Theos-Talk Archives (April 2002 Message tt00104)

Dear Folknn,

Obviously there are different opinions concerning these issues, but 
often the semantics get in the way of understanding. It would be 
surprising to hear a serious student of theosophy say categorically 
that there is no point in trying to overcome the lower nature which 
drags us into fighting and arguing with our fellows over petty 
issues. But at the same time it is true that we are not any of us 
going to attain Nirvana in one lifetime. Does this mean we give up 
and stop trying, and just go ahead and revel in all the nastiness we 
can conjure up? Not as I understand it. To me it looks more like a 
process, which may as well be eternal, for all I can see the end of 
it, a process of trying to attain to our highest ideals, failing, 
trying again, failing in a different way, trying again, and never 
giving up. Bit by bit, gradually but surely, we begin to gain some 
control over that lower nature. First, of course, we have to learn to 
recognize it and its seductions. Every one of us is somewhere in this 
process. We can help each other, if we want to. We can encourage each 
other and recognize each other's efforts. After all, the evolution of 
consciousness is ultimately a communal process. Nobody gets there 
until everyone gets there. Some may seem to be farther along in the 
process, but appearances can be deceiving. We have no real way of 
knowing the level of development of anyone. All we can really know is 
what we ourselves are doing to attain to our own highest potential, 
and even that is sometimes pretty hard to figure out. But as students 
of ancient wisdom, we can very rightly consider that we are engaged 
in a serious and devoted process toward a higher, more conscious and 
responsible state of being, and we can start right now today to build 
the foundation of that eventual level of perfection. And beyond that 
there is more, and more still, forever. It isn't particularly 
productive to dwell on our limitations. Why not instead accept them 
for what they are, the means by which we learn our life's lessons, 
and work to transmute the lower into the higher, whatever we 
understand that to mean? 

Adelasie

On 6 Apr 2002 at 22:30, folknn@aol.com wrote:

> Because the abandonment of such attitudes is not possible for
> anybody,
> with the possible exception of a few dozen out of billions. If that
> were the whole point of trying to understand the ancient philosophies,
> then the attempt would be pointless. Abandoning of such attitudes is
> one of many probable RESULTS from the actual understanding of the
> ancient philosophies, but the point goes far beyond it.
> 
> Bart Lidofsky
> ====================================
> 
> You leave me confused. First you state it isn't possible then you
> state it is possible for a few dozen out of a billion. Well, is it
> possible or not?
> 
> If it is possible in at least one single human out of a billion then
> it is possible. If it was possible for avatars such as Jesus and
> Buddha, then it is very possible for the rest of humanity. The
> difference lies in how much one is willing to try.
> 
> Dr. G. de Purucker, head of the Theosophycal Society from 1929 to
> 1942, states on his book "Studies in Occult Philosophys": "There is
> no such abiding and eternally unchanging ego or sould or even spirit
> in man, an ego or soul or spirit which is different in essence in each
> man from what it is in any other man, nor is there any such abiding
> and unchanging individuality which is different in some god from what
> it is in some other god." "...Lord Buddha taught so powerfully in
> saying that there is no eternally abiding, unchanging, distinct,
> eternally differentiated principle or element in a man when compared
> with other cosmic units, such as other men, or other beings and
> entities."
> 
> If one can not belive that such abandonments are possible then one
> might as well give up on the idea of becoming Dhyan-Chohans; therefor
> giving up the idea of becoming Absolut (or FREED) ...therefore and
> only after reaching Parabrahman.
> 
> So yes, this is the at least a very important aspect of Theosophy and
> I personaly would like to belive it is the whole point in
> understanding the ancient philosophys.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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