Theos-Talk Archives (June 2005 Message tt00362)

> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, Vladimir <forums@s...> wrote:

> The most conspicuous contradiction between HPB et al and AAB I've
> seen so far is given in "The Pseudo-Occultism of Mrs. A. Bailey"
> By Alice Leighton Cleather and Basil Crump. BTW, have you seen a
> refutation of this particular point by any of AAB's followers?

Here are some points. There was also an article "In defence of A. 
Bailey" in "Theosophical history", but I have lost it, and download 
sould be paid.

Date: Fri Feb 25, 2005 12:39 am 
Subject: Pseudo-theosophy of Cleather & Crump 

Notes on
"THE PSEUDO-OCCULTISM OF MRS. ALICE BAILEY
by Alice Leighton Cleather and Basil Crump"

""Tibetan" (if he is really one) is not in agreement with the Trans-
Himalayan Brotherhood. In that case one would infer from what is
said in the Mahatma Letters that he may belong to the "Red
Capped Brothers of the Shadow" (see Index under Dugpas). As
K.H. says (p. 322): "the opposition represents enormous vested
interests, and they have enthusiastic help from the Dugpas - in
Bhutan and the Vatican!""

Here, in the very beginning, the authors abandon the calm
philosophical platform and disclose their sheer hostility.
So everything written by them below should be viewed in that
respect.

"The method is somewhat similar to, but less obvious and more
clever than, that of C. W. Leadbeater, but I think that the power
behind is the same, working with the same object on a
different line for a more intellectual type of mind."

It reminds very much the customs of totalitary regimes which
declared all those who think differently not simply erring but
the deliberate enemies working in auspicies of intellegence
services of some hostile foreign state. In my opinion this type of
thinking which is undesirable even in the state politics is quite
ashaming for a theosophist. If anyone is erring it is not necessarily
means that he "belongs to the brothers of shadow".

"If a man comes to a decision different from our own we need not
pretend to agree with him, but we must give him credit for good
intentions. One of the worst features of modern life is its eager
readiness to believe evil - its habit of deliberately seeking out
the worst conceivable construction that can be put upon
everything. ... Apply the test of time and the result; "By their
fruits ye shall know them." Let us make a rule to think the best of 
every man; let us do our work and leave others free to do theirs."
(C.W. Leadbeater, "The Inner Life").

Here I quote him not as an authority but simply as expressing
in English those thoughts expression of which would cost to me
more trouble, so I used ready-made quotation written by an
English-speaking person.

The mentioned attitude continues throughout the article:

"It is obvious-therefore that, like Leadbeater, Mrs. Bailey is
really working in the interests of the Christian system"

Instead of the statement that these ideas are erroneous and
probably got into the system of Alice Bailey due her Christian
background, authors make a statement that she is working in the
interests of the Christian system, which they regard hostile. They
say that it's "really cleverly masked Christian propaganda".
Probably the hostility deprived the authors of last remnants of
reason, for we know perfectly well that Christian fundamentalists
regard Alice Bailey an agent of Satan, founder of New-Age
movement and obviously one of the main enemies of Christianity.
Some of them believe that many seemingly independent
organizations are really controlled by the Lucis Trust, previously
known as Lucifer Trust.

"For instance, the Seven Dhyani Buddhas here become Seven
Rays, under three of which (those of "Aspect") are grouped various
Masters, including those mentioned by H.P.B. and several others."

The "grouping various Masters under rays" is found in the book
"Man: Fragments of forgotten history", which was appreciated by
the Masters themselves. "I would save five months labour of
Mohini and will not permit it to remain unpublished." (Mahatma
Letters, #137)

"The absolute wisdom in the universe is the spiritual central sun
mentioned in mystical treatises. When the day of nature arrives,
this sun sends out seven rays, which are each sub-divided in
series of seven. All men, or rather their spiritual selves, lie along
some one or other of these seven main rays of wisdom. Hence
it is the necessity for the seven types of Adepts."
"Man: Fragments of forgotten history" (published in 1887)

So the authors display partial knowledge of early theosophical
literature and judge about everything on the basis if that limited
knowledge.

""The Master Jesus will take a physical vehicle and effect ....... a
re-spirtualization of the Catholic Churches about 1980"." - they
quote, obviously regarding it wrong. Taking a physical vehicle not
necessarily means the Second Coming, because we know that
Masters can have physical vehicles and yet live secretly. As for
Catholic churches, it is obvious now that just not long before 1980
new Pope took his office and significantly revived, and we may say
that even spiritualized work of Catholic churches all over the world.
The rule of the current Pope is universally accepted as one of the
most successful during the all history of the Catholic church.

""Christ occupied the body of Jesus...." ... Neither the Masters nor
H.P.Blavatsky ever write of the Christ as an individual Being,
but always as a principle in man."

Yet the idea of Christ incarnated in Jesus is of ancient origin.

"Whence some of the Gnostic ideas? Cerinthus taught that the
world and Jehovah having fallen off from virtue and primitive
dignity the Supreme permitted one of his glorious Ĉons, whose
name was the "Anointed" (Christ) to incarnate in the man Jesus."
("Secret Doctrine", vol. III)

"The "Logos" is a very Prominent feature of this book, in various
forms..."

The doctrine of Logos is explained in detail in lectures of Subba
Row published under the title "Philosophy of Bhagavad Gita".
Without thorough knowlege of this doctrine one can scarcely hope
to understand what was meant under Logos or God both by AAB &
CWL.

"This World Teacher, who is also called here "the Great Lord, the
Christ," is a specifically Leadbeater invention."

It's just a translation of the Sanskrit word Jagadguru known for
ages before. If the authors used the time which they have spent for
writing these futile pamphlets for study of Sanscrit literature, they
would know that. Or they mean that Leadbeater, the Great and
Terrible, has invented that word in some previous incarnation,
when he already plotted his vicious plans?

"Among the Besant-Leadbeater "Masters" adopted by Mrs. Bailey,
but nowhere to be found in the Blavatsky literature so far as I am
aware, is "Rakoczi""

Authors seem to imply that they know all adepts by name.
"Among the living Adepts there are Englishmen, Hungarians,
Greeks, Red Indians, besides Asiatics of all nationalities."
("Man: fragments...") So there's nothing wrong in existence of
European and specificly Hungarian adepts.

"St. Germain, and others, only achieving adeptship as "Rakoczi"
(The Masters, pages 75-76. Krotona,1918). H.P. Blavatsky, on the
other hand, calls St. Germain "the greatest Oriental Adept Europe
has seen during the last centuries""

St. Germain was a nickname while Rakoczi was a real name of the
incarnation which took place in Hungary three centuries ago. So it
no way contradicts HPB words "during the last centuries". Knight
Rakoczi is a known figure of Hungarian history.

"The book abounds ... with the usual unsupported assertions -
typical of and common to the Besant-Leadbeater-Bailey cult - as to
initiations, their number (1st to 6th, etc.)"

There's also nothing strange in it.
"There are nine grades of Adepts, each grade having seven
subdivisions." ("Man: fragments...")

"Mrs. Bailey explains this as follows: "This means, literally, the
control by the initiate of the sex impulse, as usually understood,
and the transference of the fire which normally vitalises the
generative organs to the throat center, thus leading to creation
upon the mental plane through the agency of mind..."
The "transference" advised is probably the most dangerous in the
process of Black Magic, which is distinguished from White by its
use of the sex forces. It is found in such Tantrik works as "The
Serpent Power"..."

Well, but what do the authors recommend to do with sexual
energy, if they do not permit nor transform it into the mental
creative energy, neither to marry? This energy necessarily will find
an output. Do they think that the numerous pamplets among which
this is only one, are the best output for it?

Regardless of the real value of the works by Alice Bailey and of
the degree of their consistency with works by HPB and other
chelas, it is obvious that the authors protect not the theosophy at
large, but their limited and even sectarian view of it based on very
partial understanding of some incomplete set of sources. Authors
seem to forget that any system, however good, cannot contain all
truth, what Founders of Theosophical Society knew very well when
proposed comparative study of different systems and encouraged
the publication of the different theosophical systems, as the
fourfold and the sevenfold constitution of a human being, for
example.

"It will be remembered that in my Great Betrayal I dealt with..."

A very good self-exposure.