Dharma Paths

One who has reached to the full comprehension of the name and nature of a theosophist will sit in judgment on no man or action.

Nicholas wrote: ↑Sun May 03, 2020 5:20 pm

One who has reached to the full comprehension of the name and nature of a theosophist will sit in judgment on no man or action.

Letter from a Master, see HPB's CW VIII:146ff or Letters From The Masters Second series, letter 82.

That night the wife of King Suddhôdana,
Maya the Queen, asleep beside her Lord,
Dreamed a strange dream; dreamed that a star from heaven —

Splendid, six-rayed, in color rosy-pearl,
Whereof the token was an Elephant
Six-tusked and whiter than Vahuka’s milk —

Shot through the void and, shining into her,
Entered her womb upon the right. Awaked,
Bliss beyond mortal mother’s filled her breast,
And over half the earth a lovely light
Forewent the morn. The strong hills shook; the waves
Sank lulled; all flowers that blow by day came forth
As ‘twere high noon; down to the farthest hells
Passed the Queen’s joy, as when warm sunshine thrills
Wood-glooms to gold, and into all the deeps
A tender whisper pierced. “Oh ye,” it said,
“The dead that are to live, the live who die,
Uprise, and hear, and hope! Buddha is come!”

As the white ray of light is decomposed by the prism into the various
colors of the solar spectrum, so the beam of divine truth, in passing through the
three-sided prism of man's nature, has been broken up into vari-colored fragments
called RELIGIONS. And, as the rays of the spectrum, by imperceptible shadings,
merge into each other, so the great theologies that have appeared at different
degrees of divergence from the original source, have been connected by minor
schisms, schools, and off-shoots from the one side or the other. Combined, their
aggregate represents one eternal truth; separate, they are but shades of human error
and the signs of imperfection.

It is true that the world is in a saddened and anxious state. But
mark you, I think it unwise and spiritually and psychologically
unwholesome to emphasize this, for it raises none to higher things
but depresses courage, the courage to meet life and carry on in a
higher and nobler way. See the beauty in and behind things, see
the beauty in your fellow men; see likewise the ignominy and the
ugliness in life, although do not let these latter depress you or
discourage you. There is no reason to lose our calm, our inner
peace, in order to become like unto them of the mobs, passion
driven, governed by prejudice. Such an attitude will not help us
or those who suffer. But we can send forth into the world thoughts
of courage and hope and an optimistic looking into the future,
founded on our own blessed God-Wisdom: that no matter what
happens through man's folly or infamy or infidelity to his spiritual
inner God, to his spiritual Essence, there are always right and
justice which will ultimately triumph over all. The only thing is
to be sure we are on the side of right and justice - and we cannot
always judge by appearances.

Impersonality means just one thing — not living in the personality. But here many will exclaim: "Where then shall I live? My personal consciousness is the only part of me I know and understand!" The answer is very simple: By not living in the personality. By setting aside even for one day the desire to shine, to dominate, even at the expense of others, or to 'put across' one's own methods or opinions, something rare and unsuspected will open up in the nature — a spiritual center of peace and well-being. It is there. We do not need to search for it. All we need is to think and feel and act so that it is possible for it to function. One can make a beginning in any moment. Just setting aside the sense of superiority which leads us to ridicule or resent or disparage, even in thought; one effort to further the welfare of a friend before our own; a quiet sacrifice that a brother or sister may have a larger share — anything that one can find to do which will set aside the insistence of me and mine — these things will accumulate into the first push against the once closed door where waits the companionship of the Inner God.

The function of Theosophists is to open mens hearts and understandings to charity, justice, and generosity, attributes which belong specifically to the human kingdom and are natural to man when he has developed the qualities of a human being. Theosophy teaches the animal-man to be a human-man; and when people have learned to think and feel as truly human beings should feel and think, they will act humanely, and works of charity, justice, and generosity will be done spontaneously by all.

Let the seeker know, once for all, that the virtues cannot be discarded or ignored; they must be made a part of our life, and their philosophical basis must be understood.

The life of virtue accumulates much merit; that merit will at some time cause one to be born in a wise family where the real practice of concentration may begin; or it may cause one to be born in a family of devotees or those far advanced on the Path, as said in Bhagavad Gita.

As for human nature in general, it is the same now as it was a million of years ago: Prejudice based upon selfishness; a general unwillingness to give up an established order of things for new modes of life and thought — and occult study requires all that and much more —; pride and stubborn resistance to Truth if it but upsets their previous notions of things, — such are the characteristics of your age, and especially of the middle and lower classes.

Nicholas wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2020 5:42 pm Based on an early (1870s?) letter from a Master, published in 1888 as "Some Words on Daily Life":

https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ub ... ife.htm#n1

It is divine philosophy alone, the spiritual and psychic blending of man with nature, which by revealing the fundamental truths that lie hidden under the objects of sense and perception, can promote a spirit of unity and harmony in spite of the great diversities of conflicting creeds. Theosophy, therefore, expects and demands from the Fellows of the Society a great mutual toleration, and charity for each other's shortcomings, ungrudging mutual help in the search for truths in every department of nature — moral and physical. And this ethical standard must be unflinchingly applied to daily life.

Aum (mystic Sanscrit term of the Trinity), mani (holy jewel), padme (in the lotus, padma being the name for lotus), houm (be it so). The six syllables in the sentence correspond to the six chief powers of nature emanating from Buddha (the abstract deity, not Gautama), who is the seventh, and the Alpha and Omega of being.