vol. xxx, no. 4 april 1926 universal brotherhood - a fact in nature

THE THEOSOPHICAL PATH
to enlighten the unenlightened; let us explain as far as we can, and
examine what are the foundations for such a statement. Perhaps a
thankless task! but then, if we are true to our highest ideals, it will be
Truth we are seeking, not thanks.
If it were a child asking for explanation -but no! a child has
intuition; but a grown man, who has some knowledge, or at least the
appearance of it in regard to the meaning of words, and has had some
experience of life - that is a different matter. Surely there are none so
blind as those who will not see.
Universal Brotherhood, the Brotherhood of all men, of all mankind;
the whole of Humanity of one kith and kin; - as an idea, surely
it is not untenable, and it is ages old. Even from the standpoint of
orthodox Christianity, we are all descendants of one first pair, Adam
and Eve, if we accept the Biblical story literally. But then, of course,
and here the quibble comes in, we are not all brothers and sisters, but
cousins and uncles and aunts and nephews and nieces to the ~ ~ remove. t h
So, of course, to speak of Universal Brotherhood as a fact is absurd. But
what of that other teaching of orthodox Christianity, so glibly professed,
so lightly ignored, that "we are all children of One, our Father "?
Is there, then, no Universal Brotherhood as a fact, a supreme fact
in Nature? Or is it a mere sentiment, or a theological dogma?
For those who do not believe in Divinity as the origin and supreme
goal of all, or do not recognise the deeper implications of science, or fol-
low to their logical conclusion the everyday experiences of life, both
individual and collective, the Brotherhood of all men may be a mere
sentiment. So too for others is it merely a theological dogma, a religious
belief, and consequently as such having no real meaning, no power; so
lightly do some men wear their religion as a cloak to help them to pass,
in the eyes of the world, for something which, in their heart and life,
they are not. There is little need to call to mind the fable of the wolf
in the sheep's skin.
But to meet the unbelievers -honest indeed, many of them,
and as such &orthy of respect, compared with the hypocrites,- let us
see if we cannot put the matter before them from another standpoint;
for even they will hardly deny Nature, and the facts and operations of
Nature in her physical aspect at least. And the declaration is that Uni-
versal Brotherhood is a fact in Nature.
We must first of all, however, determine what we mean by Nature,
for evidently on1,y by carefully defining and explaining our terms can
we expect to avoid misunderstanding.