Theos-Talk Archives (January 2005 Message tt00000)

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel H. Caldwell" 
<danielhcaldwell@y...> wrote:


> You write:
> 
> "It is possible that Theosophy, as a teaching, 
> adapts itself to the socio-cultural reality of 
> the age to which it is presented."
> 
> Well, Pedro, this may be true, so can you give
> us an example of this in present day "socio-
> cultural reality"?
> 
> I keep wondering what your basic point is:
> what exactly are you trying to say.....


Daniel:

I am trying to explore a question: can Theosophy evolve? You may 
remember that in his book "Modern Theosophy", Hugh Shearman suggested 
two dimensions in Theosophy: primary and secondary. Primary Theosophy 
is Divine Wisdom, Theosophia, Brahmavidya, in other words, a 
transcendental Wisdom, "epopteia", the knowledge of things as they 
are. Theosophy, at this level, is beyond formulations.

The secondary level is a teaching that throws light on the deeper 
aspects of life, such as Karma, Post-mortem States, Evolution, the 
Constitution of the Human Being, the Spiritual Path, etc. 

Now a teaching is basically a presentation about something; it is an 
attempt to show something, as this is one of the meanings of the 
verb 'to teach'.

I am trying to find out, through questioning, if Theosophy, as a 
teaching, can evolve. And in this process I think I am beginning to 
understand Mahatma KH's much quoted statement: "Science is our best 
ally".

Two examples: 

1. The maping of the human genoma has led one of the scientists 
involved in it to declare that as more than 80% of the genes of 
humans are common, the word "race" has hardly any meaning anymore, as 
there is only one humanity. This suggests that humanity is indeed one 
even at the physical level! This relates to what Theosophists at the 
end of the 19th century called "Universal Brotherhood without 
distinctions".

2. Paul Davies, a well-known Australian scientist, has declared that 
while he doesn't accept the idea of a personal Creator nor the 
randomness hypothesis put forward by some scientists to explain the 
ultimate nature of the universe, he is prepared to accept the 
existence of an overarching teleological principle as the source of 
order and development of the universe. Does this resemble the notion 
of Mahat in the SD?

Perhaps Theosophy is finding expression in the contemporary world 
through that which is its dominant mode of knowing - science, since 
religion has, on the whole, walked backwards and is now the ideology 
behind present day wars, and philosophy, with very few exceptions, 
has become a very select club for those who like to indulge in 
sophisticated discourse among cognac connoisseurs.

If we think that Theosophy can be confined within the walls of a 
theosophical organisation, or the covers of a well-known book or 
books, or the electronic boundaries of an informative website, we may 
have to think twice. Theosophy may be finding expressions in the 
contemporary world of which we may not be even aware.

Let me end with another question: can the world teach us Theosophy?


Pedro