Theos-Talk Archives (August 1999 Message tt00062)

Here's another concept that I think as Theosophists we should consider...
being of relatively small size, a way of broadening our influence and
educating others about our goals, would be to enter single issue coalitions
with larger groups having similar goals. Actually the communists used this
technique as an organizing strategy for years and were very successful at
it.

I personally witnessed their capability at a Convention of the California
Peace and Freedom Party years ago when they were able to coalesce with a
small but militant band of better organized individuals who then made a
binding coalition with the larger Party. Worked like a charm! Maybe you
heard of Fellow Travelers? Our goals of course are totally different, but
maybe there's something to learn from the reds after all.

What you would do is have a single issue coalition with a larger
organization... say agree to support an agenda of vegetarianism with one of
the larger Vegetarian movements. Work very hard at this coalition... Show
the larger organization how valuable you can be ... in the process you
educate them as to your goals...after a time , more people become
sympathetic to the theosophic society and membership will increase.

Earlier historical  models of the above now occur to me. I think there was
an interesting coalition of sorts between the theosophic society and
Buddhists in Ceylon as well as early Buddhists scholars as Buddhism spread
the West. Recall when Blavatsky and Olcott took formal vows to become
Buddhists? This was in India... By doing so, they lent their support which
under colonial rule was important as hitherto Westerners had been more
towards the Christian Missionary sort. This elevated the theosophical
society in the mind of the Buddhists... in some cases lent them valuable
support.. it provided a bridge for young scholars to study Buddhism through
the auspices or the generosity of the theosophic movement. As a result much
of the early scholarly work on Buddhism in the west was done by
theosophists...I'm sure the foreign missionary organizations were furious
to learn theosophists were supporting Buddhism, but the TS would never
expect any support from evangelists either.

In a somewhat similar vein there was probably an alignment between early
nineteenth century theosophists and the American Spiritualist movement.
Again Olcott and Blavatsky made a team in focusing intertest in theosophy
in a broader movement of Spiritualism thus attracted new interest...

Similarly when Annie Besant aligned herself and hence the TS with the
independence movement in India... I believe she certainly believed in
Indian independence... it also gave the TS an educational and social focus
that drew support from a hitherto unorganized or brader social movement in
India ...So what if the British loyalists got upset? The TS never would
have gotten their support anyway..

By aligning ourselves with Yoga (a broader movement) we can also influence
a larger more diffuse movement and get potential support.

Just as Buddhism and theosophy had close ties early in this century, I
might suggest that the modern day theosophists consider ties with Jaina
Dharma. Offer to aid them and support them in their activities... Jainism
has a lot of redeeming social values and is very rational. It has a variety
of Yoga that is sensible and balanced.

- Art Gregory


lgregory@discover.net




















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