Theos-Talk Archives (August 1995 Message tl00364)

>It seems to me that Theosophy is by nature a WAY of knowing
>rather than a BODY of knowledge, which indeed makes it
>"everything and anything" but hardly nothing.

There can be two ways of relating to something. First is as an object,
second is as a process. We have the two ways of looking at our inner natures,
as a collection of centers of consciousness, or as a stream of consciousness.
The same is true of our approach to Theosophy. We can look at the content,
at how it grows and evolves in our mind's eye as we contemplate the Teachings
and continually reevaluate and reexamine them. And we can look at the process
that we undertake. I'd suggest that the process is inseparable from the
content; we need both or nothing will happen.

>The Mahatma letters were published in the 1920s, and have been
>a steady object of attention in the Point Loma/Pasadena
>tradition. In the Adyar TS, there has been a continual growth
>of interest in the original source teachings, including those
>letters. Yet the ULT discourages its members from reading the
>Mahatma letters. So if there is any tendency towards not
>recognizing where we started from, it would seem to be more
>institutionalized in ULT than anywhere else in the movement.

Hopefully ULT students can have access to that form of source teaching!
You cannot get anything more direct than from the Master's own hand
(or mind, considering that many letters were precipitated).

>I hope to God [sic] they are too busy with more important things than
>to waste time weeping or laughing or even sighing about the
>follies of Theosophists. There are more than enough people
>worrying about that subject already.
>
>Paul

Theosophical history is useful and has it place, although I'd agree that
there is much more awaiting us. The important question is what is the living
reality behind the Teachings, and how can we engaged that reality in our
everyday lives! Certainly whatever could happen with the Path and Masters
and their work that went on in the 1880's can just as readily happen today!