Spiritual Evolution
SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION The universe is even as a great temple.Claude de St. Martin The central tenets of Theosophia are not derived from any ancient or modern sect but represent the accumulated wisdom
Theosophy as Divine Wisdom
⮎ What Is Theosophy
The essence of Theosophy is the perfect harmonizing of the divine with the human in man, the adjustment of his god-like qualities and aspirations, and their sway over the terrestrial or animal passions in him.
H.P. BLAVATSKY
Theosophy and Universal Brotherhood
THEOSOPHY AND UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD Theosophy—the Wisdom Religion Universal Brotherhood Theosophy is “Divine Wisdom”, that bedrock of Truth which underlies and unites all of life. It is the Philosophia Perennis, the
The Word Theosophy
THE WORD “THEOSOPHY” Enquirer: Theosophy and its doctrines are often referred to a new-fangled religion. Is it a religion? Theosophist: It is not. Theosophy is Divine Knowledge or Science. Enq:
The Ocean of Theosophy
THE OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY W.Q. Judge Chapter I THEOSOPHY AND THE MASTERS Theosophy is that ocean of knowledge which spreads from shore to shore of the evolution of sentient beings; unfathomable in its
Cycles
CYCLES LADIES and gentlemen: This is our last meeting; it is the last impulse of the Cycle which we began when we opened our sessions at this Parliament. All the
Law of Correspondences
LAW OF CORRESPONDENCES “Law of Correspondences” is a greater subject than people are liable to suspect; yet we all know something of correspondences in the simple facts of nature—the seven
Spirit, Mind and Matter
SPIRIT, MIND AND MATTER The “midway point of evolution” is that stage where the astral prototypes definitely begin to pass into the physical, and thus become subject to the differentiating agencies now
Man as Microcosm
MAN AS MICROCOSM Man . . . is a microcosm, a world in himself, the mirror of an invisible universe that is around and beyond him. RAGHAVAN IYER, Hermes, March
Bhagavad Gita
THE BHAGAVAD GITA Like everything else that a Great Teacher does, it is meant to release in Arjuna authentic representations of an archetypal stance. Whatever part he chose or course
The Dhammapada
THE DHAMMAPADA The Dhammapada is the laser-like quintessence of Buddha’s luminous message to all humanity. Bridging eternity and time, the unmanifest and the manifest, thought and action, theoria and praxis, it is a highly potent therapeia, a catalytic
Fundamental Unity
FUNDAMENTAL UNITY [I believe in] “. . . the essential unity of god and man and for that matter of all that lives. . . if one man gains spiritually,
The Changeless
THE CHANGELESS I do dimly perceive that whilst everything around me is ever changing, ever dying, there is underlying all that change a Living Power that is changeless, that holds
Eye and Heart Doctrines
REGENERATING THE INSPIRATIONAL MIND:HPB ON THE EYE AND HEART DOCTRINES Every thoughtful human being knows firsthand the difficulty of coordinating and integrating the head and the heart. Whether described as
Theosophy as Divine Wisdom
⮎ Theosophy As a Living Power
A man may seek the Golden Thread that binds all religions, sciences and philosophies, and yet never be wholly successful unless he becomes a universal man, a Renaissance man, a man of all cultures.
RAGHAVAN N. IYER, Hermes, November 1976
A Theosophical Discipline
A THEOSOPHICAL DISCIPLINE Initiation into Theosophical metaphysics is more than an intellectual or moral enterprise; it is a continuous spiritual exercise in the development of intuitive and cognitive capacities that are the highest available to men, a process that includes from the first a blending
Union and Harmony
UNION and HARMONY It is a law of occult dynamics that “a given amount of energy expanded on the spiritual or astral plane is productive of far greater results than the same amount expended on the physical objective plane of existence.” This state will last
Theosophical Terms: Principles of Human Nature
WHO AM I? PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN NATURE The Sevenfold Nature of Man Infused by Spirit, the One Life “Every aspiration higher brightens up the road connecting the Higher and lower self.” W. Q. Judge “The bridge that lies within man’s nature can be exercised in
Higher Compass
A HIGHER COMPASS The ordinary man has for his horizon his street; his insight is surface- deep and the points of his magnetic compass draw him to his appetites. He lives in his sense-created state, which looks to him like a real world but which
Archetypes
ARCHETYPES Archetypal forms are like flashes of light. We may represent them by external coatings or by geometrical figures, but that is to imply that they are fixed, whereas in fact they are in a ceaseless, fluid interconnection. A constant transformation is taking place in
The Dodecahedron
THE DODECAHEDRON From man or angel the great ArchitectDid wisely to conceal and not divulgeHis secrets to be scann’d by them who oughtRather admire; or, if they list not to tryConjecture, he his fabric of the heavensHath left to their disputes, perhaps to moveHis laughter
The Inmost Sanctuary
THE INMOST SANCTUARY For the neophyte, the initial step is to become a true pragmatist by putting to use the idealism which is within the soul and which is consubstantial with the plane of Mahatmic ideation in the cosmos. It will then become possible to
The Aquarian Tide
THE AQUARIAN TIDE Let us prepare, and let us study Truth in all its aspects, trying not to ignore any of them, if we do not wish, when the hour will have struck, to fall into the abyss of the unknown. It is useless to
Aquarian Tonality
AQUARIAN TONALITY In 1888, H. P. Blavatsky wrote of the Sun’s upcoming position in the Zodiacal cycle: “When it enters, in a few years, the sign of Aquarius, psychologists will have some extra work to do, and the psychic idiosyncrasies of humanity will enter on
Drawing the Larger Circle
DRAWING THE LARGER CIRCLE “Great Sifter” is the name of the “Heart Doctrine”, O Disciple. The wheel of the Good Law moves swiftly on. It grinds by night and day. The worthless husks it drives from out the golden grain, the refuse from the flour.
Theosophy as Divine Wisdom
⮎ Spiritual Inspiration
“When people come together, truly forgetting themselves and united by the magnetic attraction of the good, they emulate and serve in some small measure the Teachers of Humanity, the great galaxy of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.”
From Hermes, “The Zero Principle”
by Raghavan Iyer
Published by permission of theosophytrust.org.
The Supreme Spirit
THE SUPREME SPIRIT It is the Atman, the Spirit, by whose power the ear hears,
The Light Within
THE LIGHT WITHIN To find comfort for oneself from Atman means to look to the
One Bound Upstream
ONE BOUND UPSTREAM He who is intent upon the ineffable and dwells with mind enraptured,
Thy Star
THY STAR Fix thy Soul’s gaze upon the star whose ray thou art, the flaming
Raja Yoga
RAJA YOGA There is a vital connection between the Logos and logic, Divine Spirit and
Insight
INSIGHT Without insight there is no meditation and without meditation there is no insight. GAUTAMA
Knowledge and Reverence
KNOWLEDGE AND REVERENCE Let knowledge grow from more to more,But more of reverence in us
Spiritual Knowledge
SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE He whose doubts are dispelled by the light of knowledge mounts upwards in
Right Conditions
RIGHT CONDITIONS Aspiration alone is not enough. It must be backed by discipline, training, and
Progressive Awakenings
PROGRESSIVE AWAKENINGS The upward progress of the Ego is a series of progressive awakenings. H.
Taking Off
TAKING OFF A bird can only fly with a wing of knowledge and a wing
Spiritual Maturity
SPIRITUAL MATURITY One of the marks of spiritual maturity is a calm recognition that ethical
Altruism
ALTRUISM To live to benefit mankind is the first step. H. P. BLAVATSKY The Voice
Irreversible Choice
IRREVERSIBLE CHOICE The timeless Teaching of Divine Wisdom has always had urgency for the individual,
Theosophy as Divine Wisdom
⮎ Practical Theosophy
He who teaches Theosophy preaches the gospel of good-will; and the converse of this is true also, – he who preaches the gospel of good-will, teaches Theosophy.
H.P. BLAVATSKY, Five Messages
Karma and Forgiveness
KARMA AND FORGIVENESS In respect to man, karma has no existence without two or more persons being considered. You act,
Practical Theosophy: Universal Brotherhood
PRACTICAL THEOSOPHY: UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD IN THOUGHT AND DEED The ethics of life propounded by Jesus are not different from those
Four Golden Links
FOUR GOLDEN LINK ENQUIRER. How, then, should Theosophical principles be applied so that social co-operation may be promoted and true
Recognition of Law
Before beginning, and without an end, As space eternal and as surety sure, Is fixed a Power divine which moves
Interdependence
INTERDEPENDENCE As mankind is essentially of one and the same essence, and that essence is one—infinite, uncreate, and eternal, whether
Mental Purification
MENTAL PURIFICATION Let a man guard himself against mental irritations, let him be well restrained in mind. Having relinquished mental
Thoughts As Living Messengers
THOUGHTS AS LIVING MESSENGERS A thought, on its departure from the mind, . . . is attracted wherever there is
Duty and Wisdom
DUTY AND WISDOM He who seeks “the small old path” has many duties to perform. His duty to mankind, his
A Great Lens
A GREAT LENS It is possible to focus that light of universal wisdom, continual contemplation and eternal ideation within a
Parapolitics – Bringing Imagination into Political Relations from Within-Without
PARAPOLITICS – BRINGING IMAGINATION INTO POLITICAL RELATIONS FROM WITHIN-WITHOUT Parapolitics is an imperfect means to a transcendental end, the repeated
Emotional Disarmament
EMOTIONAL DISARMAMENT Pico Iyer writes, “Whether in the context of climate change or the right to life—let alone the ethics
Let’s Meet There
LET’S MEET THERE Out beyond ideas of right and wrong there is a field. I will meet you there. JALALUDDIN
Gandhi—Perfectibility and Moral Learning
GANDHI: PERFECTIBILITY AND MORAL LEARNING October 8, 2020 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven
A Test of Spiritual Practice
A TEST OF SPIRITUAL PRACTICE As we push back the boundary and enlarge the area of our consciousness, our “self”
Theosophy as Divine Wisdom
⮎ Searching for Truth
There is no religion higher than truth.
MAHARAJA OF BENARES and MOTTO OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
Self-Devised Efforts
SELF-DEVISED EFFORTS H.P. Blavatsky writes that each student is responsible for their own self-devised efforts of learning and service in
Real Devotion
REAL DEVOTION Real devotion is a return to one’s true nature. All human souls in the Third Root Race were
Searching for Wisdom
SEARCHING FOR WISDOM Seek this wisdom by doing service, by strong search, by questions, and by humility; the wise who
Knowledge As Spiritual Discernment
KNOWLEDGE AS SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT Abstract space and eternity are indivisible; and therefore to try to fix time and place, as
Self-Examination
SELF-EXAMINATION Self-examination is the examination of the lower and personal self by the Higher and Impersonal Self. W. Q. JUDGE
Humility
HUMILITY In humility is the greatest freedom. As long as you have to defend the imaginary self that you think
Work in the Present
WORK IN THE PRESENT Then regret nothing, not even the greatest follies of your life, for they are gone, and
Nothing Good is Lost
NOTHING GOOD IS LOST Remember, thou that fightest for man’s liberation, each failure is success, and each sincere attempt wins
The Lustre of Wisdom
THE LUSTRE OF WISDOM Learn from these facets of Nature: though trampled on by all, be firm in your adversity