Understanding
Self-Delusion
in the Esoteric
Movement
Carlos Cardoso Aveline

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The following text reproduces Chapter
Twenty of
the book “The Fire and Light of Theosophical
Literature”,
by Carlos Cardoso Aveline, The
Aquarian Theosophist, Portugal, 255
pp., 2013.
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“A disposition not to interfere in any way
with beliefs which are illusions prevails with
many who dislike the pain caused by such tearing
away of the veil. And the argument that illusionary
beliefs, creeds, and dogmas should not be done away
with so long as the believer is happy or good has been
used by the Christian Church (….…) as a potent
means of keeping the mind of man in an iron chain.”
(William Q. Judge,
in his article
“Iconoclasm
Towards Illusions”)
Since ancient
times, it has been a well-established axiom in Eastern and Western philosophies
that the ideas of Truth, Beauty and Goodness are deeply interconnected, and
that they are impossible to separate from one another.
Goodness and Beauty are usually pleasant, and Robert
Crosbie quoted the Laws of the Manu, known in India for thousands of years:
“Let him say what is true.
Let him say what is useful.
Let him say what is pleasant.
Let him utter no disagreeable
truth.
Let him utter no agreeable
falsehood.” [1]
As to the West, let’s see one example from Ancient
Greece. In his dialogue “Philebus”, Plato presents a conversation with
Socrates. The philosopher is discussing the inner and alchemical process by
which we learn to combine in the proper way different subtle substances in our
consciousness, so that we attain Goodness. Socrates explains:
“... Any want of measure and symmetry in any mixture
whatever must always of necessity be fatal, both to the elements and to the
mixture, which is then not a mixture, but only a confused medley which brings
confusion on the possessor of it.”
Protarchus agrees, saying: “Most true”. Socrates proceeds:
“And now the power of the good has retired into the
region of the beautiful; for measure and symmetry are beauty and virtue all the
world over. (…..) Also we said that truth was to form an element in the
mixture. (…..) Then, if we are not able to hunt
the good with one idea only, with three we may catch our prey; Beauty,
Symmetry, Truth are the three, and these taken together we may regard as
the single cause of the mixture, and the
mixture as being good by reason of the
infusion of them.” [2]
Goodness, truth, symmetry and beauty are inseparable
realities acting through an integrated process, an “infusion”. Yet for the
student of esoteric philosophy it is not enough to simply accept this idea. He
must know that the dynamic unity of these substances is beyond the field of
perception given by his five senses and personal memory, and that it can only
be understood at the inner level.
Let us examine, for instance, the Beauty that is
present in Truth. It cannot be always seen. It is fundamentally hidden and only
occasionally external. Things are often not really what they seem, and the
Truth beneath the surface can easily appear - or be construed and presented -
as something bad, ugly, painful, unfriendly, aggressive, or even heretical and
dangerous.
The beauty of the spiritual path leading to
self-knowledge is also internal, and to think that it must always show itself
externally has been for centuries a great source of unnecessary illusion and
suffering. Therefore all appearances of beauty, truth and goodness
should be carefully examined by every student. Walking along this arduous path,
he will gradually learn how to prevent self-illusion and how not to mislead others.
Whenever a group or section of the theosophical
movement starts embellishing truth so that it gets more attractive to the world
and to the people at large, there is danger. Truths which appear to be ugly may
be swept aside. Those who insist in raising uncomfortable facts will be
considered dangerous people. Credulity will come in and people will forget
these classical words of a Mahatma:
“Credulity breeds credulity and ends in hypocrisy”.[3]
Once artificial beautification of truth leads people
to credulity, it soon creates the need for more and more embellishment of
reality. Later on, a moment will come
when this group of theosophists has no clear criteria any longer to distinguish
truth from illusion or fact from fiction.
Once the apparently ugly truths
have started being eliminated from the field of our conscious sight, it follows
that the apparently beautiful lies, illusions and falsehoods begin to replace Truth. An old saying states that lies are ashamed of
their ugliness, so they disguise themselves as truths. That is why our Teachers
recommend that students should have the courage to choose truth at all times,
regardless of appearances. It is a question of spiritual survival, and HPB
wrote: “Our motto was from the first, and ever shall be: ‘THERE IS NO RELIGION
HIGHER THAN TRUTH’. Truth we search for, and, once found, we bring it forward
before the world, whencesoever comes.” [4]
However, the theosophical movement as a whole has had
a steady pattern of wrong choices with regard to this question. Big and small
examples of “truth embellishment” or self-delusion can be found in the several
theosophical groups and institutions around the world - and most probably in
our own lives, too. Therefore, while looking at the mistakes made by other
persons or by the esoteric movement at large, each student should have enough
courage to remember that all human karma is his own, and illusion is not
something to be identified and condemned in others only.
The moral beauty
present in acknowledging and correcting our mistakes runs underneath the
deceiving surfaces of life, and it has long-term effects. According to the Golden Stairs given to esoteric students
through HPB, to have an open mind and to make a brave declaration of principles are
two necessary steps for those who would like to have access to the inner Temple
of Truth.[5] This means challenging
routine.
An open mind and a courageous declaration of
principles are essential practices for groups and institutions, as well as
individuals. With these two instruments the theosophical movement can learn
from its own mistakes. This should not be too complicated according to a
popular saying in Brazil, which explains: “The wise ones learn from
other people’s mistakes; the moderately
ignorant learn from their own mistakes; only complete fools do
not learn even from their own mistakes.”
We should be humble enough to admit and to discuss our
failures, in order not to repeat them. If we accept we don’t know things we
don’t know, at least we will have an open mind, and this is the first Socratic
step for starting to learn a new lesson at a higher level.
With an open mind we can also say what we think. Let
us see, then, in this spirit, four examples of self-delusion in the history of
the esoteric movement. Occasions when truth was embellished or simply abandoned
because it did not seem to appear beautiful enough at the eyes of the public.
Four moments when untruthfulness was seen as irresistibly beautiful, elegant,
even charming.
One
In 1884-85, when HPB was accused by the Society for
Psychic Researches (S.P.R.) of being a “fascinating case of fraud”, leading
theosophists in India decided it would be easier not to challenge the offenders
by defending HPB and the Truth against the slanderers. HPB got sick and had to
leave Adyar never to come back.
It took one hundred years for the very S.P.R. to honestly
make a public acknowledgement that after all HPB was NOT a fraud. Instead, she
had been the VICTIM of the forgeries fabricated by her accusers.[6]
Two
During the 1890s, William Q. Judge was accused by the
Adyar T.S. (led by Henry Olcott and Annie Besant) of forging messages
supposedly coming from the Mahatmas.
The editors of the book “The Theosophical Movement
1875-1950” [7] received a document
written by Mr. B. P. Wadia, a well-known theosophist. The text, signed in
December 15, 1947, says:
“Not only Col. Olcott, but also Mrs. Besant came to
perceive the error of her ways in later years. A respected member of the Adyar
Society who had fully studied the Judge Case interviewed Mrs. Besant specially
on the subject. In course of the serious conversation, Mrs. Besant admitted
that what was presented to her was on the whole accurate and that she had come
to a conclusion some time previously that Judge did not forge those letters;
and that the messages received by him were genuine. On being requested to say
that much only, if not more, to the Theosophical public the world over Mrs.
Besant demurred and remarked that it was such an old and forgotten matter -
‘Why revive it?’ On permission being sought by the friend to make her view
public, she flatly refused. This came as a shock to the gentleman who was
refused this permission, for he fully expected that in the interests of
historical veracity Mrs. Besant would agree to say in public what she so
readily admitted to him in private conversation, completely exonerating Mr.
Judge from manufacturing bogus Mahatma messages.” [8]
Three
In the year 2000, the Theosophical Publishing
House/Quest Books published the volume “The Esoteric World of Madame
Blavatsky”, by Daniel Caldwell. This 451 pp. book is a collection of
testimonies, false and true, about the life of H.P. Blavatsky. With this book
Daniel Caldwell inaugurated a new “editorial policy” adopted by the Adyar
Society in America, which consists of publishing libels invented by the old
enemies of H.P. Blavatsky and of the theosophical movement. The new editorial
“policy” consists in publishing these false accusations scattered amidst
authentic documents, which makes it harder for the inexperienced student to
identify the falsehoods. In the volume “The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky”
- while believing the editor has selected authentic documents - the reader will
bump into many of the lies written against HPB. There he will see two texts by
Emma Coulomb (pp. 35-36 and pp. 210-215) with no word from the editor Daniel
Caldwell admitting he is publishing documents which have no trace of truth in
them whatsoever.
Caldwell’s book contains two texts by Mr. Solovyov
with attacks against HPB; one false testimony by Mr. Richard Hodgson, several
false accusations against HPB made by Moncure D. Conway and many other unjust
attacks aimed at her who is not here to
defend herself. The slandering material includes utter disrespect for two
Sacred Teachers and Their names, in one of the libels signed by Emma Coulomb.
Its reproduction by a Publishing House which calls itself “Theosophical” is
something which surpasses the limits of absurdity. HPB wrote long enough in
“The Key to Theosophy” [9] about the
abuse of sacred names, even when the cause of such a desecration is not a collection
of deliberate lies against the theosophical philosophy.
As to this kind of action, there are two levels of
karma: the karma of actively publishing falsehoods against the Masters and HPB,
and the karma of anyone who knows about this and does nothing. This will not be the karma of earnest students. In
the Preliminary Memorandum of the Esoteric Section of Theosophical Society,
issued in 1888, H.P. Blavatsky made an inspiring quotation from the Book of
Discipline in the schools of Dzyan and from a letter of a Master:
“He who wipeth not away the filth with which the
parent’s body may have been defiled by an enemy, neither loves the parent nor
honours himself. He who defendeth not the persecuted and the helpless (…..)
hath been born too soon in human shape.” [10]
The editor of “The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky”
wrote at the preface of the book: “These reminiscences by her relatives,
acquaintances, friends, co-workers, and enemies give a vivid portrayal of
Madame Blavatsky’s personality and allow the reader to enter into the
historical milieu of her time.” But he forgot the profound difference between
an enemy and a liar.
An enemy, says the dictionary, is an adversary or an
opponent - often an honest person. A liar is a person who tells lies - or who knowingly helps propagating them.
Enemies may say unpleasant truths and we should be able to learn from them. The
problem is not with enemies, then, but with false
testimonies. The editor of “The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky” wrongly
called “reminiscences” the old, well-known slanders. He and TPH-Wheaton
considered them beautiful enough to go to the public.
Four
In 1999-2000, while working as an editor in the
translation into Portuguese language of the “Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett”,
I made an issue-by-issue study showing the irreconcilable difference between
the Teachings of the Masters and the writings of C.W. Leadbeater. I submitted
the study to Ms. Joy Mills, former International Vice-President of the Adyar
T.S. and a well-known student of the Mahatma Letters. Joy confirmed my evidence
and conclusions. She wrote that Leadbeater’s clairvoyant books are mostly
“science-fiction”, but recommended that I should remain quiet and silent about
that. In July 2002 I submitted the same comparative study to Ms. Radha Burnier.
In her answer to me, Ms. Burnier carefully avoided taking a clear position on
the subject. In this case, it seems that Truth was not considered beautiful
enough to see the light of the day.
The occult effects and dangers of any conscious
departure from Truth were clearly pointed out by Master K.H. in the Letter XXX
of the “Mahatma Letters”. Addressed to Mr. Allan O. Hume, the letter makes a
vivid comparison between the practical methods employed by the Adepts of the
Eternal Truth and - the Jesuits. It is something to think about and to
meditate.
The Mahatma writes:
“My dear Sir, we will hardly ever agree in our ideas
of things, and even of the value of words. You have once upon a time called us Jesuits; and, viewing things as you do,
perhaps, you were right to a certain extent in so regarding us, since apparently our systems of training do
not differ much. But it is only externally. As I once said before, they know that what they teach is a lie; and we know that what we impart is truth, the only truth and nothing
but the truth. They work for the
greater power and glory (!) of their order; we - for the power and
final glory of individuals, of isolated units, of humanity in general, and we
are content, nay forced - to leave our Order and its chiefs entirely in the
shade. They work, and toil, and deceive, for
the sake of worldly power in this life;
we work and toil, and allow our chelas to be temporarily deceived, to afford them means never to be deceived
hereafter, and to see the whole evil of falsity and untruth, not alone in this
but in many of their after lives. (…..) They
are trained to deceive; we - to undeceive...” [11]
The occult obstacles challenging institutions which
call themselves theosophical get more serious, then, when they decide that they
prefer publishing things they know to be falsehoods, and when they decide that
they prefer not to publish crucial information which they know to be true.
What do the Masters of the Truth Eternal expect from
us, students of their esoteric philosophy? In a purely abstract sense, perhaps
it is not too difficult to understand. In the precise moment when HPB was
suffering the most severe attacks coming from those very same persons whose
untrue words are now “innocently” publicized by “theosophical” editors, the
Mahatma K.H. wrote these words, which we have quoted before:
“Courage then, you all, who would be warriors of the
one divine Verity; keep on boldly and confidently; husband your moral strength
not wasting it upon trifles (…).”[12]
To some, defending the truth with any small degree of
personal sacrifice may seem too passionate. Perhaps one or two people could
even say that such an odd attitude causes a problem to the free exercise of
hypocrisy which they consider necessary to live well in these days.
Yet for a sincere student of Dharma there could be
hardly anything more beautiful, kind, good, pleasant, useful or worthwhile than
helping protect the Teaching, and the Teacher’s Work, from those poor
personalities who do not know, or do not
wish to know the road to inner Truth.
Such a student must be aware of the fact that this
same alchemical process or struggle takes place inside his own consciousness
all the time as long as he is linked to human karma. There is no other path to go: in order to
liberate himself, he has to help liberating others. In order to liberate
others, he has to liberate himself. There is no difference between peace unto
oneself and peace unto all beings. And peace is the substance of human future.
[13]
NOTES:
[1] “The Friendly Philosopher”, Robert Crosbie, The
Theosophy Company, Los Angeles, 1945, 415 pp., see p. 48.
[2] “Philebus”, a dialogue by Plato, included in the
volume Plato, published by Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., Great Books of the
Western World, Chicago, London, Toronto, 1952, 814 pp., see pp. 637-638.
[3] Letter 46, dated 1900, from Mahatma K.H. to Annie
Besant, in “Letters From the Masters of the Wisdom”, transcribed and compiled by C. Jinarajadasa, first series, Sixth
Printing, 1973, TPH, Adyar, Madras/Chennai, India, 183 pp., see page 99.
[4] “H.P. Blavatsky Collected Writings”, TPH, vol. IX,
1986, 488 pp., see p. 07.
[5] “H.P. Blavatsky Collected Writings”, TPH, volume XII,
1980, 859 pp., see p. 503.
[6] See “H.P. Blavatsky and the SPR, an examination
of the Hodgson Report of 1885”, by
Vernon Harrison, Theosophical University Press, Pasadena, USA, 1997, 78 pp.
[7] Published by Theosophy Company, Los Angeles.
[8] “The Judge Case, a Conspiracy Which Ruined the Theosophical
CAUSE”, by Ernest Pelletier, Edmonton Theosophical Society, a one-volume
edition with 983 pages in two parts. See p. 443, second part.
[9] “The Key to Theosophy”, H.P. Blavatsky, Theosophy
Company, Bombay, India, 367 pp., 1987. See pages 298-301.
[10] “H.P. Blavatsky Collected Writings”, TPH, volume XII,
1980, 859 pp., see pp. 502-503.
[11] “The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett”, T.U.P.,
Pasadena, 1992, 493 pp., see Letter XXX, pages 231-232. In the Chronological
Edition of the “Mahatma Letters” (TPH-Philippines, 1993), see Letter 74, pp.
222-223.
[12] “The Mahatma Letters to A. P.
Sinnett”, T.U.P., 493 pp., see Letter LV, p. 322 (Letter 130 in the
Chronological Edition). The facsimile of
these words is reproduced in the opening of Part One in the present volume.
[13] An initial version of the above Chapter was first
published as an article by FOHAT magazine, Canada, in its Summer (July) 2005
edition, and by “The Aquarian Theosophist”, at the August 2005 edition, pages 1
to 7.
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In September 2016, after a careful analysis of the state of the esoteric
movement worldwide, a group of students decided to form the Independent Lodge of Theosophists,
whose priorities include the building of a better future in the different
dimensions of life.
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