Theos-Talk Archives (February 1994 Message tl00077)

Arvind

>(a)What do you suppose my "other objectives" are?  Do I come
>across as someone trying to force AAB on others?

     You come across as a person who discovered and were
personally transformed by AAB's writings--as you had described in
previous messages.  Since AAB is such an important inspiration in
your life, you come off as having a very uncritical attitude
concerning her writings.  This may be okay, if you are constantly
aware of it during our investigation.

>(b)You seem to be regarding me as a person who knows AAB's
>writings thoroughly, which is not the case.  I am a student of
>TCF, just like you are, with a background which is colored by
>my previous exposure to AS material and some other AAB books
>(just like your background is colored by 30 yrs of HPB+ other
>studies).  Can we shift the focus to 'studying' together, trying
>to find the answers to questions together rather than you
>expecting me to uncover for you what the mystery behind the use
>of SD and TSD by FB and AAB is?

     I regard you as a person who is more experienced than I in
the reading of AAB's writings and in the AS.  You said that you
have four years experience.  That isn't very much from my point
of view, and I keep that in mind.  I consider your background
being "colored" by previous AAB material to be an advantage,
became I'm presuming a connection between all of AAB's books.  I
also consider my 30 years background to also be an advantage,
because that puts me in a good position to evaluate AAB's
understanding of HPB.  AAB wrote that she had a good
understanding of HPB, and that her writings are a continuation of
the same.  I think my background will be useful in evaluating
these statements.

>(c)I also realize somewhat of a peculiarity of my character,
>which is that I go for the 'big picture' and donot sometimes
>appreciate the 'nuances' in action, speech or writing.  Believe
>me, I have a hard time understanding why you are stuck on this
>seemingly trivial (to me) issue; it seems like a tremendous
>waste of energy to me to try to figure out the use of SD or TSD
>by FB or AAB when I cannot find enough time to read the real
>HPB or DK works.

     The "big picture" is made of those little "nuances."
Sometimes we can look at a big picture, then examine the nuances,
only to discover that the big picture doesn't look the same
anymore.  The TSD/SD issue is one of lots of nuances.  My reason
for staying with this "trivial issue" is not to figure out which
was really meant.  That is something that can work on as we go
along.  My greater concern is to get you to "appreciate" the
effect these nuances have in creating the "big picture."   How
AAB's uses TSD and SD is only one example of many more "nuances"
we will be running into while trying to get an accurate view of
that "big picture."  Getting a clear understanding of what is
going on requires that we move from the particulars to the
universals, as well as from the universals to the particulars.
When you say that you "go for the big picture" this suggests to
me that your natural inclination is to go for the universals.  We
have to do both, or we only get half the picture, even though it
may appear complete.

>This is most exasperating for me too : (
>It is my contention that you donot need to worry
>about whether it is SD or TSD that is being explored inside
>TCF.  AAB has said that she did not many times understand what
>DK's teaching meant; HPB has said the same thing several times
>about the teaching  of the Masters that she gave out.
>Why is it so difficult for you to ignore what FB or AAB has
>said (by himself or herself) and focus on TCF proper, as
>transmitted by DK?  May be FB and AAB did not really know
>what they were talking about, so what...

     This is the first time I have ever read that HPB said that
she didn't understand the teachings of her teachers.  Where did
you find such statements?  If HPB did not know what she was
talking about, she would have no credibility.  It is precisely
because she has been so often proven in light of later cultural
and scientific research that she did know what she was talking
about, she continues to hold our attention.  If AAB does not know
what she is talking about, then she has no credibility for me
either.

     If AAB didn't understand what DK's teachings mean, what good
would it do us to read this material if we don't know what he
means either?  I read for the purpose of coming to an
understanding of the material.  Sometimes that is hard to do for
various reasons.  But if AAB obscured the material through her
lack of understanding of DK's teachings, then what chance do we
have of untangeling the mess?

     The why we need to worry about whether it is TSD or the SD
that is being explored in TCF, is because this issue pertains to
the theme of the work.  How can one intelligently read a book if
one doesn't know what it is about?  Knowing the theme is one of
the most basic considerations in understanding a book.

>We all had a great time on Rita's birthday.  I often talk to her
>about my difficulties in communication with you (and sometimes
>others as well).  Perhaps we (Rita and I)'ll get to see each
>other some day.  BTW, can you say something about the 'origin'
>of your name? If it is too awkward a question, just ignore it!

     You are very welcome to contact us next time you are in
Central California.   We are about two hours drive West of San
Francisco.  We would be pleased to show you the work we do here,
our theosophical library, research, classes and the University.
I also have a daughter, aged 20, but she lives in Los Angeles.

     My family name is Ekins, and my wife's family name is Hejka.
We legally combined to two names when we married.  This is not
often done in this country, but is becoming more common among
professional women.

     Because the practice is still uncommon, it creates problems
with the banking and credit industry.  It drives them  crazy.  I
had a credit check done through TRW recently.  I discovered that
as far as they are concerned,  I don't exist anymore.  To this
day, I have some mutual fund investments that I purchased under
my old name, and the company refuses to change my name on them,
even after we showed them a certified copy of the name change
done through the courts.  When we went to our bank to change the
records, the tellers were happy to change my wife's name, but
were not permitted to change mine.  I complained to the manager
that this sounded like sexual discrimination.  He assured me that
it wasn't, but rather "traditional."  I told him that slavery was
once "traditional" but that didn't make it right.  He became very
angry and informed us that in order to prove that he was not
discriminating, he would not allow either one of us to change our
names!  We closed our accounts and found another bank.

     Ekins (pronounced "e-kins") is an English (Saxon) name,
originating in the 12th century.  My ancestor, upon returning
from the Crusades, brought back water from the Jordan river in a
skin pouch.  The Priest baptized him with that water and bestowed
the name "Ekins" which was understood to mean "a disciple after
Elijah."  In the twelfth century there was a lot of interest in
Elijah, who according to Jesus (Matthew 17: 11-13) had returned
as John the Baptist.  For the Medieval mind, this "return" was
proof that Christian converts could also someday be resurrected.
Therefore, many Crusaders identified with him.  Variations on the
name are "Eakins" and "Elkins."  There is a church in South
England built by my ancestors that is still standing and being
used, that goes back many centuries.

     Hejka (pronounced "hey-kah") is more of a mystery.  My wife
is very Slavic looking.  People used to mistake her for Mary
Travis of the Peter, Paul and Mary singing trio.  She has family
ties to Poland, but obviously the name did not have its origin
there.  It could be Swedish or Romanian.

     On another subject: Since the age of sixteen, my hobby has
been cooking Indian cuisine.  About a year ago, we became
stricter in our vegetarian diet, and are now vegan (no dairy
products or eggs), and find very little among my Indian recipes
that I can cook anymore.  If you have any Indian vegan recipes, I
would love to swap a few.

Brenda

     I think HPB was referring to sacred writings, that we find
in tombs, or in temples.  I don't think the Priests would expect
to find any sacred writings among the graffiti or in business
records.  HPB's mention of the compass and ruler directs my
imagination to the Masonic mysteries, because they (compass and
ruler) are prime symbols in this tradition.  Perhaps this
allusion is to suggest that something of the Egyptian mysteries
survives in Masonry.