Theos-Talk Archives (September 2002 Message tt00038)

Sept 4 2002


Here are some ideas to consider:


"BAD KARMA ?"

Kicking against the pricks hurts only the one who kicks;
moreover, the pricks seem to enjoy it, for, being kicked,
they keep coming back.

"Resist not evil and it will flee from you" is a true
saying; we give the evil thing power by thinking about it, a
power that it would not otherwise have. In fact, many of
these things of evil are creations of our own mental state,
and have no real existence; yet they are even more
distracting than realities would be, because composed of
fear and doubt.

The thing to do is to take higher ground, mentally; read and
think about high themes; regard only the good, the meaning
and purpose of Life as a whole. If in earnest in this way,
the evil is dissipated like the mists before the morning
sun.

What is the Dweller? It is the combined evil influence that
is the result of the wicked thoughts and acts of the age in
which anyone may live. "When the student has at last gotten
hold of a real aspiration . . . and has also aroused the
determination to do and to be, the whole bent of his nature
day and night, is to reach out beyond the limitations that
have hitherto fettered his soul.

No sooner does he begin to step a little forward, than he
reaches the zone just beyond mere bodily and mental
sensations. At first the minor dwellers of the threshold are
aroused, and they in temptation, in doubt and confusion
assail him. He only feels the effects, for they do not
reveal themselves as shapes. But persistence in the work
takes the inner man further along, and with that progress
comes a realization to the outer mind of the experiences
met, until at last he has waked up the whole force of the
evil power that naturally is arrayed against the good end he
has set before him. Then the Dweller takes what form it
may," which is specialized for each student by the
tendencies and natural physical and psychical combinations
that belong to his family and nation.

"No earnest one who feels called to work persistently for
the good of humanity, and not for his own, need fear aught
that heaven or hell holds." The minor dwellers have to be
met and conquered; as long as we stay on their plane and
daily with them, they will be with us. We must rise above
them in thought and effort to our proper plane where they
have no power over us. Each student has his own particular
kind of minor dwellers, and no one kind is any better than
any other kind; hence we ourselves need to be charitable to
the weaknesses of others. We do not look upon our own
weaknesses in the same light as we regard those of others.
Compassion understands, and seeking nothing, but desiring to
help-does so.


COMPASSION & GOODNESS

The Voice of the Silence says: "Compassion is no attribute.
It is the Law of LAWS-eternal Harmony, Alaya's SELF; a
shoreless universal essence, the light of everlasting Right,
and fitness of all things, the law of Love eternal. The more
thou dost become at one with it, thy being melted in its
BEING, the more thy Soul unites with that which Is, the more
thou wilt become "COMPASSION ABSOLUTE."

"Goodness" that results from the compulsion of physical
force, threats, or bribes, physical or "spiritual," is
useless. It must be a self-impulse from within-a real
preference for something higher-not an abstention because of
any fear of consequences in this or any future existence. If
we have that preference for something higher, we must admit
that others who are with us on the "path" have it also; we
can then sympathize with them in their struggles, knowing it
is through continued struggle that both they and "we" become
free. This is the beginning of Compassion.

Temptations of any one kind have a tendency to repeat
themselves, and students find that what would have at one
time swept them away is rendered abortive by apparently
irrelevant occurrences; yet, we know that such things are
the operation of Law which has its basis in Unity, and we
benefit in that law to the extent that we feel that Unity.
If Masters are the ideal and goal for which we strive, we
should endeavor to imitate Them, insofar as we are able to
conceive of Their attitude toward probationers, Their
disciples, and struggling humanity.


Where and What is the UNIVERSAL ?

If aspiration is for all, and not for self alone, it reaches
up to the Universal f if for self, some degree of
illumination results, but only in degree. The stream of
effort cannot rise above its source. As to the "we," there
is but one "we," or perceiver, who perceives on any plane
through the sheaths evolved by him on each plane; his
perceptions on any plane will depend on the quality of the
sheath or vehicle. Atma (spirit) or consciousness alone, is
what remains after the subtraction of the sheaths. It is the
ONLY witness-a synthesizing unity. On this plane-and this
means during waking consciousness or its dream effects-the
perceiver knows only what it knows on this plane (generally
speaking), and through the ignorance of the Real, involves
itself in the cause and effect of physical nature,
identifying itself with body and sensations, and looking at
other human beings in the same light. This is a wrong
attitude of mind. The "we," at this end, is the
identification of the perceiver with this plane's
perceptions-a misconception of the perceiver, a dream-a
play-in which the perceiver is so involved as to have lost
sight and memory of his real life. .....


MIND ? What does it do ?

The mind is both "carrier" and "translator" of both lower
and higher self; the attitude determines the quality and
kind of action, for one will act according to the attitude
of mind firmly held. The great and incalculable value of
acting for and as the Supreme is that there is nothing
higher in the way of attitude, and this endeavor must by its
very nature bring about the best results.

What moves the "mind" this way or that is usually desire for
the attractions of matter, and self-interest in them; these
then move and control the mind through the brain. "We," the
Perceiver, does not perceive anything but the ' which the
senses and organs present. He is not wholly awake on this
plane; some times he gets partly wakened, but drops off to
sleep again, lulled by the sounds and memories of his dream;
sometimes "bad dreams" awake him; sometimes he is awakened
by the voices of those who are awake.


REALITY ? Where ?

The "Real" and the "unreal," the "fleeting" and the "ever
lasting" are terms which will be more fully understood if
looked at from the point of view of the Perceiver. This is
the attitude of mind we should hold.

The appearances you speak of will wear off in time and you
will get beyond that place where these things appear, if
attention is not paid to them. "He who would hear the voice
of Nada, the 'Soundless Sound' and comprehend it, he has to
learn the nature of Dharana,' "-perfect concentration upon
one interior object, by "having become indifferent to other
objects of perception." These appearances are objects of
perception. .....

Our mode of thinking is based on separateness. The very
power of the cultivated intellect, by its ability to
discriminate between the shades of differences, is led into
a maze of diversity, forgetting that "The One sees All;"
that the explanation of innumerable effects is not the Cause
itself, which both produces, sees and reproduces. "Oh, where
is the sea, the fishes cried, as they swam the brimming
tide."

We try to free ourselves from something. Is not this the
attitude of separateness? W. Q. J. speaks of "The great
illusion produced by nature in causing 'us' to see objects
as different from Spirit." And in the Gita-"As a single sun
illuminateth the whole world, even so doth the one Spirit
illumine every body."

If this means anything, it means that in everybody there is
the One Spirit, the Perceiver, the Knower, the Experiencer;
it spells unity throughout.

Nor is it easy to get a true conception, because we are
eternally using terms of separateness and resting in such
conceptions as arise from them; yet, these are steps by
means of which we rise to greater heights of perception.

"Realization comes from dwelling upon the thing to be
realized." Degrees of realization are degrees of attainment;
are we not then slowly but surely getting out of the fogs
into the clear air?

"Abandoning Hope" reads to me the same as ceasing to look
for results for self and "shunning pain not yet come." If we
could just take conditions as they come and make the best
other "bests" would follow, and all worry, fear, doubt and
anxiety would depart.


LAW -- Is it "on again," "off again ?"

The Law works just and true. "What has been, is and shall
be." We have power over nothing but the is". It is by
working with present conditions that the nature of the
future is changed, and in no other way. This is reliance
upon the Law and a working under it. The various conditions
that confront us are opportunities and means afforded us to
increase our discrimination, strength and knowledge. Having
created these conditions, and seeing what is undesirable in
them, we go to work to change our direction of creative
thought and our relation to the undesirable.

The old adage, "Necessity is the mother of invention,"
points to the process of growth; we do not "invent" until we
see the necessity. In the great economy of Law and Nature,
each being just exactly where he needs to be to eradicate
defects; all necessary conditions are present for his
growth. The only question lies with him: will he take them
as "pain" or as opportunities? If the latter, all is well;
he is bound to conquer whether the way be long or short.
"The purpose of life is to learn, and it is all made up of
learning." Even those who repeat errors life after life are
in process of learning, for evolution makes for
righteousness, being an unfoldment from within.

It is "we" ourselves who are creating the phantasmagoria be
fore our eyes and struggling over the solution of its
disturbing effects, instead of creating for ourselves a
world of effects more in keeping with our real nature-a
world in which we can live, undisturbed by the effects that
disturb others, except as we are solicitous for their
welfare.

"We" are the Self. But, as we stand ordinarily in physical
consciousness, "we" are converted more or less into physical
consciousness; in other words, "we" are what we think or
perceive, continually identifying ourselves with perceptions
and sense. "Sense" is always nothing else than a channel for
desire to flow through to torment ourselves and others.
"There is nothing but the Self."

AS EVERY LAW IS SPIRITUAL, so all forms and things, forces,
and aspects must also be spiritual. All error springs from
an effort to turn to small purposes the diversified streams
of spiritual force. If as individuals we could take the
position of the mythical "the cow of plenty," spoken of by
the ancient Hindus, and with universal beneficence, use our
powers without thought of self, life would be another story.


RELIGION AND THEOSOPHY

"To establish a new religion" says a clipping? Humanity has
always done that with the clear light of Truth. Always have
they created idols and bowed down and worshipped them. What
kind of verity is that which substitutes one kind of idol
for another?

Theosophy is not a religion, and no religion what ever can
be Theosophy, although all forms of religion exist because
of Theosophy (looked on as an expression of universal Truth)
and contain expressions of it.

It is only too true that "religionists of one sort easily
become religionists of another sort." The fact shows that
Americans do not think; they just "cerebrate." All this was
portrayed again and again by W. Q. J. as the result of the
advent of the Swamis and others to this country-and warned
against. Yet we have self-elected teachers saying that
Christianity is Theosophy, and Buddhism is Theosophy, in a
sort of namby-pamby catholicism. They are to blame for much
of the confusion. If so-called Theosophists remained true
to the Message and the lines laid down and followed by Them,
there would not have been room for two opinions in the
matter.

We base our devotion and our efforts upon the nature of
Those who gave the Message, and accept as safe, good, true
and what is necessary, the lines that are to be found laid
down in Their writings Those how think that way, will work
that way.

There is a solid basis for united effort in this position;
any other position can but lead to differences, to
assumptions, to authorities.

It is UNITY that the Movement needs, among all who are
attracted by the Message; that which will best bring it
about is the true way, no matter what anyone says. Neither
Jesus nor H. P. B. lived and died that a book or books
should be swallowed wholesale, nor even that men should
become disciples but that all men should become brothers. We
have to hold to that which eliminates Differences, not
pander to any form of religion near or far.

H. P. B. once used this phrase, as I recall it, "a
Theosophist who understands Theosophy in his own bigoted
sectarian way." We cannot question any methods whatever used
for the promulgation of Theosophy, but only those that tend
to obscure it. There are attempts to dogmatize and make of
Theosophy a kind of sect. The untheosophical nature of
exclusive claims for persons or organizations, will
doubtless be made sometime. But every true Theosophist has a
sound and effective reply. We are in sympathy with every
movement made to promulgate the message of Theosophy, as
such, and with every endeavor to apply that philosophy.
While it is true that the principles of Theosophy are just
as good and effective under any other name, yet the name is
an indication of the source and true embodiment of those
principles, and cannot be obscured or changed without
putting some person or system of thought in the way of the
seeker after truth. What can be the motives for this? Many,
perhaps. Usually some person desires to be the exponent par
excellence, knowing well that he will find those who will
accede to his claims.

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>From the FRIENDLY PHILOSOPHER

DTB