Theos-Talk Archives (April 2010 Message tt00019)

Well, bandwagon or not, it is better than dying of boredom during  another 
talk on the Secret Doctrine.
 
I have a rather funny book in my collection, a bound volume of The  
Missionary Herald from 1888.   It is a wonderful photograph of the  time but it 
also has a lot of administrative trivia.  And among that is the  record of the 
proceedings of the association's annual convention, during the  opening 
ceremonies thereof one of the speakers dropped dead on the platform,  proving 
that it is possible for someone to actually bore himself to death.
 
And whenever I read that I really wish that a Theosophical gathering could  
be so graced, not out of malice, but out of mercy being extended to at 
least one  of our number being so released from the tendacious tediousness of 
Theosophical  lecturing.  And it would have given me a chance to say something 
witty  like, "See, even the Masters couldn't stand her any more."
 
Chuck the Heretic
 
_www.charlescosimano.com  

 
In a message dated 4/9/2010 9:00:41 A.M. Central Daylight Time,  
mkr777@gmail.com writes:

 
 
 
Are theosophical organizations in the West trying to jump on the  bandwagon
of meditation? If so does it further the advance of basic object  of
theosophy and Theosophical Society? Those in non-English speaking world  may
want to look up the phrase âjump on the bandwagonâ at the  URL:

<




_ (http://www.charlescosimano.com/) 
_http://en.wikipediahttp://en.http://en.http:/_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwagon_effect) >

If you look around, there  are several organizations in the West, mostly
having their origin in India,  which try to teach meditation and breathing
exercises. They are marketed  under different names, and different marketing
techniques. One basic theme  which underlies all of them is the promise of
making one feel better,  efficient and sometimes even claiming they help
reduce stress and other  health issues.

Many of these operations are very successful  financially. Typically, you 
are
invited to a one hour free session at which  a sales pitch is made. Many 
fall
for it. The followup programs can be very  expensive.

There is a general belief in the public in the West, that  more pricey,
better the program is. The attendees are required to promise  secrecy with
regard to what is taught in the program and that is why you  rarely see much
of discussion.

The financial success of these  programs can be phenomenal. There is an
outfit headed by a middle aged  âswamiâ from India which has a very
successful operation in LA. As an  adjunct, there is also a Hindu Temple
which helps recruit followers and  brings in a lot of money. To give you an
idea of the financial success,  this group recently acquired 140 acres of
land in a large mid-west city to  build a temple and facilities to operate
these programs.

One seems  to see attempts by some TS sections/lodges trying to jump on the
bandwagon  of meditation in the hope of offering what the public wants. A
good  marketing approach. But the fundamental object of TS, which was  
clearly
discussed again and again by the Founders in the early days of TS  does not
include the bandwagon of meditation.

TS was looking for  unselfish and altruistic members who are sold on the 
idea
of Universal  Brotherhood and what it can do for the welfare of our fellow
beings. While  the Founders are fully knowledgeable in the art and 
techniques
of  meditation and allied practices, they were not seen as a tool to  
further
the interests of Humanity.

The reason why I thought of  bringing the above topic is the sad trend in 
the
dissemination of theosophy  in the West. One of the key measures is the
membership. What we see is  either the membership is shrinking or frozen and
when we see lodge charters  getting cancelled and property sold does not 
help
furthering either  theosophy or the public perception of TS.

Also, furthering theosophy  was not helped by what we all have seen 
happening
in the TS since the start  of 2008 election and the subsequent events at the
top level, especially the  failed ultra secret attempt to disenfranchise all
members in the world. It  is all the more sad that the ultra secret
disenfranchisement attempt  originated in the United States which is 
supposed
to be the leader of  democracy.

It is time to reevaluate which bandwagon we want to be on? I  hope this is
one of the topics discussed at the next World Congress. I hope  we get on 
the
correct bandwagon quickly, even though we may be the only  passengers in it,
because theosophists are convinced that they are in th_e  forefront of the
movement for the welfare of the  Humanity.

MKR

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_ (http://www.charlescosimano.com/) 



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