Theos-Talk Archives (September 1996 Message tl00157)

At 08:26 AM 09/09/96 -0400, you wrote:
>Martin writes:
>Will all its archaic and difficulties the VOS is a great book-teacher for
>ages to come as a roadmap of the Path.
>Regarding "The Mind is the Slayer of the Real.  Let the Disciple slay the
>Slayer,"
>I simply interpreted the work "kill" as "Nirodaha" from the Yoga Sutras of
>Patanjali.
>He defines Yoga as Chitta Vritti Nirodaha, usually translated as
>'restraining' (in VOS as 'kill')
>the mental modification. The reason I went to Patanjali is because earlier
>in the Voice HPB mentions the word Dharana or "concentration" (more or
>less) from the 8 limbs or steps of the Yoga system.
>I found Taimni (Science of Yoga) translation and commentaries very useful
>on this subject.
>
>Peace and Harmony to all,
>
>Martin
>
>_________________________________________________________________-
>Keith:
>
>
>We are studiying VOS at the Houston Lodge also.  Chandra Joysti from the Adyar
>lodge in India is conducting the meeting over several months.  He has given THE
>YOGA SUTRAS of PATANJALI written cira 500 A.D. as a possible source for some of
>the ideas presented in the VOS.
>
>I will try to copy some of the aphorisms, if people think it might be helpful
>for our discussion.  The main idea that struck me was the similarity to Ann's
>idea that the VOICE is like a bird that looks down at the lower bird eating a
>fruit.  The higher bird sees the lower bird with compassion, but is unmoved.
>
>Patanjali seems to come from a dualistic perspective.  The idea is that the
>below is bad and the higher is GOOD.  We must kill the lower and rise to the
>higher.  I am not sure this is what theosophy teachers.  I tend to personally
>believe in non-dualism.  That is the higher is the lower, we just are conscious
>of it, but can return to non-dualism through meditation.  The goal is not to
>escape the clutches of evil matter, but disidentify with the dualistic mind
that
>makes it opposed to the DIVINE UNITY.

If you go to the web page with Vitvans writings and have a look at the one
called The Natural Order Proccess Vol 2, you will find his explanation of
Patanjali. As I understand it, it is non-dual in essence but because we live
as if we were seperate from the Divine, the sutras appear as if that is what
they seem but it is only a method of explaining to our minds. There is no
good or bad in Reality but we live in a dualistic way and sometimes they
emphasise this fact to such an extent that they hope we will see the folly
of living that way.
>
>There is this trend in some theosphical writings.  Many seem to have the
>cosmology of Hinduism, the ethics of Buddhism and the morality of Christianity
>in some strange (to me) mixture.
>
>Namaste
>Keith Price
>
>
>
Bee Brown
Member Theosophy NZ, TI.

Logic is a systematic method of coming to
the wrong conclusion with confidence.