The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-01-25
WHAT IS THEosoPHY?

The word theosophy Is often seen What theosophy is, what 1t teaches, is not familiar. If we look In the dictionary we may learn that the word comes from a Greek word mean ing ''wise in the things of God" Is there anything which is not of God? Wise, to have knowledge, in things Of God. What tremendous opening for energy, both in thinking and doing, II we may understand little of theoso- phy. No study is pursued without pre- senting something of use, however small, and as one studies theosophy the way ever widens, ever leads on and on. The oldest book we people In the vest ern world are familiar with is the Bl- ble, Because it is the oldest we know; we have forgotten, sometimes, the eX- istence of other, if not older, records Yet the Bible itself testifies to the eX- istence of the book of the Wars Of the Lord (Num. xxi. 14), QknoWn as the Bhagavad- -GitD and the Book of Jasher (Joshua x. 1S) The first books of the
 
 ten by Moses. Moses is supposed tc have died before the year 1900 B. C, This does not give such antiquity to the Bible (to the written records) compared with the inscriptions on monuments and the tablets found in late years, 1T Chaldea, for instance. Inscriptions prove their great civilization as long ago as 4000 B. c. while Abraham, tc whom the Hebrews trace the rlse O their nation, is supposed to have jour neyed from Chaldea about 22OO year: before the birth of Jesus.
 What of the book of Genesis before the story of Abraham? It is writer down in a fragmentary fashion, iron | the best recollections the scribe had O older nations, such as the Hindus, th' Chaldeans and the Egyptians. Of al i the older nations the Hindus seem bes tc have preserved their knowledge | Their literature Is greater in extent an( l in antiquity than any which has beer within the reach of the western people | At the time of the Babylonish captlvit, | the possessions of the Hebrews Wer scattered or destroyed, but they neve l never so mighty a nation as the Hin dus, whose country (the peninsula 0 Hindustan) is about the size of Europe and the population of it is one-sixtl that of the world.
 ! The Hindus have still in stheir pos session many of their old records. I is from the study of these teachings o the wise men of old that knowledge ha been gained by wise men of our tim concerning things of God. This knowl edge is being widely spread on eartl i to-day.
 Theosophy teaches that when mel first dwelt upon this earth there cam, among them divine beings who taugh them concerning spiritual things wh, gave them knowledge The Bible, tn oldest book we have at hand in Whicl to verify this, shows plainly that tn early races of men were more spiritua than we are, and that they had com nlunication with beings greater thai | themselves. This knowledge we ar capable of receiving because we hay within us tiny flame of the alvin knowledge. So deeply hidden is it iron | distant intervals, do we suspect it presence. Take. for example, the If of man of the present age. Little b. little he may allow what is tfanstory worldly, selfish, to grow How effectu ally that crowds away the promise of
 higher spiritual growth given earlier This is the history of all men for ages We have fallen into material ways o thinking and living. The alvin Knowledge is still within us, and vii assert itself if we will permit. On sometimes sees an ardent soul in body too weak to make it's desires talk effect. This is the case with us in way. We have blocked up the chan nels of communication, we have mad our minds too weak to grasp even tn idea, perhaps, of what is really withi us. This condition may be altered We may again become capable of usin our minds and bodies as the servant of our real selves
 A student of theosophy learns to rec ognize the work of these teachers i many movement organized by me the source of whose Inspiration wa unknown. Lately pupil sent to pro claim this knowledge was permitted t name the source, and in the writings c Mime. Blavatsky there is a great fun of information concerning theosophy,
 B. E. A