“Brotherhood is a fact in Nature. This affirmation is based on the inner spiritual unity of all life. Every life-unit or Monad is an emanation from the One Universal Life, which is the unseen cause behind the visible universe.
We human beings constitute one group of Monads, linked with one another through a common origin and a common destiny -- fellow travelers with a common goal. The basis for harmony and cooperation already exists therefore, and a brotherhood in actu is the natural and normal relationship between men.
The extent to which our spiritual unity is recognized depends on our development and differs vastly with different individuals.
Indifference to the suffering and hardship of others shows a lack of spiritual development. A sense of oneness, compassion, fellow-feeling and sympathy for the one who suffers shows a realization of inner unity. A witness to an accident, although not affected physically, may feel sick and even faint as a result of this feeling of inner unity with the victim.
When we see or hear of some heroic deed, or some act of self sacrifice, some duty done in the face of difficulty or danger, we experience a warmth of heart, and a renewed faith that there is something noble or divine in our fellow men. There is a chord in our nature that responds when a true note is struck by someone else, and why should this chord vibrate in unison with the note struck unless there is something of divinity in all human hearts?
The separateness we feel outwardly is not as complete as may appear on the surface. When we step on a bus or a train for instance our safe-keeping is in the hands of those who drive these conveyances. Our life may depend on the mechanic who repaired our auto and when we are riding in it, our life is almost as much dependent on the care of other drivers as it is on our own. When we cross a bridge or use an elevator we are entrusting our lives to those who designed and built it. What we do affects others and what they do affects us. We are our "Brother's Keeper," and he is our "Keeper," and we are responsible to each other for our acts.”
-“Life’s Riddle” by Nils. A. Amneus, Ch. 9 ‘Brotherhood’
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
The Human Ego
“Every individual is aware of a center of consciousness within, which he recognizes as "himself." This individualized consciousness feels its separateness from other entities and thinks of itself as "I-AM-I" and not someone else. This "I-AM-I" or Ego has the power to direct the mind to any object it chooses. The mind in that case acts like a mirror that reflects the light of consciousness on the object and thus enables the Ego to learn about it.
When the Ego uses the mirror of the mind to reflect the light of consciousness back upon itself, the Ego becomes aware of its own existence. It is then what we call "self-conscious." It exists and it knows that it exists. This faculty belongs to the evolutionary stage of Man, but is lacking in the animals. The latter are conscious, but not yet self-conscious.”
-“Life’s Riddle” by Nils A. Amneus, Ch. 4 ‘Man’s Complex Nature’
When the Ego uses the mirror of the mind to reflect the light of consciousness back upon itself, the Ego becomes aware of its own existence. It is then what we call "self-conscious." It exists and it knows that it exists. This faculty belongs to the evolutionary stage of Man, but is lacking in the animals. The latter are conscious, but not yet self-conscious.”
-“Life’s Riddle” by Nils A. Amneus, Ch. 4 ‘Man’s Complex Nature’
Monday, December 14, 2009
Laws Inherent in Nature
“There is an inherent tendency in Nature to restore balance and harmony wherever these have been disturbed.
If the branch of a tree is bent out of position it reacts with an equal and opposite force which will return the branch to its original position when released. If a stone is thrown up into the air it returns to earth with a velocity equal to that with which it was thrown. If a weight is suspended by a rope it produces a tension in the rope equal to the weight, but pulling in the opposite direction.
These are examples on the material plane of an automatic tendency in Nature, which in Mechanics is expressed by the formula: "to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." We see other examples of a tendency in Nature to restore balance in such common phenomena as water resuming its level after it has been disturbed; the air of the atmosphere moving from high pressure areas to those of a lower pressure or a swinging pendulum returning eventually to its position of rest.
The ancient teachings tell us that the same tendency operates throughout the Universe on all its planes, unseen as well as seen. We human beings are also governed by the same law, since we too are parts of Nature. In our innermost essence we are one with the Universal Life. Through this inner source we are united with one another as are the leaves of one tree or the cells and organs of the human body.
The natural relationship between human beings is therefore one of harmony and cooperation for the common good. If this harmonious relationship is broken, Nature responds by setting up reactions of a similar kind. Thus if our motives, feelings, thoughts and actions are of a detrimental nature the same will return to us, and if they are of a beneficent nature the reaction will be beneficial. Thus life gives us back what we put into it.
The tendency in Nature to respond to external impulses by producing equivalent reactions is described by phrases such as "The Law of Cause and Effect," "The Law of Consequences," etc. In Hindu philosophy it is referred to by the Sanskrit term "Karma." Since there is no adequate term in Occidental languages to convey this idea, and in order to avoid cumbersome expressions, the Sanskrit term has been adopted in Theosophical literature for this purpose.
Literally translated Karma means "action," but to the Hindu this word has a more comprehensive meaning than it does to an Occidental. To the Hindu the effect is inherent in the cause. He considers that an initial act is only one half of an operation that is not complete until the reaction has taken place. The term Karma therefore includes both the cause and the effect. It is sometimes referred to as a "law," but this should not be understood in its judicial sense as an edict pronounced by some outside authority, but in the scientific sense as a quality inherent in Nature.
Karma is the fundamental law that governs all actions. It is the preserver of equilibrium, the restorer of disturbed balance. It does not punish or reward, it merely adjusts.
In The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, pp. 643-4, H. P. Blavatsky writes:
[T]he only decree of Karma -- an eternal and immutable decree is absolute Harmony in the world of matter as it is in the world of Spirit. It is not, therefore, Karma that rewards or punishes, but it is we, who reward or punish ourselves according to whether we work with, through and along with nature, abiding by the laws on which that Harmony depends, or -- break them.
[V]erily there is not an accident in our lives, not a misshapen day, or a misfortune, that could not be traced back to our own doings in this or in another life. If one breaks the laws of Harmony, . . . one must be prepared to fall into the chaos one has oneself produced.
Karma-Nemesis is no more than the (spiritual) dynamical effect of causes produced and forces awakened into activity by our own actions.
The Book of the Golden Precepts* says of Karma:
Learn that no efforts, not the smallest -- whether in right or wrong direction -- can vanish from the world of causes. Thou canst create this "day" [this life] thy chances for thy "morrow" [future lives]. In the "Great Journey" [cycle of existences] causes sown each hour bear each its harvest of effects, for rigid Justice rules the World. With mighty sweep of never-erring action, it brings to mortals lives of weal or woe, the karmic progeny of all our former thoughts and deeds.
* See The Voice of the Silence by H. P. Blavatsky which is a translation of some of these precepts.”
-“Life’s Riddle” by Nils A. Amneus, Ch. 8 ‘Karma’
If the branch of a tree is bent out of position it reacts with an equal and opposite force which will return the branch to its original position when released. If a stone is thrown up into the air it returns to earth with a velocity equal to that with which it was thrown. If a weight is suspended by a rope it produces a tension in the rope equal to the weight, but pulling in the opposite direction.
These are examples on the material plane of an automatic tendency in Nature, which in Mechanics is expressed by the formula: "to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." We see other examples of a tendency in Nature to restore balance in such common phenomena as water resuming its level after it has been disturbed; the air of the atmosphere moving from high pressure areas to those of a lower pressure or a swinging pendulum returning eventually to its position of rest.
The ancient teachings tell us that the same tendency operates throughout the Universe on all its planes, unseen as well as seen. We human beings are also governed by the same law, since we too are parts of Nature. In our innermost essence we are one with the Universal Life. Through this inner source we are united with one another as are the leaves of one tree or the cells and organs of the human body.
The natural relationship between human beings is therefore one of harmony and cooperation for the common good. If this harmonious relationship is broken, Nature responds by setting up reactions of a similar kind. Thus if our motives, feelings, thoughts and actions are of a detrimental nature the same will return to us, and if they are of a beneficent nature the reaction will be beneficial. Thus life gives us back what we put into it.
The tendency in Nature to respond to external impulses by producing equivalent reactions is described by phrases such as "The Law of Cause and Effect," "The Law of Consequences," etc. In Hindu philosophy it is referred to by the Sanskrit term "Karma." Since there is no adequate term in Occidental languages to convey this idea, and in order to avoid cumbersome expressions, the Sanskrit term has been adopted in Theosophical literature for this purpose.
Literally translated Karma means "action," but to the Hindu this word has a more comprehensive meaning than it does to an Occidental. To the Hindu the effect is inherent in the cause. He considers that an initial act is only one half of an operation that is not complete until the reaction has taken place. The term Karma therefore includes both the cause and the effect. It is sometimes referred to as a "law," but this should not be understood in its judicial sense as an edict pronounced by some outside authority, but in the scientific sense as a quality inherent in Nature.
Karma is the fundamental law that governs all actions. It is the preserver of equilibrium, the restorer of disturbed balance. It does not punish or reward, it merely adjusts.
In The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, pp. 643-4, H. P. Blavatsky writes:
[T]he only decree of Karma -- an eternal and immutable decree is absolute Harmony in the world of matter as it is in the world of Spirit. It is not, therefore, Karma that rewards or punishes, but it is we, who reward or punish ourselves according to whether we work with, through and along with nature, abiding by the laws on which that Harmony depends, or -- break them.
[V]erily there is not an accident in our lives, not a misshapen day, or a misfortune, that could not be traced back to our own doings in this or in another life. If one breaks the laws of Harmony, . . . one must be prepared to fall into the chaos one has oneself produced.
Karma-Nemesis is no more than the (spiritual) dynamical effect of causes produced and forces awakened into activity by our own actions.
The Book of the Golden Precepts* says of Karma:
Learn that no efforts, not the smallest -- whether in right or wrong direction -- can vanish from the world of causes. Thou canst create this "day" [this life] thy chances for thy "morrow" [future lives]. In the "Great Journey" [cycle of existences] causes sown each hour bear each its harvest of effects, for rigid Justice rules the World. With mighty sweep of never-erring action, it brings to mortals lives of weal or woe, the karmic progeny of all our former thoughts and deeds.
* See The Voice of the Silence by H. P. Blavatsky which is a translation of some of these precepts.”
-“Life’s Riddle” by Nils A. Amneus, Ch. 8 ‘Karma’
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