Theos-Talk Archives (April 2006 Message tt00788)

Dear Friends,


As I see it, the main point in Bruce's posting, see below,  is ---  why keeping to a discussion on personal lives only? 

Why not feeling our co-responsibility for the future of the movement and present moment of humanity, too ? 

As to me, I guess the importance of Tillett's biography on Leadbeater is that
it has helped many Adyar TS members  to open their eyes to the relationship between Ethics and Theosophy, and to a fundamental question:

"What kind of Occultist is a man who confesses abusing chiildren? What kind of Occultism is this?"

This, in Esoteric Philosophy, as in Yoga, is a technical question, dealing with causes and consequences.   

Edward Gardner, an Adyar author, wrote about that in the 1960s,  and his pamphlet "There Is No Religion Higher Than Truth", on CWL's "Occultism", was respectfully reviewed in "The Theosophist" by N. Sri Ram, then the international president of the Adyar TS, and also the father of Ms. Radha Burnier. Who, for some reason, rather does not defend CWL's literature. 

Lives of leaders, good or bad, are important in that their linga-sharira helps feed the inner side of the organization, as HPB taught in her I.G. teachings, I think. 

But we should never lose touch with the philosophical view of things, and in that I fully agree with Bruce. 

Best regards, Carlos.   



De:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com

Para:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com

Cópia:

Data:Thu, 27 Apr 2006 20:38:08 -0000

Assunto:Theos-World Re: Tillett and MacDonald on the Cranston biography of Blavatsky

> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "danielhcaldwell"
> wrote:
> >
> > Before I quote what I am going to quote below, I would like
> > to point out that Gregory Tillett has written an excellent
> > biography of C.W. Leadbeater. I believe Carlos Aveline
> > has praised this work and I wonder what Bruce MacDonald thinks
> > of Tillett's biography. I view the work as both scholarly
> > and readable and fair and balanced.
> > 
> 
> The book sits on my shelf but I must admit that I have not been able
> to read it from cover to cover. I use it more for research. I find
> the book too personal and that is why it has been divisive. I think it
> appeals to theosophists who see Leadbeater as a danger and his
> writings as a return to that which the Masters were fighting against.
> From my perspective, the book is a good research tool, but it is not
> something I would be interested in promoting to a wide audience. What
> would be the use?
> 
> Is it scholarly? Probably but a scholarly look at someones personal
> life is of little interest to me. Is it readable? Again, to some
> maybe. Is it fair? Based on what criteria: karma?, available
> evidence?, etc. Is it balanced? Again, too personal for my taste.
> 
> Because Leadbeater's alleged moral weaknesses are laundered in public,
> the book can really do nothing for the Theosophical Movement. 
> Leadbeater will have his followers. For me the question is how do you
> work with those followers inside the Movement? In the end the truth
> or error found in any writer's work will be the best means of
> determining who will last and who will fade with time. Pointing to
> evidence of sexual perversion is likely only to polarize the friends
> and followers of that person.
> 
> The problem with pointing fingers is that it never stops. The
> defenders of HPB and Judge are only interested in putting to rest
> unproven allegations. Once that is done, it is over. Fohat printed
> an article in defence of Judge that demonstrated the problem with
> finger pointing. In defending Judge, the article looked into the life
> of Alexander Fullerton, I believe, in order to undermine some of his
> testimony. Is that how we want to procede, by unearthing every
> mistake made by any past member of the society? Is this how you want
> future theosophists spending their time, by looking into your personal
> inadequacies? Who does this help?
> 
> Bruce
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> E-mail classificado pelo Identificador de Spam Inteligente Terra.
> Para alterar a categoria classificada, visite
> http://mail.terra.com.br/protected_email/imail/imail.cgi?+_u=carlosaveline&_l=1,1146170497.609588.17182.morondava.terra.com.br,5527,Des15,Des15
> 
> Esta mensagem foi verificada pelo E-mail Protegido Terra.
> Scan engine: McAfee VirusScan / Atualizado em 27/04/2006 / Versão: 4.4.00/4750
> Proteja o seu e-mail Terra: http://mail.terra.com.br/


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]