CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY
The young student of occultism — he who is just beginning to learn that there is a deeper meaning in life than he had suspected — who has but re- cently come into contact with Theos- ophy's explanation of the purpose of life and the method of human evolu- tion— often has the idea that there is some particular bit of information which, if he can but secure it, will en- able him to quickly develop clairvoy- ance and rise into the possession of great spiritual power. He has an im- pression that there are certain formu-
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las which the teachers can hand over to him, if they will, that can be used as a key to unlock the storehouse of occult knowledge. If the beginner would make rapid progress in evolving the divine powers within him he should put aside such notions and realize at once that all any teacher can do for him is to point out the way in which he can help himself and that knowl- edge of the path to be followed will come to him in exact proportion to the earnestness of his desire to find it. He should remember, too, that there are precepts to practice as well as knowl- edge to gain. It is extremely import- ant for him to study the literature of occultism, to read and to learn all he possibly can from those who have in- formation to impart, but something more is necessary. As he acquires these spiritual truths he must strive to live them, to shape his daily life by them. Fortunate indeed is he who can
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make his inner spiritual development keep pace with his intellectual acquire- ment of the facts. To discover a spiritual truth and then make no use of it in the evolution of one's character is quite as bad, if not worse, than to remain in ignorance of it; for responsibility is measured by oppor- tunity.
The idea that anybody can put the beginner quickly into possession of spiritual power is as erroneous as it would be to suppose that by handing him a diploma a university president can give a young man an education. This notion that Theosophy has occult wealth to be handed over in a lump sum — to be conferred instead of earned — is usually accompanied with the de- sire to be conspicuously helpful, to quickly undertake some work, the benevolence of which is at least equaled by its dramatic method; to become one of the invisible helpers
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who has the power to work in his astral body during the hours when the physical body is asleep. That is a most laudable ambition and a worthy thing to attain. But the point that should be understood about it is that the way to it is through actual spiritual development and not by the immediate opening of astral sight. The first step toward being an invisible helper is to become a visible helper, to cultivate the desire to help by exercising our benev- olent impulses on the human beings about us. When we have actually be- come of service on the physical plane, when we have utilized the opportuni- ties of our daily life to assist others, and have thus proven that the thing we really desire is to be helpful and not merely to possess occult power, we shall have taken the first necessary step in the realization of our ambition.
If the beginner is anxious to know how rapidly he is getting on in spirit-
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ual development he has only to watch his daily life. His first work is to get control of his physical body and make it obey his will. Therefore if he can see that he is growing less irritable, that trifling things are losing their power to annoy him, that he is not so easily thrown off his balance as he used to be, he knows that his will is be- coming established in its power to direct the physical and astral mechan- ism through which it functions. It is always to the little things, rather than to great events, that he should look as tests of the new powers he is develop- ing. His fitness to pass the portal, later in his evolution, toward which he is now directing his first uncertain steps, is not determined by one su- preme occasion, like an examination for entering some university, so much as it is being determined by the thoughts and desires of his daily life; and it is the little things, the small
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problems of the daily life that are hourly testing his judgment, his sin- cerity, his courage and his patience. Unless he begins to be successful in meeting these he cannot hope to be- come even a candidate for greater tests of his powers.
There are many ways in which the young student of occultism can begin the cultivation of the character quali- ties he must possess before he can go far in his efforts at conscious evolu- tion,— scores of things he can do in the line of character building that will lay an enduring foundation for the spirit- ual power he would attain ; and let it be well understood that all such work done in the beginning will save him much trouble, and give him great satis- faction, later on. The reward for his pains will be rich indeed. He who erects a fine building upon a weak and illy-constructed foundation is no more foolish than he who does careless work
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in the foundation he lays for his tem- ple riot built with hands. Every flaw in the foundation is a menace for the future; and is not that precisely why the testing is so constant and continu- ous? The things that ceaselessly test us, that sometimes appear to bar our further progress, should be as welcome as the ring of the inspector's hammer on the car-wheels before one's train leaves the station, or as the test of plumb and square in the house- builder's operations.
SELF EXAMINATION.
An excellent thing for one to do when he is first coming into a knowl- edge of Theosophy, and is beginning to seek the way forward by its guiding- light, is to ask himself in what particu- lar traits he is lacking and then earn- estly set about acquiring them. It is usually not difficult to find some weak
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points. Is there sound moral courage ? Does he ever fear to express an opin- ion that he feels ought to be expressed, but which he knows to be unpopular? Is he firm in defense of the truth, as he sees it, or does he take refuge in silence when he instinctively feels that he should speak? Moral courage he must have and he should begin to in- spect his daily conduct and seek to strengthen his character in this direc- tion. And so he may run down the scale of his virtues and his frailties, critically examining each point, until he comes to things we usually consider as of no importance. Is he careless about the waste of time? Does he realize the value of every hour of his waking consciousness? Has he begun to understand the fact that the average man fritters away in an aimless sort of fashion by far the larger part of his physical lifetime, and makes but cor- respondingly feeble progress, instead
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of which he could, if he would, so use that wasted time that it would count tremendously in quickening his evolu- tion? If he does understand that fact he will begin to take account of his waking hours and ask what he has to show for them. He will scrupulously cultivate the habits of promptness and punctuality. If he has an appointment at a certain hour he will not arrive fifteen minutes later, nor five minutes later. If he has letters requiring re- plies he will not permit them to lie about unanswered awaiting the vague and uncertain time when he happens to feel like writing. Among his earliest lessons should be this fact: that pro- crastination is not only "the thief of time" but also of other people's time and that responsibility for careless conduct by no means ends with his per- sonal loss. In many directions he will find opportunities, if he seeks them, to strengthen his character and perfect
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his armor against the coming day of a mighty conflict. Great things are pos- sible only to strong souls and it is from the trivial events of daily life that strength is won. Until we have be- come masters of the little things there is nothing great awaiting us.