Theosophy in
Theosophical Society,
Theosophy and the Great War
Divine Incarnation
By
Annie Besant
First Published
THE whole Christian world today is celebrating the birth of its Saviour, or ought to be celebrating it; for who can say
what will happen on Christmas Day 1914, since some nine millions of nominally
Christian men are furiously endeavouring to
annihilate each other? The Pope, with a true intuition, sought to still the
tumult of battle on the natal day of "the Prince of Peace", so that
the roar of guns should not intrude into the quiet hour, when
"Very early, very early,
Christ was born."
The Babe of Bethlehem might well have been granted the "truce
of God", and gentle memories of home and family might have brooded over
the silent trenches. But his proposal was rejected, and gloom, instead of joy,
must rest upon the nations. For ourselves, though not Christians, we have no
mind to wax sarcastic over the gulf between Christ's peace and love and
Christian practice. The war is too terrible and sad a thing to be used as a
weapon against any creed, especially by one who believes that the "Resist
not evil" of the Sannyasin is no teaching for
the man of the world. To us, war, waged in defence of
the weak, of honour and of plighted faith, against a nation which is trampling
on all [19] public morality, is a righteous thing, and
to die in it is to die well. But then we regard the Sermon on the Mount as
being teaching for the Sannyasin only, and in no wise
intended as a general rule.
Apart from this, the doctrine of Divine Incarnation is found in
all great religions, and implies a universal truth - that the human spirit is
divine, that every man is a divine incarnation, that the great Christian
apostle St Paul spoke a sober and literal truth when he asked: "Know ye
not that your bodies are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" In the cave of man's heart burns the
Light Eternal, the "light which lighteth every
man that cometh into the world". As the soiled glass of a lamp may dim the
flame when the flame is seen through it, and yet the flame remaineth
the same, so is the Divine Spirit in His shining dimmed by human ignorance,
human folly, human sin. Clean the glass, and the light
shines out. Purify the lower nature, and the Divine Light radiates through it.
As witnesses to this universal truth, man has loved to see in the
noblest of the human race the fact of Divine Incarnation proved so that all may
behold it. When the Jews, in their zeal, accused the Christ of blasphemy,
because "thou, being a man, makest thyself
God", His answer was the gentle quotation of a Hebrew scripture: "I
said, Ye are gods". In the dead faiths as well as
in the living ones "God made man" was adored. Mithra and Osiris and Tammuz were as dear to their votaries as the
Christ and Shri Krishna are to hundreds of millions
of men today.
The Hindus, in the many-sided perfection of their noble faith, hold
the doctrine of Divine Incarnation in a form of striking completeness. Christ
as man shows out one side of human nature in its perfection; the sufferer, the
martyr, the man of sorrows, and the pathetic figure draws the heart in bonds of
love. But Hinduism represents divine-human perfection in the many-sided
aspects of human life. Perfect son, perfect brother, perfect
king, perfect warrior, perfect ascetic, Shri Rama shines out in many-coloured
glory. Joyous child, radiant youth, mighty warrior, steadfast friend,
wisest counsellor, skilful statesman, Shri Krishna dominates all higher human roles. But that is
the unique beauty of Hinduism that it meets us in every walk of life, and holds
up ideals for every stage of evolution. Like Nature herself, it has forms for
the manifestation of every type of life.
To all, then, of every faith, in every land, be peace and goodwill;
on all creatures who rejoice and suffer,
may happiness descend; may war pass into peace; may hatred melt into love; for
the Divine is bliss eternal, and the heart of all is love. - New
Theosophical Society,