Theos-Talk Archives (April 2000 Message tt00114)

At 10:18 AM 04/25/2000 EDT, you wrote on theos-talk:
>In a message dated 4/6/00 12:54:43 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
ramadoss@eden.com writes:

<< Here are some feedback from some of those who have read the book. I have
 excerpted from the amazon and barnes&nobles sites.
 
 Hope some might find it interesting.
 
 mkr
 =================
 
 The Inner Life of Krishnamurti : Private Passion and
                      Perennial Wisdom 
                      by Aryel Sanat 
                      List Price: $16.95
 ==========
 Here is a comment from amazon.com customer
 
 A reader from San Felipe, CA      February 21, 2000
 This book is not about the title but more about attempting to validate
 claims made by the Theosophical Society and the subject of the book.
 The author says his book takes no viewpoint on these matters and he
 invites "positive" criticism of his work, yet he cuts short such evaluation
 by saying all of his remarks are "facts." These facts actually, in every
 case, are quotes--the opinions of various, mostly Theosophical
 sources--since how, indeed, can one PROVE that the Theosophical Society has
 been tapped to save the world by Himalayan "masters" known only to them or
 that Krishnamurti was the "second coming of Christ" or the Buddha Maitreya?
 These contentions are the focal points of the book. The many inferences the
 author otherwise makes between what Krishnamurti said at various times in
 his life that were contradictory and "what is" remain debatable. As
 Krishnamurti himself spoke of his source of inspiration as "the Other," we
 must assume that Krishnamurti the man existed separately as an individual
 and was prone to the occasional contradictions and foibles of individuals.
 In the last chapter, the author closes with a further note of confusion,
 stating that the entire book "may be transcended." 
 
 Another reader from Albuquerqui, NM -- February 19, 2000
 
 The title of this book indicates that Krishnamurti had an "outer" and an
 "inner" life, the latter to be reveal by the author. However, it was my
 impression that this book is merely restatement of the old agendas of the
 Theosophical Society in Krishnamurti packaging, to wit: the Theosophical
 Society is the crucible of all esoteric knowledge; the T.S. was annointed
 by "Masters" unrecognized by any other faith but believed by them to rule
 the affairs of the world and to "save" said world; Krishnamurti was the
 second coming of Christ (called the Buddha Maitreya by the T.S.) appointed
 and trained by the Masters as the only means of world salvation in this
 age. Additionally, he was the sole beneficiary of the highest initiation
 process ever performed on a human. The author invites "positive" criticism
 of his ideas, but cautions that since his research is based in "fact" only,
 that he has no viewpoint to debate.
 To those who find elitist theologies appealing, this book will be intriguing.
 
 ==================
 A reader from Barnes & Noble:
 
 February 22, 2000,  
 
 Book's agenda is clouded
 Was Krishnamurti always 'channelling' his inspirational ideas at the
 highest level or did he sometimes act like a human being 'off stage' and
 get caught up in certain illusions? Aryel Sanat (or Miguel Sanabria, as he
 also calls himself on the jacket) goes to unnecessary lengths to try to
 reconcile Krishnamurti's sometimes contradictory words and behavior. Most
 great gurus have exhibited a dichotomy but Sanat, a lecturer at
 Theosophical groups, seems to want people to regard Krishnamurti and the
 Theosophical Society as a 'cut above' other teachers and societies. His
 book sets out to prove that
 Krishnamurti was none other than Christ reborn and the Theosophical Society
 (like the B'hais, it might be said) the vehicle for world salvation. The
 proof the author feels he must offer is self-referencing quotes among
 Theosophists, former Theosophists, one nameless Buddhist monk, and
 Krishnamurti himself.
 It's difficult to take this serious subject seriously when the author
 himself states in his last chapter that we might just as well 'transcend'
 everything he has tried to say.>>

>To Ramadoss,
Thanks for sharing these "reviews" with everyone on these lists, in which 
there is interest, for diverse reasons, in things having to do with K, the 
perennial philosophy, and the TS.  I had read the two that appeared on 
amazon.com, but not the one from B&N.  For whatever it's worth, I had quite a 
belly laugh with the first two, when I first read them; ditto just now.  I 
could not shake the impression that this was just one person, using somehow 
two different e-mail addresses, and that this person may be a fundamentalist 
Christian (FC).  <

You may be right.

>As you know from a discussion that appeared in the act-I 
list a while back, such groups have apparently tried to take over the TS, 
very recently, thus becoming part of a VERY LONG history of not very 
CHRISTIAN behavior on the part of FCs, since the 1870s. <<<

I disagree with your conclusions. 

I know of no attempts by any groups taking over TS. 

The only attempt was to improve TSA and and was spear headed by many long
time devoted independent minded members of TS none of whom as far as I know
has anything to do with FC in any shape or form. If you have any specific
information to the contrary, all of us on this free "uncensored" list would
like to learn. 

>That failing, other approaches continue to be used.<

Again this is an interesting info. Would you please share all the info you
have will all of us here?


>  I remember how at various times during the 1970s, there would be FCs
near where the K talks were held in Ojai, trying to save our souls from
that devil.<

I am not surprised at what you saw in 1970. Another irony, many
theosophical members do not know that one of the trustees who sued K for
multi-million dollars was some time ago sitting on the Board of Directors
of TSA and it was a revelation when I found out about it and many others
were also surprised.


>The "reviewer" from B&N, however, strikes me more as someone who knows very 
little about either theosophy or K, but who for that very reason feels 
qualified to discourse hysterically on the subject.  After all, WE all know 
theosophy & K (not to mention the TS) are nothing but a lot of hogwash.  
Well, don't WE?  WE don't need to go into all that tiring list of major 
influences the theosophical movement had in the creation of the perennial 
renaissance, which is in fact the backbone of all culture, throughout the 
planet, do WE?  After all, OUR minds are made up:  Please, please, don't 
bother US with so many facts; they give US a headache THIS big!
If anyone reading this sees any value on specific comments made in these 
"reviews," though, I would really like to hear them.  If so, I would very 
strongly appreciate specific references, facts, and evidence.  Generalities 
based on unsupported opinions tend not to interest me very much.  At best, 
they can give me new & improved belly laughs.<

Once a book gets published, there is going to be varied feedback from a
variety of readers. So I am not surprised either.


>Again, thanks for putting a big smile on my face this morning!
Blessings,
Aryel<

PS: By the way, until you posted the msg on act-l, I did not know that you
had published the book. Thanks for the msg and I am sure it gave publicity
reaching to many interested in theosophy and K.


-- THEOSOPHY WORLD -- Theosophical Talk -- theos-talk@theosophy.com

Letters to the Editor, and discussion of theosophical ideas and
teachings. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message consisting of
"subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to theos-talk-request@theosophy.com.