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Gems From The East: A Birthday Book

By H.P. Blavatsky

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February

"Behold, we know not anything;
I can but trust that good shall fall
At last — far off — at last, to all,
And every winter change to spring.
"So runs my dream: but what am I?
An infant crying in the night:
An infant crying for the light:
And with no language but a cry."
— TENNYSON (In Memoriam)
1 Two things are impossible in this world of Maya: to enjoy more than Karma hath allotted; to die before one's hour hath struck.

2 A student without inclination for work is like a squirrel on its wheel; he makes no progress.

3 A traveller without observation is a bird without wings.

4 A learned man without pupils, is a tree which bears no fruit; a devotee without good works, is a dwelling without a door.

5 When Fate overtakes us, the eye of Wisdom becomes blind.

6 Keep thine eyes open, or Fate will open them for thee.

7 He who kisses the hand he cannot cut off, will have his head cut off by the hand he now kisses in the next rebirth.

8 He who keeps to his business, he who loves his companions, he who does his duty, will never be poor.

9 A thousand regrets will not pay thy debts.

10 Fallen flowers do not return to their stems, nor departed friends to their houses.

11 To feel one's ignorance is to be wise; to feel sure of one's wisdom is to be a fool.

12 One proof is better than ten arguments.

13 Rain in the morn brings the sun after noon. He who weeps today, may laugh tomorrow.

14 The soothsayer for evil never knows his own fate.

15 Like oil, truth often floats on the surface of the lie. Like clear water, truth often underlies the seeming falsehood.

16 Often vinegar got for nothing, is sweeter to the poor man than honey bought.

17 Every tree hath its shadow, every sorrow its joy.

18 The fields are damaged by weeds, mankind by passion. Blessed are the patient, and the passionless.

19 The virtuous man who is happy in this life, is sure to be still happier in his next.

20 What ought to be done is neglected, what ought not to be done is done. The sins of the unruly are ever increasing.

21 Without Karma, no fisherman could catch a fish; outside of Karma, no fish would die on dry land, or in boiling water.

22 Let every man first become himself that which he teaches others to be.

23 He who hath subdued himself, may hope to subdue others. One's own self is the most difficult to master.

24 Hatred is never quenched by hatred; hatred ceases by showing love; this is an old rule.

25 The path of virtue lies in the renunciation of the seven great sins.

26 The best possession of the man of clay is health; the highest virtue of the man of spirit is truthfulness.

27 Man walks on, and Karma follows him along with his shadow.

28 Daily practical wisdom consists of four things: — To know the root of Truth, the branches of Truth, the limit of Truth, and the opposite of Truth.