Message received from Barend Voorham, the Netherlands.
Participants enjoying beautiful Lisbon, from the left to the right: Rita and Paulo Baptista, Barend Voorham, Bruno Carlucci and Alaide Voorham
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and the Universal Wisdom
Collaboration among different Theosophical groups is increasingly becoming a custom. In Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, from 8 to 16 May, an event took place in which Theosophists from different parts of the world and from various organizations participated.
Poster © Elisa Chigueco
The main inspirator and initiator of the event, with as theme-title Helena Blavatsky: Universal Wisdom was José Manuel Anacleto, President of Centro Lusitano de Unificação Cultural, (Center of Light and Cultural Unification). He had taken the initiative to organize a large 24-panel exhibition about the life and work of H. P. Blavatsky. The exhibition was located in a well-known bookstore in the scenic center of Lisbon.
Books for sale during the exhibition
On Tuesday, May 8, this exceptional exhibition took off with four lectures given by respectively José Manuel Anacleto, Barend Voorham of the TS – Point Loma, Bruno Carlucci, university professor in Brazil and member of the Brasília Lodge of the TS – Adyar, and José Carlos Calazans, an orientalist and historian associated with the University of Lisbon. The TS – Adyar was also represented by the General Secretary of the of Portuguese section, Ana Maria Coelho de Sousa.
Intimate venue, attentive listeners
On Saturday, May 12, a reissue of the Portuguese translation of Esoteric Buddhism by A.P. Sinnett was presented. In the bookstore the same speakers gave short talks about the relationship between Theosophy and Buddhism in the Wisdom Tradition, interacting amongst themselves and the public, while complementing each other.
From left to right: Bruno Carlucci, Carlota Mantero (co-organizer), Jose Manuel Anacleto and José Sousa Machado (owner bookstore)
On Wednesday, May 16, the exhibition concluded with the theme Compassion, the Law of Laws.
Many dozens of people were inspired by the great work of H. P. Blavatsky. The unprejudiced visitor was certainly impressed with the adventurous life of Helena Blavatsky and especially with the enormous work she did. It is utterly impossible that she could have done this work without any help. The Masters of Wisdom and Compassion, who sent HPB into the world as a messenger, were therefore mentioned on the panels. Even people who did not know about Theosophy at all, became interested and were eager to find out more. Many left the exhibition with one or more books written by H. P. Blavatsky, or with other Theosophical books under their arm.
The various Theosophists who participated in this event expressed their intention to further combine forces and cooperate more in the future, so that the work of H. P. Blavatsky and her Masters can continue.
A fine and genuine initiative!