Theos-Talk Archives (June 2005 Message tt00330)

Here is what Earnest Wood write about Mr. Leadbeater. 

"I worked for him from 1909
> to 1913, inclusive. He was a man of immense physical
> strength. He is almost a giant and has a tremendously
> strong arm. And to his character, I would sum it up
> along two lines - extremely loving and affectionate
> and extremely scientific. In all his investigations he
> is always very cautious and careful. He is without any
> speculative tendencies whatever."

Here one thing is missing. Leadbeater in all of his photos looks much 
more handsome than average people. 



--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "prmoliveira" <prmoliveira@y...> 
wrote:
> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, MKR<ramadoss@g...> wrote:
> 
> > Ernest Wood was CWL's secretary for several years and had lived 
in 
> Adyar 
> > for several years and he should have known about any problems 
with 
> the 
> > allegations. I do not recall he making any statements in his rare 
> book "Is 
> > This Theosophy" about the allegations. He would have no doubt 
would 
> have 
> > also made statements in his lectures, conversations and writings 
if 
> he was 
> > aware of any facts in the case. I think this is an angle I have 
not 
> seen 
> > brought up in many of the messages here. If anyone has info on 
this 
> aspect, 
> > it is welcome.
> 
> 
> I also have never seen any statement or comment by
> Wood regarding the allegations. But while at Adyar, I
> did come accross an old pamphlet entitled "Of Interest
> to T.S. Members" which was issued by a group of
> American theosophists who called themselves
> "Lightbearers", containing questions and answers at a
> TS members meeting in Washington, D.C., when Ernest Wood was
> lecturing there, probably in the early 1920s (the date
> is not mentioned, but Wood said at that meeting that
> he had not seen Leadbeater after he had gone to
> Australia in 1914). It mentions, for example, how the
> "Lives" were investigated. It is rather too long to
> reproduce here in full but, for whatever it is worth,
> I'll quote some passages in which Wood comments about
> his work with CWL and about his interaction with
> Krishnamurti at Adyar. (PO)
> 
> 
> "Questions - Can you tell us something about Mr.
> Leadbeater when you knew him? Can you give us some of
> your experiences while with Mr. Leadbeater?
> 
> Answers - I shall have to make a personal statement
> first of all with regard to this. You see I was in
> England working there for our T.S. and I went to Adyar
> in 1908. Mr. Leadbeater came there about the end of
> January, 1909, and a very short time later I became
> his private secretary, and worked for him until he
> went away to Australia in 1914. During that time he
> went away once or twice on tours to Italy and to the
> Dutch East Indies for a short time, but while at Adyar
> I was with him nearly all the time and saw his
> investigations. In fact, nearly all of those books
> written during that period were dictated to me. I took
> them down in shorthand and had them typed out by
> various people, some of whom had learned to read my
> shorthand writing; but some of them also were the
> results of questions and answers, so you will see I
> had very intimate touch with Mr. Leadbeater, when you
> take into account that he is a man that works very
> hard, and it was his custom to start his work about
> 6:30 every morning and continue it till very late at
> night. He would be up at half past six ready for work.
> Then he would take a little coffee or a couple of
> bananas just to begin the day, and then begin his work
> with correspondence or letters or a book that he was
> writing, or something of the kind, and generally he
> would sit there at his table or desk until about five
> o'clock in the afternoon. We used to clear the papers
> away in order to bring him his lunch in the middle of
> the day and he would stay there and eat his simple
> food and then go on with his work. 
> 
> At five o'clock it was his custom to take his physical
> exercise, a bath in the sea generally, and then have a
> little soup, which was his evening meal, and then we
> had our little meeting from 7:15 to 8:15 and then a
> quarter of an hour more for meditation. I used to be
> with Mr. Leadbeater all this time and he would do a
> great deal of answering of letters and looking up
> things for people who wanted to know about the dead or
> about obssession, a great variety of things. And then
> at night he would begin again after the meditation was
> over at half-past eight and go on with some work until
> 11, 12, 1 or 2, or whatever time it was finished.
> Every moment was filled up with work. I have not met a
> more energetic man.
> 
> (...)
> 
> Many people use to write about their friends or
> relations who had died, whether the Invisible Helpers
> could take care of them in some way. Mr. Leadbeater
> would always go to work patiently and just investigate
> the matter and either dictate a reply or tell me to
> write such and such a thing. There was a case in which
> he gave instructions for the use of that mantra which
> you will find in my book on Concentration. There was a
> bad case of fire elementals that was occurring in the
> north of India. Wherever a certain person went things
> used to catch fire. Mr. Leadbeater got me to write
> down the mantra, sent it up there and explained how it
> should be used, and our friend in the north of India
> used the mantra and the fire elementals were cleaned
> out entirely. People would sometimes send lockets to
> be magnetized and afterwards would say that they had
> been relieved of the voices that were annoying them or
> the fears that were oppressing them. 
> 
> I did not at first go to Mr. Leadbeater with a great
> admiration or liking for him before I met him myself
> because I did not feel that I was on his line, but
> circumstances drifted me into his service and I
> learned to admire him immensely for his splendid work
> and also for his character. I worked for him from 1909
> to 1913, inclusive. He was a man of immense physical
> strength. He is almost a giant and has a tremendously
> strong arm. And to his character, I would sum it up
> along two lines - extremely loving and affectionate
> and extremely scientific. In all his investigations he
> is always very cautious and careful. He is without any
> speculative tendencies whatever.
> 
> In his scientific work we would say, "Now let's have
> facts. Let me be careful that I see as clearly as I
> can and then put it on record." And when people used
> to say "How would you reconcile so and so?" He would
> say, "It is not my business to reconcile anything at
> all; it is my business simply to see, understand, and
> describe; that is the post for which I have been
> trained." People would say, "You cannot expect people
> to believe these things." He said, "I do not expect
> anybody to believe them. I see these things and it is
> my duty to publish them, and I do not expect people to
> believe in what I say. I am convinced of the accuracy
> of my own work, and I am as careful as I can be." 
> 
> (...)
> 
> I mentioned that he is man without any diplomatic
> characteristics, a very simple man who has not mixed
> much with the world at all, a very retired and quiet
> sort of a man, and just the other day I came across a
> quite striking sort of example of the absence of
> diplomacy in his character and that was regarding
> Christian Festivals, and when he was writing about
> Christmas and the Christ he tells us that Christ was
> in a previous life Shri Krishna of India and also that
> Jesus was Shri Ramanuja of India in the twelfth
> century. If we was simply trying to build a Christian
> Church and he wanted to draw Christians to his
> standard, I should say that that was just about the
> best way to defeat his own ends. And it just
> illustrates his position which he has always held that
> it is his duty just to put down what he sees. He is
> very devoted to Mrs. Besant, whom he regards with the
> profoundest respect.
> 
> Question - Did Mr. Leadbeater train Krishnamurti and what were the 
> methods?
> 
> Answer - I was there when Krishnamurti appeared with his father at 
> Adyar and I knew him before Mr. Leadbeater did. He was a school 
boy. 
> When we first knew Krishnamurti he was a very frail little boy, 
> extremely weak, all his bones sticking out, and his father said 
more 
> than once that he thought probably he would die, and he was having 
a 
> bad time at school because he did not pay any attention to what his 
> teachers said. He was bullied and beaten to such an extent that it 
> seemed the boy might fade away from this life and die, and the 
father 
> came to Leadbeater and said: "What shall we do?" Mr. Leadbeater 
> said, "Take him from school and I will inform Mrs. Besant." Mrs. 
> Besant had done much for Hindu boys. She had the Central Indian 
(sic) 
> College, in which many of the boys were entirely maintained by her -

> food, shelter, education, everything. So it was nothing unusual for 
> her to look after boys. Mrs. Besant was in America at the time. She 
> replied that she would be very pleased to see to their welfare, so 
> the two boys were taken from the school; Krishnamurti's younger 
> brother was all right, but they didn't want to be separated; and 
some 
> of us agreed to teach them a little each day so that they might be 
> prepared to go to England for their further education. Seven or 
eight 
> of us taught them a little each day. The boys used to sit in Mr. 
> Leadbeater's or one of the adjacent rooms with their teacher. I do 
> not know that it could be said that Leadbeater trained him in any 
> sort of particular way. To be anywhere near Mr. Leadbeater was a 
> training for anybody. He made him drink milk and eat fruits. 
> Krishnamurti did not like this. He attended to his health. He did 
not 
> much like this eating fruits and milk, but did it. He also arranged 
> for swimming and exercises in the way of cycling and other things, 
> and they played tennis in the evening, so that very soon 
Krishnamurti 
> was quite a healthy and strong boy and he began to take more 
interest 
> in the world. I think that he must have been always more or less 
> psychic and therefore did not pay attention to his teacher. I 
noticed 
> very soon that Krishnamurti used to collect people's thoughts, and 
I 
> have seen him do some quite remarkable feats of conversation with 
> dead people while still a little boy, and that developed quite 
> naturally. I do not know of any special and deliberate training in 
> that way. In Mr. Leadbeater's room and in his company, of course, 
he 
> really received the best of training in courtesy, etc."