Theos-Talk Archives (April 2001 Message tt00121)

>Well, I guess now we have to figure out what would be the criteria for what
>would be called progress. Worldwide membership in the Adyar TS has been
>dropping since 1933. I think we can deduct from this information that the
>Organization has been becoming progressively less relevant over the last sixty years.
>Is this a criteria?


Dear Jerry, yes it is. Surely a minor one, but it is. Membership is an material sign, not a spiritual. But one could say that the physical size of an organization or a human body says not much of the quality of the soul. But one can extrapolate that a significant decrease over decades is a result of an inner dissatisfaction. A vote with the feet as we say in German. On the other hand Occultism says that there a cycles within cylces and pukka Theosophists should not draw quick conlusions from reduced facts. Perhaps der TS, the TM, has done all of its inner potential power to its absolute limit but there were counterforces which prevented more "success". But this is questionable. The whole historization from 1875 on shows to me that the Theosophists collectively seldom went to their sublime ideal limit. It seems that we have worked out - bound to old astral tracks of the former cycle - the relatively low level.
Another sign for success - perhaps more important than the outer signs - may be the inner quality which affected both members and the radiation of the thought powers into the astral world. We should not forget that the most cheif aim of the founding of the modern TS was to condemn spiritism, psychism and cruelty of all kinds. In other words to uplift humanity to the higher level of spiritual thought. The TS should be the agent to evolve the buddhis and the manas of the kama of humankind. But how can we dectect such a success? Is is much harder then to have a look into the membership role.
Another sign could be the quality of the literary output. Have we made progress in the last decades, all in all? What about the quality of the journals?
Is the surprizing growth of "internet theosophy" the answer? Is the cyberspace the answer to tired bodies?
Radha Burnier once said: We have as a TS such a low level because we have not better members. Is there no single individual in the whole world who is fit and trained and experienced enough to do a good President job? What is the deadline for nominations?
Why you do not run, Jerry? I would vote for you!
Frank