Adyar, Sunday 27 October 2013

Path along the Adyar River

 

Adyar, Sunday, 27 October 2013

The theme of the Convention, which is to be held at the last week of the year, is “New Mind for New World” and the theme of the Symposium is “Regenerating Wisdom”.

These days are too short for us to keep up with the new pace.

Today we studied in the book “Supernormal” by Dean Radin.

It was a rather cloudy day and this evening there came a thunder storm with rain pouring down. The electricity was gone several times for some minutes, but as soon as we had lit a candle the electric light came back again.

We did not go to the beach in the morning, but were on time for breakfast at 7 a.m. House cleaning has begun and was done by ourselves as we are used to. This made us think about what the colleagues told us forty years ago, that we should engage a maid and a gardener, because there was so much unemployment in the country.

We did some laundry and hung it to dry in the dressing under the fan. The weather is so humid, that outside it would take too much time to dry. We shall do the ironing ourselves as we already have been doing lately.

There were lots of stains of paint and cement on the beautiful bathroom tiles, which we managed to scratch off with the little knife for pealing potato’s and cutting vegetables that we brought from our home country to India. We mopped bathroom and also the dressing room with the laundry water and regretted not to be able to avoid eliminating a number of ants. Because of the rain, they are still moving around and appear to relocate their nests, as we saw them walking with eggs in their mouths. One seemed to have lost its way on the work tablet of the kitchen. A few days later we saw, that there was an ant’s highway in the corner between the kitchen tablet and the wall. They come in at one side on this tablet in the corner of the kitchen walls and leave through the hole in the tablet and the wall at the other side of the kitchen, leading to the outside, where the gas containers for the kitchen probably are supposed to be situated. In front of the front porch they also are reallocating and carrying eggs from one side of the house to the other.

They are gradually moving out of those parts of the house where we are giving them signs of habitation. The bathroom, the bedroom and the kitchen are practically abandoned by them, but they still vividly remain active coming in and out of the doors and windows with their very busy colons most of the time marching further along in the corners between the walls and the floor in the living and the dining room. What exactly they are foraging is not too clear. One thing is sure, it cannot be water. They are actually still coming into the kitchen through the window and go out through the hole in the other wall, which is obviously for the gas tube. The rain, which falls especially during the night, might pose them more relocation problems than we are encountering ourselves.

Ahimsa and karma were discussed during the study group this week and it was said, that one man, when he asked the Buddha, why he had such a severe skin disease, was told that in a past life he had burnt numerous ants in the pieces of wood, which he had thrown into the fire. So we try not to kill them or the mosquito's, but it is not always evident to us, that we have to be attentive and wait to do the cleaning until the ants are gone. By the time we take the shower while we are preparing and after brushing our teeth, usually all the ants have left, except for one or two of them, who were too slow anyhow and who’s survival or not does not really have an influence on the survival of the group soul as a whole. 

  

We sleep without problems in our new residence, which has not been occupied for a long time. It will take a few weeks and may be several months to put everything in a better order there. It was built by the aunt of the president in office to date, who was married to the third president. Maintenance has to do a lot of repairs and adjustments to make the house look pretty again, like it must have, when it was built very modern some 75 years ago. This will not be easy, because the head of maintenance does not come every day and there appear to be not enough skilled workers to do the job. As an example, the man in charge at Maintenance told me that there are 100 houses on the compound, for which there is only one carpenter. This week, maintenance came quickly to replace the shower head, which was completely rusted. The house needs some attention, but is basically good. All iron rusts very quickly, because we are so close to the ocean. Now the bathroom is beginning to shine again as it should. The radiation has to begin in the center. Some time ago we read in a publication, that it takes the photons, which have been created by fusion inside the sun, about one million years to come out from the center to the surface, where they take off at the speed of light. There must be an awful lot of Higgs-boson particles keeping them so long inside. And do they have the speed of light while inside the sun for one million light years?

The first visitor came for tea in the afternoon, which was a good reason to sweep the front porch and bring some order in the house. Our discussion with him about the apes descending from man was reopened and we shall have to find the American Scientist article of some four years ago about the genetic DNA proof of this theory to show and try and convince him. He said he had found on Internet the other articles, which we also had seen, about theories based on bones, which were not convincing.

We stupidly did not answer the question about the origin of life in the right way according to the Theosophical Teaching and only said that the man of the first race on the first globe of the first round was a being of spiritual fire. We should have added that these first men were the Lunar Pitris left over from the preceding planetary manvantara of the Moon’s planetary logos.

The Madras Theosophical Federation had organized a talk by a journalist on the election systems in India and the UK. It seems that the time is coming for change in the system, as the majority of the voters do not see themselves represented in parliament. Astonishing fact is, that more than 55% of the Indian parliamentarians are multimillionaires with + 2.5 crores or more, if our memory from the talk serves us right.

Today we took pictures of the path along the Adyar River, which is in the process of being made better accessible, straightened out and cleaned up by the men of the subcontractor working for the Garden Department.

We have to find a printer and a filing cabinet. Printer can be bought on Internet, but the furniture should in principle be available at the compound.

The monsoon now has really started It has been raining every night, sometimes until ten in the morning. 

There was a funeral of one of the workers, who expired Sunday afternoon last week. The procedure was almost the same as in our country of origin, except, that what is done there in three to five days here is achieved within 24 hours after the event of death.

We removed all our possessions from the room in LBC to the house of residence with the help of one of the colleagues and his car. Altogether it took about half an hour.

Work is a satisfactory occupation and we have to discipline ourselves not to become a workaholic, like our predecessor who seems to have been combining many functions. We should delegate and obtain an overview of what is happening and decide what is important and what is not. We discover the way the system has been put in place and try to follow in the steps of our predecessor. It is nice to be busy again. Business is very similar to what we were used to before our retirement, so we are developing the necessary confidence to go for the long haul and try to gradually improve during each cycle of activities.

Internet is working in the new residence, but still no Skype with the family and friends. We have to make Skype appointments, like the neighbor at LBC usually does.

Someone said that the president was not well on Monday, but at twenty minutes to three that same day we saw her going in the direction of her office in the service car.

One day the service provider for our Internet connection sent us a message on the cellphone that we had to bring our visa papers and passport with a photo to their nearest shop in order to be able to maintain our Internet connection. One the way back from work, we got a lift in the company car as it is called here and could inform the president that we had moved to the new residence and had passed there a good night sleep. She inquired if we would continue to have our meals at LBC and we confirmed that we planned to continue to eat there and even our breakfast at seven o’clock on our way back from the early morning beach walk.

Wednesday there was a visitor from United Lodge of Theosophists, who also is vice-president of the International Theosophical Conference. Gene Jennings is his name and he visited the TS Head Quarters at Adyar for one day only. He had a quick tour organized by the Theosophical Publishing House, on which he visited the President, the Library, Leadbeaters Chambers and Head Quarters Building. In the evening there was a meeting on the subject of Theosophical Organizations in history. Very lively discussions with some 20 people present. After a short introduction on the different theosophical organizations from the past, like Plato, Pythagoreans, Phylatheleans of Ammonius Saccas, Jacob Boehme etc., an exchange of opinion took place. During the discussion, which lasted almost one hour, the subject ranged from the existence of elementals to the beginning of the sixth root race. Opinion was expressed, that there is no scientific proof for existence of elementals on the physical plane. Others stressed, that with will power one could accelerate the development of one’s spiritual consciousness. Also was emphasis laid on the teaching, that study and knowledge alone do not lead to spiritual growth, but that leading a life of service does have as result, that one becomes wiser and more compassionate. If we have understood him well, Gene spoke about power of the mind and awareness mirroring spirit in matter and fusing into oneness of consciousness. From his words it was clear, that he had read many theosophical works. His best one-liner is that he experienced the reading of the Secret Doctrine as reading poetry. This is a not so often heard appreciation of the Magnum opus of H. P. Blavatsky, which many theosophists might consider worthwhile to be reflected upon, at least. Communication between the East and the West is not easy, because the words used are not having the same meaning and the accentuation and pronunciation of the same English language are making it sometimes almost impossible to really understand the essence of what the other person wants to communicate. The same goes for communication between the different disciplines of science, philosophy and religion. When the scientist stated, that there exists no scientific proof for the statement, that there are elementals living in the physical world, the president of the lodge replied, that it therefore is the task of the scientist to find such proof.

We have a company vehicle, which was written off in the books of the department and are thus at risk of becoming involved in the rat race here. We should probably have to limit the use of the vehicle to occasions, which will take us outside the compound.

The subject of the evening study group is very interesting as we have begun with the book “Self Study” by I. K. Taimni, which starts with an explanation of the principal theosophical teachings. On these there are obviously different interpretations. One filibuster with Stentor’s voice ventilated the opinion, that plants do not have a soul or consciousness. We quickly threw in the short line “Everything is Consciousness”. It is sleeping was the riposte. So a sleeping man or animal would not have a consciousness? We could not pose this question, because others also protested.

Then there was the obligatory discussion about vegetarianism. It appeared once more that the concept of “ahimsa” or non-violence cannot be understood by those, who really are unwilling or not ready to try and change their diet.

After the study there was a conversation with an aspirant, who did not understand what we said about the multiple universes above and below in unlimited space. So it is better to be silent and try and understand what exactly is happening.

The Laundry man has billed us for one T-shirt too much for the second last service, which we received this week. We on the other hand had counted one towel too much for the last service, which we had already given for collection at Leadbeaters Chambers, last Saturday, when the Laundry man had a punctured tire and therefore did not deliver as promised. This time he promised again to have the laundry cleaned and ironed on Saturday, what did not happen, because it was raining too much again. It keeps pouring down during the night, so in the morning we do not always feel like going for a nice beach walk, but stay in bed as long as possible.

We have been invited to give several talks. We are surprised and humbled by the great honor bestowed upon us. Please let inspiration come and override our senseless daily life of leisure and luxury here in the incomparable beauty and serenity of the TS Headquarters at Adyar.

Yesterday after dinner on the way to the beach we met three participants from the Study Group, who were just discussing the possibility that we could publish a photo of the path along the river, which recently has been cleaned by the Garden Department from rubbish and undergrowth.

And that was the week that was again.

Bye for now,

Brooder

Adyar, Sunday, 20 October 2013

Visitors at the fallen tree on Bakrid holiday

Adyar, Sunday, 20 October 2013

The weather at the beginning of this week was extremely wet and warm, so we were wearing a completely soaked shirt, when we came home after going to the shops one afternoon, even while it did not rain one drop.

The monsoon has begun, though, and rain is falling during the night till just before breakfast. Today between one and two o’-clock in the afternoon, when we sat on the terrace behind the room, we had to put on a long sleeved shirt over our T-shirt, while it was just about the hottest time of the day. The sky was cloudy, there was a wind coming from the sea and the temperature came down to about 27° C.

The cat has moved her three kittens from the basement under the dormitories to just outside the wall of the restaurant. There the overhanging roof and a small building standing at about one meter distance were protecting her nest rather well from the rain and possible attacks of predators. In the evening she also got more attention from the kitchen staff, who moved the three kittens inside the wall of the dining room, which obviously is a much safer place.

Since a few days a monkey is looking at our bananas, while it is sitting on the roof of the kitchen building or sometimes even on the wall around the restaurant. It might be interested in the kittens.

Monday was a perfect day of rest and new beginning. Astrologically we are still in the sign of Libra, which is usually connected with Venus, the Greek and Roman goddess of love and art.

Giving in to the natural reaction to rest when we felt tired has resulted in a good state of health. It is all in the mind, and after resting and feeling better again, we even could do our meditation exercises. We sometimes had the impression to have experienced a little progress in the techniques taught to us last year. These were from the book with comments on the Yogasutras of Patanjali by I. K. Taimni, which was studied during the School of the Wisdom 2012 conducted by Mr. Yayaswal.

We had to go into town in the afternoons to buy some household things as soap, broom, buckets, mop, dust bin, towels, drinking glasses, plates, spoons, battery charger, multiple electrical sockets connector, padlocks, bed covers and extra mosquito nets for single beds, just to mention a few. All the shops are at walking distance. We also had to recharge the pen-drive modem. We have to buy almost everything a normal household collects in the course of the first weeks of settlement. Coming back from the shop with some buckets and towels in our possession, we met one day with visitors, who were admiring our house and seemed to know who had lived there more than half a century ago. We invited them to see the inside of the house and especially the women were happy to be able to admire the place.

For the price of the equivalent of about 14 euros we bought two new shirts with short sleeves and a pair of trousers, because for the few clothes we have, it takes them rather long to return from the Laundry Department. In the shop nobody spoke English and on top of that we had to try on the trousers while we were standing behind a counter at the back of the shop and three salesmen were smiling and joking. Our shopping thus becomes a pleasurable intermezzo for the shopkeepers and the foreign client. “Where are you from”, they asked and our reply was without hesitation that we were from India. They laughed and we explained that we are resident with an employment visa. Then one other client took out his agenda with a world map in it and asked us to point out where our country was situated on his map. Everybody was very joyful and happy about the encounter and about the business being done of course.

One day on our way back we met a person, who was eating a banana while standing with his driver in front of the fruit stall, where we bought four oranges for 35 rupees, the equivalent of 40 euro cents. He enquired about our origin and we replied with information about our birth place. He appeared to be very interested in Theosophy and had come from Bombay to Chennai to buy books at Adyar Bookshop. After an inspired talk about Arhat Yoga, pranic healing and healing religions in general, we exchanged telephone numbers.

These days we started at 5.30 a.m. with consumption of an orange. Then there was the beach walk at round six o’clock and afterwards before breakfast some time for meditation exercises. A few people sit in meditation posture or do yoga- and pranayama exercises on the dunes and at the beach.

In the evenings we usually study and drink a cup of herb tea before going to bed at about 9.30 p.m. One day we went to bed at almost quarter to eleven and thus much too late.

Last Sunday, there was a TS Lodge meeting in our home town of origin and we were informed by e-mail that it was a success, because there were exactly the ten people present and necessary to start a healing group. Some of the members had wanted to start a healing ritual, which they had attended almost every month for a long time already at the TS in another city. Now they shall be able to start such a group under the guidance of the person, who is organizing the ritual. Although rituals are not necessary for spiritual growth, they can be of great help for those who are used to them. This particular exercise is destined to be practiced by TS lodges and seems to harmonize the group of participating members. During dinner we discussed the item with our neighbor and we agreed that practically everything in human life is ritual.

On Monday evening, we went to a good-bye party organized by one of the colleagues for the colleague who is leaving the workplace this Sunday. We spoke about our meeting with the person from Mumbai in front of the fruit stall. The colleagues present agreed that Arhat Yoga is practiced by many Indian Buddhists of to date.

Tuesday at breakfast there were three again. This time an old acquaintance from Hayderabath had come. He will join the party going to the Southeast Asian conference in Bali from 1 to 6 November.

We went to the Telephone Company on the back of a motorcycle again. The driver was 45 minutes late and we thought that we really would have missed our lunch. To our surprise, the driver, working for the TS, was so keen on being helped as quickly as possible, that he managed to go to exactly that counter, where the clerk was so agreeable, that within fifteen minutes our application had been processed. We made the necessary payment and the driver would collect the receipt the next day. This looks like just another way of non-formalistic speeding up of administrative procedures to make the waiting time in the queue as short as possible. It must be an achievement worthy to be mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records.

Wednesday, it was bank holiday, because of Bakrid, a Muslim festivity, and not all the colleagues were there. In the TS compound a tree had fallen over the road and blocked it for traffic. Just as we had been wondering the last few days how all the motorized vehicles roaming about could be reduced in number. Now there were busloads of families, some of them obviously Muslims, visiting the place. They were so numerous, that a couple could wander till right under the middle of the big Banyan tree. The old lady from New Zealand, who has lived and worked here for more than 20 years and usually is walking alone, now was surrounded by more than a dozen curiously looking visitors, who seemed to enquire about her life here at the TS estate.

We ordered and received a 20 liter drinking water bottle for the new house, where we shall be moving in on Monday afternoon at 5 o’clock. That day we may have our dinner in the room at LBC, which will be practically emptied of our stuff by then, or take it in a carrier with us to the new residence.

The evening study group was usually with nine participants and has started with the book ‘Self Culture’ by I. K. Taimni. The 15 occult principles were reread several times and extensively commented upon. There was sometimes room for expression of different opinions, which is a reassuring thing. Listening and asking to repeat what was read or said are good signs of an open communicative atmosphere. Several times reference was made to various sources of theosophical teaching.

In the afternoons there were again lots of butterflies dancing around each other in the green boarders along the road and also above the road, sometimes interested in and flying during several paces in front of the walker.

At about 6 p.m. the last few days, there was a beautiful full moon to be seen from the beach, of which we took a lot of pictures one day with our cellphone, not too sharp, because of night vision, but rather moody. The other day, we were at the beach gate about ten minutes earlier than the day before and there was more daylight. The full moon was even more beautiful than the day before and we took some pictures with a camera.

On the 18^th October we were in India since one month again. It seems much longer as we are beginning to feel at home and appreciate the culture and organization of the international headquarters of the Theosophical Society. The work is close to our professional experience and should not pose too big a problem. This week we even appear to may have become a little bit productive.

One afternoon, when we were walking on our way back from the headquarters building, we saw two water buffalo's. These animals tend to move about very slowly all over the place and are normally in a group of about six. They were grazing the lawn in front of the main building.

With several colleagues we discussed the possibility of a project aimed at organizing academic studies in the form of a Faculty of Comparative Study of Religion, Philosophy and Science, like the one we ourselves have been studying at for five years in our country of origin. They all were demonstrating a favorable attitude to the idea. Such a Faculty could easily be run by the Theosophical Society at the existing facilities. The teachers would have to be representatives from the different religions, philosophies and sciences and would not earn a salary or honorarium. This sort of academic studies would be meant for students, who have finished their education at secondary schools like the Olcott School and are interested in continuing their academic studies in accordance with the second objective of the Theosophical Society.

 

Saturday there was another farewell party, now at the office, for the colleague, who we are replacing. There was music, snacks, tea, short speeches, jokes and a general feeling of departure. Monday he will be gone and, by coincidence or not, that is the day we shall be moving to our new residence here on the compound. When we were on the way out of the gate, the Telephone Company called for the installation of the connection. It came out, that a new line had to be laid, which is a major work, because the wiring has to go underground. We shall thus have to continue with the cellphone and the pen-drive modem, for the time being. Wi-Fi still appears to be a realistic option for Leadbeater Chambers, as it has been planned to be operational during the Convention and may be during the School of the Wisdom.

That was the week that was,

Bye for now,

Brooder

Adyar, Sunday 13 October 2013

 IMPRESSIONS  OF  RELIGIOUS   FESTIVITIES  AT  ADYAR

  

Adyar, Sunday, 13 October 2013

The hurricane landed in the state Orissa in the North of India. A few days before its arrival, we had here stormy weather with rain. At 6.10 today, the gate to the beach was closed already and there was no guard to be seen. Because it was dark we had taken the flashlight with us but decided not to take the umbrella. This last decision turned out to be a mistake because on the way back we received a good shower and had to change clothes as soon as we came in the room.

This week, everything was going according to Plan. Today is the Sabbath day of rest and tomorrow there is a religious holiday, again. At 9.30 a.m. there was a Mahanavami Puja in the Library for Sarasvati, the goddess of science, study and wisdom. After the puja, which lasted for about half an hour, we received 'prasad', part of which was in a pocket made of newspaper. The pocket we received had as news that the oldest man on earth had died at the age of 112.

We should save more time to do the study in the book, of which we were asked to make a summary. At lunch today, there were five at the table, talking and exchanging views about religions, sects and cults. One of the locals said that today is one of the most important Hindu religious festivities. People should rest and not even read a book, but reflect on enterprises for the New Year, in the fields of science and study. Tomorrow, one could start studying again. This appears to be somewhat like the Christian festivities at Christmas and the end of the year. So today, we had a very long siesta after which we got up to write in the blog. There also is a Skype appointment at 5 pm. This is of course 5 pm in Europe and after dinner we shall have all the time of the world for it.

Monday morning, we finally received the keys of the house and had a look there, before going to work. It is perfect and only needs some refreshment of the paint. We shall get a telephone connection on the landline, which has a splitter for the Internet. 

Monday night, we went with six to the last day of the Ramayana presentation in the Egmore Museum Theatre. Afterwards we had dinner in the room again.

E-mail is working perfectly, when the laptop with the usb-modem is positioned on the small table against the back door of the apartment.

In the office we made good progress at getting the knack of the system. When we left in the evening, we addressed the boss in our own mother tongue, which was a very pleasant surprise for us and a clear sign that the assimilation is on its way.

The guest from Europe is very entertaining and good company as we can speak in her mother tongue. She will be here for one week only, but has plans to come to India for six months each year. We had a long conversation in the ambassador service car of the former Secretary on the way back from the theatre. The journey through town was experienced as completely normal and thus we might say that we are beginning to feel at home in this country.

Tuesday, the study group was with eight persons. We read the article by the International President of the TS in this year’s October issue of the Theosophist about the study of the Secret Doctrine. Maybe the group is going into the direction of studying the SD. We met in the house of one of the students, because there was a meeting of the TS Madras Federation going on in the Great Hall. Thus we sat on the bed, which had been made especially at eight feet length for a late president, who had been of somewhat taller physical proportion than normal. We were told that Mahatma Gandhi had slept in the house, which was built more than two centuries ago. The guest from abroad said jokingly, that if she had been told earlier, she would have kissed the floor at entering the house.

On Tuesday, the walk to the beach in the evening surprised us with a beautiful sharp first slice of the moon together with the evening star, probably Venus. The dunes before the beach are really clean and one suspects, that citizens have been collecting the rubbish from time to time.

We saw that our future house was being cleaned one afternoon. The supervisor told us, that the bed poles for the mosquito nets would be found and thus we went out to buy a mosquito net and pillows.

Wednesday, we gave a presentation on “Life and Works of Tsong Khapa” in the Great Hall of HQ Building, at 7 p.m. with beamer, laptop and microphone. Afterwards, we were told that it was better than the same presentation we gave in another country. This is a good sign, and might be the result of the fact that we are at the right place at the right time. There were some 45 attendants and after the show, a representative from another lodge asked if we could give the same presentation for them too.

Thursday, the weather was fantastic with heavy rain and thunderstorm during the afternoon. It was a rather busy day with activities in relation to house-keeping and telephone connection. The furniture will come and the head of department will have matresses made for us on the three beds. Some extra furniture would also be made available. He said that the water of the Administration Building was good.

Further there needed to be given a pass photo for Immigration Service in all cases of foreigners residing here on the compound. Same pass photo to be given to Telephone Company with photocopies of passport and visa registration to get a land-line for telephone and internet.

Friday we were so busy that we almost forgot to write in the diary.
We woke up at 5.45, went to the beach, had breakfast, went to the administration for formalities, went to the new house to see what was to be done, went to work, got instructed in the procedures there, wrote a business correspondence by e-mail, went for lunch, had short siesta, worked on internet for the private and the national section’s e-mail correspondence, where we saw that through Linkedin our niece has found us and told us, that she has given birth to a daughter, two weeks ago, went back to work, were further instructed and ate a sweet with a cup of milky wheat porridge with nuts and raisins for the occasion of the tenth anniversary of one of the cooks, enquired about buying the Secret Doctrine for our professor in France, got back to the dormitory and checked the e-mail again, went for dinner and fetched drinking water, went to the beach, where the guard just closed the gate twenty minutes before time and felt obliged to reopen it, because a walker came back from the beach and risked to be locked out, got out to the beach and had a look at the waves and the half-moon in a beautifully colored, sunset lighted sky above the dark green woods of the TS compound. The servants and the guards all want to go home before dark. It seems that they are really scared in the forest like surroundings here.

The last few days there were lots of butterflies dancing around the lush green park, where many flowers have appeared after the recent heavy rains.

Friday, the new guest from abroad was in the study group again, where we were with ten. On the way back we talked somewhat about altruism, the subject of the study and she would like to see the meditation Diagram of HPB, because we mentioned it in the context that all fear disappears, when one is connected to the center, which is everywhere. In the diagram it is formulated as “Conceiving of UNITY by expansion in space and infinite in Time, either with or without self-identification….With memory of universality all dread vanishes during the danger and trials of life.”

Saturday and today, the weather was strangely heavy, because there is a tropical storm in the neighborhood. The waves at the beach were enormous and making a loud roaring sound. There also is a flu moving around here, with very bad symptoms. We had belly ache for a few days already, especially after eating the sweets, so we held long siestas.

Yesterday night at seven we went to a house of one of the locals, where the ladies had organized a puppet exhibition. We received 'prasad' at the beginning, before entering the exhibition. Upstairs, there was a sort of shrine or showcase of more than a hundred old and new puppets or statues of gods and goddesses. The tradition wants it, that the statues of three main goddesses are exposed, Durga on top and a little bit lower Lakshmi and Saraswathi each at the side, during nine days, three days for each of the three goddesses. Many little statues of Ganesh, of other gods and even of Father Christmas were also exposed. The set up looked a bit like what is done at Christmas, when the statues of Mary, Josef, the child Jesus, the shepherds, the three kings etc. are shown in the little Christmas stall or stable near or under the Christmas tree.

We looked up on the Internet, what was to be found about the killing of the Tibetan monk Akong Tulku Rimpoche. It seems, that money and spiritual teaching do not marry too well. Now we understand even better why the TS is keeping the material aspect of its organization to a necessary minimum.

That was the week that was,

Bye for now,

Brooder

Adyar, Sunday 6 October 2013

ANNIE BESANT'S BIRTHDAY COMMEMORATION

                                              

Adyar, Sunday, 6 October 2013

Wi-Fi was installed in the office, this week, so the Internet connection there now is speedy and without further problems. Wi-Fi might also still be possible for LBC. There seems to develop a consensus that for the visiting delegates and student-colleagues at TS headquarters a minimum of acceptable working conditions has to be put in place without touching at the beauty of the compound’s natural environment.

This morning no beach walks, because we were too tired after some minor digestive difficulties during the night. We should go to sleep at nine instead of half past ten.

The newly arrived guest was even half an hour later at breakfast, while our neighbor had left for an early Sunday morning beach running with the school. They both looked fine, when they showed up later.

For the rest of the day we worked quietly on the Internet and did some e-mail correspondence. The presentation of coming Wednesday evening at Adyar Lodge was updated. One hour was left for study, while two hours were spent on siesta, after lunch.

Tonight we went from 5 till 8.30 to the Ramayana presentation. We had a late dinner in the room and shall try to go to bed as early as possible, because tomorrow at 8 o’clock we shall receive from the Housekeeping Department the keys of the house, where we shall be moving to shortly.

One day we missed the evening study group, this week. Instead of study, we had tea and philosophical exchanges of views with our neighbor. He had been to the Immigration Service for his visa extension and appeared to have come there one month too early. Some four documents still needed to be produced for his visa extension. While he was waiting, another person in the queue told him, that his case the whole file had been lost and that he had start from the beginning.

The mosquito problem of the neighbor appeared to be caused by a loose screen on one of the highest openings in the back of the room. The screen is hanging loose at only one corner and the mosquito's have free entry. Two days later, we put a chair on a table and fixed ourselves the mosquito screen in place with a pin before the opening in the outside wall near the ceiling at the back of the room instead of waiting for the maintenance to come and do the job.

First of October was the Annie Besant Birthday Commemoration Day, which gave rise to an event organized in the Great Hall at Head Quarters Building, from 8.30 till about 10 am. There were three speakers under the direction of the President and with the Secretary as ceremonial master. At the end, flowers were laid before a portrait of Annie Besant, which had been positioned in front of the statue of the founders HPB an HSO. Altogether it was a respectful happening with attendance of about 50 people. There was a university professor, who was well prepared in her eloquent speech. Of the other speeches one was by the new head of one of the departments, who is a soft and well spoke gentleman and the other by the daughter of another head of department.

In the evening we went every other day with a group to a Valmikir Ramayana declamation or presentation by a very good lecturer in the Egmore Theatre at one of the museums here in town. The name of the poet Valmikir actually means ant- or termite hill. In Tamil Nadu it is a habit, that during about a week or a ten day period round the new moon after the autumn equinox, which is in the present month of the local lunar calendar, the Ramayana is read by people sitting together in a group. Friday there is a holiday in this context, which is called Malaya Amavasi (Great New Moon).

Late one evening we had tea with the neighbor, who had digestive problems and also needed to use our laptop for his e-mail correspondence. At ten o’clock we called it the day.

Wednesday there was Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday and thus another holiday with time to set things right.

Later that day, we sat at the small table and chair on the terrace at the back of the room. We said hello to two colleagues, who were walking by on their way to the administration building, where also our neighbor had gone that day, to arrange for the necessary documents asked for by the Immigration Service. Internet connection is good outside the room and our e-mail correspondence and our flight booking for next year could be taken care of without any problems.

There were messages from different sections about their programs and about possibility that one might come to Adyar to attend the School of the Wisdom in January 2014.

Our colleague and predecessor at the work place has come at the end of the week to initiate us in the secrets of his profession. He is still in function till the 19th of the month, which gives us just two weeks to get familiar with the system.

The software used in the office has been put on our laptop in a tutorial version and the last few days we had already the opportunity start to accustom ourselves a little bit to the presentations on screen.

After the evening outings to the Egmore Theatre of the museum near the Harrows Road, where the story of the Valmikir Ramayana continues to be presented by Sri M. (Mumtaz Ali) of the Satsang Foundation from 6 till 8 pm we had a late dinners from carriers placed by the cook in our room. Sri M. seems to know a lot about the TS and to have done research into the origin of the Secret Doctrine and the Book of Kyo-Te where the Stanzas of Dzyan and the commentaries are derived from by HPB. He is said to conclude, that these books are of older origin than the Vedas.

Thursday, the day started with a beach walk, on the way back of which we encountered a gunman with a rifle, who was walking behind a citizen, obviously as body guard. During lunch we were told, that the man is a High Court Judge and that this gunman has been walking with him since three days.

This week, it was often raining in the afternoon and before going to the Telephone Company to buy the Wi-Fi for the office, we had to wait a while. After about half an hour we went on the back of the motor bicycle of our colleague through a beautiful green and wet town, where we had to avoid the many puddles of muddy water in the roads.

Friday there was again a holiday with lots of time to rest and catch up with all the e-mail correspondence. Our neighbor was still busy with the visa authorities at Indian Immigration, where he had to produce all kind of forms.

There was room cleaning with new bed sheets in the afternoon.

We could make the necessary payments on PC-Banking of the bank at home.

When walking to the Administration Building, we met the new manager of Leadbeater’s Chambers, who was helping a new guest to carry her bag to LBC and who replied to our question, that she would not come to the theatre that night.

When we returned from the shore on Saturday morning, we saw that the gunman was again walking behind the judge to the beach. There was a small crowd of about a dozen non-regular walkers tailing the escort to the sea.

We bought oranges one afternoon at the fruit stall outside the Green Gate. The shopkeeper had chosen four of the best oranges for us. We had gone out through the Front Gate to recharge the cellphone, to drink some watermelon juice and to buy bed sheets and pillowcases.

The weather was marvelous after all the rain, which had fallen the last two weeks. While walking, we slow down our pace to be able to better look around in the coconut plantation, where there are cows grazing. We sit down under the Ban Yan Tree, where we can see young squirrels eating something from under the leaves, while they are hanging upside down and going from one little branch or even twig to the other. The new head of the Garden Department is doing a splendid job and the looks of the site are becoming much better. One can see and appreciate, that someone is really caring and taking things in hand in a professional way.

Latest news is that all foreigners lodging at the TS have to be registered on line in the database of the Indian immigration service.

Bye for now,

Brooder

Adyar 29 September 2013

View of Octagone Building and Adyar River at TS Head Quarters

Adyar, Sunday, 29 September 2013

This morning on the terrace of our room, we managed to go on internet. After the usual e-mail exchanges, we read for two hours in the book “Supranormal” by Dean Radin, in which he is making the case for scientific acceptance of the existence of the siddhis. He is presenting it in a well-documented scientific way. All the references should be verified, though, and that is not a simple job. We were told at the ITC in Naarden, where we attended a presentation by someone about the research of Ian Stevinson that part of the study and research into the subject of reincarnation, to which Radin refers, was financed by Xerox and that it appeared that not all the evidence was as convincing as a scientist would have wanted.

Sitting on the terrace in lush green surrounding was a wonderful experience and we wondered, why not more students were allowed to have the same experience.

After lunch, a good siesta prepared us for the talk before the inter-lodge meeting. At tea time, the assembled crowd of more than 50 members could listen to the thoughts of a well prepared advaita scholar and retired policeman about ancient wisdom in modern times. Living the dharma is following the law and not being harmful the speaker said, so he included ahimsa in the idea of dharma.

This week, it has been difficult to go on internet. Some days it took till half past nine in the evening, before we could start to use our e-mail.

Konstantin replied to our question about Sundays, in which we said to have learned in school that the weekdays and the one day of rest were from ancient Indian origin, that HPB in Transactions (25.04.1889) asserts that 7 days week is of Indian origin.

It appears, that in December there will not be a Wi-Fi installed at LBC. Some-one had been busy talking and wishful thinking, while we were taking the utterances for factual statements.

Work is interesting and completely different from the control work we were used to. The colleagues try to come to positive, workable solutions to the problems, which we encounter together.

The evening study this week was with ten or more people, but not allways the same. We read chapters 4 and 5 of Practical Occultism, which has quotations from ‘Light on the Path’ and other works of Indian philosophy. The participants tried to link the theosophical teaching with the Indian philosophies. The reader said that in former days, the children in India used to be taught these teachings from very early age.

One evening there was an interactive Adyar Lodge meeting on the book “Practical Occultism” with some 16 people, which was very good. The moderator summed up the conditions for living the life of an occultist as given by H. P. Blavatsky, the result of which was a long list we could not remember. We shall have to look it up.

During another evening at the study group on the booklet “Practical Occultism” we witnessed an exchange of views about how one could become of service to one’s fellow workers. It appeared that the different personal kingdom builders were difficult to cope with. After that there was a more mellow conversation about the trip to the South-East Asian Theosophical Conference in Bali during the first week of November, when the participants would like to visit Borobudur. Our whole life we have wondered if and when we would see this extraordinary, world famous Buddhist Temple and now all of a sudden it is just happening, without any special personal effort, but as part of a group dynamic, which is taking form. Like the petals of a flower opening harmoniously in space and time. In this same spirit, yesterday one confirmed that the special psychic powers come naturally, when time is there. We should not force developments, but be aware of them as they take place.

Friday, there were about 14 people resent in the study group and the discussions were lively. Mostly it was about meditative life or living the life in the form of an altruistic prayer. There were two visitors, of whom one seemed kind of medium as he was at certain moment staring at the ceiling, while looking absent minded. For the rest of the time he participated actively in the discussions and said to have been meditating for some ten years. Best was to sit for meditation round three in the morning. This was confirmed by another person, who told a story about consulting a wise guru in the case of a sick child. He advised that the girl should meditate for half an hour at about three in the morning. We referred to the eightfold path of Buddhism, which leads to meditation. Further we said, that a meditative life begins with learning to meditate and that probably the easiest way to learn is to start at about three in the morning. This is the time, when the world is as quiet as can be. We made the comparison with learning how to write between the lines, while later the writing becomes automatic. So after learning how to meditate the meditative state becomes an automatic way of life.

Because the room we occupied has to be whitewashed and tiles have to be laid in the bathroom we had to move to another room, so we moved from Room 11 to room 10. These rooms are not situated next door to each other, but on different floors and at opposite sides of the building, which is more than 50 meters long.

We had felt the urge to move as quickly as possible, as soon as we came here last week, but the move to a permanent residence is for a later phase. It was good to experience though that the urge to move was about changing rooms in LBC. When we were told, that we had to move, we were not surprised. Except for the meals, the walks, the study and one visit to the International Secretary in the Administration Building, one whole day was taken by packing, moving and unpacking. The "green form" for moving house has not been signed yet. The General Manager said that the house will have to be cleaned thoroughly, because it is infected with ants.

In the new room, the electricity sockets are of the old model and the plug of our new water kettle, for which new sockets had been installed in some other rooms, did not fit. We managed to boil the water with a big one thousand watt boiler for heating laundry water in a bucket, which we had placed in a completely filled tea pot. Later an electrician fixed a new plug to the cable of the kettle.

The connection to the Internet works also in the new room, but we have to position the laptop with the usb-stick-modem either outside on the terrace or inside the room as far as possible towards the back door, which door would have been the front door in the earlier days, when the building was newly constructed and the dining room with a terrace overlooking the Adyar River were situated on the ground floor.

Walking after dinner is quiet and relaxing. Dinner though is in a hurry, because kitchen workers want to get home before dark. We work till almost five o’clock, have dinner at half past five and go to the beach before the gate closes at half past six, where the guard tries to close earlier, because he also wants to get to a safe place before dark.

We also saw another head of department, who is almost 80 years old and looked much better than in June. We had an exchange of views about how long he might continue to work here. May be he would like to stay as long as possible, he said, because he is here now since about ten years and has to decide if he would want to do something else.

The beach walk in the morning before breakfast is beautiful, when there are no clouds and one can see the sun rise. We should get up at five o’clock to be on time for that.

One resident told us today, that LBC will not stand another century, because the iron inside the reinforced concrete beams is rusting. The only and very costly solution would be to put up new beams fixed to the existing ones. That might be a scenario for the next generation in the year 2050 or so.

Yesterday we just had Tulsi tea with the neighbour, who was ill with digestive problems. He must have caught some bug during the holiday at the beginning of this week and his indisposition became worse during the last days. He had even skipped lunch, at which there was a tofu dish, with delicious sauce.

It has been raining during the night and some days even during the afternoon siesta. We did not hear it most of the time, because we still sleep like a rose, now on the matress which we have borrowed from a compatriot, who told us that we could have it temporarily, because he is not coming to Adyar for the time being.

The laundry had arrived and clothes for one week had been washed clean and ironed by the TS Laundry Department for a dazzling, subsidized price of less than one euro everything included.

The work was normal and most of the week we had internet access in the workplace, also with the usb-modem of another provider, which we borrowed from our neighbor at LBC, who has had to move rooms too.

On Saturdays work is only in the morning. We are slowly beginning to participate and share the responsibility with the more experienced colleagues. Next week there are just two and half working days (Monday, Thursday and Saturday), while the other three days are official holidays, one for Deepvaly and the other two for commemorating A. Besant and Gandhi. 

We have become associated member of Adyar Lodge by a procedure a little bit different from the one applied to our predecessor, who became president of this same lodge as soon as she had arrived in Adyar. But different tempora have different mores.

The pc is having access to internet again inside the room, and we should hurry to post the blog.

Bye for now,

Brooder