The Theosophical Quarterly Subscription price, $1.00 per annum; single copies, 25 cents Published by The Theosophical Society at 159 Warren Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. July; October; January; April In Europe, 5s. Single copies may be obtained from, and subscriptions Entered July 17, 1905, at Brooklyn, N. Y., as second-class matter, Copyright, 1920, by The Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, as such, is not responsible for any opinion or declaration in this magazine, by whomsoever expressed, unless contained in an official document. I THEOSOPHY AND MODERN PROBLEMS1 THINK that all the members of the audience realize that this lecture is a part of the Theosophical Convention,-the annual Convention of The Theosophical Society. I remember President Hadley's saying once that he thought the function of a University was to establish and to maintain standards of education. One view of The Theosophical Society is that its purpose is to establish and to maintain standards of spiritual and moral life; not generalities or vague, wide statements, but principles which shall be entirely practical, whether for the organization of religions or nations, or for the conduct of daily life-the daily life of the individual, whether it be typesetting or housekeeping or anything else to establish a spiritual standard which must be conformed to, if those great or small tasks are to be rightly done. As to the more particular topic of this afternoon-Theosophy and Modern Problems-let me explain just how it came to be chosen. Some of us were discussing the debates in a legislative body concerning a subject then very much in the public mind-let us say it was the Parliament of the Chinese Republic. We came to the conclusion that the participants in that legislative discussion might be divided into two groups: those who were quite clearly and palpably supporting the wrong side, and those who were supporting right things for entirely wrong reasons. They were united by the fact that there was practically a complete absence of moral principle in them all. (In some ways I am very fond of China, so I will tell you the truth, that this body was not Chinese.) There was that flagrant fact-not a particle of moral principle in the whole thing from beginning to end. One asks oneself, very natu rally, where do we find moral principle in public life to-day. What policies can we indicate, what movements can we name, which are quite consciously resting on a clear moral principle which is absolutely sound; 1 Notes of a lecture by Charles Johnston, on April 25, 1920, on the occasion of the Convention of The Theosophical Society. |