Theos-Talk Archives (September 1995 Message tl00942)

Brenda:

> [responding to a discussion of Leadbeater]

>This is very impolite stuff. Some people out there are not being nice. Try
>to think how many souls are in existence and what they are capable of, and
>then go on and read CWL and enjoy him. Similar trash has been said about
>JESUS, after his life was over. There are sick minds out there bent on
>destroying the good and the beautiful, and you of all people should be aware
>of the attacks that theosophists have had to suffer. Is it the black
>brotherhood behind this?

The discussion reminds me of a talk show I heard on the radio yesterday.
The name of a library was changed. It had been named after a famous scientist
that invented the space suit and greatly helped the US space program. He was
from Germany, and may have participated in war crimes against jewish people
before coming to the US at the end of the war.

The scientist achieved fame for the good that he did, despite any bad he
had done earlier in his life. The decision now was to take away any
recognition for the good that he had done, because he was potentially an
awful person earlier in his life.

What I thought while listening to the show was: Who are we trying to punish
by doing this? The scientist is dead, and certainly cannot be puished by
the withdrawal of any recognition for his accomplishments. We don't have a
policy of punishing the descendents for crimes of their ancesters. Is it
possible to allow him recognition for his accomplishments in the space
program, quite apart from his participation in the holocost?

With Leadbeater, we have two issues. One is how we handle a historic discussion
of his personal life, and his relationships with others. The other is with
regard to the reliability of his psychical investigations. When we talk about
the former, we have to take care not to offend anyone wanting him as a hero.
When we talk about the later, we have to take care not to offend anyone
involved in psychical investigations. Strong emotions can be stirred and we
have to chose words with care.

-- Eldon