Masonic, Occult and Esoteric Online Library
Compassion - The Spirit of Truth
By Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Rise above the trappings of personal life
43 Evil company should be shunned.1 It is lust which instigates [a man to commit offences]. It is passion, sprung from the quality of rajas; insatiable, and full of sin. Know this to be the enemy of man on earth.
44 Because it gives rise to lust, anger, delusion, memory loss, discrimination loss and, at long last, total loss [of one’s “Infinite Potency born from the concealed Potentiality”]. 3 Fast-bound by the hundred cords of desire, prone to lust and anger, [those with demoniacal dispositions] seek by injustice and the accumulation of wealth for the gratification of their own lusts and appetites.
“This today hath been acquired by me, and that object of my heart I shall obtain; this wealth I have, and that also shall be mine. This foe have I already slain, and others will I forthwith vanquish; I am the lord, I am powerful, and I am happy. I am rich and with precedence among men; where is there another like unto me? . .
45 Spreading like ripples [at first], evil company swells vices [to large-scale waves] in an ocean of misery. Confounded by all manner of desires, entangled in the net of delusion, firmly attached to the gratification of their desires, they descend into hell.
46 Who crosses over the ocean of illusion [mayam]? Who overcomes illusion? There dwelleth in the heart of every creature, the Master — Ishvara — who by his magic power causeth all things and creatures to revolve mounted upon the universal wheel of time.1
[1] One who severs all ties with the material world; He who, free from attachment or repulsion for objects, experienceth them through the senses and organs, with his heart obedient to his will, attains to tranquillity of thought.
[2] One who is devoted to the Mahatmans [and Their Beloved Humanity]; Of all devotees he is considered by me as the most devoted who, with heart fixed on me, full of faith, worships me.
[3] One who is free from [the dire heresy of separateness,4 brought about by false selfidentity and] self-importance. The devotee who knows the divine truth thinketh “I am doing nothing” in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, breathing; even when speaking, letting go or taking, opening or closing his eyes, he sayeth, “the senses and organs move by natural impulse to their appropriate objects.
47 [4] One who lives in solitude and silence; . . . should constantly strive to stay at rest in the Supreme, remaining in solitude and seclusion, having his body and his thoughts under control, without possessions and free from hope.
47 [5] One who extirpates mundane attachments; . . . When one hath hewn down with the strong axe of dispassion this Ashvattha tree with its deeply-imbedded roots, then that place is to be sought after from which those who there take refuge never more return to rebirth . . .
[6] One who is no longer limited by Nature’s three qualities [gunas, i.e., purity, passionate activity, and ignorance or darkness]; Who doth not hate these qualities [gunas] — illumination, action, and delusion — when they appear, nor longeth for them when they disappear; who, like one who is of no party, sitteth as one unconcerned about the three qualities and undisturbed by them, who being persuaded that the qualities exist, is moved not by them;
[7] One who [having renounced I-ness and Me-ness] is no longer subservient to gain, anxiety, and fear. Who is of equal mind in pain and pleasure, self-centred, to whom a lump of earth, a stone, or gold are as one; who is of equal mind with those who love or dislike, constant, the same whether blamed or praised;
48 [8] One who, though devoted to [principled] action, let go the fruits of action; Who, unattached to the fruit of his actions, performeth such actions as should be done is both a renouncer of action and a devotee of right action.
[9] One who [no longer distracted by self and selfishness] lives for others; Whoever in acting dedicates his actions to the Supreme Spirit and puts aside all selfish interest in their result is untouched by sin, even as the leaf of the lotus is unaffected by the waters.
48 [10] One who transcends the Opposing Forces [of the material world]. He is contented with whatever he receives fortuitously, is free from the influence of the “pairs of opposites” and from envy, the same in success and failure; even though he act[s] he is not bound by the bonds of action.1 The faith of mortals is . . . born from their own disposition; it is of the quality of truth — sattva, 2 action — rajas, and indifference — tamas; . . . The faith of each one . . . proceeds from the sattva quality; the embodied soul being gifted with faith, each man is of the same nature as that ideal on which his faith is fixed.
49 [11] One who brushes aside even the Vedas [when overwhelmed by the fervour of true Devotion]; I am in the hearts of all men, and from me come memory, knowledge, and also the loss of both. I am to be known by all the Vedas; I am he who is the author of the Vedanta, and I alone am the interpreter of the Vedas.
[12] One who transmutes Devotion into an unalloyed influx of love [of Humanity]. He whose heart is not attached to objects of sense finds pleasure within himself, and, through devotion, united with the Supreme, enjoys imperishable bliss.
50 He [who having crossed over the ocean of illusion] helps the rest of the world [by example, by deeds of mercy and kindness to all living beings and, finally, by renouncing the liberation itself,1 which is the ultimate sacrifice].2 Even if the good of mankind only is considered by thee, the performance of thy duty will be plain; for whatever is practised by the most excellent men, that is also practised by others. The world follows whatever example they set.
