Theos-Talk Archives (December 2004 Message tt00392)

re forms of Theosophical expression

Sometimes I wish HPB were available for 
comment on these lists. Every so often 
I find myself wanting to send some 
speculative tangent her way in response 
to something she wrote. Not that she 
might particularly want to be on the 
receiving end of my speculative 
tangents, but ... On the other hand I 
think I would prefer some updated 
version of HPB, generally speaking, if I 
had a choice. While I feel that some 
things haven't changed since the 19th 
century, I feel that some things have 
changed enough so that a somewhat 
different approach toward Theosophical 
topics in general might be generally or 
occasionally seen as somewhat more 
applicable. In any case I suspect that 
we all have our own notions about how 
to be applicable, Theosophical, etc 
(obviously enough ...). In my case 
"applicability" might be seen to 
occasionally get somewhat speculatively 
knotted to some extent, among other 
things, I suspect, judging by some of 
the responses or lack of responses. I 
seem to think that, occasionally, some 
of the things I try to express in print 
might be more important to me (if not to 
anybody else) than would be my attempts 
at making certain kinds of what might be 
called "serious compromises" or "more 
concerted efforts" towards being 
"understandable enough" or "more 
understandable" in more-mainstream 
terms. On the other hand, as far as I 
can see or speculate, the 
exoteric/literal interpretive aspects 
(and thereby the forms of expression) of 
Theosophy appear to generally lead to 
dead or neutral ends, basically, (in 
their "dead letter" sense, as HPB 
might've put it ...), though I'm not at 
all sure about whether the "average 
student of Theosophy," eg, might be all 
that literal in their interpretations 
(contrary to some "outward appearances," 
maybe ...). What if the various 
"apparent literal interpretations" were 
seen as the products of those who were 
unable to express themselves any other 
way so that, while they may have had 
"other/deeper insights," say, what if 
they were unable to express themselves 
other than in ways suggestive of certain 
kinds of literal interpretations to some 
people ... I suspect that some people 
may have evolved towards values and 
forms of expression that may appear to 
be "outwardly" different than might be 
expressed by way of mainstream or more- 
traditional or "more esoteric" 
Theosophical phraseology, but that, 
aside from those differences, the core 
values might be essentially similar or 
same in some cases. If one is willing 
to consider that possibility, wouldn't 
one be equally willing to at least keep 
an open mind to some extent when 
encountering various forms of expression 
that one is not particularly familiar 
with ... I suspect that HPB's statement 
to the effect that "Theosophy is 
altruism pure and simple" might have 
been in reference to a kind of broader 
perspective that, in its way, when 
understood, might be seen to 
"beneficially transcend" or in some ways 
rise above some or many of one's 
existing, comparatively more limited and 
more entrenched interpretive 
habits/patterns or karma. I feel that 
the same kind of reasoning might be 
applied in principle, in some cases, by 
some people, to various kinds of 
literature that may at first not always 
appear to be particularly or at all 
compatible with one's notions about some 
Theosophical principles.

Speculatively,
Mauri