Theos-Talk Archives (November 2006 Message tt00787)

Carlos - Christina et al -

The publishing policy at Quest Books initiated by Helen Zahara when 
she came around 1970 was to edit out all negative racial and ethnic 
comments, especially in the writings of Leadbeater, though I think 
also in Jinarajadasa's introductory book on Theosophy. There are 
examples in most of CWL's writings, but it is difficult to find the 
originals of some to compare with.

Ken


--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "carlosaveline" 
<carlosaveline@...> wrote:
>
> Christina,
> 
> Please look at the  pages 167 and 168 of your "The Perfume of 
Egypt", TPH 1978 edition, and you will find these quotations which I 
comment below:
> 
> 
> ooooooooo
> 
> Leadbeater says about "red indians": 
> 
> "Of these many tribes had adopted a kind of squalid civilization, 
but many others were still savages untamed and untamable ? men who 
regarded work of any kind as the deepest degradation ? who hated the 
white man with a traditional, unrelenting hatred, and (strange as it 
may seen) more than reciprocated the boundless contempt of the blue-
blooded hidalgo of Spain. It will be no doubt incomprehensible to 
many of us that a half-naked savage can entertain any other feeling 
than envy for our superior civilization, however much he may dislike 
us; but I can only say that the quite genuine and unaffected feeling 
of the Red Indian towards the white man is pure and unmitigated 
contempt." 
> 
> But CWL proceeds (p. 168) to develop his unbrotherly view of human 
beings: 
> 
> "Then came the negro race ? no inconsiderable portion of the 
populations, and chiefly in a state of slavery, though the 
Government was doing all in its power to remove that curse from its 
territories; and last and worst came what were called the half-
breeds or half-castes ? a mixed race which seemed, as mixed races 
sometimes do, to combine all the worst qualities of both its parent 
stocks. Indians, Spaniards, and Negro alike despised them; and they 
in turn regarded all alike with a virulent hatred." 
> 
> We can see in these words some strong `pioneer elements' for the 
future ideologies of Nazism and Fascism, and ultimately for the mass-
murder attemtps of "ethnic cleansing". Look at it again: 
> 
> " (...) and last and worst came what were called the half-breeds 
or half-castes ? a mixed race which seemed (...) to combine all the 
worst qualities of both its parent stocks." 
> 
> This is Leadbeater. 
> 
> Brazil has been from the very beginning a miscigenation people and 
indigenous people here never present resintence or hated the white 
people. Their culture was too primitive for that, say. We have never 
had important racial tensions or hatred in Brazil, aas such, though 
there was social violence. 
> 
> Miscigenation is part of the preparation for the next sub-race, as 
HPB writes in the "Secret Doctrine".  
> 
> Regards,  Carlos. 
> 
> De:theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
> 
> Para:"theos-talk" theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
> 
> Cópia:"carlosaveline" carlosaveline@...
> 
> Data:Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:00:40 -0300
> 
> Assunto:[Spam] Theos-World CWL AGAINST BLACK AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
> 
> > Dear Friends, 
> > 
> > This is about Bishop Leadbeater and his imaginary adventures in 
South America. 
> > 
> > C. Jinarajadasa believed he was there with Leadbeater in a 
previous body, and that he was his biological younger brother, who 
was allegedly killed and 'rediscovered' by CWL in Ceylon. 
> > 
> > In fact, in a footnote to his autobiographical Postface in the 
book "The Seven Veils of Consciousness", C. Jinarajadasa states that 
that the true story of his own "previous (and glorious) death in 
Brazil" is narrated in the chapter "Saved by a Ghost", of the 
book "The Perfume of Egypt" (2). 
> > 
> > C.J. believed everything CWL said, and he also writes in the 
note that the same old silver crucifix which is mentioned in that 
story was in his possession, as he wrote "The Seven Veils of 
Consciousness". 
> > 
> > As to Leadbeater, in the preface of his 'The Perfume of Egypt", 
he makes a solemn statement: 
> > 
> > "The stories in this book happen to be true." 
> > 
> > Along "Saved By a Ghost", the longest story of the volume, 
Leadbeater proudly describes how he killed numerous black people and 
indigenous people in South America during his youth. 
> > 
> > Of course, common sense says that the story is as illusory as 
the visits Leabeater made to physical plane civilizations in Mars 
and Mercury. 
> > 
> > But even if it were presented as a `short novel' pure and 
simple, and not as an autobiographical narration, the content of the 
text reveals too much of racism and disrespect against black people, 
indigenous people and their right to live. Leadbeater also uses the 
term "race" not in its theosophical meaning, but in the 
nationalistic way, as if each country had its own 'race', 
anticipating what Adolf Hitler would do decades later. 
> > 
> > At p. 167 of the Adyar edition, one starts to read his 
description of Brazilian people: 
> > 
> > "First came the descendants of Spanish and Portuguese 
conquerors ? a haughty, indolent race; a race courtly and 
hospitable, by no means without its good qualities, but yet one 
whose strongest characteristic was an immeasurable contempt (or the 
affectation of it) for all other races whatsoever". 
> > 
> > The amount of illusions-per-line is outstanding here. 
> > 
> > First, Spanish people were never `conquerors' in Brazil. The 
country was `discovered' and made a colony by Portugal. Second, 
Portuguese people are not a race; and they cannot be easily 
described as `indolent'. Third, Portuguese people generaly did not 
show `contempt' for other `races', and it is for this reason that 
miscigenation ? intermarriage ? was from the first the main 
anthropological characteristic of the emerging Brazilian nation. 
Portuguese people easily created strong personal links with black 
people and indigenous people. (Of course, colonization was also 
violent.)
> > 
> > In the next paragraph, "bishop" Leadbeater is even more 
surprising: 
> > 
> > "Next came red indians". 
> > 
> > Well, there are no `red indians' in Brazil, although the term is 
very common in old North American Far West bang-bang stories, in 
which hundreds of "bad" Indians get typically killed by a few white 
men usually presented as brave heros. 
> > 
> > Leadbeater says about "red indians": 
> > 
> > "Of these many tribes had adopted a kind of squalid 
civilization, but many others were still savages untamed and 
untamable ? men who regarded work of any kind as the deepest 
degradation ? who hated the white man with a traditional, 
unrelenting hatred, and (strange as it may seen) more than 
reciprocated the boundless contempt of the blue-blooded hidalgo of 
Spain. It will be no doubt incomprehensible to many of us that a 
half-naked savage can entertain any other feeling than envy for our 
superior civilization, however much he may dislike us; but I can 
only say that the quite genuine and unaffected feeling of the Red 
Indian towards the white man is pure and unmitigated contempt." 
> > 
> > What are the problems in these few lines? First, again comes the 
Spanish `hidalgo' (nobleman) apparently ruling Brazil, a country 
which was independent from Portugal (not Spain), since 1822, and was 
never under any "Spanish' ruling class. Second, the `red Indian' 
again. Third, indigenous people and did not express hate against 
white people, and never actively resisted the domination of European 
rulers in Brazil. These two paragraphs simply can't refer to any 
South American country. 
> > 
> > But CWL proceeds (p. 168) to develop his unbrotherly view of 
human beings: 
> > 
> > "Then came the negro race ? no inconsiderable portion of the 
populations, and chiefly in a state of slavery, though the 
Government was doing all in its power to remove that curse from its 
territories; and last and worst came what were called the half-
breeds or half-castes ? a mixed race which seemed, as mixed races 
sometimes do, to combine all the worst qualities of both its parent 
stocks. Indians, Spaniards, and Negro alike despised them; and they 
in turn regarded all alike with a virulent hatred." 
> > 
> > We can see in these words some strong `pioneer elements' for the 
future ideologies of Nazism and Fascism, and ultimately for the mass-
murder attemtps of "ethnic cleansing". Look at it again: 
> > 
> > " (...) and last and worst came what were called the half-breeds 
or half-castes ? a mixed race which seemed (...) to combine all the 
worst qualities of both its parent stocks." 
> > 
> > This is Leadbeater. 
> > 
> > But -- what about Theosophy? What does esoteric philosophy 
really say about the relations between rich and poor nations and 
among all different ethnical groups, with their varied kinds of 
colours in the skin? In the "Letters from the Masters", the famous 
letter known as coming from the "Great Master" says: 
> > 
> > "To achieve the proposed object, a greater, a wiser, and 
especially a more benevolent intermingling of the high and the low, 
of the Alpha and the Omega of Society, was determined upon. The 
white race must be the first to stretch out the hand of fellowship 
to the dark nations, to call the poor despised `nigger' brother. 
This prospect may not smile to all, but he is no Theosophist who 
objects to his principle" (2) 
> > 
> > One can only conclude, then, that in writing that paragraph 
Leadbeater was "no theosophist". 
> > 
> > In fact, Leadbeater's vision of human beings as presented in 
that long story is not only ethically and culturally unacceptable. 
It is also legally criminal, for racism and stimulation of hatred 
among people of different skin-colours has been defined as crime in 
Brazil a few years ago. 
> > 
> > One can understand why the Brazilian edition of "Saved By a 
Ghost" cannot be found in Brazilian bookshops any longer. Yet it is 
still for sale at Adyar, it seems. 
> > 
> > ( In another posting, I should refer to Leadbeater's proudly 
alleged acts of violence leading to death, which, even if seen as 
fictional, are profoundly untheosophical. ) 
> > 
> > Best regards, Carlos. 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > NOTE:
> > 
> > (1) "The Perfume of Egypt", by C. W. Leadbeater, whose sixth 
edition (TPH Adyar, 265 pp.) is dated 1978. 
> > 
> > 
> > (2) "Letters From the Masters of the Wisdom", compiled by C. 
Jinarajadasa, Adyar TPH, first series, Letter number one, known 
as `the Maha-Chohan Letter' or "the Great Master Letter'. 
> > 
> > 
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> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
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