[Skull]

By Boris de Zirkoff [Theosophia 1949]

It should be constantly borne in mind, when discussing ideas and events pertaining to the Theosophical Movement, that Theosophy is primarily and essentially a way of life.

It is not merely a system of technical teachings or a body of doctrines intended for the intellectual gratification of voracious minds who delight in filling the spiritually barren chambers of their intellect with high-sounding terms.

It can never be too often repeated that Theosophy is above everything else an ethical doctrine, a pattern of ethical behavior, and a manner of ethical conduct. These Ethics are based on sublime teachings embodying the facts of Nature's structure and operation. But these teachings alone, unrelated to the way of life, and considered as a mere intellectual system of thought, are not only sterile, but positively mischievous and productive of a subtle brand of selfishness and moral stagnation.

Therein lies the danger of an intellectual approach to the teachings of the Ancient Wisdom. This danger can be avoided only by a sincere and constant effort on the part of the student to put into practice the precepts he has intellectually learned, and to apply in daily life those basic thoughts which he has understood to be the foundation-stones of spiritual life.

In this way he will avoid the danger of severing his mind and heart from the collective mind and heart of mankind, or the community of which he is an integral part. There are students who have achieved a very profound understanding of the purely intellectual aspect of the theosophical teachings, but who remain nevertheless ethically sterile members of their community. They are aloof in their attitude to life, and bear no vital relation to the human sorrows and problems surrounding them. They live in self-made ivory towers, unconcerned in what is going on around them, usually unperceived by others, and probably largely undisturbed.

There are others who may or may not have achieved a thorough grasp of the intellectual intricacies of the Ancient Wisdom, but whose minds and hearts are attuned to the wide-spread suffering of men and women, in their blind search for release. They keep their contact with mankind, they share the collective sorrow and joy which are part of the web of life, and they carry their growing understanding of Nature's truths into the midst of the teeming millions, where the need for Light is the greatest.

It is essential for the student of the age-old wisdom to keep at all times his link with mankind alive and strong. It is his only way of ultimately understanding the cause of human misery and pain, as well as of human pleasure and joy - and this not by immersing himself in them, but by attuning his heart and mind to their vibratory rate and gathering intuitively, intellectually, and psychically, an awareness of the states of consciousness which these various conditions offer for the growth of the soul.

It is of great importance that the student of Theosophy become a constructive part of the community in which he lives, a center of light and knowledge, emanating warmth of soul and strength of character, for others to observe and partake. He should be - in some unobtrusive manner - a source of information regarding the laws of life and of new courage and hope to those who are in trouble; and he should in due course of time become recognized as a fountain-head of ideas and plans which, if listened to and carried out, would improve the ethical climate of the community and raise its moral and intellectual standard above the average. Such things have taken place more than once, and they can be repeated in a thousand other instances, if only the majority of students were to "descend" from their lofty tower of mere intellectual thinking, and forge the necessary links of human compassion and interest which are so essential to this purpose.

It is supposed by some people, that our individual efforts can at best be but very small and their influence negligible. This is the type of shallow thinking which does not take into consideration some of the main factors contained in this equation. It should be distinctly remembered that spiritual thought is a great deal more powerful than mere mentation, and the latter more powerful than mere wishful thinking. The range of creative spiritual thought has not yet been determined, and the manner in which it brings about its effects is largely unknown, except to trained and advanced occultists who deal with these matters experimentally.

Every thought directed towards true spirituality - which is invariably one with selflessness, impersonality and sympathy for others - has an enormous range, potency, momentum and intensity, as compared with mere intellectual thinking or perchance mere mental and emotional "wishing." It strikes like lightning upon responsive minds and hearts, and contains within itself alchemical powers of self-perpetuation and re-creation unknown on any of the lower planes of human action. It is also in league with the rest of the spiritual agencies at work continuously in the world. The result is that a definite spiritual effort on the part of one student, in a given direction, may very well give rise to a chain-reaction of effects the range of which would seem to be quite inexplicable on purely mechanistic grounds. Spiritual thought has its own repercussions on other planes. The laws of "thought-resonance" and of "thought-overtones and -undertones" are practically unknown to modern science, and constitute a higher type of science which is known in its fullness but to high initiates, though each one of us can learn at least its ABC.

The carrying out of true, social reforms directed to the amelioration of the conditions under which most of humanity lives today, is not a matter of money, political power, personal fame, or worldly influence. It is primarily a matter of spiritual creative thinking, mostly on the part of a few. One thought given birth to at the cyclically right time, and directed into the first open channel that may present itself, can impregnate a large number of human minds and hearts, each one of which becomes a center of outgoing spiritual force directed towards the same objective. The cumulative result of this chain-reaction has at times produced some very startling results, responsible for some of the most important events in social reform and the development of modern scientific thought. Among these results could be mentioned such widely separate movements and events as the Keltic Literary Revival, the National Independence of India, the Abolition of Slavery in the U.S.A., the Discovery of the Electron, the Therapeutic Usage of Music, the abrogation of a number of restrictive covenants based on racial discrimination, and a number of other marked changes which have taken place in recent times upon the stage of human history, both in the Orient and the Occident.

Lest we be misunderstood, it should be stated here unequivocally that the Theosophical Movement is strictly and traditionally non-political and un-sectarian, paying no attention to, and engaging in none of the political controversies of the day, which are here today and gone tomorrow, to be probably superseded by other controversies and arguments. But while it is non-political as a Movement, it not only recognizes the right of every student of Theosophy to take part, if he pleases, in whatever may be constructive and useful in the political set up of his respective land, but actually urges him to partake, as an individual, as a citizen or subject, and as a professed humanitarian, in the process of just, enlightened and progressive social reforms whose aim is, as expressed by one of the Masters, "the amelioration of the condition of the poor." And not only is he urged to participate in this process, but expected to take individual initiative to originate new movements and moves aimed at the eradication of corruption and evil in the social structure of the day, by means of humanitarian, social measures and reforms, free of party politics and devoted to the welfare of all mankind, irrespective of race, creed, color, political affiliations or religious background.

Universality is the key-note of a true Theosophist. Wherever sectarianism and parochialism show their ugly faces, Theosophy can exist only in name. When manifesting in universality of views and the highest embodiment of Ethics, it becomes a living power in the hearts of men.

[Reprinted in The Theosophist March 2016]