The Key to Theosophy
GA 41b
H. P. Blavatsky
[adapted from the online text provided by the Theosophical Society, Pasadena
IV. The Relations of the Theosophical Society to Theosophy
On Self-Improvement
Enq. Is moral elevation, then, the principal thing insisted upon in your Society?
Theo. Undoubtedly! He who would be a true Theosophist must bring himself to live as one.
Enq. If so, then, as I remarked before, the behaviour of some members strangely belies this fundamental rule.
Theo. Indeed it does. But this cannot be helped among us, any more than amongst those who call themselves Christians and act like fiends. This is no fault of our statutes and rules, but that of human nature. Even in some exoteric public branches, the members pledge themselves on their "Higher Self" to live the life prescribed by Theosophy. They have to bring their Divine Self to guide their every thought and action, every day and at every moment of their lives. A true Theosophist ought "to deal justly and walk humbly."
Enq. What do you mean by this?
Theo. Simply this: the one self has to forget itself for the many selves. Let me answer you in the words of a true Philaletheian, an F. T. S., who has beautifully expressed it in the Theosophist: "What every man needs first is to find himself, and then take an honest inventory of his subjective possessions, and, bad or bankrupt as it may be, it is not beyond redemption if we set about it in earnest." But how many do? All are willing to work for their own development and progress; very few for those of others. To quote the same writer again: "Men have been deceived and deluded long enough; they must break their idols, put away their shams, and go to work for themselves — nay, there is one little word too much or too many, for he who works for himself had better not work at all; rather let him work himself for others, for all. For every flower of love and charity he plants in his neighbour's garden, a loathsome weed will disappear from his own, and so this garden of the gods — Humanity — shall blossom as a rose. In all Bibles, all religions, this is plainly set forth — but designing men have at first misinterpreted and finally emasculated, materialised, besotted them. It does not require a new revelation. Let every man be a revelation unto himself. Let once man's immortal spirit take possession of the temple of his body, drive out the money-changers and every unclean thing, and his own divine humanity will redeem him, for when he is thus at one with himself he will know the 'builder of the Temple.'"
ENQUIRER. This is pure Altruism, I confess.
THEOSOPHIST. It is. And if only one Fellow of the T. S. out of ten would practise it ours would be a body of elect indeed. But there are those among the outsiders who will always refuse to see the essential difference between Theosophy and the Theosophical Society, the idea and its imperfect embodiment. Such would visit every sin and shortcoming of the vehicle, the human body, on the pure spirit which sheds thereon its divine light. Is this just to either? They throw stones at an association that tries to work up to, and for the propagation of, its ideal with most tremendous odds against it. Some vilify the Theosophical Society only because it presumes to attempt to do that in which other systems — Church and State Christianity pre-eminently — have failed most egregiously; others because they would fain preserve the existing state of things: Pharisees and Sadducees in the seat of Moses, and publicans and sinners revelling in high places, as under the Roman Empire during its decadence. Fair-minded people, at any rate, ought to remember that the man who does all he can, does as much as he who has achieved the most, in this world of relative possibilities. This is a simple truism, an axiom supported for believers in the Gospels by the parable of the talents given by their Master: the servant who doubled his two talents was rewarded as much as that other fellow-servant who had received five. To every man it is given "according to his several ability."
ENQUIRER. Yet it is rather difficult to draw the line of demarcation between the abstract and the concrete in this case, as we have only the latter to form our judgment by.
THEOSOPHIST. Then why make an exception for the T. S.? Justice, like charity, ought to begin at home. Will you revile and scoff at the "Sermon on the Mount" because your social, political and even religious laws have, so far, not only failed to carry out its precepts in their spirit, but even in their dead letter? Abolish the oath in Courts, Parliament, Army and everywhere, and do as the Quakers do, if you will call yourselves Christians. Abolish the Courts themselves, for if you would follow the Commandments of Christ, you have to give away your coat to him who deprives you of your cloak, and turn your left cheek to the bully who smites you on the right. "Resist not evil, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you," for "whosoever shall break one of the least of these Commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven," and "whosoever shall say 'Thou fool' shall be in danger of hell fire." And why should you judge, if you would not be judged in your turn? Insist that between Theosophy and the Theosophical Society there is no difference, and forthwith you lay the system of Christianity and its very essence open to the same charges, only in a more serious form.
ENQUIRER. Why more serious?
THEOSOPHIST. Because, while the leaders of the Theosophical movement, recognising fully their shortcomings, try all they can do to amend their ways and uproot the evil existing in the Society; and while their rules and bye-laws are framed in the spirit of Theosophy, the Legislators and the Churches of nations and countries which call themselves Christian do the reverse. Our members, even the worst among them, are no worse than the average Christian. Moreover, if the Western Theosophists experience so much difficulty in leading the true Theosophical life, it is because they are all the children of their generation. Every one of them was a Christian, bred and brought up in the sophistry of his Church, his social customs, and even his paradoxical laws. He was this before he became a Theosophist, or rather, a member of the Society of that name, as it cannot be too often repeated that between the abstract ideal and its vehicle there is a most important difference.
The Abstract and the Concrete
ENQUIRER. Please elucidate this difference a little more.
THEOSOPHIST. The Society is a great body of men and women, composed of the most heterogeneous elements. Theosophy, in its abstract meaning, is Divine Wisdom, or the aggregate of the knowledge and wisdom that underlie the Universe — the homogeneity of eternal GOOD; and in its concrete sense it is the sum total of the same as allotted to man by nature, on this earth, and no more. Some members earnestly endeavour to realize and, so to speak, to objectivize Theosophy in their lives; while others desire only to know of, not to practise it; and others still may have joined the Society merely out of curiosity, or a passing interest, or perhaps, again, because some of their friends belong to it. How, then, can the system be judged by the standard of those who would assume the name without any right to it? Is poetry or its muse to be measured only by those would-be poets who afflict our ears? The Society can be regarded as the embodiment of Theosophy only in its abstract motives; it can never presume to call itself its concrete vehicle so long as human imperfections and weaknesses are all represented in its body; otherwise the Society would be only repeating the great error and the outflowing sacrileges of the so-called Churches of Christ. If Eastern comparisons may be permitted, Theosophy is the shoreless ocean of universal truth, love, and wisdom, reflecting its radiance on the earth, while the Theosophical Society is only a visible bubble on that reflection. Theosophy is divine nature, visible and invisible, and its Society human nature trying to ascend to its divine parent. Theosophy, finally, is the fixed eternal sun, and its Society the evanescent comet trying to settle in an orbit to become a planet, ever revolving within the attraction of the sun of truth. It was formed to assist in showing to men that such a thing as Theosophy exists, and to help them to ascend towards it by studying and assimilating its eternal verities.
ENQUIRER. I thought you said you had no tenets or doctrines of your own?
THEOSOPHIST. No more we have. The Society has no wisdom of its own to support or teach. It is simply the storehouse of all the truths uttered by the great seers, initiates, and prophets of historic and even pre-historic ages; at least, as many as it can get. Therefore, it is merely the channel through which more or less of truth, found in the accumulated utterances of humanity's great teachers, is poured out into the world.
ENQUIRER. But is such truth unreachable outside of the society? Does not every Church claim the same?
THEOSOPHIST. Not at all. The undeniable existence of great initiates — true "Sons of God" — shows that such wisdom was often reached by isolated individuals, never, however, without the guidance of a master at first. But most of the followers of such, when they became masters in their turn, have dwarfed the catholicism of these teachings into the narrow groove of their own sectarian dogmas. The commandments of a chosen master alone were then adopted and followed, to the exclusion of all others — if followed at all, note well, as in the case of the Sermon on the Mount. Each religion is thus a bit of the divine truth, made to focus a vast panorama of human fancy which claimed to represent and replace that truth.
ENQUIRER. But Theosophy, you say, is not a religion?
THEOSOPHIST. Most assuredly it is not, since it is the essence of all religion and of absolute truth, a drop of which only underlies every creed. To resort once more to metaphor. Theosophy, on earth, is like the white ray of the spectrum, and every religion only one of the seven prismatic colours. Ignoring all the others, and cursing them as false, every special coloured ray claims not only priority, but to be that white ray itself, and anathematizes even its own tints from light to dark, as heresies. Yet, as the sun of truth rises higher and higher on the horizon of man's perception, and each coloured ray gradually fades out until it is finally re-absorbed in its turn, humanity will at last be cursed no longer with artificial polarizations, but will find itself bathing in the pure colourless sunlight of eternal truth. And this will be Theosophia.
ENQUIRER. Your claim is, then, that all the great religions are derived from Theosophy, and that it is by assimilating it that the world will be finally saved from the curse of its great illusions and errors?
THEOSOPHIST. Precisely so. And we add that our Theosophical Society is the humble seed which, if watered and left to live, will finally produce the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil which is grafted on the Tree of Life Eternal. For it is only by studying the various great religions and philosophies of humanity, by comparing them dispassionately and with an unbiased mind, that men can hope to arrive at the truth. It is especially by finding out and noting their various points of agreement that we may achieve this result. For no sooner do we arrive — either by study, or by being taught by someone who knows — at their inner meaning, than we find, almost in every case, that it expresses some great truth in Nature.
ENQUIRER. We have heard of a Golden Age that was, and what you describe would be a Golden Age to be realised at some future day. When shall it be?
THEOSOPHIST. Not before humanity, as a whole, feels the need of it. A maxim in the Persian "Javidan Khirad" says: "Truth is of two kinds — one manifest and self-evident; the other demanding incessantly new demonstrations and proofs." It is only when this latter kind of truth becomes as universally obvious as it is now dim, and therefore liable to be distorted by sophistry and casuistry; it is only when the two kinds will have become once more one, that all people will be brought to see alike.
ENQUIRER. But surely those few who have felt the need of such truths must have made up their minds to believe in something definite? You tell me that, the Society having no doctrines of its own, every member may believe as he chooses and accept what he pleases. This looks as if the Theosophical Society was bent upon reviving the confusion of languages and beliefs of the Tower of Babel of old. Have you no beliefs in common?
THEOSOPHIST. What is meant by the Society having no tenets or doctrines of its own is, that no special doctrines or beliefs are obligatory on its members; but, of course, this applies only to the body as a whole. The Society, as you were told, is divided into an outer and an inner body. Those who belong to the latter have, of course, a philosophy, or — if you so prefer it — a religious system of their own.
ENQUIRER. May we be told what it is?
THEOSOPHIST. We make no secret of it. It was outlined a few years ago in the Theosophist and "Esoteric Buddhism," and may be found still more elaborated in the "Secret Doctrine." It is based on the oldest philosophy of the world, called the Wisdom-Religion or the Archaic Doctrine. If you like, you may ask questions and have them explained.
Rudolf Steiner's Translation into German
IV. Das Verhältnis der «Theosophischen Gesellschaft» zur Theosophie
Über die Selbstentwicklung
Frag.: Ist also die moralische Vervollkommnung das wichtigste unter den Zielen der Gesellschaft?
Theos.: Zweifellos! Wer wirklich Theosoph sein will, muss als ein solcher leben.
Frag.: Falls dies der Fall ist, dann straft, wie schon gesagt worden ist, das Verhalten einiger Mitglieder, diese Grundregel Lügen. Theos.: Das ist gewiss. Aber dem kann von der Gesellschaft ebenso wenig abgeholfen werden wie von Seite der christlichen Gemeinschaft dem, dass sich einige Christen nennen und doch wie Feinde sich betragen. Damit ist nicht ein Fehler von Statuten und Regeln, sondern lediglich ein solcher der Menschennatur gekennzeichnet. Selbst in einigen exoterischen, öffentlichen Zweigvereinigungen verpflichten sich die Mitglieder bei ihrem «höhern Selbst» das Leben zu vollbringen, welches durch die Theosophie vorgeschrieben wird. Sie sollten ihr «göttliches Selbst» zum Führer jedes Gedankens und einer jeden Handlung an jedem Tage und in jedem Augenblicke ihres Lebens machen. Ein wahrer Theosoph sollte «gerecht handeln und demütig denken.»
Frag.: Was ist damit gemeint?
Theos.: Einfach dieses: Das eine «Selbst» hat sich für die «vielen Selbst» zu vergessen. Es soll hier geantwortet werden mit den Worten eines echten Wahrheitsuchers, eines Mitgliedes der Gesellschaft, die sich im «Theosophist» finden: «Zuerst ist für einen jeden notwendig, dass er sich selbst finde, dann, dass er ein ehrliches Verzeichnis seiner persönlichen Besitztümer aufstelle, und, wie schlecht oder verschuldet er auch sein mag, die Befreiung kann nie unerreichbar sein, wenn man sie ernstlich anstrebt.» — aber wie viele tun dies? Alle sind geneigt, für die eigene Entwicklung und Vervollkommnung zu arbeiten; sehr wenige aber tun es für andere. Derselbe Schriftsteller sagt weiter: «Die Leute sind lange genug getäuscht und betrogen worden; sie müssen ihre Ideale zerbrechen, die Täuschungen beseitigen, und für sich selbst arbeiten — doch, dabei ist ein kleines Wort zu viel; denn wer nur für sich arbeitet, täte besser daran, gar nichts zu arbeiten; richtiger ist für die andern, für Alle zu arbeiten. Denn eine jegliche Blüte der Liebe und Güte, die er in seines Nachbarn Garten pflanzt, wird ein böses Unkraut aus seinem eigenen verschwinden lassen, und so wird dieser göttliche Garten — derjenige der ‹Menschheit› — eine Blume werden gleich einer Rose. In allen Bibeln, in allen Religionen wird dies schlicht auseinandergesetzt, aber missleitete Menschen haben es erst missverstanden, und zuletzt abgeschwächt; materialisiert, verdummt. Es ist gar nicht eine neue Offenbarung notwendig. Es sollte nur ein jeglicher Mensch sich selbst Offenbarung sein. Sobald des Menschen unsterblicher Geist von dem Tempel seines Körpers Besitz ergreift, und aus diesem die Wechsler und alles Unreine austreibt, dann wird das eigene göttliche Menschentum ihn erlösen; denn wenn er in dieser Art eins geworden ist mit sich selbst, so wird er den «Baumeister des Tempels erkennen.»
Frag.: Es muss zugestanden werden, dass dies volle Selbstlosigkeit ist.
Theos.: So ist es. Und sobald nur eines von zehn Mitgliedern der Gesellschaft so verfährt, diese würde eine solche von Auserwählten sein. Aber unter den Außenstehenden sind solche, welche stets versäumen den wirklichen Unterschied zu sehen zwischen der Theosophie und der «Theosophischen Gesellschaft», zwischen der Idee und deren unvollkommener Verkörperung. Solche werden auch jedes Vergehen und jede Unvollkommenheit des Gefäßes, nämlich des menschlichen Körpers, dem reinen Geiste zuschreiben, der darin sein göttliches Licht entfaltet. Ist dies richtig? Sie werfen Steine auf eine Vereinigung, die versucht auf alle Weise ihr Ideal zu verwirklichen trotz der hemmenden Einflüsse, die gegen sie wirken. Einige setzen die Theosophische Gesellschaft herab bloß deswegen, weil sie sich bemüht dasjenige zu erreichen, worin andere Bestrebungen — vorzugsweise das kirchliche und staatliche Christentum — vollkommen gescheitert sind; noch andere tun desgleichen, weil es ihnen nur um die Erhaltung des bestehenden Zustandes zu tun ist. So machen es die Sadduzäer und Pharisäer in Moses’ Stuhl, die Zöllner und die Sünder, die sich in ihren hohen Stellungen breit machen gerade wie beim Untergang des römischen Reiches. Edel denkende Menschen sollten doch aber dessen eingedenk sein, dass der Mensch, der tut, was in seinen Kräften liegt, eben so viel leistet wie derjenige, welcher das meiste erreicht hat in dieser Welt der relativen Möglichkeiten. Das ist eine einfache Wahrheit, ein Grundprinzip, die eine Stütze findet für alle, welche an das Evangelium glauben, in der Parabel von den Talenten, welche der Meister gibt; von dem Diener, welcher daran zweifelt, dass ihm die zwei Talente ebenso wohl zukämen wie dem Mit-Diener die seinigen, der fünf erhalten hatte. Einem jeden ist gegeben «im Einklang mit dem, was er kann.»
Frag.: Doch ist es schwierig, in diesem Falle die Scheidelinie zwischen dem Abstrakten und dem Konkreten zu ziehen, da nur das letztere für uns sichtbar wird, um unser Urteil zu bestimmen.
Theos.: Aber warum macht man gerade für die Theosophische Gesellschaft darin eine Ausnahme? Gerechtigkeit sollte, wie Güte, im eigenen Hause beginnen. Wird man die Bergpredigt schmähen und verspotten, weil die gewöhnlichen sozialen, politischen und auch die religiösen Gesetze weit davon entfernt sind, nicht nur nicht ihrem Geiste sondern sogar nicht ihrem Buchstaben zu entsprechen? Man schaffe den Eid ab bei den Gerichtshöfen, beim Parlament, bei der Armee und überall sonst, und man mache es gleich den Quäkern, wenn man sich «Christ» nennen will. Ja man schaffe die Gerichtshöfe selbst ab, denn wenn man den Geboten Christi wirklich folgen will, so muss man demjenigen den Mantel geben, der einen des Rockes beraubt, und man muss dem die linke Wange reichen, der einen auf die rechte schlägt. «Widerstrebt nicht dem Übel, liebet eure Feinde, segnet diejenigen, welche euch fluchen, tut denen Gutes, die euch hassen», denn, «wer immer auch nur eines der geringsten dieser Gebote brechen wird, und die Menschen dazu verführt, es zu tun, der wird der Niedrigste im Himmelreiche genannt werden», und «wer immer sollte sagen «Du Narr», der soll dem höllischen Feuer verfallen.» Und warum solltet ihr richten, wenn ihr selbst nicht gerichtet sein wollt? Wer immer darauf besteht, dass ein Unterschied zwischen Theosophie und Theosophischer Gesellschaft nicht vorhanden sei, der möge nur auch das Christentum und sein wahres Wesen in derselben Art verurteilen, ja noch viel ernstlicher.
Frag.: Warum ernstlicher?
Theos.: Während die Führer der theosophischen Bewegung, indem sie ihre Unzulänglichkeit anerkennen, bestrebt sind, alles was in ihren Kräften ist zu tun, um Verbesserungen zu schaffen und das vorhandene Schlechte auszurotten, und während ihre Regeln und Vorschriften im Geiste der Theosophie ausgearbeitet sind, tun die Gesetzgeber und die Kirchen der Nationen und Länder, welche sich christlich nennen, das Gegenteil. Unsere Mitglieder, auch die schlechtesten unter ihnen, sind nicht schlechter als die Durchschnitts-Christen. Wenn ferner die westlichen Theosophisten so viel Schwierigkeiten erfahren beim Einführen des wahren theosophischen Lebens, so ist das deshalb, weil sie alle Kinder ihres Geschlechtes sind. Jeder unter ihnen war Christ, geboren und erzogen in der Sophisterei seiner Kirche, in den sozialen Gewohnheiten und den paradoxen Gesetzen seiner Umgebung. Dies war er, bevor er Theosophist geworden ist oder vielmehr, bevor er Mitglied der Theosophischen Gesellschaft geworden ist; und man kann es nicht oft genug wiederholen, dass zwischen dem reinen Ideal und seiner Verwirklichung ein gewaltiger Unterschied ist.
Das rein Ideale und dessen Verwirklichung
Frag.: Wie kann man den Unterschied zwischen diesen beiden völlig deutlich erklären?
Theos.: Die Gesellschaft ist eine große Gemeinschaft von Männern und Frauen, die aus den verschiedenartigsten Elementen zusammengesetzt ist. Theosophie ist, ihrer rein idealen Bedeutung nach, göttliche Weisheit, oder ein Zusammenhang von Erkenntnissen und Weisheit, die im Universum begründet sind — die in sich einheitliche Wesenheit des ewigen Guten; und in ihrem verwirklichten Sinne ist sie die Gesamtsumme dessen, was von jenen dem Menschen vermöge seiner Natur auf dieser Erde zugänglich ist, und nichts darüber. Einige Mitglieder sind ernstlich bestrebt, die objektive Theosophie in ihrem Leben zu verwirklichen, während andere nur wünschen, sie kennen zu lernen, nicht sie in Praxis umzusetzen; noch andere haben sich wohl aus bloßer Neugierde der Gesellschaft angeschlossen, vielleicht auch nur aus einem vorübergehenden Interesse, oder etwa gar nur deswegen, weil einige ihrer Freunde dazu gehören. Wie kann man das Wesen dieser Sache beurteilen nach dem Zustande derjenigen, die, vielleicht ohne alles Recht, den Namen für sich in Anspruch nehmen? Kann man die Dichtkunst oder deren Muse beurteilen lediglich nach denen, die sich Dichter nennen, und welche unsere Ohren betrüben? Die Gesellschaft kann angesehen werden als die Verkörperung der Theosophie nur in ihrem rein idealen Sinne; sie kann nimmermehr sich erkühnen, deren wirkliche Ausgestaltung zu sein, solange menschliche Unvollkommenheit und Schwachheit innerhalb ihrer vorhanden sein werden; im andern Falle würde die Gesellschaft lediglich dem großen Irrtum und die maßlose Entweihung der sogenannten Kirchen Christi nachahmen. Wenn man sich einen östlichen Vergleich erlauben will, so kann man Theosophie den uferlosen Ozean der allgemeinen Wahrheit, Liebe und Weisheit nennen, die ihre Ausstrahlungen auf die Erde senden, während die Theosophische Gesellschaft nur der sichtbare Widerschein dieser Ausstrahlungen ist. Theosophie ist göttliche Wesenheit, sichtbar und unsichtbar, und die Gesellschaft ist menschliche Natur, die ihrem göttlichen Vorbild ähnlich werden möchte. Theosophie endlich ist die festbegründete ewige Sonne, und die Gesellschaft der unbedeutende Komet, der seine Bahn so zu bilden bestrebt ist, dass er Planet werden könne, der immerwährend kreist im Anziehungsbereiche der Sonne der Wahrheit. Sie ist begründet worden, um den Menschen deutlich zu machen, dass es so etwas wie Theosophie gibt, und ihnen dazu verhelfen, zu ihr zu kommen durch das Studium und die Aufnahme ihrer ewigen Wahrheiten.
Frag.: Ist nicht behauptet worden, dass es innerhalb der Gesellschaft keine ihr besonders eignenden Ziele und Lehren gebe?
Theos.: So ist es. Die Gesellschaft macht keine Weisheit zu etwas, was von ihr besonders vertreten wird. Sie ist nichts anderes als die Pflegestätte all der Wahrheiten, welche durch die großen Seher, Initiierten und Propheten in geschichtlichen und auch vorgeschichtlichen Zeiten geoffenbart worden sind; wenigstens aller derjenigen, die gepflegt werden können. Sie ist daher bloß der Kanal, durch welchen mehr oder weniger von der Wahrheit in die Welt ausströmt, die durch die großen Lehrer der Menschheit geoffenbart worden ist.
Frag.: Kann man aber auch außerhalb der Gesellschaft zu solcher Wahrheit gelangen? Will nicht jede Kirche dasselbe beanspruchen?
Theos.: Zweifellos nicht. Die unbestreitbare Existenz großer Eingeweihter — wahrer «Söhne Gottes» — zeigt, dass solche Weisheit des Öfteren von einzelnen Individualitäten erlangt worden ist, niemals aber ohne die anfängliche Führung eines Meisters. Aber die meisten der Nachfolger solcher Wissenden haben, wenn sie selbst Meister geworden sind, die Allgemeinheit der Lehren in die engen Fesseln ihrer eigenen sektiererischen Dogmen gebannt. Die Gesetze eines Meisters, den man sich erwählt hatte, wurden angenommen und befolgt, mit Ausschluss aller anderen — wenn sie — wohlgemerkt — überhaupt befolgt wurden wie in dem Falle der Bergpredigt. Jede Religion ist so ein Teil der göttlichen Wahrheit, der zum Brennpunkt gemacht wird in dem weiten Schauspiele menschlicher Einbildungen, die behaupten die Wahrheit zu sein, oder ihren Platz einnehmen zu dürfen.
Frag.: Es wird aber doch behauptet, Theosophie sei keine Religion?
Theos.: Gewiss ist sie das nicht, da sie doch das Wesen in allen Religionen ist und zugleich dasjenige der absoluten Wahrheit, während jedem Glaubensbekenntnis doch nur ein Tropfen dieses Wesens zu Grunde liegt. Noch einmal sei ein Gleichnis gebraucht: Theosophie ist, so wie sie auf der Erde auftritt, gleich dem weißen Lichtstrahl des Spektrums, und jede Religion ist nur eine der sieben prismatischen Farben. Indem sie alle anderen verleugnet und sie für falsch ablehnt, nimmt sie für den einzelnen Strahl nicht nur die Priorität in Anspruch, sondern behauptet auch, selbst der weiße Strahl zu sein, und verketzert dann sogar ihre eigenen Schattierungen vom Hellen ins Dunkle als Ketzerei. Doch, in dem Maße als die Sonne der Wahrheit höher und höher sich erhebt auf dem Horizonte der menschlichen Fassungskraft, so verdunkelt sich jeder einzelne Strahl bis er ganz aufgesogen wird, und die Menschheit zuletzt nicht weiter mit künstlichen Polarisationen belastet werden wird, sondern sich selbst baden wird in dem reinen farblosen Lichte der ewigen Wahrheit. Und dies wird Theosophie sein.
Frag.: Es wird damit eigentlich die Behauptung aufgestellt, dass sich alle großen Religionen von der Theosophie herleiten, und dass durch die Aneignung der letzteren die Welt endlich von großen Täuschungen und Irrtümern befreit werden würde?
Theos.: Es ist in der Tat so. Und es kann diese Behauptung dahin ergänzt werden, dass die Theosophische Gesellschaft das bescheidene Samenkörnchen ist, das, wenn es mit Nahrung und Leben versehen wird, endlich den Baum der Erkenntnis von Gut und Böse hervorbringen wird, der seinerseits wieder den Ursprung hat in dem Baum des ewigen Lebens. Nur durch Erkenntnis des Wesens der verschiedenen großen Religionen und Philosophien der Menschheit, durch leidenschaftsloses Vergleichen derselben im vorurteilsfreien Geiste kann der Mensch hoffen zur Wahrheit zu kommen. Besonders kann man dieses Ergebnis erlangen, wenn man das Augenmerk auf die Punkte richtet, in denen sie übereinstimmen. Sobald man — durch Studium, oder durch Unterweisung von Seiten der Wissenden — zu dem inneren Wesenskern vordringt, findet man, dass eine jede einzelne Religion irgendeine große Wahrheit der Natur zum Ausdrucke bringt.
Frag.: Es wird von einem goldenen Zeitalter gesprochen, das in der Vergangenheit da gewesen sein soll; und was uns hier beschrieben wird, wäre ein goldenes Zeitalter, das in der Zukunft verwirklicht werden sollte. Wann kann dasselbe kommen?
Theos.: Nicht ehe die Menschheit, als Ganzes, die Notwendigkeit davon fühlt. Ein Grundsatz des persischen «Javidan Khirad» sagt: «Die Wahrheit ist von zweierlei Art — die eine geoffenbart und durch sich selbst einleuchtend; die andere unausgesetzt neue Darlegungen und Beweise fordernd.» Nur wenn diese letztere Art von Wahrheit so einleuchtend sein wird, wie sie nun dunkel ist und der Verwirrung ausgesetzt durch Sophisterei und Kasuistik, dann werden die beiden Arten von Wahrheit nur Eine sein, so dass jedermann sie mit gleichen Augen wird beobachten können.
Frag.: Aber es müssen doch diejenigen, welche die Notwendigkeit von alledem empfinden, an irgendetwas Bestimmtes glauben? Man sagt, dass die Gesellschaft als solche keine Lehren habe, dass ein jedes Mitglied glauben möge, was ihm als richtig scheint. Das erweckt die Meinung, als ob die Theosophische Gesellschaft die Sprach- und Glaubenverwirrung des alten Babylonischen Turmes wieder heraufführen wollte. Gibt es denn gar kein gemeinsames Bekenntnis?
Theos.: Wenn gesagt wird, dass die Gesellschaft keine ihr eigenen Ziele und Glaubensmeinungen hat, so ist damit gemeint, dass es nichts von dergleichen für ihre Mitglieder gibt, worauf sie sich verpflichten: aber das findet nur auf die Gesamtheit als solche Anwendung. Die Gesellschaft zerfällt, wie bekannt ist, in eine äußere und innere. Diejenigen, welche zur letzteren gehören, haben eine besondere Philosophie, oder — wenn dieser Ausdruck vorgezogen werden sollte — ein eigenes religiöses System.
Frag.: Kann über das letztere etwas gesagt werden? Theos.: Es wird kein Geheimnis daraus gemacht. Die Grundlinien desselben sind vor einigen Jahren im «Theosophist» und im «Esoterischen Buddhismus» dargestellt worden, und können noch ausführlicher in der «Geheimlehre» gefunden werden. Es ist auf die älteste Philosophie der Welt gebaut, die man «Weisheits-Religion» oder «Uralte Lehre» nennt. Wer Aufklärungen darüber wünscht, der kann sie erhalten.
Automated Retranslation
IV. The relationship between the “Theosophical Society” and Theosophy
About self-development
Question: So is moral perfection the most important of the Society's goals?
Theos.: Without doubt! If you really want to be a Theosophist, you have to live as one.
Question: If this is the case, then, as has already been said, the behavior of some members belies this basic rule. Theos.: That is certain. But this cannot be remedied by the Society any more than it can by the Christian community when some call themselves Christians and yet behave like enemies. This does not indicate a flaw in the statutes and rules, but merely one in human nature. Even in some exoteric, public branch associations, members pledge themselves to their “higher self” to live the life prescribed by Theosophy. They should make their “divine self” the guide of every thought and action, every day and every moment of their lives. A true Theosophist should “act justly and think humbly.”
Questioner: What is meant by that?
Theos.: Simply this: The one “Self” has to forget itself for the “many selves”. The answer should be given here in the words of a true seeker of truth, a member of the society that can be found in “Theosophist”: “First of all, it is necessary for everyone to find themselves, then to make an honest inventory of his personal possessions, and, however poor or indebted he may be, liberation can never be out of reach if he earnestly strives for it.” But how many do this? All are inclined to work for their own development and perfection; but very few do it for others. The same writer continues: “People have been deceived and cheated long enough; they must break their ideals, eliminate the deceptions, and work for themselves – but there is a little word too many in that; for he who works only for himself would do better to work nothing at all; it is more right for him to work for others, for all. For every flower of love and kindness that he plants in his neighbor's garden will make a bad weed disappear from his own, and so this divine garden – that of 'mankind' – will become a flower like a rose. In all Bibles, in all religions, this is simply explained, but misguided people have first misunderstood it, and then weakened it; materialized, dulled it. A new revelation is not necessary at all. Each person should be their own revelation. As soon as man's immortal spirit takes possession of the temple of his body and expels the changers and all that is impure from it, then his own divine humanity will redeem him; for when he has become one with himself in this way, he will recognize the “Builder of the Temple.”
Frag.: It must be admitted that this is complete selflessness.
Theos.: It is so. And if only one of ten members of the Society acts in this way, it would be one of the elect. But among the outsiders there are those who always fail to see the real difference between Theosophy and the “Theosophical Society”, between the idea and its imperfect embodiment. They will also ascribe every imperfection of the vessel, namely the human body, to the pure spirit that unfolds its divine light within it. Is this right? They throw stones at an association that is trying in every way to realize its ideal despite the inhibiting influences that work against it. Some belittle the Theosophical Society merely because it endeavors to achieve that in which other endeavors – preferably ecclesiastical and state Christianity – have failed completely; still others do the same because they are only concerned with maintaining the existing state of affairs. This is how the Sadducees and Pharisees in Moses' chair, the tax collectors and sinners, who make themselves comfortable in their high positions, did it, just as they did at the fall of the Roman Empire. But noble-minded people should remember that the person who does what is in his power achieves just as much as the one who has achieved the most in this world of relative possibilities. This is a simple truth, a fundamental principle that finds support for all who believe in the gospel, in the parable of the talents that the master gives; of the servant who doubts that the two talents would be given to him as well as the fellow servant who had received five. Each is given “according to what he can do.”
Frag.: But in this case it is difficult to draw the line between the abstract and the concrete, since only the latter becomes visible to us to determine our judgment.
Theos.: But why is the Theosophical Society an exception in this case? Justice, like kindness, should begin at home. Will the Sermon on the Mount be reviled and ridiculed because ordinary social, political and even religious laws are far from not only not corresponding to its spirit but even to its letter? Abolish the oath in courts of law, in parliament, in the army and everywhere else, and do as the Quakers do if you want to call yourself a “Christian”. Yes, even the courts should be abolished, because if you really want to follow the commandments of Christ, you have to give your cloak to the one who robs you of your coat, and you have to turn the other cheek to the one who strikes you on the right. “Resist not evil, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,” for ‘whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall persuade men to do the same, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven,’ and ”whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be consigned to hell fire.” And why should you judge if you do not want to be judged yourselves? Whoever insists that there is no difference between Theosophy and the Theosophical Society should also condemn Christianity and its true nature in the same way, and much more seriously.
Question: Why more seriously?
Theos.: While the leaders of the theosophical movement, by acknowledging their inadequacy, are striving to do everything in their power to make improvements and eradicate the existing evil, and while their rules and regulations are worked out in the spirit of theosophy, the legislators and churches of the nations and countries that call themselves Christian are doing the opposite. Our members, even the worst among them, are no worse than the average Christians. Furthermore, if the Western Theosophists experience so much difficulty in introducing true Theosophical life, it is because they are all children of their generation. Each of them was a Christian, born and educated in the sophistry of his church, in the social habits and paradoxical laws of his environment. He was that before he became a Theosophist, or rather, before he became a member of the Theosophical Society; and it cannot be repeated often enough that there is a huge difference between the pure ideal and its realization.
The purely ideal and its realization
Frag.: How can one explain the difference between these two very clearly?
Theos.: The Society is a large community of men and women, composed of the most diverse elements. Theosophy, in its purely ideal sense, is divine wisdom, or a body of knowledge and wisdom based on the universe—the unified essence of eternal good; and in its realized sense, it is the sum total of that of the former which is accessible to man on this earth by virtue of his nature, and nothing more. Some members are earnestly endeavoring to realize objective Theosophy in their lives, while others desire only to know it, not to practice it; still others have joined the Society perhaps out of mere curiosity, perhaps out of a passing interest, or perhaps only because some of their friends belong to it. How can one judge the essence of this matter by the state of those who, perhaps without any right, claim the name for themselves? Can one judge poetry or its muse only by those who call themselves poets and who grieve our ears? Society can be regarded as the embodiment of Theosophy only in its purely ideal sense; it can never dare to be its real embodiment as long as human imperfection and weakness exist within it; otherwise, the Society would merely imitate the great error and the gross profanation of the so-called churches of Christ. If one wants to allow oneself an eastern comparison, then one can call Theosophy the boundless ocean of general truth, love and wisdom that sends its radiations to the earth, while the Theosophical Society is only the visible reflection of these radiations. Theosophy is the divine essence, visible and invisible, and the Society is human nature that wants to become similar to its divine model. Finally, Theosophy is the firmly established eternal sun, and the Society is the insignificant comet that strives to form its orbit so that it can become a planet that revolves perpetually in the gravitational field of the Sun of Truth. It has been established to make it clear to people that there is such a thing as Theosophy and to help them to come to it by studying and absorbing its eternal truths.
Frag.: Has it not been asserted that there are no goals and teachings within the Society that are particularly suitable for it?
Theos.: That is correct. The Society does not make any particular wisdom its own. It is nothing more than the custodian of all the truths that have been revealed by the great seers, initiates and prophets in historical and prehistoric times; at least of all those that can be cultivated. It is therefore only the channel through which more or less of the truth revealed by the great teachers of mankind flows out into the world.
Frag.: But can one also attain such truth outside of the society? Won't every church claim the same?
Theos.: Undoubtedly not. The indisputable existence of great initiates - true “sons of God” - shows that such wisdom has often been attained by individual individuals, but never without the initial guidance of a master. But most of the followers of such sages, when they themselves became masters, confined the general teachings within the narrow fetters of their own sectarian dogmas. The laws of a master whom they had chosen were accepted and followed, to the exclusion of all others – if, that is, they were followed at all, as in the case of the Sermon on the Mount. Every religion is a part of the Divine Truth that is made the focus of attention in the wide-ranging spectacle of human imaginings that claim to be the truth or to be allowed to take its place.
Frag.: But it is claimed that Theosophy is not a religion?
Theos.: Certainly it is not, since it is the essence in all religions and at the same time the essence of absolute truth, while only a drop of this essence underlies every creed. Once again a parable may be used: Theosophy, as it appears on earth, is like the white ray of light in the spectrum, and every religion is only one of the seven prismatic colors. By denying all the others and rejecting them as false, it not only claims priority for the single beam, but also claims that it itself is the white beam, and then even brands its own shades as heresy, from light to dark. But, to the extent that the Sun of Truth rises higher and higher on the horizon of human comprehension, every single ray darkens until it is completely absorbed, and humanity will ultimately no longer be burdened with artificial polarizations, but will bathe itself in the pure, colorless light of eternal truth. And this will be Theosophy.
Frag.: This actually asserts that all great religions derive from Theosophy, and that by appropriating the latter, the world would finally be freed from great deceptions and errors?
Theos.: It is indeed so. And this claim can be further expanded to include the fact that the Theosophical Society is the humble seed that, when provided with nourishment and life, will eventually produce the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which in turn has its origin in the tree of eternal life. Only by recognizing the essence of the various great religions and philosophies of humanity, by dispassionately comparing them in a spirit free of prejudice, can man hope to arrive at the truth. This result can be achieved particularly by focusing attention on the points in which they agree. As soon as one penetrates to the inner essence of the matter, whether by study or by instruction from the side of the knower, one finds that every religion expresses some great truth of nature.
Question: There is mention of a golden age that is said to have existed in the past; and what is described to us here would be a golden age to be realized in the future. When can the same come?
Theos.: Not until humanity as a whole feels the need for it. A principle of the Persian “Javidan Khirad” says: “Truth is of two kinds - one revealed and self-evident; the other constantly demanding new explanations and proofs.” Only when this latter kind of truth becomes as clear as it is now obscure and subject to confusion through sophistry and casuistry, then the two kinds of truth will be one, so that everyone will be able to observe them with the same eyes.
Frag.: But those who feel the necessity of all this must believe in something specific, must they not? It is said that the Society as such has no teachings, that each member may believe what seems right to him. This gives rise to the opinion that the Theosophical Society wants to recreate the confusion of languages and beliefs of the old Tower of Babel. Is there no common belief at all?
Theos.: When it is said that the Society has no aims and beliefs of its own, it is meant that there is nothing of the kind for its members to commit themselves to: but this applies only to the totality as such. The Society is divided, as is well known, into an outer and an inner one. Those who belong to the latter have a special philosophy, or, if you prefer, a religious system.
Frag.: Can anything be said about the latter? Theos.: No secret is made of it. The basic outlines of it were presented several years ago in The Theosophist and Esoteric Buddhism, and can be found in still greater detail in The Secret Doctrine. It is based on the most ancient philosophy of the world, called the Religion of Wisdom or the Ancient Doctrine. Those who desire an explanation of it may have it.