The Writings of C
The Purpose of Life
From
A Textbook of Theosophy
By
C
To fulfill our duty in
the divine scheme we must try to understand not only that scheme as a whole,
but the special part that man is intended to play in it. The divine outbreathing reaches its deepest immersion in matter in the
mineral
kingdom, but it reaches its ultimate point of differentiation not
at the lowest level of materiality, but at the entrance into the human kingdom
on the upward arc of evolution. We have thus to realize three stages in the
course of this evolution:
(a) The downward arc in which the tendency is
toward differentiation and also toward greater materiality. In this stage
spirit is involving itself in matter, in order that it may learn to receive
impressions through it.
(b) The earlier part of the upward arc, in
which the tendency is still toward greater differentiation, but at the same
time toward spiritualization and escape from materiality. In this stage the
spirit is learning to dominate matter and to see it as an expression of itself.
(c) The later part of the upward arc, when
differentiation has been finally accomplished, and the tendency is toward unity
as well as toward greater spirituality. In this stage the spirit, having learnt
perfectly how to receive impressions through matter and how to express itself
through it, and having awakened its dormant powers, learns to use these powers
rightly in the
service of the Deity.
The object of the whole
previous evolution has been to produce the ego as a manifestation of the Monad.
Then the ego in its turn evolves by putting itself down into a succession of
personalities. Men who do not understand this look upon the personality as the
self, and consequently live for it alone, and try to regulate their lives for
what appears to be its temporary advantage. The man who understands realizes
that the only important thing is the life of the ego, and that its progress is
the object for which the temporary personality must be used. Therefore when he
has to decide between two possible courses he thinks not, as the ordinary man
might: “Which will bring the greater pleasure and profit to me as a personality?”
but “Which will bring greater progress to me as an ego?” Experience soon
teaches him that nothing can ever be really good for him, or for any one, which
is not good for all, and so presently he learns to forget himself altogether,
and to ask only what will be best for humanity as a whole.
Clearly then at this
stage of evolution whatever tends to unity, whatever tends to spirituality, is
in accord with the plan of the Deity for us, and is therefore right for us,
while whatever tends to separateness or to materiality is certainly equally
wrong for us. There are thoughts and emotions which tend to unity, such as
love, sympathy, reverence, benevolence; there are others which tend to
disunion, such as hatred, jealousy, envy, pride, cruelty, fear. Obviously the
former group are for us the right, the latter group are for us the wrong.
In all these thoughts
and feelings which are clearly wrong, we recognize one dominant note, the
thought of self; while in all those which are clearly right we recognize that
the thought is turned toward others, and that the personal self is forgotten.
Wherefore we see that selfishness is the one great wrong, and that perfect
unselfishness is the crown of all virtue. This gives us at once a rule of life.
The man who wishes intelligently to co-operate with the Divine Will must lay
aside all thought of the advantage or pleasure of the personal self, and must
devote himself exclusively to carrying out that Will by working for the welfare
and happiness of others.
This is a high ideal,
and difficult of attainment, because there lies behind us such a long history
of selfishness. Most of us are as yet far from the purely altruistic attitude;
how are we to go to work to attain it, lacking as we do the necessary intensity
in so many of the good qualities, and possessing so many which are undesirable?
Here comes into
operation the great law of cause and effect to which I have already referred.
Just as we can confidently appeal to the laws of nature in the physical world,
so may we also appeal to these laws of the higher world.
If we find evil qualities within us, they have grown up by slow degrees through
ignorance and through
self-indulgence. Now that the ignorance is dispelled by knowledge, now that in
consequence we recognize the quality as an evil, the method of getting rid of
it lies obviously before us.
For each of these vices
there is a contrary virtue; if we find one of them rearing its head within us,
let us immediately determine deliberately to develop within ourselves the
contrary virtue. If a man realizes that in the past he has been selfish, that
means that he has set up within himself the habit of thinking of himself first
and pleasing himself, of consulting his own convenience or his
pleasure without due
thought of the effect upon others; let him set to work purposefully to form the
exactly opposite habit, to make a practice before doing anything of thinking
how it will affect all those around him; let him set himself habitually to
please others, even though it be at the cost of trouble or privation for
himself. This also in time will become a habit, and by developing it he will
have killed out the other.
If a man finds himself
full of suspicion, ready always to assign evil motives to the actions of those
about him, let him set himself steadily to cultivate trust in his fellows, to
give them credit always for the highest possible motives. It may be said that a
man who does this will lay himself open to be deceived, and
that in many cases his
confidence will be misplaced. That is a small matter; it is far better for him
that he should sometimes be deceived as a result of his trust in his fellows
than that he should save himself from such deception by maintaining a constant
attitude of suspicion. Besides, confidence begets faithfulness. A man who is
trusted will generally prove himself worthy of
the trust, whereas a man who is suspected is likely presently
to justify that suspicion.
If a man finds in
himself the tendency toward avarice, let him go out of his way to be especially
generous; if he finds himself irritable, let him definitely train himself in
calmness; if he finds himself devoured by curiosity, let him deliberately
refuse again and again to gratify that curiosity; if he is liable to fits of
depression, let him persistently cultivate cheerfulness, even under the most
adverse circumstances.
In every case the
existence of an evil quality in the personality means a lack of the
corresponding good quality in the ego. The shortest way to get rid of that evil
and to prevent its reappearance is to fill the gap in the ego, and the good
quality which is thus developed will show itself as an integral part of the
man’s character through
all his future lives. An ego cannot be evil, but he can be imperfect. The
qualities which he develops cannot be other than good qualities, and when they
are well defined they show themselves in each of all his numerous
personalities, and consequently those personalities can never be
guilty of the vices
opposite to these qualities; but where there is a gap in the ego, where there
is a quality undeveloped, there is nothing inherent in the personality to check
the growth of the opposite vice; and since others in the world about him
already possess that vice, and man is an imitative animal, it is quite probable
that it will speedily manifest itself in him. This
vice, however, belongs
to the vehicles only and not to the man inside. In these vehicles its
repetition may set up a momentum which is hard to conquer; but if the ego
bestirs himself to create in himself the opposite virtue, the vice is cut off
at its root, and can no longer exist – neither in this life nor in all the
lives that are to come.
A man who is trying to
evolve these qualities in himself will find certain obstacles in his way –
obstacles which he must learn to surmount. One of these is the critical spirit
of the age – the disposition to find fault with a thing, to belittle
everything, to look for faults in everything, and in everyone. The exact
opposite of this is what is needed for progress. He who wishes to move rapidly
along the path of evolution must learn to see good in everything – to see the
latent Deity in everything and in every one. Only so can he help those other
people – only so can he get the best out of those other things.
Another obstacle is the
lack of perseverance. We tend in these days to be impatient; if we try any plan
we expect immediate results from it, and if we do not get them, we give up that
plan and try something else. That is not the way to make progress in occultism.
The effort which we are making is to compress
into one or two lives the evolution which would naturally take
perhaps a hundred lives. That is not the sort of undertaking in which immediate
results are to be expected. We attempt to uproot an evil habit, and we find it
hard work; why? Because we have indulged in that practice for, perhaps, twenty
thousand years; one cannot shake off the custom of twenty thousand
years in a day or two. We have allowed that habit to gain an enormous momentum,
and before we can set up a force in the opposite direction we have to overcome
that momentum. That cannot be done in a moment, but it is absolutely certain
that it will be done eventually, if we persevere, because the momentum, however
strong it may be, is a finite quality, whereas the power that we can bring to
bear against it is the infinite power of the human will, which can make renewed
efforts day after day, year after year, even life after life if necessary.
Another great difficulty
in our way is the lack of clearness in our thought. People in the West are little
used to clear thought with regard to religious matters. Everything is vague and
nebulous. For occult development vagueness and nebulosity will not do. Our
conceptions must be clear cut and our thought images definite. Other necessary
characteristics are calmness and cheerfulness; these are rare in modern life,
but are absolute essentials for the work which we are here undertaking.
The process of building
a character is as scientific as that of developing one’s muscles. Many a man,
finding himself with certain muscles flabby and powerless takes that as his
natural condition, and regards their weakness as a kind of destiny imposed upon
him; but anyone who understands a little of the human body is aware that by
continued exercise those muscles can be brought into a state of health and the
whole body eventually put in order. In exactly the same way, many a man finds
himself possessed of a bad tamper or a tendency to
avarice or suspicion or
self-indulgence, and when in consequence of any of these vices he commits some
great mistake or does some great harm he offers it as an excuse that he is a
hasty-tempered man, or that he possesses this or that quality by nature –
implying that therefore he cannot help it.
In this case just as in
the other the remedy is in his own hands. Regular exercise of the right kind
will develop a certain muscle, and regular mental exercise of the right kind
will develop a missing quality in a man’s character. The ordinary man does not
realize that he can do this, and even if he sees that he can do it, he does not
see why he should, for it means much effort and much self-repression. He knows
of no adequate motive for undertaking a task so laborious and painful.
The motive is supplied
by the knowledge of the truth. One who gains an intelligent comprehension of
the direction of evolution feels it not only his interest but his privilege and
his delight to co-operate with it. One who wills the end wills also the means;
in order to be able to do good work for the world he must develop within
himself the necessary strength and the necessary qualities. Therefore he who
wishes to reform the world must first of all reform himself. He must learn to
give up altogether the attitude of insisting upon rights, and must devote himself
utterly to the most earnest performance of his duties. He must learn to regard
every connection with his fellowman as an opportunity to help that fellowman,
or in some way to do him good.
One who studies these
subjects intelligently cannot but realize the tremendous power of thought, and
the necessity for its efficient control. All action springs from thought, for
even when it is done (as we say) without thought, it is the instinctive
expression of the thoughts, desires and feelings which the man has allowed to
grow luxuriantly within himself in earlier days.
The wise man, therefore,
will watch his thought with the greatest of care, for in it he possesses a
powerful instrument, for the right use of which he is responsible. It is his duty
to govern his thought, lest it should be allowed to run riot and to do evil to
himself and to others; it is his duty also to develop his thought power,
because by means of it a vast amount of actual and active
good can be done. Thus
controlling his thought and his action, thus eliminating from himself all evil
and unfolding in himself all good qualities, the man presently raises himself
far above the level of his fellows, and stands out conspicuously among them as
one who is working on the side of good as against evil, of evolution as against
stagnation.
The members of the great
Hierarchy in whose hands is the evolution of the world are watching always for
such men in order that They may train them to help in the greater work. Such a
man inevitably attracts Their attention and They begin to use him as an
instrument in Their work. If he proves himself a good and efficient instrument,
presently They will offer him definite training as anapprentice,
that by helping Them in the world-business which They have to do he may some
day become even as They are, and join the might Brotherhood to which They
belong.
But for an honor so
great as this mere ordinary goodness will not suffice. True, a man must be good
first of all, or it would be hopeless to think of using him, but in addition to
being good he must be wise and strong. What is needed is not merely a good man,
but a great spiritual power. Not only must the candidate have cast aside all
ordinary weaknesses but he must have acquired strong positive qualities before
he can offer himself to Them with any hope that he will be accepted. He must
live no longer as a blundering and selfish personality, but as an intelligent
ego who comprehends the part which he has to play in the great scheme of the
universe. He must have forgotten himself utterly; he must have resigned all
thought of worldly profit or pleasure or advancement; he must be willing to
sacrifice everything, and himself first of all, for the sake of the work that
has to be done. He may be in the world, but he must not be of the world.
He must be careless
utterly of its opinion. For the sake of helping man he must make himself
something more than man. Radiant, rejoicing, strong, he must live but for the
sake of others and to be an expression of the love of God in the world. A high
ideal, yet not too high; possible, because there are men who have achieved it.
When a man has succeeded
in unfolding his latent possibilities so far that he attracts the attention of
the Masters of the Wisdom, one of Them will probably receive
him as an apprentice upon probation. The period of probation is usually seven
years, but may be either shortened or lengthened at the discretion of the
Master. At the end of
that time, if his work has been satisfactory, he becomes what is commonly
called the accepted pupil. This brings him into close relations with his
Master, so that the vibrations of the latter constantly play upon him, and he
gradually learns to look at everything as the Master looks at it.
After yetanother interval, if he proves himself entirely worthy,
he may be drawn into a still closer relationship, when he is called the son of
the Master.
These three stages mark
his relationship to his own Master only, not to the Brotherhood as a whole. The
Brotherhood admits a man to its ranks only when he has fitted himself to pass
the first of the great Initiations.This entry into
the Brotherhood of Those who rule the world may be thought of as the third of
the great critical points in man’s evolution. The first of these is when he
becomes man – when he individualizes out of the animal kingdom and obtains a
causal body. The second is what is called by the Christian “conversion”, and by
the Hindu “the acquirement of discrimination”, and by the Buddhist “the opening
of the doors of the mind”. That is the point at which he realizes the great
facts of life, and turns away from the pursuit of selfish ends in order to move
intentionally along with the great current of evolution in obedience to the
divine Will. The third point is the most important of all, for the Initiation
which admits him to the ranks of the Brotherhood also insures him against the
possibility of failure to fulfill the divine purpose in the time appointed for
it. Hence those who have reached this point are called in the Christian system
the “elect”, the “saved” or the “safe,” and in the Buddhist scheme “those who
have entered on the stream.”For those who have
reached this point have made themselves absolutely certain of reaching a
further point also – that of Adeptship, at which they
pass into a type of evolution which is definitely superhuman.
The man who has become
an Adept has fulfilled the divine Will so far as this chain of worlds is
concerned. He has reached, even already the midmost point of the aeon of evolution, the stage prescribed for man’s
attainment at the end of it. Therefore he is at liberty to spend the remainder
of that time either in helping his fellow-men or in even more splendid work in
connection with other and higher evolutions. He who has not yet been initiated
is still in danger of being left behind by our present wave of evolution, and
dropping into the next one – the “aeonian
condemnation” of which the Christ spoke, which has been
mistranslated “eternal
damnation”. It is from this fate of possible aeonian failure
– that is, failure for this age, or dispensation, or life-wave – that the man
who attains Initiation is “safe”. He has
“entered upon the stream" which now must bear him on to Adeptship in this present age, though it is still possible
for him by his actions to hasten or delay his progress along the Path which he
is treading.
That first Initiation
corresponds to the matriculation which admits a man to a University, and the
attainment of Adeptship to the taking of a degree at
the end of the course. Continuing the simile, there are three intermediate
examinations, which are usually spoken of as the second, third and fourth
Initiations,
Adeptship being the fifth. A general idea of the line of this higher
evolution may be obtained by studying the list of what are called in Buddhist
books “the fetters” which must be cast off – the qualities of which a man must
rid himself as he treads this Path. These are: the delusion of separateness;
doubt or uncertainty; superstition; attachment to enjoyment; the possibility of
hatred;
desire for life, either
in this or the higher worlds; pride; agitation or irritability; and ignorance.
The man who reaches the Adept level has exhausted all the possibilities of
moral development, and so the future evolution which still lies before him can
only mean still wider knowledge and still more wonderful spiritual powers.
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Tekels Park to be Sold to a Developer
Concerns are raised about the fate of the wildlife as
The Spiritual Retreat, Tekels Park in Camberley,
Surrey, England is to be sold to a developer
Tekels Park is a 50 acre woodland park, purchased
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Classic Introductory Theosophy Text
A Text Book of Theosophy By C
What Theosophy Is From the Absolute to Man
The Formation of a Solar System The Evolution of Life
The Constitution of Man After Death Reincarnation
The Purpose of Life The Planetary Chains
The Result of Theosophical Study
An Outstanding
Introduction to Theosophy
By a student of
Katherine Tingley
Elementary Theosophy Who is the Man? Body and Soul
Body, Soul and Spirit Reincarnation Karma
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