Marja Artamaa
Dear Friends, I warmly thank you for all the encouraging wishes received on my appointment as the International Secretary of the Theosophical Society. This is all so supportive and encouraging while looking forward to working in the President’s team for the cause of the TS at Adyar.
Secretary’s Office
The Secretary’s Office in Adyar has good assistants (Sudha and Nora) and we all serve gladly and communicate well although I am not yet fully in Adyar (it will come true step-by-step). The requests to the Secretary are handled, if not immediately, within a convenient time depending on the matter.
President’s first half year
Concerning our international President Tim Boyd’s first 5 months, I want to draw your attention to how extensively he has visited and spoken on Theosophical events. Several hundreds of members have had the great opportunity to meet him in person, talk with him, share views and get acquainted with his wide-open mind. After taking up the presidency on the 27 April 2014, he worked a few weeks at Adyar, then hosted the Inter-American Theosophical Federation meeting at Wheaton, Chicago, from 28 May to 1 June; he was the guest of honor at the 100th Convention of the Italian Section of the TS, from 5 to 8 June; presided over the 128th Annual Convention of the TS in America from 18 to 22 July; immediately followed by attendance at the first international education conference held during the last week of July at the TSA headquarters; was the guest of honor for the 37th European Congress of the TS in Paris, 30 July to 3 August; and was the guest in the Dutch Day in the Netherlands, 10 August. He also attended and spoke in the International Theosophical Conference in Naarden, the Netherlands, from 15 to 18 August. He then proceeded to Adyar for a number of administrative and planning meetings.
When we look at the countries represented by the members attending those events, we can realize the worldwide aspect of the sharing that took place: In Wheaton there were members from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, England, Honduras, India, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, USA, and Venezuela. In European events there were members from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, RDC Congo, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Uruguay, and USA. If some country is missing, it just shows how widely our Theosophical brothers are spread worldwide.
Many talks and lectures have been made into videos to be viewed at:
European Congress videos http://vimeo.com/efts/videos
ITC Naarden Conference videos http://www.theosconf.org/video
Dutch Day with Tim Boyd http://www.itc-naarden.org/blog/?p=2403
TSA President’s video blogs give a nice glance of his visits
https://www.theosophical.org/president-s-bio/president-s-video-blog
Adyar
As Adyar is the heart and international headquarters of the TS, this is to remind you about the School of the Wisdom sessions and/or the international Convention at the end of the year. For those who cannot attend events elsewhere, the local Lodges and study groups serve in bringing theosophy forward. In this work we all are involved, and I wish you all serenity and inspiration for the Theosophical work in your country.
Some dates in the Theosophical Calendar (October and November)
1 October – Birth Anniversary of Annie Besant – 2nd President of the TS (1847)
4 October – TOS – World Day of Animals
24 October – United Nations Day (1945)
31 October – Death Anniversary of Mrs Radha Burnier – 7th President of the TS (2013)
15 November – Birth Anniversary of Mrs Radha Burnier – 7th President of the TS (1923)
17 November – International Theosophical Society Foundation Day (1875)
Hope to meet many of you during the upcoming International Convention.
Warm regards, Marja Artamaa, International Secretary, Theosophical Society Adyar