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Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
. Olcott was the first well-known American of European ancestry to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. His subsequent actions as president of the Theosophical Society helped create a renaissance in the study of Buddhism. Olcott is considered a Buddhist modernist for his efforts in interpreting
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
through a Westernized lens. Olcott was a major revivalist of
Buddhism in Sri Lanka Theravada Buddhism is the largest and official religion of Sri Lanka, practiced by 70.2% of the population as of 2012. Practitioners of Sri Lankan Buddhism can be found amongst the majority Sinhalese population as well as among the minority ...
and he is still honored in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
for these efforts. Olcott has been called by Sri Lankans "one of the heroes in the struggle of our
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...
and a pioneer of the present religious, national and cultural revival".


Biography

Olcott was born on 2 August 1832 in Orange, New Jersey, the oldest of six children, to
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
businessman Henry Wyckoff Olcott and Emily Steele Olcott. As a child, Olcott lived on his father's
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
farm. During his teens he attended first the College of the City of New York and later
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where he joined the St. Anthony Hall fraternity, a milieu of well-known people. In 1851 his father's business failed and he had to leave the university. While living in
Amherst, Ohio Amherst () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located west of Cleveland. The population was 12,681 at the 2020 census. History The original village, which eventually became known as Amherst, was established/founded by pione ...
, Olcott was introduced to
spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase ...
by relatives who had formed a spiritualist circle after seeing the
Fox sisters The Fox sisters were three sisters from Rochester, New York who played an important role in the creation of Spiritualism: Leah (April 8, 1813 – November 1, 1890), Margaretta (also called Maggie), (October 7, 1833 – March 8, 1893) and Catheri ...
on tour in Cleveland. During this period, Olcott became interested in studies of "
psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...
,
hypnotism Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologi ...
, psychometry, and
mesmerism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, was a protoscientific theory developed by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century in relation to what he claimed to be an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all livi ...
" In 1853, after returning to New York, Olcott became a founding member of the New York Conference of Spiritualists. He also published letters and articles on spiritualist topics in the ''Spiritual Telegraph'' under the pseudonym "Amherst." From 1858 to 1860 Olcott was the agricultural correspondent for the ''
New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...
'' and the ''Mark Lane Express'', but occasionally submitted articles on other subjects. He was present for John Brown's execution. He also published a genealogy of his family extending back to Thomas Olcott, one of the founders of
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
, in 1636. In 1860 Olcott married Mary Epplee Morgan, daughter of the rector of Trinity parish,
New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...
. They had four children, two of whom died in infancy. He served in the US Army during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
and afterward was admitted as the Special Commissioner of the
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...
in New York. He was later promoted to the rank of colonel and transferred to the Department of the Navy in Washington, DC. He was well respected, and in 1865, following the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth, while attending the play '' Our American Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the ...
, assisted in the investigation of the assassination. In 1868 he became a lawyer specializing in insurance, revenue, and fraud. In 1874 he became aware of the séances of the
Eddy Brothers The Eddy Brothers were William and Horatio Eddy, two American mediums best known in the 1870s for their alleged psychic powers. Magicians and skeptics dismissed the Eddy brothers "spirit" materializations as blatant frauds. Biography The brother ...
of
Chittenden, Vermont Chittenden () is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,237 at the 2020 census. History By area the largest town in the state, Chittenden was named after Thomas Chittenden, one of the Green Mountain Boys and go ...
. His interest aroused, Olcott wrote an article for the ''
New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
'', in which he investigated Eddy Farms. His article was popular enough that other papers, such as the ''
New York Daily Graphic The ''New York Evening Graphic'' (not to be confused with the earlier '' Daily Graphic)'' was a tabloid newspaper published from 1924 to 1932 by Bernarr Macfadden. Exploitative and mendacious in its short life, the ''Graphic'' exemplified tablo ...
'', republished it. His 1874 publication ''People from the Other World'' began with his early articles concerning the
Spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...
movement. Also in 1874, Olcott met Helena Blavatsky while both were visiting the Eddy farm. His foundational interest in the Spiritualist movement and his budding relationship with Blavatsky helped foster his development of spiritual philosophy. Olcott continued to act as a lawyer during the first few years of the establishment of the
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
, in addition to being a financial supporter of the
new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in ...
. In early 1875 Olcott was asked by prominent Spiritualists to investigate an accusation of fraud against the mediums Jenny and Nelson Holmes, who had claimed to materialize the famous "spirit control" Katie King (Doyle 1926: volume 1, 269–277). In 1880 Helena Blavatsky and Olcott became the first Westerners to receive the Three Refuges and
Five Precepts The Five precepts ( sa, pañcaśīla, italic=yes; pi, pañcasīla, italic=yes) or five rules of training ( sa, pañcaśikṣapada, italic=yes; pi, pañcasikkhapada, italic=yes) is the most important system of morality for Buddhist lay peo ...
, the ceremony by which one traditionally becomes a Buddhist; thus Blavatsky was the first Western woman to do so. Olcott once described his adult faith as "pure, primitive Buddhism," but his was a unique sort of Buddhism.


Theosophical society

From 1874 on, Olcott's spiritual growth and development with Blavatsky and other spiritual leaders would lead to the founding of the
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
. In 1875, Olcott, Blavatsky, and others, notably William Quan Judge, formed the Theosophical Society in New York City, USA. Olcott financially supported the earliest years of the Theosophical Society and was acting president while Blavatsky served as the Society's Secretary. In December 1878, they left New York in order to move the headquarters of the Society to India. They arrived at
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
on February 16, 1879. Olcott set out to experience the native country of his spiritual leader, the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
. The headquarters of the Society were established at Adyar,
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 ...
as the
Theosophical Society Adyar 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 ...
, starting also the Adyar Library and Research Centre within the headquarters. While in India, Olcott strove to receive the translations of sacred oriental texts which were becoming available as a result of western researches. His intent was to avoid the Westernized interpretations often encountered in America, and to discover the pure message of texts from the
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
,
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, and
Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
religions, in order to properly educate Westerners. Olcott's research and translation efforts put him in dialogue with early, ostensibly secular
anthropologists An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
and scholars of religion. He corresponded extensively with
Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...
, asking questions related to his interest in Hinduism and Buddhism and sharing discoveries from his travels in South Asia. He also personally met both Müller and Edward Burnett Tylor at least once at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. Olcott's main religious interest was Buddhism, and he is commonly known for his work in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. After a two-year correspondence with
Sri Piyaratana Tissa Mahanayake Thero Sri Piyaratana Tissa Mahanayake Thero ( si, දොඩන්දුවේ ශ්‍රි පියරත්න තිස්ස මහ නායක ස්වාමින් වහන්සේ) (12 December 1826 - 20 May 1907), also known as Dodan ...
, he and Blavatsky arrived in the then capital
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
on May 16, 1880. Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steele Olcott took
Five Precepts The Five precepts ( sa, pañcaśīla, italic=yes; pi, pañcasīla, italic=yes) or five rules of training ( sa, pañcaśikṣapada, italic=yes; pi, pañcasikkhapada, italic=yes) is the most important system of morality for Buddhist lay peo ...
at the Wijayananda Viharaya located at Weliwatta in Galle on May 19, 1880. On that day Olcott and Blavatsky were formally acknowledged as Buddhists, although Olcott noted that they had previously declared themselves Buddhists, while still living in America. During his time in Sri Lanka Olcott strove to revive Buddhism within the region, while compiling the tenets of Buddhism for the education of Westerners. It was during this period that he wrote the ''Buddhist Catechism'' (1881), which is still used today. The Theosophical Society built several Buddhist schools in Ceylon, most notably
Ananda College ''Appamādo Amathapadan'' (Buddhist quote from the Apramada Vagga in the Dhammapada) , motto_translation = Heedfulness, Punctuality leads to Nirvana , location = P De S Kularatne Mawatha , city = Colo ...
in 1886,
Dharmaraja College Dharmaraja College ( si, ධර්මරාජ විද්‍යාලය), founded in 1887, is a boys' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 300+ teaching staff and around 5000+ students. The school has many notable ...
Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
in 1887, Maliyadeva College Kurunegala in 1888, Siddhartha Kumara Maha Vidyalaya (First named as "Buddhist boys' School") Gampaha in 1891, Dharmadutha College Badulla in 1891, Mahinda College Galle in 1892, Nalanda College, Colombo in 1925, Musaeus Girls College in Colombo and Dharmasoka College in Ambalangoda. Olcott also acted as an adviser to the committee appointed to design a Buddhist flag in 1885. The Buddhist flag designed with the assistance of Olcott was later adopted as a symbol by the World Fellowship of Buddhists and as the universal flag of all Buddhist traditions. Helena Blavatsky eventually went to live in London, where she died in 1891, but Olcott stayed in India and pursued the work of the Theosophical Society there. Olcott's role in the Theosophical Society would still be as president, but the induction of
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 ...
sparked a new era of the movement. Upon his death, the Theosophical Society elected her to take over as president and leader of the movement.


Buddhist catechism


Text of "Buddhist Catechism"

Olcott's "Buddhist Catechism", composed in 1881, is one of his most enduring contributions to the revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and remains in use there today. The text outlines what Olcott saw to be the basic doctrines of Buddhism, including the life of the
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
, the message of the
Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
, the role of the
Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
. The text also treats how the Buddha's message correlates with contemporary society. Olcott was considered by South Asians and others as a Buddhist revivalist. It is presented in the same format of question and answer used in some Christian
catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adul ...
s. Here are a few examples from that text: Olcott's catechism reflects a new, post-Enlightenment interpretation of traditional Buddhist tenets. As David McMahan stated, " lcottallied Buddhism with scientific rationalism in implicit criticism of orthodox Christianity, but went well beyond the tenets of conventional science in extrapolating from the Romantic- and Transcendentalist-influenced 'occult sciences' of the nineteenth century."


Olcott's science and theosophy

The Theosophists combination of spiritualism and science to investigate the supernatural reflected the society's desire to combine religion and reason and to produce a rationally spiritual movement. This "occult science" within the Theosophical Society was used to find the "truth" behind all of the world's major religions. Through their research, Olcott and Blavatsky concluded that Buddhism best embodied elements of what they found significant in all religions. Olcott utilized scientific reasoning in his synthesis and presentation of Buddhism. This is clearly seen in a chapter of his "Buddhist Catechism", entitled "Buddhism and Science". Notably, his efforts represent one of the earliest attempts to combine scientific understanding and reasoning with Buddhist religion. The interrelationship he saw between Buddhism and Science paralleled his Theosophical approach to show the scientific bases for supernatural phenomena such as auras, hypnosis, and Buddhist "miracles".


Death and legacy

Olcott was President of the Theosophical Society until his death on February 17, 1907. Two major streets in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
and Galle have been named Olcott Mawatha, to commemorate him. A statue of him has been erected in front of Colombo Fort Railway Station. Many other schools that he helped found or have been founded in his memory possess commemorative statues in honour of his contribution to Buddhist education. He is still remembered fondly by many Sri Lankans today. On September 10, 2011, a statue of Colonel Olcott was unveiled at a Buddhist temple near Princeton, New Jersey. The date of his death is often remembered by Buddhist centers and Sunday schools in present-day
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, as well as in Theosophical communities around the globe. Olcott believed himself to be Asia's savior, the outsider hero who would sweep in at the end of the drama to save a disenchanted subcontinent from spiritual death. The effort to revitalize Buddhism within Sri Lanka was successful and influenced many native Buddhist intellectuals. Sri Lanka was dominated by British colonial power and influence at the time, and many Buddhists heard Olcott's interpretation of the Buddha's message as socially motivating and supportive of efforts to overturn colonialist efforts to ignore Buddhism and Buddhist tradition. This was despite the fact that his re-interpretation of the Buddha was along modern liberal ideas promoted by the British in Sri Lanka. As David McMahan wrote, "Henry Steel Olcott saw the Buddha as a figure much like the ideal liberal freethinker – someone full of 'benevolence,' 'gratitude,' and 'tolerance,' who promoted 'brotherhood among all men' as well as 'lessons in manly self-reliance". His Westernized view of Buddha influenced Sri Lankan leaders, such as Anagarika Dharmapala. Olcott and Anagarika Dharmapala were associates, which reflects both men's awareness of the divide between East and West—as seen in their presentation of Buddhism to the West. Olcott helped financially support the Buddhist presence at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, 1893. The inclusion of Buddhists in the Parliament allowed for the expansion of Buddhism within the West in general and in America specifically, leading to other Buddhist Modernist movements. As Stephen Prothero wrote,
It was Olcott who most eloquently articulated and most obviously embodied the diverse religious and cultural traditions that shaped Protestant Buddhism, who gave the revival movement both its organizational shape and its emphasis on education-as-character-building. The most Protestant of all early Protestant Buddhists, Olcott was the liminoid figure, the griot who because of his awkward standing betwixt and between the American Protestant grammars of his youth and the Asian Buddhist lexicon of his adulthood was able to conjure traditional Sinhalese Buddhism, Protestant modernism, metropolitan gentility, and academic
Orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
into a decidedly new creole tradition. This creole tradition Olcott then passed on to a whole generation of Sinhalese students educated in his schools.
Olcott is probably the only major contributor to the nineteenth-century Sinhalese Buddhist revival who was actually born and raised in the Protestant Christian tradition, though he had already left Protestantism for
Spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase ...
long before he became a Buddhist. His childhood Protestantism is a reason that many scholars have referred to the
Buddhist modernism Buddhist modernism (also referred to as modern Buddhism, modernist Buddhism, and Neo-Buddhism are new movements based on modern era reinterpretations of Buddhism. David McMahan states that modernism in Buddhism is similar to those found in other ...
he influenced as "Protestant Buddhism".Prothero, Stephen
"Henry Steel Olcott and what has been termed by scholars as "Protestant Buddhism"."
''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'' 63.2 (Summer 1995): 281–302. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. EBSCO. Norlin, Boulder, Colorado. 27 April 2009, pg. 283


Works

* ''Sorgho and Imphee, the Chinese and African sugar canes''; A. O. Moore, New York 1857 * ''Outlines of the first course of Yale agricultural lectures''; C. M. Saxton, Barker & Co., New York 1860 * ''Descendents of Thomas Olcott'', 1872 * ''Human Spirits and Elementaries''; 1875
''People from the other world''
American Publishing Co., Hartford 1875 * ''A Buddhist catechism''; Madras 1881 * ''Theosophy, Religion, and Occult Science''; New York 1885

(6 volumes), (New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1895) * ''The Hindu Dwaita Catechism''; 1886 * ''The Golden Rules of Buddhism''; 1887 * ''The kinship between Hinduism and Buddhism''; The Maha-Bodhi society, Calcutta 1893 * ''The Poor Pariah''; Addison & Co., Madras 1902 * ''The Life of the Buddha and its Lessons''; 1912 * ''The Spirit of Zoroastrianism''; 1913 * ''Old diary leaves, Inside the occult, the true story of Madame H. P. Blavatsky''; Running Press, Philadelphia 1975 (reprint);


See also

* Buddhist flag * Anagarika Dharmapala *
Buddhist modernism Buddhist modernism (also referred to as modern Buddhism, modernist Buddhism, and Neo-Buddhism are new movements based on modern era reinterpretations of Buddhism. David McMahan states that modernism in Buddhism is similar to those found in other ...
*
Buddhism in Sri Lanka Theravada Buddhism is the largest and official religion of Sri Lanka, practiced by 70.2% of the population as of 2012. Practitioners of Sri Lankan Buddhism can be found amongst the majority Sinhalese population as well as among the minority ...
* Theosophy and Buddhism


Notes


References

* Caldwell, Daniel H. (ed) ''The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky: Insights Into the Life of a Modern Sphinx'', Quest Books, 2000. , . * Doyle, Arthur Conan. ''The History of Spiritualism.'' New York: G.H. Doran, Co
Volume 1: 1926Volume 2: 1926
* Guruge, Ananda W. P. ''Free at Last in Paradis'', Authuhouse, Bloomington, Ind, 1998 *Guruge, A. (2007, January). "Henry Steel Olcott in Sri Lanka: death centennial tribute". ''Theosophical History'', 13(1), 10–13. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials database. * ''From the Living Fountains of Buddhism'', Colombo, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, 1984 * ''Return to Righteousness'', Colombo, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, 1965/1991 * Killingley, D. (1998, April). "The White Buddhist: the Asian odyssey of Henry Steel Olcott". ''
International Journal of Hindu Studies The ''International Journal of Hindu Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The editor-in-chief is Sushil Mittal (James Madison University). The journal was established in 1997 and appears triann ...
'', 2(1), 153–154. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials database. *Kuhn, Alvin Boyd. 1930. ''Theosophy: A Modern Revival of Ancient Wisdom''. New York: Henry Holt & Company. *Motwani, Kewal: ''Colonel H. S. Olcott, a forgotten page in American history''; Ganesh, Madras 1955 (English) * Murphet, Howard: ''Hammer on the mountain, life of Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907)''; Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton 1972; * Prothero, Stephen R.: ''The White Buddhist: The Asian Odyssey of Henry Steel Olcott''; Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1996; * Prothero, Stephen R.. "Henry Steel Olcott and 'Protestant Buddhism.'" ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'' 63: 281–302. * Williams, Gertrude Marvin. ''Priestess of the Occult, Madame Blavatsky''. New York : A. A. Knopf, 1946


External links

*
Colonel Olcott, His Service to Buddhism
' by B.P. Kirthisinghe & M.P. Amarasuriya
When Olcott came to Ceylon







The great name in Buddhist History

The Man from New Jersey
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olcott, Henry Steele 1832 births 1907 deaths 19th-century American writers 19th-century occultists 19th-century male writers People from Orange, New Jersey American spiritualists American Theravada Buddhists American Theosophists Buddhist mystics Buddhist revivalists Columbia University alumni Converts from Presbyterianism Converts to Buddhism from Protestantism Flag designers History of Buddhism in Sri Lanka People of the American Civil War Theosophy Theravada Buddhism writers Union Army officers Witnesses to John Brown's execution