Theos-Talk Archives (June 2004 Message tt00091)

June 17 2004



Dear Friends;



Perhaps you might be interested in reading this.





----------------------------------------------------------------



TO SPREAD BROADCAST THE TEACHINGS OF THEOSOPHY 

AS
RECORDED IN THE WRITINGS OF H.P.BLAVATSKY AND W.Q.JUDGE





United Lodge of Theosophists

A VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION OF
STUDENTS OF THEOSOPHY

245 WEST 33RD STREET, LOS
ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, 90007






June 21-25,2004

Dear Friends and Associates:



The Annual Greeting sent by the United Lodge of
Theosophists, as was noted in

1949, is "an attempt to symbolize the identity of aim, purpose and
teaching which exists

wherever U. L. T. Associations grow." While much that is external has
changed in the 55

years since those words were written, it is still true that thinking
about U L T works best

when we "read between the lines" and reflect that the "aim, purpose
and teaching" -- 

remain the same -- all else, finally, becoming "side issues."



>From time to time, students ask: "What constitutes a
'Lodge'? Are we doing this

the 'right way'?" Such inquiry is especially common among newcomers,
as well as those

who are geographically isolated, and may wonder " Are we big enough to
be called a

Lodge or are we 'only' a study group?"



A Lodge, as envisioned by the founders of UL T, is not in
a special place or a

specific building, nor does it even exist in time itself. Students who
come together to

study the original teachings of Theosophy, "wherever and however
situated"

automatically become active participants in a community of thought,
idea, aspiration, and

service: a community as old as time itself, and as far-reaching as
humans will allow the

heart and mind to stretch.



Comments sent in from Toronto express this spirit quite
well:



"We are just a small study class meeting one
day a week at a

rental room in a city library ...The
Declaration and Texts for

Theosophical Meetings have met our needs most
adequately;

their inspired structure and principles have
been an on-going base

for our meetings, and new and old students
agree that its

renaissance in November, 1909 was an inspired
one and indeed

the most careful statement of what a Lodge
should be according

to the advice of the Masters.



We ever join in the ULT effort and although
small in numbers we

are large in certain hope for the future.
Robert Crosbie's advice

on page 96 of The Friendly Philosopher to
continue and continue

is indeed our outlook and has been for the 40
or so years we have

been meeting as a study class -- we simply
have to give what help

we can."







-- 2 --





United Lodge of Theosophists





UL T -- in whatever form -- is at its heart a subjective
experience. While it relies

on individual commitment and effort, its work is not based on personal
desire, but on an

impersonal vision of the nature and future of humanity -- the creation
of a strong nucleus.

The truly radical nature of UL T needs to be remembered and
acknowledged -- the

launching in 1909 of an association of volunteer students was the
result of observing and

understanding the common difficulties faced by all who approach the
Great Teachings of

Theosophy.



This "community" was founded by workers who honored H. P.
Blavatsky and

William Q. Judge. In the 21st century, the plethora pf other books and
material has not 

altered the fact that a recognition of the Nature of the Teachers
links us to the Greater

Work pointed out by Them as the responsibility of the Companions -- of
those who have

allied themselves with the idea of spiritual evolution as a conscious
act in nature.



The mandate of UL T has never been to fill halls and
encourage an ever-increasing

"membership," but to function as a "way station" for those souls who,
tired of the

repetitive message of "self-fulfillment" and individual salvation
supported by the social

world, find themselves at the gate of a different and wiser arena.
This gathering place

where thought, study and mutual service are shared is the true "Lodge"
-- a place where

we realize the journey of the Soul is not done in isolation, but that
autonomy requires

Brotherhood -- the often unseen but utterly real fact of the Oneness
of all. When study

and work for others leads us to that place, we identify "side issues"
so they can be pared

away, leaving the essential -- the Real Lodge -- at the core. It is
then, as said by WQJ, that

we become ". ..members of that Universal Lodge of Free and Independent
Theosophists

which embraces every friend of the human race."



On the objective plane, Associates consider how to develop
appropriate methods

of work in response to new technologies. Efforts grow in India,
Europe, and elsewhere to

translate texts for local use, as Spanish translations of the
teachings continue to receive

wide support. And, while many are surrounded by external challenge and
change, the

growth of the Lodge in Haiti during especially troubling political
times should be noted.



With best wishes to those who work for that central human
essence we call "The

Lodge,"




Fraternally yours,



UNITED
LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS

Los
Angeles





=======================================



Best wishes,



Dallas





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]