Theos-Talk Archives (August 2008 Message tt00193)

HPB reminds us that the lower siddhi are the powers of the lower mind,
the human psychological condition of our time and Race.  We seem to
have two issues here, the focus -- ever on our goal, and the tools,
never our focus, always to be held in check.  Further on in The Voice
we read:

        Sow kindly acts and thou shalt reap their fruition. Inaction
in a deed of mercy becomes an action in a deadly sin. Thus saith the
Sage. 
        Shalt thou abstain from action? Not so shall gain thy soul her
freedom. To reach Nirvana one must reach Self-Knowledge, and
Self-Knowledge is of loving deeds the child. 
 	Have patience, Candidate, as one who fears no failure, courts no
success. Fix thy Soul's gaze upon the star whose ray thou art, the
flaming star that shines within the lightless depths of ever-being,
the boundless fields of the Unknown. 
 	Have perseverance as one who doth for evermore endure. Thy shadows
live and vanish; that which in thee shall live for ever, that which in
thee knows, for it is knowledge, is not of fleeing life: it is the man
that was, that is, and will be, for whom the hour  shall never strike.
	If thou would'st reap sweet peace and rest, Disciple, sow with the
seeds of merit the fields of future harvests. Accept the woes of birth. 
	Step out from sunlight into shade, to make more room for others. The
tears that water the parched soil of pain and sorrow, bring forth the
blossoms and the fruits of Karmic retribution. Out of the furnace of
man's life and its black smoke, winged flames arise, flames purified,
that soaring onward, 'neath the Karmic eye, weave in the end the
fabric glorified of the three vestures of the Path. 

HPB seems to be pointing to the fact that one is left with having to
act in the world and must use the tools at hand, our psychological
apparatus and its varioius powers.  The why of our actions must remain
constant and our focus must not waiver.  It must remain on "the star
whose ray thou art".  We act for others in order to understand the All
and perfect the paramitas within ourselves.

Bruce 

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "nhcareyta" <nhcareyta@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Brian
> 
> Welcome to this group.
> 
> To add to Katinka and Robert's comments, 
> perhaps the following passage from Madame 
> Blavatsky might add to the discussion 
> concerning the passage you quote from the 
> Voice of the Silence.
> 
> "Psychism, (lower iddhis) with all its 
> allurements, and all its dangers, is 
> necessarily developing among you, and 
> you must beware lest the Psychic outruns 
> the Manasic and Spiritual development. 
> 
> Psychic capacities held perfectly under 
> control, checked and directed by the 
> Manasic principle, are valuable aids in 
> development. 
> 
> But these capacities running riot, 
> controlling instead of controlled, 
> using instead of being used, 
> lead the Student into the most dangerous 
> delusions and the certainty of moral 
> destruction. 
> 
> Watch therefore carefully this 
> development, inevitable in your race and 
> evolution-period so that it may finally 
> work for good and not for evil; and receive, 
> in advance, the sincere and potent blessings 
> of Those whose good-will will never fail you, 
> if you do not fail yourselves."  
> 
> H P Blavatsky 
> Letter To The Fifth Annual Convention Of The
> American Section Of The Theosophical Society
> Boston, 1891.
> 
> Regards
> Nigel
> 
> 
> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "butchie122" <brianparry@> 
> wrote:
> >
> > Greetings,  I am a new member of the group who became interested in 
> > the site following the recent international election postings - 
> some 
> > of which I thought were hilarious.  I am a long time TS member of 
> the 
> > Australian Section & the Melbourne Lodge.  With a wide range of 
> > interest in most matters theosophical I have a particular interest 
> on 
> > the first two of the Stanzas of Dzyan, advaita vedanta & the Voice 
> of 
> > the Silence.
> > 
> > I would be interested to see a discussion from anyone who actually 
> > does what HPB said we should do with The Voice of The Silence,ie, 
> use 
> > it daily.  By way of starting such a discussion we could focus on 
> the 
> > first verse; 'these instructions are for those ignorant of the 
> dngers 
> > of the lower iddhi'. 
> > 
> > Most commentators, John Allego being the latest, are careful to 
> > explain these iddhis & the dangers, but if that is all there is to 
> it 
> > then the rest of the book can be ignored.  The focus in the first 
> > verse is on our ignorance.  We can know ABOUT the danger by 
> analysis 
> > but knowing the dangers is quite a different matter. Our daily use 
> of 
> > the book begins with our awareness of our ignorance.  In this 
> context 
> > awareness of ignorance is a positive quality. Any comments will be 
> > welcome
> >
>