Re: Fundamentalism, religion and reason
Aug 03, 2006 05:12 AM
by pedro oliveira
Dear Dallas,
Thank you for your posting. As I find it hard to absorb vast amounts
of information all at once, and because I am interested in inquiring
into the question of fundamentalism as deeply as possible, I would
like to ask you, if I may, for you to give us your comments or
interpretation of the well-known passage which you just quoted and
which I copy here:
"That for long ages, the "Wise Men" of the Fifth Race, of the stock
saved and rescued from the last cataclysm and shifting of
continents, had passed their lives in learning, not teaching. How
did they do so? It is answered: by checking, testing, and verifying
in every department of nature the traditions of old by the
independent visions of great adepts; i.e., men who have developed
and perfected their physical, mental, psychic, and spiritual
organisations to the utmost possible degree. No vision of one adept
was accepted till it was checked and confirmed by the visions-so
obtained as to stand as independent evidence-of other adepts, and by
centuries of experiences." (SD, I, Summing Up)
I regard the above passage a core statement not only about the
origins of Theosophy as a teaching but also about the very soul of
religion. It seems to me that it is only when this vital spirit of
learning through checking, testing and verifying, with the wholeness
of our perception, the received traditions, weakens or dies that
dogmatism, intolerance and rigidity in spiritual matters arise.
May we have you thoughts on the above?
With warm regards,
Pedro
--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "W.Dallas TenBroeck"
<dalval14@...> wrote:
>
> 8/3/2006 2:24 AM
>
>
>
> Friends:
>
>
>
>
>
> In trying to present what THEOSOPHY has to say on this subject [not
> "FUNDAMENTALISM" but quoting "source material" ] so that the basis
for
> mutual exchange is clear --- a knowledge of some of the ancient
terms in
> "Sanskrit" is needed. Without that, there is no possible bridging
the gap
> of millennia of research and the most ancient records of such
research.
>
>
>
> Let for argument's sake offer:
>
>
>
> Why not compare in terms of "fundamentals" the basic Arithmetic (
4 rules)
> and the basic propositions of Geometry. on which
all "measurements" start ?
>
>
>
> Those proceed, invariable and immutable through every aspect
of "Science."
>
> age has no effect or bearing on such a common basis. True today,
as it was
> since the "beginning."
>
>
>
> We could not describe or talk without their being common to all of
us.
>
>
>
> THEOSOPHY is said by its chief promulgators ( Masters of Wisdom
and HPB - in
> the SECRET DOCTRINE , Vol. I, pp. 272-3 ) to be the result of the
historical
> research, proving and work of thousands of independent scientists
down the
> ages.
>
>
>
> --------------------- Quote from SECRET DOCTRINE Vol.
1
> -----------------
>
>
>
> "Let us recapitulate and show, by the vastness of the subjects
expounded,
> how difficult, if not impossible, it is to do them full justice.
>
>
>
> (1.) The Secret Doctrine is the accumulated Wisdom of the Ages,
and its
> cosmogony alone is the most stupendous and elaborate system: e.g.,
even in
> the exotericism of the Puranas. But such is the mysterious power
of Occult
> symbolism, that the facts which have actually occupied countless
generations
> of initiated seers and prophets to marshal, to set down and
explain, in the
> bewildering series of evolutionary progress, are all recorded on a
few pages
> of geometrical signs and glyphs.
>
>
>
> The flashing gaze of those seers has penetrated into the very
kernel of
> matter, and recorded the soul of things there, where an ordinary
profane,
> however learned, would have perceived but the external work of
form. But
> modern science believes not in the "soul of things," and hence
will reject
> the whole system of ancient cosmogony. It is useless to say that
the system
> in question is no fancy of one or several isolated individuals.
That it is
> the uninterrupted record covering thousands of generations of
Seers whose
> respective experiences were made to test and to verify the [273]
traditions
> passed orally by one early race to another, of the teachings of
higher and
> exalted beings, who watched over the childhood of Humanity.
>
>
>
> That for long ages, the "Wise Men" of the Fifth Race, of the stock
saved and
> rescued from the last cataclysm and shifting of continents, had
passed their
> lives in learning, not teaching. How did they do so? It is
answered: by
> checking, testing, and verifying in every department of nature the
> traditions of old by the independent visions of great adepts;
i.e., men who
> have developed and perfected their physical, mental, psychic, and
spiritual
> organisations to the utmost possible degree. No vision of one
adept was
> accepted till it was checked and confirmed by the visions-so
obtained as to
> stand as independent evidence-of other adepts, and by centuries of
> experiences.
>
>
>
> (2.) The fundamental Law in that system, the central point from
which all
> emerged, around and toward which all gravitates, and upon which is
hung the
> philosophy of the rest, is the One homogeneous divine SUBSTANCE-
PRINCIPLE,
> the one radical cause.
>
>
>
> . . . "Some few, whose lamps shone brighter, have been led
>
> From cause to cause to nature's secret head,
>
> And found that one first Principle must be. . . ."
>
>
>
> It is called "Substance-Principle," for it becomes "substance" on
the plane
> of the manifested Universe, an illusion, while it remains
a "principle" in
> the beginningless and endless abstract, visible and invisible
SPACE. It is
> the omnipresent Reality: impersonal, because it contains all and
everything.
>
>
>
>
> ITS IMPERSONALITY IS THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTION OF THE SYSTEM. IT
IS LATENT
> IN EVERY ATOM IN THE UNIVERSE, AND IS THE UNIVERSE ITSELF...
>
>
>
> (3.) The Universe is the periodical manifestation of this unknown
Absolute
> Essence. To call it "essence," however, is to sin against the very
spirit of
> the philosophy. For though the noun may be derived in this case
from the
> verb esse, "to be," yet IT cannot be identified with a being of
any kind,
> that can be conceived by human intellect. IT is best described as
neither
> Spirit nor matter, but both. "Parabrahmam and Mulaprakriti" are
One, in
> reality, yet two in the Universal conception of the manifested,
even in the
> conception of the One Logos, its first manifestation ... not as
> Parabrahmam; as its veil and not the one REALITY hidden behind,
which is
> unconditioned and absolute.
>
>
>
> (4.) The Universe is called, with everything in it, MAYA, because
all is
> temporary therein, from the ephemeral life of a fire-fly to that
of the Sun.
> Compared to the eternal immutability of the ONE, and the
changelessness of
> that Principle, the Universe, with its evanescent ever-changing
forms, must
> be necessarily, in the mind of a philosopher, no better than a
> will-o'-the-wisp. Yet, the Universe is real enough to the
conscious beings
> in it, which are as unreal as it is itself.
>
>
>
> (5.) Everything in the Universe, throughout all its kingdoms, is
CONSCIOUS:
> i.e., endowed with a consciousness of its own kind and on its own
plane of
> perception. We men must remember that because we do not perceive
any
> signs-which we can recognise-of consciousness, say, in stones, we
have no
> right to say that no consciousness exists there.
>
>
>
> There is no such thing as either "dead" or "blind" matter, as
there is no
> "Blind" or "Unconscious" Law. These find no place among the
conceptions of
> Occult philosophy. The latter never stops at surface appearances,
and for it
> the noumenal essences have more reality than their objective
counterparts;
> ...
>
> it was the Universals that were the realities and the particulars
which
> existed only in name and human fancy.
>
>
>
> (6.) The Universe is worked and guided from within outwards. As
above so it
> is below, as in heaven so on earth; and man-the microcosm and
miniature copy
> of the macrocosm-is the living witness to this Universal Law, and
to the
> mode of its action. We see that every external motion, act,
gesture, whether
> voluntary or mechanical, organic or mental, is produced and
preceded by
> internal feeling or emotion, will or volition, and thought or
mind.
>
>
>
> As no outward motion or change, when normal, in man's external
body can take
> place unless provoked by an inward impulse, given through one of
the three
> functions named, so with the external or manifested Universe.
>
>
>
> The whole Kosmos is guided, controlled, and animated by almost
endless
> series of Hierarchies of sentient Beings, each having a mission to
perform,
> and who... are "messengers" in the sense only that they are the
agents of
> Karmic and Cosmic Laws. They vary infinitely in their [275]
respective
> degrees of consciousness and intelligence; and to call them all
pure Spirits
> without any of the earthly alloy "which time is wont to prey upon"
is only
> to indulge in poetical fancy.
>
>
>
> For each of these Beings either was, or prepares to become, a man,
if not in
> the present, then in a past or a coming cycle (Manvantara). They
are
> perfected, when not incipient, men; and differ morally from the
terrestrial
> human beings on their higher (less material) spheres, only in that
they are
> devoid of the feeling of personality and of the human emotional
nature-two
> purely earthly characteristics. The former, or the "perfected,"
have become
> free from those feelings, because
>
>
>
> (a) they have no longer fleshly bodies-an ever-numbing weight on
the Soul;
> and
>
>
>
> (b) the pure spiritual element being left untrammelled and more
free, they
> are less influenced by maya than man can ever be, unless he is an
adept who
> keeps his two personalities-the spiritual and the physical-entirely
> separated.
>
>
>
> The Incipient MONADS, having never had terrestrial bodies yet, can
have no
> sense of personality or EGO-ism. That which is meant
by "personality," being
> a limitation and a relation, or, as defined by
Coleridge, "individuality
> existing in itself but with a nature as a ground," the term cannot
of course
> be applied to non-human entities; but, as a fact insisted upon by
> generations of Seers, none of these Beings, high or low, have
either
> individuality or personality as separate Entities, i.e., they have
no
> individuality in the sense in which a man says, "I am myself and
no one
> else;" in other words, they are conscious of no such distinct
separateness
> as men and things have on earth. Individuality is the
characteristic of
> their respective hierarchies, not of their units; and these
characteristics
> vary only with the degree of the plane to which those hierarchies
belong:
> the nearer to the region of Homogeneity and the One Divine, the
purer and
> the less accentuated that individuality in the Hierarchy. They are
finite,
> in all respects, with the exception of their higher principles-the
immortal
> sparks reflecting the universal divine flame-individualized and
separated
> only on the spheres of Illusion by a differentiation as illusive
as the
> rest.
>
>
>
> They are "Living Ones," because they are the streams projected on
the Kosmic
> screen of illusion from the ABSOLUTE LIFE; beings in whom life
cannot become
> extinct, before the fire of ignorance is extinct in those who
sense these
> "Lives." Having sprung into being under the quickening influence
of the
> uncreated beam, the reflection of the great Central Sun that [276]
radiates
> on the shores of the river of Life, it is the inner principle in
them which
> belongs to the waters of immortality, while its differentiated
clothing is
> as perishable as man's body." S D I 272 - 276
>
>
>
> ----------------------------
>
>
>
> To those who would write concerning basic and self-serving
motives - and
> ascribe those to all humans -- as a single basis for (as an
example) : "[
> .. power-seeking placates every human organisation on this earth
and is not
> limited to religion." and "..[not] even science is free from
it,
>
> and even in the broad daylight of the 21st century it still sees
> consciousness not as a primary reality but as an epiphenomenon of
the brain
> chemistry!" . what THEOSOPHY offers is nonsense.
>
>
>
> Can anyone prove that selfish ambition alone motivates all things?
>
>
>
> There is evidence of the contrast of compassion, generosity,
unselfishness
> everywhere. Why?
>
>
>
> THEOSOPHY presents this evidence convincingly.
>
>
>
> SCIENCE [meaning the record of observation without any bias], if
pure and
> all-inclusive, must conserve in its archives all aspects of
history,
> thought, and actions.
>
>
>
>
>
> Theosophical doctrines draw our attention to some basic
concepts:--
>
>
>
>
>
> 1. The Universe is All. IT has no limits, either in space
or in time.
> It is Immortal. It is Life. We are in, and therefore a part of IT.
>
>
>
> 2. The Universe operates under cyclic Law. Law cannot be
broken. It
> supports universal progression. Morally It can be said to provide
justice
> and compassion to all beings.
>
> Universe = Nature in toto = Deity (God)
>
>
>
> 3. Each being is a unit of Life. In its essence it is a ray
of the
> Universal One. The unit is variously called "Monad," or "Life-
atom," etc...
> it is a "perpetual motion machine" and is an immortal entity, it
passes
> through all evolutionary processes, acquiring intelligence and
experience.
> It is analogous to a solar system, or to a galaxy.
>
>
>
> 4. Every being shares in the immortality of the One in its
essence.
> It therefore cannot be destroyed or annihilated as an essential
Unit of
> Life, even though its forms may be dissipated by death, etc. Life
or energy
> is universal, and in its diversity it animates every "unit of
life."
>
>
>
> 5. In essence each "part" (Unit of Life), is united through
> 'electro-magnetic' links with all others. There is one whole;
only the
> 'units' seem to be separate, divided from one-another in terms of
our gross
> perceptions of "matter." Their unity is the basis for cooperation,
> expressed in brief as Universal Brotherhood.
>
>
>
> 6. To make a physical form, each 'unit' draws together other
units of
> lesser experience than itself on the "Ladder of Being." In doing
that it
> makes itself responsible for their growth and well-being. Just
as a
> "teacher" makes himself responsible for the progress of many
pupils. It
> should be noted that while the "Teacher" offers instruction based
on his
> experience, it is the responsibility of the "pupils" to test and
adopt it
> when they are satisfied as to its accuracy. We call this, in
general terms
> : Evolution, when viewed as a whole.
>
>
>
>
>
> 7. Any "form," serves temporarily as a place for those
beings of
> lesser experience to acquire more experience and thus have
opportunity to
> "advance." Under the operation of LAW, Karma, they acquire, each
in its own
> way, a wider experience, a higher degree of consciousness. All
those who
> have not yet reached the "human-mind" state, are called non-self-
conscious
> "life-atoms." They are incipient men-to-be. They inform for the
moment,
> the elemental, mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, or
divisions, of
> Nature.
>
>
>
> 8. When the level of self-consciousness (mind, manas, man,
soul) is
> achieved by any of the "monadic lives," it proceeds further, as a
human
> being, through the process of reincarnation, using many successive
physical
> bodies. All live in the same framework of law, progression and
mutual
> support. The whole evolutionary scheme is a vast brotherhood. In
the
> man-mind condition / stage, progress is by trial / error, and thus
the
> awareness or attentive faculty is developed as the individual
studies the
> operation of universal laws operating in and around him.
>
>
>
> 9. Like the Universe, [and man] is seven-fold in
constitution: [S D I
> 157; II 596]
>
>
>
> 1. Spirit - ATMA, (a "Ray" of the Universal
Divine.)
>
>
>
> 2. Discrimination-Intuition-Conscience-Ethics and
Morals
>
> - BUDDHI, ( memory of
experiences)
>
>
>
> 3. Thinking, Intellection, Reason,
>
> - Mind - MANAS, (choice & free
will
>
>
>
> 4. Emotion, Sensation, Selfishness -
>
> - KAMA, ( desire,
passion )
>
>
>
> 5. Vitality, Life-energy, magnetism -
>
> - PRANA, Jiva (vitality, life-
force)
>
>
>
> 6. Electro-magnetic model form -
>
> -- ASTRAL BODY, (electro-
magnetic form
>
> -- this forms the underlying
structure
> for all organs)
>
>
>
> 7. PHYSICAL BODY. (Known to us by our senses.)
>
>
>
>
>
> 10. The Universe, Man, and all other beings go through an
evolutionary
> cycle which is seven-fold, covering an immense time, during which
each being
> passes through every one of the seven phases that this seven-fold
scheme
> provides, so that each may secure the highest degree of perfection
by its
> own experiences and voluntary decisions. All progress is by self-
effort. [
> Very much as in our educational system.]
>
>
>
>
>
> 11. The self-conscious man, in which Manas (mind) or
> self-consciousness is the active principle, makes decisions.
Motive
> actuates Karma. If the decisions are universally-based, 'good'
and progress
> for the unit, and the whole accrues rapidly. Should decisions be
> self-focused, as opposed to the general good, 'evil' results.
Karma thus
> actuated, teaches the unit through disciplining circumstances what
the ideal
> decisions ought to be. Thus evolution proceeds. All karmic
events are the
> direct result of the choices that are individually made.
>
>
>
>
>
> 12. Graduates from this "School-of-Life" face the choice
> or responsibility of becoming, in their turn, "teachers." That
is, of
> actively assisting in the process of diffusing and explaining this
universal
> process. They are superior men. [ Similar to the Professors in
our
> Universities.]
>
>
>
>
>
> 13. These are designated Sages, Wise Men, Adepts,
>
> Masters-of-Wisdom, Arhats, Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, Dhyan
>
> Chohans, Tathagatas, Prophets, etc... [ In history we
may
>
> name Jesus, Gautama the Buddha, Krishna, Pythagoras,
Lao
>
> Tse, Plato, Shankaracharya, Apollonius of Tyana, and
many
>
> others.] they all came as reformers, and if their
original
>
> teachings are compared it will be found that they all
>
> taught the same metaphysical doctrines and practical
>
> ethics.
>
>
>
>
>
> 14. The process of securing experience by mankind is
>
> called reincarnation. The "Life-atom" that is self-
>
> conscious, or the Real Man, uses a physical body
which is
>
> assembled, as above described for it to live in. In
this
>
> life process it not only advances (or recedes)
depending on
>
> its choices, but at the same time serves to assist and
>
> elevate by its example the whole mass of "life-atoms"
for
>
> which it has specific karmic responsibilities.
>
>
>
> At death the man-consciousness passes first into
a
>
> state called Kama-Loka, where a separation between
the
>
> moral, and the immoral occurs. A 2nd "death" occurs
in a
>
>
> short while and the immoral side of one's nature is
allowed
>
> to disintegrate gradually in the astral plane of Kama-
Loka.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> 15. The higher, immortal Ego, the moral side of our being,
>
> passes into a state called Devachan, which has three
stages
>
> 1st the rupa-loka, where the consciousness of the Ego
is
>
>
> occupied with the aspirational and noble feelings,
thoughts
>
>
> and actions of the last personal life. This process
of
>
> assimilation being over, the MIND-EGO enters a
spiritual
>
>
> plane where, united with the "Ray" of the Universal
Spirit,
>
> it is quasi-omniscient. This 2nd stage is called the
>
> arupa-loka [formless stage]. In that condition it is
able
>
> to review the life last lived within the perspective
of all
>
> previous lives, and thus trace the line of its Karma.
The
>
>
> 3rd stage is one of preparation for a new incarnation,
and
>
>
> it begins to draw to itself those personal elements
>
> (skandhas) which will be used to make up its new
>
> personality.
>
>
>
>
>
> 16. Nature of Consciousness -Monad -- Man's
Evolutionary
> Rounds
>
>
>
>
>
> "...Man (physically) is a compound of all the kingdoms, and
spiritually--his
> individuality is no worse for being shut up within the casing of
an ant than
> it is for being inside a king. It is not the outward or physical
shape that
> dishonors and pollutes the five principles--but the mental
perversity.
>
>
>
> Then it is but at his fourth round when arrived at the full
possession of
> his Kama-energy and is completely matured, that man becomes fully
> responsible, as at the sixth he may become a Buddha and at the
seventh
> before the Pralaya--a "Dhyan Chohan."...
>
>
>
> He starts downward as a simply spiritual entity--an unconscious
seventh
> principle (a Parabrahm in contradistinction to Para-parabrahm)--
with the
> germs of the other six principles lying latent and dormant in
him...(76) [
> follows a description of stages of differentiation, round by
round, a kind
> of 'gestation' process ]...
>
>
>
> Volition and consciousness are at the same time self-determining
and
> determined by causes, and the volitions of man, his intelligence
and
> consciousness will awake but when his (77) fourth principle Kama
is matured
> and completed by its (seriatim) contact with the Kamas or
energizing forces
> of all the forms man has passed through in his previous three
rounds.
>
>
>
> The present mankind is at its fourth round (...as a genus...)...so
the
> individual entities in them are unconsciously to themselves
performing their
> local earthly sevenfold cycles--hence the vast difference in the
degrees of
> their intelligence, energy and so on.
>
>
>
> Now every individuality will be followed on its ascending arc by
the Law of
> retribution--Karma and death accordingly.
>
>
>
> The perfect man or the entity which reaches full perfection, (each
of his
> seven principles being matured) will not be reborn here. His local
> terrestrial cycle is completed...(The incomplete entities have to
be reborn
> or reincarnated)...
>
>
>
> On their fifth round after a partial Nirvana when the zenith of
the grand
> cycle is reached, they will be held responsible henceforth in
their descents
> from sphere to sphere, as they will have to appear on this earth
as a still
> more perfect and intellectual race.
>
>
>
> This downward course has not begun but will soon...The above is
the rule.
> The Buddhas and Avatars form the exception as verily we have yet
some
> Avatars left to us on earth."
>
> M L (Barker), p. 75-77
>
>
>
>
>
> DEVACHAN
>
>
>
> "...Devachan is a state where the Ego enjoys and does not suffer,
suffering
> being reserved for the earth life. It is not a question of memory
strictly
> speaking, but is a state where the causes generated on this earth
which can
> exhaust in no other state, do so exhaust themselves, leaving the
causes
> relating to this plane of earth life to be afterwards exhausted
here, and as
> it is, like this life, a state of illusion, the Ego naturally
enlarges all
> its conceptions of what it thought best and highest when it was
alive, for
> such are the causes that relate to that state." WQJ--Pract.
Occ. p.
> 258-9
>
>
>
> W Q J published in the PATH for May-June 1890: "Notes on
Devachan" [
> reprinted p. 242, THEOSOPHICAL ARTICLES AND NOTES by U L T]
>
>
>
> Here, the whole scheme as it operates in REINCARNATION [as Nature
> established and sustains], is outlined.
>
>
>
>
>
> "As physical existence has its cumulative intensity from infancy
to prime,
> and its diminishing energy thenceforward to dotage and death, so
the
> dream-life of devachan is lived correspondentially...[bottom] As
in actual
> earth-life, so there is for the Ego in devachan--the first flutter
of
> psychic life, the attainment of prime, the gradual exhaustion of
force
> passing into semi-unconsciousness, gradual oblivion and lethargy,
total
> oblivion and--not death but birth: birth into another
personality, and the
> resumption of action which daily begets new congeries of causes,
that must
> be worked out in another term of Devachan, and still another
physical
> rebirth as a (196) new personality..." M L (Barker)
p. 195
>
>
>
>
>
> "Who in the West knows anything of true Sahalo-Kadhatu, the
mysterious
> Chiliocosm out of the many regions of which but three can be given
out to
> the outside world, the Tribhuvana (three worlds) namely: Kama,
Rupa, and
> Arupa-Lokas." M L (Barker) p. 199
>
>
>
>
>
> "...the sensations, perceptions and ideation of a devachanee in
Rupa-Loka,
> will of course, be of a less subjective nature than they would be
in
> Arupa-Loka, in both of which the devachanic experiences will vary
in their
> presentation to the subject-entity, not only as regards form,
color, and
> substance, but also in their formative potentialities. But not
even the
> most exalted experience of a monad in the highest devachanic state
in
> Arupa-Loka (the last of the seven states)--is comparable to that
perfectly
> subjective condition of pure spirituality from which the monad
emerged to
> "descend into matter," and to which at the completion of the grand
cycle it
> must return. [ on to p. 200]...The "reward provided by nature for
men who
> are benevolent in a large, systematic way" and who have not
focused their
> affections upon an individual or specialty, is that--if pure--they
pass the
> quicker for that through the Kama and Rupa Lokas into the higher
sphere of
> Tribhuvana, since it is one where the formulation of abstract
ideas and the
> consideration of general principles fill the thought of its
occupants."
>
> M L p. 199
>
>
>
> TRIBHUVANA is in the T. Glossary, p. 338, but there is not much
given.
> TRIKAYA, and TRAILOKYA (p. 336 ) will be found to have some
relevancy.
> There we come across the equivalents: Rupadhatu, and Arupadhatu.
>
>
>
> In her article THE MYSTERIES OF AFTER LIFE, ( HPB Articles, Vol.
II, 203 )
> HPB writes:
>
>
>
> "The spiritual Ego of man moves in Eternity like a pendulum
between the
> hours of life and death. But if these hours marking the periods of
> terrestrial and spiritual life are limited in their duration, and
if the
> very number of such stages in Eternity between sleep and
awakening, illusion
> and reality, has its beginning and its end, on the other hand the
spiritual
> "Pilgrim" is eternal.
>
>
>
> "Therefore are the hours of his post-mortem life--when,
disembodied he
> stands face to face with truth and not the mirages of his
transitory earthly
> existences during the period of that pilgrimage which we call "the
cycle of
> rebirths"--the only reality in our conception..." HPB Art. II
203 -- U
> L T
>
>
>
> "Every Spiritual Individuality has a gigantic evolutionary journey
to
> perform, a tremendous gyratory progress to accomplish...from first
to last
> of the man-bearing planets, as on each of them, the monad has to
pass
> through seven successive races of man...Each of the 7 races send 7
ramifying
> branchlets from the Parent Branch: and through each of these in
turn man
> has to evolute before he passes on to the next higher race; and
that seven
> times...The branchlets typify varying specimens of humanity--
physically and
> spiritually--and no one of us can miss one single rung of the
ladder...There
> are other and innumerable manvantaric chains of globes bearing
intelligent
> beings--both in and out of our solar system--the crowns or apexes
of
> evolutionary being in their respective chains, some--physically and
> intellectually--lower, others immeasurably higher than the man of
our
> chain." M L (Barker) p. 119
>
>
>
> Elsewhere, in THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY, THE OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY, and a
number of
> relevant articles.
>
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
>
>
> Dallas
>
>
>
> =====================
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From: pedro oliveira
>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006
>
> To:
>
> Subject: Re: Fundamentalism, religion and reason
>
>
>
> Dear Cass and Perry,
>
>
>
> Thank you for your views. I prefer to take a cautious approach to
>
> the issue of fundamentalism because I am convinced that it is not
>
> possible to understand it as if it were a black or white reality. .
>
>
>
> The issue of power in this question, mentioned by Perry, is quite
>
> evident. But then power-seeking placates every human organisation
on
>
> this earth and is not limited to religion. The dualism in
religious
>
> structures/theologies, mentioned by Cass, is also evident, but I
>
> would faintheartedly suggest that not even science is free from
it,
>
> and even in the broad daylight of the 21st century it still sees
>
> consciousness not as a primary reality but as an epiphenomenon of
>
> the brain chemistry!
>
>
>
> The Theosophical Movement is also not without its contradictions
in
>
> its attitude to religion. We have the forceful (and convincing)
>
> denunciation of religion as being responsible for two thirds of
>
> human misery (Mahatma Letters) and yet the Founders established a
>
> Society to study Comparative Religion! See, for example, the
>
> following letter:
>
>
>
> "GREETINGS to the Hindu, Parsee, Buddhist, English and other
>
> Delegates and to the Fellows herewith present.
>
>
>
> Remember that though of various nationalities and religions you
are
>
> nearly all the children of one mother, India. Remember and act
>
> accordingly. You have to make of the Anniversary ceremony
>
> celebration a grand success.
>
>
>
> You have to prove to your evil-wishers
>
> and enemies that your cause, being strong and having taken its
stand
>
> upon the rock of truth, indeed can never be impeded in its
progress
>
> by any opposition, however powerful, if you be all united and act
in
>
> concert. Be true, be loyal to your pledges, to your sacred duty,
to
>
> your country, to your own conscience.
>
>
>
> Be tolerant to others, respect the religious views of others if
you would
> have your own respected.
>
> Sons of India, of old Aryavarta, whether adopted or sons of her
>
> blood, remember that you are theosophists and that Theosophy or
>
> Brahma Vidya is the mother of every old religion, forsaken and
>
> repudiated though she may now be by most of her ungrateful
children.
>
> Remember this, act accordingly and the rest will follow in due
>
> course.
>
>
>
> With our sincere blessings,
>
>
>
> K.H. (Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom,
First Series,
> letter 2)
>
>
>
> Did the Mahatmas give so much importance to religious
understanding
>
> because they somehow knew religion would be an explosive influence
>
> in the twentieth century, when destitute of spiritual insight or
>
> mysticism? I confess I don't know. But what seems clear to me now
is
>
> that fundamentalism is not an isolated phenomenon, but an integral
>
> part of the cultural wars that started with the dawning of the
>
> modern age in the 17th century, with Cartesian and thought-centred
>
> world views dominating the world. Interestingly enough, this is
also
>
> the period of dramatic expansion of colonialist rules around the
>
> globe.
>
>
>
> Pedro
>
> SNIP
>
> .
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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