Mr. Judge says of Theosophy on the opening page of The Ocean of Theosophy that, though it is unfathomable in its deepest parts, yet, being "shallow enough at its shores, it will not overwhelm the understanding of a child." This statement could apply equally to The Eternal Verities, which is generally thought of as a book meant only for children, or for Theosophy School use. In many respects this is correct, but if an adult took the time to study it, or even to read it through, he would find that though it is indeed "shallow enough at its shores," it also can be "unfathomable in its deepest parts."

The dedication, which makes it clear that it is meant for all, young and old, reads:

To the beloved Teacher and Friendly Philosopher, Robert Crosbie, who taught what H. P. Blavatsky and William Q. Jusge had taught before him—pure and simple....What is in this book is what was learned from him. It is dedicated to him, and to all—or young or old—who seek the Truth, that they may help as he did.

It would be worth our while to consider some of the ideas presented, and see how closely they follow those H.P.B. presented in The Three Fundamental Propositions of the Secret Doctrine.

Just as Mr. Judge drew attention, in the first chapter of The Ocean of Theosophy, to the existence of a system of philosophy at once both scientific and religious, and to those great Elder Brothers who were the Custodians of that Wisdom, so also The Eternal Verities draws attention first to the meaning of the word Theosophy:

Theosophy is the wisdom of those who once were like ourselves...who followed the Path that other Wise Ones had pointed out to them....It includes the science of mathematics, of astronomy, of music, of architecture, of engineering. It is the soul of great literature and art. It is the true source of education. On it alone will the true government be founded...

And of the Great Ones we are told:

The Knowers of this real Knowledge are living Men, whose only concern is that all men may likewise come to have wisdom. They are clled Masters of Wisdom.

At the outset, therefore, the basis is laid for all that follows in the book, at once setting the mind of the reader straight on what Theosophy is and where it has come from.

The book takes us next to a consideration of the Three Fundamentals, or, as they are called, the Three Truths. H.P.B. introduces the Fundamentals in The Secret Doctrine by saying that "it is absolutely necessary that the reader should be made acquainted with the few fundamental conceptions which underlie and pervade the entire system of thought...and on their clear comprehension depends the understanding of all that follows"; and following that pattern The Eternal Verities sets out by saying: "However great may seem to us now the mystery of many things, a real understanding of The Three Truths will bring us an understanding of them, and of all things else."

Four chapters are devoted to the First Truth, following the Theosophical method of proceeding from universals to particulars. We are given the idea of THAT, which is "the cause and origin of the universe and of ourselves....It is the Real—the One Reality....It is Life—Spirit—Consciousness." To understand it better we are given the concept of space, which is greater than any being, and, no matter how far we may stretch our minds, there is still other space beyond and beyond. We can only say "It is"; it cannot be seen or touched or heard.

From this universal One Reality we are led by means of a Memory Verse to consider that "Life is not born nor dies. All is Life. Life is invisible, yet is in all things visible"; and, further, that "countless myriads of 'lives' surround us all the time." They all belong to the same One Life, though some have one part to play and some another. It is these same lives that make up our body, and which at death separate and destroy the body. The "lives" are still Life, and cannot get "out" of Life. Therefore death is simply a separation which never touches the Real "I" in us, for that "I" is not our body.

This real "I" in us comes from the One Life; we are as much a part of it as are the sunbeams that come from the Sun, so there could be no living beings without the One Life. This is the real basis of brotherhood—the fact that the same Life is in us as in all beings, whether they be men, animals, plants or stones. All are alive; all are expressions of different degrees of consciousness. It is only human beings who are Self-conscious Knowers, Perceivers, Thinkers. This "I" never changes through all the changes of our body and of our thoughts and feelings, for it is the One who feels. It is always there, no matter how often we forget it; it cannot be seen, for it is the Seer; it has no appearance, for it is "the Real of us."

It is our task to become conscious of this Real "I," for the only way one can know anything is by being conscious of it. It is the Consciousness which is the Seer, the Knower and also the Chooser. This last is important, because our journey to Self-Knowledge depends on the choices we make, and by choosing rightly or wrongly we either shorten or lengthen our journey.

The above are only a few ideas on the First Truth culled from The Eternal Verities, but enough has been said to show how much food for thought there is, and how important it is for children and adults alike to understand this First Fundamental which forms the basis of all their thought and consequent actions and choices.

The book next leads us to the consideration that though there is One Truth, yet it has three faces, or views, and we could not have the other two Truths without the First. The minute we speak or think of the First Truth in action, we are considering the Second Truth.

The Changelessness of the First Truth is eternal, ceaseless Motion Itself. What we see is motions, not the Source of all motions. In the Changeless is the Power to change, the Power to act, the Power to think, the Power to build, the Power to destroy, and all Powers whatsoever. It is when these Powers come into use, when beings begin to act, when manifold motions start in the universe that we speak of the Second Truth—for this is the Truth which has to do with action....

We are, therefore, brought from a consideration of the unmanifested universe, which cannot be seen, to the manifested one, which can be described, compared and seen.

With this as a basis, The Eternal Verities goes on to consider "the three fingers on the hand of law": Karma, Cycles, and Reincarnation. As we are choosers, and therefore responsible for our thoughts, which are "the seeds of Karma," we can choose to obey or disobey the Law; but whatever we choose, the Law alters not its course and goes on unceasingly. A very practical thought is given in the following quotation to illustrate this point:

Are we going to complain, then, of our disappointments? Shall we talk about someone else's "good luck" or our own "bad luck," when we know that everything comes about according to Law, or Karma; when we perceive that nothing ever just "happens" to us, but has really grown out of the seeds of causes that we ourselves planted?

It is cycles that mark the time aspect of Karma. "Cycles are the clock of Karma," says the Memory Verse. The importance for us of understanding the law of cycles cannot be too much stressed, because cycles work in our day-to-day life, in our very existence as human beings; all that we are and that we do is governed by them. Our bodies have their spring, summer, autumn and winter; our heart beats in cycles; our blood has its path or cycle through our body. There are thought cycles and feeling cycles, and our habits which, if persisted in, ultimately form our characters, are the result of cycles.

Cycles, if heeded, can be a help to us, for with their regular return comes the return of impressions, and it is at this time that we can break a bad habit. When we find ourselves in an angry or lazy mood, then is the time to start another and better cycle.

Cycles also determine, according to our Karma, when it is time for us to reincarnate (re—again; in—into; carne—flesh). The very word conveys at once that if we are in bodies now, we have been in other bodies before. It is our Karma that has brought us into the kind of body we have; our characters and disposition, our happiness and sorrows, our affinities and antipathies, the family, race and nation we are born into, can all be explained on the basis of Reincarnation.

Reincarnation is called the doctrine of hope, for understanding it, we make for ourselves better characters; and when we drop our bodies we do not leave behind us bad dispositions and characters to be picked up again in other incarnations.

The argument against reincarnation that is often raised is that people do not remember having lived before. How could they? It is not strange that we do not remember, when we pause to consider that the brain we are trying to remember with came new with our present body, and is filled with the memories of this life. As a matter of fact, we do not remember even half the experiences of the present life; we do not remember the day we were born, or our infancy, but we do not doubt our having lived when we were infants.

There is, however, a way of remembering which is dependent, not on the brain, but on feeling. True remembering is the feeling which some sight or occurrence arouses. Also, how often we find even very young children having aptitudes or talents for certain things, which cannot be explained except on the basis of reincarnation!

Through all the cycles, from body to body, it is the same individuality, the same Ego, the same "I" that has stored up all the knowledge of the past. That "I" has various coverings, or instruments which it uses. One of these is called Prana, the breath of life. Then there is a finer body within the physical, called the astral or the pattern body, which causes a person to keep the same general appearance. We have the lower mind, which is conjoined with our desires, our Kama nature; but there is also the higher Mind or Manas, the sentient reincarnating principle. When conjoined with Buddhi, Intuition, it becomes the spiritual Soul.

The real Ego or reincarnating principle waits between lives in what is called Devachan; but it needs to come back to earth where there is so much to learn that one life is hardly sufficient for that purpose, and where there are Karmic debts to be settled. This cycle of compulsory rebirth must go on until the goal of perfection is reached.

The Eternal Verities then brings us to the Third Truth. It needs to be recalled that the Three Truths are dependent on one another, for all three come from the One Truth. We cannot fully understand any one Truth unless we understand the other two. Knowing them fully, and proving them to ourselves as we live and think and act, we shall know all that needs to be known.

The Third Truth, springing as it does from the First Truth, points to the identity of all beings with the One Life, One Spirit, One Consciousness, and therefore with one another. The three classes of beings—men, those less than men, and those who have risen beyond the human stage—as also worlds and systems of worlds, all come from the Self of All. This coming forth of worlds with beings in it is all for one purpose—to learn. From the lowest to the highest, all have something to learn; all have their place on the Ladder of Being, and the lower serve the higher as the higher serve the lower—for the sake of the Self of All.

We are next introduced to the word Monad, which comes from the Greek word monas, meaning One, or Unity. Monad is one of many names that means the One Life, itself changeless, as it dwells in various ever changing forms. It is the soul in everything, from an atom to a man. Every Monad is a centre of life or of force, a self-moving unit.

At the dawn of manifestation, when the universe wakes up, all the mineral, vegetable, animal and human Monads gradually emerge from the inactivity of sleep, and find their place in the new universe. Of the four kingdoms of Nature, the mineral kingdom is the least evolved, and the monadic essence passes through it very slowly. The monadic essence next works its way into the vegetable kingdom, and then into the animal and human kingdoms, developing with each stage greater awareness and more specialized modes of intelligence. When the man stage is reached, the monadic essence separates into individual units.

The human form combines in itself the mineral, vegetable and animal life-essence, and is altogether a superior form to that of the animals, but mere form does not make a man. The Real Man, the God in the making, was not a product of evolution from the lower kingdoms. To become a complete sevenfold being, man needed the light of mind, and this he got from the Shining Lives, the Higher Intelligences who came down the Ladder of Being to enter the human form and light it with their Light—their Fire of Intelligence or of Self-consciousness. Thus man became a chooser and thinker, and since he combines in himself the Shining side and the shadow side, there goes on in him a struggle between these two.

In the process of growth and unfoldment, man uses the lower kingdoms of Nature and the elemental "lives." In all this, he needs more than Manas; he needs heart light as well. It is only when he becomes a real teacher and helper in the world, only when his greatest desire is to help Humanity, that the light of the Gods will be his.

The consideration of the Third Truth in The Eternal Verities culminates fittingly in a chapter on "The Elder Brothers." These Elder Brothers are given the name Mahatmas; They are also called Masters, for They are Masters of all Wisdom, having reached the top of the Ladder of Being. They come from age to age to remind men of what they once knew of the Three Truths, and to rekindle in them the light of Mind that has become dim as a result of engrossment in the world of senses and appearances. They have paid all their Karmic debts on earth, but They choose to take earthly bodies that They may be the better able to help and teach men on earth. As The Eternal Verities states:

Some day, it may be, we shall always think and feel and choose as Elder Brothers do. The Eternal Verities are what They think and do. Some day, it may be, we shall learn, and know ourselves and Them!

From all this we can see how important the ideas in The Eternal Verities are, and how the book can help us in developing the understanding. It serves the purpose of arousing interest in and laying a foundation for further Theosophical study.