The time is ripe for a revitalization of theosophy.  I dare say that a radicalization is necessary for theosophy to once again become a force for the transformation of the world.  Radicalization is most literally a return to roots, and in this aspect superficially resembles reactionary movement.  These are in fact the two choices facing the stewards of theosophy today: continue echoing the utterances of a century ago with thinly veiled faith in a theosophical dogma, or reinvoke the spirit that propelled the original voices on to the world stage.  We can be reactionaries, or we can be radicals.

    It has been said that every institution, in order to perpetuate itself, must betray the impulse that founded it.  Individuals are charismatic, dedicated to growth, even self-transcendence, and capable of challenging norms; institutions are not.  Theosophy today is as the state of Israel in Jesus’ time, an ossified spiritual impulse impotently acting out the letter of the law in a land dominated by forces antithetical to higher callings.  Blavatsky was in her time a voice crying out in the wilderness, but who has the ears to truly hear?

    Theosophy, in its institutionalized form, has betrayed itself.  This betrayal is undoubtedly rooted in a compassionate spirit for it wishes to live on to share the teachings it has found so valuable.  In its drive to stay alive, however, it risks forgetting the reason for its existence.  Theosophy is nothing if not a call to awaken, but can we really awaken others with nothing but recitals of insights from past generations?

    We must remember that the founders of theosophy sought to create a nucleus of the universal brotherhood, show the truth behind religion, philosophy, science and the arts and explore the richness of human potential.  To do so they had to combat the dogmatism and materialism of their day.  If we want to be true to the theosophical mission, if we wish to be radicals rather than devotees, we must return to this spirit rather than the letters they carved.  Our resources, in every possible way, should be put towards developing and embodying spiritual community, encouraging quality scholarship on the commonalities underlying the sciences, philosophies, religions and arts of both history and today, and actively acclaiming and heralding advances in transpersonal psychology, paranormal studies and any other field pushing the boundaries of what we know about humanity and nature.  In doing so we would be challenging the still dominant cognitive paradigm of scientific materialism and offering an alternative to the increasingly dangerous world of religious fundamentalism.

    As theosophists, we are well schooled in the law of cyclicity.  Further, theosophical teachings provide us with a historical perspective that slows the movements of time to glacial speed.  Given this, we can be prone to a dangerous passivity, a too quiet faith that theosophy will survive.  And yes, in as much as it is a perennial truth, theosophy will survive, even if it must hibernate in a pralayic slumber, patiently dreaming while it awaits a new Spring of human consciousness.

    I, for one, sense Winter’s thaw and a new dawn.  I, like many, believe the new generation of theosophists have returned to aid humanity in a crucial period.  I, like everyone else, know that theosophy is uniquely equipped to sow seeds of transformation.  We each have a grave responsibility to participate.  What shape will that participation take?  For my part, it will be radical theosophy.