CHAPTER VIII.

THE ONE PROTECTION AGAINST DANGER
There is one thing the young student of occultism should not overlook, for its importance to him is tremendous. He should keep well in mind the fact that the development of the heart quali- ties is the very essence of real progress. He is likely to have the notion that it is all a matter of acquiring knowledge; that he can settle down to a study of the books and that the information he thus gets will solve all his problems; that there is nothing to do but to ac- quire a thorough understanding of oc- cult laws and principles. But this is a grave mistake. A mere intellectual grasp of Theosophy will be of little service to him. Indeed, if he does not
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live it as well as understand it, then occult knowledge will be a detriment to him. If he uses the information he acquires merely to get more from the material life for himself he would be more fortunate without it. A purely selfish use of anything is unfortunate but a selfish use of occult knowledge is most unfortunate. Such a course leads onward to a very great danger— a peril that increases with every for- ward step in knowledge that is used for one's self. There may be swift progress in the acquirement of such knowledge but it is not spiritual progress. It is merely intellectual de- velopment; and it is only a question of time when the student who follows that course will likely find himself cut off from the life current of Theosophy and left to hug his intellectual idols by the wayside — the most fortunate thing that, under the circumstances, can hap- pen to him. The alternative is that
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he may go on in occult development and the acquiring of occult power for selfish use until he has brought upon himself the corrective reaction of nature for such misuse of her gifts — a fate that sums up in one tragedy all the pains, penalties and horrors the imagination can picture.
Of course such a possible finale lies in the far away time, along the intel- lectual road, but that only serves to increase the present danger by making it appear distant, vague and uncertain. But the relationship between beginning and end is as certain as that between the placid waters of the Niagara river and the rushing falls a few miles below. A stranger on those waters, who had never seen the falls, would regard a warning as an impertinence. His boat would move obedient to the oars and there would be no more in- dication of danger than upon any other river. Should he choose to drift slowly
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down the stream he would be a long time reaching the point where his speed would perceptibly increase. Then its steady acceleration would be so grad- ual that there would be no apparent cause for alarm until it had become too late for possible escape. No less directly connected are the trifling use of occult powers for selfish purposes and the great peril that is related to it. Make no mistakes because the water is placid now. The falls are ahead, neverthe- less, for all who follow the selfish course.
It is clear, then, that the young stu- dent cannot begin too early to consider this danger and to take the precautions that shall insure his safety. Unselfish- ness will be his protection. By its cultivation he fortifies himself; he in- sures his safety in advance. He should try to acquire the habit of thinking much of others, and considering their welfare. If he enters the Theosophical
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Society the chief reason should be because it gives him an opportunity to help humanity along in its evolution and he should think of the occult in- formation he gets, not as so much personal possession, but as so much added knowledge and power with which to help others along. The desire to help should be culti- vated in every possible way until it becomes the habit of the waking consciousness. There is an inner and an outer courtesy. The outer concerns itself with forms. It is con- ventional and gives skill in social graces and certain rules and usages that prevent friction. It is satisfied if it violates no law. The inner courtesy is born of a real regard for the wel- fare of others. The person who pos- sesses it is thinking less of the rules and how he shall appear to others than of how he can be helpful to those about him; and nobody does, or can, possess
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this inner courtesy until he feels right toward other human beings. It is the very blossom of unselfishness. This mental attitude of helpfulness should be constant and enduring. It should be carried through the daily round of oc- cupations. In the home, the office, the street, the Theosophist should be keen and alert for every opportunity to be useful. He should cultivate both the habit of being helpful and the habit of utilizing every opportunity that comes to him to assist others.
CULTIVATING SYMPATHY.
It is said that in all true schools of occultism there is a golden rule that insures the safety of the student; and this rule is that for every step taken in acquiring occult knowledge three steps are to be taken in perfecting character. From this it will easily be seen that it is not enough to cultivate
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the habit of helpfulness. It is most excellent and necessary but there should be something more. The stu- dent should work steadily at the devel- opment of the heart qualities, for his future safety lies there. His sym- pathy with suffering can be quickened and the heart made to keep pace with the intellect by practical work among the people about him wherever he may be. There are always the sick, the unfortunate, the blind, the aged and feeble. Every community has those who are confined to their homes by illness, accident or old age. Such people spend much time in lonely soli- tude. Those around them who are not in their condition are too busy to realize the situation. To an active per- son suddenly confined to a room by accident or by illness the hours of an afternoon spent alone seem endless. To an aged person accustomed to the more sociable ways of the past generation —
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who feels that the world has moved on and left him — a call that breaks the monotony of a day with a conver- sation he can appreciate must be a boon. The student of occultism who is looking for opportunities to be use- ful and for conditions that will quicken human sympathy need not look far. He can easily make up a practical working list by which he can daily give a half hour, or an hour, of thought and time to others entirely outside the line of what can be considered his duties or obligations. A cheery visit to the sick, a social chat with some per- son too infirm to go out, a trifling service to some unfortunate, are things of genuine value out of all proportion to their apparent worth. It is not difficult to find the unfortunate, for they are everywhere. The hospitals are excellent fields for benevolent work, and especially the county hos- pitals. In the free wards of any hos-
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pital there are always those suffering from the double affliction of sickness and poverty and the appearance of a sympathetic person as a visitor would be welcomed with delight
The prisons are, of course, always a good field for benevolent work. If one finds it difficult to get into such work he can at least confer small favors. He can take some magazines or illustrated papers as gifts and say a few cheerful words. Then he can gradually get into sympathetic touch with some particular prisoner, study his case in a friendly way and find how he can be of real service to the unfortunate one.
Other avenues of helpfulness will open up to the person who turns his mind to the subject. If hospitals and prisons are not accessible then there are always the simpler things at hand. There are tired mothers who can be relieved of the care of children for a
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few hours; there are anxious fathers out of work who may possibly be helped to find employment; there are overworked factory girls, slaving to earn a bare living, who would be de- lighted with some discarded clothing; there are children in the poorer dis- tricts who seldom or never get an out- ing.
Nothing is more necessary to the stu- dent of occultism than such sympath- etic participation in human affairs and yet it is a thing that is sadly neglected. There is no greater mistake than the belief that such work is unimportant, and can be left to the Salvation Army or the Associated Charities, and no more fatal blunder than the notion that time cannot be taken from study in order to give trivial assistance to our less fortunate brothers. That is just what can be done with the greatest advantage to ourselves.
To set aside some part of one's time
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for the deliberate cultivation of human sympathy, to make oneself a center for radiating the sunshine of life, to thus take thought of the welfare of others, and to become practically helpful to them, is to imitate, in some degree, the life and work of the great Masters of Compassion who are giving, not some, but all of their energies to practical work for the world with never a thought of themselves.
It is a very grave mistake to become so absorbed in one's business or studies as to be almost unconscious of the lives of others. Such a life is one- sided and unbalanced. To spend all one's time accumulating information is second only to the foolishness of giving an incarnation to the accumulation of money — and that would be nearly as foolish as to spend a winter accumu- lating snow. It is the folly of follies to devote time exclusively to study, to the neglect of practice. And yet there
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are many who make that mistake. You may hear them say: 'The Theo- sophical Society is not for material work. It is for the purpose of train- ing students of occultism." And you may observe those who hold such views diligently studying the Secret Doctrine, and other profound works in occultism, for years — and doing little else! They acquire much occult in- formation, which doubtless gives them the same sort of mental satisfaction that some people feel in accumulating money. But they make no use of the information for the world's helping. It is as though a would-be hero should spend a lifetime training to become the most valiant member of a life-saving crew and, in his anxiety to learn every- thing to be known about storms, life- boats, signals and resuscitations, he should never find time to join his com- rades in the actual work of rescuing shipwrecked people. Students of that
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class naturally settle into the study rut and the real, living, theosophical move- ment sweeps past them and is lost. To be of any value to a person Theosophy must be lived, not merely intellectually comprehended, and it is in order to live it to the uttermost, to the very full- est, that the student should seek to blend precept and practice in an ideal life.
Becoming completely absorbed in business or in one's studies, while sur- rounded by all the opportunities pre- sented by the physical plane life, is much like going to a good play and then reading a newspaper while the performance goes on unnoticed. The life we are now living gives admirable opportunities for balanced develop- ment, and it is just the things we do not naturally take to that may be most in need of attention. The person who has a strong tendency to give most of his time to amusements can clearly im-
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prove matters by turning some atten- tion to study ; and no less certainly can the one who is wholly absorbed in study give some time to other things, to his great profit. The improvement of the intellect is important, but by no means the important thing in life. The cultivation of sympathy, of com- passion, is tremendously more im- portant to the student of occultism, and yet it is precisely the thing that we sel- dom think of as requiring systematic development. We have many methods and countless contrivances for develop- ing the intellect but we leave the heart qualities to take care of themselves, and to grow in any vague and indefinite way that may come about.
It is quite as possible to cultivate compassion as to cultivate the intel- lect, but it requires to be done with attention and systematic effort. The necessity for it must first be recognized and the mind be turned resolutely to
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the subject. This is the first step to- ward breaking up that self -centered absorption that makes us oblivious of the struggling brothers beside us on life's highway. Then one begins to observe more and more the difficulties and the life-problems of those about him. And as he looks and listens his sympathy grows strong.