Daily Theosophy

It is completely relaxed, no tiredness, no worries, no evil exists there, because the people in that state have completely abandoned all these things, and live in their good mind only, for now.

(148)

(change or permanence?)

Moreover, every thought is like a seed. A seed of a plant contains the information for a whole lifetime of a plant, and likewise with animals, and thoughts. Now in this state of consciousness, the thought-seed or sapling can germinate or grow out to full flower, and that may be more than you could ever imagine. Even if you can think what is for you the most beautiful thing that is not of the nature of the body and the earthly desires, is more intense and beautifully expressed there than you can ever imagine now, when you are reading this book made of paper or pixels, here on earth. It is a wonderful teaching which, strange enough, few people have ever studied. It seems just too beautiful to be true. Yet it is true. If people could believe this, good people would have no fear for death at all. But what about the bad ones? Do they go to hell? you may ask. No, hell is only reserved for the really evil ones, like sadists, masochists, haters, morbid obstructors, people who have fun in making other people or animals suffer, or for those who purposely oppose nature. People who are not interested in beauty, philosophy, goodness, sympathy, helpfulness – well they had little thoughts about it either, so they will spend no time at all there, or will be sleeping many long years, unconscious of anything beautiful. They will learn nothing in that period, and just awaken again when they are reborn in some physical body in the womb of some woman on earth.

There are also people, mainly in the western part of the world, who really believe that nothing exists after death, even if they had lived a life full of beauty, goodness and aspiration. Because of that belief, they will ‘dream’ of the ‘nothing’ they expect, perhaps for hundreds or more years. They just pass by their most beautiful period without awareness, because their mind has locked these experiences out. Even on earth there are millions of people who lock such things out even when they are surrounded by it, and continue unawares within their own habitual mind stream.

And they don’t know what they missed, so don’t miss it. But they have little spiritual interests, just do what life offers – unless a spark of spirituality, beauty of divine feeling has occurred in a former life, waiting to be watered and then germinate. Then when that happens, one chooses the way upward, naturally, to greater happiness. That is what the ‘teacher of permanence’ taught Shano and other students. From the ‘teacher of impermanence’ Shano learned about the vitalities, also known as pranas, in the human body during life, moving in and out from the cosmos, moving up and down and left and right, front and back through myriads of channels throughout the various bodies of all people and all other living beings, the continuous change and exchange of materials of which the body, also the stardust body, and even the body in which the consciousness of the good mind was experienced, exist. Never anything remained the same for even a second. One moment you feel happy, next moment unhappy, one moment you want this, them that, you think this, you think that, constructing philosophical and scientific theories – which only last for some time and then are abandoned for better ideas. The teacher said: “If you are happy at this moment, and unhappy five minutes ago, who is Shano? The happy one or the unhappy one?” Shano had no answer to that. When he was eating his breakfast, he thought of the taste of the food, and what he would take next; when he was ordering and cleaning his room his mind was with his broom or his bed sheets. At that moment he nothing about philosophy was at the surface of his consciousness, it was only about the broom or the sheets. And when his mind and feelings and even the posture of his body, where completely with philosophy, he might have stumbled over the same broom that an hour or two ago was the most important thing in the world. He agreed that he never remained the same Shano for less that the wink of an eye, or learn more than a quantum of time (if such a quantum exists, but then only relatively). It was all movement and change continuously. The teacher seemed right when he said: “Try to find who is the real Shano, and if you find him, come and tell me who he is.” That, of course, he could not. It was truly and philosophically not possible.

Some of you readers may say: “Why bother about such a trifle? Whether I am changing or not, let me be happy and enjoy, and we’ll see later.” Shano could have thought that also. But he did not. The paradox occupied a part of mind, even when cleaning his room or during meals, day and night. But the motivation behind all motivations, the feeling behind all feelings, from the deepest deep of himself, was the wish to help humanity and other creatures, to show them the way to liberation form all these illusions which kept them always insecure and in doubt, and drove them from fun to misery and from misery to fun continuously – without ever being really happy even for a second – not even in the arms of their partner. If nothing was permanent, people would think that nothing would be worth living for, and that they would just end by dying and forget every joy. If everything was permanent, then too, life was useless, because you would always stay were you are, and for eternity feelings of suffering and happiness would constantly interchange, but without ever reaching a final answer. If the final answer was permanent, then why not give it in the beginning? That would have avoided a lot of trouble for nothing. After centuries, millennia, eons of dying and being born and dying and being born agin, after studying, failing, trying again, dedicating your whole life to something you think is true and good – after all this, you could not have made one real step forwards! Because what was permanent was there all the time and didn’t change for the better or for the worse. Actually, if things were permanent, they could not have started moving at all, and nothing would have existed. He discussed this with the other teachers, who, despite Shano’s intelligent argument held on like grim death to his theory of permanence. “If you were not permanent, then how would you know the one who calls himself Shano at this moment is the same Shano five minutes ago. Don’t you remember that you existed five minutes ago, and that you were Shano too. You know the same things you knew five minutes, which the very small exception of the words I have just added to you.” Shano sighed: the one teacher was speaking as much logic as the other, still they contradicted each other and opposed each other 180 degrees.

All people in the monastery were friends, real friends. They were always there for one another, and if one had a problem, another would listen with unruffled patience, and think together with his friend to find a solution within his own realm of knowledge. That didn’t mean they were never shouting at each other, but then it was always in a real effort to confront the other so that he would break through his limitations and see a greater truth concerning the object of doubt. They knew they were each others brothers, not brothers from the same father and mother, but brothers because they had the same spiritual interests, and aware that everyone’s mind was born from the same source – universal mind. But they were only pupils. So sometimes the one or the other forgot, and fell back into memories of old theories, or realized that what they had thought was clear some time ago appeared not so clear anymore right now. They ate together, they worked together, they talked together or kept silent together. Of course some were closer than others. No-one evolves along exactly along the same line as another, and something that would be a problem for one, could hardly be understood as a problem by the other – but they would always try to understand. They were all aware – though hardly or never mentioning it aloud, that they had, out of true compassion in the secrecy of their heart, silently vowed to be humble servants of humankind for ages to come. That is what made them ‘brothers.’ The could rely on each other in everything.

Still, though brothers of the same spiritual principle, they were just as different in character as all human beings. Some were always lively, others would spend hours everyday in motionless meditation, some liked astronomy more, others biology, or arts, or psychology, or sociology – it could be every scientific, artistic, religious philosophical or humane interest, and they became the most excellent experts in their field, better than any human colleague at whatever university or institute or in private. And the cook was no doubt the best cook of all cooks, though he had only three of four ingredients. The cook’s training was to understand the heart, the inner being, the divine essence of the simple ingredients like barley and some green plants and roots. He had to link these with the characters of those who would eat the foods prepared by them. The monk ate the spirit rather than the bodies of the ingredients – which was always so rich that they needed very, very little. They also needed to maintain the souplesse and healthy streams of energies flowing through their physical bodies, and did all kinds of exercises, alone or together. Shano preferred daily long walks if time allowed, alone or with one of his friends, others did yoga exercises, again others enjoyed fighting and laughing loudly together up to exhaustion, or a ball game.

Shano had read in books, before he came to the monastery, that people had a ‘self’