The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-06-25
SOMETHING ABOUT "KARMA"
Judge Mcbride, of the Supreme Court,
Writes of the First Law OF Theosophy.
Brief bat Comprehensive View of the Ideas
Upon Which the Cult Is Based
Doesn't Clash with Religion.

osity about the '.cuit" At q recent meet
ing of the local society. Judge Mcbride. OF
the State Supreme Court. who is one of the
most prominent theos0phical thinkers In
the country. read q paper on 'karma."
which gives q brief but comprehensive
vlew of the ideas upon hich theosophy Is
based. The paper was as follows:
1t is manifestly impossible. within the
brief limit of such q paper, TO even outline.
much less discuss that which Is known as
the low of karma. The utmost one can do
is 10 touch lightly some Of it's salient
features. / wish, however. 10 preface tins
paper with one more effort TO correct some
mistaken ideas relative TO the attitude Of
| the Theosophicsl Society toward this as
toward some other matters. l wish to re,
peat. with emphasis. that the Theosophical
Society lays down no dogma or doctrine
whatsoever. No person applying TOR mem-
bershIp is required TO subscribe TO any
creed or system of philosophy. nor 10 any
such requirement. Imposed upon them as
mem bers uf the society. No person already
q believer in any form of religion is re-
quired to put his cherished belief aside.
Many active members Of the society are
mem bers of orthodox Christian churches.
some Of them ministers of the
gospel and find nothing incOneist-
emit OK XuharI assing In the membership
In both. The Philosophical Society has no
| sympathy whatever with those like Robert
q. lngersoll, whose relations to all forms of
religion correspond To the relation sus-
tanned by the Anarchists to all forma OF
government. While it lays down no dog
| ma. 1t is the coadjurOr of true religion. Its
memb ers pledge themsely es to try TO form
a nucleus for a universal brotherhood OF
man--a brotherhood which shall recognize
no distinction OF race. creed. sex, caste or
color They pledge themselves TO be toier-
| ant of the views of others, and to live mp
| TO the spirit of the motto. There Ia no re-
ligion higher than trush;" that wherever
| there Is clasbing Of doctrine and OF belief
| there Is necessarily error, as all truths
must of necessity harmonic with each
| other. Ii is, of course. manifest that q
brotherhood which recognizes no distinc-
tion of creed. but embraces within It's mem.
| bership those of ell creeds and exscts toll
erance and charity cannot itself consist
entity formulate creed. While it is prob.
| able that the majority of the men,
bcrs of the society believe in
reincarnation. and in Karma. the society
Is no more dORmatic In regard to thesn doc
trines than in others. The members of the
society. if they are In fact tolerant as
| they profess, will accord respectful hear.
| ing to these. as well as TO other doctrines
honestly taught, bot are not required to
| profess belief In them, OF In any of them.
| The objects of the line of study and lnves-
| tigation By the Theosophioal Society is to
| attain to clearer conception and perception
of truth, and TO hasten human develo pment.
| 1t seeks to enlist and unite all persons in q
| harmonious aud sincere search for and
study of truth. Itrecognzes something of
truth in all Of the great religions. IL be-
l.eves that magn,fying these truths Is the
snrest way OF destroying tbe errors oy
which they are obscured. fheosophy is.
most emphatieally. not Buddhism.
| nor BrahmanlsD, or any other ISM" The
sincere and intelligent student Of
theosophy. whatever his religious belief.
| will be better for it's study. The Christian
student of theosophy will. by it's study.
become q better Christian. Theosophy.
while earnestly combating many OF tho
| teachings of tbeologiane accepts the teach
| ings Of Jesus of Nazareth, and in His toaoh-
| ings, recorded and expounded In the
| New Testament. will be found distinct rec
ognltion of both reincarDation and OF
| karma.
| The two 60 together. Reincsrnation is
the temperance In objective life OF the
| same ego. Marina IL one OF the laws gov.
| ernin0 Its reappearAnce. Karma. there
| fore, is law. 1t IL an Aspect or q manifesto
| tion of the law of cause and effect.
Throughout the limltless realms of space
| all things are governed by law-law that
| 10 unerring and immutabie. The Infinite
| intelligence hos lett nothing unpr0viGed
| for; has lett no room for chance. for mis-
| take. for error for injustice. The law.
while uDyielding aud unohanging. is also
| just and meroiful because it's min lite source
Is justice. love and mercy. The theosophi-
cal teaching does not content itself with
saying the Creator Is wise. Just. loving.
| merciful. but says tho Creator il w isdom.
/ is Justice. is Love ana Mercy.
Paul states one ASPECT of the law of Ksr.
ma when he says For whatsoever man
soweth. that shall be also reap." Gal, vi.
T. This is it's retributive side. Every man
| must answer for his Own acts nd tho = hts.
| Thoughts are recognized 20 tangible things.
| Indeed, thoughts are the real things of
which acts are merely visible manifesto
tions or evidences. Each thought and aot
10 followed by it's train OF consequences.
and In so TAR as these conseq nencss are the
| direct result y of thoughts ana
actions we must answer Tor them.
There is no possibility of concealing.
shifting or evading responsibility. As
each thought blossoms and bears fr1itage
of action. 1t starts on it's journey of DOS
sible effects. bound I'd US by u constantly
| lengtbening chain which no person can
break. karma involves both punishment
and reward. The quality OF the thought
determines the effect. Good, true. noble
| and generous thoughts in due season BRING
corresponding happiness. Base. un worthy.
selfish and self-serving thoughts will also
as surely aud in due season bring their re-
ward.
But some will say this leaves no room for
repentance or atonement. If the law is 80
uDchanging and Interchangeable. and liz so
unerrng and inexorable in it's effects how
can one VINO has erred escape it's full
vigOr2 Is 1t not posi- Bile for the erring one,
by repeDt lance and aton-ment, to soften Ct e
blows of fates Yes, and by virtue of the
same law. Man. at any given time. is the
product. or the resultant. of all the forces
or influen oss which have acted upon his
ego since IL first began its journey.
| The effect Of any given cause. In any
given case, depends upon what. If any,
other causes are operating upon the same
object ooncurrentiy. While the same ef-
feet will always follow the same cause. the
conditions must be the same.
| Precisely the same cause causes will
| always produce precisely the same effect
| but this of necessity. requires that we tax &
account OF all of the cOncnrring. as well as
of all OF the interfering causes. The modi-
| flying the interfering canses may come
from within or from without. Or they
may come in part from within and IN part
from without. They may he causes origi.
mating coucurrently, or they may have theiI
/ origins for apart in point of time. They
may have originated during tho present
INCARNATION. or In previous incarnations
| Science In part recogniZes this under the
so.called law of heredity. Those concur
ring or Interfering causes NAV be- such as &c
| either mitigate or intensity the oonse-
Quences OF the given cot. or they may en-.
| tireiy nuilIfy its effects. as several forces
operating simultaneously on q body
any one of which alone would
| move it. may nettraiize each
| other and leave 10 unmoyed. The spent
arrow will never return TO the bow" The
| act once done can never be uDdone, but
| the archer may. By search, lind out and re-
| turn the spent shaft to it's culver. SO the
| penitent wrODg-doer may, by earnest effort
set causes IN motion which will modify OF
| arrest the effects of an evil deed.
ksrma. being IN one of Its aspects the re-
fiex action upon ourselves of our thought,