Theos-Talk Archives (August 2001 Message tt00263)

At 12:01 PM 8/27/01 -0400, you wrote:
> Adelasie,
> I also agree with your and Peter's assessment of the situation. Part of it
> may be Frank's difficulty with the language, but attacking Dallas
> personally reflects on Frank.
> lurker,
> Bill
I think that we all have times when we may
irritate others. There may be times when the
irritation persists to the point that someone
gets angry and responds in that anger.

Dallas has been fairly persistent in presenting
and representing the particular slant on
theosophical history that comes out of the ULT
old guard. This view of history is not binding
on ULT members, and is subject to amendment
based upon new information.

Each theosophical group has its own favorite
secondary authors, following HPB. Each group
also teaches a history that paints itself in
a positive light, and often paints the other
groups negatively. I belive those sectarian
histories need to make way for a history that
is not dominated by any theosophical group (and
having a conflict of interest situation where
it has to promote its sponsoring group in the
best possible light).

Early ULT history may conflict with early
Point Loma history regarding the roles of
Robert Crosbie and Katherine Tingley in the
history of the Movement. As long as members
of the groups require a slant on the history
that makes them special, and may put down
the other groups, we'll continue divided
from one another by a spirit of sectarianism.

I think that after all the feedback, Frank
is aware that his anger wasn't helpful. The
other side to this is also important. We need
to be aware that any sectarian (one-sided,
organization-specific and sponsored) slant on
history is going to be found offensive to
members of the other groups in our theosophical
family.

The era of put down's is over, I think. In
the 1920's, the theosophical groups were into
attacking each other. Moving Theosophy into
the future, we need to accept the positive in
all the groups, put aside the historic differences,
and accept the best that we all have to offer.

This means accepting Crosbie AND Tingley
both in their best faces. It means letting
conflicting organization claims of the past
be dropped. It means that we stop playing the
game of "my lineage is better than yours is."

Let's not get angry when someone needles us
about theosophical history, of the ULT, Point
Loma, Adyar, or whatever. And not provoke anyone's
anger by constantly putting down the theosophical
luminaries of the lineages that they follow.

We are all of the same lineage, that of
the Theosophical Movement. The organizations
that we belong to are secondary. The work is
carried on through all of us, to the extent we
make ourselves capable. Let's leave the past
behind and focus on what is needed now to
carry things forward.

-- Eldon