All manifestation is pervaded not only by life but also by intelligence and consciousness, though in the lower kingdoms there is no self-consciousness. Man alone possesses self-consciousness—the knowledge of oneself as distinct from other selves. Just as there are numerous grades of matter, i.e., solid, liquid and gaseous, so there is a wide range of expression of consciousness.

In the animal kingdom there is instinct which shows a semblance of intelligence. What is the difference betwen animal and human intelligence? We can see it by considering the nature of the intelligence and consciousness in the living organs of our body. The beating of our heart is not self-consciously directed but shows instinctive intelligence in the organism, as do other vital processes. Digestion and assimilation, for instance, do not require our conscious direction; we should eat self-consciously, with some basis of reasoned choice, but once the food is eaten we have no concern with it unless something goes wrong. The "mind" in the dog or cat is similar to the "mind" which regulates these bodily processes in ourselves.

In the vegetable kingdom there is sensation, as science has shown though the plant can do nothing to help itself to get food, water, etc., unless these are made available from outside. Even the mineral kingdom shows life and intelligence, as witness the formation of crystals and the combination of chemical elements. Theosophy says that below the mineral kingdom there are three kingdoms of elemental beings—still unrecognized by science, though found in various religious philosophies—whether they are called devatas or angels.

The universe is a congeries of units of consciousness, either human, sub-human (those which have not yet reached the human stage of self-consciousness), or super-human (those who have transcended the limitations of ordinary humanity). Life in its pristine state is Spirit, instinct with divine intelligence. It is made up of units of intelligence, the Eternal pilgrims. Each has to make a long pilgrimage to reach human self-consciousness, to acquire the principle known as Manas or mind.

The pilgrimage throughout the period of manifestation may be pictured as a great circle, one arc descending from the world of Spirit to that of gross matter, the other ascending to the world of Spirit once more. We start in innocence but in ignorance, and have to go through all the kingdoms of Nature before the great change cn occur and we can enter the human kingdom. Then, by our own efforts we can enter the superhuman stage, which is the purpose of the whole pilgrimage. The descent in terms of self-consciousness is unconscious; the ascent, conscious and deliberate. The process for the descent is natural impulse; for the ascent, self-induction. Choice in the lower kingdoms is in terms of instinct of the particular species and type. No lower animal can deliberately change its nature.

We as human beings have the power of free will, though natural impulse is still in us—in some, unfortunately, to a great extent. Carbon and oxygen in a certain proportion make a poisonous gas and cannot choose to make anything else, but we can make every contact with another soul a good or an evil experience. Man has to energize himself.

"The pivotal doctrine of the Esoteric philosophy admits no privileges or special gifts in man, save those won by his own Ego through personal effort and merit throughout a long series of metempsychoses and reincarnations," says The Secret Doctrine. People brought up in the false notion that privileges and advancement can be bestowed in answer to prayer are disappointed with the idea that they must earn everything themselves and that privileges are in terms of duties faithfully performed. The greatest Teacher, however, can only point to the reality of the Path of Spirit, which each must find in his own Soul. The Buddha said, "Be ye lamps unto yourselves." It is only by self-effort that human souls can transcend their limitations.

Many do not choose deliberately their thoughts, desires and acts but are carried away by natural impulse. Essentially, however, we are thinkers and the mind can determine what we shall think and desire, what we shall say and do. for that, concentration is necessary; without it, we cannot hold great ideas in the mind or make it possible for the Soul to act through that mind. At present most of our ideas come from natural impulse, from sensation, emotion, etc. As human beings we should refuse to accept any picture, sensation or impression unless it approves itself to us. Let us watch our impulsive reactions and take time to think. As an old Chinese saying puts it, "Turn your tongue seven times in your mouth before you utter a word."

Not only must the lower ebullitions be checked, but high thoughts must be gradually introduced into the mind to serve as a pattern for our thinking. Such truths can be found in all religious philosophies. The test of their truth is their universal validity. What can be applied by all Souls at all times, irrespective of climate, sex, financial status, etc., is part of Truth. Theosophy has culled the great fundamental truths from the religious philosophies of the ages.

Theosophy presents three great ideas which can help to free our minds from misconceptions and enable us to breathe the free air of spiritual heights. These may be stated thus:

1. The Soul of man is immortal.
2. The principle which gives life, dwells in us and without us, is undying and eternally beneficent.
3. Each man is his own absolute lawgiver, the dispenser of glory or gloom to himself.

It is sometimes claimed that we can learn to concentrate by fixing the mind on some trivial object. Theosophy says, try to steady the mind on as high an ideal as you can reach. Take, for instance, the first of these three truths, which is often admitted without understanding and without acting in accordance with it. We must try to hold the concept throughout the day and in the subjective state of sleep. Because the Soul is immortal, wrong impressions from senses and desires may last for ages. Realizing that the Soul is immortal, we recognize others as Souls, as fellow pilgrims in the Cycle of Necessity.

The idea that the principle of Life is within us shows us the necessity of developing a centre of consciousness within ourselves, to serve as a true refuge. Only when we have established relations with the God within ourselves can we express divinity in all the affairs of life and see God in all things and beings.

The proposition that man is his own absolute lawgtiver is difficult to understand, but without grasping this central truth we cannot transcend our limitations and enter the kingdom of Those who have become more than men. That is the goal of our obligatory pilgrimage.

The recognition and careful observation of non-personal psychical factors entails and leads to a sacrifice of the ego—not in the form of an abolition, but in the form of a renunciation of its supremacy. It is no longer possible always to say: I want, I decide, I do, and so on, because it is evident that things happen to me, which are decided for me, and that factors other than the conscious "I" do or think in me. The ego is the vehicle for these other factors and it is responsible for them; but their roots are not in it but in the larger psyche. This is an attitude comparable to that of St. Paul when he says (Gal., ii, 20): "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me"; and it is certainly an attitude which can be called religious. It is, in a way, a kind of death of the ego and is often represented in dreams. This entails a deliberate renunciation of the hitherto dominating position of the ego, the conscious person as I know myself to be.

—Toni Wolff