An update from the TOS in Hungary

We congratulate the TOS group formed last year in Hungary on its just-acquired official registration as a non-profit service organisation working under the name of MA-TESZ.  (This is an abbreviation of three words: MA = Magyar, meaning Hungarian; TE = TEozófiai, meaning Theosophical; and SZ = SZolgálat, meaning Service.) 

While the members are still busy with the administrative side of this step, they are carrying on with their work in the village of Borsodnádasd.  This is the flood-affected town in northern Hungary they ‘adopted’ last year with the blessing of the town’s municipal officers. While activities so far have included emergency relief such as the collection of donations and clothing and the offering of gifts last Christmas, the group’s long term goal is to help the villagers build their own active self-help community and develop their own service work.

To this end, the group camped in the town for three days in August to get to know the villagers better and deepen already established bonds. We will bring photos of this experience in a future issue.

An interesting facet of MA-TESZ’s work is the self-training its members engage in to develop the skills needed for service work. For every four or five newcomers, a special orientation programme is planned in which the whole group participates.

We wish MA-TESZ every success in its endeavours.
 

Here is the outline of MA-TESZ’s training programme

Preparing ourselves for service

I. Setting the foundations for a cohesive group

• Introduction: games to help us get to know each other better and to set a relaxed atmosphere
• Self-expression: in what areas of service is each of us particularly interested?
• Exploration of the fundamentals of service using non-verbal means such as creative visualisation
• Self-knowledge games: how can each of us help?

II. Service in the light of theosophy and its laws

• The law of karma and dharma
• The law of evolution
• The law of reincarnation
• The law of analogy
• The law of sacrifice
• The notions of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ in theosophy

III. The selfless attitude of the server

• The theory of humanistic psychology
• Criteria for an equal relationship between the ‘server’ and ‘the served’
• Communicating from the basis of the selfless attitude of the server
• Putting our skills into practice every day: – situational games

IV. Résumé

• Programme overview
• Questions arising
• Brainstorming: ideas for service projects together
• How was this training useful for me?
• Constructive feedback about each other and our TOS group