THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23828, 7 June 1939, Page 14

THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

Speaking on " The Age of Revelation " on Sunday, Mr N, S. Jenkins, of invercargill, said that man had looked tc God for guidance and revelation nnce history began. When men were most troubled, as during the'darkness of the fifteenth century, they knew that the darkest hour was just before the dawn, for just at that worst period there came a reformation —a renaissance of learning and enlightenment for the people. Caxton invented the printing press, great refugee scholars came from the East, Galileo made his famous discovery that the earth moved round the sun; these were some of the harbingers of a new age. Throughout the ages there have been such waves of depression and exaltation. Civilisations rose and then fell when their work had been done. Alexandra was once the centre of intellectual gloiy while Greece permeated the old world with beauty and art; Rome added strength, power and law; each race contributing its note. Men were intended to develop inner strength, and when it was found that they were not progressing because of the fact that they knew of the immortality of the soul and its return to earth many times to acquire knowledge—because they felt there was plenty of time ahead, those who comprised the inner government of the world took away from man this knowledge of reincarnation so that he might feel that in one life he must accomplish as much as he could. Other spiritual knowledge was also deliberately removed. People progressed rapidly, but became materialistic, the climax being reached about the end of last century when some men even denied the existence of a supernatural power and called themselves Atheists. The work Of the Theosophical Society was to bring again some of the light of truth to an unhappy people. Science without religion could lead to destruction, hence H. G. Wells wrote his book "Things to Come." in which he showed what science can accomplish and would accomplish if the spiritual factor was ignored. Tennyson knew this when he said " the oid order changeth, yielding place to new. lesi one good custom should corrupt the world." It was the " one good ruatom" which, when carried to excess, could become a bad one for the people. To-day we stood at an age of transition. On every side we saw renewed interest in the spiritual side of life '■■ the Rosicrucian movement, new thought, theosophy, spiritualism, ve dantism and many others. The herald of to-day's revelation was Madame Blavatsky's book "The Secret. Doc trinp" which, though written in 1888, prophesied many scientific facts many of which.are not yet discovered by Science, and opened up to man a knowledge of the occult such, as was known before the dark ages.