[Der Tempelbau] Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl[i]

Seven things are needed if the temple of God is to be built in mankind: the material, foundation, knowledge, devotion, works, experience, and the blessing of the Master.

      1. The material, consists of the forces with which we are endowed and which we must learn to master. The temple of God is as clear as crystal and cannot be built of impure materials. Therefore the motives of our actions must be pure, and the first work of the builder is purification.
      1. Reason. — The temple of God in man is not a castle in the air, but must be built on firm foundations. That ground is the eternal, unchanging truth, and the acknowledgment of it is the cornerstone of the edifice. Everything in nature grows out of a center from within. Therefore, when the truth that is in the “heart” (in our innermost being) is confirmed by the intellect in us, there arises that firmness of conviction which cannot be shaken by doubts and opinions, and on this rests the firmness of reason.
      1. Knowledge. — There is theoretical and practical knowledge. Theoretical knowledge is necessary; because before we do anything we must know how to do it. But there are millions of people who mistake the memorization of theories for the realization of truth, and therefore never get beyond forming opinions. What would we think of a builder who spent his whole life studying how the bricks of a house might be put together so that a house is to be built, but made no effort to carry out his plan? There are many persons who, far from knowing themselves, want to teach others. Since their knowledge has not come from their own experience, they are like signposts bearing inscriptions, true or false, written by others.

Many will ask, “How can a mortal know absolute truth?” Some base their “belief” on the claims of some supposed authority, others doubt or reject all that their (limited) reason cannot grasp, but blind “belief” (superstition) and blind unbelief (doubt) are enemies of true knowledge. Between these two monsters, superstition and doubt, man walks, and sometimes he is seized by the one, sometimes by the other. The real knowledge of truth is attainable only by those in whose hearts it is revealed. Truth is God, and the “Word of God” speaks constantly in the center of our own being; it is Christ crucified between the “two thieves,” of superstition and doubt, it is that reality which speaks within us: “I am the way, the truth and the (eternal) life,” it is our own true Self.

      1. Surrender.—How could we find God or truth within ourselves if we have not surrendered to it? Finding your own soul is the most difficult task of all. We all live too much outside of ourselves and not in the temple of God which stands within us. Most take refuge in outward things, or let their imaginations soar to heaven and imagine they are with God, but refuse to enter the sanctuary of their own “heart,” though experience teaches us that we are true rest, peace, spiritual knowledge and happiness which can only be found in that center where on the altar of sacrifice the flame of divine love burns and the light of truth shines. How can we find what we don’t love? love attracts; it binds creatures together and unites man with his God. True love and true knowledge are one and the same. A work done without love is without true knowledge and therefore imperfect. Without love the temple of God in mankind cannot be built.
      1. Works. — If love is to bring benefit, it must give birth to works of love. True love is pure and simple; it is undivided and therefore selfless. When we love God for our own personal advancement, we are actually loving our personality and seeking to make God serve our selfish ends. But the illusion of “Self,” i.e., the ignorance that this (lower) “Self” is really a sum total of personal desires and opinions born of our own ignorance, is the greatest obstacle to the manifestation of the Light of truth within us, and the more we seek to magnify our false “I,” the greater will be the obstacle standing in the way of realizing the true Self within our soul. Thus, all our works should not be “our” works, but the works of love, accomplished by the power of love and wisdom in and through us (as useful instruments).
      1. Experience. — The explanations given here, though easy to say, are difficult to carry out until we have attained that higher consciousness which enables us to distinguish between the true immortal Self and the deceptive mortal self. Repeatedly, therefore, we must go to the school of life, until we have learned by experience to separate truth from appearances. Our outer and inner selves are one; yet one differs from the other like the flower differs from the soil on which it grows. Our outer self with all its qualities is like the ground, the consciousness of our real self is the planted seed from which the tree of divine wisdom, true self-knowledge, can grow.
      1. The blessing of the Master is the grace of God, the spiritual light, which is as necessary for the growth of the soul as sunlight is for the development of plants. We cannot become wise without the light of truth; we can only strive to remove the obstacles that stand in the way of the manifestation of the light of wisdom within us. If we succeed in purifying our “heart” and removing all obstacles, this divine light will manifest itself in our own temple, but without the presence of this divine power all our efforts would be in vain. That is why Gautama Buddha says: “Avoiding doing evil and purifying the heart, this is the religion of all Buddhas (enlightened ones).” If we do this, the Spirit of God will be able to work His works of love through us, and we will be the witnesses of His wisdom.

Note:

[1] Temple Construction [Der Tempelbau. Franz Hartmann, M.D. [Theosophischer Wegweiser 4, no. 4 (January 1902), 116-119] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos. Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}