Theosophy - Morality: Right and Wrong by H.P.Blavatsky
MORALITY:
RIGHT AND WRONG
H.P.Blavatsky
The care of his childhood belongs by all divine and human rights to the mother
alone; the parent who gave her offspring not only a part of her flesh and blood,
but a portion likewise of her immortal soul- that which shall create hereafter
the real man, the true ego. This is the A B C of the life-duties of mankind;
and it is the first duty of those in power to guard the sacred maternal rights
against any brutal violation.
It is a truism of too
long standing, a policy acted upon by every civilized nation from antiquity,
that the prosperity of every state is based upon the orderly establishment of
family principles. Nor is anyone likely to deny that social ethics depend largely
upon the early education received by the growing-up generations. On who does
the duty devolve of guiding that education from early childhood? Who can do
so better than a loving mother, once that her moral worth is recognized by all,
and that no evil report has ever sullied her fame? The youth and his later intellectual
training may well be left to the firmer hand of the father: the care of his
childhood belongs by all divine and human rights to the mother alone; the parent
who gave her offspring not only a part of her flesh and blood, but a portion
likewise of her immortal soul- that which shall create hereafter the real man,
the true ego. This is the A B C of the life-duties of mankind; and it is the
first duty of those in power to guard the sacred maternal rights against any
brutal violation.
The Christian churches have never
taught men any other or higher reason why they should be just and kind and true
than the hope of reward and the fear of punishments, and when they let go their
belief in Divine caprice and Divine injustice the foundations of their morality
are sapped. They have not even natural morality to consciously fall back up
on , for Christianity has taught them to regard it as worthless on account of
the natural depravity of man. Therefore self-interest becomes the only motive
for conduct, and the fear of being found out, the only deterrent from vice.
And so, with regard to morality as well as to God and the soul, Christianity
pushes men off the path that leads to knowledge, and precipitates them into
the abyss of incredulity, pessimism and vice. The last place where men would
not look for help from the evils and miseries of life is the Church because
they know that the building of churches and the repeating of litanies influence
neither the powers of Nature nor the councils of nations; because they instinctively
feel that when the churches accepted the principle of expediency they lost their
power to move the hearts of men, and can now only act on the external plane,
as the supporters of policemen and the politicians.
The function of religion is to comfort
and encourage humanity in its lifelong struggle with sin and sorrow. This it
can do only by presenting mankind with noble life on earth, to be won in both
cases by conscious effort. What the world now wants is a Church that will tell
it of Deity, or the immortal principle in man, which will be at least on a level
with the ideas and knowledge of the times. Dogmatic Christianity is not suited
for a world that reasons and thinks, and only those who can throw themselves
into a medieval state of mind, can appreciate a Church whose religious function
is to keep God in good humour while the laity are doing what they believe he
does not approve; to pray for changes of weather; and occasionally, to thank
the Almighty for helping to slaughter the enemy. It is not "medicine men",
but spiritual guides that the world looks for today- a "clergy" that
will give it ideals as suited for the intellect of this century, as the Christian
Heaven and Hell, God and the Devil, were to the ages of dark ignorance and superstition.
The misery, the crime, the vice, the selfishness, the brutality, the lack of
self-respect and self-control, that mark our modern civilization, united their
voices in one tremendous cry, and answer- no!
The ultimate sanction of morality,
as is well known, is derived from a desire for the attainment of happiness and
escape from misery. But schools differ The principal obstacle to the realization
of this oneness is the inborn habit of man of always placing himself at the
centre of the Universe. Whatever a man might act, think or feel, the irrepressible
"I" is sure to be the central figure,in their estimate of happiness.
Exoteric religions base their morality on the hope of reward and fear of punishment
at the hands of an Omnipresent Ruler of the Universe by following the rules
he has at his pleasure laid down for the obedience of his helpless subjects;
in some cases, however, religions of later growth have made morality to depend
on the sentiment of gratitude to that Ruler for benefits received. The worthlessness,
not to speak of the mischievousness, of such systems of morality, is almost
self-evident. As a type of morality founded on hope and fear, we shall take
an instance from the Christian Bible. "He that giveth to the poor lendeth
to the Lord." The duty of supporting the poor is here made to depend upon
prudential motives of laying by for a time when the "giver to the poor"
will be incapable of taking care of himself. But the Mahabharata says that,
"He that desireth a return for his good deeds loseth all merit; he is like
a merchant bartering for his goods."
To avoid such consequences, attempts
have been made by some reformers of religion to establish morality upon the
sentiment of gratitude to the Lord. But it requires no deep consideration to
find that in their endeavors to shift the basis of morality, these reformers
have rendered morality entirely baseless. A man has to do what is represented
to be a thing "dear unto the Lord" out of gratitude for the many blessings
he has heaped upon him. But as a matter of fact he finds that the Lord has heaped
upon him curses as well as blessings. A helpless orphan is expected to be grateful
to him for having removed the props of his life, his parents, because he is
told in consolation that such a calamity is but apparently an evil, but in reality
the All-Merciful has underneath it hidden the greatest possible good.
Some through their narrow vision
have sterner logic in their teachings. That which tends to a man's happiness
is good, and must be followed, and the contrary to be shunned as evil. So far
so good. But the practical application of the doctrine is fraught with mischief.
Cribbed, cabined and confined, by rank materialism, within the short space between
birth and death, the Utilitarian's scheme of happiness is merely a deformed
torso, which cannot certainly be considered as the fair goddess of our devotion.
You cannot be one with ALL, unless all your acts, thoughts and feelings synchronise
with the onward march of nature. Man must find his exact position in harmony
with the One Life in nature; one sees that man can only act in unison with nature
and never in discord with it; one must be a real "co-worker with nature."The
only scientific basis of morality is to be sought for in the soul-consoling
doctrines of Lord Buddha or Sri Sankaracharya. The starting point of a system
of morality is a clear perception of the unity of the one energy operating in
the manifested Cosmos, the grand ultimate result which it is incessantly striving
to produce, and the affinity of the immortal human spirit and its latent powers
with that energy, and its capacity to co-operate with the one life in achieving
its might object. The object which a Buddhist or Adwaitee Yogi sets before himself
is the realization of the oneness of existence and the practice of Morality
is the most powerful means to that end. The principal obstacle to the realization
of this oneness is the inborn habit of man of always placing himself at the
centre of the Universe. Whatever a man might act, think or feel, the irrepressible
"I" is sure to be the central figure, This, as will appear, on the
slightest consideration, is that which prevents every individual from filling
his proper sphere in existence, where he only is exactly in place and no other
individual is. The realization of this harmony is the practical or objective
aspect of the GRAND PROBLEM. Practice of morality is the effort to find out
this sphere; and morality indeed is the Ariadne's clue in the Cretan labyrinth
in which man is placed. From the study of the sacred philosophy preached by
Lord Buddha or Sri Sankara, Knowledge (or shall we say belief?) in the unity
of existence is derived, but without the practice of Genuine morality does not
rest with the profession of any particular creed or faith, least of all with
beliefs in gods or a God; but it rather depends upon the degree of our own individual
perceptions of its direct bearing upon happiness in general, hence- upon our
own personal weal. But even this is surely not all morality that knowledge cannot
be converted into the highest kind of knowledge. It availeth naught to intellectually
graph the notion of your being everything and Brahma, if it is not realized
in practical acts of life.
You cannot be one with ALL, unless
all your acts, thoughts and feelings synchronise with the onward march of nature.
Man must find his exact position in harmony with the One Life in nature; one
sees that man can only act in unison with nature and never in discord with it;
one must be a real "co-worker with nature." Some people fall into
the grievous mistake of supposing that, in the opinion of some sacred writers,
a human being can escape the operation of the law of Karma(Cause and Effect)
by adopting a condition of masterly inactivity, entirely losing sight of the
fact that even a rigid abstinence from physical acts does not produce inactivity
on the higher astral and spiritual planes, Sri Sankara has very conclusively
proved, in his Commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, such a supposition is nothing
short of a delusion. The great teachers shows there that forcibly repressing
the physical body from working does not free one from the inclination of the
mind to work. There is a tendency, in every department of nature, of an act
to repeat itself; so the Karma acquired in the last preceding birth is always
trying to forge fresh links in the chain and thereby lead to continued material
existence; and that this tendency can only be counteracted by unselfishly performing
all the duties appertaining to the sphere in which a person is born.
Inactivity of the physical body does
not indicate a condition of inactivity either on the astral (emotional) and
spiritual plane of action. The human spirit is in its highest state of activity
in samadhi (meditation),and not as generally supposed, in a dormant quiescent
condition. And, moreover, it will be easily seen by any one who examines the
nature of occult dynamics, that a given amount of energy expended on the spiritual
or astral plane is productive of far greater results than the same amount expended
on the physical objective plane of existence.
If The Society refuses to be a judge of what constitutes morality or its breach,
leaving that determination to the member himself. At the same time through its
literature it declares that no progress into genuine spirituality is possible
"without clean hands and a pure heart." adheres to the principle that
morality without freedom is not morality. Every kind of subjugation to another
is pain and subjugation to one's self is happiness: in brief, this is to be
known as the characteristic marks of the two." Now it is universally admitted
that the whole system of Nature is moving in a particular direction, and this
direction, we are taught, is determined by the composition of two forces, called
"matter" towards the other pole called "spirit", and the
other in the opposite direction. The very fact that Nature is moving shows that
these two forces are not equal in magnitude. The plane on which the activity
of the first force predominates is called in occult treatises the "ascending
arc", and the corresponding plane of the activity of the other force is
styled the "descending arc." A little reflection will show that the
work of evolution begins on the descending arc and works its way upwards through
the ascending arc. From this it follows that the force directed towards spirit
is the one which must, though not without hard struggle, ultimately prevail.
This is the great directing energy of Nature, and although disturbed by the
operation of the antagonistic force, it is this that gives the law to her; the
other is merely its negative aspect, for convenience regarded as a separate
agent. If an individual attempts to move in a direction other than that in which
Nature is moving, that individual is sure to be crushed, sooner or later, by
the enormous pressure of the opposing force. We need not say that such a result
would be the very reverse of pleasurable. The only way therefore, in which happiness
might be attained, is by merging one's nature in great Mother Nature, and following
the direction in which she herself is moving: this again, can only be accomplished
by assimilating man's individual conduct with the triumphant force of Nature,
the other force being always overcome, with terrific catastrophes. The effort
to assimilate the individual with the universal law is popularly known as the
practice of morality. Obedience to this universal law, after ascertaining it,
is true religion, which has been defined by Lord Buddha "as the realization
of the True."
We must admit and recognize fully
that it is the duty of every honest man to try to bring round by "argument
and gentle persuasion" every person who errs with respect to the "essentials"
of Universal ethics and the usually recognized standards of morality. But the
latter is the common property of all religions, as of all the honest persons,
irrespective of their beliefs. The principles of the true moral code, tried
by the standard of right and justice, are recognized as fully, and followed
just as much by the honest atheist as by the honest theist, religion and piety
having, as can be proved by statistics, very little to do with the repression
of vice and crime. A broad line has to be drawn between the external practice
of one's moral and social duties, and that of the real intrinsic virtue practised
but for its own sake. Genuine morality does not rest with the profession of
any particular creed or faith, least of all with beliefs in gods or a God; but
it rather depends upon the degree of our own individual perceptions of its direct
bearing upon happiness in general, hence- upon our own personal weal. But even
this is surely not all. "So long as man is taught and allowed to believe
that he must be just, that the strong hand of law may not punish him, or his
neighbour take his revenge"; that he must be enduring because complaint
is useless and weakness can only bring contempt; that he must be temperate,
that his health may keep good and all his appetites retain their acuteness;
and, he is told that, if he services his right, his friends may serve him, if
he defends his country, he defends himself, and that by service to his God he
prepares for himself an eternal life of happiness hereafter- so long, we say,
as he acts on such principles, virtue is no virtue, but Verily the culmination
of SELFISHNESS. However sincere and ardent the faith of a theist, unless, while
conforming his life to what he pleases to term divine laws, he gives precedence
in his thoughts first to the benefit that accrues from such a moral course of
actions to his brother, and then only thinks of himself- he will remain at best-
a pious egotist; and we do claim that belief in, and fear of God in man, is
chiefly based upon, develops and grows in exact proportion to his selfishness,
his fear of punishment and bad results only for himself, without the least concern
for his brother.
We see daily that the theist, although
defining morality as the conformity of human actions to divine laws, is not
more moral than the average atheist or infidel who regards a moral life simply
the duty of every honest right-thinking person without giving a thought to any
reward of it in after-life. The apparently discrepant fact that one who disbelieves
in his survival after death should, nevertheless frame in most cases his life
in accordance with the highest rules of morality, is not as abnormal as it seems
at first. The atheist, knowing of but one existence is anxious to leave the
memory of his life as unsullied as possible in the after-remembrances of his
family and posterity, and in honour even with those yet unborn. In the words
of the Greek Stoic- "though all our fellow men were swept away, and no
mortal nor immortal eye were left to approve or condemn, should we not here,
within our breast, have a judge to dread, and a friend to conciliate?"
No more than theism is atheism congenite with man. Both grow and develop in
him together with his reasoning powers, and become either fortified or weakened
by reflection and deduction of evidence from facts. In short both are entirely
due to the degree of his emotional nature, and man is no more responsible for
being atheist than is for becoming a theist. Both terms are The Theosophical
body is neither a Church nor a Sect and every individual opinion is entitled
to a hearing entirely misunderstood.
The inclusion of a moral program
to accompany occult research and comparative religion was seen to be necessary
when the Theosophical Society was formed. Madame Blavatsky's disapprobation
of Spiritualism had as its prime motivation that movement's lack of any moral
bases for psychic progress. Therefore the ethical implications which she saw
as fundamental in any true occult system were embodied in the Theosophical platform
in the Universal Brotherhood plank. Brotherhood, a somewhat vague general term,
was made the only creedal or ethical requirement for fellowship in the Society.
At that it is, as a moral obligation, a matter of the individual's own interpretation,
and it is the Society's only link with the ethical side of religion. Not even
the member's clear violation of accepted or prevalent social codes can disqualify
him from good standing. It The Society refuses to be a judge of what constitutes
morality or its breach, leaving that determination to the member himself. At
the same time through its literature it declares that no progress into genuine
spirituality is possible "without clean hands and a pure heart." adheres
to the principle that morality without freedom is not morality. Thus the movement
which began with an impulse to investigate the occult powers of ancient magicians,
was moulded by circumstances into a moral discipline, which placed little store
in magic feats.
Theosophy must not represent merely
a collection of moral verities, a bundle of metaphysical Ethics epitomized in
theoretical dissertations. Theosophy must be made practical, and has, therefore,
to be disencumbered of useless discussion. It has to find objective expression
in an all-embracing code of life thoroughly impregnated with its spirit- the
spirit of mutual tolerance, charity and love. Its followers have to set the
example of a firmly outlined and as firmly applied morality before they get
the right to point out, even in a spirit of kindness, the absence of a like
ethic Unity and singleness of purpose in other associations and individuals.
As said before- no Theosophist should blame a brother whether within or outside
of the association, throw slur upon his actions or denounce him lest he should
himself lose the right of being considered a theosophist. Ever turn away your
gaze from the imperfection of your neighbour and center rather your attention
upon your own shortcomings in order to correct them and become wise.... Show
not the disparity between claim and action in another man but- whether he be
brother or neighbour-rather help him in his arduous walk in life... The problem
of true theosophy and its great mission is the working out of clear, unequivocal
conceptions of ethic ideas and duties which would satisfy most and best the
altruistic and right feeling in us; and the modelling of these conceptions for
their adaptations into such forms of daily life where they may be applied with
most equitableness.. Such is the common work in view for all who are willing
to act on these principles. It is a laborious task and will require strenuous
and persevering exertion, but it must lead you insensibly to progress and leave
no room for any selfish aspirations outside the limits traced... Do not indulge
in unbrotherly comparisons between the task accomplished by yourself and the
work left undone by your neighbour or brother, in the field of Theosophy, as
none is held to weed out a larger plot of ground than his strength and capacity
will permit him. Do not be too severe on the merits or demerits of one who seeks
admission among your ranks, as the truth about the actual state of the inner
man can only be know to, and dealt with justly by KARMA alone. Even the simple
presence amidst you of well-intentioned and sympathising individuals may help
you magnetically. ..You are the Free-workers on the Domain of Truth, and as
such, must leave no obstructions on the paths leading to it."...
Work, therefore, to bring about the
moral regeneration of the cultured but far more immoral classes before you attempt
to do the same for our ignorant younger Brethren. The Theosophical body is neither
a Church nor a Sect and every individual opinion is entitled to a hearing. A
Theosophist may progress and develop, and his views may outgrow those of the
Founders, grow larger and broader in every direction, without for all that abandoning
the fundamental soil upon which they were born and nurtured.
But woe the 20th century if the now
reigning school of thought prevails, for Spirit would once more be made captive
and silenced till the end of the now coming age. It is not the fanatics of the
dead letter in general, nor the iconoclasts and Vandals who fight the new Spirit
of thought, nor yet the modern Roundheads, supporters of the old Puritan religious
and social traditions, who will ever become the protectors and Saviours of the
now resurrecting human thought and Spirit. It is not these too willing supporters
of the old cult, and the medieval heresies of those who guard like a relic every
error of their sect or party, who jealously watch over their own thought lest
it should, growing out of its teens, assimilate some fresher and more beneficent
idea- not these who are the wise men of the future. It is not for them that
the hour of the new historical era will have struck, but for those who will
have learnt to express and put into practice the aspirations as well as the
physical needs of the rising generations and of the now trampled-down masses.
In order that one should fully comprehend individual life with its physiological,
psychic and spiritual mysteries, he has to devote himself with all the fervour
of unselfish philanthropy and love for his brother men, to studying and knowing
collective life, or Mankind. Without preconceptions or prejudice, as also without
the least fear of possible results in one or another direction, he has to decipher,
understand and remember the deep and innermost feelings and the aspirations
of the poor people's great and suffering heart. To do this he has first "to
attune his soul with that of Humanity," as the old philosophy teaches;
to thoroughly master the correct meaning of every line and word in the rapidly
turning pages of the Book of Life of Mankind and to be thoroughly saturated
with the truism that the latter is a whole inseparable from his own Self.
How many of such profound readers
of life may be found in our boasted age of sciences and culture? Of course we
do not mean authors alone, but rather the practical and still unrecognized,
though well known, philanthropists and altruists of our age; the people's friends,
the unselfish lovers of man, and the defenders of human rights to the freedom
of Spirit. Few indeed are such; for they are the rare blossoms of the age, and
generally the martyrs to prejudiced mobs and timeservers. Like those wonderful
"Snow Flowers" of Northern Siberia, which, in order to shoot forth
from the cold frozen soil, have to pierce through a thick layer of hard, icy
snow, so these rare characters have to fight their battles all their life with
cold indifference and human harshness, and with the selfish ever-mocking world
of wealth. Yet, it is only they who can carry out the task of perseverance.
To them alone is given the mission of turning the social circles from the broad
and easy highway of wealth, vanity and empty pleasures into the arduous and
thorny path of higher moral problems, and the perception of loftier moral duties
than they are now pursuing. It is also those who, already themselves awakened
to a higher Soul activity, are being endowed at the same time with literary
talent, whose duty it is to undertake the part of awakening the sleeping Beauty
and the Beast, in their enchanted Castle of Frivolity, to real life and light.
Let all those who can proceed fearlessly with this idea uppermost in their mind,
carry on as they will succeed. It is the rich who have first to be regenerated,
if we would do good to the poor; for it is in the former that lies the root
of evil of which the "disinherited" classes are but the too luxuriant
growth. This may seem at first sight paradoxical, yet it is true, as may be
shown.
In the face of the present degradation
of every ideal, as also of the noblest aspirations of the human heart, becoming
each day more prominent in the higher classes, what can be expected from the
"great unwashed"? It is the head that has to guide the feet, and the
latter are to be hardly held responsible for their actions. Work, therefore,
to bring about the moral regeneration of the cultured but far more immoral classes
before you attempt to do the same for our ignorant younger Brethren. The latter
was undertaken years ago, and is carried on to this day, yet with no perceptible
good results. Is it not evident that the reason for this lies in the fact that
for a few earnest, sincere and all-sacrificing workers in that field, the great
majority of the volunteers consists of those same frivolous, ultra-selfish classes,
who "play at charity" and whose ideas of the improvements of the physical
and moral status of the poor are confined to the hobby that money and the Bible
alone can do it. We say that neither of these can accomplish any good; for dead-letter
preaching and forced Bible-reading develop irritation and later atheism, and
money as a temporary help finds its way in the tills of public houses rather
than serves to buy bread with. The root of evil lies, therefore, in a moral,
not in a physical cause.
In a world of illusion in which the
law of evolution operates, nothing could be more natural than that the ideals
of Man, as a unit of the total, or mankind- should be forever shifting. A part
of the Nature around him, that Protean, ever-changing Nature, every particle
of which is incessantly transformed, while the harmonious body remains as a
whole ever the same, like these particles man is continually changing physically,
intellectually, morally, spiritually. At one time he is at the topmost point
of the circle of development; at another, at the lowest. And, as he thus alternately
rises and sinks, and his moral nature responsively expands or contracts, so
will his moral code at one time embody the noblest altruistic and aspirational
ideals, while at the other, the ruling conscience will be but the reflection
of selfishness, brutality and faithlessness. But this, however, is so only on
the external, illusionary plane. In their internal, or rather, essential constitution,
both nature and man are at one, as their essence is identical. All grows and
develops and strives towards perfection on the former planes of externality,
or, as well said by a philosopher is- "ever becoming"; but on the
ultimate plane of the spiritual essence all IS, and remains therefore immutable.
It is towards this eternal Essence that everything, as every being, is gravitating,
gradually, almost imperceptibly, but as surely as the Universe of stars and
worlds moves towards a mysterious point known to, yet still unnamed by, astronomy
and called by the Occultists- the central Spiritual Sun.
Hitherto, it was remarked in almost
every historical age that a wide interval, almost a chasm, lay between practical
and ideal perfection. Yet, as from time to time certain great characters appeared
on earth who taught mankind to look beyond the veil of illusion, man learnt
that the gulf was not an impassable one; that it is the province of mankind
through its higher and more spiritual races to fill the In their internal, or
rather, essential constitution, both nature and man are at one, as their essence
is identical. All grows and develops and strives towards perfection on the former
planes of externality, or, as well said by a philosopher is- "ever becoming
great gap more and more with every coming cycle; for every man, as a unit, has
it in his power to add his mite toward filling it. Yes; there are still men,
who, notwithstanding the present chaotic condition of the moral world, and the
sorry debris of the best human ideals, still persist in believing and teaching
that the now ideal human perfection is no dream, but a law of divine nature;
and that, had Mankind to wait even millions of years, still it must some day
reach it and re-become a race of gods.
Meanwhile, the periodical rise and
fall of human character on the external planes takes place now, as it did before,
and the ordinary average perception of man is too weak to see that both processes
occur each time on a higher plane than the preceding. But as such changes are
not always the work of centuries, for often extreme changes are wrought by swift
acting forces - e.g. ,g, by wars, speculations, epidemics, the devastation by
famines or religious fanaticism- therefore, do the blind masses imagine that
man ever was, is, and will be the same. To the eyes of us, moles, mankind is
like our globe- seemingly stationary. And yet, both move in space and time with
an equal velocity, around themselves and- onward.
Moreover, at whatever end of his
evolution, from the birth of his consciousness, in fact, man was, and still
is, the vehicle of a dual spirit in him- good and evil. Like the twin sisters
of Victor Hugo's grand, posthumous poem La Fin de Satan (The end of Satan)-
the progeny issued respectively from Light and Darkness- the angel "Liberty"
and the angel "Isis-Lilith" have chosen man as their dwelling on earth,
and these are at eternal strife in him.
The Churches tell the world that
"man is born in sin," and John (1st Epistle III.8) adds that "He
that commiteth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning."
Those who still believe in the rib-and-apple fable and in the rebellious angel"Satan"
believe, as a matter of course in a personal Devil- as a contrast in a dualistic
religion- to a personal God. We, Theosophists of the Eastern school, believe
in neither. Yet we go, perhaps, further still than the Biblical dead letter.
For we say that while as extra-cosmic Entities there is neither god nor devil,
that both exist, nevertheless. And we add that both dwell on earth in man, being
in truth, the very man himself, who is, as a physical being, the devil, the
true vehicle of evil, and as a spiritual entity- god, or good. Hence, to say
to mankind, "Thou has the devil," is to utter as metaphysical truth
as when saying to all its men, "Know ye not that god dwelleth in you?"
Both statements are true. But, we are at the turning point of great social cycle,
and it is the former fact which the upper hand at present. Yet- to paraphrase
a Pauline text -as "there be devils many... yet there is but one Satan,"
so while we have a great variety of devils constituting collectively mankind,
of such grandiose Satanic characters as are painted by Milton, Byron, and Victor
Hugo, there are few, if any. Hence, owing to such mediocrity, are the human
ideals falling, to remain unreplaced; a prose-life as spiritually dead as a
November fog, and as alive with brutal materialism and vices, the seven capital
sins forming but a portion of these, as that fog is with deadly microbes. Now
we rarely find aspirations toward the eternal ideal in the human heart, but
instead of it every thought tending toward the one central idea of our century,
the great "I" self being for each the one mighty centre around which
the whole Universe is made to resolve and turn.
This
document is a composite of related articles found in the
"Collected writings of H.P.Blavatsky |
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