Theosophy Trust - MEMORIAL LIBRARY

Humanity has been cursed by false and distorted ideas of whether the consequences of one's actions inexorably return to oneself – as in the Eastern traditions – or whether one can short circuit one's responsibility of one's thoughts, feelings and outward actions (such as words). Many think by confessing one's "sins" to a priest or a therapist that one can thereby escape the results of those sins, or that the effects that flow from a particular action can be avoided by the giving of money to churches or some other form of sacrifice. All of these perverted attitudes rest upon the assumption – never clearly and openly stated – that the Law is something that is outside of us, that it is external to our nature, and thus in the hands or control of some external beings or forces. Robert Crosbie put the matter in this vein: "The ideas we entertain of the Supreme, of Law, of Nature, and of our own Being govern the actions we perform. When we were ch...

Writing of the relationship of any one individual life to the life of All, Robert Crosbie writes: "The life of each of us is the Universal Life. Many imagine that Life means existence in a physical body, and that only; that outside of physical existence there is no life. But Life includes all things and forms from the highest spiritual down to life in its grossest form; it is the same Life all through, common to all. It is the One Life, the One Spirit in each and all, so that in each being of every grade there lies the potentiality of All- Being. There is that in each which is beginning less and endless, which is changeless; and that, though illimitable, invisible, inconceivable, can be realized by every human being. Some illustrations will bring this fact forcibly to our minds. We speak of ourselves, of our identity. We say, "I was a child; when I was a young man or woman; when I was middle-aged; as I am today; as I will be in the future." Now, what is That...

We are all a prey to those fears that tend to disrupt the very instrument by means of which true concentration may be attained; but it may be attained. The peculiar power and nature of concentration is that, when complete, the attention can be placed on any subject or object to the exclusion of every other for any given length of time; and this thinking principle – this mind of ours which has been flitting about – can be used to shape itself to the object gazed upon, to the nature of the subject thought about.  While the mind takes the shape of the object, we get from that shape the form, the characteristics of every kind that flow from it; and when our inquiry is complete, we are able to know everything that can be known of the subject or object. Such a height of concentration we can easily see is not to be attained by intermittent efforts, but by efforts made from "a firm position assumed" with the end in view. All efforts made from that basis are bound to be of a...

The subject relates to our conduct toward and treatment of our fellows, including in that term all people with whom we have any dealings. No particular mode of treatment is given by Theosophy. It simply lays down the law that governs us in all our acts, and declares the consequences of those acts. It is for us to follow the line of action which shall result first in harmony now and forever, and second, in the reduction of the general sum of hate and opposition in thought or act which now darkens the world. The great law which Theosophy first speaks of is the law of karma, and this is the one which must be held in view in considering the question. Karma is called by some the "law of ethical causation," but it is also the law of action and reaction; and in all departments of nature the reaction is equal to the action, and sometimes the reaction from the unseen but permanent world seems to be much greater than the physical act or word would appear to warrant on the ph...

TheosophyTrust.org has been providing books that we publish to prisoners in various state prison systems since 2009. On our website – at https://theosophytrust.org/ - we have provided   a selection from the over 500 letters we have received since we began providing books to prisoners with our first contact in August of 2009 with an inmante named Casey Myers, who was subsequently killed in prison in a knife attack in 2012 by a gang to whom he refused to show obeisance. We mention Casey because he was a superb student of Theosophy who labored to spread the Teachings to his fellow inmates. His work contributed to the spread of awareness of Theosophy to many of the 108 Units of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison system, as well as prisons in North and South Carolina, Florida and Missouri. In each and every inquiry we receive from prisoners, we send either a letter asking for clarification about the books being requested (many times the information spread among t...