A BEGINNING . . . With this, our inaugural issue of "Theosophy in Claremont", we hope to provide a written forum for some of the thoughts of our participants, and would like to share these thoughts and insights with those who may be interested.Theosophy in Claremont has been in existence for one and one-half years, and has provided a venue for the participants to explore the age-old teachings of the various wisdom traditions in a manner relevant to everyday life. The format observed is "theosophical" in nature, revolving around various Theosophical writings, and varying viewpoints are often expressed.
The trials of life that face man often render a sense of hopelessness and inadequacy. We are attempting to offer encouragement and a sense of personal empowerment through knowledge and understanding of the unseen aspects of life and living. We are all part of a greater universal brotherhood.
"The Rishis knew the secrets of Nature and of Man, that there is but one common platform of all religions, and that upon it ever stood and now stand, in fraternal concord and amity, the [sources] of the world's great faiths.
Many practical problems which seem insoluble to individual thinkers can find their solvent only in an altered disposition of mankind. All religions seek to effect this change of disposition in the individual consciousness. But nearly all religious systems have preferred their specific and distinctive tenets to their true universal basis and inherent tendency, and have thus become…discordant influences in the world they would regenerate.
Religion is most strictly a personal affair: every person makes his own religion and his own God: …when it comes to your actual religious experience, it will be your experience, measured and limited by your own personal…capacity." 1
1 H.S.Olcott, excerpted from Theosophy, Religion and Occult Science (1885), and Theosophical Siftings (1891).
WHAT ARE WE, REALLY?
BY SARAH HUNTWe are human beings, or to say it another way: we are individualized expressions of the One Life which is the source, root and container of all that is. That individualized expression might also be called the Evolutionary Unit for that is what it is - a unit undergoing the evolutionary journey required for total conscious realization of the one life, or source.
The evolutionary unit is a compound, which means it is constantly undergoing a process of change. The only unchanging element in the individual is the eternal, changeless one life. It is sometimes spoken of as the Monad in relation to the evolutionary journey obligatory for all beings in existence. To understand this basic teaching, we must take into account the processes by which the evolutionary unit makes this journey.
The first is that the Universe, manifest or un-manifest, functions under a law that is inherent in the whole, although dormant during periods of no manifestation known as Pralaya. H.P. Blavatsky refers to "ceaseless eternal motion," which must be the base of the laws governing the universe with particular application to the cyclic aspect of Karma.
The second concept involved in the evolutionary journey is an amplification of the first, or Karma, with its time aspect of cycles. The third is Reincarnation, the means of evolutionary progress when the human kingdom is reached, and the evolutionary unit has developed the mind principle and so is able to make choices. Prior to this the unit had no completely individual Karma, but rather experienced the class Karma of the group it belonged to - mineral, vegetable, animal. The group being determined by the characteristics of its type or place in evolution.
Since the higher nature is dormant in the pre-human species, Karma is related to the lower or operative principles at their particular stage of development. This can range from purely physical matter through the desire planes to a rudimentary function of the lower mind in the case of the higher animals.
The third concept is the teaching of the constitution of the compound evolutionary unit. An analogy can be drawn from the facets on a diamond, each reflecting light from its own plane or surface cut, while still all being the one diamond. The human being has seven such facets - each one being sevenfold in nature. Therefore one might think of the human being as a diamond with forty-nine facets.
A LOOK AT KARMA
BY WILLIAM OCHELTREE
In struggling to understand the working of the Karma process, care must be taken to not lose sight of the meaning of the Law of Karma as it applies to existence in the form of human life. Karma is the consequential aspect of the reincarnation cycle. Essentially, Karma is the "bottom line" of the conduct of one's past and present lives that determines the circumstances for future lives.
Karma is the moral law of retribution. It is not retribution in terms of punishment-reward, rather it is justly deserved payment in return. Karma is not good-bad, credit-debit, judgment or fate. It is not a thing, a characteristic or a situation. It is not generated or dissipated. It cannot be directed or altered. One does not give, get or possess Karma. It is the law of cause and effect or ethical causation. The Law of Karma is like the Law of Gravity. It is everywhere, a fact of the reality of existence. It is part of the evolutionary process of the universe.
Karma is an extension of the concept that every seemingly individual thing is part of a universal oneness. That is, all events are interrelated: every cause has an effect, which itself becomes cause for effect that may eventually return to act upon its source. Along with actions and events, the universal oneness includes things of material substance. The principle of matter-energy equivalence is fundamental in both the science of physics and the pursuit of spiritual wisdom.
The present comes from the past. The here and now of any moment or situation is the complex result of an infinite chain of events large and small, direct and distant. The present circumstances of any being, whether unpleasant or fortunate, are the working of Karma. The circumstances and Karma may be viewed as one and the same, or distinct, Karma a process, the circumstance its result.
Karmic forces that shape the effects of future events do not necessarily act quickly; they usually build out over time in very complex ways. The consequences of Karma in a human life are almost always the result of many lifetimes and not just a single lifetime of a single being, but the interrelated lives of many individuals. Consider just one facet of the evolutionary process: the number of people involved in an individual's direct line of ancestry. The present is the sum total of the past, and a human individual is the product of those who came before.
Going back ten generations, a person carries the characteristics of over 2000 people. Not just biological attributes, but centuries of behavioral and culture traditions that parents imprint upon their infants until puberty. Add to this the cultural, behavioral, intellectual and environmental traits acquired by an adult prior to parenthood, and it can be seen that each of us carries the influence of probably no less than 10,000 other individuals along with our own experiences in this and previous lives. This is the basis for the idea of group Karma, but the freedom to act and responsibility therefor lies with, and only with, the individual.
Every act of every being will have subsequent effective action upon its originator, if not immediately then at some time in this life or a future life. This is the moral doctrine of Karma: evil begets evil; good begets good. "What goes around, comes around." "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." Suffice it to say that a life well lived is rewarded with conditions in a future life that enable even further benefit, and that an ill-behaved life will earn a posterity in which the balance of opportunity favors a harsh reality where the hard comes easier and the easy is harder.
Every action is directed by thought arising from desires of either internal or external origin. Most of our daily acts have immediate effect for maintaining existence and are neither good nor evil, but they are still subject to the Law of Karma. Seemingly innocuous deeds may have long-term effects of which we may never be aware but which will result just the same. We create and control our own Karma by thoughts and actions, most of which arise from a lives-long accumulation of habits. We are creatures of habit, of which for the most part we are not conscious. To be aware of one's habits is a step forward, but that's another subject.
April 23, 1997
TIC Talk
Letters, Opinions, Books, Calendar…
Don't forget the regular Friday Evening Discussions at the Theosophical Library Center, 2416 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, 2.3 mi. north of the 210 freeway at Marcheta St. Meetings begin promptly at 7:45 p.m., doors open at 7:00.
Contributions to this newsletter are welcome from all readers - observations, recommendations, gems of wisdom - whatever you feel is worthwhile passing on to a friend.
It is. It is the fact of existence.
Pure existence.
It has no beginning, end, cause, effect.
It is.
Theosophy in Claremont is a study group affiliated with The Theosophical Society, P.O. Box C, Pasadena, CA 91109-7107. This newsletter is published by Theosophy in Claremont to inform interested parties of group activities. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and in no way reflect the policies or authority of The Theosophical Society. Theosophy in Claremont is a diverse group with interests the arts, science, philosophy, religion and social issues. A common aspiration is for deeper understanding of man's spiritual nature and relation to the world. Discussions may involve God, reincarnation, evolution, psychology, cultural values, ethics, justice, reality, etc. Theosophy in Claremont welcomes all without qualification or prejudice, has no dues or fees, and meets