August 2023 Newsletter
The following articles are reproduced from the August 2023 Newsletter to members. Non-members may or may not be able to relate to the contents.
Welcome to our Grand Opening!
It is a great honor and privilege to have our International President, Bro. Tim Boyd, officiate at the Grand Opening of our new Lodge on 20 August 2023.
We have waited for this day since our soft opening on 6 May 2023. Now the date is drawing near and the wait will soon be over. Are you ready for it? You are all cordially invited to join our celebration of the Grand Opening!
We have a full programme planned for you at our Grand Opening incorporating several events. It promises to be fun-filled, and you may even go home with an exciting prize if you win a lucky draw.
At our Grand Opening, we will also be relaunching Light of the Sanctuary, the Occult Diary of Geoffrey Hodson. Our special guest, Bro. (Dr.) Rosel Doval Santos, past President of the Theosophical Society in the Philippines, will tell us how Light of the Sanctuary came to be published.
Incidentally, do you know that we have some 230 associate members in China attached to the Singapore Lodge? Would you like to know how this came about? You will be meeting some members of the Chinese Project Team at our Grand Opening. There will be a presentation on The Theosophical Scene and Prospect in China by our Sister Du Weiwei. We will get to appreciate the work of our Chinese Project Team, their challenges and accomplishments in China. There will be a panel discussion with the Chinese Project Team when you could find out more about their work in China and where do we go from here.
Food is a customary part of any event and the Grand Opening is no different. We are catering a full vegetarian buffet lunch for members and guests. Weather permitting, we may even have it at the poolside. Did we say ‘poolside’? Yes, we did, and yes, we do have a pool on the 8th Floor of INSPACE! There is a thoughtfully crafted landscape and architecturally customised Courtyard to provide recreational facilities for tenants. Features of the rooftop Courtyard include a 25m Lap Pool, Pool Deck, Outdoor Fitness Corner, Recharge Pod, Wellness Pavilion, Chill Out Pavilion, Grill & Dine Canopy, Grill & Dine Canopy (BBQ). Care for a swim? Why not? Just don’t forget to bring along your swimsuit and towel.
Light of the Sanctuary
Light of the Sanctuary is no ordinary book. It is the Occult Diary of Geoffrey Hodson. Tap/click on this link The Importance and Significance of Light of the Sanctuary for extracts of the Masters' comments on The Diary.
Light of the Sanctuary (ISBN 971-91132-0-0) was first published by Sandra Hodson in 1988. It was out of print for a good many years, much to the disappointment of earnest students who yearned to own a copy. The Singapore Lodge Theosophical Society is privileged to resume publication of this invaluable book to ensure its continued availability for posterity. New publishing with hard cover is now available.
In her acknowledgements, Sandra Hodson writes:
“I would like to express my profound and heartfelt gratitude to my dear Theosophical friends: the late Dr Esther Zapata Doval Santos, all her family - Pedring, Clarise, Elena, Luisa, Roselmo - and sister Cleo Gregorio of Manila in the Philippines for their part in the preparation and publication of the occult Diary of my husband Geoffrey Hodson; Mrs Virginia Hanson for the professional work she contributed in the early stages; Mrs Antoinette Bollard, Mr Frank Eden, and Mr Michael Eden who have devoted so much of their time and energies in assisting me in the final editing and preparation of the text; Mrs Phyllis Gardner who assisted with the typing of the manuscript; and others who collaborated in valued ways.”
This brings us to our special guest, Bro. (Dr) Roselmo Z. Doval Santos who is kindly joining us on our Grand Opening for the relaunch of the book. Bro Rosel says:
“I hope to contribute to the task of authenticating the Diary as Geoffrey’s work. There are only four people alive today who were directly involved in bringing the Diary to print from hand written notebooks of Sandra and Geoffrey Hodson. They are: (1) my sister Elena, now the Resident Head of Krotona, (2) my sister Luisa, now a member of TS in Australia, (3) Michael Eden of Auckland, and (4) myself. Brother Vic Hao Chin Jr was deeply involved in the printing of the Diary. The other collaborators have passed on: my mother Esther Zapata and father Federico Doval Santos, both past presidents of the Manila Lodge, my aunt Cleo Zapata-Gregorio (past President of the TS Philippine Section) and my uncle, Mario Zapata (then the Vice President of our Section).” He adds:
“I have personal knowledge from hand-written notebooks of Mr. Hodson and from our private correspondence, to say that through the Diary’s contents, the Mahatmas intend the world to know that They have not abandoned the Parent Theosophical Society and the TS members. Indeed, the way to the Masters is ever open for those who knock.”.
Kam Chai Heng Auditorium
Bro. Kam Chai Heng passed on to higher light on 17 August 2014. When we celebrate our Grand Opening, it will be just 3 days after the 9th Anniversary of his passing. Knowing him, he would be delighted with the new premises. He had often thought about the possibility of our getting a larger premises. Indeed, his significant contribution helped make the new premises as you see it today.
Nine years have passed since Bro. Chai Heng’s passing but memories of him are still fresh in our mind as the last 16 years of his life were dedicated absolutely to The Singapore Lodge Theosophical Society. In his memory, we name the two-level auditorium in our new premises Kam Chai Heng Auditorium.