Theosophy in Butte

Montana, 1902

Theosophy and its revival of occultism is establishing a firm footing in the philosophy and religion of the western world. Its teachings have been the recent occasion of extended newspaper discussion and very serious attention from the pulpit. The church is almost a unit against it, while writers are divided in opinion as to whether its influence is good or baneful. Even in Butte, where the society has one of its most active branches, theosophy has been the subject of sermons and public discussions. The advocates of the cult claim that those who attack it are actuated by a misconception of its doctrine and purpose, and by a mistaken idea that it is a new religion and antagonistic to Christianity, when in fact it is neither. Wide public attention has been called to the growth of the society by the extended reviews and notice given the new book, "Esoteric Christianity," by Annie Besant, the society's most prolific writer, in which she antagonizes the church by the declaration that there is a hidden side to religion, and that religion in its fullness is not free to all, but that it is handed out in measures as it can be received, or as man is prepared for its understanding and comprehension.

The Theosophical society now girdles the earth, and branches have been established in every country. Its headquarters are at Adyar, India, while the head of the American section is in New York, Alexander Fullerton, formerly an Episcopal clergyman, being its secretary.

Some Eminent Theosophists.

The society counts its membership among all races and in all countries, some very noted men and women being among its leaders. Camille Flammarion, the great French astronomer, is one of them. Thomas A. Edison and Professor Crookes, the eminent chemist of London, are ardent theosophists, and so was Max Mueller during his lifetime. J. C. Chattopadhyaya, a high caste Brahmin of India, is one of the converts to theosophy, and spent some time in the United States, where he delivered lectures on the subject. Annie Besant, the authoress, is a sister-in-law of the late Walter Besant, and her husband was a dean of the English church; A. P. Sinnett was for years on the editorial staff of the London Times until he received a commission in the army in India, where he met Madame Blavatsky, one of the founders of the modern society. C. W. Leadbeater, another prominent teacher and writer, was formerly a clergyman in the English church, and G. R. S. Mead, who has written some fine books on many subjects, is regarded as one of the most learned men in the world.

Origin of the Word.

The word "theosophy" is from the Greek and means "divine wisdom." The latter term is many thousand years old. The name theosophy dates from the third century of the Christian era and was applied by Ammonius Saccas, who started the electric theosophical system. Prof. Alexander Wilder, in his new Platonism, says the followers of that school were so called because of their practice of interpreting all sacred legends and narratives, myths and mysteries, by rule or principle of analogy and correspondence, so that events which were related as having occurred in the external world were regarded as expressing operations and experiences of the human soul. The object of this system was, first of all, to inculcate certain great moral truths upon its disciples, hence also the motto adopted by the theosophical society, "There Is No Religion Higher Than Truth." The chief aim of the founders of the ancient electric theosophical school was one of the three objects of its modern successor, the theosophical society of to-day, namely, to reconcile all religious sects and nations under a common system of ethics, based on eternal verities. The theosophists of olden times were large bodies and, like the modern, belonged to various religious philosophies. The mistake is often made that theosophy is a separate religion and antagonistic to other religions. This is not so, according to the claims made by the society. It is antagonistic to no religion. It teaches that all religions are streamlets of the one universal fountain of truth. Theosophy is a religious philosophy, universal in its scope and teaching and all inclusive. Its fundamental objects are: "To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color; to encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science; to investigate unexplained laws of nature and the power latent in man."

Basis of Theosophy.

The doctrine of the brotherhood of man is based on the belief that all men spring from the one spiritual source, and all bodies are from the one mother earth, but theosophy differs from other beliefs as to all men being born equal. Theosophy holds that the true evolution is the unfolding, the growth of intelligence or consciousness through physical forms. Consequently all men are not at the same grade of mental development or evolution, hence all are not equal. For instance, to compare the low intellect of an Australian bushman with the mind of an Emerson illustrates that idea of the difference of unfoldment and development. Spiritually all men are brothers and are from the same spiritual parent. In its study of comparative religions theosophy teaches that each religion has its own mission in the world, is suited to the nation to which it is given, and the type of civilization which it is to permeate. The failure to see these leads to unjust criticism, for an ideally perfect religion would not be suitable to imperfect and partially evolved men. Every religion in the course of time suffers from accretions due to ignorance. It is found in comparative religions that at base they are all one. In all ages of the world there have been great spiritual teachers — Christs or Buddhas — who gave out the truth essential to the demand of the stage of evolution and environment of the people of different nations. Christ was the latest teacher and Christianity the youngest religion. He came to the western world and gave out in a form suitable to the western mind the religion of Christianity. All religions are found to be clothed in parable, allegory, symbol and figure, and when once the key to those symbols and allegories is understood it will be found that there is no disagreement at all in the teachings of the religions of the world. The study of comparative religions naturally leads to a study of comparative mythology, in which it is found that the gods of the ancients are not the mere figures of weird and extravagant tales, but are the personification of forces of nature and intelligences, and that the stories themselves clothe great truths.

Miracles Not Supernatural.

The latent forces in man open a wide and deep subject for study. It is claimed that when once the latent forces are understood the so-called miracles of Christ will be seen not to be supernatural, but the result of the development of powers within the man that enabled him to overcome material forces external to himself. Man is an epitome of the universe, and all forces, powers and laws of the universe are centered in him. It is claimed that lying within the physical senses are senses still finer, more subtle, and that if man is made in the image of God he must possess spiritual faculties that are the root and base of all other faculties. Theosophy holds that the seeming miracles performed by the disciples of Jesus, who were only ordinary men, prior to the awakening of their spiritual faculties, were possible by reason of the development of these faculties by knowledge imparted to them by their master, Jesus. Intuition, it is claimed, is the sixth sense, now being developed to a greater or less extent by men of to-day. The surprises in store for the races are not so much in discoveries of the finer forces of nature, marvelous as they will be, but rather what man is going to find within himself, for there lies in man possibilities undreamed of by the western world. By a method of mental and spiritual training called yoga the Hindoos have developed powers that enable them to control physical forces, and which has caused them to be looked upon as miracle workers. The orientals have always studied these latent powers, while the westerners have studied everything else but themselves. If Bible statements are true men in olden times exhibited powers far beyond the comprehension of undeveloped spiritual man. Witness the statements of St. Paul and St. John, and the story of Daniel in the lion's den, and of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

What It Teaches.

Theosophy teaches the doctrine of reincarnation and karma. Karma is the law of retribution, the law of cause and effect, the power that controls all things, the resultant of moral action. It is the sowing and reaping, for as a man sows so shall he also reap. All thoughts and acts committed while here on earth are seeds which will produce a harvest for which the sower must return and reap. Reincarnation is the return of the soul time and time again into physical bodies until it has learned the lesson that earth can teach. It learns from experience. Hence the teaching of karma and reincarnation establishes justice in the world and exonerates God of partiality, and shows why one man is born in a palace and another in the slum, why one is born a genius and another a fool, why one is a saint and the other a sinner. It is held that man is the creator of his own destiny. To quote Sir Edwin Arnold, a believer in reincarnation:

"He cometh, reaper of the things he sow'd,
Sesamum, corn, so much cast in past birth;
And so much weed and poison-stuff, which mar
Him and the aching earth.

"If he shall labor rightly, rooting these,
And planting wholesome seedlings
where they grew,
Fruitful and fair and clean the ground shall be,
And rich the harvest due."

—The Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, Montana, Feb. 16, 1902, p. 19.