Theos-Talk Archives (March 2012 Message tt00071)

Einstein archives should be an eye opener for anyone interested in
historical materials.

In the past, historical materials are kept under lock and key with limited
or no access to anyone outside a small circle. Handling of the old
documents may damage and also potential for theft of valuable old documents
is a very real issue.

With todayâs digital scanning technology, we can scan the documents and the
images can be stored on a computer which can be accessed from anywhere in
the world. Scanners used to be very expensive and their prices have come
down. Scanning is one time job and once done, it preserves the image for
all future even when technology changes.

I am sure all the theosophical leaders and authors must have left behind
lot of original manuscripts and if only they all can be scanned and public
access allowed, what additional philosophical and historical facts can come
out for the use of students and historians. There is a general
predisposition to keep historical materials secret for flimsy reasons. An
example in point is the 1900 KH letter where much of it was redacted before
publishing. Finally it was after 87 years that the full unredacted letter
was published in the USA in a non official publication and to the surprise
of everyone there was no personal information contained in it calling for
keeping it secret.

I hope the movers and shakers who have the custody of the historical
materials in India, England and USA think of all the good that can come out
of digitizing the manuscripts and documents and making them available to
everyone.

MKR


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