Sex and spirituality – abstention?

This is a topic I’ve been wanting to blog about in one form or another – but I’ve been unsure as to HOW, because it’s so darn sticky.

Let’s start with the main world religions. Each, excepting Islam, has abstention as an ideal in one form or another. Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism all have the institution of monks (and nuns) who are expected to stay celibate.

Following Martin Luther, who left the monastery behind, Protestant Christianity knows neither monks nor celibate priests – so the issue has become sort of moot there. In Hinduism there are traditions of celibate monk-like figures who are literally homeless, but there are also sanyasins who are married. Hinduism is in fact such a varied tradition that to approach it as one tradition seems very simplistic. Buddhism has traditionally had monks and nuns who aren’t married and are supposed to be celibate. But some Buddhist traditions also have priests or lamas who can be married (in some Zen and Tibetan Buddhist traditions). Continue reading Sex and spirituality – abstention?

The purpose of reincarnation

Mimi asked: The one I am interested in right now is reincarnation. What are your views on it? I mean, I know you believe that and all, but, well, at least I think I read that somewhere… Anyway, if you do believe in reincarnation, what do you believe is the purpose of it and does it in any way relate to God or Source or Divinity or what in your mind.

You can see she’s stumbling over words in this question. So am I in my answer.

First off – God is an alien word for me. There are all kinds of theosophical words for aspects of what people call God – but none of them describe a personal being who created the world in seven days (for instance).

Yes, I believe in reincarnation. I feel it relates to the source of all being (the divine, God or whatever you want to call it) in the way that st. Paul says ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being’. Technically speaking I’m a pantheist: I see God (or rather The Divine) in everything. This is close to the panentheism that can be read into the Bible.

From an Indian perspective Continue reading The purpose of reincarnation

Natural affinity to age – old people, young people

I think each of us has a natural affinity to people of a certain age. An astrologer told me, when I was once again trying to figure out what the heck to do with my life, that I had an affinity to kids between 7 and 14 and with old people: above 65 or something. It made complete sense. I could never figure out why teaching didn’t work: didn’t I love kids? Yes, I love kids, but not the ones I was teaching. The ones I was teaching were between 13 and 17. No affinity there. (Well, individually there was some affinity, with the group as a whole: none).

For me kids are great and old people are great. I never even got along with kids when I was one. Thankfully they grew up just as I did, so that now I do get along with people my own age. 🙂

Our culture has a natural affinity too: young people – the ones between 15 and 25 – rule. They determine what’s hot and what’s not. Continue reading Natural affinity to age – old people, young people

Choosing a spiritual path or group

Apparently starting your own blog may lead to an increase in people asking private questions. Over the past few days several people have asked me for my opinion (or the official theosophical one) about obscure spiritual paths. This is an attempt at some guidelines.

First off: there is no such thing as an official theosophical opinion about any spiritual path. Members are free to choose their favorite, or shop around, or stick to theosophy in the traditional sense. Most members I know have studied and or practiced, besides theosophy, at least one other path seriously. (This is one of the reasons the Theosophical Society (TS) is such an interesting group.) The point is: you will have to make up your own mind. The TS does not give itself the privilege of creating a list of groups one should avoid. Or a group of ‘officially approved’ spiritual groups. Each member is responsible to themselves.

BTW: I don’t speak for the TS. I’m just an ordinary member whose only official task is the one of being one of the webmasters of the Dutch TS website. This doesn’t mean I don’t have an opinion about a whole lot of things: I obviously do. And my opinion is, usually, based on something. Which leads to my next point:
Continue reading Choosing a spiritual path or group

John Algeo about the TS, Blavatsky and more: an interview

John Algeo is vice president of the Theosophical Society. He recently ran for president but only got a third of the votes. I really liked the program he ran on, and since we correspond regularly, I thought it would be nice to interview him here.

1. Who’s your favorite spiritual teacher (theosophical or otherwise) of the last hundred years?

If, by “the last hundred years” you mean literally since 1908, that excludes H. P. Blavatsky, who would otherwise be my choice. Apart from her, I really cannot name a “favorite.” “The Golden Stairs” mentions “a loyal sense of duty to the Teacher,” but I believe that each of us is actually both student and teacher of everyone we come into contact with. And spirituality is not something distinct from the rest of life, but an integral part of it. So we owe a loyal duty to all our fellows. Thus my response to this question would have to be same as that of the Oxford student whose examination on scripture asked him to distinguish between the major and minor prophets. His answer was, “Far be it from me to draw invidious distinctions among holy men.”

2. There was quite a storm around the publication of ‘The Letters of H.P. Blavatsky’, which you and your wife worked so hard to create. Had you expected the storm and can you explain to my readers what the storm was about? Continue reading John Algeo about the TS, Blavatsky and more: an interview

The Secret applied to Young Muslims

I’ve written about ‘The Secret‘ online. I’ve hosted a discussion on ‘The Secret’. I’ve inwardly cringed at the many commercial versions of the message I’ve seen online. Today I want to apply the basic psychological insights that are at the heart of the ‘The Secret’ to a group of young people that feels trapped. Let’s look outside our little bubble shall we?
Continue reading The Secret applied to Young Muslims

Spirituality and worshipping personalities – a blogging perspective?

Yesterday I talked about how being impersonal is not a way to avoid pride.

Today I’m going to face up to the main worry people have about being too personal: it might lead to the worship of personalities. This worship leads to the following problems:

  • Dogmatism: so and so said this is true, so it must be so. Which translates into not thinking for yourself, but repeating what others have said.
  • Forgetting or ignoring the general principles being taught, because one is really only focused on that one person.
  • Ignoring the many people behind the scenes who also keep up the work, have valuable insights and in fact made it possible for the celebrity to be where they are

The fact is: we have a culture (especially in the US) where the worship (perhaps obsession with is a better turn of phrase?) of celebrities has taken on massive proportions. Continue reading Spirituality and worshipping personalities – a blogging perspective?

Pride: how about the ego?

One of the first posts I did for this blog was about how I intend to have a very personal voice on this blog. I will be going against the grain of theosophical tradition by not being impersonal.

I want to devote a few posts to the opposite issue: What kernels of truth are hidden in the admonition to avoid the personal in theosophical or spiritual work?

First of all there’s the danger of pride. I’ve collected a few quotes about this danger from my own website and elsewhere online.
Blavatsky puts it like this in The Voice of the Silence:

Self-gratulation, O Disciple, is like unto a lofty tower, up which a haughty fool has climbed. Thereon he sits in prideful solitude and unperceived by any but himself.

Continue reading Pride: how about the ego?

Labelless spirituality – an interview with Mimi

I met Mimi as one of the lensmasters at squidoo, which is one of the places online where I’m also active. She’s interviewed here because she was the only one who had an actual question suggestion for my series of interviews on this new blog of mine.

Do you believe in God, and if so what’s He (or She, or It) like in your opinion?

My mind boggles at trying to imagine what God is like. The best I have come up with is that God is thought — God is The Thought. What that looks like or acts like, I don’t know for sure (of course) but I believe the essence is love. Look at a child’s face, a puppy, nature, family, friends… This is love. This is experiencing God’s Being.

How should people deal with people who don’t understand their spiritual life?

That’s a tough one for someone who is a teacher by nature. I love to impart wisdom (what little I do have). So, I guess what you do is what you can when you can. Take now, for instance: A certain amount of your readers will have stumbled upon your blog. There’s not a doubt in my mind that it wasn’t really a “stumble” — it was destiny. This is their call to grow. I say to them: You are here because you are ready. Look, listen and learn. But Katinka, to answer your question more directly, I think we have to just let them “be.”

How do you fit evolution into your understanding of spirituality?
Continue reading Labelless spirituality – an interview with Mimi