Theos-Talk Archives (September 2006 Message tt00311)

Carlos,

You have every right to your opinion, and I do not wish to argue with 
you. But, in the spirit of realizing that two opposite points of view 
can both be true, I suggest a few alternative ideas. 

Ancient civilizations were in many ways far more advanced in 
spiritual understanding than the present materialistic Western 
civilization. Ancient people may have been perceiving and honoring 
the interior connection of Father Sun and Mother Moon in their 
devotions. They possibly knew that all nature is divine, that 
divinity resides in every entity, every atom, in manifestation. 

Our inability to perceive the depth of the understanding of the 
ancients reflects more of our own spiritual privation than it does of 
their ignorance. 

While it is true that theosophists are cautioned not to worship the 
Masters, it is also true that the portraits of them were made 
available to students, as were portraits of HPB herself, and WQJ. 
Theosophists are enjoined to learn to think for themselves. Who are 
we to judge the process by which the individual student learns to do 
this? 

We could feel the same way about all the literature, the life 
stories, the historical documents about the early days of the 
society, that it can all too easily be mis-used. And so it can, and 
has been, and continues to be. But does this mean that it should be 
withdrawn, that it should never have been made available? Not 
according to anything I ever read on the subject. 

In "The Key to Theosophy," (I was looking for the statements about 
the inadvisability of looking at the portraits of the Masters that 
you referred to) the Theosophist says that he (she) wishes that the 
Masters had never been mentioned, so profaned had been Their names by 
those who wished the society harm. Anyone who holds in reverence 
these great Teachers of mankind, or HPB herself,  can understand that 
feeling. And yet, They were mentioned. They did make Themselves 
known. They sacrificed a lot to help us along. 

We might as well assume that They know better than we what needed to 
be done in those early days, and that They still know better than we 
how it is best to conduct ourselves. They are our own better selves. 
They are as near as our own hearts. They dwell in the inner worlds, 
where we also dwell always, if we only knew. We are evolving the 
consciousness to realize Their presence in our lives, every moment of 
every day. 

If looking at a portrait of the face of a Master gives a student a 
moment of inspiration, a renewal of hope and faith in the reality of 
the inner life, what is there to worry about? If it doesn't work for 
you, so be it. We all have our own path to follow. 

Do the inner work. That is very essential, as we all have learned. 
But let's not decide for others how they should best proceed. As long 
as they are trying to do the right thing, they are doing fine. 

Adelasie

On 15 Sep 2006 at 10:38, carlosaveline wrote:

> Friends,
>  
> Since ancient times,  naive  human beings have looked at the outside world and the universe as a mere extension  of their own small,   lower selves.  
>  
> They have seen in the Sun a personalistic Lord, an absolute Monarch - a  cosmic humanoid  who owns human souls as if they were his private property.  
>  
> Ignorance has made them personalize  the Moon as a humanoid Virgin who is also  Mother and Wife ; a bright female goddess presiding over the stars during night  - `stars´ being the many children of  the celestial couple. For them, this was  not a beautiful, poetical and symbolical legend -  it was literal truth. 
>  
> Justice is then seen as a divinity to whom one  may ask personal favours. But each one of such Gods feels envy and jealousy with  regard to the others.  Just like ignorant human beings, these Gods suffer from the disease of  attachment-and-rejection.  The reason for that is simple:  in popular myths, ancient Gods are indeed created by men.     
>  
> The same has happened in Christianity, Hinduism, Islamism and other religions. 
>  
> In recent times, such poor souls have learnt about Theosophy.  But they can´t grasp its inner and true philosophy and, sadly enough,  they don´t want to patiently TRY doing that.  
>  
> Then they prefer the easy way.  They think of Masters of the Wisdom and  visualize `Adepts´ at the personality level.  They create mental projections out of their own  psychological contents.  Moved by 
> semi-intellectualized self-delusion, they want to communicate  with Adepts through 19th century portraits which now circulate in the Internet.  They create mental false images and  then adore them. By doing that, they are trying to turn Adepts into Catholic Church Saints. 
>  
> Sometimes they even talk  to, or listen to, these would-be physical portraits. What´s  the use of it,  after all? 
>  
> These people should  start  by enhancing their contact with their own souls or `spiritual selves´. They should turn within and  realize that a true light can only be found in one´s heart, and in silence. 
>  
> They might well think of regularly re-examining their inner personal motives and comparing them to  the noble `ideal of human progression and perfection´. 
>  
> A clean life, an open mind, a pure heart, an eager intellect, an unveiled spiritual perception... these are some of the  golden stairs through which  human beings may gradually get to the  inner Temple. 
>  
> No amount of  visualizations  or internet portraits can  replace that homework.. 
>  
> Best regards,   Carlos Cardoso Aveline 
>  
>