Theos-Talk Archives (May 1998 Message tt00241)

Dear Friends and Fellow Students,

    I have been following the discussions here for a long while, and
usually do not have the time to respond, although I immensely enjoy
reading them.
    Forgive me if this issue has been already addressed, as I have
gotten far behind in reading most of the posts to theos-talk.   However,
I could not help but pick up a couple of the "threads" being discussed,
and comment on the ideas expressed, even if I am a few days late in
doing so.  Please excuse and correct me, also, if I am taking comments
out of context:

On Tuesday, May 5, Jerry Schueler wrote:
Her definition of nirmanakaya and her presentation of the three Bodies
of Buddha, for example, are plain wrong.  Thus she gave us an "untruth."

    By what standard do you take HPB to task for giving "wrong" and
"untrue" statements?  Jerry, are you saying that HPB incorrectly cited
Buddhist doctrines, or that the teachings she gave are wrong?  If you
are saying that HPB misrepresented or misunderstood a particular tenet
of a specific religion (e.g., Buddhism), we should only keep in mind
that HPB made no claim to infallibility.  She admitted to making
mistakes, of being human, in other words, and of course could have
missed an idea from time to time. In that case, I would have to agree
with you.   On the other hand, if you are saying that HPB did not know
the ancient, occult doctrine, as taught to her by her Teachers, then how
do you know that?   By what means do YOU know the truth, but HPB did
not?   How would you know what she was taught, or what the adepts of
antiquity taught, except by reading her works?
    Her entire premise was that the ancient, eternal wisdom religion
exists, and has always existed, and she was allowed to present some of
the evidence for it in her writings. She never claimed that her writings
were that wisdom in its entirety!  (See her articles, "What is Truth?"
and "The Babel of Modern Thought." for her discussions on this).
    Jerry, I would be interested to hear your and others' comments.

On Friday, May 8, mkr wrote:
[With regard to the work of H. P. Blavatsky, we should feel]  enormous
gratitude... for the knowledge made available to all the world,and
second is the most humble feeling of what one has personally sacrificed
and contributed to the welfare of the world.
    Thank you, ramadoss, for reminding all of us of an important
sentiment.  Thanks also to Sophia TenBroeck and others for taking the
time and effort to note the significance of May 8.

Best Regards,

Wes Amerman