Theos-Talk Archives (January 2004 Message tt00254)

Dear Krishtar,

If I may comment:

> How can the intellectual knowledge of Theosophy and Secret Doctrine
> make us real believers of its principles? 

By itself it cannot. The intellect is useless without the heart 
understanding, the wisdom that comes of informed experience.

Many of us are only readers,
> enquirers of SD, some more than a decade long, but when life brings us
> to a situation in which we must testify what we learn...we are feeling
> weak again, even with all these readings and studies... It should be
> the strongest effort in life, to become this wisdom a true personal
> enlightenment. 

This is the path of the occultist, the student of the ancient wisdom. 
We learn something, then life (karma) brings us a test of our 
knowledge. We try to apply what we have learned. Sometimes we 
succeed, more often we fail. But we learn something in the trying. 
Then we have the opportunity to be witnesses to our own behavior, to 
review what we did (or thought or said) in order to understand where 
we made the right choice, the choice in accord with what we 
understand of the principles we have been studying, and where we did 
not. Each such experience gives us strength to make better choices in 
the future. We gain wisdom by proving to ourselves the truth of the 
knowledge we have attained through our own experience. The most 
important thing to remember is never give up. A thousand failures are 
nothing compared to a single success. It is in the trying, with hope 
and faith in ourselves and in the Master, that we generate the force 
of aspiration that inspires our brothers and sisters to keep trying 
also. This is how we evolve together in consciousness.

Best wishes,
Adelasie