The 2008 election for the International President of the Theosophical Society is now underway.
This year there are two candidates, current President Radha Burnier, and current Vice President, John Algeo.
On the Documents page you will find the official bio-data for each candidate. The links to the right provide further information.
I hope to host a healthy discussion regarding this election here.
About Adyar. It is brotherly that Adele Algeo writes about HPB and Adyar in the newest issue of The Theosophist (June 2008). I believe it has been written because of this schism between supporters of Radha and John.
About fresh blood in the TS. I think – and I am not at all the only one who thinks this – that Radha is greatly responsible for the current unhoped situation where we have to choose the president between 78 years and 85 years old candidates. Her responsibility and mistake is that she has not stepped aside from power when it was a high time to step. I critizise her in the same time when I respect and admire her teaching on everybody’s self-knowledge.
There have been younger alternatives for the international president already earlier. For this election there would have been, for example, C.V.K. Maithreya from India, Linda Oliveira from Australia, Terezinha Kind from Brazil, Vicente Hao Chin Jr from the Philippines, and Tran-Thi-Kim-Dieu from France. All are very capable leaders. I have a knowledge that many European Sections have longed for a fresher international president for years. They regard also Algeo (78) too aged. But because Radha changed her mind and decided to run for the candidate once again – it is totally ridiculous and sad; maybe the reason for changing her mind is that P. Krishna said no – the General Secretaries thought that Algeo is the only one who can challenge Radha, and that is why they nominated him.
Radha is not of course responsible for what happens in the Sections and other areas. Also there old leaders should think more about the future leaders and the state of the TS. If you are 70 or 80, the fact is that you don’t understand all realities which younger people live among.
I recently read in a newspaper that in one European country an only 32 years old woman was elected for a leader in a big political party. In the TS, you are “occultly” a null if you are under 60!
I have understood that some people who voted for Radha did it because she is the Outer Head of the Esoteric Section. They say it is possible that the Masters are wishing her re-election! I think mixing the ES with the TS is wrong, and the international president should not be the head of the ES. It wasn’t the case during HPB’s time.
It will be interesting to hear the election results. It is clear that a huge majority in my Section in a western country has voted Algeo.
Do your best and dont bother about the results/
good video of Burnier
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4067708722976351421&q=burnier&ei=mdhVSPyfEIakwgPi1bT_DQ&hl=en
We should hear the results soon, and there will be interesting consequences either way. While much of the discussion surrounding this election has been distasteful, or even flat-out slanderous, it has provided many of us an opportunity to reflect on issues that had not been heretofore sufficiently addressed.
I’m tremendously grateful to all those on this forum who sought to elevate the discourse and engage in serious conversation about age, Adyar, the future of leadership, technology, etc.
I very much hope that even as the allure of a good scandal subsides and we’re all left to continue on with the real work of theosophy, those of you who have contributed here continue to stay engaged with these issues.
We all have a lot of work to do!
So Radha won. We still have a Pope in the TS, a Pope who controls everything and stays in power for decades until (s)he dies! The organization needs many changes, but I believe that very little will change. Radha already had 28 years time to show her direction and modernize the TS – it is not likely that she can change herself as she is older all the time. I am very, very disppointed. Fortunately, the TS is greater than persons, so I am not resigning the TS.
A Pope, if you will, but elected by the members. We have to be fair, and you can’t say that members didn’t have any other choice.
IMHO, thinking in resigning from the TS because of the current President (who is not an immoral person or something like that that could justify the resigning) is to miss completely the point about the TS and its work, don’t you believe?