Theos-Talk Archives (July 2004 Message tt00249)

July 20 2004

Dear Friends:



A number of postings about mind and consciousness, existence and the void,
etc have held our attention. In my opinion that which THEOSOPHY offers has
a logical validity,



Let me offer for your consideration a brief essay on:



THE UNDYING HUMAN MONAD AND THE UNIVERSAL MONAD





REFLECTIONS ON MONADIC EVOLUTION



and



THE VALUE OF THEOSOPHY







"Why are we here," is a good question. 



But it ought to be supplemented by another:



"How did we get to be here?"



Theosophy says that we are at core spiritual beings. We are immortals who
entered into this world on a rescue mission. We are all here to help others
who do not yet know they are wise and spiritual and have to be shown how to
discover that in themselves.



In fact each of us is a case in point. We find ourselves in or surrounded
by difficulties, pain, sorrow, and also see joyous and pleasant moments. We
wonder how to get rid of the hurt and increase the happiness. This can be
resolved into another question: "How do we get out of here?"



And if we do not get a reasonable answer we feel imposed on by injustice.
Are we to blame man-made "law" or shall we blame "Nature" for failing to
protect us?



Theosophy makes a situation report to us:



As said, one its principal tenets is: all forms and beings, all humans, and
this includes ourselves, -- we, all, from the imperishable atom on up to
the largest and most complex of forms, we are compounds of the "immortals."




It is also posited that consciousness, intelligence, memory and the creative
mind are the primary faculties (whether potentially, actually or innate) of
these undying entities. So it is held that our consciousness or individual
awareness does not "die." [For example, we all go to sleep and then wake up
and we find a continuing being -- ourselves, again. ] It is the
Spiritual Self that we are which continually energises and keeps alive this
continuity through the unconsciousness we call "sleep."]



We find ourselves constantly changing, mortal bodies. That is our personal,
our physical nature, and we keep that alive with several things that come
and stay, or go, and pass through our bodies. [ For example, we all breathe
air, drink water, and eat. We all work, play and rest. ] Eventually the
body grows old, tired and is unable to heal and renew itself. It dies. But
Theosophy states very positively that the Real Person within, is immortal
and does not die. It comes back in a new body under a universal law called
"reincarnation." It is this consciousness of continuity that is the real
immortal, not the bodily form.



Another variable are find is in our moods and feelings. [For example. we
divide how we "feel" into two categories: things we like and others that we
dislike.] To some extent we are able to control and change how we feel,
and at other times we are overwhelmed by their power.



A third factor we now realize is the Mind (or some call it the Soul). We do
not "have a Soul." We are the SOUL. And yet we also know that we can
change our minds. Do we have two minds? In a way, yes. 



We have the "spiritual Mind" that is immortal, and, we have its reflection
in the body which we call our "embodied mind." 



We notice that the embodied mind is most closely allied to our "feelings."
Sometimes it has the power to control the feelings, sometimes the feelings
and desires (or passions) overthrow the mind's control, and we hear of
crimes committed. [ The Laws of all countries recognize the fact that the
Human Mind is supposed to be able to control an individual's desires,
passions and feelings and hold them under a discipline that makes us "equal
before the law." If a crime is detected, then the local Law holds the
person (including the inner Self) responsible and liable. We also know that
this may abused, and that hypocrisy, dissimulation and dishonesty is
prevalent. ]



Theosophy states most positively that are Spiritual Beings who have
"descended voluntarily into matter." We, as Spiritually advanced Monads,
did this by choice many ages back, so that we could show by example and by
precept the existence of the "spiritual realm." This enables us to assist
our "younger brothers" who are also "monads," but who still lack the
experience we have had. The mission we took up was to help them by advice
(as from a tutor) to become consciously spiritual as we are yet today. In
this we cannot usurp the right to self-development which is an integral part
of every aspect of personal growth and of every stage of spiritual power
that the embodied personal mind can achieve. 



So we took on their problems, as advisors, and in the process we also lost
some of our spiritual powers. Together now, we are struggling to become
entirely spiritual and in the process assisting monads all through Nature to
improve. In a way it is like the fire-fighters who plunge into a burning
building seeking to extinguish the flames and also rescue, if any one is
there who needs our help.



Looking at the matter in a deeper way, we might add:



One of the main ideas that THEOSOPHY presents is that it is not derived from
any of the religious philosophies of antiquity. It claims, both as a record
of actual history, and, as a logical philosophy, to be the most ancient
system of all. It says that each "religion," and each philosophy and science
of our era have been derived from the records and doctrines of perennial
Theosophy.



The book The SECRET DOCTRINE offers us a survey of two vast subjects: --



1. The origin of Worlds, galaxies and Universe, and the origin of
Man as a thinking being. 



2. It claims that (using the words of the ancient Sage Patanjali) :
"The Universe comes into existence for the sole purpose of the evolution of
the thinking man of Monad."



Here are some extracts which explain this further:





"If one considers that the entire MANIFESTATION is made up of imperishable
(immortal) MONADS and, each one is a compound that cannot be separated of
SPIRIT/MATTER, then it is possible to consider another deduction:
INTELLIGENCE is a mark of the individual progress of each MONAD as it wends
its eternal journey through the experiences that MANIFESTATION gives. Every
least "atom" is intelligent, and that intelligence is ever-growing as it
lives through experience in all the many successive planes of nature. "The
SECRET DOCTRINE teaches the progressive development of everything, worlds,
as well as atoms; and this stupendous development has neither conceivable
beginning not imaginable end." SD I p. 43





It looks on the whole of evolution and manifestation as embodied awareness,
or "consciousness." it claims that every being from the basic "life-atom
(Monad)" just issued fresh from the "monadic essence," on up to the wisest
of Sages, form a single united body of spiritual LIFE. Thus the existence
of an eternal and ever-existent Spiritual College of the "Wise" exists and
is in operation.



Life is embodied Intelligence. Intelligence is always growing and
progressing. Experience leaves an indelible impress of the memory of all
events, thoughts and words; and that is the basis for every stage and level
of individual increment and growth. The Experiencer within each being and
each human self, is also the Perceiver and the Witness of all changes and
events it has experienced in this life and in all past lives. 



It, as the "Observer," is the constant and unchangeable center of
immortality in the unit Monad. This Monad is held to be an "Eternal
Pilgrim." It is brother and companion to all other Monads. Hence,
Theosophy holds that Universal Brotherhood is a fact in nature.



The whole of manifestation reflects in its many kinds of form and mind that
all Monads unite at various levels of consciousness, but basically thee is
only ONE CONSCIOUSNESS and its many aspects. And, it holds that none of its
Units ever "dies." or is erased. Each one is an immortal.



CONSCIOUSNESS is the PERCEPTIVE power which it, the Real Man, uses to
experience on the 7 planes of Nature -- using the 7 "principles" of its
nature as a basis for making this contact, and it stores the memory of those
experiences. "Mind is the name given to the sum of the states of
Consciousness grouped under Thought, Will and Feeling." (SD I 38) ...
"Whatever plane our consciousness may be acting in, both we and the things
belonging to that plane, are for the time being, our only realities...the
upward progress of the Ego is a series of progressive awakenings..." (SD I
40)



But that MEMORY is not always available to the Mind (Lower-Manas, or the
embodied mind), that we use every day while awake, and yet, as it is
embodied in our personalities, we believe that it and ourselves are one. The
fact that "We" are other than the Mind, makes the progress we seek (in the
here and now) a process of purifying our mind-nature of the psychic
impressions we have imposed on it and on the living matter (monads of
lesser experience) that we have drawn together to make up our physical
bodies. 



The "path" of this purification of the mind directs us to recommend that all
our efforts be focused on the application of virtue: that which is
honorable, fair, true, and the most honest method of living with and dealing
with other beings, whether those be men or other aggregates of intelligence
that we might call stones, plants, animals or men. 



In other words, in the process of self-purification, it is suggested that we
voluntarily order our lives so as to harmonize with nature to the best
possible extent. Obviously, for our personal consciousness (arising out of
the personal focus of a physical form, and now placed in coadunition with a
Mind) it seems to be a great discipline. The "conflict" in the psychic
nature is intense. (SD II 79-80, 93-4)



The MONAD (in itself) is unaffected. But it draws SKANDHAS (or Monads of
lesser experience around it and to it) They "hook up to it." They choose
it to be the center of their progress. They form the highest and best
vehicle for it to begin to manifest as an individual CONSCIOUSNESS on the
physical and psychic planes of manifestation -- of which, there are 7 (both
in Nature and in Man). "The Monads are the Souls of the Atoms, both are the
fabric in which the Chohans (Dhyanis, gods) clothe themselves when a form is
needed." SD I 619.





To be brief, we call the Monad, when it is in the mineral stage the
"Mineral-Monad." When it is in the animal stage of its evolution, we call
it the "Animal-Monad." And when it finally reaches the Human stage, we call
it the "Human-Monad." When the purely human is transcended we might call
the Monad, one that has returned to its primitive Divine state -- the Dhyan
Chohan. It has attained Universal Self-consciousness. It lives with,
understands fully, and works with Karma. It therefore can choose to return
to the limited conditions provided by the "Lighting up of Manas" and inspire
a developing MONAD to achieve its perfection, to awaken its own universal
self-consciousness.



If one considers the scope of Theosophical doctrines we can see that this
can be applied everywhere -- providing we use the concept that everything is
a Monad, and that each is constantly engaged as a developing pupil of the
great Law. Karma is a process that is enormously sensitive, and it
operates at all times and on all beings to adjust any disturbance and
restore harmony. 



Some basic ideas offered by Theosophy are:



"It is on the right comprehension of the primeval Evolution of Spirit-Matter
and its real essence that the student has to depend for the further
elucidation in his mind of the Occult Cosmogony, and for the only sure clue
which can guide his subsequent studies. " S D Vol I page 277. 



"It is the Spiritual evolution of the inner, immortal man that forms the
fundamental tenet in the Occult Sciences...the student has to believe 



a) in the ONE Universal Life, independent of matter...and, 



b) in the individual intelligences that animate the various manifestations
of this Principle."-- SD I 634



"The ONE LIFE is closely related to the One Law, which governs the World of
Being--KARMA... action," or rather "an effect-producing cause."... in its
far-reaching moral effects. It is the unerring LAW of RETRIBUTION."...
eternal and immutable..." -- SD I 634



"...man is a free agent during his stay on earth. He cannot escape his
ruling Destiny...which from birth to death every man is weaving thread by
thread around himself; and this destiny is guided either by the heavenly
voice of the invisible prototype outside of us, or by the evil genius of our
more intimate astral, or inner man."-- SD I 639



"Bad" karma is the effect of any choice that has selfish motives inherent in
it. The Monadic being that created the disharmony has to be brought (by
Nature using Karmic law) to "teach himself" or "to become a volunteer for
the good." All the situations he is placed in are framed so as to awaken
his questioning intelligence, to make him reflect on his advantages and
limitations, and finally to ask: Why am I here? What can I to do? Where
should I be going? "Is there a final GOAL?"



This leads the thoughtful man out of any blind following of leaders in
religion, philosophy, politics or science into deciding what he should study
and accept as his own guiding principles. The closer that those are to
universal morality and ethics, the more perfect will he make his living.



We could say that Theosophy is a record of the HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE in
terms of universal experience. It is like a great wall. We can not "bite"
it. It shows us the "reality" we are looking for. Now we have to find out
how it works, and what is that final objective of manifested existence. How
does our MONAD reunite with the universal MONAD in which it all beings are
dwelling, perhaps unconsciously for aeons of time? "The whole past of our
globe is nothing but an unfolding present."

SD I 639.



If one looks closely at religion and politics one soon finds that they deal
with temporary things, and limited objectives. Theosophy as a fund of
actual data from the past (a record), and a body of history is unassailable.
It is a record of the observations of facts, events, results of events down
the ages -- so the cycles of effect that follow causes and thus are Laws,
become apparent. When the complexity of the Universe and Nature is apparent
to us, and as our perceptions and intelligence grow we will grasp the fact
that we are the ones who drive that. We are the immortal CHOOSERS.



The differences of our many starting points in life and education in this
present incarnation, do not matter, we find that all conflict arises only
over DIFFERENCES of outlook. Once that we all are looking at the same
thing, on a voluntary basis, all conflicts disappear and we see each other's
view-points as well as our own.



Similarity can never to be identity. That is impossible. Hence logically,
there are no "leaders," and no "authorities." Our true leader and authority
(for our own selves) is the Divine MONAD within (ATMA-BUDDHI), also called:
THE HIGHER SELF. And our MONAD is no different form any other MONAD.
["Every monad reflects every other. Every monad is a living mirror of the
Universe within its own sphere." -- SD I 631.] 



We do exhibit a great degree of intelligence and have corresponding great
responsibilities. Using the process of introspection and observation of our
own natures, thoughts and acts, we gradually become conscious of their
power, and then it is that we notice the conflict that arises between the
"necessary" and the "pleasant" (to the personality -- which cannot see with
the "instinct" alone, the inevitable suffering that indulging the "pleasant"
entails). Alone the awakened Mind can see this potential and guard against
it. It is a power we have that is superior to our feelings and desires.



In practical life one finds that all systems and methods embody
inefficiencies. This is a saving grace. There should never be any
imposition of "personal efficiency" on others. Each has to create their
own. In the meantime in cooperation with others we learn to tolerate the
inefficiencies of others, and work in and around them. What do we need to
find and use for the study of Theosophy ? -- Ideally we need the "original
teachings." Additionally we need to find a forum in which we can join with
others to discuss the philosophy and its applications. 



-----------------------------------------



I would value your reflections on this. There may be flaws in this kind of
reasoning and I need your help in sorting them out.





Best wishes,



Dallas



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