The Esoteric School Lobby

[Anand Gholap]

(Annie Besant was the head of the Esoteric School and Colonel Olcott was the President of TS.)
Mrs. Annie Besant wrote:
“In the T.S. we have a curious mixture. The Exoteric Society is purely democratic - it is only fair to admit this fully. On the other side we have an Esoteric body which is practically autocratic in its constitution ... The existence of a secret body to rule the outer Society made the constitution of the T.S. a mere farce, for it was at the mercy of the inner … All the differences that arose between the Colonel and myself were on this point; he could not believe that I was serious in saying that I would not use the E.S. against him, but slowly he came to understand it ... The greatest power will always be in the hands of the E.S., and not in the head of the Society ... I know that I exercise a quite unwarrantable power. This is what makes some people say there should not be an E.S.T. … We must recognize the danger and try to neutralize it. At any time during the last fifteen years I could have checkmated the Colonel on any point if I had chosen ...”

I could see frustration of some officers in TS regarding the results in Presidential elections. They were wondering how one person can get elected unopposed for around 30 years. It happened again and again in TS history. Different theories were offered to explain this phenomenon. I think all that mystery is solved by above passages of Annie Besant.
Best
Anand Gholap

[Janeth]

Reply by Anton Rozman 42 seconds ago
Dear friends,

>“In my view we have an organization called the Theosophical Society … the campaign in regard to the “disenfranchisement of members”<---The so-called “disenfranchisement of members” is nothing else than the personal perception/interpretation of some individuals on ideas presented to TS international headquarters as a first proactive step in trying to help bring TS into the 21rst Century.
There so-called “campaign in…disenfranchisement of members” has never existed except in the minds of those who created such idea for themselves.

[William Vollrath]

I don't know about a "campaign" of disenfranchisement, but it certainly seems to be a pattern of unenlightened behavior (e.g. Canada, Yugoslavia, etc.)

[Anton Rozman]

William,

A little less than a year ago Mrs. Betty Bland and three other members of the GC made a proposal of Amendments to the TS Rules and Regulations. One of the Amendments was dealing with the way in which the TS President is elected. The proposal was sent to the TS Administration in Adyar according to the required procedure but definite person who had access to this document at Adyar made it public and characterized it on theos_talk e-mail list as an “attempt to disenfranchise members”. What followed is what I call the campaign of “members’ disenfranchisement” on that e-mail list as there are people who are demonizing those who proposed the Amendment as a clique and characterizing the proposal as an “ultra secret attempt to disenfranchise members with the purpose to make the TS President a puppet”. This campaign actually prevented and is still preventing a rational debate not only on that Amendment but on any proposed change in the TS Rules and Regulations. And I am afraid that this discussion on Esoteric School is now facing the same fate.

Warmest regards,
Anton

[Anand Gholap]

Present conditions are favorable to certain individuals and they are unfavorable to many others. Those individuals, to whom conditions are favorable, try to persuade others not to discuss changes and bring about changes. Any such discussion of changes is called unbrotherly. They call such discussion as against the spirit of society or against the objects of this group. Real motive behind such suppression of sensitive issues is to stop discussion and to maintain status quo. That is why whenever some individuals or group try to stop discussion about important changes, calling it unbrotherly or against the spirit of this group or society, members should be aware of real motives.

[Janeth]

►Reply by Anand Gholap 2 hours ago - Those individuals, to whom conditions are favorable, try to persuade others not to discuss changes and bring about changes."<---Can you honestly state the name of anyone in this discussion, I repeat, in this particular discussion, whose comments you perceive reflect they favor the present unpleasant circumstance we live in, Anand?

You have been asked a specific question that goes to the heart of this discussion, or maybe I should say, alleged discussion about TS-ES, what is your understanding of what the Theosophical Society Esoteric School is? And you have never responded.

The title of this particular forum, posted by you, is: "The Esoteric School Lobby"; Again, what is your understanding of what the Esoteric School is?

Several active members of the Society have gone the extra mile, one too many times, to explain what the Society's Esoteric School is about; they have spent valuable time and energy doing so because they sincerely believed your discussion was about understanding what the Society's ES is and the important role it plays in the Society, to find out, almost unbelievable as it is, that there has been an agenda behind your allege discussion about the Society's ES all along, Anand.

I, among others, have spent countless hours and most valuable mental, emotional and spiritual energy spelling out, literally speaking, spelling out the best way I could find, what the Society's ES is and its importance, why some members are perceived in ways which seem uncharacteristic of theosophical teachings, to realized, at the end, after so much loving effort, that some individuals are comparing the current Society's internal affair challenges with regular politics they have experienced in their own particular countries, and that is what they are basing their opinions on. The challenges our Society is facing right now has nothing to do with regular politics experienced by so and so in such and such particular part of the world.

In the end, as evidence show, your so-called discussion about the Society's ES had the hidden agenda of discussing election matters. Nothing wrong with discussing such matters, Anand. The problem is you posted another forum regarding election matters; you were asked specific questions, and again you did not answer them. You deleted it. And then came up with this discussion which was supposed to be about the Society's ES but we now see it was not.

Do you want to seriously and responsibly talk about election matters- by the way, isn't the next election suppose to be run in six years from now?), in the interest of the Society, and to keep these proceedings as clean as possible I suggest you create another forum dedicated about election matters, and it would be nice and considerate of you not to delete it as you did with the one you posted three months ago, in April 2009.

►"Any such discussion of changes is called unbrotherly."<---It is unbrotherly when those involve in it are not clear enough and/or honest enough to be upfront as to what their purpose and/or intentions are;
it is unbrotherly when the purpose behind is to destroy instead of creating;
it is unbrotherly when they mix oranges with potatoes;
it is unbrotherly when people start destructively criticizing things/systems and/or the people that run things or the system we owe the privilege of having the same system which purport to promote that which is dear to us, to begin with.
It is unbrotherly when we loose perspective of basic Theosophical teachings.

►"They call such discussion as against the spirit of society or against the objects of this group. Real motive behind such suppression of sensitive issues is to stop discussion and to maintain status quo."<---As explained above this statement of yours is not quite true, nor valid, Anand.

There is a way about doing things, and then there is a way of doing them. No ends justify the means in this particular circumstance, of all, Anand. There is no need to destroy anything. There is a need for change; but we all saw and experienced how you and others behave last year when courageous GC members created a “Draft” which was just a draft, thus not ready for distribution, but was leaked to the public, right?

This is no regular politics as some are so very subtlety trying others -who are not well aware of the facts involved in this and what the serious consequences of not doing things the right way, the Theosophical way, not the common and ignorant way- to believe this is.

►"members should be aware of real motives."<---This is the only one thing I agree with you, Anand.

Yes, members, and, I would add, non-members and visitors as well, should be aware and vigilant at all times. Having said that I will close this reply with the following from one of the greatest books I have ever read, ATFOTM (At The Feet Of The Master): To those who knock__Four qualifications there are for this pathway (In the name of what we hold most dearest, let's keep in mind, at all times, the Path we have chosen to enter): ♦Discrimination; ♦Desirelessness; ♦Good conduct; ♦Love.
THE FIRST of these Qualifications is Discrimination; and this is usually taken as the discrimination between the real and the unreal which leads men to enter the Path...It is to be practiced, not only at the beginning of the Path, but at every step of it every day until the end. You enter the Path because you have learned that on it alone can be found those things which are worth gaining. Men who do not know work to gain wealth and power, but these are at most for one life only and therefore unreal. There are grater things than these -things which are real and lasting; when you have once seen these, you desire those others no more.
In all the world there are only two kinds of people__those who know, and those who do not know; and this knowledge is the thing which matters. What religion a man holds, to what race he belongs-these things are not important; the really important thing is this knowledge-the knowledge of God's plan for men...If he is on God's side he is one of us, and it does not matter in the least whether he calls himself a Hindu, or a Buddhist, a Christian or a Muhammadan, whether he is an Indian or an Englishman, A Chinaman or a Russian. Those who are on His side know why they are here and what they should do, and they are trying to do it; all the others do not yet know what they should do; and so they often act foolishly, and try to invent ways for themselves which they think will be pleasant for themselves, not understanding that all are one, and that therefore only what the One wills can ever be really pleasant for anyone. They are following the unreal instead of the real. Until they learn to distinguish between these two, they have not ranged themselves on God's side, and so this discrimination is the first step.
But even when the choice is made, you must still remember that of the real and the unreal there are many varieties; and discrimination must still be made between the right and the wrong, the important and the unimportant, the useful and the useless, the true and the false, the unselfish and the selfish.
Between the right and the wrong it should not be difficult to choose, for those who wish to follow the Master have already decided to take the right at all costs...Between right and wrong, Occultism knows no compromise. At whatever apparent cost, that which is right you must do, that which is wrong you must not do, no matter what the ignorant may think or say...You must discriminate between the important and the unimportant. Firm as a rock where right and wrong are concerned...You must distinguish not only the useful from the useless, but the more useful from the less useful...If you hear a story against any one, do not repeat it; it may not be true, and even if it is, it is kinder to say nothing. Think well before speaking, lest you should fall into inaccuracy...You must discriminate between the selfish and the unselfish. For selfishness has many forms, and when you think you have finally killed it in one of them, it arises in another as strongly as ever...You must discriminate in yet another way. Learn to distinguish the God in everyone and everything, no matter how evil he or it may appear on the surface. You can help your brother through that which you have in common with him, and that is the Divine Life; learn how to arouse that in him, learn how to appeal to that in him; so shall you save your brother from wrong." -Alcione in ATFOTM.
PS. Hopefully most TS members and students of Theosophy out there are trying their best to practice teachings like these as best as they can. I believe that is basically what is expected of us, to keep trying until the day we can perfect it.

[Anand Gholap]

"Several active members of the Society have gone the extra mile, one too many times, to explain what the Society's Esoteric School is about"

Can you give names of these "several active members" who gave information about ES?

[Anand Gholap]

I am a member of many online forums. And members ask many questions. I don't answer every question asked by every member. If I have time and if I feel I should answer certain question, then only I answer. Sometimes one member asks the same question which I already answered, and so I avoid writing the same. Sometimes questions are not so good that deserve answer.
Similarly I recognize right of other members whether or not to answer my questions.

[Janeth]

>"they require different type of behavior from their members."<---There is no such thing as "different type of behavior" required.
The Theosophical Society does not require "different type of behavior" from its members.
The Theosophical Society is not responsible for its members behavior.
Each member has freedom to choose to stay in the Society or to leave.

[Janeth]

The Society, as any other organization, is currently facing challenges. Knowledgeable, experienced and wise TS Section leaders are diligently working on helping transcend the challenges.

The inability of some individuals to deal with their own personal sensitivity make them invent whatever fits their own particular sensitivity to make themselves feel better. The same particular sensitivity that made them believe in their own minds there was a "campaign in regard to the “disenfranchisement of members" where there was none.

[Anton Rozman]

A question for moderating team

It happens that a notification e-mail about new entry in the discussion is received but when one follows the link indicated there is actually no new entry present. For instance, I received a notification about new discussions posted on this thread by The Theosophical Society (Comment 32045) and Dan Noga (Comment 32047) but they are absent on the Community. Can moderating team please explain the reasons for this absence?

Some explanations

General Secretaries or Presidents

According to the TS R&R the title President goes to the highest executive officer elected by all members of the Theosophical Society, while the title General Secretary goes to the highest executive officer of the TS Section, usually elected by all members of the Section. At the same time the title of this officer is usually determined by the Section’s by-laws as the President.

Membership in the TS

According to the TS R&R the TS Fellows “whether unattached or attached to a Lodge (Branch), residing within the territory of a National Society, shall normally belong to that National Society” or “may become directly attached to Headquarters, Adyar, severing all connection with the National Society” and/or become “Fellows at large, in countries where no National Society exists,” so that they “must apply for their Charters or Diplomas (Certificates) directly to the Secretary” (of the “international” TS).

An important fact in regard to the membership in the TS is that according to the Rule 36 (a): “All Charters of National Societies or Lodges (Branches) and all Diplomas (Certificates) of membership derive their authority from the President, acting as Executive Officer of the General Council of the Society, and may be cancelled by the same authority,” but the President does not perform this authority as we can see that individual Sections can expel members at their discretion without any intervention from the part of the President for they actually have this authority according to their by-laws which are legal acts independent from the TS R&R. As the TS is not registered as an international society and as the TS R&R does not represent the legal act in force in its sections the membership in the TS, besides Fellows-at-large, is actually legally non-existent and the Administration at the TS Headquarters is actually only registrar of the membership in its Sections.

On the other hand I assume that membership in the Esoteric School is actually derived directly from the authority of the Outer Head of the ES and that it is actually cancelled by the same authority and that therefore the ES is in fact an international body and that in this situation the eventual dissipation of the ES would probably in fact represent serious problems for the Theosophical Society as majority of the TS members imagine.

On required behavior

When it is said that “Constitution of the Theosophical Society and the Rules of the Esoteric School are in collision as they require different type of behavior from their members” and “that the Theosophical Society is public organization while the Esoteric School is secret organization what equally requires different type of behavior from their members” this doesn’t mean that the Theosophical Society and the Esoteric School as organizations (how this would be anyway possible if not through definite officers or bodies) are requiring certain behavior from their members.

On copyright issues

For those interested for the policy I adopt on my web site: when I republish an entire discussion from some public forum I ask author of the discussion for the permission, when I publish only link to definite discussion I don’t ask for the permission as no permission is required. More on copyright issues can be found here.

Warmest regards,
Anton

[Anton Rozman]

Dan, thank you very much for the explanations.

Best regards,
Anton

[William Vollrath]

It seems the more important issue may now be can members affiliate with a national Section but not the international parent organization in Adyar!