Re: Theos-World From Long Sealed Ancient Fountains.
Feb 07, 2008 06:56 PM
by nhcareyta
Dear Morten and Martin
Morten, you quote from the article, "Unfortunately, far too many
readers don't take the necessary time and effort to try to understand
what H.P.B. is attempting to convey in
her many writings."
Martin, you write, "Agreed with this view, but beware only half the
Truth
was spread out and as KH put it: 'we need our
intuition to complete it with the other half'.
A supporting quote comes from Mr Franklin Merrill Wolff:
"Theosophy in the sense of a doctrine or teaching, rather than in the
other sense of `way of life,' is said to be a partial statement
emanating from pure Bodha or the Eternal Wisdom of which every
authentic religious movement or philosophy is, in its origin, a
partial statement.
Bodha, in its essence and purity, is beyond name, form, and symbol,
and is eternal; but, in variable degree and in less pure form, it is
revealed in name, form, and symbol. The degree in which it can be
revealed to the individual consciousness depends upon the purity and
evolutionary development of the latter. Consequently, the higher
aspect of the revealed Bodha is unavoidably esoteric for most men.
The open religions and philosophies are in the nature of stepped-down
or exoteric statements, not for arbitrary reasons, but from the
necessities imposed by the limitations of the understanding of most
human beings."
Regards
Nigel
--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Morten Nymann Olesen" <global-
theosophy@...> wrote:
>
> I think A short excerpt needs to be repeated:
> "Unfortunately, far too many readers don't take the necessary time
and
> effort to try to understand what H.P.B. is attempting to convey in
> her many writings.
>
> And far too often, students interject their own thoughts and
> understanding into the subject matter. Nothing is inherently wrong
> with that approach but it is suggested that a student might try to
> ascertain first of all what H.P.B.'s and the Mahatmas' views
actually
> are on various subjects.
>
> As a reader studies the material, he might constantly ask
> himself: "Do I really understand what H.P.B. and the Mahatmas are
> trying to convey?" "
>
>
>
> Exactly.
> I can certainly agree on that. Thanks for telling me about it.
>
>
> M. Sufilight
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: nhcareyta
> To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 6:07 AM
> Subject: Theos-World From Long Sealed Ancient Fountains.
>
>
> The Fountain Source
> of Modern Theosophy
>
> Our knowledge of modern Theosophy sprang from two sources: from
the
> letters of the Masters Koot Hoomi, Morya and several other Adepts
and
> from the writings of H.P. Blavatsky.
>
> From the letters of the Masters, A.P. Sinnett wrote two books:
The
> Occult World and Esoteric Buddhism. From the knowledge gained
> directly from these Mahatmas, Madame Blavatsky penned more than
> 10,000 pages of writing including her major works Isis Unveiled,
The
> Secret Doctrine, The Key to Theosophy and The Voice of the
Silence.
>
> The Mahatma Koot Hoomi wrote the following on the origin of
modern
> Theosophy:
>
> "Theosophy is no new candidate for the world's attention, but
only
> the restatement of principles which have been recognised from the
> very infancy of mankind."
>
>
> But the Master also emphasized:
>
> ". . . Our [esoteric and theosophical] doctrine . . . is now
being
> partially taught to Europeans for the first time."
>
> ". . . We have broken the silence of centuries . . . . "
>
> ". . . Let it be known that your Society['s] . . . chief aim is
to
> extirpate current superstitions and skepticism, and, from long
> sealed ancient fountains to draw the proof that man may shape his
own
> future destiny, and know for a certainty that he can live
hereafter,
> if he only wills; and that all 'phenomena' are but manifestations
of
> natural law, to try to comprehend which is the duty of every
> intelligent being. "
>
> H.P. Blavatsky wrote of her own role in the "restatement" of
> Theosophy to the modern world:
>
> ". . .We came into contact with certain men, endowed with such
> mysterious powers and such profound knowledge that we may truly
> designate them as the sages of the Orient. To their instructions
we
> lent a ready ear."
>
> "The work now submitted to public judgment is the fruit of a
somewhat
> intimate acquaintance with Eastern adepts and study of their
> science."
>
> " . . . I was the first in the United States to bring the
existence
> of our Masters into publicity; and . . . exposed the holy names
of
> two members of a Brotherhood hitherto unknown to Europe and
America
> (save to a few mystics and Initiates of every age), yet sacred
and
> revered throughout the East, and especially India . . . ."
>
> And the Mahatmas provided these insights about Madame Blavatsky's
> mission:
>
> "[H.P.Blavatsky is] . . . a woman of most exceptional and
wonderful
> endowments. Combined with them she had strong personal defects,
but
> just as she was, there was no second to her living fit for this
work.
> We sent her to America...."
>
> "This state of hers [H.P.B.'s] is intimately connected with her
> occult training in Tibet, and due to her being sent out alone
into
> the world to gradually prepare the way for others. After nearly a
> century of fruitless search, our chiefs had to avail themselves
of
> the only opportunity to send out a European body. . . ."
>
> ". . . We employ agents - the best available. Of these for the
past
> thirty years the chief has been the personality known as H.P.B.
to
> the world (but otherwise to us). Imperfect and very troublesome,
no
> doubt, she proves to some, nevertheless, there is no likelihood
of
> our finding a better one for years to come. . . . With occult
matters
> she has everything to do. . . . She is our direct agent. . . . "
>
> For more on the origin and source of Modern Theosophy as given in
the
> words of Madame Blavatsky and the Mahatmas, see:
>
> . From Long-Sealed Ancient Fountains
>
> . Great Adepts and Trained Seers.
>
> ______________________________
>
> Since Blavatsky's death in 1891, numerous individuals have
claimed
> contact with her Masters, stating that they were new "messengers"
> conveying further esoteric teachings. See a partial list of
claimants.
>
> The end result has been a confusing morass of claims,
counterclaims
> and various contradictory and conflicting teachings.
>
> Even during her lifetime, Mme. Blavatsky told her Theosophical
> students:
>
> "Great are the desecrations to which the names of two of the
Masters
> have been subjected. There is hardly a medium who has not claimed
to
> have seen them."
>
> H.P.B. and the Mahatmas also warned about "imitations of
Occultism
> and Theosophy" and "disfigured" expositions of Theosophy.
>
> They even corrected "wild and fanciful speculation"
and "erroneous
> notions" about Theosophy that were distorting the original
teachings
> that they had given. See one example of a correction.
>
> Anna Kennedy Winner has graphically described the situation:
>
> "For most students, the first difficulty lies in knowing what and
how
> to study, and how to find the right clues. The word 'occultism'
is
> badly misused, and the student who has no trustworthy guide may
> easily lose himself in a morass of superstition and pseudo-
> occultism. . . . Many pseudo-occult organizations utilize the
ideas
> obtained from the works of Madame Blavatsky, without giving her
(or
> her teachers) any credit for them, but adding all kinds of
nonsense
> and misinterpretations. . . . "
>
> Concerning certain "false ideas" grafted onto Theosophy, Madame
> Blavatsky penned the following:
>
> "Nothing is more dangerous to Esoteric Truth than the garbled and
> distorted versions disfigured to suit the prejudices and tastes
of
> men in general."
>
> For more background on the above, see:
>
> . Various Theosophical Traditions & New Students of Theosophy
>
> . Madame Blavatsky's Occult Status and the Claims of Latter-Day
> Messengers of the Masters.
>
> ______________________________
>
> In light of the above confusion and conflicting claims,
interested
> inquirers and new students would do well to go directly to the
> fountain source of Modern Theosophy: the original writings of
H.P.
> Blavatsky and the Mahatmas.
>
> We have available H.P.B.'s major books, more than 1000 of her
> articles, hundreds of her personal letters to correspondents,
more
> than a hundred Mahatma letters received during H.P.B.'s lifetime,
and
> voluminous historical accounts of people who met and knew H.P.B.
and
> her Teachers.
>
> These source writings contain a wealth of valuable material on
> Theosophy, metaphysics, esoteric lore and knowledge, occult laws
and
> processes in nature, ethical, spiritual and devotional material,
and
> much more.
>
> Some of the historical accounts of people who met and knew H.P.B.
and
> her Teachers have been compiled in the book The Esoteric World of
> Madame Blavatsky. See also A Casebook of Encounters with the
> Theosophical Mahatmas.
>
> The Blavatsky and Mahatma source material is now available on CD-
> ROM. Also much of this material is online.
>
> Inquirers and students are encouraged to read and also study this
> original material. But no one should blindly believe or
disbelieve
> what is written. But a worthy endeavor is to try to gain an
> understanding of what is being conveyed by H.P.B. and the Masters
in
> this wealth of material.
>
> The Mahatmas gave the following advice:
>
> "Knowledge for the mind, like food for the body, is intended to
feed
> and help to growth, but it requires to be well digested and the
more
> thoroughly and slowly the process is carried out the better both
for
> body and mind."
>
> "For a clearer comprehension of the extremely abstruse and at
first
> incomprehensible theories of our occult doctrine never allow the
> serenity of your mind to be disturbed during your hours of
literary
> labour, nor before you set to work. It is upon the serene and
placid
> surface of the unruffled mind that the visions gathered from the
> invisible find a representation in the visible world. Otherwise
you
> would vainly seek those visions, those flashes of sudden
light . . .
> which alone can bring the truth before the eye of the soul. It is
> with jealous care that we have to guard our mind-plane from all
the
> adverse influences which daily arise in our passage through earth-
> life."
>
> "On close observation, you will find that it was never the
intention
> of the Occultists really to conceal what they had been writing
from
> the earnest determined students, but rather to lock up their
> information for safety-sake, in a secure safe-box, the key to
which
> is - intuition. The degree of diligence and zeal with which the
> hidden meaning is sought by the student, is generally the test -
how
> far he is entitled to the possession of the so buried treasure."
>
> Unfortunately, far too many readers don't take the necessary time
and
> effort to try to understand what H.P.B. is attempting to convey
in
> her many writings.
>
> And far too often, students interject their own thoughts and
> understanding into the subject matter. Nothing is inherently
wrong
> with that approach but it is suggested that a student might try
to
> ascertain first of all what H.P.B.'s and the Mahatmas' views
actually
> are on various subjects.
>
> As a reader studies the material, he might constantly ask
> himself: "Do I really understand what H.P.B. and the Mahatmas are
> trying to convey?"
>
> The advice of one student is as follows: Give H.P.B. and the
Mahatmas
> the lectern and allow them to speak. The initial goal should be
to
> try to "listen" to them and to try to understand their view and
their
> take on the subject.
>
> None of the above should lead one to assume that H.P.B. and the
> Masters are always right or anything like that. H.P.B. and her
> Teachers never claimed they were infallible. But at the same time
> many serious students of these original writings have reasonably
> concluded that H.P.B. and her Teachers were very knowledgeable on
a
> wide range of subjects and also had wise and insightful comments
on
> many of the mysteries and problems of life.
>
> William Doss McDavid in his book An Introduction to Esoteric
> Principles: A Study Course writes:
>
> "Should we take H.P.B. as an infallible authority? . . .
Absolutely
> not. . . . But there is another side to the question. We have to
> remember that the modern Theosophical movement owes its very
> existence to H.P.B. and the Masters, whose faithful agent she
claimed
> to be. It would be extremely unwise to reject the teachings given
> through her without understanding what those teachings really
were in
> the first place. And how can we acquire this understanding if we
do
> not study her writings? We don't have to blindly accept what she
says
> or take her views as the last word, but at least we should become
> familiar with those views firsthand. Then we can reject or accept
> intelligently. When the works of other and later writers who
claim to
> be continuing the work begun by H.P.B. present viewpoints
> and 'revelations' which are at direct variance with the original
> lines of teaching, we may feel justified in questioning the
source of
> the newer pronouncements. A familiarity with the original
writings,
> therefore, provides a criterion for intelligent judgment." p. 37
>
> One might also ponder on the following words of H.P.B.:
>
> "Every reader will inevitably judge the statements made from the
> stand-point of his own knowledge, experience, and consciousness,
> based on what he has already learnt."
>
> Readers might also keep foremost in mind the possibility that
their
> own knowledge, experience and consciousness may be limited and
> incomplete.
>
> For more background information, see:
>
> . Madame Blavatsky's Occult Status and the Claims of Latter-Day
> Messengers of the Masters
>
> . Various Theosophical Traditions & New Students of Theosophy
>
> . On Pseudo-Theosophy and Pseudo-Adepts
>
> . Psychic VERSUS Initiate Visions & Knowledge
>
> . Theosophical Claims After H.P.B.'s Death
>
> For more information on H.P. Blavatsky and Theosophy, see:
>
> . Introduction to H.P. Blavatsky & Theosophy
>
> . Who Is H.P. Blavatsky?
>
> . H.P.B. Speaks
>
> . A Brief Overview of Theosophy
>
> . Basic Ideas of Theosophy
>
> . Overviews of the Classics of Theosophy
>
> . Recommended Titles about H.P.B. & Theosophy
>
> . In the Blavatsky Tradition: Major Online Books, Pamphlets &
Other
> Material on H.P. Blavatsky, the Mahatmas & Theosophy
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> ----------
>
> Endnote 1:
>
> Partial List of Claimants
>
> Dr. Gordon Melton, an expert on modern cults and minority
religions,
> has written:
>
> "A number of individuals have claimed contact with one of the
Masters
> first described by Blavatsky and have begun new organizations
based
> upon the individual revelation imparted."
>
> Below is a partial list of the claimants:
>
> (1) In the 1890s, William Q. Judge said he was in contact with
HPB's
> Master Morya as well as the deceased HPB. Judge claimed he
> precipitated letters from Master M. and gave out further esoteric
> teachings.
>
> (2) Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater affirmed that they were
in
> direct communication with HPB's Masters and the deceased HPB.
They
> gave out various Theosophical teachings in their voluminous
writings.
>
> (3) Katherine Tingley, the occult successor of Judge, said she
was in
> contact with HPB's Masters and claimed to have met on at least
two
> occasions the Master Morya in his physical body.
>
> (4) G. de Purucker, Tingley's successor, testified that the
Masters
> M. & K.H. came to visit him in 1929 at Theosophical Society
> headquarters, Point Loma, San Diego, California. Purucker claimed
> that he was allowed to give out deeper esoteric teachings than
HPB,
> Judge or Tingley had given.
>
> (5) Alice Bailey said she was in contact with Masters K.H. and
D.K
> and wrote more than 20 volumes of teachings said to be from D.K.
She
> even gave out further installments of the Stanzas of Dzyan.
>
> (6) Mrs. Francia A. La Due (of the Temple of the People) gave out
> messages from the Masters, especially from Hilarion. She also
> published more Stanzas from the Book of Dzyan.
>
> (7) Guy Ballard (of the "I Am" Movement) claimed to be in
> communication with the Masters, especially St. Germain.
>
> (8) Helena Roerich (of the Agni Yoga Society) published some 13
> volumes of communications supposedly from the Master Morya.
>
> (9) Mark Prophet and his wife Elizabeth Clare (of the Church
> Universal and Triumphant) claimed to be the emissaries of the
Great
> White Brotherhood and have channeled thousands of messages from
El
> Morya, Kut Humi, the Virgin Mary, Hercules, Chastity and a
variety of
> other Masters and entities.
>
> (10) Earlyne Chaney (of Astara) believed she was in communication
> with Kut-Hi-Mi and Zoser and other Masters of the Great White
> Brotherhood. She has given out various so-called esoteric and
occult
> teachings.
>
> (11) Nada-Yolanda (of Mark-Age, Inc) has channeled numerous
messages
> from M., K.H., and others Masters associated with UFOs.
>
> (12) Max Heindel, Rudolf Steiner and Geoffrey Hodson have claimed
> clairvoyant powers and to be in contact with various Masters -
> Rosicrucian, Theosophical or otherwise.
>
> (13) Other supposed communications from HPB's Masters have come
from
> Brother Philip in his book titled Secret of the Andes, from Cyril
> Scott in his series of books starting with The Initiate, and from
> David Anrias in his book Through the Eyes of the Masters.
>
> And the list goes on . . . .
>
> For more claims, see:
>
> "The Masters and Their Emissaries: From H.P.B. to Guru Ma and
> Beyond" by Govert Schuller
>
> For more background information on these numerous and conflicting
> claims as well as related material, see:
>
> . Madame Blavatsky's Occult Status and the Claims of Latter-Day
> Messengers of the Masters
>
> . Various Theosophical Traditions & New Students of Theosophy
>
> . On Pseudo-Theosophy and Pseudo-Adepts
>
> . Psychic VERSUS Initiate Visions & Knowledge
>
> ______________________________
>
> Endnote 2:
>
> "Mistakes have now to be checked by the original teachings and
> corrected."
>
> In her magnum opus The Secret Doctrine, H.P. Blavatsky wrote
> that "mistakes have now to be checked by the original teachings
and
> corrected. . . ." Italics added.
>
> Madame Blavatsky explained:
>
> "Esoteric Buddhism" [by A.P. Sinnett] . . . is an excellent book
[on
> Theosophy], and has done still more excellent work. But this does
not
> alter the fact that it contains some mistaken notions. . . .
>
> The time has arrived for the explanation of some matters in this
> direction. Mistakes have now to be checked by the original
teachings
> and corrected. . . .
>
> As the author [A.P. Sinnett] . . . was himself, as he says, "an
> untrained mind" in Occultism, his own inferences, and his better
> knowledge of modern astronomical speculations than of archaic
> doctrines led him quite naturally, and as unconsciously to
himself,
> to commit a few mistakes of detail rather than of any "broad
rule."
> One such will now be noticed. It is a trifling one, still it is
> calculated to lead many a beginner into erroneous conceptions.
But as
> the mistaken notions of the earlier editions were corrected in
the
> annotations of the fifth edition, so the sixth may be revised and
> perfected. . . .
>
> Among such . . . [was] the erroneous statement that two of the
> superior Globes of the terrestrial chain were two of our well-
known
> planets:
>
> "besides the Earth . . . there are only two other worlds of our
chain
> which are visible. . . . Mars and Mercury. . . ." (Esoteric
Buddhism;
> p. 136.)
>
> This was a great mistake. . . .
>
> Let it now be distinctly stated, then, that the theory broached
is
> impossible, with or without the additional evidence furnished by
> modern Astronomy. Physical Science can supply corroborative,
though
> still very uncertain, evidence, but only as regards heavenly
bodies
> on the same plane of materiality as our objective Universe. Mars
and
> Mercury, Venus and Jupiter, like every hitherto discovered planet
(or
> those still to be discovered), are all, per se, the
representatives
> on our plane of such chains. As distinctly stated in one of the
> numerous letters of Mr. Sinnett's "Teacher," "there are other and
> innumerable Manvantaric chains of globes which bear intelligent
> Beings both in and outside our solar system." But neither Mars
nor
> Mercury belong to our chain. They are, along with the other
planets,
> septenary Units in the great host of "chains" of our system, and
all
> are as visible as their upper globes are invisible. . . .
>
> When the present work was commenced, the writer [H.P. Blavatsky
> herself] , feeling sure that the speculation about Mars and
Mercury
> was a mistake, applied to the Teachers [the Mahatmas] by letter
for
> explanation and an authoritative version. Both came in due time,
and
> verbatim extracts from these are now given.
>
> ". . . . . both (Mars and Mercury) are septenary chains, as
> independent of the Earth's sidereal lords and superiors as you
are
> independent of the 'principles' of Daumling (Tom Thumb) -- which
were
> perhaps his six brothers, with or without night-caps. . . . "
>
> . . . Again, here are more extracts from another letter written
by
> the same authority. This time it is in answer to some objections
laid
> before the Teachers. They are based upon extremely scientific,
and as
> futile, reasonings about the advisability of trying to reconcile
the
> Esoteric theories with the speculations of Modern Science, and
were
> written by a young Theosophist as a warning against the "Secret
> Doctrine" and in reference to the same subject. He had declared
that
> if there were such companion Earths "they must be only a wee bit
less
> material than our globe." How then was it that they could not be
> seen? The answer [from Master Koot Hoomi] was: --
>
> ". . . . Were psychic and spiritual teachings more fully
understood,
> it would become next to impossible to even imagine such an
> incongruity. Unless less trouble is taken to reconcile the
> irreconcilable -- that is to say, the metaphysical and spiritual
> sciences with physical or natural philosophy, 'natural' being a
> synonym to them (men of science) of that matter which falls under
the
> perception of their corporeal senses -- no progress can be really
> achieved. Our Globe, as taught from the first, is at the bottom
of
> the arc of descent, where the matter of our perceptions exhibits
> itself in its grossest form. . . . . . . Hence it only stands to
> reason that the globes which overshadow our Earth must be on
> different and superior planes. In short, as Globes, they are in
CO-
> ADUNITION but not IN CONSUBSTANTIALITY WITH OUR EARTH and thus
> pertain to quite another state of consciousness. Our planet (like
all
> those we see) is adapted to the peculiar state of its human
stock,
> that state which enables us to see with our naked eye the
sidereal
> bodies which are co-essential with our terrene plane and
substance,
> just as their respective inhabitants, the Jovians, Martians and
> others can perceive our little world: because our planes of
> consciousness, differing as they do in degree but being the same
in
> kind, are on the same layer of differentiated matter. . . . .
What I
> wrote was 'The minor Pralaya concerns only our little STRINGS OF
> GLOBES.' (We called chains 'Strings' in those days of lip-
> confusion.) . . . 'To such a string our Earth belongs.' This
ought to
> have shown plainly that the other planets were also 'strings' or
> CHAINS. . . If he (meaning the objector) would perceive even the
dim
> silhouette of one of such 'planets' on the higher planes, he has
to
> first throw off even the thin clouds of the astral matter that
stands
> between him and the next plane. . . . ."
>
> It becomes patent why we could not perceive, even with the help
of
> the best earthly telescopes, that which is outside our world of
> matter. Those alone, whom we call adepts, who know how to direct
> their mental vision and to transfer their consciousness --
physical
> and psychic both -- to other planes of being, are able to speak
with
> authority on such subjects. And they tell us plainly: -- . . .
>
> ". . . . . . Be prudent, we say, prudent and wise, and above all
take
> care what those who learn from you believe in; lest by deceiving
> themselves they deceive others . . . . . for such is the fate of
> every truth with which men are, as yet, unfamiliar. . . . Let
rather
> the planetary chains and other super- and sub-cosmic mysteries
remain
> a dreamland for those who can neither see, nor yet believe that
> others can. . . ."
>
> It is to be regretted that few of us have followed the wise
advice;
> and that many a priceless pearl, many a jewel of wisdom, has been
> cast to an enemy unable to understand its value and who has
turned
> round and rent us. . . .
>
> Abridged from H.P. Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine, 1888, Volume
I,
> pp. 160-167.
>
> http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/moderntheosophy.htm
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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