Theosophical Siftings

Conduct

Vol 5, No 5

Conduct
by Maurice Fredal
Reprinted from "Theosophical Siftings" Volume 5 The Theosophical Publishing Society, England

C N!"CT, it has been said by one of the ablest of li#ing English $riters, ma%es up at least three&fourths of life' (ence it is supremely important that $e should find some criterion by $hich our conduct may be ordered to the best ad#antage' Though in different parts of the globe there are considerable differences of opinion in the estimation of the heinousness of similar crimes, $e find on the $hole a uni#ersal pre#alence of similar ideas of right and $rong' The difference is not so much in the ideas themsel#es or in their nature as in the reasons on $hich those ideas are founded' ) large portion of man%ind consider that they are bound to act in certain $ays, because they $ould other$ise displease their deity, and in that case $ould be #isited $ith punishment' thers uphold a system of morality and abide by it on the ground that all are bound to act in such a manner as to promote the greatest good of the greatest number' There is, ho$e#er, a third $ay of arri#ing at the foundation of a sound system of morality $hich seems to possess the further recommendation that it is contained in the #ery nature of things' *or if $e admit the action of one life go#erned by one la$, $or%ing throughout the uni#erse, then $hat $e call right must be simply action in accordance $ith that la$, and $hat $e call $rong must be action in opposition to it' [Page
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The main characteristic of the uni#ersal la$ is that under its operation all things tend to reach out to$ards a higher de#elopment, as does also the uni#erse itself' (ence action in accordance $ith that la$ $ill be action that $ill ser#e to promote our higher de#elopment, and not such as $ill tend to hinder it by the indulgence of the lo$er or animal nature' )gain, by treating others $ith brotherly %indness, $e shall help on their de#elopment also, and it is our plain duty to do this if $e are to follo$ the dictates of the uni#ersal la$, for if $e act in a different manner, if by considering our o$n interests alone and endea#ouring to promote them at the e+pense of others, by selfish action, then $e act against the la$ $hich ma%es for the de#elopment of the $hole as $ell as of e#ery part, and $e shall infallibly be crushed by the forces of nature' nce admit the real intrinsic unity of the uni#erse, and $hat has ,ust been said must follo$ as a natural corollary' Thought go#erns action, and to arri#e at right conduct right thought must be culti#ated' The mind must be restrained and its $or%ings must be made to proceed in the most spiritual direction that $e are capable of concei#ing' -e must act not from intellectual impulse merely, but in accordance $ith our highest intellectual conceptions of the truth' .t is here that an ac/uaintance $ith the esoteric doctrine or $isdom& religion is seen to ha#e a definite practical #alue' .ts great practical recommendation is that it furnishes us $ith a comprehensi#e theory of life as a $hole, and so gi#es us a rational ground on $hich to order our conduct' 0oreo#er it gi#es a unity to the $hole course of our life, so that $e are able to li#e for a definite end and to ma%e progress that is real and lasting'

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Theosophical Siftings

Conduct

Vol 5, No 5

The t$o main passions by $hich man is go#erned are those of lo#e and hatred' The former ma%es for unity, the latter for separation and destruction' The doctrine of re2ncarnation follo$s the acceptance of the doctrine of human perfectibility, for if this perfectibility is a fact, and it is also a fact that it has to be $or%ed out by e#olutionary de#elopment, then $e can concei#e no other $ay in $hich this result can be brought about' (igher de#elopment in some state of e+istence other than that of our present earth life, cannot produce the same effects, and if $e %no$ that a portion at least of our de#elopment must ine#itably be $or%ed out on earth, then, unless $e admit that there is such a thing as partial de#elopment only, the $hole remaining portion must in li%e manner be $or%ed out on earth' "nless this be so, one of t$o things must happen' Either this life must be final, in $hich case our best course $ould be surely to please oursel#es only at $hate#er cost, or else in the higher spheres, if their e+istence be admitted, there $ill be nothing but confusion' There are some $ho consider that human immortality is confined to the succession of life on earth, and that $e shall li#e again in our descendants, and thus only' .f death immediately follo$ed the production of offspring, there $ould be some sho$ of reason in this hypothesis, for it might be argued that the parents dying, left their essential sel#es in their children, endo$ing them by the la$ of heredity $ith the result of their e+perience, and so on' 3ut as a matter of fact this is not $hat actually does happen' *or the most part men and $omen li#e some years after they ha#e gi#en birth to children' (ence the /uestion arises, $hat becomes of the e+perience gained by a man after his paternity 4 )re $e to suppose that it all perishes $ith the physical body 4 (as all the energy generated by [Page 24] unfulfilled aspirations, and that $as latent in faculties that ne#er had a chance of full fruition, no further e+istence 4 "nless $e accept the hypothesis of re2ncarnation there does not seem to be any satisfactory ans$er to this /uestion' The accumulation of e+perience, the formation of the real man, goes on until the day of his death, or at least as long as his faculties remain unimpaired' .f it is true that any further de#elopment is to ta%e place, that de#elopment must start from the stage attained during the $hole life, and not merely from a point reached some years before death' )gain, if this de#elopment is to ta%e place, it is e#ident that the starting&point must be, as it $ere, a /uintessence of the $hole life of the man, further progress can only be possible as an addition to $hat has been completely accomplished5 hence it is that a state of rest becomes in the ma,ority of cases a necessary part of human de#elopment, in order to get rid of the energy set up by unfulfilled desire and the li%e'

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