Theos-Talk Archives (August 2003 Message tt00109)

Hi Joe,

Since that letter is taken as genuine by most of the leading 
theosophists, it is only thanks to the fact that it was merely partly 
printed in Jinarajadasa's Letters from the Masters of Wisdom that has 
stopped people from realising the full extent of the reform the ES 
would have to go through if it was taken to heart...

The full letter is also available on my website at:

http://www.katinkahesselink.net/lastkh.htm

Also, studying the ES instructions as published in the Collected 
Writings, I don't think the ES was meant as a religious organisation. 
That is was turned into one was perhaps inevitable - because it had 
to respond in some way to the absense of a fully trusted esoteric 
leader after HPB died. On the other hand, Annie Besant might have 
stood her ground and not recreate the ES after she disbanded it. But 
all that is history. Do any of us know what the ES is like now? 

Katinka
--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Joseph P. Fulton" 
<jpfulton314@h...> wrote:
> Direct quote taken from copy of letter printed in "The Eclectic 
> Theosophist, Sept./Oct. 1987.
> 
> "The E.S.T. must be reformed so as to be as unsectarian and 
creedless 
> as the T.S. The rules must be few and simple and acceptable to 
all."
> 
> Joe
> 
> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, Bart Lidofsky <bartl@s...> wrote:
> > Joseph P. Fulton wrote:
> > > The 1900 letter from KH to Besant exhorts her to make the ES as 
> > > creedless as possible...
> > 
> > Actually, it exhorts her to make the TS as creedless as 
> possible. The 
> > ES is SUPPOSED TO BE a religious organization, separate from the 
> TS, 
> > although it only allows TS members to join. The fact that it is 
not 
> > treated that way is a sore point to many Theosophists.
> > 
> > Bart