Theos-Talk Archives (February 2002 Message tt00568)

Dear John Fossa:

With reference to your inquiry :

>Delivered-To: eldon@theosophy.com
>From: "John Fossa" <fosfun@digi.com.br>
>To: <review@theosophy.com>
>Subject: Info request
>Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:23:59 -0200
>X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200
>
>Dear Sirs:
>
> Can you tell me what Oriental Mind Science is and how it is
> interpreted by theosophy? I came across the term in writings
from the
> beginning of the 20th century (1909-1911), so any historical
slant you can
> give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much for any
assistance
> you may be able to provide.
>
> John A. Fossa
> <mailto:fosfun@digi.com.br>fosfun@digi.com.br


the following might be of use to you.


THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SYSTEM OF THE HINDUS


"The psychological system of the Hindus underlies every word of
this poem. We cannot afford to ignore anything that is connected
with the events of our lives. Mr. Judge proposes studying the
Bhagavad-Gita by the light of the spiritual lamp, which the
Spiritual Soul will feed and increase within us if we attend to
it and diligently inquire after it." [Gita Notes 2-5]


"Western psychology in its classifications refers solely to
mental states. The psychology of the Gita and the ancient sages,
classifies the moral states, treating the mental states as mere
effects produced by moral conditions.
[ Gita Notes, p. 197 ]


This psychology is based on:

1. recognizing that the immortal Spirit, the Monad
(Atma-Buddhi) is in every being; and in Man, it is his Higher
Self. The feelings, mind, body, habits and character are
evidence of the evolutionary experience we have passed through as
a form. The present sensitivity of our bodies and lower
faculties reveals to our inquiry, the quality of our development,
and our mastery of them.

2. We, therefore are not the "body, and its faculties." We are
an independent intelligence, a mind-soul, able to inquire into
our vehicle, the body, and our faculties and senses, our feelings
and our thoughts. Reincarnation of the mind-soul-Spirit, in
successive bodies, occurs under the sway of the universal and
impartial moral law, called Karma, which uniformly applies to all
beings. The Cosmos, World, Man, or an atom are all evidence of
the progressive growth of intelligence--of evolution.

3. We, as mankind, have been endowed with the faculty of
thinking, the mind-Soul. The sentiments, passions, desires and
instinct pertain to the development of the lower nature.
Superior to them is Mind. As a faculty it is midway between the
physical form, the personal self, and the immortal Spiritual
Individual (Atma-Buddhi-Manas). It, the independent mind
faculty, is that which is seeking to become an immortal.

For example if we consider the BHAGAVAD GITA we fund symbols are
used:

The physical nature is the "plain of Kurukshetra," where the
struggle for victory occurs. This struggle is universal. Every
human, as a focus for his own struggle, faces it at some level,
consciously or unconsciously. The physical body is symbolized by
Dhritarashtra, the blind King, who, because of his disability
places the effective rule of his kingdom in the hands of
Duryodhana, the symbol of the desire principle.

4. The BHAGAVAD GITA, looked on as a treatise in Oriental
psychology , is a record of the advice given by the Higher,
spiritual Self, as Krishna, a perfected Man.

Krishna, as the Higher Self in Man, draws on his universal
Vision, which includes study, experience, and achievement. And,
this divine advice is given according to the questions which
Arjuna (you and me, as minds) ask.

5. To progress--as a Man who desires wisdom--and freedom from
attachment to desires, (and therefore, also, to anticipation of
"hoped for results"), of a selfish, personal, nature, these
selfish and personal desires are to be abandoned. They have no
permanence and "perish" when our present form dies. Duties are
defined as the necessary discharge of responsibilities. To be
correctly performed, we have to acquire information and
knowledge. To do this with care, and accurately, these have to
be identified, understood, and then acted on. This should be the
"growing tip" of our progress, and the focus of our attention.

6. Man's faculties have all to be studied and developed so that
this war-stage with passion and irrational emotion, may soon be
concluded. When successful, this alters impulse and ignorance
into compassion, altruism, calm, patience and wisdom. Our living
consciousness (the lower mind--Kama-Manas) is calmed, impulse is
controlled and set to rest.

Understanding the temporary and illusory nature of passions and
desires, we, as Minds, develop and acquire the serenity of
contemplation. This has been described as "bliss"-ananda, or a
release from identification with kama-passion, and
avidya-delusion.

Ignorance is to be dispelled by the light of Wisdom. Knowledge
is first to be acquired, then only can deeds be performed
accurately as needed, and thus, finally, we assist in restoring
harmony to the Universe. This produces a condition called
Sat-chit-ananda, described on p. 99 of Gita Notes. It is the
embodiment of Krishna in a perfected personal instrument on this
plane.

Man is to make the Higher Self, the "Krishna" within operative,
and ruler of his own personality. Once the personality is
cleared of false notions, it becomes clear, and the inner light,
no longer obstructed, radiates from such a Being, now
self-transformed into a Mahatma, a "Great Soul."

"There is plenty of material, as well as help, in the devotional
books to the realization of the Heart Doctrine, for they are
designed to awaken the Buddhic faculty--that of Intuition, the
only means by which light can come to you or anyone."
Friendly Philosopher, p. 9

"The Bhagavad Gita tends to impress upon the individual two
things:
1st.: selflessness, and
2nd.: right action in practice.
[ B G xvii ]

It speaks of one Spirit that pervades all Nature, and suggests
that a "ray" of this One Spirit is in us. [ B G xvii ] It
further states that:

"The universe operates cooperatively, so that we cannot live for
ourselves alone, we depend for our lives on the assistance we
receive from many other beings in nature, that are indispensable
to its continued well-being. We must come to realize that on
the plane of subtle relationships there is...a give and take, a
cooperative relationship, not enforced by domination, but by a
generosity that gives and exchanges, as the needs of others are
perceived. There is, in fact, no such thing as separateness or
personal isolation." [GITA, xvi-xvii]



Here is a brief essay on the BHAGAVAD GITA which illustrates
applications of the psychology of the Orient:


THE MAHA-BHARATA -- AN ALLEGORY AND HISTORY


The title "Mahabharata" literally means the Great Bharata.

Bharata was a name given to the founder of the Lunar Dynasty
(Chandra-vansa). It also indicates a certain cycle of time.

The Maha-Bharata, as history, is narrated by the twenty-eighth
bearer of the title of Vyasa. This last, was the re-promulgator,
or as some say, incorrectly, the originator of the sixth school
of Indian Philosophy, the Utara Mimansa, or Vedanta, the origin
of which is far earlier. It represents, perhaps the most
comprehensive of the six "points of view" that the
Shad-Darshanas--the six Philosophies--offer. The seventh is
their synthesis, welding all points of view into a Unit, a
statement of Truth. This seventh is called the Sanatana
Dharma--the Eternal Wisdom. [A list and explanation of the 6
"Shaktis" -- primary forces in Nature and Powers in Man is to be
found in The SECRET DOCTRINE Vol. I, pp 292-3]

Ancient India was named Bharata-Varsha (country of Bharat) and
was, in ancient times, "the land of active (spiritual)
works...the land of initiation and of divine knowledge (SD II
369)." In India "the people are fitted by temperament and
climate to be the preservers of the philosophical, ethical, and
psychic jewels that would have been forever lost to us had they
been left to the ravages of such Goths and Vandals as western
nations were in the early days of their struggle for education
and civilization." {Ocean, p. 9.}

In the course of time, enormous cycles called golden, silver and
bronze ages came to their close. In this present age, now some
5,000 years old, called the "Kali," "black," or Iron age, wisdom
burns low, forgotten by most men. The glories achieved in
earlier times, have become, now, the subject of dramas and cradle
tales, which keep ideals alive in the consciousness of both
Indian children and adults, especially in the villages, remote
from westernizing influences. One of the continuing functions of
India is to preserve ancient wisdom. Historically, every great
Sage, respected and honored in the West is known to have traveled
to the plains and mountains of Northern India for a final
initiation: Pythagoras, Apollonius, Plato, Simon Magus, Jesus,
to name a few.

The Bhagavad Gita is introduced as a portion of the story of the
Mahabharata, and may be considered as an allegory of the several
natures that are evolving together in each Man-Soul. The key to
such an understanding lies in grasping the inner meaning of the
values that were assigned by Vyasa to the names used in
designating the actors, their weapons, trumpets, etc., used
during the great war. The psychological faculties thus marked,
can be found in every human, and their relations to other
faculties are clearly designated {especially in Patanjali's Yoga
Sutras).

Each man is composed of the body and the Spirit. But
intelligence, the third aspect of man, or consciousness which
symbolizes the mind sees both of these and all the degrees of
complexity between them. This makes of every man a three-fold
being: Spiritual ideal, reasoning, observing Mind, and, the
physical body. In this battlefield we see that on one hand
virtues are exercised under control, and on the other the same
virtues become vices because they are uncontrolled, and are thus
exaggerated.

Man becomes confused. Both sets of faculties are closely
related--the Kurus (embodiments of selfishness and vice) are
cousins to the Pandavas (embodiments of ideals, and virtue in
action). Each of us have constructed our natures, our
characters, in the past by choices we made in dealing with this
duality. Our vices and virtues are ours. If we find either to
be unsatisfactory, the wise counsel of Krishna instructs man in
the Path of right choices.

If, on consideration, we decide to make changes in our personal
natures, we may feel a horrified rejection by the "Lower Nature."
The Kurus in us, raise objections at such a suggestion. Then a
great struggle begins, as to whether we, the authors of this
personality of ours, have the right kind of desire to make such
changes, and whether we have the ability to alter it. And if
this is persisted in we find we have a war.

The Maha-Bharata, of which the Upanishad named the Bhagavad Gita
is a portion, belongs also to records of events in Indian
history, called the Itihasa.



KRISHNA -- TH E SPIRITUAL PERSON in every man and woman.


The Gita is recommended as a guide for every disciple. It does
not lead the pupil to search for a guru outside, but points to
the inner God, to the Higher Self, which is Krishna seated, as
the Spiritual Ego, "in the hearts of all beings." The Spiritual
Ego in Man is united to the Universal omnipresent SPIRIT.

Krishna (the Higher Self, the Divine Person) is in every heart,
and He is the ray of the One Spirit at the core of all beings in
the Universe--family, friends, enemies, animals, plants,
minerals, elemental forces. This the basis for Universal
Brotherhood, which is to be applied individually all the time if
man desires to become a spiritual being.

Krishna as the Spiritual Ray is present, working through the many
forces and powers that give life to and unify the complex Kosmos
in a vast web of eternal and ever-active law. Therefore, Krishna
is also the cause and root of Karma. Everything is included in
this evolutionary scheme.

Krishna, cosmically, is an avatar (a will-formed incarnation on
our Earth) of the preservative, organizing Force, named Vishnu.
He symbolizes the wise and timeless "protector" who supervises
the evolution of all beings in the Cosmos from the very outset.
And for this, he is sometimes also called Creator, although this
function is relegated to another of his aspects named Brahma.

His wisdom and antiquity make the teachings worth while
considering. They have survived the test of many centuries since
a period of five thousand years has elapsed since the Bhagavad
Gita was sung.

The Gita is a teaching form that was designed to persist and
reverberate through the many millennia of the present cycle named
Kali Yuga, the Black Age. It is practical, as a provable
personal discipline. In man, Krishna, is the Spiritual "ray,"
our Higher Self, the Atma. In That, we are one with all other
beings in the Universe. Brotherhood, when practiced,
demonstrates this key to our real inner nature in action. It is
"compassion absolute." Says Krishna:

"I am the Ego, which is seated in the hearts of all beings; I am
the beginning, the middle, and the end of all existing things."
[ Gita 73 ]

Krishna is the Supreme Spirit, the Lord of the Universe, the
Preserver, the Creator, and the "Eternal Seed." He is known by
many names--Maha-Vishnu, being the one that describes his nature
more closely. Being Spirit, he is not limited or personal, and
yet he speaks to Arjuna as a "friend," and wears the human
garments of a prince, who was brought up as a cowherd in the
village of Gokul (near Mathura), south of Delhi, on the Jumna
river.

In the dialog of the Bhagavad Gita Krishna speaks to Arjuna using
one or other of these "natures." In the stories that surround
his birth and youth will be found clues to the manifestations of
the divine nature working through a perfected human form.

____________________


ARJUNA

Arjuna, prince of India, represents "man-mind," or the embodied
Soul-mind: Lower Manas, in its higher aspect.

This mind in each of us, is that which works using the brain. It
is endowed with self-consciousness, Ahankara (I-ness), or
"awareness of himself." It can say: "I am I." It can hold a
dialog within, between the dual aspects of his own mind: the
"Lower Manas" (Arjuna) discussing "right action" with the
interior Krishna (the "Higher Self)".

Like all of us, he is three-fold: body, soul, and Spirit--each
aspect being conscious on its plane, as well as being aware of
the other two on theirs. He is aware that these are made up of a
mixture of the three "Gunas" -- universal qualities: 1. Sattva
(Truth, Spirit, Goodness), 2. Rajas (energy, activity,
forcefulness), and 3. Tamas (inertia, sloth, laziness). In
total: seven, as they are seen to meld into each others in
various combinations.

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, and the control of these powers and qualities
that forms the subject of true occultism, or wisdomism--the Gita.

The Spirit-mind in man incarnates for the sake of those
"elements" which, through him can reach to the immortality of
wisdom and thus contact Krishna directly.



KURUKSHETRA IS DHARMAKSHETRA or,
the Transformation of Passion into Duty


Preliminary to the account of the dialog in the BHAGAVAD GITA is
a section of the Mahabharata which gives a survey of that which
precedes the battle of Kurukshetra, ( field of the Kurus -- the
final battle between the Higher and the Lower Self in Man ),
Kurukshetra is also called Dharmakshetra, or the "Field of Duty
and Responsibility." In other words: Earth life.

One may consult a number of translations when composing a
rendition of the BHAGAVAD GITA, such as those of Wilkins and J.
Cockburn Thomson, Edwin Arnold, K. T. Telang, to name a few.
Wilkins had been encouraged by Warren Hastings to translate the
Gita. He was a missionary, and in Bombay a college was later
founded in his name. We should take note that it is important to
look on the Gita, the "Lord's Song," as a "personal" book, spoken
to each of us by our own Higher, Spiritual Self.

An historical war was used by the Sage Vyasa, to illustrate the
secret story of the "fight for the right" that is constantly in
progress within the consciousness of every aspirant to wisdom.
Every man and every woman is such an aspirant: an immortal
Soul-Mind, an eternal Pilgrim. The Bhagavad Gita is sung to us,
so that we may more easily remember its important ideas.

The battle refers not only to the great warfare which mankind as
a whole carries on, but also to the individual struggle, which is
inevitable as soon as any unit of the human family resolves to
allow his higher nature to govern in his life. Opposition from
friends, from the habits he has acquired, and those which arise
from heredity, confront him. The outcome then depends on whether
he listens to Krishna, the Logos, (or Verbum) shining, and
speaking from within himself, as to whether he will succeed or
fail.	[Gita, Intro. xii-xv]



SANJAYA AND VYASA


Sanjaya, meaning "the completely victorious" ( the jiv-atma, that
which can say: "I am, verily, the supreme Brahma" ) is already
endowed with that spiritual faculty called the "divine Eye." And
Vyasa, the divine Rishi, composer of the Bhagavad Gita, is also
endowed with this faculty. Krishna awakens this power in Arjuna
in the 11th Chapter of the Gita, so that he might see the
Universal Form that includes all beings in evolution: the
manifested Universe, which, in another sense, is an aspect of
Krishna himself, and of all Arjunas, as he grows to understand.

Arjuna, sensing his immediate unreadiness, begs Krishna to
withdraw this power and permit him to again "see" Him as his
friend, and counselor. He does not lose the memory of the
experience, and from that point on the discourse assumes the
nature of instructions to a devotee who labors to attune himself
to the Universal divine virtues, the Paramitas [ Voice, p. 52-3 ]
which are his true inheritance.



THE SANSKRIT


The Bhagavad Gita, "The Song of the Lord," is recorded, in
Sanskrit, using as script the Devanagri--"writing of the Gods."
As a method of writing, it is phonetic, thus enabling accurate
sound-vibrations to be used in the pronunciation of the words
spoken--like the symbols of shorthand. Every word and syllable
is known to correspond to notes, rhythms and tones. These form
secret codes, (similar to those used in early Jewish Cabalistic
scriptures) and keys to them are available only to the wise, who
can correctly interpret such inner meanings.

We, in these days, reading the Gita, are limited to the written
words. But within those, we are led to search for meanings of a
moral, intellectual and spiritual nature. The Gita is to be
understood as an epitome of Divine, universal Wisdom. It is a
model which we can use to review the many interior discussions,
held daily and hourly, sometimes unconsciously, between us, as
the embodied Mind, and our always present interlocutor, the
Spiritual Higher Self--on the subject of the best choices to make
in the pursuit of our life. This, if continued leads ultimately
to "finding one's real self," to true happiness and
self-improvement.
[ see GN 172, WQJ Art I 273, 580, 583, II 342 579 ]




THE KALI YUGA CYCLE


The cycle for which the Gita was sung is important to note. It
is our present cycle. The principles of the Bhagavad Gita are
the same today, as when, some 5,000 years ago, Krishna, the
primeval teacher, taking shape physically, as a prince, but
raised as a cowherd, and employed in the poem as a counselor,
while driving a chariot for his friend Arjuna in a war, is seen
to open the cycle of the Kali Yuga by a return to Earth. In this
mixture of external appearances that enshrine the inner Man is an
important fact to be noted, the Higher Self has no caste.

The return to Earth of this spiritual Being, as an avatar, is
highly significant. The Bhagavad Gita will resound and
reverberate throughout the many years of the Kali Yuga. (432,000)
Wise men state that "It is the study of Adepts." [ Letters, p.
21, T. Glossary 100 top, Isis I 471, G. Notes 66-9 ]

At the opening of Kali Yuga, the dark age of confusion,( of
effects following swiftly upon their causes ) are placed events:
historical, psychic and spiritual, that form the setting of the
war at Kurukshetra (symbolic of the personality-- "field" of the
Kurus-the passions). "Kali-Yuga," an age filled with "dark
deeds, and mean ambitions," began, as said earlier, at the death
of Krishna. This event, The Secret Doctrine states occurred at
midnight on the 18th of February in the year 3,102 B.C. The
first 5,000 year cycle of this vast period to cover 432,000 years
ended in 1897/98. almost a hundred years ago. [ SD I xliv, 612,
650, 662-3, II 147, 300, 395, 435 ]

The historical battle on the plain of Kurukshetra (some 56 miles
north of modern Delhi) took 18 days, and the number of chapters
in the Song is 18.

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


INDIAN LITERATURE.


THE VEDAS AND THE UPANISHADS

The following information is included here to give an idea of the
wide scope of ancient Indian learning.

The Vedas are a portion of the most ancient of India's records
now known. Some, even more ancient sources, are said to be
stored in secret libraries in various parts of the country. They
are said to be only accessible to dedicated students of spiritual
wisdom. Vyasa is a title showing respect, for one of the members
of the hierarchy of the highest Gurus (teachers), whose
prototypes are the seven Rishis of primordial and ancient
Humanity. They are Those who, mystically, are said to have
presided over "creation" (the reincarnation of the world and its
myriad of beings in this Manvantara).

The Vedas are four in number: the Rikh, the Sama, the Yajur and
the Atharva. Vedic literature is further divided into four
groups: the Sanhitas-hymns, the Brahmanas-rituals and sacrifices,
the Aranyakas-philosophy and allegory, and the
Upanishads-philosophical and moral instructions.

Over one hundred Upanishads are known; of these eighteen are
considered major, and on these the great Teacher: Shankaracharya
has written commentaries. Some are: Isavaga (or Isa), Kena,
Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Aitareya, Taittiriya,
Chandogya, the Brihadaranyaka, and the Bhagavad Gita which is to
be found in the Maha Bharata (an Itihasa, or an historical
setting).

As customary, the Vedas and their accompanying explanations,
called Brahmanas (commentaries, explanations, used by the
Brahmins), and Upanishads (expositions and illustrations of the
secret meanings for chelas) are written in a seven-fold code,
capable of being interpreted in six ways, besides the seventh
which can only be read correctly by a Sage, a Rishi. There are
seven hundred slokas or verses in the Gita, distributed in
definite proportions among the 18 (10 + 7 + 1)
Chapters--suggesting a numerical relation to the "seventeen
rayed" Central Spiritual Sun of our Universe.



THE SECRET DOCTRINE AND THE GITA


H.P.Blavatsky, in The Secret Doctrine, gives in the first volume
a survey of the sevenfold division of the Universe. A devoted
student, using this hint can recover the use of the mystic "keys"
as he proceeds. He will find his inner progress represents
increments in understanding that opens to him the depths of
meaning underlying the merely objective.

Besides the Brahmanas and the Upanishads, the student will find
in Indian lore: the Puranas (ancient commentaries), and the
Itihasa (history) of vast cycles, and of events overseen by
rulers of the past, these are often made into myths and
allegories, to present living ideals for personal use in daily
life by those who desire to learn and improve in this vast school
we call our Earth. Indian life, away from the pressures of
western civilization, still finds areas of seclusion, where the
ancient sacred stories are recited so as to feed the flame of
intuition burning in the heart.


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



A Survey of Ancient Indian Literature


1. PARA VIDYA	Esoteric, Secret Wisdom, unrecorded, undisclosed

__________________________________________


2. APARA VIDYA	Exoteric Wisdom, recorded

Shruti	Smriti	Purani	Itehasa
revelation tradition myths history

Vedas	1. Exoteric 2. Esoteric explanations
Karma Kanda Jnana Kanda ( codified by
Upanishads
( Veda Vyasa)

Named:	Rig Sama	Yajur	Atharva
Content:	hymns chants ritual	sacred incantations
Rishi:	Brahma Jaimini	Yajnavalkya Vashishta, Narada,
Visvamitra, etc.


In All Vedas :

Content:	Mantras Shad Anjanis	Aranyakas Shad Darshanas
sound	6 Sciences	lore for	6 Philosophies
forest
dwellers


SHAD DARSHANA: 6 Philosophical Demonstrations

1. MATERIAL	Prakriti: 3 Schools

Named:	Vaisheshika	Nyaya	Purva Mimansa
Rishi:	(Kanada-rishi) (Gautama-rishi) (Jaimini)
Content: Materialistic	Doubt, Denial	Mantra meanings


2. SPIRITUAL	Purusha: 3 Schools

Named:	Sankhya	Yoga	Uttara Mimansa (Vedanta)
Rishi:	(Kapila-rishi)	(Yajnavalkya) (Badarajna, Vyasa)
(Patanjali)	(Shankaracharya)
Content:	Evolving	Man and God	Atman: root of Man & God
consciousness


3. VEDANTA : 3 Divisions

Dvaita	Vishistadwaita	Advaita
duality:	merging of	Unity of All:
Man & God	Man and God in	Man is God
persist a Unity	Unity is ALL


Theosophy is the SYNTHESIS of all of these. It is the
7th System: Sanatana Dharma, which unites them all.
( S D I 168-9 -- the 4 Vidyas (wisdoms) )

Other ancient Hindu Literature:

Asavalayana Kalpa Sutra	Ceremonial Directory
Nirukta	.	.	.	Expositions
Panini's Vyakarma	.	Grammar
Siksha	.	.	.	Phonetic Dictionary
Jyotisha	.	.	Astronomy & Astrology
Chhandra	.	.	Meter
Nighantu	.	.	Synonyms
Indra Gatha	.	.	Hymns to the Moon
Nara Samsi	.	.	Components of Man
Valkya Smriti Yajna	.	Sacrifice
Mahabharata/Ramayana	Itehasa / Epics
Jaimini Sutras	.	.	Purva Mimansa / Vedanta
Brahma Sutras	.	.	Uttara Mimansa / Vedanta
Upanishads	.	.	Explanations of esoteric

Mote: Modern versions of the Upanishads, owing to
Brahmanical abridgments are inaccurate.
[ Theosophy v. 20, p. 19; Theosophist v. I p. 25,
50, 246; Theosophy v. 2, p. 329. ]



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


I hope this proves to be of use.

Best wishes,



Dallas