What is meant by the term, "The New Age Movement?"

NOTES

1 Kabir Helminski, The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation (Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, 1999) p. 262.

2 Carl W. Ernst, Ph. D., The Shambhala Guide to Sufism (Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications,1997) p. 107.

3 Ibid., p. 117.

4 Dr. H. J. Witteveen, Universal Sufism (Rockport, Massachusetts: Element, 1997) p. 73.
The Nature of Salvation, Liberation or Enlightenment

Salvation or liberation comes by overcoming the false ego (nafs) and achieving oneness with God. A foundational, dual goal of a Sufi is fana (dying or melting into God by eradicating the human self and its attributes) and baqa (living in God and attaining divine attributes).¹ When fana is achieved, the worshipper is absorbed into God. The present-day author, Kabir Helminski, emphasizes the Sufi gateway to this state: "Only Love can tame the ego and bring it into the service of Love… In order to really love, our ego structure has to dissolve and re-form on a new basis… Love then re-creates the self."²

There are three main aspects of spiritual life: fikr - meditation, tawakkul - total reliance on God, and dhikr - perpetual remembrance of God. Sufis recommend beginning this spiritual journey by worshipping God as the "Beloved" or "Friend." Final enlightenment comes when "there is no longer that difference which a worshipper makes between himself and God; as Khusrau the Persian poet says, 'When I have become Thee and Thou hast become me… Beloved, there is no difference between I and Thou'."³ The revered Sufi poet, Rumi, often drew attention to this concept. He disclosed, "I’ve spent my life, my heart and my eyes this way. I used to think that love and beloved are different. I know now they are the same. I was seeing two in one."⁴

Various means of achieving this state are utilized, including the whirling dance of the dervishes and the practice of the "remembrance of God." The latter is especially accomplished by chanting and repeating the ninety-nine names for God found in the Qur’an. Yet even though paradise is the longing of every Sufi, they seek to be motivated not by fear of hell or love of paradise, but by an overwhelming love of God.

"There are four stages of practice and understanding in Sufism - shariah (religious law), tariqah (the mystical path), haqiqah (Truth), and Marifah (Gnosis). Each is built upon the stages that go before."⁵ Shariah is a term for the teachings of Islam, the moral and ethical rules that have already been spoken. Tariqah means, in essence, the path in the desert that leads to the oasis (the experience of truth and reality). Haqiqah is the experience of the mystical states of Sufism, an inward experience of the presence of God. Marifah (Gnosis) is the highest state of revelation knowledge and wisdom, even beyond Haqiqah. During this earthly sojourn, there are "three great blessings given to those who are lovers of God. They are islam (submission), iman (faith), and ihsan (awareness of God)… Ihsan means "to act beautifully." The essence of the word is "to worship God as if you see Him. The person who fully develops ihsan is aware of God at all times and has reached the goal of Sufism."⁶
NOTES

1 According to Kabir Helminski’s teaching, three levels of understanding effect this process: realizing that there are no actions but God’s actions, no qualities but God’s qualities, and no existence but God’s existence.

2 Kabir Helminski, The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation (Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, 1999) p. 49.

3 Barrie and Jenkins, The Sufi Message of Inayat Khan, vol. XI (London: Servire Publishers, Katwijk, Holland, 1960-1982) p. 163; quoted in Dr. H. J. Witteveen, Universal Sufism, p. 101.

4 James Fadiman, ed., and Robert Frager, ed., Essential Sufism (Edison, New Jersey: Castle Books, 1998) p. 15.

5 Ibid., p. 12.

6 Ibid., pp. 9-10.
Dimensions or Planes of Existence

Planes or dimensions of being, categorized from the highest to the lowest: (1) lahut: the realm of the Absolute where the divine nature reveals itself; (2) jabarut: spiritual existence, beyond form where decrees and spiritual powers are located; (3) malakut: the angelic world; (4) nasut: the place of humanity, the natural world.¹

NOTES

1 Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1975) p. 270.

The Spiritual Journey and Ultimate Destiny of Man

Many teachers in Sufism instruct that there are seven levels the soul passes through on its journey to spirituality and wholeness: (1) The Commanding Self - compulsive and obsessive, this is the self active in all human beings that is given over to evil and seeks to dominate the life; (2) The Regretful Self - this self is still somewhat controlled by vices, but repentant over its choices to commit evil; (3) The Inspired Self - motivated by high ideals, desirous of moral boundaries and one who takes pleasure in the things of God; (4) The Contented Self - at peace adoring God and serving others. This is a period of transition in which the old self, with its selfishness and sensuality, is significantly losing its control. (5) The Pleased Self - this person is not only contented with his lot in life, but pleased with both blessings and difficulties, with both pleasure and pain, for all comes from the hand of God. (6) The Self Pleasing to God - one who has attained wholeness in God, oneness with him and total submission to him. (7) The Pure Self - ego is dissolved; those reaching this highest level have transcended the lower self altogether, realizing that only God exists and that "any sense of individuality or separateness is an illusion."¹

"Sufis believe that before the material universe was created, we were all souls in the world of souls": close to God and conversing with him.² "God made a pact with the unborn souls of humanity, prior to the creation." Those who responded negatively were predestined to walk as rebels in the world. Those who responded submissively and lovingly to him received the 'sealing' of their destiny to be obedient servants of God. It was the first "tying of the bond and covenant of love."³

At the Day of Resurrection, God will review the deeds, evil and good, of every individual. Paradise, as taught in the Qur’an, is the ultimate destiny of lovers of God, a place of "gardens with flowing rivers and beautiful youths and maidens who serve the souls of the blessed."⁴ Though hell is a major theme in the Qur’an and in Sufism, ultimately, through the power of the Resurrection, all who have lived will, in some sense, be embodied again in a purified way.

NOTES

1 James Fadiman, ed., and Robert Frager, ed., Essential Sufism (Edison, New Jersey: Castle Books, 1998) pp. 20-23.

2 Ibid., p. 17.

3 Carl W. Ernst, Ph. D., The Shambhala Guide to Sufism (Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, 1997) pp. 43-44.

4 Ibid., p. 43.
Cycles, Ages and the Ultimate State of the Universe

One of the most succinct, simple, yet potent descriptions of Sufi doctrine in this area comes from the 'pen' of Carl W. Ernst, Ph.D.: "For the Sufi tradition, the Qur’an frames all of time and eternity into three days. Yesterday is the dawn of creation, when God created the universe and sealed the destiny of his lovers. Today is this world when all are called upon to live according to God’s wishes. Tomorrow is the resurrection and the judgment day, when souls will testify against themselves and be held to account, and God’s mercy will be displayed."¹

NOTES

1 Carl W. Ernst, Ph. D., The Shambhala Guide to Sufism (Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, 1997) p. 44.

Theosophy (Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott and Annie Besant)

http://www.thetruelight.net/religions/theosophy.htm
The word "Theosophy" comes from two Greek words, theos meaning "god," and sophos meaning "wise." In essence, it means those who seek the wisdom of God by searching through philosophy or by the pursuit of mystical experiences, or both. Proponents of Theosophical concepts can be found in Hinduism, Taoism, Gnosticism, Neo-Platonism and the like.

In recent years, this term became closely linked with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky who formed the Theosophical Society in New York City in 1875, along with Henry Steel Olcott. Blavatsky claimed to be in touch with spiritually evolved human beings dedicated to the service of the world, whose teachings formed the basis of her belief system. She promoted a monistic and pantheistic view of the relationship between God and the universe. She also taught that mankind is evolving through reincarnation toward perfection, and those who are near or reach such a goal are responsible to guide less evolved souls.

Annie Besant succeeded Blavatsky as spiritual leader of the society after the latter’s death in 1891 and as international president after the death of the president-founder, Henry Steel Olcott, in 1907. She was quite involved, not only as a proponent of Theosophy, but in governmental, educational and social work in the land of India. It was Annie Besant who introduced Jiddu Krishnamurti as the Messiah of this age. He later refuted the claim.

There is no set dogma in the Theosophical Society. However, three foundational beliefs normally embraced are: "(1) the fundamental unity of all existence, so that all pairs of opposites — matter and spirit, the human and the divine, I and thou — are transitory and relative distinctions of an underlying absolute Oneness, (2) the regularity of universal law, cyclically producing universes out of the absolute ground of being, and (3) the progress of consciousness developing through the cycles of life to an ever-increasing realization of Unity."¹

NOTES

1 FAQ, "What does this Wisdom Tradition Teach?" www.theosophical.org (September 30, 2001).

The Origin and Nature of the Universe

H.P. Blavatsky: "We believe in no creation, but in the periodical and consecutive appearances of the universe from the subjective onto the objective plane of being, at regular intervals of time, covering periods of immense duration." "No one creates it… We, Occultists and Theosophists, see in it the only universal and eternal reality casting a periodical reflection of itself on the infinite Spatial depths. This reflection, which you regard as the objective material universe, we consider as a temporary illusion and nothing else. That alone which is eternal is real."¹
NOTES

1 Helena P. Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy (Pasadena, California: Theosophical University Press, 1995) p. 83-84 (unabridged printing of original 1889 ed., with new index).

The Nature of God

Theosophy presents a monistic and pantheistic view of God (All is One and All is God). Ultimate Reality is an impersonal 'Life Force.' "We reject the idea of a personal… God."¹ "God and man are the two phases of the one eternal life and consciousness that constitutes our universe! The idea of the immanence of God is that he is the universe; although he is also more than it is; that the solar system is an emanation of the Supreme Being as clouds are an emanation of the sea… It is the idea that nothing exists except God, and that humanity is one portion of him-one phase of his Being."²

NOTES

1 Helena P. Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy (Pasadena, California: Theosophical University Press, 1995) p. 61 (unabridged printing of original 1889 ed., with new index).

2 L.W. Rogers, Elementary Theosophy (Wheaton, Illinois: The Theosophical Press, 1956) p. 23.
The Origin and Nature of Man

Theosophy teaches that man has a "Septenary Nature," one consisting of seven aspects: (1) The physical body (rupa or Sthula-Sarira); (2) Life or vital principle (prana); (3) Astral body (linga sharira); (4) Animal soul (kama rupa); (5) Mind or intelligence-the human soul (manas); (6) Spiritual soul (buddhi); and (7) Spirit (atma). The first four make up the discardable and perishable "Lower Quarternary." The last three make up the "Upper Imperishable Triad."¹

The "animal soul" (kama rupa) is the temporary personality associated with a single incarnation. It is even referred to as the "false personality." The "human soul" (manas) is the "permanent individuality or reincarnating ego." The "spiritual soul" (buddhi) is "the divine Ego," the "vehicle of pure universal spirit." The "spirit" (atma) is the highest essence of God above a person. It is one with the Divine or Brahma.²

A unique aspect of Helena Blavatsky’s teaching is the idea that the astral body (also called the "phantom body" or "eidolon") is that which appears to spiritualists in their attempts to contact those who have died. This 'part' of the "Lower Quarternary" has already been disposed of in the realm called "Kama-loka." It is in the process of disintegration, and, because it is disconnected from the eternal 'Self,' it actually grants deceptive, false experiences to spiritualists. The true 'Self' (the "manas" or "ego") has, in most cases, already passed into the higher realm called "Devachan," awaiting the next reincarnation.

Man is also spoken of as being divine, God in expression… "For Christ - the true esoteric savior - is no man but the DIVINE PRINCIPLE in every human being."³ One theosophist offers, "If the idea of the immanence of God is sound, then man is a literal fragment of the consciousness of the Supreme Being… an embryo god… destined to ultimately evolve his latent powers into perfect expression."⁴


NOTES

1 Helena P. Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy (Pasadena, California: Theosophical University Press, 1995) pp. 91-92 (unabridged printing of original 1889 ed., with new index).

2 Ibid., pp. 91-92,175-176.

3 Helena P. Blavatsky, Studies in Occultism (Theosophical University Press, n.d.) p. 134; quoted in Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, Handbook of Today’s Religions (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983) p. 87.

4 L.W. Rogers, Elementary Theosophy (Wheaton, Illinois: The Theosophical Press, 1956) p. 22-25.
The Nature of Salvation, Liberation or Enlightenment

Liberation comes by overcoming negative karma and achieving release from the cycle of reincarnation. It is salvation by self-effort. Similar to the Buddhist idea of bodhisattvas, Theosophists believe in Nirmanakayas, highly evolved beings who have a right to enter Nirvana, but renounce such a privilege out of compassion for the human race. These "have no right to interfere with karma, and can only advise and inspire mortals for the general good."¹

Annie Besant, a principal leader, taught that seekers after truth should "surrender all the fallacious ideas of forgiveness, vicarious atonement, divine mercy, and the rest of the opiates which superstition offers to the sinner."² Co-founder Helena Blavatsky also insisted such beliefs are "dangerous dogma"³ and that in all reality, "every Ego… becomes its own Saviour."⁴ When asked if God can forgive sin, Blavatsky responded, "This is what Christianity teaches, and what we combat." She also rejected the notion that "“God’s mercy is boundless and unfathomable."⁵ Human beings do not need mercy; they need enlightenment. The promise is also given that, "Every noble thought and every unselfish deed are steppingstones to the higher and more glorious planes of being."⁶
NOTES

1 Helena P. Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy, (Pasadena, California: Theosophical University Press, 1995) p. 152 (unabridged printing of original 1889 ed., with new index).

2 Annie Besant, Karma (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1904) p.23; quoted in Ron Rhodes, New Age Movement (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995) p. 65.

3 Helena P. Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy, p. 223.

4 Ibid., p. 155.

5 Ibid., p. 223.

6 Ibid., p. 237.
Dimensions or Planes of Existence

Theosophy teaches seven planes of existence: the physical plane, emotional (astral) plane, mental plane and four higher planes that are beyond the present state of human evolutionary development. Theosophists do not believe in "hell or paradise as localities" but "a postmortem state or mental condition such as we are in during a vivid dream."¹

NOTES

1 Helena P. Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy (Pasadena, California: Theosophical University Press, 1995) p. 138 (unabridged printing of original 1889 ed., with new index).

The Spiritual Journey and Ultimate Destiny of Man

Theosophy teaches that all men, as emanations of God, originally "possessed all the powers of our divine Father."¹ The purpose of reincarnation is to re-awaken this latent, divine potential. Theosophists reject the idea that reincarnation can involve a digression into sub-human states of existence. One writer warns of the inexorable law of karma, "We as immortal souls are the molders and masters of our own destiny… No one is to blame except ourselves for our birth conditions, our character, our opportunities, our abilities, for all these things are due to the working out of forces we have set going either in this life or in former lives…"²

Mankind as a whole is described passing through the evolution of seven stages. According to Helena Blavatsky, there were two spiritual races and then the first physical "root race" was the Lemurian race. Their history goes back millions of years. After the Lemurians came the Atlanteans. This next "root race" was destroyed during a catastrophic end to the island of Atlantis. It was followed by the present human race. Each "root race" has a number of sub-races. At the beginning of each new subrace, the spirit of the Supreme World Teacher (the Christ) enters the body of a human disciple to share new divine insights and aid the human race in its spiritual evolution. For example, Jesus of Nazareth was chosen as this vessel at the beginning of the fifth subrace (the race of intellectual man).

A paradigm shift is taking place now, because the sixth sub-race is presently emerging (the race of the spiritual man) and the sixth 'Messiah' is soon to appear to take the human race to the next level of revelation. This sixth sub-race will develop until it envelops the globe and replaces the present subrace. Life on earth will come to an end after the seventh "root race" is established and brought to completion. Then evolution will continue in other worlds (a later Theosophical writer suggested the planet Mercury as being one location).

The hope and purpose of every Theosophist is to progress spiritually through the seven planes of existence. As already mentioned under The Nature of Man, there are seven aspects to every person:

(1) The physical body (rupa or sthula-sarira); (2) Life or vital principle (prana); (3) Astral body (linga sharira); (4) Animal soul (kama rupa); (5) Mind or intelligence-the human soul (manas); (6) Spiritual soul (buddhi); and (7) Spirit (atma). The first four make up the discardable and perishable "Lower Quarternary." The last three make up the "Upper Imperishable Triad."³

After death the lower three aspects depart from a person forever, remaining on earth. The higher four aspects (the "Animal Soul" and the "Atma-Buddhi-Manas Upper Triad") enter the "astral world" or "auric sphere" called Kamaloka. This post-mortem destination has "neither a definite area nor boundary, but exists within subjective space… beyond our sensuous perceptions." It is there that "the astral eidolons" (the disembodied astral aspect) of all living beings, including animals, abide awaiting their "second death."⁴

Once in Kamaloka, the "Upper Triad" separates from the "Animal Soul" (the Kama rupa). The "Animal Soul," after languishing for a season, collapses and begins disintegrating, having no more connection to the enduring part of a person. The "Upper Triad" merges into oneness, passing into the Devachanic state where its bliss is complete. There it experiences "absolute oblivion of all that gave it pain or sorrow in the past incarnation, and even oblivion of the fact that such things as pain or sorrow exist at all."⁵

The Devachanee experiences this transitional cycle between two earthly existences as "the ideal reflection of the human being it was when last on earth." It is surrounded by “everything it had aspired to in vain, and in the companionship of everyone it loved on earth. It has reached the fulfillment of all its soul-yearnings. And thus it lives throughout long centuries an existence of unalloyed happiness, which is the reward for its sufferings in earth-life."⁶ The average time the Ego spends in the Devachanic state between incarnations is ten to fifteen centuries. In the case of an extremely wicked person, there is no Devachanic state prior to the next incarnation, indicative of a wasted life.

Escape to the highest level of oneness with the Absolute is the ultimate goal of all evolving souls. The "Adepts" and "Initiates" who pass beyond the veil of maya, who perfect themselves through the process of reincarnation, do not enter Devachan (which is an illusionary experience anyway, similar to a 'happy dream'). They ascend to Nirvana, to higher spheres, joining the other members of the Hierarchy of Masters, who have gone on to that advanced spiritual state. The purpose of these highly-evolved beings is to aid the progress of lesser-evolved souls. The absolute goal for all is godhood, that is, conscious union with the divine nature within.

NOTES

1 Irving S. Cooper, Reincarnation: A Hope of the World (Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979) p. 25; quoted in Norman L. Geisler & J. Yutaka Amano, The Reincarnation Sensation. p. 40.

2 Irving S. Cooper, Theosophy Simplified, Wheaton, Illinois: The Theosophical Publishing House, sec. Quest ed., pp. 70-71.

3 Helena P. Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy (Pasadena, California: Theosophical University Press, 1995) pp. 91-92 (unabridged printing of original 1889 ed., with new index).

4 Ibid., p. 143.

5 Ibid., p. 148.

6 Ibid.
Cycles, Ages and the Ultimate State of the Universe

Theosophists believe that the earth is presently in its fourth cycle, and the human race is now experiencing the third "root race" and the beginnings of the sixth subrace. (See "Theosophy" under The Spiritual Journey and Ultimate Destiny of Man.) Similar to Hinduism, Theosophy teaches that the universe is eternal, existing without end in great cosmic cycles of the evolution of matter, intelligence, and spirit. Life on earth will come to an end after the seventh "root race" is established and brought to completion. Then this evolution will continue on in other worlds.