Theos-Talk Archives (May 1997 Message tl00379)

kymsmith@micron.net wrote:
> The most priceless of gifts are free.  Charging people to hear about
> Theosophy simply cheapens the message.

	How?

> Authors or lecturers who will not
> speak at a Lodge without requiring payment may not have quite learned what
> Compassion or Love really means.

	What does Compassion and Love really mean?

> Mandatory handing over of cold, hard cash
> to walk in the doors of a place representing Theosophy is a sickening sight.

	WHY???????

> Today a Theosophical Lodge can require payment for many things, and never
> receive a sideways glance from anyone. . .but I think, at the heart of it,
> this is a tragedy.

	Once again, WHY?

	Now, the New York Lodge does not charge for straight Theosophical
presentations. But the fees for the other programs help pay for the free
ones. We also give out scholarships to those who do not have money, but
are willing to volunteer their time. But that is the way we try to give
our message maximum reach, without having one or two contributors become
the arbiters of what is or what is not Theosophical. So, one might say
that, in fulfilling its primary purposes, it is advantageous for a
Theosophical Lodge to do so for free. But it does not state what is
wrong with charging money, or, even more to the point, what is wrong
with charging money for things which only fulfill secondary purposes?

	Bart Lidofsky

P.S. According to Michael Gomes, the main Lodge at Adyar frequently
charges money when a major speaker comes.