The Symbolism in the Front Cover of a Book
The Aquarian Theosophist
“Procure a sixpenny lamp, keep it only
supplied with oil, and you will be able to light
at its flame the lamps, candles, and fires of the
whole globe without diminishing that flame.”
Helena P. Blavatsky
The photo of a broken lamp with a lighted match burning at its centre constitutes a symbol for the entire contents of the book “The Fire and Light of Theosophical Literature”. Its meaning can be read in various ways. It symbolizes seven aspects of the theosophical effort.
1) The first one is that there is at all times a living, sharp contrast between the Doctrine of the Heart (the search for the inner fire), and the Doctrine of the Eye (attachment to appearances).
2) The second symbolism is the outer precariousness of any authentic spiritual fire. Its light must be used with care. It does not give you a long time to benefit from it.
3) The real light of theosophical wisdom gets more visible each time its childish imitations and ritualistic, bureaucratic substitutes have run their cycles and implode, being unable to support their own weight.
4) The Doctrine of the Heart emerges as the light of the wooden match from within the very bubble of our human illusions.
5) The true light is considerably smaller than its external and large-scale version. Human karma depends on the Few, not the Many. Small seeds make the difference, when it is necessary to change the direction of karma.
6) The image of a burning match also symbolizes a self-devised and self-responsible effort. Spiritual fire and light emerge from the sense of individual duty; and voluntary simplicity (the wooden match) is inseparable from it.
7) The presence of a living flame within a lamp is enough to accelerate the breaking down of the mayavic bubble. This small fire then lights other matches and candles around the world, which will light others, and others. Helena Blavatsky wrote:
“Procure a sixpenny lamp, keep it only supplied with oil, and you will be able to light at its flame the lamps, candles, and fires of the whole globe without diminishing that flame.” [1]
NOTE:
[1] “The Secret Doctrine”, vol. I, pp.121-122.
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The article “The Fire and Light of the Theosophical Movement” was published on the websites of the Independent Lodge of Theosophists on 28 July of 2024. It is reproduced from the book “The Fire and Light of Theosophical Literature”, by Carlos Cardoso Aveline, published in Portugal by The Aquarian Theosophist, in October 2013, with 256 pages.
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Read more:
* Articles by Carlos Cardoso Aveline.
* Some writings by Jean des Vignes Rouges.
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Print the texts you study from the websites of the Independent Lodge. Reading on paper helps us attain a deeper view of philosophical texts. When studying a printed text, the reader can underline sentences and make handwritten comments in the margins that link the ideas to his personal reality.
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Helena Blavatsky (photo) wrote these words: “Deserve, then desire”.
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