INTRODUCTORY

“Power belongs to him who knows.” This is a very old axiom. Knowledge—the first step toward which is the power of comprehending the truth and discerning the real from the false—is only for those who, having freed themselves from all prejudice and conquered their human conceit and selfishness, are ready to accept any truth once it is demonstrated to them. Of such people, there are very few. The majority judge a work according to the prejudices of its critics, who are guided in their turn by the popularity or unpopularity of the author, rather than by the book's own faults or merits. Outside of the Theosophical circle, therefore, this volume is certain to receive a still colder welcome from the general public than its two predecessors met with. In our day, no statement can hope for a fair trial, or even a hearing, unless its arguments run along the lines of legitimate and accepted inquiry, remaining strictly within the boundaries of official Science or orthodox Theology.

Our age is a paradoxical anomaly. It is preeminently materialistic and just as preeminently religious. Our literature and our so-called modern progress run on these two parallel lines, which are incongruously dissimilar, yet both are popular and very orthodox in their own way. Anyone who presumes to draw a third line as a bridge of reconciliation between the two must be prepared for the worst. They will have their work mangled by reviewers, mocked by the sycophants of Science and Church, misquoted by opponents, and rejected even by the religious lending libraries. The absurd misconceptions found in so-called cultured society regarding the ancient Wisdom-Religion (Bodhism)—after the admirably clear and scientifically presented explanations in Esoteric Buddhism—are a good proof of this. They might have served as a warning even to those Theosophists who, hardened by a life-long struggle in the service of their cause, are neither timid with their pens nor in the least appalled by dogmatic...