m e m i—fl

THEOSOPHYSIMPLIFIED

S COOPE R IRVING .

Au r W s P r t Nation al Lec turer of th e Theosophical Society . tho of ay to e fec u % ” % % mn H l H n ss M ds Psyc c D v l t ea th , Th e S ecret of appi e . etho of hi e e op e

T HE T HEOS OPHICAL BOOK CONCERN HO YW OOD LOS ANGE E LL L S , CALIFORNIA O he r Books b he amA h r t y t S e ut o

M od of P i D mn eth s sych c ev elop e t Cloth 50 cents m, e e A discussion in clear and si pl language , fre t te th e a t from echnical rms, of ml ws, prac ices and s ts t tt re ul of psychic develop en . The li le volume was written with th e hope that it might deter its t mth r eaders from a tempting to practice any of e u i t d f w k i p c i w ic ar e nw se me ho s o a a en ng sy h sm, h hm t so prevalen today, and cause them to regard ore k to th e indly and perhaps even follow, path of t t h a to tr charac er developmen , whic lone leads ue

W to P rf H alt lot 50 nt ays e ect e h C h , ce s

h mks ff r T is anual see to o er its eaders a terse ye t popular description of th e fundamental laws h m t to t e t t ts of heal h, and glean ore impor an fac mh x fl t O s fro t e e isting mass of con ic ing pinion attempt h as also been made to weld together th e t t t to discoveries of physical and occul scien is s, and show h ow those of one dovetail with those of th e t t f n o her . The sugges ions o fered have been perso h t an h is k n ally tested b y t e au hor d t eir value now .

Th e S r t of Ha in Cloth 5 0 nt ec e pp esms , ce s It i f t b ut n ot i s to t s di ficul , pos ible, find rue mn h i i me appiness wh le liv ng a ong , and engaged mffi ia m t t any proble s, di cul ies and r ls of k th e ti h in daily life . This boo , wri ng of whic was A th Fe t o the Maste r e ff or t to spired b y t e e f , is an m h ow x i e t e pla n in a co mons nse, prac ical way, such M r m a d to t s. h appiness ay b e found and p te o her

S imlifi d Pa r 25 n t Theosophy p e pe , ce s

For sale by

Th e Th e osoph ic al Book Con c e rn

California Krotona, Hollywood, Los Ange le s,

THEOSOPHY

R V C P R I ING S . OO E

N nal L c ur r T s c l S c Au W s P r atio e t e of the heo ophi a o iety . thor of ay to e fect ” % ” % % H l T h r H l m e S ss M ds Ps D v n ea th , ec et of appine , etho of ychic e e op e t

T HE T HEOSOPHICAL BOOK CONCERN ” K ROT ONA HO YW OOD LOS A GE S CA FORN A , LL , N LE , LI I

1915 YR 1 91 5 COP IGHT,

R BY I VING S .

PREFACE

This simple outline of the teachings of Theosophy is intended for those who are commencing their study of the v s subject, and to be of ser ice to teachers of clas es in Its n i elementary Theosophy . o ly recommendation is ts t t simplicity and direc ness of statement , to at ain which fi r t no e o has been spared . C i 1 91 5 h cago , March , . I . S . C.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I The Sources and Nature of Theosophy II The Other Worlds III The Aura and the Soul IV What Happens After Death V Growth Through Reincarnation

-V I The Problem of Destiny VII The Splendid Goal A Course of Reading in Theosophy

Index . l t The Theosophica Socie y .

CHAPTER I

THE SOURCES AN D NATURE OF THEOSOPHY

When an unfamiliar system of thought is presented % to ask : t for consideration , it is always legitimate Wha ” are th e sources of your information % Our willingness to take the time and expend th e e n e r gy necessary to study that system naturally depends upon th e clearness and reasonableness of the answer . So in presenting the teachings of Theosophy it is right to expect that a frank statement will be made as to th e sources of theosophical knowledge . These sources are of two kinds

( 1 ) Those which are accessible at once to any t t t t hough ful man wi h his normal in ellectual capacities , and ( 2 ) Those which may be reached only afte r pre t th e t liminary raining and development of charac er, mind and subtle senses .

t An objec ion may be made to the second kind, by one t o commencing the s udy of The sophy , on the ground that all information obtained in this way must be taken — at — ou th t s least for a time e statemen s of other . This t e t t to is of course rue , y we are accustomed constan ly t t t h . t e r t t adop his atti ude In fact , greater pa of curren knowledge cannot b e verified by the ordinary untrained. t h man , but is accep ed solely on t e statements of experts .

For example , we read and believe many statements r about atoms , yet none of us could duplicate th e e xp e i ments by which these statements are proved Without fi long scienti c training . We accept the conclusions of [ 9 ] ‘I‘ HE OS OPHY S IMPLIFIE D

astronomers regarding the movements of the sun , moon s v l and star , e en though these conc usions contradict the v s e idence of our senses , becau e we have faith in those lt who have made a specia y of astronomy . Musicians tell us of the superb technical mastery of Liszt and we l l u be ieve them , though it wou d take s years of pains taking study and practice before we could realize this l for ourse ves .

It is not unreasonable , therefore , in commencing the ossibl s study of Theosophy, to accept as p e the statement made by expert s trained in theosophical investigation . L l ff ater, if it is thought worth whi e , an e ort may be made to verify these statements and convince ourselves th f of the truth of e deeper teachings of Theosophy . O un t as course , it is wise to accept a sta ement a truth l o mere y because it is made by another pers n , but it is also equally unwise to deny it until we actually know l dl the facts . The best course is to ho d the mid e path an d fii rm a neither to deny nor , but to empty the mind of prejudice and preconceived notions and to submit ev erything to the cr iterion of the reasoning conscious ness and of the intuition . The first of these sources which are accessible at once to a thoughtful man is the teaching of the gr e at r e ligion s l of the wor d . When we begin the study of comparative l religion , we seem ost in a maze of contradictions and w able even of absurdities , but ith practice we become an d in thought to strip away the ceremonials, forms customs peculiar to each religion and get at the funda mental ideas and teachings common to all. The differences which exist between one religion and another are due to the various characteristics of the l l peop e who ho d them , and to the deposit of ceremonies , ul c spec ations and fancies which , during the enturies , has gradually obscured or covered up the basic truths ll all l s. taught by their Founder Fundamenta y, re igions [ 10 ]

THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED — a r eligion since its teachings are unaccompanied by ritual or ceremonial and are n ot in the custody of a — t it l priesthood never heless is profound y religious , as it th e e t t teaches ess n ial tru hs found in all religions . A great many theosophical truths may be found in studying the fragments which have come down to us th t an cie n t M ste rie s of e ins ruction given in the y . These t t famous ins itu ions , which flourished in Persia , Egyp t,

Greece and Rome , were founded for the purpose of giv ing to th e advanced people of th e time a philosophical and rational interpretation of the myths and legends which satisfied th e common people and constituted th e t popular religions . Though only scat ered portions of th e t t t th e tt t once secre eachings now remain , s ill a en ive student is rewarded by finding occasionally a precious truth half-hidden in the obscure phrases of these old t instruc ions . Another more fruitful field of study is the teachings of several p hilosop hic schools which rose to power and r i ' rin fell to ob scu ty du g earlier centuries . The wonder ful Pythagorean Discipline at Cr oton a ; the brilliant Neo — Platonic Schools of Alexandria particularly that which centered round Hypatia ; th e much -misunderstood al t b t th e th e chemis s , whose sym ology inged writings of l th t O Midd e Ages ; e interes ing Rosicrucian rders , the undercurrent of whose teachings permeated th e whole t fi t t t t of European hought during the f een h , six een h and h n mv n seventeenth centuries ; t e Maso ic o e nle t which h 0 h i t e os c . followed, are all sources of p knowledge The statements made in th e ancient books and rare manu scripts in which this information may be found are difi cult to t usually unders and , because expressed in l t e b ut t quaint symbo s and obsole e phras s , persisten study is richly rewarded . Modern Theosophy is greatly indebte d to scie nc e for its discoveries and for the exact terminology which has SOURCES AND NATURE OF THEOSOPHY resulted from the careful manner in which th e state ments of scientists have been formulated . Modern Theosophy is equally careful in its methods of research and its phraseology has gradually become more precise . Theosophists of ancient and medieval times were often times vague and obscure when they attempte d to de t t saw l t th e scribe wha hey , or to formu a e laws govern i t . ing human grow h and existence Th s was due , not to any e fior t on their part to describe things which did n ot b ut t t exist, because of the immensi y of heir con ion s th e un ce p t concerning God and iverse , and because there were no words then in use which could adequately t t desc ribe these hings . Tha is why symbolism was so t t t un largely employed hen , but is to a great ex en t of necessary now . The richly descrip ive language sci h m t t ul ence has aken e place of the sy bol . How co d t t t early investiga ors describe elec rici y, an atom , a vibra t e th e e s ion , the plan s of nature , when t rms them elves th e l had not been coined , and even most cu tured people knew nothing of such things % How could they explain clearly th e evolution of th e human soul by means of th t repeated lives on earth , when even e evolu ion of human bodies had n ot yet been thought of % Thus the modern presentation of Theosophy, which is decidedly fi t t at s scienti c in one and re ment, was made pos ible only because of the development of science ;

The teachings of Theosophy include those of science , and every p r ov e d result of scientific research finds its o t in place in The sophy . In cer ain cases theosophical v e sti ator s t an g , using special me hods of research , have tici ate d t t fi p science , but la er, scientis s have veri ed in t th e t t t heir own way resul s hus obtained . In s ill other instances Theosophy has carried th e application of cer tain laws govern ing matter beyond th e limits arbitrarily se t t s b ut it fi b e by scien ist , was justi ed in so doing , cause it has been found by observ ation that a p ri n cip le [ 1 3 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED of r e p e tition prev ails ev er ywhere and that nature r e mi t r in al c peats in nia u e the physic world, pro esses v l scO e which are uni ersa in their p . The study of religions and ancient schools of philo s0 phic thought combined with a knowledge of scientific n t ffi l discov eries is o su cient, however, to exp ain satis f oril ll l act y a the conditions and phenomena of the wor d . ll l c Serious gaps sti remain in our menta s heme of things, we seem unable to reconcile cer tain apparently conflict all ing viewp oints, and above we need a guiding clew to lead us through the maze of speculations to truth l itse f . As i examples of conflict ng viewpoints , we need only compare the state ments of religion with those of science . The religionist speaks of God as the source and creator all thi l of ngs , the scientist dec ares that the univ erse was formed through the agency of v arious forces obeying l l l l ’ mechanica aws . The re igionist tel s of God s love for v all His creatures, the scientist points to the undeser ed misery and sufferi n g of men and babes and the mute s l agony of thou ands of anima s and birds . The religion l ist turns his thought to the ife beyond the grave , the scientist to a dead body and asks for proof that there t is anything other than that . The religionist accep s c as fi l th t an ient books na authority, e scien ist refuse s to admit anything to be true except that which can be ifi l ver ed now . These antag onisms are doubt ess due to in comle te kn l l p ow edge , but how can that know edge be ' ll l gained which wi show that religion , science , phi osophy and art are but difie r e n t aspects of the same body of % ' truth Is it not obvious that if this world is a unity, such a synthesis must exist % This leads us to the consideration of those sources of th os0 h ic k mn t e p nowledge which require preli i ary rain t ing and development of the charac er, mind and subtle a senses before they may be re ched . SOURCES AND NATURE OF THEOSOPHY

Theosophy has never agreed with the dogmatic declaration of materialists that there w as nothing super l c l i s physica ; or of agnosti s, that superphysica th ng mi l c ght exist but we cou d never know them be ause of th l s al e imitations of the sen es, though it has ways em h asiz d the r n othin s r n tur l i p e that e is g up e a a , ev eryth ng a l la t king place within the domain of natura w . affi l e x ri Theosophy has rmed, upon the basis of actua p e ence , that there are inactive senses in every human l being which , when stimu ated to activ ity, would make possible the inv estigation of a normally unseen realm of - l n non physica matter arou d us . l v hi Instead of using physica instruments , howe er, w ch naturally have seri ous limitations ev en though most l l l de icate y constructed, theosophica investigators in their researches have made use of the much more difficult method of dev eloping within themselves the power to n see this realm without the mediation of any i strument . Long and arduous training is necessary before this can l be done , and it is made exceptional y difficult because l fi al a character qua i cation is essenti . A lfi scientist may be sensual , cruel and se sh , but his scientific work will not be impaired if his intellectual l e . v and obs rvationa powers are keen The man , howe er, who wishes to take up the theosophical method of in v e sti ation fi fin l g , must rst re e and ennob e his character, because in so doing he not only hastens the awakening of those subtle senses by means of which he comes in o l t uch with the unseen wor d, but he also eliminates the possibility of misuse of those psychic faculties after he t — a awakens hem serious thing . There are a few people who hav e had the courage to commence and the patience to persevere with this severe in l train g and have , after years of abor, become expert t in this ancient me hod of investigation . Modern Theosophy is heav ily indebted to them for the infor ma [ 1 5 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED t t t ion they have hus ob ained , for their published r e searches have raised Theosophy from th e level of a speculative philosophy to th e position of a world-power th e t t s its in domain of hough , becau e of richness of de t t t t t t ail and exac i ude of s a emen . And what they hav e t — t o done , o hers can do provided hey are willing t pay th e t t e fi or t fi price of cons an , unsel sh labor and the t to t r capaci y learn hrough failu e . The results of th e investigations of these experts are priceless if we attempt to estimate their value to hu di manity . They have scovered many interesting and important things regarding th e etheric part of th e h sical ' w orld th e s— p y and invisible sphere invisible , that to th e a — n is , norm l human eye which surround and e IO h v e p t e earth . They have published a wealth of de tail concernin g th e conditions which exist ou th e other t th e t h side of dea h , na ure and appearance of t e emo tion al t s th , men al and oul bodies, e laws of human wt ti th e o gro h and of des ny, purp se of existence and th e t t to th e swif es way reach goal of human evolution . Much of th e exact detail which distinguishes modern Theosophy from all other schools of thinking along to th e t t similar lines is due labors of hese exper s , who have spent years in obtaining the facts published and in verifying by re peated experiments and observations th e to t conclusions which hey have come . There is still one greatest of

e senses , t superb intellect and lof y spirituality, and have at their ’ command a vast knowledge of nature s laws which is th e

- t fruit of an age long experience . They place his knowl [ 1 6 ] SOURCES AND NATURE OF THEOS OPHY edge at the disposal of aspirants under certain condi ll so tions, generally that those who ask for it sha do l lfi l not by mere words, but by the nob e , unse sh ife they

th e v . lead, dedicated to ser ice of humanity The information which the Brothers hav e giv en to v l fi t l c v those who ha e thus qua i ed hemse ves to re ei e it , has rounded out and complete d the theosophical system of thought in a most wonderful way and has filled in l L many gaps in our know edge . ater, as the aspirants themselves awakened and developed one subtle sense v fi r u in after another, they have eri ed the t th of this ll formation fact by fact, and though some sti remains t l v r ll which they are as ye unab e to e ify, sti they are naturally convinced of the truth of that which they l v have been to d, for an error has ne er been found in th e statement of a Master . We are now in a position to profit by a te rse definition l of Theosophy . The word itself is uminous and beauti % ful n as , signifyi g it does from its derivation , Wisdom ” fi t concerning God . It was rst used apparen ly by Ammon i l r us S accas 3 of A exandria in the d century, to designate an eclectic system of philosophy and oriental

la v l N o- l mysticism, which ter de e oped into e P atonism . Theosophy h as been v ariously defined but none of the fin all de itions is ideal, though they agree that Theosophy % aflir m s the possibility of direct knowledge of things ” v l di ine and eterna . Mode r n Th e oso h ma b d n e d as a s n th sis o p y y e e fi y e f the e sse n tial tr uths r li n n n hi s h of e gio , scie ce a d p lo op y . In presentation it blends an adequate explanation of the problems and phenomena of life and the univ erse with a practical system of ethi cs and conduct arising natur ally l t from such an exp ana ion . Its statements , we have seen , are based upon a critical and comparativ e study of l l l n l ear ier theosophica , philosophica a d re igious systems , v ob upon the disco eries of physical science , upon data [ 1 7 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED tain e d a ll by tr ined superphysical perception, upon i u t lt l mina ion resu ing from awakened Spiritua intuition , th e t s whole of his ma s of information being organized, bound together an d supplemented by further informa t ion supplied by the Masters . It t e its is eviden , ther fore , from a consideration of t mode r n sources , tha Theosophy is not a revelation , in th e t t its accep ed meaning of tha word , and that, while

t t t - fundamen al ru hs are rock like , because based upon l t th e t s rea i y, nevertheless s atements of its inv estigator n ot It as to details are infallible . is a growing system t t l ul t of hough , the resu t of caref s udy and research . Its ideal is to be a presentation of thi ngs as they are t t and to elimina e speculation and heory . Mistakes may its t b ut be made and have been made by investiga ors , t t hey are corrected as soon as noticed . Such mis akes , t fi e as in scien i c research , are due to incomplete obs rva t h ion and incorrect inference from what as been seen . It t t e t t should be remembered ha , b cause of cons an ff th e t nu practice and e ort , powers of an inves igator are t t to folding all the time , and tha each year his capaci y t t . observe is grea er and more reliable Naturally, here th e t t fore , published inves iga ions should and do show th e ever increasing detail and precision as years advance , and if one wishes to gain an adequate idea of th e teach i th e t ul ngs of Theosophy, lates books sho d be read as It i well as th e earlier ones . is reassur ng to note , how t t th e ever, ha practically all information obtained through modern theosophical investigation h as stood the t t a hard tests of ime , and hat ne rly all the changes made fi have been of th e nature of ampli cations . This speaks well for th e accuracy of those who stand at th e fore t front of the theosophical movemen . t it t If Theosophy is wha its friends claim to be , hen it is nothing less than the bedrock upon which all phases ’ of the world s thought an d activity are founded . Now [ 1 8 ]

CHAPTER II

THE OTHER W ORLDS

Though great riv ers a r e still being discov ered in l n l Brazi , the u exp ored regions of the earth are shrink ar ul ing year by ye . This wo d be a matter only of con % gratulation were it not that our natural-born trav ” e le rs l suffe r fi wil the pangs of unsatis ed desire . How may that fever of discovery inherent in the race be cooled except by offering new realms for exploration % And where may those realms be found now that the l e t visib e arth has been raked, scraped, dissec ed , weighed and analysed % Obviously we must turn our attention towards those other worlds to which seers have pointed for so many centuries without awakening much inter i t l . est, would seem , unti now Advanced thinkers have already come to the conclu sion that we are living not only on th e surface of a al b ut st un physic globe , also in the mid of a normally l n t seen wor d . While many are begi ning to suspect tha t t t fi ll his sub le world may be scien i ca y studied , a few n h rm are causi g much shrugging of t e shoulders by affi ing that it has alr e ady been carefully investigated and c n fi its des ribed, its i habitants classi ed and phenomena t t t ad tabulated . This s a emen is a strong one , we must t th e mit, but it is made by hose who have done work and denied by those who have not even taken th e trouble t t to read the reports of the inves igations . Now hese t t reports are exceedingly in eresting and , while undoub — e dly many details are lacking for the study of a new world is a Herculean task— neverthele ss what has been discovered instructs as well as fascinates . [ 20 ] THE OTHER WORLDS

Unfortunately our understanding of this invisible l re alm is ofte ntimes obscured because , strange y enough , t we usually adopt one of two attitudes, bo h of which t l are illogical . Ei her we regard the who e matter as a jumble of freakish fancies and the result of unwhole to some speculation , or we swing the other extreme and veil everything related to this unse en realm in un justi e fie d mystery and reverenc , and speak of its phenomena with bated breath . Mystery is the shadow cast on nature by ignorance . There seems to be an ingrained scepticism in most

- f r people concerning anything non physical . It is s quently so pronounced that it distorts their Opinions and prevents an unbiased judgment . This is certainly true when it comes to the consideration of the evidence for the existen ce of a supe rphysical world . Many persons ts dogmatically declare , without any investigation wha o t a al ever, tha such world does not exist, not re izing that l s t opinions based on prejudices are va ueles and tha , as they are unacquainted with the numerous discoveries t which have been made , their statements carry no weigh fi t ll whatever . It is signi cant hat a those who have c ar ull v afiirm studied e f y the available e idence their con v iction t - l tha a non physical rea m does exist . Theosophical investigation of this unseen realm h as shown that it is composed of several interpenetrating l v regions or worlds , of which on y two , howe er, are of in l practical importance this pre iminary study . These t l two sub le wor ds are contained one within the other, the solid physical earth being embedded in the very t o t heart of the w . We may think of them as two vas spheres surrounding the earth not unlike a giant at mo h r s e e at m p , yet the same time per eating everywhere the physical matter of the earth w ith the same ease that n water vapor spreads through the air . O e sphere is larger than the other an d therefore extends much farther [ 21 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

t b ut t t r th e out in o space , bo h of hem su round us all time , although we are normally unconscious of their t w t existence . As the ear h s ings hrough space , following its t sun t t it pa hway round the , hese spheres move wi h as th t just does e physical a mosphere . t as it t Thus , s range may seem , we are living in hree at fin d w e on in u worlds once and we shall , if e t e our t t t t s udies , hat human evolution is in imately connec ed all t with three . These sub le worlds are as objective and % ” % real to those conscious of them as the earth is real to us n ot t t as n u , and we should hink of hem shadowy t k to th e reali ies because un nown physical senses . The matter of which they are formed is n ot physical in its a t t tt t t ch racteris ics and , for wan of be er descrip ive erms , has been called emotional and mental matter ; th e sig n ifican ce t t of hese names will be seen la er . The trend of recent scientific discoveries has b e en to h in fin i i — h t t s ml t t . wards e e a t e dissec ion of the a om For merly it w as believed that atoms were th e ultimate units o ll t or bricks ut of which a physical forms were buil . Now it is known that th e atoms themselves are complex ” t t f t % s ruc ures , formed of di feren ly grouped bundles of i n i l n r o t n d t a t t . a par icles e c in heir a ure Several yea s g , in a remarkable paper read before one of th e English scientific societies, Sir William Crookes advanced th e theory of a primitive substance underlying all the dif t t o forent kinds of physical matte r . He called his he r e tical substance protyle and presented some illumina

t . t tive data in support of his poin of view At tha time , ’ n ot t n ow Crookes conclusions were accep ed , but , through a series of brilliant investigations made possible by the t at t refinement of elec rical experiment ion , the exis ence of electrons or ultimate particles has been generally acknowledged by scientists . Electrons are considered by many scientists to be n ot ” things in themselves but merely centres of force in [ 22 ] THE OTHER WORLDS th e invisible ether which surrounds and penetrates all a t ob things . Theosophical investig tors , hrough direct servation made possible by certain awakened senses , have t n dete rmined that every physical objec , includi g the t human body, is bathed and duplicated in etheric mat er, t t through which flow con inually elec rical , magnetic and w as other forces closely associated with physical life . It noticed that there were four densities or grades of this t t t e her, forming , wi h the solids, liquids and gases wi h li t mat a v which we are fami r, se en densi ies of physical te r ; for the ether itself is physical though invisible to h t e normal human eye . This brings us to th e important fact that there is no gulf between th e physical and the next interpenetrating th e in world . The matter of denser world is formed o h t n th e directly ut of t e matter of the sub ler . Duri g t t experimen s of theosophical investigators, in which hey t t it s udied the s ructure of matter, was found that by a — strong effort of the w ill which se t certain forces in — action it was possible to break up the particles of th e fin w as est physical ether . When this done the character istics of th e r e sultan t particles entirely changed ; they were no longer physical in their nature . They proved to be the molecules of the densest matter of th e inter penetrating subtle world . l of mti nal r l The mo ecules this world, the e o o or ast a w or ld difi r n t , obey laws e e from those governing physical matter . They do not expand with heat nor contract l ul with co d as physical molec es do . They follow a law t of gravi y of their own . The vibrations which move through them permit an increased power of vision out of all proportion greater than physical sight . The matter l t l l itse f is ex reme y mobi e , responding p articularly in a most marvelous way to the play of emotions— hence the name , emotional matter . Its response to emotion , desire and passion is greater than that o f air to sound and [ 23 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

fi l l ether to arti cia ight, for it carries the vibrations a long distance from the person generating them , and ripples into quivering masses of color varying in hue according of to the type emotion . Another striking characteristic of this matter is that it is readily moulded into various

' th ou h e v an e sce n t forms by emotion which , g , usually per v ll sist for several hours or days , ibrating a the time at th e same rate as the original oscillation which brought them into existence . The densest matter of the emotional world duplicates l s l every physica object , so that it is pos ible whi e moving in its lower levels to observe what is taking place physic l ally . Not that the physica objects themselves are visible is t when one observantly ac ive in the emotional body, but th e counterparts in subtle matter of those objects are t t readily seen . In fact , hose who are not very observan s t or, for one rea on or another, are not aware hat they n th e t n ot are movi g about in astral world , frequen ly do detect any difference between objects formed of physical matter and the subtle duplicates of those objects . Farther out in those regions of th e emotional world which are th e th t some distance from surface of e ear h , varied scenes of great beauty and interest are found— the products of the creative imagination of the people living there . The emotional world is thickly populated with all l - types of iving things , human and non human , not on t it its surface as is the case with the ear h , but within , L even as fish live in the sea and birds in the air . imbs l are not necessary for wa king nor wings for flying , for desire and will are the motive powers which move us fr om place to place in this unseen world , but nevertheless we preserve th e same appearance there as here , probably ls s l from habit, but a o pos ib y from some deeper law of form which controls all creation . The non -human creatures follow a line of evolution [24 ] THE OTHER WORLDS

l um. which h as little to do direct y with the h an They range in intelligence from the level of our lowest animals — to lofty types far wiser than men the angelic presences di of religious tradition . They do not have physical bo es l o resembling ours , but appear in subt e b dies made of l radiant emotiona matter . Animals also are there who have lost their physical t bodies by death . They spend a brief hough happy period in the emotional world before being born again of animals of the same species . in In this world are found millions of human beings , cluding not only the entire population that is living on at — earth any one time for, remember, we possess emo — tion al bodies in addition to th e physical but also prae tically all those who have lost their physical b odies by t death during the last thir y years . Those who have been dead ’ longer than this have usually passed into the still more subtle w orld known as the mental or heaven world . l — t Lastly, there is found a very smal number contras ed with the millions of souls receiving their education on t— f t this plane o the Masters . They are the grea Teachers so t l mentioned frequently in heosophica literature , and is it they who have charge of human evolution . mn tal h n or The e or e av e w ld referred to is a much larger sphere englobing th e physical earth and the emo tion al world an d yet at the same time interpenetrating th e . n ot v two It may be reached therefore , by mo ing in all l space , for it is around us, but by earning to focus our consciousness in the mental body which is formed its — a diffi l of matter very cu t feat . To realize again the close relationship between th e f di ferent worlds , it should be noted that the exceedingly t t delica e mat er of the mental world , which may truly be % t ff called mind s u , may be obtained by breaking up th e fin l est matter of the emotional wor d . The mental world stands in the same relation to th e emotional world as the [ 25 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED l t to th e at er does physical . Mental matter displays a se t t its of characteris ics all own . It is marked chiefly its t n t t by ins a t response to the force of hough , breaking t t in o cascades of res less , changing colors with e very mental impulse . The matter is most luminous and t t its beau iful as a resul of ceaseless vibrations . To quote the words of one investigator

These vibrations give rise to th e most exquisite t t a and cons an ly changing colors, w ves of varying

th e n - of— shades like rai bow hues in mother pearl , etherealized and brightened to an indescribable ex t t t t en , sweeping over and hrough every form , so hat

each presents a harmony of rippling , living , lumi t o nous , delica e colors , including many not known t

earth . Words can give no idea of th e exquisite beauty and radiance shown in combinations of this t tt t t t ” 1 sub le ma er, ins inc wi h life and motion .

In accordance evidently with some process intimately connected with th e structural formation of th e solar th e t th e t t system , ma ter of men al world , in common wi h t t th e t is ha of emo ional and of the physical world , is d tin uish e d th g by seven grades or densities . In e mental t world , however, here is an important division of these difie r e n t tt t th e grades of ma er in o two groups , four denser grades forming collectively what is called the t th e t t m lower men al world , hree sub ler the higher ental world . This is n ot an arbitrary division ; it is based on certain f h t t dif erences in t e matter i self . Tha of the lower mental world responds to what we call concrete thoughts and t gives rise to mental images , pictures and forms ; hat of th e higher mental world responds to our abstract t S o houghts by ending out waves of force in all directi ns . e r ar-sr % g n g 1 Th e A n i n isd m 1 46 c e t W o t . . , by Annie Besan , p

CHAPTER III

THE AURA AND THE S OUL

r rifi The existence of an aura, or colored mist of a e d su r u in matter nd g the human body, has long been gw n r fi known . It was frequently depicted in paintings at th e t ime of the Renaissance , not merely as a halo around th e in th head, but as an ovoid e midst of which the human ll form is standing . We have collected persona y over sixty photographs of famous paintings now in Italian ar t th e galleries , in which aura is shown . is The aura clearly visible to the trained investigator, and is frequently seen in part by many as a glow of light All above the heads of others . human beings, and to a n l certain extent a imals, p ants and even minerals , are surroun ded and inte r penetrated by a cloud of delicate matter drawn from the etheric part of the physical world t l . ma and from the emotional and menta worlds This ter is so sensitive that it responds instantly to thoughts l its v and fee ings , and as it does so ibrations give rise to various colors . In a developed human being this cloud of matter has been so specialized that it is to a large extent separated ns l from the rest of the matter of the u een wor ds , in the same way that our physical bodies are distinct objects . it l Further, has been so mou ded and organized by the t constant play of houghts and feelings , that it has been fashioned into subtle bodies by mean s of which a man t m t i comes into contac and com unication wi h the inv sible l wor ds . Analysis has shown that the aura is composed of four distinct layers [ 28 ] THE AURA AND THE S OUL

lui - in l ( 1 ) A striated etheric mist, b sh grey co or, which extends outwards for several inches on all sides h l from the surface of t e skin . This is made up argely of e manation s t etheric from the e heric double of the physical body .

2 l- all ( ) An ov a shaped form , which is the seat of

s . our emotions, passions, feelings and sen ations This is the emotional body formed of the matter of the emo ion l t a world . l l ( 3 ) A simi ar y shaped form , in which all our con

- l crete , every day thoughts and menta pictures are gen r l e ate d . This is the menta body formed of the matter l of th e lower mental wor d .

4 An ( ) ovoid form , which is the seat of all our abstract and philosophical thoughts an d spiritual aspira t th e l ions . This is causal body or sou body, formed of l l the matter of the higher menta wor d .

It is important to remember that these various i t l bodies , includ ng the physical , are not separa ed ike l c pear s upon a string , but that they o cupy the same c spa e , the subtler interpenetrating the denser ones , the whole forming one compact working unit we call a human being . t ric d uble l t The e he o , which shou d not be confused wi h it t the etheric emanations from , is an exact counterpar of the physical body, and as it is faintly luminous and bluish -grey in color and extends out beyond the surface t of the body about one four h of an inch , it is sometimes v di r l isible to or na y sight . It permeates the who e phys ical body and its function is to conduct the difie r e n t t v currents of electricity, magne ism and itality, which ul e circ at everywhere throughout the tissues . so The old idea , common a generation or ago, that % ” v l ll there was a ita force , was rea y nearer the tr uth h than many modern theories , for when one as dev eloped [ 29 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

th e to se e e th e r icall - power y , streams of rosy colored par ticle s may be observed flowing down and around each th e t t th nerve from brain , un il , when hey reach e skin , t out t th e out hey are forced in o surrounding air . This rush of vitality particles from th e nerve terminals in th e skin gives a striated appearance to th e etheric at mh r h os e e t e od t t p surrounding b y, and because the s raigh or drooped arrangement of th e striations indicates t l it t whe her a man is we l or ill , has frequen ly been called the health aura . The rosy- colored particles are charged with a force as t t t t t known vi ali y, which is dis inc from elec ricity, b ut th e sun t th e is derived from , for on brigh days air is fi t t lled wi h colorless molecules charged wi h this force , t as if wi h myriads of dancing sparks of light . To be of to th e t use physical body, however, hese colorless mole cules must first be drawn into the etheric double in th e

th t - neighborhood of e spleen , specialized in o rosy colored se n t t th e particles which are then on heir journey along , t h t h nerves and hrough t e issues of t e body . e motion al b od is t i The y larger han ts physical com panion and on an average extends some eighteen inches out ll t t l on a sides from the la ter . The emo iona body of a

t - t fi t primi ive man is a vaguely ou lined , inde ni e cloud of tt t b ut t t ma er, glowing dully wi h muddy colors , ha of an fin advanced man is a sharply de ed ovoid , marked by fi t an d de ni e color areas bands , each one of which indi t habitual t ca es an trend of passion , feeling or emo ion . t th e th e Despi e oval shape of emotional body, it is interesting to know that in th e emotional world we ap pear almost exactly as we do physically and are there l to th e t t fore easily recognizab e . This is due fac tha about 90 % of the densest matter of the emotional body th e t a is condensed within limi s of the physical form , p ar n tl t t p e y being held there by some force of at rac ion , t t so that the oval form is only fain ly indica ed, the [ 30 ] THE AURA AND THE SOUL denser counterpart of th e physical body within being most prominent and clearly visible in every detail . Whenev er a strong emotion or feeling sweeps over a man th e emotional body is stirred to intense activ ity an d , art from its v ibrating matter there flash out those colors which are always associated with that emotion or feel as t fi s ing . Thus anger appears scarle , sel shnes as a hard as t t brown , fear a livid grey , sympa hy as a brigh apple t t t a so green , love as a in of rose , devo ion s blue , and t t t on . The s udy of hese colors and heir correspondences to the changes of consciousness is one of the most inter esting of the many aspects of Theosophy . me n tal b od th e The y is usually of same size as the l t t emotiona , bo h of hem growing in size as we advance fi t along the path of evolution . With de ni e progress in the power to think the mental body becomes more highly an d fi t t organized therefore more de ni e in ou line . It is mi t t exceedingly lu nous and radian with clear, beau iful t colors , especially in an advanced ype of human being , t h abitual each color area indica ing an thought attitude . The v ibrations which accomp any intellectual activity t hi emi a yellow light, w ch varies in hue from a strong fi t orange yellow in a commonplace , sel sh ype of mind , to th e beautiful primrose yellow of th e philosophical mi nd of an advanced man . All our mental activity which can b e expressed in images and pictures arises is h here , for the mental body t e conscious instrument t used in genera ing concrete thoughts . La l t soul i st y we come to the rue man , the , of whom t is said in an ancient scripture

% n ot He is born nor doth he die , nor having been to . n ceaseth he any more be Unbor , perpetual , rn t n o ete al and ancien , he is t slain when the body l ” is s aughtered .

is th e t r This individuali y, the soul , the ego, who su [ 31 ] vives all experiences and t %It remembers all even s . is our higher Self, the source % ” of that sense of I which is always in th e background all of our thinking . — The form of the causal body is ovoid in fact it is the mould upon which the mental and emotional bodies — are fashioned and while in the savage it resembles an t if r t e emp y bubble because undeveloped , yet h advanced t ul s w i h ian man it is marvellously beau if , fla hing t Jad t t colors and glowing wi h a living light all its own . Words to are powerless describe it ; it must be seen to be known . The growth of th e soul is of almost inconceivable l th e b e s owness during early stages of human evolution , cause the only experiences upon which th e soul can fin n lfi thrive are e emotions, inspiri g thoughts and unse sh st n aspirations . Naturally these are almo u know n while man is still learning the crude lessons of physical exist t ence , but hey come later when he commences to turn th a his attention to higher things . This is e enormous d of un vantage living a pure and noble life , dedicated to lfi v — it th e th e t se sh ser ice gives to soul , real man , hat which stimulates his growth in a most wonderful man ner an d hastens his j ourney to th e splendid goal of human evolution .

vi Whenever we think or feel , our in sible bodies vibrate so t ff s strongly, and as they do hey produce two e ect in the atmosphere of the subtle worlds ( 1 ) They set up waves which radiate out from us all n ot th e in directions , unlike circular water waves on t surface of a pond af er the fall of a pebble , but it should be remembered that thought waves move out as rapidly th n ot expan ding spheres of which we form e centre , t merely as increasing circles . The distance to which hese waves penetrate is proportionate to the intensity of th e thought or emotion which created them ; a strong thought [ 32 ] THE AURA AND THE SOUL

l sends out a powerfu wave , a weak thought a feeble wave which soon flickers out . These thought and emotion waves affect more or less h t t e though s and feelings of everyone they touch , and tend to stir up similar but not exact reproductions of th e impulse which started them on their j ourney . Thus a feeling of depression over some personal failure will tend to reproduce similar feelings of depre ssion in the t emo ional bodies of many people within a certain radius , but each person so affected will associate the depression n ot with some trouble which he has experienced , and with the trouble of the sender . In the same way a strong thought of joy will cause many in the immediate l neighborhood to fee joyous , though they know not why, usually connecting the emotion which surges into their thoughts with some happy ev ent which perhaps has happened not long before . ( 2 ) A strong emotion or thought actually builds a l l little form in the subt e matter of the unseen wor ds , and projects it with the rapidity of a rifle bullet to the object or person with whom the thought w as connected . This thought-form may persist for many hours or ev en n im days , depending upon the intensity of the origi al it l is pulse , and s one function in ife to impress upon the subtle bodi es of the distant person the e xac t thought or emotion which brought it into existence . This once l accomp ished and its force discharged, it melts away again into the se a of surrounding matter as a cloud melts o l int the b ue sky, but for the time being it was almost a living thing , charged with thought energy . If the thought or emotion is personal and not con n e cte d - with another, the thought form generated lingers u aro nd its creator, and during some moment when the l its consciousness of the atter is passive , discharges energy upon him . Thus many of the thoughts which THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED tempt us are those which we ourselves generated a few hours or days before . These facts indicate how we may be of much service to others by th e assistance and encouragement we can t t t t . m give hem with our hough s Fur her ore it warns us to be on our guard as to the kind of thoughts we per mi t mit our nds to hink and to the quality of emotions we allow ourselves to feel . For our thoughts an d feel ings create a very real personal atmosphere through the

influence of which , we help or hinder those with whom we come in contact .

Whenever we go to sleep , we withdraw from our physical bodies and move about in th e unse en world using our emotional bodies . All people are not equally l conscious , however, while their physica bodies are asleep , and the extent to which we are aware of the fact that we are in an unseen world depends primarily upon th e stage of growth we have reached as souls and second arily upon our physical knowledge of the existence of that world . The consciousness of th e densely ign n man is so u developed, that , during when he is no longer experiencing th e stir and rush of t t physical life , he is prac ically unconscious as he floa s in his cloudy emotional body just above his slumbering l tt physica body . In a li le more developed type , the man is actively conscious in his emotional body while his b ut h e n ow s th e un physical body sleeps , k nothing of as t in t seen world , he is comple ely absorbed hinking over h is own petty plans and dreaming about th e objects At t of hi s desires . a still further stage of developmen , mth l t gli pses of e outside emotiona world are caugh t now and hen , and such a man may move some distance awmay from his slumbering body in search of these half gli psed adventures and scenes . ul l A thoughtf , cu tured man , however, especially one

THEOmSOPHY SIMPLIFIED arising in the grey atter of the brain by sympathetic response to the more powerful vibrations of the emo tion al t and men al bodies , the seats respectively of our l th t emotiona nature and mind . In e great majori y of l cases , because of general undevelopment, ack of training th and care in diet, e nervous tissue is not v ery responsive , and as a result of the very limitations of the brain as a i tr u t transmitt ng ins men , we are aware in our waking consciousness of only a small portion of all our emotions and thoughts . CHAPTER IV

W HAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH

Death is an episode not a tragedy ; it is liberation from th e physical body and not the annihilation of the con s io sn ss c u e . Though death may take from us our out o us worn or outgrown b dies , it grants the wider freedom l of the unseen wor ds, and to those who know , death

— - has no terrors not one . Instead of b eing a dark robed

King of Terrors , death is a bright Presence bearing the blessed key which unlocks the prison house of th e flesh ; and it would be well for us to learn the tr uth about what happens after death ; and then to cast aside for ev er all — grief and mourning twin offsp ri ng of ignorance . There is a foolish aphorism current among us that all v — n men are equal in the gra e ki g and beggar, sage and £0 0 1 l . This is perhaps true of their physica bodies , but it is a mistake so far as th e men themselves are con cerned . We are unchanged by death ; our powers of consciousness may indeed become somewhat greater and l the extent of our v ision and perception arger, but we are th e l — l ll same peop e after death as before menta ly, mora y an d ll spiritua y . Death cannot transform us into some thing difie r e n t just because it strikes away the physical r inst ument , the body, we have used on earth . It cannot suddenly convert us into prayerful saints or all -wise spirits ; such chan ges can only come about during the l long course of evo ution . After death we cling to the

b v l - same follies , elie e the same ha f truths , display the same prejudices and associate with the same sort of people as we did while in physical incarnation . [ 37 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

n l True , we k ow a ittle more , because we are surrounded b l at a y the phenomena of a arger world, and we are le st v con inced that death does not end all , because we our s r v l elves have su ived it, but on the other hand few peop e v so k are careful obser ers, and the nowledge we obtain a after death is usually general and not det iled, and is further, it often distorted by our beliefs and prejudices . The act of dying and of going to sleep are similar ul except in a few partic ars . In both cases we withdraw b ut from the physical body, when w e go to Sleep the t t th e e heric mat er in physical body remains unchanged , th and therefore while we are absent, e currents of l t t vita i y play hrough the body and keep it alive . But e when we die , the etheric double go s out with us , the v lit t currents of ita y, which flow in e her, cease , and the o l t physical body bec mes co d and mo ionless, even though its all organs may be unimpaired . As soon as the etheric t l matter withdraws , the slow disin egration of the ce ls commences and decay sets in . As we withdraw from the physical body at the time of death we are surrounded by the etheri c matter which came out with us. This envelops us like a fog and pre vents us from obtaining even a glimpse of the astral world which surrounds us with its multifarious activ ities l ri . u and interests As a res t, most of us during this pe od, l which asts several hours , are entirely unconscious of our condition and environment . After a time this etheric matter slowly slips away and we become more and more aware of the emotional world t of which we are now a conscious inhabi ant . Since i t every physical object s duplicated in emo ional matter , fi s t ul ob we are apt at r t, par ic arly if we are not very r i ff e servant, to notice ve y l ttle di erence b tween this new t ffi ul a . world and the physical e r h Indeed, it is di c t at times to convince some people that they are really [ 38 ] WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH

l s c dead, for they are frequent y posses ed of su h fan tastic ideas as to what ought to happen but which does t not happen after death , hat it takes several days to persuade them that they have really lost their physical bodies . tt l After a few a empts , however, to eat and wa k and ob talk as they were accustomed to do on earth , these i stin ate people beg n to realize that something is wrong . They eat th e food of which they think and therefore immediately see before them , but for some reason it has no taste and does not give them any satisfaction . They have still to learn that the astral body does not t require food . They walk about among their old haun s and homes but fin d themselves unable to mov e certain fin d objects as before . They have still to out that a person living in the unseen world cannot move p hysical l objects merely by trying to lift their astra counterparts . They talk to others they meet and are very much puzzled at first to notice that while they can converse w t l l l i h some peop e at any hour, other persons wi l on y pay attention to them about eight hours out of twenty ri four . Du ng the rest of the time these peculiar men — and women for as such they are considered by the ” obstinate % dead people whose experiences we are — studying do not respond to anything which is said . Our friends in the emotional world have still to discover that while they can mingle and speak at any time with t % ” o her people who are also dead , they cannot gain the attention of those in physical incarnation during the t t hours when the la ter are awake , tha is , when the ss consciousness is focu ed in the physical brain . Only when the physical bodies of people in incarnation go to t sleep , are hey released from the limitations of the l brain and therefore responsive to astra surroundings . As we gain more experience in this life we are leading t af er death , we learn many other important lessons and [ 39 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

facts . For some time we are apt to believe it necessary to l as wa k about we did on earth , to regard a door as something to be opened before we can pass through , as and to think of walls being impassable barriers . After a time we fin d that we can pass through any of these e l t ffi s emingly so id things without the slightes di culty, and that, when we desire to go to a distant place , there al in All is not the slightest necessity for w k g there . we ll t t a t is need do is to wi strongly to go o h t place , here t n l fi d t . a sense of mo ion , and we ourse ves here On e of the most common dreams is that of flyin g either of moving through th e air or skimming along the l ground , taking on y a running step now and then . By questioning audiences in many cities , it has been found that about 25 to 40 per cent of intelligent people have t dreams of his description . Such dreams of flying are merely indications that we are learning how to move about in the way which is normal in the emotional world . We also realize after death that every uncontrolled th al passion and appetite of e ignoble sort, which we ri is lowed to fasten upon us du ng our life on earth , something for which we must n ow pay the price . The to t cravings, which we were accustomed gratify withou l fi l question , can no onger be satis ed because our physica All bodies are gone . the passions and desires are still as i as strong before , and there is noth ng to do now but to live them down and let them die out for want of fi t kn grati cation . We bit erly regret that we did not ow fi this before death , because the bite of an unsatis ed de sire is now far stronger than it was when we were liv

in th e . g in a physical body, for this is world of feeling Any hell that is to be found after death is one which we make for ourselves by what we do and feel and think — while on earth w e are not punished by any external

l . power, we punish ourse ves We also se e how utterly wrong it is to give way to [ 40 ] WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH

t uncontrolled grief for hose who are dead, for now we , who have lost our physical bodies by death , are continually surrounded by the almost unbearable thoughts of grief and passionate longin g created by our loving but misguided friends who are mourning our t ri death . Strangely enough , hough these same f ends are with us and talk with us while their physical bodies are sl as as t a eep , just soon hey awake in the morning , they revert to the old delusion that they have lost us, and think thoughts of bitter sorrow all day long . We stand cr t t beside them and y out ha we are there , but they do us s not hear or even feel our presence , becau e their nervous systems are so insensitive and their attention is l l f ak so s. ful y directed to wor dly a fair They m e us , the v n t dead, ery u happy and miserable by heir illogical and l l foo ish attitude , and we can really on y gain relief from this intolerable condition when they begin to forge t us and think of other things . Be under no delusion that % ” grief or mourning gratify the dead ; it only makes t l Wh l l all hem miserab e . y cannot peop e rea ize that such r n l sorrowing is w o g, that uncontrolled grief makes ife l l a hell for us who are iving in the emotional wor d , and that there is really no separation since those who lov e us are with us every night while their physical bodies l are asleep and resting . God did not design this wor d — to be a torture chamber the source of all sorrow is ignorance if we only knew it . , m As the years roll on coun tin g time as is done on — earth w e fin d that more radi ant and beautiful regions l of this emotional wor d unfold before our gaze , and we are startled to discover that we hav e been surrounded by these glori ous regions all the time but did not know s li it, becau e of a pecu arity of the emotional body . It seems that it can only respond to the v ibrations of the l l t c emotiona wor d ou side it , a cording to the degree of v e r ce sensiti eness of the matt r on its su fa . If this surface THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

l layer is coarse , we sense only s ow vibrations such as are characteristic of the lower levels of the emotional world ; fin e t if , then the swif er vibrations of the higher levels w l i l bring their messages to our consciousness. We are told that a curious rearr angement of the mat te r of the emotional body took place immediately after t fiort our dea h . By an instinctive e of the emotional w as body, the matter composing it thrown into concentric t th e fi layers , the coarses on outside , the nest of all within , v the arious other grades lying between the two . This arrangement was un n ecessary and we could have stopped t it it had we known tha was taking place , but we did k so th e not now, and emotional body instinctively sorted t in t l out the mat er this way, hereby pro onging its existence . This rearrangement caused us to be conscious only on that level of th e emotional world corresponding in density to the matter on the surface of the emotional l t body . Hence , because our ife on ear h was not all that O it might have been , we did not have a very high pinion fi at rst of this emotional world , because we were limited l In us to a rather low evel for a while . fact, some of had rather an uncomfortable time of it during the first t t t few mon hs, because we had buil a considerable amoun of coarse matter into our emotional bodies by unwh ole i some habits and mpure diet . Finally this wore away and we became conscious of ver y much more pleasant regions . This opening up of new vistas of beauty and enjoy ment is continually taking place with every person as th e coarser particles are gradually eliminated from the An d t emotional body . af er we have lived in this world e dl b e several years , our int rest in worl y affairs wanes , cause there are so many more interesting things to at t e t end to here . While we still love the people who are y n t in physical incar ation , never heless we realize sensibly [ 42 ]

THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

l aspirations, which we sowed during the earth ife . The l e e s heaven ife is one of int ns , unalloyed happines , with th e s out even shadow of a orrow . t ri l Af er a pe od in the lower heaven world , the ength of which is determined by the stage of evolution we have ul reached as so s , and the amount of experience we gained l during our ife on earth , the time comes when we have t hought over every fragment of experience , carried out r o eve y spiritual aspiration , lived through every j oy, a l complished everything possib e in this world , of which t we can conceive . At hat moment the now useless mental body drops away and our consciousness suddenly ex s ul t pand to that of the mature so , our rue inner Self . t t Then we realize our divine na ure , hen we remember the long path we have trodden to gain our present stage of ll a evolution , then we reca the p st lives we have lived on earth , for the causal body is the storehouse of all mem or ie s and it never forgets though the brain and lower t mind may be ignorant of the pas . For a varying length of time we live in this condition o of pure s ul consciousness . The savage has but a flash of this lofty condition ; an advanced philosopher may enjoy this state for years or even centuries . But with v t all , the time ine itably comes when here is awakened a hi re t rst for more experience , for activity, for inc ased il such as ma n l b e ain e d on knowledge of deta s y o y g e ar th l u , and with that dawning desire , the sou t rns its l consciousness once more towards the lower wor ds . First it draws round itself a cloud of matter of the lower l i its menta world out of which , during the ch ldhood of it future physical body, fashions a mind body ; then it gathers to itself a cloud of matter of the emotional world which later is moulded into an emotional body ; lastly it becomes linked to an infant body provided by parents with whom the soul h as formed ties in prev ious lives on t t ear h . And thus it is that a new incarna ion commences [ 44 ] l un as the chi d is born , a child with its as yet organized l l emotiona and menta bodies , through which , as the l l v years advance , the mature sou behind is ab e e er more and to manifest its

[ 45 ] CHAPTER V

GROW TH THROUGH REIN CARNATION

On e of th e most illuminative and helpful of the teach s t t t all ac ings of Theo ophy is tha his world , wi h its tiv itie s t t t t and in eres s , is in reality a grea educa ional institution in which millions of souls and countless other creatures are receiv ing th e instruction which they need t for their growth . We learn hat there are many more human beings connected with th e earth than ever ap in t t t t pear incarna ion at any one ime , but ha all are enabled to gain the experiences they need by making t t t t a shor visi periodically to his world, hereby coming h in contact with t e lessons taught by civilization . Thus each life spent here is merely a day in th e t greater soul life , and each ime we return we resume our t Off lessons abou where we left before , aided , of course , — by what we have gained by home study for heav en is h t e home of the soul . The savage is commencing his education in th e kindergarten of life ; th e spiritually developed man is nearing th e time of graduation from this world school ; th e rest of us are standing on some step between these tw o extremes . We have gleaned much experience from hundreds of lives in the past that is why we are far more advanced than the sav age ; th t and in e future , new lives will help us comple e and round out our education . This view of human life and of th e growth of the t t soul is called reincarna ion or rebir h , and in a more or less pure form is the working philosophy of some 650 A S millions of human beings today . a philosophical con c ion is e pt it hoary with age , and has apparently held [ 46 ] GROWTH THROUGH REINCARNATION

its t th e attention by logic and inheren reasonableness , of many of th e great leaders Of thought duri ng all periods of history . Ye t many persons when they first hear of reincarna t t th e ion , rejec idea without any consideration and ex % ’ claim : What a horr ible belief % I am sure I don t want ” % s l to come back again And for some rea on such peop e , t t who are o herwise sensible enough , seem to think tha their dislike of reincarn ation proves it untrue and un necessary . But does dislike of teaching make it unnecessary % D oes the rebellion of the small boy who is kept by his parents at school make his education any less essential % In later years does not this same small boy look back upon his rebellious feelings with a smile of amusement t % ul l a his shortsightedness And may we not as so s , ook back upon this time when we are seeking to avoid the priceless lessons of life , and smile at our own ignorance and lack of understanding of th e purpose of existence % Are we actually Opposed to reincarnation as such % Le t us suppose that this earth were a glorious paradise in s fi r in n n e . which sorrow, g and trouble were unk own

When death claimed us, would we not be overcome with desp air at leaving this land of bliss % If someone said t s ul that rebir h was a pos ibility, we wo d leap at the chance and Offer premiums to get back to earth % If we t t t t are perfectly frank wi h ourselves , we mus admi tha we are n ot objecting to reincarnation merely as a process b ut t of being born again , hat what we wish to avoid are th e t ffi lt many rials , di cu ies and sorrows of physical

. t ri % existence We wan to escape expe ence , not rebirth Ye t t os h e very experiences which we seek to escape , t ff t an d l hose very sorrows and di icul ies tria s , have taught us th e l some of grandest and deepest lessons of ife , and have forced us to awaken many a power of consciousness an d t will , hat otherwise would never have been stim [ 47 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED ulate d to activity . The hardships of civilization have us made what we are , while ease and lux ury only sap our courage and deaden our initiative . A person who has sn fie r e d t never or failed or fel sorrow, is a person with out s much sympathy, compas ion , or real understanding of life .

O v t t t o in r b iously, hen , our emo ional objec ions t r e ca nation are hopelessly illogical and childish , and as thoughtful people we should not permit our dislike of the teaching process to carry away our reason and good sense .

The idea of reincarnation is exceedingly logical , n ot whether we admit it to be a fact in nature or . It ofie rs t to the growing soul , not the pal ry gains of a b ut t single life on earth , unlimi ed experience in many t t s a ions of life and under all possible circumstances . Not a single event can happen to us which does n ot ofie r something of value for growth , even though the drop of wisdom which may be distilled from it is small . By varyin g the conditions of birth and the occupation li t from fe to life , lopsided development can be preven ed

- h and an all round knowledge of t e world obtained . Thus hi if this life , w ch we are now leading, is but one of a t series , each experience , no ma ter how trivial , is valuable ; t but if this is the only life we live on ear h , then we t t t e x e r i must frankly admit , tha much of ha which we p t ence and learn here is practically useless in the fu ure , for the knowledge gained would be of value only on earth and not in any heaven world . If we return we n ot can make good use of that knowledge , but if we do , then many of our eff orts and lessons gained at great cost are just so much wasted time . t Furthermore , wha is the value of physical existence to a soul who inhabits the body of an infant that lives b ut mi a few hours , or the body of a child cri nal born and reared in the slums % If we live but one life , there is no [ 48 ] GROWTH THROUGH REINCARNATION satisfactory explanation ; b ut if this life is one of many se e arranged in an ascending series, then we in the two th m e conditions just mentioned , pay ent of a debt in s fi e fiorts t one ca e , and the rst of an ignorant un aught soul in the other . On e of the current misconceptions about reincarna t ion , which prevents a consideration of the idea by t t t t hough ful people , is ha it teaches the return of a human being to the body of an animal— that next life we may be born as a dog or a horse % This point of view O so t is bv iously absurd tha it seems foolish to mention it, ye t people who ought to know better seriously advance it as an argument against reincarnation . Thi s curiously distorted misconception is only b e lie v e d by th e ignorant peasants in those religions which t e each reincarnation , but do s not represent at all the belief of their more adv anced adh erents . It is as sensible to speak of transferr ing a college student to a kinder h i as garten class in order to recommence s education , it is to think of a human soul being born again in the so l body of an animal . Nature is never unreasonab e as

is Progress forwards , not backwards, so as we advance l um di we a ways come back in h an bo es, each one a little v t better than the pre ious one . Some imes , it is true , for l some grievous fau t, we may during one incarnation retrace our steps to a slight extent an d take birth in a less advanced type of body and under less favorable di t a con tions , but this re rograde movement is only p as parent and not real , even the backward movement of an eddy in the flowing water of a river does not change th e forward course of the stream An other misconception is that we are reborn imme i l d ate . C n t y areful investigation has show , however, tha t l his rare y happens , and that the normal interval between one life and another varies from a few score years in the [ 49 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED case of an undeveloped soul to twenty centuries or even s more in the ca e of a far advanced type . The length of this interval depends primarily upon the amount of ri th e t experience gained du ng earth life , and his in turn depends upon three factors : — ( 1 ) The length of th e physical life the longer th e life , the more experience . 2 th l ( ) The quality of e ife . Some lives are tranquil and placid while others are adventurous and crowded — with events naturally th e latter supply more e xp e r i ence .

( 3 ) The age of the soul . We did not commence our evolution at the same time , and may therefore be sorted out theoretically into classes such as is done actually t l ar ' n ot wi h children in a schoo , hence we e of the same l l l educationa age . The o der the sou , the less it engages in purely physical pursuits and the more it is inter osted in mental , moral and spiritual things . Naturally, t ac ivities of the latter type , inasmuch as they are expres l th t ld sions of our larger ife in e sub ler wor s , give us more to think over and assimilate during th e interval h between one life and t e next .

There are three possible theories to account for the soul before it commenced its life here at birth

— ( 1 ) It was newly created at birth by God a point of view commonly held in Christian countries . This is th e theory of special creation . t ( 2 ) It existed before bir h in some spiritual state , but has never lived before on earth . This is the theory

- of pre existence .

( 3 ) It has lived many times before on earth , and its existing capacities and abilities are the results of that

c . past experience . This is the theory of rein arnation [ 50 ]

THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

th e side of grave . Have we any justification for this hope % If God created a world so imperfectly conceiv ed t hat rampant injustice is found everywhere , how do we know that th e same state of aff airs does not prevail after death % But there is a line of reasoning whi ch carries us out of this intolerable situation and illuminates all our n human problems . We may reduce this reasoni g to a very simple statement Life is unj ust if w e e xp e rie n c e an y un de se r v e d suf r in r n a in fe g o u e rn e d h app e ss. Mu h come s to us w hich hav n ith r ar n c w e e e e e e d n or

de se rv e d in this life .

The r e or e i a ust God e xists w e must hav e li e d on f , f j , v e ar th b e or e an d durin that time starte d th e c ause s f g w hich n ow ar con tr ollin cir cumst nc e s a e g . We may expand this line of reasoning and approach th e problem from a Slightly different angle This li e is a liv in h e ll i w e ar e th e in noc e n t vic tims f g f a Po r w hic h i e ith e r so me r cile ss un ust r w e ak of w e s , j o , t it i na l to c on tr ol th r i r t hat s u b e e w o ld t has c e a e d .

iti s irt t Un le ss the cond on of b h , the e xte n of our cc p acitie s an d abilitie s an d of th e Opp ortunitie s w hich come to us ar e the dir e c t r e sults o our ow n e or ts and , f ff s r ar su h ictims v . th e r e for e de e v e d, w e e c B i r n ot v ic tims an d th e se condit s e r ut f w e a e ion w e r l s th n w e must hav liv e d on arth caus d b ou s v e e e e e y e , r in s c ndition e xac tl r e se mblin h sical b e o e or ome o f , y g p y i n in r r to h av e sow n the se e d w e ar n ow e x ste ce , o de e r r e aping as ha v e sts. If we refuse to be false to our intuition that God is u v l t n absol tely just , the conclusion is ine itab e hat rei Th oso carnation is th e true theory regarding the soul . e phy is unassailable when it affirms that there is no s v inju tice anywhere in the universe , and that every e ent — — of life when we can se e the whole of it is in reality GROWTH THROUGH REINCARNATION part of the working of a perfect law of cause and e fie ct ll an which is flawless in its justice . We ca ev ent unjust because we are looking only at the result and have not th e power to turn back the pages of history and see the cause . But there are also other facts which indicate that reincarnation is a law of nature . Notice the enormous difference in mental and moral faculties between one — l man and another between a Hottentot and a Hux ey . Education and environment cannot make all the differ t ence . A Hottentot may be aught in our most approved way and amid advantageous surroundings , but while s there would be a certain amount of progre s, his advance ment would not be great .

It is not a question alone of physical heredity . In th e t r e - case of twins, born under exac ly the same p natal f influences, the most striking di ferences in ability and s characte r are frequently noticed after a few year . This would not be the case of physical heredity were the only factor at work . But if we understand that the souls themselves differ t in experience , that some are just commencing heir schooling while others are near to graduation , then f as l these di ferences are e i y and logically explained . Physical heredity no doubt plays an important part so far as th e quality and appearance of our physical bodies n are concerned, but we bri g with us our emotional and o mental p wers when we come , in the form of innate l l ” facu ties . Whence come the facu ties of the born t l eacher, speaker and eader % Oftentimes the p arents th e and even ancestors do not display them . How th e explain appearance of a Napoleon , a Shakespeare , a Wagner % The most careful tracing of their ancestry l us eaves more puzzled than before , if physical heredity is the sole factor . What is the source of genius % Can water rise higher [ 53 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

it l ff than s source ; if not, why shou d o spring be greater than their parents and ancestors % But if a genius is an Old soul who has developed enormous capacity along — t a certain line music , drama, painting , ma hematics t then we need not s rain to breaking, the theory of physical heredity in order to explain his appearance in h t e world . Reincarnation also shows why the sons and — daughters of a genius are never equal to the parent a genius can only transmit his physical peculiarities to his offspring , never his inspiring talents , which are the ul powers of the so . An objection is frequently made to th e idea of rein carnation on the ground that if we have lived before ri th we would have memo es of e past . The argument which the objector h as in mind runs something like this We remember whatever we have experienced ; we have no memories of past lives ; therefore we have not lived before . This reasoning is exceedingly faulty because it leaves out of account that physically we forget experience more t han we remember it . How many of us can remember exactly what we did an d said twelve years ago this day %

Not one . How many of us can remember everything we t % e s did last week, or even yes erday Maj or events , y , % but not details . Why Because the memories have been t % l los forever No , only because the physica brain cannot c recall them . If we are thrown into a hypnotic tran e l t c ll state by a psycho ogis , we can easily be helped to re a everything we have done in the past, the extent to which we are able to recover these Old memories depending This ab solute r oo upon the depth of the trance . is p f illion me mori s o th t n oss sse ms e a e v e ry o e of us p e s of f w hich th e physical b r ain has n o r e colle ction wh atsoe v e r . Obviously the argument advanced against reincarnation l is not sound , for there may exist a deep ayer of our consciousness in which adhere the memories of other [ 54 ] GROWTH THROUGH REINCARNATION

— lives on earth memories entirely unkn own to the wak n i g consciousness . This at least is the statement of theosophical investi at t th e g ors , and heir conclusions are borne out by x s e periments of de Rochas , who forced the con ciousness of a hypnotized woman back step by step into what were l nl b ut apparently the memories, not of one past ife o y, of four . Further, it should not be forgotten that some people do remember their past lives, at least in part , and in making this statement we do not have in mind those persons who imagine themse lves to have been in the past Anthony or Cleopatra or some other romantic char % t l acter Children frequen ly have glimpses of other ives , an d l strive to tell us of them , but we laugh and ca l them fancies, and the child soon forgets , especially as it grows older and th e brain tissue becomes less plastic to the influence of the mind . s c s an Reincarnation is not an endles pro es , any more th ll s we go to school a our life . It cea es when we have learned all the major lessons this world can teach and we have reached the stage of the perfect man . Then we are ready to assume the greater duties and commence the wider work for which our education in the world l fi u t schoo has tted s. For just as we go for h into the v world after our school days are over, so do we enture into a larger field after our many lives on earth are — th e l ended ana ogy is exact .

[ 5 5 ] CHAPTER VI

THE PROBLE M OF DESTINY

l We measure ife by false standards , by pleasure and pain and not by growth . If life is pleasant we bless un a an n destiny, if ple s t, we curse it , never consideri g in either case whether we grow through the experiences ’ which come . Destiny is Nature s plan of education ; sh e t to to is not rying to please us , kill time , furnish a con tin ual n sh e rou d of pleasure ; is endeavoring to teach us . is That why we must work, endure hardships , struggle l e t . s for what we g Rugged e sons truly, but wonderfully ff l e ective in their resu ts , for such teaching as we receive t on ear h produces strong men and brave women , not t weaklings . Even hough lives are spent in learning the l t lessons , they are eventua ly mas ered , for in this world school there are no failures . f s a d Destiny, however, o fer many problems , n the great est of them all is to fin d the cause of the fate which us to O or brings our parents , determines our pp tu m o ur . itiss , gauges our faculties and moulds lives To a certain extent this problem was considered in the last b ut chapter, we must go further, for during the cen turi e s three answers have been proposed to explain L um. t . h an destiny e us consider these answers in turn The first answer is that our lives are moulded at the l th dictates of some Being who is the Ru er of e universe .

At His command all things come or are withheld . We are like puppets moved by an unseen han d across a stage ; we act, but the scenes , the actors , our very char c are all s a te rs and the events which happen , pre cribed l it t by Him . If He wi ls , we may be exal ed in the eyes [ 56 ] THE PROBLEM OF DESTINY

of men ; if it is His wish , we may be disgraced and NO t shamed . exertion can change our destiny ; hat rests t th e wi h Him . We have neither earned happiness nor ff i deserved the su ering which s our portion , for our destinies are decided on high . This may be considered to be an exaggerated state t l t ment of a par icu ar viewpoint, yet his is exactly what imli t is p e d in the resigned accep ance of one who mur — murs as many of us have done after a blow h as fallen l Y t it all Thy Wi l be done . e how hard is to think that ’ we see happening around us is due to God s Will . We ask s l if it our e ves be true that he blinds children , breaks th e t e hearts of s rong men , permits people to be s nt to l prison though innocent of crime , creates a wor d in which souls fresh from His hands may be born in crip pled or idiotic bodies and babes may become diseased r n ts for the Sins of their p a e . If we dare not go to the i all extreme of say ng that He does this , then we are merely av oiding th e inevitable outcome of a consistent n application of this a swer to destiny . But if God deliberately causes such suff ering or e v e n e r mits it to h a n t fi to l p pp e , without jus i cation , the sou s % concerned , how can we reverence Him What purpose % n is there in it all We do not k ow why we came here , t we do not know whi her we are to go , and during our t t is stay on ear h we are unjus ly treated . The future n t uncertai , wi hout promise , for if He allow destiny to l crush our neighbor, may He not permit the same awfu % ri fate to visit us We must submit to every cap ce , for t l l destiny canno be contro led by us but on y by Him . Is this a satisfactory answer to the problem % Em ll l phatica y it is not, and sure y it is only accepted blindly so by many , because they refuse even to think about its l l unreasonableness, be ieving that no other so ution exists , and fearing that if they trust themse lves to the stormy t l sea of doubt , hey may be ost . [ 57 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

According to the second answer to the problem of destiny, life is merely the product of circumstances , the l . ut resu t of chance There may or may not be a God , b if He does exist, He doe s not concern Himself very e clos ly with the world He has create d, and may there l out so a t fore be eft of account far s des iny is concerned .

We may be born in the hovel of a savage , or in the home fi of re ned parents, for there is no choice or law govern in t ul t . g bir h , and the so must accep what it receives Human bodies are born because their parents are swayed as by p sion . We have done nothing to deserve our birth t th e t condi ions or environment ; in fact, from viewpoin t it th e of this answer to des iny, is absurd to speak of events of life which happen to us as expressing any L is purp ose ; they merely happen . uck rules , chance king .

lt . Assuredly, we can never be certain of resu s We may toil for years only to fail in the end, or we may All win by a lucky move . talk of rewards and punish ments is idle . We are but gamblers spinning the wheel th ri of fortune ; if we pick e ght color we succeed , if we make a mistake , we lose . All we can do is to strive to x th e t t win and then an iously await nex urn of the wheel , for there is no law, no certainty . This is surely a tottering foundation upon which to l an d e t it bui d the structure of a life , y is the unreasoned l philosophy of many . Strange how i logical we are some all l times, for the facts which we have g eaned from nature show us that changeless law rules everything in t the realm of science , and tha nature utterly repudiates chance . Science is only possible because nature is organ ize d law and chance a figment of the human imagin ation . t Why, hen , when it comes to human events and human t exis ence , should we put everything in a compartment % ” and label it Chance and Disorder, while we are obliged to put all other things in the universe in another [ 58 ]

THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

t l is its to the sligh est detai , perfect in working, because i guided by exqu sitely balanced natural and moral laws . sufle r in When these laws are transgressed, g comes ; i when they are obeyed, happiness s ours ; because of this ri it is possible for us to learn ght from wrong .

Sometimes people exclaim , when they have only par % tially grasped this conception of destiny But why Should these merciless laws of destiny make us suff er for ” things we have forgotten % As this natural question t n it r con ai s several misconceptions , will be necessa y to to analyze it carefully, in order gain a clear under t Of t s anding what is implied herein . fi t t In the rs place , wha do we mean by a law of ” nature % Certainly not laws in an y se n se resembling those tur ned out each year by hun dreds from our legis

t . di la ive bodies A law of nature is merely a con tion , t n c . t an inevi able seque e If a cer ain thing is done , such ul th e t In vi a will be the res t , and resul never changes . e t b le n e ss th t is e chief charac eristic of natural law . Under th e Of s alwa s same conditions atmo pheric pressure , heat y at t it causes water to boil a certain tempera ure . If n ot th e t t t were for inevi able charac er of na ural law , n m scie ce would be i possible , and , because we could n to th e l never k ow what expect , whee s of industry would t t cease to move . May not his same inevi ableness apply s to % it O t likewi e moral laws If so, is bvious, hat if in s t t a past life or lives certain cau es are star ed, they mus t l ff h sic al produce heir inevitab e e ects , whether our p y h consciousness remembers t e causes or not . t We should not forge that the soul always remembers , and when in our brain consciousness we are writhing under a sense of injustice , because of some event which h as ul happened , the so itself is comparing the present t it s l resul with s pa t cause , and is learning a esson th e a t thereby . Physical forgetfulness of p st , herefore , should not logically be able to affect th e working of a [ 60 ] THE PROBLEM OF DESTINY

— th t moral law if we have upset e equilibrium of na ure , it must be readjusted .

It is always possible , however, to neutralize a force , by directing against it another force , equal in power and v mov ing in an opposite direction . Thus if we ha e made t mistakes in the past, we can to a considerable exten th lt O modify e resu s , by setting in peration neutralizing i mi Of me d s forces . If we end out a strong thought love ately after we have made the mistake of thinking a v thought of hate , we can o ercome what otherwise would This r e at have been the inevitable effect of the hate . g

ossibilit modi in de stin sh ould n ot b e ov e r looke d . p y of fy g y Is it right to speak of any law Of nature as merciless % ll t s s da Do we ca gravi y merciles , becau e one y , while l i n n wa k ng along a river ba k , the soil gave way u der our % Of feet, and gravity dragged us to the rocks below s l course we do not, becau e we rea ize that if gravity a l fi ce sed but for a single instant, there, wou d be a terri c t l Off explosion , and this ear h wou d drift through space l l DO ll as a mere c oud of imp alpab e dust . we ca nature sh s cruel , because e produces a di eased condition in our l d lax physica bo ies , when we become dissipated and in l % l so our mora s Then why shou d we do , if the result of

l l - s an some simi ar ack of self control , for one rea on or do s n ot comat nc but is ost n il a o other, e e e p p on e d u t utur e li e % l f f Are we not the same sou s , and do we not s ul ll all s l as o s retain fu memories of pa t ives , which , all l l after , are on y days in our greater sou life % Nature is most wise in enabling us p hysically to for get the past and start with a clean record . How many a man h as wished and prayed for that very boon in this life % Memories are frequently a handicap and ev en a torment when accompanied by remorse— it is for this l reason , among others , that we start afresh each ife on l Of all l earth . Furthermore , fu l memories our past iv es l l wou d make it possib e , to a considerable extent, to THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

th e l anticipate future , because we cou d pick out the l causes which wou d produce coming events . Now recall to mind some month or year which was filled with much ffi sorrow and di culty . Would we have had th e courage to have faced that period had we known what was com ing % Our very ignorance Of th e future was an enor h mous advantage , and because we did not see t e events until they were actually upon us, we were victorious th over them in the end . Knowledge of e future , at our a t ul present st ge of evolu ion , wo d be a curse and not a l th e t help , wou d be cause of coun less failures , where Of to ignorance what is be brings success .

What we do bring with us when we come , however, is th e essence of our past experiences in the form of inn ate t th Of facul ies and e voice conscience . Whenever in business an Old se t of account books is closed and a new s t O O e . S pened, only the balances are brought forward m ri th e when we com ence a new incarnation we b ng summation s t t of our pa t experiences in a form mos sui ed to the needs and emergencies of physical life , hence those t to t quali ies of character , those powers achieve , hose l inborn facu ties, which make one child different from another . t O t t t This answer to des iny, f en men ioned in heo as in sophical literature Karma , is not fatalistic the slightest . Fatalism always implies that we are bound on an iron wheel of circumstances from which no e fiort th e of our own can free us . Karma , on contrary , says that while in truth we are bound by what we have done th e in past , yet each moment we live we are moulding and modifying th e future by the decisions and choices

- we make . Free will certainly does not mean that we are free to change th e conditions of nature in any way that b ut our whims may dictate , that we are free to choose what we shall do w ithin those conditions . If each one of us had the power to modify the world according to [ 62 ] THE PROBLEM OF DESTINY

t our several fancies, wha an inconceivable chaos would result % n t O e of the condi ions of nature is , that when we

choose , we must abide by the result of our choice . In Off this way we learn wisdom . If we decide to jump a w all e a t , it do s not stop our fall for one inst n , to wish ,

to . when we are halfway down , that we were on p again — If we jump OE we must strike bottom a cause is always ff followed by its e ect . If we are wise we think before

we jump . O n t d This conception of destiny, when nce u ders oo ,

results in a philosophy of optimism . Every hardship we experience is an Old debt paid and we are glad of it ; instead Of complaining or repining we seek eagerly for ri the lessons each event brings . The f ends who gather round us have been our friends before ; the ones we love t t t his life will be wi h us again many imes in the future , i for love is a t e so strong that even death cannot bre ak it . There is no goal too high for us to reach ; if we place l t our goa on the heigh s , it may not be reached for many b ut t t will lives , reach it we shall , for ha which we to do All t we can do . hat is necessary is to turn every energy Of t in that direction , to think the goal , to desire it wi h to O all our heart, seize every pportunity to draw nearer On in to it . If this is done there is no power earth or

heaven which can prevent us from reaching it . r u mis We may be handicapped , it is t e , by foolish ta or ff kes contrary e orts we have made in the past, either t in his life or in others , but the effects of these mistakes e fiorts and must in time become exhausted , and equally th e new forces we are setting in Operation now must th ir l produce e inevitab e effects . So instead of bewailing se t our past mistakes , we resolutely to work, under the th inspiration of this philosophy , to mould e future into fi the likeness of our highest ideals , con dent that if we se t going each moment the best we know, the future , [ 63 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

t t in cr as immedia e and distan , will be radiant with ever e In s fill g happines and ed with ever growin g Opportunities . La o The Good w may be trusted t the end .

[ 64 ] CHAPTER V II

THE SPLENDID GOAL

What is th e nature of that wider life for which th e long process of reincarn ation is preparing us % A S sur e dly not an inactive existence in some Spiri tual realm where for all eternity we remain in an ecstasy of devo to th e tion al contemplation . This may appeal mystic h t and t e sain , who love seclusion and freedom from the ut to th contacts of the world , b e normal man and woman t d t t w b e n e fic e n t of o ay, a fu ure exis ence of ide and t t t ac ivity would be more at rac ive , and more in keeping with what is apparently the purpose of our physical existence . Does not the greatest happiness come to us now when ul we have successf ly accomplished some good work , cre t t s l t a ed some hing u efu or beau iful , or have been of t % is r service to o hers There , of course , a passing pleasu e ri in winning a p ze , receiving a pleasing gift , and enj oy t t ing an en er ainment or trip , but such pleasure can never equal in quality or intensity the happiness which comes when we realize that we have contributed something of value to the world . — This happiness is instinctive it is th e expression in h us of t e universal j oy in creation . We may see that joy in th e very exuberance with which nature fashions t whirling a om and flashing star , colored flower and n t fl rugged crag , creepi g lichen and fores giant , ying t ri i mo h and labo ng man , pa nted coral and threatening t l cloud , insec wing and flaming nebula , modeling who e t i kingdoms of living hings with nexhaustible invention , t t ligh ly ouching all with charm and grace , draping some [ 65 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

t in sober hues, o hers in maddest colors , yet all with t n t beau y, designi g some in terms of pure geome ry, others t l wi h wild fancy, some as of acework, others with limit — less strength verily as we gaze our hearts quicken with th e t v a t crea ive it li y of it all , and we feel the joy of its divine Inventor as He moulds in plastic matter form after form in infinite vari ety to express life after life n fi l in i nite comp exity . at l ad We need not depreci e the ove of activity, the mir a ion ffi th t e t for e ciency, worship of achievemen , ri Of which are marked characte stics the modern man . They are the first expressions in the race of a new sense Of l power, which in the end wi l lead to mastery of the t e fiorts physical world . From our presen , misguided t t t and unbalanced as frequen ly hey are , will arise in ime t th e rue skill in action , which is one of ways of gaining h t n ot knowledge of t e Divine . We ough regard such efforts and ideals as merely a passing phase— rather they are the bursting through the cr ust of civilization of long th e pent up forces , result of the onward pressure of evolution . We shall not be able to un derstand th e profound sig n ifican ce of evolution so long as we think of God as sep t arate from the universe , as existing apar somewhere e xte r n al C n in space and , as an reator, fashioni g the t worlds in cosmic matter . The evolu ion of a universe does not resemble the building of a house , because the human artisans who wield saw and hammer are not p ar t of th e house ; but we may compare an evolving universe l an d to a living body, for the universe is iving , as is the t case with a body, the guiding , controlling In elligence is

t . wi hin , not without Long ago we were told that in Him we live and move ” n t th e and have our bei g , and his seems to be literally th e truth . Every form , moving or unmoving , from tiny th man i to th e t e atom beneath our feet farthes star, is [ 66 ]

THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

ever all our childish little ideas of God as a magnified t to t human being, and s rive hink of Him as the Universal L th e L t C th e t L th e ife , imi less onsciousness , E ernal ove , t t % t . t t very source and heart of all ha is Every hing ha is , ” is God .

t to t t th e t When we re urn a con empla ion of ear h , t t t fi a . na ure has aken on new digni y, deeper signi cance No longer can we look indifferently at th e various king

t : i ta doms of na ure m neral , vege ble , animal , human and se t t superhuman , for we e hat each one has sprung in o being because of th e pressure of th e divine Life welling th r ou h tt t it t t up g ma er, bearing wi h coun less cen ers of th consciousness , which in e human kingdom become indi v i liz t t L dua e d as souls . Wave af er wave of his ife pushes its t tt it t way up hrough ma er, modeling in o ever more ti out th e th e complex forms , un l of mineral arises t out th e t th e out vege able , of vege able animal , of the h t e . animal the human , out of the human divine th s Every form in e univer e is ceaselessly growing , th t t to passing as e cen uries speed on , from immobili y to t to freedom , from darkness ligh , from ignorance wis l to a t t . dom , from a less perfect more perfec s age U ti t is t t t mate perfec ion never reached , for ul ima e perfec ion t t u is God , but every living hing is con in ally becoming more perfect and does in time reach perfection in its

r th t stag e of g ow . Thus we may hink of a perfect man , o i b ut when such perfection is reached , a more gl r ous t t t t is goal is seen ahead , and when ha is won , s ill ano her s fi t t in fi visible . Progres is in ni e , herefore happiness is t nite . Though we may gain much wisdom , here is ever more wisdom for th e winning . Though we may gain t t to true love , here is ever grea er love embody , arising as love does from th e heart of th e Divine . Though we t t may gain great skill in ac ion , even grea er skill is pos t t t th e sible , for we are being augh in a world buil by r k r Master \Vo e . 68 ] THE SPLENDID GOAL

Joy becomes more intense as we advance along the t evolutionary pa h , because there is never any end to the o s glories unveiled t our awakening comprehen ion . The universe may be compared to one of those Christmas t t so th e ransforma ions , dear to heart of every child , in mt t t which scene el s in o scene wi h ever increasing beauty th e t t and color, until childish eyes are aglow wi h deligh c t t . and expe a ion So also with us as we grow upwards, b ut th th e t t in e universe ransforma ions are endless , God ever concealing Himself within some lovelier creation . % r u it t l T ly has been said hat veil after veil shal lift, but ” there shall be veil after veil behind . This is the zest t th e t of life , his inspira ion of progress, this the eternal t mys ery of the Godhead . Evolution is th e name we have given to that limited por tion of the never- ceasing progress or transformation t th e wi hin universe , which we are able to observe here t r is t on ear h . Ou understanding of evolution of en dis tor te d t a t t th e o , however, because h t iny por ion of pr cess we are now witnessing is th e hardest and most trying — of all it may be compared to th e uninspiring scale practice which is needed before one can become a skilful t t t musician . All grea struc ures and achievemen s have t scafioldin heir g stage , during which beauty is lacking th e a t th e fi and surroundings are unple san , but edi ce con ce ale d at first by th e rough timbers is later revealed in its t t t all beau y . So wi h human charac er, which is now t o t being buil up s laboriously block by block . It is of en t t b ut t imes unlovely, because incomple e , here is a beauty t t i and unlimi ed possibili ies in every man , clearly v sible ’ to a Master s eye . There seems to be no limit to th e powers we may evolve th e ff when we make e ort , for our consciousness is a Ray th e L t t s of divine ight , and to ha Ray all achievement o t are p ssible in ime . We may think of each soul body t th e L as a lens , hrough which Ray of universal ight is [ 69 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

so t l shining , hat while we are true spiritual individua s , even as the image of the sun cast by a burning glass is t t l separa e from all o her images , neverthe ess we are but t n o reflec ions of the one great Consciousness . Has it t th e been said that we were created in image of God , and % do we not recall th e admonishing words : Know ye n ot that ye are the Temple of God and the Spiri t of God dwelleth in you %” Growth is not th e addition of qualities to our char acter ; it is th e stimulation to activity and to expression of qualities which we possessed all the time but in a lat n t t l e condi ion . Development is therefore an unfo ding of the powers which are hidden within , even as the t Of beau y the rose is concealed in the bud . The purpose — th e ffi t of evolution the trials and hardships , di cul ies th e and successes , e loves and hat s, the pleasures and dis t th ri — to t appointmen s , e luxuries and p vations is s ir us , an d us to to coax us , , if need be , force , awaken activity th e and power the hidden , slumbering faculties of soul , and to Show us how we may master world after world if nl ff o y we make the e ort .

T r uth is within ourselves ; it takes no rise ’

t . From outward hings, whate er you may believe t kn ow and o , Rather consists in opening out a way l Whence the imprisoned sp endor may escape , Than effecting entry for a light ” Supposed to be without .

Most people do not learn either willingly or v olun f b ut to t arily, seek spend heir days in amusement and is fleeting pleasures . hence sooner or later, Nature , who fi an aspect of God , nds it necessary to resort to drastic measures in order to teach them those things they must t learn . Grow h is swift when we take our own evolution [ 70 ] THE SPLENDID GOAL

co- O di ll in hand, and strive to perate with the vine Wi which makes for progress , but advancement is painfully slow for millions of human beings because they merely exist, mechanically following a daily routine , and never think of seekin g out the purpose of life . When we se e around us men and women who can do with c ase that which we can not do and possess greater w e — a powers than strong character, a superb intellect, t in a soaring spirituali y, a power to achieve that is — is spiring there no cause for despair, any more than a child should become despondent because he is not yet a t s udent in college . Such men and women have out stripped us in certain ways and are therefore nearer to th e l r t splendid goa than we , but as soon as we put fo h ff l t similar and equal e orts, we shal lift ourselves to heir It l v level . may take years or even i es to accomplish this end , depending upon our present stage of development , but nothing can prevent us from reaching an y level of achievement upon which we se t our will . The splendid goal is not a changeless thing ; it v aries s with the development of each a piring consciousness, for it is the next step forward in evolution for that con io n s sc us e s . al For an intelligent animal , the Splendid go is humanity ; for a human being it is Initiation ; for an Initiate it is Mastership ; for a Master it is a still more stupendous height far beyond our comprehension , but l for all it is the g eaming gateway ahead , on the other side of which Open out th e illumined vistas Of a larger life . W lcomin Initiation is the splendid and indescribable e g th e by the Masters , Elder Brothers of the race , of those men and women who have risen to that level of dev elop ri ment , through va ed experience gained during many r t ri lives on ea th , where hey are nea ng the point of grad

- l l nation from the world schoo . Initiation is the goa for l every human being , and though for mi lions its attain [ 71 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED ment is still remote because of their general undevelop t t men , nevertheless many are coming in o incarnation t t now for whom Ini iation is compara ively near at hand . A very few will gain it this life if they were so fortun ate as to commence their training while still young ; a number will win their way to this superb height next life on earth t t t t n o if hey ake heir evolu ion in hand w ; many, however, will reach this glorious consummation of physical exist t t t ence in only a few incarna ions , if hey steadfas ly com to this li t t l mence practice fe on ear h , hose simple ru es of t t t so physical , moral , men al and spiri ual educa ion clearly 1 explained in Theosophy .

t t th e t To reach Ini ia ion help of a Mas er is needed , for there are many lessons to be learn ed and much training to undergo both in this and in th e invisible worlds . Therefore it will be well for us to know something of the t t Mas ers , of their work for humani y, and how their attention may be attracted so that we may receive th e necessary assistance . th e t When a man , through long course of evolu ion , reaches perfection as a human being and is therefore under no obligation or necessity to reincarnate any n i t h t longer, he does ot withdraw n o t e u ter bliss of some t to spiritual realm , leaving us , his younger bro hers , r u st ggle unaided with our many sorrows , trials and prob n s lfish n ss th e lems . U e e and compassion are two of many

t t - priceless lessons thoroughly aught in his world school , and all w h o graduate from it are embodiments of these two spiritual qualities . Therefore one who has com l t d ss p e e his human evolution , unle assigned to other h t work in t e solar system for which here is need , remains in th e invisible w orlds surrounding th e earth and in a

1 Those who are really in earnest cannot do better than to Obtain a copy of A t the F e e t of th e Maste r and strive to make part of their character th e precepts so simply laid down in that wonderful h little book of t e higher life . [ 72 ] THE SPLENDID GOAL

th t t most powerful way assists in e evolu ion of humani y . Those who have thus remained are ofte n spoken of % ” as Masters ( though in a stri cter sense th e title Master

‘ is restri cted to those of th e perfected men who acce mt th e t ite pupils ) and they for collec ively Grea t t t Lodge or Occul Hierarchy, radi ions of which have existed f or centuri es in th e Orient . The evolution of the whole of humanity takes place under th e guiding care mt t O t of this igh y spiri ual rganiza ion , and in countless ways th e individual Maste rs help n ot only th e race as a b ut t whole , also individual men and women when hey t are found wor hy . t Though many of the Masters are in incarnation , hey live physically, lives of seclusion , and seldom mingle in It s th e hur ry an d rush of civilization . would be a usele s expenditure of energy for them to take part in our t t t b e n e fice n t is al physical ac ivi ies , as heir work done most wholly and to much better advantage in th e invisi t i t ble worlds . There hey can come more n imately in contact with th e many millions of souls who populate t t to ff his plane , and are able help them mmore e ectively than would be possible if they moved a ong mankind th e physically, for here we are handicapped decidedly by limitations of th e brain and accordingly are much less responsive to spiritual forces . t t to t t is The Mas ers from ime ime , when civiliza ion t t ready, in roduce new ideals and aspira ions into the ut t t minds of men , by sending o in o the mental curren s t t t of the sub ler worlds , powerful waves of hough and th e t feeling . These flood higher levels of the emo ional t and mental worlds , and are caught up and repea ed It t t physically by receptive people . is for this reason ha t at t t s imul ing ideals , forceful ideas , impor an inventions and higher moral standards so often ari se spontaneously t th t in many par s of e world about the same ime . The t t s— cause of hese sudden en husiasm as , for example , the [ 73 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

l intense desire for universa peace , the radiant ideal of

Of o- religious tolerance , the inspiring dream a c Operativ e t e l civiliza ion , the s nse of personal responsibi ity for the th e welfare of others , quickening feeling of the need for — universal brotherhood will forever remain an enigma , t un il we learn of this hidden labor of our divine Teachers . Rarely one of th e Mas ters himself comes out Openly t into the world in order to give wi h the skill , possible t t t only to a Mas er, some important ru h or teaching, or help with his physical presence in the moulding of civ iliz i n i at o t . t in some new and urgen way Thus is said , by some of the pupils who are in a position to know, that one of the greate st of th e Masters is coming this l t century, possib y wi hin the next few years if the world an d can be made ready, to start a new religious spiritual impulse . And from many indications , the opening quar te r of this century does seem to be a turning point in t it t a civiliza ion , and may well be hat there lies ahe d of us in the immediate future , under the supervision and th e inspiration of the presence of this great Teacher , not so only new departures in science , philosophy, art and ciolo l gy , but also a wonderfu renaissance of religion and

t . spiri uality, which will transform the world More often the Masters send some pupil into the world definitely to influence civilization in some necessary di t rec ion , either by his skill in leadership , his genius in

h i t hi . art, s wisdom in wri ing or s eloquence in speaking

The world is led from ideal to ideal , from height to height , largely by the influence of great personalities , and if we had the power to look behind the scenes , we should fin d that many of the great men and women of t e history, both immedia e and r mote , were the conscious or unconscious messengers Of th e Masters . Sometimes th e Masters fin d it necessary to establish a movement or organization through which they can more th adequately and widely convey to e world, certain [ 74 ]

THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED ulate b ut , they never compel . If they had bent our wills to t t heirs , this civiliza ion would be far more perfect than it b ut t t is now , we would s ill be only obedien children , t as t a th e ins ead of developing , we have par i lly done ,

t t t t - t L s reng h and ini ia ive of self relian manhood . essons taught by precept alone are never so deep rooted as those t i impressed upon us by ac ual experience , and hence t is th e Masters have allowed us to experiment and thereby t t es our imperfect ideas , realizing that only in this slow — th t — t %way e way of evolu ion can wisdom mos surely be t . f gained Mis akes , failures and follies are more e fective o c unse l and advice . 1mh of t e Masters is to evolve a civilization which ma to t t at st n ot y be relied upon do wha is righ any co , s t t b ut becau e of precep s which men obedien ly follow , because of clear- sighted w isdom won in many a losing tt t s t ba le agains wrong , oppres ion and injus ice . They t th e th e un desire tha race shall be pure , not because of t t t of b ut h as es ed vir ue innocence , because it arisen from th e foulness of vice cleansed and made wise by inevitable ff t t t su ering . They plan ha humani y shall be wholly t n ot t b ut bro herly, because of ignorance of ha e , because t s lfish men have learned through experiencing enmi y, e t t t t t i t so ness and compe i ion , ha here s no hing priceless as t t n ot t fi love , and ha one hing can be of lasting bene t to man or nation if it h as been gained at th e expense of others . We learn only by contrasts ; ri ght is seen by contrast t ri t t t t wi h wrong , pu y by con ras wi h impurity, strength kn th e t by contrast with weakness . This owledge is gif t a t of physical experience , where such con r s s alone are it t t possible , and is wor h every hing through which we E x ri must go in our many incarn ations to gain it. p e ence is th e magic wand which awakens th e spiritual seed

of consciousness after it has been planted in matter . We may imagine some ideal civilization springing THE SPLENDID GOAL

t - th e for h full formed from divine Mind , which would be t But it l . wonderfu , glorious beyond all elling would be t t th e a humani y of beau iful dolls , obeying blindly Will of t i an d n ot t t s heir Des gner, a civiliza ion which , hough les t u fi t beau if l , is in ni ely more inspiring, because formed of spiritual intelligences who have won their way to their t t s t t presen s anding by heer mas ery of circums ances , and ,

t mt . as scarred ve erans, command homage and ad ira ion t t t th e n ot In his hough may lie hidden inner necessity, t th e t only for physical exis ence , but for manifesta ion of h t e universe . ‘ vVe n ot t Should shrink from experience , even hough th e hard , for experience alone can help us win splendid K n ow l d e o th e w or ld is as n c ssar to v olv in goal . e g f e e y e g h uman it as s ir itual un de r stan din w e t y p g, and even ually th t t t s t . e hall gain bo h For most of us , swif es grow h t th e comes when we labor diligen ly in world , striving to th e th e ffi ul solve problems , overcome di c ties, and manage th e situations of daily life with efficiency and high mo t th e t tive . Some hink of world as spread wi h the snares of a devil and counsel turning the thoughts constantly to heaven ; Theosophy regards th e world as th e crucible th t t fin of God in e white hea of which charac er is re ed . Others believe that spiritual progress is impossible in the midst of civilization and advise retirement from th e world ; Theosophy states that th e instruction we receive t t in daily life is absolu ely necessary here and hereaf er , for without th e detailed knowledge and wide experience which physical existence alone can give us , we Shall not be able to accomplish successfully or even commence th e mighty work in the unseen realms for which these many t fi incarna ions on earth have been tting us . t me e tin There are cer ain ways of g experience , which t ff t n ot are mos e ective in their resul s , for only do they t in ensify life to a remarkable extent , give richness and meaning to every event and make us attentive to Opp or [ 77 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED tun itie s t a t , but hey also h s en our development, and above all bring us forcibly to th e attention of one of th e Mas tt t ters . These a i udes , which we should seek to cultivate t to t as we go for h mee experience , are as follows — Te achable n e ss : S o many people go through life com th e t lot plaining of hardships of heir , anticipating trou t bles which never come , blaming o hers for their own t failures , fretful over small hings and remarks , fussing t t t t t it is to t wi h riviali ies , ha refreshing mee a man who t n houghtfully examines each experience , pleasant or u it t pleasant , sees s lesson , no es where he has been at fault, and quietly determines not to make the same mistake t t t s . s m o u again There is much sub le ego is in mos of , that rarely do we think of ourselves as the cause of many

. v of our troubles Practically everyone is con inced , when t n t some hing u pleasan has happened, that some one else to b ut t t is blame , when any hing particularly for unate — t occurs , we are usually willing to acknowledge modes ly, — of course our responsibility in the matter . Consider able development is shown when one is willing to ac knowledge responsibility for failure . Every teacher will recall the pleasure which w as felt when a pupil eagerly co—Operated in learning th e lessons t assigned, but probably remembers also wi h equal vivid th t t it sa to ness e discouragemen fel , when was neces ry t in dif force a lesson on a s ubborn child who , careless and

f r n t t n . e e , persis ed in idli g away his time In this world n o school many of us resemble such foolish children , and doubt that is one of th e reasons why mother Nature is th e obliged to administer a birching now and then , in

to . form of strenuous experience , make us learn Far t t greater happiness would be ours if , instead of hough th lessly letting the days slip by, we sought for e priceless t lessons they bring . Nothing happens by chance ; here t is a purpose , and an excellent purpose , in all hings and ur fin d t e fi events . O business is to hat purpos and pro t [ 78 ] THE SPLENDID GOAL

i ri by t ; if we do not, the expe ence is repeated again and

v n l . again , with minor ariations , u ti we do We make ourselves miserable oftentimes by clinging too tenaciously to our possessions and associations . ” % o l Transplanting is as g od for us as for seed ings, tersely

r . says M s. Besant The chief value of the attractive things of th e world is that they call forth eff orts in us

f t . to gain them , and e for s awaken the power to achieve t us Possessions are of abou as much intrinsic value to , t who are dea hless souls , as books and a Slate are to a l schoo boy . When they have accomplished their purpose there is no reason why they should not be discarded . The soul cannot use possessions in its own world where so consciousness is the one reality, and when on earth those things which we have gathered together are taken

us i - away from , it s wiser to turn bright eyed to whatever t else Nature has in s ore , than to complain and grieve and drum our heels upon the floor like angry children deprived of their toys . Though we can realize physi t th cally but lit le of e richer, fuller life of our soul con sciousn e ss in is the heaven world , our duty to be keenly alert to the meaning and purpose of everythin g which l l happens , in order that the sou within may gain c ear t pictures of the world withou , and in time master the V complexities of physical existence . erily the Masters t l rejoice to help hose who are wi ling to be taught . — E flicie n cy : The ability to work without waste of l t energy, oss of movement , or unnecessary fric ion , is one of the great ideals of our modern day, and is valuable equally to the aspirant for spiritual advancement as to f ffi the man of a fairs . E ciency implies concentration , the s t paying of clo e atten ion to everything we do, and is a faculty of much value as it stimulates a magnificent l ffi menta development . If we are practicing e ciency nothing should be done carelessly or hastily but with full t t at en ion , each action preceded by thought and guided [ 79 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

ffi - by judgment . E ciency has no place for slip shod meth ods or slovenly workmanship ; whatever is done , either t sweeping a room or managing a fac ory, inscribing a t t le ter or wri ing a book, should be done with all our might and all our skill . We should also be willing to fi th e t t pro t by experiences of o hers , and herefore make a point of reading carefully th e best which has been wri t te n a t act upon subjec before we or judge . How many mistakes and false opinions would be eliminated if this rule were followed % Those who seek th e Masters would t ffi do well to prac ice e ciency in all things . — Cour age : Those who take their evolution in hand to need courage , for destiny responds their appeal for t t progress , and the curren of life moves on more swif ly . ffi ul l t us ri out Many di c ties wi l confron , a sing of mistakes t a th t f r and wrong judgmen s we h ve made in e pas , and e t quen ly we shall falter and fail , for we are but human . t tt th e Failure in i self means li le , however, if we have t t t courage o go on again and again af er every se back , i thereby wr inging from each failure ts drop of wisdom . We must have high courage to play th e game of life well t to and with spiri , as becomes strong souls , and never i t t t . fear the fu ure , no matter wha may bring When we realize that our destiny is actually self t th e t th e caused , and hat sequence or arrangemen of chief events which come into our life is in th e charge of t omniscient Intelligences , we cas aside all apprehension t t and go bravely forward wi h head erect, knowing tha t t nothing can harm the inner Self , and ha all our des o us tt s n tiny can do is t deprive of our li le pos essio s , f ri cause us some temporary su fering, or st ke away our w e t physical body ; through it all pass unsca hed . and if n un th e v we have k owledge , shaken , for in us flames di ine

Fire . Our destiny is so wisely adjusted that nothing ever

to i w e ke e u c our a e . comes which is too much bear, f p p g THE SPLENDID GOAL

Many a man h as been overwhelmed physically and gone t l ri down to apparent defea , on y to rise t umphant and h t t t rejoicing on t e o her side of dea h , because of a deb t h ow th e well paid an d a victory won . No mat er hard tt fi t th e ba le goes , gh on , and above all never make mis take of thinking that suicide will make things easier and th e b ut bring forgetfulness . We may kill physical body t e we canno annihilate memory or remorse , and thos who have slain their bodies when courage failed found life h t t e t . harder on o her side Never give up , s ruggle on , t t even against heavy odds , for the Spiri wi hin is inde i l ri n ot struct b . e and impe shable , and knows defeat

Br oth r lin ss :— e e Many people , responding to the call t t e of bro herhood , have s art d out bravely to be of service to t t t t in dif heir fellow men , but mee ing wi h ingrati ude , t ference and misunders anding, have become discouraged , l t th disheartened and even bitter . Whereupon they e e ri world go on unaided , decla ng that brotherly service was an impossible ideal . Such experience is almost t at t t inevi able his s age of evolution , as all who serve t t will es ify , because humanity is undeveloped in so many b ut t ways , does not his very absence of responsive feel th e t t t ing on par of hose we seek to help , ell us, more t % plainly han before , that service is needed Ingratitude should only inspire more earnest e fiorts on our part if tt t our a i ude were right . ffi t is t t The di cul y , ha while we believe ourselves to be fi to e t fa in t wholly unsel sh in our desire serve , y a of fi sel shness has crept in , for all unconsciously we crave t t praise , recognition , gra i ude and even applause . Not t t receiving hese , we feel hur and disappointed . If we e s fi l ask were absolut ly un el sh we wou d not for thanks , th e th e but labor for sake of work , and because we love l our fe low men . L ove is the essence of brotherliness , and unless we feel l true affection for those about us , with all their fau ts [ 81 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

k e fior ts to v and wea nesses, our ser e will not long endure . too l There are many disappointments . But when we ove , it us t inspires in that s eady enthusiasm , emotional or t to t t men al according our emperamen , which we call t t it devo ion , and wi h devotion a man , w h even few tal ents , may be of great service to the world and may go too far toward the Masters . To him no service is small , no labor too arduous . He thinks of all around him as h i i s s s . brother , and that enough It is not without deep meaning that a Master prefers the name Brother above t t t l all o her ti les, and hat one who has reached this ofty height never even thinks of receiving praise or r e cogn i t t tion , because his service of humani y is perfec and e b e therefore utterly selfless . The Mast rs are j oyous yond all telling because they never think of themselves l b ut ever of the happiness of others . Shou d we not go and do likewise %

- In this marvelous world school , every one , strong to t enough possibly become a leader, is ested even as an important piece of machinery is tested in an engineering t laboratory . If the ests, which are those of daily life , O t t b ut are passed successfully, wider ppor uni ies arise , t if they are not passed , the candida e for leadership is placed among th e followers again for further in str uc se e t tion . Every day we men rise above heir fellows only — to fall back once more into Obscurity they were n ot t strong enough nor big enough to wield power . As Elber Hubbard says % The man who is worthy of being a leader of men will never complain of the stupidity of his th e helpers, of ingratitude of mankind , or of the inap preciation Of th e public . These things are all a part of the great game of life , and to meet them and not go down before them in discouragement and defeat, is the

fin al proof of power . rimin ation :— ll Disc There is a sense of values ca ed m l l us discri ination , which , when deve oped, enab es to [ 82 ]

THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

t s t we bid him en er and as ume command . A Mas er once % to said his pupil When your body wishes something , t t t ou it s op and hink whe her y really wish . For you are t i God , and you will only wha God w lls ; b ut you must t s to fin d th e t dig deep down in o your elf God wi hin you , ” t to is o ur . and lis en His voice , which y voice to fin d th e t b ut t t o tr If we yearn Mas ers , hesi a e t y t because of our many imperfec ions , we should realize t t t th e b b ut ha hey never ask impossi le , always allow t t for our mis akes and failings , for hey have not forgot t n t t t too l e ha long ago hey were as frail as we . Tru y t th e t om hey have been called Mas ers of Wisdom and C tr ust t tt t t passion , and we may hem u erly, for heir grea its love and guiding care is divine in splendor and power . Words alone do n ot attract their attention ; they judge fit s s t of our ne s for special a sis ance by our deeds , and n t ot . ta by our appeals , however eloquen Social s nding n t us t does o help , blue blood is of no avail , weal h and t t th e t n ot possessions canno assis , for Mas ers do judge h ur t by th e standards of t e world . O advancemen

t t - t depends en irely upon our charac er, our self mas ery , t th e use to which we have put our talen s . If we have t fi used our facul ies for sel sh gain and pleasure , if our t thoughts are unregulated and our emo ions impure , h But Obviously we are not y e t ready for t e Master . if t t th e fit t we have used our alen s for bene of o hers , and have at least partially succeeded in controlling our fi t t th e t thoughts and re ning our emo ions , hen Mas er knows us in th e invisible worlds though we may not as t t t to yet know him . If we are in earnes our nex s ep is ll t th e t it learn a we can abou Pa h , as is called in Theos o h t t p y , and delibera ely to commence and s eadily con in t t t S O t ue tha raining of mind , emo ions and body, 1 necessary to success . ” 1 See A Course of Reading in Theosophy at th e end of this um vol e . [ 84 ] THE SPLENDID GOAL

Sometimes people believe that they can serve human i t t ty only by giving up all family ies , business obliga ions s t t s t to t and dutie , and devo ing hem elves en irely altruis ic r I f r e e to and other benevolent w o k . we are f do such av i b ut work , we , of course , h e cause for rejoic ng , if we have already taken upon ours e lves duties and obliga t t t fi t th e th e ions, hese responsibili ies come rs in eyes of ’ s s t Masters . To Shirk one re ponsibili ies is always a so to r blunder, and if we do in order se ve , such service n o o h L t th e does t lead us t t e splendid goal . is en to words a Master spoke to one who followed him B e tr to ta cause you y ke up higher work , you must not t t t t forge your ordinary du ies , for un il hey are done you n o t You are t free for o her service . should undertake no new worldly duties ; b ut those which you have already t t t fulfil— aken upon you , you mus perfec ly all clear an d a t u re sonable du ies which you yo rself recognize , t n ot t t tr to hat is , imaginary du ies which o hers y impose upon . you . All good work becomes service when done for the sake t it tt t t t of o hers , and does not ma er whe her ha work a ffi t a lies in business o ce , in a school , in a fac ory or in It is n o t t t . t t t t home wha we do ha cons i u es service , it it— n s lfish n ss is why we do for self or for others . U e e and forgetfulness of self are priceless qualifications in th e higher life . t t to t to In exac propor ion our abili y help , encourage and in spire others will be the swiftness of our approach to t t t t t Ini ia ion , and hose who are wise rain hemselves l — carefu ly along some special line of service teaching , t t t o wri ing , speaking , ar is ic power , or skill in s me useful

' — so th at th e th t t ask way y may go to e Mas er, when hey h is a t n t n th e ssis ance , beari g in heir ha ds , as did wise

t . t n ot men of old , some gif of value The Mas er does n an d b ut ff need ince se gold , he does prize our o erings t r to t if hey are of se vice humani y , for he has dedicated [ 85 ] THEOSOPHY SIMPLIFIED

the whole of his mighty powers to service , and if we would reach him and Share in his j oy, we must follow h is t as l in foo steps , and apprentices, strive to become ike t un o him . Great shall be our happiness if we lay the gifts of a trained mind , pure emotions and Skilled hands th r v l upon e altar of se ice , and in the midst of daily ife th bring e calm strength , the sweet serenity, the radiant joyousness of spiritual consecration .

[ 86 ] A COURSE OF READING IN THEOSOPHY

There are about 45 0 titles in th e catalogue issued by th e im k t it u Theosophical Boo Concern ; herefore , is obvio sly possible for one commencing th e study of Theosophy to select th e books h I best adapted to give a comprehensive idea of t e subj ect. t is for th e purpose of guiding th e reader in his choice that th e follow

t t t . t ing i les are men ioned They have been carefully selec ed, and may be safely ordered by any one desiring to become acquainte d to th e with Theosophy . All orders should be addressed Theosophical k K r oton a w Boo Concern, , Holly ood, Los Angeles, California .

Ge n e r al w r ks c ve r in the e n tir e e ld o Th e s h a r an e d o , o g fi f o op y, r g in r a d r r r l mn tar t r a n m : de o de me e e o e dva ce d g f o y o Price Postage

THEOSOPHY FOR BEGINNERS . By C . W . t 0 6 . 06 Chris ie .

tt b ut O t t Wri en for children, f en apprecia ed by t heir elders .

AN OUTLINE OF THEOSOPHY . By C . W . Lead beater A popular summary written with th at wonderful t l th i s clari y so pecu iarly e gift of t author .

POPULAR LECTURES ON THEOSOPHY . By t 25 Annie Besan Paper . 5 0 Cloth . Chapter Titles : What Is Theosophy Ladder of t I ts Lives ; Reincarna ion, Necessity ; Reincarna t I ts to ’ ion , Answers Life s Problems ; Law of ’ Action and Reaction ; Man s Life in th e Three

Worlds .

SOME GLIMPSES OF OCCULTISM . By C . W Leadbeater A large volume containing a series of lectures

delivered in Chicago . A few of th e chapte r titles : t t are Theosophy and Chris iani y , Ancient Mys te r ie s , Buddhism , The Unseen World , Psychic to t Powers, How Build Charac er , The Future t t of Humani y, e c . [ 87 ] A COURSE OF READING IN THEOSOPHY

Price Postage H H T EOSOP Y SIMPLIFIED By Irving S . 2 Cooper Paper . 5

A new outline of theosophical teachin gs marked its t t - of t t by simplici y and direc ness s a ement. Recommended to beginners and to teachers of t elemen ary classes .

. t 25 THE RIDDLE OF LIFE By Annie Besan . Paper

A noteworthy exposition of th e truths of Th e so te z t phy, charac ri ed by beau y of language and t t dep h of thought. Illus rated by four colored

plates .

HI S MAN AND BODIES . By Annie Besant

th e t Describes na ure , appearance and function th e n of visible a d invisible bodies of man . A t t t k s andard ex boo in elementary classes .

% K H A TE TBOO OF THEOSOP Y . By C . W . Leadbeater

A clear and adequate statement of th e position t and fundamental eachings of Theosophy .

t THE ANCIENT WISDOM . By Annie Besan

Beyond doubt th e fullest and most illuminative t t presentation of Theosophy . A standard ex k in boo advanced classes .

Wor ks c on tain ing th e r e sults of Th e osophical in v e stigation

Price Postage

METHODS OF PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT . By 5 04 0 . Irv ing S . Cooper . .

t t t th e t A plain s a emen of fundamen al laws ,

practices and results of psychic development. Special stress is laid upon th e danger of sev k eral popular methods of awa ening psychism . H THEOSOPHY AND THE NEW PSYC OLOGY . By Annie Besant A helpful explanation of th e difference between h k s t e subconsciousness , wa ing consciou ness and - to t super consciousness . Recommended hose t who have been studying New Though . A COURSE OF READING IN THEOSOPHY

Price Po stage

H o. w . THE L IFE AFTER DEAT . By Lead 25 Paper .

mt t ob e fin ite t te A fl s a en , based upon ac ual t t t servation and inves iga ion , of wha happens

t t t t . after dea h . Illus ra ed by colored pla es

t . TO THOSE W HO MOURN . By C . W . Leadbea er Pamphlet Six for Written to give comfort to those who have t lost loved ones by dea h . H THE OTHER SIDE OF DEAT . By C . W . Lead beater A full account of th e life after death with many illustrative incidents taken from th e author ’ s own experiences or drawn from well

authenticated sources .

t . DREAMS . By C . W . Leadbea er t I t What hey are and how they are caused . is n ot an interpretation of dreams b ut is a t t scientific s udy of heir sources and mechanism .

t . . CLAIR VOYANCE . By C . W . Leadbea er

Contents : What Clairvoyance Is ; Simple Clair t voyance, Par ial and Full ; Clairvoyance in t t t t Space , In en ional and Unin en ional ; Clair th e t th voyance in Time , Pas and e Future ; t t Me hods of Developmen .

MAN VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE . By C . W Leadbeater

A fascinating description of th e origin and t the t 26 evolu ion of soul, wi h colored plates il t t th e ff t t lus ra ing di eren ypes of auras . H H . t T OUG T FORMS By Annie Besan and C . W Leadbeater t t A de ailed descrip ion , based on clairvoyant t t th e inves iga ion , of forms built by emotions

- t t . t 3 0 and hough s Wi h full page color plates .

THE ASTRAL PLANE . By C . W . Leadbeater .

t t th e A scien ific accoun of scenery, inhabitants th e t and phenomena of emo ional world . A COURSE OF READING IN THEOSOPHY

Price Postage THE DE VACHAN I C PLANE . By C . W . Lead beater A detailed description of th e mental or heaven

world . t INVISIBLE HELPERS . By C . W . Leadbea er . An absorbing account of th e work done in th e % ” astral world to help th e living and th e dead f t who are in di ficulties . There is a chap er on th e qualifications required of those who desire to t k t t k a e par in his wor . K t A STUDY IN ARMA . By Annie Besan

th e t A clear analysis of laws of des iny , which n o k h t should t be overloo ed by t e s udent . THE H HIDDEN SIDE OF T INGS . By C . W . Lead beater

. . t Two large volumes Vol . I Occul ism ; How We I n flue n ce — b t t Are d y Plane s, Sun , Na ural Sur t t t t roundings, Na ure Spiri s , Cen ers of Magne

ism, Ceremonies , Sounds, Public Opinion , Occa sion al t tt t Even s, Unseen Beings ; Our A i ude fl Toward These In uences . Vol . II . How We fl — b t t In uence Ourselves y our Habi s, Men al fl ti t . Condi ons, Amusemen s How We In uence t — b t t k O hers y Wha We Are, Wha We Thin , t t t t Wha We Do, Collec ive Though s ; Our Rela ion to t to th e K Children, Our Rela ion Lower ing K doms ; The Results of This nowledge . ( Vol n umes ot sold separately . ) H T E . . . . t INNER LIFE , Vol I By C W Leadbea er

I n ‘ Fiv e t t th e t R e Sec ions dealing wi h Mas ers, li ion s th e tt t g , Theosophical A i ude , Higher

h e . th e t t to th e Planes, t Ego Of grea es value

student .

H . . t T E . . INNER LIF E , Vol II By C W Leadbea er

t t th e t t In Nine Sec ions , dealing wi h Af er Dea h t k t t Life , As ral Wor , Angels and Na ure Spiri s , th th e e Worlds and Races of Men , Theosophical k Society and I ts Founders . An invaluable wor . H H : H HOW . MAN W ENCE , AND W IT ER By t Annie Besant and C . W . Leadbea er A comprehensive survey of th e past and future history of mankind obtained by clairvoyant in

v i i n th e t t. e st gat o . For advanced s uden [ 90 ]

A COURSE OF READING IN THEOSOPHY

Price Postage t 1 0 INNER LIFE , Vol . I . By C . W . Leadbea er The First Section of this volume should be studied by those desiring clear ideas regarding h k t e Masters and their wor .

HI Jin ar a adasa IN S NAME . By C . j Paper Cloth Leather An inspiring treatise on th e higher life ap r a h h p o c e d from t e standpoint of applied ideals . H AT THE FEET O F T E M A S T E R . By JK . rishnamurti Paper Cloth Leather t t t Minia ure Edi ion, Lea her

Written down by a young disciple of th e Mas te r K H th e te t to . . Of grea s value all who seek to live th e Higher Life in th e midst of th e

world .

THE . SECRET OF HAPPINESS . By Irving S Cooper h The practical application of t e ideal of service . 1 90 t LONDON LECTURES OF 7 . By Annie Besan t t In four par s , dealing wi h Psychism and Spir itualit th e t th e t y, Fu ure of Theosophical Socie y, th e t th e t th e Theosophical Socie y and Mas ers, h Field of Work of t e Theosophical Society .

THE t . CHANGING WORLD . By Annie Besan A series of fifteen magnificent lectures dealing with social conditions and th e coming changes h r in t e established orde . The Coming of a

Great Teacher is announced .

Works r e lating to Th e osophy an d Ch r istianity Price Postage - H r I S THEOSOPHY ANTI CHRISTIAN % By G. e 25 0 3 bert Whyte . . . s . An excellent treatment of th e Theosophical

attitude toward Christianity . H t . ESOTERIC C RISTIANITY . By Annie Besan One of th e most beautiful and inspiring of all ’ h t t . Mrs . Besan s wri ings Of t e greatest value l h to Christian as wel as Theosop ist. [ 92 ] Age of soul Duplication of objects Analysis of aura Duties domt n i n t Wis A c e , quo ed f Angels or devas E ficiency Animals Electrons and atoms t Astral body ( see Emotional Emo ional body body) response of t Astral world ( see Emotional Emo ional worl world) consciousness in t A toms and electrons popula ion of Ether Aura , The Etheric Double Brotherliness Evolution Brothers ( see Masters) Experience meeting 29 3 1 3 2 Causal or soul body . . , 5 Chance and destiny 5 8 1 3 0 11 1131 6 8 0 30 3 1 t . Colors in sub le bodies , Fl m 74 Coming Teacher, The . . y g, dreams of t t Conditions after death 3 9 Forms, hough Consciousness in emotional Freewi ll world 34 3 5 ie n ius k 35 G Consciousness, wa ing t Contrasts 7 6 God and des iny 8 0 and universe Courage J t t o 6 5 us ice of Crea ion , j y in Crookes Sir William 22 Grief, wrong of , Growth of soul 3 t n ot addition Death 7 e se q . Definition of 1 7 Happiness 6 5 Densities of matter 26 Heaven world 25 43 iv ti f 1 7 Der a on o H t 5 3 5 5 eredi y de Rochas H a t t 2 ubb rd, Elber , quo ed 8 t 5 t e Des iny 6 e s q . Humanity and Masters and chance 5 8 and God Ideals and civilization 73 5 9 6 0 6 1 and Law , , Initiation 71 72 Devas or angels 27 t u t Inna e fac l ies O 0 6 2 Discrimination 8 2 Interval between lives 49 5 0 k , t . 47 Disli e for reincarna ion . . 20 e t se Invisible worlds q . Dreams 3 5 fl 40 J t 5 1 5 2 Dreams of ying us ice of God ,

[ 93 1 PAGE PAGE

t 5 9 e t se . t Law and des iny q Repeti ion, principle of 8 t . 23 n ot . 1 Laws of emo ional world Revelation, Theosophy of nature 60 h ilos0 h ic 49 5 0 Schools, p p t t . . Lives, in erval be ween Logic of reincarnation 48 Science Service

1 6 25 27 71 - 76 Sleep Maste rs , , , Soul age attracting attention Of 84 body t t 2 6 . Ma ter, densi ies of c on sc1 ousn e ss

t . . 54 5 5 Memory of o her lives , th of soul 6 0 grow of in h 29 3 0 eaven Mental body , world 25 memory of origin of Misconceptions of r e in car Sources of Theosophy nation t t Spheres Mys eries, ancien Splendid goal i Origin of soul Symbol sm Teachableness 78 t h e 74 Perfec ion Teacher , t coming PhiIOS Oph ic schools Telepathy 3 2 3 3 Physical heredity Theosophical Society 75 Population of emotional Theosophy and religion 1 1 -1 2 24 25 1 7 world , definition of

t t . . 1 3 1 4 1 7 Principle of repe i ion , derivation of 22 n ot revelation 1 8 Providence 5 1 sources of 9 Psychic investigation 1 5 Thought forms 3 3 waves 3 2 Transformations 6 9 orlds 6 6 6 7 ggfizgingiigl Universe and God arguments for di slike of logic of Waking consciousness 3 5 i t t 3 2 m sconcep ions of Waves , hought t 23 necessi y for Will, power of hi 3 t Relations p between Work of Masters 7 e se q .

23 25 20 e t se . worlds , Worlds, invisible q 1 0 1 2 t 22 Religion and Theosophy . , reali y of

28 t h t . 23 25 Renaissance rela ions ip be ween ,

[ 94 ]