Theos-Talk Archives (March 2006 Message tt00505)

Hi Vladimir,

If there is a consensus that I have a place here, then I will stay.  
But am concerned by Erica's recent post and by the realization that 
the feud between ULT and Adyar has been consuming all the air in 
this room for a long time.  Both sides have taken whacks at me, but 
what is happening is really mostly between these two organizations 
and their members.  Instead of being the reductionist skeptic 
certain Theosophists have imagined, I have been on the fringe of the 
Theosophical movement in the ARE, writing on Cayce but never 
unsympathetic to HPB.  And now after slowly losing interest in ARE I 
am focused on the Church of Light which descends from the Hermetic 
Brotherhood of Luxor-- which has a hugely fascinating shared history 
with the TS.  So I'm not here to jeer at the Theosophical 
organizations or their Founder, but to discuss her and her legacy 
with people who can step aside from organizational perspectives 
enough to relax about old wounds.  Jerry is a fine example of being 
able to deal frankly but without rancor with the Theosophical past.

You wrote:
--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, Vladimir <forums@...> wrote:
>
> I  must  second  this, although Paul's simultaneous "admiration of 
HPB and  her books" and trumpeting "mischievous and even dark sides 
of her personality"  

Not really simultaneous at all.  The admiration dated from the late 
1970s but it was at least ten years before the mischievous and dark 
(think: Shrine phenomena) sides were something I could face 
honestly.  And of course I never "trumpeted" that because as a 
Theosophist I knew that people would want to crucify any member who 
publicly questioned the Mahatma letters and phenomena.  But I 
quietly acknowledged it.

on the basis of "can be" statements (I can recall Paul's
> statements to that effect if needed) looks rather jesuitical.
> 
> Well,  so  many "spiritual movements" end up as a can of worms or 
even spiders. If you don't like this particular can, transform it.
> 
While I am enjoying Art Magic and Ghost Land very much, and read 
Light of Egypt years ago with interest, it's the transformation of 
the tradition by C. C. Zain that is really most appealing to me.  
The HBL closed in 1913 and he worked behind the scenes to transform 
it into the CofL which seems to be a much healthier and more 
functional organization.  Seeing the TS and ULT mired in the 
failures and feuds of the 1910 era, I wonder if a complete 
reorganization of the Theosophical movement back then could have 
saved it in the way that Zain seems to have rescued the failing, 
dying HBL.

Those of us who are affiliated with groups other than Adyar or ULT 
that in some way honor HPB, which includes Adelasie in the Temple of 
the People, Jerry in Alexandria West, and any Pasadena members here, 
need to find a way to participate without taking sides or adding 
fuel to the Adyar/ULT fire.  The whole endless fight about too much 
vs. not enough respect for HPB becomes a poison geyser spewing all 
over the rest of us outside those two organizations.  

If the 4 year war to which Erica refers can be ended, I'll stay.  
But she's right, enough is enough.

Paul