Theos-Talk Archives (May 1997 Message tl00444)

When Bart asks why charging money would be considered morally wrong his
question should be answered, not simply dismissed. IMHO money is simply a
form of energy which is independent of morality.Whether the charging of
money is moral depends on the intent of the giver and receiver, and the
state of the universe at any given moment. Energy flows to where it is
required, is has no other place to go, and energy is always moving. Any
lodge who decides to charge for its presentations should be mindful of its
intentions. There will always be the teachers and the knowledge will never be
lost. If a lodge has to close down and sell off its assets because of lack
of finance so be it, after all a lodge is surely its members and not its
location, isn't it?
If we question the intention of lodge members as why they would wish to
charge for an event what are the parameters we should look at?If it is for
the protection of the premises I feel that that is a weak response because I
feel that if all of the members were homeless they could still somehow get
together at predetermined dates in a location in their town, such as a
cafe', bar, or any local meeting place. Ofcourse, the administration would
be cut to a minimum. Correspondences with HQ no doubt would be by PO BOX
numbers or the equivalent.Either way, premises are not required.
What about the question of literature availability? Members could share the
responsibility of photocopying extracts from different texts. It wouldn't
necesarily be entire texts, (after all that would be far too expensive!),
just the bare minimum from the main teachers. Hey, and how about having
meetings in the local library, that would attract many more people than that
of the lodge buildings. It might make theosophy more accessible.
Just a few thoughts.
Ideally,IMHO, there would be no charge because the transfer of the knowledge
from one to another is independent of material things. I might add that
being a student with little money, if any, had it not been for the fact that
certain events were free my access to theosophy would have been curtailed,
as it is theosophy has been available to me, thankfully.

Love

Ben