Theos-Talk Archives (December 2006 Message tt00408)

Dear Friends, 
 
We have discussed in 2006 the nature of spiritual vows or pledges. 

Esoterically, no pledge is a blind operation. It goes together with, and not intead of, critical examination.  Buddhic and intuitive  bonds do not fear manasic or free mind examinations. 
 
The most important thing at all times  is to hear the wordless voice of one’s own heart.  That delivers us from blind obedience and develops discernment within.   
 
It is naturally unavoidable to make mistakes;  but it is within our  reach to listen to our own conscience.   Every vow or pledge  is, or should be,  an active expression of our heart ; and it must not be not something which goes against it.  Therefore, in some rare and grave situations, when pledges and rules lose their sense from the viewpoint of our consciences,  they actually cease to exist and become dead letter. 
 
Even while believing and following rules and pledges, one must know that they are ever open to examination on the part of  our highest critical vision,  and can be improved as long as we are concerned.  For vows are not  bureaucratic events or ties, except in their outer and secondary levels. 
 
Ultimately, all spiritual pledges are but metaphors of  the fundamental commitment to our own higher self –  the true and supreme source of whatever sense of duty we have in life. 
 
In Gautama Buddha’s legend we have an example. There we read that  “after long fasts, he broke the rule of the ascetics and accepted some rice cooked in  milk from a village woman.”
 
It was then, and after courageously breaking  the  rules previously accepted, that Buddha took a step further and  made a higher commitment.   Says the legend:  
 
“With great determination, he sat on his straw mat underneath a bodhi tree and vowed not to move until he had seen ultimate reality”. (1) 
 
Of course,  breaking rules previously adopted is a most serious action and, in itself,  undesirable. But if such rules do not help our growth in learning and in altruistic service any longer, and if they only hinder it, then it may be necessary to break them in order to open room for a new and higher level of commitment.   
 
That has happened more than once to theosophists since 1875. It was thanks to this continuous growth beyond old outer forms that the movement renewed itself through various critical moments.   
 
 
Best regards,    Carlos. 
 
 
NOTE: 
 
(1) “Zen For Beginners”, Judith Blackstone  and Zoran Josipovic, Writers and Readers Inc., London. UK, 1986, 168 pp., see pp. 24-25. 
 
 
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