Theosophical Correspondence.

Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl[1]

Symbols and parables.

          Question: — Why is there so much talk in parables and fables in religious and theosophical writings? Why is everything not said clearly and concisely so that everyone can understand it?

          Answer: — For the same reason that certain truths which children cannot yet understand with their minds are made clear to them through pictures and fairy tales and given an opportunity to think for themselves. This question has already been answered in the Bible, Matt. XIII, 10: “And the disciples came to him and said, Why speakest thou to them in parables?”

          He answered and said, “To you it is given to know the secrets of heaven, but to them it is not given. . .. Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, for they do not understand.”

          Things that relate to everyday experiences can be easily described and understood, but the higher mysteries of religion can only be grasped by people who have been reborn in the spirit of God; for only the spirit of God explores the depths of the Godhead. In this respect, most people are still like children, because this spirit has not yet awakened in them and they are not yet mature enough to perceive and understand spiritual things. Therefore, people speak to them in parables in order to awaken this spirit in them and to encourage them to think for themselves, which is all the easier because the external world is a reflection of the internal world and the visible phenomena in nature offer symbolic representations of spiritual processes. A purely theoretical knowledge is only a half knowledge; one only knows for certain what one experiences oneself. In order to learn about the higher laws of the spirit in nature, spiritual growth is required, and this is not achieved through meaningless scientific discussions. If these alone were sufficient to lead us into the realm of the ideal, there would be no art, neither music nor painting or sculpture, in the world.

          But if religious parables and fables are taken only externally and thoughtlessly believed to refer only to external things, they lose their purpose and become an obstacle to inner development. This is why Frederick the Great also asked himself whether the people of a religious system could do without fables, and he answered it by writing: “I do not believe so, because the creatures whom the school honors with the designation ‘rational’ have little reason.”

“Anti-theosophical” writings.

          G in B. — We are not familiar with the pamphlet you have mentioned, which is directed against theosophy, and we consider it pointless to read a text whose title proves the author’s ignorance; for if “theosophy” means self-knowledge, then a person who wanted to write something against it would have to be hostile to his own knowledge, and this would not concern us. But if someone pokes fun of all kinds of nonsense which is nowadays often put out into the world under the name of “theosophy”, then every theosophist must welcome this with joy, because for him nothing is higher than the truth. Fantasy, enthusiasm, spiritualism and avaricious striving for occult powers are not theosophy, but rather the opposite and an obstacle to the attainment of self-knowledge. But as far as the theosophical teachings are concerned, which are contained in the writings of the wise and saints of all peoples, and which H. P. Blavatsky has once again brought to the attention of humanity, it is a question of understanding them before criticizing them, and whoever once understands them will be careful not to mock them. But the fool likes to rant about things he does not understand, and does so out of anger at not understanding them; for with intellectual narrow-mindedness go vanity and megalomania.

Inner enlightenment.

          Question: — Does inner enlightenment come slowly or can it happen suddenly?

          Answer: The external world is a reflection of the inner, spiritual world. If we rise before daybreak, we see it gradually getting lighter until the sun finally appears in all its glory. But if we sleep until noon, we may wake up to see the bright sunlight shining on our faces. In the same way, inner illumination may gradually dawn, or from some cause or other, we may suddenly come to the insight and knowledge of a truth. When it is night, or the clouds hide the sun, no prayer to the sun or effort of the mind will help us to see the sun; but when it appears, it is there. So it is with inner illumination, which cannot be obtained by prayer or reasoning, but which comes when the clouds of error and prejudice are dispersed and the truth is revealed. The light of truth is in ourselves, who, as Paul says, are temples of the Holy Spirit. It is only a matter of the spiritual knowledge that we possess in our innermost being reaching our personal consciousness as the light of truth, the spirit of God within us, penetrates the material shells that surround it. Truths that we do not possess within ourselves we will not understand, despite all well-meaning arguments; but if we do possess them, understanding can come quite unexpectedly. Life is a dream; enlightenment is an awakening. Some people like to remain in that dream state that lies between sleeping and waking before fully awakening; others jump up quickly, open the window and let the sun in.

Causes of disease.

          Question: — What are the causes of the various physical, moral and spiritual diseases from which humanity suffers?

          Answer: — One could write a whole book about this. Gautama Buddha says: “The cause of all suffering is ignorance,” i.e. the lack of knowledge (avidyā) of our spirituality. Because the “paradisiacal” human descended into the realm of the material and became material himself in order to know the laws of the material and learn to control them, he also became subject to these laws. When he spiritualizes himself again and overcomes “the flesh,” which requires many incarnations and experiences, he will no longer suffer from illnesses “of the flesh.”

          These illnesses, whether physical, moral or intellectual, have, as Theophrastus Paracelsus teaches, five causes, namely:

1. Astral causes.
2. Impurities
3. Hereditary burden.
4. Spiritual influences.
5. Causes that arose in previous lives of existence ([due to] karma).

Several or all of these causes can also interact or be mutually dependent.

1. The astral elements which form the future human being come together before his birth. Like the planet “Earth” on which we live, they are made up of the components of the macrocosm, in other words, of the “stars,” and the physical, moral and intellectual abilities which a human being brings with him depend to a large extent on the influences which prevailed at the time of his birth and before it, so that a good astrologer can see from a person’s horoscope what kind of illnesses the person in question is inclined to and at what time they may begin or end. The time and circumstances under which a person is born, consequently also the type of constellation, the choice of parents, etc., are also determined by the law of karma or, as Paracelsus calls it, “the will of God.” Moreover, every human being, as long as he lives, is exposed to “astral” influences from the physical plane, i.e. Weather and temperature conditions, heat, sunlight, electrical and magnetic currents of the earth and air, etc. Even if short-sighted people cannot understand the influence of those elements and forces whose visible centers are planets and fixed stars, the influence of the sun and moon on plants, animals and humans is too obvious to be denied even by the most narrow-minded worldview.
2. The various influences to which the human organism is exposed give rise to all kinds of impurities, both physical, which act mechanically, and psychological (moral corruption through alcohol, etc.) and intellectual (madness, etc.). There are stagnations and impurities that are material, mental and intellectual; a wrong opinion that is held in the mind has just as much of an obstructive, disturbing and polluting effect on the intellectual organism and consequently also in the brain as a constipation of the intestines does on the physical organism. The purgative for intellectual constipation is enlightenment, but this sometimes tastes bitter and is not always welcome.
3. Hereditary contamination, which can be physical (tuberculosis, syphilis, cancer, scrofula, etc.), psychological (hysteria, criminality, etc.), and finally intellectual (idiocy, orthodoxy, etc.), whereby one cause can again cause the other. Hereditary contamination does not end at birth, but continues through the influence of parents and educators, as, for example, the children of drunkards easily fall prey to the alcohol devil if they follow their parents’ example, or the children of pastors are often continually influenced and infected by their wrong religious concepts.
4. Spiritual influences take place not only in the usual, visible way through instruction and example, but also unconsciously, for every person is influenced to a greater or lesser extent by the customs, habits, prejudices and currents of thought prevailing at his time. There are psychological and intellectual epidemics, as well as physical ones. An insane ruler can drive an entire people mad, and an idiotic editor of a daily newspaper can become the grandfather of a whole army of idiots. Madness is contagious, as is tuberculosis, and where many such sick people are together, a source of infection is formed. The most harmful spiritual influences also come from the psychological quackery that is popular today (hypnosis, spiritualistic séances, etc.), which gives rise to psychological illnesses (mediumship, paralysis of the will, possession, epilepsy, etc.), which in turn give rise to physical and moral illnesses. This also includes the magical influences of the will and imagination (suggestion, telepathy, etc.) described by Paracelsus, the recognition of which even orthodox medical “science” is lagging behind because it can no longer close its eyes to facts that have been known for centuries.
5. The will of God is the law which is inseparable from the Godhead. God himself is the law which governs the whole universe, not from without, but from within, and as this law governs the great world, so the same law governs the little world within man and guides him through his successive reincarnations. It is the law of cause and effect which determines that every thing returns to its origin, that every action has a certain natural consequence, and that consequently everyone reaps what he has sown. This is the law of karma, and the most remarkable “miracle cures” often have their origin in the fact that the bad karma of a sick person has taken effect and the sick person has consequently found the right doctor or the right remedy.

 

Note

[1] Hartmann, F. (1905). “Theosophical Correspondence. Symbols and parables; anti-theosophical writings; inner enlightenment; causes of illness.” Hutwohl, R. (trans.), Theosophischer Wegweiser 7, no. 6 (March), 163-167. [Robert Hutwohl©2025]