(Go to The Purpose of the Temple | The Blue Star Memorial Temple)
Dear Friend,
You have asked me about the Teachings of the Temple. Although you may not know them by that name, you are already knowledgeable about them, as am I, as is all of humanity. You have somewhere heard of the Golden Rule and have been living your life with some degree of compliance with it and quite possibly some violation too. Probably none of us can judge and say how much, how good we are or how bad we are. It would serve us no purpose, since we must all admit to being less than perfect. What would it matter if we tried to place each other in a scale of one to ten, with God representing ten?
Probably we have different ideas about God — if we admit there is a God — and we would find ourselves comparing His various powers to our own advantage. There are today skilled scientists suggesting that the whole universe developed from a primary “big bang,” resulting in the accidental but systematic creation of everything in that universe. Then there are others who prefer to think that, maybe yes, but that Somebody had to set off that “big bang.” Some feel that a divine Intelligence loved everything into being because, with the possible exception of ourselves — man — the rest of the known universe seems to move in exquisite harmony and balance, whether it be a galaxy or a wilderness or a flower.
Curiously, of all the kingdoms of nature, only humanity — man — has the power of speech — a facility of communication that dominates our world, not always for the best, but always for some purpose. Our communication — asking questions and answering them; wanting to know, to tell — is not always as subtle as that which prevails in the animal, vegetable or mineral kingdoms, or as that which obtains in fire, air, earth and water. Their communication is recognized by people as laws of nature on which their interdependence, their obedience is implicit. Humanity, on the other hand, has the power of choice. We can communicate “yes” or “no.”
So it is well to avoid a complication of words in speech, making communication word-bound instead of serving to express ideas. For you and I may each take different and possibly contradictory meanings from the same words. One teacher (William Quan Judge) has suggested that if all the terminology of the scientific world — electronics, chemistry, physics, biology, geology — were withdrawn; if there were no system of words to describe them by hypothesis or measure ment, still the world would go on in a government of principles. Mountains, volcanoes, oceans, rivers, winds, the sun itself would not cease to exist in any way. And while countless civilizations have preceded ours that undoubtedly had some way of referring to the universe — all different — and have risen to great heights of achievement, this could not apparently have protected them from degeneration. Meanwhile, the world moves steadily on in an orbit that is governed by irrevocable laws called in words gravity, attraction, love, cohesion, loyalty, refracted rays, colors: facets of material and spiritual sunlight.
Frequently the Temple Teachings are referred to as Theosophy, an old word meaning Theo – God, sophy – wisdom, knowledge. It is a good word but too limiting, except as one doorway into the study of the Teachings; for, like all such words, it tends to imply sectarianism and creeds. The point is, my friend,