Theos-Talk Archives (December 1999 Message tt00027)

Dec 27th 1999


Reflections on Monadic Evolution
	and
The Value of Theosophy


Some quotations from the "Secret Doctrine" have evoked the
following study.

It would be helpful to consider the reactions and ideas of those
who read it.

Best wishes, and especially for the coming year and century.

Dallas

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


"It is on the right comprehension of the primeval Evolution of
Spirit-Matter and its real essence that the student has to depend
for the further elucidation in his mind of the Occult Cosmogony,
and for the only sure clue which can guide his subsequent
studies. "  -- Secret Doctrine Vol I page 277.

"It is the Spiritual evolution of the inner, immortal man that
forms the fundamental tenet in the Occult Sciences...the student
has to believe a)  in the ONE Universal Life, independent of
matter...and,
b)  in the individual intelligences that animate the various
manifestations of this Principle." --SD I 634

"The ONE LIFE is closely related to the One Law, which governs
the World of Being--KARMA...  action," or rather "an
effect-producing cause."...in its far-reaching moral effects.  It
is the unerring LAW of RETRIBUTION."...eternal and
mutable..."   -- SD  I  634


"...man is a free agent during his stay on earth.  He cannot
escape his ruling Destiny...which from birth to death every man
is weaving thread by thread around himself;  and this destiny is
guided either by the heavenly voice of the invisible prototype
outside of us, or by the evil genius of our more intimate astral,
or inner man."	--  SD   I  639


			---------------


If one considers that the entire MANIFESTATION is made up of
imperishable (immortal) MONADS  and, each one is a compound that
cannot be separated of SPIRIT/MATTER, then it is possible to
consider another deduction:  INTELLIGENCE is a mark of the
individual progress of each MONAD as it wends its eternal journey
through the experiences that MANIFESTATION gives.  Every least
"atom" is intelligent, and that intelligence is ever-growing as
it lives through experience in all the many successive planes of
nature.

"The SECRET DOCTRINE teaches the progressive development of
everything, worlds, as well as atoms;  and this stupendous
development has neither conceivable beginning not imaginable
end."  (SD I 43)


CONSCIOUSNESS is the PERCEPTIVE power which it the Real Man, uses
to experience on the 7 planes of Nature -- using the 7
"principles" of its nature as a basis for making this contact,
and it stores the memory of those experiences.

"Mind is the name given to the sum of the states of Consciousness
grouped under Thought, Will and Feeling."  (SD I 38) ...

"Whatever plane our consciousness may be acting in, both we and
the things belonging to that plane, are for the time being, our
only realities...the upward progress of the Ego is a series of
progressive awakenings..."  (SD I 40)


But that MEMORY is not always available to the Mind
(Lower-Manas), that we use every day while awake, and as it is
embodied in our personalities. This makes the progress we seek
(in the here and now) a process of purifying our mind-nature of
the psychic impressions we have imposed on it and on the living
matter (skandhas) that we have drawn together to make up these
bodies of ours.

The "path" of this purification would seem to direct us to
recommend that all our efforts  be focused on the application of
virtue: that which is honorable, fair, true, and the most honest
method of living with and dealing with other beings, whether
those be men or other aggregates of skandhaic intelligence that
we might call stones, plants, animals or men.

In other words we voluntarily decide to order our lives so as to
harmonize with nature to the best possible extent.  Obviously for
our personal consciousness (arising out of the animal and placed
in coadunition with a Mind) it is seemingly a great discipline.
The "conflict" in the psychic nature is intense. (SD II 79-80,
93-4)

"To complete the septenary man, to add to his three lower
principles and cement them with the spiritual Monad--two
connecting principles are needed:  Manas and Kama...The human Ego
is neither Atman nor Buddhi, but the higher Manas: the
intellectual fruition...of the intellectual self-conscious
Egotism--in the higher spiritual sense."   The ancient works
refer to it as...the golden thread on which, like beads, the
various personalities of this higher Ego are strung."  --SD  II
79

"The 'Lords'...who bestow Intelligence... [are] our incarnating
Dhyan Chohans..."  --SD II 92


The MONAD (in itself) is unaffected.  But it draws SKANDHAS (or
Monads of lesser experience around it and to it)  They "hook up
to it."  They choose it to be the center of their progress.  They
form the highest and best vehicle for it to begin to manifest
CONSCIOUSLY on the lower planes of MANIFESTATION -- of which
there are the 7 we know (both in Nature and in Man).

"The Monads are the Souls of the Atoms, both are the fabric in
which the Chohans (Dhyanis, gods) clothe themselves when a form
is needed."  --  SD  I  619.


To be brief we call the MONAD when it is in the mineral stage the
"MINERAL-MONAD."  When it is in the animal stage of its
evolution, we call it the "ANIMAL-MONAD."  And when it finally
reaches the Human stage, we call it the "HUMAN-MONAD."  And when
the purely human is transcended we might call the MONAD, one that
has returned to its primitive Divine state--it is the Dhyan
Chohan.  It has attained Universal Self-consciousness.  It lives
with and works with Karma.  It therefore can choose to return to
the limited conditions provided by the 'Lighting up of Manas" and
again inspire another  developing MONAD to achieve its
perfection, to awaken its own universal self-consciousness.

"Endowed with divine powers, and feeling in himself his inner
God, each felt he was a Man-God in his nature, though an animal
in his physical Self. The struggle between the two began from the
very day they tasted of the fruit of the Tree of Wisdom...Those
who conquered the lower principles...joined the "Sons of Light."
Those who fell victims to their lower natures, became the slaves
of matter..."Sons of Darkness."  (SD II 272)  [see also SD II
254-5]


If one considers the scope of Theosophical doctrines we can see
that this can be applied everywhere   -- if we use the concept
that everything is a Monad that is constantly engaged in its own
way as a developing pupil of KARMA, the great Law of NATURE.  We
must constantly bear in mind that Nature already contains all
things. Science, psychology and philosophy investigate that which
is already there, and unveil those Laws that exist, but have been
unknown, so far, by us.  Karma is a process that is enormously
sensitive, and  it operates at all times and on all beings to
adjust any disturbance and restore harmony.

"Bad" karma is the effect of any choice that has selfish motives
inherent in it. The Monadic being that created the disharmony has
to be brought (by Nature using Karmic law) to "teach himself" or
"to become a volunteer for the good."  All the situations he is
placed in are framed so as to awaken his questioning
intelligence, to make him reflect on his advantages and
limitations, and finally to ask:  "Why am I here?  What can I to
do?  Where should I be going?  Is there a final GOAL?"

This leads the thoughtful man out of any blind following of
leaders in religion, philosophy, politics or science into
deciding what he should study and accept as his own guiding
principles.  The closer that those are to universal morality and
ethics, the more perfect will he make his living.

We could say that Theosophy is a record of the history of the
Universe in terms of universal experience.  It is like a great
wall.  We cannot "bite" it.  It shows us the "reality" we are
looking for.  Now we have to find out how it works, and what is
the final objective of manifested existence.  How does our MONAD
reunite with the universal MONAD in which it all beings dwell,
perhaps unconsciously (so far) for aeons of time?  But now we are
awake.  How shall we seize the opportunity ?

"The whole past of our globe is nothing but an unfolding
present."  -- SD  I  639.

"The SECRET DOCTRINE teaches history,"  -- SD I 267  "An
adept...is ever ready to impart to the earnest student the secret
of the ancient thought in anything that regards history...and
thus to furnish a few more land-marks towards a retrospective
view of the past..."  --SD I 306


If one looks closely at religion and politics one soon finds that
they deal with temporary things, and limited objectives.
Theosophy as a fund of actual data from the past (a record), and
a body of history is unassailable.  It is a record of the
observations of facts, events, results of events down the ages --
so the cycles of effect that follow causes and thus are Laws,
become apparent.  When the complexity of the Universe and Nature
is apparent to us, and as our perceptions and intelligence grow
we will grasp the fact that we are the ones who drive that.  We
are the immortal CHOOSERS.

The differences of our many starting points in life and education
in this present incarnation, do not matter, we find that all
conflict arises only over DIFFERENCES of outlook.  Once that we
all are looking at the same thing, on a voluntary basis, all
conflicts disappear and we see each other's view-points as well
as our own.

Similarity can never to be identity.  That is impossible.   Hence
logically, there are no "leaders," and no "authorities."  Our
true leader and authority (for our own selves) is the Divine
MONAD within  (ATMA-BUDDHI), also called:  THE HIGHER SELF.  And
our MONAD is no different form any other MONAD.

"Every monad reflects every other.  Every monad is a living
mirror of the Universe within its own sphere."  -- SD  I  631.


We do exhibit a great degree of intelligence and have
corresponding great responsibilities.  Using the process of
introspection and observation of our own natures, thoughts and
acts, we gradually become conscious of their power, and then it
is that we notice the conflict that arises between the
"necessary" and the "pleasant" (to the personality -- which
cannot see with the "instinct" alone, the inevitable suffering
that indulging the "pleasant" entails).  Alone the awakened Mind
can see this potential and guard against it.  It is a power we
have that is superior to our feelings and desires.

In practical life one finds that all systems and methods embody
inefficiencies.  This is a saving grace.  There should never be
any imposition of "personal efficiency" on others.  Each has to
create their own.  In the meantime in cooperation with others we
learn to tolerate the inefficiencies of others, and work in and
around them.  What do we need to find and use for the study of
Theosophy ? -- Ideally we need the "original teachings."
Additionally we need to find a forum in which we can join with
others to discuss the philosophy and its applications.

=======

Offered for consideration and possible discussion and response.

Dallas

dalval@nwc.net


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