So shalt thou be in full accord with all that lives; bear love to men as though they were thy brother-pupils, disciples of one Teacher, the sons of one sweet mother. — The Voice of the Silence, Fragment III
H. P. BLAVATSKY, on May 8, 1891, laid down the shattered physical instrument through which she suffered and died daily that the Theosophical Movement might live. And we, who profit so vitally today because of her toil and sacrifice, look upon this time as one in which to renew our allegiance to the principles she worked for, and our active loyalty to the Masters' Cause.
Brotherhood, Love, Unity — these are the light of her message. And all who follow the warmth and glow of that divine beacon, be they Agnostics, Fundamentalists, Scientists, Theosophists, or of any other line of thought — they are our fellow-workers in the Masters' field. All men are our brothers; but those who in any way are sacrificing self that others may profit — are not these our sacred Companions on the Path?
Perhaps we Theosophists tend to become too wrapped up in our own inspiring and joyous Task; so it may be helpful at this time to remind ourselves of the devotion and labors of the innumerable friends of humanity who are striving to make this bewildered world a better place to live in. It is indeed well now and again to think of these men and women, our Companions of the Ray of Divine Compassion, sending them from our hearts a gleam of sympathy and loving fellowship in their work.
And then there are those other closer, even dearer Companions, brothers and friends in all the other Theosophical Societies which combine with our own to make up the Theosophical Movement. Their devotion and work and self-sacrifice are precious to remember as White Lotus Day blooms again each year in the wilderness of the world. Let us renew at this time our deep appreciation of them and their Theosophical activities, and strengthen our heart's concord with these valued and beloved Companions on the Path.
Next, what of ourselves, fellow-workers in our own T. S.? Here naturally we tend to change our viewpoint a little and recall the wise old advice about beginning at home. For to love and think and act impersonally is certainly a more complex effort when prickly personalities — and are we not all sometimes a little prickly? — are working side by side. There are, for example, so few members whose ideas are as practical as ours, and therefore our suggestions should not be set aside. And then some of us have such a gift of hitting off the foibles of stupidity in an ironic phrase! Perhaps we do not always utter it, merely permit it to sparkle in our minds. Our own prejudices of course have generally at least a flavor of justification, based as they are upon our wide experience of life or social work; so we do not easily relinquish them, especially when they are opposed by the prejudices of others, who are prone to be ignorant and narrow to an uncommon degree!
Is this perhaps a picture — drawn with apologies to all of us — of what, consciously or unconsciously, happens now and again in our midst? But even if the shoe fits it should not discourage the determined seeker after perfection in brotherhood.
William Q. Judge somewhere reminds us that we do not need to be disheartened because of our faults and weaknesses, for they are merely the expression of universal energies within our constitution which we have not yet brought under control. Neither are they peculiar to ourselves. Everyone around us is compounded of exactly the same energies, manifesting a little differently of course, but still 'much of a muchness' in us all. It is these very untrained elements which, melted in the fire of aspiration and molded by the spiritual imagination and will, are the basis of self-directed evolution. Their mastery will awaken within us the Buddhic splendor and can lift us to the azure thrones of the gods.
Love of Companions! How deeply the beautiful phrase sinks into our hearts this White Lotus Day of 1936! A new era of Theosophical growth and propaganda has opened. How much clearer will be our light, how much more penetrating our energy, how much more perfect we, as instruments for the Masters' work, if we stand as one solid nucleus of Companion-hearts!