Theos-Talk Archives (November 1997 Message tt00428)

At 08:12 PM 11/25/1997 -0800, you wrote:
>I have been a member of the Theosophical Society for over 30 years and I
>never read this before. This is one of the most important documents that
>deals with theosophy, the path, and truth.
>
>Don't you all agree?

>>> You may remember the story of how the devil and a friend of his were
>>>walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and
>>>pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his
>>>pocket. The friend said to the devil, "What did that man pick up?" "He
>>>picked up a piece of Truth," said the devil. "That is a very bad business
>>>for you, then," said his friend. "Oh. not at all," the devil replied "I am
>>>going to let him organize it."
>>>
I agree with the friend - Truth is very bad business for the devil, just as
light is able to dispel darkness. Lucky for us the human constitution is
not all evil. We live in a cyclic fashion and there is always good in our
presence. If the good is not "truly" us (the human), then the good is
"next" to us and making itself available to us. If good lies within, let it
out. Organizing does no shame to man's destiny. The devil wasn't very good
at expressing himself admirably, and I don't admire Krishnamurti for
listening to him.

I agree with some of the below though.

 I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by
>any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of
>view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being
>limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path, whatsoever, cannot be
>organized, nor should any organization be formed to lead or to coerce people
>along any particular path. If you first understand that, then you will see,
>how impossible it is to organize a belief. A belief is purely an individual
>matter, and you cannot and must not organize it. If you do, it becomes
>dead, crystallized, it becomes a creed, a sect, a religion, to be imposed on
>others. This is what everyone throughout the world is attempting to do.
>Truth is narrowed down and made a plaything for those who are weak, for
>those who are only momentarily discontented. Truth cannot be brought down,
>rather the individual must make the effort to ascend to it. You cannot
>bring the mountain-top to the valley. If you would attain to the
>mountain-top you must pass through the valley, climb the steeps, unafraid of
>the dangerous precipices. You must climb towards the Truth, it cannot be
>"stepped down" or organized for you. Interest in ideas is mainly sustained
>by organizations, but organizations only awaken interest from without.
>Interest, which is not born out of love of Truth for its own sake, but
>aroused by an organization, is of no value. The organization becomes a
>framework into which its members can conveniently fit. They no longer
>strive after Truth or the mountaintop, but rather carve for themselves a
>convenient niche in which they put themselves or let the organization place
>them and consider the organization will thereby lead them to Truth.
>