Text of Resolutions passed by the General Council of the Theosophical Society

Freedom of Thought As the Theosophical Society has spread far and wide over the world, and as members of all religions have become members of it without surrendering the special dogmas, teachings and beliefs of their re- spective faiths, it is thought desirable to emphasize the fact that there is no doctrine, no opinion, by whomsoever taught or held, that is in any way binding on any member of the Society, none which any member is not free to accept or reject. Approval of its three Objects is the sole condition of membership. No teacher, or writer, from H. P. Blavatsky onwards, has any authority to impose his or her teachings or opinions on members. Every member has an equal right to follow any school of thought, but has no right to force the choice on any other. Neither a candidate for any office nor any voter can be rendered ineligible to stand or to vote, because of any opinion held, or because of membership in any school of thought. Opinions or beliefs neither bestow privileges nor inflict penalties. The Members of the General Council earnestly request every member of the Theosophical Society to maintain, defend and act upon these fundamental principles of the Society, and also fearlessly to exercise the right of liberty of thought and of expression thereof, within the limits of courtesy and consideration for others. Freedom of the Society The Theosophical Society, while cooperating with all other bodies whose aims and activities make such cooperation possible, is and must remain an organization entirely independent of them, not committed to any objects save its own, and intent on developing its own work on the broadest and most inclusive lines, so as to move towards its own goal as indicated in and by the pursuit of those objects and that Divine Wisdom which in the abstract is implicit in the title ‘The Theosophical Society’. Since Universal Brotherhood and the Wisdom are undefined and unlimited, and since there is complete freedom for each and every member of the Society in thought and action, the Society seeks ever to maintain its own distinctive and unique character by remaining free of affiliation or identification with any other organization.

2 THE THEOSOPHIST

VOL. 139 NO. 6 MARCH 2018

CONTENTS

The Divine Seed 5 Tim Boyd Tamil Nadu Governor’s Address to the Convention 9 Banwarilal Purohit The “Heart of Theosophy” 12 Barbara Hebert Fragments of the Ageless Wisdom 16 A Way to Universal Consciousness 17 María Carmen César Galante Reconnecting with Ourselves: The Challenges of Modern Society 22 Sonal Murali Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint 30 Cynthia Overweg Theosophical Work around the World 37 Index 38 International Directory 40

Editor: Mr Tim Boyd

NOTE: Articles for publication in The Theosophist should be sent to:

Cover: Seed of the mgambo tree (Majidea zanguebarica), also called black pearl tree or velvet seed tree, is native to East Africa, but also grows in the Adyar gardens. Photographer — Suresh Jayadev ______This journal is the official organ of the President, founded by H. P. Blavatsky, 1879. The Theosophical Society is responsible only for official notices appearing in this journal.

3 THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY Founded 17 November 1875 President: Mr Tim Boyd Vice-President: Dr Deepa Padhi Secretary: Ms Marja Artamaa Treasurer: Ms Nancy Secrest Headquarters: ADYAR, CHENNAI (MADRAS) 600 020, INDIA Vice-President: [email protected] Secretary: [email protected] Treasurer: [email protected] Adyar Library and Research Centre: [email protected] Theosophical Publishing House: [email protected] // www.adyarbooks.com Editorial Office: [email protected], Website: http://www.ts-adyar.org

The Theosophical Society is composed of students, belonging to any religion in the world or to none, who are united by their approval of the Society’s Objects, by their wish to remove religious antagonisms and to draw together men of goodwill, whatsoever their religious opinions, and by their desire to study religious truths and to share the results of their studies with others. Their bond of union is not the profession of a common belief, but a common search and aspiration for Truth. They hold that Truth should be sought by study, by reflection, by purity of life, by devotion to high ideals, and they regard Truth as a prize to be striven for, not as a dogma to be imposed by authority. They consider that belief should be the result of individual study or intuition, and not its antecedent, and should rest on knowledge, not on assertion. They extend tolerance to all, even to the intolerant, not as a privilege they bestow but as a duty they perform, and they seek to remove ignorance, not punish it. They see every religion as an expression of the Divine Wisdom and prefer its study to its condemnation, and its practice to proselytism. Peace is their watchword, as Truth is their aim. Theosophy is the body of truths which forms the basis of all religions, and which cannot be claimed as the exclusive possession of any. It offers a philosophy which renders life intelligible, and which demonstrates the justice and the love which guide its evolution. It puts death in its rightful place, as a recurring incident in an endless life, opening the gateway to a fuller and more radiant existence. It restores to the world the Science of the Spirit, teaching man to know the Spirit as himself and the mind and body as his servants. It illuminates the scriptures and doctrines of religions by unveiling their hidden meanings, and thus justifying them at the bar of intelligence, as they are ever justified in the eyes of intuition. Members of the Theosophical Society study these truths, and theosophists endeavour to live them. Everyone willing to study, to be tolerant, to aim high, and to work perseveringly, is welcomed as a member, and it rests with the member to become a true theosophist.

4 The Theosophist Vol. 139.4, January 2018 The Divine Seed The Divine Seed

TIM BOYD

I would like to consider some questions superstition”, or the rein over the minds about the spiritual life, and life in general. of humanity of a dead-letter religiosity. One of the things that characterizes the These are the two trends that Theosophy life and direction of anyone who takes on has had to address. a genuine spiritual practice, is that it Generally we all have a clear sense of necessarily puts one in touch with big who we are; from moment to moment we questions. The smaller things never do go require it just to operate. When anybody away, but somehow it seems that the is asked the question “Who are you?” our larger ones include the smaller details of response generally begins with pointing life. The kind of big issues that we keep to the most familiar component of self — coming back to again and again, are those the body. Even at this most fundamental such as the injunction of the Oracle at level we know, at least intellectually, that Delphi: “Know Thyself.” there is no such thing as an individual self, In our theosophical approach we think in a unit of consciousness that could be called terms of self-knowledge, self-transformation, “me”. The human body, by virtue of its or self-awareness, but in some sense it all physical composition, is a group effort, a comes back to the seminal question of collective project that takes place on many “Who am I?” In part, the reintroduction of different levels. Theosophy was to provide deeper avenues Just at the level of pure biology, we to explore these kinds of questions. know we are composed of trillions of cells, In The Maha Chohan’s Letter we find each with its own individual conscious- that the two debilitating states of mind that ness. They form into larger organs within had come to characterize human con- the body, with a more expanded conscious- sciousness were aptly described. In one ness, and on and on. At a certain point, case, it was “brutal materialism”, and the these different wholes of consciousness force that was in the vanguard of rooting become imbued with the soul, or the that approach in the minds of humanity spiritual dimension, and then we have a was science, or more correctly, scientism. “complete package”, an “I”, but it is a col- The other condition of human thinking lective process. that Theosophy was intended to address H. P. Blavatsky (HPB), in the Secret was what was described as “degrading Doctrine makes more explicit the nature

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 5 The Divine Seed of the cooperative basis of who we are. Theosophical teachings speak about She describes the human being as a three- the vehicle (upâdhi) for âtmâ. The vehicle fold endeavor. She says that we are com- for spirit is of a nature that permits the posed of three different evolutionary capacity to perceive the light of spirit streams: spiritual, intellectual, and phys- shining upon it. In our parlance we talk ical. The way she describes them is that about buddhi. We can only become aware each of these is composed of, directed, of the ever-invisible and ever-present spirit and guided by the highest Dhyanis, or as it interacts with those principles that are spiritual intelligences, each of these capable of reflecting its presence. In reality streams with different laws and different we know nothing of spirit. What we do directions. But somehow, where these know are its reflections. three streams meet, the cooperative en- The physical realm is where we feel deavor of these three evolutions is what we have our strongest foothold because, becomes humanity, and the human being. for the past 400 or so years, we have had On a profound level, we are not a unit, a very developed science that has focused but more of the nature of a project. exclusively on the realm of physical What do we know about the spiritual reality. Because of this we would expect dimension of our being? When we think that we would have our strongest under- in terms of our constitution: spirit, soul, standing of the nature of the physical and mind (âtmâ, buddhi, manas), and so evolutionary stream. It should not surprise on. But what do we know about that us that our understanding of even this most spiritual component? HPB describes the intensely studied aspect of reality is âtmâ as no principle at all in the human exceedingly limited. constitution. It is a universal presence I ask you to explore for yourselves which irradiates the human being, but it what contemporary science today tells is not a participant. us about a concept that has become fun- Often when we talk about spiritual damental to scientific understanding. It is things, we use the analogy of Light. arrived at because, in observing the way Although it probably does not coincide the universe behaves, from a scientific with what we normally think, light, by perspective it seems that the universe is its very nature, is invisible. For example, in a state of continuous expansion. This if someone is in space, even though it cannot be explained by the energy and seems dark, light is continually shining matter of which we are aware. So scientists everywhere. Interplanetary space is filled have posited something they are now with light, but we do not become aware calling “dark energy/dark matter” — dark of the light until there is some object upon because they cannot fully find it but, which it can strike, something that can according to their calculations, it has to reflect it. Until this happens, we cannot be there, otherwise the universe would not perceive it even though it is all around us. behave in the way that it does. They have

6 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Divine Seed yet to find its nature or to identify its day-to-day life we behave in the opposite qualities, but it behaves as matter, also as manner. The things that we know we energy, and it is somehow invisible. should not do, foods we should not eat, In the scientists’ calculations, in order the habits of mind we should not cultivate, for our universe to behave as it does, this the behaviors of unkindness that somehow “dark energy/dark matter” would consti- sweep across us, those are the things we tute ninety-five percent of the makeup do. This is not only the experience of of the universe. So what we think of as St Paul. This complexity is what we have the physical realm, what we explore so to constantly address. The way we are deeply and believe that we understand so advised to address it is to “know thyself”, thoroughly, is at most five percent of the to move ever-more-deeply into a know- physical realm! These are not the musings ledge of what these components are, so of a theosophist, these are the statements that we can intelligently participate in of the most advanced people in contem- their expression or non-expression. porary science. So in terms of our physical There are many different ways to and spiritual dimensions there is little describe the mind according to different that we know. We find ourselves chiefly traditions. The “pristine mind” is a won- centered in this linking ground between derful term that comes out of Dzogchen matter and spirit, the intellectual, or (Tibetan) Buddhism. In the Stanzas of mânasic, evolutionary stream. Dzyan there is this statement that as the What do we do with all this? One of human project was being assembled, the things that this condition of multiple various components spoke and said: streams engenders is that the coming “I will give him feelings”, and “I will give together and constant intermingling of him the soul”. And when it came to the these various evolutions and their intel- aspect of the mind, it was a mind described ligences is what makes the human being as “a mind to embrace the Universe”. That the complex being that he/she is. We find component is the seed that is planted in this expressed in various ways. St Paul the consciousness of every human be- expressed it very well. His simple state- ing. By virtue of it being planted in the ment reflecting the complexity of the hu- greater whole within which we participate, man constitution was: “The things I would which is called humanity, all of its units do, I do not do; the things I would not do, partake of it. that I do.” This complexity of voices, of “The mind to embrace the Universe” intelligences, and the shifting ground is a Divine Seed that is for us to unfold. where we find our consciousness centered, As with any seed, it is a very specific thing. is constantly affecting our behaviors. In the case of vegetation a seed is an em- There are things that we know quite bryonic form of a plant, covered by a shell well would advance the unfoldment of a as a protective sheath. When the condi- deeper dimension of our being, but in our tions are proper that seed will grow. All of

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 7 The Divine Seed the patterns of its future growth, the practice and study, are the conditions of complete pattern for the end state that it the soil required for the seed to express will eventually reach, the phases through itself: the necessary amount of moisture, which it will pass, are fully present in the how to adjust the composition of the soil, seed itself. What determines whether and what is needed to protect the newly those stages occur is completely a matter appearing seedling. All of this so that of whether the conditions are provided the seed can have the fullest possibil- for them. A human being begins as two ity to express the hidden potentials that reproductive cells joining to become a lie within it — that, the gardener, can- new cell which divides, comes out into not explain. the world as a functioning unit, an infant Similarly, our role is to provide condi- of a certain weight, goes through life, tions which necessarily will produce a grows, passes through phases, matures, result. If the seed is present, and the con- stands upright, and it all begins with the ditions are provided, the life appears. seed. As with any seed, it is affected by Through a lesser knowledge, the appear- the conditions that are provided. ance of a greater life is enabled. Perhaps In the deserts of the world there are part of the role for us is to remove some areas where it may not rain for a number of our own arrogance — the idea that we of years; it is just that dry. The desert must know, that we must control some- seems lifeless, barren, without hope of thing which lies beyond our potential to ever expressing the life force. When after understand, but not beyond our potential several years the rain comes and soaks the to participate in. ground, we find that within days the Genuine spiritual practice speaks about seemingly lifeless desert is in full bloom how we go about this participation. We with flowers. The seeds that were lying talk about study, meditation, and the dormant, spring to life when the conditions catalyst of service. These are ideas with for that life to appear are provided. In our which we are familiar. Our current con- life as spiritual practitioners sometimes sideration is intended to point our attention we would like to feel that in our study and in the direction of this too often forgotten meditation it is somehow possible to know seed, and to allow ourselves to revisit how the Life itself, to know Spirit directly, but we approach it. There is a certain tender- perhaps that is not yet within the capacity ness, gentleness, required in trying to of our current unfoldment. So what is our usher in a new life. Our role is not to use role in that case? It is very much like that the will, the expression of the spirit, to con- of any gardener. trol or command, but to allow — to create A wise gardener will not claim that she the conditions for its own flowering. It is can explain the life force contained within a process demanding both skill and wis- a seed. What she can explain, and has dom, and an ever-deepening awareness come to know deeply through extended of “Who am I?” —

8 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Tamil Nadu Governor’s Address to the Convention Tamil Nadu Governor’s Address to the Convention

BANWARILAL PUROHIT

TO begin with, I would like to share a the common people of India. In his auto- little bit of history about the connection biography Gandhiji recognizes him as an between Dr Annie Besant and myself admirable leader who was pure as crystal, through an important national figure in gentle as a lamb, brave as a lion, chival- India, Sri Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the rous to a fault, and the most perfect man mentor of Mahatma Gandhi. While a few in the political field. of you may know a part of this history, When Annie Besant joined the Indian others may not. independence struggle in 1914, she was I have had the fortune of having been drawn towards Gokhale. She constructed associated with a Nagpur daily newspaper a public hall in George Town, Chennai, called The Hitavada since 1979, which in 1915, the year in which he died, and was originally launched in 1911 by Sri named it “Gokhale Hall” to honour his Gokhale. It was because of his leader- memory. The Hall became the seat of ship that the journal has become a lead- operations for the Young Men’s Indian ing newspaper of Central India, with its Association (YMIA), which was also voice being heard across the country. He founded by her. had become a member of the Indian The YMIA was created by Besant to National Congress in 1889, and along provide a political gymnasium to equip with other contemporary leaders, includ- the youth with a strong body, an informed ing Dr Annie Besant, fought for decades mind, and a noble character, to inherit and to obtain greater political representation imbibe the country’s glorious traditions, and power over public affairs for common and to take their rightful place as leaders Indian citizens. of the future. The fact that she named the In 1912, when Gokhale visited South public hall where the YMIA was head- Africa, Gandhiji received personal guid- quartered as she did, speaks volumes of ance from him, which gave him a better her admiration for Gokhale’s great soul. understanding of the issues confronting It was in that same Hall that Besant

Honorable Banwarilal Purohit is the Governor of Tamil Nadu, India. Address delivered at the international Convention on 1 January 2018.

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 9 Tamil Nadu Governor’s Address to the Convention delivered her famous lecture series, “Wake Besant there was emphasis on Buddhist Up, India”, and invited leaders to join her philosophy, esoteric Christianity, and to win freedom for India. For this purpose the tenets of Hindu philosophy of Central she also started two journals: The Com- India. Hence it was no surprise that she monweal, a weekly dealing with issues of worked with Pandit Madan Mohan Mala- national reform, and New India (pre- viya for creating the Hindu University at viously The Madras Standard), a daily Banaras, which started functioning since newspaper which for 15 years was a 1917. In an inspiring lecture delivered powerful instrument to promote Home at Adyar, she said: Rule and revolutionized Indian journalism, inspiring Indians with a dynamic vision What is the ideal for a nation? It must have of India’s future. spirituality, expressed in many-graded reli- In 1917 Besant was arrested and in- gions, suitable for every class in the nation: terned because of her increasingly agita- and if there are several religions, they must tive work for India’s home rule. But this be friends, not rivals, acknowledging their arrest lasted only three months, because common origin, Divine Wisdom, and their the Home Rule movement spread from the common aim, the uplifting of the nation. cities to the countryside throughout India . . . It must have healthy conditions of life, in protest, and the British government had a robust and vigorous manhood, a strong to commit to a policy of gradual move- and refined womanhood. These are the ment towards Indian home rule. That same things which make up the ideal; education year she was elected as the first woman is to bring them into realization. President of the Indian National Congress. I am happy to note that the ideals for She made that office hum with activity which Annie Besant lived and worked for the entire year, instead of just for the for, are being pursued with vigour and few days of the Congress annual gather- enthusiasm even now. In fact, the TS, ing, as had been the earlier practice. which ushered in a new strain of philo- Annie Besant also became the Presi- sophical thought, is growing from strength dent of the TS, Adyar, in 1907 and con- to strength, laying emphasis on unity and tinued to hold that position until 1933. the universality of life, universal con- Her personality had always revealed sciousness, and the noblest ideal to form the spiritual dimension of a quest for the a nucleus of universal brotherhood, tran- transformation of the person within. She scending all kinds of artificially imposed had moved towards the spiritual Theo- barriers on the ongoing evolution of sophy in the late 1880s and distanced humanity. This ideal was beautifully ex- herself from Marxism, as she found mind- pressed by Annie Besant: less pursuit of the economic side of life lacking in spiritual dimension. The India that I would give my life to help In the TS under the leadership of Annie in building is an India learned in the ancient

10 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Tamil Nadu Governor’s Address to the Convention

philosophy, . . . an India to which all other ings to Insight: The Altruistic Heart”. In a lands should look for spiritual life — sense, this theme means to me that we where the life of all should be materially have to go beyond the intellectual and simple, but intellectually noble, and spir- analytical level to the feeling of oneness itually sublime. and compassion which can spring only from the altruistic heart. Swami Vivekananda, who in the Parli- Let us take the pledge this year that ament of the World’s Religions in Chicago we will expand our heart with altruism, in 1893 first pronounced the concept of fellow-feeling, kindness, and uphold India being the spiritual guru of the world, service above self, which in essence was, it appears, in consonance with Annie will bring in one world. Only then the Besant and the TS. import of the Sanskrit saying, vasudhaiva- The Society’s Convention theme for this kutumbakam (the entire world is one year is most appropriate: “From Teach- family), will be truly realized. —

The condition of the low castes — it is painful to call them low castes — is not only unsatisfactory as this resolution says — it is so deeply deplorable that it constitutes a grave blot on our social arrangements . . . I think all fair-minded persons will have to admit that it is absolutely monstrous that a class of human beings, with bodies similar to our own, with brains that can think and with hearts that can feel, should be perpetually condemned to a low life of utter wretchedness, servitude, and mental and moral degradation, and that permanent barriers should be placed in their way so that it should be impossible for them ever to overcome them and improve their lot. This is deeply revolting to our sense of justice . . . How can we possibly realize our national aspirations, how can our country ever hope to take her place among the nations of the world, if we allow large numbers of our countrymen to remain sunk in ignorance, barbarism, and degradation? Gopal Krishna Gokhale on Caste Georgetown University, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 11 The “Heart of Theosophy” The “Heart of Theosophy”

BARBARA HEBERT

THE “Heart of Theosophy” — what an swers to these questions is quite simply: overwhelming topic and how presump- Love. Can we even imagine a world filled tuous of me to even consider the possi- with love? Can we imagine a world in bility of understanding what that means, which individuals care for one another much less talking about it! As we often hear, with compassion and understanding? Can Theosophy is everything (even though we imagine a world in which everyone everything is not Theosophy!). How can works together for peace and harmony? anyone discuss the heart of everything? Yet, we know that love, compassion, May I begin by saying that I do not understanding, peace, and harmony are know what the Heart of Theosophy is, but hallmarks of the inner realms of existence. as a seeker, it is a topic that seems valuable Love beyond all measure for humanity to explore. When I think of Theosophy, may be the one thing that is at the center I think of Life in its many aspects: the of the Ancient Wisdom, the one important Ultimate Source of all being that per- component upon which we can focus. vades everything, the eternal cycle of spir- Together, we will explore what may itual growth and evolution, the Oneness be called the Heart of Theosophy and that binds us together. Then I begin to some of the ways in which we can in- wonder “what is at the core” of Life? corporate it into our daily lives. Beauty? What do all of these different aspects Compassion? Peace? Harmony? Is not of life have in common? love somehow interwoven into all of these The Ancient Wisdom as expressed various concepts? To recognize beauty, through Theosophy is complex and multi- to feel compassion for another, to experi- faceted. Conversations about the Ancient ence peace and harmony, don’t we need Wisdom range from the Unmanifest to feel Love on some level? through spiritual evolution to the lives we Many people tend to use the word live on this physical plane. What, one might “love” so casually. We may use the word ask, is at the center of this great teaching? to indicate things that we like or dislike: Is there one important component upon I love this beautiful flower. I love the which we could focus? Possibly the an- colorful saris. I love french fries! At other

Ms Barbara Hebert is President of the Theosophical Society in America. Talk delivered at the international Convention, Adyar, on 4 January 2018.

12 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The “Heart of Theosophy” times, we use the word in a more personal May I say here that, once again from way: I love my children! Interesting, isn’t my perspective, there is nothing wrong it? I do not love french fries the same way with personal love. It is an essential I love my children. These are quite dif- component of our daily lives in this ferent feelings. Yet we use the same word. physical world. Whenever I hear the word From my perspective, there is nothing “impersonal”, I think of coldness and wrong with the casual or personal use of separateness; but after much consideration, the word “love”; rather, it makes me hap- it seems to me that it means “deepening py to think of the vibrations of the word beyond the physical”. Therefore, when rippling across the world. However, these I use the word “impersonal”, my own casual uses — even love for family, which interpretation is that of love that is even is more of a personal type — are not what deeper than the love felt on this physical we are discussing here. plane of existence. In Golden Precepts of Esotericism N. Sri Ram, former International Presi- G. de Purucker writes: dent of the TS, said: Love is the cement of the universe; it holds The love which deserves that name is im- all things in place and in eternal keeping; partial, non-possessive, wholly beneficent; its very nature is celestial peace, its very in that love alone is to be discovered the characteristic is cosmic harmony, per- force which will ultimately bring man to meating all things, boundless, deathless, his freedom. Love is the only force which infinite, eternal. It is everywhere, and is does not create or add to the complica- the very heart of the heart of all that is. tions of karma. This statement sounds as if this type of That last sentence should probably be love is a synonym for the Ultimate Reality repeated — this type of love is the only — permeating all things, everywhere, force which does not create or add to the and the very heart of the heart of all that is. complications of karma. This love — “the very heart of the I am reminded of the incredible love heart of all that is” — has no personal of the Elder Brothers and Sisters of implications; rather, it is a universal and Humanity who work to raise the con- impersonal type of love. It is a love that sciousness of all beings. Their love for goes beyond anything we can imagine humanity, we may assume, surpasses our except possibly in those few moments of understanding both in its universality and meditation or intuitive leaps toward the in its impersonal nature. Love deepened Divine. Purucker also says that “the more beyond what we generally understand to impersonal it is, the higher it is and the be Love. It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it, a love more powerful”. Impartial love is love that so great and so intense yet so impersonal. has no attachment. Once we have attach- We must strive toward this type of love. ment, love of family, for instance, while We are told in At the Feet of the Master: it is a form of love, it is not universal love. “Of all the qualifications, Love is the most

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 13 The “Heart of Theosophy” important for if it is strong enough in a interests of another as our own.” Or more man, it forces him to acquire all the rest, succinctly, he said: “In a state of spiritual and all the rest without it would never be or universal Love, all other persons are sufficient.” And Sri Ram said: “Without but one person — the object of love.” love there is no unfoldment, because love These beautiful words, so easy to say, belongs to the life of the Spirit, to the real so difficult to accomplish — on a daily Self; without love all search is in vain.” So, basis, again, how do we reach this state on our spiritual paths, how do we move of universal love? Perhaps it might be toward feeling that type of love? easier to consider this question from the When we look at the beauty around us opposite side — what is the opposite of and feel that swelling of gratitude and love impersonal love? Is it hate? Maybe. Why for Nature in her boundless glory, we are would we hate another person? There is experiencing a tiny sliver of impersonal a great deal of anger and hatred in our love. When we love without expectation, world right now. Is it because there is no we are moving in the direction of universal understanding of another? Is it because love. In the words of Purucker: we are afraid of what another might say or do to us, especially because we do not “Impersonal love asks no reward, it gives have an understanding of that person’s all and therefore gives itself. Love is an perspective? Perhaps it is more accurate illumination. Love is inspiring; it opens the to say that Fear is the opposite of Love. doors of the mind because it cracks the Purucker writes: bonds of the lower selfhood hemming in the god within. When [we] love imper- Humanity will be ruled by fear just as long sonally then the divine fires flow out . . .” as they love themselves; for then they will be afraid of everything that is going to For this moment, we become truly happen — afraid to venture, afraid to act, human, moving from personal love to- to do, to think, for fear lest they lose. And ward universal love. they will then lose . . . The strong person On our spiritual journeys, as we begin is one who loves, not who hates. The weak to realize that all others are a part of the hate because they are limited and small. Universal, as we begin to recognize that They can neither see nor feel others’ pain we are all One at the core of our being, as and sorrow, nor even sense so easy a thing we begin to discern that what happens to as others’ viewpoints. But those who love others also happens to us, we are moving recognize their kinship with all things.” toward an understanding of Universality. Sri Ram told us: “Love is, ideally, the state It makes me wonder how often I have in which the distinction between self and missed opportunities because of fear — another has vanished. This does not mean fear of what others may say, may think, that we abolish individuality, but we learn may even do. What opportunities have we to regard the happiness, the progress, the lost due to fear? I think of H. P. Blavatky

14 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The “Heart of Theosophy” and all of the others who have come be- real. If the psychiatrist who worked with fore us. If they had been fearful of what Quinta was contacted, he may very likely others might say, think, or do, where put her on medication to stop halluci- would we be today? Probably not here! nations. Although this seemed the most I would like to share a story, on a much appropriate way to respond, we decided smaller level, with you about an oppor- to try another option for a week or two. tunity that was almost lost due to fear. We felt that waiting a week or two would As you may know, I have been a men- not be problematic since Violet had been tal health counselor for a number of years, in Quinta’s life for at least five years. working primarily with children. I have Quinta and her mother have strong also had the opportunity to supervise other Christian beliefs, so it was determined that counselors who were working with children. the counselor would speak with Quinta’s One day, a counselor came to me to mother about the situation and suggest consult about a young client, Quinta (not the use of prayer. Shortly after this dis- her real name) who had been severely cussion, Quinta came to her mother and abused — physically and sexually — at said that Violet was following her and ask- about age 5 and who is now age 10. ing to be her friend. Quinta said she was Quinta told the counselor that shortly after scared and just wanted Violet to go away. her abuse at age 5, there has been a Quinta’s mother suggested that they pray “scary” girl who lives in her closet. Quinta together which they did. They prayed described the “scary” girl as having a rope that Violet would go to the Light to be around her neck and blood all over the with Jesus. front of her clothes. Quinta said the girl’s When the counselor saw Quinta after name is Violet and that Violet follows this incident, Quinta reported that she had Quinta and asks to be her friend. Quinta not seen Violet since the day she and her reported that initially she told her mother mother prayed. Quinta then drew a picture about Violet, and her mother shut the door showing Violet slowly ascending to a light to Quinta’s bedroom and said they would and to Jesus. not go in there again. Shortly after, the What if our fear of encouraging Quinta family moved to a new home — and had resulted in going the route of medi- Violet followed them. Quinta had been cation? Listening for and to the still, small holding this information inside for five voice within which some may call intu- years, always terrified of Violet. ition allowed this child — or children, In our professional consultation, we if you prefer — to heal. discussed various possibilities for Violet’s When we are no longer afraid, when appearance — visual hallucination, pro- we no longer see the world as me vs. you jection of Quinta’s trauma, a soul trapped or us against them, we begin to experience due to its own trauma. Regardless of the Universal Love. It is then that we may be- reason for Violet’s appearance, it was clear gin to move toward the heart of the heart that Quinta perceived her as very, very of all that is . . . the Heart of Theosophy.

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 15 Fragments of the Ageless Wisdom

True Religion

True religion is not a set of beliefs and rituals, hopes and fears; and if we can allow the child to grow up without these hindering influences, then perhaps, as he matures, he will begin to inquire into the nature of reality, of God. That is why, in educating a child, deep insight and understanding are necessary.

Most people who are religiously inclined, who talk about God and immortality, do not fundamentally believe in individual freedom and integration; yet religion is the cultivation of freedom in the search for truth. There can be no compromise with freedom. Partial freedom for the individual is no freedom at all. Conditioning, of any kind, whether political or religious, is not freedom and it will never bring peace.

Religion is not a form of conditioning. It is a state of tranquillity in which there is reality, God; but that creative state can come into being only when there is self-knowledge and freedom. Freedom brings virtue, and without virtue there can be no tranquillity. The still mind is not a conditioned mind, it is not disciplined or trained to be still. Stillness comes only when the mind understands its own ways, which are the ways of the self.

Jiddu Krishnamurti Education and the Significance of Life Chapter 2, “The Right Kind of Education”

16 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 A Way to Universal Consciousness A Way to Universal Consciousness

MARÍA CARMEN CÉSAR GALANTE

WHEN I was offered the opportunity darkness, between dead and living ideas, to give a talk at the last European Con- between impotent will and active force; gress of the Theosophical Society (TS), finally, wherever you look, there is war it occurred to me how difficult it is to con- between animalistic man and the nascent tribute new and sparkling ideas on its spiritual man. All this demonstrates that theme. But I also thought that each one of in spite of having accomplished great us is making his or her own way, and on technical advances, our soul is still in its this basis I will present some ideas that infancy, given that we are not certain about perhaps will be neither sparkling nor new. what is in our head and in our heart. We Theosophy, as Divine Wisdom, offers operate in the extremes, letting ourselves us a great range of ways towards getting be carried away by impulses in a stressful to connect and finally live with and in and not very serene duality. Universal Consciousness. This is the way But we do have a great advantage over it has been since the beginning of time and past generations, and it is that we are it has developed in all religious traditions, moving in a world of communications, philosophies, and sciences. But probably where everything is known instantly, where what should worry us today, is how, in we may turn to every kind of information such a confusing period, full of darkness, via a screen, and just as with the oracles we are able to find the path, and then have of antiquity, today many mysteries are access to Universal Consciousness. revealed which were earlier reserved for In spite of the difficulties, I believe that, secret or inner circles. those of us who are searching for the But, I ask, is it true that there is a path? Light, are ever nearer to reach our objec- because this implies a displacement, a tive. No other century has been as out- spatial movement, whether it be physical standing as ours, for the calm observer. or mental. In reality a path per se does not Everywhere there is unrest, not just in the exist; we use the word as a metaphor in human spirit, but also in the heart; all order to understand certain processes that around there is a battle between Light and take place in our inner world, as the dif-

Mrs María Carmen César Galante is a former General Secretary of the Spanish Section and previously a long-term member in Argentina. Talk given at the European Congress of the TS, Barcelona, Spain, August 2017.

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 17 A Way to Universal Consciousness ferent traditions have transmitted them to but on the other, there could be other us through their heroes’ feats, the legends motives masked by a pseudo-spirituality. and myths of the gods, or the life stories Below I gather some phrases by Master KH of the exemplary lives of mystics and real- from The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, ized beings. They all “tread” a path where where Sinnett’s motives are outlined: their qualities were tested before reaching They are: (1) The desire to receive positive the final ordeal, where either success or and unimpeachable proofs that there really failure would await them. are forces in Nature of which science knows As the secret science describes it, all nothing; (2) The hope to appropriate them that is manifested in this material world some day — the sooner the better, for you originates from noumenal worlds. Pure do not like to wait — so as to enable your- and indestructible Nature, the essence of self (a) to demonstrate their existence to a absolute reality, already existed before few chosen Western minds, (b) to con- destructible, material Nature. The proper- template future life as an objective reality ties of the first are: indestructibility, built upon the rock of Knowledge — not penetration, indivisibility, and continu- of faith, and (c) to finally learn — most ity. Matter is part of the noumenal world, important this, among all your motives, which is destructible, divisible, and sub- perhaps, though the most occult and the ject to changes. Therefore, it is permanent best guarded — the whole truth about our only until the disproportions and disso- Lodges and ourselves; . . . nances disappear, and all will go back (Letter No. 2, Barker, 3rd and again to harmony self-consciously. Revised Ed., 1962, p. 7) What is destructible holds us, always, to the sensitive; the indestructible tries These motives, the Mahatma later as- to free itself of sensitive chains and looks sured him, were selfish from the point of for sublimity of the spirit. This is the source view of the Brotherhood. And he con- of the apparent and continuous bat- tinued telling him: tle between good and evil. That is our na- ture, we have a divine origin, but the . . . you must be aware that the chief ob- material world drags us into its whirl- ject of the TS is not so much to gratify pool of sensations, with attractions and individual aspirations as to serve our fel- repulsions, which temporarily veil our low men; . . . you have ever discussed but real essence. to put down the idea of a universal Brother- I also ask another question: Is it suffi- hood, questioned its usefulness, and ad- cient to acquire knowledge through read- vised to remodel the TS on the principle ing or conferences, courses, or seminars of a college for the special study of oc- we attend? This indicates that, on the one cultism. This, my respected and esteemed hand, we are eager to escape the prison friend and Brother — will never do! of sufferings and unhappy mental states, (Ibid., pp. 7–8)

18 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 A Way to Universal Consciousness

The Master adds: how do we put it into practice? The solu- We will be at cross purposes in our cor- tion can be very simple or very com- respondence until it has been made en- plicated, depending on whether we look tirely plain that occult science has its own at it from top or from the bottom, from methods of research as fixed and arbitrary universal planes or from those of mani- as the methods of its antithesis physical festation. I suggest that we make this science . . . he who would cross the bound- observation from our noumenal percep- ary of the unseen world can no more tion, because that is when we can better prescribe how he will proceed than the understand the particularities, given that traveller who tries to penetrate to the inner if we do it in reverse, it is possible that subterranean recesses of L’Hassa — the we might lose sight of the essentials. blessed — could show the way to his guide. Having reached this point, with the The mysteries never were, never can be, put perception of an open mind, free of pre- within the reach of the general public, not, judices, whether they be religious, cultural, at least, until that longed-for day when our racial, or philosophical, we will allow the religious philosophy becomes universal. impact of the LIFE that surrounds us to (Ibid., p. 6) reach our soul. The Letter points out that there never J. Krishnamurti, in his diary, related an were more than a few who could conquer incident that made me reflect how our the secrets of Nature: mind can see its own conditioning, when he explains: The adept is the rare efflorescence of a generation of enquirers; and to become one, When I was a small boy I used to see Sri he must obey the inward impulse of his Krishna, with the flute, as he is pictured soul irrespective of the prudential con- by the Hindus, because my mother was a siderations of worldly science or sagacity. devotee of Sri Krishna . . . When I grew (Ibid.) older and met with Bishop Leadbeater and the TS, I began to see the Master KH — We long to be free or to attain wisdom, again in the form which was put before but what is it that will make us free or me . . . and hence the Master KH was to wise? To know our origin, know who we me the end. Later on, as I grew, I began are, and once we are certain, to act ac- cordingly, going through a regeneration, to see the Lord Maitreya. That was two through observation of our thoughts, years ago. . . . Now, lately, it has been the feelings, and actions, practicing medi- Buddha whom I have been seeing, and it tation. In this way we will understand has been my delight and my glory to be which are the personal and individual with him. attachments, and we will begin to live I have been asked what I mean by “the in universal consciousness. Beloved”. I will give a meaning, an ex- Saying this sounds very simple, but planation, which you will interpret as you

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 19 A Way to Universal Consciousness

please. To me it is All — it is Sri Krishna, concerned with the Truth, but you are it is the Master KH, it is the Lord Maitreya, concerned with the vessel that contains the it is the Buddha, and yet it is beyond all Truth . . . Drink the water, if the water is these forms. What does it matter what clean: I say to you that I have that clean name you give? . . . My Beloved is the water; I have that balm which shall purify, open skies, the flower, every human being. that shall heal greatly; and you ask me: . . . If I say, and will say so, that I am one Who are you? I am all things, because I with the Beloved, it is because I feel it am Life. and I know it. I have found what I longed (Ibid., p. 357) for, I have been united with it; therefore, from now on, there won’t be a separation, These words of Krishnamurti made me because my thoughts, my desires, my remember the experience of Moses, longings — those of the individual “I” — related in the Bible, when he felt the call have been destroyed . . . I am like the of the divinity and ascended Mount Sinai. flower which gives its perfume to the There he heard a voice that said to him, morning air, it does not worry about who “Take off your shoes, as you’re stepping passes by its side . . . It is no good ask- on sacred ground”, and he asked, “Who ing me who is the Beloved. Of what use are you?” and the voice answered, “I AM are explanations? For you will not THAT I AM”, which means, I am that who understand the Beloved until you are able was, who is, and who will be, that is, I am to see him in every animal, in every blade that which is always present, I AM. of grass, in every person who suffers, in The occult code to interpret this scene every individual. is: The ascent to Mount Sinai means that (The Years of Awakening: Moses was already prepared to have A Biography of Krishnamurti access to levels of higher consciousness, by Mary Lutyens, p. 356) and the duty to bare his feet means that shoes represent the material world, the It is very interesting to investigate the physical, which needs to be momentarily life of Krishnamurti, because he has been dropped from the experience; and the a personage that — to our good fortune Lord’s answer to Moses’ question coin- — lived in very recent history, which cides with what Krishnamurti expressed makes it easier to understand his exist- about the Beloved. The biblical story goes ential experiences of the union of the on to explain how Moses receives the temporal and the eternal. In this way, when divine message, represented by the tab- he experienced those moments of union, lets of the Law, and how he when going he would bring to this world the lifeblood down from Mount Sinai finds his people with which he nurtured his conferences: worshipping the Golden Calf, breaks the Friends, do not concern yourself with who tablets of the Law. This means that, upon I am; you will never know . . . You are not returning to the material world, he corro-

20 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 A Way to Universal Consciousness borates the words of the Master when he and persevering dedication in the search says: “The mysteries never were and never for TRUTH, converting this objective into can be placed within the reach of the an important part of our lives, maintaining public at large.” This is because we still alive and active the link with the source worship the Golden Calf, the material life. of life. Coming back to Krishnamurti, he And I ask myself a last question: How transmits a magnificent message with will we know that we have started to tread these words: this path? . . . Because we will have dropped fear and will have the certainty Every one of you is a disciple of the Truth, that we are not alone. if you understand the Truth and do not Finally, if we have accomplished the follow individuals . . . Truth does not give necessary calmness in which may rise our hope; it gives understanding . . . There is inner nature, and inspire those who sur- no understanding in the worship of per- round us, forming a powerful nucleus, we sonality . . . I say that Liberation can be attained at any stage of evolution by a man can create a “critical mass” which lives, because we will open a channel with the who understands, and that to worship stages, as you do, is not essential. noumenal planes, saturating this phe- (The Life and Death of Krishnamurti nomenal world with the pure water of by Mary Lutyens, KFI, p. 73) LIFE. An individual can transform his or her environment, but many can trans- I have never said there is no God. I have form the world. said that there is only God as manifested This experience will make us cross a in you . . . but I am not going to use the portal that unites us to a world that is not word God . . . I prefer to call this LIFE. far away, which is not foreign to our own Of course there is neither good nor evil. . . . nature, and that “is closer than our own When you are in love with life and you breath”. place that love before all things, and judge All is spirit, all is matter; depending by that love, and not by your fear, then on whether the Unique expands or con- this stagnation which you call morality will tracts. God will inhabit the mire of the disappear. (Ibid., pp. 73–74) purified earth. I dare to suggest that on this path it (The Message Rediscovered would be convenient to have a constant by Louis Cattiaux)

Let every man first become himself that which he teaches others to be. Gems from the East, Feb. 22 Compiled by H. P.Blavatsky

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 21 Reconnecting with Ourselves: The Challenges of Modern Society Reconnecting with Ourselves: The Challenges of Modern Society

SONAL MURALI

THERE is much to rejoice in today’s shared easily. However, in 2018 digital world for the generation that grew up inclusion of a vast portion of human- reading Harry Potter, which marks a kind remains to be accomplished. And if watershed moment in literature. One technology has reached its last member, book, one story launched at the same time it has reached in a morphed version — across the continents in one language, thus its benefits remain grossly unequal. became an overnight obsession with a Globalization has further made the generation of youths and adults alike, shrinking possible by liberalizing trade replacing classics, mythology, fairy tales, and mobility. Yet our concerns about the as well as tales of epics and adventures future have increased and the World across cultures. Economic Forum 2018 had delibera- The world has shrunk. Yet many tions on “Creating a Shared Future in a would not like to use the term “shrinking” Fractured World”. and would rather see it as “expanding”. Our frontiers of knowledge are ever A Fractured World expanding. We know more about the Globalization was a dream that did not physical world as well as space in the see distances or borders as impediments. known history and feel that many things It did result in a certain standardization are within our reach. We are truly net- of lifestyle, values, and behaviour across worked today and distances have dis- the world, but the world still continues to solved bringing us closer than ever. struggle with poverty and hunger. The The last two decades have changed the “giant step for mankind” has taken us to world since the World Wide Web came a fractured world — the world was never into existence. The mission of Google, whole, but today probably it is more frac- founded in 1998, was to organize the tured than ever. Media, religion, identity world’s information and make it univer- politics, nationalism, have all become sally accessible and useful, so that infor- means to serve the purpose of power cen- mation as well as technology could be tres that are essentially self-serving. It is

Ms Sonal Murali has worked as a volunteer at the Theosophical Society, Adyar, for many years.

22 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Reconnecting with Ourselves: The Challenges of Modern Society no wonder that we are also staring at two phenomenon has put us all in a kind of of the biggest threats — climate change “melting pot”. Diversity is fast disap- and terrorism, both man-made. pearing. What have these rapid changes Materialistic values set in with the done to our minds, values, homes, life- advent of industrialization and seeds of styles and relationships? Has this created globalization were sown when Columbus an existential threat for us Homo sapiens discovered America while searching for in a digital modern society? Indian spices. Today science has reshaped Sociologists have said that, on the one our landscape, and globalization, and me- hand, we shall find more heterogeneous dia has made it widespread. Jacques groups and, on the other, there will be Mahnich (Theosophy-Science Lecturer, more urban ghettos where the unwanted Adyar Convention, Dec. 2014) says: are weeded out and kept in boundaries. Today we are at the peak of individual Science has deeply penetrated our day-to- freedom and yet, from time to time, un- day lives, and pervades now almost all as- expectedly, we exhibit a swarm mentality pects of human societies. The industrial, where there is no identity, only a collect- economic, financial, educational, artistic, ive frenzy. When there is no sense of and cultural domains are all relying on belonging for each member of society, technologies. . . . Worldwide means of com- space for the individual diminishes and munication, real-time access to informa- being part of a mob provides a sense of tion, online processes, have all powered security and identity. These rapid changes the acceleration of development. In that do not allow any time for processing, and sense, the world has become a global vil- many feel completely lost. We need to lage. Top universities and research centres gain a nuanced understanding of these now have an interdisciplinary and multi- paradoxes of contemporary times. national approach. The kind of synergy this affords has been unprecedented. To Have or To Be The question whether science feels Erich Fromm, in his book To Have ethically responsible for its use does not or To Be? says a shift in the American concern many. Mahnich describes the culture from “being” to “having” came with current situation as sitting in a high-tech the Industrial Revolution. It became ob- race car without a steering wheel or seat- sessed with “having”, and the amount belt. The impact here is at the planetary of possessions dictated the “happiness level, affecting all life. index”, firmly rooted in the belief that Therefore it is vital that we look at the money can fix any uncomfortable situ- impact of globalization and technology ation. This is in contrast with the oriental on our societies, families, and ourselves understanding that nothing external is collectively and at individual levels, so- responsible for how one feels within, and cially and psychologically. The “shrinking” that no amount of external circumstances

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 23 Reconnecting with Ourselves: The Challenges of Modern Society can have any impact on one’s state of mind. Irrational creation of new products, call- This shift to “having” also led to “hav- ing for the disposal of old products, or ing things that are man-made”, as op- obsolescing of old products, continues. posed to the unlimited joy that life offers An individual loses his humanity and us freely. Goods became a status symbol becomes a tool in the industrial machine and “false needs” were created. The “hav- and a cog in the consumer machine, all ing” mode concentrates on material pos- the while deluded to believe that he or sessions with the resultant feeling of she has the power to purchase. power and aggression, which is the basis According to him, in this state of of the universal evils of greed, envy, and “unfreedom” consumers act irrationally violence; whereas the “being” mode is and buy more, work more to buy more, based on love, sharing, and engaging in and ignore the psychologically destruc- constructive activity. Fromm feels that the tive effects of waste and environmental struggle of these two modes of existence damage, and search for social connection has affected the spirit of humankind. The through material items, which become simple act of examining in our daily lives, the basis for everything. Since the items his dictum “to have or to be?” can save are controlled by the industry, it is an our threatened planet and also bring about authoritarian mechanism. As a result of a new social and psychological revolution. the domestication of the population, the revolutionary potential in the West has One-Dimensional Man declined to a minimum. Life is dynamic and full of subtleties, The concept of a “one-dimensional but the kind of narrowing of life and liv- man” asserts that other dimensions of ing that the current generation is ex- human existence have been eliminated. periencing is aptly and metaphorically We live in times of social domination of described by the philosopher Herbert man by man and totalitarianism can be Marcuse in his One-Dimensional Man imposed without terror, while people in a one-dimensional society. His argu- continue to feel that they are free. ment is that the false needs created by the advanced industrial society integrate Compulsion of “Becoming” in Liquid individuals into the existing system of Modernity production and consumption via mass Changes occurring in modern society media, advertising through subliminal are so rapid that the modern world is means, and industrial management. slowly losing any sense of solidity. Each A few individuals dictate our percep- new structure replaces the previous one, tions of freedom by allowing us choices which is declared “old-fashioned” by date, to buy happiness. He views consumer- not actually by its usefulness. Zygmunt ism as a tool for domestication of the Bauman calls it “liquid modernity” that population, a form of social control. is constantly in a state of mobility and

24 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Reconnecting with Ourselves: The Challenges of Modern Society change, constantly overthrowing the ear- tion. Cosmetic surgeries are a common lier forms, necessitating a constant change trend now and shopping for genes is not in relationships and identities. Change far away. Social media further assists in remains the only constant. He says: self-manipulation of our individual and family happiness. Forms of modern life may differ in quite J. Krishnamurti said that fear and a few respects but what unites them all is desire are the two primordial forces precisely their fragility, temporariness, propelling humanity in the psycho- vulnerability, and inclination to constant logical realm: desire to become, and change. To “be modern” means to mod- fear of losing what one is, or not, be- ernize compulsively, obsessively; not so coming what one desires. This is unlike much just “to be”, let alone to keep its a flower that does not desire to become a identity intact, but forever “becoming”, flower, it flowers naturally. One can see avoiding completion, staying underdefined. how explosively this desire “to become” The constant compulsion of “becom- has been fuelled by modern society. It is ing” might result in an existential chal- not merely “to become” with a tangible lenge. Modernity is always something out-come, but always being in the state new and different, a feature of modernity of “becoming”; no longer a question of that is undetachable. In this chase to be “more-for-me”, but “more of becoming”, modern there is no “final state of per- reinventing oneself constantly. fection”, an infinity of improvements with This also has the element of self- no end in sight and none desired. This deception, by not allowing a person to creates a perpetual feeling of “incom- see how he or she is operating in this one- pleteness” in the person. Ours is one of dimensional matrix, the common feature the many societies all over the world that being “temporariness”. It is easy there- can claim to have young people com- fore for one to assume that randomness mitting suicide. and uncertainty dictate the nature of things Society demands of the individual a and that there is no inherent or implicate constant search for identity with its own order. This may not merely put a colossal set of parameters for standardizing, and amount of stress on people, but it in- searching for an identity becomes a task. wardly destabilises them. Given the Being individuals in the liquid society nature of market economy that is ruling means not merely being good consumers, the world, the response of society to the but being competitive goods in the global above can be seen in the mushroom- market. Such a condition does not just ing of meditation techniques and gurus require purchasing the “fashion items”, that a person constantly in the state of but also to purchase a “fashionable body” “incompleteness” can shop for, instead and assists in self-manipulation of our of addressing the root of the problem own physicality and of the next genera- within oneself.

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 25 Reconnecting with Ourselves: The Challenges of Modern Society

True to its name, “liquid modernity” the brain might be affected. Given our has no shape, but can take innumerable increasingly digital environment, this forms, and flow in an unpredetermined might be a pervasive phenomenon. way. Evidence can most easily be seen The other existential crisis is the rise in the contemporary approach to self- of dialectical thinking, which sees exist- identity, where constructing a durable ing things “as other than what they are”, identity that coheres over time and space denying the possibilities present in them- becomes increasingly impossible. Bauman selves by arriving at the most economical says that we have moved from a period and reasonable reconciliation of infor- where we understood ourselves as “pil- mation. A flower, or a place, or a person grims” in search of a deeper meaning, to is seen not for its inherent possibilities, one where we act as “tourists” in search of but is reduced to facts given about it and multiple but fleeting social experiences. later he becomes part of semantic memory. Umberto Eco, an Italian philosopher, When verbal language came into be- says that problems remain invisible to ing, the manifested world got reduced to people born within a certain society. He the “naming”, labels, symbols that stood talks about the upheaval in ideological for it. With the advent of computers, a values, the crises of different kinds, the binary mode of either/or reduced it to a unbridled individualism, and says that in caricature of what it is. Finally in a virtual this liquid society it is not easy to find a reality, it is like an animated version of pole star to guide us and lead us to light. the caricature of the world, thus severing Was it perhaps easier when a Jesus or a all possibilities of ever coming in contact Buddha walked the earth? with the real world or experiencing it in its fullness. Impact on the Brain In this context, Krishnamurti’s teach- J. Krishnamurti spoke about the crisis ings become the most radical and the only in human consciousness, where the brain solution to the fractured psyche of the will atrophy as people become more and human race. He reminds us again and more dependent on gadgets and auto- again that the word is not the thing. He mation. However, the stage of warning exhorts us to see it in actuality, and not may have passed and we might be on an merely know it as a fact. He asks us to irreversible course. go to the crux of duality that knowledge Dr José Foglia, at the international TS is not the actual thing. It is very clear Adyar Convention on 4.01.2018, spoke how we are fundamentally on a different at length about how the digital revolu- course in this age of information where tion affects the brain and the challenges “data” rules supreme, power is synonym- it poses to people socially and psycholo- ous with who is collecting and controlling gically. Slowly, as its impact group be- data, has access to data, speed of trans- comes younger, developmental stages of fer, and so on.

26 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Reconnecting with Ourselves: The Challenges of Modern Society

Digital Dementia rupt us in more and more different ways, With regard to digital technology we affecting concentration, focus, and atten- have moved from addiction to depend- tion, resulting in though fragmentation. ence. Overuse of it has become necessary Today millions of children suffer from occupationally or due to the digital en- Attention Deficit Syndrome, which has vironment one is forced to function in. led to hyperactivity and violent beha- Constantly being in a binary mode of think- viour in extreme cases. ing brings about a disconnect versus the Spitzer concludes that children and analog mode which has continuity. young people are in danger of losing or Manfred Spitzer speaks of how over- not even developing cognitive skills; use of digital technology can cause a particularly at risk is “neuroplasticity”, breakdown of cognitive abilities, result- the brain’s ability to adapt to new re- ing in digital dementia. He cautions that quirements. Children use media for long short-term pathways in the brain will start hours, and since everything which is to deteriorate due to underuse. He terms it perceived leaves “traces in the brain”, it “Technology-Induced Memory Atrophy”. is the impressions of digital media and Gradually people might lose the ability to not real-world experiences that leave their think or interact with people face-to-face. marks on the brain. The ability to process Functioning in a digital environment things from the real world atrophies as a has impacted all the four types of mem- result. Children are not likely to acquire ory — episodic, semantic, procedural, these skills later in life because they have and working — bringing about an im- not been generated during the most balance with semantic memory that is re- important phase of brain development. lied upon heavily and is seriously affect- In this age of data, our education and ing our attunement to reality. Marcel society rely heavily on semantic memory, O’Gorman, currently doing research on which is not based on real-life experien- digital abstinence, states that the pros- ces but derived from printed text or by thesis has become confused with the digital means, not connected with sensory organ, and we run the risk of experienc- experiences, emotions, and feelings, or ing events not as participants, but as by interaction with other people and living recording devices. things. Outsourcing our memory to smart One of the last cognitive domains to phones in more and more ways is catch- deteriorate is Procedural Memory, which ing up and dependence on gadgets at the enables people to learn skills that become micro level is common. Short-term mem- automatic (unconscious). With people, ory lapse and brain fatigue are found and even children, spending 4 to 7 hours even among youngsters. Digital fasts a day with gadgets, the domain remains or taking a digital sabbatical has become underdeveloped. Working memory is in a survival mechanism. jeopardy as we allow the internet to inter- Development of the rational and fact-

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 27 Reconnecting with Ourselves: The Challenges of Modern Society finding skills of the left side of the brain enjoys, and not the one who observes. takes place at the expense of the right Rights are important and freedom of side, which is creative, imaginative, ar- choice applies with regard to duties or tistic, thoughtful, and intuitive. The left obligations. Social media has invaded side measures, judges, analyses, whereas our privacy, and what should be posted the right side synthesizes and perceives on social media subtly starts controlling differently. There is increased activity our lives. It is a dangerous situation where in the left hemisphere on a vast scale one has completely lost touch with what today, leaving the right side untapped is authentic and spontaneous in its true or underdeveloped. sense. It denotes a kind of plasticity, Compassion and empathy are becom- metaphorically, ironically, and physical- ing weaker. Everything has become a com- ly too — a made-up version that hides modity to be purchased and used. Mother reality. To stretch the metaphor, plastic Nature, the animal kingdom, and other cannot regain its equilibrium. human beings are commodities. Educa- Self-interest at the cost of the larger tion is now perceived as “developing good has become the mainstay. The ques- human resources. Exploitation of la- tion now is, how do we bring about whole- bour and human trafficking are on the someness in our lives? How do we really increase in emerging economies. Wealth reconnect with Nature and other living and power are concentrated in the hands beings? How do we stop this centrifugal of a few. process and come closer to the centre of our being? How do we stop these es- The Need to Reconnect with sentially destructive activities and really Ourselves reconnect with ourselves? Many thinkers are of the opinion that Theosophy has given to the world the present crisis affecting our planet is immensely valuable literature concerning unprecedented in millennia, with globali- man and his place in the universe, of the zation, the media, and technology being fundamental unity of existence, of the the major factors. A sense of universal interconnectedness and interdependence responsibility is missing as individuality of everything. Many theosophical teach- and self-interest are at the core of every- ings have now become part of the main- thing. The sense of incompleteness is stream thought among environmentalists pervasive, and pleasure without account- and social thinkers, with a deep undeniable ability is the norm today, based on the realization that one cannot remain isolated premise that human beings are at the anymore. We are in it together and affect apex of the natural order and everything each other all the time. But to know this is made for their enjoyment. to be true at a deeper level is the only Society has collectively turned into the way we can bring about a real change. second bird of the Upanishadic tale, who Theosophical teachings are replete

28 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Reconnecting with Ourselves: The Challenges of Modern Society with sutras, or aphorisms, on how to live. ings that will continue to be a beacon of It exhorts us to give more than we receive; light based on wisdom for the service of to lead a deeply altruistic life and have a humanity. Wisdom, which is the highest profound and abiding respect for all liv- quality of mind and can be awakened ing beings and for life itself. When this through self-transformation, shows that happens, there would naturally be a spirit selflessness is the only way versus the of custodianship and a truly global out- self-interest that is the root cause of look that can bring about a world without all the ills of the world today. any frontiers or borders, not limited or Radha Burnier said: confined by boundaries or ideologies, Life has immeasurable dimensions and founded on equality, where men and subtleties. It is rich, creative, dynamic. women would treat one another and all Truth, being the discovery of the beau- living creatures and bounties of Nature ty and mystery of Life, is also neces- with respect. Theosophy teaches us to be sarily without limit, a blessing without humble in the knowledge that we are a parallel. mere speck in the vast design of a universe which has an intrinsic order and We have morphed and radically altered rhythm. It is with this spirit of unity that this blessing into a one-dimensional phe- we can truly make Theosophy a living omenon, impacting our lives in every way. power in the world. There is an urgent need to re-examine our- Our heritage is the theosophical teach- selves, individually and collectively.

THE THEOSOPHIST Statement about ownership and other particulars

1. Place of Publication : The Theosophical Publishing House, The Theosophical Society, Adyar, Chennai 600 020 2. Periodicity : Monthly 3. Printer’s Name : V. Gopalan, Manager, Vasanta Press (whether citizen of India?) : Yes Address : The Theosophical Society, Adyar, Chennai 600 020 4. Publisher : S. Harihara Raghavan The Theosophical Society, Adyar, Chennai 600 020 5. Editor’s Name : Tim Boyd (whether citizen of India?) : No (if foreigner, the country of origin) : United States of America Address : The Theosophical Society, Adyar, Chennai 600 020 6. Name and addresses of individuals who own the : The President of the Theosophical Society, newspaper and partners or shareholders holding Adyar, Chennai 600 020 more than one percent of the total capital

I, S. Harihara Raghavan, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Dated: 28 February 2018 S. HARIHARA RAGHAVAN, PUBLISHER

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 29 Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint

CYNTHIA OVERWEG

SEATED in a barren and frigid cave high He assured them he wasn’t, as they in the Himalayas, Milarepa meditated ransacked his cave looking for money. day and night, staying warm with the Finding nothing, they beat him. Their advanced yogic practice known as tummo, cruelty filled Milarepa with compassion, the ability to generate body heat by and he wept for them. manipulating channels of energies within A year later, a second group of game the body. Weak and emaciated, he had hunters showed up at his cave, but their been meditating in remote mountain caves attitude toward Milarepa was much dif- for many years, leaving only to beg for ferent. They saw the value of his devotion food. Because of his strict adherence to a to practice and offered him food. Milarepa vow of continual meditation practice, his told them: “I have received the oral in- body had shrunken to a skeleton, and his structions for attaining Buddhahood in one eyes were sunken and hollow. His only lifetime and one body. Having renounced source of nourishment for over a year had this life, I am meditating alone in the moun- come from an abundant supply of nettles tains and devoting myself to achieving this he found growing near his cave. He had enduring aim.” The game hunters then left eaten so many nettles that his sagging skin him alone to meditate. had a greenish hue. Fortunately for Milarepa and the spir- Death seemed imminent, but Milarepa’s itual legacy he left behind, he did not physical austerities had a clear and delib- die of starvation, and the green pallor of erate aim: he wanted to attain enlighten- his skin disappeared when he stopped ment or die in the attempt. So fierce was eating nettles and finally took some his meditation discipline that he refused nourishing food. The beloved eleventh- to let even severe hunger interrupt his century Tibetan saint went on to realize goal. When a group of hapless game his cherished aim and then taught many hunters stumbled onto his cave looking others how to do the same. for something to eat, they screamed in Milarepa was a roving Tibetan yogi horror, believing Milarepa was a ghost. who devoted himself to meditation and

Mrs Cynthia Overweg is an educator and writer living and teaching at Krotona on the Perennial Wisdom linking East and West. Reprinted from the Quest, Spring 2014.

30 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint tantric practice in caves across southern “Only when Milarepa realizes that he Tibet. What initially drove him to moun- needs to find the way to liberation ‘in one tain retreats was an intense desire to over- body and one lifetime’ in order to avoid come his devastating past, which included the post-mortem consequences of his evil his participation in black magic, revenge, deeds does he go in search of a teacher and murder. Feeling the weight of heavy who can show him the virtuous way of negative karma and overwhelmed by Buddhist practice,” explains Tiso, who remorse, he considered suicide more than has written a book on Milarepa and went once. But he found a gifted teacher who to Tibet several times to do research. “We showed him a way out of darkness. only begin to see Milarepa as a real What his life shows, says José Cabezón, bodhisattva much later in his life, when Ph.D., a Buddhist scholar who holds the he encounters people in various de- Dalai Lama Chair at the University of sperate situations,” Tiso points out. California in Santa Barbara, is that “no Milarepa was born in southwestern matter how difficult one’s life has become Tibet sometime around 1052 and died in or how many wrong turns one has taken, approximately 1135. The specific dates it is always possible to turn one’s life of his birth and death are disputed by around”. But, at the same time, Cabezón historians, but there seems to be agree- adds: “Patience on the spiritual path and ment that he lived into his late seventies an apprenticeship to a qualified master or early eighties. are necessary to spiritual progress.” Most of what we know about Milarepa’s Milarepa learned how to turn his de- life and teaching comes from his prin- spair into a spiritual practice that even- cipal Tibetan biographer, Tsangnyön tually transformed him into Tibet’s most Heruka, a well-known, fifteenth-century, revered yogi. It is said that he not only Tantric master. Milarepa’s story was gained liberation in one lifetime, but also made famous in the West in 1928 with became a bodhisattva, a fully realized the publication of Tibet’s Great Yogi being who takes a vow to liberate all Milarepa, edited by W.Y. Evans-Wentz, sentient beings through compassion and a Theosophist who also brought The wisdom, no matter how long it takes. Tibetan Book of the Dead to the English- “There is always the sense that the speaking world. bodhisattva starts out with basic altruism To glimpse the epic journey of Mila- and then develops an ever more expan- repa’s spiritual metamorphosis and the sive vision of reality and compassion,” mastery he gained over the nature of mind, says Francis Tiso, Ph.D., a Catholic priest it’s useful to tell the story that thrust him and Buddhist scholar who wrote his into an inner hell but also led him to seek doctoral dissertation about Milarepa and Buddhahood. Milarepa was the only son has studied the Tibetan saint for thirty- born to wealthy parents who showered five years. him with love and material comfort. His

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 31 Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint father, Mila Sherab Gyaltsen, named him Once Milarepa was old enough to Mila Thöpaga (“a joy to hear”), which marry, his mother begged her brother- proved to be prophetic, since Milarepa in-law and sister-in-law to return at least (repa: “cotton-clad yogi”) had a wonder- some of their money. But they taunted ful voice and instead of lecturing on the her by saying, “If you are many, wage Buddhist teaching, known as the Dharma, war. If you are few, cast magic.” Power- he “sang” or narrated his own lyrical less to change the situation, she asked poems describing his spiritual insights her son to learn black magic to get revenge and mystical experiences. on their tormentors and on those who His mother, Nyangtsa Kargyen, also stood by and watched it happen. Her grief gave birth to a daughter, Milarepa’s was so extreme that she vowed to kill younger sister, Peta. They lived an idyllic herself if the treachery of her in-laws life with enough financial freedom to was not punished. do as they pleased. But the good times Milarepa agreed to study the black arts came to an abrupt and tragic end when and wreak revenge. He left home and Milarepa’s father died of a mysterious found a lama who taught him how to disease when Milarepa was just seven cause terrible damage with black magic. years old. Although his father left a will He developed malevolent skills with a with instructions on how his wealth was powerfully focused mind and a sustained to be managed for the benefit of his wife determination that set him apart from and children, he did not leave the in- other practitioners. The first spell he cast heritance directly to his wife. caused his uncle’s house to collapse dur- Medieval Tibet’s patriarchal structure ing a wedding feast when the house was usually placed women under the protection filled with his relatives. Thirty-five people and domination of their male relatives. were killed. This was catastrophic for Milarepa, his Ironically, his cruel uncle and aunt mother, and sister, because his dishonest were not injured, although their sons and and greedy paternal uncle was put in wives were among the dead. But Milarepa charge of the family’s fortune. Soon after didn’t stop there. He also sent a terrifying the funeral, his uncle and aunt confiscated hailstorm that ruined his relatives’ crops their wealth, blatantly ignoring the dying just before harvest time. Mother and son wishes of Milarepa’s father. Milarepa, now had their revenge, but they continued his mother and sister were forced to live to suffer. Survivors of Milarepa’s destruc- like beggars without money to buy food tion threatened to kill his mother, and she or clothing. They were robbed of their dig- was treated from then on as an outcast. nity and everything they owned. Mila- His sister, Peta, became homeless, roam- repa’s mother nearly went mad over the ing from village to village working as a betrayal and the grinding poverty she and servant and begging for food, while her children had to endure. Milarepa stayed in the mountains serving

32 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint the lama who taught him how to do so Milarepa was put through a strenuous and much harm. pitiful apprenticeship in which he was It is at this point in the story that we repeatedly denied any teaching what- are confronted with the full magnitude of soever. For many years, Marpa constantly the horrifying consequences of unbridled tested Milarepa’s resolve by humiliating anger and wonder if there is any conceiv- him in front of others and forcing him able redemption for Milarepa. And that is to build, then tear down and build again, an intrinsic element of the story: redemp- a number of tall stupas. The treatment tion is possible if you are willing to do the was harsh and sometimes unbearable. hard work of self-transformation. Milarepa broke down and pondered sui- Milarepa was haunted by remorse and cide, believing he was too great a sinner a deep longing to be free from misery. to ever receive Marpa’s teaching. Revenge was not so sweet after all. “At that But Marpa was well aware of Milarepa’s stage of his life, he had delusions in his past and his inner struggle. He was helping mind. Most of us are not murderers, but him cleanse his bad karma and teaching we suffer like he did from anger, fear, him to rid himself of self-importance and attachment, pride, and confusion,” says ego. Although Marpa knew that Milarepa Amy Miller, a Tibetan Buddhist nun and was extremely capable, even destined to director of the Milarepa Meditation Center become his greatest pupil, it was not until in Vermont. “He realized he needed a guide Marpa was convinced that Milarepa had to help him out of his self-absorption, and earned the privilege of learning a sacred he found a qualified teacher.” and transformative teaching that he gave And so Milarepa left the lama who him instruction. showed him the dark path to search for In today’s vernacular, what Marpa did a teacher who could end his suffering. might be called “tough love”, but there is After failing with the first teacher he met, also an esoteric underpinning to their he was sent to the man who would open relationship. Thus, Tiso suggests, it is im- the door to his spiritual transformation. portant to reflect on the guru-disciple He is known as Marpa, “the translator”, a relationship. “The devotion that one expe- title that honors his translation of precious riences is not servile or obsequious; it Tantric texts from Sanskrit into Tibetan. has to come from who and what you truly Marpa was married, had a son, and taught are, which is a delicate balance of great many students. He traveled several times humility — our nothingness — and our to Nepal and India to obtain his own greatness, the divine body into which initiations, which included secret oral we are transformed by spiritual practice,” transmissions of Tantric teachings. Much says Tiso. later in the story, he gave these safe- Sensing that Marpa was the key to his guarded transmissions to Milarepa. spiritual regeneration, Milarepa gathered Once under the guidance of Marpa, the inner strength to persevere. But Marpa

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 33 Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint continued to withhold his teaching, and also transformed his body into a lotus, Milarepa reached a breaking point. He left a bell, and a sword as well as circles of Marpa to find another teacher. After some light. The wondrous display of Marpa’s twists and turns involving forgery and powers filled Milarepa with happiness deceit, Milarepa returned and was finally and the determination to have the same accepted as Marpa’s student. It was the first mastery over the constituents of his own time since his early childhood that Mila- body and mind. And he did exactly that. repa had experienced something close to After many more years of meditation joy. It was as if he had been born again. and practice, Milarepa could transform Milarepa began his spiritual unfold- his body into any form he wished, in- ment as Marpa (whose teaching lineage cluding fire and water. He also learned was from the Kagyu school handed down yogic flying — the ability to fly through from the great Indian sage Naropa, who the sky and travel great distances. On one in turn received it from Tilopa) initiated occasion when he was flying over the him into the subtleties of Vajrayâna, which countryside, he saw a farmer who lost a emphasizes Tantric practice and direct relative to his lethal sorcery. The farmer experience over book learning. “Tibetans recognized Milarepa and cursed him. believe that every form of Buddhism is It was this encounter that solidified Mila- capable of transforming the mind in posi- repa’s resolve to become enlightened not tive ways, but only Tantra, the esoteric just for his own benefit, but for the benefit path, is capable of bringing about enlight- of all beings. enment in one lifetime”, says Cabezón. The allure of Milarepa’s mystical attain- In the most advanced form of Tantric ments has captivated the Western mind practice, known as the “completion stage”, for centuries. It is beyond the scope of this the goal is to “transform the physical hu- article to attempt to explain the Tantric man body into a body of an enlightened practices that are supposed to turn an being, a nonphysical body of light”, ordinary man or woman into something Cabezón explains. “Those who attain this superhuman. Suffice it to say that Mila- are said to leave no physical remains repa learned how to practice the Six Yogas behind at the time of death. Their bodies of Naropa and Mahamudra meditation and, transform into light or rainbows.” having mastered them, he became free of Once Marpa instructed Milarepa in the mind’s boundaries. It was a gradual Tantric practice, he demonstrated the process supervised by Marpa, which is also possibilities that awaited him if he could a central theme — the essential guidance meditate without distraction for the rest of someone who knows the way to free- of his life. Marpa caused his body to de- dom. “The question is: ‘How free do you materialize and rematerialize to become want to be?’ We’re OK being relatively his chosen deities, known as Hevajra, free, but when something bad happens Chakrasamvara, and Guhyasamâja. He to you, or you do something bad, what

34 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint then?” asks Amy Miller, whose work at Milarepa responded that to understand the Milarepa Meditation Center focuses the nature of reality one should fast and on helping people discover their relation- meditate in the mountains. This felt like ship to their own suffering. an insult to the Geshé, who kept chal- Milarepa’s life is filled with so many lenging Milarepa on an intellectual basis. dramatic events that for the sake of But the crowd booed the Geshé and told brevity, only the highlights can be given him to hush. Humiliated, the Geshé plot- here. Before we proceed to arguably the ted a murderous revenge. And now we most compassionate moment of his life, have come full circle in the story: revenge mention should be made of his sorrow started this spiritual saga and reappears when he found the bones of his mother; at the end of Milarepa’s life. his joy when reuniting with his sister; his Not wanting to kill Milarepa himself, wisdom when coming to terms with his the Geshé induced his girlfriend to poison aunt and uncle; and his gratitude for him. To get her cooperation, he promised visitations from the mysterious dakinis, to marry her and gave her a beautiful piece celestial female deities who gave him of turquoise to sweeten the deal. They prophetic advice and instruction. But per- hatched a plot to bring Milarepa some haps it is the final episode of his life that tainted food. best illustrates his transcendent journey. The minute the Geshé’s lover showed By his early sixties, Milarepa had at- up with poisoned food as an offering, tained enlightenment. He spent the rest of Milarepa knew what they were up to. his life teaching his disciples, including Through his clairvoyance, he saw their a few women, how to achieve liberation. devious scheme. When the woman offered But his cave-dwelling lifestyle and lack Milarepa the food, her conscience took of academic or monastic credentials over, and she had a sudden change of sometimes caused jealousy among other heart. She begged him not to eat it, con- teachers and brought him ridicule. On a fessing that it was poisoned. But Milarepa cool autumn day, Milarepa was invited believed his life’s mission had come to an to be the guest of honor at a wedding end and that his death could be used as a celebration attended by his disciples and teaching on impermanence. He offered to many other guests. In the audience was purify her evil intentions and suggested the man who would become Milarepa’s that if she were to meditate, she could assassin. His name was Geshé Tsakpuwa. transcend the limits of her mind. He then The Geshé (a scholarly monk) had no told her the poisoned food could not hurt use for what he viewed as Milarepa’s pre- him and ate it. The implication is that Mila- tence to wisdom. Wanting to embarrass repa was choosing to die and that while him in front of the crowd, he asked Mila- the body would disappear, he would not. repa a number of intellectual questions When Milarepa showed signs of sick- about the Dharma. ness, the Geshé came to see him, feigning

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 35 Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint concern. Believing that Milarepa had Francis Tiso summarizes Milarepa’s no spiritual power, he urged him to send voluntary death this way: “The choice to the illness to his own body. Instead, Mila- die becomes emblematic of the Kagyu repa transferred the illness to the door of tradition: to turn negative circumstances his retreat cell, which broke into pieces into skillful means; to identify oneself with and crashed to the floor. Still not per- ordinary humanity in order to liberate; and suaded, the Geshé again asked Milarepa to emphasize spiritual practice and experi- to send the sickness to him. Milarepa ence over scholarship and verbal expres- did so. The Geshé crumpled to the floor, sions of Buddhist views.” writhing in pain, and nearly died be- We may never know all the facts about fore Milarepa withdrew the poison back the historical Milarepa, and perhaps it does to his own body. not matter. It was his relentless pursuit of Finally convinced of the yogi’s great- spiritual realization in the face of his fright- ness, the Geshé wept uncontrollably and ening past that gives his story a powerful begged for forgiveness. He vowed to prac- transformative resonance that has endured tise meditation and to serve others. Pleased for nine centuries and reaches far beyond by the Geshé’s sincerity, Milarepa offered the borders of Tibet. to give him his teaching. In Milarepa’s life, we can see shades When the great yogi died, there was a of our own dysfunctional lives coexisting miraculous display of light in the heavens with our highest spiritual longing, and with hosts of celestial beings honoring we can find inspiration to keep our own the saint. The air filled with fragrance, and inner work alive. His arduous spiritual beautiful flowers dropped to earth. Then journey illuminates the sacred and the pro- Milarepa’s body disappeared in a blaze fane as one continuum in an ever-evolving of light that became a beautiful rainbow. human story. —

Bibliography Chang, Garma C.C., The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, Boston: Shambhala, 1999. Evans-Wentz, W.Y., Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1928. Heruka, Tsangnyön, The Life of Milarepa, Translated by Andrew Quintman, New York: Penguin, 2010. The Milarepa Meditation Center, . Tiso, Francis V., Liberation in One Lifetime: Biographies and Teachings of Milarepa, Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books.

36 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Theosophical Work around the World

Argentina a meditative walk on the beach were part The National Annual Summer School of the program. More than 100 partici- was held at the Theosophical Center in pants were accommodated at the Aqua- San Rafael from 21 to 28 January 2018. rios Hotel in Atalaia beach. The guest speaker was Martín Leider- Adyar man, originally from Venezuela, and a Adyar Day celebration started with the member of the TS in America. He held a procession by students of the Olcott Memo- course in the mornings on the study of rial Higher Secondary School passing H. P. Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine through and singing at the portico of the (SD) — Cosmogenesis and Anthropogen- Headquarters Hall. esis. The general topic developed was In the main hall, the Adyar song “The Mystery of the Human Con- (offered by Jaishree Kannan) opened the sciousness”. The 65 participants were programme, followed by the opening re- greatly encouraged to start or renew the marks of International Secretary Ms Marja study of this work by HPB. Artamaa. Mrs Nancy Secrest, interna- An afternoon was devoted to a dis- tional Treasurer, discussed the importance cussion by participants on education, of Adyar and the wonderful atmosphere whether Theosophical or within the one finds here; Mr Akilesh Krishna, from national system. Mr Leiderman also the Krishnamurti Foundation, stressed gave a public lecture on “Plato: The the fact that Krishnamurti’s teachings are World of Ideas” in San Rafael city, at the modern expression of the Ageless the TS Lodge building, with about 70 Wisdom; and Mrs Clemice Petter, a in attendance. volunteer at Adyar, emphasized the great Brazil significance of Giordano Bruno’s life and The Brazilian Section held its 37th teachings, as well as the need to bring summer school at Aracaju, in the north- the scientific mind into the religious field. ern region of the country, from 24 to 28 Recent News January. The theme was “Meditation and Two new Lodges received their Char- the Occult Side of Things”, which was ters in January 2018: Brahmapura in emphasized in many of the lectures that Germany and Vidyasagar in Bangladesh. were given. Panels were conducted with Mrs Irena Primc was recognized as an approach to the major meditation Organizing Secretary of the Slovenian traditions around the world. Practical Regional Association on 5 February, suc- meditation sessions were conducted and ceeding Mrs Blanka Blaj Borstnar. —

Vol. 139.6, March 2018 The Theosophist 37 Index Index OCTOBER 2017 TO MARCH 2018 Key: O=October, N=November, D=December, J=January, F=February, M=March

Address to 38th European Congress O5 Divine Wisdom of the Iºa Upanishad, The D18 Tim Boyd Bhupendra R. Vora All Roads Lead to Rome: Fragments of the Ageless Wisdom M16 the Human Journey in Vedanta O22 Freedom from Labels J37 Dara Tatray Wayne Gatfield Annie Besant on Giordano Bruno F18 GALANTE, MARÍA CARMEN CÉSAR ARTAMAA, MARJA A Way to Universal Consciousness M17 From Definitions to Insight N18 GANGADHAR, B. N. BERNAL, NILDA VENEGAS Yoga for Mental Health: Sat-Chit-Ânanda: Neurobiological Evidence J19 An Approach to Our Nature O34 GATFIELD, WAYNE BESANT, ANNIE Freedom from Labels J37 Review of The Secret Doctrine “Gift of the Gods”, The F22 by Madame H. P. Blavatsky N13 Ali Ritsema Beyond Illusion F27 GIRARDI, ANTONIO Clemice Petter Theosophy: The Unifying Link Between Mind and Heart N29 BOYD, TIM Address to 38th European Congress O5 HAO CHIN JR., VICENTE 170th Anniversary of Annie Besant’s Birth N5 The Concept of God in the Presidential Address J5 Mahatma Letters N21 Seasons of the Mind D5 Heart’s Wisdom, The F5 The Divine Seed M5 Tim Boyd The Heart’s Wisdom F5 “Heart of Theosophy”, The M12 Brothers’ Help for the West, The J24 Barbara Hebert Nicholas C. Weeks HEBERT, BARBARA BURNIER, RADHA The “Heart of Theosophy” M12 J. Krishnamurti F19 J. Krishnamurti F19 The Profaning of the Elements D10 Radha Burnier BURON, ANGELS TORRA Living in Truth N34 On Our Graduation: Ali Ritsema The Final Goal of Human Life D13 Looking Within To Reach Out F13 Deepa Padhi CALVI, PATRIZIA MOSCHIN Theosophy: The Challenges of our Time D25 Masters — on Themselves, The O28 Pedro Oliveira Concept of God in the Mahatma Letters, The N21 Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint M30 Vicente Hao Chin Jr. Cynthia Overweg Convention Programme D35 MURALI, SONAL Definitions to Insight, From N18 Reconnecting with Ourselves: Marja Artamaa The Challenges of Modern Society M22 Divine Seed, The M5 Nature’s Role in the Flowering of Goodness O15 Tim Boyd Clemice Petter

38 The Theosophist Vol. 139.6, March 2018 Index

“Now” Moment, The J33 Role of Free Will in Light of the Pradeep Talwalker Higher Spiritual Path, The J25 Nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood William Wilson Quinn of Humanity — Utopia or Hope?, A D30 Sat-Chit-Ânanda: Olga S. Omlin An Approach to Our Nature O34 OLIVEIRA, PEDRO Nilda Venegas Bernal The Masters — on Themselves O28 Seasons of the Mind D5 There Is No Other F31 Tim Boyd OMLIN, OLGA S. Spiritual Life and Perception — II O10 A Nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood I. K. Taimni of Humanity — Utopia or Hope? D30 TAIMNI, I. K. 170th Anniversary of Annie Besant’s Birth N5 Spiritual Life and Perception — II O10 Tim Boyd OSTA, SABINE VAN TALWALKER, PRADEEP Theosophy:A Way towards The “Now” Moment J33 Universal Consciousness F35 Tamil Nadu Governor’s Our Graduation: Address to the Convention M9 The Final Goal of Human Life, On D13 Banwarilal Purohit Angels Torra Buron TATRAY, DARA OVERWEG, CYNTHIA All Roads Lead to Rome: Milarepa: From Sinner to Saint M30 the Human Journey in Vedanta O22 PADHI, DEEPA Theosophical Work Around the World Looking Within To Reach Out F13 O41,N41,D38,F41,M37 Tribute to Surendra Narayan D41 Theosophy: A Way towards PETTER, CLEMICE Universal Consciousness F35 Beyond Illusion F27 Sabine van Osta Nature’s Role in the Flowering of Goodness O15 Theosophy: The Challenges of our Time D25 Presidential Address J5 Patrizia Moschin Calvi Tim Boyd Theosophy: The Unifying Link Profaning of the Elements, The D10 Between Mind and Heart N29 Radha Burnier Antonio Girardi PUROHIT, BANWARILAL There Is No Other F31 Tamil Nadu Governor’s Pedro Oliveira Address to the Convention M9 Tribute to Surendra Narayan D41 QUINN, WILLIAM WILSON Deepa Padhi The Role of Free Will in Light of the Higher Spiritual Path J25 VORA, BHUPENDRA R. The Divine Wisdom of the Reconnecting with Ourselves: Iºa Upanishad D18 The Challenges of Modern Society M22 Sonal Murali Way to Universal Consciousness, A M17 Review of The Secret Doctrine María Carmen César Galante by Madame H. P. Blavatsky N13 WEEKS, NICHOLAS C. Annie Besant The Brothers’ Help for the West J24 RITSEMA, ALI Yoga for Mental Health: Living in Truth N34 Neurobiological Evidence J19 The “Gift of the Gods” F22 B. N. Gangadhar

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42 The Theosophist Vol. 139.4, January 2018 BOOKS BY G. S. ARUNDALE

HC* SC* Kundalini, An Occult Experience 100 The Lotus Fire 450 Mount Everest 150 120 Nirvana 150 120 You 250 150 BOOKS BY G. A. BARBORKA The Divine Plan 700 550 H. P. Blavatsky, Tibet and Tulku 450 300 The Mahatmas and Their Letters 350 250 The Story of Human Evolution 200 150 BOOKS BY L. J. BENDIT The Mirror of Life and Death 120 The Yoga of Beauty 50 BOOKS BY MABEL COLLINS The Idyll of the White Lotus 200 150 Light on the Path — Miniature Edition 90 Light on the Path — Standard Edition 50 50 MISCELLANEOUS AUTHORS The Theosophic Life and the Three Gems of Theosophy 200

* HC = Hard Cover * SC = Soft Cover

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