Theos-Talk Archives (September 1995 Message tl00133)

Rich:

>There are undoubtedly Theosophical efforts HPB and the Masters would approve
>of today, and undoubtedly efforts they would not approve of, and possibly a
>great grey area of "mixed" bag.

I'd consider their participation in the various movements to be in proportion
to the good that the groups are capable of. There's no divine charter, granted
to some groups and denied others, that make some deserving of special attention.
The work is done for the greatest good to all, and without concern to the
petty politics that may or may not be present.

>I try to take William Q. Judge and HPB as good guides, but in fact there are
>a host of issues in the public arena today that they never commented on, to
>my knowledge: overpopulation, exploration of other planets, the United
>Nations, world economic issues, homosexuality, genetic engineering, quantum
>physics, the Buddhist idea of "transfer of merit", which political parties to
>belong to, etc. etc. etc.

An intellectual understanding of Theosophy is the first step towards being
able to deal with current issues. But without specific quotes and commentaries
on issues to be dug up from the books, we are still left without precise
direction. The direction or guidance comes from the second step that we are
all excepted to take, the step involving "self-originated knowledge" (my own
term for it), where we go beyond the words on the printed page and reach out
for further understanding.

>In all these areas, we as Theosophists have to think completely for
>ourselves. We can take the principles we've learned -- analogy,
>correspondence, unity, pairs of opposites, etc. and try to apply them, but
>here, a hundred years after the Founders' death, we are really left to our
>own resources in so many ways.

We've really been left to our own resources from the very beginning. There's
the statement, for instance, in "The Mahatma Letters," that up to the last
and supreme Initiation, the Chela is left up to his own device and council.

-- Eldon