The Mahatmas and the Latest Technology
Studying classical Theosophical works written in the nineteenth century, and often taking us back to times even more remote, modern man may quite reasonably raise the question: "How important is the doctrine?" Indeed, nothing stands still and the science since then has moved forward significantly, having greatly changed the human environment. Transport, means of communication, organization of society – these have considerably changed. Almost every day there appears something new. But isn't every recent discovery only some degree of attentiveness to the eternally existing laws of nature? What is a real value of new technology? What tasks is it aiming at? Can these tasks be fulfilled differently? Reflection on these questions forces us to look behind the appearance of scientific progress and try to understand its origin, its motive force and goal.
Developing in cycles, humanity is now in a long period of development of intelligence, and computers are a natural and important milestone on this path because, using computers, people have a good practice in developing and applying pure logic.
Earlier, before using computers, this task was performed due to law and economics. The former tries to build a system of relations between people on the basis of formal logic. For this diverse and (ideally) consistent laws describing correct behaviour are made. Human life is supposed to be held strictly according to these laws, for society should develop harmoniously and painlessly. The trial is also an exercise in logic. The correctness or incorrectness, and, accordingly, the punishability of human actions are judged by whether they follow the logic of the laws.
Economics calculates the most profitable schemes of capital increase, the most appropriate use of resources.
However, with the development of computers an even greater number of people became involved in the process of perfecting logical thinking. With their widespread penetration into everyday life, we all have to learn to understand the pure logic on which they work.
That is how the inevitability of natural laws looks in practice: when it’s time for humanity to perfect logic skills, such living conditions are being created, where it is impossible (almost impossible) to avoid the process. The environment itself is forcing us to intensify the desired quality in ourselves to match the time or even just to survive.
Of course the degree of development is different with different people and they respond differently to the demands of the time – according to the past experience. However, the distinguishing feature of our time is that a very large group of people began to think in terms of pure logic. If there were only few scientists earlier, but as for now there is a huge number of programmers, system administrators and other technical professionals working with computer equipment. Even an ordinary user working with the computer is forced to act according to its logic.
Computerization, of course, was foreseen by the Mahatmas, since the movement of human thought is clearly seen by them. They know the abilities of man, the laws of nature and know when they can be implemented.
The Theosophical society was founded in 1875 and incorporated different countries, different nationalities, different social classes and so on – it tried to unite all different, showing that we could operate no matter what the differences might be. It was a necessary preliminary step for the future globalization in all spheres of human activity. One of results of such process was the inventing of the Internet, bringing together the diversity of worldviews and beliefs. In its substance, the Internet is the realization of all three TS objectives to a greater or lesser extent, especially the second objective: a comparative study. In the global computer networks there is no limitation for spreading information. All religions, philosophies and branches of science are represented there. All have equal rights to express themselves and any researcher, no matter what sphere he researches, may receive all attitudes about it in a full volume. If previously, religious, political or traditional (educational views of one’s environment) censorship limited the amount of information by applying a filter, and interpreting in their own way, but now there are no such restrictions: a person can get as much information as he is able to absorb and of the quality and the direction to which he is inspired.
Such access level to information is inherent to the Mahatmas. We are given examples that any information can be obtained, we just need to concentrate ourselves on finding it. The Mahatmas do not require any external equipment to help (such as computers). A striking example is The Secret Doctrine book, which Helena Petrovna wrote without any Internet or physical access to the archives of libraries. Using her ability to read “the Akashic records”, i.e. to focus on search of information and literally read it in a subtle-material vehicle that is unavailable to the most sensitive physical devices, she refers in her book to more than three hundred authorities, quoting them and pointing to the page numbers in the published editions. Also she cites the unpublished manuscripts and works that are kept in closed and hidden storage.
This is possible due to the development of consciousness. This means that a level of civilization is the external factor for a person with no defining value for his development, which is the inner process. In other words, everything we need for self-improvement, is in ourselves. We only deploy our hidden potential and reveal our powers and abilities. Unusual powers of the Mahatma are the result of his development. A miracle for us is just a degree of knowledge for him. The Internet today is a medieval astral light, a small manifested part of abounding Akashic records. The former is available to everyone and needs a technically developed civilization. The latter is available to few and needs a spiritual development of individuality.
There are something that Mahatma has as a natural part of his inner nature, which others can get from the outside only: the ability to move quickly over long distances, to communicate regardless of distance, to provide the necessary comfort in any place on the planet – the ordinary person can get all of these and improve with the development of civilization only (i.e., collective efforts), being forced to significantly change the external environment and use multiple aids. However, it is unlikely to blame humanity of the development of anthropogenic civilization, as we can’t blame a little girl for mommy-daughter playing, saying that this is a substitution of family relations, and blaming her of caring for the dolls instead of forming a real family. There is a season for everything and to have a better aspirations, we need an example (as a goal, as an ideal), the method (as a means to reach an end) and experience (time on acting by trial and error).
It is very difficult to understand something without an example. The Internet phenomenon clearly shows how information can be available, what is the meaning of the absence of boundaries in it, what traits one needs to be able to navigate it, to keep striving to the goal and not to be distracted. Previously only trained disciples in the initiation were taught this, now the entire humanity learn the lesson.
Most human problems do not have any characteristics of time. No matter what type of transport we use. Whether we ride a horse, go by carriage, car or fly in a spaceship – we solve the same problem: to get from one place to another, or move a load. Also in all these cases, we must follow the rules of traffic safety and be careful. In the past, present and in the future, the problem of constructing a relationship with the world arise from within, also therein arises their solution.
No matter whether we write our message in ink with a quill pen, or type an email on the keyboard – the important thing is what kind of thoughts we are trying to express. Have these thoughts become more profound than a centuries earlier? Has our attitude to the word and the person become more careful?
There was a time, when people used palm leaves and papyrus to preserve the information, they also used clay tablets, made engravings on stone and metal. Now the main volume of data is stored in electronic form. Data carriers change, but their main function remains the same: to preserve (or to reflect) the thought on the physical matter plane. However, this necessity is a feature of the current state of human consciousness, whis has no ability to access the information in any other way. The one who is able (through self-discipline and concentration) to get any information (like H. P. B.) does not need any computers or Internet, with all its huge variety of protocols, rules, formats, encodings, etc. All these latest technologies are just a support for those who can't go the other way. But it should be understood that another path exists too and it is not abandoned. There are those who follow it.
Our gigahertz, megapixels, and terabytes are just children's toys for the Mahatmas, just some of the details of the imperfect method of obtaining, processing and storing information. For us, every innovation in the world of new technologies may look like a revolutionary discovery, for them – it is the rearrangement of furniture in the nursery: we are changing some attributes of the external form, without changing our children's attitude to life. Does it matter: whether we are drawing our scribbles on a scrap album sheet, wallpaper or on your tablet computer? In all cases they will remain scribbles. The reverse is true also: it does not matter how would Leonardo de Vinci express his ideas – with a quill pen, a piece of coal or mosaic, or (had he been born in our time) three-dimensional graphics – his images would be filled with sense, harmony and beauty.
It is the level of our consciousness development in previous incarnations, our life experience that determines how we could be able to adapt to the conditions of the current incarnation and how we could be effective and helpful. We see that people are mastering computer technology differently. Someone is on casual terms with it, but it troubles others. However, in previous incarnations, neither one nor the other had no experience with computers in general and were not able to accumulate any of it in this direction. This means that all the required traits were evolving in completely different conditions. That is, there are certain principles or laws of nature, realizing which, we can easily understand many of the details of their manifestation. Developed flexible mind can easily adapt the accumulated experience to new conditions. This is a manifestation (and application) of the law of analogies, when we are able to understand new things, finding parallels with the already known. In this lies the answer to the question of the relevance of the Mahatmas teaching, given to us in the 19th century. It becomes clear why "The Secret Doctrine" contains all that the best thinkers of mankind will use for self-development many more centuries, and humanity as a whole will need thousands of years to completely understand and apply at least part of what was said in those two volumes. The all-pervading and all-powerful law of analogies gives great opportunities for development, as soon as it is learned. It is an intellectual threshold of the unintellectual intuition – the main sense of knowledge for mankind in future. The Secret Doctrine with all its numerous quotations and references, comparing different religions, philosophies and scientific theories is a methodological guide for understanding the law of analogies. This is the book that prepares us for the future.
The Mahatmas had been helping the development of mankind at all times: in the 19th century, when renovated theosophical movement was been formed and ages before that. They continue to help today also. The peculiarity of Mahatmas way of acting is that they are guided by the fundamental principle of the unity of mankind, they do not deprive any nation, caste or age of their attention. For each level of consciousness they offer special development tools, taking care about both: the young souls and the grown-ups.
Theosophy is really a timeless wisdom, it teaches what is eternal and does not depend on temporary external attributes. Following the law of cycles all new, latest and future technologies in due course of time will reach the peak of their development and after that the stages of decline and oblivion. Computers, the Internet, virtual reality are nothing more than teaching aids to demonstrate the laws of the universe that cannot be formalized once and for all, their understanding must constantly develop, and for this new forms and conditions are constantly needed. We must understand the essence of these laws by analogy and be able to see this essence in all the variety of manifestations. Our task is to be able to recognize this essence even when the examples on which we study and the environment in which we live disappear. And then we can easily get adapted to any unfamiliar conditions, and even the latest technologies will turn out to be for us only a variant of something already known.