Theos-Talk Archives (October 2004 Message tt00176)

Oct 7 2004

Jerry:

I may not have been clear.

What I meant was that if "we" can perceive the veils of Maya, then we are
NOT ourselves a "Maya."  

"We" have to be "outside" or "beyond" that condition to be able to "look" at
it, or perceive its limits.

Similarly for "freedom of choice." No one is completely free of the
limitations of both their own Karma and the general Karma of the environment
they are in. One may presume that if the Buddha is "all-knowing," the
Buddha-consciousness may transcend any of our concepts of "illusion." 

I think this is correct.

Dallas
 

-----Original Message-----
From: W.Dallas TenBroeck [mailto:dalval14@e...] 
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:25 AM
To: AA-BNStudy
Subject: Theos-World RE: Freedom of Choice
Importance: High


Oct 6 2004

Dear G S

Thank you for the considerations.

In no way do I wish to appear "doctrinaire," however let me observe -- as a
series of thoughts : 

If we are "in Maya" (illusion) and know it, the implication (to me) is that
we see at least two states: 

(1) Maya /illusion of a [passing nature -- no fixed reality, and 

(2) Either we live in a REALITY that is fixed because "spiritual and
universal," or we live separate from that REALITY and are ourselves THE
REALITY -- and I would say that is a very high state and quite rare if not
unlikely. But, it might characterize the conscious perception of a Buddha
when directed universally -- as is required in considering such a nebulous
concept as the "Causeless Cause." 

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

The possibility of "all-knowingness" is not admitted by the leaders of
thought, and men of our day, whose process is based upon reasoning from
particulars to universals, from effects to probable cause, and who are
content to erect ever-changing hypotheses. 

The sages of old, through experience gained from many civilizations, had
learned to begin with universals-the plane of causation-and had finally come
to see, understand and use this true process, after numberless testings and
verifications. [S D I 272-3]

It is the result of this acquired wisdom that is imparted by the Sages to us
as THEOSOPHY as rapidly as our advancing intelligence will permit. 

It is this wisdom and its results that are portrayed in the Secret
Doctrine-or Theosophy. So, if the student is to understand he must begin
with universals and, with the universal ever in mind, expand into all
particulars.

Take as an opening basis the idea of an Omnipresent Spirit which is in all
beings, but which is fully realized in such beings as the Buddhas, Rishis
and Mahatmas and others who have appeared and live in the world of men as
instructors -- for their benefit -- and, as an act of brotherhood.

Thus one may say: All this universe is pervaded and sustained by the One
Self-the Omnipresent Spirit; as it is the Self and Perceiver in all forms,
it cannot be seen externally. 

Because of It, all forms exist; but It is not dependent upon form or forms;
all those are dependent upon It. 

In this sentence is contained an expression of the basic Universal
Principle, the cause and sustainer of all that was, is, or ever shall be,
and without which nothing exists. 

Being Universal or Omnipresent, and Infinite, no form of thought can define
It; yet mankind has ever attempted to define the Infinite by their finite
conceptions of Deity. 

Hence we discover the many gods of different times and peoples to be
man-made idols, whether they be mental or physical. It is these man-made
conceptions of Deity that have ever tended to erect and sustain divisions
between peoples; all the host of tribal and national gods, and thus deny and
frustrate a realization of Universal Brotherhood.

The ancient teaching which THEOSOPHY once more enunciates is that all forms
of every kind proceed from One Universal Source; the life of each is hidden
in and sustained by that Source-the One Life. 

The power to perceive and expand its range of perception and expression is
the same in all beings and forms; the degrees of perception and expression
are shown in the innumerable classes of beings it is this power that is
behind all evolution- the unfolding from within outwards.

One might express the general Law thus: At the end of a kalpa all things
return unto the One Absolute. And then again at the beginning of another
kalpa, the great cyclic law of Karma will cause them to evolve again." 

The law referred to is what is spoken of in the Secret Doctrine as the Law
of Periodicity, or the law of cycles. Everywhere in nature we find this law
in operation, as in day and night, summer and winter, life and death,
in-breathing and out-breathing, the systole and diastole of the heart,
sowing and reaping. The general name for this universal Law is Karma, which
means Action and Reaction, Cause and Effect; it applies to all beings and
all planes. 

An ancient aphorism says, "There is no Karma unless there is a being to make
it or feel its effect." Hence all manifestation is the result of karmic
action by beings of every grade in their inter-action and inter-relation.
It is a group-Karma, and is made up of the innumerable threads of the karma
of all individuals involved in the process. This is world-wide and
universe-wide. 

The phrase "the great cyclic law of Karma will cause them to evolve again,"
carries with it the meaning that each period of manifestation, great or
small, is followed by another on the basis of the experience gained. 

That which causes "them to evolve again" is the Self of All, which is also
the Self of each, or as it has been poetically called: "the Great Breath,"
with its great periodical recurrent "out-breathings and in-breathings." 

Ceaseless pulsation may be said to be Its one attribute. It is this
essential nature which is meant in the phrase "under this Law, they are
caused to emanate again and again, without their will, by the power of the
material essence." 

"Without their will," may be understood by considering that no human being
is in a body because he -as such- desired to be; nor does he leave his body
because he desires to; the impelling force proceeds from the Inner Self, The
Real Man. 

"By the power of the material essence" may be understood by considering the
statement that Spirit and Matter are co-existent and co-eternal. By "matter"
is meant primordial substance [Mulaprakriti or Maha-Buddhi] from which all
differentiations in matter are produced by conscious actions of beings of
different grades.

However, as a preliminary, we must grasp that the One Self is not involved
in any or all forms of manifestation, but ever remains the Spectator, the
Admonisher, the Sustainer, the Enjoyer, and also the highest soul
[Paramatma]. 

Just as each one may say, "I was in a child body and had experiences
pertaining to that state; I passed through the changes of body and
circumstance up to the present, and will pass through all changes to come,
but I remain the same unchanging identity throughout all conditions."

The One Self is "the self of all beings." The Upanishads say that "the Self
shines in all; but in all It does not shine forth equally." The deluded fail
to recognize this Self, and judging from appearances and arbitrary
classifications, maintain separateness. So acting, they set in motion causes
that produce similar effects- in other words, bad karma. 

THEOSOPHY throughout, emphasizes the statement that there is but One Spirit
and not several,-the same Spirit animating all beings and sustaining all. 

The same power to perceive is possessed by all alike. 

This the basis for universal brotherhood.

The differences in beings consist in the range of perception which has been
acquired through evolution, and this applies to all lives below Man, to Man
himself, and to all beings higher than Man. 

In "The Voice of the Silence" it is said that "Mind is like a mirror; it
gathers dust while it reflects," and in other writings, Mind is spoken of as
"the mirror of the Soul." 

We cannot fail to see that we act in accordance with the ideas of life that
we hold; that what we call "our mind" is a number of ideas held by us as a
basis for thought and action; that we change ideas from time to time, as we
find occasion for such change; but that at all times we act from the basis
of ideas presently held. [And this is indeed Maya.]

The reason for the differences between human beings is the false, imperfect
or untrue ideas, which form the basis of specific thoughts or actions, and
these are if accepted and held, only such isolated ideas as are in accord
with our personal desires. Thus we act and are selfish, and isolate
ourselves from others in the perpetual and frustrating search for personal
advantages. This also leads to the continuous attempt by many to break the
laws of accord and mutual support. 

THEOSOPHY presents an example of what, among us, would be called a good
desire, that of "those enlightened in spiritual scriptures," but whose
desire is for a personal enjoyment of heaven [Nirvana]. This limited
attainment THEOSOPHY says can be obtained -- and enjoyed for a period of
time proportionate to their merits, and then they sink back to mortal birth.
[ S D II 79-80, 94, 233, 254-8,]

But for those who, thinking of the Supreme Spirit as identical with all,
constantly worship IT and respect its laws; theirs is an impersonal and
ever-constant devotion to the One Ideal. Here "the Self of All" is the
Ideal, and the action indicated is: "to think and act for, and as, the One
Self in all things, without self-interest in the results."

We are not attached to results by our acts, but by our thoughts; freedom
comes from a renunciation of self-interest in the fruit of actions. 

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

These are ideas imparted by a great Sage, of which I have made some
extracts.

This seems to require of us a great change in ideation: the making of all
desires, thoughts and actions "sacred." That is to universalize them. 

This appears the entrance to the path of true occultism and esotericism. 

Best wishes, 

Dallas

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

-----Original Message-----
From: Gerald S
Sent: 
Subject: RE: Freedom of Choice

<< 1.	Where does the faculty of "Free-choice" arise?
DTB	Is it a thought, a feeling, or a matter of Being -- which arises in
the Individual sense of I AM I ? 

Faculty? Why do you think that free will needs a faculty?

Comment. Because we are in Maya, we think we have an individual sense of I
AM I even though this sense is a illusion and does not exist even
conditionally. The illusion of I makes a conscious choice, and nothing
happens. Over time, it realizes that it is confined and that its Motion
through Space is restricted by what is called Karma. It seeks freedom. The
freedom of Liberation is the free will to make choices, the freedom to look
into the possibilities of the future and make choices without being
confined or restricted. Liberation means the ability to reject possible
futures that we do not want.

CUT



 
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