Theos-Talk Archives (November 2012 Message tt00062)

Sufilight,

I think that HPB herself answers your question in the following excerpt from
THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY:

-----------------
. . . . ENQUIRER. But surely those few who have felt the need of such truths
must have made up their minds to believe in something definite? You tell me
that, the Society having no doctrines of its own, every member may believe as he
chooses and accept what he pleases. This looks as if the Theosophical Society
was bent upon reviving the confusion of languages and beliefs of the Tower of
Babel of old. Have you no beliefs in common?

THEOSOPHIST. What is meant by the Society having no tenets or doctrines of its
own is, that no special doctrines or beliefs are obligatory on its members; but,
of course, this applies only to the body as a whole. The Society, as you were
told, is divided into an outer and an inner body. Those who belong to the latter
have, of course, a philosophy, or ? if you so prefer it ? a religious system of
their own.

ENQUIRER. May we be told what it is?

THEOSOPHIST. We make no secret of it. It was outlined a few years ago in the
Theosophist and "Esoteric Buddhism," and may be found still more elaborated in
the "Secret Doctrine." It is based on the oldest philosophy of the world, called
the Wisdom-Religion or the Archaic Doctrine. . . .
-------------------

Daniel
http://hpb.cc



--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "M. Sufilight" <global-theosophy@...> wrote:
>
> A few views...
> 
> 
> Yes. Sure this is a special day. Just like a certain day in september was.
> 
> But let us not forget that times are different. And that there in fact are many special days, if we remember the past events and activities of various famous people.
> 
> MKR you wrote:
> "Today, world over if people were exposed to the tenets of theosophy which
> in turn has helped them to contribute to make the world a better place, all
> the credit goes to the hard work of HSO and HPB. "
> 
> Allow me to ask:
> What are the tenets of theosophy? Are they a belief? Or a sectarian doctrine?
> And who decides what is called tenets of theosophy and who does not?
> 
> Strangely enough I very often find myself stonewalled with silence when I ask such well-meant questions.
> ________________
> 
> 
> PHILOSOPHERS AND PHILOSOPHICULES by Blavatsky, 1889:
> "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?"
> â??Why, 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??
> â??Verily 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?"
> â??Very true; yet these doctrines are collectively called â??Theosophy.â?? What is your explanation of this?â??
> We reply:â?"â??To call them so is a â??collectiveâ?? 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 â??buddhismâ?? and â??budhism,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 presentâ?"helped in this by a host of Theosophistsâ?"has 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
> 
> 
> 
> M. Sufilight
> 
> 
> 
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: .:. 
>   To: theos-talk 
>   Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2012 6:38 AM
>   Subject: theos-talk November 17 - Theosophical Society Founders' Day
> 
> 
>     
>   November 17th is celebrated around the world as the Foundersâ?? Day. On this
>   day in 1875, Col Olcott delivered the inaugural address of the Theosophical
>   Society. Let us go back to time when TS was founded.
> 
>   A key event was the visit of the one of the Inner Founders to Olcott in New
>   York and Olcott was told that there was a crisis and his help was needed.
>   Times were different and travel and living conditions were hard. Olcott had
>   no idea of India and the conditions there at that time. In spite of this,
>   he made a leap of faith and moved to India and work for the spread of
>   theosophy and TS. Of course his co-worker in this endeavor was H P
>   Blavatsky and her contribution to the introduction of the ancient wisdom to
>   the West need no explanation.
> 
>   Today, world over if people were exposed to the tenets of theosophy which
>   in turn has helped them to contribute to make the world a better place, all
>   the credit goes to the hard work of HSO and HPB. There is a long list of
>   arm chair critics but when we compare the contribution and sacrifices of
>   the Founders, the reality sets in.
> 
>   Theosophists correctly celebrate this day to remember the Founders and also
>   many many workers around the world who have toiled to spread theosophy. Let
>   us show our gratitude to all of them for bringing theosophy to us and make
>   our lives better and thus help better the people we deal with every day.
> 
>   MKR
> 
>   [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 
> 
> 
>   
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>