Theos-Talk Archives (August 2004 Message tt00369)

Hallo all,

My views are:

We all know, that Theosophy is ALTRUISM at its core...

The following was taken from the book
"The Initiate in the New World" written 1927 by Cyril Scott
might be helpful for the interested readers to digest...
( http://home19.inet.tele.dk/global-theosophy/vol_2.pdf )

The text quoted is an excerpt of a lecture given by the so-called Initiate named 
JMH - Jerome Moreward Haig. The subject of the lecture was something like 
"Love and its relation to maya. And how to strenghten you capacity for love through meditation and other means".

I do not hope, that the reader will underestimate the value, that the content of the text could have.
Here it is...JMH...is talking...

***
As he neared the conclusion of his discourse he said: "Are there no other methods for
acquiring this attitude- other than the methods of meditation prescribed? Personally I
believe there are. Take the analogy of the blacksmith's arm; his right arm is unusually
strong and muscular, his left is weak and puny in comparison. Why is this? Because he
has developed the strength of his right arm by swinging the hammer; his left he has
only used as all people use it who are not ambidextrous. And it's just the same with
love- exercise the will to love, and you develop the capacity to love, so that your
whole love - nature becomes strong and enduring; love in the ordinary way as people
do who are merely attracted, and your love - nature remains weak and sickly, and
eventually dies altogether. For observe; love requires to be nourished from within and
not from without. As long as you are dependent on externals you'll never be safe. Only
when you make up your mind not to depend on those externals will you be secure. But
you must start now while you're young; when you are old it will be too late. The
attitude once acquired will persist of its own accord; then when old age has come upon
you there will be none of this difficulty about making new friends that we so often hear
of. Instead of merely being fond of one or two friends you'll be fond of ten friends,
twenty, a hundred- there is no limit beyond what you yourselves impose. And of
course as the number increases the likelihood of your outliving them diminishes. The
lonely lovelessness of old age is but the penalty one pays for exclusiveness.

"To come to a practical suggestion; why not select at least one person from among
your acquaintances who is not sympathetic to you, and then, always, of course, with
the aid of Imagination, will yourself to love that person. I'm not by this implying that
there are some here who actually and actively hate anybody, because, as you know, we
dare not initiate those who have not got over such an emotion as hatred. But there are
still persons to whom you feel- shall we say extremely indifferent; whose actual bodies
are not sympathetic to you, so that you would care to take their arm or touch their hand
or show any of that physical demonstrativeness which specially women are
accustomed to show one another. You needn't even go further afield than our own
immediate circle; for although I admit that on the whole the spirit amongst you is one
of love and fellowship, there is in some isolated cases room for improvement. There
are one or two or you women who might feel a great deal more loving towards each
other than you do at present. Your own hearts will tell you what I myself don't need to

*** The Initiate in the New World by His Pupil - page 76 ***

tell you. But I ask you to let those hearts of yours speak, and to follow their promptings.
I assure you that by acting on my suggestion you can progress very considerably. I
should add that the exercise of this will to love need not be restricted to members of the
same sex. How often, for instance, does a woman feel that such and such a man is quite
agreeable to talk to, but that she would scream- women are very fond of this talk about
screaming- if he were to take her hand or put his arm round her? And the same with a
man towards a woman, except that men don't usually scream! Is any form of repulsion,
towards whomever it may be, an ideal state of things? Oh, I grant I'm not asking from
you something that's very easy when I suggest that you should overcome all such
repulsions- but then if we only did the easy things in life we should never progress at
all. This love - consciousness at which you are aiming has, like the kingdom of heaven,
to be taken by force; to be conquered; and like all things where conquest is involved it
requires effort. I'll go so far as to say that it would- for some people- be much easier to
love God than an unsympathetic neighbour. God you can endow with every lovable
and wonderful quality you like, and He doesn't suddenly appear in person to annoy and
disappoint you. You can even credit Him with undesirable qualities, such as jealousy,
anger, or revengefulness, if these attributes happen to please you - but your
unsympathetic neighbour you're obliged to take just as he is. It is you who have t
change, not he- and it is you who first of all must wish to change.

"And so I say to you who are striving for Love - consciousness, use every means in
your power to attain it. Don't let mere meditation suffice, but learn to love even your
seemingly less lovable neighbour. Learn to love him for the sake of the Self, the One in
the Many."

***


from
M. Sufilight...now where is my wife...?

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