Theos-Talk Archives (May 2001 Message tt00091)

Jerry,

Looking back over your last two mails to me, you seem to want to ascribe
words to me that I did not write along with feelings and attitudes that I do
not feel. Quite why you wish to do this I do not know. Let's stick to the
issue itself, namely, your comments about what the Secret Doctrine teaches
and the passages I offered from the SD which do not appear to support your
view. At your request I have re-worded some of what I have written to help
you understand it. I had thought that to compare your statement with key
passages from the SD and Mahatma Letters would have been clear enough, but
never mind.

In passing, I acknowledge in your earlier post to someone else you were
writing about the Buddhist perspective. I felt you put that very well. It
was a good summary of that viewpoint and some of the key differences between
Theosophy and Buddhism.

However, I believe some of your comments about what the Secret Teaches are
mistaken. It is these alone that I addressed. Let me put your comments
again so we don't lose track of the issue. You wrote:

> According to the Secret Doctrine, we are
> all evolving as a racial stocks of one huge human
> life-wave, and we will all express each of the
> 7 principles per Round and Race, etc, etc. No work is
> necessary. You don't have to learn or do anything
> except to keep reincarnating for a few
> billion years and then you will be perfect.

The first part of your passage is correct in essence, the human life wave is
said to proceed through the rounds and races and in each round and race
there is a special emphasis on a particular principle, element, state of
consciousness & so on. But your notion that the Secret Doctrine teaches
that "no work is necessary... you don't have to do anything except to keep
reincarnating [etc]... to become perfect" does not agree with the Third
Fundamental Proposition of the SD nor a summary of the above process as
found in the Mahatma Letters.

The passage I quoted in my previous post is, in fact, the Third Fundamental
Proposition of the SD. It is not taken out of context at all. It indicates
that once a certain point in evolution is reached, further progress is only
made by much learning and self induced effort. Key phrases are in capital
letters.

"... no purely spiritual Buddhi (divine Soul) can have an independent
(conscious) existence before
the spark which issued from the pure Essence of the Universal Sixth
principle, -- or the OVER-SOUL, -- has (a) passed through every elemental
form of the phenomenal world of that Manvantara, and (b) acquires
individuality, FIRST BY NATURAL IMPULSE, AND THEN BY SELF-INDUCED EFFORTS
(CHECKED BY ITS KARMA), thus ascending through all the degrees of
intelligence, from the lowest to the highest Manas, from mineral and plant,
up to the holiest archangel (Dhyani-Buddha). THE PIVOTAL DOCTRINE OF THE
ESOTERIC PHILOSOPHY ADMITS NO PRIVILEGES OR SPECIAL GIFTS IN MAN, SAVE THOSE
WON BY HIS OWN EGO THROUGH PERSONAL EFFORT AND MERIT THROUGHOUT A LONG
SERIES OF METEMPSYCHOSES AND REINCARNATIONS."
(SD I17)

You are partly right with regards "you don't have to learn or do anything
except to keep reincarnating..." in that up until the third root race in
this Fourth Round the impetus behind the evolutionary journey through the
earlier kingdoms of nature (ie mineral to animal) is said to be by "natural
impulse". This is the downward arc of manifestation. But once this stage
is passed and the upward arc begins then "self induced efforts (checked by
its Karma)" are required if the "divine Soul" is to progress through the
human stage "up to the holiest archangel (Dhyani-Buddha)." This is so very
well expressed in the last sentence of the passage above as "the pivotal
doctrine of the esoteric philosophy" - namely personal effort and merit is
required.

The passage from the Mahatma Letters I quoted gave a graphic description of
what faces the life wave of evolution as it reaches the bottom of the
downward arc in the fourth round and attempts the return, or upward, arc. I
repeat a short passage from what was offered before.

"... THE EGOS PURIFIED OF THEIR DROSS ARE ENABLED TO RESUME THEIR PROGRESS
ONCE MORE ONWARD. IT IS HERE, THEN, THAT THE LAGGARD EGOS PERISH BY THE
MILLIONS. IT IS THE SOLEMN MOMENT OF
THE 'SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST,' THE ANNIHILATION OF THOSE UNFIT." (Mahatma
Letter No 9, signed KH)

The above clearly states that a struggle is required and millions of egos
perish in the process. Perfection is not assured simply by repeated
reincarnations.

The theme of struggle and personal effort *carries on* through all the 4th
Round and the future 5th Round as stated in another letter by KH. Referring
initially to the 4th Round, 4th Race (the lowest point of the evolutionary
arc), he writes:

"... it is but in the latter half [of the 4th Race] that the Spiritual Ego
will begin its real struggle with the body and mind to manifest its
transcendental powers. Who will help mankind in the forthcoming struggle?
Who? Happy the man who helps a helping hand?"

Clearly the Mahatma is referring to a struggle that is ahead of us, it is
not all in the past ie in previous races. With reference to the future 5th
Round, KH continues:

"The same relative development, and the same struggle continues."
(Mahatma Letter No. 14, signed KH)

Once again, the above does not support your suggestion that the Secret
Doctrine teaches "you don't have to learn or do anything except keep
reincarnating for a few billion years.. to be perfect"

KH continues his passage (ML 9, above) by referring to those who win through
this critical stage and who ...

"... WILL ASCEND FROM STAR TO STAR, FROM ONE WORLD TO ANOTHER, CIRCLING
ONWARD TO
RE-BECOME THE ONCE PURE PLANETARY SPIRIT,..."

But even up to the stage of rebecoming the "once pure planetary spirit"
(Dhyan Chohan) there is still the possibility of failure, as pointed out in
another letter from that same teacher.

"Now there are - there must be "failures" in the etherial races of the many
classes of Dhyan Chohans or Devas as well as among men. But ... these
failures are too far progressed and spiritualized to be thrown back forcibly
from their Dhyan Chohanship into the vortex of a new primordial evolution
through the lower kingdoms - this then happens...."
(Mahatma Letter No. 14, signed KH)

This reference to failures among men and failures among even "progressed and
spiritualized" Dhyan Chohans clearly suggests, yet again, that perfection is
far from assured just by virtue of continual reincarnation for billions of
years.

In the Key to Theosophy we also find HPB drawing our attention to the idea
that the future is not assured.

"The future state and Karmic destiny of man depend on whether Manas
gravitates more downward to Karma Rupa, the seat of animal passions, or
upwards to BUDDHI, the spiritual EGO."
(KEY TO THEO, p92)

Jerry, if you are going to reply to this mail, please keep to the main
point - ie, does the Secret Doctrine really teach the view you say it does,
namely, that:

> "No work is
> necessary. You don't have to learn or do anything
> except to keep reincarnating for a few
> billion years and then you will be perfect.

It may be that other students hold the same view as yourself, or see it
differently to both of us. The question is what does the Secret Doctrine
and its authors HPB, KH and M actually teach, not whether we agree with it
or not.

It certainly is an important question, so hopefully other people will share
their views.

...Peter


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