The Heart Doctrine is enshrined like a pearl within the shell of every religion. Altruism, or the universal code of Higher Ethics, is its moral basis as embodied in “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” The Eye Doctrine is mere head-learning: a non-issue for the masses and for those who, though capable and fit, are unwilling to serve anyone but themselves. We are mad, not only individually, but nationally. We check manslaughter and isolated murders; but what of war and the much-vaunted crime of genocide? Theosophy is the pith and marrow of the Heart Doctrine, for its noble aim is the “Great Renunciation of self.” Service to, and love of, humanity is every true Theosophists’ religion and dogma. For pure love creates, selfish love corrupts. The one is sympathy; the other, fascination. The one is pure and holy; the other, evil and unnatural. Self-love is love misdirected and misapplied but love, nonetheless. For, the loving essence can never be extinguished but only perverted. Live for Humanity, the great Orphan, the only disinherited one upon this earth. The White Lodge aims to help us humanise our animal nature and thus awaken compassion for our fellow men and all that lives. After death one can choose between personal rest in Devachan and altruistic service on Earth. Spurning Devachan and remaining on Earth for the salvation of mankind, the Elect are the germ of a Hierarchy which never died since “there was no more going up and down” for Them. All workers for the Lodge are helped out of Devachan, if they consent.
Tributes by Eminent Theosophists on the Paradigm of Mahayana Buddhism. The Voice of The Silence, though it does not claim to be the utterance of a Buddha, is nevertheless akin to the sutra rather to the śāstra group of texts. . . . It seeks more to inspire than to instruct, appeals to the heart rather than to the head. To make use of De Quincey’s classification, it belongs not to the literature of information, the purpose of which is to augment knowledge, but to the literature of power, the aim of which is to move. So important is a clear understanding of the difference not merely between the kinds of effect they are calculated to produce and the organs upon which they are intended to act, that, according to The Voice of The Silence itself, the disciple at the very outset of his quest is admonished, “Learn above all to separate Head-learning from Soul-wisdom, the ‘Eye’ from the ‘Heart doctrine.’” — Bhikshu Sangarakshita All being desire liberation from misery. Seek, therefore, for the causes of misery and expunge them. By entering on the path, liberation from misery is attained. Exhort, then, all beings to enter the path. — IXth Panchen Lama Madame Blavatsky had a profound knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, and the doctrines she promulgated were those of many great teachers. This book is like a call to men to forsake desire, dispel every evil thought, and enter the true Path. — B.T .Chang The only true exposition in English of the Heart Doctrine of the Mahāyāna and its noble ideal of self-sacrifice for humanity. — Alice Leighton Cleather & Basil Crump Here is the real Mahāyāna Buddhism. — D.T. Suzuki It gave us a blazing vision of the immensity of Mahāyāna Buddhism when our knowledge so far was exclusively of the Theravada, excepting HPB’s Voice of The Silence. — Christmas Humphreys There is a verge of the mind which these things haunt; and whispers therefrom mingle with the operations of our understanding, even as the waters of the infinite ocean send their waves to break among the pebbles that lie upon our shores. . . . We recognize the passwords to the mystical region as we hear them, but we cannot use them ourselves; it alone has the keeping of “the password primeval.” — William James [Having] bathed in these I marvelled what I could have done to merit birth in an age wherein such wisdom was on offer to all who could beg, borrow or steal a copy of those works. — George W. Russell I believe that this book has strongly influenced many sincere seekers and aspirants to the wisdom and compassion of the Bodhisattva Path. — XIVth Dalai Lama. It is also one of her (H.P. Blavatsky’s) most important writings, being a guidebook for those dedicated to achieving enlightenment through altruistic service to humanity. — Boris de Zirkoff This is a work intended for the aspirant after true, or self, knowledge, aiming to play a significant part in helping mankind along its arduous evolutionary path to ultimate self-redemption and liberation. — Geoffrey A. Farthing Pledge of Kwan Yin,” the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. Never will I seek nor perceive private individual salvation; Never will I enter into final peace alone; But forever and everywhere will I live and strive For the redemption of every creature throughout the world. — Sylvia Cranston
Do not think too much of me, direct your thoughts to the Eternal Truth. For only he who is free from the heresy of separateness, brought forth by false self-identity and self-importance, can rise above the trappings of personal life and live for others. Never seek knowledge or power for any other purpose than to sacrifice it on the altar of the Great Heart, which is humanity at large. Do not fear nor fail because you feel dark and heavy. After a while, the very rage you feel will break the shrine that covers the mystery. No one can really help you till then. The “moment of choice” between good and evil, between white and black magic, is neither in space nor in time, it is the momentum of all those moments in the battle between unselfish and selfish impulses taking place in those who try to follow the higher purposes of Nature. I am my friends and my enemies, I feel them all. I am the poor, the wicked, the ignorant. Those moments of gloom are the moments when I am influenced by those ignorant ones, who are myself. Duty lies in the act itself. Our duty is to never consider our ability, but to do what needs to be done in whatever way we can, no matter how inadequate the work may appear to others. We are not the only ones to suffer upon the path. Like ourselves Masters have wept, though They do not weep any longer. Sadness comes from an appreciation of the difficulties in our way, and of the unspeakable wickedness of the human heart. The Divine Spirit, which overshadows the soul of every man, is the throne of the Invisible and Unknown God. If you reflect on That, little room will be left for sorrow or delusion. Please don’t be anxious. Insist on Carelessness. Anxiety obscures and deters. Fear and anxiety are a formidable barrier against progress, by perturbation and straining harshly. Anxiety densifies and perturbs our magnetic sphere (aura), thus rendering us less permeable to the efflux of inner life and love. Immediate rebirth is for those who are working with their heart on Master’s work and are free from self interest. Nothing foreign to Master can pollute the pure heart; our faults are not there. The heart reaches Him always, and He replies. He needs not to stoop to see our devotion for devotional love, being of a supernal quality, reaches anywhere. Even in the most menial sorts of labour, the moment a man begins working, his soul enters into a state of harmony and peace. On the plane of social intercourse words are things, but soulless and dead because that convention in which they have their birth has made abortions of them. Let us then choose with care those living messengers called words. When the soul turns its attention to the astral plane, its energy is transferred from the gross material plane to a more subtle plane composed of imponderable matter, and we then have an influx of many confused dreams and strange experiences, whether awake or asleep. Clairvoyants and untrained seers cannot distinguish between psychic and spiritual perceptions. The age is black as hell, hard as iron. Yet noble hearts keep fighting the ancient fight. They seek each other and help each other. We will not fail them. To fail would be nothing, but to stop working for Humanity and the Brotherhood of Man would be awful; we cannot and will not. The student of Occultism must either reach the goal or perish. Those who rush unprepared and before the ripe moment risk insanity. But then that insanity is their safety for the next life, or for their return to sanity. The road to heavens is dark and difficult because we do not live up to our highest ideals. And as we hamstrung by our own weaknesses, it’s no use blaming others for our own shortcomings. Egoism is a sign of shameful cowardice. The egocentric man is insignificant and helpless. All our obstructions are of our own making. All our power is drawn from the storehouse of the past. Let us love and worship humanity, instead of self, and all shall be well. Even selfishness is love, though tainted and misdirected. Let us live for each other, forgetting ourselves in the midst of so many selves who, as formerly and forever, are but our own phantasms of thinking throblets, and all shall be well. Drink the cup of life without a murmur to the last drop, whatever Karma may have in store for you. The lesson in your present life is sweet Patience that nothing can ruffle. Higher Patience is a fine line between pride and humility. Both are extremes and mistakes. How shall we be proud when we are so small? How dare we be humble when we are so great? In both we blaspheme. Regret is productive only of error. Regret is a thought, hence an energy. If we turn its tide upon the past, it plays upon the seeds of that past and vivifies them; it causes them to sprout and grow in the mind and, from thence, expression in action is but a step. Evil is the infernal end of the polarity of spirit-matter. Evil-devil is the dark side of good, yet a mighty motor on the eternal struggle of the two ever-Opposing Forces — Light versus Darkness, Buddhi versus Kama-Manas — dual aspects of the One Manifested Creative Power, which keeps building worlds and thinks through man. Like Ormuzd and Ahriman, good and evil are inseparable and interdependent. We cannot murder Life but we can destroy a vehicle of the divine Principle of Life and impede the course of a soul using that vehicle. We far more injured by this atrocious deed than by any other. It is the man of clay that sins, not the innocent Higher Ego self-imprisoned within us and spectator of our life, who suffers and weeps silently at our cruelty. Condemn the sin not the Sinner. Higher, as within us all, the divine spirit looks down in the secure knowledge that, when the lower nature has subsided into its spiritual source, all this struggle and play of force and will, this waxing and waning of forms, this progression of consciousness that throws up clouds and fumes of illusion before the eye of the soul, will have come to an end. But the real test of a man is his motive, which we neither see, nor do his acts always represent it. If acts of valour are motivated by self-interest, they are still virtuous acts, but they will not elevate the actor and will throw his calculations off-kilter. Nature strives to contain spirit, and spirit strives to be free. Despondency, doubt, fear, vanity, pride, self-satisfaction, are traps used by Nature to detain us on earth. The kind of thoughts that appeal to our senses, and which fascinate and transfix us, is another snare set by Nature lest we discover her inmost secret and rule her. Spirituality is no virtue, it is divine impersonality. Spirituality is the rootless root of all things, unborn, exempt from dissolution, eternal, and beyond the condition of spirit. In essence and substance, It is the Whole of this Universe. Death disappoints the Self for it is neither productive of real knowledge nor of service to the living. Death is the sudden lowering of a stage curtain only to be raised again at the beginning of the next act. The living have a greater part in the dead than the dead have in the living. Rise, then, from this despondency. With the sword of Knowledge and with Love, you can “become one with the great tides of being, and reach the peaceful place of safe self-forgetfulness at last.” In dreams we see the truth and taste the joys of heaven. In waking life we gradually distil that dew into our consciousness. Let thy pulses beat to heaven’s own music. Despise the life that only seeks its own. Listen to the words of the Great Teachers. Good company removes the dullness of intellect, infuses truth into speech, bestows great honour, removes sin, purifies the heart, and spreads fame in all directions. Evil company should be shunned because it gives rise to lust, anger, delusion, memory loss, discrimination loss and, at long last, total loss of one’s “Infinite Potency born from the concealed Potentiality.” Spreading like ripples at first, evil company swells vices to large-scale waves in an ocean of misery. Is there any hope for the aspirant who has no heredity of psychical development to call upon, who is not introspective by nature, and with no access to chelas for guidance reach? There is, if he purifies his motive, and cultivates an ardent and unwavering faith and devotion to the Masters who are Truth personified, though They are not yet known to him. They are generous and honest debtors, and always repay. Beyond the Hall of Learning is the Great White Lodge, the magnificent hierarchy of Masters, Gurus, and Chelas all over the world. Every aspirant to chelaship has a Guru, although he many not be aware of it. Guru is chela’s benefactor. If we have reverenced our teacher, we will now revere our unknown Guru. We must place our hand in his hand with all love, and trust, and confidence, for it is to mighty Karma we have appealed, and the Guru is an agent of Karma. Madame Blavatsky sacrificed all that mankind holds dear to bring the glad tidings of Theosophy to the West through the Theosophical Society, which thereby stands to her as a chela to his Guru. She is our next higher link in the Guruparampara chain, of which no link can be missed or by-passed. Those who try to reach The Masters by other means while disregarding or underrating scornfully her high services, violate an occult rule that cannot be broken with impunity. The limitations of self impede progress. Unless the intention is entirely unalloyed, the spiritual will transform itself into the psychic and, by acting on the astral plane, dire results may be produced by it. The highest aspirations for the welfare of humanity will become sullied with selfishness if, in the mind of the philanthropist, there lurks the shadow of a desire for self-benefit, or a tendency to do injustice, even when these exist unconsciously to himself. The powers of evil revenge themselves upon the ignorant man and his friends, and not upon those who are beyond their reach. As long we hope and desire, we shall remain apart from the Self. We are rich in hope, knowing the prize at the end of time, and are not deterred by the clouds, the storms, the miasmas, and the dreadful beasts of prey that line the road. Let us then, at the very outset, wash out of our souls all desire for reward, all hope that we may attain what we sought. We may perhaps have found one spot we may call our own, and possess no other qualification for the task. That spot is enough, it is our wholly unshaken belief in Self and the Masters. That spot is our Higher Ego, symbolised by Homer as the wild fig tree, which Odysseus took hold of it and clung to it like a bat, in order to escape falling into the whirlpool of passions below. Beware of the dreadful lures, the great causes of misery, inflamed by the malignant fever of scepticism. They keep us ensnared in our earthy prison. Compassion is the Divine Law of Universal Sympathy and Sacrifice. Overseen by Spiritual Intelligences above, Compassion is enacted by the Intelligence of Nature and Her dual forces below. Deity is Unerring Karma or Abstract Nature — the Mind and Soul of the Universe.
Theosophy is both a science and a religion, the science of Truth and the religion of Justice. And The Secret Doctrine infuses a raison d’être and intelligibility into a universe whose drift has been utterly unperceived by western thought.
Theosophy is the Aletheia of Occult Science and the Religion of Reason. Prerequisites and qualifications and for aspirants. The fundamental propositions of the Secret Doctrine. First proposition — Cosmogenesis. Second proposition — Law governs Cosmos and Man. Third proposition — Anthropogenesis. “Spiritual” nature cannot be “cultivated.” A sincere lover of the race can accomplish more in three incarnations during Kali-Yuga, than he could in a much greater number in any other age. What is the “moment of choice”? The elementals are spirits of the four elements of the terrestrial world. Our Earth is densely populated by these mystifying centres of energy. By coalescing around our thoughts, and being coloured by them, they act as impartial agents of karma. Curses, like chickens, come home to roost. As universal law contains within itself the means for its own accomplishment, and the punishment for its violation, it requires no further authority to carry out its decrees. The origin of man, his “original sin,” and his destiny. The doctrine of reincarnation. The inner constitution of man. The real hell is life on earth. The bliss of “paradise” is a delusion of the lower self stemming from the “heresy of individuality,” which heresy determines the monad’s future birth. Upheld through Eternity, Karma decrees harmony across the Universe. Since Compassion is the Spirit of Truth, karma follows its behests and manifests as the Law of ethical causation. It is the One Law that governs the World of Being impartially, to Cosmos, Man, and Angel alike. The universal onward march of evolutionary progress proceeds along contrary directions — spirit falling gradually into matter, and matter ascending to its original condition, that of a pure spiritual substance. Greatness is measured by the standard of genuine spiritual (not psychic) development, i.e., the acquirement of soul-wisdom by personal effort and merit. Heart-wisdom and head-learning are divergent paths. A mountain abyss separates the two, so hopelessly impassable and obstructive to the traveller. The law of spiritual development supersedes the purely intellectual growth; the latter is more of an impediment than of help. Theosophy, being the only system of true religion and philosophy, offers lucid explanations and solutions to the puzzles of life. A rebuke to the Theosophical Publication Society: We are not seeking to cater to fiction readers and curiosity hunters, but to the pressing needs of earnest minds. The United States contain more theosophists and possible subscribers and readers than the whole of Europe. They do not want fiction. They want no padding in their search for truth. They are perfectly able to grasp that which the Theosophical Publication Society in London deems to be “too advanced.”
Man is truly the temple of God, for the Divine Principle can only be manifested (objectivised) to our consciousness through our senses, physical and spiritual. The “personal God” of Theosophist can only be perceived by his Higher Self, through his spiritual senses, i.e., the Divine Self is perceived by the self of the virtuous man. With diagram on “Theosophia: Fountain, Perspectives, Practice.”
Assimilation of universal laws is the first key to manhood. Sacrificing the ephemeral to the eternal is the final key. Sacrificing others is a crime against Nature, for sacrifice is always a voluntary, not an enforced, act. Sacrifice proper is unselfish love of humanity in person and in secret. Defiling the altars of gods with blood is worse than murder. Four Metaphysical and Philosophical Keys to Theosophy: 1. Parabrahman or Absoluteness is the One and Only Reality. 2. Mulaprakriti or Noumenon of Matter is a veil thrown over Parabrahman. 3. Logos or Word is Divine Thought Concealed. 4. Fohat or Light of Logos is Divine Thought Revealed. The Three Fundamental Propositions of The Secret Doctrine analysed and amplified. How The One Becomes Two Ones: Parabrahman and Logos, and then Three. And how The Three Live within The One. Allusions to Logos in the Bhagavad Gita examined in the Light of Theosophy. Deity is Life and Law, and vice versa. Compassion is the Divine Law of Universal Sympathy and Sacrifice. Overseen by Spiritual Intelligences above, Compassion is enacted by the Intelligence of Nature and Her dual forces below. Deity is Unerring Karman or Abstract Nature: the Mind and Soul of the Universe. The One Eternal Life and Law, triple in its manifestation, is underpinned by the three Propositions of The Secret Doctrine. Each proposition is examined according to The Bhagavad-Gita, and in the light of Theosophy. Narada and Krishna speak with One Voice. Narada is the Deva Rishi of Occultism. He impelled animal man towards intellectual freedom. Narada’s aphorisms on Devotional Love and Krishna’s precepts to Arjuna are impossible to tell apart. A recension of Narada Bhakti Sutra in the light of Theosophy: 1. O Lanoo, listen to the Voice of the Heart Doctrine. 2. Give it all away or you will lose it. 3. Let your life become an example to unbelievers. 4. True life can only be found through Devotion to All. 5. With subdued heart place all thy works on Me. 6. Rise above the trappings of personal life. 7. Feel the Great Heart within. 8. With unfettered mind throw every deed on Me. 9. Intoxicate yourself with the right attitude and ethic. Avataras are our Watchers and Guardians. Prince Siddhartha Gautama locked mankind within one embrace. Jesus was a martyred Adept, not an Avatara. The real Christ is Krishna: Internal Light, not external symbols. The “still small voice” is the Heart and Pulse of the Universe. She is the Voice of the Great Sacrifice. Voice of the Silence and Light on the Path: two books, One Voice! Who speaks with a “still small voice”? Where is The Voice? When will The Voice speak? Where will The Voice speak? Under what conditions? What will The Voice say? How will I know if The Voice is genuine? What will I learn? With twenty-one tips for Pilgrim Souls: 1. Rise above the Fog of Separateness. 2. Seek Darkness with the Lamp of Faith. 3. Confirm Faith by Reason and Experience. 4. Validate Imagination by Faith and Will. 5. Lose yourself in the Sea of Devotion. 6. Realise your Ideals. 7. Live your Dreams. 8. Axe the Ashvattha Tree. 9. Slay your Mind. 10. Charity begins at home? 11. Be wise! Restrain thyself! 12. Head learning versus soul wisdom. 13. The false is nothing but an imitation of the true. 14. Act in person but Impersonally. 15. Thoughts and emotions are one and the same. 16. Action speaks louder than words. 17. Higher versus lower altruism. 18. Charity is a debt of honour. 19. Merge self in Self. 20. Seek out the fifth way of Loving. 21. Listen to the Clarion Call. Followed by four parting thoughts: - Master thyself and protect others. - Despise the life that only seeks its own. - Let thy pulses beat to heaven’s own music. - Let us be true to each other. And twelve Appendices on: Theosophists described metaphysically and ethically. Action, Renunciation, and their endless variants. At the threshold of two paths. Parabrahman: aspects, epithets, synonyms. Mulaprakriti: aspects, epithets, synonyms. Logos: aspects, epithets, synonyms. Fohat: aspects, epithets, synonyms. AUM: definitions, derivatives, parallels. Conscience and Consciousness. A Marriage made in Heaven. Alaya: aspects, epithets, synonyms. Providence rules the Power of the Will and the Necessity of Destiny.
