The study of Theosophy soon begins to open the doors to the treasures of the Ancient Wisdom within Philosophy and Religion. They can help us to solve some of the riddles of psychology, particularly the nature of fear. It is impossible to experience desire without co-equally experiencing fear. Desire for the objects that attract our senses, including our thirst for existence, is accompanied by fear for the impending loss of whatever it is that we may have attained. Some mistakenly try to punish or kill out their inherent capacity to desire, and to fear.
Category Archives: Meditation
From The Concrete To The Abstract—The Spiritual Path In Krishnamurti’s ‘Truth Is A Pathless Land’ Speech
Every major Religion or Spiritual Philosophy draws its adherents to the ideal of the Spiritual Path or Way. It is the Tao, or Way, “Strait is the Gate and narrow is the Way”, and the “Way, the truth and the light” of Christianity, the Path and Way of Hinduism and of Buddhism, the Way of Sufism, and so on. The same Path is described under many names, and like Nature is an aspect of life and cannot belong to any one Religion or Philosophy alone. Many have explored the Path directly, and many are preparing. The most succinct explanation of the Path, though the same ideas permeate all the great Religions and Philosophies, may be found in the teaching of the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths, the last of which contains the Noble Eight-Fold Path: Right Belief, Right Thought, Right Speech Right Action, Right Means of Livelihood, Right Exertion, Right Memory, Right Meditation. We could say much about each of these, and many insights are certainly found in the Theosophical classics, ‘At The Feet Of The Master’, ‘Voice Of The Silence’, ‘Light On The Path’ and ‘The Masters And The Path’, which broadly describe the stages of preparation, the beginning of the Path, and beyond.
However, in discussions about the spiritual Path, an oft-quoted phrase from Jiddu Krishnamurti, or K, is that “Truth is a pathless land”, so I was intrigued to read the full speech. I found, perhaps not surprisingly, that it contains many Theosophical ideas which yet allude to the ideal of the one spiritual Path. His words are couched in quite strong phrases on first reading, particularly the opening paragraph, though we may note that the statements of past Religious reformers may be perceived as equally bold, unconditional and challenging. If we take some of the expressions attributed to Jesus, for instance, such as that he requires mercy—or love—and not sacrifice (Matt 9: 9-13), or to be perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect (Matt 5:48), we find that each of these Truths are difficult to ignore, are not easily resolved, and whose meaning requires a much deeper understanding.
Theosophists 