from Montmartre. All Paris is gathered there to hear him. Again the
gracious words are heard, but are received and interpreted by each in
accordance with his own interests and prejudices. "The common people
heard him gladly," but the rich and learned murmured. He spoke of
self-sacrifice and devotion to ideals; the majority, though convicted
of sin, with seared hearts, felt revolt rising within. When Jesus had
ended and had betaken himself away, "for their eyes were holden, that
they should not see," it was in a state of astonishment, deception,
consternation, even rage, that the crowd slowly melted away. Many
men, mere simulacra of humanity--though considered the pillars of
society--made haste to flee the place where all they held most dear,
their success, their station, their darling sins, were menaced. But the
innocent, the poor and the wretched, felt that it was an awakening from
an all-too-sweet dream to the harsh realities of the pitiless struggle
for life.
It was the beginning of the end. Ere many days had passed, Jesus
was asked to leave the city, "and normal life, with its political
institutions, its scientific progress, its suffragettes, its railway
accidents, theater-parties, and fashionably attired women, resumed its
wonted course." By a kind of tacit agreement no one spoke any more of
the disconcerting events of the last days of December. The newspapers
wore their wonted appearance; "twenty lines, identical in every case,"
was all the press notice of what had so profoundly stirred men's souls.
And Narda, the veteran journalist, the new disciple of Jesus? Brought
face to face with his divine self, he saw himself once again when
in youth, with forehead high and heart full of hope, he had vowed
allegiance to the highest. And now? Was it lack of courage? He lost
his grasp of that divine life to which all are called, and which had
awakened once again with so much power in him. "He has come in vain,"
he cried, "we cannot endure him."
How true, alas! are the sad words of Baudelaire, which Charles Morice
prefixes to his work: "_Mais le damné répond toujours: Je ne veux
pas!_"--The lost soul always replies: I do not want to.
The Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society
Founded at New York City in 1875 by H. P. Blavatsky, William Q. Judge
and others
Reorganized in 1898 by Katherine Tingley
Central Office, Point Loma, California
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in the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society may be
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The Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society welcomes to
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[Illustration: THE PATH]
The Theosophical Path
An International Magazine
Unsectarian and nonpolitical
Monthly Illustrated
[Illustration]
Devoted to the Brotherhood of Humanity, the promulgation of Theosophy,
the study of ancient & modern Ethics, Philosophy, Science and Art, and
to the uplifting and purification of Home and National Life
Edited by Katherine Tingley
International Theosophical Headquarters, Point Loma, California, U.S.A.
_All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded
on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts
with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot
of the ox that draws the carriage._
_All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded
on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts
with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never
leaves him._
_"He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me."--in those
who harbor such thoughts hatred will never cease._
_"He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me."--in those
who do not harbor such thoughts hatred will cease._
_For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by
love, this is an ancient rule._
DHAMMAPADA, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. (Translation by F. Max Müller, _Sacred
Books of the East_, Vol. X.)
THE THEOSOPHICAL PATH
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Copyright, 1911, by Katherine Tingley
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VOL. I NO. 5 CONTENTS NOVEMBER 1911
A Group from _The Aroma of Athens_ _Frontispiece_
Evolution in the Light of Theosophy H. T. Edge, B. A. (Cantab.) 311
The Mysteries of Rotation A Student 316
Scenes from The _Aroma of Athens_ (_illustrations_) 316-317, 322-323
What are the Bases of an Intelligent Belief in Reincarnation?
F. S. Darrow, A. M., PH. D. (Harv.) 317
The Victory of the Divine in Man Rev. S. J. Neill 320
Ancient America (_illustrated_) An Archaeologist 323
The Parable of the Crucifixion Cranstone Woodhead 328
Is Light Corpuscular? T. Henry 332
Astronomical Lore A Student 334
The Mystery of the Molars Medicus 336
A Dutch House Court by Pieter de Hooch (_illustrated_) 338
Point Loma Hills at Eventide (_illustration_) 339
The Incarnation of Geniuses H. Travers 339
The Plight of the Vivisector H. Coryn, M. D., M.R.C.S. 341
The Ekoi: Children of Nature H. T. Edge, B. A. (Cantab.) 344
An Unknown American Nation (_illustrated_) H. S. Turner 347
The Confines of Science Investigator 349
The Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament (_illustrated_)
Carolus 352
Point Loma Notes C. J. R. 354
The Woman's International Theosophical League
A Member of the League 357
Illusion and Reality Lydia Ross, M. D. 362
Venice (_illustrated_) Grace Knoche 366
Humanity and Theosophical Education Elizabeth C. Spalding 375
Book Reviews: "Commentary upon the Maya-Tzental Perez Codex"
(William E. Gates), C. J. Ryan. A New Magazine.
_The Strange Little Girl_, a Story for Children 378
[Illustration: Copyright by Katherine Tingley, 1911 Lomaland Photo. and
Engraving Dept. DIOTIMA, MYRTO, AND ASPASIA GROUP IN "THE AROMA OF
ATHENS," AS PRESENTED IN THE GREEK THEATER INTERNATIONAL THEOSOPHICAL
HEADQUARTERS, POINT LOMA, CALIFORNIA ON APRIL 17, 1911]
THE THEOSOPHICAL PATH
KATHERINE TINGLEY, EDITOR
VOL. I NOVEMBER, 1911 NO. 5
Spirit feeds and sustains the air and the earth and the liquid plains
of the sea; also the shining globe of the moon, and the Titanian
stars: while Mind pervading (the Universe) puts the whole in action,
and blends itself with the mighty frame. Thence men, and the races
of the beasts and of the flying kind, and the huge creatures brought
forth by the Sea beneath his mottled surface. A fiery energy works
through these elementals and a celestial origin in the seed, so far as
heavy bodies, earth-sprung limbs, and mortal members, weigh not their
vigor down.--Virgil, _Aeneid_, vi, 724-732
EVOLUTION IN THE LIGHT OF THEOSOPHY: by H. T. Edge, B. A. (Cantab.)
After studying the various theories of biological evolution and the
controversies of their respective exponents, one reaches the conclusion
that each of the theorists is worrying a small fragment of the truth,
and that the actual facts comprehend not only all these theories
but a good deal more besides. There is (1) the theory of continuous
evolution, which supposes that forms reproduce other forms in a
continuous and uniform series; and there is (2) the theory of mutation
or saltation, which supposes that new species appear suddenly. An
American professor of palaeontology is quoted as reconciling these
two supposedly conflicting views by still another hypothesis, which
supposes that evolution is on the whole continuous, but with occasional
jumps and divergences.
Then there is the controversy as to whether changes are produced by
the influence of external environment or whether they occur within the
germ; or whether, again, both these influences co-operate.
The confusion is due mainly to two causes: the attempt to define the
operations of nature within too narrow limits; and the attempt to form
an idea of evolution by considering its visible products only, and
apart from the invisible something which is manifesting itself in those
products. Our thought should reach out to wider horizons.
All growth consists in the physical manifestation of something which
previously was not physical. Take the case of a tree growing from a
seed. The tons of material composing the body of that tree have been
collected from the air and the soil. Within the seed was enshrined
_something_ (which afterwards passes into the tree) having the power
to perform this wonderful operation. We may say, if we like, that
the whole tree existed _in potentia_ in the seed; but unless this
expression is to remain a mere logical figure, we must attach a
concrete meaning to it. In other words, we must inquire _what_ was
that something which existed in the seed. Here we are driven right up
against the real point at issue; out of the seed comes the tree, the
tree cannot come from any other source than a seed or its equivalent
(such as a slip); hence the whole future tree must be in some way
locked up within the seed. But in what guise? Is there perhaps a
miniature tree folded up within that husk? But even so, whence that
miniature tree and why does it grow? Theorists, in spite of their
alleged practicality, are often contented with abstractions that would
not satisfy a more concrete mind; and for this reason many inquirers
will not be satisfied with the explanation that there is some "force"
or "tendency" in the seed. Theorists may deal with "tendencies," but
the Theosophist will demand something less imaginary and abstract. The
primary postulates demanded by theorists are often so comprehensive
as to amount to a begging of the main question. Give Archimedes his
standing ground and he will move the whole earth; grant Euclid his
postulates, and he will soon knock you off a few theorems; give a
biological theorist his "tendencies," and the rest is as easy as
rolling off a log. But the inquirer would like to know something about
those tendencies.
So then there is locked up in the seed, which is to become a tree,
a _tendency_. Translating this highly abstract and even theological
expression into the matter-of-fact language of Theosophy, we get this:
that the whole future physical tree has existed beforehand in some
form other than physical, and complete in everything except the purely
physical attributes. Size and dimension, mass and solidity, being
physical attributes, do not pertain to the tree in this antecedent
form. Is science prepared to say that that which has no dimensions
nor any other physical attributes does not exist? If so, then we are
reduced to the conclusion that the physical _visible_ universe is
self-creative and all-sufficient and all-inclusive--in short, that
physical matter is the prime material, the source of all intelligence,
substance, all energy, everything; in which case it is of course
useless to try to explain it, and it must be simply accepted as an
irresolvable fact. But, setting aside such an untenable proposition, if
physical matter has not produced itself, if it is _not_ the ultimate
unknowable, let us ask from what was it produced? Driven thus to the
conclusion that there are states of existence prior to physical matter,
is it out-of-the-way to suggest that the tree within the seed exists in
one of those states?
Accustomed as we are to think in terms of physical matter and of its
principal attribute--extension (or, as we wrongly call it, space)--we
cannot imagine that there can be room in the universe for anything
else. We think that matter entirely fills space; we imagine that, if a
thing is not in what we call "space," it cannot be anywhere. But space
is in reality immeasurable; it can have no dimensions, no up-and-down,
no fore-and-aft, no right-and-left. It may well be that physical
matter, so far from crowding it, does not incommode it at all--that
there is "plenty of room" still, so to say.
Another consequence of our habit of regarding physical extension as
a plenum is that when we have to allow for the existence of anything
else, we think it necessary to suppose that that something else must
be _extremely small_. Thus the tree in the seed has to be extremely
small, the atom has to be extremely small, and so on; and this simply
because we imagine that space is packed full with the physical objects.
But what logical reason is there why there should not be a world full
of trees, animals, and every other form that is become physical, all
in a pre-physical state, and yet by no means interfering with anything
in the physical world? Why, even in the familiar terms of physical
science, this view is quite reasonable; for the atoms, we are told, are
so minute in comparison with the intervals between them that they are
like planets swimming in an ocean of ether. These atoms are of course
utterly imperceptible to any of our senses; we know them only through
their groupings and motions. Now suppose there are other atoms between
them, or even different groupings of the same atoms, what would we know
about these? Their vibrations might not happen to be attuned to our
physical senses.
We have imagined, then, our tree as existing, complete in all but
physical attributes, in this world, but in a state where it is beyond
the ken of our physical senses. The microscopic germ within the seed
is the point through which the change from pre-physical to physical
is operated--a door, as it were, through which the tree has to pass,
admitting it to its new state. This point is like one of the knots
where the fabrics of these two worlds are woven together; the very
small seems in some way to be the gateway to another world.
But let us extend the idea to the case of evolution generally. So far
we have taken a tree as an instance; but, on the same analogy, all
organized physical beings will have pre-existed in this pre-physical
state. The germ, the point within the germ, is their gateway to
physical existence; but before passing through this portal, they have
already existed, complete in all but physical attributes, in another
state. To sum up the argument--we must predicate the existence of a
_type-world_, wherein exist the prototypes, the models, of all that is
to become physical; and we have already seen that it is necessary, on
other grounds, to predicate the existence of such a world.
This hypothesis will explain the riddles of evolution readily. In one
point in particular does it clear up difficulties. If organisms grow
and change in the physical state, why may they not also grow and change
in the pre-physical state? This would fully account for the so-called
"saltations" and for the "missing links." An organism, after passing
out of physical life, shedding all its physical atoms, and resuming
once more its former non-physical state, might undergo modification
while in that state and before re-entering the physical condition.
Thus, when it reappeared, it would be different, and biologists would
call it a mutation or saltation.
Palaeontology shows us that in past epochs there were on earth forms
intermediate between different forms existing on earth now. This at
least indicates that the complete chain is not necessarily all upon
the earth at one time; and this again agrees with the idea that the
earth is never at any one time fitted to support every form of life.
This being so, how can we possibly trace a chain of evolution by
reproduction? A good idea of the process of evolution can be got by
watching from one side the ascending threads of a revolving screw. They
pass up and up, one after the other, but we cannot see where they are
connected; to see that, we must take an all-round view. In a similar
way the organisms are passing around a spiral curve, of which curve but
one side comes to our view; hence we see it as a number of disconnected
elements.
The process of evolution, in fact, is not carried on entirely within
the limits of our physical vision--surely not an unreasonable
statement. It would be strange indeed, if all that we see were all
that there is. Hence biologists should expect, as a logical inference
from their own conditions of research, that the results at which they
arrive shall be incomplete; the imperfection of these results is rather
to be regarded as evidence of their truth than the contrary.
But, instead of taking the case of animals, suppose we take that of
human beings; for here we can view the matter more from the inside.
We are human beings ourselves and are conscious of our own mind. This
mind, as we know, undergoes development; it gains experience from day
to day and ends up with a very different outfit from that with which
it started. When this inner being again enters into the make-up of
physical humanity, will it be the same as before? Shall we have the
same old horoscope at our next nativity? Jupiter and Saturn forbid! But
in case any reader should cavil over the question of death and rebirth,
we can consider the matter apart from those. We are actually being
reincarnated all the time; for does not our body continually discard
old atoms and take on new ones? And does not the growing and changing
body accommodate itself to the requirements set by our mind? If not,
what do habit and exercise amount to? We can create for ourselves
a body different from the one we have now, by muscular exercise,
temperance, intemperance, and other means. So here we have a definite
example of the process of growth and evolution. Death itself is but
a major change, similar in kind, if greater in degree, to the lesser
deaths that are taking place in us every day.
The physical structure is slow in its movements and conservative in its
habits; and so in the course of a life in the physical state a misfit
is apt to result; and this is adjusted by death and rebirth. It is
reasonable to suppose--indeed it is inevitable--that the animals, in
their own smaller and slower way, learn while they live, and that the
indwelling animal monad is not forever doomed to reside in the same
kind of form, but passes very gradually on to higher forms.
The species that we see and study are the beads on the string. It is
almost like studying the different houses which a man may have built
and left standing while he himself has gone elsewhere. These would give
a clue to his mental development; but we must presuppose the existence
of the man.
The question of physical reproduction is closely involved with that
of evolution; and here again biology investigates but a few of the
factors that enter into the process. Biology gets down as far as the
microscopic germinal speck, and naturally enough has to stop there. A
fertilized ovum provides the essential conditions for the entry of a
life, but it needs other kinds of research to trace the source of that
life.
In the light of Theosophy, evolution becomes a vast and entrancing
study, for it concerns worlds and ages. Apart, however, from merely
curious interest, this study is of the greatest positive importance to
humanity, for the reason that inadequate theories are giving rise to
various movements that we believe to threaten great harm, should all
their ideas be carried out. A king who should ruthlessly slaughter all
those among his subjects who did not happen to suit his ideals of what
a subject should be, would justly be considered a cruel and stupid
tyrant; yet there are proposed methods of eliminating the "unfit,"
which, though clothed in ambitious language, seem none the less
monstrous. Hence the need of greater knowledge to prevent erroneous
ideas from incarnating as monstrous acts.
THE MYSTERIES OF ROTATION: by a Student
One of the most fascinating results of the attention bestowed in the
last few years upon gyroscopic effects, has been the almost final
perfection of the gyrostat-compass, and the _Scientific American
Supplement_ contains an excellent account of it, together with one of
the clearest popular explanations of its action which we have seen. The
tests of the Anschütz instrument as improved by Sperry, were carried
out last April for five days on a steamer plying between New York and
a port in Virginia. Although the vessel rolled in heavy seas, it was
found that the compass kept practically absolutely on the meridian
during the whole period. The electric motor runs at 6000 revolutions
per minute, and the instrument is in the steering-engine room,
connected electrically with a repeating compass on the bridge. It is
stated that at all ordinary latitudes this compass has a directional
force some fifteen times greater than a corresponding magnetic compass.
This, however, diminishes on approaching the poles. The interesting
feature of the gyro-compass is that its action in pointing true north
depends upon the rotation of the Earth.