The Founding of the Theosophical Society

Thank you for asking me to speak to you again.

The Theosophical Society was founded on November 17, 1875. This was 128 years ago. I
tried to find something notable or auspicious about 128 years but all I could come up with
was three years after the sesquicentennial, and 3 is the trinity we constantly find in our
studies.

After consulting many books and articles on the Internet, I believe that there were 3
founders of the Theosophical Society: Master Morya, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, and
Colonel H. S. Olcott.

In Master Morya’s discussion of the founding of the Society, equal importance is given to
both Blavatsky and Olcott. However, I found it interesting that the book "The
Extraordinary Life & Influence of Helena Blavatsky, Founder of the Modern
Theosophical Movement" by Sylvia Cranston is written as though Colonel Olcott had
only a minor role.

On the other hand, "The Founding of the Theosophical Society" by Walter A. Carrithers,
first published as the Epilogue to the centennial reprint of Olcott’s 1875 "Inaugural
Address" barely mentions Blavatsky’s role, focusing instead on Colonel Olcott.

With this background in mind, I have tried to put together a balanced view of the
founding of the Theosophical Society.

The Great Sage, the Rajput Adept, Mahatma Morya acknowledged responsibility for
putting together the circumstances that made possible the founding of the Society. He was
one of the Eastern Adept-Teachers, Brothers of the White Lodge, living in Tibet, India
and Mongolia, who have since become better known as the Mahatmas or Masters of
Wisdom. HPB attributed to them the "Practical blending of the visible with the invisible
world." Other than this, I don’t have a strong idea of who Master Morya was. I call him
one of the 3 founders of the Society based on what he wrote about the establishment of
the Society:

"One or two of us hoped that the world had so far advanced intellectually, if not
intuitionally, that the Occult doctrine might gain an intellectual acceptance, and the
impulse given for a new cycle of occult research. Others – wiser as it would now seem –
held differently, but consent was given for the trial. It was stipulated, however, that the
experiment should be made independently of our personal management; that there should
be no abnormal interference by ourselves. So casting about, we found in America the man
to stand as leader – a man of great moral courage, unselfish, and having other good
qualities. He was far from being the best, but … he was the best one available. With him
we associated a woman of most exceptional and wonderful endowments. Combined with
them she has strong personal defects, but just as she was, there was no second to her
living fit for this work. We sent her to America, brought them together – and the trial

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began. From the first, both she and he were given to clearly understand that the issue lay
entirely with themselves. And both offered themselves for the trial for certain
remuneration in the far distant future – as K.H. would say – soldier volunteers for a
Forlorn Hope."

Who was HPB? As I’m sure you know, Helena Petrovna was Russian, born to a mother
who was a famous novelist. Her grandmother was a Princess and a scientist, and HPB
herself was a Countess, by some accounts.

She demonstrated psychic powers even as a child and read extensively on the occult in
her grandfather’s library. Helena married young, and was soon discontent.

She left Blavatsky, her husband, and traveled the world. What led her on her travels? A
desire to escape her husband? or a passion for adventure? or a search for the
"philosopher’s stone" the alchemical principle that is said to combine the masculine and
feminine principles, or unite the spirit and the soul?

Whatever the driving force, HPB made her way through Europe and America to India. In
her travels she came upon a mysterious man from the East, Master Morya. She described
him as an imposing, tall man in a turban who she seemed to see wherever she was. In
India, he conveyed to her Occult secrets of the East. He directed her to go to America
once more and she obeyed.

While searching for the occult in America, she traveled to Vermont to the Eddy
homestead to study the spiritualist phenomena of the Eddy brothers who were known as
"materializing" mediums. It was there that HPB met Olcott.

Henry Steel Olcott was born in New Jersey, of Puritan stock. He studied scientific
agriculture and received international recognition for his work on the Model Farm of
Scientific Agriculture in Newark New Jersey. When the American Civil War broke out,
Olcott enlisted and was appointed Special Commissioner, investigating fraud in the War
Department. This earned him a colonelship. He was later one of a three-member panel
assigned to investigate the assassination of President Lincoln. After leaving the army,
Olcott became a lawyer. His interest in spiritualism stemmed from his farming days when
he visited his uncles who were ardent spiritualists. He wrote that, as he was working on a
legal matter one day, he realized that he hadn’t thought about spiritualism for some time
and went out and bought a spiritualist newspaper. Olcott read a report on the Eddy
brothers and traveled to Vermont to investigate for himself. It was there that he met
Madame Blavatsky.

The intellectual feeling of the time played a large role in the kind of Society that would
be formed. It seems that everyone in America, from the intellectuals in the Universities to
the common man in the street was interested in spiritualists and mediums. Seances were
common at all levels of society. There was a burgeoning interest in the occult.

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The auspicious meeting between Blavatsky and Olcott occurred in July of 1875. At that
time, Madame Blavatsky wrote: "Orders received from India direct to establish a
philosophic-religious Society & choose a name for it – also to choose Olcott."

It was not until the following September that the founding of the Theosophical Society
began. Between July and September, HPB, Olcott and William Q. Judge met regularly in
New York, where they all lived at the time.

Judge deserves a short introduction. He was an Irishman and a lawyer who later was
responsible for the widespread growth of the Theosophical Society in America. He later
became President of the American Society.

During their meetings, HPB expounded on the information passed to her by Master
Morya. She taught her students about the Eastern Adepts, the Masters, and their powers,
about esoteric philosophy and metaphysics.

On September 7, there was a gathering in HPB’s rooms of independent scholars,

researchers, and students who had been meeting there for some months, discussing occult
and spiritualist phenomena and philosophies. At that meeting, George Felt was discussing
his discovery of the geometrical figures of the Egyptian Cabal, by which ancient
Egyptian priests were able to evoke and employ the spirits of the elements. During the
discussion that followed the presentation, it occurred to Olcott that it would be good to
form a society to pursue and promote such occult research. Evidently, Olcott knew
nothing of the orders sent to Blavatsky. He wrote his idea on a note which he passed to
Judge to be given to Blavatsky. She read it and nodded her agreement. Olcott proposed
the society to the group and the idea was warmly approved. The gathering agreed to meet
the following evening to discuss the idea further.

At the first meeting, there were 17 people present who all agreed to form the Society.
According to a newspaper account, they included such people as editors, lawyers,
scholars, physicians and publishers, all eminent in New York Society.

At subsequent meetings, by-laws and a constitution were drafted and approved. The
officers of the Society were Colonel Olcott - chairman, William Q. Judge - Secretary and
Counsel, Dr. Pancoast and George Felt - vice-presidents, and HPB - corresponding
secretary. It is interesting that she never rose above this position.

The selection of a name was difficult but Theosophy was unanimously adopted. The word
has a long history, going back to the Neoplatonists, and was later used by Christian
mystics. It is derived from the Greek words Theos meaning "god", and Sophia meaning
"wisdom". Theosophy means godlike wisdom or, according to HPB, "Divine Wisdom
such as that possessed by the gods." It is difficult to define the word more specifically.
William Q. Judge wrote: "The strength of theosophy lies in the fact that it is not to be
defined. This means that evolution, slowly progressing, will bring out new truths and new
aspects of old truths, thus absolutely preventing any dogmas or "unequivocal definitions."
"

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On November 17, the Theosophical Society was officially constituted. Olcott delivered
the President’s Inaugural Address. I will read a couple of sentences from the address.

"Under our by-laws we have not dogmas to impart, and instead of being all believers in
theosophy we are simply investigators".

"All theosophists are students, not teachers, for there is only one teacher in the final
measure, and that is nature, and what we learn anyway, if it be true, can only be nature’s
truths which each of us then must weigh in the balances of our own understanding and
comprehend according to our individual abilities, creating each his or her own belief.
Obviously, this means for us a task of trial and error, limited by our varying weaknesses –
but the blind acceptance of dogma, though it can appeal to the lazy thinker, is not a
promising alternative. This is why The Theosophical Society perpetuates absolute
freedom of thought within its membership, and why we have no truck with dogma or
collectivist thinking."

We should look at the stated objectives of the Society for an idea as to why it was
founded and what they were trying to accomplish.

The Theosophical Society was founded with 3 objectives:

1. To form the nucleus of a universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of

race, creed, sex, caste or colour;
2. The study of ancient and modern religions, philosophies, and sciences, and the
demonstration of the importance of such study; and
3. The investigation of the unexplained laws of nature and the psychical powers
latent in man.

Olcott and Blavatsky felt that these objectives were met during their lives. Annie Besant
also felt that the Society under her leadership met these objectives. But have we strayed
from them in the intervening 128 years?

Joanne