Theos-Talk Archives (September 1999 Message tt00018)

> Rich wrote:
>
> > what does Theosophy have to offer that no readily accesible spiritual
> >group today has? I would be very interested to hear replies.

DALLAS:  I enjoyed your excellent reply, Dal.

ART:  I liked the way your first response was to focus on the positive...
the need for compassion, brotherhood & so on.  I felt your comments about
"egalitarianism", having to "prove oneself" said more about encounters with
people at meetings (your own perhaps?) than it did about THEOSOPHY as a
'body' of Wisdom or spiritual path.  Do you think we are liable to meet all
kinds of people (open and warm - looking down their noses) in almost any
kind of group?   I also wondered why suggesting a book to read would
*automatically* put people off and appear too intellectual, as you suggest?
For many people this could be way of finding out more on the subject in
their own time and at their own pace.  My own experience of groups and talks
is that many people eagerly want to know more and be given some references
to follow up in the literature before I have a chance to suggest anything.

I liked what you said about worrying less about the outer form and more
about the truth to be conveyed,  this leaves us free to qoute from HPB and
the Masters as well as from the Buddha, Sankara etc.  As we are students of
Theosophy it doesn't seem too unreasonable to qoute from Theosophical texts
and use that vocabulary, does it?  I wouldn't go to a Sufi meeting and
expect them to speak in Theosophical jargon, though I would be delighted if
they did.  I would feel that I needed to make the extra effort to understand
their point of view and vocabulary.

Yes, I agree that it can feel like an interogation when people want to know
what we have read and what we know, especially if we feel unsure of
ourselves in the first place.  Do you think this might vary with the motives
of inquirer?  When there is that compassion and open-ness that you referred
to then perhaps asking such questions can be a way of getting to know the
newcomer and what they are looking for rather than labelling them with
baseless assumptions.  This could help us make some suggestions, if any were
required, that more suited their needs.

RICH:  I would be interested to hear how you answer your own question.

...Peter



> Some strengths we should be showing as theosophists...To me Theosophy
> stands or falls on the openess to others... inquirers who first attend a
> meeting... The openness and friendliness of the first contact is a
> statement of our brotherhood/sisterhood and fraternal regard for other
> beings, a kindness and compassion for all beings.
>
> If we are outgoing, friendly, willing to listen to people first I
> think you
> will see people responding... If we turn them off by suggesting they must
> study a book we appear too intellectual to them and fail to connect., The
> natural curiosity of people will lead them to the books anyway and
> practical studies can then be suggested...
>
> EGALITARIANISM:
>
>  I dislike very much the need to prove oneself (tell about yourself and
> what you've read or studied so we can put you the seeker in your place)
> that goes on before one is accepted (if they are ever accepted!)... the
> implication being that among theosophists there is this stuffy elitism and
> lets look down the long nose at the world and other people...We must
> studiously avoid putting people in cubbies where we think they belong and
> offer the same  acceptance and love to all..once and for all...
>
> UNIVERSALITY:
>
> Another area of our strength is a willingness to appreciate knowledge and
> wisdom no matter from what source as a helpful step to the spiritual
> liberation and enlightenment of the race... this follows with the
> acceptance we should be showing to incarnate beings...
>
> If the ideas are the most essential message that is to be conveyed then
> quote the Buddha, Sankara, the Sufi sages.. worry less about the
> outer form
> and focus on the truth being conveyed... in this way the nexus of truth is
> focused on rather than the garment. When this focus on truth occurs we are
> also demonstrating our kinship with other traditions.
>
> YOGA
>
> To me the practise of Yoga is a lifestyle, a way of relating to self and
> others.. it implies a humility and willingness to abase the self. Even our
> eating habits and habiliments can convey a message that the world sorely
> needs. People live the way they do not because they particularly
> like it or
> because they made an intelligent choice. By our example an
> alternative life
> style can be a silent teacher oe message even beyond words.
>
>
> >
> >SANKHYA, TIBETANISM, BUDDHISM, CHRISTIANITY, JUDAISM, TAOISM, ETC., THESE
> >ARE ALL DERIVED FROM THEOSOPHY -- WHICH IS FAR MORE PRIMITIVE AS A
> >PHILOSOPHICAL BASE FOR DESCRIBING THE PHILOSOPHICAL-RELIGIOUS SOURCE OF
> >THEIR MORE RESTRICTED CONCLUSIONS. THEIR VERBIAGE HAS BEEN
> PROCESSED AGAIN
> >AND AGAIN BY THEIR ADHERENTS, SO AS TO MAKE IT MORE PALATABLE TO THE MEN
> >OF SUCCEEDING ERAS. JESUS' ARAMAIC WAS TRANSLATED INTO GREEK, THENCE INTO
> >LATIN, AND FINALLY IN A VARIETY OF EDITIONS INTO ENGLISH.
>
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> lgregory@discover.net
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>
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