Bella and Tarra

“Whatever that be which thinks, which understands, which wills, which acts, it is something celestial and divine, and upon that account must necessarily be eternal.” -CICERO

The writer of The Secret Doctrine, the influential Theosophist and recognized Mother of the New Age, H. P. Blavatsky, was an impassioned campaigner for the abolition of vivisection and animal cruelty. For her, these were not political or sentimental causes, or her only causes. She founded a school for abused working girls in England, and was a pioneer Suffragette.

Her actions were rooted in a conviction of the spiritual unity and equality of human kind; the truth of the consciousness and intelligence of all beings— even infinitesimal atoms and cells — the soul of things “ever present and ubiquitous” was, and is, the foundation principle of Theosophy.

The Shift

Uncounted numbers in all walks of life have dedicated themselves to this shift in consciousness — the reality of the sacred—just as did our early American ancestors. Native American cultures practiced gratitude rituals to the Great Spirit, whenever necessity required to take food, clothing or shelter from living nature.

The still widespread influence of materialism in our attitudes about life on this planet, beg for an ethical evangelism. What proofs do we have that “it is not spirit that dwells in matter, but matter which clings temporarily to spirit,” as Blavatsky taught, “and that [spirit] alone is an eternal, imperishable abode for all things visible and invisible?” (Isis Unveiled 1:428)

Steve Hartman of CBS News recently visited “an animal sanctuary where”, he writes, “a dog and an elephant have formed a very lasting, and unusual, friendship. … They harbor no fears, no secrets, no prejudices. Just two living creatures who somehow managed to look past their immense differences. Take a good look at this couple, America. Take a good look world. If they can do it – what’s our excuse?” Jan. 2, 2009 Animal Odd Couple.

Bella and Tarra

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“As a true sanctuary, it is not intended to provide entertainment,” The Elephant Sanctuary website states. “[T]he Sanctuary is closed to the general public. Education, however, represents a key component of the Sanctuary’s ongoing mission. Since its inception, the Sanctuary’s outreach program has taught thousands of school children around the globe a respect for wildlife while learning about the endangered Asian elephant.”

Travels With Tarra, by Carol Buckley

“Based on the same foundation-stone — the ancient Mysteries — the primitive religions,” Blavatsky wrote, “all without one exception, reflect the most important of the once universal beliefs…an impersonal and universal divine Principle, absolute in its nature, and unknowable to the ‘brain’ intellect, or the conditioned and limited cognition of man. … Universal Mind, the Soul of the universe…” –(The Mind in Nature)

Delhi and Misty

“After more than a year in quarantine undergoing successful treatment for TB, Misty’s big day finally arrived: she was released to go meet her new herd. What a surprise when Misty realized one of the elephants was an old friend she had not seen since they had performed together in the circus many years ago. Delhi and Misty shared a tender reunion and have been inseparable ever since.” The Elephant Sanctuary

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“Physical science has already reached its limits of exploration; dogmatic theology sees the springs of its inspiration dry. The day is approaching when the world will receive the proofs that only ancient religions were in harmony with nature, and ancient science embraced all that can be known.”
(The Mind in Nature)

“Man is endowed with reason, the infant with instinct; and the young animal shows more of both than the child.” – H. P. Blavatsky

Healing and Social Bonds

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“The ‘soul in animals’ is, in the opinion of Bossuet, ‘the most difficult as the most important of all philosophical questions.’ … physical, exact research offers no grounds for the presumption that man is endowed with an immortal, divine soul, any more than his dog. … either both are endowed by nature with what is so loosely called by us ‘soul,’ or neither the one nor the other is so endowed.”

Elephant’s Mourning

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“Descartes held the living animal as being simply an automaton, a ‘well wound up clock-work.’ [S]ince that automaton is capable of feelings, such as love, gratitude, and is endowed as undeniably with memory… if the animal is an “automaton,” why not Man? Exact science– anatomy, physiology, etc., finds not the smallest difference between the bodies of the two.”

Grace: A Mother’s Anguish

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“Serving” man, surely cannot mean being tortured, killed, uselessly shot and otherwise misused; while it is almost needless to explain the word “renovation.” Christians understand by it the renovation of bodies after the second coming of Christ; and limit it to man, to the exclusion of animals. The students of the Secret Doctrine explain it by the successive renovation and perfection of forms on the scale of objective and subjective being, and in a long series of evolutionary transformations from animal to man, and upward. . . .”

Family is Home

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“Studies, Behavior Prove There Is More Going On In Animals’ Minds Than We Thought Possible”

“(CBS): It seems like every month or so, there’s another study coming out saying animals are smarter than we think. So what do animals think … and what do they think of us? Some revelations about animal intelligence from Tracy Smith.”

“What are they thinking?”

“If you’ve always suspected that animals are smarter than they get credit for, that there’s more going on behind those eyes than a desire for food or attention … you’re not alone.”

“In some species, especially elephants, great apes and marine mammals, the old phrase ‘dumb animal’ borders on heresy.”

“In fact, the line between human and animal intelligence is fading fast.”

“I think it is fair to say that literally, monthly, there are fairly major discoveries about things that we long thought were unique to humans, now look like some of the building blocks are in place in other animals,” said Harvard professor Marc Hauser. […]”

“Are animals attached to us? Absolutely,” Hauser said. “When you leave your pet behind, you see signs of depression. Is it like our depression? Well, I don’t know if it’s like our depression. I don’t even know what your depression would be like, relative to my depression. But do animals feel strong bonds? Undoubtedly, yes.”

“Can we call that love?” Smith asked.”

“Why not?” Hauser said.”

“Of course, the question of whether the capacity for love makes animals more intelligent is probably best left to the individual … of whatever species.”

LAST WORD

Helena Blavatsky

“For verily when the world feels convinced — and it cannot avoid coming one day to such a conviction — that animals are creatures as eternal as we ourselves, vivisection and other permanent tortures, daily inflicted on the poor brutes, will, after calling forth an outburst of maledictions and threats from society generally, force all Governments to put an end to those barbarous and shameful practices.”
– H.P. BLAVATSKY

Mona Stratos, Woodstock, CT "Sunlight on Cedars" (2009) http://www.monastratos.com