Theos-Talk Archives (December 1994 Message tl00088)

DISCLAIMER: Following is a general discussion of the Masters.
It's presented as some of my ideas on the subject, and not
intended to be authoritative; I won't attempt to "prove" it
with quotes. Please excuse my manner of expression if it comes
across as a bit too positive. I don't feel it is necessary to
hide behind calling everything a "theory" because various
things I say may be disagreed with.

---- Eldon Tucker

     When we look upon the Masters, we find ordinary men, not
non-physical, supernatural beings. They are real people, not
merely a myth symbolic of the potential of our inner spiritual
potential. They generally travel by ordinary means, and do not
use occult powers except as a last resort. The Masters may
have a longer lifespan than we do, but not dramatically so.
Normally, they are not exceptional in consciousness and power;
it is only when they paralyze their ordinary human ego and
step aside from it that they temporarily become something more
than normal, Fourth Round men.
     How can we know about such men? Through a combination of
common sense and a certain theosophic insight. We don't
necessarily have to meet one in person and take down notes as
he explains what they are about. (How this theosophic insight
works is entirely another subject!)
     They travel and work among us, mostly undetected. When
functioning in their higher aspect, and the ordinary human ego
is put aside, they can function as their true selves, Fifth
Rounders. In this mode, they are able to function on the other
Globes of our Planetary Chain.
     The Masters are not like Christian angels, Greek gods,
Spiritualist guides, or Hindu Devas. They are embodied *men*,
not non-physical entities.
     These special people are called Masters because they are
proficient, skillful, experienced in spiritual and spiritual-
intellectual living. They are accomplished in higher things.
This is as contrasted to what we are or could be: Initiates,
people whom are newcomers, unskilled, beginners in the higher
life. The Masters are skilled in a penetrating insight into
life, both visible and invisible, and into a spontaneous
holiness that is fresh, original, and individualized.
     A Master could have any outward profession of faith, or
outwardly claim to be an agnostic or atheist--the outward
beliefs subscribed to make little difference to his inner
life. The esoteric truths that he studies are common to those
studied throughout the world; there is a Wisdom Tradition that
is ageless, as old as mankind, and that is what he studies.
     In some eras, there is knowledge of the existence of the
Masters. Othertimes they are unknown to the public. They do
not want their existence to ever be proved beyond question.
Their knowledge is always concealed--not to keep it secret,
but rather because it is just not possible to communicate it
until the student reaches a certain stage of readiness, a
certain ripeness of mind and heart, and makes him receptive to
the Teachings. If told plainly, their studies would seem
"insane gibberish" to the uninitiated.
     The Masters sometimes have Messengers or Teachers, public
representatives that work openly in the world. Among the
existing theosophical organizations, there are various claims
to direct contract or inspiration from the Masters, including
by the Pasadena T.S. and other Point Loma offshoots, the
U.L.T. E.S., and the Adyar E.S.
     There is, though, no exclusive franchise to any
organization or group of Theosophists to do their work in any
territory in the world. They work in and through any group
that is true to the theosophical spirit and working
unselfishly for humanity. There may have been various purposes
to the theosophical groups over the years. The basic purpose
of the T.S. was to disseminate some fundamentals of the
Esoteric Philosophy, and counteract the materialism of the
1800's. It was not to be a training ground for future Chelas.
But we can't simply say that the T.S. was founded for a
certain purpose and let that be the final word on the matter.
At any point of time there is always the question: Given the
various theosophical groups and their current memberships,
what good work can be done through them?
     There is no use for the Masters to run organizations that
sell "initiations," offer public training programs, teach
special occult or meditative techniques, or offer
correspondence courses for a fee. They do not run groups that
claim esoteric credit for solving the world's problems. They
do not have public membership organizations that we can join
by filling out applications and paying dues.
     There are a number of misconceptions (from the Point Loma
point of view) regarding the Masters, some taught in
theosophical textbooks in some of the theosophical societies!
For instance:
*  They do not have specific work to do according to "the
seven rays".
*  There is no "Deva Kingdom" as a parallel but different path
of evolution that bypasses the Human Kingdom, for the Masters
to interact with.
*  The Masters do not regularly visit Chelas in "astral
bodies" and sometimes become visible to the amazement on
onlookers.
*  The Masters have not graduated from the Human Kingdom, nor
are even the Buddhas themselves close to graduation.
*  They learn and acquire wisdom on any plane of existence
through personal experience *with penetrating insight,* not
through psychical sight or an extension of the senses, not
through "clairvoyance."
*  Their biggest requirement of pupils is to give up false but
sincerely-held beliefs, not of outer piety of vegetarianism,
non-smoking, non-drinking, etc.
* They are against organized religion as a substitute for a
personal religious life.
* They do not delegate any special authority or power to
direct others to the head of any Theosophical Society or
associated Esoteric Society.
     The Mahatmas protect and overlook things in the world.
They safeguard things. They are spiritual and occult
environmentalists. Part of the work is to insure safe settings
for the various cultures and subraces to flourish. And they
preserve the Wisdom Tradition, a Treasure of Knowledge that
the Dhyani-Chohans gave to mankind in the distance past. Their
protective and safeguarding role is sometimes described as the
Guardian Wall.
     They are not part of any "world government". They don't
give orders or command subordinates. It is incorrect to have
an organization chart, showing Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Maha-
Chohans, Mahatmas, et al, holding various offices in some
spiritual government. Rather, they participate in their own
niche in an overall spiritual ecology, with each live at its
own level functioning and contributing to the whole in its own
unique way. Each step along the Path brings us up a level, and
each level is occupied by a class of individuals. There are
Pre-Chelas, Chelas, Masters, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. While
it is true that there are fewer individuals as we go to the
higher steps on the ladder, we never reach a position where
there is a position that can only be filled by a single
individual. Each class interacts with, but *does not rule* the
lower classes.
     The Mahatmas are real men. They have ordinary limitations
and possible shortcomings. After them come the Bodhisattvas,
then the Buddhas. Even as Buddhas, we are still in the Human
Kingdom. It is not physically possible to graduate from the
Human Kingdom at this time, in the Fourth Round. The Mahatmas
are Fifth Rounders. The Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are Sixth
Rounders. And conditions simply do not exist at this time for
us to complete our Seventh-Round evolution and graduate.
     While it is true that the Mahatmas are flesh-and-blood
men, they are somewhat free of the requirement of continual
rebirth. And at a later stage as Sixth Rounders it is possible
to function with full sense perception, minus the organic
physical body; it is possible to function as Nirmanakayas and
to exist in mind-created (yet not concretely physical) forms
called Mayavi-Rupas.
     The Masters that we read about, including K.H. and M.,
are all probably dead, and reincarnated by now. To think of
them by name, to meditate on their pictures, to wish to be in
touch with them is both a waste of time and probably won't
attract their attention wherever and whomever they are now.
They don't want to be worshipped. There is no value to the
goal to yearn to become a student of a Master, to have a
personal Master, as a end in itself. When the student is ready
the Teacher appears. It is by inner readiness that we get a
Teacher, and that Teacher most often is the karmic situations
awakened in our outer lives, and not a person we come into
contact with.
     Should we want to be in touch with them? No. Why? To brag
to others about it? To ask them what to do with our lives? To
seek solace in signs and wonders? To provide learning
experiences that our own karma can't bring us in outer life?
Certainly not! All this is exactly the stuff that will
guarantee we'll never see or hear from one! The Masters don't
want to make pets of would-be Chelas.
     The Masters have different schools or methods of
training. Each suits a certain temperament. We are told to not
mix schools or methods. The study of Theosophy is related to
one such school. It is not exclusive for that school nor its
only approach. But as a School of the Mysteries, it requires
a deep "buy in" where it becomes a rock-solid part of our
lives, if it is to really work for us. It should be as intense
as the desire to breathe: Picture how much we miss air when
our heads are under water!
     Individual initiative is a key element of their training.
They do not tell their students what to do, because it would
deny the students the experience of self-initiative, and deny
the students the karma and merit of the good deeds. They
consider 2/3 of the world's evil as coming from organized
religions, and the other 1/3 from selfishness. And they have
stated that false but sincere beliefs are a bigger barrier to
coming to them (in thought, learning, development) than
drinking or other physical failings.
     In temperament, the Mahatmas are cool, and not
emotionally passionate. They are more spiritual and saintly
than we are, but not pious in the traditional religious sense.
Most are highly developed intellectually; most have a highly-
developed manasic principle. They are mind-centered and
thoughtful in ways that we simply cannot appreciate. As Fourth
Rounders, we simply function differently, with desire or Kama
being the seat of our consciousness.
     What do we do with the idea of the Masters? Just accept
them for their place in the scheme of things. They are just
our fellow men who co-exist with us in the drama of life, with
their own karmic ties and personal responsibilities. Like
elder brothers, they are both our kin, yet older, more
experienced, and wiser. We can appreciate them and learn from
what they have done.