Robert Crosbie (10 January 1849 – 25 June 1919) was a theosophist and founder of the

United Lodge of Theosophists The United Lodge of Theosophists or ULT is an informal and wholly voluntary association of students of Theosophy. It was founded in 1909, mainly through the efforts of Robert Crosbie. The first parent lodge of the ULT was started in Los Angeles b ...

(ULT). Crosbie was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Lower Canada. In 1902, he moved to

Lomaland Lomaland was a Theosophical community in Point Loma in San Diego, California, from 1900 to 1942. Theosophical Society leader Katherine Tingley founded it in 1900 as a school, cultural center, and residential facility for her followers. The Am ...

Point Loma Point Loma ( Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community in San Diego, California, United States. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

where he helped in building a theosophical community. In 1908 he published a letter ''To all open-minded Theosophists'' about his thoughts on the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...

. In February 1909 he founded the ULT in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The organization had no presidents or hierarchical structures. Emphasizing the universality of theosophy, the Declaration of the United Lodge of Theosophists states in part: "It regards as Theosophists all who are engaged in the true service of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, condition or organization,(...)" Much of the wording of the ULT Declaration is directly derived from statements found in the writings of William Q. Judge and H.P. Blavatsky.Sources of the ULT Declaration
/ref> The expressed mission statement of the United Lodge of Theosophists is “To spread broadcast the original teachings of Theosophy as recorded in the writings of H.P. Blavatsky and William Q. Judge.” In 1912 Crosbie first published the theosophical magazine "Theosophy". He also founded Theosophy School. In 1916 two new lodges of the ULT were opened in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

. The ULT exists to this day, as an international association with lodges and study groups presently in 16 nations around the world. Crosbie died in 1919 in

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

Works

* ''The Friendly Philosopher, Letters and Talks on Theosophy and the Theosophical Life''. The Theosophy Company, Los Angeles 1934, 1945, latest reprint 2008 * ''Answers to Questions on The Ocean of Theosophy''. 1933, The Theosophy Company, Los Angeles * ''Notes on The Bhagavad-Gita'' with William Q. Judge. The Theosophy Company, Los Angeles

References

External links

A Brief Biography of Robert Crosbie

The United Lodge and the Theosophical Movement

An Unusual but Effective Approach of the United Lodge of Theosophists

Listing and contact details of ULT Lodges and Study Groups
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosbie, Robert 1849 births 1919 deaths Canadian Theosophists