Theosophical Correspondence.
Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl[1]
Question: — Is it necessary to go to India to become a theosophist?
Answer: — The Indian sage Sankaracharya [Śaṅkarācarya] says in his Tattva Bodha: “The first condition for achieving self-knowledge is the ability to distinguish the permanent from the transitory,” and this sentence cannot be impressed upon those who want to become theosophists often enough. In another form this sentence is: “One can only know the eternal and distinguish it from the transitory through the spirit of the eternal.” Anyone who does not have this holy spirit of true self-knowledge can ponder and speculate with his transitory human mind as much and as long as he likes, but he will not find his true self with it. But without this spirit the other precepts: renunciation, surrender, faith, hope, love, etc. are also impossible to fulfill; for the personal self cannot free itself from itself, only the spirit of God in man frees him from the idea of his personality. No man can give up his own will by the exercise of his own will; this can only happen in the consciousness of the higher self. No one can fulfill the will of God if he does not feel within himself what this divine will is. No one can love in truth if he does not know true love.
Our transitory, earthly knowledge has its origin in our brain; but the eternal and holy can only be known with the help of the Holy Spirit, and this spirit of truth is everywhere and can be shared with us everywhere, in Europe as well as in Asia or Africa.
But as far as the theosophical literature of the Indians is concerned, those who are interested in it can save themselves the trip, since it is just as easy, if not easier, to obtain in Europe than there, and there is no shortage of excellent translations in the “Lotusblüthen” and other works. But anyone who imagines that he will immediately find a “Mahatma” in India who will take him by special post to the realm of wisdom will come back disappointed; for the “Nuremberg funnel” is not yet known in India either. But for those who are ripe to receive the spirit of truth and who want to absorb it, the Master can be found everywhere.
Note
[1] Theosophical Correspondence. Is it necessary to go to India to become a Theosophist? By Dr. Franz Hartmann. [Theosophische Korrespondenz. Ist es notwendig, nach Indien zu gehen, um ein Theosoph zu werden? Von Dr. Franz Hartmann. Theosophischer Wegweiser 8, no, 7 (April 1907), 218-219] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than minor typos, translation from German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}