The record-union., 1892-11-28
PHILOSOPHICAL THEORIES.
Another Effort by DR., Griffths to Ex-
plain Them.
Discourse on 'sJustIce "-He Holds
There Is no Escape From Conse-
quences OF Violated Law.

OAiA1 IGEEUkIE LAdb IGdllLItlOA has AdW t4CI
upon it that any good not already pos
sessed could come from the Orient. This
false conception was the natural result Of
Ignorance and misconception of Oriental
customs, Of its far-reaching philosophy,
and more especially because of the ego
tism peculiar to Western thought which,
for time at least. precluded possibility
Of recognition Of any thing equal to itself,
not 10 say superior, outside the pale of its
own environment. 1t was b0astfully as
serted that the rim of the western horizon
encircled all worth knowing and possess
ing. So, fer many years this barrier Of
egotism stood as an impregnablo wall,
shutting out the light of the East by ig-
noring its existence. Western races be-
ing environed by nature in her cruder as
poets, involved in material pursuits, with
energies of both body and mind given to
conquests of nature on her lower planes.
The time was not yet ripe tor inception
OF more refined and subtle knowledge Of
natures finer forces. When Mother
Nature had yielded plenufully of her
bounties; when the semi-animal man
had partially subdued savagery in him
SELF and came to sense the needs Of his
hlgher nature; when he came to look
without and beyond his narrow, self-im-
posed limitations, he perceived that other
tunes and other peoples possessed vast
Etores of knowledge which he realized as
not yet his own, but the need of which he
most keenly felt Not only did he per-
ceIVe these treasures but there dawned
upon him the possibility of possession Of
them as his rightful heritage Then was
made the first breach in the hitherto i'm
pregnable wall that inclosed him; i'm
pregnab!e before because Of his own ego
tism and false pride, but now
crumbling under his feet as he
peaceful cOnquests. Thus, Western bar
riers were by Western expansion broken,
and through the rents poured hight from
that elder East Of antiquity-the light of
knowledge and of deep penetration into
secret depths of natures hidden but all
potent resources; that light, the gleam-
lngS of concentration and meditation,
verified by research and proven knOwI-
edge Of natures finer forces. This dis
covered and carefully guarded wisdom
was CLEANED from the ages by adopts in
natures craft. 1t pertains 10 higher do
mains OF human endeavor that is yet at
tanned to by Western people as a whole,
but is yet open to access of all who
sense concealed verlties and subtle reali-
ties which escape merely sensuoas per-
ception. And the Orient opens her gates
to the Occident and invites possession Of
treasures which are OF right the common
heritage of all men.
Thus has come to our later civilization
knowledge Of law which, though ex-
pounded and reiterated in the literature
and philosophers Of all peoples. has only
since the organization of the Theosophl-
cal Society begun to be fully conpre-
hended by Western students.
This law is known as karma 1t is the
law OF cause and effect governing human
thought and action, and links the MANY
earth lives of each individual in an end
less chain. Jesus taught II when he said:
Whatsoever man sows that shall he
also reap" Jesus but reiterated the teach
ings of many another sage before and
since his time. So tar-reachng is this law
that 1t transcends finite comprehension.
though some of its minor aspects as af-
tecting man may be understood
karma is the cause Of Beincarnation.
Different and distinct earth lives follow
each other III orderly sequence, because
of chain Of causes and effects, which is
karma. A given earth life is an effect of
preceding lives, Just as tie present life is
one Of the causes which shall produce
succeeding lives, for the thoughts and
deeds of one life naturally and neces-
sarily form the basis upon which future
lives are builded. 1t is claimed that only
upon this law IS justice possible; for if
man, as now constituted, is not a product
of his thought and action of past earth
lives as an harmonious factor in
the scheme Of nature, he is
harmony with universal law. The con-
sderation OF man as an exceptional case
in nature has opened the door for influx
Of all the irrational and unnatural con
ceptons now entertained by modern
forms of religion, and made conditions
whereby those mOnstrous iallacies, q per-
sonal god and Yicarious atonement found
lodgment and formed foundations upon
which to erect a superstructure of error.
These fallacies, the progeny of priestcratt
and theolOgians, by pandering to igno-
rance, bigOtry and superstition. have
caused more crime, bloodshed, suffering
and misery than all other causes COM
bined. To TheosophiSt, the idea of a
personal god whose attributes are whim
and caprice, rejoicing, revenge, kindness.
cruelty, favOritism, love of praise and
other purely human characteristics. is
extremely repUlsive and rejected in toto.
1t is believed that cultivation of such a
conception cannot produce other than de-
basement of the moral nature OF all
who seriously entertain it. The concep-
ton OF a God capable of planning a
universe and powerful enough to par-
TALLY perfect the scheme, and yet so
ignorant and lacking in foresight as to
tail to complete it, or to prepare for
emergencies liable to arise; who, when
q crisis arose, was so lamentably def
cient in resource that by his own confess
sion he was forced to COncOct a plan of
vicarious atonement to retrieve his error.
is supremely ridiculous. This prepos-
ferrous plan is man-nade. 1t has no basis
in reason, justice, law OF nature or deity.
and is a base prostitution of the philO-
sophical principle proclaimed in the
pantheon of every time and people that
man has to sacrifice his lower to his
higher nature, the Christ within himself
10 attain conscious immortality. As now
taught by theologians its natural
tendency is to produce a race Of
Weakings, lor it is an attempt TO
relieve the individual from the conse-
Quences of his own thought and action.
1t is a most monstrous conception of a
more monstrous God. 1t is an afro
cious misconcepuOn of Deity, and man
Hesitation of utter ignorance of mans
place in nature. his relation TO law, him
self and his fellows. Lives lived upon
the basis Of this tallacy cannot but pro
duce accentUatiOn of present states of in
dividualism, coWardice and selfshness. /
resulting in still more abject stages of
moral decrepitude, intellectual slavery
and spiritual depraVity. Present states
OF turpitude are only natural results of
fluitless attempts to live this lie. and they
will grow worse unless the manhood Of
the race is aroused TO combat II.
Nicarious atonement, when analvzed.
simply means that a man may commit
the most henious deeds and escape con
quences merely by change of mind and
belief IN Jesus, which is more
often brought about by detection
and fear of punishment that his
own conscience tells him is his lust due.
while an innocent other takes upon him.
self the suffering entailed by outraged
law; the real culprit, meanwhile, parad-
ing streets of pearl. twanging golden
harps, famed by soft heavenly breezes,