Theos-Talk Archives (January 1998 Message tl00136)

Dr. A.M.Bain wrote:

> In message <2.2.32.19980123221227.00de06b0@mail.eden.com>,
> M K Ramadoss <ramadoss@eden.com> writes
> >BTW, I am still awaiting Bart's response to my inquiry about any assistance
> >etc. etc. etc. he received in preparing his msg.
> >
> >mkr
>
> ..and I am waiting for his answer to the question whether he is an ES
> member.

     I am most certainly not an E.S. member. If the E.S. bore more than a
surface resemblance to the one described by HPB in her articles (found in
COLLECTED WRITINGS), then I would have been most interested in joining. The E.S.
was originally formed by the suggestion of the Mahatma's, which appeared to be
more or less, "Well, if they want their own religion, give them their own club."
HPB turned it into more than that, however. She turned it into a school, where
members could learn the disciplines necessary to begin to work with the occult
so that they could use the occult as a means of spiritual growth, and avoid the
trap of using it for personal empowerment. It remained so under Annie Besant
until she fell under the spell of the "world teacher" movement, to the point
that when Krishnamurti decided that he didn't want to face the temptations of
Satan in the desert any more (if you're not familiar with the New Testament
story, read it. It is a wonderful explanation of why so many religious leaders
fail) she dissolved the E.S. as well, and only brought it back under pressure
from the non-Krishnamurti followers.

    The way the organization works now, I consider it an organization to prevent
investigation into the occult, rather than to give the means for doing so with
relative safety. Some of the rules appear to me personally to be based in
ignorance, and, in spite of definite and conscious efforts to keep this from
happening, cause appearance to become more important than substance in many
cases.

    Besides, I eat meat.

    Bart Lidofsky