1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?
I am Jose Victor Peñaranda of the Philippines. I became a member of the Society in 2001.
2. Are you active in your Lodge/Section and if so, what do you do?
I am a volunteer in the Philippine Section, actively involved in the conduct of the Self-Transformation Seminar, attending to the organizational life of study groups and lodges, and facilitating training or information activities intended for members and the public.
3. How did you first learn about Theosophy or come in contact with the Society?
I came to know about the Society while attending the Self Transformation Seminar (which the Philippines Section developed). By joining study meetings and my own private readings, I became familiar with Theosophy.
4. What does Theosophy mean to you?
There are four meaningful and interrelated aspects in my life today: Theosophy and poetry, family and community.
5. What is your favorite Theosophical book and why?
Theosophical literature involves a range of works, ancient and modern, and a number of authors. I don’t have one or two or three favorites, like some menu selection of a restaurant. I feel more at home in a library. These days, my research interest is in mysticism.
6. What in your opinion is the biggest challenge the TS is facing at the moment?
As it was, so it is today. Each one who enters the Society is a humble seeker who strives to live a life of love and service. Through its members and friends, the Society serves as an organizational expression of human solidarity and as a functional medium of spiritual education. And it’s not that easy.
7. Is there anything you would wish for the future of the Theosophical Movement?
As a Society, we are keepers and sharers of the Ageless Wisdom. As a Movement, we advocate for social transformation through self-transformation.
From the editor:
Opinions and ideas expressed in the mini-interviews are exclusively of those who are being interviewed. They don’t necessarily represent the ideas and opinions of the compilers of Theosophy Forward. The responses of the interviewees are not edited for content. Some contributors give short answers to the questions while others touch upon the subject more elaborately.