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An Outline of Theosophy

By

Charles Webster Leadbeater

 

 

Charles Webster Leadbeater

1858? - 1934

 

 

The Three Great Truths

 

In one of our earliest Theosophical books it was written that there are three truths which are absolute and cannot be lost, but yet may remain silent for lack of speech. They are as great as life itself, and yet as simple as the simplest mind of man. I can hardly do better than paraphrase these for the greatest of my general principles.

 

I will then give some corollaries which follow naturally from them, and then, thirdly, some of the more prominent of the advantageous results which

necessarily attend this definite knowledge. Having thus outlined the scheme in tabular form, I will take it up point by point, and endeavour to offer such elementary explanations as come within the scope of this little introductory book.

 

1. God exists, and He is good. He is the great life-giver who dwells within us and without us, is undying and eternally beneficent. He is not heard,

nor seen, nor touched, yet is perceived by the man who desires perception.

 

2. Man is immortal, and his future is one whose glory and splendour have no limit.

 

3. A Divine law of absolute justice rules the world, so that each man is in truth his own judge, the dispenser of glory or gloom to himself, the decreer

of his life, his reward, his punishment.

 

To each of these great truths are attached certain others, subsidiary and explanatory.

 

From the first of them it follows:-

 

1. That, in spite of appearance, all things are definitely and intelligently moving together for good; that all circumstances, however untoward they may seem, are in reality exactly what are needed; that everything around us tends, not to hinder us, but to help us, if it is only understood.

 

2.That since the whole scheme thus tends to man’s benefit, clearly it is his duty to learn to understand it.

 

3That when he thus understands it, it is also his duty intelligently to co-operate in this scheme.

 

From the second great truth it follows:-

 

1.That the true man is a soul, and that this body is only an appanage.

 

2.That he must therefore, regard everything from the standpoint of the soul, and that in every case when an internal struggle takes place he must

realise his identity with the higher and not with the lower.

 

3.That what we commonly call his life is only one day in his true and larger life.

 

4.That death is a matter of far less importance than is usually supposed, since it is by no means the end of life, but merely the passage from one stage of it to another.

 

5.That man has an immense evolution behind him, the study of which is most fascinating, interesting and instructive.

 

6.That he has also a splendid evolution before him, the study of which will be even more fascinating and instructive.

 

7.That there is an absolute certainty of final attainment for every human soul, no matter how far he may have seemed to have strayed from the path of evolution.

 

From the third great truth it follows:-

 

1.That every thought, word, or action produces its definite result – not a reward or a punishment imposed from without, but a result inherent in the action itself, definitely connected with it in the relation of cause and effect, these being really but two inseparable parts of one whole.

 

2.That it is both the duty and interest of man to study this divine law closely, so that he will be able to adapt himself to it and to use it, as we use other great laws of nature.

 

3.That it is necessary for man to attain perfect control over himself, so that he may guide his life intelligently in accordance with this law.

 

 

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Classic Introductory Theosophy Text

A Text Book of Theosophy By C W Leadbeater

 

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

 

 

Elementary Theosophy

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

 

The Seven in Man and Nature

 

The Meaning of Death

 

 

The Occult World

By Alfred Percy Sinnett

 

Preface to the American Edition    Introduction

 

Occultism and its Adepts    The Theosophical Society

 

First Occult Experiences   Teachings of Occult Philosophy

 

Later Occult Phenomena    Appendix

 

 

The Ocean of Theosophy

William Quan Judge

 

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

 

Septenary Constitution Of Man

 

Arguments Supporting Reincarnation

 

Differentiation Of Species Missing Links

 

Psychic Laws, Forces, and Phenomena

 

Psychic Phenomena and Spiritualism

 

 

A Study in Karma

Annie Besant

 

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  Our Environment  Our Kith and Kin  Our Nation

 

The Light for a Good Man  Knowledge of Law  The Opposing Schools

 

The More Modern View  Self-Examination  Out of the Past

 

Old Friendships  We Grow By Giving  Collective Karma  Family Karma

 

National Karma  India’s Karma  National Disasters

 

 

 

Key Concepts of Theosophy

 

 

 

 

1) Infinitude

 

Nature is infinite in space and time -- boundless and eternal, unfathomable and ineffable. The all-pervading essence of infinite nature can be called space, consciousness, life, substance, force, energy, divinity -- all of which are fundamentally one.

 

 

2) The finite and the infinite

 

Nature is a unity in diversity, one in essence, manifold in form. The infinite whole is composed of an infinite number of finite wholes -- the relatively stable and autonomous things (natural systems or artefacts) that we observe around us. Every natural system is not only a conscious, living, substantial entity, but is consciousness-life-substance, of a particular range of density and form. Infinite nature is an abstraction, not an entity; it therefore does not act or change and has no attributes. The finite, concrete systems of which it is composed, on the other hand, move and change, act and interact, and possess attributes. They are composite, inhomogeneous, and ultimately transient.

 

 

3) Vibration/worlds within worlds

 

The one essence manifests not only in infinitely varied forms, and on infinitely varied scales, but also in infinitely varying degrees of spirituality and substantiality, comprising an infinite spectrum of vibration or density. There is therefore an endless series of interpenetrating, interacting worlds within worlds, systems within systems.

 

The energy-substances of higher planes or subplanes (a plane being a particular range of vibration) are relatively more homogeneous and less differentiated than those of lower planes or subplanes.

 

 

4) Space and time

 

Just as boundless space is comprised of endless finite units of space, so eternal duration is comprised of endless finite units of time. Space is the infinite totality of worlds within worlds, but appears predominantly empty because only a tiny fraction of the energy-substances composing it are perceptible and tangible to an entity at any particular moment. Time is a concept we use to quantify the rate at which events occur; it is a function of

change and motion, and presupposes a succession of cause and effect. Every entity is extended in space and changes 'in time'.

 

 

5) Causation/karma

 

All change (of position, substance, or form) is the result of causes; there is no such thing as absolute chance. Nothing can happen for no reason at all for nothing exists in isolation; everything is part of an intricate web of causal interconnections and interactions. The keynote of nature is harmony: every action is automatically followed by an equal and opposite reaction, which sooner or later rebounds upon the originator of the initial act. Thus, all our thoughts and deeds will eventually bring us 'fortune' or 'misfortune' according to the degree to which they were harmonious or disharmonious. In the long term, perfect justice prevails in nature.

 

 

6) Analogy

 

Because nature is fundamentally one, and the same basic habits and structural, geometric, and evolutionary principles apply throughout, there are correspondences between microcosm and macrocosm. The principle of analogy -- as above, so below -- is a vital tool in our efforts to understand reality.

 

 

7) Relativity

 

All finite systems and their attributes are relative. For any entity, energy-substances vibrating within the same range of frequencies as its outer body are 'physical' matter, and finer grades of substance are what we call energy, force, thought, desire, mind, spirit, consciousness, but these are just as material to entities on the corresponding planes as our physical world is to us. Distance and time units are also relative: an atom is a solar system on its own scale, reembodying perhaps millions of times in what for us is one second, and our whole galaxy may be a molecule in some supercosmic entity, for which a million of our years is just a second. The range of scale is infinite: matter-consciousness is both infinitely divisible and infinitely aggregative.

 

 

8) Hierarchy

 

All natural systems consist of smaller systems and form part of larger systems. Hierarchies extend both 'horizontally' (on the same plane) and 'vertically' or inwardly (to higher and lower planes). On the horizontal level, subatomic particles form atoms, which combine into molecules, which arrange themselves into cells, which form tissues and organs, which form part of organisms, which form part of ecosystems, which form part of planets, solar systems, galaxies, etc. The constitution of worlds and of the organisms that inhabit them form 'vertical' hierarchies, and can be divided into several interpenetrating layers or elements, from physical-astral to psychomental to spiritual-divine, each of which can be further divided.

 

The human constitution can be divided up in several different ways: e.g. into a trinity of body, soul, and spirit; or into 7 'principles' -- a lower quaternary consisting of physical body, astral model-body, life-energy, and lower thoughts and desires, and an upper triad consisting of higher mind (reincarnating ego), spiritual intuition, and inner god. A planet or star can be regarded as a 'chain' of 12 globes, existing on 7 planes, each globe comprising several subplanes.

 

The highest part of every multilevelled organism or hierarchy is its spiritual summit or 'absolute', meaning a collective entity or 'deity' which is relatively perfected in relation to the hierarchy in question. But the most 'spiritual' pole of one hierarchy is the most 'material' pole of the next, superior hierarchy, just as the lowest pole of one hierarchy is the highest pole of the one below.

 

 

9) From within outwards

 

Each level of a hierarchical system exercises a formative and organizing influence on the lower levels (through the patterns and prototypes stored up from past cycles of activity), while the lower levels in turn react upon the higher. A system is therefore formed and organized mainly from within outwards, from the inner levels of its constitution, which are relatively more enduring and developed than the outer levels. This inner guidance is sometimes active and selfconscious, as in our acts of free will (constrained, however, by karmic tendencies from the past), and sometimes it is automatic and passive, giving rise to our own automatic bodily functions and habitual and instinctual behavior, and to the orderly, lawlike operations of nature in general. The 'laws' of nature are therefore the habits of the various grades of conscious entities that compose reality, ranging from higher intelligences  (collectively forming the universal mind) to elemental nature-forces.

 

 

10) Consciousness and its vehicles

 

The core of every entity -- whether atom, human, planet, or star -- is a monad, a unit of consciousness-life-substance, which acts through a series of more material vehicles or bodies. The monad or self in which the consciousness of a particular organism is focused is animated by higher monads and expresses itself through a series of lesser monads, each of which is the nucleus of one of the lower vehicles of the entity in question. The following monads can be distinguished: the divine or galactic monad, the spiritual or solar monad, the higher human or planetary-chain monad, the lower human or globe monad, and the animal, vital-astral, and physical monads. At our present stage of evolution, we are essentially the lower human monad, and our task is to raise our consciousness from the animal-human to the spiritual-human level of it.

 

 

11) Evolutionary unfoldment

 

Evolution means the unfolding, the bringing into active manifestation, of latent powers and faculties 'involved' in a previous cycle of evolution. It is the building of ever fitter vehicles for the expression of the mental and spiritual powers of the monad. The more sophisticated the lower vehicles of an entity, the greater their ability to express the powers locked up in the higher levels of its constitution. Thus all things are alive and conscious, but the degree of manifest life and consciousness is extremely varied.

 

Evolution results from the interplay of inner impulses and environmental stimuli. Ever building on and modifying the patterns of the past, nature is infinitely creative.

 

 

12) Cyclic evolution/re-embodiment

 

Cyclic evolution is a fundamental habit of nature. A period of evolutionary activity is followed by a period of rest. All natural systems evolve through re-embodiment. Entities are born from a seed or nucleus remaining from the previous evolutionary cycle of the monad, develop to maturity, grow old, and pass away, only to re-embody in a new form after a period of rest. Each new embodiment is the product of past karma and present choices.

 

 

13) Birth and Death

 

Nothing comes from nothing: matter and energy can be neither created nor destroyed, but only transformed. Everything evolves from preexisting material. The growth of the body of an organism is initiated on inner planes, and involves the transformation of higher energy-substances into lower, more material ones, together with the attraction of matter from the environment.

 

When an organism has exhausted the store of vital energy with which it is born, the coordinating force of the indwelling monad is withdrawn, and the organism 'dies', i.e. falls apart as a unit, and its constituent components go their separate ways. The lower vehicles decompose on their respective subplanes, while, in the case of humans, the reincarnating ego enters a dreamlike state of rest and assimilates the experiences of the previous incarnation. When the time comes for the next embodiment, the reincarnating ego clothes itself in many of the same atoms of different grades that it had used previously, bearing the appropriate karmic impress. The same basic processes of birth, death, and rebirth apply to all entities, from atoms to humans to stars.

 

 

14) Evolution and involution of worlds

 

Worlds or spheres, such as planets and stars, are composed of, and provide the field for the evolution of, 10 kingdoms -- 3 elemental kingdoms, mineral, plant, animal, and human kingdoms, and 3 spiritual kingdoms. The impulse for a new manifestation of a world issues from its spiritual summit or hierarch, from which emanate a series of steadily denser globes or planes; the One expands into the many. During the first half of the evolutionary cycle (the arc of descent) the energy-substances of each plane materialize or condense, while during the second half (the arc of ascent) the trend is towards dematerialization or etherealization, as globes and entities are reabsorbed into the spiritual hierarch for a period of nirvanic rest. The descending arc is characterized by the evolution of matter and involution of spirit, while the ascending arc is characterized by the evolution of spirit and involution of matter.

 

 

15) Evolution of the monad

 

In each grand cycle of evolution, comprising many planetary embodiments, a monad begins as an unselfconsciousness god-spark, embodies in every kingdom of nature for the purpose of gaining experience and unfolding its inherent faculties, and ends the cycle as a self conscious god. Elementals ('baby monads') have no free choice, but automatically act in harmony with one another and the rest of nature. In each successive kingdom differentiation and individuality increase, and reach their peak in the human kingdom with the attainment of selfconsciousness and a large measure of free will.

 

In the human kingdom in particular, self-directed evolution comes into its own. There is no superior power granting privileges or handing out favours; we evolve according to our karmic merits and demerits. As we progress through the spiritual kingdoms we become increasingly at one again with nature, and willingly 'sacrifice' our circumscribed selfconscious freedoms (especially the freedom to 'do our own thing') in order to work in peace and harmony with the greater whole of which we form an integral part. The highest gods of one hierarchy or world-system begin as elementals in the next. The matter of any plane is composed of aggregated, crystallized monads in their nirvanic sleep, and the spiritual and divine entities embodied as planets and stars are the electrons and atomic nuclei -- the material building blocks -- of worlds on even larger scales. Evolution is without beginning and without end, an endless adventure through the fields of infinitude, in which there are always new worlds of experience in which to become selfconscious masters of life.

 

 

16) Universal brotherhood

 

There is no absolute separateness in nature. All things are made of the same essence, have the same spiritual-divine potential, and are interlinked by magnetic ties of sympathy. It is impossible to realize our full potential, unless we recognize the spiritual unity of all living beings and make universal brotherhood the keynote of our lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Foundation of the Original Theosophical Society 1875

 

The first Theosophical Society was founded in New York on

November 17th 1875 by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky,

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge and others.

 

The Theosophical Movement now consists of a diverse range of

organizations which carry the Theosophical Tradition forward.

Cardiff Theosophical Society has been promoting Theosophy since 1908

 

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मूल थियोसोफिकल सोसायटी 1875 फाउंडेशन

पहले थियोसोफिकल सोसायटी को न्यूयॉर्क में स्थापित किया गया था
17
नवंबर Helena Petrovna Blavatsky द्वारा 1875,
कर्नल Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge और दूसरों.

थियोसोफिकल आंदोलन अब एक विविध रेंज के होते हैं
आगे थियोसोफिकल परंपरा ले जो संगठनों.
कार्डिफ थियोसोफिकल सोसायटी 1908 के बाद से ब्रह्मविद्या को बढ़ावा देने की गई है

 

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Mūla thiyōsōphikala sōsāyaṭī 1875 phā'uṇḍēśana

Pahalē thiyōsōphikala sōsāyaṭī kō n'yūyŏrka mēṁ sthāpita kiyā gayā thā
17 Navambara Helena Petrovna Blavatsky dvārā 1875,
Kamala Henry Steel Olcott, aura dūsarōṁ.

Thiyōsōphikala āndōlana aba ēka vividha rēn̄ja kē hōtē haiṁ
Āgē thiyōsōphikala paramparā lē jō saṅgaṭhanōṁ.
Kārḍipha thiyōsōphikala sōsāyaṭī 1908 kē bāda sē brahmavidyā

kō baṛhāvā dēnē kī ga'ī hai

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