Theos-Talk Archives (May 2001 Message tt00079)

Friday, May 11, 2001

Dear Alan:

Glad to read your comments -- which are similar to many of us
when we began to read and study Theosophy -- particularly ISIS
UNVEILED.

The feeling of awe at the immensity of coverage and the depth of
scholarship is indeed overwhelming. I think the next effort is
to codify one's discoveries -- and yes, the actual books are
necessary. If possible get photo-copies of the ORIGINAL EDITIONS
(unfortunately some students following H.P.B.'s death proceeded
to edit them -- her articles and the S.D., and as a result
meanings have been subtly changed from her ORIGINALS.)

But one fundamental principle I will ask you to constantly recall
is: We are all equals. Some may have started (in this life)
ahead of others, but that gives no one any special consideration
or stature. We are all brother seekers after Truth. The basis
for this is the "MONAD", which, in evolution is an indissoluble
compound (a "ray" if you please, of the UNIVERSAL ONE SPIRIT and
a speck (?) of PRIMORDIAL MATTER ( Buddhi) -- thus the "Monad"
is ATMA-BUDDHI. It is this which is and makes our consciousness
that of an immortal.

It is this indissoluble point of CONSCIOUSNESS that is the
immortal "Life-giver" in each of us; and to IT we resort, when
we say "I" or "We." As an "Eternal Pilgrim" it has always been
voyaging, and discovering every incarnation, fresh dimensions of
experience, relationships and the Laws that underlie every aspect
of the Universe. Each life is linked to the past ones and there
is a continuity of consciousness, awareness, the sense of "I"
(EGOSHIP - or INDIVIDUALITY) and from this is derived our
character and our capacities, talents, etc... or the lack of some
of them in us. We have been literally "making ourselves" for
uncounted aeons.

Theosophy invites the sternest and most strict probing. Nothing
is to be taken on "authority" or on "faith." Nature (the
Universe) has always existed as the VAST WHOLE. So all
individual experience has been always added to the common fund
(sometimes named AKASA or MAHA (great) BUDDHI.).

Another concept: that of Reincarnation is vital to our study
because it holds that all of us emanate from the ONE
CONSCIOUSNESS (we are all brothers) and as such, having
"descended into the moils and toils of "Matter" we have become
embroiled in its confusions.

The goal is therefore to clarify confusion, learn to think
logically and with exactness, and then proceed to elevate our
concepts of LAW and of ETHICS. I say ethics deliberately as
those are applications we can make individually (without any
exterior coercion) of universal and impersonal Laws. In no way
is the study and practice of Theosophy ever considered to be that
of some regulatory "church."
Although there are many "Theosophical Societies," these were
instituted so as to provide impartial, impersonal and
non-coercive forums. These were meeting places and times set in
a regular pattern, where students could meet, discuss their
findings, or doubts and questions,. And thus learning from each
other and the basic Philosophy, they might thus secure the
impartial and disinterested views of others on their own subjects
of interest. Over the course of years, in various places and
ways, there have been some departures from this concept.

These Laws are the support that Nature (the living Universe)
gives us unstintingly and generously. Our choices mark the level
of our increments in understanding and application. Each builds
on their own "capital," so to say. In doing this we assist
countless life-units" (you will find the: THE SECRET DOCTRINE
these are called "Monads" [ units of combined Spirit / Matter ]
as discussed above

. They are also our brothers though being more recently emerged
from the universal "Monadic Essence" they have less experience
than we. Our relationship implies our duty of assistance -- to
be freely given to them.

Mme. Blavatsky brings this out in the KEY TO THEOSOPHY. Her
faithful pupil Mr. Wm. Q. Judge
Wrote a synopsis of THE SECRET DOCTRINE titled THE OCEAN OF
THEOSOPHY. It is worth reading (180 pages) as a preliminary to
studying the S.D.

http://www.blavatsky.net has a "On line" bookshop and standard
Theosophical texts can be had fro them there. I raise one
caution. Always try and secure a PHOTOGRAPHIC REPRINT of the old
texts. I say this because after H.P.B.'s death some of her
"followers" took it upon themselves to amend and edit her
writings -- producing confusion as to meaning as a result

Let me put some notes below.

Best wishes

Dallas

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

-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Williams [mailto:alwilli@iafrica.com]
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2001 4:39 AM
To: dalval14@earthlink.net
Subject: Re: Theos-World RE: New to List

Hi dalval14,

My name is Dallas TenBroeck

Thursday, 10 May, 2001, you wrote:

> Dear Alan:


> As you see we are an informal group here, and we exchange
notes,
> comments, questions, etc., without too much formality. Our
> basis is one that is unusual: We look on ourselves as "old
> souls" in new bodies. The physiological age and learning of
this
> incarnation is no index to the capacity of innate intelligence
we
> all possess to some degree. So in effect we act as old friends
> that correspond in an easy and non-formal way. We are all
> "seekers for Truth." The search for, and then the service of
>....snipped....

Yes I see it now. Upon looking over my first post I quite clearly
see
that I was projecting my expectations unfairly and that because
what I
read in I U fired me with a renewed feeling for life I wished
that all
I came across were feeling what I feel.

Of course, the hugeness of the responsibility and the difficulty
of
the road ahead must still bring me back to earth and a thorough
reappraisal of all I am and a sober assessment of what is
practically
possible for me is still to come. When it does I might feel a
little
foolish when regarding what I wrote.

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

DTB Don't bother and don't be too sensitive. As
friends, from old times and the future, we may write each other
without the usual courtesies or tact and possibly in our
enthusiasm we treat others as though we had always known them.

Yes, when one becomes acquainted with the relationships exposed
in ISIS UNVEILED one cannot help being awed -- as the
relationships of various disparate aspects of the word and our
experience seem to fall into an order we were not up to now aware
of. Many have had the same reaction. A friend once made a
curious but very sincere observation: "The highest [path] is
that which goes with little variation, but few are strong enough
to keep up the never ceasing strain. Time alone and many ages of
service can give that strength...."

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


> As you have read through ISIS UNVEILED you noticed that
> additional proofs and information was given to reinforce this
> approach. It shed that the whole history of our world is
> involved in this continuous process -- as is the rest of the
> Universe however near or remote.

What struck me so forcefully was the sheer irrefutability of
ISIS's
case against established and dogmatic science and religion
coupled
with such a majestic idea of the interrelatedness of everything
that
just seemed SO RIGHT, despite my having no further proof of it
than
what I was reading.

On the one hand one has to agree entirely in the wrong beingness
of
the present world, on the other hand one is offered this
gigantic,
sweeping, towering alternative. The choice is obvious, but also
very
intimidating.

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

DTB Our world is not entirely wrong, but it has been
shunted into areas where a clear perception of responsibility has
been dulled.

1. We are not told we are IMMORTALS on a pilgrimage
and that we all have a common Goal -- which some have termed
"perfection." This would appear in the future to mean a thorough
understanding of the Laws and regulations of Nature -- and, a
voluntary compliance by us -- because intellectually we will have
seen their virtue.

2. Everyone will ultimately have a chance to opt for
a well conducted life. As Immortals we do this sooner or later
when we wake up to this universal fact. We are learning that
"virtues" are practical and in fact the only way to elevate
ourselves.

3. We are not told with adequate emphasis that there
are in place Universal LAWS -- immutable Laws -- which regulate
every aspect of our lives and Living (Morality and Ethics mark
the sensitive response of Nature to all our personal choices and
actions). Nature insures the compensatory balance (good and
evil) of all our thoughts, feelings, words and deeds. We cannot
secure preferment or "excusing." We are the only ones who can
atone and recompense anyone whom we may have made our victims.
We receive in return any generosities we may have offered
spontaneously and without ulterior motives.

4. We are all evolving together. The Life-atom that
animates a grain of sand is a potential Man -- in ages to come,
when He/it are half way through the great Pilgrimage. The Man as
CONSCIOUSNESS is gradually widening his area of perception and
sensitivity in all departments of Nature so as to encompass the
Universe -- he becomes the Universal Man.


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


> If you would like to review and use the basic information
> concerning the interior makeup of a human being -- as Theosophy
> presents it, then read / study Mme. Blavatsky's THE KEY TO
> THEOSOPHY. [ It is also available "on line" through
> http://www.blavatsky.net ]
> Ask what questions you will, there will always be someone ready
> to assist or to point to some basic concept whereby you can
> develop your own views.

Thank you I will do appreciate everyone's responses. I have
already
downloaded most of the stuff. I have my own 1938 edition copy of
ISIS
UNVEILED which I picked up about 20 years ago when the university
library was turfing out its old books. Strange that though I knew
I
would not attempt to read it then (all those Greek and Hebrew
words
and Latin quotes), that I would one day. So the two
volumes survived all my library cleanouts. Well when I picked up
volume
One a few months ago and read a few pages, something clicked. I
am now
seeking an outlet to purchase the SD in Port Elizabeth, South
Africa,
because though online copies are a great boon, I need to flick
back
and forth, returning to previous pages and chapters to check or
confirm something I've read and for that I must have paper.

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

DTB That is a good way to go, if you want to be ready
in the future to assist others in their studies, and yourself in
keeping straight the principles explained in theosophical
literature,

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

> In Theosophy, unlike any other system I know of, the emphasis
is
> on self-effort.

I believe utterly that nothing can be done except by self-effort,
probably only through super-effort.


> 2. No INTELLIGENCE ever "dies" or is "destroyed." It has
its
> roots in the imperishable and universal ONE SPIRITUAL base --
or

No intelligence, but surely many egos dissolve back into their
constituent parts.

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

At each point we name "death," the FORM is dissolved as "form,"
back into its constituent material realm. However, according to
Theosophy, there is always in it an "impression" (call it a
residual "memory") of what it has done, where it has been, and
what its associations are. In fact one may say that the whole
basis for Karma, resides in those components (now dispersed) but
later, able to be reassembled so as to make the "new form" into
which the Immortal EGO (MONAD) may reincarnate.
I seem to be giving an extensive review of main Theosophical
basics -- excuse my enthusiasm, please

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

> One may broadly divide the "Eternal Pilgrims" which we all are
> into three classes:

> 1. Yet to be men (or not yet conscious of the spiritual self
> within);

This is very interesting for me. To begin one must first be
conscious
of the connection with spirit within. But it is not just a matter
of
some quiet contemplations in order to attain this consciousness.
It
appears that it is far more difficult to attain this
consciousness than
at first appears and that possibly a great deal of preparation
must be
done before one even thinks of attaining this super-huge goal.

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

DTB We are all innately endowed with the faculty,
SPIRIT being at the base of our existence and nature. The
incarnated Mind is a reflection of the SPIRITUAL MIND (also
resident in the Eternal Monad that is our basic SELF). The
"incarnated mind: is what you and I and everyone else uses when
awake, aware and active. It is not "perfected yet," but, rather
is on the way to becoming so if we desire and WILL it so to
become. We (the spiritual Self) is the ruler of ourselves,
providing the "incarnated Mind" desires an permits it. A curious
psychological paradox. It implies there are two Egos in Man :
HIGHER and SUPERIOR, and its "mirror," the incarnated
"brain-mind."

When, as you narrate, one wakes up to the universal magnificence
of the description IU gives of forces and powers active in the
invisible side of Nature (and ourselves) -- things hardly ever
mentioned or suspected -- we begin the process of
self-introspection.

To put it in another way, The HIGHER ASPECT of the EMBODIED MIND
starts to seek for its "PARENT" -- we can call this the WISE
MIND, which has access to the Universal Vision.

We realize we can hold a dialog with ourself -- if we give time
to such an effort -- which is the beginning of true ACTIVE
meditation. [ I do not know if you are at all familiar with the
old Indian text the BHAGAVAD GITA -- in that the Teacher ( named
therein Krishna, or our HIGHER MIND and SELF) answers questions
posed by the "pupil" (named Arjuna in the narrative -- or the
embodied Mind in all Mankind). The difference between idealism
as theory and idealism in life practice is made clear and the
principles of universality, impersonality, service, generosity --
all virtues. It gives a wide range of general experience to use
as "pegs" on which to file our observations concerning our own
psychological makeup.

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


>......

> We have eternity before us (in other bodies no doubt) to learn
in
> and while we ought not to "waste time," the necessity for

Well, I still have to come to a graspable understanding of the
great
cycles and what the limits of say a day of Brahma are. For
example it
appears that after this day is the equally long night. Is it that
by
the end of this day all human embodied Sparks must have either
through
self-effort earned a place on the next highest plane or must
return to
source, or does this happen over a longer cycle, say a year of
Brahma,
or even the longest I've come across, the 100 years of Brahma?

Or is it supposed to be inevitable that every human embodied
spark at
this time will in time achieve this?

I understand that as great as the cycles are there is a definite
Limit
and all egos who have not made the grade disintegrate, their
sparks
returning to source to await the start of another cycle.

So here we have the necessity for sparks of spirit to suffer
matter in
order to attain what? greater consciousness? But not the same
necessity
for egos. Some or many egos become fused with spirit and in some
way
maintain an individual identity, despite being one with all,
however
many more will perish... My mind starts boggling so I will halt
here.

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

DTB Yes our mind used here and now is unaccustomed to
such large numbers -- because we have not thought of the vastness
of Life. Consider even our own physical body: Billions of cells
with limited intelligence are placed and agree to serve in
various pats of our living bodies. There is an interior
intelligence that guides them and a kind of individual and
growing intelligence in them that permits a harmony with their
fellows. We don't rally know how deep or wide this extends, and
medicine is just beginning to apprehend the vast nature of a
living balance of very dissimilar entities, conjoined so as to
permit the organization of a vaster intelligence in the world
that relates to our kind of CONSCIOUSNESS, which is on an
entirely different plane of perception form the mere physical.

Theosophy speaks of the electro-magnetic "Astral Body" on which
the atoms and physical molecules arrange themselves, then behind
that is another -- the "vital body" which some aspects of
investigation suspect as the cause of the balance between health
and disease. The psychological sciences then relate their
discoveries and investigations to the nature of the psychic
self -- of desires, wishes, antipathies, needs, passions, etc...

Associated with this level of perception is the Mind. And this
is dual (as said above) the SPIRITUAL (Individual and "Higher")
and the BRAIN MIND which works with the "astral brain" in which
the sensations and impressions of our living are impacted -- and
offered in forms of electro-magnetic vibrations of great
complexity -- :translation" if you please -- for the INNER
PERCEIVER to consider and judge the responses that the personal
vehicle (physical body) is to make.

Better start with the basics and hold to them for a while before
being bewildered by ALREADY EXISTING DETAILS.

One has to realize that NATURE (the Universe whether visible or
invisible) has been in existence as an organized whole for
uncountable years. It holds and provides everything needed for
the living and continued learning of an enormous host of
intelligences -- some of these are below Human intelligence and
some are far advanced above the human levels.

Yet it all makes ONE GREAT WHOLE, in Time, space and living. One
might call our present Universe the result of the ever-active
"CAUSE OF DIVINE PERFECTION." Nothing is ever excluded, but a
generous and charitable "hand" is ever extended so that every
unit may at some time, sooner or later become WISE.


Best wishes to you in your further studies. Will be glad to hear
from you.

DTB

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

> queries. This "Group," and those who "participate on this
> Internet List," try to do that, and observe the principles
> outlined as best they are able.

I thank you for your kind words and guidance.

Best regards,
Alan

mailto:alwilli@iafrica.com





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