,london ,lectures                       
of #aijg                                
,by                               ,annie
 ,besant                  ,president of 
the ,theosophical ,society              
,london and ,benares                    
,the ,theosophical ,publishing ,society 
,city ,agents3 ,lund1 ,humphries  ,co41 
,ltd4                 ,adyar1 ,madras3  
,the ,theosophist ,office               
,new ,york3 ,john ,lane                 
,chicago3 ,the ,theosophical ,book      
,concern                                
#aijg         99       99       99      
99       99     ,contents   ,,part ,i   
,,psychism ,,and ,,spirituality  ,,the  
,,place ,,of ,,masters ,,in ,,religions 
,,theosophy ,,and ,,the ,,theosophical  
,,society   ,,part ,,ii  ,,the ,,place  
,,of ,,phenomena ,,in ,,the             
,,theosophical ,,society  ,,spiritual   
,,and ,,temporal ,,authority  ,,the     
,,relation ,,of ,,the ,,masters ,,to    
,,the ,,theosophical ,,society  ,,the   
,,future ,,of ,,the ,,theosophical      

,,society   ,,part ,,iii  ,,the ,,value 
,,of ,,theosophy ,,in ,,the ,,world ,,of
 ,,thought   ,,part ,,iv  ,,the ,,field 
,,of ,,work ,,of ,,the ,,theosophical   
,,society         99       99       99  
99       99     ,part ,i   ,psychism and
 ,spirituality  ,the ,place of ,masters 
in ,religions  ,theosophy and the       
,theosophical ,society   ,three public  
,lectures delivered in the smaller      
,queen's ,hall1 ,london1 on #afth1      
#bcrd1 and #cjth ,june #aijg4           
,psychism and ,spirituality   ,our      
subject to-night consists of two words3 
psychism--spirituality4 ,i am going to  
speak to you on the subjects denoted by 
these two words1 because there is so    
much confusion about them in ordinary   
conversation1 in ordinary literature1   
and out of that confusion much of harm  
arises4 ,people think of one thing and  
use the name of the other1 and so       
continually fall into blunders and      
mislead others with whom they talk4 ,i  
want to-night to draw a sharp and       

intelligible division between psychism  
and spirituality2 if possible1 to       
explain very clearly what each of them  
means2 so that1 thoroughly understanding
 the meaning of the things1 people may  
choose for themselves which of the two  
they desire to evolve1 or unfold1 within
 themselves4 ,for if a person1 desiring 
to unfold the spiritual nature1 uses the
 means which are only adapted for       
developing the psychic nature1          
disappointment1 possibly danger1 will   
result2 while1 on the other hand1 if a  
person desires to develop the psychic   
nature1 and thinks that he will reach   
that development quickly by unfolding   
his spiritual powers1 he also is equally
 doomed to disappointment2 but in the   
second case1 only to disappointment for 
a time4 ,for while it is not true that  
the great psychic is necessarily a      
spiritual person1 it is true that the   
great spiritual person is inevitably a  
psychic4 ,all the powers of ,nature are 
subject to the ,spirit1 and hence1 when 

a man has truly unfolded his spiritual  
nature1 there is nothing in the lower   
world which is not open to him and      
obedient to his will4 ,in that sense1   
then1 the man who follows the spiritual 
path will not ultimately be disappointed
 if he is seeking psychic development1  
but the very seeking for it will1 on the
 spiritual path1 act as a certain       
barrier4 ,i shall return to the point   
again presently1 and show you in what   
sense1 and why1 it is true that the     
development of the psychic powers may   
hinder the unfolding of the spiritual4  
,now1 to distinguish clearly between the
 two1 ,i will begin with two brief      
definitions4 ,they will be expanded     
naturally in the course of the lecture1 
but ,i will define each of these two    
words in a single sentence so as to make
 the definition clear and brief4        
,spirituality is the ,self-realisation  
of the ,one2 psychism is the            
manifestation of the powers of          
consciousness through organised matter4 

,each word of that definition has its   
own value4 ,we are far too apt1 in our  
ordinary thought and talking1 to limit  
the words psychical1 psychic1 or        
psychism in a quite illegitimate way1   
and the popular use of the term is      
illegitimate4 ,it is generally used     
amongst us to mean unusual              
manifestations of the powers of         
consciousness1 whereas1 properly        
speaking1 the word ought to cover every 
outer manifestation of consciousness1   
whether on the physical1 on the astral1 
on the mental1 or on the buddhic plane4 
,it does not matter in what world you   
are moving1 in what matter your         
consciousness is acting2 so long as it  
is utilising organised matter for its   
own expression so long are those        
manifestations psychic1 and are properly
 included under the term psychism4 ,you 
may perhaps wonder why ,i lay stress on 
this4 ,you will see it at once if ,i    
remind you that unless we keep this     
definition in mind--accurate1 legitimate

 as it is--we shall be making a division
 between the manifestation of the       
consciousness on the physical and on the
 astral and mental planes1 between its  
manifestation in the physical and those 
in the astral and mental bodies2 and if 
we do that the whole of our thought will
 be on mistaken lines4 ,you need        
practically to be pressed back to what  
you know of consciousness on the        
physical plane1 before you can          
thoroughly follow its manifestations on 
the astral and on the mental4 ,if you   
try to separate off manifestations which
 are the same in kind though differing  
in degree1 according to the fineness of 
the matter which is employed1 if you try
 to separate them off1 you will always  
regard what you call psychism--that is1 
astral and mental manifestations in the 
subtler bodies--in an artificial and    
unwise manner4 ,if1 on the other hand1  
you realise that consciousness is one1  
that its manifestation on any plane is  
conditioned by the matter of the plane1 

that it is one in essence1 only varying 
in degree according to the lessening or 
the increase of the resistance of the   
matter of the planes1 then you will not 
be inclined to take up exaggerated views
 with regard to what people are so fond 
of calling psychism4 ,you will not      
denounce it in the foolish way of many  
people1 because in denouncing it you    
will know that you denounce all         
intellectual manifestations1 an         
absurdity of which very few people are  
likely to be guilty2 if you take your   
intellectual manifestations in the      
physical world as admirable things1 to  
be always encouraged1 strengthened1     
developed1 then you will be compelled1  
by parity of reasoning1 to understand   
that the manifestations of the same     
consciousness in finer matter1 astral or
 mental1 are equally worthy1 and no more
 worthy1 of development1 of             
consideration4 ,you will not find       
yourself in the absurdly illogical      
position of declaring it a good thing to

 train the physical plane consciousness1
 while it is dangerous to cultivate the 
astral and mental plane consciousness4  
,you will understand that all psychism  
is of the same kind1 that on each plane 
the development of psychism has its own 
laws2 but that it is absurd to admire   
the working of consciousness on the     
lower plane1 and shrink from it as      
something dangerous1 almost diabolical1 
when it appears on a plane higher than  
the physical4  ,it is this rational and 
common-sense view which ,i want to      
impress upon you to-night1 to get you   
out of the region of mystery1 marvel1   
wonder1 and fear1 which to so many      
people surround what is called psychism2
 to make you understand that you are    
unfolding consciousness1 showing out    
your powers on one plane after another  
according to the organisation and the   
fineness of the bodies in which your    
consciousness is working2 and that if   
you will only keep your common sense and
 reason1 if you will only not allow     

yourself to be terrified by what at     
present is unusual1 you may then walk   
along the psychic pathway in the astral 
or mental world1 as resolutely1 and with
 as great an absence of hysteria1 as you
 walk along the psychic pathway in the  
physical world4 ,that is the general    
idea2 and1 of course1 this is the       
meaning in which1 after all1 the word is
 often used down here4 ,when you say    
psychology you do not mean only the     
workings of consciousness in astral and 
mental bodies2 you mean the whole       
consciousness of the man1 the workings  
of the mind1 wherever the mind is       
active2 the whole of that you include   
under psychology4 ,why1 then1 when you  
change its form1 should you narrow it   
down1 as though that which is mind on   
one plane is not also mind on all planes
 on which the mind is able to function8 
,now let us consider for a moment the   
workings of the mind on the physical    
plane3 they are familiar4 ,there is1    
however1 one important point about them4

 ,in the materialistic science of the   
last century you had very widely spread1
 amongst scientific men1 the view that  
thought was only the result of certain  
kinds of vibration in certain kinds of  
matter4 ,i need not dwell on that4 ,but 
you are aware that both in ,england1 and
 more especially in ,france and         
,germany1 most elaborate disquisitions  
were written to prove that thought was  
only the product of nervous matter4 ,you
 rarely1 ,i think never1 now find a     
well-trained scientist prepared to      
commit himself to that position4 ,those 
who survive as representatives of that  
same school may do so1 but they are     
literally survivals4 ,the mass of       
psychologists of to-day admit that the  
manifestations of mind cannot any longer
 be regarded as the results of          
vibrations in the physical brain1 that  
at least we must go beyond these        
limitations when dealing with the       
results of the study of consciousness1  
as it is now studied amongst scientific 

men4 ,they will no longer1 then1 regard 
thought as the product of matter4 ,they 
certainly will not be prepared to go as 
far as ,i now propose to go1 and say    
that the thinking organism is the       
production of thought--the very         
antithesis1 you will agree1 of the other
 position1 but which is vital to the    
understanding of the unfolding of the   
powers of consciousness through matter4 
,it is recognised in ordinary biology   
that the function appears before the    
organ4 ,there ,i am on safe scientific  
ground4 ,it is recognised that the      
exercise of the function gradually      
builds up the organ4 ,all the researches
 into the simpler forms of organisms go 
to prove that4 ,it is also recognised   
that when the exercise of the function  
has built the organ in a very simple    
form1 the exercise of the function      
continually improves the organ which    
originally it builded4 ,so far we are   
hand in hand with ordinary science4 ,i  
think ,i shall not go too far in saying 

that a large number of the more         
scientific psychologists of to-day will 
at least agree that the brain as you    
find it in the adult man is very largely
 the result of the exercise of thinking 
through the earlier years of life4 ,i do
 not think they would go so far as to   
say that thinking has literally produced
 it4 ,they would1 however1 judging by   
very many things that have been said1 be
 willing to admit that by hard thinking 
we can improve our apparatus of thought4
 ,that is one reason for thinking       
hard--in order to think better4 ,and the
 harder you think1 the more will your   
thinking instrument improve4  ,in my    
next step1 however1 ,i cannot by any    
stretching of ordinary science persuade 
it to accompany me1 or give me a        
foundation2 for the point is that your  
consciousness1 working on the next plane
 above the one on which the organ of    
consciousness is being built1 is the    
shaper of that mechanism4 ,to put it    
concretely3 your physical brain is built

 up from the astral plane1 and it is    
your consciousness working in matter    
finer than the physical which builds up 
the brain in the forming child within   
the limits laid down by karma4 ,now1    
that is a general law for healthy       
evolution4 ,you will see the importance 
of this law a little further on4 ,every 
body which we possess--physical1 astral1
 mental1 buddhic--is always built up by 
consciousness working in the plane next 
above it2 the next plane1 or world1 is a
 world very much more next than you are 
next each other sitting here--not far   
away beyond the stars1 removed by great 
spaces4 ,it is interpenetrating you in  
every portion of your being4 ,it is only
 next in the sense that the solids1     
liquids1 and gases of your bodies are   
next each other in the body--not far    
away1 but here4 ,so that the working is 
of the closest and most intimate kind4  
,some of you who are students of        
,theosophical literature will remember  
that ,h4,p4,b4 has spoken of all of us  

as working in the astral consciousness4 
,you will see that you are not working  
with a physical consciousness in the    
literal sense of the term1 if you think 
for a moment4 ,how much do you know of  
the consciousness working in the various
 cells and tissues of your physical     
body8 ,practically nothing1 except when 
you are ill4 ,only when the body is     
disorganised do you become conscious of 
that working4 ,normally1 the motion of  
your blood1 the building up by          
assimilation of your muscles and nerves1
 the life of your cells1 the protective 
action of some of the living cells in   
your body--the devourers1 as they are   
called--go on without your knowledge1   
without your thought1 without your      
giving one moment's conscious attention 
to them4 ,in the ,perfect ,man1 the     
consciousness of all this is ever       
present1 but in us1 imperfect1 it is    
not2 we are not yet sufficiently        
vitalised and unfolded to carry on the  
whole of our consciousness1 with full   

awareness of all its activities4 ,we are
 only able to manage a very small part  
of it1 and so have let go the           
consciousness that keeps at work the    
physical body1 to concentrate ourselves 
in a higher world1 and utilise the      
nervous mechanism as the apparatus of   
our thinking4 ,that law obtains1 then1  
all through4 ,if you want to organise   
and build up your astral body1 you can  
only do it from the mental plane4 ,you  
must raise your thought to a higher     
power by concentration1 by regular      
meditation1 by deliberately working on  
the consciousness1 before you can raise 
it to that power from which it shall be 
able to organise your astral body1 as it
 has already organised your physical    
body4 ,that is the reason why meditation
 is necessary in all these things2      
because without the creative power of   
thought we cannot organise the body in  
the world which is nearest to the       
physical4  ,now1 supposing that we      
recognise that our consciousness working

 in the physical brain1 the instrument  
over which we have complete control1 is 
continually at work contacting the outer
 world1 using the brain as an instrument
 on which it can play1 and continually  
bringing down from higher worlds        
impressions which it transmits more or  
less perfectly to the physical plane1 we
 need not dwell upon our ordinary       
thinking4 ,let us take thinking a little
 more unusual1 where the finer part of  
the brain1 its etheric matter1 is being 
more largely vitalised1 more definitely 
used4 ,the powers of the                
imagination--the creative power--the    
artistic powers1 all creative in their  
nature1 these utilise most the ethers of
 the brain1 and1 by working in those1   
bring into activity the lower and       
coarser matter of the dense brain4 ,now1
 the thought passes from the            
consciousness through vehicle after     
vehicle to find its clear expression    
here4 ,but do you not have many mental  
impressions that are not clear1 not well

 defined1 and yet which impress you     
deeply1 and of which you feel sure8     
,they are of many kinds1 and reach you  
in many ways4 ,what is important to you 
is simply this for the moment3 that     
being surrounded by the astral and      
mental worlds1 contacts from these are  
continually touching you1 continually   
causing changes in your consciousness4  
,if your astral body were thoroughly    
organised like your physical1 the       
impressions made would be clear and     
sharp like the physical4 ,if your mental
 body were well organised1 the          
impressions of that plane1 the heavenly 
plane1 would be clear and sharp like the
 physical4 ,but as the astral and mental
 bodies at this stage of evolution are  
not well organised1 the impressions     
received by them1 causing changes in the
 consciousness1 are vague and           
indeterminate1 and it is these which are
 generally called psychic4 ,and when you
 have a ,psychical ,research ,society1  
it is not dealing with the ordinary     

processes of thought1 but with those    
which are not ordinary2 and all those   
things to which it gives many strange   
names are all workings of the           
consciousness1 in sheaths or bodies of  
which it has not yet gained the mastery1
 which it has not yet definitely        
organised for its purposes4 ,slowly and 
gradually they become organised1 and    
strenuous thinking is the method for the
 astral body1 and the working of the    
pure reason is the method for the mental
 body4 ,let us consider with regard to  
this1 whether there is any other way of 
bringing the astral body and mental body
 into activity4 ,for you may have       
noticed that ,i used the word normal    
evolution1 orderly evolution on the     
lines of natural evolution1 always from 
above4 ,but you may stimulate it from   
below4 ,it is possible to stimulate the 
astral body1 at least1 from the physical
 plane1 but you do it at the cost of    
higher evolution a little later on1 and 
the reason you can do it is simple      

enough4 ,in the astral body are all the 
centres of your senses4 ,you know how   
after death a man's desires are the same
 as they were during his physical life4 
,you know how in dreams your desires    
resemble desires that you may have in   
your waking consciousness4 ,the centre  
of all your psychic powers1 of your     
conscious powers1 the centres of these  
are in the astral1 and if 7especially   
with your senses1 each of which has its 
own centre in the astral body7 you      
overstrain the physical senses down     
here1 you will get an action on the     
astral plane1 but an unhealthy1 because 
disorderly one1 one not going along the 
line of evolution but trying to create  
from below instead of from above4 ,none 
the less1 you may have some results1 and
 in the two famous ,indian systems for  
developing the powers of the            
consciousness1 and for unfolding the    
consciousness itself1 you have this     
recognised1 and you read of ,raja ,yoga 
and of ,hatha ,yoga1 of the ,kingly     

,yoga and of the ,yoga of ,effort4 ,the 
,yoga of ,effort is ,hatha ,yoga1 and is
 practised by physical means and        
followed by physical effects4 ,the eye  
is stimulated in certain ways1 and the  
effect of straining the physical eye is 
to bring about a certain limited kind of
 clairvoyance4 ,you can gain it in that 
way by gazing into crystals1 and so on4 
,they do stimulate the centre of        
physical sight1 but not the astral2 and 
that is why they cannot go very far4    
,you can get a certain amount of        
clairvoyance by these means1 but you are
 only expanding your physical sight1 and
 working on centres of the astral body  
connected with the physical organ of    
vision1 the eye4 ,the true astral sight 
is an entirely different thing4 ,that   
comes from a centre of its own in the   
astral body4 ,it has to be created from 
the mental body1 as the organ of the    
physical was from the astral4 ,the      
centre of that sight will be in the     
mental body and not in the astral1 and  

only the organ of it in the astral body4
 ,the method of the ,kingly1 the ,raja  
,yoga1 is always by                     
thought--concentrate1 meditate1         
contemplate1 think3 by that means1 in a 
healthy1 normal1 natural way you will   
inevitably develop the powers of sight  
on the astral1 as in the course of      
,nature the powers of sight were        
developed on the physical plane4 ,and if
 you realise that your consciousness is 
one1 building its bodies for its fuller 
and more complete expression1 that you  
are here in order to become masters of  
matter instead of its slaves1 to become 
lords of matter1 using every organ of   
matter for knowledge of the world to    
which that matter belongs1 and not to be
 blinded by it1 as we are for so long a 
time in our climb upwards1 then you will
 see that this natural development of   
astral powers is inevitable in the      
course of evolution1 and all that you   
can do is to quicken it1 following the  
line which ,nature has traced4 ,as      

,nature slowly will evolve in every     
human being the power of using the      
astral body as freely as you use the    
physical body now1 so can you quicken   
the coming of that day for yourselves by
 understanding the powers of thought and
 turning them to the object you desire  
to obtain4 ,there are many ways in which
 this may be done1 and many rules you   
may learn for your guidance4 ,those     
rules may be summed up under two heads3 
clear and strenuous thinking1 discipline
 for the bodies that you are trying to  
evolve2 and also1 ,i should add1 for the
 body below them in evolution4 ,those   
are the two great laws for the safe     
evolution of these so-called psychic    
powers1 what ,i call the powers of the  
consciousness on the astral and mental  
planes4 ,there must be a discipline for 
the bodies1 for you have to choose the  
material which will serve you best in   
the work you are doing out of the       
innumerable combinations of matter with 
which ,nature presents you4 ,you must   

choose the combinations that will serve 
your purpose1 which you can utilise in  
the building of the organs of sense on  
plane after plane4 ,just as really as   
the man who is a drunkard will injure   
his nervous system by his excesses1 and 
by supplying coarse and over-active     
compounds will injure the physical body1
 so making it a less useful instrument  
for the man--as any excess1 not only    
drunkenness1 but gluttony1 profligacy1  
and so on--as these injure the physical 
body as an instrument of consciousness1 
and to have full and perfect            
consciousness here we must train1       
discipline1 build up our body with      
knowledge and with self-control1 so also
 is that true on the higher planes4 ,a  
regimen is necessary when you are       
dealing with the organisation of the    
subtler matter of the astral and mental 
worlds1 for you cannot build up your    
physical body out of the coarser        
combinations of matter on the physical1 
and have finer combinations on the      

astral and mental4 ,the bodies have to  
match each other4 ,they have to         
correspond with each other2 and as you  
find all sorts of combinations related  
the one to the other on every plane1 you
 must choose your combinations on the   
physical if you desire to choose them   
also on the astral and mental4 ,you     
cannot make your physical body coarse1  
and organise the astral and mental      
bodies for the finer purposes of the    
man2 and you must settle that in your   
minds if you wish to try to develop     
these higher powers of consciousness4   
,not only because if you gather together
 the coarser materials of the astral    
world1 you will find yourself hampered  
by them in the higher expression of     
consciousness1 but also because the     
presence of these combinations in you   
exposes you to a number of dangers on   
the astral plane4 ,the purer the        
elements of your astral body1 the safer 
you are in your earlier wanderings on   
that plane4 ,it is important to mention 

this1 because in some of the schools of 
thought which are trying only to develop
 astral powers1 you will find that they 
deliberately use other methods in order 
to make their astral body active4 ,many 
schools of the left hand path in ,india 
will use spirits1 wines1 meats of all   
sorts1 in order to bring about a certain
 astral condition1 and they succeed1    
because by these means they attract to  
themselves1 and for a time govern1 the  
elemental powers of those lower         
planes--the elementals of the lower     
astral worlds4 ,so that you may find    
that an ,indian1 who knows a little of  
this and wants to use it for his own    
purposes1 will deliberately use these   
things which are attractive to the      
elementals of those lower worlds1 and   
gather them around him and use them4    
,but he does it knowing what he does1   
and aiming at that which he desires to  
conquer4 ,but amongst those who practise
 black magic of the higher kinds--of the
 mental kinds--you have an asceticism as

 stern and rigid as has ever been used  
by those who are trying to develop their
 higher bodies for nobler ends4 ,it is a
 mistake to think that the brothers of  
the dark side are1 as a rule1 licentious
 and indifferent to what you call       
morality4 ,on the contrary1 they are    
exceedingly strict4 ,their faults are   
the faults of the mind1 not the faults  
of the lower desires1 of the organs of  
the different bodies which may gratify  
them4 ,their faults are the more        
dangerous faults of mental powers       
misused for personal ends4 ,but they    
realise very well that if they want the 
mental powers and the higher ranges of  
those powers1 they must be as rigid in  
the discipline of the lower bodies as   
any pupil of the ,white ,lodge could be4
 ,take it1 then1 that to develop in this
 way1 a regimen for the bodies1 as well 
as the strict working and training of   
the mind1 is absolutely necessary4 ,but 
with these the result is sure4 ,you     
cannot set a time for the result1 for it

 depends where the worker is beginning  
in his present life4 ,in all these      
matters ,nature's laws will not permit  
of what is called miraculous growth1 and
 if you find persons developing psychic 
powers very rapidly1 when perhaps they  
have been meditating only a few months1 
it is because in a previous life they   
have cultivated these powers and are    
taking up their lessons again in a more 
advanced class of evolution1 and not in 
the infant class1 as many do in the     
present life4 ,so that there are        
differences4 ,some now beginning are not
 likely to succeed in their present     
incarnation2 but if that discourages    
them1 one can only say3 ,if you do not  
do it now1 you will have to begin again 
next life1 and so on and on and on4 ,for
 ,nature's laws cannot be violated1 and 
,nature knows no favoritism and no      
partiality4 ,some time or other you have
 to begin1 and the sooner you begin the 
sooner will you succeed4  ,now the whole
 of this1 you will remark1 is the       

training1 the organising of bodies4 ,and
 psychism implies that4 ,you must train1
 purify1 organise1 in order that the    
powers of the consciousness may show    
forth4 ,you will see very fully now why 
at the beginning ,i urged you to realise
 that the whole of these manifestations 
are similar in kind1 so that when you   
find someone saying to you3 ,oh6        
,so-and-so is a psychic1 as though that 
were to condemn the person2             
,such-and-such a person is a mere       
clairvoyant1 and so on1 as though the   
fact of possessing clairvoyance were a  
disadvantage rather than an advantage2  
then the proper answer is3 ,are you     
prepared to go the whole way with that8 
,many ,indians do so 7it is the point to
 which ,i said ,i would return72 they   
say that the siddhis1 the powers of     
consciousness manifested on the lower   
planes1 are hindrances to the spiritual 
life4 ,and so they are in a sense4 ,the 
spiritual life goes inwards3 all psychic
 powers go outwards4 ,it is the same    

,self in either case--the ,self turning 
inwards on ,itself1 or the ,self going  
outwards to the world of objects4 ,but  
it does not make one scrap of difference
 whether it goes out to physical1       
astral1 or mental objects3 it is all the
 objective consciousness1 and therefore 
the very reverse of the spiritual4 ,but 
the ,indian does not shrink from that as
 ordinarily the man in the ,west does4  
,he is perfectly honest4 ,he says3 ,yes1
 the powers of the intellect applied to 
the objects of the world are a hindrance
 in the spiritual life4 ,we do not want 
them1 do not care to think about it4 ,we
 give up all the objects of the physical
 plane when seeking the ,self4 ,and if  
you are prepared to say that1 then by   
all means turn aside from psychism1 but 
do not at one and the same time         
encourage intellectuality on the        
physical plane and denounce what you    
call psychism on the others1 because    
that is mere folly4 ,if it is better to 
be blind here than to see--and the      

,indian will tell you it often is1      
because it shuts out all the distracting
 objects of the physical plane--if you  
are prepared to say that1 and say3 ,yes1
 ,i would rather be blind than see1 then
 you may go on to denounce seeing on the
 astral plane4 ,but if you value your   
physical sight1 why not value the astral
 sight--it is a stage higher--as well8  
and the mental sight--which is a stage  
higher yet--as well8 ,why denounce      
astral and mental1 and praise up the    
physical8 ,why admire the power of sight
 of the painter1 who sees more shades   
than you can see1 and denounce the sight
 of the clairvoyant1 who sees very much 
more than the cleverest painter8 ,they  
all belong to the object world2 they all
 lead the ,self away from the           
realisation of himself1 and they are all
 exactly on the same level4 ,it seems   
strange when one sees the same person   
exalting the psychic on the physical    
plane and denouncing it on the astral   
and mental4  ,but now let us turn to    

spirituality and see what that means4   
,the ,self-realisation of the ,one2 not 
the declaring that all men are one1 that
 all men are brothers3 we can all do    
that4 ,anyone who has reached a certain 
stage of intellectual knowledge will    
recognise the unity of mankind2 will    
say1 with the writer in the ,christian  
book1 that ,god has made all men of one 
blood--quoted again from what is called 
a ,pagan book4 ,that intellectual       
recognition of the unity is practically 
universal among educated people2 but    
very few are prepared to carry out the  
intellectual recognition into practical 
life and practical training4 ,now for   
the development of what are called      
psychic faculties some amount of        
retirement from the world is very       
useful4 ,for the development of the     
spiritual consciousness no such         
retirement is necessary4 ,in fact1 for  
the most part1 except in the earlier    
stages perhaps1 seclusion is a mistake2 
for the world is the best place for the 

unfolding of the sense of unity1 and    
best amongst men and women and children 
can we call out the powers of the       
spiritual life4 ,and that for a simple  
reason4 ,in the lower world the ,spirit 
shows itself out by love1 by sympathy2  
and the more we can love1 the more we   
can sympathise1 the greater will be the 
unfolding of the consciousness of the   
,self within4 ,it was a true word of the
 early ,christian ,initiate1 that if a  
man loves not his brother whom he hath  
seen1 how shall he love ,god whom he    
hath not seen8 ,and if the perfection of
 the spiritual consciousness be that    
vision of the ,supreme1 the             
consciousness which knows itself to be  
one with ,god1 then the way to the      
realisation will be by the partial      
realisation of loving sympathy1 for     
which the world is the most fitting     
field1 and our brethren around us the   
natural stimulus4 ,love1 sacrifice1     
these are the manifestations of the     
,spirit on the physical plane1 as is    

right knowledge also4 ,for the ,spirit  
is not a one-sided thing1 but a         
,trinity1 and knowledge is as necessary 
as love4 ,the special value of love lies
 in its unifying power1 and in the fact 
that it makes what the world calls      
sacrifice natural and delightful4 ,you  
know it in your own experience4 ,just in
 proportion as you love another is it a 
joy and not a sorrow to give up things  
in order that the happiness of the other
 may be increased4 ,it is no sacrifice  
for a mother to give up personal        
enjoyment for the sake of giving it to  
her children4 ,a deeper joy is felt in  
the happiness of the child than could   
possibly have been felt in the enjoyment
 of the thing by herself2 a sweeter1    
finer1 profounder happiness is the      
enjoyment of the happiness of the       
beloved4 ,and that a little widens out  
the consciousness1 and hence family life
 is one of the best schools for         
spiritual unfolding2 for in the         
continual sacrifices of the family life1

 springing from love and rendered joyful
 by affection1 the ,self feels itself a 
larger ,self1 and reaches the sense of  
unity with those immediately around4    
,and after the family the public life1  
the life of the community1 the life of  
the nation3 these also are schools for  
the unfolding of the spiritual          
consciousness4 ,for the man who is a    
good citizen of the community feels the 
life of the community as his own life1  
and so becomes conscious of a larger    
,self than the narrow self of the       
family4 ,and the man who loves his      
nation1 his ,self widens out to the     
boundaries of the nation1 and he is     
conscious of a larger ,self than the    
self of the family1 or the community    
within the ,state4 ,and just in         
proportion as the love widening does not
 grow superficial and shallow 7for if   
you have only a certain amount of water 
and you make your dish wider and wider1 
the water will become shallower and     
shallower7 does it approach spiritual   

love4 ,too often love becomes unreal    
with those who try to love the far-off  
when they do not love the near4 ,but if 
you avoid the temptation1 and           
remembering that the ,spirit has no     
limitations1 and that you can draw and  
draw and draw on the love within you and
 never find the bottom of the source of 
love2 if you are strong enough to do    
that1 then the love of the family1 of   
the community1 of the ,state1 will widen
 out into the love of humanity1 and you 
shall know yourself as one with all1 and
 not only with your family1 or your     
community1 or your nation4 ,all these   
local loves are schoolmasters to bring  
us to the wider love of man4 ,but do not
 blunder in the idea that you can have  
the wider unless you have gone through  
the narrower2 for the bad husband1 the  
bad citizen1 the bad patriot1 will never
 make a real lover of humanity4 ,he must
 learn his alphabet before he can read  
in this book of love1 and must spell out
 the letters before he may pronounce the

 word4 ,none the less1 these successive 
stages are all stages towards the       
spiritual life1 and prepare the man for 
the consciously spiritual realisation4  
,and if you would really train yourself 
for the unfolding of this life within   
you1 practise it on those who are       
nearest to you by meeting them with love
 and sympathy in the daily paths of     
life4 ,not only those whom you like1 but
 those you care not for as well2 not    
with those who love you only1 but with  
those who dislike you also4 ,remember   
that you have to break down             
barriers--barriers of the bodies that   
bar you out from your fellow ,selves in 
the worlds around you1 and that breaking
 down of the barriers is part of the    
training in the spiritual life4 ,only as
 barrier after barrier is broken down1  
only as wall after wall is levelled to  
the ground1 will the freedom of the     
,spirit become possible in manifestation
 on every plane and in every world4 ,the
 ,spirit is ever free in his own nature 

and his own life1 but1 confined within  
the barriers of the body1 he has to     
learn to transcend them1 before1 on     
these planes of matter1 he can realise  
the divine freedom which is his eternal 
birthright4 ,so long as you feel        
yourself separate from others1 so long  
are you shut out from the realisation of
 the unity2 so long as you say my and   
mine1 so long the realisation of the    
,spirit is not yet possible for you4    
,love of individual possessions1 not    
only physical but moral and mental1 not 
the vulgar pride of physical wealth     
only1 but moral pride1 intellectual     
pride1 everything that says ,i as       
against you1 and does not realise that  
,i and you are one--all this is against 
the spiritual life4 ,hardest of all     
lessons when brought down to practical  
life2 most difficult of all attainments 
when effort is made to realise it1 and  
not only to talk about it and imagine   
it4 ,it is best practised by continual  
renunciation of the individual          

possessions on every plane1 and the     
constant thought of unity4 ,when you are
 trying to live the life of the ,spirit1
 you will try to be pure4 ,you do well1 
but why8 ,in order that you may be pure1
 and leave your impure brethren in their
 impurity8 ,oh no6 ,you must try to be  
pure1 in order that there may be more   
purity in the world to share amongst all
 men1 because you are pure4 ,you are not
 wanting to be purer than others1 but   
only gathering purity that you may      
spread it in every direction1 and most  
joyous when your own purity lifts       
someone from the mire1 who is trampled  
into it under the feet of the world4    
,you want to be wise4 ,you do well2 for 
wisdom is a splendid possession4 ,but   
why8 ,in order that you may look down on
 the ignorant and say3 ,i am wiser than 
thou1 as the pure man might say3 ,i am  
holier than thou8 ,oh no6 but in order  
that the wisdom that you gather may     
enlighten the ignorant1 and become      
theirs and not only yours4 ,otherwise it

 is no spiritual thing2 for spirituality
 does not know myself and others2 it    
only knows the ,one ,self1 of whom all  
forms are manifestations4  ,we dare not 
call ourselves spiritual until we have  
reached that point which none of us as  
yet has reached1 for to reach it means  
to become a ,christ4 ,when1 looking at  
the lowest and basest and most ignorant 
and vilest1 we can say3 ,that is myself1
 in such-and-such a garb1 and say it    
feeling it1 rejoicing in it--because if 
there are two of you1 and one is pure   
and the other impure1 and the two are   
one1 then neither is perfect1 but both  
are raised above the level of the       
lowest--that is the true atonement1 the 
real work of the ,christ2 and the birth 
of ,christ within you means the         
willingness to throw down all walls of  
separation1 and the stature of ,christ  
within you means that you have          
accomplished it4  ,for the most part we 
claim our unity above2 we do not take   
pride in claiming our unity below2 we   

are glad to say1 ,yes1 ,i also am       
,divine2 ,i am a ,christ in the making2 
,i am one with ,him4 ,harder to say3 ,i 
am one with the lowest of my brethren1  
sharing with them the same ,divine life4
 ,yet our ,divinity is only realised as 
we recognise that same ,divinity in     
others4 ,you may remember that exquisite
 story of ,olive ,schreiner1 breathing  
the very essence first of the           
unspiritual1 and then of the spiritual  
life4 ,in the first case a woman1 pure  
and spotless1 her garments shining with 
whiteness1 and her feet shod as with    
snow1 went up to the ,gates of ,heaven  
and trod the golden streets4 ,and as she
 trod them in her shining robes the     
angels shuddered back1 and said3 ,see1  
her garments are blood-spotted1 and her 
sandals are stained with mire and blood4
 ,from the throne the ,christ asked3    
,daughter1 how is it that your garments 
are blood-spotted and your sandals      
stained8 ,and she answered3 ,lord1 ,i   
was walking in miry ways1 and ,i saw a  

woman there down in the mire1 and ,i    
stepped upon her that ,i might keep my  
sandals clean4 ,the ,christ and the     
angels vanished1 and the woman fell from
 heaven1 and wandered again in the miry 
ways of earth4 ,once again she came to  
the heavenly portal and trod the golden 
streets1 and this time she was not      
alone4 ,another woman was with her1 and 
the garments of both were blood-flecked1
 and the sandals of both were stained   
with the mire and blood of earth4 ,but  
the angels seeing them pass by1 cried   
out3 ,see how whitely their garments    
shine6 ,and see how white are their     
feet6 ,and the ,christ1 when they came  
before the throne1 said3 ,how come ye   
here in garments that are soiled8 ,and  
the answer came3 ,i saw this my sister  
trampled upon1 and ,i bent down to lift 
her up1 and in the picking of her up my 
garments were soiled1 but ,i have       
brought her with me to ,thy presence4   
,and the ,christ smiled and lifted them 
up beside ,him1 and the angels sang for 

joy4 ,for it is not the sin and the     
shame that are shared that soil the     
garments of the ,spirit1 and leave upon 
it the mire of earth4  ,if1 then1 you   
would lead the spiritual life1 go       
downwards as well as upwards4 ,feel your
 unity with the sinner as well as with  
the saint4 ,for the only thing that     
makes you divine is the ,spirit that    
lives in every human heart alike1 in all
 equally dwelling1 and there is no      
difference in the divinity of the       
,spirit1 but only in the stage of its   
manifestation4 ,and just as you and ,i  
climb upwards and show more of the      
spiritual life in the lower worlds1     
should we raise our brethren with us1   
and know the joy of the redeemer1 and   
the power of the life that saves4 ,for  
,those whom we call ,masters1 ,those who
 are the ,christs of the world1 ,those  
are reverenced and beloved1 because to  
,them there is no difference1 but the   
sinner is as beloved as the saint--nay1 
sometimes more1 because compassion flows

 out to the weaker more than to the     
strong4  ,such is the spiritual life2   
such the goal that every man who would  
become spiritual must place before his  
eyes4 ,very different from the psychic1 
and not to be confused with it--the     
unfolding of the divinity in man1 and   
not the purification and the            
organisation of the vehicles4 ,both are 
good1 both necessary1 and ,i finish with
 the words with which ,i began1 that    
while to be psychic is no proof of      
spirituality1 to be spiritual is to     
possess every power in heaven and on    
earth4 ,choose ye each your road4 ,tread
 whichever you will1 but beware that by 
the growth of your powers here1 in      
separation1 you do not delay the growth 
of the spirituality which is the        
realisation of the unity of the ,self4  
,for everything which divides becomes   
evil1 by the very fact of its dividing2 
every power which is shared is a wing to
 carry us upwards1 but every power that 
is kept for the lower self is a clog    

that holds us down to earth4     ,the   
,place of ,masters in ,religions        
,everyone of us who belongs to any      
special religion can trace back along   
the line of his religion further and    
further into the past1 until he comes to
 its beginning1 its first ,teacher4 ,and
 round that ,teacher is usually a group 
of men and women who to the ,founder of 
the religion are disciples1 but to those
 who accept the religion later are      
teachers1 apostles4 ,and this is        
invariably true4 ,the ,hebrew1 if you   
ask him1 will trace back his religion to
 the time of the great legislator       
,moses1 and behind ,him to a yet more   
heroic figure1 ,abraham1 the friend of  
,god4 ,look back to some yet older      
faith1 the faith of ,egypt1 of ,chaldea1
 of ,persia1 of ,china1 of ,india1 and  
you will find exactly the same thing is 
true4 ,the ,parsi1 representative of a  
splendid tradition1 but whose religion1 
as it now1 is1 as has been well said1 a 
religion of fragments only--he will     

trace back his religion to his own great
 ,prophet1 the ,prophet of the ,fire1   
who led the exodus from the centre of   
,asia and guided ,his people into what  
we now call the land of ,persia4 ,egypt1
 if you ask her story1 will show you    
heroic figures of her past1 and amongst 
them that great ,king and ,priest1      
,osiris1 who1 slain1 as the old legend  
tells us1 rises again1 as ,lord and     
,judge of ,his people4 ,buddhism1 spread
 in the far ,east1 will trace back its  
story to the ,buddha1 and will declare  
in addition to that1 that not only is   
the ,buddha the ,teacher of that        
particular faith1 but that a living     
person still exists on the earth as     
,teacher1 as ,protector1 whom they call 
the ,bodhisattva1 the wise and the pure4
 ,india will tell you of a great group  
of teachers gathered round their ,manu1 
the tradition of whose laws is still    
preserved1 and is still used as the     
basis of the social legislation         
administered now by the ,english rulers4

 ,and round that great ,lawgiver of the 
past1 wise men are gathered whose names 
are known throughout the land1 each of  
them standing at the head of some noble 
,indian family1 that traces its ancestry
 backward and backward till it ends in  
the ,sage1 the ,teacher4 ,and this is   
equally true of more modern religions4  
,take the ,christian religion1 and the  
,christian traces his religion back     
until it finds its source in the        
personality of the ,prophet of ,judea1  
of ,jesus the ,christ4 ,and it is       
interesting1 as one of those strange    
parallels which meet us often in the    
comparative study of religions1 that    
just as the ,buddhist has his ,buddha   
and also his ,bodhisattva1 so the       
,christian has the two names3 ,christ1  
representing the living ,spirit1 a stage
 in the spiritual unfolding1 the name   
representing a stage1 an office1 rather 
than a special man1 and joined to that  
the individual name of ,jesus1 in order 
to mark the intimate connection1 as some

 would say the identity1 between the    
two4 ,but just as among the ,buddhists  
the distinction is drawn1 so among the  
early ,christians you will find a       
similar distinction was made between the
 man ,jesus and the spiritual ,christ4  
,so that in those early days many of    
those who were called ,gnostics divided 
the two in a similar fashion1 although  
uniting them at a certain stage of the  
teaching1 of the ministry4 ,and if you  
take the latest born of the religions1  
the ,mussulman1 the religion of ,islam1 
that again is traced backward to a      
,prophet1 the ,prophet ,muhammad1 the   
great ,prophet of ,arabia4 ,universally 
this is true1 that the religion traces  
itself back to a single mighty figure1  
whom some call a ,god-man1 a man too    
divine to be regarded as wholly like    
those amongst whom he lived and moved   
and taught2 above them and yet of them1 
closely bound to them by a common       
humanity1 although raised above them by 
a manifestation of the ,god within1     

mightier1 more complete1 more           
compelling1 than the manifestation in   
the ordinary men and women around ,him4 
,so with all religions1 and in that     
thought of the divine figure1 the       
,founder of every faith1 you have the   
fullest1 the truest1 the most perfect   
conception of that which we             
,theosophists call the ideal of the     
,master4 ,all such mighty beings by the 
,theosophist would be given the name of 
,master4 ,and not by the ,theosophist   
alone1 for that word in other religions 
has been applied to the ,founder1 the   
,chief of the faith4 ,nay1 to the       
,christian it should come with special  
force1 with special significance1 for it
 was the name that ,christ the ,teacher 
chose as best expressing ,his own       
relationship to those who believed on   
,him1 to those who followed ,him4       
,neither be ye called masters1 ,he said2
 for one is your ,master1 even ,christ4 
,and so again you may remember that1 in 
speaking to ,his disciples1 ,he said3   

,ye call ,me ,master and ,lord1 and ye  
say well1 for so ,i am4 ,so that to the 
,christian heart the name ,master should
 be above all other names sacred and    
beloved1 since it was the chosen name of
 their own ,teacher1 the name that ,he  
claimed from ,his disciples1 that name  
that ,he used as representing ,his      
relation to them4 ,so this idea of a    
,master in religion certainly should be 
one which comes with no alien sound1 no 
foreign significance1 among those who   
look up to the ,master ,christ4 ,and    
exactly the same idea is that of a      
,master in any great religion2 it is a  
common idea--it signifies the ,founder1 
the ,teacher1 divine and yet human4 ,to 
that point ,i will return later4  ,let  
us study the central idea of these      
,masters a little more closely1 and see 
what are the special characteristics    
which mark ,them in the religions of the
 past4 ,if you go back very1 very far1  
you will always find that the ,master   
wears a double character3 ruler1        

law-giver1 on the one side2 teacher upon
 the other4 ,in all the old             
civilisations this is characteristic2   
for in those days the idea had not      
arisen of sacred and secular1 or sacred 
and profane1 as we say in the modern    
world4 ,to the old civilisations there  
was no such thing as sacred history and 
profane history2 no division was made   
between sacred science and secular      
science2 all history was sacred1 all    
science was divine4 ,and so much was    
that the case that1 when you find an    
ancient pupil asking of an ancient      
teacher as to divine science1 the answer
 was given3 ,there are two forms of     
divine science1 the higher and the      
lower4 ,and the lower divine science was
 made up of all the things that now you 
call literature1 science1 and art2 all  
those were run over by name1 and summed 
up under the heading of the lower divine
 science4 ,the higher1 supreme ,science 
was that knowledge of ,god1 to which    
accurately the word ,wisdom ought only  

to be applied4 ,so that to their thought
 ,deity was everywhere1 and there was   
only variety in the manifestations of   
,deity4 ,all ,nature was sacred4 ,god   
expressed ,himself in every object1 in  
every form4 ,all that could be said was 
that through one form more of ,his glory
 came than through another4 ,the form   
might be more or less transparent1 but  
the inner radiant light was the same in 
all4 ,and it was natural1 inevitable1   
with such a conception of ,nature and of
 ,god1 that the ,master1 the ,founder1  
of a religion should unite in ,his sole 
person the office alike of the ,priest  
and of the ,king4 ,and so you find it4  
,the only likeness in modern days is not
 now a very fortunate one in the eyes of
 many--the ,king-,pontiff of the ,roman 
,catholic ,church4 ,for so ill had the  
duties of the ,king been performed in   
that high seat1 that the people lost the
 sense of the divinity1 and revolted    
against it1 and cast it off1 and left   
that ,pontiff shorn of his royal        

character4 ,but far back in the old     
civilisations1 in the one person the two
 offices were united4 ,the ,pharaoh of  
,egypt was truly the ,lord of the triple
 diadem1 but also the supreme ,priest in
 every temple of his land4 ,so also in  
,chaldea1 in ,india1 and in many another
 land2 and wherever that is the case you
 find a certain outline given to the    
civilisation1 differing in detail1 but  
marvellously similar in the broad       
touches of that sketch4 ,you find that  
in those days the ,priest-,king1 the    
,ruler of the land and the supreme      
,teacher of his people1 shaped the      
polity of the nation as he shaped the   
doctrines taught in the temples of the  
religion4 ,both the religion and the    
polity have the keynote of duty4 ,and   
always with increasing power there came 
greater weight of responsibility1       
heavier burden of duty2 and the freest  
in those civilisations were the poorest4
 ,those who were regarded as the        
children of the national household were 

ever cared for with extremest care4 ,the
 very fact that they were the lowest in 
development gave them the greatest claim
 on the divine ,man who ruled1 so that  
all through the note of those           
civilisations is the note which to-day  
would be called socialistic--with one   
enormous difference1 that the most wise 
ruled4 ,the result1 in a sense1 would be
 the result that the ,socialist dreams  
of1 the absence of poverty1 the         
universality of some form of work done  
for the ,state as a whole1 a duty of    
each man to bear a share of the burden2 
but the burden grew lighter and lighter 
as it came downwards to the younger     
members of the family1 of the nation2   
the duty the most burdensome was placed 
on the highest4 ,and you will find that1
 while still the tradition remained1 it 
was very difficult sometimes to get     
rulers and governors of large ,states   
and small4 ,it comes out in the ,chinese
 books4 ,the ,emperor sends down word   
that ,so-and-so is to be governor of a  

,state1 and ,so-and-so1 in those        
degenerate days1 generally tried to     
escape from it1 because of the          
tremendous burden that the governorship 
imposed4 ,for in the case of the old    
,rulers1 in the days when the divine    
,kings were the ,kings and ,priests of  
the people1 anything that was wrong in  
the nation was related to the ,ruler1   
and not to the people at large4         
,remember the words of one great        
,teacher of later days1 ,confucius1 when
 a ,king turned to him and said3        
,master1 why is there robbery1 why is   
there murder in my land8 ,how shall ,i  
stop it8 ,his stern answer was3 ,if you1
 ,o ,king1 did not steal and murder1    
there would be no robbery and no murder 
in your land4 ,always the highest with  
the weight of responsibility2 the       
younger with the right to enjoy1 to be  
happy1 to be cared for4 ,where food was 
short1 they were the last to starve1 and
 the ,king the first2 where anything    
went short of material things1 they were

 the first to be given their share1 and 
the ,king the last4 ,such was the       
outline of the social organisation4     
,slight traces of it remain even to the 
present day4 ,you can see traces of it  
in the civilisation that was destroyed  
in ,peru by the conquerors1 the ,spanish
 conquerors1 of that land4 ,some traces 
of it still remain in ,india1 although  
degraded and decayed4 ,the note is      
always the same3 the higher1 the more   
burdened2 the higher1 the harder the    
life2 the higher1 the greater the duty4 
,for that is the type of the ,master1   
and the idea ran through the whole of   
the civilisation4 ,he1 the              
,priest-,king1 mighty in knowledge and  
in power1 must bear upon his broad      
shoulders the burden that would crush a 
weaker man4 ,and so downwards through   
all the degrees of ruler1 in proportion 
to the power and its expansion1 so in   
proportion the weight and the           
responsibility4  ,they passed away from 
earth as humanity grew out of its infant

 stage4 ,my phrase is too strong--,i    
should not have said3 ,they passed away 
from earth4 ,they passed away into      
silence1 not from earth2 thereon many of
 ,them still remain4 ,but ,they drew    
back from the outer position1 from outer
 power1 and became the great company of 
,elder ,brothers of humanity1 only some 
of whom remained in close touch with the
 race4  ,and that is the next point in  
the idea of the ,master4 ,those who     
founded a religion were bound to remain 
wearing the body of man1 fixed to the   
earth1 bound to the outward semblance of
 humanity1 so long as the religion lived
 upon earth which ,they had given to it4
 ,that was the rule3 no liberation for  
the ,man who founded a religion until   
all who belonged to that religion had   
themselves passed out of it1 into       
liberation1 or into another faith1 and  
the religion was dead4 ,the death of a  
religion is the liberation from all     
bondage of the ,master who gave it to   
the world4 ,he in a very real sense is  

incarnate in the religion that ,he      
bestows4 ,while that religion lives and 
teaches1 while men still find in it the 
expression of their thought1 so long    
that divine ,man must remain1 and guide 
and protect and help the religion which 
,he gave to earth4 ,such is the law4 ,no
 ,master may leave our humanity while   
that which ,he started as a human school
 is still existing upon earth4 ,some    
have passed away1 and would no longer be
 spoken of as ,masters--the name given  
to ,them in the occult world is         
different--but ,those who have passed   
away have passed away because ,their    
religions are dead3 the ,masters of     
ancient ,egypt1 of ancient ,chaldea1    
have gone from this earth into the      
mighty company of ,those who no longer  
bear the burden of the flesh4 ,but the  
,masters of every living religion live  
on earth1 and are the links1 for the    
people of that religion1 between ,god   
and man2 the ,master is the divine ,man1
 one with his brothers1 who look to him 

for help1 one with the ,god around and  
above1 and through ,him the spiritual   
life is ever flowing4 ,the word         
mediator1 applied in the ,christian     
scriptures to the ,christ1 signifies a  
real and living relation4 ,there are    
such mediators between ,god and man1 and
 they are all ,god-men1 true ,christs4  
,such links between the ,god without and
 the ,god within us are necessary for   
the helping by the one1 and for the     
manifestation of the other4 ,the ,god   
within us1 unfolding his powers1 answers
 to the ,god without us1 and the link is
 the ,god-man who shares the manifested 
nature of divinity1 and yet remains one 
with ,his brethren in the flesh4 ,a     
bondage1 yes4 ,but a voluntary          
bondage--a bondage assumed in the day in
 which the ,messenger came forth from   
the great ,white ,lodge to bring a new  
revelation1 to found a new divine       
kingdom upon earth4 ,heavy the          
responsibility of a divine ,man who     
takes upon ,himself the tremendous      

burden of speaking out to the world a   
new ,word in the divine revelation4 ,all
 that grows out of it makes the heavy   
burden of ,his destiny4 ,everything     
which happens within that communion of  
which ,he is the centre must react upon 
,him1 and ,he is ultimately responsible2
 and as that divine ,word is always     
spoken in a community of men and women  
imperfect1 sinning1 ignorant1 that ,word
 is bound to be distorted and twisted1  
because of the medium in which it works4
 ,that is why every such ,teacher is    
called a sacrifice--,himself at once the
 sacrificer and the sacrifice1 the      
greatest sacrifice that man may make to 
man1 a sacrifice so mighty that none in 
whom ,deity is not unfolded to the      
greatest height compatible with human   
limitation is strong enough to make it1 
is strong enough to endure it4 ,that is 
the true sacrifice of the ,christ2 not a
 few hours' agony in dying1 but century 
after century of crucifixion on the     
cross of matter1 until salvation has    

been won for the people who bear ,his   
name1 or until they have passed under   
some other ,lord4 ,hence is that road   
always called the ,way of the ,cross4   
,long before ,christianity came to      
birth1 the ,way of the ,cross was known 
to every ,initiate1 and ,those were said
 to tread it who volunteered for the    
mighty service of proclaiming the old   
message again in the ears of the world  
of the time4 ,a sacrifice3 for none may 
tell1 who volunteers for the service1   
what lies before the religion that ,he  
founds1 what shall be the deeds of the  
community that ,he begins on earth4 ,and
 every sin and crime of that religion1  
or that ,church1 falls into the scales  
of ,karma stamped with the name of the  
,founder4 ,he is responsible for it1 and
 bearing that responsibility is the     
mighty sacrifice ,he makes2 and the     
result is inevitable2 for in a world    
imperfect no perfection can be perfectly
 mirrored4 ,as the sun-ray falling upon 
water is twisted and distorted1 so is it

 with the rays of a perfect truth       
falling in amongst a community of       
imperfect men2 and no action down here  
can be a perfect action1 for action1 it 
is written in an ancient book1 is       
surrounded with evil as a fire is       
surrounded with smoke4 ,the imperfection
 of the medium makes the smoke round    
every ,word of ,fire1 every ,word of    
,truth4 ,and the ,founder must endure   
the pungency of the smoke1 if ,he would 
speak the ,word of ,fire4 ,the          
realisation of that1 however dimly1     
however imperfectly1 makes the passion  
of gratitude in the human heart to those
 ,men who bear their infirmities and    
open up the way to ,god for man4 ,it is 
that which in some forms of popular     
,christianity has been distorted in     
speaking of the sacrifice of the        
,christ1 when it has been made a        
sacrifice1 not for man1 sinful and      
foolish1 but to the ,father of all      
perfection1 who needs no sacrifice of   
suffering in order to reconcile ,him to 

the children sprung from ,his life4     
,that is one of the distortions of the  
ignorance of man2 that the falsification
 which has been spoken in the name of   
religion and has obscured the perfect   
love of ,god--for every divine ,man who 
comes out is a manifestation of the     
divine heart1 and a revelation of ,god  
to man4 ,and how could it be that the   
,master of ,compassion1 who wins human  
hearts by the tenderness of ,his love1  
could be a ,revealer of ,god1 if there  
were not in ,god a compassion mightier  
than ,his own1 and profounder than ,his 
humanity1 as ,god is greater than man8  
,but the splendor of the truth dazzled  
the eyes of those to whom it was        
presented1 and their own ignorance1 and 
fear1 and limitation1 imposed upon that 
perfect sacrifice the terrible aspect of
 a sacrifice to ,god--an aspect which it
 assumed1 not only in ,christianity1 but
 in other faiths as well4 ,for the most 
part1 not always1 in the elder religions
 they understood that the story of the  

life and death was an allegory1 a myth1 
as they called it1 revealing a deeper   
truth4 ,and so they avoided the pain and
 the sense of revulsion which has roused
 the conscience of civilised man to     
revolt against the cruder presentments  
of the doctrine2 the great truth of the 
sacrifice is true1 but it is not a      
legal1 a contract1 sacrifice1 made      
between man's representative and ,god2  
but the effort of the divine to make    
itself understood1 and the voluntary    
binding of the sacrifice to the cross of
 matter until ,his people are set free4 
,and then1 as ,i said1 ,he passes on    
into other worlds1 to other work1 and is
 no longer called a ,master of the      
,wisdom4  ,now1 looking at this idea1   
let us ask3 ,what is the work of these  
,masters in the religions of the world1 
and why is it that this thought of the  
,masters has been so revived in the     
modern world1 and made so much more     
living1 in a sense1 than it has been for
 many a long year8 ,in the early days of

 ,christianity1 as ,i said1 you find the
 idea2 but it has largely vanished from 
the ,churches as a living truth1 and    
they think of ,jesus1 the ,christian    
,master1 as risen from the dead and     
ascended into heaven4 ,and the          
materialising spirit of ignorance has   
made the ascent a going away1 and the   
,man has gone1 although the ,god        
remains4 ,but that is only a            
materialisation of the older truth2 for1
 according to the truth1 heaven is not a
 faraway place to which people go4 ,no  
one goes there2 they only open their    
eyes and see it on every side around    
them4 ,for heaven is a state of the     
psychic life which is realised in the   
higher bodies1 the bodies of the mental 
plane1 and it does not need to go hither
 and thither1 ,north1 ,south1 ,east1 or 
,west1 to find it2 for1 as the great    
,teacher said3 ,behold1 the ,kingdom of 
,heaven is within you--not far away1    
beyond the sun or moon or stars4 ,and   
the ascension of ,jesus to heaven1 as   

the ,church of ,england puts it--in     
words that sound very strange in modern 
ears1 because they have lost their      
mystic meaning and are only taken in    
what ,s4 ,paul used to call the carnal  
interpretation--in the fourth article of
 the ,church of ,england1 was that ,he  
ascended into heaven1 taking with ,him  
,his flesh1 bones1 and all things       
appertaining to the perfection of man's 
nature4 ,now when you take that in the  
literal and crude signification1        
naturally the thoughtful man revolts    
against it4 ,what is this about a       
physical body and physical bones going  
up through the air into the sky8 ,and   
where has it gone to8 ,the modern man   
cannot believe it in that sense1 and so 
he loses the spiritual verity enshrined 
in words of symbolism and of allegory4  
,for the fact that ,jesus the ,master   
went away1 but still dwells on earth in 
the flesh1 that is the truth which the  
article tries to indicate2 and not that 
,he is gone far away into a far-off     

heaven to sit at the right hand of ,god1
 whence ,he shall come again to judge4  
,he lives in the body1 and also lives in
 the midst of the ,church1 which is ,his
 true mystical body2 and so long as that
 ,church exists1 so long as that ,church
 is found on earth1 so long its ,master 
shall live within it1 and shall dwell in
 a human body4 ,he is not gone away1 ,he
 has not ascended anywhere in the       
literal sense1 but is permeating the    
whole of ,his ,communion1 and living    
upon earth until the last ,christian has
 passed away to liberation1 or is born  
into some other faith4 ,that is the     
inner meaning4 ,he lives and may be     
reached4 ,and if the teachings of the   
,theosophical ,society have any value   
for the ,christian ,church1 it is       
because they are bringing back to live  
in ,christian hearts this living truth  
of the bodily ever-presence of the      
,christ amongst them4 ,theosophists who 
are ,christians1 and remain within the  
limits of the ,christian ,church1 have  

gained a vivid view of this real        
humanity of ,jesus4 ,they learn that ,he
 may be reached as truly now as when ,he
 walked near the sea of ,galilee1 or    
taught in the streets of ,jerusalem1    
that they may know ,him with as real a  
sense of ,his presence1 may learn from  
,him as truly as any apostle or disciple
 in the past1 that it is a living and   
real presence--not only1 as the ,roman  
,catholic ,church says1 in the          
,sacrament of the altar1 but in the     
experience of the ,christian heart4 ,and
 it has never been left without a       
witness4 ,look all through the history  
of the ,christian ,church1 and see how  
one after another has come into living  
touch with the ,master ,jesus4 ,every   
great saint has proclaimed his own      
experience as regards his contact with  
his ,lord4 ,and only in comparatively   
modern days1 and in parts only of the   
,christian ,church1 has that great and  
vivifying truth been lost sight of4 ,the
 ,greek ,church has never lost it2 the  

,roman ,catholic ,church has never lost 
it4 ,the testimony of the saints in     
those ancient communions bears witness  
to the continuing connection between the
 ,christian and the ,christ4 ,you find  
it in some of the extreme ,protestant   
communities also1 where they bear a     
living testimony to the reality of the  
personal communion4 ,not through books  
and churches only1 but within the living
 heart of man1 visible sometimes even to
 physical eyes1 shining out in the      
vision of the saint1 speaking in the    
rapture of the prophet--it has never    
quite passed away from ,christianity4   
,it is coming back more strongly year   
after year1 coming back with increased  
vitality1 with more reality and strength
 behind it2 coming back because the     
,christ within the ,church1 finding that
 forgetfulness was coming over the      
modern mind1 has1 as in the olden days1 
used a scourge of whipcord instead of   
only the voice of love4 ,for inasmuch as
 the voice of love was not listened to1 

and the reality of ,his presence was    
being forgotten1 ,he has used the whip  
of what is called the ,higher ,criticism
 to drive men out of books back to the  
living ,master of the ,christian faith4 
,when you build the house of your faith 
on books and manuscripts1 on councils   
and traditions1 you are building on the 
sand1 and the storm has come--the storm 
of criticism1 of investigation1 of      
scholarship1 and the house of faith     
totters1 because it is founded on the   
sand4 ,but build the house of your faith
 on the rock of human experience1 on the
 one rock on which every true ,church is
 founded1 the individual touch between  
the human ,spirit and the divine1 the   
personal experience of the human man on 
earth with the divine ,man in the       
heaven1 beside and around him1 and you  
build the house of your faith on a rock 
that nothing can shake nor destroy1 and 
it will shelter you1 no matter what     
storms may rage outside4 ,and so1 as in 
the temple1 the whip has been used in   

order that men may learn what they would
 not learn by the gentle instruction    
spoken only in the words of the friend4 
,the enemy has been used for it1 the    
foe1 the assailant1 who has made sharp  
his weapons1 and has cut many of the old
 manuscripts in pieces2 and the result  
of that is that the ,christian ,church  
is thrown back upon the ,christ         
,himself1 no longer seen dimly through  
history1 but in vivid reality before the
 eyes of the heart of the ,christian1   
and that ,he will give to ,christianity 
a new life4 ,the mystic belief will come
 back1 and the literal interpretations  
will fall away4 ,and when that is done1 
then ,christianity shall have renewed   
its youth and its power1 and shall know 
that the ,master is living in ,his      
,church1 and is still the ,master of    
life and death1 as in the olden days4   
,and by a very real instinct you will   
find that the most earnest ,christians  
cling to the humanity of ,jesus1 and    
that is the value of the ,master to us1 

when inside our hearts is written the   
truth of ,his existence4 ,if there were 
only such men as we1 and ,god1 the gulf 
would be too vast1 the difference too   
terrible--nothing to encourage us to    
believe that ,divinity was within us4   
,we seem so trivial1 so foolish1 so     
childish1 that we hardly dare sometimes 
to believe that we are truly ,god4 ,it  
seems impossible for us in our modern   
life1 with all the follies in which we  
spend ourselves1 with all the childish  
ambitions and terrors with which we     
amuse or frighten ourselves4 ,this      
little modern life seems so petty and so
 vulgar that we scarcely dare to believe
 ourselves divine4 ,we speak of the old 
heroic days1 and think that if we had   
lived then1 we too should have been     
heroic1 as the heroes and martyrs and   
saints of earlier times4 ,but in truth  
humanity is just as divine to-day1 as it
 ever was in the past4 ,and if the      
divine were manifested in us as it was  
in the great ones of the past1 we should

 be heroic as they were2 it is not      
circumstances that make the difference1 
but only that the ,god within us is more
 in the stage of childhood than in those
 mighty ones of the past1 in which ,he  
had risen to the stature of divine      
manhood4 ,and when we think of the      
,masters and realise that ,they are2    
still more1 perhaps1 when in some happy 
moment we catch a glimpse of such divine
 ,men1 or feel ,their presence closer   
than that of a human friend1 ah6 then it
 is that the inspiration which flows    
from ,them1 as from a ceaseless source1 
encourages and vivifies the life within4
 ,for we realise that it was not so     
very1 very long ago that ,they were as  
we are1 plunged down in the trivialities
 of earth2 that ,they have climbed above
 them by the unfolding of the ,god      
within4 ,and what ,they have done1 you  
and ,i may also do4 ,they are a constant
 inspiration and encouragement for      
humanity4 ,they are men1 and only ,god  
as we are ,god2 the only difference     

being that ,they have ,god more manifest
 in ,them than ,he is in us4 ,they also 
in ,their day were weak and foolish2    
,they also strove and struggled1 as we  
strive and struggle now2 ,they also     
failed1 as we are failing now2 ,they    
also blundered1 as we are blundering    
now2 and ,they have risen above it all1 
strength after strength revealed in     
,them1 wisdom and power and love growing
 ever more and more divine4 ,and what   
,they have done1 you and ,i can do4 ,for
 ,they are truly but the first fruits of
 humanity1 the promise of the harvest1  
and not something strange1 miraculous1  
and far away4 ,the ,christian clings to 
the manhood of ,jesus for the reason    
that as ,he hath suffered1 being        
tempted1 ,he is able to succour them    
that are tempted4 ,and it is a true     
instinct1 a wise faith1 for it is by    
coming into touch with such links       
between humanity and ,god1 that you and 
,i in time will become divine4 ,in ,him 
that divine seed of ,spirit has unfolded

 into flower and fruit4 ,when you sow a 
seed in the soil of your garden1 you sow
 it in the full belief that it will     
grow1 that it will become a plant with  
leaf and flower and fruit4 ,and you     
believe it by all the promise of the    
past1 which has proved that out of such 
seeds grow such flowers2 all that is    
behind you to make your faith a         
reasonable faith2 and when you plant    
that trivial thing1 a little larger than
 a pin's head1 and hide it in the       
darkness of the ground out of sight1 you
 have a living faith within you that out
 of that seed shall grow the perfect    
flower4 ,have the same faith for the    
seed of divinity that is planted within 
you1 though it be planted in the        
darkness of your heart4 ,even if at     
present the first little shoot has not  
come up above the darkness of the soil  
in which it is buried1 none the less the
 seed is there2 it will grow and ripen  
into the perfect fruit4 ,it must be so4 
,there are no failures for the divine   

,husbandman1 no seed which is not       
living1 which falls from ,his hands into
 the ground4 ,and near us the ,masters  
stand ever1 the living truth of what man
 can be--nay1 what he shall be in the   
centuries to come4 ,they are proofs of  
what you and ,i shall be1 the finished  
copies of the statues which lie as yet  
so rough1 so unhewn1 in the marble of   
our humanity4 ,that is ,their value for 
all men1 and part of ,their work is to  
help us to become what ,they are1 to    
foster in us every shoot of the         
spiritual life1 to strengthen in us     
every effort and struggle towards the   
light4 ,theirs the glorious work1 not   
only of building up mighty faiths1 but  
of living in them1 and pouring out      
spiritual life on the heart of each who 
enters within the portals of those      
faiths4 ,that is ,their splendid work2  
and if ,theosophy is doing much in all  
the religions of the world to make them 
more real to their adherents1 and give  
to them fresh vitality and strength and 

vigor1 it is only because it is the     
latest impulse from the ,masters of the 
,,wisdom1 and so is the most convenient 
channel through which that life may be  
poured into all the religions of the    
world4 ,only the latest of the impulses4
 ,all religions have been born out of   
such an impulse1 and the only difference
 between this and the earlier impulses  
is that while they each founded a       
religion and round that religion a wall 
was built1 so that there were believers 
inside the wall and unbelievers outside1
 round this spiritual forthstreaming no 
walls are to be built1 but the waters   
are to spread everywhere without        
limitation1 without exception4 ,that is 
the specialty in the message of         
,theosophy4 ,it belongs to all alike4   
,as much yours1 though you do not call  
it by that name1 perhaps1 as it is      
theirs who call it by that name4 ,it is 
only living1 because it lives in every  
religion2 it is only true1 because it   
comes from the same ,masters of the     

eternal ,,wisdom1 belongs equally to    
all1 to every religion that cares to    
take any of the truth that it has       
re-proclaimed4 ,and all over the world  
the glad message is going4 ,there is not
 one religion which is now living1      
amongst whose adherents ,theosophy is   
not spreading1 and making them better   
members of their religions than they    
were before4 ,for there is many a man   
and woman1 in ,east and ,west alike1 who
 had gone away from the religion into   
which they were born1 because the mystic
 element had vanished and the literal   
sense of the doctrines was in truth the 
letter which killeth1 while the spirit  
that was life seemed to have escaped4   
,many such men and women1 in ,east and  
,west1 have come back with joy to the   
religion in which they were born1 in    
realising that it is only an expression 
of the one divine ,,wisdom1 and that the
 ,masters of the ,,wisdom live and move 
amongst us4  ,and it may be that if the 
world grows more spiritual1 it may be   

that if ,spirit again becomes triumphant
 over matter1 after passing through the 
darkness which was necessary in order   
that the intellect might be thoroughly  
developed and might learn its powers and
 its limitations2 it may be that1 in    
days to come1 when the world is more    
spiritualised than to-day1 climbing as  
it is again the upward arc1 these living
 ,masters of the world's religions will 
come amongst us again visibly as in the 
earlier days4 ,it is not ,they who keep 
back in silence4 ,it is we who shut     
,them out1 and make ,their presence a   
danger rather than an encouragement and 
an inspiration4 ,and every one of       
you--no matter what your faith may be1  
,christian1 ,hindu1 ,buddhist1          
,theosophist1 what matters it8--every   
one of you who makes the ,master of your
 own faith a living reality1 part of    
your life1 nearer than friend and       
brother1 every such believer and worker 
is hastening the day of joy when the    
world shall be ready for the open       

reception of the ,masters1 that ,they   
may move visibly amongst humanity once  
more4 ,that it may be so1 open your     
heart to every breath of truth2 that it 
may be so1 open your eyes to every ray  
from the one eternal ,sun4 ,in the past 
the world would have none of the        
,masters4 ,they slew the ,christ2 they  
made the prophets outcasts4 ,and until  
in our heart the love of the ,master    
awakens1 until with passionate longing1 
with continual insistence1 we call to   
the divine ,men the welcome1 without    
which ,they may not come1 ,they must    
remain hidden4 ,only when there comes up
 from heart after heart one vast chant  
of devotion and appeal1 only then will  
,they come to the many as ,they have    
already come to the few1 and show out   
the visible splendor of ,their manhood1 
as the glory of ,their divinity has ever
 been upon the earth4     ,theosophy and
 the ,theosophical ,society   ,i want to
 put before you clearly and plainly what
 ,theosophy means1 and what is the      

function of the ,theosophical ,society4 
,for we notice very often1 especially   
with regard to the ,society1 that there 
is a good deal of misconception touching
 it1 and that people do not realise the 
object with which it exists1 the work   
that it is intended to perform4 ,it is  
very often looked upon as the expression
 of some new religion1 as though people 
in becoming ,theosophists must leave the
 religious community to which he or she 
may happen to belong4 ,and so a profound
 misconception arises1 and many people  
imagine that in some way or other it is 
hostile to the religion which they      
profess4 ,now ,theosophy1 looked at     
historically or practically1 belongs to 
all the religions of the world1 and     
every religion has an equal claim to it1
 has an equal right to say that         
,theosophy exists within it4 ,for       
,theosophy1 as the name implies1 the    
,divine ,,wisdom1 the ,,wisdom of ,god1 
clearly cannot be appropriated by any   
body of people1 by any ,society1 not    

even by the greatest of the religions of
 the world4 ,it is a common property1 as
 free to everyone as the sunlight and   
the air4 ,no one can claim it as his1   
save by virtue of his common humanity2  
no one can deny it to his brother1 save 
at the peril of destroying his own claim
 thereto4 ,now the meaning of this word1
 both historically and practically1 the 
,,wisdom1 the ,divine ,,wisdom1 is a    
very definite and clear meaning2 it     
asserts the possibility of the knowledge
 of ,god4 ,that is the point that the   
student ought to grasp2 this knowledge  
of ,god1 not the belief in ,him1 not the
 faith in ,him1 not only vague idea     
concerning ,him1 but the knowledge of   
,him1 is possible to man4 ,that is the  
affirmation of ,theosophy1 that is its  
root-meaning and its essence4  ,and we  
find1 looking back historically1 that   
this has been asserted in the various   
great religions of the world4 ,they all 
claim that man can know1 not only that  
man can believe4 ,only in some of the   

more modern faiths1 in their own modern 
days1 the knowledge has slipped into the
 background1 and the belief1 the faith1 
looms very large in the mind of the     
believer4 ,go back as far as you will in
 the history of the past1 and you will  
find the most ancient of religions      
affirming this possibility of knowledge4
 ,in ,india1 for instance1 with its     
antique civilisation1 you find that the 
very central idea of ,hinduism is this  
supreme knowledge1 the knowledge of     
,god4 ,as ,i pointed out to you the     
other day with regard to this old       
,eastern religion1 all knowledge is     
regarded in a higher or a lower degree  
as the knowledge of ,god2 for there is  
no division1 as you know1 in that       
ancient faith1 between the secular and  
the sacred4 ,that division is a modern  
division1 and was unknown in the ancient
 world4 ,but they did make a division in
 knowledge between the higher and the   
lower2 and the lower knowledge1 or the  
lower science1 called the lower divine  

science1 was that which you will call   
science nowadays1 the study of the      
external world4 ,but it also included   
all that here we speak of as            
,literature1 as ,art1 as                
,craft--everything1 in fact1 which the  
human brain can study and the human     
fingers can accomplish--the whole of    
that1 in one grand generalisation1 was  
called ,divine ,wisdom1 but it was the  
lower divine ,wisdom1 the inferior      
knowledge of ,god4 ,then1 beside1 or    
rather above that1 came the ,supreme    
,knowledge1 the higher1 the superior1   
that beyond which there was no          
knowledge1 which was the crown of all4  
,now1 that supreme knowledge is declared
 to be the knowledge of ,him by ,whom   
all things are known--a phrase          
indicating the ,supreme ,deity4 ,it was 
that which was called the supreme       
knowledge1 or1 par excellence1 the      
,divine ,knowledge1 and that old ,hindu 
thought is exactly the same as you have 
indicated by the name ,theosophy4  ,so1 

again1 classical students may remember  
that among the ,greeks and the early    
,christians there was what was called   
the ,gnosis1 the knowledge1 the definite
 article pointing to that which1 above  
all else1 was to be regarded as         
knowledge or wisdom4 ,and when you find 
among the ,neo-,platonists this word    
,gnosis used1 it always means1 and is   
defined to mean1 the knowledge of ,god1 
and the ,gnostic is a man who knows     
,god4 ,so1 again1 among the early       
,christians4 ,take such a man as        
,origen4 ,he uses the same word in      
exactly the same sense2 for when ,origen
 is declaring that the ,church has      
medicine for the sinner1 and that       
,christ is the ,good ,physician who     
heals the diseases of men1 he goes on to
 say that the ,church has also the      
,gnosis for the wise1 and that you      
cannot build the ,church out of sinners2
 you must build it out of ,gnostics4    
,these are the men who know1 who have   
the power to help and to teach2 and     

there can be no medicine for the        
diseased1 no upholder of the weak1      
unless1 within the limits of the        
religion1 the ,gnostic is to be found4  
,and so ,origen lays immense stress on  
the ,gnostic1 and devotes page after    
page to a description of him3 what he   
is1 what he thinks1 what he does2 and to
 the mind of that great ,christian      
teacher1 the ,gnostic was the strength  
of the ,church1 the pillar1 the buttress
 of the faith4 ,and so1 coming down     
through the centuries1 since the        
,christian time1 you will find the word 
,gnostic used every now and again1 but  
more often the term ,theosophist and    
,theosophy2 for this term came into use 
in the later school1 the                
,neo-,platonists1 and became the        
commonly accepted word for those who    
claimed this possibility of knowledge1  
or even claimed to know4 ,and a phrase  
regarding this is to be found in the    
mystic ,fourth ,gospel1 that of ,s4     
,john1 where into the mouth of the      

,christ the words are put1 that the     
knowledge of ,god is eternal life--not  
the faith1 nor the thought1 but the     
knowledge--again declaring the          
possibility of this ,gnosis4 ,and the   
same idea is found along the line of the
 ,hermetic ,science1 or ,hermetic       
,philosophy1 partly derived from ,greece
 and partly from ,egypt4 ,the ,hermetic 
philosopher also claimed to know1 and   
claimed that in man was this divine     
faculty of knowledge1 above the reason1 
higher than the intellect4 ,and         
whenever1 among the thoughtful and the  
learned1 you find reference made to     
faith1 as where1 in the ,epistle to the 
,hebrews1 it is said to be the evidence 
of things not seen1 the same idea comes 
out1 and ,faith1 the real ,faith1 is    
only this intense conviction which grows
 out of the inner spiritual being of    
man1 the ,self1 the ,spirit1 which      
justifies to the intellect1 to the      
senses1 that there is ,god1 that ,god   
truly exists4 ,and this is so strongly  

felt in the ,east that no one there     
wants to argue about the existence of   
,god2 it is declared that that existence
 cannot be proved by argument4 ,not by  
argument1 it is written1 not by         
reasoning1 not by thinking1 can the     
,supreme ,self be known4 ,the only proof
 of ,him is the conviction in the       
,spirit1 in the ,self4 ,and thus        
,theosophy1 then1 historically1 as you  
see1 always makes the affirmation that  
man can know2 and after that supreme    
affirmation that ,god may be known1 then
 there comes the secondary affirmation1 
implied really in that1 and in the fact 
of man's identity of nature with the    
,supreme1 that all things in the        
universe can be known--things visible   
and invisible1 subtle and gross4 ,that  
is1 so to speak1 a secondary            
affirmation1 drawn out of the first2 for
 clearly if in man resides the faculty  
to know ,god as ,god1 then every        
manifestation of ,god may be known by   
the faculty which recognises the        

identity of the human ,spirit with the  
,supreme ,spirit that permeates the     
universe at large4 ,so in dictionaries  
and in encyclopedias you will sometimes 
find ,theosophy defined as the idea that
 ,god1 and angels1 and spirits1 may hold
 direct communication with men2 or      
sometimes1 in the reverse form1 that men
 can hold communication with spirits1   
and angels1 and even with ,god ,himself2
 and although that definition be not the
 best that can be given1 it has its own 
truth1 for that is the result of the    
knowledge of ,god1 the inevitable       
outcome of it1 the manifestation of it4 
,the man who knows ,god1 and knows all  
things in ,him1 is evidently able to    
communicate with any form of living     
being1 to come into relation with       
anything in the universe of which the   
,one ,life is ,god4  ,in modern days1   
and among scientific people1 the        
affirmation which is the reverse of this
 became at one time popular1 widely     
accepted--not ,gnostic but ,agnostic1   

without the ,gnosis2 that was the       
position taken up by ,huxley and by many
 men of his own time of the same school 
of thought4 ,he chose the name because  
of its precise signification2 he was far
 too scientific a man to crudely deny1  
far too scientific to be willing to     
speak positively of that of which he    
knew nothing2 and so1 instead of taking 
up the position that there is nothing   
beyond man1 and man's reason1 and man's 
senses1 he took up the position that man
 was without possibility of knowledge of
 what there might be1 that his only     
means of knowledge were the senses for  
the material universe1 the reason for   
the world of thought4 ,man1 by his      
reason1 could conquer everything in the 
realm of thought1 might become mighty in
 intellect1 and hold as his own domain  
everything that the intellect could     
grasp at its highest point of growth1   
its highest possibility of attainment4  
,that splendid avenue of progress       
,huxley1 and men like ,huxley1 placed   

before humanity as the road along which 
it might hope to walk1 full of the      
certainty of ultimate achievement4 ,but 
outside that1 beyond the reason in the  
world of thought and the senses in the  
material world1 ,huxley1 and those who  
thought like him1 declared that man was 
unable to pierce--hence ,agnostic1      
without the ,gnosis1 without the        
possibility of plunging deeply into the 
ocean of ,being1 for there the intellect
 had no plummet4 ,such1 according to    
science at one time1 was man2 and       
whatever man might hope for1 whatever   
man might strive for1 on1 as it were1   
the portal of the spiritual universe was
 written the legend without knowledge4  
,thither man might not hope to          
penetrate1 thither man's faculties might
 never hope to soar2 for when you have  
defined man as a reasoning being1 you   
have given the highest definition that  
science was able to accept1 and across  
the spiritual nature was written3       
imagination1 dream1 and phantasy4  ,and 

yet there is much in ordinary human     
history which shows that man is         
something more than intellect1 as       
clearly as it shows that the intellect  
is greater than the senses2 for every   
statesman knows that he has to reckon   
with what is sometimes called the       
religious instinct in man1 and that     
however coldly philosophers may reason1 
however sternly science may speak1 there
 is in man some upwelling power which   
refuses to take the agnosticism of the  
intellect1 as it refuses to accept the  
positivism of the senses2 and with that 
every ruler of men has to deal1 with    
that every statesman has to reckon4     
,there is something in man which from   
time to time wells up with irresistible 
power1 sweeping away every limit which  
intellect or senses may strive to put in
 its path--the religious instinct4 ,and 
even to take that term1 that name1 even 
that is to join on this part of man's   
nature to a part of nature universal1   
which bears testimony in every time1 and

 in every place1 that to every instinct 
in the living creature there is some    
answer in the nature outside itself4    
,there is no instinct known in plant1 in
 animal1 in man1 to which nature does   
not answer2 nature1 which has woven the 
demand into the texture of the living   
creature1 has always the supply ready to
 meet the demand2 and strange indeed it 
would be1 well-nigh incredible1 if the  
profoundest instinct of all in nature's 
highest product on the physical plane1  
if that ineradicable instinct1 that     
seeking after ,god and that thirst for  
the ,supreme1 were the one and only     
instinct in nature for which there is no
 answer in the depths and the heights   
around us4 ,and it is not so4 ,that     
argument is strengthened and buttressed 
by an appeal to experience2 for you     
cannot1 in dealing with human experience
 and the testimony of the human         
consciousness1 leave entirely out of    
court1 silenced1 as though it were not  
relevant1 the continual testimony of all

 religions to the existence of the      
spiritual nature in man4 ,the spiritual 
consciousness proves itself quite as    
definitely as the intellectual or the   
sensuous consciousness proves itself--by
 the experience of the individual1 alike
 in every religion as in every century  
in which humanity has lived1 has        
thought1 has suffered1 has rejoiced4    
,the religious1 the spiritual nature1 is
 that which is the strongest in man1 not
 the weakest2 that which breaks down the
 barriers of the intellect1 and crushes 
into silence the imperious demands of   
the senses2 which changes the whole life
 as by a miracle1 and turns the face of 
the man in a direction contrary to that 
in which he has been going all his life4
 ,whether you take the facts of         
conversion1 or whether you take the     
testimony of the saint1 the prophet1 the
 seer1 they all speak with that voice of
 authority to which humanity            
instinctively bows down2 and it was the 
mark of the spiritual man when it was   

said of ,jesus1 the ,prophet3 ,he taught
 them as one having authority1 and not  
as the scribes4 ,for where the spiritual
 man speaks1 his appeal is made to the  
highest and the deepest part in every   
hearer that he addresses1 and the answer
 that comes is an answer that brooks no 
denial and permits no questioning4 ,it  
shows its own imperial nature1 the      
highest and the dominant nature in the  
man1 and where the ,spirit once has     
spoken the intellect becomes obedient1  
and the senses begin to serve4  ,now    
,theosophy1 in declaring that this      
nature of man can know ,god1 bases that 
statement on identity of nature4 ,we can
 know--it is our continual              
experience--we can know that which we   
share1 and nothing else4 ,only when you 
have appropriated for yourself something
 from the outside world can you know the
 similar things in the outside world4   
,you can see because your eye has within
 it the ether of which the waves are    
light2 you can hear because your ear has

 in it the ether and the air whose      
vibrations are sound2 and so with       
everything else4 ,myriads of things     
exist outside you1 and you are          
unconscious of them1 because you have   
not yet appropriated to your own service
 that which is like unto them in outer  
nature4 ,and you can know ,god for      
exactly the same reason that you can    
know by sight or hearing--because you   
are part of ,god2 you can know ,him     
because you share ,his nature4 ,we are  
partakers of the ,divine ,nature1 says  
the ,christian teacher4 ,thou art ,that1
 declares the ,hindu4 ,the ,sufi cries  
out that by love man and ,god are one1  
and know each other4 ,and all the       
religions of the world in varied phrase 
announce the same splendid truth of     
man's ,divinity4 ,it is on that that    
,theosophy founds its affirmation that  
the knowledge of ,god is possible to    
man2 that the foundation1 then1 of      
,theosophy1 that the essence of its     
message4  ,and the value of it at the   

time when it was re-proclaimed to the   
world was that it was an affirmation in 
the face of a denial4 ,where ,science   
began to cry agnosticism1 ,theosophy    
came to cry out gnosticism4 ,at the very
 same time the two schools were born    
into the modern world1 and the          
re-proclamation of ,theosophy1 the      
supreme knowledge1 was the answer from  
the invisible worlds to the nescience of
 ,science4 ,it came at the right time1  
it came in the right form1 as in a few  
moments we shall see2 but the most      
important thing of all is that it came  
at the very moment when ,science thought
 itself triumphant in its nescience4    
,this re-proclamation1 then1 of the most
 ancient of all truths1 was the message 
of ,theosophy to the modern world4 ,and 
see how the world has changed since that
 was proclaimed6 ,it is hardly necessary
 now to make that affirmation1 so       
universal has become the acceptance of  
it4 ,it is almost difficult to look back
 to the year #ahge1 and realise how men 

were thinking and feeling then4 ,i can  
remember it1 because ,i was in it4 ,the 
elder amongst you can remember it1 for  
the same reason4 ,but for the younger of
 you1 who have begun to think and feel  
in the later times1 when this thought   
was becoming common1 you can scarcely   
realise the change in the intellectual  
atmosphere which has come about during  
these last two-and-thirty years4 ,hardly
 worth while is it to proclaim it now1  
it is so commonplace4 ,if now you say3  
,man can know ,god1 the answer is3 ,of  
course he can4 ,thirty-two years ago it 
was3 ,indeed he cannot4 ,and that is to 
be seen everywhere1 all over the world1 
and not only among those people who were
 clinging blindly to a blind faith1     
desperately sticking to it as the only  
raft which remained for them to save    
them from being submerged in            
materialism4 ,it is recognised now on   
all hands2 literature is full of it2 and
 it is not without significance that    
some months ago ,the ,hibbert           

,journal--which has in it so much of the
 advanced thought of the day1 for which 
bishops and archbishops and learned     
clerics write--it is not without        
significance that that journal drew its 
readers' attention to the value of the  
,god-idea in ,hinduism4 ,and the only   
value of it was this1 for man3 that man 
is ,god1 and therefore can know ,god2   
and the writer pointed out that that was
 the only foundation on which1 in modern
 days1 an edifice that could not be     
shaken could be reared up for the       
,spirit in man4 ,that is the religion of
 the future1 the religion of the ,divine
 ,self2 that the common religion1 the   
universal religion1 of which all the    
religions that are living in the world  
will be recognised as branches1 as sects
 of one mighty religion1 universal and  
supreme4 ,for just as now in            
,christianity you have many a sect and  
many a church1 just as in ,hinduism we  
find many sects and many schools1 and as
 in every other great religion of the   

world at the present time there are     
divisions between the believers in the  
same religion1 so shall it be--very     
likely by the end of this century--with 
all the religions of the world2 there   
will be only one religion--the knowledge
 of ,god--and all religious sects under 
that one mighty and universal name4     
,and then1 naturally1 out of this       
knowledge there must spring a large     
number of other knowledges subservient  
to it1 that which you hear so much about
 in ,theosophical literature1 of other  
worlds1 the worlds beyond the physical1 
worlds that are still material1 although
 the matter be of a finer1 subtler kind2
 all that you read about the astral1 and
 mental1 and buddhic planes1 and so     
on--all these lower knowledges find     
their places naturally1 as growing out  
of the one supreme knowledge4 ,and at   
once you will ask3 ,why8 ,if you are    
really divine1 if your ,self is the same
 ,self of which the worlds are a partial
 expression1 then it is not difficult to

 see that that ,self in you1 as it      
unfolds its divine powers1 and shapes   
the matter which it appropriates in     
order to come in contact with all the   
different parts of the universe1 that   
that ,self1 creating for itself bodies1 
will be able to know every material     
thing in the universe1 just as you know 
the things of the physical plane through
 the physical body4 ,for it is all on   
the same lines3 that which enables you  
to know is not only body--that is the   
medium between you and the physical     
world--but the ,knower in you is that   
which enables you to know1 the power of 
perception which is of consciousness1   
and not of body4 ,when consciousness    
vanishes1 all the organs of             
consciousness are there1 as perfect as  
ever1 but the ,knower has left them1 and
 knowledge disappears with him2 and so1 
whether it be in a swoon1 in a fainting 
fit1 in sleep1 or in death1 the perfect 
instrument of the physical body becomes 
useless when the hand of the master     

workman drops it4 ,the body is only his 
tool1 whereby he contacts the things in 
a universe which is not himself2 and the
 moment he leaves it1 it is a mere heap 
of matter1 doomed to decay1 to          
destruction4 ,but just as he has that   
body for knowledge here1 so he has other
 bodies for knowledge otherwhere1 and in
 every world he can know1 he who is the 
,knower1 and every world is made up of  
objects of knowledge1 which he can      
perceive1 examine1 and understand4  ,and
 the world into which you shall pass    
when you go through the portal of death1
 that is around you at every moment of  
your life here1 and you only do not know
 it because your instrument of knowledge
 there is not yet perfected1 and ready  
there to your hand2 and the heavenly    
world into which you will pass out of   
the intermediate world next to this1    
that is around you now1 and you only do 
not know it because your instrument of  
knowledge there has not yet been        
fashioned4 ,and so with worlds yet      

higher1 knowledge of them is possible1  
because the ,knower is yourself and is  
,god1 and you can create your           
instruments of knowledge according to   
your wisdom and your will4  ,hence      
,theosophy includes the whole of this   
vast scheme or field of knowledge2 and  
the whole of it is yours1 yours to      
possess at your will4 ,hence ,theosophy 
should be to you a proclamation of your 
own ,divinity1 with everything that     
flows therefrom2 and all the knowledge  
that may be gathered1 all the           
investigations that may be made1 they   
are all part of this great scheme4 ,and 
the reason why all the religions of the 
world teach the same1 when you come to  
disentangle the essence of their        
teaching from the shape in which they   
put it1 the reason that they all teach  
the same is that they are all giving you
 fragments of knowledge of the other    
worlds1 and these worlds are all more   
real than the world in which you are2   
and they all teach the same fundamental 

truths1 the same fundamental moral      
principles1 the same religious          
doctrines1 and use the same methods in  
order that men may come into touch with 
the other worlds4 ,the sacraments do not
 belong to ,christianity alone1 as      
sometimes ,christians think2 every      
religion has its sacraments1 some more  
numerous than others1 but all have some4
 ,for what is a sacrament8 ,it is the   
earthly1 the physical representative of 
a real correspondence in nature2 as the 
catechism of the ,church of ,england    
phrases it3 ,an outward and visible sign
 of an inward and spiritual grace4 ,it  
is a true definition4 ,a sacrament is   
made up of the outer and inner1 and you 
cannot do without either4 ,the outer    
thing is correlated to the inner1 and is
 a real means of coming into touch with 
the higher1 and is not only a symbol1 as
 some imagine4 ,the great churches and  
religions of the past always cling to   
that reality of the sacrament1 and they 
do well4 ,it is only in very modern     

times1 and among a comparatively small  
number of ,christian people1 that the   
sacrament has become only a symbol1     
instead of a channel of living and      
divine power4 ,and much is lost to the  
man who loses out of his religion the   
essential idea of the sacrament2 for it 
is the link between the spiritual and   
the physical1 the channel whereby the   
spiritual pours down into the physical  
vehicle4 ,hence the value that all      
religions put upon sacraments1 and their
 recognition of their reality1 and their
 priceless service to mankind4 ,and so  
with many other things in ceremonies and
 rites1 common to all the different     
faiths--the use of musical sounds1 a use
 which tunes the bodies so that the     
spiritual power may be able to manifest 
through them and by them4 ,for just as  
in your orchestra you must tune the     
instruments to a single note1 so must   
you tune your various bodies in order   
that harmoniously they may allow the    
spiritual force to come through from the

 higher to the lower plane4 ,it is a    
real tuning1 a real making of harmonious
 vibrations2 and the difference between 
the vibrations that are harmonious and  
the vibrations that are discordant1 from
 this point of view1 is this3 when all  
the bodies vibrate together1 all the    
particles and their spaces correspond1  
so that you get solid particles1 then   
spaces1 and then solid particles1 and   
spaces again1 corresponding through all 
the bodies2 whereas in the normal       
condition the bodies do not match in    
that way1 and the spaces of one come    
against the solid parts of the other1   
and so you get a block4 ,when sounds are
 used1 the mystical sounds called       
mantras in ,hinduism1 the effect of     
those is to change the bodies from this 
condition to that1 and so the forces    
from without can come into the man1 and 
the forces in him may flow out to       
others4 ,that is the value of it4 ,you  
are able to produce mechanically a      
result which otherwise has to be        

produced by a tremendous exertion of the
 will2 and the man of knowledge never   
uses more force than is necessary in    
order to bring about what he desires1   
and the ,occultist--who is the wise man 
on many planes--he uses the easiest way 
always to gain his object4 ,hence the   
use of music1 or mantras1 in every      
faith4 ,pythagoras used music in order  
to prepare his disciples to receive his 
teachings4 ,the ,greek and the ,roman   
,catholic ,churches use special forms of
 music to produce a definite effect upon
 the worshippers who hear them4 ,all of 
you must be aware that there are some   
kinds of music which have the remarkable
 effect upon you1 of lifting you higher 
than you can rise by your own unassisted
 effort4 ,even the songs of illiterate  
,christian bodies do have some effect   
upon them1 in raising them to a higher  
level1 although they possess little of  
the true quality of the mantra4 ,in     
,theosophy you find all these things    
dealt with scientifically--a mass of    

knowledge1 but all growing out of the   
original statement that man can know    
,god4  ,now it is clear that in all     
that1 there is nothing which a man of   
any faith cannot accept1 cannot study4  
,i do not mean that he will accept      
everything that a ,theosophist would    
say2 but ,i mean that the knowledge is  
knowledge of a kind which he will be    
wise to study1 and to appropriate so far
 as it recommends itself to his reason  
and his intuition4 ,and that is all the 
man need do--study4 ,all this knowledge 
is spread out for you freely3 you can   
take it1 if you will4 ,the ,theosophical
 ,society1 which spreads it broadcast   
everywhere1 claims in it no property1 no
 proprietary rights1 but gives it out   
freely everywhere4 ,the books in which  
much of it is written are as free to the
 non-,theosophist as to the             
,theosophist4 ,the results of           
,theosophical investigation are         
published freely that all who choose may
 read4 ,everything is done that can be  

done by the ,society to make the whole  
thing common property2 and nothing gives
 the true ,theosophist more delight than
 when he sees the ,theosophical         
teachings coming out in some other garb 
which gives them a different name1 but  
hands them on to those who might be     
frightened perhaps by the name          
,theosophy4 ,and so1 when we find a     
clergyman scattering broadcast to his   
congregation ,theosophical teaching as  
,christian1 we say3 ,see1 our work is   
bearing fruit2 and when we find the man 
who does not label himself ,theosophist 
giving any of these truths to the world1
 we rejoice1 because we see that our    
work is being done4 ,we have no desire  
to take the credit of it1 nor to claim  
it as ours at all2 it belongs to every  
man who is able to see it1 quite as much
 as it does to anyone who may call      
himself ,theosophist4 ,for the          
possession of truth comes of right to   
the man who can see the truth1 and there
 is no partiality in the world of       

intellect or of ,spirit4 ,the only test 
for a man's fitness to receive is the   
ability to perceive2 and the only claim 
he has to see by the light is the power 
of seeing4  ,and that1 perhaps1 may     
explain to you what some think strange  
in our ,society--we have no dogmas4 ,we 
do not shut out any man because he does 
not believe ,theosophical teachings4 ,a 
man may deny every one of them1 save    
that of human brotherhood1 and claim his
 place and his right within our ranks4  
,but his place and his right within our 
ranks are founded on the very truths    
that he denies2 for if man could not    
know ,god1 if there were no identity of 
nature in every man with ,god1 then     
there would be no foundation for our    
reception of him1 nor any reason for    
welcoming him as a brother4 ,because    
there is only one life1 and one nature1 
therefore the man who denies is ,god1 as
 is he who affirms4 ,therefore each has 
a right to come2 only the one who       
affirms knows why he welcomes his       

brother1 and the one who denies is      
ignorant1 and knows not why he has a    
right within our ranks4 ,but those of us
 who try to be ,theosophists in reality1
 as well as in name1 we understand why  
it is that we make him welcome1 and it  
is based on this sane idea1 that a man  
can see the truth best by studying it1  
and not by repeating formulae that he   
does not understand4 ,what is the use of
 putting a dogma before a man and       
saying3 ,you must repeat that before you
 can come into my ,church8 ,if the man  
repeats it not understanding it1 he is  
outside1 no matter how much you bring   
him in2 and if he sees it1 there is no  
need to make that as a portal to your   
fellowship4 ,and we believe1 we of the  
,theosophical ,society1 that just       
because the intellect can only do its   
best work in its own atmosphere of      
freedom1 truth has the best chance of   
being seen when you do not make any     
conditions as to the right of           
investigation1 as to the claim to seek4 

,to us1 truth is so supreme a thing that
 we do not desire to bind any man with  
conditions as to how1 or where1 or why1 
he shall seek it4 ,these things1 we say1
 we know are true2 and because we know  
they are true1 come amongst us1 even    
though you do not believe them1 and find
 out for yourself whether they be true  
or not4 ,and the man is better worth    
having when he comes in an unbeliever1  
and wins to the knowledge of the truth1 
than is the facile believer who         
acknowledges everything and never gets a
 real grip upon truth at all4 ,we       
believe that truth is only found by     
seeking1 and that the true bond is the  
love of truth1 and the effort to find   
it2 that that is a far more real bond   
than the repetition of a common creed4  
,for the creed can be repeated by the   
lips1 but the seeing of truth as true   
can only come from the intellect and the
 spirit1 and to build on the intellect  
and the spirit is a firmer foundation   
than to build on the breath of the lips4

 ,hence our ,society has no dogmas4 ,not
 that it does not stand for any truths1 
as some people imagine4 ,its name marks 
out the truth for which it stands3 it is
 the ,theosophical ,society2 and that   
shows its function and its place in the 
world--a ,society that asserts the      
possibility of the knowledge of ,god2   
that is its proclamation1 as we have    
seen1 and all the other truths that grow
 out of that are amongst our teachings4 
,the ,society exists to spread the      
knowledge of those truths1 and to       
popularise those teachings amongst      
mankind4 ,but1 you may say1 if it be the
 fact that you throw out broadcast all  
your teachings1 that you write them in  
books that every man can buy1 what is1  
then1 the good of being a member of the 
,theosophical ,society8 ,we should not  
have any more as members than we have as
 non-members4 ,that is not quite true1  
but it may stand as true for the moment4
 ,why should you come in8 ,for no reason
 at all1 unless to you it is the        

greatest privilege to come in1 and you  
desire to be among those who are the    
pioneers of the thought of the coming   
days4 ,no reason at all3 it is a        
privilege4 ,we do not beg you to come   
in2 we only say3 ,come if you like to   
come1 and share the glorious privilege  
that we possess2 but if you would rather
 not1 stay outside1 and we will give you
 everything which we believe will be    
serviceable and useful to you4 ,the     
feeling that brings people into our     
,society is the feeling that makes the  
soldier spring forward to be amongst the
 pioneers when the army is going forth4 
,there are some people so built that    
they like to go in front and face       
difficulties1 so that other people may  
have an easier time1 and walk along a   
path that has already been hewn out for 
them by hands stronger than their own4  
,that is the only reason why you should 
come in3 no other4 ,do not come to get2 
you will be disappointed if you do4 ,you
 can get it outside4 ,come in to give1  

to work1 to be enrolled amongst the     
servants of humanity who are working for
 the dawn of the day of a nobler        
knowledge1 for the coming of the        
recognition of a spiritual brotherhood  
amongst men4 ,come in if you have the   
spirit of the pioneer within you1 the   
spirit of the volunteer2 if to you it is
 a delight to cut the way through the   
jungle that others may follow1 to tread 
the path with bruised feet in order that
 others may have a smooth road to lead  
them to the heights of knowledge4 ,that 
is the only advantage of coming in3 to  
know in your own heart that you realise 
what is coming1 and are helping to make 
it come more quickly for the benefit of 
your fellow-men2 that you are working   
for humanity2 that you are co-workers   
with ,god1 in making the knowledge of   
,him spread abroad on every side2 that  
you are amongst those to whom future    
centuries will look back1 thanking you  
that you saw the light when all men     
thought it was dark1 and that you       

recognised the coming dawn when others  
believed the earth was sunk in midnight4
 ,i know of no inspiration more         
inspiring1 of no ideal that lifts men to
 greater heights1 of no hope that is so 
full of splendor1 no thought that is so 
full of energy1 as the inspiration1 and 
the ideal1 and the hope1 and the        
thought1 that you are working for the   
future1 for the day that has not yet    
come4 ,there will be so many in the days
 to come who will see the truth1 so many
 in the unborn generations who will live
 from the hour of their birth in the    
light of the ,divine ,,wisdom4 ,and what
 is it not to know that one is bringing 
that nearer8 to feel that this great    
treasure is placed in your hands for the
 enriching of humanity1 and that the    
bankruptcy of humanity is over and the  
wealth is being spread broadcast on     
every side8 ,what a privilege to know   
that those generations in the future1   
rejoicing in the light1 will feel some  
touch of thanks and gratitude to those  

who brought it when the days were dark1 
to those whose faith in the ,self was so
 strong that they could believe when all
 other things were against it1 to those 
whose surety of the divine knowledge was
 so mighty that they could proclaim its 
possibility to an agnostic world4 ,that 
is the only reason why you should come  
into the vanguard1 that the only reason 
why you should join the ranks of the    
pioneers4 ,hard work and little reward1 
hard words and little praise1 but the   
knowledge that you work for the future1 
and that with the co-operation of ,deity
 the final result is sure4     ,part    
,,ii   ,the ,place of ,phenomena in the 
,theosophical ,society  ,spiritual and  
,temporal ,authority  ,the ,relation of 
,masters to the ,theosophical ,society  
,the ,future of the ,theosophical       
,society   ,four ,lectures delivered to 
the ,blavatsky ,lodge1 ,london1 on #acth
 and #bgth ,june1 #dth and #aath ,july  
#aijg4     ,the ,place of ,phenomena in 
the ,theosophical ,society   ,i have    

taken for these four lectures1 confined 
to members of the ,theosophical         
,society1 four subjects of great        
interest to ourselves1 and in dealing   
with them ,i propose to ask you to look 
at them from a wide standpoint rather   
than a narrow one1 and to consider the  
,theosophical ,movement and the         
,theosophical ,society1 not as an       
isolated movement or ,society1 not as a 
separate thing1 but rather as one of a  
series of spiritual impulses1 like to   
its predecessors in its nature1         
interested in the same questions1 and   
subject to the same conditions as those 
that preceded it in time4  ,we find1    
looking back over the history of the    
past1 that great spiritual impulses     
occur from time to time1 and each of    
these in the past has founded a new     
religion1 or stamped some marked change 
in a religion already existing4 ,the    
spiritual impulse that brought to birth 
the ,theosophical ,society is to be     
thought of as of the same nature as     

those which founded one religion in the 
world after another4 ,and if we regard  
it in this way we can sometimes1 looking
 at the whole succession of such        
movements1 recognise certain definite   
principles working in all of them1 and  
then apply those principles to the      
movement of our own time4 ,and this     
seems to me to be a wiser and saner way 
of regarding the ,theosophical ,society 
than looking upon it as unique and      
isolated4 ,certainly it is more easy to 
see our way in the solution of difficult
 problems of our own time1 if we regard 
these problems as similar in nature to  
the problems that have been presented to
 our predecessors4 ,because always1 in  
dealing with the problems of our own    
time1 we are apt to be confused and     
bewildered by secondary issues that rise
 up around them1 complicating them1     
perhaps largely clouding them1 when we  
try to understand2 whereas if we can    
catch sight of the underlying principle 
and study it apart from any difficulties

 of our own time1 we are then able to   
apply that same principle1 as discovered
 apart from the circumstances of the    
moment1 and in that way there is a hope 
of applying it more justly amid the more
 exciting incidents of our own day4 ,and
 it is that which ,i want to do in these
 lectures--to take our movement as a    
part of a world series1 to study the    
principles that underlie the whole of   
that series1 to trace out the working of
 these principles amongst the societies 
that have preceded us in the spiritual  
world1 and then1 having grasped them1 to
 apply them to the solution of the      
problems of our own time4 ,for there is 
a tendency in the ,theosophical ,society
 to narrow itself down to its time1     
instead of trying to widen out the      
thought of its time4 ,it is a tendency  
which we see affecting every religion1  
every church1 every great society1 and  
it is useless to recognise this fact in 
the history of others unless we apply   
the fact for instruction in our own4    

,now in all the religions of the past1  
so far as we have any knowledge of them 
in history or from what are called the  
occult records1 there is one thing we   
see in their early days--the presence of
 happenings regarded as abnormal4 ,i    
have used the word phenomena1 but it is 
a very stupid word4 ,one uses it because
 it is generally used2 there is no      
justification in using that particular  
word in relation to some outer          
manifestations rather than to all4      
,properly speaking1 phenomena1 of       
course1 will cover the whole of the     
objects in the world1 in the ,not-,self1
 everything outside the ,self2 but the  
word has been narrowed down1 especially 
in our own time1 to those occurrences in
 the world around us1 in the ,not-,self1
 which are unusual1 which seem to be    
abnormal1 which are the results of laws 
which are not familiar1 and therefore   
which are regarded by some people as    
supernatural1 by others1 speaking more  
carefully1 simply as superphysical4 ,and

 we lose much by separating off what we 
call abnormal happenings1 the so-called 
phenomena1 from the normal every-day    
happenings of life4 ,for there is no    
fundamental difference between them4    
,all planes are equally within the realm
 of law2 all worlds1 denser or grosser  
in material organisation1 are equally   
worlds moving by order and law4 ,there  
is nothing really abnormal in ,nature4  
,some things happen more seldom than    
others--are unusual2 but the very idea  
of abnormal seems to me in many respects
 mischievous and harmful4 ,it is better 
to look on the whole                    
world-system--universe1 call it what you
 will--as a part of a definite order in 
which all the things that happen happen 
by law1 in which there no gaps1 no      
abnormalities1 but only limitations of  
our own knowledge at a certain time4    
,all the gaps in ,nature are gaps in the
 knowledge of the observers of ,nature4 
,there is nothing miraculous or         
supernatural1 but everything is the     

orderly product of ,nature working along
 definite lines and guided by definite  
intelligence4  ,and one reason why it is
 so important to recognise this is in   
order to clear away the atmosphere of   
wonder1 of marvel1 of awe1 of reverence1
 that is apt1 very much to the detriment
 of the observers1 to enshroud          
everything unusual1 every manifestation 
of a force with which we are not        
familiar1 everything that in the old    
days was called miraculous4 ,and one    
thing ,i want strongly to impress upon  
you is1 that in everything that can be  
called a phenomenon1 you ought to deal  
with it according to the same laws1     
according to the same canons of         
observation1 as you deal with the       
phenomena with which you are most       
familiar on the physical plane4 ,you    
should not regard an unusual phenomenon 
as one which is necessarily to be       
regarded with reverence in any way4 ,you
 should not necessarily talk in         
whispers1 when speaking about what we   

call phenomena4 ,it is better to talk in
 your natural voice1 and apply your     
ordinary common sense and the laws of   
sane judgment in every case4 ,if you do 
that instead of getting alarmed or      
astonished1 if you will stand on your   
feet instead of falling on your knees1  
your study of the other worlds will be  
more profitable1 and the dangers you are
 likely to meet will be very much       
diminished4  ,to come back to the point 
of the beginnings of all religious      
movements1 we find that all begin in the
 atmosphere of phenomena4 ,the divine   
,man who founds the religion1 and those 
who immediately surround ,him1 are      
always people who have a knowledge of   
more worlds than one4 ,and because they 
are possessors of that first-hand       
knowledge1 they are able to speak with  
authority4 ,now1 the authority that     
should be recognised in all these       
matters is simply the authority of      
knowledge4  ,another of the difficulties
 we want to clear away in studying      

phenomena is the idea that the happening
 of a certain thing by a law that we do 
not understand in the realm of matter   
gives any sort of authority on questions
 of spiritual knowledge1 or gives a     
person a right to speak with authority  
on things not concerned with the        
particular laws under which that        
phenomena takes place4 ,the mischief of 
the old idea of miracle was that it was 
supposed to be a proof1 not of knowledge
 of another world or other forces1 but  
of the title of the miracle-worker to   
speak with authority on religious and   
moral questions2 while1 as a matter of  
fact1 the knowledge of what occurs on   
the astral plane1 the knowledge of what 
occurs on the mental plane1 or the power
 to utilise the forces of these planes  
in the production of certain happenings 
here which are not usual1 these things  
by no means give a man any authority to 
speak on moral problems or to decide on 
spiritual questions4 ,that is a matter  
of the utmost importance1 for knowledge 

of the astral and mental worlds is the  
same in kind as knowledge of the        
physical world2 and it no more follows  
that a clairvoyant or clairaudient1 or a
 man who can use any of the powers of   
subtler planes down here1 has more      
authority on religious and moral        
questions than a good mathematician1 a  
good electrician1 or a good chemist4    
,you are not likely1 on the physical    
plane1 to fall into the blunder of      
thinking that because a man is a good   
chemist he has authority on moral       
problems3 you will at once see the      
absurdity4 ,but many of you do not see  
that the same is true when you deal with
 good chemists or electricians belonging
 to the astral or mental planes4 ,they  
have no more authority qua their        
knowledge of these planes than the      
chemist4 ,i often wish that in the      
,theosophical ,society the old fable of 
the ,jewish ,rabbis was better          
remembered and applied4 ,two ,rabbis    
were arguing1 and one of them1 to       

support his side of the argument1 made a
 wall fall down2 whereupon the other    
,rabbi sensibly remarked3 ,since when   
have walls had a voice in our           
discussions8 ,that spirit is of enormous
 importance1 and does not in any sense  
touch the fact that you find the great  
,founders of religions and the          
illuminated men who surrounded them were
 men who had power to produce phenomena 
of various kinds1 to heal the sick1 to  
make the lame to walk1 and so on1 and   
that phenomena always accompanied the   
great religious ,teacher in the past4   
,these things did not give ,him ,his    
religious authority3 they were simply   
the outcome of ,his knowledge of natural
 laws2 for a man who is thoroughly      
spiritual has matter subject to him on  
every plane in ,nature4 ,but it by no   
means follows that the man who can      
manipulate matter on the lower planes is
 therefore able to speak with authority 
on the higher4 ,the fact that the       
spiritual man is always a great psychic1

 always has power to utilise higher     
forces for controlling physical matter1 
that fact1 while true1 does not prove   
the truth of the opposite idea1 that the
 man who has power over matter is       
necessarily highly unfolded as regards  
the spirit4 ,it is true1 of course1 that
 the founders of religion were men      
surrounded with clouds of phenomena1 and
 the reason for that is the one ,i have 
just stated3 that to the truly spiritual
 man matter is an obedient servant2 to  
use a quotation from an ,indian book3   
,the truly spiritual man all the siddhis
 stand ready to serve4  ,now it was     
necessary for the founding of religions 
and for the teaching of many of the     
doctrines of religions which had to do  
with worlds invisible to the physical   
eye1 that the man who first promulgated 
these doctrines should be a man who had 
a first-hand acquaintance with the      
conditions they described4 ,for you must
 remember that in every religion there  
are two sides to its teaching3 the side 

of the spiritual truths known only to   
the unfolded divine consciousness2 the  
side of the existence of other worlds   
than this1 and of the conditions        
existing in those worlds--important to  
men1 as they have to pass into those    
worlds after death1 important to men    
also1 as much of the symbolism1 the     
rites and ceremonies1 are connected with
 what we may roughly call occult        
science4 ,as the ,buddha said when      
speaking of worlds beyond the physical3 
,if you want to know your way to a      
village and particulars about the       
village1 you ask a man who lives there  
and who has gone along the roads leading
 to it3 and so you do right to come to  
me when you want to know about the      
,devas and about the invisible worlds1  
for ,i know those worlds and ,i know the
 way thereto4 ,so that looking back to  
these great spiritual ,teachers and     
,revealers of the unseen1 we find they  
are always men of first-hand knowledge4 
,that first-hand knowledge was shared by

 ,their immediate followers1 who carried
 on the teaching of the system after the
 ,teacher had withdrawn4 ,and it matters
 not what religion you take1 living or  
dead1 you will find it equally true1    
that phenomena were common in the       
earlier days of the teaching of that    
religion4  ,now let me take two typical 
religions1 one ,eastern and one         
,western1 with regard to the continuance
 of the phenomena of the earlier        
days--the ,hindu religion in the ,east  
for the ,eastern example1 and the ,roman
 ,catholic ,church in the ,west for the 
,western example4 ,in both these great  
religious movements we find a           
continuance of phenomena2 neither       
,hinduism as typical of ,eastern        
teaching1 nor ,roman ,catholicism as the
 most widespread form of ,christianity  
in the ,west1 has ever taken up the     
position that the life which showed     
itself through the earlier teachers was 
cut off and no longer irrigated the     
fields of the religion4 ,on the         

contrary1 you find both these typical   
religions claiming continuity of life   
and of knowledge4 ,amongst the ,hindus  
it is a commonplace to assert the       
possibilities of yoga1 that a man can   
now1 as much as in the days of the ,manu
 or of the great ,rishis1 do what ,they 
did1 can free himself from the physical 
body1 can travel into other worlds of   
the systems1 can acquaint himself with  
the forces and objects of those worlds1 
and carry on as definite a study of the 
,not-,self in those worlds1 as anyone   
who wishes to do so may carry on a      
definite study of the ,not-,self in the 
physical world4 ,the claim has never    
been given up2 the practice never wholly
 disappeared4 ,so also with the ,roman  
,catholic communion4 ,there has been    
there a succession of saints and of     
seers who have always claimed to be in  
direct touch with other worlds1 and who 
have claimed and exercised the powers of
 those worlds manifestly on the physical
 plane4 ,to-day in the ,roman ,catholic 

,church similar phenomena are said to   
occur1 and certainly the evidence       
offered for these phenomena is far more 
easily verifiable than the evidence     
offered for such phenomena in the       
earlier centuries of the ,christian     
story4 ,so also among the ,hindus it is 
more easy to prove nowadays the powers  
possessed by a yogi1 than it is to prove
 the possession of those powers         
thousands of years ago in the obscurity 
of the earlier days of ,hinduism4       
,consequently you find amongst ,roman   
,catholics and ,hindus a definite belief
 that these things are still possible2  
and the only thing that either will say 
with regard to their happening is that  
the greater descent of the people as a  
whole into materiality has made the     
possession of these powers a far rarer  
qualification of a believer in one or   
other of the religions1 than was the    
case in the early days of enthusiasm1   
and of a greater outpouring of spiritual
 life4 ,there is no doubt1 so far as    

,christianity is concerned1 that the    
sacred books of the ,christians entirely
 support the ,roman ,catholic           
contention4 ,i am not going into the    
question of the authenticity of         
particular phrases2 ,i simply take the  
,new ,testament1 as it is admitted to be
 a sacred book4 ,there you have placed  
in the mouth of ,jesus the distinct     
declaration that those who believe on   
,him should do greater works than ,he   
did2 and in one passage--rejected1 ,i   
know1 as not in the original manuscripts
 by many scholars1 but still coming down
 from a great ,christian antiquity--you 
have the distinct statement that they   
shall be able to drink poison1 and so   
on4 ,so it is clearly a part of the     
definite ,christian teaching and        
tradition1 that these so-called abnormal
 powers are within the reach of         
believers in ,christianity4 ,and so also
 with regard to ,hinduism4  ,now another
 thing is to be observed in this        
connection3 that as the religion has    

gone on generation after generation1    
century after century1 there has been a 
diminution of the powers1 and a much    
less frequent happening of these        
so-called miracles4 ,side by side with  
the weakening of these powers and the   
lessening in number of the phenomena has
 been also the gradual lessening of the 
power of the religion over the minds and
 lives of men4 ,the inroads of other    
forms of thought1 the slackening of the 
grasp of the believer on the realities  
of the unseen worlds1 have diminished   
religious authority1 and the power of   
those unseen realities has weakened as  
time has gone on4 ,so if we take the    
case of ,hinduism or ,christianity we   
find them giving back before the inroads
 of a more materialistic philosophy1    
before the inroads of a self-assertive  
science4 ,we find among cultured and    
thoughtful people in the ,east and ,west
 there has been a great slackening of   
hold on the teachings of religion1 and  
that the power exercised over the lives 

of believers has become much less real  
than in earlier days4 ,that is          
inevitable1 the result of the efflux of 
time1 and the need for the recurrence of
 spiritual impulses lies in that fact1  
which is ever repeating itself4 ,just in
 the same way in which we read in the   
,bhagavad-,gita that by the efflux of   
time this yoga disappears1 and then some
 teacher comes in order to restore      
vividness to the life1 so it is over and
 over again in the case of every great  
spiritual movement4  ,now when we apply 
these manifest principles and facts to  
the latest spiritual movement1 that     
which gave birth to the ,theosophical   
,society1 we find that we are running   
through1 in a very short time1 the same 
series of facts as characterised the    
religions of the past4 ,here also1 as   
with them1 a great outburst of phenomena
 in the earlier days2 ,h4,p4,b4 living  
in a cloud of phenomena and those who   
came in touch with her bathed in        
phenomena of all kinds4 ,you can see the

 result of that early training in our   
late ,president1 ,colonel ,olcott1 to   
whom phenomena in connection with the   
,theosophical ,society were the most    
natural things in the world4 ,he had no 
hesitation in talking of them1 was      
always bubbling over with his           
experiences of them in the past4 ,you   
must remember1 when he was over here1   
how much he thought about them1 the     
pleasure he took in recalling his       
earlier experiences1 and of showing the 
material articles produced phenomenally 
in those earlier days2 and you cannot   
take up ,old ,diary ,leaves without     
finding yourself face to face with      
every-day happenings of phenomena4 ,life
 then seemed to be made up of the       
abnormal1 in the sense in which that    
word is used4 ,the normal for the time  
being had disappeared4 ,if a duster had 
to be hemmed1 an elemental did it4 ,if  
pencils were needed1 a hand was put     
forward1 twisted the pencils about1 and 
there were twelve in place of the one1  

and so on4 ,much greater people than    
,h4,p4,b4 were concerned in producing   
these phenomena4 ,colonel ,olcott tells 
us how ,h4,p4,b4 on one occasion drank  
some lukewarm water which a ,master drew
 from a water-skin on a camel1 and      
magnetised1 and made her believe it to  
be coffee4 ,on his removing the         
magnetism before she had finished       
drinking1 she found to her disgust that 
she had been drinking this lukewarm     
water4 ,the present-day ,theosophist    
would probably have objected to such    
playfulness1 but such things were       
continually happening in the early days4
 ,when ,colonel ,olcott came into the   
,society he came straight from the      
investigation of spiritualistic         
phenomena--a thoroughly well-trained    
observer1 beginning with a good deal of 
scepticism1 and beaten out of it by his 
own observations in innumerable         
spiritualistic seances4 ,so that when he
 came in touch with ,h4,p4,b4 he was no 
credulous1 unobservant person1 overborne

 by a number of wonderful happenings1   
but a thoroughly equipped and           
cold-blooded and well-trained observer  
of the super-physical1 and he naturally 
brought his powers of observation to    
bear on these wonderful happenings4 ,he 
has left on record the full stories of  
these earlier days4 ,you may find       
similar stories1 not to the same extent 
indeed1 in ,mr4 ,sinnett's book1 ,the   
,occult ,world4 ,there we find similar  
instances1 similar marvels worked by    
,h4,p4,b4 in order to arouse his        
attention1 and to prove to him the      
existence of certain laws2 which        
otherwise would have remained1 so to    
speak1 in the air4 ,so there were also  
there a large number of unusual         
happenings--letters in pillow-cases1    
letters on branches of trees1 and so on4
 ,you would all do well to re-read the  
,old ,diary ,leaves or ,the ,occult     
,world4 ,each one of you should         
deliberately ask himself3 ,why do ,i    
believe these things to be true8        

,because it seems to me that most       
members of the ,theosophical ,society   
are rather slipping into the position of
 the modern ,christian1 that in order   
that a miracle may be true it must be   
old1 and if it happens nowadays it must 
immediately be discredited4 ,that is not
 rational4 ,but it is a perfectly       
rational position to take up with all   
phenomena to say3 ,i shall not accept   
one of them unless thoroughly satisfied 
with the evidence on which it rests2    
that is a perfectly reasonable attitude2
 but what seems to me a little less     
reasonable is to swallow wholesale the  
phenomena of the early days1 and to look
 very much askance at anything that     
happens now2 to glance back proudly to  
the past1 and to regard anything which  
might happen now as wrong1 as           
undesirable4 ,because if that is the    
right position1 then it ought to be     
applied all round2 it ought to be       
applied to the early phenomena of the   
,society as much as to anything that may

 occur now2 and the same rigid demand   
for evidence should be made as is made  
at the present time4 ,but1 on the other 
hand1 if the evidence be as full and as 
satisfactory now as that which supported
 the earlier phenomena1 then it does not
 seem quite reasonable to accept the    
earlier and deny the later4  ,let us for
 a moment see how far the ,society has  
been going along the same line as that  
along which the other religions have    
gone--the gradual disappearance of      
phenomena and the substitution for them 
of teaching appealing to the reason     
only1 and not to the senses1 claiming   
its authority on grounds which appeal to
 the consciousness in man1 as far as is 
practicable divorced from matter1 or to 
that consciousness working through      
comparatively thick and gross veils of  
matter4 ,after the ,coulomb difficulty  
there was a cessation almost entirely of
 these phenomena in the ,theosophical   
,society4 ,two reasons led up to that3  
first1 the utter disinclination of      

,h4,p4,b4 herself to continue to expose 
herself to the attacks of people with   
regard to her good faith4 ,she was so   
maligned and slandered1 so many friends 
turned against her and spoke of the     
powers she possessed as fraudulent and  
as tricks1 that when her ,master raised 
her from the bed that might have been   
her death-bed1 and would have been1 save
 for ,his coming to her at ,adyar1 she  
made the condition that she should not  
be forced to produce phenomena in the   
way she had been forced before2 that she
 should be allowed to put that aside4   
,the consent was given4 ,lion-hearted as
 she was1 she shrank from the storm of  
slander that broke on her4 ,the other   
reason was that people belonging to the 
,society took fright4 ,the pressure of  
public reprobation was so strong1 the   
force of unbelief so crushing1 that the 
members of the ,society itself shrank   
back and were afraid to face public     
opinion1 ignorant and persecuting as it 
was2 and it is pathetic and interesting 

to read the letters she wrote in the    
years immediately succeeding the        
,coulomb difficulty1 in which she       
pointed out that those to whom she had  
brought the light were ashamed to stand 
beside her under the conditions to which
 she was then exposed4 ,she complained  
that the writings in the ,society were  
changing their character2 that they were
 no longer occult and full of teaching  
of the unseen1 but had become purely    
philosophical and metaphysical2 that her
 own journal had turned aside from its  
earlier occultism1 and confined itself  
to articles addressed only to the       
intellect2 and she says in one of these 
letters3 ,say what you may1 it was my   
phenomena on which the ,theosophical    
,society was founded4 ,it is my         
phenomena by which that ,society has    
been built up4 ,it was a natural feeling
 of half resentment against the policy  
of the time1 that had left her in the   
lurch1 and put the ,society upon a      
different footing4 ,it was in connection

 with that terrible time1 in the turmoil
 and whirl of conflicting opinions1 that
 those words recorded of her ,master1   
spoken to herself1 in one of the records
 left to the ,society1 occurred1 in     
which ,he said3 ,the ,society has       
liberated itself from our grasp and     
influence 444 it is no longer 444 a body
 over the face of which broods the      
,spirit from beyond the ,great ,range4  
,along those newer lines the ,society   
went1 and there are many who will say3  
,they are better lines4 ,it is better   
that these abnormal happenings should   
fall into the background1 that they     
should not be presented to a scornful   
and sceptical world1 that we should rely
 on the literature that we have1 without
 desiring to increase it by new         
knowledge1 in which much can only be    
gained by abnormal means4 ,better to    
rest on what we have1 and not try to add
 to it4 ,very many of our members take  
that view1 and it is a perfectly        
reasonable view to take1 a view which   

ought to have its place in the          
,theosophical ,society1 a view which is 
useful as correcting the tendency to    
undue credulity1 which otherwise might  
hold on its way unchecked4 ,for the life
 of the ,society depends on the fact    
that it should include a vast variety of
 opinions on all the questions on which 
difference of opinion is possible2 and  
it is not desirable that there should be
 only one school of thought in the      
,society4 ,there should be many schools 
of thought1 as many schools as there are
 different thinkers who can formulate   
their thought1 and each standing with an
 equal right to speak and of claiming a 
respectful hearing4 ,none of them has a 
right to say3 ,there is no place for you
 in the ,theosophical ,society4 ,neither
 must the person who is strong on the   
subject of phenomena try to silence     
those who meet phenomena with disbelief1
 or who think them dangerous2 nor should
 a person who stands only on philosophy 
and metaphysics say to the ,theosophical

 acceptor of the phenomena3 ,your views 
are wrong and dangerous4 ,perfect       
freedom of thought is the law and life  
of the ,society2 and if we are not fit  
for that1 if we have not reached the    
position where we can understand that   
the more we can enrich the ,society with
 differences of opinion and different   
standpoints1 the more likely is it to do
 its work and live for centuries to     
come1 when other new avenues of         
knowledge unfold before it1 we are not  
ready to be members of the ,theosophical
 ,society at all4  ,now the ,society has
 gone along those lines1 along which    
every religion has gone1 from the time  
of the ,coulomb trial4 ,what has been   
the effect of that on religions8 ,a     
weakening power4 ,we have to beware that
 the same thing does not take place with
 us that has taken place with the       
different religions of the past2 we     
should take care--especially in an era  
wherein ordinary science on the physical
 plane is pressing onwards into the     

higher realms of the physical plane1 and
 on to the very threshold of the astral 
plane1 and bids fair to cross that      
threshold and demonstrate its teaching  
there--lest we1 who claim to be in the  
forefront of this great movement1 do not
 fall into the background1 and become   
unworthy of carrying on the standard of 
knowledge4 ,therefore ,i would claim for
 the ,society its place as a seeker     
after new knowledge1 investigation by   
what we call clairvoyance1 the definite 
and regular carrying out of the third   
object1 which has been far too much     
neglected of late years2 practically1   
where many years ago the ,society was   
leading the way in the investigation of 
the hidden laws in ,nature and the      
hidden powers in man1 it now has to take
 a back seat with regard to the         
contributions it is making under that   
particular object for which amongst     
others it was founded4 ,for more work   
has been done of late years by the      
,psychical ,research and similar        

,societies than by the ,theosophical    
,society1 and that is neither right or  
wise--not right1 because as long as we  
keep such research as one of our objects
 we ought to live up to it2 not wise1   
because the lessons we have learnt1 the 
various theories we have studied1 are   
better guides to investigation than     
anything which the other ,societies     
have1 who have not yet been able to     
formulate theories but are simply in the
 state of collecting phenomena4 ,for    
that reason it seems to me that the     
,society can do work here which the     
others cannot4 ,they collect and verify 
with patient care masses of most        
interesting and valuable phenomena4 ,the
 work done by the late ,mr4 ,gurney and 
,mr4 ,myers1 and a large number of their
 co-workers1 is invaluable work from the
 standpoint of the ,theosophical        
student4 ,but there is no order in it2  
there is no reason in it4 ,it is a mere 
chaos of facts1 and they cannot explain 
or correlate them4 ,they cannot classify

 or place them in order4 ,they have no  
world-embracing knowledge which enables 
them to place each fact in its own      
place1 and to show the relation of one  
set of facts to the other4 ,there are   
splendid observations1 but no           
co-ordination and building of them into 
a science2 and it seems to me that it is
 a duty of the ,theosophical ,society1  
not only to deal with the facts that    
others have verified1 but to carry on   
researches by properly qualified persons
 among its own members2 to utilise its  
magnificent theories1 its knowledge--for
 they are more than theories--for the   
explanation of new phenomena1 for the   
gradual evolution of new powers among   
greater numbers of its members2 and ,i  
do not believe that in that there is so 
much danger as some people fear4 ,i do  
not believe that the study of the hidden
 side of ,nature is so perilous a study 
as some think4 ,all researches at first 
hand in the early days of a science have
 some danger3 chemistry1 electricity1   

had dangers for their pioneers1 but not 
dangers from which wise people and brave
 should shrink2 and ,i fear for the     
future of the ,theosophical ,society if 
it follows the track of many of the     
religions and lets go its hold of       
knowledge of the other worlds1 and comes
 to depend on hearsay1 tradition1 belief
 in the experience of others1 and the   
avoidance of the reverification of      
experience4 ,for it must be remembered  
that in giving a vast mass of knowledge 
to the world1 ,h4,p4,b4 distinctly      
stated that these are facts which can be
 reverified by every generation of      
observers2 she did not give a body of   
teaching to be swallowed1 to be taken on
 authority1 to be accepted by what is   
called faith2 but a body of verifiable  
teachings1 facts to be examined over    
again1 facts to be experimented on1 to  
be carefully studied1 as the scientific 
man studies the part of the world he    
knows4 ,unless we can do that1 ,i fear  
we shall tend only to become another    

religion among the religions of the     
world2 that we also shall lose our power
 over the thought of our generation1 and
 to that which has been done so         
splendidly in past years--the spreading 
of these ideas so that they are becoming
 commonplace now among cultured and     
intellectual people--pause will be      
given1 and the spreading influence will 
be checked1 because we have left part of
 our work undone1 part of our message   
unsaid4 ,and ,i would urge on you in    
relation to this that which ,i said in a
 sentence at the beginning of my        
address1 that there is one condition of 
research into these matters common to   
ordinary science and to the science of  
the higher worlds1 and that is a        
balanced judgment1 acute and accurate   
observation1 and a constant readiness to
 reverify and recast earlier            
observations in the light of the later  
ones that are made4 ,all science grows  
by modification as more and more facts  
are collected by the scientific         

observers1 and no scientific man would  
make any progress in his science1 if he 
were always in the reverential attitude 
of the devotee before a spiritual truth 
when he is working out experiments in   
his laboratory4 ,you may show reverence 
to great beings like the ,masters1 there
 the posture of reverence is the right  
one2 but when you are dealing with the  
phenomena of the astral plane there is  
no more need to show reverence than with
 phenomena of the physical plane4 ,it is
 out of place1 and if you make that     
atmosphere round it1 you will always be 
at the mercy of misconception and error 
of all kinds4 ,you must try1 in all     
psychical research1 in all weighing of  
observation of phenomena1 to cultivate  
the purely scientific spirit1           
indifferent save to the truth and the   
accuracy of the results1 looking on     
every matter with a clear eye1 without  
bias and without prejudice2 not seeking 
for facts to verify a doctrine already  
believed in1 but seeking for facts in   

order to draw conclusions from them as  
to the laws and truths of the unseen    
world4 ,there is no other safe way of   
investigation1 no other reasonable      
condition of mind in face of the        
objective world2 and if it be possible  
amongst us to break down this wall      
between the physical1 astral and mental1
 to see all objects in all worlds as    
simply part of the ,not-,self which we  
are studying1 dealing with them in the  
same way1 interpreting them in the same 
spirit1 then we are likely to add       
largely to our knowledge without risking
 the loss of our judgment or becoming   
mere enthusiasts1 carried away by       
marvels and unable either to observe    
accurately or judge correctly4 ,the     
place of phenomena in the ,theosophical 
,society seems to me to be a constant   
place4 ,they must be recognised as fit  
objects for the study of the            
,theosophist4 ,we must recognise frankly
 that our future literature depends on  
the development of these powers which   

can be utilised in the worlds beyond the
 physical2 that we are not satisfied to 
be only receivers1 but also desire to be
 investigators and students2 that while 
we will check the observations of to-day
 by the observations of the past1 and   
hold our conclusions lightly until they 
have been repeatedly verified1 we will  
not be frightened back from             
investigation by the idea that psychism 
is a thing to be disliked1 to be shrunk 
from1 to be afraid of4 ,some of you     
think that ,i have laid too much stress1
 when speaking of observations in the   
other worlds1 on the probability of     
mistake4 ,some have blamed me from time 
to time because ,i have guarded myself  
so much by saying3 ,it is likely that   
mistakes have come into these           
observations4 ,but it is only by keeping
 that frame of mind1 that reiterated    
observation can correct the blunders    
which we inevitably fall into in our    
earlier investigations4 ,there is no    
scientific man in the world who1 when   

making experiments in a new branch of   
science1 is not well aware that he may  
blunder1 is likely to make mistakes1    
likely to have to correct himself1 to   
find out that wider knowledge alters the
 proportion between his facts4 ,and ,i  
have tried to lay stress on the fact    
that these things are true as regards   
the astral plane as much as they are    
true of the physical2 that it is not a  
question of revelation by some highly   
evolved being1 but a question of        
observation by gradually developing     
beings--a very1 very different thing4   
,and unless you are prepared to take up 
that reasonable position1 unless you    
will allow the investigator to make     
mistakes and to correct them1 without   
calling out too loudly against them1 or 
abusing them for not being perfect and  
invariable1 you will build a wall       
against the gaining of further          
knowledge1 and cramp the ,society1 and  
give it only tradition instead of ever  
fresh knowledge1 ever widening          

information4  ,so that ,i declare thus  
the place of phenomena in the           
,theosophical ,society3 ,i declare that 
it was founded with them1 built up by   
them1 nourished by them1 and that they  
ought to continue to be a department of 
our work1 a proper subject for our      
investigation4 ,only1 do not get        
confused by bringing faith into the     
region of phenomena4 ,there is only one 
thing to which the word faith ought     
really to be applied3 and that is the   
conviction of ,deity within us4 ,that is
 the real faith1 the faith in the ,self 
within1 an unconquerable1 imperial      
conviction of the ,divinity which is the
 root of our nature4 ,that faith is     
truly above reason2 that conviction     
transcends all proofs and all intellect2
 but nothing in the object world is an  
object of faith2 all are objects of     
knowledge4 ,if you can keep that        
distinction clear in your mind2 if you  
can remember that the only warranted    
conviction above reason is that         

conviction of your eternity1 then you   
may go safely into the region of        
phenomena1 into the manifestations and  
happenings of the objective world1 with 
clear judgment1 clear sight1 unbiased   
mind2 and knowledge shall reward you in 
your researches into ,nature1 for       
,nature always has a reward for the     
seeker into her secrets4     ,spiritual 
and ,temporal ,authority   ,i am to     
speak to-night1 as you know1 on         
,spiritual and ,temporal ,authority1 and
 ,i have chosen this1 with the other    
subjects1 as bearing on questions of    
immediate interest to the ,theosophical 
,society4 ,but in dealing with each of  
these1 as on the first occasion1 ,i     
want1 if ,i can1 to lift you above any  
controversy of the moment1 and to put   
before you broad outlines rather than   
mere details1 and to lead you to look at
 all these questions from the wider     
standpoint of the experience of the     
past1 trying to apply that experience as
 far as you can to the questions1 the   

difficulties1 of the present4 ,and this 
question that ,i have chosen for the    
subject of our thought to-night is one  
which carries us back into the very     
beginnings of human history on our      
globe1 which we may trace downwards     
through civilisation after civilisation1
 and we can then study1 as it were by   
contrast1 many of our modern            
civilisations4 ,and out of all this it  
may be that we shall learn some lesson  
for our own small affairs of the moment4
 ,for local affairs are only really     
interesting as we see them as           
manifestations of the great principles  
which work out in the history of        
humanity2 and we can only rightly1 ,i   
think1 understand the power of the      
,theosophical ,movement1 if we see it in
 its proper place in history1 and not as
 a mere bubble on the water of the      
present4  ,now1 far1 far back--,i       
suppose some people will say not in     
history1 for the time ,i am speaking of 
is what would be called                 

prehistoric--when the great ,lords from 
the planet ,venus came to our globe to  
guide and train the humanity which just 
then had come to the birth1 we find a   
group of ,teachers and ,rulers1 not     
belonging to our humanity at all1 but1  
as ,i said1 coming from the planet      
,venus1 from the far more highly evolved
 humanity living in that world4 ,they   
came for the specific purpose of making 
the evolution of the new humanity more  
rapid than otherwise it would be4 ,for1 
as you know1 at that time humanity was  
facing a very terrible danger4 ,the     
bodies had evolved up to a certain      
point1 the brooding ,spirit was over    
each body1 but the intellectual         
evolution had scarcely begun to dawn2   
mind1 as we know it now1 had scarcely   
asserted itself2 only mind1 as we see it
 in the animals1 had been slowly        
unfolding its powers in the             
upward-climbing towards the light4 ,and 
as it is always true that any force     
which is poured down into a body must   

necessarily flow along the channels     
which that body has prepared for it1 in 
these animal men1 as we may call them1  
when they received a new influx of      
spiritual life--or1 if we prefer the    
phrase1 as the influx grew stronger and 
stronger--that new life1 that additional
 force1 inevitably ran into animal      
channels1 lacking the guiding and       
directing force of the intelligence4    
,hence the immediate result of any      
increased down-pouring from the         
spiritual plane was an increase in      
animality in the growing man2 and his   
body1 growing up out of the animal      
kingdom1 influenced by that--although1  
as you remember1 human from the         
beginning1 yet retracing its ancestry in
 those early days--was driven by the    
incoming life into various lines of     
activity1 harmless to the brute1 but    
that would have been destructive to the 
upward-climbing human being4 ,hence the 
need for a swift intervention on the    
part of the ,guardians of all           

humanities2 and our planetary ,logos    
called to ,his help humanity from a     
chain older than ,his own1 so that ,he  
might have for ,his infant children     
guides that would protect them against  
danger1 and would lead them upwards more
 swiftly than they themselves could have
 climbed alone4 ,hence the coming of    
those ,mighty ,ones1 and it was ,they   
who were the first ,adepts1 ,masters1   
for our humanity4 ,there is no other    
term for the moment to apply to them1   
although the term ,master is really     
inappropriate3 ,they were far higher in 
the ,occult ,hierarchy than ,those we   
speak of as the ,masters of ,wisdom and 
,compassion4 ,they became the first     
,teachers and ,kings of our child       
humanity1 and ,they were of many grades4
 ,divine ,kings ,they are called in the 
old records2 ,teachers and ,kings in    
one4 ,they established the polities of  
the infant nations2 ,they gave to those 
same nations their religions2 and in    
those early days1 as in the days that   

will close our human history1 there was 
no distinction recognised between sacred
 and profane4 ,it was seen that ,spirit1
 clothing itself in matter1 should be   
regarded in each of its tabernacles as a
 single individual4 ,spirit and matter  
were not regarded1 so to speak1 as      
distinguished from each other1 save in  
quality4 ,the two combined into the     
making of the man4 ,and the man's life  
was a human life1 and the body guided by
 human consciousness2 but the body was  
not thought of as separate from the     
,spirit1 nor the ,spirit from the body2 
both were combined into a single being4 
,and in all true organisations that is  
the point which is to be aimed at3 that 
the informing life shall shape and mould
 the organism which is thus expressing  
the life on planes of matter2 that that 
organism shall ever be an organism      
spirit-inspired1 life-shaped1 so as to  
become more and more perfectly the      
expression of the life which it enfolds4
 ,we shall see presently that for a     

time1 when ,spirit became utterly       
blinded by matter1 that matter1 as it   
were1 took the upper hand and claimed to
 be monarch4 ,but in those far-off days 
it was still recognised that ,spirit was
 the master of matter1 and the ,gods    
walked amongst men and were recognised  
by men as their ,teachers and ,kings4   
,and humanity in its infancy clung to   
,these1 who were as fathers and mothers 
of the race1 and looked to ,them for    
everything necessary to nourish and     
develop the young life4 ,so that looking
 back to those earlier days1 the great  
lawgivers like the ,manus were at once  
,kings and ,priests4 ,they gave         
everything to the humanity that ,they   
guarded3 literature1 science1 art1      
architecture1 everything which was      
necessary to the national life4 ,and    
under that mighty protection grew up the
 vast civilisations of the past4 ,you   
find traces of them1 of course1 in      
,egypt2 traces of them1 in fact1        
everywhere in the older1 the now dying1 

or dead peoples4 ,and these             
,king-,priests1 these ,king-,prophets1  
summed up in ,their own divine persons  
all the ruling powers of ,spirit and    
matter alike4 ,the ,state was a ,church1
 or the ,church was a ,state4           
,gradually1 as these ,great ,ones       
withdrew1 as ,those who only lived for  
service saw that humanity had begun to  
take its first steps1 and needed less   
physical guidance and visible helping1  
others still great1 but not as          
superhuman as the earlier ones1 took up 
the royal and priestly rank4 ,still the 
two ran together3 the temporal and      
spiritual power in one pair of hands2   
and so on and on1 from ,atlantis        
downwards4 ,some traces of it still     
survive1 as in the ,indian civilisation1
 where the ideal of the monarch is      
always that of the ,divine              
representative upon earth4 ,but in      
,india1 after the earliest days1 you see
 the beginning division1 and the offices
 of the ,king and of the ,teacher       

gradually diverged the one from the     
other4 ,and as time went on1 and man    
grew a little older in his childhood1   
those who ruled over the ,state gave    
away out of their hands the teaching of 
the religion4 ,rightly and well2 for it 
was necessary that humanity should learn
 to guide itself4 ,it was on the        
downward arc still1 not yet beginning   
its upward climbing1 and it had to      
plunge deeper and deeper into matter4   
,the eyes of the ,spirit had to be      
blinded in order that the eyes of the   
intellect might open1 and so gradually  
prepare humanity for a loftier          
manifestation of the spiritual life4    
,and then we find that with the dividing
 of the two offices1 the ,kings grew    
less and less fathers of their peoples1 
and became more and more tyrants over   
the nations4 ,in the elder days the     
principle that was taught was clear and 
simple3 the greater the power1 the      
greater the sacrifice2 the greater the  
power1 the greater the duty4 ,and on    

that principle of the ,law of ,sacrifice
 the old civilisations were built up2 to
 that they owed their splendor2 to that 
the long ages through which they lived  
and flourished2 to sacrifice1 as the    
very basis of the national and religious
 polity1 they owed the vigor1 the young 
vigor1 of humanity4 ,their literature   
was grandiose2 their architecture       
magnificent2 their art sublime4 ,the    
traces of divinity ran through the whole
 of it4 ,but1 beautiful as it was1 it   
would not have been well that it should 
have lasted1 for had it been so1 mankind
 would have grown to depend too much    
upon the manifested ,divine life walking
 incarnate side by side with it4 ,and it
 was necessary that the growing child   
should prove his own limbs1 and the     
growing intelligence should learn to    
depend upon itself4 ,then we come to a  
long period when the tyranny of the     
,king brought out more and more strongly
 the usefulness of the ,teacher1 and    
when the ,teacher was continually       

standing between the power of the tyrant
 and the helplessness of the people2    
when religion became a shield for the   
weak1 a strong check for the violence of
 power4 ,and we pass thus through all   
that long period of human history where 
the oppressed found their only refuge in
 the priests of the religions1 and found
 them a sure protection against the     
sword of the secular power4 ,so went on 
for hundreds1 nay1 for thousands of     
years1 the growth of humanity2 and the  
two powers went further and further     
apart1 coming more and more the one into
 opposition with the other4 ,and the    
people1 the nations1 gradually grew in  
power1 grew in intelligence1 to a       
considerable extent4 ,the priest was    
still the teacher1 and still the schools
 and the temples were united4           
,unfortunately1 after a while the       
religions became corrupted as well as   
the royalties1 and priests began to     
share the worldliness that had already  
degraded the ,kings2 and then1 with the 

failure of the priesthood1 practically  
ceased the education of the people for  
many and many a long century1 and       
intelligence was not developed1 and the 
power of the mind was not assisted to   
manifest itself4  ,and so onward and    
onward till we come to ,middle ,age     
,europe1 and we find a down-trodden     
proletariat1 an indifferent and         
luxurious kingship and priesthood1      
allied now to oppress1 not to raise4    
,therefore1 contest between the ,church 
and the ,state1 until the ,pontiff of   
,rome remained the only representative  
of the union of the spiritual and       
temporal authority--his spiritual       
authority enormous1 his temporal        
authority growing smaller1 and badly    
used1 so that in the ,states of the     
,church in ,italy there was almost the  
acme of bad temporal government2 and    
there was little to choose1 really1     
between the ,states of the ,church and  
the odious tyranny of ,naples4 ,in the  
,states of the ,church the old ideal of 

the ,priest-,king was degraded to its   
lowest point1 and neither on the side of
 ,pontiff1 nor on the side of ,king1 was
 the ruler of ,rome the father1 the     
shepherd of his people1 but often only a
 devouring wolf4 ,hence the last        
degradation of a once magnificent       
office4  ,meanwhile the ,democracy was  
growing1 and numbers were beginning to  
claim their power1 until the people1    
having seen how badly ,kings and priests
 could rule1 thought that they could    
not1 after all1 do very much worse      
themselves1 if they seized authority by 
the power of numbers1 and took the helm 
of the ,states1 of the ,nations1 into   
their own rough and untrained grip4 ,and
 so has risen in the modern life of     
,europe the power1 as it is called1 of  
the ,democracy4 ,practically1 at the    
present time1 ,democracy may be said to 
be on its trial4 ,it cannot claim so far
 to be a very splendid success1 but its 
trial is not yet over1 and many a year  
may yet lie before it1 in order that the

 world may have an object-lesson to show
 that the only true authority is the    
authority of ,wisdom1 and not the       
authority of numbers2 and that it is not
 possible for humanity to take its next 
step onwards until it has managed to    
draw out of the lessons of the past and 
of the present some way of blending1    
some way of uniting1 the different      
experiences through which it has passed4
 ,for all who study the world's         
unfolding and believe that this world is
 not alone1 but is a part linked with   
other worlds1 and that other beings     
above humanity take their share in      
humanity's evolution--all who thus look 
at history and see the powers that lie  
behind the veil and that pull the       
strings of those whom we call kings1 and
 statesmen1 and generals1 and the mighty
 ones of earth1 they know that no great 
human experiment can be void of its     
value1 and no great human experiment but
 has some fruit of wisdom to be gathered
 from it4 ,so that no wise man1 no      

thoughtful ,theosophist1 should look    
with a feeling of repulsion and anger on
 the experiments that are being made all
 over the world to-day in the effort of 
the nations to rule themselves by       
numbers rather than by wisdom4 ,for it  
is a necessary experience4 ,only in this
 fashion can the lower mind complete its
 evolution and be ready to give up its  
sceptre to that ,pure ,reason which is  
to be the mark of the ,sixth ,race1     
which is to find its expression in the  
polity of that coming ,race4 ,out of all
 these experiments we are to learn1 out 
of all successes and all failures we are
 to spell out1 the lesson whereon the   
next civilisation will be built1 whereby
 its foundation will gradually be laid4 
,for if one sees the ,theosophical      
,society aright1 it is as one of the    
builders of that coming time1 one of the
 builders of the civilisation that has  
not yet really dawned on earth1 the     
civilisation of the ,sixth ,root ,race1 
with the experiments that will go before

 it in the ,sixth and ,seventh sub-races
 of the ,fifth4 ,for these experiments  
take long in the making1 and1 as a great
 teacher once said3 ,time is no object  
with us4 ,there is plenty of time for   
all the experiments1 and all the        
blunders1 and all the failures2 and all 
the successes of the future will grow   
out of these1 because every failure     
rightly seen is the seed of a coming    
success1 and only by the failures that  
we make in our ignorance may the plant  
of wisdom be sown1 and presently flower 
and bear fruit for the feeding of the   
nations4 ,so that there is time enough1 
and no need for impatience1 when we see 
the blunders of our various democratic  
governments4 ,but there is much need    
that thoughtful people should take care 
so to see the signs of the time1 and so 
to understand the forces at work1 that  
the same blunder be not made in the days
 of the present as was made at the close
 of the eighteenth century in ,france2  
for there also was a time when an effort

 was made for a great step forward1 a   
step too big1 apparently1 to be possible
 of being then taken1 a step which only 
caused the drowning of the forward      
movement in blood1 and has thrown       
,france backward1 and not forward as    
some people suppose2 for ever since that
 time she has had a cancer at the heart 
of her1 and no effort that has been made
 has borne due fruit4 ,nay1 it is even  
possible that that was her opportunity  
in which she failed1 and that the       
opportunity will have to pass to other  
peoples1 to be worked out by other      
hands4  ,looking at the democracies of  
to-day1 we see that both the great      
powers are rejected1 ,king and priest   
alike1 royalty reduced to a mere puppet1
 priesthood looked on with suspicion and
 with hatred2 and in both cases one is  
bound to admit that there is much       
justification1 for they are the result  
of the harm that unbridled power in     
,church and in ,state alike have wrought
 to the people1 who are now revolting   

against both4 ,but the revolt is only a 
passing thing4 ,humanity does not really
 change2 only passing manifestations of 
it change2 and though the passing       
manifestations be counted by centuries1 
what is that in the length of a day     
counted by myriads of years1 and to     
peoples who are spiritual intelligences 
unfolding their powers in humanity8     
,kingship and priesthood are mighty     
powers1 and the need for them           
deep-rooted in the nature of humanity4  
,only on the upward path they are       
different from what they were on the    
path of descent1 and the way in which   
those are to be shaped and moulded and  
again made mighty1 that will be the     
answer of human experience after it has 
proved the rule of ignorance to be a    
mistake and a failure4 ,gradually1 in   
some way that as yet we do not see1 a   
way will be found of discovering the    
wise1 who alone have the right to rule4 
,for there is no authority for the      
intelligence1 there is no authority for 

the free intellect of man1 save the     
authority of ,wisdom1 to which the      
intellect bows because it is itself in  
flower4 ,and those who develop the      
intelligence of men1 as humanity is     
beginning to evolve its intelligence1   
they will only find their ,kings and    
,priests where they see a wisdom greater
 than their own1 a knowledge which      
transcends theirs1 but is the promise of
 what they themselves in the future     
should become4 ,and out of all the      
birth-throes of the present1 and the    
ugly shapes which humanity takes on1    
will come the fairer birth of ,wisdom1  
when again it shall sit on the combined 
throne of ,king and ,priest4 ,for it is 
necessary that human life should regain 
its unity1 and that again the ,spirit   
shall be known to be master1 and the    
body its instrument1 its tool1 its      
expression4 ,and on the upward-climbing 
arc we have again to come to the same   
levels that we passed in our            
downward-going arc of the ages of the   

past4 ,in the half circle we had first  
the ,priest-,king2 and then the two side
 by side1 co-operators2 and then the    
separation and the rivalry2 and1        
finally1 an evil junction to oppress the
 ignorant and the poor4 ,and slowly we  
shall have to climb on the path where   
,spirit is manifesting more and more1   
and matter is becoming more and more    
obedient1 until each of those stages is 
again seen in the history of humanity1  
and until1 at the end1 ,spirit shall be 
lord unchallenged1 and matter obedient  
servant1 carrying out his will4 ,and in 
the humanity of the great ,sixth ,race  
in which ,buddhi1 or ,pure ,reason1 is  
to be the mark1 in which ,wisdom will be
 the shaper of humanity's plans1 and the
 strength of matter will be used in     
order to carry them out1 in those days  
there will be the building-up of the    
dual authority once more1 and the       
shaping of it to diviner ends than even 
in those early days of the infant       
humanity4 ,and in those days1 again1    

ruler and priest shall be one1 until at 
last the unity shall be realised in the 
life of those who are to accomplish     
their human evolution upon earth2 until 
finally in each spiritual individual    
these two characteristics are unfolded1 
and each man is ,king and ,priest1      
uniting the two phases in his own       
individuality1 and learning1 in that    
dual power1 to become the servant of    
those who are less evolved than himself4
 ,you see a touch of that when the      
,christian religion was sent out into   
the world1 a glimpse of the splendid    
ideal when the ,apostle1 writing to his 
infant ,church1 spoke of them as ,kings 
and priests unto ,god2 in each          
individual this identity is to be at    
last achieved1 so that no outer rule is 
any longer necessary1 the inner rule    
being enough4 ,that unity will mark the 
closing scenes of life on earth in each 
of those whose human evolution will be  
finished1 who will have to pass on into 
other worlds when they shall have united

 again each of these in their own       
persons1 and shall use that twofold     
power for the training of the humanity  
below them1 ascending towards the point 
which they shall have gained and shall  
occupy4  ,such the vast sweep of        
humanity's evolution3 from ,spirit1     
through densest matter1 upward-climbing 
again to ,spirit1 bearing with it all   
the powers that by the experience in    
matter it has gained4 ,such the great   
sweep1 and the great history4 ,what     
relation has that to our little ,society
 and our little movement8 ,some would be
 inclined to say3 ,none2 no relation at 
all4 ,you cannot bring down into so     
small a microcosm those great principles
 shown out in their working in a        
macrocosm4 ,and yet if you and ,i1 in   
our tiny personalities1 repeat in       
miniature the life of the ,logos in the 
vast sweep of ,his creative activity1   
who shall say that in a movement such as
 ours there is not similarly a retracing
 of the lines along which humanity at   

large has to grow8 ,and who shall say   
whether we may not understand our       
movement better1 and guide it more      
wisely1 if we recognise these           
correspondences of the great growth of  
the world to the small growth of our    
,movement--a world-reflection in a tiny 
mirror8 ,for it is no true humility to  
lessen too much the varied operations of
 the ,great ,white ,lodge in the world  
of men1 any more than it is a true      
humility for the individual to be       
ashamed to claim his divine inheritance1
 and look upon himself as a mere worm of
 earth4 ,the men or women who only feel 
themselves to be of the earth1 and not  
of ,deity1 their lives become more      
vulgar and common than they ought to be2
 for it is a great thing to realise     
possibilities and to see                
correspondences1 and to take out of them
 their inspiring value1 their           
invigorating force4 ,and just as you and
 ,i have the right to say that we are   
,gods in the making1 and that there is  

nothing in the great power of the       
,,logos that does not lie hidden in germ
 within ourselves1 just as we have the  
right to say that1 as man best          
understands himself when he knows       
himself divine and realises the         
possibilities within him1 and sees the  
road to ,deity which he is to tread1 so 
is every spiritual movement great in    
proportion to the realisation of its    
one-ness with the great world-movement1 
and small and petty when the men and    
women who compose it can only keep their
 eyes on the muck of the earth instead  
of looking up to the crown of stars that
 the angel holds over their head4 ,so   
that ,i do not fear to provoke a false  
pride1 but rather to get rid of a false 
humility1 when ,i ask you to see in this
 ,movement1 which belongs to the ,great 
,lodge and is its child1 to see in it   
the same forces at work that you see    
working in the world-history1 and to    
realise that here also correspondences  
exist1 and that we may guide our        

,movement most worthily by seeing those 
correspondences and utilising them for  
the common good4  ,so let us pause now1 
after these high flights1 in the little 
valley in which we live1 and see whether
 in the ,theosophical ,society any such 
process of events may be seen as has    
been played on the great world theatre1 
in the drama of evolving humanity4 ,for 
mind6 we have no meaning unless we are  
related to that1 and our ,movement has  
no sense unless it retraces the steps of
 the great world drama1 as every great  
spiritual movement does1 from the time  
of its birth to the time of its passing 
away1 and its incarnation in some other 
form4 ,i do not claim it for our        
,society only1 but for all great        
spiritual movements--churches1          
religions1 call them what you will4     
,now1 we began our ,movement as humanity
 began its education4 ,there was no     
difference between spiritual and        
temporal4 ,the whole ,society was       
regarded as a spiritual movement2 and if

 you go back to those early days1 and   
read the earliest statements1 you will  
find it said that this ,society existed 
in what then were called three          
,sections3 ,first1 ,second1 and ,third4 
,the ,first ,section was the            
,brotherhood1 the ,elder ,brothers of   
,humanity2 the ,second1 those who were  
striving to lead the higher1 the more   
spiritual life1 and were in training for
 the purpose2 and the ,third ,section   
made up the bulk of the ,society4 ,those
 three ,sections were the ,theosophical 
,society4 ,so that it began on a very   
lofty level2 and its ,first ,section1   
the ,elder ,brothers1 ,those whom we    
speak of as ,masters1 ,they were        
regarded as forming the ,first ,section 
of the ,society1 and as part of it2 and 
the ,society has linked closely the     
,second and ,third ,sections under the  
,first1 as in the days when the ,gods   
walked with men1 in the early story of  
humanity4 ,and ,they came and went far  
more freely then than later1 and mingled

 more with the ,society1 taking a more  
active part in this work2 and it is     
wonderful to read some of the old       
letters of the time1 and the close and  
intimate knowledge shown by those great 
,teachers of the details of the work of 
the ,society1 even of what was written  
about it in an ,indian newspaper1 and   
what ought to be answered1 and so on4   
,and the ,society grew1 became more     
numerous1 and spread in many lands2 and 
naturally as it spread1 many of these   
ties somewhat weakened so far as the    
,society1 as a whole1 was concerned--not
 weakened with individuals1 but somewhat
 weakened with the ,body at large4 ,and 
so things went on and on1 until the     
,society passed through the same stage  
through which humanity had passed when  
the ,priest-,kings entirely disappeared1
 and when those words were spoken by one
 of the ,great ,ones3 ,the ,society has 
liberated itself from our grasp and     
influence1 and we have let it go2 we    
make no unwilling slaves4444 ,out of the

 three ,objects the second alone is     
attended to2 it is no longer either a   
,brotherhood1 nor a body over the face  
of which broods the ,spirit from beyond 
the ,great ,range4 ,and when that time  
was well established a change was made  
in the organisation of the ,society4 ,it
 was no longer1 so to speak1 one and    
indivisible1 but two parts were         
made--,exoteric and ,esoteric2 and1 as  
you know1 for some time the ,colonel    
fought against that1 thinking it meant  
an unwise and dangerous division of     
authority in the ,society1 until1 as he 
was coming over here with his mind in   
opposition to the proposal that         
,h4,p4,b4 should form the ,esoteric     
,section1 he received1 on board the     
steamer on which he travelled1 a letter 
from his ,master telling him to carry   
out what ,h4,p4,b4 wished2 and1 ever    
obedient as he was1 for when his ,master
 spoke he knew no hesitation1 when he   
arrived here in ,england he did what he 
had been told1 and authorised the       

formation of what was then called the   
,esoteric ,section of the ,theosophical 
,society4 ,you can read all this for    
yourselves2 it is all in print4 ,then   
came that distinct cleavage of ,exoteric
 and ,esoteric--the two heads1 ,h4 ,s4  
,olcott and ,h4,p4,b41 one wielding the 
temporal and the other the spiritual    
authority in the ,society4 ,it meant    
that the ,society had ceased to be the  
spiritual vehicle it was in the earlier 
days4 ,it meant1 as was printed at that 
time1 that some of the members wished to
 carry on the ,society on its original  
lines1 and so they formed themselves    
into this ,section under her1 on the    
original lines4 ,so it went on1 like    
that time in the history of humanity1 in
 order that certain faculties might grow
 and become strong1 and that the        
spiritual side for a time might seem    
apart1 and the other might go its own   
way unruled4 ,many difficulties grew out
 of it1 but still they were not         
insuperable--a certain clashing of      

authorities from time to time1 and      
certain jealousy between the one and the
 other4 ,these things were the          
inevitable concomitants of the          
separation1 of the differences between  
the spiritual and temporal sides1 the   
,spirit and the body1 as it were4 ,so   
things went on until the ,president     
passed away4 ,when ,h4,p4,b4 left us1   
she left me in charge of her work1 as   
her colleague did in ,adyar lately1 thus
 uniting again the two powers1 the two  
authorities1 in a single person4  ,now1 
what does it mean to the ,society8 ,that
 is the question for us4 ,what is it to 
bring forth in our ,movement8 ,ill or   
well8 ,it is only possible1 at this     
beginning of the road1 to point out the 
two things that may happen4 ,for the    
,society and its ,president together    
will have to settle which of the two    
shall come4 ,it may be that ,they1 who  
from behind look on1 may foresee what is
 coming2 or it may be1 as it often is1  
that ,they also are not able completely 

to say what shall come out of the       
clashing wills of men1 differing views1 
possible antagonisms4 ,two possibilities
 there clearly are before us1 either of 
which1 ,i suggest1 may come4 ,for you   
and for me it is to decide which shall  
come4 ,and ,i can only tell you how it  
seems to me1 and you must judge and act 
as you think right4 ,for at last our    
,society1 like humanity1 has reached the
 point when the individual must do his  
duty1 and must no longer be a child     
guided entirely from without1 but a man 
with the ,god within co-operating with  
the ,god without4 ,hence it is not a    
question for any to decide for us3 we   
have to decide it for ourselves4 ,and as
 ,i say1 ,i can only put to you what    
seem to me the two possibilities4 ,let  
me take the bad possibility first4 ,it  
may be that ,i1 in whose hands these two
 powers now are placed1 shall prove too 
weak to bear that burden1 too blind to  
walk along that difficult path4 ,it may 
be that ,i shall err on the one side or 

on the other1 either making the ,society
 too exoteric and empty1 a material     
thing1 or1 on the other hand1 pressing  
too far the spiritual side1 with all    
that that means4 ,it may be that the    
task is too great1 and that the time has
 not come4 ,i recognise that as         
possible2 for in all questions of       
peoples1 persons1 and times1 experiments
 may be made which it is known will     
fail1 in order that out of the failure  
fresh wisdom may be gathered1 and it may
 be that this shall be a failure4 ,and  
if so it matters not1 for out of that   
failure some higher good will spring4   
,that is the conviction of those who    
know that the ,self is ever in us1 and  
that the ,self can never perish2 so that
 it matters not what catastrophe may    
come1 provided faith in the ,self       
remains secure with ,his endless        
possibilities of recovery1 and greater  
powers of manifestation4 ,and it may    
quite well be that1 in hands as weak and
 knowledge as limited as mine1 failure  

will meet this great experiment which   
the ,masters are making1 and that we    
shall find that neither ,president nor  
,society is fit to take that step       
forward1 are both still too childish1   
not sufficiently mature1 and therefore  
not able to tread the path which is the 
path upwards to the spiritual life1 when
 the organisation shall again become but
 the mere outside veiling of the        
spiritual life1 carrying the message of 
regeneration to the world1 and the birth
 of a new civilisation4 ,that is one    
possibility that should be faced4 ,and  
the other8  ,the other is that we may   
permit the ,great ,ones to be           
sufficiently in touch with our little   
selves to send ,their forces through us1
 and that ,their life shall become the  
life of the ,society2 that out of this  
rejoining of spiritual and temporal a   
greater spirituality shall circulate in 
every vein and vessel of the ,society1  
and it shall become again truly a       
vehicle of the ,masters of the ,wisdom4 

,it may be that it is preparing for a   
greater and a nobler life1 making the   
place ready for some greater one to     
come1 who shall worthily and strongly   
wield the power that ,i am bound to     
wield too weakly1 but yet1 perhaps1     
strongly enough to make that preparation
 possible4 ,perhaps you and ,i together 
are strong enough and wise enough to    
till the field1 where another shall sow 
the seed that shall grow up into a      
greater civilisation and mark a step    
forward in the history of humanity4     
,that is our great opportunity1 that the
 possibility that ,i see opening before 
us in this policy now changed for the   
second time4 ,it may be that we have    
learned enough in the last eighteen     
years to tread this path rightly1 to    
tread it sufficiently to prepare a field
 for a greater one to come2 and that is 
the hope in which ,i live at the present
 time4 ,i believe that it is possible1  
if only we can rise to the height of our
 great opportunity1 that someone will   

come from the far-off land where greater
 than we are living1 and take this      
instrument and make it fit to be a tool 
in a ,master's hand--some ,disciple     
greater and mightier than ,i1 someone   
belonging to the same company1 but far  
wiser and far stronger than ,i4 ,and    
that such a one will take this ,movement
 and make it a little more what the     
heart of the ,masters desires--more     
truly a ,brotherhood1 more full of      
knowledge1 more really linked to the    
higher worlds by a centre of wise       
,occultism--that seems to me the great  
possibility which is opening before us4 
,but1 as ,i said1 ,i know not if we are 
great enough to take it1 or are still   
too small2 but it is to that great work 
that ,i would invite your co-operation2 
it is to that mighty task that ,i would 
ask you to address yourselves4 ,at least
 believe in the possibility of it2 at   
least raise your eyes to that great     
stature to which it may be our ,society 
shall attain4 ,for if we can rise to it1

 then it means that we shall be builders
 of the next civilisation1 that our     
hands shall take part in the making of  
the foundation of the humanity that is  
still to be born2 it means that we shall
 be its forerunners1 its heralds1 that  
we shall be the messengers whose feet   
shall be fair upon the mountains1       
telling of the coming of a greater man1 
of the birth of a more spiritual        
humanity4 ,and even supposing that1     
accepting that ideal1 we fail1 supposing
 that we are not strong enough1 and wise
 enough1 and unselfish enough1 to do it1
 then1 then--if ,i may quote the words  
of ,giordano ,bruno--,it is better to   
see the ,great and fail in trying to    
achieve it1 than never to see it1 nor   
try to achieve it at all4     ,the      
,relation of the ,masters to the        
,theosophical ,society   ,those of you  
who have been present in the ,queen's   
,hall on ,sunday evenings will remember 
that ,i spoke there a fortnight ago on  
,the ,relation of ,masters to           

,religions4 ,there1 of course1 ,i dealt 
with the subject in the most general    
possible way1 while here ,i propose to  
deal with it more closely2 but ,i must  
ask all of you1 as ,i asked you last    
,thursday and the preceding ,thursday1  
to remember that in dealing with the    
,theosophical ,society we are only      
dealing with one part of a world-wide   
and1 as ,i might say1 century or        
millennium-wide story--the story1       
practically1 of the relation of the     
spiritual world to the physical4        
,although ,i am now going to deal       
specially with the relation of the      
,masters to our own ,society1 ,i would  
ask you all to bear in mind the more    
general relation of which ,i have spoken
 elsewhere4 ,i do not want to repeat    
what there ,i said1 but ,i want to      
recall to your minds the leading        
principle that the ,theosophical        
,society cannot claim an exclusive right
 to any special spiritual privilege1    
that the spiritual privileges that it   

enjoys are part of the general spiritual
 heritage of the world1 and that you    
have to consider any special case in    
relation to those general principles4   
,so that in thinking of the ,masters in 
relation to our own ,society1 we must   
bear in mind how very wide are their    
relations to all great spiritual        
movements1 to all religions1 and that   
all who are spoken of in the different  
faiths as ,founder or ,founders of a    
particular religion would fall under the
 name1 ,master4  ,now ,i was hesitating 
a moment in completing that sentence1   
because one almost has to explain that  
in thus using the word one is including 
in it a little more than is included    
under the term in the special           
significance with which we are going to 
use it now2 for in the case of the      
religions of the ,hindus1 the religion  
of the ,buddhists1 and the religion of  
the ,christians1 when we speak of the   
,founder of each of these religions1 we 
are speaking of great personages who1 in

 the ,occult ,hierarchy1 are higher than
 those whom we call ,masters3 in the    
case of ,hinduism1 the ,manu1 who is the
 ,lord really of the whole of the ,fifth
 ,root ,race2 in the case of ,buddhism1 
the ,buddha1 who is a teacher of all    
gods and men before ,he takes up ,his   
place as the illuminated1 the supreme   
,buddha4 ,and in the case of the        
,christian ,religion also1 there is     
something peculiar in the life of the   
,founder4 ,you have there1 in the first 
place1 a being whom we call by the name 
,jesus1 in himself a disciple1 but      
living in the world at that time under  
exceedingly strange and peculiar        
conditions4 ,some of you may have read  
with some amount of care that section of
 the third volume of ,the ,secret       
,doctrine which is called ,the ,mystery 
of the ,buddha4 ,i am bound to confess  
that as it stands there it is very      
confused1 partly intentionally1 ,i      
think1 on the part of the writer1 but   
also partly in consequence of the fact  

mentioned in that volume1 that you have 
there put together a large number of    
fragments1 and they were put together by
 myself at a time when ,i knew very much
 less of the arrangement1 so to speak1  
of those relationships between the      
higher and lower worlds than ,i do now4 
,hence there is some darkness there that
 belongs to the subject1 and some that  
belongs to the incompetence of the      
compiler4 ,the result of the two        
together is a good deal of confusion to 
any student who has not the key to it4  
,i am only concerned for the moment with
 one of these statements1 with what are 
called the remains of the ,buddha--not a
 very comfortable name1 because it gives
 one the idea of a corpse--that is1     
empty bodies of the ,buddha on the      
various planes4 ,those have been        
preserved on the higher planes for      
special purposes1 and are occasionally  
used under very peculiar conditions1    
when subtle bodies of a very pure and   
very lofty character are needed for some

 particular purpose4 ,now in the case of
 ,him who was known as ,jesus1 the      
subtle bodies were these particular     
bodies that are kept on the higher      
planes1 and ,he was allowed to use these
 for a number of years1 holding them1 as
 it were1 as tenant for the great       
personage who was to take possession of 
them later4 ,then came the lofty being  
known as the ,bodhisattva1 who took     
possession of these vehicles which had  
thus been kept ready for ,him1 and ,he  
who was the disciple and now is the     
,master ,jesus took birth later as      
,apollonius of ,tyana1 and so passed    
onwards step by step until he became one
 of the ,masters of the ,wisdom4  ,i    
made that slight digression because     
otherwise ,i should have conveyed a     
slightly false impression by the phrase 
all ,founders of religions4 ,we mean    
amongst ourselves by the word ,master1  
when used accurately1 a very distinctly 
marked rank in the ,occult ,hierarchy2  
,he is a being who has attained what is 

called liberation in the ,east1 what is 
called salvation in the ,west2 a being  
whose soul and ,spirit have become      
unified1 who lives consciously on the   
highest plane of our own universe--the  
fivefold universe--and whose centre of  
consciousness is on the atmic1 sometimes
 called the nirvanic1 plane4 ,living in 
full consciousness on that plane1 ,he   
has no sense of bondage in any form with
 which ,he may ally ,himself4 ,he has   
passed during ,his ,arhatship beyond all
 desire for life in form1 or life out of
 form4 ,he has thrown away those        
fetters2 together with the limiting     
,i-making faculty1 the limit of         
individuality1 that also has gone4 ,his 
consciousness1 then1 working on this    
atmic plane1 works indifferently up and 
down through all the five planes1 and   
the whole of these together form to ,him
 but a single plane1 the plane of ,his  
waking consciousness4 ,that is an       
important point to remember1 for there  
is often a certain confusion of thought 

with regard to this term waking         
consciousness4 ,it ought not to mean    
simply the consciousness that you and ,i
 may have as waking consciousness1      
confined to the physical world2 but the 
consciousness which--enlarging stage by 
stage as the active centre of           
consciousness rises through the planes  
inwards--is aware of all which is below 
that centre2 and is aware thereof       
without it being necessary for the      
person to leave the physical body1 in   
order that that consciousness may be in 
an active and working condition4 ,the   
waking consciousness is the normal1     
daily consciousness1 and may include the
 physical plane2 or physical and astral2
 or physical1 astral1 mental2 one more  
when you take in the buddhic2 one more  
when you take in the atmic2 and provided
 that the person whose consciousness is 
spoken of does not need to leave his    
active body1 his body of action1 in     
using his consciousness on any of these 
planes1 does not have to throw the body 

into trance in order to be conscious on 
any or on all of them1 we speak always1 
then1 of that consciousness as being his
 waking consciousness4 ,some disciples1 
for instance1 will often include in the 
waking consciousness the astral1 mental1
 and even buddhic planes2 but it is     
characteristic of the ,master alone that
 ,he unites in ,his waking consciousness
 the whole of the five planes on which  
our universe is gradually unfolding4 ,so
 that we may define the position of the 
,master1 for the moment1 as that of a   
,person who has reached liberation2 the 
meaning of that being that he is living 
in the ,spirit consciously2 that he is  
in conscious relation to the ,monad1    
above the atmic plane2 his centre of    
consciousness is there1 and as the      
result of the centre of consciousness   
being in the ,monad1 the whole of the   
five planes become part of his waking   
consciousness4 ,as regards the bodies   
there is also a difference3 the whole of
 the five bodies of these planes act for

 ,him as a single body1 ,his body of    
action4 ,that does not mean1 of course1 
that ,he cannot separate off the parts  
if ,he needs to do so2 but it means that
 in ,his ordinary1 normal condition1 the
 whole of ,his bodies are only layers of
 a single body1 just as much as solid1  
liquid1 gases1 and ethers1 for you and  
me1 form our physical body1 and we need 
not trouble to distinguish the matter   
belonging to one sub-plane or another4  
,so to the ,master1 the matter of the   
whole of these planes forms ,his body of
 action1 and although ,he is able to    
separate one part from another if he    
desires1 normally ,he will be working   
with the whole of them together1 and the
 whole will constitute the instrument of
 ,his physical or waking consciousness4 
,it is hardly necessary to add to that  
definition that ,he is one who is always
 in possession of a physical body2 it is
 implied in the very description ,i have
 been giving4 ,that part of it is       
important only1 or chiefly1 when you are

 considering the question of liberation 
in relation to a number of different    
classes1 as we may say1 in this great   
,occult ,hierarchy1 the names in the    
,west are not familiar1 and there is no 
particular need to trouble you with them
 for the moment in the ,samskrit form4  
,speaking generally1 you have a class ,i
 have just alluded to1 the ,masters who 
possess the physical body1 and another  
who are without that body1 and are      
therefore not called ,jivanmuktas 7the  
name you so often find in our books in  
relation to the ,masters7 but ,muktas1  
with a prefix which means without a     
body4 ,then again you may have other    
classes1 ,beings who perform various    
functions in the universe2 some1 for    
instance1 animate the whole of the      
physical universe1 and are distinguished
 as being what is called blended with   
matter1 the class that gives the sense  
of life1 of consciousness1 to all those 
things in ,nature which so much impress 
the mind occasionally when we are face  

to face in solitude with some splendid  
landscape--some great forest1 perhaps1  
in the silence4 ,we need not go into    
these various classes2 ,i only mention  
them in order to separate from the rest 
that particular class of freed1         
liberated1 or1 if you like the          
,christian term1 saved1 persons1 who no 
more need come involuntarily into       
incarnation1 but who are free both as   
regards consciousness and as regards    
matter4  ,now these great ,beings that  
,i have just defined ought to be        
separated in your thought for a very    
practical reason that we shall see in a 
moment2 they ought to be separated in   
your thought from those still mightier  
,beings in the grades of the ,occult    
,hierarchy that stretch further and     
further upwards into the invisible      
worlds4 ,for you lose a great deal      
practically when you mass the whole of  
them together1 and fail to recognise the
 particular function of a ,master1 as   
regards the world in which ,he          

voluntarily takes incarnation4 ,it is   
the kind of distinction that we have    
sometimes put to students as regards the
 use of the words ,jesus and ,christ2   
,jesus denotes specifically the man1 the
 living man1 the ,master1 who is still  
in possession of a physical body1 and in
 close relation to the physical earth2  
the ,christ1 in a higher sense1 is an   
indwelling spiritual being1 who can be  
reached by the ,spirit1 but not seen as 
such by the eyes in any phenomenal      
world4 ,so again there is the yet       
loftier ,being to whom the name of      
,christ is applied amongst the          
,christians1 when they are speaking of  
,one we call the ,second ,,logos2 these 
are ,beings of different grades1 and in 
different relations to mankind2 but the 
,master1 as ,master1 is a man1 and the  
manhood must never be forgotten4 ,it was
 on that point that ,h4,p4,b4 laid so   
much stress in speaking of those ,beings
 with whom she had come into physical   
contact1 whom she knew in their physical

 bodies2 and one thing1 as you know1    
which she protested against in relation 
to this type of ,being was the putting  
,them too far away from human love and  
sympathy1 making ,them belong to a class
 of beings to whom at present ,they do  
not belong1 and hence making a gulf     
between ,them and humanity which ought  
not to be made1 because the making of it
 destroys ,their value to the people who
 make it4 ,a phrase she once used1 that 
,i have quoted to you before1 is the    
complaint that they have turned our     
,masters into cold far-off stars1       
instead of living men1 and on the fact  
that ,they are living men she           
continually insisted2 for it is by      
virtue of that living manhood that ,they
 are able to play the part that ,they   
play in the evolution of the race4      
,others have other work to do as regards
 humanity1 as regards the destinies of  
the nations1 and so on1 but these       
particular people are still in close    
touch with the humanity to which ,they  

belong1 and ,they deliberately refuse to
 go on away from it1 remaining with it  
until humanity1 at least with regard to 
very1 very large numbers of its members1
 has reached the position in which ,they
 stand to-day1 as the promise of what   
humanity shall be1 the first-fruits of  
humanity as it is4 ,they are specially  
concerned with the direct teaching1     
training1 and helping of man1 in the    
quickening of his evolution2 and the    
reason the body is retained is in order 
that this close personal touch may be   
kept1 primarily with ,their disciples1  
and then through ,their disciples with  
comparatively large numbers of people4  
,and it is a marked and significant     
fact1 that just in proportion as a      
religion has lost touch with this aspect
 of the ,divine ,life which we call the 
,life of the ,master1 so has it tended  
to become more formal1 less highly      
vitalised1 less spiritual1 with less of 
the mystic element in it1 and more of   
the literal2 so that it becomes         

necessary in the efflux of time that    
every now and again a ,master should    
come forth from the ,great ,white       
,lodge1 and testify again upon earth to 
the reality of the tie between the      
,elder ,brothers of the race and the    
younger brothers who are living         
constantly in the physical world4  ,now 
one distinguishing mark of a ,master1   
,his chief function1 we may say1 is to  
perform the greatest act of sacrifice   
which is known in the ,occult           
,hierarchy1 save the act of the ,one who
 is called ,the ,great ,sacrifice1 the  
,silent ,watcher1 whose sacrificial act 
is still greater than the sacrificial   
acts performed by ,those who are spoken 
of as ,masters4 ,this particular act of 
sacrifice1 occurring from time to time  
at the beginning of a new epoch in      
religion and civilisation1 is performed 
by one of the ,body1 who volunteers to  
start a further spiritual impulse in the
 world1 and to bear the karma of the    
impulse that ,he generates4 ,that may   

not appear to you at first glance1      
unless you have gone into the subject   
carefully1 to be such a transcendent act
 of sacrifice as it really is4 ,it may  
seem a comparatively small thing to     
start such an impulse1 and very vague   
probably are the ideas of many of you as
 to what is implied in the statement    
bearing the karma1 which the generation 
of the impulse implies4 ,the great act  
of sacrifice lies not only in the truth 
that ,he is wearing a physical body of  
coarse matter1 which hampers ,him from  
time to time1 but that ,he cannot lay   
that body aside1 once ,he has used it   
for giving this great spiritual impulse1
 until that impulse is entirely         
exhausted1 and the religion1 or the     
association1 to which it has given birth
 has vanished out of the physical world4
 ,take1 for instance1 the case of the   
,master1 ,jesus3 ,he--by ,his own       
voluntary act of course1 in the         
beginning1 for it is always a volunteer 
who comes forward2 such a sacrifice     

cannot be imposed--,he1 voluntarily1    
giving up ,his body1 and later taking   
from the ,bodhisattva the guarding of   
the infant plant of which the           
,bodhisattva had sown the seed which was
 to grow into the great tree of         
,christianity1 taking that from ,him1   
,he bound ,himself by the acceptance of 
that work to remain in the bonds of the 
physical body until the ,christian      
,church had completed its work1 and     
until the last ,christian had passed    
away1 either into liberation1 or        
re-birth into some other faith4 ,it is  
the same with the other great religions1
 so many of which are now dead--the     
religion of ,egypt1 of ,chaldea1 and    
many another4 ,the ,masters who had to  
do with those have long since cast away 
,their physical bodies1 and thereby     
ceased to be what we call ,masters1     
because the religion that each gave to  
the world had done its work1 and no     
souls remained who could be further     
helped by passing through the teaching  

and the training of that particular     
religion4 ,this is the central idea of  
the act of sacrifice1 and it becomes the
 more a sacrificial act because the ,one
 who undertakes this tremendous task    
cannot tell how the impulse will flow in
 all its details1 cannot even estimate  
the amount of difficulty1 of delay1 nay1
 of mischief1 that may grow out of the  
impulse that ,he has given4 ,in the     
first place1 ,he ,himself is limited by 
these bodies that ,he has assumed4 ,he  
cannot use the whole of ,his vast       
consciousness within the limitations of 
a physical brain and a physical body4   
,thus1 although ,he has unified ,his    
bodies and is able1 so to speak1 to run 
up and down the ladder of the planes as 
,he will1 ,he is still largely limited  
in ,his activities where ,he is working 
in the unplastic matter of the physical 
plane2 and so1 when ,he undertakes a    
work like this1 ,he generates causes    
whose effects ,he cannot thoroughly     
calculate1 ,he takes the risk which     

surrounds every great undertaking1 ,he  
submits ,himself to the conditions of   
this task upon which ,he enters1 and ,he
 is obliged1 having once taken it1 to   
bear it until success or failure has    
crowned the effort that ,he makes4      
,those of you who have carefully thought
 on these subjects will realise that    
while the knowledge of a ,master is1 as 
regards you or me1 practical            
omniscience1 it is by no means          
omniscience on ,his own plane1 relative 
to the problems with which ,he has to   
deal and which ,he has to solve4 ,a     
,master amongst ,masters1 a ,master     
within the ,great ,white ,lodge1 ,he is 
amongst ,his peers1 in the presence of  
,his ,superiors1 and the problems with  
which that ,lodge has to deal1 the      
questions on which that ,lodge has to   
decide1 are1 if ,i may use the phrase1  
as difficult and as puzzling on that    
plane of being as the problems that we  
have to decide down here are on our     
plane4 ,hence the possibility of        

miscalculation1 the possibility of      
error1 the possibility of mistake2 and  
you can well understand that these      
beings are subject to such limitations  
when you remember the startling         
assertion that even the ,lord ,buddha   
,himself1 high above the ,masters1 that 
even ,he committed an error in ,his work
 on the physical plane4 ,when1 then1 a  
,master volunteers to serve as what may 
literally be called the scapegoat of a  
new spiritual movement1 ,he takes up a  
karma whose whole course ,he is unable  
to see4 ,and it need not1 therefore1 be 
a matter of surprise that when the time 
was approaching when another great      
spiritual impulse might again be given1 
according to cyclic law1 when the two   
who volunteered to undertake the task1  
to make the sacrifice1 offered          
,themselves in the ,great ,white ,lodge1
 differences of opinion arose as to     
whether it was desirable or not that    
what we now call the ,theosophical      
,society should be founded4  ,the time  

came1 as most of you know1 ,i suppose1  
for an effort of some sort to be made4  
,it had been so since the fourteenth    
century1 for it was in the thirteenth   
century that in ,tibet a mighty         
personage then living in that land1     
promulgated ,his order to the ,lodge    
that at the close of every century an   
effort should be made to enlighten the  
white barbarians of the ,west4 ,that    
order having gone forth1 it became      
necessary1 of course1 to obey it2 for in
 those regions disobedience is unknown4 
,hence at the close of each century--as 
you may verify for yourselves if you    
choose to go through history carefully1 
beginning from the time when ,christian 
,rosenkreuz founded the ,rosicrucian    
,society late in the fourteenth         
century--you will find on every         
occasion1 towards the close of the      
century1 a new ray of light is shed     
forth4 ,towards the close of the last   
century--,i do not mean the one to which
 we belong1 but the century before1 the 

eighteenth--a mighty effort was made1 of
 which the burden fell upon two great   
personages closely connected with the   
,lodge1 though neither of them1 ,i      
believe1 at that time was a ,master--he 
who was then known as the ,comte de ,st4
 ,germain1 who is now one of the        
,masters1 and his colleague in that     
great task1 closely allied to him1 of a 
noble ,austrian family1 known to us in  
later days as ,h4,p4,b4 ,when those made
 their attempt to change the face of    
,europe1 they failed1 the time not being
 ripe2 the misery and the wretchedness  
of the epoch1 the degradation of the    
masses of the population1 the horrible  
poverty1 the shameful starvation1 all   
these were the rocks on which split1 and
 was broken up into foam1 the spiritual 
wave of which those two personages were 
the crest4 ,the karma of that1 for the  
one whom we know of as ,h4,p4,b41 was   
the trying and suffering incarnation    
that she spent amongst us1 when she     
founded1 under the order of her ,master1

 the ,theosophical ,society1 and gave   
her life to it that it might live4 ,and 
it was that fact1 that the last great   
spiritual effort had been drowned in    
bloodshed1 it was that which gave her   
her marked horror of mixing up the      
spiritual movement with a political     
effort1 which made her realise that     
before a spiritual movement could be    
successful in the outer world it must   
shape1 raise1 remodel the conscience of 
those who were affected by it1 that it  
must not dare to put its hand as a whole
 to any great political or social       
movement before it was strong enough to 
control the forces which it evoked4     
,hence her shrinking from all idea of   
this ,society plunging1 as a ,society1  
into political work or social reform4   
,not that individuals of the ,society   
might not do it1 not that members of it 
might not use their best thought and    
energy in order to bring forward and    
strengthen any movement which was really
 for the benefit of mankind2 but that   

the ,society as a ,society1 as the      
vehicle of this great torrent of life1  
must not pour that torrent into any     
physical and earthly vessel1 lest again 
it should break the vessel into pieces1 
lest again it should put the hands of   
the clock back1 instead of forward1 as  
was done in ,france4 ,so for this time  
it was to be a spiritual movement1 and  
the work was to be spiritual1           
intellectual1 and ethical4 ,those were  
to be its special marks1 this its       
special work2 and when the two great    
,teachers who were identified with the  
movement--her own ,master and ,his      
closest co-worker in the ,great ,white  
,lodge1 the two who over and over again 
in centuries gone by had stood side by  
side as fellow-workers in the           
civilisations of the past--when ,they   
volunteered for this great emprise1     
doubt1 as ,i said1 arose among ,their   
peers4 ,the lesson of the eighteenth    
century was not forgotten2 the question 
inevitably arose3 ,is the ,west ready   

for a movement of this sort again8 ,can 
it be carried on in such an environment 
without doing1 perhaps1 more harm than  
the good which it is capable of         
accomplishing8 ,and so1 much discussion 
arose--strange as that may sound to     
some1 in connection with a body of      
workers so sublime--and most were       
against it1 and declared the time was   
not ripe2 but these two offered to take 
the risk and bear the burden1 offered to
 bear the karma of the effort1 and to   
throw their lives into the shaping1     
guiding1 and uplifting4 ,and as the     
question of time is always one of the   
most complicated and difficult questions
 for ,those who have to deal with the   
great law of cycles and the evolution of
 man1 it was felt that it was possible  
that the effort might succeed1 even     
although the time was not quite ripe1   
the clock had not quite struck the hour4
 ,and so permission was given1 and the  
two assumed the responsibility4 ,how the
 earlier stages were made is familiar to

 you all2 how they chose that noble     
worker ,their disciple1 known to us as  
,h4,p4,b41 and prepared her for the work
 she had to do2 how in due course ,they 
sent her to ,america to search there for
 a comrade who would supply what was    
lacking in herself--the power of        
organisation1 the power of speaking to  
men and gathering them around him1 and  
shaping them into a movement in the     
outer world4 ,and you all know the story
 of how they met2 you all know how they 
joined hands together4 ,one of them has 
put the whole thing on record1 for the  
instruction of the younger members of   
the ,society now and in centuries to    
come4 ,the movement began1 as you know1 
closely watched over1 constantly        
protected by those two who had taken    
this burden of responsibility upon      
,themselves4 ,and you may read in many  
of ,h4,p4,b4's letters1 how continual in
 those days was the touch1 how constant 
the directions2 and it went on thus year
 after year--for the first seven years  

at least of the ,society's life1 and a  
little more2 you may read in the issue  
of the ,theosophist 7,june7 a letter    
from one of these same ,teachers1       
showing how close was the interest      
taken1 how close the scrutiny which was 
kept up in all the details of the       
,society's work4 ,in publishing that    
letter ,i thought it only right to      
strike out the names which occur in the 
original4 ,it would not be right or fair
 to print those publicly yet1 as you can
 perfectly well see when you are able to
 supply the blanks which are left for   
names4 ,you may read in that letter how 
the ,master who wrote it had been       
watching the action of a particular     
branch1 how ,he had marked in connection
 with another branch some of the members
 of the branch who were working ill or  
not well2 how ,he pointed out that      
such-and-such members would be better   
out of the branch than in it1 were      
hinderers rather than helpers--all going
 to show how close was the watch which  

,they then kept upon the branches of    
,their infant ,society4 ,and so again   
you may read in other letters than that1
 suggestions of writing letters to      
newspapers1 and so on1 which would      
strike you as very trivial if they came 
from the ,masters at the present time2  
how a letter might be written here1 an  
article answered there2 how a leading   
article ought not to be allowed to      
remain with its false suggestions to the
 injury of the ,society1 and so on4 ,but
 there came a time1 with the increase of
 the numbers in the ,society1 when many 
came in who had not the strong belief of
 the outer founders in the reality of   
the life of the ,masters and ,their     
connection with the ,theosophical       
,society1 and disputes and arguments    
arose4 ,and if you turn back to the     
,theosophist of those days you will see 
a great deal of discussion going on as  
to who were the ,brothers1 and what     
,they did1 and what relation they bore  
to the ,society1 and so on2 until at    

last ,they grew a little weary of this  
continual challenging of ,their life1   
and work1 and interest1 and gave the    
warning which still exists amongst the  
papers of the ,society1 that unless     
before a very short time these questions
 were set at rest1 and the fact of      
,their relation to the ,society was     
generally recognised1 ,they would       
withdraw again for a time into the      
silence in which ,they had remained so  
long1 and would wait until conditions   
were more favorable before they again   
took ,their active part in the guiding  
of the ,society's work4 ,unfortunately  
the warning was not taken1 and so the   
withdrawal into the comparative silence 
took place1 and the ,society entered on 
that other cycle of its work on which1  
as you know1 the judgment of the ,master
 was passed in the quotation ,i made the
 other day1 that the ,society has       
liberated itself from our grasp and     
influence1 and we have let it go2 we    
make no unwilling slaves4 ,it is now a  

soulless corpse1 a machine run so far   
well enough1 but which will fall to     
pieces when4444 ,out of the three       
objects1 the second alone is attended   
to2 it is no longer either a            
,brotherhood1 nor a body over the face  
of which broods the ,spirit from beyond 
the great ,range4 ,thus ,their relations
 to the ,society of the time altered1   
became less direct1 less continual4     
,their direct influence was confined to 
individuals and withdrawn for the       
,society at large1 save as to general   
strengthening1 not because ,they desired
 it should be so1 but because so the    
,society desired1 and the ,society is   
master of its own destiny1 and may shape
 its own fate according to the will of  
its majority4 ,still ,they watched over 
it1 though not permitted to interfere   
with its outer working so much as ,they 
had done in the earlier days1 and       
,h4,p4,b4 was obliged to declare that   
,they did not direct it4 ,the relation  
remained1 but was largely in abeyance1  

latent to some extent1 as we may say1   
and ,they were waiting for the time when
 again the possibility might open before
 ,them of more active work within the   
movement which ,they had started1 whose 
heavy karma ,they were compelled to     
bear4  ,the fact that ,they bear the    
karma of the ,society as a whole1 seems 
to me one which members of the ,society 
ought never to forget2 for1 coming into 
this movement as we have done1 finding  
through the ,society the teachings which
 have changed our lives1 having received
 from it the light which has made all   
our thought different1 which has        
rendered life intelligible1 and life on 
other planes familiar1 at least in      
theory1 and to some in practice1 it     
would seem that the very commonest      
gratitude1 such as men or women of the  
world might feel for some small         
benefactions shown by friend to friend1 
that even that feeling1 small and poor  
as it is1 might live in the heart of    
every member towards ,those who have    

made the existence of the ,theosophical 
,society possible4 ,i do not mean1 of   
course1 in those who do not believe in  
the fact of ,their existence2 and there 
are1 quite rightly and properly1 many   
such amongst us2 for it is the          
foundation of the ,theosophical ,society
 that men of all opinions may come      
within its ranks and benefit by the     
splendor of its teachings1 whether or   
not they accept them one by one4 ,their 
non-belief does not alter the fact that 
the teachings come to them through the  
,society1 and from ,those who made the  
,society a living organism upon earth4  
,nor do ,i mean in saying that this     
feeling of gratitude should exist in the
 heart of each1 that anyone need take   
the particular view of the ,masters     
which ,i myself take1 founding that     
view1 it may be1 on more knowledge than 
very many of those who reject it        
personally can be said to possess4 ,in  
all these matters every member is free1 
and ,i am only urging upon you your     

responsibility at least to try to       
understand1 where you touch matters of  
such far-reaching importance2 and at    
least to consider that you should not   
add to the burden on those mighty       
shoulders more than you can avoid       
adding4 ,now none of us1 whatever we may
 happen to know--the differences of     
knowledge between us are trivial as     
compared with the difference between all
 of us and ,them--can surely escape the 
duty of considering whether by his own  
ignorance1 and carelessness1 and folly1 
and indifference1 he is adding to that  
burden which ,they bear4 ,for ,they     
cannot avoid taking the karma that you  
and ,i largely generate1 by virtue of   
,their unity with this ,society1 and the
 fact that ,their life circulates       
through it1 and that ,they have         
sacrificed ,themselves in order that it 
may live4 ,by that sacrifice they cannot
 avoid sharing the karma that you and ,i
 are making by every careless thought1  
by every foolish action1 by every wilful

 or even not wilful ignorance1 the      
burden that ,they have taken out of love
 for man and for his helping4 ,and ,i   
have often thought1 when ,i have been   
trying dimly to understand the mysteries
 of this divine compassion1 and the     
greatness of the love and of the pity   
which moves those mighty ,ones to mix   
themselves up with our small1 petty     
selves1 ,i have often thought how       
strange must seem to ,them1 from ,their 
position1 the indifference with which we
 take such priceless blessings1 the     
indifference with which we accept such  
mighty sacrifice4 ,for the love that    
,these deserve at our hands is surely   
beyond all claim of kindred1 of blood1  
of touch between man and man2 the claim 
that ,they have upon us1 these ,men who 
are ,masters and ,teachers1 for what    
,they have given and made possible for  
you and me1 seems to me a claim beyond  
all measuring1 a debt beyond all        
counting4 ,and when one looks at the    
,society as a whole1 and realises how   

little as a whole it takes account of   
those deep occult truths into touch with
 which it has come1 how little it       
realises how mighty the possibility that
 these supreme acts of sacrifice have   
opened before every one of us1 it seems 
almost too sad to be credible1 too      
pathetic to be expressed2 one realises  
how sometimes ,their hearts must be     
wrung1 as the heart of the ,christ was  
wrung when ,he stood and looked over    
,jerusalem1 and knew that the people to 
whose race ,he belonged were driving    
further and further away their          
possibilities1 and were despising that  
which ,he had brought for their         
redemption4 ,how often ,his cry3        
,jerusalem1 ,jerusalem1 thou that       
killest the prophets and stonest them   
that are sent unto thee1 how often would
 ,i have gathered thee together as a hen
 gathereth her chickens under her wings1
 and ye would not--how often must that  
same cry go out from the heart of the   
,masters1 when ,they look at the        

movement for which ,they are            
responsible1 and realise how little its 
greatness is understood by those who are
 its members1 and are reckoned within   
its pale4#a ,for if even for one brief  
hour you could realise the heart of the 
,master1 and what ,he feels and knows   
with regard to this movement which is   
,his1 it seems to me that in the light  
of even that brief meditation there     
would be a throwing away of             
personalities1 there would be a         
trampling down of silly pride1 a casting
 aside of careless obstinacy1 a yearning
 to have some share in the sacrifice1   
and to give ourselves1 however petty we 
may be1 side by side with that sublime  
sacrifice which ,they are making year   
after year for us1 unworthy of ,their   
compassion4 ,and yet nothing less than  
that is the movement which lives by     
,their life2 nothing less than that is  
the relation of the ,masters to the     
,theosophical ,society4 ,they bear it in
 ,their heart1 ,they bear it on ,their  

shoulders1 ,they offer daily sacrifice  
that this spiritual effort may succeed  
in the helping and the uplifting of the 
world4 ,and ,they1 so great1 speak to   
us1 so small2 and none will surely      
refuse to listen who catches one glimpse
 of the possibility of ,their speech2   
none will reject ,their pleading1 who   
can hear one whisper of that ,voice2 and
 the one thing that one hopes for1 that 
one longs for1 with regard to oneself   
and to all who are members of the       
,society1 is that amongst us there may  
be some ears found to hear the voice of 
the ,masters1 and some hearts mirroring 
enough of their compassion to at least  
sacrifice themselves for the helping of 
the world4  ,footnote #a3 ,this was     
spoken some weeks before the issue of   
,mr4 ,sinnett's extraordinary manifesto1
 denying the things most surely believed
 among us4     ,the ,future of the      
,theosophical ,society   ,there are two 
futures of the ,theosophical ,society to
 which we may address our attention3 the

 immediate future1 and a future further 
off4 ,and ,i am going to begin with the 
future further off1 because it is only  
by recognising the nature of that future
 that we can properly devise the means  
whereby we may bring it about4 ,for in  
all human affairs it is necessary to    
choose an end to which effort should be 
directed1 and the nature of the end will
 govern the nature of the means4 ,one of
 the great faults1 ,i think1 of our     
modern life is to live in what is called
 a hand-to-mouth way1 to snatch at any  
momentary advantage1 to try to bring    
about something which serves as an      
improvement for the moment without      
trying to understand1 without caring to 
consider1 whether in very many cases the
 temporary improvement may not bring    
with it a more fatal mischief than that 
which it is intended to remedy4 ,and at 
least in the ,theosophical ,society1    
where we try to study tendencies1 and to
 understand something of the forces     
which are working around us in life1 we 

ought to avoid this popular blunder of  
the time1 we ought to try to see the    
goal towards which we are moving1 and to
 choose our immediate methods with      
reference to that goal4 ,of course1 when
 ,i speak of a goal and an end1 ,i am   
using the terms in a relative1 not in an
 absolute sense--the goal1 the end which
 is within a measurable distance1 and so
 may be taken as a point towards which  
the roads on which we travel should     
tend4 ,let us1 then1 look first on that 
goal1 and see its nature and the kind of
 methods which will help to realise it  
upon earth4  ,you are all familiar in   
the ,theosophical ,society with the     
theory of cycles1 so that you are       
accustomed to look upon events as       
tending to repeat themselves on higher  
and higher levels of what has been      
called the spiral of evolution4 ,for    
while it is true that history does not  
repeat itself upon the same level1 it is
 also true that it does repeat itself   
upon successively higher levels1 and    

that anyone who is studying             
,theosophical teaching as to the        
evolution of man1 the evolution of      
globes1 the evolution of systems1 the   
evolution of universes1 may very much   
facilitate his study by grasping the    
main truths which underlie each of these
 in turn4 ,we are continually repeating 
on a higher plane that which we have    
done upon a lower4 ,our terms are a     
constant series of repetitions1 so that 
if we understand their meaning in one   
series we are able to argue to their    
meaning in another4 ,and ,i have often  
pointed out to you with respect to these
 recurring cycles of events1 and        
recurring terms1 that especially among  
,hindus1 and in the ,samskrit language1 
you find whole series of terms1 the     
meaning of each of which varies with the
 term from which the series starts2 so  
that if you know them once1 you know    
them for all occasions4 ,take a very    
familiar case4 ,let me remind you of the
 word samadhi4 ,that is a relative term1

 and is the last of a series1 which has 
regard to the waking consciousness of   
the individual and the plane on which   
the centre of the waking consciousness  
is found4 ,so that before you can say   
what the word samadhi means for any     
individual1 you must ascertain on what  
plane of consciousness his normal centre
 is at work2 and when you know that1    
then you can pass up step by step until 
you come to the term in the series which
 is represented by that word samadhi4   
,it is the same over and over again in  
our ,theosophical studies1 and          
especially do we find this to be true in
 the characteristics--important in this 
particular relation--the characteristics
 of the great ,races1 the ,root-,races1 
as represented in miniature in the      
sub-races of each ,root-,race4 ,if we   
can find out those characteristics1     
trace them and see how they are brought 
about in the course of evolution in the 
small cycle which is nearer to us1 the  
cycle of the sub-race1 then it is       

comparatively easy for us1 as regards   
the future1 to foresee the appearance of
 those characteristics in the           
,root-,race that corresponds to the     
sub-race4 ,and ,i shall want to use that
 method in dealing with the future of   
the ,society2 it is for that reason that
 ,i draw your attention to these        
continually recurring cycles of times   
and events4 ,now if we look back to the 
,fourth ,root-,race1 we can study in the
 history of that ,race the evolution of 
the ,fifth4 ,we can see the methods used
 to bring about that evolution4 ,we can 
trace the means which were employed in  
order that that evolution might be made 
secure2 and we can see1 by studying that
 which lies behind us1 that the fourth  
sub-race of that ,root-,race showed out 
the characteristics of the ,fourth ,race
 as a whole2 that the fifth sub-race of 
that ,fourth showed out some of the     
characteristics of the ,fifth           
,root-,race that was to follow in the   
course of evolution4 ,and in this way1  

applying the analogy1 if we can trace   
out to some extent for ourselves the    
characteristics of the sixth sub-race   
which is to succeed our own fifth       
sub-race1 then we shall be on the track 
of the line of evolution which will     
bring about the ,sixth ,root-,race when 
the time for its coming strikes4 ,let us
 glance back for a moment to see the    
main points of the evolution of a       
sub-race and a ,race4  ,when our own    
,fifth ,root-,race was to be evolved1   
certain types were chosen out of the    
fifth sub-race of the ,fourth           
,root-,race1 and they were chosen by the
 ,manu who was to guide the evolution of
 the ,fifth ,root-,race4 ,those types   
showed out in a comparatively germinal  
fashion the mental characteristics which
 were to grow out of the selected       
groups4 ,and you may learn1 if you care 
to do it1 how those choices were made1  
and how the first choice was a failure4 
,chosen as it was by the wisdom of the  
highly exalted being whom we speak of as

 the ,manu1 none the less the material  
in which ,he tried to work proved too   
stubborn1 too little plastic1 to adapt  
itself to ,his influence striving to    
shape and to mould it4 ,and in          
consequence1 after prolonged efforts1   
,he threw aside the families that thus  
,he had selected1 and began making a new
 choice1 a fresh selection1 in order to 
see if the second choice would prove    
more fortunate than the first4 ,and the 
way ,he chose them was a simple and     
effective one3 ,he selected a certain   
number of ,his own disciples and sent   
them out as messengers to the various   
nations of the world1 that constituted  
that part of the great ,fourth ,race    
which ,he had chosen for ,his second    
experiment4 ,he sent them into nation   
after nation1 with the mission to gather
 out of that nation those who appeared  
to be the most promising for the work   
which ,he had to carry out4 ,they tried 
in various fashions1 sometimes by direct
 invitation1 where the characteristic   

that was being sought was clearly       
developed1 namely1 the lower mind4 ,it  
was the development of the lower manas  
that was the keynote of the selection2  
for the ,fifth ,root-,race was to show  
out that development of the lower manas4
 ,i say lower manas rather than manas2  
because the full development of the     
manasic principle in man is reserved for
 the ,fifth ,round1 and not for the     
,fourth1 and we1 of course1 are still in
 the ,fourth ,round4 ,that ,fourth      
,round1 pre-eminently kamic1 must       
necessarily color every evolution which 
goes on during its existence1 and high  
as we may strive to raise manasic powers
 amongst us1 we cannot escape from the  
fundamental vice of our birth1 from the 
manasic standpoint1 that we are plunged 
in kamic matter1 and that the matter in 
which we work is matter of the ,fourth  
,round1 adapted to the kamic principle1 
and not matter of the ,fifth1 adapted to
 the manasic4 ,hence the best thing that
 we can do is to evolve the lower manas1

 manas deeply tinged with kama4 ,out of 
that ,fourth ,race1 then1 were selected 
the people who showed most plainly the  
budding of this intelligence which was  
needed1 the messengers of the ,manu     
striking a note which attracted those in
 whom this lower manasic principle was  
more highly developed than among their  
comrades and peers4 ,gradually from     
different nations groups of men and     
women gathered round the messengers of  
the ,manu1 who then began to lead them  
away from their own people1 from their  
own nation1 from all their surroundings1
 in order to seek the appointed place   
where the ,manu was grouping those on   
whom the great experiment was to be made
 for the second time4 ,slowly and       
gradually they were thus gathered       
together out of the nations into which  
the fifth sub-race of the ,fourth ,race 
had spread4 ,and the flower of those    
nations1 attracted by the key-note      
struck by the messengers1 gradually     
gathered round the ,manu1 and became the

 material1 the nucleus1 of the new ,root
 ,race4 ,as you know1 ,he took them far 
away to the ,sacred ,land1 shutting them
 away from the masses of the ,fourth and
 ,third ,race peoples1 and dividing them
 by physical barriers from all that     
might contaminate and stain4 ,very1 very
 different were those people from the   
generations which thousands upon        
thousands of years later were to spring 
from them in physical succession2       
rather1 to the people about them were   
they folk who were developed in an      
uncongenial fashion1 people who were by 
no means looked up to and admired in the
 nations amongst whom they dwelt1       
amongst whom they had grown up4 ,for the
 building of a new type is not made out 
of those in whom the type of the old    
,race1 that which is before those who   
are selected for a changed line of      
evolution1 has flowered4 ,the triumphs  
of evolution in the ,fourth ,race1 as   
the ,fourth ,race judged them1 were by  
no means the best material for the      

building of the ,fifth4 ,those who were 
most admired in the ,fourth1 those who  
were regarded as the flowers of their   
own nations1 were those in whom the     
kamic faculty1 with its allied psychic  
powers1 was most developed1 was most    
triumphant4 ,for you must remember that 
in the very different civilisation of   
those days1 psychic powers were playing 
an enormous part in all the most highly 
developed people of the time4 ,where the
 dawning principle of manas began       
somewhat to triumph over the kamic1     
there the psychic faculties inevitably  
diminished in their power1 and showed   
themselves very much more feebly than in
 the leaders of the time1 those who were
 the pioneers of the civilisation of the
 day4 ,the faculties most valued at that
 time were least to be recognised in    
those who were the chosen of the ,manu2 
for what ,he was seeking was the dawn of
 the intellectual principle1 and where  
that dawns1 the psychic for a time is   
submerged4 ,i cannot dwell now on the   

reason for that2 the psychism of the    
time was the psychism of the whole of   
the astral body1 and not the psychism   
which succeeds the intellectual         
development1 which is the result of a   
higher organisation of that body into   
special organs of astral senses--the    
well-known chakras4 ,the reason is well 
known among all students of the         
different stages of evolution1 and the  
only reason ,i allude to it now is      
because ,i want you to recognise a very 
significant fact3 that those who were   
chosen out of that civilisation by the  
,manu1 in order that he might make a new
 ,race out of them1 were not the people 
who were the leading examples of the    
highest civilisation of the time4 ,those
 were left behind in their own          
environment4 ,those were left behind to 
carry on their evolution along the lines
 already becoming the lines of the past1
 and not the lines of the future4 ,and  
these people in whom the psychic powers 
were less shown1 and in whom the less   

valued intellectual power was           
germinating1 on lines more fitted for   
the development in future1 they were    
chosen out for the building of the      
,fifth ,race1 and carried away from     
their ,fourth ,race surroundings into   
the far-off land of their education4    
,there of course they remained until the
 time came when the ,manu incarnated    
amongst them--and so on4 ,that is old   
history on which ,i need not dwell4     
,let us apply those same principles to  
the choosing out of another ,root-,race1
 and we shall see that just as then1 for
 the fifth ,root-,race1 the manasic     
principle was selected1 so in the       
choosing out for a ,sixth ,root-,race1  
the buddhic principle must be the one   
which must be sought for in order that  
the material may be shaped in which it  
will be possible for it in its turn to  
develop4 ,there again ,i must remind you
 that the buddhi of the ,sixth          
,root-,race in this ,round will be      
something very different from the       

evolution of the pure buddhic principle 
in its own ,round1 the ,round that      
belongs to it in the future evolution of
 humanity3 it will be buddhic           
contaminated with kama1 showing out much
 of the kamic                           
characteristics--inevitably1 inasmuch as
 it must work in kamic matter4 ,hence   
you must not take quite your ideal      
buddhi1 such as you may fancy it in its 
perfection--the magnificent principle of
 ,pure ,reason1 in its higher intuitive 
power--but a shadow1 a reflexion of it1 
such a shadow and reflexion as is able  
to take its veils1 its garments1 from   
the matter of our own ,round4 ,none the 
less1 that will be the distinguishing1  
the dominant principle of the ,sixth    
,root-,race1 and therefore ,i ask you to
 fix your mind on that as the goal      
towards which all roads in the present  
should tend4 ,far-off indeed it is1     
counting as we count time2 but          
tendencies show themselves long1 long   
before they appear upon the surface1    

recognisable to the eye of the flesh4   
,in each sub-race appears a principle   
which manifests itself more fully1 more 
thoroughly1 in the corresponding        
,root-,race2 and therefore1 though it   
will only be possible for us at the     
present time to work towards the next   
sub-race of our own ,fifth ,race1 which 
is already beginning to appear upon the 
surface of our globe1 none the less is  
it true that in quickening the evolution
 of that sub-race it is the next        
,root-,race to which we must look for   
our guiding principle2 that is the      
far-off ,pole-star by which we must     
guide our ships at the present time1    
that the point towards which we must    
steer1 however far off we must          
sorrowfully admit that it is4  ,let us  
then1 recognising that fact1 that the   
,sixth ,root-,race will be the          
embodiment of the next principle in us1 
the buddhic principle1 that of ,pure    
,reason--as distinguished from          
,intellect1 which is ,reason reflected  

in ,activity--when you realise that1 and
 remember that the note of buddhi is    
union--not yet unity but union--you will
 find that as much as you require for   
your guiding principle in the evolution 
of the corresponding sub-race1 whose    
foot is now on the threshold4 ,so that  
in this fashion1 though seeming to go so
 far abroad into the past and the       
future1 ,i bring you to the practical   
question of the next step forward in    
human evolution4  ,the next thing you   
must remember is that the flowering of  
the ,fifth ,root-,race will go on long1 
long after the beginning of the sixth   
sub-race is seen4 ,for these ,races and 
sub-races overlap each other2 and just  
as at the present time the majority of  
mankind belongs to the ,fourth          
,root-,race and not to the ,fifth1 but  
the ,fifth ,root-,race dominates the    
evolution of the world1 although still  
in a minority1 so is it of sub-races    
also4 ,the sixth sub-race will be at    
first in an almost inappreciable        

minority1 but coloring the whole2 then  
multiplying more and more1 until it     
becomes an appreciable minority4 ,then1 
as it grows more and more numerous1 and 
nations are born of it1 it will begin to
 dominate and lead the civilisation of  
the then world4 ,but even then the      
,fifth ,race will be in an enormous     
majority for ages and ages yet to come4 
,the fifth sub-race has not yet touched 
its highest point1 has not yet asserted 
itself to the point to which its        
evolution will reach in the centuries   
that lie immediately before us4 ,it is  
nearing its highest point2 it is        
climbing rapidly now to its zenith2 but 
still many years of mortal time         
intervene between the present day and   
the day when it will rule in the height 
of its power4 ,it is climbing fast in   
these days2 but still1 compare it with  
the corresponding point in the          
,atlantean civilisation1 and you will   
realise that it has not yet climbed to  
its highest point4 ,for every ,race must

 overtop the ,race that has gone before 
it1 and we have not yet reached even the
 level of the old ,atlantis in          
knowledge1 and therefore in power over  
the lower nature1 although1 as ,i said1 
the climbing now is rapid1 and will     
become more and more rapid with every   
ten years that pass over our heads4 ,for
 there is that speciality in evolution1 
that it ever goes forward at an         
increasing rate4 ,the more it develops  
its powers1 the more swiftly do those   
powers multiply themselves2 so that1 to 
quote a well-known phrase of a great    
,teacher1 it grows not by additions but 
by powers4 ,and this civilisation of    
ours will rush forward more and more    
rapidly with every decade that passes4  
,still1 the very fact that it has not   
reached the highest levels of the       
,fourth tells you that time lies before 
us in the building of the sixth         
sub-race1 and that is our immediate     
work4 ,we need not trouble now any      
further about the ,sixth ,root-,race2   

for whatever builds the sixth sub-race  
amongst us is contributing to the       
building of that ,root-,race of the     
future4 ,the same faculties are         
demanded1 although then at a higher     
level1 and we can come down to our      
humbler level and consider what the     
sixth sub-race is to be4 ,and in that we
 shall realise the work and the future  
of the ,theosophical ,society4  ,the    
great characteristic of that ,race is to
 be union1 and all that tends to union  
is a force which is working for the     
coming of that sub-race1 no matter      
whether very often the force looked at  
from without is often repellent4 ,it is 
not the outer manifestation of the      
moment1 but the tendency1 the direction 
of the force which is important4 ,there 
may be many things1 more beautiful on   
the surface1 which have accomplished    
their aim1 and are on the downward path 
towards decay1 whilst the things that   
are rising1 still below the horizon1    
have1 as all germinal things have1 much 

about them that is repellent and that   
will be used up in the growth of the    
coming creature1 before it really       
manifests upon earth4 ,it has been said 
by a ,master that if we could see with  
the eye of the ,spirit the generation of
 the human being1 his ante-natal life1  
we should understand the generation of  
worlds1 the generation of universes4    
,and that1 again1 is a general          
principle4 ,let us see one or two       
lessons that we may draw from it at the 
moment4  ,take the evolution of a seed  
into a plant1 and what do you find8 ,a  
tiny germ surrounded by a mass of       
nutrient matter2 and before that tiny   
germ will show itself in root1 and stem1
 and leaf above the ground and become   
visible to the eye of the observer on   
the earth1 that nutrient material must  
be absorbed by the growing germ1 and    
changed into the exquisite tissues of   
the plant that is to be4 ,and so1 if you
 take the growing germ1 animal or human1
 how unlike is that budding creature    

from the animal or the man that shall   
be6 ,how lacking in beauty in many of   
the methods of its growth1 of its       
nutrition1 of its gradual shaping6 ,and 
by what marvellous alchemy of inspiring 
life does the living germ gather into   
itself all the nutrient matter that     
surrounds it1 and shapes it into organ  
after organ1 until the perfect creature 
is ready to be born into the world4 ,and
 as in these cases1 so with the growth  
of a sub-race1 of which the germ is     
planted now4 ,how much has to be done   
before it is ready for the birth-hour1  
that yet is at a measurable distance    
from the moment that the germ is planted
 in the womb of time4 ,try to realise   
the analogy by means of the image that  
,i have suggested1 and it will not then 
seem so unlikely to you1 that which is  
true1 that in our own times again many  
messengers have come out from the ,manu 
of the future1 in order that those      
messengers may strike certain keynotes1 
which mark the chief characteristic of  

the child that is to be4 ,that note is  
well known at the present time3 we call 
it ,brotherhood4  ,now notice at the    
present time how many such messengers   
are found scattered throughout the      
world1 and how the varied organisations 
of men of every kind are tending in that
 direction1 and are more and more       
recognising that as the keynote of their
 progress and their evolution4 ,there   
are1 so far as ,i know1 only two great  
organisations at the present time that  
have deliberately taken ,universal      
,brotherhood as their motto1 their cry1 
in the world3 the one is ,masonry1 the  
other is the ,theosophical ,society4    
,those are the only two which proclaim  
,universal ,brotherhood4 ,for although  
many religions declare ,brotherhood1    
they do not make it universal2 it is a  
,brotherhood within the limits of their 
own creed1 and a man to become a brother
 must come within the limits of the     
religion4 ,see how clearly that is      
declared in the great and universal     

baptismal ceremony which marks the      
entrance of the child into the          
,christian ,church4 ,in that sacrament  
he is made a child of ,god4 ,he was not 
a child of ,god before1 from the ,church
 standpoint4 ,he was born under the     
wrath of ,god1 in the kingdom of ,satan4
 ,in the ceremony of baptism he is made 
a child of ,god1 an heir of the kingdom 
of heaven2 and that is the keynote of   
the ,churches everywhere3 those outside 
are not children of ,god4 ,and you must 
remember that it is that ,fatherhood of 
,god which connotes the ,brotherhood of 
man4 ,only by the rooting in the        
,father-,life is the ,brother-,life     
intelligible4 ,and because the          
,theosophical ,society knows no limit of
 creed1 no limit of religion1 and       
declares that every human being is1 in  
his own essential nature1 one with the  
,supreme ,life and the ,supreme ,god1   
because of that its ,brotherhood is     
universal1 and knows none as outside its
 pale4 ,every man1 no matter what he is1

 is recognised as brother4 ,he comes not
 into the ,brotherhood1 nor can he be   
cast out from it4 ,his ,spirit1 his     
,life1 places him in it3 it is a fact   
beyond us1 above us4 ,we have no power  
either to create it or to destroy4 ,we  
recognise the great fact1 and we do not 
call ourselves the ,universal           
,brotherhood1 but only a nucleus in     
it--a very different thing2 the         
,brotherhood is as universal as         
humanity1 that is our fundamental       
doctrine1 and it implies that           
,brotherhood is as universal as ,life4  
,so also with ,masonry1 where it is     
rightly seen and understood--no barriers
 of creed1 all men equally welcome      
within the ,masonic ,lodge4 ,i say where
 rightly understood1 for there are lands
 where ,masonry has spread1 where the   
,lodge has become exclusive as the creed
 has become exclusive2 and among        
,american ,masons1 ,i believe1 the      
negro1 as negro1 is not admitted into   
the ,masonic ,lodge4 ,but that is the   

denial of ,masonry1 a disgrace to it1   
and not a triumph4 ,and although it be  
true that ,masonry has lost widely its  
knowledge1 it still for the most part   
remains a ,brotherhood1 and in that it  
has in it the link of a life that will  
not die1 and that has every possibility 
of revival throughout the earth4  ,quite
 outside these two1 limited brotherhoods
 are proclaimed in every direction now4 
,the ,church asserts it within its own  
limits4 ,all religions assert it within 
their respective limitations4 ,outside  
religions and churches the same cry is  
heard4 ,socialism declares it1 and tries
 to build its policy upon it4           
,everywhere this cry of ,brotherhood is 
heard1 although it has not yet been     
lived1 and that is one of the signs of  
the coming birth of the sub-race1 in    
which ,brotherhood shall be the dominant
 note of its every civilisation1 and in 
which a civilisation that is not        
brotherly1 in which there are ignorant  
people1 and poor people1 and starving   

people1 and diseased people1 will be    
looked at as barbarous1 and not really  
as civilisation at all4 ,its note is    
,brotherhood1 the dominant note of the  
coming day4 ,and because we have taken  
that as our first object1 we have a     
right to call ourselves a nucleus       
thereof2 and because we definitely      
recognise it1 we can consciously        
co-operate with nature4 ,that is the    
real strength of our ,movement--not our 
numbers1 they are comparatively small1  
but our conscious working with the      
forces that make for the future4 ,the   
,theosophical ,society is a fragment of 
the vast ,theosophical ,movement which  
is surging upon every side around us2   
but this we have that enables us to be  
on the crest of that great wave1 that we
 know for what we are working1 we       
understand the tendencies which make for
 the future4 ,hence in our ,theosophical
 ,society we must above all else hold up
 this word1 and work for it in every    
phase of human activity4 ,that word     

marks out for your ,theosophical ,lodges
 what movements you should help1 and    
what movements you should not help4 ,it 
is no use to pour water into a broken   
vessel1 and every vessel that has not on
 it the name or the principle of        
,brotherhood is a broken vessel that    
will not hold water for the coming time4
 ,but every movement1 however mingled   
with ignorance1 with folly1 with        
temporary mischief1 which seeks after   
,brotherhood and strives to realise it1 
is a living vessel1 into which the      
,water of ,life may be poured2 and with 
those movements you should work1 trying 
to inspire and to purify1 to get rid of 
that which comes from ignorance1 and to 
replace it with the wisdom which it is  
your sacred duty to spread abroad among 
the children of men4 ,so that in your   
public work you have this great keynote4
  ,and that leads me to pause for a     
moment on that spreading ,socialist     
,movement that you see around you on    
every side4 ,now1 it is making one      

tremendous blunder that ,i need not     
dwell on here1 but that ,i shall dwell  
on to-morrow night in addressing a      
,socialist ,society4 ,they are          
forgetting the very root of progress1   
they are forgetting the building of     
brothers1 out of which to build a       
,brotherhood hereafter4 ,they think that
 the future depends on economic         
conditions1 on who holds land1 and who  
holds capital4 ,these conditions are    
conditions to be discussed carefully1 to
 be worked out intellectually4 ,but     
whatever ownership you have of any of   
the means of life1 if the life is       
poisoned1 it cannot be healthy in the   
midst even of a well-arranged society4  
,for society grows out of men1 and not  
men out of society1 and until that is   
realised all schemes must fail1 for they
 are founded on sand1 and not on rock4  
,you who have studied and understand1 to
 some small extent at least1 the powers 
which are working in the world of the   
present1 you ought to be able to help to

 eliminate the evil and to strengthen   
the good4 ,and the ,theosophical        
,society1 among these movements of the  
day1 must hold up firmly a true ideal4  
,it is the function of the prophet1 of  
the spiritual teacher1 to hold up the   
ideal1 and point ever towards it1 so    
that individuals may have it ever before
 their eyes and choose the roads which  
lead in the right direction4  ,and      
again1 the principles that ,i have put  
to you may explain to you why this      
,theosophical ,society1 so weak1 is yet 
so strong--weak in its numbers1 weak in 
the qualifications of its members1 not  
numbering amongst its adherents the most
 learned and the most mighty of the     
earth1 made up of very mediocre1 average
 people1 not the great leaders of the   
civilisation of the day2 but in them    
all1 else would they not be members of  
the ,theosophical ,society1 is the      
dawning aspiration after a nobler       
condition1 and some willingness to      
sacrifice themselves in order that the  

coming of that condition may be         
quickened upon earth4 ,that is the      
justification of our ,society now4 ,we  
are like the nutrient material that     
surrounds the germ1 and the germ grows  
out of the love1 and the aspiration1 and
 the spirit of self-sacrifice1 which are
 found in our movement1 however little  
developed to-day4 ,and the fact that we 
recognise it as duty1 as ideal1 is the  
promise for the future4 ,we are what our
 past has made us2 we shall be what our 
present is creating2 and if within your 
heart and mine the longing for the      
nobler state is found1 that marks our   
place in the future1 and our right to be
 among the earlier members of the       
sub-race that is now preparing to be    
born4 ,for our thoughts now are what we 
shall be in our next life2 our          
aspirations now mark our capacities     
then4 ,you know how the intermediate    
life is spent1 between the death that   
will close your present lives and the   
birth that will open the portal of your 

next lives4 ,you know that in the       
heavenly places you will be weaving into
 faculty1 into capacity1 every thought  
and every aspiration towards the higher 
life which in these days of your        
weakness you are generating1 and are    
trying to cherish and cultivate4 ,it is 
not you as you are who will make the    
future1 but you as you shall be1        
self-created from your aspirations now4 
,and just in proportion as each of you  
nourishes those aspirations1 and        
cherishes those ideals1 and tries1      
however feebly1 to work them out amid   
the limitations of your past which      
cramps your present life1 just so far   
will you1 in the interval between death 
and birth1 make the nobler faculties    
which shall qualify you to be born in   
the sixth sub-race upon earth4 ,that    
should be your keynote in your lives    
now1 that the inspiring motive1 the     
controlling power4 ,and if you want to  
assure yourselves that that sub-race is 
on the threshold1 as ,i said1 then look 

at the world around you1 and measure the
 change which is coming over it4 ,i said
 we were weak in numbers1 that we are   
only average and mediocre people2 but   
what about the spread of our ideas8     
,what about the way in which1 during the
 last thirty years1 these ,theosophical 
ideas have spread through this ,fifth   
,race civilisation1 have permeated its  
literature1 are beginning to guide its  
science1 are beginning to inspire its   
art8 ,that is the proof of the strength 
of the force1 despite the feebleness of 
the vehicles in which that force is     
playing4 ,very clearly not to you nor to
 me is the spread of these ideas due1   
but to the ,mighty ,ones behind the     
,society1 who give the forces in which  
we are lacking4 ,for the whole ,movement
 is ,theirs2 ,they are working outside  
as well as within4 ,and ,their outside  
working shows itself in the innumerable 
movements which are all tending in the  
same direction4 ,it is not we who have  
spread the ideas4 ,the ideas are        

scattered in the mental atmosphere      
around us1 and our only merit is that we
 caught them up a little more quickly   
than other people1 and realise that they
 are a part of the ,eternal ,wisdom4    
,that is our only claim1 our only       
prerogative--consciously1 deliberately  
we choose these ideas1 and however      
weakly we carry them out1 none the less 
the choice has been made and registered 
in the books of ,destiny4 ,for whether  
you will or not1 you must grow in the   
direction of your thought2 and you      
cannot be part of this ,movement without
 your thought being more or less colored
 by the ,theosophical ideal4  ,people   
often say3 ,why should ,i come into the 
,theosophical ,society8 ,you give us    
your books4 ,you spread your knowledge  
broadcast everywhere4 ,i can buy it in  
the book-shops4 ,i can hear it in the   
lectures4 ,why should ,i come in8 ,and  
,i always say3 ,there is no reason why  
you should come in1 if you do not wish  
to come4 ,take everything we can give1  

and take it freely4 ,you are more than  
welcome to it4 ,we are only trustees for
 you4 ,and if you do not care to be     
among the pioneers1 by all means stay   
outside1 and walk along the smoother    
paths which others have carved out for  
you4 ,but there is one reason that ,i   
may say to you--,i do not say it to     
those outside--there is a reason why you
 should be within it4 ,you are more in  
touch with the forces that make the     
future4 ,you are surrounded1 bathed1 in 
the atmosphere in which the future shall
 grow4 ,all that is good in you is      
nourished by those forces4 ,all that is 
harmonious with them is strengthened by 
their overmastering might4 ,you cannot  
be amongst us without sharing that      
inspiration2 you cannot be a member     
without sharing the life which is poured
 out unstinted through all the vessels  
of the ,theosophical ,society4 ,outside 
it is not worth while to say this1 for  
that is not a reason for inducing people
 to come in2 but you may rejoice that   

good karma in the past has brought you  
into the ,society in the present4 ,it   
has given you the right to have this    
opportunity of a nobler birth in the    
coming time1 has given you the          
opportunity of taking part in that great
 work which is beginning to be wrought  
among humanity4 ,it gives you1 from your
 life in the heavenly places1 touch with
 powers and opportunities that belong to
 these ideals in the world of men1 and  
it gives you the possibility there of   
touch with the ,mighty ,ones whom here1 
however unworthily1 we strive to follow4
 ,so that it is a great thing to be     
within it1 and it means much for the    
future of you1 if you can keep in it4   
,for the immediate future of the        
,theosophical ,society is the work of   
building that next sub-race which is to 
come4 ,that is the work for which       
consciously it ought to be working now4 
,in proportion as you realise it1 so    
will be the strength of your labor2 in  
proportion as you understand it1 so     

should be your share in the gladder work
 of that happier time4 ,for the future  
of the ,theosophical ,society is to be  
the mother1 and even the educator1 of   
the child sixth sub-race which already  
is going through its ante-natal life4   
,that is its future1 secure1 inevitable2
 yours the choice if you will share that
 future or not4     ,part ,,iii   ,the  
,value of ,theosophy in the ,world of   
,thought   ,an ,address on taking office
 as ,president of the ,theosophical     
,society4 ,delivered at the ,queen's    
,hall1 ,langham ,place1 ,london1 ,w41 on
 #ajth ,july #aijg4     ,the ,value of  
,theosophy in the ,world of ,thought    
,you will have seen on the handbill     
announcing the lecture1 that we are     
holding this meeting in connection with 
my taking office as ,president of the   
,theosophical ,society1 and it is my    
purpose1 in addressing you to-night1 to 
try to show you1 at least to some small 
extent1 what is the value which the     
,society represents1 as regarded from   

the standpoint of human activities1     
manifested in the world of thought4 ,i  
want to try to show you that when we say
 ,,theosophy we are speaking of         
something of real value which can serve 
humanity in the various departments of  
intellectual life4 ,i propose1 in order 
to do this1 to begin with a very brief  
statement of the fundamental idea of    
,theosophy2 and then1 turning to the    
world of religious thought1 to the world
 of artistic thought1 to the world of   
scientific thought1 and lastly to the   
world of political thought1 to point out
 to you how that which is called        
,theosophy may bring contributions of   
value to each of these in turn4  ,now   
,theosophy1 as the name implies1 is a   
,wisdom1 a ,divine ,wisdom2 and the name
 historically1 as many of you know1 is  
identical with that which in ,eastern   
lands has been known by various         
names--as ,tao1 in ,china2 as the       
,brahmavidya1 in ,india2 as the ,gnosis1
 among the ,greeks and the early        

,christians2 and as ,theosophy through  
the ,middle ,ages and in modern times4  
,it implies always a knowledge1 a       
,wisdom that transcends the ordinary    
knowledge1 the ordinary science of the  
earth2 it implies a wisdom as regards   
life1 a wisdom as regards the essential 
nature of things1 a wisdom which is     
summed up in two words when we say      
,god-,wisdom4 ,for it has been held in  
elder days--although in modern times it 
has become largely forgotten--that man  
can really never know anything at all   
unless he knows himself1 and knows      
himself ,divine2 that knowledge of ,god1
 the ,supreme1 the ,universal ,life1 is 
the root of all true knowledge of matter
 as well as of ,spirit1 of this world as
 well as of worlds other than our own2  
that in that one supreme knowledge all  
other knowledges find their root2 that  
in that supreme light all other lights  
have their origin2 and that if man can  
know anything1 it is because he is      
,divine in nature1 and1 sharing the     

,life that expresses itself in a        
universe1 he can know at once the ,life 
that originates and the ,matter that    
obeys4  ,starting from such a           
standpoint1 you will at once realise    
that ,theosophy is a spiritual theory of
 the world as against a materialistic4  
,it sees ,spirit as the moulder1 the    
shaper1 the arranger of matter1 and     
matter only as the obedient expression  
and servant of the ,spirit2 it sees in  
man a spiritual being1 seeking to unfold
 his powers by experience in a universe 
of forms2 and it declares that man      
misunderstands himself1 and will fail of
 his true end1 if he identifies himself 
with the form that perishes instead of  
with the life which is deathless4       
,hence1 opposed to materialism alike in 
science and philosophy1 it builds up a  
spiritual conception of the universe1   
and necessarily it is idealistic in its 
thought1 and holds up the importance of 
the ideal as a guide to all human       
activity4 ,the ideal1 which is thought  

applied to conduct1 that is the keynote 
of ,theosophy and its value in the      
varied worlds of thought2 and the power 
of thought1 the might of thought1 the   
ability that it has to clothe itself in 
forms whose life only depends on the    
continuance of the thought that gave    
them birth1 that is its central note1 or
 keynote1 in all the remedies that it   
applies to human ills4 ,idealist        
everywhere1 idealist in religion1       
idealist in art1 idealist in science1   
idealist in the practical life that men 
call politics1 idealist everywhere2 but 
avoiding the blunder into which some    
idealists have fallen1 when they have   
not recognised that human thought is    
only a portion of the whole1 and not the
 whole4 ,the ,theosophist recognises    
that the ,divine ,thought1 of which the 
universe is an expression1 puts         
limitations on his own power of thought1
 on his own creative activity4 ,he      
realises that the whole compels the     
part1 and that his own thought can only 

move within the vast circle of the      
,divine ,thought1 which he only         
partially expresses2 so that while he   
will maintain that1 on the ideal depends
 all that is called real in the lower   
worlds1 he will realise that his        
creative power can only slowly mould    
matter to his will1 and though every    
result will depend on a creative        
thought1 the results will often move    
slowly1 adapting themselves to the      
thought that gives them birth4 ,hence1  
while idealist1 he is not impracticable2
 while he sees the power of thought1 he 
recognises its limitations in space and 
time2 and while asserting the vital     
importance of right thought and right   
belief1 he realises that only slowly    
does the flower of thought ripen into   
the fruit of action4  ,but on the       
importance of thought he lays a stress  
unusual in modern life4 ,it is the cant 
of the day1 in judging the value of a   
man1 that it does not matter what he    
believes but only what he does4 ,that is

 not true4 ,it matters infinitely what a
 man believes2 for as a man's belief so 
he is2 as a man's thought1 so inevitably
 is his action4 ,there was a time in the
 world of thought when it was said with 
equal error3 ,it does not matter what a 
man does1 provided his faith is right4  
,if that word faith had meant the man's 
thought in its integrity1 then there    
would have been but little error2 for   
the right thought would inevitably have 
brought right action2 but in those days 
right thought meant only orthodox       
thought1 according to a narrow canon of 
interpretation1 the obedient repetition 
of creeds1 the blind acceptance of      
beliefs imposed by authority4 ,in those 
days what was called ,orthodoxy in      
religion was made the measure of the    
man1 and judgment depended upon orthodox
 acquiescence4 ,against that mistake the
 great movement that closed the ,middle 
,ages was the protest of the intellect  
of man1 and it was declared that no     
external authority must bind the        

intellect1 and none had right to impose 
from outside the thought which is the   
very essence of the man--that great     
assertion of the right of private       
judgment1 of the supreme principle of   
the free intelligence1 so necessary for 
the progress of humanity4 ,but like all 
things it has been followed by a        
reaction1 and men have run to the other 
extreme3 that nothing matters except    
conduct1 and action alone is to be      
considered4 ,but your action is the     
result of your thought of yesterday1 and
 follows your yesterday as its          
expression in the outer world2 your     
thought of to-day is your action of     
to-morrow1 and your future depends on   
its accuracy and its truth1 on its      
consonance with reality4 ,hence it is   
all-important in the modern world to    
give back to thought its right place as 
above action1 as its inspirer and its   
guide4 ,for the human spirit by its     
expression as intellect judges1 decides1
 directs1 controls4 ,its activity is the

 outcome of its thinking2 and if without
 caring for thought you plunge into     
action1 you have the constant           
experiments1 feeble and fruitless1 which
 so largely characterise our modern     
life4  ,pass1 then1 from that first     
assertion of the importance of right    
thinking1 to see what message ,theosophy
 has for the world of religious thought4
 ,what is religion8 ,religion is the    
quenchless thirst of the human spirit   
for the ,divine4 ,it is the ,eternal1   
plunged into a world of transitory      
phenomena1 striving to realise its own  
eternity4 ,it is the ,immortal1 flung   
into a world of death1 trying to realise
 its own deathlessness4 ,it is the white
 ,eagle of ,heaven1 born in the         
illimitable spaces1 beating its wings   
against the bars of matter1 and striving
 to break them and rise into the        
immensities where are its birthplace and
 its real home4 ,that is religion3 the  
striving of man for ,god4 ,and that     
thirst of man for ,god many have tried  

to quench with what is called ,theology1
 or with books that are called sacred1  
traditions that are deemed holy1        
ceremonies and rites which are but local
 expressions of a universal truth4 ,you 
can no more quench that thirst of the   
human ,spirit by anything but individual
 experience of the ,divine1 than you can
 quench the thirst of the traveller     
parched and dying in the desert by      
letting him hear water go down the      
throat of another4 ,human experience1   
and that alone1 is the rock on which all
 religion is founded1 that is the rock  
that can never be shaken1 on which every
 true ,church must be built4 ,books1 it 
is true1 are often sacred2 but you may  
tear up every sacred book in the world1 
and as long as man remains1 and ,god to 
inspire man1 new books can be written1  
new pages of inspiration can be penned4 
,you may break in pieces every ceremony1
 however beautiful and elevating1 and   
the ,spirit that made them to express   
himself has not lost his artistic power1

 and can make new rites and new         
ceremonies to replace every one that is 
broken and cast aside4 ,the ,spirit is  
deathless as ,god is deathless1 and in  
that deathlessness of the ,spirit lies  
the certainty1 the immortality of       
religion4 ,and ,theosophy1 in appealing 
to that immortal experience1 points the 
world of religions--confused by many an 
attack1 bewildered by many an assault1  
half timid before the new truth         
discovered every day1 half scared at the
 undermining of old foundations1 and the
 tearing by criticism of many           
documents--points it back to its own    
inexhaustible source1 and bids it fear  
neither time nor truth1 since ,spirit is
 truth and eternity4 ,all that criticism
 can take from you is the outer form1   
never the living reality2 and well      
indeed is it for the churches and for   
the religions of the world that the     
outworks of documents should be levelled
 with the ground1 in order to show the  
impregnability of the citadel1 which is 

knowledge and experience4  ,but in the  
world of religious thought there are    
many services1 less important1 in truth1
 than the one ,i have spoken of1 but    
still important and valuable to the     
faiths of the world2 for ,theosophy     
brings back to men1 living in tradition1
 testimony to the reality of knowledge  
transcending the knowledge of the senses
 and the reasoning powers of the lower  
mind4 ,it comes with its hands full of  
proof1 modern proof1 proof of to-day1   
living witnesses1 of unseen worlds1 of  
subtler worlds than the physical4 ,it   
comes1 as the ,founders and the early   
,teachers of every religion have come1  
to testify again by personal experience 
to the reality of the unseen worlds of  
which the religions are the continual   
witnesses in the physical world4 ,have  
you ever noticed in the histories of the
 great religions how they grow feebler  
in their power over men as faith takes  
the place of knowledge1 and tradition   
the place of the living testimony of    

living men8 ,that is one of the values  
of ,theosophy in the religious world1   
that it teaches men to travel to worlds 
unseen1 and to bring back the evidence  
of what they have met and studied2 that 
it so teaches men their own nature that 
it enables them to separate soul and    
body1 and travel without the physical   
body in worlds long thought             
unattainable1 save through the gateway  
of death4 ,i say ,long thought          
unattainable2 but the scriptures of     
every religion bear witness that they   
are not unattainable4 ,the ,hindu tells 
us that man should separate himself from
 his body as you strip the sheath from  
the stem of the grass4 ,the ,buddhist   
tells us that by deep thought and       
contemplation mind may know itself as   
mind apart from the physical brain4     
,christianity tells us many a story of  
the personal knowledge of its earlier   
teachers1 of a ministry of angels that  
remained in the ,church1 and of angelic 
teachers training the neophytes in      

knowledge4 ,islam tells us that its own 
great prophet himself passed into higher
 worlds1 and brought back the truths    
which civilised ,arabia1 and gave       
knowledge which lit again the torch of  
learning in ,europe when the ,moors came
 to ,spain4 ,and so religion after      
religion bears testimony to the         
possibility of human knowledge outside  
the physical world2 we only re-proclaim 
the ancient truth--with this addition1  
which some religions now shrink from    
making3 that what man did in the past   
man may do to-day2 that the powers of   
the ,spirit are not shackled1 that the  
knowledge of the other worlds is still  
attainable to man4 ,and outside that    
practical knowledge of other worlds it  
brings by that same method the distinct 
assertion of the survival of the human  
,spirit after death4 ,it is only in very
 modern times that that has been doubted
 by any large numbers of people4 ,here  
and there in the ancient world1 like a  
,lucretius in ,rome1 perhaps2 like a    

,democritus in ,greece2 certainly like a
 ,charvaka in ,india1 you find one here 
and there who doubts the deathlessness  
of the ,spirit in man2 but in modern    
days that disbelief1 or the hopeless    
cynicism which thinks knowledge         
impossible1 has penetrated far and wide 
among the cultured1 the educated        
classes1 and from them to the masses of 
the uneducated4 ,that is the phenomenon 
of modern days alone1 that man by       
hundreds and by thousands despairs of   
his own immortality4 ,and yet the       
deepest conviction of humanity1 the     
deepest thought in man1 is the          
persistence of himself1 the ,i that     
cannot die4 ,and with one great         
generalisation1 and one method1         
,theosophy asserts at once the          
deathlessness of man and the existence  
of ,god2 for it says to man1 as it was  
ever said in the ancient days3 ,the     
proof of ,god is not without you but    
within you4 ,all the greatest teachers  
have reiterated that message1 so full of

 hope and comfort2 for it shuts none out
 from knowledge4 ,what is the method8   
,strip away your senses1 and you find   
the mind2 strip away the mind1 and you  
find the pure reason2 strip away the    
pure reason1 and you find the           
will-to-live2 strip away the            
will-to-live1 and you find ,spirit as a 
unit2 strike away the limitations of the
 ,spirit1 and you find ,god4 ,those are 
the steps3 told in ancient days1        
repeated now4 ,lose your life1 said the 
,christ1 and you shall find it to life  
eternal4 ,that is true3 let go          
everything that you can let go2 you     
cannot let go yourself1 and in the      
impossibility of losing yourself you    
find the certainty of the ,self         
,universal1 the ,universal ,life4  ,pass
 again from that to another religious   
point4 ,i mentioned ceremonies1 rites of
 every faith4 ,those ,theosophy looks at
 and understands4 ,so many have cast    
away ceremonies1 even if they have found
 them helpful1 because they do not      

understand them1 and fear superstition  
in their use4 ,knowledge has two great  
enemies3 ,superstition and ,scepticism4 
,knowledge destroys blind superstition  
by asserting and explaining natural     
truths of which the superstition has    
exaggerated the unessentials2 and it    
destroys scepticism by proving the      
reality of the facts of the unseen      
world4 ,the ceremony1 the rite1 is a    
shadow in the world of sense of the     
truths in the world of ,spirit2 and     
every religion1 every creed1 has its    
ceremonies as the outward physical      
expression of some eternal spiritual    
truth4 ,theosophy defends them1         
justifies them1 by explaining them2 and 
when they are understood they cease to  
be superstitions that blind1 and become 
crutches that help the halting mind to  
climb to the spiritual life4  ,let us   
pass from the world of religious        
thought1 and pause for a moment on the  
world of artistic thought4 ,now to ,art1
 perhaps more than in any other         

department of the human intelligence1   
the ideal is necessary for life4 ,all   
men have wondered from time to time why 
the architecture--to take one case      
only--why the architecture of the past  
is so much more wonderful1 so much more 
beautiful1 than the architecture of the 
present4 ,when you want to build some   
great national building to-day you have 
to go back to ,greece1 or ,rome1 or the 
,middle ,ages for your model4 ,why is it
 that you have no new architecture1     
expressive of your own time1 as that was
 expressive of the past8 ,the severe    
order of ,egypt found its expression in 
the mighty temples of ,karnak2 the      
beauty and lucidity of ,grecian thought 
bodied itself out in the chaste and     
simple splendor of ,grecian buildings2  
the sternness of ,roman law found its   
ideal expression in those wondrous      
buildings whose ruins still survive in  
,rome2 the faith of the ,middle ,ages   
found its expression in the             
upward-springing arch of ,gothic        

architecture1 and the exquisite tracery 
of the ornamented building4 ,but if you 
go into the ,gothic cathedral1 what do  
you find there8 ,that not alone in      
wondrous arch and splendid pillar1      
upspringing in its delicate and slender 
strength from pavement to roof1 not     
there only did the art of the builder   
find its expression4 ,go round to any   
out-of-the-way corner1 or climb the roof
 of those great buildings1 and you will 
find in unnoticed places1 in hidden     
corners1 the love of the artist bodying 
itself forth in delicate tracery1 in    
stone that lives4 ,men carved for love1 
not only for fame2 men carved for       
beauty's sake1 not only for money2 and  
they built perfectly because they had   
love and faith1 the two divine builders1
 and embodied both in deathless stone4  
,before you can be more than copyists   
you must find your modern ideal1 and    
when you have found it you can build    
buildings that will defy time4 ,but you 
have not found it yet2 the artist       

amongst us is too much of a copyist1 and
 too little of an inspirer and a        
prophet4 ,we do not want the painter    
only to paint for us the things our own 
eyes can see4 ,we want the artist eye to
 see more than the common eye1 and to   
embody what he sees in beauty for the   
instruction of our blinded sight4 ,we do
 not want accurate pictures of cabbages 
and turnips and objects of that sort4   
,however cleverly done1 they remain     
cabbages and turnips still4 ,the man who
 could paint for us the thought that    
makes the cabbage1 he would be the      
artist1 the man who knows the ,life4    
,and so for our new ,art we must have a 
splendid ideal4 ,do you want to know how
 low ,art may sink when materialism     
triumphs and vulgarises and degrades8   
,then see that exhibition of ,french    
pictures that was placed in ,bond       
,street some years ago1 which attracted 
those who loved indecency more than     
those who loved the beautiful1 and then 
you will understand how ,art perishes   

where the breath of the ideal does not  
inspire and keep alive4 ,and ,theosophy 
to the artist would bring back that     
ancient reverence which regards the     
artist of the ,beautiful as one of the  
chief ,god-revealers to the race of     
which he is a portion2 which sees in the
 great musical artist1 or the sculptor1 
or the painter1 a ,god-inspired man1    
bringing down the grace of heaven to    
illuminate the dull grey planes of      
earth4 ,the artists should be the       
prophets of our time1 the revealers of  
the ,divine smothered under the         
material2 and were they this1 they would
 be regarded with love and with         
reverence2 for true art needs reverence 
for its growing1 and the artist1 of all 
men--subtle1 responsive1 sensitive to   
everything that touches him--needs an   
atmosphere of love and reverence that he
 may flower into his highest power1 and 
show the world some glimpse of the      
,beauty which is ,god4  ,and the world  
of science--perhaps there1 after the    

world of religion1 ,theosophy has most  
of value to offer4 ,take ,psychology4   
,what a confusion2 what a mass of facts 
want arrangement2 what a chaos of facts 
out of which no cosmos is built6        
,theosophy1 by its clear and accurate   
definition of man1 of the relation of   
consciousness to its bodies1 of ,spirit 
to its vehicles1 arranges into order    
that vast mass of facts with which      
psychology is struggling now4 ,it takes 
into that wonderful unconscious or      
sub-conscious--which is now1 as it were1
 the answer to every riddle2 but it is  
not understood--it takes into that the  
light of direct investigation2 divides  
the unconscious which comes from the    
past from that which is the presage of  
the future1 separates out the           
inheritance of our long past ancestry   
which remains as the sub-conscious in   
us2 points to the higher                
super-conscious1 not sub-conscious1 of  
which the genius is the testimony at the
 present time2 shows that human         

consciousness transcends the brain2     
proves that human consciousness is in   
touch with worlds beyond the physical2  
and makes sure and certain the hope     
expressed by science1 that it is        
possible that that which is now         
unconscious shall become conscious1 and 
that man shall find himself in touch    
with a universe and not only in touch   
with one limited world4 ,that which     
,myers sometimes spoke of as the cosmic 
consciousness1 as against our own       
limited consciousness1 is a profound    
truth1 and carries with it the prophecy 
of man's future greatness4 ,just as the 
fish is limited to the water1 as the    
bird is limited to the air1 so man has  
been limited to the physical body1 and  
has dreamed he had no touch with other  
spaces1 to which he really belongs4 ,but
 your consciousness is living in three  
worlds1 and not in one1 is touching     
mightier possibilities1 is beginning to 
contact subtler phenomena2 and all the  
traces of that are found in your newest 

psychology1 and are simply proofs of    
those many theories about man which     
,theosophy has been teaching in the     
world for many a century1 nay1 for many 
a millennium4  ,and physics and         
chemistry is there anything of value    
along ,theosophical lines of thought and
 investigation1 which might aid our     
physicists and our chemists1 puzzled at 
the subtlety of the forces with which   
they have to deal8 ,has it never struck 
some of the more intuitive physicists   
and materialists that there may be      
subtler senses which may be used for    
investigation of the subtler forces8    
,that man may have in himself senses by 
the evolution of which he will able to  
pierce the secrets that now he is       
striving vainly to unveil8 ,has it never
 even struck a physicist or a chemist   
that1 if he does not believe in the     
possibility of himself developing those 
subtler forces1 he might utilise them in
 others in order to prosecute further   
his own investigations8 ,they are       

beginning to to do that in ,france4     
,they are beginning to now try to use   
those whom they call lucid2 that is1    
people who see with eyes keener than the
 physical2 they are beginning to use    
those in medicine1 are using them for   
the diagnosis of disease1 are using them
 for the testing of the sensitiveness of
 man1 are beginning to use them to try  
to discover if man has any body subtler 
than the physical4 ,and while ,i would  
not say to the scientific man3 ,accept  
our theories1 ,i would say to him3 ,take
 them as hypotheses by which you may    
direct your further experiments1 and you
 may go on and make discoveries more    
rapidly than you can at the present     
time4 ,for there is many a clairvoyant  
who1 put before a piece of some         
elemental substance1 could describe it  
very much better than is done by your   
fractional analysis4 ,and along other   
lines--chemical and electrical--surely  
there is something a little             
unsatisfactory1 when a few years ago men

 told us that the atom was composed     
literally of myriads of particles1 and  
during the last year it has been        
suggested that perhaps one particle is  
all of which an atom is composed4 ,might
 it not be wise to try to get hold of   
your atoms by sight keener than the     
physical1 as it is possible to do1      
whether by the ordinary clairvoyant who 
is sometimes developed up to that point1
 or by an untrained sensitive whose     
senses are set free from the limitations
 of the physical brain1 and from that   
sensitive try to gather something of the
 composition of matter which may guide  
you in your more scientific search8 ,i  
realise that what one1 or two1 or twenty
 people see1 is no proof for the        
scientific man2 but it may give a hint  
whereby mathematical deductions may be  
made1 and calculations which otherwise  
would not be thought of4 ,so that ,i    
only suggest the utilising by science of
 certain powers that are now available1 
keener than those of the ordinary       

senses--a new sort of human microscope  
or human telescope--whereby you may     
pierce to the larger or the smaller1    
beyond the reach of your physical       
microscopes and telescopes1 made of     
metal and not of intelligence showing   
itself in matter4  ,is there anything of
 value in ,theosophical ideas1 shall ,i 
say to the science of medicine8 ,some   
say it is not yet a science1 but works  
empirically only4 ,there is some truth  
in that2 but are there not here again   
lines of investigation which the        
physician might well study8 ,for        
instance1 the power of thought over the 
human body1 all that mass of facts on   
which partly is built up such a science 
as ,mental ,healing1 or what is called  
,faith ,cure1 and so on4 ,do you think  
that these things have been going on for
 hundreds of years1 and that there is no
 truth lying behind them8 ,the effects  
of imagination1 you say4 ,but what is   
imagination8 ,it does not matter of what
 it is the effect1 if it brings cure    

where before there was disease4 ,if you 
put into a man's body a drug that you do
 not understand1 and find that it cures 
a disease and relieves a pain1 will you 
throw the drug aside because you do not 
understand it8 ,and why do you throw the
 power of imagination aside because you 
cannot weigh it in your balance1 nor    
find that it depresses one scale more   
than the other8 ,imagination is one of  
the subtlest powers of thought3         
imagination is one of the strongest     
powers that the doctor might utilise    
when his drugs fail him and his old     
methods no longer serve his purpose4    
,suggestion1 the power of thought4 ,why1
 there are records of cases where       
suggestion has killed6 ,that which has  
killed can also cure1 and man's body    
being only a product of thought1 built  
up through the ages1 answers more       
rapidly to its creator than it does to  
clumsier products from the mineral and  
vegetable kingdoms4 ,here again ,i only 
ask experiment4 ,you know that you can  

produce wounds upon the body of the     
hypnotised patient1 in a state of       
trance4 ,by suggestion lesions are made1
 burns are caused1 inflammation and pain
 appear by the mere suggestion of a     
wound4 ,a blister is placed on a patient
 and forbidden to act2 the skin is      
untouched when the blister is removed3 a
 bit of wet paper is given by thought   
the qualities of the blister1 and it    
will raise the skin1 with all the       
accompaniments of the chemical blister4 
,now these things are known4 ,you can   
see the pictures of wounds thus         
produced1 if you will1 in some of the   
,paris hospitals1 for along this line   
the ,frenchman is investigating further 
than the ,englishman has done4 ,and     
along that line also lies much of useful
 experiment to be brought to the relief 
of the diseases of humanity4  ,but as ,i
 have touched upon medicine1 let me     
say--for ,i ought here to say it--that  
there are some methods of modern        
medicine which ,theosophy emphatically  

condemns4 ,it declares that no knowledge
 which is gained from a tortured1 a     
vivisected creature1 is legitimate1 even
 if it were as useful as it has been    
proved to be useless4 ,it declares that 
all inoculations of disease into the    
healthy body are illegitimate1 and it   
condemns all such4 ,it declares that all
 those foul injections of modern        
medicine which use animal fluids to     
restore the exhausted vitality of man   
are ruinous to the body into which they 
are put4 ,here again ,france1 by the    
very excess of its methods1 is beginning
 to recoil before the results which have
 come about4 ,only two years ago ,i was 
told by a leading physician of ,paris   
that many of the doctors had met        
together to look at the results which   
had grown out of the methods that for   
years they had been following without   
hesitation and without scruple1 and that
 they feared that they had caused more  
diseases than they cured4 ,why are these
 things condemned as illegitimate8      

,because the building up of the human   
body is the building by a living ,spirit
 of a temple for himself1 and it is     
moulded by that ,spirit for his own     
purposes4 ,the higher powers of         
intelligence have made the human body   
what it is1 different from the animal   
bodies out of which1 physically1 in ages
 long gone by1 it has grown4 ,your      
delicacy of touch1 the exquisite beauty 
and delicacy of your nervous system1    
these things are the outcome of the     
higher powers of the ,spirit expressing 
themselves in the human body1 where they
 cannot express themselves in the animal
 form4 ,and if you ignore this1 if you  
forget it1 if you forget that this      
splendid human temple built up by the   
,spirit of man through ages of toil and 
of suffering1 to express his own higher 
qualities--compassion1 tenderness1 love1
 pity for the weak and the helpless1    
protection of the helpless against the  
strong--if you forget the whole of that1
 and act as a brute even would not act1 

in cruelty and wickedness to men and    
animals alike1 you will degrade the body
 you are trying to preserve1 you will   
paralyse the body you are trying to save
 from disease1 and you will go back into
 the savagery which is the nemesis of   
cruelty1 and ruin these nobler bodies1  
the inheritance of the civilised races4 
,i pass from that to my last world1 the 
world of political thought4 ,now        
,theosophy takes no part in party       
politics4 ,it lays down the great       
principle of human ,brotherhood1 and    
bids its followers go out into the world
 and work on it--using their            
intelligence1 their power of thought1 to
 judge the value of every method which  
is proposed4 ,and our general criticism 
on the politics of the moment would be  
that they are remedies1 not preventions1
 and leave untouched the root out of    
which all the miseries grow4 ,looking   
sometimes at your party politics1 it    
seems to me as though you were as       
children plucking flowers and sticking  

them into the sand and saying3 ,see what
 a beautiful garden ,i have made4 ,and  
when you wake the next morning the      
flowers are dead1 for there were no     
roots1 but only rootless flowers4 ,i    
know you must make remedies1 but you    
should not stop at that4 ,when you send 
out your ,red ,cross doctors and nurses 
to pick up the mutilated bodies that    
your science of war has maimed1 they are
 doing noble work1 and deserve our love 
and gratitude1 for the wounded must be  
nursed2 but the man who works for peace 
does more for the good of humanity than 
the ,red ,cross doctors and nurses4 ,and
 so also in the political world4 ,you   
cannot safely live hand-to-mouth in     
politics any more than in any other     
department of human life4 ,but how many 
are there in the political parties who  
care for causes and not only for        
effects8 ,that is the criticism we      
should make4 ,we see everywhere         
,democracy spreading2 but ,democracy is 
on its trial1 and unless it can evolve  

some method by which the wise shall     
rule1 and not merely the weight of      
ignorant numbers1 it will dig its own   
grave4 ,so long as you leave your people
 ignorant they are not fit to rule4 ,the
 schools should come before the vote1   
and knowledge before power4 ,you are    
proud of your liberty2 you boast of a   
practically universal suffrage--leaving 
out1 of course1 one half of             
humanity6--but taking your male suffrage
 as you have it1 how many of the voters 
who go to the poll know the principles  
of political history1 know anything of  
economics1 know anything of all the     
knowledge which is wanted for the       
guiding of the ship of the ,state       
through troubled waters8 ,you do not    
choose your captains out of people who  
know nothing of navigation2 but you     
choose the makers of your rulers out of 
those who have not studied and do not   
know4 ,that is not wise4 ,i do not deny 
it is a necessary stage in the evolution
 of man4 ,i know that the ,spirit acts  

wisely1 and guides the nations along    
roads in which lessons are to be        
learned2 and ,i hope that out of the    
blunders1 and the errors1 and the       
crudities of present politics there will
 evolve a saner method1 in which the    
wise of the nation will have power and  
guide its councils1 and wisdom1 not     
numbers1 shall speak the decisive word4 
,now there is one criticism of politics 
that we often hear in these days4 ,it is
 said that behind politics lie          
economics4 ,that is true4 ,you may go on
 playing at politics for ever and ever2 
but if your economic foundation is      
rotten1 no political remedies can build 
a happy and prosperous nation4 ,but     
while ,i agree that behind politics lie 
economics1 there is something that lies 
also behind economics1 and of that ,i   
hear little said4 ,behind economics lies
 character1 and without character you   
cannot build a free and a happy nation4 
,a nation enormous in power1 what do you
 know of the way in which your power is 

wielded in many a far-off land8 ,how    
much do you know about your vast ,indian
 ,empire8 ,how many of your voters going
 to the poll can give an intelligent    
answer to any question affecting that   
#cjj1jjj1jjj of human beings whom you   
hold in your hand1 and deal with as you 
will8 ,there are responsibilities of    
,empire as well as pride in it1 and     
pride of ,empire is apt to founder when 
the responsibilities of ,empire are     
ignored4 ,and so the ,theosophist is    
content to go to the root of the matter1
 and try to build up for you the        
citizens out of whom your future ,state 
is to be made4 ,education1 real         
education1 secular education1 is now    
your cry4 ,they tried secular education 
in ,france2 they destroyed religious    
teaching2 they tried to give morality   
without religion4 ,but the moral lessons
 had no effect3 they were too cold and  
dull1 and dead4 ,is it not a scandal    
that in a country like this1 where the  
vast majority are religious1 you are    

quarrelling so much about the trifles   
that separate you1 that the only way to 
peace seems to be to take religion out  
of the schools altogether1 and train the
 children only in morality1 allowing an 
insignificant minority to have its way8 
,why6 we have done better than that in  
,india1 we ,theosophists4 ,hindu        
,theosophists have founded there a      
,college in which1 despite all their    
sects and all their religious quarrels1 
they have found a common minimum of     
,hinduism on which their children can be
 trained in religion and morality alike4
 ,i grant it was a ,theosophical        
inspiration that began the movement2 but
 the whole mass of ,hindus have fallen  
in with it1 and are accepting the books 
as the basis of education4 ,government  
has recognised them1 and has begun to   
introduce them for the use of ,hindus in
 its own schools4 ,that is the way in   
which we ,theosophists work at politics4
 ,we go to the root to build character1 
and we know that noble characters will  

make a noble and also a prosperous      
nation4 ,but you can no more make a     
nation of free men out of children      
untrained in duty and in righteousness1 
than you can build a house that will    
stand if you use ill-baked bricks and   
rotten timber4 ,our keynote in politics 
is ,brotherhood4 ,that worked out into  
life will give you the nation that you  
want4  ,and what does ,brotherhood mean8
 ,it means that everyone of us1 you and 
,i1 every man and woman throughout the  
land1 looks on all others as they look  
on their own brothers1 and acts on the  
same principle which in the family      
rules4 ,you keep religion out of        
politics8 ,you cannot1 without peril to 
your ,state2 for unless you teach your  
people that they are a ,brotherhood1    
whether or not they choose to recognise 
it1 you are building on the sand and not
 on the rock4 ,and what does            
,brotherhood mean8 ,it means that the   
man who gains learning1 uses it to teach
 the ignorant1 until none are ignorant4 

,it means that the man who is pure takes
 his purity to the foul1 until all have 
become clean4 ,it means that the man who
 is wealthy uses his wealth for the     
benefit of the poor1 until all have     
become prosperous4 ,it means that       
everything you gain1 you share2         
everything you achieve1 you give its    
fruit to all4 ,that is the law of       
,brotherhood1 and it is the law of      
national as well as of individual life4 
,you cannot rise alone4 ,you are bound  
too strongly each to each4 ,if you use  
your strength to raise yourself by      
trampling on your fellows1 inevitably   
you will fail by the weakness that you  
have wronged4  ,do you know who are the 
greatest enemies of a ,state8 ,the weak1
 injured by the strong4 ,for1 above all 
,states1 rules an ,eternal ,justice2 and
 the tears of miserable women1 and the  
curses of angry1 starving men1 sap the  
foundations of a ,state that denies     
,brotherhood1 and reach the ears of that
 ,eternal ,justice by which alone       

,states live1 and ,nations continue4 ,it
 is written in an ancient scripture that
 a ,master of ,duty said to a ,king3    
,beware the tears of the weak1 for they 
sap the thrones of ,kings4 ,strength may
 threaten3 weakness undermines4         
,strength may stand up to fight3        
weakness cuts away the ground on which  
the fighters are standing4 ,and the     
message of ,theosophy to the modern     
political world is3 ,think less about   
your outer laws1 and more about the     
lives of the people who have to live    
under those laws4 ,remember that        
government can only live when the people
 are happy2 that ,states can only       
flourish where the masses of the        
population are contented2 that all that 
makes life enjoyable is the right of the
 lowest and the poorest2 that they can  
do without external happiness far less  
than you1 who have so many means of     
inner satisfaction1 of enjoyment1 by the
 culture that you possess and that they 
lack4 ,if there is not money enough for 

everything1 spend your money in making  
happier1 healthier1 purer1 more         
educated1 the lives of the poor2 then a 
happy nation will be an imperial nation2
 for ,brotherhood is the strongest force
 on earth4     ,part ,,iv   ,the ,field 
of ,work of the ,theosophical ,society  
,the ,presidential ,address delivered to
 the ,convention of the ,british        
,section of the ,theosophical ,society1 
held in ,essex ,hall1 ,london1 #gth     
,july #aijg4     ,the ,field of ,work of
 the ,theosophical ,society4   ,it is my
 duty now to bring to a close this      
,convention1 and to bid you all         
farewell1 to scatter to your various    
places and to do1 let us hope1 with     
fresh courage and deeper knowledge1 the 
varied works which you are called upon  
to perform4 ,and let me1 before ,i take 
up the subject upon which ,i am to      
speak--,the ,field of ,work of the      
,theosophical ,society--let me1 ere     
beginning that subject1 say one word of 
gratitude to her without whom the       

,theosophical ,society could not till   
any field1 nor sow any seed--to         
,h4,p4,b41 our ,teacher and our ,helper1
 let us offer our heart's gratitude2 for
 without her we could not have met      
together1 without her we could not have 
learned the ,theosophical teaching4 ,it 
may be that many of us have learned much
 since she first taught us1 but she was 
the first ,teacher1 and the ,bringer of 
the ,light4 ,it may be that some1 since 
they met her1 have known their ,master  
face to face2 but it was she who led    
them to ,his presence1 she to whom the  
possibility in this life was due4 ,it   
may well be that had she not come some  
other might have come to do the work1   
but that matters not to us2 that she did
 it is her claim to our homage1 and we1 
who live in the light she brought1 may  
well pay tribute of gratitude to her4   
,what is the ,field of our ,society's   
work8 ,it is sketched in our ,three     
,objects2 and those of you who have     
looked upon the ,objects with care1 in  

the various recensions through which    
they have passed1 may have noticed that 
each one of them covers one of the      
aspects of human consciousness4 ,in the 
first1 that which declares the truth of 
the ,universal ,brotherhood1 we have the
 field of work of the ,activity aspect1 
the active principle of the             
consciousness1 of the ,spirit1 which    
seeks expression in service to the race4
 ,in the second1 the study of the       
religions and the philosophies of the   
world1 we have the field of work for the
 ,cognition aspect of consciousness1    
that which gathers together the fruit of
 knowledge2 it is the ,knower gathering 
the food by which he unfolds his powers4
 ,and in the third we have the field of 
work of the ,will1 the ,power aspect of 
the consciousness1 the deepest root of  
our being1 that by which the worlds     
exist1 as they are supported by the     
,wisdom1 as they are created by the     
,activity4 ,so that when we thus look at
 the objects of the ,society and realise

 the relation that they bear to our     
conscious selves1 we see that the field 
of the work of the ,theosophical        
,society is wide as the world1 and knows
 no limit where ,will and ,knowledge and
 ,activity can make their way4 ,and it  
is true1 now and always1 that everything
 which helps and benefits man is        
,theosophical work1 and that nothing can
 be excluded from the sphere of our work
 which includes every aspect of         
consciousness4 ,so let us take this     
natural1 this scientific division of our
 work1 and see what we may do in each   
field which offers itself to the        
appropriate power in our nature4  ,the  
first will naturally cover all active   
working for humanity1 all service which 
one can offer to another2 and it will be
 well1 in the days that lie before us1  
if we realise that there is no scheme   
for human helping1 no possible effort   
for human uplifting1 which is outside   
the field of work of the ,first ,object 
of our ,society4 ,every ,lodge of the   

,society should make it one of its      
activities to serve humanity in the     
place where the ,lodge is founded2 and  
the value of the ,lodge should be in the
 knowledge that is there gathered with  
the object of spreading it4 ,for        
,theosophy should be your touch-stone as
 to the value of every scheme1 as to the
 tendency of every proposition4 ,in all 
the countless schemes around us in these
 active times1 some work only for the   
moment2 others1 based on sound          
principle1 are preparing the world for a
 better and happier future4 ,by your    
,theosophical knowledge you can judge   
the value of every such scheme1 and     
throw yourselves into those alone which 
work on lines beneficial to the future1 
which are laying the foundations of a   
civilisation greater than our own4 ,for 
among the many schemes and many methods 
there are ways in which each man        
inspired by the ,spirit of ,brotherhood 
may find work that satisfies his reason 
and is justified by his conscience4 ,and

 there is no one particular method1 no  
one special road1 along which the       
,society1 as ,society1 can go4 ,it lays 
down the principle of ,brotherhood as an
 active working spirit in the life of   
every member1 and then it leaves the    
member free to use his own judgment and 
his own conscience as to which among the
 many methods recommends itself most to 
him as an individual4 ,so that in       
speaking of that field of work1 it is   
not for me to say3 ,this plan1 that     
method1 the other means1 that is what   
you ought to follow2 but only that you  
are not carrying out the ,first ,object 
of the ,society1 unless you are engaging
 your activity in some task which in    
your intelligence and conscience is     
working for the benefit of your         
fellow-men4 ,that is a point ,i want to 
put to your ,lodges2 for when ,i see    
questions discussed as to giving new    
life to ,lodges1 vivifying ,lodges1 and 
so on1 ,i know well that the only cause 
for the need of such discussion is      

because men allow the life to stagnate  
within the ,lodge1 instead of sending it
 forth a living stream to fertilise the 
place in which the ,lodge is built4     
,there would be no lack of life were it 
not that you keep it bottled up for your
 own advantage1 for your own needs4 ,the
 source of life is inexhaustible1 and it
 only ceases to flow where there is     
stagnation1 because it is not allowed to
 run out to the people who have need of 
it1 but is kept within the narrow limits
 of a ,lodge4 ,if you worked as well as 
talked1 if you labored as well as       
discussed1 if you served as well as     
praised service1 there would be no time 
and no need to discuss how the ,lodges  
of the ,theosophical ,society shall be  
vivified4  ,your ,lodge should be your  
place of inspiration1 the place where   
you learn how you are to serve1 the     
place where you find the bread of life4 
,but the bread of life is meant to feed 
the hungry1 and not to surfeit those    
already filled1 to feed the hungry      

crowds around you starving for          
knowledge1 that life may be made        
intelligible and thus tolerable to them2
 and it is yours to feed the flock of   
the ,great ,shepherd1 and to help those 
who1 without this ,wisdom1 are helpless4
 ,and all need it2 not the poor alone1  
nor the rich alone1 but every child of  
man4 ,for the one thing that presses    
upon all alike1 the bitterness of life1 
is the sense of wrong1 the want of      
intelligibility in life1 and therefore a
 feeling of the lack of justice upon    
earth2 that is the sting which pierces  
every heart2 whether the heart belong to
 the rich or the poor1 it matters not4  
,when you understand life1 life becomes 
bearable2 and never till you understand 
it will it cease to be a burden grievous
 to be borne2 but when you understand   
it1 everything changes4 ,when you       
realise its meaning1 its value1 you can 
put up with the difficulties4 ,and our  
work with regard to those around us is  
to bring that knowledge1 and by that    

knowledge to lift them to a place of    
peace4 ,that is the work which demands  
to be done1 and which your ,lodges have 
the duty of doing4 ,for there ought not 
to be one scheme for human helping1 in  
any place where a ,lodge of the         
,theosophical ,society is established1  
where in that ,lodge workers may not be 
found ready and eager to give labor to  
the helping of their brothers amongst   
whom they live4 ,what is the use of     
prattling about ,universal ,brotherhood1
 if you do not live it8 ,sometimes1 in  
discussions on ,brotherhood1 it is      
spoken of as though it only meant soft  
words and well-turned phrases1          
sentimentality and not reality4 ,it     
means work1 constant1 steadfast1        
unwearied work1 for those who require   
service at our hands2 not soft words to 
each other1 but work for the world1 that
 is the true meaning of ,brotherhood4   
,pass from that to our next field of    
work1 sketched out by our ,second       
,object4 ,without that you cannot       

rightly work for ,brotherhood1 for you  
will not understand the knowledge       
already garnered4 ,you must learn in    
order to teach1 you must study in order 
to understand1 and this ,object is not  
carried on in our ,lodges as effectively
 as it ought to be2 for it is translated
 into one man studying1 and pouring out 
the fruits of his study into the open   
mouths round him on every side4 ,that is
 all very well in the beginning when the
 young bird comes out of the egg4 ,it is
 necessary that the father and mother   
bird should pour food into the wide open
 beak2 but some of you ought to have    
gone beyond that in the thirty-two years
 of life of the ,society3 you ought to  
be ready to help1 and not only to be    
helped4 ,and the life of the ,society   
will not be healthy while so few are    
students1 and therefore so few are fit  
to teach4 ,every ,lodge should have its 
classes for study under this object4    
,there are other ways in which you must 
learn as well as by the teaching of     

brother ,theosophists1 and there is a   
plan they are just adopting in the      
,paris ,lodge for the work of the coming
 winter1 which is a very good one2      
instead of ,theosophists studying the   
books of scholars1 and then giving out  
what they have learned1 the ,french     
,lodge is inviting leading              
representatives of the various branches 
of thought1 those specially interesting 
to us1 in order that they may put their 
knowledge from their own standpoint1 and
 that the ,theosophist may have the     
advantage of listening to them at first 
hand4 ,that seems to me a very admirable
 plan1 and ,i know not why in some of   
the ,london ,lodges you should not try  
to take a leaf out of our ,french       
neighbor's book1 and why one ,lodge at  
least should not try1 if only for one   
six months1 to bring to that ,lodge some
 leader in the world of thought1 who    
shall tell it what he believes1 and     
explain the lines of his work4 ,if you  
could persuade specialists along the    

many lines of study1 religious and      
philosophical1 to give you the fruits of
 their work1 you would learn more       
rapidly1 you would learn the spirit of a
 school in a more satisfactory manner1  
than when you are only studying books1  
and then giving out the books you have  
read4 ,you value1 and rightly value1 the
 knowledge that ,mr4 ,mead brings you   
along his special lines of study1 but   
why should you not have that same       
advantage similarly from others who     
follow other lines of thought1 and would
 speak similarly from first-hand        
knowledge8 ,there is a life in it that  
there never is in second-hand knowledge1
 a vigor and strength in it that you can
 never get when it has only been learned
 second-hand1 and then poured forth4    
,men who study deeply are glad to find  
audiences who are willing to listen to  
the results of their study1 and who will
 give them glad hearing when they come  
out into the world from the study to    
tell what by labor and toil they have   

learned4 ,and so ,i suggest that some of
 you should see whether you might not   
make your ,lodges more valuable if1     
instead of always going round the same  
wheel of a few local lecturers1 you     
tried to win to each locality now and   
again a really learned and well-trained 
man1 and then1 with your own ,lodge as a
 nucleus of hearers1 gather round them  
others also who would be only too glad  
of the opportunity that your ,lodge     
would give in the place where it happens
 to be4 ,you have ,lodges in the        
suburbs1 ,lodges in the towns outside   
the area of ,london1 and how glad many  
of these would be1 if you made          
yourselves the channels for knowledge of
 that sort to be poured out amongst     
them4 ,there is one line of work you    
might well take up1 and the country     
,lodges might do the same1 winning down 
from ,london now and again some thinker 
who would come and give the benefit of  
his study2 and if you were known all    
over ,england as the places where such  

knowledge might be gained1 and the      
bringers of such within the reach of    
your fellow-townsmen1 the ,society would
 profit by your labor as well as those  
who immediately benefit by the effort4  
,and wherever you deal with the study of
 a religion1 learn it from the lips of  
one who believes it rather than by the  
exposition of one who does not2 for only
 so will you catch the spirit of the    
different religions4 ,if you would learn
 about ,roman ,catholicism1 win a ,roman
 ,catholic student or priest to come and
 tell you how his ,church appeals to    
him2 or if you want to learn about the  
,church of ,england1 win some clergyman 
who will come and tell you what that    
,church means to him2 or about          
,buddhism1 win a ,buddhist to come and  
tell you what his own religion is to    
him2 and so with the ,hindu1 and on and 
on1 all round the different religions4  
,for none can really tell what a        
religion is to its followers who does   
not believe in it1 and no one can give  

you its spirit who does not feel it4    
,and it is in that way that your        
,theosophy should lead you into sympathy
 with every form of religious thought1  
learning it as it comes from the mouth  
of a believer1 and not in the sort of   
warmed-up fashion in which one who does 
not believe it re-cooks it for his      
fellow ,theosophists4 ,there1 it seems  
to me1 is your field of work under the  
,second ,object2 and out of this study  
would grow literature1 illuminating     
these various religions and             
philosophies1 and from your classes     
should be evolved teachers1 to carry to 
the different communities the results of
 their study on different lines1 thus   
bringing the ,second ,object to the     
helping of the ,first4  ,i had a letter 
the other day from a good member of the 
,theosophical ,society1 and the writer  
said1 being a ,christian1 that          
,christian lines of work attracted her1 
and she thought she ought to leave the  
,society in order to help people along  

those lines4 ,but what sort of          
,theosophy is that8 ,you who are        
,christians1 or believers in any other  
faith1 you should become ,theosophists  
to help your own religions1 and to bring
 them the life1 not by leaving the      
,society1 but by learning in the        
,society to help them2 that is the duty 
of every believer in whatever religion  
you may happen to believe4 ,for you     
should be messengers to the various     
religions1 helping them to understand   
more deeply than many of them do to-day2
 and if you would understand that that  
is part of your duty1 to help your own  
faiths1 to enlighten those who will not 
come to the ,theosophical ,lodge but yet
 will listen to the fellow believer     
offering them the knowledge that in the 
,lodge he has gained1 then the spread of
 our doctrines1 rapid as it is1 would be
 far more rapid and along healthy lines4
 ,for we do not exist as a ,society     
simply to study1 but to spread the      
light1 and every religion should be the 

richer and the fuller in proportion to  
the number of ,theosophists that it     
enrolls amongst its followers4  ,pass to
 the ,third ,object4 ,there also we have
 work to do1 and we cannot work for     
,brotherhood effectively without        
understanding the nature of man4 ,and ,i
 feel that one or two who criticised the
 ,society this afternoon on that point  
had the right to make the criticism that
 they did2 for1 while in the earlier    
days that ,third ,object was so carried 
out in the ,society that it was the     
leader in the fields of all such        
research1 it certainly now has fallen   
into the background1 and is only a      
gleaner in the fields where others are  
reaping1 and that is not right4 ,the    
knowledge that you have in theory as to 
the constitution of man and nature1     
should be a guide to you in researches1 
and not simply remain theoretical       
knowledge4 ,that which was said this    
afternoon about the ,psychical ,research
 ,society is true4 ,it goes into        

everything unusual with a prejudice     
against it1 rather than with a feeling  
that there is something to be learned2  
but on the other hand1 one is bound to  
say that during the last ten or twelve  
years that ,society has done more to    
familiarise the public with these facts 
of the hidden powers of man than our own
 has done in practice1 though we have   
done much more in theory4 ,now ,i am not
 in favor of much experiment preceding a
 study of theory2 ,i believe that we    
need the theory in order to experiment  
wisely2 but ,i also believe that having 
a true theory we should use it to guide 
our investigations1 and thus to add to  
the knowledge of the world4 ,a part of  
our work1 it seems to me1 that lies     
before us in the coming time1 is to help
 the world to walk wisely along those   
roads of research on which it has       
entered now4 ,you cannot prevent it     
going forward along them1 knowledge is  
already too widely spread for that2 but 
what you can do is to help men to walk  

wisely1 and to avoid many a pitfall into
 which otherwise they would be very     
likely to fall4 ,and along those lines  
there is very much to be done3 plans to 
be worked out1 methods of research to be
 planned and tested2 and ,i hope before 
very long to see some groups in our     
,society that will take up this special 
line of work as part of their           
activities1 and1 headed by someone who  
knows practically something of that with
 which he is dealing1 will then help the
 younger students to learn wisely and to
 experiment carefully4 ,and in these    
matters it is well1 so far as you can1  
to bring the more scientific members of 
the ,society into touch with this work2 
for one of the reasons that             
,spiritualism fell into discredit for a 
time was because the scientific and the 
thoughtful abstained from it1 and left  
it in the hands of the credulous and the
 unwise4 ,the leaders of the scientific 
world who ought to have joined in the   
work which ,sir ,william ,crookes1      

,alfred ,wallace1 and others began1     
instead of following them and           
strengthening their hands1 turned their 
backs on it all1 leaving it to be       
carried on by those who knew far less   
than they1 and who were not accustomed  
to accurate observation and careful     
recording of phenomena4 ,now leading    
scientific men are beginning to work at 
it4 ,along all lines of psychical       
research work should be done by us1 if  
we do not mean to cancel the ,third     
,object in our ,society4  ,thus1 then1 a
 great field of work opens out before   
us1 so wide a field1 so great1 that you 
would have no need to ask for work if   
you would only begin to labor along     
these lines4 ,and take that other line  
about which ,mrs4 ,cooper ,oakley       
spoke--the line of ,historical ,research
 into ,mysticism4 ,has it ever struck   
you how much of the work of our         
forerunners remains unknown1 because    
their work is not scanned by sympathetic
 eyes8 ,how many of the pioneers in the 

past centuries lie under a heap of      
calumny1 because none has tried to      
understand1 none has tried to realise1  
the nature of their work8 ,men like     
,paracelsus1 ,cagliostro1 and many      
another whose name ,i might mention1 who
 are crying out1 as it were1 for        
research1 and thought1 and labor on     
mystical and occult lines4 ,there again 
,i have good hope that some really      
efficient work will be going on2 for to 
my mind one of the purposes for which   
our ,presidency should exist is to act  
as a centre round which every country   
may gather together1 and thus           
communicate with each other1 and form   
bodies scattered all over the world for 
mutual aid4 ,the strength of our        
,society is in that unity of thought1   
which can only be brought about as one  
part of the ,society realises that other
 parts are linked with it1 as it ought  
to be1 by the ,president of the whole4  
,for the ,presidency would be an idle   
show1 if it is not to be a centre for   

inspiration and labor4 ,the great work  
done by the late ,president is1 as ,i   
have said elsewhere1 practically        
complete2 he has given the ,theosophical
 ,society an organisation by which it   
can work and live2 ours to use the      
organisation that he made1 ours to      
employ this splendid instrument which is
 now in our hands for world-wide labor  
and for world-wide helping4 ,that is the
 work to which ,i would summon you now1 
and pray your help4 ,let us not stand   
apart one from the other1 and work      
always along isolated lines2 in addition
 to the isolated work1 we should have   
the combined work2 for many often can   
bring about a result which one cannot   
do4 ,take1 for instance1 the great      
libraries of ,europe1 far1 far apart4   
,it is very laborious for a person to   
travel all over ,europe and labor alone 
in them all2 but if we had students     
working in every great library1 we      
should have feeders who would send in to
 a common centre the result of their    

work1 which could then be shed over the 
world4  ,along those lines the ,society 
will become respected1 when it is known 
for honest and useful work in all       
departments of human activity4 ,there is
 no good in glorifying it by words and  
saying what a splendid thing it is1     
unless we justify ourselves to the world
 by the work which we contribute for the
 world's helping4  ,in this way1 then1  
,i would ask you to look at our great   
field of work4 ,laborers are wanted4    
,there is more than work enough for all1
 and in this work the principle that    
must guide us is1 as we have so often   
said1 freedom of thought1 freedom of    
expression4 ,but let it be understood in
 the ,society1 for there is danger of   
this being forgotten1 that there is     
freedom for those who assert as well as 
for those who deny2 that all alike are  
free4 ,those who know have a right to   
speak1 and there should be no outcry    
against them2 those who do not believe  
have a right to say they do not believe1

 and there should be no outcry against  
them because they believe not ,but there
 is a danger lest those who believe not 
should think that they have the only    
right of speech1 and that those who     
experience have no right to say out that
 which they know to be true4 ,it is the 
danger which dogs the steps of          
,freethought everywhere4 ,you can see it
 in ,france at the present time1 where  
the ,freethinker1 smarting against the  
oppression of the ,church1 tries to     
silence the ,church1 as he has been     
silenced in the past2 but it is a bad   
reaction1 and we cannot have that within
 the ,society--there must be liberty for
 all4 ,i do not wish to impose my own   
beliefs on any man or woman in the      
,society1 but ,i claim the right amongst
 you to speak the truth ,i know1 and to 
bear witness to the reality of my       
,master whom for eighteen years ,i have 
served1 without being attacked          
vehemently by those who deny my         
experience4 ,i know whereof ,i speak4 ,i

 ask you not to believe2 that is your   
own choice4 ,i ask you not to accept2   
that is for you to decide4 ,but you have
 no right to try to stop my lips1 nor to
 say that the assertion of my belief is 
outside the liberty allowed in the      
,theosophical ,society4 ,i1 as          
,president1 will defend to the utmost   
the right of each to speak his          
thought--believers and non-believers of 
every type2 but ,i will not recognise   
the right of any to impose upon the     
,society a dogma of unbelief1 any more  
than a dogma of belief4 ,only by that   
liberty of all can we live and grow2    
only by the perfect freedom1 and the    
recognition of every man's right to     
speak1 no matter what he says1 can the  
health of the ,society be secured4 ,for 
in the years that lie before us there is
 much new knowledge to be gained1 many  
new facts to be discovered1 many new    
experiences to go through1 and we must  
not discourage the seekers and          
investigators by making it difficult for

 them to speak amongst us4 ,we need     
every fact that any human being can     
bring to us4 ,we have the right to      
challenge the fact and investigate it1  
and either to say3 ,it is fact2 or3 ,to 
me it is not fact2 but we have no right 
to say to any human being3 ,you shall   
not search nor speak1 for that would be 
the death-knell of our liberty1 that the
 denial of the foundation on which we   
stand4  ,and so let us go forward to a  
future1 ,i hope1 fairer than anything we
 have in our past4 ,let us welcome all  
thought1 all refusal of thought1 all    
investigation1 all speech1 however      
different it may be from our own speech 
and thought1 and doing this with full   
respect of each for each1 full          
recognition that minds are different1   
and that each mind has its own sphere in
 which it can do useful work for all1   
let us encourage in our ,society every  
school of thought1 every form of        
opinion1 every expression of thought    
which is in a man's mind4 ,and out of   

all that clash of opinion1 out of all   
that discussion1 ,truth should come out 
stronger1 richer1 larger than ever4 ,and
 never mind if sometimes falsehoods are 
spoken2 never mind if sometimes mistakes
 are made4 ,an old scripture says3      
,truth conquers1 not falsehood2 for ,god
 is ,truth1 and nothing that is not     
drawn from ,his ,life can live1 nothing 
that is drawn from ,his life can die2   
and realising that1 we can go forward   
fearlessly into the unknown future1 sure
 that to brave hearts and true lives    
every experience1 every failure1 every  
mistake1 is only another rung of the    
ladder by which we climb from ignorance 
into knowledge1 from the bondage of     
matter into the liberty of ,spirit4     
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