Theos-Talk Archives (August 2003 Message tt00126)

Joe,

Interesting post. It is quite true that one may study Theosophy and yet be part of no Theosophical organization.

In regards to the "canonization" of Theosophy: That happens with all philosophies/relgions. While Theosophy tries to guard against it in it's teachings - we are human after all. It requires a huge amount if skill to teach anything and yet come across in a non-dogmatic way. Once you decide "this is right" as opposed to something else it is almost impossible to escape "being dogmatic".

In regard to the various warnings in Theosphy vs. learning various things without a "perfect" teacher.... In HPB's time the average "teacher" was someone with very little knowledge of what they "taught". Many just wanted to develop psychic abilities for personal gain/dominion over others. Eastern monks who would be qualified to teach pranayama, raja yoga, tibetan yoga, etc etc. simply were not around. And those who professed to have that knowledge generally didn't.

Today it is a different story. There are many monks (Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, etc) who can guide others in meditation and other practices. 

Some people have decided to take HPB's warnings as, "Do not learn anything of these matters until you find a perfectly enlightened master who are at the level of HPB's masters".

Good luck. That is like saying, "You don't know basic arithmetic - you should only try to learn it from someone with a Phd in Theoretical Mathematics."

A student who can't add won't get much use from a Phd. They have to learn from other "lower level" teachers and go up the grades until they can finally understand what the Phd can tell them.

So I have heard two different ideaologies amongst Theospohists. One being 'Don't learn anything from anyone unless it is a fully enlightened being." The other is, "Learn the basics (i.e. meditation) from teachers you would like to emulate and as you "advance" you will attract "higher grade" teachers if it is necessary."

'When the student is ready the teacher appears."

Here's an apt joke that defines for me what that saying means:

A guy is on his roof during a flood. He prays, "God, I know you will save me!" A guy on a raft comes by and tells him to get in.. "No, God will save me." A guy in a motorboat comes by and tells him to get in. The water in now up to his chest "No, I won't get in. God will save me." The water is up to his neck when a helocopter comes by and tells him to grab the rope they are lowering to him. "No,", he refuses, "God will save me!"

The guy drowns.

In heaven the man confronts God and says, "I had true faith in you and yet you let me die! You didn't even try to save me!"

'What do you mean?", cries God, "I sent you a raft, a boat and a helocopter!"

In the same way we can wait for a fully enlightened teacher all of our lives and miss the "raft, boat and helocopter" that the universe is sending us by refusing to learn things as the opportunities come into our lives.

-Ed Griffin




Message: 1
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 10:22:29 -0000
From: "Joseph P. Fulton" 
Subject: Re: Theosophical leadership

Dallas,

Verily a paradox we have here now. A movement which is supposed to 
be creedless, and with the objects (VERY loosely stated) of a) 
Promoting Universal Brotherhood, b) encouraging study of religion, 
philosophy & science, c) investigation of unexplained laws of nature 
and psychical powers latent in man...and what we are faced with 
here...as anethema as it may sound, is that there is no requirement 
for theosophists to study "theosophy" in order to be members of any 
TS. The 1900 letter from KH to Besant exhorts her to make the ES as 
creedless as possible...and yet, if we read several of the postings 
put out here regularly for consideration, it ends up sounding like 
attempts to make a theosophical-based religion, complete with a set 
of canonical literature, much like what one would expect from a 
Claire-Prophet, Bailey, or Besant-Leadbeater, instead of the open and 
honest inquiry exhorted by HPB and the Mahatmas. 

Did someone here say that we shouldn't study astrology or occult 
sciences, or investigate nature, only mahatma's have the right, or 
the reason to do that...where did that come from? How can anyone who 
considers themselves a student of theosophy could come up with 
something like that! There is absolutely no precedent in the early 
literature to support such a statement! In fact, all evidence in the 
ML and other early literature would seem to be quite the contrary!

Of course such an attitude leads to someone without practical 
experience giving out advice on things they truly know nothing 
about...it's just all theoretical flapdoodle, and it shows!!! You 
can't talk about Voice of the Silence authoritatively unless you have 
a background in Raja Yoga. That is horribly sad, and unfortunate, 
because what is in the "Voice" is practical in the deepest, most 
important ways, and the dangers, likewise, are the same. THIS IS A 
WARNING!!!

For being concerned about not having an organization, it sounds an 
awful lot like creating a dogma...hmmmm.

I would like to think that all of the Theosophical organizations are 
in a complimentary relationship to each other, each fulfilling a much 
needed function within the movement as a whole. It is so encouraging 
to see a level of interest among ULT folk about the affairs of 
Adyar...as it should be. I hope that the brotherly spirit can build 
and find addtional ways of expressing itself. The generations of 
followers that animated previous divisions are dying off and there 
are psuedo-theosophical religions arising whose existence must be 
addressed. One of the best ways to address the challenges is for the 
various theosophical organizations to use the strengths that they 
have together to help create opportunities to promote Universal 
Brotherhood that individually are beyond the grasp of any one.

Joe




_______________________________________________________________________

"What makes a good artist, a good sculptor, a good musician? Practice. What makes a man a good linguist, a good stenographer? Practice. What makes a man a good man? Practice. Nothing else...-Henry Drummond





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