Theos-Talk Archives (June 1998 Message tt00718)

June 29th

Dear Jerry:

If Karma is a fact and all Nature (including each of us from top
to bottom of our own nature) has existence and is significant,
then, such an "oath" is superfluous.  Karma operates whether we
like it or not.  Do you recall in LIGHT ON THE PATH there is a
statement made by the writer that for the aspirant a point is
reached when the vibration of emotion, of life, seems to come to
an end, a stillness.  This is then seemingly an "Abyss."  But
once past, the life of the disciple continues (perhaps on a
different level of attention) and new vistas open for the
aspiring and thinking soul.  That book has many valuable and
suggestive ideas, but is not easily understood.  Its values have
to be dug out of it by many returns and meditations on its
intent.

Here's how I begin to think about what you say:

In a just and fair Universe everyone and everything is
inter-related and all interactions are always registered and
reacted to.  We are all involved and cannot the facts of our
present existence, all together.

The alternative is a meaningless chaos in which we and everything
else is an insane jumble.  And there is too much order that we
can sense to believe that to be the case.  [ Or is insanity and
jumble solely a manifestation of confusion in human consciousness
?  Are we the only sane person in an otherwise insane and vast
community ? ]

The only glitch I can detect is our way of looking at things is:
Are we impatient to know everything at once ?  If so we hope that
by faith, belief, rite and ritual (devised by someone else and
which we are not given a clear and logical view of) we will
somehow stumble on a meaningful "path" through the maze.  [ But,
Theosophy, gives a very extensive explanation of its solutions
and reasons.  So that there is no ambiguity left in our being
able to perceive its logic and the way it serves to answer many
problems in our lives, and fill many gaps of our present
ignorance. IMHO ]

Is it only mankind that is so independent that no rules apply, or
that the whole of Nature ceases to have meaning ?

As I see it, Theosophy, and its propositions serves to restore
intellectual meaning to our lives and being.  Are we so confused
by education and belief (and our fear inducing memories of
error), that we cannot find any base for stability from which to
begin ?  Is it not possible that the very fact that we quest and
seek, indicates that at the root of our being, there is something
that cannot "die ?"  That is permanent ? -- in a world of
constantly shifting shadows ?  Its stability induces in us the
desire to know ?  All our difficulties, it seems to me, centers
around responsibility.  Why is that ?

What is an Abyss?  Is it something that "emotionally" we cannot
grasp ?  Then why not use the mind ?  Did you ever read "DUNE" by
Frank Herbert (I believe) ?  Do you recall the test administered
to an individual (when they became mature) to see if they were
either of human intelligence or solely a superior "animal
intelligence ?"  In other words are we either "Thinkers," or only
"Emoters ?"  And, does the "Thinker" control and master the
"emoter" inside ?

Theosophy proposes that we are a mixture of both:  A combination
of two streams of consciousness:  the "descending God," and the
ascending "Animal Instinct" ( or consciousness on its personal
way to  "divine existence" ).  I am afraid that my ability to
express this may be faulty.  To me the distinction is clear.

Is the "Abyss" the fear of seeing one's lower self (the animal
emotional self linked to the lower mind--or, Kama with
Kama-Manas) in its true colors and actuality ?

I can understand this to be distasteful, (to all of us) and
seeing even a portion of our memories may result in rejection.
But that is fear, which can be overcome by knowledge;  and
knowledge comes from thinking.

Thought is an assistant, not an enemy of the Lower Self.  It
assists in making a transformation to something sublime.  [It is
likened to a teacher assisting a pupil, or a father assisting his
son to learn] Yet, in most cases we have things in mind, as
memories, that we now would rather never have done.  But, we know
we did them, or said them.  Now we also know that in a just and
fair Universe we will eventually have to "pay" for them.  [Why
are we innately so sure of this?]  If we are children, we try to
close the lid on those memories, but know that they will not
vanish.  If we are men-thinkers, we face our errors and improve
from then on.

It is said that the "battle is in the mind."  We have to
eventually fight out the field of our own past doing and of our
early choices.  No one else is going to do it for us.  Also,
there is no "escape."

So many religions are built on the hope that we can escape !  One
of the most recent, of which a history remains is that of the
choice of   Emperor Constantine.  He believed bishop Eusebius
(that God would pardon him and remit his "sins from punishment"
if he would become a Christian and establish the Church,
politically, as   a State Religion in the Empire.  Out of fear
that he would suffer from his terrible crimes towards his family
and nation,  he embraced Christianity and made it the State
Religion of the Roman Empire so as (he hoped) to escape the
results (and just personal suffering due to him) for those deeds.
Did it work ?  What are the effects ?  Should one "believe" in an
institution that advocates doctrines that remit sins and does
nothing for the victims ?  Who makes restitution to them ?

It plunged Europe and the rest of our world into a darkness of
blind faith and blind belief from which we have not yet fully
recovered.  Those who did not "believe" were ruthlessly
exterminated, tortured, victimized, for the next 1200 years or
so.

IMHO:  We ought to ask ourselves who or what is profiting from
this confusion ?  What places obstacles in our way of developing
the power of individual and independent thinking ?  And, why ?
Why is our world, political, social, psychological so unstable ?
Is that natural or is it something that has been induced and
under the influence of which we all suffer.  Why are peace,
prosperity and brotherhood desired on one hand and derided on the
other ?

These ideas and question run through my mind and I wonder when
and where we may get a solution.

Best wishes,        Dallas

> Date: Sunday, June 28, 1998 4:07 PM
> From: "Jerry Schueler" <gschueler@netgsi.com>
> Subject: Re: Oath

>> Come on Jerry, Tell us all!  What does it say?
>>
>> Alan :0)
>> ---------
>
>Not much. The idea is from the GD and OTO and says that
>before crossing the Abyss one must take an oath to
>response to every daily event as if it were a direct
>communication with God (or one's inner god if you prefer).
>It sounds easy but is very hard to follow through. The
>main thing is that every aspect of your life becomes
>meaningful.
>
>Jerry S.
>
>
>