Theos-Talk Archives (January 1997 Message tl00680)

On Thu, 23 Jan 1997 15:14:56 -0500 (EST), K. Paul johnson wrote:

>............................  Emotions are
>expressed in abundance, but there is a real unconsciousness of
>them, a dwelling consciously in thoughts and a denial of
>feelings, that is characteristic of Theosophical history from
>the early days on.

This caused me to wonder if it is totally true of most of the members
of the various TS's over the years. Just what have been the
motivations of 'grassroots' members  for joining? This is a serious
and interesting question.Who have the thousands of individuals that
have passed through the groups over the decades *really* been -Dry as
Dust intellectuals (?) - declining petty bourgeois looking for a
scientific sounding substitute for failed religions (?) - crazy little
old ladies filling their idle hours (?) or just what? All of those
pejoratives have been used to describe theosophists, but I suspect the
reality has been  *much* more complex.

I'd like to ask if anyone knows if there have ever been any studies or
histories done of Theosophy from below, examining the many and varied 
people attracted *to* the movement instead of from the top, from the
point of view of the elite few that have lead the movement? I've not
seen such work, but I suspect we might find that - despite the worst
that has been done by leaders in one direction - many individuals have
come and gone in the ranks who found their own ways to balance head
and heart and hand.