Theos-Talk Archives (August 1994 Message tl00151)

Paul has asked me what I thought the implications his book THE
MASTERS REVEALED might have for Theosophy.  Big, big
implications, I believe.  Perhaps even bigger than he might now
realize.

The current discussion of *Kama Rupa* (I would put quotation
marks around it as Jerry H-E did, but I don't quite dare) and the
"Principles" (but I seem to be daring here, aren't I?) might
lead, twisting and turning, toward a point in this regard.

I agree with Jerry that Kama Rupa is a "problematical term." If
one jumps--and I do mean *jumps*--around THE SECRET DOCTRINE and
a few other places, one can get some sort of meaning for it.  It
is probably safest, however, to discuss what one has come up with
in relation to other terms, especially abstract, which people
also have to have done considerable jumping around to approximate
the meanings for.  .  .  .

It gets considerably more dangerous when one starts linking up
theosophical terms and concepts with the concrete and more
familiar.  Jerry takes a risk when he talks about Kama Rupa's
being "integrated cell by cell"; HPB takes even more of a risk in
III, p.580: "The Kama Rupa eventually breaks up and goes into
animals.  All red-blooded animals come from man.  The
cold-blooded are from the matter of the past.  The blood is the
Kama Rupa."

Now, both Jerry and HPB seem to be speaking from some sort of
"authority." (For the purposes of what follows, I have to assume
that Jerry is not totally relying on HPB's authority, but also
has some authority of his own based on his developed personal
understandings of how things should be defined and put together
etc.) However, at this point in historical Theosophy there is a
fundamental difference between Jerry and HPB: the former, as far
as I know, is not claiming that any part of what he says (or how
he interprets source material) is a direct/indirect supernatural
dispensation from a Master .  .  .  while the latter did say she
had such Guidance.

So Jerry has a distinct disadvantage right from the starting
blocks.  If one thinks, for example, there is problem in the way
Jerry associates *Atma* and "instincts," one just shrugs and
moves on.  On the other hand, if one thinks that one is seeing
some inconsistency, for example, in the various ways HPB talks
about Principles, one is much more likely to put the blame on
one's own inadequacies rather than hers.  After all, the Truth is
there; she brought It to us; our job is just to understand what
we can and mutely worship what we cannot.

Enter K.  Paul Johnson's book.  I don't want to go into it in
detail until more people have had a chance to read it, but the
more I think about it, the more I suspect that THE MASTERS
REVEALED may be one of the major shapers of theosophical things
to come.  For one thing, I think it may somewhat modify the
overly obsequious way many people approach HPB.  For another, I
think it may result in a clear shift in the way members start
using their *t*'s (I have shared this in various places
previously):

*theosophy*: the basic epistemological dictionary definition,
"valid knowledge derived by mystical insight."

*Theosophy*: "specific Teachings derived from HPB and a few
others."

*t(T)heosophy*: "theosophy informed and assisted by Theosophy."

I think Paul's book is going to be good for t(T)heosophy.  By
making a very, very strong case that Koot-Hoomi and Morya can be
historically identified as actual human beings, he is, in my
opinion, going to cause a lot of people to get up off their knees
for the purpose of getting a better view of things.

How Kama Rupa will fare from the vantage of full-standing-posture
is not for me to say.  One thing the "Spook" definitely has going
for it is that HPB talked about it; therefore, it would be an
uphill battle for anyone who says that there is no validity
whatever to the concept .  .  .  for realistically speaking, of
course, we all know, Masters or absence of Masters, no one is
ever likely to come out onto an even playing field with HPB...

Warm regards,

Richard Ihle