Lecture VIII
The Place of Theosophy in the Coming Civilisation
A Public Lecture delivered in the Queen’s Hall, London, at the British Convention, July 2nd, 1909.
It has been my lot now for many years to visit England either every year or every other year, in order to try to spread throughout the country the truths of the ancient wisdom which in these days we call by its Greek name of Theosophy. This year it has been my special duty to place on record in the capital of the empire a certain line of teaching with regard to the changing conditions of the times, to draw the attention of the thoughtful to the signs all around us of a changing civilisation—signs of an age that is passing—signs of a dawning civilisation that may be seen on the far horizon of our day. And I had thought that I should only reach as to this the few thousands that may be gathered together Sunday after Sunday in a London hall, but by the generous kindness of the Christian Commonwealth these lectures have been spread far and wide. To-night I am taking up something of the thought that there has been more fully expressed, with the special intention of showing you the part that Theosophy will play in that coming civilisation, the nature of the work that it is doing in preparation for the civilisation on the threshold. I have worked out in those lectures in some detail what here I must only state, that just as you can find in watching the evolution of a man that at different ages of his life he is dominated by different parts, as we may say, of his consciousness—as we find emotion dominating him in youth, mind dominating him in his maturity, the wisdom of the Spirit in his age—so we may see, in glancing abroad over the civilisations and the races of men, that a similar succession may be observed, and that hence an indication of the future may be obtained. For we can see in the race that preceded our own, and still is living and active, the great Keltic race, how high emotion is the dominant note, and how the expression of that emotion finds itself best in poetry and in art. We can see that in the Teutonic race intellect is the dominant note, and that mind in all the spheres of its triumph shows itself out among the peoples who grow from that stock, of which our own nation is a branch. That being of the past and the present, it is not irrational to look now in the unfolding humanity for the growth of the next principle, the next mark in the opening consciousness, the development of the spiritual nature in man, which succeeds the intellectual as inevitably as that succeeds the emotional, and places the crown of wisdom and all-embracing love on the brow of the humanity which has passed through youth, is passing through its manhood, is going onwards to the full maturity of its evolution. So in the coming civilisation we shall expect to find spirituality the prevailing mark, dominating religion, dominating science, art, and society, and we may rationally look, as spirituality grows, and shapes and moulds the coming civilisation, that in the sphere of religion we shall see ever-increasing unity; in the sphere of science we shall find new methods of investigation, new powers to use in thought; that in the sphere of mind we shall find nobler ideals, more inspiring power; and in society we shall find spirituality showing itself, laying the foundation of society in self-sacrifice, building it up by self-control, and marking Brotherhood as its ultimate goal and achievement.
Such, very roughly, are the signs that we think will mark the coming civilisation. What has Theosophy to do with that civilisation: what its place, its part, its duty? That is the question that I am to try to answer to-night. And fairly the questions might be asked in speaking of Theosophy by those who know little of it save the name—and how little of it is known we can often see in the allusions we find to it in our daily Press—naturally the questions might arise: What is Theosophy? Whence does it come? Briefly, those preliminary questions, then, should be answered. Theosophy, in the first place, as its name implies, is the declaration that man as a spiritual being can directly know God who is Spirit. It is the proclamation of the ancient Gnosis as against the agnosticism of the closing years of the nineteenth century. Secondly, it is a body of doctrines which are common to all the great religions of the world; doctrines which we find explained, more or less perfectly and fully, in every great religion of the past as well as in every great religion of the present; a collection of teachings, spiritual in their nature, universal in their spread, endeavouring to guide man along the way to perfection, training him in life, illuminating him in the hour of death. It does not deal with any special rites, any special ceremonies, any special part of the teaching of religion which is not universal, which is not everywhere to be found. So far as those are concerned, the specialties of every religion, it studies them, it explains them, it shows the occult meanings which often lie behind the outer garment of ceremony, behind the ordinary rites of worship, behind the symbols that you find in every faith; but while it explains them, illuminates them, enforces their real value, it does not strive to persuade people to adopt one religion rather than another, but, instead of giving up their own religion for another, it counsels them to find in that religion the deep truths that all faiths have in common. Hence it endeavours, where religion is concerned, to bring peace instead of war, to make religion a healer rather than a divider, a peacemaker rather than a battle-cry among men. And in searching out these essentials of every religion, and drawing these out and setting them before the minds of men, it justifies its claim to its name of the Ancient Wisdom, of that Divine Wisdom in which all the great religions have their root.
Such, very roughly and briefly again, is Theosophy in its essence: a Gnosis as regards the relation of man to God, a statement of fundamental spiritual truths common to the great religions of the world. In a moment, in dealing with its work in the religion of the future, I will mention those doctrines one by one, so that you may see for yourselves how they may be traced in all the scriptures, living and dead, and in all the religions of the world. I put first the blunt statement of what Theosophy is, in order, if possible, to clear away the clouds which ignorance and prejudice have spread around it.
Taking it, then, that the coming civilisation is to be spiritual, that this Theosophy is to have a definite place and work therein, let me try to point out to you the nature of the work, the lines along which Theosophy labours to prepare the way for, as well as to influence, that coming civilisation for which we look; and when I say to prepare the way for, it is because we believe that every great religion has a civilisation attached to it, and according to the nature of the religion the civilisation that it moulds will be; and because we also believe that at the beginning of every civilisation a great Teacher appears in the world to give the impulse to that civilisation and to shape the religion that will mould it. Hence, with our looking for a coming civilisation, we look also for the manifestation of a great, a divine Teacher.