Theos-Talk Archives (April 2009 Message tt00314)

Thanks Anton

Looking at all those words makes me realize what the TS could be, 
and how many of those good things we have lost over the last year.  
I too hope that members will all work together again in the future
to restore true harmony within the TS.

My very best wishes
Keith


--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Anton Rozman" <anton_rozman@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Keith,
> 
> Thank you very much once again for your answers. 
> 
> I looked in a dictionary for synonyms of the word "harmony" and here are some of them: concord, consensus, cooperation, correspondence, empathy, friendship, good will, kinship, meeting of minds, peace, rapport, sympathy, tranquility, unanimity, understanding, attunement, blending, concurrence, consonance, richness, unity. It seems to me that practically all of them comprise some definite effort which has to be made to overcome discord; that harmony is a result of joint efforts of all involved to get best possible result in the realization of common goal.
> 
> So, I equally hope that efforts will be made which will lead us towards harmony.
> 
> All the best and warmest regards,
> Anton
> 
> 
> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "keith_fisher@" <exsecy@> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Anton
> > 
> > I hope what we have been doing in these question and answer 
> > sessions has been helpful in clearing up information which has 
> > previously been distorted.  Now that members have a better 
> > understanding of the issues, they will more easily be able to make
> > informed decisions and come to the right conclusions.  I sincerely
> > hope that members will actively look for ways to move forward 
> > harmoniously, instead of perpetuating all the bad feelings and 
> > creating even more problems.
> > 
> > Membership records at Adyar can never be completely up to date, 
> > as they are reliant on the information received from Sections, 
> > Regional Associations, Presidential Agencies and Lodges around 
> > the world, some of which is only received on an annual basis.
> > 
> > The voting results for the Presidential election would be those 
> > received directly from the voting bodies, they would not be 
> > compared to any records held at Adyar.  I have had a look at 
> > your analysis which relies on the statistics printed in the 2007 
> > Annual Report being totally correct. Unfortunately, this report 
> > relies on information sent to Adyar in the annual reports of 
> > sections and lodges, if the information is not received, the total 
> > reported in the previous year has to remain in place.
> > 
> > In the case of Pakistan which was reported as having 89 members 
> > in 2007, I think you will find that this hasn't changed for a few 
> > years, and they will still have 89 members in 2008, as a report still
> > has not been received.  The total number of members is not known,
> > so it is entirely possible that they had 124 members eligible to vote 
> > in June 2008.
> > 
> > In the case of Ukraine which was reported as having 11 members
> > in the Ankh Lodge in 2007, but had 15 members eligible to vote, 
> > this is also possible.  The Ukraine has a lot of Fellows at Large, 
> > some of these members have formed another lodge, there were two 
> > lodges at the end of 2008 with a total membership of 27 members.
> > 
> > It is safe to say that at any given time Adyar would not be able to
> > give an accurate membership count.  I seriously question whether
> > it is necessary for Adyar to keep any membership records at all in
> > the future, this is best able to be done at the section level, and with
> > email, the information is quite easily obtained from a section in a 
> > matter of hours. I would like to see the question of membership 
> > records and annual reporting completely reviewed and streamlined
> > in the very near future.
> > 
> > There are many departments at Adyar each dealing with it's own area
> > of activities, they include Electrical and Mechanical maintenance, the 
> > Garden dept, Sanitary dept, and Houskeeping dept.  There is also the 
> > Adyar Library and the Theosophical Publishing House, including the 
> > Vasanta Press, Editorial dept and Adyar Bookshop.  
> > 
> > Leadbeater Chambers and the New and Old Quadrangles are Western 
> > and Indian guest houses respectively, they each have there own 
> > restaurants which cater for guests and residents. The President's office, 
> > Archives, Museum, and Public Information office are all located in the 
> > Headquarters building and a separate Administration building houses 
> > the Treasury, Secretary's office, Accommodation office, School of the 
> > Wisdom office, and the General Managers office.
> > 
> > Most of the TS officers are unpaid volunteers who pay for their own
> > accommodation and meals, there is a small allowance available to 
> > cover these expenses for those who have no other form of income.
> > There are also employees in most of the departments and contractors
> > are used for large building and garden projects.
> > 
> > The General Manager has overall control of the departments and works
> > closely with the Site Manager and Heads of departments.  There are 
> > many activities going on at any one time, this can best be seen from the 
> > minutes of  the February EC meeting which follow:
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 			  MINUTES
> > 	of the Meeting of the Executive Committee
> > 	held on Friday 6 February 2009 at 8.30 am
> > 	in the Board  Room at the Headquarters of
> >                 the Theosophical Society
> > 
> > The following were present:
> > Mrs Radha Burnier	President
> > Mr Keith Fisher		Secretary
> > Dr C V Agarwal
> > Mr D K Govindaraj
> > Mr Sriram Panchu
> > Mr S Harihara Raghavan
> > 
> > 	
> > 1.Confirmation of the Minutes of the Meeting of 3 December 2008
> > 
> > The Minutes of the Meeting held on 3 December 2008 were read,
> > confirmed and signed.
> > 
> > 2.Matters arising from the Minutes	
> > Valuable wood:   Pending  Attn.GM
> > Energy Audit:   Pending  Attn.GM
> > Renovation of Administration Building:  Work Completed.	
> > Painting of Main Water Tank:  Replacement of existing metal
> > stairs with an Aluminium staircase.   Pending  Attn.GM
> > Renovation of Blavatsky Bungalow: Work in progress. 
> > Binding and pointing work on the roof is not proper, painting 
> > to be re-done at many places at contractor's cost.  Attn. GM      
> > Renovation of Compound wall near fruit shop: 
> > Pending. Attn. GM
> > Repairs to Govinda Vilas:  Work in progress.  Attn. GM
> > Repairs to Sita Vilas: Minor work needs attention.  Attn. GM
> > Repairs to Ranga Vilas: Work completed.				 
> > Sevashrama: 
> > Work in progress will be completed this month. Attn. GM
> > Compound wall Renovation near main gate:   
> > Work in progress. Attn. GM
> > Repairs to Triplicane Building: 
> > Minor repair work to be taken up as soon as possible. Attn. GM
> > Renewal of Annual Maintenance Contract for OTIS Lift at the
> > Headquarters. Renewed for period 1-12-2008 to 30-11-2010 
> > Raising the Neem Cottage compound wall by 3ft:  
> > Total length 95ft. Completed.
> > Providing Y angles and barbed wire fencing 
> > on 825ft of the Compound wall. Pending  Attn. GM
> > Water proofing the roof of Sitavilas: Completed					
> > Plastering, painting and white washing LBC.  Seven rooms and 
> > front veranda on the second floor of LBC completed. 
> > Other work to be taken up shortly.  Attn. GM
> > Painting of certain portion in the Headquarters Building 
> > namely entrance, veranda, staircase, Board room, Vice President's 
> > room, and all doors. Work Completed.
> > Upgrading Computers:  
> > President's Office and Maintenance department.  Completed.
> > Manufacturing of 50 cots for Convention:  Completed.
> > Nutrients for coconut trees from Hi-Tech Coconuts.  Completed.	
> > Lawn Mower and Accessories for Garden Department.  Procured.
> > Fencing on the riverside  Recovery of Rs 1,00.000/- 
> > from Jayam Estates -  Pending. Attn. GM
> > Repairs to eastern side of Headquarters Building  
> > Pending. Attn.GM
> > 
> > 
> > 3 Sanctions accorded:
> > 3.1 Administration Building Annexe
> > (Ground Floor & First Floor)  Civil repair work & painting. 
> > Provisional estimate - Rs.35,000/- Attn. GM
> > 
> > 3.2 Adyar Library ? (Ground Floor & First Floor Veranda)
> > Civil repair & painting work, renovation of bathrooms & toilets.
> > Rs.2,00,000/-	Attn. GM
> > 
> > 3.3 Mosque ? Repair work & painting. Rs.42,000/-  Attn. GM
> > 
> > 3.4 Headquarters Building - Offices of President and Secretary.
> > 		Rs.89,000/-  Attn. GM
> > 
> > 3.5 Triplicane Building portion of Masonic Temple 
> > wood work and erection of brick pillar etc. 
> > (subject to reinspection)  Rs.48,700/-	 Attn. GM
> > 
> > 3.6 Erecting stone masonry compound wall from the southern side
> > of the compound wall (slab) in Besant Gardens to the entrance 
> > of Animal Welfare Dispensary.
> > 770 ft at Rs.940/- per running foot. Rs.7,23,800/-  Attn. GM
> > 
> > 3.7 Painting and minor repairs on `Rose' building in Besant Gardens
> > Provisional estimate -	Rs.20,000/-  Attn. GM
> > 
> > 4 Sanctions accorded: 
> > Garden Department	Amount approved: 	Rs.3,50,000/-
> > 
> > 4.1 Drip Irrigation in Salt Meadow		Rs.1,20,000/-
> > 
> > 4.2 Partial Pest Control in Coconuts		Rs.60,000/-
> > 
> > 4.3 Repairs to 11 Pumps				Rs.11,000/-
> > 
> > 4.4 Coconut leaf and wood shredder		Rs.1,20,000/-
> > Details & technical specifications to be furnished to consider 
> > the balance sanction. To be purchased only after verifying the 
> > machines performance at our premises.
> > 
> > 4.5 Coconut Husk Removal Machine		Rs.80,000/-
> > To be purchased only after verifying the performance 
> > of the machine at our premises.
> >  
> > 4.6 Two Handcarts				Rs.25,000/-
> > 
> > 4.7 Electric Chain Saw repair or replacement	Rs.5,000/-
> > 
> > 5 Authorisation of a TPH contract with E-Billing Solutions Pvt Ltd.
> > 
> > Resolved that the consent of the Executive Committee be and is 
> > hereby accorded to enter into an agreement with E-Billing Solutions
> > Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, for availing of payment gateway services on 
> > terms and conditions specified in the agreement. 
> > 
> > Further resolved that Mr S. Ramu or Dr C. V. Agarwal or 
> > Mr S. Harihara Raghavan jointly with Miss Keshwar Dastur, 
> > Treasurer, or Mr D. K. Govindaraj be and are hereby authorized to 
> > sign and execute on behalf of the Theosophical Publishing House 
> > all agreements, undertakings and any other documents that may be
> > necessary for availing the said services from E-Billing Solutions 
> > Pvt. Ltd. and to do all such acts as may be necessary to implement
> > the foregoing resolution.
> > 
> > 
> > 6 Any Other Business
> > 
> > 6.1 A letter dated 2 February 2009 from the organizer of the Besant 
> > Scout Centre, requested that a concrete pad in the Centre to be 
> > replaced.  An estimate for the work to be sought. 
> > No new platforms to be built.		Attn. GM
> > 						
> > 6.2 Security Matters.  Pending		Attn. GM
> > 
> > 6.3 Removal of Polystyrene etc., on river bank from LBC to the 
> > river mouth.  Pending	 Attn. GM
> > 	
> > 6.4 Increase in Ironing Rates ? Approved
> > 
> > 6.5 A senior planner was invited to the meeting to explain the 
> > proposed new road along the beach.  He confirmed that the 
> > proposed elevated road is in the planning stage and may 
> > come very close to our compound wall along the beach. 
> > Mr. Panchu suggested that it would be in the interests of the 
> > Society to make a representation to the appropriate authorities 
> > in the government explaining that environmentally it is not 
> > advisable to take up the proposed project.  
> > The President requested that Mr. Panchu draft a suitable 
> > representation on behalf of the Society.  Attn. Mr. Panchu 
> >  
> > Sorry about the formatting.
> > Best wishes
> > Keith
>