H. P. Blavatsky
“In the present state of society, especially in so-called civilized countries, we are continually brought face to face with the fact that large numbers of people are suffering from misery, poverty, and disease.
Their physical condition is wretched, and their mental and spiritual faculties are often almost dormant. On the other hand, many persons at the opposite end of the social scale are leading lives of careless indifference, material luxury, and selfish indulgence.
Neither of these forms of existence is mere chance. Both are the effects of the conditions which surround those who are subject to them, and the neglect of social duty on the one side is most closely connected with the stunted and arrested development on the other.
In sociology, as in all branches of true science, the law of universal causation holds good. But this causation necessarily implies, as its logical outcome, that human solidarity on which Theosophy so strongly insists. If the action of one reacts on the lives of all, and this is the true scientific idea, then it is only by all men becoming brothers and all women sisters, and by all practising in their daily lives true brotherhood and true sisterhood, that the real human solidarity, which lies at the root of the elevation of the race, can ever be attained.
It is this action and interaction, this true brotherhood and sisterhood, in which each shall live for all and all for each, which is one of the fundamental Theosophical principles that every Theosophist should be bound, not only to teach, but to carry out in his or her individual life.”
–The Key to Theosophy, H. P. Blavatsky
SOLIDARITY Through MUSIC
Our friend Pierre Wouters in Antwerp, Belgium, sent us the following:
For those who need a soul-boost, can spare 15 minutes of their time, understand English, and like music, check out this video and pump up the jam!
An interview with Bill Moyers and filmmaker Mark Johnson – of the music documentary “Playing4change-Peace through Music.”
Bill Moyers Journal . Watch & Listen | PBS
Interview Transcript
BILL MOYERS: … there will be much to repair, if we have the will for it. So it seems a good moment to introduce you to someone of the next generation who hasn’t given up on either our humanity or our future together.
Mark Johnson is the co-director of a remarkable documentary about the simple but transformative power of music: PLAYING FOR CHANGE: PEACE THROUGH MUSIC.
MARK JOHNSON: Well I think music is the one thing that opens the door to bringing people to a place where they are all connected. It is easy to connect to the world through music, you know. Religion, politics, a lot of those things they seem to divide everybody.
BILL MOYERS: The film brings together musicians from around the world – from blues singers in a waterlogged New Orleans, to chamber groups in Moscow and a South African choir – they celebrate songs familiar and new, to touch something common in each of us.
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Together
A dynamic, personal and compassion filled comment by Helena Blavatsky is found in her The Key To Theosophy, answering the question “What is Practical Theosophy?”:
“The giving to others more than to oneself — self-sacrifice. Such was the standard and abounding measure which marked so pre-eminently the greatest Teachers and Masters of Humanity — e. g., Gautama Buddha in History, and Jesus of Nazareth as in the Gospels.
“The Theosophical ideas of charity mean personal exertion for others; personal mercy and kindness; personal interest in the welfare of those who suffer; personal sympathy, forethought and assistance in their troubles or needs. We Theosophists do not believe in giving money (N. B., if we had it) through other people’s hands or organizations.
“We believe in giving to the money a thousandfold greater power and effectiveness by our personal contact and sympathy with those who need it. We believe in relieving the starvation of the soul, as much if not more than the emptiness of the stomach.”
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-12.htm