We are not working merely that people may call themselves Theosophists, but that the doctrines we cherish may affect and leaven the whole mind of this century. This alone can be accomplished by a small earnest band of workers, who work for no human reward, no earthly recognition, but who, supported and sustained by a belief in that Universal Brotherhood of which our Masters are a part, work steadily, faithully, in understanding and putting forth for consideration the doctrines of life and duty that have come down to us from immemorial time. Falter not, so long as a few devoted ones will work to keep the nucleus existing.—H. P. Blavatsky
There is a view of Theosophy that is cosmic and dynamic. It includes teachings that can be grasped by the human mind at any stage of growth, and advice and instruction to fit all possible needs and circumstances. It teaches children to grow and mothers to rear them and fathers to provide for them; it teaches labourers to work and merchants to trade, teachers to educate and rulers to reign, and everyone to live out his own life. Mr. Judge has given us the image of the ocean: into it divers plunge deep to find the pearl of great price; fishermen catch fish, big and small; swimmers enjoy, some buffeting the waves and others not venturing far from the shore; and there are those, such as little children, who only paddle in the shallow water. In this sense Theosophy, which is a veritable ocean of knowledge, is for all. Those endeavouring to make it a living power in their lives, few though they be, are recruited from all walks of life, and no single race, creed, sex, condition or colour is entirely unproductive of earnest students of the sacred science.
At the same time it must be remembered that Theosophy is for those who want it and for none else. As Robert Crosbie wrote:
As long as we are self-centred, as long as we are satisfied with what we know and what we have, this great Message is not for us. It is for the hungry, for the weary, for those who are desirous of knowledge, for those who see the absolute paucity of what has been put before us by those who styled themselves our teachers, for those who find no explanation anywhere of the mysteries that surround us, who do not know themselves, who do not understand themselves.
Again, we read in the Preface to H.P.B.'s Key to Theosophy that the reader can hardly expect Theosophy to be intelligible to himself unless he will make some mental effort; that to the mentally lazy or obtuse Theosophy must remain a riddle. This and the passage from Mr. Crosbie rather limit the circle of people for whom Theosophy is. How many are really desirous of knowledge and willing to make the necessary effort to obtain it? Krishna says in the Gita: "Among thousands of mortals a single one perhaps strives for perfection, and among those so striving perhaps a single one knows me as I am." (VII, 3)
It is then a matter for little surprise or discouragement that comparatively few are drawn towards Theosophy, which is aimed at making people strive for perfection. Students have no reason to be down-hearted. Our success does not depend on numbers, and the result of our work is never immediately visible. In fact what we achieve may not find full expression on the physical plane until many, many years have passed. In the words of Mr. Judge, "the greatest work is not done on outer physical planes but on the thought plane." As Gandhiji once wrote:
If the evolution of form takes aeons, why should we expect wonders in the evolution of thought and conduct? And yet the age of miracles is not gone. As with individuals, so with nations. I hold it to be perfectly possible for masses to be suddenly converted and uplifted. Suddenness is only seeming. For no one can say how far the leaven has worked. The most potent forces are unseen, even unfelt for long. But they are working none the less surely.
it may happen that what we have actually accomplished on the outer plane—little though it be—gets destroyed. But the soul of what has disappeared from sight is immortal and will some time seek and find physical expression again. That which is accumulating on the inner planes as the result of the efforts of a few will triumph in the long run and burst out like the sun after a storm and illumine the earth. We are filling a reservoir which will supply refreshment to many, perhaps when those who helped to fill it are dead and gone.
It is not easy always to realize the truth of all this. We wish for results that can be observed by the physical senses. Yet all down the ages men have proclaimed the power of thought and of the invisible. An expression of this conviction is found in the Bible, in a passage in Ecclesiastes:
There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. (IX, 14-17)
We are sowing seeds in confidence that in the course of time they will produce a bountiful harvest. To encourage those of us who are inclined to feel disheartened and to waver in our faith, one of the masters once wrote: "Ah! if your eyes were opened, you might see such a vista of potential blessings to yourselves and mankind lying in the germ of the present hour's effort, as would fire with joy and zeal your souls!"
As is said, the Theosophical Movement is ahead of the times, and the fact that this "most serious movement of this age" should have succeeded as far as it has in our present Kali Yuga, the Dark Age, is itself a notable achievement. Those who take up Theosophy as a mere recreation, a pastime, drop out in course of time. Those again who study it because it is an intellectual stimulant, an exercise in mental expansion, make the wrong approach. Theosophy is a serious, vital force which, once thew individual plunges into its current, can change the entire entity—physically, mentally, spiritually. It demands sacrifice, self-forgetfulness, and service of one's fellows which seeks no reward. Here the failures begin. Mental laziness is not the only impediment; there is also lack of heart-energization. Without love and compassion in the heart for suffering humanity, one cannot be touched by the power of inspiration which comes from Theosophy.
Seekers of wisdom, and even perhaps donors of wealth, are many compared to the voluntary sacrificers who study that they may serve and who mortify their personalities to rise above all distinctions and differences and to be united in brotherly feeling with other student-servers. What is needed is not only a larger number of students, but more among them of those whose hearts are burning to give warmth and comfort, to radiate light and leading for their fellow men. This is an increasingly pressing present need.
Only a life lived for others is a life worth while. The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life. Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.—Albert Einstein