Theos-Talk Archives (April 1998 Message tt00369)

Daniel wrote:

>Govert, I would be most interested in knowing what you believe
>the DIFFERENCES are between the teachings of Theosophy as
>given in HPB's writings and "the Esoteric Philosophy guarded by the
>Masters."

 As I said I can not proof my statement, but can try to establish its
reasonabilty.

Esoteric Philosophy is a science about noumena and how noumena are connected
to phenomena and its instrumentarium are faculties developed in the
Mahatmas, but not in ordinary human beings, who have no direct experience of
what these faculties could be. Their findings, according to HPB, are
expressed in 'visions' which can be communicated to other Masters for
verification.

Modern Science applies the hypothetical-deductive method aided by
mathematical formulas and verified (or actually non-falsified) by controled
experimentations. A hypothesis might be the closest in Modern Science to
what a vision is in Occult Science.

The translation of these visions into English will highly probable cause a
loss of exactitude and content, hence the probable difference between HPB's
writings and "the Esoteric Philosophy guarded by the Masters." To equate the
former with the latter would lead to dogmatism and secterianism.

Govert

P.S.: HPB wrote:

"Science cannot, owing to the very nature of things, unveil the mystery of
the universe around us. Science can, it is true, collect, classify, and
generalize upon phenomena; but the occultist, arguing from admitted
metaphysical data, declares that the daring explorer, who would probe the
inmost secrets of Nature, must transcend the narrow limitations of sense,
and transfer his consciousness into the region of noumena and the sphere of
primal causes. To effect this, he must develop faculties which are
absolutely dormant -- save in a few rare and exceptional cases -- in the
constitution of the off-shoots of our present Fifth Root-race in Europe and
America. He can in no other conceivable manner collect the facts on which to
base his speculations." HPB, SD I, 477-78.