Theos-Talk Archives (March 1998 Message tt00285)

[Somehow a first draft of this message found its way to the list. Here is
the full posting]

Whenever the Ballards and the Prophets are mentioned by theosophists I will
read and listen with great care for I am myself a member of the TS and of
Saint Germain's Keepers of the Flame (KOF) Fraternity, which in the outer
world is led by Elizabeth Clare Prophet.

I have not developed an apologetics for the teachings coming from the
Ballards and the Prophets which will deal with most objections by
theosophists. For me it suffices that according to my own criteria they pass
the test as authentic messengers of the Great White Brotherhood.

Regarding the observation that different messengers teach sometimes
differently about the same subject I can only state that all messengers, HPB
and Leadbeater included, apparently mixed in, probably unconsciously, some
of their own opinions and beliefs. No channel is 100% clean. Another factor
in this is the fact that the Esoteric Philosophy, to which the Masters have
access and of which They Themselves are only students, is so complicated for
our own limited brains that discrepancies are bound to arise, as is the case
for example with the way different professors explain quantum physics. A
valid criterion might then be to see to what extent one body of teachings
can elucidate another body of teachings. My personal experience is that my
understanding of the Secret Doctrine has considerably deepened since I have
read many of the works coming through Ballard and Prophet. And other way
around.

Another way to establish authenticity might be to sense the vibrations and
transformative effects caused by openly interacting with these different
teachings. This of course is highly subjective and has to be applied with
care. Personally I could have rejected the SD because it gave me initially a
headache and I could have rejected Prophet, because in the beginning I found
their writings quite incomprehensible and confusing.

So far in the discussion on this list I have not found any compelling
reasons to change my conclusion about Ballard and prophet. On the contrary,
I found some extra
reasons to strengthen my belief in their authenticity. For example it was
mentioned that the Masters used HPB's body sometimes to convey a message to
someone by taking over her vocal cords. This same technique the Masters use
in giving dictations, where They overshadow Their messenger and use his or
her vocal cords . The difference being that dictations are public events and
require some preparation beforehand.

Another point relevant to this discussion concerns the corporeality of the
Masters, which I addressed in my pamphlet "The Masters and Their Emissaries:
>From H.P.B. to Guru Ma" (at http://pages.prodigy.net/schuller/story.htm ):

"Both Masters [M. and K.H.] took their fifth initiation, the Ascension, at
the close of the last century, thereby becoming incorporeal Ascended
Masters.  And as Blavatsky has written--referring to other saints, that,
when “unburthened of their terrestrial tabernacles, their freed souls,
henceforth united forever with their spirits, rejoin the whole shining host,
which is bound together in one spiritual solidarity of thought and deed, and
called the ‘anointed,’ ”--the same glad tidings could be told, not only
about these two illustrious Masters, but also about many other brave souls
who followed them. [H.P. Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled (Pasadena CA: Theosophical
University Press, 1976), II, p. 159].  For practical purposes the difference
between an Unascended Master and an Ascended one is not very great. Both can
work in the physical as well as in the spiritual realm and both have a wide
array of occult powers at their command to guide Their pupils and help
mankind.  The difference is that an Unascended Master has its base of
operations in a physical body and an Ascended Master in a spiritual.  To
dismiss the latter as spooks, because the they do not conform to one’s idea
of flesh-and-blood Masters, is to deny oneself the great wisdom coming from
the 'anointed.' ”

Govert