Theos-Talk Archives (August 2005 Message tt00289)

8/26/2005 4:59 PM

8/15/2005 5:26 AM

Getting settled with THEOSOPHY 


Dear Friend:

Ask all the questions you wish.  

THEOSOPHY specializes in answering in a way that is logical and practical.  

I got interested in THEOSOPHY about 60 years ago -- I was about 18, and had
just started to go to college, and found that it provided answers where
there were gaps in science and knowledge. I always had a lot of questions
and wanted to understand the "Why" of things, [as well as the How, When,
Where, and Who.] Since then I have been checking and verifying its
pronouncements, and also I keep a record (by subject in an ever-expanding
loose leaf note-book) of my work, so I can find it again if needed. 

To secure a broad view: read HPB's The KEY TO THEOSOPHY (300 pp) and 
Mr. Judge's The OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY (180 pp) . Take note of the subjects
covered.

The books are not long but require careful attention and much questioning.

Since THEOSOPHY covers all aspects of life, the range of thought is not cut
short anywhere. 

THEOSOPHY states that there are NO MIRACLES in Nature and in her ways.
Nature, as a living entity (as broad and deep as SPACE) covers all things
and always has -- it provides a life-giving environment for all living
things, from the smallest to the greatest. As "God" is said to be
omnipresent, so. Too, is SPACE. As "omnipotent," IT guides all things by
strict and just rules (no favourites, no bending or breaking the rules --
"prayer" does not work, but honest and sincere action does.) As
"omnipotent," IT supports and attends to the needs of the least of creatures
and adjusts those to the greatest without any arbitrary cut-offs or
dead-ends. All woks by laws -- framed aeons ago, and continually adjusted
as billions of living and independent creatures make their own choices --
and bear the consequences. This is a UNIVERSE OF LAW. Everyone has an
equal opportunity and share. 

QUESTIONING and verifying is an important aspect of THEOSOPHY, since nothing
is to be taken on "faith," or "authority." That is why explanations are
always available and provided. 


The "The OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY" has a companion book that helps:
"ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS on The OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY" --  
done at a study class.

All three books are "on line" at 

PHOENIX ULT www.phx-ult-lodge.org/


Books, Texts "on line"

SECRET DOCTRINE HPB
ISIS UNVEILED HPB
FIVE YEARS OF THEOSOPHY	HPB, etc.
KEY TO THEOSOPHY & GLOSSARY HPB
MODERN PANARION HPB
THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY HPB
TRANS OF BLAVATSKY LODGE HPB
VOICE OF THE SILENCE HPB


OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY Judge
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS AT AN 
INFORMAL "OCEAN " CLASS R C
POINT OUT THE WAY And. to 
Questions at "Ocean" Class J G

BHAGAVAD GITA Judge
BHAGAVAD GITA NOTES Judge
ECHOES FROM THE ORIENT Judge
EPITOME OF THEOSOPHY Judge
LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME	Judge 
PATANJALI'S YOGA SUTRAS Judge
THEOSOPHICAL FORUM -- answers by Judge 

DHAMMAPADA ( Footfalls of the Law ) Gautama Buddha
LIGHT OF ASIA, Arnold Gautama
Buddha
LIGHT ON THE PATH M C

FRIENDLY PHILOSOPHER R C
UNIVERSAL THEOSOPHY R C

[ For children ]
ETERNAL VERITIES R C
Manual for ETERNAL VERITIES 	
BECAUSE -- for Children who ask Why?	R C
BOOK OF IMAGES Dhyan Garga
TELL-TALE PICTURE GALLERY - 
Occult Stories by HPB and W Q J

THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT ( 1875 - 1950)  
History	($ 6.00)

----------------------------------------------------


Have a look at this general statement:

THEOSOPHY SPEAKS
=================


No one speaks for THEOSOPHY !

THEOSOPHY, as a philosophy, speaks logically for itself.

To be grasped, it has to be understood.

Like mathematics or geometry, it has a very few concepts that are basic to
it. Their interplay and interlocking logic makes them useful as a basis for
self-guidance in life. 

Self-guidance is important, and, as an ancient sage (Hermes) said:  
MAN KNOW THYSELF.  

We are all "Minds," living in the environment of a "passionate and
desiring" creature provided with a marvelous physical body that is largely,
self-organized to look after itself. 

There are gradations of learning and responsibility in the Universe.

At root base we are all "rays" of the same ONE SPIRIT. We are all brothers.
We are brothers to the atoms, to the grains of sand, to the grass and to the
elephant and the ant. In each of these resides a Monad, and that contains
as one of its components a singular developing "Ray" of the UNIVERSAL
SPIRIT.

This does away with all distinctions, and all concepts of difference,
isolation, superiority, anger, pleasure, retaliation, difference,
selfishness, etc... It unites us all into a living universal BROTHERHOOD.
It requires of us (as humans) the using of our ability to think about
fundamentals and to secure the ability to penetrate (mentally) below effects
to their causes.  

For example. 

We all use electricity, but we do not know what it is. It can be generated
and channeled, but we still do not know WHAT IT IS.  

We all use FIRE, but, what is fire? We note the effect of fire (or its
lack) and we know how to burn things, or insulate them. We deal with our
own minds, but we do not know what the MIND is. Nor are we very good at
distinguishing a "desire" from a thought. What, for instance is motive ?
Why do we DO things? How do we PLAN our activities?

And that (Universal Brotherhood) is the first "Object" of the THEOSOPHICAL
MOVEMENT, i.e., to live our lives and direct our thoughts and deeds as if we
were trying to form a nucleus of Universal Brotherhood.  

This sounds vague, perhaps because we have been educated to think the
territorial imperative and an adversarial approach is the only way of life.
If
so, at the end of life, what gain can we show?  

Look back into history. Whose memories do we esteem? The butchers of men,
the oppressors, torturers, and the conquerors, or those who try to make us
see we belong to a single family and are all brothers and sisters with
something far more powerful than a physical blood-brotherhood and hereditary
kinship. Are religions and philosophies built on the sayings of tyrants, or
of those who explained and enjoined the practice of benevolence and the
search for truth?

An understanding of the existence of the immortal MONAD in us, as in all
other things, demonstrates to our mind this concept and reinforces the sense
of compassion, mercy and tolerance.

The levels and hierarchies of working Wise Men, Mahatmas, Buddhas, etc...and
great overseeing Forces are many, but every system speaks of these as facts:

Since Theosophy is the most ancient do all systems, let me offer: --

As I read and understand Theosophy, we have 3 FUNDAMENTAL 
PROPOSITIONS given in SECRET DOCTRINE I, pp. 14 -19 to help us --  

H P B says that they pervade the entire system.

1.	The Plan of the Universe in its evolution is a single plan. This
plan has been established back in the beginning of "time," and it continues,
and will continue into the foreseeable future. It is said that the Universe
as a whole reincarnates, and this Plan was handed down a very long time
back. And it has been carried on since then. The book The SECRET 
DOCTRINE describes this in detail in Vol. I.

2.	All is logical, mathematically exact, and coherent. Law and laws
rule all beings and actions impartially. The "Law of Karma" is the
appellation given in Theosophy to this one universal LAW.

It is briefly described as the Law of Harmony whereby all diversity, and
distortion is smoothed and readjusted to a superior and rhythmic direction.
At the end of LIGHT ON THE PATH will be found an illuminating essay on
Karma. It helps us to understand, if we read and think about what is said
there.

3.	No part, great or small, old or new, of the illimitable Universe is
forgotten, or omitted from the Laws that guide evolution and individual
progress.

All living intelligent beings are interconnected. Theosophy uses the word
"Monad" to indicate these living, conscious units that fill the Universe.

Mankind, humanity stands at the mid-point in terms of intelligence between
"instinct," and "intuition."

Each Monad that has reached the human level has this confronting him/her.
The Masters of Wisdom met this challenge and passed it aeons ago. Yet they
remain to help us, their "younger Brothers." We owe the exposition of
Theosophy to Them and their sacrifice. [see S D I 207 -210]

4.	From The UNIVERSAL ONE SPIRIT, everything in its vast diversity is
derived. [S D I 14-15]. All "forms" eventually harmonize with all the
rest. 

5.	Potentially, every being has the capability of understanding the
whole complexity of the Universe of which it is a vital part. The
acquisition of this knowledge is gradual and is achieved by reincarnation --
as the Monadic Intelligence, central to each of us, is undying and immortal.


Spiritual Knowledge (or Wisdom) is inherent, innate at the core, in the
essence of every being. " Look inward, Thou art Buddha ( the Wise)."
expresses this. It is that which is closest to the Inner Spirit we all are.


We are related to the "Masters." They were once "men" such as we are now.
They are our "Elder Brothers." They are like the "Professors" in the
Universal School of Earth experience. 

5.	Hence all living things (each of the immortal Monads) are related.
Brotherhood expresses this relation whether the level of learning be small
or great. We are brothers in potential, as well as in fact, to the atoms,
molecules, cells, and all the Masters, and other Personages, or structures
of and in the Universe. It is difficult to conceive of such a supreme UNITY
when our world is one of continual diversity and confusion. Our independent
existence our consciousness, our Mind, ought to be adequate evidence of
Spirit working through all levels of Matter. In our case, it becomes
expressed as the Mind and the independent power of our free thought.  

The power to choose defines of progress into the future.  

Our present lesson is discovering what this right thought and right
choosing. are. ["Good" has been briefly defined as obeying the Laws of
nature.] We need to know and apply them.

6.	The pathways through which the Monads travel to the final goal
(called by some: "Sublime Perfection") are many, and are determined
by their choices and individual Karma -- the Karma of their own free
choosing. Humanity is always composed of such "free-choosers."

7.	Consciousness, awareness, ("seeing along with,") will be found to be
a common factor for all beings, but the levels of achievement and of
perception to which the consciousness is self-raised are many and mark the
progress of and in evolution for every individual.

8.	An individual may experience and remember seeing the ALL -- and may
later describe it as LIGHT, COLOR, SOUND. or a discussion with a PERSONAGE
of WISDOM. Such memories are stored and presented to the
waking consciousness in terms that it can understand. But they do occur.
Also they are never forgotten. They are evidence of the SPIRITUAL MAN
WITHIN.

These "illuminations" as experience, are interior. They will be found
to be described in TRANSACTIONS OF THE BLAVATSKY LODGE (pp. 64 -76; or :
BLAVATSKY: Collected Works (TPH), Vol. 10, pp 255 -265)

At night, during deep sleep the personal consciousness {Lower Manas}
may confabulate for a while with its spiritual "brother," the Higher Manas
-- BUDDHI-MANAS. The Buddhi-Manas is interior to us and is a veil or
vase that enshrines the ATMA -- the RAY of the UNIVERSAL SPIRIT within
each of us. It is an experience akin to Samadhi or Turiya. (see Gayatri
verse)

Many have offered evidence of their memory of past lives.

The Responsibilities of advanced "Masters of Wisdom" are many and are
described in S D Vol. I. and Vol. 2 -- which also describes human evolution
up to the present in great detail. 


Best wishes, 


Dallas
 
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