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I- Introduction: Theosophy Through The Ages
Related References
1.) Eternal Ideas – Vision, Purpose, Objects
(Wm. Q. Judge, Ocean of Theosophy, p. 1)
Theosophy is that ocean of knowledge which spreads from shore
to shore of the evolution of sentient beings; unfathomable in
its deepest parts, it gives the greatest minds their fullest
scope, yet, shallow enough at its shores, it will not overwhelm
the understanding of a child. It is wisdom about God for those
who believe that he is all things and in all, and wisdom about
nature for the man who accepts the statement found in the Christian
Bible that God cannot be measured or discovered, and that darkness
is around his pavilion. Although it contains by derivation the
name God and thus may seem at first sight to embrace religion
alone, it does not neglect science, for it is the science of
sciences and therefore has been called the wisdom religion. For
no science is complete which leaves out any department of nature,
whether visible or invisible, and that religion which, depending
solely on an assumed revelation, turns away from things and the
laws which govern them is nothing but a delusion, a foe to progress,
an obstacle in the way of man's advancement toward happiness.
Embracing both the scientific and the religious, Theosophy is
a scientific religion and a religious science.
It is not a belief or dogma formulated or invented by man,
but is a knowledge of the laws which govern the evolution of
the physical, astral, psychical, and intellectual constituents
of nature and of man. The religion of the day is but a series
of dogmas man-made and with no scientific foundation for promulgated
ethics; while our science as yet ignores the unseen, and failing
to admit the existence of a complete set of inner faculties of
perception in man, it is cut off from the immense and real field
of experience which lies within the visible and tangible worlds.
But Theosophy knows that the whole is constituted of the visible
and the invisible, and perceiving outer things and objects to
be but transitory it grasps the facts of nature, both without
and within. It is therefore complete in itself and sees no unsolvable
mystery anywhere; it throws the word coincidence out of its vocabulary
and hails the reign of law in everything and every circumstance.
That man possesses an immortal soul is the common belief of
humanity; to this Theosophy adds that he is a soul; and further
that all nature is sentient, that the vast array of objects and
men are not mere collections of atoms fortuitously thrown together
and thus without law evolving law, but down to the smallest atom
all is soul and spirit ever evolving under the rule of law which
is inherent in the whole. And just as the ancients taught, so
does Theosophy; that the course of evolution is the drama of
the soul and that nature exists for no other purpose than the
soul's experience.
(Wm. Q. Judge, Theosophical Articles, "The Theosophical
Movement" )
The Theosophical Movement being continuous, it is to be found
in all times and in all nations. Wherever thought has struggled
to be free, wherever spiritual ideas, as opposed to forms and
dogmatism, have been promulgated, there the great movement is
to be discerned............
There is a very great difference between the Theosophical
Movement and any Theosophical Society. The Movement is moral,
ethical, spiritual, universal, invisible save in effect, and
continuous. A Society formed for theosophical work is a visible
organization, an effect, a machine for conserving energy and
putting it to use; it is not nor can it be universal, nor is
it continuous. Organized Theosophical bodies are made by men
for their better cooperation, but, being mere outer shells, they
must change from time to time as human defects come out, as the
times change, and as the great underlying spiritual movement
compels such alterations.
(HPB, Isis Unveiled, Vol. 1, Preface p. V)
We believe in no Magic which transcends the scope and capacity
of the human mind, nor in "miracle," whether divine
or diabolical, if such imply a transgression of the laws of nature
instituted from all eternity. Nevertheless, we accept the saying
of the gifted author of Festus, that the human heart has not
yet fully uttered itself, and that we have never attained or
even understood the extent of its powers. Is it too much to believe
that man should be developing new sensibilities and a closer
relation with nature? The logic of evolution must teach as much,
if carried to its legitimate conclusion.
Further Reading References:
Wm. Q. Judge; The Ocean Of Theosophy, Ch. 1.
HPB; The Key To Theosophy, Ch. 1.
HPB; Isis Unveiled, Preface, pgs. v-vii
HPB; Article; What Is Theosophy? |