Theos-Talk Archives (September 1994 Message tl00004)

Eldon writes, <Theosophy has a religious
side, but does not provide an organized
religion. There are no priests, no creed, no
code of behavior, no list of ethical rules to
adhere to.>
     To which I can only say, thank God!

Lewis writes, <I have also heard tell of
karma--which by the way I understand to be a
very impartial law of nature working to
restore the perfect harmony which existed in
the lake of the universe before we all
started splashing around in it--which is
delayed.>
     This is kind of a cosmic karma.
According to G de Purucker, there is physical
karma, astral karma, mental karma, and so on.
But I beieve that you are right, all karmas
are basically modes of retoring balance.

Eldon - I liked your Dark Night of the Soul
essay very much.  One very small point is <We
say that there is always growth, that it
progresses gradually, continuously, with
every instant of time.>
     G de Purucker says much the same thing.
I agree that this *appears* to be true from
the relative position of pilgrim-like monads
such as ourselves, but I suspect that in the
"big picture" it may be a false viewpoint.
Let me elaborate.  If our overall cycle
begins outside of spacetime, and ends outside
of spacetime, then to say we end "higher"
than we began is rather meaningless - but
within spacetime it is certainly true and
probably even measurable.

Aki writes, <Your hopes were not in vain>
Thank you.  I feel better.  My intent
apparently wasn't as clear as I had thought
it was.  I do not object to ethics per se,
but rather to what I would call forced
ethics.  When we are forced, by peer pressure
or religious pressure or whatever pressure,
to follow strict behavioral guidelines, we
open ourselves up to all kinds of trouble.
My message is:  We should be ethical because
we *want* to be, not because we think we
*should* be.  Although I firmly believe this
(and most psychologists would back me up) I
have never heard other theosophists discuss
it.  In fact, most theosophical discussions
of ethics are identical to what one would
hear in church.  And from the feedback I got
on this net, few, if any, even follow what I
am talking about.

Eldon and Jerry H-E together concur that
>What I miss, or feel is under represented in
our discussion group, is clear, lucid essays
on the theosophical philosophy.>
     John, correct me if I am wrong, but
isn't that exactly what you created
Theos.buds and Theos.roots for?

                    Jerry S.