Theosophical Society

An organization founded in New York in 1875 by the Russian mystic Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-91) and Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907), an American psychic investigator who became its first president. Through the study of comparative religion the Society sought to uncover the truths which it believed to constitute the core of all religions. Its main beliefs, which include many Indian doctrines such as karma, reincarnation, and belief in astral bodies, are explained in Blavatsky's books Isis Unveiled (1877) and The Secret Doctrine (1888). Other influential figures include Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbetter. Leading members of the society visited India and other parts of Asia to study mystical teachings and seek out occult phenomena. Although Buddhist ideas are represented to some degree, the primary Indian influence on theosophy came from Hinduism.

The major modern organization advocating gnostic-esoteric teachings. The Theosophical Society was founded in New York in 1875 by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge, and others. It grew out of interest in the occult generated previously by the magnetist movement and especially Spiritualism, in which both Blavatsky and Olcott had participated. The society proposed a different direction, including attention to a distinct philosophical stance drawn from Eastern teachings.

Both Blavatsky and Olcott were closely concerned with Spiritualist investigations, and they met at the house of the Eddy brothers in Vermont. They were also concerned in the claimed phenomena of the mediums Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Holmes of Philadelphia, who were accused of cheating. The Holmes partnership involved the alleged manifestation of the spirits "Katie King" and "John King," associated with the British medium Florence Cook. Blavatsky eventually disowned the Holmes phenomena, but endorsed the reality of the spirit "John King."

In May 1875 Blavatsky and Olcott formed the Miracle Club, which offered an alternative to prevailing scientific materialism, but the organization languished. Soon Olcott began to receive messages through Blavatsky from a mysterious "Brother-hood of Luxor," prototypes of the famous Mahatma letters of later years. These messages claimed the support of hidden masters of wisdom in the spreading of truth.

In November 1875 the Theosophical Society was founded with Olcott as president, Blavatsky as corresponding secretary, and Judge (a lawyer) as counsel. There were approximately 20 original members. The term "theosophy" was proposed by Charles Sotheran, a well-known bibliophile and editor of the American Bibliopolist. The preamble to the society's bylaws states: "The Title of the Theosophical Society explains the objects and desires of its founder: they 'seek to obtain knowledge of the nature and attributes of the Supreme Power, and of the higher spirits by the aid of physical processes.' In other words, they hope, that by going deeper than modern science has hitherto done, into the esoteric philosophies of ancient times, they may be enabled to obtain, for themselves and other investigators, proof of the existence of an 'Unseen Universe,' the nature of its inhabitants if such there be, and the laws which govern them and their relations with mankind. Whatever may be the private opinions of its members, the society has no dogmas to enforce, no creed to disseminate. It is formed neither as a Spiritualist schism, nor to serve as the foe or friend of any sectarian or philosophic body. Its only axiom is the omnipotence of truth, its only creed a profession of unqualified devotion to its discovery and propaganda. In considering the qualifications of applicants for membership, it knows neither race, sex, color, country nor creed."

The stated objects of the society were "to collect and diffuse a knowledge of the laws which govern the universe." To the society, these laws involved phenomena of a miraculous kind as claimed in the history of occultism, Rosicrucians, and other secret orders.

This preoccupation with the miraculous, which has also been the popular focal point in the establishment of great world religions, proved to be the strength as well as the weakness of the society. Over the next two years, there was a shortage of unusual phenomena and the society seemed doomed to failure, many members dropping out.

Meanwhile, Blavatsky was preparing her book Isis Unveiled, a compilation and survey of esoteric religious and occult traditions through the ages. This book, together with the amalgamation of the Theosophical Society with the Arya Samaj of Swami Dayananda Saraswati in 1878, stimulated new interest in the society.

In 1879 Blavatsky and Olcott toured India, establishing new contacts and developing an aura of the mystic East. India was traditionally associated with the supernormal feats of yogis and the esoteric wisdom of the Vedas and Upanishads. Although Swami Dayananda proved to be something of a disappointment, due to being a social reformer rather than a repository of the prized miraculous feats of yoga, extraordinary events surrounded Blavatsky over the next few years in India and reports on them attracted widespread support for the Theosophical Society.

Olcott's tour of Ceylon and acceptance of Buddhism helped to solidify the society's image as a unifying principle for all religions, though it also succeeded in exciting opposition from Christian missionaries who did not believe that religions could or should be unified.

During 1880-82 there were many letters purportedly from the mysterious Mahatmas, or Masters of Wisdom, governing the development of the society, which established headquarters at Adyar, Madras. Although the marvels associated with Blavatsky brought new and important supporters for the society, they also excited opposition and accusations of fraud, even from Swami Dayananda, who publicly repudiated Blavatsky and the society in April 1882.

Through the years the Theosophical Society suffered from various dissensions and schisms. Most notable was the controversy over the so-called Mahatma letters, which Blavatsky claimed were supernormally produced messages from Masters or adepts. Accusations from Christian missionaries in India that these letters were fraudulent began in 1884; in the same year Richard Hodgson of the Society for Psychical Research, Britain, went to the headquarters of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, Madras, to conduct an on-the-spot investigation.

He reported the discovery of a shrine with a false back, used with the connivance of Madame Coulomb, an employee of the society, as a fake mailbox for the letters. The confession of fraud by Coulomb was dismissed by loyal members of the society as part of a Christian plot to discredit Blavatsky and the society. Coulomb's disclosure of the different methods by which the "miracles" were produced and Hodgson's own discovery of various fraudulent events proved more conclusive to most.

Blavatsky left India and settled in England, leaving the society in Olcott's hands. There she drew a group of students, and an internal controversy arose in the society over the establishment of an esoteric section for the study of arcane doctrines and practices. Meanwhile, Blavatsky worked on her massive presentation of theosophical teachings, which finally appeared as The Secret Doctrine.

Meanwhile, following the transfer of international headquarters to India, Judge had organized and was leading the American section. After Blavatsky's death in 1891, disputes arose over the production of further Mahatma letters by Judge. These letters supported his claim to take charge of the esoteric section, which Blavatsky had bequeathed to newcomer Annie Besant.

While there was a temporary agreement for Besant and Judge to share leadership, tension between Judge and the society leadership outside of the United States continued; in 1895-96 he led the great majority of the American lodges in the establishment of the Theosophical Society in America as a separate entity. Judge died a short time later and E. T. Har-grove was elected president of the Theosophical Society in America. But like Blavatsky, Judge had found a talented protege, and Katherine Tingley 's abilities were recognized by the membership and she became president of the American society—a post she would hold for the rest of her life. She led in the establishment of a Theosophical community at Point Loma, San Diego, California.

Meanwhile, Annie Besant succeeded Olcott (d. 1907) as president of the international Theosophical Society. A capable orator and administrator, she helped the society and built it into a worldwide organization. While the society was hindered by the scandals attached to Blavatsky, Besant attempted to put that history in the past. However, one of her colleagues, Charles Webster Leadbeater who impressed Besant as one possessed of occult abilities, was involved in several scandals that involved some young boys. Eventually he was exiled from India to Australia, though not before he and Besant had produced some of the standard theosophical texts. Leadbeater cost the society the considerable support of the scholar G. R. S. Mead and some 700 other members in England who left in 1908 and established a rival organization.

Besant adopted, with the aid of Leadbeater, a young Brahmin boy named Jiddu Krishnamurti, who they claimed would be the vehicle through whom the future "World Teacher" would manifest. After World War I, as Krishnamurti matured, Besant promoted him and took him on speaking tours around the world. The society's membership peaked in response to his presence and both Besant and the members were devastated in 1929 when he resigned and renounced the role she had assigned him. Krishnamurti went on to become an independent teacher in his own right with a considerable following.

Theosophy's teachings had been given to Blavatsky by a group of exalted masters. Following her death, various people, such as Leadbeater, also claimed to be in spiritual contact. One who made such claims was Alice A. Bailey, a member living in southern California. She claimed that she was serving as the amanuensis of Djual Khul, usually called the Tibetan. Her claims eventually led to her separation from the society and the establishment in the 1920s of another offshoot of Theosophy— the Arcane School.

In spite of its controversial background, the Theosophical Society itself has had a considerable influence on the spiritual and intellectual life of many individuals in India, Europe, and the United States. Much of the power of the Irish literary renaissance of William Butler Yeats and AE (George Russell) stems from their association with Theosophy, which also exercised a powerful influence on European occultism.

Perhaps its greatest contribution came during the presidency of Besant, when Theosophy provided the people of India with a feeling of pride in their own cultural and spiritual heritage and participated in the growing wave of nationalism that eventually resulted in the independence of India. Under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, many important Hindu scriptures were translated and published and the library at Adyar contains many rare manuscripts preserved by the society.

The Theosophical Society, with its international headquarters in Adyar, Madras, India, is today a worldwide body perpetuating the basic perspective and teachings of ancient Gnosticism, as promoted by Blavatsky in the 1880s and 1890s. While the society is a significant body in its own right, its influence has been extended through the hundreds of organizations that have taken the basic theosophical worldview and built variations upon it. Theosophy led directly to the founding of the Liberal Catholic Church, the Anthroposophical Society, the Alice Bailey movement, and the I Am Movement. Almost a hundred different organizations, some of which rival the parent Theosophical Society in size, have emerged from these off-shoots. Less directly attached to Theosophy, but owing much to its initial impulse, is the modern magical revival whose initial major organizational expression was the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, but which has found contemporary expression in the OTO and the popular neo-pagan witchcraft movement. The single most popular expression of Theosophy has been the New Age movement of the 1980s, which brought literally millions of people into esoteric studies.

The main theosophical bodies, i.e., those that have a specifically theosophical heritage, are the Theosophical Society (with international lodges and headquarters at Adyar, Madras, India); the Theosophical Society, American Branch (with international headquarters at Altadena, California); and the United Lodge of Theosophists (headquarters in Los Angeles, California). The American affiliate of the international society headquartered in Adyar is the Theosophical Society in America, with headquarters in Wheaton, Illinois on an estate called Olcott; the British affiliate is the Theosophical Society at 50 Gloucester Pl., London, W1H 3HJ, England.

Sources:

Besant, Annie. The Theosophical Society and H. P. Blavatsky. London, 1891.

Campbell, Bruce F. A History of the Theosophical Movement. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980.

Christian Literature Society. Theosophy Exposed; or, Mrs. Besant and Her Guru: Appeal to Educated Hindus. Madras, India: SPCK Press, 1893.

Coulomb, Madame E. Some Account of My Intercourse with Madame Blavatsky from 1872 to 1884. London: Elliot Stock, 1885.

Ellwood, Robert. Theosophy. Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1986.

Gomes, Michael. Theosophy in the Nineteenth Century: An Annotated Bibliography. New York: Garland Publishing, 1994.

Hare, H. E., and W. L. Hare. Who Wrote the Mahatma Letters? London: Williams & Norgate, 1936.

Harrison, Vernon. H. P. Blavatsky and the SPR. Pasadena, Calif.: Theosophical University Press, 1997.

Hodgson, Richard. "Personal Investigations, in India, of Theosophical Phenomena." Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research 3 (1885); Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 1-2 (1884-1886).

Johnson, Paul. In Search of the Masters: Behind the Occult Myth. South Boston: The Author, 1990.

Kingsland, William. The Real H. P. Blavatsky. London: John M. Watkins, 1928.

Olcott, H. S. Old Diary Leaves. 6 vols. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1895-1910.

Ransom, Josephine. A Short History of the Theosophical Society. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1938.

Ryan, Charles J. H. P. Blavatsky and the Theosophical Movement. Pasadena, Calif.: Theosophical University Press, 1975.

Solovyoff, V. S. A Modern Priestess of Isis. London: Longmans, Green, 1895.

Symonds, John. Madame Blavatsky, Medium and Magician. London: Odhams Press, 1958.

Waterman, Adlai E. [Walter A. Carrithers]. Obituary: The "Hodgson Report" on Madame Blavatsky, 1895-1960; Reexamination Discredits the Major Charges Against H. P. Blavatsky.

Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1963.

Williams, Gertrude Marvin. Priestess of the Occult: Madame Blavatsky. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946.

This article's introduction section may not adequately summarize its contents. To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (September 2009)

The Society's seal incorporated the Swastika, Star of David, Ankh, Aum and Ouroboros symbols.

A view of the gardens of the Adyar Theosophical society

The Theosophical Society was an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. Theosophy is an active belief system today, and through a process of schism has also given rise to many other mystical beliefs and organisations.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Formation 1.2 Schisms 2 Controversy / Racial Beliefs 3 Krishnamurti 4 Ramaiah 5 Related individuals and organizations 5.1 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links

History

Formation

Theosophical Society's foundation act

The Theosophical Society was founded in New York City, USA, in 1875 by Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge and others. Its initial objective was the investigation, study and explanation of mediumistic phenomena. After a few years Olcott and Blavatsky moved to India and established the International Headquarters at Adyar, Madras (Chennai). There, they also became interested in studying Eastern religions, and these were included in the Society's agenda. After several iterations the Society's objectives have evolved to be:

1. to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or colour.
2. to encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy, and science.
3. to investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man.

In addition to the stated objectives, as early as 1889 Blavatsky purportedly had told a group of Theosophical students that the real purpose of establishing the Society was to prepare humanity for the reception of the World Teacher when he appeared again on earth. This was repeated again more publicly by Annie Besant in 1896, five years after Blavatsky's death.^[1] In Blavatsky's own writings, the only reference to a similar idea indicated that it would not be for at least a century^[2].

Schisms

Theosophical Society, 1890

The Manor, Sydney, Australia, which has been used as a centre by the Theosophical Society since 1922

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 original organisation led by Olcott and Besant remains today based in India and is known as the Theosophical Society - Adyar. The group led by Judge further splintered into a faction led by Katherine Tingley, and another associated the Judge's secretary Ernest Temple Hargrove. While Hargrove's faction no longer survives, the faction led by Tingley 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]}
In 1902, Rudolf Steiner became General Secretary of the German/Austrian division of the Theosophical Society. He maintained a Western-oriented course, relatively independent from the Adyar headquarter led by Besant and Olcott. After serious philosophical conflicts, primarily on the spiritual significance of Christ and on the status of the young boy Krishnamurti (see below), most of the German and Austrian members split off in 1913 and formed the Anthroposophical Society. The latter remains very active and influential today and has branches in almost all western communities, including the US and Canada.

Controversy / Racial Beliefs

Blavatsky posited that humanity had descended from a series of non-human "Root Races" (Cosmologically on par with the Christian sacraments, Cabalistic Tree of life, the eastern phylosophy of the chakras) naming the fifth root race (out of seven) the Aryan race. The Root Races were evolutionary stages, each new Root Race being more evolved than the previous one. She thought that the Aryans originally came from Atlantis,^[3], who were part of the fourth Root Race. The Aryan Root Race was only one more step in the evolutionary progress and it would eventually be superseded by a more spiritual Root Races , the sixth. She believed that "The Semites, especially the Arabs, are later Aryans — degenerate in spirituality and perfected in materiality. To these belong all the Jews and the Arabs. The former are a tribe descended from the Tchandalas of India, the outcasts, many of them ex-Brahmins, who sought refuge in Chaldea, in Scinde, and Aria (Iran), and were truly born from their father A-bram (No Brahmin) some 8,000 years B.C.

The latter, the Arabs, are the descendants of those Aryans who would not go into India at the time of the dispersion of nations, some of whom remained on the borderlands thereof, in Afghanistan and Kabul,* and along the Oxus, while others penetrated into and invaded Arabia. But this was when Africa had already been raised as a continent. We have meanwhile to follow, as closely as limited space will permit, the gradual evolution of the now truly human species. It is in the suddenly arrested evolution of certain sub-races, and their forced and violent diversion into the purely animal line by artificial cross-breeding, truly analogous to the hybridization, which we have now learned to utilize in the vegetable and animal kingdoms, that we have to look for the origin of the anthropoids."^[4]

She did not encourage any feeling of superiority by any person or race, spreading the idea of the common origin and destiny of all humanity, and establishing the principle of universal brotherhood as the First Object of the Theosophical Society: "To form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity without distinction of race, colour, or creed." ^[5]. Thus, she declares "Theosophists, collectively, respect the Bible as much as they do the sacred scriptures of other people, finding in it the same eternal truths as in the Vedas, the Zend-Avesta, the Tripitakas, etc." ^[6]

Guido von List (and his followers such as Lanz von Liebenfels) later took up some of Blavatsky's ideas, mixing her ideology with nationalistic and fascist ideas; this system of thought became known as Ariosophy.

Some researchers, when tracing the links between Ariosophy and Theosophy, tried to portray the latter as relying mostly on "intellectual expositions of racial evolution".^[7] However, in The Key to Theosophy Elena Blavatsky had clearly pointed out that "The Society is a philanthropic and scientific body for the propagation of the idea of brotherhood on practical instead of theoretical lines."^[8].

"ENQUIRER. Can you attain the "Secret Wisdom" simply by study? Encyclopaedias define Theosophy pretty much as Webster's Dictionary does, i. e., as "supposed intercourse with God and superior spirits, and consequent attainment of superhuman knowledge by physical means and chemical processes." Is this so?
THEOSOPHIST. I think not. Nor is there any lexicographer capable of explaining, whether to himself or others, how superhuman knowledge can be attained by physical or chemical processes. Had Webster said "by metaphysical and alchemical processes," the definition would be approximately correct: as it is, it is absurd. Ancient Theosophists claimed, and so do the modern, that the infinite cannot be known by the finite -- i.e., sensed by the finite Self -- but that the divine essence could be communicated to the higher Spiritual Self in a state of ecstasy. This condition can hardly be attained, like hypnotism, by "physical and chemical means."^[9].

Unlike Theosophists (whose first objective was "to form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity without distinction of race, colour, or creed"^[10]), "The Thule Society preached Aryan supremacy and acted to achieve it. It provides the final link between occult racial theories and the racial ideology of Hitler, who skewed the fundamental principles of and understandings for sociological and economic control by the emerging Nazi party."^[7]

Krishnamurti

Part of a series on

Theosophy

Founders of the T. S.

Helena Blavatsky · Henry Steel Olcott William Quan Judge

Theosophists

Alfred Percy Sinnett Abner Doubleday · Geoffrey Hodson Archibald Keightley · C.W. Leadbeater Annie Besant Katherine Tingley · Ernest Wood

Philosophical concepts

Seven Rays

Organisations

Theosophical Society TS Adyar · TS Pasadena TS Point Loma-Covina · TSA Hargrove United Lodge of Theosophists

Theosophical texts

Isis Unveiled · The Key to Theosophy Mahatma Letters · The Secret Doctrine The Voice of the Silence More...

Theosophical Masters

Sanat Kumara · Maitreya Djwal Khul · Morya Kuthumi · Paul the Venetian Serapis Bey · Master Hilarion Master Jesus · Master Rakoczi

Related topics

Agni Yoga · Anthroposophy Esotericism · Jiddu Krishnamurti Neo-Theosophy Liberal Catholic Church Living Ethics · Alice A. Bailey Ascended Master Teachings Benjamin Creme

v • d • e

In 1909, C.W. Leadbeater, one of the leaders of this movement, proclaimed J. Krishnamurti, an adolescent Hindu boy, as the vehicle for a new indwelling of the Maitreya.^[11] Krishnamurti's family had relocated to live on the site of the Theosophical Society headquarters in Adyar India in January 1909, a time when Annie Besant was the head of the organization in India.

By 1925 J. Krishnamurti had begun his movement away from the organization, and in 1931 he disavowed his status and left the Theosophical Society altogether. He spent the rest of his life as an independent spiritual teacher, though he remained on friendly terms with some individuals of the Theosophical Society. Leadbeater was not among these: Krishnamurti much later described him as "an evil man."

Ramaiah

Chittamuru Ramaiah, has done Bachelor of Arts in Literature in early 19th century. He was associated with Annie Besant for a quite some time at Theosophical Society, Adayar, Madras, India. He has written many books on theosophy. One book by name "DIVYA JNANA SAARAMU"."^[12] that is "THE ESSENCE OF THEOSOPHY"of which the second edition is published by Vasantha Institute, Madras in the year 1937. In this book he included the chapter by name "ADRUSHYA SAHAYULU" from a book "DIVYA JNANA DEEPIKA" written by his brother Chittamuru Subbaramaiah. He has written one more book by name "BRAMHA VIDYA DARPANAMU"."^[13] in the year 1941, called as "HINDUISM IN LIGHT OF THEOSOPHY" and dedicated it to Annie Besant. He was also known for having translated the book called "At the Feet of Master" into telugu written by J. Krishnamurti.

Related individuals and organizations

These people and groups claim origins or association with the Theosophical Society, its branches or leaders. Note that many of those listed are highly controversial in terms of their relation to Theosophy.

• Agni Yoga Society
• Anthroposophy
• Arcane School (Alice Bailey)
• Annie Besant
• Radha Burnier
• Charles Webster Leadbeater
• Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross
• Church Universal and Triumphant
• Hugh Dowding
• Anna Kingsford
• J. Krishnamurti
• James Cousins
• U.G. Krishnamurti
• Liberal Catholic Church
• New Acropolis
• I AM Activity
• Elizabeth Clare Prophet
• Nilakanta Sri Ram
• Rudolf Steiner
• The Temple of the People
• Share International
• Warren Prall Watters
• Brother XII
• The Bridge to Freedom

See also

• Ascended Masters
• Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross
• Theosophical Society of the Arya Samaj
• Arya Samaj
• Religion and mythology
• Aryan_race - Theosophy

References

1. ^ Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening, Mary Lutyens (John Murray) 1975, p.12
2. ^ Blavatsky Collected Writings Volume XII, page 492
3. ^ The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy, Vol.II, p.249
4. ^ The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy, Vol.II, p.200
5. ^ The Key to Theosophy, Section 3, "The Objects of the Society"
6. ^ Collected Writings, Vol. XII, p.341
7. ^ ^{a b} Spielvogel, Jackson; David Redles (1986). "Hitler's Racial Ideology: Content and Occult Sources.". Simon Wiesenthal Center Annual 3. http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=395043. Retrieved 2007-08-22. 
8. ^ The Key to Theosophy, Section 2, "Exoteric and Esoteric Theosophy"
9. ^ The Key to Theosophy, Section 1, "Theosophy and the Theosophical Society"
10. ^ The Key to Theosophy, Section 3, "The Working System of the Theosophical Society"
11. ^ Washington, Peter Madam Blavatsy's Baboon; Theosophy and the emergence of the western guru, Schocken Books, New York, 1995.
12. ^ http://www.archive.org/details/divyagnanasaaram019355mbp
13. ^ http://www.archive.org/details/brahmavidyadarpa018717mbp

Further reading

• Bruce F. Campbell: Ancient wisdom revived, a history of the Theosophical movement. University of California Press, Berkeley 1980, ISBN 0-520-03968-8.
• Michael Gomes: The dawning of the theosophical movement. Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton 1987, ISBN 0-8356-0623-6.
• Henry Steel Olcott: Old Diary Leaves, Part 1. Kessinger, Whitefish 2003, ISBN 0-7661-3336-2. (Reprint von 1895)
• Peter Washington: Madame Blavatsky's Baboon. Schocken Books, New York 1995, ISBN 0805210245.

External links

• - The Theosophical Society in Atlanta
• - The Theosophical Society in SOUTHERN AFRICA
• Theosophical movement 1875 - 1950 (39ff.)
• Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky
• Modern Revival of Ancient Wisdom (pp. 58ff.)
• Beginnings of the TS
• H.P. Blavatsky and The Theosophical Society
• FAQ on the Theosophical movement
• Historical background of The Theosophical Society
• The Theosophical Society UK
• Skeptics Dictionary entry on Theosophy

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)