The Theosophical Society was founded by

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international foll ...

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 William Quan Judge (April 13, 1851 – March 21, 1896) was an American mystic, esotericist, and occultist, and one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society. Biography Judge was born in Dublin, Ireland. When he was 13 years old, ...

. In 1882, its headquarters moved with Blavatsky and president

Henry Steel Olcott Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason (member of Huguenot Lodge #448, now #46) and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott ...

from New York to Adyar, an area of

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, 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 city in and the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Milton and Winfield Townships, approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, Wheaton's population was 53,970, making it the 27th-mos ...

Founders

H. P. Blavatsky(Helena Petrovna Blavatsky),

and others founded the Theosophical Society on 17 November 1875 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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 objectives, 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

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

(1875 to 1907). #

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

(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 Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa (16 December 1875, British Ceylon – 18 June 1953, United States) was a Ceylonese author, occultist, freemason and Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist. The fourth president of the Theosophical Society, Jinarajadasa ...

(1946 to 1953). #

Nilakanta Sri Ram Nilakanta Sri Ram or Nilakantha Sri Ram (N. Sri Ram) (* 15 December 1889 in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India; died 8 April 1973 in Adyar, India) was a freemason, theosophist and president of the Theosophical Society Adyar during twenty years. ...

(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 un ...

(2014 to ...)

Activities

Religion and 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 The Theosophical Order of Service (TOS) is an international organization founded in 1908 by Annie Besant, the second International President of the Theosophical Society Adyar, Theosophical Society. Its motto is: "A union of those who love in the ser ...

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 the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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 , ) 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 underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

hit

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

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 with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

that destroyed much of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

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 Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

movement reflected many of its main characteristics, especially

holism Holism is the interdisciplinary idea that systems possess properties as wholes apart from the properties of their component parts. Julian Tudor Hart (2010''The Political Economy of Health Care''pp.106, 258 The aphorism "The whole is greater than t ...

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 tradit ...

, the artists Kandinsky and Mondriaan were both influenced by

Theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

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 an Indian Philosophy, philosopher, speaker, writer, and Spirituality, spiritual figure. Adopted by members of the Theosophy, Theosophical tradition as a child, he was raised to fill ...

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, an author on occult subjects, and the co-initiator, with J. I. Wedgwood, of the Liberal Catholic Church. Orig ...

, 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 Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

. 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 The Adyar Library and Research Centre was founded in 1886 by Theosophist Henry Steel Olcott. The library is at the Theosophical Society Adyar in Adyar, near Chennai, India. History Henry Steel Olcott founded the "Library Olcott" in December 188 ...

Bulletin *

The Theosophist ''The Theosophist'' is the monthly journal of the international Theosophical Society based in Adyar, India. It was founded in India in 1879 by Helena Blavatsky, who was also its editor. The journal is still being published till date. For the ye ...

– 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: Universit ...

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

banyan tree A banyan, also spelled banian ( ), is a Ficus, fig that develops accessory trunks from Aerial root#"Stranglers" (prop-root), adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees ...

, 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.

References

External links

Theosophical Society - Adyar

{{Authority control Theosophical Society 1883 establishments in India Culture of Chennai Organisations based in Chennai Religious organisations based in India Religious organizations established in 1883 Spiritual organizations