+ 31 degrees above zero 99% humidity. From snowy Moscow, we were in an oasis on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Around coconut palms, flowers, shrubs, hornbills of birds, smiling benevolent faces of Indians - all this creates a good mood and a special atmosphere of penetration and reverence to these holy places. All conference participants were accommodated in one special, recently renovated, hotel in the Leadbeater Chambers L.B.S. Table, chair, room for washing, etc. In general, everything you need to stay.
We found a common language with the Theosophical Society. The conversations took place after lunch and dinner in the beautiful dining room.
Theosophical brothers showed great interest in the stories of Vladimir Yariy about theosophy, the Secret Doctrine, the Kalachakra system. It turned out that one can understand each other without knowledge of the English language, when in discussion mentions such theosophical terms as Atma, Buddhi, Manas, Mulaprakriti, Cosmogenesis, Fohat, all nodded happily, recognizes and understands what is being said now. Our new New Zealand friend Simon often exclaimed: “Fiction, the Theosophists understand each other, we have the same language!”
We were familiar with the sacred places of Adyar ...
This is the famous Banyan tree, a symbol of the Theosophical Society. The trunk is powerful horizontal, from the trunk to the ground there are thin branches, vertical, and as soon as this branch touches the ground, it becomes stronger and eventually turns into a separate trunk. The tree grows into a whole grove. It connects the sky and the earth, gives rise to the Earth, becoming an independent powerful ancient.
The place where the ashes of all Presidents of the Theosophical Society are buried: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, A. Bezant, G. Olcott, ... Radha Bernier, the place is framed with flowers, shrubs, a small pond with lotuses ... quietly and solemnly ...
The Bodhi tree near the Stupa, for the construction of which Teacher Kut Humi gave money to G. Olcott. The sprout from the tree, under which the Buddha received inspiration, was brought to Adyar, and planted in this place. Now it is already a big tree with a powerful crown .... In this Stupa there is a door - very symbolic, on two doors with 12 six-hole openings in the shape of handles, 4 swastikas are framed in the bottom of the dome, there are 8 of them in total. form a special symbolic World. The door is closed, but sometimes in the early morning an Indian woman comes there, opens the door, and there you can see a statue of a black Buddha presented by Master Kut Humi GS Olcott ...
During the Convention in the museum of the mansion EP Blavatsky (a beautiful house, a red-brown wall with eight white elephants) exhibited the originals of the Mahatmas Letters, the objects that were materialized by H.P. Blavatsky - a teapot and a cup, a working chair H.P. Blavatsky and G. Olcott, the objects used at Headquarters at that time, palm manuscript (black palm leaf with Tibetan sacred symbols and glyphs). And I recall from the Secret Doctrine: "The archaic manuscript-collection of palm leaves, given a special, unknown to science, in a state impenetrable to water, fire and air - lies before the eyes of the writer of these lines ..."
On the second floor there is a room for Krishnamurti, a bed, a table, a balcony, while he lived here, he could admire the clear waters of the Adyar River.
In G. Olcott's room, under a glass, lies a piece of fabric of a delicate sand color — this is the turban of Mahatma Moria, which Master M. removed from his head and donated to Olcott in London. We know him from the famous portrait of Moria. Causes special excitement, special delight and heartbeat. It seems time has turned upside down, and you are near M ... This room was open only 4 days at one o'clock ... We had the opportunity to be there every day at this hour.
A significant event for us - an audience was appointed with President Tim Boyd, which was held in a sacred place, in the office of H.P. Blavatsky. Mr. President Tim Boyd is currently working there. The meeting was held in a friendly atmosphere, we had the opportunity to acquaint President Tim Boyd and Secretary Marya Artmaa with the work of TS in Russia, talked about events, about creating the Theosophy Foundation, about the task of helping to finance theosophical projects, about the main Concept of the International Congress in St. Petersburg, namely, the need to study the Secret Doctrine of the Members of TS. A gift was given by TS Adyar to a sculpture in white marble by H.P. Blavatsky, book V.S. Dylykova-Parfionovich “Kalachakra Tanra” (told about the unique scientific publica-tion in Russia and presented a copy signed by the author), received per-mission to familiarize the participants of the Convention with the Presenta-tion and the video about the Congress. Great interest was aroused by the book Kalachakra Tantra. Tim Boyd asked about the author, the booklet that we prepared to familiarize ourselves with the main events of the year, also aroused interest, and Tim Boyd suggested that Mary Artmaa, at the General Council of the Presidents of the Theosophical Sections, present each booklet to each President.
When we asked whether Mr. President is studying the Secret Doctrine, Tim Boyd told his story about acquaintance with this unique work and confirmed the need to study the Secret Doctrine. In free communication, Tim Boyd joked that in Russian language he knows two words THEOSO-PHY AND PUSHKIN))).
New Year in the Headquarters: the Indians lit a fire, sang songs and danced, everything is familiar, everything is our way, as in childhood)))
And here is the long-awaited Opening of the Convention ... 1000 delegates, a huge summer hall beautifully decorated ... Parties to the Convention, representatives of countries: India, America, Brazil, New Zealand, Sweden, England, Finland, Austria, Israel, Indonesia, Ukraine, Ireland, Australia, Italy, France, Spain, Africa, Canada, Germany, Belgium, Russia. The Pres-idents of the Country Sections welcome the participants of the Convention, Tim Boyd lights the sacred fire, the symbol of the Theosophical movement, the general mantra sounds ...
The President of the American Section, Dr. Barbara Herbert, voiced her report on the Convention: “The theme is peculiar to the Theosophical worldview in general. Beauty and Truth emanate from this Field beyond our material world. As spiritual seekers, we are forced to seek the meaning of what beauty and truth are. "There is no religion higher than the truth." This truth, which is the true one religion, was, is and will be. She says: all is one. Everything is an expression of one life. Look around, everything you see is an expression of the one Life. We look at the highest reality, even when we use our eyes. This expression of a single reality is beauty. If the highest reality is the Truth, then it must also be the highest Beauty. Beauty is the magnificence of Truth. Being in the body, we cannot know all the beauty, but we can perceive glimpses of beauty when we perceive it in these indescribable moments. Transformed, we hold in ourselves beauty and truth. And then we transform the world. When we understand that everything around is an expression of one Life, we begin to see beauty in everything. When we seek Truth, we find beauty. How are we changing? We try, fall, get up and try again, etc., etc. Until finally, we find that, at least slightly changed. The poet said: Always remember that you are actually smarter than it seems, stronger than you think, and two times more beautiful than you can imagine .... Beauty and Truth are two expressions of the One Life. ”
Unusually and deeply in their reports the theme of the Convention was re-flected by the speakers:
01/02/2019. A summary of the report by Mr Shikhar Agnihotri: “Truth and Beauty are two. two are not manifested. Three are needed for manifestation. The blessing is the third. Mysteriously hidden in the subject of the Convention. Openness and truth are not one. The number 6 on a piece of paper - one 6, another 9. Who is the Truth? Beauty is not in the object. Otherwise, one object would be beautiful for everyone. The perception is beautiful-ugly determined by the aesthetic sense of the perceiver. Beauty is in the eyes when there is no looking (lower self). These are the eyes of the Soul. Such eyes opened with the Buddha when he attained Enlightenment. Try to remember the most beautiful object that you have seen in life. Show it to others. All react in their own way. Wow, oh my god, etc. Beyond words is feeling and thought. If they did not exist, there would be no words. It has surprise, joy, etc., but this feeling, no matter how long it lasts, is our entrance inside. In this field outside of matter (convention subject). Love welcomes everyone. Her alchemy transforms a criminal into a saint. This is the power of beauty. The word love is very little understood. It is divided into limited, etc. In human love there is everything that is not love: envy, affection and even hate. But there is no love, as long as there are two - there must remain 1. Beauty Truthful Good - in the eternal now. ”
Servalina. India: “Questions: what is suffering, when or why do we suffer, how do we cope with suffering? The harm we inflict on our minds far ex-ceeds actual suffering. Therefore, it is imperative to overcome negative causes - suffering in our mind. For this you need to study our motives - al-truistic or selfish. There is either an expectation of something or an ac-ceptance of what is happening without expectations. When we are ready to serve others, we immediately switch from problem mode to solution mode - we are constantly looking for what can be improved. All problems are given to us in order to be solved. We are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Often we think that we can’t help or shouldn’t help because we don’t really want to help. But it deprives our life of meaning. Since we are part of a whole, and to serve others is the goal. A healthy whole society is the goal of our ministry. Why there is pain. God's plan is evolution. We live in three worlds. Gaining experience in these three worlds is evolution. Duality is the source of pain. We do not know joy - we do not know sadness, we do not know sour - we do not know sweet. But to suffer and feel pain is not one thing. We can choose not to suffer when there is pain. One of the keys is to stop treating yourself as something exceptional. The standard reaction to suffering: why me? The wife who lost her husband found the strength to live when an instant thought came to her (upon learning of the death of her husband): why not me? Pain is inevitable, but suffering is our choice. We can decide to be part of the solution, not the problem. The idea that everything is one eliminates the cause of suffering. There is no suffering in Oneness.
It is necessary to provide the basic needs and theosophy does this. But you need to eliminate the causes of suffering. We have the knowledge to elimi-nate suffering. Removing ignorance as the cause of suffering is a major ministry that we can render. Awareness of the law of karma is very im-portant in this aspect.
It is important to share thoughts.
Nancy Sekrest. USA-India: “Jobs and Positions held. Medieval Labor: Journey of the Virgin among the Damned, where she visits hell. He sees those who suffer and disappear forever. She prays to God for the salvation of all. God reminds of the crucifixion of her own son, and then the Mother of God orders all, and the angels and archangels pray with her.
Those who suffer in this way rise beyond suffering with compassion and love. I have a picture of Roerich “Mother of the World”. The veil hides her eyes, but not the rest of her face. Why? Because perhaps she does not see the separation between living beings, but sees a single existence.
Bodhisattva concept - do not go to Nirvana. Metta's meditation in Bud-dhism is the fastest way to develop compassion. We wish you well, health, safety, etc. close, distant, "enemies" and, finally, the most "lower" repre-sentatives of mankind. How does the Virgin Mary. We begin this long journey where we are, wishing good to those who are in our life, and living accordingly.
It is impossible to learn all this for 1 life, therefore we live many lives. Studying compassion in one life, we remain more compassionate in the following. Practical compassion can be seen as karma yoga - a return to Oneness by removing obstacles, to this through practical actions. We need to take small steps on this path: one act, one person whom we help, etc ... ”
Each speaker was presented before the performance and listed where he worked, what he did, etc. It was said about Tim Boyd: “When Tim Boyd worked as President of the American Section, they arranged for the Dalai Lama to come to America, where he spoke for 2 days. As a result of this event, collected 400 thousand dollars for charity. They were sent to help the Tibetans. ”
The first thing that Tim Boyd said after the show was "it is always interest-ing to listen to how you are represented."
01/04/2019. President Tim Boyd: “It’s always interesting how they describe you - they represent you. They collected about 400 tons of dollars upon the arrival of the Dalai Lama. Send help to the Tibetan community.
At first, due to the enormity and inexhaustibility of the object, this will be an inadequate conversation about an inexhaustible subject. I will not ex-plain something to you, but I will invite you for a joint walk. During this, maybe we can see something beautiful. When the Founders were here, they familiarized themselves with the family motto of Maharaja Benares. This has become the motto of the Society. Since then, we have focused on the search for Truth. It is on the search, because Truth itself always escapes.
There are lesser truths that we study, for example, the multiplicity of plans or dimensions of life. Another thought - the mind manifests itself at every point, and there is no place in the Universe where it would not exist. An-other truth is our place in this system, and responsibility. E. P. says that the natural impulse directs us to the beginning of the Search. In the process of this Way we make many choices. Evolution literally means deployment. We all have something magnificent and beautiful that will finally be expanded.
There is a great beauty in the relationship of everything. As Confucius said: there is beauty in everything, but not everyone can see it. In THAT, we spend a lot less time searching for Beauty than Truth.
I find very convenient e-books. I have long loved books, but I got used to the e-book for a month. Convenient feature. For example, in the "Secret Doctrine" 519 times the word - Truth, 38 times - Beauty. "Voice of Silence" - 27 Truth, 1 - Beauty. "At the feet of the Teacher" - 4 Truth, 0 - Beauty. This shows our striving for Truth. And the path is through lesser truths. What is Beauty? In the Western world, the concept is influenced by Christianity. In the Bible, the Old Testament, there are Psalms. There is one known to all Christians - 23. Psalm of faith to God, and his protection. "My Lord, the shepherd, and I will not need ..". All the children read this Psalm in the west.
One actor wonderfully recited this psalm. Once upon a time there was one old man, a difficult life. He read this Psalm once. The diction was bad, but his experience and deepest faith were so deep that the whole assembly fell silent. Someone was crying, someone could only say it beautifully. For me, this is a memorable example. There is some permanent presence in us. These are not thoughts. At the moments when we are aware of this presence, we are lifted, as it were, towards a certain Door, and we are aware of Beauty itself. We have many definitions in Theosophy. For example, 7 Paramit. We often perceive them separately. Is it possible to have generosity without wisdom, etc.? However, separate definitions are needed at our level. The same with beauty. Much of what we perceive as beauty has been implanted in us by the environment since the moment the soul entered the body. In the US, the earthly beauty of women is associated with thinness, in Korea, for men with good skin, etc. But all this is not only not connected with beauty, but also distracts from approaching Beauty, and is destructive.
Socrates said that Beauty is what makes beautiful things beautiful. Neuro-scientists examine the effects of beauty on the brain.
There are some people who are perceived by people as beautiful. Even the golden proportion, however, is not perceived by all nations as beautiful. In Japan, what is perceived as beautiful is only that which is impermanent and imperfect. Symmetry is not included in this concept.
How we approach Beauty. The simple way is access to Nature. It gets harder and harder. Helena Petrovna wrote about civilization, as about the death of Beauty ... In nature, there are models that harmonize us, and therefore we are drawn to nature. Definition of nature in the dictionary? This is all but humanity and its creatures.
In the archives of the mystical experience of unity with the Divine, we will see that they mainly occurred in nature and the natural environment. Love and Beauty is the path of the mystic. To unite with the Divine is the goal of the mystic. On this path we have many great people: teachers, healers, etc. From the book a quote: "With the love of the Divine can be comprehended and held, but not with thoughts."
Lama said: “What is meditation? - This is not what you think. The process of thinking and what is connected with it is not meditation. ”
Whichever way we go, we all desire Beauty. An engineer or inventor would say: when looking for a solution, never think about beauty. But having found a solution, I know that if it is not beautiful - it is incorrect. Man's search for meaning - Every person needs a sense of the meaning of life. We get it from different sources. Family, home-place, etc. The author of the book, who ended up in a concentration camp, was deprived of everything and all the choices in his life. The will to make choices internally was what saved his life. He chose to see beauty. I saw her in the most unexpected places in the concentration camp. And this beauty began to amaze him with its strength and depth.
Gandhi wrote the book My Experiments with Truth. Boyd came in 19 years in TO in Chicago, because he met a real theosophist. They started the theosophical community, and it was an experiment not only with Truth, but also with Beauty. We studied theosophy, we were young. The situation was bad, very ugly. The first thing they did was start to decorate and put the building and the ground around it in order. This decoration has attracted the attention of many. They are interested in Theosophy. There were many problems with addictions to alcohol, drugs, etc. People wanted to get rid of depression. We gave them the opportunity to work, and they were cured. This ornament changed us.
Beauty is attractive and very strong. We created a magnet.
In the Theosophical Centers, I believe, if we do not pay attention to beauty, then we narrow down our search for Truth. Often there is a feeling that I can do? One ... But there is no one who could not do something for beauty. There is a path to Beauty - right in front of us and right within us. But it becomes a reality when we make an effort.
As promised, it was an inadequate presentation about an inexhaustible sub-ject. ))) In any case, I was honest. "
01/05/2019 President Tim Boyd: “Almost the end of our Convention. Al-ways impressive when people say thanks. The number of those who worked to make this meeting possible is amazing. It reminds us that everything and whatever we do, we do not alone. We worked together, talked, ate, and then we would go our separate ways. But I hope we all leave changed. The beauty of Theosophy and its Truth will not be felt if there are no people in whom they live and through which it manifests itself. In everyday life, it is very easy to forget the power of the Presence with which we lived these days. This is not a simple place, this is a holy place, and even in our daily life we will feel the embrace of this place. Make a commitment to any one of your choice so that the one or those with whom you touch feel the action of beauty. Make good use of your time. Theosophy does not need us as individuals. It exists by itself. We need it in order to draw from It and embody it in our life. We will continue to restore Adyar. In the name of you and the whole theosophical community. ”
In the days of the Convention, we visited the Vishnu Temple, Vivekananda Temple (Vivekananda House, he lived in Chennai, now there is a museum) in Chennai, the Krishnamurti Center, St. Thomas Cathedral (there are only 4 such places in the World where the relics of the saints are kept, St. Thomas Cathedral is one from such places), the Russian Center for Culture and Science, where there are classes for practicing classical ballet and for learning Russian, and other attractions.
In the evenings, we gathered for conversations on the Stantsy Dziyan's Se-cret Doctrine of H.P. Blavatsky. Members of the Swedish Section, Brazil, Finland presented their material, we also had the opportunity to present the achievements of the School of Theosophy, Kalachakra V.A. Bakanova, which aroused great interest. Many participants approached, copied our video, presentation, theosophical materials to flash drives to take to their homeland to such far-off countries (Africa, America, Brazil, Indonesia, In-dia, etc.). Such far and so close when it comes to the Secret Doctrine
It is noteworthy that Mr. President Tim Boyd arranged for us to meet again after the Convention on January 7, but we flew away at night and the meeting could not take place. Remained understatement and interest, what he wanted to talk to us ....
... There are places that we did not have time to visit.
And here is a farewell ablution in the Indian Ocean, farewell words with friends, tears of parting and the joy of new communication and under-standing that we are now connected with a deep and long friendship, such meetings in Adyar territory are not forgotten.
Pictures flashed before my eyes: ... splash of the waves of the Indian Ocean, fishing villages, boats, fishermen, Indian beautiful outfits, juice from coconuts that masters, temples, Buddhas, worship the numerous Gods of India, rickshaws so skillfully serve right in front of you ... and in the midst of such hubbub of Indian life is a quiet oasis, a paradise, the sacred land of Adyar.
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