The Theosophical Society is an organization formed to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy.
The Theosophical Society was founded in New York City, USA, in 1875 by H.P. 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:
- to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or colour.
- to encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy, and science.
- 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. In Blavatsky's own writings, the only reference to a similar idea indicated that it would not be for at least a century.
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Theosophical Society. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. |