AE in the Irish TheosophistRussell, George William
Religion
AE in the Irish Theosophist
Russell, George William
Theosophy
The outlook of any individual mind is not a constant quantity; it
is to some extent determined by education, environment, and the
innate tendencies; but it is always subject to alteration; it is
constantly feeling the influence of subtle forces and circumstances,
and it changes with every fresh experience and every new sensation.
Still these influences seldom evince their presence by a great
reversal of the mental attitude, and we are best able to sense them
by seeing how the actions of the individual, which are very largely
the voluntary or involuntary expression of his standpoint, represent
at different times changes in that standpoint. Indeed, one's own
experience will supply plenty of material to work upon; for, I
daresay no one will insist that his present attitude towards the
rest of the universe is identical with that of ten or five years ago,
or even one year. A little examination will show that the mental
processes which precede some definite action are altered in some
important manner from those of 1890. The question which is of
importance is to find out how the change has come about, and whether
one is to allow extraneous events to mast his mental conclusions,
or one is to become, through wisdom acquired by effort, the conscious
master of his destiny.
Theosophy has for its leading tenet the absolute unity in essence
and correlation of all life, whether visible, invisible, material,
intellectual, spiritual, and this affords at once a clue to the
consideration of the present subject; for, according to the view
which the individual thinker takes of the powers and relations of
the mind itself will be his view of the duties and responsibilities
which these powers and relations involve; in other words, Ethics
or moral philosophy must be based upon metaphysics. Now, I wish
to be as brief as possible in pointing out the theosophic view of
the mind, and soul, and their powers and relations; and were it
not that it is necessary for the unity of my remarks, I would take
refuge in referring to the numerous able, intellectual, and forcible
expositions of this matter which you have heard in this room.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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