Theos-Talk Archives (November 2012 Message tt00037)

Morten, Jacques and Daniel,

Thanks for your support, but I really I am not that upset. Theos.net has lost a lot of interest. In the last year, many have left or were banned like me.

However there is a clear problem of intolerance and it is not exclusive of theos.net. During the weekend I heard from a well-known theosophist another story of fundamentalism which ended in the same way - account suspended!

So hard to remember what Blavatsky wrote in the First Letter to American Theosophists:

"Orthodoxy in Theosophy is a thing neither possible nor desirable. It is diversity of opinion, within certain limits, that keeps the Theosophical Society a living and a healthy body, its many other ugly features notwithstanding. Were it not, also, for the existence of a large amount of uncertainty in the minds of students of Theosophy, such healthy divergencies would be impossible, and the Society would degenerate into a sect, in which a narrow and stereotyped creed would take the place of the living and breathing spirit of Truth and an ever growing Knowledge." 

PB



--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel" <danielhcaldwell@...> wrote:
>
> Ah, Paulo, I see you have dared to question the Great Oz.
> 
> So you are summarily dismissed.
> 
> Well, here is one example of the "fondness" shown for HPB in the land of Oz:
> 
> "Her work will just fade into the halls of all the books she stole material from; or was told by people she seemed to believe in. Her stuff does not work in the 21st century. Frankly - if people want to know about Theosophy... keep them away from HPB. They will only become entrapped in the Esoteric Bogs and attempts to define/unify and justify her Doctrine of the "One Perennial Wisdom Religion". That is a fatal trap for most people's personal growth..."
> 
> http://theosnet.ning.com/forum/topics/blavatsky-s-theosophy?commentId=3055387%3AComment%3A116264
> 
> I suppose that writer has not been thrown off the site but you have been.
> 
> So go figure.
> 
> Daniel
> 
> 
> 
> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "paulobaptista_v" <paulobaptista_v@> wrote:
> >
> > I'm sure I'm not the first one to complain, but once again theos.net has proved that freedom of thought and speech is not something that its administrators appreciate.
> > 
> > One user accused them of not being fond of Blavatsky,
> > 
> > http://theosnet.ning.com/forum/topics/hpb-s-s-d-and-its-relation-with-politics?xg_source=activity
> > 
> > a remark which they didn´t like and in reply wrote:
> > 
> > "First of all, there is a very blatant misstatement at the beginning.  Nobody on the board or on the moderating team have anything against HPB.  In fact most of us have been students of hers for a very long time.
> > Read this carefully and understand it well. IT IS HER FOLLOWERS.
> > It is the followers who have bankrupt imaginations which are obsessed with the Secret Doctrine and other of Blavatsky's books, as if they are the only source of enlightenment. It is the inability to move out of the 19th Century and apply the wisdom not only to today's world, but tomorrow's too. It is the insistence on a complete and total belief in her unseen masters which poisons all creativity and productive effort in the present."
> > 
> > I found this to be completely off the mark and replied:
> > 
> > "To blame HPB "followers" is absolutely ridiculous.
> > Who accused Blavatsky of "magical thinking" or "of being a mixed bag"? Certainly not her "followers"?
> > Who brought here half truths and innuendos about HPB? Certainly not her "followers"?
> > Who suggested that some of her claims, like the existence of Masters, were nonsense? Certainly not her "followers" 
> > 
> > etc, etc? (it's a bit long, but nothing of what I wrote can be considered impolite).
> > 
> > My reply was erased and my account was suspended. 
> > 
> > Joe Fulton sent me a message but since I was banned I can´t read it in full!
> > 
> > It starts like this:
> > 
> > "Mr. Baptista,
> > 
> > This is our site and we have a point of view.  This is not an open forum for any person to post anything as they see fit.  We have made our position extremely clear as to who we are an..."
> > 
> > I sure would like to finish that sentence?
> > 
> > So, having a point of view means not accepting other people's opinions.
> > Well, isn´t this the way that dictatorships work?
> > No wonder that almost everyone that studies modern Theosophy has already left theos.net.
> > It's a pity watching old folks behaving like elementary school bullies.
> > 
> > PB
> >
>