[In this section we seek to answer frequently asked questions, at U.L.T. meetings or during private conversations and discussions with people who seek the answers in the light of Theosophy. Answers given in this section are by no means final. Only a line of thought is being offered by applying general principles of Theosophy.]

Question: Is it not better to start working for upliftment of humanity rather than spend much time on studying and spreading knowledge?

Answer: Mme. Blavatsky writes in Five Messages: "Theosophists are of necessity the friends of all those movements in the world, whether intellectual or simply practical, for the amelioration of the condition of mankind" (p. 8). But in doing so, we must not lose sight of the fact that man is not just his body, nor just his mind, but something more. Instead of laying emphasis on mere material charity—providing food, cloothing and shelter or curing diseases—more importance must be given to alleviating mental and moral suffering. Mr. Judge observes that the physical woes of the race are only skin-deep, the real woes or the cause is mental and moral suffering.

Today, the majority of people going to a psychiatrist are not "sick" in a conventional sense. According to Dr. Erich Fromm, "they complain of being depressed, having insomnia, being unhappy in their marriage, not enjoying their work, and any number of similar problems." What they really suffer from, says Dr. Fromm, "is an inner deadness. They live in the midst of plenty and are joyless." Another psychiatrist, Viktor Frankl, writes: "The truth is that as the struggle for survival has subsided, the question has emerged: survival for what? Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for."

H.P.B. observes that "true evolution teaches us that by altering the surroundings of the organism, we can alter and improve the organism"; but this is not the complete solution. In Let Every Man Prove His Own Work, she shows that philanthropists who sought to make men happy by bettering their physical conditions or external environment—by building homes, starting soup kitchens, etc.—were ultimately disappointed. Those who had spent their lives in doing such works confessed that, "as a matter of fact, misery cannot be relieved. It is a vital element in human nature, and is as necessary to some lives as pleasure is to others...that misery is not just endurable, but agreeable to many who endure it." For instance, a woman who worked all her life for the amelioration of prostitutes, confessed in the end that it was not possible to better the conditions of those girls, because they seemed to "love the very state which wealthy people may call misery." Even today, we find that when blankets are given to the poor during winter, they sometimes sell them off. At times proper houses are built for them and they sell those and go back to living in their huts. We are asked to exercise discrimination even in helping others. H.P.B. writes:

It takes a very wise man to do good works without the danger of doing incalculable harm. A highly developed adept in life may grasp the nettle, and by his great intuitive powers, know whom to relieve from pain and whom to leave in the mire that is their best teacher....Kindness and gentle treatment will sometimes bring out the worst qualities of man or woman who has led a fairly presentable life when kept down by pain and despair. (U.L.T. Pamphlet No. 31, p. 10)

We, not having such intuitive power, will do well to follow the advice of Mr. Judge: "If some pathetic story of suffering has moved you, act on the emotion while your cheeks are still wet with tears." However, Theosophy puts human suffering in a much wider perspective. Pain has a definite and important place in man's life. When we learn to see pain in the right perspective, we would not want to shun it. Often people are driven to commit suicide for trifling reasons like inability to pass an exam, unrequited love, etc. We should not grumble, fret and fume, but regard every unfavourable situation as an opportunity to learn and grow. Growth involves change, and every change is accompanied by pain.

Unless people's minds and hearts are charitable, physical charity will be of little help. Thus, if people lack integrity at higher as well as lower levels, if they feel that it is right for them to cheat and prosper—no matter how much others suffer—mere physical acts of charity are not enough to bring about peace and happiness.

This also implies that it is not enough to impose laws, in order to improve any social, economic or political system. It has been noticed, for instance, that so long as men are dishonest, bullies and twisters, they always find out some new way of cheating and evading tax. However stringent the laws are made, people succeed in finding loopholes. We cannot have good society without good men, and we cannot have good men, merely by imposing laws. The emphasis must be on individual morality.

Why is there such obvious disparity in society? Why are the rich becoming richer and the poor, poorer? It is because of neglect of social duty on the part of the rich towards the poor. It is because we do not realize that we are pilgrim souls. What each one of us needs to do, has been suggested in The Voice of the Silence: "Give light and comfort to the toiling pilgrim." It shows that we must not only give comfort—physical and mental relief—but also give "light," i.e., "right knowledge" or the "bread of wisdom," to the distressed. We must look upon every human being as a "toiling pilgrim." This at once changes the whole attitude of mind. Every ordinary man is really a toiling pilgrim. Besides being a businessman, a sweeper, a teacher, each one is a pilgrim in the ultimate analysis, as one side of his nature is toiling towards human evolution.

Laws of Karma and Reincarnation are doctrines of responsibility and hope. H.P.B. observes that the percentage of crime is less in Buddhist countries where doctrines of Karma and Rebirth are taught. When people are taught that they cannot escape the consequences of their actions, then, "besides feeling in themselves the true dignity of human nature, they will turn from evil and eschew it as they would a physical danger" (The Key to Theosophy, p. 245). When people feel that this life is the only life, they struggle to keep body and soul together at any cost. It is summed up by a Master of Wisdom in a few pregnant words:

You should even as a simple member...learn that you may teach, acquire spiritual knowledge and strength that the weak may lean upon you, and the sorrowing victims of ignorance learn from you the cause and remedy of their pain. If you choose, you may make your home one of the most important centres of spiritualizing influence in all the world.

Question: How does one cultivate compassion? It seems so difficult in today's times when each one works for himself.

Answer: There are some presumed ideas in the question raised. Is it so "difficult" to behave like a truly human being? Are "today's times" so hopelessly bad that there is no place for compassion? Are we all working for ourselves alone, ignoring others all the time?

Indeed, there is some grain of truth that in this imperfect world, human beings sometimes behave like beasts. But all of us are not always selfish. If that were the case, the world would be in a chaos! "There is something good in the worst of us and something bad in the best of us." Man is a combination of truth and error, good and evil, greatness and meanness, depending on which part of his nature is exercised at the moment.

Mr. Crosbie writes: "Let us follow the lines of the law of our own being—compassion, love, helpfulness for all—and then we shall be able to understand ourselves and the nature of others" (The Friendly Philosopher, p. 309). So, to understand others is to forgive.

The practical solution for "man's inhumanity to man" is, we must be human first, no matter what others are doing, and keep our sanity when others are losing theirs. It also means using discrimination, common sense, discretion and gentle damage-control measures, while at the back of it all, our true humanity is kept alive in us functioning in the interest of all.

We blame others for not being able to exercise goodness, sweetness and light—qualities inherent in man. We must firmly believe in man's superior nature and keep affirming our faith whenever we feel the difficulty about cultivating our compassionate nature which is always there. Given the chance by us, it will flower forth, both in us, and in the people we are dealing with. We must always assert the dignity of man, because there is a "hero" hidden in every one of us. We must give it a chance to come out in front. We must be the first to be heroic in accepting others as they are and meanwhile hoping that goodness will ultimately prevail. Bitterness should never be allowed entry in our heart.

If we open our eyes we can see so much of good happening in the world. Even in the worst of times, nobility in man does come to the surface. H.P.B. writes:

Selfishness, indifference, and brutality can never be the normal state of the race—to believe so would be to despair of humanity—and that no Theosophist can do. (The Key to Theosophy, p. 233)

To despair of man's great possibilities is to lose faith in the very law of our being—the law of Wisdom and Compassion. The Voice of the Silence defines compassion thus:

Compassion is no attribute. It is the Law of LAWS—eternal Harmony, Alaya's SELF; a shoreless universal essence, the light of everlasting right, and fitness of all things, the law of Love eternal. (pp. 75-76)

In all things success depends on previous preparation, and without such previous preparation there is sure to be failure. If what is to be spoken be previously determined, there will be no stumbling. If affairs be previously determined, there will be no difficulty with them. If one's actions have been previously determined, there will be no sorrow in connection with them. If principles of conduct have been previously determined, the practice of them will be inexhaustible.

—Confucius