Theos-Talk Archives (October 1999 Message tl00107)

In a message dated 9/19/1999 12:02:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
theos-l@list.vnet.net writes:

<< Yes and no.  We needn't advertise that we are "Theosophists" - big deal.
 It doesn't make us any more special than anyone else.  And just because we
 choose not to fly banners or glue Theosophical "fish" and bumper stickers
 on our cars does not mean we are "nameless faceless bland people."  The
 best "advertisement" for Theosophy is our actions - we need not apply a
 label to it.  In all honesty, in my opinion, simply referring to ourselves
 as Theosophists causes a separation from the rest of humanity.  I realize,
 for clarification and conversation sake, that label may be necessary - but
 it does suggest a "difference."  >>

Just had to comment that what attracted me to T.S. in the first place was my
grandmother, who never waved banners about her membership.  She simply was
about the only person capable of communicating with me in a deep way about my
spiritual experiences, mostly through letters (she lived far away), and I
responded to that, and she sent me books, and I asked questions, and one
thing led to another, and that's why I'm a member, really.  I found a great
feeling of peace and truth in reading the books she sent, and loved my visit
to Ojai (Krotona).  I was impressed that she never proselytized or preached,
but simply shared "that's how it seems to me" information, for me to agree or
disagree with as I saw fit.  In fact, she bent over backwards *not* to try to
persuade me in any particular direction, probably mainly because my parents
would have had a fit and she desired not to cause any trouble in the family.
She also told me that many people will agree with the *ideas* of theosophy,
but once you put a label on it, they get nervous.  (Kind of like vegetarian
food...)  My grandmother was anything but nameless, faceless, or bland - what
she did have was a marvelous sense of judgment and dignity, which informed
her choices about what to reveal of herself and what was better left for some
other time.  Her wonderful housemate and dear friend, who was at
Grandmother's bedside when she died, said that she read aloud my last letter
to Grandmother; in it, I told her that I had joined the T.S.  My grandmother
reportedly said, "Tell Christine I am thrilled."  And those were her last
words to me.  Amazing to me that I felt a sudden urgency to join about two
weeks earlier, and a need to tell her that I had joined, even though I had
been "flirting" with the idea for years.
Just felt like sharing.  Would be interested to hear others' stories about
how they first heard about theosophy, or what attracted them to T.S. in the
first place.
Christine