Theos-Talk Archives (August 1994 Message tl00036)

bill@Zeus.itdc.edu writes:

>      ... combine
>      your efforts and come up with a "theosophical encyclopedia" of
>      some sort.  There is *nothing* like this published anywhere that
>      I am aware of.

Something along these lines has been tried before, with mixed
results.[1] In my opinion, theosophy is something that is dynamic,
everchanging according to its field of expression yet based on
principles with universal application.  What may be "true" for one
time and place becomes relatively less true elsewhere/when.

>  With no competition, I can't see how Quest books
>      could possibly turn such a project down.

Who would buy it? Frankly, I feel there are *enough* theosophical
books--at least, my bookshelves are FULL of them! :-) But
consider--how can we "catch the crest-wave of intellectuals" in
this new cycle? One approach may be to consider a form of
electronic publishing.  We're all already involved, through the use
of e-mail (and before this, with the conference area on
PeaceNet/EcoNet), so it's not too far off to consider publishing
over the Internet, e.g.  with World Wide Web.  And the beauty of
this is that once sufficient material has been gathered together,
it's relatively easy and cost-effective to produce a CD-ROM.
Furthermore, as ideas change, it's relatively easy to update
material, e.g.  to track the latest discoveries in science that
tally with theosophical ideas.

In my opinion, there are already more than enough expositions of
theosophical ideas in printed form -- but perhaps it's time to
establish a beach-head of theosophical thought in "Cyberspace",
which is really just another manifestation of the divine mind
through electronic media.

> ...  A group effort from this list?

Synergy can be a wonderful tool.  Let's discuss further.  Peer
review of [written] materials can improve the quality of our
expression.

References:
[1] Basic Theosophy, Geoffrey Hodson
[2] Theosophical Glossary, HPB
[3] Man: Whence, How and Whither, CWL and AB
[4] The Encylopaedia of Ancient and Forbidden Knowledge, Zolar