Theos-Talk Archives (October 1995 Message tl00471)

Rich:

>Theosophy is simply that modern body of teachings that was presented by the
>Masters through their agents in the world as "Theosophy," and I am very
>committed to preserving and teaching it AS IT WAS GIVEN, even though I am
>free personally to take what I like, leave what I like, supplement with what
>I like.

And that preservation is in *both* an intellectual understanding of the
core doctrines, accurately preserving their meaning, and in a living
somewhat oral tradition of the passing on of an living understanding.

The written word is the exoteric aspect, the outer crust to the Teachings.
Without a body of people knowledgable in the doctrines, and living the
life, we are left with another body of dead literature.

The "as it was given" part is in terms, I'd suggest, of a philosophy that
grips the life, that grabs one's vision of the world, thundering in the
ears and casting rainbows before the eyes. It *stops the world*. It becomes
a practice that takes us beyond the tendency of the mind to create an
objective, external world, and makes the philosophy a living reality in
our lives. The intellectual study is like the quiet before the storm, the
moment of peace that comes before a sense of Grand Turbulence unsettles
our lives.

>And so the teachings last for thousands of years. Will we be so fortunate?

As long as we maintain an *living link* with the Work. That link arises
not only in the mind, but also in the heart, and yet deeper within. It
must be real enought to completely undo our Western worldview and put
radiance behind all things.

-- Eldon