Theos-Talk Archives (February 1998 Message tl00044)

>Dear Doss, Thoa and Members of TS,
>
>This is Eiichi Tosaki. I am the one of them who are using this TS to
>gather authentic knowledge about Theosophy for my 'personal goals' and
>'scholarship'. I am writing PhD dissertation concerning a Dutch artist
>Piet Mondrian, who was a theosophist and whose art was deeply influenced
>by being a lifetime theosophist.

Hi Eiichi,

As I said, people follow the path in myriad ways.  If we all only do the
obvious service work, we wouldn't have the richness in contribution from
scientists, artists, writers, philosophers, etc.  It's too easy to judge
the obvious.  We need to look at the whole picture.  This is not to deny
the importance of service.

<snip>
>linking will be a discovery in the context of art history. I (and Thoa)
>will be a first discoverer. But honestly I do not care.

I feel famous!!! :o)

>The fact that I am writing a dissertation in art history to get a degree
>and hopefully to get a job concerning this area, does not kill my desire
>to disseminate and share my ideas with public. I had not gotten a time
>enough to deepen my idea about art until starting the PhD candidature in
>Australia. I quit my comparatively lucrative job in Japan for getting
>this opportunity. I find this is a noble thing. Definitely thinking of
>art through theosophy has enriched my understanding of art and
>philosophy. I appreciate theosophists and members of this TS for this.

You are doing the work and sharing with the Brotherhood of Mankind.  Those
who do not understand that ideas and art can greatly help in the evolution
of mankind are ignorant.

>To me writing about Mondrian especially in the context of theosophy and
>the philosophy in this concern occurs in the aura of esoteric atmosphere
>of Hinduism or Yoga and Theosophy (actually I first got the idea of
>writing about 'Mondrian and Rhythm' while I was meditating on the rock
>in the mountainous place called Madovan (maybe wrong spelling) in India,
>which I visited to attend the Spiritual University of Raga Yoga sect. It
>was a kind of a sacred inspiration to me). I hope in the future I'd like
>to publish my dissertation and art historians will start to think about
>the linkage between Western Modern Art and Hinduism (and Theosophy) more
>seriously. This trend nobody can stop since the more deeply you meditate
>about the spirituality in art, the more inevitably you encounter the
>Hindu or esoteric doctrine. Who is the first discoverer of this does not
>matter.

Even out of the context of the esoteric atmosphere, your work would have
still been valid.  There have been many concepts seemingly unrelated to the
esoteric that have enriched the human evolution.  In my mind, these
seemingly unrelated events are also mystical in nature, if one would look
closely at it.

>Arguments between Thoa and I are now hitting the bedrock of Hegelian
>logicalism, which sounds too much scholastic and dry. However, this, I
>believer, is not the hardest part. Hardest part will come later:
>Mondrian (or Western abstract artists in this century) and Hinduism.
>When we start to hit another bedrock of this, we may seek for the help
>from the other knowledgeable TS members.

You know, Eiichi, theosophy's first leader, Helena Blavatsky, used many of
the Hegelian ideas in her Secret Doctrine books.

>I wonder whether we should retreat our arguments from this TS until we
>get into more theosophical topics. Actually we retreated couple months
>ago but later we realized some of your member kept following our
>arguments and put them back on this TS. I am pretty happy to retreat our
>arguments for a while. How do you think, Thoa and other member of TS?

Don't retreat.  You never know who is listening with some great ideas.
When you withdraw from others, all you get in response is yourself.  When
you share, you never know what you'll get back.  Richness comes back a
thousand folds in sharing, even if you are only sharing in words.

>I hope I am not disturbing the dissemination of your noble idea of
>"Universal Brotherhood."

Idea sounds noble.  Noble conduct is much harder to do because of the
challenge of reality.  Noble ideas put to the test needs to change and
adjust.  You are not disturbing anything, Eiichi.

>Sorry for my messy English (English is my second language).

I wish I could write as well in my birth language, which is Vietnamese.

As I said in my private post, I will respond to you.  Currently, I am
relying on the feeling of brotherhood among theosophists for my rude
posting in and disappearing for a while.  Something would have to really
light me on fire to make me wield my pen, forget what I was supposed to be
doing, and write, write.  Forgive me, please...

Thoa :o)