Theos-Talk Archives (November 2002 Message tt00351)

Mic Forster wrote:
> The general trend is that as a race Indigenous
> Australians are doing relatively well, although their
> equal status with other non-Indigenous status is far
> from assured. Now the questions remains: if Aboriginal
> Australians were meant to naturally die out why are
> they still prospering today? One could reply that they
> have indeed died out and those Indigenous Australians
> that we see today aren't Aboriginal Australians in the
> sense that they have maintained their bloodlines and
> culture without any corruption. There is not one
> Indigenous Australian today who could claim that they
> do everything exactly as it was done in 1788. And in
> this sense, Aboriginal Australians have been lost to
> antiquity.

In terms of reincarnation, bloodlines are irrelevant. Culture is far
more important. So I would say that, in terms of dying out, we are
referring more to the last part of the sentence.

Let us take a look at reincarnation, in the Theosophical sense. The
reincarnating principle (confusingly but more easily referred to as a
"monad") is attracted to physical bodies that have the highest chance of
moving it forward in an evolutionary path. With a stagnated culture that
has been around for a long time, it becomes a "been there, done that"
path. But if the culture changes, it no longer is the same culture, and
therefore becomes a much more fruitful one into which to incarnate.

I am of the belief that, if there is more than one way to interpret
Theosophical literature, a good indicator of the correct interpretation
is new scientific discovery. And since the Human Genome Project has
demonstrated that the genes involved with what is commonly called "race"
are not only just a small part of the human genome, but also isolated;
they tend to be unconnected with traits other than superficial ones.
Therefore, when these races are referred to, at least in the Primary
Literature, I believe the reference is to cultural differences brought
on by geographical isolation, not genetic ones. You can take people from
the so-called "races" all over the world, but if they're born in
America, they're Americans. And the fact that the United States affords
a place unique in the world where people from the various geographical
cultures to mix freely, that is why I believe that the Theosophical
Society was founded in the United States.

Bart Lidofsky