Theos-Talk Archives (January 1998 Message tt00323)

Bart Lidofsky wrote in reply to Dr. A. M. Bain and MKR
>      I am most certainly not an E.S. member. If the E.S. bore more than a surface resemblance to the one described by HPB in her articles (found in COLLECTED WRITINGS), then I would have been most interested in joining. The E.S. was originally formed by the suggestion of the Mahatma's, which appeared to be more or less, "Well, if they want their own religion, give them their own club." HPB turned it into more than that, however. She turned it into a school, where members could learn the disciplines necessary to begin to work with the occult so that they could use the occult as a means of spiritual growth, and avoid the trap of using it for personal empowerment. It remained so under Annie Besant until she fell under the spell of the "world teacher" movement, to the point that when Krishnamurti decided that he didn't want to face the temptations of Satan in the desert any more (if you're not familiar with the New Testament story, read it. It is a wonderful explanation of why s!
o many religious leaders fail) she dissolved the E.S. as well, and only brought it back under pressure from the non-Krishnamurti followers.
>
>     The way the organization works now, I consider it an organization to prevent investigation into the occult, rather than to give the means for doing so with relative safety. Some of the rules appear to me personally to be based in ignorance, and, in spite of definite and conscious efforts to keep this from happening, cause appearance to become more important than substance in many cases.
>
>     Besides, I eat meat.
>
>     Bart Lidofsky

The longer I associate with the TS, the more I agree with Bart's
analysis. The present attitude held by the ES *seems* more
counterproductive to the evolution of the life within and may be the
singular causative reason d'etre at the foundation of the TS (since
most, if not all current leaders of the TS are members of the ES)  for
the dwindling recognition and acceptance of it as a channel for the
descimination of true esoteric teachings.

Alexander Sprinkle