Theos-Talk Archives (April 1999 Message tt00006)

Jerry:
> <<Have you read the Secret Doctrine, The Key to Theosophy or the Mahatma
> Letters?  Each of these give ample descriptions of the acquirement of
> "individual Consciousness" by humanity, and its supreme importance.>>
>
> I first read these over 40 years ago, and have since re-read
> them many times.

I asked this because you seemed unfamiliar with the Fundamental Propositions
in the SD and the notion of "The reincarnting Ego",  and also showed
yourself quite suprised at the idea of humanity developing "individual
consciousness" (MANAS).  For example, you wrote:

> How does one acquire "individual Consciousness" when
> HPB clearly stated that spirit or atma is NOT individualistic?

Such 'individual consciousness' is mentioned over and over again in the Key
to Theosophy and its  acquirement is gone into in great depth in the Secret
Doctrine.

> I think that it is interesting that Theosophists consider the
> "individual Consciousness" as "supreme importance" and
> a great big deal--the goal of evolution as some have it.

I don't think Theosophy does state it is THE goal of evolution".  Rather it
is a stage of evolution that the Monadic streams, the Life-wave, all have to
pass through.  Here is what HPB says:

"The Doctrine teaches that, in order to become a divine, fully conscious
god, -- aye, even the highest -- the Spiritual primeval INTELLIGENCES must
pass through the human stage. And when we say human, this does not apply
merely to our terrestrial humanity, but to the mortals that inhabit any
world, i.e., to those Intelligences that have reached the appropriate
equilibrium between matter and spirit, as we have now, since the middle
point of the Fourth Root Race of the Fourth Round was passed. Each Entity
must have won for itself the right of becoming divine, through
self-experience. Hegel, the great German thinker, must have known or sensed
intuitionally this truth when saying, as he did, that the Unconscious
evolved the Universe only "in the hope of attaining clear
self-consciousness," of becoming, in other words, MAN.."
(Secret Doctrine, vol 1, p106)

HPB also stresses the importance of its role for our current Humanity:

"The future state and the Karmic destiny of man depend on whether Manas
gravitates more downward to Kama rupa, the seat of the animal passions, or
upwards to Buddhi, the Spiritual Ego." (Key to Theosophy, p92)

And speaking of the higher spiritual principles, Atma-Buddhi:

"Neither each separately, nor the two collectively, are of any more use to
the body of man, than sunlight and its beams are for a mass of granite
buried in the earth, unless the divine Duad is assimilated by, and reflected
in, some consciousness."  (Key to Theosophy, p135)

And the 'consciousness' refered to is MANAS.  These statements alone, by HPB
(and there are many of them in her works) suggest to me that to acknowledge
its importance is much more than Theosophists making it into "a great big
deal", as you suggest.  I'm surprised to hear you say that if you are
familiar with what HPB wrote.

Peter


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