Theos-Talk Archives (January 2005 Message tt00454)

Hello Paul,

You wrote :
"Lately I have been thinking, not about perfected men or women but
about whether and where higher intelligence or bodhisattvas or
whatever can be seen in today's world. So I will throw out the
question-- who now living and playing a public role in the world
strikes you as being in the evolutionary vanguard, having a powerful
enlightening influence?

My three answers: Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela both
radiate a kind of serenity and benevolence that reminds me that holy
and wise men may play a transforming role in world events. South
Africa had the potential for horrendous civil war, and it was averted
thanks to the positive influence of such men as these. 
But my third answer is more immediately relevant to me and will
probably appear ridiculous to many of you.

But I will nonetheless suggest that Jon Stewart, author of the #1
nonfiction bestseller in the USA and host of The Daily Show (Comedy
Channel) is doing more good in this country right now than any
political or religious figure, or any "serious" author."

I think your right in this, we tend to get too caught up in the
externalities of things rather than the inner qualities.
Compassion is said in theosophy to be the primary Law of the Kosmos so
it is everywhere if we can develop the Vision to see it.
Understanding, discerning then acting on the Laws and Principles of
the Kosmos is what theosophy to me is all about.

In order to do that we need to keep checking and rechecking our
assumptions, ideas and motives.
I think it was HPB who said `live the life that you may come to the
light'. 
So the Divine vision can only be gained by living compassion not by
just intellectual inquiry, the doctrine of the eye and the heart.
That is a personal journey however and only we can do that for
ourselves so that the message of theosophy or compassion actually
touches our Hearts and not just our heads.

Most definitely that Compassion in action can be seen in the people
you mentioned as well as in the massive outpouring of compassion that
has been seen recently from ordinary people for the victims of the
tsunami.

Perry



--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "kpauljohnson" <kpauljohnson@y...>
wrote:
> 
> Hey,
> 
> Most of the discussion about Masters lately strikes me as like a dog 
> chasing its tail. That is, what really inspires the pursuit of this 
> ideal is something *within us* -- a potential for transcendence-- 
> which we then imagine to exist outside of ourselves, project onto 
> some real or imaginary characters (historical in the case of 
> Theosophists, living in the case of Radhasoami for example) and 
> madly/vainly chase after.
> 
> Another example, closer to home for Theosophists because a 
> Theosophist wrote it, is Dorothy and her companions making a long 
> journey to a fabled wizard, only to find that he was an ordinary man 
> and what they sought was within themselves-- and that the journey to 
> the distant wizard was all a dream.
> 
> For example, Pedro starts off stating as a "fact" that Leadbeater 
> got an approving letter from K.H. The only objective fact is that 
> he got a letter signed K.H. The "fact" that it was actually written 
> by such an entity is an article of faith for dogmatic Theosophists. 
> To dogmatic skeptics with an interest in the subject, it is equally 
> a "fact" (aka article of faith) that HPB wrote it and K.H. did not 
> exist. Both of these are interpretations, not facts. Yet people 
> are off and running, trying to explain how a perfect Master could 
> have failed to recognize CWL's character flaws and future 
> destructive action. Wait-- back up-- examine your assumptions.
> 
> Lately I have been thinking, not about perfected men or women but 
> about whether and where higher intelligence or bodhisattvas or 
> whatever can be seen in today's world. So I will throw out the 
> question-- who now living and playing a public role in the world 
> strikes you as being in the evolutionary vanguard, having a powerful 
> enlightening influence?
> 
> My three answers: Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela both 
> radiate a kind of serenity and benevolence that reminds me that holy 
> and wise men may play a transforming role in world events. South 
> Africa had the potential for horrendous civil war, and it was 
> averted thanks to the positive influence of such men as these. But 
> my third answer is more immediately relevant to me and will probably 
> appear ridiculous to many of you.
> 
> But I will nonetheless suggest that Jon Stewart, author of the #1 
> nonfiction bestseller in the USA and host of The Daily Show (Comedy 
> Channel) is doing more good in this country right now than any 
> political or religious figure, or any "serious" author. In an era 
> when the "news media" have become so incompetent, biased and 
> subservient to power that they have lost the trust of huge segments 
> of the American public, one man speaks truth to power every day. 
> And he does it in a way that hits home very strongly to large masses 
> of people. By making us laugh in the midst of the horrors of the 
> Bush era, he also provides a sense of hope and relief that sanity 
> does still prevail at least in a small corner of the world.
> 
> For the non-USAns here who have not heard of Stewart, here is a link 
> to his program, with info on his book: 
> http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/thedailyshowwithjonstewart/
> 
> Paul