A Theosophical Approach to the
Classic Work of Christian Mystic Tradition
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
Theosophy has its own particular ways
to identify the eternal wisdom present in Christian teachings and to rescue it from
the dead letter of ritualism and blind belief.
As an instance of that,
we present below 34 fragments from the classical book “The Imitation of Christ”
[1]. Commentaries are added which
aim at decoding these passages, liberating them from the outer garb and
revealing their inner ideas as part of the theosophical view of life.
The author of “The Imitation of Christ”, Tomas À Kempis (1380-1471), was
educated by the Brotherhood of the Common Life and later became a member of it. To this Brotherhood Nicholas of Cusa
(1400-1464) also belonged. [2] According
to H. P. Blavatsky, Cusa was an adept and a forerunner of the modern
theosophical movement. [3]
The first three parts of “The Imitation of the Christ” are mainly a
treatise on Stoic philosophy under Christian garb: hence its importance in
theosophy. The fourth part of the book does not quite belong to its contents. It
may have been added to the book in order to avoid persecution from the Vatican.
There are some “reading keys” to “Imitation”. Normally one must read the
word “God” as meaning “universal Law”, but in some cases the term may refer to
one’s own higher self, whose substance is universal.
The term “cross” means “Karma”. The words “Christ” and “Jesus” are
legendary symbols for one’s own sixth
principle of consciousness, also known as higher self or spiritual soul.
The 34 fragments are presented in italics, with bold
type. At the end of each one, the number of page is given in parenthesis.
One: The Highest Source
“The teachings of Christ are superior to all the teachings of the
saints.” (p. 03)
Commentary:
The first sentence by Kempis means that one must go to the highest
source possible.
The Gospels constitute a true guiding light, if properly read. They contain
a number of Pythagorean, Jewish, Confucian and Buddhist teachings and many
tenets taken from other religions.
However, the teachings of “Christ” are also beyond literature. They
symbolically correspond to “the voice of the silence”, the wordless mantra of
one’s own soul, in its universal, divine aspect.
Two: A Hidden Manna
“In his [Christ’s] teachings we find, as it were, a hidden manna.” (p.
03)
Commentary:
No dead letter reading can be efficient in philosophy or religion. The
real meaning is hidden from the world of appearances. Therefore one’s study
must combine several levels of consciousness. It is necessary to decode the
wording, in order to see the teachings as a living, creative process.
Three: A Model for Our
Lives
“So if we are to hear the words of Christ with new ears, we need to try
to make his life a model for our lives.”
(p. 03)
Commentary:
In order to truly understand theosophy one must test and apply its
teachings in everyday life. Sacredness is potentially present in every
situation. The lives of H.P. Blavatsky and other sages of all times constitute self-renewing
sources of guidance and inspiration.
Four: Not Just Talk
“If you are one of those who can talk learnedly about the Holy Trinity,
but lack the virtue of humility, how have you done yourself any service by
displeasing the Trinity? As you know, it is not your skill at talking that
makes you holy or just; only the virtues of your life endear you to God. It is
far better to be repentant than to know what repentance is in so many words.”
(pp. 3-4)
Commentary:
“God” is the universal law; or, it is Nature, in its absolute totality
and diversity. The Trinity symbolizes the mystery of inner unity and outward
contrast and difference.
No speech can be more valuable than the intention that moves it, or than
the daily practice which constitutes its magnetic basis and foundation.
Five: The Love and Grace
“Even if you knew the entire Bible by heart, and also the teachings of
all the philosophers, what good would that do you if you lacked the love and
grace of God?” (p. 04)
Commentary:
Even if you knew the religious scriptures of all nations by heart, and
the teachings of every philosopher, Eastern and Western, what good would that
do you, if you lacked the perception of the unity of all beings and of your own
duty towards the One Life of which you are part?
Six: True Wisdom
“Yes, vanity of vanities: all is vanity except one thing, and that is
loving God and serving him alone. That is the best wisdom - to strive first for
the heavenly kingdom, rather than for any earthly prize.” (p.
04)
Commentary:
All is vanity, except one thing, and that is fulfilling our duty to our
higher selves and to the universal Law.
Seven: An Everlasting Joy
“To seek after riches, to base one’s whole life on that goal, is surely
vain. To seek worldly honors, to wish to be held in high esteem, to pamper the
desires of the flesh, to covet what we have no right to, to become overly
concerned about how long we shall live, to give little thought to the moral
character of our lives - all these are rightly called vanities. To be
exclusively concerned about the things of this life on earth, and to neglect
the future life that God has prepared for us - that too is vanity. It is vanity
to devote one’s life to passing pleasures rather than to the promise of
everlasting joy.” (p. 04)
Commentary:
To be mainly concerned about short term things, and to neglect the long
term future that we ourselves are in part preparing during the present lifetime
- that too is vanity.
Eight: The Invisible
Goods
“There is a true proverb that applies here: The eye is not satisfied to
see, nor the ear to hear. We may take this to mean that we are wise to fix our
heart’s affections on invisible goods, rather than limit our love to visible
things. The alternative is to become blind to our own consciences and lose
God’s grace.” (p. 04)
Commentary:
Our conscience is the wordless voice of our higher self or spiritual
soul.
“God’s grace” is a symbolic
expression, meaning the subtle, impersonal energy of universal love. It
corresponds to the sixth principle of human consciousness. It reveals the
transcendent unity of all beings in spite of their apparent diversity. Such
grace is everywhere: it belongs to no specific deity, much less a “personal”
one.
Nine: The Value of
Knowledge
“Each of us has a natural curiosity about the world we live in. But we
need to ask ourselves what our knowledge is worth if we do not know our true
relationship to the Creator. It is clear that the lowly peasant who lives as a
child of God is more to be admired than the learned astronomer who can plot the
movements of the stars but who completely neglects his spiritual life.”
(p. 05)
Commentary:
Our Creator is our higher self, who made us be born in the present
incarnation. It can also be described as the Universal Law. A conscious “child
of God” is he who lives in harmony with his spiritual soul. In theosophy, the
astronomer and the humble peasant must be one and the same. There is no
opposition between them. Real knowledge is inseparable from purity of heart.
Ten: Self-knowledge
“If a man knows himself well and truly, he sees and admits his
weaknesses and faults; and he does not glory in any praise that others may give
him. So I must consider, for example, that if I am very learned but not
charitable, my knowledge will be of precious little use to me when I come to
stand before the God who will judge my life.”
(p. 05)
Commentary:
This is pure theosophy. Its technical correctness is precise. The “god”
who will judge me is of course my own higher self. At the end of the present
incarnation, it will revise every action of mine and establish the karmic lines
of both my after-death states, and my next birth.
Eleven: Avoid
Distractions
“It is possible to desire to know too much; in that desire lie many idle
distractions and much foolishness. Some persons are learned and enjoy
displaying their knowledge so that they will be thought wise. There are many
things we each could know, but would bring us no spiritual benefit. It is simply
not wisdom to be distracted by anything that does not assist our spiritual
progress. The display of our knowledge does not satisfy our souls. Rather, it
is the goodness of our lives that brings a comfort to our minds. An upright
conscience enables us to place our trust in God.”
(p. 05)
Commentary:
The display of sanctity or knowledge does not satisfy the soul. Indeed,
“the goodness of our lives brings a comfort to our minds”, and Helena Blavatsky
wrote:
“…The Ethics of Theosophy are even more necessary to mankind than the
scientific aspects of the psychic facts of nature and man.” [4]
Twelve: A Holy Life
“We may even go so far as to say that the more knowledge we possess, and
the more surely we possess it, the more surely that knowledge will be questioned
on the Day of Judgment unless our lives are also holy. We have no reason to
puff ourselves up because of any of our talents; rather, we need to concern
ourselves about the use we make of them.”
(pp. 05-06)
Commentary:
The “Day of Judgment” is also individual and not necessarily collective,
as Portuguese thinker Antônio Vieira explained in the year 1652 in one of his
Sermons. [5]
The individual “Judgment” is made by our own higher self and the karmic
Law at the end of each incarnation. Collective “judgments” are karmic points of
no return in human and planetary evolution. They are examined in the book “The
Secret Doctrine”, by Helena Blavatsky.
What we do with our would-be knowledge, is the key question in authentic
theosophy. Knowledge is only confirmed by the corresponding action, and this
will be necessarily imperfect. Right action consists of sincere Attempts to do
one’s best. These must be corrected and renewed over and over again, under each
and every circumstance. Gradually one learns to learn from mistakes and to concentrate
mind and heart on the freely chosen, noble goal.
Thirteen: A Way to
Spiritual Perfection
“No matter how much you or I have come to know, we can be sure that
there are a great many more things about which we are wholly ignorant. When we
are tempted to think highly of ourselves, we should remember not only how
ignorant we are, but that many others are more learned, more expert, than we.
The one thing we do need to learn is to prefer to be unknown and unappreciated.
That is a very difficult, but a spiritually profitable, lesson. Not to think
highly of oneself, always to think highly of others, is not only wise counsel,
but a way to spiritual perfection.”
(p. 06)
Commentary:
Our thoughts must be sincere and truthful. Whatever they say, those who
do not even try to act with ethics,
or have no respect for truth, are far away from the right path. Yet they
deserve our impersonal respect and in the future they will have a chance to
learn.
We must aim
at learning from those who are wiser than us, whether our contact with them is
outward or inward, and takes place through written words or is wordless. [6]
In order to attain this goal, one must try to help the selfless work of the
Souls who preserve universal wisdom and guide mankind’s evolution along the
right path.
Fourteen: Be Vigilant
“If you should see
someone commit a fault or even a crime, do not use that as an occasion to think
you are a better person; for how long will it be before you lapse into
unholiness?” (p.
06)
Commentary:
Fight crime and
selfishness. Fight even more their seeds and their sources. Don’t wash your
hands before injustice of any kind. Take injustice to any being as an injustice
to your own father, your mother, your spiritual teacher and yourself. Have
mercy and compassion for selfish people, without joining or accepting their
harmful actions. They are part of human family just as you are.
Fifteen: No Comparison
“Each of us is
spiritually weak; we have no reason to think that we are less weak than
others.”
(p. 06)
Commentary:
We must follow the
example of those stronger and wiser than us, and above all keep a constant eye
to the ideal of human progression and perfection.
If we seem to be stronger
than anyone else, it is something totally unimportant; unless it is a sign of
our own weakness and self-delusion.
Sixteen: Knowing Esoteric Things
“Lucky is that person who
has been taught not by words and signs but by studying Truth as it is in
itself. Our opinions about the truth of things are often mistaken; for our
senses help us see the truth only partially and imperfectly. And yet so often
we find ourselves arguing about matters concerning which we know little or
nothing. On the Day of Judgment, our ignorance about esoteric things [7] is not
what will be held against us.” (p. 06)
Commentary:
“The Day of Judgment”
mentioned here is individual and takes place at the end of each
incarnation.
Acting in accordance with
the Law of Equilibrium is better than merely knowing the rationale of
esotericism. However, combining the two things is of decisive importance, as
long as one has the eyes to see and can go beyond dead letter. The motto of the
theosophical movement is “There is No Religion Higher than Truth”. While Truth
transcends all its worded descriptions, partial approaches to it are useful if
they point to that which is beyond words.
Seventeen: Our Priorities
“Having ‘eyes that do not
see’, we tend to interest ourselves in this or that out of curiosity and sometimes
actually harm ourselves as a result; while at the same time neglecting other
aspects of our lives that we should attend to for our own good.” (p. 07)
Commentary:
The fulfilment of our
duty is our best defence and asset in life. Attaining to a sane understanding
of life depends on looking at it from a correct viewpoint, and only the
practice of altruism can grant us that. Selfish minds distort everything they
look at: true intelligence is both impartial and universal.
Eighteen: The Heart Knows Peace
“The person who listens
to the eternal Word is not likely to pose as an opinion-maker. From that one
Word, all created things have their existence; and only through that Word do
all things ‘speak’. Apart from that Word - that Beginning of true speaking -
none of us can understand or judge anything rightly. On the other hand, if we
can learn to see all creation in relation to that One, our hearts will be able
to know the peace that comes to those who place their trust in him.” (p. 07)
Commentary:
The whole paragraph
resonates with the writings of H. P. Blavatsky. The Word is the primordial
“Sound”, the Mantram of Manifestation, the Music of the Spheres.
Symbolic personalization
of the universe and its laws must be accepted as cultural processes belonging
to nations all over the world, and as forms to encode and record the ineffable
Mystery. Esoteric tradition will teach how to “read” the legends related to
Zeus and Saturn, to the Christian god, to the Hindu Brahman and Parabraham, to
the Taoist Immortals, and so on.
Nineteen: Silence and Truth
“O God of Truth,
may my love for you last forever.
The knowledge that comes
to me
through seeing and hearing
seldom satisfies my
desire to know the Truth;
only you can satisfy that desire.
All human creatures, all
earthly creatures,
stand silent before your Truth,
so that you alone can speak to me.” (p. 07)
Commentary:
In blind belief,
something is considered true because “god”, or the Christ, or someone else says
so. In philosophy, it is the other way around. Something is not true because a
sage says so, but the sage says that it is true because it is so. A true master
never puts himself above law or truth. After attaining to truth, he becomes its
disciple.
Twenty: Freedom and Understanding
“If a person is free from
internal contradictions and conflicts, the more easily does he or she
understand the truth of things; for such a person is enlightened by heavenly
Truth.”
(p. 07)
Commentary:
This is the teaching of
the original theosophy as taught by Helena Blavatsky and the Eastern Masters of
the Wisdom.
Twenty-One: Simplicity of Heart
“The person who keeps
from becoming enmeshed in numerous kinds of busy-ness remains free to serve the
honor of God with a steadfast spirit and with simplicity of heart. The best way
for us to find internal peace of mind is by freeing ourselves from all forms of
self-seeking.” (pp. 07-08)
Commentary:
Our “Lord”, or “God”, is
anonymous. It is our higher self. To it we owe loyalty.
Twenty-Two: Seeing Our Weaknesses
“The good person thinks
carefully before following any inclinations of the heart. In that way, evil
inclinations are put to the test of a well-formed judgment.
“The hardest obstacle any
of us has to overcome is our self. So your main effort should be to take charge
of your inclinations. Your goal is to become each day a better master of your
life.
“In this life, just as we
never see anything with total clarity, so too we find some imperfection in even
the best works of human skill. The way to find God is not through advanced
studies, but through humility of heart and through a sure knowledge of our own
weaknesses.”
(p. 08)
Commentary:
Church-centered
Christianity offers no guidance to enlightenment. Dead letter approach to scriptures
cannot be taken seriously, and this includes theosophical writings. The way to
find Truth needs advanced research and studies, but this must be practiced on
the solid foundation of a humbleness of heart and a calm observation of our own
weaknesses.
Twenty-Three: A Virtuous Life
“There is nothing wrong
with knowledge as such, nor can anyone be blamed for wishing to learn about a
subject. Knowledge is a good thing; God made us for knowing. But compared to
knowledge, a good conscience and a virtuous life are far better and more
admirable. History shows us many examples of persons who loved and sought after
knowledge but neglected their spiritual lives; they not only fell into evil
ways but have left us little if anything of value as a fruit of their learning.” (p. 08)
Commentary:
The whole purpose of life
is learning. Yet every portion of knowledge we attain comes to us with its
share of unavoidable ethical duties.
One must examine what
knowledge is actually used for. Because only an honest heart and an ability to
aim at noble goals can allow us to use knowledge in correct ways and to deserve
obtaining better information about life.
Twenty-Four: What Have You Done?
“Would that more people
worked as hard at weeding out vices and planting virtues in themselves as they
do at fueling heated arguments about what is or is not true in human knowledge.
All this one-sided interest has resulted in scandalous moral evil in people’s
lives and laxity among the clergy. On the Day of Judgment, we, like they, will
not be asked what tomes we have read or how well we have spoken, but what we
have done and how devoutly we have lived.” (pp. 08-09)
Commentary:
Mystical Christianity has
always had a difficult relation with top-down Churches. It was not an isolated
fact that Geert de Groote, the founder of the Brethren of the Common Life to which Thomas À
Kempis belonged, warned and preached against clerical abuses.[8]
Twenty-Five: True Learning
“Think of all those
once-famous scholars and experts: even their immediate successors do not
remember them. Their fame was not worth remembering.
“And that reminds us that
the glory of the world passes quickly. If a person’s life is equal in
excellence to his or her learning, at least that person has studied well and
with good effects. On the other hand, those who search for worldly glory have
no true greatness in them, and their ambition dooms them to be soon forgotten.
Truly great are the charitable, kindly persons who do not boast of their
accomplishments. It is spiritual wisdom to seek the highest prize - Christ -
and to look upon earthly goods as of little value by comparison. To be truly
learned is to seek always to do God’s will and to put one’s own will in second
place.” (p.
09)
Commentary:
“God’s will” is the
purpose of our own spiritual soul: “Christ” is a symbol for universal
consciousness.
Twenty-Six: Independence and
Self-responsibility
“As a rule, we should be
cautious about accepting whatever another person says or recommends to us. In
each case, weigh what is told you by considering what God’s will may be.” (p. 09)
Commentary:
Apart from the word
“god”, the idea literally belongs to every profound philosophy around the
world, including Buddhism, Pythagorism and Theosophy.
Twenty-Seven: Avoid Malicious Gossip
“We need to be on guard
especially against being quick to accept malicious gossip; for we are more
likely to believe something evil than something good about another person.
Human nature is weak and prone to evil, and talebearers are prone to exaggerate
- so a prudent person avoids listening to idle reports about the faults of
others.
“Similarly, if we would
be wise, we will not jump to any conclusions or make any rash decisions about
what we ought to do. Nor will we be obstinate in promoting our own opinions.
And just as we should not lend our ears to gossip, so too should we refrain
from passing it on to others.” (pp. 9-10)
Commentary:
This is strictly
theosophical, and H. P. Blavatsky wrote along these lines.
Twenty-Eight: Humbleness and Prudence
“It is often the wisest
course to get advice from a conscientious person and to follow it rather from
one’s own inclinations. A holy person shares in God’s own wisdom and has more
useful ‘experience’ to draw on - and to share with others. The more humble a person
is, the more inclined toward God, the more prudent in decision-making, and the
more at peace.” (p. 10)
Commentary:
Among the steps in the
Golden Stairs of theosophical teachings, one finds these:
“A brotherliness for
one’s co-disciple, a readiness to give and receive advice and instruction, a
loyal sense of duty to the Teacher…”.[9]
Indeed, mutual help is of
the essence in the search for truth.
Twenty-Nine: The Love of Truth
“When you read from
Sacred Scripture, seek for religious truth, not literary elegance. In that way,
you will be reading it in the same spirit in which it was written. One should
approach Scripture as a source of spiritual profit, not as a collection of
scientific documents. So too, one ought to read both the simpler and the more
profound books of the Bible, without letting the ‘authority’ of the various
authors sway one’s interests. Let your love of God’s truth lead you to read
every part of Scripture.” (p. 10)
Commentary:
“God’s truth” is the
divine wisdom or “godly truth”. The idea of Sacred Scriptures includes
classical books belonging to religions and philosophies of all time and every
nation, from the “Huarochiri”, in the Andes, to the Central American “Popol
Vuh” and “The Secret Doctrine”. One must read them from the point of view of
one’s heart, and according to inner affinity.
Thirty: Truth Speaks in Many Ways
“As you read, pay more
attention to what is said than to who is saying it. The human authors of
Scripture have all passed away; but the truth of God remains available to us
through their words. As you know, God speaks to us in many ways, through all
kinds of persons.” (p. 10)
Commentary:
“God”, or Anonymous Universal
Law, speaks to us through many means. A Master of the Wisdom wrote to a female
lay disciple: “Learn, child, to catch a
hint through whatever agency it may be given. ‘Sermons may be preached even
through stones’.” [10] And the Buddha
taught:
“Do not be misled by
report or tradition or hearsay. Do not be misled by proficiency in the
Collections (of Scriptures), nor by mere logic and inference, nor after
considering reasons, nor after reflection on some view and approval of it, nor
because it fits becoming, nor because the recluse (who holds it) is your
teacher. But when you know for yourselves: ‘These
things are not good, these things are faulty, these things are censured by the
intelligent, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to loss and
sorrow’ - then do you reject them.”
[11]
Thirty-One: Reading With Sincerity
“You may find that your
own curiosity gets in the way of your profiting from reading Scripture, because
you find yourself stopping over various passages, seeking to know more and to
enter into debate, when you should simply read farther. To profit from
Scripture, you should read with humility, sincerity, and faith, and, of course,
not so as to become regarded as an expert.
“Do not hesitate to read
also the writings of the saints; and listen attentively to those who have a
responsibility for your spiritual welfare - for what they say to you is not
said without a good reason.” (p. 11)
Commentary:
Read the writings of wise
men and women of all time.
Listen to your
co-disciples, for they are co-responsible for your spiritual welfare, and the
responsibility is mutual. You can learn from their right actions and from their
mistakes as well, just as they may learn from yours.
Thirty-Two: Finding Peace of Heart
“The person who desires
anything (except God) too much is not at peace. The proud or envious person is
never satisfied. Only those who live humbly and simply are entirely at peace in
their souls.
“Persons who have not
mastered themselves soon ‘give in’ to themselves in small things. Those who are
spiritually weak and who have not won control of the body’s appetites are not
able to free themselves from slavery to earthly things. If they do succeed in
denying themselves some earthly good, they are then unhappy and tend to react
crossly to anyone who annoys them. Yet if they give in to their appetites, they
find that their conscience will not let them be happy - and they are none the
closer to the peace and contentment they are seeking.
“They have not yet
discovered that it is by resisting passions and regulating appetites that one
becomes no longer a slave to them and finds peace of heart. The earth-bound
person, whose life is one of searching for new amusements and distractions,
does not have that peace. The devout person alone has it.” (pp. 11-12)
Commentary:
Each student must keep a constant eye
to the ideal of human progression and perfection, and make practical
experiments in detachment towards earthly things.
It is necessary to avoid two extremes.
One must not blindly obey to lower appetites; on the other hand, there is no
use in following a sort of self-discipline that generates too much of a
neurotic conflict. Balance is of the essence. The effort is long-term, and one
must be one’s own master and disciple. There are also karmic tides to observe and to understand in this lifelong effort.
Once one grasps universal truths, lower self desires are gradually uprooted. The
daily discipline, the study and contemplation of universal law silently destroy
the Roots of self-centeredness in one’s lower self.
The foundations of a winning
self-discipline are in realizing our personal interconnectedness to the whole
Cosmos. When our mental horizon includes that of our galaxy, it becomes easier for
us to have a humble and orderly life on the physical plane.
Thirty-Three: A Life of Poverty
“It hardly needs saying
that anyone who puts trust in other people or in created things is likely to
know disappointment. There is no shame, of course, in our serving others for
the love of Jesus Christ, or in adopting a life of poverty.” (p. 12)
Commentary:
The idea that there is no shame in our serving others for the sake of spiritual soul
is present in older religions than Christianity. In the Vedas, for example, the
Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad says:
“Verily, not for the sake of the
husband is the husband dear, but a husband is dear for the sake of the
[supreme] Self. Verily, not for the sake of the wife is the wife dear, but a
wife is dear for the sake of the [supreme] Self. Verily, not for the sake of
the sons are the sons dear, but the sons are dear for the sake of the [supreme]
Self.” [12]
There is an impersonal, divine
dimension in human affections which we can learn to develop, and of which we may
become fully conscious in due time.
Thirty-Four: Follow Your Sense of
Duty
“Those who do such things
place their hope in God [the Law], not in themselves. If each of us does
the good that it is in our power to perform, God [the Law] will use us
as his [its] instruments. God [the Law] helps the humble, and
humbles those who think they don’t need God [the Law].” (p. 12)
Commentary:
Renunciation to personal
desire leads to a life of voluntary simplicity, in which ethics and wisdom are
possible. Justice is impartial, and one of the Mahatmas of the Himalayas wrote:
“… In our sight an honest boot-black
[is] as good as an honest king, and an immoral
sweeper far higher and more excusable than an immoral Emperor…”. [13]
The sentence “if each of us does the good that it is in our power to perform…”
expresses the main idea of Epictetus’ teachings. By fulfilling our inner
spiritual duty, we learn to cooperate with our own higher selves, and with
other, more advanced beings.
NOTES:
[1] “The
Imitation of Christ”, by Thomas À Kempis, translated by P.G. Zomber, Dunstan
Press, Maine, USA, copyright 1984, 250 pp. Number of the page of each quotation
is mentioned in parenthesis at its end.
Another English language version is “Of the Imitation of Christ”, by Tomas à
Kempis, Whitaker House, USA, 1981, 256 pp.
[2] “A Concise
Encyclopedia of Christianity”, Geoffrey Parrinder, entries “Brethren of the
Common Life”, “Tomas À Kempis” and “Nicholas of Cusa”.
[3] See
“Collected Writings”, H. P. Blavatsky, TPH, vol. XIV, pp. 377-378. For further
independent evidence and research, examine the entries “Nicholas of Cusa” and
“Brethren of the Common Life”, according to Note 2, above.
[4] “Five Messages”, H. P. Blavatsky,
Theosophy Co., Los Angeles, 1922, Second message, p. 12. The pamphlet is
available at our associated websites.
[5]
Padre Antônio Vieira, “Sermões”, Editora das Américas, SP,
volume IV, 1957, 441 pp., see for instance pp. 28-40.
[6]
Such a contact usually includes the written words of classical teachings and a
silent inspiration on the higher, wordless levels of perception.
[7]
One of the best-known among Brazilian editions, also a direct translation from
the Latin original, does not use the phrase “esoteric things”. It has instead
“mysterious and obscure questions”. (“Imitação de Cristo”, Tomás de Kempis, Ed.
Vozes, Petrópolis, RJ, Brazil, 1993, p. 17.)
[8] “A Concise Encyclopedia of Christianity”, Geoffrey
Parrinder, entry “Brethren of the Common Life”, p. 48.
[9] See the article “Commentaries to the Golden Stairs”,
by Carlos Cardoso Aveline, in our associated websites.
[10] “Letters from the Masters of
the Wisdom”, edited by C. Jinarajadasa, TPH, India, 1973, First Series, p. 150,
Second Letter to L. C. Holloway.
[11] “The Wisdom of Buddhism”,
Edited by Christmas Humphreys, Curzon-Humanities, London, UK, 1987, 280 pp., p.
71.
[12] “The Principal Upanisads”,
Edited with Notes by S. Radhakrishnan, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd;
New York: Humanities Press Inc., 1974, 958 pp., see p. 197.
[13] “The Mahatma Letters”, TUP,
Pasadena, California, 1992, Letter XXIX, p. 223.
000
In September 2016, after a careful analysis of the state of the
esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students decided to form the Independent Lodge of Theosophists,
whose priorities include the building of a better future in the different
dimensions of life.
000
