The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1894-08-21

Of life II Others do not. | have prsc-
| teal duties Ii is not necessary 10
change these practical duties in chang
ing ones thoughts. We must attend
to the duties we find nearest Us. Ii is
better 10 do your own duty poorly
than to do another's duty well.
you will gather from what 1 have
said that Theosophy iSnot antagon-
iStic 70 Christianity. l mean the
Christianity given out by Christ, not
the creeds recently evolved. But the
teachings Of Jesus himself are indeed
| TheOSOphy. We are often accused Of
being atheists. These charges are
made because our philosophy is not
understood. TheOSOphy does not
teach the idea Of 3 personal god. To
Us. the supreme deity is s. supreme
principle, not person. Ii is the sum
total OF the aspects OF the universe.
The personality implies limited
thing. The deity is unlimited. Ii is
not true thSt We are atheiSttcal. 1t
is only that we lift our conception
beyong a limited personality. All
| through the Bible there are statements
OF the deity which lift our thoughts far
beyond the personality Of il. When
we speak Of the essence of TheoSophy
we speak of the religion which they
| understand. What does it matter, if
we speak 10 the Christian Of Christ,
| TO the Hindu Of Brahm, 10 the Mus
sulman of Allah The word is not the
| important thing, it is the idea And
! only, in speaking 20 Christians, We
| ask them 10 study their books more
! closely, aud see If we cannot claim a
relationship.
I'VE are often asked, DO you be-
I iieye in Christi l answer, Yes, if
[ YOU mean what was always meant by
! the word-that which was the first
manifestation OF the supreme power.
/ TueOsOphy holds that there is no such
| thing as q soul created. 1t holds that
all souls are part OF the unborn es-
Seuce, and have never been created.
[ All iutslligeuees are the result Of eyO-
I luton, helped forward by Self-directed
efforts. Those above have earned
! their eXaltatiOn. Such great spirits
are truly sons Of God. II you say that
/ God Is an only god, the TheOsophists
I say, No, he is one of many gods.
[ Christ was 4 teacher, wise in spiritual
I things. He taught, not something
new, but re6ffirmed ancient things.
And If today we were not fixed on
material things, we could become
/ perfect. Man has been led TO the
state in which he doubts and requires
70 have his intelligence convinced Of
these truths. II is said in the New
Testament that Jesus said TO his dis
ciples, 1t is.given 10 you 10 know the
mysteries Of the Kingdom Of Heaven
but 10 those without these things
are spoken in parallels This is be-
cause the many were and are too busy
70 understand sll, but TO those who
could 20 beyond wider teaching was
given.
"TheOsophy comes forward to ex-
plain what cannot be otherwise ex-
plained-what the church can
not explain. The Church has
lost the key of the soul. We do
not want 10 antagoniZe Chris
tianity, but 70 come to it as a friend
and an ally. We claim that the doe.
trine affirmed in the Bible, that a
man shall reap as he sOws, is true;
that the world can only reach happi-
ness and true progress by substituting
for self-interest the interest OF the
whole. II, instead Of fighting against
each other, we would combine for the
general good, We would all be better.
Here IheOsOphy comes in with its
philosophy, by telling Us that only
80 are changes for the better TO be /.
brought about. Everyone can COM I
prehend this much. Only by improv- /
ing the individual can you improve /
all
There Is another teaching in The /
F~.v - 4
Iianity, but which l will prove to you
has been taught in the bible. This 4
Is reincarnation. In the East it is I
taken for granted. In speaking Of st. !
John, Jesus said, this is Elias which |
was TO come Elias had been dead /
for years, and what did Jesus mean 1
but that be had come back to earth? /
This Is bat one OF many similar texts /
ia thebiOle. Jesus did not make this as /
s new statement. IL was an old idea /
then. The theory Of reincarnatiOu Is 4
one Of the principles Of TheosOphy. /
This doctrine supplements the doc
tTiue Of the Christian church, and JUS
titles several ideas which might be
otherwise uujustifiable. II we are dis
appointed in this life, in the newer
one, which may commence tomorrow,
Phillips Brooks, that in twenty-five |
years all the leading churches would /
be preaching reincarnatiOn. / believe
with him, for that doctrine clears up
all the mystries Of life, OF our origin
aud OF our destiny. Without reincar.
nation evolution j. a mOckery. With
il evolution l. a charm, and we
can understand life a. we find it.
II j. said, il We are born again,
il l. the result Of the past. We
enter human life because our
thoughts are connected with ii. So
evolution becomes a reality. We
evolve, the universe evolves. SO long
as We wish IL, nature will welcome rs
back, and we will never leave the
world permanently until We desire 10
20 10 some higher existence. so
Theosophy gives Us every encourage
ment To overcome all that We find
wicked and ugly, and to accept
all that j right and beautiful. In
this way, life has a meaning for all,
and our purposes become the cause OF
our destiny. II We are dissatisfied, we
make new causes. As we suffer for
our own mistakes, We reap our own
90 long as We desire 10 re-