The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-02-19
TRUE MEANING
Of THEOSOPHY
Thomas Primes Address at the
Alexander Young Hotel
Last Evening.

Mr. Prime spoke to an audience that
filled the room at the headquarters of
the Oahu Lodge of the Theosophlcal
Society last evening.
He said in part: 'sThe Theosophieal
Society has for it's objects-First: to
form a neucleus of the universal broth
erhood of humanity without distinction
of race, creed, sex, caste or color.
Second: To promote the study of COM
parative religion, philosophy and sci
ence. Third: To investigate unexplain-
ed laws of nature and the power s
| latent In man.
"Theosophy may be described to the
outside world as an intelligent theory
of the universe, yet for those who have
studied 1t, it is not theory, but fact:
| for it is a definite science, capable of
being STUDIED, and its teachings are
verifable by investigation and expert
ment for those who are qualified, and
for those who are willing to take the
trouble to qualify themselves for such
enquiry. 1t is statement of the great
facts of nature so far as they are
known-an outline of the scheme of our
| part of the universe.
99People ask how did this scheme
become known and by whom was 1t
discovered. We can not speak of it as
discovered for it has always been
known to mankind. There have always
been. Some highly developed men
not of one particular nation, but of all
the advanced nations-who have known
these truths. Those who have really
sought these truths have always been
able TO find them and it Is only of late
that in the western world we are truly
| beginning to seek. Such seekers are
as yet but a small minority, but for
them the Philosophical Society has been
founded and its books in increasing
numbers are being put before the pub
lie. Its mission is not to force its
teaching upon reluctant minds, but
simply to offer it, so that, those may
take it who feel the need Of II.
''Three great truths are taught by
Theosophy:
"l.-God exists, and He is good. He
| is the great life-giver who dwells with
in us and without US, is undying and
eternally benefcent. He is not heard,
nor seen, nor touched, yet is perceived
by the man who desires perception.
."
| is one whose glory and splendor have
no limit.
"a Divine law of absolute JUS
tice rules the world so that each man
is in truth, his own judge, the dis
penser of glory or gloom to himself,
the decreer of his life, his reward, his
punishment.
s.The materiahsm to which we have
been reduced can hardly be more clear
! ly shown than it is by the expression
| that we employ in common life. We
speak quite ordinarily of a man as hav-
ing a soul, of saving our souls, and
so on, evidently regarding the physical
| body as the real man. little IN
vestigation shows US that the body is
only a vehicle by means of whlck4 the
man manifests himself with the par
| ticular type of gross matter out OF
which our visible world is built.
.sUntil a man thinks of himself as
| a soul, the owner of the body, ~ IS
| impossible for him to appreciate the
/ real facts Other conditions of matter.
exist besides physical matter, not only
the ether admitted by modern science,
but other types of matter as much
! finer than ether as it is finer than
solid matter. Man has vehicles of con-
sciousness built from these finer condi-
| lions of matter This is no new idea.
It will be remembered that st. Paul re-
marks that There is a natural body,
and there is a spiritual body. And
that he refers to both soul and spirit.
It become sevident that man is far
more complex being than Is ordinarily
supposed; that not only is he spirit
within soul, but that this soul has
various vehicles, or bodies, of differ
ent degrees of density, the physical
body being only one of them
| 1--WE speak of the visible world as
| the physical plane to the next stage
of matter the name astral plane was
given by medieval alchemists. Within
this exists yet another world of still
! finer matter, which we call the mental
/ piane, because its matter is composed
/ of what is commonly called the mlnd
in man. And there are still higher
nlanes. These worlds are not far on
in. space but are equally about us al
| WAYS. and a mans vehicles of con-
seriousness, physical, astral, mental, are
not apart. but are equally about him.
"He learns by degrees how to use
these various bodies of his and by that
means gains more complete idea of
the great complex world in which he
lives. All this will come naturally and
in order in the course of evolution.
"What we ordinarily call life, Is
only one day in the real and wide life
like a day at school during which
certain lessons are learned-but our life
is not long enough TO give soul an
opportunity for learning all the lessons
/ which tins wonderful world has to
teach and 1t is necessary that each soul
| should come back many times and 1--we
\ through many of these school days,
that we cali lives, IN different classes,
and under different circumstances. This
| is what is called the doctrine of Re
incarnation, or rebirth, doctrine which
was widely known in ancient eivlliza-
lions, and held by the majority OF the
human race today.
"A few years ago the essence of
this doctrine was prettily put thus:
ga boy went to school. He was
very little. All that he knew he had
drawn in with his mothers milk. his
| +aocher (1Uho was tIod) placed him IN