Contact - theosophyqld.org.au .pdf · groups to honour Madame Helena Blavatsky, and acknowledge her...

Brisbane Theosophical Society p 1 CONTACT Magazine 2018 -2

Contact Members' newsletter of the Brisbane Theosophical Society

Issue 2 May 2018


Brisbane Theosophical Society 355 Wickham Terrace, Brisbane (opp. top of Albert St) Tel: (07) 3839 1453 (library times) Fax: (07) 3831 3692 Web: http://www.theosophyqld.org.au Email: [email protected]

BOOKSHOP & LIBRARY: (Closed on Public Holidays)

Monday to Friday ...............….……………..10.30 am to 2.30 pm Wednesday...................................…………. 6.30 pm to 7.25 pm ‘Contact’ magazine is edited by Phillipa Rooke.

The programme of Lodge meetings is available from the Lodge and is placed on the Lodge website which will be the most up-to-date source of information.

The Theosophical Society has no official statements of belief. It encourages members to seek the truth by various avenues, but always subject to respect for others. All views expressed in these pages are entirely those of the authors – not of the Society.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

The Month of May brought a well-known Theosophist, Michael

Gomes of USA to Brisbane. Michael is an Historian, a researcher

and an author, and has written extensively on the Secret Doctrine

and Isis Unveiled. Before coming to Brisbane, he conducted the

2018 School of Theosophy at the Springbrook Theosophical Retreat

Centre. The theme of the school was ”HPB’s Esoteric Instructions”,

and several Brisbane Lodge members attended. There was an

excellent audience for his Brisbane talk “The Benefits of

Theosophy”, which provoked much discussion during the talk and

also during the supper which followed. The 8th May each year is White Lotus Day and on or around that day members around the world meet in groups to honour Madame Helena Blavatsky, and acknowledge her vast contribution to the study of Theosophy and to human culture. Her voluminous contribution of writings were done in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when much of the world was in crisis. On 4th July, our National President, Linda Oliveira, will be speaking on “Death, the Near-Death Experience and Spiritual Awakening”. This is an excellent opportunity for members to listen and speak to her afterwards. In the last week of July, Pedro Oliveira, our Education Co-ordinator, will be facilitating “The Science of Yoga” seminar at the Springbrook Retreat Centre. Both members and non-members are welcome to attend. The 11th World Congress of the Theosophical Society will be held in Singapore from 4th – 9th August followed by the 4th TOS International Conference from 9th – 11th August. For more information on the venue, go to <singaporelodge.org/tswc2018.htm>. There is also mention of this event in the March 2018 issue of Theosophy in Australia on page 27. Our regular meditation on Wednesday night resumes on 16th May, 6pm – 6.45pm. In conclusion, the next few months will have an interesting variety of public talks and I encourage you to attend. Sincere regards to our sister and brother Theosophists. John Harris.

In this issue...

President’s Report – John Harris ............................ 2

Brisbane Lodge News ............................................ 3

Book Review ......................................................... 4

From Definitions to Insight – Marja Artamaa ........... 5

Tributes to Barbara Atkinson .................................. 7

Five Insights […] – Jeff Carreira. ............................ 9

Poetry Corner ...................................................... 13

In the Light of Karma – Luke Michael Ironside ...... 14

TOS News ........................................................... 17


BRISBANE LODGE NEWS

Brisbane Theosophical Society Executive Committee for 2018

President: John Harris Vice President: Janet Harding Secretary: Phillipa Rooke Treasurer: Dianne Manning Committee: Barry Bowden, Michael Morton, Patricia Ossenberg

Sub-Committees -

Library/Bookshop: Patricia Ossenberg, Phillipa Rooke, Finance: Janet Harding, Phillipa Rooke, Dianne Manning, Patricia Ossenberg, John Harris Programs: John Harris, Michael Morton, Phillipa Rooke Property & Equipment: John Harris, Dianne Manning, Barry Bowden, Michael Morton Policies & Procedures: Barry Bowden, Dianne Manning, Philipa Rooke Constitution: Janet Harding, John Harris, Dianne Manning, Phillipa Rooke. Publicity: Michael Morton, Dianne Manning

Committee Appointments –

Librarian: Patricia Ossenberg Bookshop Manager: Phillipa Rooke TOS Representative: Janet Harding Library Manager: Phillipa Rooke Office Manager: Heather Cameron

New Additions to the Lending Library

Raja Yoga, The Toga of Meditation ............................. K Arunachalam

Strange Life of Ivan Osokin ......................................... P D Ouspensky

The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye ............................... A S Byatt

Cosmos and Psyche ................................................... Richard Tarna

The Baha’i Revelation ................................................. Bahaullah

Intelligence Came First ............................................... E Lester Smith

The I Ching or Book of Changes vols I & II Trans ........ Richard Wilhelm

Madame Blavatsky: Her Defense ................................ W A Carrithers

Brief History of Time – Illustrated................................. Stephen Hawking

Exedous to Arthur ....................................................... Mike Baillie

A BOOK REVIEW of Raja Yoga, The Yoga of Meditation: The Pathway to Transformation by Dr. Kandasamy Arunachalam can be found on page 4 of this issue of Contact Magazine.

The above books were mostly sourced from donations made to the Library. Quite a few older books have been withdrawn from the shelves. They and many donated books are available for sale cheaply in the BTS Bookshop.

Australian TS e-Newsletters and ‘T-in-A’ magazine

The national magazine ‘Theosophy in Australia’ is now only posted in paper form to those members who pay extra for it when paying their annual dues. It is put on the national website www.austheos.org.au as a PDF file. To be advised by email when each new issue is available, register by sending an email to Gil Murdoch at [email protected]. Also ask Gil to add you to the e-Newsletter mailing list if you don’t already receive it.

Brisbane Theosophical Society Facebook Page

Our Facebook page continues to stumble along. We are perhaps a little too strict on ourselves when it comes to posting interesting things. Perhaps we'll change to a shotgun approach and post all sorts of things and see what takes the imagination. So in that spirit let me exhort you all to hit send on whatever takes your fancy and we'll see if we can't liven things up a bit.

It’s at https://www.facebook.com/brisbanetheosophicalsociety Michael Morton

Cover picture:

A makeshift shrine on the

outskirts of Ankor Wat.

Photo – Phillipa Rooke

http://www.austheos.org.au/

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/brisbanetheosophicalsociety


BOOK REVIEW

Raja Yoga The Yoga of Meditation: The Pathway to Transformation

BY DR. KANDASAMY ARUNACHALAM

Reviewed by Priscilla Estes A recent addition to the BTS library Xlibris – (Available from Amazon)

"Meditation is the instrument used for the raising of one’s Awareness to the highest levels of consciousness."

In his intriguing book, Arunachalam breaks down the main components of meditation and ties them to classic Indian texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and the Atharva Veda as well as to interpretations by C.G. Jung, Chogyam Trungpa, Thomas Merton, James Haughton Woods, David W. Orr, and others. The writer, a retired Sri Lankan general medical practitioner now living in Australia, speaks with authority as past president of the Brisbane Theosophical Society, long-time theosophy and religion teacher, and author of five books on yoga and meditation. This book was published when he was 97 years old. Arunachalam explains how relaxation is the prerequisite to meditation. Once relaxed (through posture, breathing, eye positioning, silence, etc.), a person should become motionless in whatever posture fits one’s body. It is important not to contort the body to the posture. Next, one must look within through the use of mantras or by staring at a physical object and then observing one’s thoughts with no judgment. This is now the start of a journey to raise awareness to the highest level of consciousness through the tool of meditation, which can then lead to self-realization. Along with the methods and reasons for meditation, Arunachalam shares some thought-provoking nuggets “the effects of meditation are cumulative”; “Money, in its pure form, is truly an instrument of love”; “tension creates vibrations within the protein factions of DNA, and these vibrations cause illness.” Thoughtful, well-researched, and based on experience, this book explains how to meditate and why in as clear a fashion as possible and is backed by the gold standards of Indian thought and interpretations. This guide could spark a desire to start meditating now. RECOMMENDED by the US Review. Dr Arunachalam is a member of Brisbane Lodge, who for many years with his wife Astrid, conducted study classes, meditation groups and meditation retreats. All proceeds from the sale of his books go towards Pakkiam College, a school for underprivileged children in Matalle in his native Sri Lanka. This school was founded in 1927 by his father, and the foundation stone was laid by Mahatma Gandhi. The most recent addition to the school from the family-run K.S. Fund was a computer lab.

******************************************

“A form is always a limitation to the creative impulse—it is only in outgrowing form after form and stepping out of the particularised forms, that man knows his immortality. The Formless cannot remain long in one form—it must move from form to form, and every stepping out of one form results in the breaking up of a particularised consciousness.”

From The Call of the Upanishads by Rohit Mehta


From Definitions to Insight

BY MARJA ARTAMAA (Article taken from “The Theosophist” Volume 139.2 November 2017. “The Theosophist” is the International Magazine of the Theosophical Society.)

We like to define the indefinable in our journey towards Universal Consciousness. Theosophists are good in giving definitions and explaining their views. It is evident that we do need definitions, but more important is to have insight into our own self. The indefinable fascinates us, because we want to know what is beyond understanding. We are well aware that many mystics, saints, philosophers, and even scientists say that there exists a level which cannot be described. This is said by those who have had experiences of something greater. Esoteric philosophy states that on the other shore of our experience, beyond it, is One Absolute Reality, which is the beginning and source of all that was, is, and will be. Everything from which Nature is built belongs to that Primordial Reality. The idea that there exists One Absolute Reality, means that all is One, Oneness. H. P. Blavatsky describes this Reality as an “Omnipotent, Eternal, Boundless and Immutable Principle”. Each of these terms can serve as a subject for meditation, in which we try to stretch our minds to realize more deeply what the One Reality might be. We try anyhow to define everything in order to be able to understand. It is the nature of the mind. There is nothing wrong in that. Defining is an attempt:

♦ to make sense,

♦ to know more,

♦ to expand our consciousness. And yet when the real experience is there, it cannot be defined nor described by words. Because of this, ma ny sceptics do not believe the undefined. What a pity to limit the consciousness like that. The benefit of trying to define what we do not fully know, is that it stretches our mind and thinking: we need explanations, we need definitions — we need to go beyond. That is what Theosophy offers. Someone has said quite well that Theosophy is a complete set of knowledge, wisdom knowledge. Theosophy gives explanations to everything, whether it is life, cycles, mind, consciousness, energy, human constitution, Masters, reincarnation, karma, and so on. The whole set of definitions are there for us to deepen understanding from theory to insight. At some point all the definitions transform into insight — to seeing things as they are, without naming them. Naming things does not explain them. For example, we talk about Masters. Some try to describe their character and their aspect of work, and they may be happy with just that. But to have an insight about the Masters is closer to the indescribable, because that requires an inner connection to a deep level of consciousness, universal consciousness. That insight does not need any talk about it. The same may happen when you read one of our jewels, like Light on the Path or The Voice of the Silence. During the reading we may attain a level of understanding which touches us within — without explanations and definitions. That consciousness is like a voice of silence, which is eternally here.

Insight

What is “insight”? You may look up the word in dictionaries, but in this context we may find that it means to have “direct perception” of something or someone. It is an inner view, close to consciousness and close to intuition, and a bit more. Intuition is a flash of understanding, but when there is insight, we find that within us we know, without words. The deepest in us is beyond expression. How is insight developed? It may develop through pondering over definitions or enigmas, and practicing mindfulness and meditation. Practice and sincerity may be the key words here. A Zen master has said: “A word is like a finger pointing to the moon, but the finger is not the moon.” If man has such an inner state that he can see the moon, then the finger has accomplished its task. But the one who stares at the finger has erred.


(Continuation of article From Definitions to Insight by Marja Artamaa) Insight can develop also through right living, and through meaningful experiences. Meaningful experiences start where words end. It is possible to experience life positively, brightly, and truthfully. That is a way towards universal consciousness. Earlier I mentioned that we have a good theosophical set of knowledge, wisdom knowledge. What about taking a new approach to open the set of knowledge? Let us take some of the theosophical concepts, and try to see how they could be interpreted in a way to open up the mind to universal consciousness. We can find for example the following four sets of theosophical concepts: 1. Evolution of planet and solar system, cycles, levels of existence, the sevenfold structure: if we study these as expressions of many-faceted universes, and seeing them as a web of interconnected life, with a holistic approach, it leads to developing an intuitive worldview. 2. Self-education, self-knowledge, higher evolution of man, human constitution: when we talk about these by emphasizing the practice of yoga, meditation, the importance of being present at the moment, it leads to self-transformation in one’s own path. 3. Reincarnation and karma: if we study these with a logical mind of cause and effect, we just make a circle. Where can it lead; can we have another kind of approach? When we talk about these with the idea of evolution and constant development, it leads us to the search for self-realization and happiness, instead of only acknowledging them as a theory. 4. Life and death: we may talk about these by trying to understand time and timelessness, seeing them as patterns of Existence, thus leading to widening our consciousness and view of Oneness — looking at them as states in Existence, in timelessness. We have a tendency to search and find formal solutions and schemes. They give a sense of safety. But Reality does not acknowledge them. Everything is new from moment to moment. Real truth is never solved by intellect or definitions. Truth is behind all our definitions. The deepest in us is beyond all expressions, yet our task is to encourage to find insight and Truth. Our inner regeneration does not assume a new world around us. In a certain way it is the same world, and yet in a true sense, it is a completely new world, because our relationship to it is new.

To conclude

How do definitions and then insight help us? See suggestions below. They help us to be:

♦ less attached (because understanding limits us),

♦ more responsible (because of understanding the laws of Nature, and service for humanity),

♦ more tolerant,

♦ more satisfied at a deeper level (because there is trust in Life),

♦ more quiet and considerate, and

♦ capable of observing life in a new way, from a wider perspective. To give some depth to this article, I want to borrow Vivekananda’s words: To gain infinite universal individuality, this miserable little prison — individuality — must go. Then alone can death cease when I am one with Life. Then alone can misery cease when I am one with happiness itself. Then alone can all error cease when I am one with knowledge itself. Then alone can all error cease when I am one with Universal Consciousness.

************************************************* Ms Marja Artamaa is currently International Secretary at the Theosophical Society Adyar, and was the General Secretary of the Finnish Section for eight years. Talk given at the European Congress, Barcelona, Spain, August 2017.

*************************************************


Tributes to Barbara Atkinson – From two who knew her well

Wednesday the 9th of May marked the passing of BTS member Barbara Atkinson. Barbara was both a member and a speaker for the TS. She was a devoted writer and researcher of the Hermetic Tradition, a member of the Rosicrucian Order and over the years presented a number of interesting lectures to various TS branches. Like her namesake, Saint Barbara in the Catholic Church tradition who was martyred in the 4th century, and who was venerated by soldiers against war and as a helper of emergency situations, this then was a very fitting name for someone who chose nursing as a career. Life as a youth for Barbara started out in a very different direction. As a teenager she displayed much prowess on the tennis court and Barbara competed in a number of tournaments in Northern Queensland. The love of nursing finally won in the end though and she commenced her training at a young age at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. The RBH would be where Barbara would return to, after divorcing and becoming a single mum with three boys to raise on her own. In her twenties, Barbara married a military officer based at Duntroon. Later he was posted overseas to a number of military bases in the UK where he pursued his career. As a mother of three boys, she was very much the officer's wife and played the required hostess, but even in these early days, the esoteric tradition became of interest to her. It was in the UK that she became attracted to the Rosicrucian Order and she would accompany her Aunt who was a lecturer for the RO.

The Barbara I knew was also an ardent lover of the arts, had a great love of literature and could get sentimental over paintings or a certain piece of music. She had the capacity to distance herself from the world but the important things in life touched her and affected her in a way. She was a woman of great compassion and tenderness. This was very evident in her chosen career as a nursing sister and in her later years to the care of the mentally ill in aged care. Barbara had a distinguished career and her innovative work in wound healing 30 years ago, is still being carried on through the Blue Nurses today. Her methods were original and advanced and startling to those less visionary and opinionated. Her eyes shone when she spoke of the wonderful nurses and doctors that she had served with over the many years in the world of medical care. To my mind, there was a touch of brilliance in her theosophical work. When Barbara came into the BTS office in 1994, I knew our lives would never be the same. Her questions and emails were endless, particularly when we knew one of her talks was brewing. I admired her thorough research on many a ponderous subject that made it possible to piece together the talks on the Hermetic principles. It was discipline and intense curiosity that spurred her on. These abilities brought together many remarkable lectures. Self-reliant and optimistic; stubborn, most definitely. Her verbal gifts were splendid but could be stinging in their effect on those who displayed any pomposity or callousness towards others. Barbara hated bullies and could flush out self-important duds very quickly. If I had to sum up Barbara's life, her concern for the weak and the elderly, and to pay homage to her years of nursing and devotion to others, it would be to liken her to some great iconic figure like the Statue of Liberty and the poem written by Emma Lazarus: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shores. Send these, the homeless, tempest and tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door" She made the world richer for being here. Well done Barbara. Until we meet again. Phoebe Williams (BTS Member 1986 - 2016)


Tributes to Barbara Atkinson (cont…)

A letter to Barbara..............

Dear Barbara, I shall miss you – you unique, determined, fiercely independent woman, for whom there were no half measures. When you decided upon something there was no stinting --- heart and soul were fully applied. Your devotion to spreading the word of Manly Hall was monumental, and is attested to by many volumes in the BTS reference library, all typed by you. Your talks reflected your intense interest in the Hermetic Tradition and the alchemy of the Fire Philosophers. Those talks were precise to the point of a perfection which required yet more and more perfection. Your legacy of discarded ‘imperfect’ pages shall remain with us, reminding us of you for some time to come. How many times did I hear “This is the last change” when I received yet another 3-4 pages of replacement pages for the upcoming talk. For quite some time during our friendship, “This is the last change” or “This is definitely the last change” was THE JOKE. There were always more. Such was your delightful ability to laugh at yourself. Thank you for your presence at the front desk during your years of membership, and for applying your hand to the annual stocktake of the bookshop. Your accuracy in these matters could always be relied upon. Your prowess and constancy for some years, in preparing the chairs and the tea and tea things before the public talks was greatly appreciated. Latterly, just the tea things as you grew weaker, but no less determined. “Making the tea like Barbara did” is still followed by some. The standard is set! After the talks, it was often difficult to persuade you to accept a lift home --- you (being so independent) would insist on going by bus. In more recent times, as your energy decreased, you would submit. We enjoyed your company, and your conversation on those car trips to your place. In the last months, our meeting with you for the occasional coffee was a pleasure. I can only echo Phoebe’s sentiment that the world was a richer place for your presence. Until next time! Love Phillipa ************************************************* Barbara Atkinson left her remains to medical science. The ‘plan’ she selected means that not even ashes will remain to be given to the family. She requested no funeral, no memorial service. The hearts of those who knew and loved her are a most suitable resting place. *******************************************

“Life is like a bridge,

pass over it, do not build upon it.”

By a Sufi Saint


Five Insights about the Nature of Reality Gained through the Experience of Radical Inclusivity

BY JEFF CARREIRA

(This article was submitted by Katherine Steevens who gave a talk at our National Convention in January, and has also given two talks at Brisbane Lodge.)

Introduction

My experiences of, and contemplation about Radical Inclusivity have brought me to five insights about the

nature of reality. These do not feel like deductions based on the evidence or conclusions I have come to. They are convictions I hold simply based on how reality has revealed itself to be at its innermost core. To introduce these five insights I will start by discussing the use of the modifier ‘innermost’ in relation to Radical Inclusivity.

Awakening to Radical Inclusivity is a recognition that everything exists on the inside and that ultimately there is no outside. That being said, the only way that you can possibly distinguish something as being ‘innermost’ would have to be in relationship to its proximity to the outside. It would appear then that in the reality of Radical Inclusivity nothing could be more ‘inner’ than anything else and the use of the modifier ‘innermost’ becomes problematic. Partially this is an example of the inadequacies of a language that was born out of the dualistic consciousness that defines things in terms of polarities like inner and outer. Such a language is inherently limited in its capacity to hold the consciousness of what I have called ‘unity unfolding.’

In using the modifier ‘innermost’ I am not referring to some measure of proximity from the outside. I am referring to proximity to the Source of reality. It is my conviction that reality is sourced. It comes from something. And so when I refer to the innermost core of reality I am referring to that which is closest to reality’s ultimate source.

Those of us who are inclined to think in terms of the source of reality often unknowingly think of it in terms of being an inner source. We think of reality as growing from a core in the same way that an apple does. Probably you are familiar with the Big Bang Theory that claims that our universe emerged from an explosion. When we picture this we picture an explosion and a universe radiating outward from it. That explosion is the innermost core of the universe and it is located at the universe’s center.

There is one major problem with this picture of the birth of the universe. It all happens in a preexisting space. Before the Big Bang there was no space, no place for an explosion to happen in. If there was such an explosion it couldn’t have happened in space because space was one of the things that emerged out of it. Our language always refers back to the three dimensional space of the Cartesian worldview. The experience of Radical Inclusivity I believe is opening us up to a different reality, but we are still stuck with modifiers like ‘innermost’ until we develop new ones. Radical Inclusivity would suggest that it is not helpful to think about reality in terms of having an innermost core, because in a reality of absolute interior nothing can be more inside than anything else. The idea of inner implies outer, and the experience of Radical Inclusivity shows us that there is no outside.

A similar argument could be used to argue why it is not useful to think of the source of the universe as where it began in time as well because time also didn’t exist when the universe started. In spite of these challenges it might still be useful to think of reality as being sourced from something. We simply have to avoid thinking about it in terms that refer back to some notion of space containing an inside and an outside, or time that exists on a line. Trying to envision the source of the universe without referring to Cartesian time and space is another example of a wormhole inquiry that can lead us to slip into a different reality.

As I look around at the scene in front of me I wonder, what is the source of all of reality? Where is this entire universe coming from? This brings me to my first conviction about the nature of reality that Radical Inclusivity has brought me to.

First Insight: The living core of reality is a unity of expanding Consciousness .

We have been conditioned to see ourselves as separate entities living in the universe. We experience ourselves as living things that exist alongside other living things in an inanimate, unconscious expanse of space and time. Radical Inclusivity reveals something very different. Reality is a living being that happens to be having a localized experience of being me. This will take some explaining.

Reality, or we can say the universe (as long as we don’t limit ourselves to the infinite three-dimensional space- filled-with-things Cartesian universe) is having a localized experience of being through human beings. I am not an entity that lives in the universe. I am an experience that the universe is having. That experience is the experience of being a being that has experiences one of which is the experience of being a being that has experiences.


(Continuation of Article Five Insights about the Nature of Reality Gained through the Experience of Radical Inclusivity)

In defense of my attempt to articulate this fact (and in an effort to win over more of your attention) I would like to point out that the great Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard didn’t do much better when he wrote:

Man is spirit. But what is spirit? Spirit is the self. But what is the self? The self is a relation that relates itself to its own self, or it is that in the relation that the relation relates itself to its own self; the self is not the relation but consists in the fact that the relation relates itself to its own self.

From my point of view the experience of ‘being a being that has an experience of being’ seems like a localized event. I feel like I am here in one spot and not anywhere else. But where is that experience really taking place? Is it happening in my mind? If it is, is that mind separate from the rest of the universe?

I would contend that the experience of being ‘me’ is not a localized experience; it is an experience of being localized that is happening throughout the entire universe. From the universe’s point of view I am a localized experience of being that the universe is having. The universe is not having that experience in me; it is having it in its entire being. Just like when I cut my finger I feel the pain in my being, not in my finger.

There is fascinating neuroscience experiments that show how we can be fooled into feeling a touch on a rubber hand. By placing the rubber hand in view while touching our real hand that is hidden we will swear that we are feeling the touch on the rubber hand. What this demonstrates is that we are not feeling a localized sensation of touch. The feeling of the location of the touch is part of the feeling of the touch. We feel the sensation in our being and part of the sensation is a sense of where it is located. Otherwise if we were feeling the touch in some localized area we could never be fooled into feeling the touch on a rubber hand.

Similarly I am saying that the human experience is an experience of being that includes a sense of being limited by location. That experience of being is happening in the entire universe and it includes a sensation of happening locally. Part of the experience of being human is the experience of being limited by location. We are an experience of localized awareness that the universe is having throughout its entire being.

We are not separate from the universe. There is no line anywhere of which I can confidently say that I exist on this side but not on that side. I cannot find a place beyond which I cease to exist.

Since there is nothing that separates me from the rest of the universe then my experience cannot be separate from the rest of the universe. In my deepest spiritual realizations I have discovered that the core of my experience is a unity of expanding consciousness. Since I am not separate from the universe this must be the living core of the universe itself.

Second Insight: Consciousness expands infinitely beyond our human experience of it.

The thing that conditions our current experience most deeply is the limited experience that we have access to in our current human form.

Imagine three people walking into a room filled with amazing books to read. One of them has a blindfold on and can’t see anything. One of them is in a straightjacket and can’t touch anything. The third has nothing blocking his or her vision and nothing binding his or her hands.

Each of these people has different capacities for perception. The person with the blindfold on can’t even see that there are books in the room. The person who is in a straightjacket can see the books and maybe even read the covers, but can’t open any of them. The last person can see, touch and read anything they find interesting.

Imagine all of the possibilities for experience in a room full of amazing books. Then imagine how many of those are blocked from the first two people we described. Each of the people in the room has a different amount of access to the total experience available in the room.

Our perceptual access as human beings determines how much of what is available to experience we actually do experience. We have no way of knowing how limited our human experience of reality is. Do we have access to fifty percent of what exists? 20 percent? 1 percent? Less?

We are all conditioned by the limits of what we can consciously experience and even more so by what we can imagine. We find it difficult to imagine the reality of anything that is beyond our experience. It is impossible to imagine, except in the most abstract ways, anything that exists outside of our ability to experience.

My deepest experiences have convinced me that reality extends far beyond my capacity to imagine and since reality is conscious then I am convinced that consciousness extends far beyond my experience.

We are deeply conditioned to define consciousness in relationship to the human experience of it. This habit is severely limiting our further growth and creating a context that appears to be contributing to, if not causing, massive destruction that is threatening the further evolution of life on this planet.



It is important to point out here that although our physical senses are certainly the biggest and most obvious limitation to our perceptual capacity, I don’t see them as the most significant one. More significant are the limitations imposed by our current conception of the universe and ourselves. Our fundamental conception of reality is a filter through which we experience reality. We habitually filter out enormous amounts of experience – discounting it as unreal – before it even enters conscious awareness. This filtering based on our preexisting conception of reality is the most significant limitation on our experience.

Third Insight: Consciousness is growing beyond any localized experience of it.

As we look over the small amount of history that we are aware of we see evidence that the destiny of consciousness is to expand beyond all localized limitations of perception.

My first conviction was that the universe we live in is conscious at its core, and yet it appears that the consciousness that is implicit in reality from the start also becomes conscious of itself in a localized way. The movement from being conscious to being conscious of being conscious is the movement from awareness to self- reflective awareness.

The American philosopher William James pointed out that the word consciousness really denotes self-reflective awareness. It comes from two roots – one meaning ‘with’, and one meaning ‘knowing’. Consciousness therefore means ‘with knowing’.

James felt that it would be more appropriate to have used the term ‘sciousness’ to talk about awareness because the term consciousness already implies self-reflective awareness. For our purposes we will use the less awkward phrase “pure consciousness” when we mean consciousness prior to awareness of being conscious, and “self-reflective consciousness” when we mean consciousness that includes the awareness of being conscious.

Imagine for a moment that the universe is a living conscious entity. And then, at some arbitrary point in its life cycle, on an arbitrary planet revolving around a random star, some of the universe evolved into the form of a planet that gave birth to different forms of life. One of those forms became aware that it was aware, it became “self- reflective” and named itself Human and called its experience of awareness ‘consciousness’.

This species was the only one it ever encountered that was self-aware and initially believed that it was the only conscious thing in the universe. Some great luminaries among this species objected. Our consciousness is part of an infinite and unified consciousness, they claimed. Many appreciated these statements, but few saw the reality of it firsthand, and even fewer lived as if it was true.

So in this living conscious universe one species became self-reflective and initially mistook itself as the only conscious thing in the universe. This species initially only recognized its own experience of consciousness and so defined everything else in the conscious universe as unconscious. We mistook our own form of self-reflective consciousness as the only form of consciousness and ourselves as the only tiny bits of conscious matter in an unconscious universe.

Of course this species is us and this mistake limits our access to the wider universal consciousness that we are in fact a part of. The habit of seeing ourselves as a conscious thing in an unconscious universe actually restricts our capacity to experience the wider consciousness that we have never been separate from.

Psychologists have long known that we don’t experience reality the way it is. Our experience is profoundly shaped and filtered by what we expect to experience. If we believe that we are the only conscious things in the universe that is what we will experience. That isn’t because everything around us isn’t already conscious, it is just that we don’t recognize consciousness in any form we aren’t expecting.

This limitation, which I would call the limitation of a localized experience of consciousness, seems to be unacceptable to the universe. The universe seems to want to grow and expand and breakdown this type of limiting localization. Over time consciousness seems to unerringly move to expand beyond all localized limitations.

The nature of consciousness is to expand beyond limiting perspectives. The human experience of consciousness is a limiting perspective that consciousness is currently expanding beyond. Our efforts to expand our own awareness are aligned with a universal desire for expansion. In fact, generating beings that think they want to expand their consciousness is how the universe expands its consciousness.



Fourth Insight: We have access to consciousness beyond what we can comprehend, recognize and even perceive.

As we begin to break the habit of defining consciousness only by our experience of it, a previously hidden world of subtle consciousness begins to reveal itself to us. If we relax and allow something miraculous to take place we find ourselves opening up to dimensions of reality beyond our experience of it.

This is exactly what great mystics and realisers have told us throughout human history. We are not what we think we are. We are not limited in our perception in the ways that we believe we are. What we currently call consciousness is a tiny sliver of what is truly alive and awake in reality.

There was a time when human beings assumed that what they saw as light was all the light that existed in the universe. Then we discovered that what we call the visible spectrum of light is just a tiny fraction of a much larger electromagnetic spectrum. We can’t see the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum with our eyes, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t experience it.

We experience other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum already, but we experience them differently. We experience infrared rays just as commonly as we do visible light. We just don’t see them with our eyes. We feel them as heat. Similarly we experience ultraviolet rays whenever our skin burns in the sun.

So to, what we currently experience of reality and mistakenly think of as all of reality is a thin slice of everything that actually exists. Yet, just like we felt heat and got sunburned before we knew that it was caused by light that we couldn’t see, we must also be experiencing more of reality that we are currently recognize as being real.

This is challenging to think about because what we are saying is that we are already experiencing things that we don’t recognize to be real. How can you experience something without recognizing that it is real? How can you experience the unreal and where does that experience reside?

I believe that it is not simply a matter of developing extrasensory perception. It is not only that we don’t have the proper apparatus to experience more of reality. What is causing the limitations on our experience is how we define ourselves and the world. We see ourselves through a localized lens of consciousness. That localization is in large part caused by a limited understanding of reality.

As we discussed in the last section, we think of ourselves as conscious beings in an unconscious universe. We define consciousness based on our experience of consciousness and then assume that that is all there is. Just like we defined light in terms of what was visible to us and missed all the rest.

Our experience of reality will expand as our understanding of reality expands. How we define things limits how we perceive them. Understanding and perception are flip sides of a coin. They must expand together.

Fifth Insight: We are being called to grow beyond our localized experience of consciousness.

As far as we know the level of self-reflective consciousness that we experience is the most advanced form of consciousness in the Universe. Of course it might not be, and there are days when I pray that it is not. Still, there is no conclusive evidence, and only scant evidence of any kind, that even hints that there might be another species somewhere that matches or surpasses our level of awareness.

If it is even possible that the consciousness we experience as human beings is the highest form yet existent in any species in the Universe then we have a great deal to consider. We might be living on the most important planet in the Universe and those of us who feel drawn to what we are discussing here are being given an opportunity to participate in something unimaginable.

It seems that in order for our world to get past this moment in its history, human beings need to grow beyond their localized experience of consciousness. We need to allow our awareness to expand into places where we are currently unable to go. We must develop the capacity to experience what we cannot comprehend, recognize and even perceive. We must learn to journey evermore deeply into the unimaginable.

Our localized, human-centered experience of reality must expand. We must yield to a larger perspective for the sake of a future that we cannot imagine. We are being called to expand into the unknown and the unknowable.

We feel this as a call only from the perspective of our localized, human-centered experience of reality. Our universal self feels the same movement as its own expansion beyond the limiting perspective of the species that first came to self-reflect. Like a snake shedding its skin, the universe feels itself expanding beyond an uncomfortable constraint. Our spiritual growth is the way the universe is expanding beyond the constraints of our current conception of what it means to be human.


Poetry Corner

From The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904)

If ye lay bound upon the wheel of change, And no way were of breaking from the chain, The Heart of boundless Being is a curse, The Soul of Things fell Pain. Ye are not bound! the Soul of Things is sweet, The Heart of Being is celestial rest; Stronger than woe is will: that which was Good Doth pass to Better -- Best. I, Buddha, who wept with all my brothers' tears, Whose heart was broken by a whole world's woe, Laugh and am glad, for there is Liberty! Ho! ye who suffer! Know Ye suffer from yourselves. None else compels, None other holds you that ye live and die, And whirl upon the wheel, and hug and kiss Its spokes of agony, Its tire of tears, its nave of nothingness. Behold, I show you Truth! Lower than hell, Higher than heaven, outside the utmost stars, Farther than Brahm doth dwell, Before beginning, and without an end, As space eternal and as surety sure, Is fixed a Power divine which moves to good, Only its laws endure. This is its touch upon the blossomed rose, The fashion of its hand shaped lotus-leaves; In dark soil and the silence of the seeds The robe of Spring it weaves;

That is its painting on the glorious clouds, And these its emeralds on the peacock's train; It hath its stations in the stars; its slaves In lightning, wind, and rain. Out of the dark it wrought the heart of man, Out of dull shells the pheasant's penciled neck; Ever at toil, it brings to loveliness All ancient wrath and wreck. The ordered music of the marching orbs It makes in viewless canopy of sky; In deep abyss of earth it hides up gold, Sards, sapphires, lazuli. Ever and ever bringing secrets forth, It sitteth in the green of forest-glades Nursing strange seedlings at the cedar's root, Devising leaves, blooms, blades. This is its work upon the things ye see, The unseen things are more; men's hearts and minds, The thoughts of peoples and their ways and wills, Those, too, the great Law binds. It seeth everywhere and marketh all: Do right -- it recompenseth! do one wrong -- The equal retribution must be made, Though DHARMA tarry long. Such is the Law which moves to righteousness, Which none at last can turn aside or stay; The heart of it is Love, the end of it Is Peace and Consummation sweet. Obey!


In the Light of Karma

Escaping the Illusion of Fortuity

BY LUKE MICHAEL IRONSIDE

Much confusion presently exists in esoteric literature as to the exact meaning of the term “Karma”, and as a result one will find that the notion is susceptible of misleading shades of definition and interpretation among contemporary writers on the subject. Until 130 years ago, the concept had little or no meaning to the inhabitants of the Western world; and it was only with the introduction of the Theosophical Society and the teachings of Blavatsky that Karma, along with the notions of reincarnation and the Oneness of Life, entered into the mainstream. Today, despite its widespread popularity as a concept, Karma is often misunderstood and misrepresented as a mere shadow of its true depth and complexity; watered-down by the effects of its adoption in mass culture and inclusion in common and colloquial parlance. Theosophically speaking, Karma may be described as referring to the Spiritual Law of Cause and Effect which is inherent in the very fabric of the Universe. As such, it is immutable and changeless, acting automatically and invariably in the evolution and order of the Cosmos in which we exist and have our being. When applied to the life of the individual, it may be regarded as the ultimate Law of Justice, whereby one reaps the results of one’ s own sowing, enjoying or suffering the results of one’s own actions, and which operates along the lines of individual experience, life, and character. It is entirely impersonal, and yet infinitely fair in its working. In this sense, Karma is much like the natural laws of mathematics and physics, operating along exact lines and bringing forth exact effects in accordance with the invariability of its law. It stands beyond the questions of good or evil, reward or punishment, morality or immorality, and so forth; acting rather as a great natural force over and above any such questions of human conduct. Karma is not something imposed upon us by the arbitrary judgment of a revengeful god or the spiritual powers that be; as an absolute Law, it should be regarded rather as the manifestation of effects in accordance with the causes we have set into motion – it is simply the Law of Cause and Effect. In The Key to Theosophy [1], Blavatsky writes of Karma that it is: “...that unseen and unknown law which adjusts wisely, intelligently and equitably each effect to its cause, tracing the latter back to its producer. Though itself unknowable, its action is perceivable.” Karma is thus known solely by the evidence of its effects in the phenomenal world, which are likewise mirrored in the life of the individual. We do not perceive Karma in itself, nor do we fully understand the essence of Karma, yet we do know how it works by the nature of its invariable Law, which is constant and unchanging, and as a result we may accurately predict and define its mode of action. As the Law by which every action must result in an equal reaction, Karma may also be considered as containing a harmonising principle; it is only by the Law of Karma that the Universe maintains its equilibrium. The whole cosmic process in action is according to the Law. We know from Newton that to every action there must be an opposite and equal reaction: Cause and Effect. This Law is Universal Law which orders and balances the rhythmic workings of the world, keeping the universe in this state of perfect equilibrium. Without such constant balance and adjustment, the Cosmos would collapse in a ravaging tempest of chaos and confusion – atoms would burst asunder and planets fly off their courses. Scientific knowledge would become an impossibility, as there would be no laws by which to predict the patterns of phenomena. The Universe would, in fact, cease to exist altogether. Karma, as the Law of Cause and Effect, stands at the substratum of scientific study and systemisation, and as such underlies the observations and experiments of all empirical systems of enquiry. The exact operation of the Law, and the means by which it manifests in the phenomenal world, remain points of contention among the various schools of thought, yet the fundamental necessity of such a principle of causation is held as axiomatic by all. Indeed, to do away with Karma would be to relinquish the world to the dominion of chance; that fictitious shadow of existence before which men grovel and fret in submissive surrender to the predicaments of environment.


(Continuation of article In the Light of Karma - Escaping the Illusion of Fortuity) There is no randomness in Nature; the Universe courses through its ceaseless cycles with clockwork constancy. To arrive at any understanding of the nature of existence and the invariable Laws of the Cosmos one must first apprehend this eternal Law of Cause and Effect, for without it there would be total chaos, and all phenomena would lack sequence or structure. Harmony – Hierarchy – Correspondence - Order – these are all the progeny of this basic elemental Law. Karma is thus oftentimes spoken of as the “Law of Laws”. [2] As such, it may be considered as a natural law – underlying all conditions and laws of phenomenal existence. Karma is the pendulum suspended between the motion of its swing; the interrelation of everything in the Eternal Now. The fundamental condition of Nature is one of constant change, yet Karma is that force of equilibrium which holds the polarity of life in balance.

Fig. 2 – The Lotus: a symbolic representation of Karma in many Asian traditions, on account of it simultaneously carrying its seeds within itself while it blooms.

The seed symbolizes the Cause, and the flower, the Effect.

The constructive and destructive forces in Nature are engaged in perpetual warfare and struggle – one striving to build up, and the other to tear down – the result being that nothing is ever truly stable but rather in a continual state of change. Cycles follow cycles in an eternal progression of recurrence. Worlds, nations, units, and individuals have their birth, growth, apotheosis, and decline, and eventual death. Like the ocean’s tides, all existence, great and small, has its rise and fall, its ebb and flow; its rhythmic compensation. Change is in constant operation; activity is the mechanism of Nature. Nothing is stationary. All is flux. Everything flows. All is change. Everything passes. All things rise, and in turn, fall. Creation, destruction, and regeneration are the unremitting trinity of Universal Law. In the twinkling of an eye Nature experiences a million births and a million deaths. And yet, Nature exists ever, birthless and deathless. This is Karma – the creator of the constant amongst the change. Under Karma, every Effect is determined by its Cause. Such may seem to be a statement of the obvious to the reader, yet when fully appreciated the fact of this may drastically shake the seeming surety of one’s pedestal of common sense. How often do we speak idiomatically of “chance” and “luck”, as if events in our lives occurred at random, devoid of prior causes! It seems the conceptions of “chance” and “luck” are rooted deep in the fabric of our cultural subconsciousness – taken for granted even – and as such are not easily shaken off. This is the illusion of fortuity. A world in which “chance” and “luck” exist would be an idle one, as random occurrences do not require any scrutiny of thought nor effort of will. There would be no motivation, as there would be nothing to accomplish. In such a world periodicity would not exist; there would be no cycles by which Nature may run her rhythmic course, and as such there would be no weather – no seasons – no tides. Things would simply happen, regardless of one’s actions or lack thereof. In a world without Karma, chaos would reign.


(Continuation of article In the Light of Karma - Escaping the Illusion of Fortuity) There can be no exception to this Law. Nothing can happen outside of Cause and Effect. What we ascribe to the domain of chance is merely that which falls outside of our limited scope of understanding. In our limited state of consciousness, we attempt to restrict Nature to the realms of finitude, fancying that as our senses perceive, so must Nature be. While yet in truth, we are as fish in a tank, oblivious to what lies outside our microcosmic habitat besides a peeping glance with fisheye lens through the distorted glass. Plotinus writes in the Enneads that “Those who believe that the world of being is governed by luck or chance and that it depends upon material causes are far removed from the divine and from the notion of the One.” [3] The conception of chance is therefore a divisive one, as there can be no notion of unity in a world which lacks order. It is only by a recognition of this Law that we may begin to understand the principles underlying the operations of Nature, and by such, rise above the material plane of life, placing ourselves in touch with the higher aspects of our being. In so doing we may become Masters of Destiny, forming a conscious part of the Law, and thus determine our own Karma. We become the Cause, instead of the Effect. Understanding Karma gives us the key by which we may be liberated from the chains of suffering and delusion. Thus unshackled, we find ourselves able to rise above the circumstances of our environment and to walk through life’s challenges joyfully and with courage. We arrive at the recognition of our own place in the cosmic scheme, in which we are the creators of our own delights – our own despairs. Our troubled thoughts are transmuted in the awareness which comes from our self-reflection, and replaced instead by noble aspirations and a positive outlook on life. Under Karma, we must walk our own trail, and pave our own path along the way. The trail may be rough at times, at other places smooth, but in all circumstances, it remains for us to forge the way forward; through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier. [4] Theosophy offers us the knowledge whereby we may arrive at such an understanding of the Law of Karma. It reveals to us the indisputable fact that we ourselves are the architects of our own futures and the builders of our fate. The Law may be used to mold and shape our destinies through the right use of free choice and will; there is no fate but what we ourselves make. Karma is a river that winds ever onward, from past to present, and from present to future; it is fluid, and flows ceaselessly into the ocean of possibility. There we swim amid the waves of the vast, infinite sea; a light unto ourselves, from which encroaching shadows flee. NOTES: [1] H. P. Blavatsky. The Key to Theosophy. The Theosophical Publishing Company, London. (1889). [2] Dr. Annie Besant. A Study in Karma. The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar. (Second Edition, 1917). [3] Plotinus. Ennead VI.9. [4] William Shakespeare. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act III, Scene I) *************************************************

Luke Michael Ironside is a lecturer and writer on theosophical and esoteric subjects; comparative religion, occultism, and philosophy; and the history of the Theosophical Movement. **************************************************

Brisbane Theosophical Society p 17 CONTACT Magazine 2018-2

T.O.S. news Brisbane Theosophical Order of Service, 355 Wickham Terrace, Brisbane Q 4000 Phone: (07) 3839 1453 FAX: (07) 3831 3692

Email:[email protected] President: Brian Harding Vice-President: Dianne Manning

Meeting dates

All interested people are invited to attend the planning meetings which are held quarterly from 10.00 to 11:30 am in the T.S. rooms. Meeting dates in 2018 are: Saturday 9 June Saturday 1 September and Saturday 8 December (AGM).

Altruistic Projects

When Brisbane TOS members enjoyed a social outing in February to the Margaret Olley Art Gallery in Murwillumbah, they donated to help Rohingya families fleeing violence. As a result a cheque for $100 was sent to the UNHCR appeal.

Our fundraising will also support the three National TOS Projects:

Funding four Qandeel schools in Pakistan

Supporting the Golden Link College established by the TOS in the Philippines

Supporting Syrian Refugees through the TOS in Italy, which is providing funds for food, shelter and footwear for those transiting Italy. They have also formed a close relationship with a Syrian doctor who has established a hospital providing services for children and families in a refugee camp on the Syria/Turkey border. TOS members also provide hands-on support for refugees.

In addition, we will support several other international TOS Projects.

Concert to benefit the Home-schools in Pakistan …..

Thank you to those who supported our fundraising by attending our concert on Sunday 22 April. It was a musically inspiring experience which also provided a social opportunity to meet up with friends over an excellent High Tea style afternoon tea.

The funds raised will be donated to the TOS in Pakistan for their Qandeel schools.

These home-schools enable children, young girls and women who have no opportunity to pursue even a basic education, to attend classes. Reading, writing and arithmetic are taught by a

teacher who holds classes at her own house which is in the same locality as the students. The teachers meet regularly for professional development. These schools provide life-changing opportunities. All donated funds are spent on the schools, since administrative tasks in both Australia and Pakistan are done by volunteers.

Dates for your diaries to support our Altruistic Projects

Pampering Workshop Look out for details about our Pampering Workshop day. You’ll be able to treat yourself to a facial, foot-bath and massage and more. We will be finalizing plans at our June BTOS meeting for the workshop in July or August.

Concert to benefit the Golden Link College ….. Sunday 4 November at 2:30 pm.

The Golden Link College was established by the TOS in the Philippines to provide an education, based on theosophical principles, for disadvantaged children from the slums of Manila.

On compassion …..

Emma Seppala, of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, points out that science suggests that compassion may well be the most important thing in our lives with multiple benefits to ourselves as well as to others. Research findings tell us that compassion:

Boosts our health and longevity

Makes us happy

Is contagious

Is good for our psychological health and resilience

Increases our willingness to trust, to forgive, to resolve conflict and to connect with others.

W

http://ccare.stanford.edu/



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