Theos-Talk Archives (May 1994 Message tl00001)

This weekend I've been thinking about revising the title and
subtitle of my work in progress.  The provisional ones have
been Initiates: Disciples of the Theosophical Masters.  The
problem with them, which has become apparent as the manuscript
has evolved, is that the title is too vague and the subtitle
too specific.  That is, it's not about initiates in general,
which would include all those folks like Besant, Leadbeater,
Arundale, Bailey, etc. who claim to have had contact with
Masters on higher planes.  It's about people who made
historically verifiable contacts with initiatory traditions on
the plane of mundane reality.  The subtitle is too specific,
because although the investigation starts with disciples of the
Theosophical Masters, in many cases the focus is not on the
Theosophical connection but on other aspects of the character's
initiatory experience.

Thus I have come up with EXOTIC INITIATIONS: Theosophy and the
Discovery of Eastern Wisdom.  The "exotic" makes it clear that
the focus is on Westerners who sought initiation outside of their
native culture because they were fascinated by the possibility
of transcending their cultural identities.  And, conversely,
there is also a focus on Asians who became bearers of initiatory
traditions to the West.  The subtitle indicates that Theosophy
is the keynote of the investigation but makes it clearer than
before that the scope is not limited to the Theosophical
movement.

Any comments or suggestions?