Theos-Talk Archives (July 1999 Message tt00013)

July 6th 1999

Dear Friend:

 I believe you are correct when you speak of the emergence of one
religion out of another as a cyclic spiral.

There is always similarity and not identity.

Consider that there is always at the base of each religion a
philosophy of life.  This philosophy, if true, is not going to
vary in its essentials.  Consequently, what we witness in the
past are the spirals in time of a great set of universally
diffused IDEAS and their philosophy -- that always resurfaces and
also may seem to be "new" in "its" time.  Whereas it is quite
old.

If we wish to identify some of them we could say:  1.  There is a
great and unknown source of all.  2.  Since we all share in that
single origin we are all BROTHERS.  Not only among humans, but
also with everything else in Nature.  3.  Nature and God are
names given to the actuality of our lives in the present.  4.  A
great law of universal fairness, harmony, balance and justice
works at the same rate and pace for everyone, and for all living
things.  5.  Every being is an immortal at its core, which is
"spark" or a "ray" of SPIRIT/MATTER.  From the "atom" to the
Galaxy, we are all united.  6.  In mankind we see the emanation
of the power of the Mind.  it is conjoined to the faculty of
instinct, of feeling, of desire and need.  But the mind having a
direct connection with the ONE SOURCE, is able to distinguish
between the essential and fair, and the non-essential and
selfish.  7.  this makes for the difference between "Good, and
Evil."  Good is to cooperate with Nature (God's) Law.  Evil is to
distort or pervert them.  Nature in her great sensitivity takes
note of our motive -- a combination of our thought and feeling.
This beings to us Karma.  Karma is the response from Nature to
assist us, always.  If we have chosen well or wrongly, it
presents us eventually with the result of our choices.  It is
always fair, just and therefore merciful to all.  It assists us
to redress wrongs, and to benefit from the good that we do.  8.
The whole of Nature is found to be progressive.  Wisdom of the
Mind is the result of a closer study of our own faculties and of
the great Laws that are already active in Nature.  Science, for
instance, is the intent and careful study of Nature's workings in
all departments of nature.  Nature HAS ALREADY INSTALLED
EVERYTHING IN PLACE FOR OUR PROGRESS.  We share this marvelous
advantage with every other being in the World and the Universe.
10.  The final result of Evolution is to become a WISE HUMAN
BEING.  We have always had them among us, when we think of the
Christs, the Buddhas, The Rishis, the Prophets, and the Sages of
all countries and all times.  They form a great brotherhood.
They are the Great Servants of Mankind.  They seek to get us to
study our own selves, how we think, how we feel,  how best to
act.  They always say that we have to push ourselves forward to
ever learn more from the "Book of Life" that is open before us.
WE are the "Eternal Pilgrims."

The great Souls, the Mahatmas, Buddhas, Prophets, Christs,
Rishis, etc.  whose record of acting in a superior manner and
whose words resound as "truth", can be seen to form one great
body of WISE MEN.  They do not die, as Intelligences, but always
act from time to time as the teachers of men. They are a great
brotherhood.  [ see ISIS UNVEILED,  Vol. 2, pp. 98 - 103 ]

It takes some time for a religion to grow up around a
philosophical reform, and thus, coating it with the "Letter of
the Law," it ends in stifling and choking it.  Forcing one aspect
of the "Truth" on others, whether it be words or observances
(rites), is useless.  Each one has to have the freedom to make
decisions and choose those criteria for action on their own.  No
one can learn for another.  Each has to do the learning and the
progressing themselves.

People have to realize that the TRUTH is inside themselves -- it
is in all our many hearts.  So we have to express it by thinking
and acting as though we were brothers to everything else.  If we
set up a barrier of differences, we will lose the fine edge of
sensitivity that perceives in another's  religion or philosophy
the same basic truths we were taught in ours.  They are not as
basis mutually exclusive, but reach out at that time and place to
embrace the rest and their earlier sources.

That is one thing to consider.

Another is the cycle of reincarnation.  Mme. Blavatsky in the KEY
TO THEOSOPHY says that this runs between 10 and 15 centuries on
the average.  Similar kinds of civilizations return, similar
knowledge, architecture, skills, values, and also the lack of
these.  This is due to the return of certain average kind of Egos
(minds or souls ).  The Soul-mind is an "Immortal Pilgrim."  It
uses body after body, and one might say that each incarnation is
like a new day in "schools."  The SCHOOL OF LIFE, which for us is
our Earth.

Thus everything in theosophical philosophy is viewed as alive,
constantly learning, ceaselessly reincarnating under the great
law of Karma that ever urges to evolve into more perfect stages
of knowledge and wisdom.  It states that this is a moral, or
ethical universe and the practice of benevolence, compassion and
brotherhood enables us to comply with this situation. We always
have opportunities to assist and help our fellow man and woman.
If we neglect those, we are the ones who delay our own advance.
If we harm anyone, for whatever reason, we ask the great and
impartial law of Karma to take note;  and, in its always
educative mode, it gives us a situation later on, in which we are
the recipients of the force of our motive in action.  This can
happen immediately, or after some days, weeks, or years --
perhaps even in a future life-time.  All our Karma is always
mixed in with that of others, so we have the karma of a family, a
race, a religion, or a Nation.  Nothing  escapes the scope of
Karmic action.  This is because everything is alive and emanates
at its source from the same "god-head" [ the ONE, UNKNOWN
SPIRITUAL SOURCE" ]that we all do.

I hope this will be found useful and helpful.  And do ask more
questions.

Dallas
dalval@nwc.net 

=============================

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-theos-talk@pippin.imagiware.com
[mailto:owner-theos-talk@pippin.imagiware.com]On Behalf Of
THEMAZEMAN@aol.com
Sent: Friday, July 02, 1999 10:08 PM
To: theos-talk@theosophy.com
Subject: Theos-World theosophy: origin of Lord's Prayer,
frompre-Christianity


<< 1.  If we examine them historically we will find that they
form a sequence,
 as one grows out of the earlier one. >>

I definitely agree with you there. All religions grow in some
kind of a
sequence. I've often wondered, also, if part of that sequence
doesn't skip
through time, not just forward, but possibly in a spiral.

Just last night, I found a prayer that was "said to be used about
150 years
before" Jesus's time. I thought you might recognize it. It comes
at the end
of Chapter 23 of "The First Book of Adam and Eve, also called,
The Conflict
of Adam and Eve with Satan" (work of unknown Egyptians,
originally written in
Arabic, translated into Ethiopic), one of the books published in
the volume,
THE FORGOTTEN BOOKS OF EDEN, edited by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr.:

Adam and Eve, Chapter 23, verse 9:

    And Adam began to make more requests unto God.
    Our Father, Who art in Heaven, be gracious unto us, O Lord
our God,
hallowed be Thy Name, and let the remembrance of Thee be
glorified in Heaven
above and upon earth here below.
    Let Thy kingdom reign over us now and forever. The Holy Men
of old said
remit and forgive unto all men whatsoever they have done unto me.
And lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil thing; for
Thine is the
kingdom and Thou shalt reign in glory forever and forevermore,
AMEN.

The comment with the prayer says, "original of the Lord's Prayer
said to be
used about 150 years before Our Lord." This is definitely a case
where
something that most people consider 100% Christian comes from a
non-Christian
source.

John (www.God.Loves.Someone.net) Knoderer
Multidenominational Cafeterealist
	Multidenominational: I believe every faith worships the same God
	Cafeteria: Just because I don't take the spinach doesn't mean
		the spinach is wrong. It's still right for someone else.
	Realist: It's not realistic that 70% of the world is wrong
simply
		because they disagree with the 30% that's Christian.

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