Married Adepts
Dec 23, 1996 02:34 PM
by Jerry Schueler
Doss, here are my responses to your excellent questions:
>In pp. 17, The Mahatma Letters to APS (Third Edition TPH Adyar 1962) is
>the following statement.
>
> "It is true that a married man cannot be an adept, yet without
>striving to become a 'Raja Yogi' he can acquire certain powers and do
>much good to mankind and often more, by remaining within the precincts >of this world of his."
>This should be "It is harder for a married man to be an adept, ..."
As written, the quote is in error (IMHO, of course).
>I for a moment do not doubt what is stated in the ML. Well, I certainly do. The words given in the ML are not
biblical canon, and must be taken in context with other teachings. The
very way that most were delivered (psychic precipitation) leaves
lots of room for small errors.
>How do you reconcile the fact that Buddha (who is supposed to have been >an Adept even in his previous lives) was a married man?
>Is it possible that there are exceptions to the rule? Easy, a married man can become an adept, but usually
he will be a lousy father/husband (see Herman Hesse's (??spelling)
Siddhartha for an excellent example of this). On the other
hand, a good father/husband has little time to become an adept.
In general, I would say that it is possible to do both, but
what usually happens is that one is unable to do justice to
either roles.
>In the general model followed by TS(Adyar) after HPB, there is a
>general belief about the need to avoid meat, alcohol and if possible
>sex (both within the marriage and outside). This is the general TS model, yes. But recall that
a great Master once said that it is what comes out of your
mouth that profains you, not what goes into it. Abstaining
from sex in order to be godly is, IMHO, a stupid, albeit an
understandable, mistake, and psychologically dangerous. Give
up sex because you have no real desire for it and you will be
OK. Give it up in order to be spiritual, and you are only
fooling yourself. Look to your motive here. I think that
as one becomes spiritual, one begins to realize that the
opposite sex is within themself, much like Jung taught. One
will naturally begin to seek wholeness within rather than
without. But this should occur naturally, and not be forced.
Jerry S.
Member, TI
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