Theos-Talk Archives (September 2006 Message tt00216)

Dear Jake, 

Thanks. 

I don't think the TSA has abandoned the three objects.

It must be a rephrasing of them with the goal of turning them more "competitive" in the "market of ideas".  Some marketing consultant at his best, perhaps. 

Rephrasing the "mission" is probably but the consequence. The real substance is, I guess, the lack of interest in Theosophy which some TSA leaders have shown in the last years and decades.  

John Algeo's power politics and his slandering of HPB in the edition of her "Letters" is much more important than such a re-writing of the mission statement.  

Unfortunately, Ms. Katinka actively supported that slandering in a letter published in FOHAT magazine. By adopting the Coulombs' lies and saying that "HPB may have faked phonemena", Ms.  Katinka was not kind to the truth of the facts, nor to HPB; and she also lied in the good company of Mr. V. Solovyov and like-minded scoundrels.   

Anyway, there still are lots of sincere theosophists in the TSA, some of whom I met personally in the 1990s.   Perhaps some of them -- as Marie, for instance -- may give us here an inside perspective on how things are now. 

Regards,  Carlos. 
 


De:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com

Para:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com

Cópia:

Data:Tue, 12 Sep 2006 05:25:33 -0700 (PDT)

Assunto:Theos-World New Wheaton Mission Statement?

> New Mission Statement at Wheaton?
> 
> I haven't checked it out yet, but in 
> the 9-06 "Lucifer7" K. Hesselink says 
> that Wheaton TS has removed the "brotherhood" 
> part of the Society's purpose or mission 
> statement. Sounds like what the Prayag 
> Society was doing, and the adept saying 
> they would have nothing to do with mere 
> occultists without the brotherhood principle.
> The "unity of all life" might past muster,
> but only using the "brotherhood" term has
> the necessary force behind it, and is 
> significant.
> 
> The article below from the Sept. '06 Lucifer7:
> 
> "Theosophical Society in America (Adyar): mission statement"
> - Katinka Hesselink [2006]
> 
> The Theosophical Society has had three 
> objects for more than a century. They are:
> 
> - To form a nucleus of the Universal 
> Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction 
> of race, creed, sex, caste or color.
> - To encourage the study of Comparative 
> Religion, Philosophy and Science.
> - To investigate unexplained laws of Nature 
> and the powers latent in man. (Source)
> 
> Of these three objects the first has 
> been considered the most important, 
> at least since the time H.P. Blavatsky 
> and H.S. Olcott arrived in India in 1879. 
> 
> Strangely enough the 'mission-statement' 
> of the Theosophical Society in Wheaton 
> (Adyar) rephrases the above, but leaves 
> brotherhood out. It is as follows:
> 
> - "To encourage open-minded enquiry 
> into world religions, philosophy, science, 
> and the arts in order to understand the 
> wisdom of the ages, respect the unity 
> of all life, and help people explore 
> spiritual self-transformation."
> 
> A mission statement is merely another 
> word for aim or object. So one would 
> expect the three objects of the Theosophical 
> Society to agree precisely with the 
> mission-statement. One would also expect 
> the wording of the mission-statement to 
> be more modern. In that vein it would 
> have been a nice challenge if the board 
> of directors of the US-section of the 
> TS had found a new sex-neutral way of 
> saying that people should treat each 
> other well. What else does a 'nucleus 
> of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity 
> (etc)' mean? But to leave it all out is 
> really going too far for me, and for 
> several of the people I met in Wheaton 
> this summer. This mission-statement 
> sounds selfish to me. Great: I find 
> an organisation where people will help 
> me with my self-transformation en where 
> my open enquiry into religions, spirituality 
> and science will be supported. Wonderful. 
> And there is no suggestion that I 
> personally need to do anything at all. 
> I don't need to practice loving kindness. 
> I don't need to find tolerance in my 
> heart for those I've learned to despise 
> or ignore. I will perhaps learn to 
> respect the unity of all life in abstract, 
> but there is no need for me to do 
> anything practical at all... 
> 
> I'm obviously being cynical. In actual 
> fact the attempt to form a nucleus of 
> the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, 
> without distinction of race, creed, sex, 
> caste or color is work. It means a 
> constant attempt to overcome my conditioning. 
> It means reaching out to people. It means 
> practicing kindness. It means learning to 
> deal with people I may not like. I find it 
> very disappointing that the TS in America 
> has edited this very important attempt 
> out of its 'mission statement' and hope 
> they will change things soon.
> 
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