The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1904-12-08
WORLDS EVIL DUE
TO SELFISHNESS

"Theosophy and Its Bearing Upor
Life" was the title OF lecture delivered
last Saturday in Carmichael hall by Mrs
Louise Goddard. The lecture was well
attended, and the words of the speaker
listened to attentively. There was 9
recitation by Miss Mignon Abbott, when
Mrs. Goddard explained the philosophy
of the Theosophists. She spoke in
part as follows: K
Theosophy is not,as many suppose, ,an
ism, new doctrine, with dogmas and
creeds; on the other hand it teaches
that the true Interpretation of, and the
living up to the religions already extant
would lift the world into a vastly
higher moral and spiritual plane
of being. Theosophy has no dogmas
to present; knowledge can come
through reason only.
The one object of Theosophy is the
uplifting and perfecting of the race. 1t
holds that the purpose of life is exper.
fence and it seeks to prove that, what.
ever experience we are called upon to
pass through, call we it good or evil, is
necessary step in the path OF our evo-
luton. 1t rejects the belief of the spe-
cal creation of souls at the moment of
birth in physical body as impractical
and devoid of proof. On the other hand
the teaching that all spirit was. created
in the beginning is borne out by all the
laws on nature both physical and spir-
itual-for Nature has spiritual as well
as a physical. All spirit was in the be-
ginning perfect, but negatively so; and
must manifest through matter in order
to reach positive perfection. Hence all
the diversified forms of life represent
the spiritual unfoldment through mat
ter.
Theosophy is the philosophy of the
soul; it treats on the nature of God, and
the laws which govern our being; it
teaches the relation Of man to God and
the relation of man to man.
Theosophy is occult because its sci
ence deals much with the inner, hidden
nature of man. 1t teaches that man is
constantly evolving from lower to high
er planes; gradually progressing through
life's experience; that in the dual aspect
of his nature one face is turned toward
the divine, which is its essence, and the
other face is turned toward matter which
he has come to dominate or subdue; it
teaches that the mind is dual, that this
aspect consists Of higher and a lower
mind-the rational or discriminating
mind, and the lower, which is the ami
NAL soul-the animal soul in man; that
in this dual nature we have the aspect
which is turned to the brute to train it +,
and we have the aspect which is turned
toward the spirit and strives ever up
ward for union with the purely divine
the God in man struggling with the brute
that the brute itself may become divine.
1t teaches that the same God nature
pervades all men that in the higher as
pect of his nature, man is manifesto
ton of the divine, and thus, are all men
are essentially one all are inter-related
inter-dependent and that Brotherhood
is fact in Nature and not theory.
Theosophy abolishes the cause of all
the sin and most of the misery of life.
That cause is selfishness. Every form
of dishonesty, violence, outrage, fraud,
even discourtesy comes from the desire
to promote ones ends even at the sacri-
fee of others. All aggression upon
fellowmen, ,all efforts to belittle, ,outshine
or humiliate them, express the feeling
that disqualification is to be sought be-
fore all else. This is equally true of
personal vices as well as that of personal
contempt for divine authority which we
call impiety. Hence the root of all
evil conduct toward God, toward other
men, or toward ones self is self love
self love so strong as to sacrifice every
thing rather than its own indulgence.
Now this is what Theosophy enjoins
its cardinal doctrine is the absolute
equality of human rights and the uni
versal obligation to respect them. If
my neighbors' possessions-of feelings,
prosperity, happiness, what not-are as
much to be respected and regarded as
are mine, and feel that, I shall not in
wade them. Still more,if perceive the
true fraternity of man, if | realize that
the richest pleasure comes from giving,
rather than receiving good, | shall not
be passively unaggressive, ! shall be
actively benefcent. In other words |
shall be true philanthropist, and in
being this | shall have gained the high
est reach of happiness to self.
To the mind trained in the deeper
philosophers of life, and observant of
the laws of benefcent Nature there is
nothing startling or strange in the doc
trine of re-incarnation. 1t would seem
indeed but a natural sequence of the
laws of evolution,
While Darwin taught that the phys
ical man evolves through all the king.
doms of nature from the mineral to the
human, Theosophy teaches the evolu-
tion of the spirit through all the diff
erent forms of life.
At the change called death, the phys
ical form disintegrates and goes again
to the elements that nurtured it, The
spirit or Ego is born again and again in
newer forms. As worn out garment
is cast aside for one more fitting, so the
Ego, having exhausted its field of opera
ton in form which can no longer serve
its purpose yields it back to nature
and comes again in another, and in en-
vironments and amid conditions more
suited to its advancement in life's eX
periences. Evolution cannot cease with
man it must also be the law in the un-
seen world. Man becomes god. Thus
evolution is shown to have an
object instead of being aimless; and ma
ture credited with being just instead of
unjust. Immortality means not only
that man must go on living forever in
one form or another, but that he has
always lived, for life is circle without
beginning and without end.
The Theosophical Society seeks to find
the good in all it inculcates the spirit
of tolerance and love. 1t asks no one
to give up his religion or church, but to
give up selfshness and to practice al
truism.
The one principle it ever insists upon
is the unity OF all life, realization of
which would 10 away with all selfish
ness, as it further insists that selfish
nest is the root of all sin and sorrow.