True Will and physical obstacles
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@Alrah said
"Quite affirmatively? In Magick Without Tears, letter XLVII, after explaining Blavatsky orthodox theory of reincarnation (with some degree of irreverency I might add) he then states, "Most of this is the merest speculation, useless and possibly harmful; but I don't mind relaxing occasionally to that extent."
He concludes the letter writing ""Now, dear sister, I don't like this letter at all, and I am sorry that I had to write it. For most of these statements are insusceptible of proof.
"And yet I feel their truth much more strongly than I have ventured to express. How many times have I warned you against 'feelings?'"
In letter XLI he cannot be clearer when he writes of speculations of life after death as not only "idle and senseless because you cannot possibly verify their accuracy, but a deadly poison [...] I say 'deadly poison;' because when you analyse you see at once that this is a device for flattering yourself."
He also adds a disclaimer to Liber Aleph. "
I think he was more concerned with debunking "Toshosophical" ho-hum. Crowley hated the Theosophists. The Theosophists had an annoying habit (which has carried over to today's "New Age" circles) of accepting fancy as fact. His primary concern was to instil the method of scientific observation (objectivity) in his students, a method the Theosophists very conveniently disregarded to make room for their fantasic theories. Their doctrine was a variation on: "If it feels right, it must be right." Obviously this is incompatable with Scientific Illuminism, and it was this distinction that comprises his "dubious" stance on reincarnation.
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"Crowley hated the Theosophists"
Did he?
I was under the impression that while he didn't like the whole Krishnamurti thing that they tried to advertise (seeing it as competing business?), he did have some respect for Blavatsky (one of the founders). Also, didn't he attribute some importance to his being born in the year that the Theosophical Society was founded (1875); I fail to see how this would be that significant if he strictly looked down on the Theosophists.
I don't have enough documented examples of Crowley talking about the Theosophists to get a clear picture of his thoughts - if you have any examples, I would appreciate it.
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hehe.... I guess I meant - do you have any examples of quotes to support the case that Crowley hated the Theosophists - not, do you know how to use google (But thanks AvshalomBinyamin anyway - a useful example none the less).
The first quote I found from the link was this:
""She, and she alone, made Theosophy possible, and without Theosophy the world-wide interest in similar matters would never have been aroused. This interest is to the Law of Thelema what the preaching of John the Baptist was to Christianity." - Book 4, Part 1"
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I know, I was just giving you a hard time.
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@Tinman said
"hehe.... I guess I meant - do you have any examples of quotes to support the case that Crowley hated the Theosophists - not, do you know how to use google (But thanks AvshalomBinyamin anyway - a useful example none the less).
The first quote I found from the link was this:
""She, and she alone, made Theosophy possible, and without Theosophy the world-wide interest in similar matters would never have been aroused. This interest is to the Law of Thelema what the preaching of John the Baptist was to Christianity." - Book 4, Part 1"
"Ah, forgive me! I was thinking of Mary Baker Eddy, and Christian Science. I knew not what I wrote.
Thanks for demanding evidence. You are a living testament to the uses of Scientific Illuminism!
blush
Kids, this is why you stay in school.
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I only asked because I wasn't so sure myself. I'm still not sure.
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@Tinman said
"I only asked because I wasn't so sure myself. I'm still not sure."
I was going from some statement or other of H. Beta's, about Crowley's dislike of the "Toshosophists."
I tied this together with his words on Eddy, and came to an untenable conclusion. It seems, on reflection, that Crowley could take a critical stance on just about anything. On the whole, he would appear to view Theosophy as a positive thing.
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Some days you feel like a nut... some days you don't
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Are we done with the original topic? Hmm?
