Theos-Talk Archives (February 2005 Message tt00341)

Dear Chris,

Thanks for sharing your perspective. I'll reciprocate with my own 
which may be seen as irrelevant-- but maybe that's a problem. For 
the last twenty years I have worked with a variety of boards of 
agencies receiving public funds. Mainly as a library director 
reporting and answering to boards appointed by local governments, but 
also as a board member and officer for organizations devoted to the 
fine arts and literacy. Currently I'm VP of the Dan River Basin 
Association, and work closely with the Friends of the Library as an 
ex-officio board member.

In every one of these instances there is an unquestioned acceptance 
of the principles of transparency and accountability. Citizens and 
members (depending on the kind of organization involved) have the 
right to attend board meetings, read minutes, demand explanations of 
the board and officers, etc.

By contrast, no spiritual organization I've belonged to has shown any 
such commitment to transparency and accountability. Adyar seems to 
have the opposite commitment, to opacity and unaccountability. For a 
while the ARE seemed to be moving in the right direction after two 
mysterious coups d'etat in a couple of years, but its board now 
appears as committed as ever to opacity and unaccountability. One 
can of course say that spiritual organizations answer to different 
standards than those handling public funds, and this is 
unquestionably true. But is it RIGHT? The ARE and the TS both 
receive dues from members, but their boards act more like those of 
businesses concerned mainly with the bottom line than like those of 
membership organizations I've worked with in the public or nonprofit 
sector.

While not wishing to dissuade anyone from answering your call to 
serve the TS, I do mean to present an alternative. There are civic 
organizations based in local communities that have need of 
volunteers, and treat their members with more respect and honesty 
than they receive from "spiritual organizations." Service in such 
civic organizations can be more spiritually fulfilling than service 
to secretive oligarchies in far away places. It's not without its 
share of frustrations, caused partly by the transparency and 
accountability required. But these pale in comparison to the 
frustrations of dealing with the "mushroom treatment" often accorded 
members of spiritual organizations.

Cheers,

Paul 
--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Chris Richardson" 
<ursusmaritimus@e...> wrote:
> 
> As an active member for the last ten years, resident-staff member 
at the National 
> Center and three years on the National Board of Directors, I feel 
compelled to add a 
> short comment to this discussion.
> 
> There is undoubtedly a certain gap in the information the general 
membership has 
> and what goes on 'behind the scenes', but that gap is due to the 
nature of institutions 
> and does not stem from any conspiratorial intentions (I do 
recognize and appreciate 
> that Jerry says the same in the end of this message).
> 
> What I would like to clarify is that most of what goes on at the 
level of the board is 
> financial, and what is 'secret' is generally limited to personnel 
issues. I can assure 
> you that the board's primary concern is the vitality of theosophy 
and the needs of our 
> membership. Those in leadership positions often sacrifice a great 
deal in order to 
> dedicate their time and energy to the T.S.A., and all because they 
believe in the 
> mission of keeping theosophy alive in the world.
> 
> Jerry is right in that politics are inevitable, but in my 
experience, which is admittedly 
> limited, politics almost always take a back seat to serving 
theosophy and our 
> members. As I will serve another three years on the board, I 
intend to do all I can to 
> keep it that way and trust Betty Bland will do the same.
> 
> For those of you who wish to add organizational involvement to your 
spiritual 
> committments, I suggest you run for the board when the opportunity 
arrives. Or, at 
> the very least, become involved in running the lodge, study center 
or camp nearest to 
> you. Spiritual work needs a context, and someone has to be 
responsible for 
> providing it.
> 
> Peace to all of you,
> 
> Chris Richardson
> 
> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, Jerry Hejka-Ekins <jjhe@c...> 
wrote:
> > Daniel,
> > 
> > After twenty years, in most cases, I couldn't even tell 
you "exactly" 
> > what my words were, let alone someone else's. Further, I think 
you have 
> > been around the TS long enough to have at least intuited that 
when an 
> > action is taken against an activity, lodge, individual etc. the 
> > officially stated reasons rarely have much to do with what is 
really 
> > going on. In the TS information travels through what is 
called "the 
> > Theosophical grapevine." It is not recorded in the journals, and 
> > questions aimed at tracing the source of the information 
typically 
> > brings the answer: "I heard it on good authority." Even that 
inner 
> > group meeting at Lake Geneva I mentioned in an earlier post is 
not 
> > documented in any way. There was no written announcement of that 
> > meeting, no notes were taken, no tape recorder was running. Even 
at the 
> > level of the National Board, those who attend those meetings are 
told 
> > not to discuss what goes on. "Privacy" is given as the reason. 
But 
> > there is more to it than that. Much is discussed and done which 
does 
> > not show up in the official minutes. I know this from 
corroborating 
> > statements from several different Board members of the past. 
Though 
> > there are occasional leaks. Ever since the days of Besant, the 
mode for 
> > maintaining control has been passive aggressive. Few members are 
aware 
> > of this, unless they happen to get caught up in one of the 
currents. 
> > Even then, they often don't get it. If you are interested in 
how these 
> > things work, you have to look at the underlying process. 
Published 
> > official statements and "talking points" never reveal the true 
> > complexities. I am not suggesting conspiracy theories. I'm 
trying to 
> > describe how the political side of any institution which has to 
deal 
> > with a large voting membership works to maintain power. The TS 
is no 
> > exception. 
> > 
> > --j