Theos-Talk Archives (March 2004 Message tt00121)

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "krishtar" <krishtar_a@b...> 
wrote:
> Hi
> It is sad.
> I joined this group 2 years ago in order to learn a littīle more 
and share views but what I truly found here was nothing but too few 
people with humbleness and compassion, esteem, but a great majority, 
by the messages posted recently, such as Arielīs,( and others), with 
whom I had the tragic experience of exchanging a few posts about 
meditation- where arrogance is a constant and estimableness is a 
rare quality.
> Why does it happens?

Dear Krishtar,

Here's a suggestion: people fundamentally misconstrue the very 
nature of theosophia, focusing only on one aspect of HPB's teachings 
and ignoring completely its necessary complement. They imagine that 
the contents of theosophical books *are* theosophy, that theosophy 
can therefore be grasped and comprehended and used as a tool with 
which to attack any teachings or ideas regarded as non-theosophy.  
What this ignores is repeated warnings throughout the literature 
that theosophy cannot be contained in books, cannot be comprehended 
by the grasping mind, and is inherently kind and *not* a weapon-- if 
used as such it is being abused.

Why does that happen? I resort to a Jungian concept, enantiodromia, 
the tendency of entities to evolve (devolve) into direct opposites 
of themselves. Hence, psychiatrists commit suicide more than other 
MDs, ministers are guilty of sexual abuse more than other 
professions, ad nauseum. The Theosophical movement was initiated to 
stimulate inquiry and brotherhood; it has largely turned into a 
cacaphony of factions/individuals who think they know all the 
answers and are thereby authorized/obliged/encouraged to attack 
anyone with different answers. Or even for asking "impertinent" 
questions!

The Sufi teaching is that new efforts are constantly initiated 
because the old ones are constantly degenerating. Maybe there's 
something to that.

Paul