Theos-Talk Archives (February 2011 Message tt00044)

Review of Collected Writings of Geoffrey Hodson

I recently got hold of 2 volume publication of Collected Writings of
Geoffrey Hodson, the well-known theosophical author, lecturer and
clairvoyant. I was very pleased with what I saw in them that I wanted to
share my views.

Hodson was born in 1866 and passed on in 1983. For more than a 50 years, he
traveled around the world lecturing on theosophical topics. In one of the
articles, he clearly spells out his views on traveling and lecturing:

âI believe that the activity of traveling about the world, teaching the
Ageless Wisdom, is one of the highest callings and greatest privileges open
to a human being. While all the aspects of Theosophical administration are
important, essential indeed and those who thus contribute are in their turn
performing deeply significant services, perhaps the expounding of Theosophy
and its application to the manifold problems of human life, bringing one
into intimate touch with humanity, is the highest calling of all.â

The 2 Volume book titled - Sharing the Light - contain collected articles of
Hodson and was complied by John and Elizabeth Sell and Edited by Roselmo Z
Doval Santos. They are all well known theosophists in NZ.

The books contain 402 articles Hodson has written and published in official
theosophical magazines of NZ, India, USA, Australia and South Africa.
Articles go as far back as 1927.

The books were published in 2008 by TPH, Quezon City, Philippines and
printed in Thailand, a truly multi-country effort. Those who came up with
the idea and followed through the project should be congratulated.

In the preface, there are acknowledgments to many who contributed to the
publication. What stuck me was the acknowledgment for the many personal and
financial contributions to the production of the book by Vic Chin Jr., the
well known theosophist from Philippines.

The publication is in two volumes, nicely printed and bound with hard cover.
The volumes have 920 and 968 pages respectively, has a lot of photos and
good indexes at the end. In the US, it costs about US$50.00.

Let us look at the contents of the volumes:

Vol-I

Spirituality and the Path of Discipleship
Theosophical Teachings
Clairvoyant Investigations
The Angelic World
Exploration of the unseen in other cultures
World Religions, ceremonial and symbolism.
The keys to health and healing.

Vol-II

Unusual experiences, poems and interesting topics
Further theosophical teachings
The theosophical society and some leaders.
The gift of theosophy to youth
Presenting and promoting the wisdom teachings.
An analysis of world problems with some theosophical solutions.

The articles written by him are on varied topics. There are many on
theosophy, theosophical society, and the White Brotherhood. They are a
veritable mine for any earnest theosophical student.

When one reads some of his articles about TS, its objectives and the role of
the Brotherhood, one finds them very inspiring. He presents them in simple
terms and one is convinced that he is speaking from personal knowledge and
experience.

On a personal note, I found out that when he visited my home town, San
Antonio, Texas, USA in 1953, (I was not there at that time) on a lecture
tour, he appeared live on TV for the first time and answered questions
spontaneously and for 15 minutes on the local radio immediately. Also, in
some of the correspondence I have seen at the local Lodge, while traveling
he preferred to stay at hotels and not in members' homes. The reason was
that he wanted to be able to lay down on the bed undisturbed and do his
super physical tasks and a hotel setting is ideal for this.

The materials in the books are invaluable for posterity. However, it is too
pricey and too bulky for todayâs theosophists to access. I am sure that the
book was compiled using some word processing software and hence an
electronic copy exists. It can be converted to a searchable PDF file with
almost no cost or effort and can be distributed world-wide for free. This
will go a long way to help poor theosophists, especially in the developing
world. One wonders if those behind the book project considered this critical
issue. Even today, it is not too late. I hope a free electronic copy is made
available on Internet soon.

There are a lot of other articles of his which were published in magazines
around the world, and which are not in the book. I am sure they will add to
the treasure of his writings. I would urge any theosophist who locates such
material to forward them to TS-NZ, Vic Chin or myself and we can keep
accumulating them and make them available as free electronic supplement to
the book.

MKR

There is no religion higher than Truth


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