Theos-Talk Archives (February 1995 Message tl00156)

John wrote:

> I see them as being somewhat similar.  Can you have a network
> without having a nucleus?

This is a point very similar to one recently made to me by John
Algeo.  In order to form a nucleus we need something around which
we coalesce.  The TS was formed for this purpose.

> Most religions display the same sort of trait.  Generally it
> signifies (IMO) the degeneration of the ideals it stands for when
> members of the organisation see themselves as being "above" or
> "better: than members of another.  >

In one of the letters from the Mahatmas the point was made that
one of the surest signs of regression on the path was when one
expected others to be as virtuous as yourself.

> In general the TS today is simply a group of armchair
> intellectuals who site and discuss the theories put forth by the
> founders, this mailing list I guess being an extension of this.
> Or perhaps it is simply an organisation which holds talks and
> lectures for the entertainment of it's members and to perhaps try
> and convert those with a like minded nature to its ranks.

I don't see the TS this way, but have often heard it critized
this way.  Many of the members I have gotten to know over the
years are people who are trying as best they can to put into
practice the ideals they have learned about at the "intellectual"
discussions of a local group, or from an author who has taken the
time to share with them what he has learned.

Trying to convert others to ones own point of view is an error I
made myself on occassions, carried away by the excitement of
discovering what was for me some new understanding.  I realize it
is seldom appreciated by others, but there are few organizations
or individuals that have avoided it entirely.  Maybe it is not
entirely to be avoided.

It seems to me it offers both parties an opportunity to clarify
their points of view.  In the Buddhist traditions the monks are
trained to debate their doctrines.  If someone has gone to the
trouble of coming to a disucssion group, perhaps it is because
they are looking for answers to questions, sign posts on the
path.

HPB once said it was to bad so many had to set sail on the ocean
of occultism with the benefit of rudder or compass! What good is
knowledge of these things if they only benefit a select few.
Trying to convert others is better than apathy and perhaps a step
in the right direction.

> A far cry from what it was setup for, as is quite obvious by
> looking at the work done by the founders.  The TS today has lost
> its way and is very much anchoured down by a generation who have
> lost their vision.  (Yes I generalise).

It does seem little progress has been made toward the "vision"
outlined by the TS's early leaders, but we have been counseled to
not be so concerned with results and what an organization or an
individual accomplishes, but to pay more attention to their
motives.

> It is fine having a knowledge of Karma, Reincarnation, and some
> sort of understanding of multi-demensional being, but what use
> are theories that we cannot really know.

Ah, but theosophy teaches we ALL can really know if we are
willing to follow the disciplines given.

> To take on the challenge of what theosophy is we need to put it
> into real practice, go out on a limb and live it.  We must create
> new paths for ourselves, not simply following the old ones.

Good point.  It reminds me of the one which says the road to hell
is paved with good intentions.

> Have you decided what it is you wish to achieve this lifetime?
>
> What are your current goals? To buy a house, save enough money so
> you can be comfortable warm and content?

Early in my TS membership an elderly member told me an empty
wagon rattles the loudest.  That if I wanted to help others, give
others a drink from the fountains of the ancient wisdom, I must
first fill the cup...me.  I can't give to others what I don't
possess.

> The TS is one of the steps to help take the world into a new age
> of progress.  However it is only a step and not the way itself.
> If we look at the words in the books we read in our libraries we
> will only find ourselves lost in ideals.

I work in a library full of ideas, but as Bing Escudero is fond
of saying ideas help us formulate our ideals.  As we begin to put
those ideals into pratice they become our defining virtures.

> If we follow the spirit of what is being expressed and dare to
> let it led us we will find the way expressed through our own
> lives and actions.

To know, to dare, to will, and to be silent.  The last of these
the hardest! How often have I contemplated this advise over the
years?!

> The challenge we as individuals have is to follow our hearts and
> not our minds.  Very few are up to it.

Annie Besant wrote a little book called, THE DOCTRINE OF THE
HEART.  She argues the value of the heart in a very convincing
manner.  But she also wrote A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS and many
other works in which the value of the mind is extolled.  I have
read that Manas is the bridge between the lower nature and our
higher self.  Perhaps the mind is not all bad.

Lewis
llucas@mercury.gc.peachnet.edu