Theos-Talk Archives (August 2004 Message tt00309)

Hi All,
Just some thoughts

"If thou art told that to become Arhan thou hast to cease to love
all
beings -- tell them they lie."

(Voice of the Silence)

This statement above from the Voice of the Silence I find is a good
one to remember when it comes to love and inclusiveness to ALL
especially in regard to homophobia discussed recently or any other
form of elitism.

My understanding of the theosophical path is one of self forgetfulness
seeing beyond the temporal fogs of personality and into the heart of
Universal Compassion for ALL.

The Gita points out that following our dharma will be a difficult path
thus the metaphor of the battle ground.

Long held mindsets are not easily shaken and a change of mind
sometimes brings with it temporal devastation and this can leed to a
period of despair as with Arjuna before the battle.

The temporal "order" when disrupted from its ignorance by a
new
insight can go into a panic and try and maintain the old "worn
groove"
for its own survival . 

I've had this happen to me so many times hopefully now I am
starting
to recognise the pattern and try and work through it and
welcome the new insights rather than fight them.

I remember someone saying to me once "hold your opinions very
lightly"
and I find that a very good rule of thumb.

Seeking new insights and ways of looking at things, not trying to
convince others my perspective is the right one and remaining ever
open to the reality that we only see things very partially.

New insights may not always be what i (the personality) wants to
hear, we may have invested many years supporting it and then be in a
position where we need to re-examine our opinion and take another
stance which may make us unpopular perhaps. 
In my opinion we need to separate the search for truth from
organisation and
organisational trappings and I use that word intentionally.

Whether the trappings come under the guise of homophobia, dogmatism or
historical denial.

First we need to investigate objectively whether there is anything to
these claims or whether they are simply trumped up.

Is it simply intellectual one up man ship?

We can only answer that question as an individual in regards to
ourselves as know one else can judge another's motives.

If genuine rational debate is only to be ridiculed and or ignored in
these so-called mundane matters how can we act with any integrity in
more subtle so called spiritual matters is there a difference?

For me there is no difference only in the motive and the method.

CWL was a human being with faults like the rest of us and I try to
have compassion for the fact that he had such a damaging predilection
sexually for young boys.
But my compassion also recognises the damage he must have done to
those boys by molesting them as the evidence seems quite clearly to
show.

Is it not an injustice that this fact be ignored and people continue
to be fed the delusion of CWL being a high initiate?

My understanding is spirituality is not about chanting mantrums and
reading books.

Self Realisation requires honesty and an open and clear mind not
distracted by the kama manasic desire for comfort and avoidance of
pain. 
I know I am miles away from that ideal state but I need to start
somewhere and for mere mortals like myself perhaps honesty in
`mundane' matters is the only place we can start.

If CWL only claimed to be a mere mortal as well, I would have
`no axe
to grind' so to speak but he didn't he claimed to be a high
initiate.

If his personality had a predisposition to lying and to molesting
young boys this surely brings that status into question.

Does it matter? Is it just history and one up man ship?

I would suggest it does matter as CWLs writings are still presented as
authoritative in regards to theosophy to the general public.

The spiritual path component of this is to me crucial infact.
I can still love CWL as a human being with all his defects the same as
any other being but that doesn't mean I support the behaviour or
pronouncements of that person.

Perry