Theos-Talk Archives (October 2012 Message tt00027)

I applied for membership for more than two months ago to TS Adyar by e-mail.
No reply so far...!!!

And this from an organization which claim that it lack members!
There is definitly something not working very well in Adyar.

If they want a paper mail application, why not tell people about it on their website and in their Magazine?

_________________

A few related views...

The Original idea with the Society has indeed changed in TS Adyar - and - members of the TS are not recognizing it openly and officially - but apperently keep weakly silent when the truth about it is told.
Some would perhaps call it brainwashing -  sectarianism and what not...yet maybe there are other reasons.

A negative public opinion about the Theospophical Society being a Sect or a Cult is being spoonfeed by the present day TS Adyar policies:
This is my view....Try to contemplate the following...I will provide links to document my case if necessary...I have already a minor article ready on my harddrive for it....

I am saying:
In many official dictionaries of today in many languages...the The Theospophical Society is pictured as a Sect or even a Cult teaching a particular doctrine (of eastern Occultism and magi)  in the beginning promulgated by H. P. Blavatsky and others. Quite a number of scientific historical works and papers by scientifical researchers, some of them even well-known ones,  consider theTheospophical Society to be a Sect teaching its very own doctrine on rounds, races, karma, reincarnation, magical skills, even occultism with its more or less colory arts, manvantaras, maha.-manavantaras, (and a fake "muslin and bladder" doctrine) ----- as a mere faith or religious more or less fanatatical belief. - Because how many actaully know about the existence of the Maha-Manavantara unless they a pledged chelas?....In these days: Very few my friends, very few - this is what is claim...)

______________________________

--- THE ORIGINAL STANCE ---

PHILOSOPHERS AND PHILOSOPHICULES 
"In the published Constitution and Rules great stress is laid upon the absolutely non-sectarian character of the Society. It is constantly insisted upon that it has no creed, no philosophy, no religion, no dogmas, and even no special views of its own to advocate, still less to impose on its members. And yetâ
âWhy, bless us! is it not as undeniable a fact that certain very definite views of a philosophic and, strictly speaking, of a religious character are held by the Founders and most prominent members of the Society?â
âVerily so,â we answer. "But where is the alleged contradiction in this? Neither the Founders, nor the 'most
prominent members nor yet the majority thereof, constitute the Society, but only a certain portion of it, which, moreover, having no creed as a body, yet allows its members to believe as and what they please.â In answer to this, we are told:â
âVery true; yet these doctrines are collectively called âTheosophy.â What is your explanation of this?â
We reply:ââTo call them so is a âcollectiveâ mistake; one of those loose applications of terms to things that ought to be more carefully defined; and the neglect of members to do so is now bearing its fruits. In fact it is an oversight as harmful as that which followed the confusion of the two terms âbuddhismâ and âbudhism,â leading the Wisdom philosophy to be mistaken for the religion of Buddha.â
.......
"Prejudice against Theosophy seems to have become part of the national feeling. For almost three years the writer of the presentâhelped in this by a host of Theosophistsâhas tried in vain to sweep away from the public brain some of the most fantastic cobwebs with which it is garnished; and now she is on the eve of giving up the attempt in despair! "
http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v11/y1889_060.htm

I repeat:
"It is constantly insisted upon that it has no creed, no philosophy, no religion, no dogmas, and even no special views of its own to advocate, STILL LESS TO IMPOSE UPON ITS MEMBERS."

So what is present day TS Adyar doing to counter the same present day Prejudice. Nothing...or...?
Not much it seems when we read the dictionaries these days and what science are telling people in general about the Society and what it is supposed to promulgate of occult and sectarian kinds..
Even the online (English) Wikipedia on the Internet is struggling to keep a truthful definition - until I myself threw a few extra words about its Original non-sectarian nature...A nature it appears which was changed in 1924 or so, or even earliere on.

The Esoteric Section (not to be confused with the exoteric Theosophical Society)
"The enclosed paper drawn up by Mr. Judge was worded thus:

âTo William Q. Judge:ââYou are directed to draw together all those persons, members of the Theosophical Society in the U.S., who have or express the desire to serve the cause of the Blessed Masters. This you are to do with the understanding in writing in every case that the persons taken are not thereby made Chelas of the Masters, but simply that they are thus given a chance to make a preliminary trial of themselves, and in each case you will take from the applicant an expression in writing, before making your private register of the names, that they well understand the basis on which you thus take them. Nothing is promised; each will have just what he or she deservesââno more, no less. And all must be faithful to the Cause, to Masters, and to the founders of the Theosophical Society.
âGiven [etc.]â
âH.P.B. ... replied that I might go ahead without the paper and soon she would do something else. Later, at the time she was explaining in London the plan of the E.S.T. [Eastern School of Theosophy], I telegraphed her asking her to âmake public the Inner Section.â That telegram was received in the presence of Dr. Keightley and others. She then told me to come to London and help, which I did. The E.S. was founded on the exact lines of the above papers. I do not wish to place myself on the high level of H.P.B. ..., but in Occultism of Masterâs Lodge a lower Chela is often used as the instrument for pointing out to such a great character as H.P.B. ... the times and seasons and sometimes the plan. That I did in this case, and by the direction of the Master. H.P.B.âs promulgations followed the ideas and also the words in part of my paper.â*
In the Fall of 1888, W. Q. Judge went to England and Ireland, visiting, together with Dr. Archibald Keightley, the Dublin Lodge which received a great impetus from their visit on November 27th.
In connection with his visit to London, we have the following words from Mr. Judge:
âI am not a pledged member of the E.S.T. and never made a pledge in it, as my pledges were long before to the Master direct; I was one of its founders, with H.P.B. ..., and she at the beginning made me manager and teacher in it from the first, under her, for the American part especially . . . . I wrote the rules of the E.S.T. myself in London in 1888 at H.P.B.âs request and under the direction of the Master. . . . .â"
http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v12/y1890_052.htm


H. P. Blavatsky on - the ESOTERIC SECTION - INSTRUCTION NO. III
"Of the fact that no such large and ever-growing body as the E.S. has now become could remain without its traitors, secret and open, I was aware from the beginning. I knew what I had to expect from the first day. I knew that the task I had undertaken would lead to more obloquy and misrepresentations for me than ever; that it was sure to create a large amount of bad feeling among the members of the main (exoteric) body of the T.S., which would be finally vented, in particular, if not solely, upon myself. And all came to pass as I knew it would. But if it is, in a great measure, owing to this that the delivery of instructions was delayed, it was not, as said, the sole reason. There came a more serious impedimentââto me the bitterest of all. I received two letters and a reproof from the Masters. These reached me in no such way as to allow the hope that it was less serious than had at first appeared. That which I received both times, was a letter in plain language, sent by post and mailed quite prosaically at the Sikkim frontier, one in March, the other in August. The last of these left me no ephemeral hope that I had misunderstood or even exaggerated the facts. In their first, our Masters were displeased, and in their last, which arrived just as the news of M. A. Laneâs treachery came from New York, that displeasure became still more apparent.
It was at the end of August, and I was told to keep No. III of the Papers back, until further developments, and then to make those portions of the contents of the Mastersâ letter that related to the E.S. known to all its members of both continents, without even omitting to show them how mistaken and dangerous had been my policy in the E.S. from its beginning. I had been warned by the Council and my trusted friends, of the danger there was in admitting such a number of persons, scattered so widely over the world, who, it was added, knew me not, except on hearsay, and each of whom I had no other means, as they supposed, of studying than through their auras and photographs. 

I myself realized that danger, but had no means of averting it, since the âBook of the Discipline and Rulesâ states that: âNo one shall be refused admission, or the chance of learning truth and thereby improving his life, only because some one, or even all his neighbors think ill of him.â Such is the rule.

 Therefore, the larger the number of applicants who take the pledge, the greater the possibility of helping the masses. A member of the T.S. may be utterly unfit for the higher sciences and never grasp the true teachings of occultism and esoteric philosophy; but yet, if he has the true spark and faith in the real presence of the HIGHER SELF in him, he will remain loyal to his pledge and will try to model his life in accordance with the rules of the E.S., and thereby become nobler and better in every case. Membership in the E.S., and âpledgesâ sent, accepted and signed, are no warrants for a high success, nor do these pledges aim at making of every student an adept or a magician. They are simply the seeds in which lurks the potentiality of every truth, the germ of that progress which will be the heirloom of only the seventh perfect Race. A handful of such seeds was entrusted to me by the keepers of these truths, and it is my duty to sow them there, where I perceive a possibility of growth. It is the parable of the Sower put once more into practice, and a fresh lesson to be derived from its new application. The seeds that fall into good ground will bring forth fruit an hundredfold, and thus repay in each case the waste of those seeds which will have fallen by the wayside, on stony hearts and among the thorns of human passions. It is the duty of the Sower to choose the best soil for the future crops. But he is held responsible only so far as that ability is directly connected with the failures, and that such are solely due to it; it is the Karma of the individuals who receive the seeds by asking for them, that will repay or punish those who fail in their duties to their HIGHER SELF. Nature is ever struggling even in its so-called inorganic and inanimate kingdoms towards progress and perfectibility by production; how much more the nature of conscious thinking man! Each of us, if his nature is not productive or deep enough per se, may borrow and derive material for soil from the seeds themselves which he receives; and every one has the means to avoid the scorching sun, and to force the seeds to strike root, or prevent the thorns choking them, with a very little effort indeed. Therefore, my mistake did not lie in that I accepted too readily applications to join the E.S.
Nor have I sinned even in accepting men and women of whom I have not felt quite sure, though the opportunity of discerning their inner natures was possible and given to me in almost every instance. I have not sinned, in this, I say, as some think, because the rules teach again that the grand ethics taught in the secret Aryasanga schools are not for the benefit or perfection of saints, but verily of sinners who need moral and intellectual help."
http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v12/y1890_055.htm

So many was given access to the Esoteric Section in those early days.
Today they are clearly not following the same rule given by Blavatsky in the above and which I repeat here once again:
âNo one shall be refused admission, or the chance of learning truth and thereby improving his life, only because some one, or even all his neighbors think ill of him.â Such is the rule. 

Such is the real rule indeed!!!

And since TS Adyar is apperently is very much closed for membership, what hope can there be for membership in the present day Esoteric Section?
It seems obvious to ask such questions, do you not think so?


I am saying:
It is when the claimed Freedom of Thought among members is turned into the opposite that we discover its limitations...

If Silence is the major answer emanating from TS Adyar, when its leaders are being questioned...I begin to wonder about the reason for such an attitude and behavior...

Should we, who are honest seekers after truth and wisdom, NOT help each other and strecth out our hands in friendship instead of a continous stubborn - closed mindedness???

_____
Seekibng to up the volume a little....The ordinary human beings are acting more sanely in some respects...if you get my drift...Smile...

Auld Lang Syne 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWBbAZXEIEc

If everything goes well I will visit Adyar in december and the happy New Year about  2-3 years from now.
I will let you know later if and when...Then I will hand over a handwritten request to your administrative officers.
Because we will not get any-where without an effort, will we???

What good do you do if you only do good to those who agree with you on all and everything?

I just ask.

So digital or not...we still end up with a view that TS Adyar is presently following a strange policy, which beg for answers to be given and even answers to its own members.


_______
Other theosophical organizations or off-shoots seem to be struggling with similar matters as pictured in the above.
Or maybe I am mistaken.



M. Sufilight


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: .:. 
  To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2012 2:36 AM
  Subject: Re: theos-talk Re: Newsweek Going All Digital - Theosophical Publishers need to understand why?


    
  The problem of lack of appreciation of the role of digital world today, is
  widespread world-wide in theosophical organizations and even United States
  is not immune to it. When was a current theosophical publication
  distributed as a pdf file?

  Sooner the movers and shakers wake up to the reality of digital world,
  better it is. It does not take a genius to see today's reality.

  On Sat, Oct 20, 2012 at 4:38 PM, Konstantin Zaitzev <kay_ziatz@Z_JPXmN571BooKqqQmia6CzQSC9QE0YNZHRsqvkN4HHQeim6VjOWMOsOaLrW6_AIntv1ldhoG01q.yahoo.invalid>wrote:

  > **
  >
  >
  >
  > --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, ".:." <mkr777@...> wrote:
  >
  > > May be they are all praying for signals from beyond the
  > > Himalayas for guidance or command to
  >
  > Probably it was but they haven't read the email :)
  > I remember that in 1990's it was a problem to write to Adyar, as they had
  > no email, while we had in spite of being not very rich. I wrote a letter in
  > 1993 and got my reply only in 1995.
  > But they had... a cable! The address was OLCOTT. In 19th century many
  > organizations and rich persons had their own telegraph stations and I guess
  > that Olcott, being on the edge of then modern technology, provided one for
  > the headquarters.
  >
  > 
  >

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