|
| |
Core Concepts in
Theosophy
Theosophists are
non-dogmatic and are encouraged to accept nothing on faith or on the word of
another but to adopt only those ideas that satisfy their own sense of what is
real and important. Theosophy is a way of looking at life rather than a
creed. Theosophists hold the follow ideas, not as fixed beliefs, but as a way
of looking at life and world:
Reincarnation
Our birth is the
entry into a workshop or laboratory where by work we slowly unfold our
faculties. But it is not possible to realize the Divine Nature in us by the
experiences of one lifetime. So we reincarnate again and again. We are born, we
grow, we act, we finish our work and we return. Our return is death. After a
rest in heaven, growing by realizing the joys we planned but did not achieve,
we are born again, more purified, stronger, wiser, to work again, so as to
become more expert in thought and feeling and action.
Karma
We do good and
we do evil guided by our altruism or our
selfishness. When we do evil, we create discord in the universal harmony. The
evil we did must be balanced by new good; the good we add must be reshaped to a
more far-reaching good. This process of sowing and reaping is called Karma. It
is the law of re-adjustment which we put into operation by each of our
thoughts, words and deeds.
Consciousness, Universal
and Individual
The universe is
not just a place where nature's forces operate by chance. Every event that has
happened from the beginning of time has happened according to certain laws
inherent in the universe. These laws are the expression of a Consciousness.
Everything that exists, from the electron to the largest star, is impregnated
with Consciousness. This Fundamental Reality is so far beyond our grasp that
sages and saints have called it by contradictory terms. Many have termed it
'God;' but some have called it Law, Heaven, the Great Architect, Evolution.
Each person, according to his/her temperament and experience, must determine
how he/she will regard this Consciousness which directs everything
This idea is
best expressed by Annie Besant’s invocation (the second international president
of the Theosophical Society):
O hidden Life,
vibrant in every atom,
O hidden Light, shining in every creature,
O hidden Love, embracing all in oneness,
May all who feel themselves as one with thee
Know they are therefore one with every other.
Evolution
Theosophy means the
Wisdom of God. It is a statement of the modes of action of the Divine Mind. All
our questions are solved when we understand 'God's Plan, which is Evolution.'
This understanding is the heritage of every soul. But we will possess it only
as we learn to be a brother to all that lives, for 'Loving action is the Divine
Wisdom at work, and who so acts lovingly will inevitably come to the Wisdom.
|
TheTheosophical
Society in Detroit