Theosophy - Seven Radio Talks on Theosophy by Geoffrey Hodson
SEVEN RADIO TALKS ON THEOSOPHY
By Geoffrey Hodson
HIDDEN WISDOM IN THE BIBLE
CHRISTIANITY AS A POWER FOR PROGRESS
HUMAN
HAPPINESS
THE
PATHWAY TO PEACE
ANGELS
AND ARCHANGELS
THE
CHRIST LIFE
MAN´S
ULTIMATE GOAL
HIDDEN
WISDOM IN THE BIBLE
Continuing the series of thirteen talks
by Geoffrey Hodson In presenting certain ideas concerning the interpretation
of our Scriptures, I wish to make it very clear from the beginning that I have
no desire to weaken the faith of any Christian in the literal reading of the
Bible, with all its beauty, consolation and inspiration. On the contrary, my
hope is that such faith may be strengthened by a deepening understanding of
the hidden wisdom contained in the many wonderful books of our Bible.
The Scriptures have been regarded by some
Biblical scholars as belonging to a special category of literature, sometimes
called "the sacred language". The distinguishing characteristic of
this kind of writing is that while its narratives have a definite historical
basis, the language itself is largely allegorical. It is constructed of symbols
and allegories containing profound spiritual truths. This language is also referred
to as the Mystery Language, and said to have been invented by great seers and
prophets of old. And for at least two purposes: to reveal to those who could
be helped, and to conceal from those who could not, spiritual knowledge and
the power which knowledge gives.
Is this secrecy really necessary today?
I’m afraid it is. The necessity for this reservation becomes fairly clear
when we consider the use to which modern man puts scientific discoveries. Think
of atomic bombs, for example, made from the energy derived from nuclear fission
and fusion. While recognizing, therefore, that their knowledge belongs to the
race, the ancient seers and prophets saw that if this knowledge became regularly
available great harm could be done.
Let me illustrate this idea of allegory
to you. Let me take the story of the stilling of the tempest on Lake Galilee,
a very good example of an inspired allegory. The ship, for example, is looked
upon as a symbol of the body of man, which conveys the soul with its various
attributes over the waters of life. The disciples, like all people in such stories,
are personifications of human qualities and tendencies. We see the impulsiveness
of Peter, the business capacity of Matthew at the receipt of customs, and the
love of St. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved and who was the only disciple
present both in the courtroom and at the foot of the cross.
Judas also, who betrayed his Master, can
be represented in each one of us, can he not? He represents the tendency to
fall below and even betray the highest qualities in us for material gain. Happily
also, the divine presence exists in each one of us too, even if asleep for a
time, just as when our Lord slept on the disciples' voyage.
Then, you will remember, a great storm arose
and in their anxiety the disciples awoke "the sleeping passenger",
their master, the Lord Christ. Then He in His majesty and might arose and stilled
by a word the raging tempest, saying "Peace, be still."
Here is teaching for us today. When we human
beings are threatened by emotional storms, by gusts of anger and hatred, or
by the cravings of sensual desire which threaten the success and even the safety
of our lives, we, too, are advised by this story to awaken the divine power
sleeping within us and call upon its aid. Thus uplifted and empowered we shah
find ourselves able to say to the storms within us "Peace, be still".
And with certainty of obedience.
The importance of the storms of life is also
indicated in this wonderful story. For had it not been for the tempest on Galilee,
the Christ might not have been awakened. So, also, our struggles and the stresses
in our lives - these experiences can be the means of awakening our higher, more
spiritual powers.
Do
you remember the story of the woman healed of hitherto incurable sickness after
suffering for twelve years? This also could be symbolically interpreted. A deep
conviction awoke in this woman that if she set forth in search of the Great
Teacher who was in her district she would be healed. Despite her weakness, she
found Him, but was unable to come near on account of the press, or throng, of
people in the way. Her faith, however, was very great. She stretched forth her
hand and touched, not His person exactly, but the hem of His garment. And straightway
she was whole.
If this story be interpreted as an allegory
applicable to us all as well as a historical fact recorded in a special manner,
then we, too, are spiritually imperfect and therefore sick; and we, in our turn,
if we but seek, can discover the God within us and touch the fringe of Its consciousness.
Then we, too, shall be made whole.
But we have a throng in the way, don't we?
These people who are in the way symbolize all the un-Christ like attributes
of mankind, the impurity, the cruelty, the unkindness, the selfishness and the
self indulgence which coma between us and our Christ nature. Eventually, these
must go. But, in the meantime if, full of faith, we reach upwards with our aspiring
thought and prayer, we also may symbolically touch the hem of Christ's garment,
the Christ within us. Those who have achieved this will know that when once
the consciousness of the divine self within has been experienced, floods of
inspiration and healing grace descend upon body and soul. Thereafter, straightway
they can become whole.
Another interesting symbol is the mountain,
said to be a symbol of the uplifted state of consciousness. You will remember
that many of the great events recorded in the Bible happened "upon the
mount". Christ was transfigured there, and preached His greatest sermon
on the mount. Elijah, too, had need of counsel of the Lord, and he was told
to stand upon the mount before the Lord, meaning to exalt his consciousness.
And then there came an earthquake, a rushing wind, and then a fire, symbol of
the restless and disruptive activity of the mind. But the Lord was not in the
earthquake, the wind or the fire. Consciousness must be lifted above the physical,
emotional and mental levels. And then, as with Elijah, in the silence which
follows, the Voice of the Silence is heard.
That story of Elijah and the still, small
voice is quite a manual of meditation, a description of the means whereby self
illumination may be attained. You will have noticed that in these interpretations,
each story is regarded as descriptive of an interior, subjective experience,
as if all happened within the soul of every man. St. Paul evidently took this
view. For him, the nativity of Christ was an interior experience, for he said:
"I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." And the
poet has said: "Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born and
not within thyself, thy soul shall be forlorn. The cross on Golgotha thou lookest
to in vain unless within thyself it be set up again."
Such deep realization of the divine presence
and activity within each and every one of us can indeed bring down floods of
spiritual and intellectual power. And, of course, such inner power could be
seriously misused to the detriment both of the user and of others. And so this
safeguard has been designed and used - that of the symbolical language developed
to conceal from the profane and yet to reveal to the worthy that spiritual knowledge
which is indeed a source of mighty power.
By some scholars, you know, the whole Bible
has thus been regarded as a collection of wonderful allegories, written in the
language of symbols to preserve, to conceal, and yet to reveal truths which
were normally taught direct only to those who were pledged pupils of Great Teachers.
Our Lord used this method when speaking
to His disciples, you may remember. For our Lord said in privacy to His disciples
these words which might be descriptive of His whole method of teaching by allegory
and symbol. Here are our Lord's wonderful words spoken, I repeat, in privacy
to His disciples. He said: "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of
the Kingdom of God, but to them that are without, all these things are done
in parables."
CHRISTIANITY AS A POWER FOR PROGRESS
Does modern Christianity need to be revivified?
Some people nowadays believe that it does. When asked, they say "In these
days following the two World Wars we meet the utter pessimism of men and women
who in those wars and afterwards, lost all they held dear. They question that
there can be a God at all, or, if there be, that He can be God of Love and Mercy
since He allows such terrible things to happen to His children.
This disillusionment is one of the most
difficult of moods to meet, and yet (we mast admit this,I' m afraid) these black
clouds of despair do cast shadows over the entire world. These shadows are,
I think, much deepened by the spread of cynicism and bitterness, especially
among our young people. Let us look at these criticisms which are being leveled
against our religion. There is, for instance, the criticism that it has proved
impotent to influence favorably either human conduct or the progress of major
world events from the beginning of this Twentieth Century.
Of course, some people affirm that it is
not Christianity that needs to be reformed, but we Christians ourselves. There
is in modern Christianity a great deal to applaud even if there is also something
to deplore. Although in our lifetime Christian nations have embarked upon unprovoked
aggression, other nations, guided by a truly Christian spirit and at great cost
to themselves, have successfully resisted two major attempts to conquer, impoverish
and enslave humanity.
And then again - a great Christian achievement,
I think - two great world organizations, with the cooperation also of nonChristian
nations, have been formed for the purposes of collective resistance to such
wanton aggression. They were formed to preserve world peace, to combat vice,
and to give assistance to peoples in need. These are the League of Nations and
the United Nations, both of which have rendered very great service to humanity.
Moreover, the search for knowledge, for
understanding and for truth is everywhere evident throughout Christendom. From
these activities alone we may assume, I think, that the heart of humanity is
sound. At the same time human conduct is under criticism. And Christianity is,
in consequence, accused of relative impotence in the face of the grave evils
of our time. Christian apologists add that the evil is not with Christianity
but with modern man. They say that it is impossible to assess the true value
of the Christian Faith because, in fact, it has never yet been collectively
end thoroughly tried.
What, then, are the chief charges against
modern man, particularly in Christian countries? We are being told that in this
period we have displayed certain serious evils such as a marked decline in morality
on all levels: on the international level (aggressive wars), on the political
level (corruption), and on the personal level (selfishness; dishonesty and immorality).
In the economic and industrial fields of monopolies, trusts and cartels, and
in cut-throat competition the doctrine of "each for himself and the Devil
take the hindmost" causes man to appear to adopt the law of the jungle.
Sir Achard Livingstone, a distinguished
British scholar and educator, lecturing in Australia in 1951 under the auspices
of the National University there, made another charge. "This age has sex
on the brain", he said. "It is decaying in consequence .... Today's
students too often stumble through their education as if they were drunk, not
knowing where they are, where they are going, or what they are doing."
He said that there is too much emphasis
on preparing young people to earn a living, and not nearly enough on teaching
them how to live. Men no longer have driving moral force, a belief in high principles
and a willingness to accept discipline and make sacrifices for them, which is
far more important to the survival of humanity than either knowledge or intelligence.
He concluded by saying "If the world
is ever to recover from its present sick uncertainty, it must be prepared to
accept certain principles which are in the broadest sense of the term Christian
principles. Christianity is a doctrine of individual responsibility. The man
who lives by it chooses a hard way but a happy one." Thus, Sir Richard
has put his finger on some of our maladies.
Let us consider another aspect. What is
the heart of spirituality as taught by precept and example so wonderfully by
the revered Founder of our Christian faith? Is it not selfsurrender, as portrayed
by His Nativity in poverty, told in His Sermon on the Mount, and by His voluntary
acceptance of rejection, scorn and cruel death? The highest moral law was said
by Our Lord to impose a complete surrender of self in all its narrow sense.
In this disinterestedness towards self we recognize the tremendous dynamics
of Jesus' teaching. Unfortunately, our mental attitude is all too often the
reverse of this idea of selflessness. In fact,the modern outlook has been described
as "self first and God afterward - if I have time."
Everywhere one sees this tendency to pursue
material personal possessions, even at the cost of honesty and certain Christian
ideals. And again, the present divided ness of the Christian faith into many,
many sects is regarded as another of its weaknesses.
In 1951 President Truman told a large audience
of churchmen that he had been unable to get agreement among religious groups
on a common statement of faith to meet the Communist threat. "I have asked
them", President Truman told the Washington Pilgrimage of American Churchmen,
"to join in one common act which will affirm those religious and moral
principles on which all agree. I am sorry to say", the President went on,
"that it has not yet been possible to bring the religious faiths together
for this purpose of bearing witness that God is the Way of Truth and Peace.
Even the Christian churches have not yet found themselves able to say with one
voice that Christ is their Master and Redeemer and the source of their strength
against the hosts of irreligion and the danger of world catastrophe."
t is charged, too, that orthodox Christianity
offers no logical answer to the problems of justice in human experience from
birth to death, and more especially in the inequalities of health, environment
and opportunity characteristic of the conditions in which babies are born. The
English poet, Dryden, posed the general question in his words"Virtue in
distress and vice in triumph make atheists of mankind."
In these matters, unfortunately, it would
seem that Christian theology remains silent, static. To such questions of justice
for man from birth to death even mid indescribable and apparently undeserved
suffering, the Church can but reply "It is the will of God". That
surely would make it appear that our God is a monster of wickedness and cruelty.
If all this is true,are we not in a somewhat
perilous state? I fear we are. And it is just because of this that modern Christianity
itself is said to be in some need of revivification. I wonder if that is really
true.
Perhaps a deepening of the interior spiritual
life of us all is what is needed, the gaining of some direct knowledge of Christ,
our Master, and of the Lord God Himself. Here is an interesting story which
reveals the difference between purely formal Christianity and vital Christianity.
It appears that a group of students in a
theological college asked a very learned professor to read The Shepherd's Psalm.
He read it exceedingly well but no one was really moved by it. Then someone
asked a retired minister to read the same Psalm. His sweet face shone with an
inner light as he said the very same words with great reverence. When he had
finished, there was not a dry eye in the roam. Afterwards, when a student questioned
the professor about the difference, the professor was quite honest and humble
in his reply. "Well, he said to the young man, "I have studied the
Bible and I know all about the Shepherd, but, you see, our friend knows the
Shepherd."
There, surely, is the secret of the truly
religious life. How is this interior illumination to be obtained? How may we
cane to know the Shepherd? By the regular practice of meditation, or scientific
prayer, Theosophy answers. And this is defined by Alexis Carrell in these very
splendid words with which I will close:
A serene contemplation of the immanent and transcendent principles of all
things.
An uplifting of the soul
to God.
An act of love and adoration
towards Him from Whom comes the wonder which is life.
The effort of man to communicate
with an invisible Being.
A mystic state in which
the consciousness is absorbed in God.
Yes, surely, the responsibility in not with
our Church or its magnificent ministers, but with ourselves.
HUMAN
HAPPINESS
What is the secret of human health and happiness?
Theosophy answers that basically it is twofold: knowledge concerning the nature
and destiny of man, and learning to live according to the law of cause and effect.
Let us examine these propositions. What is the meaning of man's existence? Amid
the apparent chaos of the events of this Twentieth Century, is human existence
planned and ordered? Is there justice for us all or are we at the mercy of pure
chance? These are very important questions.
Theosophy answers quite definitely
that life has a sublime purpose and that justice rules our lives. Theosophy
teaches
that the purpose of human existence is the attainment of the stature of the
perfected man, and that everything that happens to us is helping towards
that
great attainment. St. Paul, you may remember, described this destiny of man
in the following words: "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and
of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fullness of Christ." A great destiny indeed, but how
is it achieved?
Theosophy answers by means of successive
lives on earth, by the process of reincarnation, or rebirth. Theosophy
teaches
that we have all lived many times before. And that after we have lived a sufficient
number of earthly lives man eventually comes, as St. Paul put it, "Unto
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."
Theosophy adds to this teaching -
the attainment of perfection by successive lives on earth - that the strictest
justice is ensured
to every human being by the operation of the law of cause and effect, action
and reaction, or sowing and reaping. St. Paul also described this law in
his
words: "God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap".
This does not always seem to be so, for reactions do not necessarily occur in
the same life in which the actions are performed. Effects do not always follow
in the same life in which the causes are generated. They may appear later
on, even in another incarnation.
But whenever the reactions or the
effects are experienced, they are always strictly just. As our Lord also
said "Verily
I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." He also went on to speak
of the exactitude of the law, you may remember, saying, "Judge not, that
ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with
what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." "Therefore
all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to
them;
for this is the Law and the Prophets."
Theosophy, however, makes a very important
further statement: that we can pass from the grip of the law of cause and effect
by learning to work with it. And this is part of the secret of happiness, as
I said at the beginning. There is a process of spiritual alchemy by which adversity,
resulting from actions motivated by selfishness and cruelty can be diminished,
or even dispersed, by the deliberate exertion of opposite energies and by the
enactment of deeds motivated by love. Love is the true philosopher's stone,
and service is the alchemical process by which the baser human qualities and
the pains of adversity may be transmuted into the fine gold of spiritual power.
If you know this and if you learn to live according to this law you have found
the secret of happiness.
A magnificent example of selfless service,
born of love for fellow men, was given by four Chaplains on board a U. S. troopship
during the second World War. Let me tell you the story, although most of you
may remember it. Early one February morning in 1943, the U. S. troop transport
Dorchester was wallowing thru icy seas off Greenland. Most of the 900 troops
on board were asleep in their bunks. Suddenly a torpedo smashed into the Dorchester's
thin flank. Frantically pounding up the ladders, the troops milled about in
confusion on the unfamiliar decks.
In those dark moments of panic the
coolest men aboard were four U. S. Army Chaplains - lst Lieutenants Clark
V. Poling
(Reformed Church in America), Alexander D. Goods (Jewish), John P. Washington
(Catholic), and George L. Fox (Methodist). The four Chaplains led the men to
boxes of life jackets, passing them out to the soldiers with boat-drill precision.
When the boxes were empty, the four Chaplains quietly slipped off their own
precious life preservers, put them on four young G.I.'s and told them to jump.
The Dorchester, as you may remember, went down 25 minutes later in a rumble
of steam. Some 600 men were lost, but the heroic Chaplains had helped to save
over 200. The last anyone saw of them, they were standing on the slanting deck,
their arms linked together in prayer. There was true loving service to mankind.
Later on, President Truman went up
to Philadelphia to speak of the matter at the opening of a $3,000,000 All-Faiths
Chapel dedicated
to the memory of these Chaplains. The President was escorted by Dr. Daniel A.
Poling, Chaplain of the Chapel and father of one of the heroic four. His voice
echoing through the limestone archways, Harry Truman spoke with unconcealed
emotion, sayings "Those four Chaplains obeyed the Divine Commandment that
men should love one another .... This is an old faith in our country. It is
shared by all our churches and all our denominations .... The unity of our
country
comes from this fact."
Now, it is by such deeds of loving,
selfless service that the process of transmuting the imperfections of human
nature into
their opposite perfections may be deliberately applied to increase the speed
of human evolution and to bring happiness and peace. The goal of perfected
manhood
which awaits us all in the far distant future, can in this way be attained
in a relatively short space of time. This possibility of deliberately hastening
one's evolution is thought by some scholars to crown the whole structure
of
religion. All great Teachers have drawn attention to this spiritual mode of
life. They have also accepted and trained disciples to tread the way of "holiness",
the strait gate and narrow way of Christianity. ( Is. XXXVs8 Matt. VII:14)
When followed steadfastly this Path
leads to the development of many wonderful supersensory powers, including
the faculty
known as intuition, which is a supra mental power of cognition. As these and
other faculties are developed, the person becomes increasingly useful to
his
fellowmen. And it is then, as taught in Theosophy, that a Great Teacher observes
him and gradually draws near to him, eventually entering into the sacred relationship
of Disciple and Teacher.
And then a special mode of life has
to be lived. The Sermon on the Mount, the teachings of the Lord Buddha,
and the sublime
philosophy of the Bhagavad Gitâ, or Lord's Song - these all define the
mental attitude and the conduct necessary for the swift attainment of the goal
of human life, for the discovery of the Master, for entry into discipleship
with Him.
Let me close with a description of
this ancient way of life as given by the Lord Buddha some two thousand
five hundred
years ago. He called it the Noble Eightfold Path. Here are the eight parts
of its Right Belief, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Means
of
Livelihood, Right Exertion, Right Remembrance and Right Meditation. Summed
up, this means, as The Lord Buddha also said: "To cease from sin,
to get virtue, to purify the heart and to serve the world."
Theosophy teaches that this Path is open
today as of old and can be trodden by means of self-purification and selfless
service-like that of those four great Chaplains - selfless service to the world.
This is the true pathway to human health, human happiness, perfection and eternal
peace. Let me repeat the words of the Lord Buddha: To cease from sin, to get
virtue, to purify the heart, and to serve the world.
THE
PATHWAY TO PEACE
How may we, you and I and all our
fellowmen,find serenity of heart and mind amid the strains and stresses
of modern life? Theosophy
answers that important question very clearly. It tells us that peace of mind
can be reached by gaining a due understanding of the meaning and the purpose
of human existence. What is that purpose? Why are we here? What is the
meaning
of our lives? Theosophy answers simply and plainly"Evolution to perfection".
Life is not purposeless but very
purposeful. It is gradually bringing us as a race and as individual people
to the stature
of perfected man. The evolution of man to ever greater and greater heights
is taught in Theosophy to be the purpose of his existence,"the one far-off
divine event towards which the whole creation moves", as Tennyson said.
The spiritual Self of man is a God in the becoming and his future splendor,
wisdom and power are entirely without limit. This, then, is the theosophical
solution of the problem of the ultimate destiny of man for this epoch. And
once
this knowledge is really absorbed and applied to life, the mind is at once
sunk in peace. The heart becomes serene.
Theosophy then draws attention to
a further great idea. It is that the goal of human perfection to which
we are all moving
has already been reached by certain advanced men and women. Such perfected
Beings are known as World Saviours, Rishis (which means Sages), Mahatmas
(Great Souls),
Adepts and Masters of the Wisdom. These superhuman Beings are organized into
a great Adept Fraternity, sometimes called the Occult Hierarchy, and sometimes
the Great White Brotherhood. They are regarded as the true spiritual Teachers
and Inspirers of mankind. They are the august body of "just men made perfect" (St.
Paul) and the Communion of Saints.
They are no vague tenets to the well instructed
student of Theosophy. For him the Communion of Saints is a living truth, and
the Masters of the Wisdom are living Supermen with whom a man may enter into
direct relationship and Whose life of service to the Divine Will on earth he
may begin to share. Eventually, aided by these Great Ones, by a Master, man
may climb to the height upon which They already stand. They are the Great Initiates
of the Sanctuaries of the Greater Mysteries of which we read in ancient literature,
and these solutions of life's problems were discovered and given to the world
by Them. Any sincere and capable servant of the human race can receive and deliver
this teaching of the Great Adepts to his fellow men.
How then is this state of perfected manhood
to be attained? The goal of human perfection, says Theosophy, is reached by
means of successive lives in material bodies or vehicles, newly formed during
the prenatal period of each succeeding life. Here, you see, we meet the doctrine
of rebirth,which needs to be studied in detail and is not my special subject
in this talk. I may say here, however, that reincarnation is the one and I believe
the only logical solution, to the problems of life. I refer especially to the
problems of time and opportunity in which to attain perfection, and more especially
to the great problem of justice in human life. This last is especially important
in the attaining of serenity of mind for without reincarnation and the law of
cause and effect life is utterly unjust, is indeed a hopeless riddle which defies
solution. With reincarnation and its twin idea of the law of cause and effect
a flood of light is shed upon human life and we see it in its inception, its
evolution, and its goal.
Successive lives alone make possible
the attainment of perfected manhood; for, the multifarious experiences
of these
repeated incarnations are designed to draw out the latent powers of this evolving
God which is man. Every experience, you know, has its value in terms of
an increase
of power, wisdom and knowledge. At the near approach to perfection, rebirth
becomes no longer a necessity. All further progress can be achieved in
the super
physical worlds. Thus in the New Testament we are promised: "Him that
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no
more out."
The next theosophical thought especially
concerns justice for man on earth. I've already referred to it in passing. More
fully, this concept is that all human incarnations - these several lives of
ours - are connected with each other by the operation of the law of cause and
effect, or readjustment. All actions, feelings and thoughts produce their own
natural and perfectly appropriate reactions. These actions may follow their
causative actions immediately, like putting your finger in the fire and getting
burned at once. Or they may follow later in the same life or in succeeding incarnations.
This law is referred to in our Bible,
in the texts "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap".
The Sanskrit word, as you doubtless know, is karma, meaning action, and
is used
to designate the operation of this eternal, impersonal, immutable law.
The law works something like this: Actions
motivated by love, service and unselfishness produce a pleasure, a health, and
a growing freedom of self expression which encourage the actor to repeat them.
But, on the other hand, actions motivated by dislike, greed, selfishness and
cruelty produce a pain and an increasing limitation of self-expression, which
discourage the actor from repeating them. Moreover, the intensity of the pleasure
or the pain is governed by the degree in which the unselfish or selfish motives
find expression in action.
So you see that suffering is not a retribution
imposed by Deity, or punishment, nor accidental adversity. All pain is self-inflicted
and educative in the extreme. This is the solution of the problem of justice
for man, especially in regard to suffering and disease.
Now I want to put another idea before you
concerning this law of cause and effect. The principle of the modification of
karma, of the law of cause and effect, must always be remembered. You see, before
effects have had time to be received, intervening actions can so modify the
original ones as to change the result altogether. And so, whatever one's actions
may have been in the past, their reactions are not to be regarded as an irretrievable
fate or as a dead weight from which there is no relief. By subsequent actions,
man can modify the operation of the law of cause and effect upon himself.
So you see, neither individuals nor
nations need ever be paralyzed by their past actions and their results.
Everything is
not irretrievably fated, however good or bad the past. Man can master circumstances
and make of each experience an opportunity for a fresh beginning, however
heavily
the past may weigh upon him. Isn't that a splendid idea? Doesn't that
already bring a certain peace to heart and mind?
This is a very important idea - that we
can pass from the grip of the law by learning to work with it. To savages and
criminals civil law is an enemy, but to civilized man it is a form of protection.
The same applies to the universal law of cause and effect. To selfish, lawless
and cruel people it brings retribution, nemesis, but to others, the causative
law for those who live by love, helpfulness and service, brings them health,
happiness and freedom.
The Spiritual Self, the reincarnating
individuality, is continually aware of the operation of this educative
law and so acquires
knowledge, wisdom, power and character development as a result. The law moves
to righteousness. And this is very important. Because the knowledge acquired
from life's experiences - the knowledge and capacity wrested from life constitute
man's true and eternal riches. These are the "treasures in heaven which
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor
steal". Ruskin pointed this out, sayings "There is no wealth but
life, including all its powers of love, of joy, of admiration."
The action of this law of readjustment constitutes
the only external control or judgment to which man is ever subjected. Man makes
his own destiny by his own actions, and within this law he is absolutely and
unconditionally free. Man is subject to no external, spiritual authority or
power whatever. We need not fear anything save the weaknesses of our own character
and the transgressions to which they lead.
Such is a sublime philosophy of life.
Absorb it, my friends, and you will find that it really will bring to you
peace of
heart and of mind. It will enable you to meet the adversities, the stresses
and the strains of life with equanimity and with poise. For you can know
the
whole meaning of man's existence. You know that he is a divine being, a God
in the becoming, on an evolutionary journey which will bring him "to the
stature of the perfect man".
ANGELS AND ARCHANGELS
All World
Faiths teach that God is served by hosts of Angelic Ministers, Beings normally
invisible but potentially very helpful to man. Does Theosophy support this
teaching? Yes, definitely it does. Theosophy, tells of the existence of great
Orders of Intelligences, quite distinct from man.
I am well aware that the idea of normally
invisible Intelligences may not be very acceptable to many of us in this modern
and very practical age. We are accustomed, aren't we, to the demonstration,
the proof, and the practical application to human welfare, of all knowledge
and all human discoveries. And so ideas concerning angels are, in consequence,
inclined to be thought of as somewhat fanciful and, at best, as rather unprofitable,
of little practical value to the busy man and woman of the world. I recognize
this; but, if I may, I would advise against too sudden and too decisive a dismissal
of the concept of the existence of such invisible Beings.
Science itself assures
us that behind our visible universe, as the very source of its existence,
there is invisible electrical
energy, positive, negative, and neutral in polarity and normally unseen. Furthermore,
parapsychology now is also proclaiming, after years of severe tests, the
existence
in man of supersensory powers of seeing and knowing, and it calls them "Extra-Sensory
Perception", or as you doubtless know, ESP for short.
It is not, therefore,
a very great step forward to admit the existence both of intelligent Beings
working as engineers
amidst the great powerhouse of Nature, and of the faculty of trained seership,
trained ESP, which could enable its possessors to discern such Beings and
to
explore the normally invisible universe. Furthermore, the weight of evidence
for the existence of both angels and human psychic faculties is overwhelming
for those who impartially and with an open mind will study these two subjects.
Let us look at them together.
Throughout all time of which records exist,
men have borne testimony to their perception of forces, phenomena and beings
not normally visible. Despite wide separation both in time and in space all
over the globe there is a remarkable resemblance between the myths, the legends,
the descriptive folklore and scriptural accounts belonging to the various peoples
of the Earth. This universality, similarity and persistence of belief in the
Kingdom of the Angels is, in itself, strong evidence for the existence of at
least a kernel of reality within that belief. It indicates a basis of fact upon
which belief in the angelic hosts is founded.
Added to this general wide-spread belief
is the testimony of those who have made both a science and an art of the process
of self-illumination, which, as you doubtless know, is called in the East Yoga.
The followers of this, the oldest and greatest of the sciences, the science
of the Soul of Nature and of man, aver that the extension of visual and hearing
power and mastery of the forces of man's own nature and of Nature herself can
definitely and deliberately and consciously be achieved. Anyone, the great seers
tell us, who will fulfil the necessary conditions, who will obey laws as certain
in their operation as those to which the chemist subscribes in his laboratory,
can pierce the veil of matter which normally hides from view the eternal, spiritual
realities, the inner worlds and their inhabitants such as the angelic hosts.
Before I present some
of the findings of such trained seers concerning the invisible aspects of
Nature, let us first
note what science has to say upon the subject of the existence of an Intelligent
Power as the driving and directing force behind all Nature. Science nowadays
says a very great deal on this subject. Listen, for instance, to Sir James
Jeans,
the great British astronomer. In his book, The Mysterious Universe, he writes: "We
discover that the universe shows evidence of a designing or controlling power
that has something in common with our own individual minds ... The universe
can be best pictured as consisting of pure thought, a thought of what, for
want
of a wider word, we must describe as a mathematical thinker."
Einstein has stated: "I
believe in God - who reveals Himself in the orderly harmony of the universe.
I believe
that Intelligence is manifested throughout all Nature. The basis of scientific
work is the conviction that the world is an ordered and comprehensible entity
and not a thing of Chance.
A great Harvard geologist
has also said"The
nearest approach we have thus far made to the Ultimate, in our analysis of Matter
and of Energy, indicates that the Universal Reality is mind." If the concept
- the theosophical concept - be added of individual Intelligences, Archangelic
and Angelic embodiments of the "pure thought" of the universe, then
this might well have been written by an exponent of Theosophy.
For Theosophy, in its turn, remember, is
founded upon scientific exploration and upon investigation by means of trained
ESP, supersensory powers, and it has much to tell of both the invisible worlds
and the invisible beings who are their denizens. Let me briefly put before you
some theosophical teachings concerning the Angelic Hosts. Would it be too much
to suggest to you that you listen to what I am now going to say as you would
to the words of an explorer who is describing the results of his experiences,
researches, and explorations in some new and strange land?
Eastern people, as
well as numerous members with the Celtic and other naturally psychic races,
are familiar with the idea
of the existence of the Archangels, the angels, and even their younger brethren
as they are called, the nature spirits, fairies and the like. In the East,
these
beings have a Sanskrit name which is devas, meaning "shining ones" and
referring to their self-luminous appearance. And the devas, or angelic hosts,
are regarded as everywhere present as the super physical agents of the Deity,
of the one Creative Will, serving also as directors of all natural forces,
laws
and processes everywhere throughout the whole of creation.
Furthermore, it is taught that certain of
these Angelic Beings are associated more closely with man than with the forces
of Nature, and these are the ones more generally referred to by us as the angels.
Are they then higher in evolution than we are?
There are said to be three main stages of
angelic development, each having its own name. First, it is taught, there are
the little nature spirits. Please don't dismiss the idea. It is not altogether
fanciful as I have tried to point out. And there is a real basis of fact for
belief in such little beings as the gnomes, the fairies, the sylph and the like.
They are about at the level of intelligence
of animals and birds and they are actuated by group consciousness, shared with
others of the same tribe. And then, more developed than they, are the angels
or the devas who have already evolved out of group consciousness into separate
individuality, as man has done.
And third, there are the Archangels, who
have transcended the limitations of individuality and have entered into universal
or cosmic consciousness.
Now, these Beings can be very helpful to
man. They can serve as guardians. They can help in healing the sick. And if
you care to read our theosophical books on the subject, you could gain a great
deal of information about these Beings and the way they can be serviceable to
man.
THE
CHRIST LIFE
In this broadcast
I am going to present a point of view concerning the Scriptures which, though
extremely old, may seem
quite revolutionary to many orthodox Christians. This is that the Four Gospels
do not merely record the history of external events in time. The inspired
authors
of the Gospels also reveal eternal truths, and describe spiritual attainments,
experiences and powers - sensory and supersensory of every human being.
Thus the Gospel narrative
is, in general, of threefold significance. It is the story of the life of
Jesus, the Christ.
But it is also, as St. John informs us in his first five verses, the story
of the universe from its beginning, or "Nativity" on to its end or "Ascension".
In addition to this the Christ life is told as a universal human life. It is
your life and my life, especially after we are spiritually awakened, or as it
is said "reborn" and our supersensory powers begin to be developed.
The Gospel tells of
the formation - or "birth" - and the evolution both of the whole
Universe to perfection, and of the Soul of individual man to Christhood Especially
does the deathless story reveal the
final stages of the Way of Holiness, treading which every man ascends through
sainthood to the development of great mental and spiritual powers, culminating
in the stature of perfected manhood, or Adeptship.
Before I proceed to explain this point
of view, I wish to make it clear that I have no desire whatever to weaken the
faith of anyone who believes in the literal reading of our Scriptures. Neither
do I want to complicate an essentially simple story. I wish only to offer, quite
un dogmatically, some possible interpretations from these three points of view
of the life of Jesus, the Christ. Let us look at the immortal story, and more
especially from that third point of view descriptive of the development of the
soul of man.
There are three main types of men and women
introduced into the Gospel stories. First the unheeding, work-a-day people of
the world, unawake to idealism and uninterested in the possible existence of
the super physical worlds and the Way of Holiness. This was the contemporary
population of Palestine amid which the Lord Christ moved. Second, however, there
were these people who were awakening to spiritual realities and beginning to
hear the call of the Divine Voice within them.
The rich young ruler
who approached the Master in search of eternal life is an example of those
who are spiritually
awakening, but are not yet quite ready to meet all the conditions necessary
for the life of discipleship. You will remember perhaps how, in answer to
his
first question as to how he could attain to eternal life, he was told by Our
Lord to keep the Commandments. He said that he had done this from his youth
up. And then came the acid test. Our Lord said to him: "Sell that thou
hast, and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come
and follow me." Then there is given what surely is one of the most poignant
sentences in the whole Bible. "He went away sorrowful for he had great
possessions."( Matt. XIX.16-20).
We need not regard this decision as final,
however. Perhaps later in life the rich young ruler may have found himself ready
to forsake the world, or rather, the attitude of mind which has a purely worldly
motive and setting, to follow the great spiritual ideal of service and selflessness.
Reincarnationists probably would tell us that, even if not in that same incarnation,
the opportunity for discipleship would again present itself and, in due course,
be accepted.
The third type of men
and women introduced into the Gospel narrative are those who were quite ready
wholly to dedicate
themselves to spiritual ideals. And the Gospel has a special message for these.
For these were the awakened ones who had answered the inner call to the Higher
Life and who were determined, even amid worldly duties, to "enter in at
the strait gate" and follow the narrow way of which Our Lord spoke. The
"Way of Holiness" Isaiah had called it. These people became disciples
and other immediate followers of Our Lord, and it is they who afterwards transmitted
so much of His message to the world.
These three types - the spiritually asleep,
those who are awakening, and those who are fully awake - all exist today. You
and I belong to one or other of the three types. For all of these people, whatever
their outlook on life, the Christ life is a perfect pattern. It is a perfect
example, especially for those spiritually awakening, the seeking and the aspiring
ones among men and women, of whom there are so many today, I especially believe.
For all of these the Christ life provides more perfect guidance.
For those today who
thus accept and really try to live Our Lord's teachings, then, a very wonderful
thing occurs, a kind
of miracle. As so many have found, a mystery is enacted within and around
them. Those who are thus awakened experience within themselves and enact in
their
own lives the major incidents in the life of Our Lord and His disciples. The
particular interpretation of that life which I am now going to offer you applies
to these inner experiences, which I believe are far more common than is generally
realised. Let me explain.
The five major recorded
stages in the life of Our Lord are passed through by those who are spiritually
awakening. The Nativity,
the Baptism, the Transfiguration, the Crucifixion and the Ascension of Our
Lord are recorded in the gospels in such a way that they portray, by allegory
and
symbol, the experiences of every human being who at any time finds the Master’s
feet. They are trained by Him. Their supersensory powers are awakened. And
then,
in due course, they are presented for a wonderful experience, a ceremony for
what is called spiritual Initiation, spiritual dedication to the swift ascent
of the evolutionary Mount, to the attainment in a relatively short space of
time of the stature of a perfect man.
I am well aware that this view of the Gospel
narrative as a description of events occurring within the Soul of spiritually
awakened man may sound strange to some of you who are listening and may be hearing
it for the first time. Please do not hastily discard it. Let us just glance
at the first phase of the life of Our Lord, the Nativity.
The first references to the historical birth
of the Christ Child occur in the Old Testament and they refer to the coming
of the Messiah. They are followed by the mission of John the Baptist, whose
call to the people of his time represents the voice of the Higher Self of individual
man, a voice which, if heeded, eventually becomes the impelling summons of a
fully awakened conscience. As a result the daily life is purified of selfishness,
cleansed of sensuality and of self-indulgence. Possessiveness begins to be outgrown,
Service on behalf of others assumes an ever increasing place in the life of
the aspirant. Eventually the Inner Self rules the outer man, and a spiritual
mode of life, a veritable rebirth, an inner Nativity, occurs, even amidst worldly
duties.
After a kind of interior
Annunciation, which is the call from the Highest Self, the "Dweller in the Innermost",
then power descends, a kind of creative power within the spiritual soul. This
produces profound psychological and spiritual developments. A real spiritual
birth from within the soul occurs. New faculties are awakened and a Christ-like
attitude towards life is quite naturally adopted. A deepening sense of unity
with God and with all beings develops, and this leads to a life of self-surrender
and sacrificial love. Thereafter this new-found realisation dominates the thoughts
and motives, the words and the deeds of the outer man and his life. These become
completely reformed, reorganised. Mystically he is said to be reborn, or as
Our Lord said, "born again".(John 111-3)
St. Paul also said
to his disciples: "I
travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." This is a very real
possibility, a kind of interior transformation of the soul of man into a Christ
like nature. Beauty and love can occur within the individual who will dedicate
himself to the service of God and his fellowmen. A certain amount of surrender
of worldly pleasures and activities may be necessary perhaps, but they are
in reality outgrown. This is symbolized by the birth of Our Lord in poverty,
in the more stable of an inn, among the animals. The inn itself was full. It
represents the worldly life. But the stable of the inn represents the whole
of Initiation, the cave of the heart wherein the mystical new birth occurs.
MAN'S ULTIMATE GOAL
Was discipleship of a great teacher attained
only by the twelve Apostles or is it still possible to find one's Spiritual
Teacher and be trained by Him? Theosophy answers the second of those two questions
in the affirmative. Yen, great Adept Masters do exist, and discipleship under
one of Them is a possibility for modern man.
How could discipleship be reached? First
by discovery of certain knowledge about man and secondly by its application
to the living of human life. What is this necessary knowledge? Well, it consists
partly of answers to certain questions such as the purpose of human existence,
why we are here, whence we have come, whither we are going and how we will get
there. The literature of very ancient peoples, which has been preserved, indicates
that these great questions have absorbed the attention of the human mind from
the remotest ages. All of them are fully and satisfactorily answered by theosophy.
Let me, then, briefly put this knowledge before you.
What is Man? Man is defined theosophically
as that being in whom highest Spirit and lowest matter are united by intellect.
Highest Spirit, of course, means the innermost self, the Divine spark in man.
And lowest matter refers to his physical body and nature, while the uniting
principle of intellect refers to his mind and mental powers. The essential unit
of human existence, the Innermost human Spirit, becomes manifest first as an
inner immortal self, or human spiritual soul, and second, during successive
lives on earth, as an outer mortal personality in bodily form. And this is the
man down here in the physical world.
What is the purpose of this dual manifestation
of the inner self and the mortal man? Theosophy answers in a word, "evolution".
The Inner Self of man gains experience, knowledge and evolutionary progress
through the activities and the reaction to life of the outer man. By that means,
and pertly by an interior unfoldment, the Innermost Self - the God in man -
perpetually unfolds and develops its germinal powers. This process is indeed
perpetual, uninterrupted, the Inner Self being immune from death.
The outer, physical form of man is, on the
other hand, only a temporary creation. It is born and develops to full bodily
maturity, after which it begins to decline and eventually dies, disintegrates,
to reappear no more. But the faculties and capacities developed by this outer
self are permanently preserved in the Spiritual Soul, there being but one consciousness
and one life in both the outer and the inner man.
Thus we learn from Theosophy that the immediate
objective of human existence is the development of faculty - I believe that
to be the whole purpose of the evolutionary process the development of more
and more faculty to the highest degree. The long-term objective is all-round
genius, the development to the highest possible degree of all the powers of
the inner spiritual self. And when this is achieved, then man reaches what is
called Adeptship. And this is the goal of human existence.
How is this goal reached? How is Salvation
attained? Theosophy answers: by two means - interior unfoldment and external
experience. Interior unfoldment is continuous; physical experience is intermittent.
Therefore, repeated physical births are necessary. Reincarnation provides the
time, the opportunity and the external experience which contribute to the continuous
spiritual unfoldment.
The next and very important step in thought
is this: the cosmic law by which dynamic equilibrium is perpetually preserved
operates upon man as a harmonising, compensatory agency. He experiences it as
cause and effect. Every thought, feeling, word and deed produces its own exactly
appropriate reaction, thereby ensuring absolute justice to every human being.
Merciful, kindly and controlled actions and the right use of the physical body
conduce to health and happiness, while their opposites inevitably bring sorrow
and pain. All human experiences, all conditions, successes and failures are
decided by the preceding actions of those who pass through them. This law of
compensation, knowledge of which is so important, is impersonal in its action,
in evadable, unchanging, and it is wholly to be trusted. You can build upon
it and it will never fail you. The places and conditions in which individuals
and races are born, for example, as well as those later entered, are exactly
the "right" places and the right conditions for those times and people.
Only in them can justice be done and the experience required for the attainment
of Adeptship be obtained.
Now the next important step in thought.
Theosophy carries this great story of man still further, saying that some men
and some women have already attained to the stature of the perfected man and
that certain of these Adepts remain physically upon our Earth as Members of
a highly organised Fraternity of Superhuman Beings. They are Agents of the purposes
and laws of life - Great Servers of God and Directors of planetary evolution.
Is it then really possible to discover these
Great Beings and become Their disciple? Yes. For in Their compassion for humanity
some of these Great Sages accept individual men and women for training in the
mode of life and thought which increases the rate of evolutionary progress.
And this is called the Path of Swift Unfoldment or, in Christianity, the Straight
and Narrow Way. These Adepts, Perfected Ones, Who teach and train pupils, are
known as Masters of the Wisdom. And indeed They can be successfully approached
by those who fulfil the necessary conditions and apply for admission to Their
Presence in the appointed way. These conditions and the method of application
are fully described in theosophical literature.
The would-be disciple must, however, change
himself or herself from a self-indulgent, selfish individual into a selfdisciplined
and selfless servant of humanity. When he does that and acquires the necessary
knowledge which I have been putting before you - then, there exist in him the
conditions for discipleship. Then, his Master will sooner or later appear to
him.
Is it possible to prove or test such a
statement of theosophy? Yes, it is, but one has to apply the final test of truth,
which is twofold. It consists of direct super physical observation by means
of supersensory powers on the one hand, and the experimental application of
the ideas to physical life on the other. Just as the student of geography first
takes information from teachers, books, maps and photographs, both still and
moving, but must visit the place studied for full knowledge, so also the student
of Theosophy, after contacting, comprehending and applying its teachings to
life, must add direct perception and experience of teachings in order to become
a knower, and then, a disciple of a Great Master.
So, you see, the student of Theosophy passes
through three successive stages: first, discovery, then examination, test by
reason, application to life, and finally - guided by a Master - investigation
by direct observation, using the inner, psychic, highly developed powers - extra
sensory perception indeed.
Thus, you see, theosophy teaches that a
man can either delay or hasten the process of his development, both of his sensory
powers and his supersensory powers. He also can hasten his progress of attainment
of perfection. And it is in this last that the help of a Master is so important.
He, Himself, has completed the long evolutionary road and He is, therefore,
well qualified to take a human being, guide him, guard and train him as a disciple
and lead him up to those great heights upon which He. Himself, now stands. This
is an actual possibility.
If we can resist the pull of the past and
the call of the world and old habits and indulgences, then we can grow in wisdom,
in determination and understanding. A soul can be alight, a heart aflame, and
we can become guiding stare of our fellowmen, as our Master becomes the Guiding
Star for us. Indeed, this is a practical possibility for any selfless and determined
human being. For an old theosophical adage says: When the pupil is ready, the
Master appears. |