Theos-Talk Archives (July 2002 Message tt00109)

Hi all of you,

Here is a little interesting text:


PART 1 of 3 - and maybe more

Taken almost 100% from the book "The Commanding Self" by Idries Shah; p. 185-6:


"CONNECTION BETWEEN the TRADITIONS

Q: What is the Connection, if any, between the various metaphysical traditions?

A: There are, in your terms, numerous connections. The important ones to note are:

1. The world is littered with the remnants of genuine traditions, whose action has become 
vitiated or repetitious.
2. It is a natural law that teaching be renewed in conformity with the place, time, people involved 
and needs of the process.

Q: What form does the renewal take?

A: Simply this. A Teacher, dedicated to a certain kind of function, organises and presents the 
teaching in a manner suitable to the conditions just cited.

Q: Does this mean that traditional teachings which we find represented in various countries are 
not now of any real function, because they represent survivals from aperiod when they 
enshrined real 'work' ?

A: That is so.

Q: But how much reality or function do such organisations now have?

A: In your terms, these spiritual, psychological and other systems have three main components: -

1. the component of reality, which is ultimate truth, which is more or less locked in by the human 
formulator.

2. The component of decay, which is what has crept in at the point where the effort ceased to 
act truely, perhaps on death of the formulator.

3. The component of outside appearence, which becomes after a time, unwittingly, the main 
interest of the participants. This is the least useful but most attractive component.

Q: How is it known to the participants of such a group as to how accurate or meaningful their 'work' 
is?

A: There are no two ways about it. Either it is known to their teacher, if one still exists, in which case he will remedy defects, and they will not be perpetuated. Or it is totally repetitious, and the effort has become an ADMINSTRATIVE one. This happens when there has been no true succession of teaching, so that there is nobody at the top sufficiently developed to be able to diagnose the situation. In this case the group has become to a greater or lesser degree a prisoner of the automatism of the formal world."


If we examine the text and compare with Theosophy and its history certain conclusions might be reached. Conclusions on Theosophy as it is today, conclusions on our behavoir here at Theos-Talk and conclusions about certain teachers or maybe 'so-called' teachers.

The text can also be compared with politics and the history of politics - corrupt or not, and a comedy or not.

The second part will if possible come after a few days.

from
M. Sufilight with peace and love.




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