Theos-Talk Archives (May 1999ar Message tt00033)

In a message dated 5/5/99 8:02:04 PM, Louis responded to Jerry's email:

<<The cause of social inequity, OF EVERY  KIND, is the unequal distribution 
of the wealth, pure and simple. Pointing to  any other cause is the usual 
blind and defense of the hardened self interested greed monger.>>

Funny, I would expect to find this kind of statement on "Marxism.com" and not 
on a Theosophical discussion.  It is interestly that in Louis' long diatribe 
there is not one reference to KARMA.  Why it is that individuals suffer?  
What kind of external forces shall we blame?

I for one would certainly like to see a more equitable distribution of the 
wealth.  My own finances are arranged that way -- I'll spare everyone the 
details.  But I am under no illusion that even if we were to take up every 
bit of money, power and knowledge and magically distribute them absolutely 
equitably to everyone, within 20 years we would again have serious imbalances 
worldwide.  People would offer to others their goods in exchange for various 
services, or squander their wealth, or misuse it through addiction or 
delusion.

In fact, no material rearrangement of our universe will truly cure what ails 
us.  And this disease is nothing other than the Buddhist group of three 
miseries: greed, hatred, and ignorance.  And there is no other cure than 
spiritual self-culture and the sharing of THAT wealth.

Try as we might, there is NO ONE to blame for our ills other than ourselves.  
We must not be lazy and fall back on old yarns like "society" or "prejudice" 
or even "my parents."  They are merely instruments of our karma.  

To be a Theosophist at all, I should think, is to accept the fundamental 
proposition of Periodicity, which includes (among other things) karma and 
rebirth.  I suppose we could blame the Law of Periodicity for our ills, and 
the Lords of Karma.  But again, that is just blaming ourselves.

If hunger and poverty and illness were so easily solved as a redistribution 
of the wealth, wouldn't the Masters last century have cited Karl Marx at 
every turn?  Rather, HPB is horrified of such theories, and preaches 
something entirely different.

Rich

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