From the editors of this magazine we received the following message:
To all Theosophists wanting shared interest:
International Theosophy Magazine, International Theosophy Conferences Inc.’s (ITC) periodical, wants to be a portal for those who would like to communicate with other Theosophists with shared interest.
The meeting many have been waiting for!
From August 15–18, 2014, all roads lead to the International Theosophical Centre in Naarden, The Netherlands, a wonderfully located spiritual retreat center fostering brotherhood and peace.
On this peaceful estate, International Theosophy Conferences Inc. will host a historic meeting and invites participation by Theosophists from all over the world, belonging to all organizations, but also independent Theosophists and sympathizers who are actively involved in studying or promoting Theosophy.
Adyar, the international headquarters of the Theosophical Society, hosted a significant event on Sunday, January 26, 2014. Ali Ritsema, a General Secretary of the Dutch Section of the Theosophical Society for three terms, gave a PowerPoint presentation on “Karma” at the monthly meeting of the Madras Theosophical Federation. It was a well-structured, cogent one-hour presentation with frequent interaction by the audience. A local newspaper, the Hindu, carried a brief announcement of the Program:
The meeting was preceded by a serving of Indian ghee sweets (made with clarified butter), bonda (a south Indian sweet or spicy snack), and tea. The venue was the historic Blavatsky Bungalow. The ambience and the weather were perfect, perhaps bestowed by some good karma and grace.
After the Indian sweets and tea into the Blavatsky Bungalow
Ali mainly drew from Buddhist teachings, Blavatsky’s books The Key to Theosophy and The Secret Doctrine, as well as The Mahatma Letters and other classic books. Ali’s presentation visibly inspired everyone in the audience. Her slides were elegantly made with illustrations pleasing to the eyes and the text in attractive colors.
Carlos Guerra, the General Secretary of the TS (Adyar) in Portugal sent the following message:
Dear friends all around the world,
Hope that all is well with all of you.
I want to use this opportunity to thank you for your friendship always clearly expressed on so many occasions and in so many different ways. Wish to thank our friend Kim-Diêu in particular.
Am very happy with the new EFTS website: http://www.ts-efts.org/
Have visited this site several times and along with some other Theosophical websites it will be an inspiration for our own TS website in Portugal. It provides an excellent source of information, is easily accessible and graphically very clear. I want to congratulate the team of workers which were directly or indirectly involved in its development. It certainly will have a positive impact on the dissemination of Theosophy in the world, especially in Europe.
A letter from Garrett Riegg, ITC’s President.
TO: ITC Members, Associates and Friends
Garrett Riegg
RE: International Theosophy Conference at Naarden, NL, August 15-18, 2014
I am happy to announce the dates, location and theme of our next conference. We are looking forward to a special conference in The Netherlands, at the International Theosophical Centre which is located near the small town of Naarden, about 20 miles from Amsterdam. Next year the conference will begin on a Friday and continue through Monday. The conference will follow a more interactive and holistic approach, emphasizing more dialogues, workshops and sharing as compared to past years. The theme will be focused on our goals and roles as students of Theosophy in the various organizations.
Service as Sacred Labor
B.L. Bhattacharyya – India
The words ‘labor’ and ‘service’, taken out of our TS and TOS context, generally refer simply to the fulfilling of a duty or work often in exchange for remuneration. We talk of a young girl “going into service” as a maid, for example, or of a young man “serving his time” as an apprentice, or of men “laboring” on a building site or out in the fields. Labor or service, in this general sense of work, is fundamental in our lives. There is rarely a time when we are not working. From the moment we are born, some part of us is working. The body works to grow and our brains work to learn how to understand the world around us. Even now as we all sit here we are working in some way.
Annual visit of the EFTS Chairman to Slovenia
Tran-Thi-Kim-Dieu
There is a tradition that the EFTS Chairman, Miss Tran-Thi-Kim-Dieu, annually visits Slovenia in the month of October. This year’s program – from October 17 till October 21 - included an interview at Studio 12 under the title: “Spiritual Perspective - Scientific and spiritual approach of Life.”
Reading room at the Theosophical library in Slovenia
The Theosophical Society Jivatma in Slovenia is operating the first public Theosophical library in Slovenia. The Theosophical Library and Reading Room of Alma M. Karlin was started in 2010 and is dedicated in memory of the great Slovenian female traveler, writer, poet, collector, hyper polyglot and Theosophist Alma Maximiliana Karlin (12 October 1889 – 15 January 1950). Between 1919 and 1928, Alma made a nine year journey around the world. She was an inspiration for many members of the first theosophical circle in Slovenia (which was part of Yugoslavia at the time) called “Krishnaji”, which started functioning in 1927 in Celje and was led by Konrad Konec, a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church (LCC).
The Portuguese blog Lua em Escorpião celebrated its second year on November 11, 2013. This outstanding blog is edited by Paulo Baptista with the help of two other contributors: Luísa Garcês de Lima and Ivan Silvestre.
Lua em Escorpião’s main feature is the publication of translated texts authored by Theosophists who belong to the different traditions within the Theosophical movement. Jan Kind, Odin Townley, David Pratt, N.C. Ramanujachary, Barend Voorham and Pablo Sender are some of the Theosophists who agreed to have their articles published on Lua em Escorpião.
It is a delight to read this blog, very well taken care of and filled with interesting articles and commentaries.
The blog’s address is http://lua-em-escorpiao.blogspot.pt.
Indo-Pacific Federation Conference
The Indo-Pacific Federation of the Theosophical Society (IPF) was held in Bali, Indonesia from the first to the sixth of November 2013. Over 90 representatives from Asia-Pacific region took part in the conference with the theme of the conference Practising Theosophy. Many of the presentations focused on answering the question of how we as an organisation and as individuals can turn the Theosophy we understand from an intellectual concept to one that informs and becomes an active part of our lives.
The conference was inspired by the words of the Mahachohan: “We have to preach and popularize a knowledge of Theosophy.” We are living in times when it is more difficult to attract new members to our meetings and perhaps the time is upon us to go where there is a need, into our communities where the popularisation of theosophical values can be a true means of change. We discussed the importance of developing Self-awareness as part of our practical approach to living, by each of us becoming an example of Theosophy, which of course requires us to bring our own lives into harmony with the universal values, such as nonviolence, honesty, respect, Brotherhood and Sisterhood and being willing to undergo our own transformation as part of this process.
WHY THEOSOPHICAL ARCHIVES NEED FRIENDS
On Oct 21 2007, a fire near San Diego destroyed the stock, library and archives of Point Loma Publications. (Fortunately, much of the archives had already been copied by Alexandria West.) A year or two later, heavy rain came through the roof of a London library. It stopped one floor short of the bookcase containing Madame Blavatsky’s own copy of “Spiritual Scientist” with her handwritten comments about the medium D.D. Home. Less fortunate were the birth records of Dr Eric Dingwall (biographer of Home) which had already been eaten by termites in Ceylon. Meanwhile, peacefully hundreds of Theosophical pamphlets rested in lodge bookcases in five continents. In silence their modern paper began to disintegrate, and their staples rotted.
There is a crisis facing Theosophists, as the original records since 1875 decay. There is a race against time to digitize and preserve electronically. Although there are handful of properly curated Theosophical archives, the general picture is serious. So a group of scholars, archivists, and prospective donors have joined forces to launch the Friends of Theosophical Archives which will take formal shape in various countries.
To learn more, and sign up for the free FOTA newsletter go to:
Last October, Gene Jennings, vice-president of the International Theosophical Conference Inc., while touring India, came over from New York to the Theosophical Society in Adyar, visiting TS Head Quarters for one day. He had a quick tour organized by the Theosophical Publishing House. He met with the International President, visited the Library, Leadbeater Chambers’ restaurant and Head Quarters Building and walked over Adyar beach. He is affiliated with the United Lodge of Theosophists.
Gene Jennings (left), N.C. Ramanujachary, Ramu Sudarsan and…
a small dog on the far left in Head Quarters building
In the evening he attended a meeting of Adyar Lodge the subject of Theosophical Organizations all through history and participated in very lively discussions with some twenty people present.
After a short introduction on the different Theosophical organizations from the past, like Plato, Pythagoreans, Phylatheleans of Ammonius Saccas, Jacob Boehme etc., an exchange of opinion took place.
The Indo Pacific Federation Conference, Bali, Indonesia, November 1– 6, 2013.
The Indo-Pacific Conference will be held in Bali, Indonesia from 1 to 6 November 2013, starting with arrivals on 1 November and 6:00pm dinner, and finishing with breakfast on 6 November and departures.
This special Triennial event is hosted by the Indonesian Section.
Guest Speakers to include Ravi Ravindra from Canada and Vicente Hao Chin, Jr. from the Philippines with further distinguished speakers from many of the Indo-Pacific Sections.
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 Vincente Hao Chin Jr. |
INVITATION
You are invited to the
European Congress 2014
Bridging Science and Spirituality
30 July to 3 August
Paris, France
(Opening: 30 July morning–Closing: 3 August before lunch)
Working languages of the Congress are English and French
The Portuguese Section of the Theosophical Society (Adyar) expresses its happiness for having received Miss Trân-Thi-Kim-Diêu, Chairman of the European Federation of the Theosophical Society, from the 23rd to the 28th of May, 2013. Miss Kim-Diêu is very well-known among the members of the Portuguese Section, and the wisdom which she has shared with all in the last ten years has been always a great source of inspiration.
Miss Kim-Diêu visited Porto, Lisbon and Évora.
Porto
From March 15th to 17th in 2013, an annual seminar of TS Switzerland and TS Italy took place in a quiet and beautiful Hotel, Ascona, situated in Tessin, Switzerland.
Hotel Ascona, Tessin
It has become a tradition over the years that members and sympathisers from both Switzerland and Italy gather in Ascona to investigate and to ponder deeply on Theosophical principles.
