Monday 11 November 2019

The Mahatma Letters on Tolerance

Who are these mysterious Mahatmas, Adepts, Brothers, Sisters...Much creative speculation has been written about them and they have many imitators - why not read the original texts? One thing that can be said, is that tolerance seems to be a primary concern of theirs:


1-We refuse no one. ‘’Spheres of usefulness’’ can be found everywhere. (Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Series 2, p.125)

2-Ever turn away your gaze from the imperfections of your neighbour and centre rather your attention upon your own shortcomings in order to correct them and become wiser. (LMW, 2, p. 158)

3-Show not the disparity between claim and action in another man but, whether he be brother or neighbour, rather help him in his arduous walk in life. (LMW, 2, p. 158)

4-Do not be too severe on the merits of demerits of one who seeks admission among your ranks, as the truth about the actual state of the inner man can only be known to and dealt with justly by KARMA alone. (LMW, 2, p. 159)

5-Do not indulge in unbrotherly comparisons between the task accomplished by yourself and the work left undone by your neighbour or brother, in the field of Theosophy, as none is held to weed out a larger plot of ground than his strength and capacity will permit him. (LMW, 2, p. 159)

6-Those who try in their walk of life, to follow their inner light, will never be found judging far less condemning those weaker than themselves. (Some Words on Daily Life, Blavatsky, CW 7, pp. 173-175)

7-Make Theosophy a living force in your lives and through your example those class and caste distinctions, which for so long have bred hatred and misery, shall at no distant time come to be but distinctions of function in the common service of the nation-family and of the World-Brotherhood. (Blavatsky, CW 7, pp. 173-175)

8-Theosophy has to fight intolerance, prejudice, ignorance and selfishness, hidden under the mantle of hypocrisy. It has to throw all the light it can from the torch of Truth, with which its servants are entrusted. It must do this without fear or hesitation, dreading neither reproof nor condemnation. (Blavatsky, CW 7, pp. 173-175)

9-Theosophy, therefore, expects and demands from the Fellows of the Society a great mutual toleration and charity for each other’s shortcomings, ungrudging mutual help in the search for truths in every department of nature-moral and physical. And this ethical standard must be unflinchingly applied to daily life. (Blavatsky, CW 7, pp. 173-175)

10-In such a great work as this movement no one should expect to find his associates all congenial, intuitive, prudent or courageous. One of the first proofs of self-mastery is when one shows that he can be kind and forbearing and genial with companions of the most dissimilar characters and temperaments. One of the strongest signs of retrogression when one shows that he expects others to like what he likes and act as he acts.  (Letter to Hartmann, #10, Blavatsky CW 8 p, 449)

11-Europe is a large place but the world is bigger yet. The sun of Theosophy must shine for all, not for a part. There is more of this movement that you have yet had an inkling of, and the work of the T.S. is linked in with similar work that is secretly going on in all parts of the world. (Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, Barker, L. 47)

12-As it was our wish then, to signify to you that one could be both an active and useful member of the Society without inscribing himself our follower or co-religionist, so it is now. (ML, L. 87)


No comments:

Post a Comment