Shortly after Blavatsky’s death a disagreement arose
about the role within the Theosophical Society of William
Quan Judge (1851–1896), who was one of the society’s orig-
inal organizers and who had become the chief executive of
the American section. As a result in 1895 most of the mem-
bers and branches in the United States seceded from the par-
ent society and formed an independent organization that is
now headquartered in Pasadena, California. The parent soci-
ety soon reestablished itself in the United States through lec-
ture tours by Besant and others.
Besant was a supporter of Indian independence within
the British Empire, and she became the first woman and the
only non-Indian to serve as president of the Indian National
Congress. Besant was also a vigorous promoter of education
and of human and animal welfare. With her colleague
Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854–1934), she added signifi-
cantly to the body of Theosophical literature and sponsored
the young Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986), who later be-
came an independent religious philosopher.
During the second generation the presentation of The-
osophy focused on Indic and particularly Hindu spirituality
in a Westernized form. Besant and Leadbeater also promoted
several Western traditions interpreted in Theosophical
terms, particularly Christianity through the Liberal Catholic
Church and Freemasonry through a French-derived form of
Co-Masonry that admitted women on equal footing with
men. Besant also organized the Order of the Star in the East
to promote Krishnamurti as the spokesperson for a new
world teaching. These ancillary movements were organiza-
tionally autonomous but had overlapping memberships and
leaderships with the Theosophical Society.
The Theosophical Society had its largest membership
and influence during the 1920s. The 1929 decision of Krish-
namurti to dissolve the Order of the Star and withdraw from
the role envisioned for him, coupled with the effects of the
Great Depression and World War II, reduced public aware-
ness of the society. The society fared badly under totalitarian
regimes, whether of the right or the left, being outlawed and
persecuted in Francisco Franco’s Spain, Adolf Hitler’s Ger-
many, Joseph Stalin’s Russia, and other dictatorships. Yet
Krishnamurti went on to become an important spiritual
teacher in the late twentieth century, and the Theosophical
Society continued under able leaders. Besant was followed
in the presidency by an Englishman, George Arundale
(1934–1945); a Sri Lankan, Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa
(1945–1953); an Indian, N. Sri Ram (1953–1973); another
Englishman, John Coats (1973–1979); and another Indian,
Radha Burnier (1980–), daughter of Sri Ram. In the early
twenty-first century the society has branches in some seventy
countries and a membership of approximately thirty-two
thousand.
THEOSOPHY. The Theosophical Society has no requirement
of belief or practice for its members other than subscription
to its three “objects” and a way of life not incompatible with
them. These objects are:
To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of hu-
manity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or
color
To encourage the study of comparative religion, philos-
ophy, and science
To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the pow-
ers latent in humanity.
In addition to these objects a body of teachings has evolved
that attempts to state in present-day terms concepts called
the ancient wisdom, the perennial philosophy, or simply the-
osophy. These concepts, which are not incumbent on mem-
bers of the society, although they are widely espoused by
members, have no official statement. The concepts may in-
clude such ideas as the following, each with ethical implica-
tions:- There is only one ultimate reality, of which all existent
things are expressions. Theosophy is philosophically
monistic, with implications of human equality (formu-
lated in the society’s first object) and concern for animal
welfare (resulting in the practice of vegetarianism for
ethical reasons and the avoidance of other animal ex-
ploitation). - The orderliness of the world is expressed in cyclical pat-
terns, which can be seen in all aspects of reality from the
macrocosm to the microcosm, including the reincarna-
tion of an individual human consciousness in a long se-
ries of lives. The belief that an individual has lived or
will live in bodies of both sexes and of various races and
cultures fosters an understanding of and respect for
human differences. - The orderliness of the world is based on a principle of
causation called karma, which operates in both material
and moral realms, positing for every action a corre-
sponding reaction, both physical and ethical. The fact
that every action by a person has unavoidable conse-
quences is a basis for practical morality: to do harm to
another is to generate harm for oneself; to do good to
another is to ensure good for oneself. - World history follows an evolutionary pattern, not only
of material forms but of intellect and spirit, governed
by both causes and purposes. Evolution is teleological,
and consequently human life is meaningful and pur-
poseful, a recognition of which aids successful living. - All objects in the universe are imbued with conscious-
ness of some sort, and consciousness evolves through the
ages so that, for example, mineral consciousness be-
comes successively vegetative, animal, human, and
eventually something beyond human. Furthermore the
interconnection and interdependence of all conscious-
ness implies an ecological rather than exploitative ap-
proach to life. - The final purpose of evolutionary development is that
the ultimate reality may become conscious of itself
THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 9143