Theos-Talk Archives (June 2000 Message tt00157)

In a message dated 5/24/00 12:06:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
ernesto@bmu.com.pe writes:

<< Surprising to me.
 
 Todd Lorentz wrote:
 
 > There are many well-known public figures who are
 > now stepping forward to confirm that they have met Maitreya and believe he
 > is the Christ.  One of these public figures is Wayne Peterson - a recently
 > retired US diplomat who is currently publishing a book on his experiences
 > with the Masters during his 20 year career with the US government
 > diplomatic Services.  Another well-known public figure is former Soviet
 > leader Gorbechev.  President Bush sent two separate envoys to see Maitreya
 > in London during the Gulf War, and the Vatican has sent several top aides
 > to meet with Maitreya also.
 
 Todd, are you sure this is not a neo-myth (or neo-lie) of the New Age 
thinkers?
 The result of something like a message after "channeling"? Or something even 
more
 perishable?
 
 I am sincerely interested in what you are saying, so please Iīd like you to 
say
 which are the proofs of that information, real proofs.
 
 The Vatican trying to meet with Maitreya ... Wasnīt it said in the Bible 
that the
 Christ would come back in his full glory?, that every nation of the world 
would
 recognize him?  (wich makes me personally think in the Kalki Avatara coming 
to
 terminate the present Kali Yuga, and originate the New Golden Age, the 
really New
 Age).
 
 There has been nothing like that still.  Just people saying always (as it was
 informed us that there would happen) that the Christ is here, or the Christ 
is
 there.
 
 I just think that if we believed in all the New Age thinkers, the Christ 
would
 have come in this century, in different persons, a lot of times.  But the 
Kali
 Yuga still goes on.
 
 I repeat that I am very interested in what you are saying, but if you donīt 
want
 that we considere you just as a "believer" more of one " modern guru" more, 
it
 would be very important (for the truth, and for all of us), that you can 
indicate
 the proofs of what you are saying.
 
 Friendly,
 
 
 DAVID C. >>

Dear David,

For whatever it's worth, I went to see Peterson when he was here in 
Washington, D.C. promoting his book(s) & Benjamin Creme's message.  The 
impression I got from the experience was almost exactly like the one you get 
from Todd.
Ever since C.W. Leadbeater & Annie Besant announced that HPB & her teachers 
had told them, under oath of (temporary) secrecy, that the purpose for their 
founding the TS was that it would be the herald of the new era dawning during 
these times, & the concomitant avataric manifestation that is said by HPB & 
her teachers ALWAYS to come at such times, a veritable plethora of "avatars" 
has come into view.
And when CWL & AB stated that the same teachers had told them that J. 
Krishnamurti would be the focal point of that avataric manifestation at this 
time, well, that's when (grossly misunderstood) "Theosophical" teachings hit 
the fan, spinning in their wake every single New Age organization, author, & 
book, to date.  Everyone of these, it seems, has had its own "avatar," though 
they prefer to use the expression that according to CWL & AB was suggested by 
the Masters, "the World Teacher."  Whenever you see anyone calling himself or 
someone else "the World Teacher," you're seeing someone who is ripping off an 
expression that was original, & meant to refer exclusively to the phenomenon 
that was expected to happen in connection with K.
But "by their fruits ye shall know them."  Not a single one of these numerous 
"Maitreyas" (of whom there seems, sometimes, to be as many as talk show 
hosts) has given a serious message of transformation.  One can find that 
exclusively in J. Krishnamurti's work.  That fact goes directly to the 
reality of the presence of the Masters in the history of the TS, both in 
HPB's time & in CWL/AB's time, since otherwise (as I've discussed more 
thoroughly in The Inner Life of Krishnamurti), it is not possible to make 
sense of what were Krishnamurti's sources for the truly transformative 
message he gave.  As I show, there & elsewhere, there is a seamless 
connection between HPB, CWL/AB, & K, such that it is not possible to 
understand any one of them, unless one takes all the others into account 
(I'll give you some evidence of this below).  Knowing this is, of course, no 
guarantee that one will have a "deeper" understanding.  Or put in other 
words, knowing that is a necessary, but never a sufficient reason, for having 
a deeper understanding.
The above statements about K cannot be made regarding any one of the many, 
many, many "avatars" going around, since that time.  They all capitalize on a 
PERSONALITY, on worshipping, or following, or somehow accepting -- on someone 
else's word -- that "X" is the "new Christ."  I do not know that K was "the 
messiah," nor do I think it's possible for anyone to credibly declare such a 
thing.  In my book, I do not make any such statement, nor in any of my talks 
& other writings.  The personality of J. Krishnamurti is absolutely 
irrelevant to this issue, when seen esoterically, as I briefly discuss below.
But the fact remains that K did give a message that corresponds precisely 
with the requirements set by Friedrich Nietzsche as what one would expect of 
"the philosopher of the future."  I'm working on a book on this very subject. 
 As I show in a separate book I'm working on (meant also for academic 
philosophers) K was THE pointman of all recent philosophy, & therefore more 
than just at the leading edge of it.  I show in my philosophical work that K 
was setting a new standard for how philosophy is to be made in the future, at 
least for centuries to come, & why the way philosophy has been done hitherto 
does not work at all, as Nietszche, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, & others pointed 
out in very different ways.  The same statement of inadequacy can be made 
about various Asian philosophies, all of which are tainted by their being 
REGIONAL philosophies, with a mostly local appeal, one that relies on a 
certain tradition.  The very first time in the history of mankind when 
someone has given a teaching that is truly & uncompromisingly universal, is 
to be found in the work of J. Krishnamurti.  That work, as I document in my 
book, did not come from him, according to him.  According to K, the teaching 
came from the source that had been identified at the time of CWL & AB as 
"Maitreya."
I say all this about K's importance to philosophy (without which you cannot 
have any other discipline) only to point to the fact that what K said needs 
to be taken very seriously in itself, independently of any IDEAS one may have 
about what "Theosophy" is, or of one's notions of what an "avatar" should be.
But anyone who is promoting the adoration (in any form, at any level) of 
someone else's PERSONALITY, is promoting precisely the sort of dark teaching 
that has kept humanity in the dumps for much too long.  The time has come to 
put all that dangerous childishness behind us, & to start taking 
responsibility for our lives, on a daily basis, without any appeal to any 
person, teaching, or organization.  That includes, of course, & most 
eminently, K & whatever he said.  It is each of us who has to face error, 
misjudgment, danger -- our darker side, if you will.  And it is each of us 
who can only make it possible for there to be a transformation such as would 
help bring about a veritable new era for humankind.
For whatever it's worth, my present perception of the notion of the avatar 
(which is constantly subject to revision, since I'm a researcher, not a 
spinner of theories) goes more or less as follows:  I totally agree with what 
HPB & her teachers said, to the effect that the new "X" (call it the avatar, 
the new race, the new human type, or whatever else, along those lines) is not 
about a person, whether that person is a Planetary Spirit (as the Masters 
referred to such avatars), or an ordinary person, such as you or I.  The 
transformation is one "in human consciousness," as HPB put it, as quoted in 
my book.  That is, the "avatar" is not so much a PERSONALITY, as a moment of 
transformation for all of humanity.  Yes, that phenomenon may & does manifest 
itself primarily through one human being.  But I totally agree with what you 
say, that such a phenomenon would be likely to manifest itself through 
numerous forms just at the time period in which humanity is ready for the 
grand transformation.  This means that, as I understand it as of now, all the 
New Age teachers ("avatars" or not) manifest that quality in some form, 
however limited.  HPB, Alice Bailey, Nicholas Roerich, all manifested that 
avataric moment, at some level.  So did Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, & 
Shirley McLaine.  That also includes all talk show hosts.
But by far the most serious aspect of all this is whether one personally sees 
the tremendous, once-in-a-planetary-chain opportunity we all have RIGHT NOW, 
& which will no longer be here very soon, when that crack in the door that 
has been ajar since HPB's time, will be slammed shut.  The opportunity is 
simultaneously a profound responsibility each of us has to engage in that 
grand transformation, to the very best of our abilities.  We will not see an 
opportunity like this for thousands of years, once the door is shut, which 
ought to happen within the lifetimes of many of us.  As the Master KH put it, 
referring to "the Planetary spirits, those who can no longer err":

"But these appear on Earth but at the origin of every NEW human kind; at the 
junction of, and close of the two ends of the great cycle." (ML, letter IX, 
also SD & CW references below.)

We are told by the same source elsewhere that precisely such a cycle would 
begin after the year 1897:

"...the end of the first Kali Yuga cycle (1897), and a few years beyond, as 
the smaller dark cycle happens to overlap the great one."  (SD, 
"controversial" Adyar edition of 1971, v. 5, p. 466; see also CW, v. 12, pp. 
600-602).

And as the same source clarifies in the previous page of the above reference:

"The truths revealed to man by the "Planetary Spirits" ... who will appear on 
earth as Avataras only at the beginning of every new human Race, and at the 
junctions or close of the two ends of the small and great cycles..."  (SD, v. 
5, p. 465, CW, v. 12, pp. 600-602)

That is, HPB & her teachers are telling us here that there WOULD BE an 
avataric manifestation during the 20th Century.  This was not told publicly 
to anyone, & was not taught or written clearly anywhere.  But in my research, 
which includes a book on this exact subject, I show that CWL & AB were 
stating the plain truth, when they said this was the main reason why the TS 
was founded.  In fact, the above quote is followed a few lines later by this 
statement:

"Those units among you who will have raised themselves on the "Path" over 
their fellow-students, in their Esoteric sphere, will, as the "Elect" spoken 
of did and do in the Parent Brotherhoods, receive the last explanatory 
details and the ultimate key to what they learn."

Since the only ones among HPB's & the Master's disciples who ever spoke of 
this later were CWL & AB, it seems obvious that this passage refers to them.  
They did indeed have information that was totally unknown by everyone else in 
the TS (perhaps with literally a handful of exceptions).  To this day (as 
witness remarks made by various "old" Theosophists disparaging CWL, even in 
these theosophical lists), the vast majority of those who know anything about 
these subjects, believe there is absolutely no evidence, one way or the 
other, to support the claims made by CWL & AB in this regard.  Yet I have now 
shown in my research that there is solid evidence suggesting that CWL & AB 
were but stating the plain truth.  The quotes above, even by themselves, 
ought to show to everyone except the most bigoted & obtuse, that CWL & AB 
must indeed have had a direct connection with the Masters.  Otherwise they 
could not have known this.  Please recall that when they were called on (by 
"concerned citizen" Theosophists) to show proofs of their claims regarding 
the avatar & related teachings being the reason why the TS was started, they 
always gave very lame quotes from HPB, quotes that did not really address 
this issue squarely, such as those to be found at the end of the Key to 
Theosophy.
So it seems that Leadbeater & Besant did not know themselves that the 
documented evidence was there.  Or perhaps they did know it was there, but 
had been told by the Masters not to give it out, so that everyone would have 
to exercise their own intuition, rather than rely on "scriptures" (the SD, et 
al) badly read.  Whatever the "explanation" for their not knowing the 
evidence WAS there, the fact remains that they must have had such a contact 
with the Masters, since they could not have gotten this information from any 
other source.
The significance of the return of an avatar, according to the same sources, 
is given in the same passage, which they place in italics, for great emphasis:

"This is done so as to warrant them [the eternal truths] from being lost or 
entirely forgotten in ages hereafter by the forthcoming generations."

If I read that right, it's telling us that what really matters about an 
avataric manifestation is not any person, put THE TEACHING, the message, 
which one must inscribe in letters of fire upon one's own heart, in daily 
life.  Otherwise, it is not THAT teaching.  A teaching that is merely words & 
following a system or a method, is related to theosophical truths only in a 
very peripheral way.  As they say, again in the same passage:

"The mission of the Planetary Spirit is but to strike the KEYNOTE OF TRUTH.  
When once he has directed the vibration of the latter to run its course 
uninterruptedly along the concatenation of the race to the end of the cycle, 
he disappears from our earth until the following Planetary Manvantara."

As I said above, such a moment is close to happening, as we speak.  
Everything that we are now taking for granted, childishly assuming it will be 
here tomorrow, will be gone.  When that happens -- & everything all around 
us, & not only HPB, is screaming out loud, telling us that it will -- ALL we 
each will have is ourselves.  So what really matters is whether 
transformation is taking place in our lives right now.  All this talk of 
avatars, like ALL TALK, while fascinating at a shallower level, needs to be 
put aside at some point, at which point one resolutely & definitively moves 
along with the extraordinarily unique avataric moment, and get with it about 
the only thing that really matters, ultimately.  So let's engage in 
transformation, which comes from the silence and is in the silence, and is 
not related to any of these words.
With love,
Aryel

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