Boris de Zirkoff – USA
THEOSOPHIA
A Living Philosophy For Humanity
Volume XXIX
No. 3 (133) - Winter 1972-1973
[Original over photo: Alfred Russel Wallace, 1823-1913. Distinguished British naturalist and scientific writer, remarkable for his unprejudiced and open mind. Friend of both H.P.B. and Col. Olcott. After reading Isis Unveiled, he wrote to H.P.B. in part: "... Your Book will open up to many spiritualists a whole world of new ideas, and cannot fail to be of the greatest value in the enquiry which is now being so earnestly carried on."]
It is the duty of every serious student of the Esoteric Philosophy to endeavor to give wide dissemination of its teachings whenever opportunity arises to do so. Side-stepping it, owing to possible criticism or dislike on the part of others, is a sign of moral weakness.
A careful observation of much of the written material which appears in a large number of current Theosophical periodicals and journals – with notable exceptions here and there – reveals the fact that certain basic teachings of our philosophy are either not mentioned at all or are disguised in a false attire intended to make them more palatable to the reader.
Among the teachings which should be given a far greater emphasis than is the case, or such that are sometimes totally distorted for one or another reason, the following are of special importance:
1.The nature of death and of the after-death states should be brought out more effectively and more frequently. Death as a perfect sleep; death as the dissociation of the composite human constitution; death as a recessive process in the evolutionary growth of the individual; death as an electromagnetic phenomenon of a cyclic nature – these points should at all times be paramount in our effort to promote a constructive view of the process of dying among people who have for centuries past lost all understanding of what both Life and Death actually are.
It is obvious, however, that a number of journals issued within the Theosophical Movement present ideas concerning death which are only a few steps removed from ordinary Spiritualism, the "most insane and fatal of superstitions," to quote from one of the Teachers. This is most unfortunate. The teachings of the Esoteric Philosophy have absolutely nothing in common with Spiritualism under any of its many forms; as a matter of fact, they are its opposite pole in every respect. To imagine that an ordinary individual, even of a spiritual bent of mind, is going to float about in the astral world and become an "invisible helper," is to indulge in a sheer superstition, for which there is no basis whatever in the original Theosophical teachings as brought forward by the Founders of this Movement or their own Superiors. Death is sleep; total and blessed sleep, as far as the personal consciousness of the individual is concerned, and all connections between him and the world of embodied existence (which be has recently quitted) are severed completely. Any ideas to the contrary are both cruel and thoughtless, apart from being diametrically opposite to Theosophy.
2. A more reasonable and acceptable view should be expressed with regard to those more highly evolved beings along the pathway of evolution whom we call The Masters, the Adepts or the Teachers, and who themselves refer to each other merely by the term Brothers, which cuts at the root of my superiority or pride. They are not individuals or ideas which should be mentioned only in whispers, and anything specific about them avoided at all costs. They are Men, more advanced types of manhood, more evolved individuals who have conquered themselves and risen above the puny level on which most of us dwell. They have traveled a difficult road for many incarnations, and over terrain which at times must have appeared to them also as impassable; but they “made it,” and therefore they are a proof to us that the road is not impassable, and that we too can reach them if we persevere. While greatly perfected, they are by no means without faults; thy still have some of our human failings, and it is precisely this simple fact that brings them closer to us – to us who are the object of their collective concern and love.
We need to speak about them in dignified and reasonable terms; we should bring them, as Ideals and actual Friends, to the attention of those who have forgotten their existence and who feel “lost” in a world where their strongest feeling is usually loneliness and spiritual frustration. In doing so, in disseminating the idea of their existence and their work, we actually help the Brothers to direct their helpful energies through higher mental channels thus created. Thereby we become their coworkers, at least to some extent.
3. It is high time that students of the ancient wisdom refrain from confusing Universal Brotherhood, as an idea and a way of life, with political theories about the equality of all men. “All men are created equal” may be a convenient slogan in a world where philosophy has no place, but it can hardly be the rallying cry of students of the ancient occult lore. Considering the simple fact that we do not believe in “creation”, but in evolution; bearing in mind that we recognize no “Creator”, but only an universal Divine Life in manifestation; and observing the fact that not even two leaves of the same tree are identical or "equal," it is obvious that Universal Brotherhood means something far greater and all-inclusive.
We should emphasize the idea that everything in nature is in a way unique, not equal to anything else, different from all else, though originating in the same Divine Life which is undefinable and incomprehensible to our finite human mind.
And if the objection is brought up that by “equality” is meant merely equal opportunity, it might be said that opportunities arise from within man himself, as the result of his inner growth and awakening, and not as a handout from anyone else. Man creates his own opportunities or postpones their manifestations because of his own stupidity and sloth.
It is of paramount importance to understand these ideas and concepts whenever the Theosophical teachings concerning Root-Races and Rounds are concerned. These teachings portray on the scale of Humanity as a whole the immense variety and progressive scales of unfoldment which exist between individual human beings or groups of them, from one end of the world to the other.
Let us discuss these ideas and dwell on them, as we face the Portals of another Year, and enter into a new Yearly Cycle!