The Introductory to The Secret Doctrine is a very important part of the whole, for certain principles are laid down there which show us what attitude we should adopt in the study of the book.
H.P.B. tells us (p. viii) that the writing of the book was necessitated "by the wild and fanciful speculations in which many Theosophists and students of mysticism have indulged, during the last few years, in their endeavour to, as they imagined, work out a complete system of thought from the few facts previously communicated to them." Also, on p. xviii she wrote that "...people are always in the habit of judging things by their appearance, rather than their meaning." And she added that "even most of the Fellows of the Theosophical Society have fallen victims to the same misconception." How true this has proved to be in the years since her death!
Speaking of the past cycles of spiritual outpouring, she wrote that "Time and human imagination made short work of the purity and philosophy of these teachings..." (pp. xx-xxi). Is it not true that, as then, so today, "Works, most remarkable for their ingenious deductions and speculations...foregone conclusions generally changing places with premises..." have appeared in what is known as "Theosophical" literature? Have we not here a hint that we should study the original teachings and not the deductions and speculations of others?
She gave another hint when she wrote: "Every scholar has an opportunity of verifying the statements herein made, and of checking most of the quotations." Should we not carefully check all subsequent teachings in the light of what H.P.B. taught us?
This is necessary if we would develop her own attitude towards the teachings. She wrote that she "believes in the ancients, and the modern heirs to their Wisdom." And believing in both, she "transmits that which she has received and learnt herself to all those who will accept it" (p. xxxvii). She received, she learnt, she passed on. She did not speculate; she just transmitted.
Her personal contribution, she says, was to provide the "string" which tied together the facts she gave out. Have we by our efforts, experience and understanding made the string which will tie the facts together for us? That, in fact, should be the basis of our study if we would get full value from it.
Study of the book does not mean complete understanding of every metaphysical statement at once. We learn that there are seven great keys to the unlocking of the Mysteries. Any one of these will open the doors of the Mystery. Some students will gain understanding by the study of geometrical signs—Plato's fundamental method; some by the study of numbers—Pythagoras's fundamental approach. Others will gain it by the study, illuminated by the present knowledge, of the Kabala, some by the study of astrology, and so on. Each student "will inevitably judge the statements made from the standpoint of his own knowledge, experience, and consciousness, based on what he has already learnt."
Hence each student has his own line of approach, and he has to find it out for himself and follow the thread through the book. It is unnecessary for each one to spend too much time in trying to understand every statement or idea from every possible angle, for the full study of one aspect, within the background of the whole, will bring him to the same goal. For example, whether he studies the seven principles of man in detail, recognizing that they exist throughout Nature and evolution, or whether he specializes in the sevenfold aspect of the planets, the seven groups of numbers or the mathematical seven, he will, by deep thought, come to understand that they all lead to the same knowledge. By following the law of analogy, as H.P.B. pointed out, the unity of all is seen.
This unification is necessary if the study is to produce real fruit through the expansion of the brain-mind, the synthesizing of the Manas-Buddhi in each student. And this alone brings true knowledge in contra-distinction to mere information and intellectual learning.
