Sara and Tobia, warmly dressed, Photo taken during the 144th International Convention held in Varanasi - India from 31 December 2019 until 5 January 2020
- What are your names, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?
We are Sara Gencarelli (S) and Tobia Buscaglione (T) and we live in the city of Feltre, Italy. We met each other twelve years ago and decided to become members in 2017.
- Are you active in your Lodge/Section and if so, what do you do?
We belong to Aurora Lodge based in Vicenza, we participate gladly in conferences and meetings of our local group as well as in the activities organized by the National Section and in the International Convention. We provide translations for the Rivista Italiana di Teosofia, the Italian bulletin for Theosophy culture, edited by our GS. We are cooperating with other “young” members in planning and developing new projects to spread theosophical ideas and to raise funds for TOS’ missions. Since a couple of years, we have been managing some social media channels, creating contents, and sharing relevant news. We conceived and designed the theosophical calendar in 2019 and we are expanding it publishing quotes by significant authors alongside with Nicoletta Borriellio, Elena Bessie Camplone and Nicola Dal Zotto (special thanks to Catalina Isaza Cantor for contributing with translations in Spanish) as editorial staff.
- How did you first learn about Theosophy or come in contact with the Society?
We got to know about the existence of Theosophy from Grandfather Giovanni who was a member in the seventies and gave us a massive collection of books and teachings, triggering our curiosity about Ancient Wisdom’s themes and practical use. This process of mostly individual studying naturally led at a certain point to the will to discover the actual situation of the Society in our country. We were greatly helped in this by the media dissemination work carried out in recent years by the Italian Section. Moreover, we found both a healthy environment and experienced and friendly people who truly embody theosophical values ready to welcome us into the association.
- What does Theosophy mean to you?
To us Theosophy means Family (brotherhood in a wider sense) or at least the way we could pursue to create unity trying to build a universal community, TS represents the Home (the ideal and utopic place) where to hosts this growth. Respect and Love for all Beings together with Ahimsa are the tools or modus operandi to achieve this result. We use this metaphor both due to personal experience and aimed at future purposes, Theosophy serves as a reminder of our highest ideals, like a torch in the fog of everyday life.
- What is your favorite Theosophical book and why?
T.: Since I am not able to pick just one favorite book from Theosophical literature, I would like to recommend Esoteric Buddhism by Alfred Percy Sinnett as an accurate source of the occult doctrine and The Process of Self-Transformation by Vicente Hao Chin, recently printed in Italian, as a practical manual of self-knowledge that can give us the basics and the method to begin the change towards self-improvement.
S.: On my first trip to Adyar in 2018, I purchased Natural Theosophy by Ernest Wood, in addition to the emotional value that reminds me of a magical place, this book clearly explains the true meaning of the Divine Wisdom, starting from the transcendental concepts of Truth, Goodness and Beauty, arriving at their application in ordinary life, that is, the practical use of Thought, Love and Will.
- What in your opinion is the biggest challenge the TS is facing at the moment?
In this historical period, it seems to be fundamental for the TS to think about how to deal with the evergreen problem of generational turnover, in such a way as to guarantee continuity with the past and tradition and on the other hand by exploiting the advantages of modernity and new technologies, without failing the nature of the original message.
To quote the last words of one of the founders the challenge is to “keep the link unbroken”.
- Is there anything you would wish for the future of the Theosophical Movement?
We would love the Theosophical communities to flourish more and more around the world, the International Centers to become active poles of cultural exchange, the teachings of ancient wisdom to be widespread to an ever-wider audience and recognized and respected in academia too, and the Theosophical ideals to be integrated into national school systems to improve them and contribute to helping the new generations to face life in its entirety.
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.