcorps when the sergeant dismisses it. Themen no longer make a corps, and each goeshis own way. One will perhaps join a partygoing swimming: another may go to a musicclass. When the bath and the class are over,the men again separate and group togetherin new combinations. At the end of the daythey may seem just the same as at the begin-ning. But as a matter of fact they are not.Each has profited a little by the drill, themusic, and the swim.

So with the living particles of nature's vastlife, the particles that we call molecules ofwater, air, salt, iron, and so on. They passfrom one combination to another, sometimesforming part of a plant, sometimes of an ani-mal, sometimes of a human body, the ocean,


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18 BLEMENTARY THEOSOPHYor a stone. Age after age they are awakeningto fuller consciousness, learning, even thoughif we watched them for ages we might notnotice any change.What are they learning? The power to

combine into higher groups. Science knowsthat from the birth of our planet until now,life has been rising. The orders and specieshave been progressing to higher forms. Thiswas because the molecules were learning howto combine. At last they could combine andrecombine so as to make the body of man ;and then man, the soul, came and dwelt amongthem. It was at last a fit tabernacle.

So, however completely at death the mole-cules scatter, they can now always be broughttogether again to make a human form. Whatnature has been teaching them is the power tocombine into higher and more perfectly har-monious forms, forms of which all the partswork together to a higher end.And that very same thing she is teaching

man. INIan, according to Theosophy, rein-life


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BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT 19after life, not one only. We are groupedagain and again in all kinds of ways. Amongsavages there are small groups, the family andthe tribe. Tribes make nations; nations dis-appear, and others come up on to the stageof history. A nation is like a body; the vari-ous groups, made of men who follow variousoccupations, who are joined for various ends,.or who live together in towns and cities, arethe organs of the body. Each man is a separ-ate cell. Men leave one nation at death andperhaps enter another, making part of allsorts of families and groups as they goalong.What we are slowly learning is the power

to hold together, the power to work for eachother and for the whole of which we are apart, whether a guild, a family, a city, or anation; the power of divine comradeship ofmen and groups and nations to make one vastharmonious organization, the body of human-ity. Then a further avenue of progress lead-ing to heights we cannot conceive of, will


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20 BLEMBNTARY THBOSOPHYBehind us are the animals, moving man-ward, getting the human touch age after age,

to be the humanity that shall follow us whenwe have learned our lesson and gone onperhaps to another planet, the " child " of thisone, says Theosophy. Behind them, the plants,some of them like the sensitive plant forinstance already showing the tendency up-ward to the animal.

So we can see that we are in the body forseveral purposes.

First, that in it and through it we may touchnature, and learn the wise use of her forces.

Second, that we may teach, and help naturein her teaching. Among the cells, the littlelives, of our bodies, we are like a master inhis class. In controlling our impulses, inresisting deeds that make for moral and physi-cal disease, in living in every way the highestand purest life we can, we are training thelower lives that clothe us on the one hand;and training ourselves on the other. In train-ing his boys, the master trains himself. And


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BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT 21whilst they learn from him, he learns muchfrom them.

Thirdly, we are here that we may learnbrotherhood, the higher comradeship, thatquality which, spreading all over the earth,will one day open a new door to us, leadingto a height of happiness and power that hasalways been the ideal before the eyes ofhumanity's helpers and Teachers.


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REINCARNATIONV

T N a preceding chapter we have consideredincarnation. It now remains to say a

little of r^-incarnation.Is one life enough to learn all that there is

to do and to learn on earth? Are we perfectcharacters? Have we made life on earth allit might be, learned to live in harmony witheach other, developed all the faculties pos-sible to us, learned all about the life of thematter of which the planet is composed? Ifnot, does it not seem likely that the causeswhich brought us here once may bring usagain, and again, until we have done thesethings? Law and inclination will work to-gether and supplement each other. For thosewho die hating, there is the Law that theyshall return in order to learn to love. Thosewho die loving, will wish to return to those


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REINCARNATION 23they love. Would one who loves all humanityand pities it in its pains and struggles onward,willingly leave it for ever while he knew therewas help he could render?What right have we earned to some other

heaven while we have not made this life theheaven it might be? Nearly all of us havedone injuries and given pain at some time.If we consider that, should we not wish tocome again to pour at least as much goodinto the stream of human life as we pouredevil; to meet those that we once pained, andby loving deed take away the pain even iftime should have covered it over and hiddenthe wound? Sudden unexplained impulsesto do kind actions to people we have nevermet (in this life) before, may sometimes beunconscious desire to pay some debt of oldunkindness.We are not without other suggestions ofprevious life. Some people we seem to re-cognize at once, liking or disliking, as we sayby instinct. May it not be the mere re-suming of an old like or dislike? In that


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24 ELBMBNTARY THBOSOPHYsense it is a real memory of a past life, thoughall details are forgotten. We have many moreof such memories, memories that in suchcases are forces, not details. We are bornwith marked characters, tastes, aptitudes, pow-ers, in this or that direction. Where did weget them ? Where did the infant Mozart learnmusic? Is it heredity? But how when thesethings have no counterpart in the parents?They are surely a species of memory. Clear-er memory we have not because we havenot the old brain. The brain, the first fact-storer, is new. The soul, the real and finalfact-storer, has its memory overlaid by thethrong of impressions and sensations that lifeand the living body bring. At death we haveoften heard and Theosophy teaches thatevery detail of the closing or closed life comesup from the brain before the gaze of thedeparting soul. It registers in its own memoryall that are of value to it and they becomeeternal. But at its birth it does not fill thenew brain with them. The tablets of thebrain are wanted for other things. It merely


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REINCARNATION 25brings into the brain and body the generaleffect, some general memories, as we havenoted.When we have grown stronger in life,when birth does 7iot bring bewilderment, whenwe shall have learned not to be the preyof the body but its strong and quiet master,then we shall have also learned to bring backto our own attention, at need, whatever clearmemories of the past will be useful. But sofar, the presence of such detailed memorieswould be confusing and painful, diverting ourattention from more important work. What-ever we acquired in the last life, of unselfish-ness, of will, of power of concentration, ofpower of thought and observation, of powerof self-control that we bring undiminishedfor use in this life; and it is enough. Any-thing more, if in part useful, would have itsusefulness outweighed by its painfulness andconfusion. We should be tempted to dwellwith bygone memories instead of with pres-ent duties.

It will be natural to say: Have I then to


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26 BLBMBNTARY THBOSOPHYbe an infant and an old man again and again,with childish faculties and pleasure in the onecase, and fading faculties and second childish-ness in the other?Are we entitled to promotion to another

lesson till we have learned well the one inhand? We have not yet learned to be an in-fant properly, or an old man or woman prop-erly. These are lessons of life still unlearned.The soul of each of us has yet to learn, atand after birth, to stand apart from the in-fant body in which it will incarnate; and,while watching and protecting and guiding anddeveloping that, to keep up its own work andself-conscious being. For the soul has workof its own. As the infant body and mind passto childhood and manhood, the soul will con-sciously blend itself more and more; until atlast, still holding itself as a soul, it will havewholly incarnated. But at present it cannotdo that in the case of ordinary humanity. Asit detaches itself from its own world, fromits " Father in Secret," it loses itself in thebody. With most of us it remains almost


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REINCARNATION 27lost till death again frees it, without everhaving recognized itself as a soul.

But when we have learned infancy, weshall find one of our joys in overshadowingand training the young life with which in duecourse we shall blend our soul-life to makethe perfect man; and in helping the vividlittle lives that make up the infant body, tomove a step onward in their progress. Thosethat enter and compose the body later areless plastic.And so with old age. We have not learned it.

There should be no loss of faculty ; the mindshould become deeper and wiser with the gath-ering years. Certainly faculties whose use ap-plies mainly to the earlier years and the life-work of middle manhood, will be voluntarilyleft in disuse to make way for others, justas when a man becomes the head of a businesshe spends no more time in, say book-keepingor type-writing. He attends to higher matters.

Life should of course be spiritual allthrough, but old age should be specially so.Genius and wisdom should go on ripening to


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28 ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYthe very end. (Genius belongs of course to thespiritual nature, and the word spiritual is herethroughout used in a sense much wider thanthe ordinary. It applies to all of man's high-est faculties.) A clearer vision of truth ispossible to old age than to the years whenphysical activities run high.At last comes a moment when the body as

a whole is worn out ; the lives that compose ithave to return to nature to be re-energized.Without disease, without failure of any spe-cial organ in advance of any of the rest, thebody should be laid aside. Death in that idealform will be without pain, perfectly peaceful,rapid, and not attended by any break in theconsciousness of the soul.And in due course the soul will begin once

more to give its attention to birth. No morethan death, will birth mean any break in thethread of consciousness. Gradually the soulwill pour all its acquired wisdom and thought-stores into the new brain and proceed with itsgrowth and work absolutely unhindered.

But this ideal program, which we have to


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REINCARNATION 29realize and which will mean such rapid growth,is not achieved yet. We have much to learn.Nevertheless now, if we give our bodies rightexercise daily, and if we keep a spiritual idealof conduct and thought always in view, weneed fear neither old age nor death. The onewill not mean second childhood nor the otherany wrench of pain.


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VIKARMA

A MAN'S DEEDS COME BACK TO HIM ; ThAT'^^ WHICH A MAN SOWS, THAT SHALI. HEALSO reap; Cast thy bread upon the wa-ters AND IT SHALL COME BACK AETER MANYDAYS, are three sayings which contain a lawbelonging as sister to the law of Reincarn-ation. To Theosophists it is known as Karma.The punishment aspect of it the Greeks calledNemesis; but that is only half of it.

It belongs to the law of Reincarnation be-cause there is not time in any one life for allthe deeds a man does therein to come back tohim. They come back to him because theyare his.Whenever we do anything at all, purpose-

fully, we do three things, though we ordin-arily think of one only. Consider, for exam-


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KARMA 31taking of some one else's property, (b) In-visibly, a change of character for the worse ismade; this shows itself in the fact that what-ever is done once is easier to do the secondtime, (c) The third thing, also invisible, isthat the world's atmosphere, in which we allshare, in which our minds lives as our bodieslive in the common air, is poisoned. An evilwave has been sent into it. This wave, in how-ever slight degree, does act on and affect theminds of all other men. The world is hardenough, cold enough, selfish enough as it is;this wave worsens it. The minds of men be-come by it, in however slight degree, more sus-picious, more grasping, harder. They feel,though without noticing it, an increase in whatwe might call the thief element. Of coursethe wave sent out by one single act of theft isvery slight. But when we multiply it by mil-lions every year, we can understand why theworld is as it is. Each of the millions hasbroken the harmony that should have been,the harmony between men in act and thought,


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32 BLBMBNTARY THBOSOPHYA whole life may be spent in undetectedand unpunished theft. But it was all regis-

tered; the successive acts were written deeperand deeper on the man's character; and theysent successive waves into the world's atmos-phere. To that atmosphere, which he helpedto make, with that character, which he entirelymade, the man comes back. The echo of hisown past deeds returns to him, finding an ex-actly answering echo in his nature. All theworld tendencies, the effects of all the deedsever done by man, come flooding in upon him,as they do on all of us. Some find no echo inhis character he may, for example, have notendency to murder. He will be tempted onlyby those that do have their echo in hischaracter.

All is now ready for the opportunity. Whenthat comes, what will happen ? What is likelyto happen? He falls under the load of im-pulse he built into himself.The "luck" not to be found out (if it can

be called luck) which he enjoyed before, sometime or other now fails perhaps on the very


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KARMA 33first occasion. Then there is a calamity, dis-grace. By that he may learn to reform, ormany such may be necessary, extending per-haps over more than one life. They go onhappening until at last he is strong enough toreceive out of the world's atmosphere his owncurrent, find its echo in his own nature, andyet refuse to yield. When there is no longerthat echo, the battle is finally won there. Theman has fought and neutralized that muchevil; he has cleared the world's atmosphereof that much of the stain which he made inhis thefts.

This is one aspect of the law of Karma,the coming back of evil deeds. The law cannot " forgive " anything, for that would be toleave our characters still weak. True for-giveness is done by man himself when he turnsso strongly to his higher nature that he be-comes at one with it. After that he can facethe echoes of his own deeds without fear;they find no answer in his own nature.There are many other aspects, for the law isreally an explanation of life. Good deeds


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34 BLBMBNTARY THBOSOPHYcome back as certainly as bad ones. He whodoes a good deed sweetens the world's atmo-sphere and his own character. The currentcomes back as an urge to repeat them, findsan echo in his character, and goes back toothers with the benediction of some new gooddeed. The world is bettered, its burdens easeda little. The man has the inner joy and peaceof harmony with his divine nature ; just as, bythe other kind of action, he has unrest withinand without. Ill deeds bring inner unrest andouter pain ; good deeds, inner peace and outerharmony. With both hands this law helps uson to our greater destiny, to the real life tocome.But Karma goes even deeper; it replies to

defects of character which are not seen to in-jure others. We shall understand if we re-member that its aim is to develop, to restore usto our proper and highest nature. It meetsour weaknesses with tonics, and tonics aresometimes bitter. Wiser eyes than those ofordinary men are needed to follow its work


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KARMA 35are easy enough for a child to grasp. Somemen meet seemingly unmerited disgrace.Where is the justice of it? Others close theirlives in the prolonged pain of some slow mal-ady. Where here is justice? In man's ownformer thoughts and deeds. It is nature'sresponse to character.We must try to take nature's long view ifwe would understand her work in its bene-ficence. In such cases as we have supposed,there must be a failure somewhere needingcorrection, some flaw in character needingstrengthening. Some characters only bringforth their finest flower after great pain. Thepain is transient, the flower eternal ; and it wasthe flower that nature wanted to secure. Per-haps there was a latent love of others' goodopinion, which, uncured, remained a weaknessand might have led on to all kinds of evil, hy-pocrisy, ambition, vanity. The weed is nowuprooted. But in the last life it may havebeen very luxuriant leading, it may be, tosome marked sin or crime. Karma carriedthat over to the next page of her ledger, the


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36 ElEMBNTARY THEOSOPHYnext life. But the possibilities in details areendless.

Physical pain, again, often calls forth themost magnificent endurance, strengthening thewill in some cases as nothing else can. Insuch a case it could be crudely described aspunishment for the lack of endurance and pa-tience ; or, more correctly, as a difficult bit ofnature's beneficent training. A good deal ofthe work of Karma is to call our attention tofailings of which we were before unconscious,and to give us the opportunity to correct them.

So the Theosophist sees in the workings ofKarma a law which is wholly beneficent, which" punishes " and " rewards " for one sole pur-pose the evocation of the Soul. It worksbehind and through every event of our lives.Nor are its ways inscrutable. If we watchedall that happened to us from day to day andfrom year to year, noted what duties came upto be done, what pains and pleasures came intoour path, what accidents befell us if wewatched instead of complaining, we shouldfind that at every turn we were being ofifered


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KARMA 37opportunity for growth of will, of mind, ofcharacter. If outer life is monotonous, thereis the opportunity to light up the outer lifewith the radiance of the inner life, with thecompanionship of the divine. If outer lifeis painful, it is the opportunity to develop willand endurance. And if we stop the fiercewish to escape pain and procure pleasure, put-ting that much force into compassionate deedand thought, we should find our minds growsteadily clearer in comprehension of this lawand its purpose. There are no accidents.Whatever happens we have ourselves broughtabout in this or some other life. We havedone, or left undone, and the effects of bothconstitute our environment and the stream ofevents.Our deeds of yesterday are the parents

of the events of today, and events are themask of opportunity. They press on us fromwithout, as our divine will does from within both in the same direction. Karma waitsat our side and when we have acted or not

effect so as to teach


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38 ELBMBNTARY THBOSOPHYand train us. We have freewill; the futureis absolutely in our hands. Karma, if we sochoose, will show us her face as friend; it isalways inner peace for those who walk withher. She is always the friend of those whomake themselves the friends of humanity, whodevelop every faculty and talent and strengthof their nature that they may serve humanitythe better.


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VII

THE SEVEN IN MAN AND NATURE\X7 HEN, as children, we begin our study of^^ science, we are told that matter existsin three states solid, liquid and gaseous.That does very well as a first step. In thesame way the student of Theosophy will beginby Paul's division of human nature into body,soul and spirit.But in both cases, as soon as we come close

to the subject, we find that the three will notdo, will not carry us far beyond the thresholdof our study. Human nature, and naturewithout, are alike seven-iold. The numberseven runs across the pattern in every direc-tion. Science knows of many sevens, but shehas not yet learned to regard seven as a sortof abstract map by means of which she couldwalk much faster in every field of investiga-


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40 BIEMBNTARY THEOSOPHYbe one of the keys to which the universe istuned. Let us study it first in the naturewhich is outside us.The finest particles of ordinary matter are

called molecules. Sometimes these fly freefrom each other ; that we call the gaseous stateof matter.

But short of that entire freedom there is theliquid state, where the molecules move readilyaround each other, but remain in closer con-tact.And thirdly there is the solid state. But ofthis there are two divisions, the crystallineand the colloid or gelatinous. And again, ofthe colloid there are two conditions, living andnot living. The flesh of man and animals andthe growing tissues of plants are composedof living colloid.

In all these states matter is molecular, existsas molecules. But under certain conditionsthe molecules break up into the still smallerparticles called atoms. We then have atomicmatter, said to constitute one of the sets of


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SEVEN IN MAN AND NATURE 41And again, the atoms themselves may break

up into the still finer particles called corpusclesor electrons. These constitute still anotherset of " rays."So from this point of view the seven states

of matter are:(1) Corpuscular*(2) Atomic(3) Gaseous(4) Liquid

Molecular (5) Living Colloid(6) Inanimate Colloid(7) Crystalline

But the seven runs across nature in anotherway. A famous Russian chemist found thatif all the elements known to chemistry werearranged one after another in the order oftheir (atomic) weights, beginning with thelightest, the eighth, fifteenth, twenty-second,and so on, had similar properties to the first;

* Strictly speaking, the word " corpuscular " werebetter applied to what modern science now calls" atomic," and vice versa. But the terms are nowcrystallized into a set usage and are adopted for


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42 BLBMBNTARY THBOSOPHYthe ninth, sixteenth, and so on, to the second.Thus it became clear that there was a naturalarrangement of all the chemical elements intoseven great families.The seven notes of the musical scale, and

the seven colors of the prismatic scale, areof course familiar to every one.

In respect to motion, the American mathe-matician Southwell, dealing with the nebulartheory, has also worked out a natural sevenwhich he thus states

If two masses are moving in the same plane andat the same mean distance from the sun and aresituated at an angular distance greater than 60and less than 180 from each oher, as viewed fromthe sun, their mutual peturbations will cause themto approach each other until the distance becomesequal to 60.But if they are nearer than 60 to each other,their mutual peturbations will cause them to re-ced$ from each other until their distance apart be-comes equal to 60 ; and they will always remainin a condition of stable equilibrium at that distanceapart, and will revolve around the sun forever freefrom mutual disturbance.


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SEVEN IN MAN AND NATURE 43Sixty degrees is of course a sixth of a circle,

which with the controUing center occupied bythe sun, gives the seven.Theosophy goes further than any of this.

To the higher students it is shown that thatone form of matter which, as we have seen,exists in seven states, is itself the seventh ofa greater series. And that that white light(white to our vision) which breaks up intoour seven colors, is itself a member of a setof seven lights, none really "white," but stand-ing to ultimate light as one of our spectrumcolors stands to the light we call white.But here we are of course far beyond the

realm of present human senses. Yet in thecourse of special training, and much moreslowly, yet inevitably, for us all in the normalcourse of our evolution, all these scales willbecome evident to us.Theosophy also concurs with the proverb

which gives man seven senses, two of whichin most people are almost inactive, dealingwith finer forms and essences. Some idea ofthe sixth of these may be gained from a study


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44 ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYof the life of the woman known as the Seeressof Prevorst. In her however it was abnorm-ally and prematurely unveiled by a peculiarform of ill-health.Man as a part of greater nature must ofcourse exhibit the seven in many ways. Asubsequent Manual will deal at length with themost radical and essential of these sevens. Itwill suffice here merely to note it briefly.Most obvious of the seven is of course his

body, technically called the sthula-sartra.But within it is another, made of altogethersubtler matter, the astral model body or linga-sarira. And it is because of the presenceof this other, which is as it were a sort of ar-chitect's plan, that the millions of separatecells are able to arrange themselves in har-mony, to form coherent organs, and to assumeseparate forms for the discharge of separatekinds of work. It is this which translates latentlife, omnipresent in space, into life or prdna,adapted for the use of the cells. Shortly afterdeath its remains are occasionally visible asthe " spook " of so many ghost stories.


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SEVEN IN MAN AND NATURE 45Here then we have three of the human

principles the visible body, the subtler " ar-chitect's plan " body, and the vital force. Thelast, Theosophy, disagreeing on this pointwith current physiology, teaches to be a formof energy peculiar to itself.

Let us note now, for the fourth principle,that by "body" Paul meant the animal desiresof the body, or kdma rupa. These, in toomany cases, dominate the man. But if hewould be really man, would really show him-self to be a soul, he must reverse that. Itis through thought that he begins to establishhimself as a man. Mind or Manas, is thefifth of the human principles. Animals showthe first traces of it, but they cannot evenbegin that inquiry which seeks an answer tothe question. What am If They are livingunits, and inwardly indestructible; but theyare not yet .y^//-conscious souls.The sixth principle or buddhi, is the crown

of mind, that department of man's consciousnature from which come the inspirations ofgenius. Towards it ascend in their highest


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46 ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYmoments the musician, the poet, the artist. Itis the soul in its own essentially spiritualnature. What it knows and feels when it isthere, what it sees of divine truth, it must asfar as possible bring down to the mind for ex-pression on earth. Much is necessarily loston the way. We all know that there arethings which we feel but to which we cangive no expression.

Lastly, the highest of the seven is Spiritor Atnid, that which sustains all the rest andis their life ; that which may be felt and knownin the heart, but whose being is inexpressiblein any kind of language. All the religiouswars and quarrels that have ever rent mankindhave come from attempts to dogmatize inwords and terms about this indescribable pres-ence and sustainer. " Theosophy," says H. P.Blavatsky, " as a whole, is based absolutelyon the ubiquitous presence of God, the Ab-solute Deity ; and if IT itself is not speculatedupon, as being too sacred and yet incompre-hensible as a Unit to the finite intellect, yet theentire philosophy is based upon Its Divine


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SEVEN IN MAN AND NATURE 47Powers as being the source of all that livesand breathes and has its existence." Man,however, is not limited to his " finite intel-lect," the fifth of his seven. He can knowwith another faculty which to intellect is un-knowable, that which by language is inex-pressible.The path to this knowledge lies through

aspiration renewed from day to day, medita-tion, duty, compassion towards all that lives,self-mastery, and study.


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VIIITHE MEANING OF DEATH

AX7HAT then is death according to Theo-^^ sophy? It is not at all the horror thatthe world has made it. It is the passing ofthe soul into its own nature, for rest. In lifeit has permitted itself to become, as it were,of the nature of the body. If it has had joys,it has had pains that far outweigh, pains ofbody and pains of mind. It needs rest fromall these and from struggle. Though it camefrom the Divine and is divine, in the case ofthe great majority of men it has never yetrecognized that. It goes to the temporary restand " sleep " of death with all its purer earthmemories clustering around it. And of theseit fashions its unclouded and beautiful dream.The Divine Law shows itself at its tenderest,to the dead.

But the " sleep " does not come at once.


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MEANING OF DEATH 49After the eyes have closed for the last time,after pulse and breath have stopped, life lin-gers long. And in those first hours, whilethe brain is yielding up its stores, and thesoul is watching every detail of the now closedlife pass again before it, there should be si-lence and peace in the death chamber. Lov-ing thought yes, that helps. But passion-ately expressed and selfish grief is felt bythe soul as a disturbance, hindering its work.For as memory is unpicked to its last fiber,the soul is learning, noting in the clear lightwhere it failed, where it sinned, where itachieved victory in the hard life-battle withthe thronging lower impulses. Not till thisis done, till the wheat has been garnered, isthat life really over. But at last there is thechange. A sleep begins whose dreams are un-clouded by anything evil, anything painful.The soul is no longer conjoined with thesource of evil; it rests in the pure divine light.That is why death is in nature's program that the soul may rest and progress. And

whilst it rests it is out of touch, mercifully.


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50 ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYwith life on earth. It can neither be reachedby word or thought. Nor can it break itsrest to communicate with those on earth.

Nevertheless there is one line of communi-cation both ways. The pure current of lovefrom those on earth does reach it, touchesand enters the dream and makes it more living.And in return its love for those it left behindtouches them, strengthens them in the battleof life, helps them in their highest effortsfor right, purifies them. Except for thiscurrent, zvhich is deeper than thought, deeperthan zvord, there is no communication pos-sible. How otherwise could the soul rest?But the rest is over at last ; the divine light

has given new energy for another life. Thedream fades ; the soul is drawn again to earthto take up its work. It comes once moreamong those with whom in other lives it hasbeen associated. We pass from birth to birth,resuming old ties, making new ones, suffering,rejoicing, and through all growing. This greathuman family is ever getting closer and closer.As a man will find some old acquaintance un-


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MEANING OP DEATH 51expectedly in passing through some foreigncity, so, it may be, there is already hardly aspot on earth where any one of us could in-carnate and not find some he had known inother lives. There are many hates still towear out between man and man ; every one ofus has much to overcome in his own nature.But we move. We can see that life will notalways be as now. Sometime there will becomradeship universal and all men will haveawakened to their divinity. They will feelin their hearts the constant presence of thatLight to which they have given so many names,to which they have ascribed such diverse qual-ities, which sometimes they have figured asbut a man, a personality drawn large; some-times as a blind force, sometimes, alas! asan avenging fiend. It will be the more real-ly a presence to them, the more really anever active inspiration, the more they under-stand that in its fulness it is beyond humanimagining and description. They will be con-tent to worship at the point where thought


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52 ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYof the reason and goal of human life. Fromit came man's soul ; to it returns that soul, yetnever more to lose in it the individualitythat is the thread of each man's series of ex-istences. Once a living soul, always a livingsoul. Once we were omniscient because wewere parts of its omniscience. It called usforth, to win each for himself omniscience.Yet the very word omniscience, for us, is for-ever relative. When we have learned onenature, which is its robe, and tasted to thefull the beauty of that knowledge, another andhigher and richer will be ready before oureyes.

Unhappiness and pain were no part of theprogram. We made them; unbrotherhood ofeach to each made them. It is only we that canend them. When man has learned to turn tohis fellowman with friendliness and compas-sion, with the will to give instead of to take,unhappiness is ended. And when he haslearned himself, unwisdom and darkness areended.


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IXTHE SOURCE OF THEOSOPHICAL

TEACHINGT T follows from all the foregoing that there-* must be, somewhere on earth, men whohave fully awakened as souls ; who, when theyincarnate, are not dazed by the new animallife; who, when they die, carry on the un-broken thread of consciousness; who, lifeafter life, have therefore been able to addwisdom to wisdom.

This is true, and there have been such mensince the very beginnings of life on this plan-et. In this Lodge of men, always slowly grow-ing in numbers, Theosophy has been handedon from age to age, from century to century.Its members, reincarnating in particular timesand places according to human need, havefounded all the great world-religions aspectsof Theosophy specially adapted to those times


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54 ELEMENTARY THEOSOPHYand places. This is not the only work theyhave done, and do, to further the world'sprogress; : but it is the one with which weare now particularly concerned.Nor is the whole of their work done by

themselves in person. Many of those whohave in every age, including our own, workedstrenously for humanity's enlightenment andwelfare, have been their Messengers and pu-pils. The names of some of these rarelydeclaring themselves as such have been onevery tongue and are prominently written onthe pages of history. The work of others,quite as necessary and effective, has been be-yond the recognition of the historian.Upon one of these Messengers, Helena Pet-

rovna Blavatsky, devolved the task of intro-ducing Theosophy anew and under that nameto the Western world. Christianity, the Theo-sophy of Jesus, was fast disappearing. Thatgreat teacher, one of the Lodge, had soundedthe keynote of Theosophy two thousand yearsbefore. At first the world paid little attention.When at last it did so the greater part of the


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SOURCE OF THE TEACHING 55teacher's words were lost. Of all his teach-ing but a very fragment remains. And thisfragment, sufficient in its purity as a guideto the perfect Hfe, was soon overlaid by thedust of fierce controversies which have neverceased, adulterated here and there by thefancy of successive copyists, and obscured bymultitudes of cruel or meaningless dogmas.A new presentation, in new language andadapted to the thought of today, was urgentlyneeded by men. The Christian ranks con-tained, as always, many pure and lofty soulsfull of the spirit of unselfish sacrifice. Butdogma was and is driving away thousands,and the tide of materialism was rapidly rising.

She began her work in 1875, and before herdeath in 1891 her heroic and untiring laborshad placed the Theosophical Movement be-yond the possibility of failure. Enemies ofevery kind, men who saw in her teachings amenace to selfishness, to ambition, to dogma,gathered thick about her. She had to faceopen and hidden attack, slanders, libels andcalumnies of every variety. The world will


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56 ELEMBNTARY THEOSOPHYlearn a great lesson when the history of these,now being written, is published; when allthe threads are traced to their source.At her death, the successor she designated,

William Q. Judge, took up the work, be-coming then the target for the same hostility.For twenty years previously, largely under herdirections, he had sustained the Movement inAmerica. This great labor, and the exclusiveLeadership of the Movement throughout theworld which devolved upon him at her death,finally wrecked his health, and in 1896, work-ing to the last, he died.The successor whom he in his turn had ap-

pointed, Katherine Tingley, then assumed theLeadership which she still holds. She has beenrecognized by every member of the Theosoph-ical Society throughout the world as a realteacher and wise leader. So profound in factwas this recognition that at a series of con-gresses of the Society held in America andvarious other countries in 1898 it was resolvedwith practical unanimity to place the entireguidance of the work absolutely under her


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SOURCE OF THE TEACHING 57direction, and to accept as her successor whom-soever she might appoint. The TheosophicalSociety at the same time was merged into thelarger body of the UnivERSai, Brothe:rhoodAND ThKosophicaIv SociETy^ the full andcomplete title being The: UnivERSai, Brother-hood AND ThEOSOPHICAIv SoCIETY.Theosophy by that name, secure from ad-

mixture with any lower currents, is thushenceforth assured to the world. And as theworld moves on to peace and brotherhood,more and more of the ancient wisdom can begiven to it. In the meantime, within the Or-ganization, there will always be some few pre-pared for those higher teachings which itwould as yet be useless and even dangerousto sow broadcast.


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There is No Religion Higher than Truth

anD Cf)eoj8fopftical ocietpEstablished for the benefit of the people of the earth & all creatures

OBJECTSThis BROTHERHOOD is part of a great and uni-

versal movement which has been active in all ages.This Organization declares that Brotherhood is a

fact in Nature. Its principal purpose is to teachBrotherhood, demonstrate that it is a fact in nature,and make it a living power in the life of humanity.

Its subsidiary purpose is to study ancient andmodern religions, science, philosophy, and art; toinvestigate the laws of nature and the divine powersin man. * * *The UnivErsai. Brotherhood and TheosophicalSociety, founded by H. P. Blavatsky at New York,1875, continued after her death under the leader-ship of the co-founder, William Q. Judge, and nowunder the leadership of their successor, KatherineTingley, has its Headquarters at the InternationalTheosophical Center, Point Loma, California.This Organization is not in any way connectedwith nor does it endorse any other societies usingthe name of Theosophy.


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The Universal Brotherhood and Theosophicai.Society welcomes to membership all who truly lovetheir fellow men and desire the eradication of theevils caused by the barriers of race, creed, caste orcolor, which have so long impeded human progress;to all sincere lovers of truth and to all who aspireto higher and better things than the mere pleasuresand interests of a worldly life, and are prepared todo all in their power to make Brotherhood a livingenergy in the life of humanity, its various depart-ments offer unlimited opportunities.The whole work of the Organization is under thedirection of the Leader and Official Head, KatherineTingley, as outlined in the Constitution,

Do not fail to profit b}' the following:It is a regrettable fact that many people use thename of Theosophy and of our Organization for

self-interest, as also that of H. P. Blavatsky, theFoundress, to attract attention to themselves and togain public support. This they do in private andpublic speech and in publications, also by lecturingthroughout the country. Without being in any wayconnected with the Universal Brotherhood andTheosophical Society, in many cases they permit itto be inferred that they are, thus misleading the pub-lic, and many honest inquirers are hence led awayfrom the truths of Theosophy as presented by H. P.Blavatsky and her successors, William Q. Judge andKatherine Tingley, and practically exemplified in theirTheosophical work for the uplifting of humanity.


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The International Brotherhood LeagueFounded in 1897 by Katherine Tingley

ITS OBJECTS ARE:1. To help men and women to realize the nobility

of their calling and their true position in life.2. To educate children of all nations on the

broadest lines of Universal Brotherhood, and toprepare destitute and homeless children to becomeworkers for humanity.

3. To ameliorate the condition of unfortunatewomen, and assist them to a higher life.

4. To assist those who are, or have been, inprisons, to establish themselves in honorable posi-tions in life.

5. To abolish capital punishment.6. To bring about a better understanding between

so-called savage and civilized races, by promoting acloser and more sympathetic relationship betweenthem.

7. To relieve human suffering resulting fromflood, famine, war, and other calamities ; and, gener-ally, to extend aid, help and comfort to sufferinghumanity throughout the world.For further information regarding the above

Notices, address

KATHERINE TINGLEYInternational Theosophical Headquarters,Point Loma, California


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Boohs Rccominciidcd to InquirersFor complete Book List write to

Ths Thsosophicax. Fubushing Co., Point Loma, California

Isis Unveiled (H. P. Blavatsky). 2 vols., royal8vo, about 1400 pages; cloth; with portraitof the author. Point Loma Edition, with apreface. Postpaid 4.00

Key to Theosophy, The (H. P. Blavatsky).Point Loma Edition, with Glossary andexhaustive Index. Portraits of H. P. Blavat-sky and W. Q. Judge. 8vo, cloth, 400 pages.Postpaid 2.25A clear exposition of Theosophy in form of questionand ansiver. The book for Students.

Secret Doctrine, The (H. P. Blavatsky). TheSynthesis of Science, Religion, and Philo-sophy. New Point Loma Edition, 2 vols., roy-al 8vo, about 1500 pages; cloth. Postpaid ...10.00

Voice oe the Silence, The (For the daily useof disciples). Translated and annotated byH. P. Blavatsky. Pocket size, leather 75


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BOOKS RECOMMENDED TO INQUIRERSMysteries of the Heart Doctrine, The. Pre-pared by Katherine Tingley and her pupils.Square 8vo, cloth 2.00Paper 1.00A Series of Eight Pamphlets, comprisingdifferent articles in above, paper, each 25

Life at Point Loma, The. Some notes byKatherine Tingley, Leader and Official Headof the Universal, Brotherhood and Theo-sopHicAi, Society 15Reprinted from the Los Angeles Post, Dec, 1902.

Katherine Tingley, Humanity's Friend;A Visit to Katherine Tingley (by JohnHubert Greusel) ; A Study of Raja YogaAT Point Loma (Reprint from the San Fran-cisco Chronicle, January 6th, 1907).The above three comprised in a pamphlet of50 pages, published by the Woman's Theo-sophical Propaganda League, Point Loma . . .15

Light on the Path (M. C), with comments,and a chapter on Karma ; leather 75Embossed paper 25


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BOOKS RECOMMENDED TO INQUIRETISBhagavad Gita (W. Q. Judge, Amer. Edition)Pocket size, morocco, gilt edges 1.00

The pearl of the Scriptures of the East.Yoga Aphorisms (trans, by William Q. Judge).Pocket size, leather 75

Echoes from the Orient (W. Q. Judge) ; cloth .50Paper 2521 valued articles, giving a broad outline of theTheosophical doctrines, written for the newspaper-reading public.

Epitome of Theosophicai, Teachings, An(W. Q. Judge), 40 pages 15

Concentration, Culture of. (W. Q. Judge) .15Errors of Christian Science, Some of the.

Criticism by H. P. Blavatsky and William Q.Judge 15

Hypnotism: Theosophical views on. (40 pp.) .15Nightmare Tales. (H. P. Blavatsky). Newly

illustrated by R. Machell. A collection ofthe vireirdest tales ever vi^ritten down. Theycontain paragraphs of the profoundest mys-tical philosophy. Cloth 60Paper 35


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BOOKS RECOMMENDED TO INQUIRERSThEOSOPHICAIv MANUAI.S

Ei/EMENTARY Handbooks for StudentsPrice, each, paper . 25 ; cloth 35

Elementary Theosophy.The Seven Principles of Man.Karma.Reincarnation.Man After Death.Kamaloka and Devachan.Teachers and Their Disciples.The Doctrine of CyclesPsychism, Ghostology, and the

Astral Plane.The Astral Light.Psychometry, Clairvoyance, andThought-Transference

The Angel and the Demon.(2 vols., 35c. each)The Flame and the Clay.On God and Prayer.Theosophy: the Mother of Religions.From Crypt to PronaosAn Essay on the Rise and Fall of Dogma

No. 17. EarthIts Parentage; its Rounds and its Races

No. 18. Sons of the Firemist

No.


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BOOKS RECOMMENDED TO INQUIRERSThe; Path Serie:s

specially adapted for inquirers in Theosophy.ALREADY PUBLISHED

No. 1. The Purpose oe the UniversalBrotherhood and Theosophical Society .. .05

No. 2. Theosophy Generally Stated(W. Q. Judge) 05No. 3. Mislaid Mysteries (H. Coryn, m. d.) .05No. 4. Theosophy and its Counterfeits ... .05No. 5. Some Perverted Presentations ofTheosophy (H. T. Edge, b. a.) 05

Thirty copies $1.00; 100 copies $3.00

Occui^TisM, Studies in(H. P. Blavatsky). Pocket size, 6 vols.,cloth ; per set 1 . 50

Vol. 1. Practical Occultism. Occultism vs. theOccult Arts. The Blessing of Publicity .. .35

Vol. 2. Hypnotism. Black Magic in Science.Signs of the Times 35

Vol. 3. Psychic and Noetic Action 35Vol. 4. Kosmic Mind. Dual Aspect of Wis-

dom 35Vol. 5. Esoteric Character of the Gospels 35Vol. 6. Astral Bodies. Constitution of the


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BOOKS RECOMMENDED TO INQUIRERSLotus Group LiteratureLotus Library for Children

Introduced under the direction of Katherine Tingley1. The Little Builders and their Voyage to

Rangi. (R. N.) SO2. The Coming oe the King (Machell) ;

cloth, gilt edges 35Lotus Song Book. Fifty original songs with

copyrighted music 50Lotus Song "The Sun Temple" zvith

music 15

petfoDfcal0The ThEosophical Path. Illustrated. Monthly.

Edited by Katherine Tingley.A Magazine devoted to the Brotherhood of Humanity,the Promulgation of Theosophy and the Study of Ancientand Modern Ethics, Philosophy, Science and Art.

Year $2.00 Single copy .20Write for a sample copy toNew Century CorporationPoint Loma, California, U. S. A.

Raja Yoga Messenger. Illustrated. Monthly.Yearly subscription 50Unsectarian publication for Young Folk, conducted bya staff of pupils of the Raja Yoga School at Lomaland.Address Master Albert G. Spalding, Business Manager


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THEOSOPHICAL PERIODICALSInternational Theosophical Chronicle.

Illustrated. Monthly. Yearly subscription,postpaid 1.50The Theosophical Book Co., 18 Bartlett's

Buildings, Holborn Circus, London, E. C,Den Teosofiska Vagen. Illustrated. Monthly.Yearly subscription, postpaid . . . . 2.00

Universella Broderskapets Forlag, Barnhus-gatan 10, Stockholm 1, Sweden.

Der Theosophische Pead. Illustrated. Monthly.Yearly subscription, postpaid . . . . 2.40J. Th. Heller, Vestnertorgraben 13, Niirnberg,Germany.

Het ThEosophisch Pad. Illustrated. Monthly.Yearly subscription, postpaid . . . . 1.20A. Goud, Steentilstraat 40, Groningen, Holland.

El SendEro TeosoFico. Illustrated. Monthly.Yearly subscription, postpaid . . . . 1.50El Sendero Teosofico, Point Loma, California.

Subscriptions to the above Magazines maybe secured also through the TheosophicalPublishing Co., Point Loma, California.

Neither the editors of the above publications, nor the officersof the Universal, Brotherhood and TheosophicaIv Soci-ety, or of any of its departments, receive salaries or otherremuneration.All profits arising from the business of The TheosophicalPublishing: Co. are devoted to Humanitarian Work. All


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DATE DUE


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elementary theosophy

Documents