Theos-Talk Archives (October 2003 Message tt00409)

Oct 31 2003

Excitement or Reasoned decisions ?


Dear Friends::

May I break in to observe (as I see it with the help of Theosophy) ?


If we consider the amount of attention we pay to matters of personal (or
Individual) interest we know that we use our WILL to fix our mind on
them. 

This is what to me Patanjali indicates. 

1. The effort of fixing the mind. And, 

2. the abject selected for such an effort.


Both WILL and THOUGHT are our tools. [ We think things out, pulling in
all information that is relative (meditation), then we make a decision,
and finally we apply that decision to action - thought, will, words,
speech ]

WE .(as the eternal MONAD) are above and beyond both - "WE" are the
PERCEIVER, the ATMA-BUDDHIC Monad. WE are presently undergoing
evolutionary experience in the "human condition" - where mind is free
and creative. The potential is to develop cooperative wisdom. 

As I see it, this is a stage in progressive evolution and a test as to
whether we are able to "escape" the lures of personally isolated,
selfish sensation, and replace that with active and creatively directed
compassion for our fellow Monadic pilgrim brothers. We are surrounded
by them. They are our environment and make up the entire UNIVERSE.

Consider carefully ourselves. What are we? Where are we? What is our
CONSCIOUS INTELLIGENCE? Surely not PHYSICAL. So if it is on another
plane, would it not be on the HIGHEST ? What is that ?

As I see it: It is the wisdom of compassion that seems to be used
voluntarily in the condition and work of the ADEPTS, and the MAHATMAS.
They cooperate with the UNIVERSE. They assist and build creatively. 

The concepts of: "selfish and personal" destroy, because they isolate
themselves from the general onward thrust of the whole UNIVERSE. Can we
pit ourselves against that ? For how long? What does physical death
bring?

Our present condition (as humanity in general) is a stage of
consciousness. We are free minds and self-conscious.


But there are two "selves" of which we are conscious:

1. the Personal, selfish, isolation inclined, matter-involved,
LOWER MIND ( or Lower-Self), and

2. the Individual Spiritual SELF. This is the Higher Mind or
Buddhi-Manas. [Buddhi being the accumulated record of experience
extending back over an immense period and shared by all beings at that
level.] It is "wise" because of the record of failures and experiments
made over such an enormous period of time. It is the source of the
"Voice of Conscience" which warns against the repetition of choices that
lead to error, sorrow and suffering.

Placing these avenues of choice in terms of the THEOSOPHICAL
principles, we have KAMA vs. BUDDHI. That is we have short-sighted,
excitement seeking, selfishness vs. the calm placidity of a universal
purview - of WISDOM and a sure knowledge of the evidence that LAW is
everywhere active. (Key, pp. 135-6,, 175-6)

If this is understood and agreed on, then the triple nature of the mind
is also grasped ( see The KEY TO THEOSOPHY pp. 175-6 ).

The question of repression also involves the WILL. It is the result of
our comparing the potential results of unbridled desire and passion
operating as motive for life and action, vs. lawful cooperative effort.
It does away with the selfish isolation of the personal, by comparing
the results of companionship with other persons which have equal tenure
and rights. Therefore, it assigns to it a place of responsibility and
legitimate interaction. [ How does "death" affect our thoughts and
projections into the future? Physically we are not immortals. Mentally
we are. ]

If vice is exaggerated virtue, then the problem is of exaggeration.
Note that vice always tries to disguise itself to others as virtue. Why
?

In ourselves in our psychic makeup we know exactly what the value of our
motives are. There we are truly honest and we cannot fool ourselves.
Although, we can often over ride caution with desire. It is this power
to over-ride that needs control.

We the MONAD (ATMA-BUDDHI-MANAS) are in effect the "owners" of the
"field of action" - which is made of the several sheaths or vestures of
the "personality" (Physical and Astral bodies, Prana (Life-principle),
and Kama (desires and passions and emotions). The "passions and
desires" are quite evidently of a lower category of "consciousness"
(instinctual intelligence) than the "Mind" (and the power of directed
thought). 

We have through WILL the power to decide. This is MOTIVE. 

KARMA ensues from motives carried into ACTION. 

HPB does not say to "forget." She says CONTROL with full knowledge and
ability. In fact as we read through the MAHATMA LETTERS we can find
instances where the Mahatma makes this quite clear, with illustrations
from his own experience.

In The VOICE OF THE SILENCE we find that the advice given to the pupil
is to "KILL" the impulses that arise from the psychic and the kamic
natures and replace them with Manasic control and the capacity form
pre-viewing results based on lawful or illegitimate bases. This may
sound extreme, but in reality, such impulses are found, on strict
analysis, 
to be quite useless. The ability of recognizing these is not to be
destroyed, but their INFLUENCE is

I hope this might be of help

Best wishes,

Dallas


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

. 
-----Original Message-----
From: Pablo S
Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 5:19 AM
To: blavatsky.net
Subject: [bn-study] Re: such a fuss.....crazy diamond

Hello

I have little time to write, but I've read all the messages which are
very interesting.
Patanjali says that a tendency can be removed fixing the attention in
the opposite tendency.
However, I agree with Peter "that just removing our attention from
something does not cause it to dissipate". In fact, I think that we need
to put complete attention (silent attention) to be conscious of that
inner movement, and in this way the tendency can be "repressed", I mean,
its activity ends because of the light of awareness. 
May be HPB is pointing out this when she said "to repress", and in no
way "to forget" or something like this. There is an excerpt in which HPB
says that Buddhi "overshadow" manas, when perception is turning to the
inner space, i. e., when attention is fixed on the perception.
This overshadowing "repress" the kama-manas activities, like citta-virti
nirodhah of Patanjali.
This is as I understand this topic.

Best regards

Pablo




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