Theos-Talk Archives (November 1995 Message tl00445)

RI:

>Of all the things about organized Theosophy which have amazed me
>over the years none has amazed me more than this: that it begins
>with a call to the Master-Wisdom in each of us and that it ends
>only after most of those who remain have been reduced to the status
>of lowly students in a study hall.

My analogy of a study hall was with regard to the *absence of
a teacher*. In a study hall you are on your own without the
guidance of a skilled instructor. Theosophical groups are like
this because there is not an established spiritual practice.

The T.S. is also akin to an empty schoolyard where some kids come
to play ball. They're having fun but without a coach their play
is somewhat lacking. Or some kids splashing in a pool as compared
to some under skilled training for the Olympics with expert
coaches and a specific training plan.

What is different in theosophical groups from specific Mystery
Schools or specific spiritual practices like Vajarayana Buddhism
is that there is not a formal method of training nor instructors.
It is akin to study halls in the sense that there's no teacher at
the front of the room offering instruction. My comparison was
not in regard to the fact that in study halls all someone is doing
is simply reading books.

You're right that we *do* look to the Wisdom within. But it's also
true that Theosophy is not for the intellectually lazy and there
is valuable content in the books.

>Again: "I like to think of a theosopher as a person whose own
>transcendental progress has resulted in at least some personal
>knowledge of certain things otherwise inaccessible."

This is true of anyone that is starting to awaken spiritually.
It's not an exclusive experience of theosophers nor of Theosophists
nor of Neo-Spiritualists nor of historians of occult folklore.

>Who else really belongs in a theosophical society? Someone
>whose purpose is merely to study and perhaps worship those
>figures distant in time and space who had such progress
>and knowledge?

Everyone belongs in a T.S. that feels an attraction to the Path
that Theosophy talks about. One does need to engage a spiritual
practice in one's life. There are followers in theosophical groups
as well as elsewhere. An intellectual study of the great truths
is something quite important and of more real lasting value to
the individual than mere psychic experimentation. A growth in
wisdom and understanding carries from one life to the next; it
becomes an integral part of one's faculties. Developing the power
to see auras though is like learning to ice skate or touch type
on a computer keyboard; it is an attribute of the personality and
perishes.

While true that an intellectual study is insufficient in itself
and does not constitute a spiritual practice it is not a sign
of genuine spirituality when one rejects the use of the powers of
mind and the insights into life that it offers.

>No what individuals already know for themselves but can not
>yet satisfactorily say is the whole and entire reason theosophers
>seek one another out in societies and out of societies.

The ability to articulate one's experiences comes with practice
and requires both language and a philosophy to convey the ideas.
Having an experience and being inarticulate about it does not
mean one is so tremendously advanced that one's experiences are
beyond words.

>*Theosophist* would be a good term for those who just sort of
>like the idea of the real thing.

Rejection of the philosophy does not mean that one is on to the
"real thing". Nor does having access to phenomenal powers and
the sights and sounds of other planes. The real thing is related
to qualitative changes in consciousness to changes in one's
experience of life changes that aren't obvious in a tangible
way like being able to see auras read minds or find missing
objects.

>Let us meet as kings and queens or not at all. . . .

Let's respect the royalty in all things yet seek out whatever
training we need from both external and internal sources and
be more skillful in seeking and sharing the Light.

>I like Paul's attitude actually.

His attitude is fine. He is seeking the spiritual wherever he
can find it. Hopefully we all are doing this. We may not all find
it in the same places though and there may be disagreement over
if it can truly be found in *this* place or *that* palce. There
is no disagreement though over its precious nature and the
importance of going after it.

-- Eldon