William Q. Judge 
 
 An Epitome 
 of Theosophy 
 
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 FROM THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 REVEREND CHARLES ROSENBURY ERDMAN 
 D.D., LL.D. 
 
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 AN EPITOME C;" " '" 
 
 OF 
 
 THEOSOPHY 
 
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 WILLIAM Q^JUDGE 
 
 ADAPTED FOR INQUIRERS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 The Theosophical Publishing Company 
 
 POINT LOMA, CALIFORNIA 
 
 Price 15 Cent J" 
 
The Aryan Theosophical Press, 
 Point Loma, California 
 
AN EPITOME OF 
 
 Theosophical Teachings 
 
 THEOSOPHY, the Wisdom-Religion, has 
 existed from immemorial time. It offers 
 us a theory of nature and of life which 
 is founded upon knowledge acquired by the 
 Sages of the past, more especially those of the 
 East; and its higher students claim that this 
 knowledge is not imagined or inferred, but that 
 it is a knowledge of fads seen and known by 
 those who are willing to comply with the con- 
 ditions requisite for seeing and knowing. 
 
 Theosophy, meaning knowledge of or about 
 God,* and the term "God" being universally 
 
 * Not in the sense of a personal anthropomorphic 
 God, but in that of divine ''godly" wisdom. 
 
2 — • 
 
 accepted as including the whole of both the 
 known and the unknown, it follows that "The- 
 osophy" must imply wisdom respecting the ab- 
 solutej and, since the absolute is without begin- 
 ning and eternal, this wisdom must have ex- 
 isted always. Hence Theosophy is sometimes 
 called the Wisdom-Religion, because from im- 
 memorial time it has had knowledge of all the 
 laws governing the spiritual, the moral, and 
 the material. 
 
 The theory of nature and of life which it offers 
 is not one that was at first speculatively laid 
 down and then proved by adjusting fafts or con- 
 clusions to fit it; but is an explanation of ex- 
 istence, cosmic and individual, derived from 
 knowledge reached by those who have acquired 
 the power to see behind the curtain that hides 
 the operations of nature from the ordinary 
 mind. Such Beings are called Sages, using the 
 term in its highest sense. Of late they have 
 been called Mahatmas and Adepts. In ancient 
 times they were known as the Rishis and 
 Maharishis, the last being a word that means 
 Great Rishis. 
 
 It is not claimed that these exalted beings, or 
 Sages, have existed only in the East. They are 
 
known to have lived in all parts of the globe, 
 in obedience to the cyclic laws referred to be- 
 low. But as far as concerns the present devel- 
 opment of the human race on this planet, they 
 now are to be found in the East, although the 
 fa6l may be that some of them had, in remote 
 times, retreated from even the American shores. 
 There being of necessity various grades 
 among the students of this Wisdom-Religion, 
 it stands to reason that those belonging to the 
 lower degrees are able to give out only so much 
 of the knowledge as is the appanage of the 
 grade they have reached, and depend, to some 
 extent, for further information upon students 
 who are higher yet. It is these higher students 
 for whom the claim is asserted that their knowl- 
 edge is not mere inference, but that it concerns 
 realities seen and known by them. While some 
 of them are connected with the Theosophical 
 Society, they are yet above it. The power to 
 see and absolutely know such laws is surrounded 
 by natural inherent regulations which must be 
 complied with as conditions precedent; and it 
 is, therefore, not possible to respond to the de- 
 mand of the worldly man for an immediate 
 statement of this wisdom, insomuch as he could 
 
not comprehend it until those conditions are 
 fulfilled. As this knowledge deals with laws 
 and states of matter, and of consciousness un- 
 dreamed of by the "practical" western world, 
 it can only be grasped, piece by piece, as the 
 student pushes forward the demolition of his 
 preconceived notions, that are due either to in- 
 adequate or to erroneous theories. It is claimed 
 by these higher students that, in the Occident 
 especially, a false method of reasoning has for 
 many centuries prevailed, resulting in a univer- 
 sal habit of mind which causes men to look 
 upon many efFe£ls as causes, and to regard that 
 which is real as the unreal, putting meanwhile 
 the unreal in the place of the real. As a mi- 
 nor example, the phenomena of mesmerism 
 and clairvoyance, have, until lately, been denied 
 by western science, yet there have always been 
 numerous persons who know for themselves, 
 by incontrovertible introspective evidence, the 
 truth of these phenomena, and, in some in- 
 stances, understand their cause and rationale. 
 
 The following are some of the fundamental 
 propositions of Theosophy: — 
 
 The spirit in man is the only real and per- 
 
— 5 — 
 manent part of his being; the rest of his nature 
 being variously compounded. And since decay 
 is incident to all composite things, everything in 
 man but his spirit is impermanent. 
 
 Further, the universe being one thing and not 
 diverse, and everything within it being connected 
 with the whole and with every other thing there- 
 in, of which upon the upper plane (below re- 
 ferred to) there is a perfect knowledge, no act 
 or thought occurs without each portion of the 
 great whole perceiving and noting it. Hence 
 all are inseparably bound together by the tie of 
 Brotherhood. 
 
 This first fundamental proposition of The- 
 osophy postulates that the universe is not an 
 aggregation of diverse unities but that it is one 
 whole. This whole is what is denominated 
 "Deity'* by Western Philosophers, and "Para- 
 Brahm" by the Hindu Vedantins. It may be 
 called the Unmanifested, containing within it- 
 self the potency of every form of manifesta- 
 tion, together with the laws governing those 
 manifestations. Further, it is taught that there 
 is no creation of worlds in the theological 
 sense; but that their appearance is due strictly 
 to evolution. When the time comes for the 
 
Unmanifested to manifest as an objective Uni- 
 verse, which it does periodically, it emanates a 
 Power or "The First Cause," so called because 
 it itself is the rootless root of that Cause, and 
 called in the East the "Causeless Cause." The 
 first Cause we may call Brahma, or Ormazd, 
 or Osiris, or by any name we please. The 
 projection into time of the influence or so- 
 called "breath of Brahma" causes all the 
 worlds and the beings upon them to gradually 
 appear. They remain in manifestation just as 
 long as that influence continues to proceed forth 
 in evolution. After long aeons the outbreath- 
 ing, evolutionary influence slackens, and the 
 universe begins to go into obscuration, or pra- 
 laya, until, the "breath" being fully indrawn, 
 no obje6ls remain, because nothing is but Brah- 
 ma. Care must be taken by the student to 
 make a distinction between Brahma (the im- 
 personal Parabrahma) and Brahma the mani- 
 fested Logos. A discussion of the means used 
 by this power in acting would be out of place 
 in this Epitome, but of those means Theosophy 
 also treats. 
 
 This breathing-forth is known as a Man- 
 vantara, or the Manifestation of the world be- 
 
tween two Manus (from Manu, and Antara 
 "between") and the completion of the inspira- 
 tion brings with it Pralaya, or destruction. It 
 is from these truths that the erroneous doctrines 
 of "creation" and the "last judgment" have 
 sprung. Such Manvantaras and Pralayas have 
 eternally occurred, and will continue to take 
 place periodically, and forever. 
 
 For the purpose of a Manvantara two so- 
 called eternal principles are postulated, that is, 
 Purusha and Prakriti (or spirit and matter), be- 
 cause both are ever present and conjoined in 
 each manifestation. Those terms are used here 
 because no equivalent for them exists in Eng- 
 lish. Purusha is called "spirit," and Prakriti 
 "matter," but this Purusha is not the unmani- 
 fested, nor is Prakriti matter as known to sci- 
 ence; the Aryan Sages therefore declare that 
 there is a higher spirit still, called Purushotta- 
 ma. The reason for this is that at the night of 
 Brahma, or the so-called indrawing of his 
 breath, both Purusha and Prakriti are absorbed in 
 the Unmanifested; a conception which is the 
 same as the idea underlying the Biblical expres- 
 sion — "remaining in the bosom of the Father." 
 
 This brings us to the doctrine of Universal 
 
Evolution as expounded by the Sages of the 
 Wisdom-Religion. The Spirit, or Purusha, they 
 say, proceeds from Brahma through the various 
 forms of matter evolved at the same time, be- 
 ginning in the world of the spiritual from the 
 highest and in the material world from the 
 lowest form. This lowest form is one unknown 
 as yet to modern science. Thus therefore the 
 mineral, vegetable, and animal forms each im- 
 prison a spark of the Divine, a portion of the 
 indivisible Purusha. 
 
 These sparks struggle to "return to the Fath- 
 er," or in other words, to secure self-conscious- 
 ness and at last come into the highest form, on 
 Earth, that of man, where alone self-conscious- 
 ness is possible to them. The period, calcu- 
 lated in human time, during which this evolution 
 goes on embraces millions of ages. Each spark 
 of divinity has therefore millions of ages in which 
 to accomplish its mission — that of obtaining 
 complete self-consciousness while in the form 
 of man. But by this is not meant that the 
 mere act of coming into human forms of itself 
 confers self-consciousness upon this divine 
 spark. That great work may be accomplished 
 during the Manvantara in which a Divine spark 
 
— 9 — 
 reaches the human form, or it may not; all de- 
 pends upon the individual's own will and efforts. 
 Each particular spirit thus goes through the 
 Manvantara, or enters into manifestation for its 
 own enrichment and for that of the Whole. 
 Mahatmas and Rishis are thus gradually 
 evolved during a Manvantara, and become, 
 after its expiration, planetary spirits, who guide 
 the evolutions of other future planets. The 
 planetary spirits of our globe are those who in 
 previous Manvantaras — or days of Brahma — 
 made the efforts, and became in the course of 
 that long period Mahatmas. 
 
 Each Manvantara is for the same end and 
 purpose, so that the Mahatmas who have now 
 attained those heights, or those who may be- 
 come such in the succeeding years of the pres- 
 ent Manvantara, will probably be the planetary 
 spirits of the next Manvantara for this or other 
 planets. This system is thus seen to be based 
 upon the identity of Spiritual Being, and, un- 
 der the name of "Universal Brotherhood," con- 
 stitutes the basic idea of the Theosophical So- 
 ciety, whose object is the realization of that 
 Brotherhood among men. 
 
 The Sages say that this Purusha is the basis 
 
lO 
 
 of all manifested objects. Without it nothing 
 could exist or cohere. It interpenetrates every- 
 thing everywhere. It is the reality of which, 
 or upon which, those things called real by us are 
 mere images. As Purusha reaches to and em- 
 braces all beings, they are all connected togeth- 
 er; and in or on the plane where that Purusha 
 is, there is a perfect consciousness of every a(St, 
 thought, object, and circumstance, whether sup- 
 posed to occur there, or on this plane, or any 
 other. For below the spirit and above the 
 intellect is a plane of consciousness in which 
 experiences are noted, commonly called man's 
 "spiritual nature'*; this is frequently said to be 
 as susceptible of culture as his body or his 
 intellect. 
 
 This upper plane is the real register of all 
 sensations and experiences, although there are 
 other registering planes. It is sometimes called 
 the "subconscious mind." Theosophy, how- 
 ever, holds that it is a misuse of terms to say 
 that the spiritual nature can be cultivated. The 
 real object to be kept in view is to so open up 
 or make porous the lower nature that the spir- 
 itual nature may shine through it and become 
 the guide and ruler. It is only "cultivated" in 
 
— 1 1 
 
 the sense of having a vehicle prepared for its 
 use, into which it may descend. In other 
 words, it is held that the real man, who is the 
 higher self — being the spark of the Divine be- 
 fore alluded to — overshadows the visible being, 
 which has the possibility of becoming united to 
 that spark. Thus it is said that the higher 
 Spirit is not in the man, but above him. It is 
 always peaceful, unconcerned, blissful, and full 
 of absolute knowledge. It continually partakes 
 of the Divine state, being continually that state 
 itself, "conjoined with the Gods, it feeds upon 
 Ambrosia." The object of a student is to let 
 the light of that spirit shine through the lower 
 coverings. 
 
 This "spiritual culture" is only attainable 
 as the grosser interests, passions, and demands 
 of the flesh are subordinated to the interests, 
 aspirations, and needs of the higher nature; and 
 this is a matter of both system and establish- 
 ed law. 
 
 This spirit can only become the ruler when 
 the firm intellectual acknowledgment or ad- 
 mission is first made that it alone is. And, as 
 stated above, it being not only the person con- 
 cerned but also the whole, all selfishness must 
 
be eliminated from the lower nature before its 
 divine state can be reached. So long as the 
 smallest personal or selfish desire — even for 
 spiritual attainment for our own sake — remains, 
 so long is the end desired put off. Hence the 
 above term "demands of the flesh" really cov- 
 ers also demands that are not of the flesh, and 
 its proper rendering would be "desires of the 
 personal nature, including those of the indi- 
 vidual soul." 
 
 When systematically trained in accordance 
 with the aforesaid system and law, men attain to 
 clear insight into the immaterial, spiritual world, 
 and their interior faculties apprehend truth as 
 immediately and readily as physical faculties 
 grasp the things of sense, or mental faculties 
 those of reason. Or, in the words used by 
 some of them, "They are able to look directly 
 upon ideas"; and hence their testimony to such 
 truth is as trustworthy as is that of scientists or 
 philosophers to truth in their respective fields. 
 
 In the course of this spiritual training such 
 men acquire perception of, and control over, 
 various forces in Nature unknown to other men, 
 and thus are able to perform works usually 
 called "miraculous," though really but the re- 
 
— 13- 
 sult of larger knowledge of natural law. What 
 these powers are may be found in Patanjali's 
 Toga Philosophy. 
 
 Their testimony as to super-sensuous truth, 
 verified by their possession of such powers, chal- 
 lenges candid examination from every religious 
 mind. 
 
 Turning now to the system expounded by 
 these sages we find, in the first place, an ac- 
 count of cosmogony, the past and future of 
 this earth and other planets, the evolution of 
 life through elemental, mineral, vegetable, ani- 
 mal and human forms, as they are called. 
 
 These "passive life elementals'* are unknown 
 to modern science, though sometimes approached 
 by it as a subtle material agent in the production 
 of life, whereas they are a form of life itself. 
 
 Each Kalpa, or grand period, is divided into 
 four ages or Yugas, each lasting many thou- 
 sands of years, and each one being marked by 
 a predominant characteristic. These are the 
 Satya-yug (or age of truth), the Tretya-yug, the 
 Dvapara-yug, and our present Kali-yug (or 
 age of darkness), which began five thousand 
 years back. The word "darkness" here refers 
 to spiritual and not material darkness. In this 
 
— 14 — 
 
 age, however, all causes bring about their effeds 
 much more rapidly than in any other age, a fa6t 
 due to the intensified momentum of "evil," as 
 the course of its cycle is about rounding to- 
 wards that of a new cycle of truth. Thus a 
 sincere lover of the race can accomplish more 
 in three incarnations during Kali-Yuga, than he 
 could in a much greater number in any other 
 age. The darkness of this age is not absolute, 
 but is greater than that of other ages; its main 
 tendency being towards materiality, while hav- 
 ing some mitigation in occasional ethical or sci- 
 entific advance conducive to the well-being of 
 the race, by the removal of immediate causes 
 of crime or disease. 
 
 Our earth is one of a chain of seven plan- 
 ets, it alone being on the visible plane, while 
 the six others are on different planes, and there- 
 fore invisible. [The other planets of our solar 
 system belong each to a chain of seven.] And 
 the life-wave passes from the higher to the 
 lower in the chain until it reaches our earth, 
 and then ascends and passes to the. three others 
 on the opposite arc, and thus seven times. The 
 evolution of forms is co-incident with this pro- 
 gress, the tide of life bearing with it the mm- 
 
— 15 — 
 
 cral and vegetable forms, until each globe in 
 turn is ready to receive the human life wave. 
 Of these globes our earth is the fourth. 
 
 Humanity passes from globe to globe in a 
 series of Rounds, first circling about each 
 globe, and re-incarnating upon it a fixed num- 
 ber of times. Concerning the human evolu- 
 tion on the concealed planets or globes little is 
 permitted to be said. We have to concern our- 
 selves vi^ith our Earth alone. The latter, when 
 the wave of humanity has reached it for the 
 last time (in this, our Fourth Round), began to 
 evolute man, subdividing him into races. Each 
 of these races when it has, through evolution, 
 reached the period known as "the moment of 
 choice" and decided its future destiny as an in- 
 dividual race, begins to disappear. The races 
 are separated, moreover, from each other by 
 catastrophes of nature, such as the subsidence 
 of continents and great natural convulsions. 
 Coincidently with the development of races the 
 development of specialized senses takes place; 
 thus our fifth race has so far developed five senses. 
 
 The sages further tell us that the affairs of 
 this world and its people are subject to cyclic 
 laws, and during any one cycle the rate or qual- 
 
— 16 — 
 
 ity of progress appertaining to a difFerent cycle 
 is not possible. These cyclic laws operate in 
 each age. As the ages grow darker the same 
 laws prevail, only the cycles are shorter; that 
 is, they are the same length in the absolute 
 sense, but go over the given limit in a shorter 
 period of time. These laws impose restriftions 
 on the progress of the race. In a cycle, where 
 all is ascending and descending, the adepts must 
 wait until the time comes before they can aid 
 the race to ascend. They cannot, and must 
 not, interfere with Karmic law. Thus they be- 
 gin to work a6^ively again in the spiritual sense, 
 when the cycle is known by them to be ap- 
 proaching its turning point. 
 
 At the same time these cycles have no hard 
 lines or points of departure or inception, in- 
 asmuch as one may be ending or drawing to 
 a close for some time after another has already 
 begun. They thus overlap and shade into one 
 another, as day does into night; and it is only 
 when the one has completely ended and the 
 other has really begun by bringing out its blos- 
 soms, that we can say we are in a new cycle. 
 It may be illustrated by comparing two adjacent 
 cycles to two interlaced circles, where the cir- 
 
— 17 — 
 cumference of one touches the center of the 
 other, so that the moment where one ended and 
 the other began would be at the point where the 
 circumferences intersected each other. Or by 
 imagining a man as representing, in the act of 
 walking, the progress of the cycles; his rate of 
 advancement can only be obtained by taking the 
 distance covered by his paces, the points at the 
 middle of each pace, between the feet, being the 
 beginning of cycles and their ending. 
 
 The cyclic progress is assisted, or the deteri- 
 oration further permitted, in this way; at a time 
 when the cycle is ascending, developed and pro- 
 gressed Beings, known in Sanscrit by the term 
 Jnanis^ descend to this earth from other spheres 
 where the cycle is going down, in order that 
 they may also help the spiritual progress of this 
 globe. In like manner they leave this sphere 
 when our cycle approaches darkness. These 
 Jfianis must not, however, be confounded with 
 the Mahatmas and Adepts mentioned above. 
 The right aim of true Theosophists should 
 therefore be so to live that their influence may 
 be conducive for the dispelling of darkness to 
 the end that such Jfianis may turn again to- 
 wards this sphere. 
 
Theosophy also teaches the existence of a 
 universally diffused and highly ethereal medium, 
 which has been called the "Astral Light" and 
 "akasa." It is the repository of all past, pres- 
 ent, and future events, and in it are recorded 
 the effects of spiritual causes, and of all a6ts 
 and thoughts from the direction of either spirit 
 or matter. It may be called the Book of the 
 Recording Angel. 
 
 Akasa, however, is a misnomer when it is 
 confused with Ether or the astral light of the 
 Kabalists. Akasa is the noumenon of the phe- 
 nomenal Ether or astral light proper, for akasa 
 is infinite, impartite, intangible, its only produc- 
 tion being Sound.* 
 
 And this astral light is material and not spirit. 
 It is, in fact, the lower principle of that cosmic 
 body of which akasa is the highest. It has 
 the power of retaining all images. This in- 
 cludes a statement that each thought as well as 
 word and act makes an image there. These 
 
 * Akasa in the mysticism of the Esoteric Philosophy 
 is properly speaking the female **Holy Ghost" ; 
 ** Sound" or speech being the logos, the manifested 
 verbum of the unmanifested Mother. See Sankhyasara 
 Preface, p. 33, et seq. 
 
— 19 — 
 
 images may be said to have two lives, ist. 
 Their own as an image. 2nd. The impress 
 left by them in the matrix of the astral light. 
 In the upper realm of this light there is no 
 such thing as space or time in the human 
 sense. All future events are the thoughts and 
 acts of men; these are producers in advance 
 of the picture of the event which is to oc- 
 cur. Ordinary men continually, recklessly, and 
 wickedly, are making these events sure to 
 come to pass, but the Sages, Mahatmas, and 
 the Adepts of the good law, make only such 
 pictures as are in accordance with Divine law, 
 because they control the production of their 
 thought. In the astral light are all the differ- 
 entiated sounds as well. The elementals are 
 energic centers in it. The shades of departed 
 human beings and animals are also there. 
 Hence, any seer or entranced person can see in 
 it all that anyone has done or said, as well as 
 that which has happened to anyone with whom 
 he is connected. Hence, also, the identity of 
 deceased persons — who are supposed to report 
 specially out of this plane — is not to be con- 
 cluded from the giving of forgotten or unknown 
 words, facts, or ideas. Out of this plane of 
 
— 20 — 
 
 matter can be taken the pictures of all who 
 have ever lived, and then reflected on a suitable 
 magneto-electrical surface, so as to seem like 
 the apparition of the deceased, producing all the 
 sensations of weight, hardness, and extension. 
 
 Through the means of the Astral Light and 
 the help of Elementals, the various material 
 elements may be drawn down and precipitated 
 from the atmosphere upon either a plane sur- 
 face or in the form of a solid object; this pre- 
 cipitation may be made permanent, or it may 
 be of such a light cohesive power as soon to 
 fade away. But the help of the elementals can 
 only be obtained by a strong will added to a 
 complete knowledge of the laws which govern 
 the being of the elementals. It is useless to 
 give further details on this point; first, because 
 the untrained student cannot understand; and 
 second, the complete explanation is not per- 
 mitted, were it even possible in this space. 
 
 The world of the elementals is an important 
 factor in our world and in the course of the 
 student. Each thought as it is evolved by a 
 man coalesces instantly with an elemental, and 
 is then beyond the man's power. 
 
 It can easily be seen that this process is go- 
 
ing on every instant. Therefore each thought 
 exists as an entity. Its length of life depends 
 on two things: {a) The original force of the 
 person's will and thought; {b) The power of 
 the elemental which coalesced with it, the lat- 
 ter being determined by the class to which the 
 elemental belongs. This is the case with good 
 and bad thoughts alike, and as the will beneath 
 the generality of wicked thoughts is usually 
 powerful, we can see that the result is very im- 
 portant, because the elemental has no conscience 
 and obtains its constitution and direction from 
 the thought it may from time to time carry. 
 
 Each human being has his own elementals 
 that partake of his nature and his thoughts. If 
 you fix your thoughts upon a person in anger, 
 or in critical, uncharitable judgment, you attract 
 to yourself a number of those elementals that 
 belong to, generate, and are generated by this par- 
 ticular fault or failing, and they precipitate them- 
 selves upon you. Hence, through the injustice of 
 your merely human condemnation, which can- 
 not know the source and causes of the a6lion of 
 another, you at once become a sharer of his fault 
 or failing by your own act, and the spirit expelled 
 returns "with seven devils worse than himself." 
 
This is the origin of the popular saying that 
 *' curses, like chickens, come home to roost," and 
 has its root inthelawsgoverning magneticaffinity. 
 
 In the Kali-Yuga we are hypnotized by the 
 effect of the immense body of images in the 
 Astral Light, compounded of all the deeds, 
 thoughts, and so forth of our ancestors, whose 
 lives tended in a material direction. These im- 
 ages influence the inner man — who is conscious 
 of them — by suggestion. In a brighter age 
 the influence of such images would be towards 
 Truth. The effeft of the Astral Light, as 
 thus molded and painted by us, will remain so 
 long as we continue to place those images there, 
 and it thus becomes our judge and our execu- 
 tioner. Every universal law thus contains 
 within itself the means for its own accomplish- 
 ment and the punishment for its violation, and 
 requires no further authority to postulate it or 
 to carry out its decrees. 
 
 The Astral Light by its inherent action both 
 evolves and destroys forms. It is the univer- 
 sal register. Its chief office is that of a vehicle 
 for the operation of the laws of Karma, or the 
 progress of the principle of life, and it is thus in 
 a deep spiritual sense a medium or "mediator" 
 
— 23 — 
 between man and his Deity — his higher spirit. 
 
 Theosophy also tells of the origin, history, 
 development, and destiny of mankind. 
 
 Upon the subject of Man it teaches: — 
 
 1. That each spirit is a manifestation of 
 the One Spirit, and thus a part of all. It passes 
 through a series of experiences in incarnation, 
 and is destined to ultimate reunion with the 
 Divine. 
 
 2. That this incarnation is not single but 
 repeated, each individuality becoming re-em- 
 bodied during numerous existences in success- 
 ive races and planets of our chain, and accumu- 
 lating the experiences of each incarnation to- 
 wards its perfection. 
 
 3. That between adjacent incarnations, af- 
 ter grosser elements are first purged away, comes 
 a period of comparative rest and refreshment, 
 called Devachan,the soul being therein prepared 
 for its next advent into material life. 
 
 The constitution of man is subdivided in a 
 septenary manner, the main divisions being those 
 of body, soul and spirit. These divisions and 
 their relative development govern his subjective 
 condition after death. The real division can- 
 
— 24 — 
 not be understood, and must for a time remain 
 esoteric, because it requires certain senses not 
 usually developed for its understanding. If the 
 present seven-fold division, as given by Theo- 
 sophical writers is adhered to strictly and with- 
 out any conditional statement, it will give rise 
 to controversy or error. For instance. Spirit is 
 not a seventh principle. It is the synthesis, or 
 the whole, and is equally present in the other 
 six. The present various divisions can only be 
 used as a general working hypothesis, to be de- 
 veloped and correded as students advance and 
 themselves develop. 
 
 The state of spiritual but comparative rest 
 known as Devachan is not an eternal one, and so 
 is not the same as the eternal heaven of Christi- 
 anity. Nor does "hell" correspond to the state 
 known to Theosophical writers as Avitchi. 
 
 All such painful states are transitory and 
 purificatory states. When those are passed the 
 individual goes into Devachan. 
 
 "Hell" and Avitchi are thus not the same. 
 Avitchi is the same as the "second death," as 
 it is in fact annihilation that only comes to the 
 "black Magician" or spiritually wicked, as will 
 be seen further on. 
 
— 25 — 
 
 The nature of each incarnation depends upon 
 the balance as struck of the merit and demerit 
 of the previous life or lives — upon the way in 
 which the man has lived and thought; and this 
 law is inflexible and wholly just. 
 
 "Karma" — a term signifying two things, the 
 law of ethical causation (Whatsoever a man 
 soweth, that shall he also reap); and the bal- 
 ance or excess of merit or demerit in any indi- 
 vidual, determines also the main experiences of 
 joy and sorrow in each incarnation, so that 
 what we call "luck" is in reality "desert" — 
 desert acquired in past existence. 
 
 Karma is not all exhausted in a single life, 
 nor is a person necessarily in this life experi- 
 encing the effect of all his previous Karma; 
 for some may be held back by various causes. 
 The principle cause is the failure of the Ego 
 to acquire a body which will furnish the instru- 
 ment or apparatus in and by which the medita- 
 tion or thoughts of previous lives can have 
 their effect and be ripened. Hence it is held 
 that there is a mysterious power in the man's 
 thoughts during a life, sure to bring about its 
 results in either an immediately succeeding life 
 or in one many lives distant; that is, in what- 
 
— 26 — 
 
 ever life the Ego obtains a body capable of be- 
 ing the focus, apparatus, or instrument for the 
 ripening of past Karma. There is also a sway- 
 ing or diverging power in Karma in its effect 
 upon the soul, for a certain course of life — or 
 thought — will influence the soul in that direc- 
 tion for sometimes three lives, before the bene- 
 ficial, or bad, effect of any other sort of Kar- 
 ma must be felt. Nor does it follow that every 
 minute portion of Karma must be felt in the 
 same detail as v^hen produced, for several sorts of 
 Karma may come to a head together at one point 
 in the life, and, by their combined effect, produce 
 a result which, while, as a whole, accurately 
 representing all the elements in it, still is a dif- 
 ferent Karma from each single component part. 
 This may be known as the nullification of the pos- 
 tulated effect of the classes of Karma involved. 
 The process of evolution up to reunion with 
 the Divine is and includes successive elevations 
 from rank to rank of power and usefulness. 
 The most exalted beings still in the flesh are 
 known as Sages, Rishis, Brothers, Masters. 
 Their great function being the preservation at 
 all times, and when cyclic laws permit, the ex- 
 tension of spiritual knowledge and influence. 
 
— 27 — 
 
 When union with the Divine is effected, all 
 the events and experiences of each incarnation 
 are known. 
 
 As to the process of spiritual development, 
 Theosophy teaches: — 
 
 1. That the essence of the process lies in 
 the securing of supremacy, to the highest, the 
 spiritual, element of man's nature. 
 
 2. That this is attained along four lines, 
 among others, — 
 
 [a) The entire eradication of selfish- 
 ness in all forms, and the cultivation of 
 broad^ generous sympathy in, and effort 
 for the good of others. 
 
 (I?) The absolute cultivation of the 
 inner, spiritual man by meditation, by 
 reaching to and communion with the 
 Divine, and by exercise of the kind de- 
 scribed by Patanjali, /. ^., incessant striv- 
 ing to an ideal end. 
 
 (c) The control of fleshly appetites 
 and desires, all lower, material interests 
 being deliberately subordinated to the be- 
 hests of the spirit. 
 
 (d) The careful performance of every 
 
— 2l 
 
 duty belonging to one's station in life, 
 without desire for reward, leaving results 
 for Divine law. 
 
 3. That while the above is incumbent on 
 and practicable by all religiously disposed men, 
 a yet higher plane of spiritual attainment is con- 
 ditioned upon a specific course of training, phys- 
 ical, intellectual, and spiritual, by which the inter- 
 nal faculties are first aroused and then developed. 
 
 4. That an extension of this process is 
 reached in Adeptship, Mahatmaship, or the 
 states of Rishis, Sages, and Dhyan Chohans, 
 which are all exalted stages, attained by labori- 
 ous self-discipline and hardship, protracted 
 through possibly many incarnations, and with 
 many degrees of initiation and preferment, be- 
 yond which are yet other stages ever approach- 
 ing the Divine. 
 
 As to the rationale of spiritual development 
 it asserts: — 
 
 1. That the process takes place entirely 
 within the individual himself, the motive, the 
 effort, and the result proceeding from his own 
 inner nature, along the lines of self-evolution. 
 
 2. That, however personal and interior, this 
 
— 29— 
 
 process is not unaided, being possible, in fact, 
 only through close communion with the supreme 
 source of all strength. 
 
 As to the degree of advancement in incarna- 
 tions it holds: 
 
 1. That even a mere intellectual acquaint- 
 ance with Theosophic truth has great value in 
 fitting the individual for a step upwards in his 
 next earth-life, as it gives an impulse in that 
 direction. 
 
 2. That still more is gained by a career of 
 duty, piety and beneficence. 
 
 3. That a still greater advance is attained 
 by the attentive and devoted use of the means 
 to spiritual culture heretofore stated. 
 
 4. That every race and individual of it 
 reaches in evolution a period known as "the 
 moment of choice," when they decide for them- 
 selves their future destiny by a deliberate and 
 conscious choice between eternal life and death, 
 and that this right of choice is the peculiar ap- 
 panage of the free soul. It cannot be exer- 
 cised until the man has realized the soul within 
 him, and until that soul has attained some meas- 
 ure of self-consciousness in the body. The 
 
— 30 — 
 
 moment of choice is not a fixed period of rime; 
 it is made up of all moments. It cannot come 
 unless all the previous lives have led up to it. 
 For the race as a whole it has not yet come. 
 Any individual can hasten the advent of this pe- 
 riod for himself under the previously stated 
 law of the ripening of Karma. Should he then 
 fail to choose right he is not wholly condemned, 
 for the economy of nature provides that he 
 shall again and again have the opportunity of 
 choice when the moment arrives for the whole 
 race. After this period the race, having blos- 
 somed, tends towards its dissolution. A few 
 individuals of it will have outstripped its pro- 
 gress and attained Adeptship or Mahatmaship, 
 The main body, who have chosen aright, but 
 who have not attained salvation, pass into the 
 subjective condition, there to await the influx 
 of the human life wave into the next globe, 
 which they are the first souls to people; the de- 
 liberate choosers of evil, whose lives are passed 
 in great spiritual wickedness (for evil done for 
 the sheer love of evil per se)^ sever the connec- 
 tion with the Divine Spirit, or the monad, which 
 for ever abandons the human Ego. Such Egos 
 pass into the misery of the eighth sphere, as far 
 
— Bi- 
 as we understand, there to remain until the sep- 
 aration between what they had thus cultivated 
 and the personal Ishwara or divine spark is 
 complete. But this tenet has never been ex- 
 plained to us by the Masters, who have always 
 refused to answer and to explain it conclusively. 
 At the next Manvantara that Divine Spark will 
 probably begin again the long evolutionary 
 journey, being cast into the stream of life at 
 the source and passing upward again through 
 all the lower forms. 
 
 So long as the connection with the Divine 
 Monad is not severed, this annihilation of per- 
 sonality cannot take place. Something of that 
 personality will always remain attached to the 
 immortal Ego. Even after such severance the 
 human being may live on, a man among men 
 — a soulless being. This disappointment, so 
 to call it, of the Divine Spark by depriving 
 it of its chosen vehicle constitutes the "sin 
 against the Holy Ghost," which its very nature 
 forbade it to pardon, because it cannot continue 
 an association with principles which have be- 
 come degraded and vitiated in the absolute sense, 
 so that they no longer respond to cyclic or evo- 
 lutionary impulses, but, weighted by their own 
 
— 32 — 
 
 nature, sink to the lowest depths of matter. 
 The connection, once wholly broken, cannot in 
 the nature of Being be resumed. But innum- 
 erable opportunities for return offer themselves 
 throughout the dissolving process, which lasts 
 thousands of years. 
 
 There is also a fate that comes to even adepts 
 of the Good Law which is somewhat similar 
 to a loss of "heaven" after its enjoyment for 
 incalculable periods of time. When the adept 
 has reached a certain very high point in his evo- 
 lution he may, by a mere wish, become what 
 the Hindus call, a "Deva" — or lesser god. If 
 he docs this, then, although he will enjoy the 
 bliss and power of that state for a vast length 
 of time, he will not at the next Pralaya par- 
 take of the conscious life "in the bosom of the 
 Father," but has to pass down into matter at 
 the next new "creation," performing certain 
 fundions that could not now be made clear, 
 and has to come up again through the elemental 
 world; but this fate is not like that of the 
 Black Maorician who falls into Avitchi. And 
 again between the two he can choose the mid- 
 dle state and become a Nirmanakaya — one who 
 gives up the bliss of Nirvana and remains in 
 
— 33 — 
 conscious existence outside of his body after 
 its death: in order to help Humanity. This is 
 the greatest sacrifice he can do for mankind. 
 By advancement from one degree of interest 
 and comparative attainment to another as 
 above stated, the student hastens the advent of 
 the moment of choice, after which his rate of 
 progress is greatly intensified. 
 
 It may be added that Theosophy is the only 
 system of religion and philosophy which gives sat- 
 isfactory explanation of such problems as these: 
 
 1. The objeiSi:, use, and inhabitation of 
 other planets than this earth, which planets 
 serve to complete and prolong the evolutionary 
 course, and to fill the required measure of the 
 universal experience of souls. 
 
 2. The geological cataclysms of earth; the 
 frequent absence of intermediate types in its 
 fauna; the occurrence of architectural and other 
 relics of races now lost, and as to which or- 
 dinary science has nothing but vain conjeCiure; 
 the nature of extinCl civilizations and the causes 
 of their extinction; the persistence of savagery 
 and the unequal development of existing civil- 
 ization; the differences, physical and internal, 
 
— 34— 
 between the various races of men; the line of 
 future development. 
 
 3. The contrasts and unisons of the world's 
 faiths, and the common foundation underlying 
 them all. 
 
 4. The existence of evil, of suffering, and 
 of sorrow, — a hopeless puzzle to the mere phil- 
 anthropist or theologian. 
 
 5. The inequalities in social condition and 
 privilege; the sharp contrasts between wealth 
 and poverty, intelligence and stupidity, culture 
 and ignorance, virtue and vileness; the appear- 
 ance of men of genius in families destitute of 
 it, as well as other fa6ts in conflict with the law 
 of heredity; the frequent cases of unfitness of 
 environment around individuals, so sore as to 
 embitter disposition, hamper aspiration, and 
 paralyze endeavor; the violent antithesis be- 
 tween character and condition; the occurrence 
 of accident, misfortune, and untimely death; — 
 all of them problems solvable only by either the 
 conventional theory of Divine caprice or the 
 Theosophic dodrines of Karma and Rein- 
 carnation. 
 
 6. The position by individuals of psychic 
 powers — clairvoyance, clairaudience, etc., as 
 
— 3? — 
 well as the phenomena of psychometry and 
 statuvolism. 
 
 7. The true nature of genuine phenomena 
 in spiritualism, and the proper antidote to super- 
 stition and to exaggerated expe6tation. 
 
 8. The failure of conventional religions to 
 greatly extend their areas, reform abuses, reorgan- 
 ize society, expand the idea of brotherhood, abate 
 discontent, diminish crime,and elevate humanity; 
 and an apparent inadequacy to realize in indi- 
 vidual lives the ideal they professedly uphold. 
 
 The above is a sketch of the main features of 
 Theosophy, the Wisdom-Religion. Its details 
 are to be found in the rapidly-growing literature 
 upon the subject. 
 
 There are three stages of interest, developed 
 by the study of Theosophy: 
 
 1. That of intellectual inquiry. 
 
 2. That of desire for personal culture, — 
 to be met partly by the books prepared for that 
 specific end, partly by the periodical Magazines 
 expounding Theosophy (see notice on inside 
 back cover of this pamphlet). 
 
 3. That of personal identification with the 
 
-36- 
 
 Theosophical Society, an association formed 
 in 1875 [and reorganized in 1898 as the Uni- 
 versal Brotherhood and Theosophical So- 
 ciety], with three aims, — to be the nucleus of 
 a Universal Brotherhood; to promote the study 
 of Aryan and other Eastern literatures, religions 
 and sciences; to investigate unexplained laws 
 of nature and the powers latent in man. Ad- 
 hesion to the first only is a prerequisite to 
 membership, the others being optional. The 
 Society represents no particular creed, is en- 
 tirely unse6tarian, and includes professors of all 
 faiths, only exading from each member that 
 toleration of the beliefs of others which he de- 
 sires them to exhibit towards his own. 
 
Inhere is no Religion Higher than Truth 
 
 THE 
 
 UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD 
 
 AND 
 
 THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 
 
 Established for the benefit of the people of the earth Sf all creatures 
 OBJECTS 
 
 This BROTHERHOOD is part of a great and 
 universal movement which has been active in all ages. 
 
 This Organization declares that Brotherhood is a fact. 
 Its principal purpose is to teach Brotherhood, demon- 
 strate that it is a fact in nature and make it a living 
 power in the life of humanity. 
 
 Its subsidiary purpose is to study ancient and mod- 
 ern religions, science, philosophy and art; to investi- 
 gate the laws of nature and the divine powers in man. 
 
 The Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical 
 Society, founded by H. P. Blavatsky in New York, 
 1875, continued after her death under the leader- 
 ship of the co-founder, William Q. Judge, and now 
 under the leadership of their successor, Katherine 
 Tingley, has its Headquarters at the International 
 Theosophical Center, Point Loma, California. 
 
 This Organization is not in any way connected 
 with nor does it endorse any other societies using the 
 name of Theosophy. 
 
The Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical 
 Society welcomes to membership all who truly love 
 their fellow men and desire the eradication of the evils 
 caused by the barriers of race, creed, caste or color, 
 which have so long impeded human progress ; to all 
 sincere lovers of truth and to all who aspire to higher 
 and better things than the mere pleasures and inter- 
 ests of a worldly life, and are prepared to do all in 
 their power to make Brotherhood a living power in the 
 life of humanity, its various departments offer unlimited 
 opportunities. 
 
 The whole work of the Organization is under the 
 direction of the Leader and Official Head, Katherine 
 Tingley, as outlined in the Constitution. 
 
 Do Not Fail to Profit by the Following 
 
 It is a regrettable fact that many people use the name 
 of Theosophy and of our Organization for self-interest, 
 as also that of H. P. Blavatsky, the Foundress, 
 to attract attention to themselves and to gain public 
 support. This they do in private and public speech 
 and in publications, also by lecturing throughout the 
 country. Without being in any way connected with 
 the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical So- 
 ciety, in many cases they permit it to be inferred 
 that they are, thus misleading the public, and many 
 honest inquirers are hence led away from the truths 
 of Theosophy as presented by H. P. Blavatsky and 
 her successors, William Q. Judge and Katherine 
 Tingley, and practically exemplified in their Theosoph- 
 ical work for the uplifting of humanity. 
 
The International Brotherhood League 
 
 Founded in 1897 by Katherine Tingley 
 OBJECTS 
 
 1 . To help men and women to realize the nobility 
 of their calling and their true position in life. 
 
 2. To educate children of all nations on the 
 broadest lines of Universal Brotherhood, and to pre- 
 pare destitute and homeless children to become work- 
 ers for humanity. 
 
 3. To ameliorate the condition of unfortunate 
 women, and assist them to a higher life. 
 
 4. To assist those who are, or have been, in 
 prisons, to establish themselves in honorable positions 
 in life. 
 
 5. To abolish capital punishment. 
 
 6. To bring about a better understanding between 
 so-called savage and civilized races, by promoting a 
 closer and more sympathetic relationship between them. 
 
 7. To relieve human suffering resulting from flood, 
 famine, war, and other calamities; and, generally, to 
 extend aid, help and comfort to suffering humanity 
 throughout the world. 
 
 For further information regarding the above Notices, 
 address 
 
 KATHERINE TINGLEY, 
 
 International Theosophical Headquarters, 
 Point Loma, California 
 
Books Recommcttdcd to Inquirers 
 
 Key to Cbcosopby; (H. P. Blavatsky) Postpaid.. $1.70 
 A clear exposition of TheosopJiy inform of ques- 
 tion arid answer. The book for Students. 
 
 echoes from the Orient; (W. Q. Judge) cloth,... .50 
 
 paper 25 
 
 21 valued articles, giving a broad outline of the 
 Theosophical doctrines, written for the newspaper- 
 reading public. 
 
 6hagavad-6ita; (W. Q. Judge, Am. Edition) 
 
 Pocket size, morocco, gilt edges 1.00 
 
 Red leather 75 
 
 The pearl of the Scriptures of the East. 
 
 Life at point Iloma, The* Some notes by 
 Katherine Tingley, Leader and Official Head 
 of the Universal Brotherhood and Theosoph- 
 ical Society. (Reprinted from the Los An- 
 geles Post, December, 1902) 15 
 
 i;.igbt on the path; (M. C.) with comments, 
 
 Bound in black leather 75 
 
 Embossed paper 25 
 
 JVIysteries of the Reart Doctrine, Cbe. Pre- 
 pared by Katherine Tingley and her pupils. 
 
 Square 8vo, cloth, 2.00 
 
 Paper, 1-50 
 
 A Series of eight Pamphlets comprising 
 Different Articles in above, paper, each, 25 
 
 Cbeosopbical Manuals. Elementary Handbooks 
 for Students. To be issued shortly. 
 Price, each, 35 
 
 No. 
 
 I. 
 
 Elementary Theosophy. 
 
 No. 
 
 2. 
 
 The Seven Principles of Man. 
 
 No. 
 
 ^' 
 
 Karma. 
 
 No. 
 
 4- 
 
 Reincarnation. 
 
 No. 
 
 <;. 
 
 Man After Death. 
 
 No. 
 
 6. 
 
 Kamaloka and Devachan. 
 
 No. 
 
 7- 
 
 Teachers and Their Disciples. 
 
 No. 
 
 8. 
 
 The Doctrine of Cycles. 
 
T heosophical p eriodicals 
 
 century path 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY 
 
 Edited by KATHERINE TINGLEY 
 
 A Magazine devoted to the Brotherhood of Humanity, the 
 
 Promulgation of Theosophy and the Study of Ancient and 
 
 Modern Ethics, Philosophy, Science and Art. 
 
 Year $4.00 Single Copy 10 Cents 
 
 Write for a sample copy to 
 
 NEW CENTURY CORPORATION, 
 
 Point Loma, California, U. S. A. 
 
 Raja Yoga jVIcSSCngcr. illustrated. Monthly. Yearly 
 
 subscription -----_-_-.ro 
 Unsedarian publication for Young Folk, conducted by 
 a staff" of pupils of the Raja Yoga School at Lomaland. 
 Address MASTER ALBERT G. SPALDING, Business Manager 
 
 Raja Yoga Messenger, Point Loma, California 
 
 XtitcmatioTial Cbcosopbical Chronicle* Illus- 
 trated. Monthly. Yearly subscription, postpaid - ^i.oo 
 The Theosophical Book Co., 18 Bartlett's Buildings, 
 Holborn Circus, London, E. C. 
 
 "CbCOSOpbia* Illustrated. Monthly. Yearly subscription 
 
 postpaid - - - - - - _ - _ -i.^o 
 
 Universella Broderskapets Forlag, Barnhusgatan 10, 
 Stockholm I, Sweden. 
 
 Universale Bruderscbaft. Illustrated. Monthly. 
 
 Yearly subscription, postpaid, - - - _ - 1.50 
 J. Th. Heller, ob. Turnstrasse, 3, Niimberg, Germany. 
 
 t.OtUS-KTloppen. Illustrated. Monthly. Yearly sub- 
 scription, postpaid - ---_-_. 75 
 A. Goud, Peperstraat, ingang Papengang, No. 14, 
 Groningen, Holland. 
 Subscriptions to the above four Magazines may be secured also 
 
 through The Theosophical Publishing Co., Point Loma, California 
 
 Neither the editors of the above publications, nor the officers of the 
 Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society, or of 
 any of its departments, receive salaries or other remuneration. 
 
 All profits arising from the business of the Theosophical Publishing 
 Co. are devoted to Humanitarian Work. All ivho assist in this 
 work are directly helping the great cause of Humanity. 
 
I SIS UNVEILED 
 
 A Mastcr-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern 
 
 SCIENCE AND THEOLOGY 
 
 By H. P. BLAVATSKY 
 
 ( Indexed ) 
 
 a Vols. Royal 8vo., about 1500 pages; cloth. 
 With portrait of the Author. :::::: 
 
 NEW POINT LOMA EDITION WITH A PREFACE 
 
 by H. T. Edge, B. A. (Cantab.) an old student 
 under H. P. Blavatsky and now a member of 
 the Staff of Professors at Point Loma, California 
 
 Vol, I treats of Ancient and Modern Science 
 VoL II treats of Ancient and Modern Religion 
 
 The reprint of this invaluable work is in answer to a 
 constant demand, thus proving that the work is alive 
 and is needed by the liberated spirit of the age. 
 
 Price. Postage Prepaid, .... $7.00 
 
 The KEY to THEOSOPHY 
 
 A clear exposition in the form of Question and Answer of the 
 
 Ethics, Science and PKilosophy of Theosophy 
 
 {Indexed^ 
 WITH A COPIOUS 
 
 GLOSSARY :: OF :: THEOSOPHICAL » TERMS 
 
 By H. P. BLAVATSKY 
 
 The Key is a remarkable Compendium of Theosophical teach- 
 ing. It is the book of "books for beginners and higher students. 
 The incessant call for this work has exhausted the earlier editions. 
 
 NEW POINT LOMA EDITION 
 Nearly 400 pages, cloth, Postage Prepaid - $1.70 
 
 Order above at once from 
 
 THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING CO., 
 
 Point Loma, California 
 
DATE DUE 
 
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 W/!ri 
 
 ''-vry^^v 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 HIGHSMITH # 45220 
 
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 BP565 .J922 
 
 An epitome of theosophy. 
 
 Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library 
 
 I nil III III 
 
 1 1012 00006 2317 
 
 
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