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Theosophy An Introductory Study Course

By John Algeo

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Universal Brotherhood

THE FIRST OBJECT of the Theosophical Society is concerned with brotherhood:
To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or color.

Brotherhood is the primary focus of Theosophy because all human beings are related. Indeed, we are all ultimately the same life expressing itself diversely. Because of our interrelatedness, everything each of us does affects everyone else. If humanity as a whole does not learn to live as one family, we will not live at all. Thus the Theosophical Society is a nucleus fostering the practical reality of brotherhood for the furtherance of
humanity’s evolution.

Several points in the Society’s first object need careful consideration, beginning with the term “brotherhood.” That term obviously does not mean men only, since this brotherhood is “without distinction . . . of sex.” It means rather “spiritual siblinghood” or simply “family.” Today many people are sensitive to the implications of words, especially those that might suggest a prejudice based on race, national origin, ethnic group, or sex. Theosophists have therefore been asked why in our first object we use the word “brotherhood,” which suggests a masculine orientation to some of those who see or
hear it.

First, the word “brotherhood” has a long and honorable history in the Theosophical Society and is intimately involved with the very identity of the organization. In the early days, some prominent Englishmen who had become members of the Society wanted to give up the goal of brotherhood as impractical and unattainable, and to reform the Society instead into an organization that merely studied esoteric ideas and conducted experiments with unexplained phenomena. In fact, those Englishmen were rather prejudiced against people of other races and cultures, and so did not much care for the
idea of being their brothers.

The wise teachers who were the impulse behind the founding of the Society rejected any merely intellectual goals for it, such as being only a school for esoteric studies and experimentation. They declared emphatically that the main purpose of the Society was the practical one of brotherhood. If it did not have that goal, they said, it would be better off not existing. So for the Theosophical Society, the word “brotherhood” means that all human beings are genetically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually members of the same human family.

In addition, the sensitivity to “gender-specific” language is limited to a few countries of the world, America being one of them. Many other countries have no such concern and regard proposals to change the wording of the Society’s objects as unnecessary. The Society is an international body and, as such, must respect the view of the majority of its members (who in fact live in those other countries).

Also, the word “brotherhood” has long been used in English to refer, not just to a group of males, but to people generally, including both sexes. About 1300, “brotherhood” was used as a synonym of “fellowship.” In 1388, the biblical translator John Wycliffe used it as a synonym of “friendship.” In 1784 the poet William Cowper wrote of “the link of brotherhood, by which One common Maker bound me to the kind [the human race].” In 1821 the poet Shelley prayed, “And make the earth One brotherhood.” Historically, “brotherhood” has often referred to the spiritual family of humanity.

Several other things are worth pointing out about the first object, because they also are sometimes misunderstood. The object is not to form the universal brotherhood of humanity. That brotherhood already exists; it is a fact of nature. Rather the object is to form a nucleus, a center or core of that brotherhood. All human beings are members of one family, but not all know they are or even that such a family exists. The purpose of the
nucleus is to serve as a working group to realize the implications of our universal family relationship.

Also the Society is said to be “a” nucleus, not the only one, but one of many. We are by no means the only persons aiming at this goal, although we approach it in a unique way.
We recognize, for example, that the brotherhood of humanity is implied by the unity of all life and the oneness of all existence.

BROTHERHOOD AND THE ONE LIFE

When the truth of the one life and one existence is realized, we cannot fail to see that brotherhood is as basic and as natural as the shining of the sun and the nurturing processes of the earth. All gradations of consciousness, all degrees of intelligence, are expressions of the one life, which expresses itself in everything. From microbe to megagalaxy, from atom to angel, the universe is an expression of the divine Reality, by whatever names that Reality may be called. High and low, great and small, “in Him we live and move and have our being.” This concept of the divine life existing everywhere is called the immanence of God.

In Theosophy, brotherhood means much more than a humanistic ideal of kindness and consideration for others, essential as that is if we are to live together in harmony. In recognizing the one life as the root of all things and all creatures, Theosophy places the emphasis on brotherhood at the deepest possible level and makes it apparent that brotherhood is an integral part of our existence as human beings.

The effects of violating the principle of brotherhood, as far as the individual is concerned, may not be immediately apparent, but they are inevitable. The anguished chaos spread over the face of the world today is a direct result of our having violated this principle during many past ages. Humanity’s dawning awareness of “the fundamental identity of every soul with the universal Oversoul” (as Blavatsky put it in The Secret Doctrine) and of the consequent oneness of the human family has not kept pace with our development of ingenious ways to destroy one another. So we continue to seek in violent ways for whatever we consider to be in our own best interest. Yet we are all really members of one body, and injury to one member is injury to the whole body.

BROTHERHOOD AND EVOLUTION

It is obvious that human evolution is far from complete because throughout history the manifestations of brotherhood have been spasmodic and fragmentary. When we human beings first appeared on the world scene, our primary interest was ourselves, and self-preservation was our overwhelming concern—just as is the case with infants. Infants grow up, however, and in the process widen their interests and concerns to include
others. The human species, in its growing-up, has not yet wholly freed itself from the cramping bondage of self-absorption and self-interest.

Slowly our interest has spread from ourselves alone to include first the welfare of the whole family and the care of its young, thus providing for the continuation of the species.
Then, ties of loyalty expanded to include larger units of clan or race or religion. The great Teachers of mankind have constantly sought to awaken the unifying sense of a common life, a larger self, but we have often interpreted this larger concern to mean only our fellow-believers or members of our particular community. We have stressed a limited loyalty at the expense of a more universal and inclusive brotherhood. The Good Samaritan, who was willing to sacrifice to help someone not of his own people, was a new concept even as late as the time of Jesus and thus was used by him to make a
dramatic point.

As eons passed and millions of pilgrims traveled the evolutionary path, the concept of brotherhood slowly expanded. At one time, not long ago, it was considered acceptable to buy and sell human beings as slaves and to do with them whatever the “owner” wanted.

Then concerns arose that slaves should not be ill-treated. Next, the moral right of one human being to own another came into question. And now slavery, although not extinct on our globe, is outlawed in most countries.

The recognition that our planet is indeed one world has been accelerated by the development of electronic communication, rapid long-distance transportation, increasing international trade, and the common cultural interests of people everywhere. No nation is any longer wholly independent of all others. Even countries geographically remote from each other are now less than a day’s travel apart and can communicate almost instantaneously. So what happens in one country affects all others.

Even the eruption of racial, religious, and cultural hostility can be seen as a prelude to a more universal recognition of humanity’s essential oneness. The violence and terrorism in which that hostility is often expressed is the dark end of the spectrum of human relationships; at the other end, increasingly large numbers of people are realizing the light of brotherhood and good will. It is in times of the greatest trial that humanity’s
inherent goodness and nobility are displayed.

Acts of inhumanity and of terrorism are far from being eradicated from this planet; but, as we view the plan of evolution, realizing that we each inevitably reap what we sow and thus learn the lessons of our sowing, we can glimpse a better future. In that future our interdependence and mutual responsibility for the welfare of all will be the warp and woof of human effort, replacing the blind hostilities and brutalities that we have not yet
outgrown. The conviction that universal human cooperation and respect will inevitably come about does not relieve us from the necessity of working to achieve that end as soon as possible, for we ourselves must achieve it. No divine or human authority can impose cooperation and respect upon us. Realizing brotherhood is up to us.

BROTHERHOOD AND THE PATH

In H. P. Blavatsky’s spiritual guidebook, The Voice of the Silence, the pilgrim is told to be prepared to answer certain questions. One is “Hast thou attuned thy heart and mind to the great mind and heart of all mankind?” Compassion, a virtue taught by both the Buddha and the Christ, is the last great virtue that must be fully attained by every aspirant. To be “in full accord with all that lives; bear love to men as though they were thy brother-pupils, disciples of one Teacher, and sons of one sweet mother” is demanded of the earnest pilgrim on the age-old path.

None of us know where we are on this path with respect to others. In the past, all of us have been where the least spiritually developed now struggle; in the future, we will be where spiritual heroes now walk. Between those extremes are innumerable gradations, each a stepping-stone to greater achievement. Also what constitutes spiritual achievement is not always apparent. For those reasons, we cannot judge one another. We share a common source, a common experience, and a common destiny. This is the underlying reality that humanity has not yet realized in sufficient numbers to bring peace to a troubled world.

To attune our hearts and minds to the great heart of all mankind is a challenge. But we have still another challenge of brotherhood to face—that of recognizing our oneness with all life, in whatever form it manifests. We are the elder brothers and sisters of the other kingdoms of nature, and therefore we are responsible for our exploitation of natural resources and of the animal kingdom in particular. For anyone who knows that all beings are embodiments of one life, the pointless infliction of pain on animals is unacceptable.
Reverence for all life motivates an ethic of harmlessness for those who endeavor to apply Theosophical principles in their lives.

Again, in The Voice of the Silence we find this passage: “Compassion speaks and saith:
‘Can there be bliss when all that lives must suffer? Shalt thou be saved and hear the whole world cry?’ ” These words are spoken as the pilgrim reaches the end of the journey and can choose to be released from the wheel of rebirth. But the voice asks whether the pilgrim is content to leave others to suffer. The last test we face at the end of our human evolution is to recognize that we cannot achieve freedom while others are in
bondage. The full and unconditional practice of brotherhood is the true expression of our awareness of the unity of life and of our own roots in that oneness.

The Teacher referred to as “K.H.” wrote this to an English correspondent, A. P. Sinnett (Mahatma Letters, no. 5): “The term ‘Universal Brotherhood’ is no idle phrase. Humanity in the mass has a paramount claim upon us. . . . It is the only secure foundation for universal morality. If it be a dream, it is at least a noble one for mankind: and it is the aspiration of the true adept.”

REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING
Fox, The Boundless Circle.
Layton, Life, Your Great Adventure, ch. 12 “Brotherhood: Nature’s Edict.”
Nicholson and Rosen, Gaia’s Hidden Life.
Who am I? What does it mean to be human? (a free leaflet from the Theosophical Society) 

QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION—Chapter Three
 1. Explain what is meant by the immanence of God.
 2. Why is universal brotherhood said to be an inevitable corollary of God’s
immanence?3. Explain the statement that an injury to one human being is an injury to the whole
of humanity. Give illustrations.
4. Does the brotherhood of humanity mean sameness? Explain and illustrate.5. What is the Theosophical attitude toward the lower kingdoms of nature? What is
the basis for that attitude?
6. What difference might the acceptance and practice of the principle of brotherhood make in our attitude toward business? Education? Political problems? Race relations? Labor problems? Substitute, if you wish, any other issue that interests you and apply to it the principle of universal brotherhood. What changes might the application of that principle bring about?