THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY BEING A CLEAR EXPOSITION, IN THE FORM OF QUESTION AND ANSWER, OF THE ETHICS, SCIENCE, AND PHILOSOPHY FOR THE STUDY OF WHICH THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY HAS BEEN FOUNDED BY H. P. BLAVATSKY ――――― Copyright©2006 Theosophy Trust Easy‐Read® Format by Theosophy Trust ʺ Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1889, by H.P.Blavatsky in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D.C.ʺ Dedicated by ʺH. P. B.ʺ To all her Pupils that They may Learn and Teach in their turn CONTENTS PREFACE...................................................................................................................................vii SECTION I THEOSOPHY AND THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY..........................................................1 The Meaning of the Name ...........................................................................................................1 The Policy of the Theosophical Society......................................................................................3 The Wisdom Religion Esoteric in All Ages ...............................................................................4 Theosophy Is Not Buddhism ......................................................................................................7 SECTION II EXOTERIC AND ESOTERIC THEOSOPHY.............................................................................9 What the Modern Theosophical Society Is Not........................................................................9 Theosophists and Members of the “T.S.” ................................................................................12 The Difference Between Theosophy and Occultism..............................................................15 The Difference Between Theosophy and Spiritualism. .........................................................16 Why Is Theosophy Accepted?...................................................................................................20 SECTION III THE WORKING SYSTEM OF THE T. S. .................................................................................23 The Objects of the Society ..........................................................................................................23 The Common Origin of Man.....................................................................................................24 Our Other Objects .......................................................................................................................27 On the Sacredness of the Pledge...............................................................................................28 SECTION IV THE RELATIONS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY TO THEOSOPHY....................30 On Self‐Improvement.................................................................................................................30 The Abstract and the Concrete..................................................................................................32 SECTION V THE FUNDAMENTAL TEACHINGS OF THEOSOPHY ....................................................35 On God and Prayer.....................................................................................................................35 Is It Necessary to Pray? ..............................................................................................................38 Prayer Kills Self‐Reliance...........................................................................................................41 On the Source of the Human Soul............................................................................................43 The Buddhist Teachings on the Above....................................................................................44 SECTION VI THEOSOPHICAL TEACHINGS AS TO NATURE AND MAN..........................................47 The Unity of All in All................................................................................................................47 Evolution and Illusion................................................................................................................48 On the Septenary Constitution of Our Planet.........................................................................50 The Septenary Nature of Man...................................................................................................51 The Distinction Between Soul and Spirit.................................................................................53 The Greek Teachings ..................................................................................................................55 SECTION VII ON THE VARIOUS POST MORTEM STATES ......................................................................58 The Physical and the Spiritual Man .........................................................................................58 On Eternal Reward and Punishment, and on Nirvana. ........................................................62 On the Various ʺPrinciplesʺ in Man. ........................................................................................66 SECTION VIII ON RE‐INCARNATION OR RE‐BIRTH .................................................................................70 What Is Memory According to Theosophical Teaching?......................................................70 Why Do We Not Remember Our Past Lives?.........................................................................72 On Individuality and Personality.............................................................................................76 On the Reward and Punishment of the Ego. ..........................................................................78 SECTION IX ON THE KAMA‐LOKA AND DEVACHAN .........................................................................81 On the Fate of the Lower ʺPrinciplesʺ......................................................................................81 Why Theosophists Do Not Believe in the Return of Pure ʺSpiritsʺ .....................................82 A Few Words About the Skandhas. .........................................................................................87 On Post Mortem and Post‐Natal Consciousness....................................................................88 What Is Really Meant by Annihilation. ...................................................................................91 Definite Words for Definite Things..........................................................................................96 SECTION X ON THE NATURE OF OUR THINKING PRINCIPLE .......................................................100 The Mystery of the Ego. ...........................................................................................................100 The Complex Nature of Manas...............................................................................................103 The Doctrine Is Taught in St Johnʹs Gospel...........................................................................105 SECTION XI ON THE MYSTERIES OF RE‐INCARNATION...................................................................111 Periodical Re‐Births ..................................................................................................................111 What Is Karma? .........................................................................................................................113 Who Are Those Who Know?...................................................................................................123 The Difference Between Faith and Knowledge, or Blind and Reasoned Faith................124 Has God the Right to Forgive?................................................................................................127 SECTION XII WHAT IS PRACTICAL THEOSOPHY? ................................................................................130 Duty ............................................................................................................................................130 The Relations of the T. S. to Political Reforms. .....................................................................132 On Self‐Sacrifice. .......................................................................................................................135 On Charity..................................................................................................................................138 Theosophy for the Masses. ......................................................................................................140 How Members Can Help the Society.....................................................................................141 What a Theosophist Ought Not To Do. .................................................................................142 SECTION XIII On the Misconceptions About the Theosophical Society....................................................147 Theosophy and Asceticism......................................................................................................147 Theosophy and Marriage.........................................................................................................149 Theosophy and Education.......................................................................................................150 Why, Then, Is There So Much Prejudice Against the T. S.?................................................154 Is the Theosophical Society a Money‐Making Concern? ....................................................159 The Working Staff of the T. S.