Theosophy - Theosophy and Dogma - by William Kingsland
THEOSOPHY AND DOGMA.
by William Kingsland
as published in "LUCIFER", June 1889
and reprinted in "Theosophical Siftings" - Volume 3- 1890-1891
THEOSOPHY has many aspects, and derives its inspiration
not from one source only, not from one teacher merely, or
from one set of sacred writings, but from all.
This is a fact which it appears most difficult to impress
upon the world at large, and upon the opponents of Theosophy
in particular. Men are so accustomed to regulate their opinions
by some particular creed or dogma, which they suppose to
rest upon some authority beyond which there is no appeal,
that they cannot grasp the wider aspect of human duty and
human destiny which Theosophy presents.
If we examine any of those exclusive and contradictory religious
systems on which, in some form or another, men blindly rely,
we find at once a broad distinction drawn between believers
and unbelievers, between those who are within and those who
are without the favour of God, between the lost and the saved.
But Theosophy knows no such distinctions as these, neither
any difference of race, colour or creed.
The spiritual sun shines alike on the good and on the evil,
and the water of life descends both on the just and on the
unjust. It rests with each individual to make the proper
use of those spiritual forces which are ever emanating from
the divine source of our being.
We must do this first by faith, and secondly by knowledge.
If we have no faith in the divine spark that burns within
us, we shall make no efforts to let that spark illumine and
guide our life; and on the other hand, if we have faith without
knowledge, we shall still be groping in the dark, and will
surely mistake the false light of some earth-born system
of religion, for the divine light that burns only in the
innermost sanctuary of our own hearts.
We must use the spiritual forces in nature in the same way
that we make use of physical forces. If a man does not work
in harmony with the laws of nature, he will find opposition
instead of help; if he sow not in accordance with nature's
law, he will reap naught but disappointment and pain. We
need faith in the first place, faith in the unity and continuity
[Page 18] of natural laws, and faith in our own divine nature,
but no amount of faith will enable us to produce the desired
result if we do not add to faith knowledge. Theosophy carries
this principle right up to the highest spiritual plane, and
does not recognise at any point the intervention of an arbitrary
personal will, which can make a man other than that which
he himself chooses. All are subject to the law of Karma,
but Karma is that which each individual makes for himself;
it is the law of cause and effect in relation to his own
free will.
The will of man is as free as the will of God, and becomes,
indeed, that will itself when the man has realised his divine
nature, and by crucifying his lower principles has effected
the at-one-ment.
It is the most common misconception, then, and the hardest
to eradicate, that Theosophy consists in a belief in certain
doctrines; that it is in fact nothing more or less than a
religious creed.
What then we shall be asked are those doctrines which Theosophists
everywhere profess to hold, and which they appear most anxious
to teach the world ? What is Esoteric Buddhism and the Secret
Doctrine, or Reincarnation and Karma, if not a body of doctrines
which are intended to supplant other religious creeds and
dogmas ?
The answer to this is, that these doctrines are the embodiment
of certain broad generalisations concerning the history and
evolution of humanity; that they are the key which enables
us to harmonise certain facts which would otherwise appear
isolated and antagonistic. They are in no way analogous to
the dogmas and creeds of the religious sects, but answer
more nearly to such generalisations, of science as the laws
of gravity or the conservation of energy. It is not claimed
for them that they are necessary articles of belief, neither
that they are in their present form accurately and literally
true. They are stepping-stones to a higher knowledge of the
divine element in human nature, and of the laws physical,
psychical, and spiritual by which we are conditioned. If
we ask a scientific man what gravity or energy are, he cannot
tell us, but no one will deny that the laws which have been
formulated respecting their action of manifestation have
been most powerful aids in scientific investigations. Now,
it is precisely thus with the doctrines of Theosophy. Once
these doctrines are understood they give a man an immensely
wider view of humanity, and raise him above those narrow
and limited conceptions of God and his dealings with individuals,
of which so many contradictory assertions are made by various
religions, and the innumerable sects into which they are
split up.
What practical relation then has Theosophy to our everyday
life ? We reply that practical Theosophy is identical with
practical religion. [Page 19] It comes from the heart and
not from the head. It is the spontaneous love for one's fellow-creatures,
which, taking possession of a man, leads to noble acts of
self-sacrifice; to right action done simply because it is
right, and without any reference to the merit of the act,
or any thought of recognition or reward.
Theosophy aims at nothing short of perfection of character; but character
as expressed in outward acts is the result of an inward condition. The root of action lies deep down
in the inner consciousness. It is the man's thoughts, desires,
and innermost convictions which give rise to action. Act
does not produce character, is not even a true indication
of it, for a right action may be done from a wrong motive.
Act is the result of character.
Right action must be based upon right thought, right motive,
and right knowledge, and it is just here that the study of
the doctrines of Theosophy is of such value to those who
are seeking for firm ground to stand upon amid all the conflicting
dogmas and controversies of the age, for it provides a basis
which is independent of any religious system, and yet includes
them all in their inner or esoteric meaning. There is not
much difficulty in distinguishing between a right and a wrong
action per se, but there is a great difference between the
man who is merely moral through habit or temperament, and
one who is actively beneficent because of the love for humanity
which animates him. Moreover, there will be a great difference
in the actions of a man who believes in the doctrine of original
sin and the atonement, and one who believes in reincarnation
and Karma.
Theosophy, therefore, as a system, seeks to influence men
by giving them a right basis of thought. It seeks to counteract
on the one hand, the materialistic and atheistic teachings
of modern science, and on the other hand, the narrow, exclusive,
and demoralising teachings of dogmatic and formal religion.
But Theosophy as a system is something even more than this.
Theosophy does not seek merely to destroy superstition, but
it seeks to build up a new edifice constructed of those very
materials which have been so perverted in their uses by centuries
of priestcraft and ecclesiasticism. Theosophy is based upon
a deeper wisdom, a more interior meaning of those sacred
books of all nations, which form the foundation of so many
religious systems.
Each one must verify the doctrines of Theosophy for himself,
and in doing so will probably find new light and fresh inspiration
in those particular records which he has been accustomed
to regard as the basis of his faith; and he will also be
able to recognise the same meaning in the [Page 20] sacred
books of other faiths, which hitherto he may have been accustomed
to regard as "heathen", and as being contradictory
and opposed to his own.
Theosophy, then, has two main aspects, the theoretical and
the practical. These two must harmonise: practice must be
based upon theory, and if the theory has been rightly understood,
the practice can hardly fail to be in accord with it. Theosophy
offers a motive and a moral stimulus free from fear, superstition,
or lip worship, but full of divine love. It is practice that
makes a Theosophist, and not profession. The Theosophical
Society as a body and an organisation seeks to teach the
theory, while each individual member must practise so much
of the theory as he has been able to assimilate, in his every-day
life, in his relations with his fellow-men, and in his inmost
thoughts and desires.
Standing free from fear or superstition, let each one make
obeisance only to the dim star that burns within. " Steadily,
as you watch and worship, its light will grow stronger. Then
you may know you have found the beginning of the way. And
when you have found the end its light will suddenly become
the infinite light."
WILLIAM KINGSLAND, President of the " Blavatsky Lodge,
T. S."
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The Press Department of the British Section, Theosophical
Society, is not as well served by the Fellows as it should
be. Every Theosophist who sees, in any paper, any reference
to matters Theosophical, is requested to immediately send
a "marked" copy of the paper to MRS. CLEATHER,
19, Gayton Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill. Each Fellow is asked
to regard this as a personal duty, to be rigidly discharged.
The article on the "Tarot" in T.P.S., volume 3, No.
10, was inserted by the printers in error, after proofs were
passed and too late for, correction.
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