Theos-Talk Archives (June 2005 Message tt00320)

June 12 2005

Dear prmoliveira

Re: Can a member of any religion be also a Theosophist ?

But THEOSOPHY is not "a" religion ! It unites everything into a single
system of facts and logic and actually is at the basis of every nominal
"religion." It includes them all in their purity.  

Can we say, considering this, that a "label" usually does not completely
describe the individual? 

None of those religious labels entirely describe the free-willed Ego that
inhabits a human body, does it?  

I continually ask myself why is it that people do not ACT up to the ideals
and precepts of the founders or reformers of religions? Since everyone can
think, why do they not analyse their own "faiths? And why do they not guide
their own lives in terms of those ideals set there? This is an important
paradox.

A "Theosophist" has been described as a philanthropist, not only in terms
of worldly goods, but also in terms of moral and ethical practise, position
and capacity.

If you accept the statement that THEOSOPHY is in reality the teaching of the
HISTORY of our world and universe (see S D I p. 267 top) - its origins,
laws and the vast series of events leading from its remote "beginnings" up
into the present, then all the so-called religions are derived from its
preexisting records and basic statements of facts. That is for us the main
difficulty -- the concept that THEOSOPHY is so very ancient. 

The word "religion" derived from the Latin "religiere" implies first, the
dispersion of many units from a single CENTER, then, after aeons of
experience as detached units, a voluntary and self-energized drawing
together of those same immortal, many units into one vast UNITY.  

Is this possible?

If we can discover, and then prove to ourselves -- as exposed in the SECRET
DOCTRINE -- the probability of such a situation, would it not benefit us
and others to consider it a serious matter to study, and to prove or
disprove?

Imagination seems to be a most wonderful tool - it is a power that enables
the mind that selects and desires to discover the probable outcome of a
chosen frame of action - the potential results and drawbacks related to
that.  

Where does it draw its experience from? Is there any way that the
imagination, innate to an individual's mind, can be limited by any external
"pressures?"

To what extent has anyone to first acquiesce or be passive -- to allow any
external influence to overcome its own egoity and unity as a SELF ?

On examination of the history of "Jews, Christians and Muslins" one finds
that each of these sects springs from a single philosophy of life and living
-- on analysis the tenets of each of these are found to closely coincide. 

So, can we say that it is we who create divergence? And can we reverse the
process through study, tolerance and understanding? 

Best wishes.

Dallas


================================
 
-----Original Message-----
From: prmoliveira
Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2005 10:14 PM
To: 
Subject: a simple question

The Master wrote:

"Neither our philosophy nor ourselves believe in a God, least of all 
in one whose pronoun necessitates a capital H. (...) Our doctrine 
knows no compromises. It either affirms or denies, for it never 
teaches but that which it knows to be the truth. Therefore, we deny 
God both as philosophers and as Buddhists. We know there are 
planetary and other spiritual lives, and we know there is in our 
system no such thing as God, either personal or impersonal. Parabrahm 
is not a God, but absolute immutable law, and Iswar is the effect of 
Avidya and Maya, ignorance based upon the great delusion. The 
word "God" was invented to designate the unknown cause of those 
effects which man has either admired or dreaded without understanding 
them, and since we claim and that we are able to prove what we claim -
- i.e. the knowledge of that cause and causes we are in a position to 
maintain there is no God or Gods behind them."

(http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/mahatma/ml-10.htm)
 

In view of the statement above, by one of HPB's Teachers, can Jews, 
Christians and Muslins be theosophists?


pedro





 
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