PART I.

THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN
DOCTRINE.
*' Wisdom in a Mystery, even the Wisdom that hath been hidden. " St. Paul.
THEOSOPHY claims to be the truth under- lying all religions in their exoteric or popular form ; and it claims this in virtue of its being a presentation or interpretation of a very ancient system known as the Secret Doctrine, or ancient Wisdom Religion, The w^orld has never been with- out its Initiates, who have preserved the esoteric knowledge which has assumed such numerous exoteric forms in all ages. This esoteric knowledge, however, has always been guarded with the great- est care, and preserved a profound secret, for reasons which have been fully dealt with elsewhere. I need merely instance here the instruction of Jesus to his disciples, not to cast their pearls before swine ; and also the statement of St. Paul. (I. Cor., iii., i) that he was only able to feed his converts with milk, not with meat. The '' Wisdom in a Mystery " has been reserved, as St. Paul says (I. Cor., ii., 6), for the perfect or fuH-grown, for
2 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
those who have attained to spirittuil manhood : something which is altogether different from, and not coincident with, physical or intellectual man- hood.
The particular point, however, to which I wish to direct attention, and which is a fundamental one, before we can establish any relation between Theosophy and Christian Doctrine, is this : that in the nature of things, in the nature of history, of human progress and development, in the nature of man's capacity for growth, for the expansion of his limited and relative mind and consciousness, in the nature of the universe itself, there is and must be an inner and an outer, an esoteric and an exoteric ; an outward form, and an inner meaning ; an outward expression, temporary, finite, mutable ; an inner principle ^ eternal, un- varying. If there be any reality whatever, under- lying what we term phenomena^ the, objective changeable world of sense and form : that reality must constitute an inner mystery ^ which is a mystery simply on account of our inability to sense and cognise it, owing to our limited faculties. And if there be any reality in that growth, development, or evolution, which is the most prominent factor in our experience : that reality consists in our coming into more and more intimate conscious relation to this inner principle which underlies phenomena ; consists in an apprehension of the noumenon; in the casting-off of the temporary illu-
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 3
sion of fontty of that bondage of the senses which causes attachment to form, attachment to the impermanent and temporary, whereby the perma- nent and eternal is lost sight of; consists, in short, of the development of that faculty which cognises unity in diversity; or in a woid consists of — spirituality.
In theosophical language this faculty resides in the fifth principle, or M ait as, the immortal spi- ritual Ego. (See diagram, page 30.) But setting aside specific theosophical doctrines, let us see what relation this principle of an inner spiritual reality and an outer expression in form, and of a corresponding evolution or expansion of human consciousness from particulars to universals, bears to the subject before us.
It is well known that the claim which has been made by the Church, from its earliest traditions down to our present day, on behalf of Christian doctrine, has been that of a special divine revela- tion by a personal God. Beginning with the first chapter of Genesis, and ending with the last verse of Revelation, we are asked to believe that the collection of ancient writings known as the Bible, has been specially prepared and inspired by this personal God, as a record of his dealings with, and his will towards, the creatures he originally creat- ed. This, I believe, may be accepted as the fun- damental basis of Christian doctrine, the centre round which all the teachings of the Church,
4 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
whether Protestant or Catholic, have revolved, and from which they cannot get away without breaking up and destroying all that has ever been known historically as Christianity. I say specifi- cally that this is the claim made by the Churchy because it is a fact commonly overlooked, and one indeed of which the majority of professing Chris- tians are ignorant, that what is known as Christy- anity, in its doctrinal form, in its traditions, ar the selection and compilation of the s^h^amLL of the Bible, is purely ecclesiastical ^^^ its present form, the creeds, and*^* ceremonies which go to make up tl what is known historically as Chr compiled by the early Church ai miscellaneous sources. This, howev of literary and historical data into ' enter now ; but I wish to be und speaking of Christianity and Chr I am dealing at present with its ec( historical forms, and not with the teachings of its supposed founder.
We have then this fundamental i anity as a revelation of the person between a creative God, and the created ; and upon this basis is doctrinal superstructure with whi familiar in its many variations and
Now the question which we have Deiore us, m connection with the principle of expansion of the
THEOSOPH Y AND CHRIST! A N DOC TRINE 5
human mind which I have ah-eady laid down, is simply this : — Is there room within the limits of Christian doctrine, within that system known as Christianity, for this natural evolution and expan- sion ? Does Christianity give us, as it claims to do, all that is necessary for man to know of his spirit- ual nature and destiny? We may even narrow the question down, and setting aside all the varied, and often conflicting teachings of the Churches, we may confine ourselves to the root idea, and ask whether the relationship of man to a personal creator which Christianity postulates, is a perma- nent or only a temporary phase in the evolution of the human mind and consciousness.
Let me point out here the great mistake which is made by all religionists and sectarians with regard to what they call the truth of their own particular doctrines. A doctrine is simply a form- ulated statement of a principle : and since the human mind is only capable of dealing with that which is relative, is only capable of formulating principles which are relative to its limited and finite consciousness : and since every mind differs in some degree in its powers of observation and intuition : what is called the truth of a doctrine is merely a term for its relativity, for the relation which it bears to the individual mind at a certain stage of its experience or evolution. Uniformity of doctrine and believe is impossible, except in a world where every individual is at the same level or point
6 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
of evolution, and all progressing, or it may be retrogressing, at the same rate.
The mistake which is made by the individual, the sect, or the Church, (and Theosophists need to be warned against this quite as much as others) is in supposing that what is true to them, or true of their own experience, must be true for all the rest of humanity. It is this constant tendency to individualise and restrict, which gives rise to dogmatism, hatred, bigotry, and all the unchari- tableness of sectarian religion.
But, I can hear some say, if truth be thus merely relative, what test or assurance have we of anything ? None whatever, I reply, save the assur- ance of your own judgment, of your own mind and consciousness. Do not deceive yourselves in this matter, as you value your eternal salvation, as you wish to escape from this fatal illusion of rela- tivity, into the realm of eternal truth. Those who make this fact of man's ignorance the basis of doctrines of revelation and infallibility, are guilty of self-deception and sophistry. The man who asserts his belief in an infallible book, or an in- fallible Church, is exercising his own individual judgment just as much as the man who asserts his right to question both. The final test in each case is the test of individual experience.
But although all that we call truth is thus rela- tive, there is one test, one principle, which cannot be ignored and which must always decide as to the
THEOSOPHY AND CHR!STIA S DOCTRINE
value of truth, must decide as between truth and error. This principle may be defined as that of univtrsalily. So long as we confine our attention to one set of phenomena, to a limited area of experience, all that is postulated as theory or doctrine may be true in relation to that with which we are dealing. But when other phenomena or
I experience is brought in as a factor, we must, if it does not harmonise with our previous conclu- sions, extend our conceptions and doctrines so as to include the new area. The test of truth there- fore is its itniversalily ; it must harmonise al! known phenomena, and every factor in human experience ; and if we find any set of doctrines dealing merely with a linnited portion, and in-
I applicable to the rest, we have to reject them for wider and deeper principles. Ideas which are absolutely absurd to those who have a wider range of experience, are often " gospel truth " to lesser minds. The distinction between the untutored savage and the member of a civilised community is a very marked one in this respect, but where are we to draw a line, where fix upon a limit, where find the individual who stands at the fur- thest point of human progress ? We can only draw the line where the possibility of further experience ceases. And since man is finite, and the universe infinite, the possibility is also infinite. The ideas
'■of the most advanced philosopher of to-day, will one day be regarded as we now regard the primi-
8 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
tive ideas of the savage. And if this be not merely- possible, but inevitable, as the human race advan- ces : why should there not be those who have already reached that far point of development, who already stand as far removed from the modern scientist or philosopher as the latter does from the savage ?
In this vast universe, which appears as one grand field of consciousness, individualised in innumerable manifestations of varying degrees, and ever progressing activity, we can conceive no break in the ever- widening circle. The funda- mental axiom of the Unity of the Universe forbids us to conceive of any part or portion, of any mani- festation or individualisation, which does not share in degree and kind in the universal conscious- ness. There is no single atom of so-called dead matter, no single cell or organism, however minute or rudimentary, which is not instinct with this universal principle of consciousness , which is the basis of all manifestation, phenomena, and sensa- tion. Assuredly it was this idea which inspired our own poet Tennyson to write : —
** Flower in the crannied wall, I pluck you out of the crannies ; — Hold you here, root and all, in my hand, Little flower — but if I could understand What you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God and man is. "
And as we can trace this principle in all stages of evolution, in ever-widening spheres of con-
THEOSOPH Y AND CHRIST I A N DOCTRINE g
sciousness up to man, so we are bound to go on with the process, and conceive of individual intel- ligences of higher, wider, and nobler character, until the whole series is summed up in that abso- lute consciousness of the whole, which we can postulate and name as * God * or otherwise, but of which we can form no conception, and therefore formulate no doctrine.
And this is not merely true as a speculation of the mind, one which has found expression in all ages in various conceptions of superior Beings , in Gods,* Angels and Archangels, Dhyan Chohans, &c. : but it is claimed as an actual fact that there are those human beings, with no elements of supematuralism or superstition about them, who stand to-day where the majority of men will only stand after thousands, and it may be millions of years. Why not ? I ask again, where are we to draw the line at the possibility of further human progress ? And if the gulf is so great to-day be- tween the savage and the philosopher, why should there not be as great a gulf between the philoso- pher and the Adept ? The existence of these Mas- ters of Wisdom is a fact, which all may prove who are not too prejudiced to investigate and form an unbiassed judgment.
And now observe in connection with this relativ- ity of doctrine to the experience of the individual, its application to what has been called revealed truth, as distinguished from human discovery.
f O THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
There is no possibility of revelation save in con- nection with the relative nature and capabilities of the individual mind. ** I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now " {John xvi., 12). Revelation necessarily deals with that which is subjective, with that which is sup- posed to be beyond the reach of actual experience or observation ; and it is just here that we have the special claim of Christianity, that it supplies information which man could not in the nature of things have found out for himself. In Christian dogma the Bible is nothing if not superhuman. But the whole question is, what is superhuman? To the savage there is much that would appear superhuman in that which is familiar in the every- day experience of the civilised man. To the average man of to-day, even to the most advanced scientist — and probably more so to him by reason of his one-sidedness — the powers of the Adept appear superhuman, and are therefore denied. Much that has at one time been denied, as belong- ing to the category of the supernatural^ is now admitted, as having been brought within the line of the natural. Science denied the facts of mesmer- ism, but is now compelled to recognise them. It denies the facts of spiritualism, and will not investigate because it has settled beforehand that the phenomena are impossible. Professor Tyndall says : — ** There are men of science who would sell all that they have, and give the proceeds to the
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 1 1
poor, for a glimpse of phenomena which are mere trifles to the spiritualist. " And yet he will not investigate, although one of the most eminent scientific men of the day, Professor Crookes, has published scientific researches which give some- thing more than the required glimpse. On the other hand Professor Huxley virtually contradicts Pro- fessor Tyndall when he says : " Supposing the phenomena to be genuine, they do not interest me. '* And so he also will not investigate. These men have made up their minds that there cannot be anything supernatural or superhuman ; and they define these as. any thing which lies outside the range of their own particular experience.
The Christian makes exactly the same mistake in the opposite direction. He has made up his mind that his Bible is superhuman and revealed, and not only so, but that there is no other record in the world which can make a similar claim, or can be compared in any respect with this book ; and starting from this as a first principle he is compelled to reject all other records, religions, and experience as false and mischievous.
Before we can decide, then, as to the authority of the Bible as a supposed superhuman record, we must first of all decide as to the limits of the human, as to the line of demarcation between the human and the superhuman, between the natural and the supernaturarl. And if there be no such line rather if the line be relative, not absolute — if
12 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
the possibility of human development be infinite, as indeed all reason and analogy lead us to con- clude ; if further than this we have direct evidence that there are, and always have been, those who are so much in advance of the race that they stand in the position usually assigned to the superhuman : we have offered to us at once a rational solution of the difficulties in connection with the Bible record. Let us glance at a few of these difficulties before presenting more specifi- cally the solution which Theosophy offers.
We may divide these difficulties into two classes : [a) historical, literary, and critical ; {b) doctrinal ; or briefly : those which relate to facts, and those which relate to doctrine. It is necessary to make this distinction, because facts are so often confounded with doctrine in matters of controversy. The facts of the Bible, and the doctrines based thereon, are two totally different things. A fact must underlie a doctrine, it is the basis on which doctrine rests, and if the supposed fact is found to be false, the doctrine must neces- sarily be false also. In too many cases this is reversed, and fact is made to rest upon doctrine, as in the instances I have educed of the attitude of mind of the scientist and religionist respectively. The position taken up by each of these is, that if the facts and the doctrine do not harmonise, so much the worse for the facts. We must observe, however, that so long as the fact is admitted, or
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 13
supposed, or stands as a first principle, or premise, the doctrine may be relatively true to that fact, although absolutely false. On the other hand, a fact may be admitted, but the conclusions drawn from that fact be widely different.
Now we have in the Bible a record which on the face of it appears to be historical ; on what grounds are we to decide its validity as history ; how are we to decide as to the truth of the statements it puts forward as statements of facts? The common argu- ment is, that it is true because it is the inspired word of God, but that is putting doctrine before fact ; and as such a large portion of it is evidently untrue as matter of fact, the doctrine of inspiration becomes a difficult one to accept. Modern apologists endeavour to strike a kind of mean between the old doctrine of literal inspiration, and the idea that the Bible is purely human in its origin. This, however, is merely one of those forced concessions by which the Church is dragged in the rear of advancing thought, which she vainly endeavours to retard.
We have, then, in the first place, the fact of the existence of the Bible, and in the second place, the doctrine of the Church with regard to its origin and inspiration. We have, in the first place, certain statements made in the Bible with regard to sup- posed facts in history, and in the second place, the doctrines of the Church built up upon these statements.
It is no part of my task now to enter into contro-
14 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
versy on these matters. What I wish to do is to state the question so that we may see clearly where it is that Theosophy offers a solution of the difficulties which beset the earnest student, and more especially those who are endeavouring to free themselves from the narrow and inconsistent con- cepts of Christian orthodoxy. Theosophy has much to offer to these enquirers ; a great responsibility rests upon Theosophists in connection with the revolution through which so many minds are pass- ing in connection with the elements of the faith in which they have been brought up. There is, I fear, too much tendency on the part of those who have passed through this stage, and reached the goal of freedom, to look with something approach- ing to contempt upon those who are still unable to enter into that freedom. There is a contempt of intellect, as well as a contempt of wealth ; an air of nouvean riche in the one as in the other. There is much need that we should bear in mind the injunctions of St. Paul as to our behaviour towards our weaker brethren, those who are not yet freed from the bondage of forms and ceremonies, of custom, prejudice, and early training and bias. While jealously guarding our own freedom, while boldly denouncing those systems which are respon- sible for the moral and intellectual thraldom of so many of our fellow-creatures : those systems which take advantage of ignorance in order to enslave it by means of superstitious fear ; let us be careful
r THEOSOPHT AND CHRISTIAN DOCrRINE 15
I lest thereby we cause our weaker brethren to- stumble. There is a flagrant and blatant atheism in vogue in some quarters which delights in hold- ing up to ridicule of the grossest form, matters which are sacred to many minds. I do not think any Theosophist can be in sympathy with such. But there are hundreds and thousands to-day, who- are questioning the basis of the Christian faith, and are going through a mortal striiggte in their efforts to reach that something which is dimly perceived to lie outside and beyond the teachings- ofthe Church. The succca^i oi Robert Blsmere was- due to the skill with which the author portrayed this stage of doubt and questioning through which so many are passing. Some of us have passed through it in a more or less acute form in this- incarnation, others have not experienced it now, having passed through it before ; but assuredly at lome time or another all must fight and conquer lat particular illusion which enslaves a man to-
■ some special form of religion, constituting in its lowest phase that bigoted and intolerant dogma- tism of priestcraft which is so indissolubly con- nected with the history of Christianity. Our object is to help those who are struggling for the light, and we can do this best, not by fiercely denouncing and ridiculing those doctrines which they have hitherto believed, but by showing their relativs n ature and interpreting them on deeper principles. ^^^And so we may take one by one the difficulties-
_ havii Kat
l6 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIASITY
which arise in the minds of those who first suspect, and finally conclude, that Christian doctrine cannot be literally and historically true ; and we may show that all these doctrines have a basis in deep and abiding principles of human nature ; that when the shell has been cracked and thrown away, the kernel will be found. The shell is the result of human sin and ignorance ; it is the encrustation of matter and form which is inevitable when the spiritual is brought down into the material. The Word must be made manifest in the Flesh, other- wise it is not seen of men ; but the Flesh is never the Word, is never the reality, though men in their ignorance fail to discriminate, and the Church has perpetuated the error, and materialised the Word into grosser and still grosser forms ; so that now when men cry for the spiritual bread of life, it has nothing to offer them but a stone.
The Church gives us no alternative but to accept or reject its dogmas. It offers no inner or spiritual meaning in its teachings apart from their literal acceptation. There is no Esoteric Christianity in the Church, we must go elsewhere for it ; and it is Theosophy which now proclaims it.
So, taking this first and fundamental difficulty with regard to the origin and nature of the Bible, we do not deny, but we assert that it is a revelation; that it is an inspiration; that it is, if you like, super- human ^ inasmuch as it comes from those who, in virtue of their position and knowledge, would be
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 17
^^nerally regarded as superhuman. But the Bible fas we have it now is not the original record. It has I passed through many hands and many translations, and the process is inevitably a deteriorating one. The faults and errors and discrepancies are human, the result of ignorant intervention ; the underlying truth is divine, inasmuch as it deals with eternal [ verities.
How are we to distinguish the truth, how are ^e to get at those verities? By accepting facts, aiowiedge, revelation, from every other source pdvailable, and interpreting the Bible by these P facts, not the facts by the Bible. If wc ignorant- I \y and superstitiously suppose that the whole of revelation is contained between the covers of the Bible, and refuse to accredit^as the Church has done in all ages — anything which appears to conflict with the Scriptures, we shall never reach the truth. All that history, all that science, all that symbology and mythology can teach us,
Ijnust be applied to correct and interpret the Record. ' And here we must notice another fact. The Bible as wc now have it, is a collection of a num- ber of scattered records, selected from a great many more of a similar character. There is no reason for regarding those which have been selected as of greater value or inspiration than those which have been left out. Not only is this ^^uo, but we have in Other languages, and coming
l8 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
down to us from nations antedating the Jewish race, similar records, dealirig with the creation of the world and the relation of man to the universe, in a totally different way, though still to all ap- pearances historically.
Now these accounts cannot be all true ; they are on the face of them quite at variance with each other. Either the Bible is true as history — I am referring now to the account in G^««w — and the others false, or the Bible is false and the others true ; or there is a third alternative, that they are all allegorical. Up to a certain point in their experience, men may be satisfied to accept one or other of these records as historically true. There are thousands even to-day who accept literally the narratives in Genesis, But if we reject them as history, how shall we deal with them ? Shall we throw them aside as worthless fables, belonging to a primitive and ignorant age ? The answer is. No ! We must call to our aid the result of literary research into ancient civilisations, customs, religions, and symbology ; and by careful comparison we shall sOon discover the key which we require. For there is a great mass of research and literature now available for those who really desire to get at the truth.
And when we do this we shall find that the collection of writings known as the Bible y consti- tutes but one of a number of records which are all derived from, and based upon one unifying sys-
I
I
THEOSOPIiY ASD CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 19
tern, known at times as the Ancient Wisdom Religion or Secret Doclrine.Wc shall find thatthese teachings were always symbolical and mytho- logical ; that they have been given out from time to time, and from age to ago, in a form appro- priate to the particular nation or age for whom they were written ; and tliat they were usually based upon some actual historical narrative, which thus gave a colour of literal truth to them. As in our childhood we demand fairy stories, and delight in fancies, so in the spiritual childhood of a man, of a nation, or a race, there is much which naturally takes the form of allegory. But these allegories are not the invention of primitive man, any more than children invent their own fairy tales. They were put forward by the divine Hierarchy of Initiates, as the only available method of presenting truths which as yet could not be grasped in any other form, or which were too sacred for open exposition.
And as it was with the early Initiates from whom all the sacred records were originally derived, so it has been with all the great teachers of whom we have historical records. Confucius, and Buddha ; Moses, Jesus, and Paul ; one and all have had to teach in accordance with the capacity of their hearers ; veiling the deeper spirit- ual truth in a form which was comprehensible to the people they addressed. Yet they have all indicated plainly that there was a spiritual truth
20 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
underlying the form in which they taught ; they have all had their esoteric doctrine, and their initiated disciples.
And this esoteric doctrine is the same all the world over and in all ages ; for it is the spiritual truth of man's relation to the universe, the spirit- ual mystery of his life and consciousness, and can only be discerned and understood by those who have risen above the illusions of time and sense, of matter and form. Let those who deny the existence of this esoteric truth explain what St. Paul means when he tells the Corinthians : *' And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ, I fed you with milk, not with meat ; for ye were not yet able to bear it : nay, not even now are ye able, for ye are yet carnal. " (I. Cor. iii., I.)
And it is just this esoteric truth, this inner spiritual meaning of the great teachers of the ■world, and the records they have given us, which Theosophy now offers. Not by any means the v^hole of it j ior there must still remain mystery vrtthin mystery, until the final triumph, but assur- edly enough to point the way to those who are striving after a deeper knowledge, and a purer fight. .
'Arid the proof that the key which Theosophy bffers is the true one, is its universality. The pr'dof lies in the fact, which each one must verify
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 21
^■.for himself, that it does unify the records and ^fcteachingSj which, taken in their mere outward ^B'fonn, appear to be contradictory and mutually t" destructive.
This point cannot be emphasised too strongly ; it is ever the letter that killeth, but the spirit that giveth life. We have learnt nothing of our own individual life, or of the universe around us, until we have learnt to recognise the unity which underlies diversity; until we have learnt to detach the underlying spiritual principle from any mere form of doctrine, from any mere arrangement of letters in the name of deity, from any particular scriptural record, or conventional form of worship. How many professing Christians are there who can conceive of deity — using the term for the ultimate spiritual basis of the universe — apart from the conventional name of the personal God, Jehovah ? They regard with pious horror, if not with contempt, the ' heathen ' whose concep- tion of deity is expressed in some otlicr arrange- ment of letters. To whisper to them the name of Brahmi is to call up in their minds vague notions ^^Of idol worship, strange figures of Hindu gods, ^Bbnd a mysterious and superstitious worship. They ^^send missionaries to convert these ignorant heathen from a worship of Brahma to a worship of Jehovah, and the missionaries soon find out that, far from being ignorant, the Brahmins are more than a ^Ljnatch for them on every point. However, they
i- -■
22 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
send home a few samples ol the four-headed Brah- ma and other * idols', and these serve to keep up the pity and contempt — and the subscriptions. And all the time Brahm^ and Jehovah are essen- tially identical ! Even exoterically, in the mere external form they are identical, Jehovah as the tetragrammaton or ''four-lettered word*'I H V H ; Brahm^ as the four-headed god. To understand this in its deeper meaning, you must understand the relation between the triad and the quaternary (See diagram, page 30), as symbols the spiritual and the material, the eternal and the temporal, the subjective and the objective. The Brahmin will explain this to you, the Christian will com- monly deny the whole subject.
Alas ! for the illusion of forms and formulas ; how shall we teach men to escape from it ? How shall we combat that fatal disease which is the cause of all the cruelty, intolerance, and bigotry, which has ever been associated with the name of religion? There is only one way in which it can be done — by disclosing the unifying principle, the basis upon which all religions rest, and from which they have all been derived. And for those who cannot enter into the literary and critical evidences of this unity, we must present a few easily under- stood principles which will enable them to appre- ciate its practical and moral aspect. And this is done in our Theosophy by the doctrines of Rein- carnation and Karma. Reincarnation and Karma
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 23
do not apply merely to our individual lives, they are universal principles. They find a reflection in our individual lives, because they are universal principles ; for there is nothing in man, the micro- cosm, that does not exist in the universe, the macrocosm ; nor is there anything in the universe which does not exist in man. We are sometimes asked to prove the truth of Reincarnation and Karma in their individual application by chapter and verse from the Bible ; but those who demand such proof are those who are still in bondage to the letter, and the least likely to grasp an under- lying principle. What is there that cannot be proved or disproved at will, by taking mere isolated texts of Scripture ? ' ' The Devil can quote Scripture for his own ends", has become a proverb. There are, however, many isolated texts and inci- dents in evidence of these doctrines as applied to the individual, as, for instance, the reference to the reincarnation of Elijah (Mat. xvii. 10); the mystical application of the principle in John iii., 3-15 ; and the reference to Karma operating at birth in the case of the man who was born blind (John ix. l). In this case Jesus is made to say that the blindness was not the result of sin, either in the case of the man himself before birth — for it is evident that the sin which could cause a man to be born blind could only be accomplished in a previous life — or .of his parents; and the rest of the chapter is made to turn upon this incident
I
24 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
in order to convey deeper spiritual truths, which those who read the mere narrative will inevitably miss. The key to the whole chapter is contained in the last three verses : " And Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that they which see not may see ; and that they which see may
become blind The Pharisees said
unto him. Are we also blind ? Jesus said unto them. If ye were blind, ye would have no sin : but now ye say. We see : your sin remaineth. " Thus the man who was born blind in the narrative, stands for the natural spiritual blindness of those whose evolution has not yet reached that point where the ' ' works of God " became manifest in them through the indwelling Christ principle, *' the light of the world ". To this natural blindness no sin attaches, but the sin remains with those who say, '' We see ", yet cast out of the synagogue those whose eyes have really been opened by the divine master. Are there no such Pharisees to-day? The whole chapter is a good illustration of the method which pertains all through the Bible. " The narratives of the Doctrine are its cloak. The simple look only at the garment, that is, upon the narrative of the Doctrine ; more they know not. The instructed, however, see not merely thQ cloak, but what the cloak covers. " And it is only when we have grasped this principle, when we have understood that the genius of the Bible is not in its narrative, that we shall be able to under-
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 35
stand the value of the book, or harmonise it with
natural law, and with those factors which enter
into man*s spiritual aspirations in all ages, and in
f every form of reUgion. And when we have been
liable to do this, we shall see how the whole relation
r of man to the universe, of humanity to divinity,
which the Bible discloses to those who can put
aside the narrative, is based on the principles of
Reincarnation and Karma ; on Reincarnation of
\.Life, or the constant interchange between the
lubjcctive and the objective, the alternate bringing'
into objectivity, and as constant disappearance
Rnto subjectivity, known to us as birth and death ;
■on Karma as the principle of the conservation of
•energy, or the co-relation of forces, operating
letween the subjective and the objective, applied
po the universe as a whole, and to man in all his
relations, physical, psychic, mental, and spiritual.
iFor just as the whole objective universe comes
into existence out of subjectivity, so does our
bdividual life. Nothing that exists in the universe
an ever cease to Be. It may change its form, or
|4isappear altogether from our present objective
plane of phenomena, but it is only the/ocw which
has been destroyed, and death is ever coincident
^ith birth.
Let us now proceed to examine more in detail
the Bible narrative, and the key which Theo-
lophy offers for its interpretation; and in doing so,
vill remark first of all upon the solution which
26 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
Theosophy offers as to the supposed connection between the Old and the New Testaments in the fulfilment of prophecy.
The prophetic utterances with reference to the Messiah, and their supposed fulfilment in Jesus Christ, constitute one of the most difficult subjects in connection with Biblical criticism, as well as one of the fundamental doctrines upon which Christi- anity rests. Iftherebeno connection between the Old and New Testaments in this matter, Chris- tianity falls to the ground. The necessity for the coming of a Messiah according to Christian doc- trine was owing to the * fall ' of man ; he was pre-ordained, prophesied, and awaited from the moment of that fall.
Now that fall is allegorically represented in Genesis, I am not speaking now to those who believe that the whole of humanity is sinful and degraded because Eve ate an apple some six thou- sand years ago. There is no spiritual knowledge possible for those who are so wedded to the letter, for the letter kills the spirit. But the question is : was there in the history of man's evolution, in his relation to the spiritual world, anything equi- valent to a * fall '? The Esoteric Doctrine answers. Yes ; and explains this * fall ' in connection with certain well-recognised cyclic laws of involution and evolution. Spiritual man * falls * every time he incarnates in physical life : for all are agreed that our present state of existence is not merely
THEOSOPHY ASD CHRISTIAN DOCTRISE 27
temporary, but subject to conditions which are much lower than those of a spiritual state. And so also Adam, representing generically the whole human race, ' fell ' from his original state of freedom and purity by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In other words, in order that there may be evolution there must be involution. Man as a spiritual being can only become self-conscious through experience of * good and evil ' ; that is to say, through a descent into matter and physical life, by passing through those lower planes of cosmic life and consciousness which constitute the phenomenal world of manifestation, where everything is inseparably connected in our consciousness with its opposite ; for it is this oppo- sition or duality in all things — good and evil, light and darkness, life and death, here and there, then and now — which is the basis of all pheno- mena. And so when we look beneath the mere words of the allegory we find the deepest philo- sophical meaning ; we have room for the mind to expand towards those deeper problems of life and consciousness which have occupied the profoundest thinkers in all ages, and in which the mystery of our spiritual life is hidden.
But as man has fallen, so he must also rise ; and his final triumph over evil, or Satan, or matter — for the three are synonymous — is foreshadowed in the type of the Messiah, and fully represented in the New Testament by the resurrected Christ.
28 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
" For as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ shall all be made alive. " (I. Cor. xv. 22.) Do you suppose this refers to mere physical death? It does so apply on the lowest or physical plane of consciousness, but — '* as above so below. " There is a spiritual death as well as a physical ; but they are only synonymous inasmuch as every mystery in ' heaven ' is repeated on * earth * ; and they are not coincident.
Spiritual man must ' die ', otherwise there could be no resurrection from the dead in a spiritual sense ; and since spiritual man is immortal and eternal, he ' dies * every time he incarnates upon this earth ; for verily this world is the grave of the spirit, where it sleeps, unconscious of,or but dimly recollecting, its higher and nobler life.
And as with the invidual, so with the race. As Adam is the type, so also is Christ. As the Old Testament deals with the history of man in his ' fall ', foreshadowing at intervals his final redemp- tion under the type of the Messiah, so the New Testament is the natural fulfilment of that pro- phecy, because it deals with the nature and condi- tions of the redemption under the type of Jesus Christ.
Is not that a natural and rational explanation of the nature of prophecy, and of the connection between the Old and the New Testaments ? You will see at once how it places in the background, as of quite secondary importance, all those sup-
THEOSQPHY AND CflRISTJAS DOCTRINE 29
posed discrepancies between the actual words of prophecy, and their literal fulfilment in the histor- ical narrative of Jesus of Nazareth. We pass over the lowest aspect of the question, we ignore those controversial points over which such an enormous amount of learning andsophistryhas been expend- ed, and draw our inspiration from the deep philo- sophical and spiritual meaning of the record.
The 0!d Testament contains the record of man's 'fall', contains under the form of an histor- ical allegory the secret of those vast cosmic cycles by which spirit manifests in matter, by which the divine becomes human. These cycles are por- trayed in the sacred books of the East as the out- breathing and inbreathing of Brahma. Even mo- dern philosophy, which as yet, is but the echo of the ancient Wisdom, has given a hint at the philo- sophic rationale of the ' fall '. According to Hegel, the " Unconscious " would never have undertaken the vast and laborious task of evolv- ing the Universe, except in the hope of attaining self-consciousness. As above so below: our individ- ual sentient life is the reflection of the macrocos- mic principle.
And as in the OldTestament the divine becomes human, so in the New Testament the human re- becomes divine. The New Testament contains in the form of an historical allegory the conditions of ^^nan's ' redemption ', that is to say, of his return ^Hpthe spiritual planes of being, plus that self-
30 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIASITY
consciousness, that ' knowledge of good and evir, which is the purpose of his incarnation.
The eternal law of ceaseless motion which lies at the root of cosmic evolution, finds its reflection in both small and great ; in the tiniest atom and in the most glorious sun ; in the sentient life of the lowest organism, up to man, and from man onward through all the divine hierarchies to that sum total which is unnameable.
To those who are familiar with the teachings of the Secret Doctrine this is readily understandable ; but for the sake of those who are not I must now call attention to a symbolism which will be found to apply to these principles under whatever form they may be given, whether in the Bible or in other ancient records.
Considering man as dual in his nature, as spiri- tual and material, we have as a symbol of spiritual man, a triad, represented geometrically by the triangle; and as the symbol of material or physical man we have a quaternary or square. Now the three and the four together make up seven, or the seven Principles of man as taught in Theosophy.
7 /\ Atma Spirit ( The Immortal Spiritual
6 / \ Buddhi Spiritual Soul] Man
5 Z X Manas Mind ( or Divine Ego.
'IrTiTlity^"''^ I The Mortal Physical Doubli Man or Temporary
Body \ Personality.
4 I y Kama
3 Prana
2 Astral
1 ^ 1 Physical
The three higher principles constitute the im- mortal, divine, spiritual man ; the individuality^
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 3 1
the Ego sum. The four lower belong to the tempo- rary personality of physical, material man.
At death, the four lower principles disappear^ or disintegrate into their natural elements on the four planes to which they belong, while the con- sciousness of the man that was, is withdrawn into the higher triad. At rebirth, or reincarnation, this is outbreathed again, clothes itself in the elements of the four lower planes, or 'matter*, and becomes again a human being for the purpose of a new cycle of experience. Thus we see that at every birth inta this world, or at every reincarnation, there is rela- tively a ' fall ', though absolutely it is a rise, on account of the experience gained. Now we see this great law of cyclic motion, of outbrea thing and inbreathing, in operation in every form of manifestation in the universe, taking the form of a law of periodicity, or of alternate subjectivity and objectivity ; smaller cycles operating within larger ones in ever-increasing magnitude, to infinity. And just as individual man in his repeated manifesta- tions or incarnations follows this law, so does the whole of humanity in its aggregate of evolution upon this earth, during its period of manifestation; and this descent into matter constitutes the alle- gory of the Book of Genesis, and is continued under other symbols in other books of the Old Testament.
But man has to win his way back to his orginal freedom. Having entered ' matter ' he must fight
32 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
and overcome it. The necessity for reincarnation is conditioned by his not having as yet accom- plished the object for which the original impulse to incarnation was given. When that object is accomplished, man rises as the conqueror over death — because the conqueror over the neces- sity of rebirth — as the glorified Christos, the per- fected Adept, or full Initiate. '' Then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swal- lowed up in victory. " (I. Cor. xv. 54.). And it is this victory, this conquest, and the conditions under which it must be obtained, which is por- trayed in the New Testament.
Thus we may trace the connection between the Old and New Testaments, and find the clue to their interpretation ; for it is impossible to do more than give the clue to those whose minds are open to the underlying mysteries ; and we must now pass on to deal more specifically with some of the doctrines based on the New Testament record.
The first thing which is necessary in doing this, is to dispose of the historical difficulty. There are many who will accept an allegorical Adam as a type of humanity, who will not accept an allego- rical and typical Christ. But the one without the other is an impossibility, as indeed is plainly seen in the writings of St. Paul. ''As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. *' (I. Cor. xv. 49.) There is no choice between the literal personal and histor-
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 33
ical character of both, and the doctrines of the fall and atonement as taught by the Church, or the allegorical and typical character of the one as of the other. They are indissolubly connected, and whatever key is used for the one must be used for the other.
But the difficulty is not so great as it appears, and admits of a very simple solution. Just as in the Old Testament we have the historical Jewish race, into whose history is cunningly woven the thread of the mystical allegory of man's evolution, so in the New Testament we have the historical Jesus, into whose life and teachings is woven the mystical truths of the nature of the divine man. There cannot be an historical Christ, any more than an historical Adam ; for every man is Adam, and every man will become Christos or * anointed '. But we have an actual historical jfesus and every- one is at liberty to believe what he likes as to that historical character being already Christos, the perfect man, or Initiate.
Thus we may reconcile in whatever way we please, from literary and critical evidences, the difficulties which arise in the Gospel narratives respecting the personality of Jesus of Nazareth, without interfering in the slightest degree with the divine nature and n\ystery of the Christ,
It will be seen at once how this disposes of the importance of those difficulties over which so much controversy has been wasted, during centu-
3
34 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
ries of ecclesiastical teaching, and which still rages in the present day. The " divinity of Christ " has been the great dogma of the Church, and at the same time the great stumbling-block of rational thought, simply because the blind was so complete — or rather because the early Church authorities were so successful in destroying the clue, so that the derivation of their doctrines from the Gnostic and Egyptian Mysteries could not be traced — that the personal Jesus became absolutely identi- fied with the typical Christ.
But the truth cannot be withheld from the world much longer. Literary and historical research, and comparative symbology and mythology, are grad- ually disclosing the fraud which has been imposed upon the world for centuries. The truth will soon be clearly and undeniably demonstrated, and while ecclesiastical Christianity may remain as a remnant of superstition, the truth as it is in Christ will shine forth as the spiritual light upon the inmost mys- tery of man's nature.
The divinity of Christ is as certain as the human- ity of Adam. The one completes the other. If Christ is not divine, then is humanity not divine ; and there is no salvation possible for it. If human- ity is not divine, then there can be no Christ, and all men's spiritual aspirations are empty dreams.
The doctrine of the divine incarnation was taught iti the Ancient Mysteries. We have the
^H THEOSOFHY AND CHRISTIAS DOCTRINE 35
^Bfitory, incident by incident, almost word for word ^Hfts in the Gospels, in many other so-called heathen ^^Rystems. In the Egyptian, as Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, we have the same typical Messiah in connection with a solar or astronomical glyph. So also with Krishna, the son of Vishnu and Lakshmi, we have so near an approach to the Gospel narrative, that it has been the greatest puzzle, and has led to the most flagrant literary
» dishonesty, to endeavour to account for the narra- tives, without deriving the one from the other. But all these difficulties vanish the moment we under- stand the real nature of the divine incarnation, and its connection with natural evolution and univer-
Isal laws. And observe further how this is the bridge which spans the gulf between science and religion, Ve are often told tliat there can be no conflict Ijetween true science and true religion ; yet no- thing is more notorious tlian the open conflict between the representatives of the one and the ;Other. The Church has ever been the deadliest enemy of scientific discovery, and to-day, if she had the power, she would burn its votaries as she did of old. But there can be no conflict with the religion we now advance, based upon the relation of man to the universe, instead of upon an anthro- pomorphic God. The scientific materialist may ^^ doubt our conclusions, but we have no quarrel
tr ""'
36 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
line of research blinds him to higher spiritual poss- ibilities, so much the worse for him ; but we welcome as so much gain all that he can teach us as to nature's methods of working. And so also in other departments of research, all that is brought to light is clear gain to us. There is no longer any fear lest our favourite dogmas should be over- turned, lest the foundations of our faith should crumble to dust before the advancing tide of knowledge. We welcome knowledge in every shape and form ; for in knowledge there is freedom, but in ignorance there is superstition, fear, cruelty, and death.
Let us now turn for a moment to the symbol of the cross, which is supposed to be so pre-emi- nently originated by, and associated with, Christian doctrine. It is a matter of secondary importance to us whether the personal Jesus was or was not crucified in the manner described ; as to whether he did or did not rise from the grave, and appear after- wards to his disciples. The speculations, and argu- ments, and physical probability or improbability of this event may be left to those who still cling to the idea of a carnalised personal Christ, Suppos- ing for a moment that it did happen as narrated, it by no means follows that the dogmas built thereon are true ; but whether it did or did not happen, does not interfere with the spiritual meaning and significance. Here again the Church is a blind leader of the blind. We must go further
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 37
and deeper,we must study symbology, mythology, and astronomy even, before we can understand how the symbol of the cross came to be associated with spiritual man, as the Christos, In selecting and editing the books of the New Testament as we now have them, the Church took care to obliter- ate all traces which would disclose the real source and meaning of this symbol. They did more. The hordes of fanatical Christians searched for and ruthlessly destroyed all the ancient manuscripts, sculptures, hieroglyphs, and other records which bore testimony to its use prior to the Christian era. Some of the hieroglyphs, cut into the hard stone of the Egyptian rock temples, which they could not deface, they plastered over with stucco, thus taking the very best precautions to preserve the writing clear and well-defined for our use. But the evidences are now too numerous to be denied, that the cross has been a universal symbol in all ages. What did it mean ?
The cross in its simplest form, as + , is the glyph for the quaternary or square, representing as we have already seen the four lower planes of consciousness, or more simply, matter. Astrono- mically also, in conjunction with the circle, as © it is the symbol for the earth. It is also known as the '* mundane cross," and is expressed in various forms in different systems, as the ** swastica ", 4^, the '* ansated cross " f , the '* tau " T, etc ; On our three dimensional planes the square becomes
M^^ ^^^ ^^^^
38 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
the cube, and the cube unfolded again displays the cross.
The two members counted separately, give us 3 and 4, or together 7 ; while the addition of the
three nail -marks gives us the suggestion of the triangle, or the divine man crucified on the cross of matter.
We shall thus see, in accord- ance with what has already been explained, that every incarnation of the divine spi- rit,whether individually or collectively, constitutes of necessity a crucifixion. The incarnated Christ must needs be crucified. It is simply the summing up in one glyph, in one allegory, of the whole mystery, the consummation in one figurative emblem of the whole drama of human existence. And as he must needs be crucified, must needs descend into matter, so he must needs resurrect, and re-ascend to claim his spiritual birthright. *' If Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain. " (I. Cor. xv., 14.)
There are other applications and interpretations of this symbol, too numerous and complicated to enter into here. Each of these symbols has seven meanings, corresponding to .the seven planes of consciousness through which the man passes, or in which he lives. In its lowest signification the cross is a purely physiological symbol, and as such led to its identification with phallic worship.
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 39
The astronomical key, the connection of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles with the twelve signs of the zodiac, and of the Messiah, in the various events and characteristics of his histor>', with the yearly passage of the sun through these twelve signs, is full of interest and signifi- cance. Some writers having discovered this astro- nomical key in connection with the Messiah, and its equal application to other mythical characters, more particularly to Osiris and Horus, in the Egyptian system, have supposed that this was the real source and origin of the Christian Mythos, and the only explanation of which it is capable. The Secret Doclyiiie, however, draws aside the veil from some of the other interpretations, gives the clue to other of the seven keys, and thereby raises it once more from the physical and material into the psychic and spiritual.
The symbolism of the zodiac was, and still is, one of the greatest secrets of the Mysteries. It is the type of that great law, which operating univer- sally in periodic cycles, brings about that change which we call evolution .Working eternally through the material basis of the universe, through ' root substance', it brings to life and brings to death, and brings to life again. Atoms and worlds, organic life in every phase, from tiniest cell, from the first germs of sentient life onward through all its grades, from the first dawn of individual con- sciousness, through plant and animal, to men and
40 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
gods : this great law holds its sway. Cycle within cycle in ever-widening magnitude, until the mind of man is lost in contemplation of the infinite ; and yet, through all and in all, such unity and harmony that could we but see and understand, we should find at every mathematical point in space — the whole universe. And thus one type stands for all, one symbology is of universal application ; and were we wise as those ancient sages who gave to the world that symbology, of which we have now but the broken fragments, we should indeed be able to read man's destiny in the stars.
We must now turn our attention for a few moments to the Christian doctrine of the Atone- ment, or as it ought more properly to be called, the at-one-ment. I am not supposing now that any of my readers are believers in the dogma that the actual sufferings of a physical Christ were the propitiation of an angry God. One would think that the actual sufferings of humanity itself since the ' fall \ was propitiation enough to satisfy any God with a. sense of justice at least equal to our own. But be that as it may, I must now show that this doctrine, grossly as it has been materialised, can still be reconstructed on esoteric lines.
Turn to our diagram of the seven principles of man. (Page 30.) We have spiritual or divine man as a trinity y corresponding to the supreme divine trinity which is found in every ancient system, and from whxh the Christian trinity was derived,
THEOSOPHY AS'D CHRISTIAS' DOCTRISE 41
and iiltimately promulgated as a dogma when Athanasius triumphed over Arius. Now in this trinity of Atma-Buddhi-Manas, Atma corresponds to the ' Father ' and Manas to the ' Son ', Manas is always spoken of as the incarnatincr Ego, that which is the informing principle of our successive re-births upon earth. This statement, however, is only partial in its application. The mystery of the trinity, the three in one and the one in three, is repeated on earth. Atma-Buddhi- Manas are not thres, but one, yet viewed relatively, or in their individual capacity, they have to be treated as separate entities. Avery familiar analogy will illustrate this, and indeed, under the form of "divine ideation," lies at the root of this metaphys- ical trinity. Wherever we have a thinker, we must also have a thought and a thing thought of. We cannot separate these three, the one cannot exist without the other, yet each of these three principles may be individualised and treated separ- ately. In other words, wherever there is the action of conscious intelligence, whether of God or man, there must be a trinity. Now Manas is an individ- ualised aspect of Alma, the seventh or highest, the one universal principle, or synthesis of all the others. It is, so to speakj a ray of Mahat, or universal mind. So also our personal conscious- ness, the thinking principle of the lower quaternary — -or in short, ourselves — is but an individualised aspect, or ray of Manas. In other words, Manas,
42 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
the divine Ego, is not comprised in the personal- ity, but overshadows and guides it. We have already seen that in doing this it is symbolically crucified on the cross of matter, for it attaches to itself and becomes responsible for all the deeds of the personality, good or evil. Thus it is truly the sacrificial victim, suffering for our transgressions, for the sins of humanity.
And observe how the only hope of salvation for the personality — for ourselves — the only way in which we can escape from the evil of matter, from the ' great illusion ', the * great deceiver ' — or, in short, the Devil — the only way in which we can reach that perfection of our humanity which is typified in Christ : is by union with our Alter Ego, our Higher Self ; or by means of that indwelling Christ which Paul preached. If we persistently turn from the light, if we refuse to follow the promptings of our conscience, and choose the path of evil, we weaken more and more the bond which connects the higher with the lower, until at last perchance the link is snapped, and there is no longer any possibility of salvation. This is the '* sin against the Holy Ghost ".
Observe how this is taught all through St. John's Gospel. " I am the way, and the truth, and the life : no one cometh unto the Father, but through Me ** (John xiv., 6). For, as Manas is one with Atma, we can only reach the latter, or the ' Father ' through union with Manas. And this
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 43
is something which must take place here and now, by our own conscious efforts, and not as a mirac- ulous dispensation of ' providence '. At death all that is spiritual in our character becomes indrawn, so to speak, by the overshadowing Ego. All that belongs to the four lower principles is dissolved and disintegrated, or awaits us as Karma for our next rebirth ; while the personal conscious- ness realises in full all its spiritual aspirations in a state of bliss or ' Heaven '. But this is only pos- sible to the extent to which each individual has cherished and intensified those aspirations. Each one goes to his appointed place, or rather state. The judgment book is opened, the imperishable record of every thought and deed, traced by the great law of cause and effect, will assign to each his appropriate reward, and in rebirth his appro- priate penalty. Let none hope to escape the law of absolute justice.
" It seeth everywhere and marketh all :
Do right — ii recompenseih ! do one wrong — The equal retribution must be made,
Though Dharua tarry long. It knows no wrath nor pardon ; utter true
Its measures meie, its faultless balance weighs ; Times are as nought, to-morrow it will judge.
Or after many days."
And if we would escape rebirth, if we would triumph over death and the cross, we can only do so by this perfect iinion with our Higher Self, with the Christ within us. And just as the accom-
44 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
plishment of this individually, is the complete union of the personality with the higher triad, so for the race collectively it is the return of that cycle w^hen spirit will once more triumph over matter, typified in the New Testament as the ''second coming of Christ.'* And then the 'Son' having accomplished his work, becomes once more one with the ' F'ather '. This is the Pralaya^ or " inbreathing of Brahma", in Eastern phra- seology ; while St. Paul expresses it by saying : "And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all " (I. Cor., xv., 28).
Read the mystical Gospel of St. John in the light of this interpretation, and see what a flood of light it throws upon the constant references to the relationship between the ' Father ' and the ' Son ' , personified in Jesus. The ' Father ' of St. John's Gospel never was and never can be the personal tribal God of the Israelites — Jehovah ; although the Church has fathered him upon Christendom. The sayings and claims of Jesus are absurd when personified; but are pregnant with meaning, and the deepest truth when applied to universal prin- ciples. " As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven : not as the fathers did eat, and died : he that eateth this bread shall
THEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE 45
live for ever ". (John vi.57.) This passage bears on the face of it its mystical and figurative char- acter. Yet because the Church has materialised it, and succeeded in imposing upon the world a personal Christy it has given rise to some of the grossest forms of superstitious ritual.
The Pharisees of old were the representatives of all that was narrow, formal, mechanical, and material in religion. They practised a ritual from which the spirit had fled, of which the key had been lost ; they made clean the outside of the vessel, but inwardly it was full of extortion and wickedness. And so it was the Pharisees who cried out, '* Crucify him ! Crucify him ! '' Do you suppose that was merely an historical event, or rather that it stood as the type of what happens in all ages, when the truth is sacrificed at the hands of formalism and bigotry ? The crucifixion as we have already seen, stands for the descent of spirit into matter, in whatever aspect we may regard it ; whether definitely and individually in our own nature, or in a more abstract way as the bringing into objectivity, the giving shape and form, or the representation on the limited and conditioned plane of materiality, of universal spiritual principles. So, whenever we endeavour to give these spiritual mysteries a definite shape and form, to confine them within the limits of some system, ofsomecutand dried formula, of some dogma and creed, we crucify the divine on the cross of matter.
^6 THE ESOTERIC BASrS OF CHRISTIANITY
And as it was with the Pharisees, so it is with ] the Church to-day. It daily and hourly cries out : " Crucify him ! Cnjcifyhim ! " In every promul- j gation of its dogmas ; in every frantic effort which ' it makes to stay the advancing tide of knowledge, and keep back the truth from mankind ; in every anathema it utters against those who have awaken- ed to a sense of the deeper mysteries of their , being, and seeking in vain for any light in Christian teachings have turned elsewhere : the Church ' crucifies the Son of God afresh, and puts him to an j open shame.
We do not deny or destroy Christian doctine ; I we affirm and re-establish it. It is the Church which destroys it by making it limited and condi- tioned ; refusing to recognise its elasticity and application to natural laws and universal prin- ciples. All that belongs to the world of form and formulas is subject to change, decay, death. There 1 can be no change in Truth ; yet nothing is n palpable than the ever-fluctuating value of what I is termed—orthodoxy. Nothing is of less value to-day than the teachings of the Church in its ' practical influence on the conduct and social relations of the nation. The vast majority of thinkers are alienated from the Church, the masses are scarcely touched by its influence. Those who profess, do not practice ; they quietly ignore 1 everything in the teachings of Jesus which would interfere with their social affairs. All that affects
THEOSOPH YAND CHRISTIA N DOCTRINE 47
our social relationships is decided on grounds of expediency which have no special basis in Christian doctrine. The Church itself has decided that it shall be so. What it teaches has reference to a future life, to a future spiritual state, not to the eternal spiritual present. It has no ethical standard which is not found elsewhere, for on those very points where the ethics of Jesus are in advance of the common morals of expediency, it tacitly admits, and even expressly declares, that they are impracticable. If one tithe of professing Chris- tiafts believed all that they profess, there would be no '* submerged tenth."
We have no quarrel with the sincere and devout religionist, with those who are striving to the best of their ability, with the light they Jiave, to live up to their ideal. There are hundreds of thousands who cannot in the nature of the case enter into the esoteric teachings. The truth must be presented to them in some familiar and understandable form, otherwise it is a dead letter, and a sealed book. T6 many, the personal Saviour is a living reality, because they have made it such by daily and hourly dwelling upon the ideal. To ruthlessly destroy that ideal, without substituting an equi- valent, might lead to untold evil. Let us deal gently and carefully with such.
Nor is there any need to destroy that ideal which is so dear to many sincepc Christians. The personal attachment to the life and character
48 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIASITY
of Jesus of Nazareth may still remain in all degrees and forms. It even becomes greater and stronger when we understand the true nature of his divinity, and the true nature of his humanity. Jesus Christ is both human and divine, because we are such.
Understand this matter well : — Jesus is the personal historical character, Christ is the typCy which has been grafted upon and associated with that character. Christy the ** second Adam ", could no more be historical than the *' first Adam " ; and those who have accepted the myth- ical and allegorical character of the one, have no choice but to do so for the other. Both are types of humanity. **The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy ; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthly^ we shall also bear the image of the heavenly'', (I. Cor. XV. 47.)
There always has been, and must be, an exoteric and an esoteric ; a religion for the masses, an initiation for the few. But when we see the blind leading the blind we are bound to step in. Even as Jesus denounced the Scribes and Pharisees of his time, so we are bound to denounce the for- malism and bigotry of to-day. The Church has no esoteric doctrine, no initiated priesthood. To- day the priest nominates himself ; his qualifica- tions are for the most part social or sermonising.
TIIEOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
a
d
I I
L Read the fifth chapter of the Epistle to the
(Hebrews, as to the connection between Christ
i Melchisedekas the type of the high priest, of
om Paul says : " We have many things to say,
and hard of interpretation, seeing ye are become
dull of hearing. For when by reason of the time
(ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that
i someone teach you the rudiments of the first prin-
Iciples of the oracles of God, and are become such
: need of milk, and not of solid food. "
l(Heb. v., 11.) And so history repeats itself.
But thosewhowould understand that "wisdom thidden in a mystery", which Paul preached, and [which may still be discerned like a thread of gold ' running through his Epistles, sadly as they have been tampered with, must lay aside the "weak and beggarly elements " which hold men in bond- age to the letter. And it is only when we have done this that we can know what is that " glo- rious liberty of the gospel of Christ ", which Paul I preached. " Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years ", he says ; " I am afraid of you lest by any means I have bestowed labour Upon you in vain ". (Gal. iv., ro.) Itisonlywhen we can say with Paul, " I have been crucified with Christ ; yet I live; and yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. ii., 3o), that we can lay claim to be either Christians or Theosophists.
I Paul meant Just what Theosophists mean when they speak of union with thc'w Higher Self.
50 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
" O foolish Galatians, '' — h^ says again — " who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified? '* ; that is to say : to whom he had openly taught the know- ledge of the mystic Christ, which had been kept a profound secret hitherto by the initiated Gnostics ; for he adds : '* Are ye so foolish ? having begun in the spirit, do ye now make an end in the flesh ? " ; that is to say, having begun with the highest or spiritual signification, do ye now return to the outward worship of a carnal Christ ? Nor is it difficult to trace the connection between these words and the relation of Paul's teachings to those of Peter and the other apostles who founded the Church of Rome. Paul was an Initiate and a Gnostic. Just as St. John's Gospel is Gnostic, so are St. PauFs Epistles ; and in spite of the inter- polations and emendations which were made by the Church Fathers before they would allow them to be placed in the Canon, the fact cannot be disguised when once the clue is found. It was Peter, and those who with him, as apostles of the " cir- cumcision*', preached a personal and carnal Christ, against whom Paul warned the Galatians. The subject is too large to deal with here, but it is necessary to give this hint in order that the question of Christian doctrine, derived from the authority of the Church, may be understood.
I have thus traversed briefly the whole ground of Biblical narrative in its connection with Christian
THEOSOFHY AND CHRJSTIAS DOCTRLVE 5 I
doctrine. I have shown how every doctrine — inspiration and prophecy, the fall and the redemp- tion, the crucifixian and the resurrection, the divinity of Christ and the atonement — -are one and all susceptible of an esoteric interpretation. How these doctrines are based upon earlier teach- ings, known as the Mysteries or Gnosis, but were perverted and obscured by the Church, until finally the key was lost, and the Church, gaining the temporal power it coveted, imposed upon the world those dogmas which have ever been synony- mous with all that is most opposed to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and Paul the Apostie.
All that 1 have been able to do, however, is to point out the landmarks, to give the clue to the complicated and intricate question of Biblical history and authority. To those who are familiar with the endless controversies on the subject, with the frantic efforts which are made to reconcile legend with history, and the supernatural element with the known laws and facts of nature, this interpretation may come like cool and refreshing waters in a parched and arid desert. If they will follow up the clue they will find that the difficulties are but mirage — illusion. They will rise to a high and serene level of thought where such contentions cannot affect them. They will ' ' shun foolish ques- tionings, and genealogies, and strifes, and fightings about the law ; for they are unprofitable and vain." And Paul adds to this a piece of advice which
52 THE ESOTERIC BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY
Theosophists would do well to remember : *^ A man that is factious after a first and second admo- nition — avoid. " (Titus 3, 9.) It is impossible to teach the underlying spiritual truth to those who are still in bondage to the law, to those who have not yet cast aside the material form, but can rise to no higher ideal than that of a material heaven of endless enjoyment, and an equally material hell of endless torment.
It is time that the Christian world should lay aside the spell which has been so long cast over it. It is time that all thinking men should awake to the spiritual realities which constitute the ever- present NOW. And it is the work of Theosophy to lead the way in this spiritual revival ; to free mankind from ignorance, superstition, sin, and death.
Would that it might ring through the world like a trumpet-call— '* AWAKE THOU THAT SLEEPEST, AND ARISE FROM THE DEAD, AND CHRIST SHALL SHINE UPON THEE. "