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Judge W.Q. - Answers to Questioners: Difference between revisions
Judge W.Q. - Answers to Questioners (view source)
Revision as of 01:38, 12 November 2026
, Thursday at 01:38Add the June-July 1888 and November 1888/February 1889 installments (nos. 3-4, 8, 11)
m (Add the May 1888 installment (postponement notice); also fix mid-sentence page-break markers and add the missing closing {{Footnotes}} call) |
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| description = The first installment of the "Zadok" question-and-answer department announced the previous month: on celibacy and spiritual attainment, vegetarianism, whether one can be an occultist without consciously experiencing the Astral, and the two paths of out-of-body travel. | | description = The first installment of the "Zadok" question-and-answer department announced the previous month: on celibacy and spiritual attainment, vegetarianism, whether one can be an occultist without consciously experiencing the Astral, and the two paths of out-of-body travel. | ||
| work type = articles | | work type = articles | ||
| publication date = November, December 1887, January, February, March, April, May 1888 | | publication date = November, December 1887, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, November 1888 | ||
| publication date sortable = 1887-11 | | publication date sortable = 1887-11 | ||
| publication place = ''The Path'' | | publication place = ''The Path'' | ||
| read links = [[Path/Vol2/Text|Electronic journal edition in Teopedia]] (vol. II); [[Path/Vol3/Text|Electronic journal edition in Teopedia]] (vol. III, continuing) | | read links = [[Path/Vol2/Text|Electronic journal edition in Teopedia]] (vol. II); [[Path/Vol3/Text|Electronic journal edition in Teopedia]] (vol. III, continuing) | ||
| publications = [[Path/Vol2/Text|''The Path'', vol. II, no. 8]], November 1887, pp. 249-251; no. 9, December 1887, pp. 278-281; no. 10, January 1888, pp. 309-310; no. 11, February 1888, pp. 344-346; no. 12, March 1888, pp. 378-381; [[Path/Vol3/Text|vol. III, no. 1]], April 1888, pp. 21-23; no. 2, May 1888, p. 65 (announcing postponement; continuing further in Volume III, outside the scope of this project) | | publications = [[Path/Vol2/Text|''The Path'', vol. II, no. 8]], November 1887, pp. 249-251; no. 9, December 1887, pp. 278-281; no. 10, January 1888, pp. 309-310; no. 11, February 1888, pp. 344-346; no. 12, March 1888, pp. 378-381; [[Path/Vol3/Text|vol. III, no. 1]], April 1888, pp. 21-23; no. 2, May 1888, p. 65 (announcing postponement); no. 3, June 1888, pp. 97-98; no. 4, July 1888, pp. 123-125; no. 8, November 1888, pp. 250-254; no. 11, February 1889, pp. 353-355 (continuing further in Volume III, outside the scope of this project) | ||
| ctd rus = Джадж У.К. - Ответы спрашивающим | | ctd rus = Джадж У.К. - Ответы спрашивающим | ||
| note = Signed "Zadok," the pseudonym established the previous month in [[Judge W.Q. - Notice to Inquirers|"Notice to Inquirers"]] (October 1887). The December and February installments' final answers, and the last answer of the March installment, are signed "Julius," a pseudonym of [[Keightley, Julia|Julia Keightley]]. The April 1888 (Volume III) installment's final answer is signed "Hadji," another of Judge's established pseudonyms. The rest are signed "Zadok." The May 1888 installment consists of a single unsigned editorial note announcing that, owing to the pressure of business following the Chicago Convention, the department's answers are postponed to the following month. | | note = Signed "Zadok," the pseudonym established the previous month in [[Judge W.Q. - Notice to Inquirers|"Notice to Inquirers"]] (October 1887). The December and February installments' final answers, and the last answer of the March installment, are signed "Julius," a pseudonym of [[Keightley, Julia|Julia Keightley]]. The April 1888 (Volume III) installment's final answer is signed "Hadji," another of Judge's established pseudonyms. The rest are signed "Zadok." The May 1888 installment consists of a single unsigned editorial note announcing that, owing to the pressure of business following the Chicago Convention, the department's answers are postponed to the following month. The June 1888 installment's two answers are signed "Moulvie," yet another of Judge's pseudonyms (see also [[Judge W.Q. - "The Gates of Gold"|"The Gates of Gold"]], May 1888). The July 1888 installment opens with an editorial note that "Zadok" has retired from the department; its first answer is signed in full, "William Q. Judge, Gen. Sec'y T. S.," and the remaining two are again signed "Moulvie." The November 1888 installment's first three answers (on the pronunciation of OM, on Spirit and matter, and on Karma) are signed "Narayan Nilakant," yet another of Judge's pseudonyms; its final answer (on the "Karma of Jesus" and on communication with "earth bound spirits") is signed "Jasper Niemand, F. T. S.," i.e. by [[Keightley, Julia|Julia Keightley]], answering under Judge's regular department in his absence. The February 1889 installment's three answers are jointly signed "Jasper Niemand, Wm. Brehon, Eusebio Urban"—all pseudonyms of Judge except "Jasper Niemand" (Julia Keightley). | ||
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{{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=2|p=65}} | {{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=2|p=65}} | ||
{{Style P-No indent|In consequence of an overpowering press of business during and following the late Convention, the answers to the various Questions addressed to Zadok and others are of necessity postponed till another month.}} | {{Style P-No indent|In consequence of an overpowering press of business during and following the late Convention, the answers to the various Questions addressed to Zadok and others are of necessity postponed till another month.}} | ||
{{Style P-Separator custom}} | |||
{{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=3|p=97}} | |||
{{Style P-Subtitle|From M. C. D.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|I am told that an Adept has said "that one can help or cure another if his Karma does not prevent it." Am I to understand that when suffering is before me I am not to relieve it if in my power to do so, on the ground that the suffering person's Karma has brought him there and I must not interfere? Some Theosophists have enunciated this rule.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—If an Adept said this it is not incorrect. But no Adept ever drew the conclusion you give. Some Theosophists have, we are sorry to say, declared that they may not help for the reason stated. It is not theosophical to take such a position. The sufferer's Karma truly produced the suffering, but your Karma offers the opportunity for a kind deed that may relieve him; it may be his Karma to be relieved by you. It is your duty to do this kind act, of whatever nature it be. The meaning of the declaration attributed to the Adept is that you are to try to relieve suffering, which effort will have a beneficial effect unless the Karma of the sufferer prevents: but you know nothing of his Karma and must not judge it; your duty lies in the act presented to you for performance, and not with its result nor with the possible hindrances resulting from the Karma. The {{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=3|p=98}}wrong view given by you in your question arises from the conceited attitude of persons who, having slight knowledge, presume to be the judges of others and of the great and hidden causes springing from Karma. Knowledge of these causes and of their operation in any particular case comes only to those who have reached Adeptship; for, in order to rightly judge how to rightly act, you must know absolutely the other's Karma, together with your own, in order not to fall into the awful error of deliberately sinning. It would be wiser for all students to seek to do their duty and to act as true brothers on every occasion than to run about endeavoring to imitate Sages and Adepts.}} | |||
{{Style P-Signature|Moulvie.}} | |||
{{Style P-Subtitle|From B. J.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|What can you tell me about the Mind Cure and Christian Science? Are they true, are they theosophical? Ought I to study them so as to be ''mens sana in corpore sano'', as it were?}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—As we have not made a thorough study of these, we could not assume to tell you much about them, and hence cannot say if they are true or theosophical. Many earnest theosophists are believers and followers of both. We, however, have been trained in the Eastern theosophical school. Following the teaching of the latter, our advice is to have a healthy body by paying regard to rules for health, so that your mind, whether it be healthy or not, may exhibit its workings untrammeled. And the teacher has ever said, as taught by the Sages of old, that the body must not be the object of the student's care. The same teacher also warned us that, as the body is a material thing, the proper remedies needed to counteract extreme discordant vibrations are also of a material nature. Our work lies not with your body, but with your mind and heart. See to it that the latter is right. The quantity and quality of mind that are yours may be little or poor, but even if great and good, the heart and soul are greater, and mind has its limits beyond which it passes not.}} | |||
{{Style P-Signature|Moulvie.}} | |||
{{Style P-Separator custom}} | |||
{{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=4|p=123}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|A change of circumstances having made it necessary for Zadok to remove to another sphere of action, no more answers to queries will appear from his pen. Queries, however, will be answered to the best of the ability of one or two others who have agreed to undertake the work, and they may be addressed to the Path as usual.}} | |||
{{Style P-Subtitle|From J. N. W.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|1.—What is the difference between the Esoteric Society of Boston and the Theosophic Society, and is that difference very serious?}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—The last clause of the question shows that the questioner probably means "disagreement" instead of "difference." There can be {{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=4|p=124}}no disagreement, inasmuch as the Boston Society is no part of the Theosophical Society. By reading the objects of the Theosophical body and those of the Boston Society, any difference which may exist may be discovered. I cannot say if there be any, as I know nothing of the latter.}} | |||
{{Style P-Signature|William Q. Judge, Gen. Sec'y T. S.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|2.—Do members of the T. S. practice the method of regeneration propounded by Hiram E. Butler?}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—I cannot say. The T. S. imposes no "method of regeneration" on its members; it only asks them to cultivate and exemplify Universal Brotherhood. As to a method of regeneration, it would seem that there can be but one regeneration.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|3.—Do members of the T. S. accept "Solar Biology" as a real science?}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—There may be some who do. The term "Solar Biology" is an example of the ability of the American mind to strain English terms out of their usual meaning. Ordinarily it would mean some biological effect produced by the sun of our system, or, as equally, biologizing the sun himself. Since, however, acceptance of a particular dogma or system is not required of members of the Theosophical Society, one should not waste any time in trying to find out whether persons who are members believe in certain isms or sciences. The same amount of time devoted to a careful, cold, and passionless scrutiny of our own outer and inner nature will lead us nearer to compliance with the old direction, "Man, know thyself." This is the only science worth knowing, for, as the old sacred books say, "In the heart of man are all things, sun, moon, and stars, all is contained within it."}} | |||
{{Style P-Signature|Moulvie.}} | |||
{{Style P-Subtitle|From L. C.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|What are the "peace" and the "voice of the silence" spoken of in ''Light on the Path''? Are they easy to attain to?}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—The peace is that period succeeding a storm set up in your {{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=4|p=125}}nature by any attempt to conquer the lower self. It follows each such conflict if the battle has been waged to victory for the higher. But few modern men can wage the battle with more than one thing at a time. Hence, we have many such storms. Each peculiarity, passion, or propensity has to be attacked singly and overcome. When that happens, a period of inner silence arrives in which the soul grows and attempts to instruct us. This is the voice. And, as ''Light on the Path'' says (Rule 21, part I), "It cannot be described by any metaphor." The silence has its counterpart in nature when, after storms or cataclysms, hush occurs. The silence after a storm is due to the effect of water falling through the air upon earth, vegetation, insects, and animals, and to the peculiar results of loud reverberations of thunder. All these combine to produce a silence quite appreciable by anyone accustomed to nature. And when a cataclysm takes place, such as the falling of a tremendous avalanche of snow, another sort of silence is brought about, during which many things in the astral and natural world not at other times evident can be perceived. Each of these silences comes to an end because the ordinary normal operations of nature reassert themselves. So it is with ourselves. Storms of disappointment, or terrible upheavals from tremendous sorrows, or the effect of our own intense will, bring about those silences in which the voice of the soul has perchance a better opportunity of being heard.}} | |||
{{Style P-Signature|Moulvie.}} | |||
{{Style P-Separator custom}} | |||
{{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=8|p=250}} | |||
{{Style P-Subtitle|From M. X. D.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|What is the right pronunciation of the word OM found at the beginning and end of The Path, and which is the first letter of the Sanscrit alphabet and the Hindu sacred word?}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—We have not spelled the word right in either instance. In order to give the sound as the Hindus make it, it is necessary to spell it OHM so as to represent the very long sound of "O." We have not used that mode because it is associated with electrical science as the measure of the power of the current.}} | |||
{{Style P-Subtitle|From E. A. K.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|We are told that Spirit—a portion of the Absolute—becomes embodied in matter. Passing through numberless gradations in the ascending scale of being, it eventually returns whence it came and is absorbed in the Infinite. Now does it return exactly as it left the Infinite? If so, what is the use of the terrible ordeal and almost interminable experiences that it has undergone? * * * * If it is said that the Spirit returns to the Absolute enriched and improved, then we have to admit that the Infinite can be improved and added to, and such a conclusion is impossible.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—If the premises were right the conclusion would be also; but the first proposition is incorrect, and I have never heard that "we are told" anything of the kind. The spirit does not "become embodied in matter" except in the case of a perfected man or a Mahatma. During our pilgrimage the spirit is connected with matter, and it is for us to win recognition or to lose the Spirit. Nor does it pass "through numberless gradations in the ascending scale of being." It is ever perfect, and has no ascension or declension. The confusion has arisen because of the confused use of the term "spirit." I should like to have pointed out by the questioner in what book I may find it stated that the spirit becomes embodied in matter, &c. It is the same sort of confusion introduced by the use of the word "jiva" in Mr.{{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=8|p=251}} Sinnett's books. This is the same word as is used to refer to what the present questioner calls spirit.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|We are all said to be "jivas" on our way to the eternal and absolute reality, and we are also called "jivatma"—or soul spirit—, and then again the jiva is also the mere life-principle in the body. But we may use English and say that the spirit is not embodied and does not pass through matter in the way the question has it, but that at all times it knows all things and is the witness only of all these struggles spoken of; and it is necessary to get some grasp of the idea that all this material world is an illusion, and all the sufferings and interminable experiences are also illusions, and the long periods of time are seemingly long because we ourselves make them so. We would also advise a careful study of Patanjali's Yoga Philosophy.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|But, after all, these questions are the same as that one asked of Buddha as to the first cause and why is all this universe here; to which he would make no reply.}} | |||
{{Style P-Title small caps|level=4|plain=yes|1=Karma.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|A. C. R. asks if a long definition of Karma given in the letter is in harmony with the Asiatic definition.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—We do not think that the definition of A. C. R. is good, for the reason that it is not clear what is meant. One thing is certain, and that is that Karma is the governor of all our circumstances, and is also in part a cause of acts, and is again the act and the circumstance also. The Universe itself is the Karma of the Supreme. Karma means work or action, and, as action is performed in more ways than by the bodily organs, the field of Karma must not be limited to the body. As A. C. R. says, the most important thing to consider is how we think and what is the motive with which we do any act.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|On the subject of Karma the sect of Visishtadwaitas of India say:}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|"Karma is the cause of connection of Jivatma—or the particular spirit—with matter in the shape of Karanasarira, as well as the cause of misery or happiness. Karma is the producing cause of birth, death, rebirth, and every kind of body. Karma is the result of the conscious action of Jivatma, whether good or bad. Good Karma is that which results in pleasing, and bad Karma is that which results in displeasing, Ishwara, [He is held to be the particular spirit in each body—our Higher-Self]. The action of Jiva produces Karma through ignorance, and this ignorance is of two sorts: one the confounding of the attributes of one thing with those of another; and the second the confounding of one thing with another. Thus, the Jivatma first confounds the body with itself, and then such attributes as birth, death, and so on, with the attributes which really belong to Jivatma{{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=8|p=252}} only; then certain actions are done, and they lead to other Karma composed of ignorance and of habit. Thus Karma works without any definite beginning, and the causes of Karma mentioned above remain latent during a pralaya or night of Brahma, and when a new evolution begins they again become active and produce results as before."}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|Karma even works in Swarga or heaven, for, as soon as the causes that take us there are exhausted, we are brought back to rebirth under the operation of Karma; thus it is seen to be stronger than the blissful state of Heaven. This going to and returning from Swarga goes on until salvation is obtained,—one who attains that state is called Jivanmukta. This condition is defined as "an entire separation of Jiva from all connection with matter, and complete destruction of Karma, whether good or bad." The word Moksha literally means "release from bondage."}} | |||
{{Style P-Signature|Narayan Nilakant.}} | |||
{{Style P-Title small caps|level=4|plain=yes|1=Karma of Jesus.}} | |||
{{Style P-Subtitle|From W. R. S. and M. E. B.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|In October Path reference is made to the "Karma of Jesus now very heavy," and it is stated that a contemporary of his must be found in order to get a correct history of him. I had supposed his Karma was exhausted; was it? Is any contemporary of Jesus to appear?}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—We did not think the small literary note containing the words quoted would elicit any response, but it seems that readers scan every word of the Path, although they do not ask questions upon matters of greater importance than the one before us. It is not of much consequence whether Jesus had exhausted his Karma or not, or whether a contemporary will appear to write about him. We do not think that one will, or that any history of his life will ever be other than mythical, and as the years roll on the myths will increase. What we meant in speaking of a contemporary was that no true history of him could be written except by some such writer; we have no faith in those who proclaim themselves contemporaries of his, and hence none in the appearance of any true history.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|But as to the Karma of whoever Jesus was, that is another matter. We had reference to a theory held by many occultists that a certain person did appear among men at the wrong time,—one whose charity and zeal outran his judgment and overrode the injunctions of his superiors; one who gave out doctrines in themselves good, but inopportune; and he is now spoken of as "Jesus." A vast mass of Karma composed of all the wrong done in his name, and to which he would not be a party, were he here, is against his account; as Shakespeare puts it, "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." A comparison may be easily drawn by considering Buddha, who, teaching at the right time, has caused no wars and no such direct evil as has sprung in and out of the relig{{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=8|p=253}}ion built up on the life of Jesus. That the latter did not exhaust his Karma is shown by what he said to the thief on the cross, "This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise." Paradise is a state which had a beginning and will have an end, and both he and the thief will have to emerge from it "when the reward is exhausted." But the whole question is a very deep one, for it takes hold on points in the doctrine of Karma but slightly regarded by theosophists. A great being, or adept, is affected by the inevitable law in ways that are unimaginable to those who do not know much about the doctrine; he is subject to effects that are as vast in their reach as his own powers are enormous, and when he deliberately violates, not only the laws of his order, but other laws, the result is far worse than when an ordinary mortal transgresses. The same doctrine applies to Mohammed, who, although he taught much that is good—embodied in the Koran—, has yet against him the evil, whatever it may be, directly resulting from his acts and words. And Mohammed did not attain to higher than mere Paradise; from which he also will return, or has come back already.}} | |||
{{Style P-Subtitle|From H. F. M.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|In J. Niemand's "Letters on the True" for August, '87, it states that "if the Law of Continuity remains unbroken, as it must if it exists at all and, from its very nature cannot be suspended, then there must be personalities far more progressed than ourselves somewhere along the vast chain stretching from man to the Deity." This must be so, of course; but why does not the chain stretch backward as well, and include those unprogressed souls who are passing out without any spiritual awakening whatever? Why may they not, in our Society and reading our books with us, be learning what they never had the chance to in this life? Supposing they are "earth bound spirits", it surely cannot harm us to be their teachers.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—It is not a question of "harm." We have not developed the means of communication. The chain does stretch backward as well. It includes all Being, all Life. You are not competent—nor am I—to see all. How do you know that they are passing on "without any spiritual awakening whatever"? The Spirit is everywhere; within, all awakening is progressive; it begins far back of man. Spirituality is not what the general reader understands by that word. It is the perception of finer essences through Will-power. Thus we too are without that. Some beings lower than man perceive finer forces, yet they lack other knowledge possessed by man. Neither they nor we are complete; both are partial. What do you mean by "unprogressed souls"? If elementals, know that they cannot read our books nor understand our language. See Path articles on this subject. The lower and descending orders of Being have not the senses of man. Every plane has its own orders of life. These planes interchain; so are water, ice, and steam interconnected, yet one state resembles not the other. We do not perceive these beings; or only{{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=8|p=254}} perceive them in part, or as an influence. Our eye sees no colors above violet nor below red; we are placed midway on the scale of vibration; real truth is matter so gross we do not perceive it. We cannot teach these beings because we are too ignorant, too confined. Yet they are needed. The Adept, or complete man, sees and aids all beings. This is the great incentive to Adeptship. And they and we are also helped by high Beings and Powers who guide the evolution of the Universe and serve Divine Laws as agents. Also higher Beings of any given plane may help lower ones of that plane, if only by raising the ratio of development. So man may help man. When ready to pass to higher planes, they do so; when we become more than man, we help more than man. The Adept communicates with some such beings by setting up certain vibrations which communicate to them impulses which correspond to our ideas, and to which they automatically respond.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|If you mean so-called "spirits of the dead"—which are remnants lingering in the astral light—, such shapes cannot learn. They are incomplete. They are lower portions of the deceased personality, a simulacrum of life. They may be able to show such knowledge as they once possessed, as a photograph shows itself; as it fades in the light, so they fade. Dissolution of forms is one of the offices of the astral light, and with such gradual dissolution energies gradually disperse. The soul learns in Life, not in Death. Death is a separation of the triune man. In Life he is manifested. Death is redisposition, and life is opportunity. In this last condition the soul must progress, and in it come to self consciousness before passing onward to that Perfection from which desire of earth enjoyment detains our souls. As regards other orders of Being, we have no means of reaching them until we know our inner powers. Some may show themselves to us, through a perception of certain grades and qualities of matter, but we have no means of communication as we now stand.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|But the "communications" with "earth bound souls" is intercourse only with shells, elementals, and pictures in the astral light, and is harmful both to the communer and to the person who once owned the shell. This has been all explained in ''Isis Unveiled''.}} | |||
{{Style P-Signature|Jasper Niemand, F. T. S.}} | |||
{{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=11|p=353}} | |||
{{Style P-Subtitle|From L.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|1.—What plan of life should a theosophist adopt? Take one who does not aspire to chelaship, but who is anxious to live rightly. Should he give up literature, or music, or art; and ought he to give up thoughts of marriage?}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—The plan of life should be that which shall appear to the student the best one under his lights; any sort of life may have as a plan under it the good of the race. It is not required that literature or art should be given up: theosophy seeks to round men out and not to produce moral skeletons. As to marriage, we have nothing to say.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|2.—Is ''Light on the Path'' written for chelas alone or for all?}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—It was written for all who strive to understand the meaning under the language; its real sense is not that conveyed by the mere words in it.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|3.—Why do so many warn against rashly attempting chelaship? If it is right, why not for all? Will it be easier in some future life, or will it be always a struggle? If the necessity for leaders makes it right for some to essay this, how is one to tell which is his duty, to try or not?}} | |||
{{Page aside in Path|v=3|n=11|p=354}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—The reason for the warning has been given over and over again. A chela calls upon himself awful possibilities of disaster, and voluntarily exposes himself to the most pitiless foes the race has,—those within the mind's plane and in the astral world. These are not figments, and everyone who forces himself must meet the consequences, for the kingdom of heaven is surrounded by monsters, and the way to it is enveloped with the black cloud of the soul's despair at a place where knowledge, power, and faith are needed, and where sentiment plays no part.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|The road winds up hill all the way even to the very end; but in this life we may prepare ourselves to be ready to make a farther advance in our next reincarnation.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|Anyone who is to be a leader will easily find that out. We are not to try and discover that we are leaders, but to do our every duty; if they are performed, the Law of Karma will find those who are the real leaders, and all sham captains will disappear.}} | |||
{{Style P-Signature|A Student.}} | |||
{{Style P-Subtitle|From "An Outsider"—in England.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|If I write to you sometimes anonymously, will you answer? There must be many like myself, lonely and ignorant, who need help and might find it in the Path. My health is poor; how can I regain it? I have not the "superb audacity" you speak of.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|''Answer''.—Those who answer questions for us will attempt replies to all reasonable questions, but we are not an oracle. As to health we cannot say; each case is special, but cheerfulness and faith in the implicit justice of Karma and in the Great Souls who help all earnest students may give better health. All diseases begin within, but the way to health is not found by brooding on disease; some diseases proceed from causes generated in other lives, and may have a given period during which they run and cannot be stayed. But we cannot go into personal questions relating to the physical body's ailments.}} | |||
{{Style P-No indent|Maggie Crawford writes stating that she judges the truth of theosophic doctrine by the characters of those who promulgate it, and that she finds Mme. Blavatsky an objection to the truth of theosophy. Charges are brought against other prominent persons who are named by her A, B, and C: we cannot notice these, as they are anonymous, or rather straw defendants. But as to H. P. Blavatsky, we desire to say to the questioner that we have known her many, many years and think her character is not ungoverned nor uncontrolled; we also know her to be generous and just, as well as wise and farseeing. But truth must never be judged by any personal standard; and we advise our friend to pursue truth for its own sake, and not because any person says it is true.}} | |||
{{Style P-Signature|Jasper Niemand, Wm. Brehon, Eusebio Urban.}} | |||
{{Footnotes}} | {{Footnotes}} | ||