Theos-Talk Archives (April 2004 Message tt00219)

In Brazil, where I come from, theosophical literature
was translated from English since the beginning of the
twentieth century. And the most popular authors have
been C.W. Leadbeater and Annie Besant. "The Secret
Doctrine" had its first Portuguese edition only in the
mid 1960s.

Besant and Leadbeater books were an integral part of
my theosophical education. When my knowledge of
English started to improve (am still acclimatising to
it) I began reading other theosophical authors, like
Barborka, van der Leeuw, Taimni, and many
international magazines. In 1981, I got my first copy
of "The Mahatma Letters" (I had read a Mexican edition
before). It was a turning point in my theosophical
studies. I remember having struggled for years with
"Letter 10" ("we deny God both as Philosophers and as
Buddhists"), and discussing it with Virginia Hanson,
Joy Mills and other senior students. But what really
interested me in the Letters were not the
philosophical and theoretical teachings, though
fascinating, but the section on probation and
chelaship, which contains, imo, real pearls of
spiritual instruction.

Probably this is the reason why when I became aware of
the controvesies surrounding "Theosophy and
Neo-Theosophy" I didn't give them much attention,
although I am familiar with the main arguments. And
that is still my point of view. Theosophical
historians may argue any way they want to try to prove
that Besant and Leadbeater "betrayed" HPB, that they
distorted the her teachings. That left me and leaves
me perfectly cold, for I know, from my earliest
association with theosophical studies, that the
essence of their contribution to theosophical
literature is a message of altruism and selfless
service. And this is the essence of Theosophy
according to HPB.

I have had the great privilege of working in India, at
the International Headquarters at Adyar, for four and
a half years (1992-1996). I visited several TS Lodges
in that country. The public prestige the TS enjoys in
India, which is probably second to none, it owes to
one woman: Annie Besant. She maintained that India is
the spiritual mother of the world, and I feel this be
true with every fibre of my heart. Besant was far from
perfect, but she embodied in her life the soul of
Theosophy: selfless service to the "poor orphan",
suffering humanity.

I read "The Elder Brother" in 1989, while attending
the School of the Wisdom at Adyar. I was familiar with
the accusations against CWL since I had read
Krishnamurti: Years of Awakening, by Mary Lutyens. But
another privilege was given to me: to meet some of his
former pupils who had lived with him at The Manor in
Sydney, in the 1920s: Herre and Marie van der Veen at
Taormina community, Ojai, California; Mat van Thiel in
Auckland, besides others in India who knew him. They
all confirmed to me how vibrant, joyous and happy life
around CWL was and that they never saw anything
improper in his behaviour at any time. Rukmini Devi
Arundale, for example, once remarked that she could
see how the girls and young women living at The Manor
would come out of that period of residence there
strong and with a great sense of inner beauty. She
said he touched so many lives.

Needless to say, I don't speak on behalf of the Adyar
Society. I am just a member. I don't wish to deny the
long-standing and historical accusations against him.
I only wish Dr Tillet had included some of the many
positive testimonies about CWL from people who were
still alive when "The Elder Brother" was being
written. And that includes Dora van Gelder Kunz. That
probably would have produced a more balanced view.
Personally, I think the case against him has not been
conclusively proven.

There are critical writings of Leadbeater in the Adyar
TS. One of them (mentioned in Dr Tillet's book) is
"There is no Religion Higher than Truth" by E.L.
Gardner(1963), a former General Secretary of the
English Section of the TS, member of the General
Council, and a staunch student of HPB's writings. A
copy of it is in practically every theosophical
library in the English-speaking world that I know. One
of the things he says is that the "Masters" Leadbeater
claimed to be in contact with were creations of his
own mind. Interstingly enough, this argument of a
member of the Adyar TS became truly paradigmatic with
many theosophical historians!

N. Sri Ram, international President at that time,
commented on Gardner's work (The Theosophist, February
1964) and even agreed with him in his attitude of
scepticism about certain things, for example "the
discrepancy between the view of the Masters on
religion, God, etc., as stated in "The Mahatma
Letters", and the statement that the Liberal Catholic
Church ritual and various details of ecclesiatical
procedure had Their approval."

Another article which presents a good overview of the
original literature and is critical of Leadbeater is

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

Both Besant and Leadbeater again and again referred
their readers to "The Secret Doctrine", which is the
source of modern Theosophy. They took very seriously
the mandate given by the Maha-Chohan in his
communication via KH (1881): "To popularise a
knowledge of Theosophy". As Besant explained in the
preface to the Theosophical Manuals:

"Some have complained that our literature is
at once too abstruse, too technical, and
too expensive for the ordinary reader, and it is our
hope that the present series may
succeed in supplying what is a very real want.
Theosophy is not only for the learned;
it is for all. It may be that among those who in these
little books catch their first
glimpse of its teachings, there may be a few who will
be led by them to penetrate
more deeply into its philosophy, its science, and its
religion, facing its abstruser
problems with the student’s zeal and the neophyte’s
ardour. But these manuals are
not written for the eager student, whom no initial
difficulty can daunt; they are
written for the busy men and women of the work-a-day
world, and seek to make
plain some of the great truths that render life easier
to bear and death easier to
face."

My experience in the Adyar TS is that the original
teachings are very much valued and studied. I conduct
a weekly study class in Spanish on "The Key to
Theosophy" at the Blavatsky Lodge, Sydney. There is
also in the Lodge a study group on Barborka's "The
Divine Plane", an introduction to "The Secret
Doctrine" and a discussion group on Shirley
Nicholson's "Ancient Wisdom - Modern Insight", which
is based on "The Secret Doctrine".

Perhaps part of the negative reaction generated by
"The Elder Brother" is due to the fact that there was,
and I think there still is, a great deal of gratitude
to CWL in the Adyar Society for his many years of
dedicated service, his many books and his overall
contribution. Some of his books have ceased to be
reprinted, like "Man: Whence, How and Whither", "The
Lives of Alcyone", among others. But the fact that
there is still demand for his books may indicate that
his message is found useful. In Brazil, for example, I
have seen his books for sale in bus terminals in very
remote areas of the country.

Pedro





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