Theos-Talk Archives (November 2008 Message tt00506)

In USA, today is Thanksgiving Day and many of us, vegetarians would not be
eating turkey.

In all traditions, there is a day of thanksgiving and we try to pay our
gratitude for all the good things that happened to us. I think, we need to
thank Internet on this day since the good it has done to us and the world is
priceless. It has almost pervaded all aspects of modern life.

TS and theosophists should be more thankful to Internet; both for making
theosophical classics available online for free and for preventing a
well-planned coup by a handful of "leaders", which would have  destroyed the
organization built by the immense sacrifices of a lot of dedicated and
committed members over a Century.

>From early days, dark powers have always been working hard to hurt and kill
TS and they seem to be continuing to do so. We have seen their handiwork in
TS since a year ago. Just because there is a lull and silence from the
"leaders", due to the non-transparency and tight secrecy, ordinary members
do not know what machinations are going on behind the scenes.

I feel that each one of us could be their target, because they take
advantage of our serious weaknesses. So I discuss below some background and
some guidelines to keep us safe from becoming their victims.

One of the clearest statements on their mode of operation is in a Mahatma
Letter:

"Friend, beware of Pride and Egoism, two of the worst snares for the feet of
him who aspires to climb the high paths of Knowledge and Spirituality. You
have opened a joint of your armour for the Dugpas - do not complain if they
have found it and wounded you there."

Here are some indicators on these two weaknesses and things one can do to
avoid getting entrapped.

PRIDE:

It is opposite of humility. Display of this can be a predisposition to:

Show off our sense of superiority in the presence of others.
Show off our past accomplishments. Eg. Winning a gold medal in swimming.
Show off our intellectual accomplishments such as education.
Show off our past achievements, such as heading a large international
organization.
Show off our past positions such as President of the richest country club.
Get our photo published or distributed at every opportunity for the world to
see.
Dress up in a manner you get noticed in any group situation.

EGOISM

It is opposite of philanthropy. The First of Object of TS means
Philanthropy. So any action in which one's self-interest (however subtle and
masked) is at the root, is a manifestation of egoism.

THINGS ONE CAN DO TO AVOID GETTING ENTRAPPED

The long term consequences of even unwittingly becoming the "cat's paws" of
the dark powers, are so serious and far reaching, none of us should ever
even unwittingly become their agents. A few simple factors that can go a
long way to protect us are:

1. Be a philanthropist in all our actions.
2. Keep Honesty as a watch word at all times.
3. Be transparent in all actions.
4. Never be ungrateful.
5. Each and every action should contribute to increased trustworthiness.
6. Have moral courage to stand up to what one believes and face the
consequences.
7. Never try to exploit another as your agent. Do it yourself.
8. In all matters keep yourself and your family in the background and low
key.

I hope the above helps our Brothers and Sisters.


M K Ramadoss, TS Member

THERE IS NO RELIGION HIGHER THAN TRUTH


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