Theos-Talk Archives (September 2002 Message tt00100)

Dredging up old political history referring to individual leaders of the old 
Theosophical Society after the death of HPB, has nothing whatever to do with 
the goals and aims of theosophy, per se, or the validity of its metaphysical 
teachings. This is a typical propagandist's ploy. 

The so called "evolutionary scheme" of theosophy -- as a theory of universal 
involution and evolution of both consciousness and matter presented by HPB -- 
that can be subjectively proven, individually, by deep study of fundamental 
principles as they work in nature, along with introspective meditative 
intuition and deduction, stands on an even higher level than so called 
"scientific evolution" which refers, objectively, reductively and inductively 
only to the physical body... And is, as such, is only a small part of the 
overall theosophical theory -- which also includes consciousness or spirit. 

It's interesting that since consciousness became a legitimate study of 
science about ten years ago -- after ignoring it for almost two centuries, 
and after tons of papers and millions of words, both in scientific journals 
and on 3 or more heavily subscribed e-mail forums -- Science still hasn't 
solved the hard problems of the origin, genesis, and nature of awareness and 
its experience, or the "binding" of the brain to both consciousness and mind. 
Meta-scientific and metaphysical, theosophy, however, has completely 
answered these questions and correlated them with the more self evident 
aspects of the so called "scientific evolutionary theories." Unfortunately 
for science, there are so many narrow specialties, that no theory of 
evolution has ever be correlated with any theory of physics that underlie 
biology and physiology. Therefore, evolutionists completely ignore the laws 
of indeterminacy of quantum physics, the laws of relativity, and the concepts 
of multidimensional nonmaterial zero-point fields postulated by the 
postmodern Superstring/M-brane theories. Theosophy, on the other hand, is 
completely consistent with all these scientific theories. 

So, regardless of your claims for the reason Aurobindo hated Annie Besant and 
her followers, that doesn't change the fact that none of his actions or 
writings indicate that he wasn't fully in agreement with the theosophical 
theories of metaphysical evolution. 

Since your game, evident from your past trolling of this list as Brigitte 
Meuhlegger, and your use of similar tactics now, is to denigrate theosophy 
and discredit HPB by bringing up unrelated historical or political issues -- 
I think a vote should be taken by the members whether or not the owner should 
ban you again from further postings. 
As an alternative, rather than continue haranguing this list with your 
gratuitous theosophy and HPB bashing, why don't you just cease and desist? 
I'm sure that anyone interested in whatever secon hand negative gossip you 
are compelled to spill indeterminably about theosophy in general and 
theosophists in particular, can easily be found on your web site. 

In a message dated 09/12/02 9:45:31 AM, brianmuehlbach@yahoo.com writes:

>Presumably the reason Aurobindo was so angry at Theosophy not just 
>Besant, is because he previously risked his life for Indian independence
>of the British and spend years in jail for that. Thereafter Aurobindo
>moved from British India to a French protectorate where he lived until
>he died.
>
>Despite individual differences between theosophists, there is remarkably
>little divergence in the evolutionary scheme they present. In fact, the
>impression of a lack of originality evoked by their common discourse 
>works eerily on the reader, who is made to feel that this new mythology
>is virtually interchangeable with science, so strongly is its content fixed
>and closed to interpretation. 
>
>Theosophist Geoffrey Barborka's update of theosophical wisdom, The 
>Story of Human Evolution (1979), follows Voltaire and specifically 
>invokes Genesis in the preface to claim a biblical precedent for 
>describing human evolution in inflated terms.
>
>Besant's use of reincarnated souls traversing through world history and
>world empires functions as a rhetorical device to argue for the 
>fulfillment of a plan by imperial conquest: Now it is to us Theosophists
>significant and interesting that the bulk of the Souls to whom this offer is 
>made have twice before builded an Empire and have carried its burden; 
>for the majority of tile Souls that made the Egyptian Empire lived again
>
>upon earth in the Roman Republic and Empire, and have been and are 
>being born into the Anglo-Saxon, and indeed into the whole Teutonic, 
>race. Men who wrought in the Rome on the Tiber are working now in 
>the Rome on the Thames, and are again Empire-building. (Besant, 
>Theosophy and Imperialism, p.3) 
>
>The recourse to mystical interpretation provides Besant necessary relief
>from having to account for the recent history of imperialist 
>appropriations of foreign territory. Besant to put forth a concept of the
>British empire as a mighty trust, charged with a religious obligation.
>" Great Britain is a model for the future Federation of the world. The
>world is not yet ripe, because of the great differences between Races,
>to join them all together in perfect Federation. But it is possible here
>[i.e., in India], where there are links, which have been bonds of Empire
>and shall become links of Commonwealth if you can bring about Union, 
>Union between India and Britain, between East and West, between Asia 
>and Europe. It is not an Empire made by force but a commonwealth 
>made by mutual goodwill and friendliness." (Besant, Britain's Place in
>the Great Plan, p. 53.)
>
>Besant's plea for Indian self-government "within" the empire was not
> the same thing as a call for Indian independence from Britain which 
>Indian nationalists were seeking.
>
>When Annie Besant visited Ahmedabad in March 1918, she and Gandhi 
>still shared the same carriage in a big procession. Soon however, the 
>rise of non-co-operation campaigns led by Gandhi marked a downward 
>trend. Imperiled with losing the majority for her views in Madras 
>Congress, Annie Besant packed the provincial Congress committee
>with supporters 'including European women and children.
>In a speech against non-co-operation.
>
>Besant, supported by her Hindu University's princely (the Raj installed
>by 
>the British) financial backers, cut short Gandhi's speech against the 
>princes' riches. Gandhi did not report it in his autobiography.
>
>Pro Gandhi TS members where expelled from the Esoteric Section as 
>the TS leadership claimed: non-co-operation was against the Masters.'
>
> 
> Brian
>