Theos-Talk Archives (December 2008 Message tt00043)

When the plane landed at Chennai last Friday, Mumbai was still under 
a terrorist siege. The terrorists struck at the very touristic heart 
of that city, near the famous Gateway of India. On Saturday morning, 
when commandos of the National Security Guard finally cleared the 
last hotel in which hostages were being kept, the total death toll 
was over 170, with more than 300 people injured. There was widespread 
shock and disbelief in India. But India always recovers from such 
events. 

Students from Slovenia, Finland, Canada, Australia, Hungary and India 
are attending classes at the School of the Wisdom. The theme is "The 
Mahatmas on Theosophy and the TS". There is half an hour of silent 
meditation before the morning talk begins.

The different departments at Adyar are gearing up for the Convention 
at the end of the month. There were strong rains and winds in the 
last fortnight and some trees were uprooted. 

I met the President briefly the day after my arrival. She was 
preparing to go to a meeting at the Government House (Rashtrapati 
Bhavan). She was invited by the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh to give 
a speech during a book launch. She goes to the office both in the 
mornings and afternoons. 

The quiet and natural beauty at Adyar are refreshing. In one evening 
I decided to go for a walk after dinner and took with me a small 
torch. Near the coconut grove I met one of the many natural residents 
at Adyar: a black scorpion. He (or she) was the sort of creature that 
makes you pay careful attention. We had this silent meeting and I 
then decided to part company with the illustrious resident when I 
finally realized he was not going anywhere!

Some of the workers I had met in 1992 are still here and they 
apparently remember me. The TS at Adyar has given employment to 
generations of workers coming from the impoverished surroundings. 
Many of their children have studied in the Olcott Memorial High 
School.

One of the passages we examined recently at the School of the Wisdom 
was:

"Shall we devote our selves to teaching a few Europeans fed on the 
fat of the land, many of them loaded with the gifts of blind fortune, 
the rationale of bell ringing, cup growing, of the spiritual 
telephone and astral body formation, and leave the teeming millions 
of the ignorant, of the poor and despised, the lowly and the 
oppressed, to take care of themselves and of their hereafter the best 
they know how. Never. Rather perish the Theosophical Society with 
both its hapless founders than that we should permit it to become no 
better than an academy of magic and a hall of occultism. That we, the 
devoted followers of that spirit incarnate of absolute self 
sacrifice, of philanthropy, divine kindness, as of all the highest 
virtues attainable on this earth of sorrow, the man of men, Gautama 
Buddha, should ever allow the Theosophical Society to represent the 
embodiment of selfishness, the refuge of the few with no thought in 
them for the many, is a strange idea, my brothers." (The Mahachohan's 
Letter)

Walking around Adyar and its encircling neighbourhood helps us to 
understand the words of that great Adept. There cannot be Theosophy 
without a genuine sense of compassion towards those who are poor and 
despised.

The rains have stopped, the work continues, the crows are everywhere 
and Adyar continues to be pervaded by a sense of uncreated vastness 
and peace. I miss my litlle black scorpion friend. Perhaps we shall 
meet again. He has taught me to remain mindful. And he also goes to 
sleep in the magic quiet of Adyar nights.


Pedro