May 2011 Newsletter
The following articles are reproduced from the May 2011 Newsletter to members. Non-members may or may not be able to relate to the contents.
|
The Great Wesak Blessing
Bishop Charles W. Leaderbeater a renowned theosophist and occultist writes:
"The Lord Gautama Buddha, instead of devoting Himself wholly to other and higher work after His Mahaparanirvana, has remained sufficiently in touch with our world to be reached by the invocation of His successor when necessary, so that His advice and help can still be obtained in any great emergency. He also undertook to return to the world once in each year and shed upon it a flood of blessing.
The Lord Buddha has His own special type of force, which He outpours when He gives His blessing to the world, and this benediction is a unique and very marvellous thing; for by His authority and position, a Buddha has access to planes of nature which are altogether beyond our reach, hence He can transmute and draw down to our level the forces peculiar to those planes. Without this mediation of the Buddha these forces would be of no use to us here in physical life; their vibrations are so tremendous, so incredibly rapid, that they would pass through us unsensed at any level we can reach, and we should never even know of their existence. But as it is, the force of the blessing is scattered all over the world; and it instantly finds for itself channels through which it can pour (just as water instantly finds an open pipe), thereby strengthening all good work and bringing peace to the hearts of those who are able to receive it.
The occasion selected for this wonderful outpouring is the full moon day of the Indian month of Vaisakh (Wesak), and usually corresponding to the month of May, the anniversary of all the momentous occurrences of His last earthly life—His birth, His attainment of Buddhahood and His departure from the physical body.
In connection with this visit of His, and quite apart from its tremendous esoteric significance, an exoteric ceremony is performed in the physical plane at which the Lord actually shows Himself in the presence of a crowd of ordinary pilgrims. All Members of the Great Occult Hierarchy, except the Lord of the World and the three Kumaras, usually attend this ceremony.
The place selected for this stupendous occasion is a small plateau surrounded by low hills, which lies on the northern side of the Himalayas, not far from the frontier of Nepal, about 400 miles west of Lhasa. This location is commonly referred to as the Wesak Valley and the occasion is referred to as the Wesak Festival."
Bishop C. W. Leadbeater gave a first-hand account from his personal participation and the Wesak Festival is described in great detail in his book The Masters And The Path which was first published in 1925. There are several entries in Geoffrey Hodson’s occult diary, Light of the Sanctuary, chronicling his attendance at the Wesak Festival. In his entry of May 30, 1949 he writes “This is a most vivid conscious experience and completely satisfies me concerning C.W. Leadbeater’s account”.
Normally this day coincides with the 15th (full-moon) day of the Fourth Month in the Chinese Lunar calendar, which is always a public holiday in Singapore. This year, Wesak Day, as we know it esoterically, falls on 17 May 2011 coinciding with the official Wesak Day public holiday. We shall hold our traditional annual Wesak Day celebration on the public holiday on Tuesday, 17 May 2011 at 11 a.m.
White Lotus Day
Madame H. P. Blavatsky has always been a tremendous source of inspiration for all students of occultism. Not only was she well loved and remembered by members of the original Theosophical Society, she also had many friends and followers outside of the Theosophical Society. Indeed, many movements were founded outside the Theosophical Society to study her teachings. Even today, more than a century after her death, new movements are still being formed pledging personal allegiance to H.P.B. and faithfully adhering to her original teachings. This is especially true in the cyberworld of the Internet. We could almost say that many people are fiercely loyal to our founder, Madame Blavatsky.
We join all these followers and students throughout the world to commemorate the passing of Madame H.P. Blavatsky on May 8. This is the 120th anniversary of the death of one of the greatest occultists in recent history. We call this day White Lotus Day to remember with fondness the founder of the Theosophical Society. White Lotus Day was declared by the co-founder and President Col. H. S. Olcott in 1892 as a Day of Remembrance to "express the feeling of loving regard for her who brought us the chart of the climbing Path which leads to the summit of knowledge".
Wesak Celebration
We shall celebrate Wesak Day on Tuesday 17 May at 11 a.m. As we normally do, we will have a talk giving a detailed account of the esoteric Wesak Festival including a video recording made by an Australian TV station of pilgrims gathering at the legendary Wesak Valley. We will then have group meditation for 49 mins. A vegetarian buffet lunch will be served thereafter.
|
The Key to Theosophy Study
Class
We plan to commence our Study Class on The Key to Theosophy in July 2011. In the preface to The Key to Theosophy Madame H. P. Blavatsky wrote:
“The purpose of this book is exactly expressed in its title, ‘THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY,’ and needs but few words of explanation. It is not a complete or exhaustive text-book of Theosophy, but only a key to unlock the door that leads to the deeper study. It traces the broad outlines of the Wisdom Religion, and explains its fundamental principles; meeting, at the same time, the various objections raised by the average Western enquirer, and endeavouring to present unfamiliar concepts in a form as simple and in language as clear as possible. That it should succeed in making Theosophy intelligible without mental effort on the part of the reader, would be too much to expect; but it is hoped that the obscurity still left is of the thought not of the language, is due to depth not to confusion. To the mentally lazy or obtuse, Theosophy must remain a riddle; for in the world mental as in the world spiritual each man must progress by his own efforts. The writer cannot do the reader’s thinking for him, nor would the latter be any the better off if such vicarious thought were possible. The need for such an exposition as the present has long been felt among those interested in the Theosophical Society and its work, and it is hoped that it will supply information, as free as possible from technicalities, to many whose attention has been awakened, but who, as yet, are merely puzzled and not convinced.
Some care has been taken in disentangling some part of what is true from what is false in Spiritualistic teachings as to the post-mortem life, and to showing the true nature of Spiritualistic phenomena. Previous explanations of a similar kind have drawn much wrath upon the writer’s devoted head; the Spiritualists, like too many others, preferring to believe what is pleasant rather than what is true, and becoming very angry with anyone who destroys an agreeable delusion. For the past year Theosophy has been the target for every poisoned arrow of Spiritualism, as though the possessors of a half truth felt more antagonism to the possessors of the whole truth than those who had no share to boast of.
Very hearty thanks are due from the author to many Theosophists who have sent suggestions and questions, or have otherwise contributed help during the writing of this book. The work will be the more useful for their aid, and that will be their best reward.”
As it turns out, there is more than meets the eye in The Key to Theosophy. The original book contains the following sections.
1: Theosophy and the Theosophical Society
2: Exoteric and Esoteric Theosophy
3: The Working System of the T. S.
4: The Relations of the Theosophical Society to Theosophy
5: The Fundamental Teachings of Theosophy
6: Theosophical Teachings as to Nature and Man
7: On the Various Post-mortem States
8: On Reincarnation and Rebirth
9: On the Kama-Loka and Devachan
10: On the Nature of our Thinking Principle
11: On the Mysteries of Reincarnation
12: What is Practical Theosophy?
13: On the Misconceptions about the Theosophical Society
14: The “Theosophical Mahatmas”
Conclusion: The Future of the Theosophical Society
Some may wonder why is there a need to have a study class on this particular book. Is the book itself not self-explanatory? The purpose of conducting a class for a group study of this invaluable book is probably the same as those of the numerous study classes that were conducted over the past 100 years or so, and still being conducted around the world today. For it is not only useful to study, as a group, the basic tenets of theosophy, as the more abstruse explanations given in the book may not be immediately evident to everyone who reads the book, there are also allusions made which presume a knowledge of the background of the subject. In other words, readers are expected to know the background, especially historical, of some of the topics discussed. The study class also provides the forum and opportunity to discuss the validity of some of the arguments made in the modern context. Most importantly, it is to help our fellow members comprehend the book if you yourself have already mastered it!
Although the current edition is the Adyar edition which is simplified by Clara M. Codd, we shall be using the original edition, unabridged, as published in 1889 by H. P. B. in our forthcoming study class. It is recommended that you order a personal copy of this edition through the Book Stewards, if you have not already done so.