Theosophical Society

The Theosopical Society Celebrates its 124th Birthday in November

The Theosophical Society is a nonsectarian, undogmatic, worldwide organization devoted to human solidarity, cultural understanding, and self-development. It seeks to bring people together; to reconcile the religions, philosophies, and sciences of both East and West; and to increase awareness of the inner reality inherent in every human being.

Organized in New York City in 1875, the Society’s principal founders were Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the first Russian woman to be naturalized as an American citizen, and Henry Steel Olcott, a prominent lawyer and journalist who became the first President of the Society. Blavatsky brought the spiritual wisdoms of the East and of ancient Western mysteries to the modern West, where they were virtually unknown. Her writings became the first exposition of modern Theosophy.

Colonel Olcott was a veteran of the Civil War, during which he had been a special investigator into corruption in the armed services and after which he was a member of the commission appointed to investigate the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. He was also an internationally renowned agricultural authority. Olcott related the timeless wisdom of Theosophy to the cultures of both East and West, applied it to everyday life, and built the Society into an international organization.

In 1879, Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott, moved to India, where the Society spread rapidly. In 1882, they established the Society’s international headquarters in Adyar, a suburb of Madras (recently renamed Chennai), where it has since remained. They also visited Sri Lanka, where Olcott was so active in promoting social welfare among oppressed Buddhists that even now he is a national hero of that land. Today the Society has branches in some sixty countries around the world.

Today, the Theosophical Society maintains the continuity of purpose set down so long ago and finds it is just as relevant now as then. The motto, “There is no religion higher than Truth”, is still encompassing and purposeful. Some frequently asked questions about the meaning and philosophies of the society are answered below:

What is Theosophy? To answer that question, we need to distinguish between modern Theosophy and ancient or timeless Theosophy. Timeless Theosophy, also called by many names such as the “Wisdom Tradition” and the “Perennial Philosophy,” is a tradition found in human cultures all over the world and at all times in history. It is the basis of the inner or mystical side of many philosophies and cultures. Modern Theosophy is a contemporary statement of that tradition as set forth through the Theosophical Society

What does this Wisdom tradition teach? The three basic ideas of Theosophy are (1) the fundamental unity of all existence, so that all pairs of opposites – matter and spirit, the human and the divine, I and thou – are transitory and relative distinctions of an underlying absolute Oneness, (2) the regularity of universal law, cyclically producing universes out of the absolute ground of being, and (3) the progress of consciousness developing through the cycles of life to an ever-increasing realization of Unity.

What do those ideas mean in daily life and how do we live by them? These abstract ideas have some very specific and practical implications, for example the following:

• The world we live in is basically a good place, to be used wisely, to be treasured, and to be honored: Rejoice in life.

• We develop as human beings, not by forsaking the world, but by cooperating with nature to preserve and perfect it: Respect the environment and be ecologically responsible.

• You and I are different expressions of the same life, so whatever happens to either of us happens to both of us—our well-being is linked: Help your neighbor, and thereby help yourself.

• Disharmony and evil are the result of ignorance and selfishness: Live in harmony and goodness so as to teach others by your life as well as by your words.

What specific doctrines do Theosophists believe in? The Theosophical Society is nondogmatic, and Theosophists are encouraged to accept nothing on faith or on the word of another, but to adopt only those ideas that satisfy their own sense of what is real and important.

Theosophy is a way of looking at life rather than a creed. Modern Theosophy, however, presents ideas like the following for our consideration, and many Theosophists hold these ideas, not as fixed beliefs, but as a way of looking at life that explains the world as they experience it:

• reincarnation,

• karma (or moral justice),

• the existence of worlds of experience beyond the physical,

• the presence of life and consciousness in all matter,

• the evolution of spirit and intelligence as well as of physical matter,

• the possibility of our conscious participation in evolution,

• the power of thought to affect one’s self and surroundings,

• the reality of free will and self-responsibility,

• the duty of altruism, a concern for the welfare of others, and

• the ultimate perfection of human nature, society, and life.

The Houston Lodge of the Theosophical Society has been in Houston since 1912 and is located at 1525 Heights Blvd., Houston, TX 77008, 713-861-8526. The public is invited and welcomed to the lectures currently held the first and third Sunday of each month. Visit their website at www.theosophical.org.

Major Titles by H. P. Blavatsky, published by the Theosophical Publishing House, P. O. Box 270, Wheaton, IL 60189-0270:

The Secret Doctrine, 2 volumes plus index

Isis Unveiled, 2 volumes

The Voice of the Silence

The Key to Theosophy (abridged by Joy Mills)

H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings, 15 volumes

Letters of H. P. Blavatsky, 3 volumes (in preparation)

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Email: Phone: 713.526.8822 or 1.800.640.5191

Mail: P. O. Box 540444, Houston, TX 77254

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