Theos-Talk Archives (October 1995 Message tl00429)

John Crocker writes:

<Why hold that the branches and leaves of an oak tree are somehow
>wrong or in error simply because they no longer resemble the
>acorn? To one fixated on the seed, germination must look
>dangerous, sprouting must seem an error: The growth of the plant
>is the dissipation of the seed. And the only way to make sure
>the integrity of the seed is not damaged is to keep it dormant -
>to make sure it doesn't sprout - to freeze it into its
>"original" form. But once sprouted, no voice, no matter how
>domineering, will be able to stop the vast diversity of cells,
>profusion of leaves, and beautiful flowers, from each claiming
>they are as fully an aspect of the plant as any others are.
< -JRC
<
Jerry S Replies:

> John, this explains exactly why Rich's desire to preserve
>the "teaching AS IT WAS GIVEN" must eventually come to naught.
>The seed must either bloom into something else, or die. It has
>no other options, no matter how hard we want to preserve it.
>All of the world's religions eventually discover this, though it
>may take thousands of years. Thus the need for periodic
>Messengers.
>
> Jerry S.

I feel that John's beautifully written prose expresses a deep
truth. All things must grow and change and eventually die.
Though Theosophy as an ideal is supposed to represent timeless
and universal ideas, such a pure expression would be impossible
in a material world such as ours. (See HPB's article "What is
Truth" where she discusses this concept.) So the theosophy that
came through the Theosophical Society can be only at best, a pale
echo of its archetypal ideal, and is subject to the laws of
change and corruption like everything else here on earth. HPB
attributed a 2000 year cycle for religious movements. Any
student of religion can follow the corruption of the sayings of
Jesus into a major world wide authoritarian religion that in many
ways echoes exactly the opposite values expressed by its
proverbial founder. The same observation can be made for
Buddhism, or any other religion. The TS has already gone through
a significant metamorphosis in just 100 short years. What it
will look like in 2000 (if it make it that long) is anybody's
guess.
 Yet, Rich's sentiment to preserve the original teachings is
noble and, I believe, a worthwhile endeavor. It is practicable,
and is something that I am personally committed to. IMO the
longer we are able to keep the link unbroken, the greater will be
the benefit to humanity.

Jerry HE
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