Theos-Talk Archives (May 2008 Message tt00772)

Pedro,
> When I visited Australia and New Zealand as a guest speaker in 1994, 
> I became exposed to the kind of polarization I referred to above. Let 
> me give you two examples. In New Zealand, while staying in a 
> theosophical home, I accidentaly came across a piece of paper on 
> which it was written:
> 
> "I pledge to work for the Great White Brotherhood and for their last 
> Disciple, Geoffrey Hodson."
> 
> I was, naturally, quite astonished to read that because it was, 
> stating it in simple terms, an evidence of the existence of a cult 
> around Hodson among some members of the TS. 

I point I was telling is Krishnamurti himself rejected Theosophical
ideas like evolution, karma, Masters etc. So, I wanted to point out
that Theosophy and Krishnamurti's views are not same. In fact he again
and again denied similarity between Theosophy and his teaching. He
urged not to mix these two and not to reconcile these two. Efforts of
current leaders to reconcile Theosophy and K's teaching are not
approved by K. He did not want them to reconcile. He made that point
clear again and again. 
If there was a cult around Hodson or not has nothing to do about the
point I was trying to convey.

> 
> When my lecture tour took me to Australia and eventually to Perth, in 
> Western Australia, things got slighty, shall we say, much more 
> intense because the editor of the TS Branch newsletter in that city 
> published an editorial containing a rabid attack on Krishnamurti and 
> declaring in it that "Krishnamurti had failed as a soul". Needless to 
> say he received a number of letters to the editor protesting about 
> the contents of his editorial. The same opinion was voiced to me, in 
> a private conversation many years later in Sydney, by a long standing 
> TS member in Australia.

I am not surprised if followers of Krishnamurti protest against the
editorial calling Krishnamurti a failed soul. 
I speak what I think is truth. I don't care whether others like that
truth or they don't like that. 

> Now, I don't want to make this into a essay, but would like to put 
> before you two statements; one from HPB in "The Voice of the 
> Silelnce", and the other from Krishnamurti in a dialogue that took 
> place in Varanasi in 1974. Here they are:    
> 
> 
> The Self of matter and the SELF of Spirit can never meet. 
> One of the twain must disappear; there is no place for both.
> 
> ("The Voice of the Silence", I:56)
>   
> 
> Where you are, the other is not. 
> 
> ("Within the Mind � On J. Krishnamurti", KFI, Madras, 1983, p. 13)

Krishnamurti here again talks vague, without making clear what he
refers by "you" and "other" It is your imagination that other is
matter and you is Spirit. K has not clearly said anything about it.
People try to attach lofty meaning to K's vague utterances.

> In spite of the difference in language, I consider that both HPB and 
> K are pointing out to the same underlying principle, namely, that as 
> long as consciousness is centered in the personal, memory-based, time-
> bound, sense of self there cannot be the realization of that which 
> boundless, eternal and uncreated.

There are few similarities between Theosophy and Krishnamurti. But
there are huge differences on other important matters. So calling them
same is wrong. People live and Australia and people live in India.
Would you say that because of this similarity both Australia and India
are same ?

> I have written an article exploring some similarities between her 
> teaching and K's and you may see when it is published. If it is not 
> published I could send you a copy of it.

You can send me a copy. But I know what similarities you will be
showing and I already said that there are some similarities. But the
problem is there are many other big differences. If you want to
understand this subject well, my suggestion is you concentrate on
differences between Theosophy and K's teaching. That will tell you
many things. You may write article telling differences between K's
teaching and Theosophy. 

Anand Gholap