May 2024 Newsletter
The following articles are reproduced from the May 2024 Newsletter to members. Non-members may or may not be able to relate to the contents.
Lord Buddha
“I will first say that there can be no Planetary Spirit that was not once material or what you call human. When our great Buddha — the patron of all the adepts, the reformer and the codifier of the occult system, reached first Nirvana on earth, he became a Planetary Spirit; i.e. — his spirit could at one and the same time rove the interstellar spaces in full consciousness, and continue at will on Earth in his original and individual body. For the divine Self had so completely disfranchised itself from matter that it could create at will an inner substitute for itself, and leaving it in the human form for days, weeks, sometimes years, affect in no wise by the change either the vital principle or the physical mind of its body. By the way, that is the highest form of adeptship man can hope for on our planet.”
A Master of the Wisdom
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 on the Chinese Lunar calendar, which is always a public holiday in Singapore. This year, Buddha Purnima falls on Thursday, 23 May 2024, the next day after the Chinese tradition which is a public holiday. Nevertheless, we shall hold our traditional annual Wesak Day celebration on the public day, i.e. on Wednesday, 22 May 2024, at 11 a.m.
Geoffrey Hodson’s Chronicle of Wesak
In his occult diary, Light of the Sanctuary, under the 30 May 1949 entry, Geoffrey Hodson writes:
"Then, for the first time, I experienced, out of the body and in full consciousness on waking, the Vaishakh Ceremony of this year. I walked in the procession, saw the leading Adept of great beauty and grace, with reddish brown hair; the curved and sometimes straight lines followed by the Initiates in single file, the uplifted Rod. I heard the resounding invocation and the shouts of amazement of the pilgrims behind, saw the gold-clad, seated Figure and one rose on its stem, alive, fresh, falling close to me. All Initiates were materialized and had a curious faraway concentrated expression, with the centre of awareness on the Causal and higher planes. This is a most vivid conscious experience and completely satisfies me concerning C.W. Leadbeater’s account . . ."
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 133rd anniversary of the death of one of the greatest occultists in modern history. We call this day White Lotus Day to remember with gratitude 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 Wednesday, 22 May 2024, 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. Members who have attended this talk previously may be interested to know that we will be showing slides indicating what could be the actual location of the Wesak Valley which is famously thought to be in the vicinity of Mount Kailas. We will then have group meditation for 49 mins. A vegetarian lunch will be served following that. Come and join this spiritual celebration on Wednesday, 22 May 2024, at 11 a.m. Please note that this programme is for members only.
The Key to Theosophy Study Class
Publication in 1888 of The Secret Doctrine with its comprehensive outline of the evolution of worlds and of man opened wide the gates of spiritual enquiry. Not only did it compel analysis of the religious and philosophic dogmas of past centuries, but it also stimulated the aspirations of thousands of people in all walks of life. As a result, H. P. Blavatsky found herself deluged with requests for a simpler presentation of the ancient wisdom-religion. Her response was The Key to Theosophy, the book which is the subject of our study class that we plan to start in July 2024 for members only.
The subtitle of the book was given by Madame Blavatsky as ‘Being a clear exposition, in the form of question and answer, of the Ethics, Science, and Philosophy for the study of which The Theosophical Society has been founded.’ There are several editions of the book available today including the Adyar edition which is simplified by Clara Codd and the Quest (Wheaton) edition abridged by Joy Mills. However, for the purpose of the study class, we shall use the unabridged 307-page edition as originally published by Madame Blavatsky in 1889.
The book was cleverly crafted as an imaginary dialogue between an Enquirer and a Theosophist. Although the technique of expounding profound subjects through question and answer is not new, e.g. the Bhagavad Gita contains a dialogue wherein Krishna and Arjuna have a discussion upon the highest spiritual philosophy, the way that the questions were formulated in this book provoke and stimulate the reader’s thoughts. Indeed, one learns as much in the questions as in the answers given. No doubt much of the questions were based on actual enquiries received by H. P. B. Still, one cannot help but marvel at the presentation of the book. Serious students will appreciate the scope and depth of the book. There is more than meets the eye and the casual reader may well fail to assimilate the contents of the book.
The study class will be conducted in the same format as that of the Mahatma Letters. We shall have class reading of the book, punctuated with explanations. Background and historical information will be given where appropriate so that the students would fully appreciate the questions and answers given. Where necessary, mini-lectures will be given especially on the topics relating to metaphysical teachings. We expect to take between 14 to 20 weeks to complete the book.
The study class will take us through the following topics:
Theosophy and the Theosophical Society—The Meaning of the Name; The Policy of the Theosophical Society; The Wisdom-Religion Esoteric in all Ages; Theosophy is not Buddhism.
Exoteric and Esoteric Theosophy—What the Modern Theosophical Society is not; Theosophists and Members of the T. S.; The Difference between Theosophy and Occultism; The Difference between Theosophy and Spiritualism; Why is Theosophy accepted?
The Working System of the T. S.—The Objects of the Society; The Common Origin of Man; Our other Objects; On the Sacredness of the Pledge.
The Relations of the Theosophical Society to Theosophy—On Self-Improvement; The Abstract and the Concrete.
The Fundamental Teachings of Theosophy—On God and Prayer; Is it Necessary to Pray?; Prayer Kills Self-Reliance; On the Source of the Human Soul; The Buddhist Teachings on the above.
Theosophical Teachings as to Nature and Man—The Unity of All in All; Evolution and Illusion; On the Septenary Constitution of our Planet; The Septenary Nature of Man; The Distinction between Soul and Spirit; The Greek Teachings.
On the Various Post-mortem States—The Physical and the Spiritual Man; Our Eternal Reward and Punishment; and on Nirvana; On the Various Principles in Man.
On Reincarnation or Rebirth—What is Memory according to Theosophical Teaching?; Why do we not Remember our Past Lives?; On Individuality and Personality; On the Reward and Punishment of the Ego.
On the Kama-Loka and Devachan—On the Fate of the Lower Principles; Why Theosophists do not believe in the Return of Pure “Spirits”; A few Words about the Skandhas; On Post-mortem and Post-natal Consciousness; What is really meant by Annihilation; Definite Words for Definite Things.
On the Nature of our Thinking Principle—The Mystery of the Ego; The Complex Nature of Manas; The Doctrine is Taught in St. John’s Gospel.
On the Mysteries of Reincarnation—Periodical Rebirths; What is Karma?; Who are Those who Know?; The Difference between Faith and Knowledge; or, Blind and Reasoned Faith; Has God the Right to Forgive?
What is Practical Theosophy—Duty; The Relations of the T. S. to Political Reforms; On Self-Sacrifice; On Charity; Theosophy for the Masses; How Members can Help the Society; What a Theosophist ought not to do.
On the Misconceptions about the Theosophical Society—Theosophy and Asceticism; Theosophy and Marriage; Theosophy and Education; Why, then, is there so much Prejudice against the T. S.?; Is the Theosophical Society a Money-making Concern?; The Working Staff of the T. S.
The “Theosophical Mahatmas”—Are They “Spirits of Light” or “Goblins Damn’d”?; The Abuse of Sacred Names and Terms.
Conclusion—The Future of the Theosophical Society.
Incidentally, this study class was conducted twice before, in 2001 and 2011. If you are interested in joining the study class which will be conducted on Tuesday evenings, please enroll for it when you receive the enrolment email which will be sent shortly.
Please note that this study class is for members only.