Theos-Talk Archives (August 2003 Message tt00142)

Hi Zack and all,

My views are:

Yes. Boston has many times chosen a different path than the majority.
I do - in my own manner - like your place for that reason.
Do you want to quote the entire letter from Burnier or email it to me in
private ?
By the way the Theos-Talk letter of :
May 14, 1996 06:50 PM by Sy Ginsburg also confirms the Danish view and I
think also your view.



I also think, that if one should follow the building basis of The
Theosophical Society which Blavatsky wrote about in the book The Key to
Theosophy and elsewhere, one will have to say, that the manner in which -
many - Alice A. Bailey groups relate to ordinary politics and The United
Nations (Security Counsil) - is not suitable to the - Present Day -cause of
the Wisdom Tradition.
That goes for many groups, but maybe not all of them - although I find the
book "The Externalization of the Hierarchy" by Alice A. Bailey (Or DK) -
together with certain other passages in the Bailey books - a very hard
potato to swallow when one talks about - a WISE relation - to the Wisdom
Tradition + Politics in a proper manner using a Heart of Compassion.

I quote the following link, not because I entirely agree with its content,
but because it in this excerpt pinpoints some of the facts Theosophy are
faced with today year 2003.
When will we listen to wisdom?:
"The two founders of the Theosophical Society, particularly Helena
Blavatsky, possessed a charisma that derived from their claimed relationship
to the Masters of the Wisdom. Crises occurred at the deaths of each of the
founders as the Theosophical Society struggled to deal with the problems of
succession, continuity, and the routinizaton of charisma. William Q. Judge's
attempt to claim for himself the charisma of Blavatsky and the elected
office of the president resulted in the secession of a large portion of the
American Section and the formation of a separate Theosophical organization.
Within the Theosophical Society proper, the charisma of the founders was
picked up primarily by Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater, who claimed
to be able to communicate directly with the Masters, but the members of the
Theosophical Society insisted that Besant's accession to the presidency
after Olcott's death could not be accomplished by autocratic appointment.
The democratic principles that were present from the beginning of the
Theosophical Society were too strong to allow the imposition of authority
derived from occult sources. While the tension between hierarchy and
democracy remains, the Theosophical Society has placed itself firmly on
record as supporting the principles of freedom of thought and individual
responsibility. A ritual has been devised whereby the newly elected
president may share in the charisma of Blavatsky, namely by the presentation
of Blavatsky's ring at the inauguration of the new president."
( http://www.raphaelvishanu-world.at/democr.html )



My own view is:
- It is only when the disciple is ready the Master will show up.
The Seekers after Truth will themselves today first have to transform
themselves spiritually so to make themselves available to the Master.
- There are today many organizations theosophical and non-theosophical
around the world saying that they have the REAL thought-system, that they
are the best. And yet Theosophists tend to forget, that even Blavatsky had
the opinion, that Theosophy was not the only place to follow on ones path.

Spiritual organizations come and go through the centuries. The Real Path of
AtmaVidya - the wisdom teaching is not attached or to any physical
organization.

The new beginner who seeks an organization to follow - often end up in a
group, where social tribalism is more important than serious studying. The
new beginner are often controlled too much by egoistic fragments in the
lower part of the Aura of the personal self, - and the organization which he
or she gets enrolled into might just be the one which suits the egoistic
fragments more than it suits the spiritual development of the beginner
disciple.
To many beginner students - I will advice balanced HARD STUDY - of books -
or - the world as such - or even both - and REST from it when needed, no
more no less.
Then after some time (often years) of study and living according to the
spiritual doctrines, then... one day at long last the Initiate makes the
needed contact.
This is what happens today in the Land of the Fools - the world of duality.

I sometimes think about the poster, which Fox Mulder from the X-files movies
have on the wall.
The text on it says: "I want to believe" and it has an UFO hovering above.
(smile...)

Here is something to the interested reader of Khawaja Khidr, Balkh, Sarman
or Sarmoun (The Bees). I do not claim that the links tell the truth all the
time, - the reader will have to distinguish between god and no-good:
1. http://www.sirbacon.org/mshrew.htm (Roger Bacon a Sufi and other
views...on the Bee's)
2. http://www.davidicke.net/emagazine/vol4/prepare.html (The Blavatsky
'Masters' are the true Khawaja Sufis !?)
3. http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/web/crj0146a.html
(Gurdjieff and Blavatsky a Christian perspective)
4. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mushkilgusha/message/266 (Idries Shah and
Gurdjieff and the Sarmoung Masters)

My claim is, that at least one of the "Master Bee's" did send Blavatsky to
form the Theosophical Society together with a few others. Some call that
being Master Morya. Morya was also head to other physical groups of a more
Indian nature.

We live in an information society today. Ancient news travels over great
distances within seconds.
Maybe The Theosophists needs to reformulate their views on - what a
Theosophical organization really is and what role it has in history - and
recognize, that wisdom organizations do change and reformulate themselves
when needed. Wise behavior is good.
New teachings will be given out - when that teaching is recognized.
My offer as a renewal of the Theosophical teachings is to incorporate the
teachings of Idries Shah into the main theosophical teachings. Especially
the teachings by him on the issue - Spiritual Organizations and their
different levels of activity are of importance. (If one of the readers of
this clearly disagrees, I will like to know, why.)

Truth is without form. If the form is no good - it should be changed.
Some persons need Bibles. Others need Renewal.
I will repeat again.
Spiritual organizations come and go through the centuries. The Real Path of
AtmaVidya - the Wisdom Teaching (Theosophy) does not cling to AND neither is
it attached to any PHYSICAL organization.


from
M. Sufilight with peace and love.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Zack Lansdowne" <zackl@sprynet.com>
To: <theos-talk@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 12:42 PM
Subject: Theos-World Re:freedom of individual sections of the TS


> Morton Nymann Olesen wrote:
>
> "My views are:
> Shortly: I don't know who you have talked to.
> I have myself talked to the leaders of more than one of the Theosophical
> groups, which have branched off since the mentioned break happened. I
> include the leader at the time it happened. They all privately say, that
> they - The Danish Section of Theosophical Society - were thrown out. But
> they - the Bailey-groups - could of course have official reasons to say
that
> they themselves left. Just ask the leaders of Theosophical Society America
> if you need more clairifcation. Dora van Gelder Kunz - threw - them out in
a
> sweet an caring manner. They were given the option to either leave or
> clearly water down their exccessive use of Bailey teaching. They left. So
it
> is maybe a question about who you ask and how you view the matter.
> My view: They left - because they were thrown out."
>
> On Nov. 15, 1980, Radha Burnier, the International TS President, wrote a
> letter stating in part: "In a large number of places, there are symptoms
of
> decay, some of which are mentioned below: (1) the Lodge becoming a centre
> for a cult or the promotion of the work of other organizations and
> personalities, such as Alice Bailey, Sai Baba and new Christs and
masters."
>
> After this letter was written, Adyar in 1983/84 closed the Yugoslavian
> Section, in 1989 canceled the charter of the Danish section, and in 1992
> expelled the Theosophical Society in Canada. I do not have any direct
> experience with those cases.
>
> In Dec. 14, 1992, Dorothy Abbenhouse, National President of the TSA, sent
a
> letter to the Theosophical Society in Boston (TSB) that stated in part:
"The
> charter of the Besant Lodge, a branch of the Theosophical Society in
> America, is hereby revoked and withdrawn, effective immediately. All
members
> of the Besant Lodge are hereby designated members at large. Pursuant to
the
> terms of the Bylaws of the Theosophical Society in America, you are hereby
> directed to cause ownership of all property, real and personal or
otherwise
> over $200.00 in value, to be transferred into the name of the Theosophical
> Society in America."
>
> The receipt of that letter was the beginning of a bitter lawsuit between
the
> TSA and TSB. The outcome of the lawsuit was that the TSB became an
> independent society, not affiliated with any other theosophical
> organization. The TSB owns its own campus in the Boston area and has a
very
> active program: see the website www.tsboston.org for pictures of the
campus
> and the current program. I use the word "campus" because the TSB has more
> than one building: it has a separate Meditation Hall and garden in
addition
> to its Main Building that contains the Lecture Hall, class rooms, library,
> and bookstore.
>
> According to my understanding, the lawsuit was caused in part because of
the
> TSB's sponsorship of various classes and lectures on Alice A. Bailey.
> During the past ten years, the interest in Bailey at the TSB has declined,
> in that there are fewer lectures and classes on Bailey. If you examine
the
> TSB website, you will see that there is now only one Bailey class that
meets
> only once per month. There is also a weekly class on Blavatsky's Secret
> Doctrine. In addition, there are eight other classes on Eckhart Tolle, A
> Course in Miracles, Krishnamurti, Kabbalah, Meditation, western mysteries,
> etc.
>
> I facilitate the Krishnamurti discussion group at the TSB and have served
as
> a past president of the TSB.
>
> Zack Lansdowne
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>