Produced by Bob Jones, Frank van Drogen, Elaine Wilson and PG
Distributed Proofreaders
by
1912
Index
"There is a school of philosophy still in existence of which modern culturehas lost sight." In these words Mr. A.P. Sinnett began his book, TheOccult World, the first popular exposition of Theosophy, published thirtyyears ago. [Namely in 1881.] During the years that have passed since then,many thousands have learned wisdom in that school, yet to the majority itsteachings are still unknown, and they can give only the vaguest of repliesto the query, "What is Theosophy?"
Two books already exist which answer that question: Mr. Sinnett's EsotericBuddhism and Dr. Besant's The Ancient Wisdom. I have no thought ofentering into competition with those standard works; what I desire is topresent a statement, as clear and simple as I can make it, which may beregarded as introductory to them.
We often speak of Theosophy as not in itself a religion, but the truthwhich lies behind all religions alike. That is so; yet, from another pointof view, we may surely say that it is at once a philosophy, a religion anda science. It is a philosophy, because it puts plainly before us anexplanation of the scheme of evolution of both the souls and the bodiescontained in our solar system. It is a religion in so far as, having shownus the course of ordinary evolution, it also puts before us and advises amethod of shortening that course, so that by conscious effort we mayprogress more directly towards the goal. It is a science, because it treatsboth these subjects as matters not of theological belief but of directknowledge obtainable by study and investigation. It asserts that man has noneed to trust to blind faith, because he has within him latent powerswhich, when aroused, enable him to see and examine for himself, and itproceeds to prove its case by showing how those powers may be awakened. Itis itself a result of the awakening of such powers by men, for theteachings which it puts before us are founded upon direct observations madein the past, and rendered possible only by such development.
As a philosophy, it explains to us that the solar system is acarefully-ordered mechanism, a manifestation of a magnificent life, ofwhich man is but a small part. Nevertheless, it takes up that small partwhich immediately concerns us, and treats it exhaustively under threeheads—present, past and future.
It deals with the present by describing what man really is, as seen bymeans of developed faculties. It is customary to speak of man as having asoul. Theosophy, as the result of direct investigation, reverses thatdictum, and states that man is a soul, and has a body—in fact severalbodies, which are his vehicles and instruments in various worlds. Theseworlds are not separate in space; they are simultaneously present with us,here and now, and can be examined; they are the divisions of the materialside of Nature—different