THEOSOPHY IN ACTION
K.
SUBBA RAO
Former
Chief Justice of
I
am not a Theosophist. But I appreciate the three objects of Theosophy for, they
are unexceptionable and universally acceptable. The three declared objects of
the Theosophical Society are: (l) to form a nucleus of universal brotherhood
and humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour; (2) to
encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science; (3) to
investigate unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man. The three
objects envisage a society of universal brotherhood through a deep study and
free enquiry.
The
word Theosophy is translated as “divine wisdom” or “spiritual wisdom.” Wisdom
is a state of mind which is the product of intuition, knowledge and experience
and which gives a balanced perspective of approach to problems. A wise man acts
wisely in a given environmental situation. His integrated personality is
reflected in his dedicated action. Divine or spiritual wisdom is the evolution of
the said perspective which is in consonance with truth or reality. This divine
wisdom is achieved through a single-minded pursuit of the said three objects of
the Theosophical society. A Theosophist through intensive study of the
different disciplines–science, philosophy and comparative religion, through the
free enquiry into the laws–natural and super-natural, and through the formation
of the nucleus of universal brotherhood, reaches the goal of truth.
Then
what is truth or reality? Theosophy says that truth is that which exists at all
levels–matter, life, consciousness and what lies beyond consciousness. But the
acceptance of the said three objects does not impose a duty on the seeker after
truth to profess belief in any pre-determined aspect of truth, for it is left
to every votary of Theosophy in the words of Dr Annie Besant to “see the truth
by using your reason to judge it, by your own study, assimilating it until it
becomes part of your mind.” Even so, some of the great savants of Theosophy
recorded their insights in the nature of truth or reality.
Not
being a Theosophist and so not having delved deep in the Theosophical classics
and scriptures, I cannot express authoritatively on the spiritual aspects of
Theosophical pursuits. They are in one form or the other expressed in all the
great religions and philosophies in the world. But Theosophy rationalises them
and offers them for free enquiry and investigation. Briefly stated the tenets
of Theosophy are: Universe is governed by law which is an expression of
consciousness. A corollary from this premise is that every event is governed by
such a law; man is divine and is impregnated with consciousness of the nature
of God, i.e., he is an immortal soul; man is born to realise his true nature,
i.e., his divinity; as he could not achieve this in one lifetime, he goes
through a cycle of lives till he realises his oneness with the God or
consciousness. The process of transmigration is based on the doctrine of
Karma–“What you sow you reap.” All are divine and therefore all are equal and
belong to universal brotherhood. The divine nature descends through the
channels of diverse disciplines and man who partakes of the divine nature
realises his divinity by keeping the channels clean and ascending through them.
These scriptural tenets are not new. Yet they are refreshing, because they are
not given as inflexible axioms of truth, but are thrown open to reasonable
scrutiny by the seekers after truth.
The
greatest attraction of Theosophy to me is its emphasis on freedom of thought. A
large majority of the people of the world are forced to accept the gospel of
conformism. The radio, television, press and platform–the powerful instruments
of mass media are turned in all societies, democratic or totalitarian, to
condition the mind of ignorant gullibles or immature youth. Invariably they
have become instruments of power to project an ideology or more often the image
of a personality or group of persons. Propaganda has become the sophisticated
whip of authority to compel the obedience of the common man. I shudder to
imagine the powerful use by tyrants of the incoming scientific discoveries to
change the human genes and to mould the human nature in their own fashion. It
is clear that the conditioning of the mind of man may turn out to be the
greatest hindrance to the progress of society. This danger has been anticipated
over the ages by great savants and forewarned the people against the said
danger.
Theosophy
rightly insists that freedom of thought is the pre-condition for the pursuit of
truth. Though the Theosophical Society insists on the acceptance of the three
objects narrated above and though some of the eminent exponents of
Theosophy gave expression to their insights into reality, it emphasises that
the seeker after truth shall reach it only through free enquiry. To my mind,
this aspect of Theosophy lifts it from unreasoned dogmas and fanatical
conventions, and recognises the divinity of man. A sincere Theosophist,
therefore, develops a strong resistance to the gospel of conformism, which now
threatens to overwhelm a large part of the world.
Another
aspect of Theosophy, that has attracted me, is its acceptance of the concept of
the fundamental unity of all religions. Theosophy holds that “all great
religions, coming at different times to different people, have been adopted to
the different stages of evolution and the moral requirements of the people to
whom they were given, and that it is in perfect harmony with the great
religious principle which teaches the relationship of man to each other and to
God.” What are these great principles that underly all religions. There is no
inherent conflict between religions. At the highest echelons they meet. A study
of the different scriptures will indicate that the fundamental principles of
religions are similar and that they differ only in ritualistic garbs in which
they are clothed or the practices they follow, having regard to the
environmental conditions in which they function. Briefly stated, all religions
believe in God or some universal principle; all religions believe in salvation
which is given different names such as heaven, Mukti, Nirvana, etc; all
religions lay down the pathway or the “Sadhana” to achieve salvation such as
Yoga, surrender, faith, worship, etc; all religions prescribe rules of ethical
conduct such as Dharma, ten commandments, eight-fold pathway, Triratna, etc.,
to purify the mind in order to acquire equanimity necessary to pursue the
pathway laid down; all religions place before their votaries high values of
life. The value system of the different religions are similar, though each
religion emphasises a particular value or values.
Hindu
religion preaches self-realisation, universal brotherhood and tolerance of
religious diversity; Islam seeks to help humanity to realise what is good,
just, true and beautiful; Buddhism preaches the noble idea of sympathy, love,
kindness and detachment; Sikhism propagates humanism and brotherhood;
Christianity is based on love, sacrifice and faith; Zoroastrianism emphasises purity
of word and purity of mind; Jainism concentrates on love and compassion for all
the sentient beings. All religions, therefore, help man to realise himself
through similar disciplines and ethical conduct. But human
weakness, religious bigotry and political manoeuvre have made religion, over
the centuries, the ostensible reason for conflicts for personal aggrandisement.
A
comparative study of religions, which is one of the cardinal objects of
Theosophy, confirms the Theosophical assumption of the basic unity of all
religions. Theosophy is, therefore, a link between religions; it affords a
common platform to all religious groups to meet, discuss and discover their
identity which is clouded by dogmas and the conventional cobwebs that
gathered round them through fanaticism and obscurantism.
Theosophy, therefore, plays an important role in bringing together all the
religions, and its role cannot be over-emphasised in the present conditions of
Indeed,
if I may say so, Theosophy has anticipated the Indian constitutional concept of
secularism. That concept is made up of the following elements among others:
1.
Rationalisation of religion;
2.
Freedom of conscience–individual
and corporate;
3.
Tolerance of religious diversity;
4.
Respect towards other religions.
The
Indian Constitution has accepted the said doctrines and made them the supreme
law of the land. The State is not separate from religion but is made the main
social instrument for creating conditions for the evolution of all religions in
our country. The constitutional aim is spiritualism, in the highest sense of
the term, which underlines all religions of the world. If properly implemented
a point of time may come, when
The
mixing up of religion with the distinct but interdependent disciplines–Philosophy,
science, culture, law and the social reform of evils–has
introduced avoidable conflicts among religions.
Religion
is faith in God or some Divine principle that govern the universe. At the
highest level of intellect, this faith enables one to concentrate on abstract
reality, at the lower level the faith is maintained by the personalisation of
the universal principle, at the lowest by the embodiment of the same in idols
or symbols.
While
religion is concerned with faith in God or some universal principle, philosophy
is concerned with the knowledge of the origin and the nature of the universe,
and of man and his destination. One is based on faith and the other on reason.
In the East, unlike in the West, philosophy seeks to explain and corroborate
religion. Though from the standpoint of religion philosophy is connected with
religion, from the standpoint of philosophy it is a distinct discipline capable
of standing on its own in the field of competitive philosophy and
inter-philosophical discussion.
While
philosophy is based on pure reason, science is based on reason, verified by
observation and experimentation. The assumptions of science are questioned by philosophy;
sometimes the conclusions of philosophy are proved or falsified by science.
Philosophy seeks to know the whole truth, the “why” of the creation, science
only the “how” of it.
Culture
means “total accumulation of material objects, ideas, beliefs, sentiments,
values and social forms which are passed on from one generation to another in
any given society.” This comprehensive definition takes in the entire social
milieu obtaining in a society at a particular point of time. Religion and
culture are not synonymous but the moral values generated by religion are
part of culture.
Law is the general rule of external human conduct enforced by a sovereign political authority and in the modern world, its scope has been so enlarged as to take in “law and order”, “liberty”, “equality” and “security”. In modern democracies, law controls and regulates every aspect of human activity.
The
social evils like caste, untouchability, polygamy, polyandry, easy divorce,
Devadasi system, etc., are not integral parts of religion though they are
perpetuated in the name of religion.
Politics
is a game to secure power in order to administer a State, the powers so secured
may be well used or abused. Politicalisation of religion is the greatest danger
to society.
If
philosophy, science, culture, law and politics are separated from religion, as
was done in some advanced countries, many of the conflicts among religions, not
only can be avoided but all the religions can be brought together. There is
some misapprehension that, disannexed from religious control, the said
disciplines would be deprived of their anchor and may wither away. It is also
said that divorced from the said disciplines, religion also will lose its hold
on the people which will lead to demoralisation and disintegration of the
society. To put in other words the delinking would destroy the spiritual
background of the said disciplines. There is no justification for this
apprehension.
The
three objects of Theosophy enumerated above enable its votaries to study the
said disciplines, religion, science, law and philosophy. All the disciplines
are equally open to deep study by all, irrespective of their religious
affiliations and the said study and reflection thereon give men a scientific
and philosophic perspective to religion, and the religious faith so
strengthened gives a spiritual outlook to the other disciplines. While the
separation of the disciplines is recognised, their interdependence is
emphasised. This enables all the religious groups to come together and form an
universal brotherhood.
The
next aspect of Theosophy which impressed me is that it is a way of life.
Theosophy develops a scientific, humanitarian approach to the problems of the
day. It played an important and constructive role in the social, economic,
political and cultural fields. Theosophists approach each and every problem
that confronts them from the perspective of humanism engendered by the
acceptance of the concept of universal brotherhood. Even at the personal level,
a sincere Theosophist is a dedicated and selfless worker striving to realise
himself by helping others. Whether in the field of fighting for the freedom of
the country–the Home Rule Movement led by Annie Besant; whether in providing
educational facilities to the poorer sections of the community–the schools
established by the Society; whether in the care of the welfare of the
children–the orphanages built by the Society; whether in its propaganda to
eradicate social evils–caste system, and untouchability; whether in the propagation
of fine arts, the members of the Theosophical Society worked in
the respective fields with a rare Theosophic touch of humanism and altruism.
It
is an international movement. It is spread over the continents. It helps to
evolve a universal man. The creation of an universal man, the man who realises
his oneness with the divine consciousness, is the only effective solution of
the material conflicts of the day. In short, Theosophy cannot be described
simply as a religion, philosophy or science, but as a movement to encourage the
human mind to dive into the unfathomable depths of his consciousness in order
to enable him to realise his oneness with the consciousness.
A
century has passed by since the Theosophical movement was started. Throughout
the world Theosophical Societies are holding centenary celebrations. Over the
years the movement has spread over the different parts of the world. The
present celebrations will give a further impetus to the movement and will be a
new milestone on the road to universal brotherhood.
“Each
man is a potency in himself, and only by working on the lines which suggest
themselves to him can he bring to bear the forces that are his. We should deny
no man and interfere with none; but our duty is to discover
what we ourselves can do without criticizing the actions of
another.”
–WIILIAM Q. JUDGE