The herald., 1897-01-25
WITH THE TnEosoPHIsTs
James N. Pryse's Eloquent Address at
BIavatsky Hall
From Orthodoxy to Theosophy the Sub
ject OF James Lapsley's
Address.

MI JdIue4 M. frySes Vuc WeA AAoWA
theosophist and Bible scholar, addressed
a large and greatly interested audience
Sunday morning at Blavatsky hall, 525
West Fifth street, taking for his subject
Consider the Lilies.
There was Dramatic picture pre-
sented to us some thousands OF years
ago in the observances and ceremonies
of the Scribes and Pharisees. who pro-
claimed themselves the messengers OF
God and the custodians of all HE great
secrets. In contrast to them we see
the carpenters son, teaching In beauti-
full simplicity, Consider the lilies OF
the field how they grow" And today
soIne think that II they are to hear real
wisdom 1t must be expressed In strange
terms and mysterious language. In re-
ality the contrary Is true The wisdom
of the sages has always been expressed
in simple language, and the trouble has
always been, not that the subject is
30 complicated, but owing to its very
simplicity we are prone to overlook it.
Men try in all sorts Of ways to make 1t
difficult-these Scribes and Pharisees
were just what the Brahmins are today
They were very careful to preserve their
magnetism, not to touch anything that
others had touched, etc., as IL 1t made
any real difference, the whole question
being whether the heart is pure. Jesus
taught his followers to consider the lilies
and the other works of nature. What
do they teach? As they unfold in beau
ty and purity they take from the earth
and the air all that they need. Drink
ing in the air and sunlight, they are not
striving to grow. are not striving to take
from others. There is no strife in their
life. The earth, the air, and all the ele-
nents help them. 1t would be wise for
man to follow their example by trying
to grow in a simple. unselfish manner,
and then nature Will aid him. And it
Is right here that the distinction be-
tween personality and individuality
comes In. Theosophists show that there
Is wide difference. Many say that
they want to keep their personality
But when you consider 1t you soon see
how impossible that is. When did your
personality begin? when you were
born," you say. A red-faced crying ba-
by Is born, with lungs out of all propor-
tion to its size bald and toothless. Do
you want to keep that personality? You
couldn't very well, IL you would. He
goes through the usual vicissitudes of
childhood. has the mumps, measles and
whooping cough, and in the course of a
few years grows up to be an unruly
boy. Do you want to keep that person.
ality? If so, you would be a hoodqum
boy always The personality changes.
becomes interested in baseball foot
ball. then gets interested In maidens.
finally in particular one and gets mar
ried. Then. II he lives long enough,
the personality becomes as bald-headed
and toothless as he was originally. Now
that Is the personality. Finally 1t reaches
the greater change we call death. 1t
Is in reality dying and being born again
and again. Every change from one stage
to another Is death, and the whole Is
process of rebuilding or rebirth. Then
comes death, and that personality van
ishes. Yet all through there Is a per-
manent principle like thread running
through all. If you look back at your
old photographs you realize that they
represent the same individual in differ
ent personalities. To live in the real
self, which realizes, This is l." not the
personality, which Is always changing
Is the true life. 1t goes on always the
same. If you make that your true cen
ter, nothing can shake you from the
tranquility of spiritual power and life.
In certain sense the personality is
retained, fori each Is made up of the
past. There has been a growth, and
the real ''I' has been adding to itself
In the next life the personality will re-
tain everything worth retaining. Con
sider the lilies" means in the Greek or
iginal mediate upon the lilies." Many
in our society are studying great deal
over the subject of meditation and try
ing to realize all that it means. Most
people who try to mediate upon one
certain thing imm me6iately begin to think
of everything else, except the right
thing. This Is because the lower self
is always changing and cannot bring
the mind to -pointedness." The
true meditation Is not secured through
this impermanent principle. but through
the true principle, which says, This Is
l." Meditation is the finding of the
true self-we have to get back to the
true center. Such meditation consti-
tutes the only thing you can call prayer
An appeal to the impersoral God. 1t
Is the attempt to become one with that
inner God. To my mind 1t is little
less than blasphemy to attempt to bring
before the real inner self the things
which pertain to the personality. Let.
them go.
Men go on getting up all sorts of the
ories of salvation. and all come to moth
ing. If they followed the path of the
lHes-let the lower personality take care
or Itself and followed the path of the
spirit-they would soon be In the right
way, and ali occultism follows. A man
who had seen some Of the wonders per-
formed by adopts wrote and asked if
they would not confer some of these
powers upon him. They answered him
that they could not nor could they pre-
vent any man from acquiring them.
All nature is before you; take what you
can. open your soul to nature and
the forces of nature become your own.
Not by looking outward, but by look
ing inward, can we get back to the
diviHe self which exists through all
the cons. Spoken or written words will
rot 90 1t. Look within. And you never
can do 1t as long as you try to find the
oevll IN other men, II is said in the
Uplnishads that when the self vreated
man ne pierced all the openings out
ward Man looks outward through
tnese openings upon the shifting. chang
ing wori0 and sees transition and death.
a certain sage, instead of looking out
ward, looked within himself saw the
divine within and become Immortal
think that is the only path. as the an
cient Greek said, to "know thyseIf,-to
know God manifest within you and God
incarnated here on this earth.
JAMES LAPSLEY'S ADDRESS.
From Orthodoxy to Theosophv was tho
subject of lecture by James Fl M
Lapsley at the Theosophical headonar-
ters. Odd Fellows building. 22OH south
Main street. He said he had com.
menced where most students Of truth
90 begin, In the church. He had been q
member of several, and although NOT an
ardent defender of the church. he had
not arrived at that state xuhara - 1s