The Mahatma Letters on Universal Brotherhood and Love of Humanity

Who are these mysterious Mahatmas, Adepts, Brothers, Sisters... There has been much creative speculation about them and they have many imitators;  why not read the original texts? One thing that can be said of them, is that the ideas of universal brother/sisterhood  and love of humanity seem to be a fundamental concern of theirs.

They are selfish because you must be aware that the chief object of the T.S. is not so much to gratify individual aspirations as to serve our fellow men: and the real value of this term "selfish," which may jar upon your ear, has a peculiar significance with us which it cannot have with you; therefore, and to begin with, you must not accept it otherwise, than in the former sense. Perhaps you will better appreciate our meaning when told that in our view the highest aspirations for the welfare of humanity become tainted with selfishness if, in the mind of the philanthropist there lurks the shadow of desire for self benefit or a tendency to do injustice, even when these exist unconsciously to himself (Mahatma Letter to A.P.Sinnett, Letter 2).

Only the progress one makes in the study of Arcane knowledge from its rudimental elements, brings him gradually to understand our meaning. Only thus, and not otherwise, does it, strengthening and refining those mysterious links of sympathy between intelligent men — the temporarily isolated fragments of the universal Soul and the cosmic Soul itself — bring them into full rapport. Once this established, then only will these awakened sympathies serve, indeed, to connect MAN with — what for the want of a European scientific word more competent to express the idea, I am again compelled to describe as that energetic chain which binds together the material and Immaterial Kosmos, — Past, Present, and Future — and quicken his perceptions so as to clearly grasp, not merely all things of matter, but of Spirit also (Mahatma Letter to A.P.Sinnett, Letter 8).

Of course, the greater the progress towards deliverance, the less this will be the case, until, to crown all, human and purely individual personal feelings — blood-ties and friendship, patriotism and race predilection — all will give away, to become blended into one universal feeling, the only true and holy, the only unselfish and Eternal one — Love, an Immense Love for humanity — as a Whole! For it is "Humanity" which is the great Orphan, the only disinherited one upon this earth, my friend. And it is the duty of every man who is capable of an unselfish impulse, to do something, however little, for its welfare. Poor, poor humanity! It reminds me of the old fable of the war between the Body and its members: here too, each limb of this huge "Orphan" — fatherless and motherless — selfishly cares but for itself. The body uncared for suffers eternally, whether the limbs are at war or at rest. Its suffering and agony never cease. . . . And who can blame it — as your materialistic philosophers do — if, in this everlasting isolation and neglect it has evolved gods, unto whom "it ever cries for help but is not heard!" . . . Thus — Since there is hope for man only in man "I would not let one cry whom I could save! . . ."  (Mahatma Letter to A.P.Sinnett, Letter 8).

The term “Universal Brotherhood” is no idle phrase . . . It is the only secure foundation for universal morality. If it be a dream, it is at least a noble one for mankind: and it is the aspiration of the true adept (Mahatma Letter to A.P.Sinnett, Letter 34).

I say again then. It is he alone who has the love of humanity at heart, who is capable of grasping thoroughly the idea of a regenerating practical Brotherhood who is entitled to the possession of our secrets. He alone, such a man — will never misuse his powers, as there will be no fear that he should turn them to selfish ends. A man who places not the good of mankind above his own good is not worthy of becoming our chela — he is not worthy of becoming higher in knowledge than his neighbour (Mahatma Letter to A.P.Sinnett, Letter 38).

The world has clouded the light of true knowledge, and selfishness will not allow its resurrection, for it excludes and will not recognise the whole fellowship of all those who were born under the same immutable natural law (Mahatma Letter to A.P.Sinnett, Letter 38).

Beware then, of an uncharitable spirit, for it will rise up like a hungry wolf in your path, and devour the better qualities of your nature that have been springing into life. Broaden instead of narrowing your sympathies; try to identify yourself with your fellows, rather than to contract your circle of affinity (Mahatma Letter to A.P.Sinnett, Letter 66).

The white race must be the first to stretch out the hand of fellowship to the dark nations, to call the poor despised "nigger" brothers. This prospect may not smile to all. He is no Theosophist who objects to this principle. (Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Series1, letter 1)

In view of the ever increasing triumph and at the same time misuse of free-thought and liberty (the Universal reign of Satan, Eliphas Levi would have called it), how is the combative natural instinct of man to be restrained from inflicting hitherto unheard of cruelties and enormities, tyranny, injustice, etc., if not through the soothing influence of a brotherhood and of the practical application of Buddha's esoteric doctrines? (Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Series1, letter 1)

And it is we, the humble disciples of these perfect lamas, who are expected to allow the T.S. to drop its noblest title, that of the Brotherhood of Humanity to become a simple school of psychology? No, no, good brothers, you have been labouring under the mistake too long already. Let us understand each other. He who does not feel competent enough to grasp the noble idea sufficiently to work for it, need not undertake a task too heavy for him. (Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Series1, letter 1)

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)

Astrology Spring Equinox: Thursday, March 19, 11:49pm, 2020

Taking Care of Business

2020 is a year of beginnings and endings -a year to process the end of the first 20-year period of the new millennium; also a year to plan and prepare the hopeful new decade as well as the next 20-year Jupiter-Saturn cycle. This pivotal year is marked by strong quarterly punctuations, with conjunctions and eclipses occurring close to the solstice periods.

The year kicked off with a bang, inaugurating a new 35-year Saturn-Pluto cycle with an eclipse on January 10 and a Saturn-Pluto conjunction on the 12^th. According to Maurice Fernandez:

Power and resources can be material but can take the form of knowledge, or spiritual potency, as well. Saturn–Pluto reflects a lesson about the right use of power, so this cycle is also associated with corruption and abuse. Since it holds the key to the “bank coffers,” it also describes the temptation to disregard moral standards and use global resources to satisfy one’s greed. Sooner or later, corruption is exposed, for Saturn represents the karmic consequences of misaligned actions; however, “later” is more often the case, because exposing corruption can take time.

In the week preceding this, there was the tumultuous events of a US-directed assassination of a top Iranian army general closely followed by the downing a Ukrainian commercial airplane by the Iranian army. It was on the day of the conjunction that Iran declared responsibility for the downing, stating that it was accidental, after having denied involvement previously.  There was a massive winter storm in the US that stretched from Texas to Michigan. North Korean diplomats announced a desire to back away from nuclear armament discussions and the impeachment process for president Trump was officialized on January 15^th, with an acquittal decision on February 5^th.

The week of the conjunction and eclipse was also marked by major earthquakes in Puerto Rico and a volcanic eruption in the Philippines (Fernandez notes:‘’Angular aspects between Saturn and Pluto are also known to reflect pandemics and natural disasters, particularly seismic and volcanic activity’’.) In Great Britain, the formal Brexit process was made official. Taiwan elected a strongly anti-Chinese president while China announced a draconian ban on foreign teaching materials. In Australia, climate protests sparked by the massive forest fires reached a peak. It was at this time also that a worldwide coronavirus pandemic began to manifest itself, escalating over the next couple of months. Interestingly, Robert Hand writes of the Saturn-Pluto conjunction: ‘’Sometimes government or other officials will impose heavy burdens that greatly restrict your freedom of movement. It is also possible that some incident or accident may affect your health and thereby restrict your freedom of movement.’’ (p. 359).

At the Spring equinox, on March 20^th, we are fast approaching an exact Jupiter-Pluto conjunction, on April 14^th, which will occur three times this year, again on June 30 and November 2, starting a new 13-year cycle. According to Gray Crawford:

Since Jupiter and Pluto are uniting in Capricorn, they will be under rulership of the slow and steady Saturn, bringing tests that temper the potential excess and inflation of Jupiter. Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn transiting through Capricorn will bring lessons of maturity and responsibility cultivated through acceptance of natural cycles of change. The combination of Jupiter and Pluto can incite extreme ambition for personal power, yet their transit through Capricorn along with Saturn means that we will need to adjust aspirations to contend with the limitations we face in regard to material resources and available time and space. The difficulties or crises we endure will bring revisioning of what needs to be nurtured and developed—and what needs to be shed and let go.

Practical Idealistic Cooperation (Mars/Jupiter/Pluto/Saturn stellium in a minor grand trine with Venus and Neptune)

This is a very earthy chart, with six planets in practical earth signs (four in Capricorn, two in Taurus). The remaining three planets are in emotional water sign Pisces. The Moon is in the social air-sign of Aquarius.

Capricorn is all about social values, maintaining the social order, valuing roles in society. With Saturn in Capricorn, ruler of this sign, these concerns are reinforced, and can bring restrictions to enforce the rules that maintain social order. The keynote for this sign is conformity, following the rules by the book, complying with regulations by the letter, otherwise things will not proceed. Mars, Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn are all in conjunction, thus forming a stellium, a powerful configuration that gives a preponderant influence to the sign it is in.

The Mars-Jupiter conjunction is the tightest aspect of this chart. Mars in Capricorn brings stability, reliability, discipline. The conjunction adds confidence, enthusiasm, drive, determination, with a risk of overworking. Otherwise this stellium emphasizes the practical consequences of getting rid of things that are no longer working. The focus is on realism, concrete results, practical goals, thereby cutting through mirages, delusions, false promises, posturing, and seduction. Results come through hard work and effort, with no shortcuts. Accountability, responsibility, attention to details, the fine print, and bureaucratic procedures are key concerns.

Venus sextile Neptune brings artistic imagination, strong compassion, spiritual feelings, sensitivity, tolerance and optimism.

Capricorn Stellium sextile Neptune adds empathy, idealism, and imagination.

Neptune in Pisces (2011-2025), its ruling sign, is at the apex of this minor grand trine, its dreamy idealistic  nature brings strong spiritual and artistic inspiration, forming an interesting counterpoint to practical, realistic Saturn in Capricorn. The previous Neptune in Pisces passage (1847-1861) was marked by the spiritualism movement that prefigured Helena Blavatsky and the theosophical movement, and in the arts, the Pre-Raphaelite movement and late Romanticism. This period can bring confusion, addiction (the opioid crisis), escapism (video game technology). It also governs medicine and health concerns.

Overall, this minor grand trine tends to lighten the rather tense, stern, inquisitive, power-focused restrictive materialism of the Capricorn stellium with Neptunian idealism and Venusian empathy to encourage the possibility of practical compassionate social cooperation.

Additional Aspects

The second tight aspect is Sun sextile Saturn, which brings a sense of being grounded and stable, slow, and steady productivity with focus, practicality and efficiency.

Further tight aspects are Mercury (in Pisces) sextile Uranus (in Taurus), which brings imagination and creative thinking, especially with environmental and financial concerns.

Moon square Venus brings feelings of emotional repression, fear of commitment and inappropriate attractions.

After a tumultuous Winter, the Spring season should be the mildest season of the year, as the Summer season is marked by three eclipses around the Solstice point (June 5, 21, July 5) and Autumn by intense Mars squares with Jupiter, Pluto and Saturn and two eclipses near the Winter solstice period (November 30, December 14) and the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction (December 21).

References

Gray Crawford 2020 Jupiter-Pluto Conjunction: Birthing Ambition and Compassion from the Core https://www.astrology.com/article/2020-jupiter-pluto-conjunction-meaning

Maurice Fernandez:The Saturn – Pluto Conjunction And the transits for the year 2020

 https://www.mauricefernandez.com/the-saturn-pluto-conjunction-and-the-transits-for-the-year-2020/

Robert Hand, Planets in Transit

https://cafeastrology.com/astrology-of-2020.html

https://www.skyscript.co.uk/moonaspects.html

Thanks to Ronnie Pontiac for the Robert Hand/Coronavirus reference.

Theosophy and the Trikaya 1 (Nirmanakaya, Sambhogakaya, Dharmakaya)

The Trikāya Buddha, Shanyuan Temple, Liaoning Province, China.

The early theosophical teachings are noted for their introduction of an esoteric explanation of the Trikaya, a mystical doctrine from Mahayana Buddhism. To introduce the topic, below are some general explanations of the Buddhist concept from western scholars. The first is an early 19th century study by an author cited by Blavatsky, Ernst Johann Eitel (1838 –1908), a protestant missionary in China. The second is from a more recent study.

Trikaya (Tib. Skugsum) . lit. 3 bodies, or threefold embodiment. (1.) Three representations of Buddha, viz. his statue, his teachings, and his stupa (q. v.) (2.) The historical Buddha, as uniting in himself 3 bodily qualities, see Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya. (3.) Buddha, as having passed through, and still existing in, 3 forms or persons, viz. (a) as " Sakyamuni (or earthly Buddha, endowed with the Nirmanakdya which passed through 100,000 kotis of transformations " (on earth) ; (b.) as  " Lochana (or heavenly Dhyani Bodhisattva, endowed with the) Sambhogakaya of absolute completeness " (in Dhyana); (c.) as "Vairochana (or Dhyani Buddha, endowed with the Dharmakaya of absolute purity " (in Nirvana). In speaking of Buddha as now combining the foregoing (historically arranged) persons or forms of existence, the order here given is, of course, reversed. As to how this doctrine arose, we can only guess. Primitive Buddhism in China distinguished a material, visible and perishable body (rupa kaya) and an immaterial, invisible and immortal body, dharma kaya, as attributes of human existence. This dichotomy— probably taught by Sakyamuni himself—was even afterwards retained in characterizing the nature of ordinary human beings. But in later ages, when the combined influence of Shivaism, which ascribed to Shiva a threefold body (Dharmakaya, Sarmbhogakaya and Nirmanakaya) and Brahminism, with its Trimurti (of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) gave rise to the Buddhist dogma of a Triratna (Buddha, Dharma and Sahgha), trichotomism was taught with regard to the nature of all Buddhas. 

Bodlhi being the characteristic of a Buddha, a distinction was now made of " essential Bodhi " as the attribute of the Dharmakaya, " reflected Bodhi '' as the attribute of the Sambhogakaya, and " practical Bodhi" as the attribute of the Nirmanakaya; and Buddha, combining in himself these 3 conditions of existence, was said to be living, at the same time, in 3 different spheres, viz. (1.) as " having essentially entered Nirvana," being as such a Dhyani Buddha, living in Arupadhatu in the Dharmakaya state of essential Bodhi, (2.) as " living in reflex in Rupa dhatu " and being, as such, in the intermediate degree of a Dhyani Bodhisattva in the Sambhogakaya state of reflected Bodhi, and (3.) as "living practically in Kamadhatu," in the elementary degree of a Manuchi Buddha in the Nirmanakaya state of practical Bodhi. In each of these 3 forms of existence, Buddha has a peculiar mode of existence, viz., (1.) absolute purity as Dhyani Buddha, (2.) absolute completeness as Dhyani Bodhisattva, and (3.) numberless transformations as Manuchi Buddha. Likewise also Buddha's influence has a different sphere in each of these 3 forms of existence, viz., (1.) as Dhyani Buddha he rules in the "domain of the spiritual " (4th Buddha kchetra), (2.) as Dhyani Bodhisattva he rules in the "domain of success " (3rd Buddha kchetra), and (3.) as "Manuchi Buddha he rules in the domain of mixed qualities " (1st and 2nd Buddhakchetra). There is clearly the idea of a unity in trinity underlying these distinctions and thus the dogmas of the Trailokya, Trikaya' and the Triratna (q. T.) are interlinked, as the subjoined synoptic table shows in detail  (Eitel, Ernest J. Handbook of Buddhism, Hong Kong, 1888). 

The Trikaya doctrine of Buddhism, i.e., the doctrine that the Buddha has three "bodies," is notorious for its complexities. Attributed to the Yogacara, but regarded as typical of the Mahayana in general, it is customarily cited in books on Buddhism in terms of the triad dharma-kaya, sambhoga-kaya (or sambhogika-kaya) and nirmana-kaya (or nairmanika-kaya). Taking these in ascending order of abstraction, the nirmana-kaya, usually translated "apparitional body," "phantom body," "transformation body," etc., is the physical manifestation of Buddhahood, the ordinary perishable human form, as exemplified by the "historical Buddha," Siddhartha Gautama. The sambhoga-kaya ("body of bliss," "reward body," "enjoyment body," etc.) is a more exalted and splendid manifestation of the enlightened personality, still in the realm of form, but visible only to bodhisattvas, those of advanced spiritual capabilities. By contrast, the dharma-kaya ("Dianna-body," "Body of Truth," "Cosmic Body," "Absolute Body," etc.) is both formless and imperishable, representing the identification of the Buddha with the truth which he revealed, or with reality itself. As such the dharma-kaya is often linked with various terms for reality, such as dharmata, dharma-dhatu, and so on, and has even been regarded as a kind of Buddhist absolute, or at least at one with it.  In this light the dharma-kaya is understood as the primal "source" or "ground" from which the other two types of bodies emanate. While many scholars are content to describe this in purely abstract terms, others impute personal characteristics to it; and at least one writer has gone so far as to compare it to the Christian idea of Godhead. (Harrison, Paul (1992). Is the Dharma-Kāya the Real "Phantom Body" of the Buddha?. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 15 (1), 44)

 

Part 2