Celebrating the passing of Helena Betrovna Blavatsky on The White Lotus Day

Last week, I was honored to have been invited to speak at the Theosophical Lodge of the Sunshine Coast at Buderim and the Tewantin in honor of The White Lotus Day.

Helena Betrovna Blavatsky died on the 8th of May in 1891. The day came to be remembered and celebrated annually as the White Lotus Day.

Helena wished that people would remember her passing by reading their favorite passages from the Indian epic 'Baghavad Gita' or from the 'Light of Asia' by Edvin Arnold.

For my speech, I chose the first line of the Badhavad Gita: "Dharmaksetre kuruksetre..." Or "On the field of virtue ..." and the 58 verse from chapter 18 of the same epic: "Keep your attention on Me, for if the attention is on Me, you will pass through by my grace ..."

I compared it to the note in Blavatsky's 'The Secret Doctrine' where she explains that it is the personality that must 'cling to the Monad' or otherwise perish.

The esoteric tradition has an understanding that always at a beginning of an age the humanity has been given some new esoteric teachings to follow in order to expand the universal consciousness of humanity. The Theosophical Society was founded in 1875 to ensure that humanity would not fall to utter materialism in the 'coming of the new age' which we have just arrived at.

The Baghavad Gita was written at the age of Aries. The Bible was collected for the age of Pieces and now we have the Quantum Science for the more secular Aquarian age. The teachings seems to be compatible, the method, the wording and the interpretation changes according to the current understanding of humanity.

What the Baghavad Gita stated was that everything real is on the field of the consciousness, from the creation to destruction it is on the field of 'virtue'. That only through the 'divine' grace can the personality hope to cross the bridge that shoots our consciousness to be together with 'Budhi' ( the higher consciousness) and become 'insightful' enough to 'cling to the Monad' and keep its imprint with the higher consciousness.

Monad theory was introduced to the world by Madame Ann Conway, who was the most brilliant pupil of Henry Moore at the turn of 18th Century. (Look up 'The Death of Nature' by Caroline Merchant). The theory was then spread to the population by Leibniz and he also got the credit for it (even in the 'Isis Unveiled' by Balvatsky) due to that women were writing as pseudonyms at the time.

According to the Theosophical Doctrine, there are three kinds of evolutions: the physical, the intellectual and the monadic. The two first ones are well known but the monadic one is mostly unknown to many.

The Monadic Evolution happens in the 'non-locality', where everything is possible. The only thing for a personality who hopes to participate is to elevate itself enough to imprint on the monadic current that enables the memories of the higher consciousness to be passed on to the next incarnation in the ever evolving passage of the monadic evolution.

We are like a holograph of the imprint of a reflection of a Monad that drifts in the current of its own evolution that we cannot even begin to understand as it is outside our imagination and can be anything and everything in space in nothingness.

We can only hope for that through our physical and intellectual evolution we can in time understand the world and the reality we live in a little bit better in order to get to know a little bit more about the purpose of being and becoming.

It is the days like 'The White Lotus Day' that enable us to focus our thoughts in the 'unthinkable' and 'unimaginable' for a few moments. The days like these give us hope that some day, in some new age, we might get to understand how and why we are here and that it was not by change but by intention and purpose that we can live our lives to the full, now and always.
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Be the Change You Want to Be - My Year with Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Have you ever questioned yourself and your own ability to change your own circumstances to make your life more meaningful and happier? Have you ever thought that life is really hard and that making a conscious change is not worth the trouble? That leaving everything to chance would be the easiest thing to do? Well, I certainly have.

In my vocabulary, it is called procrastination. Leaving everything to that little change that it might get better on its own without continuous conscious effort from ourselves. We do it all the time, at work, at home, with friends, with family and in ourselves. It is the easy way out. Stalling! We don't really want to change, get out of the familiar and form new habits.

According to research what people believe and what they actually do is a very different thing. We might clearly see that we are overweight, that our environment is non-productive, our friendships are destructive to our development, but instead of doing something to change the situation, we cling to the comfort of it and complain about the situation. We might even blame it on something or someone else. It is comforting to think that we are helpless as it is the outside circumstances that depress us and leave us no other options than taking it as it comes. We might as well accept the defeat right there and then. Some of us might make an attempt, for a short while and then fall back to the old habits when we find that it did not work anyway. It was doomed from the start and we knew it. We forget so easily. What we did a year ago is not relevant to what we do today anyway.

OK. So, you want to lose weight! The easiest way is to fast, for a few days and lose 3 kg in the process. Or to buy any of the women's magazines and follow any of the celebrity insights and compare yourself to anyone of the pictures, especially the 'greatest looser' pictures an find yourself wanting. And you are back to your old habits.

So, you want to get more energy. The easiest way is to join any gym for a month and/or take up an exercise regime three times a week for eight weeks challenge. That is habit forming and you can be sure that you've lost some centimeters from your tummy and thighs. But did you really change anything in yourself or did you just make a little payment for the change that everything will be better if you just did something? And how about getting a face lift like the celebrities do or a non-invasive treatment that takes five centimeters from your tummy in 30 minutes treatment for a price.

Or, you want to get healthy in another way by eating supplements. Then going to the nearest chemist will be exciting as they certainly have an array of supplements that is said to work and have a slight possibility of aiding in the good health project you have going on there. I am getting sarcastic here even though it is not my aim with this article.

I tried it all during the last year. That is the point! Everything I do becomes a research project. I have done the research. And here are the results:



1. Losing weight.
During the last year I tried many methods of fasting and dieting.

The one I still find the easiest and the best after years of practice is called the Lemon Detox fast with Neera combined Palm and Maple syrup. It can now be bought from most of the health shops around Australia due to the new packaging and renaming the product with a more attractive brand name (Lemon Detox).

I found the fast involves very little effort in that you only need to follow the directions and forget about eating or drinking anything else except water and herbal tea. The reaction I got from those near me was a question on how I could tolerate to fast for ten days drinking lemons without eating? The answer is that forgetting about eating was easier for me than keeping a schedule of eating whatever was on the list of things that I could eat. The booklet that comes with the syrup has lots of suggestions for diverse needs and personality types. The Australian instructions are much gentler on the body than the once I followed in Finland during the 1990's although the practice is the same. The benefit was that I lost three kilos and my cravings for sugar and Coke disappeared.

The easiest way for me to lose weight in a longer term was to quit sugar altogether. David Gillespie in his book Sweet Poison. Why Sugar Makes Us Fat makes a good case study argument for the refined sugar as poison that can be an incentive for some people who need to have a scientific and historical explanation to why eating sugar has made such an impact in the human nutritional habits. It gives a believable explanation why type 2 diabetes is rampant in our society when before it was not even known.

That was my incentive. The fact that my doctor told me that I could fix my type 2 diabetes threat myself. During the last year my sugar levels have gone from 13 to 5.9 and I lost 17 kilos with no more effort than watching my sugar and refined foods diet.
My daughter who said that she could not give up sweets, especially chocolate, restricted her sugar intake in support of my effort and has so far lost 14 kilos.


My only challenge is in the finding that chocolate is also made with maltitol as a sugar replacement and holidays like Christmas and Easter where kindhearted people you love give you chocolate as a present can give you 2 kilos just because maltitol acts just like sugar in your body or maybe it is the fat. Then it is giving that up once the habit has formed that presents a new challenge.

2. Getting more energy through exercise and supplements.
My only and most enjoyable exercise habit has been walking our dog. And that itself is an effort for me who just do not like anything to do with physical strain except when doing it in a social context which I do not have anyway.

So, I tried the gym. I paid for it in order to have an incentive to go there. But no, it did not stick. I had no friends to go with except a paid companion and that is no fun. I tried to take up an eight weeks challenge for myself combined with supporting a charity. After one week, I found an excuse not to go. At least I am supporting some young girls for education with that payment I made. So no amount of money as incentive has been effective enough to get me into exercising. Nothing came of it. What my brain knows to be a best method for losing weight is something I just do not want to do. I tried other non-invasive fat loosing methods instead.

The first one was the ultrasound fat burner. I believe, it actually aided my weight loss last year. At least it was fun although a bit painful. But since I had paid for it, I went through with it and in the process found some other cool things about the modern beauty industry I never would have known otherwise. The benefit of it for me was the experience.

The second non-invasive fat losing technique I am trying is iLipo. So far it has not had any effect but it has been fun. Much more fun that any gym I ever went to. Trying all the machines that shake, massage and squish you in effort to lose weight has been an experience I would not give up. The judgement is still out on its effectiveness, though. I will keep you posted on that.


The best and the most beneficial to my changing appearance during the last year has been the Nu Skin Galvanic Face and Body Spas combined with the Pharmanex supplements, especially Vitality and now R2. I have tried many others as well.

There has been a long time habit in our family to eat supplement as it was a firm belief of my grandfather that the food quality in Australia was not enough to sustain all the vitamins and minerals. He used to order his supplements from those considered by his research the best suppliers and I believed that this contributed to his and my grandmothers long life span despite lots of health risks.

In 2005 after a longer struggle with stress at work and an operation I was recommended Matagenics Fibroblex Plus and Meta A & B Complex as a repair by my friend and massage person. And wow what a difference it made to my life. I could feel how it literally went to my 'bones and sinew' and made my life easier. I supplied the supplement to my daughter and my daughter-in-law after their childbirths and both had really good results. Unfortunately the effects of these supplements are not lasting and in time after 7 years of usage I could not feel the benefits any longer although I am sure they helped.

So, last year I was looking for new things, especially as I knew there was so much new medical research done in the world after the Human Genome was completed. Not only that but there has been a tremendous change in the approach to healing practice as well. There was bound to be more efficient methods and supplements on the market. That's when I was introduced to AgeLoc Science as an approach to resetting the cellular and attacking the cause instead of repairing the damage after diagnosing the signs.

The AgeLoc Science and its friendly positivistic approach of changing the gene-expression instead of using the gene manipulation as the rule to design new human beings as a preferred human behavior also came as an answer to my idea historical research on what really can happen with decoding the human DNA. Instead of looking at it as a treat, we can find a more positive and constructive approach that is based on the same science.

Nothing in my former experience had prepared me in embracing this as a possibility. So I tried it all. I have taken the supplement as recommended and found that they really work. I now feel like I did in my late 20's before giving birth to my third child. I know this because I can remember how I felt then and how much energy I had then in contrast of how little energy I had a year ago. My family has also experienced the benefits in me being able to do much more with them, like going shopping for whole days and going to movies in the evenings after a full workday.
And after my resent blood tests, my doctor says that from the evidence he is convinced that LifePak and Optimum Omega have been a contributing factor in my excellent results. That's good enough for me.

The benefits I have acquired with using the spas can be seen in the picture. It is real.


3. Self-Development and life choices
I find it impossible to go through change without incentive or motivation. The modern brain science tells me that I need a lot of dopamine as a fix and seeing myself in a more presentable light might be one but it does not stretch to maintain my need to change in order to improve my life circumstances.

So, of course the last year has also been full of books and chatting with friends and finding new ideas on all areas that life can bring. My favorite books are in the picture apart from The Positivity, by Barbara Fredrickson, which I have passed on already.

In the nutritional field the winner is David Gillepie, hands on. His books have certainly inspired me beyond just looking at food but to actually start paying attention to what is in the food I eat. I also now own a very cool App called FoodSwich that allows me to scan everything I buy and see if there are healthier varieties on the market to try.

In the business strategy field my son recommended Business Model Generation and I have been fascinated by the approach. And you can also Business You. How cool is that!

In the motivational and changeological fields there is Barbara Fredrickson with her positivity research and Les Robinson with the psychology of change. What a combination. And the coolest thing is that on Pinterest I can now collect pictures for My Positivity Portfolio as a reminder to see how positive I can get.

In the spiritual field I will choose The Healing Code by Alexander Loyd. What an impact it had on me and judging from my friends to whom I have spread the message, it is a huge source of solace in many ways. I use the method and feel better for it continuously.

And in the end it is back to my old favorite anyway. It is back to the roots with the Blavatsky Quotation Book, edited by Winifield A. Parley. I better check what it says for March the 31st:

"The pivotal doctrine of the Esoteric philosophy admits no privileges or special gifts in man (sic), save those won by his own Ego through personal effort and merit throughout a long series of metempsychosis and reincarnations." (SD,1,17)

How suitable is that for the last words for 'being the change you want to be' right now.
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Lyhennelmä Brisbanen teosofisessa seurassa heinäkuussa 2010 pitämästäni puheesta

Helena Blavatsky ja hyväntekeväisyys (filantroopia) ajatuksen historia teosofisen maailmakuvan mukaan. - suomenkielinen versio



Puheeni käsittelee hyväntekeväisyys(filantropia)ajatteluprosessien juuria ja sitä, kuinka teosofisen maailmankuvan voidaan katsoa auttavan ihmiskuntaa rakentamaan maailmanlaajuisen veljeyden/sisaruuden ytimen.

Puheen pääosat:
1. Helena Blavatsky inspiraation alkuperänä.
2. Hyväntekeväisyysajattelun lyhennetty historia.
3. Filantropiakonsepti kehittyy.
4. Teosofinen seura elävänä esimerkkinä finaltrofisesta toiminnasta maailmassa.
5. TOS -työjärjestö esimerkkinä filantropisesta organisaatiotoimintamallista.
6. Hyväntekeväisyysajatuksesta organisoituihin kriisipalveluihin.
7. Kuinka itsekästä hyväntekeväisyys (filantropia) on?

Puheeni alkaa Helena Blavatskyn esittelyllä. Hän on ollut suuri inspiraatio elämässäni. Blavatsky syntyi Venäjällä vuonna 1831 ja oli yksi alkuperäisiä Teosofisen seuran perustajia vuonna 1875. Isoisäni lahjoitti minulle hänen Salainen Oppi-kirjansa, joka oli julkaistu vuonna 1888, ollessani 16-vuotias. Hän sanoi että se todella hyvä lukuelämys. Tietysti kirja oli liian vaikea minun ymmärtää niin nuorena ja sensijaan luinkin ensiksi kokonaan hänen Hunnutettu Isis-kirjansa. Se oli julkaistu jo vuonna 1877. Tein jopa Blavatskyn ideoista Aate-ja oppihistorian yliopistotutkielmani.

Helena Blavatsky on jäänyt yhdeksi suurista vaikuttajista elämässäni. Olen aina mielelläni kertoillut hänen saavutuksistaan ja toistanut tunnettuja juttuja hänen hyväntekeväisyystoimistaan. Monet tarinat ovat yksittäisiä ketomuksia hänen toisiin ihmisiin kohdistuneista teoistaan. Monesti nämä hyvät teot aiheuttivat kärsimyksiä hänelle itselleen. Esimerkiksi Sylvia Cranston (Cranston, 1993) on tallentanut monia tällaisia tarinoita Blavatskysta. Hänen koko elinaikainen toimintansa oli täynnä käytännön esimerkkejä filantropiasta tai hyväntekeväisyydestä teosofiselta näkökannalta. Filantrooppisten ajattelyprosessien lyhennetyn historian käsittely tältä kannalta haastaa meitä monella tavalla.

Ensimmäinen viitaus tähän asiaan löytyy Kahlehdittu Prometheus-nimisestä klassikosta, jonka kirjoittajaksi nykyään hyvin perustein esitetään kreikkalaisen Aiskhyloksen (525-456 eKr.) poikaa, Euphorionia (Sulek, 2010).

Prometheus on klassinen esimerkki jumalasta, joka auttaa ihmiskuntaa sen kehityspolulla tietämättömyydestä ymmärrykseen. Hänen kauttaan olemme saaneet filantropisen toiminnan konseptin. Toiset jumalat, erityisesti Zeus syyttivät häntä jumalien tabuja rikovasta ihmisystävällisyydestä. Zeus määräsi Prometheuksen kahlehdittavaksi vuoren kylkeen, jossa hän kärsi ihmiskuntaan suuntautuvista hyvistä teostaan. Blavatskyn mukaan Prometheus oli petturi ainoastaan jumalia kohtaan, mutta ihmisiä kohtaan hän harjoitti filantropiaa (Blavatsky, 1979).

Mikä sitten on filantrooppi-käsitteen merkitys?

Amerikkalainen tutkijakollegani julkaisi juuri kaksi artikkelia filantropiakäsitteen merkityksestä sekä klassilliselta että modernilta kannalta. Lainaan tässä niitä oletuksia, jotka hän esitti. Marky Sulek (2010) on myös kerännyt kuvassa olevat määritelmät (oma käännös):

1. Filantropiakäsitteellä on useita merkityksiä: akateeminen ja kansanomainen, nykyaikainen ja historiallinen.
2. Filantropiakäsitteen akateeminen merkitys on suppeampi kuin sen kansanomainen merkitys.
3. Filantropiakäsiteen kehityskaari on historiallisesti määritelty.
4. Filantropiakäsitteen kokonaiskäsittely voi helpottaa ymmärtämään sen erilaisia määritelmiä.

Tutustumalla siihen, kuinka kirjailijat Payton ja Moody (2008) lähetyvät filantropiakäsitettä on helposti ymmärrettävissä, että filantropiakäsiteellä voidaan tarkoittaa paljon erilaisia asioita. Niitä on esimerkiksi (oma käännös):
• Vapaaehtoinen rahalahjoitus silloin, kun lahjoitamme rahaa hyväntekeväisyyteen.
• Vapaaehtoistyö tai toiminta silloin, kun lahjoitamme aikaa tai taitojamme ilman palkkaa.
• Vapaaehtoinen organisoituminen yhdistyksien kautta (Payton & Moody, 2008, p.

Filantropialla on eri tilanteissa muitakin merkityksiä. Tällaisia on esimerkiksi:
• Kun kysymyksessä on ‘inhimilliseen problematiikkaan’ kantaa ottava moraaliin perustuva toiminta
• Filantropia moraalisen ajattelun sosiaalihistoriallisena määrittäjänä
• Filantropia on keskeistä vapaassa, avoimessa ja demokraattisessa yhteisössä (Payton and Moody, 2008)

Filantropinen käyttäytyminen ilmenee myös:
• Satunnaisina hyvinä tekoina
• Organisoituna toimintana
• Järjestelmällisinä toimina
• Kun yritetään vähentää mailman kärsimystä
• Kun halutaan parantaa ihmiskunnan elämisen tasoa (Payton and Moody, 2008)

Voiko teosofinen maailmankatsomus auttaa meitä ymmärtämään hyväntekeväisyysajattelun perusprosesseja?

Kirjassa Mestarien kirjeet A.P.Sinnetille, Koot Hoomi Lal Singh, joka oli yksi Blavatskyn opettajia, kirjoitti: “Todellinen teosofi on filantrooppi (Hao Chin Jr., 1998).” Hän viittaa lauseellaan Teosofisen seuran ensimmäiseen objektiin, joka käsittelee ihmiskunnan veljeyden ja sisaruuden ytimen rakentamista. Voimme löytää viiteen siitä mitä hän näillä sanoillaan tarkoittaa hänen ilmoittaessaan Buddha ilmentymän olevan prototyyppi todellisesta filantroopista. Chohanin määritelmä filantrooppikäsitteelle on ‘jumalallinen ystävällisyys’. Yhdessä nämä ajatukset voivat antaa paremman kuvan siitä, minkälaisen ihmiskunnan veljeyden ja sisaruuden ytimen rakentamisesta on kysymys.

Modernin Buddhismin kannalta altruismin (pyytettömyys, epäitsekkyys, lähimäisen rakkaus) käsite ja sen suhde filantropiseen toimintaan voi edelleen selventää tätä tarkoitusta. Minulle lähettämässään sähköpostissa Marty Sulek muistutti siitä, että Aukuste Comte ensimmäisenä toi esille tämän käsitteen kirjassaan System of Positive Polity (1851). Dalai Lama puolestaan ottaa tämän modernin altruismin käsitteen ja selittää sen suhdetta klassisen budhismin bodhichitta käsitteen kautta. Hänen mukaansa bodhichitta on korkein altruismin muoto, joka käsittää (oma käännös) ‘myötätunnon tunteen kaikkia olevaisia kohtaan ... [ja] halun saavuttaa valaistuksen tila kaikkien heidän puolesta (Dalai Lama, 2003).” Voin hyvin tunnistaa tämän ajatuksen klassisen filantroppikäsite keskustelun yhteydessä. Mielestäni tämä tarkoittaa juuri samaa kuin Chohanin ‘jumalallinen ystävällisyys’. Dalai Lama usein puhuu siitä, että ihmiset etsivät onnellisuuden tilaa.

Immanuel Kantin (1724-1804) mukaan onnellisuudella ei ole mitään tekemistä tämän asian kanssa. Hän painotti velvollisuuden merkitystä ja väitti, että koska onnellisuus on kuviteltu tila, sitä ei voi pitää järkiperäisenä toimintana. Koot Hoomi oli hänen kanssaan aivan eri mieltä ja väitti puolestaan, että länsimaiset ajattelijat eivät asettaneet filantropiakäsitettä universaalisen lain yhteyteen vaan tekivät siitä vain ‘vahingossa tapahtuvan ilmentymä’. Miten tahansa tästä asiasta ajatellaankin, Kantin ajatukset ovat paljolti sanelleet länsimaista ajatuksen kultua, ainakin reformistisen ajatuksen kulkua. Monet ihmiset, jotka tunnistavat luterilaisen etiikan muodot omakseen eivät kovin hyvin osaa käsitellä onnellisuutta, intohimoa ja itsetäyttymystä (tarkoittaa sitä, että asia valtaa ihmisen kokonaan) omassa elämässään.

Teosofisen seuran toinen objekti kehoittaa meitä tutkimaan asiaa edelleen eri uskontojen ja tieteen kannalta. Mitä sellaista voimme sieltä löytää, joka auttaa metä paremmin ymmärtämään filantroopisen ajattelun kehitystä?

Buddhalaisena esimerkkina on boddhisattva, joka kieltäytyy vastaanottamaan ‘jumalallista kaapua’. Sen sijaan hän jättäytyy osaksi sitä veljeyden ja sisaruuden ydintä, joka tajunnan kautta auttaa ihmiskuntaa saavuttamaan korkeamman tietoisuuden asteen. Lama Govindan (1969) kirjoista voi löytää lisää selityksiä tästä filantrooppisesta esimerkkitapauksesta. Hindulainen esimerkki löytyy Bhaghavad-Gitasta ja sen kahdeksastatoista kappaleesta, jotka kukin esittelevät yhden joogan muodon, jonka avulla etsijä voi kehittyä toimettomuuden tilasta automaattisen sisäisen toiminnan tilaan. Modernin tieteen esimerkki tulee aivotutkimuksesta, joka käsittelee Hypothalamusta. Sitä voidaan kutsua ihmisen aivojen aivoiksi, koska sen tehtävänä on toimia sellaisena työkaluna, mikä eroitaa ihmisen erilaiset tunteet ja tunteiden kerrostumat toisistaan. Se avulla voimme edistää psykologista ymmärrystämme ihmisen tunteman empatian ja myötätunnon kehittymisestä. Se kuinka tajuamme psykologisen prosessin siitä, mikä käsittelee toisen ihmisen näkökulman ymmärtämistä, on myös osa modernia filantropian tutkimusta. Kristillisenä esimerkkinä voin esittää Raamatun kehoituksen käsitellä lähimmäistä kuten haluaa itseään käsiteltävän ja ortodoksi ajatuksen ‘yhteityöstä Jumalan kanssa’ filantropian käsitteen selventäjänä.

On mahdollista löytää paljon sellaisia voittoatavoittelemattomia organisaatioita, jotka ovat ottaneet filantropian omaksi perustoiminnakseen. TOS-työjärjestö, jonka perustaja oli Annie Besant on teosofinen esimerkki käytännön filantropian toteuttamisesta nykymaailmassa. TOS-työjärjestön toiminnasta on tullut vieläkin tärkeämpää nyky-yhteiskunnassa, jossa täytyy ymmärtää mitä globaaleja ratkaisuja globaali ekonomia tuo tullessaan kun on kysymyksessä taistelu epäoikeudenmukaisuutta, köyhyyttä, väkivaltaa ja syrjintää vastaan ihmisoikeuksien puolesta. Vuonna 1948 kirjoitettu YK:n Ihmisoikeuksien julistus kehoittaa meitä toimimaan “veljeyden hengessä” saavuttaksemme ihmisoikeudet kaikille.

Itse työskentelen sellaisessa yhdistyksessä, jonka missiona on varmistaa se, että yhteisön kaikilla jäsenillä: vanhuksilla, vammaisilla, perheillä, lapsilla ja muuten heikko-osaisilla on inhimilliset oikeudet ja mahdollisuus täysipainoiseen yhteisöön osallistumiseen. Niitä moniä ilmentymiä, jolla kriisipalveluja nykyään tarjotaan yhteisölle, voidaan pitää esimerkkinä järjestäytyneestä hyväntekeväisyyden ajatusprosessista ja filantrooppisena toimintana omassa yhteisössämme.

Puheeni loppuu siihen loogiseen ja tieteelliseen päätelmään että filantropia ja hyväntekeväisyys kannattaa. Se on osoitus korkealentoisesta itsekkyydestä. Tekemällä työtä toisten ja koko maailman hyväksi varmistaa sen, että omakin hyvinvointi kasvaa ja kehittyy. Näen tästä todisteita omassa työssäni päivittäin. Ihmiset, jotka yhdessä työskentelevät hyvien asioiden puolesta ovat onnellisempia ja elävät kauemmin. Positiiviset tulokset ovat selvästi nähtävissä. Kehotankin kaikkia ottamaan osaa filantroopiseen toimintaan missä ja milloin se vain on mahdollista.

Lopuksi kaikki kuitenkin huipentuu kolmeen suureen sanaan. Ne ovat myötätunto, vakaumus ja yhteistyö.

Lähteet:
BLAVATSKY, H. 1979. The Secret Doctrine Vol II, Madras, The Theosophical Publishing House.
CRANSTON, S. 1993. HPB, The Extraordinary Life & Influence of Helena Blavatsky Founder of the Modern Theopsophical Movement, New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons.
DALAI LAMA, T. 2003. Transforming the Mind, Teaching on Generating Compassion, Thorsons, HarperCollinsPublishers.
GOVINDA, A. 1969. Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, Boston, WeiserBooks.
HAO CHIN JR., V. (ed.) 1998. The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, Adyar: The Theosophical Publishing House.
PAYTON, R. L. & MOODY, M. P. 2008. Understanding Philanthropy: its meaning and mission, Bloomington, Indiana Univercity Press.
SULEK, M. 2010. On the Classical Meaning of Philanthrôpía. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 39: 385 originally published Online on 13 March, 2009

Overview of my talk on Helena Blavatsky and the History of Charitable (Philanthropic) Thinking – A theosophical worldview

This talk was given at the Brisbane Theosophical Society in July 2010



The talk is concerned about the roots of the charitable thinking processes and how a theosophical worldview can be seen as a vehicle in aiding humanity in the process of building the core of the Brother/Sisterhood of humanity.

Discussion segments:
1. Helena Blavatsky as inspiration.
2. The brief history of charitable thinking as an idea.
3. The concept of philanthropy in development.
4. Theosophical Society as a vehicle for Philanthropy in Action.
5. Theosophical Order of Service as a philanthropic organisation in action.
6. From charitable thinking to emergency relief.
7. How selfless is our charitable/philanthropic action?

My talk starts with the introduction of Helena Blavatsky as a major inspiration in my life. She was born in Russia in 1831 and was one of the original founders of the Theosophical Society in 1875. I was introduced to her thinking by my grandfather, who gave me her book The Secret Doctrine published in 1888 as a 16-year old and urged me to read it. Of course it went a bit over my head then and instead of finishing it I first completed her The Isis Unveiled, published in 1877. I studied Blavatsky’s ideas as my special subject of study in my university History of Sciences and Ideas studies.

Helena Blavatsky has remained a major influence in my life. I have always liked to talk about her achievements and recite the stories I know about her charitable acts towards others. Many of her actions were just natural random acts of kindness towards people in need, often resulting in a great expense to her own comfort. To know more read for example Sylvia Cranston’s biography of Blavatsky (Cranston, 1993). She was continuously engaged in introducing the world to what would be a philanthropic or charitable action in practice from the theosophical point of view. A brief history of the charitable/philanthropic thinking processes in this light challenges us to talk about several ideas taken from different sources.

The first reference is to Prometheus Bound, a classical book, now convincingly argued to have been authored by a Greek author Aeschylus’ son, Euphorion (Sulek, 2010).

Prometheus is our first classical example of a god who has reached out to advance the humanity in its struggle from oblivion to understanding. Through him we get the concept of philanthropy as an action as he was accused of being a philanthrôpos, a friend of humankind, by other gods and Zeus bound him to a mountain and he suffered for his kindness. Blavatsky referred to this by stating that Prometheus was only a traitor in reference to other gods. In relation to humanity he was a philanthropist (Blavatsky, 1979).

How can we define the word philanthropy?

A colleague of mine, a researcher in America has just published two articles on the meaning of the word philanthropy from both classical and modern references. I shall quote from the hypotheses included in his presentation and the pictures here give you the dictionary definitions arranged by Marty Sulek (2010):



1. Philanthropy has (had) a variety of meanings, academic & common, contemporary & historical
2. The academic definition of philanthropy is more narrowly focused than common usage
3. The meaning of philanthropy has evolved along a discernable historical trajectory
4. Understanding the meaning of philanthropy as a whole can grant insight into its constituent parts

If we further look to understanding philanthropy through authors Payton and Moody, we can see that philanthropy can mean a lot of things:
• Voluntary giving, when we give our money...
• Voluntary service, when we give our time and sometimes our talent…
• Voluntary association, the organized activity…(Payton & Moody, 2008, p. 6)
Philanthropy has an assortment of meanings in other ways as well
• A moral action in response to the ‘human problematic’.
• ‘A social history of the moral imagination.”
• Essential to free, open, democratic, civil society.
• Tradition in jeopardy… (Payton and Moody, 2008)
The philanthropic action includes
• ‘Random acts of kindness’
• Organized action
• Systematic efforts
• Seek to reduce suffering
• Seek to improve quality of life (Payton and Moody, 2008)

How can a theosophical worldview aid us in our aim to understand the charitable thinking processes?

In the letter 45 in the Letters of the Masters to A.P.Sinnett, Koot Hoomi Lal Singh, one of the Blavatsky’s teachers wrote: “A true Theosophist is a philanthropist (Hao Chin Jr., 1998).” His reference is to the first object of the Theosophical Society which involves building a core of the Brother/Sisterhood of humanity. There is a hint of what it means in his declaration that a Buddha is the real philanthropist. The Chohan’s definition of philanthropy as ‘divine kindness’ (Ibid. p. 479) brings more clarity of what they might indicate in terms of what philanthropic action is expected of this core of the Brother/Sisterhood of humanity.

From the modern Buddhist perspective the concept of altruism and its relationship to the philanthropic action can further clarify this underlying meaning. In a resent email Marty Sulek reminded me that the concept of altruism was only brought to our vocabulary by Augustus Comte in his System of Positive Polity (1851). The Dalai Lama takes this modern concept of altruism and explains it in relation to the classical Buddhist concept of bodhichitta as the highest possible charitable action by a candidate, “the compassion towards sentient beings... [and] the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the sake of all (Dalai Lama, 2003).” I can well draw a straight line to philanthropic action in the classical sense. In my mind this matches with the definition of ‘divine kindness’ very well. In his talks the Dalai Lama often states that everybody is seeking for happiness.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) on the other hand did not think that happiness has anything to do with it. He stressed the principal of duty and said that since happiness was based on imagination, this did not qualify as rational action. Koot Hoomi disagreed with him and stated that the western thinkers were not putting the concept of philanthropy in a context of universal law and that they just made it to an ‘accidental manifestation’(Hao Chin Jr.,1998). However that may be, Kant’s thoughts have dictated a lot of western thinking processes, particularly the reformist thinking. Many people following the Lutheran ethics do not handle the notion of happiness, passion or self-fulfilment very well.

The second object of the Theosophical Society urges us to further research in the realms of religions and sciences. Can we find anything there that can enhance this understanding?

The Buddhist example contributes with the idea of Bodhisattva who refuses to take on the ‘divine ropes’ and instead stays as a part of a core of brother/sisterhood in consciousness to aid the rise of the awareness of humanity. Lama Govinda (Govinda, 1969) is a good author to read for further explanation on this philanthropic action model. The Hindu example is in the Bhagavad-Gita with its 18 yoga chapters and different yogas to aid an aspirant from ‘non-action to in-action’. The modern scientific example comes from the brain research in Hypothalamus, the brain of our brain with its ability as a tool to sort out the many layers of our feelings and emotions. With the help of this we can aid the psychological understanding of what relates to the development of empathy and compassion. Our ability to see the others’ views is also a part of the modern study of what is involved in philanthropic action. The Christian view is brought in with the urge to treat the others as you want them to treat you and with the orthodox idea of ‘go-working with God’ as a definition to philanthropic action.

We can name plenty of nonprofit organisations who have taken this kind of action as their core business. The International Theosophical Order of Service was founded by Annie Besant to take on the practical adaptation of theosophical ideas in the real world. The work of the TOS has become even more important in today’s society where there is a real need to understand that the global economy needs global solutions in the fight against exclusion, poverty, abuse and corruption in its aim for the equal human rights to everyone. The US nations 1948 Human Rights Declaration urges us to work towards this goal “in the spirit of brotherhood.”

I myself work in a community care organisation with the aim of making sure that all the members of the community, the elderly, disabled, families, and children and otherwise underprivileged are assured human dignity and equal possibility to community participation and services. The many faces of emergency relief can now be seen as the organised continuation of charitable thinking processes and charitable action in our modern society.

Basically my scientific conclusion is that the charitable/philanthropic action as such is the highest selfish action we can take. On the whole it pays to be charitable and enhancing others will work towards enhancing yourself and your own wellbeing. Working in an organisation which heavily relies on voluntary contribution in service delivery, I see this every day. It brings people happiness and self-satisfaction to work together towards common goals. The positive results that come from being able to help are blatantly visible. I urge everyone to join in the brother/sisterhood of the charitable philanthropic action wherever and whenever possible.

What it all comes to is in the end is the three C:s: Compassion, Conviction and Cooperation.








References:
BLAVATSKY, H. 1979. The Secret Doctrine Vol II, Madras, The Theosophical Publishing House.
CRANSTON, S. 1993. HPB, The Extraordinary Life & Influence of Helena Blavatsky Founder of the Modern Theopsophical Movement, New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons.
DALAI LAMA, T. 2003. Transforming the Mind, Teaching on Generating Compassion, Thorsons, HarperCollinsPublishers.
GOVINDA, A. 1969. Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, Boston, WeiserBooks.
HAO CHIN JR., V. (ed.) 1998. The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett, Adyar: The Theosophical Publishing House.
PAYTON, R. L. & MOODY, M. P. 2008. Understanding Philanthropy: its meaning and mission, Bloomington, Indiana Univercity Press.
SULEK, M. 2010. On the Classical Meaning of Philanthrôpía. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 39: 385 originally published Online on 13 March, 2009