Canberra Group
Meets third Saturday of each month from 2 to 4pm
Coordinator: Gordon Herbert
Secretary: Barbara Harrod
Email: [email protected]
Bulletins: Current and previous Bulletins from the Canberra Group can be viewed at
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GxQUaqlCD4uJSwWoxNgurd6qZiq3TfZI?usp=sharing
Meeting place: Friends' Meeting House, 17 Bent Steet, Turner (on the corner of Bent and Condamine Streets)
Meet: 2 - 4 pm 3rd Saturday each month.
2023 Programme
2.00pm Saturday 18 February
Topic: Walter and Marion Griffins' Canberra Design
Presenter: Grahame Crookham
About the presenter:
Grahame is a retired civil engineer; with interests in kriya yoga, ancient history and our place in the cosmos. With 30 years TS membership, Grahame is a past TS Canberra President and long-term programme committee member. Grahame has attended eight TS Annual Conventions and one TS Indo-Pacific Conference.
About the presentation:
An understanding of some of the principles behind the Griffins’ winning Canberra Design may be helpful to residents to better appreciate the city in which they live and move. What were the Griffins’ perceived functions of the National Capital and the main drivers behind their plan; including their attitudes to democracy, community, nature, landscape and metaphysical interests? In this presentation, we shall examine the intent behind the design, the functions incorporated into the form and consider the symbology behind the geometrical layout. We will explore the creative path which the Griffins undertook a century ago - to produce the winning design for Canberra.
2.00pm Saturday 18 March
Topic: The Bhagavad Gita Now
Presenter: Various
About the presenter:
A discussion of the Bhagavad Gita and its importance for today will be led by the Theosophical Group in Canberra, open to all who wish to participate. All are welcome.
About the presentation:
The Bhagavad Gita is one of the finest and most beautiful teachings that provides insight and guidance into our pathway to the sublime. In a discourse between seeker and Master the right ways and the pitfalls are illumined. The seeker as Arjuna is the human soul, the Master as Krishna is the supreme Spirit. The conflict is that of human aspiration and learning, and the need to take part courageously. Although written some thousands of years ago, the Gita is most relevant to us all today.
This discussion of the Bhagavad Gita is open to all who may wish to join in. The Gita can be read online at http://www.dlshq.org/download/bhagavad-gita/ and elsewhere. It would be useful to read at least some prior to the discussion. The first chapter of the Gita sets the scene and the following chapters provide the spiritual guidance. While the entire Gita is in the form of a progression from the need for selfless action to awareness of the divine, some chapters may strike a chord within. Some essential basics are in chapters 2 – 4. Chapters 11 – 13 are about the illumination of God immanent and transcendent. But all chapters are worthy and helpful for today.
2.00pm Saturday 15 April
Topic: Paratge and Occitanian Culture
Presenter: Elayne Strahan
About the presenter:
Elayne Strahan is a retired commonwealth public servant with twenty-five years’ experience in social work practice, commonwealth social research, policy development and programme implementation for the Australian government. She has a social policy research masters from the Australian Demographic Social Research Institute (ADSRI) at the Australian National University (ANU).
Elayne has always had an interest in esoteric matters and has been involved in the spiritualist movement for forty years not just in Canberra but elsewhere in Australia. She is currently completing private research on the Cathars with the view of making her findings available to a wider audience by publication of a book that she is planning.
Elayne is married and lives in Canberra.
About the presentation:
Following her very interesting talk on the Cathars of France last year, Elayne will talk about the then culture of Occitania, a language region of southern France and parts of Spain and Italy. She will provide an overview of its history, with key facts about Christianity from the ‘Three Mary’s’ to the reign of the Roman Emperor, Constantine. This will include the Roman Catholic Church and its quest for relevance. There will be consideration of European Royalty, the idea of ‘the King has Two Bodies’ and the lineage of the Counts of Toulouse, also known as the Raimonindes. The uplifting culture of Paratge, which is broadly the practice of honour, chivalry, nobility and moral virtue, will be examined. The clash of Occitan culture, Paratge, the Troubadours and the emergence of capitalism created a moral conflict which saw the wrath of a jealous but formidable adversary, Pope Innocent 3 and the Roman Catholic Church. The lust for complete power and control by the church saw the start of a crusade against the Raimonindes/Cathars. The start of the Cathar crusade saw the loss of Paratge. The start of the Inquisitions brought about the destruction of the Raimonindes, the last Counts of Toulouse. The historical aftermath illustrated the challenge to spiritual values in Europe.
