Theos-Talk Archives (July 2006 Message tt00561)

Bruce,


Thanks for your thoughtful text and your insights. 

After all, it should not be too difficult for everyone to understand that attacking the teacher is but a technique to attack the teaching. 

And to present Theosophy as if disconneted from Ethics is absolute Sophistry, conscious or unconscious. It is poison. 

Theosophy is not about words -- it is about living. 

Regards,  Carlos. 

De:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com

Para:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com

Cópia:

Data:Wed, 26 Jul 2006 20:07:34 -0000

Assunto:Theos-World Gossip and authority

> It seems to me that gossip is the repitition of what one has heard
> without attempt at verification. It may be that what one has heard is
> wrong, and it may also be that one misunderstood the context and repeats
> in a misleading way. Context can refer to the rest of the letter or
> work from which something is derived and if we are talking about a
> letter or article that is not current, then in addition an historical
> context for the letter or article would be important.
> 
> Even the devil can quote scripture in order to lend legitimacy to an
> evil act. He simply takes a passage out of context. This is not
> something of which most people are unaware, yet it is something to which
> we all at one time or another fall prey or practice, unconsiously or
> otherwise. The repetition of a series of quotes across time, whether
> verified or not, can be terribly misleading without an analysis of the
> historical context. Without an analysis of context, one could arrive at
> thousands of possible meanings. Often, if not always, the most obvious
> implications of a series of quotes are in no way an accurate reflection
> of the intent of the writer.
> 
> Gossip can be no verification of source, or it can refer to no context
> or improper context - you can't deny the accuracy of the words, but
> there is no way that they were delivered in order to present the implied
> meaning.
> 
> Again, personal attacks should not be tolerated in the Thesophical
> Movement. It is because they were tolerated and perpetrated by Olcott
> and Besant against Blavatsky and Judge that we continue to mimic such
> behavior even today. This is what undermines each of our own
> Self-Authority and gives rise to external authorities who can judge the
> worth of others as I previously argued:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/34565
> This was a deliberate act by the enemies of the Theosophical Society. 
> When theosophists accepted this, they allowed the enemies of theosophy
> to grab hold of the tail of the dog, and we have been wagged ever since.
> The attacks on Judge and Blavatsky are historical issues, but much more
> importantly they are philosophical issues.
> 
> The result of this undermining of theosophical principles is that
> theosophical leaders can have conversations like the interesting example
> given to us by Carlos:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/34791
> The crux of the conversation seems to be how can we clean up
> theosophical books so that we can attract new members without upsetting
> the Besant & Leadbeater members that we already have? On what authority
> do these leaders think they can start editing the works of theosophical
> writers? Have they not missed the whole point of theosophy? They have
> that authority because we gave it to them when we refused to protect the
> reputations of Blavatsky and Judge. That is why it is so important that
> we re-open the Judge case and start " using one's time and energy on
> events long past" as Radha puts it. It is not important as a historical
> issue, it is important as a fundamental principle of theosophy.
> 
> Perhaps this is why members of the Movement are beginning to turn away
> from the repetition of gossip, such as Carlos has pointed out by drawing
> our attention to the recent commentary from England:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/34800
> Books such as this are simply disquised emotional blackmail designed to
> give authority to self-proclaimed experts who humbly submit that they
> are simply interested in allowing everyone arrive at their own truth on
> this matter. That the matter is a personal matter and NOT a
> theosophical matter seems to escape everyone.
> 
> Bruce
> 
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> Yahoo! Groups Links
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