Theos-Talk Archives (July 2002 Message tt00179)

July 19 2002



Dear Friends:

Everyone has the same wisdom interiorly -- in their secret
“Heart.” It is owned by no one. It is universal. Based on that
(as LAW and LAWS) the Universe exists.

The problem is how to bring it out unaltered.

Wisdom and “sacred scriptures” are not the property of any one
“religion.”

If one desires to make sure of them, then their foundation,
history and basis needs to be rigorously investigated. No
impediments to such a search should be accepted as deterrents.

If one studies side by side the ethics and morals of all
religions, there is to be found a remarkable concordance between
them all. We need to prove this to ourselves by study and
search.

We could start with an arbitrary list of ideals and “virtues.”
We could use the “virtues” or “Paramitas” (used by Buddhists) as
a basis if one wishes to establish a table. ( see VOICE OF THE
SILENCE pp. 52-3, 3rd Fragment.

Consider:

Charity

Love and caring for all

Generosity

Harmony and Equipoise (balance)

Patience and Calmness

Indifference to pleasure or pain

Illusions, fancies, desires dispelled. TRUTH perceived

Diligence, energy

Determination

Contemplation of Truth in all things before all decisions
(seeking Wisdom)

Honesty

Sincerity

Universality

Impersonality

Sacrifice

Invoking the GOD WITHIN -- a portion of the Universal ONE SPIRIT

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

More can be added. But these seem to be the main divisions.

Might be a good idea to set these down and occasionally refer to
them as one proceeds from here on.

If we decide that what we learn can and ought to be passed on to
others, then a record ought to be kept for future use.


Best wishes,

Dallas

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





-----Original Message-----
From: Teos9
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2002 4:01 AM
To:
Subject: Re: Sharing Theosophy

Hello Larry,

Very provocative thoughts below. I have felt, for a very long
time now, that the Theosophists of Blavatsky's time were the
best, of the then living generation of Spiritual students and
scholars. Many had classical eductions which included a profound
literacy.
Amongst the English speaking/thinking theosophists, fluency in
the language dynamics of the day was crucial. JUST AS IT IS
TODAY! Language, and the living thoughts that it expresses,
evolve, just as surely as we do. How could it be otherwise? To
truly share the ancient wisdom, one must have developed
interpretations of language forms that reach the inner dynamics
of THIS generation of sekers. We "hard line" theosophists, must
meet them where they stand. If it is Stiener, or Bailey or Cayce
or whoever and whatever, we must be able to pick out the valid
theosophical themes in those works and begin there. We must know
how to phrase the unchanging, perennial philosophy, into the ever
changing words of today.

That is why the incessant battles, over what the correct
interpretations of organizational theosophy or HPB herself , will
never address the problems of sharing theosophy with the modern
generation. It is quite likely, that as time goes on and
educational literacy becomes further degraded, that HPB and her
like, will be for the fewer and fewer still. But the perennial
wisdom, by definition must always be available. The true
theosophist will know how to find it, interpret it and pass it
on.

Louis


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

In a message dated 7/17/2002 8:28:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
llkingston2@juno.com writes:




My last post got me thinking about just how we share Theosophy.

What constitutes a legitimate activity concerning sharing
Theosophy and
what is not? Where do we draw the line? Do the various
organizations have
different guidelines for this?

Again, we know we can not force feed Theosophy, but rather that
an
individual must be "ready, seeking something with an open mind,
etc." But
how do we know who is ready and who is not?

How would anyone rate these activities:

1-Name Dropping- letting someone know that you are a theosophist
and then
waiting to see if they pick up on it with any questions.

2-Asking a pointed question like "Do you believe in
reincarnation?," and
if the answer is "yes," delving deeper.

3- Leaving a book such as the HPB bio or THE OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY
where
visiters to your home would see it and see if they ask questions.

4-Whenever someone mentions a local metro area and you do not
live there,
saying something like "NYC, yes I used to go there quite often.
Why.
Because I attended Theosophy Hall on East 72nd St. And see what
response
that gets.

5-Mentioning to people in response to "What are you doing these
days?,"
saying "I spend a lot of time on a Theosophical website."

There's just a few examples.

Now, my situation may be somewhat different from most. As we
said, the
lodges tend to be in the metro areas, and people in those areas
MAY be
more materialistic than some others and thus less inclined
towards things
spiritual. Here in the Catskills, the opposite is true. As
Woodstock is a
New Age center, a large number of the people I work for seem to
be
somewhat New Age connected. Hardly a job goes by that at some
point it
just seems natural to mention Theosophy in some context or other.
I have
had many good conversations this way. Is this wrong? Am I too
pushy?
Usually it is the other person who creates a opening. I just
naturally
fill it.

The lecturer whose room I'm painting has an easel with notes
about
getting in touch with ones higher self. How can I resist?

The woman who shares with me that she has been attending a local
ashram
and is into Alice Bailey. I ask if she's ever heard of HPB. She
says
she's actually read in the SD. We go from there.

And on and on and on.

So I ask, what do some of you think of this? We had quite a
discussion
about my sister-in-law and I took your advise and ended that
fruitless
debate. But she clearly was not open and searching and was simply
argumentative.These others are more receptive.

What do you do? What can we do? I really hope to read some good
responses.

Larry


CUT


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