Theos-Talk Archives (June 1996 Message tl00157)

     [A long one folks (-:)]
     It has, for some time now, been my belief that the concept
of the formation of the nucleus of a universal family of humanity
is the very core of modern Theosophy, the most profound idea
within the Theosophical movement, the movement's "true north" ...
that the compass of every theosophical sect ought to point
towards to maintain its stability, its focus, and *its
relationship to the foundational purpose of its existence*.
     Even further, I believe that the *reason* modern Theosophy
appears to be such a mess, has splintered into a hundred
different factions, is irrelevant to and largely ignored by the
humanity it was begun to serve, and has withdrawn into itself as
a turtle into its shell, is because its animating idea - *The
Formation of the Nucleus of a Universal Family of Humanity* has
been buried and forgotten ... replaced by small sects of people
taking slices of the current, little tributaries, and attempting
to make of them the whole of Theosophy; by people unable to
resist the terrible selfishness present in the *personal* desire
to be admitted into a "Mystery School" (a failing the Masters
fought - unsuccessfully - from the very beginning of the
society); by people caught in the snare of secret-chasing,
unknowingly chained by the deep delights of wrestling with ornate
philosophy and bound to the addictive pleasures of "insight"
apparently gained therefrom.
     The First Object (I'll be so bold as to assert (-:) is much
more than simply the statement of a nice sentiment, more than
something to pay lip service to, to keep around like a pet
goldfish ... in the room but usually ignored ... no, it is the
tip of an idea so immense, so earth-shattering, so *kinetic* that
if modern Theosophy were *truly* commit to it as an *Object*,
that is, as a *goal* - the theosophical current would virtually
instantaneously spring back to life.
     We were, I believe, as Theosophists, handed an *opportunity*
to accomplish a remarkable task on behalf of the spiritual
kingdom on this planet. The *gift* we were given was the *chance
to serve on a global scale* ... and all the "teachings", the
esoterica, were *not* given for our *personal benefit*, and we
certainly do not have some sort of charge to "keep them alive"
(how ridiculous - Those Who Keep Them can release them to whom
they want, in any form they desire, at any time they wish) - the
"occult" knowledge is but little scraps of an impossibly huge
body of knowledge, scraps *intended to serve the accomplishment
of the Formation of the Nucleus of a Universal Family of
Humanity*. The purported "next religion" about which there is so
much argument? Look in the First Object and *it is there* ... and
not only that, but the "keys" to reading the theosophical
esoterica are *also* buried in it.
     I understand these are bold claims ... and in fact they do
not fit into *any* of the current theosophical sects, but bear
with me (-:) - I'll try to support them ... to unpack what (IMO)
are the first few layers of the remarkable idea/mission embedded
in the First Object. No one may accept the totality of the
premise ... but at least a discussion of the First Object - an
idea the Adepts clearly and continually stated to be of prime
importance to them - will be worth a bit of discussion. And
curiously enough (IMO), of all the intense discussions I've seen
in Theosophy over the years, discussion of the minutia of karma,
of reincarnation, of the globes and races and rounds, of occult
theory and occult practice in all its nuances, I've seen barely
even an ounce of attention, a moment of intellectual energy,
expended on understanding what the Formation of the Nucleus of a
Universal Family of Humanity might mean. Its depths have *never*
been explored, its door never even opened - yet this was the idea
the Adepts held to be the one thing that *could not vary*
regardless of what Sinnet, Hume, or even HPB wanted to do with
Theosophy.
     And I suppose the best way to start would be to frame, in
succinct a fashion as possible, what I believe to be the
*foundational vibration of the theosophical current, inspired by
Adepts and initiated by HPB*:

     The Adepts, understanding with foresight the century we are
now in the midst of, and grasping the stunning burst of
intellectual development - with all its power and its delusions -
that was immanent, and understanding as well that the chief
characteristic of the intellect is the *differentiating function*
(i.e., that it is the "great slayer" of the (unified) "real", the
*source* of the "heresy of separateness"), understanding that it
was a *required stage of evolution*, but that it harbored
tremendous dangers, and desirous of aiding in that evolution by
trying to mitigate the great pain inherent in the delusions of
the intellect, sought then a means of *immunizing* our race
against the worst of the viral infections the spirit of
differentiation (that is the core of the intellect) had almost
inevitably to cause.
     The source of the *danger* exists in the very core of the
intellect - whose first and most fundamental sentiment is "I, not
I". It *seeks* to differentiate, to pull apart what is whole, to
*magnify* differences, to see how many pieces compose the atom,
how many different hierarchies can be named as composing the
natural world, how many categories it can create to demonstrate
how *different* humans are from one another. (Want to see this in
action? *Every* race, every philosophy (*including Theosophy!),
and every religion has produced a "ranking system" in which its
members are the *highest*, and all others descend "downward" from
the defined peak). Its development, for aeons possessed by but a
few every generation, was on the verge of becoming widely
diffused. Its powers are unprecedented - it can cure diseases,
produce food, clothing and shelter for everyone on earth, but its
downside is virulent. And the anti-virus, the immunizing agent,
had to (of necessity) be of the nature of the virus - i.e., had
to be *an idea* ... an idea *as basic and powerful as the
predilection to say "I, not-I", but *diametrically opposed*.

     "To form a nucleus of a universal family of humanity,
*without distinction* of race, creed, sex, caste or color."

     This, this remarkable idea, *is* the "anti-virus". In a
world now completely deluged under the effects of "Us *vs.*
Them", it was to be a powerful, focussed and deliberate
articulation of the sentiment "Us *and* Them". But the means of
introducing it could not be simply to state it - various forms of
it had been stated for *millennia* with little effect. This
merely had the effect of a doctor *telling* a patient they were
going to get some medicine. To actually *inject it* into the body
of humanity, it would require *a group of humans ... not Adepts,
*humans*, to *actualize* the idea within the confines of the
human civilization*. At least some minority of members of *our
kingdom* had to have the courage, the perseverance, the
tremendous creativity required to *begin demonstrating what the
human kingdom as a whole would look like *after* it had completed
the development of the mind* ... when it will begin to *resolve
and unify instead of differentiate*. That is, the "anti-virus",
from another perspective, is the *idea that will govern us in the
future*: That we *are* a "universal family of humanity" - and we,
we as *Theosophists*, were handed the golden opportunity to *form
its nucleus* ... to be the *first iteration*, the *seed*.
     And yet, the founders (other than HPB) almost to the person
failed to grasp this - either the idea or the opportunity. The TS
itself fell prey almost immediately to the virus itself. But the
idea itself is so powerful that it *remains* the animating agent
behind whatever life is left in the Theosophical current. And not
only that, but precisely those things that are complained about
continuously in theosophy (and certainly on this list) are those
things that constitute the actual living work of the First
Object. (To explain this will take a bit of an articulation of
the first layer of the Object (-:):

     The biggest initial problem is that the First Object is easy
to read, and everyone thinks almost immediately that they
understand it - but look even a bit more closely (with even half
the effort that "karma" is looked at in TS circles (-:) - and
suddenly it appears positively immense in its ramifications. To
accomplish it, and accomplish it *genuinely*, even upon first
glance indicates some very interesting (and perhaps even
counterintuitive) realizations ...
     It has virtually *nothing* to do with "being nice". Notions
like politeness, "reasoned discourse", "manners", "insults",
etc., etc. vary by culture, by race, by personal upbringing, the
exigencies of fate and fortune, and numerous other factors. If we
are talking about a universal family, the first huge idea to be
faced (and great courage indeed it takes to face it) is that
*there is no "correct" mode or style of discourse*. At *every*
layer of personality there *are* differences, and very
substantial ones, between people ... and the era we live in, the
era of mind, has served to do little other than greatly intensify
our perception of those differences. The problem is that for most
of history, the large majority of humans have been used to
assuming that *their acculturated norms are "the" norms*. And
this is the first profound truth embedded in the First Object: To
take it as a *goal* means we must assume the responsibility of
*continually* striving to function *as spiritual entities* ...
that is, at the layers of our own energy systems where
personality level differences *are not relevant*.
     This is important. For much of history, different races and
cultures simply did not even come into contact with one another
.. and when they did, either warfare resulted in the domination
of one over the other, or migration happened and the conflicts
ceased because the parties separated - did not remain in relation
to one another. Both of these *avoided the fundamental issue*. In
our current world, with its population explosion and the global
telecommunications net, there *is* no place to go - differences
that have existed since the beginning of exoteric recorded
history must, for the first time, be *resolved*.
     The *challenge* of the First Object is to find *the way
out*. On this list both "traditional" avenues have been tried.
Almost everyone has, at one time or another, attempted to
establish a correct "norm" - both for content and mode of
communication ... but in this unique forum, no one has been able
to dominate. And currently, the other "safety valve" is being
tried - a usenet list on one hand, and a completely moderated
list on the other. Both have been generated (IMO) as *reactions*
to the tremendous tension and *pain* that surrounds the formation
of a universal family. While I hope both are successful, my own
*personal* hope is that people stay connected to theos-l ...
because the actual *work* of the First Object is *happening
here*.
     Almost no one thinks they are making personal attacks, and
almost everyone feels as though they are subject to them. *WHAT
DOES THIS MEAN?* More to the point (to deeply, if somewhat
gratuitously stroke those that have stuck it out (-:) - it means
that we have *begun the work* - make no mistake, *look* at the
First Object ... race, cultures and personalities are *very*
different, and to actually form the nucleus of a universal family
means that, perhaps for the first time in our race's history ...
a group of people, in whom exist the *entire spectrum of those
differences*, instead of resolving through the domination of one
perspective over another, or simply fleeing one another and
avoiding the issue, have chosen to *stay in relation to one
another for the sake of an ideal* ... and virtually everyone that
has stayed has been virtually *required* to reach for the
spiritual aspects of their being - the only place where *actual*
resolution exists.
     Even further, in the very depth and viciousness of the
apparent combat itself is the sign that *genuine* work is being
done. There are multiple personality types on this list . types
that in the human family as a whole have *never* resolved the
differences between them. To be willing to *remain connected*, to
try to dominate if one has the desire to dominate, to resist that
domination if one feels that desire, to be *fully who we are
without any compromise*, and hence face the full pain of the
conflict with others in whom very different beliefs and standards
exist, ... is to begin the *carve the paths that humanity as a
whole may someday follow* ...
     We are, my brothers and sisters, playing the biggest game on
earth, and messin' with the very fabric of human reality here -
we are *seeking that road, the hidden perspective, the unknown
solution, through which even the greatest differences may be
somehow resolved - the two "pressure release valves" - domination
or avoidance - that have always been the way resolution has come
(neither of which every *truly* produced a resolution) we have
forgone. Are their not "Alexis' and Liesels, Chucks and Bjorns,
JRCs and Eldons, Daniels and K. Paul Johnsons (etc., etc)"
throughout the world? Not only at the individual level, but even
at the largest scales ... Muslims and Hindus, Catholics and
Protestants, first world and third world, Jews and Iraqis,
Chinese and Taiwanese ... the list goes on ad infinitum. Thing
is, increasingly *no one* is able any longer to either dominate
or avoid. But not one is seeking the means of *genuine*
resolution ... nor even knows how to look.
     To pursue the actualization of the First Object is really
the commitment to *discover historically unprecedented patterns
of relationship* ... patterns that literally do not yet exist ...
but that *when discovered in practice* ARE the patterns humanity
is almost desperately (if still virtually unconsciously) seeking
right now. And if we succeed in *finding* those patterns, *we
will have produced the "anti-virus" that can be replicated ...
can be *applied* to some of the oldest and deepest problems
facing our race*. Does it make *sense*, even with this little
brief exploration of the First Object, that the Adepts elevated
the idea of universal family above all others? That they tried,
constantly and throughout their contact with the founders, to
continue to bring people back to that central idea?
     [And I must say here that, while everyone on the list has
value, I continue to be almost in *awe* of John Mead ... in
giving us, in exchange for his own personal hours of volunteer
work, this forum as a gift .. and in his continued adamant
refusal to moderate the list ... he is making it *possible* to do
work that would not be possible anywhere else. Once again John,
my deepest and most profound thanks ...]

     While this has probably gone on too long for now, I couldn't
finish without mentioning (IMO) yet another significant point
about the First Object. And that is that the "teachings" given
out are all - if ya think about it - meant to *support* the work
of the First Object? That the Second and Third Objects, the
notions of cosmo and anthrogenesis, and the framework for
understanding how to reach for more interior states of
consciousness are all meant to be used *in the service* of the
work of forming the nucleus for a universal family of humanity?
That to study them alone and for one's personal development is
inherently deeply selfish, to believe that one has, *because one
has studied them*, somehow "above" the rest of humanity ... that
is, to *use* those teachings as a means of *strengthening the
sense of difference rather than understanding them as the means
of discovering the road to resolution* ... is to seriously
*misuse* those teachings? And this, I believe, is why Theosophy
really is in trouble right now - the teachings have been
virtually *severed* from the work of universal brotherhood ...
they are being presented as things that can be (even should be)
learned in and of themselves, rather than as both the larger
paradigm and the personal knowledge needed to actualize the
formation of the universal family.
     To anyone that feels like it, might I suggest this "key"?
Any particular aspect of the theosophical you happen to be
studying right now, try studying and meditating on it *assuming
the furtherance of the First Object is the reason that particular
knowledge was released by the Adepts* ... that out of all the
immensity of the wisdom possessed, particular pieces were
deliberately chosen (and others not even mentioned) with a very
specific end in mind - *to fit those forming the nucleus of a
universal family with what they would need to accomplish the
task*. While I cannot say this is the truth, I *can* say that
reading theosophical literature *with the First Object foremost
in mind* changes every bit of it into *something else*, seems to
trigger the intuitive understanding of it at a vastly increased
scale, and provides *the* thread that *links* the immense body of
literature, and suggests connections between apparently
completely unconnected parts. *It functions as a key*.

     Anyway ... `nuff for now. Start taking your shots (har har
har har har har har! Get it?! Tee hee).
                                        With Love,    -JRC