The Secret Doctrine - Abridged Version.

[Janelle Cranston]

Just finished reading the abridged version of the Secret Doctrine - I never thought I was dumb but after reading it, I am now not so sure! :-) I did manage to understand a lot of it but still confused with some aspects. Anybody who has read the entire Secret Doctrine and has a total grasp on the subject has my deepest respect.

So we are (mostly) the fifth root race on the forth round? At the end of the seventh root race this round will end and the fifth will begin? Am I on the right track there or have I got it all mixed up? I've only read it once and I think I need to re-read it to get a grip.
Is there a cheat's (idiot's) version available? LOL
I guess that's why we're theosophists, we like to exercice our intellectual capabilities. :-)

[Janelle Cranston]

Yes Fred, I got some useful info back. Sorry to say that I haven't picked up the SD since I put down the abridged version back in January. Everyone's comments have inspired me to look at it again, and it sounds more like a life study. One of those rare pieces that just unveils more and more to the reader as the relationship between reader and book develops.

Very interesting reading everyone's comments especially Richards as it was exactly what we were discussing in our group the other night! (What sort of Theosophists are we?)

I am pondering Richards quote :- In short, to succeed in maintaining “Mindfulness,” it is necessary to be at a Degree of Self-Awareness which is at least slightly in advance of the Level of “tainted” consciousness which One (disguised as a person) is “in.”

Joe gave some good advise re using the secret doctrine as a reference book - I read the abridged version so I could get a feel for the SD which opened me up to many questions and thoughts. These ponderings are the beginnings of the thread I will follow in my study. And his reference to "using approaches that engage the intuition, vs. a literalist approach, hence the use of limericks, poems, art and other non-intellectual means of attempting to interpret the writings" are quite relevant to me. I seem to have been stuck in a lot of "head stuff" for a very long time. Reading, alone, just doesn't seem to cut it for me at the moment.

On the rounds and races...... thanks for the confirmations and clarifications.

Cheers.

[J. Spencer Rich]

I read the whole 2 volume version earlier this year. It was pretty intensive. As far as "Theosophy for Dummies" goes, I'd say read The Ancient Wisdom by Annie Besant. It's a fantastic read, reasonably easy to understand, and is fantastic to give to people who are curious, whether they're scientific materialists or self-professed Christians, Muslims, Jews, or other.

[Joe Fulton]

The phrase "root race" was first described in the book "Esoteric Buddhism", by AP Sinnett. The actual Sanskrit / Tibetan names are not known...and that would make a great subject of research! The general theory of the races is that one succeeds the other. However the reality isn't as clean cut as watching a TV series where one season ends and the next begins. These races (based on the Stanzas and the various Commentaries) blend into each other. It is an evolutionary scheme, after all. It's all a natural process, like the changing of the seasons.

The more you imagine in terms of you and your relations with the world and those around you the closer you will get to 'grokking' it. Life can be messy and evolution is too.

What is presented in the SD is not necessarily occult or otherwise arcane knowledge, but there is a good overview of a general order of things.

Hope that helps!

[steel styl]

Greetings,
nice post... thanks

Despite reading the entire SD a number of times (I`m on my 5th go - takes ages as I read related material inbetween :-) I only re/discover how much there is yet to learn, reading it at last once in its entirety will work "wonders" as it addresses that within one which is beyond "intellect", the discovery of the one underlying thread within the book/s is more than worth the effort not to mention how "transparent" other works become be they legends or fairy stories, "hardcore" ""occult works"" and other works from antiquity....

the introduction to the SD is also worth going through if one has not done so already...
I had an abridged version (of the SD) from a friend but found the material in that particular version somehow too arbitrary and certain parts would have been better with everything from the original...

p.s. yes we are (mostly) the fifth root race on the forth round. At the end of the seventh root race this round will end and the fifth will begin...