Cosmogenesis
The Creation of the
Cosmos as Described in
the Stanzas of Dzyan
A Seminar with Martin Leiderman
12-17 June 2012
The Stanzas of Dzyan are considered to be part of the earliest writings on the Ancient wisdom.They are the foundation of H.P. Blavatsky’s major work, The Secret Doctrine.
The seminar provides a unique opportunity for deeper understanding of the Stanzas of Dzyan. The Stanzas will be explored in a modern, illustrative and interactive way. They will be compared with modern science, philosophical traditions and religious stories on the creation of the cosmos and man.
The journey during the seminar:
• Exploring the fundamental ideas found in the Stanzas, which form the basis of the Divine Wisdom.
• Using the Law of Analogy and Correspondence with the help of Plato’s dialogue The Republic
and applying this to The Secret Doctrine.
• Learning and exploring the use of new tools for the approach of the archetypical Ideas found in
the Stanzas, and integrating these ideas as a One-All vision (Buddhi) of our Life and our Existence.
Lectures and workshops:
• The Big Question and the Big Picture in The Secret Doctine.
• The Secret Doctrine: Its main Ideas.
• Workshop: linking and connecting the Archetypical Ideas found in The Secret Doctrine.
• Before the Beginning: Universe at Rest.
• Understanding the Law of Analogy.
• Workshop: Applying the Law of Analogy and Correspondence using Plato’s Republic and
The Secret Doctrine.
• The Idea of the Logos and the Three Logoi.
• The Manifestation of the Universe and of Man
• Workshop: The Analogy of the Macrocosms (Universe) to the Microcosms (Man).
• The Hierarchy of the Divine Beings. Their Numerical, Geometrical and Religious keys.
• The Cosmic Pilgrimage of the Human Being.
• Humanity: Past, Present, and Future. The Apocalyptic Stanzas of Dzyan.
Participants will receive a small reader of the Seven Stanzas with a short glossary of the non-English terms used, as well as several quotes from The Secret Doctrine. Participants are requested to bring their own copy of The Secret Doctrine.
The speaker
Martin Leiderman is an Industrial Engineer, resident of Los Angeles, working for an electronic avionics company. He is a long time student of theosophy as well as a national and international lecturer in Spanish and English. He, with his wife Susan, holds a weekly study group at his home and participates in the Spanish Study Group in Los Angeles. He is also presently a Board Member of the Krotona Institute of Theosophy.
Time schedule
Tuesday 12th June afternoon/evening: arrivals and registration. 18.00 dinner, followed by an informal meeting.
Wednesday morning: start of the program.
Sunday 17th after lunch: closing session.
The International Theosophical Centre
The ITC aims to be an active and inspiring spiritual centre, contributing to the service of the world and the uplifting of mankind in particular. The ITC therefore invites people at the Centre to work on the process of human regeneration through individual transformation.
Any stay at the Center is meant to promote quietness of mind, peace and a harmonious life. Therefore smoking or using drugs on the estate is not allowed; furthermore only vegetarian meals and non-alcoholic beverages may be consumed.
Registration
Please note that the number of places is limited. We therefore use the following registration procedure:
• Registration for the full seminar can only be done before 15 May.
• Reservation will only be made final after payment of the fee.
• A refund minus € 50 will be given in case of cancellation before 1st June.
• Day visitors are advised to register in advance in order to receive a hand out. Fee: € 20 for TS members and € 30 for non-TS members. Please note that only soup will be provided for day visitors, so bring your own sandwiches.
Please send the registration form to:
International Theosophical Centre
Seminar registration
Valkeveenselaan 19, 1411 GT Naarden
The Netherlands
Email:
The registration form can also be downloaded
from the website: www.itc-naarden.org
Have a good look around at the Centre reading Theosophy Forward’s Special Edition entitled ITC From Past to Future. Click here
Martin Leiderman
Mini interview with Martin*
1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?
My name is Martin Leiderman. I was born in Venezuela, but now live in Los Angeles, California. I have been a member of the Society since the 1980s.
2. Are you active in your Lodge/Section and if so, what do you do?
I lead the West Los Angeles Study Group with my wife Susan, meeting weekly in our home. In 2011 we are taking a closer look at The Mahatma Letters through Joy Mills’s new book Reflections on an Ageless Wisdom. I also attend and lead two monthly meetings at the Spanish-speaking Centro de Estudios Teosóficos Los Angeles; with them I also facilitate a yearly retreat at the Krotona Institute in Ojai, California.
I’m a Director on the Board of the Krotona Institute of Theosophy in Ojai. I also serve as a national lecturer on Theosophical topics. Every year I try to give at least one international and one national lecture or seminar. In 2010 this included a wonderful weeklong seminar for the Summer School of the TS in Spain on the Stanzas of Dzyan from Cosmogenesis, and a program in Krotona. In March 2011, I’ll present this to the Florida Federation. For 2012 I received an invitation to present it at the International Theosophical Center in Naarden, the Netherlands.
3. How did your first learn about Theosophy or come in contact with the Society?
As with most people, I have a story. It started in my late teens. My brother showed me a book titled The Third Eye by Lobsang Rampa. It took me a few weeks to find a bookstore in Caracas carrying that book. One Saturday I walked in the bookstore asked the manager for it. His answered startled me: 'You don't want to read that. Here you have it, read and study this book.' What he had picked up was volume one of The Secret Doctrine. I bought it. Curiosity crept into my soul. Needless to say, I did not understand anything in it on the first reading. I went back to challenge the store manager on the meaning and purpose of this book. He suggested that I join a study group. So I did. And that started my Theosophical life. I finally joined the Los Angeles Lodge of the TS in America in the mid to late 1980s.
4. What does Theosophy mean to you?
It means Divine-Wisdom. To me, on a personal and practical level, it means the study, understanding, meditation, and ultimately apprehension and contemplation of the divine ideas preexisting in the Logos, which in time brings about an illuminated mind and a virtuous life. These “ideas” modeled all beings and things by informing and giving them their purpose, function, and reason of existence. Then Theosophy becomes a living experience—realizing, beholding, and sharing with others the laws of nature and the occult relations of all beings.
5. What is your favorite Theosophical book and why?
It is The Secret Doctrine. In this book, the archetypical ideas that I just spoke of are best described. It describes and points out the source, development, and occult mechanisms of all that is. In it one finds the ideas to behold. Of course, it must be complemented with the writings of Plato, the Bhagavad Gita, and many others.
6. What in your opinion is the biggest challenge the TS Adyar (as an organization) is facing at the moment?
The TS-Adyar faces many challenges. On one hand, it must strive to promote the Society's three Objects and to see its membership grow. On the other hand, it must provide and promote local and international training in leadership, public speaking, and education of its members on Theosophical ideas and ideals. Therefore I see the role of the TS-Adyar as one of spearheading and leadership, making sure that the keynotes of divine wisdom, the ones found in The Key to Theosophy, Isis Unveiled, Voice of the Silence, The Secret Doctrine, and The Mahatma Letters are continuously revitalized in a manner that can be promoted, presented, and understood in the present time.
7. Is there anything you would wish for the future of the Theosophical movement?
I hope that the Theosophical movement will become the embodiment of the three Objects and that its members will become more outspoken in their support of the first Object. We should be vocal against discrimination of any kind facing the world today, including gender, sexual orientation, color, age, and caste. We should also publish papers and hold public panels on comparative religions, support investigations into the occult side of nature, and become a role model of virtuous life. We should exalt all that is for the betterment of humanity, all that is excellence in arts and sciences, in religious and philosophical ideas. We should be doing good for goodness sake. We should openly share Theosophical ideas on deity and soul. We should emphasize the need for a Theosophical life rich with study, meditation, and service.
*Published on Theosophy Forward in February 2011