Mr Gunnar Larson
Skarpnaecks Gaardsvaeg 12,
SE-128 31 Skarpnaeck, Sweden
E-mail gunnar.larson@telia.com
Phone +46 70 676 5678
Fax +46 8 80 5678
Stockholm, 26th of March, 2010
Merely a few of your key lines now on altruism in The Theosophist make me turn to you again, for what now follows here are in my view as important and significant as your article, and after 45 years in the TS (about 8 as editor and 7 as gen secr) I take the responsibility to share it also with all General Secretaries and some others in Theosophy.
Crucially, the very Souls of the TS should be free from the past and thus not so belittled, limited and biased by all kinds of inherent conflicts and confusions which came up, especially since HPB had passed, and all negative side effects of that. Essentially each one is responsible for the quality of the whole and the quality of the whole affects everything we do. Then of course also with ”letting it be known that such a thing as Theosophy exists”. What that word Theosophy then stands for must then turn to become fully in line with from where it to ourselves have came, it's modern origin, and all what that embraces. Especially so, when that truly is more full of explaning understandings of the whole of Life, than anything else.
Say any destructive forces around. The most effectual they could do is to somehow influence the highest ones among ourselves. Most easily so when in any case ”The Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions” 1) and clairvoyance is so seriously doubtful. At least certainly so in ”spiritual” fields.2)
Such a freedom from the past is not possible, as long as we, with Esoteric Initiates behind us all, at least in our history, have matters to hide and which in relevance for Truth are factual. Regardless of since how long ago. In Principles of Discrimination there is No Time. We should openly and fearlessly recognize also such parts of our history which – otherwise – are only unpleasant. Here is now what (30 years ago and while being gen secr) caused a strong split in an active member's whole relation to our whole Society: www.livet.in/alc.html.
It speaks for itself. On Freedom of Thought and an Unconditioned and Fearless Search for Truth. As well as their Strongest Mental and Emotional Opposites. All written by one and published on the other's responsibility. Both of them both then and since then most highly appreciated by otherwise wonderful people and members. — And then...?
Only by what clearly was given as our First Sources – Bedrock Information on Living, Life, Death, Man and Cosmos, in itself firmly beyond beliefs, doubts, ideals and sentimental emotions – there can be full and clear understandings of what later happened in the TS and with it’s splits.
Only by earnest use of the Firm Materials, as given by the Masters, Their one self-chosen agent and others in Their spirit, such a special and dynamic liberation from the past is possible. 3) And nothing of any truly Spiritual and Theosophical value would then have to be excluded. (Firstly such as the radical spirit of K.)
Freedom of Thought. There is a deep Truth behind that motto. In the Esoteric and Theosophy dogmatism, as well as formal and ”spiritual” authorities, which means outside of one's inner centre, are counterproductive.
But thought as such is never really free, but totally conditioned by the past. As we all know this was particularly and continually pointed out by Krishnamurti. So we may tend to regard what is from the past as being negative, low or bad. But so we come to another conditioned position, again closing us in. Any such rejection by the mind builds a wall in a little prison. Only by fully seeing and questioning into whatever existential matter that there is, there can eventually be a full and sound freedom from it and only then we can intelligently produce the best conditions for the future. How we in a number of specific ways are firmly conditioned, like by every part of the past, that may paradoxically offer us a wonderful sense of freedom from it all, and this matter is greatly outlined in the book THINKING and DESTINY by Harold Percival. 4)
All Great Expressions of Religion and Philosophy come strictly by Individuals. Then followers take over and by all their freedoms of thought it is then continually watered-down. If not worse. And then, not to have what is left too empty, it is nicely filled up with this or that from the outside. (All this of course with noteworthy additions and exceptions. But let's not leave The Core.)
Any personal or otherwise specific way for Truth is partial and conditioned by the past. Then, to have some sense of trust in our individual orientations, otherwise so easily bewildering, we mainly must go for conclusions, by common sense, and so on. But nothing from what is limited is final. And every analysis is limited. Including most intellectual attempts, even such as for coming to some unity of First and Second Generations of Theosophy.
One book by AB I have read, quite by myself. Esoteric Christianity. And one specific point in it I do remember. That contradictions of words in the Bible are to lead one on, into their inner meanings.
So it is now also in regard to a number of factual propositions, which in relations to Outlines of Esoteric Science are surely enough irreconcilable. That is when we heed to that
1) ”Theosophy is for those who can think or at least drive themselves to think”,
2) intelligence may rather strengthen the intellect, than excluding it, and
3) a number of irreconcilables equally appear as Theosophical.
We have to look ever closer into how aspects of teachings and spiritually inspiring expositions are in general partly personal, partly spiritual, partly true and partly false. This is really possible to discover, ever more closely, and for the Future of our tasks in the world that is most crucial. And for this our First Sources are incomparable, in awakening this very Faculty of Discrimination in ourselves. This thanks to their Extraordinary Gaps between 1) All Aspects of Persons and 2) Universal Factual Information. 5)
As you might know it seemed to me for several years to be more imporant what the LCC meant, than the TS. This because of a significant difference between a ”dynamical consciousness of no form” and ”merely mental mind-forms”. But this did not solve any actual problems! On the contrary! The ”higher and stronger” states of mind, by such as Ceremonials, even ever so altruistic, the more serious and difficult problems! 6) When there had been actual troubles with change of bishops (subjectively but definitively lowering that church) then fraternally I was invaluably shown a letter to Taimni (for all Gen Secr), saying that not even the young Krishnamurti in Adyar seemed to have been properly informed on Theosophy. It was quite a significant point, since I had just began to listen to him and he in some ways is so much more in line with first generation Theosophy than with 2nd. 7)
A little later I recorded a breakfast discussion between the one who wrote this to Taimni and another man, then since several decades the most leading TS-man in Sweden.
It is remarkable that explanations of differencies between what was first given out and what came from some 20 years later was then so enlightening to and appreciated by that man in Sweden. 8)
Once at a Summer School in England an old book not previously seen by me was opened. Like immediately it came up that AB:s secretary had in the twenties turned to her and asked for her current views on Judge. She had answered that Judge seemed not to have been as bad as she had thought. But she strongly refused to have this publicly known! So by that information it was immediately decided to have that whole book translated into Swedish. It was published in 1950 and it’s detective quality of investigations is remarkable. 9) Even if a lot, concerning such as with K, PGB, GdP and NSR, had, to some of us unfortunately, to be left out.
Your words now on altruism I want to come in Swedish on www.livet.in.
Truly fraternally and with love,
Gunnar.
FOOTNOTES:
1) The Holy Land is like a school example now, down here in the world. All kinds of so to say Acceptable Crimes are continually going on, virtually also Thanks to Democracy, and this without Any Shame, because God is on our side and we are Most Certainly One with some others, who lived some 3.000 years ago, when ”they built our capital”. When a tribe systematically justifies international crimes by help of crimes of others in the past it is regardless of all others who live today, and in the future, in the whole world. And who could now publicly utter this, without immediately having to be loudly called an anti-something?
2) Theosophy or Neo-Theosophy, lecture in England, transcribed in Sweden from a tape, this checked with the speaker, it being freely offered in a magazine for members to any Swedish member interested. Not one showed any kind of interest in it and the speaker later told me he would not give it again. Probably due to how differently we are inspired and each one having to learn to discriminate independently of others. Having said this, it is however now here for anyone. For there is also much else to consider, for those who care for Truth, for it’s own sake. The Theosophical Movement 1875 – 1950, A Manifesto by GAF, ”There is no Religion higher thatn Truth” by E L Gardner, The Elder Brother by G. Tillett and what follows here from Adyar Album. — Anything can be ”defended” and my own strongest inspiration came from a tape with ”Life Only”, a talk 1960 by TS-member Otto Viking, previously official representative in Denmark for Krishnamurti, later regionary biskop of LCC and having for many years regular summer camps for theosophists in his ”Besant Garden”. This recording now also freely available for anyone, mailto:gunnar.larson@telia.com.
Once GAF asked that bishop why he stayed in the church when having had such an inner liberation. He had answered that it was by his faithful services as a priest that this liberation had come to him.
This told me by GAF! During all my years with visits nearly all over I never met any other so clearly and fully open-minded as Geoffrey A Farthing. The most ”Back to Blavatsky”-Adyar-Theosophist we could imagine.3) ”Dynamical” means here only that Mental and Emotional Inertias and their Governing Powers in Religion, Philosophy, Science and Politics (and how much within the TS?) are losing their powers.
4) THINKING and DESTINY is available from word-foundation.com
5)In one of his booklets P G Bowen says, that in their common lifes Initiates in Occultism are easily more clearly divided between their lower persons and higher Egos. Most striking! And once GAF told us in the European School of Theosophy that he had been invited to a most Blavatsky-lined lodge in Canada and this to explain for them some specific part of the SD. So a copy of the SD was opened there, with this for him, on a white cloth, on his rostrum. But in that specific part HPB had made a mistake! — Now, that also HPB made mistakes we may easily make use of in defending other authorities we have, or in justifying also their works. Or merely as a Further Point, in relation to the whole.
6) All this is most wonderfully explained by P G Bowen! Here is one part in this:
”True Occultism is the Science of Life, through which comes mastery of the Art of Living. Without scientific knowledge the Aspirant, no matter how excellent his intentions, is always liable to be swung from the strait Path into one or other of the twin whirlpools, the Scylla of Psychism or the Charybdis of Mysticism. Of the danger of the first you, the Learner, have already been warned, but you have not learned that Mysticism, though it is of a far loftier nature, can, because of that very fact, prove a graver and more subtle danger. Little suspected, it lies in wait as a snare for all who, having attained to Invocation, rest in it, as in a harbour gained, and forget to recognize it for what it is, a step only, meant to lead to a higher.” — P G Bowen, The Occult Way, quoted in Athens.
Thank you dear Radha for a long article in The Theosophist on him!
It seems to have been learnt how ”spiritual” matters may ”lift”, but such that it brings attachements (by a kind of unintended ”seduction”) by partly expanding and, by this, to a beginner, partly conditioning and thus seriously limiting consciousness. This is not the fault of the church or anything else. Nobodys ”fault”. We all do our best. May even give our whole lives, for the best we know of. Most easily so when the highest kind of clairvoyance may then easily also come to stand for ”Science”! And yet, sooner or later there must be another level, by which we look right through. Even that. Or whatever it is. — How ”The Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions” shines now clearly and strongly through the LCC in my hometown Gothenburg.
7) Regardless of whether K would have responded to anything in this or not. He probably would have been most unconcerned. However he could have been much more significant, if he had really known of such as Jnana Yoga, which his dialogue in Saanen with an Indian student on the 7 Yogas clearly shows that he did not. — When (in -76) having listened to K. there were three kinds of ”Heaven”, one by LCC, one by HPB and one by K, and these three were then irreconcilable. Then that letter to Taimni gave a first but firm clue, that by the most Original in Theosophy, that would dissolve this difficulty. Thank you, GAF. And thank you dear Radha for, by much else, the most valuable part during all the Centernary Celebrations in Adyar in 1975, About Seriousness in the Search for Truth. Still from http://livet.in/CDarchive.html free of charge on CD.
8) Would like to send you a copy of that recording. But that would rather be like ridiculous. Intend to bring it to Rome, though.
9)Which brought me into the ULT. And the highest and most even qualities of lectures, during just a few days, has for me been at two times in Blavatsky Studies in Athens.
