Meanderings - August 31, 2010 - The Story is About You!

[Joe Fulton]

For most who are familiar with the term "Theosophy", the next item that invariably comes to mind is HP Blavatsky's "Secret Doctrine" (hereafter referred to as 'SD'). On this site you will find a number of very interesting interpretations of the work. Some of these interpretations are a direct result of study and some derived as a result of attempts to understand and communicate the meaning in one's own words.

In HPB's Preface, she states: " Further, it claims consideration, not by reason of any appeal to dogmatic authority, but because it closely adheres to Nature, and follows the laws of uniformity and analogy." This is an important statement. It places the understanding on a firmly logical, albeit non-materialistic basis. In the following paragraph, she states that "The aim of this work may be thus stated: to show that Nature is not “a fortuitous concurrence of atoms,” and to assign to man his rightful place in the scheme of the Universe..."

That is a theme that resonates today very clearly in many areas. Quantum theory, which was utterly unknown in the West in 1888, the popularization of Tibetan Buddhism by the Dalai Lama and the vast influx of general Eastern thought have done a lot to break through the many layers of blind prejudice encountered when the Secret Doctrine was written.

The basic idea of the Hermetic/Eastern knowledge in the SD is that we are intimately intwined with the universe, and that the study of one without the other is inherently futile. The major questions revolve around the how and the why. Within its pages lie many propositions outlining the basic assumptions and many proofs, drawn from ancient literature and recent writings (of the late 1880's) supporting the propositions.

The main issue for students is, aside from its sheer length and the use of Sanskrit, is the amount of understanding and background one must have to take it literally. Therein lies the twist.

So, what are some approaches and how can we attempt to see the forest for the trees? There's a lot to read and if we get slogged in the proofs, it can be easy to forget the sweep and wonder.

In this I am reminded of the Peter Brook production of the Mahabharata. In the beginning of the story Vyasa asks a boy to write a poem. The boy asks what the poem is about. Vyasa tells the boy "It is about you. In the end, if you listen, you will be someone else." The SD is much the same. It is about you, and if you listen you will end up as someone else.

The knowledge is in all of us. Words, symbols and numbers tell us their stories, and in turn allow us to bring this knowledge into the world for others to use. Read the Stanzas, read them as a story and let your imagination run wild.

After all, wasn't it Einstein who said that 'imagination is more important than intelligence'?

More on this to come.