Theos-Talk Archives (January 1995 Message tl00134)

Can theosophists be racist or sexist? I think the answer depends
upon how we look at reincarnation.  There are at least two ways:

View 1.  Races and sexes reincarnate together.  In one life we
can be male, and then female in the next.  We can be white in
this life, and black in the next.  In this way, we each
experience both sexes and all races and nationalities sooner or
later.  With this view it is hard to be racist or sexist.

View 2.  We reincarnate serially.  This view sees sexes and races
as a natural progression and thus tends to see them as more or
less advanced.  People with this view usually see black people as
inferior, but in time they will advance to the white race.
People with this view usually see women as inferior to men, but
given that a women does well in a series of lives, she will
advance to a male in a future life (you may be surprised to
discover how many otherwise spiritual folks hold this view - all
men of course).

I trust everyone can see where I am going here? Speaking strickly
for myself, I opt for the first view.  Of course, some people may
have a third view in which sex is equal but race is serial.  For
example, I believe G de P says somewhere that the black race (it
is unfortunate that words and names used by earlier theosophists
seem so totally out of place today) is behind the white race in
the sense of being younger and thus more immature at this time.
HPB seemed to accept a second-class status of women in some of
her writings.  Her teaching of Root Races also suggests the
second or at least the third view.

What does everyone think?

               Jerry S.