Theosophical Correspondence.

Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl^[1]

          Question: — What is meant by “initiation”?

          Answer: — The “initiations” or “dedications” which are common in certain secret societies or religious orders consist in the candidate, after paying a certain sum, being subjected to some kind of ceremony and, through this hocus-pocus, being externally admitted to a higher rank in the society in question, but hardly becoming any wiser than he was before. The true initiation consists in the spirit of an enlightened person uniting with the spirit of the candidate and kindling a light in him, through which he attains inner enlightenment.

Note

^[1] Theosophical Correspondence. Initiation. By Dr. Franz Hartmann [Theosophische Korrespondenz. Initiation. Von Dr. Franz Hartmann. Theosophischer Wegweiser 8, no, 4 (January 1907), 135] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than minor typos, translation from German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}