Theos-Talk Archives (July 1996 Message tl00713)

Ann Bermingham wrote:

>A short while back, someone (probably JHE) said that HPB wrote to get the
>attention of the intellectuals of her time and get them interested in
occultism.
>I offer the theory that Cayce incarnated to reach millions of regular
Americans.

>I once had a guru that said he though the Beatles incarnated to bring Eastern
>thought to the Western world.  First they were amazingly popular, then they got
>hooked up with an Indian guru and brought some Indian music to the pop scene
>(Ravi Shankar).  I'm not saying it's true, but it's an interesting idea.

>- Ann E. Bermingham

Yes, it does appear that esoteric ideas are permeating popular culture. A good
example of this is the television show Quantum Leap, where the hero occupies new
bodies every week in his quest to return to his origins. Another good tv example
is The Highlander, where we see an "immortal" in new
social/occupational/national cirumstances in each episode. I believe that the
introduction of these themes into popular culture will have the eventual effect
of making average persons more receptive to Theosophical ideas, if the TS would
only get around to capitalizing on the trend.

Unfortunately, the Beatles did not stay with their yogic instruction for very
long. They wound up fusing Eastern ideas with LSD experiences. The only member
of the group who got into Eastern teachings in more than a superficial way was
sitar-playing George Harrison. One wonders, however, how sophisticated a student
he was in light of his attempt to create a popular rock tribute to Krishna to
the tune of He's So Fine.  Maybe his Bhakta tendencies just got the better of
him. In spite of the nobility of the cause, his mantra failed to protect him
from violation of copyright litigation by the original artists.

BTW, would you be willing to share some of your experiences concerning your
guru? Do you feel that this was an individual who had actually attained some
measure of self-realization or was he/she a garden variety upa-guru? Do you
think that your association with this teacher benefitted you in some sort of
direct spiritual way, as opposed to verbal/conceptual teachings?

--Frank