Theos-Talk Archives (February 2002 Message tt00127)

Wednesday, February 06, 2002


Dear Adelasie:

Let me put some notes below. See if they help.

Best wishes, as always,

Dallas

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


-----Original Message-----
From: adelasie [mailto:adelasie@surfari.net]
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 4:37 PM
To:
Subject: Re: Adepts - Masters - Mahatmas -- HOW THEY WORK


Dear Dallas,

Thank you very much for posting this two part series of quotes on
the subject of the Masters. Reading through them a few
comments/questions come to mind, which I am inserting in
relevent places below.

> "...the [ Theosophical ] movement has grown in consequence of
the
> effort of those who are devoted to an ideal, inspired by
enthusiasm,
> filled with a lasting gratitude to H. P. Blavatsky. Their ideal
is the
> service of Humanity, the ultimate potential perfectibility of
man as
> exemplified by the Masters and Adepts of all ages, including
the
> present." WQJ ART II 21

We can find many examples in daily life of the inner ideal in
most
people. Certainly when there is some catastrophe, that ideal
becomes manifest, as people risk their own safety to help those
affected, whom they don't even know. Is it not this inner man who
knows his origin in the center of compassion who directs such
heroism in times of supreme stress? We can see in such acts of
selflessness portents of a time when we will all recognize our
interrelatedness and interdependence in our mundane existence as
well.

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

DTB	I would suggest tracing the source of compassion.

Is it not based on the essential SPIRITUAL UNITY of all? Is it
due to the spontaneous attitude of a recognition of the
imperishable spirit present in each brother unit?

Is it not therefore also generosity, protection, and a
large-hearted concern at all time for every being?

In terms of our limited physical perception the atom is so small
it seems unimportant. Theosophy says it is an eternal dynamic
unit, and, within its sphere, are the potentials of the entire
universe -- so "size" has nothing to do with it.

These are the "monads" or the "life-atoms" also called the
"skandhas," they are the building blocks of Nature, and on their
eternal pilgrimage there are the continual accretions of
experience we call "intelligence" (acquired through the
experience over aeons of time under "natural impulse") and when
the human or thought and mind-reflective state of the pilgrimage
is entered, then the general CONSCIOUSNESS." becomes
Self-consciousness (or an awareness of the inner SELF -- the
SPIRIT or ATMA.) The next step in the ladder is to proceed from
self-consciousness to UNIVERSAL self-consciousness. And for
that, all the wisdom of the Universe and our earth, have to be
detected, examined and experienced, and the accurate memory of
all that detail and the necessary correlations has to be stored
for ready use, in the mind-chambers of the akasa (an aspect of
Buddhi) within the ever expanding MONAD.

But you know this well. It also occurs to me that when we reach
a certain stature of wisdom -- which we might think of now, as
the growth of LOWER MANAS and the control of Kama, we are faced
with the questions asked at the end of the VOICE OF THE
SILENCE -- are we going to remain "unselfish" till the "endless
end" and continue to help others?

Or are we going to retire into a condition of selfish bliss --
and avoid the pains and sorrows of continued embodiment and of
repeated incarnation ? Shall we, as "bodhisattvas," in that
distant future, become "Nirvanees" and "Pratyekha Buddhas" (of
selfishness) or shall we elect to become Nirmanakayas and
Mahatmas (when incarnated) so that we may actively help evolution
and mankind in particular. [These words are defined in the T.
Glossary ]

In the 1st Vol. of The SECRET DOCTRINE mention is made of the
hosts of Dhyanis of various kinds and levels, whose duty under
Karma and at that time, was to inform those "Monads" that were
ready to become the "humanity" of this Earth -- ourselves in that
earlier Round and Race,

I correlate that with what is said in SECRET DOCTRINE, Vol. II,
pp. 79 (bottom) about "returning Nirvanees" and "rebels." It
seems to me that there was some delay -- a lack of compassion? --
which caused a potion of those "spiritually advanced souls, or
Egos" to choose "rest" instead of continuing to be of active
assistance to others, weaker and more ignorant than themselves.

In The SECRET DOCTRINE, on p. 94 vol. II, at the very top,
mention is made of "Nirmanakayas from other Manvantaras" -- seems
like the same general idea. Then at the bottom of Vol. II,
p.109 - 110 we again have a veiled reference to this. See if you
get the same feeling about it that I do.

If Evolution is universal and the MONAD (as the eternal Pilgrim)
is central to that concept, then that immutable Monad draws ever
to itself the materials which, as a composite or aggregate --
like the skandhas -- agree to form a series of sensitive and
interactive bodies within its sphere of individualized Force.
And as all materials (?) are made of the same MONADIC ESSENCE
(ATMA-BUDDHI) then the sense of progressive, but always close
relationship, persists in our relations with others who are on
the same "level" as we are.

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


> "...what was long ago said--that "the Master would manage
> results" You must not manage, precipitate, nor force...By
> gentleness, detachment, strict attention to duty, and retiring
> now and then to the quiet place, bring up good
> currents...Remember it is through the little things the work is
> done through, for they are not noticed, while the lager ones
draw the
> eyes and minds of all...A steady mind and heart stands still
and quiet
> until the muddy stream rolls clear." WQJ LETTERS p. 84

I am reminded of the continual exhortation of the teachers to let
go
of attatchment to results of our actions.

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


DTB	That is what Krishna says to Arjuna all the way through the
BHAGAVAD GITA .

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

This is such a valuable lesson to try to incorporate into our
lives, for it makes unnecessary
so much of the useless stress we experience when we think we
know what should happen and try to make it so. It is based, of
course, on the fact that we are not fully conscious and don't
know
enough about the karmic configurations involved in any
circumstance to make wise decisions about how they should turn
out. And a little informed observation can show the student very
clearly that following one's own line of duty is the only thing
one
needs to do in order for all to happen as it should. What strong
evidence of the fact that greater intelligences than ours are
always
at work in human affairs.


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

DTB	QUITE TRUE But also refer to TRANSACTIONS OF THE BLAVATSKY
LODGE pp, 66 on to p. 78 (U L T Edition) [ BLAVATSKY:
Collected Works (TPH) Vol. 10, pp 252 onward] to see how this
relationship is a nightly matter when the waking consciousness is
asleep. It is said in summary there that the evolving Lower Manas
(in its higher aspects) "confabulates" with the HIGHER SELF.
This makes me thing that there are 2 Egos in Man. One is the
pupil and the other is the "tutor" But the TUTOR is only able to
give advice when asked. As the "pupil" advances in intelligence,
the questions it asks, become deeper and more probing as the
student in each of us realizes that we are linked with every
sentient part of the Universe, from its very "beginning." Our
limited consciousness, now expanding towards the horizon of
infinite wisdom, strives to master the keys to its own nature,
and the causes of the vicissitudes it meets in living.
Immortality, Karma and Reincarnation along with the Goal of
Supreme Perfection are the concepts we are now considering.

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


> "This is the royal knowledge, the royal mystery, the most
> excellent purifier, clearly comprehensible, not opposed to
sacred law,
> easy to perform and inexhaustible..."All this universe is
pervaded by
> me in my invisible form; all things exist in me, but I do not
exist
> in them. Nor are all things in me; behold this my divine
mystery:
> myself causing all things to exist and supporting them all but
> dwelling not in them. Understand that all things are in me
even as
> the mighty air which passeth everywhere is in space...at the
end of a
> kalpa all things return into my nature, and then again at the
> beginning of another kalpa I cause them to evolve again.
Taking
> control of my own nature I emanate again and again this whole
> assemblage of beings, without their will, by the power of the
material
> essence (Prakriti)..." GITA P. 64-5

Could you elaborate a bit on the statement, "All this universe is
pervaded
by me in my invisible form, all things exist in me, but I do not
exist in them."
This statement has puzzled me, since I understood that the inner
world is the center of all existence, and that in the hierarchy
of
being, all exists within the one. How is it then that the one
does
not exist in all?

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

DTB SPIRIT and the ABSOLUTE are universal. But personal or
individual awareness of this fact is always a matter of
experience and thought on impersonal and non-selfish lines.
Apparently the group consciousness of many monads of lesser
experience enables one among them to advance to the threshold of
conscious self awareness (which we call human intelligence) and
thence to the stage of Universal Wisdom which we think of as
"adeptship" -- of becoming consciously ONE WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE
UNIVERSE -- the process is self determined and self-controlled
discipline along moral grounds, and the best expression of that,
is, as you say constantly: compassion, and, I would say:
brotherhood in all possible respects and degrees.

Krishna is the "personification," as an avatar, of MAHA-VISHNU
the "ETERNAL PRESERVER" who encompasses those two other aspects
of the "Trimurti," the continually moving, evolutionary "cycles"
in which Brahma personates the "creator" (of forms), and Siva is
that power of recreation that, first, acts to disperse the
elements of form, and is thus called, the "destroyer" (of forms).

Krishna is the HIGHER SELF (ATMA) of all humans, and of Arjuna,
his pupil (which is our HIGHER MANAS (or Buddhi-Manas) .
Krishna is not "personal" nor is he a "personal "God." He is
simply embodied wisdom. Also in a practical way he exemplifies
the perfection of action. Detachment, while performing all
necessary actions. He renounces "interest in the fruits
(results) of all actions." He repeatedly asks Arjuna to also do
this, if he want to become a performer of wise actions, and raise
himself to becoming the perfect devotee.

The principles of the Bhagavad Gita are the same today, as when
5,000
years ago, Krishna, the primeval teacher, took advantage of the
opening of a closing cycle that allowed Him to return to the
stage of
the Earth. As an incarnation of the Universal Self, as an
example of
the perfection that all men can attain, and for the help and the
instruction of his many chelas, which Arjuna represented.
Krishna
reincarnated voluntarily as a prince who used the disguise of a
shepherd--a divine shudra.
Krishna is the ancient name of the undying, universal Spirit.
This
Spirit radiates "a portion of" Itself in countless millions of
"rays,"
each having a potency identical with that One Source, and each
"ray"
has, in turn, accepted the burden of being again enveloped by
matter
so that it may assist in the evolution of self-consciousness in
each
unit of that "substance." It supports and guides evolution
individually and collectively. It is that which preserves and
continually circulates the creative life-force (jiva) that unites
all
beings. "It" (or as Krishna, "HE") lives in the hearts of all,
and
therefore is our own true center. He resides in our own heart.
He is
not "outside," nor is He a remote, an abstract "Deity," or "a
jealous
God" that is to be feared and propitiated by empty words and
ceremonies in some man-made temple. He is our very own Higher
Self,
the "Secret Self," which is the universal SELF, and has been
called,
more intimately, "the Self of all creatures."

Arjuna (or Nara), also a prince, represents each of us as a Soul,
a
Thinker. He also represents symbolically, the whole of humanity.
Krishna (or Narayana) is the Divine, the Perfected Man. He is
the
spiritual guide, He is the Example of actual Success in attaining
the
Highest level of Universal Perfection. Therefore he is the
Inspirer
of all devotee-pupils. He is the original teacher of the
Vedanta. He
is that great Spirit, which is seated as "the Ego in the hearts
of all
beings." Krishna is called a poorna avatar, or an embodiment of
the
consciousness of the Universe, the One Spiritual
Being--Mahavishnu
(that One who is the supporter and container of All, the embodied
Wisdom, and the primeval Sage). [ See SD I 207-210. ]
Arjuna, prince of India, represents in ourselves the "man-mind,"
or
the embodied mind: It is, therefore, the highest aspect of the
Lower
Manas. This mind works with and through the brain. Through that
instrument and its astral counterpart it mixes and mingles with
every
aspect of the "Personality." Under the influence of the One
Consciousness which unites it to the highest at the further end,
the
embodied mind, Kama-Manas is endowed with self-consciousness,
Ahankara, or "awareness of his separate being." It is the basis
for
selfishness. He can say: "I am I." He can hold a dialog within,
between the two aspects of his own mind: the "Lower Manas"
(Arjuna)
discussing "right action" with Krishna (the "Higher Self)".
Arjuna, like us all, is three-fold: body, soul, and
Spirit--each
aspect being conscious on its own plane, as well as be-ing aware
of
the other two on theirs. He is aware that each rep-resents an
aspect
or is a mixture of the 3 universal qualities: Sattva (Truth,
Spirit,
Goodness), Rajas (energy, activity, forcefulness), and Tamas
(inertia,
sloth, laziness). In total: seven. In this way, "man" is called
a
"miniature Universe," and concentrates in himself every power to
be
found in It. It is the development of the control of these
powers and
qualities that forms the subject of true occultism, or
wisdomism--the
"Song of Living" the Gita.
What is the Importance of the Bhagavad Gita ?

Its wisdom is seen in our minds as a logic that arouses our
intuition, our own responsive heart-wisdom. It therefore uses
ideas
and sounds which reach the heart of listener, evoking practical
idealism and altruism. As an allegory, it illustrates
cooperative
life.
In the rhythms of the verses used will be found an echo of those
universal and eternal laws which frame the harmony of the
Universe.
They affect our whole being and help to make us powerful for good
to
others. Hence it is chanted--or, sung. Hence, it is also
called:
"The Song of the Lord." Hence, unselfishness, sacrifice and
compassion are the natural expression of those key qualities,
welded
into a unit by the "iron" will which lead to man's perfection of
understanding and wisdom.
What is the Human Situation ?
Wisdom is a statement of nature's condition. It resides in the
innate, spiritual Self, and speaks to the human situation. We,
as
Mind-Ego, using the embodied mind, reflect from within into our
physical brain-consciousness a portion of the light of Eternal
Wisdom.
We as brain-minds (Lower Manasic beings) have to choose to
achieve a
greater purity in daily life, so that we may better understand
and
reflect It, and more faithfully fit ourselves to offer It to
others
who are seeking for It.
This requires from us, as personality, what has been called "the
sacrifice of knowledge." We have to discipline ourselves to
become
students of the environment. Our Karma, works through Nature,
and it
places before us situations which we chose earlier. "Arjuna" is
each
one of us. We are not isolated. We are part of a great and
glorious
army of disciples. Each is able to sacrifice his apparent
isolation,
his selfish nature to do those needful and compassionate works
where
he is at present, on behalf of the Great Law.
What are the Metaphysical Implications ?
The Sun (Spiritual Source of life for us and our solar system),
whose
true glory it is impossible to "see" with our physical eye,
represents
the mysterious "Central Spiritual Sun," or Krishna in his
primeval and
Universal condition. The True Sun is hidden by a "vase of golden
light." It is remembered daily by all true Brahmins when they
repeat
the Gayatri verse. (WQJ Art. I 583.)
In Sanskrit "Krishna," means the "dark one;" or, occultly: he
who
stands as shield between the manifested and the Real. He is the
Pythagorean Petroma, the Interpreter of the True, and he absorbs,
in
his compassion, the brilliance of the 'Central Spiritual Sun,'
thus
shielding all creatures from the destructive light of truth
complete,
while preserving the many planes of living and experience in the
field
of the Universe, in which all beings evolve. This field, as a
whole,
is Intelligence. The "One Consciousness" that gives each being
its
sense of identity at the level where it lives. It also serves to
unite the opposing poles of "Spirit" and "matter" at all points,
and
is the conduit of rapport between every living creature and the
rest.
In man this uniting agent is the Mind, linked to the emotional,
feeling nature. [SD II 79-80]
Krishna, the Higher Self is Pushan He is the one who holds the
"vase of golden light" He is that power within that shields our
embodied minds and personality from the "Sun" of the One Spirit
until
such time as we become one with Him and are able to become a
conscious
portion of that protective "shadow," and thus protect and shade
others. This is one of the interpretations suggested by the
Gayatri
verse, used every morning by all true disciples, to recall to the
awakening memory the source, oneness and purpose of living. It
is
also symbolic of the eternal and indestructible form which the
devotee
is ever constructing for his use, transmuting it out of living
matter
which he attracts to himself as a basis, while studying, testing
and
applying these doctrines.
Krishna and Vishnu (the force of preservation, of continuity--of
reincarnation and karma) are one. Vishnu is that aspect of the
triple
World of Spiritual Energy in manifestation called symbolically:
Brahma-Vishnu-Siva, or the conjoined and eternal powers of
creation,
preservation and regeneration. These rebecome active after every
grand cycle of Pralaya (general rest and dispersal of forms--not
annihilation), comes to its close and the manifested Universe
awakens
to a new "Day" to resume its interrupted development.
It is the Eternal "Vishnu" who places and enlivens the seeds of
past
karma for all beings that were alive and "awake" at the close of
the
last Manvantara. This "seed" finds itself placed by Nature
symbolically in the "womb" of Brahma, the "creator enveloped in
his
protective Egg." It is he who returns them to active awareness
and
through "Natural Impulse" rejoins each individual "spirit" in
time and
space to its skandhas, those material vestures that provide it
with
the appropriate vehicle so that it may resume its interrupted
work and
pilgrimage in the planes of materiality..

When a great cycle closes, he, as Siva dances the entire
assemblage
of manifested worlds into pralaya or "rest." The polarity of
all and
energies and forces of all the beings involved in evolution are
carefully preserved and then wrapped in slumber, so that each may
reappear when the Maha-Yogi (great Initiator) regenerates them,
dancing them back into the vortices of life in the new "day," so
that
each may resume its evolution. A fresh Manvanatara begins.
The rhythms of time cycles, and the ever on-going purposiveness
of
Life, sweeps all living beings forward without any exceptions.
This
fact is the source of the teaching: "nothing ever dies." It is
only
rested, transformed and reborn so as to continue its appointed
work.
Every being in the Universe is in very truth an "Eternal
Pilgrim."
Every morning our awakening symbolizes in a small way this great
event. Hence, the first thoughts of morning should be
significant
ones.

I hope this may prove to be useful,

Best wishes,

Dallas



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Best wishes as always,
Adelasie