Daily Theosophy

Praja was responsible for helping people who had got into trouble as a result of having a mind and free will – and had not properly listened to their inner silent voice, but rather follow the impulses of the animal which they had been in the past and were still carrying with them; Adi taught in a way that would educate the human mind and spirit of those would listen directly – and those who listen become great people, Adi’s genuine and reliable helpers, who avoid much suffering for others.

(71)

(Continuation of Praja’s Third Dream)

Before this long story about Shano and Marico we were talking about several ways of healing: by restoring harmony in the physical body or the etheric (or subtle-physical) body, or in the streams of energy running though the body. Actually these methods do not use any violence or force: they just make use of the inherent power of our system to heal itself. There are also healing methods which can temporarily be much more successful and efficient, but which belong to a somewhat lower level: they use force from outside – and the result is quick, but doesn’t reach the deepest level, which is the mind where it all began, and for which only the thinker is responsible. Only a mind which functions in harmony with the Ethics of the Universe prevents all diseases which come from within. Magnetic healing for example, by the force flowing from the magnetizers hand because he wills it, flattens out energies which have become knotted. In this way even miracles can be performed: people who didn’t walk for years, or were blind or had pain, can be cured at once, or after a few repeated treatments. These techniques work only when the diseases belong to the surface of a man or women, such as physical damage brought about by superficial causes. But often people treated in these ways get the same disease back, or perhaps another one – even though it may take many years or centuries. Why? Because there is a deeper will than that of the magnetizer, or the magician, the hypnotizer, or the therapist, or the common doctor – and that is the will of your own heart – perhaps very different from the will of your brain-mind – to become a perfect human being. That is a desire and will inbuilt in our very heart because it is a part of Adi’s Heart, and which cannot successfully be opposed – in this universe at least. For whatever we do, there is a history thread connecting us with Adi’s Heart. And whatever we do creates networks of history threads derived from the one thread originating in that Heart. Ultimately adventure is more important for us than ease. Even if you try to do all things easy, or do as little as possible, one day you will go on a next adventure – at least in your emotions and inside your mind.

Praja was still meditating on what were the main types of human suffering, what are the causes of them, and what can be done about it. We have now discussed a little bit about physical suffering and the ways to avoid or cure them. But there is also much suffering in our emotions and in our mind. Just to mention a few emotional sufferings: fear, depression, anger, hatred, resentment, disappointment, loss, attachment, accumulation of power and position and knowledge and money; exclusion, loneliness, “love,” non-satisfaction, discontent, irritation, intolerance, pride, humiliation, desire (either fulfilled or unfulfilled), and perhaps you can think of a few more forms of emotional suffering. Consolation by good friends, or religious people or therapists is the best thing against such emotions. Patience and time will heal all wounds. But good advices drawn from a deeper, more universal understanding – placing things in a much broader, even cosmic context are the best helps – so that the sufferers see the relativity of their own problem; and the fact that it trains them to help others – in other words that they will in the future, when they have mastered their problems, will be more compassionate and understanding, and better be able to help others. Often solutions are simple: the remedy against loneliness or exclusion is friendship. But all these problems have only one cause: ignorance. Ignorance about the real order of things in the universe. And the greatest ignorance is that we have come to belief that we are separate egos, which can be made happy and satisfied on their own. If people can see that all is interconnected, and that each and everyone is connected with the love of the universe – individually as well as in totality, or, as religious people will often understand it, are never for one moment ‘forgotten’ by God, or Allah. ‘God,’ however powerful, is unable to forget any creature in the universe, because they are ‘he’ himself. All problems arise from the fantasies of the human mind only, having invented concepts like ‘depressions’ and ‘anger’ on basis of the misunderstanding – called the Great Ignorance – that something like and “I” or ego really exist. They do not really exist. They have grown slowly as a false belief of the mind, as an image, as a crystallized fantasy through the confusing experiences following imaginary desires. It could be called the Sin of sins to think in terms of ‘I’ The Buddha called it the ‘Great Heresy.’ Still we have become so used to ‘egoism’ that it has created and does create virtually all suffering in the world. The remedies are altruism, self-forgetfulness, unselfish service without expecting reward – just because the real reward exists in overcoming this illusion – and that is real liberation. This is so simple to understand, that nobody beliefs that is that simple, and therefore most people discard it immediately. But even then, Praja thinks out for us and inspires to solutions on a lower level, like therapies and systems of psychology and psychiatry. Because there is compassion for those who cannot or will not listen – out of ignorance refuse to pay attention to what the wise people of the world have advised, or dive deep within themselves, where ultimately all answers to all problems can be found. So much of Praja’s work seems to exist of helping people to survive and cross the stormy ocean of life – until real intelligence dawns on them.

Regrettably many human-invented therapies and healing methods, physical, psychological as well as mental create more harm then good. Every advice that goes against the laws of nature, such as emphasizing the right of assertiveness of the ego, ultimately causes more problems than it initially seems to heal. But still, at a particular moment it may be the best way – like using poison as an antidote to poison, if only it would be followed by more philosophical ‘aftercare’ – this aftercare being the beginning of a path of spiritual understanding. Only then problems will be forever cut at the root – by the mind of the sufferer himself.

Physical pain is also suffered by animals, I think even by plants. Even though they have no developed mind and usually eat natural foods or natural minerals, it belongs to the very nature of a physical body tat it can be hurt and damaged and experience pain. As long as we have a body we can have pain. Most can be avoided or cured, but not all. We have no full control over it – it is just because we are, either by compulsion or by choice, living in a body. We only can change our mind and feelings in such a way that we suffer less. After all, our consciousness is mainly in our feelings and our mind, so in these fields we can at least do something for ourselves or others. If you give real loving attention to someone who has pain, he will suffer less at least at that time. Make his or her mental and emotional environment as happy for him or her as possible.

Much of our suffering as a human is not in our body, but in our feelings and in our minds. Feelings can be hurt, wounded, killed even, and the wounds may be much more long-lasting than physical wounds. And they may leave scars also. But feelings can never be hurt if your mind is right. Really wise people can not be hurt in their feelings. They are the real heroes: the are invulnerable and therefore dare anything. Still, heroes perceive all feelings, and they understand that people who are less wise than they can be hurt easily. And that is what they want to avoid at all cost. They know that gaining wisdom has helped them, and they are, because of their feeling of love, always ready to help others to understand the same wisdom. So that these people also will be liberated from all these emotional fears mentioned above.

Let us look at a few examples. Let’s take fear. Are you ever afraid? Where can people be afraid of? I think you can be afraid that painful experiences you remember from the past come back. Or you can fancy about experiences you have never had, but seem to be awful. Sometimes people who have never been to a dentist are very afraid of dentists only because of their fantasies, and due to big stories others have told them. If they finally have to go it’s all different than they thought. The suffering of the fear is worse than the suffering in your tooth. The fear may be there for days in advance, even weeks, but the actual pain at the dentist’s lasts only a short time – and then it’s all over, and you have become a little bit stronger of character. Maybe you fear exams; or your teacher at school, or your boss at work. It’s all in your mind – exams and teachers and bosses themselves don’t even know that you are afraid of them. Some people (including makers of exams) are just rude because they have not understood much of life yet, and are no heroes yet, and therefore hurt other people without knowing what they are doing (unless they are evil, and do it purposely). They can only hurt you where you have a weak spot. Like Shano when he was teased by the witch because he had, in an angry mood and only half on purpose, thrown bullshit at her head. If you have lied, anyone who exposes that lie of yours, hurts you – because that is your weak spot. People who never lie don’t have that problem. Real good people, if they are sure of what they are doing, have no weak spots, because they always know that what they are doing is right. So people who don’t lie, and are not angry and have no bad thoughts have nothing to fear.

(72)

(The Colors of the People)

But you may say: even good people may be wounded or killed in accidents or through diseases, or they may be falsely accused, may even be killed – like Socrates or Giordano Bruno. So the fact that they are good in many respects does not protect them fully.