Shikhar Agnihotri – India
The 150th anniversary of the theosophical movement in modern times is not only an occasion to reflect on the last 150 years but also a time of renewal, of making a conscious choice from the womb of which the future, the new humanity, will take birth within us as individuals and collectively for humanity. Let us try to see if, in the constant demands of daily life which is normally dominated by physical and mental conditionings and habits, it is possible, even if for a fraction of a second, to leave behind the concept of time, and give ourselves an opportunity to have a glimpse of that Oneness/Truth for which Theosophy stands, through a small window of eternity in the mind made shell around us.
Consider the theme of this convention, “One World, One Life – The Spirit of a New Humanity”. For a rare few it is a statement of fact in Nature; for some it is a belief that has travelled from generations and has become a way of living; for some others it is an intuitive vision that motivates them to aspire and realise the Unity of Life; but the majority, who earlier used to think of this world only as a coincidental material existence in which comparison-competition-exclusivity-fragmentation are the only ways to live, are being compelled today to look in the direction of interconnectedness and interdependence, as we stand face to face with recurring global situations/problems that manifest themselves as harsh consequences at the local level — war and starvation.
The political world, too, has not remained untouched by this realization. Even setting aside for a moment the lack of depth of this realization and the slow pace of remedial action by the countries, it is heartening to see that there is a collective effort taking place among nations. A couple of such efforts which stand out in recent times:
The Paris Climate Pact, adopted in 2015, is a global agreement where almost every nation on Earth committed to limit global warming. It may not be legally binding for the countries but at its heart, it recognizes the simple truth that the Earth is the one home of all, and caring for it is the shared responsibility of all humanity.
The G20 is the premier intergovernmental forum for international cooperation, representing 80% of the world’s GDP, 75% of global trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population, founded in 1999. If we look at the themes and thus the priorities of the G20 over the last decade, a quiet shift becomes visible. What began with a focus on growth and economic stability gradually moved toward interconnectedness, inclusion, and sustainability. This shift becomes even more visible in the 2023 summit of G20 countries hosted in India with the theme “One Earth – One Family – One Future”. The African Union (55 countries) was added in 2023. This reflects, however faintly, a growing recognition of the fact that we all are interconnected. That no individual/nation can afford to stand alone, and our future depends on cooperation rather than struggle for one’s own survival.
To some of us, it might seem somewhat out of place to touch upon matters that border on geopolitics, but as far as I understand it, it is not only the spiritual movements that are inspired by the Great Ones, but also politics, policies and people as and when required within the ambit of the Law of Karma. The more important aspect is that any seeker of Truth can really help them in this mammoth task by aligning one’s intentions, thoughts, words, actions in the direction of the Oneness of Life, thereby sowing the seeds of a New Humanity and helping in lifting a little of the heavy karma of the world.
Although normally when we say “world”, it is used to indicate the planet earth, from a theosophical worldview I would say that it is a relative term, the meaning of which depends upon the person’s state of mind and can equally be used to refer to a microcosm, a macrocosm, and anything in between. Ex. Academic world, Corporate world, Atomic world, Visible world – OR the Moments of joy when one’s world expands to the whole existence contrary to the moments of grief that can shrink one’s world to the absence of a single person due to death or separation.
But in its absolute aspect, the world is not limited to space or time though it becomes too abstract for the mind which exists in the realm of Space/Time to comprehend.
That is why one of the most effective and practical teachings given by H. P. Blavatsky (HPB) is a document known as the “Diagram of Meditation”. It begins with “First conceive of Unity by Expansion in Space and infinite in Time” and goes on to “‘I am all Space and Time’. Beyond that . . . (It cannot be said).”
When our mind expands across space, the sense of:
- “here” and “there” dissolves
- “you” and “I” dissolves
- The vision becomes holistic, due to which we do not see the forms in isolation anymore; instead, we perceive them as unique, valuable, interconnected parts of the whole.
But there is something rather intriguing in this process of expansion. Unity by expansion in space can be imagined rather easily than infinity in time. Because eternity in space is basically expanding the imagination far and beyond the earth, the solar system, the galaxies, for most of which we have visuals available thanks to modern science. But when it comes to time, science has yet to invent the time machine except in the movies. The immediate approach is to think in the direction of expanding the imagination in time as we know it — basically the past and the future. But the challenge with this is, that we know only a little bit of the past based on history/memory and not at all the future; hence whatever we thus imagine may not be true and so we are kind of stuck with that.
But then here is a possibility to consider: what if expansion in time, or expansion into the past and the future, paradoxically (and practically) happens through the opposite path — not by expansion but by shrinking, leading to a dissolving of the past and future into the eternal now? Beginning with the known before taking a jump in to the unknown? A process of “not adding more” instead of “unlearning”. And this seems possible to do because there is something interesting in this line of thought, that the past and the future do not exist as labelled boxes in us; instead they exist in our mind in the garb of other things.
The past exists in the form of our memories painful/pleasurable, in our guilt about what we did wrong, in our grudge against someone who hurt us, in the pride of our achievements and successes, in the frustration of our failures, in the sense of ownership of the materials/people that we already possess, in the opinions that we cherish, in the prejudices/biases that we so rigidly hold on to and the future exists in our desires/ambitions/fear/anxiety/insecurity of losing what we possess and innumerable other forms. No matter how deep it is, there is a limit to such psychic garbage as long as we do not go on making new. The moment we begin to dispose/drop/reduce this baggage of past/future, the conditionings within Time, we give ourselves the possibility of the window of Eternity to open up with the glimpse of SAT-CHIT-ANANDA — TRUTH/ONENESS/BLISS. Maybe that is why Forgiveness / Contentment / Letting go rank so high up in this process of self transformation.
Of course, if it was that easy, we would not be taking incarnations after incarnations trying to learn and realise that what we carry in our minds as rewards/prized possessions often turn out to be the very cause of our suffering. But again, another idea to explore is that maybe it is really that simple, but the lower mind — notoriously known as the Slayer of the Real — makes it look like a complicated and a daunting task, so that it can then make elaborate plans to find a method, a technique, a philosophy to follow and keep the seeker bound to it, creating one more conditioning, thereby extending its own existence/immortality.
The mind always aims to secure itself from all directions till the end of time but those who try with sincerity always overcome this illusion no matter how many conditions or layers of security the mind creates because in Nature everything is interconnected and has a solution to every problem.
In this context I would like to share the story of Hiranyakaśipu and Prahlada, narrated in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, one of the most profound illustrations of the triumph of devotion over arrogance and divine wisdom over ego. Hiranyakaśipu, the powerful king of the daityas, was consumed by rage after his brother Hiranyaksha was slain by Lord Vishnu. Determined to become invincible, he undertook severe penance to please Lord Brahma. When Brahma appeared, he sought immortality, but when that was denied, he cleverly framed a boon he believed would make death impossible. He asked that he should not die:
at the hands of any human, animal, deva, or asura;
neither during day nor night; neither indoors nor outdoors; not on land, in water, or in the sky; and not by any weapon.
Brahma granted the boon. Convinced of his invincibility, Hiranyakaśipu grew tyrannical, terrorizing the three worlds and demanding that he be worshipped as the supreme God. Yet within his own palace lived his greatest challenge — his young son Prahlada, a steadfast devotee of Lord Vishnu. From early childhood, Prahlad radiated serenity, fearlessness, and unwavering devotion. Enraged that his own son refused to worship him, Hiranyakaśipu tried everything —persuasion, threats, even attempts to end his life — to break Prahlada’s faith, yet he emerged unharmed each time, protected by his devotion.
In utter frustration, Hiranyakaśipu finally demanded, “If Vishnu is everywhere, (Vishnu=all-pervading) is he also in this pillar?” Prahlada calmly replied, “Yes, Father, He is in every atom.” Blinded by fury, Hiranyakaśipu struck the pillar. From it emerged Narasimha, the fourth avatar of Vishnu — neither man nor animal, but both. At twilight, (neither day nor night), Narasimha dragged Hiranyakaśipu to the threshold (neither indoors nor outdoors). Placing him upon his lap (not on earth, water, or sky), and using no weapon but his claws, he ended the demon king’s life. Every clause of the boon was honored, yet divine will prevailed.
The story reminds us that the mind can go on securing itself as a separate unit only to find itself full of fear and anxiety, never realising that no form is secure. The only security lies in realizing the ONENESS OF LIFE. Similar truths echo across traditions — from the Pharaoh and the Exodus to David and Goliath to the Midas touch — affirming that wisdom always finds a way where egoism believes there is none.
Coming back, a natural question should arise: why is it that, despite many events unfolding across the world and much evidence placed before us by science (hence proving the statements from The Mahatma Letters — “Modern science is our best ally”), a majority of minds still do not find this PRINCIPLE of ONENESS appealing enough to work in this direction.
Evidences that modern science shared were the rare opportunities for humanity’s understanding of its oneness — each milestone having the potential to widen our vision and deepen our sense of brotherhood and shared destiny. How much of that potential has flowered into action, is for every one of us to reflect upon.
One such milestone was arrived, perhaps, with a single photograph taken by a human. An image taken and a word coined and added to the dictionary soon after. The picture quietly touched the collective heart of humanity, giving birth to the modern environmental movements and awakening the sense of a shared home.
An event that happened for the first time in human history when humanity saw itself from the outside. In 1968, as Apollo 8 circled the Moon, astronauts captured the now-iconic Earthrise image — because till then we had only heard of sunrise or moonrise — a delicate blue sphere suspended in the vast dark, without borders, divisions. “We set out to explore the Moon and instead discovered the Earth” said William Anders, pilot of Apollo 8.
Somewhat similar was the experience of another astronaut, Ron Garan: I went to space and discovered an enormous lie”. That was their window of eternity. From space, the Earth is one glowing blue sphere with no borders, no divisions. Yet down here, we live as if we are separate, divided by religion, politics, nations.
As the decades progressed, a project that started in 1990, revealed a profound truth in 2003: human beings, across all races and nations, are 99.9% genetically identical. Its name was the Human Genome Project. Biology itself affirmed what wisdom traditions had long whispered — that the differences we cling to, we fight for, we argue for, are tiny compared to the deep kinship we share.
Swami Anand, due to whose inspiration my mother joined the TS, used to say, paraphrasing: “Learn while Nature is offering carrots, otherwise it also has sticks.” The Covid-19 pandemic was one such stick that delivered a harsh, global reminder of our interconnectedness. It revealed that cooperation and compassion are not optional — they are essential for collective survival.
These, and many other insights, are contributions of modern science that help us understand oneness. Yet even without science, a simple observation of ourselves and our surroundings reveals the same truth.
Nature demonstrates oneness through symbiosis. All human beings share the same basic physiology. In death, we all return to the same five elements, irrespective of race, religion, nationality, or gender. We share the same emotions: we laugh and cry alike, seek pleasure, avoid pain, desire love, respect, and care. Yes, our bodies are clearly diverse; but, why do we become divided and separate in thoughts in spite of so many similarities?
Maybe because of yet another aspect of our being that we all share — the mental body wishes to think itself proudly separate, to think much of itself and little of others. When attachment to “I” and “mine” deepens, it builds invisible walls of separation, born out of insecurity ironically to secure itself. And in constructing this pseudo-protective shell, our fundamental relationship with the rest of life quietly slips out of sight.
A small reason. But as a consequence of which, we come face to face with wars, terrorism, global climate crisis, or increasing levels of STRESS/ DEPRESSION/ ANGER in individuals and in relationships. Hence maybe, selfishness or the sense of separateness has been named as the SOURCE OF EVIL. In eastern philosophy it is called IGNORANCE.
But we may ask, have we not realized our relationship now? Do we not care for our family, friends and loved ones? Yes, we all do. Yes, we all sacrifice for the family, friends, loved ones and that is in fact, the way to expand the circle of oneness from Personal to Universal, from Illness of “I” to Wellness of “We”.
But it happens so often that instead of the true nature of people and things, the relationships are based on identities that we carry and expectations based on those identities. These identities or labels that are put on us right from the moment of birth are of course carryovers from the previous births. The labels of gender, name, religion, nationality etc. And gradually we go on adding to this list our likes, dislikes, opinions, prejudices — making the walls of the shell thicker. And behind this multilayered thick shell of labels/identities/conditionings our true nature goes out of sight.
And we begin to attach ourselves to these superficial identities and the relationships too, become, in that sense, superficial because if I identify myself as a body, my relationships will be based on that. If I think I am desires and thoughts, my relationships will be based on my likes/dislikes/ideologies but if I begin to even faintly realize that I am none of that, instead, I am something deeper, grander and universal, my relationship with others will be of completely different quality.
And that quality is LOVE, which is not an emotion, which is not the opposite of hate, LOVE which brings THE LIGHT OF WISDOM along with it and expresses itself as COMPASSION. A state where the I and you begin to fade and UNITY OF LIFE begins to manifest.
However, there is a question, rather a trick that the mind plays by asking frequently about this. If we feel oneness, how will be do our duties towards family or society etc. that we already have.
The Story of the Disciple, the Guru, and the Elephant
A young disciple once lived in an ashram with his wise Guru. The Guru often taught him that the same divine presence lives in all beings — in humans, animals, plants, and the whole universe. The disciple was deeply impressed and tried to remember this teaching in every situation.
One morning, while returning from the village, the disciple heard a loud commotion. An elephant had gone out of control, running wildly down the path. The mahout, the elephant’s controller, was shouting loudly: “Move aside! Move aside! The elephant is mad!”
The villagers quickly ran to safety. But the disciple stood still in the middle of the road. He thought to himself: “My Guru has taught me that the Divine is present in all. If God is in the elephant, then why should I fear? The elephant will not harm me.”
As the elephant rushed forward, the mahout kept shouting for everyone to get away. But the disciple, convinced he was practicing the teaching correctly, did not move. In a moment, the elephant reached him, lifted him with its trunk, and threw him aside. The disciple was badly injured. Later, he was carried back to the ashram. The Guru came to see him and asked gently,
“What happened, my child?”
The disciple replied with pain and confusion: “Master, you said God is in all beings. I saw the Divine in the elephant, so I did not move. But the elephant hurt me. Why did this happen?”
The Guru smiled with compassion and said: “Yes, God is in the elephant — but God was also in the mahout who was shouting at you to get out of the way.”
The right action in this case seems so obvious that one may even smile at the disciple’s misunderstanding of the teaching. But is it so? Crusades, witch hunts, and religious conversions with threat of death. Love — not emotion but Wisdom — means recognising the divine guidance coming from every direction.
So, if a person is becoming more and more unconditional, is actually becoming more and more adjusting to others. As in the Buddha’s teaching of mettā, personal love, is not denied but expanded — until the love one feels for a single being embraces all beings without exception.
Kill out all sense of separateness. . . . Yet stand alone and isolated, because nothing that is embodied, nothing that is conscious of separation, nothing that is out of the Eternal, can aid you. (Light on the Path)
What to do then? How to deal with this shell of sense of separateness? Let us explore some thoughts on this: Across scriptures, philosophies, different paths, one quiet call is heard — come out of the shell of the self.
Live neither in the present nor the future, but in the Eternal. . . . This blot upon existence is wiped out by the very atmosphere of eternal thought. (Light on the Path)
Coming back to where we started — Shrinking / dissolving the past and the future.
To shrink or dissolve the past-future duality, we need to strike at the root cause of all this. Studies show that two-thirds of human behaviour falls into the category of habit. And the most interesting and motivating thing, as I understand, is that the self / sense of separateness / egoism is also fundamentally a habit, just a way of thinking that has developed/ evolved over a period of time due to continuous usage.
It is a plant that lives and increases throughout the ages. It flowers when the man has accumulated unto himself innumerable existences. (Light on the Path)
So, we have to find the antidote of habit. And, looking objectively at the nature of awareness, we may safely say that "Awareness kills habitual or inattentive action".
So, the key here is to be aware of all the things happening inside and outside in any interaction with the surroundings, without the desire to change anything. Gradually when the contents of our sub-conscious/habits come to the surface and we simply observe without reacting, involving or judging, they begin to die down and in this process the shell of I, becomes thinner and thinner, allowing the window of eternity to open up.
Spontaneous Window of Eternity
What happens when something joyful catches our attention? When it happens, our normal reaction to that moment is appreciation. We might say: Wow! It is beautiful/awesome and so on. Basically, a thought comes and some words of appreciation comes out. These days the mobile also comes out to take a photo, selfie and post on social media.
Now, tracing it back, even before the words, there must have been a thought to begin with, although it happened so fast that we may think it did not exist at all.
Let us go back a bit more, before even the thought arose in the mind. What could possibly be there between observation and thought of appreciation?
I would say that there must be a sense of wonder/joy, maybe an element of surprise, and a sense of gratitude. We can say it was a state of being and not thinking. Because the thinker has not yet risen. It does not matter if this window lasts for a few seconds, one second, a microsecond or a nanosecond. What matters is that it does exist in the midst of the rush of our daily life.
How long this window lasts depends again a lot on our habit: whether in this fast-paced life we have developed a habit of judging / reacting to everything immediately on the basis of appearances, instead of being aware with silence and having a holistic view of the situation. And in giving this reaction, we miss the eternal now — the window of eternity — seeing the thing as it is.
That is why a retreat becomes so important. Retreat not only from physical routines but also from emotional/mental routines that we carry. And if a long retreat is not possible then mini-retreats at home can be considered in the busy schedule of the daily life.
And no wonder there is a phrase in almost every language of the world for it:
- Italian — dolce far niente (pleasant idleness)
- Spanish — la vida tranquila (the peaceful life)
- French — joie de vivre (joy of living)
- Chinese (Taoist) — wú wéi (effortless action)
- Sanskrit — nishkāma viśrām (selfless rest)
These are not just moments of laziness or entertainment, but the art of resting, because life is offering the opportunity almost every moment. All of us must have been through this as children. How full of wonder children are whether they see a butterfly, a pebble, a frog, a spider, anything. But as we become adults, the way of life makes us lose this capacity to feel the wonder in the small things of daily life.
But I must say, in spite of all the constant rush of modern living and our habits, every now and then, something catches our “attention”. That “something” can be anything — it can be one of the seven wonders of the world, a leaf falling from a tree and flying hither and thither with the wind, a cactus flower fighting its way up in the middle of the desert, a smile on the face of some co-worker; and it can also be a tear falling from the eyes of a person in need. It can be anything, anywhere — that is not important.
What is important is that it opens up a window, even if it is for a fraction of a second, through which the glimpse of Truth / Oneness enters. And from that glimpse comes out the RIGHT ACTION, if we let it have its way.
When that potential moment of Eternal Now presents itself to us next time, let us try to attend to it totally, completely without making any noise, and probably we may get the glimpse of ONE LIFE, while looking through that window of eternity. As is often said: Truth is not grasped through dramatic moments, but through deep attentiveness to ordinary daily life.
In the Mahachohan’s Letter in 1881, it is said:
Between degrading superstition, and still more degrading brutal materialism, the white dove of truth has hardly room where to rest her weary unwelcome foot.
Humanity has come a long way since then but still that observation feels relevant when blind belief and denial both exist today. It was in such a climate 150 years ago, that the Theosophical Society was founded, not as a belief system, but as an invitation, based on the spirit of enquiry — to perceive the wholeness of LIFE, its interconnection, and its deeper meaning by opening a “small window of eternity”, by lifting the “corner of the veil”, as HPB says.
Today, that window still stands open, but it is up to us to look through it. We are not merely celebrating 150 years of legacy, our being here and being a part of this movement; it is an unsaid commitment to co-work with Nature in the unfolding of a new humanity — one grounded in unity, compassion, and service — beginning with ourselves. And it does not matter whether we are young or old, because life moves in cycles. Young will grow old and the old shall return as young, to reap the fruits of the thoughts, choices, and actions that we sow today. The opportunity is here and now; the response must be ours.
