All Discussions Tagged 'Adyar' - Theosophy.Net2024-03-29T02:15:48Zhttps://theosophy.net/group/news/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=Adyar&feed=yes&xn_auth=noDANGER BREWING FOR THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY ESTATE AT ADYARtag:theosophy.net,2018-02-17:3055387:Topic:1576692018-02-17T18:52:09.221ZJohnhttps://theosophy.net/profile/JohnEMead
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<p>DANGER BREWING FOR THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY ESTATE AT ADYAR ---</p>
<p>The following message is being sent to General Council Members and committed sisters and brothers<em>. It has also been posted on theos-talk and Theosophy News page on Facebook and Twitter. If you receive a duplicate, our apologies for inconvenience</em></p>
<p>Adyar Day 2018</p>
<p>Dear Sister/Brother:</p>
<p>While many of us are distracted with issues relating to the…</p>
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<p>DANGER BREWING FOR THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY ESTATE AT ADYAR ---</p>
<p>The following message is being sent to General Council Members and committed sisters and brothers<em>. It has also been posted on theos-talk and Theosophy News page on Facebook and Twitter. If you receive a duplicate, our apologies for inconvenience</em></p>
<p>Adyar Day 2018</p>
<p>Dear Sister/Brother:</p>
<p>While many of us are distracted with issues relating to the Presidential election, the President's term of office, the monetary irregularities in the renovation, the absence of the President and Vice-President at Adyar and issues, a surreptitious scam is secretly brewing on the horizon, which will bring irreparable losses and grave danger to The Theosophical Society Estate at Adyar.</p>
<p>It is learnt that the General Council members have been insufficiently informed of the plans to alienate a part of the estate --- Damodar Gardens which is worth about US$235 million. Land at Adyar is priciest in Chennai.</p>
<p>Damodar Gardens was the gift of one theosophist, Mr. Schwartz, who was the Treasurer of The Theosophical Society. Besant Theosophical High School and Krishnamurti School have successively occupied it, as they were like-minded institutions with strong Theosophical connection.</p>
<p>After a protracted process of negotiations, consultations and legal intervention, Krishnamurti School, is vacating in May 2018. The main reason for asking Krishnamurti School to vacate was that The Theosophical Society wishes to use the premises for its own purposes. The Olcott Education Society had plans and commenced work on the Vocational Training Centre for under-privileged, particularly from the Olcott Memorial High School.</p>
<p>In the meanwhile, it is learnt there has been a gradually developing friendship between Tim Boyd and one of the families of the TVS automobile industrial group. The group runs the TVS Education Society (TVSES) with schools in parts of South India. The schools are well run but are not definitely on the lines of Theosophical education.</p>
<p>They belong to a for profit segment that is fast developing in India called the Education industry. The TVSES has apparently convinced Tim Boyd that he should part with the estate on a long term basis, which in effect under Indian Law is a deemed sale.</p>
<p>No one has been consulted officially on this decision, except for an unscheduled mention by Tim Boyd in December, 2017 General Council meeting at Adyar. No reasons were given except that the TVSES has been chosen to run a vocational training centre and an international school concurrently. Details are fuzzy - sale, or a lease or a gift or an exchange. It is also learnt that a survey of the estate has been scheduled, anticipating General Council's approval.</p>
<p>This is an appeal to all well meaning theosophists and more particularly the members of the General Council to raise the following questions on the alienation of property with such secrecy and haste. Clearly Tim Boyd is answerable to the membership on each:</p>
<ol>
<li>What is the role of The Theosophical Society and the Olcott Education Society in this new venture?</li>
<li>Why was the TVSES chosen for such an expensive proposition, involving a large sum of money by way of property of The Theosophical Society, without considerable deliberation by the General Council on different alternatives for use of the land by The Theosophical Society for philanthropic purposes?</li>
<li>Section 5 of the international rules and regulations requires a four month notice for any resolution to be passed and proper reasons to be given supporting the proposal. Why was this not done when the agenda was circulated?</li>
<li>Section 21(c) concerning a power of attorney for the disposal of the Adyar Estate calls for a clear three-fourths majority of the entire General Council to authorize the President to proceed with sale, gift, exchange, mortgage or other form of disposal/alienation. How can it be minuted that the General Council gave an approval when there was neither a proposal nor a ballot to pass the resolution?</li>
<li>Why was the proposal not sent to members of the General Council (present and absent) with proper notice, as required by the rules, to enable them to vote, in person, in writing or by proxy.</li>
<li>How does the TS propose to handle queries from government bodies on whether more land is available for other use? This is a high likelyhood considering the attempts to sell and lease land by the TS administration, which will attract undue attention and negative publicity.</li>
<li>Why have the General Council members not been informed of the following details:-</li>
<li>The terms and details of the arrangement (number of years)</li>
<li>The nature of the arrangement/agreement - lease/gift/sale/exchange</li>
<li>The size of deposit (if it is a lease) and whether it makes financial sense for such a large property and the risk of losing it.</li>
<li>The monthly lease amount (if it is a lease) and whether it makes financial sense for such a large property and the risk of losing it.</li>
<li>Why have schools been mentioned in the minutes, as we have only one school.</li>
<li>Will any money be paid outside India?</li>
<li>Would the agreement include an undertaking that principles of Theosophical education will be incorporated.</li>
<li>Would the curriculum avoid vivisection of animals in science subjects, serving of non-vegetarian food on the campus, etc. (meat, fish, fowl etc.)</li>
<li>As it is proposed to have a vocational training centre and also an international school which is probably for very rich children, what are the measures to be taken to make the venture more inclusive and the fees more affordable.</li>
<li>The details and extent of the construction proposed on the premises by the TVSES which will eventually give them more right to continue without vacating the premises and which will also affect the campus that is green.</li>
</ol>
<p>It may be concluded that the administration is setting on a dangerous course in making this illegal and expensive move.</p>
<p>The decision is entirely yours to act on this with urgency.</p>
<p>Best Regards,<br/> Yours fraternally,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>M K Ramadoss</p>
<p>San Antonio Texas USA</p>
<p>+++++++<br/> Rules of TS:</p>
<ol start="5">
<li>Resolutions <br/> (a) On the request of any member of the General Council any resolution or other item of business proposed by such member shall be placed on the Agenda, and circulated with brief supporting statements, for consideration at the next meeting of the General Council, provided that not less than four months' notice of such resolution or item of business shall be given to the Secretary.</li>
</ol>
<p>This Rule shall not apply to Rule changes as per Rule 50.</p>
<p>(b) In respect of all decisions of the General Council, members thereof may vote in person, or in writing, or electronically, or by proxy duly given to another member of the General Council, for the particular decision concerned, or by any other agreed upon expeditious means such as recorded video conferencing. Except as aforesaid no member shall exercise more than one vote. No member shall be allowed to exercise more than 5 proxy votes. Proxies will only be valid for the meeting concerned.</p>
<p>(c) In respect of all decisions of the General Council, voting in writing shall be processed by sending voting slips by post or electronically, which should be completed and returned to the Secretary of the General Council no later than sixty days after the date of the covering letter. Votes received after the specified date shall be considered invalid.</p>
<p>Note: Meetings include adjourned meetings.</p>
<ol start="21">
<li>Power of Attorney</li>
</ol>
<p>Disposal of Adyar Estate</p>
<p>(c) The Adyar Estate of the Society in Madras including the Society's original Headquarters and all other properties in Adyar since acquired by gift, purchase or otherwise, shall not at any time be disposed of by sale, gift, exchange, mortgage or otherwise; save that the President, if specially authorized by a resolution of the General Council, passed by a three-fourths vote of their members, voting in person, in writing or by proxy, may dispose of such outlying portions of the said Adyar Estate, as may be specified in such Resolutions.<br/> +++</p>
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<p> </p> Theosophical Society at Adyar - Lawsuits and Newstag:theosophy.net,2015-07-28:3055387:Topic:1442272015-07-28T11:40:49.238ZJohnhttps://theosophy.net/profile/JohnEMead
<p>Update from Theosophy News:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The law suit filed in Chennai High Court by Krishnaphani and Rama Chandra Rao against TS, its officers and others involved in Election is going forward to trial. Judge has just released his judgement. Judgement is in public domain and can be downloaded at the link listed below.…<br></br> <br></br></p>
<p>Update from Theosophy News:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The law suit filed in Chennai High Court by Krishnaphani and Rama Chandra Rao against TS, its officers and others involved in Election is going forward to trial. Judge has just released his judgement. Judgement is in public domain and can be downloaded at the link listed below.<br/> <br/> <a href="http://judis.nic.in/judis_chennai/Judge_Result_Disp.asp?MyChk=233224" target="_blank">http://judis.nic.in/judis_chennai/Judge_Result_Disp.asp?MyChk=233224</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tim Boyd, as President of TS, filed objections claiming that the members have no standing to sue. <br/> <br/> This was denied and judge has ruled that they have standing and hence the case goes forward to trial.</p>
<p>It is significant that the judge has recognized the importance of fair and free elections in Democracy and let us all pray that at the end of the day, the law suit will fix the TS President Election System as it is very critical to the future of theosophical movement.</p>
<p>We can be sure that theosophical movement will ultimately win.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In the trial, much details would emerge, we all should be ready for many surprises.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><b><u>Some Key Observations:</u></b></p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Accordingly, this application (of Tim Boyd) deserves no merits and the same is dismissed." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Accordingly, this Court is of the view that the applicant/D10 is not justified in contending that the respondents 1 and 2/plaintiffs are not having locus-standi to file the present suit" </p>
<p>.</p>
<p>"Court has also found that a member or voter of a Society/Association has a right to challenge the elections in the absence of specific bar either in the Bye-laws or under the statutory provisions."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I have already pointed out that the By-laws of the first defendant-Association are totally silent about the manner in which the elections have to be challenged."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Election is a symbol of Democracy and the same has to be conducted strictly in accordance with the procedures established by law in a fair, transparent and unbiased manner. There cannot be any compromise on the mandatory and essential procedures in conducting the elections. Only when those procedures are strictly followed, it could be said that the Democratic way of electing people, has been achieved. If there are any deviations, it should be viewed seriously, as the same cannot get the seal of approval from a Court of Law, automatically.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>MKR</b></p>
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<p> <a href="http://www.theosophy.net" target="_blank">www.theosophy.net</a></p> From Theosophy News - A look at Theosophical Society at Adyartag:theosophy.net,2015-07-16:3055387:Topic:1442232015-07-16T18:12:04.169ZJohnhttps://theosophy.net/profile/JohnEMead
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<div dir="ltr"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><b>Theosophy News<br></br></b></div>
<div><b><br></br><br></br>A look at Theosophical Society at Adyar</b><br></br><br></br>Theosophical Society, since it established its International Headquarters at Adyar in 1882, was led by luminaries such as Blavatsky, Olcott, Annie Besant, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Rukmini Arundale and many others. Blavatsky established schools for untouchables, Olcott started the…</div>
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<div dir="ltr"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><b>Theosophy News<br/></b></div>
<div><b><br/><br/>A look at Theosophical Society at Adyar</b><br/><br/>Theosophical Society, since it established its International Headquarters at Adyar in 1882, was led by luminaries such as Blavatsky, Olcott, Annie Besant, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Rukmini Arundale and many others. Blavatsky established schools for untouchables, Olcott started the free school for the children from the fishermen from Urur among other accomplishments. Besant was legendary in working both in the Independence Movement and her social projects including her efforts to prevent child marriages. Jiddu Krishnamurti is today one of the most read philosophical authors in the world. Rukmini Devi revived Bharatanatyam and is a fixture in most major cities around the world not to mention its popularity. So Theosophical Society in a way established it was the forerunner in many areas and many were the men and women who have benefitted by its leaders. But unfortunately, today, it is now led by a very little known part time leader Tim Boyd from the USA and Theosophical Society is mired in multitude of issues and controversies. Here are some of them so that anyone new can see for themselves.<br/><br/> President Election and litigation in Chennai High Court<br/><br/>We all witnessed the election which started with ‘policy of silence’ and lacked transparency and end-to-end control of ballots integral to democratic election. And the matter has now reached Chennai High Court as nothing was done by the Election Committee to address the alleged irregularities and malpractice in the state of Karnataka and Varanasi. The allegation is that it tampered with the outcome of election. Surreptitious arrival of the current President from USA night before the announcement of the results and his hasty assumption of office within an hour of announcement results speaks for itself.<br/><br/>Since there are so many parties to the litigation, an army of lawyers are engaged and a lot of money is going to be wasted instead of it being spent on projects helping the workers at Adyar and public at large in line with the objects of Theosophical Society.<br/><br/>Going forward, a clean election with full transparency and end-to-end control of balloting and tallying is essential to protect the image of the Society and credibility of the President necessary to lead the TS. India has vast experience in conducting clean elections. Professional help can be obtained very easily.<br/><br/>Minutes of General Council Meeting:<br/><br/>The General Council is the top governing body. It is like the Board of Directors or Trustees. The official minutes of the 25th December 2014 meeting is yet to be released. Professionally drawn up minutes should not take this long to be released. What members have seen so far is a leaked draft. Its authenticity has not been questioned by anyone. There are some surprising and questionable details in it.<br/><br/>There was a comment trying to claim that the President is not a part of the Executive Committee which is not true. Also there were proposals from a couple of General Secretaries which were not formally balloted in the meeting but simply discarded. The minutes read like a collection of opinions from some members.<br/><br/>Cutting of Old Trees<br/><br/>Many old trees at Adyar were cut down around the renovated Olcott Bungalow, the newly renovated mansion residence of the President. Hindu Newspaper picked up the story and published it. Hindu stands by the story. A statement in the Adyar TS website confirmed the cutting but merely disputes the number and age. If the official version is true, all they had to do was to invite print and TV media to visit and see for themselves. It was suggested and but was not done. You can see for yourself why. Cutting of old trees without prior permit is illegal and such issues only brings bad name to Theosophical Society.<br/><br/>Gifting of Dairy Cows<br/><br/>Two batches of Dairy Cows were secretly gifted away by the Executive Committee. The first batch was given away in June 2014 in a very secret operation to a little known farmer in unknown location and it was obvious that they will ultimately end up slaughtered. It was not discovered even by the residents of Adyar until months later. The whole deal was obviously fishy. When confronted with the disclosure, Adyar website confirmed the gift. All appeals to retrieve them fell on deaf ears. We do not know how many of the cows are still alive. This whole operation is contrary to the basic theosophical principle of “ONE LIFE.” A second batch of cows were gifted recently, and this was also a very secret operation. It is estimated that the total cows donated so far may be around one hundred.<br/><br/>To this day, there is no transparency on the need to send off the cows when Adyar has 250 acres of land. Apparently the underlying reasoning seems to be the maintenance cost. There are other serious legal issues involved.<br/><br/>Cows are valuable ‘property’ and TS registered under Societies Registration Act cannot gift away any property to any individual. While second batch being sent to a qualified Cow Shelter may be legal, we do not know if there was proper authorization as there is no transparency on these decisions. TS has valuable property in the museum, archives, library and elsewhere and this may set a precedent to gifting to individuals which may land TS into great trouble.<br/><br/>Cost Justification<br/><br/>In the cows issue, cost seems to have been used as a fig leaf to justify the decision. Looking at the big picture, with the enormous costs involved in current litigation employing an army of lawyers, as well as other less important projects, cows decision was driven by other undisclosed considerations. This does look bad on TS.<br/><br/>Cancellation of Membership<br/><br/>From day one, anyone who subscribes to Universal Brotherhood is welcome to join the Theosophical Society. No other belief is required. <br/><br/>In the history of TS in India, there has never been a single instance of cancellation of membership in last more than 100 years. It is now obvious that both Mr Krishnaphani Kesiraju and Mr S. Ramu were expelled after they filed law suits. The went to the Courts seeking justice. Such retaliation is violation of law when cases are pending. To this day, members have not been told on the reasons for their expulsion. It is hence seen as acts of vindictiveness and unjust.<br/><br/>Violation of Court Orders<br/><br/>In Mr. S. Ramu’ court case, the Judge has granted him interim relief and allowed him to continue living at his Adyar residence and enjoy all amenities. In violation of court orders, food and laundry services were denied to him and his family and this is not the way one honors the courts and the principle of Universal Brotherhood.<br/><br/>Financial Mismanagement<br/><br/>As a charitable organization registered under Societies Registration Act, TS is required to spend 85% of its income towards operations and its objectives failing which as penalty, Income Tax has to be paid. It is reported that more than a million rupees was paid recently. This could have been avoided by spending the money to spread theosophy, provide better benefits to employees, taking care of the cows etc. It is learnt that nearly Rs. 900,000.00 was recently spent in cleaning water wells when there was no urgency in such large expense. TS need to be transparent in confirming or denying the financial details.<br/><br/>Obviously there is incompetence in proper planning of financial priorities and advance approval from GC for large expenditures.<br/><br/>Arbitrary Change of Convention Date<br/><br/>Since 1883, the week long annual International Convention always started on December 25th. The General Council, without consulting the Indian membership of more than 1,000 who attend it, changed it to December 31st. The only reason for the change is to accommodate handful of members from the West so that they can celebrate Christmas in their homes and then fly down to Chennai. The high handedness of the self serving decision is very obvious.<br/> <br/>Conflict of Interest<br/><br/>All organizations, especially charitable ones, have policies on Conflict of Interest. There appears to be many persons involved in the management of the TS holding positions of ‘conflict of interest’. This needs to be addressed and fixed as it can harm TS.<br/><br/>Allegations of Sexual Misconduct<br/><br/>Some months back, members world-wide learnt about sexual misconduct in the Indian Section. In spite of the allegations documented, inaction by the General Secretary and his wife (who held an office at the local level) is seen as an act of deliberate coverup. The President too has not initiated any action, despite the matter being made public. This is a dangerous development that cannot be hidden under the carpet; it deserves immediate action. This issue will not go away and would hurt efforts of recruiting new members especially young men and women as TS would be seen as a risky environment. TS needs to have a zero tolerance policy and should be publicized to world.<br/><br/>Neglect at Olcott Memorial Free School<br/><br/>The school serves the poor children from fishermen village in Adyar. It was started by Olcott with his personal funds and after him, Theosophical Society took over its management. There are many complaints about mismanagement and lack of attention from TS. Since the children have no constituency to support them, they are voiceless and no one in the leadership is paying any attention to the plight of the students. <br/><br/>Need for Cleanup<br/><br/>We are dealing with the future of TS and its ability to spread the message of theosophy to the world. Unless firm and decisive action is taken at the highest levels, we cannot restore the damage all of the above are causing to TS.<br/><br/>As a first step, we need to demand the immediate resignation of all International Officers, General Manager of TS at Adyar and the General Secretary of Indian Section. Any cosmetic steps will not work.<br/><br/><br/><br/></div>
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