The Theosophy Society was founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. The designation 'Adyar' is sometimes added to the name to make it clear that this is the Theosophical Society headquartered there, after the American section and some other lodges separated from it in 1895, under William Quan Judge. In 1882, its headquarters moved with Blavatsky and president Henry Steel Olcott from New York to Adyar, an area of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, India. The US National Section of this organization is called the

Theosophical Society in America The Theosophical Society in America (TSA) is a member-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the teaching of Theosophy and affiliated with the international Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India. The name "Theosophical Society in ...

located in

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...

Founders

H. P. Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 ...

, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge and others founded the Theosophical Society on 17 November 1875 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The American section split off with William Quan Judge as its leader. Henry Steel Olcott remained president until his death in 1907.

Aims and ideals

# To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color. # To encourage the study of Comparative Religion, Philosophy and Science. # To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in man.

Monastic/Non-monastic

The Theosophical Society is open to anybody who supports its three objects, regardless of belief, social custom or marriage status. Celibacy is neither encouraged nor discouraged, each member being free to decide his/her own way of life. Olcott in Adyar

General philosophical outlook

* Universal Brotherhood * Belief in theory of

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively ...

* Belief in

Reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...

* There exists a

Consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

(

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Aris ...

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

and

Individual An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own need ...

Immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

of Man

Spiritual discipline

The practice of brotherhood regardless of race, creed, sex, color, or any other difference is recommended. Nothing is mandatory. Members are free to have any or no spiritual practice at all.

Administration

The organization has a highly autonomous setup in that lodges and sections are fully autonomous. The President gets involved in National Section matters only when there is some dispute between them. Otherwise the President does not interfere in the matters of the sections or lodges. The President is nominated by the members of the General Council and then elected by members all over the world. The President holds office for seven-year period. The Vice-President acts on behalf of the President as necessary and assists him or her in various ways. The Secretary handles worldwide correspondence, maintains records including statistics of the worldwide membership of the Society, its Lodges and Sections, is responsible for producing an annual report, and is also the Secretary of the General Council and the Executive Committee of the Society. This Committee, which meets a number of times each year, implements the decisions of the General Council and makes financial and administrative decisions relating to the Society's Headquarters. The Treasurer is responsible for the finances of the Society and prepares an annual financial report. Locally, members are organised in lodges. When a country has at least seven lodges, these can be gathered in a national section. Lodges and sections have a democratic organisation in which chairperson, secretary, treasurer and optional other officers are elected. Similarly, officers of the national sections are directly elected by the members of that section in a business meeting.

International Presidents

# Henry Steel Olcott (1875 to 1907). #

Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human ...

(1907 to 1933). #

George Arundale George Sydney Arundale (1 December 1878 in Surrey, England — 12 August 1945 in Adyar, India) was a Theosophist, Freemason, president of the Theosophical Society Adyar and a bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church. He was the husband of th ...

(1934 to 1945). # Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa (1946 to 1953). # Nilakanta Sri Ram (1953 to 1972). # John Coats (1972 to 1980). #

Radha Burnier Radha Burnier (; 15 November 1923 – 31 October 2013) was born in Adyar, India. She was president of the Theosophical Society Adyar from 1980 until her death in 2013. She was General Secretary of the Indian Section of the Society between 1960 ...

(1980 to 2013). #

Tim Boyd Timothy Breck Boyd (born October 22, 1953) is a theosophist religious leader who was elected the president of the Theosophical Society Adyar in 2014. He succeeded Radha Burnier, who had been president of the Theosophical Society Adyar from 1980 ...

(2014 to ...)

Activities

Religion & spirituality

The Theosophical Society is organised in lodges and national sections. These organise meetings for religious study and lectures. Members individually practice any kind of meditation or other spiritual practice they choose.

Social field

* The Olcott Education Society * The Olcott Memorial School * The Olcott Memorial High School * The Theosophical Order of Service Olcott Memorial High School provides free education, uniforms, books, and two daily meals to impoverished rural children in Chennai,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Cultural field

* Theosophical Publishing House

Besant Scout Camping Centre

Dr. Arundale, Provincial Scout Commissioner and President of Theosophical Society after Dr. Besant, set aside 10 acres of wooded area in the Olcott Gardens (part of TS) and named it Besant Scout Camping Centre (BSCC) in memory of the founder. Young Scouts and Guides frequent this on weekend for camping for various skill development and competitions amongst themselves.

Relief activities

When a

Tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

hit

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...

on 26 December 2004, it affected many of the people living near the Adyar-compound. The Theosophical Society, through the Theosophical Order of Service, helped the people survive both in the immediate aftermath and later. Similar activities were undertaken after the

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

that destroyed much of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

in 2005.

Province of its influence

The influence of the Theosophical Society has been major, especially considering its small size. The

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

movement reflected many of its main characteristics, especially

holism Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book '' Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED O ...

and eclecticism. In

Modern Art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

, the artists Kandinsky and Mondriaan were both influenced by theosophy.

Theosophical Society and Jiddu Krishnamurti

The leadership of the Theosophical Society at Adyar was responsible for promoting young

Jiddu Krishnamurti Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected th ...

as the new "World Teacher" during the first few decades of the 20th century.

Charles Webster Leadbeater Charles Webster Leadbeater (; 16 February 1854 – 1 March 1934) was a member of the Theosophical Society, Co-Freemasonry, author on occult subjects and co-initiator with J. I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church. Originally a p ...

, one of the Society's leaders at the time, had "discovered" fourteen-year-old Krishnamurti in 1909, and considered him the likely "vehicle" for the expected reappearance of the Maitreya. However, as a young man in 1929, Krishnamurti disavowed his expected "mission" and disassociated himself from the Theosophical Society and its doctrines and practices. Over the next six decades he pursued an independent course, becoming widely known as an original, influential thinker and speaker on philosophical and religious subjects.

Publications

Magazines
* Brahmavidya – Adyar Library Bulletin * The Theosophist – English monthl
Current Issue

Adyar Newsletter
– quarterly journal * Wake Up India – quarterly journal * The Theosophical Digest – quarterly journal
Books
* The Key to Theosophy – H. P. Blavatsky * An Outline of Theosophy – C. W. Leadbeater * The Ancient Wisdom – Annie Besant * At the Feet of the Master – Alcyone * First Principles of Theosophy – C. Jinarajadasa * Light on the Path – Mabel Collins * Seven Great Religions – Annie Besant
Quest Books
is the imprint of the Theosophical Publishing House, the publishing arm of the Theosophical Society in America (Wheaton, IL) branch of the International Theosophical Society Adyar. * Internet maillist – theos-talk – at www.groups.yahoo.com. A very active and independent maillist which has no official connection with any organization; it is a valuable source for up-to-date information on all matters relating to theosophy and TS Adyar and others. The archives are also public. * Internet Community – www.theosophy.net A new public community website set up by a few interested theosophists. It is totally independent and is not funded or directly or indirectly controlled or moderated by any theosophy organization.

The garden

Known as the "Huddleston Gardens", the Theosophical Society garden lies on the south bank of the Adyar River and covers 260 acres. The garden has migratory birds, fruit bats, snakes, jackals, wild cats, mongooses, hares, and a variety of spiders. Trees include the rare

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus '' Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: U ...

and other trees from across the globe. The garden also has a 450-year-old

banyan tree A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

, which is known locally as ''Adyar aala maram,'' whose aerial roots cover some 60,000 sq m. The main trunk fell under its own weight in 1996.

Footnotes

References

* Washington, Peter (1995) ''Madame Blavatsky's Baboon: A History of the Mystics, Mediums, and Misfits Who Brought Spiritualism to America.'', Schocken; 1st American ed edition.
Theosophical chronology

* Ransom, Josephine (1938) ''A Short History of the Theosophical Society'', Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, 1938,
Besant Scout Camping Centre

External links

Theosophical Society - Adyar

Theosophical Society in America

European Federation of the Theosophical Society

International Theosophical Centre, Naarden, The Netherlands

* ttps://theosophicalsociety.org.au/ The Theosophical Society in Australia {{Authority control Culture of Chennai Religious organisations based in India Theosophical Society Religious organizations established in 1883 Spiritual organizations Organisations based in Chennai 1883 establishments in India