How the Karmic Law Operates as
One Seeks Theosophical Wisdom
Helena P. Blavatsky
(1890)
Helena P. Blavatsky (1831-1891)
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A 2023 Editorial Note
The following text is reproduced from the “Collected Writings”
of H. P. Blavatsky, volume XII, pp. 515-516. It can also be found
in several other publications. Originally, it had these words at the
opening: “Strictly Private and Confidential. Not the property of
any member, and to be returned on demand to the agent of the
Head of the E.S.T. Instruction number I.” That means the text was
Private (until it was published). Its inner meaning may remain esoteric
even today. Its wording is open for everyone to study and reflect upon.
Its validity is permanent and unavoidable to each individual concerned.
(CCA)
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There is a strange law in Occultism which has been ascertained and proven by thousands of years of experience; nor has it failed to demonstrate itself, almost in every case, during the fifteen years that the T. S. has been in existence. As soon as anyone pledges himself as a “Probationer” [1], certain occult effects ensue. Of these the first is the throwing outward of everything latent in the nature of the man: his faults, habits, qualities, or subdued desires, whether good, bad, or indifferent.
For instance, if a man is vain or a sensualist, or ambitious, whether by Atavism or by Karmic heirloom, all those vices are sure to break out, even if he has hitherto successfully concealed and repressed them. They will come to the front irrepressibly, and he will have to fight a hundred times harder than before, until he kills all such tendencies in himself.
On the other hand, if he is good, generous, chaste, and abstemious, or has any virtue hitherto latent and concealed in him, it will work its way out as irrepressibly as the rest. Thus a civilized man who hates to be considered a saint, and therefore assumes a mask, will not be able to conceal his true nature, whether base or noble.
THIS IS AN IMMUTABLE LAW IN THE DOMAIN OF THE OCCULT.
Its action is the more marked the more earnest and sincere the desire of the candidate, and the more deeply he has felt the reality and importance of his pledge.
Therefore let all members of this School be warned and on their guard; for even during the three months before the esoteric teaching began several of the most promising candidates failed ignominiously. [2]
The ancient occult axiom, “Know Thyself”, must be familiar to every member of this School; but few if any have apprehended the real meaning of this wise exhortation of the Delphic Oracle. You all know your earthly pedigree, but who of you has ever traced all the links of heredity, astral, psychic, and spiritual, which go to make you what you are? Many have written and expressed their desire to unite themselves with their Higher Ego, yet none seem to know the indissoluble link connecting their “Higher Egos” with the One Universal SELF.
For all purposes of Occultism, whether practical or purely metaphysical, such knowledge is absolutely requisite. It is proposed, therefore, to begin the esoteric instruction by showing this connection in all directions with the worlds: Absolute, Archetypal, Spiritual, Manasic, Psychic, Astral and Elemental. Before, however, we can touch upon the higher worlds -Archetypal, Spiritual, and Manasic – we must master the relations of the seventh, the terrestrial world, the lower Prakriti, or Malkhuth as in the Kabala, to the worlds or planes which immediately follow it.
It is clear that once the human body is admitted to have direct relation with such higher worlds, the specialization of the organs and parts of the body will necessitate the mention of all parts of the human organism without exception. In the eyes of truth and nature no one organ is more noble or ignoble than another. The ancients considered as the most holy precisely those organs which we associate with feelings of shame and secrecy; for they are the creative centers, corresponding to the Creative Forces of the Kosmos.
The Esotericists are therefore warned that unless they are prepared to take everything in the spirit of truth and nature, and forget the code of false propriety bred by hypocrisy and the shameful misuse of primeval functions, which were once considered divine – they had better not study Esotericism.
NOTES:
[1] See the articles “The Meaning of a Pledge”, “The Seven Clauses of a Pledge”, “Pledges in Theosophy, Real and Phony”, and “Commentaries to the Golden Stairs”. (CCA)
[2] The psychological process that may lead to failure is discussed in the article “Resistance to Change in Theosophy”. (CCA)
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The above text is available on the websites of the Independent Lodge of Theosophists since 19 July 2026. It is also part of “The Aquarian Theosophist”, September 2023 edition, pp. 13-15.
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Read more:
* The Mahatmas and Christianity.
* Do Theosophists Fight Demons?
* Examine the thematic section on Mahatmas, Disciples and the Search for Discipleship.
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Helena Blavatsky (photo) wrote these words: “Deserve, then desire”.
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