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THEOSOPHY, Vol. 23, No. 12, October, 1935
(Pages 529-533; Size: 14K)
(Number 1 of a 7-part series)
STUDIES IN THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT
PRECURSORS OF H.P.B.'SMISSION
EVERY year thousands of visitors cross the Indian Peninsula to catch
a glimpse of the snow-capped Himalayas that rim its eastern border.
But among those thousands, how many realize that these Gargantuan
peaks are but the visible portion of an otherwise invisible chain
that completely encircles the globe?
Every year thousands of religious devotees ponder over the lives and
precepts of their chosen Teacher: the Christ, the Buddha, Krishna,
Moses, Confucius or Lao- Tsu. But among those thousands, how many
realize that these mighty characters are but the visible peaks of
another invisible chain that encompasses the history of the whole
human race?
Many correspondences between the Himalayan chain and the chain of the Theosophical
Movement present themselves to the thoughtful student. The Himalayan chain -- "the
belt of the sacred Himavat" -- appeared above the water
s during the Third Race(1). The first of the Divine Dynasties also appeared during
that period of the world's history, its purpose being to instruct the men of that day
in the arts and sciences. Nature has preserved the H
imalayas as the finest gems in her royal casket of jewels. Her still more precious
gems -- those same arts and sciences that were imparted to the men of the Third Race
-- are likewise preserved in the secret sanctuaries o
f the Initiates beyond the Sacred Range. The Himalayan chain forms a Guardian Wall of
protection for the sacred land of Thibet. But there is another Guardian Wall. "Built
by the hands of many Masters of Compassion, raised
by their tortures, by their blood cemented, it shields mankind, since man is man,
protecting it from further and far greater misery and sorrow."
The belt of the sacred Himavat that stretches round the globe is partly visible,
partly invisible. The chain of the Theosophical Movement presents the same
characteristic. Its visible portion is seen in those great charac
ters who have appeared, under cyclical law, at different periods of the world's
history. According to the Bhagavad-Gita:
"I produce myself among creatures, O son of Bharata(2), whenever there is a decline of
virtue and an insurrection of vice and injustice in the world; and thus I incarnate
from age to age for the preservation of the just,
the destruction of the wicked, and the establishment of righteousness."
Several different cycles are marked bv the appearance of these Great Ones. But since
the fourteenth century, it is the hundred year cycle that has been specially observed,
and the last quarter of every succeeding century
has witnessed an attempt on the part of the Masters to bring the work of the
Theosophical Movement into clear visibility. These attempts, and the workers concerned
with them, may be traced through the pages of history. Bu
t the continuity of the Movement during the seventy-five intermediate years is not so
apparent. It requires an effort to discover the connecting links.
During the coming year, the Magazine THEOSOPHY will present a series of articles
dealing with the work of three men who helped to preserve the continuity of the
Theosophical Movement after the public effort of the eightee
nth century. These men were not consciously aware of the part they were playing in the
Great Plan. Their work was finished before the formation of the Theosophical Society
in 1875. They did not call themselves Theosophist
s. But as H.P.B. says in the First Message to the American Theosophists: "Many who
have never heard of the Society are Theosophists without knowing it themselves." The
proof that these men were Theosophists without knowin
g it themselves will be found in their own statements, and copious extracts from their
writings will be offered for the consideration of the student. It is hoped that the
forthcoming articles will assist the readers towar
d a clearer realization of the continuity of the Theosophical Movement, and inspire
them to search for other hidden links.
In order to see the work of these men in their proper perspective, it is first
necessary to take a quick glance at the preceding century.
The eighteenth century came to birth in a spirit of mutiny. Its first cry was one
against the Jehovistic concept of God and the constrictive laws left as an heirloom by
the century preceding it. It insisted upon the right
s of the individual and proclaimed the sacredness of man's power of choice. Voltaire
led the army of rebellion against Jehovah; Rousseau unsheathed his sword against the
existing moral laws, and Diderot placed Man upon th
e throne hitherto reserved for Deity.
During the latter part of the eighteenth century another effort was made to gather
together material for a period of reconstruction. New workers appeared upon the scene,
and fresh forces were mustered to counteract the ra
vages of scepticism and to commence the work of rehabilitation. Some of these workers
concentrated their efforts along the lines made necessary by the great national crises
then facing France and America. Others put their
efforts into the formation of groups for the promulgation of Theosophical principles.
Two individuals stand out for their work in these national crises, where the divine
right of kings was being questioned and challenged by popular opinion. The Count de
St. Germain assumed the role he was to play in the Fr
ench Revolution, while Thomas Paine came to America to become the main instigator in
the separation of the American colonies from the British crown.
At the same time certain groups, aiming at the promulgation of Theosophical
principles, began to appear in different parts of Europe.
In 1767 Benedict Chastanier founded the "Lodge of Illuminated Theosophists" in London.
In 1783 Mesmer, who was an initiated member of the Brotherhoods of the Fratres Lucis
and of Lukshoor, founded the "Order of Universal
Harmony", in which the tenets of Hippocrates, the methods of the ancient Asclepieia,
the Temples of Healing, and many other occult sciences were expounded. The Marquis de
St. Martin, a disciple of Pasqualis and of Jacob B
oehme, founded an occult Masonic Society in Lyons, where he attempted to bring Masonry
back to its primeval character of Occultism and Theurgy. In 1773 the Lodge of
Philalethes -- an offshoot of the Loge des Amis Reunis -
- was formed in Paris. The members of this Lodge, aided by St. Germain, St. Martin,
Mesmer and Cagliostro, made a special study of the Occult Sciences. At the same time
Cagliostro, who was a friend and protege of the Prin
ce Cardinal de Rohan, began to teach the Eastern doctrines of the "principles" of man,
and the presence of the "indwelling God."
But the world was in such a state of chaos and upheaval at that time that it failed to
appreciate either the Message or the Messengers. St. Germain, Mesmer and Cagliostro
were branded as charlatans. Thomas Paine was arres
ted for treason, and his books burned. The work of St. Martin was misunderstood and
dishonored by the so-called Martinists, and the Masons refused to accept his
explanations of the true origins of Masonry because they dif
fered from their own exoteric history. And so, from one point of view, the work of the
Messengers of the eighteenth century seems to have been in vain.
But from another angle its success appears. For it left a decided impress upon the
race mind, and greatly influenced the coming century. The effect is perceived in the
early years of the nineteenth century, as Theosophica
l ideas began to filter into the literature of the day. By the middle of the century,
some of the greatest thinkers, writers, poets and philosophers were ardently
disseminating Theosophical principles, although not under
the name of Theosophy. The Wilkins translation of the Bhagavad-Gita in 1785 had much
to do with this, as it turned the mind of the West back to the ancient East, and gave
it a more secure foundation upon which to build it
s philosophy.
The forthcoming articles will consider the Theosophical ideas presented by three
English speaking writers: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Browning and Walt Whitman. These
men have been chosen for several reasons.
First of all, they represent three types. Emerson was a deep student, a profound
thinker, primarily a lover of philosophy. Browning was a cosmopolitan, a man of the
world, a traveler, a poet, above all a lover of the arts
. Walt Whitman was a man of the soil, unpolished, uncouth, untraveled, provincial. His
outstanding characteristics may be stated in three words: he loved mankind.
Another reason why these three men were selected is because each of them seems to have
specially concerned himself with one of the three Objects of the Theosophical Society.
Robert Browning, in his poem "Paracelsus" illus
trated the Third Object. He called attention to the powers that lie latent within
every man, and demonstrated how one man -- Paracelsus -- developed these powers to the
point of perfection. Emerson, on the other hand, see
ms to have concerned himself principally with the Second Object. He constantly urged
the necessity of the study of comparative religions, sciences and philosophies. But
Walt Whitman's life was spent in promulgating the Fi
rst Object. He was an apostle of Universal Brotherhood, without distinction of race,
creed, sex, caste or color.
In order to properly evaluate the work of Emerson, Browning and Whitman, it is
necessary to see it in its true perspective. It cannot be considered as part of the
main stream of the Theosophical Movement, but rather as so
me of the "minor currents" that flow into it and feed it.
These three men cannot be numbered among the high peaks of the mighty chain of the
Theosophical Movement. They are rather like its foot-hills, standing well above the
valley of the race-mind, offering a method of ascent t
o the greater heights beyond. From the summit of their thought, many a seeker after
truth has caught his first glimpse of the snow-capped peaks that crowd the Guardian
Wall. Starting from those levels, many a student has
begun his climb to the greater heights.
It is therefore with gratitude and appreciation that this series of articles is
offered.
COMPILER'S NOTE: The following is a separate item which followed the above article but
was on the same page. I felt it was useful to include it here:
THE NATURE OF GENIUS
...the presence in man of various creative powers -- called genius in their
collectivity -- is due to no blind chance, to no innate qualities through hereditary
tendencies -- though that which is known as atavism may ofte
n intensify these faculties -- but to an accumulation of individual antecedent
experiences of the Ego in its preceding life, and lives . -- H.P.B.
Next article:
Precursors of H.P.B.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(Part 2 of 7)
TWO (2) FOOTNOTES LISTED BELOW:
COMPILER'S NOTE: I added these footnotes; they were not in the article. If any of them
don't paint an accurate enough picture, or are incorrect, I hope the Editors of
THEOSOPHY magazine will spot them and point the inaccu
racies out to me, so that I can make the necessary corrections.
(1) "Third Race" means the whole Human Race here. The use of this term is that of a
Root-Race. A "Root-Race" is contained within a much longer evolutionary period (or
cycle) called a Manvantara, which has a beginning and
an ending. In the present Manvantara we are in the evolutionary period of humanity
known as the Fifth Sub-Race of the Fifth Root-Race. A Manvantara is many millions of
years long. Within that immense period there are seve
n Root-Races, each of which is divided into seven "Sub-Races", which are each divided
into seven "Family-Races. It is always cycles within cycles. The shortest of these
cycles is about 30,000 years. There is always a long
period of overlapping as one racial period of development blends into the next one.
But it is we, each eternal soul, individually, and all of us together, who are going
through all of these evolutionary periods over and
over again, incarnation after incarnation, from age to age, with no final end to this
cosmic process.
Back to text.
(2) "Bharata" is an ancient name for India.
Back to text.
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