Theosophy Adyar 2014 Election:- Is Adyar Still The Headquarters?

The Future? of the Adyar Theosophical Society

Is Adyar

Still

The Headquarters?

An idea for consideration

Dave Marsland

The Silence is becoming more and more deafening

Have the member elected General Councillors been told

“Shut up or We’ll Throw You out of Adyar”?

The Adyar Theosophical Society still uses the word Adyar in its title but in reality Adyar has long since been ceased to be the domain of the Society.

Yes, there is nominally a complex of buildings on land known as the Adyar Estate which styles itself as the headquarters of the Theosophical Society but this Estate is effectively no longer under the jurisdiction of the directly member elected section of governing body of the Theosophical Society, and this has been the situation for at least thirty years.

The ownership of the Adyar Estate has now become a highly speculative area and even if the Theosophical Society technically owns it, the idea that the Society controls it, is nonsense. Many members would welcome proof that the Society still owns Adyar. If the Society still does own Adyar then a programme for regaining control of it should be presented by both presidential candidates for consideration by the members.

Thirty years of grovelling and trembling by the General Council, when confronted by the bullying of Radha Burnier, has handed the Estate over to families who appoint their members to governing positions to control it, and who pursue their own agenda.

It has reached the stage where the General Council and members can only use Adyar with permission of the controllers and this is something that they don’t want to reveal or discuss with the members. Appointments to managerial and governing positions on the Estate are at the pleasure of the controllers and the General Council doesn’t get a say.

The duration of the silence of the General Council does however suggest more than not wanting to discuss inconvenient facts with members, and exposing its uselessness. Was it a case of “Shut up or We’ll Throw You out of Adyar”?

What is the evidence for this?

The items below clearly indicate the General Council’s compliance with Radha Burnier’s bullying and its failure to assert any authority over Adyar after her death.

Hardly anyone from the General Council attends the General Council meetings and the minutes were usually released at the pleasure of Radha Burnier, some months later. The 2012 & 2013 minutes were not supposed to be released and it may have become policy to withhold them, and this was continued after Radha’s death probably on the instruction of the new Adyar controllers.

Radha Burnier left the Esoteric Section without an Outer Head even though she had plenty of time to nominate someone. Was this so that it could be claimed that the ES was not therefore a properly constituted outfit, and any claim it had on the use of Adyar could be disputed? The ability to boot the Esoteric Section out of Adyar would be major power coup for the Adyar controllers. Putting the rest of the Society out in the cold would be a doddle compared to this.

The election to the General Council of an official by less than 50% of eligible voters present. This was bullied thro’ by Radha Burnier and is a clear demonstration of her disregard of the General Council.

The public humiliation of General Council member, Dara Tatray. The other members of the General Council stood there in fear and watched this happen. The Australian section did complain but Radha Burnier was dismissive of the incident.

Navin B Shah’s attempt to put reform on the agenda was brushed aside while the General Council did nothing. What power did Radha Burnier really have to block discussion or did she own Adyar? Has this power moved to others?

A leading Society official appointed his wife to a committee at Adyar after Radha Burnier’s death. This was not challenged by the General Council and may reveal that it still has the inability to act on any matter regarding the governance of Adyar.

The term “BALLAST” to describe the general membership was used by International Vice-President Mr M P Singhal who was prepared to appoint his wife to a governing committee at Adyar without reference to the General Council. This clearly indicates that the unaccountable ruling elite is strengthening its position after Radha Burnier’s death and that members are regarded only as a source of income.

Mr M P Singhal assumed power over the Estate on Radha Burnier's death. He didn't waste any time and, without reference to the General Council, he appointed his wife to a position of power within days of Radha Burnier's death. As International Vice-President Mr Singhal may have been tempted to assume that the president’s job was already his, and he seemed only too keen to step into Radha Burnier’s shoes and replicate her style of management. There may be a power struggle going on within the ruling elite for supremacy at Adyar with the General Council not even in the game, or even fully aware that it is going on. This could be a problem which the new president will inherit, and it may have already been decided that Adyar is lost to the Society, and it is easier to move the headquarters elsewhere.

It is clear that members who got on the wrong side of Radha Burnier were banned from the Estate. Aren’t the members supposed to own the Estate? As representative body shouldn’t the General council have intervened? Or were they too weak, too frightened, or does the Theosophical society not own Adyar anymore?

Great for these guys but a story of management threatening staff

with imprisonment warrants immediate investigation.

In an open email to the Adyar Administration, Preethi Muthiah accuses the Adyar controllers of “Threatening people with imprisonment so that they will not speak the truth and be dishonest”. This allegation is very disturbing and suggests that a climate of fear pervades the Adyar headquarters. There is also an indication that Adyar employees are being coerced into committing, or remaining silent, about illegal acts. The General Council has never initiated the full enquiry which this allegation clearly warrants. It would have been expected that the owners of the Adyar Estate would take full responsibility for it, and address this worrying issue. Theosophists throughout the world will be appalled at this allegation and the inaction of the General Council gives a very clear sign that the Theosophical Society doesn’t own or has lost control of the Adyar Estate.

The case of Preethi Muthiah also warrants urgent investigation. It appears that she was bullied out of her job and home on the Adyar Estate, while the General Council did nothing. Many Indian companies now have staff grievance procedures and anti-bullying policies, but implementation of such essential safeguards appear to be beyond the capability of the General Council. Doesn’t it have any control over such matters, or is it just keeping things in the 1930s.

Whatever that failures during Radha Burnier’s reign, the General Council could have set in motion a programme of reform to re-establish control over Adyar under elected and accountable governance. The reality, on the other hand, has been a retreat into silence while the Adyar controllers get on with consolidating their hold.

A General Council apologist says that when the time is right, the General Council will introduce reform but everyone will have to wait. Against a history of eighty years of stagnation and the last thirty years of cringing, a statement like this is a joke. The General Council were terrified of Radha Burnier and are now terrified of whoever holds power at Adyar. Whether or not the Theosophical Society still owns Adyar, the paying members should be given proper information.