discovered the seed of disobedience lurking within himself, and earnestly, diligently and prayerfully have set about its eradication.

This little primer of Theosophy-Echoes of the Orient-contains So much that explains present day problems-their causes and their remedy that it is only another bit of evidence of what all students of Theosophy know, that the world today stands in great need of knowledge of the fundamental spiritual laws revealed by the Wisdom Religion, and through that knowledge to discover that all sin, and its consequent sorrow and suffering, arises from violation of those laws. Theosophy teaches that the only way in which the selfish, self-willed personality can be suppressed is through unselfish love of humanity, and, as Mr. Judge writes, "for men really to practise the Universal Brotherhood they are willing to accept with the tongue". (By the way, I think that this little book, the sub-title of which is: "A Broad Outline of Theosophical Doctrines", is an excellent one to place in the hands of those inquiring about Theosophy.)

In the silence of his forests and hills, Eldridge can look down upon all this beastly mess of which I have been writing. His physical surroundings, it seems to me, are typical of those we should all have inwardly, giving us the impetus to "lift up our eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh our help". Having obtained all the help and inspiration we are capable of receiving, we should then turn steadfastly to the task of doing what we can to "lift the heavy Karma of the world", and this, as we know very well, can only be accomplished by making a persistent, earnest effort to eradicate in ourselves those tendencies which we see reflected in the world about us.

H.

If thou sin once, thou hast need of one act of mercy whereby that sin may be taken away; if twice or thrice, or peradventure oftener, then thou wilt have need of as many acts of "mercy" as thy sins are in number.-JOHN FISHER.

God's love for poor sinners is very wonderful, but God's patience with ill-natured saints is a deeper mystery.-DRUMMOND.

1.

TAO-TEH-KING

AN INTERPRETATION OF LAO TSE'S BOOK OF THE Way and of

RIGHTEOUSNESS
I

The way that can be told is not the eternal Way. The word that can be spoken is not the eternal Word.

Unnamed, It is the source of heaven and earth. Named, It is the Mother of all things.

He who is ever without desires sees Its spiritual essence. He who is ever under desire sees only Its limits.

These two, differing in name, are the same in origin. They are the mystery of mysteries. This is the door of spiritual life.

T

HE eternal Way, Tao, is the Logos, and was so rendered by the first translators of this text. In the older Shu-King is the sentence: "Let us learn all things in harmony with the Mind of God"; the Logos being the Mind of God, as well as the

Word of God.

The Logos has two aspects: unnamed, and named; the unmanifest and the manifested Logos. From the manifested Logos comes the visible universe, the unity of heaven and earth. Heaven means here the immortal sea of spiritual consciousness; earth is the realm of manifested nature.

Desires, the innumerable attachments to the things of manifested nature, bind the conciousness to external things. Freedom from these multiplied attachments sets the consciousness free to return to its home in the sea of immortal consciousness. Yet spiritual consciousness and visible nature are not antagonistic; for nature is the garment of spiritual consciousness, the Word made manifest in external life. Therefore he who relinquishes attachment to external nature finds his way to the spiritual consciousness which is the Life behind nature. He finds the Way, the door of spiritual life.

2.

When all men have learned the beauty of righteousness, the ugliness of sin is understood.

When all men recognize goodness, then evil is understood.

In the same way, the manifest and the unmanifest define eachother.
Difficult and easy define eachother.

Long and short reveal eachother.

Height and depth manifest eachother.

Musical notes and the tones of the voice determine eachother.

Former and latter define eachother.

Therefore the Master works without working.

He teaches in silence.

Then all things come into being, and he gives them fruition.
He brings them into being, yet seeks not to possess them.

He perfects them, yet seeks no reward.

When his work is accomplished, he remains detached from it.
He seeks no glory, and is therefore glorious.

Lao Tse is seeking to make clear the relation of the unmanifested and the manifested Logos to eachother, as poles of the same Being. Spirit and matter are neither separated nor antagonistic; they are two aspects of the One. While the One is undivided, it remains unrevealed. Only by differentiation, by polarization into Spirit and matter, are the supplementary natures of Spirit and matter made apparent.

This, Lao Tse makes clear by similes: beauty and ugliness make eachothers' nature manifest; righteousness and sin bring eachother into clear relief. Long and short, high and low, define eachother. So Spirit and matter, subject and object, perceiving consciousness and what is perceived, define eachother.

Spirit is the positive, matter the negative pole. The Master, he who has relinquished all attachments to the things of matter, he whose consciousness has returned to the immortal sea of consciousness, thereafter works with Spirit. As Spirit works unseen, behind the veil of matter, so he works. As the divine Word teaches in silence, so he teaches. The laws of the working of Spirit are manifested in everything he does. Like Spirit, he is creative; like Spirit, he seeks no personal reward. Like the hidden Spirit, he seeks no glory; therefore, like the hidden Spirit, he is eternally glorious.

3.

The seclusion of the Masters keeps the world from strife. A low esteem of wealth keeps the world from covetousness. When objects of desire are hidden, men's hearts are undisturbed. Therefore, where the Master rules, he empties the heart of desires. He fills the inner nature. He strengthens its bones.

He constantly stills the mind and abates desires.

Those who have knowledge, he restrains from bondage to action. He himself stands free from bondage to action; therefore all whom he rules abide in quietude.

It would appear that Lao Tse consistently uses the similitude of the king and the kingdom in exactly the sense of the New Testament: the divine kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. The phrase for the kingdom, the empire, in the original: "that which is under heaven," makes still clearer the already transparent meaning.

The ruler of the kingdom is the Master; the kingdom consists of those who, loving the Master, obey him, rejoicing in his rule.

Without doubt, Lao Tse has also in mind the ideal government of an earthly kingdom. There is no contradiction in this. The ideal for an earthly kingdom is, that it should be governed by a Master; that the divine will should be done "as in heaven, so on earth." Only then can the kingdom come.

But the time is not yet come. It can only come through general obedience to spiritual law. While rebellion against divine law is rife, the coming of a Master brings only strife and hostility. Therefore the seclusion of the Masters keeps the world from strife.

Lao Tse again makes this clear by similes: When wealth is exposed to those whose hearts are full of greed, covetousness is fanned into flame. In exactly the same way, the coming of the Master to a world full of evil and rebellion, inflames evil and rebellion. Therefore a Master has said: “If I had not come, they had not had sin.”

But, even though not publicly recognized, the Master has his kingdom, in the hearts of his disciples. There he rules, emptying their hearts of desire. He enriches the inner nature, and builds the frame of the spiritual man. He stills the material mechanism of that mind which has been formed to "think matter." As the intelligence of his disciples awakens, he teaches them to keep their hearts free from bondage to action, from the thirst for personal reward; he makes clear to them that their right is to the action, but not to the personal reward; not to the result, as it may feed and flatter the lower self in them. And he has the power thus to rule and teach, because he himself stands free from bondage to action; therefore all whom he rules, his disciples, abide in quietude of heart; toiling in his work, but for the work's sake, without thought of personal reward.

4.

The Way seems empty. As it is tried, it is found inexhaustible. Oh, how profound it is! It seems to be the Forefather of all beings. It quiets impetuosity. It looses bonds. It tempers its splendour. It follows lowliness.

Oh, how pure it is! It seems to abide for ever.

It is the Son of I-know-not. It seems to have been before the Lord of Heaven.

The carnal mind, says Saint Paul, is enmity against God. Therefore, to the carnal mind, the mind full of desire, bound by innumerable appetites and attachments to carnal things, the Way appears not merely empty; it is altogether invisible.

But when, through the revulsion from carnal things, the little spark in the heart begins to seek and to find the Way, then it is found to be an infinite Way, whose treasures are inexhaustible.

The Way is the Life; not a static, arrested Life, but Life moving ever from glory to glory; therefore it is called the Way. And this Life,

which ceaselessly progresses toward new splendours, is the Forefather of all beings.

When the Life and the Light take up their dwelling in the heart made empty of desires, impetuous desire is stilled. The bonds of attachment to the things of desire are loosed. The captive heart is made free. But the infinite Light does not shine forth in full radiance in the beginning, to dazzle and blind the eyes of the disciple. Its splendour is tempered for his growing sight, while that sight is yet dim. The Way is the way of humility.

As the Way is followed, it is found to be the path of all purification; it reveals itself as the eternal Way.

As the unmanifested Logos, the Way is the Firstborn of the Unknowable, Son of the hidden Father. From the unmanifested Logos spring the creative Powers; therefore it antecedes the Lord of Heaven.

5.

Heaven and earth are without partiality. They regard all creatures as the dog (of straw in the sacrifice).

The Master is without partiality. He regards mankind as the dog of straw.

The Being that is between heaven and earth is like the bellows of the forge, empty, yet possessing power. Put in motion, it sends forth more and more.

He who would tell the Way, soon becomes silent.

It is better to follow the way of work with detachment.

The straw dogs are placed on the altar, to ward off evil. They are honoured with gifts. But, when the sacrifice is ended, they are thrown away.

Lao Tse takes this as a symbol of impartiality. Heaven and earth are impartial, giving sun and rain alike to the just and the unjust. So the Master is impartial, without predilection, without favoritism, giving his life for the just and the unjust.

The same high virtue of impartiality, which is ideal justice, is enjoined by the Bhagavad Gita:

"He who is free from over-fondness, from partiality, meeting glory and gloom alike, who exults not nor hates, his perception is set firm." And the same impartiality is taught in another way by the Western Master:

"Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."