Theosophical Correspondence.
Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl[1]
Question: — Is the desire for one’s own development and progress selfish?
Answer: — Yes, if it arises from self-conceit. If a person longs for wisdom in order to make it serve his own selfish ends, then it is selfish. But if he longs for wisdom so that the truth may be revealed in him and in its light the conceit of his own selfishness may disappear like a mist in the sunlight, then there is no selfishness involved. “Development” means becoming free, breaking free from the web of illusions in which we are entangled by our senses, unraveling one error after another. The greatest error of all and the father of them is self-delusion. Anyone who therefore wants to make progress in his own conceit is raising a fool for himself, which is the greatest obstacle to true spiritual development.
Note
[1] Theosophical Correspondence. Is the desire for personal development and progress selfish? By Dr. Franz Hartmann. [Theosophische Korrespondenz. Ist der Wunsch nach eigener Entwicklung und nach eigenem Fortschritt selbstsüchtig? Von Dr. Franz Hartmann. Theosophischer Wegweiser 8, no, 7 (April 1907), 218] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than minor typos, translation from German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}