Theos-Talk Archives (August 2006 Message tt00573)

Yes, we should avoid personal confrontation..
but I wonder Pedro.. what is the best attitude? maybe to tell lies
about the friends you met in porto alegre on their back?


--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "pedro oliveira" <prmoliveira@...>
wrote:
>
> Dear Carlos,
> 
> This is a personal appeal to you. You may wish to ignore it, 
> ridicule it or use it against me. I have no control of how you are 
> going to respond to it, nor wish to have. It is entirely up to you.
> 
> If my memory serves me well, we first met in Porto Alegre, in 1980, 
> when you joined Dharma TS Lodge in that city. You contributed many 
> talks to the Lodge while at the same time being very active in the 
> environmental movement, both in Brazil and in other countries. You 
> wrote a number of books, some of which have had excerpts published 
> in "Sophia", the national magazine of the TS in Brazil.
> 
> I am also aware of your contacts with Geoffrey Farthing and how much 
> you admired him and learned from him. I happened to be present at 
> the General Council meeting at Adyar, in December 1995, when the 
> (unanimous) decision was made to award the Subba Row Medal to Mr 
> Farthing for his distinguished contribution to theosophical 
> literature. I had read many of his articles in 'The Theosophist' and 
> even reviewed his book 'Deity, Cosmos and Man' in that magazine. One 
> of my favourite articles by him - 'HPB on Meditation and Yoga' - was 
> published in that same magazine in its December, 1992 issue.
> 
> Interestingly, at that same meeting of the General Council it was 
> also decided to also award the Subba Row Medal to Dr Hugh Shearman, 
> another well-known author who, like Mr Farthing, has also passed 
> away. The nature of their contributions could not be more different, 
> and while Mr Farthing was a very energetic exponent of 
> the 'original' Theosophy as taught by HPB and the Masters, Dr 
> Shearman utilized his theosophical insights to understand the world 
> of literature, psychology, sociology and mysticism in his many books 
> and numerous articles. I felt the Council's decision was a very 
> balanced one.
> 
> Why am I saying all this? Perhaps to suggest to you that in the 
> theosophical movement we can have debate and vigorous discussion 
> without personal attacks and vilification. I have read quite a 
> number of articles by Mr Farthing and did not find even one word of 
> attack or harsh criticism against anyone. The same with Dr Shearman. 
> And I sure these two men did not see eye to eye in matters relating 
> to theosophical teachings. 
> 
> I am aware of your accusations against John Algeo and Daniel 
> Caldwell. You have repeated them on this list almost every day since 
> you joined it earlier this year. Perhaps I can share some 
> information here about how Dr Algeo's work is making HPB's teachings 
> more widely known in Australia, for example. Last year, the 
> Australian Section distributed, among its Lodges, Branches and 
> Groups, copies of the DVD 'HPB's Diagram of Meditation' featuring 
> John Algeo as a presenter. The Section has an approximate membership 
> of 1,250 and we had enthusiastic response from members about the 
> DVD. His study course 'Getting Acquainted with The Secret Doctrine' 
> is also quite popular here and is regularly used in a number of 
> Lodges.
> 
> Daniel Caldwell has, arguably, the most comprehensive Blavatsky-
> related web site that I know of. Perhaps one day he could post on 
> theos-talk the usage statistics for Blavatsky Archives.:) We have a 
> link to the site on the Australian Section's web site and many 
> members find it very informative. You may not know this, but in the 
> past I had some discussions with Daniel and others on theos-talk, 
> and at times I would feel like a LSD (Leadbeaterian Sitting Duck), 
> but I was also seen sometimes as an ASD (Adyar Spin Doctor).:) Those 
> were difficult times but we all apparently survived.
> 
> Your knowledge of theosophical history and the Teachings is admired 
> by many. However, your attitude to those who disagree with you is 
> causing distress, unnecessary hurt feelings and a sense that the 
> space on this list has been hijacked by your interests. Therefore I 
> would like to respectfully ask you:
> 
> Can we bring to this list, which consists of almost 300 people world 
> wide, a sense of healing? 
> 
> Can we engage in discussions in a spirit of courtesy, consideration 
> and mutual respect, abandoning all personal attacks? 
> 
> Can we share our love for Theosophy by treating each other in a 
> brotherly manner, particularly when we disagree? 
> 
> Can you help to restore harmony in this collective space which we 
> call theos-talk?
> 
> If you decide that all the above is just a load of codswallop from 
> an inveterate LSD/ASD, I will understand. But, believe me, I had to 
> try and reach out to you in order to remind myself that we were 
> once 'as the fingers of one hand'. 
> 
> With warm and fraternal regards to you and Angela,
> 
> Pedro
>