September 2019 Newsletter
The following articles are reproduced from the September 2019 Newsletter to members. Non-members may or may not be able to relate to the contents.
Significance of The
Theosophical Society
“Think you truth has been shown to you for your sole advantage? That we have broken the silence of centuries for the profit of a handful of dreamers only? The converging lines of your karma have drawn each and all of you into this Society as to a common focus, that you may each help to work out the results of your interrupted beginnings in the last birth. None of you can be so blind as to suppose that this is your first dealing with Theosophy? You surely must realize that this would be the same as to say that effects came without causes. Know then that it depends now upon each of you whether you shall henceforth struggle alone after spiritual wisdom thro’ this and the next incarnate life, or, in company of your present associates and greatly helped by the mutual sympathy and aspiration. Blessing to all—deserving them.”
A Master of the Wisdom
Membership Renewal
We are truly appreciative of your support. You have supported the Singapore Lodge Theosophical Society in various ways. Some of you have volunteered as co-workers of our lodge, helping in the management and running of the T. S. in Singapore. Others have made it a point to come regularly for lodge meetings, thus helping to generate beneficent thought power with far reaching effects and making the lodge a vibrant spiritual centre. Some have donated generously to our coffers. Still, a large percentage of members have not been able to participate actively in the activities of the lodge for one reason or another. Saturday, although the preferred day for lodge meetings for most members, is not the best day for others. Unfortunately, some members have other commitments on Saturdays and are therefore unable to come for lodge meetings. For that very reason, we decided to conduct the Mahatma Letters Study Class on a weekday evening. Indeed, we realize that there is no ‘perfect’ day that can suit all members. Over a period of time, mainly as a result of infrequent attendance, some members begin to lose interest or find themselves increasingly indifferent to our cause. These same members are the ones who are prepared to allow their memberships to lapse. We have lost many members this way.
We need members for very good reasons, not least of which is the financial support required. As our only means of subsistence is membership subscriptions, the more members we have the more viable we will become financially. In this respect, I am happy to say that we do have many members who remain sympathetic to our cause. Many of our members, though not active owing to other commitments, have found it worthwhile to continue paying their subscriptions year after year. Although we hardly see this group of members—shall we call them the invisible helpers—we are grateful to them all the same for their continued financial support. That is perhaps the next best thing that we may expect from members—renewal of subscriptions—if they cannot be with us physically.
It is that time of the year again—membership renewal time. Those members who have the Society’s interest at heart and those who continue to relate to our cause will no doubt continue to support the Society financially, if not physically, by paying their annual subscriptions and continuing their membership. Those members who have not been coming to the lodge may alas wonder if they should or should not continue their memberships with the Society. To those of you, my friends, who find yourselves in such a predicament, may I share some thoughts with you?
All of us joined the Theosophical Society for pretty much the same reasons initially. We had a strong interest in theosophical teachings or we could relate to the ideals and objects of the Society or we believed in spiritual philanthropy and the Society’s cause. All these do not change simply because we do not go to the lodge anymore. Indeed, your support is required more than ever to ensure the survival of the lodge for posterity. In order that future generations will continue to be inspired and guided by Theosophy, we must all do our part to preserve this institution—the Theosophical Society.
Should you think about not continuing your membership, you may wish to ask yourself why not? Just because you don’t have time to go to the lodge anymore? We know that is not a good enough reason, for if we cannot support the T. S. physically, we can certainly support it financially. Because you cannot afford it? At $69 per annum or less than $6 per month, the subscription is quite a nominal sum and should not be a problem for anyone who is gainfully employed. Even at the sacrifice of other things, it is for a noble cause. Consider it charity if you wish. Because you cannot relate to the ideals and objects of the Society? Try to recall why you joined the T. S. in the first place. What has changed? Certainly not the teachings nor ideals.
The Singapore Lodge Theosophical Society needs all the support it can get to carry out its role as a part of the great theosophical movement worldwide. Karma has brought you to the Society for whatever reason. We hope you will not sever this karmic link.
For those of you who do not wish to be bothered with the annual reminders, you may choose to renew your membership automatically by setting up Giro payments or by standing bank transfer instructions through your own bank. More than 80 members have already made such arrangements. You can join this growing group by giving us your Giro instructions by 5 September 2015. Your continued membership and financial support will most certainly make a difference to the lodge’s viability. We are counting on your continued financial support!
Famous People and the Impact of the Theosophical Society
By Katinka Hesselink
This list is a tentative inventory of the impact of the Theosophical Society on the world. It owes a lot to John Algeo's work. Some things have been included, even though my source for them is merely the theosophical grapevine. These obviously need further study. I have also (not yet) included proper source references. This will hopefully come in time. At the moment the list only includes people from the Theosophical Society Adyar.
I realize that this is a problematic field of study: what exactly constitutes influence? Still I think it is possible to give some sort of answer to the question of the influence of the Theosophical Society by doing an inventory of prominent cultural innovators who were members of the Theosophical Society. If one can find a significant number, it is plausible that the relatively small organization did have a relatively high influence on East and West. As the list shows it isn't always easy to show how the Theosophical Society or its ideals and teachings made a difference in a certain person’s perspective or method. Still, I think it is useful to cultural historians to be aware of memberships of the Theosophical Society. For Theosophical Society-members it may be interesting to know the contributions Theosophical Society-members have made in the world
WRITERS
Lyman Frank Baum (1851 –1919)
James Henry Cousins (1873 – 1956)
Robert Duncan (1919 – 1988)
William Butler Yeats (1865 –1939)
George W. Russell (Æ) (1867 –1935)
Talbot Mundy (1879 –1940)
Sir Edwin Arnold
Lewis Carroll (1832 –1898)
Kahlil Gibran
Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856 –1925)
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 –1930)
Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 –1949)
Algernon Blackwood (1869 –1951)
Jack London (1876 –1916)
E. M. Forster (1879 –1970)
James Joyce (1882 –1941)
D. H. Lawrence (1885 –1930)
T. S. Eliot (1888 –1965)
Henry Miller (1891 –1980)
John Boyton Priestley (1894 –1984)
Thornton Wilder (1897 –1975)
Kurt Vonnegut , Jr.(b. 1922)
Sir Thomas (Tom) Stoppard (b. 1937)
ARCHITECTS
Claude Bragdon (1866 –1946)
Walter Burley Griffin (1876 –1937)
SCIENTISTS AND INVENTORS
Sir William Crookes (1832 –1919)
Thomas Edison (1847 –1931)
Rupert Sheldrake (b. 1942)
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823 –1913)
Camille Flammarion (1842 –1925)
Baroness Jane Goodall (b. 1934)
PSYCHOLOGISTS
Roberto Assagioli (1888 - 1974)
William James
Carl Gustav Jung
Ian Stevenson
PAINTERS & OTHER ARTISTS
Rukmini Devi Arundale
Piet Mondriaan (1872 –1944)
Beatrice Wood (1893 –1998)
Paul Gauguin (1848 –1903)
Vassily Kandinsky
Gutzon Borglum (1867 –1941)
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1926)
Paul Klee (1879 –1940)
Nicholas Roerich (1874 –1947)
Harris, Lawren (1885 –1970)
Alex Grey
MUSICIANS
Cyril Scott (1879 –1970)
Gustav Mahler (1860 –1911)
Jean Sibelius (1865 –1957)
Alexander Nikolaievitch (1872 –1915)
Elvis Presley (1935 –1977)
Ruth Crawford-Seeg
Dane Rudhyar
Alexander Scriabin
ACTORS
Florence Farr (1860 –1917)
Dana Ivey
Shirley MacLaine (b. 1934)
POLITICIANS
Allan Octavian Hume (1829 –1912)
Alfred Deakin (1856 –1919)
Hernández Martínez (1882 –1966)
Henry Wallace (1888 –1965)
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 –1964)
George Lansbury (1859 –1940)
Mohandas K. Gandhi
FEMINISTS
Matilda Joslyn Gage (1815 –1902)
Gloria Steinem (b. 1934)
RELIGIOUS FIGURES
Guy Warren Ballard (1878–1939)
Alice Ann Bailey (1880–1949)
Paul Brunton (1898-1981)
Bhagwan Das (1869 - 1958)
Anagarika Dharmapala (1864 –1933)
Gerard Encausse (1865-1916)
Violet Mary Firth Evans, born Violet Mary Firth (1890 –1946)
Manly Palmer Hall (1901 - 1990)
Max Heindel (born 1865)
Alan Leo (1860 - 1917)
Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya (1896 - 1998)
G.R.S. Mead
Alexandra David-Néel (1868 – 1969)
Christmas Humphreys (1901–1983)
Dr Walter Gorn Old (1864 – 1929)
D.T. Suzuki
Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz (1878–1965)
William Wynn Westcott (1848 –1925)
MISCELLANEOUS
Alonzo Decker
General Abner Doubleday (1819 –1893)
Maria Montessori (1870 –1952)
Controversial / unsubstantiated
Franz Kafka, Aldous Huxley, Owen Barfield, Wallace Stevens, R. Tagore (he
was at Adyar).
Ken Wilber
George Lucas, Elvis Presley, and Einstein are known to have read some books on
Theosophy.
The above is an extract from Ms Katinka Hesselink’s publication