Ed Abdill – U.S.A

Each of HPB's major works has a dedication page, but only The Voice of the Silence is dedicated "To the few." Who are those few?

At the very beginning of fragment one of The Voice, we read: "Having become indifferent to objects of perception, the pupil must seek out the rajah of the senses, the Thought Producer, he who awakens illusion. The Mind is the great Slayer of the Real. Let the Disciple slay the Slayer."

Would many care to read further? Moreover, would more than a few understand and try to do what is asked, especially when we are told of the dangers and self-sacrifice required to reach the goal?

Theosophical theory suggests that there is an evolutionary process going on in three different states: physical, mental, and monadic (or spiritual). Many of us may assume that physical evolution has more or less come to an end. We do not see any new and more highly developed creatures evolving out of human beings. When it comes to mental evolution, the theory is speaking of the human mind, called the human soul by HPB In the third fundamental proposition of The Secret Doctrine, Blavatsky tells us that before the human state, evolution proceeds passively. No individual effort is required for plants and animals to evolve. However, we human beings do not evolve further without "self-induced and self-devised efforts." If we do not have an "indomitable determination" to discover the source of our own being, and if we do not have a heart full of compassion, we are doomed to live many lives walking a metaphorical tread mill that takes us nowhere.

Reading Theosophical literature and believing it to be true may be comforting, but that will not move us forward one inch. What is required is direct insight into the truth beyond the words. It is what Blavatsky calls "spiritual intuition." When we get an insight into a truth, we have what has been called the "ah-ha" experience. One moment we do not understand, the next moment we do, and there is no measurable time between not knowing and knowing. In the moment of understanding, there is no "me." There is only the truth. The knower and the known have become one. Once we understand, we are changed forever. Even if only slightly, our way of life changes. It is when we understand, and only then, that we begin to live Theosophy. As HPB said, "Theosophist is who Theosophy does."

The primary purpose of the Theosophical Society is to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity. We can do that only if we realize human unity within our own heart and mind. By believing it without knowing it, we are not living it.

It would indeed be heartening if Theosophical principles were taught in our schools and eventually became embedded in our government and social institutions. In time that may be possible, but I fear it is a very long way off. Evolution grinds exceedingly slow, individual by individual. Yet each individual can make a difference in the world. Every thought, every feeling, and every action affects the whole. We can be ever mindful of that sacred place within us that is one with the Eternal. We can be a beacon of light in our own community. We can even make every effort to influence our legislators, educators, and even our religious leaders in positive ways. In some cases we will succeed. Yet in the end, to make Theosophy a living force in our world, we must attempt to do the most difficult thing of all: we must change ourselves.