Theos-Talk Archives (August 2004 Message tt00461)

Hi all,

I feel that the next step is to have a forum comparable to e-sangha,
based on the PHP-forum-software. The ULT has this for the discussions
on the quotes they send people, but the format is really very usefull
as it organizes possible subjects and threads and types of questions.
One might have for instance these subheadings:

general discussion
historical discussion
newby questions
sharing quotes
Topics (karma, reincarnation, rounds and races, etc.)
Theosophy in daily life
buddhism discussed
Islam discussed
hinduism discussed
christianity discussed
shamanism discussed
Comparing religions
Teachers, with threads on: Blavatsky, Besant,Leadbeater, Hodson,
Bailey, Steiner, De Purucker, Krishnamurti (another option would be to
have sub-forum's discussing the material by each)
Others
theosophy cafe (no serious replies required. the place for humor and
more personal and irrelevant issues to be discussed)

E-sangha can be found at: http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/
Very practical would also be if such a forum gave the possibility of
keeping up to date with RSS. (yahoo-groups has that option too).
Unfortunately, as far as I know, setting this up would require a
server and programming knowledge.

Katinka

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "W.Dallas TenBroeck"
<dalval14@e...> wrote:
> Aug 23 2004
> 
> Dear Doss
> 
> I think you have a good point.
> 
> Now how to activate work through the Internet? 
> 
> I think it can be made to serve all students -- regardless of
affiliation.
> 
> Suggestions? Plans?
> 
> How can we all get together and help in this?
> 
> Dallas
> 
> ================================\
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: MKR [mailto:ramadoss@g...] 
> Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2004 8:24 PM
> To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: Theos-World Re: different answers to "What is Theosophy?"
> 
> At 01:32 AM 08/23/04 +0000, Perry Coles wrote:
> >....I have no problem with people studying neo-theosophy or any other
> >particular philosophy, the main point being its not done in a dogmatic
> >and closed fashion as you say the writings of HPB are simply giving us
> >some clues and I tend to think the nature of her writing style leads
> >you away from belief and following much the way Krishnamurti's
> >teachings do.....
> >So for me the issue of leaving the society was based not on having the
> >society become a HPB only society but rather a society that allowed
> >free and open debate and philosophical enquiry not only in the
> >lectures or study groups but also in its PUBLICATIONS this being the
> >main objection I have with the Adyar TS.
> >If the principal of freedom of opinion is one that is not only a
> >platitude in the society then why are articles critical of CWL and
> >neo-theosophy `not allowed' in its publications and yet it's perfectly
> >fine to criticise HPB in them?
> 
> Eldon Wrote:
> 
> |And with the advent of the Internet, we can
> |explore our ideas, have our groups, network with others, and work for
> |whatever creative projects we like, without needing anyone's
permission.
> 
> MKR reponds:
> 
> We may want to consider the conditions that existed when the TS was 
> launched in 1875. At that time, having lodges in cities was the best
means 
> of getting interested individuals together for discussion and
interchange 
> of ideas and also use the lodges as the base for giving publicity about 
> Theosophy. Also oral and print medium were the only means of
disseminating 
> Theosophical ideas and doctrines to the public as well as those
interested 
> in it. Under these conditions, a hierarchical setup was necessary to 
> coordinate the activities. The belief in the need for an "non-adept" 
> intermediary for one's spiritual enlightenment added another layer
to the 
> organizational setup. So when people and organization interact,
there are 
> so many non spiritual issues that come to the surface and do affect 
> individuals in various ways.
> 
> Looking at the current situation - Internet communication has
changed all 
> that. Today any set of individuals interested in any particular
activity 
> can setup a maillist or chat rooms and discuss, publish and interact 
> without any geographical or boundary limitation or any centralized
control 
> or censorship.
> 
> Is it possible that the old model setup in 1875 is now obsolete and no 
> longer relevant today even though some cling to it for various reasons. 
> This new setup indeed has created a lot of problems to a lot of 
> organizations many of which do not know how to deal with it. This is 
> exemplified by the fact that many of the leadership belong to past 
> generations who do not seem to fully understand the Internet
phenomenon and 
> its wide ramifications and consequently end up ignoring it rather
than make 
> full use of it to further the objectives of the organizations. Once the 
> leadership does this, most followers of the leaders imitate the
leadership 
> and thus miss the opportunity provided by the new medium of
communication. 
> As I see it, the current generation which is growing up in the Internet 
> environment is likely to act in the future and when such pro-Internet 
> attitude becomes dominant way of thinking we can see very many creative 
> developments take place to further the ideals and objectives of
Theosophy.
> 
> My 0.02
> 
> mkr
> 
> 
> 
> ----------
> 
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