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The United Lodge of Theosophists or ULT is an informal and wholly voluntary association of ''students'' of
Declaration
on February 18, 1909. Owing largely to the revival efforts of
''Theosophy Magazine''
which was started by Robert Crosbie in 1912. It was the revival of an earlier periodical called ''The Path'' that was edited by W.Q. Judge. ULT India publishes the ''
The United Lodge of Theosophists or ULT is an informal and wholly voluntary association of ''students'' of Theosophy
Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...
. It was founded in 1909, mainly through the efforts of Robert Crosbie
Robert Crosbie (10 January 1849 – 25 June 1919) was a theosophist and founder of the United Lodge of Theosophists (ULT).
Crosbie was born in Montreal, Lower Canada. In 1902, he moved to Lomaland, Point Loma, California where he helped i ...
. The first ''parent lodge'' of the ULT was started in Los Angeles by Robert Crosbie and seven other associates through the adoption of itDeclaration
on February 18, 1909. Owing largely to the revival efforts of
B.P. Wadia
Bahman Pestonji Wadia or Bomanji Pestonji Wadia (''BP Wadia'', ''B.P. Wadia'' or ''BPW'') (* 8 October 1881 in Mumbai, India; † 20 August 1958 in Bangalore, India) was an Indian theosophist and labour activist. He was first a member of the The ...
after Crosbie's death, there are currently about twenty active lodges spread all over the world. The ULT is considered to be part of the ''second generation'' or the ''third section'' of the Theosophical Movement started in 1875 by 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 ...
in New York. Presently, it is also one of the existing four main "''branches''" of the original Theosophical Movement. The following founding principles when taken as a whole, sets apart the ULT from the other Theosophical Organizations:
ULT Los Angeles publishes th''Theosophy Magazine''
which was started by Robert Crosbie in 1912. It was the revival of an earlier periodical called ''The Path'' that was edited by W.Q. Judge. ULT India publishes the ''
Theosophical Movement Magazine
''The Theosophical Movement''
the latest issue of the theosophical movement magazine. is a monthly '', founded under B.P. Wadia in 1930 in Mumbai. ULT Santa Barbara publishes a quarterly periodical calle
Vidya
and use
Concord Grove Press
to publish theosophical texts including a pamphlet series on themes from ''The Secret Doctrine''
The Theosophy Company
was registered in 1925 on behalf of ULT as a fiduciary agent and an eleemosynary, non-profit corporation to publish photographic facsimile of the Original Editions of books by H.P. Blavatsky and W.Q. Judge.
The history of ULT began with Robert Crosbie coming in contact with H.P. Blavatsky in 1887 and his subsequent association with the
The first ULT lodge founded in 1909 by Robert Crosbie :
* 245 West 33rd Street, LOS ANGELES, CALIF., 90007, USA
Los Angeles, CA
Founded between 1923 and 1928 under the guidance of B.P Wadia during his stay in America : * 347
New York, New York
* 1917 Walnut Street, PHILADELPHIA, PENN., 19103, USA
Philadelphia, PA
* 4865 Cordell Ave., Suite 230, Bethesda, (WASHINGTON D.C.) MARYLAND 20814, USA
Washington D.C.
Established in 1928 during B.P Wadia's journey from America back to India via Europe: * Robert Crosbie House, 62 Queen's Gardens, LONDON W2 3AH, ENGLAND
London, England
* Frans van Heymbeecklaan 6, DEURNE-ANTWERP B-2100, BELGIUM * 11 bis, Rue Kepler, PARIS 75116, FRANCE
Paris, France
First ULT lodge in India, opened on November 17, 1929 under B.P Wadia's leadership: * Theosophy Hall, 40 NewMarine Lines, MUMBAI 400020, INDIA
ULT India
A sister lodge of the Mumbai center started in 1938 under B.P Wadia: * Nalini Kunj, Sri Marubai Gamdevi Mandir Rd., MATUNGA, MUMBAI 400019, INDIA
ULT India
Named "Maitri Bhavan", this lodge was started on the 12th of August 1942 by B.P Wadia: * 4 M.N Krishna Rao Road, Basavangudi, BANGALORE 560004, INDIA
ULT India
Study centers started organically by students: * Charilaou Trikoupi 60, 3rd floor, Athens 10680, GREECE
Athens, Greece
* Köpenhamnsvägen 13 C, 217 55 MALMÖ, SWEDEN
Malmo, Sweden
* 77 West Encanto Blvd., PHOENIX, ARIZONA, 85003, USA
Phoenix, AZ
* 3766 El Cajon Blvd., SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, 92105, USA
San Diego, CA
* 326 West Sola Street, SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, 93101, USA
Santa Barbara, CA
the latest issue of the theosophical movement magazine. is a monthly '', founded under B.P. Wadia in 1930 in Mumbai. ULT Santa Barbara publishes a quarterly periodical calle
Vidya
and use
Concord Grove Press
to publish theosophical texts including a pamphlet series on themes from ''The Secret Doctrine''
The Theosophy Company
was registered in 1925 on behalf of ULT as a fiduciary agent and an eleemosynary, non-profit corporation to publish photographic facsimile of the Original Editions of books by H.P. Blavatsky and W.Q. Judge.
History
The history of ULT began with Robert Crosbie coming in contact with H.P. Blavatsky in 1887 and his subsequent association with 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 ...
or TS in Boston. Based on H.P. Blavatsky's instructions, he placed himself under the direct guidance of W.Q. Judge. Following the death of the original founders of the movement, Robert Crosbie was witness to the ensuing rivalries around "leadership", "authority" and "succession" surrounding Katherine Tingley
Katherine Augusta Westcott Tingley (July 6, 1847 - July 11, 1929) was a social worker and prominent Theosophist. She led the American Section of the Theosophical Society after W. Q. Judge. She founded and led the Theosophical community Lomala ...
, who headed the American section and 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 ...
, who headed the international section from India. Initially, Robert Crosbie gave his support to Katherine Tingley and went to Point Loma in 1900 to be of assistance there. However, by 1904, he felt the original teachings of Theosophy were almost completely eclipsed by Katherine Tingley's sensational programs. Convinced that further effort was futile, he quietly left Point Loma and moved to Los Angeles. By February 1909, he had gathered around him seven individuals as part of a study group, four of whom were new to Theosophy. This nucleus, under Robert Crosbie's guidance, set to the task of restoring Theosophy along the original lines of its founders without organizational distractions. In the meantime, the original 1888 version of The Secret Doctrine
''The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy'', is a pseudo-scientific esoteric book originally published as two volumes in 1888 written by Helena Blavatsky. The first volume is named ''Cosmogenesis'', the second ''A ...
was out of print and replaced by Annie Besant's "Third and Revised Edition". This edition was found to contain tens of thousands of alterations and major distortions. This and other material that diverged significantly from H.P. Blavatsky's original presentation was denominated Neo-Theosophy
Neo-Theosophy is a term, originally derogatory, used by the followers of Helena Blavatsky to denominate the system of Theosophical ideas expounded by Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater following the death of Madame Blavatsky in 1891. T ...
. Robert Crosbie denounced Neo-Theosophy and considered it along with other leadership claims and rivalries in the Theosophical Society to be the result of the accentuation of ''personality'', in the Theosophical sense of the lower or illusionary self. Hence the Declaration of the ULT was drawn to emphasize an ''impersonal'', self-reliant, non-hierarchical, non-organizational spirit and loyalty to the original founders and their ''unaltered'' message.
In November 1919, five months after Robert Crosbie's death, B.P Wadia, a predominant member of the Theosophical Society Adyar visited America and happened to come across ULT Los Angeles. There he discovered the works of W.Q. Judge who was considered a renegade by the Theosophical Society under Annie Besant and Col. Olcott
Colonel 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.
Olcott was the first well-known American of Euro ...
. Furthermore, he found the reformation he was seeking of the Theosophical Society in ULT's Declaration of purpose and its mission of "pure Theosophy" without organizational distractions. He then went back to India with the hope of changing the attitude of the leaders of the Theosophical Society, to return to the original teachings, set right the wrong that was done to W.Q. Judge and mend the schism in the Theosophical Movement. Finding that his efforts were unsuccessful, he resigned from the Theosophical Society on 18 July 1922 and joined the ULT. Between 1922 and 1928, he stayed in America and founded ULT lodges in New York, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia. And on his return trip to India via Europe, he established ULT lodges in Antwerp, Amsterdam, London, and Paris. Back in India, he started ULT lodges in Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Active Centers
The first ULT lodge founded in 1909 by Robert Crosbie :
* 245 West 33rd Street, LOS ANGELES, CALIF., 90007, USALos Angeles, CA
Founded between 1923 and 1928 under the guidance of B.P Wadia during his stay in America : * 347
East 72nd Street
72nd Street is one of the major bi-directional crosstown streets in New York City's borough of Manhattan. The street primarily runs through the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods. It is one of the few streets to go through ...
, NEW YORK, N.Y., 10021, USANew York, New York
* 1917 Walnut Street, PHILADELPHIA, PENN., 19103, USA
Philadelphia, PA
* 4865 Cordell Ave., Suite 230, Bethesda, (WASHINGTON D.C.) MARYLAND 20814, USA
Washington D.C.
Established in 1928 during B.P Wadia's journey from America back to India via Europe: * Robert Crosbie House, 62 Queen's Gardens, LONDON W2 3AH, ENGLAND
London, England
* Frans van Heymbeecklaan 6, DEURNE-ANTWERP B-2100, BELGIUM * 11 bis, Rue Kepler, PARIS 75116, FRANCE
Paris, France
First ULT lodge in India, opened on November 17, 1929 under B.P Wadia's leadership: * Theosophy Hall, 40 NewMarine Lines, MUMBAI 400020, INDIA
ULT India
A sister lodge of the Mumbai center started in 1938 under B.P Wadia: * Nalini Kunj, Sri Marubai Gamdevi Mandir Rd., MATUNGA, MUMBAI 400019, INDIA
ULT India
Named "Maitri Bhavan", this lodge was started on the 12th of August 1942 by B.P Wadia: * 4 M.N Krishna Rao Road, Basavangudi, BANGALORE 560004, INDIA
ULT India
Study centers started organically by students: * Charilaou Trikoupi 60, 3rd floor, Athens 10680, GREECE
Athens, Greece
* Köpenhamnsvägen 13 C, 217 55 MALMÖ, SWEDEN
Malmo, Sweden
* 77 West Encanto Blvd., PHOENIX, ARIZONA, 85003, USA
Phoenix, AZ
* 3766 El Cajon Blvd., SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, 92105, USA
San Diego, CA
* 326 West Sola Street, SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, 93101, USA
Santa Barbara, CA
References
Sources
Unaffiliated
* * * * * * *Affiliated
* * * * {{Theosophy series Theosophy Theosophical Society Religious organizations established in 1909