Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl[1]
“The guild of scribes casts itself as judges
But we recommend that you use your common sense as a referee.
Rückert.
Even if nowadays under the name “Theosophy” many empty enthusiasms and a sick mysticism are hidden, the word θεοσ σοφία in its true sense means nothing other than the knowledge of God and all his works; in other words, the knowledge of eternal reality and its manifestations in all nature. The knowledge of the truth is the highest that man can strive for; for nothing higher can be found other than that which is true, real, essential and the eternal, immortal root cause of all that is transitory in the realm of appearances. The knowledge of the truth is the end purpose of the existence of each individual human being and the goal of all mankind is that all people come together in this knowledge of God, which is the true love that surpasses all self-delusion. If this truth is recognized everywhere and this love is realized through deeds, then all the reforms that mankind is now trying to force artificially without this love will take place of their own accord and the earth will no longer be a place of torment for millions of creatures, but be heaven for all.
This knowledge of truth and union is the ultimate goal of all religion and science, and it can be attained in no other way than that each individual strives not merely to inquire whether this or that theory is likely to be correct, but to seek the knowledge of truth to let it become a living force within oneself. Whoever correctly recognizes the unity of the nature of all creatures, loves not only his “neighbor” in all people, but his own divine self, and this all-encompassing, all-pervading and all-enlivening love becomes actual in him and is expressed in all his actions. This is true “theosophy” or the divine self-knowledge (wisdom) realized in man, which has nothing to do with transitory scholarly stuff, nor with philosophical speculations about probabilities, nor with belief in authority, and least of all with “occult scientific” fantasies or mystical enthusiasm, but consists in the realization of the highest ideals of mankind. Without this realization, which in the end must also penetrate all layers of external and material life, all theory has no value.
The lotus plant has been used as the symbol of wisdom since ancient times. Its stalk is rooted in the earth, its leaves float in water, its flower rises above the water into the air, and when touched by the sun’s rays its calyx opens to receive the light. It does this because it feels the influence of the sunlight in its own way and looks for nothing else. So too should man take the lotus flower as an example. With his material nature he is rooted in the material and draws his strength from it, his soul swims in the sea of life and should not be soiled by the impurities of it and should not perish from it, but rather unfold the flower of self-knowledge, which rises above all material and transitory and absorbs the light of eternal wisdom by man opening his heart to it.
But what prevents man from developing like the lotus flower are the errors and prejudices, superficialities and deceptions to which he cling. Where there is a lack of one’s own cognitive powers, the searcher for truth sees nothing but the outer form, the letter that kills, but not the spirit, which is the life of everything. The truth is everywhere and in every thing; for where in reality there is nothing, there is also nothing that could appear. Yes, even the lie is based on the truth, only it shows the truth wrong. Therefore truth is also contained in all religious systems and in all processes in nature; it’s just a matter of finding them. One cannot find the truth by mere outward evidence; at most they indicate that there is truth in the thing being examined. Truth itself is found in no other way than by knowing it, and we can only really know it when it is revealed within us. If the truth is revealed, then it is already recognized and proven. She herself is her own proof. The wise recognize it, the blind man cries out for proof, and the fool discards the proof he has. Sankaracharya [Śaṅkarācārya] says: “The first condition for attaining self-knowledge is the ability to discern the permanent from the non-permanent.” One must have the strength, not just the person (mask) in a person, but the character hidden behind it, in natural phenomena not just the appearance but the moving cause, in the various religious systems and “holy” scriptures not just the outer form and the Scripture or the letter, but the spirit therein to discern the truth represented by the Scriptures. But the truth is recognized most easily where the form in which it is presented is at its purest.
The writings of the sages of all nations, those of the Indian sages as well as those of the Christian mystics, belong to the forms in which the eternal wisdom still appears most pure and unadulterated. The Vedas as well as the Christian Bible contain the same eternal truth; one need only have the will and the ability to recognize it in it and not be misled by the outer form. But once the truth is recognized, its practical application is not far away. One cannot act on the truth until one knows it, and the knowledge of the truth is only perfected through action.
The purpose of the “Lotusblüthen” is to present a collection of those finest writings, both ancient and modern, in which eternal truth is presented in the most readily comprehensible manner, and to assist the reader, by appropriate explanations, in understanding the truth contained in these writings to be recognized by eliminating the wrong views, errors and acquired prejudices, which stand in the way of one’s own knowledge, through the attached explanations. Since there are still few people today who seek the truth for the sake of the truth itself (and only they will find it), the number of subscribers to the “Lotusblüthen” will hardly increase much more than it is, and they are a work of love for the few rather than a financial speculation.
Notes:
[1] Lotusblüthen and Theosophy. [Lotusblüthen und Theosophie. Franz Hartmann, M.D. Lotusblüten 9, no. 52 (January 1897), 1-7] {Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}