Originally published in 1914 by the Students of the Raja Yoga College, Point Loma, California, USA.
In their childhood and youth, in their young manhood and womanhood, she has been to her Raja Yoga Students, Teacher, Counselor, and Inspirer; ever aiding them to abandon whatever is unworthy, dishonorable, base and selfish; and ever seeking to evoke in them whatever is pure, true, brave and generous.
These sayings have been garnered, with the hope that they may be preserved and spread broadcast; for they will help all who read them to eradicate the weeds from their own character-gardens, that the flowers may blossom with new fragrance and beauty. -- THE GLEANERS.
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"Ye are not bound! the Soul of Things is sweet,THE LIGHT OF ASIA, Arnold.
The Heart of Being is celestial rest;
Stronger than woe is will: that which was Good
Doth pass to Better-Best." --
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In the search for freedom, there is eternal alliance between man and nature, and the voice of sea and wind can shout the battle cry, as also they can sing the songs of peace, and whisper their dreams of the sunlit times to come.
But the dreams which issue from the soul of nature are to great actions but the inspiration and the guide. We drink of the living waters of the imagination only that we may be strengthened for the daily task, it may be for the daily drudgery, which is none the less divine, because it is of the earth. -- KATHERINE TINGLEY.
"Time's glory is . . .SHAKESPEARE.
To unmask falsehood, and bring truth to light." --
The members of the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society do not come to interfere with your religion or your Government. We come not to destroy, but to build up; not to disintegrate or disharmonize, but to construct, to harmonize, and to cooperate with the best interests of your country -- to bring Humanity to a closer realization of its divinity and its God.
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Is it not true that just as long as there is one man or woman in the shadows, in despair -- one mortal confined in prison and shut in from God's sunlight, from companionship and helpfulness, that your country needs help?
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If you would understand your Bible better, your Christ better, your God better, study Theosophy conscientiously.
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Nowhere can I find that Christ separated himself from Humanity; but on the contrary, he taught his disciples in substance that "Greater things than these shall ye do." Those marvelous teachings of forgiveness and wisdom that he presented, when interpreted theosophically, in their true light, give a new meaning to his life.
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Surely those present who have been readers of comparative religion and have studied anything of history, do realize that there were great and mighty truths taught and lived by people of ancient civilizations far preceding the time of Christ. And this is said with all due respect to The Great Teacher.
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It is a fact that in the course of time the true teachings of the Ancients became differentiated and lost their value in the same way Christ's teachings are now presented in different doctrines. When we realize the differences there are in church principles throughout the world, we can see how easily the teachings of the Ancients have been abused by the degenerate methods of later years.
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We believe in Deity, the Great Unknowable, All-Powerful, Compassionate, Eternal Source of Light and Life. We believe that we are a part of God's Great Family, and that in this Great Universal Scheme of Life, all living things are included and not one is left out.
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We believe also that man is divine; that he is a part of this Great Universal Life, and that as he lives in consonance with his Higher, Immortal Nature, close to those Ideals that have been handed down to us from the earliest history, close to those teachings that Christ presented to us, he is, in the truest sense, a Christian and a Theosophist.
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We believe in the Higher and Lower Natures in man. We do not accept the idea that Satan is outside of ourselves, nor that Satan, in the dogmatic sense, is inside; but we do believe that we possess two natures, -- the lower, animal; and the Higher, the Divine, the Ego.
We believe the latter is Immortal and is ever striving to bring us to a Higher State of Comprehension of the true nobility of Life and to a deeper devotion to truth and the principles of morality and the love of Humanity.
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We believe that we were born, not for a limited life of seventy-seven or one hundred years. Christ, the Great Initiate and the Great Theosophist, as we call him, we believe attained his spiritual perfectibility through many lives, and in the experience of each life developed the god-like spirit within him, and in this sense was truly the "Son of God."
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We also believe that Brotherhood is a fact in nature and that we must love our neighbors as ourselves. We believe that it is our religious duty to protest against error; but we are taught that we must always be sure that it is error against which we protest, before we begin. Possibly you will see that this statement has its application to the efforts of our opponents.
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We believe that the human body is the Temple of the living Soul, and that man must control and master and work with this body, that it may become pure and do its highest work as a body. Therefore, we abhor vice and anything that would destroy or interfere with the health of the body or the mind.
We hold that a man cannot be true and pure and forceful on lines of real usefulness to Humanity if the body is misused, if it is not held as a Temple of the Soul -- of the Christos Spirit within.
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We know that the best results cannot be achieved in the ordinary educational systems, where the teacher and the children are only together a few hours daily; and that often there are adverse forces working in the home.
The Raja Yoga system takes full control of the child. From night until morning and from morning until night, the child is under the influence of this system; and so the great gap between the home and school is spanned.
This is one of the basic features in our education, and it has tended to bring parents into closer harmony with the real needs of their children, and to bring about more true happiness for both parents and children. And so the child is afforded a certain system of education that is not found elsewhere.
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We hold that the lower nature should be an instrument in the hands of the higher forces of the Soul, the Immortal: and that the mind must become subservient to the Immortal Self; that when we have this knowledge, then we shall have the key that opens the doors to the means by which we may rise to a higher state of purity and spirituality and thus be able to better serve humanity. My dear friends, is there anything very dreadful in this philosophy?
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Theosophy teaches that Brotherhood is a fact in Nature; That we are all held together by the Divine, Immutable Laws governing human Life; and that it does not become us to have ill feeling or resentment, even towards our enemies. It teaches that the spirit of forgiveness must be in our hearts, and so let us separate here today, realizing that that Higher Law, which ever enfolds us in its keeping, must be sustained in true compassion.
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Let us remember that all we have to do is to sound the depths of our natures and our hearts, and clear away from our minds the delusions and the mists that external life presents to us.
Through Theosophy, through believing in Brotherhood, and through right living, let us know the truth, the whole truth, the Eternal Truth, and thus receive that illuminating light that should ever be the guide of all humankind.
"A heart unspotted is not easily daunted." --2 HENRY VI, Act iii, Sc. I.
One may ask: "How can we best help humanity? What talisman can we give it that it may move out of its unrest and despair to a path of reasonable content and happiness?"
Theosophy gives answer and offers to the human mind a book of revelations of mighty truths that only need to be learned and lived to bring about a new order of ages.
"Man, Know Thyself!" Listen to the voice of Theosophy: "Thou art dual in nature and holdest within thyself divine qualities on the one hand, and the lower passions and weaknesses on the other."
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Let man look within himself and study the mysteries of his own nature. When he does this, he learns of the mysteries of life, and can begin to work more understandingly for the development of all that is noblest and best in himself.
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When an aspirant undertakes to live closer to the higher ideals that should ever be before him, he can then and there be like the wise man whom Jesus spoke of, "which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. (Matthew, VII, 24-25.)
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Now in the world today we see a few men and women living their lives conscientiously and righteously. Such as these can meet the descending rains and floods of adversity with equanimity. With their motives pure and their lives clean and upright, they become living examples unto all. They have assumed their moral responsibilities and they are doing their duty to their fellows; and this leads to happiness.
Can you not agree with me that there are not many such as these? But oh! How many there are who, unacquainted with the Higher Laws governing themselves, or with their divine natures, build their houses upon sand?
Each chooses his path, -- one to be sincere, noble, helpful, and godlike, the other to live in the house of pleasure, careless and indifferent as to the opportunities before him, or his duty to his follow-men.
So we have, side by side, happiness and misery, health and sickness, morality and immorality. Let those who are indifferent to the needs of their fellows and their own needs, look at this contrasting picture.
It is indeed sad and even pathetic to see thousands of people daily moving on the downward path. Many of them we can say have not deliberately chosen this path, in a desire for wrongdoing; but the basic cause of much that we see, in this connection, in suffering and vice and human weaknesses, can be attributed to the lack of knowledge that is necessary to bring the human mind to a realization of what life means.
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No man can make another good. One who endeavors to live righteously can point the way; but the effort must be made by the one who expects to conquer.
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If Christ's simple teachings, so beautiful and inspiring, could have been rightly interpreted and lived by the whole human family during the hundreds of years preceding our time, what a glorious expression of divine life we should have among men -- what happiness and peace there would be in human life!"
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It is because of man's lack of knowledge of spiritual things, that Theosophists are ever endeavoring to uphold the sublime teachings of the Wisdom-Religion to discouraged humanity; so that man may throw down his burdens of ignorance and despair, and live in the light.
It requires great courage to be a Theosophist in some countries; because there are those who profess to be followers of Christ who are ever ready to place stumbling blocks in the way of those whom they cannot control.
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Theosophists realize that to live one's life purely and nobly and unselfishly, one must enter the strait gate, "because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew, VII, 14.)
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Let us learn to be wise; to discriminate, to know the true from the false. Let us possess that wisdom which Christ suggests when he says: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." (Matthew, VII, 15.)
Let us remember that if we are to judge humanity at all, it must be done in a brotherly spirit, with that consideration that forever effaces from the human heart and mind animus and prejudice; for, "ye shall know them by their fruits." (Matthew, VII, 16.)
"To wilful men The injuries that they themselves procure, Must be their schoolmasters." --KING LEAR, Act ii, Sc. 4.
I believe and so do all true Theosophists that Christianity holds the essential teachings of all religions. And more than that, from the beginning, from the very time that Madame Blavatsky brought this Ancient Wisdom (not hers), to the Western World, she declared that it was true Christianity.
It is true Christianity; and so it is the mission of every true Theosophist to hold to the spirit of tolerance, to the belief in brotherly love, that we are all of God's Great Family, and that it is impossible for a true Christian who is a true Theosophist, or a Theosophist who is a true Christian, ever to condemn a brother.
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Now if we really stop to think, if we consider the condition of the different countries today, and what undesirable aspects we have in all forms of society, we shall realize that this is not a Christian age. It is an age of prejudice and ignorance, though there are here and there, of course, some who have the true Christian spirit. But it is not a Christian age; and Christianity, as taught by Jesus the Nazarene, has not yet, according to my philosophy and my experience, been truly interpreted.
But if one takes Theosophy and studies it from its basic principles and attempts to live it, one gets so much nearer to the real Christian spirit that he is able to interpret the Bible in a new light, and thus he becomes better able to serve humanity.
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Theosophists hold that the Bible has not yet been fully interpreted; that the books of the Bible were written in different ages of the world's history when there were conditions that we do not have now; that many of the people whom Jesus taught were unlearned -- unacquainted with the forms of speech that the Great Teacher used to his disciples.
And so Jesus taught in parables to the multitude. Does he not say so? I am telling you nothing new. He talked to the multitude in symbols; but the real part, the spiritual part of the teachings of Christ, in all their dignity and amazing beauty awaits interpretation by the true Christian, by the true Theosophist.
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Why do the members of the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society work so strenuously in trying to bring people to this beautiful philosophy? Why do the teachers leave that beautiful Point Loma, where they can live and enjoy life in service, to go about from city to city, asking nothing from the public but its attention, never demanding a farthing for the teachings, never asking contributions to the building of churches or the paying of salaries to any of its preachers; but on the contrary, reaching out to Humanity, in the spirit of Brotherhood, giving freely, with a desire to uplift the burdens of the people?
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If humanity was as it should be in this Twentieth Century; if humanity had the real, simple, beautiful, inspiring teachings of Christ and real Christianity, there would be no need of preaching Theosophy to anyone; because all humanity would have it in its very blood.
If Christianity were manifest today, as it should be, we should not have prisons, asylums, unnamable vices and degeneracy to contend with. We should have a wonderful world, a wonderful human family, living in the light of duty, serving and working together as brothers, seeking spiritual perfection.
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Now it is the duty of one who believes in his Divine Nature, in the Higher Law, and in true Christianity, which is Theosophy, to be optimistic, courageous, trusting and ever forgiving; for the light of Theosophy, touching the mind, the heart and the life, makes man strong and purposeful; it gives man confidence in himself and belief in a hereafter --belief in a wonderful past and belief in the Great Central Source of Life, from which he can draw strength according to his aspirations and his service to the human family.
Is it not our duty to draw more closely to Truth, and when we do this, to do it in such a way, by working on lines of least resistance, that we harm no one, and interfere with no one's rights?
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I think the difficulty with many noble-minded aspiring people today is that they are unacquainted with the Science, of Life. They have faith in a way; but my impression is that the more one places himself in a false position, perhaps unconsciously, the further away he naturally gets from the light of his ideals. And so, if we are to go through life on the faith that is presented to us, not the real faith that Christ spoke of, we must naturally, as a people go in the wrong direction -- backward. This is something to think about.
Is it possible that there is a human heart today absolutely at peace with itself? Nay, I say; and I say it advisedly, nay. Not one human have I ever found who was absolutely at peace -- who possessed peace of mind, peace of soul -- happiness. It does not exist.
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One may have high ideals, and try to live up to them; one may try to serve humanity as best he can; but he has continuously running through his life this fact; namely, that the more he serves and the more unselfishly he tries to labor, the more does memory bring to him the unpleasant pictures of the failures made consciously or unconsciously -- of the mistakes, of the lost opportunities, oh! so many of them.
Who of us can say we have not lost great opportunities? And when these memories come, when the stumbling-blocks are met by us in life, and we have only the Twentieth Century faith, we cannot be happy.
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We may have ideals, we may have the memory of our service, but we cannot have peace of mind if we are absolutely conscientious; because we know, if we think at all, and especially if we understand Theosophy, that our acts of omission and commission are telling along the broad path of humanity; and because we have failed others have failed; and because we have lost our way in the past others have also lost their way. Think!
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Knowledge: That is what humanity needs. That is what the old Teachers have said all down the ages: "Man, Know Thyself!" and that would be my message to the whole world, "Man, Know Thyself!" And how, in the name of Heaven, are we going to know ourselves if we are constantly agitating our minds in the wrong direction, pessimistically wondering, trying, experimenting, questioning, and trusting only in the brain-mind, and leaning on blind faith?
We may listen to the dictates of conscience; but, when we stop to think, -- what is the conscience of the Twentieth Century? Our consciences are not yet alive to the real meaning of life and the Higher Duty. Why? Because of our reliance on blind faith instead of knowledge.
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If we are to have true Christianity in human life; if we are to have true Brotherhood manifest in ourselves, we must have clearer consciences. We must feel the power of conscience in every act and every thought; we must war with ourselves, so to speak -- with the struggling lower self, that loves its ease and its pleasures, the temporary things of life, and often loses sight of the opposite. We must take a stand and begin to work for the redemption of human nature by redeeming ourselves. That is what Theosophy says.
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Let us begin to follow the path of knowledge and look upon life in even a more serious way than we have ever before, and remember that one moment lost may mean years of sorrow to ourselves and others; that often one mistake, carelessly made, though unintentionally, may affect the destinies of nations. . . . .
When heart and mind are attuned, then the intellect becomes clear and pure and strong and determined; then the soul, through the heart and conscience, steps out, so to speak, into more active life. Here we have Kingly Union, Raja Yoga -- the Kingly Union of the spiritual, the mental, and the physical. . . . When Raja Yoga is universally applied then we shall have heroes and heroines, and statesmen who will illuminate the records of history through spiritual discernment and service. Then we shall have nations fired by the spirit of Brotherhood -- nations united!
"But the morning of manhood is risen, and the shadowless soul is in sight."-- HERTHA, Swinburne.
Theosophy is based upon the principle of Brotherhood. So the real spirit of brotherhood is what all true Theosophists are endeavoring to evoke in human life. We declare that if the spirit of true brotherhood were manifest in our national and civic life, as well as in our international life, we should soon face a new order of the ages -- something new and splendid for the upliftment and salvation of the people. At heart we all know that we are brothers; and if we stop to think we must also know that in the divine part of our natures we are not divided. But in our exterior life the spirit of brotherhood is not manifested to the extent that it should be.
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Let me ask you: Are there many people in the world who are really satisfied? -- satisfied with their lives, or satisfied with the conditions that surround them? -- satisfied with their civic and national life? I ask again: How many in truth are there? Surely not many, if any.
It is my belief -- the result of close observation and much experience in dealing with human nature -- that, if one declares himself satisfied, he is sleeping, so far as spiritual knowledge is concerned, -- only half awake to the needs of his fellows, and separated from the real Inner Life by a false sense of certainty. He who follows this course may be said to be on the path of delusions, where, in the course of time, he will learn his lessons through bitter experiences; and later, in awakening, will realize his lost opportunities.
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There are numerous systems of thought in the world, but many of them are delusive, because they are based almost entirely on brain-mind efforts, though behind them there may be the truest motives. It is not enough in this world to have grand ideals: one must have the knowledge to apply these ideals to life. This is Spiritual Knowledge.
The human family, if it could pause and turn its mind away from worldly interests and pleasures, even for a day, would, through that effort alone, take a new view of life and begin to move away from the psychological confusion of the age.
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Not until men live as brothers, conscious of their essential Divinity, of their higher natures, can they feel the nearness of that inspiration which should move every human heart. Because of this lack of insight, I presume to say that the human mind has not been able to fully interpret the real truths of Christianity. Man, to know himself, must become a forceful expression of the Divine Life in inner thought and outer action.
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The Raja Yoga system endeavors to fashion the lives of youth more in consonance with these higher principles of Christianity -- which is Theosophy -- that thus they may gain that power of self-control which enables them to avoid the temptations menacing all young lives. The Raja Yoga system is not an experiment. It has proven its power for many years past, and is pronounced a thorough success by all educationalists who are acquainted with it, though it was only inaugurated in the year 1900.
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I declare that if the older folk, the mothers and fathers, can become imbued with the teachings of Theosophy, they are not only fortified, but actually inspired to assist the youth.
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A tree is known by its fruit, and the Raja Yoga College at Point Loma, California, which was established thirteen years ago, is proving the theory that if youth is given from early childhood the opportunity to know and realize the duality of human nature -- the Divine Higher Nature, which is immortal, and the lower, personal, animal nature, which is impermanent -- then it is at least prepared through environment and example to meet life's battles with clear perception and courage.
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I cannot help but say that we may organize and reorganize systems of thought and found societies and associations for the betterment of humanity; but these can do little permanent good, because there is lacking a universal system in the education of youth. I would not presume to make this statement, which I fancy many of my listeners will consider severe criticism, if it were not for my belief that the teachings of the Raja Yoga system, which are based on the principles of Theosophy, can alone meet the needs of the human family.
It should be well understood that this system cannot be applied to youth until the teachers themselves are not only students of Theosophy, but are living examples of it. With this picture before you it will be easier for you to understand my enthusiasm.
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A Theosophist, who believes in the essential Divinity of his nature, and also in its duality; in the power of the Divine to overcome the lower self and to illuminate the mind, accepts naturally the doctrines of Karma and Reincarnation; and when these truths become a part of his life he is equipped for great victories.
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The world is cursed with too many doctrines and beliefs set forth in the name of religion, offered without that knowledge which Christ and the many great Teachers before him taught; that knowledge which comes from the Christos-spirit within.
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Can you not picture the inspiration there is in having little children growing up under the Raja Yoga system, conscious, to a degree at least, of their divine natures; not merely believing that they are divine, but knowing that they are; and being able to discriminate between the Higher Nature and the Lower? They have at so early an age that touch of knowledge, simple as it is, that works through the heart and mind and assists the beginning of the real life by self-control, by power of resistance to evil, by finding touches of the Godlike spirit within.
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One may ask: What are your hopes in connection with this teaching of Theosophy and the principles of the Raja Yoga system? I answer, it is that these teachings may be ingrained into the mind and heart of every human being; that they may become living ideals; and that all our fellows may acquire the power to adapt their lives to the teachings, and to make Theosophy, true Brotherhood, a living power in the world.
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We had, long before the teachings of Theosophy were met with in modern times, grand ideals; but alas! the key that opens the door to true practice had been lost. But when Theosophy, which is called the Wisdom-Religion, was brought again to Humanity by H. P. Blavatsky, nearly forty years ago, -- for remember it is as old as the ages -- then the great opportunity was offered again.
"Man, know thyself!" It is indeed a poem and a sermon, an inspiration and a divine power, this sentence: "Man, know thyself!" The teachings of Theosophy engrave these words in every human life. I say: "Do not be satisfied with mere faith and the hope that is born of faith, but gain knowledge. Know thyself; become acquainted with thy Divinity, and follow the path of righteousness unafraid."
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It is the power of the divine consciousness that we must arouse in human life before we can think rightly or live rightly or interpret the meaning of Christ's teachings, -- the meaning of Brotherhood -- before the peoples of the world can begin even to consider the true meaning of Peace. I mean real Peace, genuine Peace; that Peace that the heart of man craves; that indescribable touch of the spiritual life that affects all of us at our most optimistic moments.
Yes, man is calling for and suffering for the want of this kind of Peace -- Peace in the heart, in the mind, in the soul. Man may have the ideals, the aspirations, the ability, the genius; but without that key of spiritual knowledge which Theosophy gives, Peace cannot be found.
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My pictures of man's possibilities are surely not too farfetched or unbelievable. Why is it that there are not more true Theosophists in the world? Though the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society is large, yet it seems only a small body of people in comparison with the millions of men and women who are indifferent to it.
The reason why people who have become acquainted with even the simplest teachings of Theosophy do not all accept it, is that it demands something -- new efforts, higher efforts, determined efforts. It exacts a clean, pure, unselfish life.
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Theosophy teaches that human life as we know it, of seventy-five or one hundred years, is but one school among many schools for human development, and that man's worldly interests, which must be met in a sensible way, are not the greatest in the world: that many things that man considers his truest possessions or power are impermanent.
It is easy to see that ideas such as these would not coincide with the aims of the great masses of people who live indifferent to spiritual things. Nor would they appeal to those who are satisfied with beliefs only. The worldly life is a selfish life; the spiritual life is an unselfish one.
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It is plain that those who are indifferent to spiritual things, who are satisfied with mere beliefs, live in a little world of their own, like a squirrel in a cage; and in spite of their hopes and prayers and touches of happiness they are held in a great ocean of pessimism and doubt. Think how many fall by the wayside who live in this self-made world!
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The human race is moving along two paths: on one are the optimists, on the other the pessimists. How often we see the latter, living in dread and fear! It is a common thing to find a certain class of humans beginning before they are fifty years old to think about death; to encourage the idea until it becomes powerful in the life, a real hypnotic power. Some old religious views which are almost obsolete now, have accentuated this, and one of the objects of Theosophy is to lift the veil and to let the timid, discouraged and pessimistic people see their possibilities and that there is Light ahead.
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I am daring to look ahead, to bring a picture of future years closely to your attention -- a picture of humanity no longer dreaming, no longer sleeping, but awake, aroused in the spiritual sense, living the true life, walking unafraid day by day with an affectionate devotion to duty and right action, and the whole world feeling a revelation of spiritual life.
Surely Theosophy does lift the veil and open the way and point to the path of true endeavor. And more, it pictures noble possibilities for man.
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There should be no criticism for those who have failed along life's journey, for the cause can be readily discerned -- ignorance, not real love of evil. How could humanity do better than it has done when it has not understood its responsibilities or its possibilities? It has scarcely acquired the power to discern the difference between the true and the counterfeit in human life. Poor humanity has had to endure, through lack of knowledge, impositions all along the way -- impositions in the name of Christianity, and impositions in the name of Theosophy. I often meet the latter kind in my travels.
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If Jesus were to come among us he would give to the multitude the inner life of his teachings, and he would build for a great reformation. He would not only confirm the inner teachings that he put forth, which are the same as Theosophy, but he would attract the attention of the world in a new way to the grand doctrine of Reincarnation; for he himself was an inspiring example of what it is possible to achieve through repeated rebirths. He lived and suffered and passed through many schools of experience, many lives, but returned each time to live and work. He gained the power to be a living example, a true image of the Divine, through his many lives. And I believe he would tell you now, as he told you then: "Greater things than these shall ye do."
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Good friends, if you are inclined to take any suggestions from me, study Theosophy and make an effort to apply it in your lives. Ere long your influence will affect the great body politic and break down the barriers raised by brother against brother, and will bring together the hearts of men. It would unite them in grand purposes. Then we could hope for unity among the nations. God speed the time, I say! May the study of Theosophy lead all despairing hearts to the knowledge that shall purify human life and ennoble it! May all find that path that ultimately will lead to peace and happiness, not only for themselves, but for all their fellows!
"If of life you keep a care,-- THE TEMPEST, Act ii, Scene I.
Shake off slumber, and beware:
Awake! Awake!"
The grotesque ideas and teachings that have been presented, in the name of Theosophy, to the thinking minds of the age, are so numerous that one cannot recall them except by the very disastrous results that have followed. My mission, if I have any at all, particularly in public work, is to try to clear away, as much as possible, these false impressions, and to present to the public Theosophy pure and simple.
Theosophy is the Science of Life. It opens the way for man to find his own divinity, and thus to know his possibilities. In doing this he naturally becomes acquainted with his own responsibilities.
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If we look around us . . . we find marked divisions among the people. We know division exists also among the nations; and we further know that the many doctrines that are taught in the name of Truth are carrying human minds away from it; that the real or fundamental principles of religion, the essential teachings of all religions, which Theosophy endorses, are lost sight of in the forms and "isms" which surround them.
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If we are to attempt to correct any of the social difficulties of the day, we must as a body realize that we are essentially divine. We must realize it so truly and so thoroughly that it will be utterly impossible for us to move away from the divine part of our natures.
We must learn these simple teachings of Theosophy: that man is dual; that he is governed by the Universal Laws of Life; that in his evolution he passes from one state or stage to another; and that in these experiences he has his opportunity to learn the real meaning of life.
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Now I wonder how many people there are today who are absolutely sure of themselves; who are so well balanced and so well equipped in the knowledge of the laws governing their own lives that they can stand out heroically and meet the difficulties of life, as they come, with courage and confidence, with absolute trust. I repeat, how many? Very few.
According to my idea of Theosophy, the cause of this is that man is unacquainted with himself; . . . he is eternally depending upon the intellectual and forgetting the higher part, the divine part, the intuitional part, the inspiring part of his nature.
* * * * *
This Twentieth Century is, in my opinion, not an enlightened age at all. It is a prejudiced age, a time of change and transition, and extremes are meeting; and we have some very, very serious problems to contend with in our national, civic and social life.
If we think at all, away from our egotism, and step out into the world with a determined will and see life as it is, we realize that unbrotherliness is the insanity of the age -- unbrotherliness, that fearful, shocking and pathetic cause of separation that exists among men in the world today. It not only touches our public life but our personal lives; and of course it reaches our homes. . . . We need to have a universal religion; and if we had this we should have a universal system of education.
* * * * *
According to what I perceive in my travels and from my study and my contact with human nature all over the world, I find that the human mind is psychologized by fear. I may shock some by making this statement, yet many of the greatest minds that I have known show a timidity and a lack of a certain quality of courage that is absolutely essential to one's noblest work. Alas! If we, as members of the human family, could only go on from day to day, from week to week, and year to year, unafraid!
* * * * *
I cannot conceive how a human being can begin to go through life unafraid until he has some knowledge of his own nature and the majestic laws governing his life, -- until he works in consonance every day and every hour with his higher, nobler nature -- his Immortal Self. The mission of Theosophy is to bring to the human mind knowledge of man's essential Divinity -- an interpretation of that wisdom which, in a very true sense, is older than the ages, far preceding the accepted time of the promulgation of the teachings of Jesus.
* * * * *
To me, the thought of a child's coming into this world, except into the best environment and prepared conditions, is a most pathetic tragedy. This may seem far-fetched to you; but when I think of the young souls born into the atmosphere of human life as it is today, I declare it is pathetic.
I believe that every mother should be removed from the pressure of every-day external conditions, which we know nearly always surround the coming among us of a new life -- away from the fevered unrest of the world, closer to Nature, where spiritual preparation could be made which would enable her to find the key to her possibilities as a Mother, and to learn to think and feel and love in a new way, in a broader, a deeper way, in order that she might better protect and guide the new-born life.
* * * * *
Not until woman has higher knowledge -- a better understanding of her own nature and of her power to serve, can the children have their best and rightful opportunities. . . . What assurance have we that young souls touching this plane of ours shall have their due opportunities?
The mother-heart, we know, holds love and devotion and the spirit of self-sacrifice for her own; and it is also to be found in the father's heart. But when a soul enters upon the arena of life, it is not of course the real "possession" of its mother and father. Besides, they have not yet gained that sure knowledge necessary to give it its best opportunities. And so, in the course of time, the child inevitably drifts into the great ocean of ignorance, unrest and suffering, which are the prevailing conditions of the present age.
* * * * *
I say again, it is a tragedy for a child to be born into the world under present conditions of human life. . . . False education, man's lack of knowledge of his own spiritual and mental heritage and of his possibilities, and those forces that are the result of the present-day mental confusion, -- these hold and fetter the young soul and shut out its best opportunities.
If we are to serve humanity rightly, really to do something to lift its burdens, we must begin our preparatory and remedial work in the home. In this thought, is there not something new for parents to think about?
* * * * *
Humanity must take a new view of marriage. Though the subject has been seriously studied all down the ages, yet rarely do we hear of a marriage that carries with it in after years that sacred atmosphere which should be there. And so, in viewing present-day marriages, one finds, if one thinks at all about this subject, that it is the lack of knowledge of the laws governing human nature, which brings about so many tragedies in home-life. So often are misfit temperaments and unsympathetic natures bound through delusion by the ties of marriage, while desire and passion are not infrequently cloaked in the garb of love.
* * * * *
True it is, the parents of the present day have their grand ideals, their hopes, and their dreams and their prayers; but they have not the key to the problem. How can two souls on this plane expect to go through life, doing their fullest duty to the sacred obligation of marriage, when they are unacquainted with the divine laws that should fashion their lives, -- when spiritual discrimination is sleeping?
* * * * *
Humanity needs to be awakened to its dangers, -- yes, and awakened to the knowledge of the Science of Life.
The Science of Life is Theosophy. Let us clear the way for the coming generations; let us, through the knowledge that can be gained of ourselves, cultivate that quality of understanding that shall purify human nature and evolve soulful beings.
* * * * *
Is my picture of the danger to the young far-fetched? Look at our youth on the streets! See the wrecks in society, in prison, everywhere; and then tell me if those who have erred and fallen and lost their way, have had their fullest opportunities! Oh! the pity of it! Wrecked homes! Divorces treading on the heels of divorces, and suicides, and all manner of crimes! And these are our progeny -- the progeny of the Twentieth Century!
"How can these conditions be changed?" you may ask. Why, through man's becoming acquainted with himself, -- with his real self. To gain self-knowledge, man must know and realize his divinity; he must work in consonance with the nobler part of his nature.
* * * * *
In place of blind faith, let us have knowledge, in order that we may be able to face ourselves, our weaknesses, and to challenge our Higher Natures, and gain that control over ourselves that will aid us in meeting understandingly the sorrows and disappointments and unbrotherliness of the age. When the Divine Light has touched our intellects, we then shall see; and in seeing, we shall realize; and in realizing, we shall become.
* * * * *
The mission of Theosophy is not to tell you that you can chase an astral orb and find your affinity; or recall a former incarnation and thus gain "power." No; the mission of Theosophy is to have you stand face to face with the serious facts of life and the serious problems that surround you; to sound the depths of your natures and find the Light. This you must do if you are to serve, and help lift the burdens of Humanity. Truly you must know yourselves: -- "Man, Know Thyself!"
* * * * *
The negative quality in human nature predominates, and the Real Self, the Divine Self, is asleep. Human beings have their reasoning powers, and, as we know, many valuable attributes; but at the same time there is a woeful lack of knowledge. One discovers this in all walks of life. Study the faces of the men and women that you pass every day on the streets. See the pessimistic lines of unrest and doubt and despair written there. Then, too, there are other marks that are painful and pathetic, and show the decadent tendencies of the age we live in.
* * * * *
We must arouse our Divine Natures. How can it be done? I could never do it for you; even the greatest orator and the greatest Teacher of the world could not do this for you. You must do it for yourselves in your own individual ways. But, you can never reach the truths of Theosophy if you are timid and half-hearted, or if you attempt to bring these splendid truths down to your standard of thinking and living.
* * * * *
To feel the fire of Theosophy, with its stimulating redemptive power in your lives, your minds must become as free and as receptive as the flowers are to the sunlight. You must awake to the glory of the morning, so to speak; search for the truth; begin to climb the mountains of Light; and by self-conquest and perseverance in search of Truth, you shall reach the heights. Then, my beloved people, you will begin to know yourselves. That is the one essential thing: "Man, Know Thyself!" These words have a wonderful occult meaning.
* * * * *
If one should reach the mountain-heights in trust, he never would be satisfied to remain there alone; he would long to have the whole world with him, and he too would work as do the few, -- the members of the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society, -- for the redemption of humankind.
He would work and work, because he had found the remedy that would lift the burdens of the world; he would become a noble example in effort, and he would be able to bear the searchlight on his life and character at all times. He would endure persecution and abuse, because he would be, so to say, on the mountain-heights in his strength, in his soul-life, in his power, seeing humanity ultimately ascending through self-conquest, through real knowledge.
* * * * *
One cannot study Theosophy superficially or half-heartedly and then spend the best mental energy in merely discussing what he does not understand, without loss. In order to receive the full benefit and inspiration of the glorious teachings of Theosophy, one must apply them to his life; then Theosophy becomes simplicity itself.
A child can be taught these simple truths and understand them. I have seen it done with very young children. . . . Truly it is beautiful to see the plastic and innocent mind of the youth responding to the teachings of Theosophy. And then to watch their growth and follow them from year to year in their efforts to overcome and gain knowledge, is inspiring.
* * * * *
There is another feature that comes before us in connection with the influence of Theosophy on the mind of the young, -- it is the attitude that the Raja Yoga students hold towards their studies. They do not meet them as a task, but as a pleasure; because in gaining self-control their minds are purified and strengthened with the thoughts of the necessity of proper education -- Raja Yoga. Indeed, they go to school as they go through life, -- understandingly, as far as heredity and Karma will permit.
Yes, the intellect of the youth, as of the adult, is the instrument of the soul, and must be truly cultivated in the very broadest sense, free and open for the reception of the Light, -- for the Glory of the Law to manifest in the life.
* * * * *
I am often questioned why Theosophists are so optimistic; why so cheerful and able to meet difficulties in human life so courageously. I answer that it is because they have discovered hope and strength in Theosophy; also because they realize, to a degree at least, that they have sacred duties to carry out, if they are to find happiness; and so, in rendering service to humanity, they touch the well-spring of a better life.
* * * * *
I am often asked why I leave beautiful Point Loma and the opportunities that I have in literary work and on other lines, and go out and talk to people, making new paths for persecution and misunderstanding and misrepresentation. Why do I do it?
Because I have in my heart this great, unspeakable joy, -- this little knowledge, oh! so very little in comparison to what lies before me; but I have the knowledge that tells me that the teachings of Theosophy are true; that they are rational; that they are not far-fetched; that they are logical; and that they are the panacea for man's woes and ignorance; and thus I would serve humanity.
* * * * *
A sincere Theosophist meets death -- or rebirth, as we call it -- with a trust and a peace such as I have never seen in others. This is because Theosophy teaches that death is birth, -- but a step into another school of experiences, where more knowledge can be gained and more service can be rendered.
Can you not see, my good friends, that in this thought the sting of death is removed? If one takes the mind away from the outer aspect of this change, one finds relief and help; but at present humanity is psychologized with a gruesome, truly awful picture of death.
* * * * *
What a study is man! Is it not true that just when he is at a point of the possible understanding of himself and of the meaning of his life, he begins to burden himself with fears of death, and often counts himself as too old to take up any new study or make any new efforts for self-development after he is fifty? He lives so much in the thought of the nearness of death that he begins to economize and ever keeps before him a picture of poverty in old age! All his energy is spent in preparation for the change --Death, not Life.
* * * * *
A mind burdened by psychological pictures of this kind, affects the very atoms of the blood with fear and trembling, and disintegration begins. Instead of looking upward, he looks downward; his shoulders droop; he bends his head and he pictures himself marching on to death; yet all the time the Higher Self, the Immortal Self, is ever urging him to self-preservation, to live out the full length of his life in consonance with Nature, and to walk unafraid.
Alas! It is the psychology of the age that holds the human mind in bondage, in unrest and despair.
* * * * *
But the Theosophical conception of death -- how beautiful it is! A true Theosophist is always prepared for that change at the unexpected moment. He sees new opportunities ahead for the soul's growth; he can sit beside the dying bed and in sympathy go out in thought with the departing loved one to a new contemplation of love and joy. He views this release as a merciful expression of the Divine Law; and when the eyes are closed and the absence of the loved one is felt so keenly, he can hold himself in peace and trust, and lose the sense of grief in the peace of knowledge.
* * * * *
We must live in the Light and in the knowledge of the Law, before we can meet death understandingly. Otherwise we shall go on in our present condition, temporizing with the law and our own weaknesses. We sob and we cry, and we put on our crape and black dresses.
But are these things to gladden the departed soul? Nay, nay.
We stay wrapped in our own selfish grief and loss; and the soul of our loved companion goes out to its new life alone. We forget the mercy of the Great Law; and not having the knowledge that explains these wonderful mysteries of life and death, we are selfishly shut in by our own mental confusion concerning the Great Change.
* * * * *
With this new view, when parting from your loved ones, you could love them in a new way and help them; go along the new way with them in thought, with the ever-inspiring knowledge that love is immortal, that love is eternal and that there is no real separation possible. How can a human mind doubt? How can it view this rebirth as a real separation? Is it not rational to believe that if the hearts and souls of men have been bound together by this Higher Law, this same Law will continue to hold them in its keeping.
* * * * *
Be assured, my friends, that in the great Cycle of Time, under the right conditions, we shall meet our own again. No power on earth or in Heaven, so to speak, can separate those who are bound with the true tie of love, -- immortal love. We have not to think how it shall be, or when and where it shall be, -- this re-union; we have only to do our duty day by day in the truest sense, to lead the Theosophical life in the Now, in the ever-present Now, in the conscious knowledge of the Higher Law; and at the right time, under the right conditions, we truly, truly shall meet our own again.
* * * * *
It is your duty to meet the yearnings of your own hearts and I find the Christos spirit touching your life, bringing "The Glory of God," so to speak, into your thoughts and acts. And is it not easy to see that you might thus catch, even in this life, a glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth?
"Here in this island we arrived; and here
Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit
Than other princess' can, that have more time,
For vainer hours and tutors not so careful."-- THE TEMPEST, Act i, Sc. 2.
Those who have striven the most, those who have studied Theosophy the most, and who love the work the most, and are ready to make the greatest sacrifices for it, have not yet taken in fully the sacredness of all that a Theosophical Life means.
* * * * *
I know that when she (H. P. Blavatsky) began this Work, her first task was to gather her children together, -- those with whom she had worked before, knowing that the impress of the old teachings was still with them, and that they only needed revivifying through the touch of a devotional life, a life of sacrifice, to bring them together in a most superb unity.
* * * * *
In studying the possibilities of those whom she had gathered together, H. P. Blavatsky realized that they were nearer, perhaps much nearer, self-conquest than they dreamed, -- more purified and possibly more crucified through their suffering in the world, and that if they would awaken under the inspiration of Theosophy, as it is now presented, with all the opportunities that are at hand, the whole world would be aroused.
* * * * *
Could you conceive that a true Teacher like H. P. Blavatsky or William Q. Judge would attempt to do just the ordinary things -- just the pleasing, the entertaining things that would add to your blindness? Would you not expect a Teacher to offer such teachings for your guidance, that the heroic qualities of your natures might come forth? Would you not?
Would you expect any system in the world to be like this system, or this system to be like any other? Would you not ask for something more, you true students of Theosophy? Would you wish to go on sleeping and temporizing with your own weaknesses?
* * * * *
I cannot understand how any student who has faced the glory of the sun from our beloved Lomaland, and shared in the beautiful nature-life here, who has looked into the faces of the faithful workers, and who calls himself a Theosophist, could ever fail in doing his whole duty to himself and to Humanity.
* * * * *
I think if I were to take the testimony of some of our most successful students here, -- those who have reached a point of self-conquest almost unbelievable, -- they would say that their greatest strength they found in attending to the smallest rule, which the careless student would ignore as of no consequence.
* * * * *
Let us begin a new line of thought, so to speak, and realize the joy there is in overcoming obstacles. It is impossible for me to express in words the inner joy that it brings to me. To be sure, my brain questions, my brain wonders, and is disturbed, when I meet with attacks from the enemies of progress; but oh! the unspeakable joy that comes to me when there are obstacles in the way!
When the attacks are made, then I know that I have something more to do. I know that they would not come if I had not the strength to meet them; so I am ready at any moment to push on and ever strive to sustain the ennobling teachings of Theosophy.
* * * * *
Give a man a chance to find himself. Do not remind him that he is a weakling, by discussing what he likes or does not like, or try to pave the way for him in his weaknesses, when you have not met your own weaknesses.
When you try to do this, you are depriving him, so to speak, of the very opportunities that he needs to find himself, to gain self-mastery. . . . Remember, no matter where we go, we carry our burdens with us.
* * * * *
Remember that you have today an opportunity such as has never been yours before; and so out of this sacred hour, let us learn some few lessons in self-control, in the real dignity of soul-life. . . .
What more does a sane mind want, than the opportunity to overcome, to build, and to gain self-control? What a need there is among even our best Theosophists of endeavoring to overcome their smallest weaknesses, of crossing the bridge of delusions and reaching the real life!
To live in the realities of life! That is what all students should aim to do.
* * * * *
Do you not know, if you are living in the world of realities, in the inner world, in the real spiritual life, courageously and heroically, that those who are half-living, half-dying, those who stand timidly waiting and questioning, who have lost faith in human nature, will feel the force of your unity and of your purposes?
That is what those who have come to us out of the world have felt. . . . They have felt something new; and now an exposition must come from you, -- it must come out of the united heart-life of all here -- a fuller example of Theosophy truly lived.
* * * * *
Let us study the inner meaning of our lives and our possibilities, and the inner meaning of Theosophy. Study its real application to your individual lives.
Give your time to these efforts and you will have no time to temporize with your weaknesses, nor want to be placed in this position, or in that, because you do not think you are just fitted for the one you occupy, etc.
* * * * *
Each of us must find his true position on the easy path, because I hold that the right path is the easy path. I do not like the talk about the other path -- the path of eternal struggle and suffering. That idea opens the gate to no end of bad Karma. But the path to self-conquest is the easy path; -- it is the royal path. What might you not have accomplished, if each of you had moved along that path with all your love from early childhood?
________
(From Katherine Tingley's Talk to the Raja Yoga "Crusader," Visingso, Sweden, H. P. Blavatsky's Birthday Anniversary, 1913.)
Once during this meeting, I tried to picture in my mind what our revered H. P. Blavatsky would say if she were here. I know what she would feel; but I wonder what she would say. It seems to me that she would say this:
"The greatest tribute that you can pay to my memory is in noble service to Theosophy continuously. Let every day tell for itself the true purposes of your life. Make use of your time, for it is precious; and feel my love, feel my sympathy with all your efforts. Feel that inspiration that must come to you through the ideals which have been taught to you through Theosophy. Try to live the real life, the pure life, the unselfish life, the inspired life."
________
(From Katherine Tingley's Talk to the Raja Yoga "Crusaders," on the train, enroute, Boston to San Diego, September 21, 1913.)
Do not gossip, do not criticize nor condemn your fellows; but rather, in all your association, seek that mental attitude which will bespeak the depths of your feelings, your devotion to principle, and your love of your fellowmen.
* * * * *
I love to study your faces; they each tell their own story. In my contact with human nature, I sense the hidden weaknesses, the insincerities of human life, as well as the high aspirations and endeavors; and no one can dream how I suffer, when I see one drifting carelessly away from the true path of right action.
________
(From Katherine Tingley's Talk to the Raja Yoga "Crusaders," on the train, Sept. 23, 1913.)
Now let me say: Do not let little stumbling-blocks stand in your path. . . . Remember it is the small neglected points in connection with your duties that will mar your success.
Remember too, that if you drop a single note in a melody, the whole piece of music is marred; and so it is in your lives. Perfect harmony cannot exist in your own lives if you allow yourselves to play even one false note.
Self-mastery is gained through attention to the smallest weaknesses in oneself.
* * * * *
The suggestions that I have given to you are of a kind that will assist you to broaden out your characters in such a way that when the time comes, you can reach out your hands to your fellows and lessen the bad Karma of others not so fortunate as yourselves. . . .
Some day when I shall not be with you I feel that these suggestions of mine in correction, or in anticipation, of mistakes you might make, will tell greatly in your lives. The good seeds have been sown, and though you may not all have seen the meaning of them, you will in time, I assure you.
_________
(From Katherine Tingley's Brief Address at the Reception to the Spanish Minister to the United States, Sr. Dn. Juan Riano y Gayangos, -- Raja Yoga College, Point Loma, California, U. S. A., Sept. 27, 1913.)
I feel that if the statesmen of the present time, those who have the power to adjust national and international affairs, would evoke within themselves those higher qualities that lie sleeping in them, there would come a revelation to the world. Their minds would become illuminated as though touched by light from the gods. They would awaken to their power, and through that power would act wisely, and so prepare the people of the world for a manifestation of the highest principles of justice.
_________
(From Katherine Tingley's Talk to the Raja Yoga "Crusaders," on the train, Sept. 23, 1913.)
Surely we cannot dream of happiness and real peace in national and international life, until we have it in individual life, and vice versa; so that all men must reach down into the depths of their natures, challenge themselves and bring forth that dignity of character that belongs to the noble men of all ages.
If this can be done, in the twinkling of an eye we shall have new and more humane laws and grand results. We shall have the power coming to the minds of the law-givers and the executives and the leaders of men, to open a way whereby, through arbitration, there shall be wisely brought forth the means to stem the tide of disintegration, to eliminate war and in the course of time to bring a royal splendid Peace to all the people of the earth.
_________
(From Katherine Tingley's Address to her Students, Aryan Memorial Temple, Point Loma, Oct. 5, 1913.)
The one great sorrow and horror of the world today is the lack of faith, even among the noblest minds -- lack of faith in anything.
Most men today are pessimistic and cynical. They have no faith in law, in humanity or government. They have no faith in themselves or in any system of thought. They are just floundering around like a ship without a rudder. They see the mountains beyond, and they see the blue sky; they dream and they half hope; but in their general attitude (even in their physical bearing) they show that some power has gone out of their lives. . . . Their minds are psychologized with a pessimism that is absolutely death-like. It is pitiful, pitiful.
_________
(From Katherine Tingley's Address to her Students, Point Loma, Oct. 5, 1913.)
There is a class of reckless people in the world today in whom it seems as though the spiritual life was so asleep that it would take ages to arouse it, -- a class of people who pass in the world as being honest, and fair, and successful, but who have made a world of their own -- a fools' paradise.
They have no faith in human nature; they are cynical; they have no trust in anything and so they are going "to get just as much out of this life as they can." They have no thought of the future, and are running to worse than materialism; because an honest materialist is often a very good man, a man of high purposes in life, who endeavors to help his fellows.
It is mental degradation, where the spiritual forces seem to be shut off.
* * * * *
In the condition of the women today, there is a pathetic expression of the world's sorrows. While men have their difficulties, and there will always be found some who have perhaps more than any woman ever had, still, take them as a body, the women seem to be carrying the burdens of the world. These facts I discerned in my recent travels in Europe.
* * * * *
If you, the members of the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society, are to accomplish anything for the world's good, you must begin right here and get the weeds out of your own gardens -- you must get closer to your own divine natures. You must be indifferent to results and just simply go on doing your duty from day to day.
In this way those who are ready to accept Theosophy will find it, and in time all the burdens of the world will be lifted, even for those who, I am sure, cannot be touched by Theosophy, in this life; for, alas! They must learn more and suffer more. Yet by your efforts they may be helped from making worse Karma and they will feel your sympathy, and that glorious and sublime inspiration of brotherhood that will prepare them so splendidly for another life. . . .
* * * * *
I believe that the whole body of the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical society is seriously affected on this psychological plane whenever anyone of you deteriorates or falls back. You are so knitted together on these different planes that it is absolutely impossible for one of you to play a false note, so to speak, without its striking the hearts of those who may be suffering the most and aspiring the most. This is surely a lesson of lessons.
* * * * *
I consider that practically this Center here is the Spiritual "Hague" of the world, and that you are the real members of the true Spiritual Congress of Peace. I declare to you that if you have one-half the interest in Humanity that I have and try to hold it in your lives; and if you have one-half the faith in yourselves that I have in you, we shall be able to astonish the world with the sublime Truths of Theosophy. Our efforts will be so lofty, so forceful, and so adapted to the needs of humanity, that those who really wish for Universal Peace will recognize the power of this work.
________
(From Katherine Tingley's Address at the Reception to the California Bar Association, International Theosophical Headquarters, Point Loma, Nov. 20, 1913.)
I think that we have educated ourselves to the fact that law and order are very important factors in the building of character and of home and national life, and that necessarily the exponents of finite law must be educated on higher lines, in order to do justice to their profession.
* * * * *
I have found in my study of human nature, and particularly of those who represent the common law, that among them sometimes we are surprised to find very wonderful exponents of the Higher Law, -- the spiritual law -- both intellectually and in action. Now in this fact we have a proof of the divinity of man; we have also proof of the heart-life.
* * * * *
I cannot think of any profession that can better express the justice of soul-life than that of the legal fraternity. It seems to me that those who hold this power in their hands, those who have been educated to represent the common law, have opened the first portal which leads to the teachings of the Higher Law. From this there must intuitively come to them a power that in the course of time will enable them to become real teachers of the people.
I believe the time is approaching when the intuition of man will be more developed and more and more expressive; and then those who are the interpreters of the finite law will become the exponents of the Higher Law. In time they will also become the real statesmen of the Age, the law-makers, in a much higher sense than we dream of now.
________
Music is often regarded as an amusement, a relaxation, and nothing more. At Point Loma it becomes a part of life itself, and one of those subtle forces of nature which, rightly applied, calls into activity the divine powers of the soul. . . . There is held to be an immense correspondence between music on the one hand and thought and aspiration on the other; and only that deserves the name of music to which the noblest and purest aspirations are responsive. -- KATHERINE TINGLEY.
* * * * *
Music is a part of the daily life at the International Theosophical Headquarters at Point Loma, not merely as an exercise which occupies its stated times and seasons, but as a principle which animates all the activities. . . . There is a science of consciousness, and into that science music can enter more largely than is usually supposed. A knowledge of the laws of life can be neither profound nor wide which thus neglects one of the most effective of all forces. -- KATHERINE TINGLEY.
* * * * *
Men cannot be preached into compassion, nor sermonized into brotherly love, nor talked into love of justice. The virtues will not grow in the nature until the heart is touched, and the mystery-drama is the Teacher's magic wand. For all dramas which give us a true picture of the soul's experiences and a true interpretation of the Higher Law and of life's diviner aspects are mystery-dramas, whether written by Aeschylus, or Shakespeare, or some unknown dramatist past or to come. Life is the great Mystery, and in unveiling it, in the light of knowledge, the true drama has ever been, and will ever be, man's great instructor. -- KATHERINE TINGLEY.
* * * * *
While the bells are ringing on the outer plane, calling men to a recognition of the New Time, the soft, silvery tones of the compassionate Heart of Life are sending forth their sweet music to the souls of men, calling them away from the paths of darkness, unrighteousness and despair, to the ever-abiding Glory of a Truer and Better Life, and the Hope and Peace of a new Day. -- KATHERINE TINGLEY.