1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?
Andrew Barker, from Seattle, Washington, and I have been a member of the TSA since at least 1983.
2.How long have you been a member of your Section’s Board?
Two years.
3. How did you first learn about Theosophy or come in contact with the Society?
I first learned about Theosophy from Linda Jo Pym, who I came to know as my marriage counselor.
4. What does Theosophy mean to you?
Theosophy is ideally the open-minded inquiry into the deepest questions of human existence and meaning, including philosophy, religion and science. It also provides a basis for a community of spiritually-minded friends to explore new ideas and share experiences.
5. This year, 2025, the Theosophical Society celebrates its 150th anniversary. What in your opinion is the biggest challenge the TS is facing and what is to be done in order to maintain the Society’s relevance in the years to come?
The biggest challenge the TS is facing is the need to embrace cultural and scientific change, and not continue to adhere to old paradigms which are not relevant younger people. Specifically basing discussion solely on the writings of the founders and early leaders, slavishly depending on the weight of each written word to convey the message without being able to creatively translate it into current language.
This ends up producing an unbridgeable gap in meaning which renders the powerful teachings increasingly more indecipherable and unappealing as the decades go by. Thus it is essential that we deeply study these teachings, then work with them in reflection and conversation with others until they can be expressed naturally to others, as expressions of our own deep understanding and personal transformation.
Since the 1990s technology has been changing at a staggering pace such that younger people are now raised with means of delivering and sharing information that were unimaginable to earlier generations, where books were the only way of storing and disseminating knowledge. It is important for us to not feel defensive and rigid in realizing the spirit, not the letter of the teachings, but embrace the changes and employ the opportunities they offer. HPB said this clearly in the Voice of the Silence when she advocated the Heart Doctrine over the Eye Doctrine as the path to which we should devote ourselves.
Thinking that the way Theosophy has been taught in the past is the only way moving forward leads to increasingly dwindling numbers and a very real possibility of extinction of the TS as in any meaningful way an organization. If we can recognize that great change is both possible and necessary, we can work on collaborating on the many ways the message of Theosophy and the Theosophical Society can be communicated most efficiently and effectively to current and future generations.
From the editor:
Opinions and ideas expressed in the mini-interviews are exclusively of those who are being interviewed. They don’t necessarily represent the ideas and opinions of the compilers of Theosophy Forward. The responses of the interviewees are not edited for content. Some contributors give short answers to the questions while others touch upon the subject more elaborately.