Theos-Talk Archives (February 1997 Message tl00245)

>Jerry Hehka-Ekins wrote
>
>> Around 1890 HPB said that the soul of the TS was already
>>killed by Olcott and only a corpse remains.

TR
>Jerry, do you have a reference for this? I'm interested for
>several reasons. Thanks.

JHE
I had an 1890 letter in mind when I paraphrased the above, but it
did not come from this source.  Rather it comes from an undated
KH letter to HPB recorded in pencil by her, and published as
letter no. 47 in LETTERS FROM THE MASTERS OF WISDOM: FIRST
SERIES.  The quote concerns Olcott's handling of the Coulomb
conspiracy.

      He [Olcott] wants to know why?  Because the Society has
      liberated itself from our grasp and influence and we have
      let it go--we make no unwilling slaves.  He says he has
      saved it?  He saved its body, but he allowed through sheer
      fear, to its soul to escape, and it is now a soulless
      corpse, a machine run so far well enough, but which will
      fall to pieces when he is gone.  Out of the three objects
      the second alone is attended to, but it is no longer either
      a brotherhood, nor a body over the face of which broods the
      Spirit from beyond the Great Range.


CK
>Could anyone who has any information on printed references for
>predictions, visions etc regarding the TS, please let me know.
>Apart from the Pryse one mentioned before (I don't know if I can
>find the source for this) and now the Olcott one above, I have
>also heard that somewhere in Old Diary Leaves Olcott says that
>someone said that there would be no new revelations through the
>TS for 100 years from 1897, (which means the 100 years is now
>up).
>
>Does anyone know where I can find these three and any more which
>may be of interest?


JHE
There are lot of them. But relevant to the above you might look
at the 1890 document I originally had in mind: "Why I Do Not
Return to India."  (BCW: 12, 156-67) It is an open letter HPB
sent to India to be circulated among the Indian members.  But it
never was so circulated.  The letter was never published until
1972, when it first came to light in Boris deZirkoff's magazine
THEOSOPHIA.  De Zirkoff called this letter "one of the most
extraordinary and deeply pathetic documents ever penned by HPB".
The letter is prophetic, thus deZirkoff further comments that
"facts and attitudes in this letter afford a background of
meaning against which may be measured various crises which took
place in later years within the framework of the T.S."

Perhaps someone with an OSC scanner might be interested in
transcribing these two documents to theos-l.


>> From: Jerry Hejka-Ekins <jhe@toto.csustan.edu>
>>
>> JHE
>> If there is, I would ask: can a member of the "hierarchy"
>> affect systemic change without being thrown out?  This reminds
>> me of Henry Smith, who was the National President of TSA until
>> he tried to make a series of systemic changes in the
>> organization.  His efforts were answered in 1965 he was pushed
>> out of office amidst scandal and gossip.

> CK
> >Are they willing to work with local individuals and groups to
> >help achieve it?

JHE
Not at that time, but I've seen some evidence that this is
beginning to change.  Since we started the networking movement in
1984, the different TS organizations began talking to each other.
This was an important development that has improved the
atmosphere considerably.  Also, some of the innovations that
Smith tried to pass are now accepted.  See below.


>> JHE
>> Smith tried to work with individuals and groups both inside
>> and outside the TS.  He had initial success, and TSA actually
>> began to briefly move in a positive direction, until the
>> hierarchy became threatened and threw him out.

AEB
What exactly made them feel threatened?  Working with
outside groups?  Did they basically want to stay an
elite group?

JHE
Smith attempted to achieve several things.  First, he was very
interested in making Theosophy more accessible to the public.  He
wanted to launch the AT into a public magazine with high quality
articles particularly from Theosophists with scientific
backgrounds.  So he began to publish special issues of the AT on
special subjects.  These ideas were supported by the
administration, and when Joy Mills replaced Smith, she continued
these special issues.  What was not supported was Smiths'
reaching out to the other Theosophical traditions to work with
him in this effort.  For instance, Smith began working with a
well known ULT Theosophist and engineer named Victor Endersby.
Smith had Endersby publish articles in the AT on Theosophy and
Science.  It was very uncomfortable for the administration, to
have Smith involving outsiders who did not believe as the Adyar
TS hierarchy believes.  Of course, Endersby was pushed out once
they got rid of Smith.

Smith was also interested in having the TS acknowledge W.Q. Judge
as one of the founders of the TS, and tried to hang a picture of
Judge at the Olcott headquarters.  This outraged the Board at the
time, and the picture was immediately taken down.  Ten years
later (1975), International President, John Coates, opened the
centenary of the TS and acknowledged Judge to be a founder.
Since then, a picture of Judge has been hung at Olcott.  But in
1980, Radha Burnier became International President.  Radha did
not support Coates' endorsement of Judge, so to this day, Judge
is not included as a founder on the Adyar TS letterhead.

The Judge picture incident may seem silly now.  I have noticed
that members who have joined since 1985 or so don't understand
how it could have been an issue.  They don't realize how much
tighter things were twenty years ago.  An acknowledgement of
Judge had come to symbolize a recognition of the other
Theosophical Organizations.  This was not desirable to the
hierarchy.


------------------------------------------
  |Jerry Hejka-Ekins,                      |
      |Member TI, TSA, TSP, ULT                |
        |Please reply to: jhe@toto.csustan.edu   |
            |and CC to jhejkaekins@igc.apc.org       |
             ------------------------------------------

------------------------------