Theos-Talk Archives (April 1996 Message tl00381)

On Fri, 12 Apr 1996 Richtay@aol.com wrote:
>
> What better way to undermine threatening esoteric teachers than by maiming
> them morally during their lives, or preferably after they are dead when they
> can't argue anymore?
>
> Why, we see this taking place in Theos-L daily, where people who want to
> think their own way find it necessary to slash and burn HPB in order to
> clear-cut a path for themselves.  If one cannot assault the philosophy of HPB
> or the Gnostics, slander them morally, make them hypocritical demons, and
> then the difficult philosophy can be backgrounded.  It is an old and
> time-honored tradition of the black-hearted.

Rich ...
	What the devil *has* gotten into you? You seem to be mounting a
valient defense of HPB the last few days, but against *who*? HPB gets
slashed and burned daily on Theos-l? You must be on a different Theos-l.
In fact, while there *is* considerable controversy over the, um, second
tier writers ... CWL, Judge, etc., and certainly an enormous diversity of
opinion among the points of view on the list, I've seen no one on this
list attempt to make HPB into a hypocritical demon, or "slander" her
morally. I doubt anyone here feels as though *HPB* needs to be battled in
order to find their own way - *she* never attempted to *restrict*
anyone's thought, anyone's studies, anyone's explorations or point of view.
	- there *is* perhaps a problem in that her writing is so sweeping
in scope that anyone with their own idea of what Theosophy is can
certainly find reams of quotes from the SD and Isis to back up their own
thoughts ... as many different sects of Christians do with the Bible ...
and there are people on the list who react quite strongly when someone
believes *their* reading of HPB is the "true" reading ...
	- and, perhaps, HPB is not put on a *pedestal* by the list - she
*was* human, and herself always emphasized that ...

	She is, as with all controversial public historical figures, very
difficult to fully understand. There is a very fine line between on the
one hand demonizing such a person (as the Christian fundamentalists do to
HPB) and going too far in the other direction and making her into some
absolutely perfect mythological character whose moral and intellectual
stature was flawless. She herself wanted none of *either* - she was
neither demon nor goddess. Problem is, when one stands on one end of the
line, everyone else appears to be on the other ... to the
fundamentalists and Christian conservatives that have decided she is the
mother of that evil "new age" and a chief tool of satan, anyone who does
not positively revile her is seen as a supporter ... and to those that
want her on a pedestal, anyone who even dares think her human is
demonizing her.
	I think this list, as a whole, probably has reached about the most
balanced perspective I've seen in any circle where she is discussed.
She was a servent of an order of Adepts. She made significant mistakes,
both personal and with the TS (*her* judgement of herself, not mine).
Alexis, perhaps, has said some things that upset some people a bit, but
he has a familial connection to HPB, and there are things known within
families that the outer world, no matter how good the historian, may
not discover - IMO, its extremely interesting, but nothing he could say
would lessen my regard for HPB ... only broaden and enlarge my picture
of her. Chuck may read her *writings* and choose to interpret them in a
way very different from the norm in Theosophical circles, but that
certainly doesn't constitute demonization or slander ... except to
someone who believes her writings are not even open to question.
	There is a regard, I think, for HPB on this list that is so
deep, so assumed, that it is rarely even stated. And almost every
discussion of her or her writings, even if they appear critical, takes
place on the *foundation* of that regard. To accuse the list of
*daily* (for god's sake) demonizing HPB and slandering her character,
to place yourself above everyone else as her defender ...
categorizing the whole list as filled with people who would flame
someone for simply quoting HPB ... is simply ridiculous. Its the
equivilent of a Catholic walking into the Basilica in Rome and
"boldly" declaring he intends to defend the Pope.
	Simply because people do not share your personal perspective
of HPB, or interpret her writings differently than you do certainly
does not mean they are black-hearted scoundrals with evil
intentions. HPB never spoke *down* to Theosophists, and probably would
not appreciate anyone else believing they do so on her behalf.
						Regards,   -JRC