Theos-Talk Archives (October 1999 Message tl00159)

Well said, JRC, sounds reasonable.
What a luck we have the Internet.
Gives me more than attending boring lodge meetings and discourse about books
which one has read rightly.
OTOH hand, we should not forget that working for Theosophy is much more than
discussions (as important as they are).
We need also people who care for assembling books (may be e-books),
collecting documents of historical importance etc.
If we, the Theosophists do not this job, our enemies, the churches and
missionaries etc. will to it for us - with best known results.

The Internet is not the replacement for the TS'ies, but the healing MEDICINE
fro them.
May we hope the cure comes not TOO LATE...
Just my 0.01.
Frank

> It certainly has occurred to me that the "messenger" in the last quarter
of
> this century *IS* the internet.
>
> People - not just Theosophists - seem so intent on trying to find the next
> leader, the next teacher, the next savior (or are anxiously awaiting the
> return of some previous leader/teacher/savior) that they may be missing
the
> birth and development of the most remarkable one in the world. The
internet
> does not spout one sectarian philosophy - hell, it spouts *all* of them -
> credible and profound as well as deeply disturbed and twisted - and places
> the responsibility for filtering, for discerning the true from the false,
> squarely on the shoulders of each individual (as any great "master" does).
> Spiritual powers? You can spend three decades learning to do funny stuff
in
> your energy system that gives you access to people and places at a
distance
> ... but I've got instant messengers running on my desktop that let me
> converse in real-time with an economist in Dallas, an artist in Paris, or
a
> Buddhist in India.
>
> The next century (IMO) is not going to be about *personalities*, but
rather
> about *process*. And its spiritual leadership will not be a matter of a
few
> secret people that "know" graciously condescending to enlighten those who
> "don't", nor a single figure that all the world acknowledges as some sort
of
> "master" ... but rather will be in the *environments*, the *forums* where
> people of radically different perspectives, sensibilities, value systems
and
> religious and philosophical beliefs and assumptions rub up against one
> another. Fight with each other. Agree with each other. But, more important
> than any of that *communicate* - however poorly - with each other. A tiny
> group of people sitting in a room at Wheaton listening to some dolt
deliver
> ponderous "courses" on the deeper meanings of karma is *not* spiritual
> growth. This active discussion list - with its phases - and with almost
> shockingly different sorts of people on it - *here* some measure of growth
> perhaps *can* be found. -JRC
>
>
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