Theos-Talk Archives (September 2006 Message tt00341)

Teacher's Teacher's Statement
  
   I agree with C. Aveline that there 
are at least 27 false Letters (or parts 
of them false) in the Algeo collection 
of HPB Letters (commentary mostly[?] by 
John Cooper, but not sufficiently acknowledged.)  
What one has to wonder about is that 
someone like Dan has studied Blavatsky 
and the MLs for probably 30 years and 
STILL hasn't developed an intuition to 
tell the true writings from the false, 
to his own satisfaction.   One wonders 
why.  Poor guy!  Must be tortuous.
  
    Anyhow, this summation below by 
KH of the Teacher's Teacher's viewpoints 
(not a Letter, per se) is in "Letters 
>From the Masters of the Wisdom, Vol. I) 
and is what the purpose of the original 
Theosophical impetus is all about.  
Its often referrred to as a "mahachohan's 
letter."  Note the emphasis on Brotherhood, 
helping the disadvantaged peoples, 
and Buddhism.
  
           - jake j.
  =======
Teacher's Teacher Statement:
  
 "The doctrine we promulgate 
being the only true one, must - supported 
by such evidence as we are preparing 
to give - become ultimately triumphant, 
like every other truth. Yet it is 
absolutely necessary to inculcate it 
gradually; enforcing its theories 
(unimpeachable facts for those who know) 
with direct inference, deduced from 
and corroborated by the evidence furnished 
by modern exact science. That is why Col. 
H. S. Olcott, who works to revive Buddhism, 
may be regarded as one who labours in the 
true path of Theosophy, far more than any 
man who chooses as his goal the gratification 
of his own ardent aspirations for occult 
knowledge. Buddhism, stripped of its 
superstition, is eternal truth; and he 
who strives for the latter is striving 
for Theo-Sophia, divine wisdom, which is 
a synonym of truth. 
  
   "For our doctrines to practically 
react on the so-called moral 
code, or the ideas of truthfulness, 
purity, self-denial, charity, etc., we 
have to preach and popularize a knowledge 
of Theosophy. It is not the individual 
and determined purpose of attaining Nirvana 
- the culmination of all knowledge and absolute 
wisdom, which is after all only an exalted 
and glorious selfishness - but the self-
sacrificing pursuit of the best means to 
lead on the right path our neighbour, to 
cause to benefit by it as many of our 
fellow-creatures as we possibly can, which 
constitutes the true Theosophist. 
  
   "The intellectual portion of mankind 
seems to be fast dividing into two classes: 
the one unconsciously preparing for itself 
long periods of temporary annihilation or 
states of non-consciousness, owing to the 
deliberate surrender of intellect, and its 
imprisonment in the narrow grooves of 
bigotry and superstition - a process which 
cannot fail to lead to the utter deformation 
of the intellectual principle; the other 
unrestrainedly indulging its animal 
propensities with the deliberate intention 
of submitting to annihilation pure and simple, 
in case of failure, and to millenniums of 
degradation after physical dissolution. 
Those intellectual classes, reacting upon 
the ignorant masses - which they attract, 
and which look up to them as noble and fit 
examples to be followed - degrade and 
morally ruin those they ought to protect 
and guide. Between degrading superstition 
and still more degrading brutal materialism, 
the White Dove of Truth has hardly room 
whereon to rest her weary unwelcome feet. 
  
   "It is time that Theosophy should 
enter the arena. The sons of Theosophists 
are more likely to become in their turn 
Theosophists than anything else. No messenger 
of the truth, no prophet, has ever 
achieved during his life-time a complete 
triumph - not even Buddha. The Theosophical 
Society was chosen as the cornerstone, the 
foundation of the future religions of 
humanity. To achieve the proposed object, 
a greater, wiser, and especially a more 
benevolent intermingling of the high and 
the low, the alpha and the omega of society, 
was determined upon. The white race must 
be the first to stretch out the hand of 
fellowship to the dark nations, to call 
the poor despised "nigger" brother. 
This prospect may not smile for all, 
but he is no Theosophist who objects 
to this principle. 
  
   "In view of the ever-increasing 
triumph, and at the same time the misuse, 
of free thought and liberty (the universal 
reign of Satan, Eliphas Levi would have 
called it), how is the combative natural 
instinct of man to be restrained from 
inflicting hitherto unheard-of cruelty 
and enormous tyranny, injustice, etc., 
if not through the soothing influence of 
brotherhood, and of the practical 
application of Buddha's esoteric doctrines? 
  
   "For everyone knows that total 
emancipation from the authority of the 
one all-pervading power, or law--called 
God by the priests, and Buddha, Divine 
Wisdom and enlightenment or Theosophy, 
by the philosophers of all ages--means 
also the emancipation from that of human 
law. Once unfettered and delivered from 
their deadweight of dogmatism, interpretations, 
personal names, anthropomorphic conceptions, 
and salaried priests, the fundamental 
doctrines of all religions will be proved 
identical in their esoteric meaning. 
Osiris, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, will be 
shown as different means for one and the 
same royal highway to final bliss--Nirvana.
   
   "Mystical Christianity teaches 
Self-redemption through one's own seventh 
principle, the liberated Paramatma, called 
by the one Christ, by others Buddha; this 
is equivalent to regeneration, or rebirth 
in spirit, and it therefore expounds just 
the same truth as the Nirvana of Buddhism. 
All of us have to get rid of our own Ego, 
the illusory, apparent self, to recognize 
our true Self, in a transcendental divine 
life. But if we would not be selfish, we 
must strive to make other people see that 
truth, and recognize the reality of the 
transcendental Self, the Buddha, the Christ, 
or God of every preacher. This is why 
even esoteric Buddhism is the surest path 
to lead men towards the one esoteric truth.
   
   "As we find the world now, whether 
Christian, Mussulman, or Pagan, justice 
is disregarded, and honour and mercy are 
both flung to the winds. In a word, how--
since the main objects of the Theosophical 
Society are misinterpreted by those who 
are most willing to serve us personally--
are we to deal with the rest of mankind? 
with that curse known as the struggle for 
life, which is the real and most prolific 
parent of most woes and sorrows, and all 
crimes? Why has that struggle become almost 
the universal scheme of the universe? We 
answer,--because no religion, with the 
exception of Buddhism, has taught a 
practical contempt for this earthly life; 
while each of them, always with that one 
solitary exception, has through its hells 
and damnations inculcated the greatest 
dread of death. Therefore do we find that 
struggle for life raging most fiercely 
in Christian countries, most prevalent 
in Europe and America. It weakens in the 
Pagan lands, and is nearly unknown among 
Buddhist populations. In China during 
famine, and where the masses are most 
ignorant of their own or of any religion, 
it was remarked that those mothers who 
devoured their children belonged to 
localities where there was none; and 
where the Bonzes alone had the field, 
the population died with the utmost 
indifference. Teach the people to see 
that life on this earth, even the happiest, 
is but a burden and an illusion; that it 
is our own Karma [the cause producing the 
effect] that is our own judge--our Saviour 
in future lives--and the great struggle 
for life will soon lose its intensity. 
There are no penitentiaries in Buddhist 
lands, and crime is nearly unknown among 
the Buddhist Tibetans. 
  
   "The world in general, and 
Christendom especially, left for 2,000 
years to the régime of a personal God, as 
well as to its political and social systems 
based on that idea, has now proved a failure.
If the Theosophists say we have 
nothing to do with all this; the lower 
classes and the inferior races (those of 
India, for instance, in the conception 
of the British) cannot concern us, and 
must manage as they can, what becomes 
of our fine professions of benevolence, 
philanthropy, reform, etc.? Are those 
professions a mockery? And if a mockery, 
can ours be the true path? Shall we 
devote ourselves to teaching a few 
Europeans--fed on the fat of the land, 
many of them loaded with the gifts of 
blind fortune--the rationale of bell-ringing, 
of cup-growing, of the spiritual telephone, 
and astral body formation, and leave 
the teeming millions of the ignorant, 
of the poor and oppressed, to take care 
of themselves, and of their hereafter, 
as best they can? Never! perish rather 
the Theosophical Society with both its 
hapless Founders, than that we should 
permit it to become no better than an 
academy of magic, and a hall of occultism! 
That we, the devoted followers of that 
spirit incarnate of absolute self-sacrifice, 
of philanthropy, divine kindness, as of 
all the highest virtues attainable on 
this earth of sorrow, the man of men, 
Gautama Buddha, should ever allow the 
Theosophical Society to represent the 
embodiment of selfishness, the refuge 
of the few with no thought in them for 
the many, is a strange idea, my brothers! 
  
   "Among the few glimpses obtained by 
Europeans of Tibet and its mystical 
hierarchy of perfect Lamas, there was 
one which was correctly understood and 
described. The incarnations of the Bod
hisattva Padmapani or Avolokiteshvara, 
of Tsong-ka-pa, and that of Amitabha, 
relinquished at their death the attainment 
of Buddhahood--i.e., the summum bonum 
of bliss, and of individual personal 
felicity--that they might be born again 
and again for the benefit of mankind. 
In other words, that they might be again 
and again subjected to misery, 
imprisonment in flesh, and all the 
sorrows of life, provided that they 
by such a self-sacrifice, repeated 
throughout long and weary centuries, 
might become the means of securing 
salvation and bliss in the hereafter 
for a handful of men chosen among but 
one of the many planetary races of 
mankind. And it is we, the humble disciples 
of these perfect Lamas, who are expected 
to allow the Theosophical Society to drop 
its noblest title, that of the Brotherhood 
of Humanity, to become a simple school of 
philosophy! No, no, good brothers, you 
have been labouring under the mistake too 
long already. Let us understand each other. 
He who does not feel competent to grasp 
the noble idea sufficiently to work for 
it, need not undertake a task too heavy 
for him. But there is hardly a Theosophist 
in the whole Society unable to effectually 
help it by correcting erroneous impressions 
of outsiders, by himself actually 
propagating this idea. Oh! for noble and 
unselfish men to help us effectually in 
that divine task! All our knowledge, past 
and present, would not be sufficient to 
repay him. 
  
   "Having explained our views and 
aspirations, I have but a few words more 
to add. The true religion and philosophy 
offer the solution of every problem. That 
the world is in such a bad condition, 
morally, is a conclusive evidence that 
none of its religions and philosophies, 
those of the civilized races less than 
any other, has ever possessed the truth. 
The right and logical explanations on 
the subject of the problems of the great 
dual principles, right and wrong, good 
and evil, liberty and despotism, pain 
and pleasure, egotism and altruism, 
are as impossible to them now as they 
were 1880 years ago. They are as far 
from the solution as they were; but 
to these problems there must be somewhere 
a consistent solution, and if our 
doctrines will show their competence 
to offer it, then the world will be 
the first to confess that there must 
be the true philosophy, the true 
religion, the true light, which gives 
truth and nothing but the truth. "
            (1881)s
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