Theos-Talk Archives (March 2004 Message tt00418)

In a message dated 03/18/04 10:18:19 PM, alpha@dircon.co.uk writes:

>Leon
>
>There are these quotes from "The Secret Doctrine", mentioning the Jewish
>race and the Semitic race. 

Although the Semites are a sub-racial distinction, only some Jews are Semites 
-- which, btw, is the same racial stock as the Arabs. In any event, There 
cannot be a "Jewish race" per se, since, not only is Judaism a religion in 
itself, but there are many Jews who are also Negroid and Hamitic, as well as 
"Aryan", not to mention many other questionable racial distinctions. It's a shame 
that so many people identify race with color or other physical distinctionsthat 
have little to do with the "root races," "sub races" and "family races" 
spoken of in the Secret Doctrine -- who are all parts of the human race in varying 
stages of evolution and cultural development, as well as of different 
religions that cut across racial distinctions. I think this whole subject of physical 
races is a mishmash of misinformation and misinterpretation, and serves only 
as a diversion, when we should be thinking in terms of the Human race in 
general.      

>"The Jewish race is, on the other hand, proclaimed even by its severest
>critic, an uncompromising opponent of the Bible, (See “Modern Science and
>Modern Thought,” p. 337), to have the merit of having conceived the idea
>of monotheism “earlier, and retained it more firmly, than any of the less
>philosophical and more immoral religions(!!) of the “ancient world.” "
>(vol.I, page 252)
>
>" . . . and, secondly, that there was a common Aryan religion before the
>separation of the Aryan race; a common Semitic religion before the
>separation of the Semitic race (Introductory, page 29)

As for these comments, I take them with a grain of salt -- as I do many 
statements in the Secret Doctrine -- until I understand for myself the motives, as 
well as the truth behind them. There are many ideas and pronouncements of 
Blavatsky that reflect her own prejudices as well as the culture in which she 
came from and catered to. She also made some errors, I think -- that even she 
was prone to admit was possible.

>I was speaking to a Jewish friend last night who saw themselves as part
>of the Jewish race.
>As I understand it, lets call them "True" Jews, see the state of Israel asa
>state of consciousness. The Zionists and the rest see the State of Israel
>as a Country. What is the truth of this statement, if any, and is there a
>name for those Jews who see the state of Israel as a state of Consciousness?

Your Jewish friend is perhaps an Israelite of the tribe of Judah who may have 
little understanding of the difference between the Kohanim descended directly 
from Abrahm or Abraham (who trace their origin back to the Aryan Brahmans 
that migrated from India through Chaldea) and the Semites who were the bulkof 
the slaves that Moses took with him out of Egypt. Those Kohanim that were of the 
family of Moses, were not Semites originally -- although many of them are 
mixed today, due to intermarriage. But there are still some Kohanim families 
that are more or less pure Aryan from a racial point of view, since among them 
there are many blond and blue eyed Aryan types. These Kohanim (although now 
universally labeled Jews) consider themselves as followers of the Hebrew religion 
in its purest form. Thus, there is no "Jewish race" per se -- except in the 
minds of some of the ignorant followers of this (today, somewhat distorted) 
religion (like most others), and its equally ignorant anti Semites and other 
bigots -- who see no difference between race and religion, and lump everyone in 
any group into one basket.

As for the distinction between Israel as either a state of consciousness ora 
country, there are many Kabbalistic Jews who are not Zionists in the sense of 
isolation of their religion into a statist society -- as are some of the 
Muslim dominated countries. Such Jews believe that Zion or Israel is purely a 
state of mind (or consciousness, if you will) and "Tomorrow Jerusalem" really 
means the attainment of a paradise in the sense spoken of by HPB which implies 
the whole Human race becoming a "Universal Brotherhood" -- with a common 
religion that is purely theosophical. Could that be why in the Bible it says that 
Moses was not allowed by God to go to the "promised land" that his followers 
expected to find in Palestine? Was it, perhaps, that as an Adept, the only 
"Jerusalem" he was destined to go to is Devachan? Mightn't we even say that he was 
the HPB of his time, and that the priests that followed him and distorted his 
teachings were the Besant's, Bailey's and Leadbeater's of their time?

>Although HPB studied for years the Kabalah ("for nearer forty than thirty
>years" CW vol. 8, p.140 - is there some symbology in that?), does she go
>as far as saying: <<<the true Hebrew Kabbala as being equivalent with
>the Gupta Vidya or Secret Doctrine>>>? Is the true Kabalah even Hebrew?

The "true Kabbalah" is synonymius with the Secret Doctrine. What I meant as 
"Hebrew Kabbalah" is that there are many Hebrew Talmudic Scholars, usually of 
the families of the hereditary priests, and, specifically, a class of them 
that can trace their direct descent from Moses -- who accept that esoteric or 
true Kabbalah (the one I'm sure was studied by HPB) based on the secret (or 
sacred, those words having a common root) oral teachings related to the Egyptian 
mysteries taught to Moses. These root teachings are essentially identical with 
the Gupta Vidya of the original Brahmanical teachings. Accordingly, they are 
never written down except in allegorical terms, and are passed on from the 
"father" (taken both literally and allegorically as referring to Moses or God) to 
each "son of a seventh son" (An allegorical statement referring to one who is 
of a quality to understand the mystical teachings and use them properly) by 
mouth to ear. Such transmission is in effect, an "initiation" -- if from a 
father who is already privy to the Gupta Vidya. 

>Just to think of the Sanscrit and Hebrew alphabets, the latter is basically
>a collection of phallic symbols. How different they are.

How different are they? One can see phallic symbols in all languages, 
including mathematics, e.g., the one and the zero. I've yet to hear any convincing 
argument that the Hebrew alphabet is entirely phallic symbology. Where did 
you get that information?    

>"While the Oriental Cabala remained in its pure primitive shape, the Mosaic
>or Jewish one was full of drawbacks, and the keys to many of the secrets
>—forbidden by the Mosaic law — purposely misinterpreted." ("A Few 
>Questions to "Hiraf" - CW. I, page 111).

Agreed. But, the Mosaic law was actually laid down by Ezra when he put in 
writing those interpretation of the laws that the high priests (Sanhedron) had 
agreed upon would protect their interests by not revealing the secret mysteries 
or "keys" of the Egyptian Kabbala, that Moses knew, to the non Kohanim rabbis 
or laity. But, this written Kabala of the Hebrew priests was not the mystery 
teaching that Moses passed on to his direct descendants -- who became those 
Kohanim that broke away from the descendants of Aaron, and are still the "ori
ental" or Egyptian Kabbalists of today. Those that I have met, and discussed 
these differences, have no disagreement with the Secret Doctrine.  

>"Thus, if Kabalah as a word is Hebrew, the system itself is no more Jewish
>than is sunlight; it is universal." ("Kabalah and Kabalists" - CW, page
>268).

Agreed. That's why I spell the true oral teaching of the Hebrew Kohanim 
descendants of Moses, the Egyptian, that agrees with the universal teachings of 
Gupta Vidya or "oriental Cabala" -- "Kabbalah" -- to distinguish it from those 
who think the Kabalah is a Jewish invention. If we compare the Hebrew "Tree of 
Life" or Sephirothal tree of the Hebrews with the Brahmanical system as 
illustrated and discussed in the SD, we can see that they are almost identical.  

In any event, since the arguments still go on to this day among Hebrew 
scholars as to the deeper meanings of the Kabbalah, there's not much point in our 
discussing it any further here. The best we can do is stick our noses in the 
Secret Doctrine, and get as much out of it as we can. :-)

Leon

>Tony
>