Marja Artamaa – Suomi, India
Marja Artamaa, International Secretary (photo taken some time ago in the Besant Hall of the ITC in Naarden, the Netherlands)
AT some point in every life, the question surfaces — quietly, in the middle of an ordinary day, or suddenly, in a moment of crisis or unexpected joy: Why am I here? What does any ofthis mean? Most of us push the question aside. We have things to do. But the question does not go away. It waits.
Theosophy takes that question seriously. It treats it not as a philosophical luxury or an occasional mood, but as the very engine of human development. The search for purpose, in the theosophical understanding, is not separate from life — it is the deepest current running through it.
Joy Mills, one of the most eloquent voices in the modern theosophical movement, was once asked: What is your fondest wish for the Theosophical Society in the future? Her answer speaks directly to this:
My fondest wish for the Theosophical Society in the future: I suppose I would say that I trust the Society will never lose sight of its roots in the Wisdom tradition and never falter in its direction and purpose as so magnificently defined by its founders, Blavatsky and Olcott, and by those Great Ones, the Masters of Wisdom, to whom they gave full allegiance. While the expression of the Wisdom may change with the times, the essential message should remain the same, I would hope, so that those seeking a deeper meaning to life, seeking to understand themselves and the world about them, may discover that Wisdom.
It is in the light of these words that the following reflections are offered.
What We Are Seeking
When we seek, as true theosophists, we must seek wisdom — and wisdom includes, as a natural and inseparable part, the art of knowing ourselves.
This is perhaps where we must begin — honestly, and without pretense. Because a mere desire to become wise is not enough. We may all feel that desire. But Theosophy asks something deeper of us. It asks us, in a very real sense, to let go of desire itself — to stop grasping, and to begin to grow deeper.
That growing deeper requires strength. It requires self-discipline. It requires the patient, sometimes difficult work of educating and cultivating ourselves — not for our own satisfaction, but so that we may become transmitters of the wisdom of our age.
That is what it means to be a theosophist. Not a title. A living, breathing commitment to be a transmitter of wisdom — for light, for the good of all — in all ages.
The Message We Carry
Theosophy carries a message into the world. And we are its carriers. That message is this: cultivate understanding of life. Expand consciousness. Recognise the absolute necessity of humanity’s development.
And it asks something personally of each of us — to take mastery of our own minds. Not to let our minds be pulled in every direction by noise, triviality, and by all that draws us away from the essence of life.
We live in a world of extraordinary distraction — an age in which concentration itself has become almost countercultural. There is so much that clamours for our attention, so much that promises meaning and delivers very little. Theosophy calls us to something different. It calls us inward, to the still place where real understanding begins.
This is not a rejection of the world. It is a deepening of our relationship with it.
The Purpose That Lives in Us
I believe most people sense that seeking the purpose of life is natural to every human being — not by setting goals, but by finding life through living it with a sincere mind. It is not something unusual or esoteric. It is as natural as breathing.
Every person, at some point in their life, asks: Why am I here? What does this all mean? We ask it in moments of joy, and we ask it in moments of loss. The question itself is sacred. Our spiritual development — the very quality of our inner life — depends upon how we live with that question. It depends upon the refinement of our senses and our minds. Upon our capacity for discrimination — the ability to distinguish what is real from what is merely compelling. And upon inner peace — that quality of stillness without which nothing deeper can be heard.
It is upon the balance of our physical life, our emotions, and our minds that our awareness and consciousness grow. When these are in harmony, something remarkable becomes possible. The meeting point of personality and spirit becomes evident. A natural connection opens — and when that connection is alive and functioning, sparks of meaning begin to arise in our lives.
We begin to sense that our personality is not the whole of us. That there is something more — something that can shine through us, if we allow it. The personality becomes able to transmit spirituality. Spirituality echoed by the higher mind, buddhic, and âtmic levels. We have all felt it — in moments of genuine compassion, in acts of selfless service, in the quiet after meditation when something feels, just briefly, clear and whole.
A Lifelong Commitment
Theosophy is not an invention. It is not a momentary flash of insight, how ever brilliant. It is a lifelong process — and it requires deep commitment.
I want to stay with this word — commitment — because I think it is one of the most misunderstood and undervalued words in our vocabulary. We live in a time that celebrates options, flexibility, the freedom to change course. And there is wisdom in that. But there is also a wisdom in staying. In going deeper. In not moving on when things become difficult. When we commit with the very roots of our heart — something opens. We become free.
This may seem paradoxical. How does commitment bring freedom? But those of us who have experienced it know: when we are fully committed to something true, we are no longer scattered. We are no longer pulled in a hundred directions. We are whole. And in that wholeness is a quiet, steady freedom.
Within us grows the strength and the connection to fulfil that for which we walk the path of our development. We are not wandering. We have a direction. And that direction is meaningful. This is one of the cores of spiritual life: freedom and connection.
Not freedom from responsibility, but freedom through it. Not connection as dependence, but connection as love — love for the path, for each other, for the world we serve.
In one word: commitment.
We, as individuals, fulfil ourselves for the good of the world. Our development is never only for ourselves. It ripples outwards. Always.
The Sacred in the Everyday
Theosophy opens for us a dimension that rises above the everyday. And sometimes we can mistake that to mean that spiritual life exists apart from ordinary life — that we must somehow step out of the daily world to find what is holy. But Theosophy does not ask us to live outside of daily life. It invites us to be more fully within it. And when rightly understood, this is freedom.
Think about our days. The conversations, the meals, the small decisions, the moments of kindness or impatience. The work we do. The people we meet. Theosophy says: This is the field. This is where it happens. This is where we become who we are called to be — by our free will. The everyday becomes sacred. And the sacred is a living connection to the meaning of life.
Why We Are Here
If we think thoroughly, or intuitively, life is our inner school.
We can acknowledge that spiritual life is not a luxury or an addition to our lives — it is the very ground of who we are. Within us already is the spirituality we wish to bring forth for the good of the world. We do not need to find it somewhere else. We do not need to wait until we are more ready, more evolved, more certain. It is here. It is in us. Now.
We allow spirituality to enter our lives — in all things, in all moments — so that we radiate its vibration around us, whenever we are able. This helps the world. It may seem a small thing — one person living more consciously, more kindly, more awake. But it is real. It matters. The world is changed by it, even when we cannot see how.
Theosophy helps us turn within — to understand ourselves and our minds. To meet ourselves honestly and with compassion. That is why we are here. That is why our lives have meaning.
We turn inwards so that the ethical principles we hold are not simply words we believe in — but living realities that breathe through everything we do.
What Guides Us
Our understanding of our own feelings and mind — our intuition — the wisdom that arises within us when we are still and open: these are our guides. Not only for ourselves, but for the world. We are not alone in this. We walk together. We learn from one another. And we are held, I believe, by something greater than ourselves — a wisdom that has always been here, waiting for us to be ready to receive it.
Carrying The Wisdom Forward
Purpose, in the theosophical sense, is not something we define and then pursue from the outside. It is something we discover by becoming — by the gradual, committed, sometimes demanding work of aligning our personality with the deeper self that seeks to shine through us. The Theosophical Society exists to keep that discovery alive — in the world, and in each of us. It is fitting, then, to close where we began — with Joy Mills, whose words carry as much weight today as when she first spoke them:
While the expression of the Wisdom may change with the times, the essential message should remain the same, I would hope, so that those seeking a deeper meaning to life, seeking to understand themselves and the world about them, may discover that Wisdom.
May we be part of that discovery — for ourselves, and for all those who are still searching.
+++++++
This article was also published in The Theosophist, VOL. 147 NO. 9 JUNE 2026
The Theosophist is the official organ of the International President, founded by H. P. Blavatsky on 1 Oct. 1879.
To read the JUNE 2026 issue click HERE
