Initiation and initiative : an exploration of the life and ideas of Dimitrije Mitrinović

THE SENATE INITIATIVE 151

destructive. Therefore a third dimension was needed to mediate between them. Mitrinovié called this ‘Hyacinth.’ This referred to what can perhaps best be described as that artistic sense of graciousness and sensitivity which enabled both ‘Barley’ and ‘Cactus’ to be observed in practice, though in principle they were incompatible.

In similar vein, whilst the members entered into what they considered to be a life time’s commitment to each other with the appropriate seriousness, the acceptance of a new member into the community or ‘household’ could be marked by a kind of theatrical symbolism which contained elements of comic relief. In his autobiography Alan Watts came close to breaking the bond of secrecy which those who entered into personal alliance vowed to keep. He was invited round to Mitrinovi¢’s apartment in Bloomsbury Street.

I found him sitting at the head of his bed like a plump Buddha, clad in a loose robe, smoking a fat Churchman’s Number One cigarette, with a glass of straight Johnny Walker on the table beside him. After some amiable preliminaries in which he apologized for being “a bit whiskey,” he said, “Alan Watts, I love you but I do not like you. Nevertheless, I am going to invite you to join an eternal and secret fellowship which will watch you, guard you, and keep track of you wherever you may go in the world. We call it the Wild Woodbines, named after the cheapest cigarette in England. Every member is to carry a package, and the sign of recognition is to produce your package and say, ‘Have one of mine.’ Now if you are inclined to enter into this masonry you must confer with the Jehovah which is in your heart of hearts, and answer me yes or no.” After a suitable pause, in which I realized how much | admired Mitrinovi¢ and how many close friends I had in his following, I said, “Yes, I will” .. . he produced a tiny package of Woodbines saying, “Have one of mine!” And, as I accepted, all the other members in the room rushed up and embraced me.°

The ceremony and the Woodbine, like the marriage service and the ring, were symbolic of a change in the circumstances of one’s life, a rite de passage. The secrecy stemmed from the fact that it was a life-long commitment to each other that they undertook, and it was a commitment to each other as unique individuals and members of the human family. As such it belonged to the private and personal realm of life rather than the public and political, and should be treated with the appropriate seriousness and confidentiality. It was to be lived, not talked about. As Watson Thomson observed, reflecting on his life with the group:

Genuine community is the association of human beings—not because they belong to the same tribe or church or party, but simply because they are human. Yet