Theos-Talk Archives (April 1996 Message tl00954)

At 02:01 AM 4/23/96 -0400, you wrote:
>>I have *personally* * known*  *many many* members of the TS who
>>are also members of Esoteric Section who have rendered
>>invaluable services to Theosophy and Theosophical Society. In
>>many countries and in many lodges, the vibrancy and the vitality
>>of these lodges are due to these members. Even today this is
>>the case all over the world (there may be some rare
>>exceptions.).
>>
>>As these are *facts*, let us show our gratitude to these members
>>for what they have done for Theosophy and Theosophical Society.
>>Let "Ungratitude be not one of our vices."
>>
>>     ....doss
>
>
>      In my 30 plus years in the TS, I have never for one moment
>doubted the dedication and sincerity of the members of the ES.
>ES members have been among the hardest working people in the TS.
>Whether their hard work and dedication has always been
>constructive and in the best interest of the TS and the TM is
>another question.  Personally, I believe that much that has been
>done in the TS has been counter productive to the original
>program, and the ES must share much of the blame for the sad
>state that the TS is in today.  Perhaps a dialogue here might
>help to reveal why we have such divergent views here.
>
>JHE
>
>------------------------------------------
>   |Jerry Hejka-Ekins,                      |
>      |Member TI, TSA, TSP, ULT                |
>         |Please reply to: jhe@toto.csustan.edu   |
>            |and CC to jhejkaekins@igc.apc.org       |
>               ------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>I'm going to respond to both Jerry and doss herein:

In my time with the T.S. I too have known many people who were members of
the E.S. Some of them were people who I really loved and cared for and
others were people I felt were simply "ego-tripping". They were all very
sincere and veru dedicated. But their Dedication was primarily to the
Esoteric Section and it's views of it's own agenda and needs. Doss says that
the "vibrancy and vitality" of many lodges is due to these members, and that
in fact, is probably true. But that is the place where we part company. A
thing may be both "vibrant" and "vital" and dreadfully sincere, and also
have an eventual totally negative impact. When we talk about "sincerity" we
must always remember that some of the most harmful people in human istory
were both absolutely sincere in their beliefs and dreadfully dedicated to
attaining the agendas pertaining to those beliefs. Adolf Hitler and Ignacio
de Torquemada are the EXTREME instances of that fact. Now I do not equate
the E.S. and it's members with those two monsters but, nonehtless, as I see
it, the E.S. and it's goal, reached long ago I fear, of garnering complete
political control over the Theosophical Movement, has had a totally negative
effect on that movement. One of the primary reasons for that negativity is
that stasis is death. The E.S., as I have expereinced it from without, is a
crystalized and totally static structure with strongly puritannical
overtones. It may have been valid when H.P.B. was alive to explain and
demonstrate the actual meaning and relevancy of her E.S. Material, but then,
as I see it, she was an adept (It was Helena Blavatsky who was a Chela), and
such a "school" requires an Adept as it's leader. Since her death, in my
estimation there has been no really valid leader and a couple of
spectacularly counter-productive leaders. It is my very strongly held belief
that the approaching demise of the Theosophical Movement is a tragedy that
can be clearly lain at the E.S.'s doorstep. Many good people, in the past 26
years of my experience, have been drawn towards theosophy and driven right
away from it by the arrogance, elitism, and exclusionary policies of the
E.S. My major complaint regarding the E.S. and it's "leadership" is this: It
is the E.S. who have made a dogmatic religion out of theosophy which was
never planned or intended to be anything of the kind.