Theos-Talk Archives (February 2005 Message tt00255)

Dear Erica,

There appears to be healthy cooperation between ULT and the Pasadena 
TS HQ, but your experience parallels some of mine. At an event in 
the Washington DC lodge in 1986, the ULT speaker gave a subtly anti-
Adyar talk, Dora Kunz gave a subtly pro-Adyar talk, and I came third 
and as one person present put it "reduced the tension" with a talk 
that was not even pro-Theosophy as much as pro-truthseeking. Some 
ULT members in the audience conveyed in their comments a preachy, 
negative attitude toward Adyar, which as in your experience was 
never reciprocated overtly. (Although the Adyar members who had bad 
experiences with particular ULT members might have been negative 
toward *them individually* I never heard any anti-ULT comments.)

The last time I was involved in a joint event with the Adyar and 
Pasadena TSes in Maryland, the ULT faction stormed out after their 
speaker denounced me to the Adyar lady who was running the program. 
Why? I had asked a totally innocuous question about the future of 
publishing HPB's writings-- never was clear why that infuriated 
him. This business of ULT folks thinking or feeling called upon to 
denounce other Theosophists-- well, I hoped that it had subsided but 
your experience suggests not. Read up on the nature of 
fundamentalism to understand why this kind of thing occurs.

You wrote:

> I must but only agree with your comment below. I think also that 
it was a great mistake of Judge to leave the Theosophical Society. 
> 
The situation had reached the point where division had become 
inevitable. Judge is to be blamed not for taking the inevitable 
step when he did, but for turning Besant against Olcott using 
Mahatma letters he wrote to influence her. OR, if those letters 
were genuine, Besant is to be blamed for deciding that they were not 
and that she had been manipulated by Judge. Take your pick!

Paul