William Quan Judge - An Epitome of Theosophy (1871)

7/28/2019 William Quan Judge - An Epitome of Theosophy (1871)

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txhvavy ofChe t:heolo0ical ^eminarjpPRINCETON NEW JERSEY

'^^^FROM THE LIBRARY OF THE

REVEREND CHARLES ROSENBURY ERDMAND.D., LL.D.

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^^X OF PB/^EPITOME C;" " '"

OFTHEOSOPHYV''WILLIAM Q^JUDGE

ADAPTED FOR INQUIRERS

PUBLISHED BYThe Theosophical Publishing Company

POINT LOMA, CALIFORNIA


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The Aryan Theosophical Press,Point Loma, California


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AN EPITOME OFTheosophical TeachingsTHEOSOPHY, the Wisdom-Religion, has

existed from immemorial time. It offersus a theory of nature and of life which

is founded upon knowledge acquired by theSages of the past, more especially those of theEast; and its higher students claim that thisknowledge is not imagined or inferred, but thatit is a knowledge of fads seen and known bythose who are willing to comply with the con-ditions requisite for seeing and knowing.

Theosophy, meaning knowledge of or aboutGod,* and the term "God" being universally* Not in the sense of a personal anthropomorphic

God, but in that of divine ''godly" wisdom.


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2 accepted as including the whole of both theknown and the unknown, it follows that "The-osophy" must imply wisdom respecting the ab-solutej and, since the absolute is without begin-ning and eternal, this wisdom must have ex-isted always. Hence Theosophy is sometimescalled the Wisdom-Religion, because from im-memorial time it has had knowledge of all thelaws governing the spiritual, the moral, andthe material.The theory of nature and of life which it offers

is not one that was at first speculatively laiddown and then proved by adjusting fafts or con-clusions to fit it; but is an explanation of ex-istence, cosmic and individual, derived fromknowledge reached by those who have acquiredthe power to see behind the curtain that hidesthe operations of nature from the ordinarymind. Such Beings are called Sages, using theterm in its highest sense. Of late they havebeen called Mahatmas and Adepts. In ancienttimes they were known as the Rishis andMaharishis, the last being a word that meansGreat Rishis.

It is not claimed that these exalted beings, orSages, have existed only in the East. They are


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known to have lived in all parts of the globe,in obedience to the cyclic laws referred to be-low. But as far as concerns the present devel-opment of the human race on this planet, theynow are to be found in the East, although thefa6l may be that some of them had, in remotetimes, retreated from even the American shores.

There being of necessity various gradesamong the students of this Wisdom-Religion,it stands to reason that those belonging to thelower degrees are able to give out only so muchof the knowledge as is the appanage of thegrade they have reached, and depend, to someextent, for further information upon studentswho are higher yet. It is these higher studentsfor whom the claim is asserted that their knowl-edge is not mere inference, but that it concernsrealities seen and known by them. While someof them are connected with the TheosophicalSociety, they are yet above it. The power tosee and absolutely know such laws is surroundedby natural inherent regulations which must becomplied with as conditions precedent; and itis, therefore, not possible to respond to the de-mand of the worldly man for an immediate


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not comprehend it until those conditions arefulfilled. As this knowledge deals with lawsand states of matter, and of consciousness un-dreamed of by the "practical" western world,it can only be grasped, piece by piece, as thestudent pushes forward the demolition of hispreconceived notions, that are due either to in-adequate or to erroneous theories. It is claimedby these higher students that, in the Occidentespecially, a false method of reasoning has formany centuries prevailed, resulting in a univer-sal habit of mind which causes men to lookupon many efFels as causes, and to regard thatwhich is real as the unreal, putting meanwhilethe unreal in the place of the real. As a mi-nor example, the phenomena of mesmerismand clairvoyance, have, until lately, been deniedby western science, yet there have always beennumerous persons who know for themselves,by incontrovertible introspective evidence, thetruth of these phenomena, and, in some in-stances, understand their cause and rationale.

The following are some of the fundamentalpropositions of Theosophy:The spirit in man is the only real and per-


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5manent part of his being; the rest of his naturebeing variously compounded. And since decayis incident to all composite things, everything inman but his spirit is impermanent.

Further, the universe being one thing and notdiverse, and everything within it being connectedwith the whole and with every other thing there-in, of which upon the upper plane (below re-ferred to) there is a perfect knowledge, no actor thought occurs without each portion of thegreat whole perceiving and noting it. Henceall are inseparably bound together by the tie ofBrotherhood.

This first fundamental proposition of The-osophy postulates that the universe is not anaggregation of diverse unities but that it is onewhole. This whole is what is denominated"Deity'* by Western Philosophers, and "Para-Brahm" by the Hindu Vedantins. It may becalled the Unmanifested, containing within it-self the potency of every form of manifesta-tion, together with the laws governing thosemanifestations. Further, it is taught that thereis no creation of worlds in the theologicalsense; but that their appearance is due strictly


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Unmanifested to manifest as an objective Uni-verse, which it does periodically, it emanates aPower or "The First Cause," so called becauseit itself is the rootless root of that Cause, andcalled in the East the "Causeless Cause." Thefirst Cause we may call Brahma, or Ormazd,or Osiris, or by any name we please. Theprojection into time of the influence or so-called "breath of Brahma" causes all theworlds and the beings upon them to graduallyappear. They remain in manifestation just aslong as that influence continues to proceed forthin evolution. After long aeons the outbreath-ing, evolutionary influence slackens, and theuniverse begins to go into obscuration, or pra-laya, until, the "breath" being fully indrawn,no obje6ls remain, because nothing is but Brah-ma. Care must be taken by the student tomake a distinction between Brahma (the im-personal Parabrahma) and Brahma the mani-fested Logos. A discussion of the means usedby this power in acting would be out of placein this Epitome, but of those means Theosophyalso treats.

This breathing-forth is known as a Man-


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tween two Manus (from Manu, and Antara"between") and the completion of the inspira-tion brings with it Pralaya, or destruction. Itis from these truths that the erroneous doctrinesof "creation" and the "last judgment" havesprung. Such Manvantaras and Pralayas haveeternally occurred, and will continue to takeplace periodically, and forever.For the purpose of a Manvantara two so-called eternal principles are postulated, that is,Purusha and Prakriti (or spirit and matter), be-cause both are ever present and conjoined ineach manifestation. Those terms are used herebecause no equivalent for them exists in Eng-lish. Purusha is called "spirit," and Prakriti"matter," but this Purusha is not the unmani-fested, nor is Prakriti matter as known to sci-ence; the Aryan Sages therefore declare thatthere is a higher spirit still, called Purushotta-ma. The reason for this is that at the night ofBrahma, or the so-called indrawing of hisbreath, both Purusha and Prakriti are absorbed inthe Unmanifested; a conception which is thesame as the idea underlying the Biblical expres-sion"remaining in the bosom of the Father."

This brings us the doctrine of Universal


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Evolution as expounded by the Sages of theWisdom-Religion. The Spirit, or Purusha, theysay, proceeds from Brahma through the variousforms of matter evolved at the same time, be-ginning in the world of the spiritual from thehighest and in the material world from thelowest form. This lowest form is one unknownas yet to modern science. Thus therefore themineral, vegetable, and animal forms each im-prison a spark of the Divine, a portion of theindivisible Purusha.

These sparks struggle to "return to the Fath-er," or in other words, to secure self-conscious-ness and at last come into the highest form, onEarth, that of man, where alone self-conscious-ness is possible to them. The period, calcu-lated in human time, during which this evolutiongoes on embraces millions of ages. Each sparkof divinity has therefore millions of ages in whichto accomplish its mission that of obtainingcomplete self-consciousness while in the formof man. But by this is not meant that themere act of coming into human forms of itselfconfers self-consciousness upon this divinespark. That great work may be accomplishedduring the Manvantara in which a Divine spark


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9reaches the human form, or it may not; all de-pends upon the individual's own will and efforts.Each particular spirit thus goes through theManvantara, or enters into manifestation for itsown enrichment and for that of the Whole.Mahatmas and Rishis are thus graduallyevolved during a Manvantara, and become,after its expiration, planetary spirits, who guidethe evolutions of other future planets. Theplanetary spirits of our globe are those who inprevious Manvantaras or days of Brahmamade the efforts, and became in the course ofthat long period Mahatmas.Each Manvantara is for the same end andpurpose, so that the Mahatmas who have nowattained those heights, or those who may be-come such in the succeeding years of the pres-ent Manvantara, will probably be the planetaryspirits of the next Manvantara for this or otherplanets. This system is thus seen to be basedupon the identity of Spiritual Being, and, un-der the name of "Universal Brotherhood," con-stitutes the basic idea of the Theosophical So-ciety, whose object is the realization of thatBrotherhood among men.The Sages say that this Purusha is the basis


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lOof all manifested objects. Without it nothingcould exist or cohere. It interpenetrates every-thing everywhere. It is the reality of which,or upon which, those things called real by us aremere images. As Purusha reaches to and em-braces all beings, they are all connected togeth-er; and in or on the plane where that Purushais, there is a perfect consciousness of every a(St,thought, object, and circumstance, whether sup-posed to occur there, or on this plane, or anyother. For below the spirit and above theintellect is a plane of consciousness in whichexperiences are noted, commonly called man's"spiritual nature'*; this is frequently said to beas susceptible of culture as his body or hisintellect.

This upper plane is the real register of allsensations and experiences, although there areother registering planes. It is sometimes calledthe "subconscious mind." Theosophy, how-ever, holds that it is a misuse of terms to saythat the spiritual nature can be cultivated. Thereal object to be kept in view is to so open upor make porous the lower nature that the spir-itual nature may shine through it and becomethe guide and ruler. It is only "cultivated" in


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1the sense of having a vehicle prepared for itsuse, into which it may descend. In otherwords, it is held that the real man, who is thehigher self being the spark of the Divine be-fore alluded toovershadows the visible being,which has the possibility of becoming united tothat spark. Thus it is said that the higherSpirit is not in the man, but above him. It isalways peaceful, unconcerned, blissful, and fullof absolute knowledge. It continually partakesof the Divine state, being continually that stateitself, "conjoined with the Gods, it feeds uponAmbrosia." The object of a student is to letthe light of that spirit shine through the lowercoverings.

This "spiritual culture" is only attainableas the grosser interests, passions, and demandsof the flesh are subordinated to the interests,aspirations, and needs of the higher nature; andthis is a matter of both system and establish-ed law.

This spirit can only become the ruler whenthe firm intellectual acknowledgment or ad-mission is first made that it alone is. And, asstated above, it being not only the person con-


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be eliminated from the lower nature before itsdivine state can be reached. So long as thesmallest personal or selfish desire even forspiritual attainment for our own sake remains,so long is the end desired put off. Hence theabove term "demands of the flesh" really cov-ers also demands that are not of the flesh, andits proper rendering would be "desires of thepersonal nature, including those of the indi-vidual soul."When systematically trained in accordance

with the aforesaid system and law, men attain toclear insight into the immaterial, spiritual world,and their interior faculties apprehend truth asimmediately and readily as physical facultiesgrasp the things of sense, or mental facultiesthose of reason. Or, in the words used bysome of them, "They are able to look directlyupon ideas"; and hence their testimony to suchtruth is as trustworthy as is that of scientists orphilosophers to truth in their respective fields.

In the course of this spiritual training suchmen acquire perception of, and control over,various forces in Nature unknown to other men,and thus are able to perform works usuallycalled "miraculous," though really but the re-


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13-sult of larger knowledge of natural law. Whatthese powers are may be found in Patanjali'sToga Philosophy.Their testimony as to super-sensuous truth,verified by their possession of such powers, chal-lenges candid examination from every religiousmind.

Turning now to the system expounded bythese sages we find, in the first place, an ac-count of cosmogony, the past and future ofthis earth and other planets, the evolution oflife through elemental, mineral, vegetable, ani-mal and human forms, as they are called.These "passive life elementals'* are unknownto modern science, though sometimes approachedby it as a subtle material agent in the productionof life, whereas they are a form of life itself.

Each Kalpa, or grand period, is divided intofour ages or Yugas, each lasting many thou-sands of years, and each one being marked bya predominant characteristic. These are theSatya-yug (or age of truth), the Tretya-yug, theDvapara-yug, and our present Kali-yug (orage of darkness), which began five thousandyears back. The word "darkness" here refers

darkness. In this


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14age, however, all causes bring about their effedsmuch more rapidly than in any other age, a fa6tdue to the intensified momentum of "evil," asthe course of its cycle is about rounding to-wards that of a new cycle of truth. Thus asincere lover of the race can accomplish morein three incarnations during Kali-Yuga, than hecould in a much greater number in any otherage. The darkness of this age is not absolute,but is greater than that of other ages; its maintendency being towards materiality, while hav-ing some mitigation in occasional ethical or sci-entific advance conducive to the well-being ofthe race, by the removal of immediate causesof crime or disease.Our earth is one of a chain of seven plan-

ets, it alone being on the visible plane, whilethe six others are on different planes, and there-fore invisible. [The other planets of our solarsystem belong each to a chain of seven.] Andthe life-wave passes from the higher to thelower in the chain until it reaches our earth,and then ascends and passes to the. three otherson the opposite arc, and thus seven times. Theevolution of forms is co-incident with this pro-gress, the tide of life bearing with it the mm-


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15cral and vegetable forms, until each globe inturn is ready to receive the human life wave.Of these globes our earth is the fourth.Humanity passes from globe to globe in aseries of Rounds, first circling about eachglobe, and re-incarnating upon it a fixed num-ber of times. Concerning the human evolu-tion on the concealed planets or globes little ispermitted to be said. We have to concern our-selves vi^ith our Earth alone. The latter, whenthe wave of humanity has reached it for thelast time (in this, our Fourth Round), began toevolute man, subdividing him into races. Eachof these races when it has, through evolution,reached the period known as "the moment ofchoice" and decided its future destiny as an in-dividual race, begins to disappear. The racesare separated, moreover, from each other bycatastrophes of nature, such as the subsidenceof continents and great natural convulsions.Coincidently with the development of races thedevelopment of specialized senses takes place;thus our fifth race has so far developed five senses.The sages further tell us that the affairs of

this world and its people are subject to cycliccycle the rate or qual-


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16ity of progress appertaining to a difFerent cycleis not possible. These cyclic laws operate ineach age. As the ages grow darker the samelaws prevail, only the cycles are shorter; thatis, they are the same length in the absolutesense, but go over the given limit in a shorterperiod of time. These laws impose restriftionson the progress of the race. In a cycle, whereall is ascending and descending, the adepts mustwait until the time comes before they can aidthe race to ascend. They cannot, and mustnot, interfere with Karmic law. Thus they be-gin to work a6^ively again in the spiritual sense,when the cycle is known by them to be ap-proaching its turning point.

At the same time these cycles have no hardlines or points of departure or inception, in-asmuch as one may be ending or drawing toa close for some time after another has alreadybegun. They thus overlap and shade into oneanother, as day does into night; and it is onlywhen the one has completely ended and theother has really begun by bringing out its blos-soms, that we can say we are in a new cycle.It may be illustrated by comparing two adjacent


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17cumference of one touches the center of theother, so that the moment where one ended andthe other began would be at the point where thecircumferences intersected each other. Or byimagining a man as representing, in the act ofwalking, the progress of the cycles; his rate ofadvancement can only be obtained by taking thedistance covered by his paces, the points at themiddle of each pace, between the feet, being thebeginning of cycles and their ending.The cyclic progress is assisted, or the deteri-

oration further permitted, in this way; at a timewhen the cycle is ascending, developed and pro-gressed Beings, known in Sanscrit by the termJnanis^ descend to this earth from other sphereswhere the cycle is going down, in order thatthey may also help the spiritual progress of thisglobe. In like manner they leave this spherewhen our cycle approaches darkness. TheseJfianis must not, however, be confounded withthe Mahatmas and Adepts mentioned above.The right aim of true Theosophists shouldtherefore be so to live that their influence maybe conducive for the dispelling of darkness tothe end that such Jfianis may turn again to-


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Theosophy also teaches the existence of auniversally diffused and highly ethereal medium,which has been called the "Astral Light" and"akasa." It is the repository of all past, pres-ent, and future events, and in it are recordedthe effects of spiritual causes, and of all a6tsand thoughts from the direction of either spiritor matter. It may be called the Book of theRecording Angel.

Akasa, however, is a misnomer when it isconfused with Ether or the astral light of theKabalists. Akasa is the noumenon of the phe-nomenal Ether or astral light proper, for akasais infinite, impartite, intangible, its only produc-tion being Sound.*And this astral light is material and not spirit.

It is, in fact, the lower principle of that cosmicbody of which akasa is the highest. It hasthe power of retaining all images. This in-cludes a statement that each thought as well asword and act makes an image there. These

* Akasa in the mysticism of the Esoteric Philosophyis properly speaking the female **Holy Ghost" ;** Sound" or speech being the logos, the manifestedverbum of the unmanifested Mother. See Sankhyasara


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19images may be said to have two lives, ist.Their own as an image. 2nd. The impressleft by them in the matrix of the astral light.In the upper realm of this light there is nosuch thing as space or time in the humansense. All future events are the thoughts andacts of men; these are producers in advanceof the picture of the event which is to oc-cur. Ordinary men continually, recklessly, andwickedly, are making these events sure tocome to pass, but the Sages, Mahatmas, andthe Adepts of the good law, make only suchpictures as are in accordance with Divine law,because they control the production of theirthought. In the astral light are all the differ-entiated sounds as well. The elementals areenergic centers in it. The shades of departedhuman beings and animals are also there.Hence, any seer or entranced person can see init all that anyone has done or said, as well asthat which has happened to anyone with whomhe is connected. Hence, also, the identity ofdeceased persons who are supposed to reportspecially out of this plane is not to be con-cluded from the giving of forgotten or unknown


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20matter can be taken the pictures of all whohave ever lived, and then reflected on a suitablemagneto-electrical surface, so as to seem likethe apparition of the deceased, producing all thesensations of weight, hardness, and extension.

Through the means of the Astral Light andthe help of Elementals, the various materialelements may be drawn down and precipitatedfrom the atmosphere upon either a plane sur-face or in the form of a solid object; this pre-cipitation may be made permanent, or it maybe of such a light cohesive power as soon tofade away. But the help of the elementals canonly be obtained by a strong will added to acomplete knowledge of the laws which governthe being of the elementals. It is useless togive further details on this point; first, becausethe untrained student cannot understand; andsecond, the complete explanation is not per-mitted, were it even possible in this space.The world of the elementals is an important

factor in our world and in the course of thestudent. Each thought as it is evolved by aman coalesces instantly with an elemental, andis then beyond the man's power.


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ing on every instant. Therefore each thoughtexists as an entity. Its length of life dependson two things: {a) The original force of theperson's will and thought; {b) The power ofthe elemental which coalesced with it, the lat-ter being determined by the class to which theelemental belongs. This is the case with goodand bad thoughts alike, and as the will beneaththe generality of wicked thoughts is usuallypowerful, we can see that the result is very im-portant, because the elemental has no conscienceand obtains its constitution and direction fromthe thought it may from time to time carry.

Each human being has his own elementalsthat partake of his nature and his thoughts. Ifyou fix your thoughts upon a person in anger,or in critical, uncharitable judgment, you attractto yourself a number of those elementals thatbelong to, generate, and are generated by this par-ticular fault or failing, and they precipitate them-selves upon you. Hence, through the injustice ofyour merely human condemnation, which can-not know the source and causes of the a6lion ofanother, you at once become a sharer of his faultor failing by your own act, and the spirit expelled


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This is the origin of the popular saying that*' curses, like chickens, come home to roost," andhas its root inthelawsgoverning magneticaffinity.

In the Kali-Yuga we are hypnotized by theeffect of the immense body of images in theAstral Light, compounded of all the deeds,thoughts, and so forth of our ancestors, whoselives tended in a material direction. These im-ages influence the inner man who is consciousof them by suggestion. In a brighter agethe influence of such images would be towardsTruth. The effeft of the Astral Light, asthus molded and painted by us, will remain solong as we continue to place those images there,and it thus becomes our judge and our execu-tioner. Every universal law thus containswithin itself the means for its own accomplish-ment and the punishment for its violation, andrequires no further authority to postulate it orto carry out its decrees.The Astral Light by its inherent action both

evolves and destroys forms. It is the univer-sal register. Its chief office is that of a vehiclefor the operation of the laws of Karma, or theprogress of the principle of life, and it is thus in


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23 between man and his Deity his higher spirit.

Theosophy also tells of the origin, history,development, and destiny of mankind.Upon the subject of Man it teaches:1. That each spirit is a manifestation of

the One Spirit, and thus a part of all. It passesthrough a series of experiences in incarnation,and is destined to ultimate reunion with theDivine.

2. That this incarnation is not single butrepeated, each individuality becoming re-em-bodied during numerous existences in success-ive races and planets of our chain, and accumu-lating the experiences of each incarnation to-wards its perfection.

3. That between adjacent incarnations, af-ter grosser elements are first purged away, comesa period of comparative rest and refreshment,called Devachan,the soul being therein preparedfor its next advent into material life.The constitution of man is subdivided in a

septenary manner, the main divisions being thoseof body, soul and spirit. These divisions andtheir relative development govern his subjective


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24not be understood, and must for a time remainesoteric, because it requires certain senses notusually developed for its understanding. If thepresent seven-fold division, as given by Theo-sophical writers is adhered to strictly and with-out any conditional statement, it will give riseto controversy or error. For instance. Spirit isnot a seventh principle. It is the synthesis, orthe whole, and is equally present in the othersix. The present various divisions can only beused as a general working hypothesis, to be de-veloped and correded as students advance andthemselves develop.The state of spiritual but comparative rest

known as Devachan is not an eternal one, and sois not the same as the eternal heaven of Christi-anity. Nor does "hell" correspond to the stateknown to Theosophical writers as Avitchi.

All such painful states are transitory andpurificatory states. When those are passed theindividual goes into Devachan.

"Hell" and Avitchi are thus not the same.Avitchi is the same as the "second death," asit is in fact annihilation that only comes to the"black Magician" or spiritually wicked, as will


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25The nature of each incarnation depends upon

the balance as struck of the merit and demeritof the previous life or lives upon the way inwhich the man has lived and thought; and thislaw is inflexible and wholly just."Karma" a term signifying two things, the

law of ethical causation (Whatsoever a mansoweth, that shall he also reap); and the bal-ance or excess of merit or demerit in any indi-vidual, determines also the main experiences ofjoy and sorrow in each incarnation, so thatwhat we call "luck" is in reality "desert"desert acquired in past existence.Karma is not all exhausted in a single life,nor is a person necessarily in this life experi-encing the effect of all his previous Karma;for some may be held back by various causes.The principle cause is the failure of the Egoto acquire a body which will furnish the instru-ment or apparatus in and by which the medita-tion or thoughts of previous lives can havetheir effect and be ripened. Hence it is heldthat there is a mysterious power in the man'sthoughts during a life, sure to bring about itsresults in either an immediately succeeding lifeor in one many lives distant; that is, in what-


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26ever life the Ego obtains a body capable of be-ing the focus, apparatus, or instrument for theripening of past Karma. There is also a sway-ing or diverging power in Karma in its effectupon the soul, for a certain course of life orthought will influence the soul in that direc-tion for sometimes three lives, before the bene-ficial, or bad, effect of any other sort of Kar-ma must be felt. Nor does it follow that everyminute portion of Karma must be felt in thesame detail as v^hen produced, for several sorts ofKarma may come to a head together at one pointin the life, and, by their combined effect, producea result which, while, as a whole, accuratelyrepresenting all the elements in it, still is a dif-ferent Karma from each single component part.This may beknown as the nullification of the pos-tulated effect of the classes of Karma involved.The process of evolution up to reunion withthe Divine is and includes successive elevationsfrom rank to rank of power and usefulness.The most exalted beings still in the flesh areknown as Sages, Rishis, Brothers, Masters.Their great function being the preservation atall times, and when cyclic laws permit, the ex-


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27When union with the Divine is effected, all

the events and experiences of each incarnationare known.

As to the process of spiritual development,Theosophy teaches:

1. That the essence of the process lies inthe securing of supremacy, to the highest, thespiritual, element of man's nature.

2. That this is attained along four lines,among others,

[a) The entire eradication of selfish-ness in all forms, and the cultivation ofbroad^ generous sympathy in, and effortfor the good of others.

(I?) The absolute cultivation of theinner, spiritual man by meditation, byreaching to and communion with theDivine, and by exercise of the kind de-scribed by Patanjali, /. ^., incessant striv-ing to an ideal end.

(c) The control of fleshly appetitesand desires, all lower, material interestsbeing deliberately subordinated to the be-hests of the spirit.

(d) The careful performance of every


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2lduty belonging to one's station in life,without desire for reward, leaving resultsfor Divine law.

3. That while the above is incumbent onand practicable by all religiously disposed men,a yet higher plane of spiritual attainment is con-ditioned upon a specific course of training, phys-ical, intellectual, and spiritual,by which the inter-nal faculties are first aroused and then developed.

4. That an extension of this process isreached in Adeptship, Mahatmaship, or thestates of Rishis, Sages, and Dhyan Chohans,which are all exalted stages, attained by labori-ous self-discipline and hardship, protractedthrough possibly many incarnations, and withmany degrees of initiation and preferment, be-yond which are yet other stages ever approach-ing the Divine.

As to the rationale of spiritual developmentit asserts:

1. That the process takes place entirelywithin the individual himself, the motive, theeffort, and the result proceeding from his owninner nature, along the lines of self-evolution.

and interior, this


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29process is not unaided, being possible, in fact,only through close communion with the supremesource of all strength.

As to the degree of advancement in incarna-tions it holds:

1. That even a mere intellectual acquaint-ance with Theosophic truth has great value infitting the individual for a step upwards in hisnext earth-life, as it gives an impulse in thatdirection.

2. That still more is gained by a career ofduty, piety and beneficence.

3. That a still greater advance is attainedby the attentive and devoted use of the meansto spiritual culture heretofore stated.

4. That every race and individual of itreaches in evolution a period known as "themoment of choice," when they decide for them-selves their future destiny by a deliberate andconscious choice between eternal life and death,and that this right of choice is the peculiar ap-panage of the free soul. It cannot be exer-cised until the man has realized the soul withinhim, and until that soul has attained some meas-


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30moment of choice is not a fixed period of rime;it is made up of all moments. It cannot comeunless all the previous lives have led up to it.For the race as a whole it has not yet come.Any individual can hasten the advent of this pe-riod for himself under the previously statedlaw of the ripening of Karma. Should he thenfail to choose right he is not wholly condemned,for the economy of nature provides that heshall again and again have the opportunity ofchoice when the moment arrives for the wholerace. After this period the race, having blos-somed, tends towards its dissolution. A fewindividuals of it will have outstripped its pro-gress and attained Adeptship or Mahatmaship,The main body, who have chosen aright, butwho have not attained salvation, pass into thesubjective condition, there to await the influxof the human life wave into the next globe,which they are the first souls to people; the de-liberate choosers of evil, whose lives are passedin great spiritual wickedness (for evil done forthe sheer love of evil per se)^ sever the connec-tion with the Divine Spirit, or the monad, whichfor ever abandons the human Ego. Such Egos


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Bi-as we understand, there to remain until the sep-aration between what they had thus cultivatedand the personal Ishwara or divine spark iscomplete. But this tenet has never been ex-plained to us by the Masters, who have alwaysrefused to answer and to explain it conclusively.At the next Manvantara that Divine Spark willprobably begin again the long evolutionaryjourney, being cast into the stream of life atthe source and passing upward again throughall the lower forms.

So long as the connection with the DivineMonad is not severed, this annihilation of per-sonality cannot take place. Something of thatpersonality will always remain attached to theimmortal Ego. Even after such severance thehuman being may live on, a man among men a soulless being. This disappointment, soto call it, of the Divine Spark by deprivingit of its chosen vehicle constitutes the "sinagainst the Holy Ghost," which its very natureforbade it to pardon, because it cannot continuean association with principles which have be-come degraded and vitiated in the absolute sense,so that they no longer respond to cyclic or evo-lutionary impulses, but, weighted by their own


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32nature, sink to the lowest depths of matter.The connection, once wholly broken, cannot inthe nature of Being be resumed. But innum-erable opportunities for return offer themselvesthroughout the dissolving process, which laststhousands of years.

There is also a fate that comes to even adeptsof the Good Law which is somewhat similarto a loss of "heaven" after its enjoyment forincalculable periods of time. When the adepthas reached a certain very high point in his evo-lution he may, by a mere wish, become whatthe Hindus call, a "Deva" or lesser god. Ifhe docs this, then, although he will enjoy thebliss and power of that state for a vast lengthof time, he will not at the next Pralaya par-take of the conscious life "in the bosom of theFather," but has to pass down into matter atthe next new "creation," performing certainfundions that could not now be made clear,and has to come up again through the elementalworld; but this fate is not like that of theBlack Maorician who falls into Avitchi. Andagain between the two he can choose the mid-dle state and become a Nirmanakaya one who

bliss of Nirvana and remains in


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33conscious existence outside of his body afterits death: in order to help Humanity. This isthe greatest sacrifice he can do for mankind.By advancement from one degree of interestand comparative attainment to another asabove stated, the student hastens the advent ofthe moment of choice, after which his rate ofprogress is greatly intensified.

It may be added that Theosophy is the onlysystem of religion and philosophy which gives sat-isfactory explanation of such problems as these:

1. The objeiSi:, use, and inhabitation ofother planets than this earth, which planetsserve to complete and prolong the evolutionarycourse, and to fill the required measure of theuniversal experience of souls.

2. The geological cataclysms of earth; thefrequent absence of intermediate types in itsfauna; the occurrence of architectural and otherrelics of races now lost, and as to which or-dinary science has nothing but vain conjeCiure;the nature of extinCl civilizations and the causesof their extinction; the persistence of savageryand the unequal development of existing civil-ization; the differences, physical and internal,


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34between the various races of men; the line offuture development.

3. The contrasts and unisons of the world'sfaiths, and the common foundation underlyingthem all.

4. The existence of evil, of suffering, andof sorrow, a hopeless puzzle to the mere phil-anthropist or theologian.

5. The inequalities in social condition andprivilege; the sharp contrasts between wealthand poverty, intelligence and stupidity, cultureand ignorance, virtue and vileness; the appear-ance of men of genius in families destitute ofit, as well as other fa6ts in conflict with the lawof heredity; the frequent cases of unfitness ofenvironment around individuals, so sore as toembitter disposition, hamper aspiration, andparalyze endeavor; the violent antithesis be-tween character and condition; the occurrenceof accident, misfortune, and untimely death;all of them problems solvable only by either theconventional theory of Divine caprice or theTheosophic dodrines of Karma and Rein-carnation.

6. The position by individuals of psychicpowers clairvoyance, clairaudience, etc., as


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3?well as the phenomena of psychometry andstatuvolism.

7. The true nature of genuine phenomenain spiritualism, and the proper antidote to super-stition and to exaggerated expe6tation.

8. The failure of conventional religions togreatly extend their areas, reform abuses, reorgan-ize society, expand the idea of brotherhood, abatediscontent, diminish crime,and elevate humanity;and an apparent inadequacy to realize in indi-vidual lives the ideal they professedly uphold.

The above is a sketch of the main features ofTheosophy, the Wisdom-Religion. Its detailsare to be found in the rapidly-growing literatureupon the subject.

There are three stages of interest, developedby the study of Theosophy:1. That of intellectual inquiry.2. That of desire for personal culture,

to be met partly by the books prepared for thatspecific end, partly by the periodical Magazinesexpounding Theosophy (see notice on insideback cover of this pamphlet).


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-36-Theosophical Society, an association formedin 1875 [and reorganized in 1898 as the Uni-versal Brotherhood and Theosophical So-ciety], with three aims, to be the nucleus ofa Universal Brotherhood; to promote the studyof Aryan and other Eastern literatures, religionsand sciences; to investigate unexplained lawsof nature and the powers latent in man. Ad-hesion to the first only is a prerequisite tomembership, the others being optional. TheSociety represents no particular creed, is en-tirely unse6tarian, and includes professors of allfaiths, only exading from each member thattoleration of the beliefs of others which he de-sires them to exhibit towards his own.


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Inhere is no Religion Higher than TruthTHEUNIVERSAL BROTHERHOODANDTHEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

Establishedfor the benefit of the people of the earth Sf all creatures

OBJECTSThis BROTHERHOOD is part of a great and

universal movement which has been active in all ages.This Organization declares that Brotherhood is a fact.

Its principal purpose is to teach Brotherhood, demon-strate that it is a fact in nature and make it a livingpower in the life of humanity.

Its subsidiary purpose is to study ancient and mod-ern religions, science, philosophy and art; to investi-gate the laws of nature and the divine powers in man.

The Universal Brotherhood and TheosophicalSociety, founded by H. P. Blavatsky in New York,1875, continued after her death under the leader-ship of the co-founder, William Q. Judge, and nowunder the leadership of their successor, KatherineTingley, has its Headquarters at the InternationalTheosophical Center, Point Loma, California.

This Organization is not in any way connectedwith nor does it endorse any other societies using the


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The Universal Brotherhood and TheosophicalSociety welcomes to membership all who truly lovetheir fellow men and desire the eradication of the evilscaused by the barriers of race, creed, caste or color,which have so long impeded human progress ; to allsincere lovers of truth and to all who aspire to higherand better things than the mere pleasures and inter-ests of a worldly life, and are prepared to do all intheir power to make Brotherhood a living power in thelife of humanity, its various departments offer unlimitedopportunities.

The whole work of the Organization is under thedirection of the Leader and Official Head, KatherineTingley, as outlined in the Constitution.

Do Not Fail to Profit by the FollowingIt is a regrettable fact that many people use the name

of Theosophy and of our Organization for self-interest,as also that of H. P. Blavatsky, the Foundress,to attract attention to themselves and to gain publicsupport. This they do in private and public speechand in publications, also by lecturing throughout thecountry. Without being in any way connected withthe Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical So-ciety, in many cases they permit it to be inferredthat they are, thus misleading the public, and manyhonest inquirers are hence led away from the truthsof Theosophy as presented by H. P. Blavatsky andher successors, William Q. Judge and KatherineTingley, and practically exemplified in their Theosoph-


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The International Brotherhood LeagueFounded in 1897 by Katherine Tingley

OBJECTS1 To help men and women to realize the nobility

of their calling and their true position in life.2. To educate children of all nations on the

broadest lines of Universal Brotherhood, and to pre-pare destitute and homeless children to become work-ers for humanity.

3. To ameliorate the condition of unfortunatewomen, and assist them to a higher life.

4. To assist those who are, or have been, inprisons, to establish themselves in honorable positionsin life.

5. To abolish capital punishment.6. To bring about a better understanding between

so-called savage and civilized races, by promoting acloser and more sympathetic relationship between them.

7. To relieve human suffering resulting from flood,famine, war, and other calamities; and, generally, toextend aid, help and comfort to suffering humanitythroughout the world.

For further information regarding the above Notices,address KATHERINE TINGLEY,International Theosophical Headquarters,


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Books Recommcttdcd to InquirersKey to Cbcosopby; (H. P. Blavatsky) Postpaid..$1.70A clear exposition of TheosopJiy inform of ques-tion arid answer. The book for Students.

echoes from the Orient; (W. Q. Judge) cloth,... .50paper 2521 valued articles, giving a broad outline of theTheosophical doctrines, written for the newspaper-reading public.

6hagavad-6ita; (W. Q. Judge, Am. Edition)Pocket size, morocco, gilt edges 1.00Red leather 75The pearl of the Scriptures of the East.

Life at point Iloma, The* Some notes byKatherine Tingley, Leader and Official Headof the Universal Brotherhood and Theosoph-ical Society. (Reprinted from the Los An-geles Post, December, 1902) 15

i;.igbt on the path; (M. C.) with comments,Bound in black leather 75Embossed paper 25JVIysteries of the Reart Doctrine, Cbe. Pre-pared by Katherine Tingley and her pupils.Square 8vo, cloth, 2.00

Paper, 1-50A Series of eight Pamphlets comprisingDifferent Articles in above, paper, each, 25

Cbeosopbical Manuals. Elementary Handbooksfor Students. To be issued shortly.Price, each, 35No.


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Theosophical periodicalscentury path

ILLUSTRATED WEEKLYEdited by KATHERINE TINGLEYA Magazine devoted to the Brotherhood of Humanity, thePromulgation of Theosophy and the Study of Ancient andModern Ethics, Philosophy, Science and Art.Year $4.00 Single Copy 10 CentsWrite for a sample copy toNEW CENTURY CORPORATION,

Point Loma, California, U. S. A.Raja Yoga jVIcSSCngcr. illustrated. Monthly. Yearlysubscription -----_-_-.roUnsedarian publication for Young Folk, conducted by

a staff" of pupils of the Raja Yoga School at Lomaland.Address MASTER ALBERT G. SPALDING, Business ManagerRaja Yoga Messenger, Point Loma, California

XtitcmatioTial Cbcosopbical Chronicle* Illus-trated. Monthly. Yearly subscription, postpaid - ^i.ooThe Theosophical Book Co., 18 Bartlett's Buildings,Holborn Circus, London, E. C.

"CbCOSOpbia* Illustrated. Monthly. Yearly subscriptionpostpaid - - - - - - _ - _ -i.^oUniversella Broderskapets Forlag, Barnhusgatan 10,Stockholm I, Sweden.

Universale Bruderscbaft. Illustrated. Monthly.Yearly subscription, postpaid, - - - _ - 1.50J. Th. Heller, ob. Turnstrasse, 3, Niimberg, Germany.

t.OtUS-KTloppen. Illustrated. Monthly. Yearly sub-scription, postpaid - ---_-_. 75A. Goud, Peperstraat, ingang Papengang, No. 14,Groningen, Holland.

Subscriptions to the above four Magazines may be secured alsothrough The Theosophical Publishing Co., Point Loma, CaliforniaNeither the editors of the above publications, nor the officers of theUniversal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society, or of

any of its departments, receive salaries or other remuneration.All profits arising from the business of the Theosophical Publishing

Co. are devoted to Humanitarian Work. All ivho assist in this


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ISIS UNVEILEDA Mastcr-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and ModernSCIENCE AND THEOLOGYBy H. P. BLAVATSKY

( Indexed )a Vols. Royal 8vo., about 1500 pages; cloth.With portrait of the Author. ::::::

NEW POINT LOMA EDITION WITH A PREFACEby H. T. Edge, B. A. (Cantab.) an old studentunder H. P. Blavatsky and now a member ofthe Staff of Professors at Point Loma, California

Vol, I treats of Ancient and Modern ScienceVoL II treats of Ancient and Modern ReligionThe reprint of this invaluable work is in answer to aconstant demand, thus proving that the work is aliveand is needed by the liberated spirit of the age.

Price. Postage Prepaid, .... $7.00The KEY to THEOSOPHY

A clear exposition in the form of Question and Answer of theEthics, Science and PKilosophy of Theosophy

{Indexed^WITH A COPIOUS

GLOSSARY :: OF :: THEOSOPHICAL TERMSBy H. P. BLAVATSKYThe Key is a remarkable Compendium of Theosophical teach-ing. It is the book of "books for beginners and higher students.The incessant call for this work has exhausted the earlier editions.NEW POINT LOMA EDITION

Nearly 400 pages, cloth, Postage Prepaid - $1.70Order above at once from

PUBLISHING CO.,


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DATE DUE


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^1^--- BP565 .J922An epitome of theosophy.Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library

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William Quan Judge - An Epitome of Theosophy (1871)

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