Theos-Talk Archives (November 1998 Message tt00266)

Darren:

A few additional replies to your list of questions ...

>1 - Why should I (we) accept that 'as above, so below' is an axiom?

It is something that we can observe scientifically and
philosophically. A hologram demonstrates it physically:
the whole is contained in the part, just in less detail.
The idea is described mathematically in fractals, where
at different scales of magnification we see the same
detail, seeing worlds within worlds ... The physics of
turbulence, the shape of coastlines, the physical way
that certain living forms pattern themselves -- there are
numerous examples that could be given.

>2 - What is the final goal? Non-existence?

"Final" is a finite term, referring to the end of a
particular scheme of things. At the end of a particular
scheme of existence, at whatever level, there is dissolution
and non-existence, followed by a reappearance of that scheme,
and its continuation.

There is no "biggest" with reference to world, universe,
universe of universes, etc., no topmost scheme that has
a beginning and end. Any arbitrarily large universe is but
a grain of sand in yet a bigger scheme, drawing upon that
bigger scheme for its skandhas or garments to clothe itself
in, while in existence.

>3 - Why do anything at all, especially incarnate?

Why breathe? Because we not only *want* to at a personal
level, but also because we share the same divine creative
urge to express and manifest ourselves, the same urge
that the Unknowable Root has, since at our deepest level
we and it are one.

>4 - Where is Gautama Buddha right now? He knows that we are all just
>figments of his imagination - so why help illusory beings?

Beings in existence are *real*, in terms of the world or
plane on which they live. From the standpoint of a higher
plane, that lower world is "Maya", but it's still real.
"Maya" does not mean that something does not exist; it
means that something is *misperceived*. The famous example
used to illustrate Maya is that someone, walking down a
path at night, thinks he sees a snake, and is frightened,
whereas he only saw a rope. The rope is real and there, the
man, though, did not see or understand it correctly.

>5- Is loneliness the driving force of the absolute?

In our higher part, there is never any loneliness, since
there's a sense of being connected with everyone and
everything. Our personality, though, can feel lonely.
But that feeling arises from a sense of incompleteness,
a feeling that something important is missing from life,
combined with the idea that having such-and-such a
friend or type of friend will bring those wonderful
experiences of life back to one.

What's missing is not people, but rather opportunities
to allow one to express and live out those qualities
inside one that are frustrated, seeking expression, but
bottled up inside. One could be happy and fulfilled as
a hermit, or likewise in a position where one is in
contact with vast numbers of people. It's not the
people contact that's the solution. The solution is in
finding avenues of self-expression where one's life
energies are no longer bottled up inside, but can come
out and be expressed in life.

>6- Does every individual sperm have a unique 'entity' ?

Only in the same sense as any cell in one's body.
It's a "cell" entity, not a human being or soul.
(I'd suspect that the brain cells are the highest.)

>7- Is onanism murder of sperm?

The term "murder" usually refers to killing another
being, like a person. It's stretching it to say that
we can "murder" an animal. (We "kill" animals.) It's
stretching much farther to say that when we kill cells
that they are "murdered". (And even more so when
we're talking about bacteria, which constitute the
world's biggest population. In terms of killing, we
kill more of them than any other life form.)

Any occult considerations regarding sex, either
"by oneself" or with a partner, has to do with
the building of bonds of desire, and how those
desires have the potential of becoming an obstacle
to doing spiritual work. Apart from staying healthy,
avoiding disease, and other physical concerns, the
problem is just that, as the Buddhists say, "deluding
passions are inexhaustible, I vow to extinguish them."

This doesn't mean extreme asceticism, of severe
self-denial, nor complete hedonistic abandon. It is
rather a form of "middle way" wherein any external
object of desire, including sexual, does not become
a driving force in life, not become a preoccupation. It
must not become a high priority that causes one to
divert time and energies from the highest priority,
that of one's making the biggest mark on the work,
of doing the most to make the world a brighter place.

The problem is in the compulsive nature of desire,
in the way it takes control of one's volition. If
we act and respond to life out of our higher principles,
we're not tugged this way and that by a storm of
desires. We have a creative direction in life,
maintain our balance, and remain inwardly connected
and self-directed. We may still do and enjoy the
ordinary experiences of life, which may include
sexual experiences.

With regard to objects of desire, in practicing
the middle way, we'd enjoy the experiences of life
in moderation, practicing a little enjoyment combined
with a little self-denial, never giving way to
either extreme, carefully balancing the dual forces
tugging at us so that neither takes control, using
one force to neutralize the other, leaving us the
freedom to life our purpose in life without some
desire leading us astray.

>8- What happens to the sperm that don't make it - try
>and try again?

Given the small odds of meeting an egg cell -- perhaps
billions to one? -- the typical life is to exist,
wiggle about, and eventually die. Each type of cell
has its own type of existence. It's hard for us to
conceive of the type of conscious experience of life
to be had by a one-cell creature.

The bigger question might be: Do cell-entities reincarnate?
I'd say "yes," but wonder if the reincarnation would
happen repeatedly as the same type of cell or not.

>9- Does the egg have all 7 principles before fertilization?

Yes, as others have also said: every entity that exists
in the world, having some sort of physical form, has all
seven principles. The outer form is the final result of
becoming progressively more aware of existence on this
plane, the final two levels of awareness being sensory
perception then external body/form.

>10 - Can more than one entity occupy a physical body at the same time?

We have bacteria, viruses, cells; at a lower lever atoms,
molecules, sub-atomic particles. Higher up we have
thoughtforms, feeling forms, and other classes of non-physical
elementals that occupy (transit, visit) our psyche.
At the highest scale we have distinct Monads or Egos
coming together to form the complete person, as we
know them during a lifetime. (This includes an animal
nature, the human Ego, a Higher Self, an Inner God, etc.)
In totality, we're a cosmos in miniature, even though
we have a lot of room for improvement.

-- Eldon