Theos-Talk Archives (August 2001 Message tt00126)

Monday, August 13, 2001

Dear Gregory:

I am quite sure that H.P.Blavatsky did not write about the
various Races of men that were on the decline (as considered from
the point of view of Theosophical progress, evolution and
vocabulary) in any sense as similar to our present
anthropological concepts of race, racism, etc.

Theosophy views the physiological races as the temporary
residences of immortal reincarnating EGOS. From that point of
view a physiological race may actually decline and eventually
vanish from the point of view of heredity. Though I would
observe that those close distinctions that prevailed as to
locality and racial characteristics were more sharply identified
in her days than ours -- due to the great then prevailing
restrictions in travel.

No slurs are cast by her (in this context) on any "race" as we
used the term today. In fact under Theosophical theory and
teaching the EGO uses the race-body best suited to its individual
development when it reincarnates -- that is, if we accept the
concept of individual KARMA melding at all times with the World,
and country Karma on the time. Heredity merely serves to
indicate the formation of a group of peculiarly characteristics
that are developed in a "race." Their physiological heredity has
something to do with that.

It is most unfortunate that in the past 1,000 or more years, our
history traces many instances of genocide based on prejudices or
a social, a religious, or a hereditary base -- and pay little
attention to INDIVIDUALS and their development as persons during
a particular era and at a particular time.

The norms that we have framed and adopted are not necessarily
universally true either in the past or the present. Therefore i
say the whole of the Theosophical philosophy has to be considered
and checked to see if it is as complete and intermeshing as it
claims.

Of course if the Theosophical scheme is rejected, any explanation
falls to the ground. But I would observe that our science is
very accurate in observation, and quite inaccurate in trying to
review and devise answers that when applied theoretically,
explain the past. There are constant revision being made. The
motives considered to be anthropologically active of our society
are not necessarily the motives of a past, or a different one,
that exists elsewhere today.

Best wishes,

Dallas

========================

-----Original Message-----
From: gregory@zeta.org.au [mailto:gregory@zeta.org.au]
Sent: Sunday, August 12, 2001 12:16 PM
To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: Theos-World Indigenous Australians

Any reference to indigenous Australians in relation to Theosophy
is
somewhat unfortunate given the racist comments made about them by
Theosophical writers, including Blavatsky. Admittedly, none has
quite
surpassed Leadbeater's promotion of a quasi-thoeosphical genocide
as the
solution to the "karmic" problem (?) of Australian Aboriginal
people, but
others like Jinarajadasa seem to have tried valiantly to do so.
His
"First Principles of Theosophy" heads enthusiastically in the
direction
of the Nazi's pseudo-science of racial "classification". This has
been
claimed as the reason the book has never been reprinted by the
TPH in the
USA (although one US publisher has indeed recently released a
reprint of
the work). Ignorance of science can, presumably, explain the
strangely
racist views of Blavatsky, Leadbeater et al towards the
indigenous
peoples of Australia. One would be hard pressed to argue that
they
possessed insights into "universal wisdom" in this regard. It is
either
ironic or scandalous to note that various TS groups in Australia
offer
lectures on such topics as the "Wisdom of the Australian
Aborigines"
while still selling (and sometimes in modern editions) works
which define
them as less than fully human. Of course, it is more common for
the TPH
to selectively edit out the more blatant racism from the writings
of
Leadbeater and others. For a country still (after 200 years)
struggling
to find a place in its family of humanity for its first peoples,
the
standard works of theosophical writers have only a message of
despair.
The influence of theosophy on various forms of racism against
Australian
Aborigines is a topic which warrants further historical study.

Gregory Tillett



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