Theos-Talk Archives (July 1997 Message tt00018)

Greetings!

In 1970 I was temporary resident at Adyar.  Speaking with John
Coats at lunch one day I suggested that the Blavatsky Bungalow
was under-utilised and offered a suggestion.  Every week a large
number of people come to see the banyan tree and look at the
estate; they then depart knowing little more about the TS.  I
suggested that the Blavatsky Building be made an audio-visual
expo on the TS and theosophy open to the public.  John exclaimed,
"What a good idea, when can you start?" It was impossible for me
to do this as I was working full-time earning a living in
Australia.  His response taught me a lesson which I frequently
forget- do not expect others to do all the work while one is
content to just talk.

I feel the impact of this lesson here as I participate in the
discussion about unity in the theosophical work.  We need to take
care, do we not, to avoid endless discussion without action
resulting.  We might get to the stage that the olden theologians
reached when they argued about the number of angels that could
dance on the head of a pin!.

Moves in the direction of unity on the internet may be helpful,
but in the final resort, it is the people who need to physically
move into unity in the way that began at the centenary conference
where a number of delegates from various societies participated.

Coming back to the core of the discussion one message just
through mentions diferences of opinion about devachan.  My father
was fond of saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the
bathwater!" If one rejects the whole corpora of one major
theosophical figure because of differences with the statements of
another, surely that might be what we are doing! If scientists-
particularly cosmologists- adopted a similar attitude scientific
progress would not be a quick as it is.

To digress (I think), on Sunday I depart east to attend a TS
science symposium near Brisbane.  Attending will be an
astronomer, geologist, neurophysiologist, physician, and many
other professionals.  I will be airing a proposal to establish an
international association to locate and investigate new
scientific theories and discoveries that have relevancy to our
theosophical work; to determine, if possible, whether any such
data supports, amplifies, or questions theosophy.  Like science,
I would hope that this endeavor will transcend factional
boundaries.

If anyone is interested in associating themselves with this
project please do not hesitate to let me know by e.mail.

Best wishes,  Philip Harris