Programme for May 2017

BLAVATSKY LODGE: 7 -  French Bridge, Mumbai 400007

    Tel: 23685026   (M): 9821459504   (M): 9819334333

DAY	TIME	DETAILS
Fri     5 and 19	6.00 pm	Members’ Meeting – Study of AB & CWL’s Book “MAN.. Whence, How and Whither” conducted by Sis Aban Patel
Sun    7	10.00 am	Bharat Samaj Pooja
Mon  8	6.15 pm	White Lotus Day Meeting for S. Mumbai Lodges
Wed 10	6.00 pm	Wesak  Purnima Meeting
Fri   12	6.00 pm    6.15 pm	Members’ Meeting for Readings & Discussion   Talk by Dr. Darius H. Umrigar (In Lobby)
Fri     26	4.30 pm   6.00 pm	Blavatsky Lodge Managing Committee Meeting Members’ Meeting for Readings & Discussion
Sun  28	10.45 am	Maitreya Round Table (Please note Annual Round Table Meeting will be in August 2017 with ceremony ‘Invocation to Zarathushtra’)
Tues 2, 16,23 & 30	5.45 pm	Reading and discussion on Lives of Alcyone by AB and CWL presented by Sis Navaz Dhalla (Please note no meeting on Tuesday 9th April)

Bombay Theosophical Bulletin   MAY 2017

CONTENTS

Quote	Cover
News & Notes	2  -  4
Evolution of Consciousness  by Viloo Adajania	4  -  7
	8  - 10
BTF & Lodge Programmes May 2017	11  - 12

NEWS & NOTES

IMPORTANT NOTE

It is observed that all the Lodges do not give their Program for the following month before the 15th of the month. This leads to a waste of time for the Editorial Committee in telephoning the Secretaries. We would like Lodges like Vasanta & Ganesh  and now Ananda to announce their programs also It may be noted that if the regular date is changed for the coming month to suit the members, the Editor should be informed well in time to print in the Bulletin.

BRETHREN BLOCK THE DATES FOR THE BTF 86TH ANNUAL SESSION to be held on 13th, 14th & 15th October 2017: The Chief Guest will be Mr. Pradeep H. Gohil, the new General Secretary, Indian Section Theosophical Society. The Opening of the Annual Session on Friday 13th Oct. and Second day session on Saturday 14th Oct. will be in the evenings at Blavatsky Lodge TS. On Sunday 15th Oct. there will be a Full Day Session at Juhu Theosophical Colony. The detailed programme of the Annual Session will be announced in BTF Bulletin of September 2017.

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Editor – Bro. Rustom R. Dalal     Cover Page By: Sis. Kashmira Khambatta

Editorial Committee – Sis. Mahazaver Dalal (Reporter in charge of Mailing List), Sis.  Kashmira Khambatta, Sis. Aban Patel and Ex-Officio: President Bro. Vinayak Pandya.  Note: News, Notes and Programmes to be printed in the Bulletin, be forwarded by e-mail to: rrpdalal@hotmail.com or kashmirakhambatta@yahoo.com latest by 16th each month.

BRETHREN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTFUL RESPONSE TO AN APPEAL FOR EX-GRATIA HELP TO GANPAT printed in BTF Bulletins of March & April 2017 to send donations to Blavatsky Lodge TS. The septuagenarian loyal worker Ganpat Jadhav has  retired after serving at Blavatsky Lodge for over 50 years. The BTF has also given Ex Gratia to Ganpat for his services to BTF. We express sincere thanks to Brethren and Sympathizers, who have given their kind donations after printing of BTF Bulletin April 2017:

Brethren: Maharukh Shroff, Meherangiz Baria, Vinayak Pandya, Sheila Ganatra, Vijaya Nair, Veera Mehta, Aban Wadia, Noor Baig, Baldev Chawala, Khurshed Sanjana, Freny Jabulee.

Blavatsky Lodge, out of the Ex Gratia help received for Shri Ganpat Jadhav from Brethren and Sympathizers, has given Rs. 62,000/- to Ganpat on 14th April 2017. As donations get collected, further help will be given to Ganpat.

VIMADALAL BILIA LODGE MEETINGS                                  Synopsis by Sis. Firoza Master:

On 23rd February 2017 Sis. Meher Contractor in her talk on ‘Khorshed and Meher Nyayeshs’ said Nyaeshes are a litany or praise to a particular Yazad. Yazads are beloved, adorable, Divine Beings. They have got the Light from Amesha Spentas [Planetary Logoi] and Dadar Ahura Mazda [God]. They have Unity, Unified Thinking with God. Their function is to take care of His Creations.

Khorsed Nyayesh [KN] is a Litany in praise of Sun. Meher Yazad represents the rays of the Sun, Justice etc. KN is prayed in the presence of the Sun during the day. The rays of the Sun cannot come down directly. Meher Yazad dilutes the rays before they reach Earth. The intense rays of the Sun activate our brain cells.

The first para of KN is in Arabic composed by Aderbad Mahrespand. The next para is Patet Pashemani [prayer of repentance] which is recited in all Nyayeshes. Then we ask Vohu Mano [Good Mind] of Power and Righteousness to give strength to our body. Meher Yazad  is the first Yazad to bow down and welcome the Sun’s Rays. When Light is there, there is Purification and Perfection. Meher Yazad is the Leader of all Yazads with multifarious activities. He is the Harbinger of the Sun. He is a Judge on the final day of death. He is in charge of Love, Friendship and Peace. He helps in war and takes charge of Righteous people. HE is the keeper of seven regions [Dakhyus] of the world.

We invoke Him for help in various ways to make our Consciousness pure. Then we shall purify our minds and reach Perfection. Adar Burzin Meher is the Fire which Lord Zarthushtra brought when He got Enlightenment. It is

a self-Igniting Fire which burns forever.

 
On 9th March 2017 Dr. Firdaus Shroff Spoke on “Kindle the Spark Within”. He gave various tips on being happy such as “Don’t be Owner of Love, but be Donor of Love”.  
 
On 23rd and 30th March 2017 Bro Rustom Chothia read out extracts from the translations of Ahunavad and Ushtavad Gathas.

On other Thursdays there are readings and discussions on articles from The Theosophist or The Indian Theosophist.
 
ANANDA LODGE MEETINGS: Ananda Lodge has started organizing their monthly meetings at a day & time convenient to members & interested inquirers. At their meetings members speak about life & greatness of HPB.

HINDI POEM BY BRO. NAVIN KUMAR

आज ध्यान में बैठा,तो मन में कौंधे कुछ सुविचार
जीवन संचालन  हो चार उपलब्धियों  के अनुसार।

"विवेक"," वैराग्य" , "सदाचार" व "मुमुक्षत्व "
यही  वास्तविकता में आत्म ज्ञान के सच्चे तत्त्व।

"विवेक"  सत्य असत्य,उचित अनुचित का भेद
"वैराग्य"अपनाना होगा करकभौतिकता से खेद।

"सदाचार" के भाग, कर्म योग व मन अधिकार ,
ईश्वर कृपा पर विश्वास , एकाग्रता का आधार।

यह सब होकर यदि "मुमुक्षत्व" का न हो अंतर्भाव
तब होंगीपहलीतीन उपलब्धियां बहुतांशी  निष्प्रभाव।

"मुमुक्षत्व" दैनिक जीवन में माना जाता है स्नेह व् प्रेम
इसकेअंग तीन-अहिंसा, सेवा व मानव  कुशल  क्षेम।

 

 प्रेम देगा अवसर ईश्वरीय नियोजन में सेवक बनने हेतु
  जगत जननी चरणों  में जीवन  समर्पित  करने  हेतु।  

गुरुजनों  से चर्चा की ,उन्होंने विस्मय  पूर्वक  बतलाया
यह"प्रयत्न"शंकराचार्य का "साधन चतुष्टय"  कहलाया।

THUS SPAKE HPB

Extracts from: “The First Message 1888 to William Q. Judge”

Courtesy: Five Messages from H. P. Blavatsky. Printed by The Theosophy Company (India) Ltd, Mumbai.

This should never be forgotten, nor should the following fact be overlooked. On the day when Theosophy will have accomplished its most holy and most important mission – namely to unite firmly a body of men of all nations in brotherly love and bent on a pure altruistic work, not on a labour with selfish motives- on that day only will Theosophy become higher than any nominal brotherhood of man. This will be a wonder and a miracle truly, for the realization of which Humanity is vainly waiting for the last eighteen centuries, and which every association has hitherto failed to accomplish.

Orthodoxy in Theosophy is a thing neither possible nor desirable. It is diversity of opinion, within certain limits, that keeps the Theosophical Society a living and healthy body, its many other ugly features notwithstanding. Were it not, also, for the existence of a large amount of uncertainty in the minds of students of Theosophy, such healthy divergences would be possible, and the Society would degenerate into a sect, in which a narrow and stereotyped creed would take the place of the living and breathing spirit of Truth and an ever growing knowledge.

According as people are prepared to receive it, so will new Theosophical teachings be given. But no more will be given than the world, on its present level of spirituality, can profit by. It depends on the spread of Theosophy – the assimilation of what has been already given – how much more will be revealed and how soon.

It must be remembered that the Society was not founded as a nursery for forcing supply of Occultists – as a factory for the manufactory of Adepts. It was intended to stem the current of materialism, and also that of spiritualistic phenomenalism, and the worship of the Dead. It had to guide the spiritual awakening that has now begun, and not to pander the psychic cravings which are but another form of materialism. For by “materialism” is meant not only anti-philosophical negation of pure spirit, and, even more, materialism in conduct and action – brutality, hypocrisy, and, above all, selfishness, - but also the fruits of a disbelief in all but material things, a disbelief which has increased enormously during the last century, and which has led many, after a denial of all existence other than that in matter, into a blind belief in the materialization of Spirit.

The tendency of modern civilization is a reaction towards animalism, towards a development of those qualities which conduce to the success in life of man as an animal in the struggle for animal existence. Theosophy seeks to develop the human nature in man in addition to the animal, and at the sacrifice of the superfluous animality which modern life and materialistic teachings have developed to a degree which is abnormal for the human being at this stage of his progress.

Men cannot all be Occultists, but they can all be Theosophists. Many who have never heard of the Society are Theosophists without knowing it themselves; for the essence of Theosophy is the perfect harmonizing of the divine with the human in man, the adjustment of his God-like qualities and aspirations, and their sway over the terrestrial or animal passions in him. Kindness, absence of every ill feeling or selfishness, charity, good-will to all beings, and perfect justice to others as to one’s self, are its chief features. He who teaches Theosophy preaches the gospel of good-will; and the converse of this is true also - he who preaches the gospel of good-will, teaches Theosophy.         

EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS

When the soul of an animal enters the human kingdom it is the first great step on the Path of Evolution of Consciousness, writes

VILOO H. ADAJANIA

We all know that the real man is not his physical self; he is more truly an embodiment of consciousness. Consciousness is the ‘chaitanya’ that enters the physical matter and enlivens it. Not only man, everything in the cosmos is blessed with a spark of the Divine Light of the Supreme Being, and hence everything pulsates with energy. It is an energy in which there is inherent consciousness and intelligence, and hence there is highest intelligence imbued in the Divine Laws of Nature which govern all Creation. The whole creation works according to these Laws in perfect order and relentlessly maintains equilibrium.

Even Quantum Physics has now declared, as revealed by Shikhar Agnihotri, National Lecturer and Secretary, Lucknow Theosophical Lodge, that “there is a substratum of energy (which we may call consciousness) behind everything in this universe.” Dr. Annie Besant has also very truly said that it is the “Hidden Life vibrant in every atom, the Hidden Light shining in every creature.” The consciousness can manifest only in the garb of matter. Matter is dense whereas consciousness is subtle.

Inherent in the spark that a man is gifted with, is also the essence of His divine qualities. The Vedas have declared that it is the ‘Brahman’, the Divinity within, which we understand as a spiritual constituent of man. It is also understood as the Guiding Force which, if heeded to, has the power to change our lives. ‘It is our point of contact with our Source.’

Each of these little sparks of consciousness, as they descend, goes through the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms before entering the human kingdom to which we now belong. his descent, in Theosophical terms, is called ‘the Descent of Consciousness’ to dense matter.

In the early stages, millions of years ago, the little sparks were not so much separated from one another as they now are in the human kingdom; they were not ‘self-conscious’ or alive to the world around them. In the mineral kingdom these little sparks were hardly awake at all. In the vegetable kingdom, however, they were somewhat less sleepy, while in the animal kingdom they really began to stir about, but lived only by instinct and sensory impulses. Instinct works for limited ends, but within those limits it is almost infallible.

In the vegetable kingdom we have not a soul for one plant, but one group-soul for an enormous number of plants, mostly for the whole species. In the animal kingdom also there are group-souls but compared to plant kingdom smaller number of physical forms are the expression of one group-soul.

You have perhaps noticed that while most animals of a particular species have many peculiarities in common, some of them like domestic animals, which have come in contact with humanity, have developed very distinct individualities of their own. This is the beginning of the road which is leading them direct to the human kingdom. Then comes a time in the case of each such animal when it begins to live so definite a life of its own that the spark inhabiting it finally breaks off from fellow-sparks and, to use a theosophical phrase, ‘becomes individualized’, that is, it enters the human kingdom. This individualization is the first great step made by the Divine spark on the Path of Evolution.

The second great step is when a human being begins to develop a definite sense of knowing what is right and what is wrong, and to realize however faintly, that the wrong must not be done, while the right must be followed. This may be called the dawning of consciousness, aroused through ages of experience, that happiness follows the less selfish action while pain follows the more selfish action.

He begins to take definite steps towards divinity. He learns to realize that while self-preservation might be necessary at a certain stage, self-sacrifice rather than self-seeking, is the only true way for the progress of the soul. Gradually he becomes aware, guided by the divine force within, that his deeds must not be just those driven by his personal needs, but should rise to the level of good deeds, that is, those deeds which fulfill the divine task entrusted to him by his Creator.

At last, after several incarnations of pain, suffering and sorrow, his consciousness rises. In his earlier lives, his consciousness was self-centered, always turning ‘outward’ into things of desire. Much later, this same refined and progressed man having realized the truth turns his consciousness ‘within’ that is towards his Higher Self, the Soul.

This is the most remarkable step leading to expansion of consciousness at the Higher Mental level when the man unfolds from within the latent spiritual and intellectual powers. This stage marks the beginning of the Return Journey of the Soul and that in Theosophy is called ‘the Ascent of Consciousness’ to higher planes. The divine spirit in man cannot fall back again, but rises ever onward and upward towards the Divinity from whom it came.

The Divine Plan of Evolution is to bring about a change, a transformation in the consciousness of man, to help him lift the consciousness from the mind or the Mental Plane to the ‘Buddhic’ Plane where the Oneness of Life in every separate form is realized. There is no division, no separation. It begins with us imagining ourselves as one with all. Love, compassion, empathy, humility, devotion, wisdom are the expressions of consciousness workings at the ‘Buddhic’ level.But the world in which we are living is in crisis, a crisis created by the inadequate unfoldment of our consciousness. Technological knowledge has not solved the fundamental problems of man: how to find happiness, live at peace and discover those things whose value will never fade. For this wisdom is required.

Wisdom comes with adequate expansion of our consciousness.

The Government of the Creator works relentlessly in its own mysterious ways to bring the Divine Plan of Evolution to fruition, to enable us to do well & to help redeem our souls to salvation. But how much good we do, how much we contribute towards the fulfillment of the Divine Plan, rests entirely in our hands.

BTF & LODGE PROGRAMMES MAY 2017

1. ANANDA LODGE: Theosophical Colony, Juhu, Mumbai 400049.   Contact Ananda Lodge Secretary Sis. Zenobia Khodaiji (M): 9820308163 or Ananda Lodge Representative to BTF Sis. Anjoo Narain (M): 9820132473 for morning timings of White Lotus Day Meeting with North Mumbai Lodges on Sunday 7th May 2017    

2. BLAVATSKY LODGE: 7 -  French Bridge, Mumbai 400007

    Tel: 23685026   (M): 9821459504   (M): 9819334333

DAY	TIME	DETAILS
Fri     5 and 19	6.00 pm	Members’ Meeting – Study of AB & CWL’s Book “MAN.. Whence, How and Whither” conducted by Sis Aban Patel
Sun    7	10.00 am	Bharat Samaj Pooja
Mon  8	6.15 pm	White Lotus Day Meeting for S. Mumbai Lodges
Wed 10	6.00 pm	Wesak  Purnima Meeting
Fri   12	6.00 pm    6.15 pm	Members’ Meeting for Readings & Discussion   Talk by Dr. Darius H. Umrigar (In Lobby)
Fri     26	4.30 pm   6.00 pm	Blavatsky Lodge Managing Committee Meeting Members’ Meeting for Readings & Discussion
Sun  28	10.45 am	Maitreya Round Table (Please note Annual Round Table Meeting will be in August 2017 with ceremony ‘Invocation to Zarathushtra’)
Tues 2, 16,23 & 30	5.45 pm	Reading and discussion on Lives of Alcyone by AB and CWL presented by Sis Navaz Dhalla (Please note no meeting on Tuesday 9th April)

3. CENTENARY LODGE: 

 Please contact Sis. Najma Dewan (M): 9987204038

4. JYOTI LODGE: C/o Bro. Taral Munshi, C/101, Building No.19, New Mhada, Garden Hill C.H.S., New Mhada Colony, Behind N.P.A., Goregaon (East), Mumbai 400065 (M): 9820187317

5. SHANTI LODGE: C/o Bro. Rustom Dalal, Vijay Niwas, 2nd Floor, Plot    5, Sleater Road, Mumbai 400007   Tel: 23800422

Thursdays at 6.15 p.m.                                        (M): 9833131216

4	Study of  P. Pavri’s Book ‘The Living Wisdom’
11	Study of  P. Pavri’s Book ‘The Living Wisdom’
18	Talk by Dr. Darius H. Umrigar (at Blavatsky Lodge)
25	Study of  P. Pavri’s Book ‘The Living Wisdom’

6. UNITY YOUTH LODGE: Sis.  Soonoo Vesuna (M): 9619339787

Wed  17

5.30 pm

Theosophical readings guided by Sis. Soonoo Vesuna at her residence Vijay Niwas, 4th Floor, Sleater Road

7 & 8 VASANTA LODGE & GANESH LODGE: C/O Dr. Ajay Hora, Kamla Sadan 1st Floor, Pherozsha Mehta Rd., Santa Cruz West, Mumbai 400054. (M): 9820302371 (M): 9892147659

Wednesday 3, 10 (Wesak Purnima), 17,24 & 31 Meetings at 6.30 pm.

9. VIMADALAL BILIA LODGE: Family House, Parsi Colony, Dadar, Mumbai 400014.   Tel: 24185510

Thurs    4	6.00	Celebration of White Lotus Day – 8th May
Thurs  11	6.00	Vaishakha Purnima Meeting (Time of Purnima 11th May 3.12 a.m.)
Thurs  18	6.00	Lodge Meeting by Sis. Armaity Tirandaz
Thurs  25	6.00	Lodge Meeting by Sis. Armaity Tirandaz

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Price: Rs. 1/-                                         Annual Subscription: Rs. 10/-

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Edited & Published by Editor Shri. Rustom R. Dalal, The Bombay Theosophical Federation, c/o Blavatsky Lodge, 7 – French Bridge, Chowpatty, Mumbai – 400 007. (Tel: 23685026) and Printed at Vijay Copy Centre, 48/A, Saidunnisa Building, Sleater Road, Opposite Grant Road Station (West), Mumbai - 400 007 (Tel:23865137)




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MCM MINUTES FOR MAY 2017

Blavatsky Lodge

THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

7, French Bridge, Rangnekar Road, Chowpatty, Mumbai-400 007

Minutes of the Managing Committee meeting held at 5.00 pm on Friday, the 26th of May, 2017 at Blavatsky Lodge, Mumbai.
The meeting chaired by the President Sis. Kashmira Khambatta began with the Universal Prayer.
Members Present: Bro. Navin Kumar, Sis. Nawaz Dhalla, Sis Jasmine Cawasji, Sis. Aban Patel, Bro.Arni Narendran, Ruby Khan, Rustom Cooper
Leave of Absence: Bro. Noor Baig, Bro. Rustom Dalal,  Sis. Freny Pagdiwalla, Bro. Roy Mathews.
The deliberations of the Meeting were as under:
1. Confirmation of Minutes:
Minutes of the MC meeting held on 26th May, 2017, which were distributed to members in advance to facilitate careful reading beforehand, were considered and confirmed.
2. Hon. Treasurer’s Report:
The Treasurer’s Report for the month of April, 2017 was read by Sis. Ruby Khan and approved by the Managing Committee Members present.
3. Miscellaneous:
a) It was decided to appoint PCI to undertake pest control treatment in the lodge for a period of five years. . Sis. Navaz Dhalla to get estimate from PCI..
b) It was decided to get the cleaning of the Mathai Room done.
c) Quotation for outer wall from painter to be taken via Bro. Dalal.
d) Tentative AGM date Sunday 3rd September 2017.
There being no other matters, the meeting ended with thanks to the chair and the universal prayer in Sanskrit.





Secretary                                                                                             President
(Jasmine Cawasji)                                                                                (Kashmira Khambatta)