Theos-Talk Archives (November 1996 Message tt00012)

The 17th of November will be soon on us.  The article that
follows gives a good summary of the essentials of the
Theosophical Movement.

H. P. BLAVATSKY ON THE MISSION OF THEOSOPHY
by H.T. Edge

The duty of the Theosophical Society is to keep alive in man his
spiritual intuition.  -- H.  P.  Blavatsky

This quotation from H.P.  Blavatsky is chosen for a
starting-point because it so aptly sums up her conception of the
purpose of the Society she founded.  The welfare of man is
dependent on his recognition of the Divinity of his essential
nature; and when he forgets this, he lapses into materialism.
The Theosophical Society was founded for the express purpose of
preventing materialism from proceeding to such lengths as to
destroy civilization.  Such movements have been initiated, with
the same object, many other times in human history.

The word "spiritual" has unfortunately lost most of its meaning,
through being used in a vague theological sense, and through
being applied to things which are only psychic or astral.  What
it meant in the mind of H.P.  Blavatsky is shown by the
following:

> From the Theosophist must radiate those higher spiritual forces
> which alone can regenerate his fellow-men.  Great powers are
> often the impediments to spiritual and right conceptions.

This is enough to show that the spiritual intuition meant is not of
the vague unpractical kind or of the vainglorious kind. And as to
intuition:

> Nature gives up her innermost secrets and imparts true wisdom
> only to him who seeks truth for its own sake and who craves
> knowledge in order to confer benefits on others, not on his own
> unimportant personality.

In short, it is clear that by "spiritual intuition" H.P. Blavatsky
meant the will and the wisdom to do right and to live unselfishly.
The relation between spiritual and other powers is shown here:

> Through Theosophy man's mental and psychic growth will proceed in
> harmony with his moral improvement.

The order of words in this sentence unmistakably indicates that
the moral improvement goes first; otherwise the order of the
words would have been inverted.  But in any case there is the
most ample evidence throughout H.P.  Blavatsky's writings that
such was her meaning; upon no point is she more insistent.  This
indeed makes all the difference between Wisdom and false
knowledge, or between the use and abuse of faculties.  Man's
whole life is a contest between right motives and the impulsive
forces of selfish desire; and when the crisis comes, and he must
choose definitely between these powers, as to which shall rule in
the future, there is danger that he will choose wrongly and will
make all his faculties subservient to desire.  He thus enters
upon a path which leads him ever further from the light, and he
must either lose his Soul or painfully retrieve his steps.  To
guard against this possibility, it is essential to have a firm
moral basis; or, in other words, to observe those Spiritual laws
of nature which underlie all other laws.

The ancient doctrine, as thus stated, suggests a "heresy" --
namely, that mental and psychic development should be aimed at,
in the hope, or under the plea, that moral improvement will be
the logical sequel.  This is proved both philosophically and by
experience to be wrong.  The history of people who have tried to
follow this path is one of self-undoing and self-deception,
ending in catastrophe.  Perhaps the fault is licentiousness.
Having failed to overcome this, yet loath to follow the beaten
path of profligacy, seeking to gratify at once their desires and
their self-respect, they at last take refuge in an unholy
alliance of sanctity and indulgence, and *deify* their passions.
Thus have been invented many profligate and licentious cults,
since the world began, and instances of such we see in our day.
Or perhaps the obstacle is love of approbation.  This motive has,
let us say, been lurking behind every thought and deed of the
aspirant to knowledge; and instead of being rooted up, has been
suffered to grow.  At last it waxes strong enough to overthrow
all better motives, and the aspirant forsakes the path of duty
and enters on a career of self- glorification.  But "The Devil
drives a hard bargain," and the career is short-lived and full of
tribulation.  Desperate expedients are resorted to, in order to
secure the coveted adulation, so necessary to life.  Vanity,
grown inordinate, warps the judgement and blinds the eyes to what
otherwise would be obvious folly.  In this way many wild and
weird gospels have been preached, since time began; and such
again are heard in our own day.

Theosophy is intended to benefit individuals and races; hence it
teaches the eternal truth that moral principle always has the
first place.

Important and excellent are the Spiritual powers in man, about
which we have the following:

> The Spirit in man -- the direct ray of the Universal Spirit --
> has at last awakened.  Let once man's immortal spirit take
> possession of the temple of his body, and his own divine humanity
> will redeem him.  The Theosophist must himself be a center of
> spiritual action.  The powers and forces of animal nature can be
> used by the selfish and revengeful, as much as by the unselfish
> and all- forgiving; the powers and forces of Spirit lend
> themselves only to the perfectly pure in heart -- and this is
> <Divine Magic>.

It has been said that sacrifice is the only *real* deed that man
does.  On such occasions the real Man comes forth and acts.  The
mind realizes that human nature contains something that is better
than personal desire.  And the deed is done in fulfillment of
this higher incentive.  We have had about enough of the doctrine
that desire rules the world and is the final law of life.  It is
nothing of the sort; such a universal strife and struggle could
but end in universal destruction.  But it is easy to discern in
nature the law of sacrifice, if we only look for it.  Those who
aspire to spiritual powers, said the Teacher, must be ready to
recognize this fundamental law; otherwise their efforts will
result merely in the intensification of their own weaknesses.
The psychic, in alliance with the passional, is a terrible foe to
man.  Moreover, H.P.  Blavatsky's message was for humanity; and
the uprooting of selfishness is the only medicine for society.
The development of psychic powers is no way to uproot
selfishness.

> To merit the honorable title of Theosophist, one must be an
> altruist above all, one ever ready to help equally foe or friend,
> to act rather than to speak, and to urge others to action while
> never losing an opportunity to work himself.  Altruism is an
> integral part of self-development.
>
> The one terrible and only cause of the disturbance of Harmony is
> Selfishness.
>
> Theosophy gives to every sincere man or woman an ideal to live
> for.
>
> Theosophy is the quintessence of duty.
>
> Theosophy is the most serious movement of this age.
>
> Theosophy has to inculcate ethics.
>
> Theosophy leads to action -- enforced action, instead of mere
> intention and talk.
>
> Theosophy teaches self-abnegation, but does not teach rash and
> useless self-sacrifice, nor does it justify fanaticism.
>
> The Theosophical idea of charity means personal exertion for
> others.

The above quotations, which are but a few samples from an
exhaustless mine, show beyond doubt H.P.  Blavatsky's purpose,
and also the source of her heroic strength.  She surely was
endowed with Spiritual powers.  And these are the powers to be
coveted by the aspirant to enlightenment.  And what man or woman,
who has felt the gloom and airlessness of self-satisfaction, the
hopelessness of the pursuit of mere personal happiness, and who
at times has glimpsed the nobler diviner possibilities of life,
could be attracted by those ideals of self-development which only
add to the burden of self-consciousness and shut the personality
off more than ever from its unity with the race? The Divine
Harmony is the only goal that will satisfy; and Duty, rather than
pleasure, is the guide.

The Spiritual Intuition of humanity is indeed in need of being
kept alive, if it is not to be strangled by the pursuit of false
ideals.

We see individuals and nations losing all that is of real and
lasting value, in order to grasp things which they cannot keep
and whose value is fictitious and uncertain.  Balzac said that
the only things which gave life and vigor to individuals and to
nations were great ideals, whereas nearly everybody was absorbed
in himself and the age had become "utilitarian." It is a common
enough saying, and we can hear it preached anywhere; but how
about the remedy? Mere exhortations will not suffice.  The
Theosophical movement is a titanic force poured into modern
society and it touches life at all points, awakening man to new
activity on every plane.  It is an intellectual force as well as
a moral force -- and the two are really one, when each is
sublimated.

> The Theosophical Society will permeate the great mass of
> intelligent people with its noble ideals.
>
> The ethics of Theosophy are the essence and cream of the world's
> ethics.
>
> Theosophy *alone* can eradicate the selfishness ingrained in
> Western nations.

These quotations show what H.P.  Blavatsky thought of the mission
of Theosophy, and the following show how strongly she insisted on
altruism as the indispensable quality of the aspirant to Wisdom.

> Self-Knowledge is of loving deeds the child.  We have never
> attained or even understood the powers of the human heart.
>
> Self-sacrifice is the highest standard of Theosophy.
>
> It is not by studying Occultism for selfish ends, for the
> gratification of ones personal ambition, pride, or vanity, that
> one can ever reach the true goal -- that of helping suffering
> humanity.
>
> Compassion is the Law of Laws -- eternal harmony.
>
> To feel "Compassion" without an adequate practical result is not
> Altruism.
>
> The first of the Theosophical duties is to do one's duty by all
> men.
>
> For every flower of love and charity you plant in your neighbor's
> garden, a loathsome weed will disappear from your own.
>
> There is no happiness for one who is ever thinking of self and
> forgetting all other selves.
>
> The duty -- let alone happiness -- of every Theosophist is
> certainly to help others to carry their burden.
>
> A Theosophist should gain the wisdom to help others effectually,
> not blindly.
>
> The human heart has not yet fully uttered itself.
>
> If unable to toil for humanity, work for the few who need your
> help.
>
> The principle of Brotherhood is one of the eternal truths that
> overn the world's progress.
>
> Step out of sunlight into shade to make more room for others.

The dynamic force that alone can move the world is Divine
Compassion, with its twin, Divine Intelligence; and each one of
these two evokes the other.  Theosophy wages war against
ignorance and mistaken beliefs, as well as against want of heart.
Theosophy can stand by a man in that bitterness of soul when all
life seems a cruel mockery -- a crisis that comes to every man of
feeling, whatever his circumstances.  This travail of the soul is
like the pangs of a new birth; and though we may rebel, we can
endure it and pass safely through it, if we know that back of the
storm-clouds there shines the eternal light of the Spirit -- our
very Self which is striving to reveal itself to the tottering
mind.

Thus Theosophy is an invincible power, for it must touch men's
hearts everywhere, and influence permanently even those who at
first reject it.  For the truth strikes home and is recognized.
And Theosophy will survive all its counterfeits that are trying
to live on it and exploit its benefits; for the latter are very
mortal, while the truth is immortal.  Finally let us give the
following quotation from H.P.  Blavatsky:

> Do you not think there must be something very noble, very
> exalted, very true, behind the Society, when the leaders and the
> founders of the movement still continue to work for it with all
> their strength? They sacrifice to it all comfort, all worldly
> prosperity and success, even to their good name and reputation,
> to receive in return incessant and ceaseless obloquy, relentless
> persecution, untiring slander, constant ingratitude and
> misunderstanding of their best efforts, blows and buffets from
> all sides -- when by simply dropping their work they would find
> themselves immediately released from every responsibility,
> shielded from every further attack.

[From *The Theosophical Path* Vol. 6, March 1914, pp. 145-49.]