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THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
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HELENA PETROVNA BLAVATSKY
FouNi)Ri;ss OK THE Theosophicai, Movement
WILLIAM QUAN JUDGE
Successor to H. P. Bi.avatskv
OF THE
,.»firDeiTY
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 UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD AND THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
HAS BEEN FOUNDED
WITH A
COPIOUS GLOSSARY OF GENERAL THEOSOPHICAL TERMS
B y
H. P. BLAVATSKY
POINT LOMA EDITION
Including an Exhaustive Index
REVISED AND EDITED BY
KATHERINE TINGLEY
XTbe ar^an XTbeosopbical press
POINT LOMA, CALIFORNIA
1907
no]
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year i8Sp, by
H. P. BLAVATSKY,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C.
The Aryan Theosophical Press
Puint Loma, California
DEDICATED
BY
TO ALL. HER PUPILS,
THAT
THEr MAY LEARN AND TEACH
IN THEIR TURN.
1. .y^'
374
CONTENTS
SECTION I
Theosophy and the Theosophicai. Society
PACE
The Meaning of the Name ........ 1
The Policy of the Theosophical Society ...... 5
The Wisclom-ReHgion Esoteric in All Ages ..... 8
Theosophy is not Buddhism ........ 14
SECTION II
Exoteric and Esoteric Theosophy
What the Modern Theosophical Society is not . . . .17
Theosophists and Members of the Theosophical Society . . .21
The Difference between Theosophy and Occultism . . . .26
The Difference between Theosophy and Spiritualism . . . .28
Why is Theosophy Accepted? ....... 35
SECTION III
The Working System oe the Theosophicae Society
The Objects of the Society ........ 40
The Common Origin of Man ........ 42
Our Other Objects 47
On the Sacredness of the Pledge ....... 48
CONTENTS
SECTION IV
The Relations of the Theosophical Society to Theosopiiy
PAGE
On Self-Improvement ......... 52
The Abstract and the Concrete ....... 56
SECTION V
The Fundamental Teachings of Theosophy
On God and Prayer
Is it Necessary to Pray?
Prayer Kills Self -Reliance
On the Source of the Human Soul .
The Buddhist Teachings on the Above
61
66
71
74
76
SECTION VI
Theosophicae Teachings as to Nature and Man
The Unity of All in All .
Evolution and Illusion ....
On the Septenary Constitution of our Planet
The Septenary Nature of Man
The Distinction between Soul and Spirit .
The Greek Teachings ....
82
83
87
89
92
96
SECTION VII
On the Various Post-Mortem States
The Physical and the Spiritual Man
On Eternal Reward and Punishment, and on Nirvana
On the Various " Principles " in Man
100
108
115
CONTENTS yii
SECTION VIII
On Reincarnation or Rebirth
PAGE
What is Memory according to Theosophical Teaching? . . .122
Why do we not Remember our Past Lives? ..... 126
On IndividuaHty and PersonaUty ....... 133
On the Reward and Punishment of the Ego . . . . .136
SECTION IX
On Kamaloka and Devachan
On the Fate of the Lower " Principles " . . . . . . 142
Why Theosophists do not Believe in the Return of Pure " Spirits " . 145
A Few Words about the Skandhas ....... 153
On Post-AIortem and Post-Natal Consciousness . . . .155
What is Really Meant by Annihilation ...... 161
Definite Words for Definite Things ...... 169
SECTION X
On the Nature oe our Thinking Principle
The Mystery of the Ego 174
The Complex Nature of Manas ....... 179
The Doctrine is Taught in St. John's Gospel ..... 182
SECTION XI
On the Mysteries oe Reincarnation
Periodical Rebirths 194
What is Karma? 198
Who are Those who Know? . . . . . . . .211
The Difference between Faith and Knowledge ; or, Blind and Reasoned
Faith 214
Has God the Right to Forgive? 218
CONTENTS
SECTION XII
What is Practical Theosophy?
PAGE
Duty 223
The Relations of the Theosophical Society to Political Reforms . . 227
On Self-Sacrifice ......... 233
On Charity 238
Theosophy for the Masses ........ 241
How Members can Help the Society ...... 244
What a Theosophist ought Not to Do 245
SECTION XIII
On the Misconceptions about the Theosophical Society
Theosophy and Asceticism ........ 254
Theosophy and Marriage ........ 258
Theosophy and Education ........ 259
Why, then, is there so much Prejudice against the Theosophical Society? 267
SECTION XIV
The Theosophical " Mahatmas "
Are They " Spirits of Light " or " Goblins Damn'd " ?
The Abuse of Sacred Names and Terms .
276
288
CONCLUSION
The Future of the Theosophical Society .
Glossary
Index
Appendix ......
. 292
. 297
. 357
. 385
PREFACE
The purpose of this book is exactly expressed in its title, " The;
Key to Theosophy/' and needs but few words of explanation. It is
not a complete or exhaustive text-book of Theosophy, but only a key
to unlock the door that leads to the deeper study. It traces the broad
outlines of the Wisdom Religion, and explains its fundamental principles;
meeting, at the same time, the various objections raised by the average
Western enquirer, and endeavoring to present unfamiliar concepts in a
form as simple and in language as clear as possible. That it should
succeed in making Theosophy intelligible without mental effort on the
part of the reader, would be too much to expect; but it is hoped that
the obscurity still left is of the thought not of the language, is due to
depth not to confusion. To the mentally lazy or obtuse, Theosophy
must remain a riddle; for in the world mental as in the world spiritual
each man must progress by his own efforts. The writer cannot do the
reader's thinking for him, nor would the latter be any the better off
if such vicarious thought were possible. The need for such an exposition
jj PREFACE
as the present has long been felt among those interested in Theosophy,
the Society, and its work, and it is hoped that it will supply information,
as free as possible from technicalities, to many whose attention has been
awakened, but who, as yet, are merely puzzled but not convinced.
Some care has been taken in disentangling some part of what is true
from what is false in Spiritualistic teachings as to the post-mortem life,
and to show the true nature of Spiritualistic phenomena. Previous ex-
planations of a similar kind have drawn much wrath upon the writer's
devoted head; the Spiritualists, like too many others, preferring to believe
what is pleasant rather than what is true, and becoming very angry
with any one who destroys an agreeable delusion. For the past year
Theosophy has been the target for every poisoned arrow of Spiritualism,
as though the possessors of a half truth felt more antagonism to the
possessors of the whole truth than those who had no share to boast of.
Very hearty thanks are due from the author to many Theosophists
who have sent suggestions and questions, or have otherwise contributed
help during the writing of this book. The work will be the more useful
for their aid, and that will be their best reward.
H. P. B.
London, 1889.
PREFACE
TO THE
POINT LOMA EDITION
The great demand for the Key — which is essentially a book for
students, for those who desire to enter upon a serious study of Theosophy
— has necessitated a new edition. And still further to elucidate some
of the subjects treated therein, and to bring the book up to date in view
of the great expansion of the work of the Theosophical Movement since
the reorganization of the Society in 1898, a few quotations have been
given from the writings of William Q. Judge, successor to H. P. Blavatsky
and the second Leader of the Theosophical Movement throughout the world,
and also from some of those who have been students under my two Prede-
cessors and myself. All such additional quotations are placed in square
brackets. A few passages omitted from the Second Revised American
Edition have been reinserted, thus preserving the historical continuity of
the work down to the present day. A few explanatory notes have also
j^ii PREFACE
been added. The Glossary, added by H. P. Blavatsky to her second
edition, is also included, together with a new and enlarged Index.
Throughout the work H, P. Blavatsky speaks of the Society as the
Theosophical Society, although its full name was the Theosophical
Society and UniversaIv Brotherhood. Since the reorganization in 1898
the terms of its title have been transposed to stand as they now do: the
Universal Brotherhood and TheosophicaIv Society. The International
Headquarters of the organization are at Point Loma, California, U. S. A.
Attention is called to footnotes 11 and 60.
Katherine TiNGIvEY
Point Loma, March 13, 1907.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
I
THEOSOPHY AND THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY^
THE MEANING OF THE NAME
Inquirer. Theosophy and its doctrines are often referred to as a new-
fangled religion. Is it a religion?
Theosophist. It is not. Theosophy is Divine Knowledge or
Science.
Inq. What is the real meaning of the term ?
ThEo. Divine Wisdom, TJicosophia ( ©eoo-ot^ta ) , or Wisdom of
the gods, as thcogouia {BtoyovCa.), genealogy of the gods.
The word 6^6% means a god in Greek, one of the divine beings,
certainly not "God" in the sense attached in our day to the
term. Therefore it is not " Wisdom of God," as translated
by some, but Divine Wisdom such as that possessed by the
gods. The term is many thousand years old.
1. See Footnote H.
2 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Inq. What is the origin of the name?
ThEo. It comes to us from the Alexandrian philosophers, called
lovers of truth, Philaletheians, from phil («^tX), "loving,"
and aletheia ( aX-qe^ut ), " truth." The name Theosophy dates
from the third century of our era, and began with Ammonius
Saccas and his disciples, who started the Eclectic Theosoph-
ical system, and were also called Analogeticists. As ex-
plained by Professor Alexander Wilder, M. D., in his New
Platonism and Alchemy,^ they were so called —
Because of their practice of interpreting all sacred legends and nar-
ratives, myths and mysteries, by a rule or principle of analogy and
correspondence, so that events which were related as having occurred
in the external world were regarded as expressing operations and ex-
periences of the human soul.
They were also denominated Neo-Platonists. Though
Theosophy, or the Eclectic Theosophical system, is generally
attributed to the third century, yet, if Diogenes Laertius is to
be credited, its origin is much earlier, as he attributed the sys-
tem to an Egyptian priest, Pot Amun, who lived in the early
days of the Ptolemaic dynasty. The same author tells us
that the name is Coptic, and signifies one consecrated to Am-
un, the God of Wisdom. Theosophy is the equivalent of the
Sanskrit Brahma-Vidyd, divine knowledge.
Inq, What was the object of this system?
ThEo. First of all to inculcate certain great moral truths upon
its disciples and all those who were " lovers of the truth."
2. A Sketch of the Doctrines and Principal Teachers of the Eclectic or Alexandrian
School; also an Outline of the Interior Doctrines of the Alchemists of the
Middle Ages. Albany, N. Y., 1869.
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 3
Hence also the motto adopted by the Theosophical Society:
" There is no rehgion higher than truth."
Eclectic Theosophy was divided under three heads:
(1) Belief in one absolute, incomprehensible and supreme
Deity, or infinite essence, which is the root of all nature,
and of all that is, visible and invisible. (2) Belief in man's
eternal immortal nature, which, being a radiation of the Uni-
versal Soul, is of an identical essence with it. (3) Theurgy,
or " divine work," or producing a zvork of gods; from theoi,
" gods," and ergein, " to work." The term is very old, but,
as it belongs to the vocabulary of the mysteries, was not in
popular use. It was a mystic belief — practically proven by
initiated adepts and priests — that, by making oneself as
pure as the incorporeal beings — i. e., by returning to one's
pristine purity of nature — man could move the gods to im-
part to him Divine mysteries, and even cause them to become
occasionally visible, either subjectively or objectively. It was
the transcendental aspect of what is now called " Spiritual-
ism," but having been abused and misconceived by the popul-
ace, it had come to be regarded by some as necromancy, and
was generally forbidden. A travestied practice of the the-
urgy of lamblichus lingers still in the ceremonial magic of
some modern Kabalists. Modern Theosophy avoids and re-
jects both these kinds of magic and "necromancy" as being
very dangerous. Real divine theurgy requires an almost
superhuman purity and holiness of life; otherwise it degen-
erates into mediumship or black magic. The immediate dis-
ciples of Ammonius Saccas, who was called Theodidakfos,
" god-taught " — such as Plotinus and his follower Porphyry
— rejected theurgy at first, but were finally reconciled to it
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
through lambhchus, who wrote a work to that effect entitled
De Mysteriis, under the name of his own master, a famous
Egyptian priest called Abammon. Ammonius Saccas was
the son of Christian parents; but being from his childhood
repelled by dogmatic spiritualistic Christianity, he became
a Neo-Platonist and, like Jakob Bohme and other great
seers and mystics, is said to have had divine wisdom re-
vealed to him in dreams and visions. Hence his name of
Theodidaktos, He resolved to reconcile every system of re-
ligion, and by demonstrating their identical origin to establish
one universal creed based on ethics. His life was so blame-
less and pure, his learning so profound and vast, that several
church fathers were his secret disciples. Clemens Alexan-
drinus speaks very highly of him. Plotinus, the " St. John "
of Ammonius, was also a man universally respected and es-
teemed, and of the most profound learning and integrity.
When thirty-nine years of age he accompanied the Roman
Emperor Gordian and his army to the East, to be instructed
by the sages of Bactria and India. He had a school of phil-
osophy in Rome. Porphyry, his disciple, a Hellenized Jew,
whose real name was Malek, collected all the writings of his
master. Porphyry was also himself a great author, and gave
an allegorical interpretation of some parts of Homer's writ-
ings. The system of meditation the Philaletheians resorted
to was ecstasy, a system akin to Indian Yoga practice. What
is known of the Eclectic school is due to Origen, Longinus
and Plotinus, the immediate disciples of Ammonius.^
The chief aim of the founders of the Eclectic Theosophical
3. For further information see Dr. Wilder's pamphlet.
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY S
school was one of the three objects of its modern successor,
the Theosophical Society, namely, to reconcile all religions,
sects and nations under a common system of ethics based on
eternal verities.
Inq. What have you to show that this is not an impossible dream, and
that all the world's religions are based on one and the same truth?
ThEo. Their comparative study and analysis. The " Wisdom-
Religion " was one in antiquity ; and the sameness of primi-
tive religious philosophy is proven to us by the identical doc-
trines taught to the Initiates during the MYSTERIES, an
institution once universally diffused. As Dr. Wilder says:
All the old worships indicate the existence of a single Theosophy
anterior to them. The key that is to open one must open all ; other-
wise it cannot be the rigfht kev.
THE POLICY OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
Inq. In the days of Ammonius there were several great ancient religions,
and the sects in Eg\'pt and Palestine alone were numerous. How
could he reconcile them?
ThEo. By doing that which we again try to do now. The Neo-
Platonists were a large body, and belonged to various relig-
ious philosophies ; so do our Theosophists.
It was under Philadelphus that Judaism established itself
in Alexandria, and forthwith the Hellenic teachers became
the dangerous rivals of the College of Rabbis of Babylon.
As the author of Nezv Platonism very pertinently remarks :
The Buddhistic, Vedantic, and Afagian systems were expounded
along with the philosophies of Greece at that period. It was not
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
wonderful that thoughtful men supposed that the strife of words ought
to cease, and considered it possible to extract one harmonious system
from these various teachings. . . . Pantgenus, Athenagoras and Clem-
ent were thoroughly instructed in the Platonic philosophy, and com-
prehended its essential unity with the Oriental systems.
In those days the Jew Aristobulus affirmed that the ethics
of Aristotle represented the esoteric teachings of the law of
Moses ; Philo Judaeus endeavored to reconcile the Pentateuch
with the Pythagorean and Platonic philosophy ; and Josephus
proved that the Essenes of Carmel were simply the copyists
and followers of the Egyptian Therapeutse, or healers. So
it is in our day. We can show the line of descent of every
Christian religion, as of every — even the smallest — sect.
The latter are the minor twigs or shoots grown on the larger
branches; but shoots and branches spring from the same
trunk — the WISDOM-RELIGION. To prove this was the
aim of Ammonius, who endeavored to induce Gentiles and
Christians, Jews and Idolaters, to lay aside their contentions
and strifes, remembering only that they were all in possession
of the same truth under various vestments, and were all the
children of a common mother. This is the aim of Theosophy
likewise. Says Mosheim of Ammonius:
Conceiving that not only the philosophers of Greece, but also all
those of the different barbarian nations, were perfectly in unison with
each other with regard to every essential point, [he] made it his busi-
ness so to expound the thousand tenets of all these various sects as
to show they had all originated from one and the same source, and
tended all to one and the same end.
If the writer on Ammonius in the Bdinburgh Bncyclo-
pcedia knows what he is talking about, then he describes
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 7
the modern Theosophists, their beliefs and their work, for
he says, speaking of the Theodidaktos:
He adopted the doctrines which were received in Egypt [the esoteric
were those of India] concerning the Universe and the Deity, consid-
ered as constituting one great whole; concerning the eternity of the
world. . . . and established a system of moral discipline which al-
lowed the people in general to live according to the laws of their country
and the dictates of Nature, but required the wise to exalt their mind by
contemplation.
Inq. What are your authorities for saying this of the ancient Theo-
sophists of Alexandria?
Theo. An almost countless number of well-known writers.
Mosheim — one of them — says that Ammonius taught
that —
The religion of the multitude went hand in hand with philosophy,
and with her had shared the fate of being by degrees corrupted and ob-
scured with mere human conceits, superstitions and lies; and it ought
therefore, to be brought back to its original purity by purging it of this
dross and expounding it upon philosophical principles ; and the whole
Christ had in view was to reinstate and restore to its primitive in-
tegrity the Wisdom of the ancients, to reduce within bounds the uni-
versally prevailing dominion of superstition; and in part to correct,
and in part to exterminate, the various errors that had found their way
into the different popular religions.
This again, is precisely what the modern Theosophists say ;
only while the great Philaletheian was supported and helped
in the policy he pursued by two church fathers, Clement and
Athenagoras, by the learned rabbis of the synagogue, by the
philosophers of the Academy and the Grove, and while he
taught a common doctrine for all, we, his followers on the
same line, receive no recognition but, on the contrary, are
8 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
' abused and persecuted. People fifteen hundred years ago
are thus shown to have been more tolerant than they are in
this enlightened century.
Inq. Was Ammonius encouraged and supported by the Church because,
notwithstanding his heresies, he taught Christianity and was a
Christian ?
Thko. Not at all. He was born a Christian, but never accepted
Church Christianity. As said of him by Dr. Wilder :
He had but to propound his instructions "according to the ancient
pillars of Hermes, which Plato and Pythagoras knew before, and from
them constituted their philosophy." Finding the same in the prologue
of the Gospel according to John, he very properly supposed that the
purpose of Jesus was to restore the great doctrine of Wisdom in its
primitive integrity. The narratives of the Bible and the stories of the
Gods he considered to be allegories illustrative of the truth, or else
fables to be rejected.
Moreover, as says the Bdinhurgh Encyclopaedia:
He acknowledged that Jesus Christ was an excellent man and the
friend of God, but alleged that it was not his design entirely to abolish
the worship of demons [gods], and that his only intention was to
purify the ancient religion.
THE WISDOM-RELIGION ESOTERIC IN ALL AGES
Inq. Since Ammonius never committed anything to writing, how can one
feel sure that such were his teachings?
ThKO. Neither did Buddha, Pythagoras, Confucius, Orpheus,
Socrates, nor even Jesus, leave behind them any writings.
Yet most of these are historical personages and their teach-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 9
ings have all survived. The disciples of Ammonius, among
whom were Origen and Herennius, wrote treatises and ex-
plained his ethics. Certainly the latter are as historical, if
not more so, than the apostolic writings. Moreover, his pu-
pils — Origen, Plotinus and Longinus, counselor of the fam-
ous Queen Zenobia — have all left voluminous records of the
Philaletheian system — so far, at all events, as their public
profession of faith was known; for the school was divided
into exoteric and esoteric teachings.
Inq. How have the latter tenets reached our day, since you hold that
what is properly called the WISDOM-RELIGION was esoteric?
Theo. The WISDOM-RELIGION was ever one and the same,
and being the last word of possible human knowledge, was
therefore carefully preserved. It preceded by long ages the
Alexandrian Theosophists, reached the modern, and will sur-
vive every other religion and philosophy.
Inq. Where and by whom was it so preserved?
Theo. Among Initiates of every country ; among profound seek-
ers after truth — their disciples; and in those parts of the
world where such topics have always been most valued and
pursued — in India, Central Asia and Persia.
Inq. Can you give me some proofs of its esotericism?
Theo. The best proof you can have of the fact is that every an-
cient religious, or rather philosophical, cult consisted of an
esoteric or secret teaching, and an exoteric or outward public
worship. Furthermore, it is a well-known fact that the
MYSTERIES of the ancients comprised with every nation
the Greater (secret) and Lesser (public) MYSTERIES —
10 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
as, for instance, in the celebrated solemnities called the Bleu-
sinia, in Greece. From the Hierophants of Samothrace,
Egypt, and the initiated Brahmans of the India of old, down
to the later Hebrew rabbis, all, for fear of profanation, kept
their real boua-fide beliefs secret. The Jewish rabbis called
their secular religious series the Mercavah, or exterior body,
the "vehicle" or covering which contains the hidden soul —
their highest secret knowledge. The priests of the ancient
nations never imparted their real philosophical secrets to the
masses. They allotted to the latter only the husks. North-
ern Buddhism has its Greater and its Lesser Vehicle, known
as the Mahdydna, the esoteric, and the Hinaydna, the exo-
teric, schools. Nor can you blame them for such secrecy;
for surely you would not think of feeding your flock of sheep
on learned dissertations on botany instead of on grass.
Pythagoras called his Gnosis " the knowledge of things that
are," or yj yvwo-is twv ovrw, and preserved that Knowledge for
his pledged disciples only — for those who could digest such
mental food and feel satisfied; whom he pledged to silence
and secrecy. Occult alphabets and secret ciphers are the de-
velopment of the old Egyptian hieratic writings, the secret of
which was, in the days of old, in the possession only of the
Hierogrammatists, or initiated Egyptian priests. Ammonius
Saccas, as his biographers tell us, bound his pupils by oath
not to divulge his higher doctrines except to those who had
already been instructed in preliminary knowledge, and who
were also bound by a pledge. Finally, do we not find the
same also in early Christianity, among the Gnostics, and even
in the teachings of Christ? Did he not speak to the multi-
tudes in parables which had a twofold meaning, and explain
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 11
his reasons only to his disciples? " Unto you," he says, "it
is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but
unto them that are without, all these things are done in par-
ables." ■* And the author of Nczv Platonism tells us that —
The Essenes of Judea and Carmel made similar distinctions, divid-
ing their adherents into neophytes, brethren, and the perfect [or those
initiated].
Examples might be brought from every country to this
efifect.
Inq. Can you attain the " Secret Wisdom " simply by study ? Encyclo-
paedias define Theosophy pretty much as Webster's Dictionary does,
i. e., as "supposed intercourse zvith God and superior spirits, and con-
sequent attainment of superhuman knozvledge by physical . . . or . . .
chemical processes." Is this so?
The^o. I think not. Nor is there any lexicographer capable of
explaining, whether to himself or others, how superhuman
knowledge can be attained by physical or chemical processes.
Had Webster said by metaphysical and alchemical processes,
the definition would be approximately correct; as it is, it is
absurd. Ancient Theosophists claimed, and so do the mod-
ern, that the infinite cannot be known by the finite — i. e.,
sensed by the finite self — but that the divine essence could be
communicated to the higher Spiritual Self in a state of ec-
stasy. This condition can hardly be attained, like hypnotism,
by " physical and chemical processes."
Inq. What is your explanation of it?
The:o. Real ecstasy was defined by Plotinus as " the liberation
of the mind from its finite consciousness, becoming one and
4. Mark, iv, 11.
12 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
identified with the infinite." This is the highest condition,
says Dr. A. Wilder, but not one of permanent duration, and
it is reached only by the very, very few. It is, indeed, iden-
tical with that state which is known in India as Samadhi.
The latter is practised by the Yogis, who facilitate it phys-
ically by the greatest abstinence in food and drink, and men-
tally by an incessant endeavor to purify and elevate the mind.
Meditation is silent and unuttered prayer, or, as Plato ex-
pressed it:
The ardent turning of the soul toward God ; not to ask any particu-
lar good [as in the common meaning of prayer], but for good itself —
for the universal Supreme Good [of which we are a part on earth, and
out of the essence of which we have all emerged]. . . . Therefore re-
main silent in the presence of the divine ones, till they remove the
clouds from thy eyes and enable thee to see, by the light which issues
from themselves, not what appears as good to thee, but what is intrin-
sically good.
This is what the scholarly author of Nezv Platonism, Dr. A.
Wilder, describes as " spiritual photography " :
The soul is the camera in which facts and events, future, past, and
present, are alike fixed ; and the mind becomes conscious of them.
Beyond our everyday world of limits, all is one day or state — the past
and future comprised in the present. . . . [Death is the last ec stasis
on earth.] Then the soul is freed from the constraint of the body,
and its nobler part is united to higher Nature and becomes partaker in
the wisdom and foreknowledge of the higher beings.
Real Theosophy is, for the mystics, that state which Apol-
lonius of Tyana was made to describe thus :
I can see the present and the future as in a clear mirror. The sage
need not wait for the vapors of the earth and the corruption of the air
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 13
to foresee [events], . . . The thcoi, or gods, see the future; com-
mon men, the present ; sages, that which is about to take place.
The Theosophy of the Sages he speaks of is well expressed
in the assertion, " The kingdom of God is within us."
Inq. Theosophy, then, is not, as held by some, a newly devised scheme?
Theo. Only ignorant people can thus refer to it. It is as old as
the world, in its teachings and ethics, if not in name, as it is
also the broadest and most catholic system among all.
Inq. How comes it, then, that Theosophy has remained so unknown to the
nations of the Western Hemisphere? Why should it have been a
sealed book to races confessedly the most cultured and advanced?
Theo. We believe there were nations as cultured in days of old,
and certainly more spiritually "advanced," than we are. But
there are several reasons for this willing ignorance. One
of them was given by St. Paul to the cultured Athenians — a
loss, for long centuries, of real spiritual insight, and even in-
terest, owing to their too great devotion to things of sense
and their long slavery to the dead letter of dogma and ritual-
ism. But the strongest reason for it lies in the fact that real
Theosophy has ever been kept secret.
Inq. You have brought forward proofs that such secrecy has existed;
but what was the real cause for it?
TiiEo. The causes for it were: Firstly, the perversity of aver-
age human nature, and its selfishness, always tending to the
gratification of personal desires to the detriment of neighbors
and next of kin. Such people could never be intrusted with
divine secrets. Secondly, their unreliability to keep the sa-
cred and divine knowledge from desecration. It is the latter
14 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
which led to the perversion of the most subHme truths and
symbols, and to the gradual transformation of things spirit-
ual into anthropomorphic, concrete and gross imagery — in
other words, to the dwarfing of the god-idea and to idolatry.
THEOSOPHY IS NOT BUDDHISM
Inq. You are often spoken of as " Esoteric Buddhists." Are you then
all followers of Gautama Buddha?
Thdo. No more than musicians are all followers of Wagner.
Some of us are Buddhists by religion ; yet there are far more
Hindus and Brahmans than Buddhists among us, and more
Christian-born Europeans and Americans than converted
Buddhists. The mistake has arisen through the confound-
ing of the word Budhism with Buddhism, the religious system
based on the teachings of Gautama the Buddha. Budhism,
spelled with one d (from hodha, hodhi, " intelligence," " Wis-
dom") means the " Wisdom-Religion." And Theosophy, as
already said, is the WISDOM-RELIGION.
Inq. What is the difference between Buddhism, the religion founded by
the Prince of Kapilavastu, and Budhism, the " Wisdom-Religion,"
which you say is synonymous with Theosophy?
ThDo. Just the same difiference as there is between the later
ritualism and dogmatic theology of the churches and sects,
and the secret teachings of Christ, which are called " the mys-
teries of the kingdom of heaven." Buddha means the " En-
lightened " by Bodha, or understanding, Wisdom. This has
passed root and branch into the esoteric teachings that Gau-
tama imparted to his chosen Arhats only.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY IS
Inq. But some Orientalists deny that Buddha ever taught any esoteric
doctrine at all.
ThEo. They may as well deny that Nature has any hidden secrets
for the men of science. Further on I will prove it by Buddha's
conversation with his disciple Ananda. His esoteric teach-
ings were simply the Gnpta-Vidyd, or secret knowledge, of
the ancient Brahmans, the key to which their modern success-
ors have, with few exceptions, completely lost. And this
Vidyd has passed into what is now known as the inner teach-
ings of the Mahdydna school of Northern Buddhism. Those
who deny it are simply ignorant pretenders to Orientalism.
I advise you to read the Rev. Mr. Edkins' Chinese Bud-
dhism — especially the chapters on the Exoteric and Eso-
teric schools and teachings — and then compare the testi-
mony of the whole ancient world upon the subject.
Inq. But are not the ethics of Theosophy identical with those taught by
Buddha?
ThKo. Certainly; because these ethics are the soul of the Wis-
dom-Religion, and were once the common property of the Ini-
tiates of all nations. But Buddha was the first to embody
these lofty ethics in his public teachings, and to make them
the foundation and the very essence of his public system. It
is herein that lies the immense difiference between exoteric
Buddhism and every other religion. For while in other re-
ligions ritualism and dogma hold the first and most ituportant
place, in Buddhism it is the ethics which have always been
the most insisted upon. This accounts for the resemblance,
amounting almost to identity, between the ethics of Theo-
sophy, and those of the religion of Buddha.
16 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Inq. Are there any great points of difference?
ThEo. One great distinction between Theosophy and exoteric
Buddhism is that the latter, represented by the Southern
Church, entirely denies (a) the existence of any Deity, and
{h) any conscious post-mortem life, or even any self-con-
scious surviving individuality in man. Such, at least, is the
teaching of the Siamese sect, now considered as the purest
form of exoteric Buddhism. And it is so, if we refer only to
Buddha's public teachings; the reason for such reticence on
his part I will give further on. But the schools of the North-
ern Buddhist Church, established in those countries to which
his initiated Arhats retired after the Master's death, teach all
that is now called Theosophical doctrines, because they form
part of the knowledge of the Initiates — thus proving how
the truth has been sacrificed to the dead-letter by the too-zeal-
ous orthodoxy of Southern Buddhism. But how much grand-
er and more noble, more philosophical and scientific, even in
its dead letter, is this teaching than that of any other Church
or religion! Yet Theosophy is not Buddhism.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY \7
II
EXOTERIC AND ESOTERIC THEOSOPHY
WHAT THE MODERN THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IS NOT
Inq. Your doctrines, then, are not a revival of Buddhism, nor are they
entirely copied from the Neo- Platonic Theosophy?
ThKo. They are not. [They are simply the latest presentment
of the Wisdom-Religion referred to in the last chapter.
Hence they embody the same eternal truths as have always
underlain the teachings of the Wisdom-Rehgion in all anti-
quity, and as Jesus, according to the Church Fathers, endeav-
ored to restore. These truths underlie, not only Neo-Platon-
ism and Buddhism, but every religion in its pristine purity as
taught by the Founder, and every great philosophy of the an-
cient world. The object of the Theosophical Movement is
therefore the same ; namely, to revive in the hearts and minds
of men a knowledge of those eternal verities; for on them
rests all the hope of human life. The principle of Universal
Brotherhood, based on a realization of the spiritual unity of
mankind, has been forgotten by the world, and, as a conse-
quence, civilization is threatened with destruction by the un-
restrained forces of selfishness and materialism. On this
point William Q. Judge, the successor of H. P. Blavatsky in
the leadership of the Theosophical Society, says :
18 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
It is under cyclic law, during a dark period in the history of man-
kind, that the true philosophy disappears for a time; but the same law
causes it to reappear as surely as the sun rises and the human mind
is present to see it. But some works can only be performed by the
Master, while other works require the assistance of the companions.
It is the Master's work to preserve the true philosophy, but the help
of the companions is needed to rediscover and promulgate it. Once
more the Elder Brothers have indicated where the truth — Theosophy
— could be found, and the companions all over the world are engaged
in bringing it forth for wider currency and propagation. . . .
There is sufficient argument and proof to show that a body of men
having the wonderful knowledge described above has always existed
and probably exists today. The older mysteries continually refer to
them. Ancient Egypt had them in her great King-Initiates, sons of
the sun and friends of great gods. There is a habit of belittling the
ideas of the ancients which is in itself belittling to the people of today.
. . . The story of Apollonius of Tyana is about a member of one of the
same ancient orders appearing among men at a descending cycle,
and only for the purpose of keeping a witness upon the scene for
future generations. . . .
Turning to India, so long forgotten and ignored by the lusty and
egotistical, the fighting and the trading West, we find her full of lore
relating to these wonderful men. ... If the men who wantonly
burned up vast masses of historical and ethnological treasures found by
the Conquerors of the New World, more particularly, in Central and
South America, could have known of and put their hands upon the
books and palm-leaf records of India before the protecting shield
of England was raised against them, they would have destroyed them
all, as they did for the Americans, and as their predecessors attempted
to do for the Alexandrian library. Fortunately events worked
otherwise.
All along the stream of Indian literature we can find the names by
scores of great Teachers who were well known to the people and who
all taught the same story — the great epic of the human soul. . . .
And if Theosophy — the teaching of this great body of Helpers —
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY \g
is, as said, both scientific and religious, then from the ethical side we
have still more proof. A mighty Triad, acting on and through ethics,
is that composed of Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus. The first, a
Hindu, founds a religion which today embraces many more people
than Christianity, teaching centuries before Jesus the ethics which he
taught and which had been given out even centuries before Buddha.
Jesus, coming to reform his people, repeats these ancient ethics, and
Confucius does the same thing for ancient and honorable China.
The Theosophist says that all these great names represent members
of the one single Brotherhood, who all have a single doctrine. And
the extraordinary characters who now and again appear in western
civilization, such as St. Germain, Jakob Bohme, Cagliostro, Para-
celsus, Mesmer, Count St. Martin, and Madame H. P. Blavatsky, are
agents for the doing of the work of the Great Lodge at the proper time.
It is true they are generally reviled and classed as impostors — though
no one can find out why they are, when they generally confer benefits
and lay down propositions or make discoveries of great value to science
after they have died. But Jesus himself would be called an impostor
today if he appeared in some Fifth Avenue theatrical church rebuk-
ing the professed Christians. . . . Madame Blavatsky brought once
more to the attention of the west the most important system, long
known to the Lodge, respecting man, his nature and destiny. But
all are alike called impostors by a people who have no original phil-
osophy of their own, and whose mendicant and criminal classes exceed
in misery and in number those of any civilization on the earth. . . .
I repeat then, that though the true doctrine disappeared for a time
from among men, it is bound to reappear, because first it is impacted
in the imperishable center of man's nature; and secondly, the Lodge
forever preserves it.]
Inq. Which system do you prefer to follow in that case, besides Bud-
dhistic ethics?
TiiEO. None, and all. We hold to no religion and to no philos-
ophy in particular; we cull the good we find in each. But
here, again, it must be stated that, like all other ancient sys-
. . Ol^ THE ^
university}
OF /I
20 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
terns, Theosophy is divided into Exoteric and Bsoteric sec-
tions.
Inq. What is the difference?
ThDo. The members of the Theosophical Society at large are
free to profess whatever reHgion or philosophy they like —
or none, if they so prefer — provided they are in sympathy
with, and ready to carry out one or more of, the three objects
of the Association. The Society is a philanthropic and scien-
tific body for the propagation of the idea of brotherhood on
practical instead of theoretical lines. The Fellows may be
of any religion or creed — it does not matter ; but every mem-
ber must subscribe to the principal object of the Society ^ and
accept its Constitution. He may or may not be so situated
as to help carry out the subsidiary purpose, but it is expected
he will do his utmost in endeavoring to carry out its principal
object. Otherwise he has no reason for becoming a Fellow.
Such are the majority of the exoteric Society, composed of
''attached" and ''unattached" members.^ These may or may
not become Theosophists de facto. Members they are, by
virtue of having joined the Society; but the latter can not
5. The full title of which is now The Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical
Society. " The principal purpose of this Organization is to teach brotherhood,
demonstrate that it is a fact in nature and make it a living power in the life
of humanity. The subsidiary purpose of this Organization is to study ancient
and modern religion, science, philosophy and art; to investigate the laws of
nature and the divine powers in man."
6. An "attached" member means one who has been admitted to some particular
Center of the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society. An "un-
attached" member, or "member-at-large," is one who is not connected with any
Center, but who by correspondence keeps in touch with the International Head-
quarters at Point Loma, California.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 21
make a Theosophist of one who has no sense for the divine
fitness of things, or of him who understands Thcosophy in
his own — if the expression may be used — sectarian and
egotistic way. " Handsome is as handsome does " could be
paraphrased in this case, and made to run, " Theosophist is
who Theosophy does."
THEOSOPHISTS AND MEMBERS OP THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
Inq. This applies to lay members, as I understand. And what of those
who pursue the esoteric study of Theosophy; are they the real Theo-
sophists ?
Theo. Not necessarily, until they have proven themselves to be
such. They have entered the inner group and pledged them-
selves to carry out, as strictly as they can, the rules of the oc-
cult body. This is a difficult undertaking, as the foremost
rule of all is the entire renunciation of one's personality —
i. e., a pledged member has to become a thorough altruist,
never to think of himself, and to forget his own vanity and
pride in the thought of the good of his fellow-creatures, be-
sides that of his fellow-brothers in the esoteric circle. He
has to live, if the esoteric instructions shall profit him, a life
of abstinence in everything, of self-denial and strict morality,
doing his duty by all men. The few real Theosophists in the
Theosophical Society are among these members. This does
not imply that outside of the Theosophical Society and the
inner circle there are no Theosophists; for there are, and
more than people know of — certainly far more than are
found among the lay members of the Theosophical Society.
22 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Inq. Then what is the good of joining the so-called Theosophical Society
in that case? Where is the incentive?
The;o. None, except the advantage of getting esoteric instruc-
tions, the genuine doctrines of the Wisdom-Religion, and,
if the real program is carried out, deriving much help from
mutual aid and sympathy. Union is strength and harmony,
and well-regulated simultaneous efforts produce wonders.
This has been the secret of all associations and communities
since mankind existed.
Inq. But why could not a man of well-balanced mind and singleness of
purpose, one, say, of indomitable energy and perseverance, become an
Occultist, and even an Adept, if he works alone?
ThKo. He may ; but there are ten thousand chances against one
that he will fail. For one reason out of many others, no
books on Occultism or Theurgy exist in our day which give
out the secrets of Alchemy or mediaeval Theosophy in plain
language. All are symbolical or in parables ; and as the key
to these has been lost for ages in the West, how can a man
learn the correct meaning of what he is reading and studying?
Therein lies the greatest danger — one that leads to uncon-
scious hlack magic or the most helpless mediumship. He who
has not an Initiate for a master had better leave the danger-
ous study alone. Look around you and observe. While two-
thirds of civilized society ridicule the mere notion that there
is anything in Theosophy, Occultism, Spiritualism, or in the
Kabalah, the other third is composed of the most heterogen-
eous and opposite elements. Some believe in the mystical
and even in the supernatural ( ! ) , but each believes in his own
way. Others will rush single-handed into the study of the
Kabalah, Psychism, Mesmerism, Spiritualism, or some form
THB KHY TO THnoSOPHY 23
or another of Mysticism. Result : no two men think ahke, no
two are agreed upon any fundamental occult principles,
though many are those who claim for themselves the ultima
Thule of knowledge, and would make outsiders believe that
they are full-blown adepts. Not only is there no scientific
and accurate knowledge of Occultism accessible in the West
— not even of true astrology, the only branch of Occultism
which, in its exoteric teachings, has definite laws and a defin-
ite system — but no one has any idea of what real Occultism
means. Some limit ancient wisdom to the Kabalah and the
Jewish Zohar, which each interprets in his own way accord-
ing to the dead letter of the rabbinical methods. Others re-
gard Swedenborg or Bohme as the ultimate expressions of
the highest wisdom; while others again see in mesmerism the
great secret of ancient magic. One and all of those who put
their theory into practice are rapidly drifting, through ignor-
ance, into black magic. Happy are those who escape from
it, as they have neither test nor criterion by which they can
distinguish between the true and the false.
Inq. Are we to understand that the inner group of tlie Theosophical So-
ciety claims to learn what it does from real initiates or masters of
esoteric wisdom?
Theo. Not directly. The personal presence of such masters
is not required. Suf^ce it if they give instructions to some of
those who have studied under their guidance for years and
devoted their whole lives to their service. Then, in turn,
these can give out the knowledge so imparted to others who
had no such opportunity. A portion of the true sciences is
better than a mass of undigested and misunderstood learning.
An ounce of gold is worth a ton of dust.
24 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Inq. But how is one to know whether the ounce is real gold or only a
counterfeit?
Theo. a tree is known by its fruit, a system by its results.
When our opponents are able to prove to us that any solitary
student of Occultism throughout the ages has become a saint-
ly adept like Ammonius Saccas, or even a Plotinus, or a The-
urgist like lamblichus, or achieved feats such as are claimed
to have been done by St. Germain, without any master to
guide him, and all this without being a medium, a self-deluded
psychic, or a charlatan — then we shall confess ourselves mis-
taken. But till then, Theosophists prefer to follow the proven
natural law of the tradition of the Sacred Science. There
are mystics who have made great discoveries in chemistry
and physical sciences, almost bordering on alchemy and Oc-
cultism ; others who, by the sole aid of their genius, have re-
discovered portions, if not the whole, of the lost alphabets
of the " Mystery language," and are therefore able to read
correctly Hebrew scrolls; others still who, being seers, have
caught wonderful glimpses of the hidden secrets of Nature.
But all these are specialists. One is a theoretical inventor,
another a Hebrew, i. e., a sectarian Kabalist, a third a Swe-
denborg of modern times, denying all and everything outside
of his own particular science or religion. Not one of them
can boast of having produced a universal or even a national
benefit thereby, or a benefit even to himself. With the ex-
ception of a few healers — of that class which the Royal Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons would call quacks — none
have helped with their science Humanity, or even a number
of men of the same community. Where are the Chaldees of
old — those who wrought marvelous cures, '' not by charms.
THE KEY TO T HBO SOPHY 25
but by simples " ? Where is an Apollonius of Tyana, who
healed the sick and raised the dead under any climate and
circumstances? We know some specialists of the former
class even in Europe, but of the latter only in Asia, where the
secret of the Yogi — '' to live in death " — is still preserved.
Inq. Is the production of such healing adepts the aim of Theosophy?
ThEO. Its aims are several; but the most important are those
which are likely to lead to the relief of human suffering un-
der any or every form, moral as well as physical. And we
believe the former to be far more important than the latter.
Theosophy has to inculcate ethics ; it has to purify the soul if
it would relieve the physical body, whose ailments, save in
cases of accidents, are all hereditary. It is not by studying
Occultism for selfish ends — for the gratification of one's
personal ambition, pride or vanity — that one can ever reach
the true goal : that of helping suffering mankind. Nor is it
by studying one single branch of the Esoteric Philosophy
that a man becomes an Occultist, but by studying, if not
mastering, them all.
Inq. Is help, then, to reach this most important aim given only to those
who study the esoteric sciences?
Theo. Not at all. Every lay member is entitled to general in-
struction if he only wants it; but few are willing to become
what is called " working members," and most prefer to re-
main the drones of Theosophy. Let it be understood that pri-
vate research is encouraged in the Theosophical Society, pro-
vided it does not infringe the limit which separates the" exo-
teric from the esoteric, the hVuid from the conscious magic.
26 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEOSOPHY AND OCCULTISM
Inq. You speak of Theosophy and Occultism; are they identical?
ThEo. By no means. A man may be a very good Theosophist
indeed, whether in or outside of the Society, without being
in any way an Occultist. But no one can be a true Occultist
without being a real Theosophist; otherwise he is simply a
black magician, whether conscious or unconscious.
Inq. What do you mean?
The:o. I have said already that a true Theosophist must put in
practice the loftiest moral ideal; must strive to realize his
unity with the whole of humanity, and work ceaselessly for
others. Now, if an Occultist does not do all this, he must
act selfishly for his own personal benefit; and if he has ac-
quired more practical power than other ordinary men, he be-
comes forthwith a far more dangerous enemy to the world
and those around him than the average mortal. This is clear.
Inq. Then is an Occultist simply a man who possesses more power than
other people?
ThEo. Far more — if he is a practical and really learned Oc-
cultist, and not one only in name. Occult sciences are not, as
described in encyclopaedias, " those imaginary sciences of the
middle ages which related to the supposed action or influence
of occult qualities or supernatural powers, as alchemy, magic,
necromancy and astrology," for they are real, actual and very
dangerous sciences. They teach the secret potency of things
in Nature, developing and cultivating the hidden powers " lat-
ent in man," thus giving him tremendous advantages over
more ignorant mortals. Hypnotism — now become so com-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 27
mon, and a subject of serious scientific inquiry — is a good
instance in point. Hypnotic power has been discovered al-
most by accident, the way to it having been prepared by Mes-
merism. And now an able hypnotizer can do almost any-
thing with it, from forcing a man unconsciously to himself
to play the fool, to making him commit a crime — often by
proxy for the hypnotizer, and for the latter' s benefit. Is not
this a terrible power if left in the hands of unscrupulous per-
sons? And please to remember that this is only one of the
minor branches of Occultism.
Inq. But are not all these Occult sciences, magic and sorcery considered
by the most cultured and learned people as relics of ancient ignorance
and superstition?
ThEo. Let me remind you that this remark of yours cuts both
ways. The *' most cultured and learned " among you regard
also Christianity and every other religion as a relic of ignor-
ance and superstition. People begin to believe now, at any
rate, in hypnotism, and some — even of the most cultured —
in Theosophy and phenomena. But who among them, ex-
cept preachers and blind fanatics, will confess to a belief in
Biblical miracles? And this is where the point of difference
comes in. There are very good and pure Theosophists who
may believe in the supernatural — divine miracles included
— but no Occultist will do so. For an Occultist practises sci-
entific Theosophy, based on accurate knowledge of Nature's
secret workings; but a Theosophist, practising the powers
called abnormal, minus the light of Occultism, will simply
tend toward a dangerous form of mediumship; because, al-
though holding to Theosophy and its highest conceivable code
of ethics, he practises it in the dark, on sincere but blind faith.
28 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Any one, Theosophist or Spiritualist, who attempts to culti-
vate one of the branches of Occult Science, — c. g. Hypnot-
ism, Mesmerism or even the secrets of producing physical
phenomena, etc. — without the knowledge of the philosophic
rationale of those powers, is like a rudderless boat launched
on a stormy ocean.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEOSOPHY AND SPIRITUALISM
Inq. But do you not believe in Spiritualism?
ThEO. If by "Spiritualism" you mean the explanation which
Spiritualists give of some abnormal phenomena, then decid-
edly zve do not. They maintain that these manifestations are
all produced by the "spirits" of departed mortals — gener-
ally their relatives — who return to earth, they say, to com-
municate with those they have loved or to whom they are at-
tached. We deny this point-blank. We assert that the spir-
its of the dead can not return to earth, save in rare and
exceptional cases, of which I may speak later; nor do they
communicate with men except by entirely snhjective means.
That which appears objectively is only the phantom of the
ex-physical man. But in psychic and, so to say, spiritual
Spiritualism we do believe most decidedly.
Inq. Do you reject the phenomena also?
Theo. Assuredly not — save cases of conscious fraud.
Inq. How do you account for them then ?
ThEO. In many ways. The causes of such manifestations are by
no means so simple as the Spiritualists would like to believe.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 29
Foremost of all, the dens ex machind of the so-called "mater-
ializations" is usually the astral body or "double" of the med-
ium or of some one present. This astral body is also the
producer or operating force in the manifestations of slate-
writing, " Davenport "-like manifestations, and so on.
Ino. You say "usually"; then what is it that produces the rest?
Thko. That depends on the nature of the manifestations. Some-
times the astral remains, the kdmalokic "shells" of the van-
ished personalities that were; at other times, Elementals.
" Spirit " is a word of manifold and wide significance. I
really do not know what Spiritualists mean by the term ; but
what we understand them to claim is that the physical phen-
omena are produced by the reincarnating Ego, the Spiritual
and immortal individuality. And this hypothesis we entirely
reject. The Conscious Individuality of the disembodied can
not materialize, nor can it return from its own mental Deva-
chanic sphere to the plane of terrestrial objectivity.
Inq. But many of the communications received from the "spirits" show
not only intelligence, but a knowledge of facts not known to the me-
dium, and sometimes even not consciously present to the mind of the
investigator or any of those who compose the audience.
Theo. This does not necessarily prove that the intelligence and
knowledge you speak of belong to spirits, or emanate from
disembodied souls. Somnambulists have been known to com-
pose music and poetry and to solve mathematical problems
while in their trance state, without ever having learned music
or mathematics. Others answered intelligently questions put
to them, and even, in several cases, spoke languages, such as
Hebrew and Latin, of which they were entirely ignorant when
30 THE KEY TO THHOSOPHY
awake — all this in a state of profound sleep. Will you,
then, maintain that this was caused by "spirits" ?
Inq. But how would you explain it?
Theo. We assert that the divine spark in man being one and
identical in its essence with the Universal Spirit, our '* spir-
itual Self " is practically omniscient, but that it cannot mani-
fest its knowledge, owing to the impediments of matter. Now
the more these impediments are removed — in other words,
the more the physical body is paralyzed as to its own inde-
pendent activity and consciousness, as in deep sleep or deep
trance, or, again, in illness — the more fully can the inner
Self manifest on this plane. This is our explanation of those
truly wonderful phenomena of a higher order in which un-
deniable intelligence and knowledge are exhibited. As to the
lower order of manifestations — such as physical phenomena
and the platitudes and common talk of the general "spirit" —
to explain even the most important of the teachings we hold
upon the subject would take up more space and time than can
be allotted to it at present. We have no desire to interfere
with the belief of the Spiritualists any more than with any
other belief. The onus probandi must fall on the believers in
"spirits." And at the present moment, while still convinced
that the higher kind of manifestations occur through disem-
bodied souls, the leaders of the Spiritualists, and the most
learned and intelligent among them, are the first to confess
that not all the phenomena are produced by spirits. Gradu-
ally they will come to recognize the whole truth; but mean-
while we have no right nor desire to proselytize them to our
views — the less so, as in the cases of purely psychic and
spiritual manifestations we believe in the intercommunica-
THE KBY TO THHOSOPHY 31
tion of the spirit of the Hving man with that of disembodied
personalities/
Inq. This means that you reject the philosophy of Spiritualism in toto?
ThEo. If by "philosophy" you mean its crude theories, we do.
But it has no philosophy, in truth. The best, the most intel-
lectual and earnest defenders of Spiritualism say so. Their
fundamental and only unimpeachable truth — namely, that
phenomena occur through mediums controlled by invisible
forces and intelligences — no one, except a blind materialist
of the Huxley '' big-toe " school, will or can deny. With re-
gard to their philosophy, however, let me quote to you what
the able editor of Light — than whom the Spiritualists will
find no wiser or more devoted champion — says of them and
their philosophy. This is what " M. A. Oxon.," one of the
very few philosophical Spiritualists, writes, with respect to
their lack of organization, and blind bigotry.
7. We say that in such cases it is not the spirits of the dead who descend on earth,
but the spirits of the living that ascend to the pure Spiritual Souls. In truth
there is neither ascending nor descending, but a change of state or condition for
the medium. The body of the latter becoming paralyzed, or "entranced," the
spiritual Ego is free from its trammels, and finds itself on the same plane of
consciousness with the disembodied spirits. Hence, if there is any spiritual at-
traction between the two they can communicate, as often occurs in dreams.
The difference between a mediumistic and a non-sensitive nature is this: the
liberated spirit of a medium has the opportunity and facility of influencing the
passive organs of its entranced physical body, to make them act, speak and write
at its will. The Eco can make it repeat, echo-like, and in the human language,
the thoughts and ideas of the disembodied entity, as well as its own. But the
non-receptive or non-sensitive organism of one who is very positive can not be
so influenced. Hence, although there is hardly a human being whose Ego does
not hold free intercourse, during the sleep of his body, with those whom it loved
and lost, yet, on account of the positiveness and non-receptivity of its physical
envelope and brain, no recollection, or a very dim, dream-like remembrance,
lingers in the memory of the person once awake.
32 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
It is worth while to look steadily at this point, for it is of vital mo-
ment. We have an experience and a knowledge beside which all other
knowledge is comparatively insignificant. The ordinary Spiritualist
waxes wroth if anyone ventures to impugn his assured knowledge of
the future and his absolute certainty of the life to come. Where other
men have stretched forth feeble hands groping into the dark future, he
walks boldly as one who has a chart and knows his way. Where other
men have stopped short at a pious aspiration, or have been content with
a hereditary faith, it is his boast that he knows what they only believe,
and that out of his rich stores he can supplement the fading faiths built
only upon hope. He is magnificent in his dealings with man's most
cherished expectations. " You hope," he seems to say, "for that which
I can demonstrate. You have accepted a traditional belief in what I
can experimentally prove according to the strictest scientific method.
The old beliefs are fading; come out from them and be separate.
They contain as much falsehood as truth. Only by building on a sure
foundation of demonstrated fact can your superstructure be stable. All
round you old faiths are toppling. Avoid the crash and get you out."
When one comes to deal with this magnificent person in a practical
way, what is the result? Very curious and very disappointing. He
is so sure of his ground that he takes no trouble to ascertain the inter-
pretation which others put upon his facts. The wisdom of the ages
has concerned itself with the explanation of what he rightly regards as
proven; but he does not turn a passing glance on its researches. He
does not even agree altogether with his brother Spiritualist. It is the
story over again of the old Scotch body who, together with her hus-
band, formed a "kirk." They had exclusive keys to heaven, or rather
she had, for she was "na certain aboot Jamie." So the infinitely
divided, and subdivided and re-subdivided sects of Spiritualists shake
their heads, and are "na certain aboot" one another. Again, the col-
lective experience of mankind is solid and unvarying on this point
that union is strength and disunion a source of weakness and failure.
Shoulder to shoulder, drilled and disciplined, a rabble becomes an
army, each man a match for a hundred of the untrained men that may
be brought against it. Organization in every department of man's
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 33
work means success, saving of time and labor, profit and development.
Want of method, want of plan, haphazard work, fitful energy, undis-
ciplined effort — these mean bungling failure. The voice of humanity
attests the truth. Does the Spiritualist accept the verdict and act on
the conclusion? Verily, no. He refuses to organize. He is a law
unto himself, and a thorn in the side of his neighbors.^
Inq. I was told that the Theosophical Society was originally founded to
crush Spiritualism and belief in the survival of the individuality in
man.
Theo. You are misinformed. Our beliefs are all founded on
that immortal individuality. But then, like so many others,
you confuse personality with individuality. Your Western
psychologists do not seem to have established any clear dis-
tinction between the two. Yet it is precisely that difference
which gives the key-note to the understanding of Eastern
philosophy, and which lies at the root of the divergence be-
tween the Theosophical and Spiritualistic teachings. And
though it may draw upon us still more the hostility of some
Spiritualists, yet I must state here that it is Theosophy which
is the true and unalloyed spiritualism, while the modern
scheme of that name is, as now practised by the masses, sim-
ply transcendental materialism.
Inq. Please explain your idea more clearly.
Theo. What I mean is that though our teachings insist upon
the identity of spirit and matter, and though we say that spirit
is potential matter, and matter simply crystallized spirit, just
as ice is solidified steam, yet, since the original and eternal
condition of the All is not spirit, but m^^a-spirit, so to speak
8. Light, June 22, 1889.
34 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
— visible and solid matter being simply its periodical mani-
festation — we maintain that the term ''spirit" can only be
applied to the true individuality.
Inq. But what is the distinction between this " true individuality " and the
" I " or " Ego " of which we are all conscious?
Theo. Before I can answer you, we must agree upon what you
mean by " I " or " Ego." We distinguish between the simple
fact of self-consciousness — the simple feeling that " I am I "
— and the complex thought that " I am Mr. Smith or Mrs.
Brown." Believing as we do in a series of births for the
same Ego, or reincarnation, this distinction is the funda-
mental pivot of the whole idea. You see " Mr. Smith " really
means a long series of daily experiences strung together by
the thread of memory, and forming what " Mr. Smith " calls
" himself." But none of these ''experiences" are really the
" I " or the Ego, nor do they give " Mr. Smith " the feeling
that he is himself, for he forgets the greater part of his daily
experiences, and they produce the feeling of Bgoity in him
only while they last. We Theosophists, therefore, distin-
guish between this bundle of "experiences," which we call the
false (because so finite and evanescent) personality, and that
element in man to which the feeling of " I am I " is due.
It is this " I am I " which we call the true individuality ; and
we say that this " Ego " or individuality, like an actor, plays
many parts on the stage of life.^ Let us call every new life
on earth of the same Ego a night on the stage of a theatre.
One night the actor, or " Ego," appears as Macbeth, the next
as Shylock, the third as Romeo, the fourth as Hamlet or King
9. See further, Section VIII, " On Individuality and Personality."
THE KEY TO T HBO SOPHY 35
Lear, and so on, until he has run through the whole cycle
of incarnations. The Ego begins his life-pilgrimage as a
sprite, an Ariel, or a Puck; he plays the part of a super,
is a soldier, a servant, one of the chorus ; rises then to "speak-
ing parts," playing leading roles, interspersed with insigni-
ficant parts, till he finally retires from the stage as Prospero,
the magician.
Inq. I understand. You say then, that this true Ego can not return to
earth after death. But surely the actor is at Uberty, if he has pre-
served the sense of his individuality, to return if he likes to the scene
of his former actions?
ThEo. We say not ; simply because such a return to earth would
be incompatible with any state of unalloyed bliss after death,
as I am prepared to prove. We say that man suffers so
much unmerited misery during his life, through the fault of
others with whom he is associated, or because of his environ-
ment, that he is surely entitled to perfect rest and quiet, if not
bliss, before taking up again the burden of life. However,
we can discuss this in detail later.
WHY IS THEOSOPHY ACCEPTED?
Inq. I understand to a certain extent; but I see that your teachings are
far more complicated and metaphysical than either Spiritualism or
current religious thought. Can you tell me, then, what has caused
this system of Theosophy which you support to arouse so much inter-
est and so much animosity at the same time ?
Theo. There are several reasons for it, I believe. Among other
causes that may be mentioned are: (1) The great reaction
from the crassly materialistic theories now prevalent among
36 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
scientific teachers. (2) General dissatisfaction with the arti-
ficial theology of the various Christian Churches and the
number of daily increasing and conflicting sects. (3) An
ever-growing perception of the fact that the creeds which are
so obviously self- and mutually contradictory can not he true,
and that claims which are unverified can not he real. This
natural distrust of conventional religions is only strength-
ened by their complete failure to preserve morals and to
purify society and the masses. (4) A conviction on the part
of many, and knowledge by a few, that there must be some-
where a philosophical and religious system which shall be
scientific and not merely speculative. (5) Finally, perhaps,
a belief that such a system must be sought for in teachings
far antedating any modern faith.
Inq. But how did this system come to be put forward just now?
Theo. Just because the time was found to be ripe — a fact
shown by the determined effort of so many earnest students to
reach the truth, at whatever cost and wherever it may be con-
cealed. Seeing this, its custodians permitted that some por-
tions at least of that truth should be proclaimed. Had the
formation of the Theosophical Society been postponed a few
years longer, one half of the civilized nations would have
become by this time rank materialists, and the other half
anthropomorphists and phenomenalists.
Inq. Are we to regard Theosophy in any way as a revelation?
Theo. In no way whatever, not even in the sense of a new and
direct disclosure from some higher, supernatural, or, at least,
superhuman heings; but only in the sense of an ''unveiling"
of old — very old — truths to minds hitherto ignorant of
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 37
them — ignorant even of the existence and preservation of
any such archaic knowledge.
It has become "fashionable," especially of late, to deride the
notion that there ever was in the Mysteries of great and civ-
ilized peoples, such as the Egyptians, Greeks or Romans, any-
thing but priestly imposture. Even the Rosicrucians were
no better than half lunatics, half knaves. Numerous books
have been written on them ; and tyros, who had hardly heard
the name a few years before, sallied out as profound critics
and gnostics on the subject of alchemy, the fire-philosophers
and mysticism in general. Yet a long series of Hierophants
of Egypt, India, Chaldaea and Arabia, together with the
greatest philosophers and sages of Greece and the West, are
known to have included under the designation of Wisdom and
Divine Science all knowledge; for they considered the base
and origin of every art and science as essentially divine.
Plato regarded the Mysteries as most sacred ; and Clemens
Alexandrinus, who had been himself initiated into the Eleus-
inian Mysteries, has declared that ** the doctrines taught
therein contained in them the end of all human knowledge."
Were Plato and Clemens two knaves or two fools, we wonder,
or — both ?
Inq. You spoke of " animosity." If truth is as represented by Theosophy,
why has it met with such opposition, and with no general acceptance?
ThKo. For many and various reasons again, one of which is
the hatred felt by men for "innovations," as they call them.
Selfishness is essentially conservative, and hates being dis-
turbed. It prefers an easy-going, unexacting lie to the great-
est truth, if the latter requires the sacrifice of one's smallest
38 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
comfort. The power of mental inertia is great in anything
that does not promise immediate benefit and reward. Our
age is preeminently unspiritual and matter-of-fact. More-
over, there is the unfamiliar character of Theosophic teach-
ings; the highly abstruse nature of the doctrines, some of
which contradict flatly many of the human vagaries cherished
by sectarians, which have eaten into the very core of popular
beliefs. If we add to this the personal efforts and great purity
of life exacted of those who would become the disciples of the
inner circle, and the very limited class to which an entirely
unselfish code appeals, it will be easy to perceive the reason
why Theosophy is doomed to such slow, up-hill work. It is
essentially the philosophy of those who suffer, and have lost
all hope of being helped out of the mire of life by any other
means. Moreover, the history of any system of belief or
morals newly introduced into a foreign soil shows that its
beginnings were impeded by every obstacle that obscurantism
and selfishness could suggest. " The crown of the innovator is
a crown of thorns " indeed ! No pulling down of old, worm-
eaten buildings can be accomplished without some danger.
Inq. All this refers rather to the ethics and philosophy of Theosophy.
Can you give me a general idea of the Theosophical Society, its objects
and statutes?
Theo. This has never been made secret. Ask, and you shall
receive accurate answers.
Inq. But I heard that you were bound by pledges,
ThEo. Only in the Arcane or Esoteric section.
Inq. And also, that some members after leaving did not regard themselves
bound by them. Are they right?
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 39
The:o. This shows that their idea of honor is an imperfect one.
How can they be right ? As well said in the Path,^^ our Theo-
sophical organ at New York, treating of such a case : " Sup-
pose that a soldier is tried for infringement of oath and dis-
cipline, and is dismissed from the service. In his rage at the
justice he has called down, and of whose penalties he was dis-
tinctly forewarned, the soldier turns to the enemy with false
information — a spy and traitor — as a revenge upon his
former chief, and claims that his punishment has released
him from his oath of loyalty to a cause." Is he justified,
think you ? Do you not think he deserves being called a dis-
honorable man, a coward ?
Inq. I believe so ; but some think otherwise.
The:o. So much the worse for them. But we will talk on this
subject later, if you please.
10. Founded and edited by William Q. Judge (1886); now continued as the Cen-
tury Path, edited by Katherine Tingley. Published at Point Loma, California.
40 THB KEY TO THBOSOPHY
III
THE WORKING SYSTEM OF THE THEOSOPHICAL
SOCIETY"
THE OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY
Inq. What are the objects of the " Theosophical Society"?
Theo. They are three, and have been so from the beginning.
( 1 ) To form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood of Hu-
ll. [For years the Organization was known as The Theosophical Society and
Universal Brotherhood, the philosophy known as "Theosophy" first touching
the thought of the Western world in 1875. The Society soon came to be known
simply as the "Theosophical Society," and the second part of the title, which
indicated the main object of the Society, was almost entirely lost sight of.
On January 13th, 1898, the Society was reorganized by Katherine Tingley,
the third Leader, as the Universal Brotherhood, being a natural unfoldment
of the Theosophical Society, the name expressing the true purpose for which
it was established.
On February 18th, 1898, the Theosophical Society formally merged itself
into the Universal Brotherhood, accepting the Constitution of the same, and
becoming an integral part thereof.
The full title of the Organization is The Universal Brotherhood and
Theosophical Society, " ordained and established for the benefit of the people
of the earth and all creatures," and the objects of which are as follows:
" This Organization declares that Brotherhood is a fact in Nature. The prin-
cipal purpose of this Organization is to teach Brotherhood, demonstrate that
it is a fact in Nature, and make it a living power in the life of humanity. The
subsidiary purpose of this Organization is to study ancient and modern religion,
science, philosophy and art; to investigate the laws of Nature and the divine
powers in man." (5"^^ also, Footnote 60.)]
THE KBY TO THBOSOPHY 41
manity without distinction of race, color, sex, caste or creed.
(2) To promote the study of Aryan and other Scriptures, of
the world's religions and sciences, and to vindicate the im-
portance of old Asiatic literature, such as that of the Brah-
manical, Buddhist and Zoroastrian philosophies. (3) To in-
vestigate the hidden mysteries of Nature under every aspect
possible, and the psychic and spiritual powers latent in man
especially. These are, broadly stated, the three chief objects
of the Theosophical Society.
Inq. Can you give me some more detailed information upon these?
Theo. We may divide each of the three objects into as many ex-
planatory clauses as may be found necessary.
Inq. Then let us begin with the first. What means would you resort to
in order to promote such a feeHng of Brotherhood among races that
are known to be of the most diversified rehgions, customs, beliefs and
modes of thought?
Theo. Allow me to add that which you seem unwilling to ex-
press. Of course we know that, with the exception of two
remnants of races — the Parsis and the Jews — every nation
is divided, not merely against all other nations, but even
against itself. This is found most prominently among the
so-called civilized Christian nations. Hence your wonder,
and the reason why our first object appears to you a Utopia.
Is it not so ?
Inq. Well, yes ; but what have you to say against it ?
Theo. Nothing against the fact, but much about the necessity
of removing the causes which make Universal Brotherhood
a Utopia at present.
42 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Inq. What are, in your view, these causes?
ThEO. First and foremost, the natural selfishness of human
nature. This selfishness, instead of being eradicated, is daily
strengthened and stimulated into a ferocious and irresistible
feeling by the present religious education, which tends not
only to encourage, but positively to justify it. People's ideas
about right and wrong have been entirely perverted by the
literal acceptance of the Jewish Bible. All the unselfishness
of the altruistic teachings of Jesus has become merely a the-
oretical subject for pulpit oratory ; while the precepts of prac-
tical selfishness taught in the Mosaic Bible, against which
Christ so vainly preached, have become ingrained into the in-
nermost life of the Western nations. "An eye for an eye,
and a tooth for a tooth," has come to be the first maxim of
your law. Now, I state openly and fearlessly that the per-
versity of this doctrine and of so many others Thcosophy
alone can eradicate.
THE COMMON ORIGIN OF MAN
Inq. How?
The^o. Simply by demonstrating on logical, philosophical, meta-
physical, and even scientific grounds that: (o) All men have
spiritually and physically the same origin, which is the funda-
mental teaching of Theosophy. (Z?) As mankind is essen-
tially of one and the same essence, and that essence is one —
infinite, uncreate and eternal, whether we call it God or
Nature — nothing, therefore, can afifect one nation or one
man without affecting all other nations and all other men.
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 43
This is as certain and as obvious as that a stone thrown into
a pond will, sooner or later, set in motion every single drop
of water therein.
Inq. But this is not the teaching of Christ, but rather a pantheistic notion.
ThEo. That is where your mistake lies. It is purely Christian,
although not Judaic, and therefore, perhaps, your Biblical
nations prefer to ignore it.
Inq. This is a wholesale and unjust accusation. Where are your proofs
for such a statement?
Theo. They are ready at hand. Christ is alleged to have said,
" Love one another," and " Love your enemies ;" " for if ye
love them [only] which love you, what reward [or merit]
have ye? do not even the publicans^^ the same? And if ye
salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others ? do
not even the publicans so?" These are Christ's words. But
Genesis (ix, 25) says: "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of
servants shall he be unto his brethren." And therefore, not
Christians, but biblical people prefer the law of Moses to
Christ's law of love. It is upon the Old Testament, which
panders to all their passions, that they base their laws of con-
quest, annexation and tyranny over races which they call
inferior. What crimes have been committed on the strength
of this — if taken in its dead-letter sense — infernal passage
12. Publicans — regarded as so many thieves and pickpockets in those days. Among
the Jews the name and profession of a publican was the most odious thing in the
world. They were not allowed to enter the Temple, and Matthew (xviii, 17)
speaks of a heathen and a publican as identical. Yet they were only Roman
tax-gatherers, occupying the same position as the British officials in India and
other conquered countries.
44 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
in Genesis, history alone gives us an idea, however inad-
equate."
Inq. I have heard you say that the identity of our physical origin is proved
by science, that of our spiritual origin by the Wisdom-Religion. Yet
we do not find Darwinists exhibiting great fraternal aflfection.
ThKo. Just so. This is what shows the deficiency of the mater-
ialistic systems, and proves that we Theosophists are in the
right. The identity of our physical origin makes no appeal
to our higher and deeper feelings. Matter, deprived of its
soul and spirit, or its divine essence, can not speak to the
human heart. But the identity of the soul and spirit, of
real, immortal man, as Theosophy teaches us, once proven
13. "At the close of the middle ages, slavery, under the power of moral forces, had
mainly disappeared from Europe ; but two momentous events occurred which
overbore the moral power working in European society, and let loose a swarm of
curses upon the earth such as mankind had scarcely ever known. One of these
events was the first voyaging to a populated and barbarous coast where human
beings were a familiar article of traffic ; and the other the discovery of a new
world, where mines of glittering wealth were open, provided labor could be im-
ported to work them. For four hundred years men and women and children were
torn from all whom they knew and loved, and were sold on the coast of Africa to
foreign traders ; they were chained below decks — the dead often with the living
— during the horrible * middle passage,* and, according to Bancroft, an impartial
historian, two hundred and fifty thousand out of three and a quarter millions were
thrown into the sea on that fatal passage, while the remainder were consigned to
nameless misery in the mines, or under the lash in the cane and rice fields. The
guilt of this great crime rests on the Christian church. ' In the name of the Most
Holy Trinity' the Spanish government concluded more than ten treaties auth-
orizing the sale of five hundred thousand human beings ; in 1562 Sir John Haw-
kins sailed on his diabolical errand of buying slaves in Africa and selling them
in the West Indies in a ship which bore the sacred name of Jesus; while Eliza-
beth, the Protestant queen, rewarded him for his success in this first adventure
of Englishmen in that inhuman traffic by allowing him to wear as his crest ' a
demi-Moor in his proper color, bound with a cord,' or in other words, a man-
acled negro slave." — Conquests of the Cross, quoted from the Agnostic Journal.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 45
and become deep-rooted in our hearts, would lead us far on
the road of real charity and brotherly good will.
Inq. But how does Theosophy explain the common origin of man?
Theo. By teaching that the root of all nature, objective and sub-
jective, and everything else in the universe, visible and invis-
ible, is, was, and ever will be one absolute essence, from which
all starts, and into which everything returns. This is Aryan
philosophy, fully represented only by the Vedanta and the
Buddhist system. With this object in view, it is the duty of
all Theosophists to promote in every practical way, and in all
countries, the spread of non-sectarian education.
Inq. What else is to be done besides this ? — on the physical plane, I mean.
Theo. In order to awaken brotherly feeling among nations we
have to assist in the international exchange of useful arts
and products, by advice, information and co-operation with
all worthy individuals and associations. What is also need-
ed is to impress men with the idea that, if the root of man-
kind is one, then there must also be one truth which finds ex-
pression in all the various religions.
Inq. This refers to the common origin of religions, and you may be right
there. But how does it apply to practical brotherhood on the physical
plane ?
Theo. First, because that which is true on the metaphysical
plane must be also true on the physical. Secondly, because
there is no more fertile source of hatred and strife than relig-
ious differences. When one party or another thinks itself
the sole possessor of absolute truth, it becomes only natural
that it should think its neighbor absolutely in the clutches of
Error or the Devil. But once get a man to see that none of
46 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
them has the zvhole truth, but that they are mutually comple-
mentary; that the complete truth can be found only in the
combined views of all, after that which is false in each of
them has been sifted out — then true brotherhood in religion
will be established. The same applies in the physical world.
Inq. Please explain further.
TiiEO. Take an instance. A plant consists of a root, a stem,
and many shoots and leaves. As humanity, as a whole, is
the stem which grows from the spiritual root, so is the stem
the unity of the plant. Injure the stem and it is obvious
that every shoot and leaf will suffer. So it is with mankind.
Inq. Yes; but if you injure a leaf or a shoot, you do not injure the whole
plant.
ThEO. And therefore you think that by injuring one man you
do not injure humanity? But how do you know? Are you
aware that even materialistic science teaches that any injury
to a plant, however slight, will affect the whole course of its
future growth and development? Therefore you are mis-
taken, and the analogy is perfect. If, however, you overlook
the fact that a cut on the finger may often make the whole
body suffer, and react on the whole nervous system, I would
all the more remind you that there may well be other spiritual
laws, operating on plants and animals as well as on mankind,
although, as you do not recognize their action on plants and
animals, you may deny their existence.
Inq. What laws do you mean?
Theo. We call them Karmic laws; but you will not understand
the full meaning of the term unless you study Occultism.
However, my argument does not rest on the assumption of
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY a7
these laws, but really on the analogy of the plant. Expand
the idea, carry it out to a universal application, and you
will soon find that in true philosophy every physical ac-
tion has its moral and everlasting effect. Injure a man by
doing him bodily harm : you may think that his pain and suf-
fering can not spread by any means to his neighbors, least of
all to men of other nations. We affirm that it will, in good
time. Therefore we say that unless every man is brought to
understand, and accept as an axiomatic truth, that by wrong-
ing one man we wrong not only ourselves, but the whole of
humanity in the long run, no brotherly feelings such as
preached by all the great Reformers — preeminently by
Buddha and Jesus — are possible on earth.
OUR OTHER OBJECTS
Inq. Will you now explain the methods by which you propose to carry
out the second object?
ThKo. To collect for the library of our International Head-
quarters^'* all the good works upon the world's religions that
we can; to put into written form correct information upon
the various ancient philosophies, traditions and legends, and
disseminate the same in such practicable ways as the transla-
tion and publication of original works of value, and extracts
from and commentaries upon the same, also by the oral in-
structions of persons learned in their respective departments
[and authorized by the Leader and Official Plead of the
Organization to do so].
14. Now at Point Loma, California.
48 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Inq. And what about the third object, to investigate the hidden laws of
Nature and the psychic and spiritual powers latent in man?
ThEo. This has to be achieved also by means of pubHcations in
those places where no lectures and personal teachings are
possible. Our duty is to keep alive in man his spiritual in-
tuitions ; to oppose and counteract — after due investigation
and proof of its irrational nature — bigotry in every form,
religious, scientific or social, and cant above all, whether as
religious sectarianism or as belief in miracles or anything
supernatural. What we have to do is to seek to obtain know-
ledge of all the laws of Nature, and to diffuse it ; to encourage
the study of those laws least understood by modern people —
the so-called Occult Sciences, based on the true knozvledge of
Nature, instead of, as at present, on superstitions beliefs based
on blind faith and authority. Popular folk-lore and tradi-
tions, however fanciful at times, when sifted, may lead to the
discovery of long-lost but important secrets of Nature. The
Society, therefore, aims at pursuing this line of inquiry, in
the hope of widening the field of scientific and philosophical
observation.
ON THE SAC REDNESS OF THE PLEDGE
Inq. Have you any ethical system that you carry out in the Society?
ThEo. The ethics are there, ready and clear enough for whom-
soever would follow them. They are the essence and cream
of the world's ethics, gathered from the teachings of all the
world's great reformers. Therefore you will find repre-
sented therein Confucius and Zoroaster, Lao-Tze and the
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 49
Bhagavad-Gita, the precepts of Gautama Buddha and Jesus
of Nazareth, of Hillel and his school, as also of Pythagoras,
Socrates, Plato, and their schools.
Inc. Do the members of your Society carry out these precepts? I have
heard of great dissensions and quarrels among them.
ThEo. Very naturally, since, although the reform in its present
shape may be called new, the men and women to be reformed
are the same human, sinning natures as of old. As already
said, the earnest working members are few ; but many are the
sincere and well-disposed persons who try their best to live up
to the Society's and their own ideals. Our duty is to encour-
age and assist individual Fellows in self-improvement, intel-
lectual, moral and spiritual; not to blame or condemn those
who fail. We have, strictly speaking, no right to refuse ad-
mission to any one — especially in the Esoteric Section of the
Society, wherein " he who enters is as one newly born." But
if any member — his sacred pledges on his word of honor
and immortal Self notwithstanding — chooses, after that
" new birth," to continue with the new man the vices or
defects of his old life, and to indulge in them still in the
Society, then, of course, he is more than likely to be asked to
resign and withdraw, or, in case of his refusal, to be expelled.
We have the strictest rules for such emergencies.
Inq. Can some of them be mentioned?
Theo. They can. To begin with, no Fellow in the Society,
whether exoteric or esoteric, has a right to force his personal
opinions upon another Fellow. This is one of the offenses
in the Society at large. As regards the inner section, now
called the Esoteric, the following rules were laid down and
50 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
adopted so far back as 1880: " No Fellow shall put to his
selfish use any knowledge communicated to him by any mem-
ber of the first section [now a higher ''degree"], violation of
the rule being punished by expulsion." Now, however, be-
fore any such knowledge can be imparted, the applicant has
to bind himself by a solemn oath not to use it for selfish
purposes, nor to reveal anything said except by permission/^
Inq. But is a man expelled, or resigning, from the section free to reveal
anything he may have learned, or to break any clause of the pledge he
has taken?
Theo. Certainly not.
Inq. But is this reasonable or just?
ThEO. Most assuredly. To any man or woman with the slight-
est honorable feeling a pledge of secrecy taken even on one's
zvord of honor, much more to one's Higher Self — the God
within — is binding till death. And though he may leave
the Section and the Society, no man or woman of honor will
think of attacking or injuring a body to which he or she has
been so pledged.
Inq. But is not this going rather far?
ThEo. Perhaps so, according to the low standard of the present
time and morality. But if it does not bind as far as this,
what use is a pledge at all? How can any one expect to be
IS. [This precaution had to be taken because some who had been admitted to the
Society, on going away after failing in their duties as members, tried to sell
what instruction and teaching they had received, and by so doing tended to
bring discredit upon H. P. Blavatsky's work. It is well known that all instruc-
tion and teaching given by her was given without money and without price, and
this has been strictly followed by her successors, W. Q. Judge and Katherine
Tingley.]
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 51
taught secret knowledge if he is to be at Hberty to free
himself from all the obligations he had taken whenever he
pleases? What security, confidence or trust would ever exist
among men if pledges such as this were to have no really
binding force at all? Believe me, the law of retribution
(Karma) would very soon overtake one who so broke his
pledge ; perhaps even as soon as the contempt of every honor-
able man would, even on this physical plane. As well ex-
pressed in the Path, July, 1889, just cited on this subject:
A pledge, once taken, is forever binding in both the moral and the
occult Ivor Ids. If we break it once and are punished, that does not
justify us in breaking it again ; and so long as we do, so long will the
mighty lever of the Law [of Karma] react upon us.
52 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
IV
THE RELATIONS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
TO THEOSOPHY
ON SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Inq. Is moral elevation, then, the principal thing insisted upon in the So-
ciety ?
ThEo. Undoubtedly! He who would be a true Theosophist
must bring himself to live as one.
Inq. If so, then, as I remarked before, the behavior of some members
strangely belies this fundamental rule.
ThEo. Indeed it does. But this cannot be helped among us, any-
more than among those who call themselves Christians and
act like fiends. This is no fault of our Constitution 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."
Inq. What do you mean by this?
Theo. Simply this : the one self has to forget itself for the many
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY S3
selves. Let me answer you in the words of a true Philale-
theian, a Fellow of the Theosophical Society, who has beau-
tifully expressed it as follows :
What every man needs first is to find himself, and then take an hon-
est 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
neighbor'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, materialized, be-
sotted 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."
Inq. This is pure altruism, I confess.
ThEo. It is. And if only one Fellow of the Theosophical So-
ciety out of ten would practise it, ours would be a body of elect
indeed. But there are those among the outsiders who will al-
ways refuse to see the essential difiference between Theosophy
and the Theosophical Society, the idea and its imperfect em-
bodiment. Such would visit every sin and shortcoming of the
54 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
vehicle — the human body — on the pure spirit which sheds
thereon its divine Hght. 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 pre-
sumes to attempt to do that in which other systems — Church
and State Christianity preeminently — have failed most egre-
giously ; others because they w^ould fain preserve the existing
state of things ; Pharisees and Sadducees in the seat of Moses,
and publicans and sinners reveling 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 dou-
bled his tzvo talents was rewarded as much as the other fellow-
servant who had received five. To every man it is given
" according to his several ability."
Inq, Yet it is rather difficult to draw the Hne of demarcation between the
abstract and the concrete in this case, as we have only the latter by
which to form our judgment.
Theo. Then why make an exception for the Theosophical So-
ciety? 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, par-
liament, army, and everywhere, and do as the Quakers do,
if you ivill call yourselves Christians. Abolish the courts
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 55
themselves; for if you would follow the Commandments of
Christ, you have to give away your cloak to him who deprives
you of your coat, and turn your left cheek to the bully who
smites you on the right. " Resist not evil," " love your ene-
mies, 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 Christ-
ianity and its very essence open to the same charges, only in
a more serious form.
Inq. Why more serious?
Theo. Because, while the leaders of the Theosophical movement,
recognizing fully their shortcomings, try all they can to
amend their ways and uproot the evil existing in the Society,
and while their rules and by-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 The-
osophists 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 cus-
toms and even his paradoxical laws. He was this before
he became a Theosophist — or rather a member of the Theo-
56 ' THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
sophical Society, as it cannot be too often repeated that be-
tween the abstract ideal and its vehicle there is a most im-
portant difference.
THE ABSTRACT AND THE CONCRETE
Inq. Please elucidate this difference a little more.
Theo. The Society is a great body of men and women, composed
of the most heterogeneous elements. Theosophy in its ab-
stract 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 en-
deavor to realize and, so to speak, to objectivize Theosophy
in their lives ; while others desire only to know of, not to prac-
tise it; and others still may have joined the Society merely
out of curiosity or a passing interest, or perhaps, again, be-
cause 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 imperfec-
tions and weaknesses are all represented in its body; other-
wise the Society would be only repeating the great error and
the overflowing sacrileges of the so-called churches of Christ.
If Eastern comparisons may be permitted, Theosophy is the
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 57
shoreless ocean of universal truth, love, and wisdom, reflect-
ing its radiance on the earth; while the Theosophical Soci-
ety 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 evan-
escent 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 toward it by
studying and assimilating its eternal verities.
Inq. I thought you said you had no tenets or doctrines of your own?
Theo. Nor have we. 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 prehistoric 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.
Inq. But is such truth unreachable outside of the Society? Does not
every Church claim the same ?
Theo. 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
58 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
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 hu-
man fancy which claims to represent and replace that truth.
Inq. But Theosophy, you say, is not a religion.
Theo. 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 re-
ligion only one of the seven prismatic colors. Ignoring all
the others, and cursing them as false, every special colored
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 colored ray grad-
ually fades out until it is finally reabsorbed in its turn, hu-
manity will at last be cursed no longer with artificial polari-
zations, but will find itself bathing in the pure, colorless sun-
light of eternal truth. And this will be Theosophia.
Inq. 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?
ThKo. Precisely so. And we add that our Theosophical So-
ciety is the humble seed which, if watered and let 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
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 59
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 some-
one who knows — at their inner meaning than we find, almost
in every case, that it expresses some great truth in Nature.
Inq. We have heard of a Golden Age that was, and what you describe
would be a Golden Age to be realized at some future day. When shall
it be?
Theo. 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 de-
manding 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.
Inq. 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 were bent upon reviving the confusion of
languages and beliefs of the Tower of Babel of old. Have you no
beliefs in common?
ThEO. What is meant by the Society having no tenets or doc-
trines 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 di-
vided into an outer and an inner body. Those who belong
60 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
to the latter have, of course, a philosophy or, if you so prefer
it, a religious system of their own.^^
Inq. May we be told what it is?
Theo. We make no secret of it. It was outlined a few years
ago in the early publications of the Society,^^ and may be
found still more elaborated in The Secret Doctrine. It is
based on the oldest philosophy of the world, called the Wis-
dom-Religion or the Archaic Doctrine. If you like, you
may ask questions and have them explained.
16. " Every member has the right to believe or disbelieve in any religious system or
philosophy, each being required to show that tolerance for the opinions of others
which he expects for his own." — Constitution of the Universal Brotherhood
AND ThEosophical Society.
17. For Book-List, see end.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 61
V
THE FUNDAMENTAL TEACHINGS OF THEOSOPHY
ON GOD AND PRAYER
Inq. Do you believe in God?
Theo. That depends upon what you mean by the term.
Inq. I mean the God of the Christians, the Father of Jesus, and the Crea-
tor: the Biblical God of Moses, in short.
Theo. In such a God we do not believe. We reject the idea
of a personal or an extra-cosmic and anthropomorphic God,
who is but the gigantic shadow of man, and not even of man
at his best. The God of theology, we say — and prove it —
is a bundle of contradictions and a logical impossibility.
Therefore we will have nothing to do with him.
Inq. State your reasons, if you please.
Theo. They are many, and cannot all receive attention. But
here are a few. This God is called by his devotees infinite
and absolute, is he not?
Inq. I believe he is.
Theo. Then if infinite — /. e., limitless — and especially if ab-
solute, how can he have a form and be a creator of anything?
Form implies limitation, and a beginning as well as an end;
62 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
and in order to create, a Being must think and plan. How
can the ABSOLUTE be supposed to think — i.e., have any
relation whatever to that which is limited, finite and con-
ditioned? This is a philosophical and a logical absurdity.
Even the Hebrew Kabalah rejects such an idea, and there-
fore makes of the one and the Absolute Deific Principle an
infinite Unity called Ain Suph.^* In order to create, the
Creator has to become active; and as this is impossible
for ABSOLUTENESS, the infinite principle had to be shown
becoming the cause of evolution (not creation) in an indirect
way — i.e., through the emanation from itself (another ab-
surdity, due this time to the translators of the Kabalah)*"
of the Sephiroth.
Inq. How about those Kabalists who, while being such, still believe in
Jehovah, or the Tetragrammaton ?
Thdo. They are at liberty to believe in what they please, as
their belief or disbelief can hardly afifect a self-evident fact.
The Jesuits tell us that two and two are not always four to a
certainty, since it depends on the will of God to make 2x2
= 5. Shall we accept their sophistry for all that ?
Inq. Then you are atheists?
The:o. Not that we know of, and not unless the epithet of
18. Ain Suph, e^iD ]'K = to irav, = aireLpov, the Endless, or Boundless, in and
with Nature, the Non-existent which IS, but is not a Being.
19. How can the non-active eternal principle emanate or emit? The Parabrahman
of the Vedantins does nothing of the kind ; nor does the Ain Suph of the
Chaldaean Kabalah. It is an eternal and periodical law which causes an active
and creative force (the Logos) to emanate from the ever-concealed and in-
comprehensible one principle at the beginning of every Mahamanvantara, or
new cycle of life.
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 63
"Atheist " is to be applied to all those who disbelieve in an
anthropomorphic God. We believe in a Universal Divine
Principle, the root of ALL, from which all proceeds, and
within which all shall be absorbed at the end of the great
cycle of Being.
Inq. This is the old, old claim of Pantheism. If you are Pantheists, you
can not be Deists ; and if you are not Deists, then you have to answer
to the name of Atheists.
Theo. Not necessarily so. The term " Pantheism " is, again,
one of the many abused terms whose real and primitive
meaning has been distorted by blind prejudice and a one-
sidedness of view. If you accept the Christian etymology
of this compound word, and form it of pan {-rav), "all,"
and theos (^eos), " god," and then imagine and teach that this
means that every stone and every tree in Nature is a God or
the ONE God, then, of course, you will be right, and make of
Pantheists fetish-worshippers, in addition to their legitimate
name. But you will hardly be as successful if you etymo-
logize the word " Pantheism " esoterically, and as we do.
Inq. What is, then, your definition of it?
Theo. Let me ask you a question in my turn. What do you
understand by Pan, or Nature?
Inq. Nature is, I suppose, the sum total of things existing around iis ; the
aggregate of causes and eflfects in the world of matter, the creation or
universe.
Theo. Hence the personified sum and order of known causes
and effects; the total of all finite agencies and forces, as
utterly disconnected from an intelligent Creator or Creators,
64 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
and perhaps " conceived of as a single and separate force "
— as in your cyclopaedias ?
Inq. Yes, I believe so.
Theo. Well, we neither take into consideration this objective
and material nature, which we call an evanescent illusion,
nor do we mean by Pan, Nature, in the sense of its accepted
derivation from the Latin natura, " becoming," from 7tasci,
*' to be born." When we speak of the Deity and make it iden-
tical— hence coeval — with Nature, the eternal and uncreate
Nature is meant, and not your aggregate of flitting shadows
and finite unrealities. We leave it to the hymn-makers to
call the visible sky or heaven, God's Throne, and our earth of
mud His footstool. Our DEITY is neither in a paradise nor
in a particular tree, building or mountain; it is everywhere,
in every atom of the visible as of the invisible Cosmos, in,
over and around every invisible atom and divisible molecule ;
for IT is the mysterious power of evolution and involution,
the omnipresent, omnipotent and even omniscient creative
potentiality.
Inq. Stop ! Omniscience is the prerogative of something that thinks, and
you deny to your Absoluteness the power of thought.
Theo. We deny it to the ABSOLUTE, since thought is some-
thing limited and conditioned. But you evidently forget
that in philosophy absolute unconsciousness is also absolute
consciousness, as otherwise it would not be absolute.
Inq. Then your Absolute thinks?
Theo. No, IT does not — for the simple reason that it is Absol-
ute Thought itself. Nor does it exist, for the same reason,
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 65
as it is absolute existence, and Be-ness, not a Being. Read
the superb Kabalistic poem by Solomon ben-Yehudah Ibn
Gebirol, in the Kether Malchuth, and you will understand :
Thou art one, the root of all numbers, but not as an element of
numeration ; for unity admits not of multiplication, change, or form.
Thou art one, and in the secret of Thy unity the wisest of men are
lost, because they know it not. Thou art one, and Thy unity is never
diminished, never extended, and cannot be changed. Thou art one,
and no thought of mine can fix for Thee a limit, or define Thee.
Thou ART, but not as one existent, for the understanding and vision
of mortals cannot attain to Thy existence, nor determine for Thee the
where, the how, and the why.
In short, our Deity is the eternal, incessantly evolving,
not creating, builder of the universe; that universe itself un-
folding out of its own essence, not being made. It is a
sphere, without circumference, in its symbolism, which has
but one ever-acting attribute embracing all other existing
or thinkable attributes — ITSELF. It is the one law, giving
the impulse to manifested, eternal and immutable laws, with-
in that never-manifesting, because absolute, LAW which in
its manifesting periods is The ever-Becoming.
Inq. I once heard one of your members remark that Universal Deity, be-
ing everywhere, was in vessels of dishonor, as in those of honor, and
therefore was present in every atom of my cigar-ash ! Is not this rank
blasphemy ?
Theo. I do not think so, as simple logic can hardly be regarded
as blasphemy. Were we to exclude the Omnipresent Prin-
ciple from one single mathematical point of the universe, or
from a particle of matter occupying any conceivable space,
could we still reeard it as infinite?
66 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
IS IT NECESSARY TO PRAY ?
Inq. Do you believe in prayer, and do you ever pray?
Theo. We do not. We act instead of talking.
Inq. You do not offer prayers even to the Absolute Principle?
Theo. Why should we? Being well-occupied people, we can
hardly afford to lose time in addressing verbal prayers to a
pure abstraction. The Unknowable is capable of relations
only in its parts one to another, but is non-existent as regards
any finite relations. The visible universe depends for its
existence and phenomena on its mutually acting forms and
their laws, not on prayer or prayers.
Inq. Do you not believe at all in the efficacy of prayer?
Theo. Not in prayer taught in so many words and repeated
externally, if by prayer you mean the outward petition to
an unknown God as the addressee, which was inaugurated
by the Jews and popularized by the Pharisees.
Inq. Is there any other kind of prayer?
Theo. Most decidedly; we call it wiEiy-PRAYER, and it is rather
an internal command than a petition.
Inq. To whom, then, do you pray when you do so?
Theo. To " our Father in heaven " — in its esoteric meaning.
Inq. Is that different from the one given to it in theology?
Theo. Entirely so. An Occultist or a Theosophist addresses
his prayer to his Father zvhich is in secret (read, and try to
understand, Matthew vi, 6), not to an extra-cosmic and
therefore finite God ; and that " Father " is in man himself.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 67
Inq. Then you make of man a God ?
ThEO. Please say '' God " and not " a God." In our sense,
the inner man is the only God of whom we can have cogniz-
ance. And how can this be otherwise ? Grant us our postu-
late that God is a universally diffused, infinite principle, and
how can man alone escape from being soaked through hy,
and in, the Deity? We call our "Father in heaven" that
deific essence of which we are cognizant within us, in our
heart and spiritual consciousness, and which has nothing to
do with the anthropomorphic conception we may form of it
in our physical brain or its fancy : " Know ye not that ye
are the temple of God, and that the spirit of (the absolute)
God dwelleth in you? ""° Yet let no man anthropomorphize
that essence in us. Let no Theosophist, if he would hold to
divine, not human truth, say that this " God in secret " listens
to, or is distinct from, either finite man or the infinite essence
— for all are one. Nor, as just remarked, that a prayer is a
petition. It is a mystery, rather ; an occult process by which
finite and conditioned thoughts and desires, unable to be
assimilated by the absolute Spirit which is unconditioned, are
20. One often finds in Theosophical writings conflicting statements about the Christos
principle in man. Some call it the sixth principle (Buddhi), others the sev-
enth {Atman). If Christian Theosophists wish to make use of such expressions,
let them be made philosophically correct by following the analogy of the old
Wisdom-Religion symbols. We say that Christos is not only one of the three
higher principles, but all the three regarded as a Trinity. This Trinity repre-
sents the Holy Ghost, the Father and the Son, as it answers to abstract spirit,
differentiated spirit, and embodied spirit. Krishna and Christ are philosophic-
ally the same principle under its triple aspect of manifestation. In the Bhag-
avad-Glta we find Krishna calling himself indifferently Atman, the Abstract
Spirit, Kshetrajna, the Higher or reincarnating Ego, and the Universal Selk —
all names which, when transferred from the universe to man, answer to Atma,
Buddhi and Manas. The Anuyita is full of the same doctrine.
68 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
translated into spiritual wills and the will ; such process being
called " spiritual transmutation." The intensity of our
ardent aspirations changes prayer into the " philosopher's
stone," or that which transmutes lead into pure gold. The
only homogeneous essence, our " will-prayer," becomes the
active or creative force, producing effects according to our
desire.
Inq. Do you mean to say that prayer is an occult process bringing about
physical results?
Theo. I do. Will-power becomes a living power. But woe
unto those Occultists and Theosophists who, instead of crush-
ing out the desires of the lower personal ego or physical man,
^md saying — addressing their Higher Spiritual Ego, im-
mersed in Atma-Buddhic light — " Thy will be done, not
mine," send up waves of will-power for selfish or unholy pur-
poses! For this is black magic, abomination and spiritual
sorcery. Unfortunately, all this is the favorite occupation
of our Christian statesmen and generals, especially when the
latter are sending two armies to murder each other. Both
before action indulge in a bit of such sorcery, when severally
offering prayers to the same God of Hosts, each entreating
his help to cut his enemies' throats.
Inq. David prayed to the Lord of Hosts to help him smite the Philistines
and slay the Syrians and the Moabites, and " the Lord preserved David
whithersoever he went." In that we only follow what we find in the
Bible.
TiiEO. Of course you do. But since you delight in calling
yourselves Christians, not Israelites or Jews, as far as we
know, why do you not rather follow that which Christ says ?
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 69
And he distinctly commands you not to follow " them of old
times," or the Mosaic law, but bids you do as he tells you,
and warns those who would take the sword that they too
will perish by the sword. Christ has given you one prayer,
of which you have made a lip-prayer and a boast, and which
none but the true Occultist understands. In it you say, in
your dead-sense meaning, " Forgive us our debts, as we for-
give our debtors " — which you never do. Again, he told
you to love your enemies and do good to them that hate you.
It is surely not the '* meek prophet of Nazareth " who taught
you to pray to your *' Father " to slay and give you victory
over your enemies! This is why we reject what you call
" prayers."
Inq. But how do you explain the universal fact that all nations and peoples
have prayed to and worshiped a God or Gods? Some have adored
and propitiated devils and harmful spirits, but this only proves the uni-
versaHty of the beHef in the efficacy of prayer.
Thko. It is explained by the fact that prayer has several other
meanings besides that given to it by the Christians. It means
not only a pleading or petition, but in days of old meant far
more, an invocation and incantation. The mantra, or the
rhythmically chanted prayer of the Hindus, has precisely such
a meaning, for the Brahmans hold themselves higher than
the common devas or " Gods." A prayer may be an appeal or
an incantation for malediction and a curse — as in the case of
two armies praying simultaneously for mutual destruction —
as much as for blessing. And as the great majority of peo-
ple are intensely selfish, and pray only for themselves, asking
to be given their *' daily bread " instead of working for it,
and begging God not to lead them " into temptation," but to
70 THE KEY TO T HBO SO PHY
deliver them (the memorialists only) from evil, the result is
that prayer, as now understood, is doubly pernicious: (a) it
kills in man self-reliance; (^) it develops in him a still more
ferocious selfishness and egotism than he is already endowed
with by nature. I repeat that we believe in ''communion"
and simultaneous action in unison with our " Father in
secret" ; and, in rare moments of ecstatic bliss, in the mingling
of our higher soul with the universal essence, attracted as it
is toward its origin and centre — a state called during life
Samadhi, and after death. Nirvana. We refuse to pray
to created finite beings — i.e., gods, saints, angels, etc. —
because we regard it as idolatry; we cannot pray to the
ABSOLUTE for reasons explained before ; therefore we try to
replace fruitless and useless prayer by meritorious and good-
producing actions.
Inq. Christians would call this pride and blasphemy. Are they wrong?
ThEo. Entirely so. It is they, on the contrary, who show Sa-
tanic pride in their belief that the Absolute or the Infinite —
even if there were such a thing as the possibility of any rela-
tion between the unconditioned and the conditioned — will
stoop to listen to every foolish or egotistical prayer. And it
is they, again, who virtually blaspheme in teaching that an
Omniscient and Omnipotent God needs uttered prayers to
know what he has to do! This, understood esoterically, is
corroborated by both Buddha and Jesus. The one says:
" Seek naught from the helpless Gods — pray not ! hut rather
act; for darkness will not brighten. Ask naught from si-
lence, for it can neither speak nor hear." And the other —
Jesus — recommends : " Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name
THE KHY TO THBOSOPHY n
(that of Christos), that will I do." Of course this quotation,
if taken in its literal sense, goes against our argument. But
if we accept it esoterically, with the full knowledge of the
meaning of the term Christos — which to us represents Atmd-
Buddhi-Manas, the "SELF" — it comes to this: the only
God we must recognize and pray to, or rather act in unison
with, is that Spirit of God of which our body is the temple,
and in which it dwelleth.
PRAYER KILLS SELF-RELL4NCE
Inq. But did not Christ himself pray and recommend prayer?
Theo. It is so recorded; but those prayers are precisely of
that kind of communion just mentioned with one's " Father
in secret." Otherwise, and if we identify Jesus with the Uni-
versal Deity, there would be something too absurdly illogical
in the inevitable conclusion that he, the " very God himself,"
prayed to himself, and separated the will of that God from
his own !
Inq. One argument more; an argument, moreover, much used by some
Christians. They say, " I feel that I am not able to conquer my pas-
sions and weaknesses in my own strength. But when I pray to Jesus
Christ I feel that he gives me strength, and that in his power 1 am
able to conquer."
Theo. No wonder. If " Christ Jesus " is God, and one inde-
pendent and separate from him who prays, of course every-
thing is, and iniist be, possible to " almighty God." But
then, Where's the merit, or justice either, of such a conquest?
Why should the pseudo-conqueror be rewarded for some-
11 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
thing done which has cost him only prayers? Would you,
even a simple mortal man, pay your laborer a full day's wage
if you did most of his work for him, he sitting under an
apple-tree and praying to you to do so all the while? This
idea of passing one's whole life in moral idleness, and having
one's hardest work and duty done by another — whether God
or man — is most revolting to us, as it is most degrading to
human dignity.
Inq. Perhaps so ; yet it is the idea of trusting in a personal Savior to help
and strengthen in the battle of life which is the fundamental idea of
modern Christianity. And there is no doubt that, subjectively, such
belief is efficacious; i.e., that those who believe do feel themselves
helped and strengthened.
Th^o. Nor is there any more doubt that some patients of
" Christian" and " Mental Scientists"— the great "Dcuiers"^^
— are also sometimes cured ; nor that hypnotism and sugges-
tion, psychology and even mediumship, will produce such re-
sults as often, if not oftener. You take into consideration,
and string on the thread of your argument, successes alone.
And how about ten times the number of failures? Surely
you will not presume to say that failure is unknown, even
with a sufficiency of blind faith, among fanatical Christians ?
Inq. But how can you explain those cases which are followed by full suc-
cess? Where does a Theosophist look for power to subdue his pass-
ions and selfishness?
TiiEo. To his Higher Self, the divine spirit or the God in him,
21. A new sect of healers, who, by disavowing the existence of anything but spirit,
which can neither suffer nor be ill, claim to cure all and every disease, pro-
vided the patient has faith that what he denies can have no existence. A new
form of self -hypnotism.
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 73
and to his Karma. How long shall we have to repeat over
and over again that the tree is known by its fruits, the nature
of the cause by its effects? You speak of subduing passions
and becoming good through and with the help of God or
Christ. We ask, where do you find more virtuous, guiltless
people, abstaining from sin and crime — in Christendom or
Buddhism; in Christian countries or in heathen lands?
Statistics are there to give the answer and corroborate our
claims. According to the last census in Ceylon and India,
in the comparative table of crimes committed by Christians,
Mohammedans, Hindias, Eurasians, Buddhists, etc., in two
millions of population taken at random from each, and cover-
ing the misdemeanors of several years, the proportion of
crimes committed by the Christian stands at about 15 to 4
committed by the Buddhist population." No Orientalist, no
historian of any note, or traveler in Buddhist lands, from
Bishop Bigandet and Abbe Hue to Sir William Hunter and
every fair-minded official, will fail to give the palm of virtue
to Buddhists before Christians. Yet the former (not the
true Buddhist Siamese sect, at all events) do not believe in
either God or a future reward outside of this earth. They
do not pray — neither priests nor laymen. "Pray!" they
would exclaim in wonder ; " to whom, or to what ? "
Inq. Then they are truly Atheists.
Theo. Most undeniably; but they are also the most virtue-
loving and virtue-keeping men in the whole world. Bud-
dhism says: Respect the religions of other men and remain
true to your own; but Church Christianity, denouncing all
22. See Lucifer for April, 1888, p. 147, art. " Christian Lectures on Buddhism."
74 THE KBY To THHOSOPHV
the gods of other nations as devils, would doom every non-
Christian to eternal perdition.
Inq, Does not the Buddhist priesthood do the same?
Theo. Never. They hold too much to the wise precept found
in the Dhammapada to do so, for they know that:
If any man, whether he be learned or not, consider himself so great
as to despise other men, he is Hke a bHnd man holding a candle — blind
himself, he illumines others.
ON THE SOURCE OF THE HUMAN SOUL
Inq. How, then, do you account for man being endowed with a Spirit and
Soul? Whence these?
Theo. From the Universal Soul; certainly not bestowed by a
personal God. Whence the moist element in the jelly-fish?
From the Ocean which surrounds it, in which it lives and
breathes and has its being, and whither it returns when
dissolved.
Inq. So you reject the teaching that Soul is given, or breathed into man,
by God?
The:o. We are obliged to. The " soul " spoken of in Genesis
(ii, 7) is, as therein stated, the "living soul" or nephesh,
the vital, animal soul with which God — we say "nature"
and immntahle lazv — endows man like every animal. It is
not at all the thinking Soul or mind; least of all is it the
immortal Spirit.
Inq. Well, let us put it otherwise: is it God who endows man with a hu-
man rational Soul and immortal Spirit?
THB KEY TO THBOSOPHY 75
ThEo. Again, in the way you put the question, we must object
to it. Since we believe in no personal God, how can we be-
heve that he endows man with anything? But granting,
for the sake of argument, a God who takes upon himself the
risk of creating a new Soul for every new-born babe, all that
can be said is that such a God can hardly be regarded as him-
self endowed with any wisdom or prevision. Certain other
difficulties, and the impossibility of reconciling this with the
claims made for the mercy, justice, equity and omniscience
of that God, are so many deadly reefs on which this theo-
logical dogma is daily and hourly broken.
Inq. What do you mean? What difficulties?
ThEO. I am thinking of an unanswerable argument ofifered
once in my presence by a Sinhalese Buddhist priest, a famous
preacher, to a Christian missionary — one in no way ignorant
or unprepared for the public discussion during which it was
advanced. It was near Colombo, and the missionary had
challenged the priest Megittawatti to give his reasons why
the Christian God should not be accepted by the " heathen."
Well, the missionary came out of that memorable discussion
second-best, as usual.
Inq. I should be glad to learn in what way.
ThEo. Simply this : the Buddhist priest premised by asking the
padre whether his God had given commandments to Moses
for men only to keep, but to be broken by God himself. The
missionary denied the supposition indignantly. " Well," said
his opponent, "you tell us that God makes no exceptions to
this rule, and that no Soul can be born without his will. Now
God forbids adultery, among other things, and yet you say
V
^\sL^.^X<y>
^ -^ OF THE
\
76 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
in the same breath that it is he who creates every babe born,
and he who endows it with a Soul. Are we then to under-
stand that the milHons of children born in crime and adultery
are your God's work? that your God forbids and punishes
the breaking of his laws, and that, nevertheless, he creates
daily and hourly souls for just such children^ According to
the simplest logic, your God is an accomplice in the crime;
since, but for his help and interference, no such children of
lust could be born. Where is the justice of punishing not
only the guilty parents, but even the innocent babe, for that
which is done by that very God, whom yet you exonerate
from any guilt himself?" The missionary looked at his
watch and suddenly found it was getting too late for further
discussion.
Inq. You forget that all such inexplicable cases are mysteries, and that
we are forbidden by our religion to pry into the mysteries of God.
TnE:o. No, we do not forget, but simply reject such impossi-
bilities. Nor do we want you to believe as we do. We only
answer the questions you ask. We have, however, another
name for your " niA^steries."
THE BUDDHIST TEACHINGS ON THE ABOVE
Inq. What does Buddhism teach with regard to the Soul?
ThEo. It depends whether you mean exoteric, popular Bud-
dhism, or its esoteric teachings. According to the former
man is considered as subject to change, and hence as far as
he is material, impermanent. But when we come to the ques-
tion that the new personality in each succeeding rebirth is the
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 11
aggregate of skandhas, or the attributes of the old person-
ahty, and ask whether this new aggregation of skandhas is a
new being hkewise, in which nothing has remained of the
last, the reply is abstruse metaphysics, and plainly does not
express this disbelief in soul by any means.
Inq. Is not something like this spoken of in esoteric Budhismf
Theo. It is ; for this teaching belongs both to esoteric Budhism,
or Secret Wisdom, and to exoteric Buddhism, or the relig-
ious philosophy of Gautama Buddha.
Inq. But we are distinctly told that most of the Buddhists do not believe
in the Soul's immortality.
ThEO. Nor do we, if you mean by Soul the personal Ego, or
life-soul — nephesh. But every learned Buddhist [as also
ourselves] believes in the individual or divine Ego. Those
who do not, err in their judgment; they are as mistaken on
this point as those Christians who mistake the theological
interpolations of the later editors of the Gospels about dam-
nation and hell-fire for verbatim utterances of Jesus. Nei-
ther Buddha nor " Christ " ever wrote anything themselves,
but both spoke in allegories and used " dark sayings," as all
true Initiates did, and will do for a long time yet to come.
Both scriptures treat of all such metaphysical questions very
cautiously, and both Buddhist and Christian records sin by
that excess of exotericism, the dead-letter meaning far over-
shooting the mark in both cases.
Inq. Do you mean to suggest that neither the teachings of Buddha nor
those of Christ have been heretofore rightly understood?
Theo. What I mean is just as you say. Both Gospels — the
7b the key To theosophy
Buddhist and the Christian — were preached with the same
object in view. Both reformers were ardent philanthropists
and practical altruists, preaching most unmistakably social
betterment of the noblest and highest type, self-sacrifice to
the bitter end. " Let the sins of the whole world fall upon
me, that I may relieve man's misery and suffering ! " cries
Buddha. "I would not let one cry whom I could save!"
exclaims the Prince-beggar, clad in the refuse rags of the
burial grounds. " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest," is the appeal to the
poor and the disinherited made by the " Man of Sorrows,"
who had not where to lay his head. The teachings of both
are boundless love for humanity, charity, forgiveness of in-
jury, forgetfulness of self, and pity for the deluded masses;
both show the same contempt for riches, and make no differ-
ence between mcum and tiium. Their desire was, without
revealing to all the sacred mysteries of initiation, to give the
ignorant and the misled, whose burden in life was too heavy
for them, hope enough and an inkling into the truth sufficient
to support them in their heaviest hours. But the object of
both reformers was frustrated, owing to excess of zeal of
their later followers. The words of the Masters having
been misunderstood and misinterpreted, behold the conse-
quences !
Inq. But surely Buddha must have repudiated the soul's immortality if all
the Orientalists and his own Priests say so !
ThEO. The Arhats began by following the policy of their Mas-
ter, and the majority of the priests who followed them were
not initiated, just as in Christianity; and so, little by little,
the great esoteric truths became almost lost. A proof in
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 79
point is that, out of the two existing sects in Ceylon, the
Siamese beheves death to be the absolute annihilation of
individuality and personality, and the other explains Nirvana
as we Theosophists do.
Inq. But why, in that case, do Buddhism and Christianity represent the
two opposite poles of such beHef ?
Theo. Because the conditions under which they were preached
were not the same. In India the Brahmans, jealous of their
superior knowledge, and excluding from it every caste save
their own, had driven millions of men into idolatry and al-
most fetishism. Buddha had to give the death-blow to an
exuberance of unhealthy fancy and fanatical superstition
resulting from ignorance, such as has rarely been known
before or after. Better a philosophical atheism than such
ignorant worship for those
Who cry upon their gods and are not heard
Or are not heeded,
and who live and die in mental despair. He had to arrest
first of all this muddy torrent of superstition ; to uproot errors
before he gave out the truth. And as he could not give out
all, for the same good reason as Jesus — who reminds his
disciples that the mysteries of heaven are not for the unin-
telligent masses, but for the elect alone, and therefore he
spoke to the people in parables (Matt, xiii, 10, 11) — so his
caution led Buddha to conceal too much. He even refused
to say to the monk Vacchagotta whether there was or was
not an Ego in man. When pressed to answer, " the Exalted
one maintained silence."
Buddha gives his initiated disciple Ananda, who inquires
80 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
for the reason of this silence, a plain and unequivocal answer
in the dialogue translated by Oldenburg from the Samyuttaka
Nikdya:
If I, Ananda, when the wandering monk Vacchagotta asked me,
" Is there the Ego? " had answered, " The Ego is," then that, Ananda,
would have confirmed the doctrine of the Samanas and Brahmanas,
who beUeved in permanence. If I, Ananda, when the wandering monk
Vacchagotta asked me, " Is there not the Ego ?" had answered, " The
Ego is not," then that, Ananda, would have confirmed the doctrine of
those who beHeved in annihilation. If I, Ananda, when the wander-
ing monk Vacchagotta asked me, " Is there the Ego ?" had answered,
" The Ego is," would that have served my end, Ananda, by producing
in him the knowledge, all existences (dhamnia) are non-ego? But if I,
Ananda, had answered, " The Ego is not," then that, Ananda, would
only have caused the wandering monk Vacchagotta to be thrown from
one bewilderment to another: " My Ego, did it not exist before? But
now it exists no longer !"
This shows better than anything that Gautama Buddha
withheld such difficult metaphysical doctrines from the masses
in order not to perplex them more. What he meant was
the difference between the personal temporary Ego and the
Higher Self, which sheds its light on the imperishable Ego,
the spiritual " I " of man.
Inq. This refers to Gautama, but in what way does it touch the Gospels?
ThEO. Read history and think over it. At the time the events
narrated in the Gospels are alleged to have happened there
was a similar intellectual fermentation taking place in the
whole civilized world, only with opposite results in the East
and the West. The old gods were dying out. While the
civilized classes drifted, in the train of the unbelieving Sad-
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 81
ducees, into materialistic negations and mere dead-letter
Mosaic form in Palestine, and into moral dissolution in
Rome, the lowest and poorest classes ran after sorcery and
strange gods, or became hypocrites or worse. Once more
the time for a spiritual reform had arrived. The cruel,
anthropomorphic and jealous God of the Jews, with his san-
guinary laws of " an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth," of the shedding of blood and animal sacrifice, had
to be relegated to a secondary place and replaced by the
merciful '' Father in secret." The latter had to be shown,
not as an extra-Cosmic God, but as a divine Savior of the
•man of flesh, enshrined in his own heart and soul, in the poor
as in the rich. No more here than in India could the secrets
of initiation be divulged, lest by giving that which is holy to
the dogs, and casting pearls before swine, both the Revealer
and the things revealed should be trodden underfoot. Thus
the reticence of both Buddha and Jesus — whether the latter
lived out the historic period allotted to him or not, and who
equally abstained from revealing plainly the mysteries of
Life and Death — led in the one case to the blank negations
of Southern Buddhism, and in the other to the three clashing
forms of the Christian Church and the two hundred sects in
Protestant England alope.
82 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
VI
THEOSOPHICAL TEACHINGS AS TO NATURE
AND MAN
THE UNITY OF ALL IN ALL
Inq. Having told me what God, the soul and man are not, in your views,
can you inform me what they are, according to your teachings ?
ThKO. In their origin and in eternity the three, Hke the uni-
verse and all therein, are one with the absolute Unity, the un-
knowable deific essence I spoke about some time back. We
believe in no creation, but in the periodical and consecutive
appearances of the universe from the subjective on to the
objective plane of being, at regular intervals of time, covering
periods of immense duration.
Inq. Can you elaborate the subject?
ThEo. Take as a first comparison, and a help toward a more
correct conception, the solar year; and as a second, the two
halves of that year, producing each a day and a night of six
months' duration at the North Pole. Now imagine, if you
can, instead of a solar year of 365 days, ETERNITY. Let
the sun represent the universe, and the polar days and nights
of six months each days and nights lasting each 182 trillions
and quadrillions of years, instead of 182 days each. As the
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 83
sun rises every morning on our objective horizon out of its
(to us) subjective and antipodal space, so does the Universe
emerge periodically on the plane of objectivity, issuing from
that of subjectivity — the antipodes of the former. This is
the " Cycle of Life." And as the sun disappears from our
horizon, so does the Universe disappear at regular periods,
when the " Universal Night " sets in. The Hindus call such
alternations the " Days and Nights of Brahma," or the times
of Manvantara and Pralaya (dissolution). The Westerns
may call them Universal Days and Nights if they prefer.
During the latter (the Nights) All is in All; every atom is
resolved into one Homogeneity.
EVOLUTION AND ILLUSION
Inq. But who is it that each time creates the universe?
Theo. No one creates it. Science would call the process evolu-
tion; the pre-Christian philosophers and the Orientalists
called it emanation ; we Occultists and Theosophists see in it
the only universal and eternal Reality casting a periodical
reflection of Itself on the infinite spatial depths. This re-
flection, which you regard as the objective material universe,
we consider as a temporary illusion and nothing else. That
alone which is eternal is real.
Inq. At that rate, you and I are also illusions.
Theo. As flitting personalities — today one person, tomorrow
another — we are. Would you call the sudden flashes of the
aurora borealis — the Northern lights — a "reality," though
84 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV
it is as real as can be while you look at it? Certainly not;
it is the cause that produces it, if permanent and eternal,
which is the only reality, while the effect is but a passing
illusion.
Inq. All this does not explain to me how this illusion called the universe
originates ; how the conscious to he proceeds to manifest itself from
the unconsciousness that is.
Theo. It is unconsciousness only to our finite consciousness.
Verily may we paraphrase St. John (i, 5), and say, "And
(Absolute) light (which is darkness to us) shineth in dark-
ness (which is illusionary material light); and the darkness
comprehendeth it not." This absolute light is also absolute
and immutable Law. Whether by radiation or emanation —
we need not quarrel over terms — the universe passes out of
its homogeneous subjectivity on to the first plane of mani-
festation; of which planes there are seven, we are taught.
With each plane it becomes more dense and material until it
reaches this our plane, on which the only world approxim-
ately known and understood in its physical composition by
science is the planetary or solar system — one sni generis,
we are told.
Inq. What do you mean by sui generis?
The:o. I mean that, though the fundamental law and the uni-
versal working of laws of Nature are uniform, still our solar
system — like every other such system in the millions of
others in Cosmos, and even our Earth — has its own pro-
gram of manifestations, differing from the respective pro-
grams of all others. We speak of the inhabitants of other
planets, and imagine that if they are men — i. c., thinking
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 85
entities — they must be as we are. The fancy of poets and
painters and sculptors never fails to represent even the angels
as a beautiful copy of man — plus wings. We say that all
this is an error and a delusion ; because, if on this little earth
alone one finds such a diversity in its flora, fauna and man-
kind — from the seaweed to the cedar of Lebanon, from the
jellyfish to the elephant, from the Bushman and negro to the
Apollo Belvedere — alter the conditions, cosmic and plan-
etary, and there must be as a result quite a different flora,
fauna and mankind. The same laws will fashion quite a
different set of things and beings even on this our plane, in-
cluding in it all our planets. How much more diff'erent, then,
must be external nature in other solar systems; and how
foolish is it to judge of other stars and worlds and human
beings by our own, as physical science does !
Inq. But what are your data for this assertion?
Theo. What science in general will never accept as proof —
the cumulative testimony of an endless series of Seers who
have testified to this fact. Their spiritual visions — real ex-
plorations by and through psychic and spiritual senses un-
trammeled by blind flesh — have been systematically checked
and compared one with the other, and their nature sifted.
All that was not corroborated by unanimous and collective
experience was rejected, while that only was recorded as es-
tablished truth which, in various ages, under different climes,
and throughout an untold series of incessant observations,
was found to agree and receive constantly further corrobor-
ation. The methods used by our scholars and students of
the psychospiritual sciences do not differ from those of stud-
86 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
ents of the natural and physical sciences, as you may see.
Only our fields of research are on two different planes, and
our instruments are made by no human hands; for which
reason, perchance, they are but the more reliable. The
retorts, accumulators and microscopes of the chemist and
naturalist may get out of order ; the telescope and the astron-
omer's horological instruments may get spoiled; our record-
ing instruments are beyond the influence of weather or the
elements.
Inq. And therefore you have impUcit faith in them?
Thko. Faith is a word not to be found in Theosophical diction-
aries ; we say knozvledge based on observation and experience.
There is this difference, however : that while the observation
and experience of physical science lead the scientists to about
as many "working hypotheses" as there are minds to evolve
them, our knozvledge consents to add to its lore only those
facts which have become undeniable and which are fully and
absolutely demonstrated. We have no two beliefs or hypo-
theses on the same subject.
Inq. Is it on such data that you came to accept the strange theories we
find in some of the earher Theosophical books ?
ThKO. Just SO. These theories may be slightly incorrect in
their minor details, and even faulty in their exposition by
lay students ; they are facts in nature, nevertheless, and come
nearer the truth than any scientific hypothesis.
THB KEY TO THBOSOPHY 87
ON THE SEPTENARY CONSTITUTION OF OUR PLANET
Inq. I understand that you describe our earth as forming part of a chain of
earths?
Theo. We do. But the other six "earths" or globes are not on
the same plane of objectivity as our earth is; therefore we
can not see them.
Inq. Is that on account of the great distance?
Thko. Not at all ; for we see with our naked eye not only plan-
ets, but even stars at immeasurably greater distances; but it
is owing to these six globes being outside our physical means
of perception or plane of being. It is not only that their
material density, weight and fabric are entirely different
from those of our earth and the other known planets ; but they
are (to us) in an entirely dift'erent layer of space, so to speak
— a layer not to be perceived or felt by our physical senses.
And when I say " layer," please do not allow your fancy to
suggest to you layers like strata or beds laid one over the
other ; for this would only lead to another absurd misconcep-
tion. What I mean by ''layer" is that plane of infinite space
which by its nature cannot fall under our ordinary waking
perceptions, whether mental or physical, but which exists in
Nature outside of our normal mentality or consciousness,
outside of our three-dimensional space, and outside of our
division of time. Each of the seven fundamental planes (or
layers) in space — of course as a whole, as the pure space of
Locke's definition, not as our finite space — has its own ob-
jectivity and subjectivity, its own space and time, its own
consciousness and set of senses. But all this will be hardly
comprehensible to one trained in the modern ways of thought.
88 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Inq, What do you mean by a different set of senses? Is there anything
on our human plane that you could bring as an illustration of what you
say, just to give a clearer idea of what you may mean by this variety of
senses, spaces and respective perceptions?
Theo. None, except, perhaps, that which for Science would
be rather a handy peg on which to hang a counter-argument.
We have a different set of senses in dream-Hfe, have we not?
We feel, talk, hear, see, taste and function in general on a
different plane, the change of state of our consciousness being
evidenced by the fact that a series of acts and events embrac-
ing years, as we think, passes ideally through our mind in one
instant. W^ell, that extreme rapidity of our mental opera-
tions in dreams, and the perfect naturalness, for the time
being, of all the other functions, show us that we are on
quite another plane. Our philosophy teaches us that as there
are seven fundamental forces in nature, and seven planes of
being, so there are seven states of consciousness in which
man can live, think, remember and have his being. To enu-
merate these here is impossible, and for this one has to turn
to the study of Eastern metaphysics. But in these two states
— the waking and the dreaming — every ordinary mortal,
from a learned philosopher down to a poor untutored savage,
has a good proof that such states differ.
Inq. You do not accept, then, the well-known explanations of biology
and physiology to account for the dream-state?
Theo. We do not. We reject even the hypotheses of your psy-
chologists, preferring the teachings of Eastern Wisdom.
Believing in seven planes of Kosmic being and states of Con-
sciousness, with regard to the Universe or the Macrocosm,
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 89
we stop at the fourth plane, finding it impossible to go with
any degree of certainty beyond. But with respect to the
Microcosm, or man, we speculate freely on his seven states
and principles.
Inq. How do you explain these?
Thdo. We find, first of all, two distinct beings in man — the
spiritual and the physical; the man who thinks and the man
who records as much of these thoughts as he is able to assim-
ilate. Therefore we divide him into two distinct natures —
the upper or the spiritual being, composed of three "prin-
ciples" or aspects; and the lower or the physical quaternary,
composed of four — in all seven.
THE SEPTENARY NATURE OF MAN
Inq. Is it what we call Spirit and Soul and the man of flesh?
Theo. It is not. That is the old Platonic division. Plato was
an Initiate, and therefore could not go into forbidden details ;
but he who is acquainted with the archaic doctrine finds the
seven in Plato's various combinations of Soul and Spirit.
He regarded man as constituted of two parts — one eternal,
formed of the same essence as the Absoluteness; the other
mortal and corruptible, deriving its constituent parts from
the minor "created" Gods. Man is composed, he shows, of
(1) a mortal body; (2) an immortal principle; and (3) a
" separate mortal kind of Soul." It is that which we re-
spectively call the physical man, the Spiritual Soul or Spirit
(iioiis), and the animal soul (psuelie). This is the division
90
THB KBY TO THHOSOPHY
adopted by Paul, another Initiate, who maintains that there
is a psychical body which is sown in the corruptible (astral or
physical body), and a spiritual body that is raised in incor-
ruptible substance. Even James (iii, 15) corroborates the
same by saying that the "wisdom" (of our lower soul) des-
cendeth not from above, but is terrestrial, " psychical," " de-
moniacal," {z'ide Greek text), while the other is heavenly
wisdom. Now, so plain is it that Plato, and even Pytha-
goras, while speaking but of three "principles," give them
seven separate functions in their various combinations, that
if we contrast our teachings this will become quite plain.
Let us take a cursory view of these seven aspects by drawing
a table.
THEOSOPHICAL DIVISION
Sanskrit Terms
a
W
o
1-4
w
n
(a) Rupa, or Sthula
Sharira.
(b) Prana.
(c) Linga Sharira.
(d) Kama Rupa.
Exoteric Meaning
(o) Physical body.
(b) Life, or vital
principle.
(c) Astral body.
(d) The seat of ani-
mal desires and pas-
sions.
Explanatory
(a) Is the vehicle of all the
other "principles" during life.
(b) Necessary only to a, c, d,
and the functions of the low-
er Manas, which embrace all
those limited to the (phys-
ical) brain.
(c) The Double, the phantom
body.
(d) This is the center of the
animal man, where lies the
line of demarcation which
separates the mortal man
from the immortal entity.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
91
Sanskrit Terms
Eh
{e) Manas — a dual
principle in its func-
tions.
(/) Buddhi.
ig) Atma.
Exoteric Meaning
{e) Mind, intellig-
ence ; the higher hu-
man mind, whose
light, or radiation,
links the Monad,
for the lifetime, to
the mortal man.
(/) The Spiritual
Soul.
{g) Spirit.
Explanatory
{e) The future state and the
Karmic destiny of man de-
pend on whether Manas grav-
itates more downward to
Kama Rijpa, the seat of the
animal passions, or upward
to Buddhi, the Spiritual Ego.
In the latter case, the higher
consciousness of the individ-
ual Spiritual aspirations of
mind (Manas), assimilating
Buddhi, is absorbed by it and
forms the Ego, which goes
into Devachanic bliss. 23
(/) The vehicle of pure uni-
versal spirit.
ig) One with the Absolute,
as its radiation.
Now what does Plato teach? He speaks of the interior
man as constituted of two parts — one immutable and always
the same, formed of the same substance as Deity, and the
other mortal and corruptible. These two parts are found in
the upper Triad and the lower Quaternary of our table. He
explains that when the Soul (psuche) "allies herself to the
23. In some Theosophical writings, by students, d, e and / are respectively called the
animal, the human, and the spiritual souls, which answers as well. Though the
principles are usually numbered, this is strictly speaking, useless. The dual
Monad alone (Atma-Buddhi) is susceptible of being thought of as the two
highest numbers (the 6th and 7th). As to all others, since that "principle" only
which is predominant in man has to be considered as the first and foremost, no
numeration is possible as a general rule. In some men it is the higher Intelli-
gence (Manas, or the 5th) which dominates the rest; in others it is the animal
soul (Kama Riipa) that reigns supreme, exhibiting the most bestial instincts, etc.
92 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
nous (divine spirit or substance^"*), she does everything aright
and f ehcitously" ; but the case is otherwise when she attaches
herself to anoia (folly, or the irrational animal soul). Here,
then, we have Manas, or the Soul in general, in its two as-
pects : when attaching itself to anoia (our Kama Riapa, or the
"animal soul," as sometimes described) it runs toward en-
tire annihilation, as far as the personal Ego is concerned;
when allying itself to the nous (Atma-Buddhi) it merges
into the immortal, imperishable Ego, and then its spiritual
consciousness of the personal that n^as, becomes immortal.
THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN SOUL AND SPIRIT
Inq. Do you really teach, as you are accused of doing by some Spirit-
ualists and French Spiritists, the annihilation of every personality?
ThEo. We do not. Our opponents have started the nonsensical
charge because this question of duality — the individuality
of the Divine Ego and the personality of the human animal
— involves that of the possibility of the real immortal Ego
appearing in seance-rooms as a "materialized spirit," which
we deny, as already explained.
Inq. You have just spoken of psuche running towards its entire annihil-
ation if it attaches itself to anoia. What did Plato, and what do you,
mean by this?
24. Paul calls Plato's nous " Spirit " ; but as this spirit is "substance," then, of
course, Buddhi and not Atma is meant, as the latter can not philosophically
be called "substance" under any circumstance. We include Atma among the
human "principles" in order not to create additional confusion. In reality it
is no human principle, but the universal absolute principle of which Buddhi,
the Soul-Spirit, is the carrier.
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 93
ThEO. The entire annihilation of the personal consciousness,
as an exceptional and rare case, I think. The general and
almost invariable rule is the merging of the personal into the
individual or immortal consciousness of the Ego — a trans-
formation or a divine transfiguration — and the entire an-
nihilation only of the lower quaternary. Would you expect
the man of flesh (or the temporary personality) , his shadow
(the astral), his animal instincts, and even physical life, to
survive with the "spiritual Ego'^ and become sempiternal?
Naturally all this ceases to exist, either at or soon after cor-
poreal death. It becomes in time entirely disintegrated and
disappears from view, being annihilated as a whole.
Inq. Then you also reject resurrection in the flesh?
Theo. Most decidedly we do! Why should we, who believe in
the archaic Esoteric Philosophy of the ancients, accept the
unphilosophical speculations of the later Christian theology,
borrowed from the Eg>'ptian and Greek exoteric systems of
the Gnostics?
Inq. The Egyptians revered nature-spirits, and deified even onions ; your
Hindus are idolaters to this day ; the Zoroastrians worshiped, and do
still worship, the sun ; and the best Greek philosophers were either
dreamers or materialists — witness Plato and Democritus. How can
you compare?
Theo. It may be so in your modern theological and even sci-
entific catechisms; it is not so for unbiased minds. The
Egyptians revered the " One-Only-One," as Nont; and it
is from this word that Anaxagoras got his denomination
nous, or, as he calls it, vov? avTOKpaxT/s, " the mind or spirit self-
potent;" dpx^/ 71-^5 Ktvr/o-tcjs, "the leading motor" or prinintn
94 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHV
mobile of all. With him the Nous was God, and the logos
was man, his 'emanation. The nous is the spirit (whether
in Kosmos or in man), and the logos, whether Universe or
astral body, the emanation of the former, the physical body
being merely the animal. Our external powers perceive
phenomena; our Nous alone is able to recognize their nou-
mena. It is the logos alone, or the noumenon, that survives,
because it is immortal in its very nature and essence; and
the logos in man is the Eternal Ego, that which reincarnates
and lasts forever. But how can the evanescent or external
shadow, the temporary clothing of that divine Emanation
which returns to the source whence it proceeded, be that
zvhich is " raised in incorruptibility " ?
Inq. Still you can hardly escape the charge of having invented a new
division of man's spiritual and psychic constituents ; for no philosopher
speaks of them, though you believe that Plato does.
Theo. And I support the view. Not only Plato, but also Pyth-
agoras followed the same division. ^^ He described the Soul
as a self-moving Unit (monas) composed of three elements
— the Nous (spirit), the phren (mind), and the thumos
(life, breath, or the nephesh of the Kabalists), which three
correspond to our Atmd-Buddhi (higher Spirit-Soul), to
Manas (the Ego), and to Kama Rupa in conjunction with
25. " Plato and Pythagoras," says Plutarch, " distribute the soul into two parts, the
rational [noetic] and irrational soul [agnoia] ; that that part of the soul of man
which is rational is eternal — for though it be not God, yet it is the product of
an eternal Deity — but that part of the soul which is divested of reason [agnoia]
dies." The modern term agnostic comes from a-gnosticos, a word cognate with
agnoia. We wonder why Mr. Huxley, the author of the word, should have con-
nected his great intellect with "the soul. . .divested of reason," which dies? Is
it the exaggerated humility of the modern materialist?
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 95
the lower reflection of Manas. That which the ancient
Greek philosophers termed Soul, in general, we call Spirit,
or Spiritual Soul — Buddhi, as the vehicle of Atma; the To
Agathon, or Plato's Supreme Deity. The fact that Pyth-
agoras and others state that phren and thumos are shared by
us with the brutes proves that in this case the loiver manasic
reflection (instinct) and Kama Rupa (animal living pas-
sions) are meant. And as Socrates and Plato accepted the
clue and followed it, if to these five — namely. To Agathon
(Deity or Atma), psuche (soul in its collective sense). Nous
(Spirit or Mind), phre^i (physical mind), and thumos {Ka-
ma Rupa or passions) — we add the eidolon of the Mysteries
(the shadowy form or human double), and the physical body,
it will be easy to demonstrate that the ideas of both Pyth-
agoras and Plato were identical with ours. Even the Egyp-
tians held to the septenary division. They taught that the
Soul (Ego) in its exit had to pass through its seven chambers
or principles — both those it left behind and those it took
along with itself. The only difference is that, ever bearing
in mind the penalty of revealing Mystery-doctrines, w^hich
was death, they gave out the teaching in broad outline, while
we elaborate it and explain it in its details. But though we
do give out to the world as much as is lawful, even in our
doctrine more than one important detail is withheld, which
those who study the Esoteric Philosophy and are pledged to
silence, arc alone entitled to knozv.
96 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
THE GREEK TEACHINGS
I NO. We have magnificent Greek and Latin, Sanskrit and Hebrew scholars.
How is it that we find nothing in their translations that would afford
us a clue to what you say?
ThEo. Because your translators, their great learning notwith-
standing, have made of the philosophers — the Greeks es-
pecially— viisty instead of mystic writers. Take as an in-
stance Plutarch, and read what he says of the "principles"
of man. What he describes is accepted literally and attrib-
uted to metaphysical superstition and ignorance. Let me
give you an illustration in point from this author:
Man is compound ; and they are mistaken zvho think him to be com-
pounded of two parts only. For they imagine that the understanding
[brain-intellect] is a part of the soul [the upper triad] ; but they err in
this no less than those who make the soul to be a part of the body [i.e.,
those who make of the triad part of the corruptible mortal quaternary].
For the understanding [nous] as far exceeds the soul as the soul is
better and diviner than the body. Now this composition of the soul
[•A^X^] with the understanding [vous] makes reason, and with the
body [or thunws, the animal soul] passion; of which the one is the be-
ginning or principle of pleasure and pain, and the other of virtue and
vice. Of these three parts conjoined and compacted together, the earth
has given the body, the moon the soul, and the sun the understanding,
to the generation of man.
This last sentence is purely allegorical, and will be compre-
hended only by those who are versed in the esoteric science of
correspondences and know what planet is related to every
. principle. Plutarch divides the principles into three groups,
and makes of the body a compound of physical frame, astral
shadow and breathy or the triple lower part, which " from
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 97
earth was taken and to earth returns;" of the middle prin-
ciple and the instinctual soul, the second part, derived from
and through, and ever influenced by, the moon;^^ and only of
the higher part, or the Spiritual Soul (Buddhi), with the
Atmic and manasic elements in it, does he make a direct
emanation of the Sun, who stands here for To Agafhon, the
Supreme Deity. This is proven by what he says further as
follows :
Now of the deaths we die, the one makes man two of three and
the other one of [out of] two. The former is in the region and juris-
diction of Demeter; whence the name given to the Mysteries, reXetv,
resembled that given to death, reXevrav. The Athenians also hereto-
fore called the deceased sacred to Demeter. As for the other death,
it is in the moon or region of Persephone.
Here you have our doctrine, which shows man a septenary
during life; a quintile just after death, in Kamaloka; and a
threefold Ego, Spirit-Soul and consciousness in Devachan.
This separation, first in the " Meadows of Hades," as Plu-
tarch calls the Kamaloka, then in Devachan, was part and
parcel of the performances during the sacred Mysteries,
wdien the candidates for initiation enacted the whole drama
of death and the resurrection as a glorified spirit, by which
name we mean Consciousness. This is what Plutarch means
when he says:
And as with the one, the terrestrial, so with the other, celestial,
Hermes doth dwell. This suddenly and with violence plucks the soul
from the body; but Proserpina mildly and in a long time disjoins the
26. The Kabalists who know the relation of Jehovah, the life and children giver, to
the Moon, and the influence of the latter on generation, will again see the point
as much as will some astrologers.
98 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
understanding from the soul.^^ For this reason is she called monogenes,
only begotten, or rather begetting one alone; for the better part of
man becomes alone zvhen it is separated by her. Now both the one
and the other happens thus according to nature. It is ordained by
Fate [Fatum or Karma] that every soul, whether with or without un-
derstanding [mind], when gone out of the body, should wander for a
time — though not all for the same — in the region lying between the
earth and moon [Kamaloka].^^ For those who have been unjust and
dissolute suffer then the punishment due to their offenses ; but the
good and virtuous are there detained till they are purified and have,
by expiation, purged out of them all the infections they might have con-
tracted from the contagion of the body, as if from foul health — living in
the mildest part of the air, called the Meadows of Hades, where they
must remain for a certain prefixed and appointed time. And then, as
if they were returning from a wandering pilgrimage or long exile into
their country, they have a taste of joy, such as they principally receive
who are initiated into Sacred Mysteries, mixed with trouble, admira-
tion, and each one's proper and peculiar hope.
This is Nirvanic bliss, and no Theosophist could describe
in plainer though esoteric language the mental joys of Deva-
chan, where every man has his paradise around him, created
by his consciousness. But you must beware of the general
error into which too many even of our Theosophists fall. Do
not imagine that because man is called septenary, then quin-
tuple and a triad, that he is a compound of seven, five or
three entities; or, as well expressed by a Theosophical writer,
of skins to be peeled off like the skins of an onion. The
27. Proserpina, or Persephone, stands here for post-mortem Karma, which is said to
regulate the separation of the lower from the higher "principles" — the soul,
as Nephcsh, the breath of animal life, which remains for a time in Kama-loka,
from the higher compound Ego, which goes into the state of Devachan, or bliss.
28. Until the separation of the higher, spiritual "principle" from the lower principles,
which remain in the Kama-loka until disintegrated.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 99
"principles," as already said — save the body, the life and
the astral eidolon, all of which disperse at death — are sim-
ply aspects and states of consciousness. There is but one
real man, enduring through the cycle of life and immortal in
essence, if not in form, and this is Manas, the Mind-man or
embodied Consciousness. The objection made by the mater-
ialists, who deny the possibility of mind and consciousness
acting without matter, is worthless in our case. We do not
deny the soundness of their argument, but we simply ask our
opponents : Are you acquainted zvith all the states of matter
— you who knew hitherto but of three? And how do you
know whether that which we refer to as Absolute Con-
sciousness or Deity, forever invisible and unknowable, be
not that which, though it forever eludes our human finite
conception, is still universal Spirit-matter or matter-Spirit
in its absolute infinitude f It is, then, one of the lowest, and
in its manvantaric manifestations fractioned, aspects of this
Spirit-matter which is the conscious Bgo that creates its own
paradise — a fools' paradise, it may be, still a state of bliss.
Inq. But what is Devachan?
ThKo. The "land of gods," literally; a condition, a state of
mental bliss. Philosophically, a mental condition analogous
to, but far more vivid and real than, the most vivid dream.
It is the state after death of most mortals.
100 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV
VII
ON THE VARIOUS POST-MORTEM STATES
THE PHYSICAL AND THE SPIRITUAL MAN
Inq. I am glad to hear you believe in the immortality of the soul.
Theo. Not of "the soul," but of the divine Spirit; or rather
in the immortaHty of the reincarnating Ego.
Inq. What is the difference?
Theo. a very great one in our philosophy ; but this is too ab-
struse and difficult a question to touch lightly upon. We
shall have to analyze them separately, and then in conjunc-
tion. We may begin with Spirit.
We say that the Spirit — the "Father in secret" of Jesus
— or Atman is no individual property of any man, but is the
divine essence which has no body, no form, which is impond-
erable, invisible and indivisible, that which does not exist
and yet is, as the Buddhists say of Nirvana. It only over-
shadows the mortal ; that which enters into him and pervades
the whole body being but its omnipresent rays, or light, rad-
iated through Biiddhi, its vehicle and direct emanation. This
is the secret meaning of the assertions of almost all the an-
cient philosophers when they said that " the rational part of
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 101
man's soul ""^ never enters wholly into the man, but only
overshadows him more or less through the irrational spirit-
ual Soul, or Bnddhi.^°
Inq. I labored under the impression that the "animal soul" alone was
irrational and not the divine Soul.
Theo. You have to learn the difiference between that which is
negatively or passively irrational, because undififerentiated,
and that which is irrational because too active and positive.
Man is a correlation of spiritual powers, as well as a cor-
relation of chemical and physical forces, brought into func-
tion by what we call "principles."
Inq. I have read a good deal upon the subject, and it seems to me that
the notions of the older philosophers differed a great deal from those
of the mediaeval Kabalists, though they do agree in some particulars.
ThKo. The most substantial difiference between them and us is
this. While we believe, with the Neo-Platonists and the East-
ern teachings, that the Spirit {Atma) never descends hypo-
statically into the living man, but only showers more or less
its radiance on the inner man — the psychic and spiritual
compound of the astral principles — the Kabalists maintain
that the human Spirit, detaching itself from the ocean of
light and Universal Spirit, enters man's Soul, where it re-
mains throughout life imprisoned in the astral capsule. All
29. In its generic sense, the term "rational" meaning something emanating from the
Eternal Wisdom.
30. Irrational in the sense that as a pure emanation of the Universal Mind it can have
no individual reason of its own on this plane of matter, but, like the Moon, who
borrows her light from the Sun and her life from the Earth, so Buddhi, re-
ceiving its light of Wisdom from Atma, gets its rational qualities from Manas.
Per se, as something homogeneous, it is devoid of attributes.
102 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Christian Kabalists still maintain the same, as they are un-
able to break quite loose from their anthropomorphic and
Biblical doctrines.
Inq. And what do you say?
ThDo. We say that we only allow the presence of the radiation
of Spirit, or Atma, in the astral capsule, and so far only as
that spiritual radiancy is concerned. We say that man and
Soul have to conquer their immortality by ascending toward
the unity with which, if successful, they will be finally linked,
and into which they are finally, so to speak, absorbed. The
individualization of man after death depends on the spirit,
not on his soul and body. Although the word '' personality,"
in the sense in which it is usually understood, is an absurdity
if applied literally to our immortal essence, still the latter is,
as our individual Ego, a distinct entity, immortal and eternal
per se. It is only in the case of black magicians or of crim-
inals beyond redemption — criminals who have been such
during a long scries of lives — that the shining thread which
links the spirit to the personal soul from the moment of the
birth of the child is violently snapped, and the disembodied
entity becomes divorced from the personal soul, the latter
being annihilated without leaving the smallest impression of
itself on the former. If this union between the lower or per-
sonal Manas and the individual reincarnating Ego has not
been effected during life, then the former is left to share the
fate of the lower animals — to dissolve gradually into ether
and have its personality annihilated. But even then the
spiritual Ego remains a distinct being. It (the spiritual
Ego) only loses — after that special, and in that case, indeed,
THB KEY TO THBOSOPHY 163
useless, life — one Devachanic state which it would other-
wise have enjoyed as that idealized personality, and is rein-
carnated almost immediately, after enjoying for a short
time its freedom as a planetary spirit.
Inq. It is stated in Isis Unveiled that such planetary spirits or angels,
" the gods of the Pagans or the Archangels of the Christians," will
will never be men on our planet.
Theo. Quite right. Not ''such planetary spirits," but some
classes of higher Planetary Spirits. They will never be men
on this planet, because they are liberated spirits from a pre-
vious, earlier world, and as such they cannot re-become men
on this earth. Yet all these will live again in the next and
far higher mahmianvantara, after this " Great Age " and
its Brahmic pralaya (a little period of sixteen figures or so)
are over. For you must have heard, of course, that Eastern
philosophy teaches us that mankind consists of such " Spir-
its " imprisoned in human bodies. The difference between
animals and men is this: the former are ensouled by the
^'principles" potentially, the latter actually.^^ Do you now
understand the difference?
Inq. Yes; but this specialization has been in all ages the stumbling-block
of metaphysicians.
Theo. It has. The whole esotericism of the Buddhistic philo-
sophy is based on this mysterious teaching, understood by
so few, and so totally misrepresented by many of the most
learned modern scholars. Even metaphysicians are too in-
clined to confound the effect with the cause. An Ego who
31. This is fully explained in the Commentaries of The Secret Doctrine, volume II.
104 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
has won his immortal life as spirit will remain the same Inner
Self throughout all his rebirths on earth; but this does not
imply necessarily that he must either remain the Mr. Smith
or Mr. Brown he was on earth, or lose his individuality.
Therefore the astral soul and the terrestrial body of a man
may, in the dark hereafter, be absorbed into the cosmical
ocean of sublimated elements, and he may cease to feel his
last personal Ego (if it did not deserve to soar higher) ; and
yet the divine Ego may still remain the same unchanged en-
tity, though this terrestrial experience of its emanation may
be totally obliterated at the instant of separation from the
unworthy vehicle.
Inq. If the " Spirit," or the divine portion of the soul, is pre-existent as
a distinct being from all eternity, as Origen, Synesius, and other semi-
Christians and semi-Platonic philosophers taught, and if it is the same,
and nothing more than the metaphysically objective soul, how can it
be otherwise than eternal? And what matters it in such a case, whe-
ther man leads a pure or an animal life, if, do what he may, he can
never lose his individuality?
Theo. This doctrine, as you have stated it, is just as pernicious
in its consequences as that of vicarious atonement. Had
the latter dogma, in company with the false idea that we are
all immortal, been demonstrated to the world in its true light,
humanity would have been bettered by its propagation.
Let me repeat to you again: Pythagoras, Plato, Timaeus
of Locris, and the old Alexandrian school derived the Soul
of man (or his higher ''principles" and attributes) from the
Universal World-Soul, the latter being, according to their
teachings, Mthcr (Pater-Zeus). Therefore none of these
"principles" can be the unalloyed essence of the Pythagorean
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 105
monas, or our Atma-Buddhi, because the aniiiia niundi is but
the effect — the subjective emanation, or rather radiation —
of the monas. Both the human Spirit, or the individuaHty, the
reincarnating Spiritual Ego, and Buddhi, the Spiritual soul,
are pre-existent. But while the former exists as a distinct
entity, an individualization, the soul exists as pre-existing
breath, an unscient portion of an intelligent whole. Both
were originally formed from the Eternal Ocean of light;
but as the Fire-Philosophers, the mediaeval Theosophists, ex-
pressed it, there is a visible as well as invisible spirit in fire.
They made a difference between the anima bruta and the
anima divina. Empedocles firmly believed all men and an-
imals to possess two souls; and in Aristotle we find that he
calls one the reasoning soul (vovs) and the other the animal
soul i^xn)' According to these philosophers, the reasoning
soul comes from zvithin the Universal Soul, and the other
from zvithoiit.
Tnq. Would you call the Soul, i. e., the human thinking Soul, or what
you call the Ego, matter?
Theo. Not matter, but substance, assuredly; nor would the
word ''matter," if prefixed with the adjective primordial, be
a word to avoid. This matter, we say, is coeternal with
Spirit, and is not our visible, tangible and divisible matter,
but its extreme sublimation. Pure Spirit is but one remove
from the no-Spirit, or the absolute All. Unless you admit
that man was evolved out of this primordial spirit-matter,
and represents a regular progressive scale of "principles"
from w^^a-Spirit down to the grossest matter, how can we
ever come to regard the inner man as immortal, and at the
same time as a spiritual entity and a mortal man ?
106 THE KnV TO THBOSOPHV
Inq. Then why should you not beheve in God as such an Entity?
Theo. Because that which is infinite and unconditioned can
have no form, and cannot be a being — not in any Eastern
philosophy worthy of the name, at any rate. An "entity" is
immortal, but is so only in its ultimate essence, not in its in-
dividual form. When at the last point of its cycle it is ab-
sorbed into its primordial nature ; and it becomes spirit when
it loses its name of Entity.
Its immortality as a form is limited only to its life-cycle
or the mahdmanvantara, after which it is one and identical
with the Universal Spirit, and no longer a separate entity.
As to the personal Soul — by which we mean the spark of
consciousness that preserves in the Spiritual Ego the idea
of the personal " I " of the last incarnation — this lasts, as
a separate distinct recollection, only throughout the Deva-
chanic period, after which time it is added to the series of
other innumerable incarnations of the Ego, like the remem-
brance in our memory of one of a series of days at the end of
a year. Will you bind the infinitude you claim for your God
to finite conditions? That alone which is indissolubly cem-
ented by Atma — viz., Buddhi-Manas — is immortal. The
soul of man — i. e., of the personality — per se is neither im-
mortal, eternal nor divine. Says the Zohar:
The soul, when sent to this earth, puts on an earthly garment,
to preserve herself here; so she receives above a shining garment, in
order to be able to look without injury into the mirror, whose light
proceeds from the Lord of Light.
Moreover, the Zohar teaches that the soul cannot reach
the abode of bliss unless she has received the *'holy kiss,"
or the reunion of the soul ivith the substance from zvhich she
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 10?
emanated — spirit. All souls are dual; and while the soul
is a feminine principle, the spirit is masculine. While im-
prisoned in body man is a trinity, unless his pollution is
such as to have caused his divorce from the spirit. '' Woe
to the soul which prefers to her divine husband [spirit] the
earthly wedlock with her terrestrial body," records a text of
the Book of the Keys — a Hermetic work. Woe indeed; for
nothing will remain of that personality to be recorded on
the imperishable tablets of the Ego's memory.
Inq. How can that which, if not breathed by God into man, yet is on
your own confession of an identical substance with the divine, fail
to be immortal?
ThKo. Every atom and speck of matter, not of substance only,
is imperishable in its essence, but not in its individual con-
sciousness. Immortality is but one's unbroken conscious-
ness, and the personal consciousness can hardly last longer
than the personality itself, can it? And such consciousness, as
I have already told you, survives only throughout Devachan,
after which it is reabsorbed, first in the individual, and then
in the universal consciousness. Better inquire of your theo-
logians how it is that they have so sorely jumbled up the
Jewish Scriptures. Read the Bible, if you would have a
good proof that the writers of the Pentateuch — Genesis
especially — never regarded nephesh — that which God
breathes into Adam (Gen. ii. 7) — as the immortal soul.
Here are some instances : *' And God created . . . every
life \nephesh] that moveth " (Gen. i. 21), meaning animals.
"And man became a living soul [nephesh] " (Gen. ii. 7),
which shows that the word nephesh was indififerently applied
to immortal man and to mortal beast. " And surely your
108 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
blood of your lives [ncpheshim] will I require; at the hand
of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man."
(Gen. ix. 5). *' Escape for thy life [nephesh] " (Gen. xix.
17). "Let us not kill him" (Gen. xxxvii. 21). "Let us
not kill his nephesh" is the Hebrew text. "Nephesh for
nephesh," says Leviticus. " He that killeth any man shall
surely be put to death " — literally, " He that smiteth the
nephesh of a man" (Lev. xxiv. 17). "And he that killeth
a beast [nephesh] shall make it good; beast for beast" (ibid.
18), whereas the original text has it "nephesh for nephesh"
How could man kill that which is immortal ? This explains,
also, why the Sadducees denied the immortality of the soul,
and also affords another proof that very probably the Mosaic
Jews — the uninitiated, at any rate — never believed in the
soul's survival at all.
ON ETERNAL REWARD AND PUNISHMENT, AND ON NIRVANA
Inq. It is hardly necessary, I suppose, to ask you whether you believe in
the Christian dogmas of Paradise and Hell, or in future rewards and
punishments as taught by the orthodox churches?
TiiKO. As described in your catechisms, we reject them absol-
utely; least of all would we accept their eternity. But we
believe firmly in what we call the Lazv of Refribiition, and in
the absolute justice and wisdom guiding this Law, or Karma.
Hence we positively refuse to accept the cruel and unphilo-
sophical belief in eternal reward or eternal punishment. We
say with Horace:
Let rules be fixed that may our rage contain,
And punish faults with a proportion d pain;
TMB KEY TO THBOSOPHY 109
But do not flay him who deserves alone
A whipping for the fault that he has done.
This is a rule for all men, and a just one. Have we to be-
lieve that God, whom you make the embodiment of wisdom,
love and mercy, is less entitled to these attributes than mortal
man?
Inq. Have you any other reasons for rejecting this dogma?
ThDo. Our chief reason for so doing is the fact of Reincarn-
ation. As already stated, we reject the idea of a new soul
created for every newly-born babe. We believe that every
human being is the bearer, or vehicle, of an Bgo coeval with
every other Ego; because all Egos are of the same essence
and belong to the primeval emanation from one universal
infinite Ego. Plato calls the latter the Logos (or the second
manifested God) ; and we, the manifested Divine Principle,
which is one with the Universal Mind or Soul — not the
anthropomorphic, extra-cosmic and personal God in which
so many theists believe. Pray do not confuse.
Inq. But where is the difficulty, once you accept a manifested Principle,
in believing that the soul of every new mortal is created by that Prin-
ciple, as all the Souls before it have been so created?
Theo. Because that which is impersonal can hardly create, plan
and think, at its own sweet will and pleasure. Being a uni-
versal Lazv, immutable in its periodical manifestations —
those of radiating and manifesting its own essence at the be-
ginning of every new cycle of life — It is not supposed to
create men, only to repent a few years later of having created
them. If we have to believe in a Divine Principle at all, it
must be in one which is as absolute harmony, logic and
110 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHV
justice, as it is absolute love, wisdom and impartiality; and a
God who would create every soul for the space of one brief
span of life, regardless of the fact whether it has to animate
the body of a wealthy, happy man or that of a poor suffer-
ing wretch, hapless from birth to death, though he has done
nothing to deserve his cruel fate, would be rather a senseless
fiend than a God.^^ Why, even the Jewish philosophers,
believers in the Mosaic Bible (esoterically, of course), have
never entertained such an idea. Moreover, they believed in
Reincarnation, as we do.
Inq. Can you give me some instances as a proof of this?
Theo. Most decidedly I can. Philo Judseus says :
The air is full of them [of souls] ; . . . those which are nearest the
earth, descending to be tied to mortal bodies, iraXivSpoixoOaiv aCfiiis, return
to other bodies, being desirous to live in themP
In the Zohar the soul is made to plead her freedom before
God:
Lord of the universe ! I am happy in this world, and do not wish to
go into another world, where I shall be a handmaid, and be exposed
to all kinds of pollutions.^"*
The doctrine of fatal necessity, the everlasting immutable
law, is asserted in the answer of the Deity:
Against thy will thou becomest an embryo, and against thy will thou
art born. 2^
32. See, further, " On the Reward and Punishment of the Ego."
33. De Gignat, p. 222 c; De Somniis, 455 d.
34. Zohar, ii, 96.
35. Mishna, Aboth, iv, 29.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY HI
Light would be incomprehensible without darkness to
make it manifest by contrast ; good would be no longer good
without evil to show the priceless nature of the boon; and
so personal virtue could claim no merit unless it had passed
through the furnace of temptation. Nothing is eternal and
unchangeable save the concealed Deity. Nothing that is
finite — whether because it had a beginning or must have
an end — can remain stationary; it must either progress or
recede ; and a soul which thirsts after a reunion with its spirit,
which alone confers upon it immortality, must purify itself
through cyclic migrations onward towards the only land of
bliss and eternal rest, called in the Zohar the " Palace of
Love," n::nK b'2^r\\ in the Hindii religion, "Moksha;" among
the Gnostics, the " Pleroma of Eternal Light ;" and by the
Buddhists, " Nirvana." And all these states are temporary,
not eternal.
Inq. Yet there is no Re-incarnation spoken of in all this.
ThEo. a soul which pleads to be allowed to remain where she
is, must he pre-existent, and not have been created for the
occasion. In the Zohar, however, there is a still better proof.
Speaking of the reincarnating Egos, the rational souls, those
whose last personality has to fade out entirely, it is said:
All souls which are not guiltless in this world have already alienated
themselves in heaven from the Holy One (blessed be he) ; they have
thrown themselves into an abyss at their very existence, and have an-
ticipated the time when they are to descend (once more) on earth.^*^
36. iii, 61 b. The above quotations are from K. R. H. Mackenzie's Masonic Cyclo-
pedia, art. " Kabalah."
112 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
The '* Holy One " means here, esoterically, the Atman, or
Atmd-Buddhi.
Inq. Moreover, it is very strange to find Nirvana spoken of as something
synonymous with the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Paradise, since ac-
cording to every Orientalist of note Nirvana is a synonym of annihil-
ation !
The:o. Taken Hterally, with regard to the personaHty and dif-
ferentiated matter ; but not otherwise. These ideas on Rein-
carnation and the trinity of man were held by many of the
early Christian Fathers. It is the jumble made by the trans-
lators of the New Testament and ancient philosophical treat-
ises between soul and spirit that has occasioned the many
misunderstandings. It is also one of the many reasons why
Buddha, Plotinus and so many other Initiates are now ac-
cused of having longed for the total extinction of their souls
— " absorption unto the Deity," or " reunion with the Uni-
versal Soul," meaning, according to modern ideas, annihil-
ation. The personal soul must, of course, be disintegrated
into its particles before it is able to link its purer essence for-
ever with the immortal spirit. But the translators of both
the Acts and the Epistles, who laid the foundation of the
Kingdom of Heaven, and the modern commentators on the
Buddhist Sutta of the Foundation of the Kingdom of Right-
eousness, have muddled the sense of the great apostle of
Christianity as of the great reformer of India. The former
have smothered the word psuchikos (i/'vxtKos ) so that no reader
imagines it to have any relation with soul; and with this con-
fusing together of soul and spirit, Bible readers get only a
perverted sense of anything on the subject. On the other
hand, the interpreters of Buddha have failed to understand
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 113
the meaning and object of the Buddhist four degrees of
DJiydua. Ask the Pythagoreans: Can that spirit which
gives Hfe and motion and partakes of the nature of hght be
reduced to nonentity ? Can even that sensitive spirit in brutes
which exercises memory — one of the rational faculties —
die and become nothing? observe the Occultists. In Bud-
dhistic philosophy annihilation means only a dispersion of
matter, in whatever form or semblance of form it may be;
for everything that has form is temporary, and is, therefore,
really an illusion. For in eternity the longest periods of
time are as the wink of an eye. So with form. Before we
have time to realize that we have seen it, it is gone like an in-
stantaneous flash of lightning, and passed forever. When
the Spiritual entity breaks loose forever from every particle
of matter, substance or form, and re-becomes a Spiritual
breath, then only does it enter upon the eternal and unchange-
able Nirvana, lasting as long as the cycle of life has lasted
— an eternity, truly. And then that Breath, existing in
Spirit, is nothing because it is all; as a form, a semblance, a
shape, it is completely annihilated; as absolute Spirit it still
is, for it has become, to coin a word, Be-ness itself. The
very phrase " absorbed in the universal essence," when used
of the Soul as Spirit, means union with. It can never mean
annihilation, for that would mean eternal separation.
Inq, Do you not lay yourself open to the accusation of preaching annihil-
ation by the language you yourself use? You have just spoken of
the Soul of man returning to its primordial elements.
Theo. But you forget that I have given you the differences be-
tween the various meanings of the word " Soul," and shown
the loose way in which the term " Spirit " has been hitherto
114 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
translated. We speak of an animal, a human and a spiritual
soul, and distinguish between them. Plato, for instance,
calls " rational Soul " that which we call Buddhi, adding to
it the adjective " spiritual," however ; but that which we call
the reincarnating Ego, Manas, he calls Spirit, Nous, etc.,
whereas we apply the term Spirit, when standing alone and
without any qualification, to Atma alone. Pythagoras re-
peats our archaic doctrine when stating that the Bgo (nous)
is eternal with Deity; that the soul only passed through
various stages to arrive at divine excellence; while thuinos
returned to the earth, and even the phren, the lower Manas,
was eliminated. Again, Plato defines Soul {Buddhi) as " the
motion that is able to move itself." " Soul," he adds {Laws,
X.), "is the most ancient of all things, and the commence-
ment of motion " — thus calling Atma-Buddhi Soul, and
Manas Spirit, which we do not.
Soul was generated prior to body, and body is posterior and second-
ary, as being, according to Nature, ruled over by the ruling soul. . . .
The soul which administers all things that are moved, in every way,
administers likewise the heavens. . . .
Soul, then, leads everything in heaven, and on earth, and in the sea,
by its movements — the names of which are, to will, to consider, to take
care of, to consult, to form opinions true and false, to be in a state of
joy, sorrow, confidence, fear, hate, love, together with all such primary
movements as are allied to these. . . . Being a goddess herself, she
ever takes as an ally nous, a god, and disciplines all things correctly
and happily ; but when with anoia [not nous] it works out everything
the contrary.
In this language, as in the Buddhist texts, the negative is
treated as essential existence. Annihilation comes under a
similar exegesis. The positive state is essential being, but
THE KBY TO THEOSOPHY 115
no manifestation as such. When the spirit, in Buddhistic
parlance, enters Nirvana, it loses objective existence, but re-
tains subjective being. To objective minds this is becoming
absolute "nothing;" to subjective, No-thing, nothing to be
displayed to sense. Thus their Nirvana means the certitude
of individual immortality in Spirit, not in Soul, which, though
" the most ancient of all things," is still — along with all the
other Gods — a finite emanation in forms and individuality,
if not in substance.
Inq, I do not quite seize the idea yet, and would be thankful to have you
explain this to me by some illustrations.
ThEo. No doubt it is very difficult to understand, especially to
one brought up in the regular orthodox ideas of the Christ-
ian church. Moreover, I must tell you one thing; and this
is that unless you have studied thoroughly well the separate
functions assigned to all the human ''principles," and the
state of all these after death, you will hardly realize our
Eastern philosophy.
ON THE VARIOUS "PRINCIPLES" IN MAN
Inq. I have heard a good deal about this constitution of the "inner man,"
as you call it, but could never make " head or tail on't," as Gabalis
expresses it.
Theo. Of course it is most difficult and, as you say, "puzzling"
to understand correctly and distinguish between the various
aspects, called by us the "principles," of the real Ego. It is
the more so as there exists a notable difference in the num-
bering of these principles by various Eastern schools, though
116 THE KHY TO THBOSOPHY
at the bottom there is the same identical substratum of
teaching.
Inq. Do you mean the V^edantins, as an instance? Don't they divide your
seven "principles" into five only?
Theo. They do ; but though I would not presume to dispute the
point with a learned Vedantin, I may yet state as my private
opinion that they have an obvious reason for it. With them
it is only that compound spiritual aggregate which consists
of various mental aspects that is called Man at all, the phys-
ical body being, in their view, something beneath contempt,
and merely an illusion. Nor is the Vedanta the only philo-
sophy to reckon in this manner. Lao-Tze, in his Tao-te-
King, mentions only five principles, because he, like the Ved-
antins, omits to include two principles, namely, the Spirit
(Atmd) and the physical body, the latter of which, moreover,
he calls the "cadaver." Then there is the Taraka Raja Yoga
school. Its teaching recognizes only three "principles," in
fact; but then, in reality, their sthiilopddhi, or physical body,
in its waking, conscious state, their sukshmopddhi, the same
body in svapna, or the dreaming state, and their kdranopddhi,
or "causal body," or that which passes from one incarnation
to another, are all dual in their aspects, and thus make six.
Add to this Atmd, the impersonal Divine Principle or the im-
mortal element in man, undistinguished from the Universal
Spirit, and you have the same seven again. •^^ They are wel-
come to hold to their division ; we hold to ours.
Inq. Then it seems almost the same as the division made by the mystic
Christians : body, soul and spirit.
37. See, for a clearer explanation, The Secret Doctrine, i, 157.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 117
ThEo. Just the same. We could easily make of the body the
vehicle of the ''vital Double;" of the latter the vehicle of
Life, or Prana; of Kama Riipa, or animal soul, the vehicle of
the higher and the lower mind; and make of this six prin-
ciples, crowning the whole with the one immortal spirit. In
Occultism every qualificative change in the state of our con-
sciousness gives to man a new aspect; and if it prevails and
becomes part of the living and acting Ego, it must be (and
is) given a special name, to distinguish the man in that par-
ticular state from the man he is when he places himself in
another state.
Inq. It is just that which is so difficult to understand.
ThEo. It seems to me very easy, on the contrary, once that you
have seized the main idea, i. e., that man acts on this or an-
other plane of consciousness in strict accordance with his
mental and spiritual condition. But such is the materialism
of the age that the more we explain the less people seem
capable of understanding what we say. Divide the terres-
trial being called man into three chief aspects, if you like;
and unless you make of him a pure animal you cannot do less.
Take his objective body: the thinking principle in him —
which is only a little higher than the instinctual element in
the animal — or the vital conscious soul; and that which
places him so immeasurably beyond and higher than the ani-
mal, i.e., his reasoning soul or "spirit." Well, if we take
these three groups or representative entities, and subdivide
them according to the occult teaching, what do we get?
First of all, Spirit — in the sense of the Absolute and there-
fore indivisible All — or Atma. As this can neither be loc-
118 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
ated nor limited in philosophy, being simply that which iS
in Eternity, and which cannot be absent from even the tiniest
geometrical or mathematical point of the universe of matter
or substance, it ought not to be called, in truth, a " human "
principle at all. Rather, and at best, it is, in metaphysics,
that point in space which the human Monad and its vehicle,
man, occupy for the period of every life. Now that point
is as imaginary as man himself, and in reality is an illusion,
a may a; but then, for ourselves, as for other personal Egos,
we are a reality during that fit of illusion called life, and we
have to take ourselves into account — in our own fancy, at
any rate — if no one else does. To make it more conceiv-
able to the human intellect when first attempting the study
of Occultism, and to solve the A B C of the mystery of man.
Occultism calls this seventh principle the synthesis of the
sixth, and gives it for vehicle the Spiritual Soul (Buddhi).
Now the latter conceals a mystery which is never given to
any one, with the exception of irrevocably pledged chelds,
or those, at any rate, who can be safely trusted. Of course
there would be less confusion could it only be told; but as
this is directly concerned with the power of projecting one's
double consciously and at will, and as this gift, like the
" ring of Gyges," would prove very fatal to man at large
and to the possessor of this faculty in particular, it is care-
fully guarded. But let us proceed with the "principles."
This divine soul, or Buddhi, then, is the vehicle of the Spirit.
In conjunction these two are one, impersonal and without
any attributes (on this plane, of course), but make two
spiritual "principles." If we pass on to the Human Soul,
Manas or mens, every one will agree that the intelligence of
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY ll9
man is dual, to say the least — e.g., the high-minded man
can hardly become low-minded ; the very intellectual and spir-
itually minded man is separated by an abyss from the ob-
tuse, dull and material, if not animal-minded, man.
Inq. But why should not man be represented by two "principles" or two
aspects rather?
Theo. Every man has these two principles in him, one more
active than the other; and in rare cases one of them is en-
tirely stunted in its growth, so to say, or paralyzed by the
strength and predominance of the other aspect in every di-
rection. These, then, are what we call the two principles or
aspects of Manas, the higher and the lower ; the former, the
higher Manas, or the thinking, conscious Ego, gravitating
toward the spiritual Soul (Buddhi) ; and the latter, or its
instinctual principle, attracted to Kama, the seat of animal
desires and passions in man. Thus we have four principles
justified, the last three being ( 1 ) the " Double," which we
have agreed to call Protean or Plastic Soul, the vehicle of
(2) the life principle; and (3) the physical body. Of course
no physiologist or biologist will accept these principles, nor
can he make head or tail of them. And this is why, perhaps,
none of them to this day understand either the functions of
the spleen, the physical vehicle of the Protean Double, or
those of a certain organ on the right side of man, the seat of
the above-mentioned desires ; nor yet do they know anything
of the pineal body, which is described as a horny gland with
a little sand in it, whereas it is in truth the very seat of the
highest and divinest consciousness in man — his omniscient,
spiritual and all-embracing mind. And this shows you still
120 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV
more plainly that we have neither invented these seven prin-
ciples, nor are they new in the world of philosophy, as we
can easily prove.
Inq. But what is it that reincarnates, in your belief?
Theo. The spiritual, thinking Ego, the permanent principle in
man, or that which is the seat of Manas. It is not Atma, or
even Atma-Buddhi, regarded as the dual monad, which is the
individual or divine man, but Manas ; for Atman is the Uni-
versal All, and becomes the Higher Self of man only in con-
junction with Buddhi, its vehicle, which links It to the in-
dividuality or divine man. For it is the Buddhi-Manas —
the united fifth and sixth principles — which is called the
Causal Body by the Vedantins, and which is consciousness,
that connects It with every personality It inhabits on earth.
Therefore, soul being a generic term, there are in men three
aspects of soul : ( 1 ) the terrestrial or animal ; (2) the human
soul; and (3) the spiritual soul; these, strictly speaking, are
one soul in its three aspects. Now of the first aspect nothing
remains after death; of the second, nous or Manas, only its
divine essence, if left unsoiled, survives; while the third, in
addition to being immortal, becomes consciously divine, by
the assimilation of the higher Manas. But to make it clear
we have to say a few words first of all about Reincarnation.
Inq. You will do well, as it is against this doctrine that your enemies fight
the most ferociously.
ThEo. You mean the Spiritualists? I know; and many are
the absurd objections laboriously spun by them over the
pages of their journals. So obtuse and malicious are some
of them that they will stop at nothing. One of them re-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 121
cently found a contradiction — which he gravely discusses
in a letter to Light — in two statements picked out of a stud-
ent's lectures. He discovers this grave contradiction in the
two sentences : " Premature returns to earth-life, in the
cases when they occur, may be due to karmic complication;"
and " There is no accident in the supreme act of divine justice
guiding evolution." So profound a thinker would surely
see a contradiction of the law of gravitation if a man stretched
out his hand to stop a falling stone from crushing the head
of a child!
122 THE KHY TO THMOSOPHY
VIII
ON REINCARNATION OR REBIRTH
WHAT IS MEMORY ACCORDING TO THBOSOPHICAL TEACHING?
Inq. The most difficult thing for you will be to explain and give reason-
able grounds for such a belief. No Theosophist has ever yet suc-
ceeded in bringing forth a single valid proof to shake my skepticism.
First of all, you have against this theory of Reincarnation the fact
that no single man has yet been found to remember that he has lived,
least of all who he was, during his previous life.
Theo. Your argument, I see, tends to the same old objection:
the loss of memory in each of us of our previous incarnation.
You think it invalidates our doctrine? My answer is that
it does not; or that, at any rate, such an objection can not
be final.
Inq. I should like to hear your arguments.
ThEo. They are short and few. Yet when you take into consid-
eration (a) the utter inability of the best modern psycho-
logists to explain to the world the nature of mind, and {h)
their complete ignorance of its potentialities and higher
states, you have to admit that this objection is based on an
a priori conclusion drawn from prima facie and circum-
stantial evidence more than anything else. Now, what is
memory in your conception, pray?
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 123
Inq. That which the generally accepted definition explains: the faculty
in our mind of remembering and of retaining the knowledge of pre-
vious thoughts, deeds and events.
ThEO. Please add to it that there is a great difiference between
the three accepted forms of memory. Besides memory in
general you have Remembrance, Recollection and Remin-
iscence, have you not? Have you ever thought over the dif-
ference? Memory, remember, is a generic name.
Inq, Yet, all these are only synonyms.
Thko. Indeed, they are not — not in philosophy, at all events.
Memory is simply an innate power in thinking beings, and
even in animals, of reproducing past impressions by an asso-
ciation of ideas principally suggested by objective things or
by some action on our external sensory organs. Memory is
a faculty depending entirely on the more or less healthy and
normal functioning of our physical brain ; and remembrance
and recollection are the attributes and handmaidens of this
memory. But reminiscence is an entirely different thing.
Reminiscence is defined by the modern psychologist as some-
thing intermediate between remembrance and recollection, or :
A conscious process of recalling past occurrences, but ivithoiit that
full and varied reference to particular things which characterizes recol-
lection.
Locke, speaking of recollection and remembrance, says:
When an idea again recurs without the operation of the like object
on the external sensory, it is remembrance; if it be sought after by the
mind, and with pain and endeavour found and brought again into view,
it is recollection.
But even Locke leaves reminiscence without any clear de-
124 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
finition, because it is no faculty or attribute of our physical
memory, but an intuitional perception apart from and out-
side our physical brain ; a perception which, being called into
action by the ever-present knowledge of our spiritual Ego,
covers all those visions in man which are regarded as ab-
normal — from the pictures suggested by genius to the rav-
ings of fever and even madness — and are classed by science
as having no existence outside of our fancy. Occultism and
Theosophy, however, regard reminiscence in an entirely dif-
ferent light. For us, while memory is physical and evan-
escent, and depends on the physiological conditions of the
brain — a fundamental proposition with all teachers of mne-
monics, who have the researches of modern scientific psycho-
logists to back them — reminiscence is the memory of the
soul. And it is this memory which gives the assurance to
almost every human being, whether he understands it or not,
of his having lived before and having to live again. Indeed,
as Wordsworth has it :
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath elsewhere had its setting,
And Cometh from afar.
Inq. If it is on this kind of memory — poetry and abnormal fancies, on
your own confession — that you base your doctrine, then you will
convince very few, I am afraid.
ThKO. I did not "confess" it was a fancy. I simply said that
physiologists and scientists in general regard such reminis-
cences as hallucinations and fancy, to which learned conclus-
ion they are welcome. We do not deny that such visions of
the past and glimpses far back into the corridors of time are
THH KHY TO THBOSOPHV 125
abnormal, as contrasted with our normal daily life experience
and physical memory. But we do maintain, with Professor
W. Knight, that " the absence of memory of any action done
in a previous state cannot be a conclusive argument against
our having lived through it." And every fair-minded op-
ponent must agree with what is said in Butler's Lectures on
Platonic Philosophy, "that the feeling of extravagance with
which it (pre-existence) affects us has its secret source in ma-
terialistic or semi-materialistic prejudices." Besides which,
we maintain that memory is, as Olympiodorus called it, simply
" phantasy, "^^ and the most unreliable thing in us. Ammon-
ius Saccas asserted that the only faculty in man directly op-
posed to prognostication, or looking into futurity, is memory.
Furthermore, remember that memory is one thing and mind
or thought is another: memory is a recording machine, a
register which very easily gets out of order ; but thoughts are
eternal and imperishable. Would you refuse to believe in
the existence of certain things or men only because your
physical eyes have not seen them ? Would not the collective
testimony of past generations who have seen Julius Caesar
be a sufficient guaranty that he once lived ? Why should not
the same testimony of the psychic senses of the masses be
taken into consideration ?
38. " The phantasy," says Olympiodorus, in Plato's Ph(edo, " is an impediment to
our intellectual conceptions; and hence, when we are agitated by the inspiring
influence of the Divinity, if the phantasy intervenes, the enthusiastic energy
ceases ; for enthusiasm and the ecstasy are contrary to each other. Should it
be asked whether the soul is able to energize without the phantasy, we reply
that its perception of universals proves that it is able. It has perceptions,
therefore, independent of the phantasy ; at the same time, however, the phantasy
attends in its energies, just as a storm pursues him who sails on the sea."
12fl THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Inq. But don't you tliink that these are too fine distinctions to be ac-
cepted by the majority of mortals?
Theo. Say, rather, by the majority of materiahsts. And to
them we say : Behold, even in the short span of ordinary ex-
istence memory is too weak to register all the events of a life-
time. How frequently do even most important events lie
dormant in our memory until awakened by some association
of ideas, or aroused to function and activity by some other
link! This is especially the case with people of advanced
age, who are always found suffering from feebleness of re-
collection. When, then, we bear in mind what we know
about the physical and the spiritual principles in man, it is
not the fact that our memory has failed to record our pre-
cedent life and lives that ought to surprise us, but the con-
trary, were it to happen.
WHY DO WE NOT REMEMBER OUR PAST LIVES f
Inq. You have given me a bird's-eye view of the seven principles. Now
how do they account for our complete loss of any recollection of
having lived before?
Theo. Very easily. Those "principles" which we call phys-
icaP^ are disintegrated after death together with their con-
stituent elements, and memory along with the brain. This
vanished memory of a vanished personality can consequently
neither remember nor record anything in the subsequent re-
39. Namely, the body, life, passional and animal instincts, and the astral eidolon of
every man, whether perceived in thought or our mind's eye, or objectively and
separate from the physical body; which principles we call Sthula Shanra, Prana,
Kama Riipa and Linga Shorira. None of these is denied by science, though it
calls them by different names.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 127
incarnation of the Ego. Reincarnation means that the Ego
will be furnished with a neiv body, a nczu brain and a nczv
memory. Therefore it would be as absurd to expect this
nezv memory to remember that which it has never recorded
as it would be to examine under a microscope a shirt which
had never been worn by a murderer, and seek on it for the
stains of blood which are to be found only on the clothes he
has worn. It is not the clean shirt that we have to question,
but the clothes worn during the perpetration of the crime;
and if these are burned and destroyed, how can you get at
them ?
Inq. Aye, and how can you get at the certainty that the crime was ever
committed at all, or that the man in the clean shirt ever lived before?
ThEo. Not by physical processes, most assuredly, nor by relying
on the testimony of that which exists no longer. But there
is such a thing as circumstantial evidence, since our wise
laws accept it, more, perhaps, even than they should. To
get convinced of the fact of Reincarnation and past lives,
one must put oneself en rapport with one's real permanent
Ego, not with one's evanescent memory.
Inq. But how can people believe that which they do not knozv, nor have
ever seen, far less put themselves en rapport with it?
Theo. If people, and they the most learned, will believe in the
Gravity, Ether, Force, and what not of Science — abstrac-
tions and working hypotheses which they have neither seen,
touched, smelled, heard nor tasted — why should not other
people believe, on the same principle, in the permanent Ego, a
far more logical and important "working hypothesis" than
any other ?
128 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
Inq. What is, finally, this mysterious eternal principal? Can you ex-
plain its nature so as to make it comprehensible to all?
Theo. The Ego which reincarnates, the individual — not per-
sonal — and immortal " I " ; the vehicle, in short, of the
Atma-Buddhic Monad ; that which is rewarded in Devachan
and punished on earth; and that, finally, to which the reflec-
tion only of the Skandhas, or attributes,'*°of every incarnation
attaches itself.
Inq. What do you mean by skandhas?
ThEo. Just what I said — "attributes," among which is memory.
All of these perish like a flower, leaving behind them only a
feeble perfume. [It is very difficult for a Western mind to
grasp the Eastern teachings ; for the West has only a science
of the material world and, so far as the inner nature of
things is concerned, it has nothing better than the science of
metaphysics for a guide — if you can call that a science which
deals only in abstractions and intellectual conceptions. The
West has no idea of treating the mind, the passions, and all
the numerous factors that go to make up the personality of
man, as actual existences. Nevertheless they are so, and
they are as objective, to the eye of the trained seer, as is the
physical body to the eye of modern science. And, if even
the perishable personality of man is such an utter terra incog-
nita to our science, how much more so must the immortal
Self be. William Q. Judge says :
40. There are five Skandhas, or attributes, in the Buddhist teachings: " rupa (form
or body), material qualities; vedana, sensation; sauna, abstract ideas; samkhara,
tendencies of mind; vinnana, mental powers. Of these we are formed; by them
we are conscious of existence ; and through them communicate with the world
about us."
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 129
The body includes one set of the skandhas, the astral man another,
the kdma principle is another set, and still others pertain to other parts.
In kama are the really active and important ones which control re-
births and lead to all the varieties of life and circumstance upon each
rebirth. They are being made from day to day under the law that
every thought combines instantly with one of the elemental forces of
nature, becoming to that extent an entity which will endure in accord-
ance with the strength of the thought as it leaves the brain, and all
of these are inseparably connected with the being that evolved them.
There is no way of escaping; all we can do is to have thoughts of
good quality, for the highest of the Masters themselves are not exempt
from this law, but they "people their current in space" with entities
powerful for good alone.
Now in Kdma-loka this mass of desire and thought exists very
definitely until the conclusion of its disintegration and then the re-
mainder consists of the essence of these skandhas, connected of course,
with the being that evolved and had them. They can no more be
done away with than we can blot out the universe. Hence they are
said to remain until the being comes out of Devachan, and then at once
by the law of attraction they are drawn to the being, who from
them as germ or basis builds up a new set of skandhas for the
new life. . . .
Struggling out of the body the entire man goes into Kdma-loka,
to purgatory, where he again struggles and loosens himself from the
lower skandhas; . . . The very nature of Manas requires a Dcvachanic
state as soon as the body is lost, and it is simply the effect of loosening
the bonds placed upon the mind by its physical and astral encasement.
In life we can but to a fractional extent act out the thoughts we have
each moment; and still less can we exhaust the psychic energies en-
gendered by each day's aspirations and dreams. The energy thus
engendered is not lost or annihilated, but is stored in Manas, but the
body, brain, and astral body permit no full development of the force.
Hence, held latent until death, it bursts then from the weakened bonds
and plunges Manas, the thinker, into the expansion, use, and develop-
ment of the thought- force set up in life.]
130 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
This proves to you that while the undying quahties of the
personaHty — such as love, goodness, charity, etc. — attach
themselves to the immortal Ego, photographing on it, so to
speak, a permanent image of the divine aspect of the man
who was, his material skandhas — those which generate the
most marked karmic effects — are as evanescent as a flash
of lightning, and cannot impress the new brain of the new
personality; yet their failing to do so impairs in no way the
identity of the reincarnating Ego.
Inq. Do you mean to infer that that which survives is only the Soul-
memory, as you call it, that Soul or Ego being one and the same,
while nothing of the personality remains?
ThKO. Not quite ; something of each personality — unless the
latter was an absolute materialist, with not even a chink in
his nature for a spiritual ray to pass through — must sur-
vive, as it leaves its eternal impress on the incarnating per-
manent Self or Spiritual Ego/^ The personality, with its
skandhas, is ever changing with every new birth. It is, as
said before, only the part played by the actor, the true Ego,
for one night. This is why we preserve no memory on the
physical plane of our past lives, though the real " Ego " has
lived them over and knows them all.
Inq, Then how does it happen that the real or Spiritual man does not
impress his new personal " I " with this knowledge ?
Th^o. How is it that the servant-girls in a poor farm-house
41. Or the Spiritual in contradistinction to the personal self. The student must not
confuse this Spiritual Ego with the Higher Selp, which is Atma, the God
within us, and inseparable from the Universal Spirit. (See Section IX, "On
Post-mortem and Post-natal Consciousness.")
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 131
could speak Hebrew and play the violin in their trance or
somnambulic state, and knew neither when in their normal
condition? Because, as every genuine psychologist of the
old — not your modern — school will tell you, the Spiritual
Ego can act only when the personal Ego is paralyzed. The
Spiritual " I " in man is omniscient and has every knowledge
innate in it, while the personal self is the creature of its en-
vironment and the slave of the physical memory. Could the
former manifest itself uninterruptedly and without impedi-
ment, there would be no longer men on earth, but we should
all be gods.
Inq. Still there ought to be exceptions, and some ought to remember.
Theo. And so they do. But who believes in their report? Such
sensitives are generally regarded as hallucinated hysteriacs,
as crack-brained enthusiasts or humbugs, by modern mater-
ialists. Let them read, however, works on this subject, pre-
eminently Reincarnation: A Study of Forgotten Truth, by
E. D. Walker, and see in it the mass of proofs which the able
author brings to bear on this vexed question. Speak to some
people of soul, and they ask. What is Soul ? Have you ever
proved its existence? Of course it is useless to argue with
those who are materialists. But even to them I would put
the question. Can you remember what you were or what you
did when a baby? Have you preserved the smallest recol-
lection of your life, thoughts or deeds, or that you lived at
all during the first eighteen months or two years of your ex-
istence? Then why not deny that you have ever lived as a
babe, on the same principle? W'hen to all this we add that
the reincarnating Ego, or individuaVity, retains during the
132 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Devachanic period merely the essence of the experience of
its past earth-life or personality, the whole physical exper-
ience involving into a state of in potentia, or being, so to
speak, translated into spiritual formulas ; when we remember,
further, that the term between two rebirths is said to extend
from ten to fifteen centuries — during which the physical
consciousness is totally and absolutely inactive, having no
organs to act through, and therefore no existence — the rea-
son for the absence of all remembrance in the purely physical
memory is apparent.
Inq. You just said that the Spiritual Ego was omniscient. Where, then,
is that vaunted omniscience during its Devachanic life, as you call it?
Theo. During that time it is latent and potential, because, first
of all, the Spiritual Ego, the compound of Buddhi-Manas, is
not the Higher SELF, which being one with the Universal
Soul or Mind, is alone omniscient; and, secondly, because
Devachan is the idealized continuation of the terrestrial life
just left behind, a period of retributive adjustment, and a re-
ward for unmerited wrongs and sufferings undergone in that
special life. The Spiritual Ego is omniscient only potentially
in Devachan; it enjoys actual omniscience in Nirvana alone
when the Ego is merged in the Universal Mind-Soul. Nev-
ertheless the Ego re-becomes quasi-oxnn\sc\tnt during those
hours on earth when certain abnormal conditions and physio-
logical changes in the body make it free from the trammels
of matter. Thus the examples cited above of somnambulists
— a poor servant speaking Hebrew, and another playing the
violin — give you an illustration of the case in point. This
does not mean that the explanations of these two facts of-
fered us by medical science have no truth in them, for one
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 133
girl had, years before, heard her master, a clergyman, read
Hebrew works aloud, and the other had heard an artist play-
ing a violin at their farm. But neither could have done so
as perfectly as they did had they not been ensouled by That
which, owing to the sameness of its nature with the Universal
Mind, is omniscient. In the former case the higher principle
acted on the skandhas and moved them; in the latter, the
personality being paralyzed, the individuality manifested it-
self. Pray do not confuse the two.
ON INDIVIDUALITY AND PERSONALITY
Inq. But what is the difference between the two? I confess that I am
still in the dark,
Theo. I have long tried to impress the distinction between the
individuality and personality on people's minds; but alas! it
is harder with some of them than to make them feel a rever-
ence for childish impossibilities, only because they are ortho-
dox, and because orthodoxy is respectable. To understand
the idea well, you have first to study the dual sets of "prin-
ciples" : the spiritual, or those which belong to the imperish-
able Ego; and the material, or those principles which make
up the ever-changing bodies or the series of personalities of
that Ego. Let us fix permanent names to these, and say that :
I. Atma, the "Higher Self," is neither your Spirit nor mine,
but, like sunlight, shines on all. It is the universally
dififused Divine Principle, and is inseparable from its
one and absolute M^fa-Spirit, as the sunbeam is insep-
arable from sunlight.
134 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
II. Buddhi, the spiritual soul, is only its vehicle. Neither
Atmd nor Buddhi separately, nor the two collectively,
are of any more use to the body of man than sunlight
and its beams are for a mass of granite buried in the
earth, unless the divine Duad is assimilated by, and re-
flected in, some consciousness. Neither Atmd nor Bud-
dhi is ever reached by Karma, because the former is the
highest aspect of Karma, the zvorking agent of iTSELiP
in one aspect, and the latter is unconscious on this plane.
This consciousness or mind is
III. Manas,'*^ the derivation or product, in a reflected form,
of ahamkdra, " the conception of I " or " Ego-ship.''
It is therefore, when inseparably united to the first two,
called the Spiritual Ego, and Taijasa (the radiant).
This is the real Individuality, or the divine man. It
is this Ego which — having originally incarnated in
the senseless human form animated by, but unconscious
of, the presence in itself of the dual monad, since it had
no consciousness — made of that human-like form a real
man. It is this Ego, this " Causal Body," which over-
shadows every personality into which Karma forces it
to incarnate. It is this Ego which is held responsible
for all the sins committed through and in every new
42. Mahat, or the " Universal Mind," is the source of Manas. The latter is Mahat,
t. e., mind, in man. Manas is also called Kshetrajna, embodied spirit, because it
is, according to our philosophy, the Manasa-putras, or " Sons of the Universal
Mind," who created, or rather produced, the thinking man, " manu" by incarnat-
ing in the third Race mankind in our Round. It is Manas, therefore, which is
the real incarnating and permanent Spiritual Ego, the individuality, and our
various and numberless personalities only its external masks.
THE KBY TO THBOSOPHY 135
body or personality — the evanescent masks which hide
the true Individual through the long series of rebirths.
Inq. But is this just? Why should this Ego receive punishment as the
result of deeds which it has forgotten ?
Theo. It has not forgotten them; it knows and remembers its
misdeeds as well as you remember what you did yesterday.
Is it because the memory of that bundle of physical com-
pounds called " body " does not recollect what its predecessor,
the personality that zvas, did, that you imagine that the real
Ego has forgotten them? As well say it is unjust that the
new coat on the back of a boy who is flogged for stealing
apples should be punished for that of which it knows nothing.
Inq. But are there no modes of communication between the Spiritual and
human consciousness or memory?
ThKo. Of course there are; but they have never been recognized
by your modern scientific psychologists. To what do you
attribute intuition, the '' voice of conscience," premonitions,
vague, undefined reminiscences, etc., if not to such communi-
cations ? Would that the majority of educated men, at least,
had the fine spiritual perceptions of Coleridge, who shows
how intuitional he is in some of his comments. Hear what
he says with respect to the probability that " all thoughts
are in themselves imperishable:"
If the intelligent faculty [sudden "revivals" of memory] should be
rendered more comprehensive, it would require only a different and ap-
propriate organization — the body celestial instead of the body terres-
trial— to bring before every human soul the collective experience of its
whole past existence [existences, rather].
And this body celestial is our Manasic Ego.
136 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
ON THE REWARD AND PUNISHMENT OF THE EGO
Inq. I have heard you say that the Ego, whatever the Hfe of the person
he incarnated in may have been on Earth, is never visited with post-
mortem punishment.
Theo. Never, save in very exceptional and rare cases, of which
we will not speak here, as the nature of the " punishment "
in no way approaches any of your theological conceptions of
damnation.
Inq. But if it is punished in this Hfe for the misdeeds committed in pre-
vious Hves, then it is this Ego that ought to be rewarded also, whether
here or when disincarnated.
Theo. And so it is. If we do not admit of any punishment
outside of this earth, it is because the only state the Spiritual
Self knows of hereafter is that of unalloyed bliss.
Inq. What do you mean?
Theo. Simply this: crimes and sins committed on a plane of
objectivity and in a world of matter cannot receive punish-
ment in a ivorld of pure subjectivity. We believe in no hell
or paradise as localities ; in no objective hell-fires and worms
that never die, nor in any Jerusalems with streets paved with
sapphires and diamonds. What we believe in is a post-mor-
tem state or mental condition such as we are in during a
vivid dream. We believe in an immutable law of absolute
Love, Justice and Mercy. And believing in it, we say : What-
ever was the sin and whatever were the dire results of the
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 137
original karmic transgression of the now incarnated Egos/^
no man — or the outer material and periodical form of the
Spiritual Entity — can be held, with any degree of justice,
responsible for the consequences of his birth. He does not
ask to be born, nor can he choose the parents that will give
him life. In every respect he is a victim to his environment,
the child of circumstances over which he has no control ; and
if each of his transgressions were impartially investigated,
it would be found that in nine out of every ten cases he was
the one sinned against, rather than the sinner. Life is at
best a heartless play, a stormy sea to cross, and a heavy bur-
den often too difficult to bear. The greatest philosophers
have tried in vain to fathom and find out its raison d'etre,
and — except those who had the key to it, namely, the East-
ern sages — have all failed. Life is, as Shakespeare de-
scribes it :
.... but a walking shadow — a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing —
43. It is on this transgression that the cruel and illogical dogma of the Fallen Angels
has been built, which is explained in the second volume of The Secret Doctrine.
All our " Egos " are thinking and rational entities (Mdnasa-putras) who had
lived, whether under human or other forms, in the precedent life-cycle (Man-
vantara), and whose Karma it was to incarnate in the man of this one. It was
taught in the Mysteries that, having delayed in complying with this law (or
having "refused to create," as Hinduism says of the Kumaras and Christian
legend of the Archangel Michael) — i.e., having failed to incarnate in due time
— the bodies predestined for them became defiled. Hence the original sin of
the senseless forms and the punishment of the Egos. What is meant by the re-
bellious angels being hurled down into Hell is simply explained by these pure
Spirits or Egos being imprisoned in bodies of unclean matter, flesh.
138 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
nothing in its separate parts, yet of the greatest importance
in its collectivity or series of lives. In any case, almost every
individual life is, in its full development, a sorrow. And are
we to believe that poor helpless man, after being tossed about
like a piece of rotten timber on the angry billows of life, is,
if he prove too weak to resist them, to be punished by a scuip-
iternity of damnation, or even a temporary punishment?
Never ! Whether a great or an average sinner, good or bad,
guilty or innocent, once delivered of the burden of physical
life, the tired and worn-out Manu, or " thinking Ego," has
won the right to a period of absolute rest and bliss. The
same unerringly wise and just, rather than merciful, Law
which inflicts upon the incarnated Ego the karmic punish-
ment for every sin committed during the preceding life on
earth has provided for the now disembodied Entity a long
lease of mental rest, and the entire oblivion of every sad
event — aye, to the smallest painful thought — that took
place in its last life as a personality, leaving in the soul-mem-
ory nothing but the reminiscence of that which was bliss, or
which led to happiness. Plotinus, who said that our body
was the true river of Lethe, for " souls plunged into it forget
all," meant more than he said. For, as our terrestrial body
on earth is like Lethe, so is our celestial body in Devachan,
and much more.
Inq. Then am I to understand that the murderer, the transgressor of law
divine and human in every shape, is allowed to go unpunished?
ThEo. Who ever said that? Our philosophy has a doctrine
of punishment as stern as that of the most rigid Calvinist,
only far more philosophical and consistent with absolute
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 139
justice. No deed, no sinful thought even, will go unpunished.
In fact, the latter are even more severely punished than the
former, as a thought is far more potent in creating evil re-
sults than deeds.'*'' We believe in an unerring law of Retrib-
ution, called Karma, which asserts itself in a natural concat-
enation of causes and their unavoidable results.
Inq. And how, or where, does it act?
Theo. Every laborer is worthy of his hire, saith Wisdom in the
gospel; every action, good or bad, is a prolific parent, saith
the Wisdom of the Ages. Put the two together and you will
find the " why." After allowing the Soul, when escaped
from the pangs of personal life, a sufficient — aye, a hund-
redfold — compensation. Karma, with its army of skandhas,
waits at the threshold of Devachan, whence the Bgo re-
emerges to assume a new incarnation. It is at this moment
that the future destiny of the now rested Ego trembles in the
scales of just Retribution, as it now falls once again under
the sway of active karmic law. It is in this rebirth which is
ready for it — a rebirth selected and prepared by this mys-
terious, inexorable, but, in the equity and wisdom of its de-
crees, infallible LAW — that the sins of the previous life of
the Ego are punished. Only it is into no imaginary Hell,
with theatrical flames and ridiculous tailed and horned devils,
that the Ego is cast, but verily onto this earth, the plane and
region of his sins, where he will have to atone for every bad
thought and deed. As he has sown, so will he reap. Rein-
carnation will gather around him all those other Egos who
44. " But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath
committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matt., v, 28.)
140 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
have suffered, whether directly or indirectly, at the hands,
or even through the unconscious instrumentality, of the past
personality. They will be thrown by Nemesis in the way of
the nezv man, concealing the old, the eternal Ego, and . . .
Inq. But where is the equity you speak of, since these new "personalities"
are not aware of having sinned or been sinned against?
Theo. Has the coat torn to shreds from the back of the man
who stole it, by another man who was robbed of it and recog-
nizes his property, to be regarded as fairly dealt with ? The
new ''personality" is no better than a fresh suit of clothes, with
its specific characteristics, color, form and qualities ; but the
real man who wears it is the same culprit as of old. It is the
individuality which suffers through its "personality." And
it is this, and this alone, that can account for the terrible
seeming injustice in the distribution of lots in life to man.
When your modern philosophers will have succeeded in show-
ing us good reason why so many apparently innocent and
good men are born only to suffer during a whole lifetime;
why so many are born poor unto starvation in the slums of
great cities, abandoned by fate and men; why, while these
are born in the gutter, others open their eyes to the light in
palaces; why a noble birth and fortune seem often given to
the worst of men and only rarely to the worthy; why there
are beggars whose inner selves are peers to the highest and
noblest of men — when this, and much more, is satisfactorily
explained by either your philosophers or theologians, then
only, but not till then, you will have the right to reject the
theory of Reincarnation. The highest and grandest poets
have dimly perceived this truth of truths. Shelley believed
THE KHY TO THBOSOPHY ui
in it; Shakespeare must have thought of it when writing on
the worthlessness of birth. Remember his words :
Why should my birth keep down my mounting spirit?
Are not all creatures subject unto time?
There's legions now of beggars on the earth,
That their original did spring from kings,
And many monarchs now, whose fathers were
The riffraff of their age.
Alter the word " fathers " into Egos, and you will have the
truth.
142 THB KEY TO THUOSOPHY
IX
ON KAMALOKA AND DEVACHAN
ON THB PATH OF THE LOWER "PRINCIPLES"
Inq. You spoke of Kamaloka; what is it?
Theo. When the man dies his three lower principles leave him
forever — i.e., body, life and the vehicle of the latter, the
astral body or the double of the living man. And then his
four principles — the central or middle principle (the animal
soul or Kama Rupa), with what it has assimilated from the
lower Manas and the higher triad — find themselves in Ka-
maloka. The latter is an astral locality, the limhus of schol-
astic theology, the Hades of the ancients, and, strictly speak-
ing, a locality only in a relative sense. It has neither a de-
finite area nor boundary, but exists zvithin subjective space,
i. e., is beyond our sensuous perceptions. Still it exists, and
it is there that the astral eidolons of all the beings that have
lived, animals included, await their second death. For the
animals it comes with the disintegration and the entire fading
out of their astral particles to the last. For the human eid-
olon it begins when the Atma-Buddhi-Manasic triad is said
to "separate" itself from its lower principles, or the reflec-
tion of the ex-personality, by falling into the Devachanic
state.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 143
Inq. And what happens after this?
Theo. Then the Kama-rilpic phantom, remaining bereft of its
informing, thinking principle, the higher Manas, and the
lower aspect of the latter, the animal intelligence, no longer
receiving light from the higher mind, and no longer having
a physical brain to work through, collapses.
Inq. In what way?
Theo. Well, it falls into the state of the frog when certain por-
tions of its brain are taken out by the vivisector. It can
think no more, even on the lowest animal plane. Hence-
forth it is no longer even the lower Manas, since this
" lower " is nothing without the " higher."
Inq. And is it this nonentity which we find materializing in seance-rooms
with mediums?
Theo. It is this nonentity — a true nonentity, however, only as
to reasoning and cogitating powers ; still an Entity, however
astral and fluidic. This is shown in certain cases when this
entity, being magnetically and unconsciously drawn toward a
medium, is revived for a time and lives in him by proxy, so
to speak. This "spook," or the Kama Rijpa, may be com-
pared with the jellyfish, which has an ethereal gelatinous ap-
pearance so long as it is in its own element, or water (the
mcdiiun's specific AURA) ; no sooner is it thrown out of the
water, however, than it dissolves in the hand or on the sand,
especially in sunlight. In the medium's Aura it lives a kind
of vicarious life, and reasons and speaks either through the
medium's brain or those of other persons present. But this
would lead us too far, and upon other people's grounds,
144 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
whereon I have no desire to trespass. Let us keep to the sub-
ject of Reincarnation.
Inq. What of the latter? How long does the incarnating Ego remain in
the Devachanic state?
Thko. This, we are taught, depends on the degree of spirituaHty
and the merit or demerit of the last incarnation. The aver-
age time is from ten to fifteen centuries, as I have already
told you.
Inq. But why could not this Ego manifest and communicate with mortals
as Spiritualists will have it? What is there to prevent a mother from
communicating with the children she left on earth, a husband with
his wife, and so on? It is a most consoling belief, I must confess;
nor do I wonder that those who believe in it are so averse to give it up.
Thko. Nor are they forced to, unless they happen to prefer
truth to fiction, however "consoling." Uncongenial our doc-
trines may be to Spiritualists ; yet nothing of what we believe
in and teach is half as selfish and cruel as what they preach.
Inq. I do not understand you. What is selfish?
Thko. Their doctrine of the return of spirits, the real ''person-
alities," as they say; and I will tell you why. If Devachan
— call it "paradise," if you like; a "place of bliss and of
supreme felicity," if it is anything — is such a place, or say
state, logic tells us that no sorrow, nor even a shade of pain,
can be experienced therein. " God shall wipe away all tears"
from the eyes of those in paradise, we read in the book of
many promises. And if the " spirits of the dead " are able
to return and see all that is going on on earth, and especially
in their homes, what kind of bliss can be in store for them ?
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 145
WHY THEOSOPHISTS DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE RETURN OF PURE
"SPIRITS"
Inq. What do you mean? Why should this interfere with their bliss?
ThEo. It is quite simple ; let us take an instance. A mother dies,
leaving behind her little helpless children whom she adores ;
perhaps a beloved husband also. We say that her "spirit"
or Bgo — that individuality which is now wholly impreg-
nated, for the entire Devachanic period, with the noblest feel-
ings held by its late personality, with love for her children,
pity for those who suffer, and so on — is now entirely separ-
ated from the " vale of tears ;" that its future bliss consists
in the blessed ignorance of all the woes it left behind. Spir-
itualists, on the contrary, say that it is as vividly aware of
them, and more so than before, for " spirits see more than
mortals in the flesh do." We say that the bliss of the Dez'a-
chani consists in its complete conviction that it has never left
the earth, and that there is no such thing as death at all ; that
the post-mortem spiritual consciousness of the mother will
cause her to think that she lives surrounded by her children
and all those whom she loved; that no gap, no link, will be
missing to make her disembodied state the most perfect and
absolute happiness. The Spiritualists deny this point-blank.
According to their doctrine, unfortunate man is not liberated
even by death from the sorrows of this life. Not a drop
from the life-cup of pain and suffering will miss his lips;
and nolens volens, since he sees everything then, shall he
drink it to the bitter dregs. Thus the loving wife, who dur-
ing her lifetime was ready to save her husband sorrow at the
price of her heart's blood, is now doomed to see, in utter help-
lessness, his despair, and to register every hot tear he sheds
146 THB KEY TO THBOSOPHY
for her loss. Worse than that, she may see the tears dry too
soon, and another beloved face smile on him, the father of
her children ; find another woman replacing her in his affec-
tions; doomed to hear her children give the holy name of
''mother" to one indifferent to them, and to see those little
ones neglected, if not ill-treated. According to this doctrine,
the "gentle wafting to immortal life" becomes without any
transition the way into a new path of mental suffering ! And
yet the columns of the Banner of Light, the veteran journal
of the American Spiritualists, are filled with messages from
the dead, the "dear departed ones," who all write to say how
very happy they are! Is such a state of knowledge consist-
ent with bliss ? Then " bliss " stands, in such a case, for the
greatest curse, and orthodox damnation must be a relief in
comparison to it !
Inq. But how does your theory avoid this? How can you reconcile the
theory of the Soul's omniscience with its blindness to that which is
taking place on earth?
ThKo. Because such is the law of love and mercy. During
every Devachanic period the Ego, omniscient as it is per sc,
clothes itself, so to say, with the reflection of the personality
that was. I have just told you that the ideal efBorescence of
all the abstract, and therefore undying and eternal qualities
or attributes — such as love and mercy, the love of the good,
the true, and the beautiful — which ever spoke in the heart of
the living "personality," after death cling to the Ego, and
therefore follow it into Devachan. For the time being, then,
the Ego becomes the ideal reflection of the human being it
was when last on earth, and that is not omniscient. Were
it that, it would never be in the state we call Devachan at all.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 147
Inq. What are your reasons for it?
ThEO. If you want an answer on the strict lines of our philo-
sophy, then I would say that it is because everything is illus-
ion (mdyd) outside of eternal truth, which has neither form,
color, nor limitation. He who has placed himself beyond the
veil of mdyd — and such are the highest Adepts and Initi-
ates — can have no Devachan. As to the ordinary mortal, his
bliss in Devachan is complete. It is an absolute oblivion of all
that gave it pain or sorrow in the past incarnation, and even
oblivion of the fact that such things as pain or sorrow exist
at all. The DevacJiani lives its intermediate cycle between
two incarnations surrounded by everything it had aspired
to in vain, and in the companionship of everyone it loved on
earth. It has reached the fulfilment of all its soul-yearnings.
And thus it lives throughout long centuries an existence of
unalloyed happiness, which is the reward for its sufferings
in earth-life. In short, it bathes in a sea of uninterrupted
felicity spanned only by events of still greater felicity in
degree.
Inq. But this is more than simple delusion; it is an existence of insane
hallucinations !
Theo. From your standpoint it may be; not so from that of
philosophy. Besides, is not our whole terrestrial life filled
with such delusions? Have you never met men and women
living for years in a fool's paradise ? And because you should
happen to learn that the husband whom a wife adores, and
believes herself loved in turn by him, is untrue to her, would
you go and break her heart and beautiful dream by rudely
awakening her to the reality? I think not. I say it again,
148 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
such oblivion and hallucination, if you call it so, is only a mer-
ciful law of Nature and strict justice. At any rate, it is a
far more fascinating prospect than the orthodox golden harp
with a pair of wings. The assurance that " the soul that
lives ascends frequently and runs familiarly through the
streets of the heavenly Jerusalem, visiting the patriarchs and
prophets, saluting the apostles, and admiring the army of
martyrs," may seem of a more pious character to some.
Nevertheless it is a hallucination of a far more delusive char-
acter, since mothers love their children with an immortal
love, we all know, while the personages mentioned in the
*' heavenly Jerusalem " are still of a rather doubtful nature.
But I would still rather accept the " new Jerusalem," with
its streets paved like the show-windows of a jeweler's shop,
than find consolation in the heartless doctrine of the Spirit-
ualists. The idea alone that the intellectual conscious souls
of one's father, mother, daughter, or brother find their bliss
in a "summer-land" — only a little more natural, but just
as ridiculous as the "new Jerusalem" in its description —
would be enough to make one lose every respect for one's
" departed ones." To believe that a pure spirit can feel
happy while doomed to witness the sins, mistakes, treachery,
and, above all, the sufiferings of those from whom it is sev-
ered by death, and whom it loves best, without being able
to help them, would be a maddening thought.
Inq. There is something in your argument; I confess to having never
seen it in this light.
Theo. Just so; and one must be selfish to the core, and utterly
devoid of the sense of retributive justice, to have ever im-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 149
agined such a thing. We are with those whom we have lost
in material form, and far, far nearer to them now than when
they were alive. And it is not only in the fancy of the Deva-
chant, as some may imagine, but in reality. For pure divine
love is not merely the blossom of a human heart, but has its
roots in eternity. Spiritual holy love is immortal, and Karma
sooner or later brings all those who loved each other with
such a spiritual affection to incarnate once more in the same
family group. Again we say that love beyond the grave,
illusion though you may call it, has a magic and divine po-
tency which reacts on the living. A mother's Ego filled
with love for the imaginary children it sees near itself, living
a life of happiness as real to it as when on earth, will ever
cause that love to be felt by the children in flesh. It will mani-
fest in their dreams, and often in various events — in "pro-
vidential " protections and escapes ; for love is a strong shield,
and is not limited by space or time. As with this Devachanic
"mother," so with the rest of human relationships and at-
tachments, save the purely selfish or material. Analogy will
suggest to you the rest.
Inq. In no case, then, do you admit the possibility of the communication
of the living with the disembodied spirit?
ThKo. Yes, there is a case, and even two exceptions to the rule.
The first case is during the few days that immediately fol-
low the death of a person, and before the Bgo passes into the
Devachanic state. But whether any living mortal has derived
much benefit from the return of the spirit into the objective
plane is another question. Perhaps it may be so in a few ex-
ceptional cases, when the intensity of the desire in the dying
ISO THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
person to return for some purpose forced the higher con-
sciousness to remain azvake, and therefore it was really the
individuality, the *' Spirit," that communicated. But in gen-
eral the spirit is dazed after death, and falls very soon into
what w^e call " pre-devachanic unconsciousness." The sec-
ond exception is found in the Nirmanakayas.
Inq. What of them? What does the name signify for you?
Thko. It is the name given to those who, though they have won
the right to Nirvana and cyclic rest,''^ yet, out of pity for man-
kind and those they have left on earth, renounce this nirvanic
state. Such an Adept, or saint, or whatever you may call
him, believing it a selfish act to rest in bliss while mankind
groans under the burden of misery produced by ignorance,
renounces Nirvana, and determines to remain invisible in
spirit on this earth. Nirmanakayas have no material body,
for they have left it behind; but otherwise they remain with
all their principles, even in astral life, in our sphere. And
such can and do communicate with a few elect ones, but
surely not with ordinary mediums.
Inq. I have put you the question about Nirmanakayas because I read in
some German and other works that it was the name given in Northern
Buddhistic teachings to the terrestrial appearances or bodies assumed
by Buddhas.
ThEo. This is so, only the Orientalists have confused this '' ter-
restrial " body by understanding it to be objective and physical
instead of purely astral and subjective.
45. Not Devachan, as the latter is an illusion of our consciousness, a happy dream,
and as those who are fit for Nirvana must have lost entirely every desire or
possibility of desire for the world's illusions.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY ISi
Inq. And what good can these Nirmdnakayas do on earth?
Thdo. Not much, as regards individuals, as they have no right
to interfere with Karma, and can only advise and inspire
mortals for the general good. Yet they do more beneficent
actions than you imagine.
Inq. To this Science would never subscribe, not even modern psychology.
For science and psychology, no portion of intelligence can survive the
physical brain. What would you answer them?
Theo. I would not even go to the trouble of answering, but
would simply say, in the words given to " M. A. Oxon.":
Intelligence is perpetuated after the body is dead. Though it is not
a question of the brain only. ... It is reasonable to propound the in-
destructibility of the human spirit from what we know."*^
Inq. But " M. A. Oxon." is a Spiritualist?
Theo. Quite so, and the only true Spiritualist I know of, though
we may still disagree from him on many a minor question.
Apart from this, no Spiritualist comes nearer to the occult
truths than he does. Like any one of us, he speaks inces-
santly "of the surface dangers that beset the ill-equipped,
feather-headed muddler with the occult, who crosses the
threshold without counting the cost.'"*^ Our only disagree-
ment rests in the question of " spirit identity." Otherwise,
I, for one, almost entirely agree with him, and accept the
three propositions he embodied in his address of July, 1884.
It is this eminent Spiritualist, rather, who disagrees from us,
not we from him.
46. Spirit Identity, p. 69.
47. " Some things that I do know of Spiritualism, and some that 1 do not."
1S2 THE KEY TO TH BO SOPHY
Inq. What are these propositions?
Theo. They are as follows:
1. That there is a Hfe coincident with, and independent of, the
physical Hfe of the body,
2. That, as a necessary corollary, this life extends beyond the
life of the body. [We say it extends throughout Devachan.]
3. That there is communication between the denizens of that
state of existence and those of the world in which we now live.
All depends, you see, on the minor and secondary aspects
of these fundamental propositions. Everything depends on
the views we take of Spirit and Soul, or Individuality and
personality. Spiritualists confuse the two "into one;" we
separate them, and say that, with the exceptions above enum-
erated, no Spirit will revisit the earth, though the animal
soul may. But let us return once more to our direct sub-
ject, the Skandhas.
Inq. I begin to understand better now. It is the spirit, so to say, of
those Skandhas which are the most ennobling, which attaching itself
to the incarnating Ego, survives and is added to the stock of its
angelic experiences. And it is the attributes connected with the mat-
erial Skandhas, with selfish and personal motives, which, disappearing
from the field of action between two incarnations, reappear at the
subsequent incarnation as Karmic results to be atoned for; and there-
fore the Spirit will not leave Devachan. Is it so?
ThEo. Very nearly so. If you add to this that the law of re-
tribution, or Karma, rewarding the highest and most spirit-
ual attributes in Devachan, never fails to reward them again
on earth by giving them a further development, and by furn-
ishing the Ego with a body fitted for it, then you will be
quite correct.
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 153
A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE SK AN DMAS
Inq. What becomes of the other, the lower Skandhas of the personaHty,
after the death of the body? Are they quite destroyed?
Theo. They are and yet they are not — a fresh metaphysical
and occult mystery for you. They are destroyed as the
working stock in hand of the personaHty; they remain as
Karmic effects, as germs, hanging in the atmosphere of the
terrestrial plane, ready to come to life, as so many avenging
fiends, to attach themselves to the new personality of the Ego
when it reincarnates.
Inq. This really passes my comprehension, and is very difficult to under-
stand.
Theo. Not once that you have assimilated all the details. For
then you will see that for logic, consistency, profound phil-
osophy, divine mercy, and equity, this doctrine of Reincar-
nation has not its equal on earth. It is a belief in a perpetual
progress for each incarnating Ego, or divine soul, in an
evolution from the outward into the inward, from the mat-
erial to the Spiritual, arriving at the end of each stage at
absolute unity with the divine Principle. From strength to
strength, from the beauty and perfection of one plane to the
greater beauty and perfection of another, with accessions
of new glory, of fresh knowledge and power, in each cycle
— such is the destiny of every Ego, which thus becomes its
own savior in each world and incarnation.
Inq. But Christianity teaches the same. It also preaches progression.
TiTKO. Yes, only with the addition of something else. It tells
us of the impossibility of attaining Salvation without the aid
154 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
of a miraculous Savior, and, moreover, dooms to perdition
all those who will not accept the dogma. This is just the
difference between Christian theology and Theosophy. The
former enforces belief in the Descent of the Spiritual Ego
into the Lower Self; the latter inculcates the necessity of
endeavoring to elevate one's self to the Christos or Buddhi
state.
Inq. By teaching the annihilation of consciousness in case of failure, how-
ever, do you not think that it amounts to the annihilation of Self,
in the opinion of the non-metaphysical?
Theo. From the standpoint of those who believe in the resur-
rection of the body literally, and insist that every bone, every
artery and atom of flesh will be raised bodily on the judg-
ment-day, of course it does. If you still insist that it is the
perishable form and finite qualities that make up immortal
man, then we shall hardly understand each other. And if
you do not understand that, by limiting the existence of every
Ego to one life on earth, you make of Deity an ever-drunken
Indra of the Puranic dead letter, a cruel Moloch, a god who
makes an inextricable mess on earth, and yet claims thanks
for it, then the sooner we drop the conversation the better.
Inq. But let us return, now that the subject of the Skandhas is disposed of,
to the question of the consciousness which survives death. This is
the point which interests most people. Do we possess more know-
ledge in Devachan than we do in Earth-life?
Theo. In one sense we can acquire more knowledge — that is,
we can develop further any faculty which we loved and
strove after during life, provided it is concerned with ab-
stract and ideal things, such as music, painting, poetry, etc..
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 155
since Devachan is merely an idealized and subjective con-
tinuation of earth-life.
Inq. But if in Devachan the Spirit is free from matter, why should it not
possess all knowledge?
ThEo. Because, as I told you, the Ego is, so to say, wedded to
the memory of its last incarnation. Thus, if you think over
what I have said, and string all the facts together, you will
realize that the Devachanic state is not one of omniscience,
but a transcendental continuation of the personal life just
terminated. It is the rest of the soul from the toils of life.
Inq. But the scientific materialists assert that after the death of man no-
thing remains ; that the human body simply disintegrates into its com-
ponent elements ; and that what we call soul is merely a temporary
self-consciousness produced as a by-product of organic action, which
will evaporate like steam. Is not theirs a strange state of mind?
ThEo. Not at all strange, as far as I see. If they say that self-
consciousness ceases with the body, then in their case they
simply utter an unconscious prophecy ; for once that they are
firmly convinced of what they assert, no conscious after-life
is possible for them. For there arc exceptions to every rule.
ON POST-MORTEM AND POST-NATAL CONSCIOUSNESS "^^
Inq. But if human self-consciousness survives death as a rule, why should
there be exceptions?
48. A few portions of this chapter and of the preceding were published in Lucifer in
the shape of a " Dialogue on the Mysteries of the After-life," in the January
number, 1889. The article was unsigned, as if it were written by the editor,
but it came from the pen of the author of the present volume.
156 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
ThKo. In the fundamental principles of the spiritual world no
exception is possible. But there are rules for those who see,
and rules for those who prefer to remain blind.
Inq. Quite so, I understand. This is but an aberration of the bHnd man,
who denies the existence of the sun because he does not see it. But
after death his spiritual eyes will certainly compel him to see. Is this
what you mean?
ThEO. He will not be compelled, nor will he see anything. Hav-
ing persistently during life denied the continuance of exist-
ence after death, he will be unable to see it, because his spir-
itual capacity, having been stunted in life, cannot develop
after death, and he will remain blind. By insisting that he
must see it, you evidently mean one thing and I another.
You speak of the spirit from the Spirit, or the flame from the
Klame — of Atma, in short — and you confuse it with the
human soul, Manas. . . . You do not understand me ; let me
try to make it clear. The whole gist of your question is to
know whether, in the case of a downright materialist, the
complete loss of self-consciousness and self-perception after
death is possible. Is it not so? I answer, it is possible.
Believing firmly in our Esoteric Doctrine — which refers to
the post-mortem period, or the interval between two lives or
births, as merely a transitory state — I say that whether that
post-mortem interval between two acts of the illusionary
drama of life lasts one year or a million, it may, without any
breach of the fundamental law, prove to be just the same
state as that of a man in a dead faint.
Inq. But since you have just said that the fundamental laws of the after-
death state admit of no exceptions, how can this be?
THE KHY TO THBOSOPHY 157
ThEo. Nor do I say now that it does admit of an exception.
But the spiritual law of continuity applies only to things
which are truly real. To one who has read and understood
Mundaka Upanishad and Veddnta Sara all this becomes very
clear. I will say more: it is sufficient only to understand
what we mean by Buddhi and the duality of Manas to gain a
clear perception why the materialist may fail to have a self-
conscious survival after death. Since Manas, in its lower
aspect, is the seat of the terrestrial mind, it can therefore give
only that perception of the Universe which is based on the
evidence of that mind; it can not give spiritual vision. It is
said in the Eastern school that between Buddhi and Manas,
the Bgo, or Ishvara and Prajfia,''^ there is in reality no more
difference than hetiveen a forest and its trees, a lake and its
ivatcrs, as the Mundaka teaches. One or a hundred trees
dead from loss of vitality, or uprooted, are yet incapable of
preventing the forest from being still a forest.
Inq. But, as I understand it, Buddhi represents in this simile the forest,
and Manas-Taijasa^° the trees. And if Buddhi is immortal, how can
that which is similar to it — i.e., Manas-Taijasa — entirely lose its
consciousness till the day of its new incarnation? I can not under-
stand it.
ThEO. You cannot, because you will mix up an abstract repre-
49. Ishvara is the collective consciousness of the manifested deity, Brahma — i. e.,
the collective consciousness of the Host of Dhyan Chohans of The Secret Doc-
trine; and Prajna is their individual wisdom.
50. Taijasa means the radiant in consequence of its union with Buddhi — i.e., Manas,
the human soul, illuminated by the radiance of the divine soul. Tlierefore
Manas-Taijasa may be described as radiant mind, the human reason lit by the
light of the spirit ; and Buddhi-Manas is the revelation of the divine plus human
intellect and self-consciousness.
158 THE KEY TO THHOSOPHY
sentation of the whole with its casual changes of form. Re-
member that if it can be said of Buddhi-Manas that it is un-
conditionally immortal, the same cannot be said of the lower
Manas, still less of Taijasa, which is merely an attribute.
Neither of these — neither Manas nor Taijasa — can exist
apart from Buddhi, the divine Soul, because the first (Manas)
is, in its lower aspect, a qualificative attribute of the terres-
trial personality, and the second (Taijasa) is identical with
the first, because it is the same Manas, only with the light of
Buddhi reflected in it. In its turn, Buddhi would remain
only an impersonal spirit without this element which it bor-
rows from the human soul, which conditions and makes of it,
in this illusive Universe, as it were something separate from
the universal soul for the whole period of the cycle of in-
carnation. Say, rather, that Buddhi-Manas can neither die
nor lose its united self-consciousness in Eternity, nor the
recollection of the previous incarnations in which the two —
i. e., the spiritual and the human soul — had been closely
linked together. But it is not so in the case of a materialist,
whose human soul not only receives nothing from the divine
soul, but even refuses to recognize its existence. You can
hardly apply this axiom to the attributes and qualifications of
the human soul, for it would be like saying that because your
divine Soul is immortal therefore the bloom on your cheek
must also be immortal, whereas this bloom, like Taijasa, is
simply a transitory phenomenon.
Inq. Do I understand you to say that we must not confuse in our minds
the noumenon with the phenomenon, the cause with its effect?
ThEo. I do say so, and repeat that, limited to Manas or the hu-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 159
man soul alone, the radiance of Taijasa itself becomes a mere
question of time, because both immortality and consciousness
after death become, for the terrestrial personality of man,
simply conditioned attributes, as they depend entirely on con-
ditions and beliefs created by the human soul itself during
the life of its body. Karma acts incessantly; we reap in
our after-life only the fruit of that which we have ourselves
sown in this.
Inq. But if my Ego can, after the destruction of my body, become plunged
in a state of entire unconsciousness, then where can be the punish-
ment for the sins of my past life?
ThEo. Our philosophy teaches that Karmic punishment reaches
the Ego only in its next incarnation. After death it re-
ceives only the reward for the unmerited sufferings endured
during its past incarnation.^* The whole punishment after
death, even for the materialist, consists, therefore, in the ab-
sence of any reward, and the utter loss of the consciousness
of one's bliss and rest. Karma is the child of the terrestrial
Ego, the fruit of the actions of the tree which is the objective
personality visible to all, as much as the fruit of all the
thoughts and even motives of the spiritual " I " ; but Karma
is also the tender mother who heals the wounds inflicted by
her during the preceding life before she begins to torture the
51. Some Theosophists have taken exception to this phrase, but the words are those of
one of the Teachers, and the meaning attached to the word " unmerited " is that
given above. In a recent pamphlet, a phrase, criticized subsequently in Lucifer,
was used which was intended to convey the same idea. In form, however, it
was awkward and open to the criticism directed against it; but the essential idea
was that men often suffer from the effects of the actions done by others, effects
which thus do not strictly belong to their own Karma; and for these sufferings
they of course deserve compensation.
160 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Ego by inflicting new wounds. If it may be said that there
is not a mental or physical suffering in the life of a mortal
which is not the direct fruit and consequence of some sin in
a preceding existence, on the other hand, since the man does
not preserve the slightest recollection of it in his actual life,
feels himself not deserving of such punishment, and therefore
thinks he suffers for no guilt of his own, he is thus suffici-
ently entitled to the fullest consolation, rest and bliss in his
post-mortem existence. Death ever comes to our spiritual
selves as a deliverer and friend. For the materialist who,
notwithstanding his materialism, was not a bad man, the in-
terval between the two lives will be like the unbroken and
placid sleep of a child — either entirely dreamless, or filled
with pictures of which he will have no definite perception;
while for the average mortal it will be a dream as vivid as
life, and full of realistic bliss and visions.
Inq. Then the personal man must always go on suffering blitidly the karmic
penalties which the Ego has incurred?
ThEo. Not quite so. At the solemn moment of death every
man, even when death is sudden, sees the whole of his
past life marshaled before him in its minutest details. For
one short instant the personal becomes one with the individual
and all-knowing Bgo. But this instant is enough to show
him the whole chain of causes which have been at work
during his life. He sees and now understands himself as he
is, unadorned by flattery or self-deception. He reads his
life, remaining as a spectator looking down into the arena he
is quitting; he feels and knows the justice of all the suffering
that has overtaken him.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 161
Inq. Does this happen to every one?
ThEo. Without any exception. Very good and holy men see,
we are taught, not only the life they are leaving, but even
several preceding lives in which were produced the causes
that made them what they were in the life just closing.
They recognize the law of Karma in all its majesty and
justice.
Inq. Is there anything corresponding to this before re-birth?
ThEO. There is. As the man at the moment of death has a
retrospective insight into the life he has led, so, at the moment
he is reborn onto earth, the Bgo, awaking from the state of
Devachan, has a prospective vision of the life which awaits
him, and realizes all the causes that have led to it. He real-
izes them, and sees futurity, because it is between Devachan
and rebirth that the Bgo regains his full inanasic conscious-
ness, and re-becomes for a short time the god he was, before
in compliance with karmic law he first descended into matter
and incarnated in the first man of flesh. The " golden thread "
sees all its " pearls " and misses not one of them.
WHAT IS REALLY MEANT BY ANNIHILATION
Inq. I have heard some Theosophists speak of a golden thread on which
their lives were strung. What do they mean by this?
ThEo. In the Hindu sacred books it is said that that which un-
dergoes periodical incarnation is the sutrdtmd, which means
literally the ''Thread Soul." It is a synonym of the rein-
carnating Ego — Manas conjoined with Buddhi — which ab-
162 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
sorbs the manasic recollections of all our preceding lives. It
is so called because, like the pearls on a thread, so is the long
series of human lives strung together on that one thread.
In one of the Upanishads these recurrent births are likened
to the life of a mortal which oscillates periodically between
sleep and waking.
Inq. This, I must say, does not seem very clear, and I will tell you why.
For the man who awakes, another day commences, but he is the same
in soul and body as he was the day before ; whereas at every incarn-
ation a full change takes place not only of the external envelope, sex
and personality, but even of the mental and psychic capacities. The
simile does not seem to me quite correct. The man who arises from
sleep remembers quite clearly what he has done yesterday, the day
before, and even months and years ago. But none of us has the
slightest recollection of a preceding life or of any fact or event con-
cerning it. I may forget in the morning what I have dreamed during
the night; still I know that I have slept, and have the certainty that I
lived during sleep; but what recollection can I have of my past in-
carnation until the moment of death? How do you reconcile this?
ThHo. Some people do recollect their past incarnations during
life; but these are Buddhas and Initiates. This is what the
Raja Yogis call Samma Sanihuddha, or the knowledge of the
whole series of one's past incarnations.
Inq. But we ordinary mortals who have not reached Samma Samhuddha,
how are we to understand this simile?
ThEo. By studying it and trying to understand more correctly
the three kinds and characteristics of sleep. Sleep is a gen-
eral and immutable law for man as for beast, but there are
different kinds of sleep and still more different dreams and
visions.
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 163
Inq. But this takes us to another subject. Let us return to the materiaUst
who, though not denying dreams — which he could hardly do — yet
denies immortality in general and the survival of his own individuality.
Theo. And the materialist, without knowing it, is right. In
one who has no inner perception of and faith in the immortal-
ity of his soul, that soul can never become Buddhi-Taijasa,
but will remain simply Manas, and for Manas alone there is
no immortality possible. In order to live a conscious life in
the world to come, one has first of all to believe in that life
during the terrestrial existence. On these two aphorisms of
the Secret Science all the philosophy about the post-mortem
consciousness and the immortality of the soul is built. The
Ego receives always according to its deserts. After the dis-
solution of the body there commences for it a period of full
awakened consciousness, or a state of chaotic dreams, or an
utterly dreamless sleep undistinguishable from annihilation ;
and these are the three kinds of sleep. If our physiologists
find the cause of dreams and visions in an unconscious pre-
paration for them during the waking hours, why cannot the
same be admitted for the post-mortem dreams ? I repeat it :
death is sleep. After death, before the spiritual eyes of the
soul, begins a performance according to a program learned
and very often unconsciously composed by ourselves: the
practical carrying out of correct beliefs or of illusions which
have been created by ourselves. The Methodist will be a
Methodist, the Mohammedan a Mohammedan, at least for
some time, in a perfect fool's paradise of each man's crea-
tion and making. These are the post-mortem fruits of the
tree of life. Naturally our belief or unbelief in the fact of
conscious immortality is unable to influence the uncondi-
164 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
tioned reality of the fact itself, once that it exists; but the
belief or unbelief in that immortality as the property of in-
dependent or separate entities cannot fail to give color to
that fact in its application to each of these entities. Now do
you begin to understand it ?
Inq. I think I do. The materialist, disbelieving in everything that can
not be proven to him by his five senses, or by scientific reasoning
based exclusively on the data furnished by these senses, in spite of
their inadequacy, and rejecting every spiritual manifestation, accepts
life as the only conscious existence. Therefore according to their
beliefs so will it be unto them. They will lose their personal Ego,
and will plunge into a dreamless sleep until a new awakening. Is
it so?
Thko. Almost so. Remember the practically universal teach-
ing of the two kinds of conscious existence — the terrestrial
and the spiritual. The latter must be considered real from
the very fact that it is inhabited by the eternal, changeless
and immortal Monad; whereas the incarnating Ego dresses
itself up in new garments which are entirely different from
those of its previous incarnations, and in which all except
its spiritual prototype is doomed to a change so radical as
to leave no trace behind.
Inq. How so? Can my conscious terrestrial " I " perish not only for a
time, like the consciousness of the materialist, but so entirely as to
leave no trace behind ?
Thdo. According to the teaching, it must so perish and in its
entirety, all except the principle which, by uniting itself with
the Monad, thereby becomes a purely spiritual and inde-
structible essence, one with it in the Eternity. But in the
case of an out-and-out materialist, in whose personal " I "
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 165
no Buddhi has ever reflected itself, how can that Buddhi
carry away into the Eternity one particle of that terrestrial
personaHty ? Your spiritual " I " is immortal ; but from your
present self it can carry away into Eternity only that which
has become worthy of immortality — namely, the aroma alone
of the flower that has been mown down by death.
Inq. Well, and the flower, the terrestrial " I " ?
The:o. The flower, as all past and future flowers which have
blossomed and will have to blossom on the mother-bough —
the sutratma, all children of one root or Buddhi — will re-
turn to dust. Your present " I," as you yourself know, is
not the body now sitting before me, nor yet is it what I
would call Manas-Sijtratma, but SiJtratma-Buddhi.
Inq. But this does not explain to me, at all, why you call life after death
immortal, infinite and real, and the terrestrial life a simple phantom
or illusion; since even that post-mortem life has limits, however much
wider they may be than those of terrestrial life.
ThKo. No doubt. The spiritual Ego of man moves in eternity
like a pendulimi between the hours of birth and death. But
if these hours, marking the periods of life terrestrial and life
spiritual, are limited in their duration, and even if the very
number of such stages in Eternity between sleep and aw^aken-
ing, illusion and reality, has its beginning and its end, on the
other hand the spiritual pilgrim is eternal. And so the only
reality in our conception is the hours of man's post-morfein
life, when, disembodied — during the period of that pilgrimage
which we call "the cycle of rebirths" — he stands face to face
with truth, and not the mirages of his transitory earthly ex-
istences. Such intervals, however, their limitation notwith-
166 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
standing, do not prevent the Ego, while ever perfecting itself,
from following undeviatingly, though gradually and slowly,
the path to its last transformation, when, having reached its
goal, it becomes a divine being. These intervals and stages
help toward this final result instead of hindering it ; and with-
out such limited intervals the divine Ego could never reach
its ultimate goal. I have given you once already a familiar
illustration by comparing the Bgo, or the individuality, to an
actor, and its numerous and various incarnations to the parts
it plays. Will you call these parts or their costumes the in-
dividuality of the actor himself? Like that actor, the Ego
is forced, during the cycle of necessity, which continues up
to the very threshold of paranirvana, to play many parts
which may be unpleasant to it. But as the bee collects its
honey from every flower, leaving the rest as food for the
earthly worms, so does our spiritual individuality, whether
we call it sutratma or Ego. Collecting from every terrestrial
personality into which Karma forces it to incarnate, the nec-
tar alone of the spiritual qualities and self-consciousness, it
unites all these into one whole, and emerges from its chrysalis
as the glorified Dhyan Chohan. So much the worse for
those terrestrial personalities from which it could collect no-
thing. Such personalities assuredly cannot consciously out-
live their terrestrial existence.
Inq. Thus, then, it seems that, for the terrestrial personality, immortality
is still conditional. Is, then, immortality itself not unconditional?
Theo. Not at all. But immortality cannot touch the non-exist-
ent; for all that which exists as Sat, or emanates from Sat,
immortality and Eternity are absolute. Matter is the oppos-
THE KBY TO THBOSOPHV 167
ite pole of spirit, and yet the two are one. The essence of
all this — I. e., Spirit, Force and Matter, or the three in one —
is as endless as it is beginningless ; but the form acquired by
this triple unity during its incarnations, its externality, is
certainly only the illusion of our personal conceptions. There-
fore do we call Nirvana and the Universal life alone a reality,
relegating the terrestrial life, its terrestrial personality in-
cluded, and even its Devachanic existence, to the phantom
realm of illusion.
Inq. But why in such a case call sleep the reality, and waking the illusion?
Theo. It is simply a comparison made to facilitate the grasping
of the subject, and from the standpoint of terrestrial concep-
tions it is a very correct one.
Inq. And still I can not understand, if the life to come is based on justice
and merited retribution for all our terrestrial suffering, how in the
case of materialists, many of whom are really honest and charitable
men, there should remain of their personality nothing but the refuse of
a faded flower.
ThEo. Such a thing was never stated. No materialist, how-
ever unbelieving, can die forever in the fulness of his spir-
itual individuality. What was said is that consciousness
can disappear either fully or partially in the case of a mater-
ialist so that no conscious remains of his personality survive.
Inq. But surely this is annihilation?
Theo. Certainly not. One can sleep a dead sleep and miss sev-
eral stations during a long railway journey, without the
slightest recollection or consciousness, and awake at another
station and continue the journey past innumerable other halt-
ing-places until the end of the journey or the goal is reached.
168 THB KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Three kinds of sleep were mentioned to you — the dreamless,
the chaotic and the one which is so real that dreams be-
come full realities to the sleeper. If you believe in the latter,
why can you not believe in the former? According to the
after-life a man has believed in and expected, such is the life
he will have. He who expected no life to come will have an
absolute blank, amounting to annihilation, in the interval be-
tween the two births. This is just the carrying out of the
program we spoke of — a program created by the material-
ists themselves. But there are various kinds of materialists,
as you say. A selfish, wicked Egoist, one who never shed a
tear for any one but himself, thus adding entire indifference
to the whole world to his unbelief, must, at the threshold of
death, drop his personality forever. This personality having
no tendrils of sympathy for the world around, and hence no-
thing to attach it to siltrdtma, it follows that with the last
breath every connection between the two is broken. There
being no Devachan for such a materialist, the sutratmd will
reincarnate almost immediately. But those materialists who
erred in nothing but their disbelief will oversleep but one
station. And the time will come when such ex-materialists
will perceive themselves in the Eternity, and perhaps repent
that they lost even one day, one station, from the life eternal.
Inq. Still would it not be more correct to say that death is birth into a
new life, or a return once more into eternity?
The;o. You may if you like. Only remember that births differ,
and that there are births of "still-born" beings, which are
failures of nature. Moreover, with your fixed Western ideas
about material life, the words '' living " and '' being " are
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY i69
quite inapplicable to the pure subjective state of post-mortem
existence. Save in a few philosophers who are not read by
the many, and who themselves are too confused to present a
distinct picture of it, your Western ideas of life and death
have become so narrow that on the one hand they have led to
crass materialism, and on the other to the still more material
conception of the other life which the Spiritualists have form-
ulated in their " Summer-land." There the souls of men eat,
drink, marry and live in a paradise quite as sensual as that
of Mohammed, and even less philosophical. Nor are the aver-
age conceptions of the uneducated Christians any better; if
possible, they are still more material. What between trunc-
ated angels, brass trumpets, golden harps and material hell-
fires, the Christian heaven seems like a fairy scene at a
Christmas pantomime.
It is because of these narrow conceptions that you find
such difficulty in understanding. It is just because the life
of the disembodied soul, while possessing all the vividness
of reality, as in certain dreams, is devoid of every grossly
objective form of terrestrial life that the Eastern philoso-
phers have compared it with visions during sleep.
DEFINITE WORDS FOR DEFINITE THINGS
Inq, Don't you think that it is because there are no definite and fixed
terms to indicate each " Principle " in man, that such a confusion of
ideas arises in our minds with respect to the respective functions of
these " Principles " ?
Thko. I have thought of this myself. The whole trouble has
arisen from our having begim with Sanskrit names in our
170 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
expositions of and discussion about the " Principles," instead
of immediately coining, for the use of Theosophists, their
equivalents in English. We must try and remedy this now.
Inq. You will do well, as it may avoid further confusion ; no two Theo-
sophical writers, it seems to me, have hitherto agreed to call the same
" Principle " by the same name.
Theo. The confusion is more apparent than real, however. I
have heard some of our Theosophists expressing surprise,
and criticizing several essays speaking of these " principles."
When examined, however, there was no worse mistake in
them than the use of the word " soul " to cover the three prin-
ciples, without specifying the distinctions. [One of the cen-
tral teachings of Theosophy around which everything of hu-
man interest seems to revolve is that of the Angel and the
Demon in every one. Human nature is dual; man stands
between the higher and the lower, with power to choose to
identify himself with either. In his ordinary normal life
such as is lived today, he alternates between the two to
greater or less degree; at one time the spiritual nature pre-
dominates and at another the animal, or lower nature, or the
mere mentality divorced from all higher influences of the
heart. As man lives more the life of the lower nature, he
centres more of his consciousness in the body, identifying
himself with the life of sensation or mere intellect. Corres-
pondingly as he lives a more spiritual life he rises above the
lower nature and is no longer enchained by physical sensation
or enslaved by animal impulse: he becomes more and more
freed from the influence of physical, material life.
Man thus appears under three aspects: (a) the ordinary
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY m
human condition as we see it today, between the higher and
the lower, swayed now by this, now by that; {h) above this,
a state of relatively spiritual consciousness; and (c) the low
animal state. We may name these three conditions, the hu-
man soul, the spiritual soul, and the animal soul respectively.
But there is a state or condition higher than these, which man
approaches as his nature becomes purified from all the lower
elements, becoming spiritual in the highest sense, and which
though unknown to the majority of men is yet the source of
their highest inspiration. This we call the Higher Self. It
is, as it were, the Divine Root of all being, existing, as the
BJwgavad Gifd expresses it, " alike imperishable in all per-
ishable things;" non-materializable ; not different in you and
me, but one and the same in all men, the essential Divinity
underlying all life.]
The " Higher Self " is Atma, and of course it is non-mat-
erializable. Even more, it can never be objective under any
circumstances, even to the highest spiritual perception. For
Atman, or the " Higher Self " is really Brahma, the Absol-
ute, and indistinguishable from it. In hours of samadhi the
higher spiritual consciousness of the Initiate is entirely ab-
sorbed in the one essence, which is Atman, and therefore,
being one with the whole, there can be nothing objective for
it. Now some of our Theosophists have got into the habit
of using the words " Self " and " Ego " as synonymous ; of
associating the term " Self " with only man's higher individ-
ual or even personal " Self " or Bgo, whereas this term ought
never to be applied except to the One universal Self. Hence
the confusion. When speaking of Manas, the "causal body,"
and connecting it with the Buddhic radiance, we may call it
172
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
the " Higher Ego." never the " Higher Self." For even
Buddhi, the " Spiritual Soul," is not the SelF, but the vehicle
only of Self. All the other " Selves " — such as the Indiv-
idual self and personal self — ought never to be spoken or
written of without their qualifying and characteristic ad-
jectives. The term ** Higher Self " as applied by some to
the sixth principle or Buddhi (of course in conjunction with
Manas, as without such union there would be no thinking
principle or element in the spiritual soul) has given rise to
much misunderstanding.
To avoid henceforth such misapprehensions, I propose to
translate the occult Eastern terms into their English equival-
ents, and of¥er these for future use.
f Atma, the inseparable ray of the Universal
and One SelE. It is the God above, more
than within, us. Happy the man who suc-
ceeds in saturating his inner Ego with it!
the spiritual soul or Buddhi, in close union
with Manas, the mind-principle, without
which the former is no Ego at all, but only
the Atmic Vehicle.
The Higher
Sele is
The Spirit-
ual divine
Ego is
The Inner,
or Higher
" Eeo " is
Manas, the " fifth " Principle, so called, in-
dependently of Buddhi. The Mind-Principle
is only the Spiritual Ego when merged info
one with Buddhi; no materialist being sup-
posed to have in him such an Ego, how-
ever great his intellectual capacities. It is
the permanent Individuality or the " Rein-
^carnating Ego."
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV m
The LowKR,
or PersonaIv-
" Ego " is
the physical man in conjunction with his lozv-
er Self — i. e., animal instincts, passions, de-
sires, etc. It is called the " false personal-
ity," and consists of the lozver Manas com-
bined with Kama Riipa, and operating
through the physical body and its phantom
or " double."
The remaining ''principle," Prdna, or " Life," is, strictly
speaking, the radiating force or energy of Atma — as the
Universal Life and the Onk Self — Its lower, or rather (in
its effects) more physical, because manifesting, aspect.
Prdna, or Life, permeates the whole being of the objective
Universe, and is called a ''principle" only because it is an
indispensable factor and the deus ex viachind of the living
man.
Inq. This division will answer better, I believe, as it is so much simplified
in its combinations. The other is much too metaphysical.
ThEo. If outsiders as well as Theosophists would agree to it, it
would certainly make matters much more comprehensible.
174 THE KBY TO THBOSOPHY
X
ON THE NATURE OF OUR THINKING PRINCIPLE
THE MYSTERY OF THE EGO
Inq. I have heard it stated that the Skandhas — memory included —
change with every new incarnation. And yet it is asserted that the
reflection of the past Hves, which, we are told, are entirely made up
of Skandhas, "must survive." At the present moment I am not quite
clear in my mind as to what it is precisely that survives, and I should
like to have it explained. What is it? Is it only that "reflection/' or
those Skandhas, or always that same Ego, the Manas?
Theo. I have just explained that the reincarnating Principle, or
that which we call the divine man, is indestructible through-
out the life-cycle — indestructible as a thinking Bntity, and
even as an ethereal form. The "reflection" is only the spir-
itualized remembrance, during the Devachanic period, of
the ex-personality — Mr. A or Mrs. B — with which the Bgo
identifies itself during that period. Since the Devachanic
period is but the continuation of the earth-life, so to say —
the very acme and pith, in an unbroken series, of the few
happy moments in that now past existence — the Ego has to
identify itself with the personal consciousness of that earth-
life if anything shall remain of it.
Inq. This means that the Ego, notwithstanding its divine nature, passes
every such period between two incarnations in a state of mental ob-
scuration or temporary insanity?
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 175
The:o. You may regard it as you like. Believing that, outside
the One ReaHty, nothing is more than a passing iUusion — the
whole Universe included — we do not view it as insanity, but
as a very natural sequence or development of the terres-
trial life. What is life? A bundle of the most varied ex-
periences, of daily changing ideas, emotions and opinions.
In our youth we are often enthusiastically devoted to an ideal,
to some hero or heroine whom we try to follow and revive ; a
few years later, when the freshness of our youthful feelings
has faded out and sobered down, we are the first to laugh at
our fancies. And yet there was a day when we had so thor-
oughly identified our own personality with that of the ideal in
our mind — especially if it was that of a living being — that
it became entirely merged and lost in our ideal. Can it be
said of a man of fifty that he is the same being that he was at
twenty? The inner man is the same ; the outward living per-
sonality is completely transformed and changed. Would you
also call these changes in the human mental states insanity ?
Inq. How would you name them, and especially how would you explain
the permanence of the one and the evanescence of the other?
Theo. We have our own doctrine ready, and to us it oflfers no
difficulty. The clue lies in the double consciousness of our
mind, and also in the dual nature of the mental ''principle."
There is a spiritual consciousness — the manasic mind illum-
ined by the light of Buddhi — which subjectively perceives
abstractions, and a sentient consciousness — the lower man-
asic light — inseparable from our physical brain and senses.
The latter consciousness is held in subjection by the brain and
physical senses and, being in its turn equally dependent on
176 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
them, must of course fade out and finally die with the disap-
pearance of the brain and physical senses. It is only the
spiritual consciousness, whose root lies in eternity, which
survives and lives forever, and may therefore be regarded as
immortal. Everything else belongs to passing illusions.
Inq, What do you really understand by illusion in this case?
ThEO. [That which is not permanent, the transitory, the evan-
escent and phenomenal. Under this category will come,
therefore, our fleeting earth-lives which are, as it were, the
flowers of an existence whose roots are in eternity. The real
world is the world of causes, of noumena. Just as in the
natural world at the appointed season the plants, whose roots
are hid in the earth, send up their shoots and leaves and then
blossom and die, so the soul, the root of whose being is in the
inner spiritual world, sends out its shoots and blossoms into
the world of material physical existence. These blossoms
live out their transitory day and then fade away and die, and
the life essence, just as in the plant, is indrawn into the
root to be again sent forth in due season. One having cog-
nizance of these two aspects would be merely justified in de-
claring these transitory blossoms of earth-life illusions, and
the only real life, that which lies behind.]
This is what I mean. It is not the world in which blos-
som the transitory and evanescent flowers of personal lives
which is the real permanent world, but that one in which we
find the root of consciousness, the root which is beyond illus-
ion and dwells in the eternity.
Inq. What do you mean by the root dwelling in eternity?
ThHo. I mean by this root the thinking entity, the Ego which
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY m
incarnates, whether we regard it as an "Angel," a " Spirit " or
a Force. Of that which falls under our sensuous perceptions
only what grows directly from, or is attached to, this invisible
root above can partake of its immortal life. Hence every
noble thought, idea and aspiration of the personality it in-
forms, proceeding from and fed by this root, must become
permanent. As to the physical consciousness, as it is a qual-
ity of the sentient but lower "principle" — Kama Rupa, or
animal instinct, illuminated by the lower mdnasic reflection,
or the human soul — it must disappear. It is the higher con-
sciousness which displays activity while the body is asleep
or paralyzed, our memory registering but feebly and in-
accurately— because automatically — such experiences, and
often failing to be even slightly impressed by them.
Inq. But how is it that Manas, although you call it Nous, a " God," is so
weak during its incarnations as to be actually conquered and fettered
by its body ?
Theo. I might retort with a similar question, and ask. How is
it that he whom you regard as " God of gods " and the One
living God is so zvcak as to allow evil (or the Devil) to have
the best of him as much as of all his creatures, both while in
heaven, and also during the time he was incarnated on this
earth? You are sure to reply again. This is a mystery, and
we are forbidden to pry into the mysteries of God. But as
we are not forbidden to do so by our religious philosophy, I
answer that, unless a God descends as an Az'atcira, no divine
principle can be otherwise than cramped and paralyzed by
turbulent animal matter. Heterogeneity will always have
the upper hand over homogeneity on this plane of illusions ;
and the nearer an essence is to its root-principle, Primordial
178 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Homogeneity, the more difficult it is for the latter to assert
itself on earth. Spiritual and divine powers lie dormant in
every human Being; and the wider the sweep of his spiritual
vision, the mightier will be the God within him. But few
men can feel that God. As an average rule, deity is always
bound and limited in thought by earlier conceptions, ideas
inculcated in us from childhood ; therefore it is so difficult for
you to understand our philosophy.
Inq. And is it this Ego of ours which is our God?
ThEo. Not at all ; '' a God " is not the universal deity, but only
a spark from the one ocean of Divine Fire. Our God within
us, or " our Father in Secret " is what we call the " Higher
Self/' Atmd. Our incarnating Ego was a God in its origin,
as were all the primeval emanations of the One Unknown
Principle. But since its " fall into matter," having to in-
carnate throughout the cycle, in succession, from first to last,
it is no longer a free and happy God, but a poor pilgrim on
his way to regain that which he has lost. I can answer you
more fully by repeating what is said of the Inner Man in
Isis Unveiled (ii, 593) :
From the remotest antiquity mankind as a whole have ahvays been
convinced of the existence of a personal spiritual entity ivithin the per-
sonal physical man. This inner entity was more or less divine, accord-
ing to its proximity to the crown. . . . The closer the union, the more
serene man's destiny, the less dangerous the external conditions.
This belief is neither bigotry nor superstition, only an ever-present,
instinctive feeling of the proximity of another spiritual and invisible
world, which, though it be subjective to the senses of the outward
man, is perfectly objective to the Inner Ego. Furthermore, they be-
lieved that there are external and internal conditions which affect the
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 179
determination of our unll upon our actions. They rejected fatalism,
for fatalism implies a blind course of some still blinder power. But
they believed in destiny (or Karma), which from birth to death every
man is weaving thread by thread around himself, as a spider does his
cobweb; and this destiny is guided either by that presence termed by
some the guardian angel, or by our more intimate astral inner man,
who is but too often the evil genius of the man of flesh (or the per-
sonality). Both these lead on . . . man, but one of them must pre-
vail ; and from the very beginning of the invisible affray the stern and
implacable law of compensation {and retribution) steps in and takes its
course, following faithfully the fluctuations (of the conflict). When
the last strand is woven, and man is seemingly inwrapped in the net-
work of his own doing, then he finds himself completely under the
empire of this self-made destiny. It then either fixes him like the inert
shell against the immovable rock, or like a feather carries him away
in a whirlwind raised by his own actions.
Such is the destiny of the Man — the true Ego, not the
Automaton, the shell that goes by that name. It is for this
Man to become the conqueror over matter.
THE COMPLEX NATURE OF MANAS
Inq. But you wanted to tell me something of the essential nature of Manas,
and of the relation in which the Skandhas of physical man stand to it.
Theo. It is this nature, mysterious, Protean, beyond any grasp,
and almost shadowy in its correlations with the other prin-
ciples, that is so difficult to realize, and still more difficult to
explain. Manas is a "principle," and yet it is an " Entity "
and individuality, or Ego. He is a " God," and yet he is
doomed to an endless cycle of incarnations, for each of which
he is made responsible, and for each of which he has to suffer.
180 THE KEY TO THEOSOFHY
All this seems as contradictory as it is puzzling; nevertheless,
there are hundreds of people, even in the West, who realize
all this perfectly, for they comprehend the Ego not only in
its integrity, but in its many aspects. But if I would make
myself comprehensible, I must begin at the beginning and
give you the genealogy of this Ego in a few lines.
Inq. Say on.
Thko. Try to imagine a " Spirit," a celestial Being, whether we
call it by one name or another, divine in its essential nature,
yet not pure enough to be one with the Ahh, and consequently
having to purify its nature so that it may finally reach that
goal. It can do so only by passing individually and person-
ally, — i. e., spiritually and physically — through every ex-
perience and feeling that exists in the manifold or differen-
tiated Universe. It has, therefore, after gaining experience
in the lower kingdoms, and having ascended higher and still
higher with every rung on the ladder of being, to pass
through every experience on the human planes. In its very
essence it is thought, and is therefore called in its plurality
Manasa-piitras, or "Sons of the (Universal) mind." This
individualized " Thought " is what we Theosophists call the
real human Ego, the thinking Entity imprisoned in a case of
flesh and bones. This is surely a Spiritual Entity, not
Matter, and such Entities are the incarnating Egos, in-
forming the bundle of animal matter called mankind, and
whose names are nidnasa, or " Minds." But once impris-
oned or incarnate, their essence becomes dual ; that is to say,
the rays of the eternal divine Mind, considered as individual
entities, assume a twofold attribute: (a) their essential, in-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV 181
herent, characteristic, heaven-aspiring mind or higher Manas,
and (b) the human quaHty of thinking, or animal cogitation,
rationahzed owing to the superiority of the human brain, the
^oma-tending or lower Manas. One gravitates toward Bud-
dhi, the other tends downward to the seat of passions and
animal desires. The latter have no room in Devachan, nor
can they associate with the divine triad which ascends as oni=:
into mental bliss. Yet it is the Ego, the Manasic Entity,
which is held responsible for all the sins of the lower attrib-
utes, just as a parent is answerable for the transgressions
of the child so long as the latter remains irresponsible.
Inq. Is this "child" the personality?
Theo. It is. But when it is stated that the '^personality" dies
with the body, that is not all. The body, which was only the
objective symbol of Mr. A or Mrs. B, fades away with all
the material skandhas, which are the visible expressions of it.
But all that which during life constituted the spiritual bundle
of experiences, the noblest aspirations, undying affections
and unselfish nature of Mr. A or Mrs. B, clings for the time
of the Devachanic period to the Ego, and the Ego is identified
with the spiritual portion of the terrestrial Entity, which has
now passed away out of sight. The Actor is so imbued with
the role he has lately played that he dreams of it during the
whole Devachanic night, and this 7'isio}i continues until the
hour strikes for him to return to the stage of life to enact
another part.
Inq. But how is it that this doctrine, which you say is as old as thinking
men, has found no room, say, in Christian theology?
ThEo. You are mistaken — it has ; only theology has disfigured
182 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
it out of all recognition, as it has many other doctrines.
Theology calls the Ego the Angel that God gives us, at the
moment of our birth, to take care of our Soul. Theological
logic, instead of holding that " Angel " responsible for the
transgressions of the poor helpless " Soul," makes the latter
punishable for all the sins of both flesh and mind ! It is the
Soul, the immaterial breath of God, and his alleged creation,
which, by some most amazing intellectual jugglery, is doomed
to burn in a material hell without ever being consumed,"
while the " Angel " escapes scot-free, after folding his white
pinions and wetting them with a few tears. Aye, these are
our " ministering spirits," the " messengers of mercy " who
are sent, Bishop Mant tells us —
.... to fulfil
Good for salvation's heirs ; for us they still
Grieve when we sin, rejoice when we repent.
Yet it becomes evident that if all the bishops the world
over were asked to define once for all what they mean by
Soul and its functions, they would be as unable to do so as to
show us any shadow of logic in the orthodox belief !
THE DOCTRINE IS TAUGHT IN ST. JOHN'S GOSPEL
Inq. To this the adherents of this beHef might answer that, if even the
orthodox dogma does promise the impenitent sinner and materiaHst
a bad time of it in a rather too realistic Inferno, it gives them, on the
other hand, a chance for repentance to the last minute. Moreover,
52. Being of " an ashestos-Wkt nature," according to the eloquent and fiery expression
of a modern English Tertullian.
THE KBY to THnoSOPHV 183
they do not teach annihilation, or loss of personality, which is all the
same.
ThEO. If the Church teaches nothing of the kind, on the other
hand, Jesus does; and that is something to those, at least,
who place Christ higher than Christianity.
Inq. Does Christ teach anything of the sort?
Thko. He does; and every well-informed Occultist and even
Kabalist will tell you so. Christ, or the fourth Gospel at any
rate, teaches Reincarnation and also the annihilation of the
personality, if you will only forget the dead letter and hold to
the esoteric spirit. Remember verses 1 and 2 in chapter xv.
of St. John. What does the parable speak about if not of
the upper triad in man ? Atma is the Husbandman, the spir-
itual Ego, or Biiddhi (Christos), the Vine, while the animal
and vital soul, the personality, is the " branch." " I am the
true vine, and my Father is the Husbandman. Every branch
in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away. ... As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine ;
no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the Vine, ye are
the branches. ...Ha man abide not in me, he is cast forth
as a branch, and is withered" — and cast into the fire and
burned.
Now we explain it in this way. Disbelieving in the hell-
fires which theology discovers as underlying the threat to
the branches, we say that the " Husbandman " means Atma,
the Symbol for the infinite, impersonal Principle,^"' while the
53. During the Mysteries it is the hierophant, the " Father," who planted the Vine.
Every symbol has Seven Keys to it. The discloser of the Plcroma was always
called " Father."
184 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Vine stands for the Spiritual Soul, Christos, and each
" branch " represents a new incarnation.
Inq. But what proofs have you to support such an arbitrary interpretation?
Theo. Universal symbology is a warrant for its correctness and
that it is not arbitrary. Hernias says of " God " that he
" planted the Vineyard " — i. e., he created mankind. In the
Kabalah it is shown that the Aged of the Aged, or the " Long
Face," plants a "vineyard," typifying mankind, and a "vine,"
meaning Life. The Spirit of " King Messiah " is therefore
shown as washing his garments in tJie zvine from above, from
the creation of the world.^"* And King Messiah is the Ego
purified by zvashing his garments — i. e., his personalities in
rebirth — in the zvi7ie from above, or Buddhi. Adam, or
A-Dam, is " blood." The Life of the flesh is in the blood —
nephesh, soul (Lev. xvii.). And Adam Kadmon is the Only-
Begotten. Noah also plants a vineyard — the allegorical
hotbed of future humanity. As a consequence of the adop-
tion of the same allegory, we find it reproduced in the Codex
Nasarcens. Seven vines — our Seven Races with their seven
Saviors or Buddhas — are procreated. These seven vines
spring from Jukabar Zivo, and Aebel Zivo waters them.^'
When the blessed will ascend among the creatures of Light,
they shall see Javar Zivo, Lord of Li^K, and the First Vine.^^
These kabalistic metaphors are thus naturally repeated in the
Gospel according to St. John (xv, 1).
Let us not forget that — even according to those philoso-
54. Zohar, xl, 10.
55. Codex Nazarceus, Liber Adami Appellatus — a Matth. Norberg, iii, 60, 61.
56. Ibid., ii, 281.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 185
phies which ignore our septenary division — in the human
system the Ego, or thinking man, is called the Logos, or the
Son of Soul and Spirit. '' Manas is the adopted son of King
and Queen " (the esoteric equivalents for
Atma and Buddhi), says an occult work. He is the "man-
god " of Plato, who crucifies himself in Space, or the duration
of the life-cycle, for the redemption of Matter. This he does
by incarnating over and over again, thus leading mankind
onward to perfection, and making thereby room for lower
forms to develop into higher. Not for even one life does he
cease progressing himself and also helping all physical Nat-
ure to progress; even the occasional, very rare event of his
losing one of his personalities — in the case of the latter
being entirely devoid of even a spark of spirituality — helps
towards his individual progress.
Inq. But surely, if the Ego is held responsible for the transgressions of its
personalities, it has to answer also for the loss, or rather the complete
annihilation, of one of such.
Theo. Not at all, unless it has done nothing to avert this dire
fate. But if, notwithstanding all its efforts, its voice, that
of our conscience, has been unable to penetrate through the
wall of matter, then the obtuseness of the latter, which pro-
ceeds from the imperfect nature of the material, is classed
with other failures of nature. The Ego is sufficiently pun-
ished by the loss of Devachan, and especially by having to
incarnate almost immediately.
Inq. This doctrine of the possibility of losing one's soul — or personality,
do you call it? — militates against the ideal theories of both Christians
and Spiritualists, though Swedenborg adopts it to a certain extent in
186 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
what he calls "Spiritual death." Christians and Spiritualists will never
accept it.
Th^o. This can in no way alter a fact in nature, if it be a fact,
or prevent such a thing occasionally taking place. The uni-
verse and everything in it, moral, mental, physical, psychic or
Spiritual, is built on a perfect law of equilibrium and har-
mony. As said before in Isis Unveiled, the centripetal force
could not manifest itself without the centrifugal in the har-
monious revolutions of the spheres, and all forms and the
progress of such forms are products of this dual force in
Nature. Now the Spirit, or Buddhi, is the centrifugal, and
the soul, or Manas, the centripetal spiritual energy; and to
produce one result they have to be in perfect union and har-
mony. Break or damage the centripetal motion of the earth-
ly soul tending toward the centre which attracts it ; arrest its
progress by clogging it with a heavier weight of matter than
it can bear, or than is fit for the Devachanic state, and the
harmony of the whole will be destroyed. Personal life, or
perhaps rather its ideal reflection, can only be continued if
sustained by the twofold force; that is, by the close union of
Buddhi and Manas in every rebirth or personal life. The
least deviation from harmony damages it ; and when it is de-
stroyed beyond redemption the two forces separate at the
moment of death. During a brief interval the personal form
— called indifferently kama rfipa and niayaz'i rupa — the
spiritual ef^orescence of which, attaching itself to the Ego,
follows it into Devachan and gives to the permanent individ-
uality its personal coloring {pro tern., so to speak), is carried
ofif to remain in Kdmaloka and to be gradually annihilated.
For it is after the death of the utterly depraved, the unspir-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 187
itual and the wicked beyond redemption that the critical and
supreme moment arrives. If during Hfe the ultimate and
desperate effort of the Inner Self (Manas) to unite some-
thing of the personality with itself and the high glimmering
ray of the divine Buddhi is thwarted ; if this ray is allowed to
be more and more shut out from the ever-thickening crust
of the physical brain, the Spiritual Ego or Manas, once freed
from the body, remains severed entirely from the ethereal
relic of the personality; and the latter, or Kama Rupa, fol-
lowing its earthly attractions, is drawn into and remains in
Hades, which we call Kamaloka. These are *' the withered
branches " mentioned by Jesus as being cut off from the Vine.
Annihilation, however, is never instantaneous, and may re-
quire centuries sometimes for its accomplishment. But there
the personality remains along with the remnants of other
more fortunate personal Egos, and becomes with them a
sJiell and an Elementary. As said in Isis Unveiled, it is these
two classes of " spirits," the shells and the Blementaries,
which are the leading " Stars " on the great spiritual stage
of " materializations." And, you may be sure of it, it is not
they who incarnate; and therefore it is that so few of these
''dear departed ones" know anything of reincarnation, and
thereby mislead the Spiritualists.
Inq. But does not the author of Isis Unveiled stand accused of having
preached against Reincarnation?
TiiEO. By those who have misunderstood what was said, yes.
At the time that work was written Reincarnation was not
believed in by any Spiritualists, either English or American,
and what is there said of Reincarnation was directed against
188 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
the French Spiritists, whose theory is as unphilosophical
and absurd as the Eastern teaching is logical and self-evi-
dent in its truth. The Reincarnationists of the Allan Kardec
school believe in an arbitrary and immediate reincarnation.
With them, the dead father can incarnate in his own unborn
daughter, and so on. They have neither Devachan, Karma,
nor any philosophical theory that would warrant or prove
the necessity of consecutive rebirths. But how can the au-
thor of his Unveiled argue against Karmic reincarnation,
at long intervals varying between one thousand, and fifteen
hundred years, when it is the fundamental belief of both
Buddhists and Hindus?
Inq. Then you reject the theories of both the Spiritists and the Spirit-
ualists in their entirety?
ThEo. Not in their entirety, but only with regard to their re-
spective fundamental beliefs. Both rely on what their ''spir-
its" tell them, and both disagree as much from each other
as we Theosophists disagree from both. Truth is one; and
when we hear the French spooks preaching Reincarnation,
and the English spooks denying and denouncing the doctrine,
we say that either the French or the English ''spirits" do not
know what they are talking about. We believe, with the
vSpiritualists and the Spiritists, in the existence of " spirits,"
or invisible beings endowed with more or less intelligence.
But while in our teachings their kinds and genera are legion,
our opponents admit of no other than human disembodied
" spirits," which, to our knowledge, are mostly Kamalokic
Shells.
Inq. You seem very bitter against " Spirits." As you have given me your
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 189
views and your reasons for disbelieving in the materialization of, and
direct communication in seances with, the disembodied spirits, or the
"spirits of the dead," would you mind enlightening me as to one more
fact? Why are some Theosophists never tired of saying how danger-
ous is intercourse with spirits, and mediumship? Have they any par-
ticular reason for this?
Theo. We must suppose so. I know / have. Owing to my
familiarity for over half a century with these invisible but
only too tangible and undeniable " influences," from the con-
scious Elementals and semi-conscious shells down to the
utterly senseless and nondescript spooks of all kinds, I claim
a certain right to my views.
Inq. Can you give an instance or instances to show why these practices
should be regarded as dangerous ?
Theo. This would require more time than I can give you.
Every cause must be judged by the effects it produces. Go
over the history of Spiritualism for the last fifty years, ever
since its reappearance in this century in America, and judge
for yourself whether it has done its votaries more good or
harm. Pray understand me. I do not speak against real
spiritualism, but against the modern movement which goes
under that name, and the so-called philosophy invented to
explain its phenomena.
Inq. Do you not believe in their phenomena at all?
ThKo. It is because I believe in them with too good reason, and
— save some cases of deliberate fraud — know them to be
as true as that 5^ou and I live, that all my being revolts
against them. Once more I speak only of physical, not mental
or even psychic phenomena. Like attracts like. There are
190 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
several high-minded, pure, good men and women, known to
me personally, who have passed years of their lives under
the direct guidance and even protection of high " Spirits,"
whether disembodied or planetary. But these Intelligences
are not of the type of the "John Kings" and the '' Ernests "
who figure in seance-rooms.. These Intelligences guide and
control mortals only in rare and exceptional cases to which
they are attracted and magnetically drawn by the Karmic
past of the individual. It is not enough to sit '' for develop-
ment " in order to attract them. That only opens the door
to a swarm of spooks, good, bad, and indifferent, to which
the medium becomes a slave for life. It is against such pro-
miscuous mediumship and intercourse with goblins that I
raise my voice, not against Spiritual Mysticism. The latter
is ennobling and holy ; the former is of just the same nature
as the phenomena of two centuries ago, for which so many
witches and wizards have been made to suffer. Read Glan-
vil and other authors on the subject of witchcraft, and you
will find recorded there the parallels of most, if not all, of the
physical phenomena of nineteenth-century " Spiritualism."
Inq. Do you mean to suggest that it is all witchcraft and nothing more?
ThEO. I mean that, whether conscious or unconscious, all this
dealing with the dead is necromancy, and a most dangerous
practice. For ages before Moses such raising of the dead
was regarded by all the intelligent nations as sinful and cruel,
inasmuch as it disturbs the rest of the souls and interferes
with their evolutionary development into higher states. The
collective wisdom of all past centuries has ever been loud
in denouncing such practices. Finally, I say, what I have
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY i91
never ceased repeating orally and in print for fifteen years:
While some of the so-called "spirits" do not know what they
are talking about, repeating merely, like poll-parrots, what
they find in the mediums' and other people's brains, others
are most dangerous and can only lead one to evil. These are
two self-evident facts. Go into spiritualistic circles of the
Allan Kardec school, and you find "spirits" asserting Rein-
carnation and speaking like Roman Catholics born. Turn
to the "dear departed ones" in England and America, and
you will hear them denying Reincarnation through thick and
thin, denouncing those who teach it, and holding to Protest-
ant views. Your best, your most powerful mediums have
all sufifered in health of body and mind. Think of the sad
end of Charles Foster, who died in an asylum, a raving lu-
natic; of Slade, an epileptic; of Eglinton — the best medium
now in England — subject to the same disease. Look back
over the life of D. D. Home, a man whose mind was steeped
in gall and bitterness, who never had a good word to say of
anyone whom he suspected of possessing psychic powers,
and who slandered every other medium to the bitter end.
This Calvin of Spiritualism sufifered for years from a ter-
rible spinal disease, brought on by his intercourse with the
" spirits," and died a perfect wreck. Think again of the
sad fate of poor Washington Irving Bishop. I knew him in
New York when he was fourteen, and he was undeniably
a medium. It is true that the poor man stole a march on his
"spirits" and baptized them " unconscious muscular action,"
to the great gandhim of all the corporations of highly learned
and scientific fools, and to the replenishment of his own
pocket. But de mortuis nil nisi honuni ; his end was a sad one.
192 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
He had strenuously concealed his epileptic fits — the first
and strongest symptom of genuine mediumship — and who
knows whether he was dead or in a trance when the post-
mortem examination was performed? His relatives insist
that he was alive, if we are to believe Renter's telegrams.
Finally, behold the veteran mediums, the founders and prime
movers of modern Spiritualism — the Fox sisters. After
more than forty years of intercourse, the **angels" have led
them to become incurable sots, who are now denouncing, in
public lectures, their own lifelong work and philosophy as a
fraud. What kind of "spirits" must they be who prompted
them, I ask you ?
Inq. But is your inference a correct one?
The:o. What would you infer if the best pupils of a particular
school of singing broke down from overstrained sore throats ?
That the method followed was a bad one? So I think the in-
ference is equally fair with regard to Spiritualism when we
see their best mediums fall a prey to such a fate. We can
only say : Let those who are interested in the question judge
the tree of Spiritualism by its fruits, and ponder over the
lesson. We Theosophists have always regarded the Spirit-
ualists as brothers having the same mystic tendency as our-
selves; but they have always regarded us as enemies. We,
being in possession of an older philosophy, have tried to help
and warn them ; but they have repaid us by reviling and tra-
ducing us and our motives in every possible way. Never-
theless the best English Spiritualists say just as we do, wher-
ever they treat of their belief seriously. Hear " M. A.
Oxon." confessing this truth:
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY m
Spiritualists are too much inclined to dwell exclusively on the inter-
vention of external spirits in this world of ours, and to ignore the
powers of the incarnate Spirit.^^
Why vilify and abuse us, then, for saying precisely the
same? Henceforward we will have nothing more to do with
Spiritualism. And now let us return to Reincarnation.
57. Second Sight, Introduction.
194 THB KEY TO THBOSOPHY
XI
ON THE MYSTERIES OF REINCARNATION
PERIODICAL REBIRTHS
Inq. You mean, then, that we have all lived on earth before in many past
incarnations, and shall go on so living?
ThEo. I do. The life-cycle, or rather the cycle of conscious
life, begins with the separation of the mortal animal-man
into sexes, and will end with the close of the last generation
of men in the seventh romid and seventh race of mankind.
Considering we are only in the fourth round and fifth race,
its duration is more easily imagined than expressed.
Inq. And we keep on incarnating in new personalities all the time?
ThEo. Most assuredly so; because this life-cycle or period of
incarnation may be best compared to human life. As each
such life is composed of days of activity separated by nights
of sleep or of inaction, so in the incarnation-cycle an active
life is followed by a Devachanic rest.
Inq. And it is this succession of births that is generally defined as Rein-
carnation ?
ThEo. Just so. It is only through these births that the perpet-
ual progress of the countless millions of Egos toward final
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 195
perfection, and a final rest (as long as was the period of
activity) can be achieved,
Inq. And what is it that regulates the duration or special qualities of these
incarnations ?
Theo. Karma, the universal law of retributive justice.
Inq. Is it an intelligent law?
Theo. For the Materialist, who calls the law of periodicity
which regulates the marshaling of bodies, and all the other
laws in Nature, blind forces and mechanical laws, no doubt
Karma would be a law of chance and no more. For us no
adjective or qualification could describe that which is imper-
sonal and not an entity, but a universal operative law. If
you question me about the causative intelligence in it, I must
answer you, I do not know. But if you ask me to define its
effects and tell you what these are in our belief, I may say
that the experience of thousands of ages has shown us that
they are absolute and unerring equity, zvisdom and intelli-
gence. For Karma in its effects is an unfailing redresser of
human injustice, and of all the failures of Nature; a stern
adjuster of wrongs; a retributive law which rewards and
punishes with equal impartiality. It is, in the strictest sense,
" no respecter of persons," though, on the other hand, it can
neither be propitiated nor turned aside by prayer. This is a
belief common to Hindijs and Buddhists, who believe in
Karma.
Inq. In this Christian dogmas contradict both, and I doubt whether any
Christian will accept the teaching.
ThEo. No; and Inman gave the reason for it many years ago.
As he puts it :
196 THE KEY TO THHOSOPHY
The Christians will accept any nonsense, if promulgated by the
church as a matter of faith ; . . . . the Buddhists hold that nothing which
is contradicted by sound reason can be a true doctrine of Buddha.
The Buddhists do not believe in any pardon for their sins,
except after an adequate and just punishment for each evil
deed or thought in a future incarnation, and a proportionate
compensation to the parties injured.
Inq. Where is it so stated?
Theo. In most of their sacred works. In the Wheel of the
Law, (p. 57) you may find the following Theosophical tenet:
Buddhists believe that every act, word, or thought has its conse-
quence, which will appear sooner or later in the present or in the fu-
ture state. Evil acts will produce evil consequences, good acts will
produce good consequences : prosperity in this world or birth in heaven
[Devachan] .... in the future state.
Inq. Christians believe the same thing, don't they?
Theo. Oh no; they believe in the pardon and the remission of
all sins. They are promised that if they only believe in the
blood of Christ — an innocent victim ! — in the blood offered
by him for the expiation of the sins of the whole of mankind,
it will atone for every mortal sin. And we believe neither in
vicarious atonement, nor in the possibility of the remission
of the smallest sin by any God — not even by a " personal
Absolute " or " Infinite," if such a thing could have any ex-
istence. What we believe in is strict and impartial justice.
Our idea of the unknown Universal Deity, represented by
Karma, is that it is a Power which cannot fail, and can there-
fore have neither wrath nor mercy, but only absolute Equity,
which leaves every cause, great or small, to work out its in-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 197
evitable effects. The saying of Jesus, " With what measure
ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matt. vii. 2),
neither by expression nor implication points to any hope of
future mercy or salvation by proxy. This is why, recogniz-
ing as we do in our philosophy the justice of this statement,
we cannot recommend too strongly mercy, charity and for-
giveness of mutual offenses. " Resist not evil " and "' render
good for evil " are Buddhist precepts, and were first preached
in view of the implacability of karmic law. For man to take
the law into his own hands is in any case a sacrilegious pre-
sumption. Human law may use restrictive, not punitive
measures ; but a man who, believing in Karma, still revenges
himself, still refuses to forgive every injury, whereby he
would render good for evil, is a criminal, and only hurts
himself. As Karma is sure to punish the man who wronged
him, by seeking to inflict an additional punishment on his
enemy, he who, instead of leaving that punishment to the
great Law, adds to it his own mite, only begets thereby a
cause for the future reward of his own enemy and a future
punishment for himself. The unfailing Regulator in each
incarnation affects the quality of its successor, and the sum
of the merit or demerit in preceding incarnations determines
the following rebirth.
L\Q. Are we, then, to infer a man's past from his present?
Theo. Only so far as to believe that his present life is what it
justly should be, to atone for the sins of the past life. Of
course — seers and great Adepts excepted — we cannot, as
average mortals, know what those sins were. From our
paucity of data it is impossible for us to determine even what
198 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
an old man's youth must have been ; neither can we, for Hke
reasons, draw final conclusions, merely from what we see in
the life of some man, as to what his past life may have been.
WHAT IS KARMA?
Inq. But what is Karma?
Thko. As I have said, we consider it as the Ultimate Lazv of
the Universe, the source, origin and fount of all other laws
which exist throughout Nature. Karma is the unerring law
which adjusts effect to cause, on the physical, mental and spir-
itual planes of being. As no cause remains without its due
effect from greatest to least, from a cosmic disturbance down
to the movement of your hand, and as like produces like,
Karma is that unseen and unknown law which adjusts zviscly,
intelligently and equitably each effect to its cause, tracing the
latter back to its producer. Though itself unknowable, its
action is perceivable.
Inq. Then it is the "Absolute," the " Unknowable," again, and is not of
much value as an explanation of the problems of life.
Theo. On the contrary. For though we do not know what
Karma is per se and in its essence, we do know hozv it works,
and we can define and describe its mode of action with ac-
curacy. We only do not know its ultimate Cause, just as
modern philosophy universally admits that the ultimate cause
of a thing is "unknowable."
Inq. And what has Theosophy to say in regard to the solution of the more
practical needs of humanity? What is the explanation which it offers
of the awful suffering and dire necessity prevalent among the so-called
"lower classes" ?
THB KEY TO THBOSOPHY 199
Theo. To be pointed : according to our teaching, all these great
social evils — the distinction of classes in society, and of the
sexes in the affairs of life, the unequal distribution of capital
and of labor — all are due to what we tersely but truly de-
nominate Karma.
Inq. But surely all these evils which seem to fall upon the masses some-
what indiscriminately are not actual merited and individual Karma?
Theo. No, they cannot be so strictly defined in their effects as
to show that each individual environment, and the particular
conditions of life in which each person finds himself, are
nothing more than the retributive Karma which the individ-
ual has generated in a previous life. We must not lose sight
of the fact that every atom is subject to the general law gov-
erning the whole body to which it belongs, and here we come
upon the wider track of the karmic law. Do you not per-
ceive that the aggregate of individual Karma becomes that
of the nation to which those individuals belong and, further,
that the sum total of National Karma is that of the World?
The evils that you speak of are not peculiar to the individual
or even to the Nation; they are more or less universal; and
it is upon this broad line of Himian interdependence that
the law of Karma finds its legitimate and equable issue.
Inq. Do I, then, understand that the law of Karma is not necessarily an
individual law?
Theo. That is just what I mean. It is impossible that Karma
could readjust the balance of power in the world's life and
progress unless it had a broad and general line of action. It
is held as a truth among Theosophists that the interdepend-
ence of Humanity is the cause of what is called Distributive
200 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Karma, and it is this law which afifords the solution to the
great question of collective suffering and its relief. It is an
occult law, moreover, that no man can rise superior to his
individual failings without lifting, be it ever so little, the
whole body of which he is an integral part. In the same way
no one can sin, nor suffer the effects of sin, alone. In reality
there is no such thing as " Separateness ;'' and the nearest ap-
proach to that selfish state which the laws of life permit is in
the intent or motive.
Inq. And are there no means by which the distributive or national Karma
might be concentrated or collected, so to speak, and brought to its
natural and legitimate fulfilment without all this protracted suffering?
ThEo. As a general rule, and within certain limits which define
the age to which we belong, the law of Karma can not be
hastened or retarded in its fulfilment. But of this I am cer-
tain : the point of possibility in either of these directions has
never yet been touched.
Inq. There seems then no immediate hope of any relief short of an earth-
quake, or some such general engulf ment.
ThEo. What right have we to think so while one half of hu-
manity is in a position to effect an immediate relief of the
privations which are suffered by their fellows ? When every
individual has contributed to the general good what he can of
money, of labor and of ennobling thought, then, and only
then, will the balance of National Karma be struck, and tmtil
then we have no right, nor any reasons, for saying that there
is more life on the earth than Nature can support. It is
reserved for the heroic souls, the Saviors of our Race and
Nation, to find out the cause of this unequal pressure of re-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 201
tributive Karma, and by a supreme effort to readjust the bal-
ance of power, and save the people from a moral engulfment
a thousand times more disastrous and more permanently evil
than the like physical catastrophe, in which you seem to see
the only possible outlet for this accumulated misery.
Inq. Well, then, tell me generally how you describe this law of Karma.
Theo. We describe Karma as that Law of readjustment which
ever tends to restore disturbed equilibrium in the physical,
and broken harmony in the moral world. We say that Kar-
ma does not act in this or that particular way always, but
that it always does act so as to restore Harmony and pre-
serve the balance of equilibrium, in virtue of which the Uni-
verse exists.
Inq. Give me an illustration.
ThEo. Later on I will give you a full illustration. Think now
of a pond. A stone falls into the water and creates disturb-
ing waves. These waves oscillate backward and forward
until at last, owing to the operation of what physicists call the
law of the dissipation of energy, they are brought to rest,
and the water returns to its condition of calm tranquillity.
Similarly all action, on every plane, produces disturbance in
the balanced harmony of the Universe, and the vibrations
so produced will continue to roll backward and forward, if
the area is limited, until equilibrium is restored. But since
each such disturbance starts from some particular point, it
is clear that equilibrium and harmony can only be restored
by the reconverging to that same point of all the forces which
were set in motion from it. And here you have proof that
the consequences of a man's deeds, thoughts, etc., must all
202 THB KHY TO THBOSOPHY
react upon himself with the same force with which they
were set in motion.
Inq. But I see nothing of a moral character about this law. It looks to
me like the simple physical law that action and reaction are equal
and opposite.
The;o. I am not surprised to hear you say that. Westerners
have got so much into the ingrained habit of considering
right and wrong, good and evil, as matters of an arbitrary
code of law laid down either by men or imposed upon them
by a Personal God. We Theosophists, however, say that
" Good " and " Harmony," and " Evil " and " Dis-harmony,"
are synonymous. Further, we maintain that all pain and
suffering are results of want of Harmony, and that the one
terrible and only cause of the disturbance of Harmony is
selfishness in some form or other. Hence Karma gives back
to every man the actual consequences of his own actions,
without any regard to their moral character; but since he
receives his due for all, it is obvious that he will be made to
atone for all sufferings which he has caused, just as he will
reap in joy and gladness the fruits of all the happiness and
harmony he had helped to produce. I can do no better than
quote for your benefit certain passages from books and art-
icles written by those of our Theosophists who have a correct
idea of Karma.
Inq. I wish you would, as your literature seems to be very sparing on this
subject.
The;o. Because it is the most difficult of all our tenets. Some
short time ago there appeared the following objection from
a Christian pen :
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 203
Granting that the teaching in regard to Theosophy is correct, and
that " man must be his own saviour, must overcome self and conquer
the evil that is in his dual nature, to obtain the emancipation of his
soul " — what is man to do after he has been awakened and converted
to a certain extent from evil or wickedness? How is he to get eman-
cipation, or pardon, or the blotting out of the evil or wickedness he
has already done?
To this a Theosophical writer replies very pertinently that
no one can hope to " make the Theosophical engine run on
the theological track." As he has it:
The possibility of shirking individual responsibility is not among the
concepts of Theosophy. In this faith there is no such thing as pardon-
ing, or " blotting out of evil or wickedness already done," otherwise
than by the adequate punishment therefor of the wrong-doer and the
restoration of the harmony in the universe that had been disturbed by
his wrongful act. The evil has been his own, and while others must
suffer its consequences, atonement can be made by nobody but himself.
The condition contemplated, ... in which a man shall have been
" awakened and converted to a certain extent from evil or wicked-
ness," is that in which a man shall have realized that his deeds are
evil and deserving of punishment. In that realization a sense of per-
sonal responsibility is inevitable, and just in proportion to the extent
of his awakening or "converting" must be the sense of that awful
responsibility. While it is strong upon him is the time when he is
urged to accept the doctrine of vicarious atonement.
He is told that he must also repent; but nothing is easier than that.
It is an amiable weakness of human nature that we are quite prone to
regret the evil we have done when our attention is called and we have
either suffered from it ourselves or enjoyed its fruits. Possibly close
analysis of the feeling would show us that that which we regret is
rather the necessity that seemed to require the evil as a means of attain-
ment of our selfish ends than the evil itself.
204 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
Attractive as this prospect of casting our burden of sins " at the
foot of the cross " may be to the ordinary mind, it does not commend
itself to the Theosophic student. He does not apprehend why the sin-
ner by attaining knowledge of his evil can thereby merit any pardon
for, or the blotting out of, his past wickedness ; or why repentance
and future right living entitle him to a suspension in his favor of the
universal law of relation between cause and effect. The results of
his evil deeds continue to exist ; the suffering caused to others by his
wickedness is not blotted out. The Theosophical student takes the
result of wickedness upon the innocent into his problem. He con-
siders not only the guilty person, but his victims.
Evil is an infraction of the laws of harmony governing the universe,
and the penalty thereof must fall upon the violator of that law himself.
Christ uttered the warning, " Sin no more, lest a worse thing come
unto thee," and St. Paul said, " Work out your own salvation ;"
" Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." That, by the
way is a fine metaphoric rendering of the sentence of the Puranas, far
antedating him — that " every man reaps the consequences of his own
acts."
This is the principle of the law of Karma which is taught by The-
osophy. Karma has been called " the law of ethical causation." " The
law of retribution," as Madame Blavatsky translates its meaning, is
better. It is the power which.
Just, though mysterious, leads us on unerring,
Through ways unmarked, from guilt to punishment.
But it is more. It rewards merit as unerringly and amply as it pun-
ishes demerit. It is the outcome of every act, of thought, word, and
deed, and by it men mold themselves, their lives and happenings. East-
ern philosophy rejects the idea of a newly created soul for every baby
born. It believes in a limited number of monads, evolving and grow-
ing more and more perfect through their assimilation of many suc-
cessive personalities. Those personalities are the product of Karma,
and it is by Karma and Reincarnation that the human monad in time
returns to its source — absolute deity.
THE KEY To TH BO SOPHY 205
E. D. Walker, in his Reincarnation, offers the following
explanation :
Briefly, the doctrine of Karma is that we have made ourselves what
we are by former actions, and are building our future eternity by pres-
ent actions. There is no destiny but what we ourselves determine.
There is no salvation or condemnation except what we ourselves bring
about. . . . Because it offers no shelter for culpable actions and neces-
sitates a sterling manliness, it is less welcome to weak natures than
the easy religious tenets of vicarious atonement, intercession, forgive-
ness, and death-bed conversions. ... In the domain of eternal justice
the offense and the punishment are inseparably connected as the same
event, because there is no real distinction between the action and its
outcome. ... It is Karma, or our old acts, that draws us back into
earthly life. The spirit's abode changes according to its Karma, and
this Karma forbids any long continuance in one condition, because it
is always changing. So long as action is governed by material and
selfish motives, just so long must the effect of that action be mani-
fested in physical rebirths. Only the perfectly selfless man can elude
the gravitation of material life. Few have attained this, but it is
the goal of mankind. —-"—='
And then the writer quotes from The Secret Doctrine:
Those who believe in Karma have to believe in destiny, which, from
birth to death, every man is weaving, thread by thread, around him-
self, as a spider does his cobweb; and this destiny is guided either by
the heavenly voice of the invisible prototype outside of us, or by our
more intimate astral or inner man, who is but too often the evil genius
of the embodied entity called man. Both these lead on the outward
man, but one of them must prevail; and from the very beginning of
the invisible affray the stern and implacable law of compensation steps
in and takes its course, faithfully following the fluctuations. When
the last strand is woven, and man is seemingly enwrapped in the net-
work of his own doing, then he finds himself completely under the
empire of this self-made destiny. . . .
206 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
An occultist or a philosopher will not speak of the goodness or
cruelty of Providence ; but, identifying it with Karma-Nemesis, he will
teach that, nevertheless, it guards the good and watches over them in
this as in future lives ; and that it punishes the evil-doer — aye, even
to his seventh rebirth — so long, in short, as the effect of his having
thrown into perturbation even the smallest atom in the infinite world
of harmony has not been finally readjusted. For the only decree of
Karma — an eternal and immutable decree — is absolute harmony in
the world of matter as it is in the world of spirit. It is not, therefore,
Karma that rewards or punishes, but it is we who reward or punish
ourselves according to whether we work with, through, and along
with Nature, abiding by the laws on which that harmony depends,
or — break them.
Nor would the ways of Karma be inscrutable were men to work in
union and harmony, instead of disunion and strife. For our ignor-
ance of those ways — which one portion of mankind calls the ways of
Providence, dark and intricate ; while another sees in them the action
of blind fatalism ; and a third, simple chance, with neither gods nor
devils to guide them — would surely disappear if we would but at-
tribute all these to their correct cause. . . .
We stand bewildered before the mystery of our own making and
the riddles of life that we will not solve, and then accuse the great
Sphinx of devouring us. But verily there is not an accident of our
lives, not a misshapen day or a misfortune, that could not be traced
back to our own doings in this or in another life. . . .
The law of Karma is inextricably interwoven with that of Reincarn-
ation. ... It is only this doctrine that can explain to us the mysterious
problem of good and evil, and reconcile man to the terrible and appar-
ent injustice of life. Nothing but such certainty can quiet our re-
volted sense of justice. For, when one unacquainted with the noble
doctrine looks around him and observes the inequalities of birth and
fortune, of intellect and capacities ; when one sees honor paid to fools
and profligates on whom fortune has heaped her favors by mere privi-
lege of birth, and their nearest neighbor, with all his intellect and noble
virtues — far more deserving in every way — perishing for want and
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 207
for lack of sympathy ; when one sees all this and has to turn away,
helpless to relieve the undeserved suffering, one's ears ringing and heart
aching with the cries of pain around him, that blessed knowledge of
Karma alone prevents him from cursing life and men as well as their
supposed creator. . . .
This law, whether conscious or unconscious, predestines nothing
and no one. It exists from and in eternity truly, for it is eternity
itself ; and as such, since no act can be coequal with eternity, it cannot
be said to act, for it is action itself. It is not the wave which drowns
the man, but the personal action of the wretch who goes deliberately
and places himself under the impersonal action of the laws that gov-
ern the ocean's motion. Karma creates nothing, nor does it design.
It is man who plants and creates causes, and Karmic law adjusts the
effects, which adjustment is not an act, but universal harmony, tending
ever to resume its original position, like a bough, which, bent down
too forcibly, rebounds with corresponding vigor. If it happen to
dislocate the arm that tried to bend it out of its natural position, shall
we say it is the bough which broke our arm, or that our own folly has
brought us to grief? Karma has never sought to destroy intellectual
and individual liberty, like the God invented by the monotheists. It
has not involved its decrees in darkness purposely to perplex man, nor
shall it punish him who dares to scrutinize its mysteries. On the con-
trary, he who through study and meditation unveils its intricate paths,
and throws light on those dark ways, in the windings of which so
many men perish, owing to their ignorance of the labyrinth of life, is
working for the good of his fellow men. Karma is an absolute and
eternal law in the world of manifestation; and as there can be only
one Absolute, as one eternal, ever-present Cause, believers in Karma
cannot be regarded as atheists or materialists, still less as fatalists ;
for Karma is one with the Unknowable, of which it is an aspect, in
its effects in the phenomenal world.
[In Vol. 1 of The Path is an article on " Karma," unsigned,
from which we give the following extracts :
Karma, broadly speaking, may be said to be the continuance of
208 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
the nature of the act, and each act contains within itself the past and
future. Every defect which can be realized from an act must be
implicit in the act itself, or it could never come into existence.
Effect is but the nature of the act and cannot exist distinct from its
cause. Karma only produces the manifestation of that which already
exists ; being action it has its operation in time, and Karma may there-
fore be said to be the same action from another point of time. It
must, moreover, be evident that not only is there a relation between
the cause and the effect, but there must be also a relation between
the cause and the individual who experiences the effect. If it were
otherwise any man would reap the effect of the actions of any other
man. We may sometimes appear to reap the effects of the action
of others, but this is only apparent. In point of fact it is our own
action.
"... None else compels,
None other holds you that ye live and die."
It is therefore necessary in order to understand the nature of Karma
and its relation to the individual to consider action in all its aspects.
Every act proceeds from the mind. Beyond the mind there is no
action, therefore no Karma. The basis of every act is desire.
The plane of desire or egotism is itself action and the matrix of every
act. This plane may be considered as non-manifest, yet having a
dual manifestation in what we call cause and effect, that is the act
and its consequences. In reality, both the act and its consequences
are the effect, the cause being on the plane of desire. Desire is there-
fore the basis of action in its first manifestation on the physical plane
and desire determines the continuation of the act in its karmic rela-
tion to the individual. For a man to be free from the effects of the
Karma of any act he must have passed to a state no longer yielding
a basis in which that act can inhere. The ripples in the water caused
by the action of the stone will extend to the furthest limit of its ex-
panse, but no further: they are bounded by the shore. Their course
is ended when there is no longer a basis or suitable medium in which
they can inhere ; they expend their force and are not. Karma is there-
fore, as dependent upon the present personality for its fulfilment, as
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 209
it was upon the former for the first initial act. An illustration may
be given which will help to explain this.
A seed, say for instance mustard, will produce a mustard tree and
nothing else, but in order that it should be produced, it is necessary
that the co-operation of soil and culture should be equally present.
Without the seed, however much the ground may be tilled and watered,
it will not bring forth the plant, but the seed is equally inoperative
without the joint action of the soil and culture.]
The first mentioned writer proceeds :
The believers in a religion based upon such doctrine are willing it
should be compared with one in which man's destiny for eternity is
determined by the accidents of a single, brief, earthly existence, during
which he is cheered by the promise that "as the tree falls, so shall it
lie" ; in which his brightest hope, when he wakes up to a knowledge
of his wickedness, is the doctrine of vicarious atonement; and in
which even that is handicapped, according to the Presbyterian Con-
fession of Faith :
" By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some
men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life and others
fore-ordained to everlasting death.
" These angels and men thus predestinated and fore-ordained are
particularly and unchangeably designed; and their number is so cer-
tain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished. . . .
As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, . . . neither are any other
redeemed by Christ effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified
and saved but the elect only.
" The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearch-
able counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth
mercy as he pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power over his
creatures, to pass by and to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for
their sin, to the praise of his glorious justice."
This is what the able defender says. Nor can we do any
210 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
better than wind up the subject as he does, by a quotation
from a magnificent poem. As he says :
The exquisite beauty of Edwin Arnold's exposition of Karma in
The Light of Asia tempts to its reproduction here, but it is too long
for quotation in full. Here is a portion of it:
Karma — all that total of a soul
Which is the things it did, the thoughts it had,
The " self " it wove with woof of viewless time
Crossed on the warp invisible of acts.
****** if
Before beginning and without an end,
As space eternal and as surety sure.
Is fixed a Power divine which moves to good.
Only its laws endure.
It will not be contemned of any one;
Who thwarts it loses, and who serves it gains;
The hidden good it pays with peace and bliss,
The hidden ill with pains.
It seeth everywhere and marketh all ;
Do right — it recompenseth ! Do one wrong —
The equal retribution must be made,
Though Dharma tarry long.
It knows not wrath nor pardon; utter-true.
Its measures mete, its faultless balance weighs;
Times are as naught — to-morrow it will judge —
Or after many days.
♦ ****♦♦
Such is the law which moves to righteousness.
Which none at last can turn aside or stay;
The heart of it is love, the end of it
Is peace and consummation sweet. Obey.
And now I advise you to compare our Theosophic views
upon Karma, the law of Retribution, and say whether they
are not both more philosophical and just than this cruel and
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 211
idiotic dogma which makes of " God " a senseless fiend —
the tenet, namely, that the "elect only" will be saved, and the
rest doomed to eternal perdition !
Inq. Yes, I see what you mean generally ; but I wish you could give some
concrete example of the action of Karma.
Theo. That I cannot do. We can only feel sure, as I said
before, that our present lives and circumstances are the di-
rect results of our own deeds and thoughts in lives that are
past. But we, who are not Seers or Initiates, cannot know
anything about the details of the working of the law of
Karma.
Inq. Can any one, even an Adept or Seer, follow out this Karmic process
of readjustment in detail?
Theo. Certainly ; " Those who knozv " can do so by the exercise
of powers which are latent even in all men.
WHO ARE THOSE WHO KNOW ?
Inq. Does this hold equally of ourselves as of others?
Theo. Equally. As just said, the same limited vision exists for
all, save for those who have reached, in the present incarn-
ation, the acme of spiritual vision and clairvoyance. We
can only perceive that, if things ought to have been different
with us, they would have been different; that we are what
we have made ourselves, and have only what we have earned
for ourselves.
Inq. I am afraid such a conception would only embitter us.
Theo. I believe it is precisely the reverse. It is disbelief in the
212 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV
just law of retribution that is more likely to awaken every
combative feeling in man. A child, as much as a man, re-
sents a punishment, or even a reproof he believes to be un-
merited, far more than he does a severer punishment, if he
feels that it is merited. Belief in Karma is the highest
motive for reconcilement to one's lot in this life, and the very
strongest incentive toward effort to better the succeeding
rebirth. Both of these, indeed, would be destroyed if we
supposed that our lot was the result of anything but strict
Law, or that destiny was in any other hands than our own.
Inq. You have just asserted that this system of Reincarnation under
Karmic law commended itself to reason, justice and the moral sense.
But, if so, is it not at some sacrifice of the gentler qualities of sym-
pathy and pity, and thus a hardening of the finer instincts of human
nature ?
Theo. Only apparently, not really. No man can receive more
or less than his deserts without a corresponding injustice or
partiality to others ; and a law which could be averted through
compassion would bring about more misery than it saved,
more irritation and curses than thanks. Remember, also,
that we do not administer the law, if we do create causes for
its effects; it administers itself; and again, that the most
copious provision for the manifestation of just compassion
and mercy is shown in the state of Devachan.
Inq. You speak of Adepts as being an exception to the rule of our general
ignorance. Do they really know more than we do of Reincarnation
and after-states ?
ThEo. They do indeed. By the training of faculties we all pos-
sess, but which they alone have developed to perfection, they
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 213
have entered in spirit these various planes and states we have
been discussing. For long ages one generation of Adepts
after another has studied the mysteries of being, of life,
death and rebirth, and all have taught in their turn some of
the facts so learned.
Inq. And is the production of Adepts the aim of Theosophy?
Theo. Theosophy considers humanity as an emanation from
divinity on its return path thereto. At an advanced point
upon the path Adeptship is reached by those who have de-
voted several incarnations to its achievement. For, remem-
ber well, no man has ever reached Adeptship in the Secret
Sciences in one life; but many incarnations are necessary for
it after the formation of a conscious purpose and the begin-
ing of the needful training. Many may be the men and
women in the very midst of our Society who have begun this
uphill work toward illumination several incarnations ago,
and who yet, owing to the personal illusions of the present
life, are either ignorant of the fact, or on the road to losing
every chance, in this existence, of progressing any farther.
They feel an irresistible attraction toward Occultism and the
Higher Life, and yet are too personal and self-opinionated,
too much in love with the deceptive allurements of mundane
life and the world's ephemeral pleasures, to give them up,
and so lose their chance in the present birth. But, for
ordinary men, for the practical duties of daily life, such a
far-off result is inappropriate as an aim and quite ineffective
as a motive.
Inq. What, then, may be their object or distinct purpose in joining the
Theosophical Society?
214 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Th^o. Many are interested in our doctrines, and feel instinct-
ively that they are truer than those of any dogmatic religion.
Others have formed a fixed resolve to attain the highest
ideal of man's duty.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE; OR
BLIND AND REASONED FAITH
Inq. You say that they accept and believe in the doctrines of Theosophy.
But as they do not belong to those Adepts you have just mentioned,
then they must accept your teachings on blind faith. In what does
this differ from that of conventional religions?
ThEo. As it differs on almost all the other points, so it differs
on this one. What you call " faith," and that which is blind
faith, in reality, with regard to the dogmas of the Christian
religions, becomes with us " knozvlcdgc," the logical sequence
of things we knozv, about facts in Nature. Your Doctrines
are based upon interpretation, therefore upon the second-
hand testimony of Seers ; ours upon the unvarying and invar-
iable testimony of Seers. The ordinary Christian theology,
for instance, holds that man is a creature of God, of three
component parts — body, soul and spirit — all essential to
his integrity and all, either in the gross form of physical
earthly existence or in the etherealized form of post-resur-
rection experience, needed so to constitute him forever, each
man having thus a permanent existence separate from other
men and from the Divine. Theosophy, on the other hand,
holds that man, being an emanation from the Unknown, yet
ever-present and infinite Divine Essence, his body and every-
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 2iS
thing else is impermanent, hence an illusion; Spirit alone in
him being the one enduring substance, and even that losing
its separated individuality at the moment of its complete re-
union with the Universal Spirit.
Inq. If we lose even our individuality, then it becomes simply annihilation.
Theo. I say it does not, since I speak of separate, not of uni-
versal individuality. This individuality becomes as a part
transformed into the whole; the dezvdrop is not evaporated,
but becomes the sea. Is physical man annihilated when
from a foetus he becomes an old man? What kind of Sa-
tanic pride must be ours if we place our infinitesimally small
consciousness and individuality higher than the universal
and infinite consciousness !
Inq. It follows, then, that there is, de facto, no man, but all is Spirit?
Theo. You are mistaken. It follows that the union of Spirit
with matter is but temporary ; or, to put it more clearly, since
Spirit and matter are one, being the two opposite poles of the
universal manifested substance, Spirit loses its right to the
name so long as the smallest particle and atom of its mani-
festing substance still clings to any form, the result of differ-
entiation. To believe otherwise is blind faith.
Inq. Thus it is on knowledge, not on faith, that you assert that the per-
manent principle, the Spirit, simply makes a transit through matter?
Theo. I would put it otherwise and say: We assert that the
appearance of the permanent and one principle — Spirit — •
as matter is transient, and therefore no better than an il-
lusion.
216 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Inq. Very well; and this given out on knowledge, not faith?
Theo. Just SO. But as I see very well what you are driving at,
I may just as well tell you that we hold faith such as you ad-
vocate to be a mental disease, and real faith — i. e., the pistis
of the Greeks — as '^ belief based on knowledge," whether
supplied by the evidence of physical or spiritual senses.
Inq. What do you mean?
Thko. If it is the difference between the two that you want to
know, I mean that between faith on authority and faith on
one's spiritual intuition there is a very great difference.
Inq. What is it?
Theo. One is human credulity and superstition, the other hu-
man belief and intuition. As Professor Alexander Wilder
says in his Introduction to the Bleusinian Mysteries:
It is ignorance which leads to profanation. Men ridicule what
they do not properly understand. . . . The undercurrent of this
world is set towards one goal ; and inside of human credulity ... is a
power almost infinite, a holy faith capable of apprehending the suprem-
est truths of all existence.
Those who limit that "credulity" to human authoritative
dogmas alone will never fathom that power, nor even per-
ceive it in their natures. It is stuck fast to the external
plane, and is unable to bring forth into play the essence that
rules it; for to do this they have to claim their right of
private judgment, and this they never dare to do.
Inq. And is it that "intuition" which forces you to reject God as a per-
sonal Father, Ruler and Governor of the Universe?
Theo. Precisely. We believe in an ever-unknowable Principle ;
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 217
for only blind aberration can make one maintain that the
Universe, thinking man and all the marvels contained even in
the world of matter, could have grown without some intelli-
gent powers to bring about the extraordinarily wise arrange-
ment of all its parts. Nature may err, and often does, in its
details and the external manifestations of its materials, never
in its inner causes and results. Ancient pagans held far
more philosophical views on this question than modern phil-
osophers, whether agnostics, materialists or Christians; and
no pagan writer has ever yet advanced the proposition that
cruelty and mercy are not finite feelings, and can therefore
be made the attributes of an infinite God. Their gods, there-
fore, were all finite. The Siamese author of the Wheel of
the Laiv expresses the same idea about your personal God
as ourselves; he says (p. 25) :
A Buddhist might believe in the existence of a God sublime above
all human qualities and attributes — a perfect God, above love and
hatred and jealousy, calmly resting in a quietude that nothing could
disturb; and of such a God he would speak no disparagement, not
from a desire to please him or fear to offend him, but from natural
veneration. But he cannot understand a God with the attributes and
qualities of men; a God who loves and hates and shows anger; a
Deity who, whether described as by Christian missionaries or by
Mahometans or Brahmins^s or Jews, falls below his standard of even
an ordinary good man.
Inq. Faith for faith, is not the faith of the Christian who believes, in his
human helplessness and humility, that there is a merciful Father in
Heaven who will protect him from temptation, help him in life, and
58. Sectarian Brahmans are here meant. The Parabrahman of the Vedantins is the
Deity we accept and believe in.
218 . THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
forgive him his transgressions, better than the cold and proud, ahnost
fataUstic, faith of the Buddhists, Vedantins and Theosophists ?
Theo. Persist in calling our belief " faith " if you will. But
once we are again on this ever-recurring question, I ask in
my turn : Faith for faith, is not the one based on strict logic
and reason better than the one which is based simply on
human authority or — hero-worship? Our "faith" has all
the logical force of the arithmetical truism that two and two
will produce four. Your faith is like the logic of some emo-
tional women, of whom Tourgenyeff said that for them two
and two were generally five, and a tallow candle into the
bargain. Yours is a faith, moreover, which clashes not only
with every conceivable view of justice and logic, but which,
if analyzed, leads man to his moral perdition, checks the
progress of mankind, and positively making of might right,
transforms every second man into a Cain to his brother Abel.
HAS GOD THE RIGHT TO FORGIVE ?
Inq. To what do you allude?
Theo. To the Doctrine of ''Atonement." I allude to that dan-
gerous dogma in which you believe, and which teaches us
that no matter how enormous our crimes against the laws of
God and of man, we have but to believe in the self-sacrifice
of Jesus for the salvation of mankind, and his blood will
wash out every stain. It is now twenty years that I have
preached against it, and I may now draw your attention to
a paragraph from Isis Unveiled, written in 1875. This is
what Christianity teaches, and what we combat :
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 219
God's mercy is boundless and unfathomable. It is impossible to
conceive of a human sin so damnable that the price paid in advance for
the redemption of the sinner would not wipe it out if a thousandfold
worse. And, furthermore, it is never too late to repent. Though the
offender wait until the last minute of the last hour of the last day of
his mortal life before his blanched lips utter the confession of faith,
he may go to Paradise ; the dying thief did so, and so may all others
as vile. These are the assumptions of the church and of the clergy ;
assumptions banged at the heads of your countrymen by England's
favorite preachers, right in the " light of the nineteenth century" —
this most paradoxical age of all!
Now, to what does it lead?
Inq. Does it not make the Christian happier than the Buddhist or Brahman?
ThKo. No ; not the educated man, at any rate, since the majority
of these have long since virtually lost all belief in this cruel
dogma. But it leads those who still believe in it more easily
to the threshold of every conceivable crime than any other I
know of. Let me quote to you from Isis Unveiled once more
(ii., 542, 543):
If we step outside the little circle of creed and consider the uni-
verse as a whole balanced by the exquisite adjustment of parts, how
all sound logic, how the faintest glimmering sense of justice, revolts
against this vicarious atonement! If the criminal sinned only against
himself, and wronged no one but himself; if by sincere repentance he
could cause the obliteration of past events, not only from the memory
of man, but also from that imperishable record which no deity — not
even the Supremest of the Supreme — can cause to disappear, then this
dogma might not be incomprehensible. But to maintain that one may
wrong his fellow-man, kill, disturb the equilibrium of society and the
natural order of things, and then — through cowardice, hope or com-
pulsion matters not — be forgiven by believing that the spilling of one
blood washes out the other blood spilled — this is preposterous ! Can
220 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
the results of a crime be obliterated even though the crime itself should
be pardoned? The effects of a cause are never limited to the bound-
aries of the cause, nor can the results of crime be confined to the
offender and his victim. Every good as well as evil action has its
effects, as palpably as the stone flung into calm water. The simile is
trite, but it is the best ever conceived, so let us use it. The eddying
circles are greater and swifter as the disturbing object is greater or
smaller ; but the smallest pebble — nay, the tiniest speck — makes its
ripples. And this disturbance is not alone visible and on the surface.
Below, unseen, in every direction — outward and downward — drop
pushes drop until the sides and bottom are touched by the force.
More, the air above the water is agitated, and this disturbance passes,
as the physicists tell us, from stratum to stratum out into space for
ever and ever ; an impulse has been given to matter, and that is
never lost, can never be recalled ! . . .
So with crime and so with its opposite. The action may be instan-
taneous, the effects are eternal. When, after the stone is once flung
into the pond, we can recall it to the hand, roll back the ripples, oblit-
erate the force expended, restore the etheric waves to their previous
state of non-being, and wipe out every trace of the act of throwing the
missile, so that Time's record shall not show that it ever happened,
then, then we may patiently hear Christians argue for the efficacy of
this atonement
and — cease to believe in Karmic Law. As it now stands,
we call upon the whole world to decide which of our two doc-
trines is the most appreciative of deific justice, and which is
more reasonable, even on simple human evidence and logic.
Inq. Yet millions believe in the Christian dogma and are happy.
ThEo. Pure sentimentalism overpowering their thinking facul-
ties, which no true philanthropist or Altruist will ever accept.
It is not even a dream of selfishness, but a nightmare of the
human intellect. Look where it leads to, and tell me the
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV 221
name of that pagan country where crimes are more easily
committed or more numerous than in Christian lands. Look
at the long and ghastly annual records of crimes committed
in European countries; and behold Protestant and Biblical
America. There conversions effected in prisons are more
numerous than those made by public revivals and preaching.
See how the ledger-balance of Christian justice ( !) stands. Red-
handed murderers, urged on by the demons of lust, revenge, cupidity,
fanaticism, or mere brutal thirst for blood, who kill their victims, in
most cases, without giving them time to repent or call on Jesus.
These, perhaps, died sinful and, of course — consistently with theo-
logical logic — met the reward of their greater or lesser offenses. But
the murderer, overtaken by human justice, is imprisoned, wept over by
sentimentalists, prayed with and at, pronounces the charmed words of
conversion, and goes to the scaffold a redeemed child of Jesus! Ex-
cept for the murder he would not have been prayed with, redeemed,
pardoned. Clearly this man did well to murder, for thus he gained
eternal happiness ! And how about the victim, and his or her family,
relatives, dependents, social relations; has justice no recompense for
them? Must they suffer in this world and the next, while he who
wronged them sits beside the " holy thief " of Calvary and is forever
blessed? On this question the clergy keep a prudent silence.^^
And now you know why Theosophists — whose funda-
mental belief and hope is justice for all, in heaven as on
earth, and in Karma — reject this dogma.
Inq. The ultimate destiny of man, then, is not a Heaven presided over by
God, but the gradual transformation of matter into its primordial
element, spirit?
ThEo. It is to that final goal to which all tends in nature.
59. Isis Unveiled, ibid.
222 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
Inq. Do not some of you regard this association or " fall of spirit into
matter " as evil, and rebirth as a sorrow ?
Theo. Some do, and therefore strive to shorten their period of
probation on earth. It is not, however, an unmixed evil,
since it insures the experience upon which we mount to know-
ledge and wisdom. I mean that experience which teaches
that the needs of our spiritual nature can never be met by-
other than spiritual happiness. As long as we are in the
body we are subjected to pain, suffering and all the disap-
pointing incidents occurring during life. Therefore, and to
palliate this, we finally acquire knowledge which alone can
afTord us relief and hope of a better future.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY m
XII
WHAT IS PRACTICAL THEOSOPHY ?
DVTY
Inq. Why, then, the need for re-births, since all alike fail to secure a
permanent peace?
ThDo. Because the final goal cannot be reached in any way but
through life-experiences, and because the bulk of these con-
sists in pain and suffering. It is only through the latter
that we can learn. Joys and pleasures teach us nothing;
they are evanescent, and can only in the long run bring
satiety. Moreover, our constant failure to find any per-
manent satisfaction in life which would meet the wants of
our higher nature shows us plainly that those wants can be
met only on their own plane — to wit, the spiritual.
Inq. Is the natural result of this a desire to quit life by one means or
another ?
Theo. If you mean by such desire "suicide," then I say, most
decidedly not. Such a result can never be a "natural" one,
but is ever due to a morbid brain-disease, or to most decided
and strong materialistic views. It is the worst of crimes,
and dire in its results. But if by desire you mean simply
aspiration to reach spiritual existence, and not a wish to quit
224 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
the earth, then I would call it a very natural desire indeed.
Otherwise voluntary death would be an abandonment of our
present post and of the duties incumbent on us, as well as an
attempt to shirk karmic responsibilities, and thus involve the
creation of new Karma.
Inq. But if actions on the material plane are unsatisfying, why should
duties, which are such actions, be imperative?
Theo. First of all, because our philosophy teaches us that the
object of doing our duties to all men first and to ourselves
last is not the attainment of personal happiness, but the hap-
piness of others; the fulfilment of right for the sake of right,
not for what it may bring us. Happiness, or rather con-
tentment, may indeed follow the performance of duty, but is
not and must not be the motive for it.
Inq. What do you understand precisely by "duty" in Theosophy? It can
not be the Christian duties preached by Jesus and his apostles, since
you recognize neither.
ThEo. You are once more mistaken. What you call " Christ-
ian duties " were inculcated by every great moral and relig-
ious Reformer ages before the Christian era. All that was
great, generous, heroic, was in days of old, not only talked
about and preached from pulpits as in our own time, but
acted upon, sometimes by whole nations. The history of the
Buddhist reform is full of the most noble and most heroically
unselfish acts. " Be ye all of one mind, having compassion
one of another; love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but con-
trariwise blessing," was practically carried out by the fol-
lowers of Buddha several centuries before Peter. The Ethics
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 225
of Christianity are grand, no doubt; but, as undoubtedly,
they are not new, and have originated as '* Pagan " duties.
Inq. And how would you define these duties, or "duty" in general, as
you understand the term?
ThEo. Duty is that which is due to Humanity — to our fellow-
men, neighbors, family — and especially that which we owe
to all those who are poorer and more helpless than we are
ourselves. This is a debt which, if left unpaid during life,
leaves us spiritually insolvent and moral bankrupts in our
next incarnation. Theosophy is the quintessence of duty.
Inq. So is Christianity when rightly understood and carried out.
ThKo. No doubt it is ; but then, were it not a lip-religion in prac-
tice, Theosophy would have little to do amid Christians. Un-
fortunately it is but such lip-ethics. Those who practise
their duty toward all, and for duty's own sake, are few ; and
fewer still are those who perform that duty, remaining con-
tent with the satisfaction of their own secret consciousness.
It is
The public voice
Of praise, that honors virtue and rewards it,
which is ever uppermost in the minds of the " world-re-
nowned " philanthropists. Modern ethics are beautiful to
read about and hear discussed; but what are words unless
converted into actions? Finally, if you ask me how we
understand Theosophical duty practically and in view of
Karma, I may answer you that our duty is to drink to the
last drop, without a murmur, whatever contents the cup of
life may have in store for us, to pluck the roses of life only
for the fragrance they may shed on others, and to be our-
226 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
selves content but with the thorns, if that fragrance cannot
be enjoyed without depriving some one else of it.
Inq. All this is very vague. What do you do more than Christians do?
Theo. It is not what we members of the Theosophical Society
do — though some of us try our best — but how much farther
Theosophy leads to good than modern Christianity does. I
say action — enforced action, instead of mere intention and
talk. A man may be what he likes — the most worldly, self-
ish and hardhearted of men, even a deep-dyed rascal — and
it will not prevent him from calling himself a Christian, or
others from so regarding him. But no Theosophist has the
right to this name unless he is thoroughly imbued with the
correctness of Carlyle's truism, '' The end of man is an
action and not a thought, though it were the noblest," and
unless he sets and models his daily life upon this truth. The
profession of a truth is not yet the enactment of it ; and the
more beautiful and grand it sounds, the more loudly virtue
or duty is talked about instead of being acted upon, the more
forcibly it will always remind one of the Dead Sea fruit.
Cant is the most loathsome of all vices, and cant is the most
prominent feature of the greatest Protestant country of this
century — England.
Inq. What do you consider as due to humanity at large?
ThEo. Full recognition of equal rights and privileges for all,
without distinction of race, color, social position or birth.
Inq. When would you consider such due not given?
ThEo. When there is the slightest invasion of another's right,
be that other a man or a nation; when there is any failure
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 227
to show him the same justice, kindness, consideration or
mercy which we desire for ourselves. The whole present
system of politics is built on the oblivion of such rights and
the most fierce assertion of national selfishness. The French
say, " Like master, like man ;" they ought to add, " Like na-
tional policy, like citizen."
Inq. Do you take any part in politics?
ThKo. As a Society we carefully avoid them, for the reasons
given below. To seek to achieve political reforms before we
have effected a reform in human nature, is like putting nezv
wine into old bottles. Make men feel and recognize in their
innermost hearts what is their real, true duty to all men, and
every old abuse of power, every iniquitous law in the national
policy based on human, social or political selfishness, will
disappear of itself. Foolish is the gardener who tries to
weed his flower-bed of poisonous plants by cutting them oft*
from the surface of the soil, instead of tearing them out by
the roots. No lasting political reform can be ever achieved
with the same selfish men at the head of affairs as of old.
THE RELATIONS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY TO POLITICAL
REFORMS
Inq. The Theosophical Society is not, then, a political organization?
ThEo. Certainly not. It is international in the highest sense,
in that its members comprise men and women of all races,
creeds and forms of thought, who work together for one ob-
ject — the improvement of humanity ; but as a society it takes
absolutely no part in any national or party politics.
228 THE KBY TO THEOSOPHV
Inq. Why is this?
Theo. For the very reasons I have mentioned. Moreover, pol-
itical action must necessarily vary with the circumstances of
the time and with the idiosyncrasies of individuals. While,
from the very nature of their position as Theosophists, the
members of the Theosophical Society are agreed on the prin-
ciples of Theosophy, or they would not belong to the Society
at all, it does not thereby follow that they agree on every
other subject. As a society they can only act together in
matters which are common to all — that is, in Theosophy it-
self; as individuals, each is left perfectly free to follow out
his or her particular line of political thought and action, so
long as this does not conflict with Theosophical principles or
hurt the Theosophical Society.
Inq. But surely the Theosophical Society does not stand altogether aloof
from the social questions which are now so fast coming to the front?
Theo. The very principles of the Theosophical Society are a
proof that it does not — or rather, that most of its members
do not — so stand aloof. If humanity can only be developed
mentally and spiritually by the enforcement, first of all, of
the soundest and most scientific physiological laws, it is the
bounden duty of all who strive for this development to do
their utmost to see that those laws shall be generally carried
out. All Theosophists are only too sadly aware that, in
Occidental countries especially, the social condition of large
masses of the people renders it impossible for either their
bodies or their spirits to be properly trained, so that the
development of both is thereby arrested. As this training
and development is one of the express objects of Theosophy,
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 229
the Theosophical Society is in thorough sympathy and har-
mony with all true efforts in this direction.
Inq, But what do you mean by "true efforts"? Each social reformer has
his own panacea, and each believes his to be the one and only thing
which can improve and save humanity.
TiiEO. Perfectly true; and this is the real reason why so little
satisfactory social work is accomplished. In most of these
panaceas there is no really guiding principle, and there is
certainly no one principle which connects them all. Valu-
able time and energy are thus wasted; for men, instead of
co-operating, strive one against the other, often it is to be
feared, for the sake of fame and reward rather than for
the great cause which they profess to have at heart, and
which should be supreme in their lives.
Inq. How, then, should Theosophical principles be applied so that social
co-operation may be promoted and true efforts for social ameHoration
be carried on?
Theo. Let me briefly remind you what these principles are:
Universal Unity and Causation ; Human Solidarity ; the Law
of Karma ; Reincarnation. These are the four links of the
golden chain which should bind humanity into one family,
one Universal Brotherhood.
Inq. How?
Theo. In the present state of society, especially in so-called civ-
ilized countries, we are continually brought face to face with
the fact that large numbers of people are suffering from
misery, poverty and disease. Their physical condition is
wretched, and their mental and spiritual faculties are often
almost dormant. On the other hand, many persons at the
230 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
opposite end of the social scale are leading lives of careless
indifference, material luxury, and selfish indulgence. Neither
of these forms of existence is mere chance. Both are the
effects of the conditions which surround those who are sub-
ject to them, and the neglect of social duty on the one side
is most closely connected with the stunted and arrested devel-
opment on the other. In sociology, as in all branches of true
science, the law of universal causation holds good. But this
causation necessarily implies, as its logical outcome, that hu-
man solidarity on which Theosophy so strongly insists. If
the action of one reacts on the lives of all — and this is the
true scientific idea — then it is only by all men becoming bro-
thers and all women sisters, and by all practising in their
daily lives true brotherhood and true sisterhood, that the real
human solidarity which lies at the root of the elevation of
the race can ever be attained. It is this action and interaction,
this true brotherhood and sisterhood, in which each shall live
for all and all for each, which is one of the fundamental
Theosophical principles that every Theosophist should be
bound not only to teach, but to carry out in his or her in-
dividual life.
Inq. ah this is very well as a general principle, but how would you apply
it in a concrete way?
Thho. Look for a moment at what you would call the concrete
facts of human society. Contrast the lives not only of the
masses of the people, but of many of those who are called
the middle and upper classes, with what they might be under
healthier and nobler conditions, where justice, kindness, and
love were paramount, instead of the selfishness, indifference.
rnn key to thbosophy 231
and brutality which now too often seem to reign supreme.
All good and evil things in humanity have their roots in hu-
man character, and this character is, and has been, condi-
tioned by the endless chain of cause and effect. But this con-
ditioning applies to the future as well as to the present and
the past. Selfishness, indifference, and brutality can never
be the normal state of the race ; to believe so would be to des-
pair of humanity, and that no Theosophist can do. Progress
can be attained, and only attained by, the development of the
nobler qualities. Now, true evolution teaches us that by al-
tering the surroundings of the organism we can alter and
improve the organism; and in the strictest sense this is true
with regard to man. Every Theosophist, therefore, is bound
to do his utmost to help on, by all the means in his power,
every wise and well-considered social effort which has for
its object the amelioration of the condition of the poor. Such
efforts should be made with a view to their ultimate social
emancipation, or the development of the sense of duty in
those who now so often neglect it in nearly every relation
of life.
Inq. Agreed. But who is to decide whether social efforts are wise or
unwise?
Theo. No one person and no society can lay down a hard-and-
fast rule in this respect. Much must necessarily be left to
the individual judgment. One general test may, however,
be given : Will the proposed action tend to promote that true
brotherhood which it is the aim of Theosophy to bring about ?
No real Theosophist will have much difficulty in applying
such a test; once he is satisfied of this, his duty will lie in the
232 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
direction of forming public opinion. And this can be attained
only by inculcating those higher and nobler conceptions of
public and private duties which lie at the root of all spiritual
and material improvement. In every conceivable case he
himself must be a center of spiritual action, and from him
and his own daily individual life must radiate those higher
spiritual forces which alone can regenerate his fellow-men.
Inq. But why should he do this? Are not he and all, as you teach, con-
ditioned by their Karma, and must not Karma necessarily work itself
out on certain Hnes?
ThEO. It is this very law of Karma which gives strength to all
that I have said. The individual cannot separate himself
from the race, nor the race from the individual. The law
of Karma applies equally to all, though all are not equally
developed. In helping on the development of others the The-
osophist believes that he is not only helping them to fulfil
their Karma, but that he is also, in the strictest sense, ful-
filling his own. It is the development of humanity, of which
both he and they are integral parts, that he has always in
view, and he knows that any failure on his part to respond
to the highest within him retards not only himself, but all,
in their progressive march. By his actions he can make it
either more difficult or more easy for humanity to attain the
next higher plane of being.
Inq. How does this bear on the fourth of the principles you mentioned,
viz., Reincarnation?
ThEo. The connection is most intimate. If our present lives
depend upon the development of certain principles which are
a growth from the germs left by a previous existence, the
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 233
law holds good as regards the future. Once grasp the idea
that universal causation is not merely present, but past, pres-
ent, and future, and every action on our present plane falls
naturally and easily into its true place, and is seen in its true
relation to ourselves and to others. Every mean and selfish
action sends us backward and not forward, while every noble
thought and every unselfish deed are stepping-stones to the
higher and more glorious planes of being. If this life were
all, then in many respects it would indeed be poor and mean ;
but regarded as a preparation for the next sphere of exist-
ence, it may be used as the golden gate through which we
may pass — not selfishly and alone but in company with our
fellows — to the palaces which lie beyond.
ON SELF-SACRIFICE
Inq. Is equal justice to all and love to every creature the highest standard
of Theosophy?
Theo. No; there is an even far higher one.
Inq. What can it be?
The;o. The giving to others rnore than to one's self — self-sacri-
fice. Such was the standard and abounding measure which
marked so pre-eminently the greatest Teachers and Masters
of humanity — such as Gautama Buddha in History, and
Jesus of Nazareth as in the Gospels. This trait alone was
enough to secure them the perpetual reverence and gratitude
of the generations of men that came after them. We say,
however, that self-sacrifice has to be performed with discrim-
ination; and such a self-abandonment, if made without jus-
234 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
tice, or blindly, regardless of subsequent results, may often
prove not only to have been made in vain, but even to be
harmful. One of the fundamental rules of Theosophy is
justice to one's self — viewed as a unit of collective hu-
manity, not as a personal self — justice, not more, but not
less, than to others; unless, indeed, by the sacrifice of the one
self we can benefit the many.
Inq. Could you make your idea clearer by giving an instance?
Thdo. There are many instances to illustrate it in history. Self-
sacrifice for the practical good of many or several people,
Theosophy holds far higher than self-abnegation for a sect-
arian idea, such as that of " saving the heathen from dam-
nation," for instance. In our opinion. Father Damien, the
young man of thirty who offered his whole life in sacrifice
for the benefit and alleviation of the sufferings of the lepers
at Molokai; who, after living for eighteen years alone with
them, finally caught the loathsome disease and died, has not
died in vain. He has given relief and relative happiness
to thousands of miserable wretches. He has brought to them
consolation, mental and physical. He threw a streak of light
into the black and dreary night of an existence the hopeless-
ness of which is unparalleled in the records of human suffer-
ing. He was a true Theosophist, and his memory will live
for ever in our annals. In our sight this poor Belgian priest
stands immeasurably higher than, for instance, all those sin-
cere but vain-glorious fools, the missionaries who have sacri-
ficed their lives in the South Sea Islands or China. What
good have they done? They went in one case to those who
were not yet ripe for any truth ; and in the other to a nation
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 235
whose systems of religious philosophy are as grand as any,
if only the men who have them would live up to the standard
of Confucius and their other sages. They died victims of
irresponsible cannibals and savages, and of popular fanati-
cism and hatred; whereas, by going to the slums of White-
chapel, or some other such locality of those that stagnate
right under the blazing sun of our civilization, full of Christ-
ian savages and mental leprosy, they might have done real
good and preserved their lives for a better and worthier cause.
Inq. But the Christians do not think so.
ThEo. Of course not, for they act on an erroneous belief. They
think that by baptizing the body of an irresponsible savage
they save his soul from damnation. One church forgets her
martyrs, the other beatifies and raises statues to such men as
Labre, who sacrificed his body for forty years only to benefit
the vermin which it bred. Had we the means to do so, we
would raise a statue to Father Damien, the true practical
saint, and perpetuate his memory forever as a living exem-
plar of Theosophical heroism and of Buddha- and Christ-
like mercy and self-sacrifice.
Inq. Then you regard self-sacrifice as a duty?
The;o. We do ; and explain it by showing that altruism is an in-
tegral part of self-development. But we have to discriminate.
A man has no right to starve himself to death that another
man may have food, unless the life of that man is obviously
more useful to the many than is his own life. But it is his
duty to sacrifice his own comfort, and to work for others,
if they are unable to work for themselves. It is his duty to
give all that is wholly his own and can benefit no one but him-
236 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
self if he selfishly keeps it from others. Theosophy teaches
self-abnegation, but does not teach rash and useless self-sac-
rifice, nor does it justify fanaticism.
Inq. But how are we to reach such an elevated status?
ThEo. By the enlightened application of our precepts to prac-
tice; by the use of our higher reason, spiritual intuition, and
moral sense; and by following the dictates of what we call
" the still small voice " of our conscience, which is that of
our Ego, and speaks louder in us than the earthquakes and
the thunders of Jehovah, wherein " the Lord is not."
Inq. If such are our duties to humanity at large, what do you understand
by our duties to our immediate surroundings?
The;o. Just the same, plus those that arise from special obliga-
tions with regard to family ties.
Inq, Then it is not true, as it is said, that no sooner does a man enter the
Theosophical Society than he begins to be gradually severed from his
wife, children and family duties?
ThEo. It is a groundless calunmy, like so many others. The
first of the Theosophical duties is to do one's duty by all men,
and especially by those to whom one's specific responsibilities
are due, because one has either voluntarily undertaken them
— such as marriage ties — or because one's destiny has allied
one to them — such as those we owe to parents or next of
kin.
Inq. And what may be the duty of the Theosophist to himself?
ThEo. To control and conquer, through the Higher, the lower
self; to purify himself inwardly and morally ; to fear no one,
and naught, save the tribunal of his own conscience; never
THE KEY TO THnoSOPHY 237
to do a thing by halves — i. e., if he thinks it the right thing
to do, let him do it openly and boldly; and if wrong, never
touch it at all. It is the duty of a Theosophist to lighten his
burden by thinking of the wise aphorism of Epictetus, who
says :
Be not diverted from your duty by any idle reflection the silly world
may make upon you, for their censures are not in your power, and
consequently should not be any part of your concern.
Ino. But suppose a member of your Society should plead inability to prac-
tise altruism to other people on the ground that " charity begins at
home;" urging that he is too busy, or too poor, to benefit mankind or
even any of its units; what are your rules in such a case?
ThEO. No man, on any pretext whatever, has a right to say that
he can do nothing for others. " By doing the proper duty
in the proper place, a man may make the world his debtor,"
says an English writer. A cup of cold water given in time
to a thirsty wayfarer is a nobler duty, and of more worth,
than a dozen dinners given away, out of season, to men who
can afiford to pay for them. No man who has not got it in
him will ever become a Theosophist ; but he may remain a
member of our society all the same. We have no rules by
which we can force any man to become a practical Theoso-
phist if he does not desire to be one.
Inq. Then why does he enter the Society at all?
TiiEO. That is best known to him who does so. For, here again,
we have no right to prejudge a person, not even if the voice
of a whole community should be against him, and I may tell
you why. In our day vox populi — so far as regards the
voice of the educated, at any rate — is no longer vox dci,
238 THE KBY TO THBOSOPHY
but ever that of prejudice, of selfish motives, and often sim-
ply of unpopularity. Our duty is to sow seeds broadcast
for the future, and see they are good; not to stop to enquire
zvhy we should do so, and how and wherefore we are obliged
to lose our time, since those who will reap the harvest in days
to come will never be ourselves.
ON CHARITY
Inq. How do you Theosophists regard the Christian duty of charity?
rHEo. What charity do you mean — charity of mind, or prac-
tical charity on the physical plane ?
'1^
Inq. I mean practical charity, as your idea of Universal brotherhood
would include, of course, charity of mind.
ThDO. Then you have in your mind the practical carrying out
of the commandments given by Jesus in the Sermon on the
Mount?
Inq. Precisely so.
The:o. Then why call them " Christian " ? For, although their
Savior preached them and practised them, the last thing the
Christians of today think of is to carry them out in their lives.
Inq. And yet many are those who pass their lives in dispensing charity.
ThEO. Yes, out of the surplus of their great fortunes. But
point out to me that Christian, among the most philanthropic,
who would give the shivering and starving thief who steals
his coat his cloak also, or offer his right cheek to him who
smites him on the left, and never think of resenting it.
^rA
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 239
Inq. Ah! but you must remember that these precepts are not to be taken
Hterally. Times and circumstances have changed since Christ's day.
Moreover, he spoke in Parables.
The:o. Then why don't your Churches teach that the doctrine of
damnation and hell-fire is to be understood as a parable too?
Why do some of your most popular preachers, while virtu-
ally allowing these parables to be understood as you take
them, insist on the literal meaning of the fires of Hell and
the physical tortures of an "Asbestos-like" soul? If one is
a "parable," then the other is. If Hell-fire is a literal truth,
then Christ's commandments in the Sermon on the Mount
have to be obeyed to the very letter. And I tell you that many
who do not believe in the Divinity of Christ — like Count
Leo Tolstoi and more than one Theosophist — do carry out
these noble and universal precepts literally; and many more
good men and women would do so were they not more than
certain that such a walk in life would very probably land
them in a lunatic asylum — so Christian are your laws!
Inq. But surely every one knows that millions and millions are spent
annually on private and public charities?
ThDo. Oh yes ; and half of it sticks to the hands it passes through
before getting to the needy, while a good portion of the re-
mainder gets into the hands of professional beggars, who
are too lazy to work, thus doing no good whatever to those
who are really in misery and suffering. Haven't you heard
that the first result of the great outflow of charity toward
the East End of London was to raise the rents in JJliifcchapcl
by some twenty per cent?
Inq. What would you do, then?
240 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Theo. Act individually and not collectively; follow the North-
ern Buddhist precepts :
Never put food into the mouth of the hungry by the hand of another.
Never let the shadow of thy neighbour [a third person] come be-
tween thyself and the object of thy bounty.
Never give to the sun time to dry a tear before thou hast wiped it.
Never give money to the needy, or food to the priest, who begs at
thy door, through thy servants, lest thy money should diminish grati-
tude, and thy food turn to gall.
Inq. But how can this be applied practically?
Theo. The Theosophical idea of charity means personal exer-
tion for others; personal mercy and kindness; personal in-
terest in the welfare of those who suffer; personal sympathy,
forethought, and assistance in their troubles or needs. The-
osophists do not believe in giving money through other peo-
ple's hands or organizations. We believe in giving to the
money a thousandfold greater power and effectiveness by
our personal contact and sympathy with those who need it.
We believe in relieving the starvation of the soul, as much,
if not more than, the emptiness of the stomach ; for gratitude
does more good to the man who feels it than to him for whom
it is felt. Where is the gratitude which your "millions of
pounds" should have called forth, or the good feelings pro-
voked by them? Is it shown in the hatred of the East End
poor for the rich, in the growth of the party of anarchy and
disorder, or by those thousands of unfortunate working-
girls, victims to the "sweating" system, driven daily to eke
out a living by going on the streets? Do your helpless old
men and women thank you for the workhouses ; or your poor
for the poisonously unhealthy dwellings in which they are
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 241
allowed to breed new generations of diseased, scrofulous,
and rickety children, only to put money into the pockets of
the insatiable Shylocks who own houses? Therefore it is
that every sovereign of all those ''millions" contributed by
good and would-be charitable people falls like a burning
curse instead of a blessing on the poor whom it should relieve.
We call this, generating national Karma, and terrible will
be its results on the day of reckoning.
THEOSOPHY FOR THE MASSES
Inq. And you think that Theosophy would, by stepping in, help to remove
these evils, under the practical and adverse conditions of our modern
life?
ThEo. Had we more money, and had not most of the Theosoph-
ists to work for their daily bread, I firmly believe we could.
Inq. How? Do you expect that your doctrines could ever take hold of
the uneducated masses, when they are so abstruse and difficult that
well-educated people can hardly understand them?
ThEO. You forget one thing: that your much-boasted modern
education is precisely that which makes it difficult for you
to understand Theosophy. Your mind is so full of intellect-
ual subtleties and preconceptions that your natural intuition
and perception of truth cannot act. It does not require meta-
physics or education to make a man understand the broad
truths of Karma and Reincarnation. Look at the millions
of poor and uneducated Buddhists and Hindus, to whom
Karma and Reincarnation are solid realities, simply because
their minds have never been cramped and distorted by being
forced into an unnatural groove. They have never had the
242 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
innate human sense of justice perverted in them by being
told to believe that their sins would be forgiven because an-
other man had been put to death for their sakes. And the
Buddhists, note well, live up to their beliefs without a mur-
mur against Karma or what they regard as a just punish-
ment; whereas the Christian populace neither lives up to its
moral ideal, nor accepts its lot contentedly. Hence murmur-
ing and dissatisfaction, and the intensity of the struggle for
existence in Western lands.
Inq. But this contentedness, which you praise so much, would do away
with all motive for exertion and bring progress to a standstill.
Theo. And we Theosophists say that your vaunted progress and
civilization are no better than a host of will-o' the-wisps flick-
ering over a marsh which exhales a poisonous and deadly
miasma. This because we see selfishness, crime, immorality,
and all the evils imaginable, pouncing upon unfortunate
mankind from this Pandora's box which you call an age of
progress, and increasing pari passu with the growth of your
material civilization. At such a price, better the inertia and
inactivity of Buddhist countries, which have resulted only as
a consequence of ages of political slavery.
Inq. Then is all this metaphysics and mysticism with which you occupy
yourself so much, of no importance?
Theo. To the masses, who need only practical guidance and
support, they are not of much consequence; but for the
educated, the natural leaders of the masses, those whose
modes of thought and action will sooner or later be ad-
opted by those masses, they are of the greatest import-
ance. It is only by means of the philosophy that an in-
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 243
telligent and educated man can avoid the intellectual suicide
of believing on blind faith; and it is only by assimilating
the strict continuity and logical coherence of the Eastern,
if not esoteric, doctrines that he can realize their truth.
Conviction breeds enthusiasm, and " enthusiasm," says Bul-
wer Lytton, " is the genius of sincerity, and truth accom-
plishes no victories without it;" while Emerson most truly
remarks that " every great and commanding movement in
the annals of the world is the triumph of enthusiasm." And
what is more calculated to produce such a feeling than a
philosophy so grand, so consistent, so logical, and so all-
embracing as our Eastern doctrines ?
Inq. And yet its enemies are very numerous, and every day Theosophy
acquires new opponents.
ThKO. And this is precisely what proves its intrinsic excellence
and value. People hate only the things they fear, and no one
goes out of his way to overthrow that which neither threatens
nor rises above mediocrity.
Inq. Do you hope to impart this enthusiasm, one day, to the masses?
ThEO. Why not ? — since history tells us that the masses adopted
Buddhism with enthusiasm, while, as said before, the prac-
tical effect upon them of this philosophy of ethics is still
shown by the smallness of the percentage of crime among
Buddhist populations as compared with every other religion.
The chief point is to uproot that most fertile source of all
crime and immorality — the belief that it is possible for men
to escape the consequences of their own actions. Once teach
them that greatest of all laws. Karma and Reincarnation, and
besides feeling in themselves the true dignity of human na-
244 THE KHV TO THBOSOPHV
ture, they will turn from evil and eschew it as they would a
physical danger.
HOW MEMBERS CAN HELP THE SOCIETY
Inq. How do you expect the Fellows of your Society to help in the work?
Theo. First, by studying and comprehending the Theosophical
doctrines, so that they may teach others, especially the young
people. Secondly, by taking every opportunity of talking to
others and explaining to them what Theosophy is and what
it is not; by removing misconceptions and spreading an in-
terest in the subject. Thirdly, by assisting in circulating
our literature by buying books when they have the means, by
lending and giving them, and by inducing their friends to
do so. Fourthly, by defending the Society from the unjust
aspersions cast upon it by every legitimate device in their
power. Fifthly, and most important of all, by the example
of their own lives.
Inq. But all this literature, to the spread of which you attach so much
importance, does not seem to me of much practical use in helping
mankind. This is not practical charity.
The:o. We think otherwise. We hold that a good book which
gives people food for thought, which strengthens and clears
their minds, and enables them to grasp truths which they
have dimly felt, but could not formulate — we hold that such
a book does a real, substantial good. As to what you call
practical deeds of charity, to benefit the bodies of our fellow-
men, we do what little we can ; but, as I have already told you,
most of us are poor, while the Society itself has not even the
money to pay a staflf of workers. All of us who toil for it
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 245
give our labor gratis, and in most cases money as well. The
few who have the means of doing what are usually called
charitable actions follow the Buddhist precepts and do their
work themselves — not by proxy or by subscribing publicly
to charitable funds. What a Theosophist has to do above
all is to forget his personality.
WHAT A THEOSOPHIST OUGHT NOT TO DO
Inq. Have you any prohibitory laws or clauses for Theosophists in your
Society ?
Theo. Many; but alas! none of them are enforced. They ex-
press the ideal of our organization; but the practical applic-
ation of such things we are compelled to leave to the discre-
tion of the Fellows themselves. Unfortunately, the state of
men's minds in the present century is such that, unless we
allow these clauses to remain, so to speak, obsolete, no man
or woman would dare to risk joining the Theosophical So-
ciety. This is precisely why I feel forced to lay such a stress
on the difference between true Theosophy and its hard-
struggling and well-intentioned but still unworthy vehicle, the
Theosophical Society.
Inq. May I be told what are these perilous reefs in the open sea of
Theosophy ?
ThEo. Well may you call them reefs, as more than one other-
wise sincere and well-meaning Fellow of the Theosophical
Society has had his Theosophical canoe shattered into splin-
ters on them! And yet to avoid certain things seems the
easiest thing in the world to do. For instance, here is a
246 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
series of such negatives, screening positive Theosophical
duties:
No Theosophist should be silent when he hears evil reports
or slanders spread about the Society or innocent persons,
whether they be his colleagues or outsiders.
Inq. But suppose what one hears is the truth, or may be true without one
knowing it?
ThEo. Then you must demand good proofs of the assertion,
and hear both sides impartially, before you permit the accus-
ation to go uncontradicted. You have no right to believe in
evil until you get undeniable proof of the correctness of
the statement.
Inq. And what should you do then?
ThEo. Pity and forbearance, charity and long-suffering, ought
to be always there to prompt us to excuse our sinning breth-
ren, and to pass the gentlest sentence possible upon those
who err. A Theosophist ought never to forget what is due
to the shortcomings and infirmities of human nature.
Inq. Ought he to forgive entirely in such cases?
Theo. In every case, especially he who is sinned against.
Inq. But if by so doing he risks injuring or allows others to be injured,
what ought he to do then?
Theo. His duty — that which his conscience and higher nature
suggest to him; but only after mature deliberation. Justice
consists in doing no injury to any living being; but justice
commands us also never to allow injury to be done to the
many, or even to one innocent person, by allowing the guilty
one to go unchecked.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY , 247
Inq. What are the other negative clauses?
Theo. No Theosophist ought to be contented with an idle or
frivolous life, doing no real good to himself and still less to
others. He should work for the benefit of the few who need
his help, if he is unable to toil for Humanity, and thus work
for the advancement of the Theosophical cause.
Inq. This demands an exceptional nature, and would come rather hard
upon some persons.
Theo. Then they had better remain outside of the Theosophical
Society, instead of sailing under false colors. No one is
asked to give more than he can afford, whether in devotion,
time, work or money.
Inq. What comes next?
Theo. No working member should set too great value on his
personal progress or proficiency in Theosophic studies; but
must be prepared, rather, to do as much altruistic work as
lies in his power. He should not leave the whole of the
heavy burden and responsibility of the Theosophical move-
ment on the shoulders of the few devoted workers. Each
member ought to feel it his duty to take what share he can in
the common work, and help it by every means in his power.
Inq. This is but just. What comes next?
Theo. No Theosophist should place his personal vanity or feel-
ings above those of his Society as a body. He who sacrifices
the latter, or other people's reputations, on the altar of his
personal vanity, worldly benefit or pride, ought not to be al-
lowed to remain a member. One cancerous limb diseases
the whole body.
248 THE KHY TO THnOSOPHV
Inq. Is it the duty of every member to teach others and preach Theosophy?
Theo. It is indeed. No Fellow has a right to remain idle on the
excuse that he knows too little to teach. For he may always
be sure that he will find others who know still less than him-
self. And also it is not until a man begins to try to teach
others that he discovers his own ignorance and tries to re-
move it. But this is a minor clause.
Inq. What do you consider, then, to be the chief of these negative Theo-
sophical duties?
Theo. To be ever prepared to recognize and confess one's faults ;
to sin rather through exaggerated praise than through too
little appreciation of one's neighbor's efforts ; never to back-
bite or slander another person; always to say openly and
direct to his face anything you have against him; never to
make yourself the echo of anything you may hear against
another, nor harbor revenge against those who happen to
injure you.
Inq. But it is often dangerous to tell people the truth to their faces. Don't
you think so? I know of one of your members who was bitterly of-
fended, left the Society, and became its greatest enemy, only because
he was told some unpleasant truths to his face, and was blamed for
them.
Theo. Of such we have had many. No member, whether pro-
minent or insignificant, has ever left us without becoming
our bitter enemy.
Inq. How do you account for it?
Theo. It is simply this: having been, in most cases, intensely
devoted to the Society at first, and having lavished upon it
the most exaggerated praises, the only possible excuse such
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 249
a backslider can make for his subsequent behavior and past
short-sightedness is to pose as an innocent and deceived vic-
tim, thus casting the blame from his own shoulders onto
those of the Society in general, and its leaders especially.
Such persons remind one of the old fable about the man with
a distorted face, who broke his looking-glass in the belief
that it reflected his countenance crookedly.
Inq. But what makes these people turn against the Society?
ThEO. Wounded vanity in some form or another, almost in
every case. Generally because their dicta and advice are
not taken as final and authoritative, or else because they are
of those who would rather reign in Hell than serve in
Heaven. Because, in short, they cannot bear to stand second
to anybody in anything. So, for instance, one member — a
true *' Sir Oracle" — criticized and almost defamed every
member in the Theosophical Society to outsiders as much as
to Theosophists, under the pretext that they were all iintheo-
sophical, blaming them precisely for what he was himself
doing all the time. Finally he left the Society, giving as his
reason a profound conviction that we were all (the founders
especially) Frauds! Another one, after intriguing in every
possible way to be placed at the head of a large section of the
Society, finding that the members would not have him, turned
against the founders of the Theosophical Society and became
their bitterest enemy, denouncing one of them whenever he
could, simply because the latter could not, and would not,
force him upon the members. This was simply a case of an
outrageous wounded vanity. Still another wanted to, and
virtually did, practise black magic — f e., undue personal psy-
2S0 THE KBY TO THEOSOPMV
chological influence — on certain Fellows, while pretending
devotion and every Theosophical virtue. When this was put
a stop to, the member broke with Theosophy, and now slan-
ders and lies against the same hapless leaders in the most
virulent manner, endeavoring to break up the Society by
blackening the reputation of those whom that worthy person
was unable to deceive.
Inq. What would you do with such characters?
Theo. Leave them to their Karma. Because one person does
evil, that is no reason for others to do so.
Inq. But to return to slander, where is the line of demarcation between
backbiting and just criticism to be drawn? Is it not one's duty to
warn one's friends and neighbors against those whom one knows to be
dangerous associates?
ThEo. If by allowing them to go on unchecked, other persons
may be thereby injured, it is certainly our duty to obviate the
danger by warning them privately. But, true or false, no ac-
cusation against another person should ever be spread abroad.
If true, and the fault hurts no one but the sinner, then leave
him to his Karma. If false, then you will have avoided
adding to the injustice in the world. Therefore keep silent
about such things with every one not directly concerned.
But if your discretion and silence are likely to hurt or en-
danger others, then I add. Speak the truth at all costs, and
say with Annesley, " Consult duty, not events." There are
cases when one is forced to exclaim, " Perish discretion
rather than allow it to interfere with duty."
Inq. Methinks, if you carry out these maxims, you are likely to reap a
nice crop of troubles!
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 251
ThEo. And so we do. We have to admit that we are now open
to the same taunt as the early Christians were. " See how
these Theosophists love one another ! " may now be said of
us without a shadow of injustice.
Inq. Admitting yourself that there is at least as much, if not more, back-
biting, slandering and quarreling in the Theosophical Society as in the
Christian churches, let alone scientific societies — What kind of Bro-
therhood is this, may I ask ?
Theo. a very poor specimen indeed as at present, and, until
carefully sifted and reorganized,^^ no better than others. Re-
60. [The Society was first re-organized in 1895, when William Q. Judge was elected
President for life, and when the first great sifting took place.
As the work increased a further sifting became necessary and more protective
means had to be adopted for preserving the work and the larger and ever grow-
ing interests of the Theosophical Movement. To this end Katherine Tingley re-
organized it and formulated the Constitution under which it is now active.
This further sifting and reorganization took place February 18th, 1898 at Chicago,
when the Theosophical Society, at its Annual Convention, accepted the Con-
stitution of the Universal Brotherhoood and Theosophical Society and by that
action became an integral part thereof.
It is a regrettable fact that many people use the name of Theosophy and of our
Organization for self-interest, as also that of H. P. Blavatsky, the Foundress, to
attract attention to themselves and to gain public support. This they do in priv-
ate and public speech and in publications, also by lecturing throughout the country.
Without being in any way connected with the Universal Brotherhood and The-
osophical Society, in many cases they permit it to be inferred that they are, thus
misleading the public, and many honest inquirers are hence led away from the
truths of Theosophy as presented by H. P. Blavatsky and her successors, W. Q.
Judge and Katherine Tingley, and practically exemplified in their Theosophical
work for the uplifting of humanity.
It should be distinctly understood that the Universal Brotherhood and
Theosophical Society recognizes no other society or body using the name of
Theosophy; and that its members are in no wise affiliated with any other society
or body calling itself Theosophical and not recognizing Katherine Tingley as the
Leader and Official Head of the international Theosophical Movement. The
International Headquarters of the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical
Society are at Point Loma, California.]
252 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
member, however, that human nature is the same in the
Theosophical Society as out of it. Its members are no saints ;
they are at best sinners trying to do better, and Hable to fall
back owing to personal weakness. Add to this that our
" Brotherhood " is no " recognized " or established body, and
stands, so to speak, outside of the pale of jurisdiction. Be-
sides which, it is in a chaotic condition, and more unjustly
unpopular than any other body. What wonder then, that
those members who fail to carry out its ideal should, after
leaving the Society, turn for sympathetic protection to our
enemies, and pour all their gall and bitterness into their too
willing ears! Knowing that they will find support, sym-
pathy and ready credence for every accusation, however ab-
surd, that it may please them to launch against the Theo-
sophical Society, they hasten to do so, and vent their wrath
on the innocent looking-glass which reflected too faithfully
their faces. People never forgive those whom they have
wronged. The sense of kindness received, and repaid by
them with ingratitude, drives them into a madness of self-
justification before the world and their own consciences.
The former is but too ready to believe in anything said
against a society it hates. The latter — but I will say no
more, fearing I have already said too much.
Inq. Your position does not seem to me a very enviable one.
ThEo. It is not. But do you not think that there must be some-
thing very noble, very exalted, very true, behind the Society
and its philosophy, when the leaders and the founders of the
movement still continue to work for it with all their strength ?
They sacrifice to it all comfort, all worldly prosperity and sue-
THB KHV TO THEOSOPHY 253
cess, even to their good name and reputation — aye, even to
their honor — to receive in return incessant and ceaseless ob-
loquy, relentless persecution, untiring slander, constant in-
gratitude, and misunderstanding of their best efforts — blows
and buffets from all sides — when by simply dropping their
work they would find themselves immediately released from
every responsibility, shielded from every further attack.
Ino. I confess such a perseverance seems to me very astounding, and I
wondered why you did all this.
Thdo. Believe me, for no self-gratification ; only in the hope of
training a few individuals to carry on our work for humanity
with its original program when the founders are dead and
gone. They have already found a few such noble and de-
voted souls to replace them. The coming generations, thanks
to these few, will find the path to peace a little less thorny,
and the way a little widened, and thus all this suffering will
have produced good results, and their self-sacrifice will not
have been in vain. At present the main, fundamental object
of the Society is to sow germs in the hearts of men which
may in time sprout and, under more propitious circumstances,
lead to a healthy reform conducive of more happiness to the
masses than they have hitherto enjoyed.
254 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
XIII
ON THE MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE THEO-
SOPHICAL SOCIETY"
THEOSOPHY AND ASCETICISM
Inq. I have heard people say that your rules required all members to be
vegetarians, celibates and rigid ascetics ; but you have not told me
anything of the sort yet. Can you tell me the truth once for all about
this?
ThKo. The truth is that our rules require nothing of the kind.
The Theosophical Society does not even expect, far less re-
quire, of any of its members that they should be ascetics in
any way, except — if you call that asceticism — that they
should try and benefit other people and be unselfish in their
own lives.
Inq. But still many of your members are strict vegetarians, and openly
avow their intention of remaining unmarried. This, too, is most often
the case with those who take a prominent part in connection with the
work of your Society.
Theo. That is only natural, because most of our really earnest
workers are members of the Inner Section of the Society,
about which I told you before.
61. See note 60.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 255
Inq. Oh, then you do require ascetic practices in that Inner Section?
Theo. No, we do not require or enjoin them even there. But I
see that I had better give you an explanation of our views on
the subject of asceticism in general, and then you will under-
stand about vegetarianism and so on.
Inq. Please proceed.
Th^o. As I have already told you, most people who become
really earnest students of Theosophy and active workers in
our Society wish to do more than study theoretically the
truths we teach. They wish to ktiozv the truth by their own
direct personal experience, and to study Occultism with the
object of acquiring the wisdom and power which they feel
they need in order to help others effectually and judiciously,
instead of blindly and at haphazard. Therefore, sooner or
later, they join the Inner Section.
Inq. But you said that "ascetic practices" are not obligatory even in that
Inner Section.
ThEO. No more they are ; but the first thing which the members
learn there is a true conception of the relation of the body,
or physical sheath, to the inner, the true man. The relation
and mutual interaction between these two aspects of human
nature are explained and demonstrated to them, so that they
soon become imbued with the supreme importance of the
inner man over the outer case or body. They are taught that
blind, unintelligent asceticism is mere folly; that such con-
duct as that of St. Labre, of which I spoke before, or that of
the Indian fakirs and jungle ascetics, who cut, burn and
macerate their bodies in the most cruel and horrible manner,
256 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
is simply self-torture for selfish ends — i.e., to develop will-
power — but is perfectly useless for the purpose of assisting
true spiritual or Theosophic development.
Inq, I see you regard only moral asceticism as necessary. It is as a means
to an end, that end being the perfect equilibrium of the inner nature
of man, and the attainment of complete mastery over the body, with
all its passions and desires.
ThKo. Just so. But these means must be used intelligently and
wisely, not blindly and foolishly; like an athlete who is
training and preparing for a great contest, not like the miser
who starves himself into illness that he may gratify his
passion for gold.
Inq. I understand now your general idea; but let us see how you apply
it in practice. How about vegetarianism, for instance?
The:o. One of the great German scientists has shown that every
kind of animal tissue, however you may cook it, still retains
certain marked characteristics of the animal to which it be-
longed, and these characteristics can be recognized. Apart
from that, also, every one knows by the taste what meat he
is eating. We go a step farther, and prove that when the
flesh of animals is assimilated by man as food, it imparts to
him, physiologically, some of the characteristics of the animal
it came from. Moreover, occult science teaches and proves
this to its students by ocular demonstration, showing also
that this "coarsening" or "animalizing" efifect on man is
greatest from the flesh of the larger animals, less for birds,
still less for fish and other cold-blooded animals, and least of
all when he eats only vegetables.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 257
Inq. Then he had better not eat at all.
Theo. If he could live without eating, of course he had. But
as the matter stands, he must eat to live, and so we advise
really earnest students to eat such food as will least clog and
weight their brains and bodies, and will have the smallest ef-
fect in hampering and retarding the development of their
intuition, their inner faculties and powers.
Inq. Then you do not adopt all the arguments which vegetarians in general
are in the habit of using?
Theo. Certainly not. Some of their arguments are very weak,
and often based on assumptions which are quite false. But,
on the other hand, many of the things they say are quite true.
For instance, we believe that much disease, and especially the
great predisposition to disease which is becoming so marked
a feature in our time, is very largely due to the eating of
meat, and especially of tinned meats. But it would take too
long to go thoroughly into this question of vegetarianism
on its merits ; so please pass on to something else.
Inq. One question more: What are your members of the Inner Section
to do with regard to their food when they are ill?
Theo. Follow the best practical advice they can get, of course.
Do you not grasp yet that we never impose any hard-and-fast
obligations in this respect? Remember once for all that in
all such questions we take a rational, and never a fanatical,
view of things. If from illness or long habit a man cannot
go without meat, why, by all means, let him eat it. It is no
crime ; it will only retard his progress a little ; for after all is
said and done, the purely bodily actions and functions are of
far less importance than what a man fhiuks and fccis; what
258 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
desires he encourages in his mind, and allows to take root and
grow there.
Inq, Then with regard to the use of wine and spirits : I suppose you do
not advise people to drink them?
ThEo. They are worse for a man's moral and spiritual growth
than meat, for alcohol in all its forms has a direct, marked
and very deleterious influence on his psychic condition. Wine
and spirit drinking is only less destructive to the development
of the inner powers than the habitual use of hashish, opium
and similar drugs.
THEOSOPHY AND MARRIAGE
Inq. Now another question: Must a man marry or remain a celibate?
ThEo. It depends on the kind of man you mean. If you refer
to one who intends to live in the world ; one who, even though
a good, earnest Theosophist, and an ardent worker for our
cause, still has ties and wishes which bind him to the world;
who, in short, does not feel that he has done forever with
what men call life, and that he desires one thing and one
thing only — to know the truth and to be able to help others
— then for such a one I say there is no reason why he should
not marry, if he likes to take the risks of that lottery where
there are so many more blanks than prizes. Surely you
cannot believe us so absurd and fanatical as to preach against
marriage altogether ? On the contrary, save in a few excep-
tional cases of practical Occultism, marriage is the only
remedy against immorality.
THE KEY TO TH BO SOPHY 250
Inq. But why cannot one acquire this knowledge and power when living
a married life?
ThEO. My dear sir, I cannot go into physiological questions with
you ; but I can give you an obvious and, I think, a sufficient
answer, which will explain to you the moral reasons we give
for it. Can a man serve two masters? No! Then it is
equally impossible for him to divide his attention between
the pursuit of Occultism and a wife. If he tries to, he will
assuredly fail in doing either properly; and, let me remind
you, practical Occultism is far too serious and dangerous a
study for a man to take up unless he is in the most deadly
earnest, and ready to sacrifice all — himself first of all — to
gain his end. But this does not apply to the members of our
Inner Section. I am only referring to those who are deter-
mined to tread that path of discipleship which leads to the
highest goal. Most, if not all, of those who join our Inner
Section are only beginners, preparing themselves in this life
to enter in reality upon that path in lives to come.
THEOSOPHY AND EDUCATION
Inq. One of your strongest arguments for the inadequacy of the existing
forms of religion in the West, as also to some extent the materialistic
philosophy which is now so popular, but which you seem to consider
as an abomination of desolation, is the large amount of misery and
wretchedness which undeniably exists, especially in our great cities.
But surely you must recognize how much has been and is being done
to remedy this state of things by the spread of education and the
diffusion of intelligence.
The;o. The future generations will hardly thank you for such a
26Q THB KBY TO THBOSOPMY
" diffusion of intelligence," nor will your present education
do much good to the poor starving masses.
Inq. Ah! but you must give us time. It is only a few years since we
began to educate the people.
ThEO. And what, pray, has your Christian religion been doing
ever since the fifteenth century, once you acknowledge that
the education of the masses has not been attempted till now
— the very work, if ever there could be one, which a Christ-
ian— i.e., a Christ-following — church and people ought to
perform?
Inq. Well, you may be right ; but now —
Theo. Just let us consider this question of education from a
broad standpoint, and I will prove to you that you are doing
harm, not good, with many of your boasted improvements.
The schools for the poorer children, though far less useful
than they ought to be, are good in contrast with the vile sur-
roundings to which they are doomed by your modern society.
The infusion of a little practical Theosophy would help a
hundred times more in life the poor suffering masses than
all this diffusion of (useless) intelligence.
Inq. But really —
ThEO. Let me finish, please. You have opened a subject on
which we Theosophists feel deeply, and I must have my say.
I quite agree that there is a great advantage to a small child
bred in the slums, having the gutter for play-ground, and liv-
mg amid continued coarseness of gesture and word, in being
placed daily in a bright, clean school-room hung with pictures,
and often gay with flowers. There it is taught to be clean,
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 261
gentle, orderly ; there it learns to sing and to play ; has toys
that awaken its intelligence; learns to use its fingers deftly;
is spoken to with a smile instead of a frown ; is gently rebuked
or coaxed instead of cursed. All this humanizes the children,
arouses their brains, and renders them susceptible to intel-
lectual and moral influences. The schools are not all they
might be and ought to be ; but compared with the homes they
are paradises; and they are slowly reacting on the homes.
But while this is true of many of the board-schools, your
system deserves the worst one can say of it.
Inq. So be it ; go on.
ThEo. What is the real object of modern education? Is it to
cultivate and develop the mind in the right direction ; to teach
the disinherited and hapless people to carry with fortitude
the burden of life (allotted them by Karma) ; to strengthen
their will ; to inculcate in them the love of one's neighbor and
the feeling of mutual interdependence and brotherhood ; and
thus to train and form the character for practical life? Not
a bit of it. And yet these are undeniably the objects of all
true education. No one denies it; all your educationalists
admit it, and talk very big indeed on the subject. But what
is the practical result of their action ? Every young man and
boy — nay, every one of the younger generation of school-
masters — will answer, " The object of modern education is
to pass examinations " — a system not to develop right emu-
lation, but to generate and breed jealousy, envy, hatred al-
most, in young people for one another, and thus train them
for a life of ferocious selfishness and struggle for honors
and emoluments instead of kindly feeling.
Inq. I must admit you are right there.
262 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
ThEo. And what are these examinations — the terror of modern
boyhood and youth? They are simply a method of classifi-
cation by which the results of your school-teaching are tabu-
lated. In other words, they form the practical application
of the modern science method to the genus homo, qua intel-
lection. Now "science" teaches that intellect is a result of the
mechanical interaction of the brain-stuff; therefore it is only
logical that modern education should be almost entirely mech-
anical— a sort of automatic machine for the fabrication of
intellect by the ton. Very little experience of examinations
is enough to show that the education they produce is simply
a training of the physical memory, and, sooner or later, all
your schools will sink to this level. As to any real, sound
cultivation of the thinking and reasoning power, it is simply
impossible while everything has to be judged by the results
as tested by competitive examinations. Again, school train-
ing is of the very greatest importance in forming character,
especially in its moral bearing. Now, from first to last, your
modern system is based on the so-called scientific revelations
— the "struggle for existence" and the "survival of the fit-
test." All through his early life every man has these driven
into him by practical example and experience, as well as by
direct teaching, till it is impossible to eradicate from his mind
the idea that " self " — the lower, personal, animal self — is
the end-all and be-all of life. Here you get the great source
of all the after-misery, crime, and heartless selfishness, which
you admit as much as I do. Selfishness, as said over and over
again, is the curse of humanity, and the prolific parent of all
the evils and crimes in this life ; and it is your schools which
are the hotbeds of such selfishness.
THE KBY To THEOSOPHV 263
Inq. That is all very fine as generalities, but I should like a few facts, and
to learn also, how all this can be remedied.
TheIo. Very well, I will try and satisfy you. There are three
great divisions of scholastic establishments — board, middle-
class, and public schools, running up the scale from the most
grossly commercial to the idealistic classical, with many per-
mutations and combinations. The practical commercial be-
gets the modern side, and the ancient and orthodox classical
reflects its heavy respectability even as far as the school-
board pupil-teacher's establishments. Here we plainly see
the scientific and material commercial supplanting the effete
orthodox and classical. Neither is the reason very far to seek.
The objects of this branch of education are, then, pounds,
shillings, and pence, the sumuium bomtui of the nineteenth
century. Thus the energies generated by the brain-molecules
of its adherents are all concentrated on one point, and are
therefore, to some extent, an organized army of educated
and speculative intellects of the minority of men, trained
against the hosts of the ignorant, simple-minded masses
doomed to be vampirized, lived and sat upon by their intellect-
ually stronger brethren. Such training is not only untheo-
sophical; it is simply unchristian. Result: the direct outcome
of this branch of education is an overflooding of the market
with money-making machines, with heartless, selfish men —
animals — who have been most carefully trained to prey on
their fellows and take advantage of the ignorance of their
weaker brethren!
Inq. Well, but you cannot assert that of our great public schools, at
any rate.
264 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Theo. Not exactly, it is true. But though the form is different,
the animating spirit is the same — untheosophical and un-
christian, whether Eton and Harrow turn out scientists or
divines and theologians.
Inq. Surely you do not mean to call Eton and Harrow "commercial" ?
Theo. No. Of course the Classical system is above all things
respectable, and in the present day is productive of some good.
It still remains the favorite at our great public schools, where
not only an intellectual, but also a social education is obtain-
able. It is therefore of prime importance that the dull boys
of aristocratic and wealthy parents should go to such schools
to meet the rest of the young life of the " blood " and money
classes. But, unfortunately, there is a huge competition
even for entrance; for the moneyed classes are increasing,
and poor but clever boys seek to enter the public schools by
the rich scholarships, both at the schools themselves and from
them to the universities.
Inq. According to this view, the wealthier "dullards" have to work even
harder than their poorer fellows.
Theo. It is so. But, strange to say, the faithful of the cult of
the ''survival of the fittest" do not practise their creed; for
their whole exertion is to make the naturally unfit supplant
the fit. Thus, by bribes of large sums of money, they allure
the best teachers from their natural pupils to mechanicalize
their naturally unfit progeny into professions which they
uselessly overcrowd.
Inq. And you attribute all this to what?
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 265
Theo. All this is owing to the perniciousness of a system which
turns out goods to order, irrespective of the natural procliv-
ities and talents of the youth. The poor little candidate for
this progressive paradise of learning comes almost straight
from the nursery to the treadmill of a preparatory school
for sons of gentlemen. Here he is immediately seized upon
by the workmen of the materio-intellectual factory, and
crammed with Latin, French, and Greek Accidence, Dates
and Tables, so that if he have any natural genius it is rapidly
squeezed out of him by the rollers of what Carlyle has so
well called " dead vocables."
Inq. But surely he is taught something besides "dead vocables," and much
of that which may lead him direct to Theosophy, if not entirely into
the Theosophical Society?
Theo. Not much. For of history he will attain only sufficient
knowledge of his own particular nation to fit him with a
steel armor of prejudice against all other peoples, and be
steeped in the foul cesspools of chronicled national hate and
bloodthirstiness ; and surely you would not call that — Tlico-
sophy?
Inq. What are your further objections?
Theo. Added to this is a smattering of selected, so-called
biblical facts, from the study of which all intellect is elim-
inated. It is simply a memory lesson, the Why of the
teacher being a Why of circumstances and not of reason.
Inq. Yes ; but I have heard you congratulate yourself at the ever-increas-
ing number of Agnostics and Atheists in our day, so that it appears
266 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
that even people trained in the system you abuse so heartily do learn
to think and reason for themselves.
Theo. Yes; but it is rather owing to a healthy reaction from
that system than due to it. We immeasurably prefer agnos-
tics, and even rank atheists, in our Society to bigots of what-
ever religion. An agnostic's mind is ever opened to the truth ;
whereas the latter blinds the bigot like the sun does an owl.
The best — i. e., the most truth-loving, philanthropic, and
honest — of our Fellows were, and are, agnostics and atheists,
in the sense of disbelievers in a personal God. But there are
no free-ih.m\dng boys and girls, and generally early training
will leave its mark behind in the shape of a cramped and dis-
torted mind. A proper and sane system of education should
produce the most vigorous and liberal mind, strictly trained
in logical and accurate thought, and not in blind faith. How
can you ever expect good results while you pervert the reason-
ing faculty of your children by bidding them believe in the
miracles of the Bible on Sunday, while for the six other days
of the week you teach them that such things are scientifically
impossible ?
Inq. What would you have, then?
Theo. If we had money we would found schools which would
turn out something else than reading and writing candidates
for starvation. Children should above all be taught self-
reliance, love for all men, altruism, mutual charity, and, more
than anything else, to think and reason for themselves. We
would reduce the purely mechanical work of the memory
to an absolute minimum, and devote the time to the develop-
ment and training of the inner senses, faculties, and latent
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY m
capacities. We would endeavor to deal with each child as a
unit, and to educate it so as to produce the most harmonious
and equal unfoldment of its powers, in order that its special
aptitudes should find their full natural development. We
would aim at creating free men and women — free intel-
lectually, free morally; unprejudiced in all respects and above
all things, unselfish. And we believe that much, if not all,
of this could be obtained by proper and truly Theosophical
education.
IVHY, THEN, IS THERE SO MUCH PREJUDICE AGAINST THE
THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY ?
Inq, If Theosophy is even half of what you say, why should there exist
such a terrible ill-feeling against it? This is even more of a problem
than anything else.
The;o. It is ; but you must bear in mind how many powerful ad-
versaries we have aroused ever since the formation of our
Society. As I just said, if the Theosophical movement were
one of those numerous modern crazes, as harmless at the end
as they are evanescent, it would be simply laughed at — as
it is now by those who still do not understand its real purport
— and left severely alone. But it is nothing of the kind.
Intrinsically, Theosophy is the most serious movement of this
age, and one, moreover, which threatens the very life of most
of the time-honored humbugs, prejudices, and social evils
of the day — those evils which fatten and make happy the
upper ten and their imitators and sycophants, the wealthy
dozens of the middle classes, while they positively crush and
268. THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
starve out of existence the millions of the poor. Think of
this, and you will easily understand the reason of such a re-
lentless persecution by those others who, more observing and
perspicacious, do see the true nature of Theosophy, and there-
fore dread it.
Inq. Do you mean to tell me that it is because a few have understood what
Theosophy leads to, that they try to crush the movement? But if
Theosophy leads only to good, surely you cannot be prepared to utter
such a terrible accusation of perfidious heartlessness and treachery
even against those few?
Theo. I am so prepared, on the contrary. I do not call the
enemies we have had to battle with during the first nine or
ten years of the Society's existence either powerful or "dan-
gerous," but only those who have arisen against us in the last
three or four years. And these neither speak, write, nor
preach against Theosophy, but work in silence and behind
the backs of the foolish puppets who act as their visible
marionettes. Yet, if invisible to most of the members of our
Society, they are well-known to the true FOUNDERS and
the PROTECTORS of our Society. But they must remain,
for certain reasons, unnamed at present.
Inq. And are they known to many of you, or to yourself alone?
TiiKo. I never said that / knew them; I may or may not know
them; but I know of them, and this is sufficient; and / defy
them to do their zvorst. They may achieve great mischief
and throw confusion into our ranks, especially among the
faint-hearted and those who can judge only by appearances.
They will not crush the Society, do what they may. Apart
from these truly dangerous enemies — dangerous, however,
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 269
only to those Theosophists who are unworthy of the name,
and whose place is rather outside than ivithin the Theosoph-
ical Society — the number of our opponents is more than
considerable.
Inq. Cannot you give me more details about these latter, so that I may
know what to answer when asked — a brief history of the Society, in
short; and why the world beHeves all this?
Thko. The reason is simple. Most outsiders know absolutely
nothing of the Society itself, its motives, objects or beliefs.
From its very beginning the world has seen in Theosophy
nothing but certain marvelous phenomena, in which two-
thirds of the non-spiritualists do not believe. Very soon the
Society came to be regarded as a body pretending to the pos-
session of "miraculous" powers. The world never realized
that the Society taught absolute disbelief in miracle or even
the possibility of such.
Inq. For what, and since when, do the Spiritualists hate you?
Thdo. From the first day of the Society's existence. No sooner
the fact became known that, as a body, the Theosophical So-
ciety did not believe in communications with the spirits of the
dead, but regarded the so-called "spirits" as, for the most
part, astral reflections of disembodied personalities, shells,
etc., than the Spiritualists conceived a violent hatred to us and
especially to the Founders. This hatred found expression
in every kind of slander, uncharitable personal remarks and
absurd misrepresentations of the Theosophical Teachings
in all the American Spiritualistic organs. For years we
were persecuted, denounced and abused. This began in
1875 and continues more or less to the present day.
270 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
Inq. But why should the clergy be hostile to you, when, after all, the main
tendency of the Theosophical doctines is opposed to Materialism, the
great enemy of all forms of religion in our day?
Theo. The clergy opposed us on the general principle that " He
who is not with me is against me." Since Theosophy does
not agree with any one Sect or Creed, it is considered the
enemy of all alike, because it teaches that they are all, more or
less, mistaken. The missionaries in India hated and tried to
crush us because they saw the flower of the educated Indian
youth, who are almost inaccessible to them, joining the So-
ciety in large numbers. And yet, apart from this general
class hatred, the Theosophical Society counts in its ranks
many clergymen, and even one or two bishops.
Inq. And what led the Society for Psychical Research to take the field
against you? You were both pursuing the same line of study, in
some respects, and several of the Psychic Researchers belonged to
your Society.
Theo. First of all we were very good friends with the leaders of
the S. P. R. ; but when the attack on the phenomena appeared
in the Christian College Magazine, supported by the pretend-
ed revelations of a menial, the S. P. R. found that they had
compromised themselves by publishing in their " Proceed-
ings " too many facts which had occurred in connection with
the Theosophical Society. Their ambition is to pose as an
authoritatii'c and strictly scientific body; so that they had to
choose between retaining that position by throwing overboard
the Theosophical Society and even trying to destroy it, and
seeing themselves merged, in the opinion of the Sadducees of
the grand monde, with the "credulous" Theosophists and
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 271
Spiritualists. There was no way for them out of it, no two
choices, and they chose to throw us overboard. It was a mat-
ter of dire necessity for them. But so hard pressed were they
to find any apparently reasonable motive for the life of devo-
tion and ceaseless labor led by the Founder, and for the com-
plete absence of any pecuniary profit or other advantage to
her, that our enemies were obliged to resort to the thrice-
absurd, eminently ridiculous, and now famous " Russian spy
theory," to explain this devotion. But the old saying, " The
blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church," proved once
more correct. After the first shock of this attack, the Theo-
sophical Society doubled and tripled its numbers, but the
bad impression produced still remains. A French author was
right in saying, " Calomniez, calomniez toujours et encore,
il en restera toujours quelque chose." Therefore it is, that
unjust prejudices are current, and that everything connected
with the Theosophical Society, and especially with H. P.
Blavatsky, its Founder, is so falsely distorted, because based
on malicious hearsay alone.
Inq. Yet in the 14 years [this was written in 1889] during which the
Society has existed, you must have had ample time and opportunity
to show yourself and your work in their true light?
ThEo. How, or when, have we been given such an opportunity?
Our most prominent members had an aversion to anything
that looked like publicly justifying themselves. Their policy
has ever been : " We must live it down ;" and " What does it
matter what the newspapers say, or people think ? " The So-
ciety was too poor to send out public lecturers, and therefore
the expositions of our views and doctrines were confined to
272 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
a few Theosophical works that met with success, but which
people often misunderstood, or only knew of through hear-
say. Our journals were, and still are, boycotted ; our literary
works ignored; and to this day [1889] no one seems even to
feel quite certain whether the Theosophists are a kind of Ser-
pent-and-Devil worshippers, or simply " Esoteric Buddhists "
— whatever that may mean. It was useless for us to go on
denying, day after day and year after year, every kind of in-
conceivable cock-and-bull stories about us ; for, no sooner was
one disposed of, than another, a still more absurd and mal-
icious one, was born out of the ashes of the first. Unfortun-
ately, human nature is so constituted that any good said of a
person is immediately forgotten and never repeated. But
one has only to utter a calumny, or to start a story — no
matter how absurd, false or incredible it may be, if only con-
nected with some unpopular character — for it to be success-
ful and forthwith accepted as a historical fact. Like Don
Basilio's "Calumnia/" the rumor springs up, at first, as a
soft gentle breeze hardly stirring the grass under your feet,
and arising no one knows whence ; then, in the shortest space
of time, it is transformed into a strong wind, begins to blow
a gale, and forthwith becomes a roaring storm ! A calumny
among news is what an octopus is among fishes ; it sucks into
one's mind, fastens upon our memory, which feeds upon it,
leaving indelible marks even after the calumny has been bodily
destroyed. A calumnious lie is the only masterkey that will
open any and every brain. It is sure to receive welcome and
hospitality in every human mind, the highest as the lowest,
if only a little prejudiced, and no matter from however base
a quarter and motive it has started.
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 273
Inq. Don't you think your assertion altogether too sweeping? The Eng-
Hshman has never been over-ready to beheve in anything said, and
our nation is proverbially known for its love of fair play. A lie has
no legs to stand upon for long, and —
ThEo. The Englishman is as ready to beheve evil as a man of
any other nation; for it is human nature, and not a national
feature. As to lies, if they have no legs to stand upon, ac-
cording to the proverb, they have exceedingly rapid wings;
and they can and do fly farther and wider than any other
kind of news, in England as elsewhere. Remember lies and
calumny are the only kind of literature we can always get
gratis, and without paying any subscription. We can make
the experiment if you like. Will you, who are so interested
in Theosophical matters, and have heard so much about us,
will you put me questions on as many of these rumors and
" hearsays " as you can think of ? I will answer you the truth,
and nothing but the truth, subject to the strictest verification.
Inq. Before we change the subject, let us have the whole truth on this
one. Now, some writers have called your teachings "immoral and
pernicious ;" others, on the ground that many so-called "authorities"
and Orientalists find in the Indian religions nothing but sex-worship
in its many forms, accuse you of teaching nothing better than Phallic
worship. They say that since modern Theosophy is so closely allied
with Eastern thought, it cannot be free from this taint. Occasionally,
even, they go so far as to accuse European Theosophists of reviving
the practices connected with this cult. How about this?
Theo. I have heard and read about this before; and I answer
that no more utterly baseless and lying calumny has ever been
invented and circulated. " Silly people can see but silly
dreams," says a Russian proverb. It makes one's blood boil
to hear such vile accusations made without the slightest foun-
274 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
dation, and on the strength of mere inferences. Ask the
hundreds of honorable men and women who have been mem-
bers of the Theosophical Society for years whether an im-
moral precept or a pernicious doctrine was ever taught to
them. Open The Secret Doctrine, and you will find page
after page denouncing those who adopt Phallic rites, due to
the dead letter interpretation of nature symbolism, and the
grossly materialistic conceptions of her dualism in all the
exoteric creeds. Such ceaseless and malicious misrepresent-
ation of our teachings and beliefs is really disgraceful.
Inq. But you cannot deny that the Phallic element does exist in the relig-
ions of the East?
Theo. Nor do I deny it; only I maintain that this proves no
more than does its presence in Christianity, the religion of the
West. Read Hargrave Jennings' Rosicrucians, if you would
assure yourself of it. In the East, the Phallic symbolism is,
perhaps, more crude, because more true to nature, or, I would
rather say, more ndive and sincere than in the West. But it
is not more licentious, nor does it suggest to the Oriental mind
the same gross and coarse ideas as to the Western, with
perhaps, one or two exceptions, such as the shameful sect
known as the " Maharaja," or Vallahacharya sect.
Inq. a writer in the Agnostic Journal — one of your accusers — has just
hinted that the followers of this disgraceful sect are Theosophists,
and " claim true Theosophic insight."
Theo. He wrote a falsehood, and that's all. There never was,
nor is there at present, one single Vallahacharya in our
Society. As to their having, or claiming Theosophic insight,
that is another fib, based on crass ignorance about the Indian
Sects. Their " Maharaja " only claims a right to the money,
THE KHY TO THEOSOPHY 275
wives and daughters of his foohsh followers and no more.
This sect is despised by all the other Hindiis.
But you will find the whole subject dealt with at length in
The Secret Doctrine, to which I must again refer you for
detailed explanations. To conclude, the very soul of Theo-
sophy is dead against Phallic worship; and its occult or eso-
teric section even more so than the exoteric teachings. There
never was a more lying statement made than the above. And
now ask me some other questions.
Inq. I have heard many Theosophists speak of a " power behind the So-
ciety," and of certain " Mahatmas," that are said to have founded the
Society, to watch over and protect it.
Theo. You may laugh, but it is so.
Inq. These men, I have heard, are great Adepts, Alchemists, and what not.
If, then, they can change lead into gold and make as much money as
they like, besides doing all kinds of miracles at will, why do not they
find you money, and support the Founders and the Society in comfort?
Theo. Because they did not found a " miracle club." Because
the Society is intended to help men to develop the powers lat-
ent in them through their own exertions and merit. Because
whatever they may or may not produce in the way of pheno-
mena, they are not false coiners; nor would they throw an
additional and very strong temptation on the path of mem-
bers and candidates: TJieosophy is not to be bought. Hith-
erto, not a single working member has ever received pay or
salary from either the Masters or the Society.
Inq. And now please tell me all you can about the Mahatmas. So many ab-
surd and contradictory things are said about them, that one does not
know what to believe, and all sorts of ridiculous stories become current.
Theo. Well may you call them " ridiculous! "
276 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV
XIV
THE THEOSOPHICAL " MAHATMAS "
ARE THEY "SPIRITS OF LIGHT" OR "GOBLINS DAMN'D" ?
Inq. Who are, then, those whom you call your " Masters " ? Some say
they are " Spirits," or some other kind of supernatural beings, while
others call them "myths."
ThEo. They are neither. I once heard one outsider say to an-
other that they were a sort of male mermaids, whatever such
a creature may be. But if you Hsten to what people say you
will never have a true conception of them. In the first place,
they are living men, born as we are born, and doomed to die
like every other mortal.
Inq. Yes, but it is rumored that some of them are a thousand years old.
Is this true?
Thko. As true as the miraculous growth of hair on the head of
Meredith's Shagpat. Truly, like the " Identical," no Theo-
sophical shaving has hitherto been able to crop it. The more
we deny them, the more we try to set people right, the more
absurd do the inventions become. I have heard of Methu-
selah being 969 years old; but, not being forced to believe
in it, have laughed at the statement, for which I was forth-
with regarded by many as a blasphemous heretic.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 277
Inq. Seriously, though, do they outHve the ordinary age of men?
The;o. What do you call the ordinary age? I remember read-
ing in the Lancet of a Mexican who was almost 190 years
old ; but I have never heard of mortal man, layman or Adept,
who could live even half the years allotted to Methuselah.
Some Adepts do exceed, by a good deal, what you would call
the ordinary age; yet there is nothing miraculous in it, and
very few of them care to live very long.
Inq. But what does the word " Mahatma " really mean ?
ThDo. Simply " great soul " — great through moral elevation
and intellectual attainment. If the title of '' great " is given
to a drunken soldier like Alexander, why should we not call
those " Great " who have achieved far greater conquests in
Nature's secrets than Alexander ever did on the field of
battle? Besides, the term is an Indian and a very old word.
Inq. And why do you call them " Masters " ?
The:o. We call them " Masters " because they are our teachers,
and because from them we have derived all the Theosophical
truths, however inadequately some of us may have expressed,
and others understood them. They are men of great learning
and still greater holiness of life, whom we term Initiates.
They are not ascetics in the ordinary sense, though they cer-
tainly remain apart from the turmoil and strife of your
Western world.
Inq. But is it not selfish thus to isolate themselves?
Theo. Where is the selfishness? Does not the fate of the
Theosophical Society sufficiently prove that the world is
neither ready to recognize them nor to profit by their teach-
278 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
ing? Of what use would Professor Clerk Maxwell have
been to instruct a class of little boys in their multiplication
table? Besides, they isolate themselves only from the West.
In their own country they go about as publicly as other
people do.
Inq. Don't you ascribe to them supernatural powers?
ThEo. We believe in nothing supernatural, as I have told you
already. Had Edison lived and invented his phonograph
two hundred years ago he would most probably have been
burned along with it, and the whole attributed to the devil.
The powers which they exercise are simply the development
of potencies lying latent in every man and woman, and the
existence of which even official science begins to recognize.
Inq. Is it true that these men inspire some of your writers, and that many,
if not all, of your Theosophical works were written under their
dictation ?
Theo. Some of them have done so. There are passages en-
tirely dictated by them verbatim ; but in most cases they only
inspire the ideas, and leave the literary form to the writers.
Inq. But this in itself is miraculous ; is, in fact, a miracle. How can they
do it?
Theo. My dear sir, you are laboring under a great mistake, and
it is science itself that will refute your arguments at no dis-
tant day. Why should it be a "miracle," as you call it? A
miracle is supposed to be some operation which is supernat-
ural, whereas there is really nothing above or beyond Nature
and Nature's laws. Among the many forms of the "miracle"
which have come under modern scientific recognition there is
THE KEY TO TH^OSOPHY in
hypnotism ;^^ and one phase of its power is known as "sugges-
tion," a form of thought transference, which has been suc-
cessfully used in combating particular physical diseases, etc.
The time is not far distant when the World of Science will
be forced to acknowledge that there exists as much inter-
action between one mind and another, no matter at what
distance, as between one body and another in closest contact.
When two minds are sympathetically related, and the instru-
ments through which they function are tuned to respond mag-
netically and electrically to one another, there is nothing
which will prevent the transmission of thoughts from one
to the other at will ; for since the mind is not of such a tan-
gible nature that distance can divide it from the subject of its
contemplation, it follows that the only difference that can
exist between two minds is a difference of state. So if
this latter hindrance is overcome, where is the ''miracle" of
tJiought-fransference, at whatever distance?
Inq. But you will admit that hypnotism does nothing so miraculous or
wonderful as that?
Theo. On the contrary, it is a well-established fact that a hyp-
notist can affect the brain of his subject so far as to produce
an expression of his own thoughts, and even his words,
through the organism of his subject ; and although the phen-
omena attaching to this method of actual thought-transfer-
ence are as yet few in number, no one, I presume, will under-
take to say how far their action may extend in the future,
62. [H. P. Blavatsky never failed to point out the danger and pernicious effects of
the practice of hypnotism. All faithful students of Theosophy follow her and
her successors in their protest against the teaching and practice of it]
280 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHV
when the laws that govern their production are more scien-
tifically established. And so, if such results can be produced
by the knowledge of the mere rudiments of hypnotism, what
can prevent the Adept in psychic and spiritual powers from
producing results which, with your present limited knowledge
of these laws, you are inclined to call " miraculous " ?
Inq. Then why do not our physicians experiment and try if they could not
do as much?"
Theo. Because, first of all, they are not Adepts, with a thorough
understanding of the secrets and laws of psychic and spir-
itual realms, but materialists, afraid to step outside the nar-
row groove of matter; and secondly, because they must fail
at present, and indeed until they are brought to acknow-
ledge that such powers are attainable.
Inq. And could they be taught?
Theo. Not unless they were first of all prepared, by having the
materialistic dross they have accumulated in their brains
swept away to the very last atom.
Inq. This is very interesting. Tell me, have the Adepts thus inspired or
dictated to many of your Theosophists ?
Theo. No; on the contrary, to very few. Such operations
require special conditions. An unscrupulous but skilled Adept
of the " Black Brotherhood " — " Brothers of the Shadow,"
63. Such, for instance, as Professor Bernheim and Dr. C. Lloyd Tuckey, of England;
Professors Beaunis and Liegeois, of Nancy; Delboeuf, of Liege; Burot and
Bourru, of Rochefort; Fontain and Sigard, of Bordeaux; Forel, of Zurich;
and Drs. Despine, of Marseilles ; Van Renterghem and Van Eeden, of Am-
sterdam; Wetterstrand, of Stockholm; Schrenck-Notzing, of Leipzig; and many
other physicians and writers of eminence.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 281
and Dugpas, we call them — has far less difficulties to labor
under. For, having no laws of a Spiritual nature to trammel
his actions, such a Dugpa "sorcerer" will most unceremoni-
ously obtain control over any mind, and subject it entirely to
his evil powers. But our Teachers will never do that. They
have no right — if they would escape falling into Black Ma-
gic— to obtain entire mastery over anyone's immortal Ego,
and can therefore act only on the physical and psychic nature
of the subject, leaving thereby the free will of the latter whol-
ly undisturbed. Hence, unless a person has been brought
into psychic relationship with the Teachers, and is assist-
ed by virtue of his full faith in and devotion to his teachers,
the latter, whenever transmitting their thoughts to one with
whom these conditions are not fulfilled, experience great
difficulties in penetrating into the cloudy chaos of that per-
son's sphere. But this is no place to treat of a subject of this
nature. Suffice it to say that if the power exists, then there
are Intelligences (embodied or disembodied) which guide
this power, and living, conscious instruments through whom
it is transmitted and by whom it is received. We have only
to beware of Black magic.
Inq. But what do you really mean by " black magic " ?
Theo. Simply abuse of psychic powers, or of any secret of
nature; the fact of applying to selfish and sinful ends the
powers of Occultism. A hypnotizer who, taking advantage
of his powers of " suggestion," forced a subject to steal or
murder would be called by us a black magician. The famous
"rejuvenating system" of Dr. Brown-Sequard, of Paris,
through a loathsome animal injection into human blood —
282 THE KBY TO TM^OSOPHY
a discovery all the medical papers of Europe are now discus-
sing— if true, is unconscious black magic.
Inq. But this is mediaeval belief in witchcraft and sorcery! Even the
law itself has ceased to believe in such things.
Theo. So much the worse for the law, as it has been led,
through such lack of discrimination, into committing more
than one judiciary mistake and crime. It is the term alone
that frightens you with its "superstitious" ring in it. Would
not law punish an abuse of hypnotic powers, as I just men-
tioned? Nay, it has so punished it already in France and
Germany; yet it would indignantly deny that it applied pun-
ishment to a crime of evident sorcery. You cannot believe
in the efficacy and reality of the powers of suggestion by
physicians and mesmerizers or hypnotizers,^'* and then refuse
to believe in the same powers when used for evil motives.
And if you do, then you believe in sorcery! You cannot be-
lieve in good and disbelieve in evil, accept genuine money
and refuse to credit such a thing as false coin. Nothing can
exist without its contrast; and no day, no light, no good,
could have any representation as such in your consciousness
were there no night, no darkness, no evil, to offset and con-
trast them.
Inq. Indeed, I have known men who, while thoroughly believing in that
which you call great psychic or magic powers, laughed at the very
mention of Witchcraft and Sorcery.
Theo. What does it prove? Simply that they are illogical. So
much the worse for them, again. And we, knowing as we
64. [More often than not unconscious diabolism.]
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 283
do of the existence of good and holy Adepts, believe as thor-
oughly in the existence of bad and unholy Adepts, or —
Dug pas.
Inq. But if the Masters exist, why do they not come out before all men
and refute once for all the many charges which are made against
Madame Blavatsky and the Society?
ThEo. What charges?
Inq. That they do not exist, and that she has invented them. That they
are men of straw, " Mahatmas of muslin and bladders." Does not
all this injure her reputation?
ThEo. In what way can such an accusation injure her in reality?
Did she ever make money on their presumed existence, or
derive benefit or fame therefrom? I answer that she has
gained only insults, abuse, and calumnies, which would have
been very painful had she not learned long ago to remain
perfectly indififerent to such false charges. For what does
it amount to after all? Why, to an implied compliment,
which, if the fools, her accusers, were not carried away by
their blind hatred, they would have thought twice before
uttering. To say that she invented the Masters comes to
this: that she must have invented every bit of philosophy
that has ever been given out in Theosophical literature. She
must be the author of the letters from which some of the
earlier works were written; the sole inventor of every tenet
found in The Secret Doctrine, which, if the world were just,
would be recognized as supplying many of the missing links
of science, as will be discovered a hundred years hence. By
saying what they do they are also giving her the credit of
being far cleverer than the hundreds of men (many very
284 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
clever, and not a few scientific men) who believe in what
she says — inasmuch as she must have fooled them all! If
they speak the truth, then she must be several Mahatmas
rolled into one, like a nest of Chinese boxes ; since among the
so-called " Mahatma letters " are many in totally different
and distinct styles, all of which her accusers declare that she
has written.
Inq. It is just what they say. But is it not very painful to her to be
publicly denounced as " the most accomplished impostor of the age,
whose name deserves to pass to posterity," as is done in the Report
of the " Society for Psychical Research " ?
TiiEo. It might be painful if it were true, or came from people
less rabidly materialistic and prejudiced. As it is, person-
ally she treats the whole matter with contempt, while the
Mahatmas simply laugh at it. In truth, it is the greatest
compliment that could be paid to her. I say so, again.
Inq. But her enemies claim to have proved their case.
Theo. Aye, it is easy enough to make such a claim when you
have constituted yourself judge, jury, and prosecuting coun-
sel at once, as they did. But who, except their direct follow-
ers and our enemies, believe in it?
Inq. But they sent a representative to India to investigate the matter,
didn't they ?
Thko. They did, and their final conclusion rests entirely on the
unchecked statements and unverified assertions of this young
gentleman. A lawyer who read through his report told a
friend of mine that in all his experience he had never seen
" such a ridiculous and self -condemnatory document." It
THE KEY TO THHOSOPHY 285
was found to be full of suppositions and "working hypo-
theses" which mutually destroyed each other. Is this a
serious charge?
Inq. Yet it has done the Society great harm. Why, then, did she not
vindicate her own character, at least, before a Court of Law?
Theo. Firstly, because as a Theosophist, it is her duty to leave
unheeded all personal insults. Secondly, because neither the
Society nor Mme. Blavatsky had any money to waste over
such a law-suit. And lastly, because it would have been
ridiculous for both to be untrue to their principles, because
of an attack made on them by a flock of stupid old British
wethers, who had been led to butt at them by an over-f rolick-
some lambkin from Australia.
Inq. This is complimentary. But do you not think that it would have
done real good to the cause of Theosophy, if she had authoritatively
disproved the whole thing once for all?
ThEO. Perhaps. But do you believe that any English jury or
judge would have ever admitted the reality of psychic phe-
nomena, even if entirely unprejudiced beforehand? And
when you remember that they would have been set against
us already by the '* Russian Spy " scare, the charges of
Atheism and infidelity, and all the other calumnies that have
been circulated against us, you cannot fail to see that such
an attempt to obtain justice in a Court of Law would have
been worse than fruitless ! All this the Psychic Researchers
knew well, and they took a base and mean advantage of their
position to raise themselves above our heads and save them-
selves at our expense.
286 THE KBY TO THBOSOPHY
Inq, The S. P. R. now denies completely the existence of the Mahatmas.
They say that from beginning to end they were a romance which
Madame Blavatsky has woven from her own brain?
Theo. Well, she might have done many things less clever than
this. At any rate, we have not the slightest objection to
this theory. As she always says now, she almost prefers that
people should not believe in the Masters. She declares openly
that she would rather people should seriously think that the
only *' Mahatma-land " is the gray matter of her brain, and
that, in short, she has evolved them out of the depths of her
own inner consciousness, than that their names and grand
ideal should be so infamously desecrated as they are at pre-
sent. At first she used to protest indignantly against any
doubts as to their existence. Now she never goes out of her
way to prove or disprove it. Let people think what they like.
Inq. But of course, these Masters do exist?
ThKO. We affirm they do. Nevertheless, this does not help
much. Many people, even some Theosophists and ex-Theo-
sophists, say that they have never had any proof of their
existence. Very well; then Mme. Blavatsky replies with
this alternative: — If she has invented them, then she has
also invented their philosophy and the practical knowledge
which some few have acquired ; and if so, what does it matter
whether they do exist or not, since she herself is here, and
her oivn existence, at any rate, can hardly be denied? If
the knowledge supposed to have been imparted by them is
good intrinsically, and it is accepted as such by many persons
of more than average intelligence, why should there be
such a hullabaloo made over that question? The fact of
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHV 287
her being an impostor has never been proved, and will
always remain siih judice; whereas it is a certain and un-
deniable fact that, by whomsoever invented, the philosophy
preached by the " Masters " is one of the grandest and most
beneficent philosophies once it is properly understood. Thus
the slanderers, while moved by the lowest and meanest feel-
ings— those of hatred, revenge, malice, wounded vanity,
or disappointed ambition — seem quite unaware that they
are paying the greatest tribute to her intellectual powers.
So be it, if the poor fools will have it so. Really, Mme.
Blavatsky has not the slightest objection to being repre-
sented by her enemies as a triple Adept, and a " Mahatma"
to boot. It is only her unwillingness to pose in her own
sight as a crow parading in peacock's feathers that compels
her to this day to insist upon the truth.
Inq. But if you have such wise and good men to guide the Society, how
is it that so many mistakes have been made?
ThEO. The Masters do not guide the Society, not even the
Founders; and no one has ever asserted that they did; they
only watch over and protect it. This is amply proved by
the fact that no mistakes have been able to cripple it, and
no scandals from within, nor the most damaging attacks
from without, have been able to overthrow it. The Masters
look at the future, not at the present, and every mistake is
so much more accumulated wisdom for days to come. That
other " Master " who sent the man with the five talents did
not tell him how to double them, nor did he prevent the
foolish servant from burying his one talent in the earth.
Each must acquire wisdom by his own experience and mer-
288 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
its. The Christian Churches, who claim a far higher " Mas-
ter," the very Holy Ghost itself, have ever been and are
still guilty not only of "mistakes," but of a series of bloody
crimes throughout the ages. Yet no Christian would deny,
for all that, his belief in that " Master," I suppose? although
his existence is far more hypothetical than that of the Ma-
hatmas; as no one has ever seen the Holy Ghost, and his
guidance of the Church, moreover, their own ecclesiastical
history directly contradicts. Errare humanum est. Let us
return to our subject.
THE ABUSE OF SACRED NAMES AND TERMS
Inq. Then, what I have heard, namely, that many of your Theosophical
writers claim to have been inspired by these Masters, or to have seen
and conversed with them, is not true?
Theo. The tree is known by its fruits; and as all Theosophists
have to be judged by their deeds and not by what they write
or say, so all Theosophical books must be accepted on their
merits, and not according to any claim to authority which
they may put forward.
Inq. But would Madame Blavatsky apply this to her own works — The
Secret Doctrine, for instance?
Theo. Certainly; she says expressly in the preface that she
gives out the doctrines that she has learned from the Teach-
ers, but claims no inspiration whatever for what she has
lately written. As for our best Theosophists, they would also,
in this case, far rather that the names of the Teachers had
never been mixed up with our books in any way. With few
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 289
exceptions, most of such works are not only imperfect, but
positively erroneous and misleading. Great are the desecra-
tions to which the names of two of the Teachers have been
subjected. There is hardly a medium who has not claimed
to have seen them. Every bogus swindling society, for com-
mercial purposes, now claims to be guided and directed by
" Masters," often supposed to be far higher than ours ! Many
and heavy are the sins of those who have advanced these
claims, prompted either by desire for lucre, vanity, or ir-
responsible mediumship. Many persons have been plundered
of their money by such societies, which offer to sell the secrets
of power, knowledge and spiritual truth for worthless gold.
Worst of all, the sacred names of Occultism and the holy
keepers thereof have been dragged in this filthy mire, pol-
luted by being associated with sordid motives and immoral
practices, while thousands of men have been held back from
the path of truth and light through the discredit and evil
report which such shams, swindles, and frauds have brought
upon the whole subject. I say again, every earnest Theo-
sophist regrets today, from the bottom of his heart, that these
sacred names and things have ever been mentioned before
the public, and fervently wishes that they had been kept
secret within a small circle of trusted and devoted friends.
Inq. The names certainly do occur very frequently now-a-days, and I
never remember hearing of such persons as " Masters " till quite
recently.
ThEO. It is so; and had we acted on the wise principle of
silence, instead of publishing all we knew, such desecration
would never have occurred. Behold, only fourteen years
ago, before the Theosophical Society was fovmded, all the
290 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
talk was of " Spirits." They were everywhere, in every-
one's mouth ; and no one by any chance even dreamt of talk-
ing about living ''Adepts," " Mahatmas," or ''Masters."
One hardly heard even the name of the Rosicrucians, while
the existence of such a thing as " Occultism " was suspected
even but by very few. Now all that is changed. We Theo-
sophists were, unfortunately, the first to talk of these things,
to make the fact of the existence in the East of "Adepts "
and " Masters " and Occult knowledge known; and now the
name has become common property. It is on us, now, that
the Karma, the consequences of the resulting desecration
of holy names and things, has fallen. All that you now
find about such matters in current literature — and there is
not a little of it — all is to be traced back to the impulse
given in this direction by the Theosophical Society and its
Founders. Our enemies profit to this day by it. The most
recent book directed against our teachings is alleged to have
been written by an Adept of tzventy years' standing. Now,
it is a palpable lie. We know the amanuensis and his inspir-
ers (as he is himself too ignorant to have written anything of
the sort). These "inspirers" are living persons, revengeful
and unscrupulous in proportion to their intellectual powers;
and these bogus Adepts are not one, but several. The cycle
of "Adepts," used as sledge-hammers to break the theosoph-
ical heads with, began twelve years ago, with Mrs. Emma
Hardinge Britten's " Louis " of Art Magic and Ghost-Land,
and now ends with the " Adept " and " Author " of The
Light of Egypt, a work written by Spiritualists against Theo-
sophy and its teachings. But it is useless to grieve over
what is done, and we can only suffer in the hope that our in-
THE KHV TO THEOSOPHY 2^1
discretions may have made it a little easier for others to find
the way to these Masters, whose names are now everywhere
taken in vain, and under cover of which so many iniquities
have already been perpetrated.
Inq. Do you reject "Louis" as an Adept?
Theo. We denounce no one, leaving this noble task to our
enemies. The spiritualistic author of Art Magic, etc., may
or may not have been acquainted with such an Adept — and
saying this, I say far less than what that lady has said and
written about us and Theosophy for the last few years —
that is her own business. Only when, in a solemn scene of
mystic vision, an alleged " Adept " sees " spirits " presum-
ably at Greenwich, England, through Lord Rosse's telescope,
which was built in, and never moved from, Parsonstown,
Ireland," I may well be permitted to wonder at the ignorance
of that " Adept " in matters of science. This beats all the
mistakes and blunders committed at times by the chelds of
our Teachers ! And it is this " Adept " that is used now to
break the teachings of our Masters !
Inq. I quite understand your feeling in this matter, and think it only
natural. And now, in view of all that you have said and explained
to me, there is one subject on which I should like to ask you a few
questions.
Th^o. If I can answer them I will. What is that?
65. Vide, Ghost Land, part I, p. 133 et seq.
292 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV
CONCLUSION
THB FUTURE OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
Inq. Tell me, what do you expect for Theosophy in the future?
Thdo. If you speak of Theosophy, I answer that, as it has
existed eternally throughout the endless cycles upon cycles
of the Past, so it will ever exist throughout the infinitudes
of the Future, because Theosophy is synonymous with
EvERiyASTiNG Truth.
Inq. Pardon me; I meant to ask you rather about the prospects of the
Theosophical Society.
ThEo. Its future will depend almost entirely upon the degree
of selflessness, earnestness, devotion, and last, but not least,
on the amount of knowledge and wisdom possessed by those
on whom it will fall to carry on the work and to direct the
Society after the death of the founder.
Inq. I quite see the importance of their being selfless and devoted, but I
do not quite grasp how their knowledge can be as vital a factor in
the question as these other qualities. Surely the literature which al-
ready exists, and to which constant additions are being made, ought
to be sufficient.
Theo. I do not refer to technical knowledge of the esoteric
doctrine, though that is most important; I spoke rather of
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 293
the great need which the successors in the guidance of the
Society will have of unbiased and clear judgment. Every
such attempt as the Theosophical Society has hitherto ended
in failure, because, sooner or later, it has degenerated into a
sect, set up hard-and-fast dogmas of its own, and so lost by
imperceptible degrees that vitality which living truth alone
can impart. You must remember that all our members have
been bred and born in some creed or religion ; that all are more
or less of their generation, both physically and mentally ; and
consequently that their judgment is but too likely to be
warped and unconsciously biased by some or all of these in-
fluences. If, then, they cannot be freed from such inherent
bias, or at least taught to recognize it instantly and so avoid
being led away by it, the result can only be that the Society
will drift ofif on to some sandbank of thought or another, and
there remain, a stranded carcase, to molder and die.
Inq. But if this danger be averted?
ThEo. Then the Society will live on into and through the twen-
tieth century. It will gradually leaven and permeate the great
mass of thinking and intelligent people with its large-minded
and noble ideas of religion, duty, and philanthropy. Slowly
but surely it will burst asunder the iron fetters of creeds and
dogmas, of social and caste prejudices; it will break down
racial and national antipathies and barriers, and will open
the way to the practical realization of the Brotherhood of
all men. Through its teaching, through the philosophy which
it has rendered accessible and intelligible to the modern mind
the West will learn to understand and appreciate the East
at its true value. Further, the development of the psychic
294 THB KEY TO THBOSOPHY
powers and faculties, the premonitory symptoms of which
are already visible in America, will proceed healthily and
normally. Mankind will be saved from the terrible dangers,
both mental and bodily, which are inevitable when that un-
folding takes place, as it threatens to do, in a hotbed of self-
ishness and all evil passions. Man's mental and psychic
growth will proceed in harmony with his moral improvement,
while his material surroundings will reflect the peace and
fraternal goodwill which will reign in his mind, instead of
the discord and strife which are everywhere apparent around
us today.
Inq. a truly delightful picture ! But tell me, do you really expect all this
to be accomplished in one short century?
Thko. Scarcely. But I must tell you that during the last
quarter of every hundred years an attempt is made by those
Teachers of whom I have spoken, to help on the spiritual
progress of humanity in a marked and definite way. Toward
the close of each century you will invariably find that an out-
pouring or upheaval of spirituality — or call it Mysticism,
if you prefer — has taken place. Some one or more persons
have appeared in the world as their agents, and a greater or
less amount of occult knowledge and teaching has been given
out. If you care to do so, you can trace these movements
back, century by century, as far as our detailed historical
records extend.
Inq. But how does this bear on the future of the Theosophical Society?
Theo. If the present attempt, in the form of our Society, suc-
ceeds better than its predecessors have done, then it will be in
existence as an organized, living, and healthy body when the
THE KEY TO TH BO SOPHY 295
time comes for the effort of the twentieth century. The
general condition of men's minds and hearts will have been
improved and purified by the spread of its teachings and,
as I have said, their prejudices and dogmatic illusions will
have been, to some extent at least, removed. Not only so,
but besides a large and accessible literature ready to men's
hands, the next impulse will find a numerous and united body
of people ready to welcome the new torch-bearer of Truth.
He will find the minds of men prepared for his message, a
language ready for him in which to clothe the new truths he
brings, an organization awaiting his arrival, which will re-
move the merely mechanical, material obstacles and difficul-
ties from his path. Think how much one to whom such an
opportunity is given could accomplish. Measure it by com-
parison with what the Theosophical Society actually has
achieved in the last fourteen years, without any of these ad-
vantages, and surrounded by hosts of hindrances which would
not hamper this new leader. Consider all this, and then tell
me whether I am too sanguine when I say that if the Theo-
sophical Society survives and lives true to its mission, to its
original impulses through the next hundred years — tell me,
I say, if I go too far in asserting that earth will be a heaven
in the twenty-first century in comparison with what it is now !
FINIS
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
Absoluteness. When predicated of the Universal Principle, it denotes
an abstraction, which is more correct and logical than to apply the
adjective "absolute" to that which can have neither attributes nor
limitations.
Adam Kadmon (Heb.). Archetypal Man, humanity. The "heavenly
Man" not fallen into sin, Kabalists refer it to the ten Sephiroth
on the plane of human perception. In the Kabalah Adam Kadmon
is the manifested logos corresponding to our third logos, the unmani-
fested being the first paradigmic, ideal Man, and symbolizing the
universe in abscondito, or in its "privation" in the Aristotelian sense.
The first logos is the " light of the world," the second and the third
its gradually deepening shadows.
Adept (Lat. adeptus). In Occultism, one who has reached the stage of
initiation and become a Master in the science of Esoteric Philosophy.
JEtHtR (Gr.). With the ancients, the divine luminiferous substance which
pervades the whole universe ; the " garment " of the supreme deity,
Zeus or Jupiter. With the moderns, ether, for the meaning of which,
in physics and chemistry, see Webster's or some other dictionary.
In esotericism aether is the third principle of the cosmic septenary,
matter (earth) being the lowest, and akasha the highest.
Agathon (Gr.). Plato's supreme deity — lit., the "Good." Our alaya
or the " soul of the world,"
300 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
Agnostic. A word first used by Professor Huxley to indicate one who
believes nothing which cannot be demonstrated by the senses.
Ahankara {Sans.). The conception of "I," self-consciousness or self-
identity ; the " I," or egoistical and mayavic principle in man, due
to our ignorance, which separates our " I " from the Universal OnE-
Self. Personality ; egoism also.
AiN SuPH (Heb.). The "boundless" or "limitless" Deity emanating
and extending. Ain Suph is also written En Soph and Ain Soph ;
for no one, not even the rabbis, is quite sure of the vowels. In the
religious metaphysics of the old Hebrew philosophers the One Prin-
ciple was an abstraction like Parahrahman, though modern Kabalists
have succeeded by mere dint of sophistry and paradoxes in making
a " Supreme God " of it, and nothing higher. But with the early
Chaldsean Kabalists Ain Suph was " without form or being," with
"no likeness with anything else." (Franck's Die Kabbah, p. 126.).
That Ain Suph has never been considered as the "creator" is proved
conclusively by the fact that such an orthodox Jew as Philo gives
the name of "creator" to the logos, who stands next the " Limitless
One " and is the " second God." " The second God is in its [Ain
Suph's] wisdom," says Philo. Deity is no-Thing; it is nameless, and
therefore called Ain Suph — the word ain meaning nothing. (See
also Franck, ibid., p. 153.).
Alchemy (in Arabic Ul-Khemi) is, as the name suggests, the chemistry
of nature. Ul-Khemi or Al-Kimia, however, is really an Arabianized
word, taken from the Greek x^M"»' from x^/^°^' " juice," extracted
from a plant. Alchemy deals with the finer forces of Nature and
the various conditions of matter in which they are found to operate.
Seeking under the veil of language more or less artificial to convey
to the uninitiated so much of the mysterium magnum as is safe in
the hands of a selfish world, the Alchemist postulates as his first prin-
ciple the existence of a certain universal solvent in the homogeneous
substance from which the elements were evolved, which substance
he calls pure gold, or summum materice. This solvent, also called
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 301
menstruum universale, possesses the power of removing all the seeds
of disease from the human body, of renewing youth and prolonging
life. Such is the lapis philosophorum (philosopher's stone). Alchemy
first penetrated into Europe through Geber, the great Arabian sage
and philosopher, in the eighth century of our era; but it was known
and practised long ages ago in China and Egypt. Numerous papyri
on Alchemy, and other proofs that it was the favorite study of kings
and priests, have been exhumed, and preserved under the generic
name of Hermetic treatises. Alchemy is studied under three distinct
aspects, which admit of many different interpretations, viz., the cosmic,
the human, and the terrestrial.
These three methods were typified under the three alchemical proper-
ties— sulphur, mercury, and salt. Different writers have stated that
there are three, seven, ten, and twelve processes, respectively; but
they are all agreed there is but one object in Alchemy, which is to
transmute gross metals into pure gold. But what that gold really is
very few people understand correctly. No doubt there is such a thing
in Nature as transmutation of the baser metal into the nobler; but
this is only one aspect of Alchemy — the terrestrial or purely material,
for we see the same process taking place in the bowels of the earth.
Yet, besides and beyond this interpretation, there is in Alchemy a sym-
bolical meaning, purely psychic and spiritual. While the Kabalist-
Alchemist seeks for the realization of the former, the Occultist- Al-
chemist, spurning the gold of the earth, gives all his attention to, and
directs his efforts only toward, the transmutation of the baser quater-
nary into the divine upper trinity of man, which, when finally blended,
are one. The spiritual, mental, psychic, and physical planes of human
existence are in Alchemy compared to the four elements, fire, air,
water, and earth, and are each capable of a threefold constitution,
i. e., fixed, unstable and volatile. Little or nothing is known by the
world concerning the origin of this archaic branch of philosophy; but
it is certain that it antedates the construction of any known zodiac,
and, as dealing with the personified forces of Nature, probably also
any of the mythologies of the world. Nor is there any doubt that the
true secrets of transmutation (on the physical plane) were known in
302 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
days of old, and lost before the dawn of the so-called historical period.
Modern chemistry owes its best fundamental discoveries to Alchemy;
but regardless of the undeniable truism of the latter that there is
but one element in the universe, chemistry placed metals in the class
of elements, and is only now beginning to find out its gross mistake.
Even some encyclopaedists are forced to confess that if most of the
accounts of transmutation are fraud or delusion, "yet some of them
are accompanied by testimony which renders them probable. By means
of the galvanic battery even the alkalies have been discovered to have
a metallic basis. The possibility of obtaining metal from other sub-
stances which contain the ingredients composing it, of changing one
metal into another, . . . must therefore be left undecided. Nor are
all Alchemists to be considered impostors. Many have labored under
the conviction of obtaining their object with indefatigable patience
and purity of heart, which is soundly recommended by Alchemists
as the principal requisite for the success of their labors."
Alexandrian Philosophers (or School). This famous school arose in
Alexandria (Egypt), which was for long ages a seat of learning and
philosophy. It was famous for its library, founded by Ptolemy Soter
at the very beginning of his reign (Ptolemy died in 283 B.C.) — a
library which once boasted seven hundred thousand rolls or volumes
(Aulus Gellius) ; for its museum, the first real academy of sciences
and arts; for its world-renowned scholars, such as Euclid, the father
of scientific geometry, ApoUonius of Perga, the author of the still
extant work on Conic Sections, Nichomachus, the arithmetician ; for
astronomers, natural philosophers, anatomists such as Herophilus and
Erasistratus, physicians, musicians, artists, etc. But it became still
more famous for its Eclectic or New-Platonic school, founded by
Ammonius Saccas in 173 a. d., whose disciples were Origen, Plotinus,
and many other men now famous in history. The most celebrated
schools of the Gnostics had their origin in Alexandria. Philo Judaeus,
Josephus, lamblichus, Porphyry, Clement of Alexandria, Eratosthenes
the astronomer, Hypatia the virgin philosopher, and numberless other
stars of second magnitude, all belonged at various times to these
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV 303
great schools, and helped to make of Alexandria one of the most
justly renowned seats of learning that the world has ever produced.
AivTRUiSM. From alter, other. A quality opposed to egoism. Actions
tending to do good to others, regardless of self.
Ammonius Saccas. a great and good philosopher who lived in Alexan-
dria between the second and third centuries of our era, the founder
of the Neo-Platonic school of the Philaletheians or " lovers of truth."
He was of poor birth and born of Christian parents, but endowed
with such prominent, almost divine goodness as to be called Theodi-
daktos, the " God-taught." He honored that which was good in Christ-
ianity, but broke with it and the churches at an early age, being unable
to find in it any superiority over the old religions.
Analogeticists. The disciples of Ammonius Saccas, so called because
of their practice of interpreting all sacred legends, myths, and mysteries
by a principle of analogy and correspondence, which rule is now found
in the Kabalistic system, and pre-eminently so in the schools of Eso-
teric Philosophy in the East. (See " The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac,"
by T. Subba Rao, in Five Years of Theosophy.)
Ananda (Sans.). Bliss, joy, felicity, happiness. The name of a favor-
ite disciple of Gautama, the Lord Buddha.
Anaxagoras. a famous Ionian philosopher who lived 500 b. c, studied
philosophy under Anaximenes of Miletus, and settled, in the days
of Pericles, at Athens. Socrates, Euripides, Archelaus, and other
distinguished men and philosophers were among his disciples and pupils.
He was a most learned astronomer, and was one of the first to explain
openly that which was taught secretly by Pythagoras, viz., the move-
ments of the planets, the eclipses of the sun and moon. etc. It was he
who taught the theory of chaos, on the principle that "nothing comes
from nothing" {ex nihilo nihil fit) ; and of atoms as the underlying es-
sence and substance of all bodies, "of the same nature as the bodies
which they formed." These atoms, he taught, were primarily put in mo-
tion by nous (universal intelligence, the mahat of the HindiJs), which
304 THB KEY TO THBOSOPHV
nous is an immaterial, eternal, spiritual entity ; by this combination the
world was formed, the material gross bodies sinking down, and the eth-
ereal atoms (or fiery ether) rising and spreading" in the upper celestial
regions. Antedating modern science by over two thousand years, he
taught that the stars were of the same material as our earth, and the
sun a glowing mass; that the moon was a dark, uninhabitable body,
receiving its light from the sun ; and beyond the aforesaid science
he confessed himself thoroughly convinced that the real existence of
things perceived by our senses could not be demonstrably proved. He
died in exile at Lampsacus, at the age of seventy-two.
Anima MuNDi (Lot.). The "soul of the world," the same as the alaya
of the Northern Buddhists ; the divine essence which pervades, per-
meates, animates and informs all things, from the smallest atom of
matter to man and god. It is in a sense " the seven-skinned Mother "
of the stanzas in The Secret Doctrine; the essence of seven planes
of sentiency, consciousness, and differentiation, both moral and physi-
cal. In its highest aspect it is nirvana; in its lowest, the astral light.
It was feminine with the Gnostics, the early Christians, and the Nazar-
enes ; bisexual with other sects, who considered it only in its four
lower planes, of igneous and ethereal nature in the objective world
of forms, and divine and spiritual in its three higher planes. When
it is said that every human soul was born by detaching itself from the
anima mundi, it is meant esoterically, that our higher Egos are of
an essence identical with it, and that mahait is a radiation of the ever
unknown universal Absolute.
Anoia (Gr.). "Want of understanding," "folly." The term applied
by Plato and others to the lower Manas when too closely allied with
Kama, which is characterized by irrationality (anoia). The Greek
anoia or agnoia is evidently a derivative of the Sanskrit ajndna (phon-
etically, agnydna), or ignorance, irrationality, and absence of know-
ledge.
Anthropomorphism. From the Greek anthropos, man. The act of endow-
ing God or the gods with a human form and human attributes or
qualities.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 305
Anugita {Sans.). A Upanishad, using the term in a general sense. One
of the philosophical treatises in the Mahahharata, the great Indian
epic. A very occult treatise. It is translated in " The Sacred Books
of the East " series,
Apollo Belvedere;. Of all the ancient statues of Apollo — the son of
Jupiter and Latona, called Phoebus, Helios, the Radiant, and the Sun
— the best and most perfect is that of this name, which is in the Bel-
vedere Gallery in the Vatican at Rome. It is called the Pythian Apollo,
as the god is represented in the moment of his victory over the
serpent Python. The statue was found in the ruins of Antium in 1503.
Apollonius of Tyana. a wonderful philosopher born in Cappadocia
about the beginning of the first century ; an ardent Pythagorean, who
studied the Phcenician sciences under Euthydemus, and Pythagorean
philosophy and other subjects under Euxenus of Heraclea. Accord-
ing to the tenets of the Pythagorean school, he remained a vegetarian
the whole of his long life, ate only fruits and herbs, drank no wine,
wore vestments made only of plant fibers, walked barefooted, and
let his hair grow to the full length, as all the Initiates have done before
and after him. He was initiated by the priests of the temple of
^sculapius (Asklepios) at vEgae, and learned many of the "miracles"
for healing the sick wrought by the god of medicine. Having pre-
pared himself for a higher initiation by a silence of five years, and
by travel — visiting Antioch, Ephesus, and Pamphylia, and other parts
— he repaired via Babylon to India, alone, all his disciples having
abandoned him, as they feared to go to the " land of enchantments."
A casual disciple, Damis, whom he met on the way, accompanied him,
however, on his travels. At Babylon he was initiated by the Chaldees
and Magi, according to Damis, whose narrative was copied by one
named Philostratus one hundred years later. After his return from
India he showed himself a true Initiate in that the pestilence, earth-
quakes, deaths of kings, and other events which he prophesied, duly
happened.
At Lesbos the priests of Orpheus became jealous of him and re-
fused to initiate him into their peculiar mysteries, though they did
306 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
so several years later. He preached to the people of Athens and other
states the purest and noblest ethics, and the phenomena he produced
were as wonderful as they were numerous and well authenticated.
" How is it," inquires Justin Martyr, in dismay — " how is it that
the talismans (tclesmata) of Apollonius have power? — for they pre-
vent, as we see, the fury of the waves, the violence of the winds, and
the attacks of wild beasts ; and while our Lord's miracles are preserved
by tradition alone, those of Apollonius are most numerous, and actu-
ally manifested in present facts?" {Quest., xxiv.) But an answer
is easily found to this in the fact that, after crossing the Hindii-Kush,
Apollonius had been directed by a king to the abode of the sages,
whose abode it may be to this day, and who taught him their unsur-
passed knowledge. His dialogues with the Corinthian Menippus give
us truly the esoteric catechism, and disclose (when understood) many
an important mystery of Nature. Apollonius was the friend, cor-
respondent, and guest of kings and queens, and no wonderful or
"magic" powers are better attested than his. Toward the close of
his long and wonderful life he opened an esoteric school at Ephesus,
and died at the ripe old age of one hundred years.
Archangel. Highest, supreme angel. From the two Greek words, arch,
first, and angelos, messenger.
Arhat {Sans.). Also pronounced and written arahat, arhan, rahat, etc.
The "worthy one;" a perfected arya; one exempt from reincarnation,
" deserving divine honors." This was the name first given to the
Jain, and subsequently to the Buddhist holy men initiated into the
esoteric mysteries. The Arhat is one who has entered the last and
highest path, and is thus emancipated from rebirth.
Arians. The followers of Arius, a presbyter of the church in Alexandria
in the fourth century. One who holds that Christ is a created and
human being, inferior to God the Father, though a grand and noble
man, a true Adept, versed in all the divine mysteries.
AristobuIvUS. An Alexandrian writer and an obscure philosopher. A Jew
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 307
who tried to prove that Aristotle explained the esoteric thoughts
of Moses,
Aryan. Lit., " the holy." Those who had mastered the "noble truths''
{arya-satyani) and entered the "noble path" (drya-marga) to nirvana
or moksha, the great " fourfold " path. They were originally known
as Rishis ; but now the name has become the epithet of a race, and
our Orientalists, depriving the Hindii Brahmans of their birthright,
have made Aryans of all Europeans. Since, in esotericism, the four
paths or stages can only be entered through great spiritual develop-
ment and " growth in holiness," they are called the drya-mdrga. The
degrees of arhatship, called respectively srotdpatti, sakriddgdmin,
andgdmin, and arhat, or the four classes of Aryas, correspond to
the four paths and truths.
Aspect. The form (rupa) under which any principle in septenary man
or Nature manifests is called an aspect of that principle in Theosophy.
Astral Body. The ethereal counterpart or double of any physical body
— doppelgdnger.
Astrology. The science which defines the action of celestial bodies upon
mundane aflfairs, and claims to foretell future events from the pos-
itions of the stars. Its antiquity is such as to place it among the very
earliest records of human learning. It remained for long ages a secret
science in the East, and its final expression remains so to this day,
its exoteric application only having been brought to any degree of
perfection in the West during the lapse of time since Varaha Mihira
wrote his book on Astrology, some fourteen hundred years ago.
Claudius Ptolemy, the famous geographer and mathematician who
founded the system of astronomy known under his name, wrote his
Tetrabiblos, which is still the basis of modern Astrology, a. d. 135.
The science of horoscopy is studied now chiefly under four heads,
viz. : ( 1 ) Mundane, in its application to meteorology, seismology,
husbandry. (2) State or Civic, in regard to the future of nations,
kings, and rulers. (3) Horary, in reference to the solving of doubts
308 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
arising in the mind upon any subject. (4) Genethliacal, in connection
with the future of individuals from birth unto death. The Egyptians
and the Chaldees were among the most ancient votaries of Astrology,
though their modes of reading the stars, and the modern methods,
differ considerably. The former claimed that Belus, the Bel or Elu
of the Chaldees, a scion of the Divine Dynasty, or the dynasty of
the King-gods, had belonged to the land of Khemi, and had left it
to found a colony from Egypt on the banks of the Euphrates, where
a temple, ministered by priests in the service of the " lords of the
stars," was built. As to the origin of the science, it is known, on
the one hand, that Thebes claimed the honor of the invention of
Astrology, whereas, on the other hand, all are agreed that it was the
Chaldees who taught that science to the other nations. Now Thebes
antedated considerably not only " Ur of the Chaldees," but also Nipur,
where Bel was first worshiped — Sin, his son (the moon), being
the presiding deity of Ur, the land of the nativity of Terah, the Sabaean
and astrolater, and of Abram, his son, the great astrologer of biblical
tradition. All tends, therefore, to corroborate the Egyptian claim.
If later on the name of astrologer fell into disrepute in Rome and
elsewhere, it was owing to the frauds of those who wanted to make
money of that which was part and parcel of the Sacred Science of the
Mysteries, and who, ignorant of the latter, evolved a system based
entirely on mathematics, instead of on transcendental metaphysics
with the physical celestial bodies as its upddhi or material basis. Yet,
all persecutions notwithstanding, the number of adherents to Astrology
among the most intellectual and scientific minds was always very
great. If Cardan and Kepler were among its ardent supporters,
then later votaries have nothing to blush for, even in its now imper-
fect and distorted form. As said in Isis Unveiled (i, 259) : "Astro-
logy is to exact astronomy what psychology is to exact physiology.
In astrology and psychology one has to step beyond the visible world
of matter and enter into the domain of transcendent spirit."
Athenagoras. a Platonic philosopher of Athens who wrote An Apology
for the Christians, in a. d. 177, addressed to Marcus Aurelius, to
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 309
prove that the accusations brought against them — viz., that they
were incestuous and ate murdered children — were untrue.
Atman, or Atma {Sans.). The universal spirit, the divine monad, the
seventh ** principle," so called, in the exoteric septenary classification
of man. The Supreme Soul.
Aura {Gr. and Lot.). A subtle, invisible essence or fluid that emanates
from human, animal, and other bodies. It is a psychic effluvium
partaking of both the mind and the body, as there is both an electro-
vital and at the same time an electromental aura; called in Theosophy
the akashic or magnetic aura. In Romanist martyrology, a saint.
AvATARA {Sans.). Divine incarnation. The descent of a god, or some
exalted being who has progressed beyond the necessity for rebirth
into the body of a simple mortal. Krishna was an avatara of Vishnu.
The Dalai-Lama is regarded as an avatara of Avalokiteshvara, and
the Teschu-Lama as one of Tson-kha-pa, or Amitabha. There are
two kinds of avataras, one born from woman and the other "parent-
less" — amipadaka.
B
Be-NESS. a term coined by Theosophists to render more accurately the
essential meaning of the untranslatable word sat. The latter word does
not mean " Being," for the term " Being " presupposes a sentient con-
sciousness of existence. But as the term sat is applied solely to the
absolute principle, that universal, unknown and ever unknowable prin-
ciple which philosophical pantheism postulates, calling it the basic root
of cosmos and cosmos itself, it could not be translated by the simple
term " Being." Sat, indeed, is not even, as translated by some Ori-
entalists, the "incomprehensible entity" ; for it is no more an entity
than a non-entity, but both. It is, as said, absolute Be-ness, not
" Being " ; the one secondless, undivided and indivisible All ; the root
310 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
of Nature both visible and invisible, objective and subjective, compre-
hensible and never to be fully comprehended.
Bhagavad-Gita {Sans.). Lit., the "Lord's Song." A portion of the
Mahahhdrata, the great epic poem of India. It contains a dialogue
vi^herein Krishna — the "charioteer" — and Arjuna, his chela, have
a discussion upon the highest spiritual philosophy. The work is pre-
eminently occult or esoteric.
Black Magic. Sorcery, necromancy, or the raising of the dead and other
selfish abuses of abnormal powers. This abuse may be unintentional ;
still it has to remain " black " magic whenever anything is produced
phenomenally simply for one's own gratification.
Boh ME, Jakob. A mystic and great philosopher, one of the most prominent
Theosophists of the mediaeval ages. He was born about 1575 at
Old Diedenberg, some two miles from Gorlitz (Silesia), and died in
1624, at the age of nearly fifty. When a boy he was a common shep-
herd, and, after learning to read and write in a village school, became
an apprentice to a poor shoemaker at Gorlitz. He was a natural clair-
voyant of the most wonderful power. With no education or acquain-
tance with science he wrote works which are now proved to be full of
scientific truths; but these, as he himself says of what he wrote, he
" saw as in a great deep in the eternal." He had " a thorough view
of the universe, as in chaos," which yet opened itself in him, from
time to time, " as in a young planet," he says. He was a thorough-
born mystic, and evidently of a constitution which is most rare ; one
of those fine natures whose material envelope impedes in no way the
direct, even if only occasional, intercommunication between the intel-
lectual and spiritual Ego. It is this Ego which Jakob Bohme, as so
many other untrained mystics, mistook for God. " Man must acknow-
ledge," he writes, " that his knowledge is not his own, but from God,
who manifests the ideas of wisdom to the soul of man in zvhat
measure he pleases." Had this great Theosophist been born three
hundred years later he might have expressed it otherwise. He would
have known that the " God " who spoke through his poor uncultured
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 311
and untrained brain was his own Divine Ego, the omniscient deity
within himself, and that what that deity gave out was not " what meas-
ure he pleased," but in the measure of the capacities of the mortal and
temporary dwelling IT informed.
Book of the Keys. An ancient Kabalistic work. The original is no long-
er extant, though there may be spurious or disfigured copies or
forgeries of it.
Brahma {Sans.). The student must distinguish between the neuter Brah-
ma and the male "creator" of the Indian Pantheon, Brahma. The
former Brahma or Brahman is the impersonal, supreme, and uncog-
nizable soul of the universe, from the essence of which all emanates,
and into which all returns ; which is incorporeal, immaterial, unborn,
eternal, beginningless and endless. It is all-pervading, animating the
highest god as well as the smallest mineral atom. Brahma, on the
other hand, the male and the alleged "creator," exists in his mani-
festation periodically only, and passes into pralaya — i. e., disappears
and is annihilated — as periodically.
Brahma's Day. A period of 4,320,000,000 years, during which Brahma,
having emerged out of his Golden Egg (hiranya-garbha) , creates
and fashions the material world (for he is simply the fertilizing
and creative force in Nature). After this period, the worlds being
destroyed in turn by fire and water, he vanishes with objective Nature;
and then comes
Brahma's Night. A period of equal duration, in which Brahma is said
to be asleep. Upon awakening he recommences the process, and this
goes on for an Age of Brahma, composed of alternate " Days " and
"Nights," and lasting for 100 years of 3,110,400,000,000 solar years
each. It requires fifteen figures to express the duration of such an
age, after the expiration of which the mahapralaya or Great Dissolu-
tion sets in, and lasts in its turn for the same space of fifteen figures.
Brahma-Vidya {Sans.). The knowledge or esoteric science about the
true nature of the two Brahmas (Brahma and Brahma),
312 THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
Buddha {Sans.). ''The Enlightened." Generally known as the title of
Gautama Buddha, the Prince of Kapilavastu, the founder of modern
Buddhism. The highest degree of knowledge and holiness. To
become a Buddha one has to break through the bondage of sense and
personality; to acquire a comple'te perception of the real Self, and learn
not to separate it from all the other selves ; to learn by experience the
utter unreality of all phenomena, foremost of all the visible cosmos ;
to attain a complete detachment from all that is evanescent and finite,
and to live while yet on earth only in the immortal and everlasting.
BuDDHi {Sans.). Universal soul or mind. Mahahuddhi is a name of
mahat; also the spiritual soul in man (the sixth principle, exoterically),
the vehicle of Atma (the seventh, according to the exoteric enumera-
tion).
Buddhism is the religious philosophy taught by Gautama Buddha. It is
now split into two distinct churches, the Southern and Northern.
The former is said to be the purer, as having preserved more re-
ligiously the original teachings of the Lord Buddha. The Northern
Buddhism is confined to Tibet, China, and Nepaul. But this distinc-
tion is incorrect. If the Southern Church is nearer, and has not, in
fact, departed — except, perhaps, in trifling dogmas, due to the many
councils held after the death of the Master — from the public or
exoteric teachings of Shakyamuni, the Northern Church is the out-
come of Siddhartha Buddha's esoteric teachings, which he confined
to his elect Bhikshus and Arhats. Buddhism, in fact, cannot be just-
ly judged in our age either by one or the other of its exoteric popular
forms. Real Buddhism can be appreciated only by blending the phil-
osophy of the Southern Church and the metaphysics of the Northern
schools. If one seems too iconoclastic and stern, and the other too
metaphysical and transcendental, even to being overcharged with the
weeds of Indian exotericism — many of the gods of its Pantheon
having been transplanted under new names into Tibetan soil — it is
due to the popular expression of Buddhism in both churches. Cor-
respondentially they stand in their relation to each other as Protestant-
ism to Romanism. Both err by an excess of zeal and erroneous in-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 313
terpretations, though neither the Southern nor the Northern Buddhist
clergy have ever departed from truth consciously ; still less have they
acted under the dictates af priestocracy, ambition, or an eye to per-
sonal gain and power, as the later churches have.
Buddhi-Taijasa (5*0;/^.). Avery mystic term, capable of several inter-
pretations. In Occultism, however, and in relation to the human
"principles" (exoterically), it is a term to express the state of our
dual Manas, when, reunited during a man's life, it bathes in the
radiance of Buddhi, the spiritual soul. For Taijasa means " the
radiant " ; and Manas, becoming radiant in consequence of its union
with Buddhi, and being, so to speak, merged into it, is identified with
the latter ; the trinity has become one ; and, as the element of Buddhi
is the highest, it becomes Buddhi-Taijasa. In short, it is the human
soul illuminated by 'the radiance of the divine soul, the human reason
lit by the light of the Spirit or Divine Self-consciousness.
Caste. Originally the system of the four hereditary classes into which
the Indian population was divided : Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya,
and Shudra — (a) descendants of Brahma; {b) warrior; (c) mercan-
tile; and {d) the lowest or agricultural class. From these four,
hundreds of divisions and minor castes have sprung.
Causal Body. This " body," which is in reality no body at all, either
objective or subjective, but Buddhi, the spiritual soul, is so called
because it is the direct cause of the sushupti state, leading to the
tunya state, the highest state of samadhi. It is called karanopadhi,
" the basis of the cause," by the Taraka Raja Yogis, which in tiie
Vedanta system corresponds to both the vijnanamaya and ananda-
niaya kosha (the latter coming next to Atma, and therefore being
the vehicle of the universal spirit). Buddhi alone could not be called a
" causal body," but becomes one in conjunction with Manas, the in-
carnating entity or Ego.
314 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Chela (Hindi). A disciple. The pupil of a Guru or sage; the follower
of some adept or school of philosophy.
Chrestos (Gr.). The early Gnostic term for Christ. This technical term
was used in the fifth century b. c. by ^schylus, Herodotus, and others.
The mantenmata pythochresta, or the " oracles delivered by a Pythian
god" through a pythoness, are mentioned by the former (Choeph.,
901), and pythochrestos is derived from chrao. Chresterion is not
only the " test of an oracle," but an offering to, or for, the oracle.
Chrestes is one who explains oracles, a " prophet and soothsayer,"
and Chresterios, one who serves an oracle or a god. The earliest
Christian writer, Justin Martyr, in his first Apology, calls his co-
religionists ChresHans. " It is only through ignorance that men call
themselves Christians, instead of Chrestians," says Lactantius (lib, iv.,
cap. vii.). The terms Christ and Christians, spelled originally Chrest
and Chrestians, were borrowed from the temple vocabulary of the
pagans. Chrestos meant, in that vocabulary, " a disciple on probation,"
a candidate for hierophantship ; who, when he had attained it, through
initiation, long trials and suffering, and had been anointed (i. e.,
" rubbed with oil," as Initiates and even idols of the gods were, as the
last touch of ritualistic observance), was changed into Christos — the
" purified " in esoteric or mystery language. In mystic symbology,
indeed, Christes or Christos meant that the " way," the " path," was
already trodden and the goal reached ; when the fruits of this arduous
labor — uniting the personality of evanescent clay with the indestruc-
tible Individuality — transformed it thereby into the immortal Ego.
"At the end of the way stands the Christes," the Purifier; and, the
union once accomplished, the Chrestos, the " man of sorrow," became
Christos himself. Paul, the Initiate, knew this, and meant this precise-
ly when he is made to say in bad translation, " I travail in birth again
until Christ be formed in you," (Gal. iv. 19), the true rendering of
which is, " until you form the Christos within yourselves." But the
profane, who knew only that Chrestos was in some way connected
with priest and prophet, and knew nothing about the hidden meaning
of Christos, insisted, as did Lactantius and Justin Martyr, on being
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 315
called Chres'tians instead of Christians. Every good individual, there-
fore, may find Christ in his "inner man," as Paul expresses it (Eph.
iii. 16, 17), whether he be Jew, Mussulman, Hindii, or Christian.
Christ. See " Chrestos."
Christian Scientist. A newly coined term for denoting the practition-
ers of a healing art by will. The name is a misnomer, since Buddhist
or Jew, Hindii or materialist, can practise this new form of " Western
Yoga " with equal success if he can only guide and control his will
with sufficient firmness. The " Mental Scientists " are another rival
school. These work by a universal denial of every disease and evil
imaginable, and claim, syllogistically, that since universal spirit cannot
be subject to the ailings of flesh, and since every atom is spirit and in
spirit, and since, finally, they — the healers and the healed — are all
absorbed in this spirit or deity, there is not, nor can there be, such a
thing as disease. This prevents in no wise both Christian and Mental
Scientists from succumbing to disease and nursing chronic ailments
for years in their own bodies just like other ordinary mortals.
Clairaudience. The faculty — whether innate or acquired by occult train-
ing — of hearing things at whatever distance.
Clairvoyance. The faculty of seeing with the inner eye, or spiritual sight.
As now used, it is a loose and flippant term, embracing under its
meaning both a happy guess due to natural shrewdness and intuition,
and also that faculty which was so remarkably exercised by Jakob
Bohme and Swedenborg. Yet even these two great seers, since they
could never rise superior to the general spirit of the Jewish Bible and
sectarian teachings, have sadly confused what they saw, and fallen far
short of true clairvoyance.
Clemens Alexandrinus. A church father and voluminous writer, who
had been a Neo-Platonist and a disciple of Ammonius Saccas. He was
one of the few Christian philosophers between the second and third
centuries of our era at Alexandria.
316 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
College of Rabbis. A college at Babylon, most famous during the early
centuries of Christianity ; but its glory was greatly darkened by the
appearance in Alexandria of Hellenic teachers, such as Philo Judaeus,
Josephus, Aristobulus and others. The former avenged themselves on
their successful rivals by speaking of the Alexandrians as Theurgists
and unclean prophets. But the Alexandrian believers in thaumaturgy
were not regarded as sinners and impostors when orthodox Jews were
at the head of such schools of " Hazim." These were colleges for
teaching prophecy and occult sciences, Samuel was the chief of such
a college at Ramah ; Elisha at Jericho. Hillel had a regular academy
for prophets and seers ; and it is Hillel, a pupil of the Babylonian
college, who was the founder of the sect of the Pharisees and the
great orthodox rabbis.
Cycle {Gr.). From kuklos. The ancients divided time into endless cycles,
wheels within wheels, all such periods being of various duration, and
each marking the beginning or end of some event, either cosmic,
mundane, physical or metaphysical. There were cycles of only a few
years, and cycles of immense duration. The great Orphic cycle, re-
ferring to the ethnological change of races, lasted one hundred and
twenty thousand years, and that of Cassandrus one hundred and thirty-
six thousand. The latter brought about a complete change in plan-
etary influences and their correlations between men and gods — a fact
entirely lost sight of by modern astrologers.
D
Deist. One who admits the possibility of the existence of a God or gods
but claims to know nothing of either, and denies revelation. An Ag-
nostic of olden times.
Deva {Sans.). A god, a "resplendent" deity — deva (deus), from the
root div, to shine. A Deva is a celestial being — whether good, bad.
or indifferent — which inhabits the three "worlds" or the three planes
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 317
above us. There are thirty-three groups or three hundred and thirty
milhons of them.
Devachan, The " dwelHng of the gods." A state intermediate between
two earth-Hves, into which the Ego (Atma-Buddhi-Manas, or the Trin-
ity made one) enters after its separation from Kama Rupa and the
disintegration of the lower principles, on the death of the body on earth.
Dhammapada (Pali). A work containing various aphorisms from the
Buddhist scriptures.
Dhyan Chohans. Lit, the "lords of contemplation." The highest gods,
answering to the archangels of the Roman Church. The divine In-
telligences charged with the supervision of kosmos.
Dhyana (Sans). One of the six paramitas or perfections. A state of
abstraction which carries the ascetic practising it far above the region
of sensuous perception and out of the world of matter. Lit., "con-
templation." The six stages of dhyana differ only in the degrees of
abstraction of the personal Ego from sensuous life.
Double. The same as the astral body or doppelg'dnger.
Ecstasis (Gr.). A psycho-spiritual state; a physical trance which induces
clairvoyance, and a beatific state which brings on visions.
Ego (Lat.). " I "; the consciousness in man of the " I am I," or the feel-
ing of " I-am-ship." Esoteric Philosophy teaches the existence of
two Egos in man, the mortal or personal, and the higher, the divine
or impersonal; calling the former " personality," and the latter " indi-
viduality."
Egoity. Egoity means " individuality " — never " personality," as it is
the opposite of egoism or " selfishness," the characteristic par excel-
lence of the latter.
318 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Eidolon (Gr.). The same as that which we term the human phantom,
the astral form.
Elementals, Spirits of the elements. The creatures evolved in the four
kingdoms or elements — earth, air, fire and water. They are called
by the Kabalists gnomes (of the earth), sylphs (of the air), salaman-
ders (of the fire), and undines (of the water). Except a few of the
higher kinds and their rulers, they are rather the forces of Nature
than ethereal men and women. These forces, as the servile agents of
the occultist, may produce various effects; but if employed by "ele-
mentaries" (Kama Riipas) — in which case they enslave the mediums
— they will deceive. All the lower invisible beings generated on the
fifth, sixth and seventh planes of our terrestrial atmosphere are called
elementals — peris, devs, jinns, sylvans, satyrs, fauns, elves, dwarfs,
trolls, norns, kobolds, brownies, nixies, goblins, pinkies, banshees,
moss-people, white ladies, spooks, fairies, etc.
ElEusinia (Gr.). The Eleusinian Mysteries were the most famous and
the most ancient of all the Greek Mysteries (with the exception of the
Samothracian), and were performed near the hamlet of Eleusis, not
far from Athens. Epiphanius traces them to the days of lacchos
(1800 B.C.). They were held in honor of Demeter, the great Ceres,
and the Egyptian Isis ; and the last act of the performance referred to
a sacrificial victim of atonement and a resurrection, when the Initiate
was admitted to the highest degree of Epopt. The festival of the
Mysteries began in the month of Boedromion (September), the time of
grape-gathering, and lasted from the 15th to the 22nd — seven days.
The Hebrew Feast of Tabernacles — the feast of ingatherings — in
the month of Ethanim (the seventh), also began on the 15th and ended
on the 22nd of that month. The name of the month (Ethanim) is
derived, according to some, from adonim, adonia, attenim, ethanim,
and was in honor of Adonai, or Adonis (Tham), whose death was
lamented by the Hebrews in the groves of Bethlehem. The sacrifice
of " bread and wine " was performed both in the Eleusinia and during
the Feast of Tabernacles.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 319
Emanation. This doctrine, in its metaphysical meaning, is opposed to
evolution, yet one with i't. Science teaches that, physiologically, evo-
lution is a mode of generation in which the germ that develops the
fetus pre-exists already in the parent, the development and final form
and characteristics of that germ being accomplished by Nature; and
that (as in its cosmology) the process takes place blindly, through the
correlation of the elements and their various compounds. Occultism
teaches that this is only the apparent mode, the real process being eman-
ation, guided by intelligent forces under an immutable Law. There-
fore, while the occultists and Theosophists believe thoroughly in the
doctrine of evolution as given out by Kapila and Manu, they are
"emanationists" rather than "evolutionists." The doctrine of eman-
ation was at one time universal. It was taught by the Alexandrian as
well as by the Indian philosophers, by the Egyptian, the Chaldsean and
Hellenic hierophants, and also by the Hebrews (in their Kabalah, and
even in Genesis). For it is only owing to deliberate mistranslation
that the Hebrew word asdt was translated "angels" from the Septua-
gint, while it means "emanations," "eons," just as with the Gnostics.
Indeed, in Deuteronomy (xxxiii, 2) the word asdt or ashdt is trans-
lated as " fiery law," while the correct rendering of the passage should
be, " from his right went [not a fiery law, but] a fire according to lazv,"
viz., that the fire of one flame is imparted to and caught up by another
— like as in a trail of inflammable substance. This is precisely eman-
ation, as shown in Isis Unveiled. " In evolution, as it is now be-
ginning to be understood, there is supposed to be in all matter an im-
pulse to take on a higher form — a supposition clearly expressed by
Manu and other Hindu philosophers of the highest antiquity. The
philosopher's tree illustrates it in the case of the zinc solution. The
controversy between the followers of this school and the emana-
tionists may be briefly stated thus: the evolutionist stops all inquiry
at the borders of * the unknowable ' ; the emanationist believes that
nothing can be evolved — or, as the word means, unwombed or born
— except it has first been involved, thus indicating that life is from a
spiritual potency above the whole."
Esoteric. Hidden, secret. From the Greek esoterikos, inner, concealed.
320 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Esoteric Bodhism. Secret wisdom or intelligence ; from the Greek esofer-
ikos, inner, and the Sanskrit hodhi, knowledge, in contradistinction
to huddhi, the faculty of knowledge or intelligence, and Buddhism, the
philosophy or law of Buddha, the " Enlightened." Also written
" Budhism," from budha (intelligence, wisdom), the son of Soma.
Eurasians. An abbreviation of " European Asians." The mixed colored
races, the children of the white fathers and the dark mothers of India,
and vice versa.
Exoteric. Outward, public; the opposite of esoteric or hidden.
ExTRACOSMic. Outside of kosmos or Nature. A nonsensical word in-
vented to assert the existence of a personal god independent of or
outside Nature per se; for as Nature, or the universe, is infinite and
limitless, there can be nothing outside it. The term is coined in oppos-
ition to the pantheistic idea that the whole kosmos is animated or
informed with the spirit of deity. Nature being but the garment, and
matter the illusive shadows, of the real unseen Presence.
Ferho {Syriacf). The highest and greatest creative power with the
Nazarene Gnostics {Codex Nazarceus).
Fire-philosophers. The name given to the Hermetists and alchemists
of the middle ages, and also to the Rosicrucians. The latter, the
successors of Theurgists, regarded fire as the symbol of deity. It
was the source not only of material atoms, but the container of the
spiritual and psychic forces energizing them. Broadly analyzed, fire
is a triple principle ; esotericall)% a septenary, as are all the rest of the
elements. As man is composed of spirit, soul, and body, phis a four-
fold aspect, so is fire. As in the works of Robert Flood (Robertus
de Fluctibus), one of the famous Rosicrucians, fire contains, firstly,
a visible flame (body) ; secondly, an invisible, astral fire (soul) ; and
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 321
thirdly, spirit. The four aspects are (a) heat (Hfe), {h) light
(mind), {c) electricity (kamic or molecular powers), and (</) the
synthetic essences beyond spirit, or the radical cause of its existence
and manifestation. For the Hermetist or Rosicrucian, when a flame
is extinct on the objective plane, it has only passed from the seen
world into the unseen, from the knowable into the unknowable.
Gautama (Sans.). A proper name in India. It is that of the Prince
of Kapilavastu, son of Suddhodana, the Shakya king of a small
territory on the borders of Nepaul, born in the seventh century b. c,
now called the "savior of the world." Gautama, or Gotama, was the
sacerdotal name of the Shakya family. Born a simple mortal, he
rose to Buddhahood through his own personal and unaided merit;
a man — verily greater than any god !
Gebirol. Solomon ben-Yehudah, called in literature Avicebron, An Is-
raelite by birth; a philosopher, poet, and Kabalist; a voluminous
writer and a mystic. He was born in the eleventh century at Malaga
(1021), educated at Saragossa, and died at Valencia in 1070, murder-
ed by a Mohammedan. His fellow-religionists called him Salomon
the Sephardi, or the Spaniard, and the Arabs, Abu Ayyub Suleiman
ben-Ya'hya Ibn Jebirol, while the scholastics named him Avicebron
(see Myer's Qabbalah). Ibn Gebirol was certainly one of the great-
est philosophers and scholars of his age. He wrote much in Arabic,
and most of his manuscripts have been preserved. His greatest work
appears to be the Me'qor Hayyini — i. e., the Fountain of Life — " one
of the earliest exposures of the secrets of the speculative Kabalah,"
as his biographer informs us.
Gnosis CGr.). Lit., "knowledge." The technical term used by the schools
of religious philosophy, both before and during the first centuries
of so-called Christianity, to denote the object of their inquiry. This
322 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
spiritual and sacred knowledge, the gupta-vidya of the Hindus, could
only be obtained by initiation into spiritual mysteries of which the
ceremonial " Mysteries " were a type.
Gnostics (Gr.). The philosophers who formulated and taught the Gnosis
or knowledge. They flourished in the first three centuries of the
Christian era. The following were eminent: Simon Magus, Valen-
tinus, Basilides, Marcion, etc.
Golden Age. The ancients divided the life-cycle into the Golden, Silver,
Bronze, and Iron Ages. The Golden was an age of primeval purity,
simplicity and general happiness.
Great Age. There are several " Great Ages " mentioned by the ancients.
In India the Great Age embraced the whole mahamanvantara, the
"Age of Brahma," each " Day " of which represents the life-cycle
of a " chain," i. e., it embraces a period of seven " rounds." Thus,
while a " Day " and a " Night " represent, as manvantara and pralaya,
8,640,000,000 years, an "Age" lasts through a period of 311,040,000-
000,000; after which the pralaya or dissolution of the universe be-
comes universal. With the Egyptians and Greeks the Great Age
referred only to the Tropical or Sidereal Year, the duration of which
is 25,868 solar years. Of the complete age — that of the gods —
they said nothing, as it was a matter to be discussed and divulged
only at the Mysteries, and during the initiation ceremonies. The
Great Age of the Chaldees was the same in figures as that of the
Hindiis.
GuHYA-ViDYA {Sans.). The secret knowledge of mystic mantras.
GuPTA-ViDYA {Sans.). The same as giihya-vidya. Esoteric or secret
science, knowledge.
Gyges. " The ring of Gyges " has become a familiar metaphor in Euro-
pean literature. Gyges was a Lydian, who, after murdering the King
Candaules, married his widow. Plato tells us that Gyges, descending
once into a chasm of the earth, discovered a brazen horse, within whose
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 323
opened side was the skeleton of a man of gigantic stature, who had
a brazen ring on his finger. This ring, when placed on his own finger,
made him invisible.
H
Hades {Gr.). Aides is the " invisible," the land of shadows; one of whose
regions was Tartarus, a place of complete darkness, as was also the
region of profound dreamless sleep in Amenti. Judging by the allegor-
ical description of the punishments inflicted therein, the place was
purely Karmic. Neither Hades nor Amenti was the hell still preached
by some retrograde priests and clergymen ; and whether represented
by the Elysian Fields or by Tartarus, it could only be reached by cross-
ing the river to the " other shore." As well expressed in Egyptian
Belief (Bonwick), the story of Charon, the ferryman of the Styx,
is to be found not only in Homer, but in the poetry of many lands.
The River must be crossed before gaining the Isles of the Blest. The
Ritual of Egypt described a Charon and his boat long ages before
Homer. He is Khu-en-ra, " the hawk-headed steersman." (SeeHELiv.)
HaIvIvUCINATions. a state produced sometimes by physiological disorders,
sometimes by mediumship, and at others by drunkenness. But the
cause that produces the visions has to be sought deeper than physio-
logy. All such, particularly when produced through mediumship, are
preceded by a relaxation of the nervous system, invariably generat-
ing an abnormal magnetic condition which attracts to the sufferer
waves of astral light. It is these latter that furnish the various hallu-
cinations, which, however, are not always, as physicians would ex-
plain them, mere empty and unreal dreams. No one can see that
which does not exist — i. e., which is not impressed — in or on the
astral waves. But a seer may perceive objects and scenes, whether
past, present, or future, which have no relation whatever to himself;
and perceive, moreover, several things entirely disconnected from
each other at one and the same time, so as to produce the most gro-
324 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
tesque and absurd combinations. Both drunkard and seer, medium
and Adept, see their respective visions in the astral Ught; only while
the drunkard, the madman, and the untrained medium, or one in a
brain- fever, see because they cannot help it, and evoke jumbled visions
unconsciously to themselves without being able to control them, the
Adept and the trained seer have the choice and the control of such
visions. They know where to fix their gaze, how to steady the scenes
they wish to observe, and how to see beyond the upper outward layers
of the astral light. With the former such glimpses into the waves
are hallucinations ; with the latter they become the faithful reproduc-
tion of what actually has been, is, or will be taking place. The glimpses
at random caught by the medium, and his flickering visions in the
deceptive light, are transformed under the guiding will of the Adept
and seer into steady pictures, the truthful representation of that
which he wills to come within the focus of his perception.
He;ll. a term which the Anglo-Saxon race has evidently derived from
the name of the Scandinavian goddess Hela, just as the word Ad, in
Russian and other Slavonian tongues, expressing the same conception,
is derived from the Greek Hades; the only diflference between the
Scandinavian cold hell and the hot hell of the Christians being found
in their respective temperatures. But the idea of these overheated
regions is not original with the Europeans, many people having enter-
tained the conception of an under-world climate ; as well we may, if
we localize our hell in the center of the earth. All exoteric religions
— the creeds of the Brahmans, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Moham-
medans, Jews, and the rest — make their hells hot and dark, though
many are more attractive than frightful. The idea of a hot hell is
an afterthought, the distortion of an astronomical allegory. With
the Egyptians hell became a place of punishment by fire not earlier
than the Seventeenth or Eighteenth Dynasty, when Typhon was trans-
formed from a god into a devil. But at whatever time they implant-
ed this dread superstition in the minds of the poor ignorant masses,
the scheme of a burning hell and souls tormented therein is purely
Egyptian. Ra (the Sun) became the Lord of the Furnace, in Karr,
THB KEY TO THEOSOPHY 325
the hell of the Pharaohs, and the sinner was threatened with misery
" in the heat of infernal fires." "A Hon was there," says Dr. Birch,
" and was called the roaring monster." Another describes the place as
" the bottomless pit and lake of fire, into which the victims are thrown "
(compare Revelation). The Hebrew word gdi-hinnom (gehenna)
had never really the significance given to it in Christian orthodoxy.
Hermas. An ancient Greek writer, of whose works only a few fragments
now remain extant.
HiEROGRAMMATisTs, The title given to those Eg>'ptian priests who were
intrusted with the writing and reading of the sacred and secret records.
The " scribes of the secret records," literally. They were the instruct-
ors of the neophytes preparing for initiation.
HiEROPHANT. From the Greek hierophantes, literally " he who explains
sacred things ;" a title belonging to the highest Adepts in the temples
of antiquity, who were the teachers and expounders of the Mysteries,
and the Initiators into the final great Mysteries. The Hierophant
stood for the demiurge, and explained to the postulants for initiation
the various phenomena of creation that were produced for their
tuition. " He was the sole expounder of the esoteric secrets and doc-
trines. It was forbidden even to pronounce his name before an unin-
itiated person. He sat in the East, and wore as a symbol of authority
a golden globe suspended from the neck. He was also called mysta-
gogus." (Mackenzie, The Royal Masonic Cyclopedia.).
HiLLEL. A great Babylonian Rabbi of the century preceding the Christ-
ian era. He was the founder of the sect of the Pharisees, a learned
and a saintly man.
HiNAYANA (Sans.). The " small vehicle;" a scripture and a school of the
Buddhists, contrasted with the mahayana, the " great vehicle." Both
schools are mystical. Also in exoteric superstition, the lowest form
of transmigration.
326 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Homogeneity. From the Greek words homos, the same, and genos, kind.
That which is of the same nature throughout, undifferentiated, non-
compound, as gold is supposed to be.
Hypnotism. A name given by Dr. Braid to the process by which one man
of strong will-power plunges another of weaker mind into a kind of
trance; once in such a state, the latter will do anything suggested
to him by the hypnotizer. The Occultists call it black magic or sorcery.
It is the most dangerous of practices, morally and physically, as it
interferes with the nerve-fluids.
I
Iamblichus. a great Theosophist and an Initiate of the third century.
He wrote a great deal about the various kinds of demons who appear
through evocation, but spoke severely against such phenomena. His
austerities, purity of life, and earnestness were great. He is credited
with having been levitated ten cubits high from the ground, as are
some modern Yogis and mediums.
Illusion. In Occultism everything finite (such as the universe and all
in it) is called " illusion " or maya.
Individuality. One of the names given in Theosophy and Occultism to
the human Higher Ego. We make a distinction between the immortal
and divine, and the mortal human Ego which perishes. The latter,
or "personality" (personal Ego), survives the dead body only for a
time in Kamaloka ; the " Individuality " prevails forever.
Initiate. From the Latin initiatus. The designation of any one who was
received into and had revealed to him the mysteries and secrets of
either Masonry or Occultism, In times of antiquity they were those
who had been initiated into the arcane knowledge taught by the
Hierophants of the Mysteries ; and in our modern days those who have
been initiated by the Adepts of mystic lore into the mysterious know-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 327
ledge, which, notwithstanding the lapse of ages, has yet a few real
votaries on earth.
IsHVARA {Sans.). The "Lord," or the personal god, divine spirit in man.
Literally, "sovereign" (independent) existence. A title given to Shiva
and other gods in India. Shiva is also called Ishvaradeva, or Sov-
ereign Deva.
Iu-Kabar Zivo. a Gnostic term. The " Lord of the Eons " in the Nazar-
ene system. He is the procreator (emanator) of the seven " Holy
Lives " (the seven primal Dhyan Chohans or archangels, each rep-
resenting one of the cardinal virtues), and is himself called the third
Life (third Logos). In the Codex Nasarceus he is addressed as the
" Helm " and " Vine " of the food of life. Thus he is identical with
Christ (Christos), who says "I am the true vine, and my Father is
the husbandman." (John xv. 1.) It is well known that Christ is
regarded in the Roman Church as the " Chief of the Eons," as also
is Michael, " who is as God." Such also was the belief of the
Gnostics.
J
Javidan Khirad (Pers.). A work on moral precepts.
Jhana (Pali). The Sanskrit jiiana, knowledge, occult wisdom.
JosEPHus, Flavins. A historian of the first century ; a Hellenized Jew who
lived in Alexandria and died at Rome. He was credited by Eusebius
with having written the sixteen famous lines relating to Christ, which
were most probably interpolated by Eusebius himself, the greatest
forger among the church fathers. This passage in which Josephus,
although he was an ardent Jew and died in Judaism, is nevertheless
made to acknowledge the Messiahship and divine origin of Jesus,
is now declared spurious both by most of the Christian Bishops
(Lardner among others) and even by Paley. (See his Evidences of
Christianity.) It was for centuries one of the weightiest proofs
of the real existence of Jesus, the Christ,
328 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
K
Kabalah (Heb.) " The hidden wisdom of the Hebrew rabbis of the
middle ages, derived from the older secret doctrines concerning di-
vine things and cosmogony, which were combined into a theolog)'
after the time of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon." All the works
that fall under the esoteric category are termed Kabalistic.
Kamaloka (Satis.). The .y^mt-material plane, to us subjective and in-
visible, where the disembodied " personalities," the astral forms called
Kama Riipa, remain until they fade out from it by the complete ex-
haustion of the effects of the mental impulses that created these eidolons
of the lower animal passions and desires. It is the Hades of the
ancient Greeks and the Amenti of the Egyptians — the land of Silent
Shadows.
Kama Rupa (Sans.). Metaphysically and in our Esoteric Philosophy
it is the subjective form created, through the mental and physical de-
sires and thoughts in connection with things of matter, by all sentient
beings; a form which survives the death of its body. After that death,
three of the seven "principles" (or, let us say, planes of the senses and
consciousness on which the human instincts and ideation act in turn),
viz., the body, its astral prototype, and physical vitality, being of no
further use, remain on earth ; the three higher principles, grouped into
one, merge into a state of Devachan (q.v.), in which state the higher
Ego will remain until the hour for a new reincarnation arrives, and the
eidolon of the ex-personality is left alone in its new abode. Here the
pale copy of the man that was vegetates for a period of time, the dur-
ation of which is variable according to the element of materiality which
is left in it, and which is determined by the past life of the defunct.
Bereft as it is of its Jiigher mind, spirit and physical senses, if left alone
to its own senseless devices it will gradually fade out and disintegrate.
But if forcibly drawn back into the terrestrial sphere whether by the
passionate desires and appeals of the surviving friends or by regular
necromantic practices — one of the most pernicious of which is med-
iumship — the "spook" may prevail for a period greatly exceeding the
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY Z29
span of the natural life of its body. Once the Kama Riipa has learned
the way back to living human bodies, it becomes a vampire feeding on
the vitality of those who are so anxious for its company. In India
these eidolons are called pisachas, and are much dreaded.
Kapilavastu {Sans.). The birthplace of the Lord Buddha, called the
"yellow dwelling," the capital of the monarch who was the father of
Gautama Buddha.
Kardec, Allan. The adopted name of the founder of the French Spirit-
ists, whose real name was Rivaille. It was he who gathered and pub-
lished the trance uttterances of certain mediums, and afterwards made
a "philosophy" of them, between the years 1855 and 1870.
Karma {Sans.). Physically, Action; metaphysically, the Law of Retri-
bution ; the Law of Cause and Effect, or Ethical Causation. It is
Nemesis only in the sense of bad Karma. It is the eleventh nidana
in the concatenation of causes and effects in orthodox Buddhism; yet
it is the power that controls all things, the resultant of moral action,
the metaphysical samskara, or the moral effect of an act committed
for the attainment of something which gratifies a personal desire.
There is the Karma of merit and the Karma of demerit. Karma
neither punishes nor rewards ; it is simply the one Universal Law which
guides unerringly and, so to say, blindly, all other laws productive of
certain effects along the grooves of their respective causations.
When Buddhism teaches that " Karma is that moral kernel (of any
being) which alone survives death and continues in transmigration "
or reincarnation, it simply means that there remains naught after each
personality but the causes produced by it, causes which are undying,
i. e., which cannot be eliminated from the universe until replaced by
their legitimate effects and, so to speak, wiped out by them. And
such causes, unless compensated with adequate effects during the life
of the person who produced them, will follow the reincarnated Ego
and reach it in its subsequent incarnations, until a full harmony be-
tween effects and causes is fully re-established. No "personality" —
a mere bundle of material atoms and instinctual and mental charac-
330 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
teristics — can, of course, continue as such in the world of pure spirit.
Only that which is immortal in its very nature and divine in its essence
— namely, the Ego — can exist forever. And as it is that Ego which
chooses the personality it will inform after each Devachan, and which
receives through these personalities the effects of the karmic causes
produced, it is therefore the Ego, that Self — which is the "moral
kernel" referred to, and in fact embodied Karma itself — "which
alone survives death."
Kether (Heb.). "The Crown, the highest of the ten Sephiroth; the
first of the supernal triad. It corresponds to the Macroprosopos,
Vast Countenance, or Arikh Anpin, which differentiates into Chok-
mah and Binah."
Krishna (Sans.). The most celebrated avatara of Vishnu, the "savior"
of the Hindiis, and the most popular god. He is the eighth avatara,
the son of Devaki and nephew of Kansha, the Indian Herod, who,
seeking for him among the shepherds and cowherds who concealed
him, slew thousands of their newly born babes. The story of Krishna's
conception, birth and childhood is the exact prototype of the New
Testament story. The missionaries, of course, try to show that the
Hindus stole the story of the nativity from the early Christians who
came to India.
KsHETRAjNA, or Kshetrajfieshvara (Sans.). Embodied spirit in occult-
ism, the conscious Ego in its highest manifestations; the reincar-
nating principle, or the " Lord " in us.
KuMARA (Sans.). A virgin boy or young celibate. The first kumaras
are the seven sons of Brahma, born out of the limbs of the god in
the so-called ninth " creation." It is stated that the name was given
to them owing to their formal refusal to "procreate" their species,
and thus they " remained Yogis," according to the legend.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY m
Labre, St. a Roman saint solemnly beatified a few years ago. His
great holiness consisted in sitting at one of the gates of Rome night
and day for forty years, and remaining unwashed through the whole
of that time, the result of which was that he was eaten by vermin
to his bones.
Lao-Tze {Chin.). A great sage, saint, and philosopher, who was the con-
temporary of Confucius.
Law of Retribution. See " Karma."
LiNGA SharIra {Sans.). "Astral body," i. e., the aerial symbol of the body.
This term designates the doppelgdnger, or the "astral body" of man
or animal. It is the eidolon of the Greeks, the vital and prototypal
body, the reflection of the man of flesh. It is born before man, and
dies or fades out with the disappearance of the last atom of the body.
Logos {Gr.). The manifested deity with every nation and people; the
outward expression or the eflfect of the Cause which is ever concealed.
Thus speech is the logos of thought ; hence, in its metaphysical sense,
it is aptly translated by the terms " Verbum " and " Word,"
Long Face. A Kabalistic term ; Arikh Anpin in Hebrew, or " Long Face " ;
in Greek, Macroprosopos, as contrasted with " Short Face," or Zeir
Anpin, the Microprosopos. One relates to deity, the other to man,
the " little image of the great form."
Longinus, Dionysius Cassius. A famous critic and philosopher, born in
the very beginning of the third century (about a. d. 213). He was a
great traveler, and attended at Alexandria the lectures of Ammonius
Saccas, the founder of Neo-Platonism, but was rather a critic than a
follower. Porphyry (the Jew Malek or Malchus) was his pupil be-
fore he became the disciple of Plotinus. It is said of him that he was
a living library and a walking museum. Toward the end of his life
he became the instructor in Greek literature of Zenobia, queen of Pal-
332 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
myra. She repaid his services by accusing him before the Emperor
Aurelian of having advised her to rebel against the latter, a crime for
which Longinus, with several others, was put to death by the emperor
in 273.
M
Macrocosm. The " great universe " or kosmos.
Magic. The " great " science. According to Deveria and other Orient-
alists, " magic was considered as a sacred science inseparable from re-
ligion " by the oldest and most civilized and learned nations. The
Egyptians, for instance, were a most sincerely religious nation, as were,
and are still, the Hindus. " Magic consists of, and is acquired by, the
worship of the gods," says Plato. Could, then, a nation which, owing
to the irrefragable evidence of inscriptions and papyri, is proved to
have firmly believed in magic for thousands of years have been de-
ceived for so long a time ? And is it likely that generations upon gen-
erations of a learned and pious hierarchy, many among whom led lives
of self-martyrdom, holiness and asceticism, would have gone on de-
ceiving themselves and the people (or even only the latter) for the
pleasure of perpetuating belief in "miracles"? Fanatics, we are told,
will do anything to enforce belief in their gods or idols. To this we
reply: In such cases Brahmans and Egyptian rekhget-amens or Hiero-
phants would not have popularized the belief in the power of man to
command the services of the gods by magic practices; which gods are
in truth but the occult powers or potencies of Nature, personified by
the learned priests themselves, who reverenced in them only the attrib-
utes of the one unknown and nameless principle. As Proclus, the
Platonist, ably puts it : " Ancient priests, when they considered that
there is a certain alliance and sympathy in natural things to each
other, and in things manifest to occult powers, and discovered that
all things subsist in all, fabricated a sacred science from this mutual
sympathy and similarity, . . . and applied for occult purposes both
celestial and terrene natures, by means of which, through a certain sim-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 333
ilitude, they deduced divine natures into this inferior abode," Magic
is the science of communicating with and directing supernal supra-
mundane f)Otencies, as well as commanding those of lower spheres ; a
practical knowledge of the hidden mysteries of Nature, which are
known only to the few, because they are so difficult to acquire without
falling into sin against the law. Ancient and mediaeval mystics di-
vided magic into three classes — Theurgia, Goetia and Natural Magic.
" Theurgia has long since been appropriated as the peculiar sphere of
the Theosophists and metaphysicians," says Kenneth Mackenzie.
" Goetia is black magic, and ' natural ' or white magic has risen with
healing in its wings to the proud position of an exact and progressive
study." The comments added by our late learned brother are remark-
able : *' The realistic desires of modern times have contributed to bring
magic into disrepute and ridicule. . . . Faith (in one's own self) is
an essential element in magic, and existed long before other ideas which
presume its pre-existence. It is said that it takes a wise man to make
a fool ; and a man's idea must be exalted almost to madness — i. e., his
brain susceptibilities must be increased far beyond the low, miserable
status of modern civilization — before he can become a true magician,
for a pursuit of this science implies a certain amount of isolation and
an abnegation of self." A very great isolation, certainly, the achieve-
ment of which constitutes a wonderful phenomenon, a miracle in itself.
Withal, magic is not something supernatural. As explained by lam-
blichus : " They, through the sacerdotal theurgy, announce that they
are able to ascend to more elevated and universal essences, and to those
that are established above fate, viz., to god and the demiurgus ; neither
employing matter, nor assuming any other things besides, except the
observation of a sensible time." Already some are beginning to re-
cognize the existence of subtle powers and influences in Nature, in
which they have hitherto known naught. But, as one writer truly re-
marks, " the nineteenth century is not that which has observed the
genesis of new, nor the completion of old, methods of thought;" to
which Mr. Bonwick adds that " if the ancients knew but little of our
mode of investigation into the secrets of Nature, we know still less of
their mode of research,"
334 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Magic, Black. Sorcery, abuse of powers.
Magic, Ceremonial. Magic, according to Kabalistic rites, worked out,
as alleged by the Rosicrucians and other mystics, by invoking powers
spiritually higher than man, and commanding elementals who are far
lower than himself on the scale of being.
Magic, White. " Beneficent magic," so called, is divine magic, devoid
of selfishness, love of power, of ambition or lucre, and bent only on
doing good to the world in general and one's neighbor in particular.
The smallest attempt to use one's abnormal powers for the gratifica-
tion of self makes of these powers sorcery or black magic.
Mahamanvantara {Sans.). The great interludes between the Manus,
the period of universal activity. Manvantara here implies simply a
period of activity, as opposed to pralaya or rest, without reference
to the length of the cycle.
Mahat (Sans.). Lit, the "great" one. The first principle of universal
intelligence and consciousness. In the Puranic philosophy, the first
product of root-nature or pradhana (the same as mulaprakriti) ; the
producer of manas, the thinking principle, and of ahankara, egotism,
or the feeling of " I am I " in the lower Manas.
Mahatma (Sans.). Lit., "great soul." An Adept of the highest order.
An exalted being, who, having attained to the mastery over his lower
principles, is therefore living unimpeded by the " man of flesh."
Mahatmas are in possession of knowledge and power commensurate
with the stage they have reached in their spiritual evolution. Called
in Pali Arahats or Rahats.
Mahayana (Sans.). A school of Buddhistic philosophy; lit., the "great
vehicle." A mystical system founded by Nagarjuna. Its books were
written in the second century b. c.
Manas (Sans.). Lit., "mind." The mental faculty which makes of a
man an intelligent and moral being, and distinguishes him from the
mere animal; a synonym of mahat: Esoterically, however, it means,
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 335
when unqualified, the Higher Ego, or the sentient reincarnating prin-
ciple in man. When qualified, it is called by Theosophists Buddhi-
Manas, or the spiritual soul, in contradistinction to its human reflec-
tion, Kama-Manas.
Manasa-putra {Sans.). Lit., "the sons of mind" or mind-born sons;
a name given to our Higher Egos before they incarnated in mankind.
In the exoteric, though allegorical and symbolic Puranas (the an-
cient mythological writings of Hindiis), it is the title given to the
mind-born sons of Brahma, the kumaras.
Manas-sutratma {Sans.). Two words meaning "mind" {manas) and
"thread-soul" {sutratma). It is, as said, the synonym of our Ego,
or that which reincarnates. It is a technical term of Vedantic phil-
osophy.
Manas-Taijasa {Sans.). Lit., the " radiant " Manas; a state of the higher
Ego which only high metaphysicians are able to realize and compre-
hend. The same as "Buddhi-Taijasa," which see.
Mantras {Sans.). Verses from the Vedic works, used as incantations
and charms. By mantras are meant those portions of the Vedas which
are distinct from the Brahmanas or their interpretation.
Manu {Sans.). The great Indian legislator. The name comes from the
Sanskrit root man, to think, MAN really standing only for Svayam-
bhuva, the first of the Manus, who started from SvayambhCi, the
Self-existent, who is hence the Logos and the progenitor of mankind.
Manu is the first legislator — almost a divine being.
Manvantara {Sans.). A period of manifestation, as opposed to pralaya,
dissolution or rest; the term is applied to various cycles, especially to
a Day of Brahma, 4,320,000,000 solar years, and to the reign of one
Manu, 308,448,000. Lit., Manu-antara, between Manus. (See Secret
Doctrine, ii. 68 et seq.).
Master. A translation from the Sanskrit guru, " spiritual teacher," and
adopted by the Theosophists to designate the Adepts, from whom they
hold their teachings.
336 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Materialist. Not necessarily only one who believes in neither God nor
soul, but also any person who materializes the purely spiritual ; such
as believers in an anthropomorphic deity, in a soul capable of burning
in hell-fire, and a hell and paradise as localities instead of states of
consciousness. American " Substantialists," a Christian sect, are mater-
ialists, as also the so-called Spiritualists.
Materializations. In Spiritualism the word signifies the objective appear-
ance of the so-called " spirits of the dead," who reclothe themselves
occasionally in matter ; i. e., they form for themselves, out of the ma-
terials at hand, found in the atmosphere and the emanations of those
present, a temporary body bearing the human likeness of the defunct,
as he appeared when alive. Theosophists accept the phenomena of
"materialization," but they reject the theory that it is produced by
"spirits," i. e., the immortal principles of disembodied persons. Theo-
sophists hold that when the phenomena are genuine — which is a fact
of rarer occurrence than is generally believed — they are produced by
the larvae, the eidolons, or kamalokic "ghosts" of the dead personalities.
(See " Kamaloka " and "Kama Riipa.") As Kamaloka is on the
earth-plane and diflfers from its degree of materiality only in the degree
of its plane of consciousness, for which reason it is concealed from our
normal sight, the occasional apparition of such shells is as natural as
that of electric balls and other atmospheric phenomena. Electricity
as a fluid, or atomic matter (for Occultists hold with Maxwell that it
is atomic), is ever, though invisibly, present in the air. This fluid
can also manifest under various shapes, but only when certain condi-
tions are present to "materiaHze" it, when it passes from its own on
to our plane and makes itself objective. Similarly with the eidolons
of the dead. They are present around us, but, being on another plane,
do not see us any more than we see them. But whenever the strong
desires of living men and the conditions furnished by the abnormal
constitutions of mediums are combined together, these eidolons are
drawn — nay, pulled — down from their plane on to ours and made
objective. This is necromancy; it does no good to the dead, and great
harm to the living, in addition to the fact that it interferes with a law
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 337
of Nature. The occasional materialization of the "astral bodies" or
doubles of living persons is quite another matter. These "astrals" are
often mistaken for the apparitions of the dead, since, chameleon-like,
our own "elementaries," along with those of the disembodied, and
cosmic elementals, will often assume the appearance of those images
which are strongest in our thoughts. In short, at the so-called "ma-
terialization seances" it is those present and the medium who create
the peculiar "apparition." Independent apparitions belong to another
kind of psychic phenomena.
Maya (Sans.). Illusion; the cosmic power which renders phenomenal
existence and the perceptions thereof possible. In Hindu philosophy
that alone which is changeless and eternal is called reality; all that
which is subject to change through decay and differentiation, and which
has, therefore, a beginning and an end, is regarded as mdyd, illusion.
Mediumship. a word now accepted to indicate that abnormal psycho-
physiological state which leads a person to take the fancies of his im-
agination, his hallucinations, real or artificial, for realities. No en-
tirely healthy person on the physiological and psychic planes can ever
be a medium. That which mediums see, hear and sense is "real."
but untrue; it is either gathered from the astral plane, so deceptive in
its vibrations and suggestions, or from pure hallucinations, which have
no actual existence but for him who perceives them. " Mediumship "
is a kind of vulgarized mediatorship, in which one afflicted with this
faculty is supposed to become an agent of communication between a
living man and a departed " spirit." There exist regular methods of
training for the development of this undesirable acquirement.
Mercavah (Heb.). "A chariot. The Kabalists say that the Supreme,
after he had established the ten Sephiroth — which, in their totality,
are Adam Kadmon, the Archetypal Man — used them as a chariot
or throne of glory in which to descend upon the souls of men."
Mesmerism. The term comes from Mesmer, who rediscovered this mag-
netic force and its practical application, toward the year 1775, at
Vienna. It is a vital current that one person may transfer to another,
338 • THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
and through which he induces an abnormal state of the nervous sys-
tem that permits him to have a direct influence upon the mind and
will of the subject or mesmerized person.
Me;taphysics. From the Greek meta, beyond, and physika, the things of
the external material world. It is to forget the spirit and hold to the
dead letter to translate it " beyond nature " or supernatural, as it is
rather beyond the natural, visible or concrete. Metaphysics in onto-
logy and philosophy, is the term to designate that science which treats
of the real and permanent being as contrasted with the unreal, illusion-
ary or phenomenal being.
Microcosm. The " little universe," meaning man, made in the image of
his creator, the Macrocosm, or " great universe," and containing all
that the latter contains. These terms are used in Occultism and
Theosophy.
MiSHNAH (Heb.). Lit., a " repetition," from the word shdnah, "to repeat"
something said orally. A summary of written explanations from the
oral traditions of the Jews, and a digest of the scriptures on which
the later Talmud was based.
MoKSHA (Sans.). The same as nirvana-, a post-mortem state of rest and
bliss of the " soul-pilgrim,"
Monad, It is the "unity," the " One " ; but in Occultism it often means the
unified duad, Atma-Buddhi, or that immortal part of man which, in-
carnating in the lower kingdoms and gradually progressing through
them to man, finds thence way to the final goal, nirvana.
Monas {Gr.). In the Pythagorean system the Duas emanates from the
higher and solitary Monas, which is thus the First Cause.
MonogEnES {Gr.). Lit., the "only begotten"; a name of Proserpina and
other goddesses and gods, as also of Jesus.
Mundaka Upanishad {Sans.). Lit., the " Mundaka Esoteric Doctrine,"
A work of high antiquity.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 339
Mysteries. The Sacred Mysteries were enacted in the ancient temples
by the initiated Hierophants for the benefit and instruction of can-
didates. The most solemn and occult were certainly those which were
performed in Egypt by " the band of secret-keepers," as Mr. Bonwick
calls the Hierophants. Maurice describes their nature very graph-
ically in a few lines. Speaking of the Mysteries performed in Philar;
(the Nile-island), he says: " It was in these gloomy caverns that the
grand mystic arcana of the goddess (Isis) were unfolded to the ador-
ing aspirant, while the solemn hymn of initiation resounded through
the long extent of these stony recesses." The word "mystery" is
derived from the Greek niuo, to close the mouth, and every symbol
connected with them had a hidden meaning. As Plato and many of
the other sages of antiquity affirm, the Mysteries were highly religious,
moral and beneficent as a school of ethics. The Grecian Mysteries —
those of Ceres and Bacchus — were only imitations of the Egyptian ;
and the author of Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought informs us
that our own word "chapel or capella is said to be the caph-el or col-
lege of el, the solar divinity." The well-known Kabiri are associated
with the Mysteries.
In short, the Mysteries were in every country a series of dramatic
performances, in which the mysteries of cosmogony and Nature in
general were personified by the priests and neophytes, who enacted
the parts of various gods and goddesses, repeating supposed scenes
(allegories) from their respective lives. These were explained in
their hidden meaning to the candidates for initiation, and incorporated
into philosophical doctrines.
Mystery Language. The sacerdotal secret "jargon" used by the initiated
priests, and employed only when discussing sacred things. Every na-
tion had its own "mystery" tongue, unknown to all save those admitted
to the Mysteries.
Mystic. From the Greek word mystikos. In antiquity, one belonging to
those admitted to the ancient Mysteries; in our own times, one wiio
practises mysticism, holds mystic, transcendental views, etc.
340 THE KEY TO THHOSOPHY
Mysticism. Any doctrine involved in mystery and metaphysics, and deal-
ing more with the ideal worlds than with our actual, matter-of-fact
universe.
N
Nazarene Codex. The Scriptures of the Nazarenes and of the Nabatheans
also. According to sundry church fathers — Jerome and Epiphanius
especially — they were heretical teachings, but are in fact one of the
numerous Gnostic readings of cosmogony and theogony, which pro-
duced a distinct sect.
Necromancy. The raising of the images of the dead, considered in an-
tiquity and by modern Occultists as a practice of black magic. lam-
blichus. Porphyry, and other theurgists deprecated the practice no
less than Moses, who condemned the "witches" of his day to death,
the said witches being often only mediums — e. g., the case of the
witch of Endor and Samuel.
Neo-Platonists. a school of philosophy which arose between the second
and third centuries of our era, and was founded by Ammonius Saccas
of Alexandria. The same as the Philaletheians and the Analogeticists ;
they were also called Theurgists, and by various other names. They
were the Theosophists of the early centuries. Neo-Platonism is
Platonic philosophy plus ecstasy, divine Raja Yoga.
Nephesh (Heb.). "Breath of Hfe," aninia, mens vitce, appetites. The
term is used very loosely in the Bible. It generally means Prana,
" life ;" in the Kabalah it is the animal passions and the animal soul.
Therefore, as maintained in Theosophical teachings, nephesh is the
prana-kamic principle, or the vital animal soul in man.
Nirmanakaya {Satis.). Something entirely different in Esoteric Phil-
osophy from the popular meaning attached to it, and from the fancies
of the Orientalists. Some call the nirmanakaya, or body, "nirvana
with remains" (Schlagintweit), on the supposition, probably, that it
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 341
is a kind of nirvanic condition during which consciousness and form
are retained. Others say that it is one of the trikdya (three bodies),
with " the power of assuming any form or appearance in order to
propagate Buddhism " (Eitel's idea) ; again, that " it is the incarnate
avdtara of a deity " (ibid.). Occultism, on the other hand, says (Voice
of the Silence) that nirmdnakdya, although meaning literally a trans-
formed "body," is a state. The form is that of the Adept or yogi
who enters, or chooses, that post-mortem condition in preference to
the dhannakdya or absolute nirvanic state. He does this because the
latter kdya separates him forever from the world of form, conferring
upon him a state of selfish bliss, in which no other living being can par-
ticipate, the Adept being thus precluded from the possibility of helping
humanity, or even devas. As a nirmdnakdya, however, the Adept
leaves behind him only his physical body, and retains every other
"principle," save the kamic, for he has crushed this out forever from
his nature during life, and it can never resurrect in his post-mortem
state. Thus, instead of going into selfish bliss, he chooses a life of
self-sacrifice, an existence which ends only with the life-cycle, in order
to be enabled to help mankind in an invisible, yet most effective manner.
(See Voice of the Silence, Third Treatise, "The Seven Portals.")
Thus a nirmdnakdya is not, as popularly believed, the body " in which
a Buddha or a Bodhisattva appears on earth," but verily one who,
whether a chutuktu or a khubilkan, an Adept or a yogi, during life,
has since become a member of that invisible Host which ever protects
and watches over humanity within karmic limits. Mistaken often for
a "spirit," a deva, God himself, etc., a nirmdnakdya is ever a protect-
ing, compassionate, verily a guardian angel to him who is worthy of
his help. Whatever objection may be brought forward against this
doctrine, however much it is denied — because, forsooth, it has never
hitherto been made public in Europe, and therefore, since it is un-
known to Orientalists, it must needs be a "myth of modern invention"
— no one will be bold enough to say that this idea of helping suffering
mankind at the price of one's own almost interminable self-sacrifice
is not one of the grandest and noblest that was ever evolved from the
human brain.
342 THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Nirvana {Sans.). According to the Orientalists, the entire "blowing out,"
like the flame of a candle; the utter extinction of existence. But in
the esoteric explanations it is the state of absolute existence and ab-
solute consciousness, into which the Ego of a man who had reached
the highest degree of perfection and holiness during life goes after the
body dies, and occasionally, as in the case of Gautama Buddha and
others, during life.
NiRVANi {Sans.). One who has attained nirvana — an emancipated Soul.
That nirvana means something very different from the puerile asser-
tions of Orientalists, every scholar who has visited India, China or
Japan is well aware. It is " escape from misery," but only from that of
matter; freedom from klesha or kama, and the complete extinction of
animal desires. If we are told that the Abhidamma defines nirvana
as " a state of absolute annihilation," we concur, adding to the last
word the qualification " of everything connected with matter or the
physical world," and this simply because the latter (as also all in it)
is illusion or mdya. Shakyamuni Buddha said in the last moments of
his life, " The spiritual body is immortal." As Mr. Eitel, the scholarly
Sinologist, explains it : " The popular exoteric systems agree in de-
fining nirvana negatively as a state of absolute exemption from the
circle of transmigration ; as a state of entire freedom from all forms
of existence — to begin with, freedom from all passion and exertion ;
a state of indifference to all sensibility " — and he might have added
" death of all compassion for the world of suffering." And this is
why the Bodhisattvas who prefer the nirmanakaya to the dharmakaya
vesture stand higher in the popular estimation than the nirvanis. But
the same scholar adds that " positively [and esoterically] they define
nirvana as the highest state of spiritual bliss, as absolute immortality
through absorption of the soul [spirit, rather] into itself, but preserv-
ing individuality, so that, e. g., Buddhas, after entering nirvana, may
reappear on earth — i. e., in the future manvantara."
NouMENON {Gr.). The true essential nature of Being as distinguished
from the illusive objects of sense.
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY 343
Nous {Gr.). A Platonic term for the higher mind or soul. It means
spirit as distinct from animal soul, psyche; divine consciousness or
mind in man. The name was adopted by the Gnostics for their first
conscious eon, which, with the Occultists, is the third logos, cosmic-
ally, and the third "principle" (from above), or Manas, in man.
NouT {Eg.). In the Egyptian Pantheon it meant the "One-Only-One,"
because it does not proceed in the popular or exoteric religion higher
than the third manifestation which radiates from the Unknowable and
the Unknown in the Esoteric Philosophy of every nation. The nous
of Anaxagoras was the mahat of the Hindiis — Brahma, the first mani-
fested deity — " the mind or spirit self-potent." This creative prin-
ciple is the primiim mobile of everything to be found in the universe —
its soul or ideation.
o
Occultism. See " Occult Sciences."
Occultist. One who practices Occultism, an Adept in the secret sciences,
but very often applied to a mere student.
Occult Sciences. The science of the secrets of Nature — physical and
psychic, mental and spiritual; called Hermetic and esoteric sciences.
In the West the Kabalah may be named ; in the East, Mysticism, magic
and Yoga-philosophy. The latter is often referred to by the chelas
in India as the seventh darshana or school of philosophy, there being
only six darshanas in India known to the world of the profane. These
sciences are, and have been for ages, hidden from the vulgar, for the
very good reason that they would never be appreciated by the selfish
educated classes, who would misuse them for their own profit, and thus
turn the Divine science into black magic ; nor by the uneducated, who
would not understand them. It is often brought forward as an ac-
cusation against the Esoteric Philosophy of the Kabalah that its liter-
ature is full of " a barbarous and meaningless jargon," unintelligible
344 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
to the ordinary mind. But do not exact sciences — medicine, physio-
logy, chemistry, and the rest, — plead guilty to the same impeachment ?
Do not official scientists veil their facts and discoveries with a newly
coined and most barbarous Greco-Latin terminology? As justly re-
marked by our late brother, Kenneth Mackenzie, " to juggle thus with
words, when the facts are so simple, is the art of the scientists of the
present time, in striking contrast to those of the seventeenth century,
who called spades spades, and not ' agricultural implements.' " More-
over, while their " facts " would be as simple and as comprehensible
if rendered in ordinary language, the facts of occult science are of so
abstruse a nature that in most cases no words exist in European lan-
guages to express them. Finally, our " jargon " is a double necessity,
(a) for describing clearly these facts to one who is versed in the occult
terminology; and {b) for concealing them from the profane.
Olympiodorus. The last Neo-Platonist of fame and celebrity in the school
of Alexandria. He lived in the sixth century under the Emperor
Justinian. There were several writers and philosophers of this name
in pre-Christian as in post-Christian periods. One of these was the
teacher of Proclus, another a historian in the eighth century, and so on.
Origen. a Christian churchman, born at the end of the second century,
probably in Africa, of whom little, if anything is known, since his bio-
graphical fragments have passed to posterity on the authority of Euse-
bius, the most unmitigated falsifier that has ever existed in any age.
The latter is credited with having collected upward of one hundred
letters of Origen (Origenes Adamantius), which are now said to have
been lost. To Theosophists the most interesting of all the works of
Origen is his " Doctrine of the Pre-existence of Souls." He was a
pupil of Ammonius Saccas, and for a long time attended the lectures
of this great teacher of philosophy.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 345
P
PANTi^NUS. A Platonic philosopher in the Alexandrian school of the
Philaletheians.
Pandora. In Greek mythology, the first woman on earth, created by Vulcan
out of clay to deceive Prometheus and counteract his gift to mortals.
Each god having made her a present of some quality, she viras made to
carry them in a box to Prometheus who, however, being endowed with
foresight, sent her away, changing the gifts into evils. Thus, when
his brother Epimetheus afterward married her, on opening the box all
the evils now afflicting humanity issued from it, and have remained
since then in the world.
Pantheist. One who identifies God with Nature and vice versa. If we
have to regard Deity as an infinite and omnipresent principle, this
can hardly be otherwise. Nature being thus simply the physical aspect
of Deity, or its body.
Parabrahman. (Sans.). A Vedantin term meaning "beyond Brahma."
The supreme and the absolute principle, impersonal and nameless.
In the Veda it is referred to as " THAT."
Paranirvana. In the Buddhistic philosophy, the highest form of nirvana
— beyond the latter.
Parsis. The present Persian followers of Zoroaster, now settled in India,
especially in Bombay and Gujerat; sun and fire worshippers. One of
the most intelligent and esteemed communities in the country, gener-
ally occupied with commercial pursuits. There are between fifty
and sixty thousand now left in India, where they settled some one
thousand years ago.
Personality. The teachings of Occultism divide man into three aspects —
the divine, the thinking or rational, and the irrational or animal man.
For metaphysical purposes, also, he is considered under a septenary
division or, as it is agreed to express it in Theosophy, he is composed
of seven "principles," three of which constitute the higher triad, and
346 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
the remaining four the lower quaternary. It is in the latter that dwells
the personality, which embraces all the characteristics, including mem-
ory and consciousness, of each physical life in turn. The individuality
is the Higher Ego (Manas) of the triad considered as a unity. In
other words, the individuality is our imperishable Ego which reincarn-
ates and clothes itself in a new personality at every new birth.
Phallic Worship. Sex-worship; reverence and adoration shown to those
gods and goddesses which, like Shiva and Durga in India, symbolize
respectively the two sexes,
Philadelphians. Lit., " those that love their brother-men." A sect in
the seventeenth century founded by one Jane Lead. They' objected
to all rites, forms or ceremonies of the church, and even to the church
itself, but professed to be guided in soul and spirit by an internal
deity, their own Ego, or God within them.
Philaletheians. See " Neo-Platonists."
Phieo Jud.^us. a Hellenized Jew of Alexandria, a famous historian and
philosopher of the first century ; born about the year 30 b. c, and died
between the years 45 and 50 a, d. Philo's symbolism of the Bible is
very remarkable. The animals, birds, reptiles, trees and places men-
tioned in it are all, it is said, " allegories of conditions of the soul, of
faculties, dispositions or passions; the useful plants were allegories of
virtues, the noxious of the affections of the unwise, and so on through
the mineral kingdom ; through heaven, earth and stars ; through foun-
tains and rivers, fields and dwellings ; through metals, substances, arms,
clothes, ornaments, furniture, the body and its parts, the sexes, and
our outward condition." {Diet. Christ. Biog.) All of which would
strongly corroborate the idea that Philo was acquainted with the an-
cient Kabalah.
Philosopher's Stone. A term in Alchemy; called also the powder of pro-
jection, a mysterious "principle" having the power of transmuting the
base metals into pure gold. In Theosophy it symbolizes the trans-
mutation of the lower animal nature of man into the highest divine.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 347
PhrEN. a Pythagorean term denoting what we call the Kama-Manas,
still overshadowed by Buddhi-Manas.
Plane. From the Latin planus, level, flat. An extension of space,
whether in the physical or metaphysical sense. In Occultism, the
range or extent of some state of consciousness, or the state of matter
corresponding to the perceptive powers of a particular set of senses
or the action of a particular force.
Planetary Spirits. Rulers and governors of the planets. Planetary gods.
Plastic Used in Occultism in reference to the nature and essence of the
astral body, or the " protean soul."
PleROMa. " Fulness ; " a Gnostic term, used also by St. Paul. Divine
world or the abode of gods. Universal space divided into metaphys-
ical cons.
PloTinus. a distinguished Neo-Platonic philosopher of the third century,
a great practical mystic, renowned for his virtues and learning. He
taught a doctrine identical with that of the Vedantins, namely that
the spirit-soul emanated from the one deific principle, and after its
pilgrimage on earth was reunited to it.
Porphyry (Porphyrins). His real name was Melech, which led to his
being regarded as a Jew. He came from Tyre, and having first studied
under Longinus, the eminent philosopher-critic, became the disciple of
Plotinus at Rome. He was a Neo-PIatonist and a distinguished writer,
especially famous for his controversy with lamblichus regarding the
practice of Theurgy, but was, however, finally converted to the views
of his opponent. A natural-born mystic, he followed, like his master
Plotinus, the pure Indian Raja Yoga system which, by training, leads
to the union of the soul with the over-soul of the universe, and of the
human with its divine soul, Buddhi-Manas. He complains, however,
that in spite of all his eflforts he reached the highest state of ecstasy
only once, and that when he was sixty-eight years of age, while his
teacher Plotinus had experienced the supreme bliss six times during
his life.
348 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Pot Amun. A Coptic term meaning " one consecrated to the god Amun,"
the Wisdom-god. The name of an Egyptian priest and Occultist
under the Ptolemies.
Prajna {Sans.). A term used to indicate the "universal mind." A syn-
onym of mahat.
Pralaya (Sans.). Dissolution, the opposite of manvantara, one being the
period of rest and the other of full activity (death and life) of a
planet, or of the whole universe.
pRANA (Sans.). Life-principle, the breath of life, nephesh.
Protean Soul. A name for the mayavi rupa or thought-body, the higher
astral form which assumes all forms and every form, at the will of
an Adept's thought.
PsYCHiSM. The word is now used to denote every kind of mental phen-
omena, e. g., mediumship as well as the highest form of sensitiveness.
A newly coined word.
PuRANAS (Sans.). Lit., "the ancient," referring to Hindii mythological
writings or scriptures, of which there is a considerable number.
Pythagoras. The most famous Greek mystic philosopher, born at Samos
about 586 b, c, who taught the heliocentric system and Reincarnation,
the highest mathematics and the highest metaphysics, and who had
a school famous throughout the world.
Quaternary. The four lower "principles" in man. those which constitute
his personality (i. e., body, astral double, prana or life, organs of
desire, and lower manas or brain-mind), as distinguished from the
higher ternary or triad, composed of the higher Spiritual Soul, Mind,
and Atma (Higher Self).
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 349
R
Recollection, Remembrance, Reminiscence. Occultists make a differ-
ence between these three functions. As, however, a glossary cannot
contain the full explanation of every term in all its metaphysical and
subtle differences, we can only state here that these terms vary in their
applications, according to whether they relate to the past or the present
birth, and whether one or the other of these phases of memory eman-
ates from the spiritual or the material brain, or, again, from the "in-
dividuality" or the "personality."
Reincarnation, or Rebirth. The once universal doctrine which taught
that the Ego is born on this earth an innumerable number of times.
Nowadays it is denied by Christians, who seem to misunderstand the
teachings of their own Gospels. Nevertheless the putting on of flesh
periodically and throughout long cycles by the higher human soul (Bud-
dhi-Manas) or Ego is taught in the Bible, as it is in all other ancient
scriptures, and "resurrection" means only the rebirth of the Ego in
another form.
Reuchlin, John. A great German philosopher and philologist, Kabalist
and scholar. He was born at Pforzheim, in Germany, in 1455, and
early in youth was a diplomat. At one period of his life he held the
high office of judge of the tribunal at Tiibingen, where he remained for
eleven years. He was the preceptor of Melanchthon, and was greatly
persecuted by the clergy for his glorification of the Hebrew Kabalah,
though at the same time called the " Father of the Reformation." He
died in 1522, in great poverty, the common fate of all who in those
days went against the dead letter of the church.
s
Sacred Science. The epithet given to the occult sciences in general, and
by the Rosicrucians to the Kabalah, and especially to the Hermetic
philosophy.
350 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Samadhi {Sans). The name in India for spiritual ecstasy. It is a state
of complete trance, induced by means of mystic concentration.
Samkhara (Pali). One of the five Buddhist skandhas or attributes.
" Tendencies of mind."
Samma Sambuddha (Pali). The sudden remembrance of all one's past
incarnations, a phenomenon of memory obtained through Yoga. A
Buddhist mystic term.
Samothrace. An island in the Grecian Archipelago, famous in days of old
for the Mysteries celebrated in its temples. These Mysteries were
world-renowned.
SamyuTTaka Nikaya (Pali). One of the Buddhist siitras.
Sanna (Pali). One of the five skandhas or attributes, meaning "abstract
ideas."
Seance. A term now used to denote a sitting with a medium for sundry
phenomena. Used chiefly among the Spiritualists.
Self. There are two Selves in men — the higher and the lower, the im-
personal and the personal Self. One is divine, the other semi-animal.
A great distinction should be made between the two.
Sephiroth. a Hebrew Kabalistic word for the ten divine emanations
from Ain Suph, the impersonal, universal principle, or Deity.
Skandhas. The attributes of every personality, which after death form
the basis, so to say, for a new karmic reincarnation. They are five
in the popular or exoteric system of the Buddhists : i. e., rupa, form or
body, which leaves behind it its magnetic atoms and occult affinities;
veddna, sensations, which do likewise; sannd, or abstract ideas, which
are the creative powers at work from one incarnation to another;
satnkhdra, tendencies of mind ; and vinndna, mental powers.
SoMNAMBUUSM. " Sleep-walking " ; a psycho-physiological state too well
known to need explanation.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 351
Spiritism. The same as the following, with the difference that the Spirit-
uaUsts almost unanimously reject the doctrine of Reincarnation, while
the Spiritists make of it the fundamental principle in their belief.
There is, however, a vast difference between the views of the latter
and the philosophical teachings of Eastern Occultists. Spiritists belong
to the French school founded by Allan Kardec, and the Spiritualists of
America and England to that of the " Fox girls," who inaugurated
their theories at Rochester, N. Y. Theosophists, while holding that
the mediumistic phenomena of both Spiritualists and Spiritists do
occur, reject the idea of "spirits."
Spiritualism. The modern belief that the spirits of the dead return on
earth to commune with the living.
St. Germain, Count. A mysterious personage, who appeared in the lat-
ter part of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth
in France, England, and elsewhere.
Sthula Sharira {Sans.). The human physical body in Occultism and
Vedantic philosophy.
Sthulopadhi {Sans.). The physical body in its waking, conscious state
{jagrat).
SuKSHMOPADHi {SoHS.). The physical body in the dreaming state
{svapna), and karanopadhi, the "causal body." These terms belong
to the teachings of the Taraka Raja Yoga school.
Summer-land. The fancy name given by the Spiritualists to the abode
of their disembodied " spirits," which they locate somewhere in the
Milky Way. It is described on the authority of returning " spirits,"
as a lovely land, having beautiful cities and buildings, a congress
hall, museums, etc., etc.
SwEDENBORG, Emanuel. A famous scholar and clairvoyant of the
past century, a man of great learning, who had vastly contributed to
science, but whose Mysticism and transcendental philosophy placed him
in the ranks of hallucinated visionaries. He is now universally known
352 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
as the founder of the Swedenborgian sect, or the New Jerusalem
Church. He was born at Stockholm (Sweden) in 1688, from Luth-
eran parents, his father being the Bishop of West Gothland. His
original name was Swedberg, but on his being ennobled and knighted
in 1719 it was changed to Swedenborg. He became a mystic in 1743,
and four years later (in 1747) resigned his office (of Assessor Extra-
ordinary to the College of Mines) and gave himself up entirely to
Mysticism. He died in 1772.
Taijasa {Sans.). From tejas, fire; meaning the "radiant," the "lumin-
ous ;" referring to the manasa-rupa, " the body of manas," also to the
stars and the starlike shining envelopes. A term in Vedantic phil-
osophy, having other meanings besides the occult signification just
given.
Taraka Raja Yoga {Sans.). One of the Brahmanical Yoga systems, the
most philosophical and, in fact, the most secret of all, as its real tenets
are never given out publicly. It is a purely intellectual and spiritual
school of training.
Tetragrammaton {Gr.). The deity-name in four letters, which are in
their English form IHVH. It is a Kabalistic term, and corresponds
on a more material plane to the sacred Pythagorean tetraktys.
Theodidaktos {Gr.). The "God-taught," a title applied to Ammonius
Saccas.
Theogony. From the Greek theogonia, lit., the " genesis of the gods."
ThEOSOphia {Gr.). Lit, "divine wisdom or wisdom of the gods."
Therapeut.^, or Therapeuts {Gr.). A school of Jewish mystic healers
or esotericists, wrongly referred to by some as a sect. They resided
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY 353
in and near Alexandria, and their doings and beliefs are to this day
a mystery to the critics, as their philosophy seems a combination of
Orphic, Pythagorean, Essenian, and purely Kabalistic practices.
Theurgy. From the Greek thcionrgia. Rites for bringing down to earth
planetary and other spirits or gods. To arrive at the realization of
such an object the Theurgist had to be absolutely pure and unselfish
in his motives. The practice of Theurgy is very undesirable and even
dangerous in the present day. The world has become too corrupt and
wicked for the practice of that which such holy and learned men as
Ammonius, Plotinus, Porphyry and lamblichus (the most learned The-
urgist of all) could alone attempt with impunity. In our day Theurgy,
or divine, beneficent magic, is but too apt to become goetic or, in other
words, sorcery. Theurgy is the first of the three subdivisions of magic,
which are theurgic, goetic and natural magic.
Thread Soul. The same as sutratma, which see under " Manas-siitratma."
Thumos {Gr.). A Pythagorean and Platonic term; applied to an aspect
of the human soul, to denote its passionate kama-riipic condition ;
almost equivalent to the Sanskrit word tamas, the quality of darkness,
and probably derived from the latter.
Tim^us of Locris. a Pythagorean philosopher, born at Locris. He
dififered somewhat from his teacher in the doctrine of metempsy-
chosis. He wrote a treatise on the Soul of the World and its nature
and essence, which is in the Doric dialect and still extant.
Triad, or Trinity. In every religion and philosophy, the three in one.
u
Universal Brotherhood. The principal purpose of the Theosophical
Movement.*
* See footnotes 11 and 60.
354 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Upadhi {Sans.). Basis of something, substructure; as in Occultism sub-
stance is the upadhi of spirit.
Upanishad {Sans.). Lit., "esoteric doctrine." The third division of
the Vedas, and classed with revelation {shruti or "revealed word").
Some one hundred and fifty or even two hundred of the Upanishads
still remain extant, though no more than about twelve can be fully
relied upon as free from falsification. These twelve are all earlier
than the sixth century b. c. Like the Kabalah, which interprets the
esoteric sense of the Bible, so the Upanishads explain the mystic sense
of the Vedas. Professor Cowell has two statements regarding the
Upanishads, as interesting as they are correct. Thus he says : ( 1 )
These works have " one remarkable peculiarity, the total absence of
any Brahmanical exclusiveness in their doctrine. . . . They breathe
an entirely different spirit, a freedom of thought unknown in any
earlier work except the Rig Veda hymns themselves;" and (2) "the
great teachers of the higher knowledge [gupta-vidya], and Brahmans,
are continually represented as going to Kshatriya kings to become
their pupils [chelas]." This shows conclusively that {a) the Upani-
shads were written before the enforcement of caste and Brahmanical
power, and are thus only second in antiquity to the Vedas; and {h)
that the occult sciences, or the " higher knowledge," as Cowell puts it,
are far older than the Brahmans in India or, at any rate, than the
caste system. The Upanishads are, however, far later than the gupta-
indya, or the " secret science," which is as old as human philosophical
thought itself.
V
Vahan {Sans.). "Vehicle." A synonym of upadhi.
Vallabacharyas {Sans.). The "sect of the Maharajas"; a licentious
phallic-worshiping community, whose main branch is at Bombay. The
object of the worship is the infant Krishna. The Anglo-Indian gov-
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY 355
ernment has been compelled several times to interfere in order to put
a stop to its rites and vile practices, and its governing Maharaja, a
kind of high priest, was more than once imprisoned, and very justly so.
It is one of the blackest spots of India.
Vedanta {Sans.). Meaning, literally, the "end of [all] knowledge."
Among the six darshanas or schools of philosophy it is also called
Uttaramimansa, or the " later " Mimansa. There are those who. un-
able to understand its esotericism, consider it atheistical; but this is
not so, as Shankaracharya, the great apostle of this school, and its
popularizer, was one of the greatest mystics and Adepts of India.
ViDYA (Sans.). Knowledge, or rather "wisdom-knowledge."
ViNNANA (Pali). One of the five skandhas; meaning, esoterically, "men-
tal powers."
w
Wisdom-Religion. The same as Theosophy. The name given to the
secret doctrine which underlies every exoteric scripture and religion.
Y
Yoga (Sans.). A school of philosophy founded by Patanjali, but which
existed as a distinct teaching and system of life long before that sage.
It is Yajnavalkya, a famous and very ancient sage, to whom the IVhite
Yajur Veda, the Shafapatha Brahmana and the Brihad Aranyaka are
attributed, and who lived in pre-Mahabharatean times, who is credited
with inculcating the necessity and positive duty of religious meditation
and retirement into the forests, and who therefore is believed to have
originated the Yoga doctrine. Professor Max Miiller states that it is
Yajnavalkya who prepared the world for the preaching of Buddhism.
356 THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Patanjali's Yoga, however, is more definite and precise as a philo-
sophy, and embodies more of the occult sciences than any of the
works attributed to Yajnavalkya.
YoGi, or Yogin (Sans.). A devotee, one who practices the Yoga system.
There are various grades and kinds of Yogis and the term has now
become in India a generic name to designate every kind of ascetic.
YuGA (Sans.). An age of the world, of which there are four, which
follow each other in a series, namely, krita (or satya) yuga, the golden
age; treta yuga, dvapara yuga and finally kali yuga, the black age
— in which we now are.
Zenobia. The queen of Palmyra, defeated by the Emperor Aurelianus.
She had for her instructor Longinus, the famous critic and logician
in the third century a. d.
Zivo, Kabar or lu-Kabar. The name of one of the creative deities in the
Nazarene Codex.
ZoHAR (Heb.). The Book of "Splendor," a Kabalistic work attributed
to Simeon ben-Iochai, in the first century of our era.
ZoROASTRiAN. One who follows the religion of the Parsis, sun or fire
worshipers.
INDEX
INDEX
Abammon, 4.
Absolute, 3, 45, 61, 62, 64, 65, 67, 70,
82, 84, 91, 105, 117, 171, 198, 207.
Absolute consciousness, 64, 99.
Absolute harmony, 109, 207.
Absolute impartiality, 110.
Absolute justice, 108, 110, 139.
Absolute law, 65, 84.
Absolute logic, 109.
Absolute love, 110.
Absolute nothing, 115.
Absolute oblivion, 147.
Absolute Principle, 66.
Absolute Spirit, 67, 113.
Absolute unity, 82, 153.
Absolute wisdom, 108, 110.
Absoluteness, 62, 64, 89.
Absorption, 112, 113.
Abstract, 56, 66, 154.
Abstract Spirit, 67.
Abstractions, 127, 128, 175.
Academy, philosophers of the, 7.
Accident, 121.
Accumulated misery, 201.
Act, 208.
Action, 46, 47, 66, 70, 71, 201, 202, 205,
207, 208, 220, 224, 226, 230, 233.
Actor, 34, 130, 166, 181.
Acts, 112.
Adam, 107, 184.
Adam Kadmon, 184.
Adepts, 3, 22, 23, 24, 25, 147, 150, 197,
211, 212, 213, 214, 275, 277, 280, 283,
290, 291.
Adjustment, 198, 200, 207.
Adultery, 75, 76.
Aebel Zivo, 184.
^ther, 104.
Affection, spiritual, 149.
After-life, 159, 168. (.S"^^ Post-mortem
life)
Age, Golden, 59.
Age, unspiritual, 38.
Aged of the Aged, 184.
Agnoia, 94. (See Anoia)
Agnostic Journal, 44, 274.
Agnostics, 94, 217, 265, 266.
Ahamkara, 134.
Ain Suph, 62.
Alchemists, 2, 275.
Alchemy, 22, 24, 26, 37.
Alexandria, 5.
Alexandrian philosophers, 2, 7, 9, 104.
All, 33, 63, 82, 83, 105, 113, 117, 120, 180.
Allegory, 77.
Alphabets, 10, 24.
Altruism, 21, 53, 78, 235, 247, 266.
Ambition, 25.
Amelioration, 231.
360
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
America, 294.
America, ethnological treasures of, 18.
Americans, 14.
American spiritualists, 146.
Ammonius Saccas, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 24, 125.
Amun, 2.
Analogeticists, 2.
Analogy, 2.
Ananda, 15, 79, 80.
Anaxagoras, 93.
Angels, 103, 177, 182.
Anima bruta, 105.
Anima divina, 105.
Anima mundi, 104, 105.
Animal characteristics, 256.
Animal desires, 90, 119, 173, 181.
Animal flesh, 256.
Animal food, 256.
Animal instincts, 91, 117, 173, 177.
Animal intelligence, 143.
Animal-minded man, 119.
Animal passions, 71, 90, 91, 95, 96, 119,
126, 173, 181.
Animal plane, 143.
Animal soul, 89, 91, 92, 101, 105, 114,
120, 142, 152, 156.
Animal tissue, 256.
Animalizing effect, 256.
Animals, 102, 103, 113, 123, 142.
Annihilation, 79, 92, 93, 102, 112, 113
114, 154, 161, 163, 167, 168, 183, 185,
187, 215.
Anoia, 92, 114. (5"^^ Agnoia)
Anthropomorphic God, 61, 63, 109.
Anthropomorphism, 36, 67, 81, 102.
Anugtta, 67.
Apollonius of Tyana, 12, 18, 25.
Arabia, Hierophants of, 37.
Arcane Section of Theosophical Society,
38.
Archaic doctrine, 60, 89, 114.
Archaic knowledge, 37.
Archaic philosophy, 93.
Arhats, 14, 16, 78.
Aristobulus, 6.
Aristotle, 6, 105.
Arnold, Edwin, 210.
Art Magic and Ghost Land, 290, 291.
Aryan philosophy, 41, 45.
Asceticism, 254, 255, 256.
Ascetics, 254, 255.
Asiatic literature, 41.
Aspiration, 68, 223.
Association of ideas, 123, 126.
Astral body, 29, 90, 93, 94, 142, 160. {See
Double)
Astral capsule, 101, 102, 129.
Astral eidolons, 142.
Astral entity, 143.
Astral inner man, 129, 179, 205.
Astral life, 150.
Astral locality, 142.
Astral principles, 101.
Astral particles, 142.
Astral remains, 29.
Astral shadow, 96.
Astral soul, 104.
Astrology, 23, 26, 97.
Atheism, 79.
Atheists, 62, 63, 73, 207, 265, 266.
Athenagoras, 6, 7.
Athenians, 97.
Atma, 67, 91, 92, 95, 101, 102, 106, 114,
116, 117, 120, 130, 133, 134, 156, 171,
172, 173, 178, 183, 185.
Atma-Buddhi, 91, 92, 94, 105, 112, 114, 120.
Atma-Buddhi-Manas, 71, 142.
Atma-Buddhic light, 68.
Atma-Buddhic monad, 128.
Atman, 67, 100, 112, 120, 171.
Atmic elements, 97.
Atmic vehicle, \72.
Atom, 64, 83.
THE KBY TO THEO SOPHY
361
Atonement, 104, 196, 203, 205, 209, 218, 219.
Attributes, 65, 77, 101, 118, 128, 158, 159.
Aura, 153.
Authority, 48, 216, 218, 270, 288.
Avatara, 177.
Axiomatic truth, 47.
B
Babylon, Rabbis of, 5.
Bactria, Sages of, 4.
Balance of National Karma, 200.
Banner of Light, 146.
Becoming, Ever-, 65.
Being, 63, 65, 166, 168, 178, 180.
Belief, 163, 164, 168, 216, 218.
Belief and unbelief, efifect of, 163, 164, 168.
Belittlement, habit ol, 18.
Be-ness, 65, 113.
Bhagavad Gita, 49, 67. 171.
Bible, 8, 27, 42, 68, 102, 107, 110, 112, 266.
Bigandet, Bishop, 73.
Bigotry, 48.
Birth, {see Rebirth).
Bishop, Washington Irving, 191.
Black Brotherhood, 280.
Black magic, 3, 22, 23, 26, 68, 102, 281.
Blavatsky, H. P., 17, 19, 50, 204, 271, 279,
283, 285, 286, 287, 288.
Blind faith, {see Faith).
Bliss, 35, 70, 98, 99, 136, 138, 144, 145,
146, 147, 150, 159, 160.
Blood, 184, 219.
Blood of Christ, 196, 218.
Board-schools, 261.
Bodha, 14.
Body, {see Physical body).
Body, celestial, 90, 135.
Body, terrestrial, 135, ISO.
Bohme, Jakob, 4, 19. 23.
Book of the Keys, 107.
Brahma, 171.
Brahma, 83, 157.
Brahma-Vidya, 2.
Brahmanas, 80.
Brahmans, 10, 14, 15, 63, 79, 217, 219.
Brahmic pralaya, 103.
Brain, 67, 90, 123, 124, 126, 127, 129, 143,
151, 175, 176, 181, 187.
Brain-intellect, 96.
Brain-stufF, 262.
Breath, 94, 96, 98, 105, 113, 182.
Britten, Mrs. E. H., 290.
Brotherhood, {see Universal Brother-
hood).
Brothers, Elder, 18, 19.
Brothers of the Shadow, 280.
Brown-Sequard, Dr., 281.
Brutality, 231.
Brutes, {sec Animals).
Buddha, 8, 14, 15, 16, 18, 47, 49, 70, 77,
78, 79, 80, 81, 112, 196, 224, 233.
Buddhas, 150, 162, 184.
Buddhi, 67, 91, 92, 95, 97, 100, 101, 105,
114, 118, 119, 120, 134, 154, 157, 158,
161, 165, 172, 175, 181, 183, 184, 185,
186, 187.
Buddhi-Manas, 106, 120, 132, 157, 158, 172.
Buddhi-Taijasa, 163.
Buddhic radiance, 171.
Buddhism, 5, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 45,
73, 76, 77, 79, 81, 113, 115, 128, 197, 243.
Buddhist precepts, 240.
Buddhist texts, 112, 114, 196.
Buddhists, 14, 16, 73, 74, 77, 78, 100, 111,
188, 195, 196, 217, 218, 219, 224, 241,
242, 243.
Budhism, 14, 77.
Butler, 125.
Cadaver, 116.
Cagliostro, 19.
Calumny, 272, 273, 283.
Cant, 48, 226.
362
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Carlyle, 226.
Caste, 293.
Causal body, 116, 120, 134, 171.
Causation, 229, 230, 233.
Cause, Causes, 63, 176, 187, 198, 204, 207,
208, 220, 229, 231.
Celestial body, 135, 138.
Celibacy, 254.
Central Asia, 9.
Centrifugal spiritual energy, 186.
Centripetal spiritual energy, 186.
Century Path, 39.
Ceremonial magic, 3.
Ceylon, 73, 79.
Chain, 87.
Chaldaea, Hierophants of, 37.
Chaldees, 24.
Change, 76, 117, 158.
Character, 231, 262.
Charges against Madame Blavatsky, 283.
Charity, 45, 53, 54, 78, 237, 238, 240, 244,
245, 246, 266.
Charity of mind, 238, 246.
Chelas, 118, 291.
Chemistry, 24.
Children, 260, 261.
China, 19, 234.
Chinese Buddhism, 15.
Christ, {see Jesus Christ) .
Christendom, 73, 200.
Christian Church, 36, 55, 81, 108, 239, 260,
288.
Christian College Magazine, 270.
Christian duties, 224, 238.
Christian fathers, 112.
Christian savages, 235.
Christian Scientists, 72.
Christian theology, 36, 75, 93, 154, 181,
195, 209, 214.
Christianity, 4, 6, 27, 54, 55, 72, 73, 78, 79,
112, 153, 183, 218, 220, 225, 226, 274.
Christians, 54, 55, 61, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72,
7\ 77, 103, 104, 169, 185, 186, 195, 196,
217, 219, 225, 226, 238, 242.
Christos, 67, 71, 154, 183, 184.
Civilization, 17, 242.
Ciphers, secret, 10.
Clairvoyance, 211.
Classes in society, 199.
Clemens Alexandrinus, 4, 37.
Clement, 6, 7.
Clergy, 270.
Coarsening effect of flesh-eating, 256.
Codex Nasarceus, 184.
Cogitation, 181.
Coleridge, 135.
Collective suffering, 200.
Commandments, 75.
Common origin of man, 45.
Common origin of religions, 45.
Communications with spirits, 28, 29, 31,
144, 149, 150, 152, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193.
Companions, work of, 18.
Compassion, 212.
Compensation, 179, 205.
Concealed Deity, 111.
Concrete, 56.
Confucius, 8, 19, 48, 235.
Conscience, 135, 185, 236, 246.
Conscious immortality, 163.
Conscious life, 163.
Conscious soul, 148.
Consciousness, 30, 34, 64, 67, 84, 87, 88,
91, 92, 93, 97, 98, 99, 106, 107, 117, 119,
120, 132, 134, 135, 145, 150, 153, 155,
156, 157, 158, 159, 161, 163, 167, 170,
171, 174, 175, 176, 177, 215.
Contemplation, (see Meditation).
Continuity, 156, 157.
Contrast, 282.
Conventional religions, failure of, 36.
Co-operation, 229.
Correlation of forces, 101.
Correspondences, 2, 96.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
363
Cosmical ocean, 104.
Cosmos, 64, 84, 94.
Court of law, 54, 285.
Creation, 62, 63, 82, 83, 109, 182, 184.
Creative force, 68.
Creator, 61, 62, 63.
Credulity, 216.
Creed, Theosophical Society has no, 20,
57, 59.
Creeds, 36, 58, 219, 293.
Crime, 73, 220, 221, 242, 243, 262, 288.
Cup of life, 225.
Custodians of truth, 36.
Cycle of being, 63.
Cycle of incarnations, 35, 147, 158, 165,
178, 179, 194.
Cycle of life, 83, 99, 106, 109, 113, 185,
194.
Cycle of necessity, 166.
Cyclic law, 18.
Cyclic rest, 150.
Cyclic migrations, 111.
D
Daily life, {see Life).
Damien, Father, 234, 235.
Damnation, 77, 136, 138, 146, 235, 239.
Dangers of intercourse with spirits, 189,"
190, 191, 192.
Dangers of psychic unfolding, 294.
Darkness, 64, 84, 111.
Darwinists, 44.
David, 68.
Days and Nights of Brahma, 83.
Dead, 146.
Dead letter, 13, 16, 43, 54, 69, 77, 81.
Dear departed ones, 146, 148, 187, 191.
Death, 12, 35, 79, 93, 97, 99, 102, 120, 126,
145, 146, 149, 150, 156, 157, 159, 160,
161, 162, 163, 165, 168, 186, 213.
Deed, 139, 196, 201, 211.
Defense of Theosophical Society, 244.
Deific principle, 62, 63.
Deists, 63.
Deity, 3, 16, 64, 65, 67, 71, 91, 94, 95,
97, 99, 110, 111, 112, 114, 154, 178, 196,
204, 217, 219.
Delusion, 147, 148.
Demerit, 144, 197, 204.
Demeter, 97.
Democritus, 93.
Demoniacal wisdom, 90.
Deniers, 72.
Descent of spiritual Ego, 154.
Desires, 90, 129, 208, 258.
Destiny, 153, 178, 179, 205, 209, 212, 221,
236.
Devachan, 29, 97, 98, 99, 103, 106, 107,
128, 129, 132, 138, 139, 142, 144, 145,
146, 147, 149, 150, 152, 154. 155, 161,
167, 168, 174, 181, 185, 186, 188, 194,
196, 212.
Devachani, 145, 147, 149.
Devas, 69.
Development, 53. 154, 228, 230, 231, 232,
235, 256, 257, 267, 278, 293.
Devils, 69.
Devotion, 281, 292.
Dhamma, 80.
Dhammapada, 74.
Dharma, 210.
Dhyan Chohans, 157, 166.
Dhyana, 113.
Difference between men and animals, 103.
Diogenes Laertius, 2.
Discord, 294.
Discretion, 250.
Discrimination, 233.
Disease, 191, 257.
Disembodied entity, 102, 138.
Disembodied soul, 29, 30, 169.
Disembodied spirits, 31, 149, 188.
Disharmony, 201, 202.
Disintegration of principles. 98, 126.
364
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV
Distributive Karma, 199.
Divine being, 1, 166.
Divine consciousness, 119.
Divine Ego, 77, 92, 104, 166, 172.
Divine essence, 11, 44, 67, 100, 120, 214.
Divine excellence, 114.
Divine fire, 178.
Divine justice, 121.
Divine knowledge, 1, 2, 13.
Divine light, 54.
Divine love, 149.
Divine man, 120, 174.
Divine mind, 180.
Divine nature, 57.
Divine powers, 178.
Divine principle, 63, 109, 116, 133, 153.
Divine root, 171.
Divine science, 2, 37.
Divine secrets, 13.
Divine Self, 52.
Divine soul, 118, 153, 157, 158.
Divine spirit, 72, 92, 100.
Divine substance, 91.
Divine transfiguration, 93,
Divine triad, 181.
Divine Wisdom, 1, 4, 56.
Divinity, 171, 213, 239.
Doctrines of Theosophy, 61, 109, 124, 214,
229, 230, 244.
Dogma, 13, 15, 57, 75, 104, 108, 109, 182,
211, 214, 216, 219, 220, 221, 293.
Double, 29, 90, 95, 117, 118, 119, 142, 173.
Dreaming state, 116.
Dreamless sleep, 160, 163, 164, 168.
Dreams. 4, 31, 88, 149, 162, 163, 168, 169.
Drugs, 258.
Duad, 134.
Dual Manas, 92, 157, 172, 175.
Dual monad, 91, 120, 134.
Duality. 89, 92, 107, 170, 175, 180.
Dugpas, 281, 283.
Duty, 45, 48, 49, 213, 223, 224, 225, 226,
227, 228, 230, 231, 235, 236, 237, 238,
246, 247, 248, 250, 293.
Earlier Theosophical Movements, 294.
Earth, 84, 85, 87, 96, 97, 98, 101, 110,
136, 139.
Earth chain, 87.
Earth life, 34, 121, 132, 147, 154, 155,
163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 169, 174, 175,
176, 212.
Eastern philosophy, 30, 106, 115, 204.
Eastern school, 115, 157.
Eastern teachings, 101, 128, 169, 188, 243.
Eastern terms, English equivalents for,
172.
Eastern wisdom, 88.
Eclectic Theosophical system, 2, 4.
Ecstasy, 4, 11, 12, 70, 125.
Edinburgh Encyclopedia, 6.
Edkins, Rev. J., 15.
Education, 42, 45, 241, 259, 260, 261, 262,
263, 264, 266, 267.
Effect, 153, 208, 230.
Efficacy of Theosophy, 42.
Efflorescence, spiritual, 186.
Eglinton, 191.
Ego, 29, 31, 34, 35, 67, 68, 77, 79, 80,
91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 102,
103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111,
114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 124, 127,
128, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136,
137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 144, 145, 146,
149, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 159, 160,
161, 163, 164, 165, 166, 171, 172, 173,
174, 176, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183,
184, 185, 187, 194, 236, 281.
Egoist, 168.
Egoity, 34.
Egoship, 134.
Egotism, 70, 208.
Egypt, 18.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHV
365
Egypt, Hierophants of, 10, 37.
Egyptian doctrines, 7.
Egyptian system, 93.
Egyptian Therapeutae, 6.
Egyptians, 5, 37, 93, 95.
Eidolon, 95, 99, 126, 142.
Elder Brothers, 18, 19.
Element, 97, 116.
Elementals, 29, 188.
Elementaries, 187.
Eleusinian Mysteries, 10, 37.
Eleusinian Mysteries, 196.
Elevation of the race, 230.
Emanation, 62, 83, 84, 94, 97, 100, 101,
104, 109, 115, 178, 213, 214.
Emerson, 243.
Empedocles, 105.
Energy, spiritual, 186.
English equivalents for Eastern terms, 172.
Enthusiasm, 125, 243.
Entities, 98, 117, 137, 164, 180.
Entity, 90, 102, 104, 105, 106, 113, 129,
137, 143, 174, 176, 179, 180, 181, 195.
Environment, 131, 137, 199.
Epictetus, 237.
Epilepsy, a symptom of mediumship, 192.
Epistles, 112.
Equilibrium, 186, 201, 219.
Equity, 75, 153, 176, 196.
Errors of nature, 217.
Esoteric Budhism, 77.
Esoteric doctrine, 7, 15, 103, 156, 243, 292.
Esoteric instructions, 21, 22, 25.
Esoteric philosophy, 21, 25, 60, 95.
Esoteric science, 96.
Esoteric Section of Theosophical Society,
20, 21, 38, 49, 59, 275.
Esoteric teachings, 6, 9, 14, 15, 78.
Essence, 3, 11, 42, 44, 45, 65, 67, 70, 82,
100, 102, 106, 107, 109, 113, 120, 164,
171, 177, 180, 214.
Essenes of Carmel, 6, 11.
Essential being, 114.
Essential existence, 114.
Eternal Ego, 140.
Eternal life, 168.
Eternal light, 111.
Eternal punishment, 108, 211.
Eternal reward, 108.
Eternity, 82, 113, 118, 149, 158, 164, 165,
166, 168, 176, 207, 209.
Ether, 127.
Ethics, 4, 5, 6, 15, 19, 25, 27, 38, 48, 224,
225, 243.
Eurasians, 72>.
Europeans, 14.
Ever-Becoming, 65.
Everlasting Truth, 292.
Evil, 111, 177, 196, 199, 202, 206, 222, 224,
231, 241, 242, 244, 250, 267.
Evil powers, 281.
Evolution, 62, 64, 65, 83, 121, 231.
Example, 244.
Existence after death, {sec Post-mortem
life).
Existence, objective, 115, 132.
Existence, spiritual, 223.
Experience, 86, 180, 222, 223, 255.
Ex-personality, 142.
External plane, 216.
Extra-cosmic God, 109.
Eyes, spiritual, 163.
Faculties, inner, 257, 294.
Faculties, rational, 113.
Failure of earlier Theosophical move-
ments, 293.
Failures of nature, 168, 185, 195.
Faith, 86, 196, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218,
219, 281.
Faith, blind, 27, 48, 214, 215, 216, 266.
Fakirs, 255.
Fallen angels, 137.
366
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Fall of spirit into matter, 178, 222.
Family duties, 236.
Family group, 149.
Fanaticism, 235, 236, 257.
Fancy, 79, 124, 125, 149.
Fatal necessity, 110.
Fate, 98.
Fate of lower principles, 142.
Father in heaven, 66, 67.
Father in secret, 66, 70, 71, 81, 100, 178.
Fear, 236.
Felicity, 144, 147.
Fetish-worship, 63, 79.
Fever, ravings of, 124.
Fifth race, 194.
Final goal, 166, 221, 223,
Final perfection, 195.
Final rest, 195.
Finite, 87, 111.
Fire, 105, 178.
Fire-philosophers, 37, 105.
Five principles, 116.
Flesh, 137, 180.
Flesh of animals, 256, 257, 258.
Folk-lore, 48.
Forbearance, 246.
Force, 88, 127, 167, 177, 186, 201, 232.
Forces, man a correlation of, 101, 129.
Forgetfulness of self, 78.
Forgiveness, 78. 197, 218. 219, 242, 246.
Form, 61, 95, 106, 113, 115, 134, 137, 186.
Foster, Charles, 191.
Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteous-
ness, 112.
Founders of the Theosophical Movement,
252, 268, 269, 271, 275.
Four principles, 89.
Fourth plane, 89.
Fourth round, 194.
Fox sisters, 192.
Fundamental principles, 156.
Fundamental teaching of Theosophy, 42.
Future, 125.
Future lives, 161, 187, 259.
Future of Theosophical Society, 292, 294.
Future, seeing the, 13, 125, 161.
Future state, 97, 98, 136, 159.
G
Gautama, {see Buddha).
Genealogy of the Ego, 180.
Genesis, 43, 107, 108.
Germain, St., 19, 24.
Glanvil, 190.
Globes, 87.
Gnosis, 10.
Gnostics, 10, 93, 111.
Goal, 24, 166, 180, 205, 221, 223, 259.
Goblins, 190.
God, 42, 57, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69,
70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 81, 82, 94, 106,
107, 109, 110, 144, 177, 178, 179, 182,
184, 1%, 202, 207. 209, 211, 214, 216,
217, 218, 219, 266.
God above us, 172.
God in man, 72, 130, 161.
God in secret, 50, 67.
God, Manas is a, 179.
Gods, 1, 3, 8, 13, 18, 69, 70, 79, 80, 89,
103, 115, 131, 206.
Golden age, 59.
Golden thread, 161.
Good, 12, 53, 56, 111, 151, 196, 197, 200,
202, 206, 286.
Gordian, Emperor. 4.
Gospels, 54, 77, 80.
Gratitude, 240.
Gravity, 127.
Greece, philosophers of, 5, 6, 7, 37, 93,
96, 105.
Greek system, 93, 96.
Greeks, 2)7.
Gross matter, 105.
Group, family, 149.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
367
Guardian angel, 179.
Gupta-Vidya, 15.
H
Hades, 97, 98, 142, 187.
Hallucinated hysteriacs, 131.
Hallucinations, 124, 148.
Happiness, 147, 149, 221, 224.
Harmony, 109, 186, 201, 202, 203, 204,
206, 207.
Hashish, 258.
Headquarters of Theosophical Movement,
47.
Heart, 44, 67, 81, 227.
Heathen, 73, 75.
Heaven, 79, 111, 148, 169.
Heavenly wisdom, 90.
Hell, 55, 77, 108, 136, 137, 139, 182, 239.
Hellenic teachers, 5.
Helpers, body of, 18.
Hereafter, 136.
Herennius, 9.
Hermas, 184.
Hermes, 8, 97.
Hermetic text, 107.
Heterogeneity, 177.
Hierogrammatists, 10.
Hierophants, 10, 2i7.
Higher beings, 12.
Higher consciousness, 150, 177.
Higher Ego, 67, 172.
Higher life, 213.
Higher Manas, 119, 120, 143, 181.
Higher mind, 117, 143.
Higher planes, 232.
Higher self. 11, 50, 52, 72, 80, 120, 130,
132, 133, 171, 172, 178, 236.
Higher spiritual Ego, 68.
Higher states of mind, 122.
Higher triad, 91, 142, 183.
Hillel, 49.
Hinayana, 10.
Hinduism, 137.
Hindus, 14, 69, 7Z, 83, 93, 161, 188, 195,
241, 275.
History, 265.
Holy Ghost, 67, 288.
Holy kiss, 106.
Holy One, 111, 112.
Home, D. D., 191.
Homer, 4.
Homogeneity, 83, 177, 178.
Homogeneous essence, 68, 84, 101.
Horace, 108.
Hue, Abbe, 72,.
Humanity, 20, 24, 46, 47, 53, 57, 59, 71,
213, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 247, 261, 262.
Human character, 231.
Human consciousness, 135.
Human Ego, 180.
Human eidolon, 142.
Human interdependence, 199, 261.
Human law, 197.
Human monad, 118.
Human nature, 13, 42, 57. 170, 227, 243,
246, 252.
Human solidarity, 229, 230.
Human soul. 2, 18, 74, 91, 104, 105, 113,
114, 118, 120, 156, 157, 158, 159, 177.
Human spirit, 101, 105.
Hunter, Sir William, 72.
Huxley, Mr., 31, 94.
Hypnotism, 11, 26, 27, 28, 72, 279, 280,
281, 282.
Hj'pocrites, 81.
Hypotheses, 86, 88, 127, 285.
I
I, {see Ego).
lamblichus, 3, 4, 24.
Ideals, 49, 56, 154, 155. 175, 242, 245.
252, 286.
Ideas, association of, 123, 126.
Identity, 130.
368
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Identity of origin of religions, 4, 58.
Idleness, 247, 248.
Idolatry, 14, 70, 79, 93.
Ignorance, 78, %, 150, 212, 216, 248, 263.
Illness, 257.
Illusion, 58, 64, 83, 84, 113, 116, 118, 147,
149, 150, 163, 165, 167, 175, 176, 177,
213, 215, 295.
Immediate reincarnation, 168, 185.
Immorality, 242, 243, 258.
Immortal Ego, 92, 281.
Immortal element, 116.
Immortal essence, 102.
Immortal life, 177.
Immortal man, 44, 154.
Immortal nature of man, 3.
Immortal self, 49, 128.
Immortal spirit, 74, 112, 117.
Immortal spiritual consciousness, 176.
Immortality, 77, 78, 102, 106, 107, 111,
115, 120, 159, 163, 164, 165, 166.
Immutable law, 74, 84, 110, 136, 139, 162.
Impartiality, 110, 195.
Imperishable Ego, 80, 92, 133.
Imperishable record, 219.
Impersonal Divine Principle, 116, 183.
Implacability of karmic law, 197.
Incantation, 69.
Incarnating, {see Reincarnation).
Incarnating Ego, (.yrr Reincarnating Ego).
Incarnating permanent self, 130.
Incarnation-cycle, {see Cycle).
Indestructibility of spirit, 151.
India, 9, 12, 18, 7Z, 79, 81, 112, 270.
India, sages of, 4, 37.
Indian doctrines, 7.
Indian literature, 18.
Indifference, 168, 230, 231.
Individual consciousness, 107.
Individual Ego, 77, 128, 160.
Individual immortality, 115.
Individual judgment, 231.
Individual Karma, 199.
Individuality, 16, 29, 33, 34, 35, 77, 78, 92,
104, 105, 115, 120, 131, 133, 134, 135,
140, 145, 150, 152, 163, 166, 167, 172,
179, 186, 215.
Inequalities of life, 140.
Infinite, 3, 11, 12, 61, 67, 70, 83, 196, 215,
217.
Influences, 189.
Initiates, 5, 9, 10, 15, 16, 18, 22, 23, 57,
77, 89, 90, 112, 147, 162, 171, 211, 277.
Initiation, 74, 78, 81, 97.
Injury, 246, 248.
Injustice, 139, 195, 212.
Inman, 195.
Innate knowledge, 131.
Inner Ego, 172, 178.
Inner faculties and powers, 257.
Inner group, 21, 23, 38, 59.
Inner man, 67, 105, 116, 175, 178, 205,
255, 256.
Inner perception, 163.
Inner section, 254, 255, 257, 259.
Inner self, 30, 104, 187.
Inner selves, 140.
Inspiration, 278, 288.
Inspiration of men by Nirmanakayas, 151.
Instinct, 93, 95, 117.
Instinctual soul, 97.
Instructions, 21, 23.
Instruments of research, 86.
Intellect, 96, 170, 262.
Intellectual capacities, 172.
Intellectual conscious soul, 148.
Intelligence, 14, 91, 143, 151, 195.
Intelligences, 190, 281.
Intelligent powers, 217.
Intent, 200.
Intercourse with goblins, 190.
Intercourse with spirits, 189, 191, 192.
Interdependence of humanity, 199, 261.
Intuition, 48, 135, 216, 236, 241.
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
369
Intuitional perception, 124, 241, 257.
Invocation, 69.
Involution, 64.
Irrational animal soul, 92, 94.
Irrational spiritual soul, 101.
Ishvara, 141.
Isis Unveiled, 103, 178, 186, 187, 188, 218,
218, 219, 221.
IT, 64, 83, 109, 120.
Itself, 65, 83.
lu-Kabar Zivo, 184.
James, Epistle of, 90.
Javar Zivo, 184.
Javidan Khirad, 59.
Jehovah, 62, 97, 236.
Jennings, Hargrave, 274.
Jesuits, 62.
Jesus Christ, 7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 18, 42, 43,
47, 49, 55, 61, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 77,
79, 81, 183, 187, 196, 197, 218, 221, 233,
235, 238, 239.
Jesus, teachings of, 10, 14, 42, 43, 47,
49, 55, 68, 69, 77, 183, 187, 197, 238, 239.
Jews, 41, 66, 68, 81, 108, 110, 217.
John, Gospel of, 8, 84, 182, 183, 184.
Josephus, 6.
Judaism, 5.
Judge, William Q., 17, 39, 50, 128, 251.
Judgment, 216, 231, 293.
Justice, 54, 71, 75, 76, 108, 121, 136, 138,
139, 148, 160, 161, 167, 195, 196, 206,
209, 220, 221, 227, 230, 233, 234, 242,
246.
Kabalah, 22, 23, 62, 111, 184.
Kabalists, 3. 24, 62, 65, 94, 97, 101, 102,
183.
Kama, 119, 129.
Kamaloka, 97, 98, 129, 142, 186, 187.
Kamalokic shells, 29, 188.
Kama Rupa, 90, 91, 92, 94, 95, 117, 126,
142, 173, 177, 186, 187.
Kama-rupic phantom, 143.
Kama-tending Manas, 181.
Karanopadhi, 116.
Kardec, Allan, 188, 191.
Karma, 46, 51, 73, 98, 108, 134, 137, 139,
149, 151, 152, 159, 166, 179, 188, 195,
196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 204,
205, 206, 207, 208, 210, 211, 212, 221,
224, 225, 229, 232, 241, 242, 243, 250,
261, 290.
Karma-Nemesis, 206.
Karmic complication, 121.
Karmic effects, 130, 153.
Karmic law, 46, 139, 161, 198, 207, 212,
220, 229, 232.
Karmic past, 190.
Karmic punishment, 138, 159.
Karmic readjustment, 198, 201, 211.
Karmic reincarnation, 188.
Karmic responsibility, 224.
Karmic transgression, 137.
Kether Malchuth, 65.
Key to religions, 5.
Kindness, 227, 230, 240.
King, John, 190.
King Initiates of Egypt, 18.
Kingdom of heaven, 13, 14, 112.
Knight, Prof. W., 125.
Knowledge, 1, 2, 9, 13, 18, 36, 48, 56, 58,
86, 214, 215, 216, 255, 286, 292.
Kosmic being, 88.
Kosmos, 94.
Krishna, 67.
Kshetrajna, 67, 134.
Kumaras, 137.
Labre, St., 235, 255.
Lancet, 277,
370
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Language, 295.
Lao-Tze, 48, 116.
Latent powers, 41, 48, 211.
Law, 46, 47, 65, 84, 108, 109, 146, 148,
156, 157, 186, 195, 197, 198. 212, 220.
Law, immutable, 74, 84, 110, 136.
Law of compensation, 179, 205.
Law of retribution, 51, 108, 139, 152, 179,
210.
Law, spiritual, 46.
Law, unerring. 138, 139.
Lectures on Platonic Philosophy, 125.
Lethe, 138.
Leviticus, 108. 184.
Liberated spirits, 93.
Libraries of Theosophical Society, 47.
Life, 16, 58, 83, 90, 93, 94, 106, 109, 113,
117, 118, 119, 121, 124, 126, 129, 131,
137, 138. 139, 140, 142, 149, 150, 152,
155, 156, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 165,
167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 173, 174, 175,
176, 177, 184, 185, 186, 194, 212, 213,
223.
Life cycle, (see Cycle of life).
Life principle, 119, 126, 142, 173.
Life soul, 77.
Light. 54, 105, 111, 113, 175.
Light 31, 33, 121. 184.
Light of Asia, 210.
Light of Buddhi, 158, 175.
Light of Egypt, 290.
Limbus, 142.
Linga Sharira, 90, 126. (See Astral body)
Literature, Theosophical, 244, 272, 278,
283, 288.
Locke, 87, 123.
Lodge, Great, agents of, 19, 294.
Logic, 65, 76, 109, 144, 153, 182, 188, 218,
219, 220.
Logos, 62, 94, 109, 185.
Long Face, 184.
Longinus, 4, 9.
Loss of memory, 122.
Loss of personal Ego, 164, 186, 187.
Loss of self-consciouness, 156.
Loss of soul, (sec Annihilation).
Love, 78, 109. 110, 111, 136, 145, 146, 147,
148, 149, 230, 261, 266.
Lower Manas 90, 95, 114, 119, 143, 144,
156, 158, 173, 175, 177, 181.
Lower mind, 117.
Lower nature, 170.
Lower personal Ego, 68.
Lower principles, 142.
Lower self, 154, 262.
Lucifer, 73, 155, 159.
Luxury, 230.
Lytton, Bulwer, 243.
M
Mackenzie, K. R. H., 111.
Macrocosm, 88.
Madness, 124.
Magian system, 5.
Magic, 3, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 68, 281, 282.
Magician, 35, 102.
Magic powers, 282.
Maha-manvantara, 62, 103, 106.
Maharaja sect, 274.
Mahat, 134.
Mahatmas, 275, 276, 277, 283, 284, 286,
287, 288, 290.
Mahayana, 10, 15.
Malek, 4.
Man, Mankind, 82, 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 96,
97, 98, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107,
108, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 129,
130, 137, 138, 140, 154, 173, 174, 175,
178, 179, 185. 205. 255, 256, 294.
Man and animals, difference between, 103,
117.
Man, common origin of, 42, 44, 45.
Man, conqueror over matter, 179.
Man, unity of, 17, 46, 47, 82.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
371
Manas, 67, 90, 91, 92, 94, 95,
102, 114, 118, 119, 120, 129,
144, 156, 157, 158, 161, 163,
174, 177, 179, 180, 181, 185,
Manas, dual, 91, 92, 157.
Manas, reflection of, 95, 177.
Manas-Sutratma, 165.
Manas-Taijasa, 151.
Manasa-putras, 134, 137, 180.
Manasic consciousness, 161.
Manasic Ego, 135.
Manasic elements, 97.
Manasic entity, 181.
Manasic mind, 175.
Manasic recollections, 162.
Manifestations, spiritualistic, 28
143, 187, 189.
Manifested Deity, 157.
Mant, Bishop, 182.
Mantra, 69.
Manu, 134, 138.
Manvantara, 83, 137.
" M. A., Oxon.," 31, 151, 192.
Marriage, 236, 258.
Masonic Cyclopadia, 111.
Masses, 78, 79, 80, 125, 241, 242,
260.
Masters, 18, 23, 24, 78, 129, 233,
277, 280, 281, 283, 286, 287,
290, 291, 294.
Material improvement, 232.
Material life, 168, 169.
Material principles, 133.
Materialism, 17, 33, 44, 117, 125,
Materialists, 31, 36, 93, 99, 126,
155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160,
167, 168, 172, 195, 207, 217,
Materialization, 29, 92, 143, 187,
Matter, 33, 34, 44, 63, 99, 101,
112, 136, 166, 167, 177, 180,
222.
Matter-spirit, 99.
99, 101,
134, 143,
172, 173,
186, 187.
, 29, 30,
243, 253,
275, 276,
288, 289,
151, 270.
130, 131,
163, 164,
280.
188.
105, 107,
185, 215,
Maya, 118, 147.
Mayavi Rupa, 168.
Meadows of Hades, 97, 98.
Meat-eating, 256.
Mediaeval Theosophists, 105.
Mediaeval Theosophy, 22.
Meditation, 4, 7, 12.
Mediums, 28, 31, 191, 192.
Mediumship, 3, 22, 27, 72, 188, 190.
Megittawatti, 75.
Members of Theosophical Society, lay, 25.
Members of Theosophical Society,
pledged, 21.
Memory, 34, 106, 113, 122, 123, 124, 125,
126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 135, 138
155, 174, 177, 262, 265.
Memory, physical, 124, 125, 126, 127, 130,
131, 132, 262.
Memory of the soul, 124, 130, 138.
Mens, 118.
Mental aspects, 116.
Mental development, 228, 294.
Mental plane, 198.
Mental powers, 128.
Mental Scientists, 72.
Mentality, 170.
Mercavah, 10.
Merciful law, 148.
Mercy, 68, 109, 136, 146, 153, 196, 212,
227, 240.
Merit, 71, 144, 197, 204.
Mesmer, 19.
Mesmerism, 22, 23, 27, 28.
Messiah, 184.
Metaphysical plane, 45.
Metaphysical terms, 173.
Metaphysicians, 103.
Metaphysics, 77, 88, 96, 118, 128, 241, 242.
Meta-spirit, 33, 105, 133.
Michael, 137.
Microcosm, 89.
Migrations, cyclic, 111.
372
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Mind, 74, 91, 93, 94, 95, 99, 101, 109, 117,
119, 122, 125, 128, 132, 133, 134, 143,
157, 172, 175, 180, 181, 208, 238, 258,
279.
Ministering spirits, 182.
Miracles, 27, 48, 269, 275, 278, 279, 280.
Misery, 35, 201, 262.
Mishna, 110.
Missionaries, 75, 270.
Mistakes concerning the Theosophical So-
ciety, 254.
Mistakes concerning Theosophy, 244.
Mnemonics, 124.
Mohammedans, 72>, 217.
Moksha, 111.
Molecule, 64.
Moment of birth, 161.
Moment of death, 160, 161.
Monad, 91, 118, 120, 128, 164.
Monas, 94, 105.
Moon, 96, 97, 98, 101.
Moral elevation, 52, 277.
Moral engulf ment, 201.
Moral improvement, 294.
Mortal man, 90.
Moses, 6, 39, 43, 61, 69, 75, 190.
Mosheim, 6, 7.
Motion, 113, 114.
Motive, 200.
Motto of Theosophical Society, 3.
Movements, earlier Theosophical, 294.
Mundaka Upanishad, 157.
Mundane life, {see Earth life).
Muscular action, 191.
Mysteries, 3, 5, 10, 18, 37, 95, 97, 98, 137,
183.
Mysteries of God, 76, 177.
Mysteries of heaven, 79.
Mysteriis, De, 4.
Mystery language, 24.
Mysticism, 23, 37, 190, 242, 294.
Mystics, 4, 12, 24.
N
Names and principles, 169, 170.
Names, sacred, 286, 288, 289, 290.
National Karma, 199, 200.
Natural law, 24.
Nature, 3, 42, 56, 62, 63, 64, 74, 84, 86, 87,
185, 186, 195, 198, 200, 217, 221, 243,
246, 247, 252, 277, 278, 281.
Nature, errors of, 217.
Nature, failures of, 168, 185, 195.
Nature, laws of, 20, 41, 48, 148, 195, 198,
278.
Nature of Manas, 179.
Nature of mind, 122.
Nature, secrets of, 24, 26, 27, 41, 48.
Nature symbolism, 274.
Nasarene Codex, 184.
Necessity, cycle of, 166.
Necessity, fatal, 110.
Necromancy, 3, 26, 190.
Nemesis, 125, 206.
Neo-Platonic Theosophy, 17.
Neo-Platonists, 2, 4, 5, 101.
Nephesh, 74, 77, 94, 98, 107, 108, 184.
New birth, 49.
New body, 127, 134.
New brain, 127, 130.
New incarnation, 129, 139, 157, 184.
New Jerusalem, 148.
New man, 140.
New memory, 127.
New personality, 76, 140, 153, 164, 194.
Nezv Platonism and Alchemy, 2, 5, 11, 12.
New soul, 109.
Nezv Testament, 112.
Night, 82, 83, 181.
Night of Brahma, 83.
Nirmanakayas, 150, 151.
Nirvana, 70, 79, 98, 100, 108, 111, 112,
113, 115, 132, 150, 166, 167.
Noah, 184.
Non-ego, 80.
THE KEY TO THEO SOPHY
373
Nonentity, 113, 143.
Non-sectarian education, 45.
Nothing, 113, lis.
No-thing, 115.
Noumena, 94, 158, 176.
Nous, 89, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 105, 114, 120,
177.
Nout, 93.
Numbers and principles, 90, 115.
O
Objections to Reincarnation, 120, 122.
Objective, Atma can never be, 171.
Objectivity, 82, 83, 87, 128, 136, 178.
Objects of the Universal Brotherhood and
Theosophical Society, 20, 38, 40, 41, 47,
48, 253.
Oblivion, 147, 148.
Occultism, 22, 23. 24, 25, 26, 27, 4<., 117,
118, 124, 213, 255, 258, 281, 289, 290.
Occultism, Pseudo-, 22, 23.
Occultist, 22, 25, 26, 27, 66, 69, 183.
Occultists, 68, 83, 113.
Occult powers. 26, 27, 211, 255, 257, 278,
280, 281, 282.
Occult process, 67, 68.
Occult sciences, 26, 27, 28, 48, 256.
Occult truths, 151, 294.
Ocean of light, 105.
Oldenberg, 80.
Old Testament, 43.
Olympiodorus. 125.
Omnipresent Principle, 65.
Omniscience, 64, 75.
Omniscience of spiritual Ego, 131, 132,
146, 155.
One essence, 42, 171.
One law, 65.
One-Only-One, 93.
One Reality, 175.
One Self, 172, 173.
One universal Self, 171, 172.
One Unknown Principle, 178.
Only begotten, 98, 184.
Opinion, 49, 232.
Opium, 258.
Orientalism, 15.
Origen, 4, 9, 104.
Origin of man, the common, 42, 45.
Original program of Theosophical Soci-
ety, 253.
Orpheus, 8.
Orthodoxy, 16, 108, 133.
Pagan duties, 225.
Pagans, 217.
Pain, {see Sufifering).
Palace of Love, lU.
Palestine, 5, 81.
Pan, 63.
Pantaenus, 6.
Pantheism, 63.
Pantheists, 63.
Parable of the vineyard. 182
Parables. 10, 22, 54, 79, 239.
Parabrahman, 62, 217.
Paracelsus, 19.
Paradise. 64, 98, 108, 112, 136, 144, 163,
169, 219.
Paralyzing the personal ego, 131, 133.
Paranirvana, 166.
Parsis, 41.
Passions, 71, 90, 95, 119, 126, 128, 173,
181, 294.
Past incarnations, {see Previous incarna-
tions).
Path, 166.
Path, The, 39, 51, 207.
Paul, 12, 90, 92.
Peace, 294.
Pentateuch, 6, 107.
Perception, inner, 146.
Perfection, 195.
374
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Permanent Ego, 127.
Permanent principle, 120, 215.
Permanent self, 130.
Perpetual progress, 153, 185, 194.
Persecution, 253, 268.
Persephone, 97, 98.
Persia, 9.
Personal consciousness, 93, 107.
Personal Ego, 68, 77, 80, 92, 104, 130,
131, 133, 160, 164, 173, 185, 187.
Personal exertion, 240.
Personal form, 186.
Personal God, 109, 202, 266.
Personal happiness, 224.
Personal self, 130, 131.
Personal soul, 102, 106, 112.
Personality, 13, 21, 29, 31, 33, 34, 76, 77,
79, 83, 92, 93, 102, 103, 107, 111, 120,
126, 128, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135, 140,
142, 144, 145, 152, 153, 158, 159, 165,
166, 167, 168, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177,
179, 181, 183, 184, 185, 187, 194, 204,
208, 245.
Peter, 224.
Phcedo, 125.
Phallicism, 273, 274, 275.
Phantasy, 125.
Pharisees, 66.
Phenomena, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 66, 94, 158,
176, 189, 285.
Philadelphus, 5.
Philaletheians, 2, 4, 7.
Philaletheian system, 9.
Philanthropy, 78, 293.
Philo Judaeus, 6, 110.
Philosophers, Fire-, 37, 105.
Philosopher's stone, 68.
Philosophy, 60, 293.
Philosophy, Eastern, 33, 103, 115, 287.
Philosophy, Esoteric, 21, 93, 95.
Philosophy, Platonic, 6.
Philosophy, Pythagorean, 6.
Philosophy of Spiritualism, 31.
Photography, spiritual, 12, 130.
Phren, 94, 95, 114.
Physical body, 30, 53, 54, 71, 89, 90, 94,
95. 96, 102, 103, 104, 107, 116, 117, 119,
126, 128, 129, 134, 135, 138, 142, 150,
151, 152, 153, 163, 173, 181, 187, 255,
257.
Physical brain, 67, 90, 123, 126, 127, 143,
151, 178, 187, 257.
Physical consciousness, 132, 177.
Physical frame, 96.
Physical life, 93, 138, 152.
Physical man, 89, 93, 100, 173.
Physical memory, 124, 125, 126, 131, 132,
262.
Physical mind, 95.
Physical nature, 281.
Physical phenomena, 28, 30, 189, 190.
Physical plane, 41, 87, 130, 198.
Physical principles, 126.
Physical processes, 127.
Physical science, 85, 86.
Physiologists, 124, 163.
Pilgrim, spiritual, 165.
Pineal body, 119.
Pistis, 216.
Pity, 78, 145, 246.
Planes, seven, 84, 87, 88.
Planes of being, 87, 88, 180, 233.
Planes of consciousness, 88, 117, 118, 130,
143, 175, 176, 198, 213, 215, 216, 223,
233.
Plane of desire, 208.
Planes of space, 87.
Planet, septenary constitution of, 87.
Planetary chain, 87.
Planetary spirits, 103, 190.
Planetary system, 84.
Planets, 84, 85.
Planets and principles, 96.
Plastic soul, 119.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
375
Plato, 8, 12, 37, 49, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94,
95, 104, 109, 114, 125, 185.
Platonic philosophy, 6.
Pleasure, 96, 213, 223.
Pledge, 10, 21, 38, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 95.
Pledged Chelas, 118.
Pledged members of Theosophical Soci-
ety, 21.
Pleroma, 111, 183.
Pleroma of Eternal Light, 111.
Plotinus, 3, 4, 9, 11, 24, 112, 138.
Plutarch, 94, 96, 97.
Point, 118.
Point Loma, Headquarters at, 20, 39, 47,
251.
Policy of Theosophical Society, 5.
Political reforms, 227.
Political, Theosophical Society is not, 227.
Politics, 227, 228.
Porphyry, 3, 4.
Post-mortem consciousness, 130, 155, 163.
Post-mortem dreams, 163.
Post-mortem Karma, 98.
Post-mortem life, 16, 155, 156, 157, 160,
165, 167, 168, 169. {See After-life)
Post-mortem punishment, 136.
Post-mortem spiritual consciousness, 145.
Post-mortem states, 100, 136.
Post-natal consciousness, 155.
Pot Amun, 2.
Potentialities of mind, 122.
Power of choice, 170.
Powers, divine, 20, 40, 178.
Powers, evil, 281.
Powers, intelligent, 217.
Powers, occult, 26, 211, 255, 257, 278, 280,
281.
Powers of the incarnate Spirit, 193.
Powers, psychic, 191, 280, 281, 293.
Powers, spiritual, 101, 178.
Practical, 198, 213.
Practical charity, 238, 244.
Practical study, 255.
Practical Theosophy, 53, 223, 235, 237, 260.
Prajna, 157.
Pralaya, 83, 103.
Prana, 90, 117, 119, 126, 173.
Prayer, 12, 61, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72,
72,, 195.
Prayer kills self-reliance, 70, 71.
Predestination, 209.
Predevachanic unconsciousness, 150.
Pre-existence, 104, 111, 125.
Prejudice, 125, 267, 293.
Premature return to earth-life, 121.
Premonitions, 135.
Presbyterian Confession of Faith, 209.
Previous incarnations, 106, 122, 126, 127,
135, 138, 147, 155, 158, 159, 160, 161,
162, 164, 197, 198, 211, 232.
Pride, 25, 247.
Primeval emanations, 109.
Primordial elements, 113.
Primordial homogeneity, 177.
Primordial matter, 105.
Primum mobile, 93.
Principle, Principles, 62, 65, 67, 89, 90, 91,
92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 103,
104, 105, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119,
126, 133, 142, 143, 150, 153, 169, 170,
172, 173, 175, 177, 178, 179, 183, 215,
232.
Private judgment, 216.
Prognostication, 125.
Progress, 153, 194, 213, 231, 242, 294.
Prohibitory rules, 222.
Projection of double, 118.
Propaganda, 47.
Prophets, 57.
Proserpina, 97, 98.
Prospective vision of future life, 161.
Protean soul, 119.
Prototype, 205.
Providence, 206.
376
THE KEY TO T HBO SOPHY
Providential protections, 149.
Pseudo-Occultism, 22, 23.
Psuche, 89, 91, 92, 95, 96, 105.
Psuchikos, 112.
Psychic energies, 129.
Psychic faculties, 293, 294.
Psychic growth, 294.
Psychic nature, 281.
Psychic phenomena, 30, 189, 285.
Psychic powers, 48, 191, 280, 293.
Psychic realms, 280.
Psychic senses, 85, 125.
Psychical body, 90.
Psychical Research, Society for, 270, 284,
285, 286.
Psychical wisdom, 90.
Psychism, 22, 28.
Psychologists, ZZ, 88, 122, 123, 124, 131,
135.
Psychology, 72, 151.
Psycho-spiritual sciences, 85.
Public opinion, 232.
Publicans, 43, 54.
Punishment, 108, 135, 136. 137, 138, 159,
160, 195, 196, 197, 203, 205, 206, 212, 242.
Purgatory, 129.
Purity, 236.
Puranas, 204.
Pythagoras, 8, 10, 49, 90, 94, 95, 1(H, 114.
Pythagorean philosophy, 5.
Pythagoreans, 113.
Quakers, 54.
Quaternary, 89, 90, 91, 93, 96.
Quintile, 97, 98.
Rabbis, 7, 10.
Rabbis of Babylon, 5.
Race, elevation of the, 230.
Race, fifth. 175.
Race, third, 134,
Races, seven, 184.
Racial barriers, 265, 293.
Radiant mind, 157.
Radiation, 3, 84, 91, 105, 109.
Raja Yogis, 162.
Rational entities, 137.
Rational faculties, 113.
Rational soul, 74, 94, 100, 101, 111, 114,
117.
Ravings of fever, 124.
Ray, 58, 90, 130, 180, 187.
Reabsorption, 107.
Reaction, 202, 230.
Readjustment, 198, 199, 200, 201, 206.
Real Ego, 92, 115, 134, 180.
Real man, 99, 130, 134, 140.
Real spiritualism, 189.
Real world, 176.
Reality, 83, 84, 118, 157, 164, 165. 167,
175, 176.
Reason, 96, 196, 218, 220, 236, 265, 266.
Reasoned faith, 194.
Reasoning soul, 105, 117.
Rebirth, 76, 104, 122, 129, 130, 132, 135,
139, 161, 165, 168, 184, 186, 194, 197,
206, 212, 213, 222, 223. (See Reincarn-
ation)
Recollection, 106, 123, 126, 131, 135, 160,
162, 167.
Record, 220, 221.
Reflection, 83, 128, 146, 174, 186.
Reformers, 47, 78, 112.
Reincarnating Ego, 29, 67, 94, 100, 102,
105, 111, 114, 127, 128, 130, 131, 134,
138, 144, 153, 161, 164, 172, 174, 176,
178, 179, 180.
Reincarnation, 34, 94, 103, 106, 109, 110,
111, 112, 120, 122, 127, 128, 139, 140,
144, 149, 153, 157, 160, 168, 178, 180,
183, 187, 188, 191, 194, 204, 206, 212,
229, 232, 241, 243.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Z77
Reincarnation: A Study of Forgotten
Truth, 131, 205.
Relief of suffering, 200.
Religion, 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 45, 58, 60,
293.
Religions, 5, 6, 7, 9, 15, 16, 17, 27, 45,
60.
Remembrance, 122, 123, 126, 127, 131, 132.
(.S"^^ Recollection.)
Reminiscence, 123, 124, 135, 138. {See
Remembrance.)
Remission of sin, 196.
Renunciation, 21, 150.
Repentance, 203, 204, 219.
Research, 25.
Resignation, 49, 50.
Responsibility, 181, 203, 224, 236.
Rest, 35, 138, 150, 194.
Rest of the soul, 155, 160, 190, 194.
Resurrection, 93, 97, 154.
Retardation of Karma, 200.
Retribution, 51, 108, 139, 179, 210, 212.
Retributive adjustment, 132.
Retributive justice, 148, 195.
Retributive Karma, 199, 201.
Retributive law, 195.
Retrospection, 161.
Return of spirits, {see Spirits.)
Reunion with spirit, 215.
Revelation of the divine, 157.
Revelation, Theosophy not a, 36.
Revenge, 248.
Reward, 73, 108, 197.
Reward of Ego, 136.
Ritualism, 13, 15.
Romans, 37.
Root of being, 176.
Root of consciousness, 171, 176.
Root of nature, 3, 45, 63.
Root-principle, 177.
Rosicrucians, 37, 290.
Rosicrucians, 274.
Rosse's (Lord) telescope, 291.
Round, 134, 194.
Royal College of Physicians, 24.
Rules, 21, 49, 50.
Rupa, 90, 128.
Sacred names, 286, 288, 289.
Sacred science, 24.
Sacrifice of founders and leaders of The-
osophical Society, 252.
Sadducees, 81, 108.
Sages, 12, 13, 37, 137.
Samadhi, 12, 70, 154.
Samanas, 80.
Samkhara, 128.
Samma-sambuddha, 163.
Samothrace, Hierophants of, 10.
Samyuttaka Nikaya, 80.
Sanskrit names, 169.
Sanfia, 128.
Sat, 166.
Savior, 72, 81.
Saviors, seven, 184.
School, Eastern, 157.
Schools, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264.
Schools, Theosophical, 266.
Science, 24, 46, 85, 86, 88, 127, 128, 151,
262, 278, 279.
Science, Divine, 1.
Science, occult, 25, 26, 27, 48, 255.
Science, psycho-spiritual, 85.
Science, sacred, 24.
Science, true, 23.
Scientific Theosophy, 27.
Scientists, 124.
Scientists, Mental, 72.
Seances, 92, 189, 190.
Seat of animal desires, 119.
Second death, 142.
Second Sight, 193.
Secrecy, 10, 13, 50.
378
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Secret Doctrine, 60, 103, 116, 137, 157, 205,
274, 275, 283, 288.
Secret science, 163, 213.
Secret wisdom, 11, 15, 77.
Secrets, divine, 13.
Secrets of initiation, 78, 81.
Secrets of nature, 24, 48.
Sectarianism, 36, 38, 48, 57, 81.
Section, Esoteric, 20, 21, 24, 38, 49, 254,
255, 257, 259.
Seeming injustice, 140, 206.
Seers, 4, 24, 57, 85, 128, 197, 211, 214.
Self, 11, 30, 49, 50, 52, 67, 71, 72, 78, 80,
104, 120, 128, 130, 132, 133, 136, 154,
171, 172, 173, 178, 234, 262.
Self-abandonment, 233.
Self-abnegation, 20, 234.
Self-consciousness, {see Consciousness),
Self-development, 53, 235.
Self-hypnotism, 72.
Self-improvement, 49, 52.
Self-made destiny, 179.
Self-moving unit, 94.
Self-potent spirit, 93.
Self-reliance, 70, 71, 266.
Self-sacrifice, 78, 233, 234, 235, 236.
Selfish indulgence, 230.
Selfishness, 13, 17, 37, 38, 42, 68, 69, 70,
72, 202, 203, 227, 230, 231, 242, 261,
262, 277, 294.
Selflessness, 205, 292.
Selves, 53, 126, 172.
Senses, 85, 87, 88, 170, 175, 176, 216, 266.
Sentimentalism, 220.
Separateness, 200, 232.
Separation into sexes, 194.
Sephiroth, 62.
Septenary nature of man, 89, 95, 97, 98,
185.
Septenary nature of planet, 87.
Sermon on the Mount, 54, 58, 238.
Servant playing violin, 131.
Servant speaking Hebrew, 131.
Seven Buddhas, 184.
Seven fundamental forces, 88.
Seven planes of being, 84, 87, 88.
Seven principles, 89, 95, 116, 120.
Seven races, 184.
Seven saviors, 184.
Seven states of consciousness, 88, 89.
Seven vines, 184.
Seventh principle, 118.
Seventh race, 194.
Seventh round, 194.
Sexes, 194, 199.
Shadow, 93, 94, 95, 96.
Shadow, Brothers of the, 280.
Shakespeare, 137, 141.
Shelley, 140.
Shells, 29, 187, 188, 189.
Siamese Buddhism, 16, 73, 79.
Silence, 70, 250.
Sin, 72,, 138, 200, 246, 248, 250.
Sisterhood, 230.
Six principles, 116, 117.
Skandhas, 77, 128, 129, 130, 133, 139, 152,
153, 154, 174, 179, 181.
Slade, 191.
Slanders, 246, 248, 250, 253, 287.
Slate-writing, 29.
Slavery, 44.
Sleep, 30, 31, 162, 163, 165, 167, 168, 169.
Social efforts, 231.
Social evils, 199, 230, 267.
Social prejudices, 293.
Social questions, 228.
Society, classes in, 199, 230.
Socrates, 8, 49, 95.
Solar system, 84.
Solidarity, 230.
Solomon ben Yehudah Ibn Gebirol, 65.
Somnambulism, 29, 130, 132.
Sons of God, 57.
Sons of universal mind, 134, 180.
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
Z79
Sorcery, 27, 68, 81, 282.
Sorrow, 138, 144, 145.
Soul, 2, 3, 44, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 81, 82,
89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 101,
102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110,
111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118,
119, 120, 124, 125, 130, 132, 134, 139,
148, 153, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 161,
162, 163, 169, 170, 171, 172, 177, 182,
184, 185, 190, 214.
Soul and spirit, 44, 89, 92, 112. 152, 185,
214.
Soul memory, 138.
Soul-yearnings, 147.
Space, 185.
Space, layers of, 87.
Space, planes of, 87.
Space, subjective, 142.
Spark, divine, 30, 178.
Sphere, 65.
Spirit, 29, 33, 34, 44, 67, 71, 72, 74, 89,
91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 100, 101, 102, 103,
104, 105, 106, 107, 112, 113, 114, 115,
116, 117, 118, 130, 133, 148, 150, 152,
156, 167, 177, 180, 186, 214, 215, 221.
Spirit identity, 151.
Spirit identity, 151.
Spirit-matter, 99.
Spirit-soul, 94, 97.
Spiritists, 92, 188.
Spirits, 28, 29, 30, 31, 69, 92, 93, 103, 144,
145, 187, 188, 189, 191, 192, 290.
Spirits, communication with, 28, 29, 30,
31, 143, 144, 149, 150, 152, 187, 189, 190,
191, 192, 193, 269.
Spirits, effect of drinking, 258.
Spirits, intelligence of, 29.
Spirits, Nature, 93.
Spirits, planetary, 103, 190.
Spiritual affection, 149.
Spiritual body, 90.
Spiritual breath, 113.
Spiritual consciousness, 67, 92, 135, 145,
171, 175, 176.
Spiritual death, 186.
Spiritual development, 228, 231, 232, 256,
257, 258, 294.
Spiritual efflorescence, 186.
Spiritual Ego, 31, 68, 91, 102, 105, 106,
120, 124, 130, 131, 132, 134, 146, 154,
165, 172, 183, 187.
Spiritual energy, 186.
Spiritual entity, 105, 113, 137, 178, 180.
Spiritual essence, 164.
Spiritual existence, 223.
Spiritual eyes, 156, 163.
Spiritual forces, 232.
Spiritual happiness, 222.
Spiritual holy love, 149.
Spiritual " I," 131, 159, 165.
Spiritual individuality, 29, 166, 167.
Spiritual intuition, 48, 216, 236.
Spiritual law, 46.
Spiritual law of continuit}', 157,
Spiritual life, 164, 165.
Spiritual man, 89, 100.
Spiritual mind, 119.
Spiritual-minded, 119.
Spiritual mysticism, 190.
Spiritual nature, 222, 281.
Spiritual photography, 12, 130.
Spiritual pilgrim, 165.
Spiritual plane, 198, 223.
Spiritual powers, 41, 48, 101, 178, 281.
Spiritual principles, 98, 118, 126, 133.
Spiritual ray, 130, 187.
Spiritual realm, 280.
Spiritual science, 85.
Spiritual self, 11, 30, 130, 136, 160.
Spiritual senses, 85, 216.
Spiritual soul, 31, 89, 91, 95, 97, 101, 105,
114, 118, 119, 120, 134, 158, 172, 184.
Spiritual spiritualism, 28, 33, 189.
Spiritual spiritualistic phenomena, 30.
380
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Spiritual transmutation, 68.
Spiritual unity, 17.
Spiritual vision, 178.
Spiritual visions, 85.
Spiritual world, 156, 178.
Spiritualism, 3, 22, 28, 31, 33, 35, 144,
151, 188, 189, 190. 191, 192, 193.
Spiritualists, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 92,
120, 144, 145, 146, 148, 151, 152, 169,
185, 186, 187, 188, 191, 192, 193, 269,
290.
Spirituality, 144, 294.
Spleen, 119.
Spooks, 143, 188, 190.
Stage, of life, 34, 130, 166, 181.
States of consciousness, (see Conscious-
ness).
States of matter, 99.
States of mind, (see Mind).
Sthula Sharira, 90, 126. (See Physical
body)
Sthulopadhi, 116.
Strict morality, 21.
Study, 244, 247.
Study, theoretical and practical, 255.
St. Germain, 19, 24.
St. Martin, Count, 19.
Subjective, 28, 82, 155, 178.
Subjective being, 115, 169.
Subjectivity, 83. 84, 87, 136.
Substance, 91, 92, 105, 106, 107, 113, 115,
215.
Succession of births, 194.
Suffering, 25, 110, 140, 145, 146, 159, 160,
167, 198, 200, 202, 223, 229.
Suggestion, 72, 279, 281, 282.
Suicide, 223.
Sukshmopadhi, 116.
Summer-land, 148, 169.
Sun, 93, 96, 97, 101.
Supernatural, 278.
Superstition, 27, 48, 79, 216.
Sutratma, 145, 165, 166, 168.
Sutratma-Buddhi, 165.
Svapna, 116.
Sweating system, 240.
Swedenborg, 23, 185.
Symbolism, 22, 65, 67, 183, 184.
Symbols of Wisdom-Religion, 14, 67.
Sympathy, 168, 240.
Synesius, 104.
Taijasa, 134, 157, 158, 159, 163.
Tao-te-King, 116.
Taraka Raja Yoga school, 116.
Teachers, 18, 52, 57, 159, 233, 281, 288,
289, 291, 294.
Teachings, not sold, 50, 275, 289.
Temptation, 111.
Term between births, 132.
Terrestrial body, 104, 138, 154. (See
Physical body)
Terrestrial conceptions, 167.
Terrestrial Ego, 159.
Terrestrial entity, 181.
Terrestrial life, (see Earth-life).
Terrestrial mind, 157.
Terrestrial personality, 159, 166, 167.
Terrestrial plane, 153.
Terrestrial soul, 120.
Terrestrial suffering, 167.
Terrestrial wisdom, 90.
Testimony of seers, 85.
Tetragrammaton, 62.
That, 133.
Theodidaktos, 3, 4, 7.
Theogonia, 1.
Theology, (see Christian theology).
Theosophia, 1, 58.
Theosophic development, 256.
Theosophic literature, 47, 278, 283, 288, 292.
Theosophical Society, Arcane Section of,
38.
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
381
Theosophical Society, conduct of members
of, 47, 49, 52, 53, 55, 56, 225, 226, 242,
244, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251.
Theosophical Society has no creed, 19,
20, 57. 59.
Theosophical Society can not be crushed,
268.
Theosophical Society, defense of, 244.
Theosophical Society, earlier movements,
19, 293, 294.
Theosophical Society, enemies of, 243, 248,
249, 251, 252, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272,
273, 274, 275, 284, 290.
Theosophical Society, Esoteric Section of,
20, 21, 23, 38, 49, 50, 59.
Theosophical Society, formation of, 36,
56, 57.
Theosophical Society, founders of, 251,
252, 268, 269, 287, 290, 292.
Theosophical Society, future of, 292, 293,
294, 295.
Theosophical Society, Headquarters of,
47, 251.
Theosophical Society, helping the, 244.
Theosophical Society, incentive for join-
ing the, 22, 56, 213, 214, 237.
Theosophical Society, libraries of, 47.
Theosophical Society, members of, 20, 21,
293.
Theosophical Society, members of not ne-
cessarily Theosophists, 20, 21, 53, 55,
237, 269.
Theosophical Society, mistakes concern-
ing the, 254.
Theosophical Society, motto of the, 3.
Theosophical Society, objects of, 20, 38,
40, 41, 47, 48, 253.
Theosophical Society, original program
of, 253.
Theosophical Society, pledged members
of, 21.
Theosophical Society, policy of, 5.
Theosophical Society, not political, 227.
Theosophical Society, prejudice against
the, 267.
Theosophical Society, reorganization of,
251.
Theosophical Society and social questions,
228, 229, 230, 231, 232.
Theosophical Society the storehouse of
truths, 57.
Theosophical Society and Theosophy, 52,
53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 237, 245.
Theosophical Society, what it is not, 17.
Theosophical Society, work of, 40, 247.
Theosophical Society, working members
of, 49, 56, 247, 254, 275.
Theosophists, 5, 7, 9, 11, 20, 21, 26, 52,
66, 67, 72, 218, 226, 230, 285.
Theosophy, 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 57, 58, 292.
Theosophy, acceptance of, 35.
Theosophy, age of, 2, 5, 9, 13, 36.
Theosophy, aim of, 5, 6, 25, 213.
Theosophy, not to be bought, 275.
Theosophy and Buddhism, 14, 15, 16.
Theosophy and Christian theology, 154,
214.
Theosophy, both scientific and religious,
19.
Theosophy, definition of, 11, 12.
Theosophy, division of principles in, 90.
Theosophy, doctrines of, 16, 17, 42, 61,
122, 214, 229, 244.
Theosophy, eclectic, 2, 3, 4.
Theosophy, efficacy of, 42.
Theosophy, ethics of, 15, 38, 48, 224.
Theosophy, Everlasting Truth, 292.
Theosophy for the masses, 241, 242, 243.
Theosophy, mediaeval, 22, 105.
Theosophy, meaning of name, 1, 2.
Theosophy, misconceptions concerning,
244.
Theosophy, Nature and man according to,
82.
382
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
Theosophy and Occultism, 26.
Theosophy, practical, 20, 223, 234, 235,
236, 260.
Theosophy, propaganda, 18, 20, 47, 48.
Theosophy the quintessence of duty, 225.
Theosophy, rejection of, 37.
Theosophy and religions, 58.
Theosophy not a revelation, 36.
Theosophy, object of, 2.
Theosophy, scientific, 27.
Theosophy, secret, 13.
Theosophy, seriousness of, 267.
Theosophy and Spiritualism, 28, 33.
Theosophy unfamiliar and abstruse, 38.
Theosophy, why unknown to the West, 13.
Therapeutae, 6.
Theurgy, 3, 22.
Thinking beings, 123.
Thinking, conscious Ego, 107.
Thinking Ego, 138.
Thinking entity, 84, 174, 176, 180.
Thinking man, 89, 134, 185, 257.
Thinking principle, 117, 143, 172, 174.
Thinking soul, 74.
Thought, 64, 125, 129, 138, 139, 181, 196,
201, 211, 226, 233.
Thought-transference, 279, 281.
Thread, golden, 161.
Thread, shining, 102.
Thread soul, 161.
Three accepted forms of memory, 123.
Three aspects of being, 171.
Three aspects of soul, 120.
Three chief aspects in man, 117.
Three kinds of sleep, 146, 168.
Three lower principles, 142.
Three principles, 82, 89, 116.
Three propositions of " M. A., Oxon.,"
151, 152.
Threshold of Devachan, 139.
Thumos, 94, 95, 96, 114.
Timaeus of Locris, 104.
Time, 87.
Tingley, Katherine, 39, 40, 50, 251.
To Agathon, 95, 97.
Tolerance, 60.
Tolstoi, Count Leo, 239.
Tradition, 48.
Training, 212, 228, 253, 256, 266.
Trance, 29, 31, 131.
Transfiguration, 93.
Transmutation, spiritual, 68.
Tree of Knowledge, 58.
Tree of Life, 58.
Triad, 91, 96, 98, 142, 181, 183.
Trinity, 67, 107.
Triple unity, 167.
True doctrine forever preserved, 19.
True science, 23.
Truth, 14, 36, 45, 46, 57, 58, 59, 85, 146,
147, 151, 188, 226, 250, 292, 293, 295.
Twentieth century, 295.
Twenty-first century, 295.
Two kinds of conscious existence, 164.
Two principles in man, 119.
u
Ultimate cause, 198.
Ultimate law, 198.
Unbelief, effect of, 167, 168.
Unconditioned reality, 164.
Unconscious muscular action, 191.
Unconsciousness, 64, 84.
Understanding, 96, 98.
Unerring law, 139, 198.
Union, 22, 102, 113, 206.
Union of spirit and matter, 215.
Unit, self-moving, 94.
Unity, 6, 17, 26, 45, 47, 62, 65, 82, 102,
153, 166, 167, 295.
Universal All, 120.
Universal Brotherhood, 17, 20, 40, 41, 45,
46, 47, 229, 230, 231, 238, 252, 293.
Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY
383
Society, 40, 60, 251. {See also Theo-
sophical Society)
Universal causation, 229, 233.
Universal consciousness, 215.
Universal deity, 65, 71, 178, 196.
Universal divine principle, 63.
Universal essence, 70, 113.
Universal harmony, 201.
Universal individuality, 215.
Universal infinite Ego, 109.
Universal law, 109, 195.
Universal life, 167, 173.
Universal mind, 101, 109, 132, 133, 180.
Universal mind-soul, 132.
Universal night, 83.
Universal self, 67, 171, 172.
Universal soul, 3, 74, 105, 109, 112, 132,
158.
Universal spirit, 30, 91, 101, 106, 116, 130,
215.
Universal unity and causation, 229.
Universal World-Soul, 104.
Universally diffused divine principle, 133.
Universe, 53, 63, 65, 66, 76. 82, 84, 88, 94,
118, 158, 173, 175, 180, 186, 198, 217.
Universities, 264.
Unknowable. 66, 99, 198, 207, 216.
Unknown Principle, 178, 216.
Unmerited misery, 35.
Unmerited suffering, 159.
Unspiritual age, our, 38.
Upanishads, 162.
Upper triad, {see Triad).
Vacchagotta, 80.
Vallabhacharya sect, 274.
Vanity, 25, 247, 249.
Vedana, 128.
Vedanta, 5, 45, 116.
J^eddnta Sara, 157.
Vedantins, 62, 116, 120, 217, 218.
Vegetarianism, 254, 255, 256, 257.
Vehicle, 53, 90, 91, 95, 100, 1(M, 109, 117,
118, 119, 128, 134, 142, 172.
Veil of Maya, 147.
Vicarious atonement, 104, 196, 209, 219.
Vice, 96, 226.
Vidya, 15.
Vine, parable of, 183, 187.
Vines, seven, 184.
Vinnana, 128.
Virtue, 96, 111, 226.
Vision, Visions, 4, 85, 124, 162, 163, 169,
181, 211.
Vital double, 117.
Vital principle, 90.
Vital soul, 74, 117.
Voice of conscience, 135, 185, 236, 246.
W
Wagner, 14.
Waking state, 116. 162, 163, 165, 167.
Walker, E. D., 131, 205.
IVheel of the Lazv, 196, 217.
Whitechapel, 235, 239.
Wilder, Prof. Alex., 2, 4, 5, 8, 12, 216.
Will, 66, 68, 179, 256, 261.
Will-power, 68, 256.
Will-prayer, 66, 68.
Wine, effect of, 258.
Wisdom, 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 12, 14, 37, 56, 77,
90, 101, 108, 109, 110, 157, 195, 255,
292.
Wisdom, Amun, the God of, 2.
Wisdom, Eastern, 88.
Wisdom-Religion, 5, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17,
44, 60, 67.
Witchcraft, 190, 282.
Wordsworth, 124.
Work of members of Theosophical So-
ciety, 40, 246.
Working hypotheses, 86, 127.
Working of Karma, 211.
384
THE KEY TO THBOSOPHY
World-Karma, 199.
World, real, 176.
World-Soul, 104.
World, spiritual, 156, 178.
Yoga, 4.
Yogis, 12, 25, 162.
Zenobia, 9.
Zohar, 23, 106, 110, 111, 184.
Zoroaster, 48.
Zoroastrians, 93.
'There is no Religion Higher than Truth.'
Ci)e
aniDet0aI 15tot!)etf)ooD anD Cfjeosopfjical ^ocietp
Established for the benefit of the people of the earth and all creatures
OBJECTS
This BROTHERHOOD is part of a great and universal movement which
has been adive in all ages.
This Organization declares that Brotherhood is a fad. Its principal purpose
is to teach Brotherhood, demonstrate that it is a fad in nature and make it a
living power in the life of humanity.
Its subsidiary purpose is to study ancient and modern religions, science,
philosophj' and art; to investigate the laws of nature and the divine powers in
man.
The Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society, founded by H. P.
Blavatsky in New York, 1875, continued after her death under the leadership
of the co-founder, William Q. Judge, and now under the leadership of their
successor, Katherine Tingley, has its Headquarters at the International Theo-
sophical Center, Point Loma, California.
This Organization is not in any way conneded with nor does it endorse any
other societies using the name of TheosophJ^
* * *
The Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society welcomes to mem-
bership all who truly love their fellow men and desire the eradication of the
evils caused by the barriers of race, creed, caste, or color, which have so long
impeded human progress ; to all sincere lovers of truth and to all who aspire
to higher and better things than the mere pleasures and interests of a worldly
life, and are prepared to do all in their power to make Brotherhood a living
energy in the life of humanity, its various departments offer unlimited oppor-
tunities.
The whole work of the Organization is under the dircc'tion of the Leader
and Official Head, Katherine Tingley, as outlined in the Constitution.
Do Not Fail to Profit by the Following
It is a regrettable fad that many people use the name of Theosophy and of
our Organization for self-interest, as also that of H. P. Blavatsky, the Foundress,
to attrad attention to themselves and to gain public support. This they do in
private and public speech and in publications, also by leduring throughout the
country. Without being in any way conneded with the Universal Brother-
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that they are, thus misleading the public, and many honest inquirers are hence
led away from the truths of Theosophy as presented by H. P. Blavatsky and
her successors William Q. Judge and Katherine Tingley, and pradically ex-
emplified in their Theosophical work for the uplifting of humanity.
The International Brotherhood League
(Founded in 1897 by Katherine Tingley)
OBJECTS
1. To help men and women to realize the nobility of their calling and their
true position in life.
2. To educate children of all nations on the broadest lines of Universal
Brotherhood ; and to prepare destitute and homeless children to become
workers for humanity.
3. To ameliorate the condition of unfortunate women, and assist them
to a higher life.
4. To assist those who are, or have been in prisons, to establish themselves
in honorable positions in life.
5. To abolish capital punishment.
6. To bring about a better understanding between so-called savage and
civilized races, by promoting a closer and more sympathetic relationship
between them.
7. To relieve human suffering resulting from flood, famine, war, and other
calamities; and, generally, to extend aid, help, and comfort to suffering humanity
throughout the world.
For further information regarding the above Notices, address
KATHERINE TINGLEY,
International Theosophical Headquarters,
Point Loma. California
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Searchlight, Xo. 6 — Full Report of Great Debate on Theosophy and Christianity
held at Fisher Opera House, San Diego, Cal., September and October, 1901.
72 pages. Special number issued to the public - - • - - .15
Searchlight, No. 7 - - - - ■ - • - ■ ■ .15
Searchlight, \'o1. ii. No. 1 - - - - - - - • .15
Universal Brotherhood Magazine) Back numbers, each - - - - .20
Universal Brotherhood Path, i '
Vols. XIII (1898-'99), xiv ('99-1900), xv (1900-'01), xvi (1901-'02), each - 2.00
LOTUS GROUP LITERATURE
Introduced under the direction of Katherine Tingley
1 The Little Builders, and their Voyage to Rangi (R. N.) • - • .50
2 The (Doming of the King (Machell); cloth, gilt edges .... .35
Lotus Song Book. Fifty original songs with copyrighted music; boards - - .50
Lotus Song — " The Sun Temple," with music - - - - - - .15
FRENCH
Th^OSOPHIE ELiMENTAIRE - - - - - - • - - .05
Les MYSTiRES DE LA DocTRiNE DU C(EUR (1"'*' Section) - - - • - .50
SPANISH
Ecos DEL Oriente (W. Q. Judge) - - - - - - - - .50
Epitome de las Ensenanzas Teosoficas (W. Q. Judge). 40 paginas - ■ • .25
La Teosofja Explicada - - - - - - - - - - .05
La Teosofia y sus Falsificaciones. Para uso de investigadores - - - .05
30 copies $1.00; 100 copies $3.00
La Vida En Point Loma (.N'otas por Katherine Tingley) - - - - .15
Luz EN EL Sendero (M. C); con Comentarios; paper - - - - .35
Order above from the Theosophical Publishing Company, Point Loma, California.
The following in other languages may be procured by writing direct to
the respective Foreign Agencies (see first column) for book list and prices.
GERMAN
An ihren Fruchten sollt Ihr sie erkennen — Wer ist ein ThEosoph? — Was
Theosophie uber manche Punkte lehrt und was sie weder lehrt noch billigt
AusBiLDUNG DER KoNZENTRATioN (von William Q. Judge)
Die Bhagavad Gita (nach der englischen Ausgabe von William Q. Judge).
Das Leben zu Point Loma (Katherine Tingley). Schone Illustrationen. (Recommended)
Die Wissenschaft des Lebens und die Kunst zu leben
EcHos Aus DEM Orient (von William Q. Judge)
Studien tJBER die Bhagavad Gita (William Q. Judge).
Theosophie Erklart
RUCKBLICK UND AuSBLICK AUF DIE THEOSOPHISCHE BEWEGUNG
Wahrheit ist machtig UND muss obsiegen!
DUTCH
Die Bhagavad Gita: Het Boek van Yoga; with Glossary. Bound in morocco or paper
De Oceaan der Theosophie (door William Q. Judge)
De Mvsterien der Oudheid (door G. de Purucker)
(N'ertaling uit New Century Path, overdruk van de Nieuwe Eeuzv, No. 12)
De RiddErs van Keizer Arthur — Een Verhaal voor Kinderen, door Ceinnyd Morus.
Drie Opstellen over Theosophie. In verband met Vraagstukken van den Dag.
Het Leven te Point Loma, Enkele Aanteekeningen door Katherine Tingley
H. P. Blavatsky en William Q. Judge, De Stichters en Leiders der Theosophische
Beweging {Leerling). pp. 42.
Katherine Tingley, de Autocraat {De Geheimen van de Leer van het Hart)
Light op het Pad (door M. C.) Bound in morocco or paper.
Pit en Merg, uit sommige Heilige Geschriften, 1* Serie
Itihoud: Theosophie en Christendom. " Niemand kan twee heeren dienen." lets
Meerders dan de Tempel. Een Gezicht des Oordeels. De Mensch Jezus
Pit en Merg van de Eindigende en Komende Eeuw, en de daarmede in betrekking
staande positie van Vrijmetselarij en Jesuitisme, door Rameses
Theosophical Manuals, Series No. 1
No. 1. In den Voorhof No. 6. " Hemel " en " Hel "
No. 2. Een HEiLiG Leerstuk No. 7. Leeraren en hun Leerlingen
No. 3. Verloren kennis weergevonden No. 8. Een Universeele Wet
No. 4. Een Sleutel tot Moderne Raad- No. 9. Dwaalwegen (Hypnotisme,
selen Clairvoyance, Spiritisme)
No. 5. Het Mysterie van den D'ood No. 10. De Ziel der Wereld
SWEDISH
Den Hemliga Laran, 2 band (H. P. Blavatsky)
Nyckel till Teosofien (H. P. Blavatsky). Under utarbetning.
Astral Berusning, Devakan, m. m. (William Q. Judge)
Brev, som H.TALPT MiG (William Q. Judge)
Den Cykliska Lagen, m. m. (William Q. Judge)
Dolda V'inkar i den Hemliga Laran, m. m. (William Q. Judge)
Dodsstraffet I Teosofisk Belysning, m. m. (William Q. Judge)
Reinkarnationslaran i Bibeln, Om Karma, m. m. (William Q. Judge)
Studier over Bhagavad Gita (William Q. Judge)
TeosofiEns Ocean (William Q. Judge)
Vetenskapen och Teosofien, m. m. (William Q. Judge)
OvNiNG I Koncentration (William Q. Judge)
Hemligheterna i Hjartats Lara (Katherine Tingley och hennes larjungar)
En Intervju med Katherine Tingley (Greusel)
Katherine Tingley, af M. F. N. (levnadsteckning)
Existenslinjer och Utvecklingsnormer (Oscar Ljungstrom)
Kan ett T. S. sakna morallag? (Protest mote)
Teosofi och Kristendom, Genmale till Prof. Pfannenstill (Dr. G. Zander och F. Kellberg)
AsiENS Ljus (Edwin Arnold) Raja Yoga, Cm Sjalens Utveckling
Bhagavad Gita, Hangivandets bok Skillnaden mellan Teosofi och Spiritism
Den Teosofiska InstitutionEn (Baker) Stjarnan, Sago- och Poemsamling, for barn
Frimureri och Jesuitvalde (Rameses) Teosofiens Innebord
I,ius pa Vagen Tystnadens Rost
Lotusblad, for barn VisiNGSO (Karling)
LoTUSsaNGBOK, ord och musik
Theosophical Periodicals
Century Path illustrated. Wcekly
Edited by KATHERINE TINGLEY
A Magazine devoted to the Brotherhood of Humanity,
the Promulgation of Theosophy and the Study of An-
cient and Modern Ethics, Philosophy, Science and Art.
Year $4.00 .... - Single copy 10 cent*
Write for a sample copy to
New Century corporation,
POINT LOMA, CALIFORNIA
Raja Yoga )VIC89Cnger illustrated. Monthly
Yearly subscription ... - - - 50 cents
Unsectarian publication for Young Folk, conducted by a
staff of pupils of the Raja Yoga School at Lomaland.
Address: Master Albert G. Spalding,
Business Manager Raja Yoga Meyyenger.
POINT LOMA, CALIFORNIA
Xtitemational Chcosopbical CbronicU
lUlustratcd. Monthly. Yearly subscription, postpaid . . . $1.00
The Theosophical Book Co., 18 Bartlett's Buildings,
Holborn's Circus, London, E. C.
Cbcosopbia
Illustrated. Monthly. Yearly subscription, postpaid . . . 1.50
Universella Broderskapets Forlag, Bariihusgatan 10,
Stockholm 1, Sweden.
tltiivcrsak Brudcrscbaft
Illustrated. Monthly. Yearly subscription, postpaid . . . 1.50
J. Th. Heller, Vestnertorgraben 13, Niirnbcrg, Germany.
I^otus-Knoppen
Illustrated. Monthly. Yearly subscription, po.stpaid . . . .75
A. Goud, Steentilstraat 40. Groningen, Holland.
Subscription to the above four Magazines may be secured also through
The Theosophical Publishing Co., Point Loma, California.
Neither the Editors of the above publications, nor the officers of the L^niversal Brotherhood
AND Theosophical Society, or of any of its departments, recciz'e salaries or other remuneration.
All profits arising from the business of the Theosophical Publishing Co. are devoted to Human-
itarian work. All uho assist in this ■aork are directly helping that cause.
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
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W,Ll m?REASE TO SO C^NTS ON THE FOURTH
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