Theos-Talk Archives (January 2002 Message tt00406)

Perhaps the question should be, if HPB were around
today would she be a Theosophist or a theosophist?


--- Gerald Schueler <gschueler@earthlink.net> wrote:
> <<<Among theosophists, or people who study
> theosophy, I assumed I would find a dedication to
> the teaching and devotion to the founders. After
> some discussion, I find this is not the uniformly
> the case, and I confess to some surprise. I wonder
> then what is the motivation of those who prefer to 
> question and doubt, but still participate in a list
> such as this one. It maybe my own limitation, that I
> don't see the point in such pursuits.>>>
> 
> Adelasie, I had exactly the same expectations when I
> first started many years ago (I was one of the
> original list members). I am a Theosophist at large,
> and have never been a member of a group or lodge.
> So, I was a bit isolated until computers came along.
> I was very surprised, even upset, to discover that
> other Theosophists had such weird (to me)
> interpretations of Blavatsky. Was it me? Was it
> they? How could they call themselves Theosophists
> and be so illogical and so silly (again, to me)? The
> result was a lot of name-calling and nasty postings,
> and countless flames. 
> 
> Gradually, over some years, I learned to adjust. I
> learned to accept that Theosophy is a very large
> umbrella that allows for a lot of different thought
> and levels of understanding and wide variety of
> practical application. And none of really right, or
> really wrong. Eldon and I agreed to accept the
> differences of others, and to try to use the lists
> (both theos-l and theos-world) as challenges to our
> patience and compassion. It works very well in that
> regard.
> 
> Anyway, Brigitte and Daniel and Paul and Steve are
> all historians, and Theosophical history is pretty
> much a lose cannon, and honest historians can draw
> very different conclusions and interpretations. This
> is primarily because the original Theosophical
> players all said or wrote conflicting things at
> times, and now it is impossble to know what really
> went on. Blavatsky herself admittrf to fibbing on
> occassion, but was an esoterist. Olcott was an
> honest soldier, but had no clue what esotericism was
> about. When Blavatsky mentions Buddhism, for
> example, she usually refers to Mahayana. Olcott on
> the other hand always refers to Hinayana, and so on.
> 
> Blavatsky claimed that her teaching, which she
> called Theosophy, is ancient, and has been around in
> one form or another for as long as humanity. Daniel
> pretty much sides, I think, with this view. Paul has
> shown in his books that she could have gleaned much
> of her information from other occultists of her day.
> Brigitte and Steve take the more opposite extreme
> position that all of her ideas were known by others
> during her day, and that she needed to come up with
> next to nothing of any originality, although they
> admit that she was able to put the various ideas and
> theories together in a tidy and useful fashion.
> 
> So, is Theosophy an ancient wisdom? Or is it a
> product of the 18th and 19th centuries? I doubt that
> either side will "prove" their thesis, and I suspect
> that, like most things, we Theosophists will have to
> have faith one way or the other. 
> 
> Anyway, it is an interesting discussion, and one
> that everyone of us should be concerned about, and
> get into. The possibility that Blavatsky is not as
> ancient as she claims is an important Theosophical
> issue, and it is, I think, an appropriate topic of
> discussion here on this list. Whether we can prove
> anything is not the issue - we need to think about
> what is being said on both sides, and to accept the
> possibilities and to see where those possibilities
> lead us. We are, after all, supposed to be seekers
> of Truth.
> 
> Jerry S.
> 
> -- 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 
> 
> 


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