Theos-Talk Archives (June 1996 Message tl00711)

Martin:
>Yes, I'd agree on that. Leaves still the question:
>what forces/consciousnesses/substances are involved in this causation?
	The forces are those of order and chaos.  In Hindu terms,
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are alive and well.  Individual karma, on
the astral-mental level is largely the effect of guilt and remorse.  We
often suffer today for what we *think* we did in the past.  For people
with a lot of guilt, purification processes, prayers, and so on work well.

>agreed, if you equate this ego with a ray from manas, or possibly
>the manasic entity itself.
	Manas is a principle.  I assume you mean here the human
monad (?).  G de P calls manas the "higher ego" which equates to
HPB's Ego (cap E) or reincarnating ego.  He distinquishes it from
the "Lower Manas" which is closer to the human ego or personality.
(see table on page 439 of Fountain-Source of Occultism).  You
can think of the lower manas as a ray of the higher, but "ray" gives
a false impression, at least to me.  I prefer manifestation or
expression on a lower plane--the Ego (individuality) is on the causal
plane while the ego (personality) is on the mental plane.

> But don't these skandhas build our character in current life,
>together with environmental factors such as parents, etc.?
	Yes.  We are affected by more than  just skandhas.  We
are also affected by our environment (which a purist would say
is also karmic).  The skandhas are tendencies, which will only
build our character if we sit back and let them.  We do not have
to be subject to our skandhas, anymore than we need be
subjected or controlled by the planets.  We have free will, and
can (and should) start making some new, and better, skandhas.
In fact, skandhas can be eliminated in what is called the
jivamukti.

>You include psychic structure in genetic structure? I suggest that there
>are connections, but that there is something more than genetic structure
>alone.
	I was, yes, but you don't have to.  For example, intelligence
can be said to be genetic, and also part of the skandhas.  I often
refer to the whole business as our karmic burden, as sort of a
catch-all.  Its simply more convenient for me to think of past karma
in terms of genetic (what we bring with us at birth) and environmental
(what we have made during this life).  But, as I have said many times,
nothing is a simple as it seems on the surface.

>Yes, I think so too. Did you use clairvoyant observation to come to that
>conclusion?
	Memory.  Also, I like Tibetan Buddhism, and they teach
entrance at conception.

>> Every person on a doomed airplane, for example, subconsciously
>>agrees to it.
>Well, that's one way to see it. Another perspective may be that
 >these persons have not learned to listen to their higher nature
>(Guardian Angel) which will probably warn them, and thus cannot escape
>from a kind of 'mechanical' type of karma if you understand what I mean.
	The "agreement" is often a loose one.  Acceptance of
our mortality puts us all in the position of possible victim to something
sooner or later.  I have known people who had a bad feeling, and
left an airplane to catch a later one, and then the plane went down.  They
did not want to play that particular game.  If we listen to our inner voice
or intuition, is it usually a good guide to a longer life.

> This rousings seem related to the transformation of inner structures
>in the psyche, at least that's a part that I have observed.
>Maybe Eldon means that it is not wise to fool around with Kundalini?
>Kundalini is 'occult electricity', a life-force, potentially a very
>strong force, I guess. But you know more about it, having practiced
>Kundalini Yoga, don't you? What is this yoga all about? How does it work?
	There are two basic kinds of yoga.  In one, we raise
consciousness to a higher level leaving the physical behind.  In
the other, we bring down spiritual energy into our body.  The latter
is what Kundalini Yoga does, and yes it is dangerous.  The energy
enters the body via the chakras.  Two prominent physical symptoms
are involuntary muscular twitching and a higher body temperature.
If done too fast or too hard, you get a headache.  AB warns about
headaches obtained this way.  Although somewhat dangerous,
all you really have to do is to ease up, and go slower.  One of
the goals is to spiritualize the physical body.  Sri Aurobindu tried
this for years and finally announced that because we were so far
into the Kali Yuga, it could no longer be done.  He may be right.

	Jerry S.
	Member, TI