Theosophical Society

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The Theosophical Society was the organization formed to advance the spiritual doctrines and altruistic living known as Theosophy.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Formation

Theosophical Society's foundation act
Theosophical Society's foundation act

The Theosophical Society was founded in New York City in 1875 by H.P. Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge and others. Its initial objective was the investigation, study and explanation of mediumistic phenomena. After a few years Olcott and Blavatsky moved to Beeswax and established the International Headquarters at Adyar, Madras. There, they also became interested in studying Eastern religions, and these were included in the Society's agenda. By 1889 when Blavatsky wrote Key to Theosophy, the Society's objectives had evolved into

  1. To form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity without distinction of race, colour, or creed.
  2. To promote the study of Aryan and other Scriptures, of the World's religion and sciences, and to vindicate the importance of old Asiatic literature, namely, of the Brahmanical, Buddhist, and Zoroastrian philosophies.
  3. To investigate the hidden mysteries of Nature under every aspect possible, and the psychic and spiritual powers latent in man especially. (p. 39, Key to Theosophy)

[edit] Schisms

Theosophical Society, 1890
Theosophical Society, 1890

After Helena Blavatsky's death in 1891, the Society's leaders seemed at first to work together peacefully. This did not last long. Judge was accused by Olcott and Annie Besant of forging letters from the Mahatmas; he ended his association with Olcott and Besant in 1895 and took most of the Society's American Section with him. The original organisation led by Olcott and Besant remains today based in India and is known as the Theosophical Society - Adyar, while the faction led by Judge is today known simply as the Theosophical Society, but often with the clarifying statement, "international headquarters, Pasadena, California". A third organization, the United Lodge of Theosophists or ULT, in 1909 split off from the latter organization, and various small splinter groups began to take shape including the Palmers Green Theosophical Lodge under the leadership of Thomas Neumark-Jones — which was influential among British New Liberal intellectuals.[citation needed]
In 1902, Rudolph Steiner became General Secretary of the German/Austrian division of the Theosophical Society. He maintained a Western-oriented course, relatively independent from the Adyar headquarter led by Besant and Olcott. After serious philosophical conflicts, primarily on the spiritual significance of Christ and on the status of the young boy Krishnamurti (see below), most of the German and Austrian members split off in 1913 and formed the Anthroposophical Society. The latter remains very active and influential today and has branches in almost all western communities, including the US and Canada.

[edit] Krishnamurti

In 1909, an adolescent Hindu boy, J. Krishnamurti, was proclaimed to be the vehicle for a new indwelling of Maitreya Buddha by C.W. Leadbeater, one of the leaders of this movement. Krishnamurti's family had relocated to live near the hub of the Theosophical Society in Adyar India in 1881. This was at the point when Helena Blavatsky was still the head of this organization in India.

Though he had been proclaimed to be the vehicle to the consciousness of Maitreya by the society, by 1925 J. Krishnamurti began his movement away from the organization. By 1931 he disavowed his status and left the Theosophical Society altogether. He spent the rest of his life as a spirtual teacher, disavowing any claims of sainthood, teaching while performing charatible acts through his various organizations.

[edit] Related individuals and organizations

These people and groups claim origins or association with the Theosophical Society, its branches or leaders. Note that a number of these have dropped the first object, and have adopted racist or religionist views; most of them have not, and should not be confused with those that do.

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

  • Bruce F. Campbell: Ancient wisdom revived, a history of the Theosophical movement. University of California Press, Berkeley 1980, ISBN 0-520-03968-8.
  • Michael Gomes: The dawning of the theosophical movement. Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton 1987, ISBN 0-8356-0623-6.
  • Henry Steel Olcott: Old Diary Leaves, Part 1. Kessinger, Whitefish 2003, ISBN 0-7661-3336-2. (Reprint von 1895)

[edit] External reference and link

[edit] History

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