THEOSOPHY
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An Outline of Theosophy
By
Charles Webster Leadbeater
Cause and Effect
In previous
chapters we have constantly had to take into consideration this mighty law of
action and reaction under which every man necessarily receives his just
deserts; for without this law the rest of the Divine scheme would be incomprehensible
to us. It is well worth our while to try to obtain a true appreciation of this
law, and the first step towards doing that is to disabuse
our minds
entirely of the ecclesiastical idea of reward and punishment as following upon
human action.
It is
inevitable that we should connect with that idea the thought of a judge
administering such reward or punishment, and then at once follows the further
possibility that the judge may be more lenient in one case than in another,
that he may be swayed by circumstances, that an appeal may be made to him, and
that in that way the incidence of the law may be modified or even escaped
altogether.
Every one of
these suggestions is in the highest degree misleading, and the whole body of
thought to which they belong must be exorcised and utterly cast out before we
can arrive at any real understanding of facts.
If a man put
his hand on a bar of red-hot iron, under ordinary circumstances he would be
badly burnt; yet it would not occur to him to say that God had punished him for
putting his hand on the bar. He would realise that
what had happened was precisely what might have been expected under the action of the laws of
Nature, and that one who understood what heat is and how it acts could explain
exactly the production of the burn.
It is to be
observed that the man’s intention in no way affects the physical result;
whether he seized that bar in order to do some harm with it or in order to save
someone else from injury, he would be burnt just the same. Of course, in other
and higher ways the results would be
quite different; in the one case he would have done a noble deed, and would
have the approval of his conscience,
while in the
other he could feel only remorse. But the physical burn would be there in one
case just as much as in the other.
To obtain a
true conception of the working of this law of cause and effect we must think of
it as acting automatically in exactly the same way. If we have a
heavy weight
hanging from the ceiling by a rope, and I exert a certain amount of force in
pushing against that weight, we know by the laws of mechanics that the weight
will press back against my hand with exactly the same amount of force;
and this
reaction will operate without the slightest reference to my disturbing its equilibrium.
Similarly the man who commits an evil action disturbs the equilibrium of the
great current of evolution; and that mighty current invariably adjusts that
equilibrium at his expense.
It must not
be therefore supposed for a moment that the intention of the action makes no
difference; on the contrary it is the most important factor connected with it,
even though it does not affect the
result upon the physical plane. We
are apt to
forget that the intention is itself a force, and a force acting upon the mental
plane, where the matter is so much finer and vibrates so much more rapidly than
on our lower level, that the same amount of energy will produce enormously greater effect.
The physical
action will produce its result on the physical plane, but the mental energy of
the intention will work out its own result simultaneously in the matter of the
mental plane, totally irrespective of the other; and its effect is certain to
be very much the more important of the two. In this way it will be seen that an
absolutely perfect adjustment is always achieved; for however mixed the motives
may be, and however good and evil may be mingled in the physical results, the
equilibrium will always be perfectly readjusted, and along every line perfect
justice must be done.
We must not
forget, that it is the man himself and no other who builds his future character
as well as produces his future circumstances. Speaking very
generally, it
may be said that, while his actions in one life produce his environment in the
next, his thoughts in the one life are the chief factors in
the evolution
of his character in the next. The method by which all this works is an
exceedingly interesting study, but it would take far too long to detail it here;
it maybe found very fully elaborated in Mrs. Besant’s manual on Karma, and also
in the chapter referring to this subject in her Ancient Wisdom, and in Mr. Sinnett’s Esoteric Buddhism, to which the reader may be
referred.
It is obvious
that all these facts furnish us with exceedingly good reason for many of our
ethical precepts. If thought be a mighty power capable of producing upon its
own plane results far more important than any that can be achieved in physical
life, then the necessity that man should control that force immediately becomes
apparent. Not only is the man building his own future character by means of his
thought, but he is also constantly and inevitably affecting those around him by
its means.
Hence there
lies upon him a very serious responsibility as to the use which he makes of
this power. If the feeling of annoyance or hatred arises in the heart of the
ordinary man, his natural impulse is to express it in some way either in
word or in
action. The ordinary rules of civilised society,
however, forbid him to do that, and dictate that he should as far as possible
repress all outward sign of his feelings.
If he
succeeds in doing this he is apt to congratulate himself, and to consider that
he has done the whole of his duty. The occult student, however, knows that it
is necessary for him to carry his self-control a great deal further than that,
and that he must absolutely repress the thought of irritation as well as its
outward expression. For he knows that his feelings set in motion tremendous
forces upon the astral plane, that these will act against the object of his
irritation just as surely as a blow struck upon the physical plane, and that in
many cases the results produced will be far more serious and lasting.
It is true in
a very real sense that thoughts are things. To clairvoyant sight thoughts take
definite form and colour, the latter, of course depending upon the rate of
vibration connected with them.
The study of
these forms and colours is of great interest. A description of them illustrated
with coloured drawings will be found in the book
entitled Thought Forms.
These
considerations open up to us
possibilities in various directions. Since it is easily possible to do
harm by thought, it is also possible to do good by
it. Currents
may be set in motion which will carry mental help and comfort to many a
suffering friend, and in this way a whole new world of usefulness opens before
us. Many a grateful soul has been oppressed by a feeling that for want of
physical
wealth he was unable to do anything in return for the kindness lavished upon
him by another; but here is the method by which he can be of the greatest
service to him in a realm where physical wealth or its absence makes no
difference.
All who can
think can help others: and all who can help others ought to help. In this case,
as in every other, knowledge is power, and
those who understand the law can use the law. Knowing what effects upon themselves and upon others
will be produced by certain thoughts, they can deliberately arrange to produce
these results. In this way a man can not only steadily mould his character in
his
present life,
but can decide exactly what it shall be in the next.
For a thought
is a vibrations in the matter of the mental body, and the same thought
persistently repeated evokes corresponding vibrations (an octave higher, as it
were) in the matter of the causal body. In this way qualities are gradually
built into the soul itself, and they will certainly reappear as part of the
stock-in-trade with which he commences his next incarnation.
It is in this
way, by working from below upwards, that the faculties and qualities of the
soul are gradually evolved, and thus man takes his evolution largely into his
own hands and begins to co-operate intelligently in the great scheme of the
Deity. For further information on this subject the best book to study is Mrs.
Besant’s Thought Power, its Control and Culture.
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describing Tekels Park and its much cherished wildlife by
Theosophist and long term Tekels Park
Resident Madeleine Leslie Smith The Spiritual Home of Urban Theosophy The Earth Base for Evolutionary Theosophy _____________________ Camberley, Surrey, England GU15 – 2LF 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 Many feel that the sale of a sanctuary for wildlife to a developer can only mean disaster Confusion as the Theoversity moves out of Tekels Park to Southampton, Glastonbury & Chorley in Lancashire while the leadership claim that the Theosophical Society will carry on using Tekels Park despite its sale to a developer Theosophy
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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 Preface to the American Edition Introduction Occultism and its Adepts The Theosophical Society First Occult Experiences Teachings of Occult Philosophy Later Occult Phenomena Appendix Preface
Theosophy and the Masters General Principles The Earth Chain Body and Astral Body Kama – Desire Manas Of
Reincarnation Reincarnation Continued Karma Kama Loka
Devachan
Cycles Arguments Supporting Reincarnation Differentiation Of Species Missing Links Psychic Laws, Forces, and Phenomena Psychic Phenomena and Spiritualism Karma Fundamental Principles Laws: Natural and Man-Made The Law of Laws The Eternal Now
Succession
Causation The Laws of Nature A Lesson of The Law Karma Does Not Crush Apply This Law
Man in The Three Worlds Understand The Truth Man and His Surroundings The Three Fates The Pair of Triplets Thought, The Builder Practical Meditation Will and Desire
The Mastery of Desire Two Other Points The Third Thread Perfect Justice
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