Theosophy

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Theosophy

Temple of the People

Theosophical Society

Theosophical Society (Hartley)

Theosophical Society in America

United Lodge of Theosophists

Upper Triad Association

The Word Foundation, Inc.

Temple of the People

Box 7100, 906 South Halcyon Road, Halcyon, CA 93421

The Temple of the People was formed in 1898 in Syracuse, New York, under the leadership of William H. Dower (1866–1937) and Francia A. LaDue (1849–1922). The founding occurred during the period of disruption in the American branch of the Theosophical Society following the deaths of its founders, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and William Q. Judge. The Syracuse group, like many others, rejected Judge’s successor, Katherine Tingley, and thus sought independence. Within a few years the temple purchased a tract of land at Halcyon, California (near Pismo Beach), and moved there in 1903. In 1904 Dower opened a sanatorium, which became famous for its treatment of tubercular patients, alcoholics, and drug addicts. In 1903 the temple also organized the Temple Home Association, a cooperative colony that existed through 1949, when it was reorganized, as set forth in its original bylaws, as the Home of the Temple Associated, Inc. The HTA was dissolved in 1992 and all properties were then administered by the Temple Corporation.

The temple began with the contact from the Mahatmas, or Masters, through LaDue and Dower, known respectively as “Blue Star” and “Red Star,” the designations given them by the Masters. They were told to abandon the society as led by Tingley, and through their reception and publishing of continuing materials from the Masters, to carry on the work begun by Madame Blavatsky. Over the years they produced an impressive set of materials, including a large volume, Theogenesis, a third volume of commentaries on the Stanzas of Dyzan. Madame Blavatsky wrote The Secret Doctrine, the two volumes of which were entitled Anthropogenesis and Cosmogenesis, as a commetary on those parts of the Stanzas that were known to her.

According to the temple, the spiritual hierarchy is led by the Central Spiritual Sun, the Christos, the expression of the Infinite Godhead. Other Masters, members of the Great White Brotherhood, embody aspects of the divine light, key members being the Masters of the Seven Rays (of the color spectrum). Integral to the original teachings given to the Temple’s founders from the Master Hilarion, Regent of the Red Ray, was a prophecy concerning the soon-to-occur birth of an avatar, an incarnation of the Christos, an event that happens only every 2,000 years. The first generation of the temple was to a great extent motivated by that expectation and the belief that members were the spearhead of the Messianic Age into which humanity was moving. These emphases, which still undergird the temple’s understanding of its educational mission and work in the world, are summarized in the three Teachings of the Temple volumes.

During the first generation, the life of the community at Halcyon revolved around the sanatorium and the building of the temple. Groups that received and studied the material produced through the Temple sprang up around the country, and every summer a national convention was held. Dower succeeded LaDue as guardian-in-chief of the temple. He was in turn succeeded by Pearl F. Dower, and she by Harold Forgostein. In 2008 the guardian-in-chief was Eleanor L. Shumway, who leads along with a board of four officers appointed yearly. The temple has kept the material originally received by Dower and LaDue in print and their work revolves around it.

The Temple of the People is still headquartered in the community at Halcyon, which has consistently been home to approximately 100 residents. There is a lively group following in both England and Germany, and individual members around the world. The temple offers services every Sunday morning and a short meditation for world healing every day at noon in the Blue Star Memorial Temple in Halcyon. Study classes are held twice a week in the University Center. All classes and services are open to the public. The William Quan Judge Library is open by appointment.

Membership

In 2008 the temple reported about 300 members in five congregations, along with affiliated work in Canada, England, Germany, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and Italy.

Periodicals

The Temple Artisan.

Sources

Temple of the People. www.templeofthepeople.org/.

Burns, Bob, et al. The Temple of the People. Halcyon, CA: California Polytechnic State University, 1972.

From the Mountain Top. 3 vols. Halcyon, CA: Temple of the People, 1974–1985.

Kagan, Paul. New World Utopias. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1975.

Teachings of the Temple. 3 vols. Halcyon, CA: Temple of the People, 1947–1985.

Theogenesis. Halcyon, CA: Temple of the People, 1981.

Theosophical Society

PO Box C, Pasadena, CA 91109-7107

The Theosophical Society (TS) is a worldwide association dedicated to practical realization of the oneness of all life and to independent spiritual search. It was founded in New York City in 1875 by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891), Henry S. Olcott (1832–1907), William Q. Judge (1851–1896), and others. Its stated objectives are to diffuse among men a knowledge of the laws inherent in the universe; to promulgate the knowledge of the essential unity of all that is, and to demonstrate that this unity is fundamental in nature; to form an active brotherhood among men; to study ancient and modern religion, science, and philosophy; and to investigate the powers innate in man. Beyond supporting its objectives, members need not accept any particular beliefs and may belong to any religion or to none. The society is nonsectarian and nonpolitical, open to all people regardless of race, nationality, class, creed, or gender.

The works of Blavatsky and her teachers express the principal concepts of theosophy (“divine wisdom”), a contemporary presentation of the perennial wisdom underlying the world’s religious traditions. Embodying the concepts of karma, reincarnation, and the essential divinity of all beings, it holds that life exists everywhere because everything originates from the same unknowable divine source, expressing itself cyclically through various ranges of consciousness and substance. Evolution consists of an emerging self-expression that individualizes into material forms through the various kingdoms until each being develops self-consciousness and spiritual awareness on its return to the divine source.

In 1877 Blavatsky published Isis Unveiled, her first major work showing the universality of the wisdom tradition and its basis in nature. The following year Blavatsky and Olcott left America for India, where they worked for recognition of Eastern religions and philosophies, especially among the educated who were rejecting their own traditions in the face of modern Western education. Blavatsky’s fame, however, rested largely on accounts of paranormal phenomena she had produced privately over the years. In 1885 the Society for Psychical Research published a report—since refuted in that society’s Journal—declaring Blavatsky an impostor. Earlier that year Blavatsky had moved to Europe, settling in London. There she published her masterwork, The Secret Doctrine, which presents a comprehensive view of cosmic and human evolution, bringing together mythic, religious, and scientific material from many cultures in support of theosophy’s basic concepts. She also issued The Key to Theosophy, The Voice of the Silence, and the magazine Lucifer (“lightbearer”).

When Blavatsky died in 1891, William Q. Judge and Annie Besant (1847–1933) became joint heads of the esoteric work, while Olcott continued his post as president of the society internationally. A number of problems concerning leadership and administration arose that eventually led the American Section to declare complete autonomy in April 1895 and elect Judge president for life. The resulting division in the society reached into all national sections.

After Judge’s death in 1896, Katherine Tingley (1847–1929) headed the esoteric work and soon laid the groundwork for a School for the Revival of the Lost Mysteries of Antiquity. In 1898 she founded the Universal Brotherhood Organization, and the TS was renamed the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society, with Tingley as leader and official head. In 1900 she moved the headquarters from New York City to Point Loma, California, near San Diego, where she founded a school, academy, and college, and, in 1919, the Theosophical University. Education for all residents of Point Loma included a balanced development of physical, mental, moral, and spiritual qualities, with emphasis on character training, music, drama, and the arts. Tingley lectured in the United States and abroad while pursuing philanthropic activities, among them international peace, education and prison reform, the rehabilitation of prisoners, and abolition of capital punishment.

After Tingley’s death in 1929, Gottfried de Purucker (1874–1942), a scholar with a literary legacy of theosophic literature, became leader. The original name “The Theosophical Society” was resumed, and after securing the financial footing of the TS through the Depression, in 1942 he moved the society’s headquarters, including the press, university, and library facilities, to Covina, near Los Angeles.

Arthur L. Conger (1872–1951) followed de Purucker as leader in 1945. Conger had joined the society while at Harvard during the time of Judge, and was president of the American Section under de Purucker. He maintained a strong publishing program and fostered a more practical expression of theosophy. In 1950 he moved the headquarters to the Pasadena area, and closed the esoteric section to help prevent crystallization.

After Conger’s death in 1951, James A. Long (1898–1971) continued this policy. He founded Sunrise Magazine as a bridge between the public and the deeper teachings of theosophy and urged members to express these principles in their daily lives and in simple nontechnical language. On Long’s death in 1971, Grace F. Knoche (1909–2006) became leader of the TS. She opened Theosophical University Library to the public and encouraged translation and publishing activities, library centers, public discussions, and study groups worldwide. Following Knoche’s death, Randell C. Grubb became head of the society.

The society supports fellows-at-large worldwide and maintains sections in Australasia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Scandinavia, South Africa, and North America. Extensive literature is available at no charge on its Web site, and theosophical correspondence courses are offered free of charge except for study materials and postage. The Theosophical University Press and its overseas agencies feature the theosophic classics of Blavatsky, Judge, de Purucker, Long, and Knoche, among other writers, while adding new titles to their lists. Audio versions of selected books are also made available for free to the visually impaired.

Membership

Not reported.

Periodicals

SUNRISE: Theosophic Perspectives (also in Dutch and German editions). • Teosofiskt Forum in Swedish.

Sources

Theosophical Society. www.theosociety.org/.

Blavatsky, H. P. The Key to Philosophy. Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 2002.

de Purucker, Gottfried. Fountain-Source of Occultism. Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1974.

———. Fundamentals of the Esoteric Philosophy. Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1979.

———. H. P. Blavatsky. San Diego: Point Loma Publications, 1974.

Judge, William Q. Echoes of the Orient. Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 2008.

———. The Ocean of Theosophy. Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 2002.

Knoche, Grace F. To Light a Thousand Lamps: A Theosophic Vision. Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 2006.

Ryan, Charles J. H. P. Blavatsky and the Theosophical Movement. Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1974.

Tingley, Katherine. Theosophy: The Path of the Mystic. Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1977.

Theosophical Society (Hartley)

Blavatsky House, De Ruyterstratt 74, 2518 AV

The Hague, The Netherlands In 1951 the Theosophical Society, headquartered in Pasadena, California, split. The former leader of the society, Arthur L. Conger (1872–1951), had designated William Hartley (d. 1956) to be his successor. However, the society’s ruling council rejected Hartley in favor of James A. Long (1898–1971). Because Long and his supporters retained control of the society and its library and properties, Hartley and his followers were forced to reorganize. New headquarters were established in Covina, California. This branch gained few members from among American theosophists and eventually died out in the United States. But it found some measure of support in the Netherlands, where it has survived. Hartley was succeeded as head of the group by D. J. P. Kok. Since 1985 the leader has been Herman C. Vermeulen.

The society’s objectives are to diffuse among people a knowledge of the laws inherent in the universe; to promulgate the knowledge of the essential unity of all that is and to demonstrate that this unity is fundamental in nature; to form an active brotherhood among people; to study ancient and modern religion, science, and philosophy; and to investigate the power innate in humanity. The society promulgates its teachings in strict accordance with The Secret Doctrine by Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and the writings of the other original leaders.

The society in Holland maintains an active program of public lectures, held from September through June at various locations; classes, including “Thinking Differently” and “Wisdom of Life,” which instruct students in the application of one’s thinking to daily life and a practical philosophy of life; lodge work; and an annual symposium.

Much effort is being made to translate theosophical works into other languages and to publish theosophical material. Blavatskyhuis (Blavatsky House), the headquarters, houses a library. The society’s corporation, the International Study Center for the Independent Search for Truth, also serves as a publisher.

Membership

Not reported. In 1987 there were five lodges, all in the Netherlands. There are no known branches of the Theosophical Society (Hartley) in the United States.

Periodicals

Lucifer: The Messenger of Life.

Sources

The Theosophical Society. www.blavatskyhouse.org/.

Theosophical Society in America

1926 N Main St., Wheaton, IL 60187

Alternate Address

International headquarters: Theosophical Society, Adyar, Madras 600 020, India.

HISTORY

The Theosophical Society in America was founded in 1875 by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891), Col. Henry S. Olcott (1832–1907), William Q. Judge (1851–1896), and others. In 1879 the two principal founders, Olcott and Blavatsky, moved to India, where in 1882 they established the international headquarters in Adyar, Madras. Olcott, as the first president of the society, took the lead in administrative duties; during his lifetime the society became an international organization with lodges around the globe. Blavatsky became the great teacher of the movement and the founder of an independent sister organization called the Esoteric Section (associated primarily by the requirement that one must be a theosophist to be a member). The international headquarters chartered the American Section in 1886, and Judge organized the then scattered branches at an organizational convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. Following Blavatsky’s death, Judge led a movement among American members to become independent of the international headquarters. He persuaded most members to join him in the formation of what is now known in the United States as simply the Theosophical Society, with headquarters in Pasadena, California. Those lodges that remained loyal to the international headquarters were known as the American Section of the Theosophical Society.

Beginning with 14 lodges, the American society reached a membership peak in the late 1920s of around 8,000. During these years the society was led internationally by Annie Besant (1847–1933), who had succeeded first Blavatsky and then Olcott in the top leadership positions of the society and the Esoteric Section. The low point of the society came as World War II began, when membership was slightly more than 3,000. It resumed a slow growth after the war and reached a second peak in 1972 with more than 6,000 members.

BELIEFS

The society emphasizes its nondogmatic nature and the freedom it allows members in interpreting theosophical teachings. However, it does present in its literature an explicit worldview that is generally shared by theosophists and is taught in classes, seminars, and lectures by the leadership. The worldview affirms that One life pervades the universe and keeps it in existence. The universe is an expression of an eternal Principle that transcends human perception. Ultimate Reality manifests in two aspects, generally referred to as spirit (or consciousness) and matter. Spirit, matter, and their interaction constitute a trinity that produces a multitude of universes.

Every solar system is governed by natural law, with the planets being the densest aspect. There are also exceedingly fine material parts of the system, the whole of which is undergoing a process of evolution. The spirits (or souls) of humans are in essence identical with the supreme Spirit and undergoing a process of unfolding the essential divine nature. In that process, called reincarnation, the spirit passes through periods of activity (embodiments) followed by periods of rest/assimilation. Closely related to reincarnation is the Law of Karma, in which each soul creates its fate by its actions. The spirit’s pilgrimage begins in unity, moves to an experience of the manyness of this life, and back to conscious union with the One Divine Source of all.

ORGANIZATION

Olcott, the administrative center of the American Section, is located in Wheaton, Illinois, on a 40-acre tract purchased in the 1920s. The society is headed by a president and a board of directors consisting of the vice president and district directors elected regionally. The board oversees a number of administrative departments and the national program. Also located at the headquarters complex is the Olcott Library, housing more than 20,000 volumes on a wide variety of subjects on theosophy and related topics. The Theosophical Publishing House is a major publisher of esoteric literature and has extended its influence through a series issued under the imprint of Quest Books, made possible by donations by the Kern Foundation. A string of bookstores, Quest Bookshops, are located in Wheaton, New York City, Seattle, and elsewhere.

The society is an open membership organization, and anyone who is in sympathy with its general principles may join. Also nonmembers may join its library and benefit from its use. In 2008 the president of the society in America was Betty Bland. Among those who have served as president are Alexander Fullerton, Weller Van Hook, A. P. Warrington, L. W. Rogers, Sidney A. Cook, James S. Perkins, Henry A. Smith, Joy Mills, Ann Wylie, Dora Kunz, Dorothy Abbenhouse, and John Algeo.

Membership

In 2002 the society reported 5,580 members and 140 centers in the United States, and approximately 400 members and 18 centers in Canada. There were 40,000 members worldwide.

Educational Facilities

The Olcott Institute, Wheaton, Illinois.

Periodicals

The Quest. • The Messenger.

Remarks

There are several organizations closely associated with the Theosophical Society in America that, though largely composed of members of the society, are in fact independent of it. These include the Esoteric Section; Krotona School of Theosophy, in Ojai, California; and the Theosophical Order of Service. The Esoteric Section and the Krotona Institute serve the society as an educational arm.

Sources

Theosophical Society in America. www.theosophical.org/.

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

Mills, Joy. 100 Years of Theosophy. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987.

Perkins, James S. Through Death to Rebirth. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973.

Rogers, L. W. Elementary Theosophy. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Press, 1929.

United Lodge of Theosophists

245 W 33rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90007

The United Lodge of Theosophists (U.L.T.) is an association of students of theosophy founded by a small group of Theosophists dissatisfied with what they perceived as organizational formalities and distractions within the larger Theosophical movement. The conception of U.L.T. as a vehicle for Theosophical work derived mainly from the experience and insight of Robert Crosbie (1848–1919), who through his many years with the movement witnessed the schisms and divisions that he attributed to conflicting organizational claims, controversy over authority, and the conceptions of personal leaders. In 1909, with the help of a few others who had come to share his “unsectarian” view of Theosophy, Crosbie founded the United Lodge of Theosophists, an organization defined by a simple statement of policies and intentions. With this group he set about the task of restoring the record of Theosophical teachings available to the public and inaugurating a program of practical Theosophical education. The statement of purpose, called the “Declaration,” has remained unchanged, and the modes of work established by Crosbie have remained unaltered in principle.

Beliefs

The lodge teaches that there is but one life; all life is spirit or consciousness evolving toward greater individualization and toward a greater awareness of identity and unity. This evolution proceeds under an inherent law—an order that is native to human understanding. Believing that the mind, in its highest sense, is the place of realization and growth, individual students come to regard these general principles as meaning that human life is a continuous process of learning, and that this learning involves unceasing revision of the terms of individual understanding as men gain awareness of its operations.

Organization

According to its Declaration the U.L.T. is devoted to “the cause of Theosophy without professing attachment to any Theosophical organization. It is loyal to the great Founders of the theosophical movement, but does not concern itself with dissensions or difference of individual opinion.” The basis of union among Theosophists is a similarity of aim, purpose, and teachings, and to that end the U.L.T. has neither a constitution, by-laws, nor officers. Those affiliated with the lodge sign a statement of sympathy with the Declaration at the time of their becoming an associate (member) of the U.L.T. Members may found autonomous lodges.

The U.L.T. considers the original and pure message of Theosophy to be recorded in the writings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and William Q. Judge, co-founders of the Theosophical Society. The U.L.T. makes its works, and other works deemed consistent with them, including a monthly magazine, available to the public. Pamphlets, available in English, French, and Spanish, and one-hour videos can be downloaded free from the Web site.

Membership

In 2008 the U.L.T. reported 7 lodges and 3 study groups in the United States, 2 lodges in Canada, and 14 lodges in Belgium, Greece, India, France, Cameroon, Haiti, England, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

Periodicals

Theosophy. • Hermes. • The Theosophical Movement.

Remarks

Among the prominent centers affiliated with the U.L.T. is the center in Santa Barbara, California, which was founded in 1976 by the late Rhagavan N. Iyer, formerly a professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He was succeeded by his widow, Nandini Iyer, an instructor in religious studies at UCSB. The center is home to the Concord Press, which pursues an aggressive program of publishing material on theosophy, Eastern religion, and classical philosophy, and the Institute of World Culture, which promotes dialogue on classical traditions, modern science, art, and social structures as they attempt to relate to world culture. The center also issues a periodical, Hermes.

Sources

United Lodge of Theosophists. www.ult-la.org/.

Crosbie, Robert. The Friendly Philosopher. Los Angeles: Theosophy Company, 1934.

———. Answers to Questions on the Ocean of Theosophy. Los Angeles: Theosophy Company, 1937.

Institute of World Culture. www.worldculture.org/index.html.

The Theosophical Movement, 1875–1950. Los Angeles: Cunningham Press, 1951.

The United Lodge of Theosophists, Its Mission and Its Future. Los Angeles: Theosophy Company, n.d.

Upper Triad Association

PO Box 825, Madison, NC 27025

The Upper Triad Association was formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in January 1974 by three Christian members of the Theosophical Society and nine additional students of theosophy. Originally a meditation group that sponsored discussion, lectures, and classes in theosophy, the association began publishing the Upper Triad Journal, in April 1974, which became their major effort. Over the years the association published over 1,500 articles and commentaries, now collected and republished in the form of some 21 books and 63 topical issues. In 1976 the association moved its headquarters to New Brunswick, New Jersey, and incorporated the following year. In 1979 the headquarters moved to Virginia, and in 2005 to Raleigh, North Carolina, where the association operates a retreat facility. In 2008 the president was Peter Lunn.

The Upper Triad Association is an ecumenical fellowship whose members find inspiration in the various scriptures of all the different God-centered religions and who are focused on spiritual growth, world goodwill, and service. It has not been the group’s intention to compete with or duplicate other theosophical groups, and it has limited the circulation of its Journal to serious students rather than use it as an instrument for promulgating the esoteric philosophy. The assumptions on which the teachings are based include an affirmation of the unity of all life, the evolution of consciousness as the purpose of life, reincarnation and karma, the relativity of truth which may be perceived at many levels, the problem of life as the elimination of illusion and glamour, the essence of the self in the soul as opposed to the personality, and the higher stages of human evolution as being on the spiritual path. The association’s threefold mantra is humility, compassion, and goodwill.

Membership

Not reported.

Periodicals

Upper Triad Material.

Sources

Upper Triad Association. www.uppertriad.com/.

The Word Foundation, Inc.

PO Box 17510, Rochester, NY 14617

The Word Foundation, Inc., is a nonprofit organization formed in 1950 dedicated to disseminating the contents and explicating the meaning of Thinking and Destiny and other books by Harold Waldwin Percival (1868–1953), an early theosophist who joined the Theosophical Society in 1892. The year after he joined he had a profound experience that he described as being “conscious of Consciousness” during which “Light greater than that of myriads of suns opened in my head. In that instant or point, eternities were apprehended.” By a process he called “real thinking,” he was able to select any subject, focus the Conscious Light upon it, and have complete knowledge of that subject.

While a member of the Theosophical Society, but several years after the death of its leader, William Q. Judge, he withdrew and founded the Theosophical Society Independent. He also organized the Theosophical Publishing Company of New York and started a magazine, The Word, which he published from 1904 to 1917. The magazine had a worldwide circulation and featured prominent writers of the day.

It was during his years as editor of The Word that he began to outline materials for what was to become his most important work. By the process of “real thinking,” Percival wrote Thinking and Destiny, an exhaustive survey of humanity and the world. The text was dictated (primarily to an assistant, Benoni B. Gattell) since his body had to be very still while he thought. He spent more than 30 years dictating and refining the material in Thinking and Destiny.

Thinking and Destiny sets forth an impressive system in which humans are at the center of a universe created by their own thinking and thoughts. In this system, each human being is descended from a Triune Self (Thinker, Knower, and Doer) and is living in a self-induced hypnosis and ignorance in a human body. One of the goals of life is to teach beings to awaken to knowledge of themselves and of their purpose, that purpose being to become conscious in ever greater degrees until one knows the ultimate, Consciousness.

Every doer so embodied is bound by the law it has made for itself by its thinking and action. The universal law causes the everyday acts, objects, and events to exteriorize around one’s self as destiny. By self-dehypnotization and thinking, one gains an understanding and acquaintance with these inner realities. As one becomes free of the states of feeling and desire that bind one to nature, the way to conscious immortality is shown.

In 1946 Percival and some associates formed The Word Publishing Company and released Thinking and Destiny. In 1950 in New York, they chartered The Word Foundation, Inc. Percival assigned copyrights of all his books to the foundation. The foundation is not associated or affiliated with any other organization and does not endorse or support any teacher or group claiming to have been inspired by or authorized to interpret Percival’s writings. The foundation became an open membership organization in 1986. That same year, it revived The Word magazine.