Theos-Talk Archives (August 2004 Message tt00676)

Aug 30 2004

Dear Ana Maria:

Many thanks for sharing such valuable memories of a truly great man and
theosophist with us.

I particularly liked what you wrote:

"But when I see in some of your mails (I confess I can't always follow the
list) how important it is for some of you whether so and so did such a thing
or other, I can't help thinking that the essence of Theosophy is much beyond
that and I
don't recall my father criticizing or despising anybody, in of out of
Theosophy. He had hundreds of books and he always seemed to pick up
something valuable from passages in them which he read and pondered
upon. Until the very end, he kept saying "I have made a great
finding..." and then told you about it with such passion and
enthusiasm that it was not only what he said but the way he said it
that succeeded in conveying the message."

In this regard, I fully agree. We are a vast brotherhood of Spirit/Souls. 

No one ought to criticize or despise any one.  

As brother Pilgrims on an eternal journey, all together, we cannot hold to
that kind of attitude, which is very sort-sighted. However, in the service
of history, documents that indicate how things happened, tell the story of
the actuality of past events. In view of the obscurity of many present (and
past) "opinions," those documents make visible what actually happened. And,
sometimes the truth "hurts" our pre-formed or adopted "opinions." 

I do hope you will find our friends who are devoted theosophists and can
speak Spanish, eager to assist you in your continuing work.

If there is any way I can help, do not hesitate to ask. I have tried to
secure accurate copies of all "original books and articles" -- specially
those of HPB because she was the "Messenger of the Masters" -- and thus was
responsible for Their "words" to be heard again-- most clearly. Her
colleague W. Q. Judge received from her a whole hearted endorsement If you
are not familiar, with his work, let me know and it will be a pleasure to
send you copies to read and compare with what HPB wrote. [A small sample is
enclosed below)


Best wishes,


Dallas

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

UNIVERSAL APPLICATIONS OF DOCTRINE

W. Q. Judge



DURING the last few years in which so much writing has been done in the
theosophical field of effort, a failure to make broad or universal
applications of the doctrines brought forward can be noticed. With the
exception of H. P. Blavatsky, our writers have confined themselves to narrow
views, chiefly as to the state of man after death or how Karma affects him
in life. As to the latter law, the greatest consideration has been devoted
to deciding how it modifies our pleasure or our pain, and then as to whether
in Devachan there will be compensation for failures of Karma; while others
write upon reincarnation as if only mankind were subject to that law. And
the same limited treatment is adopted in treating of or practicing many
other theories and doctrines of the Wisdom Religion. After fourteen years of
activity [1889] it is now time that the members of our society should make
universal the application of each and every admitted doctrine or precept,
and not confine them to their own selfish selves.

In order to make my meaning clear I purpose in this paper to attempt an
outline of how such universal applications of some of our doctrines should
be made.

Before taking up any of these I would draw the attention of those who
believe in the Upanishads to the constant insistence throughout those sacred
books upon the identity of man with Brahma, or God, or nature, and to the
universal application of all doctrines or laws.

In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad(1) it is said:


"Tell me the Brahman which is visible, not invisible, the atman who is
within all?

This, thy Self who is within all. . . . He who breathes in the up-breathing,
he is thy Self and within all. He who breathes in the down-breathing, he is
thy Self and within all. He who breathes in the on-breathing, he is thy Self
and within all. This is thy Self who is within all."


The 6th Brahmana is devoted to showing that all the worlds are woven in and
within each other; and in the 7th the teacher declares that "the puller" or
mover in all things whatsoever is the same Self which is in each man.

The questioners then proceed and draw forth the statement that "what is
above the heavens, beneath the earth, embracing heaven and earth, past,
present, and future, that is woven, like warp and woof, in the ether," and
that the ether is "woven like warp and woof in the Imperishable." If this be
so, then any law that affects man must govern every portion of the universe
in which he lives. 

And we find these sturdy men of old applying their doctrines in every
direction. They use the laws of analogy and correspondences to solve deep
questions. Why need we be behind them? If the entire great Self dwells in
man, the body in all its parts must symbolize the greater world about. So we
discover that space having sound as its distinguishing characteristic is
figured in the human frame by the ear, as fire is by the eye, and, again,
the eye showing forth the soul, for the soul alone conquers death, and that
which in the Upanishads conquers death is fire.

It is possible in this manner to proceed steadily toward the acquirement of
a knowledge of the laws of nature, not only those that are recondite, but
also the more easily perceived. 

If we grant that the human body and organs are a figure, in little, of the
universe, then let us ask the question, "By what is the astral light
symbolized?" By the eye, and specially by the retina and its mode of action.
On the astral light are received the pictures of all events and things, and
on the retina are received the images of objects passing before the man. We
find that these images on the retina remain for a specific period, capable
of measurement, going through certain changes before fading completely away.



THE ASTRAL LIGHT

Let us extend the result of this observation to the astral light, and we
assume that it also goes through similar changes in respect to the pictures.
>From this it follows that the mass or totality of pictures made during any
cycle must, in this great retina, have a period at the end of which they
will have faded away. Such we find is the law as stated by those who know
the Secret Doctrine. In order to arrive at the figures with which to
represent this period, we have to calculate the proportion thus: as the time
of fading from the human retina is to the healthy mans actual due of life,
so is the time of fading from the astral light. The missing term may be
discovered by working upon the doctrine of the four yugas or ages and the
length of one life of Brahma. 


THEOSOPHICAL DOCTRINES

Now these theosophical doctrines which we have been at such pains to
elaborate during all the years of our history are either capable of
universal application or they are not. If they are not, then they are hardly
worth the trouble we have bestowed upon them; and it would then have been
much better for us had we devoted ourselves to some special departments of
science. 

But the great allurement that theosophy holds for those who follow it is
that its doctrines are universal, solving all questions and applying to
every department of nature so far as we know it. And advanced students
declare that the same universal application prevails in regions far beyond
the grasp of present science or of the average mans mind. So that, if a
supposed law or application is formulated to us, either by ourselves or by
some other person, we are at once able to prove it; for unless it can be
applied in every direction--by correspondence, or is found to be one of the
phases of some previously-admitted doctrine, we know that it is false
doctrine or inaccurately stated. 

Thus all our doctrines can be proved and checked at every step. It is not
necessary for us to have constant communications with the Adepts in order to
make sure of our ground; all that we have to do is to see if any position we
assume agrees with well-known principles already formulated and understood. 
Bearing this in mind, we can confidently proceed to examine the great ideas
in which so many of us believe, with a view of seeing how they may be
applied in every direction. 

For if, instead of selfishly considering these laws in their effect upon our
miserable selves, we ask how they apply everywhere, a means is furnished for
the broadening of our horizon and the elimination of selfishness. And when
also we apply the doctrines to all our acts and to all parts of the human
being, we may begin to wake ourselves up to the real task set before us. 


KARMA

Let us look at Karma. It must be applied not only to the man but also to the
Cosmos, to the globe upon which he lives. You know that, for the want of an
English word, the period of one great day of evolution is called a
Manwantara, or the reign of one Manu. 

These eternally succeed each other. In other words, each one of us is a
unit, or a cell, if you please. in the great body or being of Manu, and just
as we see ourselves making Karma and reincarnating for the purpose of
carrying off Karma, so the great being Manu dies at the end of a Manwantara,
and after the period of rest reincarnates once more. the sum total of all
that we have made him or it. And when I say "we," I mean all the beings on
whatever plane or planet who are included in that Manwantara. Therefore this
Manwantara is just exactly what the last Manwantara made it, and so the next
Manwantara after this millions of years off-- will be the sum or result of
this one, plus all that have preceded it.


KARMA AND ANIMAL LIFE

How much have you thought upon the effect of Karma upon the animals, the
plants, the minerals, the elemental beings? Have you been so selfish as to
suppose that they are not affected by you? Is it true that man himself has
no responsibility upon him for the vast numbers of ferocious and noxious
animals, for the deadly serpents and scorpions, the devastating lions and
tigers, that make a howling wilderness of some corners of the earth and
terrorize the people of India and elsewhere? It cannot be true. 

But as the Apostle of the Christians said, it is true that the whole of
creation waits upon man and groans that he keeps back the enlightenment of
all. What happens when, with intention, you crush out the life of a common
croton bug? Well, it is destroyed and you forget it. But you brought it to
an untimely end, short though its life would have been. Imagine this being
done at hundreds of thousands of places in the State. Each of these little
creatures had life and energy; each some degree of intelligence. The sum
total of the effects of all these deaths of small things must be
appreciable. If not, then our doctrines are wrong and there is no wrong in
putting out the life of a human being.

Let us go a little higher, to the bird kingdom and that of four-footed
beasts. Every day in the shooting season in England vast quantities of birds
are killed for sport, and in other places such intelligent and inoffensive
animals as deer. These have a higher intelligence than insects, a wider
scope of feeling. Is there no effect under Karma for all these deaths? And
what is the difference between wantonly killing a deer and murdering an
idiot? Very little to my mind. Why is it, then, that even delicate ladies
will enjoy the recital of a bird or deer hunt? It is their Karma that they
are the descendants of long generations of Europeans who some centuries ago,
with the aid of the church, decided that animals had no souls and therefore
could be wantonly slaughtered. The same Karma permits the grandson of the
Queen of England who calls herself the defender of the faith--of Jesus--to
have great preparations made for his forth-coming visit to India to the end
that he shall enjoy several weeks of tiger-hunting, pig-sticking, and the
destruction of any and every bird that may fly in his way. 

We therefore find ourselves ground down by the Karma of our national stem,
so that we are really almost unable to tell what thoughts are the
counterfeit presentments of the thoughts of our forefathers, and what
self-born in our own minds. 

	
REINCARNATION, DEVACHAN

Let us now look at Reincarnation, Devachan, and Karma.

It has been the custom of theosophists to think upon these subjects in
respect only to the whole man--that is to say, respecting the ego. 

But what of its hourly and daily application? If we believe in the doctrine
of the One Life, then every cell in these material bodies must be governed
by the same laws. Each cell must be a life and have its karma, devachan, and
reincarnation. Everyone of these cells upon incarnating among the others in
our frame must be affected by the character of those it meets; and we make
that character. 

Every thought upon reaching its period dies. It is soon reborn, and coming
back from its devachan it finds either bad or good companions provided for
it. Therefore every hour of life is fraught with danger or with help. How
can it be possible that a few hours a week devoted to theosophic thought and
action can counteract-- even in the gross material cells the effect of
nearly a whole week spent in indifference, frivolity, or selfishness? This
mass of poor or bad thought will form a resistless tide that shall sweep
away all your good resolves at the first opportunity.

This will explain why devoted students often fail. They have waited for a
particular hour or day to try their strength, and when the hour came they
had none. If it was anger they had resolved to conquer, instead of trying to
conquer it at an offered opportunity they ran away from the chance so as to
escape the trial; or they did not meet the hourly small trials that would,
if successfully passed, have given them a great reserve of strength, so that
no time of greater trial would have been able to overcome them.


MAN IN EVOLUITON

Now as to the theory of the evolution of the macrocosm in its application to
the microcosm, man.

The hermetic philosophy held that man is a copy of the greater universe;
that he is a little universe in himself, governed by the same laws as the
great one, and in the small proportions of a human being showing all those
greater laws in operation, only reduced in time or sweep. This is the rule
to which H. P. Blavatsky adheres, and which is found running through all the
ancient mysteries and initiations. It is said that our universe is a
collection of atoms or molecules--called also "lives"; living together and
through each the spirit struggles to reach consciousness, and that this
struggle is governed by a law compelling it to go on in or between periods.
In any period of such struggle some of these atoms or collections of
molecules are left over, as it were, to renew the battle in the next period,
and hence the state of the universe at any time of manifestation or the
state of each newly-manifested universe--must be the result of what was done
in the preceding period.

Coming down to the man, we find that he is a collection of molecules or
lives or cells, each striving with the other, and all affected for either
good or bad results by the spiritual aspirations or want of them in the man
who is the guide or god, so to say, of his little universe. When he is born,
the molecules or cells or lives that are to compose his physical and astral
forms are from that moment under his reign, and during the period of his
smaller life they pass through a small manvantara just as the lives in the
universe do, and when he dies he leaves them all impressed with the force
and color of his thoughts and aspirations, ready to be used in composing the
houses of other egos.

Now here is a great responsibility revealed to us of a double character.

The first is for effects produced on and left in what we call matter in the
molecules, when they come to be used by other egos, for they must act upon
the latter for benefit or the reverse.

The second is for the effect on the molecules themselves in this, that there
are lives or entities in all--or rather they are all lives--who are either
aided or retarded in their evolution by reason of the proper or improper use
man made of this matter that was placed in his charge. 


SPIRIT AND MATTER

Without stopping to argue about what matter is, it will be sufficient to
state that it is held to be co-eternal with what is called "spirit." That
is, as it is put in the Bhagavad-Gita: "He who is spirit is also matter."
Or, in other words, spirit is the opposite pole to matter in the Absolute.
But of course this matter we speak of is not what we see about us, for the
latter is only in fact phenomena of matter: even science holds that we do
not really see matter. 

Now during a manvantara or period of manifestation, the egos incarnating
must use over and over again in any world upon which they are incarnating
the matter that belongs to it. 

So, therefore, we are now using in our incarnations matter that has been
used by ourselves and other egos over and over again, and are affected by
the various tendencies impressed in it. And, similarly, we are leaving
behind us for future races that which will help or embarrass them in their
future lives. 

This is a highly important matter, whether reincarnation be a true doctrine
or not. For if each new nation is only a mass of new egos or souls, it must
be much affected by the matter-environment left behind by nations and races
that have disappeared forever.

But for us who believe in reincarnation it has additional force, showing us
one strong reason why universal brotherhood should be believed in and
practised.


DEATH IS REMOVED FROM THE UNIVERSE

The other branch of the responsibility is just as serious. The doctrine that
removes death from the universe and declares that all is composed of
innumerable lives, constantly changing places with each other, contains in
it of necessity the theory that man himself is full of these lives and that
all are traveling up the long road of evolution.

The secret doctrine holds that we are full of kingdoms of entities who
depend upon us, so to say, for salvation. 

How enormous, then, is this responsibility, that we not only are to be
judged for what we do with ourselves as a whole, but also for what we do for
those unseen beings who are dependent upon us for light.

W.Q.J.
PATH, October, 1889 



====================================


-----Original Message-----
From: ana maria 
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 12:45 PM
To: 
Subject: Re: Our AGE -- The Kali Yuga -- How can we use it ?


> Please feel free to reprint anything I put on Internet.

Thanks a lot, dear Dallas. In that case I will translate it for the
issue next month. :-)

> I don't know anything about "SOPHIA" and am glad to hear of its
> publication.

It is a monthly magazine that has been published for about 15 years
and which consists mainly of articles translated from other
Theosophical publications in other countries. 


It is sent to all the South American countries every month, too, as well as
to all the members of the Spanish Section.

>
> I have two friends who are deeply interested in the spread of
THEOSOPHY to
> those who speak and use Spanish.>
> May I introduce you to them in case you do not already know them?>
> Don Rodolfo>
> Alex. Bianchi

Of course, please do. I'll be happy to talk to them.

> But keeping THEOSOPHY alive and its worth spreading is most
valuable.

That has been the main aim and ideal of my dear father, who died two
weeks ago, at the age of 102, totally active physically (needed no
help at all), mentally and especially spiritually till the end.

Sadurni Torra was the man in charge of the Spanish Theosophical
Section during the 40 years of dictatorship in our country and I
remember, as a child, the clandestine meetings at home, when people
had to leave our flat in little groups so as not to be suspectful.

CUT