Looking
Back in Gratitude
The initial idea
of having a Research Library at the headquarters of the Australian Section of
the TS was aired at the 1973 Annual Convention at Bina
Burra. The General Secretary at that time, Elaine
Murdoch, wrote that the idea “was received with considerable enthusiasm and that
space had been allocated for it. It was decided that it would not be a lending
but a Research Library where students, scholars and all interested may come and
browse and/or carry out research.” (Theosophy in Australia, August,
1974)
The project of a Research Library
received an outstanding impulse from Elliston Fauna Campbell (1891-1990), pictured at the left. Campbell joined the TS in Australia on 27
May 1914 and was inducted by C. W. Leadbeater. In subsequent years he would
serve as Honorary Secretary of the Birmingham Lodge, TS in England (1917), President of Blavatsky Lodge,
Sydney (1932)
and member of the National Executive Committee of the Australian Section. He was
the first member ever to receive the title of Honorary Life Member in this
Section. He was also a lecturer for the TS in Sydney and International Secretary
of the Theosophical Order of Service. He was active in a number of cultural and
scientific organisations in and around Sydney.
In 1978,
Elliston Campbell willed that part of the bequest from him and his wife, Phyllis
Campbell, to the TS in Australia, should be held in trust to promote the
interests of the Adyar Library and Research Centre (Madras, India) and the promulgation of its publications
in Australia. He also indicated that if,
for any reason, it was impractical to establish a branch of the Adyar Library
and Research Centre, then the bequest should be used to establish and/or further
the aims of a Research Library with aims, objectives and activities as close as
practical to those of the Adyar Library and Research Centre. Such were the
origins of the Campbell Theosophical and Research Library.
Honouring the
original vision of its donor and benefactor, we plan to commence in the near
future an Indological Section which will house
selected titles from the catalogue of the Adyar Library and Research Centre.
Thus the Campbell Library will be expanding its scope in order to include
additional works which are relevant to the study and research of the Wisdom
Tradition known as Theosophy. An effort will also be made to make the Library
collection and services even more widely known in the academic world in
Australia. Its unique collection can
help scholars in their study of the different aspects and history of the
Theosophical Movement and the representative works therein. In this new phase of
the Library work we remember again with profound gratitude the vision,
dedication and generosity of Elliston Fauna Campbell, a true
Theosophist.
Pedro Oliveira, Education
Coordinator, TS in Australia
Personnel
After serving
for several years as Library Coordinator, Naomi Blumensaadt stepped down from
that position earlier this year. Both she and Cai Blumensaadt continue to work
as volunteers in the Library and they bring a great deal of dedication and
expertise to the work. We are very grateful to both of them for their ongoing
and long-term contribution. We are very fortunate also to have Jennifer Hissey,
a trained Librarian, assisting in the Library work, as well as for the
contribution of volunteers Alexandra Furdui, Elly Mabbutt and Gil Murdoch. Their
help is much appreciated.
The Nag Hammadi Library, James M.
Robinson, General Editor (HarperSanFrancisco,
1990)
“This definitive
edition is the only complete, one-volume, English-language edition of the
renowned library of fourth-century manuscripts discovered in Egypt in 1945.
It includes the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and other Gnostic gospels
and sacred texts.”
The Gnostic
Gospels by Elaine Pagels (Penguin Books, London, 1990
reprint)
“In this book
Elaine Pagels examines Gnostic writings which were
Coptic translations from the original Greek dating from the time of the New
Testament and shows why Gnosticism was eventually stamped out by the
increasingly organized and institutionalized Orthodox
Church.”
A Rebirth of
Christianity by Alvin Boyd
Kuhn (Quest Books, Wheaton, second edition,
2005)
“Kuhn challenges
orthodox interpretations of the Bible to restore what he believes is the true
Christian message. He views Jesus’ life allegorically instead of historically
and finds behind the myths and symbols the mystical teachings they
embody.”
Robert Fludd, edited by
William Huffman, Western Esoteric Masters Series (North Atlantic Books,
Berkeley, California, 2001)
“Fludd sought to integrate the whole of human knowledge
within a divine and hierarchically ordered cosmology. His books represent a
grand summation of centuries of Christian Neoplatonist
Hermeticism and remain a feat unique in the history of
consciousness.”
Embracing
Reality: The Integral Vision of Ken Wilber by Brad
Reynolds (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, New York,
2004)
“A comprehensive
introduction to Ken Wilber’s work, it includes an in-depth biography of Wilber,
a chapter-to-chapter summation of his major works, passages from Wilber’s core
works, definitions of essential terms and a complete Wilber
bibliography.”
Cycles of
Faith by Robert
Ellwood (Altamira Press, Walnut
Creek, California,
2003)
“Ellwood makes
the case that the world’s five largest religions (Hinduism, Chinese religion,
Buddhism, Christianity and Islam) all move through the stages of Apostolic,
Imperial, Devotional, Reformation, and Folk Religion.”
Krishnamurti and
the Wind: A Biography by Jean Overton
Fuller (The Theosophical Publishing House, London, 2003)
A
fresh biography, extensively researched, by the author of Blavatsky and Her
Teachers and The Comte de Saint Germain: Last
Scion of the House of Rakoczy.