Theos-Talk Archives (July 2003 Message tt00176)

Monday, July 14, 2003

Dear Friends:

We have had a stirring of responses and a flowering of may
colored opinions on the subject of our present political an
international position.

We are all immortal Pilgrims (imperishable Monads) wending our
way through the experiences of many lives. 

Moved by our Karma we have in past incarnations used bodies born
and located all around the globe, in various tribes, races and
under many different religions and political set-ups. And, from
life to life our political affiliations and attractions have
widely fluctuated. The present ought to be viewed with
dispassion. It is perhaps fortunate that only a few have any
view of their past lives.

Let us look at what Theosophy presents as basic ideas.

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POLITICS AND THEOSOPHY

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“He who does not practise altruism; he who is not prepared to
share his last morsel with a weaker or poorer than himself; he
who neglects to help his brother man, of whatever race, nation,
or creed, whenever and wherever he meets suffering, and who turns
a deaf ear to the cry of human misery; he who hears an innocent
person slandered, whether a brother theosophist or not, and does
not undertake his defence as he would undertake his own--is no
theosophist.” 
H P B Articles I 78

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“Unconcerned about politics; hostile to the insane dreams of
Socialism and of Communism, which it abhors--as both are but
disguised conspiracies of brutal force and sluggishness against
honest labour; the Society cares but little about the outward
human management of the material world. The whole of its
aspirations are directed towards the occult truths of the visible
and invisible worlds. Whether the physical man be under the rule
of an empire or a republic, concerns only the man of matter. His
body may be enslaved; as to his soul, he has the right to give to
his rulers the proud answer of Socrates to his judges. They have
no sway over the inner man. 

Such, then, is the Theosophical Society, and such its principles,
its multifarious aims, and its objects. Need we wonder at the
past misconceptions of the general public, and the easy hold the
enemy has been able to find to lower it in the public estimation.
The true student has ever been a recluse, a man of silence and
meditation. With the busy world his habits and tastes are so
little in common that, while he is studying, his enemies and
slanderers have undisturbed opportunities. But time cures all and
lies are but ephemera. Truth alone is eternal. 

….That not all of its members can think alike, is proved by the
Society having organized into two great Divisions--the Eastern
and the Western--and the latter being divided into numerous
sections, according to races and religious views. One man's
thought, infinitely various as are its manifestations, is not
all-embracing. Denied ubiquity, it must necessarily speculate but
in one direction; and once transcending the boundaries of exact
human knowledge, it has to err and wander, for the ramifications
of the one Central and absolute Truth are infinite. Hence, we
occasionally find even the greater philosophers losing themselves
in the labyrinths of speculations, thereby provoking the
criticism of posterity. 

But as all work for one and the same object, namely, the
disenthralment of human thought, the elimination of
superstitions, and the discovery of truth, all are equally
welcome. The attainment of these objects, all agree, can best be
secured by convincing the reason and warming the enthusiasm of
the generation of fresh young minds, that are just ripening into
maturity, and making ready to take the place of their prejudiced
and conservative fathers. And, as each--the great ones as well as
small--have trodden the royal road to knowledge, we listen to
all, and take both small and great into our fellowship. For no
honest searcher comes back empty-handed, and even he who has
enjoyed the least share of popular favor can lay at least his
mite upon the one altar of Truth. 
--H P B WHAT ARE THE THEOSOPHISTS Theosophist, October,
1879 
H P B Articles, Vol. I p. 54.


P. 75	The secular philanthropist is really at heart a
socialist, and nothing else; he hopes to make men happy and good
by bettering their physical position. No serious student of human
nature can believe in this theory for a moment...the causation
which produced human nature itself produced poverty, misery,
pain, degradation, at the same time that it produced wealth, and
comfort, and joy and glory. 

P. 75	misery cannot be relieved. It is a vital element in human
nature, and is as necessary to some lives as pleasure is to
others…misery is not only endurable, but agreeable to many who
endure it….They prefer the savage life of a bare-foot, half-clad
creature, with no roof at night and no food by day, to any
comforts which can be offered them. 

P. 76	The Theosophist is placed in a different
position…none…can be called in any serious sense Theosophists,
until they have begun to consciously taste in their own persons,
this same mystery…A LAW INEXORABLE, BY WHICH MAN LIFTS HIMSELF BY
DEGREES FROM THE STATE OF A BEAST TO THE GLORY OF A GOD. The
rapidity with which this is done is different with every living
soul; and the wretches who hug the primitive taskmaster, misery,
choose to go slowly through a tread-mill course which may give
them innumerable lives of physical sensation --whether pleasant
or painful, well-beloved because tangible to the very lowest
senses. [ H P B Art I 76 ]

P. 77	He sees that it takes a very wise man to do good works
without danger of doing incalculable harm. A highly developed
adept in life may…by his great intuitive powers, know whom to
relieve from pain and whom to leave in the mire that is their
best teacher. 
“Let every Man Prove his own Work,” H P B Articles I
pp. 75-77



H P B Never used the word "communist". She used the word
"socialist". In Le Lotus, her magazine she published in Paris,
she wrote in the article "Fausses Conceptions" (translated in CW
as "Misconceptions") in September 1887, in which she said:
"Seuls, les socialists intelligents nous avaient compris; se
tourneront-ils, eux aussi, contre nous?" (translated in CW as
"Alone, the intelligent socialists have understood us; will they
also turn against us?" (CW VIII/68 [90] ) 



“But it is not in politics alone that custom and selfishness have
agreed to call deceit and lie virtue, and to reward him who lies
best with public statues. 

Every class of Society lives on LIE, and would fall to pieces
without it. Cultured, God-and-law-fearing aristocracy, being as
fond of the forbidden fruit as any plebeian, is forced to lie
from morn to noon in order to cover what it is pleased to term
its "little peccadillos," but which TRUTH regards as gross
immorality. 

Society of the middle classes is honeycombed with false smiles,
false talk, and mutual treachery. For the majority religion has
become a thin tinsel veil thrown over the corpse of spiritual
faith. 

The master goes to church to deceive his servants; the starving
curate--preaching what he has ceased to believe in--hoodwinks his
bishop; the bishop--his God. Dailies, political and social, might
adopt with advantage for their motto Georges Dandin's immortal
query--"Lequel de nous deux trompe-t-on ici?"--

Even Science, once the anchor of the salvation of Truth, has
ceased to be the temple of naked Fact. Almost to a man the
Scientists strive now only to force upon their colleagues and the
public the acceptance of some personal hobby, of some new-fangled
theory, which will shed lustre on their name and fame. A
Scientist is as ready to suppress damaging evidence against a
current scientific hypothesis in our times, as a missionary in
heathen-land, or a preacher at home, to persuade his congregation
that modern geology is a lie, and evolution but vanity and
vexation of spirit. 

SELFISHNESS, the first-born of Ignorance, and the fruit of the
teaching which asserts that for every newly-born infant a new
soul, separate and distinct from the Universal Soul, is
"created"--this Selfishness is the impassable wall between the
personal Self and Truth. 

It is the prolific mother of all human vices, Lie being born out
of the necessity for dissembling, and Hypocrisy out of the desire
to mask Lie. It is the fungus growing and strengthening with age
in every human heart in which it has devoured all better
feelings. 

Selfishness kills every noble impulse in our natures, and is the
one deity, fearing no faithlessness or desertion from its
votaries. Hence, we see it reign supreme in the world and in
so-called fashionable society. As a result, we live, and move,
and have our being in this god of darkness under his trinitarian
aspect of Sham, Humbug, and Falsehood, called RESPECTABILITY.

Is this Truth and Fact, or is it slander? Turn whichever way you
will, and you find, from the top of the social ladder to the
bottom, deceit and hypocrisy at work for dear Self's sake, in
every nation as in every individual. 

But nations, by tacit agreement, have decided that selfish
motives in politics shall be called "noble national aspiration,
patriotism," etc.; and the citizen views it in his family circle
as "domestic virtue." Nevertheless, Selfishness, whether it
breeds desire for aggrandizement of territory, or competition in
commerce at the expense of one's neighbour, can never be regarded
as a virtue. 

We see smooth-tongued DECEIT and BRUTE FORCE--the Jachin and Boaz
of every International Temple of Solomon-- called Diplomacy, and
we call it by its right name. Because the diplomat bows low
before these two pillars of national glory and politics, and puts
their masonic symbolism "in (cunning) strength shall this my
house be established" into daily practice; i.e., gets by deceit
what he cannot obtain by force--shall we applaud him? A
diplomat's qualification--"dexterity or skill in securing
advantages"--for one's own country at the expense of other
countries, can hardly be achieved by speaking truth, but verily
by a wily and deceitful tongue; and, therefore, LUCIFER calls
such action--a living, and an evident LIE.” 
-- H P B WHAT IS TRUTH ? H P B Articles I
pp. 5-7.





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THE RELATIONS OF THE T. S. TO POLITICAL REFORMS.
>From the “Key”

ENQUIRER. The Theosophical Society is not, then, a
political organization? 
	 
THEOSOPHIST. Certainly not. It is international in the
highest sense in that its members comprise men and women of all
races, creeds,

232 <http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/> 

and forms of thought, who work together for one object,
the improvement of humanity; but as a society it takes absolutely
no part in any national or party politics. 
	 
ENQUIRER. Why is this? 
	 
THEOSOPHIST. Just for the reasons I have mentioned.
Moreover, political action must necessarily vary with the
circumstances of the time and with the idiosyncracies of
individuals. While from the very nature of their position as
Theosophists the members of the T. S. are agreed on the
principles of Theosophy, or they would not belong to the society
at all, it does not thereby follow that they agree on every other
subject. As a society they can only act together in matters which
are common to all -- that is, in Theosophy itself; as
individuals, each is left perfectly free to follow out his or her
particular line of political thought and action, so long as this
does not conflict with Theosophical principles or hurt the
Theosophical Society. 
	 
ENQUIRER. But surely the T. S. does not stand altogether
aloof from the social questions which are now so fast coming to
the front? 
	 
THEOSOPHIST. The very principles of the T. S. are a proof
that it does not ?or, rather, that most of its members do not? so
stand aloof. If humanity can only be developed mentally and
spiritually by the enforcement, first of all, of the soundest and
most scientific physiological laws, it is the bounden duty of all
who strive for this development to do their utmost to see that
those laws shall be generally carried out. All Theosophists are
only too sadly aware that, in Occidental countries especially,
the social condition of large masses of the people renders it
impossible for either their bodies or their spirits to be
properly trained,

233 <http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/> 

so that the development of both is thereby arrested. As
this training and development is one of the express objects of
Theosophy, the T. S. is in thorough sympathy and harmony with all
true efforts in this direction. 
	 
ENQUIRER. But what do you mean by "true efforts"? Each
social reformer has his own panacea, and each believes his to be
the one and only thing which can improve and save humanity? 
	 
THEOSOPHIST. Perfectly true, and this is the real reason
why so little satisfactory social work is accomplished. In most
of these panaceas there is no really guiding principle, and there
is certainly no one principle which connects them all. Valuable
time and energy are thus wasted; for men, instead of
co-operating, strive one against the other, often, it is to be
feared, for the sake of fame and reward rather than for the great
cause which they profess to have at heart, and which should be
supreme in their lives. 
	 
ENQUIRER. How, then, should Theosophical principles be
applied so that social co-operation may be promoted and true
efforts for social amelioration be carried on? 
	 
THEOSOPHIST. Let me briefly remind you what these
principles are -- universal Unity and Causation; Human
Solidarity; the Law of Karma; Re-incarnation. These are the four
links of the golden chain which should bind humanity into one
family, one universal Brotherhood. 
	 
ENQUIRER. How? 
	 
THEOSOPHIST. In the present state of society, especially
in so-called civilized countries, we are continually brought face
to face with the fact that large numbers of people are suffering
from misery,

234 <http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/> 

poverty and disease. Their physical condition is
wretched, and their mental and spiritual faculties are often
almost dormant. On the other hand, many persons at the opposite
end of the social scale are leading lives of careless
indifference, material luxury, and selfish indulgence. Neither of
these forms of existence is mere chance. Both are the effects of
the conditions which surround those who are subject to them, and
the neglect of social duty on the one side is most closely
connected with the stunted and arrested development on the other.
In sociology, as in all branches of true science, the law of
universal causation holds good. But this causation necessarily
implies, as its logical outcome, that human solidarity on which
Theosophy so strongly insists. If the action of one reacts on the
lives of all, and this is the true scientific idea, then it is
only by all men becoming brothers and all women sisters, and by
all practising in their daily lives true brotherhood and true
sisterhood, that the real human solidarity, which lies at the
root of the elevation of the race, can ever be attained. It is
this action and interaction, this true brotherhood and
sisterhood, in which each shall live for all and all for each,
which is one of the fundamental Theosophical principles that
every Theosophist should be bound, not only to teach, but to
carry out in his or her individual life. 
	 
ENQUIRER. All this is very well as a general principle,
but how would you apply it in a concrete way? 
	 
THEOSOPHIST. Look for a moment at what you would call the
concrete facts of human society. Contrast the lives not only of
the masses of the people, but of many of those who are called the

235 <http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/> 

“…middle and upper classes, with what they might be under
healthier and nobler conditions, where justice, kindness, and
love were paramount, instead of the selfishness, indifference,
and brutality which now too often seem to reign supreme. All good
and evil things in humanity have their roots in human character,
and this character is, and has been, conditioned by the endless
chain of cause and effect. But this conditioning applies to the
future as well as to the present and the past. Selfishness,
indifference, and brutality can never be the normal state of the
race? to believe so would be to despair of humanity? and that no
Theosophist can do. Progress can be attained, and only attained,
by the development of the nobler qualities. Now, true evolution
teaches us that by altering the surroundings of the organism we
can alter and improve the organism; and in the strictest sense
this is true with regard to man. Every Theosophist, therefore, is
bound to do his utmost to help on, by all the means in his power,
every wise and well-considered social effort which has for its
object the amelioration of the condition of the poor. Such
efforts should be made with a view to their ultimate social
emancipation, or the development of the sense of duty in those
who now so often neglect it in nearly every relation of life. 
	 
ENQUIRER. Agreed. But who is to decide whether social
efforts are wise or unwise? 
	 
THEOSOPHIST. No one person and no society can lay down a
hard-and-fast rule in this respect. Much must necessarily be left
to the individual judgment. One general test may, however, be
given. Will the proposed action tend to promote that true

236 <http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/> 

brotherhood which it is the aim of Theosophy to bring
about? No real Theosophist will have much difficulty in applying
such a test; once he is satisfied of this, his duty will lie in
the direction of forming public opinion. And this can be attained
only by inculcating those higher and nobler conceptions of public
and private duties which lie at the root of all spiritual and
material improvement. In every conceivable case he himself must
be a centre of spiritual action, and from him and his own daily
individual life must radiate those higher spiritual forces which
alone can regenerate his fellow-men. 
	 
ENQUIRER. But why should he do this? Are not he and all,
as you teach, conditioned by their Karma, and must not Karma
necessarily work itself out on certain lines? 
	 
THEOSOPHIST. It is this very law of Karma which gives
strength to all that I have said. The individual cannot separate
himself from the race, nor the race from the individual. The law
of Karma applies equally to all, although all are not equally
developed. In helping on the development of others, the
Theosophist believes that he is not only helping them to fulfill
their Karma, but that he is also, in the strictest sense,
fulfilling his own. It is the development of humanity, of which
both he and they are integral parts, that he has always in view,
and he knows that any failure on his part to respond to the
highest within him retards not only himself but all, in their
progressive march. By his actions, he can make it either more
difficult or more easy for humanity to attain the next higher
plane of being. 
	 
ENQUIRER. How does this bear on the fourth of the
principles you mentioned, viz., Re-incarnation?
237 <http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/> 
THEOSOPHIST. The connection is most intimate. If our
present lives depend upon the development of certain principles
which are a growth from the germs left by a previous existence,
the law holds good as regards the future. Once grasp the idea
that universal causation is not merely present, but past, present
and future, and every action on our present plane falls naturally
and easily into its true place, and is seen in its true relation
to ourselves and to others. Every mean and selfish action sends
us backward and not forward, while every noble thought and every
unselfish deed are steppingstones to the higher and more glorious
planes of being. If this life were all, then in many respects it
would indeed be poor and mean; but regarded as a preparation for
the next sphere of existence, it may be used as the golden gate
through which we may pass, not selfishly and alone, but in
company with our fellows, to the palaces which lie beyond. 
Key, pp. 232-237

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“Student. - What are the characteristics to which you refer, by
which Kali-Yuga may be known? 

Sage. - As its name implies, darkness is the chief. This of
course is not deducible by comparing today with 800 A.D., for
this would be no comparison at all. The present century is
certainly ahead of the middle ages, but as compared with the
preceding Yuga it is dark. To the Occultist, material advancement
is not of the quality of light, and he finds no proof of progress
in merely mechanical contrivances that give comfort to a few of
the human family while the many are in misery. For the darkness
he would have to point but to one nation, even the great American
Republic. Here he sees a mere extension of the habits and life of
the Europe from which it sprang; here a great experiment with
entirely new conditions and material was tried; here for many
years very little poverty was known; but here today there is as
much grinding poverty as anywhere, and as large a criminal class
with corresponding prisons as in Europe, and more than in India.
Again, the great thirst for riches and material betterment, while
spiritual life is to a great extent ignored, is regarded by us as
darkness.

The great conflict already begun between the wealthy classes and
the poorer is a sign of darkness. Were spiritual light prevalent,
the rich and the poor would still be with us, for Karma cannot be
blotted out, but the poor would know how to accept their lot and
the rich how to improve the poor; now, on the contrary, the rich
wonder why the poor do not go to the poorhouse, meanwhile seeking
in the laws for cures for strikes and socialism, and the poor
continually growl at fate and their supposed oppressors. All this
is of the quality of spiritual darkness. “
“The Kali Yuga” W Q J Articles I 378



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