[Die theosophische Bewegung in Deutschland und die amerikanischen Kreuzfahrer]
Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl[1]
A ray of light from the east falls on a clear mirror in the west and reflects back from there. Then the birds of night, disturbed in their dreams, flutter up from their caves and wonder what it means. From America, the land of progress, the land of the future, a battle cry is sounded, calling on humanity to victory—not over this or that person, party, church, sect, or system, but to the victory of one’s own knowledge of the truth over error, to the breaking the shackles of ignorance through one’s own thinking, into entering into the light—not through blind faith in this or that dogma or in this or that person, but through opening the heart to the light of eternal truth that belongs to no particular party or nation, but is accessible to all mankind.
This call has often been heard in Germany; it emanated from all our great philosophers and poets, but few understood it. Even now it is again misunderstood by many. Already the dark men put their heads together and whisper their suspicions in each other’s ears. Just as the Jews spoke in ancient times when the new light of the world appeared: “What good can come from Nazareth?,” so does the modern Pharisees and literal scholars now ask: “What can America do for us? Don’t we have our “Germanic theosophy”?, our Kant and Schopenhauer, our accredited authorities whom we can trust to be true in everything that is written in their books? Are our bishops, prelates, and consistorial councilors not adequate to meet the religious needs of the people? Why should we believe the strangers?”
One can safely assume that anyone who speaks in this way does not even know what it is about. There is no discussion of newly baked theories and articles of faith and no quarreling about differences of opinion, but of the fact that people, no matter what nation they belong to, should be stimulated by the power of knowledge streaming into their hearts to be content as before with the mere acceptance of theories and beliefs and the threshing of empty straw, but to bring the spiritual power dormant in them to be unfolded by removing the obstacles which stand in the way of their development. No one needs to sacrifice their religious convictions or leave their church for this, but only make an effort to correctly grasp and practice what is true in their religion and church. It is not a question of converting from one opinion to another, but of deepening, elevating and widening the knowledge of the truth. Also, the light to which we are to aspire is not the light of a person, nor of an ‘unknown adept,’ but the light of truth, of which we are to become and are the lamp ourselves, once we know ourselves, in truth.
Self-knowledge or “God-knowledge” (Theosophy) is neither “Indian,” nor “Germanic,” nor “American,” since God is not Indian, nor Germanic, nor American. It would be equally foolish to assume a “Germanic” and “American” science. Nature is one and belongs equally to all men and to all nations. The knowledge of nature may be more perfect in one man than in another, and when a scholar makes a discovery in a nation, it becomes such that the other nations would not hesitate to make use of it. No one would refuse to acknowledge the discovery of a new planet, because it was not discovered by himself, but by another. So it is with the knowledge of the truth.
But it is not a question of a new discovery here, but only of the realization of the long-established, generally recognized ideal of the unity of the essence underlying all phenomena, which was previously only discussed in learned philosophical writings, but which is now generally a realization to be achieved when the people of all nations not only theoretically accept this unity of being in everything, but also confirm it through deeds. The intention of the “crusaders” is therefore not to impose a new system on us, but to reaffirm the bond of friendship and love that should naturally exist among all peoples. Whether such a movement emanates from this or that country remains the same. Far from assuming an exceptional position or wanting to rise above others, they rather seek to establish connections with all associations and societies that pursue the aim of ennobling humanity, and with every person who loves truth for his own sake to win a collaborator in the great work of liberating mankind.
The guiding thought underlying this movement is that every human being should strive to get to know his own true self and the divine powers within him. The truth is everything. Anything that isn’t true isn’t real or essential either, it’s only appearance. When we really know our true selves, we know the truth. This is not a new theory, it has been preached to people for thousands of years. The German mystics also preach it. For example, Jakob Boehme says:
“The right (heavenly) man, whom God created, who alone is the true man, is still hidden in this corrupt (earthly) man, and if he denies himself in his animal form, and does not live according to his impulse and will, but surrenders to God in senses and thoughts, then this man lives in God and God works in him to will and to do, for everything is in God. The right holy man, so hidden in the monstrous (animal), is both in heaven and in God, and heaven is in him, and the heart or light of God is born in him. That is God in him.” (Letters, I, 10.)
If every human being recognized that a divine nature and divine power is contained in himself, the development and revelation of which nothing stands in the way other than self-delusion, selfishness, self-conceit and egoism with his entourage, then everyone would strive to think, will and act according to this divine nature and things would get better in this world.
“Long ago the heavens leaned down to earth,
When will the earth ascend to heaven?”
Heaven has been on earth for a long time, but it does not meet with any concessions, because it is not recognised. Heaven will only be revealed on earth when each of the majority of men realizes that all other men are not only his “brothers” and “sisters” (for brothers also cheat on one another), but each one with the “other” and they only appear to differ from one another in conception and form.
Again, this is not a new theory; it is known to all philosophers. Indeed, for centuries we have not lacked philosophical doctrines, theories of probability, logical proofs of hypotheses, and preachings which no one follows. But there have so far been but few who understood that the ideal need not necessarily always remain only a theory, but that it can be realized through deed, and these few were still crucified and laughed at by the multitude. Germany was no exception. Here, too, there was no lack of martyrs of freedom of thought and truth, here too the greatest minds were only recognized by a few, and it was here that Jakob Boehme wrote: “What is now rejected by my countrymen will be in later years times be received with joy by foreign peoples.”
His prophecy has come true. The doctrine of the grandeur of one’s self, which was sown in Europe and seldom germinated, sprouted seeds in America which actually bore fruit. Twenty-one years ago they brought about a union of noble-minded people in New York who, even if they outwardly belonged to different tendencies, were nevertheless one in consciousness, that there is no other way to salvation from error and sin other than the knowledge of the truth, and that this knowledge cannot be attained through scientific or religious fanaticism, but only through self-control, through the power of wisdom. The purpose of this association was therefore:
To form a core of people without distinction of race or religion to which they belong, around which the principles of general human brotherhood (which have long been generally recognized theoretically) should crystallize and thereby achieve actual realization.
There was no mention anywhere of dogmatics, knowing better, belief in authority, submission to the will of a superior, personality cult, and the like. This association was called “theosophical,” but it could just as well have been called “freemasonry,” since it pursued the same purposes as true freemasonry, namely the building of the temple of wisdom in one’s own heart, free from all blind belief in authority, and the ennobling of humanity through the dissemination of a higher worldview. You could also have called them “Catholic”; for “Catholic” means “general,” and their constitution was large enough to accommodate the adherents of every religious system. No one was asked to change his faith, only everyone was advised to strive for knowledge of the truth for himself, not to be content with the theory of the existence of his ideal, but to achieve the realization of this ideal in himself.
Anyone who closely studies the movement of the zeitgeist in the direction of the ideal, which is now permeating the world and has brought about the overthrow of blind materialism, will find that this “theosophical society” was the instrument, partly direct and partly indirect, by which the impetus given to this movement, and through which it was disseminated. The number of branches that make up this Society is of no value to us, nor is the “respectability” of certain members; but the fact that it became a gathering place of ideas representing eternal truths forgotten by mankind and now celebrating their resurrection.
What was the history of this society?—Anyone who knows the history of earlier associations that pursued similar purposes could easily have prophesied the history of this society as well: A constant fight against the enemies within, a fight against dogmatism and Jesuitism, which tried to intrude into the Society under the most diverse masks and are still their bitter enemies today. Everyone acts according to their nature. Anyone who is short-sighted will not lose his short-sightedness by being admitted to an association for far-sighted people, and if he even gains a leading position in it, then he and the association will fail in their purpose. As long as those without knowledge are in the majority in humanity, every association as such will also lose knowledge the more general it becomes and the more people without knowledge are admitted to it. Then, of course, there must come a time when the diseased association perishes if it does not recover through a cleaning process.
So it was with Christianity, which was about to be stifled by clergy had it not been saved by the Reformation; This is how Protestantism would fare if new sects didn’t keep springing up and protesting against some of the dogmas ruling in it. So it was with the “Rosicrucians,” “Illuminati,” and other mystical associations in the Middle Ages. Strange elements crept in, took over, and the rampant weeds finally suffocated the good seed which sprouted. The “Theosophical Society” also fell under this law. In Europe she fell ill with the personality cult, with personal vanity, lust for power, and with the belief in authority. But in America she repelled the germs of the disease and remained fairly healthy. In England, certain persons arrived who could not grasp the spirit which animated the founders of this society, into positions of leadership, and fell by their very nature to the sectarian influences to which they were bound by upbringing and custom. In America, where the individual is more accustomed to independent thought and action, freedom of thought triumphed, and the crisis was overcome. In Germany, the wheat has so far only bloomed in secret and that’s why not much of the weeds that accompany it have sprouted; but here, too, the law of the spirit will have its course in nature, as everywhere else in the world.
But the “Lotusblüten” will continue to work in the spirit that is expressed in the just-mentioned sentence of the constitution of the “Theosophical Society.” unconcerned about the applause or the envy of this or that party, since for us it is not about parties or persons but about principles. It’s not about taking a stand for one party against another party, but about keeping away from everything and every partisan spirit. Only in this way can the “Theosophical Society” be preserved in its freedom and purity. The American “Crusaders” also act according to this principle and therefore we welcome them and we wish their endeavors the best of success.
Note
[1] The Theosophical Movement in Germany and the American Crusaders. [Die theosophische Bewegung in Deutschland und die amerikanischen Kreuzfahrer. Dr. Franz Hartmann. Lotusblüten 8, no. 48 (September 1896), 619-632] Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}