CONTENTS · about evolution, the Darwinian model, which focuses on the evolution of life forms. The two driving forces of this model are random mutation and natural selection (survival

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THE THEOSOPHIST

CONTENTS

VOL. 137 NO. 10 JULY 2016

Spiritual Evolution and the Future of the TS 5Tim Boyd

C. W. Leadbeater — A Personal Appreciation 12Pablo Sender

The Vedas and Upanishads 18Bhupendra R. Vora

Of Enemies and Friends — Part I 24Pradeep Talwalker

Evolutionary Progress in Morality 28Raisa Kalashnikova

Islam in the Light of Theosophy 34Annie Besant

International Directory 40

This journal is the official organ of the President, founded by H. P. Blavatsky on 1 October 1879.The Theosophical Society is responsible only for official notices appearing in this journal.

Editor: Mr Tim Boyd

NOTE: Articles for publication in The Theosophist should be sent to: [email protected]>.

Cover: A crescent moon at sunset in Manama, Bahrain, marking the beginning of the Islamic monthof Ramadan, during which fasting is observed by Muslims from sunrise to sunset to commemoratethe first revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad. Ramadan started this year at sundown on 5 June.

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4 The Theosophist

The Theosophical Society is composed of students, belonging to any religion inthe world or to none, who are united by their approval of the Society’s Objects,by their wish to remove religious antagonisms and to draw together men of goodwill,whatsoever their religious opinions, and by their desire to study religious truthsand to share the results of their studies with others. Their bond of union is not theprofession of a common belief, but a common search and aspiration for Truth.They hold that Truth should be sought by study, by reflection, by purity of life,by devotion to high ideals, and they regard Truth as a prize to be striven for, notas a dogma to be imposed by authority. They consider that belief should be theresult of individual study or intuition, and not its antecedent, and should rest onknowledge, not on assertion. They extend tolerance to all, even to the intolerant,not as a privilege they bestow but as a duty they perform, and they seek to removeignorance, not punish it. They see every religion as an expression of the DivineWisdom and prefer its study to its condemnation, and its practice to proselytism.Peace is their watchword, as Truth is their aim.

Theosophy is the body of truths which forms the basis of all religions, andwhich cannot be claimed as the exclusive possession of any. It offers a philosophywhich renders life intelligible, and which demonstrates the justice and the lovewhich guide its evolution. It puts death in its rightful place, as a recurring incidentin an endless life, opening the gateway to a fuller and more radiant existence.It restores to the world the Science of the Spirit, teaching man to know the Spirit ashimself and the mind and body as his servants. It illuminates the scriptures anddoctrines of religions by unveiling their hidden meanings, and thus justifying themat the bar of intelligence, as they are ever justified in the eyes of intuition.

Members of the Theosophical Society study these truths, and theosophistsendeavour to live them. Everyone willing to study, to be tolerant, to aim high, andto work perseveringly, is welcomed as a member, and it rests with the member tobecome a true theosophist.

THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETYFounded 17 November 1875

President: Mr Tim Boyd Vice-President: Dr Chittaranjan SatapathySecretary: Ms Marja Artamaa Treasurer: Mr K. Narasimha Rao

Headquarters: ADYAR, CHENNAI (MADRAS) 600 020, INDIAVice-President: [email protected]

Secretary: [email protected]: [email protected]

Adyar Library and Research Centre: [email protected] Publishing House: [email protected] & [email protected]

Editorial Office: [email protected], Website: http://www.ts-adyar.org

5July 2016 The Theosophist

Spiritual Evolution and the Future of the TS

Spiritual Evolution and theFuture of the Theosophical Society

TIM BOYD

THE first of the three truths in the littlebook by Mabel Collins, The Idyll ofthe White Lotus, says that the soul “isimmortal and its future is the future ofa thing whose growth and splendourhas no limit”. This is a concise statementof the trajectory of our unfoldment.Within every one of us there is a germof the Highest that lies hidden, butwhose growth and capacity to radiateinto this world with what is describedas “splendour” is without limit.

We are all familiar with the ideas ofthe contemporary scientific communityabout evolution, the Darwinian model,which focuses on the evolution of lifeforms. The two driving forces of thismodel are random mutation and naturalselection (survival of the fittest). Thebasic idea is that from time to time smallchanges take place in various life formswhich make them more adaptable to theirenvironment. This will determine whichof those forms will endure. This modeldescribes a progressive evolutionary pro-cess, continually leading towards greatercomplexity and capacity, but not in anyway tied to an end goal; it is a linear visionof evolution. Unfoldment takes placerandomly, continually moving ahead;

species appear and disappear towardsno great purpose. This is the dominantscientific idea in which we are trained inour normal educational process.

When we speak about spiritual evo-lution, we could ask: What is the dif-ference? The changes, mutations, andprocesses by which life forms comeand go are accurately described in theDarwinian view of evolution. However,what is not described or considered isthe all-important aspect of conscious-ness. Nowhere is consciousness or itsunfoldment formally addressed withincontemporary science. It is a signifi-cant limitation to the scientific modelof the moment.

In the current model, in order forsomething to be considered worthy ofscientific consideration, it must existclearly within the material realm — beable to be tested, heard, touched, tasted,felt, or observed by various instru-ments. Anything lying outside of whatcan be observed in these ways, is deemedas beyond the field of contemporaryscience. This approach has been des-cribed as “reductionist materialism” —the cosmos is reduced to the materialrealm. Consciousness is outside of

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these limits. Fortunately, there are manyscientists who clearly see this limita-tion and are making efforts to movebeyond and actually carry out experi-mentation in consciousness.

Though consciousness itself is notmeasurable, its effects are visible every-where and are measurable. But subtleenergies are as yet beyond the realm ofmeasurement, so consciousness is leftout of the equation. Yet for those whoare involved in the spiritual path andits study, consciousness is all-important.A genuine understanding of the functionsof consciousness leads to the unfoldmentof powers of various types, attunementto the patterns of non-material energies,intuitive perception, the ability to be hap-py, and a capacity to share these thingswith others. So it seems that conscious-ness is worthy of consideration.

The Proem to The Secret Doctrinespeaks about an “obligatory pilgrimage”for the soul — a pilgrimage of outgoingand return. The soul, or the spark of theDivine, goes out from a unitive state andassociates itself with matter. This is thestate we are in, where the spiritual germwithin us becomes hidden from ournormal perception because we are sodeeply enmeshed in the processes of thebody and the limitations of our day-to-day awareness. This evolutionary processinvolves the spiritual germ coming moreand more to life, to the point that thepowers of the spiritual entity within usreveal themselves even through themedium of physical matter.

This process of unfoldment begins

from a state of spiritual unawarenesswhich, as a result of the increasing as-sociation with matter, takes on deepeninglevels of awareness, power, and capacity.It is linked with the physical evolution ofthe Darwinian type by expressing itselfthrough the physical forms that arise,which inevitably are developing moreand more in terms of their complexity.The development of these forms allowfor an expanding range of expressionfor the consciousness.

In the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali thereis a statement about the purpose for thecoming together of spirit and matter.Patañjali gives a concise explanation:the purpose of the coming together ofspirit (purusha) and matter (prak·ti) isfor the gaining of the spiritual componentof an awareness of its true nature andthe unfoldment of the powers inherent inboth purusha and prak·ti, in spirit andmatter. The spiritual component beginswith an unselfconscious unitive aware-ness, until it becomes individualized invarious forms. Through these forms itgains the awareness of its true nature. Theassociation also develops those powersinherent in matter. It is a mutual process.

This process of coming together hasalso been given an image. It is said to belike someone who cannot walk riding onthe shoulders of somebody who cannotsee. The spiritual component has vision,but no capacity to directly influence thematerial world; the physical componentcan carry the spiritual, but it needs theguidance of a higher vision. Togetherthey make this journey, and together both



unfold, and, ultimately, they both go intheir own particular directions, takingwith them the richness of experiencegained during this time of association.

This cyclical process of spiritualevolution is depicted in the spiritualliterature of the world. Many of the greatstories we encounter in different religioustradition exemplify this process. Anexample would be the Râmâyana, whereyou have the great Lord, a spiritual in-carnation in the form of Rama, beingexpelled from his kingdom, wanderingin the forest, having various experiences,finally fighting and winning a battle, andeventually returning as an awakenedruler. This is one of the archetypicalforms in which these stories appear.

For those who were born in the West,we encounter a similar form in the fam-iliar story of “The Prodigal Son”. The sonsays to his divine father that he needsto go out into the world and gain hisexperiences. He asks for his share of thefather’s wealth. The son receives it andtravels to a far land. So the soul, the sparkfrom the Divine, leaves the father’s house— the state of unity — takes with him thewealth of spiritual awareness, and squan-ders it on the way to the far land. In thatland of material living, the soul forgetsits origins; forgets that it has a divinefather, in whom all things are present.In the Bible story, the soul is living inthis far land in a time of famine, whichis to say, in a condition in which thenourishment that the spirit requires isabsent. The soul descends to the lowestof occupations, which in the biblical

model was feeding the swine. Not onlywas he feeding the swine, but he was sohungry that he would even eat the foodthat he fed to them!

This depicts the lowest point in thisevolutionary arc, where the conscious-ness is most deeply imbedded in matterand blinded by the close association. Inmany ways this is the most importantpoint in the journey of the soul, becauseit is at this moment in the story wheresuddenly the son remembers living inanother condition, that he had a fatherwhose house was once his. It is at thatpoint that the soul says: “I will arise andgo to my father’s house.” This is the all-important moment of awakening for thehuman being as an individual, becausewith the dawning of an awareness of thespiritual entity and its higher potentialscomes the possibility to consciouslybegin the journey homewards. That isthe path we are on. Theosophy, yogapractice, any form of spirituality is hollowand without meaning until this internalexperience arises.

When we consider the founding ofthe Theosophical Society we look to suchpeople as H. P. Blavatsky, H. S. Olcott,and W. Q. Judge. These were all excep-tional people: brilliant, selfless, with manypersonal qualities that were extraordi-nary. These are the people through whomthe TS came into being. But we make amistake if we think that the Theosophicalmovement was generated by people,even exceptional people.

What made these people exceptionalwas their selfless openness to the Inner

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Founders of this movement — theMasters of the Wisdom, the Great Ones,who for long years had been searchingfor opportunities to make their presenceknown through the reintroduction ofa teaching that could ennoble and aidpeople in the process of transformation.The opportunity presented itself whenthis particular constellation of indivi-duals came together in the late part ofthe 19th century.

Of all the many wonderful things thatHPB wrote, she herself would be the firstto admit that much of it she did notunderstand. Many things she did under-stand, but some of the profound teachingsof Theosophy that were being reintro-duced to humanity came through her,but were in no way her personal con-scious contribution. She described itas a garland of flowers to which hercontribution was the string that held ittogether. She was available for this totake place in a pure way, so that theinfluence of the Masters was minimallycoloured by the consciousness of theindividual. Because of her work, we hadthe nucleus of individuals that allowedfor a greater expression to take place andto survive for more than 140 years.

Late in HPB’s life she made a state-ment about the Theosophical Societywhich is worth our consideration, be-cause it speaks about its future andpurpose. She said that the TS had beentwo things: (1) On the one hand, it hadbeen a “stupendous success”; and (2) onthe other hand, it had been a “deadfailure”. The “stupendous success” of

the TS was that this movement and theideas and concepts it was promotinghad spread throughout the world. This iseven more true in our time. Think aboutthe late 19th century; ideas that are sofamiliar to us now were unavailable inthe Western world, such as reincarnation,karma, yoga, planes of nature, and so forth.At that time these were concepts that werenot even beginning to be understood inthe West. Today these words are foundin the dictionaries of any Westernlanguage in the world. These ideas noware so familiar that we regard them ascompletely normal. This is the stupendoussuccess of this Theosophical movement.For the first time in human history, wehave a global language with which tointeract about matters of the inner life.It used to be an impossibility; one wasstrictly bound to whatever tradition onehappened to be born in. Wherever onewas born in the world, determined thehorizon of one’s vision.

What did HPB mean by saying thatthe TS had been a “dead failure”? AlbertSchweitzer made a statement that mightillustrate the point. He was an extra-ordinary man — a great humanitarian,profound thinker, Nobel Peace Prizewinner, one of the most gifted organistsin Europe, as well as a medical doctor,theologian, and philosopher. In the faceof a prominent career in Europe he leftit all behind to go serve in a remote areaof Africa as a doctor — completely awayfrom the public eye. But because of hisprofound commitment, the world soughthim out. On one occasion Schweitzer



was asked about the best way of teachingand leading, and whether teaching orleading by example might be a goodmethod. His response was: “Example isnot the main thing in influencing others,it is the only thing.” Teaching or lead-ing is not accomplished simply throughword. It is passed through the exampleof a life that is integrated, which thenbecomes linked with those words. Onlythen do words have power. Neither themeaning nor the power are in the words,but in the consciousness that rides outon the words.

In the most basic sense our experienceof the Mahatma letters is as ink on a pieceof paper. None of us have heard the wordsuttered in our ears, only a few have seenthe actual letters that today are kept inthe British Library, yet for more than acentury they have been a source ofinstruction and inspiration. The wordsbecome powerful to the extent that weare able to read and hear, not with ourphysical ears or eyes, but with the eyesand ears of the intuition. Only then dowe have the capacity to understand.

According to HPB’s idea, the Theo-sophical Society was a dead failurebecause of the lack of examples of theuniversal brotherhood which it came intobeing to promote, and because the TScame into existence to provide a vehiclethrough which a spiritual current couldflow into the world — a current thatoriginates with the Inner Founders, andthen finds an outlet through the livesof those attempting to live these ideals.

What is the future of the Theosophical

Society? In many ways its future is thesame as its past. There is no new 21stcentury mission for the TS or its mem-bers. The mission of trying to align thelife, mind, and actions to the ideals hasnot changed. Only when that occurs is itpossible for the spiritual current to flow.The signs of its flowing will not be foundin the numbers of people who sign a pieceof paper and say “I am a member”, butare in the ways in which these ideals arepersonally embodied, and then stimulatedin the world around us.

Thousands of organizations today arededicated to the promotion of someaspect of the far-reaching theosophicaldoctrine. There are organizations thatfocus solely on mindfulness meditation,others that focus on different energyhealing modalities, and other groupsfocus on their perspective of the Mastersof the Wisdom. These different organ-izations have taken only one aspect ofthe teachings and promoted it. In manycases they do it much better than theTheosophical Society would be able to.

Just one example of a group doinghigh quality “theosophical” work is theInstitute of Noetic Sciences (IONS).They carry out scientific work which wasstarted by astronaut Edgar Mitchell. Hehad walked on the Moon, and when hewas coming back to Earth he was lookingout of the spaceship window. He wastrying to see where his home was on aglobe. He became aware that the globedid not look anything like the maps hehad studied; there were no lines dividingit into different areas. Gazing out the

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window, seeing the Earth in the settingof the cosmos, he had a mystical ex-perience of the Oneness of all things, ofthis beautiful blue globe floating in space,connected in some way to all of the otherglobes of different appearances. He hadan experience of a unity that was all-encompassing. In his words: “I suddenlyexperienced the universe as intelligent,loving, harmonious.” As a scientist, hemade the commitment that he was goingto spend the rest of his life using themethods of contemporary science todemonstrate the power and availabilityof consciousness. He formed the IONSorganization to do that work. IONS hasbeen working with scientists around theworld very effectively. But that is notthe work of the TS.

Everything that comes into this world,that takes on life and form, ultimatelydissolves and goes back to its source,whether we are talking about a building,a body, an institution, or organization.All have their time. As long as the cur-rent of life is sufficiently strong, liferemains within these various forms.The Theosophical Society is a form —an organization. Theosophy, the Age-less Wisdom, is the current that main-tains its life.

The TS does not have a need simplyfor more bodies, or for more ink onpaper, but to take responsibility andfind those truths in the teachings thatresonate within us. All of them may notimmediately appeal to our intuition; thatis not required, but when we find thetruths that cause us to feel an inner

quickening, we need to dive into those.There are certain things we know to

be true. Ideally, we seek to expand ourawareness of the profound things thatresonate within us. As we do this, whenwe come in contact with others, our innerstate communicates itself wordlessly.The Mahatmas said that as long as thereare three people within the Society whoare alive, awakened, committed, andliving through these truths, the Theo-sophical Society will stand. That is notour problem. The real and only problemis, where do we stand? Not the personnext to us, not the group across thewaters, but where does each one of usstand in relation to our embrace of andcommitment to those things that werecognize as real and true?

Very often we find ourselves waver-ing. Although we feel that something istrue, we hesitate, we do not commit,because it seems as if it demands morethan we can give right now; maybe later,but not now. There is a quote, widely,and perhaps wrongly, attributed toGoethe. Whether all of it was said by himor not, it stands on its own:

Until one is committed there is hesitancy,the chance to draw back. Concerning allacts of creation there is one elementarytruth, ignorance of which kills countlessideas and splendid plans: that the momentone definitely commits oneself, then Provi-dence moves too. All sorts of things occurto help someone, that never would other-wise have occurred. A whole stream ofevents issues from the decision, raising inone’s favour all manner of unforeseen



incidents and meetings, and materialassistance, which no man can dreamwould come his way. Whatever you cando, or dream you can do, begin it. Bold-ness has genius, power, and magic in it.

This is something we witness in ourordinary lives, and it applies equallyto our inner lives.

When we come together in ourtheosophical gatherings, from time totime there are moments when thereseems to be a harmony that settles uponus. These are the moments when webecome most useful in this process ofspiritual evolution. It is when something

much more potent moves among us andwithin us. We feel it as a sense of peaceor expansion, but it is a presence thatmakes itself known because, consciouslyor not, we have provided the opportunityfor it to express itself through us.

This presence is very good for us asindividuals, but more important is the factthat we provide the avenue for it to do itswork in the world. This is our part of animportant work. We then become moreeffective in our potential service to thehigher good that is so needed in thesetimes, and for which the TheosophicalSociety exists. ²

NOTICEAs of this issue of The Theosophist we are using a worldEnglish standard according to The Oxford Dictionary ofEnglish (ODE), available on the Internet (and updated everythree months) at: <www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/world-english?q=world+English>.

Tim Boyd

Vol. 137.1012 The Theosophist

C. W. Leadbeater — A Personal Appreciation

C. W. Leadbeater —A Personal Appreciation

PABLO SENDER

C.W.LEADBEATER (CWL) isperhaps as controversial a figure withinthe Theosophical Society (TS) as MmeBlavatsky is outside of it. Since I havebeen asked by some members to sharemy impressions of him, the present articleoffers my assessment of some aspectsof CWL’s character, for those who maybe interested in reading what a fellowstudent of Theosophy feels about his life.

There are some aspects of his workthat do not resonate with me. I havealways been drawn to the way H. P.Blavatsky (HPB) presents theosophicalmetaphysics. My mind is inspired andstimulated when it works with abstractconcepts and obscure statements thatveil a profound meaning. Leadbeater’spresentation of theosophical teachingstends to be more concrete, which, thoughvery convenient for many people, doesnot particularly appeal to me. Also, I amnot very interested in descriptions ofphenomena, whether physical or subtle,so I do not feel drawn to those clairvoyantinvestigations of the hidden side of thingsthat he abundantly developed.

In addition, I was always interested

in J. Krishnamurti’s teachings; in hisemphasis on an exploration of the statesof consciousness that we can experiencewithin us, and the development of a stateof awareness. As some readers mayknow, the typical followers of HPB’s andKrishnaji’s teachings are not very fondof Leadbeater, and they are, at times,quite vocal in their criticisms of both hischaracter and his teachings. With thisbackground, it is easy to see that I waspredisposed not to feel very close to him.In fact, during my first years in the TS,I had become aware of these criticismsand was somewhat biased by them.

Ten years after getting in touch withtheosophical teachings I had the oppor-tunity to live and work at the internationalheadquarters of the TS in Adyar for abouttwo years. In the course of my work inthe Archives department I came acrossmaterial about the “Leadbeater Case” inwhich he was accused of sexual miscon-duct with teenagers that were under histutelage. The material included historicalaccounts and personal correspondencewith members around the world duringthat time. After having gone through the

Dr Pablo Sender, a long-term member of the TS, has a degree in Biological Sciences. He resides andworks at the Krotona Institute of Theosophy in Ojai, California.

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documents, not only was my negativebias about him removed, but I developeda sense of admiration for him that istoday a source of inspiration in my theo-sophical life.

A similar change happened in regardto his teachings. To appreciate what I amabout to point out, a reference to my ownlife may be helpful. Before going toAdyar, I had a few rather simple innerexperiences. My knowledge of HPB’s orKrishnamurti’s teachings did not give metools to interpret or understand theirmeaning, because these teachers didnot elaborate on them. As my view ofLeadbeater changed while working in theAdyar Archives, I began to explore moreof his work. I came across certain state-ments in his writings, of which I had notbeen aware, that perfectly explained myexperiences. It is easy to understand thathis teachings gained a certain validationby the small corroboration provided bymy personal experience. Although mypreferences regarding theosophicalmetaphysics and clairvoyant investi-gations have not changed, I came to findgreat value in CWL’s teachings about thepath of inner development. I may writemore about this in a future article, buthere I want to focus on why I foundinspiration in his life and character.

Leadbeater’s trainingCWL was an ordained priest in the

Church of England, but he had alwayshad a wide field of interests that includedspiritualistic and psychic phenomena.After reading A. P. Sinnett’s The Occult

World, he joined the TS in November1883. A few months later, he met H. P.Blavatsky in London and decided to writea letter to one of the Masters offeringhimself as a disciple. In the letter he saidhe would be willing to go to India if thatwas necessary for his training, althoughhe would not be able to do it for a fewyears, due to certain “ties of gratitude”that bound him to England.

Seven months later, on the morningof 31 October 1884, he received a letterwith an answer from Mahatma KH. In it,the Master said it was not necessary togo to India to be a chela. However, dueto the attacks the TS was receiving, itwould be good if he went to Adyar for afew months to help. The Master addedthat the ties of gratitude would not sufferfrom this.

CWL did not think he could leave hisobligations for a few months and thenreturn to them, but he was willing to leaveeverything behind if that was necessaryto help in the Master’s work. He rushedto London to see HPB, who was to departfor India the following day, and askedher to transmit his answer to the Master.HPB said that the Master already knewthe answer, and asked CWL to stay withher for the day. Later that evening, heand a group of members that were aroundHPB saw a note gradually appearing inher hand. She told him, “There is youranswer”, and asked him to leave the roomand read the note in private. It said:

Since your intuition led you in the rightdirection and made you understand thatit was my desire you should go to Adyar



immediately — I may say more. Thesooner you go the better. Do not lose oneday more than you can help. Sail on the5th if possible. Join Upasika [HPB] atAlexandria. Let no one know you aregoing and may the blessing of our Lord,and my poor blessing shield you fromevery evil in your new life.Greeting to you my new chela — KH.1

Evidently, his willingness to followthe Master’s suggestion was enough toprove him worthy of being a chela. Heleft his old life behind at a moment’snotice and four days later was on hisway to join HPB in Alexandria. Duringthe trip to Adyar, CWL was subjected toHPB’s characteristic training, whichfrequently involved being put throughvery embarrassing situations in frontof others, in order to get over the attach-ment to the personal ego. In his bookHow Theosophy Came to Me, CWL veryappreciatively mentions “the somewhatsevere but remarkably effective train-ing through which she [HPB] put herpupils”, and says:

When I came into her hands I was just anordinary lawn-tennis-playing curate —well-meaning and conscientious, I be-lieve, but incredibly shy and retiring, withall the average Englishman’s horror ofmaking himself conspicuous in any wayor occupying a ridiculous position. Aftera few weeks of her treatment I had reacheda stage in which I was absolutely hardenedto ridicule, and did not care in the slightestdegree what anybody thought of me.2

As we are going to see, future events

would show that he had indeed learnedto be beyond people’s opinion of himand his work.

It is also interesting to note that, laterin life, when he would in turn train pupils,some of them complained that he was tootough. In this quote we can see that thisis how he was very successfully trainedby HPB, although evidently most peopleare not able to bear this course of actionas well as he did.

CWL is also a remarkable example ofoccult development. He was not a bornclairvoyant, as HPB was. When he joinedthe Society, he had not shown any signsof psychic sensitivity. But while at Adyar,sometime in 1885, the Master gave himsome instructions to develop the facultyof clairvoyance. CWL explained:

Master Kuthumi . . . recommended me tomake a few efforts along certain lines,which He pledged me not to divulgeto anyone else except with his directauthorization, and told me that He wouldhimself watch over those efforts to see thatno danger should ensue.

Naturally I took the hint, and worked awaysteadily, and I think I may say intensely,at that particular kind of meditation dayafter day. I must admit that it was very hardwork and sometimes distinctly painful, butof course I persevered, and in due coursebegan to achieve the results that I had beenled to expect. Certain channels had tobe opened and certain partitions brokendown; I was told that forty days was a fairestimate of the average time required ifthe effort was really energetic and per-

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severing. I worked at it for forty-two days,and seemed to myself to be on the brink ofthe final victory, when the Master himselfintervened and performed the final act ofbreaking through which completed theprocess, and enabled me thereafter to useastral sight while still retaining full con-sciousness in the physical body.3

During these 42 days he remainedsecluded in the octagonal building atAdyar, having people bringing him foodand milk. When he came out, he wasclairvoyant. However, the completion ofhis training took, in his words, “a year ofthe hardest work that I have ever known”.

The “Leadbeater Case”In his first letter to CWL, Master

KH wrote a very curious and propheticstatement:

There is also the collective karma of thecaste you belong to, to be considered. Itis undeniable that the cause you have atheart is now suffering owing to the darkintrigues, the base conspiracy of theChristian clergy and missionaries againstthe Society. They will stop before nothingto ruin the reputation of the Founders. Areyou willing to atone for their sins?4

In addition to the aggressive work ofthe missionaries in leading people awayfrom their native beliefs and towardsChristianity, today we know that a veryserious “sin” of the Christian clergy wasthat of sexual misconduct with theyoungsters in their charge. It is interestingto note that this is exactly what CWL waslater to be accused of, although he and

most of the people close to him emphat-ically denied the accusation. Was thisthe karmic “atonement” the Master wasreferring to? As mentioned before, afterreading the material available, I feel hewas innocent of this charge. But there isnot enough space in this article to enterinto an examination of the case. The aimis to focus on the attitude that he maint-ained throughout this trying time.

As anybody can understand, an accus-ation of such a serious nature, foreverstaining one’s good name and standing,would be appalling. Regardless of whetherthe person accused is innocent or guilty,one can expect that this would shake thevery foundations of his personality. How-ever, by all accounts and the historicaldocumentation I have come across, CWLretained a remarkable calmness anddignity, even when put through veryhumiliating and demeaning situations.

After these accusations spreadthrough the TS, CWL offered Col Olcotthis resignation as a member, in order toavoid putting the Society through yetanother crisis. This was quite a noble actin itself. We must note that, regardlessof whether a person is guilty or innocent,the normal reaction in these cases is toput up a fight in an attempt to clear one’sname and convince society of one’s in-nocence. But in CWL’s heart the welfareof the TS came first. His resignation wasaccepted and he went on to lead a quietlife outside the organization.

At the time of the accusations, in 1906,CWL was already a renowned Theo-sophist worldwide and had an important



following. In my work in the ArchivesI came across correspondence of mem-bers from different parts of the world inhis support. Some of them asked him toform another organization, offering toleave the TS and join his. But he dis-missed this plan of action and advisedpeople not to leave the TS. In his lettershe would tell them that, in spite of all thetroubles, the Society was doing the workof the Masters and they should stay rightwhere they were. He added that he con-tinued to work with the Masters, and thatit did not matter much whether he wasdoing it from inside or outside the Society.This attitude, again, is quite remarkable,especially taking into account the factthat, in similar situations, other influentialTheosophists such as W. Q. Judge, A. A.Bailey, R. Steiner, and several others leftthe TS and created their own organ-izations, taking along with them all themembers that would follow them.

During his time in “exile” CWLcontinued the clairvoyant research forwhich he had been trained and this waseventually published in books such asThe Hidden Side of Things.

One may suppose that throughout thisordeal one of the most painful momentsmust have been when his dearest friend,Annie Besant, believing what some peopletold her about his actions, condemnedLeadbeater publicly. As she had provedseveral times in the past, Annie Besantwas a person that held Truth in the highestesteem, and was ready to sacrifice any-thing, even the love of family and friends,to uphold what she thought was true.

There is a private letter from CWL toAnnie Besant written around this time,in which he asks her very affectionatelyto keep in mind all the work they hadbeen doing together on the astral plane,and asks if she thinks it would have beenpossible for him to hide such vile ten-dencies from his astral body, if he hadthem. He also asks her whether she thinksthe Master would even approach a personlike this and use him for his work. Fromthis letter, it seems evident that the workthey did on the inner planes was as realto them as our activities on the physicalworld are to us. Besant eventually cameto realize that the accusations were false,and after being elected as internationalPresident of the TS, she invited Lead-beater to return to the organization. Hereturned quietly, showing no resentmentagainst those who had wronged him, notendency to be vengeful towards them,but simply continued to do his work asif nothing had happened. How manyproblems could be averted if we wouldshow at least some measure of this dignityand unselfishness!

Final wordsIn the course of theosophical history,

it seems quite common that most leaders,from HPB onward, had to face some kindof character attack. The accusations againstLeadbeater were among the cruellest ofthem all. However, the way he reactedseems almost incredible. The humility,the absence of resentment and ill will, andthe unshakeable trust he maintained inthe Masters throughout, can be a constant

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inspiration to us in those times when wehave to face our own difficulties.

It is evident that, after the initialtraining he gained from HPB, Leadbeaterwas able to live with the philosophicalequanimity reflected in a saying herepeated on occasion: “Nothing mattersmuch; most things don’t matter at all.”But perhaps this attitude can only stem

References1. C. Jinarâjadâsa, The “KH” Letters to C. W. Leadbeater, Adyar, Chennai: The TheosophicalPublishing House (TPH), 1980, Letter No. 2, p. 52.

2. C. W. Leadbeater, How Theosophy Came to Me, Adyar, Chennai: TPH, 1948, pp. 88-89.

3. Ibid, pp. 152-153.

4. The “KH” Letters to C. W. Leadbeater, Letter No. 1, p. 13.

5. C. W. Leadbeater, The Inner Life, vol. 1, Adyar, Chennai: TPH, 1967, p. 210.

from an ever deeper realization — thatof the Unity of life, described by himas follows:

When we know quite certainly that we arepart of a whole, we do not so much mindwhere this particular fragment of it maybe, or through what experiences it maybe passing.5 ²

The standard of the theosophist as to right and wrong is always higherthan that of the less instructed person, yet s/he is far gentler than thelatter in his feeling towards the sinner, because he comprehends more ofhuman nature. . . . He goes further than tolerance, charity, sympathy;he feels positive love towards humanity, and that leads him to adopt aposition of watchful helpfulness. . . . If anyone desires from himexplanation or advice, he is more than willing to give it, yet he has nosort of wish to convert anyone else to his own way of thinking. . . .

The Will of the Deity is humanity's evolution; whatever therefore helpson that evolution must be good; whatever stands in the way of it anddelays it, that thing must be wrong, even though it may have on its sideall the weight of public opinion and immemorial tradition.

C. W. LeadbeaterA Textbook of Theosophy

Vol. 137.1018

The Vedas and Upanishads

The Theosophist


BHUPENDRA R. VORA

THE Vedas are the earliest writings ofthe human mind going back to thousandsof years before the beginning of theChristian era. The §g-veda and the threeothers — Atharva-veda, Sâma-veda andYajur-veda are ancient Vedic hymnodies.Traditionally they are regarded as“superhuman knowledge, revealed byseer-sages (·shi-s) in a heightened stateof awareness.” They relate to the earlyera of the Indus Valley Civilization, andtradition names the great sage Veda-Vyâsa as the compiler of the Vedas.

The word “Veda” literally means Wis-dom or Science, but is given technicallyto the oldest literature of ancient India.In respect to the Vedas, the great Germanphilosopher Schopenhauer says:

Access to the Vedas is the greatest pri-vilege this century may claim over allprevious centuries. In the whole worldthere is no study so beneficial and soelevating as that of the Upanishads. It hasbeen the solace of my life and it will bethe solace of my death.

The §g-veda which is the most ancientof the four Vedas and considered the

oldest scripture in the world, is a seminalwork and consists of ten books(mandala-s) of 1,017 hymns covering atotal of about 10,600 stanzas. MadameBlavatsky dates it as far back as 30,000BCE (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 5, Sec-tion 40, page 343). They are concernedwith peace, prosperity and liberation to abetter world. This Veda is further dividedinto four major collections namely: thesamhitâ-s, Brahmanas, Âranyakas andthe Upanishads. The first two booksconsist mainly of hymns, liturgies forsacrificial rites and give general rulesof conduct. The last two books, theÂranyakas and Upanishads form theVedanta (end knowledge or the creamof knowledge). Âranyakas mean forestdwellers and form the first of the greatteachings that arose from the rejectionof materialistic life by the ·shi-s (sages)to take up study, contemplation and medi-tation in the forest. They precede theUpanishads and have the same extensivemetaphysical depth. The Bhagavadgitâsprings from the Âranyakas and theUpanishads. Scholars have often symbol-ised the Vedas as the cow, the Upanishads

Mr Bhupendra R. Vora is a former General Secretary of the Theosophical Society in East and CentralAfrica, now living in England.

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as the milk and the Bhagavadgitâ as thecream of the milk from the cow. Makinghis observations on the Vedic philoso-phy, Professor Monier-Williams states:

A system which is in some respects almostidentical with that thought out by Spinozaand the profoundest thinkers of modernEurope. Indeed if you will pardon theanachronism, the Hindus were Spinozasmore than two thousand years before theexistence of Spinoza and Darwinians . . .many centuries before the doctrines ofevolution had been accepted by theHuxleys of our time and before any wordlike Evolution existed in any language inthe world.

Two very significant sukta-s [hymns]of the §g-veda, are the nâsadiya suktaand the purusha sukta. An Englishtranslation of the nâsadiya sukta ap-pears in The Secret Doctrine, Volume 1,just prior to the commencement of theStanzas on Cosmic Evolution. It is a veryprofound and poetic sukta referring tothe night and day of Brahma. It readsas follows:

Nor Aught nor Nought existed; yon brightsky was not, nor heaven’s broad roofoutstretched above. What covered all?What sheltered? What concealed? Was itthe water’s fathomless abyss?There was no death — yet there wasnought immortal, there was no confinebetwixt day and night; the only Onebreathed breathless by itself, other thanIt there nothing since has been. Dark-ness there was, and all at first was veiledin gloom profound — an ocean without

light. The germ that still lay covered in thehusk burst forth, one nature, from thefervent heat.

. . . . . . .Who knows the secret? Who proclaimedit here? Whence, whence this manifoldcreation sprang? The Gods themselvescame later into being — who knows fromwhence this great creation sprang? That,whence all this great creation came,whether its will created or was mute, theMost High Seer that is in highest heaven,He knows it — or perchance even Heknows not.Gazing into eternity . . .Ere the foundations of the earth were laid,

. . . . . . .Thou wert. And when the subterraneanflame shall burst its prison and devour theframe thou shalt be still as thou wert beforeand know no change, when time shall beno more.O, endless thought, divine ETERNITY.

In a profoundly poetic rendition, thegreat sage who composed this suktadescribes the manifestation of life afterthe night of Brahma and the unmani-festation when the cyclic period ends.

In the other significant sukta, thepurusha sukta, is a remarkable descrip-tion of the One Reality that pervades allmanifestation and is timeless. This suktais at the heart of the Bhârata Samâja Pujathat is performed in the Bhârata SamâjaTemple at Adyar every morning. In TheSecret Doctrine Madame Blavatskydiscusses the deeper significance of thissukta as follows:

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Hence in the purusha sukta of the §g-vedathe mother-fount of and source of all sub-sequent religions, it is stated allegoricallythat “the thousand-headed purusha” wasslaughtered at the foundation of the World,that from his remains the Universe mightarise. This is nothing more nor less thanthe foundation — the seed, truly — of thelater many-formed symbol in variousreligions, including Christianity, of thesacrificial lamb. For it is a play uponthe words “aja” (purusha), “the unborn”,or eternal Spirit, means also “lamb”, inSanskrit. Spirit disappears — dies, meta-phorically — the more it gets involved inmatter, and hence the sacrifice of the“unborn”, or the “lamb”.

The Secret Doctrine,Adyar Edition, 1971, Vol. 5, Section 43,

“The Mystery of Buddha”, p. 370

Also having its origin in the §g-vedais the well-known Gâyatri Mantra whichis an invocation to the Sun God. Thismantra has been considered very aus-picious, since thousands of years andmuch has been written about its effects.The Gâyatri Mantra is recited five timesduring the Bhârata Samâja Puja orcongregational worship.

The second book, the Yajur-veda issubdivided into the ºukla (white) and thek·shna (black) Vedas. Both of these dealwith sacrificial formulae. In early Vedictimes the sacrifice was still, in the main,an unfettered act of devotion.

The third book, the Sâma-veda is apurely liturgical collection. Much of it isfound in the §g-veda. It has about fifteen

hundred mantras arranged for being sungat sacrifices.

The fourth book is the Atharva-veda.It has been considered, by some, as beingnext in importance to the §g-veda, forlike it, it is a historical collection ofindependent contents. A different spiritpervades this Veda, which is the productof a later period.

Many scholars consider the Vedichymns as being mere praises of thevarious gods (devas), but when studiedtheosophically, they are seen to reveal avision of cosmic order wherein all thevarious deities are seen to be workingtogether, linking each other and humansin a harmonious whole, a cosmic solidarity.

The ·shi-s (sages) of ancient Indiawere very pragmatic in their approachto problems of life. Their deliberationsand contemplations covered not onlythe subjective world but also the object-ive material world. The Vedas andUpanishads give a holistic view of life inwhich the subjective and objective aspectsof existence are considered together.They do not merely speculate on themetaphysical levels of consciousness butrelate these to the physical world. Thesages who are credited with giving thiswisdom to the world were able throughstudies, contemplations and meditations,to penetrate the veils of mâyâ that sep-arate the grosser physical world from thesubtler regions of existence. Throughtheir keen observations of Nature anddeep reflections on metaphysical con-cepts, they were able to give a holisticview of Man, God and Universe.

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Many of these sages remain nameless,for they were free from an egocentricnature, and had no desire to immortalizetheir names. But the wisdom containedin the Vedas and Upanishads is timeless.It was the tradition in ancient India to seekan enlightened being to acquire wisdomand many a seeker went to the ashrams(hermitages) of these sages for thispurpose. The tradition was for the aspirantor seeker of knowledge to go to theashram of the sage (usually in the forest)carrying firewood for the fire of the sage.The symbolic meaning from the exotericpoint of view was: “I will serve you inevery possible way.” The deeper oresoteric meaning was: “I surrender mypersonality (physical, astral & mental) atyour feet so that you may mould merightly.” The ·shi-s taught their disciplesthe ancient wisdom by practical examplesor by stories that had morals to emulate.With the passage of time, however, theteachings of Vedic philosophy, werecorrupted by the moss of rituals anddogmas, and the deeper meanings werelost. It was left to the truly enlightenedbeings to unravel the mysteries of thesepriceless scriptures. The great teacherÂdi-ªankarâchârya wrote commentaries— on all the major Upanishads — thatare considered as very authoritative worksfor any true seeker.

A misconception commonly heldis that the teachings of these ancientworks have no relevance to this modernconsumerist and technological age. Butthe sages who wrote them were practicalmen who balanced the spiritual and

material aspects of life. They led the livesof householders and were aware of thematerial needs of human beings. In thestories they told their disciples, weremessages relevant to the needs of men,intended to bring about a balance in theirlives. Through their teachings they pointedto the futility of the search for happinessthrough material possessions only.

The B·hadâranyaka-upanishad hasprofound discourses of Sage Yâjñavalkyathat are the Indian counterparts of Plato’sdialogues, but perhaps more ancient. Inone particular dialogue the subject ofmaterial possessions is discussed. SageYâjñavalkya about to leave the world asa hermit wants to make a final settlementof his worldly goods between his twowives, Maitreyi “who knows the speechof Brahman”, and Kâtyâyani “who knowsonly what all women know”. “Maitreyi,”said Yâjñavalkya, “I am leaving now.Behold, I want to make settlement betweenyou and Kâtyâyani.” But Maitreyi scorn-ing material possessions and expressinga desire to know about the Eternal said:“What should I do with which I may notbe immortal? Tell me my Lord, whatyou know.” And Yâjñavalkya talks toher about âtman: “One can enter his [theLord’s] all-unity beyond the world oflimited consciousness, which comprisesthe duality of the seer and seen, of theknower and the known; that is the mean-ing of immortality.”

Thus on the one hand the desireof the individual frightened by thetransiency of the material world whicheventually leads to death, and on the other

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hand the highest ideas of the Eternal, arejuxtaposed as questions and answers inthe dialogue. The aspirant prays and says:“From the unreal lead me to the real.From darkness lead me to the light. Fromdeath lead me to immortality.”

The human quest is for peace, pros-perity and happiness in life. Equally thereis an inner quest for understanding ofthe deeper purpose of life. There is abeautiful story in one of the Upanishadsthat illustrates this message:

Once upon a time, the devas (celestialbeings), the mânava-s (men) and theasuras (adversaries of the celestialbeings) found themselves facing thesame type of problem — of findingpeace and contentment. The devas hadall the comforts they could aspire for andled a life of pleasure. They were freefrom thirst, old age and death, and yetsomething was lacking from their livesand they were not happy.

Unlike their brothers in heaven, themânava-s — men on earth — were lead-ing a hard life. They had to work hardfor their crops to secure their future.Therefore on no account would theypart with what they had gained. Yetdespite all the riches they had earned andstored away, they too were far fromhappy. They had no contentment or peaceof mind.

The asuras, the demons, inspired fearamongst both the devas and mânava-s.They were cruel and obtained whateverthey wanted by force. They killed with-out showing any mercy. But the asurastoo were overcome by a feeling of dis-

satisfaction. Although they were power-ful and were feared by all, they werenot happy.

All of them — devas, mânava-s andasuras — decided to go to their father,the Creator, Brahma, to seek his adviceon how to attain peace and content-ment. The Lord Brahma on hearing theirpetition uttered just one syllable — da.The devas, mânava-s and asuras wereperplexed as to the meaning of this singlesyllable. They all went to their respectivehomes contemplating over this syllableto discover the hidden meaning. In timethey all derived their own meaningsaccording to their own way of life.

The devas interpreted the da to standfor dâmyata or restraint. They realizedthat only by putting aside pleasures ofthe senses and exercising self-controlcould they move from that which istransient to that which is Eternal. And bydoing so they experienced a satisfactionnever known before. The mânava-s inter-preted the da to mean dâna or charity.They decided to become charitable andshare whatever they had with others —men, beasts and birds — and realized thejoy of giving, thereby experiencing apeace never realized before. The asurasunderstood the da to stand for daya orcompassion. They started practising com-passion when dealing with others andexperienced joy and contentment neverrealized before.

The symbolism of this Upanishadicstory is obvious. It is only by the practiceof the three cardinal virtues of self-control (dâmyata), charity (dâna) and

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compassion (daya) that true contentmentand peace can be realized. That this storyhas a relevance to the present state ofthings in the world is obvious.

There are four mahâvâkya-s or greatsentences (aphorisms) that convey theessence of Vedic teaching. They areprofound in their meaning and requiredeep contemplation.

1. prajñânam brahma: Consciousness is

Brahman (Aitareya-upanishad of §g-veda) 2. tat tvam asi: That thou art (Chândogya-upanishad of Sâma-veda) 3. ayam âtma brahma: This Self is Brah-man (Mândukya-upanishad of Atharva-veda) 4. aham brahma asmi: I am Brahman(B·hadâranyaka-upanishad of Yajur-veda)

The Vedas and Upanishads haveteachings that are relevant to all ages.

References1. Indian Philosophy — S. Radhakrishnan

2. The Secret Doctrine — H. P. Blavatsky

3. Some Concepts of Hinduism — Dr R. Ramnarine

4. Vedanta Treatise — A. Parthasarathy

5. The Upanishads

If the Upanishads help us to rise above the glamour of the fleshylife, it is because their authors — pure of soul, ever striving towards thedivine — reveal to us their pictures of the splendours of the unseen.The Upanishads are respected not because they are a part of sruti, orrevealed literature, and so hold a reserved position, but because theyhave inspired generations of Indians with vision and strength by theirinexhaustible significance and spiritual power. Indian thought hasconstantly turned to these scriptures for fresh illumination and spiritualrecovery or recommencement, and not in vain. The fire still burnsbright on their altars. Their light is for the seeing eye and their messageis for the seeker after truth.

Dr S. Radhakrishnan

²


Of Enemies and Friends — I


PRADEEP TALWALKER

Mr Pradeep Talwalker is a member of the Poona Lodge of the Theosophical Society in India.Talk given at the Lodge on 10 May 2009.

“NO man is your enemy: no man isyour friend. All alike are your teachers.”We are exploring this thought from Lighton the Path. It is not hard to understand.We all know that those on whom we lookas enemies or friends have all come inour lives through our own past karma;that working out the karmic bondsaffords us fresh opportunities to correctour attitudes. We have exchange of lovewith friends, and both sides benefit. Butabout our “enemy” — we feel he hascome to the party uninvited, to tormentus. Has he? We have been told by wisemen, have read in different books, andhave also experienced to a certain extent,that no torment is caused from outside.It comes from within by agitation of ourreactive mind: a product of our own self-centredness. We evidently need plenty ofimprovement. Once peace is establishedwithin, no one or nothing can distress us.(We experience this equanimity even nowwhen in a happy, peaceful mood. If themind is troubled, we are upset even bytrifles.) This realization put our distressin the right perspective, drives self-pityout, forces us on to the right Path. If the

person we look on as an enemy puts uson the right Path (though unwittingly),how do we call him an enemy? He, too,is a teacher. Some teachers teach withlove, others by use of the cane. If weourselves do not provide a cause forbeing caned, even that problem shall notremain. Friends teach us love, “enemies”teach forbearance and introspection —both essential in our evolution. Friend orfoe, both teachers! Being convincedabout the law of karma, why forget thatthe cause for the foe’s animosity hasreally been supplied by us? If we realisethis, we come closer to understandingthe man. If this leads us to sympathiseand love him, even he may reciprocate.We are freed of a persistent negativity,and carry a lesser burden thenceforth.

All this, we already know. But wedo not regard only people as our enemies.Aspirants regard even the so-called“lower” emotions as the “six foes” — theshadripu (shad = six; ripu = enemy). Theseare: 1) kâma = carnal lust; 2) krodha =anger; 3) lobha = greed; 4) moha =delusion; 5) mada = pride; 6) matsara =envy. Then again, we love animals, but

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work for the extermination of houseflies,mosquitoes, and other bugs. Why? They,too, are a part of God’s creation; whyshould they be regarded as pests? Onceinner peace is achieved (as we will see),even these cease to be “pests”. Let usexamine these thoughts in a bit of detail.

We know that as we evolve from theanimal kingdom, our early human livesare ruled by tamas (darkness — mentaldarkness). Although in the human king-dom now, the ego still has a large leftoverof brute qualities. Its desires are centredon the physical body; it struggles forgratification of mostly physical needs.Life moves around the threesome of food,sex and sleep. This “darkness quality” iscalled tamoguna. (Tamas becomes tamoin word combination; guna means qualityin Sanskrit. “Higher” guna-s than tamas— rajas and sattva — come at much laterstages of evolution and these will be dis-cussed later.) The man is surrounded bypeople of his own kind. They too haveonly animal desires. If the means ofgratification are limited, or if morepersons look for the same thing, evidentlythere is going to be a tussle. The onlyfunctional rule is: might is right. Naturediscourages survival of the weak. Ananimal, or a man influenced by tamasthinks nothing of snatching the object ofdesire from the weak. Submission to thestrong is without protest. “Pecking order”is a major consideration.

In the current context money hasacquired more importance than evenfood — by robbing another’s money aman can get what he wants without

much hard work. Of course, this is noteasy. The owner takes care to protect hisproperty. To get his money by outwittinghim needs cunning; it also involves risks.The same skill and daring used properlywill bring in much more wealth, withhonour and greater ease. But the tamas-ruled person’s thought-process is strangelyprogrammed. Using various skills, takingextreme risks, he elects thievery. Robbingis his idea of achievement. He does notsee anything wrong with it; in his way ofthinking he possibly sees it as the rightthing to do. With points of view peculiarto each one of us, we all see peculiarthings as “self-evident”. We see strangequirks even among “educated” people.Under the control of tamas, “each forhimself” is the norm. Brother, sister,mother or father, all are secondary toself-interest. Reports of neighbourhoodquarrels, fights, or murder over trivialreasons — even among immediaterelations — adorn the daily newspaper.Most papers have reporters chasing thepolice for crime news.

The drive for perpetuating the speciesis also inborn. Here also, getting thedesired object by force is seen as nothingwrong. The trait even seems to beessential in Nature for natural selection.Fights over the female between males (aswith lions, and also with deer) can bestudied, sitting at home, on TV channelslike “Animal Planet”. The victor keepsthe female which too, seems to have noobjection to the arrangement. It is notsurprising then that the same instinctshould continue to rule over the feeble



conscience of early human incarnations.All that take place in current societyowing to this drive, also get flashed onthe front pages of newspapers. Even“dignified” papers print it. Electronicmedia thrive on such sensational news.Most readers or TV viewers regard itwith relish.

Addictions lend a further dimension.In the company that he keeps, it is hardnot to fall a prey to such habits. After thehunger for food and sex are satiated, therest of the day is spent in intoxicationor sleep. Sleep of mind as well as body.The mind is not yet capable of inspiringhim for anything better. That comes verygradually — almost imperceptibly overa long succession of lives.

At the early stage when “might is right”rules, there is little evidence of “pride”having sprouted. No glee of triumph inoverpowering the weak; no shame ofdefeat in grovelling before the strong. Tosurvive anyhow is the limited aim for theprimitive instinct. Domination or cringingis only a matter of unimportant detail,easily exchangeable as fits the occasion.Success in early births is in proportionto physical abilities. In later births he seesthat brawn coupled with brain is far moreeffective. Gradually, dawns the thinkingfaculty. Early smartness tends towardsslyness. Practice makes it sharper. As hegarners the fruits of smartness, pridetakes root. Even the rise of conceit is astep forward in evolution — a sign ofincipient rajoguna: the desire to grow“bigger” than others, promoting pride.(From Sanskrit rajas = dust; dust

particles are seen in a sunbeam movingconstantly, signifying activity. Peoplewith rajoguna as the predominant gunaare described as râjasi.)

Low cunning and vanity is a headycombination. It makes a man feel special,distinct from the rest of the flock. This isthe start of “separateness”. It may looklike a downslide in evolution, but itindicates waking up from the slumber oftamas. He has growing awareness of his“self”. Spending some lives in arrogance,he starts acquiring a sense of dignity.He becomes conscious of his “status”. Heavoids acts that he considers unbecomingof a “person like him”, at least openly.

Slowly, he learns to keep lowerdesires in check. By and by he startsdoing a few good deeds, to win praise.He gathers a band of sycophants whofawn on him. The beginning may behumble. In the present context he joins agroup that, say, organizes local festivals.He becomes a toady of the local politicianand worms his way up. Eventually hebecomes a party boss; or an industrialist;or starts private universities (though notmuch educated himself!) — anything toshine in society, but still remains quitecrude. He becomes rich by whatevermeans and struggles to bring a largegroup under his control. He acquiressubstantial political clout. In his progresshe hurts many, wins their enmity andcurses. In the intoxication of defeatingothers, he enjoys their hostility. But aftera period of gloating over vain triumphs,this ceases to amuse and has to come toan end — it is tiring.

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The hunger for love wakes in hisbreast. People’s expressions of love arepleasing. When he makes efforts in thatdirection, he gets response from others.He sees that this loving relationship ismore durable, and satisfying. His notionof self, initially limited to himself, nowtakes into its fold his family, group, tribe,and so on. Side by side he is takingsuccessive incarnations, learning newerlessons. No more a despot over his sphereof influence, he now identifies himselfwith his team, becomes one with them.Funnily, that actually sets him apart andnow the group elects him as the leader.He now strives to nurture team spirit andunity in the group. All his effort now isfor the good of others, not for himself.This is the rise of sattvaguna, the noblequality of purity (Sanskrit sattva = good-ness, essence, purity). Now there is nomore a reign of terror, but of benign love.

These are all natural stages which eventhe Adepts must have gone through. Forspiritual progress annihilation of “self”

is not needed; it is important that its ambitgrows, ultimately to include the entirecreation. As the “Higher Self” awakens,personal pride quietly vanishes, beingconverted into love for all. Separatenessends here. Narrow vanity cuts off aman from others; the all-encompassingEgo nudges away conceit. The personmentally melts into the entire creation.Otherwise pride is such a thing that themore we try to get rid of it the more itsticks to us. But the selfsame sentimentis capable of bringing about salvation stepby step. After traversing maybe hundredsof thousands of years, going throughhundreds of human incarnations, all-inclusiveness ultimately liberates us. Agreat paradox, but truer than anythingelse. This shows that pride is not ourenemy but a flight of steps that leads usto the spiritual acme. Pride is mada, thefifth of the six “foes” (shadripu). Whentaken on the positive path the “enemy” isno longer an enemy, but our liberator.

(To be continued)

Your friends will believe in your potential,your enemies will make you live up to it.

Tim Fargo


Evolutionary Progress in Morality


RAISA KALASHNIKOVA

Ms Raisa Kalashnikova is the President of Laya Branch of the Theosophical Society in Ukraine.

THE human race has already begunascending the evolutionary arc of spir-itual progress. As a result, the renaissanceof ethics, including morality and human-istic ideals is also following the path ofevolutionary progress. But if this is so,why is there an opinion that while tech-nological progress is taking place, “moralprogress” does not happen? Many peoplebelieve that in the old days people were“purer and kinder”, but today, society isfrequently discussing “morality collapse”,“spread of the contagion of violence”, and“attack on freedom of speech”.

It is possible to answer the question“Is there progress in morality?” by dis-cussing the following:

What is “morality”, and is it synonymouswith “morals”?Where and how does morality arise?Why were things “better in the old daysthan they are now”?What contributes to the formation of mo-rality, and how is this implemented?What are the vectors of morality changesin the changing world?

Today, many scientists, psychologists

and philosophers believe that morality

and morals are synonymous. However,

there is an opinion that these notions are

completely different, though they always

stand side by side. Probably, the latter

opinion is closer to the Truth because both

morality and morals are studied by the

same discipline which is called “ethics”.

Both morality and morals mean cer-tain norms of behaviour, rules, andestablished order, which people shouldfollow in society. But there is a majordifference between these two notions. Formorals, such norms, rules and order arethe external factors. Morals are governedby norms of objective reality which aretypical for a specific development stageof the society and imposed by the “hereand now” necessity.

Morals reflect a person’s attitudetoward the society and other persons, aswell as society’s requirements toward aperson. Morals consist of rules of humanbehaviour, which establish people’sindividual responsibilities toward each

What is beautiful is moral. Gustave Flaubert

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other and toward society as a whole.Moral requirements are associated withthe notion of how a person should behavein a situation. A person can be taughtmorals by certain instructions, advice,recommendations, demands. For in-stance, it is possible to elaborate standardsfor corporate ethics, to establish rulesregulating conduct in public spaces, etc.

On the contrary, it is impossible “toteach” morality, because morality is aspecific internal constituent element,which is characteristic to each individual;morality represents personal morals, self-appraisal and the spiritual state of eachparticular individual, and thus, moralityrepresents morals, self-appraisal and thespiritual state of a society as a whole.When a person is moral, it is expectedthat he/she has established his/her owninternal regulator and limits.

Each individual who is evaluating his/her behaviour and behaviour of otherpeople applies the set of rules addressingfirst of all the following questions: “Whatis good and what is bad?” and “What isgood and what is evil?” By acceptingstandards and rules of conduct thatcorrespond to high ideals and principles,a person can learn identifying and tellingthe difference between the criteria thatallow to determine the state of moralityand to achieve spiritual growth.

So, where does individual conscious-ness start or where and how is moralityborn? Let us turn to our compatriotHelena Petrovna Blavatsky who in herbook The Secret Doctrine brought tothe world the renewed teaching on the

Timeless Wisdom — Theosophy. Shewrote: “Theosophy is a teaching aboutethics and moral principles.” It is Theo-sophy which provides an answer to thisdifficult question based on the followingthree main Laws of the Universe:

1. The Unity of Everything Existing2. The Law of Karma3. The Law of Reincarnation

At the Theosophical Lodge meetingsin London in 1889, referring to the Com-mentaries to Verse 4, Stanza I of TheSecret Doctrine (Part I, Cosmogenesis),HPB stressed twelve major causes ofexistence called nidâna-s, which givebirth to the Manifested Universe accord-ing to the Law of Karma. It is these thatare moral agents in the Universe and areincluded in mâyâ. It means that moralityis already born at the very first momentof the manifestation of a new manv-antara, new life, or new cosmos. Eachnidâna represents a link in the chain ofcausation, “a concatenation of causes andeffects”. According to The TheosophicalDictionary, nidâna-s are placed in thefollowing order of enumeration:

1. Jâti, or birth, according to one of the fourmodes of entering the stream of life andreincarnation.

2. Jarâmarana, or decrepitude and death,following the maturity of the skandha-s.

3. Bhava, the karmic agent which leadsevery new sentient being to be born in thisor another mode of existence.4. Upâdâna, the creative cause of bhavawhich thus becomes the cause of jati which



is the effect; and this creative cause is theclinging to life.5. T·shnâ, love, whether pure or impure.6. Vedanâ, or sensation; perception bythe sense.7. Sparºa, the sense of touch.8. Shadâyatana, the organs of sensation.9. Nâmarupa, personality, i.e., a form witha name to it, the symbol of the unreality ofmaterial phenomenal appearances.10. Vijñâna, the perfect knowledge of everyperceptible thing and of all objects in theirconcatenation and unity.11. Samskâra, action on the plane of illusion.12. Avidyâ, lack of true perception, orignorance.

Then, in her “Instructions of Teach-ings for the Inner Group” H. P. Blavatskywrote the following: “Nidâna-s are thedetailed expression of the law of Karma,under twelve aspects.” She explained thatsince “the nidâna-s belong to the mostsubtle and abstruse doctrines of theEastern metaphysical system, it is impos-sible to go into the subject at any greaterlength”. Nevertheless, if we try to unveilin fragments the inner essence of eachnidâna and then to join everything toobtain the integral whole, it becomes clearthat an individual is born with thosemorality principles acquired as the resultof actions during previous lives and thesehave to be perfected in the new lifeaccording to the Law of Karma.

Famous twentieth century psych-ologist Carl Gustav Jung in his workentitled “Soul and Myth. Six Archetypes”

mentions that “already in human bloodplasma — in embryonic form of life, . . .there is something embedded, somethingspiritual, an inclination to be spiritual”.In such a case, what should direct aperson toward developing this gift ofspirituality?

From the theosophical point of view,everything that happened in the past andis currently happening before our eyes hasonly one sense and only one explanation:it is necessary for each individual togradually expand his/her own conscious-ness. Moreover, consciousness should beunderstood in the widest sense — as thework of Mind, Heart, Conscience, Willand all-unifying Love. While working onexpanding his/her own consciousness,the individual is learning lessons from thelife experience as the Soul passes fromone physical life to another; so thisresults in the revelation that bad deedslead to suffering.

After many reincarnations, a person’sSoul realizes that obeying the moralitylaws helps to avoid unnecessary suffer-ing. The Soul is nurturing these moralityand moral values, which as far back asin ancient Greece were called “ethicalvirtues”. Ukrainian teacher, writer,philosopher, and enlightener HryhoriySkovoroda, who was called “HeavenlyWisdom”, considered compassion, mercy,good sense, benevolence, justice andbrotherhood to be the main items onthe list of these virtues. These positivequalities form the foundation of thespiritual life of every human being. Theyserve as the basis for the development

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of brotherly relationship among people,and in the long run, they contribute tothe implementation of “the first andmost important Goal of the TheosophicalSociety”. Radha Burnier in her work“Spiritual Regeneration of Mankind”stressed upon the fact that withoutmorality it is impossible to build theUniversal Brotherhood, which can mani-fest itself only at the buddhi level. Alreadyon the Earth, here and now, it is necessaryto engage ourselves in the developmentof our own morality and spiritual growth.

While perfecting one’s own innernature in the process of evolution, aperson becomes able to raise the con-sciousness to higher levels, so he/shestarts manifesting the aspects andqualities of morality, which correspondto the individual development level.In other words, the level of moralitydepends on the level of consciousnessof specific persons in particular, and so,of the society as a whole. However, some-times in one society a certain person isrecognized to be of high morality, but inanother society of more advanced con-sciousness, the morality of the sameperson might be considered inadequate.This has always been in the nature ofthings, and it is still so nowadays.

We may remember that at the timewhen Peter the Great ruled Russia,according to one of the rules of con-duct, it was forbidden to go to bed inboots. Is this rule there now? It is ob-vious that today this issue is absolutelynot relevant. This is a good exampleof the manifestation of inner morality

through a higher level of consciousness.H. F. Pisareva in her book On the

Hidden Meaning of Life clearly correlateshuman morality level with one or anotherlevel of consciousness starting from thelowest level which is intrinsic to bar-barians and finishing with the higherconsciousness level of modern people,practically until the present time. Shestresses upon the fact that the highestlevel of consciousness is still to beachieved, and that each level had, has andwill have its own criterion of morality,which allows the determination of thedevelopment level of a person as anintegral part of the whole, and so, thedevelopment level of the whole itself.

Life still goes on. Today, we feel espe-cially keenly how far life has advanced.Behaviour requirements become tougher,the previous consciousness stage is losingits power and a new consciousness stageapproaches to replace it. Meanwhile,consciousness of the majority of peopledoes not catch up with the overall paceof evolution. That is why some peoplestill consider the obsolete life stylesto be a model of order, strength andbalance, and they focus on the pastonly and lose the vision of the future.As a result, these people frequently say:“It used to be better before.” The reasonfor such an opinion is that these peopledo not combine the past and the futureinto a single evolutionary flow of atransitory epoch when a process ofadaptation and rethinking of everythinghappening has started; this gives the falseimpression of a regress. H. F. Pisareva



addresses this issue and writes thefollowing:

This process is taking place becausethe existing equilibrium is shaky, humanpsychology is evolving to become moresophisticated, and while it is adaptingto higher life requirements, all its outermanifestations become more chaotic,contradicting former standards, “knockedout” from the existing morality context,. . . a lot of time is needed to get rid ofpreviously acquired characteristics, . . .for gradual reformation of all previousconcepts, feelings and inner skills . . .Such an adaptation period is alwayscharacterized by difficult events andsigns of moral degradation.

Moreover, for a long time nowthe worldwide scientific communityhas discovered, so to speak, a “well-functioning” universal formula whichalso may help explaining why “it used tobe better before”. The formula is asfollows: satisfaction equals a fractionwhere success is the numerator andaspirations are the denominator. Hence,it is clear that the higher the aspirations,the lower the satisfaction of actual goalsachieved. Thus today, it is “bad” notbecause it has become worse indeed, butbecause our aspirations, demands andwishes drastically increased, and hence aso-called “success” in our society cannotyet meet our aspirations.

What, after all, contributes to themorality formation at various stages of aperson’s life, and how does it manifestitself? It is worthwhile to remember the

saying of the genius scientist AlbertEinstein: “We shall require a substantiallynew manner of thinking if humanity is tosurvive.” In other words, in order to buildyour new behaviour and attitude towardsothers, to mould your morality at a cer-tain stage of life, it is necessary to changeyour mentality. Besides, the founder ofintegral yoga, Sri Aurobindo, as thoughhe had read the thoughts of the greatscientific genius, advises:

At the same time we need to turn . . . mindtowards ethics, to moral purity, and so towake up the inner reality of our naturalessence, to contact the highest reality, stayconnected to it, adhere to it, and, due tosuch a contact and adherence, to transformyour essence by converting it to a newessence, new personality, new nature.

However, there is only one trans-forming force — Love. Without Loveeverything becomes nothing. Accordingto Jiddu Krishnamurti, morality is not aproduct of thought only, it is not anoutcome of social pressure, not animmediate yesterday product or a productevolved from a tradition. Love is thehighest life value. An unknown author,in the following inspired words, remindsus about this value:

Duty without love makes a person irritable.Responsibility without love makes a per-son rude.Justice without love makes a person cruel.Truth without love makes a person captious.Good manners without love make a persontwo-faced.

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Affability without love makes a personhypocritical.Intellect without love makes a personcunning.

High knowledge without love makes aperson uncompromising.Honour without love makes a personarrogant.Power without love makes a person violent.Wealth without love makes a person greedy.Faith without love makes a person fanatic.

That is why whatever we are doing weshould do it “with love”. Only this waywe can cultivate in ourselves a high levelof morality, to transform ourselves in thechanging world.

Individual moral development leadsthe person toward spirituality. Truemorality enhances the vibrations of con-sciousness in the human essence, andsuch a person becomes able to receivedivine vibrations. Rules of morality areto divert people from behaving selfishly,from caring only about themselves. Theyteach a person to care more about others;

they direct a person towards altruism,which is the keynote of Theosophy. Thisis exactly where the main vectors ofindividual morality development shouldbe focused, because by following thesevectors every person will be able to finda way toward the True Self, to trans-form his/her own individual inner nature,and as a result, will foster the moralevolution of all humanity. When we “startshining from inside” we will be ableto say:

Listen and hear! You by yourself be-came the Light, you became the Sound,you by yourself are your own Teacherand God. You by yourself are the goal ofyour search; non-stopping Voice rushingthrough eternity; you are free of changes,free of sin, – in the One – there are sevensounds of the Voice of Silence.

In conclusion, morality is evolving,though slowly yet, but steadily and con-tinuously. As HPB has asserted in herwork The Key to Theosophy, the time willcome when “earth will be a heaven . . .in comparison with what it is now”. ²

Morality is the basis of things, and truth is the substance of all morality.

Mahatma Gandhi

Vol. 137.1034

Islam in the Light of Theosophy

The Theosophist

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ANNIE BESANT

IF we translate “Theosophy” into English,it means simply ‘Divine Wisdom’. By thatname is indicated THE WISDOM in itsrelation to all the religions of the world.Every religion in its turn has grownup from the great Root of the DivineWisdom. Every religion in its place is anexposition of the Divine Life in humanity,and so this teaching which takes only thename of the Divine Wisdom, without anysectarian limitation, is the fervent helperand defender of every religion which hasuplifted and consoled humanity. It is noone religion, but every religion, that hasin it a friend and a defender.

Some of our Christian brethren haveregarded Theosophy as inimical to thegreat religion of the west. But that is amisconception, probably arising from thefact that Theosophy has strengthenedEastern faiths against aggression, andhas also pointed out the additions andomissions which have injured popularChristianity in the present, just as it haspointed out similar additions and omis-sions in popular Hinduism and Buddhism.Theosophy has stood as a defender ofevery faith of the Western or the Eastern

world. For everywhere in these daysreligion is attacked, and its defencebecomes the duty of a true Theosophist;and in the East, especially in India, wherethe religions of Hinduism and Islâm havetheir home and their numerous adherents,wherever those religions are attacked,Theosophy becomes defensive andstands in the breach against attacks, toexplain, to illuminate, and to defend. Butnonetheless in the Western lands, inChristendom, Theosophy is the servantof Christianity, as it is here the servantof Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Islâm.There, in the West, at last it is beingrecognized as filling up a great gap inthe defence of Christianity, not againstthe attacks of any other religion butagainst the attacks of materialism, againstthe attacks of scientific thought, wherethat scientific thought has no spiritualideal. So everywhere Theosophy comesforward to explain and to illuminate.

In this country of India, where so largea proportion of Indians belong to thegreat faith of the Prophet Muhammad,there are some seventy million peoplewho regard him as the chief messenger

Annie Besant was the second international President of the Theosophical Society from 1907to 1933. Excerpts from The Theosophist, April and May 1910.

Islam in the Light of Theosophy-



of God. Here naturally Theosophy comesin to help all those who follow that faith.Their position among the religions ofthe world is not as fully recognized as itought to be; that is, Islâm is not regardedas it should be by very many, as one ofthe great exponents of Divine Wisdom.Taken as a religion, it is often unfairlyattacked because it is utterly misunder-stood, as to the greatness of its Prophetand the nobility of his teachings to theworld. Often in the West you find attackson Islâm made on the ground that it isfanatically persecuting and not progres-sive; on the ground that the position ofwoman in Islâm is not such as it shouldbe; on the ground that it does not encouragelearning, science, and intellectual en-deavour. These are the three chief attackswhich the Westerners make againstIslâm. These attacks are not justified bythe teachings of the Prophet, and arecontroverted by the services which Islâmhas rendered to the world. It is true thattoday Islâm does not stand before theworld as the exponent of high learning,of great intellectual endeavours, but thatis not due to the fault of the teachingsbut rather to the neglecting of them. Islâmhas suffered, as all the other religions ofthe world have suffered, because itsfollowers are unworthy of its Founder.

Islâm differs from the other religionsof the world in one important fact. Withregard to its Founder, the Prophet, thereis no intermixture in his history of themythic element which surrounds the othergreat religious teachers; his life was ledin times that are regarded as historical.

In the seventh century of the Christian era,this man was born and lived out his lifein lands the history of which is known.

How splendidly his life can face thelight, how utterly ignorant are they whoattack the Prophet Muhammad, is shownby history. Many do not know the historyof his life — so simple, so heroic, and sonoble in its outlines; one of the great livesof historic men. He was born in difficulttimes, surrounded by difficult circum-stances, amongst a people who were sunkin superstition, amidst a people in whomsuperstitions were bearing their most evilfruits. We shall see in a moment fromthe testimony of those He converted,from the words of those who bore witnessto him whilst still He lived, and who heldhim Prophet of God, what were the livesof the masses of the people. But evenbefore this, He stands out as a Light inthe darkness, and we find his life sonoble and so true that we realise why Hewas chosen out to bear to all those aroundhim the message of his Lord. What wasthe name by which all men, women andchildren in Mecca knew him? It was thename of al-amin, the Trustworthy. I knowof no higher and nobler epithet than thatwith which they named this man who hadbeen amongst them from his youth — theman worthy of trust. It is told of himthat when He walked in the streets, thechildren ran out from the doors and clungto his knees and hands. Where you havethese two qualities in one character —the love of children and a character thatmakes the men around him call him theTrustworthy — you have the elements

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of a hero, of a born leader, of a teacherof men.

It is a story of great significance, thatof those fifteen weary years of struggle,of thoughts, of meditation, of living inthe life of the world and then away for atime in the cave of the desert, He wrestledwith thoughts that at first overpoweredhim, and He shrank with the weaknessof a man against the call from the powersof Spirit. One night He came back fromthat cave when the Angel of the Lordhad bidden him: “Rise, O Prophet of God,and go forth and cry to the people”. Heshivered, fearing and doubting: “Who amI, what am I, that I should go as Prophetof the Lord?” It was then that his wifecheered him up, bidding him obey thecall. “Fear not”, she said, “art thou notthe Trustworthy? Never will God deceivea man trusted by men.” Nowhere canthere be a fairer testimony to a prophet.Then He went forth to his great mission,the wife of his bosom was his firstdisciple, that dearest and noblest ofwomen who lived with this leader of menfor twenty-six years of perfect marriedlife. Such was the character of the manas judged by her who knew him best.

Now it is said popularly that a prophetis without honour in his own country.This prophet was not without honour inhis own country and his father’s house.He was honoured in the hearts of hisrelatives, and from them He won moredisciples. Then came those who werenearest akin to him, and then othersamongst those whom He loved. Afterthree years of patient labour there were

thirty who recognised him as the Prophetof the Lord. And how simple and frugalhis life. He mended his broken shoes,patched his own coat — tailor and cob-bler for himself, even when, towards theclose of his life, thousands around himbowed down to him as prophet. Such wasthe character of the man — so simple,noble, and straightforward.

One day he was talking to a rich manwhen a blind man cried aloud: “O prophetof God, teach me the way of salvation.”Muhammad did not listen, for He wastalking to a wealthy man. Again he criedaloud: “O Prophet of God, show me theway of salvation.” The Prophet frowned,and turned aside. On the very next morn-ing there came a message that for everremains in the Quran, as testimony to hishonesty and humility, “wherein He put itthat all might remember”.

The Prophet frowned and turned asidebecause the blind man came to him; andhow dost thou know whether he shallperadventure be cleansed from his sins, orwhether he shall be admonished and theadmonition shall profit him? The man whois wealthy thou receivest respectfully;whereas it is not to be charged on thee thathe is not cleansed; but him who comethunto thee earnestly seeking his salvation,and who feareth God, dost thou reject.By no means shouldst thou act thus.

Few men would be brave enough topublish such a reprimand, addresseddirectly to themselves; but on the con-trary, so great was this man and so true,that afterwards whenever He saw this



blind man, He rose and brought himforward, saying: “Welcome, because itwas for thee my Lord reprimandedme.” So great He was that the slightestweakness and breach of kindness werepromptly recognized, and the man whowas the cause of the reprimand He heldas dear, and honoured him. No wonderwe find that all men loved him who werenear to him.

This love that his immediate followers,who knew him personally, had forMuhammad was one of the most touchingin the history of the world’s religions. Hisfollowers were persecuted in a mostghastly way; they put them on the heatedsand with the scorching Arabian sunburning down on them; they piled stonesupon them; they refused them a singledrop of water to moisten their parched lips;they tore them into fragments; one manwas cut to pieces bit by bit, his flesh tornpiecemeal from his bones, and they saidto him in the midst of his agony: “Thoubelievest in thy prophet, wouldst not thourather that Muhammad were in thy place,and thou at home?” Answers the dyingman: “As God is my witness, I would notbe at home with wife and children andsubstance, if Muhammad were for thatto be pricked by a single thorn.” Thusyou may learn how this man was lovedby his followers.

There is nothing more pathetic thanan incident which took place after a battle,one of the early battles where the Prophettroops had conquered, and there wasgreat spoil taken. He divided the spoil,and those who were nearest to him and

who had helped him longest and besthad no share in the division. They wereangered and secretly murmured. ThereatHe called them around him and said:

I have known a discourse you held amongyourselves. When I came amongst you,you were wandering in darkness, and theLord gave you the right direction; you weresuffering, and He made you happy; youwere at enmity among yourselves, andHe has filled your hearts with brotherlylove, and has given you victory. Was it notso, tell me?

“Indeed, it is even as thou sayest,” wasthe reply, “to the Lord and his Prophetbelong benevolence and grace.” TheProphet continued:

Nay, by the Lord, but ye might haveanswered, and answered truly — for Iwould have testified to its truth myself —“Thou camest to us rejected as an impostor

and we believed in thee; thou camest as ahelpless fugitive, and we assisted thee;poor and an outcast, and we gave thee anasylum; comfortless, and we solacedthee.” Why disturb your hearts because ofthe things of this life? Are ye not satisfiedthat others should obtain the flocks and thecamels, while ye go back to your homeswith me in your midst?

And it is said that at these words fromhis lips, “tears ran down upon theirbeards,” and they said: “Yea, Prophet ofGod, we are well satisfied with our share.”So much, then, He was loved; why?Because He brought the Light to thosewho were in the darkness of ignorance.

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The testimony of his followers to whatthey were, and to what they had becomeby the teachings of the Prophet standson record; we can understand what theythought of him as Prophet, when thedivine flash struck them by the teach-ing that He gave. They said in a petitionstill preserved:

We adored idols; we lived in unchastity;we ate dead bodies, and spoke abomina-tions; we disregarded every feeling ofhumanity, and the duties of hospitalityand neighbourhood; we knew no law butthat of the strong; when God raised amongus a Man, of whose birth, truthfulness,honesty and purity, we were aware; andhe called us to the unity of God, and taughtus not to associate anything with him; heforbade us the worship of idols, andenjoined us to speak the truth, to be faithfulto our trusts, to be merciful, and to regardthe rights of our neighbours; he forbadeus to speak evil of women, . . . he orderedus to fly from vices, and to abstain fromevil, to offer prayers, to render alms, toobserve the fast. We have believed in him,we have accepted his teachings.

Once He had some converts fromwhom He took a pledge, the pledge ofAkaba. As regards this pledge, rememberthat you are not dealing with a far-offtime with no historians living, but you aredealing with the time of the seventhcentury, when records were well kept.See the pledge taken by these followersof the Prophet:

We will not associate anything with God;we will not steal, nor commit adultery, nor

fornication; we will not kill our children;we will abstain from calumnies and slan-der; we will obey the Prophet in every-thing that is right; and we will be faithfulto Him in weal and sorrow.

Such is the pledge. The very wordsof the pledge speak eloquently of thecondition of the people whom He raised.Judge it by those things from which theypromised to abstain. Human sacrifice wascommon, profligacy was widespread inordinary life. Such was the pledge Heaccepted, such was the promise He tookfrom his followers. See how wiselyadapted to the needs of the time werehis moral teachings . . .

I have had a purpose beyond that ofamusing you by repeating things thatmany of you must know as well as orbetter than I. That purpose is the drawingtogether of Muslims and Hindus, forIndia can never become a nation untilHindus, Zoroastrians, Christians, andMuslims understand each other. Shall wenot all put aside theological hatreds andfeel as brothers? Shall not the Muslimcease to mutter “Giaour”, and the Hinducease to whisper “Mlechchha”, and theChristian cease to say “Heathen”? Shallwe not learn to respect each other’s faithand reverence each other’s worship?There is no need for conversion fromone religion to another; each is a Ray ofthe Sun of Truth.

We must all return to the home whencewe came, and we may well live with ourminds at peace in the land in which wemust physically dwell side by side. None



need give up aught that is dear to him,that has been handed down by gener-ations of his ancestors, that is the centreround which cluster the sanctities ofhome. Each should not only love his faith,but also live it, and realize that hisneighbour’s faith is as precious to hisneighbour as his own is precious tohimself. Let us learn from our neighboursinstead of quarrelling with them, lovethem instead of hating, respect them

instead of scorning. It is written: “Allshall return to God.” It is written: “Allshall perish save his Face.” Call himAllah, call him Jehovah, call him Ahura-Mazda, call him Iºvara — names aremany, but He is One. We see the Sunfrom different places, but he standsthe same unchanging Light in heaven,shining on all alike. We are all childrenof one Father; why should we quarrelon the journey home?

Hatred and conflict are often rooted in differences between peopleof different races and religions. We all need to respect people of differentraces as well as people of different faiths and religions. We need to uniteby recognizing our common desire and need for a harmonious society— a society in which we and our children and families and friendsand communities can all live our lives in peace and harmony. Regardlessof our race or religion, we all want and need such social harmony.. . . And without a harmonious society, how can there be the necessaryeconomic development and atmosphere conducive to spiritual happinessand self-realization?

Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa(Chris Butler)

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Date Section General Secretary, etc. Address Magazine Email address

1947 Africa, East and … Mr Narendra M. Shah … PO Box 14525. 00800, Westlands, … The Theosophical Light [email protected]

Central Nairobi, Kenya1909 Africa, South … Mr Jack Hartmann … 9 Ronean, 38 Princesses Ave., Windsor E. 2194 … The South African Theosophist [email protected]

1956 Africa, West … Mr John Osmond Boakye … PO Box 720, Accra, Ghana … The West African Theosophist [email protected]

1929 America, … Mrs Beatriz Martinéz Pozas … Colonia Universitaria Norte, Calle Julio Mejía, [email protected]

Central * Polígono E-7, Mejicanos. San Salvador,El Salvador C. A.

1920 Argentina … Mr Jorge Garcia … Santiago 257 — 2000, Rosario … Teosofía en Argentina [email protected]

1990 Asia, East and … Mr Chong Sanne … 540 Sims Avenue, No. 03-04 … Newsletter [email protected]

Southeast † Sims Avenue Centre, Singapore 387 6031895 Australia … Mrs Linda Oliveira … Level 2, 162 Goulburn St., Surry Hills, NSW 2010 … Theosophy in Australia [email protected]

1912 Austria * … Mr Albert Schichl … Oberbaumgarten 25, 4204 Haibach im Mühlkreis … Theosofie Adyar [email protected]

2013 Bangladesh † … Mr B. L. Bhattacharya … B/4-3, Iswarchandra Nibas, 68/1, [email protected]

Bagmari Road, Kolkata 700 0541911 Belgium … Mrs Sabine Van Osta … Place des Gueux 8, B1000 Brussels … Le Lotus Bleu [email protected]

1965 Bolivia … Mrs Guillermina Rios de Sandoval … Pasaje Jauregui No. 2255, La Paz [email protected]

1920 Brazil … Mr Marcos L. B. de Resende … SGAS Quadra 603, N. 20, … Sophia [email protected]

CEP 70200-630 Brasilia (DF)1924 Canada * … Mrs Maryze DeCoste … 3162 Rue de la Bastille … The Light Bearer [email protected]

Boisbriand QC., J7H 1K71920 Chile * … Mr Cesar Ortega Ortiz … Casilla 11 Sucursal Paseo Estacion, … Revista Teosófica Chilena [email protected]

Estacion Central, Santiago1937 Colombia † … Mrs Nelly Medina de Galvis … Carr 22, # 45B-38 (Cons. 404), … Selección Teosófica [email protected]

Barrio Palermo, Bogotá1997 Costa Rica † … Ms Maria Orlich … Apartado 8-6710-1000, San José [email protected]

2007 Croatia p … Mrs Nada Tepeš … Krajiška ulica 24, 10000 Zagreb … Teozofija [email protected]

1905 Cuba … Ms Barbara A. Fariñas Piña … Apartado de Correos 6365, La Habana 10600 [email protected]

1987 Dominican Rep. † … Mrs Magaly Polanco … Calle Santa Agueda 1652 Les Chalet Col [email protected]

San Juan Puerto Rico Apartado 23 009261888 England … Mrs Jenny Baker … 50 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8EA … [email protected]

1907 Finland … Mrs Mirva Jaatinen … Teosofinen Seura, Vironkatu 7 C 2, Fin 00170, … Teosofi [email protected]

Helsinki [email protected]

1899 France … Mrs Jeannine (Nano) Leguay … 4 Square Rapp, 75007 Paris … Le Lotus Bleu [email protected]

1902 Germany … Mrs Manuela Kaulich … Hauptstr. 39, 93138 Lappersdorf … Adyar [email protected]

1928 Greece … Mrs Eirini Kefaloudi … 25 Voukourestiou St., 106 71-Athens … Ilisos [email protected]

1907 Hungary † … Mr Thomas Martinovich … Hunyadi Janos ut 17. II. 8, H-1011 Budapest … Teozófia [email protected]

1921 Iceland … Mr Kristinn Ágúst Fridfinnsson … PO Box 1257 Ingolfsstraeti 22, 121 Reykjavik … Gangleri [email protected]

1891 India … Mr S. Sundaram … The Theosophical Society, Varanasi 221 010 … The Indian Theosophist [email protected]

1912 Indonesia … Mr Widyatmoko … Dsn. Parelegi no. 21, RT 02/ RW 09, … Theosofi [email protected]

Desa Purwodadi, Kecamatan Purwodadi,67163 Pasuruan, Jawa Timur

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1919 Ireland * … Mrs Marie Harkness … 97 Mountsandel Road, Coleraine, … [email protected]

UK BT52 1TA1954 Israel p … Mr Abraham Oron … PO Box 9114, Ramat-Gan, Israel 5219002 … Or [email protected]

1902 Italy … Mr Antonio Girardi … Viale Quintino Sella, 83/E, … Rivista Italiana di Teosofia [email protected]

36100 Vicenza1997 Ivory Coast * … Mr Pierre-Magloire Kouahoh … Yopougon, 23 Rue Princesse … Sophia [email protected]

B. P. 3924, Abidjan 231919 Mexico … Mr Enrique Sanchez … Ignacio Mariscal 126, Col. Tabacalera [email protected]

Mexicana, Mexico, D.F. 06030 [email protected]

1897 Netherlands, The … Mr Wim Leys … Tolsraat 154, 1074 VM Amsterdam … Theosofia [email protected]

1896 New Zealand … Mr John Vorstermans … 18, Belvedere Street, Epsom, Auckland 1022 … TheoSophia [email protected]

1913 Norway * … Dr Saleh Noshie … N-6873-Marifjora [email protected]

1935 Orlando p … Mr Carl Metzger … 1606 New York Ave. Orlando, Florida, Theosophical [email protected]

32803-1838, USA1948 Pakistan † … … Jamshed Memorial Hall, M. A. Jinnah Road, … The Karachi Theosophist [email protected]

opp. Radio Pakistan, Karachi1924 Peru † … Mr Julio Pomar Calderón … Av Republica de Portugal 152, Breña, Lima 5 … Búsqueda [email protected]

1933 Philippines, The … Mr Rosel Doval-Santos … Corner P. Florentino and Iba Streets, … The Philippine Theosophist [email protected]

Quezon City, Manila1921 Portugal … Mrs Ana Maria Coelho de Sousa … Sociedade Teosófica de Portugal, … Osiris [email protected]

Rua José Estêvão, 10 B, 1150-202 Lisboa1925 Puerto Rico † … Mrs Magaly Polanco … Apartado 36-1766 Correo General. … Heraldo Teosófico [email protected]

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-17662012 Qatar p … Mr Lijo Joseph . . . Crewing Officer, Teyseer Services Company [email protected]

P.O. Box 2431, Doha2013 Russia † … Mr Alexey Besputin … Energetikov Street 3-108, Lesnoi Gorodok, . . . Teosoficheskoe Obozrenie [email protected]

Odincovo region, Moscow oblast, 143080 (The Theosophical Review)1910 Scotland * … Mr Stuart Trotter … 28 Great King Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6QH … Circles [email protected]

1992 Slovenia * … Mrs Breda Zagar … Kunaverjeva 1 SLO-1000 Ljubljana … Teozofska Misel [email protected]

1921 Spain … Mrs Angels Torra Buron … Av. Vall d’or, 85-87 … Sophia [email protected]

08197 - Valldoreix(Spain)1926 Sri Lanka † … Mr M. B. Dassanayake … 2-C/60, Maththegoda Housing Scheme, … The Sri Lanka Theosophist [email protected]

Maththegoda1895 Sweden … Mrs Ing-Britt Wiklund … Kalle Posts väg 48, S-702 29 Örebro … Tidlös Visdom [email protected]

1910 Switzerland † … Mrs Eliane Gaillard … 17 Chemin de la Côte, CH -1282 Dardagny, … The Lotus [email protected]

Genève1997 Togo * … Mr Kouma Dakey … S.O., A.R.T.T., BP 76, Adeta2013 Ukraine * … Mrs Svitlana Gavrylenko … Office 3, 7-A Zhylianska St., Kiev 01033 … Svitoch [email protected]

1886 USA … Mr Tim Boyd … PO Box 270, Wheaton, IL 60187-0270 … The Quest [email protected]

1925 Uruguay * … Mr Ramon Garcia … Javier Barrios Amorín 1085, [email protected]

Casilla de Correos 1553, Montevideo1925 Venezuela † … Mrs Nelly Nouel … Av. Macaure Qta. Amore, Mararaquay, [email protected]

Caracas1922 Wales * … Mrs Julie Cunningham … Bryn Adda, Brynsiencyn, Llanfairpwll, … [email protected]

Anglesey, LL61 6NX UK

Date refers to the date of formation * Regional Association † Presidential Agency p Lodge attached to Adyar

The Council of the European Federation of National Societies: Chairman: Miss Trân-Thi-Kim-Diêu, 67 Rue des Pommiers, F-45000 Orleans, France. Email: [email protected]

Inter-American Theosophical Federation: President: Mrs Isis M. B. Resende, SGAS 603 conj. E s/n. Brasilia-DF, CEP 70200-630 – Brazil. Email: [email protected]

Indo-Pacific Theosophical Federation: President: Mr John Vorstermans, 60B Riro Street, Point Chevalier, Auckland 1022, New Zealand. Email: [email protected]

Pan-African Theosophical Federation: Chairman: Mr Jack Hartmann, 9 Ronean, 38 Princess Avenue, Windsor E 2194, South Africa. Email: [email protected]

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Documents

CONTENTS · about evolution, the Darwinian model, which focuses on the evolution of life forms. The two driving forces of this model are random mutation and natural selection (survival