Theos-Talk Archives (March 2007 Message tt00236)

Daniel,

Thank you for your comments and further clarifying your position with respect 
to HPB, WQJ, and ULT.   

Be assured that in my letters answering your questions about ULT, in no way 
was there any intent to accuse you of any anything... And, although I was 
peeved by your prosecutional and implicative method of interrogation, my response 
was in direct answer to your questions.   Sorry if I may have misconstrued them 
as questioning the credibility of ULT.   Actually, the only matter of my 
concern was simply clarifying the semantics of the word "organization" in the 
context I used it.

So, to further clarify what I meant by saying that ULT was not an 
"organization" in the ordinary sense....   While an association may be "organized" in a 
manner that enables it to carry out it's internal operations in an orderly 
fashion -- ULT, as an "independent" Association of equally independent students, 
is not "organized" in the same sense that a hierarchically administrated and 
constitutionally governed membership corporation might be... That is similar to 
the way the various Theosophical Society's are "organized."   

The facts that each Associate of ULT is independent, and has no obligation to 
the "Association" other than what they each voluntarily determine for 
themselves, and that the ULT branches are themselves, independent and not legally 
linked to any overall corporate structure or authority -- sets them apart from 
other theosophical organizations ostensibly offering group study services, such 
as libraries, classrooms, lecture halls, and other school facilities to 
theosophical students.   Also, ULT makes no distinction between those that have 
signed their membership form or not -- since all the facilities of the Lodge are 
free and open to anyone.   

Thus, to speak of ULT's Association as being an "organization" is not the 
same as speaking of the TS organizations -- which are NOT a free "association of 
independent students of theosophy."   The difference is obvious when you 
compare their dissimilar methods and structures of management and administration, 
as well as their methods of funding their operations. One centralized and the 
other not, one dues paying and the other not, one selling books, badges and 
trinkets for profit and the other not, one charging admission to lectures and the 
other not, etc., etc.   

And, as I said -- since all management of each ULT branch and maintenance of 
their Lodge buildings and facilities, as well as any improvements, are carried 
out solely by voluntary contribution -- any information about the inner 
workings or operations of each independent ULT branch can only be known to whoever 
has volunteered to carry them out.   Thus, no one in any ULT branch can speak 
for any other branch, including the similarly independent "parent Lodge" in 
LA, or for the Theosophy Company -- which is an independent printer and 
publisher of theosophical literature distributed through ULT and sold commercially 
through normal distribution channels.   Therefore, the actual business and 
organization of the Theosophy Company is no concern of ULT, or anyone else, other 
than the Directors of that company. So, whatever money that company has 
accumulate from the sale of their publications, or otherwise, has nothing to do with 
ULT. 

Hope this clarifies these matters once and for all.

Leon


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