THE CANADIAN THEOSOPHIST
Vol. XXXIII, No. 6 Toronto, August 15th, 1952 Price 20 Cents
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The Theosophical Society is not responsible for any statement in this Magazine, unless made in an official document
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THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
(In last month's issue attention was drawn to the fact that in 1953 an election would be held to fill the important position of President of the Society. The following disturbing article on this subject is reprinted from the current issue of Eirenicon, published by the Peace Lodge, Hyde, Cheshire, England).
The Presidency
The President of The Theosophical Society is elected every 7 years, subject to the interim contingencies of life. The next election is due in 1953. Nominations are made by members of the international General Council, which includes the General Secretaries of all National Societies, each of whom is bound to consult his National Governing Council. Each is entitled to make three nominations. Our General Secretary has taken the advice of the National Council and has nominated Mr. C. Jinarajadasa, Mrs. Josephine Ransom and Mr. Sri Ram.
The General Secretary and the National Council are the servants of the membership. Every member and every Lodge is entitled to consider and weigh how they discharge their stewardship. At a Presidential election every member votes. Collectively we veto and elect. Yet whom we can vote for is decided by nominations. At the last election a strong minority in the Society was left without a candidate by voting for whom they could register their honest convictions about the way the Society should go. In our view every General Secretary and National Council has a duty to minority groups within the membership, and should see that a nomination goes through to provide a means of recording the strength of their views. If they are a minority, it is proper that their candidate should be defeated. It is not proper that they be deprived of a representative to vote for.
If General Secretaries do not discharge this obligation of elementary justice, the President should have a look at the international constitution to provide a further and alternative means of effective nomination. At present minorities are dependent upon there being at least one National Society where an internationally minority view prevails, and on there being not more than 2 alternative E.S. or E.S. approved nominatees. At present the minorities depend on Canada for a nominee, but it could happen that a powerful minority could exist and be a minority in every National Society. Last time there was no minority candidate because Canada missed their cue and no other General Secretary realized that he (or she) owed
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a duty to minority members - not at all a good and admirable state of affairs. It would have been fitting if this time Mr. Groves, after consultation with the National Council, had included in his nominations Mr. Ernest E. Wood, who received 822 out of 2150 votes cast in England in 1934.
We wonder why 3 nominations have gone forward from England. Does this signify some indication from Mr. Jinarajadasa that he may not be willing to stand again? Does someone think a change advisable? Or is it just to bar any minority nominee from getting on the voting paper? The membership is entitled to know what is happening. We are all concerned in who is our President. Why on earth nominate Mrs. Ransom? Mrs. Ransom is a profound student and we are all in grateful debt to her for the excellent Adyar edition of The Secret Doctrine and her handily useful Short History of The Theosophical Society; but has she the right temperament to be President? If she stands we believe the membership can be relied on to say "no" by their votes, if there is an alternative. Mr. Sri Ram would probably command the respect of both Neo-Theosophists and those who would prefer to see a President of more radical Theosophical purpose than is represented by the present E.S., to which belong all 3 candidates nominated by Mr. Groves on behalf of the English National Society.
Rule 10 of the international consitution calls for serious consideration. It appears to be framed deliberately to exclude minority candidates. Only 3 names come before the membership - the three with the highest number of nominations, unless more than 3 are nominated by more than half the Council members. So if the official caucus in each National Society secures the nomination of 3 E.S. members, any Canadian nomination cannot come before the voting membership. This is bad practice, pseudo-democracy; it smacks of Hitler and Stalin, voting on an approved list of candidates. This is in no sense an opposition to an E.S. President. If that is what the majority of the members want, they should have it; but he or she should be elected because he passes the trial of effective opposition, not because he is shielded from having to meet it; and any time the members do not want an E.S. President, the way should be wide open for them to get the President they do want. Otherwise all the talk about the E.S. having no connection with the T.S. is so much hypocritical cant and eyewash. Theosophy does not exist in that sort of tortuous ness and petty cleverness.
Another question might well be considered. What are the ages of Mr. Jinarajadasa, Mrs. Ransom and Mr. Ram? What were the ages of Col. Olcott, Mrs. Besant and Dr. Arundale when they in turn became President?
- Eirenicon No. 102
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An examination of the Adyar Annual Reports reveals that far-reaching changes were made in Rule 10 in 1947, shortly after the election of Mr. Jinarajadasa. The former Rule provided that the Recording Secretary should call for nominations from the General Secretaries, and then provided that:
"Nomination of any member or members in good standing, who have consented to accept nomination for the office, may be sent in to the Recording Secretary, so as to reach him within two months of the date of the call for nominations. At the expiry of this period, the Recording Secretary shall communicate the nominations to the General Secretaries, and to the Lodges and Fellows-at-large attached to Headquarters. Each General Secretary shall take the individual vote of each of the voter-members of his Section . . . . ."
Note particularly that under this Rule all members who had consented to ac-
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cept nomination would be voted upon by the membership - an entirely democratic procedure.
The altered Rule of 1947 provides that each member of the General Council may nominate three persons (the General Council is made up of the Officers and Executive at Adyar and the General Secretaries of the National Societies). Each General Secretary is required to consult with his National Executive and to make his nominations on its behalf. Upon the expiration of the filing date, the Recording Secretary shall place all nominations before the Executive Committee at Adyar. The Executive Committee shall count the nominations and the three persons receiving the highest number of nominations shall be those to be voted upon, together with any other persons who have been nominated by not less than half the members of the General Council.
As Eirenicon correctly points out, the new rule makes it virtually impossible for a minority candidate to be voted upon; the membership is permitted to vote only for those candidates who are supported by the majority of the General Council.
Why was Rule 10 changed? What was wrong with the former wording? What circumstances made the change seem desirable in the best interests of the members? How many contested elections have been held for the office of President? When was there an election in which more than two candidates agreed to stand? Why was it deemed expedient that a candidate nominated through one National Society should not be voted upon unless arrangements had first been made to secure the support of a number of General Council members - a measure which opens the door to back-stairs politics? Was the new Rule an unfortunate but well-intentioned attempt to protect the membership from a superfluity of candidates - a condition which has never arisen - or was there behind it the ulterior motive of excluding any possibility of a reform candidate?
If the persons who devised this new Rule have any good and sufficient reasons to justify it, the members would welcome an explanation. The Rule as it now stands is an attack upon the democratic foundation of our Society; it should be rescinded and the former Rule reinstated.
In fairness to the membership as a whole, the election for the office of President should be postponed until our electoral methods are restored to their former democratic basis. The coming election will decide who is to be President for the next seven years, seven very important years, entirely too long a time for the members to be deprived of the right of voting upon all candidates who have been nominated by the National Societies.
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THE THREE TRUTHS
Each man is his own absolute law-giver, the dispenser of glory or gloom to himself; the decreer of his life, his reward, his punishment.
The soul of man is immortal, and its future is the future of a thing whose growth and splendour have no limit.
The principle which gives life dwells in us, and without us, is undying and eternally beneficent, is not heard or seen, or smelt, but is perceived by the man who desires perception.
These truths, which are as great as is life itself, are as simple as the simplest mind of man. Feed the hungry with them. - Idyll of the White Lotus.
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WHAT IS MAN?
By A.C. Fellows
(Continued from page 68)
In considering the third, and what may be termed the Highest Hierarchy, the Monadic or Spiritual, it must likewise be borne in mind that it too, is limited in its sphere of action. While Spirit is all-pervading, yet we are told, while present on all planes, on the lowest it is latent and inactive, and unable to operate in dense matter. This Hierarchy is the most difficult to understand since it deals almost entirely with the spiritual evolution of man. The many references to it in The Secret Doctrine are too numerous to quote in full here but the student should read "The Monadic Host," pp. 196-206 of third edition S.D., and pp. 173-183 "The Classification of the Monads," in S.D. Original Edition, from which some insight may be gained on the subject of the Monad. Nor can the Monad be studied without reference to that which are called the Rays, for in the latter can be traced the origin of the former.
A few quotations will now be given:
"Atma (our seventh principle) being identical with the universal Spirit, and man being one with it in his essence, what is then the Monad proper? It is that homogeneous spark which radiates in millions of rays from the primeval 'Seven;' - of which seven further on. It is the EMANATING spark from the UNCREATED Ray - a mystery. (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, p. 571, Original 1888 Edition).
"The star under which a human Entity is born, says the Occult teaching, will remain for ever its star, throughout the whole cycle of its incarnations in one Manvantara. But this is not his astrological star. The latter is concerned and connected with the personality, the former with the INDIVIDUALITY. The 'Angel' of that Star, or the Dhyana-Buddha will be either the guiding or simply the presiding 'Angel,' so to say, in every new rebirth of the monad, which is part of his own essence, though his vehicle, man, may remain for ever ignorant of this fact. The adepts have each their Dhyani-Buddha, their elder 'twin Soul,' and they know it, calling it 'Father-Soul,' and 'Father-Fire.' It is only at the last and supreme initiation, however, that they learn it when placed face to face with the bright 'Image.' . . . . .Atma is not-Spirit in its final Parabrahmic state, Iswara or Logos is Spirit; or, as Occultism explains, it is a compound unity of manifested living Spirits, the parent-source and nursery of all the mundane and terrestrial monads, plus their divine reflection, which emanate from, and return into, the Logos, each in the culmination of its time. There are seven chief groups of such Dhyan Chohans, which groups will be found and recognized in every religion, for they are the primeval SEVEN RAYS. Humanity, occultism teaches us, is divided into seven distinct groups and their sub-divisions, mental, spiritual, and physical . . . Hence the seven chief planets, the spheres of the indwelling seven spirits, under each of which is borne one of the human groups which is guided and influenced thereby . . . The monad, then, viewed as ONE, is above the seventh principle (in Kosmos and man), and as a triad, it is the direct radiant progeny of the said compound UNIT . . . The 'triads' born under the same Parent-planet, or rather the radiations of one and the same Planetary Spirit (Dhyani Buddha) are, in all their after lives and rebirths, sister, or 'twin-souls,' on this Earth. . . It is
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the same, only still more metaphysical idea, as that of the Christian Trinity - 'Three in One', i.e., the Universal 'over-Spirit,' manifesting on the two higher planes, those of Buddhi and Mahat . . . This was known to every high Initiate in every age and in every country. 'I and my Father are one,' said Jesus (John 10. 30). When He is made to say, elsewhere (John 20. 17): 'I ascend to my Father and your Father,' it meant that which has just been stated . . . The identity, and at the same time the illusive Differentiation of the Angel-Monad and the Human-Monad is shown by the following sentenses: 'My Father is greater than I' (John 16. 26); 'Glorify your Father who is in Heaven' (Matt. 5. 16); 'The righteous will shine in the kingdom of their Father' (not our Father) (Matt. 13. 43); 'Know ye not ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' (I Cor. 3 .16) . . . It was simply to show that the group of his disciples and followers attracted to Him belonged to the same Dhyani Buddha, 'Star,' or 'Father,' again of the same planetary realm and division as He did. It is the knowledge of this occult doctrine that found expression in the review of 'The Idyll of the White Lotus,' when Mr. T. Subba Row wrote: 'Every Buddha meets at his last initiation all the great adepts who reached Buddahood during the preceding ages . . . every class of adepts has its own bond of spiritual communion which knits them together . . . The only possible and effectual way of entering into such brotherhood . . . is by bringing oneself within the influence of the Spiritual light which radiates from one's own logos. I may further point out here . . . that such communion is only possible between persons whose souls derive their life and sustenance from the same divine RAY, and, that, as seven distinct rays radiate from the "Central Spiritual Sun," all adepts and Dhyan Chohans are divisible into seven classes, each of which is guided, controlled, and over-shadowed by one of the seven forms or manifestations of the divine Wisdom.' " (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, p. 572, Original 1888 Edition).
The above quotations, I think, clearly show the origin of the Monad, though it may not provide the whole solution that surrounds the mystery of it.
To sum up briefly: There are seven Dhyani-Buddhas, Planetary Spirits or Rays, we can use which term we please. Each of the Seven sends out from himself millions of Rays, or Monads, and which for the whole term of their pilgrimage are separate entities, for they have been separated from their Father in Heaven. There are, therefore seven distinct types of humanity, each type recognizing its own Dhyani-Buddha or Father in Heaven. For the same reason, there are seven distinct types of out-going paths and seven paths of return, these paths corresponding to the seven rays. During the whole of a manvantara, each type remains on its outgoing path and path of return. In other words, it remains under the ray from which it issued. While each type during its pilgrimage has to mix with and associate with the humanity of the other six types, yet its own ray is always the predominant one. Thus you and I may not have issued from the same Dhyani-Buddha, we may not be able to speak of our Father in Heaven, but of your Father and my Father. This would account for our inability during our pilgrimage to associate with all and sundry. We can, of course, easily adapt ourselves to those belonging to the same ray, but it is not so easy to do the same with those who belong to the other six rays. This apparently is one of those tasks we have to achieve, to harmonize with all the rays.
Quoting from the Esoteric Catechism: "Every atom becomes a visible complex unit (a molecule), and once attracted
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into the sphere of terrestrial activity, the Monadic essence, passing through the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, becomes man." Again, "God, Monad, and Atom are the correspondences of Spirit, Mind, and Body (Atma, Manas, and Sthula Sarira) in man." In their septenary aggregation they are the `Heavenly Man' (see Kabala for the latter term); thus, terrestrial man is the provisional reflection of the Heavenly." (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, p. 619, Original Edition).
The Spirit, Mind and Body mentioned above, are in fact the three Hierarchies with which we are dealing and as stated, in their aggregate are the Heavenly Man, who by their means is reflected in man. I will make one more quotation which bears out what has already been said: "Every student of Occultism knows that the heavenly bodies are closely related during each Manvantara with the mankind of that special cycle; and there are some who believe that each great character born during that period has - as every other mortal has, only in a far stronger degree - his destiny outlined within his proper constellation or star, traced as a self-prophecy, an anticipated autobiography, by the indwelling Spirit of that particular Star. The human Monad in its first beginning is that Spirit, or the Soul of that star (Planet) itself. As our Sun radiates its light and beams on everybody in space, within the boundaries of its system, so the Regent of every Planet-star, the Parent-monad, shoots out from itself the Monad of every `Pilgrim' Soul born under its house within its own group." (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. III, p. 341).
Every Monad, here called the `Pilgrim Soul', is sent out by the Parent-monad, to gain experience through terrestrial existence. Since the Parent-monad is the Regent of a planet, the real home of the Pilgrim Monad is that planet of which its Parent is Regent. This terrestrial planet we call earth is not, therefore, his real home, but only the school in which he has to acquire experience. The Pilgrim Soul in origin is divine, being the direct offspring of his Father Dhyani-Buddha. We, the pilgrims, have forgotten this fact of our divinity. The memory of this we have to recover for, as stated in The Secret Doctrine man must first know what he was, before he can know what he is. In our descent from our real Planet Home to this Planet Earth, we have forgotten our origin, but it is essential that we regain this knowledge. Truly it has been said the gods go to school. We leave our real home for this earth which is the school through which we must all pass.
I have endeavored, as briefly as possible, to give a few of the leading features that have so far been revealed to us in the teachings given out in The Secret Doctrine, but it must not for one moment be regarded as the last word, for very many mysteries remain to be solved in connection with man's pilgrimage on his path of return to his Father in Heaven.
Man, says The Secret Doctrine, cannot know higher beings than his Progenitors, nor shall he worship them, but he ought to learn how he came into the world. These three Hierarchies are the Creators of the universe, the Macrocosm, and are in their aggregate, we are told, the "Heavenly Man". The same three Hierarchies are also represented in the constitution of man, the Microcosm, and it is in the union of these three streams within him that make him the complex being he is now. These three Creators working within man, make him a trinity. The Lunar or physical creates the Personal self. The Intellectual or Solar create the Human higher Self, and the Monadic, the Divine
(Continued on Page 89)
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NOTES BY THE GENERAL SECRETARY
It is with much pleasure that I welcome into the Society the following new members: - Mr. Clarence V. Miller, Mrs. Audrie L. Seitz, Mr. Herbert G. Ladd, of the Toronto Lodge; Mr. Russell L. Jones, Mrs. Leila E. Jones, Members at Large; Miss Susan E. Lughofer, Mrs. June Ormerod, Mrs. Beatrice R. Morris, Mr. Norman W. Curtis, of the Hamilton Lodge, and Mrs. Eva M. Green and Mr. William T. Green of the Montreal Lodge. This is a good showing for the end of the year.
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I gladly print the President's letter to me on a subject that explains itself.
26th June, 1952.
Dear Colonel Thomson,
You have stated in the May issue of The Canadian Theosophist that there is a "controversy between the French Section and Adyar concerning certain moneys." I shall be glad if you will publish a correction, as this statement is completely erroneous.
The Headquarters of the Theosophical Society at Adyar has nothing whatsoever to do with the money bequeathed by a French lady. The quarrel is between the Strasbourg Lodge, to which certain properties, were bequeathed and have been received, and Professor J. Marcault, who had been made residuary legatee under the terms of the bequest. The French Section, to whom Prof. Marcault gave the residue in trust, thus entered into the matter, and it is against this that the Strasbourg Lodge appealed to Adyar. The General Council of the Society naturally ruled that it could not interfere in a purely Sectional dispute.
No action has been brought under the Will to test the Section's position, but the quarrel has recently resulted in the Court's taking charge of the disputed property. This difficult situation has torn the Section into two groups. But there is nothing that Adyar can do.
By your statement's wording, Adyar is a party to the quarrel and is interested in certain money bequeathed to certain legatees in France. This is completely contrary to the facts.
Yours sincerely,
C. Jinarajadasa.
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This should clear up the matter. I am sorry that there was a misunderstanding.
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It will be seen in my report on the Annual Meeting held on the 6th July that we had 36 new members last year, and 10 reinstatements. If it had not been for the 31 members in arrears we would have had quite an imposing increase in our membership. Will those members now put themselves in good standing? The election for the Presidency of the Theosophical Society will soon take place and we would like to have a good showing on that occasion.
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The Annual Meeting of the Hamilton Lodge was held on June 24th when Mrs. Mathers was re-elected President and Miss Edith Wilkinson was elected Secretary. Miss M. Carr who relinquished the post of Secretary after eleven years, has given long and loyal service in that position and always carried on her work in a most conscientious and efficient manner. Our best wishes are extended to her on her retirement from the more arduous work of the Lodge. Miss Carr's deep interest will continue in the efforts for Theosophy which are being made in Hamilton, the success of which is evinced by the increase in membership during the past years.
- E. L. T.
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THE CANADIAN THEOSOPHIST
- The Organ of the Theosophical Society in Canada
- Published on the 15th of every month.
[[Seal here]]
- Entered at Hamilton General Post Office as Second-class matter.
- Subscription: Two Dollars a Year
OFFICERS OF THE T.S. IN CANADA
GENERAL EXECUTIVE
Dudley W. Barr, 52 Isabella St., Toronto, Ont.
Charles M. Hale, Box 158, New Liskeard, Ont.
Miss M. Hindsley, 745 Bloor St. W., Toronto, Ont.
George I. Kinman, 46 Rawlinson Avenue, Toronto, Ont.
Peter Sinclair, 4941 Wellington St., Verdun, Quebec
Washington E. Wilks, 925 Georgia St. W., Vancouver, B.C.
Emory P. Wood, 12207 Stony Plain Road, Edmonton, Alta.
GENERAL SECRETARY
Lt.-Col E.L. Thomson, D.S.O., 54 Isabella St., Toronto, Ont.
To whom all payments should be made, and all official communications addressed
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EDITORIAL BOARD, CANADIAN THEOSOPHIST
All Letters to the Editor, Articles and Reports for Publication should be sent to The Editor: Dudley W. Barr, 52 Isabella St., Toronto 5, Ont.
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Printed by the Griffin & Richmond Printing Co., Ltd., 29 Rebecca Street, Hamilton, Ontario
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THE GENERAL EXECUTIVE
The Annual Meeting of the General Executive met on Sunday afternoon, July 6, at 52 Isabella Street, Toronto, all the local members were present as well as Mr. C. Hale from New Liskeard. The latest developments in connection with the projected lecture tours of Professor E. Wood and Dr. Alvin B. Kuhn were discussed. It was agreed that when the exact dates were known, suitable publicity would be prepared and be sent on ahead of the lecturers, and that the amount allotted for expenses be augmented if found necessary. The Financial Statement was satisfactory and a copy will be printed elsewhere in this issue. During the year there were 36 new members; this was offset by 31 in arrears, but with 10 reinstatements an increase of 10 is shown for the year. The Editor, Mr. Barr, reported 24 new subscribers during the same period. The Presidential Election will take place this year and in August Adyar will cable for nominees for that office. The General Secretary therefore brought the matter before the Executive as there will not be another meeting before next October. From correspondence already received on the subject it appears that there are minorities in certain countries who look to Canada for a nominee for whom they can vote. The names of Srimati Rukmini Devi and Ernest E. Wood were brought forward, but in order not to split the vote it was decided that the latter should be nominated. This will be done if Professor Wood accepts the nomination. A tentative draft for critical consideration of an `Alternative Policy' for the Theosophical Society was submitted by Mr. Redfern, the Editor of Eirenicon. This lengthy document was discussed but the opinion was that in Canada we were already doing and had consistently carried out this policy. A letter of thanks from Srimati Rukmini Devi for maple tree seeds was read and appreciated by the Executive. Mr. Hale was thanked for his part in buying and mailing same. The next meeting will be held on Sunday October 5.
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"But my first duty is to my Master. And duty, let me tell you, is for us, stronger than any friendship or even love; as without this abiding principle which is the indestructible cement that has held together for so many milleniums, the scattered custodians of nature's grand secrets - our Brotherhood, nay, our doctrine itself - would have crumbled long ago into unrecognizable atoms." - The Mahatma Letters p. 351.
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LODGE NOTES
The annual picnic of the Hamilton Lodge was held on Saturday, July 12th at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Theo Morris and Miss Annie Morris in Burlington.
Miss Annie Morris is one of the two remaining charter members of Hamilton Lodge. The other charter member, who was also present, is our retiring Secretary, Miss Mabel Carr, for whom I would like to put in a note of special appreciation for her long, faithful and untiring years of service to the Lodge and for her quiet and helpful guidance of younger and newer members during those years.
Among our guests were a number of members from Toronto Lodge and one member of Kitchener Lodge. The attendance was forty-three. Games and activities were under the capable direction of our social convenor, Mrs. C.P. Lakin. It was an enjoyable outing and dusk was falling when the last picnickers wended their way homeward.
- Edith Wilkinson, Secretary, Hamilton Lodge.
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CORRESPONDENCE
The following is quoted from a letter received from the Editors of Theosophical Notes relative to the review of The Tibetan Book of the Dead which appeared in last month's issue.
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We would like to take this opportunity to comment on the Bardo-Thodol which you review in the same issue. We have been familiar with this and others of Evans-Wentz's works for a long time, and to place them correctly as to right or left among occult works is no simple task. We are unable to consider it a book of the right hand path because of sundry divergences from the teachings of the Messengers, abut it also does not seem to be a red-cap text. The general tone of it seems to be along the line of the Dharmakaya path, with some mixture of the line of thought mentioned in Theosophy by which those of certain sects engage in special ceremonials for the procurement of favorable conditions in the next incarnation; a practice which is actually said to result in being born "out of time and place" because of intentional interference with karma.
One of the most serious divergences from Theosophy, we believe, is that the dying is attended by a "reader" who impresses upon him certain ideas very strongly; this is contrary to the very stringent instruction in the Mahatma Letters and elsewhere, that the dying and dead should be left in perfect quiet while their own Egoes marshall the events of the past for review. Since the destruction of all senses except that of hearing, which is the last to go, must leave the astral and kamic nature in a very suggestible state, it would seem that the result of this practice would be to impose upon the dying consciousness an artificial death-state that is far more the product of tradition and the will of the "reader" than anything else. Under this condition of strong suggestion, there is, we think, no assurance that all the experiences described are not simply hypnotic visions - including that of "liberation." The latter might well be a kind of suggestively induced Devachan. In a way, this may be an academic point for the West, because very few even among those interested in the occult would be likely to arrange death in such a manner, or find a "guru" willing to assist in it. But in some of these points may be found the reasons why the Bardo finds no mention, as far as we have been able to discover, in H.P.B.'s or the Master's works.
What effect such an interference would have on the natural after-death states would be hard to say. The suggestive effect might wear off after a time, and further phases of both kama
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loka and Devachan be experienced. But we would suspect the possibility of serious distortions of the life-cycle both in the after-death states and the following life.
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AT THE MOMENT OF DEATH
"Death comes to our spiritual selves ever as a deliverer and friend. For the materialist, who, notwithstanding his materialism, was not a bad man, the interval between the two lives will be like the unbroken and placid sleep of a child, either entirely dreamless, or filled with pictures of which he will have no definite perception; while for the average mortal it will be a dream as vivid as life, and full of realistic bliss and visions. . . At the solemn moment of death every man, even when death is sudden, sees the whole of his past life marshalled before him, in its minutest details. For one short interval the personal becomes one with the individual and all-knowing Ego. But this instant is enough to show to him the whole chain of causes which have been at work during his life. He sees and now understands himself as he is, unadorned by flattery or self-deception. He reads his life, remaining as a spectator looking down into the arena he is quitting; he feels and knows the justice of all the suffering that has overtaken him."
- The Key to Theosophy, pp. 161-2.
"Speak in whispers, ye, who assist at a death bed and find yourselves in the solemn presence of Death. Especially have you to keep quiet just after Death has laid her clammy hand upon the body. Speak in whispers, I say, lest you disturb the quiet ripple of thought, and hinder the busy work of the Past casting its reflection upon the veil of the future."
- The Mahatma Letters, p. 171.
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STATEMENT OF FUNDS YEAR ENDING JUNE 30th, 1952
RECEIPTS
Balance from last year:
General A/C ........... $ 756.77
Lodge Dues and Fees:
1952 ........... $882.10
1953 ............... 122 50
............1004.60
Magazine Subscriptions ......... 281.66
Magazine Donations ........ 147.00
General Donations ........... 22.50
Sales ........... 50.10
General Account ...........14.00
Premium .......... 5.29
Interest ........... 15.60
Contra Arcount ........19.00
................$2316.52
Membership ........ 381
New Members ........ 36
New Subscribers .......... 24
Members in Arrears ......... 31
EXPENDITURES
Adyar, Per Capita ........ $ 96.87
Magazine Cost:
Printing .........$1116.00
Postage ......... 63.90
Envelopes ......... 103.45
1283.35
General Fund:
Postage .........38.15
Extras ........ 61.29
Office ......... 28.05
Stationery ......... 72.60
Stencils .........8.60
.............208.69
Bank Charges .......... 3.12
Contra Account 19.00
Balance ............ 705.49
..........$2316.52
BANK RECONCILIATION
As per Pass Book .......... $715.14
O/S Cheques ......... 9.65
..........$705.49
- E. L. THOMPSON, General Secretary
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WHAT IS MAN? (Continued from Page 86)
SELF. Now, we are warned in studying man that we must not view him in isolation or in a single aspect, apart from the Heavenly Man. Man, therefore, is not the Lunar man, nor the Solar man, nor yet strictly speaking the Monad, but something more, each of the three have contributed to the constitution of man. Man, as the finished product of evolution, has combined these three into one. He has converted a trinity into a unity. In fact, he has become the Heavenly Man, for he is at-one with him. The personal self has to be absorbed into the human higher Self, which in turn is absorbed into the Divine Self, thus converting the three into One. Man, as the product of human evolution, is the only being who can do this for he has mastered the laws of terrestrial evolution. The Three Hierarchies taken singly are limited in their sphere of action to their own planes. No one of them is able to work on the planes of the other two as has been already shown, but man as the crown of evolution, having combined these three Hierarchies within himself, can now in full self-consciousness work on all the seven planes of manifestation which the three Hierarchies, taken singly, cannot do. He is, therefore, greater than any of these Hierarchies taken separately for he is himself all three. The mediaeval Rosicrucians well knew this doctrine. They concealed their teaching under the names and symbols of various chemical elements, representing the hidden nature of man, the microcosm of the macrocosm. They spoke of the Great Work, some great chemical operation that had to be performed. Who had to perform it? Man. They thought the great Alchemist was Man, and that his laboratory was within himself. It is for this reason that he is the crown of evolution having combined within himself the Three Great Powers of Creation, which they termed Salt - Sulphur and Mercury, which make Gold, or the man or universe. Thus man wins his immortality by converting a trinity, no member of which is before or after the other. Each has to be present before the great work of transmutation can be effected, and so man brings about unity which is the goal of our system, and fulfills the law.
The problem that lies before us, and which we as man have to solve is, how are we to go to work, how commence this great work, perform this most marvellous alchemical operation, by combining a trinity of hierarchies within ourselves and converting their respective rulerships and powers into and under One Authority. So man remains the greatest mystery in creation. As already stated, the secret is locked up within him and each one of us has to make this discovery for himself.
What is Man? This time I will reply in words taken from the Christian Scriptures:
"What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment." (Job 7. 17-18)
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and, hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feat." (Psalms 8. 4-6).
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THE ONE PROMISE
"Lead the life necessary for the acquisition of such knowledge and powers, and Wisdom will come to you naturally."
- S.D. I, 190
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MARS AND MERCURY
By Nellie Dalzell
Mr. Jinarajadasa has reintroduced this subject in the Theosophist of Dec. 1951 on Page 187. On Page 189 he quotes from Mr. Sinnett's Autobiography "interesting sidelights regarding the original letter from the Mahatma, and his view (Mr. Sinnett's) of the contradictory teaching in the Secret Doctrine."
"I know that there had been no ambiguity in the Master's original teaching concerning Mars and Mercury, and I was puzzled by a vague feeling that I was familiar with bits of the letter published in the Secret Doctrine.
This led me some time afterwards to hunt through the early letters, all of which I had of course carefully preserved, and I found the letter in question, also finding to my surprise that the O.L. (Old Lady, i.e. H.P.B.) had ventured to garble and omit parts of it so as to make it appear to sustain her view when in reality it did nothing of the kind. I refrained from making a disturbance in the matter, assured by the Master that the explanation concerning Mars and Mercury in Esoteric Buddhism was perfectly correct."
Further on Mr. Sinnett writes: "I decided at last that I would take the original letter, which Madame Blavatsky had so strangely misused in The Secret Doctrine to a meeting of Theosophists at the Avenue Rd. and expose the whole affair. I actually went to the meeting with the letter in my pocket - and did not carry out the exposure. I suppose I was influenced to refrain. I returned home and restored the letter to the box containing all the rest."
At a later date he says when he opened the box to look at the original letter, it was not there!! (It was, however, found for Mrs. Besant's perusal, and was among the letters which came into Mr. Trevor Barker's possession and is now published in The Mahatma Letters on Page 148.)
Mr. Sinnett makes two definite accusations against Madame Blavatsky.
(1) She garbled the Master's letter.
(2) She used the garbled version in order that her own personal view might be sustained.
Here is Mr. Sinnett's question as it appears in The Mahatma Letters: "23. What other planets of those known to ordinary science, besides Mercury, belong to our system of worlds?"
"Are the more spiritual planets (A. B. and Y. Z.) visible bodies in the sky or are all those known to Astronomy of the more material sort?"
Answer on page 176.
"Mars and four other planets of which astronomy knows yet nothing. Neither A, B, nor Y, Z, are known; nor can they be seen through physical means however perfected."
H.P.B. in The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, Page 163, wrote, "It was asked `What planets of those known to ordinary science, besides Mercury, belong to our system of worlds?' (Here, the word other between `what' and `planets' has been omitted).
The reply was, - "Mars, etc., and four other planets of which astronomy knows nothing. Neither AB. nor YZ are known nor can they be seen through physical means however perfected." S.D. I, 163.
Here, 'etc.' was added after Mars, and `yet' omitted from between `knows' and "nothing'.
The addition and omissions do not change the sense of question and answer in the least. In my dictionary, the word garble has this meaning "To change injuriously a document, report, etc.
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usually with the intent of falsifying, to mutilate - pervert." Can Mr. Jinarajadasa seriously and honestly say that the omission of `other' and `yet', and the addition of 'etc.' have that effect in this case?
The question, and the answer, certainly give no reason for the assumption that the human evolution of Earth came from Mars and will go on to Mercury, as is understood, by most people who study A.B. and Sinnett's expansion of the answer in the chapter on planetary chains in Esoteric Buddhism. If this was the object of the question, and the answer dealt with it, then both were, as H.P.B. says, vague, to say the least.
The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, Page 166, quotes from another letter, which says:
"Our Globe, as taught from the first, is at the bottom of the arc of descent, where the matter of our perception exhibits itself in its grossest form . . . . . Hence it only stands to reason that the globes which overshadow our Earth must be on different and superior planes. In short, as Globes, they are in coadunition but not in consubstantiality with our earth and thus pertain to quite another state of consciousness."
Further down on the page - the same letter, "What I wrote was, the minor Pralaya concerns only our little strings of Globes. (We called chains `Strings' in these days of lip confusion). To such a string our Earth belongs. This ought to have shown plainly that the other planets were also `strings' or `chains'."
Here we are told of the Global chain as distinct from the Planetary chain: for the seven Globes are in coadunition, attached or united to each other yet differing in substance. Each other planet is in itself one of a global chain. Globe D, of the Earth Chain, on which we now reside, cannot be said to be in coadunition with Mars or Mercury, whose globes D are to be plainly seen, and whose path around the Sun differs from ours.
The Mahatma K.H. wrote to Mr. Sinnett: "Be certain, that with a few undetectable mistakes and omissions notwithstanding, your `Esoteric Buddhism' is the only right exposition, however incomplete, of our occult doctrines. You have made no cardinal, fundamental mistakes, and whatever may be given to you hereafter will not clash with a single sentence in your book, but on the contrary, will explain away any seeming contradiction.
"How greatly mistaken was Mr. Hume's theory is shown by the 'Chela' in the Theosophist. With all that, you may feel sure that neither M. nor I have contradicted each other in our respective statements. He was speaking of the inner - I - of the outer Round. There are many things you have not yet learned but may some day; nor will you be able to ever comprehend the process of the obscurations until you have mastered the mathematical progress of the inner and the outer Rounds and learned more about the specific difference between the seven." (M.L. 392) .
This letter is printed between two others dated 1883, and is presumably of the same date.
Another letter from Letters from the Masters of Wisdom, Page 54 - dated 1888 is not quoted by Mr. Jinarajadasa. It is from K.H. to Col. Olcott, and is, in part, as follows:
"I have also noted your thoughts about the `Secret Doctrine'. Be assured that what she has not annotated from scientific and other works, we have given or suggested to her - Every mistake and erroneous notion, corrected and explained by her from the works of other theosophists, WAS CORRECTED BY ME, OR UNDER MY INSTRUCTION. It is a more valuable work than its predecessor, an epitome of occult truths that will make it a source of information and instruction for long years to come."
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Please note the words "works of other theosophists". Is it not likely that the "undetectable mistakes and omissions" had by this time led to a great deal of misunderstanding, and Esoteric Buddhism may be one of the works here referred to.
Theosophical students are meant to study, to try to understand for themselves the teachings of Theosophy. These teachings are in The Secret Doctrine and The Mahatma Letters. It is only by a determined effort to understand that we can possibly gather any fruit from that study. The understanding of others is of no use to us. To accept a statement because Mr. This or Mrs. That makes it, is futile.
H.P.B.'s reply to certain complaints and strictures from Dr. Hubbe Schleiden is: "the undersigned, H.P.B. accepts for her views and walk in life no authority dead or living, no system of philosophy, or religion but one - namely, the Esoteric teachings of ethics and philosophy of those she calls MASTERS. I speak with `absolute certainty' only so far as my own personal belief is concerned. Those who have not the same warrant for this belief as I have, would be very credulous and foolish to accept it on blind faith."
For a group of students, real students, there may be a dozen different opinions. What does it matter? One sees further around a corner than the next one, that's all. The group is alive. There will be many errors, but there will be much truth also, and as time goes on truth will gradually be separated from error, and the latter discarded. If all think alike, the group is dying, or dead. There are no active minds, except perhaps that of the leader. We, as students, are entitled to study the teachings of the Masters for ourselves. We are also entitled to study the pros and cons of a controversial subject, such as Mars and Mercury, and to form our own opinions.
The article, as written by Mr. Jinarajadasa in The Theosophist is one-sided. An accusation is made against H.P.B. and no proofs are given. Surely, in fairness, Mr. Jinarajadasa should have included the statements from The Secret Doctrine. These would have shown no evidence of 'garbling' and, possibly they would have shown that the use of such words as planets, globes, worlds, interchangeably led to confusion.
There is a question of loyalty to the Masters, and to H.P.B. who was their chosen messenger, to be considered. I do not mean the sort of blind loyalty which sees no possibility of mistake in the teacher. We know that in all human beings there is that possibility. K.H. writing to Mr. Sinnett, M.L. Page 181, says:
"An Adept, the highest as the lowest, is one only, during the exercise of his occult powers."
"An Adept is an ordinary mortal at all the moments of his daily life but those - when the inner man is acting."
Syllogise thusly: K.H. when writing to us is not an adept. A non-adept is fallible.
These teachers are our leaders. We trust them to present the truth to us in such a way that we may understand it, and most mistakes are the result of our own misunderstanding or careless thinking. We do not blame them if the words they use convey to us a different meaning from the one they intended. We must look for the inner meaning.
But consider. It was H.P.B. who drew the attention of the Masters to A.P.S. It was she who enabled him to enter into correspondence with them. Yet it is he who accuses her of chicanery and trickery, saying she has garbled the letters of the Masters in order to maintain her own personal views. And now the President of the Society reprints the
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charge against her, and does not print the statements in The Secret Doctrine which prove how unfounded the charge is. These actions are not only disloyal, they are utterly disgraceful.
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" . . . PERCHANCE TO DREAM"
The ideal of a state of Universal Brotherhood grows slowly. So impercepible is its movement towards fulfillment that many would say, in despair, " 'Tis but a dream." The world talks much about Brotherhood these days; but when crises arise, the men of `reality', who uphold the self-interest of their nations, put aside such talk and `face the facts', i.e. the defence and advancement of national interests. The world still puts its trust in "reeking tube and iron shard" whose modern equivalent is the atom bomb. It has adopted a slogan: "Well armed defence against aggression." It will discuss international differences under the banner of Brotherhood, but the individual groups are not prepared to give up any separate interests or rights in order to compromise such differences. No wonder there is disillusionment, frustration and despair in men's hearts.
But the dream of an Universal Brotherhood will not die. Its realization on earth may take ages but the leaven of that ideal will eventually work through the whole body of mankind. Some day men and women will be all citizens of the world, not of separate nations. Some day, altruism and not self-interest will be the guiding light; men and women the world over will love one another and work as comrades. This dream, if dream it be, lives on in the hearts of a growing number of men and women and will not be forgotten. There will come a recognition of the innate divinity of all men. With that recognition, all will rejoice in every new manifestation, in individuals, of the ever-unfolding glory of the inner splendour. The constant prayer, the continual attitude towards others will be: "May the highest and best in him or her find expression." The wisest and most noble men and women will be regarded as the true leaders, and strife and selfishness will be looked upon as atavisms.
Is this a dream? Yes, but not `only a dream'; not merely a fantasy spun of nothingness. It can become a reality. Within the inmost sanctuary of human hearts is the seed of perfection. When this divine power is aroused in fullness, the polarity of man's attitude to his fellows is reversed. Faith in this inner god is the keynote of the message of the seers of all ages. Their words are addressed to that god, striving to arouse him from his slumbers. The existing imperfections of men - the shortcomings, perversions, brutalities and bestialities - do not dissuade the great teachers from uttering their words of invitation to the secret god behind the veil of the animal forms of men.
Whitman's poem, "Faces", is on this theme:
"I saw the face of the most smear'd and slobbering idiot they had at the asylum,
And I knew for my consolation what they knew not.
I knew of the agents that emptied and broke my brother.
The same wait to clear the rubbish from the fallen tenement.
And I shall look again in a score or two of ages
And I shall meet the real landlord perfect and unharm'd,
Every inch a god as myself. . .
I read the promise and patiently wait."
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