It is an old saying that “a little learning is a dangerous thing,”
and it is claimed that the exposition of truth has never done so much good as
its misunderstanding has been productive of evil. In proof of it we need only look back upon
the history of religious persecutions, Christian as well as others, and we
shall find all kinds of outrages performed in the name of truth, and millions
of lives sacrificed to the defense of doctrines which were misunderstood.
Truth itself can never be given
to any man, nor understood by one who does not realize it within his own heart;
it can only be brought to his notice in some form; but the form itself is not
the truth, it is only its vehicle. The truth is the kernel, the form is the
shell. Those who do not see the truth often mistake the shell for the kernel.
Fables and nursery tales are not
lies, however impossible the things they describe may be, but representations
of truth, and one childish tale often is seen to contain a far greater amount
of truth, speaking directly to the under standing of the soul, than a whole
bookful of scientific arguments seeking to prove the truth to the soul by way
of the brain.
Moreover, this material world,
which we perceive with our external senses, is like a mirror of the spiritual
or invisible world, and there fore its images are perverted. The books of wisdom, including the Bible, are
not merely historical accounts dealing with external events of the past, but
they deal with spiritual things, and that which contains profound sense, if
seen in its true inner light, becomes nonsense if taken in its outer meaning. Very often the translators of the Bible do not
seem to have understood the real meaning of the text, and to have tried to
fortify their position by interpolations based upon their own misconceptions.
The Bible, if properly
understood, contains a great many occult truths, as is shown by St. Paul in his
first letter to the Corinthians, chapter ii, in which he says:
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"We
speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor
of the princes of this world, that come to naught; but we speak the wisdom of
God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world
unto our glory."
(The "wisdom of God" in
the Greek original is called "theosophia.")
All our modern theosophical doctrines
find their support in the Bible. For instance, the belief in the doctrine of reincarnation
is proved by the often quoted passage (John ix, v. 2), where the disciples
asked:
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"Master,
who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
The man evidently could not have
sinned before he was born blind if he had not existed in some way before that
time. In John, chapter iv, v. 37, still
more light is thrown upon this doctrine and that of the law of Karma, where it
is taught that "one soweth and
another reapeth;" for the
personality which creates Karma is not the reincarnating soul, but the latter
creates a new personality which reaps what has been sown.
Many of the sayings and teachings
of the Bible are eminently absurd if taken in an external sense, and it often
seems as if they had been purposely made so to prevent anyone from accepting
them in that way and to cause people to think. Thus, when the Psalmist cries to God to
destroy his enemies every occultist knows that no external enemies are meant,
and that God does not perform such miracles; but the real enemies of man are
his own evil thoughts and inclinations, and the true prayer is a power directed
to one's own higher self for the purpose of overcoming one's lower nature.
Taken in an external sense it represents the acme of egotism. Applied in its real meaning it lifts the soul
to God where its enemies can touch it no more.
In spite of the absurdity of many
Bible verses if taken literally they are still accepted in that way by the great
majority of Christians, and there are not a few bigots who would become angry
if they were told that the literal sense is not true. It may, therefore, be
worth while to examine a few such passages and to offer an explanation:
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"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
the earth." (Matthew, ch. v, 5.)
The contrary is true; for the
lords of the earth are those who know how to push themselves forward, while the
modest ones remain behind. The earth in this case may be considered as our own
personality, and those who can keep a calm and serene state of mind under all
circum stances are masters of it.
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"Ye are the light of the world." (Ch.
v, 14.)
What a flattery to encourage
personal clerical arrogance! Looked at
esoterically, the world spoken of is our own mind, illumined by the light of
the spirit, and that light will be recognized as our own, but not until we have
awakened to the consciousness and realization of our oneness with it.
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"If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out."
(Ch. v, 29.)
It is not probable that anybody
will follow this advice, nor that such an act of mutilation would be useful or
agreeable to God. Perhaps the explanation is that we should not let our mental
eye dwell upon seductive thoughts.
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"If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off."
(Ch. v, 30.)
The hand is the symbol of power. It
is better that we should resign the possession of a power than use it for an
evil purpose, which we are unable to resist.
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"There are eunuchs which have made themselves
eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it let him
receive it." (Ch. xix, 12.)
The misunderstanding of this
doctrine has given rise to self-mutilation and a certain sect in Russia practices
it to-day. In reality this method of attaining heaven, as well as that of
circumcision, refers to the practice of self-restraint. He who overcomes his desires while able to
gratify them and cuts himself loose from the attraction of the senses is
circumcised and free.
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"Whatever ye shall bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven." (Ch. xix, 18.)
Nothing is more true than this;
because that which binds a person to this earth during his life will also bind his
soul to earth after leaving his body, and the material desires which he has
abandoned on earth will not tie him down to it after his death. This doctrine, however, has been
misinterpreted and construed to mean that one person could for give the sins of
another and furnish him with a passport to heaven or condemn him to eternal punishment.
It has given rise to the sale of indulgences by the churches, and is still one
of the principal sources of their income.
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"And another of his disciples said to him,
Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father; but Jesus said unto him, follow
me and let the dead bury their dead." (Ch. viii, 21, 22.)
It is to be supposed that every
real Christian would first attend to his duties instead of running away from
them for the purpose of gratifying his own selfish desires. Taken in a
spiritual sense, the fable evidently merely illustrates the truth that those
who wish to attain a higher state of consciousness must abandon the habit of
letting their thoughts rest upon the things of the past. In the same chapter it
is described how Jesus drove out devils from a man and they went into a herd of
swine, and the whole herd ran into the sea and perished in the waters.
To say nothing about such an unjust
destruction of property and the forbidden killing of the swine, it is quite
certain that at that time there were no swine in that country, as the Jews did
not use them for food.
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"And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer
darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Ch. xxv, 30.)
What would any honest person
think of a man who would treat a servant in such an inhuman manner. The allegory
merely illustrates the unchangeable action of the law of Karma, according to
which each man is his own judge, and those who do nothing for attaining
spiritual light will necessarily remain in darkness.
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"If any man come to me and hate not his
father and mother, and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea and his own
life also, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke, ch. xiv, 26.)
The history of the inquisition
and of religious bigotry is full of examples of the horrors which the
misunderstanding of this doctrine has caused. There are numerous cases on record where children
have caused their parents to be roasted alive so that they themselves might
attain a seat in heaven as a reward for their treachery. The true meaning is that the soul which rises
up in its aspirations to the state of divinity loses sight of its own personality
and of everything connected therewith.
These considerations might be
continued at length; but the above will be sufficient to show that it is no
sign of irreligion or heresy if any Christian refuses to believe in the literal
sense of such sayings. Such a blind
belief may lead to the most serious consequences, as is shown in the case of a
bigoted negro in New Jersey, named Abraham, who cut the throat of his son Isaac
in imitation of the sacrifice of the biblical Abraham. If the teachings of the Bible were carried out
in their literal sense, some curious changes would take place in the world.
If we were to follow the advice
given in Matt, vi, 25:
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"Take no thought for our life, nor for food,
raiment or for our body."
If we do that, wewould all soon be beggars, to say nothing of being
exposed to all sorts of accidents. Fortunately the teaching refers
to our spiritual food and clothing, to our spiritual progress, which is not the
product of our running and striving, but comes to the mind kept tranquil and
pure as a manifestation of a superior power. The fact that this doctrine does
not teach laziness and indifference is shown by a parable in Matt, xxii, 21,
where Jesus is made to say:
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"Render unto Caesar (the material world) the
things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's."
There is, however, a natural
limit to the credulity of even the most fanatical Bible worshipers, and even
they interpret the Bible to suit their own taste. It is written, "Thou shall not kill," and no
exception is made in regard to the killing of animals; still, even the clergy
encourage the slaughter of beasts and even advocate vivisection.
It is taught in I Timothy ii, 12, that we must not suffer a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence, and, incredible as it may appear, some years ago the legislature of a certain State came very near passing such a law; but fortunately common sense prevailed at last.
It is also claimed, Matthew v, 32, that "whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery," but fortunately in more enlightened countries St. Matthew is not obeyed.
It is taught in I Timothy ii, 12, that we must not suffer a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence, and, incredible as it may appear, some years ago the legislature of a certain State came very near passing such a law; but fortunately common sense prevailed at last.
It is also claimed, Matthew v, 32, that "whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery," but fortunately in more enlightened countries St. Matthew is not obeyed.
If we look at the sacred books of
the East in Indian and Mohammedan countries we find the same truths and the
same misinterpretations.
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"The letter killeth but the spirit giveth
life." (II Corinth, iii, 6)
Literal interpretations have
caused the burning alive of widows in India and are still causing the cruel
treatment they have to suffer; they have caused the numerous deaths under the
wheels of the car of the Juggernaut, the mutilation and immolation of thousands
of human victims and countless suicides; to say nothing about the millions of
human lives lost by the fire and sword in religious wars in defense of false
theories.
All these books, including the Bible,
may be regarded as works of poetry rather than scientific dissertations; they
are made to speak to the heart more than to the brain, and the heart must
understand them if they are to become clear to the brain. To stuff the brain with theories and the memory
with regulations and rules for conduct is of little benefit; they are rarely
put into practical use unless the heart gives its consent, and the heart gives
its consent to the truth when the truth is realized and understood.
All the great world religions
contain the same spirit of truth; the spirit of God, for God is the one
reality, the one eternal truth. Those who love the truth may find it by seeking
it within their own hearts, in that temple where the spirit of God resides. St.
Paul says:
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"The natural man receiveth not the things of
the spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto hint; neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned; but he that is spiritual judgeth
all things; yet he himself is judged of no man."
To the "natural man,"
the merely intellectual man of brains without spiritual understanding, the
sacred writings, to whatever nations they may belong, will remain closed books,
in spite of all commentaries and explanations; while in him who loves divine truth
with his whole heart the light of divine understanding will arise, in which all
divine mysteries will become clear. For example, the Christ of the Bible says:
"I am the truth."
But that "I" of which
he speaks is not in any way differing from the "I" in ourselves; for
the truth is only one and indivisible, and in each of us the Christ proclaims
that he is the truth and the real life.
A blind belief in misunderstood
doctrines does not constitute true religion; each one must solve for himself the
enigma of life, and this is done not by intellectual gambling, hairsplitting
philosophical speculations and drawing logical conclusions from fundamentally
wrong premises, but by living the true life itself. Real religion begins where
all systems of philosophy, theology, metaphysics, occultism and mysticism end.
The true alchemist having arrived at a certain point of his evolution throws
his books into the fire. The world is still in a state of hypnotic delusion;
what it needs is not more theories, but the awakening of the soul.
(The Theosophical Quarterly,
1906, vo. 3, p.464-468)
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