Theos-Talk Archives (April 1998 Message tt00505)

April 24th 1998 Dallas offers:

If we sense a difference between the:

1. INDIVIDUALITY [ Atma (spirit) -- Buddhi (acquired wisdom
of experience over thousands of lives) -- Manas (the thinking
faculty, memory, logic, anticipation) and, the

2. PERSONALITY (Lower Manas (embodied mind) -- Kama
(Desires, wants, passions) -- Prana (Life principle) --
Astral Body (electro-magnetic invisible 'body' on which the
physical molecules, cells and other structures arrange
themselves) -- Physical body

then we are able to mentally separate these so as to understand
them.

Then, we can also understand why we (as Human beings) are called
in the Esoteric Philosophy the the "7-fold Dhyan" [ a potential
Wise one, invested with the 'sheaths' of the Soul, and which is
undergoing the learning and testing period we now call "human
life" ]. You will count a total of 8, because, ATMAN is not a
principle that is localized within the human unit, but it is
universal and each of us bathes in IT (the ABSOLUTE SPIRIT ) . We
have in Buddhi the vehicle of the Atmic Ray that is reflected and
individualized -- focussed for this life-time in it, and this is
known as the HIGHER SELF. [ This is a condensation of what HPB
teaches in THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY, and can also be found given in
the SECRET DOCTRINE, SD II 593-6 632-3 639-41 I 241, and in
TRANSACTIONS OF THE BLAVATSKY LODGE, pp 66-77. ]

We can also observe that there is in us ONE CONSCIOUSNESS. It
enables us to perceive and sense anything in the Universe. And
also in our own selves. This is important, because this ONE
CONSCIOUSNESS, which is our true self, and is the "Real I". We
cannot get rid of it as a concept. Our memory depends on it. It
brings us out of the nightly sleep and dream condition back to
our daily "class-room of life" -- to waking conscious life in the
morning.

The real problem with human life (as I see it) is that we are, as
a group, as a race (of Humanity, not as separate ethnic groups)
do not have as part of our common education the idea that we are
in fact IMMORTAL SOULS. We are Mind-Beings who undergo this
pilgrimage (of many successive lives) so that we may learn
interiorly what are these great powers and "vehicles" that we
have drawn from Nature, and are now using. There is so much that
goes on inside us, even in our bodies, which we do not
consciously control -- we are like tenants in a well managed
building.

THEOSOPHY speaks of these, and demonstrates the Unity, the
Brotherhood of Man, by showing us that we are an integral part of
Nature. There is one Universal Spirit-Soul, and we are its many
"Rays."
[ S D I 570-575 ]

Nature depends on Man as much as Man (as a child-mind -- our
present general stage ) depends on the great LAWS and FAIRNESS of
Nature. That is why the fact of KARMA is basic to understanding
our whole situation. And when we graduate from childhood to the
responsibilities of an Adult, we then take over the management
assistance aspect of Nature that deals with humankind of the
future, helping it (as individuals) to acquire the wisdom that we
already have obtained by the very same process. It is a World
cooperative, a Universal cooperative that we are living in. No
one is ever totally isolated. No one could live for an instant
if they were isolated totally. We are tutored by our interior
HIGHER SELF who acts as our 'Voice of Conscience,' and our
'Intuition.'

Mankind is at the cross roads of Life. That is: in the sense
that we can see in ourselves a spiritual essence that has
descended into Matter.
And it is using a Personal Physical Body, which we call usually
"myself." To see the distinction in our personality of the
desire and the mind functions is our present task, taking living
into account as a whole.

There is also a Material intelligence which is reaching (so to
say) up to the Spirit. At the meeting point of these two --
ascending and descending intelligences -- is the human MIND.

This Mind and thinking faculty is three-fold. One aspect of it
aspires to wisdom, to nobility, to immortality, to right action
and to truth, as facts in Nature. [ Nature already contains all,
including us, and is our class room and also our 'teacher.' ]

The second aspect of the mind is the faculty of logical
procedures, mathematics, physics, the sciences, investigation of
visible and invisible processes and forces -- when in operation
it demands rectitude, honesty, accuracy, tolerance, discipline
and diligence. It is a study of ourselves as our nearest
environment in Nature, and then of Nature as the cause of that
environment, with a view to discovering the great "Reason Why."
What is the CAUSE ?

The third aspect of the mind is that which is in close contact
with our desires, our wants, our likes and our passions -- all of
many kinds. We share these with the animals, as they represent
the highest aspect of instinct in the Material progress, and
their instinctual intelligence (Kama) stops short of the
individualism which the Human Mind gives us. With individualism
comes responsibility -- the ethical sense.

In the Secret Doctrine, the process of the "Lighting up of Manas
(mind)" is described. It is similar to the process of education
whereby each of us, or our children acquire by training the use
of the thinking faculty, so as to use the memory, and to relate
concepts logically. The myth of Prometheus illustrates this
process of the education by the WISE of infant humanity, so that
the mind is evoked as a linking faculty with Kama -- the
principle of desires and passions.

The difference between Mind and (passions and desires) is that
Mind can think of the future. Passion and desire is not able to
consider the "future"unless the mind lends it that faculty. This
leads to some confusion and as Maslow points out, there is a
distinct qualitative difference between our "needs" and our
"wants."

So if the "iceberg" shows only 1/10th of itself above the ocean,
so the whole human shows only a fraction of its nature to others.
But that does not mean that our own capacities and qualities are
not know interiorly to ourselves.

The process of true meditation (not blanking the mind) is one of
concentrated effort in thought, seeking to probe our natures, our
constitution, and also that of Nature around us, so that we may
find out what our potentials and capacities are, and what we are
constantly sharing with our environment-- in the way of thoughts
and feelings.

With the faculty of Mind being "Lit Up" comes the responsibility
of being our own teacher. The child-mind and the desire nature
(Kama) are put into relation with our own "Tutor," the HIGHER
SELF. This gives us the moral/ethical sense. It is a sense of
community, sharing, tolerance, friendliness and of the fairness
and sharing of a practical and real universal brotherhood -- as a
fact already operating in Nature.

Karma is the Law, which being moral in action, compensates all
beings for the effect of acts (including thoughts and feelings)
which are generated by each of us, as free-willed, mind-beings:
Humankind.

It is both fair to all, and just to ourselves. It does not
punish, but rather teaches the "personality" to behave in a
fashion which any normal being does. It is for this reason that
'universality' and 'impersonality' are suggested as the
comparisons we need to use before we act. It has for its
touchstone the "Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have
them do to you." And that is a simple expression of life, all
the rest is "commentary and argument."

This interior duality gives us the power to discuss and debate
those of our actions that will lead to future results. Thanks to
the power of anticipation, based on past experience as memory, we
can project potential results for our proposed actions. And then
we can debate inside our minds the suitability of which to adopt.

I hope this brief description of our situation is of help in
resolving the difference between "INDIVIDUALITY" and
"Personality." Both are important, but, like the old Hindu tale
of the two birds: One sits at the top of the Tree (of life --
having experienced all and becoming WISE) and the other bird is
feeding off the fruit, below, encircled by the branches and the
ramifications of it karma, good and bad.

In another story, also from ancient India, the Individuality, is
seen as a cripple mounted on the willing shoulders of a strong
friend, who lends his strength and legs to the wiser of the two.
The one who is physically powerful benefits from the guidance of
the wiser. He is the pupil and learner. Together they progress
through life, the stronger of the two gradually acquiring the
wisdom of the Teacher seated "above" -- within.

 Dallas

>From: "Alpha (Tony)" <alpha@dircon.co.uk>
>Date: Wednesday, April 22, 1998 4:34 AM
>Subject: Re:Disdain for personality

>The human being can be likened to an iceberg.
>The little bit at the top, out in the open, and representing the
personlity
>can think it is all that there is.
>If we begin to plumb the depths, quite simply looking and
listening, and seeing the panorama which begins to unfold, the
personality, the bit at the top, can begin to quieten down. The
depths have a soothing effect. The personality sees that there is
more to it all, and that it is part of the iceberg, which is part
of the ocean. The personality is the garments for a particular
life, which are shed at the end of it, like a snake sheds its
skin. It is an important part of the iceberg/being.
>Is anybody really denying this?

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This is an excellent way of putting it, I think. Thanks.
Dal