Theos-Talk Archives (March 2007 Message tt00052)

In occultism we students are instructed to learn forgiveness, 
tolerance, humility, compassion, and love for our brothers and 
sisters. We are taught to develop loyalty and trustfulness, to live 
our lives with hope and faith in the inherent goodness of humanity, 
in the Christos within each human heart. It is difficult to discover 
what good can be served by students of occultism spending their time 
uncovering the weaknesses of their fellow students, either past or 
present. If a teaching, a writing, a teacher, or a student seems to 
us to strike a wrong note, we have the right to disregard what they 
say. But where in the ancient wisdom does it say that we are to 
instruct other students whom or what to study? How do we know what 
another should do? Is this not the meaning of "impersonal," to learn 
to see with objective eyes fairly and from all sides, instead of 
trying to impose our own inherently limited personal view on the 
minds and hearts of others? 

Adelasie

On 3 Mar 2007 at 1:42, nhcareyta wrote:

> Dear Daniel, Perry, Gregory, Adelasie and all
> 
> Thank you for this excellent collation Daniel.
> My very ordinary attempts to elucidate legitimate concerns about 
> Bishop Leadbeater and others' misrepresentations of Madame Blavatsky 
> and her teachers' Theosophical teachings, mindset and methodology 
> have been far surpassed at a very high level of quality through these 
> quotes you have collated Daniel,the quote from Sri Madhava Ashish 
> recently brought here by Perry and the many historically factual 
> postings from Dr Tillett. 
> 
> Please forgive the "stuck record" but along with many, many other 
> examples, Bishop Leadbeater and Dr Besant repeatedly claimed to be in 
> direct and ongoing contact with Madame Blavatsky's teachers. 
> At the same time they wrote utterly contradictory teachings on so 
> many subjects, whilst claiming they were representing these very same 
> teachers and their teachings. 
> 
> You would think that any reasonable and fair-minded person would have 
> to conclude that they were either completely delusional or simple 
> liars. 
> 
> It seems incredulous and extraordinary that apologists continue to 
> ignore these demonstrable facts either claiming them to be themselves 
> lies or dismissing them as unimportant and separative. 
> 
> As putative seekers after truth, as evanescent as it may be to our 
> limited minds, do we really need to ask why all this important?
> 
> In our search to make sense of life and whatever purpose it may have, 
> surely we must develop criteria for determining the veracity or 
> otherwise of pronouncements made by self-appointed life-teachers as 
> our absolute minimum, starting point? 
> Issues such as character, reputation, trustworthiness, lifestyle and 
> other considerations might also be added to the equation, not for the 
> sake of judgement/condemnation but objective discernment. 
> 
> Where we can determine certain teachers to have lied on many 
> occasions and to have misrepresented others' teachings, why would we 
> wish to continue studying their works? Do they make us feel 
> comfortable and secure? Are they romantic and alluring to the way we 
> might wish things to be? 
> What do any of these have to do with spirituality? Do we really learn 
> and grow when comfortable, indulgent and romantically deluded? 
> Or do we require constant challenge and confrontation to keep our 
> minds open and alert?
> 
> Madame Blavatsky and her Mahatmas' teachings, whether absolutely 
> accurate or not, by their nature and methodology, challenge and 
> stretch our minds and hearts often to breaking point. It is at this 
> point that our arrogance and self-opinion, our desire for self-
> comfort, predictability, security and safety begin the inevitable 
> process of falling away and we are ultimately left with who we are in 
> the raw, true state.
> 
> The only value I can determine from studying, accepting and following 
> Bishop Leadbeater and his clones' romanticised teachings, many of 
> which are fallacious and misrepresentative, is that when we finally 
> awaken from our state of mental torpor, we will in the future be so 
> much more wary of being so blindly deluded.
> 
> Thanks again Daniel
> Kind regards
> Nigel   
> 
> 
> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "danielhcaldwell" 
> <danielhcaldwell@...> wrote:
> >
> > Should Theosophical students be 
> > concerned about Pseudo-Theosophy?
> > 
> > Well, it appears that H.P. Blavatsky herself was
> > concerned enough about the DISTORTION
> > of theosophical teachings that she issued
> > warnings and even corrections.
> > 
> > One may ask why one should be even concerned
> > about such alleged distortions.
> > 
> > Notice how Madame Blavatsky addresses this
> > issue:
> > 
> > "The great evil of the whole thing is, not that the truths of 
> > Theosophy are adopted by these blind teachers, for we should gladly 
> > welcome any spread, by whatever means, of ideals so powerful to 
> wean 
> > the world from its dire materialism - but that they are so 
> interwoven 
> > with mis-statements and absurdities that the wheat cannot be 
> winnowed 
> > from the chaff, and ridicule, if not worse, is brought to bear 
> > upon. . . [the Theosophical] movement. . . ."
> > 
> > "How shall men discern good from evil, when they find it in its 
> close 
> > embrace?"
> > 
> > "The very words, 'Arhat,' 'Karma,' 'Maya,' 'Nirvana,' must turn 
> > enquirers from our threshold when they have been taught to 
> associate 
> > them with such a teeming mass of ignorance and presumption. . . ." 
> > 
> > "Though false coin is the best proof of the existence of genuine 
> > gold, yet, the false deceives the unwary. . . ." 
> > http://blavatskyarchives.com/onpseudotheosophy.htm#save
> > 
> > H.P.B. repeats this same theme elsewhere:
> > 
> > "....If the 'false prophets of Theosophy' are to be left untouched, 
> the 
> > true prophets will be very soon--as they have already been--
> confused 
> > with the false. It is nigh time to winnow our corn and cast away 
> the 
> > chaff." 
> > 
> > "... We do not believe in allowing the presence of sham elements in 
> > Theosophy, because of the fear, forsooth, that if even 'a false 
> > element in the faith' is ridiculed, the latter 'is apt to shake the 
> > confidence' in the whole...."
> > 
> > "...However it may be, let rather our ranks be made thinner, than the 
> > Theosophical Society go on being made a spectacle to the world 
> > through the exaggerations of some fanatics, and the attempts of 
> > various charlatans to profit by a ready-made programme. These, by 
> > disfiguring and adapting Occultism to their own filthy and immoral 
> > ends, bring disgrace upon the whole movement...."
> > http://blavatskyarchives.com/onpseudotheosophy.htm#if
> > 
> > And once again HPB addresses this same issue:
> > 
> > ". . . A new and rapidly growing danger. . . is threatening . . . 
> the 
> > spread of the pure Esoteric Philosophy and knowledge. . . . I 
> allude 
> > to those charlatanesque imitations of Occultism and 
> Theosophy. . . . "
> > 
> > ". . . A close examination will assuredly reveal. . . materials 
> > largely stolen . . . from Theosophical writings. . . [and] 
> distorted 
> > and falsified so as to be palmed off on the unwary as revelations 
> of 
> > new and undreamed of truths. But many will neither have the time 
> nor 
> > the opportunity for such a thorough investigation; and before they 
> > become aware of the imposture they may be led far from the Truth."
> > 
> > ". . . Nothing is more dangerous to Esoteric Truth than the garbled 
> > and distorted versions disfigured to suit the prejudices and tastes 
> > of men in general." 
> > 
> > I draw special attention to HPB's words:
> > 
> > "...the truths of Theosophy... are so interwoven with mis-
> statements 
> > and absurdities that the wheat cannot be winnowed from the 
> > chaff. . . ."
> > 
> > "...many will neither have the time nor the opportunity for such a 
> > thorough investigation; and before they become aware of the 
> imposture 
> > THEY MAY BE LED FAR FROM THE TRUTH." caps added
> > 
> > Food for thought....
> > 
> > Daniel
> > http://hpb.cc
> >
> 
> 
>