The Occult and Theosophy

Cult

The word "cult" comes from the Latin colere, meaning "to cultivate, to tend" or "to worship." Originally it meant, quite innocently, "a particular system of religious worship." Later it came to mean "excessive and irrational devotion to a person or cause." Today it is generally used for religious groups that expect complete obedience from their members.

In this new sense, cults are religious groups that tell people what to think and how to behave. The cult leader demands unquestioning obedience and loyalty. Members may be expected to leave their families behind, give their money to the leader, and devote themselves solely to the service of the cult. They are often subjected to a kind of brainwashing intended to turn them into willing and docile followers.

Cult behavior, however, is not limited to extreme organizations. Any religious group that claims the right to interpret its scriptures dogmatically and infallibly, imposes this authority on all its members, and permits no other interpretation behaves like a cult. Cults demand uniformity of belief and behavior; they suppress freedom of conscience.

Theosophists acknowledge that their view of life is expressed in certain basic writings. But the official position of the Theosophical Society is that all writings and teachings are open to individual interpretation and that no one has the right to determine what others should believe or do.

This is why Theosophy teaches that cult behavior and the cult mentality are the very opposite of true spirituality. According to the Theosophical tradition, each of us carries within a spark of the divine life, the one life that expresses itself in every being in the universe. All human beings are therefore fellow travelers on the great journey they have set out on to discover themselves. Theosophists respect the wisdom of the Theosophical tradition and draw on it, but they recognize that each person must find his or her own way. We must respect the right of others to do the same.

Only by using our own reason and conscience can we grow and progress. Our only reliable guide to right action is the wisdom within us, which teaches us to love, respect and honor one another. Theosophy says that altruism, caring for the good of others, is the key to right living. If we care about the good of others, we try to support them not by dominating them or imposing our beliefs on them, but by living our altruistic principles in daily life.

Occult

The word "occult" comes from the Latin occulere, meaning "to cover, to hide, to conceal." Originally it meant simply "hidden." Later it was used for something transcendent, not open to the ordinary senses or to reasoning, too deep or too great to be put into words. Theosophists sometimes use the word in this latter sense.

Theosophy teaches that the world is an extremely complex place; as Hamlet said to his friend Horatio, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Today we know that the atmosphere around us is filled with radio and television waves that we cannot see or hear directly, and with many other kinds of energy that escape our eyes and ears. All these waves and energies are "occult," that is, hidden from our ordinary senses; yet they affect us, and we can learn to use them.

To say that something is "occult" is only to say that it lies beyond the limits of our perception or understanding, not that it is supernatural (outside nature) or abnormal. It is a part of nature not open to us, like one person's thoughts affecting another, or some people being able to sense the future in advance. Occultism is the study of these hidden aspects of nature.

Recently, however, new, disparaging and even sinister meanings have been attached to the words "occult" and "occultism." These words are now mostly associated with simple and low-level pursuits and with various other phenomena. So on a bookstore's "occult" shelf one is very likely to find a heap of subjects side by side, some of which seem respectable to some people, absurd to others, and worthless, if not downright evil, to still others.

Theosophy has nothing to do with this new notion of the "occult" that has sprung up like mushrooms in the last few years. Theosophy teaches that the first step in spiritual progress is a pure life. Many Theosophists are vegetarians; they abstain from animal foods and products because they believe it is morally wrong to kill animals needlessly. Theosophy also teaches that we should take care not to alter our consciousness by artificial means. For this reason many followers of the Ageless Wisdom abstain from substances that alter states of consciousness, including alcohol and tobacco, except on a physician's advice.

Theosophy

Theosophy recognizes and respects the hidden sides of life: the energy fields that surround all living things, the power of thought, intuitive insight, and the like. It expects that humanity will one day learn to deal with these far more directly than it does today. In that future, what was once "occult" will cease to be hidden and will become part of our conscious knowledge.

Theosophy teaches that we can reach the knowledge of that future only by evolving and developing through our own actions. No one should interfere with our right and responsibility to make our own decisions and discover truth for ourselves. This attitude is expressed in the Theosophical motto: "There is no religion higher than truth."

The "religion" referred to in this motto is not only the beliefs and dogmas of religions; it is every kind of belief system that limits and imprisons the human mind. We can make a religion out of science, out of politics, out of our own prejudices, even out of Theosophy itself.

Theosophy teaches the unity of all life, the fundamental order of the universe, and that existence has a purpose. It says that man carries an unlimited potential within, that we have the ability to realize this potential, and that the path to this realization is open to all of us. The basic ideas of Theosophy can be summarized in various ways; one of these is known as "The Three Truths of the White Lotus":¹

1. The soul of man is immortal, and its future is the future of a thing whose growth and splendour has no limit.

2. The principle which gives life dwells in us, and without us, is undying and eternally beneficent, is not heard or seen or smelt, but is perceived by the man who desires perception.

3. Each man is his own absolute law-giver, the dispenser of glory or gloom to himself; the decreer of his life, his reward, his punishment.

Among the followers of the Ageless Wisdom are Christians and Jews, Muslims and Zoroastrians, Hindus and Buddhists, agnostics and freethinkers. They accept the goodness of the universe, honor the potential within every human being, and respect each person's difference and responsibility. They believe that the words the great Indian teacher Gautama the Buddha spoke to his followers on his deathbed can inspire all people of every culture: "Work out your own salvation with diligence."