Theos-Talk Archives (March 2002 Message tt00464)

Dear CeeKay:

All emotions, moods, feelings, thoughts about them, etc are, on
review (as memories) vague and fragmentary. But that does not
mean they did not take place, nor does it mean that they are to
be suspect.

How are we to secure something more permanent?

The only thing that makes any thought or feeling firm is a sense
of common experience -- of impersonality and of universality (it
can happen to any one) -- also the time of the event (old, new or
to happen) and of stability in the sense of interdependence --
(one leading to the next in logical sequence) -- these provide
some kind of certitude or proof of usefulness and validity.

By and large very few have taught themselves how to think. the
result is that the Mind wanders.

It may be useful to offer here an article by Mr. Judge named THE
CULTURE OF CONCENTRATION. I offer this as it is one of the key
factors in teaching ones' self to think. [ A few days ago I
offered some important points on mind powers and their control,
from the writing of old Patanjali -- did you see them?

I append the other article hereto. Hope it proves to be of help.

Dallas


=======================================


CULTURE OF CONCENTRATION -- or RAJA-YOGA


THE term most generally in use to express what is included under
the above title is SELF CULTURE. Now it seems to well enough
express, for a time at least, the practice referred to by those
who desire to know the truth. But, in fact, it is inaccurate from
a theosophic standpoint.[PARA][NL]For the self is held to be that
designated in the Indian books as Ishwara, which is a portion of
the eternal spirit enshrined in each human body. That this is the
Indian view there is no doubt. The Bhagavad-Gita in Chapter 15
says that an eternal portion of this spirit,
[PARA][PARA]"...having assumed life in this world of life,
attracts the heart and the five senses which belong to nature.
Whatever body Ishwara [ATMA] enters or quits, it is connected
with it by snatching those senses from nature, even as the breeze
snatches perfumes from their very bed. This spirit approaches the
objects of sense by presiding over the ear, the eye, the touch,
the taste, and the smell, and also over the heart."
[PARA][PARA]And in an earlier chapter, "the Supreme Spirit within
this body is called the Spectator and admonisher, sustainer,
enjoyer, great Lord, and also highest soul"; and again, "the
Supreme Eternal Soul, even when existing within -- or connected
with -- the body, is not polluted by the actions of the
body."[PARA][PARA]Elsewhere in these books this same Spirit is
called the SELF, as in a celebrated sentence which in Sanscrit is
"Atmanam atmana, pashya," meaning, "Raise the self by the SELF,"
and all through the Upanishads, where the Self is constantly
spoken of as the same as the Ishwara of Bhagavad-Gita. Max Muller
thinks the word "self" expresses best in English the ideas of the
Upanishads on this head.[PARA][PARA]It therefore follows that
such a thing as culture of this Self, which in its very nature is
eternal, unchangeable, and unpollutable by any action, cannot be.
It is only from inadequacy of terms that students and writers
using the English tongue are compelled to say "self culture,"
while, when they say it, they admit that they know the Self
cannot be cultured.[PARA][PARA]What they wish to express is,
"such culture or practice to be pursued by us as shall enable us,
while on earth, to mirror forth the wisdom and fulfill the
behests of the self within, which is all wise and all
good."[PARA][PARA]As the use of this term "self culture" demands
a constant explanation either outwardly declared or inwardly
assented to, it is wise to discard it altogether and substitute
that which will express the practice aimed at without raising a
contradiction. [PARA][PARA]For another reason also the term
should be discarded. That is, that it assumes a certain degree of
selfishness, for, if we use it as referring to something that we
do only for ourself, we separate at once between us and the rest
of the human brotherhood. Only in one way can we use it without
contradiction or without explanation, and that is by admitting we
selfishly desire to cultivate ourselves, thus at once running
against a prime rule in theosophic life and one so often and so
strenuously insisted on, that the idea of personal self must be
uprooted. [PARA][PARA]Of course, as we will not negative this
rule, we thus again have brought before us the necessity for a
term that does not arouse contradictions. That new term should,
as nearly as possible, shadow forth the three essential things in
the action, that is, the instrument, the act, and the agent, as
well as the incitement to action; or, knowledge itself, the thing
to be known or done, and the person who knows.[PARA][PARA]This
term is CONCENTRATION. In the Indian books it is called Yoga.
This is translated also as Union, meaning a union with the
Supreme Being, or, as it is otherwise put, "the object of
spiritual knowledge is the Supreme Being."[NL][NL]There are two
great divisions of Yoga found in the ancient books, and they are
called Hatha-Yoga and Raj-Yoga.[PARA][PARA][PARA]
HATHA-YOGA[PARA][PARA]Hatha-Yoga is a practical mortification of
the BODY by means of which certain powers are developed. It
consists in the assumption of certain postures that aid the work,
and certain kinds of breathing that bring on changes in the
system, together with other devices. [PARA][PARA]It is referred
to in the 4th chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita thus:[PARA][PARA]"Some
devotees sacrifice the sense of hearing and the other senses in
the fires of restraint; some offer objects of sense, such as
sound, in the fires of the senses. Some also sacrifice
inspiration of breath in expiration, and expiration in
inspiration, by blocking up the channels of inspiration and
expiration, desirous of retaining their breath. Others, by
abstaining from food, sacrifice life in their life."[NL][NL]In
various treatises these methods are set forth in detail, and
there is no doubt at all that by pursuing them one can gain
possession of sundry abnormal powers. There is risk, however,
especially in the case of people in the West where experienced
gurus or teachers of these things are not found.
[PARA][PARA]These risks consist in this, that while an undirected
person is doing according to the rules of Hatha-Yoga, he arouses
about him influences that do him harm, and he also carries his
natural functions to certain states now and then when he ought to
stop for a while, but, having no knowledge of the matter, may go
on beyond that and produce injurious effects. [PARA][PARA]Then,
again, Hatha-Yoga is a difficult thing to pursue, and one that
must be pushed to the point of mastery and success. Few of our
Western people are by nature fitted for such continuous and
difficult labor on the mental and astral planes. Thus, being
attracted to Hatha-Yoga by the novelty of it, and by the apparent
pay that it offers in visible physical results, they begin
without knowledge of the difficulty, and stopping after a period
of trial they bring down upon themselves consequences that are
wholly undesirable.[PARA][PARA]The greatest objection to it,
however, is that it pertains to the material and semi-material
man, roughly speaking, to the body, and what is gained through it
is lost at death.[NL][NL]The Bhagavad-Gita refers to this and
describes what happens in these words:[PARA][PARA] "All of these,
indeed, being versed in sacrifice, have their sins destroyed by
these sacrifices. But he alone reaches union with the Supreme
being who eats of the ambrosia left from a sacrifice."
[PARA][PARA]This means that the Hatha-Yoga practice represents
the mere sacrifice itself, whereas the other kind is the ambrosia
arising from the sacrifice, or "the perfection of spiritual
cultivation," and that leads to Nirvana. [PARA][PARA][PARA]
RAJA-YOGA[PARA][PARA]The means for attaining the "perfection of
spiritual cultivation" are found in Raj-Yoga, or, as we shall
term it for the present, Culture of
Concentration.[PARA][PARA]When concentration is perfected, we are
in a position to use the knowledge that is ever within reach but
which ordinarily eludes us continually. That which is usually
called knowledge is only an intellectual comprehension of the
outside, visible forms assumed by certain realities.
[PARA][PARA][PARA] THE SCIENCE OF SUBSTANCES[PARA][PARA]Take
what is called scientific knowledge of minerals and metals. This
is merely a classification of material phenomena and an empirical
acquisition. It knows what certain minerals and metals are useful
for, and what some of their properties are. Gold is known to be
pure, soft, yellow, and extremely ductile, and by a series of
accidents it has been discovered to be useful in medicine and the
arts. But even to this day there is a controversy, not wholly
settled, as to whether gold is held mechanically or chemically in
crude ore. Similarly with minerals. The crystalline forms are
known and classified.[PARA][PARA]And yet a new theory has arisen,
coming very near to the truth, that we do not know matter in
reality in this way, but only apprehend certain phenomena
presented to us by matter, and variously called, as the phenomena
alter, gold, wood, iron, stone, and so on. But whether the
minerals, metals, and vegetables have further properties that are
only to be apprehended by still other and undeveloped senses,
science will not admit. [PARA][PARA][PARA] HUMAN PROPERTIES
and QUALITIES[PARA][PARA]Passing from inanimate objects to the
men and women about us, this ordinary intellectual knowledge aids
us no more than before. We see bodies with different names and of
different races, but below the outer phenomena our everyday
intellect will not carry us. [PARA][PARA]This man we suppose to
have a certain character assigned to him after experience of his
conduct, but it is still only provisional, for none of us is
ready to say that we know him either in his good or his bad
qualities. We know there is more to him than we can see or reason
about, but what, we cannot tell. It eludes us continually. And
when we turn to contemplate ourselves, we are just as ignorant as
we are about our fellow man. Out of this has arisen an old
saying: "Every man knows what he is, but no one knows what he
will be."[PARA][PARA][PARA] DISCERNMENT[PARA][PARA]There
must be in us a power of discernment, the cultivation of which
will enable us to know whatever is desired to be known. That
there is such a power is affirmed by teachers of occultism, and
the way to acquire it is by cultivating
concentration.[PARA][PARA]It is generally overlooked, or not
believed, that the Inner Man who is the one to have these powers
has to grow up to maturity, just as the body has to mature before
its organs fulfill their functions fully. By inner man I do not
mean the Higher Self--the Ishwara before spoken of, but that part
of us which is called Soul, or astral man, or vehicle, and so on.
All these terms are subject to correction, and should not be held
rigidly to the meanings given by various writers. Let us premise,
first, the body now visible; second, the inner man -- not the
spirit; and third, the SPIRIT itself.[PARA][PARA][PARA]
ASTRAL MAN and the "MAYAVI RUPA"[PARA][PARA]Now while it is quite
true that the second -- or inner man -- has latent all the powers
and peculiarities ascribed to the Astral Body, it is equally true
that those powers are, in the generality of persons, still latent
or only very partially developed.[NL][NL]This inner being is, so
to say, inextricably entangled in the [physical] body, cell for
cell and fibre for fibre. He exists in the body somewhat in the
way the fibre of the mango fruit exists in the mango. In that
fruit we have the inside nut with thousands of fine fibres
spreading out from it through the yellow pulp around. And as you
eat it, there is great difficulty in distinguishing the pulp from
the fibre. So that the inner being [double] of which we are
speaking cannot do much when away from his [physical] body, and
is always influenced by it. [PARA][PARA]It is not therefore easy
to leave the body at will and roam about in the double. The
stories we hear of this as being so easily done may be put down
to strong imagination, vanity, or other causes. One great cause
for error in respect to these doubles is that a clairvoyant is
quite likely to mistake a mere picture of the person's thought
for the person himself. [PARA][PARA]In fact, among occultists who
know the truth, the stepping out of the body at will and moving
about the world is regarded as a most difficult feat, and for the
reasons above hinted at. Inasmuch as the person is so interwoven
with his body, it is absolutely necessary, before he can take his
astral form about the country, for him to first carefully extract
it, fibre by fibre, from the surrounding pulp of blood, bones,
mucous, bile, skin, and flesh. Is this easy? It is neither easy
nor quick of accomplishment, nor all done at one operation. It
has to be the result of years of careful training and numerous
experiments. [PARA][PARA]And it cannot be consciously done until
the Inner Man has developed and cohered into something more than
irresponsible and quivering jelly. This development and coherence
are gained by perfecting the power of
concentration.[PARA][PARA]Nor is it true, as the matter has been
presented to me by experiment and teaching, that even in our
sleep we go rushing about the country seeing our friends and
enemies or tasting earthly joys at distant points. In all cases
where the man has acquired some amount of concentration, it is
quite possible that the sleeping body is deserted altogether, but
such cases are as yet not in the majority.[PARA][PARA]Most of us
remain quite close to our slumbering forms. It is not necessary
for us to go away in order to experience the different states of
consciousness which is the privilege of every man, but we do not
go away over miles of country until we are able, and we cannot be
able until the necessary ethereal body has been acquired and has
learned how to use its powers.[PARA][PARA][PARA] ASTRAL
SENSES and POWERS[PARA][PARA]Now, this ethereal body has its own
organs which are the essence or real basis of the senses
described by men. The outer eye is only the instrument by which
the real power of sight experiences that which relates to sight;
the ear has its inner master - the power of hearing, and so on
with every organ. [PARA][PARA]These real powers within flow from
the spirit to which we referred at the beginning of this paper.
That spirit approaches the objects of sense by presiding over the
different organs of sense. And whenever it withdraws itself the
organs cannot be used. As when a sleep-walker moves about with
open eyes which do not see anything, although objects are there
and the different parts of the eye are perfectly normal and
uninjured.[PARA][PARA]Ordinarily there is no demarcation to be
observed between these inner organs and the outer; the inner ear
is found to be too closely interknit with the outer to be
distinguished apart. But when concentration has begun, the
different inner organs begin to awake, as it were, and to
separate themselves from the chains of their bodily counterparts.
[PARA][PARA]Thus the man begins to duplicate his powers. His
bodily organs are not injured, but remain for use upon the plane
to which they belong, and he is acquiring another set which he
can use apart from the others in the plane of nature peculiarly
theirs.[PARA][PARA]We find here and there cases where certain
parts of this inner body have been by some means developed beyond
the rest. Sometimes the inner head alone is developed, and we
have one who can see or hear clairvoyantly or clairaudiently;
again, only a hand is developed apart from the rest, all the
other being nebulous and wavering. It may be a right hand, and it
will enable the owner to have certain experiences that belong to
the plane of nature to which the right hand belongs, say the
positive side of touch and feeling.[PARA][PARA]But in these
abnormal cases there are always wanting the results of
concentration. They have merely protruded one portion, just as a
lobster extrudes his eye on the end of the structure which
carries it. Or take one who has thus curiously developed one of
the inner eyes, say the left. This has a relation to a plane of
nature quite different from that appertaining to the hand, and
the results in experience are just as diverse. He will be a
clairvoyant of a certain order, only able to recognize that which
relates to his one-sided development, and completely ignorant of
many other qualities inherent in the thing seen or felt, because
the proper organs needed to perceive them have had no
development. He will be like a two-dimensional being who cannot
possibly know that which three-dimensional beings know, or like
ourselves as compared with four-dimensional
entities.[PARA][PARA][PARA] DEVELOPMENT OF THE
"DOUBLE"[PARA][PARA]In the course of the growth of this ethereal
body several things are to be observed.[PARA][PARA]It begins by
having a cloudy, wavering appearance, with certain centres of
energy caused by the incipiency of organs that correspond to the
brain, heart, lungs, spleen, liver, and so on. It follows the
same course of development as a solar system, and is, in fact,
governed and influenced by the very solar system to which the
world belongs on which the being may be incarnate. With us it is
governed by our own solar orb.[PARA][PARA]If the practice of
concentration be kept up, this cloudy mass begins to gain
coherence and to shape itself into a body with different organs.
As they grow they must be used. Essays are to be made with them,
trials, experiments. In fact, just as a child must creep before
it can walk, and must learn walking before it can run, so this
ethereal man must do the same. But as the child can see and hear
much farther than it can creep or walk, so this being usually
begins to see and to hear before it can leave the vicinity of the
body on any lengthy journey.[PARA][PARA][PARA] DESTRUCTION of
the MAYAVI RUPA[PARA][PARA]Certain hindrances then begin to
manifest themselves which, when properly understood by us, will
give us good substantial reasons for the practicing of the
several virtues enjoined in holy books and naturally included
under the term of Universal Brotherhood. [PARA][PARA][PARA]
ANGER[PARA][PARA]One is, that sometimes it is seen that this
nebulous forming body is violently shaken, or pulled apart, or
burst into fragments that at once have a tendency to fly back
into the body and take on the same entanglement that we spoke of
at first. [PARA][PARA]This is caused by anger, and this is why
the sages all dwell upon the need of calmness. When the student
allows anger to arise, the influence of it is at once felt by the
ethereal body, and manifests itself in an uncontrollable
trembling which begins at the centre and violently pulls apart
the hitherto coherent particles. If allowed to go on, it will
disintegrate the whole mass, which will then reassume its natural
place in the body. The effect following this is, that a long time
has to elapse before the ethereal body can be again created. And
each time this happens the result is the same. Nor does it make
any difference what the cause for the anger may be. There is no
such thing as having what is called "righteous anger" in this
study and escaping these inevitable consequences. Whether your
"rights" have been unjustly and flagrantly invaded or not does
not matter. The anger is a force that will work itself out in its
appointed way. Therefore anger must be strictly avoided, and it
cannot be avoided unless charity and love -- absolute
toleration -- are cultivated.[PARA][PARA][PARA]
ENVY[PARA][PARA]But anger may be absent and yet still another
thing happen. The ethereal form may have assumed quite a
coherence and definiteness. But it is observed that, instead of
being pure and clear and fresh, it begins to take on a cloudy and
disagreeable color, the precursor of putrefaction, which invades
every part and by its effects precludes any further progress, and
at last reacts upon the student so that anger again manifests
itself. This is the effect of envy. Envy is not a mere trifle
that produces no physical result. It has a powerful action, as
strong in its own field as that of anger. It not only hinders the
further development, but attracts to the student's vicinity
thousands of malevolent beings of all classes that precipitate
themselves upon him and wake up or bring on every evil passion.
Envy, therefore, must be extirpated, and it cannot be got rid of
as long as the personal idea is allowed to remain in
us.[PARA][PARA][PARA] VANITY[PARA][PARA]Another effect is
produced on this ethereal body by vanity. Vanity represents the
great illusion of nature. It brings up before the soul all sorts
of erroneous or evil pictures, or both, and drags the judgment so
away that once more anger or envy will enter, or such course be
pursued that violent destruction by outside causes falls upon the
being. As in one case related to me. The man had made
considerable progress, but at last allowed vanity to rule. This
was followed by the presentation to his inner sight of most
extraordinary images and ideas, which in their turn so affected
him that he attracted to his sphere hordes of elementals seldom
known to students and quite indescribable in English. These at
last, as is their nature, laid siege to him, and one day produced
all about the plane of his astral body an effect similar in some
respects to that which follows an explosion of the most powerful
explosive known to science. The consequence was, his ethereal
form was so suddenly fractured that by repercussion the whole
nature of the man was altered, and he soon died in a madhouse
after having committed the most awful excesses.[PARA][PARA]And
vanity cannot be avoided except by studiously cultivating that
selflessness and poverty of heart advised as well by Jesus of
Nazareth as by Buddha.[PARA][PARA][PARA]
FEAR[PARA][PARA]Another hindrance is fear. This is not, however,
the worst of all, and is one that will disappear by means of
knowledge, for fear is always the son of ignorance. Its effect on
the ethereal form is to shrivel it up, or coagulate and contract
it. But as knowledge increases, that contraction abates,
permitting the person to expand. Fear is the same thing as
frigidity on the earth, and always proceeds by the process of
freezing.[PARA][PARA]In my next the subject will be further
developed.[PARA][PARA]

PART II


IT is now over one year since I sent in Part I to the Editor of
the PATH. [PARA][PARA]Since then I have heard that some students
expressed a desire to read Part II, forgetting to observe,
perhaps, that the first paper was complete in itself, and, if
studied, with earnest practice to follow, would have led to
beneficial results. It has not been necessary before to write No.
II; and to the various students who so soon after reading the
first have asked for the second I plainly say that you have been
led away because a sequel was indicated and you cannot have
studied the first; furthermore I much doubt if you will be
benefited by this any more than by the
other.[NL][PARA][PARA][PARA] SUCCESS in
CONCENTRATION[PARA][NL]Success in the culture of concentration is
not for him who sporadically attempts it. It is a thing that
flows from "a firm position assumed with regard to the end in
view, and unremittingly kept up." ....students are too apt to
think that success in occultism can be reached as one attains
success in school or college, by reading and learning printed
words. [PARA][PARA]A complete knowledge of all that was ever
written upon concentration will confer no power in the practice
of that about which I treat. Mere book knowledge is derided in
this school as much as it is by the clodhopper; not that I think
book knowledge is to be avoided, but that sort of acquisition
without the concentration is as useless as faith without works.
It is called in some places, I believe, "mere eye-knowledge."
Such indeed it is; and such is the sort of culture most respected
in these degenerate times.[NL][PARA][PARA] RAJA YOGA, VIRTUE
and ALTRUISM[PARA][NL]In starting these papers the true practice
was called Raj Yoga. It discards those physical motions,
postures, and recipes relating solely to the present personality,
and directs the student to virtue and altruism as the bases from
which to start. This is more often rejected than accepted.
[PARA][PARA][PARA] "EYE DOCTRINES"[PARA][PARA]So much has
been said during the last 1800 years about Rosicrucians, Egyptian
Adepts, Secret Masters, Kaballah, and wonderful magical books,
that students without a guide, attracted to these subjects, ask
for information and seek in vain for the entrance to the temple
of the learning they crave, because they say that virtue's rules
are meant for babes and Sunday-schools, but not for them. And, in
consequence, we find hundreds of books in all the languages of
Europe dealing with rites, ceremonies, invocations, and other
obscurities that will lead to nothing but loss of time and money.
But few of these authors had anything save "mere eye-knowledge."
'Tis true they have sometimes a reputation, but it is only that
accorded to an ignoramus by those who are more
ignorant.[PARA][PARA]The so-called great man, knowing how fatal
to reputation it would be to tell how really small is his
practical knowledge, prates about "projections and elementals,"
"philosopher's stone and elixir," but discreetly keeps from his
readers the paucity of his acquirements and the insecurity of his
own mental state. [PARA][PARA]Let the seeker know, once for all,
that the virtues cannot be discarded nor ignored; they must be
made a part of our life, and their philosophical basis must be
understood.[PARA][PARA][PARA] VIRTUE TO BE
PRACTISED[PARA][NL]But it may be asked, if in the culture of
concentration we will succeed alone by the practice of virtue.
The answer is No, not in this life, but perhaps one day in a
later life. The life of virtue accumulates much merit; that merit
will at some time cause one to be born in a wise family where the
real practice of concentration may perchance begin; or it may
cause one to be born in a family of devotees, or those far
advanced on the Path, as said in Bhagavad-Gita. But such a birth
as this, says Krishna, is difficult to obtain; hence the virtues
alone will not always lead in short space to our
object.[NL][PARA][PARA] CONTINUOUS WORK FOR THE
GOOD[PARA][NL]We must make up our minds to a life of constant
work upon this line. [PARA][PARA]The lazy ones or they who ask
for pleasure may as well give it up at the threshold and be
content with the pleasant paths marked out for those who "fear
God and honor the King." Immense fields of investigation and
experiment have to be traversed; dangers unthought of and forces
unknown are to be met; and all must be overcome, for in this
battle there is no quarter asked or given. [PARA][PARA]Great
stores of knowledge must be found and seized. The kingdom of
heaven is not to be had for the asking; it must be taken by
violence. And the only way in which we can gain the will and the
power to thus seize and hold is by acquiring the virtues on the
one hand, and minutely understanding ourselves on the other.
[PARA][PARA]Some day we will begin to see why not one passing
thought may be ignored, not one flitting impression missed. This
we can perceive is no simple task. It is a gigantic
work.[PARA][PARA]Did you ever reflect that the mere passing sight
of a picture, or a single word instantly lost in the rush of the
world, may be basis for a dream that will poison the night and
react upon the brain next day. Each one must be examined. If you
have not noticed it, then when you awake next day you have to go
back in memory over every word and circumstance of the preceding
day, seeking, like the astronomer through space, for the lost
one. And, similarly, without such a special reason, you must
learn to be able to go thus backward into your days so as to go
over carefully and in detail all that happened, all that you
permitted to pass through the brain. Is this an easy
matter?[PARA][PARA][PARA] EVOCATION and CEREMONIAL
MAGIC[PARA][NL]But let us for a moment return to the sham adepts,
the reputed Masters, whether they were well-intentioned or the
reverse. Take Eliphas Levi, who wrote so many good things, and
whose books contain such masses of mysterious hints. Out of his
own mouth he convicts himself. [PARA][PARA]With great show he
tells of the raising of the shade of Apollonius. Weeks beforehand
all sorts of preparations had to be made, and on the momentous
night absurd necromantic performances were gone through. What was
the result? Why only that the so-called shade appeared for a few
moments, and Levi says they never attempted it again. Any good
medium of these days could call up the shade of Apollonius
without preparation, and if Levi were an Adept he could have seen
the dead quite as easily as he turned to his picture in a book.
[PARA][PARA]By these sporadic attempts and outside preparations,
nothing is really gained but harm to those who thus indulge. And
the foolish dabbling by American theosophists with practices of
the Yogis of India that are not one-eighth understood and which
in themselves are inadequate, will lead to much worse results
than the apocryphal attempt recorded by Eliphas Levi.[NL][NL]As
we have to deal with the Western mind now ours, all unused as it
is to these things and over-burdened with false training and
falser logic, we must begin where we are, we must examine our
present possessions and grow to know our own present powers and
mental machinery. This done, we may proceed to see ourselves in
the way that shall bring about the best
result.[PARA][NL]RAMATIRTHA[PARA][NL]PATH, February,
1890[PARA][PARA]






=====================================
-----Original Message-----
From: Christina Karlhoff
Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 7:15 AM
To: study@blavatsky.net
Subject: [bn-study] RE: Matrix, etc

T.

i suppose our little table is a [feeble] attempt at correlating
the sacred
texts of established religion, and demonstrating how each one is
in fact
dependant upon one truth. a "dogma-buster" of a matrix --to make
sure we
don't covet the unconvertible truth. We know not to turn our
heads from our
spirituality no matter how faintly or strongly we intuit that
urge.

As for any organized, established religion, clearly none of them
are right
or wrong, and boy do they mislead

I like what Thoreau wrote about it: "As a snowdrift is formed
where there is
a lull in the wind, so, one would say, where there is a lull of
truth an
institution springs up." [i seem to like quoting that]

Also, "The fickle person is he that does not know what is true or
right
absolutely,-- who has not an ancient wisdom for a lifetime, but a
new
prudence every hour."

Hmm. considering these words, that makes me as ignorant as the
day is long,
but at least not fickle. The trick is "perception without
presumption",
right? Religion presumes a whole lot. Is it worth sifting
through them to
gain insight as to how we set about seeking truth? You tell
me...! That
matrix table was not my idea originally; but i thought it would
make for a
good learning tool, that could promote applied knowledge and
understanding
to the abstract. Maybe i am alone in that thought? Could be...
i just
know that it's there, a handy online reference, that will grow
indefinitely
with links to resources, that was not pre-existing but in
thought. The
materialists, the church members think that "proof is in the
pudding". Is
this a table for materialists who were looking for freedom in all
the wrong
places, until now?

I recall thinking when i began reading the KEY, and ISIS: why
are there so
many paragraphs dedicated to showing how closed-minded organized
religions
are? And look at how much is detailed about it...! HPB spends
chapters on
illustrating details and specifics of one alleged fact after
another...

Explanation? Helena had to begin the lesson somehow. Debunking
so called
experts was the only way, and especially at the time. Correct me
if i am
wrong...

I find it hard NOT to dismiss dogmatic beliefs. I mistrust
religion since
it has had the audacity to claim itself the whole and the
righteous, while
at the same time in contradiction, such a world of selfishness,
sorrow and
despair can exist. So, at much of what HPB wrote, i initially
became
exasperated, because she was detailing and reiterating what i
already
understood about [exoteric] religious doctrine. Spent an awful
lot of time
and energy in proving religion unreliable and inaccurate, HPB.
So perhaps
it's up to us to educate ourselves about religion and history,
all the while
re-discovering truth by peering through our theosophy-coloured
glasses...?

Do you understand what i am saying here?

<sigh>

HAHA = ]

How funny, trying to do what HPB did so perfectly in the KEY, in
all of her
literary works...

Well, maybe it's about learning by doing? I am ignorant of even
the Western
religion; that makes things difficult, because whether i know it
or not, my
[up until now] psyche has been ringing in the dissonant chord of
half-truth
philosophy. But through theosophy i discover that i am verily
tone-perfect,
and i just need to learn how to not to strike the sharps and the
flats when
practicing the beautiful whole notes with which we sound
harmonious chords
of true philosophy.

Theosophia:

CUT