Theos-Talk Archives (November 1998 Message tt00251)

mkr.  Thanks for progressing the thoughts.  Beliefs are a complete barrier.
Yet what a person believes, or their religion,  is no bar to joining the TS.
For those who go on to study Theosophy, those beliefs will begin to melt
away.  Others who never get round to studying Theosophy, their belief
barriers remain sound.  Your observations on the people the Masters choose
and their outward life styles is also interesting. There is something
crucial about it.

Rodolfo Don.
"There is no religion higher
>than Truth" around the seal of the Theosophical Society?  This is very
thought provoking, the way you have brought it in.  The "There is no
religion" coming down one side, and "higher than Truth" going up the other
side of the seal.

What you go on to say is not clear.  Read in the SD yesterday "The boundless
and infinite UNITY remained with every nation a virgin, forbidden soil,
untrodden by man's thought, untouched by fruitless speculation.  The only
reference made to it was the brief conception of its diastolic and systolic
property, of its periodical expansion or dilatation, and contraction." (II,
42-43).  Is this in the area of what you are thinking, as you put TRUTH
beyond the range and reach of thought?

>Of course, if we know how oppinionated we all can be, we
>won't reach to a compromise.  We won't agree on anything!

In Theosophy and occultism can we come to a compromise?  As mkr said "you
can't square it."

Tony



>At 08:47 AM 11/15/1998 -0800, Rodolfo Don wrote:
>You hit the nail on the head!
>Why do you think we have the beautiful motto:  "There is no religion higher
>than Truth" around the seal of the Theosophical Society?
>Because, rather than any interpretation of any scripture, or belief, only
>Truth matters.
>I'm going to bring up an example:  We have some discussions about a former
>leader of the TS (Leadbeater, or Judge, or HPB, it doesn't matter who it
>is) some of us are are defending him/her, others are accusing the person of
>wrong doings.  Of course, if we know how oppinionated we all can be, we
>won't reach to a compromise.  We won't agree on anything!
>But if we treat our beliefs the right way: as beliefs, and we regard Truth
>as higher than anything else, as it really is (after all Truth is what IS,
>not what we think it is).  It doesn't matter what we believe, if we both
>regard Truth as the highest.  If we condition our beliefs to Truth.
>Am I clear?  Please let me know, because this is of the most importance.
>
>Rudy
>----------------------------
>Thanks, Rudy. You seem to understand what I am trying to say.
>
>It looks like an open mind is very critical in all our search for Truth.
>Beliefs, can prevent our seeing things as they are. Even when Truth is in
>front of our "eyes" our beliefs may prevent us from seeing it.
>
>In this context, I had the chance to read the recollections of some
>comtemporaries of HPB. She did not fit the mold of what was respectable and
>acceptable to the standards of the day -- perhaps standards today - within
>and without the TSs. For example, there was this description of her smoking
>200 cigarettes a day and wearing a lose fitting dress with right pocket
>full of cheap tobacco and left pocket full of cigarette papers (she make
>her own cigarettes). Why did the Adepts use someone who did not fit the
>traditionally held model of "holy" person? Does is not say something? Look
>at APSinnet and AOHume. The Adepts took the trouble to correspond with them
>extensively. (We have not had a single letter from any of them since 1900
>to anyone we know of.) APS & AOH are not the types given to start the
>workday and/or end the workday with a meditation session either at home or
>at the office. Probably they started and ended the day with a drink! They
>are meat eaters, smokers and apparently consumed liquor. These are
>considered unacceptable even today for "spiritual" persons. One point that
>was made in ML was that they(APS&AOH) did not have any beliefs - None. And
>how it is very easy to overcome the purely physical problems such as meat
>eating and liquor as compared to powerful beliefs. Also look at Olcott. He
>was a meat eater and a smoker. Prior to being exposed to theosophy, he was
>a man of the world -- man of bars and women. Perhaps he was one of the few
>who had many contacts with many Adepts. And all these are not scholars by
>any means -- either academically or otherwise. We can also add to the list.
>
>All of them are  men/women of action and got results. So it appears, the
>Brothers, being highly practical, sought people who can get real results
>and not stand as models that public will accept.
>
>So to me it looks like the vitality of theosophy does not depend on the
>books or the teachings that have come down. The vitality and the effect
>seem to totally depend on (a) are we searching for Truth without any
>beliefs whatsoever and (b) are we action-oriented rather than arm chair
>speculators.
>
>Just my 0.02. Many may disagree.
>
>....mkr
>
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