Blavatsky and the Secret Doctrine
by Max Heindel
Introduction
It would have been a real loss to all students of mysticism and
metaphysics if this little essay on H.P. Blavatsky and "The Secret Doctrine"
had not found its way into print.
Max Heindel, the Christian mystic, pays homage to Madame Blavatsky, the
Oriental esotericist. He sees above the little differences which divide the West
from the East and rejoices in the great wisdom which has flowed forth out of
Asia, rendering fertile the plains of the world's thought. Great is the mind
which rejoices in the greatness of other minds. Max Heindel's tribute to the
memory and work of Blavatsky and her Masters is a truly beautiful gesture in a
world little given, alas, to such gentle impulses.
We live a code of criticism and condemnation with small appreciation of the
works of others. Sects and creeds build up walls about themselves, and only
heroic souls in whom spiritual perceptions are truly awake can rise above
these imaginary limitations. Think back over the books that you have read and recall how seldom it is that any writer speaks well of another. Each man, firm
in his own opinions, gives scant courtesy to the opinions of others. There are
many teachers in this world who instruct with words, but only a few who
instruct with the noble example of generous deeds.
In his textbook of Christian metaphysics, "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception", Max Heindel refers to Madame Blavatsky as "a faithful pupil of
Eastern Masters" and in the same paragraph he speaks of her great book "The
Secret Doctrine" as an "unexcelled work." With his deep appreciation of
spiritual values Max Heindel was eminently qualified to recognize the
fundamental merit of Madame Blavatsky's work. The Christian mystic is here
revealed as a sincere student of Oriental esotericism. His summary of The
Secret Doctrine in the latter part of this book reveals a remarkable grasp
of the outstanding principles of the monumental spiritual traditions of
Asia. In a few brief and simple words Mr. Heindel sums up Cosmogenesis, the
creation of the world, and Anthropogenesis, the creation of man. Both
Rosicrucians and Theosophists, in fact all sincere students of the esoteric
sciences, will benefit from a consideration of this summary.
The manuscript of this present book may properly be considered as Max Heindel's first literary effort. It was the beginning of a considerable
metaphysical literature devoted to the application of mystical idealism to the
living problems of s sorely afflicted mankind. It has been written that "the
first shall be last." This little book brings into print the only remaining
unpublished manuscript of Max Heindel. The manuscript originally consisted of
the notes of two lectures delivered before the Theosophcial Society in Los
Angeles. In the years which followed the preparation of these lectures Max
Heindel greatly increased his store of mystical knowledge and has justly
earned recognition as America's foremost Christian mystic. His reverence and
respect for Madame Blavatsky in no way altered, however, and to the day of his
death he always referred to her in terms of highest admiration. It was through
the writings of Blavatsky that Max Heindel received in this life his first
knowledge of esoteric sciences. He recognized gratitude to be the first law of
esotericism and his fine soul preserved to the end a beautiful spirit of
gratitude for the inspiration and instruction he had gained from the Secret
Doctrine.
Both Madame Blavatsky and Mr. Heindel dedicated their lives to the service
of mankind. Each was devoted to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge. Both were rewarded for the most part by ingratitude, persecution and misunderstanding. Both suffered from the falseness of friends and learned how cruel
the world can be to those who seek to educate and improve it. Only the
leader of a spiritual movement can realize how heavy a responsibility
leadership can become. Madame Blavatsky had already passed into the
invisible world before Max Heindel began his ministry. They never met upon
the physical plane. Though denied personal acquaintance with the great
Oriental esotericist, Max Heindel came to understand Blavatsky through years
of similar service to the same high ideals. He came to understand her as
only a mystic can, and his appreciation of her loyalty and her patience was
deepened by the adversities which he himself endured.
Both H.P Blavatsky and Max Heindel gave their lives in a beautiful service
to the spiritual needs of the race. Both went to early graves, broken by
responsibility and persecution. Each has left as a legacy to unborn
generations a metaphysical literature which shall survive the vicissitudes of
time.
The true purposes of mysticism are to perpetuate, interpret and apply the
idealism of the race. Men turn to religion for guidance, encouragement and
solace. We want religion to stand back of us when we try to live honest lives. We want to know that there exists somewhere in the world a body of united
people who are upholding spiritual values in a world of crumbling material
manifestations. We are all seeking inspiration. We want ideals. We want a
worthy purpose to unite us in action. We desire to establish in this vale of
tears a spiritual structure which shall be elevated above the humdrum. We want
to go out into life recognizing our spiritual institutions as oases in a
desert of materialism.
Civilization is in the throes of a great reconstruction period. As never
before in recorded history men are seeking solutions to imminent and eminent
problems. Church and State alike are reaching out to grasp something that is
ecure, something they may cling to when the world they have known passes into
oblivion.
In all parts of the civilized world there are men and women devoted to
mystical interpretations of life. These men and women are dedicated to a code
of spiritual ethics which has as its foundation two great principles: the
Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. These students are for the most
part organized into various groups large and small for the express purpose of
self-improvement and social betterment. Such groups may be classified under two headings: First, those whose inspiration is fundamentally Christian; and
second, those essentially Oriental. While these groups are divided, by
emphasis, the fundamental purposes which they seek to attain are identical,
for all enlightened religious movements have as their chief aim and purpose
the regeneration of man, individual and collective.
Max Heindel was a pioneer in Christian mysticism and Madame Blavatsky was
a pioneer in Oriental esotericism. Both established systems of thinking which
spread rapidly throughout a soul-hungry humanity. Not only did they leave
organizations of their own, but the seeds which they planted in the hearts of
men have sprouted forth and borne fruit in many parts of the world, where
other organizations have been established along similar lines. There is a
considerable body therefore of mystics and esotericists in America and their
number is increased each day by earnest men and women whose hearts and minds
are crying out for some reasonable explanation for the changes which are
occurring in society.
Nearly all students of the esoteric sciences in America know the work which
Madame Blavatsky and Max Heindel have accomplished. The lives of these two
religious founders are a constant challenge to greater spiritual effort and more unselfish devotion. If we admire these great leaders we shall desire to
further their work by the intelligent perpetuation of their doctrines through
word and action. During the period of the great World War metaphysics lost a
great opportunity to make a permanent contribution to the race by allowing
itself to be broken up by internal disruptions and controversies.
Organizations which should have been dedicated to the unselfish service of
mankind instead wasted their energy in vain wranglings over personal issues of
little if any importance.
Our present crisis is far greater than the World War. The whole civilized
world is struggling against selfishness and corruption. A new and great
opportunity is at hand for the application of spiritual solutions to
material problems. It is the duty of all spiritually enlightened individuals
to forget all differences, sacrifice all personal ambitions, and rededicate
themselves to the great ideals which brought their various orders and
societies into existence.
During the great boom period immediately preceding the present economic
crisis even mystical organizations were infected by the bacilli of wealth,
personal ambition and exploitation. Personalities eclipsed principles and individuals and organizations departed from those simple truths which are the
essentials of intelligent living. Then came the collapse. Material values
dropped like plummets to an unfathomable depth. Ambitions were scattered to
the winds and the race was confronted with problems which can only be solved
through a restatement of spiritual values and a re-dedication of men and
organizations to principles of enlightenment and truth.
Suppose this very day H.P. Blavatsky, the lioness of the Theosophical
Society, should return from the Amenti of the wise, and should demand an
accounting from the members of the society she had founded. Who could stand
before her and say honestly, "Beloved teacher, we have done our best, we
have remained true to you and the Masters for whom you spoke." How many
could say, "We have been honest, kind, just and impersonal; we have hewed
true to the wisdom you gave us; we have spread your message; we have read
your books; most of all we have remained absolutely free, as you bade us,
from all disastrous entanglements and alliances." How many could say, "Here
is your Society as clean as when you gave it to us." Could Theosophists do
this or would they become abashed and unable to gaze into the great sad, luminous eyes of the first and Greatest Theosophist? Could Madame Blavatsky
walk through the corridors of Adyar and turn to those who represent her in
the twentieth century and say, "Well done, good and faithful servants?" If
she could not say this, why not? Is it because they have remembered her name
and forgotten her work? Is it because weak, petty men and women have so
forgotten the greater good that they have elevated themselves to power upon
the wreakage of ideals? Theosophists of the world, rededicate yourselves to
the noblest spirit that was among you, whose labors are your wealth, whose
ideals are your purpose, and whose unselfish sacrifice is the cornerstone of
your organization.
Suppose, in the same spirit, that Max Heindel returned to the fields of his
earthly labors and in simple gabardine walked among his followers. Suppose he
should say to them, "Brothers and sisters, have you loved one another? I
planted a rose garden of virtues; have you tended it carefully? My name is
upon your lips, but is my work in your hearts? Have you been true one to the
other? Have you labored unselfishly, impersonally? Have you so greatly loved
our Heavenly Father that you have loved all men also?" How would The
Rosicrucians answer him? Could they say, "Beloved Brother, our constant
inspiration, we have fulfilled your works in humility and gentleness. There has been no pride among us, no selfishness, no personality, no small ambitions
at a great cost. Here is the Fellowship you gave into our keeping. We can
return it as beautiful, as clean, as united in holy purpose as you intended it
to be. There is no jot and tittle observance here; we are united not in petty
things but in great things. In the fifteen years since you passed away into
greater life we have sought to do your work. We are as you intended us to be —
men and women in whom there is no guile." Would these words be true? If not,
why would they not be true? Is man too weak to carry on a good work? Is his
littleness so great and his greatness so little?
If we should feel ashamed if our leaders should return to us again and we
should know that we have failed them, let us rededicate ourselves to them. Let
the spirit of H.P. Blavatsky be reborn in the heart of each Theosophist and
the spirit of Max Heindel live again in the heart of each Rosicrucian. When
this time comes, and may it come, the mystics and the esotericists of the
world can clasp hands across the gulf of their differences and, united in
purpose, be an army of spiritual reconstruction marching like the prophets
of old in the vanguard of progress.
— Manly P. Hall
Max Heindel
A Short Biography
Max Heindel, known as the greatest western mystic of the twentieth century,
was born on July 23rd, 1865, of the royal family of Von Grasshoff's, who were
connected with the German Court during the lifetime of Prince Bismark. The
father of Max Heindel was Francois L. Von Grasshoff. He migrated, when quite a
young man, to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he married a Danish woman of noble
birth. Three children blessed this union, two sons and one daughter. The
oldest of these sons was Carl Louis Von Grasshoff, who later adopted the pen
name of Max Heindel. The father died when the eldest son was six years of age,
leaving the mother with her three small children in very straitened
circumstances.
The mother's pride of family and name forced her with her family of three children to live in genteel poverty so that the small income would suffice.
Self-denial was carried to an extreme in order that her sons and daughter
could have private tutors so that they might take their place in society as
became the sons and daughters of nobility.
This life did not please the eldest son who left home at the age of sixteen
years and wounded his mother's pride by entering the ship-yards at Glascow,
Scotland, where he learned the engineering profession. He was chosen as Chief
Engineer of a trading steamer while yet very young. This took him into the
Orient, and his trips all over the world in the capacity of engineer gave Max
Heindel a great deal of knowledge of the world and its people. For a number of
years he was Chief Engineer on one of the large passenger steamers of the
Cunard Line plying between America and Europe.
Between the years 1895, and 1901, he was a consulting engineer in the city
of New York. His first marriage was full of disappointments and sorrow and
ended by the death of his wife in 1905.
Max Heindel came to Los Angeles, California, in 1903, where he acted as
engineer for a time but ill luck overtook him. Hunger and privation were his
daily companions but nevertheless he was not idle. With a dauntless spirit and a determination to succeed along more advanced mental lines, he became
interested in the study of metaphysics and joined the Theosophical Society of
Los Angeles, of which he was vice-president in 1904 and 1905. His heart was
ever longing for the knowledge of the deeper mysteries of life. His earlier
years had been full of sorrow and had awakened his mind to search for the
explanation of life and being and had created in him a desire to understand
the sorrows, privations and sufferings of humanity. The thought which was ever
uppermost in his mind was to find some means by which he could help to lift
the burdens of his brothers and sisters in the world. This light began to dawn
when he contacted the teachings which had been given out by Madame Blavatsky
of the Theosophical Society. While connected with this society he met the
woman who was years later to become his spiritual inspiration. She it was who
helped him to find work, for Augusta Foss was also interested along similar
lines of research and she was instrumental in interesting Max Heindel in the
science of astrology. In this science he found a field with many possibilities
in that it is truly a science of the soul. It gave him the key by which he
could unlock the mysteries of man's inner nature. By learning to know and
understand the weaknesses of character he could then help to guide and help
them to find their proper place in the world.
Overwork and privation brought on a severe spell of heart trouble in 1905
and for months he lay at the point of death but upon recovery he was even more
keenly awake to the needs of humanity. He realized that it was not so much
from the need of physical food that mankind suffered as it was because of soul
hunger which lead them to do the things that brought suffering upon them. He
started out on a lecture tour which eventually led him to Germany.
While in Germany, in the fall of 1907, where he had gone with the hopes of
contacting the Elder Brothers of the Rosicrucian Order, he was unsuccessful,
as it appeared to him, and in great dejection he prepared to return to
America; but one day a visitor appeared to him whom he later learned was an
Elder Brother of the Rosicrucian Order, (and who became his Teacher). This
Being was clothed in his vital body, and offered to impart to him the
teachings for which he had spent time and money to find in Germany; but these
teachings could only be given after he, Max Heindel, would make a solemn
promise never to divulge them, (they must be kept secret). Having passed
through an unhappy period of soul hunger he was most desirous of sharing his knowledge with others, who like himself were also seeking, he refused to
accept anything which he could not pass on to the world. The Teacher left him.
Later the Teacher appeared in his room again and told him that he, Max
Heindel, had stood his test. He stated that if he had accepted the offer,
namely, to keep the teachings secret from the world, he, the Elder Brother,
would have not returned. He was told that the candidate whom they had first
chosen, who had been under their instruction for several years, had failed to
pass his test in 1905; also that Max Heindel had been under the observation of
the Elder Brothers for a number of years as the most fit candidate, should the
first one fail. In addition he was told that the teachings must be given to the
public before the close of the first decade of the century, which would be the
end of December, 1909.
At this last interview with the Teacher he was given instruction how to
reach the Temple of the Rose Cross. At this Temple Max Heindel spent a little
over one month in direct communication with and under the personal
instructions of the Elder Brothers, who imparted to him the greater part of
the teachings contained in "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception". The first draft of this book, which was made while he was in the Temple, the Teacher
told him was but an outline. The heavy psychic atmosphere of Germany was
particularly adapted to the communication of mystical thought to the
consciousness of the candidate, but he was told that the three hundred and
fifty pages of manuscript which he had written would not satisfy him when he
reached the electric atmosphere of America and that he would then wish to
rewrite the entire book. In his great enthusiasm he at first doubted this.
He felt that he had received a wonderfully complete message. But the Elder
Brother's predictions were true. After Mr. Heindel had spent a few weeks in
New York City, what the Elder Brother had told him proved to be a fact. The
style in which the manuscript was written did not then please him, and he
set about the work of rewriting.
He returned to America in the spring of 1909 where he at once started to
formulate the Rosicrucian message which he had received from the Elder
Brothers. This was given to the world in the form of a book entitled "The
Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception", which is a masterpiece of mystical
literature. It contains one of the most comprehensive, simply written, and
complete histories of the evolution of the earth and man that has been
written for centuries. A minister of one of the churches in the northwestern part of America made the statement that he had two books on his library
table which gave him his thoughts for his sermons; one was the Bible and the
other was Max Heindel's "Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception" which unlocked the
mysteries of the Bible to him. This book is now translated into eight
different languages.
In November 1909, after a successful lecture tour, Max Heindel returned to
Los Angeles where he met with much success in lecturing and teaching.
In August 1910, he was joined in marriage to Augusta Foss, the woman who
had been instrumental in helping him to find the truth. With this added help
and inspiration the field of his work so greatly increased that it soon became
necessary that a Headquarters be established for the purpose of disseminating
the Rosicrucian Philosophy. For the first eight months these two pioneers
lived in a small three room bungalow in Ocean Park, California, with little
money but a determined spirit to start correspondence courses in the
Rosicrucian philosophy. Later they moved permanently to Oceanside, California.
In those ten years that Max Heindel lived, to start this great work for the
Brothers of the Rose Cross, he gave as man volumes to the world as is ordinarily given in the life-time of an author. His brain children are many
and the following books, which this wonderful man left as a legacy to the
world are:
Max Heindel suffered constantly on account of injuries received while a
young boy. A number of unsuccessful operations, which had removed some of the
veins and arteries of his left leg, greatly interfered with the circulation in the body. He later developed valvular heart trouble. However, he was blessed
with an indomitable will and great energy, and would never permit physical
disability to interfere with his work for humanity. He had a message to give
to the soul sick world and nothing must interfere. many of his lessons,
letters and books were written while propped up in bed, after spending nights
of suffering. But the world did not know, for the faithful wife shielded him
and was ever ready to assist and encourage him. These two souls faced many
dark days together, but still happy in each others' love, knowing that they
were the instruments by which a great message was to be given to the world.
In the spring of 1910 after a course of lectures and lessons delivered in
the City of Los Angeles, Max Heindel was taken seriously ill with leakage of
the heart. While in the hospital, and after the consultation of several
doctors, who, under the impression that their patient was unconscious,
discussed his case by the side of his bed, he heard them state that Heindel
could not live through the night, that his case was hopeless. After the
doctors were gone, Max Heindel, with the assistance of his Teacher, worked on
his body with the result that within three hours after the doctors had pronounced his doom he requested a friend, who called to take him for an
airing in a wheeled chair; and within one week after this experience Max
Heindel was dictating his second book, "The Rosicrucian Philosophy In
Questions And Answers, Vol. I" to a stenographer. After this book was finished Max
Heindel again started a tour to lecture in the Sates of Washington and Oregon,
but he was unable to stand the strain of meeting the public, so he returned to
Southern California and again was seriously ill as a result of overwork. After
this illness he was so filled with the desire to write that he dictated his
third book, "The Rosicrucian Mysteries." Strange to say Max Heindel
accomplished his best work immediately after each severe illness, then it
seemed that he was closer to his Teacher and in rapport with the spiritual
worlds.
With very little money and a suffering body Max Heindel and his brave and
loyal helpmate started their pioneer work in Oceanside, California, from where
the Rosicrucian Teachings were distributed and spread over the entire globe.
The various books have been translated and printed in foreign languages;
lessons were being sent out by correspondence and groups formed in many of the
larger cities. Like an endless chain the Teachings have spread, but the work on the physical plane for this great messenger was drawing to a close. His
companion had been well trained to carry on the work on the physical plane for
a greater work awaited him on the higher planes. He was well aware that his
days were few, and he prepared his work so that when his call came Mrs.
Heindel could go on without him. The last few days of his life seemed very
peaceful, even happy, wanting Mrs. Heindel with him in his office. After
lunch on January 6th, 1919, she was called to her office to finish some work
in directing the many secretaries. About 4 P.M. Max Heindel, who had drafted a
letter to the local Postmistress, brought the letter into Mrs. Heindel's
office for her approval, for he would never make any changes or start any new
projects unless he consulted his trusted partner. While Mrs. Heindel was
reading this letter, Max Heindel, who had been standing by her side, dropped
slowly to the carpet; he did not fall heavily as is usually the case but as if
loving hands were holding him and laying him down gently. His last words as he
looked up smiling into Mrs. Heindel's face were, "I am all right dear," and he
passed into unconsciousness. With these loving words on his lips he passed
into the Great Beyond, where he had through his devotion to God and
humanity prepared a great work with the band of "Invisible Helpers", through which the work of healing is carried on. Is Max Heindel's work finished? No
indeed, for the special work in which the Rosicrucian Order is interested is
that of the Invisible Helpers — through which a great work of healing is
being accomplished — Max Heindel was assured by his Teacher that he was the
instrument through which a great movement was to be inaugurated, a movement
which had a special mission: To make the Christian religion a living factor in the Land.
The struggles of these two great messengers Madame Blavatsky and Max
Heindel, were very similar. Both these spirits were encased in suffering
bodies, and both were in need of financial help which was denied them, both
were unappreciated and neglected by their friends until death had taken them,
then the world began to realize their greatness.
Max Heindel was a great admirer of Madame Blavatsky, he saw in her his own
future struggles, he too after he had contacted the Brothers of the Rose
Cross, with spirit aflame with the desire to give to the world this greater
knowledge which he had contacted, knowing that his years were numbered and
that his physical body could not long stand the strain of the pioneer life.
Like Madame Blavatsky he was in constant physical pain and in great need of help, both physical and financial. The struggle and hardships which both these
souls suffered was greatly responsible in shortening their days in the
physical body. But what a great work they have accomplished, what a boon to
humanity they have been.
"Great truths are portions of the soul of man;
Great souls are portions of eternity."
— Lowell.
Blavatsky and the
Secret Doctrine
by Max Heindel
"The Secret Doctrine" is one of the most remarkable books in the world. I
realize how far beyond my feeble powers is the task of conveying an adequate
idea of the teachings contained within its covers. It has a history,
however, a history of peculiar interest to the student who from its rich
store seeks to garner the wisdom which, as the apostle has said, is like
meat fit only for the strong. How it came to be written, and under what
circumstances it was written, and under what circumstances it was written,
is the topic of this book. I shall endeavor to give in as simple and
comprehensive language as possible an outline of the plan upon which the
work was built and the teaching it reveals. The nature of the task is such
that I am forced to quote freely from Theosophical literature, especially
from Colonel Olcott's "Old Diary Leaves", Countess Wachmeister's
"Reminiscences", "The Secret Doctrine" itself, and other works.
It is first necessary for us to realize that Madame Blavatsky, or as she
liked to be called, H.P.B., was, as she herself often expressed it, only the
compiler of the work. Behind her stood the real teachers, the guardians of the
Secret Wisdom of the ages, who taught her all the esoteric lore which she
transmitted in her writings. She had a threefold ability which eminently
qualified her for the task. First, she was able to assimilate the
transcendental knowledge which came to her. Second, she was a worthy
messenger of the Masters. Third, she had a marvelous aptitude for rendering
abstruse Eastern metaphysical thought into a form intelligible to Western
minds, and for verifying and comparing Eastern Wisdom with Western Science.
She also deserves great credit for her high moral courage in representing to
the world thoughts and theories wholly at variance with materialistic science.
Many of these teachings, however, have since been verified by science.
Humankind has always persecuted, tortured, and killed those who in thought
have been in advance of their age. Witness Copernicus, whom only a natural
death saved from a fate similar to that which half a century later overtook
Bruno. Galileo was harassed all his life, and finally when old and broken in
body and spirit by the abuse of the clergy, was forced to retract on his knees
all of his teachings which was at variance with the commonly accepted views of
the time. The same fate was shared by countless others. The seed which these
men had son, however, was not only indestructible, but grew and grew until one
day the world woke up to find that what once was denounced as heresy had
become the commonly expressed opinion. Then came the epilogue of the drama — when
a Thorwaldsen immortalized in marble the same Nikolas Copernicus who, once
persecuted, was proudly claimed as her son by Russia, or when amid the cheers of his countrymen was reared the statue of Giordano Bruno on the same spot
where fanatical monks had danced around his funeral pyre and burned the genius
in the name of God.
At one time in the history of the West, men were scourged for the sake of
the Christian religion. When Christianity became strong, it attempted to
suppress science, which was then but a fledgling. Science, however, grew
stronger and stronger, gradually forcing the Church into its present
apologetic attitude. Then the world slowly sank into a state of unbelief.
Nothing which could not be weighed or measured was accepted. Anyone who dared
to assert the existence of anything superphysical was at once stamped as an
impostor. Science and religion vied with each other in their efforts to heap
obloquy and opprobrium on such individuals.
With the foregoing in mind, we can better appreciate the great moral
courage of H.P.B., and see why that courage constituted one of her
qualifications as a messenger of the Masters.
In the same materialistic attitude of the world of that day is also to be
found the reason for making use of phenomena. Many thoughtful persons have
sincerely regretted that this part of the subject should ever have been taken up by the Society, but H.P.B. always maintained that in the early days of her
work these proceedings were absolutely necessary. This opinion was changed in
the last years when the Master himself told her that phenomena had been a
hindrance rather than a help to "The Secret Doctrine" in Europe and that it
would have been better had only the philosophy been given.
In 1884 it was thought among the leaders of the Theosophical Society that
the time had arrived for a revision and an amplification of Madame Blavatsky's
first book "Isis Unveiled", and that she was to rewrite it, with the late T.
Subba Row as co-editor. All through the year they collected material. Then
Colonel Olcott and Mr. Cooper-Oakley formulated a plan, and it was announced
that the work would be published in twenty parts of about seventy-seven pages
each. But on the 8th of January, 1885, H.P.B.'s Master communicated to her the
scheme of "The Secret Doctrine", and as a result, the original plans were
abandoned.
Soon afterwards the heart trouble from which Madame Blavatsky was suffering
became so serious that her physician, Dr. Mary Scharlich, insisted upon her
leaving India if she would save her life. Acting upon this advice, H.P.B. left Adyar, the spot she loved most on earth, in the spring of 1885. We next find
her installed in a cheap little inn on the northern slope of Vesuvius. The
room is almost bare of furniture, the floor is of stone. Through the crevices
in windows and door blows a cold wind which aggravates the rheumatism of the
poor "old lady" as she sits writing at her rickety old table far from friends,
alone in a foreign country, the language of whose inhabitants she did not
understand, sick in body, and chafing under the injustice done her by those
whom she had befriended. Thus, inauspicious were the circumstances attending
the first work on "The Secret Doctrine".
In the fall of 1885 she went to the quaint old German town of Wurzburg.
What associations this name calls forth — thoughts of Martin Luther, the stern
and unflinching reformer who vowed against the Romish priests though the roofs
of the city were covered with devils.
Not more staunch and unflinching was he than this new reformer who with
dogged persistence, despite sickness and adverse criticism, toiled at her desk
from day to day when she might have had ease and comfort.
Some time after Madame Blavatsky arrived at Wurzburg she was joined by the
Countess Wachmeister, who loyally and lovingly helped in the great work. The
number of visitors caused H.P.B. in a letter to a friend to write that the
city was becoming a philosophical Medina. Continuing, she wrote:
"I am only in the middle of Part One, but shall in a month send you the
first six sections. I take from ISIS only facts, leaving out everything in the
shape of dissertations, attacks on Christianity and Science — in short, all the
useless stuff, and all that has lost its interest. Only myths, symbols and
dogmas, explained from the esoteric point of view. It is actually and de facto
a new work entirely. Cycles are explained from the esoteric side."
Her insight into problems of philosophy, racial origins, fundamental bases of religions, and keys to old symbols was phenomenal; yet it was not the
result of study, for never was a student more eccentric and restless. Of
trained literary faculty she had none. She wrote under inspiration; thoughts
flashed through her brain like meteors. Scenes often painted themselves before
her mental vision and died out when only half caught. Because of her excessive
use of parentheses, many sentences were inordinately long. Like Shakespeare
and other geniuses, she would take material where she found it, and work it
into the mosaic upon which she put the stamp of her own individuality, and
around which she wove the golden web of her own high powers.
In one of her letters she announced that the enormous volume of
introductory stanzas, the first chapter on the Archaic Period and Cosmogony,
was ready. "But now," she goes on, "how send them to Adyar? Suppose they are
lost! I do not remember one word of them and so we would be cooked! Well, he has
read them through twice and started the third time. He has not found one part
to be corrected in the English, and he says he is amazed at the gigantic
erudition and the soundness of it, showing the esotericism of the Bible and
its incessant parallels with the Vedas and Brahmanas. This is a little more wonderful yet than ISIS, that you corrected and Wilder suggested. Now I am
absolutely alone with my armchair and inkstand and no books to speak of. In
about four hours I wrote a whole section and the introduction of a whole
Stanza (about forty pages) without any books around me. Simply listening — simply listening."
Can we realize what that means? She was merely writing what was transmitted
to her clairaudiently, as Colonel Olcott and others had seen her do day to
day. Herein lies the answer to the traducers who have accused her of
plagiarism. I am satisfied that never in one instance was she guilty of having
consciously appropriated another's writings. She may, however, have drawn them
direct spiritually, or having received them second-hand from that great storehouse of human thought and mental products, the Akash, where, as drops are
merged in the ocean, personal begetters of thought are lost in the infinite
Mind, save to those most advanced intelligences who can count the sand grains
or the drops in the ocean and pick out the atoms in their vortices.
About December, 1886, Colonel Olcott received the first volume of "The
Secret Doctrine" for revision by T. Subba Row and himself, but Mr. Row refused
to do more than read it, saying that if he touched it he would have to rewrite it, as it was full of mistakes. This was mere pique, but it had its effect,
for when his remark was reported to H.P.B., she was greatly distressed. She
set to work revising the manuscript carefully, correcting many errors due to
slipshod literary methods, and with the help of friends, especially Bertram
and Archibald Keightley, put the book into the shape in which it was first
published.
She was always eager to have her mistakes pointed out, and was also ready
to correct them. The errors occurred especially in such of her writings as
were not dictated to her psychically by the Master. Frequently she would
ruthlessly destroy faulty pages. Often at a word from the Master she would
consign to the flames reams of laboriously prepared and copied manuscript, to
the intense grief of her friends. Countess Wachmeister related that one day
when she went into Madame Blavatsky's writing room she found the floor strewn
with discarded manuscript. To her question about it, H.P.B. replied, "Yes, I
have tried twelve times to write this one page correctly and each time Master
says it is wrong! I think I shall go mad writing it so often, but leave me
alone; I will not pause until I have conquered it even if I have to go on all
night." The Countess brought her a cup of coffee to refresh her and then left her to pursue her weary task.
An hour later Madame Blavatsky called her and said the task had been
accomplished. The labor had been prodigious and the result small, as was often
the case when she had been annoyed. This is apparent from her answer to the
Countess' question as to how she could make mistakes in setting down what was
given her. She replied, "Well, you see, it is like this. I make what I can
only describe as a sort of vacuum in the air before me and fix my sight and my
will intently upon it, and soon scene after scene passes before me like the
successive pictures of a diorama; or, if I need a reference, as information
from some book, I fix my mind intently, and the astral counterpart of the book
appears and from it I take what I need. The more perfectly my mind is freed
from distraction, the more easily I can do this, but after the annoying letter
I had this morning I could not concentrate properly, and each time I tried I
got the quotation all wrong. It is all right now, however, so Master says."
H.P.B. often asked her friends in various parts of the world to verify
quotations from books which could be found in libraries where such friends
resided. Thus, she would need verification of a passage from a book of which only one copy was extant and that in the Library of the Vatican. Again, a
friend in London would be asked to verify a quotation from some document
possessed only by the British Museum. It should be noted, however, that she
needed only verification. The subject matter she already had.
Madame Blavatsky stated that she was only the mouthpiece of the Masters — writing, speaking, and acting, as directed by them. This has been ridiculed
and she herself characterized as a rogue and an impostor. There are, however,
certain incontrovertible facts to be taken into consideration by those who
wish to form a fair and unbiased opinion. When she wrote "The Secret
Doctrine" she had around her only a handful of ordinary books. From such
sources she could have obtained but little to help her. We cannot in this
way account for the extraordinary and prodigious knowledge manifest in "The
Secret Doctrine". Most of the time during which the work was written, she
was hundreds of miles from any library of consequence. Had she been able
financially to travel from library to library she would have been physically
unable to seek out the passages she is accused of having plagiarized. She
never said that she discovered the knowledge she gave the world. Her contention was that it came from the remote past; that it is in every
scripture and in every philosophy.
The purpose of "The Secret Doctrine" is to quote from every scripture of
every religion, from the writings of every people, in order to show the
identity of the teachings and prove the antiquity of the subject-matter.
What is new in the book lies not in the nature of its facts or ideas, for
these can be found scattered among the works of various Orientalists and in
the numerous sacred books which have long existed. What is new is the
selection by H.P.B. from all sources of facts which together form a single
mighty concept of the evolution of the universe and of man — the coherent
synthesis of the whole cosmogony. She qualifies as the greatest Teacher of
the time because she had real knowledge and not mere book learning. She had
that which enabled her to gather from many books in many places the truths
which, fitted together, made one great whole. She held the clue which she
was able to follow with unerring accuracy through the maze, and show that
each individual material held within itself the possibility of becoming the
single edifice.
Her work is the more extraordinary because she did it without being a
scholar; without having had the education which would have fitted her to some extent for piecing together this knowledge; because she did what none of the
Orientalists have done with all their learning, what not all of them together
have done with all their knowledge of Eastern tongues and their study of
Eastern literature. Not one of them out of such a motley of material was able
to synthesize such a momentous work. Not on of them out of that chaos was able
to build up a cosmos — but this Russian woman with little education did it. She
who was no scholar and did not pretend to be one, somewhere gained a knowledge
that enabled her to do what no one else — scholar or sciolist — has done.
Somewhere she received that which made it possible for her to transform chaos
to order and to produce a work which conveys to us an understanding of the
universe and man. She said it was not hers. She frequently spoke of her own
lack of knowledge, and referred to those who taught her. This brings us to the
other part of the attacks made on Madame Blavatsky, or rather on the Masters,
the existence of whom is regarded as a myth.
The learning and ability which she herself disclaims is not challenged by
her enemies. They sometimes say that her knowledge is poorly digested, that
she arranges her material badly, that her writings are misty, involved, self-contradictory. But that she possessed an extraordinary fund of varied
knowledge bearing on out-of-the-way topics and obscure philosophies is freely
admitted. If she was a fraud, why was she such a fool to invent imaginary
Teachers? Why should she make them the fathers of her knowledge, and so become
a target for abuse and slander, while she might have gained esteem, to say
nothing of money, by the simple and easier course of taking the entire credit
herself? Can anything more preposterous be imagined than for a Russian woman
of noble family, married to a high official, go out into the world on a wild
goose-chase after imaginary Teachers, and having acquired an immense mass of
recondite knowledge at great cost and suffering, to throw away the credit of
acquiring it, to ascribe it to nonexistent persons, to face slander, abuse and
calumny instead of utilizing it in the common way, to be poor and despised
when she might have been wealthy and honored? Looked at from any standpoint
consistent with reason, the only tenable conclusion is that H.P.B. told the
truth when she affirmed that her knowledge was received through the Masters of
Wisdom.
A curious fact in connection with images of books as seen in the astral
light is that the text sometimes appears reversed as if held before a mirror.
With a little practice it becomes easy to read words, as the context and
general sense prevent mistakes, but reading figures correctly is more
difficult. Sometimes Madame Blavatsky forgot to reverse them, causing much
trouble and annoyance to herself and others. For example, if she wrote to a
friend asking him to verify a passage on page 341 of a certain book, the
answer might come back that the passage could not be found there, or that
there were not that many pages in the book. Looking the matter up it was
invariably found in such cases that H.P.B. had forgotten to reverse the
number. So (to take the same instance) it should have been 143 instead of 341.
After a time, her correspondents discovered this, and then easily corrected
such mistakes themselves.
Another noteworthy circumstance in connection with the writing of "The
Secret Doctrine" was that if Madame Blavatsky ever wanted definite information
on any subject, it was sure to reach her in some way, either in a letter from
a friend, in a newspaper or a magazine, or in the course of casual reading of
books. This happened with such frequency and appositeness that it could not
be explained on the basis of coincidence. Whenever possible, she used normal
means, so as not to exhaust her powers. In the early days of the Society, she
had not been prudent in this, and afterward she felt the effects.
One day there came a temptation in the offer of a large yearly salary if
she would write for the Russian newspapers. She might write on any subject she
chose, esotericism included. Here was a promise of comfort and ease for the
remainder of her days. Two hours a day would be ample to satisfy all demands
on her time. But she said, "To write such a work as`The Secret Doctrine', I
must have all my thoughts in that direction, to keep in touch with the
current. It is difficult enough as it is, hampered as I am with this sick and
worn out old body, and it would be impossible to change the current back and
forth from "The Secret Doctrine" to newspaper writing. I have no longer the
energy left in me. Too much of it was exhausted in performing phenomena."
When asked why she did these things when she must have known that she was
wasting her strength and it would have been much better if no phenomena had
been connected with her work, she answered, "Because people were continually
bothering me. It was always,`Oh, do materialize this,' or ' Do `let me hear
those astral bells' and so on, and then I did not like to disappoint people,
so I acceded to their requests. Now I have to suffer for it, and moreover, at
the time the Society was started it was necessary to draw people's attention,
and phenomena did this more effectually than anything else could have done."
Granted, then, that phenomena were necessary at that time, the mischief lay
in the fact that, once introduced, they were difficult to get rid of when they
had served their purpose. All came eager to have their curiosity gratified,
and if disappointed, went away in great wrath and indignation, ready to
denounce the thing as a fraud. So in her anxiety for the welfare of the
Society, poor H.P.B. continued the work, knowing that she was squandering her
vitality. Thus she almost literally gave her life blood for the good of the
organization.
After the Society was fairly well established came the opportunity to have
ease and comfort for the rest of her days. Can we realize what that meant?
Picture Madame Blavatsky in her dingy little apartment with but one bedroom,
which she shared with the Countess Wachmeister. In that obscure old German
town she was virtually an exile among a foreign and unfamiliar people. Here
she toiled at her desk twelve to fourteen hours a day, and was often in the
most straitened circumstances. Then came the offer from the newspaper. She
could write about anything she pleased, and receive a salary that would place
her far beyond the pale of want — all for about two hours a day of her time.
Seemingly it would involve only a small sacrifice of time; but H.P.B. knew
better. She knew that she could not write for newspapers and write "The
Secret Doctrine" also. Unflinchingly she wrote the letter declining the
offer, and thus added another to the long list sacrifices she had already
laid on the altar of the Society and of humanity.
From Wurzburg, Madame Blavatsky went to Elberfield, where she stayed with
Madame Gebhard. Here it seems that little if any work was done on "The
Secret Doctrine", owing to the fact that she fell and sprained her ankle.
Her kind friends nursed her tenderly, but recovery seemed to be slow. Her
sister and niece were sent for, and with them she went to Ostend, from which
place she wrote to the Countess Wachmeister:
"Yes, I will try to settle once more at my `Secret Doctrine' but it is
hard. I am very weak. I feel I am ungrateful. But then gratitude has ever
been shown in ancient symbology to reside in people's heels, and having lost
my legs how can I be expected to have any?" Later she wrote: "My poor legs
have parted company with my body. I am now as legless as any elemental can
be, and I do not know a soul in Ostend; not a solitary Russian here but
myself, who would rather be a Turk and go back to India, but I can't, for I
have neither legs nor reputation, according to the infamous charges of the
S.P.R." [The Society for Psychical Research]
Soon afterwards, the Countess Wachmeister again joined H.P.B. They had a
number of visitors from England, Germany, and France, Ostend being easy of
access from these countries. Madame Blavatsky wrote steadily, though her
health was very poor and she frequently fretted, as evidenced by the following
extract from one of her letters in which she says, "Because lies, hypocrisy
and jesuitism reign supreme in this world, and I am not and cannot be either,
therefore I seem doomed. Because I am tired of life and the struggle with that
Stone of Sisyphus and the eternal work of the Danaides, and I am not permitted
to get out of this misery and rest because I am one too many on this earth, I
am doomed."
This state of mind was probably occasioned chiefly by the extremely poor
health which soon after came to a crisis, when she was stricken with kidney
trouble. The Belgian physician said that she could not live long, and in her
despair the Countess telegraphed to Dr. Ashton Ellis, one of the London
members of the Theosophical Society, who immediately came to Ostend. He held
out no more hope than the Belgian doctor. Both were agreed that they had never
known a person with kidneys so severely affected to live so long.
It seemed as if "The Secret Doctrine" would not be finished — at least not
by H.P.B. Anxious and sorrowful were the hearts of those who surrounded her.
The grief of the Countess Wachmeister became so great that she went into a
swoon. She recovered, and continued to be almost constantly at the bedside
of the sick woman. Awakening one morning after a short sleep, she was
surprised to see Madame Blavatsky sitting up in bed, looking calmly at her.
"Countess, come here!"
The Countess obeyed, asking: "What is the matter, H.P.B.? You look so different."
She replied, "Yes. Master has been here. He gave me my choice — that I
might die and be free if I would, or live and finish "The Secret Doctrine".
He told me how great would be my sufferings, and what a terrible time I
would have before me in England (for I am to go there) but when I thought of
those to whom I shall be permitted to teach a few things and of the T.S., to
which I have given my heart's blood already, I accepted the sacrifice."
She then called for some breakfast and to the surprise and joy of her
friends, got up and went into the dining-room, where later she received a
lawyer and the American Consul, who had come to superintend the making of her
will. One may imagine the change of expression which came over their faces
when, instead of coming into the presence of a dying woman, they found Madame
Blavatsky sitting in her armchair seemingly in the best of health. Thus once
more the specter of death was thrust away and H.P.B. had taken another lease
on life.
The next visitors were Dr. Keightley and Mr. Bertram Keightley of London,
who bore urgent invitations to Madame Blavatsky to come to London. To this she
finally consented. The Countess left Ostend for Sweden, and shortly H.P.B.
journeyed to London, where with the Keightleys she occupied a small cottage
called Maycot. Here the manuscript of "The Secret Doctrine" was finished. It
made a pile three feet high when it was given to the Keightleys for
correction of syntax, punctuation, and spelling. The Keightleys found that
it was not written in a consecutive manner, and outlined a plan of
rearrangement which was approved by Madame Blavatsky. The entire manuscript
was then typewritten.
Just before this work was finished, H.P.B. and her friends moved to 17
Lansdowne Road, Notting Hill, London, where they were joined by the Countess
Wachmeister and others, and there was established the first Headquarters.
It was first arranged to have "The Secret Doctrine" published by Mr.
George Redway, who was publishing "Lucifer", the magazine which had been
founded a short time before by H.P.B., and which has since been called the
"Theosophical Review", but as his proposal was not financially satisfactory,
and a friend of Madame Blavatsky's offered to furnish the money, an office
was taken in Duke Street, London, the primary object being to enable the
Theosophical Society to derive the utmost benefit from her writings.
Of the further history of the writing of "The Secret Doctrine" there is
little to be said, though several months more of hard work were necessary
before it was finally ready for the press. H.P.B. read and corrected two
sets of galley proof, then a set of page proof and finally a revise in
sheet correcting, altering and adding until the last, with the result that
the printers' bill for corrections alone amounted to $1,500.
Such is the story of "The Secret Doctrine" — a story which, like the book
itself, is derided by the majority of people, notwithstanding its
authentication by many persons of sound reason and blameless life. As in the
case of Copernicus and others, some day the world will wake up and find that
this much abused woman was right. Will a monument be raised to her? Who
knows? Whether it will be or not, the fact remains that in "The Secret
Doctrine" itself and in the affection with which its author is regarded by
every student who has been helped by her is a monument more lasting than
marble or bronze. For, though the Masters were the actual authors of the
work, let us not forget that it was the zeal and devotion of H.P.B. which so
excellently qualified her as an instrument for their use; and but for that
zeal and devotion we might not today possess the greatest of modern works on
esotericism — "The Secret Doctrine".
We have traced the history of "The Secret Doctrine", from the time when
H.P.B.'s Master gave her the plan, until it was printed and given to the
world. Now study the plan upon which it was constructed, and try to catch a
glimpse of the teachings contained within its several volumes.
When we contemplate the range of subjects dealt with in this work — a range
bounded only by the universe — it is at once apparent how fragmentary must be
any outline. The content of "The Secret Doctrine" cannot be taught in one
lecture not in a hundred lectures, even though such a lecture course were
given by the most learned exponent. The work is a mine rich in priceless
gems of esoteric knowledge. Perseverance and intuition are the pick and shovel
by the diligent use of which we may become possessed of these jewels of
great price. A truth discovered by ourselves stays with us after we have
lost a dozen other truths explained to us by others. If therefore we can be
induced to dig within "The Secret Doctrine" for ourselves, we shall profit
more than if someone were to explain to us every teaching contained within
its covers.
A cursory reading will prove a potent means of bewildering the mind, as
before us whirl demons and devas, Dhyan Chohans and Kumaras, yugas and cycles,
satyrs and fakirs, adepts and alchemists, Manus and monads, in a continuous
phantasmagoria. To be of value "The Secret Doctrine" must be studied. Just
as Theseus, who entered the labyrinth of Crete to do battle with the
Minotaur, was guided out of the maze by the thread of Ariadne, so the
student should fix his mind on one subject, and plunge boldly into the maze
to do battle with the Minotaur of ignorance. If he persists, and holds tight
the golden thread of intuition, he will be sure to bring out the priceless
gem of knowledge of the subject; and by his toil he will have made it part
of himself — a possession never to be lost. In this way he may spend days in
search of a small point, but when he understands that point, he will know
thsat the time was well spent. When at last he has extracted as far as he is
able the information contained in "The Secret Doctrine", there dawns upon
his mind a conception of the truth. I cannot describe the exultation I felt
at that first view of that truth, and how I meditated on it and admired it
as I saw it dovetail into all the general philosophies.
It should be remembered that the work which we are considering is not by
any means the whole of the esoteric philosophy possessed by the Masters of
Wisdom, but only a small fragment of its fundamental tenets. The teachings
of "The Secret Doctrine", however fragmentary and incomplete, do not belong
to the Hindu, Zoroastrian, Chaldean, or Egyptian religions; nor to Buddhism,
Islamism, Judaism or Christianity exclusively. The book contains the essence
of them all. Originating from the same source, all are in these volumes
resolved into their original elements, out of which every mystery and dogma
has developed and become materialized. The aim of the work is to show that
Nature is not a fortuitous concurrence of atoms, to assign to man his
rightful place in the scheme of the universe, to rescue from degradation the
archaic truths which are the basis of all religions, to uncover to some
extent the fundamental unity from which they all sprang, and finally to show
that the esoteric side of Nature has never been approached by the science of
modern civilization.
When an architect starts to build a modern skyscraper he first prepares a
solid foundation; upon this he rears the massive steel beams to form the
skeleton of the building. This skeleton is then clothed in walls and floors of
concrete, terra cotta, and other materials. A system of
steam pipes like
arteries carries heat to every room. Its nervous system is an intricate
network of electric light and telephone wires, while in the basement throbs a
steam engine, driving an electric generator. The result is an organic whole
pulsing with life.
Somewhat similar was the procedure of the Masters of Wisdom who built the
monumetal structure of esoteric knowledge which we are considering. A Mohammedan
writer says, "In the assembly of the day of resurrection the sins of Kabak
will be forgiven for the sake of the Lust of the Christian Churches."
Professor Max Muller replied, "The sins of Islam are as worthless as the dust
of Christianity. In the day of the resurrection both Christians and
Mohammedans will see the vanity of their religious doctrines. Men fight about
religion on earth. In heaven they shall find out that there only one true
religion." In other words, "There is no religion higher than truth." Upon this
foundation of truth was raised by the Masters of the Wisdom of the Ages the
skeleton structure of the "Book of Dzyan", a Senzar manuscript of vast
antiquity, about which have been gathered all that was good and true in all
the world religions, cemented by esoteric knowledge, and ornamented with old
symbols and myths. These were the more beautiful for being deprived of the
scale of materialism which for ages had covered them. The result is the
congeries of transcendent philosophy contained in "The Secret Doctrine". It
may be asked: where are the arteries of steam pipes, the nervous system of
electric wires, the steam engine, and the electric generator to vitalize the
building? These the student must himself supply by making it part of
himself, by taking it into his own life. In proportion as he does this will
be the life it has for him, its measure and its limit being his devotion to
its ideals.
"The Secret Doctrine" establishes three fundamental postulates. The first
is the existence of an omnipresent, eternal, boundless and immutable
Principle on which all speculation is impossible, since it transcends the
power of human conception and can only be dwarfed by any human expression or
similitude. It is beyond the range of thought, unspeakable and unthinkable.
This Be-ness is symbolized in "The Secret Doctrine" under two aspects: on
the one hand is Absolute Abstract Space, representing base subjectivity — the
one thing which no human mind can either exclude from any conception or
conceive of by itself. On the other hand is Absolute Abstract Motive,
representing unconditional consciousness. This latter aspect is also spoken
of as the Great Breath, the One Reality. The Absolute is the field of
absolute consciousness, or that essence which is out of all relation to
conditioned existence, and of which conscious existence is a conditioned
symbol; but once we pass in thought from this absolute negation (to us),
duality supervenes in the contrast of Spirit (or Consciousness) and Matter.
Spirit and Matter are to be regarded not as independent realities, but as
symbols or aspects of the Absolute, which constitute the basis of conditioned
being, whether subjective or objective. Considering this metaphysical triad as
the root from which proceeds all manifestation, the Great Breath assumes the
character of pre-cosmic ideation. It is the fount of force and of all
individual consciousness, and supplies the guiding Intelligence in the vast
scheme of cosmic evolution. On the other hand, pre-cosmic root substance is the
aspect of the Absolute which underlies all the objective planes of nature.
The manifested universe is pervaded by duality, which is the very essence
of its existence as Manifestation. But just as the opposite poles of subject
and object, spirit and matter, are but aspects of the One Unity in which they
are synthesized, so in the manifested universe there is that which links
spirit to matter, subject to object. This something — at present unknown to
Western speculation — is called by Eastern esotericists "fohat". It is the
"bridge" by which ideas existing in the divine thought are impressed on
cosmic substance.
Thus from spirit or cosmic ideation comes our consciousness; from cosmic
substance come the several vehicles in which that consciousness is
individualized; while this substance in its various manifestations is the
mysterious link between mind and matter, the principle vivifying every atom.
The second fundamental postulate of "The Secret Doctrine" is the
existence of eternity in toto as a boundless
plane — periodically the
playground of numberless universes which are incessantly manifesting and
disappearing. This postulate is the absolute universality of that law of
periodicity, of flux and reflux, ebb and flow, which physical science has
observed and recorded in all departments of nature. An alternation such as
that of day and night, waking and sleeping, life and death, is in fact so
common, so perfectly universal and without exception, that it is easy to see
in it one of the fundamental laws of the universe.
The third and last of the basic postulates of "The Secret Doctrine" is
the fundamental identity of all souls with the universal Oversoul, the
latter being itself an aspect of the Unknown Root; and the obligatory
pilgrimage of every soul through a cycle of incarnation. These souls or
sparks are the Sons abiding from everlasting, from the beginning of the
creative age in the bosom of the Father. They are to be made perfect through
sufferings. Each soul is truly equal to the Father as concerns its Godhead,
but inferior to the Father as concerns its manhood, and each is to go forth
into matter in order to render all things subject to itself. The soul is to
be sown in weakness that it may be raised in power, thus escaping from the
limitations of a static Logos, enfolding all divine powers, omniscient and
omnipresent on its own plane, but unconscious on all other planes. Its glory
is to be veiled in soul-blinding matter in order that through experience,
the soul may become omniscient and omnipresent on all planes, responsive to
all divine vibrations instead of to those on the highest planes only. The
pivotal doctrine of the hidden wisdom admits of no privileges or special
gifts in man save those won by his own soul through a long series of
metempsychoses and reincarnations.
Such are the basic conceptions on which "The Secret Doctrine" rests. It
would not be fitting here to enter upon any defense or proof of their
inherent reasonableness, nor can I pause to show how they are contained — though too often under a misleading guise — in all systems of thought or
philosophy worthy of the name. Once the student has gained a clear
comprehension of them and realized the light they throw on every problem of
life, he finds that they need no further justification.
The history of cosmic evolution as traced in the Stanzas of Dzyan may be
regarded as the abstract algebraic formula of that evolution. Hence the
student must not expect to find there an account of all the stages ands
transformations which have occurred between the beginnings of universal
evolution and our present state. To give such an account would be as
impossible as it would be incomprehensible to men who cannot grasp the nature
of even the plane of existence next to their own. The Stanzas, therefore, give
an abstract formula which can be applied to all evolution — to that of our tiny
earth, to the chain of planets of which our earth forms one, to the solar
universe to which that chain belongs, and so on, in an ascending scale until
the mind reels an is exhausted in the effort to understand.
The seven Stanzas of the first volume represent the seven terms of the
abstract formula to which they refer, and describe the seven great stages of
the evolutionary process mentioned in the Hindu philosophy as the seven
creations, and in the Bible as the days of creation.
Stanza No. 1: describes the condition of the Absolute One during the
interlude between cosmic manifestations and before the first flutter of
reawakening activity. A moment's consideration will show how difficult it is
to describe such a state. Since it is a state of Absoluteness per se, it can
possess none of the specific attributes which serve to describe objects in
positive terms. Hence the state can be suggested only by negatives involving
all the most abstract attributes which men feel rather than conceive as the
remotest limits attainable by their powers of conception. We are informed by
the Stanza that:
Stanza No. 1: "The eternal parent wrapped in her ever invisible robes had
slumbered once again for seven eternities. Time was not, for it lay asleep in
the infinite bosom of duration. Universal mind was not, for there were no
Ah-Hi to contain it. The seven ways to bliss were not. The great causes of
misery were not, for there was no one to produce and get ensnared by them.
Darkness alone filled the boundless all, for father, mother and son were once
more one, and the son had not awakened yet for the new wheel, and his
pilgrimage thereon. The seven sublime lords and the seven truths had ceased to
be, and the Universe, the son of Necessity, was immersed in Paranishpanna [the
Absolute], to be outbreathed by that which is and yet is not. Naught was. The
causes of existence had been done away with; the visible that was, and the
invisible that is, rested in eternal non-being — the one being. Alone the one
form of existence stretched boundless, infinite, causeless, in dreamless
sleep; and life pulsated unconscious in universal space, throughout that All-
presence which is sensed by the opened eye of the Dangma [the inner spiritual
eye of the seer, or the Third Eye]."
Stanza No. 2: describes a stage which to the Western Mind is so nearly
identical with the first that to explain the difference would require a
treatise in itself. A grasp of what it contains can be obtained only through
the intuition and higher faculties of the student. Indeed, it must be
remembered that all the Stanzas appeal more to the inner faculties than to the
physical brain:
"Where were the Builders, the luminous Sons of Manvantaric Dawn? * * * The
producers of form from no-form — the root of the world — ? * * Where was
silence? Where the ears to sense it? No, there was neither silence nor sound;
naught save ceaseless eternal breath, which knows itself not. The hour had not
yet struck; the ray had not yet flashed into the Germ; the Matripadma [Mother-Lotus] had not yet swollen. * * * The universe was still concelaed in the
Divine thought and the Divine bosom."
Stanza No. 3: describes the reawakening of the universe to activity after
rest. It depicts the emergence of the monads from their state of absorption
within the One. Thus begins the earliest and highest stage in the formation
of worlds. The term "monad" may apply to the vastest solar system and the
tiniest atom. Says the Stanza:
"The last vibration of the seventh eternity thrills through infinitude.
The mother swells, expanding from within without, like the bud of the lotus.
The vibration sweeps along, touching with its swift wing the whole universe
and the germ that dwelleth in darkness. The darkness that breathes over the
slumbering waters of life. Darkness radiates light, and light drops one
solitary ray into the mother-deep. The ray shoots through the virgin egg, the
ray causes the virgin egg to thrill, and drop the non-eternal germ, which
condenses into the world-egg. * * * Father-Mother spin a web whose upper end
is fastened to spirit — the light of the one darkness — and the lower one to its
shadowy end, matter; and this web is the universe spun out of the two
wubstances made in one. * * * It expands when the breath of fire is upon it;
it contracts when the breath of the mother touches it. Then the sons
dissociate and scatter, to return into their mother's bosom at the end of the
great day, and re-become one with her: * * *"
Stanza No. 4: shows the differentiation of the germ of the universe into
the septenary hierarchy of conscious Divine Power which is the active
manifestation of the one supreme energy. They are the framers, shapers, and
ultimately the creators of all the manifested universe in the only sense in
which the name Creator is intelligible. They inform and guide it. They are
intelligent beings who adjust and control evolution, embodying in themselves
those manifestations of the one Law which we know as the Law of Nature. This
stage of evolution is called in mythology the Creation of the Gods, but it is not a creation of gods in the sense in which creation is generally understood
in the West, but as a reawakening into activity of Beings who have acquired
their transcendental intelligences in former universes.
Stanza No. 5: "The Primordial Seven, the First Seven Breaths of the Dragon
of Wisdom, produce in their turn from their Holy Circumgyrating Breaths the
Fiery Whirlwind."
The stanza describes the process of world formation; first, diffused cosmic
matter, then the fiery whirlwind — the first stage in the formation of a
nebula. This nebula condenses, and after passing through various
transformations froms a solar universe, a planetary chain, or a single planet,
as the case may be.
Stanza No. 6: indicates the subsequent stages in the formation of such a
world, and brings its evolution down to the fourth
period — corresponding to
the period in which we are now living.
"* * * He builds them in the likeness of older wheels, placing them on the
Imperishable Centres. How does Fohat build them? He collects the fiery dust.
He makes balls of fire, runs through them, and round them, infusing life
there into, then sets them into motion; some one way, some the other way. They are cold, he makes them hot. They are dry, he makes them moist. They shine, he
fans and cools them. Thus acts Fohat from one twilight to the other, during
Seven Eternities. * * * Make thy calculations, Lanoo, if thou wouldest learn
the correct age of the small wheel. Its fourth spoke is our mother. Reach the
fourth "fruit" of the fourth path of knowledge that leads to Nirvana, and
thou shalt comprehend, for thou shalt see."
Stanza No. 7: "Behold the beginning of sentient formless life. * * * The
one ray multiplies the smaller rays. Life precedes form, and life survives the
last atom of form. Through the countless rays proceeds the life-ray, the One,
like a thread through many jewels. * * * The spark hangs from the flame by the
finest thread of Fohat. It journeys through the Seven World of Maya. It stops
in the first, and is a metal and a stone; it passes into the second and
behold — a plant; the plant whirls through seven changes and becomes a sacred
animal. From the combines attributes of these, Manu, the thinker is formed.
The 7th Stanza continues the history, tracing the descent of life down to
the appearance of man, thus ending the description of cosmic evolution as
found in the first volume.
For a graphic summary of the teaching of "The Secret Doctrine" on the
cosmogony of the system of worlds to which we belong, it would be difficult
to improve upon that given in an old commentary on the Book of Dzyan. "Eight
houses were built by Mother [Space]. Eight houses for her Eight Divine sons
[planets]; four large and four small ones. Eight brilliant suns, according
to their age and merits. Bal-i-lu (Marrtanda) [the eighth sun, the sun of
our solar system] was not satisfied, though his house was the largest. He
began (to work) as the huge elephants do. He breathed (drew in) into his
stomach the vital airs of his brothers. He sought to devour them. The larger
four were far away; far, on the margin of their kingdom (planetary system).
They were not robbed (affected) and laughed. Do your worst, Sir, you cannot
reach us, they said. But the smaller wept. They complained to the Mother.
She exiled Bal-i-lu to the center of her Kingdom, from whence he could not
move. (Since then) he (only) watches and threatens. He pursues them, turning
slowly around himself, they turning swiftly from him, and he following from
afar the direction in which his brothers move on the path that encircles
their houses. (`The sun rotates on his axis always in the same direction in
which the planets revolve in their respective orbits.' astronomy teaches
us)."
If there is anywhere a plainer and more graphic exposition I should like to
know it. Modern astronomy also explains this phenomenon, though in some points
it differs. The esoteric doctrine rejects the hypothesis (born of the nebular
theory) that the seven great planets have evolved from the central mass of the
sun — at least, of our visible sun. The first condensation of cosmic matter
took place around a central nucleus, its parent sun, but according to the
esoteric teaching, the sun merely detached itself earlier than the others, as
the rotating mass contracted, and is their elder brother and not their father.
Each of these seven planets in its turn is again associated with six other
planets. Such a group is called a planetary chain. Each of these chains forms
a field of evolution for a certain number of monads or souls. There are
further subdivisions, but we need not be concerned with them here.
Evolution of these monads progresses through a series of manifestations on
one or more of these chains, and, just as this earth is the fourth and most
material planet of the seven globes which are the field of its special system
of evolution, do does this whole chain of worlds occupy the same place in the larger scheme to which it belongs; that is to say, the life impulse which is
now cycling through this present period of evolution had its beginning long
anterior to it. There have been three such periods of evolution before this
one, and there will be three after this one has passed, before objective
manifestation once more returns to the bosom of the Infinite for a period of
rest.
Our own little earth and its human inhabitants are given due
consideration in the second volume of "The Secret Doctrine". To understand
it is by no means the simple task which one might suppose when viewing the
pictures representing the creation story in some of the old cathedrals of
Europe, where God appears much as a Nuremburg toymaker, hanging the planets
in the firmament, or sitting cross-legged on a table with a large pair of
scissors beside him, sewing coats of skin for Adam and Eve.
We understand also that the geological constitution of the earth cannot be
accounted for by the six-day or any other creation theory, for if God created
the world as thus set forth, we must also suppose that he twisted the strata,
stored the fossils between, scooped out the valleys supposed to have been made
by glaciers, and caused the marks of erosion by water all for His own glory
and for the mystification of man.
"The Secret Doctrine" teaches that the
fire-mist which eventually
condensed into what is now our earth originally covered an area so large
that it enveloped the moon. The latter was heated to such an extent that it
was softened to the consistency of mud; its water and air were converted
into steam, and when the fire-mist contracted, the atmosphere and water
followed the new center. When the earth had cooled sufficiently, the
enveloping fire-mist condensed into our present water and air, until at the
time when the life-wave reached the earth from Mars in the course of the
present round, the earth had cooled so much that the water had become tepid.
About this time, the first of the four great continents — which existed
before the earth assumed its present topography — appeared in the region now
known as the Arctic.
Before going any further, it is necessary to understand the central
position of our earth in the whole plan of evolution. During the preceding
three and one-half rounds, the monads have been veiling themselves more and
more in matter. On the earth in our present round, the nadir of materiality
was reached by all kingdoms in the middle of the Fourth, Atlantean Epoch. We, being in the Fifth Epoch, are just beginning to slowly raise ourselves out of matter. We are the prodigal sons who went into a far country to gather experience, and having gone as far as we could, are now returning home to our Father — who be the pouring out of Intelligence has met us a long way off, and is now conducting us to our own spiritual home.
The general plan of human evolution on the globe is briefly this: seven distinct root-races were destined to evolve a certain principle or sense. In
this way, the four races which preceded us developed hearing, touch, sight,
and taste. We have developed smell. The sixth and seventh
root-races are to develop astral and mental clairvoyance respectively. They will also develop spirituality. We are developing intellectuality; our predecessors developed
desire. Each of the seven root-races divides into seven sub-races, these again
being subdivided. The evolution of each root-race takes place under the
guidance of a special teacher, a great spiritual entity who incarnates in that
race as ruler and lawgiver.
Each root-race evolves on its own continent, which is destroyed when that evolution is finished, water and fire being used alternately as agents. The
archaic names of these continents are many, but to avoid confusion "The
Secret Doctrine" uses the names most familiar to Western readers. The first
continent it calls the Imperishable Sacred Land. The reason for this name is
that this continent is the only one whose destiny it is to last throughout
the whole of our stay on this chain of globes. It was the cradle of the
first man, and will be the dwelling of the last divine mortal Chaya as a
repository for the future seeds of humanity.
This sacred land has in its center Mount Meru, whose roots are in the
Himalayan chain; from the peak of this sacred mountain — which forms the axis
of the earth — there is a continuous flow of magnetic current, which spreads
over the whole globe, re-entering it at the south pole. Thence it goes to the
Holy City of Shamballah (the heart of the earth) in the Gobi Desert, where it
is purified by the Masters of the Great White Lodge, and sent back to Mount
Meru at the north pole. Around the sacred mountain, like leaves of the lotus,
are seven promontories. On these were born the seven
sub-classes of the
first race, says the "Book of Dzyan": "The great Chohans [Lords] called the
Lords of the Moon, of the Airy Bodies. `Bring forth men, men of your nature.
Give them their forms within. She will build coverings without. Males-
females will they be.' * * * They [the Moon-gods] went each on his allotted
land: seven of them each on his lot."
Concerning anthropogenesis, "The Secret Doctrine" teaches: (1) the
simultaneous evolution of seven human groups on seven different portions of
our globe; (2) the birth of the astral body before the physical, the latter
body being molded in the astral form; (3) the priority of man in this round
to the animals, the monkeys included. This last teaching is in accord with
the second creation story in the Bible; also with other books.
On the Sacred Imperishable Land were created by the Lords of the Moon chain
the first race — large, shadowy, ethereal beings floating hither and thither.
It may be asked, why call them human? For the same reason that a human fetus
is called human, when for the first eight weeks it si indistinguishable from
the embryonic dog. The method by which these beings reproduced was to throw
off their astral counterpart, which in time could throw off another, each
inferior to his father. This provides the explanation of the varying stages of
humanity, for such inferior beings were ensouled by inferior entities. This
race did not die, but was clothed with the second race. The latter, after
the type had been definitely established, was led to what "The Secret
Doctrine" calls the Hyperborean continent, the promontories of which
stretched from the North Pole to the south and west. In the days of Homer
the Greeks spoke of it as a blessed land beyond the reach of Boreas, the god
of winter, and of the hurricane — an ideal country, where nights were short
and days were long.
On this continent lived the second-race men, ensouled by the second great
host of monads which had come over from the Moon chain. Although having the
general form of men, the individuals of this race were gigantic jellylike
creatures who floated over the surface of the earth, as directed by passing
desires. The features were undefined, there being no eyes, ears, or mouth.
They received impressions through and were guided by two centers of force, the
so-called thrid eye (which has become the pineal gland) and an organ which has
developed into the spleen. They were potentially bisexual, and reproduced
their species in the same manner as the first race. The second-race men were
boneless — which accounts for the fact that geologists have found no fossils in
the three lower strata.
During the later secondary period the waters receded, and land appeared in the areas now covered by India, China, Australia, Africa, the Pacific Ocean
and Northern Europe. This was the vast Lemurian continent, to which the great
Lemurian race was led by its Teacher. This was the first race to receive the
outpouring of intelligence.
The mode of reproduction was changed three times during this period. Says
the "Book of Dzyan": "Then the second [race] evolved the
Egg-born, the
third. * * * The egg of the future race, the Man-swan of the later third.
First male-female, then man and woman." Today embryology teaches that man is
born from the ovum; that in the third month the fetus is bisexual; then one
sexual organ becomes dominant, the other remaining rudimentary but never
disappearing. The body of the third root race man became firmer, and its
shape changed until it was man as we know he was — a giant twelve to fifteen
feet tall, with a dark yellow-brown skin, long lower jaw, flat face, eyes
far apart, the head sloping upward and backward. He had no forehead; the
hair was short, the back of the head bare, probably for the greater
convenience of the third eye. Arms and legs were much longer in proportion
than ours. His heels projected back, so that he could walk backward.
Certainly he was not too engaging a person. We can sympathize with the souls
who were guided to such bodies for incarnation, and excuse them for
refusing.
During this age the animals appeared, and separated into sexes before
man. Up to this stage, man had remained (as the "Book of Dzyan" puts it) "an
empty, senseless shadow." Then came the time when he was to receive the
priceless gift of mind. To accomplish this three classes of souls came down
to birth.
The first were the Lords of Venus, who, though not belonging to our
planetary chain, sent to this earth — their adopted child — great teachers who
taught and guided infant humanity. To them we can give thanks for the fact
that we are now about one round in advance of what we otherwise would have
achieved. These Lords established the Great White Lodge, which has existed
ever since, and from which have been sent all the great Teachers of humanity.
Originally the Lodge was not for the benefit of evolving humanity — which for
ages was not to be qualified to tread the path of
initiation — but for those of
the Lords of Venus who had not reached the highest stage of initiation.
The other two classes are described as the Sons of Wisdom and the Sons of
Night. Of these the Sons of Night refused to create. Those who entered became
sages; on those who did not procreate, the curse was pronounced. They will be
born in the fourth suffering, and causing suffering.
Thus was a part of humanity left
narrow-headed and mindless. Of them the
"Book of Dzyan" says: "And those which had no spark took huge she-animals
unto them. They begat upon them dumb races. Dumb they were themselves. But
their tongues untied. The tongues of their progeny remained still. Monsters
they bred. A race of crooked red-hair-covered monsters going on all fours. A
dumb race to keep the shame untold. Seeing which, the Lhas [the spirits, the
Sons of Wisdom] who had not built men, wept, saying: `The Amanasa [the
mindless] have defiled our future abodes. This is Karma [retribution]. Let
us dwell in the other. Let us teach them better, lest worse should happen. *
* * Then all men become endowed with Manas [mind]."
Some of the fourth race men who had mind, however, did the same — and here
is the explanation of "The Secret Doctrine" regarding the anthropoids. They
are not our ancestors — as is assumed by the evolutionists — but an offshoot
of the human race. They are the only animals now on the globe which will
develop human astral forms in the seventh root-race, and will be definitely
human in the fifth round.
There is still another class, of which one division incarnated during the
later third and the other during the early fourth round. They had advanced too
far on the Lunar chain to be reborn on the earthly chain during the preceding
stages, and came into incarnation for the first time on this chain. These are
the last of the monads who inhabited the Moon chain.
From the seventh sub-race of the third race the Teacher who was to develop
the coming fourth race singled out those who were to form the nucleus, and led
them to that great see-ground for humanity — the Imperishable Sacred Land —
where he segregated them, says the "Book of Dzyan", two by two, on the seven
zones, and embedded in their forms potentially the qualities to be developed
in the coming races. Meanwhile great cataclysms rent the continent, and
Lemuria as such disappeared, ages before the tertiary period. In its place
rose Atlantis, the fourth continent, destined to become the seat of a
civilization which in many ways excelled our own. Its rulers were divine
Priest-Kings. It was indeed the Golden Age; alchemistry was used to produce
gold for use in the arts and to ornament their houses and buildings.
Superphysical powers were a common possession.
When the divine pilots tried the experiment of relinquishing the helm to see
if man himself would be able to guide the ship of humanity, this was all
changed. "Then the Fourth [race] became tall with pride. We are the kings, it
was said; we are the gods. They took wives fair to look upon. Wives from the
mindless, the narrow-headed. They bred monsters. Wicked demons, male and
female. * * They built temples for the human body. Male and female they
worshiped. Then the Third Eye acted no longer. They built huge cities. * * *
They built great images nine yatis high, the size of their bodies. Inner fires
had destroyed the land of their fathers. The water threatened the fourth. The
first great waters came. They swallowed the seven great islands." Such is the
Story of the degradation into which fell the class which the Book calls the
Lords of Night, or the Dark Faces, in contradistinction to the Sons of
Wisdom, or Lords of the Dazzling Face. "The Secret Doctrine" tells the story
plainly:
"And the `great King of the Dazzling Face', the chief of all the Yellow-faced, seeing the sins of the Black-faced, was sad. He sent his air-vehicles
to all his brothers-chiefs (chiefs of other nations and tribes) with pious
men within saying `Prepare, arise ye men of the good law, and cross the land
while (yet) dry. The Lords of the storm are approaching. Their chariots are
nearing the land. One night and two days only shall the Lords of the Dark
Face (the Sorcerers) live on this patient land. She is doomed, and they have
to descend with her. The nether Lords of the Fires (the Gnomes and fire
Elementals) are preparing their magic Agneyastra (fire-weapons worked by
magic). * * * They are versed in Ashtar (Vidya, the highest magical
knowledge). Come and use yours (your magic powers, in order to counteract
those of the Sorcerers). Let every lord of the Dazzling Face (and adept of
the White Magic) cause the Viwan of every lord of the Dark Face to come into
his hands (or possession), lest any (of the Sorcerers) should by its means
escape from the waters, avoid the rod of the Four, (Karmic deities) and save
his wicked (followers or people). May every yellow face send sleep from
himself (mesmerize?) to every black face. May even they (the Sorcerers)
avoid pain and suffering. May every man true to the Solar Gods bind
(paralyze) every man under the lunar gods, lest he should suffer or escape
his destiny. * * * The hour has struck, the black night is ready, etc.,
etc.'" The waters arose and covered the valleys from one end of the earth to
the other. So perished Atlantis and came into being the story of the deluge.
What does "The Secret Doctrine" say about the future? The land-body now
known as North America will be consumed by fire. In its place will arise a
new continent which will be the home of a spiritual people. This will be the
sixth root-race, the nucleus of which is being evolved right here, under the
Stars and Stripes. In that race, function will be restored to the pituitary
body and the pineal gland, which have been inactive since the degradation of
the fourth race. These two glands are not merely — as science says — two horny
warts covered by sand, but two very important organs temporarily out of use.
They are the keys to the spiritual worlds, which will in that race be opened
to all mankind. The granules with which these bodies are covered are absent
in children under seven and in congenital idiots. Weak-minded people have
but few. This race will be male-female and the sympathetic nerve will
develop into a second spinal cord. They will be a beautiful, spiritual and
mighty people. Yet this race with its continent will also pass away, to give
place to the seventh and last of our root-races.
The people of this last race will dwell on a land to the south of us, there
evolving to a state transcending our present understanding. Mental clairvoyance
will be possessed by all; the two spinal cords will merge into one, and man
will be sexless. Then will come the time when the life-wave will once more
leave our earth to conquer other worlds.
Such is the sublime plan to which we belong, as outlined in the first and
second volumes of "The Secret Doctrine". The third volume consists of a
miscellaneous collection of papers published after the death of the author.
As the years pass, the truth of the statements in "The Secret Doctrine" are
being gradually vindicated. As the knowledge of students grow, their
admiration and reverence for their great teacher becomes more profound. With
but few and unimportant exceptions, everything which is to be found in the
voluminous literature of modern esotericism has been available in "The Secret
Doctrine" ever since its publication. In the work is food for the heart and
for the intellect — a system of thought and knowledge which, if we will but
study it and put it into our lives, can make us wise unto salvation.
Aphorisms From Max Heindel's Writings
As our body is the visible garment of the invisible ego, so does the
visible fire clothe the true invisible fire. Fire and the ego are both
spirits and both manifest under analogous laws.
A good memory is one that forgets the faults of others, but remembers the lessons.
A small man is always anxious for a big position because he feels that the
position will confer dignity and prestige upon him, but there are ninety-nine
chances that he will disgrace the position. A big man dignifies any position,
big or little, by the efficient way he handles it.
No matter how high that ideal seems or how far below it we feel, Saints
have realized it. They were men, and what man has done man can do again.
The Lost Word — You cannot say it unless you have first learned to live it.
Prayer is magic incantation, but unless your life is a prayer, you will
never get the answer.
When you have set your goal, never harbor a thought of fear or failure, but
cultivate an attitude of invincible determination to accomplish your object
despite all obstacles, holding the thought of success constantly.
The Black Grail feeds on evil, while the Holy Grail feeds on Love. If evil
did not exist the powers of darkness would starve.
Prayer is like the turning on of the electric switch, that does not create
the current but simply provides a channel through which the electric current
may flow. In like manner prayer creates a channel through which the divine
life and light pour itself into us for our spiritual illumination.
There is but one safe way to develop our latent faculties. No matter what
anyone may say to the contrary, experience will prove that attainment to
spiritual powers depends upon purification and unselfish aspiration; and that is what the mysteries taught in olden times.
Nature is the symbolic expression of God. She does nothing gratuitously,
but there is a purpose behind everything and every act.
It is one thing to go out in the mountains where there is no one to
contradict or to jar upon our sensibilities and keep our poise; but it is
another thing entirely to maintain our spiritual aspirations and keep our
balance in the world where everything jars upon us; but when we stay on this
path we gain a self-control which is unattainable in any other manner.
When we work and pray, and make our lives a living prayer for opportunities
to serve others, then all earthly things will come of their own accord as we
need them, and they will continue to come according to the degree that they
are used in the service of God.
A great and wonderful allegory is written in cosmic characters in the sky.
It is also written in our own lives, and warns us to forsake the fleeting life
of the material and to seek the eternal life of God.
There can be no contradiction in nature, therefore the heart and mind must
be capable of uniting. To indicate this common ground is precisely the purpose
of this book; to show where and how the mind, helped by the intuition of the
heart, can probe more deeply into the mysteries of being then either could
alone, where the heart by union with the mind, can be kept from going astray,
where each can have full scope for action, neither doing violence to the
other, where both mind and heart can be satisfied.
The Founder of the Christian Religion stated an esoteric maxim when He said,
"Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall
not enter therein." (Mark 10). All esotericists recognize the far-reaching
importance of this teaching of Christ, and endeavor to live it day by day.
If, having knowledge and choice, man ranges himself on the side of good and
right, he cultivates virtue and wisdom. If he succumbs to temptation and does
wrong knowingly, he fosters vice.
In service is the only true greatness. Yet no matter how efficiently we may
serve, if we glory in our services, that self-glory is our only reward.
It should be our aim to think little of that which we do, to esteem
ourselves as nothing, for no matter how well we work, none of us are able to
serve God worthily even for one single day. So humility in service should be
our chief end and aim. The more thoroughly we can attain to that ideal, the
smaller we are in our own eyes, the greater shall we be in the sight of God.
It is always easy to get people to do big things, where they are bolstered
up by the dignity of the position. Lots of little men can always be found to
fill the conspicuous places, for this man enjoys to have everybody bowing
before him, but it takes a big man to do the little things, the things which
are called menial, which are not menial for the personality dignifies the task.
No matter what people say to us or about us their words have no intrinsic
power to hurt. It is our own mental attitude towards their utterances which
determines the effect of their words upon us for good or ill. Paul, when
facing persecution and slander, testified that, "None of these things moved
us."
Reference: Blavatsky and the Secret Doctrine, by Max Heindel
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