Brief Theosophical Glossary

A scheme made for us by somebody else

would destroy our freedom

Spiritual Life for the

Man of the World

No circumstances can ever make or mar

the unfolding of the spiritual life in man.

Spirituality does not depend upon the

environment; it depends upon the

attitude of the man towards life

A Theosophical view on

making wealth a priority

What is Karma?

H P Blavatsky

We consider it as the Ultimate Law of the Universe,

the source, origin, and fount of all other laws which

exist throughout Nature. Karma is the unerring law

which adjusts effect to cause, on the physical, mental,

and spiritual planes of being. As no cause remains

without its due effect from greatest to least, from

a cosmic disturbance down to the movement of

your hand, and as like produces like, Karma is that

unseen and unknown law which adjusts wisely,

intelligently, and equitably each effect to its

cause, tracing the latter back to its producer.

Though itself unknowable, its action is perceivable.

Tooting Broadway in The Snow

February 2009

Thoughts On Karma

Every day in life we see people overtaken by

circumstances either good or bad and coming

in blocks all at once or scattered over long

periods of time. Some are for a whole life

in a miserable condition, and others for many

years the very reverse; while still others are

miserable or happy by snatches.

Aphorisms On Karma

A 31 point guide to the Law of Karma

Is Poverty Bad Karma?

Or have we chosen to learn what we

need to learn this time round

The Nature of Thought

The Constitution of Man

C W Leadbeater

He lives through what we call his life, gaining

certain qualities as the result of its experiences;

and at its end, when the physical body is worn out,

he reverses the process of descent and lays aside

one by one the temporary vehicles which

he has assumed.

Leadbeater on Thought

An Extract from the

The Constitution of Man

Good thoughts produce vibrations of the finer

matter of the body, which by its specific gravity

tends to float in the upper part of the ovoid;

whereas bad thoughts, such as selfishness and

avarice, are always oscillations of the grosser matter

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Every thought builds a form; if the thought be

directed to another person it travels to him; if it be

distinctly selfish it remains in the immediate

neighbourhood of the thinker; if it belongs to

neither of these categories it floats for awhile

in space and then slowly disintegrates.

The Creator of Illusion

The mind is the result of past thinking, and is

constantly being modified by present thinking;

it is a thing, precise and definite, with certain

powers and incapacities, strength and weakness,

which are the outcome of activities in previous lives.

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The influence of the mind as a medium by

which the Knower views the external world is

very similar to the influence of the coloured

glass on the colours of objects seen through it.

Progress and People

Experience does not give us evolution.

It is the use of our powers - our thought,

will and love upon any experience

which produces evolution.

Delusions of Clairvoyance

It seems there are clairvoyants and

people who think they are clairvoyants.

Judge examines and explains the pitfalls

A Boring Job, Yoga and the Occult

Ernest Wood describes finding relief from

a boring job and social conformity in the

opportunities offered by inner work.

Psychic Experiments

(From the End User’s Point of View)

Ernest Wood describes Psychic

Experiments carried out by members

of the Manchester Lodge of

The Theosophical Society circa 1905

The Constitution of Man

C W Leadbeater

Until we have entirely rid ourselves of this

extraordinary delusion that the body is the man,

it is quite impossible that we should at all

appreciate the real facts of the case.

A little investigation immediately shows us

that the body is only a vehicle by means of which

the man manifests himself in connection with

this particular type of gross matter out of

which our visible world is built.

Mantrams

study simple forms of mantramic quality, for the

purpose of thus reaching the hidden mind of all

the people who need spiritual help. You will find

now and then some expression that has resounded

in the brain, at last producing such a result that

he who heard it turns his mind to spiritual things.

Elementary Lessons on Karma

Karma is but too often a crippling fetter instead

of being, as it ought to be, a strength, a guide,

a force, enabling us to act wisely and well.

Like all other laws in nature, it binds the ignorant

and gives power to the wise.

The Four Answers

There are only four answers to the question

which each should put to himself -

What do you want?

(1) Some want sensations:

(2) some want possessions;

(3) some want friends;

(4) some few want capacity for a fuller life.

We need not study the detailed psychology of

these four classes of people - and there are no

others – but it is well that we should observe

what they are, for if our Theosophy is something

to be used it will be our object to leave the first

three classes immediately and so take, quite

instantaneously, a great step forward in evolution.

Theosophy Applied

to Social Problems

There is no necessity for the existence of starvation

and poverty, of overwork and absence of leisure,

of lack of comfort and the means of enjoyment.

Human brains are quite clever enough to plan

out a social system in which every citizen should

have enough for a happy life; the only obstacles

are selfishness and want of will.

The Law of Action and Reaction