The Singapore Lodge Theosophical Society
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The Singapore Lodge Theosophical Society
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News
The following articles are reproduced from the October 2026 Newsletter to members. Non-members may or may not be able to relate to the contents.
A Revolution in One’s Life
By Geoffrey Hodson
Extract from Sharing the Light, Vol I
How to be happy as a fellow of the Theosophical Society [F.T.S.] is a subject of supreme importance, surely, for if we can discover the answer we shall know how to be happy in all the phases of our lives.
Curiously enough, the attainment of happiness is a serious matter. As has been said: ‘Happiness is no laughing matter’. (Richard Whately, Archbishop of Dublin. 1782-1863.)
The value of Theosophy may be assessed by the world by the appearance, manner, lives and of course the character of Theosophists. Cheerfulness is an oft neglected expression of the spiritual life, yet it is a religion in itself. Intelligent cheerfulness produces a natural radiance and effective channelship, which are valuable in the presentation of spiritual philosophy.
I presume that the ideal Theosophist is an inwardly happy individual for whom the very fact of existence has become an inspiration and a joy, for whom the beauty of Nature and the comradeship of men are an unfailing source of happiness.
The discovery of Theosophy can itself produce a great happiness. This can be of great value, for up to the great day and hour of the discovery of Theosophy, adult members may possibly have passed through such difficulties as spiritual darkness, mental distress, disillusionment, fruitless search for truth and karmic adversity. The discovery of a logical philosophy, a solution to life’s problems, can in consequence be a wondrous upliftment. Generally this may be both a rediscovery and as a ‘sun burst’ within one after which spiritual and mental ‘clouds’ begin to be dispersed and karmic adversities to lose their oppressive power. For many, therefore, the first rediscovery of Theosophy can be an unforgettable experience.
There then can follow a prolonged intellectual and spiritual feast. Truth after truth rings true, satisfying and elevating the seeking mind. Basic principles illumine the intellect and logically solve hitherto insoluble problems. Despair vanishes as hope is born, the sense of chaos being replaced by the discovery of order.
Occult teachings reveal the wonders of Nature, visible and invisible, without and within mankind. The future is opened up with all its limitless possibilities. The power of achievement within man is realized. Certainty of attainment replaces preceding despair. Hope is renewed. Purposeful living replaces drifting. Dignity is restored to life. Intellectual awakening occurs. Spiritual experiences begin to be enjoyed.
New faculties of heart and mind germinate and are expressed. The brain, hitherto so often bedulled, displays signs of a new intellectual life and capacity. Ways of self-training and fields of service present themselves, and with a sense of privilege are entered. The Masters of the Wisdom are realized and one’s life dedicated to Them, and to treading the Path which leads to Their feet, ultimately to those glorious heights upon which They stand.
Thus the rediscovery of Theosophy can produce a revolution in one’s life. The seeker, successful at last, is changed into a blissfully happy individual, the whole mental outlook having been transformed. The irrevocable resolve is made to join the ranks of those who serve and love the world. Dedication becomes the keynote of the life henceforth. No wonder intense happiness results, for the laws of happiness are fulfilled.
Fortunate are those F.T.S. who throughout the years that follow retain, and continuously convey to others, the inner happiness and enthusiasm of the first Theosophical months and years. Unhappy are those for whom that first deep gratitude, that sense of wonder, delight and discovery, that inward determination to attain the heights dies out and disappears.
This does happen, can happen to any of us, especially when precipitation of adverse karma is experienced; for sometimes the Angel of Sorrow puts his magic upon us, that we may grow wiser, humbler and more compassionate.
Unfortunately some then lose interest and resign. As far as one knows, the majority do not, the inner recognition of truth being too strong. Many members in the midst of great difficulties retain their membership and remain uplifted by the discovery of Theosophy, their enthusiasm and gratitude steadily increasing throughout their years of membership. This, they feel, is due to no virtue of their own. It is due to the power and beauty of Theosophy, of The Theosophical Society, and to the inspiration flowing from Those Who founded and lead it still. Such fortunate ones have found in the Ancient Wisdom an unfailing, inexhaustible source of knowledge, inspiration, joy. They have entered a world wide fraternity, enjoy absolute freedom of opinion and thought and have discovered complete spiritual security that Rock of Ages which for them is eternal truth and they are founding their mental and spiritual house thereon. Furthermore, those so moved find themselves to be within reach of the great Sages, can become Their disciples and be guided by Them to Truth and Power and Peace. This, is it not, is the source of the inward happiness of F.T.S.?
How, it may be asked, can this be maintained, recovered when lost, and also shared with all? Perhaps the answer lies in the aphorism ‘Happy is the man who has found his work’, for under certain circumstances the Theosophist has found his work ‘to Popularize a knowledge of Theosophy’ and so to illumine the minds and lives of others with the Ancient Wisdom. The question then arises as how then may one best give Theosophically and so live Theosophically? By practicing and sharing, I suggest, the safeguards against dangers which knowledge of Theosophy provides.
The world has passed through a great crisis, has surmounted one great danger enslavement by evil. Other grave dangers threaten.
Let us glance briefly at them and observe the great opportunities for Theosophical work which each one offers. In the realm of science danger exists since man is ethically unprepared for the grave dangers of added knowledge, for morality lags behind scientific progress. The one safeguard is Theosophy with its teachings of the Divinity within all that exists and therefore sacredness of life, of Unity, and therefore the brotherhood of man, and of Christhood as the goal for which spiritual purposes must rule.
In education the dangers are stultification, memorization, mass production, corporal punishment, materialism, cynicism, selfishness and self-indulgence. The safeguards include Theosophical knowledge of the evolving immortal Soul within man, its uniqueness and its goal of Adeptship; service to the God within all sentient beings; education as a lofty vocation; realization of the great Plan of evolution; recognition of the youth of today as the builders of the civilization of tomorrow and their teachers as guides and directors to prepare them for that contribution; public life the greatest of all careers; the development of every aspect of human nature, and not of mental and physical alone and the supreme importance of Theosophically-illumined and motivated education.
In politics the dangers include the abuse of power, corruption and class and personal interests before national welfare.
Safeguards include recognition of the brotherhood of man: true idealism in the fulfilment of Office; schools and universities as recruiting and training grounds for public men and women: children and adolescents being taught to see in public life the greatest of all careers, especially civic, national and international contributions to the welfare of man.
In religion the dangers include disunity between World Faiths and within orthodox religions, and formalism, priest-craft and dependence upon outer observances alone.
World safeguards are: Unity in religion; A Parliament of World Religions, dedicated to individual illumination and salvation with the resultant reduction of fear, and the philosophic and mystical interpretation of the Scriptures of all Religions.
Such, I submit, are five wonderful ‘fields’ ready for, urgently needing Theosophical ‘husbandmen’.
Reprinted from Theosophy in New Zealand, Vol. 41, No. 3, 1980
What Theosophy Gives
By Geoffrey Hodson An extract from Sharing the Light, Volume I,
Theosophy gives a sense of the worth of life, a realization of its supreme importance which inspires and nerves its students to evolutionary effort.
Theosophy provides a coordinating philosophy of life and opens up to the thought and aspiration of the student the vast vistas of the future with their challenge to the present.
Theosophy, by revealing the great plan of life, sends the student on his way into that future confident, serene, knowing that happiness and fulfilment await him.
Theosophy offers a scientific philosophy of life which embraces both the physical and superphysical worlds, each with their varied forces and phenomena. Nevertheless, Theosophy affirms that each man can, and eventually must, win his own spiritual experience and understanding.
Theosophy teaches that every man has tremendous spiritual power at his disposal. This power, he can discover and release both for his own regeneration and for the regeneration of the race. He who discovers and radiates this inner force becomes as a pillar of light in both the spiritual and the material worlds.
Theosophy inculcates in the student reverence for the Divine Life in all beings and in all things, reverence for those greater than himself, reverence for every woman as mother or potential mother and preserver of the race, for every child as symbol of the Christ Child, ‘for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven’.
Theosophy gives to each his own deeply religious faith consistent with scientific thought. This faith need not be blind. It can be founded upon direct inner experience and be therefore unshakeable.
Theosophy thus emancipates the spirit of man from the wall of suffocating dogmatism, which, upheld by formalism and the inculcation of fear, so long closed in upon that spirit and stifled its voice.
Theosophy strikes the note of spiritual and intellectual freedom and this great note The Theosophical Society sounds forth continually.
Theosophy teaches the divinity of man as a spirit, the uniqueness of man as a soul and the freedom of man as a Personality. Yet within that uniqueness and that freedom exists the fact of unity. From realization of unity springs the greater love, the impersonal love for all that lives.
This impersonal and selfless love guides every thought and action of the true Theosophist. By it, he knows, the world and all within it will one day be set free from the darkness of ignorance, sorrow and pain.
To that great day of liberation the Theosophist looks. For it he works, confident that by his labours, and by the labours of all who love their fellow men, the age of light, of brotherhood and of peace will dawn upon earth.
In abundance, these riches of the mind and spirit Theosophy gives to the world.
Reprinted from The American Theosophist, Vol. 29, Issue 1, January 1941
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