Theos-Talk Archives (April 2004 Message tt00132)

In several recent postings here the expression "the
Adyar view" was mentioned. It may be useful to mention
that the TS with International Headquarters at Adyar
does not hold corporate or official views.

Freedom of thought has been a long-standing policy of
the Adyar TS for the past 80 years. This is the
resolution of the General Council of the Adyar TS in
1924:

"As the Theosophical Society has spread far and wide
over the world, and as members of all religions have
become members of it without surrendering the special
dogmas, teachings and beliefs of their respective
faiths, it is thought desirable to emphasise the fact
that there is no doctrine, no opinion, by whomsoever
taught or held, that is in any way binding on any
member of the Society, none which any member is not
free to accept or reject. Approval of its three
Objects is the sole condition of membership.

No teacher, or writer, from H.P. Blavatsky onwards,
has any authority to impose his or her teachings or
opinions on members. Every member has an equal right
to follow any school of thought, but has no right to
force the choice on any other. Neither a candidate
for any office nor any voter can be rendered
ineligible to stand or to vote, because of any opinion
held, or because of membership in any school of
thought. Opinions or beliefs neither bestow
privileges nor inflict penalties.

The Members of the General Council earnestly request
every member of the Theosophical Society to maintain,
defend and act upon these fundamental principles of
the Society, and also fearlessly to exercise the right
of liberty of thought and of expression thereof,
within the limits of courtesy and consideration for
others."

As early as 1913, Annie Besant was writing along
similar lines:

http://www.austheos.org.au/topics/opinion_belief.htm

Obviously, neither the GC resolution nor her 1913
article prevented, among others, the disastrous
statements at Ommen, August 1925, about initiations,
etc.

That the Adyar TS survived the 1920s - it lost
approximately 15,000 out of 45,000 members between
August and December 1929, after the "Truth is a
Pathless Land" speech by Krishnamurti, in which he
dissolved the Order of the Star - it was, imo, because
of the policy of freedom of thought and the courage of
Krishmaurti of refusing to play a role not determined
by himself. 

"Light of the Sanctuary - the Occult Diary of Geoffrey
Hodson", which is not an autobiography, was published
in the Philippines, not at Adyar.

In 1996, when Geoffrey Farthing issued his Manifesto,
calling for the Adyar TS to recognise HPB's writings
and the Mahatma Letters as its foundational teachings,
this was the response of its General Council (from the
Annual Report of the TS, 1996):

"The consensus was that freedom of thought necessarily
implies a wide horizon of thought and perception.
Belief that the writings of H.P.B. and the Mahatma
Letters constitute the only source of the message the
T.S. should promulgate cannot be imposed on the
members, as such limitation goes against the grain of
that freedom of thought. Each one must have the
freedom to decide what best helps understanding of
oneself and provides inspiration to work for the ideal
of human progression and perfection."

So, there are views from Adyar TS members on many
issues regarding theosophical history, but not to my
knowledge an official "Adyar TS view".

Pedro



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