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From the Forward:
"'The Wind of the Spirit,' that is blowing over the
world, tumultuous, cold and biting as it seems to our sensitive lives, is
nevertheless the 'Wind of the Spirit'" -- this is the theme of an address given
by Gottfried de Purucker in 1940 and used as the title and opening chapter of
the present book. He urges us to penetrate appearances and discern the eternal
beyond the temporal, for behind and within the current turmoil there is "power,
spiritual power."
In the near-half century since these words were spoken the winds of destiny have been blowing hard, at times with gale force. Certainly not a nation or race, not a single human being, not Mother Earth herself with her families of lives, has been untouched by karmic change. Yet out of the pain and disruption a new worldview and a new and grander vision of humanity's role in the cosmic drama are coming into focus. Despite the prevailing self-seeking in subtle and gross forms, the practice of altruism is on the rise as the counter-impulse toward spirit gains momentum.
During his leadership of the Theosophical Society
(1929-1942) Dr. de Purucker lectured constantly on the manifold aspects of
theosophy, both in Europe and in the United States, and these addresses form the
basis of his larger works. 'Wind of the Spirit' is different. In this
seemingly random collection of remarks made spontaneously at public and private
gatherings and drawn from letters and notes to students, we rediscover how
immensely practical theosophy is. Of course there is teaching aplenty -- it
could scarcely be otherwise, so profound was his knowledge of the world's
spiritual and literary heritage; but it is de Purucker's lucid and direct
response to human need that constitutes the book's appeal: always compassionate
of human frailty yet ever challenging the nobility within each of us to shine
forth. Understandably, when 'Wind of the Spirit' first came out in 1944, within two years of the author's death, it was an instant favorite.
In the present edition the eight formal lectures included in the first
edition are omitted as the subject matter is amply treated elsewhere by the
author. Outside of this, only minor editing of the text has been done so as to
preserve the vitality of the spoken word; and, as an aid to the reader, an index
and glossary of philosophical terms, prepared by Ingrid Van Mater, have been
added.
'Wind of the Spirit' concludes with the talk given by Dr. de Purucker a week before he died: "Aham Asmi Parabrahma" -- I am Parabrahma, the Boundless. This was the alpha and omega of his teaching mission: to remind us again and again that at the core of every human being, indeed of every atom in the cosmos, is a living divinity. "Think if every man and woman on earth were thoroughly convinced of the utter reality of this cosmic truth! Never again would the hand of man be raised against man. Always it would be the extended hands of succor and brotherhood. For I am my brother -- in our inmost we are one."
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