Theos-Talk Archives (May 1997 Message tl00406)

Just an opinion ... but ...
	The picture I get from the ML and SD, confirmed by whatever
miniscule personal experiences I've had, is of the existance of a
spiritual kingdom composed of beings of several different kingdoms, whose
entire existances are composed of perceptions of the underlying patterns
of growth that are templates for current human existance, knowledge of the
trials and tribulations, struggles and sometimes intense pain that
accompanies that growth, and hearts that have reached a stature such that
virtually the totality of their energies are expended in attempts to
facilitate human growth, and mitigate the suffering surrounding it.
	They seem partially willing to share some of the knowledge they
possess, but the price of that wisdom is *its use*. From the hints in the
ML, the SD, it seems that there *is* a kind of spiritual economics - a
value system among the kingdom of servents: And the currency is composed
of *the opportunity to serve*. HPB understood this. So did HSO, and CWL.
Whatever their faults, whatever their failings ... they all understood it
to be an honor almost beyond belief to be chosen to ... do what? ... to
expend the totality of their life's energies on behalf of "poor orphan
humanity" ... taking in return barely enough money to even stay warm and
fed, and often recieving little but condemnation from the humanity they
pledged to help. They seemed to understand themselves to be something like
transformers in a power grid - receiving energy and knowledge from their
sources ... and stepping them down into a form presentable to the humanity
of the time. Were their personality levels to have begun believing that
*they* possessed or generated that wisdom or energy, and begun believing
that they should *use* their connection to that wisdom as a means of
gaining whatever sticks or rocks or baubles pass for money at the time for
their personal selves - or that (even more strange) that somehow the
amount of sticks and rocks a personal self had accumulated was a measure
of a person's spiritual stature, or worth to society, or fitness or
qualifications to receive that wisdom - well anyone who believes that can
come on over to Montana ... Elizabeth Clair Prophet is here - and she's
got all the TS Masters plus a bunch more - and your "value" to society as
measured by the coin of the realm is definately important to her.
	The Adepts chose a few people - we know that from the ML - did
they believe material wealth was any measure of value whatsoever? Did
*they* ever ask for payment? Well yes ... but it wasn't money - the
payment they asked (or rather .. that was freely given) was that the
wisdom and energy they gave be used in a life utterly devoted to the
selfless service to humanity.
	We are living in the midst of an extremely materialistic age just
now - even those things that were called "esoteric" a century ago are
being bastardized and sold in the marketplace today - but maybe what we
really need to do is maintain a vision of that genuine spiritual kingdom
.. to model it to the best of our ability ...
	For myself ... my heart leaps at the ideal of the Buddha, the
Christ, and the thousands of men and women that toil today on behalf of
the poor, of those searching desperately for peace, or truth, or just
plain food, people who thankfully believe that the clarity of their
thought and size of their heart is a much more accurate measure of their
worth to society than the thickness of their wallet.
	I've already received immensely more from the labours of HPB and
others than I'd ever be able to pay for - I still feel a huge debt - but I
also believe the method of their teaching was part of the lessons. HPB
created a current of wisdom ... I was required to pay no coin to get it
.. and hence could not even imagine charging a nickel to introduce anyone
else to that chain. Whatever small use I've been able to figure out how to
make of that stream of wisdom - either with philosophy or work with angels
.. I'll give it free ... now and for the rest of my life - and silently
bow deeply to the great ones ... for the immense honor of being able to do
so. And I hope that sometime in the distant future whatever use I've
managed to make of what I've recieved will earn me the right to serve in
some slightly larger way.
	Are you being foolish Doss? I think not - I think you are prompted
by a spirit ... a tradition ... that was literally around long before
humanity had even conceived of the *concept* of money, and will be around
long after that concept has been exposed as little other than a training
tool for children still struggling to learn unselfishness.
	IMO - we should charge *NOTHING* for any lecture, any talk, any
presentation, in any Theosophical group or lodge. Ever. We are recipients
of a fragment of wisdom so far beyond such considerations that to charge
for it is little other than a sign that we do not truly understand its
value - or the value system from whence it came.
							-JRC