Theos-Talk Archives (September 2011 Message tt00028)

While browsing the wiki on Ottoman Empire, I came across the following
interesting fact:

âEarlier, the guilds of writers had denounced the printing press as "the
Devil's Invention", and were responsible for a 53-year lag between its
invention by Johannes Gutenberg in Europe in circa 1440 and its introduction
to the Ottoman society with the first Gutenberg press in Constantinople that
was established by the Sephardic Jews of Spain in 1493 (who had migrated to
the Ottoman Empire a year earlier, escaping from the Spanish Inquisition of
1492.) However, the printing press was used only by the non-Muslims in the
Ottoman Empire until the 18th century. In 1726, Ibrahim Muteferrika
convinced the Grand Vizier Nevs,ehirli Damat I.brahim Pasha, the Grand
Mufti, and the clergy on the efficiency of the printing press, and later
submitted a request to Sultan Ahmed III, who granted Muteferrika the
permission to publish non-religious books (despite opposition from some
calligraphers and religious leaders.)[60] Muteferrika's press published its
first book in 1729, and, by 1743, issued 17 works in 23 volumes (each having
between 500 and 1,000 copies.)[60][61]â

Next to printing, the major invention to affect the world in a very
revolutionary way is Internet. It is not integrated into day to day fabric
of most developed countries.

However, much like the depiction of printing as âthe Devilâs Inventionâ, it
looks like a similar view may be at the back of the minds of old-time
ancient wisdom aficionados who seem to abhor the use of Internet to
popularize and disseminate theosophical ideas and doctrines. All you need to
do is to browse the cyber space. You will be shocked how well known leaders
and authors and lecturers are absent from Internet forums and one can only
come to the conclusion that either they are out of tune or out of time with
what is going on in Internet or at a loss to know how to use it. The second
fact you can see is that organizations pay lip sympathy to use of Internet
by acting like a scrooge in their budget allocation to Internet.

It is well known that there is always a plan B when due to foolishness or
otherwise of leaders, plan A does not work. One day we all may wake up and
surprised the plan B (whatever it may be) has taken over. Change cannot be
stopped and cannot wait for the whims and prejudices and closed mindedness
of men and women.

MKR


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