Theos-Talk Archives (January 1997 Message tl00591)

In message <9701192023.AA19399@toto.csustan.edu>, Jerry Hejka-Ekins
<jhe@toto.csustan.edu> writes
>More basic to all of this is the argument I have raised over and
>over again: the TS is only superficially a democratic
>organization.  Ordinary members might occasionally get elected to
>one or another office, but the control of the TS is with a tight
>group and the ES is over that.  

Jerry - 

Dunno about the ES, but one suspects.  I served my Lodge as Treasurer (1
year) President (2 Years) Vice-president (1 year) and Premises Officer
(9 months).  I was thrown off the committee two days before a committee
meeting by the current President of the same Lodge at his own whim,
notwithstanding that this was entirely illegal from the point of view of
the rules.  When - owing to local outcries - the Gen. Sec. In England
had to intervene and take the next AGM of the Lodge, she acted in a
similar cavalier fashion, as it seemed to me, and the details of this
high handed injustice were not even allowed to be heard.  In the
background during this period, personal and slanderous allegations about
my character and behaviour were circulated (anonymously) by certain
members of the lodge.  One of these was so serious that I felt obliged
to inform the local police that the allegation had been made as soon as
it was brought to my attention, so that they would have a record of the
circumstance should anyone seek to press matters further.

I later had a letter from the Lodge President informing me that the
complainant had withdrawn the allegation, which suggests that far from
being anonyomous, the person was known to him.  Of course, by this time
I was out of it, and the slander was no longer needed.

The same Lodge President threw out his Librarian this Christmas in a
very similar fashion.  The fact that the Librarian (and myself a year
before him) had been elected by the membership obviously meant nothing.

What is distressing about the Librarian is that owing to his having to
sleep in a Salvation Army Hostel where they throw everyone out for the
daytime, he had been allowed over many years to use the Lodge premises
during the day, and thus had long term use of the facilities (heating,
kitchen, etc.) which on the face of it was a very "theosophical" and
compassionate attitude on the part of the Lodge.

So they threw him on to the street (figuratively speaking) just as the
local temparature dropped to 3 to 5 degrees below freezing.  And this is
a man who can almost recite verbatim the info on root races, rounds,
chains, etc.

So far as I am concerned, the Bristol Lodge of the Theosophical Society
in England is everything a theosophical lodge subscribing to the three
objects should never be allowed to become.  They also avoid, so far as I
understand the law on these matters, paying local taxes (rates) by
presenting themselves locally (Bristol) as a "Religious Denomination of
Theosophists."  I understand other lodges in England also do this.

How a Society which professes allegiance to no creed can allow such
claims to exist is beyond me.  In the first edition of "Key to
Theosophy" a judge even ruled that by its own definition, the nature of
the Society via its objects prevented it from being regarded as a
religious organisation.  Not surprisingly perhaps, this section is
omitted from later editions.

Whilst I am still nominally a member of this disgraceful organisation, I
no longer consider myself to be a part of it, and now regard it with
nothing but contempt.

Alan
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