Plotinus and the Stoics on Providence

Blavatsky occasionally hints at the connection between the eastern notion of karma and the western notion of providence, clearly favoring the pantheistic pagan concept over the theistic version. (1)

"Karma-Nemesis is the synonym of PROVIDENCE, minus design, goodness, and every other finite attribute and qualification, so unphilosophically attributed to the latter. An Occultist or a philosopher will not speak of the goodness or cruelty of Providence; but, identifying it with Karma-Nemesis, he will teach that nevertheless it guards the good and watches over them in this, as in future lives; and that it punishes the evil-doer -- aye, even to his seventh rebirth"(Sd1 643).

The Greek term for ‘’fate’ is ‘’heimarmene’’, the term for providence is ‘’pronoia’’; and since providence was a major Neoplatonic doctrine, and a prominent theme in ancient philosophy in general, one can find works and fragments by such philosophers as Chrysippus, Nemesius of Ephesa, Apuleuis, Calcidius, Albinus, Pseudo-Plutarch, Alexander of Aphrodisias, Seneca, Epictetus, Cicero, Plotinus, Hierocles, Proclus, Synesius, and Boethius, I would therefore  like to go one step further and claim that karma and providence are equivalent terms. The quotes below show to illustrate this and also how both the Platonic and Stoic schools held similar views on this idea: 

1.      Troublesome situations play a role in the coordination of the whole.

“And even these troubles are not altogether without usefulness for the co-ordination and completion  of the whole” (En. I, 5, 15).

“For the present, I will say so much of the eventualities that you style harsh, unfortunate and detestable; in the first place, they benefit the individuals to whose lot they fall, and, in the second place , they benefit the whole body of mankind, for which the gods are more concerned than they are of individuals” (Seneca 3, 1, 15)

2.     Nothing that happens is bad for the good man; nothing that happens is good for the bad man.

 “As for people getting what they do not deserve, when the good get what is bad and the bad the opposite, it is correct to say that nothing is bad for the good man and nothing, correspondingly, good for the bad one; (En. 3, 2, 6, 5).”

“’Why do many misfortunes fall to the lot of good men?’ It is not possible that any evil can befall a good man” (Seneca 2,  1, 12). “Yet why does god allow evil to happen to good men? But in fact he does not” (Seneca 6, 1, 26).

3.     Troubles serve to awaken us and help us understand the nature of virtue and vice.

“For it makes men awake and wakes up the intelligence and understanding of those who are opposed to the ways of wickedness” (En. 3, 2, 5, 20).

“Do not, I beseech you, dread the things which the immortal gods apply to our souls like goads; disaster is virtue’s opportunity”. (Seneca 4, 6, 20). 

4.     Why are good people sometimes disfavored and bad people sometimes favored?

“But what if one considers the comparative distribution of evils to men of opposite character, that the good are poor and the wicked are rich, and the bad have more than their share of things which those who are human beings must have, and are masters, and peoples and cities belong to them?” (En. 3, 2, 7, 30).

‘’Yet why was god so unfair in distributing destinies as to allot good men poverty and wounds and painful death?’’ (Seneca 5, 9, 25)

5.     The earth is very small and unimportant compared to the vastness of the universe.

“but men are in the middle and below, and above are heaven and the gods in it; but the earth is like a central point even in comparison with only one of the stars” (En. 3, 2, 8,5).

“The whole earth is a mere point in space: what a minute cranny within this is your own habitation, and how many and what sort will sing your praises here!” (Marcus Aurelius 4, 3).

6.     It is normal for things to happen according to physical laws, such as the stronger defeating the weaker.

“Then again, it is ridiculous for people to do everything else in life according to their own ideas,  even if they are not doing it in the way which the gods like, and then be merely saved by the gods without even doing the things by means of which the gods command them to save themselves?” (En. 3, 2, 8, 40)

“Somewhere or other we are going to have encounters with wild beasts, and with man, too – more dangerous than all those beasts. Floods will rob us of one thing, fire of another. These are conditions of our existence which we cannot change’’ (Seneca Epist. 107, 7, 226)

7.     The good life consists in being good; a bad life consists in being bad .

“But it says that those who have become good shall have a good life, now, and laid up for them hereafter as well, and the wicked the opposite” (En.3, 2, 9, 10).

“But to you I have given goods that are sure and abiding, goods which are better and greater the more one turns them about and scrutinizes them from every side. (Seneca 6, 5, 27)

8.    Adversity has benefits that are either evident are otherwise hidden.

“No, it is necessary that these, too, should exist; and some of the benefits which come from them are obvious, and those which are not evident, many of them time discovers”(En. 3, 2, 9,35).

“Of all these propositions the most difficult, apparently, is the first in the list, that the objects of our dread and horror are actually advantageous to the persons to whose lot they fall” (Seneca, 3, 2, 15) 

9.     Things occur in a chain of causation.

“Given a first principle, it accomplishes what follows with the inclusion in the chain of causation of all principles there are; but men, too , are principles; at any rate, they are moved to noble actions by their own nature, and this is an independent principle” (En. 3, 2, 10, 15).

“I know that all things proceed according to a law that is fixed and eternally valid. Fate directs us, and the first hour of our birth determines each man’s span. Cause is linked with cause, and a long chain of events governs all matters public and private” (Seneca 5, 7, 24-5). 

10.Beauty and order in the natural world is a sign of providence

“for example, the workmanship which produces wonders in rich variety in ordinary animals, and the beauty of appearance which extends to the fruits and even the leaves of plants, and their beauty of flower which comes so effortlessly, and their delicacy and variety, and that all this has not been  made once and come to an end but is always being made as the powers above move in different ways over this world” (En. 3, 2, 13, 20). 

“that this orderliness is not a property of matter moving at random; and that fortuitous conglomerations cannot arrange their balance so skillfully that the earth, which is heaviest in weight, should abide unmoved and, as spectator, observe the rapid flight of the surrounding sky, how the seas are distilled into the valleys to soften the earth, how huge growths burgeon from tiny seeds” (Seneca 1, 2, 10-11)

11.  Play your role in life as actor in a play

“But in the truer poetic creation, which men who have a poetic nature imitate in part, the soul acts, receiving the part which it acts from the poet creator; “  (En. 3, 2, 17, 35)

“Remember that you are an actor in a drama, of such a kind as the author pleases to make it“ (Epictetus, Manuel, 17 ).

12. Death is like an actor exiting a play.

“If, then, death is a changing of body, like changing of clothes on the stage, or, for some of us, a putting off of body, like in the theatre the final exit, in that performance, of an actor who will on later occasion come in again to play, what would there be that is terrible in a change of this kind of living beings into other?” (En. 3, 2, 15,20).

“It is like the officer who engaged a comic actor dismissing him from the stage.’ But I have not played my five acts, only three.’ Completion is determined by that being who caused first your composition and now your dissolution. You have no part in either causation. Go then in peace: the god who lets you go is at peace with you.” (Marcus Aurelius XII, 36) (Armstrong 90)

13. Mishaps should be seen as a children’s game

“But if anyone joins in their play and suffers their sort of sufferings, he must know that he has tumbled into a children’s game and put off the play-costume in which he was dressed” (En. 3, 2, 15,40).

“Thus, when you are unable to convince any one, consider him as a child, and clap your hands with him; (Epictetus I, 29, 30-32)

14.  The wrongdoer is punished by becoming wicked

‘’But those who do these things are punished, first by being wolves and ill-fated men;’’ (En. 3, 2, 4, 25)

‘’But he is the person hurt who suffers the most miserable and shameful evils; who, instead of a man, becomes a wolf or viper or a hornet’’ (Epictetus IV, 1, 127)

(1) Although this probably refers to more popular theological notions. Note that Wayne J. Hankey gives the following points of agreement between Iamblichus, Proclus, Boethius, Dionysius, and Thomas Aquinas regarding providence:

http://www.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/fass/Classics/Hankey/Neoplatonist%20Surprises%20for%20Dionysius%202009.pdf) :

1) theodicy, under the form of the question of evil because the existence of evil, especially injustice in the human realm, seems inconsistent with government by a good divine providence;

2) criticism of the Epicureans and Stoics, primarily because of atheism or of determinism which excludes the freewill which all regard as necessary to the operation of providence in humans;

3) criticism of Aristotle and the Peripatetics, because they do not extend providence to human individuals;

4) the distinction between a higher providence, on the one hand, and fate, fortune, nature, or government, on the other;

5) that fundamental to providence is its operating in each kind of being in a way adapted to each thing‘s mode and through its inherent teleology;

6) that providence extends to individuals;

7) that providence employs spiritual beings intermediary between the First and humans;

8) that humans are in the middle between the sensible and the intellectual worlds and that this is crucial to how they stand to providence;

9) that humans as rational souls have free choice;

10) that providence operates in them by their acquisition of virtues or vices;

11) that prayer requires human freedom and is essential to the operation of providence;

12) that providence combines what happens outside human control (most things) with the free acts of intellectual and rational beings for the good of virtuous humans;

13) that providence is a function either of the divine intellect and will, or of the gods as pro-noia, above mind;

14) that, either as divine intellect or as divinity above intellect, providence is an eternal unchanging intuition uniting the generic and the individual;

15) that the divine providential care for human individuals is ultimately its providing a summons and ways, natural and gracious, to deiformity.

Theosophy Basics: Blavatsky on Altruism

"For every flower of love and charity he plants in his neighbour’s garden, a loathsome weed will disappear from his own, and so this garden of the gods — Humanity — shall blossom as a rose."

Despite the general human tendency towards selfishness, the theosophical approach gives major importance to the unselfish altruistic values:
It sounds very simple, but is eminently difficult; for that cure is “ALTRUISM.” And this is the keynote of Theosophy and the cure for all ills; this it is which the real Founders of the Theosophical Society promote as its first object — UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD. (Letter II — 1889 – Third Annual Convention — April 28-29)

Nothing of that which is conducive to help man, collectively or individually, to live—not « happily »—but less unhappily in this world, ought to be indifferent to the Theosophist-Occultist. It is no concern of his whether his help benefits a man in his worldly or spiritual progress ; his first duty is to be ever ready to help if he can, without stopping to philosophize. [WHAT SHALL WE DO FOR OUR FELLOW-MEN ? Lucifer, Vol. V, No. 26, October, 1889, pp. 156-165, CW 11, 466]

“Love one another,” said the great Teacher to those who were studying the mysteries of “the kingdom of God.” “preach altruism, keep unity, mutual understanding and harmony in your groups, all of you who place yourselves among the neophytes and the seekers after the ONE TRUTH,” other Teachers tell us. “Without unity, and intellectual as well as psychic sympathy, you will arrive at nothing. He who sows discord, reaps the whirlwind ...”[1] [THE BEACON OF THE UNKNOWN La Revue Théosophique,  Paris, Vol. I, Nos. 3,4,5,6; May 21 , 1889, pp. 1-9; June 21, 1889; pp. 1-7; July 21, 1889, pp. 1-6; August 21, 1889, pp. 1-9, CW 11, 275]

All are willing to work for their own development and progress; very few for those of others. To quote the same writer again: “Men have been deceived and deluded long enough; they must break their idols, put away their shams, and go to work for themselves — nay, there is one little word too much or too many, for he who works for himself had better not work at all; rather let him work himself for others, for all. For every flower of love and charity he plants in his neighbour’s garden, a loathsome weed will disappear from his own, and so this garden of the gods — Humanity — shall blossom as a rose. In all Bibles, all religions, this is plainly set forth — but designing men have at first misinterpreted and finally emasculated, materialised, besotted them. It does not require a new revelation. Let every man be a revelation unto himself. Let once man’s immortal spirit take possession of the temple of his body, drive out the money-changers and every unclean thing, and his own divine humanity will redeem him, for when he is thus at one with himself he will know the ‘builder of the Temple.’” (Key to Theosophy, 53)

No man has a right to say that he can do nothing for others, on any pretext whatever. “By doing the proper duty in the proper place, a man may make the world his debtor,” says an English writer. A cup of cold water given in time to a thirsty wayfarer is a nobler duty and more worth, than a dozen of dinners given away, out of season, to men who can afford to pay for them. No man who has not got it in him will ever become a Theosophist; but he may remain a member of our Society all the same. We have no rules by which we could force any man to become a practical Theosophist, if he does not desire to be one. (Key 241)

 An extract from a letter from one of Blavatsky’s teachers has become a classic formulation of this idea:
“He who does not practice altruism; he who is not prepared to share his last morsel with a weaker or a poorer than himself; he who neglects to help his brother man, of whatever race, nation, or creed, whenever and wherever he meets suffering, and who turns a deaf ear to the cry of human misery; he who hears an innocent person slandered, whether a brother Theosophist or not, and  does not undertake his defense as he would undertake his own—is no Theosophist. [The Theosophical Society: Its mission and it Future. Lucifer, Vol. II, No. 12, August, 1888, pp. 421-433, CW 10, 70]

---

[1] Siamese and Buddhist proverb.

varia:
upcoming lecture
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Book Review: Blavatsky - The Secret Doctrine Dialogues

The Secret Doctrine Dialogues: H. P. Blavatsky Talks with Students

 2013,  The Theosophy Company; 750 pages

http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/SD-Diialogues.htm

First published in the Netherlands in 2010 and edited by Michael Gomes, the happy surprising discovery of a lost collection of transcripts of an important study class on the Secret Doctrine given by H. P. Blavatsky in 1889 by Daniel Caldwell is truly an amazing event. The resulting book is probably the most important Blavatsky publication since Trevor Barker’s 1925 Letters of H.P Blavatsky to A.P. Sinnett.

There are twenty-two class transcriptions in all – the first ten classes comprise the contents of the original Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge publication, which covered the first four stanzas of the Secret Doctrine. Classes 11- 17 and part of 21 cover the rest of the Secret Doctrine to the end of Stanza 7. Class 18 is sadly missing and presumably dealt with early and middle slokas of Stanza 7. The remaining classes are dedicated to discussing questions to what eventually became the Key to Theosophy and it is fascinating to see part of the collaborative process that went into the writing of that classic work.

The first thing that one notices is how different the class transcripts of stanzas i-iv differ are the original published 1890 Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge version. It now seems that a considerable amount of re-writing and editing and additions of new material went into the making of that valuable work, one of the underappreciated gems in the Blavatskian oeuvre.

The remaining transcriptions are particularly valuable due to the extremely difficult nature of the stanzaa of the first volume of the Secret Doctrine. Therefore commentary from the original author provides much needed and invaluable hints and explanations.

Another striking aspect to these transcriptions is that one is afforded the opportunity to be a fly on the wall in a room with Blavatsky having discussions with some of her closest students and so we get the most up-close and personal glimpse of Blavatsky yet. Naturally, there are many lively examples of the famous Blavatskian wit, sarcasm, iconoclasm, temper, etc… and also, more poignantly, occasional examples  of Blavatsky feeling the strain of her poor health and the heavy public opposition she was faced with. Yet despite this, and with the added difficulty of having to deal with students much more accustomed to materialistic science than esoteric philosophy (some of them with considerable credentials), she patiently soldiered on to cover the entirety of the first section of the Secret Doctrine.

One also notices the very informal and casual tone of the classes, much different from the often  very laboured, erudite style of her writings; but this does not mean that there is a lack of substance in these texts – there is a refreshing simple kind of wisdom in many of the explanations, giving them a more accessible quality than the formidable original text, making them valuable as an introduction to the Secret Doctrine as well as helpful commentary for advanced students of the text. Moreover, one gets occasional intriguing bits of information not found in any of her writings, further showing what a fathomless fount of information this remarkable woman was (although in general, she is quite reticent to expand upon recondite esoteric hints found in the Secret Doctrine).

Meeting 15 of April 18, 1889 is of interest due to the participation of famous theosophists G.R.S. Mead and A.P. Sinnett as well most likely the famous poet and Theosophist W.B. Yeats. Annie Besant participated in class 21 of June 6 1889. Moreover, the well-known astrologer Sepharial (Walter Old) is a prominent and articulate class participant. This is truly an exceptional publication - highly recommended.

Below is an extract from class 20 of May 30, 1889, showing Blavatsky's distinctively eloquent philosophical metaphysical intuition (pp. 553-554):

"This is then the Unknowable, and this contains more than a simple negation. It is the confession of our human ignorance; but also the tacit or virtual admission that within man there is that which feels that energy which is the universal substance"

Mme. Blavatsky:  This is then the Unknowable, and this contains more than a simple negation. It is the confession of our human ignorance; but also the tacit or virtual admission that within man there is that which feels that energy which is the universal substance; it is fabric, so to speak. Now, Spencer repeats very often that Unknowable is that energy which manifests itself simultaneously in the universe, and in our consciousness, and that it is the highest existing reality, only concealed in the ever-changing progress of physical manifestation; and yet spirit for Herbert Spencer is simply the invisible cosmic cause of these phenomena. As I understand him he does not see in spirit anything more. He attributes to this essence, as we do, unity, homogeneity, and a limitless existence outside space and time, whose means of activity are universal laws. We say so, too, but we add that above that essence and plurality of the laws whose manifestations are only periodical, there is the one eternal law, the causeless cause, as we call it. Spencer places the Unknowable face to face with the abstract and the cosmic phenomena, and sees in this Unknowable the cause of the manifestation. The Positivist, on the other hand, while admitting the existence of a certain fundamental or basic energy, speaks, nevertheless, of the Unknowable as being  simply a negative quantity, which is a contradiction in terms. Now, you understand the idea. One calls it the Unknowable, and the other the Unknown. It is positively a contradiction in terms, and both mean quite a different thing; and yet, the same thing. Because Herbert Spencer calls that which we would call the First Logos—or the first manifestation, the radiation from the eternal—he calls it first cause; and then he speaks about the Unknowable. The other one speaks of the Unknown and wants to make of the Unknown the Parabrahman. You understand? But the Parabrahman entirely unconsciousness, that is to say, a negative quantity, as he calls it. Now, what we Occultists say is that neither Spencer nor Harrison offers anything like a complete philosophy. The Unknowable or the Unknown could not exist for our perceptions, nor could our perceptions for it. It is the Unknown, or the Invisible manifesting the Logos, which we place face to face with every phenomenon—abstract, physical, psychic, mental, or spiritual—because the Unknown will always contain in itself some portion of the Unknowable, that is to say, some of the laws and manifestations which elude our perception for a time. On the other hand, Unknowable, being the sum of all that which owing to our finite intellectual organization may elude forever our perceptions, is the Parabrahman, or the causeless cause. Now, if I have succeeded in making myself understood, then I say if you study Spencer’s Unknowable, and take Harrison’s Unknown, instead of accepting either one or the other, seeing the necessary complements of each one life, then our one abstract Monad, and our one universal Prâna, whose eternal, immutable, causeless cause, is our Vedântinic Parabrahman, at one end of the line, and the great being, the human race or humanity at the other, then you will have the true idea of what the Occultists mean. You see it is this humanity and each unit in it which are, at one and the same time, the Unknowable, the Unknown, and the To-Be-Known. This is what occultism says: as it is impossible for the human mind to know anything definite even of the unknown essence, so let us turn our whole attention to its highest manifestation on earth, mankind, and say as is said in John: “In it we live and move and have our being”—“Illo vivicuus moveuur et sumus”.²  

 

2 [Acts 17:28, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being—in illa enim vivimus et movemur et sumus.”]

Theosophy Basics: Blavatsky on Tolerance

"Pity and forbearance, charity and long-suffering, ought to be always there to prompt us to excuse our sinning brethren, and to pass the gentlest sentence possible upon those who err. A Theosophist ought never to forget what is due to the shortcomings and infirmities of human nature."

Tolerance and charity are the key principles in relations among one’s fellow human beings:
 ENQUIRER. And what should you do then?
THEOSOPHIST. Pity and forbearance, charity and long-suffering, ought to be always there to prompt us to excuse our sinning brethren, and to pass the gentlest sentence possible upon those who err. A Theosophist ought never to forget what is due to the shortcomings and infirmities of human nature.
ENQUIRER. Ought he to forgive entirely in such cases?
THEOSOPHIST. In every case, especially he who is sinned against.
ENQUIRER. But if by so doing, he risks to injure, or allow others to be injured? What ought he to do then?
THEOSOPHIST. His duty; that which his conscience and higher nature suggests to him; but only after mature deliberation. Justice consists in doing no injury to any living being; but justice commands us also never to allow injury to be done to the many, or even to one innocent person, by allowing the guilty one to go unchecked.
ENQUIRER. What are the other negative clauses?
THEOSOPHIST. No Theosophist ought to be contented with an idle or frivolous life, doing no real good to himself and still less to others. He should work for the benefit of the few who need his help if he is unable to toil for Humanity, and thus work for the advancement of the Theosophical cause.(key 251)

Only the latter, remaining as kindly disposed and brotherly to the "individual theosophist and even a Branch" -- that snub him and his "order," by refusing to pay what others do -- shows himself ten-fold more theosophical and true to the principle of Brotherhood, than the former, who traduces and denounces him in such uncharitable terms, instead of kindly warning him of the bad effect produced. Unfortunately, it is not those who speak the loudest of virtue and theosophy, who are the best exemplars of both. Few of them, if any, have tried to cast out the beam from their own eye, before they raised their voices against the mote in the eye of a brother. Furthermore, it seems to have become quite the theosophical rage in these days, to denounce vehemently, yet never to offer to help pulling out any such motes.[The Original Programme of the Theosophical Society, Ostende, October 3, 1886, CW 156]

This principle of tolerance is of course extended to the field of religion, which includes denouncing fanaticism:
Viewed as a philosophy, Theosophy in its practical work is the alembic of the Mediæval alchemist. It transmutes the apparently base metal of every ritualistic and dogmatic creed (Christianity included) into the gold of fact and truth, and thus truly produces a universal panacea for the ills of mankind. This is why, when applying for admission into the Theosophical Society, no one is asked what religion he belongs to, nor what his deistic views may be. These views are his own personal property and have nought to do with the Society. Because Theosophy can be practiced by Christian or Heathen, Jew or Gentile, by Agnostic or Materialist, or even an Atheist, provided that none of these is a bigoted fanatic, who refuses to recognize as his brother any man or woman outside his own special creed or belief. Count Leo N. Tolstoy does not believe in the Bible, the Church, or the divinity of Christ; and yet no Christian surpasses him in the practical bearing out of the principles alleged to have been preached on the Mount. And these principles are those of Theosophy; not because they were uttered by the Christian Christ, but because they are universal ethics, and were preached by Buddha and Confucius, Krishna, and all the great Sages, thousands of years before the Sermon on the Mount was written. Hence, once that we live up to such theosophy, it becomes a universal panacea indeed, for it heals the wounds inflicted by the gross asperities of the Church "isms" on the sensitive soul of every naturally religious man. How many of these, forcibly thrust out by the reactive impulse of disappointment from the narrow area of blind belief into the ranks of arid disbelief, have been brought back to hopeful aspiration by simply joining our Brotherhood--yea, imperfect as it is. . [IS THEOSOPHY A RELIGION? Lucifer, Vol. III, No. 15, November, 1888, pp. 177-187, CW 164]

Freedom, tolerance and equality are considered mutually complementary values:
We have now, we think, made clear why our members, as individuals, are free to stay outside or inside any creed they please, provided they do not pretend that none but themselves shall enjoy the privilege of conscience, and try to force their opinions upon the others. In this respect the Rules of the Society are very strict: It tries to act upon the wisdom of the old Buddhistic axiom, "Honour thine own faith, and do not slander that of others"; echoed back in our present century, in the "Declaration of Principles" of the Brahmo Samaj, which so nobly states that: "no sect shall be vilified, ridiculed, or hated." In Section VI of the Revised Rules of the Theosophical Society, recently adopted in General Council, at Bombay, is this mandate: “It is not lawful for any officer of the Parent Society to express, by word or act, any hostility to, or preference for, any one section (sectarian division, or group within the Society) more than another. All must be regarded and treated as equally the objects of the Society's solicitude and exertions. All have an equal right to have the essential features of their religious belief laid before the tribunal of an impartial world. In their individual capacity, members may, when attacked, occasionally break this Rule, but, nevertheless, as officers they are restrained, and the Rule is strictly enforced during the meetings. For, above all human sects stands Theosophy in its abstract sense; Theosophy which is too wide for any of them to contain but which easily contains them. [What are the Theosophists? The Theosophist, Vol. I, October, 1879, pp. 5-7, CW 105-06]

This spirit of tolerance includes both scientific and religious beliefs:
In conclusion, we may state that, broader and far more universal in its views than any existing mere scientific Society, it has plus science its belief in every possibility, and determined will to penetrate into those unknown spiritual regions which exact science pretends that its votaries have no business to explore. And, it has one quality more than any religion in that it makes no difference between Gentile, Jew, or Christian. It is in this spirit that the Society has been established upon the footing of a Universal Brotherhood. [What are the Theosophists? The Theosophist, Vol. I, October, 1879, pp. 5-7, CW 106]

varia:
As part of its chairmanship of the Council of Europe, Belgium is organizing a high-level conference entitled "Tolerance trumps hate". It will be held in Brussels on 8 May.
http://countries.diplomatie.belgium.be/en/coe2015/news/news.jsp?id=265719


image thanks to :
www.lyceefrancais.ro

William Q. Judge - On the Daily Initiation 5 - Philosophy of Daily Life

This is actually our fifth quote pertaining to Judge's concept of 'Daily Initiation' and this passage kind of sums up what Judge was all about - a practical, deontological outlook with a concept of spiritual humanism that combines the compassion of Buddhism (or Christianity, or Sufism) with the holistic monism of Advaita Vedanta, in a contemporary language:

"We become one with the Supreme most surely when we lose ourselves in work for Humanity."

"To obtain the good, we must think good thoughts; we must be filled with good desires; in short, we must be good.
And this practical suggestion is to fulfill faithfully and conscientiously every known duty. It is in and through the incidents of daily life, in work well done, in duties thoroughly performed, that we today can most readily make progress in the higher life,-slow progress, it may be, but at any rate sure. These are stepping stones to better things. We advance most rapidly when we stop to help other wayfarers. We receive most when we sacrifice most. We attain to the largest measure of Divine love when we most unselfishly love the brethren. We become one with the Supreme most surely when we lose ourselves in work for Humanity."

 “Spiritual Gifts and their attainment”, The Path, February 1889

http://theosophy.org/Judge/Articles/spiritual-gifts-and-attainment.htm
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The Mahabharata and the Iliad compared - a symbolic interpretation

Image from Yogananda's commentary on the Baghavad Gita.

''Had the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, who prides himself on his Greek scholarship and understanding of the spirit of Homer's allegories, ever had a real inkling of the esoteric meaning of the Iliad and Odyssey, he would have understood St. John's "Revelation," and even the Pentateuch, better than he does. For the way to the Bible lies through Hermes, Bel, and Homer, as the way to these is through the Hindu and Chaldean religious symbols.'' (H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine 2, 383)

As William Q. Judge observes, it is interesting to look at a symbolic meaning to various myths and legends:

"This valuable privilege of looking for the inner sense, while not straining after impossible meanings in the text, is permitted to all sincere students of any holy scriptures, Christian or Pagan....The moment we are aware of its existence in the poem, our inner self is ready to help the outer man to grasp after it; and in the noble pursuit of these great philosophical and moral truths, which is only our eternal endeavor to realize them as a part of our being, we can patiently wait for a perfect knowledge of the anatomy and functions of the inner man."

http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita/eg1.htm

Following certain indications given by William Q Judge, and T. Subba Row on their commentaries on the Baghavad Gita, I've sketched out some symbolic correspondences with the theosophical sevenfold principles with the various characters in the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata, of which the Gita is a part:

http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita-sr/nbg-hp.htm#preface
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita/bg-eg-hp.htm#foreword

Collective

Pandavas – Higher Self – (Hastinapura – Atma )

Kauravas – Lower Self

            Individual

Dhritarashra –Material world.

Pandu – Spiritual World

Septenary

Atma – Krishna

Buddhi – Draupadi

Manas – Arjuna

Kama Manas – Yudhisthira (Manas aspect) – Duryodana (Kama aspect)

Linga Sharira – Bhima

Prana Sharira – Nakula

Sthula Sharira – Sahadeva

Interestingly, there exists a system of Hindu myth interepretation in the Kriya Yoga system. See for examples the commentaries on the Baghavad Gita by Lahiri Mahasay and Paramahansa Yogananda.

Moreover, there has always been a tendency to notice the similarities between various myths. This can give depth and a wider perspective to one’s interpretations. For example, one could compare the epic battle of the Pandavas and Kauravas of the Mahabharata to the Trojan War epic of Greece and there have been several studies recently which have noted striking similarities. (See for example: http://lonelyphilosopher.com/relation-between-the-greek-epics-and-the-mahabharata/)

The Neoplatonists have similar symbolic interpretations of myth to the Theosophical one. Sallustios, the neoplatonist, gives 5 keys to myth interpretation:

1- Theological (Essence of the gods, ex. Kronos=Intellectual world) (Philosophers)

2- Physical (Activities of gods in the world, ex. Kronos=Time) (Poets)

3- Psychic (Activities of the soul itself) (Poets)

4- Material (Equating material substances with divine natures, ex. Isis=Earth)

5- Mixed psychic & material (Religious Initiation myths, ex. Attis)

http://thriceholy.net/Texts/Sallust.html

Moreover, Thomas Taylor in his "The Wandering of Ulysses"

http://www.philaletheians.co.uk/Study%20notes/Hellenic%20and%20Hell...

gives a passage from the neoplatonist Hermeas, explaining the basic symbolism of the Iliad:

"By Ilion we must understand the generated material place, which is so denominated from mud and matter (para ten iloun kai ten oulen), and in which there are war and sedition. But the Trojans are material forms, and all the lives which subsist about bodies. Hence, also, the Trojans are called genuine (ithageneis). For all the lives which subsist about bodies, and irrational souls, are favourable and attentive to their proper matter. On the contrary, the Greeks are rational souls, coming from Greece, i.e. from the intelligible into matter. Hence, the Greeks are called foreigners (Epeiloudes) and vanquish the Trojans, as being of a superior order."

Indeed, this symbolic explanation is similar to ones given for the Mahabharata. So one can equate the Pandavas with the Achaeans or Greeks and the Kuravas with the Trojans. Moreover, these two myths can be considered part examples of the theosophical theme of the War in Heaven (http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd/sd2-2-05.htm) and in more general terms, the symbolic notion of the spiritual combat or Holy War, which according to Berzin, "in both religions (Islam and Buddhism), the main emphasis is on the internal spiritual battle against one’s own ignorance and destructive ways". (see A. Berzin's text, Holy Wars in Buddhism and Islam)
http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/study/islam/kalachakra_islam/holy_wars_buddhism_islam_myth_shamb/holy_war_buddhism_islam_shambhala_long.html

 
Moreover, H. P. Blavatsky mentions a connection between Homer and another classic Indian epic, the Ramayana (Isis Unveiled 2, 278), and scholars have noted the similarities between the Ramayana and Homer's Odyssey: ''Apart from the fact that the Ramayana is one of the grandest epic poems in the world — the source and origin of Homer's inspiration — this avatar conceals one of the most scientific problems of our modern day.''

varia:
great Canadian group of seven painter and Theosophist Lawren Harris  has LA exhibition:

http://torontoist.com/2015/11/historicist-lawren-harris-transcends/

Book Review: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff with your Family, Richard Carlson, Hachette Books, 1998

Moving away from the more serious, spiritual-minded posts, we have a light, breezy self-help book from the popular Richard Carlson, who sadly passed away in his prime in 2006.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/RICHARD-CARLSON-1961-2006-Don-t-Sweat-Small-2482806.php

 

This book consists of a hundred fairly simple, common sense tips designed to damage control the fast-paced, competitive, extraverted ways of modern capitalistic society. Quite a useful, helpful book full of very traditional Stoic, medieval Christian, or Buddhist principles repackaged for the micro-managing, daily life minutiae-focused Seinfeld generation, showing that what’s old is new again and that modernism can use a healthy dose of perennial wisdom. Basically the book can be summarized as “learn patience, compassion, and detachment”. (Note that according to William Q. Judge “Humility, Patience, and Contentment are the first three steps that lead to the door”.) This book is saved from being a collection of shallow, feel-good truisms by the fact that the author shows a willingness to introspect. Observing oneself and correcting one’s behavior is no easy task and the author communicates a sincere desire to engage in this tricky business of self-amendment. And it’s always good to be reminded of the simple things, which we often forget and which are not always easy to put in practice. Who has not become needlessly irritated over the silly foibles of daily life? Somewhat contrary to the book’s spontaneous, personal, casual approach, I’ve re-organized the tips into three categories:

Personal attitudes: Forgive your outbursts; choose the lifestyle that you enjoy; keep your promises; don’t worry when you spill your drinks (visualize this advance to inure yourself to it); meditate on gratitude; make light of unpleasant situations; avoid knee-jerk reactions; nip down sliding situation in the bud; avoid putting yourself down; learn to let go (detachment); meditate on love; don’t feel victimized; lower your expectations; don’t go to bed mad; don’t be so self-centered; don’t be so hard on yourself (perfectionism); action speak louder than words; stay centered; become less easily bothered; don’t gossip; learn to relativize; speak with kindness; take life as it comes; don’t constantly evaluate yourself; behave as if you were being observed; organize your mind; don’t engage in compulsive thinking; don’t exaggerate your work load; don’t repeat the same mistakes; learn to appreciate small improvements; avoid making false assumptions; speak softly; be playful; acknowledge positive accomplishments  daily; have a simple hobby; be peaceful; accept change; don’t be a control freak; learn to defer gratification; reflect on the mutability of existence (shortness of life)

Relation to others: Set a positive emotional climate; if you’re nice to your spouse, he or she will help you; learn from children’s positive traits; be a good listener; don’t worry about children bickering; don’t overstimulate your children; set a good example to your children; don’t be too stressed about teenage behaviour; tell people that you love them; keep good company; agree to disagree; don’t overburden your relations with negative complaining; be flexible with children; don’t take your spouse for granted; give in sometimes (compromise); appreciate your in-laws; be aware of your mood swings; be accepting of your loved ones; accept people’s quirks; avoid saying how busy you are; be tolerant towards your neighbours; have empathy for your family members; show your appreciation; don’t hurt people’s feelings; don’t be overbearing; remind others to treasure life; don’t expect people to be perfect; don’t expect family members to treat you the same as other people do; learn from your children; be patient with your landlord of building manager; reminisce over fond souvenirs, express gratitude for your home; accept that children need to complain; reverse roles with your spouse; live every day as it were the last with your family

Practical: Give yourself an extra ten-minute cushion; maintain privacy boundaries; accept that a house requires constant maintenance; don’t answer the phone systematically; give something away, if you buy something new; schedule free time; simplify your life; set aside personal quality time; decorate your home; explore low-cost activities; don’t be overly ambitious or acquisitive; don’t do too much; keep work life separate; schedule caring gestures; have family meetings; don’t over-emphasize vacations; take moments of sitting still; stay healthy; go camping; don’t accumulate too many belongings; have a favorite family charity; exercise, get rid of clutter


varia:
Canada welcomes Syrian refugees
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canada-officially-welcomes-first-10-000-syrian-refugees-1.2735545