Theos-Talk Archives (July 2007 Message tt00422)

Dear Pablo
This is a very good article and a particularly good confluence of the 
two teachers and their teachings, although K would deny he was 
teaching! I had a similar introduction to K's work but after 
considerable effort it all became clear.
Throughout the years I have stated that K's mindset is the clearest 
Theosophical mindset since Madame Blavatsky. This met with only very 
limited acceptance and more generally upraised eyebrows. This article 
may assist others in your Society to see the value of his work.

Kind regards
Nigel

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Pablo Sender" <pasender@...> 
wrote:
>
> When I first heard someone speaking about Krishnamurti's teaching, 
I 
> said to myself "What is that nonsense?". And during certain time I 
> had some discussions with "Krishnamurtians", resulting in a very 
> confusing idea. Therefore, I began to study his teachings in order 
to 
> discover by myself the thing.
> Finally, I could appreciate his teaching, especially when it began 
to 
> throw a different light in some theosophical teachings 
(particularly 
> fro The Secret Doctrine). Here is one example of I discovered, and 
> that justifies to me the promotion of Krishnamurti's teaching.
> 
> 
> The Secret Doctrine as Spiritual Practice 
> Pablo D. Sender
> The Theosophist, May 2006
> 
> H. P. Blavatsky's major work was The Secret Doctrine (SD), which, 
> according to one of her Masters, was the triple production of 
Mahatma 
> M., HPB, and Mahatma KH.1 While it was being written, she was 
> seriously ill and her life was in peril, but the Masters must have 
> considered this book a very important one, for they kept her alive, 
> in the midst of pain and suffering, in order to leave this legacy 
to 
> humanity.
> In its original form the SD consisted of two large volumes, yet HPB 
> said she had prepared a Third Volume and was working on a Fourth, 
but 
> she died before publishing these. Six years after her passing, her 
> disciple Annie Besant published the Third Volume and, although some 
> people claimed this was a spurious one, later investigations made 
by 
> Daniel H. Caldwell showed that much of its material was actually 
the 
> real Third Volume intended by HPB.2 The promised Fourth Volume was 
to 
> be almost entirely devoted to practical Occult teachings, although 
> its publication, according to HPB, depended entirely upon how 
Volumes 
> I and II would be received by Theosophists. Unfortunately, this 
> Volume was never published. 
> The SD is frequently taken as a theoretical compendium of 
> metaphysical and abstruse teachings, or as an `esoteric' history 
> about the genesis of the Universe and Man. In that context, this 
work 
> can be studied as an exposition of some essential facts related to 
> the Cosmos, Humanity, and the general plan for their development 
> according to certain immutable laws. This conception has its own 
> value, because it provides a deep and comprehensive cosmovision of 
> existence. However, since the study of this subject is frequently 
> reduced to a mere intellectual exercise with little impact on our 
> daily life, one wonders if a book considered so important by the 
> Mahatmas and HPB should not have a greater practical significance. 
In 
> fact, in a letter to A.O. Hume, Master KH said: 
> 
> The truths and mysteries of occultism constitute, indeed, a body of 
> the highest spiritual importance, at once profound and practical 
for 
> the world at large. Yet, it is not as a mere addition to the 
tangled 
> mass of theory or speculation in the world of science that they are 
> being given to you, but for their practical bearing on the 
interests 
> of mankind.3 
> 
> Therefore, the truths of Theosophy must have a real (practical) 
> meaning for humanity. It is our duty as members of the TS to 
discover 
> the real dimension of the SD (and all theosophical teachings), not 
as 
> a collection of concepts, but as a transforming force in our lives.
> 
> Signposts on the Path 
> According to HPB, the SD has different keys of interpretation: 
> metaphysical, astronomical, physiological, psychological, and so 
> forth. Therefore, we will attempt here to consider these teachings 
> from a psycho-metaphysical point of view, as HPB would say, looking 
> for an interpretation that allows us to make them part of our 
> spiritual practice. 
> In a talk with some students, HPB is reported to have said: `TRUTH 
> lies beyond any ideas we can formulate or express',4 and `no 
picture 
> will ever represent TRUTH'.5 In another context, J. Krishnamurti 
also 
> said: `The unknown, the limitless, cannot be captured by thought.' 
6 
> Every authentic spiritual tradition or teaching states that Truth 
`is 
> beyond the range and reach of thought'. If this is so, how can the 
> Truth be realized? Maybe the question arises because we are used to 
> considering thought as our only tool, although according to 
> Theosophical teachings, this is not the case. HPB wrote:
> 
> The INFINITE cannot be known to our reason, which can only 
> distinguish and define; but we can always conceive the abstract 
idea 
> thereof, thanks to that faculty higher than our reason ? intuition, 
> or the spiritual instinct.7 
> 
> The text is referring to buddhi, or Spiritual Intuition, which is 
the 
> faculty we need to awaken for the perception of Truth. If the 
modern 
> presentation of Theosophy has the object of guiding us to this 
goal, 
> it must provide us with tools to help us make operative this `power 
> latent in man' through which spiritual realities can be grasped.
> Thus Mme Blavatsky denied that the real value of the SD is to 
furnish 
> a complete philosophical account of existence, and advised: `Come 
to 
> the SD without any hope of getting the final Truth of existence 
from 
> it, or with any idea other than seeing how far it may lead TOWARDS 
> the Truth.' 8 She said that this book is `a means of exercising and 
> developing the mind never touched by other studies',9 and the right 
> work on it is `what the Indians call Jñâna Yoga'.10 Therefore, the 
> information given in the SD is not an end in itself, but a means. 
As 
> JK said, `the word is not the thing', and this book was written 
> just `to provide him [the student] with signposts on that Path'.11 
> When the student works rightly with the SD, it may lead him beyond 
> the mental processes, where the light of Intuition may shine. This 
is 
> what HPB points out in the Proem when she wrote: `Indeed, it must 
be 
> remembered that all these Stanzas appeal to the inner faculties 
> rather than to the ordinary comprehension of the physical brain'.12 
> One important thing to bear in mind when engaged in theosophical 
> study is the concept of learning. In the present time, we tend to 
> consider learning as the intake of new information from outside, 
and 
> therefore we think we know Theosophy because we have collected 
> concepts from different books and memorized them. But this 
knowledge 
> mostly affects only the surface of our being; therefore, there is a 
> gap between theory and practice. The real learning, as Plato 
stated, 
> comes from within, and the Stanzas try to awaken this inner 
> knowledge, which may be what is sometimes called `the archetypes in 
> our deeper mind'. This knowledge is more comprehensive and has a 
> transformative effect upon us. 
> 
> Awakening Spiritual Perception 
> We should be serious in examining what are the bases for awakening 
> our spiritual perception. As we have said, the mere recollection of 
> the information given in the SD is not enough, and we should not 
> imagine that spiritual perception will be awakened in some obscure 
> way simply by reading. To reach this `deeper mind' is not so easy 
and 
> there are several factors involved in it, as expressed in 
> theosophical literature. 
> HPB says that Intuition arises in `a state in which one ceases to 
be 
> the conditioned and personal "I", and becomes one with the ALL'.13 
> This is also the very core of JK's teachings, since he was 
primarily 
> interested in helping us transcend all activities of our brain 
> consciousness (kâma-manas). In one of his dialogues with Dr David 
> Bohm, he differentiates between the Mind, which is universal and 
> unconditioned, and the brain, which is limited. And he says that 
the 
> brain is the basis of the self, while the Mind is the source of the 
> highest form of intelligence. But then the question arises: how can 
> that Mind act through the brain? According to JK this is possible 
> only when there is no sense of separateness: 
> 
> DB: You are using the word Mind; not `my' Mind. 
> JK: Mind. It is not `mine'. 
> DB: It is universal or general. 
> JK: Yes. . . . 
> DB: It would almost seem to imply, then, that in so far as a person 
> feels he is a separate being, he has very little contact with Mind. 
> JK: Quite right. That is what we said.14 
> 
> So, both HPB and JK established the necessity of leaving the `self' 
> behind as a basic condition for awakening Intuition. Obviously, 
this 
> breaking of that sense of separateness is not something that can be 
> achieved taking a single course of action; all the different 
aspects 
> of our life have to be orientated towards this aim, but here we 
will 
> concentrate on how the SD can help us in this task. 
> 
> First Fundamental Proposition 
> The Fundamental Propositions given in the Proem of the SD contain 
> statements about the essential nature of the Cosmos and, at the 
same 
> time, Mankind, which is a mirror of the Universe. As HPB wrote: 
> 
> As above so it is below, as in heaven so on earth; and man ? the 
> microcosm and miniature copy of the macrocosm ? is the living 
witness 
> to this Universal Law and to the mode of its action.15 
> Therefore, proper study of cosmic processes from an esoteric point 
of 
> view can have a direct impact upon us in a variety of ways. We will 
> attempt now to examine these Fundamental Propositions, not in full 
> length or in all their connotations, but highlighting certain 
aspects 
> useful for a psycho-metaphysical interpretation. The first one 
> establishes that there is a `ground' on which and through which the 
> Cosmos is manifested. It is: 
> 
> An Omnipresent, Eternal, Boundless, and Immutable PRINCIPLE, on 
which 
> all speculation is impossible, since it transcends the power of 
human 
> conception and could only be dwarfed by any expression or 
similitude. 
> It is beyond the range and reach of thought ? in the words of the 
> Mândukya [Upanishad], `unthinkable and unspeakable'.16 
> 
> At first glance, it seems nonsensical to teach something on which 
all 
> thinking or speculation is impossible; therefore some say it is 
> useless to study that Absolute Principle, even though it is a 
> Fundamental Proposition of Theosophical teachings. On the other 
hand, 
> people who try to deal with this subject frequently reduce it to a 
> mere philosophical postulate about that primordial Unity in which 
> illusory diversity takes place. But taking into account the fact 
that 
> many pages in the SD are dedicated to this Absolute Reality, there 
> must be another reason for writing about this `unthinkable and 
> unspeakable' Principle. 
> This First Proposition and Stanza I in the first volume of the SD 
> refer to the unmanifested state of the universe, where there is 
only 
> infinite space and eternity in an absolute state. According to HPB, 
> right meditation (not merely intellectual study) upon this concept 
> may have an important effect upon the mind. She recommended this 
> exercise as the very foundation for practising her Diagram of 
> Meditation, when she said: `First conceive of UNITY by expansion in 
> Space and infinite in Time.' 17 This statement suggests that we 
> expand the mind; but why? This is in order to abolish self-
> centredness and lose the sense of time. As JK repeatedly 
> mentioned `the notion of time is based on thought', and we find 
that 
> in that state of universality and eternity the mind becomes still 
and 
> quiet, without images to work with. Later in her Diagram, HPB says 
> that the normal state of our consciousness must be moulded 
> by: `Perpetual presence in imagination in all Space and Time.' This 
> could seem a mere fantasy, but the Diagram points out that doing 
this 
> will produce a change upon the consciousness: 
> 
> From this originates a substratum of memory which does not cease in 
> dreaming or waking. Its manifestation is courage. With memory of 
> universality all dread vanishes during the dangers and trials of 
> life. 
> 
> This last concept is quite evident because if we look inside 
> ourselves, we will see that fear comes from the sense of 
> separateness, the identification of our consciousness with this 
> mortal, small self, and this type of work helps us diffuse it. We 
> find a similar statement in Light on the Path: 
> 
> Live neither in the present nor the future, but in the Eternal. 
This 
> giant weed [of self] cannot flower there; this blot upon existence 
is 
> wiped out by the very atmosphere of eternal thought.18 
> 
> Then, establishing our consciousness in a state of universality and 
> eternity (which is quite different from talking about it) helps us 
to 
> leave the self behind, and then there is the possibility of being 
in 
> rapport with the unconditioned. Let us consider it from another 
> angle, as in the dialogue quoted above between JK and Dr Bohm: 
> 
> DB: What is the nature of the Mind? Is the Mind located inside the 
> body, or is it in the brain? 
> JK: No, it is nothing to do with the body or the brain. 
> DB: Has it to do with space or time? 
> JK: Space ? now wait a minute! It has to do with space and 
> silence . . . . 
> DB: Now I would like to go into the question of how they are making 
> contact. 
> JK: Ah! Contact can only exist between the Mind and the brain when 
> the brain is quiet . . . . 
> DB: And one can see that if the brain is quiet it could listen to 
> something deeper? 
> JK: That's right. Then if it is quiet, it is related to the Mind. 
> Then the Mind can function through the brain.19 
> 
> Therefore, the correct meditation upon the First Fundamental 
> Proposition, which points out a Reality beyond thought, may steer 
us 
> to a condition of silence and quietude, where the self is not, 
where 
> Spiritual Intuition can arise.
> 
> Second Fundamental Proposition 
> However, we do not know how to proceed in that direction, being in 
> the midst of a restless mind. The Second Fundamental Proposition 
> gives us a clue. It affirms: `The Eternity of the Universe in toto 
as 
> a boundless plane, periodically "the playground of numberless 
> Universes incessantly manifesting and disappearing".'
> From a macrocosmic point of view, the Universe in toto (the Space) 
is 
> eternal and boundless, but there is periodically an incessant 
> movement of manifestation and dissolution taking place within that 
> immutable Space. The `numberless universes incessantly manifesting 
> and disappearing' in the Macrocosms would correspond in the 
> Microcosms with our feelings, thoughts, memories, and so on, which 
> are constantly arising and coming to an end. Following the sequence 
> of these two Fundamental Propositions at first we must have, as far 
> as possible, an `unconditioned' perception, and then deal with the 
> conditioning within. This progression is closely related to the 
> Diagram of Meditation mentioned above, where HPB says that after 
> conceiving the Unity we have to meditate on our states of 
> consciousness. Why are we exhorted to do this? Perhaps this is a 
> strategy to meditate `upon one's lower self in the light of the 
inner 
> divine man' 20 and not as a mere intellectual analysis done by the 
> conditioned mind. Here, we are looking at our normal movement from 
> the highest state we are able to reach. This also resembles JK's 
> answer to a question. When asked how we can build a bridge between 
> our conditioned state and That which is unconditioned, he replied 
> that it is impossible. The bridge has to be built from That to 
this. 
> Of course, this does not mean that we have to delude ourselves, 
> taking for granted that the thinker is different from the 
> conditioning. The (lower) mind, the self, is the conditioning. But 
> the (silent) faculty of perception is not inevitably limited to the 
> brain consciousness, to the self. So, what is required here is for 
> the perception to detach itself from the ego-sense and from 
> identification with psychological processes, which is done through 
> that sense of `being the space'.
> To examine this more closely, each one experiences an incessant 
> movement of sensations, feelings, thoughts, memories, expectations, 
> and desires, in succession. Although nothing in this movement is 
> permanent, somehow we attach to it a sense of being a single 
> identity, `the thinker', to whom all this occurs. But we do not 
> realize that all these processes take place mechanically: there 
> is `something' in us that thinks or feels as a response to external 
> or internal stimuli, or, in other words, those processes are merely 
> the activity of skandha-s.21 However, identifying ourselves with 
that 
> inner movement, we say `I am he who is thinking or feeling'. But 
this 
> perception is mistaken, because there is no thinker as a separate 
> entity. If we observe silently, we may realize there are only 
> different thoughts, each one assuming the role of the `thinker' 
when 
> active, with memory connecting all the passing thoughts, thereby 
> creating a sense of continuity. But then, what is permanent? As 
> mentioned earlier, it is `the space'. This means that in the 
attempt 
> to raise the consciousness from the impermanent to the Eternal, we 
> have to identify ourselves with the (inner) immutable space in 
which 
> the psychological processes are taking place, that is, with that 
> which contains all movements, and not with the movement itself. As 
> Sri Sankarâchârya says: 
> 
> Space is not affected with the smell of wine by contact with the 
jar, 
> and in the same way one's true nature is not affected through 
contact 
> with the things one identifies oneself with.22 
> 
> One should become aware of oneself, indivisible and perfect like 
> Space itself, when free from identification with such things as 
one's 
> body, senses, functions, mind, and sense of doership, which are all 
> the products of one's own ignorance.23 
> 
> This suggestion is not an abstraction or imagination created by 
> thought. When one is actually watching very quietly the inner 
> movement and loses the sense of `me', at least for the time being, 
> there is a feeling of being just the space which embraces the 
> psychological processes. And this state may be considered as one of 
> pure `Self Existence' because there is no sensation of `I am this 
or 
> that', but one of pure `Be-ness', simply a sense of identity 
without 
> any demarcation. 
> And there is something interesting in this process: we begin trying 
> to put ourselves in the position of being the Space, being the 
> Witness of all that happens inside us, and finish in that condition 
> of being the silent and quiet pure space. This resembles the famous 
> statements of JK: `The first step is the last step', or `freedom 
> (from the conditioning) has to be at the very beginning'. In 
> classical Theosophical literature we find similar concepts when it 
is 
> said that the Path (the means) and the Goal are essentially one and 
> the same.
> 
> Third Fundamental Proposition 
> Finally, the Third Fundamental Proposition gives us a hint as to 
the 
> correct attitude towards daily experiences. It establishes: 
> 
> The fundamental identity of all Souls with the Universal Over-Soul, 
> the latter being itself an aspect of the Unknown Root; and the 
> obligatory pilgrimage for every Soul ? a spark of the former ? 
> through the Cycle of Incarnation, or `Necessity', in accordance 
with 
> Cyclic and Karmic Law . . . [in order to] have an independent 
> (conscious) existence. 
> 
> This Proposition affirms that we, as a consciousness, are 
essentially 
> the Universal Oversoul, that is, the Universal Mind. However, we 
have 
> to live through these particular vehicles (the physical, emotional, 
> and mental bodies) which limit that Universal Consciousness in 
order 
> to acquire a pure self-conscious existence. Therefore, we cannot 
> refuse to go through all experiences in life, irrespective of their 
> being pleasant, painful, or neutral, and these experiences may not 
be 
> of much use unless we go through them with a certain attitude. The 
> Voice of the Silence says: 
> 
> The seeds of Wisdom cannot sprout and grow in airless space. To 
live 
> and reap experience the mind needs breadth and depth and points to 
> draw it towards the Diamond Soul. Seek not those points in Mâyâ's 
> realm; but soar beyond illusions, search the eternal and the 
> changeless SAT [the one eternal and absolute Reality and Truth, all 
> the rest being illusion], mistrusting fancy's false suggestions.24 
> 
> Human beings change very slowly because, although we are alive, we 
> are not experiencing life to the fullest. We usually act 
> mechanically, inattentively, and moreover, identify ourselves with 
> the personality, selecting pleasant experiences while rejecting 
those 
> which are painful. Consequently, we learn very few lessons from 
them. 
> But `to live and reap experience' our mind needs `breadth and 
depth', 
> that is, it needs to be open, vulnerable, void, not engaged in all 
> the psychophysiological processes and reactions. It needs rather to 
> be a Witness, and this is possible only if our consciousness is not 
> confused with Mâyâ's realm, `hearing fancy's false suggestions', 
but 
> is pointed towards `the eternal and the changeless SAT', the 
> immutable Space or Be-ness, as previously discussed. In this way, 
the 
> Fundamental Propositions can be seen as a spiritual practice, 
showing 
> us what kind of attitude we should have while living our daily 
lives 
> to really `reap experience'. Those interested in this subject will 
> find it useful to consult HPB's Diagram of Meditation, which has 
> further suggestions to complement this practice.
> 
> References
> 1. Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Second Series, No. 69.
> 2. Daniel H. Caldwell, `The Myth of the "Missing" Third Volume of 
The 
> Secret Doctrine', Blavatsky Study Centre, online ed., 2004, 
> <http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/sdiiipt1.htm>.
> 3. The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, in chronological order, 
No. 
> 12 (ML-6), 10 Dec. 1880.
> 4. How to Study Theosophy, Robert Bowen, (1997) TPH Adyar, p. 8.
> 5. Op cit, p. 13.
> 6. The Future of Humanity, First Conversation, Brockwood Park, 11 
> June 1983.
> 7. `The Beacon of the Unknown', H. P. Blavatsky's Collected 
Writings 
> (CW), XI, p. 258.
> 8. How to Study Theosophy, p. 9.
> 9. Op cit., p. 9.
> 10. Op cit., p. 13.
> 11. Op cit., p. 14.
> 12. The Secret Doctrine (SD), I, 2003, TPH Adyar, 3-vol. ed., p. 21.
> 13. `The Beacon of the Unknown', CW, XI, p. 258.
> 14. The Future of Humanity, Second Conversation, Brockwood Park, 20 
> June 1983, pp. 71-3.
> 15. SD, I, p. 274.
> 16. SD, I, p. 14.
> 17. The Theosophist, May 2003, pp. 308-9.
> 18. Light on the Path, 2000, TPH Adyar, p. 20.
> 19. The Future of Humanity, Second Conversation, pp. 62, 67.
> 20. SD, V, 1962, TPH Adyar, 6-vol. ed., p. 468; or CW, XII, p. 603.
> 21. Psychic `aggregates' of habits and tendencies.
> 22. Viveka-chudâmani (The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination), v. 450.
> 23. Op cit., v. 384.
> 24. The Voice of the Silence, v. 114.
>