Theos-Talk Archives (July 1996 Message tl00739)

There was a little discussion as to what theosophical work might be studied.  I
suggeted At the Feet of the Master.  Many objected to its origins as "impure" or
tainted by not being scriptural because it was ghost-written by CWL for
Krishnamurt who was supposed to have "received" it from his MASTER.

So then we settled on the Voice of the Silence, because it was Blavatsky and not
subject to debate, yet some are wondering if the tablets that she read and
remembered as inspiration really existed or still exist.

I heard a joke which may be apropos about the whole thing:

There was a man who saw two doors.  One door was marked: "God (or the ONE) and
the other was marked: "Books about God."  Being a good theosophists he went
straight to the door marked "books about God" without hesitation.  He went in
and read all the books taking many years and finally lifetimes of study. When he
got to the last page it said:  "now that you have read all the books you can
walk through the door marked "God".
Blavatsky writes in the VOICE OF THE SILENCE:
Three Halls, O weary Pilgrim, lead to the end of toils. Three
Halls, O conqueror of Mara, [6] will bring thee through three
states (14) into the fourth, (15) and thence into the seven Worlds,
(16) the Worlds of Rest Eternal.
If thou would'st learn their names, then hearken and remember. The
name of the first Hall is IGNORANCE - Avidya.
It is the Hall in which thou first saw'st the light, in which thou
livest and shalt die. (17)
The name of Hall the second is the Hall of LEARNING.* {The Hall of
Probationary Learning.} In it thy Soul will find the blossoms of
life, but under every flower a serpent coiled. (18)
[7] The name of the third Hall is WISDOM, beyond which stretch the
shoreless waters of AKSHARA, the indestructible Fount of
Omniscience (19). If thou would'st cross the first Hall safely, let
not thy mind mistake the fires of lust that burn therein for the
sunlight of life.

Keith:

Blavatsky seem to suggest that there are three stages or "rooms". One is
ignorance or avidya of maya in which all ensnared.  The next is learning which
is necessary, but dangerous stage, and then finally wisdom and the Fount of
Akshara.

A variation of the joke might be that if you walked through the door marked
"God", you might arrive in an ante room the so-called inner court of learning,
where you would have to stay and read and study and apply the teaching before
you could see that there is no door nor rooms that like Dorothy in Kansas you
never went to another room, plane, land of Oz at all. That you were  with the
One all the time. When that happened you would be right back in Kanas and say
with Dorothy there is no place like home! And Allan, and you were there, and
Ann, you were there and Jerry, JRC and Jim and John and Chuck  and KPaul and
....   And there was a bad lady  who tried to hurt me, but  I don't have to
travel there again because I know that all I want is right here!  Oh Auntie HPB,
there is no place like home.

Namste
Keith Price