Theos-Talk Archives (September 2006 Message tt00314)

Adelasie,


Thanks. 

No one is deciding for others.  We are not in an Liberal Catholic meeting; we are but  exchaging views.

The masses have been always rather ignorant and superstitious, attached to the "eye doctrine".  They personalize spiritual processes which, precisely because they are spiritual, are NOT personal, nor physical. 

After HPB wrote that in "The Key to Theosophy", the least we can do is to be calmly reserved about portraits and names of her Master.

Yet, as I said, 115 years later it fortunately cannot be a big deal.  Except that it takes neophytes and even some experienced theosophists out of the way to self-knowledge by transforming Masters in one's mind into a pseudo-theosophical version of Catholic Saints, with all its personalistically emotional devotion, etc.  

Then philosophy and self-knowledge are  put aside and personality adoration starts. 

That is what Annie Besant was warned against in the 1900 Letter.   And look at the results. 

Look at the state of the world.  The lower quaternary can adore portraits and personalities of "Masters". 

Upper triad has to accept the one Oceanic Silence. 


Best regards indeed,   Carlos. 




De:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com

Para:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com

Cópia:

Data:Fri, 15 Sep 2006 07:35:22 -0700

Assunto:[Spam] Re: Theos-World Personalism or Theosophy

> 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 
> > 
> > 
> 
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