Welcome to the Official Website of the
CANADIAN THEOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION
A Regional Association of the
International Theosophical Society in Adyar,
A non profit organization established in 1924 in
Canada
Our Three Chief objects of
study:
1. The Brotherhood of man, without distinction of race, colour, religion, or
social position
2. The serious study of the ancient world-religions for purposes of comparison
and the selection therefrom of universal ethics
3. The study and development of the latent divine powers in man
- from The Key to Theosophy, by H. P. Blavatsky, 1889
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“The duty of the Theosophical Society
is to keep alive in man his spiritual intuition.” — H. P.
Blavatsky
This quotation
from H. P. Blavatsky is chosen for a starting-point because it so aptly sums up
her conception of the purpose of the Society she founded. The welfare of man is
dependent on his recognition of the Divinity of his essential nature; and when
he forgets this, he lapses into materialism. The Theosophical Society was
founded for the express purpose of preventing materialism from proceeding to
such lengths as to destroy civilization. Such movements have been initiated,
with the same object, many other times in human history.
The word
"spiritual" has unfortunately lost most of its meaning, through being
used in a vague theological sense, and through being applied to things which
are only psychic or astral. What it meant in the mind of H. P. Blavatsky is shown
by the following:
From the Theosophist must
radiate those higher spiritual forces which alone can regenerate his fellowmen.
Great powers are often the impediments to spiritual and right conceptions.
This is enough to show that the
spiritual intuition meant is not of the vague unpractical kind or of the
vainglorious kind. And as to intuition:
Nature gives up her innermost
secrets and imparts true wisdom only to him who seeks truth for its own sake
and who craves knowledge in order to confer benefits on others, not on his own
unimportant personality.
In short, it is clear that by
"spiritual intuition" H. P. Blavatsky meant the will and the wisdom
to do right and to live unselfishly. The relation between spiritual and other
powers is shown here:
Through Theosophy man's mental
and psychic growth will proceed in harmony with his moral improvement.
The order of words in this
sentence unmistakably indicates that the moral improvement goes first;
otherwise the order of the words would have been inverted. But in any case
there is the most ample evidence throughout H. P. Blavatsky's writings that
such was her meaning; upon no point is she more insistent. This indeed makes
all the difference between Wisdom and false knowledge, or between the use and
abuse of faculties. Man's whole life is a contest between right motives and the
impulsive forces of selfish desire; and when the crisis comes, and he must
choose definitely between these powers, as to which shall rule in the future,
there is danger that he will choose wrongly and will make all his faculties
subservient to desire. He thus enters upon a path which leads him ever further
from the light, and he must either lose his Soul or painfully retrieve his
steps. To guard against this possibility, it is essential to have a firm moral
basis; or, in other words, to observe those Spiritual laws of nature which
underlie all other laws.
The ancient doctrine, as thus
stated, suggests a "heresy" -- namely, that mental and psychic
development should be aimed at, in the hope, or under the plea, that moral
improvement will be the logical sequel. This is proved both philosophically and
by experience to be wrong. The history of people who have tried to follow this
path is one of self-undoing and self-deception, ending in catastrophe. Perhaps
the fault is licentiousness. Having failed to overcome this, yet loath to
follow the beaten path of profligacy, seeking to gratify at once their desires
and their self-respect, they at last take refuge in an unholy alliance of
sanctity and indulgence, and deify their passions. Thus have been invented many
profligate and licentious cults, since the world began, and instances of such
we see in our day. Or perhaps the obstacle is love of approbation. This motive
has, let us say, been lurking behind every thought and deed of the aspirant to
knowledge; and instead of being rooted up, has been suffered to grow. At last
it waxes strong enough to overthrow all better motives, and the aspirant
forsakes the path of duty and enters on a career of self- glorification. But
"The Devil drives a hard bargain," and the career is short-lived and
full of tribulation. Desperate expedients are resorted to, in order to secure
the coveted adulation, so necessary to life. Vanity, grown inordinate, warps
the judgment and blinds the eyes to what otherwise would be obvious folly. In
this way many wild and weird gospels have been preached, since time began; and
such again are heard in our own day.
Theosophy is intended to
benefit individuals and races; hence it teaches the eternal truth that moral
principle always has the first place.
Important and excellent are the
Spiritual powers in man, about which we have the following:
The Spirit in man -- the direct
ray of the Universal Spirit -- has at last awakened. Let once man's immortal
spirit take possession of the temple of his body, and his own divine humanity
will redeem him. The Theosophist must himself be a center of spiritual action.
The powers and forces of animal nature can be used by the selfish and
revengeful, as much as by the unselfish and all- forgiving; the powers and
forces of Spirit lend themselves only to the perfectly pure in heart -- and
this is DIVINE MAGIC.
It has been said that sacrifice
is the only real deed that man does. On such occasions the real Man comes forth
and acts. The mind realizes that human nature contains something that is better
than personal desire. And the deed is done in fulfillment of this higher
incentive. We have had about enough of the doctrine that desire rules the world
and is the final law of life. It is nothing of the sort; such a universal
strife and struggle could but end in universal destruction. But it is easy to
discern in nature the law of sacrifice, if we only look for it. Those who
aspire to spiritual powers, said the Teacher, must be ready to recognize this
fundamental law; otherwise their efforts will result merely in the
intensification of their own weaknesses. The psychic, in alliance with the
passional, is a terrible foe to man. Moreover, H. P. Blavatsky's message was
for humanity; and the uprooting of selfishness is the only medicine for
society. The development of psychic powers is no way to uproot selfishness.
To merit the honorable title of
Theosophist, one must be an altruist above all, one ever ready to help equally
foe or friend, to act rather than to speak, and to urge others to action while
never losing an opportunity to work himself. Altruism is an integral part of
self-development. The one terrible and only cause of the disturbance of Harmony
is Selfishness. Theosophy gives to every sincere man or woman an ideal to live
for. Theosophy is the quintessence of duty. Theosophy is the most serious
movement of this age. Theosophy has to inculcate ethics. Theosophy leads to
action -- enforced action, instead of mere intention and talk. Theosophy
teaches self-abnegation, but does not teach rash and useless self-sacrifice,
nor does it justify fanaticism. The Theosophical idea of charity means personal
exertion for others.
The above quotations, which are
but a few samples from an exhaustless mine, show beyond doubt H. P. Blavatsky's
purpose, and also the source of her heroic strength. She surely was endowed
with Spiritual powers. And these are the powers to be coveted by the aspirant
to enlightenment. And what man or woman, who has felt the gloom and airlessness
of self-satisfaction, the hopelessness of the pursuit of mere personal
happiness, and who at times has glimpsed the nobler diviner possibilities of
life, could be attracted by those ideals of self-development which only add to
the burden of self-consciousness and shut the personality off more than ever
from its unity with the race? The Divine Harmony is the only goal that will
satisfy; and Duty, rather than pleasure, is the guide.
The Spiritual Intuition of
humanity is indeed in need of being kept alive, if it is not to be strangled by
the pursuit of false ideals.
We see individuals and nations
losing all that is of real and lasting value, in order to grasp things which
they cannot keep and whose value is fictitious and uncertain. Balzac said that
the only things which gave life and vigor to individuals and to nations were
great ideals, whereas nearly everybody was absorbed in himself and the age had
become "utilitarian." It is a common enough saying, and we can hear
it preached anywhere; but how about the remedy? Mere exhortations will not
suffice. The Theosophical movement is a titanic force poured into modern
society and it touches life at all points, awakening man to new activity on
every plane. It is an intellectual force as well as a moral force -- and the
two are really one, when each is sublimated.
The Theosophical Society will
permeate the great mass of intelligent people with its noble ideals. The ethics
of Theosophy are the essence and cream of the world's ethics. Theosophy alone
can eradicate the selfishness ingrained in Western nations.
These quotations show what H.
P. Blavatsky thought of the mission of Theosophy, and the following show how
strongly she insisted on altruism as the indispensable quality of the aspirant
to Wisdom.
Self-Knowledge is of loving
deeds the child. We have never attained or even understood the powers of the
human heart. Self-sacrifice is the highest standard of Theosophy. It is not by
studying Occultism for selfish ends, for the gratification of ones personal
ambition, pride, or vanity, that one can ever reach the true goal -- that of
helping suffering humanity. Compassion is the Law of Laws -- eternal harmony.
To feel "Compassion" without an adequate practical result is not
Altruism. The first of the Theosophical duties is to do one's duty by all men.
For every flower of love and charity you plant in your neighbor's garden, a
loathsome weed will disappear from your own. There is no happiness for one who
is ever thinking of self and forgetting all other selves. The duty -- let alone
happiness -- of every Theosophist is certainly to help others to carry their
burden. A Theosophist should gain the wisdom to help others effectually, not
blindly. The human heart has not yet fully uttered itself. If unable to toil
for humanity, work for the few who need your help. The principle of Brotherhood
is one of the eternal truths that govern the world's progress. Step out of
sunlight into shade to make more room for others.
The dynamic force that alone
can move the world is Divine Compassion, with its twin, Divine Intelligence;
and each one of these two evokes the other. Theosophy wages war against
ignorance and mistaken beliefs, as well as against want of heart. Theosophy can
stand by a man in that bitterness of soul when all life seems a cruel mockery
-- a crisis that comes to every man of feeling, whatever his circumstances.
This travail of the soul is like the pangs of a new birth; and though we may
rebel, we can endure it and pass safely through it, if we know that back of the
storm-clouds there shines the eternal light of the Spirit -- our very Self
which is striving to reveal itself to the tottering mind.
Thus Theosophy is an invincible
power, for it must touch men's hearts everywhere, and influence permanently
even those who at first reject it. For the truth strikes home and is
recognized. And Theosophy will survive all its counterfeits that are trying to
live on it and exploit its benefits; for the latter are very mortal, while the
truth is immortal. Finally let us give the following quotation from H. P.
Blavatsky:
Do you not think there must be
something very noble, very exalted, very true, behind the Society, when the
leaders and the founders of the movement still continue to work for it with all
their strength? They sacrifice to it all comfort, all worldly prosperity and
success, even to their good name and reputation, to receive in return incessant
and ceaseless obloquy, relentless persecution, untiring slander, constant
ingratitude and misunderstanding of their best efforts, blows and buffets from
all sides -- when by simply dropping their work they would find themselves
immediately released from every responsibility, shielded from every further
attack.
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