The President of the Adyar
Society Discusses The
Open Letters Asking for
the Truth About William Judge
Radha Burnier
Radha Burnier and William Q. Judge
An Editorial Note:
In the 1890s, Ms. Annie
Besant led a politically successful campaign against William Judge, then the
international vice-president of the (original) Theosophical Society. The “Case”
against Judge caused the present fragmentation of modern theosophical movement.
Since 2006, annual
letters are being addressed to the presidency of the Adyar Society in India, asking
for “Justice to Judge”. They aim at
promoting dialogue and a better understanding of the history and of the future of
the theosophical movement.
In the July 2011 edition
of the magazine “The Theosophist”, the international president of Adyar Society,
Ms. Radha Burnier, signed a short text on the idea of “Justice to Judge”. She
tries to say that the topic is irrelevant. However, in doing so she
contradicts herself. If she really thought the issue is unimportant, she would
not have written an entire editorial note about it.
The brief text by Mrs.
Burnier is reproduced below. [1] It shows indifference for the true
facts during the crucial period of the 1890s. It was then that the Adyar
Society started to get away from the original teachings of theosophy. Confronted
with a request for Justice and Ethics, Mrs. Burnier declares
herself unable to make a decision
or to cooperate with those who want the truth. Yet maybe it is for political
reasons that she has been unable so far to make up her mind, or to open the
Adyar Archives on the issue. Perhaps she thinks the facts, if admitted, would
be too embarrassing, or they would lead to other discoveries, also politically
dangerous.
According to Plato,
however, “there is nothing mightier than knowledge” (“Protagoras”, folio
357). If any Adyar leaders suffer from a
lack of knowledge, and of ability to search for historical knowledge, this may reveal
that their situation is actually powerless, if seen from a deeper and
philosophical point of view. If this is so, the duty of those who search for
truth is to help their brothers and sisters find a way out of such a
difficulty.
A long walk starts with the
first step. It is only by learning our lessons from past experiences that one
can live more correctly in the present, and thus prepare a better future. Mrs.
Burnier is a sincere theosophist, of noble motives. She does her best. She is
in time to realize that what is at stake in the present dialogue is not a
question of personal opinions on the life of a co-founder of her own Society. Gradually,
a growing number of theosophists are getting a more accurate view of the facts
behind the 1890s split. A frank dialogue has started by which more and more
people can see the whole theosophical movement as a single, dynamic, ever
self-renewing reality. The effort for Justice to Judge is but one
element in the wider process of researching, studying and understanding the
dharma and the future of the theosophical movement, seen as a living unity. No
theosophist has reasons to be politically afraid of that. (Carlos Cardoso
Aveline)
The Past and the Future
Radha Burnier
We
work, as far as I have been told, for the future. Many changes in the world should
bring about one great difference. The world will not be divided, but will be one,
a totality working towards the same end. All the small changes which take place
have little relevance to this great change into a unity within which there will
be many differences. The small changes appear important now, but in view of
what our Society is working for, these have no relevance or little relevance.
One
of the minor concerns which people have now is whether so and so is recognized
for what he is or whether he is not. We can go back in history to find out whether
Napoleon was a great figure or an ordinary man who became important because of
circumstances. The fame that a person achieves in worldly affairs or
circumstances is from a certain point of view of little consequence. What is
important is the movement of progress in the real or spiritual sense, involving
awakening to realities. Sometimes we mix this up with small matters. In the
real context, the forward movement depends only on what promotes a greater
understanding of our function as human beings. Humanity is said to be special,
because it is at this stage that a new life-wave comes down, enabling everyone
to move further up if he wishes to do so. It is only in humanity where there is
a struggle between the higher nature and the lower. The lower nature has gone
along in a beautiful way until the human stage, but it is when a change has to
be made from the lower mechanical progress to a higher intellectual, moral and
spiritual upliftment that the difficulties begin. The Theosophical Society is
concerned with this movement. It is not merely important because of the vehicle
or instruments involved, but a taking over of command by the higher nature,
which is the beginning of a future of untold and unimaginable beauty.
Recently
several letters have been addressed to the President asking that justice
be done to Mr. Judge. About one and a quarter centuries have passed since he
was prominent among members. There are some who favour the actions that he
took, and others who do not; are we going to make a judgement on behalf of all
the members at this point? Is this really feasible?
The
decision in favour or not, will be only on paper, and people will continue to
think of what is possible as they wish and see. The Society cannot regulate
this, and is not called upon to do so. So, the best thing is to discriminate to the
extent that our own intelligence lets us, which may be right or wrong. What does
it matter to others? Since one cannot shape, or want to shape, what other
people think, the Theosophical Society cannot, after one hundred and thirty
years, decide what its members should see or think about past happenings. There
is the case of C. W. Leadbeater, who I think was much misunderstood and
maligned. Others may think he was a bad character. Will our thinking change
what he was? There are many people who, being human, had faults and weaknesses.
By finding out what exactly was the matter, it helps neither them nor us. Our
present attitude towards things is what matters, not the conclusions we may
make about what people in the past did.
So,
let us act in the present and keep our conclusions about past personalities and
events tentative and in the background. We can then move forward from where we
are, which is what we have to be truly concerned with. What is the direction in
which we are proceeding? Are we moving and if so, is it towards a greater
understanding of life?
NOTE:
[1] See the editorial
column “On the Watch-Tower”, at
the monthly magazine “The Theosophist”, July 2011 edition, Adyar, Chennai, India,
pp. 5-6, note entitled “The Past and the Future”.
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