Theosophy.Org

Source about Theosophy: theosophy.org. Very important site for theosophical student. An Online Theosophical Research Center Since 1994

What Theosophy Is (Chapter I, page 5)

Thus we see that Theosophy combines within itself some of the
characteristics of philosophy, religion and science. What, it might be
asked, is its gospel for this weary world? What are the main points which
emerge from its investigations? What are the great facts which it has to
lay before humanity?

They have been well summed up under three main heads.

"There are three truths which are absolute, and which cannot be lost, but
yet may remain silent for lack of speech.

"The soul of man is immortal and its future is the future of a thing whose
growth and splendour has no limit.

"The principle which gives life dwells in us and without us, is undying and
eternally beneficent, is not heard or seen or smelt, but is perceived by
the man who desires perception.

"Each man is his own absolute lawgiver, the dispenser of glory or gloom to
himself, the decreer of his life, his reward, his punishment.

"These truths, which are as great as is life itself, are as simple as the
simplest mind of man."

Put shortly, and in the language of the man of the street, this means that
God is good, that man is immortal, and that as we sow so we must reap.
There is a definite scheme of things; it is under intelligent direction and
works under immutable laws. Man has his place in this scheme and is living
under these laws. If he understands them and co-operates with them, he will
advance rapidly and will be happy; if he does not understand them--if,
wittingly or unwittingly, he breaks them, he will delay his progress and be
miserable. These are not theories, but proved facts. Let him who doubts
read on, and he will see.

A Textbook of Theosophy by C.W. Leadbeater (1912).

What Theosophy Is (Chapter I, page 4)

In its capacity as a religion, too, Theosophy gives its followers a rule of
life, based not on alleged commands delivered at some remote period of the
past, but on plain common sense as indicated by observed facts. The
attitude of the student of Theosophy towards the rules which it prescribes
resembles rather that which we adopt to hygienic regulations than obedience
to religious commandments. We may say, if we wish, that this thing or that
is in accordance with the divine Will, for the divine Will is expressed in
what we know as the laws of Nature. Because that Will wisely ordereth all
things, to infringe its laws means to disturb the smooth working of the
scheme, to hold back for a moment that fragment or tiny part of evolution,
and consequently to bring discomfort upon ourselves and others. It is for
that reason that the wise man avoids infringing them--not to escape the
imaginary wrath of some offended deity.

But if from a certain point of view we may think of Theosophy as a
religion, we must note two great points of difference between it and what
is ordinarily called religion in the West. First, it neither demands belief
from its followers, nor does it even speak of belief in the sense in which
that word is usually employed. The student of occult science either _knows_
a thing or suspends his judgment about it; there is no place in his scheme
for blind faith. Naturally, beginners in the study cannot yet –know- for
themselves, so they are asked to read the results of the various
observations and to deal with them as probable hypotheses--provisionally to
accept and act upon them, until such time as they can prove them for
themselves.

Secondly, Theosophy never endeavours to convert any man from whatever
religion he already holds. On the contrary, it explains his religion to
him, and enables him to see in it deeper meanings than he has ever known
before. It teaches him to understand it and live it better than he did, and
in many cases it gives back to him, on a higher and more intelligent level,
the faith in it which he had previously all but lost.

Theosophy has its aspects as a science also; it is in very truth a science
of life, a science of the soul. It applies to everything the scientific
method of oft-repeated, painstaking observation, and then tabulates the
results and makes deductions from them. In this way it has investigated the
various planes of Nature, the conditions of man's consciousness during life
and after what is commonly called death. It cannot be too often repeated
that its statements on all these matters are not vague guesses or tenets of
faith, but are based upon direct and oft-repeated –observation-- of what
happens. Its investigators have dealt also to a certain extent with
subjects more in the range of ordinary science, as may be seen by those who
read the book on Occult Chemistry.

A Textbook of Theosophy by C.W. Leadbeater (1912).

What Theosophy Is (Chapter I, page 3)

One of the most striking advantages of Theosophy is that the light which it
brings to us at once solves many of our problems, clears away many
difficulties, accounts for the apparent injustices of life, and in all
directions brings order out of seeming chaos. Thus, while some of its
teaching is based upon the observation of forces whose direct working is
somewhat beyond the ken of the ordinary man of the world, if the latter
will accept it as a hypothesis he will very soon come to see that it must
be a correct one, because it, and it alone, furnishes a coherent and
reasonable explanation of the drama of life which is being played before
him.

The existence of Perfected Men, and the possibility of coming into touch
with Them and being taught by Them, are prominent among the great new
truths which Theosophy brings to the western world. Another of them is the
stupendous fact that the world is not drifting blindly into anarchy, but
that its progress is under the control of a perfectly organized Hierarchy,
so that final failure even for the tiniest of its units is of all
impossibilities the most impossible. A glimpse of the working of that
Hierarchy inevitably engenders the desire to co-operate with it, to serve
under it, in however humble a capacity, and some time in the far-distant
future to be worthy to join the outer fringes of its ranks.

This brings us to that aspect of Theosophy which we have called religious.
Those who come to know and to understand these things are dissatisfied with
the slow æons of evolution; they yearn to become more immediately useful,
and so they demand and obtain knowledge of the shorter but steeper Path.
There is no possibility of escaping the amount of work that has to be done.
It is like carrying a load up a mountain; whether one carries it straight
up a steep path or more gradually by a road of gentle slope, precisely the
same number of foot-pounds must be exerted. Therefore to do the same work
in a small fraction of the time means determined effort. It can be done,
however, for it has been done; and those who have done it agree that it far
more than repays the trouble. The limitations of the various vehicles are
thereby gradually transcended, and the liberated man becomes an intelligent
co-worker in the mighty plan for the evolution of all beings.

A Textbook of Theosophy by C.W. Leadbeater (1912).

What Theosophy Is (Chapter I, page 2)

It deals with the present by describing what man really is, as seen by
means of developed faculties. It is customary to speak of man as having a
soul. Theosophy, as the result of direct investigation, reverses that
dictum, and states that man-is-a soul, and -has-a body--in fact several
bodies, which are his vehicles and instruments in various worlds. These
worlds are not separate in space; they are simultaneously present with us,
here and now, and can be examined; they are the divisions of the material
side of Nature--different degrees of density in the aggregation of matter,
as will presently be explained in detail. Man has an existence in several
of these, but is normally conscious only of the lowest, though sometimes in
dreams and trances he has glimpses of some of the others. What is called
death is the laying aside of the vehicle belonging to this lowest world,
but the soul or real man in a higher world is no more changed or affected
by this than the physical man is changed or affected when he removes his
overcoat. All this is a matter, not of speculation, but of observation and
experiment.

Theosophy has much to tell us of the past history of man--of how in the
course of evolution he has come to be what he now is. This also is a matter
of observation, because of the fact that there exists an indelible record
of all that has taken place--a sort of memory of Nature--by examining which
the scenes of earlier evolution may be made to pass before the eyes of the
investigator as though they were happening at this moment. By thus studying
the past we learn that man is divine in origin and that he has a long
evolution behind him--a double evolution, that of the life or soul within,
and that of the outer form. We learn, too, that the life of man as a soul
is of, what to us seems, enormous length, and that what we have been in the
habit of calling his life is in reality only one day of his real existence.
He has already lived through many such days, and has many more of them yet
before him; and if we wish to understand the real life and its object, we
must consider it in relation not only to this one day of it, which begins
with birth and ends with death, but also to the days which have gone before
and those which are yet to come.

Of those that are yet to come there is also much to be said, and on this
subject, too, a great deal of definite information is available. Such
information is obtainable, first, from men who have already passed much
further along the road of evolution than we, and have consequently direct
experience of it; and, secondly, from inferences drawn from the obvious
direction of the steps which we see to have been previously taken. The goal
of this particular cycle is in sight, though still far above us but it
would seem that, even when that has been attained, an infinity of progress
still lies before everyone who is willing to undertake it.

A Textbook of Theosophy by C.W. Leadbeater (1912).

What Theosophy Is (Chapter I, page 1)

"There is a school of philosophy still in existence of which modern culture
has lost sight." In these words Mr. A.P. Sinnett began his book, The
Occult World, the first popular exposition of Theosophy, published thirty
years ago. [Namely in 1881.] During the years that have passed since then,
many thousands have learned wisdom in that school, yet to the majority its
teachings are still unknown, and they can give only the vaguest of replies
to the query, "What is Theosophy?"

Two books already exist which answer that question: Mr. Sinnett's Esoteric
Buddhism and Dr. Besant's The Ancient Wisdom. I have no thought of
entering into competition with those standard works; what I desire is to
present a statement, as clear and simple as I can make it, which may be
regarded as introductory to them.

We often speak of Theosophy as not in itself a religion, but the truth
which lies behind all religions alike. That is so; yet, from another point
of view, we may surely say that it is at once a philosophy, a religion and
a science. It is a philosophy, because it puts plainly before us an
explanation of the scheme of evolution of both the souls and the bodies
contained in our solar system. It is a religion in so far as, having shown
us the course of ordinary evolution, it also puts before us and advises a
method of shortening that course, so that by conscious effort we may
progress more directly towards the goal. It is a science, because it treats
both these subjects as matters not of theological belief but of direct
knowledge obtainable by study and investigation. It asserts that man has no
need to trust to blind faith, because he has within him latent powers
which, when aroused, enable him to see and examine for himself, and it
proceeds to prove its case by showing how those powers may be awakened. It
is itself a result of the awakening of such powers by men, for the
teachings which it puts before us are founded upon direct observations made
in the past, and rendered possible only by such development.

As a philosophy, it explains to us that the solar system is a
carefully-ordered mechanism, a manifestation of a magnificent life, of
which man is but a small part. Nevertheless, it takes up that small part
which immediately concerns us, and treats it exhaustively under three
heads--present, past and future.

A Textbook of Theosophy by C.W. Leadbeater (1912).

Biography Jiddu Krishnamurti

The core of Krishnamurti\'s teaching is contained in the statement he made in 1929 when he said: \'Truth is a pathless land\'. Man cannot come to it through any organisation, through any creed, through any dogma, priest or ritual, not through any philosophic knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through the mirror of relationship, through the understanding of the contents of his own mind . . . Statement by Krishnamurti in 1981.

Jiddu Krishnamurti was born on 11th May 1895 in Madanapalle, a town in south India, the eighth child in a middle-class family. At an early age he was adopted by Annie Besant, then the President of the Theosophical Society, with its headquarters in Madras. She took Krishnamurti and his brother Nitya to England where she had them educated privately.

On Krishnamurti\'s return to India while still in his teens, Theosophists proclaimed him to be the world teacher whose coming they had been awaiting. They built a large and rich order round him, with many thousands of followers, but in 1929 Krishnamurti disbanded the organisation, returned the estates and monies that had been given to him and declared that his only purpose was to set human beings unconditionally free from psychological limitations. From that time he travelled throughout most parts of the world almost ceaselessly speaking to large numbers of people, until his death on 17th February 1986.

Krishnamurti is regarded globally as one of the greatest religious teachers of all time. He did not expound any philosophy or religion, but spoke of the everyday matters that concern all human beings—the problems of living in modern society with violence and corruption, the individual\'s search for meaning, security and happiness; and our need to free ourselves from the inner burdens of fear, anger, hurt and sorrow. He talked of the need to have a deeply meditative and religious quality in our daily life.

Krishnamurti belonged to no religion, sect or country, nor did he subscribe to any school of political or ideological thought. Instead, he stated that these are the very factors that divide us from one another and bring about personal and social conflict and ultimately war. His talks and discussions were not based on any authority of tradition or academic knowledge, but arose out of his own insights into the human mind and his own relation with the sacred. He consistently communicated a sense of freshness and directness with his audiences, although his message remained basically unchanged over the years.

Krishnamurti is unique in having left authentic written and recorded materials of his public talks and discussions and his conversations with scientists, philosophers, educators, children, businessmen and \"ordinary\" people. Many of these have appeared in books and on audio and videotapes and discs. His teachings are best approached directly and not through any interpreters or commentators.

source: www.poezie.ro

The Immortal Friend by Krishnamurti

Oh! Listen,
I will sing to thee the song of my Beloved.

Where the soft green slopes of the still mountains
Meet the blue shimmering waters of the noisy sea,
Where the bubbling brook shouts in ecstasy,
Where the still pools reflect the calm heavens,
There thou wilt meet with my Beloved.

In the vale where the cloud hangs in loneliness
Searching the mountain for rest,
In the still smoke climbing heavenwards,
In the hamlet toward the setting sun,
In the thin wreaths of the fast disappearing clouds,
There thou wilt meet with my Beloved.

Among the dancing tops of the tall cypress,
Among the gnarled trees of great age,
Among the frightened bushes that cling to the earth,
Among the long creepers that hang lazily,
There thou wilt meet with my Beloved.

In the ploughed fields where noisy birds are feeding,
On the shaded path that winds along the full, motionless river,
Beside the banks where the waters lap,
Amidst the tall poplars that play ceaselessly with the winds,
In the dead tree of last summer's lightning,
There thou wilt meet with my Beloved.

In the still blue skies,
Where heaven and earth meet
In the breathless air,
In the morn burdened with incense,
Among the rich shadows of a noon-day,
Among the long shadows of an evening,
Amidst the gay and radiant clouds of the setting sun,
On the path on the waters at the close of the day,
There thou wilt meet with my Beloved.

In the shadows of the stars,
In the deep tranquility of dark nights,
In the reflection of the moon on still waters,
In the great silence before the dawn,
Among the whispering of waking trees,
In the cry of the bird at morn,
Amidst the wakening of shadows,
Amidst the sunlit tops of the far mountains,
In the sleepy face of the world,
There thou wilt meet with my Beloved.

Keep still, O dancing waters,
And listen to the voice of my Beloved.

In the happy laughter of children
Thou canst hear Him.
The music of the flute
Is His voice.
The startled cry of a lonely bird
Moves thy heart to tears,
For thou hearest His voice.
The roar of the age-old sea
Awakens the memories
That have been lulled to sleep
By His voice.
The soft breeze that stirs
The tree-tops lazily
Brings to thee the sound
Of His voice.

The thunder among the mountains
fills thy soul
With the strength
Of His voice.
In the roar of a vast city,
through the voices of the night,
The cry of sorrow,
The shout of joy,
Through the ugliness of anger,
Comes the voice of my Beloved.

In the distant blue isles,
On the soft dewdrop,
On the breaking wave,
On the sheen of waters,
On the wing of the flying bird,
On the tender leaf of the spring,
Thou wilt see the face of my Beloved.

In the sacred temple,
In the halls of dancing,
On the holy face of the sannyasi,
In the lurches of the drunkard,
With the harlot and with the chaste,
Thou wilt meet with my Beloved.

On the fields of flowers,
In the towns of squalor and dirt,
With the pure and the unholy,
In the flower that hides divinity,
There is my well-Beloved.

Oh! the sea
Has entered my heart,
In a day,
I am living an hundred summers.
O, friend,
I behold my face in thee,
The face of my well-Beloved.

This is the song of my love.

(1928)


source: bernie.cncfamily.com

Source for Krishnamurti

I search on uncle Googgle and get this site www.krishnamurti-information-centre.org. Important site for Theosophical World.

Annie Besant Quote

"Never forget that life can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if you take it bravely and gallantly, as a splendid adventure in which you are setting out into an unknown country, to meet many a joy, to find many a comrade, to win and lose many a battle." (Annie Besant)