The herald., 1897-03-29
THEOSOPHISTS' VIEWS
BRAHMACHARIN SPEAKS OF
THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH
Paul Heff1eman's Address at Blav-
atsky Hall--The Law OF Love,
the Law of Life

The Brahmacharin Bodhabhikshu de-
livered a lecture last evening at the Ma
sonic Temple on the Hindu Method or
the Search After Truth"
There is an internal hankering after
knowledge in the human mind," saic the
sneaker, 'but the first impulse OF this
desire for knowledge leads man to the
outside world. This is quite natural
For it is through the action of external
agencies such as light, heat and so OIL
on the animal, or rather the vegetable
organism, that sentiency and senses
have come into existence. 1t is internal
interests that keep the man awake
during the first part of his progress.
During this period man analyses ex-
ternal nature and studies human MS
tory with a view to arrive at truth. But
in vain. He can only infer and conjec--
ure from certain given data Truth ne
never knows. All he can say is; 'Sucn
and such are the premises, and the con-
clusion seems to be this. Agnosticism
and skepticism are the inevitable goal OF
the outgoing mind.
Compare with this the tone with
which teachers like Christ speak. Their
tcne does not know any such thing as
It seems They declare, we know this,
we speak of what we have seen ana
bear witness of what we have known
saws Jesus And so do all the grea
teachers. Why? Because there is
difference between the method adopted
hv the inductive philosopher and that OF
the prophet The former goes out, the
latter sinks within. Truth can never
he known outside. For outside we know
only forms-phenomena- never
noumena. The truth of a Hover whlcn
today is and tomorrow Will fade away
into the memory Of the past Is inc
Idea that lies at the back. To know
Ills idea one must forget the outside
and go within, as the artist and the poet
do. The senses will never tell you OF
the true.
This method of going within and
from within out into the world OF IDEAS
is what the Hindus have follower LOT
thousands of years. And in order 10 90
that il is absolutely necessary thds one
should curb ones desires ana hush the
whispers of the passions altogether,
and lead a perfectly holy and scientific
life Then the candidate is taught how
r. leave the physical body as Christ did
during what is known as forty Gays
and forty nights fast. 1t is then alone
that the student has the frst-hand
knowledge of truth even here on earth
He converses face to face with angels
and knows that they exist. He READS
the Book of Life which is only name
to the majority of mankind. Hlndu
method. in short, teaches how to verify
religious truths here on earth, and not
hereafter, just as the chemist Verlfes
his theory. But it it taught only 10 the
worthy, who have moral ana mental
qualifications.
AT BLAVATSKY HALL.
AT Blavatsky hall, 525 West tlIth
street, Sunday evening, Paul ). He1fie-
man of Pasadena gave an ADDRESS tah-
ing as a text the 18th chapter of First
Corinthians.
The text, said the speaker, does not
mean charity in the usual acceptatlon
of that word, for what could better ex-
press the very acme of charity than
that man should "bestow all his goods
to feed the poor" and even give ms
body to be burned?" And yet we are
told that even though man may do
all this and more; yet having not Char
'ty" or "love" it comes to naught-slt
,rofiteth him nothing" For we may
dc all these things which have the ap-
Trance of being inspired by the great
eat owe and charity. and yet down in
tl 1ottom of our hearts, underneath
Nual seems the greatest sell-sdcriice
and initiation, we may be passion
.taIv d gging to our bosom great and
ri ...astering desire for reward, dream :
ua Of the eternal bliss we have earned
md cherishing in our minds the great
1nlusion. II am holier than thou. | am
separate from thee" The great secret
of mans welfore, which is in truth the
cry keynote of all progress here and
hereafter is, like most of the treasures
of life. simplicity itself. 1t is, in few
words. lust this, 1.-The law of love is the
law of life" This all-embracing love,
which the apostle places above all other
considerations is nothing less than that
-uot ard basis of universal brotherhood,
the sense of eparateness, which
should be the very handspring and
source of inspiration of the true Theoso-
phists lASe and conduct, making him,
as our great leader Katherine A. Ting
ley has said, "a compassionate lover of
all that breathes.'
When universal brotherhood is made
Areal and practical among men, instead
f being regarded as mere sentiment,
Then will be ushered in that golden age
w hich has been the dream of poets of
AZ a.. time, and the seed of which lies hid
oei in the hearts of all humanity.
To CT IA.