re: irjones - ten major u.s. disasters on sig
Delux I did not respond immediately because I wanted to get you some quotes from your own sources to show you that you are well off the pace about the meaning of Theosophy as a religion and dogma (what it is) and what Einstein thought about Theosophy.
THEOSOPHY
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Redirected from Theosophist (“or straight from the horses mouth so to speak”)
Theosophy is a body of belief which holds that all religions are attempts by man to ascertain "the Divine", and as such each religion has a portion of the truth. Theosophy, as a coherent belief system, developed from the writings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (also Hélène). Together with Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge, and others she founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. A more formal definition from the Concise Oxford Dictionary describes Theosophy as "any of various philosophies professing to achieve a knowledge of God by spiritual ecstasy, direct intuition, or special individual relations, esp. a modern movement following Hindu and Buddhist teachings and seeking universal brotherhood.". Adherents of Theosophy maintain that it is a "body of truth" that forms the basis of all religions. Theosophy, they claim, represents a modern face of Sanatana Dharma, "the Eternal Truth", as the proper religion.
Note: A “body of belief” is nothing less than religious dogma.
EINSTEIN ON THE SOUL
On 17 July I953 a woman who was a licensed Baptist pastor sent Einstein in Princeton a warmly appreciative evangelical letter. Quoting several passages from the scriptures, she asked him whether he had considered the relationship of his immortal soul to its Creator, and asked whether he felt assurance of ever lasting life with God after death. It is not known whether a reply was sent, but the letter is in the Einstein Archives, and on it, in Einstein's handwriting, is the following sentence, written in English:
I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it.
In Berlin in February 1921 Einstein received from a woman in Vienna a letter imploring him to tell her if he had formed an opinion as to whether the soul exists and with it personal, individual development after death. There were other questions of a similar sort.
On 5 February 1921 Einstein answered at some length. Here in part is what he said:
The mystical trend of our time, which shows itself particularly in the rampant growth of the so-called THEOSOPHY and SPIRITUALISM, is for me no more than a symptom of weakness and confusion. Since our inner experiences consist of reproductions and combinations of sensory impressions, the concept of a soul without a body seems to me to be empty and devoid of meaning.
(Thus, far from getting his inspiration from Theosophical writings Einstein sees no division between the “spiritual” and the material. Einstein derived E=mc2 in Sep. 1905).
The following, which reveals the Theosophical dichotomy between “our spiritual self” and the material, is, by definition, DOGMA pure and simple. (Because it is asserted without any supporting evidence}.
"We assert that the divine spark in man being one and identical in its essence with the Universal Spirit, our "spiritual Self" is practically omniscient, but that it cannot manifest its knowledge owing to the impediments of matter. Now the more these impediments are removed, in other words, the more the physical body is paralysed, as to its own independent activity and consciousness, as in deep sleep or deep trance, or, again, in illness, the more fully can the inner Self manifest on this plane. This is our explanation of those truly wonderful phenomena of a higher order, in which undeniable intelligence and knowledge are exhibited. " [Madame Blavatsky]"
I know exactly what Madam B is on about. It is the "omniscient" soul hindered by the material body. A key dogma of every mystery or esoteric religion. It is either a nonsense dogma in scientific terms or has a hidden esoteric meaning that is unintelligible to all, except the initiated.
So much for Theosophy not being a dogma-less, non-religion and Einstein getting his energy equation via Theosophy's mysticism.
