Madame Blavatsky quotes the Master in the first volume of The Secret Doctrine (p. 167): "Lead the life necessary for the acquisition of knowledge and powers, and Wisdom will come to you naturally." It is rather difficult to lead the life necessary in the true sense, but that is the only way to acquire soul-wisdom.
What is wrong with our world? Humanity is groaning under a heavy burden of physical ailments, mental agony, economic stress, political slavery, religious exploitation. Why? This question is asked by all and is answered in a hundred different ways by different types of people to suit their cherished notions or to serve their own interests, but as they look not to the soul of things, as they do not penetrate to the very root cause, their answers and remedies have not been effective and have not brought a lasting benefit to mankind in general. Each one looks at life from his own point of view, which is different from all others; and, therefore, life, instead of being unified, is divided into compartments and departments that upset the harmonious rhythm of the whole.
The all-important possession of an athlete is his physical, muscular strength, to develop and preserve which he spends his time, energy and money, thinking nought of the necessity of mind-training or soul-culture.
To a scientist, his brain and his laboratory apparatus, with which he can experiment and evolve new theories, are of prime necessity. The soul does not exist for him, for he believes man to be a by-product of physical nature, and life to flicker away at death like a candle and cease to exist.
To a speculative philosopher, his most cherished asset is his mind, through which he reasons and argues about the absolute and the manifested, the transcendental and the immanent aspects of God or Deity, but it is rarely that he attempts to make a practical application of the philosophy.
To a Hatha-yogi, life is but a matter of rags and ashes, breathing exercises and postures and tortured limbs. With a blank mind and neglected of his duties, he spends his hours in a fruitless pursuit.
To a medium, his passive, nervous, psychic temperament counts the most. Morally and mentally weak, his one object in life is to dabble in necromancy.
And, similarly, to a politician his party politics, to a financier his stocks and shares, to a priest his rites and rituals matter most, and thus examples can be multiplied of many, many types of people, all living their lives in a one-sided, unharmonious and unbalanced manner. And besides these, there are the masses of mankind who live in a humdrum way, now in joy and now in sorrow, knowing not why they live, from where they have come and whither they are moving!
Students of Theosophy have been given definite principles to follow and to live up to. The truth about God-Law-Evolution forms the basis of their thoughts, words and deeds, and therefore to them is given the injunction to lead the life necessary. Theosophy teaches that man is a complex being, and as such he has to take into account all the aspects of his own nature, visible and invisible, mortal and immortal, giving to each its due, taking from each its due, and thus alone can he become a worthy unit in the harmonious working of the whole cosmos.
Cosmic energy is free; sunlight and moonlight are free; the air and the rain are free; universal mind is free; the omnipotent, omniscient spirit is free. Nature gives us freely in all her bounty, but to unveil her mysteries and to utilize her gifts man needs the wisdom provided in the great philosophy of Theosophy. Man is responsible to those above as to those below him in this vast cosmos, and he is here on earth to fulfil this duty or dharma. This is leading the life necessary.
The harmonious relationship of the seven types of lives and the harmonious blending of those seven with the One from which they all emanated—that comprises the science and the art of living. To express the light of the One through the composite seven is divine magic. Thus man can re-create himself and become a living god in a living human temple, with divine possessions which he can share with all, with immortal powers with which he can uplift all, with eternal peace which he can radiate on all. This is to lead the life necessary.
In thought, the life of purity; in words, the life of truth; in deeds, the life of consecration; in time, to live in the eternal now; in consciousness, to live in the "Hall of Wisdom"; ever keeping the wheel of the Good Law rhythmically in motion, in tune with the Infinite—this is to lead the life necessary.
With love immortal, with thought, word and act harmonized, with patience sweet, ever rising above the pairs of opposites, using dauntless energy to come out of the mire of lies terrestrial, attaining Dhyana by entering the realm of Sat eternal, and living the life of compassion absolute—this is leading the life necessary.
But how can mortal man suddenly attain to this stage? By one method and one only, as pointed out by all the great Teachers. By giving up the life of wants, by forgetting about rights and privileges and by living the life of duty, duty to Humanity, duty to the great Sages, duty to the Higher Self. It needs a change of attitude, which can be gradually cultivated, a change from within, without. What is to be expected is not spectacular results, but a steady, healthy growth towards good, leading to better and the best.
How can the three basic ideas of God-Law-Evolution be used in everyday life? The concept of God as an omnipotent, omnipresent Principle of Divine Life, a ray of which is in every human heart, brings to us the first important lesson that each one is divine in origin, is eternal and immortal, above the body and the mind, above the feelings and emotions, which form mortal man. If all have a common root, then the second lesson we learn is that all have to be looked upon as divine fragments, as expressions of that one, though outwardly different. This kills out the sense of separateness by at once indicating that universal brotherhood is a fact, and helps us to act for and as the Self of all creatures. The love of God manifests in the service of our fellow beings, however lowly, and that is the third lesson to be learnt. "The more thou dost become at one with it, thy being melted in its BEING, the more thy Soul unites with that which Is, the more thou wilt become COMPASSION ABSOLUTE" (The Voice of the Silence, p. 76). The distinction of castes and creeds, religions and races, the high and low, drop away; life is lived for all and for the Whole. Then, naturally, actions become consecrated, because they are not motivated by thought of one's own gain, and drudgery becomes divine, giving a new value to the act; a higher concept of duty prevails, and that is the fourth lesson to be learnt and practised and perfected. The change of inner condition brings about a complete change in the individual and corporate life. A new understanding dawns, new vistas open, and man begins to live, not for himself, but for the world. This is leading the life necessary.
The second great concept is Law, a clear understanding of which is very helpful in living the life. It is ordinarily understood that God creates his laws. Theosophically, God and Law are the same. This Law has different aspects: it is the law of cause and effect, the law of cycles in the whole of nature, but in man it also becomes the law of moral retribution, the law of responsibility. It is not at all difficult to observe the operation of this law in the ebb and flow of the tides, in the waxing and waning of the moon, in the seasons, etc.; but its working in and through the minds and hearts of men is not perceived. When the perception awakens, one begins to lead the life necessary. Everyone goes through the same days and nights, yet each colours them differently, by his own mental and moral attitude. What type of causes are sown during the day and how the effects are received depends very much on the correct understanding of the law. It does not reward or punish; it adjusts. Life is an opportunity for adjustment, and to face that adjustment wisely is to lead the life necessary. Similarly, sleep is a common phenomenon, but the quality of sleep very much differs with each individual, depending upon the life lived during the day as well as upon the nature of that individual. Here the law of cause and effect becomes the law of moral retribution. To help nature and work on with her is the first lesson to be learnt; it means that the harmony of nature ought not to be disturbed. The law moves rhythmically, and to work against the law is to create a disturbance. Again Madame Blavatsky quotes the Master in The Secret Doctrine (I, 643): "Were no man to hurt his brother, Karma-Nemesis would have neither cause to work for, nor weapons to act through." There are also periods of mental and moral light and darkness; they, too, return cyclically and civilizations rise and fall according to the life lived by the individuals. To work with the law, to take advantage of the cycles, to generate right causes, means leading the life necessary.
And the third side of the triangle, evolution, means unfolding from within, unfolding the powers and potencies of the spirit through an appropriate vehicle. To progress onward, to move forward, is the law of life in the whole of nature. Man, because of his choice, goes forward and backward, now in the right direction and then in the wrong. His senses, desires, passions act as obstacles to his progress and drag him down. To realize that he is an eternal pilgrim going through the circle of necessity, rising or falling according to his own choices—this is the first lesson to be learnt. There are no gifts and privileges in that journey except those one wins for oneself through one's own right efforts—this is the second lesson. To find out ways and means to reach perfection is to lead the life necessary. From man to super-man is one upward climb. The great Elder Brothers have reached the Nirvanic heights, but have left their footprints behind for us to follow. To follow them in true faith, without turning to the right or to the left, is to lead the life necessary. The circle of necessity is begun by each divine spark, Atma-Buddhi, non-self-consciously. At the end of the journey, that spark regains its purity and wisdom with full self-consciousness. It has earned for itself the peace and the bliss of Nirvana, but out of pity and compassion it chooses the path of woe and prefers to live in the world to help suffering, orphan humanity. To prepare ourselves for that stage, in silence, and secrecy, is to lead the life necessary.
