Theos-Talk Archives (April 1995 Message tl00055)

Regarding the Religious -- by Eldon Tucker.

Osmar:

It's good to see that you're still around. We haven't seen
you in a while on `theos-l'.

The relation of Theosophy to the religious side of life is
complex. There are many issues.

First, we can say that Theosophy is a religious philosophy,
there is a religious element to it. The term `religion'
means to link or bind back to the source, and could be
compared to `yoga', with a similar meaning.

With the religious, we have genuineness. We are true to
ourselves. The deeply-felt, highly-important thoughts and
feelings that we have are respected and treated with honor
in our lives. There is an awareness of our higher natures, a
respect of what we experience deep within our hearts, and a
natural inclination to express it in the world.

Theosophy is not "non-religious", but cannot be fully
appreciated and understood unless there is a deep religious
sense involved in its study, and in its application in our
lives. When we go deep into the heart of the universe, in
our studies, we sense with awe the majesty of life, and are
uplifted and ennobled. If a study is only approached with a
purely-intellectual manner, the student will remain blind to
the true face of the Wisdom Religion.

Although there is a strong religious sense to the studies,
we cannot draw analogies to modern-day churches. It is
assumed with many Christian churches that we cannot be
religious without subscribing to a predefined package of
beliefs. The beliefs are presented as dogmas, to be accepted
as absolute truths, with even the literal wording being
taken as beyond question. The Bible, for instance, may be
presented, word for word, as unerring truth. Many churches
have a strong peer pressure on members to conform, which
tends to stifle original thought. This is fine for moral
laggards, needing help to keep up with the rest of us; it is
not good for those of us whom would be moral and spiritual
pioneers, wanting to explore the unknown.

With Theosophy, we have a glimpse of the Mystery Teachings,
with a treasury of ideas to contemplate, some acting like
Zen Koans, leading to deep insights into life. We quickly
pass beyond the limited philosophy and cosmology taught the
masses. Compare, for instance, the idea of a personal God to
the far grander, but subtler, teaching of the Boundless All!

There is nothing wrong in experiencing the religious in
group activities, as well as privately, alone and away from
the world. We have Solstice Celebrations, where Theosophists
might celebrate in a joyful, religious sense the times of
the Great Initiations. This is not any different, in
principle, from a group of people celebrating Christian
mass, or doing zazen in a led meditation.

With a practice of Theosophy, we learn to practice self-
conscious, dynamic ethics, rather than blindly obey the
commandments of an organized religion. We study deep
doctrines that go beyond the power of words to express,
rather than tightly adhere to rigidly defined dogmas. We
follow a path of self-responsibility, we achieve our
liberation through self-devised efforts, rather than seeking
external salvation. We act responsibility with a full
awareness of the law of Karma, rather than acting
irresponsibility then depending on the forgiveness of some
external God to escape the consequences of our actions.

Most important of all, we look for the divine and feel its
presence throughout life. Our sacred grounds are not limited
to plots of land on which churches reside; our sacred
grounds embrace all of life, from horizon to horizon, taking
in both the dark and light sides of life.