People in general have peculiar notions about Theosophy. It is sometimes considered to be a new religion or philosophy dealing mostly with the invisible world and its denizens. Theosophy is Wisdom-Religion or Divine Wisdom, the source and fount of all religions and philosophies. It has always been in the custody of great Sages, beings who have perfected themselves physically, mentally, morally and spiritually. From time to time, one or another Teacher has proclaimed, under the law of cycles, some particular aspects of the Wisdom according to the needs of the people among whom he appears, but the mighty art gets lost again and again because the ignorance of human beings obscures it. Theosophy is like the one pure Light, and the various religions like the different colours of a rainbow; none is superior or inferior to the others. The underlying essence of all religions is the same; only in their outward garments of beliefs, customs, ceremonies and rituals do they differ, and this is what causes conflicts and quarrels. True religion is not a separative force but a bond uniting all beings into one vast whole. Madame Blavatsky states in The Key to Theosophy: "The Wisdom-Religion was ever one, and being the last word of possible human knowledge, was, therefore, carefully preserved. It preceded by long ages the Alexandrian Theosophists, reached the modern, and will survive every other religion and philosophy." Its metaphysics satisfy the mind, its ethics inspire the heart; they complement each other and indicate the way of life to be lived, in harmony with the higher nature and therefore with all beings.

It is a great privilege to have contacted this great practical philosophy, this accurate science based on the great laws of nature, this vital and living religion; but greater still the responsibility to reiterate the teachings for the good of humanity. Just as it is our responsibility to nourish and sustain the body with wholesome food, so also the teachings have to be preserved and kept alive in the world to feed the slumbering souls of men that they may learn the truth about Mother Nature and its immutable laws that govern all beings. The Third Fundamental Proposition of The Secret Doctrine teaches that all human souls are sparks of the one divine flame, the same in essence and in substance, and are therefore bound together, affecting and influencing one another for good or ill. Therefore Theosophy is necessarily the Religion of Responsibility. The Third Fundamental further states that each soul has to progress through his own self-effort and self-determination. Therefore each choice is a step forward or backward, for in the spiritual life there is no standing still. This power of choice is a great responsibility. People are generally guided by self-interest, and therefore choose impulsively and wrongly and have to suffer for their misdeeds. It is only when the good of all is considered first, when we learn to act for and as the Self of all creatures, that we work in harmony with the Law. "To live to benefit mankind is the first step. To practise the six glorious virtues is the second," says The Voice of the Silence. So every act has to be performed with a pure motive, with proper planning and deliberation.

In the spiritual life there are no favours, gifts or privileges to be won by propitiating an outside, personal God, by rites and ceremonies, or by seeking help from priests. Each one has to work for merit. Causes sown each hour through thoughts and feelings, words and deeds, bear their own effects. "Lead the life necessary for the acquisition of knowledge and powers, and Wisdom will come to you naturally." One more responsibility. In thoughts, the life of purity; in speech, the life of truth; in deeds, the life of kindness and love. Let us not fritter away our time and energy unnecessarily, in useless activities. Each one has to win his own salvation and reach the goal of human perfection—self-conscious godhood.

Theosophy is the religion of responsibility because it enables one to become self-reliant and self-dependent, at the same time recognizing the principle of interdependence. Dependence on the great Self, interdependence between the many, many aspects of that Self. When the immortality of Soul and Spirit is recognized, when the personality becomes a proper channel through which the Divine can shine forth, then indeed does Theosophy become for us the religion of responsibility. One becomes responsible to one's Higher Self, responsible to the mighty philosophy of Theosophy, responsible to the great Teachers for having received their Teachings; responsible to one's fellow pilgrims who are striving for their own upliftment. One becomes responsible to Mother Nature, responsible for helping her always according to changeless laws that unfold her pattern of work and progress. Ours the responsibility to enrich Nature. We use every one of her manifold gifts—the air and the water, the sun and the moon and the stars, the sky above and the earth below. We must pay off our debt with the interest of gratitude. We have to think of not only our own growth and progress, but also that of Nature, in her visible and invisible aspects.

Theosophy is known as the religious science and the scientific religion. In our world and generation the two are divorced. It is a religious science because it begins on the plane of universals, is accurate, consistent and changeless, for the Wise Men of ancient days had checked and verified its teachings. And it is a scientific religion because it is in harmony with Nature's laws and proves the what, the why and the how of every tenet. It answers every question, it solves every problem. "Seek this wisdom by doing service, by strong search, by questions, and by humility; the wise who see the truth will communicate it unto thee, and knowing which thou shalt never again fall into error." This is altogether a different method of obtaining wisdom than the one existing in the schools and colleges of our day, where the motive generally is to pass examinations and become successful in business or in some profession. Theosophy is in the world to keep alive in man his divine intuitions so that he may turn in the right direction, towards his own Divine Parent, and live in harmony with all.

Every man and every woman is a morally responsible being, teaches Theosophy. Morals belong to the immortal aspect in man. It is only what one becomes morally that is absorbed and assimilated by the Divine Soul, Atma-Buddhi, after the body is dropped at death. Therefore Theosophy considers the cultivation of virtues as very important. In the practice of the religion of responsibility it takes the first place.

There is a significant saying attributed to Guru Nanak. As a child, at the time of taking the sacred thread, he said to the officiating priest: "From the cotton of compassion spin out the thread of love. Make the knots of purity, truth and self-control. Let the mind remain concentrated on that thread. That thread never breaks, never need be changed, never can be lost." Herein lies the religion of responsibility.

It has been said that "thoughts are things," an assertion with which I am prepared to agree entirely; and I also firmly believe that the time is not far off when their substantiality will be recognized and understood by science more fully than at present.

A thought implies many things besides pure force exerted. If force is exerted, then there must be that which exercises it. What is this, and what is the effect of the exercise? When we think, it is known that there is a disturbance or disintegration of the grey matter of the brain. But next we must observe that there is at the same time physiological disturbance, change, or alteration in the whole frame. For instance: a thought of shame or disaster or punishment may bring all over the body a hot flush or a cold shiver; the thought of a great danger just escaped has made men dizzy and women faint. Is there nothing in this? Further, each thought makes a picture, save perhaps a purely metaphysical syllogism, but even there it is difficult to escape the formulating by the mind of some concrete illustration as the syllogism proceeds....Still further, the astral light being a preserver of these pictures like a photographic plate, it follows that every thought has its picture preserved, and by this means what has been done or is being done may be known unerringly. Therefore thoughts, while they may be fugitive so far as concerns the thinker, are not so otherwise, but persists as seeds for good or evil in the whole race.

—W. Q. Judge