The Theosophical Society was the organization formed to advance the spiritual doctrines and altruistic living known as Theosophy. Seal of the Theosophical Society Theosophy is a body of ideas which holds that all religions are attempts by man to ascertain the Divine, and as such each religion has a portion of the truth. ...

Emblem of the Theosophical Society

Image File history File links Theosophical_Society_emblem_. ... Image File history File links Theosophical_Society_emblem_. ...

History

Formation

The original 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 Olcott and Blavatsky moved to India, 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 Flag Seal Nickname: Big Apple Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,214. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Hahn (also Hélène) (July 31, 1831 (O.S.) (August 12, 1831 (N.S.)) - May 8, 1891 London, England), better known as Helena Blavatsky or Madame Blavatsky was the founder of Theosophy. ... Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907), founder and first president of the Theosophical Society, is well-known as the first prominent person of Western descent to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. ... William Quan Judge (1851-March 22, 1896 New York) was one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society. ... Spiritualism is a religious movement, prominent from the 1840s to the 1920s, found primarily in English-speaking countries. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

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)

Aryan ()is an English language word derived from the Indian Vedas and Iranian Avestan terms ari-, arya-, ārya-, and/or the extended form aryāna-. The Sanskrit and Old Persian languages both pronounced the word as arya- () and aryan. ... This page deals with the Hindu varna. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ...

Schism

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 faction led by Olcott and Besant is today based in India and 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]} While all three organizations trace their history back to the founding of the original Society, one might say that in some sense the original Society has ceased to exist after the 1895 schism. 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Annie Besant Plaque on house in Colby Road, London SE19 where Annie Besant lived in 1874. ... Mahatma is Sanskrit for Great Soul. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Theosophical Society - Adyar is a successor organization to the original Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. ... The Theosophical Society (Pasadena) is a successor organization to the original Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. ... Pasadena is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... The United Lodge of Theosophists, or ULT, was founded in 1909 by a disgruntled Theosophical Society member, Robert Crosbie (1849-1919). ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Thomas Ernst Neumark-Jones (1841–1912) was born to German emigre parents in Hampstead, London. ... The word schism (IPA: or ), from the Greek σχισμα, schisma (from σχιζω, schizo, to split), means a division or a split, usually in an organization. ...

Krishnamurti

In 1909, an adolescent Hindu boy, J. Krishnamurti, was proclaimed to be the second coming 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. 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... A separate article is about the punk band called The Adolescents. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jiddu Krishnamurti (May 11, 1895 Madanapalle, India - February 17, 1986 Ojai, California) was discovered as a young boy by C.W. Leadbeater in India on the private beach, that was part of the Theosophical headquarters in Adyar in Chennai. ... In Buddhism, Maitreya Buddha is the future Buddha. ... C.W. Leadbeater (1847 or 1854-1934), English clergyman and Theosophical author, contributed to world thought mostly through his work as a clairvoyant. ... ... 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Though he had been proclaimed to be the Maitreya by the society, by 1925 J. Krishnamurti began his movement away from the organization. By 1931 he disavowed his status as the impending Maitreya and left the Theosophical Society alltogether. He spent the rest of his life as a teacher, disavowing any claims of sainthood, teaching while peforming charatible acts through his various organizations. Maitreya Bodhisattva (Sanskrit), Metteyya Bodhisatta (Pāli), or Miroku Bosatsu (Japanese, kanji 弥勒) is the future Buddha in Buddhist eschatology. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ...

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.

Theosophy Category:Theosophy

Founders of the T. S.

Helena Blavatsky William Quan Judge Henry Steel Olcott Seal of the Theosophical Society Theosophy is a body of ideas which holds that all religions are attempts by man to ascertain the Divine, and as such each religion has a portion of the truth. ... Image File history File links Theosophical_Society_emblem_. ... Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Hahn (also Hélène) (July 31, 1831 (O.S.) (August 12, 1831 (N.S.)) - May 8, 1891 London), better known as Helena Blavatsky (Russian: ) or Madame Blavatsky, born Helena von Hahn, was a founder of the Theosophical Society. ... William Quan Judge (1851-March 22, 1896 New York) was one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society. ... Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907), founder and first president of the Theosophical Society, is well-known as the first prominent person of Western descent to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. ...

Personalities

Theosophists

Mysticism

Theosophical mysticism

Organisations

Theosophical Society TS Adyar · TS Pasadena · ULT The Theosophical Society - Adyar is a successor organization to the original Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. ... The Theosophical Society (Pasadena) is a successor organization to the original Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. ... The United Lodge of Theosophists, or ULT, was founded in 1909 by a disgruntled Theosophical Society member, Robert Crosbie (1849-1919). ...

Theosophical texts

Isis Unveiled The Key to Theosophy Mahatma Letters The Secret Doctrine The Voice of the Silence More... Isis Unveiled, a master-key to the mysteries of ancient and modern science and theology, published in 1877, was Helena Petrovna Blavatskys first major book. ... The title of a popular book by Helena P. Blavatsky first published in 1889 and still in print today, expounding the principles of theosophy in a readable question-and-answer manner. ... The Mahatma Letters are letters that were supposedly written by the mystical theosophical Mahatmas to certain theosophists. ... The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy, a book originally published as two volumes in 1888, is Helena P. Blavatskys magnum opus. ... The Voice of the Silence is a book by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. ...

Other topics

Agni Yoga · Esotericism · Anthroposophy Agni Yoga, also called the Teaching of Living Ethics or (in Russian) the Zhivaya Etica, is an esoteric teaching founded by the Russian painter Nicholas Roerich (Nikolai Konstantinovitch Rerikh) and his highly adept empathic wife, Helena Roerich (Elena Ivanovna Rerikh). ... Esotericism is knowledge suitable only for an inner circle of the initiated, advanced or privileged. ... Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science by its founder Rudolf Steiner, is an attempt to investigate and describe spiritual phenomena with the same precision and clarity with which natural science investigates and describes the physical world. ... This box: view • talk • edit

• Agni Yoga Society
• Anthroposophy
• Arcane School (Alice Bailey)
• Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross
• Mystical Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross
• Church Universal and Triumphant
• Hugh Dowding
• I AM Foundation
• Anna Kingsford
• J. Krishnamurti
• U.G. Krishnamurti
• Liberal Catholic Church
• New Acropolis
• Elizabeth Clare Prophet
• Rudolf Steiner
• The Temple of the People
• Warren Prall Watters
• Brother XII

Agni Yoga, also called the Teaching of Living Ethics or (in Russian) the Zhivaya Etica, is an esoteric teaching founded by the Russian painter Nicholas Roerich (Nikolai Konstantinovitch Rerikh) and his highly adept empathic wife, Helena Roerich (Elena Ivanovna Rerikh). ... Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science by its founder Rudolf Steiner, is an attempt to investigate and describe spiritual phenomena with the same precision and clarity with which natural science investigates and describes the physical world. ... Alice A. Bailey (16th June,1880 ‑ 15th December,1949), writer and lecturer on Neo-Theosophy, was born in England in 1880 as Alice LaTrobe Bateman. ... The Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross was an organization of traditional esoterism of West, founded in the bosom of the Theosophical Society in 1912, but due to the First World War, the activity should be suspended in 1918. ... In 1912, Annie Besant, Marie Russak and James Wedgwood founded the Order of the Temple of the Rosicrucian. ... The Church Universal and Triumphant is a New Age new religious movement and organization founded by Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet. ... Hugh Caswell Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding G.C.B., G.C.V.O., C.M.G. (24 April 1882 - 15 February 1970) was a British officer in the Royal Air Force. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Anna Bonus Kingsford (September 16, 1846 - February 22, 1888) was one of the first female British physicians, after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. ... Jiddu Krishnamurti ca. ... Uppaluri Gopala Krishnamurti can be called a guru in that many people come to him looking for spiritual guidance. ... The Liberal Catholic Church is a form of Christianity open to theosophical ideas. ... New Acropolis (NA), official name I.O.N.A. International Organization New Acropolis is a worldwide non-profit organisation founded in 1957 by Jorge Angel Livraga Rizzi firstly as a School of Philosophy and later on as an International Organization devoted to Practical Philosophy studies and practice. ... Elizabeth Clare Prophet, American became the leader of the New Age new religious movement Church Universal and Triumphant, formerly known as The Summit Lighthouse, after her husband Mark Prophet passed away on February 26, 1973. ... Rudolf Steiner. ... Halcyon, California is an unincorporated community of approximately 125 acres (0. ... Warren Prall Watters was the founding Archbishop of the Free Church of Antioch, one of several Independent Catholic Churches with valid Apostolic succession. ... Brother XII was a notorious esoteric, New Age charlatan, womanizer and confidence trickster who founded a cult, then swindled middle-aged women in Canadas Nanaimo region. ...

See also

• Order of the Temple of the Rosicrucian
• Mystical Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross

The Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross was an organization of traditional esoterism of West, founded in the bosom of the Theosophical Society in 1912, but due to the First World War, the activity should be suspended in 1918. ... In 1912, Annie Besant, Marie Russak and James Wedgwood founded the Order of the Temple of the Rosicrucian. ...

External reference and link

• Campbell, Bruce F. (1980). Ancient Wisdom Revived: A History of the Theosophical Movement. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

• FAQ on the theosophical movement