Theosophy Wiki - User contributions [en]

Agustín Pío Barrios

2026-07-10T02:33:09Z

SysopJ: /* Artistic career */

[[File:Mangore.jpeg|right|250px|thumb|Agustín Pío Barrios. Image courtesy of Frederick Sheppard.]]
'''Agustín Pío Barrios''' was a Paraguayan composer and virtuoso performer of classical guitar music who was influenced by [[Theosophy]]. He sometimes used the names Agustín Barrios Mangoré and Nitsuga Mangoré in homage to Paraguay's native Guarani culture. Nitsuga is Agustin spelled backward.

== Personal life ==
[[File:Agustín Barrios 1910.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Barrios in 1910]]
Agustín Pío Barrios was born on [[May 5]], 1885 Paraguay to Doroteo Barrios and Martina Ferreira. There is some question of the location of his birth, which may have been in San Juan Bautista or in nearby Villa Florida, both of which are in the southern department [state] of Misiones. His family had great appreciation of the arts, and sent Agustin to study in the capital city of Asunciόn. At the age of fifteen he received a music scholarship at the Universidad Nacional de Asunciόn, and developed great interest in philosophy, literature, and mathematics. He spoke Spanish and Guarani, but could also read English, French, and German. In addition to music, Barrios was quite talented in poetry and in drawing.

Barrios married Gregoria Isabel Villalba. Their son Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba was born on July 4, 1908 in San Roque, Asunción, Paraguay.<ref>"Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba" in [https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Barrios_Villalba-1 Wikitree], which cites "Paraguay, registros parroquiales, 1754-2015," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRKT-9XW2?cc=1922527&wc=WXGH-Y8L%3A217758401%2C217758402%2C218073002%2C218806601 : 3 September 2019), Distrito Capital > Asunción > San Roque > Bautismos 1906-1914 > image 134 of 591; Arquidiócesis de Asunción (Archdiocese of Ascunción), Paraguay.</ref>

From 1903-1908, Barrios worked at various office jobs, but later was able to support his household with his music.

He died on [[August 7]], 1944 in San Salvador, El Salvador, where he had been employed as a professor for several years.

== Influence of Theosophy ==

[[Theosophy|Theosophist]] Professor '''Viriato Díaz Pérez''' was a strong influence on Barrios during his early years in Asunción, both intellectually and socially:
<blockquote>
Viriato Díaz Pérez, a Spaniard by birth who emigrated to Paraguay in the early 1900's. An intellectual, author of numerous books and articles, literary critic and teacher, Diaz Perez was also a follower of [[theosophy]]. He reputedly introduced Barrios to theosophic doctrines and beliefs. Diaz Perez's influence on him, particularly in the areas of aesthetics, philosophy and metaphysics was profound.

Díaz Pérez had an "international" perspective and strongly urged Barrios to leave Paraguay. In January of 1910, he wrote a letter of introduction to an Argentine friend, Señor Mario Villar Sáenz Valiente, publisher of the Buenos Aires newspaper ''La Nación''. . . He was the nephew of Roque Sáenz Peña, President of Argentina from 1910-14. . . Valiente, after hearing Barrios play in the town of Corrientes, invited him to come to Buenos Aires under his patronage.<ref>Richard Stover, ''Six Silver Moonbeams'' (Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992), 32-33.</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1912, Díaz Pérez was a founder and first President of the first [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] lodge established in Paraguay. During the 1929 lecture tour of [[C. Jinarajadasa]], the Paraguayan lodges were chartered into a national Section.<ref>"Theosophy in Paraguay," ''The Theosophical Year Book, 1937'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1937), 123.</ref> Possibly Barrios participated in lodge activities in Asunción.

Biographer Richard Stover wrote of Barrios:
<blockquote>
His religious convictions were more "theosophical" than strictly "Catholic". For him God and Nature are inextricably part of one another, and Man, being part of Nature, is part of God. The only substantiated comments made by Barrios regarding his religious views come from the Brazilian newspaper ''Jornal do Recife'' of January 5,1931:
<blockquote>
In spite of a severe religious education, my primitive pantheism has pointed me in the direction of Theosophy, the most human and rational of philosophic concepts. I believe in the immutable laws of Nature. And Humanity and the Good impregnate my spirit as the ethical end of all existence.
</blockquote>
Here his references to "severe religious education" and "primitive pantheism" are more an accommodation to bolster his identity as Chief Nitsuga Mangore than an accurate statement of facts. But his mentioning theosophy and the "immutable laws of Nature" can be seen as sincere and genuine. Barrios was a humanist, an idealist, a romantic. He intuitively recognized that there is a relationship between the good, the true and the beautiful and that all these realities are reflected in love towards life and one's fellow beings. Recognition of and resignation to these truths are powerfully expressed in the major key section of his last piece ''Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios'' – the composition closes with a definite affirmation of these eternal values that Barrios achieved and manifested throughout his life: love being the process, and truth, beauty and goodness being the byproducts.<ref>Stover, 199-200.</ref>
</blockquote>

Late in his life Barrios was also associated with Theosophist '''General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez''' (1882-1966), the President of El Salvador, who arranged for Barrios to have a professorship in San Salvador. Hernández Martínez joined the Theosophical Society in El Salvador in 1931, serving as president of the Teotle Lodge and as the General Secretary of the Section. During World War II he became a member of the Theosophical Society in America, joining the Brotherhood Lodge on October 15, 1944 while living in New Orleans, and then transferring to the Florida Group after a move to Miami Beach. He subsequently lived much of the rest of his life in Honduras, but maintained a membership in the Miami Lodge.<ref>"Maximiliano H. Martinez." Membership Ledger Sheets Roll 4. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref> While Hernández Martínez was interested in the occult and believed in [[reincarnation]], his brutal actions as President of El Salvador do not reflect Theosophists' commitment to [[Universal Brotherhood|brotherhood]].

It seems likely that Barrios participated in the Teotle Lodge in the early 1940s, from his own interest and out of respect to his powerful patron.

== Artistic career ==

During the course of his musical career, Barrios toured extensively to perform concerts. He composed more than 100 original works, and made at least 200 arrangements of works by other composers including Bach and Beethoven. His classical guitar performances were recorded as early as 1909.
[[File:Barrios diary .jpg|right|200px|thumb|''Diary'', 2018]]
Early concerts were in Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. In many places there was resistance from the intelligentsia to having a guitarist perform in theaters designed for classical orchestras and opera companies. The site of his breakthrough to the classical audiences was in February 1932 at the Teatro Municipal in Caracas, Venezuela. Juan José Churún, editor of a literary journal, presented Barrios with a concert diary, the "Autograph Book," of tooled cordovan leather with brass decorations and clasp. This book was signed by the Venezuelan president, Juan Vicente Gómez and his sons, quickly followed with autographs from 75 authors, signaling recognition of Barrios as an artist. Barrios carried the Autograph Book with him in his travels, using it as a diary to document his performances. He ultimately bequeathed the volume to the David Guzmán National Museum in San Salvador upon his death in 1944. A full-color reproduction of the travel diary with transcriptions and translations was published in 2018 and subsequent editions by Richard T. Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard.<ref>Richard T. Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard, "Provenance of the Diary" ''The Diary of Agustín Barrios Mangoré: His Concert Autograph Book (1932-1939), the Diplomatic Edition'' (Leon, Spain: Association CaminoArtes, 2019), 11-14.</ref>

In the 1930s he began to appear in concerts wearing clothing that reflected the native Guaraní culture of Paraguay. In concert he performed his own compositions under the name "Mangoré" or "Nitsuga Mangoré" for the first half of the program, wearing native attire such as a feathered headdress. After an intermission he reappeared in formal European clothing to play traditional classical guitar works and Bach.

In 1935 he spent a year with the Paraguayan ambassador to Mexico, Tomás Salomonis, traveling to Belgium, Germany and Spain with performances in Brussels and Madrid. After leaving Europe, he toured in in Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

=== Compositions ===

The style of Barrios' original compositions has been called "late Romantic." Central and South American folk songs influenced his work.

His revered 1921 composition '''''La Catedral''''' was inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach played on a pipe organ in a cathedral. In addition to becoming a staple of classical music repertoire, this work has been transcribed for piano, harpsichord, and marimba.

[[File:MANGORÉ bust.jpg‎|right|170px|thumb|Bust by Juan Gilberto Núñez]]

== Awards and honors ==

Barrios is a great source of national pride in his native country. A '''bank note''' in the denomination of 50,000 guaranies was issued by the government of Paraguay, with a portrait of Barrios on the front and a guitar on the back. In 1994 several '''stamps''' were issued to honor the 50th anniversary of Barrios' death. The Ministerio de Educación y Ciencias named a '''school''' after the artist in Villa Elisa, a city on the outskirts of Asunciόn.

A '''bust''' by sculptor Juan Gilberto Núñez was installed in the Teatro Municipal “Ignacio A. Pane” de Asunción. An '''international guitar competition''' is named for Agustin Barrios and features performance of his compositions.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="90px" perrow="5">
File:Barrios stamp 1994 portrait.jpg|<center>1994 stamp</center>
File:Barrios stamps 1994.png|<center>1994 stamps</center>
File:Barrios bank note.jpg|<center>Bank note</center>
File:Back of Barrios bank note.png|<center>Guitar on back of bank note</center>
</gallery>

== Additional resources ==

[[File:Six-Silver-Moonbeams.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Cover of biography]]

=== Biographies ===

* Fricke, Hannes. '''''Mythos Gitarre: Geschichte, Interpreten, Sternstunden'''''. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2013. 271 pages.
* Stover, Richard D. '''''Six Silver Moonbeams. The Life and Times of Agustín Barrios Mangoré'''''. Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992. 271 pages. This first edition is available at [https://archive.org/details/sixsilvermoonbea00stov/ Internet Archive]. [http://www.ricoguitarnails.com/CDs/Six_Silver_Moonbeams.html A second, expanded edition] is 432 pages in length, and is described in Amazon.com: "featuring 200 photographs, numerous letters, drawings and poems of Barrios, concert programs (over a hundred), harmonic analysis of selected works, commentaries by John Williams, Leo Brouwer and Sila Godoy, original scores of numerous works, plus chapters on 'The Guitar in Paraguay,' 'Barrios and Segovia,' as well as a complete listing of Barrios’ works and recordings."

=== Websites ===
* [http://www.barrioscompetition.com/ '''Agustín Barrios''' International Guitar Competition]
* [https://www.portalguarani.com/891_agustin_pio_mangore_barrios/17030_mangore_interpreta_a_mangore.html '''Agustín Pío (Mangoré) Barrios'''] in Portal Guarani. Spanish.

=== Videos ===

Dozens of musicians have recorded performance of Barrios compositions on YouTube and other Internet platforms. For example, a YouTube search of [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=la+catedral+barrios+ "La Catedral Barrios"] provides well over 100 results. Numerous master classes and biographical videos are also available. Here are examples:

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAkiXlKAjTA Barrios: Life and Art of a Guitar Poet]''' on YouTube. Posted Oct 5, 2021 by Daniele Magli. 2013 film biography originally called '''Mangoré - Por Amor al Arte''' ["Mangoré - For the Love of Art"] in Spanish with English subtitles. 1 hour, 41 minutes. Directed by Luis R. Vera, starring Damián Alcázar, Rafael Alfaro, and Clotilde Cabral. Here is a [https://www.veojam.com/watch/1539774547 trailer].
* '''[https://www.veojam.com/watch/1417890628 Barrios Mangore - Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]'''. David Russell presents a session of a guitar master class teaching "Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios" (Alms for the Love of God), one of the most famous and most often performed Barrios compositions.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDdeoB2VyNI Pequeños Universos - Agustín Barrios "Mangoré"]'''. Television documentary from Argentina in Spanish. 26 minutes. Posted on YouTube by Julián Rodríguez Barrios, grandson of the composer.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7NgaWqJEyE Biografía de Agustin Barrios]'''. 33 minutes. Posted by Profesora Superior de Guitarra Clásica Claudia Delvalle. 2016.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcU4NA1P8qo Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]''' performed by Ana Vidovic.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmc6KV0_UVM Ana Vidovic plays 'La Catedral' by Agustín Barrios Mangoré on a classical guitar]''' on SiccasGuitars YouTube channel. Posted June 19, 2015.

=== Audio recordings ===

* '''[https://archive.org/details/lp_john-williams-plays-music-of-agustn-barrio_john-williams-agustn-barrios-mangor John Williams Plays Music of Agustín Barrios Mangoré]'''. 8 compositions.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/podcast_cgu-concerts-at-cst-audio-seri_guitar-music-by-agustin-barrio_1000115892873 Guitar Music by Agustín Barrios Mangoré, and Others]''' by Matthew Butler. 2012.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXcfbaDK-0E BBC4 Great Lives - Agustin Barrios Mangore]'''. Radio program in which classical guitarist John Williams explains to Matthew Parris why he believes Paraguayan guitarist Agustin Barrios Mangore led a "great life." Also features Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Composers|Barrios]]
[[Category:Musicians|Barrios]]
[[Category:Poets|Barrios]]
[[Category:Famous people|Barrios]]
[[Category:Nationality Paraguayan|Barrios]]
[[Category:People|Barrios]]

Agustín Pío Barrios

2026-07-10T02:31:24Z

SysopJ: /* Artistic career */

[[File:Mangore.jpeg|right|250px|thumb|Agustín Pío Barrios. Image courtesy of Frederick Sheppard.]]
'''Agustín Pío Barrios''' was a Paraguayan composer and virtuoso performer of classical guitar music who was influenced by [[Theosophy]]. He sometimes used the names Agustín Barrios Mangoré and Nitsuga Mangoré in homage to Paraguay's native Guarani culture. Nitsuga is Agustin spelled backward.

== Personal life ==
[[File:Agustín Barrios 1910.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Barrios in 1910]]
Agustín Pío Barrios was born on [[May 5]], 1885 Paraguay to Doroteo Barrios and Martina Ferreira. There is some question of the location of his birth, which may have been in San Juan Bautista or in nearby Villa Florida, both of which are in the southern department [state] of Misiones. His family had great appreciation of the arts, and sent Agustin to study in the capital city of Asunciόn. At the age of fifteen he received a music scholarship at the Universidad Nacional de Asunciόn, and developed great interest in philosophy, literature, and mathematics. He spoke Spanish and Guarani, but could also read English, French, and German. In addition to music, Barrios was quite talented in poetry and in drawing.

Barrios married Gregoria Isabel Villalba. Their son Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba was born on July 4, 1908 in San Roque, Asunción, Paraguay.<ref>"Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba" in [https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Barrios_Villalba-1 Wikitree], which cites "Paraguay, registros parroquiales, 1754-2015," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRKT-9XW2?cc=1922527&wc=WXGH-Y8L%3A217758401%2C217758402%2C218073002%2C218806601 : 3 September 2019), Distrito Capital > Asunción > San Roque > Bautismos 1906-1914 > image 134 of 591; Arquidiócesis de Asunción (Archdiocese of Ascunción), Paraguay.</ref>

From 1903-1908, Barrios worked at various office jobs, but later was able to support his household with his music.

He died on [[August 7]], 1944 in San Salvador, El Salvador, where he had been employed as a professor for several years.

== Influence of Theosophy ==

[[Theosophy|Theosophist]] Professor '''Viriato Díaz Pérez''' was a strong influence on Barrios during his early years in Asunción, both intellectually and socially:
<blockquote>
Viriato Díaz Pérez, a Spaniard by birth who emigrated to Paraguay in the early 1900's. An intellectual, author of numerous books and articles, literary critic and teacher, Diaz Perez was also a follower of [[theosophy]]. He reputedly introduced Barrios to theosophic doctrines and beliefs. Diaz Perez's influence on him, particularly in the areas of aesthetics, philosophy and metaphysics was profound.

Díaz Pérez had an "international" perspective and strongly urged Barrios to leave Paraguay. In January of 1910, he wrote a letter of introduction to an Argentine friend, Señor Mario Villar Sáenz Valiente, publisher of the Buenos Aires newspaper ''La Nación''. . . He was the nephew of Roque Sáenz Peña, President of Argentina from 1910-14. . . Valiente, after hearing Barrios play in the town of Corrientes, invited him to come to Buenos Aires under his patronage.<ref>Richard Stover, ''Six Silver Moonbeams'' (Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992), 32-33.</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1912, Díaz Pérez was a founder and first President of the first [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] lodge established in Paraguay. During the 1929 lecture tour of [[C. Jinarajadasa]], the Paraguayan lodges were chartered into a national Section.<ref>"Theosophy in Paraguay," ''The Theosophical Year Book, 1937'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1937), 123.</ref> Possibly Barrios participated in lodge activities in Asunción.

Biographer Richard Stover wrote of Barrios:
<blockquote>
His religious convictions were more "theosophical" than strictly "Catholic". For him God and Nature are inextricably part of one another, and Man, being part of Nature, is part of God. The only substantiated comments made by Barrios regarding his religious views come from the Brazilian newspaper ''Jornal do Recife'' of January 5,1931:
<blockquote>
In spite of a severe religious education, my primitive pantheism has pointed me in the direction of Theosophy, the most human and rational of philosophic concepts. I believe in the immutable laws of Nature. And Humanity and the Good impregnate my spirit as the ethical end of all existence.
</blockquote>
Here his references to "severe religious education" and "primitive pantheism" are more an accommodation to bolster his identity as Chief Nitsuga Mangore than an accurate statement of facts. But his mentioning theosophy and the "immutable laws of Nature" can be seen as sincere and genuine. Barrios was a humanist, an idealist, a romantic. He intuitively recognized that there is a relationship between the good, the true and the beautiful and that all these realities are reflected in love towards life and one's fellow beings. Recognition of and resignation to these truths are powerfully expressed in the major key section of his last piece ''Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios'' – the composition closes with a definite affirmation of these eternal values that Barrios achieved and manifested throughout his life: love being the process, and truth, beauty and goodness being the byproducts.<ref>Stover, 199-200.</ref>
</blockquote>

Late in his life Barrios was also associated with Theosophist '''General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez''' (1882-1966), the President of El Salvador, who arranged for Barrios to have a professorship in San Salvador. Hernández Martínez joined the Theosophical Society in El Salvador in 1931, serving as president of the Teotle Lodge and as the General Secretary of the Section. During World War II he became a member of the Theosophical Society in America, joining the Brotherhood Lodge on October 15, 1944 while living in New Orleans, and then transferring to the Florida Group after a move to Miami Beach. He subsequently lived much of the rest of his life in Honduras, but maintained a membership in the Miami Lodge.<ref>"Maximiliano H. Martinez." Membership Ledger Sheets Roll 4. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref> While Hernández Martínez was interested in the occult and believed in [[reincarnation]], his brutal actions as President of El Salvador do not reflect Theosophists' commitment to [[Universal Brotherhood|brotherhood]].

It seems likely that Barrios participated in the Teotle Lodge in the early 1940s, from his own interest and out of respect to his powerful patron.

== Artistic career ==

During the course of his musical career, Barrios toured extensively to perform concerts. He composed more than 100 original works, and made at least 200 arrangements of works by other composers including Bach and Beethoven. His classical guitar performances were recorded as early as 1909.
[[File:Barrios diary .jpg|right|200px|thumb|''Diary'', 2018]]
Early concerts were in Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. In many places there was resistance from the intelligentsia to having a guitarist perform in theaters designed for classical orchestras and opera companies. The site of his breakthrough to the classical audiences was in February 1932 at the Teatro Municipal in Caracas, Venezuela. Juan José Churún, editor of a literary journal, presented Barrios with a concert diary, the "Autograph Book," of tooled cordovan leather with brass decorations and clasp. This book was signed by the Venezuelan president, Juan Vicente Gómez and his sons, quickly followed with autographs from 75 authors, signaling recognition of Barrios as an artist. Barrios carried the Autograph Book with him in his travels, using it as a diary to document his performances. He ultimately bequeathed the volume to the David Guzmán National Museum in San Salvador upon his death in 1944. A full-color reproduction of the travel diary with transcriptions and translations was published in 2018 and subsequent editions by Richard T. Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard.<ref>Richard T. Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard, "Provenance of the Diary" ''The Diary of Agustín Barrios Mangoré: His Concert Autograph Book (1932-1939), the Diplomatic Edition'' (Leon, Spain: Association CaminoArtes, 2019), 11-14.</ref>

In the 1930s he began to appear in concerts wearing clothing that reflected the native Guarani culture of Paraguay. In concert he performed his own compositions under the name "Mangoré" or "Nitsuga Mangoré" for the first half of the program, wearing native attire such as a feathered headdress. After an intermission he reappeared in formal European clothing to play traditional classical guitar works and Bach.

In 1935 he spent a year with the Paraguayan ambassador to Mexico, Tomás Salomonis, traveling to Belgium, Germany and Spain with performances in Brussels and Madrid. After leaving Europe, he toured in in Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

=== Compositions ===

The style of Barrios' original compositions has been called "late Romantic." Central and South American folk songs influenced his work.

His revered 1921 composition '''''La Catedral''''' was inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach played on a pipe organ in a cathedral. In addition to becoming a staple of classical music repertoire, this work has been transcribed for piano, harpsichord, and marimba.

[[File:MANGORÉ bust.jpg‎|right|170px|thumb|Bust by Juan Gilberto Núñez]]

== Awards and honors ==

Barrios is a great source of national pride in his native country. A '''bank note''' in the denomination of 50,000 guaranies was issued by the government of Paraguay, with a portrait of Barrios on the front and a guitar on the back. In 1994 several '''stamps''' were issued to honor the 50th anniversary of Barrios' death. The Ministerio de Educación y Ciencias named a '''school''' after the artist in Villa Elisa, a city on the outskirts of Asunciόn.

A '''bust''' by sculptor Juan Gilberto Núñez was installed in the Teatro Municipal “Ignacio A. Pane” de Asunción. An '''international guitar competition''' is named for Agustin Barrios and features performance of his compositions.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="90px" perrow="5">
File:Barrios stamp 1994 portrait.jpg|<center>1994 stamp</center>
File:Barrios stamps 1994.png|<center>1994 stamps</center>
File:Barrios bank note.jpg|<center>Bank note</center>
File:Back of Barrios bank note.png|<center>Guitar on back of bank note</center>
</gallery>

== Additional resources ==

[[File:Six-Silver-Moonbeams.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Cover of biography]]

=== Biographies ===

* Fricke, Hannes. '''''Mythos Gitarre: Geschichte, Interpreten, Sternstunden'''''. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2013. 271 pages.
* Stover, Richard D. '''''Six Silver Moonbeams. The Life and Times of Agustín Barrios Mangoré'''''. Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992. 271 pages. This first edition is available at [https://archive.org/details/sixsilvermoonbea00stov/ Internet Archive]. [http://www.ricoguitarnails.com/CDs/Six_Silver_Moonbeams.html A second, expanded edition] is 432 pages in length, and is described in Amazon.com: "featuring 200 photographs, numerous letters, drawings and poems of Barrios, concert programs (over a hundred), harmonic analysis of selected works, commentaries by John Williams, Leo Brouwer and Sila Godoy, original scores of numerous works, plus chapters on 'The Guitar in Paraguay,' 'Barrios and Segovia,' as well as a complete listing of Barrios’ works and recordings."

=== Websites ===
* [http://www.barrioscompetition.com/ '''Agustín Barrios''' International Guitar Competition]
* [https://www.portalguarani.com/891_agustin_pio_mangore_barrios/17030_mangore_interpreta_a_mangore.html '''Agustín Pío (Mangoré) Barrios'''] in Portal Guarani. Spanish.

=== Videos ===

Dozens of musicians have recorded performance of Barrios compositions on YouTube and other Internet platforms. For example, a YouTube search of [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=la+catedral+barrios+ "La Catedral Barrios"] provides well over 100 results. Numerous master classes and biographical videos are also available. Here are examples:

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAkiXlKAjTA Barrios: Life and Art of a Guitar Poet]''' on YouTube. Posted Oct 5, 2021 by Daniele Magli. 2013 film biography originally called '''Mangoré - Por Amor al Arte''' ["Mangoré - For the Love of Art"] in Spanish with English subtitles. 1 hour, 41 minutes. Directed by Luis R. Vera, starring Damián Alcázar, Rafael Alfaro, and Clotilde Cabral. Here is a [https://www.veojam.com/watch/1539774547 trailer].
* '''[https://www.veojam.com/watch/1417890628 Barrios Mangore - Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]'''. David Russell presents a session of a guitar master class teaching "Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios" (Alms for the Love of God), one of the most famous and most often performed Barrios compositions.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDdeoB2VyNI Pequeños Universos - Agustín Barrios "Mangoré"]'''. Television documentary from Argentina in Spanish. 26 minutes. Posted on YouTube by Julián Rodríguez Barrios, grandson of the composer.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7NgaWqJEyE Biografía de Agustin Barrios]'''. 33 minutes. Posted by Profesora Superior de Guitarra Clásica Claudia Delvalle. 2016.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcU4NA1P8qo Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]''' performed by Ana Vidovic.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmc6KV0_UVM Ana Vidovic plays 'La Catedral' by Agustín Barrios Mangoré on a classical guitar]''' on SiccasGuitars YouTube channel. Posted June 19, 2015.

=== Audio recordings ===

* '''[https://archive.org/details/lp_john-williams-plays-music-of-agustn-barrio_john-williams-agustn-barrios-mangor John Williams Plays Music of Agustín Barrios Mangoré]'''. 8 compositions.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/podcast_cgu-concerts-at-cst-audio-seri_guitar-music-by-agustin-barrio_1000115892873 Guitar Music by Agustín Barrios Mangoré, and Others]''' by Matthew Butler. 2012.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXcfbaDK-0E BBC4 Great Lives - Agustin Barrios Mangore]'''. Radio program in which classical guitarist John Williams explains to Matthew Parris why he believes Paraguayan guitarist Agustin Barrios Mangore led a "great life." Also features Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Composers|Barrios]]
[[Category:Musicians|Barrios]]
[[Category:Poets|Barrios]]
[[Category:Famous people|Barrios]]
[[Category:Nationality Paraguayan|Barrios]]
[[Category:People|Barrios]]

Agustín Pío Barrios

2026-07-09T18:59:23Z

SysopJ: /* Artistic career */

[[File:Mangore.jpeg|right|250px|thumb|Agustín Pío Barrios. Image courtesy of Frederick Sheppard.]]
'''Agustín Pío Barrios''' was a Paraguayan composer and virtuoso performer of classical guitar music who was influenced by [[Theosophy]]. He sometimes used the names Agustín Barrios Mangoré and Nitsuga Mangoré in homage to Paraguay's native Guarani culture. Nitsuga is Agustin spelled backward.

== Personal life ==
[[File:Agustín Barrios 1910.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Barrios in 1910]]
Agustín Pío Barrios was born on [[May 5]], 1885 Paraguay to Doroteo Barrios and Martina Ferreira. There is some question of the location of his birth, which may have been in San Juan Bautista or in nearby Villa Florida, both of which are in the southern department [state] of Misiones. His family had great appreciation of the arts, and sent Agustin to study in the capital city of Asunciόn. At the age of fifteen he received a music scholarship at the Universidad Nacional de Asunciόn, and developed great interest in philosophy, literature, and mathematics. He spoke Spanish and Guarani, but could also read English, French, and German. In addition to music, Barrios was quite talented in poetry and in drawing.

Barrios married Gregoria Isabel Villalba. Their son Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba was born on July 4, 1908 in San Roque, Asunción, Paraguay.<ref>"Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba" in [https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Barrios_Villalba-1 Wikitree], which cites "Paraguay, registros parroquiales, 1754-2015," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRKT-9XW2?cc=1922527&wc=WXGH-Y8L%3A217758401%2C217758402%2C218073002%2C218806601 : 3 September 2019), Distrito Capital > Asunción > San Roque > Bautismos 1906-1914 > image 134 of 591; Arquidiócesis de Asunción (Archdiocese of Ascunción), Paraguay.</ref>

From 1903-1908, Barrios worked at various office jobs, but later was able to support his household with his music.

He died on [[August 7]], 1944 in San Salvador, El Salvador, where he had been employed as a professor for several years.

== Influence of Theosophy ==

[[Theosophy|Theosophist]] Professor '''Viriato Díaz Pérez''' was a strong influence on Barrios during his early years in Asunción, both intellectually and socially:
<blockquote>
Viriato Díaz Pérez, a Spaniard by birth who emigrated to Paraguay in the early 1900's. An intellectual, author of numerous books and articles, literary critic and teacher, Diaz Perez was also a follower of [[theosophy]]. He reputedly introduced Barrios to theosophic doctrines and beliefs. Diaz Perez's influence on him, particularly in the areas of aesthetics, philosophy and metaphysics was profound.

Díaz Pérez had an "international" perspective and strongly urged Barrios to leave Paraguay. In January of 1910, he wrote a letter of introduction to an Argentine friend, Señor Mario Villar Sáenz Valiente, publisher of the Buenos Aires newspaper ''La Nación''. . . He was the nephew of Roque Sáenz Peña, President of Argentina from 1910-14. . . Valiente, after hearing Barrios play in the town of Corrientes, invited him to come to Buenos Aires under his patronage.<ref>Richard Stover, ''Six Silver Moonbeams'' (Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992), 32-33.</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1912, Díaz Pérez was a founder and first President of the first [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] lodge established in Paraguay. During the 1929 lecture tour of [[C. Jinarajadasa]], the Paraguayan lodges were chartered into a national Section.<ref>"Theosophy in Paraguay," ''The Theosophical Year Book, 1937'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1937), 123.</ref> Possibly Barrios participated in lodge activities in Asunción.

Biographer Richard Stover wrote of Barrios:
<blockquote>
His religious convictions were more "theosophical" than strictly "Catholic". For him God and Nature are inextricably part of one another, and Man, being part of Nature, is part of God. The only substantiated comments made by Barrios regarding his religious views come from the Brazilian newspaper ''Jornal do Recife'' of January 5,1931:
<blockquote>
In spite of a severe religious education, my primitive pantheism has pointed me in the direction of Theosophy, the most human and rational of philosophic concepts. I believe in the immutable laws of Nature. And Humanity and the Good impregnate my spirit as the ethical end of all existence.
</blockquote>
Here his references to "severe religious education" and "primitive pantheism" are more an accommodation to bolster his identity as Chief Nitsuga Mangore than an accurate statement of facts. But his mentioning theosophy and the "immutable laws of Nature" can be seen as sincere and genuine. Barrios was a humanist, an idealist, a romantic. He intuitively recognized that there is a relationship between the good, the true and the beautiful and that all these realities are reflected in love towards life and one's fellow beings. Recognition of and resignation to these truths are powerfully expressed in the major key section of his last piece ''Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios'' – the composition closes with a definite affirmation of these eternal values that Barrios achieved and manifested throughout his life: love being the process, and truth, beauty and goodness being the byproducts.<ref>Stover, 199-200.</ref>
</blockquote>

Late in his life Barrios was also associated with Theosophist '''General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez''' (1882-1966), the President of El Salvador, who arranged for Barrios to have a professorship in San Salvador. Hernández Martínez joined the Theosophical Society in El Salvador in 1931, serving as president of the Teotle Lodge and as the General Secretary of the Section. During World War II he became a member of the Theosophical Society in America, joining the Brotherhood Lodge on October 15, 1944 while living in New Orleans, and then transferring to the Florida Group after a move to Miami Beach. He subsequently lived much of the rest of his life in Honduras, but maintained a membership in the Miami Lodge.<ref>"Maximiliano H. Martinez." Membership Ledger Sheets Roll 4. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref> While Hernández Martínez was interested in the occult and believed in [[reincarnation]], his brutal actions as President of El Salvador do not reflect Theosophists' commitment to [[Universal Brotherhood|brotherhood]].

It seems likely that Barrios participated in the Teotle Lodge in the early 1940s, from his own interest and out of respect to his powerful patron.

== Artistic career ==

During the course of his musical career, Barrios toured extensively to perform concerts. He composed more than 100 original works, and made at least 200 arrangements of works by other composers including Bach and Beethoven. His classical guitar performances were recorded as early as 1909.
[[File:Barrios diary .jpg|right|200px|thumb|''Diary'', 2018]]
Early concerts were in Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. In many places there was resistance from the intelligentsia to having a guitarist perform in theaters designed for classical orchestras and opera companies. The site of his breakthrough to the classical audiences was in February 1932 at the Teatro Municipal in Caracas, Venezuela. Juan José Churún, editor of a literary journal, presented Barrios with a concert diary, the "Autograph Book," of tooled cordovan leather with brass decorations and clasp. This book was signed by the Venezualan president, Juan Vicente Gómez and his sons, quickly followed with autographs from 75 authors, signaling recognition of Barrios as an artist. Barrios carried the Autograph Book with him in his travels, using it as a diary to document his performances. He ultimately bequeathed the volume to the David Guzmán National Museum in San Salvador upon his death in 1944. A full-color reproduction of the travel diary with transcriptions and translations was published in 2018 and subsequent editions by Richard T. Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard.<ref>Richard T. Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard, "Provenance of the Diary" ''The Diary of Agustín Barrios Mangoré: His Concert Autograph Book (1932-1939), the Diplomatic Edition'' (Leon, Spain: Association CaminoArtes, 2019), 11-14.</ref>

In the 1930s he began to appear in concerts wearing clothing that reflected the native Guarani culture of Paraguay. In concert he performed his own compositions under the name "Mangoré" or "Nitsuga Mangoré" for the first half of the program, wearing native attire such as a feathered headdress. After an intermission he reappeared in formal European clothing to play traditional classical guitar works and Bach.

In 1935 he spent a year with the Paraguayan ambassador to Mexico, Tomás Salomonis, traveling to Belgium, Germany and Spain with performances in Brussels and Madrid. After leaving Europe, he toured in in Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

=== Compositions ===

The style of Barrios' original compositions has been called "late Romantic." Central and South American folk songs influenced his work.

His revered 1921 composition '''''La Catedral''''' was inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach played on a pipe organ in a cathedral. In addition to becoming a staple of classical music repertoire, this work has been transcribed for piano, harpsichord, and marimba.

[[File:MANGORÉ bust.jpg‎|right|170px|thumb|Bust by Juan Gilberto Núñez]]

== Awards and honors ==

Barrios is a great source of national pride in his native country. A '''bank note''' in the denomination of 50,000 guaranies was issued by the government of Paraguay, with a portrait of Barrios on the front and a guitar on the back. In 1994 several '''stamps''' were issued to honor the 50th anniversary of Barrios' death. The Ministerio de Educación y Ciencias named a '''school''' after the artist in Villa Elisa, a city on the outskirts of Asunciόn.

A '''bust''' by sculptor Juan Gilberto Núñez was installed in the Teatro Municipal “Ignacio A. Pane” de Asunción. An '''international guitar competition''' is named for Agustin Barrios and features performance of his compositions.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="90px" perrow="5">
File:Barrios stamp 1994 portrait.jpg|<center>1994 stamp</center>
File:Barrios stamps 1994.png|<center>1994 stamps</center>
File:Barrios bank note.jpg|<center>Bank note</center>
File:Back of Barrios bank note.png|<center>Guitar on back of bank note</center>
</gallery>

== Additional resources ==

[[File:Six-Silver-Moonbeams.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Cover of biography]]

=== Biographies ===

* Fricke, Hannes. '''''Mythos Gitarre: Geschichte, Interpreten, Sternstunden'''''. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2013. 271 pages.
* Stover, Richard D. '''''Six Silver Moonbeams. The Life and Times of Agustín Barrios Mangoré'''''. Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992. 271 pages. This first edition is available at [https://archive.org/details/sixsilvermoonbea00stov/ Internet Archive]. [http://www.ricoguitarnails.com/CDs/Six_Silver_Moonbeams.html A second, expanded edition] is 432 pages in length, and is described in Amazon.com: "featuring 200 photographs, numerous letters, drawings and poems of Barrios, concert programs (over a hundred), harmonic analysis of selected works, commentaries by John Williams, Leo Brouwer and Sila Godoy, original scores of numerous works, plus chapters on 'The Guitar in Paraguay,' 'Barrios and Segovia,' as well as a complete listing of Barrios’ works and recordings."

=== Websites ===
* [http://www.barrioscompetition.com/ '''Agustín Barrios''' International Guitar Competition]
* [https://www.portalguarani.com/891_agustin_pio_mangore_barrios/17030_mangore_interpreta_a_mangore.html '''Agustín Pío (Mangoré) Barrios'''] in Portal Guarani. Spanish.

=== Videos ===

Dozens of musicians have recorded performance of Barrios compositions on YouTube and other Internet platforms. For example, a YouTube search of [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=la+catedral+barrios+ "La Catedral Barrios"] provides well over 100 results. Numerous master classes and biographical videos are also available. Here are examples:

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAkiXlKAjTA Barrios: Life and Art of a Guitar Poet]''' on YouTube. Posted Oct 5, 2021 by Daniele Magli. 2013 film biography originally called '''Mangoré - Por Amor al Arte''' ["Mangoré - For the Love of Art"] in Spanish with English subtitles. 1 hour, 41 minutes. Directed by Luis R. Vera, starring Damián Alcázar, Rafael Alfaro, and Clotilde Cabral. Here is a [https://www.veojam.com/watch/1539774547 trailer].
* '''[https://www.veojam.com/watch/1417890628 Barrios Mangore - Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]'''. David Russell presents a session of a guitar master class teaching "Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios" (Alms for the Love of God), one of the most famous and most often performed Barrios compositions.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDdeoB2VyNI Pequeños Universos - Agustín Barrios "Mangoré"]'''. Television documentary from Argentina in Spanish. 26 minutes. Posted on YouTube by Julián Rodríguez Barrios, grandson of the composer.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7NgaWqJEyE Biografía de Agustin Barrios]'''. 33 minutes. Posted by Profesora Superior de Guitarra Clásica Claudia Delvalle. 2016.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcU4NA1P8qo Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]''' performed by Ana Vidovic.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmc6KV0_UVM Ana Vidovic plays 'La Catedral' by Agustín Barrios Mangoré on a classical guitar]''' on SiccasGuitars YouTube channel. Posted June 19, 2015.

=== Audio recordings ===

* '''[https://archive.org/details/lp_john-williams-plays-music-of-agustn-barrio_john-williams-agustn-barrios-mangor John Williams Plays Music of Agustín Barrios Mangoré]'''. 8 compositions.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/podcast_cgu-concerts-at-cst-audio-seri_guitar-music-by-agustin-barrio_1000115892873 Guitar Music by Agustín Barrios Mangoré, and Others]''' by Matthew Butler. 2012.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXcfbaDK-0E BBC4 Great Lives - Agustin Barrios Mangore]'''. Radio program in which classical guitarist John Williams explains to Matthew Parris why he believes Paraguayan guitarist Agustin Barrios Mangore led a "great life." Also features Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Composers|Barrios]]
[[Category:Musicians|Barrios]]
[[Category:Poets|Barrios]]
[[Category:Famous people|Barrios]]
[[Category:Nationality Paraguayan|Barrios]]
[[Category:People|Barrios]]

Agustín Pío Barrios

2026-07-09T18:58:50Z

SysopJ: /* Artistic career */

[[File:Mangore.jpeg|right|250px|thumb|Agustín Pío Barrios. Image courtesy of Frederick Sheppard.]]
'''Agustín Pío Barrios''' was a Paraguayan composer and virtuoso performer of classical guitar music who was influenced by [[Theosophy]]. He sometimes used the names Agustín Barrios Mangoré and Nitsuga Mangoré in homage to Paraguay's native Guarani culture. Nitsuga is Agustin spelled backward.

== Personal life ==
[[File:Agustín Barrios 1910.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Barrios in 1910]]
Agustín Pío Barrios was born on [[May 5]], 1885 Paraguay to Doroteo Barrios and Martina Ferreira. There is some question of the location of his birth, which may have been in San Juan Bautista or in nearby Villa Florida, both of which are in the southern department [state] of Misiones. His family had great appreciation of the arts, and sent Agustin to study in the capital city of Asunciόn. At the age of fifteen he received a music scholarship at the Universidad Nacional de Asunciόn, and developed great interest in philosophy, literature, and mathematics. He spoke Spanish and Guarani, but could also read English, French, and German. In addition to music, Barrios was quite talented in poetry and in drawing.

Barrios married Gregoria Isabel Villalba. Their son Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba was born on July 4, 1908 in San Roque, Asunción, Paraguay.<ref>"Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba" in [https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Barrios_Villalba-1 Wikitree], which cites "Paraguay, registros parroquiales, 1754-2015," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRKT-9XW2?cc=1922527&wc=WXGH-Y8L%3A217758401%2C217758402%2C218073002%2C218806601 : 3 September 2019), Distrito Capital > Asunción > San Roque > Bautismos 1906-1914 > image 134 of 591; Arquidiócesis de Asunción (Archdiocese of Ascunción), Paraguay.</ref>

From 1903-1908, Barrios worked at various office jobs, but later was able to support his household with his music.

He died on [[August 7]], 1944 in San Salvador, El Salvador, where he had been employed as a professor for several years.

== Influence of Theosophy ==

[[Theosophy|Theosophist]] Professor '''Viriato Díaz Pérez''' was a strong influence on Barrios during his early years in Asunción, both intellectually and socially:
<blockquote>
Viriato Díaz Pérez, a Spaniard by birth who emigrated to Paraguay in the early 1900's. An intellectual, author of numerous books and articles, literary critic and teacher, Diaz Perez was also a follower of [[theosophy]]. He reputedly introduced Barrios to theosophic doctrines and beliefs. Diaz Perez's influence on him, particularly in the areas of aesthetics, philosophy and metaphysics was profound.

Díaz Pérez had an "international" perspective and strongly urged Barrios to leave Paraguay. In January of 1910, he wrote a letter of introduction to an Argentine friend, Señor Mario Villar Sáenz Valiente, publisher of the Buenos Aires newspaper ''La Nación''. . . He was the nephew of Roque Sáenz Peña, President of Argentina from 1910-14. . . Valiente, after hearing Barrios play in the town of Corrientes, invited him to come to Buenos Aires under his patronage.<ref>Richard Stover, ''Six Silver Moonbeams'' (Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992), 32-33.</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1912, Díaz Pérez was a founder and first President of the first [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] lodge established in Paraguay. During the 1929 lecture tour of [[C. Jinarajadasa]], the Paraguayan lodges were chartered into a national Section.<ref>"Theosophy in Paraguay," ''The Theosophical Year Book, 1937'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1937), 123.</ref> Possibly Barrios participated in lodge activities in Asunción.

Biographer Richard Stover wrote of Barrios:
<blockquote>
His religious convictions were more "theosophical" than strictly "Catholic". For him God and Nature are inextricably part of one another, and Man, being part of Nature, is part of God. The only substantiated comments made by Barrios regarding his religious views come from the Brazilian newspaper ''Jornal do Recife'' of January 5,1931:
<blockquote>
In spite of a severe religious education, my primitive pantheism has pointed me in the direction of Theosophy, the most human and rational of philosophic concepts. I believe in the immutable laws of Nature. And Humanity and the Good impregnate my spirit as the ethical end of all existence.
</blockquote>
Here his references to "severe religious education" and "primitive pantheism" are more an accommodation to bolster his identity as Chief Nitsuga Mangore than an accurate statement of facts. But his mentioning theosophy and the "immutable laws of Nature" can be seen as sincere and genuine. Barrios was a humanist, an idealist, a romantic. He intuitively recognized that there is a relationship between the good, the true and the beautiful and that all these realities are reflected in love towards life and one's fellow beings. Recognition of and resignation to these truths are powerfully expressed in the major key section of his last piece ''Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios'' – the composition closes with a definite affirmation of these eternal values that Barrios achieved and manifested throughout his life: love being the process, and truth, beauty and goodness being the byproducts.<ref>Stover, 199-200.</ref>
</blockquote>

Late in his life Barrios was also associated with Theosophist '''General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez''' (1882-1966), the President of El Salvador, who arranged for Barrios to have a professorship in San Salvador. Hernández Martínez joined the Theosophical Society in El Salvador in 1931, serving as president of the Teotle Lodge and as the General Secretary of the Section. During World War II he became a member of the Theosophical Society in America, joining the Brotherhood Lodge on October 15, 1944 while living in New Orleans, and then transferring to the Florida Group after a move to Miami Beach. He subsequently lived much of the rest of his life in Honduras, but maintained a membership in the Miami Lodge.<ref>"Maximiliano H. Martinez." Membership Ledger Sheets Roll 4. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref> While Hernández Martínez was interested in the occult and believed in [[reincarnation]], his brutal actions as President of El Salvador do not reflect Theosophists' commitment to [[Universal Brotherhood|brotherhood]].

It seems likely that Barrios participated in the Teotle Lodge in the early 1940s, from his own interest and out of respect to his powerful patron.

== Artistic career ==

During the course of his musical career, Barrios toured extensively to perform concerts. He composed more than 100 original works, and made at least 200 arrangements of works by other composers including Bach and Beethoven. His classical guitar performances were recorded as early as 1909.
[[File:Barrios diary .jpg|right|200px|thumb|''Diary'', 2018]]
Early concerts were in Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. In many places there was resistance from the intelligentsia to having a guitarist perform in theaters designed for classical orchestras and opera companies. The site of his breakthrough to the classical audiences was in February 1932 at the Teatro Municipal in Caracas, Venezuela. Juan José Churún, editor of a literary journal, presented Barrios with a concert diary, the "Autograph Book," of tooled cordovan leather with brass decorations and clasp. This book was signed by the Venezualan president, Juan Vicente Gómez and his sons, quickly followed with autographs from 75 authors, signaling recognition of Barrios as an artist. Barrios carried the Autograph Book with him in his travels, using it as a diary to document his performances. He ultimately bequeathed the volume to the David Guzmán National Museum in San Salvador upon his death in 1944. A full-color reproduction of the travel diary with transcriptions and translations was published in 2018 and subsequent editions by Richard T. Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard.<ref>Richard T. Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard, "Provenance of the Diary" ''The Diary of Agustín Barrios Mangoré: His Concert Autograph Book (1932-1939), the Diplomatic Edition'' {Leon, Spain: Association CaminoArtes, 2019), 11-14.</ref>

In the 1930s he began to appear in concerts wearing clothing that reflected the native Guarani culture of Paraguay. In concert he performed his own compositions under the name "Mangoré" or "Nitsuga Mangoré" for the first half of the program, wearing native attire such as a feathered headdress. After an intermission he reappeared in formal European clothing to play traditional classical guitar works and Bach.

In 1935 he spent a year with the Paraguayan ambassador to Mexico, Tomás Salomonis, traveling to Belgium, Germany and Spain with performances in Brussels and Madrid. After leaving Europe, he toured in in Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

=== Compositions ===

The style of Barrios' original compositions has been called "late Romantic." Central and South American folk songs influenced his work.

His revered 1921 composition '''''La Catedral''''' was inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach played on a pipe organ in a cathedral. In addition to becoming a staple of classical music repertoire, this work has been transcribed for piano, harpsichord, and marimba.

[[File:MANGORÉ bust.jpg‎|right|170px|thumb|Bust by Juan Gilberto Núñez]]

== Awards and honors ==

Barrios is a great source of national pride in his native country. A '''bank note''' in the denomination of 50,000 guaranies was issued by the government of Paraguay, with a portrait of Barrios on the front and a guitar on the back. In 1994 several '''stamps''' were issued to honor the 50th anniversary of Barrios' death. The Ministerio de Educación y Ciencias named a '''school''' after the artist in Villa Elisa, a city on the outskirts of Asunciόn.

A '''bust''' by sculptor Juan Gilberto Núñez was installed in the Teatro Municipal “Ignacio A. Pane” de Asunción. An '''international guitar competition''' is named for Agustin Barrios and features performance of his compositions.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="90px" perrow="5">
File:Barrios stamp 1994 portrait.jpg|<center>1994 stamp</center>
File:Barrios stamps 1994.png|<center>1994 stamps</center>
File:Barrios bank note.jpg|<center>Bank note</center>
File:Back of Barrios bank note.png|<center>Guitar on back of bank note</center>
</gallery>

== Additional resources ==

[[File:Six-Silver-Moonbeams.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Cover of biography]]

=== Biographies ===

* Fricke, Hannes. '''''Mythos Gitarre: Geschichte, Interpreten, Sternstunden'''''. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2013. 271 pages.
* Stover, Richard D. '''''Six Silver Moonbeams. The Life and Times of Agustín Barrios Mangoré'''''. Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992. 271 pages. This first edition is available at [https://archive.org/details/sixsilvermoonbea00stov/ Internet Archive]. [http://www.ricoguitarnails.com/CDs/Six_Silver_Moonbeams.html A second, expanded edition] is 432 pages in length, and is described in Amazon.com: "featuring 200 photographs, numerous letters, drawings and poems of Barrios, concert programs (over a hundred), harmonic analysis of selected works, commentaries by John Williams, Leo Brouwer and Sila Godoy, original scores of numerous works, plus chapters on 'The Guitar in Paraguay,' 'Barrios and Segovia,' as well as a complete listing of Barrios’ works and recordings."

=== Websites ===
* [http://www.barrioscompetition.com/ '''Agustín Barrios''' International Guitar Competition]
* [https://www.portalguarani.com/891_agustin_pio_mangore_barrios/17030_mangore_interpreta_a_mangore.html '''Agustín Pío (Mangoré) Barrios'''] in Portal Guarani. Spanish.

=== Videos ===

Dozens of musicians have recorded performance of Barrios compositions on YouTube and other Internet platforms. For example, a YouTube search of [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=la+catedral+barrios+ "La Catedral Barrios"] provides well over 100 results. Numerous master classes and biographical videos are also available. Here are examples:

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAkiXlKAjTA Barrios: Life and Art of a Guitar Poet]''' on YouTube. Posted Oct 5, 2021 by Daniele Magli. 2013 film biography originally called '''Mangoré - Por Amor al Arte''' ["Mangoré - For the Love of Art"] in Spanish with English subtitles. 1 hour, 41 minutes. Directed by Luis R. Vera, starring Damián Alcázar, Rafael Alfaro, and Clotilde Cabral. Here is a [https://www.veojam.com/watch/1539774547 trailer].
* '''[https://www.veojam.com/watch/1417890628 Barrios Mangore - Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]'''. David Russell presents a session of a guitar master class teaching "Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios" (Alms for the Love of God), one of the most famous and most often performed Barrios compositions.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDdeoB2VyNI Pequeños Universos - Agustín Barrios "Mangoré"]'''. Television documentary from Argentina in Spanish. 26 minutes. Posted on YouTube by Julián Rodríguez Barrios, grandson of the composer.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7NgaWqJEyE Biografía de Agustin Barrios]'''. 33 minutes. Posted by Profesora Superior de Guitarra Clásica Claudia Delvalle. 2016.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcU4NA1P8qo Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]''' performed by Ana Vidovic.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmc6KV0_UVM Ana Vidovic plays 'La Catedral' by Agustín Barrios Mangoré on a classical guitar]''' on SiccasGuitars YouTube channel. Posted June 19, 2015.

=== Audio recordings ===

* '''[https://archive.org/details/lp_john-williams-plays-music-of-agustn-barrio_john-williams-agustn-barrios-mangor John Williams Plays Music of Agustín Barrios Mangoré]'''. 8 compositions.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/podcast_cgu-concerts-at-cst-audio-seri_guitar-music-by-agustin-barrio_1000115892873 Guitar Music by Agustín Barrios Mangoré, and Others]''' by Matthew Butler. 2012.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXcfbaDK-0E BBC4 Great Lives - Agustin Barrios Mangore]'''. Radio program in which classical guitarist John Williams explains to Matthew Parris why he believes Paraguayan guitarist Agustin Barrios Mangore led a "great life." Also features Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Composers|Barrios]]
[[Category:Musicians|Barrios]]
[[Category:Poets|Barrios]]
[[Category:Famous people|Barrios]]
[[Category:Nationality Paraguayan|Barrios]]
[[Category:People|Barrios]]

File:Barrios diary .jpg

2026-07-09T18:57:41Z

SysopJ: Cover of diary of Agustín Pío Barrios published in 2018 by Frederick Sheppard. Scanned from book donated by author.

== Summary ==
Cover of diary of [[Agustín Pío Barrios]] published in 2018 by Frederick Sheppard. Scanned from book donated by author.

Agustín Pío Barrios

2026-07-09T18:42:17Z

SysopJ: /* Artistic career */

[[File:Mangore.jpeg|right|250px|thumb|Agustín Pío Barrios. Image courtesy of Frederick Sheppard.]]
'''Agustín Pío Barrios''' was a Paraguayan composer and virtuoso performer of classical guitar music who was influenced by [[Theosophy]]. He sometimes used the names Agustín Barrios Mangoré and Nitsuga Mangoré in homage to Paraguay's native Guarani culture. Nitsuga is Agustin spelled backward.

== Personal life ==
[[File:Agustín Barrios 1910.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Barrios in 1910]]
Agustín Pío Barrios was born on [[May 5]], 1885 Paraguay to Doroteo Barrios and Martina Ferreira. There is some question of the location of his birth, which may have been in San Juan Bautista or in nearby Villa Florida, both of which are in the southern department [state] of Misiones. His family had great appreciation of the arts, and sent Agustin to study in the capital city of Asunciόn. At the age of fifteen he received a music scholarship at the Universidad Nacional de Asunciόn, and developed great interest in philosophy, literature, and mathematics. He spoke Spanish and Guarani, but could also read English, French, and German. In addition to music, Barrios was quite talented in poetry and in drawing.

Barrios married Gregoria Isabel Villalba. Their son Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba was born on July 4, 1908 in San Roque, Asunción, Paraguay.<ref>"Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba" in [https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Barrios_Villalba-1 Wikitree], which cites "Paraguay, registros parroquiales, 1754-2015," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRKT-9XW2?cc=1922527&wc=WXGH-Y8L%3A217758401%2C217758402%2C218073002%2C218806601 : 3 September 2019), Distrito Capital > Asunción > San Roque > Bautismos 1906-1914 > image 134 of 591; Arquidiócesis de Asunción (Archdiocese of Ascunción), Paraguay.</ref>

From 1903-1908, Barrios worked at various office jobs, but later was able to support his household with his music.

He died on [[August 7]], 1944 in San Salvador, El Salvador, where he had been employed as a professor for several years.

== Influence of Theosophy ==

[[Theosophy|Theosophist]] Professor '''Viriato Díaz Pérez''' was a strong influence on Barrios during his early years in Asunción, both intellectually and socially:
<blockquote>
Viriato Díaz Pérez, a Spaniard by birth who emigrated to Paraguay in the early 1900's. An intellectual, author of numerous books and articles, literary critic and teacher, Diaz Perez was also a follower of [[theosophy]]. He reputedly introduced Barrios to theosophic doctrines and beliefs. Diaz Perez's influence on him, particularly in the areas of aesthetics, philosophy and metaphysics was profound.

Díaz Pérez had an "international" perspective and strongly urged Barrios to leave Paraguay. In January of 1910, he wrote a letter of introduction to an Argentine friend, Señor Mario Villar Sáenz Valiente, publisher of the Buenos Aires newspaper ''La Nación''. . . He was the nephew of Roque Sáenz Peña, President of Argentina from 1910-14. . . Valiente, after hearing Barrios play in the town of Corrientes, invited him to come to Buenos Aires under his patronage.<ref>Richard Stover, ''Six Silver Moonbeams'' (Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992), 32-33.</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1912, Díaz Pérez was a founder and first President of the first [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] lodge established in Paraguay. During the 1929 lecture tour of [[C. Jinarajadasa]], the Paraguayan lodges were chartered into a national Section.<ref>"Theosophy in Paraguay," ''The Theosophical Year Book, 1937'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1937), 123.</ref> Possibly Barrios participated in lodge activities in Asunción.

Biographer Richard Stover wrote of Barrios:
<blockquote>
His religious convictions were more "theosophical" than strictly "Catholic". For him God and Nature are inextricably part of one another, and Man, being part of Nature, is part of God. The only substantiated comments made by Barrios regarding his religious views come from the Brazilian newspaper ''Jornal do Recife'' of January 5,1931:
<blockquote>
In spite of a severe religious education, my primitive pantheism has pointed me in the direction of Theosophy, the most human and rational of philosophic concepts. I believe in the immutable laws of Nature. And Humanity and the Good impregnate my spirit as the ethical end of all existence.
</blockquote>
Here his references to "severe religious education" and "primitive pantheism" are more an accommodation to bolster his identity as Chief Nitsuga Mangore than an accurate statement of facts. But his mentioning theosophy and the "immutable laws of Nature" can be seen as sincere and genuine. Barrios was a humanist, an idealist, a romantic. He intuitively recognized that there is a relationship between the good, the true and the beautiful and that all these realities are reflected in love towards life and one's fellow beings. Recognition of and resignation to these truths are powerfully expressed in the major key section of his last piece ''Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios'' – the composition closes with a definite affirmation of these eternal values that Barrios achieved and manifested throughout his life: love being the process, and truth, beauty and goodness being the byproducts.<ref>Stover, 199-200.</ref>
</blockquote>

Late in his life Barrios was also associated with Theosophist '''General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez''' (1882-1966), the President of El Salvador, who arranged for Barrios to have a professorship in San Salvador. Hernández Martínez joined the Theosophical Society in El Salvador in 1931, serving as president of the Teotle Lodge and as the General Secretary of the Section. During World War II he became a member of the Theosophical Society in America, joining the Brotherhood Lodge on October 15, 1944 while living in New Orleans, and then transferring to the Florida Group after a move to Miami Beach. He subsequently lived much of the rest of his life in Honduras, but maintained a membership in the Miami Lodge.<ref>"Maximiliano H. Martinez." Membership Ledger Sheets Roll 4. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref> While Hernández Martínez was interested in the occult and believed in [[reincarnation]], his brutal actions as President of El Salvador do not reflect Theosophists' commitment to [[Universal Brotherhood|brotherhood]].

It seems likely that Barrios participated in the Teotle Lodge in the early 1940s, from his own interest and out of respect to his powerful patron.

== Artistic career ==

During the course of his musical career, Barrios toured extensively to perform concerts. He composed more than 100 original works, and made at least 200 arrangements of works by other composers including Bach and Beethoven. His classical guitar performances were recorded as early as 1909.

Early concerts were in Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. In many places there was resistance from the intelligentsia to having a guitarist perform in theaters designed for classical orchestras and opera companies. The site of his breakthrough to the classical audiences was in February 1932 at the Teatro Municipal in Caracas, Venezuela. Juan José Churún, editor of a literary journal, presented Barrios with a concert diary, the "Autograph Book," of tooled cordovan leather with brass decorations and clasp. This book was signed by the Venezualan president, Juan Vicente Gómez and his sons, quickly followed with autographs from 75 authors, signaling recognition of Barrios as an artist. Barrios carried the Autograph Book with him in his travels, using it as a diary to document his performances. He ultimately bequeathed the volume to the David Guzmán National Museum in San Salvador upon his death in 1944. A full-color reproduction of the travel diary with transcriptions and translations was published in 2018 and subsequent editions by Richard T. Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard.<ref>Richard T. Pinnell and Frederick Sheppard, "Provenance of the Diary" ''The Diary of Agustín Barrios Mangoré: His Concert Autograph Book (1932-1939), the Diplomatic Edition'' {Leon, Spain: Association CaminoArtes, 2019), 11-14.</ref>

In the 1930s he began to appear in concerts wearing clothing that reflected the native Guarani culture of Paraguay. In concert he performed his own compositions under the name "Mangoré" or "Nitsuga Mangoré" for the first half of the program, wearing native attire such as a feathered headdress. After an intermission he reappeared in formal European clothing to play traditional classical guitar works and Bach.

In 1935 he spent a year with the Paraguayan ambassador to Mexico, Tomás Salomonis, traveling to Belgium, Germany and Spain with performances in Brussels and Madrid. After leaving Europe, he toured in in Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

=== Compositions ===

The style of Barrios' original compositions has been called "late Romantic." Central and South American folk songs influenced his work.

His revered 1921 composition '''''La Catedral''''' was inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach played on a pipe organ in a cathedral. In addition to becoming a staple of classical music repertoire, this work has been transcribed for piano, harpsichord, and marimba.

[[File:MANGORÉ bust.jpg‎|right|170px|thumb|Bust by Juan Gilberto Núñez]]

== Awards and honors ==

Barrios is a great source of national pride in his native country. A '''bank note''' in the denomination of 50,000 guaranies was issued by the government of Paraguay, with a portrait of Barrios on the front and a guitar on the back. In 1994 several '''stamps''' were issued to honor the 50th anniversary of Barrios' death. The Ministerio de Educación y Ciencias named a '''school''' after the artist in Villa Elisa, a city on the outskirts of Asunciόn.

A '''bust''' by sculptor Juan Gilberto Núñez was installed in the Teatro Municipal “Ignacio A. Pane” de Asunción. An '''international guitar competition''' is named for Agustin Barrios and features performance of his compositions.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="90px" perrow="5">
File:Barrios stamp 1994 portrait.jpg|<center>1994 stamp</center>
File:Barrios stamps 1994.png|<center>1994 stamps</center>
File:Barrios bank note.jpg|<center>Bank note</center>
File:Back of Barrios bank note.png|<center>Guitar on back of bank note</center>
</gallery>

== Additional resources ==

[[File:Six-Silver-Moonbeams.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Cover of biography]]

=== Biographies ===

* Fricke, Hannes. '''''Mythos Gitarre: Geschichte, Interpreten, Sternstunden'''''. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2013. 271 pages.
* Stover, Richard D. '''''Six Silver Moonbeams. The Life and Times of Agustín Barrios Mangoré'''''. Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992. 271 pages. This first edition is available at [https://archive.org/details/sixsilvermoonbea00stov/ Internet Archive]. [http://www.ricoguitarnails.com/CDs/Six_Silver_Moonbeams.html A second, expanded edition] is 432 pages in length, and is described in Amazon.com: "featuring 200 photographs, numerous letters, drawings and poems of Barrios, concert programs (over a hundred), harmonic analysis of selected works, commentaries by John Williams, Leo Brouwer and Sila Godoy, original scores of numerous works, plus chapters on 'The Guitar in Paraguay,' 'Barrios and Segovia,' as well as a complete listing of Barrios’ works and recordings."

=== Websites ===
* [http://www.barrioscompetition.com/ '''Agustín Barrios''' International Guitar Competition]
* [https://www.portalguarani.com/891_agustin_pio_mangore_barrios/17030_mangore_interpreta_a_mangore.html '''Agustín Pío (Mangoré) Barrios'''] in Portal Guarani. Spanish.

=== Videos ===

Dozens of musicians have recorded performance of Barrios compositions on YouTube and other Internet platforms. For example, a YouTube search of [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=la+catedral+barrios+ "La Catedral Barrios"] provides well over 100 results. Numerous master classes and biographical videos are also available. Here are examples:

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAkiXlKAjTA Barrios: Life and Art of a Guitar Poet]''' on YouTube. Posted Oct 5, 2021 by Daniele Magli. 2013 film biography originally called '''Mangoré - Por Amor al Arte''' ["Mangoré - For the Love of Art"] in Spanish with English subtitles. 1 hour, 41 minutes. Directed by Luis R. Vera, starring Damián Alcázar, Rafael Alfaro, and Clotilde Cabral. Here is a [https://www.veojam.com/watch/1539774547 trailer].
* '''[https://www.veojam.com/watch/1417890628 Barrios Mangore - Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]'''. David Russell presents a session of a guitar master class teaching "Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios" (Alms for the Love of God), one of the most famous and most often performed Barrios compositions.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDdeoB2VyNI Pequeños Universos - Agustín Barrios "Mangoré"]'''. Television documentary from Argentina in Spanish. 26 minutes. Posted on YouTube by Julián Rodríguez Barrios, grandson of the composer.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7NgaWqJEyE Biografía de Agustin Barrios]'''. 33 minutes. Posted by Profesora Superior de Guitarra Clásica Claudia Delvalle. 2016.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcU4NA1P8qo Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]''' performed by Ana Vidovic.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmc6KV0_UVM Ana Vidovic plays 'La Catedral' by Agustín Barrios Mangoré on a classical guitar]''' on SiccasGuitars YouTube channel. Posted June 19, 2015.

=== Audio recordings ===

* '''[https://archive.org/details/lp_john-williams-plays-music-of-agustn-barrio_john-williams-agustn-barrios-mangor John Williams Plays Music of Agustín Barrios Mangoré]'''. 8 compositions.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/podcast_cgu-concerts-at-cst-audio-seri_guitar-music-by-agustin-barrio_1000115892873 Guitar Music by Agustín Barrios Mangoré, and Others]''' by Matthew Butler. 2012.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXcfbaDK-0E BBC4 Great Lives - Agustin Barrios Mangore]'''. Radio program in which classical guitarist John Williams explains to Matthew Parris why he believes Paraguayan guitarist Agustin Barrios Mangore led a "great life." Also features Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Composers|Barrios]]
[[Category:Musicians|Barrios]]
[[Category:Poets|Barrios]]
[[Category:Famous people|Barrios]]
[[Category:Nationality Paraguayan|Barrios]]
[[Category:People|Barrios]]

Irving Kane Pond

2026-07-09T13:26:12Z

SysopJ: Created page with "ľ'''UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' '''UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' '''Irving Kane Pond''' (1857-1939) and his brother '''Allen Bartlitt Pond''' (1858–1929) were Chicago architects, and leading partners in the prominent firm Pond & Pond, Martin & Lloyd. Irving Kane Pond designed the '''L. W. Rogers Building''', headquarters of the American Theosophical Society in Wheaton, Illinois. ''Autobiography'' == Personal..."

ľ'''UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 
'''UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 
'''Irving Kane Pond''' (1857-1939) and his brother '''Allen Bartlitt Pond''' (1858–1929) were Chicago architects, and leading partners in the prominent firm Pond & Pond, Martin & Lloyd. Irving Kane Pond designed the '''[[L. W. Rogers Building]]''', headquarters of the [[American Theosophical Society]] in Wheaton, Illinois.

[[File:Autobiography of I K Pond.jpg|170px|right|thumb|''Autobiography'']]
== Personal life ==
[[File:Irving_Kane_Pond,_1876.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Irving Kane Pond, 1876]]

== Architectural work ==

=== Training and early work ===

=== Philosophy and style ===
<blockquote>
The Ponds sought to create a modern American architecture without rejecting architectural stylistic traditions, but simplifying them through the emphasis of geometry and the inherent quality of building materials and construction. In that regard, the Ponds were strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, with the emphasis on honest materials used honestly.<ref>David Swan, Preface to ''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Eliihu'' ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum (Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009), vii.</ref>
</blockquote>

Strong sense of social responsibility .....

<blockquote>
Stylistically Irving Pond did not totally fit in one category or another. He stood in the role of an intermediary, halfway between the revolutionary aesthetics and technology of the Chicago School and the Prairie School and the taste for traditional architecture his clients often felt that precedent or literary aesthetics required. His architecture used traditional materials especially brick and employed traditional forms such as gable roofs, but his designs embraced a geometric simplicity with no embellishments — a tenet of the Arts & Crafts movement.<ref>from Ravinia School nomination ..... </ref>
</blockquote>

=== Participation in architectural organizations ===

=== Gallery of architectural projects ===
'''The L. W. Rogers Building and similar structures'''
[[File:Rogers_Building_1a.jpg|center|400px|thumb|L. W. Rogers Building, 1926]]

<gallery widths="200px" perrow="4">
File:MIchigan Union, 1919.png|Michigan Union, 1919
File:Purdue Memorial Union, 1924.JPG||Purdue Memorial Union, 1924
File:MSU Union Building, 1925.jpg|Michigan State University Union, 1925
File:Kansas Memorial Union, 1927.png|Kansas Memorial Union, 1927
File:Michigan League, 1929.jpg|Michigan League, 1929
</gallery>

'''Examples of other buildings'''

<gallery widths="200px" perrow="4">
File:Highland Park Club House..png|Highland Park Club House, 1891
File:Oregon Public Library.jpg|Oregon Public Library, 1909
File:Manor House Kenosha.jpg|Manor House, Kenosha, WI, 1926
</gallery>

== Other activities ==

Hull-House
 
 
 
[[File:Big Top Rhythms.jpg|right|170px|thumb|''Big Top Rhythms'']]
=== Circus and acrobatics ===
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Social clubs and memberships ===
Chicago Literary Club

== Writings ==

* '''''The Meaning Of Architecture: An Essay In Constructive Criticism'''''. Boston, Marshall Jones Company, 1918. 226 pages, illustrations. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/971540.html Hathitrust] and several versions at [https://archive.org/details/meaningofarchite00pond Internet Archive]. A historical reproduction of the 1923 edition is available at [https://www.amazon.com/meaning-architecture-essay-constructive-criticism/dp/1117177548 Amazon.com].
* '''"Eliel Saarinen and his work a word of appreciation and greeting"'''. 1923. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=bctPAAAAMAAJ and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008062880&seq=1 Hathitrust]. Pages extracted from ''The Western Architect'' 32 no. 7 (July, 1923): 75-76 plus plates.
* '''''A Day Under the Big Top, a Study in Life and Art'''''. Chicago: Chicago Literary Club, 1924. 40 pages, with 4 diagrams. "Edition, five hundred and fifteen copies, printed for members of the club in the month of March, nineteen hundred and twenty-four." About circus and acrobatics. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=tWB0SUDY1JoC Google Books] and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062226652&seq=7 Hathitrust].
* '''''The College Union'''''. [New York], 1931. 16 pages. Limited availability at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004162973 Hathitrust] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=a_fVAAAAMAAJ Google Books].
* '''"Pullman - America's First Planned Industrial Town"'''. Illinois society of architects. ''Monthly bulletin'' vol. 18-19, nos. 12-1, June-July, 1934. 6-8 pages.
* '''''Big Top Rhythms: A Study in Art and Life''''', written and illustrated by Pond. Chicago, New York, Willett, Clark and Company, 1937. 229 pages, illustrations.
* '''''A Strange Fellow, and Other Club Papers''''', written and illustrated by Pond New York, Chicago, Priv. Print. by Willett, Clark and Company, 1938. 224 pages, illustrations. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/2976903.html Hathitrust], [https://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/OCA/Books2012-05/strangefellowoth00ilpond/ Open Content Alliance], and [https://archive.org/details/strangefellowoth00ilpond Internet Archive].
* '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond''''', written in the 1930s and published posthumously. Edited by Terry Tatum and David Swan. Oak Park, IL: Hyoogen Press, 2009.

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===

* Szuberla, Guy. "⁨Irving Kane Pond: a Michigan Architect in Chicago" ''Old Northwest'' 5 no. 2 (Summer, 1979): 109-140.

=== Books ===

* Pond, Irving Kane. '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Elihu''''' ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum. Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009.

=== Archival collections ===

* '''The University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library'''.
** [https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-bhl-852090 Pond Family Papers, 1841-1939]. "Correspondence of Elihu B. Pond, editor of Michigan Argus, his sons, Chicago architects, Irving Kane and Allen Bartlit Pond, founders of firm of Pond & Pond, and other family members; include materials concerning family affairs, architectural projects, Jane Addams and the work of Hull House, European travels, politics especially as relates to period of the Civil War and the election of 1896; also photographs, architectural drawings and other visual materials."
* '''The Art Institute of Chicago: Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives''', Chicago, Illinois.
** [https://www.artic.edu/artworks/262324/pond-and-pond-collection Pond and Pond Collection, c.1895-1938]. "Correspondence, albums, black and white photographic prints, architectural drawings, and architectural reprographic prints."
* '''The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts''', Chicago, Illinois.
** [https://explore.chicagocollections.org/ead/newberry/72/xw4 American Circus Collection, 1891-1939]. "Late 19th and early 20th century circus and theater related illustrations, publicity, programs, photographs and memorabilia" donated by Irving Kane Pond, 1939.
** [https://archives.newberry.org/repositories/2/resources/398 Chicago Literary Club records]. Irving Kane Pond was active in this club, and its records include "weekly papers read by over 250 members, but also correspondence, minutes, a visitors' register, cashbook, and scrapbooks."
* '''Columbia University Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library''', New York.
** [https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/pdf/cul-3460598.pdf Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue architectural drawings and papers 3460598]. Materials related to Irving Kane Pond, Claude Bragdon, and many other architects.
* '''Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog''' Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey, Washington DC.
** [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/il1014/ Junior League of Chicago, 1447 North Astor Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL]
* '''The Athenaeum of Philadelphia''', Philadelphia, PA.
** [https://archives.philaathenaeum.org/agents/people/116 Pond, Irving K. (Irving Kane), 1857-1939]. "Correspondence to Seeler from architects, designers, and/or members of theAmerican Institute of Architects, both in Boston and Washington DC."

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Architects|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:Writers|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:Nationality American|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:People|Pond, Irving Kane]]

Hodson writings

2026-07-07T12:55:44Z

SysopJ: /* Angels, fairies and nature spirits */

[[File:Geoffrey Hodson 5 in Auckland 1953.jpg|180px|right|thumb|Geoffrey Hodson, 1953.]]
'''[[Geoffrey Hodson]]''' was a Theosophical lecturer and writer from New Zealand. His works are widely read by the general public and many members of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] based in Adyar, Chennai, India. In 1954, Mr. Hodson was awarded the '''[[Subba Row Medal]]''' for his contributions to Theosophical literature.

== Periodicals ==

The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists:
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Geoffrey+Hodson&s=author 655 articles by Mr. Hodson]''';
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Geoffrey+Hodson&s=title 163 articles about his life and works]'''.

Some articles have been made available online:
* [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/articles/spiritual-self-and-its-goal-perfection The Spiritual Self and Its Goal of Perfection] in Theosophy World. Originally titled Man’s Spiritual Self and its Goal of Perfection and taken from a condensed version of an article in ‘’Theosophy in New Zealand’’ December 2006 and published in ‘’Theosophical Digest’’ Vol. 22 No. 2.

== Compilations of articles ==

* '''''Sharing the Light: The Collected Articles of Geoffrey Hodson Volume I'''''. Manila, Philippines: Theosophical Publishing House, 2008. Compiled by John and Elizabeth Sell and Roselmo Z. Doval Santos. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/Sharing%20the%20Light%20I.htm Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''Sharing the Light: The Collected Articles of Geoffrey Hodson Volume II'''''. Manila, Philippines: Theosophical Publishing House, 2008. Compiled by John and Elizabeth Sell and Roselmo Z. Doval Santos. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/SHARING%20THE%20LIGHT%20II.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].

== Books and Pamphlets ==

Mr. Hodson wrote over 60 books and pamphlets. All reflect knowledge obtained through his clairvoyant abilities. The titles are categorized below as a convenience, but some books may fall into more than one category.

=== Christianity ===

* '''''Christ Life from Nativity to Ascension'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1975.
* '''''Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1963-1967. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1976-1981. 1993-1994 (Theosophical Heritage Classics series). Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/hidden-wisdom-holy-bible-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World] and [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006761043?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
** '''''Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible Volume 1'''''. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/The%20Hidden%20wisdom%20in%20the%20Holy%20Bible%20vol%201.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
** '''''Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible Volume 2'''''. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/The%20Hidden%20wisdom%20in%20the%20Holy%20Bible%20vol%202.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
** '''''Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible Volume 3'''''. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/The%20Hidden%20wisdom%20in%20the%20Holy%20Bible%20vol%203.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''The Inner Side of Church Worship'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1930. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/inner-side-church-worship Theosophy World].
* '''''The Priestly Ideal'''''. London: St. Alban Press, 1971.

=== Clairvoyance and the occult ===

* '''''American Lectures'''''. 1929. Lectures on clairvoyance given at the World Congress of 1929 in Chicago. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/american-lectures-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World] and [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/american_lectures_Hodson.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''Clairvoyance and the Serpent Fire'''''. Pamphlet. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/clairvoyance-and-serpent-fire-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World] and at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/SerpentFire.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''Clairvoyant Investigations'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1984. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/012264029?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Clairvoyant Investigations of Christian Origins'''''. London: St. Alban Press, 1977. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/101875119?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access). foreword by Sten von Krusenstierna
* '''''Clairvoyant Research and the Life after Death'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1958. Text of a lecture delivered at Cardiff on April 14, 1935. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/articles/clairvoyant-research-and-life-after-death-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World].
* '''''Illuminations of the Mystery Tradition'''''. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/ILLUMINATIONS%20of%20the%20Mystery%20Traditions.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''Man's Supersensory and Spiritual Powers'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1964. 1975. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/SUPERSENSORY%20and%20SPIRITUAL%20POWER.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website] and at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007470567?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Meditations on the Occult Life'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1953, 1968. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1986. Second edition. Available at [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.162107/mode/2up Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Music Forms: Superphysical Effects of Music Clairvoyantly Observed'''''. Adyar, India; Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1976. 1979. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000752006?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Occult Powers in Nature and in Man: Lectures Delivered in 1953 at the Summer Sessions at Olcott, Wheaton, Illinois, Headquarters of the Theosophical Society in America'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1955.
* '''''The Science of Seership'''''. London, Rider & Co.: 1927. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000582435 Hathitrust] (limited access) and [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/science-seership-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World] and at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/THE%20SCIENCE%20OF%20SEERSHIP.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''Some Experiments in Four Dimensional Vision'''''. London: Rider & Co., 1933.
* '''''The Soul's Awakening: Talks on Occultism and the Occult Life'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Press, 1963. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102296574?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''The Theory and Practice of Spiritual Healing'''''.

=== Angels, fairies and nature spirits ===
[[File:Be Ye Perfect.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Book cover, ''Be Ye Perfect'', 2025 edition]]
* '''''The Angelic Hosts'''''. 1928. Available at [https://kg.vkk.nl/english/organizations/lcc.gb/lcis/scriptures/liberal/hodson/theangelichosts/theangelichosts.htm this Dutch website] and [http://www.teramai-in-hampshire.com/uploads/3/8/2/3/3823880/the_angelic_hosts.pdf Termai-in-hampshire.com]. Foreword by J. Wedgwood. New edition published by Gaupo Publishing in New York, 2024 with preface by Nathaniel Altman.
* '''''Angels and the New Race'''''. 1929. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/angels-and-new-race-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World]. Printed by Kable Brothers Printing, Mt. Morris, IL. Foreword by [[Max Wardall]]. Reprinted by Theosophical Publishing House in 1971.
* '''''Be Ye Perfect'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1928. Available at [https://kg.vkk.nl/english/organizations/lcc.gb/lcis/scriptures/liberal/hodson/beyeperfect/beyeperfect.htm this website].
* '''''The Brotherhood of Angels and of Men'''''. London, The Theosophical publishing house, ltd., 1927. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007551120 Hathitrust] (limited access). 1982 edition of Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton, Illinois, is available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/brotherhood-angels-and-men-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World]. Ariel Press edition available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/the%20brotherhood.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''The Coming of the Angels'''''. London : Rider & Co., 1935. Available at [http://pdfpremiumfree.com/download/coming-of-the-angels-1932-by-geoffrey-hodson-pdf/ PDFpremiumfree.com].
* '''''Faeries at Work and at Play'''''. 1925. Available at [https://archive.org/details/fairiesatworkpla00hods Internet Archive] and [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008879886?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''The Kingdom of Faerie'''''. 1927. Available at [http://hpb.narod.ru/KingdomFairie.htm Narod.ru].
* '''''Kingdom of the Gods'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1952. 1961, Fourth edition. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/kingdom-gods-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World] and at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/The%20KINGDOM%20of%20the%20GODS.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website]. Illustrated by Ethelwynne M. Quail. Includess sephiroth, other Kabbalistic concepts.

=== Freemasonry ===
* '''''The Occult Philosophy Concealed within Freemasonry'''''. 1985. Available at [https://a406.proboards.com/thread/139/occult-philosophy-concealed-freemasonry this website].
* '''''At the Sign of the Square and Compass'''''. Madras, India: Eastern Federation, International Co-Freemasonry, 1976. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000612452 Hathitrust] (limited access).

=== Diet, health, healing, and life style ===
* '''''[https://archive.org/details/health-and-the-spiritual-life_202511 Health and the Spiritual Life]'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1954. 32 pages. Reprint of 1926 first edition.
* '''''Radiant Health from a Meat-Free Dietary'''''. Aukland: New Zealand Vegetarian Society, Inc. [3rd edition is undated]
* '''''The Miracle of Birth: A Clairvoyant Study of Prenatal Life'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1929. Available at [https://archive.org/details/miracleofbirthcl00hodsrich Internet Archive]. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1981.
* '''''New Light on the Problem of Disease'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1930. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/new-light-problem-disease-g-hodson Theosophy World]. Dedicated to Gerald Hounsfield.
* ''''' An Occult View of Health and Disease'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100837858?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access) and [https://archive.org/details/HodsonOccultView1925 Internet Archive].
* '''''The Principles Governing Happiness in Marriage'''''. Wellington, NZ: Theosophical Women's Association of New Zealand, 1946. Pamphlet. Summary in ''Mothers Occult Digest'' 1 no. 1 (Sep-Oct, 1947), 18.
* '''''The Call to Humaneness: A Collection of Essays about Peace, Nonviolence and Living a Compassionate Life.'''''. Brooklyn, NY: Gaupo Publishing, 2024.

=== Theosophy ===

* '''''Basic Theosophy: The Living Wisdom (condensed from Lecture Notes)'''''. Adyar, India; Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1981.
* '''''The Call to the Heights: Guidance on the Pathway to Self-Illumination'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1975. 1987, 2021.
* '''''The Concealed Wisdom in World Mythology'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1983. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000589325?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Destiny: A Theosophical Testament'''''. Theosophical Publishing House, 1936.
* '''''First Steps on the Path'''''. Theosophical Publishing House, 1928.
* '''''Lecture Notes: The School of the Wisdom Vol. 1 '''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1955. Available at [https://ia904606.us.archive.org/30/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.460012/2015.460012.Lecture-Notes.pdf Internet Archive].
* '''''Lecture Notes: The School of the Wisdom Vol. 2 '''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1955.
* '''''Man, the Triune God'''''. 1925. New York: Roerich Museum, 1932. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1961. Available at [https://www.scribd.com/document/29549784/MAN-The-Triune-God-Geoffrey-Hodson Scribd].
* '''''[https://archive.org/details/path-of-the-masters-of-the-wisdom The Path of the Masters of the Wisdom]'''''. Auckland, New Zealand: The New Zealand Section of The Theosophical Society, 1980.
* '''''Pathway to Perfection: A Treatise on the Path of Swift Unfoldment'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1954. 1960 Revised edition.
* '''''Radiant Health from a Meat-free Dietary'''''. Auckland : New Zealand Vegetarian Society, 1970, Third edition.
* '''''Reincarnation, Fact or Fallacy?''''' Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1956. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1967, Revised edition. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006023990?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''The Seven Human Temperaments'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1968, 1987. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/seven-human-temperaments-g-hodson Theosophy World] and [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007479046?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''The Spiritual Significance of Motherhood'''''. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/SpiritMotherhood_Hodson.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''The Supreme Splendour: A Study of Universal Creative Processes, of the Deity as Emanator, of Archangelic Intelligences who make manifest the Divine "Idea", and of Man as a Creator In-the-becoming'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1969.
* '''''Through the Gateway of Death: A Message to the Bereaved'''''. 1953. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/through-gateway-death-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World]. New reprint at New York: Gaupo Publishing, 2025.
* '''''Theosophy Answers Some Problems of Life'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1953. 1961 Third edition. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001930561?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Thus Have I Heard'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1929, 1947. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/thus-have-i-heard-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World]. New edition published by Gaupo Publishing in New York, 2026 with foreword by Nathaniel Altman.
* '''''Vital Questions Answered'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1959.
* '''''The Yogic Ascent to Spiritual Heights: A Collection of Articles on Yoga -- The Ancient and Modern Pathway to Self-enlightenment Leading to Discipleship and Initiation'''''. Manila, Philippines: Stellar Books, 1991. Extract [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/egoic-consciousness-geoffrey-hodson “Egoic Consciousness”] at Theosophy World.
* '''''A Yoga of Light'''''. Available at [https://theosophists.org/library/booklets/a-yoga-of-light/ Theosophists.org]. Pamphlet. Also printed in Spanish and Danish.

=== Autobiographical ===

Autobiographical writings of Geoffrey Hodson were compiled by Sandra Hodson.

* '''''Light of the Sanctuary'''''. Manila, Philippines: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988. ISBN-971-9113-0-0. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/Light%20of%20the%20sanctuary.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website]. Extracts are available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/extracts-light-sanctuary-occult-diary-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Supplementary articles|Hodson writings]]
[[Category:Reading lists|Hodson writings]]
[[Category:TS Adyar|Hodson writings]]

At the Feet of the Master (book)

2026-07-07T12:50:25Z

SysopJ: /* Books */

[[File:Alcyone frontispiece.jpg|right|200px|thumb|1911 Frontispiece - portrait of [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]]]]
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''At the Feet of the Master'' (book)}}
'''''At the Feet of the Master''''' is an inspirational work considered by many to be one of the classics of Theosophy. '''[[Jiddu Krishnamurti]]''' wrote it under the pseudonym or "star name" '''[[Alcyone]]'''. He was awarded the [[Subba Row Medal]], and the medal was presented in December, 1911 at the annual convention of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India]]. During that year alone, the work had passed through 5 English and 22 translated editions.<ref>"On the Watch-Tower" ''The Theosophist 33.5 (February 1912), 630.</ref> Within a year an English edition was also made available in Braille.<ref>Anonymous, "Braille Council" ''The Theosophic Messenger'' 14.1 (October 1912), 71-72.</ref>

== Writing of the book ==

[[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] reported that on the night of [[August 1]], 1909, [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]] [[Koot Hoomi]] had put Krishnamurti on [[probation]] as a [[Chela|chela]].

Then, Leadbeater started taking him every night in his [[Astral Body|astral body]] to the house of the Master to be instructed for fifteen minutes in occult science. The next morning Krishnamurti would write down what he remembered, and these notes were later published as the book [[At the Feet of the Master (book)|''At the Feet of the Master'']].<ref>Mary Lutyens, ''Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening'' (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975), 28.</ref>

In her December 1910 Preface to the work, [[Annie Besant]] added:
<blockquote>
The privilege is given to me, as an elder, to pen a word of introduction to this little booklet, the first written by a younger Brother, young in body verily, but not in Soul. The teachings contained in it were given to him by his Master in preparing him for Initiation, and were written down by him from memory - slowly and laboriously, for his English last year was far less fluent than it is now. The greater part is a reproduction of the Master's own words; that which is not such a verbal reproduction is the Master's thought clothed in His pupil's words. Two omitted sentences were supplied by the Master. In two other cases an omitted word has been added. Beyond this, it is entirely Alcyone's own, his first gift to the world.<ref>Annie Besant, Preface to ''At the Feet of the Master''. December, 1910. Available from the [https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/TalksOnThePathOfOccultism_AtTheFeetOfTheMaster_BesantLeadbeater.pdf# Canadian Theosophical Association].</ref>
</blockquote>

== Structure of the book ==

''At the Feet of the Master'' is a short work, and simple in structure. It addresses the qualifications for a person to enter a spiritual path:
:* Discrimination
:* Desirelessness
:* Good conduct
::* Self-control as to the Mind
::* Self-control in Action
::* Tolerance
::* Cheerfulness
::* One-pointedness
::* Confidence
:* Love

[[File:ATFOTM Vietnamese.jpg|right|170px|thumb|2013 Vietnamese edition]]

== Editions and excerpts ==

This is one of the most-quoted works in the Theosophical literature. Within the journals produced by the [[Theosophical Society in America]] alone, disregarding all other national and international periodicals, there are several hundred references to or quotations from ''At the Feet of the Master''. It has also been extensively covered by journals and books in England, Australia, New Zealand, France, and other countries, and has been translated into many languages.

The following versions are available online:

* [http://www.theosophy.ph/onlinebooks/AtTheFeetOfTheMaster_JKrishnamurti.pdf '''''At the Feet of the Master'', unidentified edition'''] from the Theosophical Society in the Philippines.
* [https://www.sanctusgermanus.net/ebooks/At%20the%20Feet%20of%20the%20Master.pdf '''''At the Feet of the Master'', Theosophical Press edition'''] from SanctusGermanus.net.
* [https://archive.org/details/atfeetmaster00krisgoog '''''At the Feet of the Master'', Rajput Press 1911 edition'''] from Internet Archive. Scanned at University of Wisconsin, Madison.
* [https://archive.org/details/atfeetofmaster00krisrich '''''At the Feet of the Master'', Rajput Press 1911 edition'''] from Internet Archive. Scanned at University of California.
*[https://sites.google.com/site/humanevolution2008/the-human-spirit/at-the-feet-of-the-master/forward '''''At the Feet of the Master'' ebook'''] from How to Change Paradigm website. Includes Preface by Annie Besant.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/feet-master '''''At the Feet of the Master'' ebook'''] from Theosophy World.

== Book reviews ==

The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=At+the+Feet+of+the+Master&s=title 54 articles about ''At the Feet of the Master'']'''. Some are reviews; some are commentaries or courses; and others are direct quotations.

== Additional resources ==
===Books===

* [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006517848 ''Thoughts on "At the Feet of the Master"''] by George S. Arundale, available from Hathitrust and also from [http://www.anandgholap.net/Thoughts_On_At_The_Feet_Of_Master-GSA.htm AnandGholap.net].
* [http://www.iapsop.com/ssoc/1930__besant_leadbeater___talks_on_the_path_of_occultism_v1.pdf ''Talks on the Path of Occultism: A commentary on "At the Feet of the Master"''] by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, available from IAPSOP and also from [http://www.anandgholap.net/At_The_Feet_Of_The_Master-Commentary-AB_CWL.html# AnandgGholap.net].
* '''''Two Spiritual Classics'''''. New edition published by Gaupo Publishing in New York, 2026 with preface by Nathaniel Altman. Includes ''Meditations from "At the Feet of the Master"'' by A Server.

=== Articles ===

* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/feet-master "At the Feet of the Master"] in Theosophy World.

===Audio===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/krishnamurti/At%20the%20Feet%20of%20the%20Master.mp3# ''At the Feet of the Master''] by Alcyone (Jiddu Krishnamurti)

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/programs/online-programs/living-theosophy-series/2246-at-the-feet-of-the-master-series# Living Theosophy: ''At the Feet of the Master'' (4 Talks)] by David Bruce, Tim Boyd, Pablo Sender, and Juliana Cesano.
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=FD5E167D-C9AD-4E6F-9FD4-976195DE8911# Guideposts for Living: ''At the Feet of the Master'' (2 Parts)] by John Algeo
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdZoqsGs8U8 At the Feet of the Master by J. Krishnamurti Read by a (very imperfect) Human] YouTube video by SputnikTripulator V.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeWK0mHaYsw At the Feet of the Master, Alcyon / J Krishmurti Part 1] and three other parts on YouTube by Patreon.com.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBgd7biF5jY The Challenge of Living in the World as a Theosophist] by Helen Bee. Discusses the question of personal ethics for a Theosophist, using "At the Feet of the Master" as a guide. Presented in 1988.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z32jmx7h5tU Four Essential Steps for Living a Spiritual Life] by Barbara Hebert. Presented on May 10, 2018 at the Theosophical Society in America. "There are many profound and creative ways to describe the spiritual path, but finding a quick and easy presentation can be difficult. The small book written by J. Krishnamurti, At the Feet of the Master, gives us exactly that. Though it sounds simplistic, it is anything but. Through Discrimination, Desirelessness, Good Conduct, and Love we transform the ordinary life into a truly spiritual one."

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Books|At the Feet of the Master]]

At the Feet of the Master (book)

2026-07-07T12:47:19Z

SysopJ: /* Structure of the book */

[[File:Alcyone frontispiece.jpg|right|200px|thumb|1911 Frontispiece - portrait of [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]]]]
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''At the Feet of the Master'' (book)}}
'''''At the Feet of the Master''''' is an inspirational work considered by many to be one of the classics of Theosophy. '''[[Jiddu Krishnamurti]]''' wrote it under the pseudonym or "star name" '''[[Alcyone]]'''. He was awarded the [[Subba Row Medal]], and the medal was presented in December, 1911 at the annual convention of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India]]. During that year alone, the work had passed through 5 English and 22 translated editions.<ref>"On the Watch-Tower" ''The Theosophist 33.5 (February 1912), 630.</ref> Within a year an English edition was also made available in Braille.<ref>Anonymous, "Braille Council" ''The Theosophic Messenger'' 14.1 (October 1912), 71-72.</ref>

== Writing of the book ==

[[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] reported that on the night of [[August 1]], 1909, [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]] [[Koot Hoomi]] had put Krishnamurti on [[probation]] as a [[Chela|chela]].

Then, Leadbeater started taking him every night in his [[Astral Body|astral body]] to the house of the Master to be instructed for fifteen minutes in occult science. The next morning Krishnamurti would write down what he remembered, and these notes were later published as the book [[At the Feet of the Master (book)|''At the Feet of the Master'']].<ref>Mary Lutyens, ''Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening'' (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975), 28.</ref>

In her December 1910 Preface to the work, [[Annie Besant]] added:
<blockquote>
The privilege is given to me, as an elder, to pen a word of introduction to this little booklet, the first written by a younger Brother, young in body verily, but not in Soul. The teachings contained in it were given to him by his Master in preparing him for Initiation, and were written down by him from memory - slowly and laboriously, for his English last year was far less fluent than it is now. The greater part is a reproduction of the Master's own words; that which is not such a verbal reproduction is the Master's thought clothed in His pupil's words. Two omitted sentences were supplied by the Master. In two other cases an omitted word has been added. Beyond this, it is entirely Alcyone's own, his first gift to the world.<ref>Annie Besant, Preface to ''At the Feet of the Master''. December, 1910. Available from the [https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/TalksOnThePathOfOccultism_AtTheFeetOfTheMaster_BesantLeadbeater.pdf# Canadian Theosophical Association].</ref>
</blockquote>

== Structure of the book ==

''At the Feet of the Master'' is a short work, and simple in structure. It addresses the qualifications for a person to enter a spiritual path:
:* Discrimination
:* Desirelessness
:* Good conduct
::* Self-control as to the Mind
::* Self-control in Action
::* Tolerance
::* Cheerfulness
::* One-pointedness
::* Confidence
:* Love

[[File:ATFOTM Vietnamese.jpg|right|170px|thumb|2013 Vietnamese edition]]

== Editions and excerpts ==

This is one of the most-quoted works in the Theosophical literature. Within the journals produced by the [[Theosophical Society in America]] alone, disregarding all other national and international periodicals, there are several hundred references to or quotations from ''At the Feet of the Master''. It has also been extensively covered by journals and books in England, Australia, New Zealand, France, and other countries, and has been translated into many languages.

The following versions are available online:

* [http://www.theosophy.ph/onlinebooks/AtTheFeetOfTheMaster_JKrishnamurti.pdf '''''At the Feet of the Master'', unidentified edition'''] from the Theosophical Society in the Philippines.
* [https://www.sanctusgermanus.net/ebooks/At%20the%20Feet%20of%20the%20Master.pdf '''''At the Feet of the Master'', Theosophical Press edition'''] from SanctusGermanus.net.
* [https://archive.org/details/atfeetmaster00krisgoog '''''At the Feet of the Master'', Rajput Press 1911 edition'''] from Internet Archive. Scanned at University of Wisconsin, Madison.
* [https://archive.org/details/atfeetofmaster00krisrich '''''At the Feet of the Master'', Rajput Press 1911 edition'''] from Internet Archive. Scanned at University of California.
*[https://sites.google.com/site/humanevolution2008/the-human-spirit/at-the-feet-of-the-master/forward '''''At the Feet of the Master'' ebook'''] from How to Change Paradigm website. Includes Preface by Annie Besant.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/feet-master '''''At the Feet of the Master'' ebook'''] from Theosophy World.

== Book reviews ==

The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=At+the+Feet+of+the+Master&s=title 54 articles about ''At the Feet of the Master'']'''. Some are reviews; some are commentaries or courses; and others are direct quotations.

== Additional resources ==
===Books===

* [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006517848 ''Thoughts on "At the Feet of the Master"''] by George S. Arundale, available from Hathitrust and also from [http://www.anandgholap.net/Thoughts_On_At_The_Feet_Of_Master-GSA.htm AnandGholap.net].
* [http://www.iapsop.com/ssoc/1930__besant_leadbeater___talks_on_the_path_of_occultism_v1.pdf ''Talks on the Path of Occultism: A commentary on "At the Feet of the Master"''] by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, available from IAPSOP and also from [http://www.anandgholap.net/At_The_Feet_Of_The_Master-Commentary-AB_CWL.html# AnandgGholap.net].

=== Articles ===

* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/feet-master "At the Feet of the Master"] in Theosophy World.

===Audio===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/krishnamurti/At%20the%20Feet%20of%20the%20Master.mp3# ''At the Feet of the Master''] by Alcyone (Jiddu Krishnamurti)

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/programs/online-programs/living-theosophy-series/2246-at-the-feet-of-the-master-series# Living Theosophy: ''At the Feet of the Master'' (4 Talks)] by David Bruce, Tim Boyd, Pablo Sender, and Juliana Cesano.
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=FD5E167D-C9AD-4E6F-9FD4-976195DE8911# Guideposts for Living: ''At the Feet of the Master'' (2 Parts)] by John Algeo
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdZoqsGs8U8 At the Feet of the Master by J. Krishnamurti Read by a (very imperfect) Human] YouTube video by SputnikTripulator V.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeWK0mHaYsw At the Feet of the Master, Alcyon / J Krishmurti Part 1] and three other parts on YouTube by Patreon.com.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBgd7biF5jY The Challenge of Living in the World as a Theosophist] by Helen Bee. Discusses the question of personal ethics for a Theosophist, using "At the Feet of the Master" as a guide. Presented in 1988.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z32jmx7h5tU Four Essential Steps for Living a Spiritual Life] by Barbara Hebert. Presented on May 10, 2018 at the Theosophical Society in America. "There are many profound and creative ways to describe the spiritual path, but finding a quick and easy presentation can be difficult. The small book written by J. Krishnamurti, At the Feet of the Master, gives us exactly that. Though it sounds simplistic, it is anything but. Through Discrimination, Desirelessness, Good Conduct, and Love we transform the ordinary life into a truly spiritual one."

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Books|At the Feet of the Master]]

Hodson writings

2026-07-07T12:45:58Z

SysopJ: /* Theosophy */

[[File:Geoffrey Hodson 5 in Auckland 1953.jpg|180px|right|thumb|Geoffrey Hodson, 1953.]]
'''[[Geoffrey Hodson]]''' was a Theosophical lecturer and writer from New Zealand. His works are widely read by the general public and many members of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] based in Adyar, Chennai, India. In 1954, Mr. Hodson was awarded the '''[[Subba Row Medal]]''' for his contributions to Theosophical literature.

== Periodicals ==

The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists:
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Geoffrey+Hodson&s=author 655 articles by Mr. Hodson]''';
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Geoffrey+Hodson&s=title 163 articles about his life and works]'''.

Some articles have been made available online:
* [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/articles/spiritual-self-and-its-goal-perfection The Spiritual Self and Its Goal of Perfection] in Theosophy World. Originally titled Man’s Spiritual Self and its Goal of Perfection and taken from a condensed version of an article in ‘’Theosophy in New Zealand’’ December 2006 and published in ‘’Theosophical Digest’’ Vol. 22 No. 2.

== Compilations of articles ==

* '''''Sharing the Light: The Collected Articles of Geoffrey Hodson Volume I'''''. Manila, Philippines: Theosophical Publishing House, 2008. Compiled by John and Elizabeth Sell and Roselmo Z. Doval Santos. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/Sharing%20the%20Light%20I.htm Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''Sharing the Light: The Collected Articles of Geoffrey Hodson Volume II'''''. Manila, Philippines: Theosophical Publishing House, 2008. Compiled by John and Elizabeth Sell and Roselmo Z. Doval Santos. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/SHARING%20THE%20LIGHT%20II.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].

== Books and Pamphlets ==

Mr. Hodson wrote over 60 books and pamphlets. All reflect knowledge obtained through his clairvoyant abilities. The titles are categorized below as a convenience, but some books may fall into more than one category.

=== Christianity ===

* '''''Christ Life from Nativity to Ascension'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1975.
* '''''Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1963-1967. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1976-1981. 1993-1994 (Theosophical Heritage Classics series). Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/hidden-wisdom-holy-bible-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World] and [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006761043?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
** '''''Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible Volume 1'''''. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/The%20Hidden%20wisdom%20in%20the%20Holy%20Bible%20vol%201.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
** '''''Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible Volume 2'''''. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/The%20Hidden%20wisdom%20in%20the%20Holy%20Bible%20vol%202.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
** '''''Hidden Wisdom in the Holy Bible Volume 3'''''. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/The%20Hidden%20wisdom%20in%20the%20Holy%20Bible%20vol%203.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''The Inner Side of Church Worship'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1930. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/inner-side-church-worship Theosophy World].
* '''''The Priestly Ideal'''''. London: St. Alban Press, 1971.

=== Clairvoyance and the occult ===

* '''''American Lectures'''''. 1929. Lectures on clairvoyance given at the World Congress of 1929 in Chicago. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/american-lectures-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World] and [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/american_lectures_Hodson.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''Clairvoyance and the Serpent Fire'''''. Pamphlet. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/clairvoyance-and-serpent-fire-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World] and at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/SerpentFire.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''Clairvoyant Investigations'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1984. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/012264029?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Clairvoyant Investigations of Christian Origins'''''. London: St. Alban Press, 1977. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/101875119?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access). foreword by Sten von Krusenstierna
* '''''Clairvoyant Research and the Life after Death'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1958. Text of a lecture delivered at Cardiff on April 14, 1935. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/articles/clairvoyant-research-and-life-after-death-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World].
* '''''Illuminations of the Mystery Tradition'''''. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/ILLUMINATIONS%20of%20the%20Mystery%20Traditions.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''Man's Supersensory and Spiritual Powers'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1964. 1975. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/SUPERSENSORY%20and%20SPIRITUAL%20POWER.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website] and at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007470567?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Meditations on the Occult Life'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1953, 1968. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1986. Second edition. Available at [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.162107/mode/2up Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Music Forms: Superphysical Effects of Music Clairvoyantly Observed'''''. Adyar, India; Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1976. 1979. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000752006?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Occult Powers in Nature and in Man: Lectures Delivered in 1953 at the Summer Sessions at Olcott, Wheaton, Illinois, Headquarters of the Theosophical Society in America'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1955.
* '''''The Science of Seership'''''. London, Rider & Co.: 1927. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000582435 Hathitrust] (limited access) and [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/science-seership-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World] and at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/THE%20SCIENCE%20OF%20SEERSHIP.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''Some Experiments in Four Dimensional Vision'''''. London: Rider & Co., 1933.
* '''''The Soul's Awakening: Talks on Occultism and the Occult Life'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Press, 1963. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102296574?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''The Theory and Practice of Spiritual Healing'''''.

=== Angels, fairies and nature spirits ===
[[File:Be Ye Perfect.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Book cover, ''Be Ye Perfect'', 2025 edition]]
* '''''The Angelic Hosts'''''. 1928. Available at [https://kg.vkk.nl/english/organizations/lcc.gb/lcis/scriptures/liberal/hodson/theangelichosts/theangelichosts.htm this Dutch website] and [http://www.teramai-in-hampshire.com/uploads/3/8/2/3/3823880/the_angelic_hosts.pdf Termai-in-hampshire.com]. Foreword by J. Wedgwood. New edition published by Gaupo Publishing in New York, 2024 with foreword by Nathaniel Altman.
* '''''Angels and the New Race'''''. 1929. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/angels-and-new-race-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World]. Printed by Kable Brothers Printing, Mt. Morris, IL. Foreword by [[Max Wardall]]. Reprinted by Theosophical Publishing House in 1971.
* '''''Be Ye Perfect'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1928. Available at [https://kg.vkk.nl/english/organizations/lcc.gb/lcis/scriptures/liberal/hodson/beyeperfect/beyeperfect.htm this website].
* '''''The Brotherhood of Angels and of Men'''''. London, The Theosophical publishing house, ltd., 1927. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007551120 Hathitrust] (limited access). 1982 edition of Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton, Illinois, is available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/brotherhood-angels-and-men-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World]. Ariel Press edition available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/the%20brotherhood.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''The Coming of the Angels'''''. London : Rider & Co., 1935. Available at [http://pdfpremiumfree.com/download/coming-of-the-angels-1932-by-geoffrey-hodson-pdf/ PDFpremiumfree.com].
* '''''Faeries at Work and at Play'''''. 1925. Available at [https://archive.org/details/fairiesatworkpla00hods Internet Archive] and [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008879886?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''The Kingdom of Faerie'''''. 1927. Available at [http://hpb.narod.ru/KingdomFairie.htm Narod.ru].
* '''''Kingdom of the Gods'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1952. 1961, Fourth edition. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/kingdom-gods-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World] and at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/The%20KINGDOM%20of%20the%20GODS.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website]. Illustrated by Ethelwynne M. Quail. Includess sephiroth, other Kabbalistic concepts.

=== Freemasonry ===
* '''''The Occult Philosophy Concealed within Freemasonry'''''. 1985. Available at [https://a406.proboards.com/thread/139/occult-philosophy-concealed-freemasonry this website].
* '''''At the Sign of the Square and Compass'''''. Madras, India: Eastern Federation, International Co-Freemasonry, 1976. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000612452 Hathitrust] (limited access).

=== Diet, health, healing, and life style ===
* '''''[https://archive.org/details/health-and-the-spiritual-life_202511 Health and the Spiritual Life]'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1954. 32 pages. Reprint of 1926 first edition.
* '''''Radiant Health from a Meat-Free Dietary'''''. Aukland: New Zealand Vegetarian Society, Inc. [3rd edition is undated]
* '''''The Miracle of Birth: A Clairvoyant Study of Prenatal Life'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1929. Available at [https://archive.org/details/miracleofbirthcl00hodsrich Internet Archive]. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1981.
* '''''New Light on the Problem of Disease'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1930. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/new-light-problem-disease-g-hodson Theosophy World]. Dedicated to Gerald Hounsfield.
* ''''' An Occult View of Health and Disease'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100837858?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access) and [https://archive.org/details/HodsonOccultView1925 Internet Archive].
* '''''The Principles Governing Happiness in Marriage'''''. Wellington, NZ: Theosophical Women's Association of New Zealand, 1946. Pamphlet. Summary in ''Mothers Occult Digest'' 1 no. 1 (Sep-Oct, 1947), 18.
* '''''The Call to Humaneness: A Collection of Essays about Peace, Nonviolence and Living a Compassionate Life.'''''. Brooklyn, NY: Gaupo Publishing, 2024.

=== Theosophy ===

* '''''Basic Theosophy: The Living Wisdom (condensed from Lecture Notes)'''''. Adyar, India; Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1981.
* '''''The Call to the Heights: Guidance on the Pathway to Self-Illumination'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1975. 1987, 2021.
* '''''The Concealed Wisdom in World Mythology'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1983. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000589325?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Destiny: A Theosophical Testament'''''. Theosophical Publishing House, 1936.
* '''''First Steps on the Path'''''. Theosophical Publishing House, 1928.
* '''''Lecture Notes: The School of the Wisdom Vol. 1 '''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1955. Available at [https://ia904606.us.archive.org/30/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.460012/2015.460012.Lecture-Notes.pdf Internet Archive].
* '''''Lecture Notes: The School of the Wisdom Vol. 2 '''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1955.
* '''''Man, the Triune God'''''. 1925. New York: Roerich Museum, 1932. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1961. Available at [https://www.scribd.com/document/29549784/MAN-The-Triune-God-Geoffrey-Hodson Scribd].
* '''''[https://archive.org/details/path-of-the-masters-of-the-wisdom The Path of the Masters of the Wisdom]'''''. Auckland, New Zealand: The New Zealand Section of The Theosophical Society, 1980.
* '''''Pathway to Perfection: A Treatise on the Path of Swift Unfoldment'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1954. 1960 Revised edition.
* '''''Radiant Health from a Meat-free Dietary'''''. Auckland : New Zealand Vegetarian Society, 1970, Third edition.
* '''''Reincarnation, Fact or Fallacy?''''' Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1956. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1967, Revised edition. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006023990?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''The Seven Human Temperaments'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1968, 1987. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/seven-human-temperaments-g-hodson Theosophy World] and [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007479046?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''The Spiritual Significance of Motherhood'''''. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/SpiritMotherhood_Hodson.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website].
* '''''The Supreme Splendour: A Study of Universal Creative Processes, of the Deity as Emanator, of Archangelic Intelligences who make manifest the Divine "Idea", and of Man as a Creator In-the-becoming'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1969.
* '''''Through the Gateway of Death: A Message to the Bereaved'''''. 1953. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/through-gateway-death-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World]. New reprint at New York: Gaupo Publishing, 2025.
* '''''Theosophy Answers Some Problems of Life'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1953. 1961 Third edition. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001930561?type%5B%5D=author&lookfor%5B%5D=Hodson%2C%20Geoffrey&ft= Hathitrust] (limited access).
* '''''Thus Have I Heard'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1929, 1947. Available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/thus-have-i-heard-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World]. New edition published by Gaupo Publishing in New York, 2026 with foreword by Nathaniel Altman.
* '''''Vital Questions Answered'''''. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1959.
* '''''The Yogic Ascent to Spiritual Heights: A Collection of Articles on Yoga -- The Ancient and Modern Pathway to Self-enlightenment Leading to Discipleship and Initiation'''''. Manila, Philippines: Stellar Books, 1991. Extract [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/egoic-consciousness-geoffrey-hodson “Egoic Consciousness”] at Theosophy World.
* '''''A Yoga of Light'''''. Available at [https://theosophists.org/library/booklets/a-yoga-of-light/ Theosophists.org]. Pamphlet. Also printed in Spanish and Danish.

=== Autobiographical ===

Autobiographical writings of Geoffrey Hodson were compiled by Sandra Hodson.

* '''''Light of the Sanctuary'''''. Manila, Philippines: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988. ISBN-971-9113-0-0. Available at [https://www.minhtrietmoi.org/Theosophy/Hodson/Light%20of%20the%20sanctuary.htm# Minhtrietmoi.org website]. Extracts are available at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/extracts-light-sanctuary-occult-diary-geoffrey-hodson Theosophy World].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Supplementary articles|Hodson writings]]
[[Category:Reading lists|Hodson writings]]
[[Category:TS Adyar|Hodson writings]]

L. W. Rogers Building

2026-07-06T19:29:08Z

SysopJ: /* History */

[[File:Rogers_Building_1a.jpg|470px|thumb|right|L. W. Rogers Building, front view, 2007]]
[[File:Historic Building plaque.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Historic building plaque, 2025]]
The '''L. W. Rogers Building''' is the headquarters of the [[Theosophical Society in America]], located on the [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott campus]] in Wheaton, Illinois. It houses the business offices, auditorium, classroom, meditation room, staff residences, guest rooms, and the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]]. The building came to be named after [[L. W. Rogers]], during whose term as Theosophical Society president it was built. It has been listed on the '''[https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/database-research.htm#table National Register of Historic Places]''' under Reference Number 100011694.

See more of the building in videos '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFXPgUdWdHw#t=60 The Theosophical Society in America: A Brief Tour]''' and '''[https://vimeo.com/1198174626 Centennial of Theosophical Society in Wheaton]'''.

== History ==
[[File:Rogers_at_desk_1927.jpg|200px|thumb|right|L. W. Rogers at his desk in 1927. Image from TSA Archives.]]

In 1925 the [[American Theosophical Society]], now known as the [[Theosophical Society in America]], purchased land in Wheaton, Illinois for a new headquarters campus. The Board of Directors approached architect [[Claude Bragdon]], a prominent member of the Society, to design a building to serve as the national administrative center. Bragdon was then closing down his architectural practice to begin a career in theatrical design, and recommended a Chicago architect, '''Irving Kane Pond''', of Pond & Pond, Martin & Lloyd, to take on the project. The architectural firm submitted two designs, and the Board could not decide between them, so President [[L. W. Rogers]] sent the drawings to Bragdon for review. Bragdon wired back that he preferred the asymmetrical design by Irving Pond over a symmetrical rendering by one of his partners.<ref>Claude Bragdon telegram to L. W. Rogers, 1926, TSA Archives.</ref>

The drawings from Irving Kane Pond's proposal were published in [[The Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger'']], and the members were excited to see them. The original art works were created with pen and pastels. Along with blueprints, correspondence, and specifications, they have been preserved using grant funding from the '''Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board''' by the Archives Department of the Theosophical Society.
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Headquarters view from southeast.jpg|Headquarters from southeast
File:Reception Hall.jpg|Reception hall
File:Library.jpg|Library
File:Front Elevation.jpg|Front Elevation
File:First Floor Plan.jpg|First Floor Plan
File:Second Floor Plan.jpg|Second Floor Plan
File:Third Floor Plan.jpg|Third Floor Plan
File:Basement Plan.jpg|Basement Plan
File:Irving Kane Pond initials.jpg|Irving Kane Pond signature
</gallery>

== Cornerstone ceremony ==
[[File:Cornerstone_crowd.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Crowds at cornerstone ceremony.]]
[[File:Cornerstone_1.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Annie Besant in cornerstone ceremony.]]
[[File:Cornerstone_parchment.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Parchment sealed in cornerstone]]
Construction began in 1926, and the cornerstone was laid on the afternoon of Sunday, [[August 29|August 29th]] in a [[Co-Freemasonry|Co-Masonic]] ceremony led by [[Annie Besant]]. [The precise time was not recorded.] The event was heavily covered by the ''Chicago Tribune'' and other newspapers, and people came by the hundreds on the interurban trains from Chicago to be present. In the photograph at the right, Annie Besant and [[A. P. Warrington]] are in front; [[L. W. Rogers]] appears between them; and architect '''Irving Kane Pond''' is third from the right (older man in dark suit). [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] accompanied Annie Besant to Wheaton, but he does not appear in photographs of the ceremony. The architect mentioned the event in his autobiography. The cornerstone was filled with copies of major Theosophical texts such as ''The Secret Doctrine''. Also enclosed was a parchment signed by L. W. Rogers, vice president C. T. Holland, and the directors of the Board: Maude N. Couch, M. B. Hudson, E. C. Boxell, and H. Kay Campbell. Many prominent Theosophists were present, including [[Marie Poutz]], Albert Schwartz, [[Irving S. Cooper]], and [[Beatrice Wood]].

The cornerstone ceremony was featured in a '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH-vuNwK3RU 1926 silent film]''' that is available on YouTube.
 
 
 

== Dedication ceremony ==

A dedication ceremony was conducted by the international president of the Theosophical Society, [[George S. Arundale]] on [[August 28]], 1927. He appears in the middle of the photograph below that appeared in the ''Chicago Tribune''. His wife [[Rukmini Devi Arundale|Rukmini Devi]] and L. W. Rogers are at the left, and A. P. Warrington at the far right. On [[September 17|September 17th]] the staff moved their offices and residences from Chicago.
[[File:Rogers_Building_Dedication_2.jpg|260px|thumb|center|Dedication, August 28, 1927.]]

== Architecture ==
[[File:Rogers Building from northeast 1931.jpg|280px|left|thumb|Rogers Building in 1931, from northeast]]
The architecture of Irving Kane Pond is difficult to classify, but the Rogers Building is generally considered to be Collegiate Gothic in style, with interiors influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement. The exterior was constructed of Bedford limestone and red brick, with a carved stone lintel over the main entrance.

The original roof was a mixture of purple and green slates. The building's asymmetrical design helps to create an impression that the building evolved organically over time, adjusting to the needs of its inhabitants. In point of fact, the exterior appearance has hardly changed over the years, and most spaces in the building are still used for the same functions they were designed to support. Architectural elements on the exterior include horizontal band courses, dentils, and decorative windows. Inside, most rooms are accented simply with dark wood. The three areas with more interesting design features are the lobby, the library, and the meditation room.
 
 
 
== Photo gallery of construction and 1920s exteriors ==
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Construction1 1926 from SE.jpg|Construction site, taken from southeast in 1926
File:Construction2 1927 from SE.jpg|View from southeast in 1927
File:Construction3 from west July 1927.jpg|View from west in 1927
File:Construction4_from_NW_Jul_27_1927.jpg|View from northwest, July 27, 1927
File:From east 1927.jpg|View from east in 1927
File:Construction5_from_NE_July_1927.jpg|View from northeast, July, 1927
File:View from ESE with new driveway.jpg|View from east southeast, late in 1927
File:Rear view late 1920s.jpg|View from west, late 1920s
File:Rogers Building from NW.jpg|View from northwest, late 1920s
</gallery>

== Photo gallery of 1920s interiors ==
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Reception Hall 1.jpg|Reception hall
File:Reception Hall 2 .jpg|Reception hall
File:Presidents Office.jpg|President L. W. Rogers
File:Kay Campbell in office 1928.jpg|National Secretary Kay Campbell
File:Living Room.jpg|Living room
File:Library 1928.jpg|Library
File:Bookkeeping Office.jpg|Bookkeeping office
File:Records Office.jpg|Records office
File:Records Office 2.jpg|Records office
File:Bedroom 1928.jpg|Bedroom
File:Furnace Room 1927.jpg|Boiler room
</gallery>

== Lobby and murals ==

The lobby is a open two-story space with entrances on the east and west. An oriel window permits the President's secretary to see visitors from above. The outstanding feature of the lobby is the '''[[Murals at Olcott (art work)|mural]]''' painted by [[Richard Blossom Farley]] on commission from Theosophist and arts patron [[Georgine Shillard-Smith]]. '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quNwSxchQ18 "Murals at Olcott: Discover the Rich History and Symbolism of a Breathtaking Work of Art"]''' is a video presentation of its history and imagery.

== Meditation room ==

The meditation room is a serene space used only for meditation or meditation classes. Staff members gather every morning at 8:30 for 15 minutes for a group practice, and a healing group meets each Wednesday evening. Beautiful art works and oriental carpets line the room, including a thanka presented by the [[Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] in 1981 and a painting of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky by [[Gutzon Borglum]], sculptor of Mount Rushmore. Just outside the doors of the meditation room are two pastels by Theosophist [[Burton Callicott]] They are [[Mandorla (art work)|''Mandorla'']] and [[Antahkarana (art work)|''Antahkarana'']].

== Library ==
[[File:Library_reading_room.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Library reading room]]
The [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]], formerly known as the [[Olcott Library and Research Center]], is a beautiful space that is used for meetings and performances as well as traditional library activities. The library was expanded in 1964 to add space on three levels. The architects were Theosophists Lillian and Wilbur Leenhouts of Milwaukee.
 
== Auditorium ==
[[File:Auditorium.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Auditorium]]
The third-floor auditorium is used for lectures, workshops, yoga classes, conferences, and numerous other activities throughout the year. The space was remodeled in 2009, benefiting from the Bland administration's Capital Funds Campaign. A column was removed to improve sight-lines for the audience. The sub-floor was rebuilt and new carpeting was installed. Co-Masons donated a beautiful door and door frame featuring stained glass with the Society's emblem etched into it. New audiovisual equipment was installed to support Webcasts and recording of programs.

The anteroom to the auditorium was established as the '''Olcott Gallery''' during the administration of [[John Algeo]]. Exhibits were changed quarterly, with the artists are announced in [[The Quest (periodical)|''Quest'' magazine]]. In recent years a permanent display of photos has filled the gallery.
 
 

== Art works on permanent display ==
[[File:Krishnamurti painting.jpg|130px|right|thumb|J. Krishnamurti portrait. Painted from a photograph in 1926 by Henry Schwartz.]]
Numerous paintings, sculptures, Buddhist thankas, and oriental rugs decorate the building. Some of the most prominent works include:
* Madonna by Italian Renaissance painter Il Morreto (Alessandro Bonvicino, 1498-1554), in library.
* [[Schwartz Portrait of Krishnamurti (art work)|Portrait]] of [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]], by Henry Schwartz, in second-floor hall.
* Three paintings, ''Demon Queller'', ''Toys'', and ''Suffering Fools'', by [[Don Kruse]], temporarily in storage.
* Portrait of H. P. Blavatsky by [[Gutzon Borglum]], in Meditation Room.
* [[Antahkarana (art work)|''Antahkarana'']], pastel by [[Burton Callicott]], by Meditation Room door.
* [[Mandorla (art work)|''Mandorla'']], pastel by [[Burton Callicott]], by Meditation Room door.
* [[Mandorla No. 12 (art work)|''Mandorla No. 12'']], painting by [[Burton Callicott]], in staircase to auditorium.
* ''Tantric Circle'' sculpture, by Michael Cullen Todd, 1985, on front lawn.
* ''Slant'' sculpture, by David Middlebrook, 1984, on front lawn.
* Thanka donated by [[Dalai Lama]], 1981, in Meditation Room.
* Portrait of [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] by [[Erling Roberts]], temporarily in storage.
* [[The Three Objects (art work)|''The Three Objects'']], 1944, calligraphy by [[A. Theodore Bondy]], in second-floor hall.
* Bust of [[Annie Besant]] by D. R. Choudhri, 1935, in second-floor hall.
* Drypoint etching ''Buddha Serenity'' by Bertha Jaques, 1934, in Member Services office.
* Painting ''Toward the Light'' by [[E. L. Thomson]], in Webinar Department office.
* Portrait of [[Annie Besant]] by E. Hodgson Smart, temporarily in storage.

Buddhist scholar Glenn Mullin created a video tour called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaoly96xxBw Buddhist Art at the Theosophical Society in America].

== Kitchen and dining room ==

In 2010, the basement kitchen and dining area were extensively remodeled. The dining room was renamed '''Nicholson Hall''' in honor of the Nicholson family whose generous donation made the renovation possible.

== Guest rooms ==
[[File:Guest room.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Guest room]]
Guest rooms are available at modest cost for visitors such as lecturers, board members, and academic researchers. The building was designed to provide housing for staff members, and since September 1927, there have always been some employees living there.

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===
* [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/coloring-in-the-lines-around-my-think?highlight=WyJrcnVzZSJd Coloring in the Lines around My Think] by Don Kruse. This is an article by an artist who donated paintings that hang in the building.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Kane_Pond Irving Kane Pond] in Wikipedia.

=== Books ===
* '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Elihu'''''. Edited by David Swan and Terry Tatum. Oak Park, IL: Hyoogen Press, 2009. A photocopy of the handwritten manuscript for this autobiography is in the Theosophical Society in America Archives.

=== Video ===

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFXPgUdWdHw#t=60 The Theosophical Society in America: A Brief Tour]'''. Posted on YouTube on June 13, 2012. Narrated by Tim Boyd.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH-vuNwK3RU 40th Annual Convention of the American Theosophical Society]'''. Highlights of the 1926 annual convention in Chicago, including cornerstone ceremony for the new headquarters building.
* '''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaoly96xxBw Buddhist Art at the Theosophical Society in America]'''. A tour of the Buddhist art in the building, as described by Buddhist scholar Glenn Mullin.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quNwSxchQ18 Murals at Olcott: Discover the Rich History and Symbolism of a Breathtaking Work of Art]'''. A video presentation of the history and imagery of the murals.
* '''[https://vimeo.com/1198174626 Centennial of Theosophical Society in Wheaton]'''. Presented by Janet Kerschner and Alex Audziayuk at the Wheaton Public Library on May 13 2026, sponsored by the Wheaton Historic Commission. Posted June 3, 1926 on City of Wheaton TV. Note that the background, captions, and photo frames of most slides were altered for Vimeo.

=== Archival materials ===

* Theosophical Society in America '''Archives Department''' has architect's drawings, 1926 blueprints, correspondence, and detailed specifications for each subcontractor (plumbing, roofing, etc.). See Records Series 09.04.01 for Rogers Building Construction Records, and series 43 for Blue prints and Architectural Renderings.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]

Mahatma Letter No. 113

2026-07-06T14:31:45Z

SysopJ: /* Page 7 */

{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = unknown
| receiveddate = early August 1883
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = unknown
| receivedat = London
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 113''' in ''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 82''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Context and background|Context and background]]. Letters from Sinnett followed on August 16 and '''[[Mahatma_Letter_of_Sinnett_to/from_KH_-_1883-09-18|September 18]]''', before the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] situation was resolved by a telegram and '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 114]]'''.
 
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
 
 
== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
strictly confidential

The "quart d'heure de Rabelais" has come. On your answer, consent or refusal — depends the resurrection of the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] — prostrated in a death-like [[Samadhi]], if not in actual death. If you believe in my word, and, leaving the Ryots to our care are prepared for a somewhat unclean work — from the European standpoint though — and consent to oppose our work apparently, serving our ends in reality and thus saving our respective countries from a great [[evil]] that overhangs both — then consent to the proposal that will be made to you from India.

You may work to all intents and purposes to oppose The Bengal Rent Bill, for do whatever you or others may, you will never be able to impede our work in the opposite direction. Therefore, — one scruple less as one non-permitted confidence more. A riddle, verily.

And now good friend, I must explain. Only you have to prepare your European, cultured notions of right and wrong to receive a shock. A plan of action of a purely Asiatic character is laid bare before you; and since I may not move one finger — nor would I if I could in this case — to guide your understanding or feelings it may be found too Jesuitical, to suit your taste. Alas for all! that you should be so little versed in the knowledge of [[Occultism|occult]] antidotes, as not to be able to perceive the difference between the Jesuitical "tout chemin est bon qui mene a Rome" added to the cunning and crafty — "the end justifies the means" — and the necessity of the practical application of these sublime words of [[Gautama Buddha|our Lord]]

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-1_7024.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-1_7024_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Quart d'heure de Rabelais''' means the moment that the bill has to be paid.
* '''Ryot''' was a general economic term for peasant tenants and cultivators, with no clearly defined rights against their landlords or zamindars. See note [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 2|below]].
* '''The Bengal Rent Bill''' (or Bengal Tenancy Act) finally passed in 1885, defined the rights of zamindars and their ryots in response to a widespread peasant revolt against increased rents and land revenues.
* '''Tout chemin est bon qui mène à Rome''' means "any road that leads to Rome is a good one". The usual saying is: "tous les chemins mènent à Rome", all roads lead to Rome.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 2 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
and Master: — "O ye Bhikkhus and Arhats — be friendly to the race of men — our brothers! Know ye all, that he, who sacrifices not his one life to save the life of his fellow-being; and he who hesitates to give up more than life — his fair name and honour to save the fair name & honour of the many, is unworthy of the sin-destroying, immortal, transcendent [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]." Well, it cannot be helped.

Allow me to explain to you the situation. It is very complicated; but to him who, without any previous training was able to assimilate so well some of our doctrines as to write [[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]] — the inner springs that we have to use ought to become intelligible.

(1) The Behar Chiefs propose one and a half lakhs down for the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]]; as much when they see you back to India, if the Bengal Rent Bill is opposed by the new paper and you promise to give them your support. Unless the proposition is accepted by you we may prepare for the final incremation of our Phoenix — and for good. Exclusive of this sum — Rs. 150,000 — we can count but upon Rs. 45,000 in shares — so far. But let the Raees put down cash and all will follow.

(2) If you refuse they will secure another editor: were there any danger for the ryots and the Bill they — the Raees or Zemindars would lose nothing thereby, except in the degree of cleverness of their editor; but they hope and are thoroughly unaware of being doomed — in the long run. The only and real loser in the case of refusal will be — India and

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-2_7025.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-2_7025_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Bhikkus''' are ordained Buddhist monks.
* '''Behar''' refers to Bihar, a region (now a state) in northeastern India.
* '''Raees''' (alternative spelling of Rais) is a historical title of royalty and nobility used in the Indian subcontinent; "A notable, a man of position" (see glossary in ''The Peasant and the Raj. Studies in agrarian society and peasant rebellion in colonial India''). The printed Second Edition wrongly spelled this word as "Races."
*'''Zemindars''' refers to Zamindars, who were aristocrat (typically hereditary) landlords, who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), etc., and were considered to be equivalent to lords and barons. Often zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British Rule.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 3 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
your own country — eventually. This is prophecy.

(3) The resistance to, and the intrigues set on foot by the Zemindars against the Bill are infamous in their nature, yet very natural. Those who examine things at the core, perceive the real culprit in Lord Cornwallis and the long line of his successors. However it may be infamous, as I say, there it is and cannot be helped for it is human nature itself; and, there is no more dishonour to support their claims from a legal standpoint on the part of an Editor, who knows them to be doomed, than there is for a Counsel to defend his client — a great criminal sentenced to be hung. I am now trying to argue from your European standpoint, for fear, and lest you should not be able to see things from our Asiatic point of view, or rather in the light we, who are enabled to discern future events — see them.

(4) A conservative Editor whose field of action will be found to run on parallel lines with that of a conservative Viceroy, will find himself having lost nothing in fact, for a slight opposition that cannot last long after all. There are great flaws in the present Bill, examined from its legal, dead-letter aspect.

(5) Owing to the idiotically untimely "Ilbert's Bill," and the still more idiotic "Saligram-Surendro" Contempt case, the agitation is carrying the population of India to the verge of self-destruction. You must not feel as tho' I were exaggerating if I say more: the English

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-3_7026.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-3_7026_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Lord Cornwallis''' refers to the 1st Marquess Charles Cornwallis (1738 – 1805) who in 1786 was made Governor-General and commander in chief in India. He is regarded as responsible for laying the foundation for British rule throughout India.
* The '''Ilbert Bill''' was introduced in 1883 by Viceroy Ripon, proposing to amend existing laws to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 4 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
and especially Anglo-Indians are running the same course from an opposite direction. You are at liberty to refuse my warning: you will show yourself wise if you do not. To return to our direct object —

(6) There are several Englishmen of great intellect and ability, who feel ready to defend — (and even to ally themselves — with) the Zemindars — and oppose the Bill, against their own principles and feelings — simply because the Raees hate and oppose the man whom the rest of the Hindus profess, for the time being, to adore, and whom they are exalting with all the ardour of simple-minded, short-sighted savages. Thus the ryots cannot escape their fate for a few months longer whether you accept the offer or not. In the latter case, of course the paper scheme is at an end.

(7) At the same time it is better that you should be prepared to know the unavoidable results: there are ninety-nine chances against one, that — if the offer of the Zemindars is rejected — the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] will ever come into existence; not so long at any rate as the present agitation is going on. And when it finally fails as the project is bound to unless we become masters of the situation, then we will have to part. In order to obtain from the [[Chohan]] permission to defend the teeming millions of the poor and the oppressed in India bringing on to bear all our knowledge and [[Siddhi|powers]] — I had to pledge myself, in case of the Phoenix's failure to interfere no more with such worldly matters and —

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-4_7027.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-4_7027_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 5 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
to bid an eternal farewell to the European element. [[Morya|M.]] and [[Djual Khool]] would have to take my place. On the other hand, should you consent to the offer, your opposition to the Rent Bill would have no more effect on our work — for the Ryots than a straw — to save a vessel from sinking; whereas, if another editor is selected we would have no pretext to exercise our influence on their behalf. Such is the situation. It is a curious medley with no raison d'etre in your opinion. You can hardly be expected by us to see clearly through it at present, nor is there much likelihood that you will judge it fairly owing to this Egyptian darkness of cross purposes; nor is there any special need you should, if the offer has to fall to the ground. But, if your answer is favourable, I may perhaps as well add a few particulars. Know then, that opposition notwithstanding, and just because of it, you will bring the great national boil to a head sooner than it could be otherwise expected. Thus, while carrying out strictly your programme and promise made to the Raees, you will be helping the events that have to be brought about to save the unfortunate population that has been sat upon ever since 1793 — the year of Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake. At the same time you may be doing immense good in every other direction. Recall the past and this will help you to see clearer into our intentions. When you took over Bengal from the native Rulers, there were a number of men

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-5_7028.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-5_7028_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''To bid an eternal farewell to the European element'''. In his next letter, Mahatma KH speaks of his "pledge to the Chohan" in less final terms, as "thenceforward abstain from collaboration with Europeans until some future and more favourable time."
* '''Raison d'etre''' a French phrase meaning "reason for existence".
* '''Egyptian darkness''' may be a reference to Exodus X.21-2 in which Moses, following Yahweh's order, "stretched out his hand towards heaven, and for three days there was thick darkness over the whole of Egypt".
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
* '''Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake''' probably refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, the best known provision of the Cornwallis Code. It was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the political realities of the Indian countryside.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 6 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
who exercised the calling of Tax Collectors under their Government. These men received, as you are aware, a percentage for collecting the rents. The spirit of the letter of the tithe and tribute under the Moossulman Rulers was never understood by the East India Company; least of all the rights of the ryots to oppose an arbitrary interchange of the Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah. Well, when the Zemindars found that the British did not exactly understand their position they took advantage of it, as the English had taken advantage of their force: they claimed to be Landlords. Weekly [Weakly] enough, you consented to recognise the claim, and admitting it notwithstanding the warning of the Moossulman who understood the real situation and were not bribed as most of the Company were — you played into the hands of the few against the many, the result being the "Perpetual Settlement" documents. It is this that led to every subsequent evil in Bengal. Seeing how the unfortunate ryots are regarded by your proud nation in the full progress of the 19th Century, being in your sight of far less value than a horse or cattle, it is not difficult to imagine how they were regarded by your countrymen then — a century ago — when every Englishman was a pious [[Christianity|Christian]] at heart and ordered by the [[Bible (book)|Bible]] to draw a broad distinction between the descendants of Ham and themselves — the heirs of the chosen people. The agreement drawn between Lord Cornwallis and the Raees

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-6_7029.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-6_7029_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Moossulman''' refers to Muslims.
* '''The East India Company''' was formed to pursue trade with the East Indies, and ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
* '''Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah''' or Law of Wazifa and Mukassimah, refers to the Muslim laws of taxes. Wazifa khiraj (or a fixed money-rate) imposed as a personal liability upon the cultivator for his holding (payable once a year); Mukassimah khiraj (or a share of the actual produce) payable in kind on every crop produced.
* '''Weakly enough''' is a correction of the heterograph spelling "weekly" that appears in the written letter.
*'''Perpetual Settlement''' refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Page 5|previous note]] on "Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake".
* '''Descendants of Ham''' refers to the Biblical curse upon Ham's descendant's by Moses that forced them to live in Egypt and other parts of Africa; i.e., the dark-skinned peoples.
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 7 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
which stipulated that the "black human cattle" should be treated by the Zemindars kindly and justly, and that they should not raise the rents of the ryots, etc. was a legal farce. The [[Chohan]] was then in India and he was an eye-witness to the beginning of horrors. No sooner had they secured the Perpetual Settlement Agreement that the Raees began to disregard their engagements. Failing to fulfil any of these they brought yearly ruin and starvation on the miserable Ryots. They exacted tribute, sold them up, and trumped up false charges against them under the name of Abwab. These "doors" and "openings" led them wherever they wanted and they levied for over 50 years most extraordinary taxes. All this the Zemindars have done and much more and they will be surely made to account for it. Things too horrible to mention were done under the eyes and often with the sanction of the Company's servants, when the Mutiny put a certain impediment by bringing as its result another form of Government. It is to redress the great wrong done, to remedy to [sic] the now irremediable that Lord Ripon took it into his head to bring forward the new Bill. It was not thought expedient by his Councillors (not those you know of) to crush the Zemindary system without securing at the same time popularity among the majority in another direction: hence "Ilbert's Bill" and some other trifles. We say then that to all appearance it is to redress the wrongs of the Past, that is the object of the present Bengal Rent Bill. My friend you are a

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-7_7030.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-7_7030_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
*'''Abwāb''' means "doors, sources of revenue". It was a tax or impost levied by a chief on a landowner.
*'''The Mutiny''' refers to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company, which was then formally dissolved and its ruling powers over India were transferred to the British Crown.
*'''Lord Ripon''' (George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon) was the British Viceroy of India from 1880-1884.
*'''The new Bill''' refers to the Ilbert Bill. See [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 3|previous note]].

{{Col-end}}

== Page 8 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
remarkably clever Editor and an astute and observant politician; and no one, perhaps, in all India goes as deep as you do into the inner constitution of the Anglo-Indian coups d'etat. Still you do not go far enough and the original primitive layers of the political soil as the genesis of some acts of my Lord Ripon were and are terra incognita to yourself as to so many others perhaps still older hands in politics than you are. Neither Lord Ripon nor his Councillors (those behind the veil) anticipate any great results during his power in India. They are more [[Occultism|Occultists]] than you may imagine. Their liberal reforms are not meant for India, to the weal or woes of which they are quite indifferent: they look far off to future results and — Press acts, Ilbert's Bills, Bengal Rent Bills and the rest are aimed at Protestant England which, very soon, too soon if Somebody or Something does not interfere, will find itself suffocating in the invisible coils of the Romish Apophis. Friend and Brother, the only one of your race whom I regard with a warm, sincere affection, take care! Do not reject too lightly my warning for it is a solemn one, and but a hint I am permitted to make. Political skepticism, like every other, scorns and laughs at the observations of those who do not belong to its factions. It finds out its mistakes when in a ditch. Beware for it is no more a simple ditch, but an abyss that is being prepared for you!

But let us see on what grounds an honest Englishman

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-8_7031.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-8_7031_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Coups d'etat''' is a French phrase for the sudden and illegal seizure of a government.
* '''Terra incognita''' is a Latin phrase meaning "unknown land".
* '''Romish Apophis'''. The term "Romish Catholic" was used in English by adherents of the Church of England for Catholics. Apophis was the Greek version of Apep, an evil god in ancient Egyptian religion depicted as a snake and a dragon, the deification of darkness and chaos.
{{Col-end}}

== Page 9 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
can oppose the Rent Bill. However great the misery of the Ryots even at present, however just the reprisals that are in store for the Zemindars, however human and generous, in short, on its surface the object of the Rent Bill, yet no honest Government strictly speaking has the right to break at will and its own pleasure solemn pledges and engagements. Because, it is found that the Raees have not fulfilled their part of the Agreement, it gives no right to the other party to make away with their signature and tear in shreds the Perpetual Settlement Agreement. The sins of the few cannot well be visited upon the many. There are heavy flaws in the present Rent Bill as there were in the old System; and, there is no clause in the old documents stipulated to the effect that the Settlement becomes nil at the will of the British. I will not enter upon the defects of the dead-letter meaning in either the one or other, but will limit myself by telling you that there are such flaws and that, until modified you have a perfect right to object to them. You are not expected to cause the Bill to be withdrawn but to simply support the Zemindars analysis of its defects. And this you can freely promise. However I must not seem trying to influence you one way or the other. Some of the claims of the Raees are infamous and no honest man can be made to support them; while others are not without a strong legal foundation in their favour. The Ruling power, for instance, was never yet and in no case

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-9_7032.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-9_7032_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See not one page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 10 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
the proprietor of the Khirajee land — not even under the Moossulman laws and sway. You have thus the Spirit of Khiraj and Ooshr to work upon, in order to redeem your promise to the landowners and amuse them for a few months unto the day of the "almighty smash" that is in store for them. All that you are asked to do for the benefit of (your as well as) my country is, to overlook the ugly frontispiece of the edifice, taking into consideration only the real nature of the situation and the future good results, in case you should get over your very natural squeamishness. In a few days you may receive a formal proposal. Think well over it. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by any consideration in connection with my desires. If you honestly believe the offer inconsistent with your European notions and criterion of truth and honour refuse its acceptance without any hesitation and let me bid you a sad, though ever grateful and friendly farewell. I cannot expect to see you looking at things from my own standpoint. You look without, I see within. This is no hour for sentimentalities. The whole future of the "brightest (!) jewel" — oh, what a dark satire in that name! — in the Crown of England is at stake, and I am bound to devote the whole of my powers as far as the [[Chohan]] will permit me

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-10_7033.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-10_7033_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Khiraj and Ooshr'''. The ''kharaj'' was an agricultural tax levied by Muslim conquerors on their non-Muslim subject. Muslim landowners paid only ''ushr'', a religious tithe, which carried a much lower rate of taxation.
*'''Moossulman''' means Muslim.
*'''Brightest jewel'''. India was frequently referred to as the "the brightest jewel in the Crown of England".

{{Col-end}}

== Page 11 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
to help my country at this eleventh hour of her misery. I cannot work except with those who will work with us. Accuse me not, my friend, for you do not know you cannot know, the extent of the limitations I am placed under. Think not, that I am seeking to place a bait — an inducement, for you to accept that which would refuse under other circumstances, for I am not. Having pledged my solemn word of honour to Him to whom I am indebted for everything I am and know I am simply helpless in case of your refusal and — we will have to part. Had not the Rent Bill been accompanied by the din and clash of the Ilbert Bill and "contempt case" I would have been the first to advise you to refuse. As the situation stands now, however, and prohibited as I am to use any but ordinary powers — I am powerless to do both, and am constrained to choose between helping my hapless mother-country, and our future intercourse. It is for you to decide. And if this letter is fated to be my last, I beg you to remember — for your sake, not mine — the message I sent at Simla to yourself and [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] through [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] — "Lord Ripon is not a free agent; the real Viceroy and ruler of India is not at Simla but at Rome; and the effective weapon used by the latter is — the Viceroy's confessor."

Give, pray, my best wishes to [[Patience Sinnett|your lady]] and the "[[Percy Edensor Sinnett|Morsel]]". Be certain, that with a few undetectable

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-11_7034.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-11_7034_thm.jpg]
{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Lord Ripon is not a free agent'''. He converted to Catholicism in 1874, following which he was generous in supporting Catholic educational and charitable works.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 12 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
mistakes and omissions notwithstanding, your "[[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]]" is the only right exposition — however incomplete — of our [[Esoteric Philosophy|Occult doctrines]]. You have made no cardinal, fundamental mistakes; and whatever may be given to you hereafter will not clash with a single sentence in your book but on the contrary will explain away any seeming contradiction. How greatly mistaken was [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s theory is shown by the "[[Chela]]" in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]. With all that, you may feel sure that neither [[Morya|M.]] nor I have contradicted each other in our respective statements. He was speaking of the inner — I, of the [[Inner and Outer Rounds|outer Round]]. There are many things that you have not learned but may some day; nor will you be able to ever comprehend the process of the [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscurations]] until you have mastered the mathematical progress of the inner and the outer Rounds and learned more about the specific difference between the seven. And thus according to [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]]'s philosophical conclusion we have no [[God]]? He is right — since he applies the name to an extra-cosmic anomaly, and that we, knowing nothing of the latter, find — each man his God — within himself in his own personal, and at the same time, — impersonal [[Avalokiteśvara|Avalokiteswara]]. And now — farewell. And if it is so decreed that we should correspond no more, remember me with the same sincere good feeling as you will ever be remembered by,

[[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]]

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-12_7035.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-12_7035_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''How greatly mistaken was Mr. Hume''' refers to the article "Cosmical Rings and Rounds" he wrote in ''The Theosophist'' June 1883 (p. 231), which was answered by the chela [[S. T. Krishnama Charya|S. T. K***Chary]] (p. 232). See [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/Theosophical%20Publications/The%20Theosophist/1883/theosophist_v4_n9_june_1883.pdf# here] a reprint of the article and its response.

{{Col-end}}

== Context and background ==

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 3. [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]] described the letter this way:
<blockquote>
In KH script on both sides of six sheets of white paper. The first four lines are in blue ink; the remainder is in green ink.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 182.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Mahatma Letter No. 113

2026-07-06T14:30:23Z

SysopJ: /* Page 6 */

{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = unknown
| receiveddate = early August 1883
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = unknown
| receivedat = London
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 113''' in ''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 82''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Context and background|Context and background]]. Letters from Sinnett followed on August 16 and '''[[Mahatma_Letter_of_Sinnett_to/from_KH_-_1883-09-18|September 18]]''', before the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] situation was resolved by a telegram and '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 114]]'''.
 
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
 
 
== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
strictly confidential

The "quart d'heure de Rabelais" has come. On your answer, consent or refusal — depends the resurrection of the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] — prostrated in a death-like [[Samadhi]], if not in actual death. If you believe in my word, and, leaving the Ryots to our care are prepared for a somewhat unclean work — from the European standpoint though — and consent to oppose our work apparently, serving our ends in reality and thus saving our respective countries from a great [[evil]] that overhangs both — then consent to the proposal that will be made to you from India.

You may work to all intents and purposes to oppose The Bengal Rent Bill, for do whatever you or others may, you will never be able to impede our work in the opposite direction. Therefore, — one scruple less as one non-permitted confidence more. A riddle, verily.

And now good friend, I must explain. Only you have to prepare your European, cultured notions of right and wrong to receive a shock. A plan of action of a purely Asiatic character is laid bare before you; and since I may not move one finger — nor would I if I could in this case — to guide your understanding or feelings it may be found too Jesuitical, to suit your taste. Alas for all! that you should be so little versed in the knowledge of [[Occultism|occult]] antidotes, as not to be able to perceive the difference between the Jesuitical "tout chemin est bon qui mene a Rome" added to the cunning and crafty — "the end justifies the means" — and the necessity of the practical application of these sublime words of [[Gautama Buddha|our Lord]]

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-1_7024.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-1_7024_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Quart d'heure de Rabelais''' means the moment that the bill has to be paid.
* '''Ryot''' was a general economic term for peasant tenants and cultivators, with no clearly defined rights against their landlords or zamindars. See note [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 2|below]].
* '''The Bengal Rent Bill''' (or Bengal Tenancy Act) finally passed in 1885, defined the rights of zamindars and their ryots in response to a widespread peasant revolt against increased rents and land revenues.
* '''Tout chemin est bon qui mène à Rome''' means "any road that leads to Rome is a good one". The usual saying is: "tous les chemins mènent à Rome", all roads lead to Rome.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 2 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
and Master: — "O ye Bhikkhus and Arhats — be friendly to the race of men — our brothers! Know ye all, that he, who sacrifices not his one life to save the life of his fellow-being; and he who hesitates to give up more than life — his fair name and honour to save the fair name & honour of the many, is unworthy of the sin-destroying, immortal, transcendent [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]." Well, it cannot be helped.

Allow me to explain to you the situation. It is very complicated; but to him who, without any previous training was able to assimilate so well some of our doctrines as to write [[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]] — the inner springs that we have to use ought to become intelligible.

(1) The Behar Chiefs propose one and a half lakhs down for the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]]; as much when they see you back to India, if the Bengal Rent Bill is opposed by the new paper and you promise to give them your support. Unless the proposition is accepted by you we may prepare for the final incremation of our Phoenix — and for good. Exclusive of this sum — Rs. 150,000 — we can count but upon Rs. 45,000 in shares — so far. But let the Raees put down cash and all will follow.

(2) If you refuse they will secure another editor: were there any danger for the ryots and the Bill they — the Raees or Zemindars would lose nothing thereby, except in the degree of cleverness of their editor; but they hope and are thoroughly unaware of being doomed — in the long run. The only and real loser in the case of refusal will be — India and

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-2_7025.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-2_7025_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Bhikkus''' are ordained Buddhist monks.
* '''Behar''' refers to Bihar, a region (now a state) in northeastern India.
* '''Raees''' (alternative spelling of Rais) is a historical title of royalty and nobility used in the Indian subcontinent; "A notable, a man of position" (see glossary in ''The Peasant and the Raj. Studies in agrarian society and peasant rebellion in colonial India''). The printed Second Edition wrongly spelled this word as "Races."
*'''Zemindars''' refers to Zamindars, who were aristocrat (typically hereditary) landlords, who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), etc., and were considered to be equivalent to lords and barons. Often zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British Rule.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 3 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
your own country — eventually. This is prophecy.

(3) The resistance to, and the intrigues set on foot by the Zemindars against the Bill are infamous in their nature, yet very natural. Those who examine things at the core, perceive the real culprit in Lord Cornwallis and the long line of his successors. However it may be infamous, as I say, there it is and cannot be helped for it is human nature itself; and, there is no more dishonour to support their claims from a legal standpoint on the part of an Editor, who knows them to be doomed, than there is for a Counsel to defend his client — a great criminal sentenced to be hung. I am now trying to argue from your European standpoint, for fear, and lest you should not be able to see things from our Asiatic point of view, or rather in the light we, who are enabled to discern future events — see them.

(4) A conservative Editor whose field of action will be found to run on parallel lines with that of a conservative Viceroy, will find himself having lost nothing in fact, for a slight opposition that cannot last long after all. There are great flaws in the present Bill, examined from its legal, dead-letter aspect.

(5) Owing to the idiotically untimely "Ilbert's Bill," and the still more idiotic "Saligram-Surendro" Contempt case, the agitation is carrying the population of India to the verge of self-destruction. You must not feel as tho' I were exaggerating if I say more: the English

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-3_7026.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-3_7026_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Lord Cornwallis''' refers to the 1st Marquess Charles Cornwallis (1738 – 1805) who in 1786 was made Governor-General and commander in chief in India. He is regarded as responsible for laying the foundation for British rule throughout India.
* The '''Ilbert Bill''' was introduced in 1883 by Viceroy Ripon, proposing to amend existing laws to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 4 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
and especially Anglo-Indians are running the same course from an opposite direction. You are at liberty to refuse my warning: you will show yourself wise if you do not. To return to our direct object —

(6) There are several Englishmen of great intellect and ability, who feel ready to defend — (and even to ally themselves — with) the Zemindars — and oppose the Bill, against their own principles and feelings — simply because the Raees hate and oppose the man whom the rest of the Hindus profess, for the time being, to adore, and whom they are exalting with all the ardour of simple-minded, short-sighted savages. Thus the ryots cannot escape their fate for a few months longer whether you accept the offer or not. In the latter case, of course the paper scheme is at an end.

(7) At the same time it is better that you should be prepared to know the unavoidable results: there are ninety-nine chances against one, that — if the offer of the Zemindars is rejected — the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] will ever come into existence; not so long at any rate as the present agitation is going on. And when it finally fails as the project is bound to unless we become masters of the situation, then we will have to part. In order to obtain from the [[Chohan]] permission to defend the teeming millions of the poor and the oppressed in India bringing on to bear all our knowledge and [[Siddhi|powers]] — I had to pledge myself, in case of the Phoenix's failure to interfere no more with such worldly matters and —

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-4_7027.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-4_7027_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 5 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
to bid an eternal farewell to the European element. [[Morya|M.]] and [[Djual Khool]] would have to take my place. On the other hand, should you consent to the offer, your opposition to the Rent Bill would have no more effect on our work — for the Ryots than a straw — to save a vessel from sinking; whereas, if another editor is selected we would have no pretext to exercise our influence on their behalf. Such is the situation. It is a curious medley with no raison d'etre in your opinion. You can hardly be expected by us to see clearly through it at present, nor is there much likelihood that you will judge it fairly owing to this Egyptian darkness of cross purposes; nor is there any special need you should, if the offer has to fall to the ground. But, if your answer is favourable, I may perhaps as well add a few particulars. Know then, that opposition notwithstanding, and just because of it, you will bring the great national boil to a head sooner than it could be otherwise expected. Thus, while carrying out strictly your programme and promise made to the Raees, you will be helping the events that have to be brought about to save the unfortunate population that has been sat upon ever since 1793 — the year of Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake. At the same time you may be doing immense good in every other direction. Recall the past and this will help you to see clearer into our intentions. When you took over Bengal from the native Rulers, there were a number of men

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-5_7028.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-5_7028_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''To bid an eternal farewell to the European element'''. In his next letter, Mahatma KH speaks of his "pledge to the Chohan" in less final terms, as "thenceforward abstain from collaboration with Europeans until some future and more favourable time."
* '''Raison d'etre''' a French phrase meaning "reason for existence".
* '''Egyptian darkness''' may be a reference to Exodus X.21-2 in which Moses, following Yahweh's order, "stretched out his hand towards heaven, and for three days there was thick darkness over the whole of Egypt".
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
* '''Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake''' probably refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, the best known provision of the Cornwallis Code. It was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the political realities of the Indian countryside.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 6 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
who exercised the calling of Tax Collectors under their Government. These men received, as you are aware, a percentage for collecting the rents. The spirit of the letter of the tithe and tribute under the Moossulman Rulers was never understood by the East India Company; least of all the rights of the ryots to oppose an arbitrary interchange of the Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah. Well, when the Zemindars found that the British did not exactly understand their position they took advantage of it, as the English had taken advantage of their force: they claimed to be Landlords. Weekly [Weakly] enough, you consented to recognise the claim, and admitting it notwithstanding the warning of the Moossulman who understood the real situation and were not bribed as most of the Company were — you played into the hands of the few against the many, the result being the "Perpetual Settlement" documents. It is this that led to every subsequent evil in Bengal. Seeing how the unfortunate ryots are regarded by your proud nation in the full progress of the 19th Century, being in your sight of far less value than a horse or cattle, it is not difficult to imagine how they were regarded by your countrymen then — a century ago — when every Englishman was a pious [[Christianity|Christian]] at heart and ordered by the [[Bible (book)|Bible]] to draw a broad distinction between the descendants of Ham and themselves — the heirs of the chosen people. The agreement drawn between Lord Cornwallis and the Raees

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-6_7029.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-6_7029_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Moossulman''' refers to Muslims.
* '''The East India Company''' was formed to pursue trade with the East Indies, and ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
* '''Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah''' or Law of Wazifa and Mukassimah, refers to the Muslim laws of taxes. Wazifa khiraj (or a fixed money-rate) imposed as a personal liability upon the cultivator for his holding (payable once a year); Mukassimah khiraj (or a share of the actual produce) payable in kind on every crop produced.
* '''Weakly enough''' is a correction of the heterograph spelling "weekly" that appears in the written letter.
*'''Perpetual Settlement''' refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Page 5|previous note]] on "Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake".
* '''Descendants of Ham''' refers to the Biblical curse upon Ham's descendant's by Moses that forced them to live in Egypt and other parts of Africa; i.e., the dark-skinned peoples.
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 7 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
which stipulated that the "black human cattle" should be treated by the Zemindars kindly and justly, and that they should not raise the rents of the ryots, etc. was a legal farce. The [[Chohan]] was then in India and he was an eye-witness to the beginning of horrors. No sooner had they secured the Perpetual Settlement Agreement that the Raees began to disregard their engagements. Failing to fulfil any of these they brought yearly ruin and starvation on the miserable Ryots. They exacted tribute, sold them up, and trumped up false charges against them under the name of Abwab. These "doors" and "openings" led them wherever they wanted and they levied for over 50 years most extraordinary taxes. All this the Zemindars have done and much more and they will be surely made to account for it. Things too horrible to mention were done under the eyes and often with the sanction of the Company's servants, when the Mutiny put a certain impediment by bringing as its result another form of Government. It is to redress the great wrong done, to remedy to the now irremediable that Lord Ripon took it into his head to bring forward the new Bill. It was not thought expedient by his Councillors (not those you know of) to crush the Zemindary system without securing at the same time popularity among the majority in another direction: hence "Ilbert's Bill" and some other trifles. We say then that to all appearance it is to redress the wrongs of the Past, that is the object of the present Bengal Rent Bill. My friend you are a

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-7_7030.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-7_7030_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
*'''Abwāb''' means "doors, sources of revenue". It was a tax or impost levied by a chief on a landowner.
*'''The Mutiny''' refers to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company, which was then formally dissolved and its ruling powers over India were transferred to the British Crown.
*'''Lord Ripon''' (George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon) was the British Viceroy of India from 1880-1884.
*'''The new Bill''' refers to the Ilbert Bill. See [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 3|previous note]].

{{Col-end}}

== Page 8 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
remarkably clever Editor and an astute and observant politician; and no one, perhaps, in all India goes as deep as you do into the inner constitution of the Anglo-Indian coups d'etat. Still you do not go far enough and the original primitive layers of the political soil as the genesis of some acts of my Lord Ripon were and are terra incognita to yourself as to so many others perhaps still older hands in politics than you are. Neither Lord Ripon nor his Councillors (those behind the veil) anticipate any great results during his power in India. They are more [[Occultism|Occultists]] than you may imagine. Their liberal reforms are not meant for India, to the weal or woes of which they are quite indifferent: they look far off to future results and — Press acts, Ilbert's Bills, Bengal Rent Bills and the rest are aimed at Protestant England which, very soon, too soon if Somebody or Something does not interfere, will find itself suffocating in the invisible coils of the Romish Apophis. Friend and Brother, the only one of your race whom I regard with a warm, sincere affection, take care! Do not reject too lightly my warning for it is a solemn one, and but a hint I am permitted to make. Political skepticism, like every other, scorns and laughs at the observations of those who do not belong to its factions. It finds out its mistakes when in a ditch. Beware for it is no more a simple ditch, but an abyss that is being prepared for you!

But let us see on what grounds an honest Englishman

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-8_7031.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-8_7031_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Coups d'etat''' is a French phrase for the sudden and illegal seizure of a government.
* '''Terra incognita''' is a Latin phrase meaning "unknown land".
* '''Romish Apophis'''. The term "Romish Catholic" was used in English by adherents of the Church of England for Catholics. Apophis was the Greek version of Apep, an evil god in ancient Egyptian religion depicted as a snake and a dragon, the deification of darkness and chaos.
{{Col-end}}

== Page 9 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
can oppose the Rent Bill. However great the misery of the Ryots even at present, however just the reprisals that are in store for the Zemindars, however human and generous, in short, on its surface the object of the Rent Bill, yet no honest Government strictly speaking has the right to break at will and its own pleasure solemn pledges and engagements. Because, it is found that the Raees have not fulfilled their part of the Agreement, it gives no right to the other party to make away with their signature and tear in shreds the Perpetual Settlement Agreement. The sins of the few cannot well be visited upon the many. There are heavy flaws in the present Rent Bill as there were in the old System; and, there is no clause in the old documents stipulated to the effect that the Settlement becomes nil at the will of the British. I will not enter upon the defects of the dead-letter meaning in either the one or other, but will limit myself by telling you that there are such flaws and that, until modified you have a perfect right to object to them. You are not expected to cause the Bill to be withdrawn but to simply support the Zemindars analysis of its defects. And this you can freely promise. However I must not seem trying to influence you one way or the other. Some of the claims of the Raees are infamous and no honest man can be made to support them; while others are not without a strong legal foundation in their favour. The Ruling power, for instance, was never yet and in no case

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-9_7032.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-9_7032_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See not one page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 10 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
the proprietor of the Khirajee land — not even under the Moossulman laws and sway. You have thus the Spirit of Khiraj and Ooshr to work upon, in order to redeem your promise to the landowners and amuse them for a few months unto the day of the "almighty smash" that is in store for them. All that you are asked to do for the benefit of (your as well as) my country is, to overlook the ugly frontispiece of the edifice, taking into consideration only the real nature of the situation and the future good results, in case you should get over your very natural squeamishness. In a few days you may receive a formal proposal. Think well over it. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by any consideration in connection with my desires. If you honestly believe the offer inconsistent with your European notions and criterion of truth and honour refuse its acceptance without any hesitation and let me bid you a sad, though ever grateful and friendly farewell. I cannot expect to see you looking at things from my own standpoint. You look without, I see within. This is no hour for sentimentalities. The whole future of the "brightest (!) jewel" — oh, what a dark satire in that name! — in the Crown of England is at stake, and I am bound to devote the whole of my powers as far as the [[Chohan]] will permit me

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-10_7033.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-10_7033_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Khiraj and Ooshr'''. The ''kharaj'' was an agricultural tax levied by Muslim conquerors on their non-Muslim subject. Muslim landowners paid only ''ushr'', a religious tithe, which carried a much lower rate of taxation.
*'''Moossulman''' means Muslim.
*'''Brightest jewel'''. India was frequently referred to as the "the brightest jewel in the Crown of England".

{{Col-end}}

== Page 11 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
to help my country at this eleventh hour of her misery. I cannot work except with those who will work with us. Accuse me not, my friend, for you do not know you cannot know, the extent of the limitations I am placed under. Think not, that I am seeking to place a bait — an inducement, for you to accept that which would refuse under other circumstances, for I am not. Having pledged my solemn word of honour to Him to whom I am indebted for everything I am and know I am simply helpless in case of your refusal and — we will have to part. Had not the Rent Bill been accompanied by the din and clash of the Ilbert Bill and "contempt case" I would have been the first to advise you to refuse. As the situation stands now, however, and prohibited as I am to use any but ordinary powers — I am powerless to do both, and am constrained to choose between helping my hapless mother-country, and our future intercourse. It is for you to decide. And if this letter is fated to be my last, I beg you to remember — for your sake, not mine — the message I sent at Simla to yourself and [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] through [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] — "Lord Ripon is not a free agent; the real Viceroy and ruler of India is not at Simla but at Rome; and the effective weapon used by the latter is — the Viceroy's confessor."

Give, pray, my best wishes to [[Patience Sinnett|your lady]] and the "[[Percy Edensor Sinnett|Morsel]]". Be certain, that with a few undetectable

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-11_7034.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-11_7034_thm.jpg]
{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Lord Ripon is not a free agent'''. He converted to Catholicism in 1874, following which he was generous in supporting Catholic educational and charitable works.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 12 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
mistakes and omissions notwithstanding, your "[[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]]" is the only right exposition — however incomplete — of our [[Esoteric Philosophy|Occult doctrines]]. You have made no cardinal, fundamental mistakes; and whatever may be given to you hereafter will not clash with a single sentence in your book but on the contrary will explain away any seeming contradiction. How greatly mistaken was [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s theory is shown by the "[[Chela]]" in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]. With all that, you may feel sure that neither [[Morya|M.]] nor I have contradicted each other in our respective statements. He was speaking of the inner — I, of the [[Inner and Outer Rounds|outer Round]]. There are many things that you have not learned but may some day; nor will you be able to ever comprehend the process of the [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscurations]] until you have mastered the mathematical progress of the inner and the outer Rounds and learned more about the specific difference between the seven. And thus according to [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]]'s philosophical conclusion we have no [[God]]? He is right — since he applies the name to an extra-cosmic anomaly, and that we, knowing nothing of the latter, find — each man his God — within himself in his own personal, and at the same time, — impersonal [[Avalokiteśvara|Avalokiteswara]]. And now — farewell. And if it is so decreed that we should correspond no more, remember me with the same sincere good feeling as you will ever be remembered by,

[[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]]

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-12_7035.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-12_7035_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''How greatly mistaken was Mr. Hume''' refers to the article "Cosmical Rings and Rounds" he wrote in ''The Theosophist'' June 1883 (p. 231), which was answered by the chela [[S. T. Krishnama Charya|S. T. K***Chary]] (p. 232). See [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/Theosophical%20Publications/The%20Theosophist/1883/theosophist_v4_n9_june_1883.pdf# here] a reprint of the article and its response.

{{Col-end}}

== Context and background ==

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 3. [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]] described the letter this way:
<blockquote>
In KH script on both sides of six sheets of white paper. The first four lines are in blue ink; the remainder is in green ink.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 182.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Nicholas Roerich

2026-07-03T00:37:50Z

SysopJ: /* Videos */

[[File:Roerich_Nicholas.jpg|right|thumb|Nicholas Roerich in 1930s]]
'''Nicholas Roerich''' (known also as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh or in Russian, Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих) was a Russian painter, theatrical designer, and writer best known for his mystical paintings of the Himalayas. He and his wife Helena were members of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] joining in London after they left Russia.

== Early years ==
Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich was born on [[October 9]], 1874 into the family of a famous lawyer. Since early childhood he took interest in history, archeology and painting.

After graduating from the gymnasium Nicholas immediately entered two universities: at the insistence of his father he entered into St. Petersburg University to study law where he also attended lectures in the history and linguistics departments, and following his own heart, he also entered into the Imperial Academy of Art. In 1895 Roerich transferred into the class of an acclaimed Russian painter and master of colorful landscapes, Arkhip Ivanovich Kyindgi. Kyindgi had a major impact on Roerich as he was the kind of teacher who gently guided his students’ own interests instead of forcing them to adhere to certain rules. Later Roerich would call his tutor not only a teacher of painting, but a great teacher of life as well.

Upon completion of the Artist’s Academy, Roerich was awarded the official title of artist for his thesis painting “Messenger” from the series “The Beginning of Russia: The Slavs.” The painting held up to the most exacting criticism and was acquired by Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov for his private collection.

Also at the age of 9 years old Nicolas began working in archeology when well-known Russian archeologist Lev Ivanovsky took Nicolas with him for excavations in the surroundings of Isvara – Roerichs’ country estate near St.Petersburg. Nicolas became a professional archeologist and made excavations in the North of Russia, in Novgorod, in Tibet and in Indian Himalayas. As he wrote in one of his essays, nothing but hands-on excavations and touching an ancient object can advance you to the genuine impression of the antiquity.

Nicholas Roerich found time not only for creating art – he was also a busy public figure. In 1898, at the age of 24, Nicholas Roerich became an assistant to the Director of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts and an editor assistant for the Society's art magazine. Starting 1902 he took part in exhibitions, organized by the magazine ''Mir iskusstva.'' In 1906 he became director of the School within the '''Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts''' – one of the leading Russian art schools of the time. The new director thought that training artistic taste and supporting artistic individuality of the students should be the school`s main goal. He deeply believed that art should be incorporated into our daily life as much as possible.

After 1905 the painter's exhibitions were held in Europe at a regular basis. Prague, Paris, Berlin, Venice, Rome, Brussels and Vienna got acquainted with Roerich's works. Paintings were purchased by European museums. In 1909 Nicholas Roerich became a member of the '''Imperial Academy of Art''' and a member of the '''Academy of Reims''' in France.

== Travels ==
=== Travels in Russia ===
Roerich`s interest in archeology and history to a large extent defined his travels to Russia. In 1903-04 Nicolas Roerich with his wife Helena Roerich made a trip to the old towns of Vladimir, Suzdal, Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, Smolensk, Yaroslavl, Kazan regions, and also Riga, Kiev, Vilna and others. More than a hundred sketches of the beautiful architectural relics came as a result of the trip.

Roerich`s world-view was shaped not only by Russian art and history. The East was significantly affecting his literary and art works since the mid 1900s. He was drawn in particular to India, to its ancient culture and rich spiritual traditions. His reflections not only as historian and archeologist, but also as philosopher brought him to the mysterious “cradle of civilizations”.

His thoughts on unity, universal spiritual values and special role of Russia as a connecting link between East and West were in keeping with the ideas of Russian philosophers as N.Berdyaev, N.Lossky, V.Solovyev and others. Justly believing that basic ethical laws were formulated already in antiquity, at the dawn of civilization, Roerich looked for answers to the mysteries of life on primary sources – myths, legends, ancient philosophical systems, he studied as well works of Eastern thinkers.

=== Travel to New York ===

The Roerichs spent some time in New York City during 1921-1923. During that period they became members of the [[American Theosophical Society]]. They were already members of the English Section of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]].<ref>Membership Ledger Cards 03544 and 03545. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref> Claude Bragdon wrote:
<blockquote>
My first meeting with Nicholas Roerich occurred at the time his paintings were first exhibited in New York. He had come to this country with them at the invitation of the Chicago Art Institute, and fascinated by the freshness and strength of the spiritual life which he discovered fermenting within the three measures of our materialism and leavening it, he decided to make America his home. In our very first talk we discovered that we had many interests in common: our theosophical outlook upon life–inlook would be, perhaps, the better word–the fact that we were both practically and vitally interested in the theatre and our mutual admiration of Ouspensky's Tertium Organum. He had read it in Russian and was surprised and delighted to learn that the English translation by Nicholas Bessaraboff and myself had aroused great interest, had received commendation in high quarters and was becoming well known.

My second encounter with Roerich convinced me that we were in the pattern of one another's lives...<ref>Claude Bragdon, ''Merely Players'' (New York: ALfred A. Knopf, 1929), 127.</ref>
</blockquote>

The Roerichs founded the '''Master Institute of United Arts'''.<ref>Nicholas Roerich, ''Adamant'' (New York: Corona Mundi International Arts Center, 1923): back matter. Printed in Paris at Presse Franco-Russe.</ref>

=== Travel in India and the Himalayas ===
In 1923 Roerich`s cherished dream came true – on the 2nd of December together with his family he arrived in India. Within a month the Roerichs visited ancient monuments of Elefanta, Jaipur, Agra, Sarnath, Benares and Kalcutta. At the end of December they stayed in the small kingdom of Sikkim in Eastern Himalayas. Scientific research, conducted in Sikkim, visits to ancient monasteries, numerous meetings with scientists and spiritual men persuaded him more and more to undertake a serious expedition in Central Asia. The journey lasted from March of 1925 till May of 1928: Kashmir – Ladakh (Leh) – Chinese Turkestan (Hotan) – and after 2 months in Moscow – Altai – Mongolia – Tibet – Sikkim (Darjeeling). No researcher had walked this route before. For the first time, dozens of mountain peaks and passes were marked on maps, archeological monuments were discovered, rare manuscripts were found. Vast scientific data was corrected, books (“Heart of Asia”, “Altai – Himalaya”) were written, hundreds of paintings created.

Upon finishing the expedition in July of 1928 Roerich founded the Himalayan research institute '''Urusvati''', translated from Sanskrit as "The Light of the Morning Star." This institute cooperated with other research institutes and botanical gardens of East and West, with many scientists all over the world. Nicholas Roerich and his family settled down in the Western Himalayas, in Kulu valley.

In 1934-35 together with his elder son, Yuri (George) Roerich, Nicholas undertook an expedition to Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. This expedition was organized by Institute "Urusvati' with the United States Department of Agriculture, offering Nicholas Roerich an opportunity to study and collect seeds of drought-resistant plants. Andrei Znamenski's book ''Red Shambhala'' documents this trip.

== Agni Yoga ==
The Roerichs lived in India for a span of many years where they collaborated with those who are called Mahatmas or Spiritual Teachers. The depth of their thoughts and teachings attest to their great knowledge of the spirit. In cooperation with them, the Roerichs gave to the world the unique philosophical system called Living Ethics (or Agni Yoga).

Living Ethics is a synthesis of the ancient teachings of the East which opens the way for incorporation the scientific achievements of the West. This Teaching is based upon essentially the same knowledge as the Theosophical doctrine since the both systems have the same common source.

Summing up previously accumulated human knowledge and organically putting together principal methods of learning, Living Ethics offers new approach to solving a whole range of problems and new outlook on such fundamental notions as energy and matter, mind and conscience. It bring a fundamentally new type of mindset that Nicholas Roerich interpreted as “energetic”. According to this mindset, the Universe is a grandiose spirited system of energy that is evolving according to the Great Laws of the Cosmos. It explains a man as one of many structures, closely linked and interacting with the others – with similar objects on the surface of our planet, with celestial bodies, with the worlds of other states of matter. Viewing a man as “part of the cosmic energy, part of the elements, part of Cosmic Reason, part of the consciousness of the higher matter”, Living Ethics assigned to him the role of evolution`s chief tool. Without a man the main task of the evolution process – spiritualization of the matter, its transformation into a higher state of different quality – would have been impossible.

Apart from our solid world Living Ethics also observed the worlds of different states of matter – Subtle world (the other name is Astral world) and Fiery world (Arupa world in Theosophy) that are closely linked to each other and to the solid world of our physical stratum. Combining the matter of these kinds inside himself the man is constantly interacting with these worlds. The nature of this interaction is defined by the level and the expansion of one`s mind and by the participation of one’s heart. Therefore the Teaching lays great emphasis on ethical notions and their practical realization – high moral standards, love, compassion, feeling of responsibility for one`s close ones and for the evolution of the planet as the whole. According to the doctrine, “The feeling of responsibility should be developed infinitely. The spirit of a man, like the Creator, holds responsibility for all his deeds. We shall not be in fear of realizing the phenomenon of responsibility. We are responsible not only to ourselves, but also to the Cosmos”.

The books of this philosophical teaching were first published in Russian in 1924-1937, and were translated and printed in several languages during the lifetime of Helena Roerich.

== Paintings ==
Nicholas Roerich painted more than 7,000 works of art, including paintings, stage designs, murals, and more.

Passionate interest in archeology and history to a large extent defined the subjects of his paintings – ancient Pagan Rus, colorful images of folk epics, primordial greatness of pristine nature. Roerich began his career in art as a historical painter. His paintings are always distinguished for their vibrant and unique historical mood. He created a unique collection of paintings telling us about ancient life in all the richness of its bygone into silence culture (''Overseas Guests,'' ''Building the Town,'' ''Stone Age,'' ''Idols,'' etc.).

After trips to the old Russian towns Nicholas Roerich created more than a hundred sketches of beautiful architectural relics, such as ''Rostov the Great,'' ''Pskov-Pechory Monastery,'' ''Izborsk. Walls,'' ''Kostroma. Ipatiev Monastery.'' In 1905, Nicholas II ordered them to be placed in the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg.

Around 1907 Nicholas Roerich received the first invitation to the part in designing sets for theatrical performances. He creates sketches for stage sets and costumes for the works of N.Rimsky-Korsakov (''The Snow Maiden''), A. Borodin (''Prince Igor''), Richard Wagner (''The Valkyrie''), M. Maeterlinck (''Princess Maleine''), Henrik Ibsen (''Peer Gynt''), Igor Stravinsky (''The Rite of Spring''), and others. Roerich was a member of the famous Djaghilev entreprise ''Russian Seasons'' of the years 1909-1913. His theatrical and decorative works were fundamental in Russian and world art. He also engaged in monumental art, creating sketches of mosaics, majolicas, paintings for portals, apses, churches` naves, as well as interior designs (Livshits' villa in Nice, Bazhanov's dining hall in Saint Petersburg).

Before the beginning of the First World War, he created a series of paintings which had a prophetic character. These were pictures-warnings on the inadmissibility of World War, “The Last Angel”, “Sword of Valor”, “Doomed City”, “Cry of the Serpent,” etc.

In 1914, before the First World War, in Talashkino near Smolensk, he worked on the mural of the Holy Spirit. His art focused on the theme of saints, hermits and the heroes who provided examples of selflessness, courage, and love of country. Examples are ''St. Mercurius Smolensky,'' ''St. Nikola,'' ''Procopius the Righteous praying for the Unknown Travelers,'' ''St. Sergius from Radonezh,'' etc.

In 1920, Roerich got an invitation from the Director of the Chicago Art Institute to organize a big exhibition tour around 30 cities of the United States. Among 115 his paintings the following were exhibited: ''Angel’s Treasure'' (1905), ''The Last Angel'' (1912), ''Viking’s Daughter'' (1917), ''Call of the Sun'' (1918), ''Ecstasy'' (1917), series ''Heroica'' and ''Dreams of the East'' and others. The exhibitions were a great success. In America, Roerich created the following series: ''Sancta'', ''New Mexico'', ''Ocean’s Suite'', and ''Dreams of Wisdom.''

In his art Roerich early approached to the East. He was always interested in the culture of the ancient peoples of Asia, their history, art, philosophy. He studied the rich heritage of the nomadic world, which considered to be a conductor of many cultural influences outgoing from India and China.

India attracted the attention of Roerich not only as a painter, but as a scientist interested in a number of questions related to ancient peoples’ world migrations, and the search for a common source of Slavic and Indian cultures. In a great number of paintings Roerich reflected his knowledges and impressions, collected during his travel through Central Asia. The artist portrayed a panorama of the expedition's itinerary, a famous painting series “Himalayas” was begun, the series “Maytreya”, “Sikkim’s Path”, “His Country”, “The Banners of the East” and others.

On the paintings of the “Himalayas” series, the mountains are ancient like the Planet itself. The tops lit with the sun at dawn and sunset are flaring with a whole range of amazing colors. Bright, radiant strokes of tempera, to which the artist passed when he was still in Russia, are lying onto the canvases with spell-binding beauty, shine with the gleams of different remote worlds. “It is said that there will be no greater singer of the Sacred Mountains, – Helena Roerich wrote about her husband’s paintings. – He will remain for ever unsurpassed in this area”. Roerich’s mountains are living and breathing. The breath of the Earth and the Universe is mixed in them. The Himalayas are for the painter the symbol of spiritual ascent of man himself, of his thousand-year-old links with this magic space of the planet. Every sketch by Roerich is unique in its own way. Artist rightfully earned the title of “Master of the mountains.” Indian Prime Minister D.Nehru said about the Himalayan series: “When you look at these paintings ... it seems that you catch the spirit of these great mountains that towered over the plains of India through the centuries and were our guards”.

One of the main themes of Roerich art in those and subsequent years was the theme of Teachers, the keeper of knowledge, preceptor and sage (''Buddha the Winner,'' ''Sergius the Builder,'' ''Moses the Leader,' etc.). Traveling along the route of the Central Asian expedition Roerich had recorded a lot of legends, tales and historical evidence about Teachers and cultural heroes whose lives have been linked with the feat. He expressed his credo in art as “heroic realism”. Roerich's paintings are deeply permeated with the belief in the victory of the noble ideals of humanity.

After an expedition to Central Asia (1923-28) he had developed a series of paintings devoted to the past of Mongolia, India, Tibet, China, in which the etched remarkable architectural ensembles of monasteries, cities, memorials and places of worship.

Nicholas Roerich art period of 1930-40s, stands out with especial colorfulness, skill generalization, consummate synthesis of impressions, and all that was the result of understanding the essence of transmission. The artist had always believed in the power of colors, and, perhaps no one had cognized their harmony and amazing value tones, like him.

“To see a picture of Roerich means to see a new world,” according to writer Leonid Andreyev. He gave the characterized the painter's work as the "realm of Roerich."

Last years Roerich lived in India, which became his second home, but the thought of Russia did not leave him until the end of life.

During the Second World War the painter organized exhibitions and painting sales and transferred the money to the Red Army fund. In his work he came back to the theme of his native land. He created patriotic paintings ''Alexander Nevsky,'' ''Yaroslav the Wise,'' ''Boris and Gleb,'' ''“Partisans,'' ''Victory,'' and others, glorifying the great power of the people and their faith in a better future.

Roerich's paintings are represented in many museums around the world, in Russia and in Europe, America and Asia.

== Peace Pact ==
Nicholas Roerich was a great peacemaker.

As a person of high culture, he could not stand aside when the objects of the world cultural heritage were being destroyed, mainly because of the armed conflicts. That is why in the beginning of the previous century he initiated an international movement for the protection of cultural heritage.

Nicholas Roerich believed that it is only by expanding the area of culture that we can scale down the possibility of the armed or other various conflicts. Nowadays the world is still struck by armed conflicts leading to the destruction of the world cultural treasures. That is why Nicholas Roerich`s ideas on the protection of the cultural heritage are ever more timely.

In 1930s, anticipating the coming threat of the war, Roerich prepared a project of a special '''Roerich Pact''' on protection of cultural objects during wars and civil disorders – “On the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments”. An exceptional achievement of this Pact was the initiative to take under protection not only cultural objects, but also the staff of scientific, educational, cultural and art institutions and museums under the authority of the Pact.

His initiative was supported in broad circles of international public, by the committees and different people all over the world. The painter`s idea was welcomed by Romain Rolland, [[George Bernard Shaw]], [[Rabindranath Tagore]], [[Albert Einstein]], [[Maurice Maeterlinck]], Theodore Dreiser, Thomas Mann and others.

In 1931 (September, 13-15) – The First International Conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact was organized in Bruges with participation of many European countries. The conference developed a plan of promotion of the Pact in educational institutions and establishes contacted with the International Arts Committee and with the Steering Committee of Arms Control Conference.

In 1932 (August, 7-9) – The Second International Conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact was organized in Bruges. Twenty-two countries took part in the conference. The Conference decided to found a special institution for spreading the ideas of the Roerich Pact in Bruges. The Conference recommended all countries to recognize the Pact as an international document.

In 1933 (November, 17-18) – The Third International Conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact was held in Washington, D.C in the United States. This Conference was welcomed by 35 countries, which recommended all governments to sign the Roerich Pact.

The signing of the Roerich Pact on the 15th of April, 1935 in the American White House – the '''International Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments''' – became one of the most important events of the 20th century in the field in the international protection of the cultural heritage of mankind. This document is primarily characterized by its high humanistic content. The President of the United States of America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, said: “In opening this Pact to the adherence of the nations of the world, we are endeavoring to made of universal application one of the principles vital to the preservation of modern civilization. This treaty possesses a spiritual significance far deeper than the text of the instrument itself”.

[[File:Roerich Banner of Peace.png|300px|right|thumb|Banner of Peace]]
Having proclaimed the priority of culture over military necessity, the Pact first secured an unconditional protection of the world cultural values, safeguarding them not only against wartime devastation, but also against vandalism in peacetime. A special distinctive flag of the Roerich Pact proposed by Nicholas Roerich – the '''Banner of Peace''' – a symbol of protection of cultural objects - served the same purpose.

The Banner of Peace became the symbol of the Roerich Pact. Three small dots in a circle, called the '''Pax Cultura''', signify the unity of the past, present and future in the circle of Eternity and symbolize the law of cultural succession. This symbol echoes the three dots that appear as an occult symbol of the [[Masters of the Wisdom]].

Banners of Peace, international signs of spiritual evolution of mankind, are hung out all over the world where Culture is protected. But what is Culture? Roerich defined Culture like this: “Culture is reverence of Light. Culture is love for the humanity. Culture is fragrance, the unity of life and Beauty. Culture is the synthesis of uplifting and sensitive attainments. Culture is the armour of Light. Culture is salvation. Culture is the motivating power. Culture is the Heart. If we gather all the definitions of Culture, we find the synthesis of active Bliss, the altar of enlightenment and constructive Beauty”. Nicholas Roerich was confident that the further evolution of the mankind would not be impossible without the preservation and development of culture during peaceful times and without the possibility for the people to turn to its origins.

The Banner of Peace as the Banner of Culture flew around our planet on boards of spacecrafts, it streamed on the North and South Poles, took part in many cultural events. Michael Foel, American astronaut, said: “We have raised this Banner of Peace in space to remind all people once again about our global responsibility for the destiny of mankind and our planet. …Human flights in space …are the first steps of a new united cosmic culture and the Banner of Peace is the symbol of it”. P.Vinogradov, Russian cosmonaut, said: “We have raised the Banner of Peace above the planet in hope that the space of Culture will displace the space of war and enmity on our planet. We call for the construction of a new spiritual, scientific and art cooperation of all people and nations of the Earth”.

To this day Banners of Peace flies above many cultural and educational buildings of the world. Also many exhibitions dedicated to Roerich`s Pact and Banner of Peace pass in the various towns in Russia, Europe, India, etc.

Due to the Roerich Pact the system of modern international law in the field of cultural heritage preservation was formed, as this document subsequently became the basis of the '''1954 Hague Convention of UNESCO for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict'''.

The Roerich Pact has paved the way for several of UNESCO`s international activities devoted to the protection of cultural property both in peacetime and during war – including the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two (1954 and 1999) Protocol.

Many provisions of the Pact are still relevant in today`s world where military conflicts and peacetime threats destroy achievements of human culture.

Roerich Pact is an outstanding social initiative. It demonstrates the efficiency of consolidation efforts of governments and international communities in the field of culture protection.

== Later years ==
=== Association with Henry Wallace ===
In 1934-1935 together with his elder son Nicholas undertook an expedition to Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. This expedition was organized on the initiative of the United States Department of Agriculture Department, offering the Roerichs an opportunity to study and collect seeds of drought-resistant plants. [[Henry Wallace]] had been appointed as Secretary of Agriculture in the cabinet of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933 and approved the mission. However, Wallace was shocked to find that Roerich had used the expedition to encourage a revolt among the Buddhists. Wallace corresponded for several years with Roerich using coded language. When the president heard about the letters, Wallace was forced to renounce them, but the truth was revealed in 1948 with the publication of the "Dear Guru" letters.<ref>Andrei Z. Znamenski ''Red Shambhala: Magic, Prophecy, and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 2011. This entire book is about the expedition.</ref>

=== World War II activities ===
During the Second World War the painter organized exhibitions and painting sales and transferred the money to the Red Army fund. In his work he came back to the theme of his native land. He created patriotic paintings “Prince Igor”, “Alexander Nevsky”, “Partisans”, “Victory” and others. His essays and letters like never before called for people`s unity and cooperation, tirelessly reminding that the foundation of peace is not only observance of international agreements. Roerich believed that the most important part of it was within us, in the strength of our spirit, in our inner culture that was based on kind-heartedness, striving for Knowledge and worshiping Beauty.

His appeals were never abstract. Not only Roerich`s art and literary work were based on these principals, but his whole life. Testimonies of his contemporaries are full on admiration for the versatile artistic genius of Roerich, but also portray him as a purposeful man possessing striking spiritual force, inner harmony and great compassion for beliefs of other people. The fact that more than a hundred institutes, academies, scientific corporations and cultural institutions all over the world appointed him as their honorary and full member confirms the Russian painter`s recognition. The artist was treated with great respect in India itself – many Indian philosophers, scientists, writers, public figures and officials were personality acquainted with Nicholas Roerich. People of Kullu valley honored him as a great sage, bringing flowers to his doorsteps on holidays.

=== Death and cremation ===
Nicholas Roerich travelled widely across Europe, Asia and America, but he never gave up the thought of coming back to his Motherland. Right after the end of the war, the painter tried to come back to the Soviet Union. He wrote, “As long as I have strength, I would like to use it for the benefit of my Motherland. Knowledge, experience, love for the glorious Motherland – everything needs to be used where it will be particularly useful”. His intentions were not meant to be realized – in the full swing of the preparations, on [[December 13]], 1947, he passed away. On the spot of the funeral pyre, facing magnificent snowy peaks, a big stone was installed, on which the following inscription was carved: “Here, on December 15th , 1947, the body of Maharishi Nicholas Roerich – a great Russian friend of India – was committed to fire. Let there be peace”.

== Writings ==

=== Articles ===

Roerich contributed to [[The Herald of the Star (periodical)|''The Herald of the Star'']], [[The Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger'']], and other periodicals. The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Nicholas+Roerich&s=author 22 articles by Nicholas Roerich]''', and '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Nicholas+Roerich&s=title 42 articles about Nicholas Roerich and his work]'''

=== Books ===
Roerich's books are listed in alphabetic sequence. During 2017-2021, The Nicholas Roerich Museum reprinted these books in the '''''[https://www.roerich.org/roerich-writings.php Nicholas Roerich: Collected Writings series]'''''.

* '''''Adamant'''''. New York: Corona Mundi, 1923. Available at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044034438218&seq=1 Hathitrust]. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2017.
* '''''Altai--Himalaya; a Travel Diary'''''. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1929. Altai-Himalaya. Introduction by Claude Bragdon. Reprinted Brookfield (Conn.): Arun Press, 1983. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2017. 1929 edition available at [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.16090 Internet Archive] with a second version [https://archive.org/details/altaihimalayatra00roer here].
* '''''Beautiful Unity'''''. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2017.
* '''''Diary Leaves'''''. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2021.
* '''''Fiery Stronghold'''''. Boston, MA: The Stratford Company, 1933. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2017.
* '''''Flame in Chalice'''''. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1930. Songs and sagas, Book 1; translated by Mary Siegrist. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2017.
* '''''Heart of Asia: Memoirs from the Himalayas'''''. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1930. Available at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b49163&view=1up&seq=8 Hathitrust] and [https://archive.org/details/heartofasia0000nich Internet Archive]. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2017.
* '''''Heroica'''''. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2018.
* '''''Himalayas: Abode of Light'''''. Bombay: Nalanda Publications, 1947. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2017. 1947 edition available at [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.233549 Internet Archive].
* '''''Himalaya: a Monograph'''''. New York: Brentano's 1926. Articles by Frances R. Grant, Mary Siegrist, George Grebenstchikoff, Ivan Narodny, and "Banners of the East", by Nicholas Roerich, with 24 color-plates and 78 halftones.
* '''''Himavat: Diary Leaves'''''. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2019.
* '''''The Invincible'''''. New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 1974. Translation of Nerushimoe, 1936. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2017.
* '''''Leaves of Morya's Garden'''''. New York, 1923. Translated by Louis L. Horch. Available at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b143358&view=1up&seq=5 Hathitrust].
* '''''Realm of Light'''''. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1931. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2017.
* '''''Shambhala'''''. New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1930. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 1985, 2017. 1930 edition available at [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.202332 Internet Archive].
* '''''Vigil: Letters from Asia'''''. Reprinted New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 2019 as Vol. 13 of ''Collected Writings Series''.

'''Agni Yoga volumes''':

The books of this philosophical teaching were first published in Russian in 1924-1937. All were translated and printed in several languages during the lifetime of Helena Roerich except ''Supermundane''. These were reprinted by the [[Agni Yoga Society]] in 2017.

* '''Agni Yoga'''. Paris, 1929.
* '''Aum'''. Riga, 1936.
* '''Brotherhood'''. Riga, 1937.
* '''Leaves of Morya’s Garden'''. The Call. Paris, 1924.
* '''Leaves of Morya’s Garden'''. Illumination. Paris, 1925.
* '''Community'''. Urga [Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia], 1927.
* '''Community'''. 1926. Riga, 1926.
* '''Fiery World. Part I'''. Paris, 1933.
* '''Fiery World. Part II'''. Paris, 1934.
* '''Fiery World. Part III'''. Paris, 1935.
* '''Heart'''. Paris, 1932.
* '''Hierarchy'''. Paris, 1931.
* '''Infinity, Part I'''. Paris, 1930.
* '''Infinity,. Part II'''. Paris, 1930.
* '''Supermundane'''. (It was not published during the life of Helena Roerich.)

Other works:

* '''''The Nicolas Roerich Exhibition'''''. New York: Redfield-Kendrick-Odell, 1920.

In addition, Roerich contributed to these works:
* Narodny, Ivan. '''''American Artists'''''. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1932. Introduction by Nicholas Roerich.

== Museums and exhibitions ==

With a lifetime production of something like 6,000 paintings, it is not surprising to find that his works have been dispersed throughout the world in many museums. Several institutions are devoted entirely to Nicholas Roerich, his family, and his art:
* '''Nicholas Roerich Museum''' is a large museum at 310 Riverside Drive in New York City. Website: http://www.roerich.org/. See also [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbQlxBGPoQY YouTube video]. Its opening on March 24, 1924 was announced in ''The Messenger'' issue of May, 1924.
*'''Nicholas Roerich Museum and Buddhist Art Institute''' in Mongolia is a restored house in which Roerichs live in 1926-27. Website: http://www.roerichmongolia.org/ . See also [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pURmGVLlhk YouTube video].
* '''International Centre of the Roerichs''' is a large museum in Moscow. Website: http://en.icr.su/museum/. See also this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdJPiwnmu1U YouTube video].
* '''Nicholas Roerich Estate Museum''' in St. Petersburg has a very large collection. Website: http://www.saint-petersburg.com/museums/nicholas-roerich-estate-museum/. Since 2003, the museum annually awards the Nicholas Roerich International Prize.
* '''Roerich Gallery''' in Naggar, India. For information, see [http://www.bharatonline.com/himachal-pradesh/travel/manali/roerich-art-gallery.html Bharata Online] and [http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/himachal-pradesh/naggar/sights/museums-galleries/roerich-gallery-urusvati-museum Lonely Planet website].
* '''N.K. Roerich's Museum and the Siberian Roerich Society''' in Novosibirsk, Siberia.
* '''Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath''' in Bangalore, India. A new state-of-the art museum is being developed by the State of Karnataka in southwest India, displaying over 240 of the artist’s paintings, will be developed at the 456-acre Tataguni Estate of Svetoslav Roerich, the son of Nicholas Roerich. Website: http://www.karnatakachitrakalaparishath.com/parishath/roerich.html. More information: [http://in.rbth.com/arts/2014/02/24/karnataka_to_convert_svetoslav_roerichs_estate_into_museum_33269.html article from February 24, 2014], [http://www.navhindtimes.in/panorama/sad-saga-roerich-treasures ‘’NavHind Times’’ article], [http://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/article346184.ece ‘’New Indian Express’’ article], [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Roerichs-Tataguni-estate-to-get-a-new-life/articleshow/30644059.cms ‘’Times of India’’ article].
* '''Nikolay Roerich Museum''' in Novosibirsk, See also [http://mytravelog.blogspot.com/2011/11/museum-of-nikolas-roerich-in.html blog post].
* '''Roerich Hall Estate''' in the Kullu Valley of the Indian Himalayas; status is uncertain. See: [http://en.icr.su/protection/heritage/Roerich_Kulu/index.php International Centre of the Roerichs].

Other museums with Roerich paintings include:

* '''Department of the State Museum of Oriental Arts''' in Moscow.
* '''National Gallery for Foreign Art''' in Sofia, Bulgaria has an important collection.
* '''Art Museum''' in Nizhny Novgorod (formerly known as Gorky), Russia
* '''Sree Chitra Art Gallery''', Thiruvananthapuram in south India. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sree_Chitra_Art_Gallery Wikipedia article].
* '''Latvian National Museum of Art''' has several of Roerich’s larger works.
* '''National Museum of Serbia'''.
* '''Zanabazar National Museum''' in Mongolia has one painting.
* '''Hood Museum of Art''' at Dartmouth University has one painting.
* '''Oglethorpe University Museum of Art''' in Atlanta Georgia. Website: http://museum.oglethorpe.edu/.

== Awards, honorary memberships, and other honors ==

N. Roerich's many-sided cultural activities are recognized by awards from many governments of the world, and also by the titles of honor given him by scientific, public and cultural institutions, whose founder, protector, president and full member he was.

=== Awards ===
* Holder of an Orders of Saint Stanislaus, Saint Anna and Saint Vladimir (Russia)
* Holder of an Order of Saint Sava (Serbia)
* Holder of an National Order of the Legion of Honour (France)
* Holder of an Order of the Polar Star (Sweden)

=== Honorary memberships ===
* Full member of Imperial Academy of Arts, Russia.
* Founder of Master Institute of United Arts in New York, USA.
* Founder of International Art Centre “Corona Mundi”, USA.
* Honorary director of Museum named after N. Roerich in New York and its branches in Europe, America and Eastern countries.
* Full Member of Yugoslavian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb.
* Full member of Portuguese Academy, Coimbra.
* Full member of Reims Academy, France.
* Full member of International institute of science and literature, Bologna, Italy.
* Honorary member of Committee on Culture, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
* Vice-President of Mark Twain Society, USA.
* Vice-President of American Institute of Archeology, USA.
* Honorary member of Enlightener Society of Varanasi, India.
* Honorary member of More Society, France.
* Member of Red Cross, France.
* Member of Society for antiquities study, France.
* Lifelong member of Federation of French painters, France.
* Member of “Salon d’Automne”, Paris.
* Lifelong member of antiquarian society, Paris.
* Honorary president of International Union for Roerich’s Pact support, Bruges.
* Honorary protector of Historical Society at Academy, Paris.
* Honorary President of Roerich Society in France, Paris.
* Member-Founder of Ethnographical Society, Paris.
* Honorary President of Academy named after Roerich, New York.
* Honorary President of Society for cultural progress “Flamma”, Indiana State, USA.
* Honorary President of Roerich Society in Philadelphia, USA.
* Honorary Member of Society for historical sites protection, New York.
* Honorary President of Latvian Roerich Society, Riga.
* Honorary President of Roerich Societies in Lithuania, Yugoslavia, China.
* Honorary member of Institute named after S. Ch. Bos, Calcutta.
* Member of J. Bose Institute, India.
* Member of Nagati Prachari Sabkha, India.
* Lifelong member of King’s Asian Society in Bengali, Calcutta.
* Lifelong member of Society “Art of the East”, Calcutta.
* Honorary President and doctor of literature of International institute for Buddhism study in San Francisco, California. (International Buddhism Institute, USA).
* Honorary member of Russian Museum of history and culture, Prague, Czechoslovakia.
* Honorary member of Luzas Society, Paris.
* Honorary member of League for Art Defense, Paris.
* Protector of Cultural Society, Amritsara, India.
* Member-benefactor of Association for International Research, Paris.
* Honorary member of Field Association, S.-Luis, USA.
* Honorary member of Braurveda Society, Java.
* Honorary member of National Association of Natural Medicine in America, Los-Angeles, USA.
* Honorary President of Centre of Arts and Culture, Allahabad, India.
* President of League of Culture, USA.
* Honorary President of American-Russian cultural Association in New York, USA.

=== Other honors ===

* '''Peace Monuments''' have been dedicated to Nicholas Roerich. See: [http://peace.maripo.com/m_roerich.htm Peace Monuments web page], and [http://tsl.org/2010/09/international-day-of-peace/ Summit Lighthouse web page].

* The '''minor planet 4426 Roerich''' in our Solar System was named in honor of Roerich.

* Roerich was nominated for the '''Nobel Peace Prize''' in 1929, 1933 and 1935.<ref>See [https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/archive/show.php?id=8403 Nobel Prize website]. </ref>

* In 2003, the St Petersburg the annual '''Nicholas Roerich International Prize''' was instituted by the Nicholas Roerich Estate Museum.

== Additional resources ==

=== Books ===

* Adney, Frances and others. '''''[https://archive.org/details/messenger-roerichs-paintings The Messenger: Roerich's Paintings]'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Vasanta Press, 1925. This is a collection of seven articles by Frances Adney, Leonid Andreyev, Alexander Kaun, Joseph Finger, N. Jarentsov, I. de Manziarly, and Serge Whitman. Profits from publication were dedicated to the Blavatsky Museum, Adyar, home of Roerich's painting ''The Messenger''.
* Archer, Kenneth.'''''Roerich East & West: Paintings from the Nicholas Roerich Museum'''''. Bournemouth, England: Parkstone Press, 1999.
* Brinton, Christian. '''''The Nicolas Roerich Exhibition: with Introduction and Catalogue of the Paintings'''''. New York: Redfield-Kendrick-Odell, 1920.
* Decter, Jacqueline. '''''Nicholas Roerich: the Life and Art of a Russian Master'''''. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 1989.
* Drayer, Ruth. '''''Nicholas & Helena Roerich: the Spiritual Journey of Two Great Artists and Peacemakers'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 2005.
* Klimentieva, Victoria. '''''Nicholas Roerich: In Search of Shambhala'''''. Thesis at University of Texas at Austin. August 2009. Available at [http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/ETD-UT-2009-08-358/KLIMENTIEVA-THESIS.pdf UT Library web page].
* Nicholas Roerich Museum. '''''Roerich Museum, a Decade of Activity, 1921-1931'''''. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1931.
* Paelian, Garabed. '''''Nicholas Roerich'''''. Agoura, CA: Aquarian Educational Group, 1974.
* Roerich, George. '''''Tibetan Paintings'''''. Paris: P. Geuthner, 1925.
* Roerich, George. '''''Trails to Inmost Asia; Five Years of Exploration with the Roerich Central Asian Expedition'''''. London: Oxford University Press, 1931.
* Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace Committee. '''''The Roerich Pact and the Banner of Peace'''''. New York, 1947.
* Selivanova, Nina Nikolaevna. '''''The World of Roerich'''''. New York: Corona Mundi, Inc., International Art Center, 1922.
* Tandan, R. C. '''''Nicholas Roerich Painter And Pacifist'''''. Allahabad: Roerich Centre, 1934. Available at [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.260958 Internet Archive].
* Znamenski, Andrei A. '''''Red Shambhala: Magic, Prophecy, and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 2011.

=== Articles ===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/roerich-nicholas-konstantin Roerich, Nicholas Konstantin]] in Theosophy World.
* Senior, Alan. [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/world-roerich-alan-senior '''''The World of Roerich'''''] at Theosophy World.
* Yeatts, Tabitha. "Nicholas Roerich" post in blog Tabitha Yeatts: The Opposite of Indifference. March 22, 2012. See [http://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/2012/03/nicholas-roerich.html blog post].

=== Archives ===
* [https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/hern2000.htm Records of the British Government's Surveillance of Theosophical Society Personalities and Others in the Oriental and India Office Collection], with introduction by Anthony Hern.
* [http://roerichsmuseum.ru/index.php/museum/arkhiv Archive of the Roerich Museum] in Russian and English. The Russian Roerich Museum (the official one which is a branch of the State Museum of Oriental Art), digitized the Roerich Archives of the International Roerich Center in Moscow.

=== Videos ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGc8NxF7SCM Nicholas and Helena Roerich: Life, Vision, and a Shared Quest for the Spirit] by Alex Audziayuk. Presented on July 2, 2026 at the Theosophical Society in America, in Wheaton, Illinois.
* [https://vimeo.com/19062144 Saving the Nicholas Roerich House, Mongolia"] by Glenn Mullin.

=== Websites ===
* [http://art-roerich.org.ua/ Bakhmut Roerich Society] in Ukraine offers a wealth of Russian-language and some English materials by and about the Roerichs and [[H. P. Blavatsky]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Artists|Roerich, Nicholas]]
[[Category:Poets|Roerich, Nicholas]]
[[Category:Mystics|Roerich, Nicholas]]
[[Category:TS Adyar|Roerich, Nicholas]]
[[Category:Famous people|Roerich, Nicholas]]
[[Category:Nationality Russian|Roerich, Nicholas]]
[[Category:People|Roerich, Nicholas]]

Mahatma Letter No. 113

2026-07-02T13:34:02Z

SysopJ: /* Page 6 */

{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = unknown
| receiveddate = early August 1883
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = unknown
| receivedat = London
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 113''' in ''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 82''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Context and background|Context and background]]. Letters from Sinnett followed on August 16 and '''[[Mahatma_Letter_of_Sinnett_to/from_KH_-_1883-09-18|September 18]]''', before the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] situation was resolved by a telegram and '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 114]]'''.
 
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
 
 
== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
strictly confidential

The "quart d'heure de Rabelais" has come. On your answer, consent or refusal — depends the resurrection of the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] — prostrated in a death-like [[Samadhi]], if not in actual death. If you believe in my word, and, leaving the Ryots to our care are prepared for a somewhat unclean work — from the European standpoint though — and consent to oppose our work apparently, serving our ends in reality and thus saving our respective countries from a great [[evil]] that overhangs both — then consent to the proposal that will be made to you from India.

You may work to all intents and purposes to oppose The Bengal Rent Bill, for do whatever you or others may, you will never be able to impede our work in the opposite direction. Therefore, — one scruple less as one non-permitted confidence more. A riddle, verily.

And now good friend, I must explain. Only you have to prepare your European, cultured notions of right and wrong to receive a shock. A plan of action of a purely Asiatic character is laid bare before you; and since I may not move one finger — nor would I if I could in this case — to guide your understanding or feelings it may be found too Jesuitical, to suit your taste. Alas for all! that you should be so little versed in the knowledge of [[Occultism|occult]] antidotes, as not to be able to perceive the difference between the Jesuitical "tout chemin est bon qui mene a Rome" added to the cunning and crafty — "the end justifies the means" — and the necessity of the practical application of these sublime words of [[Gautama Buddha|our Lord]]

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-1_7024.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-1_7024_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Quart d'heure de Rabelais''' means the moment that the bill has to be paid.
* '''Ryot''' was a general economic term for peasant tenants and cultivators, with no clearly defined rights against their landlords or zamindars. See note [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 2|below]].
* '''The Bengal Rent Bill''' (or Bengal Tenancy Act) finally passed in 1885, defined the rights of zamindars and their ryots in response to a widespread peasant revolt against increased rents and land revenues.
* '''Tout chemin est bon qui mène à Rome''' means "any road that leads to Rome is a good one". The usual saying is: "tous les chemins mènent à Rome", all roads lead to Rome.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 2 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
and Master: — "O ye Bhikkhus and Arhats — be friendly to the race of men — our brothers! Know ye all, that he, who sacrifices not his one life to save the life of his fellow-being; and he who hesitates to give up more than life — his fair name and honour to save the fair name & honour of the many, is unworthy of the sin-destroying, immortal, transcendent [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]." Well, it cannot be helped.

Allow me to explain to you the situation. It is very complicated; but to him who, without any previous training was able to assimilate so well some of our doctrines as to write [[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]] — the inner springs that we have to use ought to become intelligible.

(1) The Behar Chiefs propose one and a half lakhs down for the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]]; as much when they see you back to India, if the Bengal Rent Bill is opposed by the new paper and you promise to give them your support. Unless the proposition is accepted by you we may prepare for the final incremation of our Phoenix — and for good. Exclusive of this sum — Rs. 150,000 — we can count but upon Rs. 45,000 in shares — so far. But let the Raees put down cash and all will follow.

(2) If you refuse they will secure another editor: were there any danger for the ryots and the Bill they — the Raees or Zemindars would lose nothing thereby, except in the degree of cleverness of their editor; but they hope and are thoroughly unaware of being doomed — in the long run. The only and real loser in the case of refusal will be — India and

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-2_7025.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-2_7025_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Bhikkus''' are ordained Buddhist monks.
* '''Behar''' refers to Bihar, a region (now a state) in northeastern India.
* '''Raees''' (alternative spelling of Rais) is a historical title of royalty and nobility used in the Indian subcontinent; "A notable, a man of position" (see glossary in ''The Peasant and the Raj. Studies in agrarian society and peasant rebellion in colonial India''). The printed Second Edition wrongly spelled this word as "Races."
*'''Zemindars''' refers to Zamindars, who were aristocrat (typically hereditary) landlords, who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), etc., and were considered to be equivalent to lords and barons. Often zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British Rule.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 3 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
your own country — eventually. This is prophecy.

(3) The resistance to, and the intrigues set on foot by the Zemindars against the Bill are infamous in their nature, yet very natural. Those who examine things at the core, perceive the real culprit in Lord Cornwallis and the long line of his successors. However it may be infamous, as I say, there it is and cannot be helped for it is human nature itself; and, there is no more dishonour to support their claims from a legal standpoint on the part of an Editor, who knows them to be doomed, than there is for a Counsel to defend his client — a great criminal sentenced to be hung. I am now trying to argue from your European standpoint, for fear, and lest you should not be able to see things from our Asiatic point of view, or rather in the light we, who are enabled to discern future events — see them.

(4) A conservative Editor whose field of action will be found to run on parallel lines with that of a conservative Viceroy, will find himself having lost nothing in fact, for a slight opposition that cannot last long after all. There are great flaws in the present Bill, examined from its legal, dead-letter aspect.

(5) Owing to the idiotically untimely "Ilbert's Bill," and the still more idiotic "Saligram-Surendro" Contempt case, the agitation is carrying the population of India to the verge of self-destruction. You must not feel as tho' I were exaggerating if I say more: the English

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-3_7026.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-3_7026_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Lord Cornwallis''' refers to the 1st Marquess Charles Cornwallis (1738 – 1805) who in 1786 was made Governor-General and commander in chief in India. He is regarded as responsible for laying the foundation for British rule throughout India.
* The '''Ilbert Bill''' was introduced in 1883 by Viceroy Ripon, proposing to amend existing laws to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 4 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
and especially Anglo-Indians are running the same course from an opposite direction. You are at liberty to refuse my warning: you will show yourself wise if you do not. To return to our direct object —

(6) There are several Englishmen of great intellect and ability, who feel ready to defend — (and even to ally themselves — with) the Zemindars — and oppose the Bill, against their own principles and feelings — simply because the Raees hate and oppose the man whom the rest of the Hindus profess, for the time being, to adore, and whom they are exalting with all the ardour of simple-minded, short-sighted savages. Thus the ryots cannot escape their fate for a few months longer whether you accept the offer or not. In the latter case, of course the paper scheme is at an end.

(7) At the same time it is better that you should be prepared to know the unavoidable results: there are ninety-nine chances against one, that — if the offer of the Zemindars is rejected — the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] will ever come into existence; not so long at any rate as the present agitation is going on. And when it finally fails as the project is bound to unless we become masters of the situation, then we will have to part. In order to obtain from the [[Chohan]] permission to defend the teeming millions of the poor and the oppressed in India bringing on to bear all our knowledge and [[Siddhi|powers]] — I had to pledge myself, in case of the Phoenix's failure to interfere no more with such worldly matters and —

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-4_7027.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-4_7027_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 5 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
to bid an eternal farewell to the European element. [[Morya|M.]] and [[Djual Khool]] would have to take my place. On the other hand, should you consent to the offer, your opposition to the Rent Bill would have no more effect on our work — for the Ryots than a straw — to save a vessel from sinking; whereas, if another editor is selected we would have no pretext to exercise our influence on their behalf. Such is the situation. It is a curious medley with no raison d'etre in your opinion. You can hardly be expected by us to see clearly through it at present, nor is there much likelihood that you will judge it fairly owing to this Egyptian darkness of cross purposes; nor is there any special need you should, if the offer has to fall to the ground. But, if your answer is favourable, I may perhaps as well add a few particulars. Know then, that opposition notwithstanding, and just because of it, you will bring the great national boil to a head sooner than it could be otherwise expected. Thus, while carrying out strictly your programme and promise made to the Raees, you will be helping the events that have to be brought about to save the unfortunate population that has been sat upon ever since 1793 — the year of Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake. At the same time you may be doing immense good in every other direction. Recall the past and this will help you to see clearer into our intentions. When you took over Bengal from the native Rulers, there were a number of men

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-5_7028.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-5_7028_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''To bid an eternal farewell to the European element'''. In his next letter, Mahatma KH speaks of his "pledge to the Chohan" in less final terms, as "thenceforward abstain from collaboration with Europeans until some future and more favourable time."
* '''Raison d'etre''' a French phrase meaning "reason for existence".
* '''Egyptian darkness''' may be a reference to Exodus X.21-2 in which Moses, following Yahweh's order, "stretched out his hand towards heaven, and for three days there was thick darkness over the whole of Egypt".
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
* '''Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake''' probably refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, the best known provision of the Cornwallis Code. It was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the political realities of the Indian countryside.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 6 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
who exercised the calling of Tax Collectors under their Government. These men received, as you are aware, a percentage for collecting the rents. The spirit of the letter of the tithe and tribute under the Moossulman Rulers was never understood by the East India Company; least of all the rights of the ryots to oppose an arbitrary interchange of the Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah. Well, when the Zemindars found that the British did not exactly understand their position they took advantage of it, as the English had taken advantage of their force: they claimed to be Landlords. Weakly enough, you consented to recognise the claim, and admitting it notwithstanding the warning of the Moossulman who understood the real situation and were not bribed as most of the Company were — you played into the hands of the few against the many, the result being the "Perpetual Settlement" documents. It is this that led to every subsequent evil in Bengal. Seeing how the unfortunate ryots are regarded by your proud nation in the full progress of the 19th Century, being in your sight of far less value than a horse or cattle, it is not difficult to imagine how they were regarded by your countrymen then — a century ago — when every Englishman was a pious [[Christianity|Christian]] at heart and ordered by the [[Bible (book)|Bible]] to draw a broad distinction between the descendants of Ham and themselves — the heirs of the chosen people. The agreement drawn between Lord Cornwallis and the Raees

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-6_7029.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-6_7029_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Moossulman''' refers to Muslims.
* '''The East India Company''' was formed to pursue trade with the East Indies, and ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
* '''Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah''' or Law of Wazifa and Mukassimah, refers to the Muslim laws of taxes. Wazifa khiraj (or a fixed money-rate) imposed as a personal liability upon the cultivator for his holding (payable once a year); Mukassimah khiraj (or a share of the actual produce) payable in kind on every crop produced.
* '''Weakly enough''' is a correction of the heterograph spelling "weekly" that appears in the written letter.
*'''Perpetual Settlement''' refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Page 5|previous note]] on "Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake".
* '''Descendants of Ham''' refers to the Biblical curse upon Ham's descendant's by Moses that forced them to live in Egypt and other parts of Africa; i.e., the dark-skinned peoples.
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 7 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
which stipulated that the "black human cattle" should be treated by the Zemindars kindly and justly, and that they should not raise the rents of the ryots, etc. was a legal farce. The [[Chohan]] was then in India and he was an eye-witness to the beginning of horrors. No sooner had they secured the Perpetual Settlement Agreement that the Raees began to disregard their engagements. Failing to fulfil any of these they brought yearly ruin and starvation on the miserable Ryots. They exacted tribute, sold them up, and trumped up false charges against them under the name of Abwab. These "doors" and "openings" led them wherever they wanted and they levied for over 50 years most extraordinary taxes. All this the Zemindars have done and much more and they will be surely made to account for it. Things too horrible to mention were done under the eyes and often with the sanction of the Company's servants, when the Mutiny put a certain impediment by bringing as its result another form of Government. It is to redress the great wrong done, to remedy to the now irremediable that Lord Ripon took it into his head to bring forward the new Bill. It was not thought expedient by his Councillors (not those you know of) to crush the Zemindary system without securing at the same time popularity among the majority in another direction: hence "Ilbert's Bill" and some other trifles. We say then that to all appearance it is to redress the wrongs of the Past, that is the object of the present Bengal Rent Bill. My friend you are a

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-7_7030.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-7_7030_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
*'''Abwāb''' means "doors, sources of revenue". It was a tax or impost levied by a chief on a landowner.
*'''The Mutiny''' refers to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company, which was then formally dissolved and its ruling powers over India were transferred to the British Crown.
*'''Lord Ripon''' (George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon) was the British Viceroy of India from 1880-1884.
*'''The new Bill''' refers to the Ilbert Bill. See [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 3|previous note]].

{{Col-end}}

== Page 8 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
remarkably clever Editor and an astute and observant politician; and no one, perhaps, in all India goes as deep as you do into the inner constitution of the Anglo-Indian coups d'etat. Still you do not go far enough and the original primitive layers of the political soil as the genesis of some acts of my Lord Ripon were and are terra incognita to yourself as to so many others perhaps still older hands in politics than you are. Neither Lord Ripon nor his Councillors (those behind the veil) anticipate any great results during his power in India. They are more [[Occultism|Occultists]] than you may imagine. Their liberal reforms are not meant for India, to the weal or woes of which they are quite indifferent: they look far off to future results and — Press acts, Ilbert's Bills, Bengal Rent Bills and the rest are aimed at Protestant England which, very soon, too soon if Somebody or Something does not interfere, will find itself suffocating in the invisible coils of the Romish Apophis. Friend and Brother, the only one of your race whom I regard with a warm, sincere affection, take care! Do not reject too lightly my warning for it is a solemn one, and but a hint I am permitted to make. Political skepticism, like every other, scorns and laughs at the observations of those who do not belong to its factions. It finds out its mistakes when in a ditch. Beware for it is no more a simple ditch, but an abyss that is being prepared for you!

But let us see on what grounds an honest Englishman

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-8_7031.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-8_7031_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Coups d'etat''' is a French phrase for the sudden and illegal seizure of a government.
* '''Terra incognita''' is a Latin phrase meaning "unknown land".
* '''Romish Apophis'''. The term "Romish Catholic" was used in English by adherents of the Church of England for Catholics. Apophis was the Greek version of Apep, an evil god in ancient Egyptian religion depicted as a snake and a dragon, the deification of darkness and chaos.
{{Col-end}}

== Page 9 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
can oppose the Rent Bill. However great the misery of the Ryots even at present, however just the reprisals that are in store for the Zemindars, however human and generous, in short, on its surface the object of the Rent Bill, yet no honest Government strictly speaking has the right to break at will and its own pleasure solemn pledges and engagements. Because, it is found that the Raees have not fulfilled their part of the Agreement, it gives no right to the other party to make away with their signature and tear in shreds the Perpetual Settlement Agreement. The sins of the few cannot well be visited upon the many. There are heavy flaws in the present Rent Bill as there were in the old System; and, there is no clause in the old documents stipulated to the effect that the Settlement becomes nil at the will of the British. I will not enter upon the defects of the dead-letter meaning in either the one or other, but will limit myself by telling you that there are such flaws and that, until modified you have a perfect right to object to them. You are not expected to cause the Bill to be withdrawn but to simply support the Zemindars analysis of its defects. And this you can freely promise. However I must not seem trying to influence you one way or the other. Some of the claims of the Raees are infamous and no honest man can be made to support them; while others are not without a strong legal foundation in their favour. The Ruling power, for instance, was never yet and in no case

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-9_7032.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-9_7032_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See not one page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 10 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
the proprietor of the Khirajee land — not even under the Moossulman laws and sway. You have thus the Spirit of Khiraj and Ooshr to work upon, in order to redeem your promise to the landowners and amuse them for a few months unto the day of the "almighty smash" that is in store for them. All that you are asked to do for the benefit of (your as well as) my country is, to overlook the ugly frontispiece of the edifice, taking into consideration only the real nature of the situation and the future good results, in case you should get over your very natural squeamishness. In a few days you may receive a formal proposal. Think well over it. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by any consideration in connection with my desires. If you honestly believe the offer inconsistent with your European notions and criterion of truth and honour refuse its acceptance without any hesitation and let me bid you a sad, though ever grateful and friendly farewell. I cannot expect to see you looking at things from my own standpoint. You look without, I see within. This is no hour for sentimentalities. The whole future of the "brightest (!) jewel" — oh, what a dark satire in that name! — in the Crown of England is at stake, and I am bound to devote the whole of my powers as far as the [[Chohan]] will permit me

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-10_7033.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-10_7033_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Khiraj and Ooshr'''. The ''kharaj'' was an agricultural tax levied by Muslim conquerors on their non-Muslim subject. Muslim landowners paid only ''ushr'', a religious tithe, which carried a much lower rate of taxation.
*'''Moossulman''' means Muslim.
*'''Brightest jewel'''. India was frequently referred to as the "the brightest jewel in the Crown of England".

{{Col-end}}

== Page 11 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
to help my country at this eleventh hour of her misery. I cannot work except with those who will work with us. Accuse me not, my friend, for you do not know you cannot know, the extent of the limitations I am placed under. Think not, that I am seeking to place a bait — an inducement, for you to accept that which would refuse under other circumstances, for I am not. Having pledged my solemn word of honour to Him to whom I am indebted for everything I am and know I am simply helpless in case of your refusal and — we will have to part. Had not the Rent Bill been accompanied by the din and clash of the Ilbert Bill and "contempt case" I would have been the first to advise you to refuse. As the situation stands now, however, and prohibited as I am to use any but ordinary powers — I am powerless to do both, and am constrained to choose between helping my hapless mother-country, and our future intercourse. It is for you to decide. And if this letter is fated to be my last, I beg you to remember — for your sake, not mine — the message I sent at Simla to yourself and [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] through [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] — "Lord Ripon is not a free agent; the real Viceroy and ruler of India is not at Simla but at Rome; and the effective weapon used by the latter is — the Viceroy's confessor."

Give, pray, my best wishes to [[Patience Sinnett|your lady]] and the "[[Percy Edensor Sinnett|Morsel]]". Be certain, that with a few undetectable

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-11_7034.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-11_7034_thm.jpg]
{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Lord Ripon is not a free agent'''. He converted to Catholicism in 1874, following which he was generous in supporting Catholic educational and charitable works.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 12 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
mistakes and omissions notwithstanding, your "[[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]]" is the only right exposition — however incomplete — of our [[Esoteric Philosophy|Occult doctrines]]. You have made no cardinal, fundamental mistakes; and whatever may be given to you hereafter will not clash with a single sentence in your book but on the contrary will explain away any seeming contradiction. How greatly mistaken was [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s theory is shown by the "[[Chela]]" in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]. With all that, you may feel sure that neither [[Morya|M.]] nor I have contradicted each other in our respective statements. He was speaking of the inner — I, of the [[Inner and Outer Rounds|outer Round]]. There are many things that you have not learned but may some day; nor will you be able to ever comprehend the process of the [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscurations]] until you have mastered the mathematical progress of the inner and the outer Rounds and learned more about the specific difference between the seven. And thus according to [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]]'s philosophical conclusion we have no [[God]]? He is right — since he applies the name to an extra-cosmic anomaly, and that we, knowing nothing of the latter, find — each man his God — within himself in his own personal, and at the same time, — impersonal [[Avalokiteśvara|Avalokiteswara]]. And now — farewell. And if it is so decreed that we should correspond no more, remember me with the same sincere good feeling as you will ever be remembered by,

[[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]]

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-12_7035.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-12_7035_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''How greatly mistaken was Mr. Hume''' refers to the article "Cosmical Rings and Rounds" he wrote in ''The Theosophist'' June 1883 (p. 231), which was answered by the chela [[S. T. Krishnama Charya|S. T. K***Chary]] (p. 232). See [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/Theosophical%20Publications/The%20Theosophist/1883/theosophist_v4_n9_june_1883.pdf# here] a reprint of the article and its response.

{{Col-end}}

== Context and background ==

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 3. [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]] described the letter this way:
<blockquote>
In KH script on both sides of six sheets of white paper. The first four lines are in blue ink; the remainder is in green ink.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 182.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Mahatma Letter No. 113

2026-07-02T13:26:14Z

SysopJ: /* Page 6 */

{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = unknown
| receiveddate = early August 1883
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = unknown
| receivedat = London
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 113''' in ''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 82''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Context and background|Context and background]]. Letters from Sinnett followed on August 16 and '''[[Mahatma_Letter_of_Sinnett_to/from_KH_-_1883-09-18|September 18]]''', before the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] situation was resolved by a telegram and '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 114]]'''.
 
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
 
 
== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
strictly confidential

The "quart d'heure de Rabelais" has come. On your answer, consent or refusal — depends the resurrection of the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] — prostrated in a death-like [[Samadhi]], if not in actual death. If you believe in my word, and, leaving the Ryots to our care are prepared for a somewhat unclean work — from the European standpoint though — and consent to oppose our work apparently, serving our ends in reality and thus saving our respective countries from a great [[evil]] that overhangs both — then consent to the proposal that will be made to you from India.

You may work to all intents and purposes to oppose The Bengal Rent Bill, for do whatever you or others may, you will never be able to impede our work in the opposite direction. Therefore, — one scruple less as one non-permitted confidence more. A riddle, verily.

And now good friend, I must explain. Only you have to prepare your European, cultured notions of right and wrong to receive a shock. A plan of action of a purely Asiatic character is laid bare before you; and since I may not move one finger — nor would I if I could in this case — to guide your understanding or feelings it may be found too Jesuitical, to suit your taste. Alas for all! that you should be so little versed in the knowledge of [[Occultism|occult]] antidotes, as not to be able to perceive the difference between the Jesuitical "tout chemin est bon qui mene a Rome" added to the cunning and crafty — "the end justifies the means" — and the necessity of the practical application of these sublime words of [[Gautama Buddha|our Lord]]

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-1_7024.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-1_7024_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Quart d'heure de Rabelais''' means the moment that the bill has to be paid.
* '''Ryot''' was a general economic term for peasant tenants and cultivators, with no clearly defined rights against their landlords or zamindars. See note [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 2|below]].
* '''The Bengal Rent Bill''' (or Bengal Tenancy Act) finally passed in 1885, defined the rights of zamindars and their ryots in response to a widespread peasant revolt against increased rents and land revenues.
* '''Tout chemin est bon qui mène à Rome''' means "any road that leads to Rome is a good one". The usual saying is: "tous les chemins mènent à Rome", all roads lead to Rome.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 2 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
and Master: — "O ye Bhikkhus and Arhats — be friendly to the race of men — our brothers! Know ye all, that he, who sacrifices not his one life to save the life of his fellow-being; and he who hesitates to give up more than life — his fair name and honour to save the fair name & honour of the many, is unworthy of the sin-destroying, immortal, transcendent [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]." Well, it cannot be helped.

Allow me to explain to you the situation. It is very complicated; but to him who, without any previous training was able to assimilate so well some of our doctrines as to write [[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]] — the inner springs that we have to use ought to become intelligible.

(1) The Behar Chiefs propose one and a half lakhs down for the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]]; as much when they see you back to India, if the Bengal Rent Bill is opposed by the new paper and you promise to give them your support. Unless the proposition is accepted by you we may prepare for the final incremation of our Phoenix — and for good. Exclusive of this sum — Rs. 150,000 — we can count but upon Rs. 45,000 in shares — so far. But let the Raees put down cash and all will follow.

(2) If you refuse they will secure another editor: were there any danger for the ryots and the Bill they — the Raees or Zemindars would lose nothing thereby, except in the degree of cleverness of their editor; but they hope and are thoroughly unaware of being doomed — in the long run. The only and real loser in the case of refusal will be — India and

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-2_7025.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-2_7025_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Bhikkus''' are ordained Buddhist monks.
* '''Behar''' refers to Bihar, a region (now a state) in northeastern India.
* '''Raees''' (alternative spelling of Rais) is a historical title of royalty and nobility used in the Indian subcontinent; "A notable, a man of position" (see glossary in ''The Peasant and the Raj. Studies in agrarian society and peasant rebellion in colonial India''). The printed Second Edition wrongly spelled this word as "Races."
*'''Zemindars''' refers to Zamindars, who were aristocrat (typically hereditary) landlords, who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), etc., and were considered to be equivalent to lords and barons. Often zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British Rule.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 3 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
your own country — eventually. This is prophecy.

(3) The resistance to, and the intrigues set on foot by the Zemindars against the Bill are infamous in their nature, yet very natural. Those who examine things at the core, perceive the real culprit in Lord Cornwallis and the long line of his successors. However it may be infamous, as I say, there it is and cannot be helped for it is human nature itself; and, there is no more dishonour to support their claims from a legal standpoint on the part of an Editor, who knows them to be doomed, than there is for a Counsel to defend his client — a great criminal sentenced to be hung. I am now trying to argue from your European standpoint, for fear, and lest you should not be able to see things from our Asiatic point of view, or rather in the light we, who are enabled to discern future events — see them.

(4) A conservative Editor whose field of action will be found to run on parallel lines with that of a conservative Viceroy, will find himself having lost nothing in fact, for a slight opposition that cannot last long after all. There are great flaws in the present Bill, examined from its legal, dead-letter aspect.

(5) Owing to the idiotically untimely "Ilbert's Bill," and the still more idiotic "Saligram-Surendro" Contempt case, the agitation is carrying the population of India to the verge of self-destruction. You must not feel as tho' I were exaggerating if I say more: the English

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-3_7026.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-3_7026_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Lord Cornwallis''' refers to the 1st Marquess Charles Cornwallis (1738 – 1805) who in 1786 was made Governor-General and commander in chief in India. He is regarded as responsible for laying the foundation for British rule throughout India.
* The '''Ilbert Bill''' was introduced in 1883 by Viceroy Ripon, proposing to amend existing laws to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 4 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
and especially Anglo-Indians are running the same course from an opposite direction. You are at liberty to refuse my warning: you will show yourself wise if you do not. To return to our direct object —

(6) There are several Englishmen of great intellect and ability, who feel ready to defend — (and even to ally themselves — with) the Zemindars — and oppose the Bill, against their own principles and feelings — simply because the Raees hate and oppose the man whom the rest of the Hindus profess, for the time being, to adore, and whom they are exalting with all the ardour of simple-minded, short-sighted savages. Thus the ryots cannot escape their fate for a few months longer whether you accept the offer or not. In the latter case, of course the paper scheme is at an end.

(7) At the same time it is better that you should be prepared to know the unavoidable results: there are ninety-nine chances against one, that — if the offer of the Zemindars is rejected — the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] will ever come into existence; not so long at any rate as the present agitation is going on. And when it finally fails as the project is bound to unless we become masters of the situation, then we will have to part. In order to obtain from the [[Chohan]] permission to defend the teeming millions of the poor and the oppressed in India bringing on to bear all our knowledge and [[Siddhi|powers]] — I had to pledge myself, in case of the Phoenix's failure to interfere no more with such worldly matters and —

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-4_7027.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-4_7027_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 5 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
to bid an eternal farewell to the European element. [[Morya|M.]] and [[Djual Khool]] would have to take my place. On the other hand, should you consent to the offer, your opposition to the Rent Bill would have no more effect on our work — for the Ryots than a straw — to save a vessel from sinking; whereas, if another editor is selected we would have no pretext to exercise our influence on their behalf. Such is the situation. It is a curious medley with no raison d'etre in your opinion. You can hardly be expected by us to see clearly through it at present, nor is there much likelihood that you will judge it fairly owing to this Egyptian darkness of cross purposes; nor is there any special need you should, if the offer has to fall to the ground. But, if your answer is favourable, I may perhaps as well add a few particulars. Know then, that opposition notwithstanding, and just because of it, you will bring the great national boil to a head sooner than it could be otherwise expected. Thus, while carrying out strictly your programme and promise made to the Raees, you will be helping the events that have to be brought about to save the unfortunate population that has been sat upon ever since 1793 — the year of Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake. At the same time you may be doing immense good in every other direction. Recall the past and this will help you to see clearer into our intentions. When you took over Bengal from the native Rulers, there were a number of men

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-5_7028.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-5_7028_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''To bid an eternal farewell to the European element'''. In his next letter, Mahatma KH speaks of his "pledge to the Chohan" in less final terms, as "thenceforward abstain from collaboration with Europeans until some future and more favourable time."
* '''Raison d'etre''' a French phrase meaning "reason for existence".
* '''Egyptian darkness''' may be a reference to Exodus X.21-2 in which Moses, following Yahweh's order, "stretched out his hand towards heaven, and for three days there was thick darkness over the whole of Egypt".
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
* '''Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake''' probably refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, the best known provision of the Cornwallis Code. It was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the political realities of the Indian countryside.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 6 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
who exercised the calling of Tax Collectors under their Government. These men received, as you are aware, a percentage for collecting the rents. The spirit of the letter of the tithe and tribute under the Moossulman Rulers was never understood by the East India Company; least of all the rights of the ryots to oppose an arbitrary interchange of the Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah. Well, when the Zemindars found that the British did not exactly understand their position they took advantage of it, as the English had taken advantage of their force: they claimed to be Landlords. Weakly enough, you consented to recognise the claim, and admitting it notwithstanding the warning of the Moossulman who understood the real situation and were not bribed as most of the Company were — you played into the hands of the few against the many, the result being the "Perpetual Settlement" documents. It is this that led to every subsequent evil in Bengal. Seeing how the unfortunate ryots are regarded by your proud nation in the full progress of the 19th Century, being in your sight of far less value than a horse or cattle, it is not difficult to imagine how they were regarded by your countrymen then — a century ago — when every Englishman was a pious [[Christianity|Christian]] at heart and ordered by the [[Bible (book)|Bible]] to draw a broad distinction between the descendants of Ham and themselves — the heirs of the chosen people. The agreement drawn between Lord Cornwallis and the Raees

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-6_7029.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-6_7029_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Moossulman''' refers to Muslims.
* '''The East India Company''' was formed to pursue trade with the East Indies, and ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
* '''Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah''' or Law of Wazifa and Mukassimah, refers to the Muslim laws of taxes. Wazifa khiraj (or a fixed money-rate) imposed as a personal liability upon the cultivator for his holding (payable once a year); Mukassimah khiraj (or a share of the actual produce) payable in kind on every crop produced.
*'''Perpetual Settlement''' refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Page 5|previous note]] on "Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake".
* '''Descendants of Ham''' refers to the Biblical curse upon Ham's descendant's by Moses that forced them to live in Egypt and other parts of Africa; i.e., the dark-skinned peoples.
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 7 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
which stipulated that the "black human cattle" should be treated by the Zemindars kindly and justly, and that they should not raise the rents of the ryots, etc. was a legal farce. The [[Chohan]] was then in India and he was an eye-witness to the beginning of horrors. No sooner had they secured the Perpetual Settlement Agreement that the Raees began to disregard their engagements. Failing to fulfil any of these they brought yearly ruin and starvation on the miserable Ryots. They exacted tribute, sold them up, and trumped up false charges against them under the name of Abwab. These "doors" and "openings" led them wherever they wanted and they levied for over 50 years most extraordinary taxes. All this the Zemindars have done and much more and they will be surely made to account for it. Things too horrible to mention were done under the eyes and often with the sanction of the Company's servants, when the Mutiny put a certain impediment by bringing as its result another form of Government. It is to redress the great wrong done, to remedy to the now irremediable that Lord Ripon took it into his head to bring forward the new Bill. It was not thought expedient by his Councillors (not those you know of) to crush the Zemindary system without securing at the same time popularity among the majority in another direction: hence "Ilbert's Bill" and some other trifles. We say then that to all appearance it is to redress the wrongs of the Past, that is the object of the present Bengal Rent Bill. My friend you are a

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-7_7030.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-7_7030_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
*'''Abwāb''' means "doors, sources of revenue". It was a tax or impost levied by a chief on a landowner.
*'''The Mutiny''' refers to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company, which was then formally dissolved and its ruling powers over India were transferred to the British Crown.
*'''Lord Ripon''' (George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon) was the British Viceroy of India from 1880-1884.
*'''The new Bill''' refers to the Ilbert Bill. See [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 3|previous note]].

{{Col-end}}

== Page 8 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
remarkably clever Editor and an astute and observant politician; and no one, perhaps, in all India goes as deep as you do into the inner constitution of the Anglo-Indian coups d'etat. Still you do not go far enough and the original primitive layers of the political soil as the genesis of some acts of my Lord Ripon were and are terra incognita to yourself as to so many others perhaps still older hands in politics than you are. Neither Lord Ripon nor his Councillors (those behind the veil) anticipate any great results during his power in India. They are more [[Occultism|Occultists]] than you may imagine. Their liberal reforms are not meant for India, to the weal or woes of which they are quite indifferent: they look far off to future results and — Press acts, Ilbert's Bills, Bengal Rent Bills and the rest are aimed at Protestant England which, very soon, too soon if Somebody or Something does not interfere, will find itself suffocating in the invisible coils of the Romish Apophis. Friend and Brother, the only one of your race whom I regard with a warm, sincere affection, take care! Do not reject too lightly my warning for it is a solemn one, and but a hint I am permitted to make. Political skepticism, like every other, scorns and laughs at the observations of those who do not belong to its factions. It finds out its mistakes when in a ditch. Beware for it is no more a simple ditch, but an abyss that is being prepared for you!

But let us see on what grounds an honest Englishman

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-8_7031.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-8_7031_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Coups d'etat''' is a French phrase for the sudden and illegal seizure of a government.
* '''Terra incognita''' is a Latin phrase meaning "unknown land".
* '''Romish Apophis'''. The term "Romish Catholic" was used in English by adherents of the Church of England for Catholics. Apophis was the Greek version of Apep, an evil god in ancient Egyptian religion depicted as a snake and a dragon, the deification of darkness and chaos.
{{Col-end}}

== Page 9 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
can oppose the Rent Bill. However great the misery of the Ryots even at present, however just the reprisals that are in store for the Zemindars, however human and generous, in short, on its surface the object of the Rent Bill, yet no honest Government strictly speaking has the right to break at will and its own pleasure solemn pledges and engagements. Because, it is found that the Raees have not fulfilled their part of the Agreement, it gives no right to the other party to make away with their signature and tear in shreds the Perpetual Settlement Agreement. The sins of the few cannot well be visited upon the many. There are heavy flaws in the present Rent Bill as there were in the old System; and, there is no clause in the old documents stipulated to the effect that the Settlement becomes nil at the will of the British. I will not enter upon the defects of the dead-letter meaning in either the one or other, but will limit myself by telling you that there are such flaws and that, until modified you have a perfect right to object to them. You are not expected to cause the Bill to be withdrawn but to simply support the Zemindars analysis of its defects. And this you can freely promise. However I must not seem trying to influence you one way or the other. Some of the claims of the Raees are infamous and no honest man can be made to support them; while others are not without a strong legal foundation in their favour. The Ruling power, for instance, was never yet and in no case

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-9_7032.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-9_7032_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See not one page 2.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 10 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
the proprietor of the Khirajee land — not even under the Moossulman laws and sway. You have thus the Spirit of Khiraj and Ooshr to work upon, in order to redeem your promise to the landowners and amuse them for a few months unto the day of the "almighty smash" that is in store for them. All that you are asked to do for the benefit of (your as well as) my country is, to overlook the ugly frontispiece of the edifice, taking into consideration only the real nature of the situation and the future good results, in case you should get over your very natural squeamishness. In a few days you may receive a formal proposal. Think well over it. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by any consideration in connection with my desires. If you honestly believe the offer inconsistent with your European notions and criterion of truth and honour refuse its acceptance without any hesitation and let me bid you a sad, though ever grateful and friendly farewell. I cannot expect to see you looking at things from my own standpoint. You look without, I see within. This is no hour for sentimentalities. The whole future of the "brightest (!) jewel" — oh, what a dark satire in that name! — in the Crown of England is at stake, and I am bound to devote the whole of my powers as far as the [[Chohan]] will permit me

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-10_7033.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-10_7033_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''Khiraj and Ooshr'''. The ''kharaj'' was an agricultural tax levied by Muslim conquerors on their non-Muslim subject. Muslim landowners paid only ''ushr'', a religious tithe, which carried a much lower rate of taxation.
*'''Moossulman''' means Muslim.
*'''Brightest jewel'''. India was frequently referred to as the "the brightest jewel in the Crown of England".

{{Col-end}}

== Page 11 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
to help my country at this eleventh hour of her misery. I cannot work except with those who will work with us. Accuse me not, my friend, for you do not know you cannot know, the extent of the limitations I am placed under. Think not, that I am seeking to place a bait — an inducement, for you to accept that which would refuse under other circumstances, for I am not. Having pledged my solemn word of honour to Him to whom I am indebted for everything I am and know I am simply helpless in case of your refusal and — we will have to part. Had not the Rent Bill been accompanied by the din and clash of the Ilbert Bill and "contempt case" I would have been the first to advise you to refuse. As the situation stands now, however, and prohibited as I am to use any but ordinary powers — I am powerless to do both, and am constrained to choose between helping my hapless mother-country, and our future intercourse. It is for you to decide. And if this letter is fated to be my last, I beg you to remember — for your sake, not mine — the message I sent at Simla to yourself and [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] through [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] — "Lord Ripon is not a free agent; the real Viceroy and ruler of India is not at Simla but at Rome; and the effective weapon used by the latter is — the Viceroy's confessor."

Give, pray, my best wishes to [[Patience Sinnett|your lady]] and the "[[Percy Edensor Sinnett|Morsel]]". Be certain, that with a few undetectable

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-11_7034.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-11_7034_thm.jpg]
{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''Lord Ripon is not a free agent'''. He converted to Catholicism in 1874, following which he was generous in supporting Catholic educational and charitable works.

{{Col-end}}

== Page 12 ==

{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
mistakes and omissions notwithstanding, your "[[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]]" is the only right exposition — however incomplete — of our [[Esoteric Philosophy|Occult doctrines]]. You have made no cardinal, fundamental mistakes; and whatever may be given to you hereafter will not clash with a single sentence in your book but on the contrary will explain away any seeming contradiction. How greatly mistaken was [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s theory is shown by the "[[Chela]]" in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]. With all that, you may feel sure that neither [[Morya|M.]] nor I have contradicted each other in our respective statements. He was speaking of the inner — I, of the [[Inner and Outer Rounds|outer Round]]. There are many things that you have not learned but may some day; nor will you be able to ever comprehend the process of the [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscurations]] until you have mastered the mathematical progress of the inner and the outer Rounds and learned more about the specific difference between the seven. And thus according to [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]]'s philosophical conclusion we have no [[God]]? He is right — since he applies the name to an extra-cosmic anomaly, and that we, knowing nothing of the latter, find — each man his God — within himself in his own personal, and at the same time, — impersonal [[Avalokiteśvara|Avalokiteswara]]. And now — farewell. And if it is so decreed that we should correspond no more, remember me with the same sincere good feeling as you will ever be remembered by,

[[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]]

{{Col-break|width=3%}}

{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-12_7035.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/113-12_7035_thm.jpg]

{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
*'''How greatly mistaken was Mr. Hume''' refers to the article "Cosmical Rings and Rounds" he wrote in ''The Theosophist'' June 1883 (p. 231), which was answered by the chela [[S. T. Krishnama Charya|S. T. K***Chary]] (p. 232). See [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/Theosophical%20Publications/The%20Theosophist/1883/theosophist_v4_n9_june_1883.pdf# here] a reprint of the article and its response.

{{Col-end}}

== Context and background ==

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 3. [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]] described the letter this way:
<blockquote>
In KH script on both sides of six sheets of white paper. The first four lines are in blue ink; the remainder is in green ink.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 182.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Main Page

2026-06-30T16:39:51Z

SysopJ:

<div style="display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;width:100%;">
<div style="flex:1 1 300px;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:100%;">
https://theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/TheosophyWikiBanner.png
</div>
<div style="flex:1 1 300px;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:100%;">
'''H. P. Blavatsky Gem of the Day'''
 
''' {{CURRENTDAYNAME}}, [[{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}]], {{CURRENTYEAR}}'''

{{Gem of the day}}
</div>
</div>
----
----
 
All groups and individuals who respect the work of '''[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]]''' and her associates are invited to participate in building this wiki into a base of research for serious students everywhere. Our aim is to provide a platform for people interested in '''[[Theosophy]]''' and the [[Theosophical Movement]] to collaborate in assembling information that is accurate, well-documented, and helpful. '''If you want to contribute''' by creating articles or editing the existing ones contact the [[Help:Administrators|administrators]], or see the '''[[Theosophy Wiki:Community portal|Community Portal]]''' for more information.

 
 
<table>
<tr valign="top">
<td width=50% bgcolor="whitesmoke">
<div style=" font-size:130%; border:1px solid #ccc; background:#d8dfe8; margin:0; padding:.3em; color:#000;">Mahatma Letters Portal</div>
{{Col-begin|width=100%}}
{{Col-break|width=60%}}
[[File:KH Signature.jpg|210px|left]]
 
'''[[Mahatma Letters Portal|ENTER THE MAHATMA LETTERS PORTAL HERE]]''' 

{{Col-end}}
Letters written by the [[Mahatmas]] are a rich resource to study the Ancient Wisdom, [[Theosophy]]. Texts of the letters with images and commentaries are available for these published collections of letters:
* [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']]
* [[Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom (book)|''Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom'']]
* [[Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas (book)|''Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas'']]
* [[Unpublished Mahatma Letters]] – never published in print

</td>

<td width=50% bgcolor="whitesmoke">
<div style=" font-size:130%; border:1px solid #ccc; background:#d8dfe8; margin:0; padding:.3em; color:#000;">Blavatsky Portal</div>
{{Col-begin|width=100%}}
[[File:HPBphoto.jpg|80px|left]]
[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] was co-founder of the [[Theosophical Society]] in 1875 with [[Henry Steel Olcott]], [[William Quan Judge]], and [[Founders|others]]. They brought the ancient teachings called [[Theosophy]] to the modern world.
 
{{Col-begin|width=100%}}
{{Col-break|width=50%}}
* [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Life of HPB]]
* [[Blavatsky resources|Resources related to HPB]]
* [[Blavatsky correspondence|Correspondence of HPB]]
* [[:Category:Associates of HPB|Associates of HPB]]
* [[Blavatsky writings|Writings of HPB]]
* [[Blavatsky photographs and portraits|Photos of HPB]]
{{Col-break|width=50%}}
* [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]
* [[:Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine|Concepts in ''The Secret Doctrine'']]
* [[Three Fundamental Propositions]]
* [[Stanzas of Dzyan]]
* [[H.P.Blavatsky's heritage in the modern world|Heritage in the Modern World]]

{{Col-end}}

</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table>
<tr valign="top">
<td width=50% bgcolor="whitesmoke">
<div style=" font-size:130%; border:1px solid #ccc; background:#d8dfe8; margin:0; padding:.3em; color:#000;">Categories in the Theosophy Wiki</div><div style="padding:.4em;">
Categories in the Theosophy Wiki help to group together people, places, and concepts that have some common characteristic. These are the major groups of categories:
{{Col-begin|width=100%}}
{{Col-break|width=50%}}
'''People:''' 
* [[:Category:People|All people]]
* [[:Occupations|Occupations]]
* [[:Category:Theosophical Groups and Places|Theosophical Groups and Places]]
* [[:Category:Other Groups|Other Groups]]
* [[:Category:Famous people|Famous People]]
* [[:Category:Religious Affiliations|Religious Affiliations]]
* [[:Category:Nationalities|Nationalities]]
* [[:Category:Interests and Characteristics|Interests and Characteristics]]

{{Col-break|width=50%}}
'''Other Categories:''' 
* [[:Category:Concepts and Terminology|Concepts and Terminology]]
* [[:Category:Schools of Thought|Schools of Thought]]
* [[:Category:Events and history|Events and History]]
* [[:Category:Languages|Languages]]
* [[:Category:Mahatma Letters|Mahatma Letters]]
* [[:Category:Religions|Religions]]
* [[:Category:Publications and Art Works|Publications and Art Works]]
* [[:Category:Research tools|Research Tools]]
* [[:Category:Miscellaneous|Miscellaneous]]

{{Col-end}}

</td>

<td width=50% bgcolor="whitesmoke">
<div style=" font-size:130%; border:1px solid #ccc; background:#d8dfe8; margin:0; padding:.3em; color:#000;">Featured Article</div>
[[File:View from ESE with new driveway.jpg|center|300px]]
The '''[[L. W. Rogers Building]]''' is the administrative center of the [[Theosophical Society in America]], located on the [[Olcott (campus)|headquarters campus]] in Wheaton, Illinois. The cornerstone was laid in a Co-Masonic ceremony led by [[Annie Besant]] on August 29, 2026, and the building was dedicated on August 28, 1927. Designed by Chicago architect '''Irving Kane Pond''', this building has been listed on the '''National Register of Historic Places''' in recognition of its architectural significance.

A '''[https://www.theosophical.org/workshops/centennial-open-house Centennial Open House]''' will take place on August 29, 2026, offering tours, exhibits, film, refreshments, and lectures on history and architecture. All are welcome to this free event.
</table>

'''This Web site is made possible by generous grants from [[The Kern Foundation]] and support from the [[Theosophical Society in America]].
[[es:]]
[[fr:]]
[[ru:]]
[[it:]]

[[Category:TSWiki infrastructure]]

Main Page

2026-06-30T13:51:58Z

SysopJ:

<div style="display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;width:100%;">
<div style="flex:1 1 300px;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:100%;">
https://theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/TheosophyWikiBanner.png
</div>
<div style="flex:1 1 300px;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:100%;">
'''H. P. Blavatsky Gem of the Day'''
 
''' {{CURRENTDAYNAME}}, [[{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTDAY}}]], {{CURRENTYEAR}}'''

{{Gem of the day}}
</div>
</div>
----
----
 
All groups and individuals who respect the work of '''[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]]''' and her associates are invited to participate in building this wiki into a base of research for serious students everywhere. Our aim is to provide a platform for people interested in '''[[Theosophy]]''' and the [[Theosophical Movement]] to collaborate in assembling information that is accurate, well-documented, and helpful. '''If you want to contribute''' by creating articles or editing the existing ones contact the [[Help:Administrators|administrators]], or see the '''[[Theosophy Wiki:Community portal|Community Portal]]''' for more information.

 
 
<table>
<tr valign="top">
<td width=50% bgcolor="whitesmoke">
<div style=" font-size:130%; border:1px solid #ccc; background:#d8dfe8; margin:0; padding:.3em; color:#000;">Mahatma Letters Portal</div>
{{Col-begin|width=100%}}
{{Col-break|width=60%}}
[[File:KH Signature.jpg|210px|left]]
 
'''[[Mahatma Letters Portal|ENTER THE MAHATMA LETTERS PORTAL HERE]]''' 

{{Col-end}}
Letters written by the [[Mahatmas]] are a rich resource to study the Ancient Wisdom, [[Theosophy]]. Texts of the letters with images and commentaries are available for these published collections of letters:
* [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']]
* [[Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom (book)|''Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom'']]
* [[Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas (book)|''Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas'']]
* [[Unpublished Mahatma Letters]] – never published in print

</td>

<td width=50% bgcolor="whitesmoke">
<div style=" font-size:130%; border:1px solid #ccc; background:#d8dfe8; margin:0; padding:.3em; color:#000;">Blavatsky Portal</div>
{{Col-begin|width=100%}}
[[File:HPBphoto.jpg|80px|left]]
[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] was co-founder of the [[Theosophical Society]] in 1875 with [[Henry Steel Olcott]], [[William Quan Judge]], and [[Founders|others]]. They brought the ancient teachings called [[Theosophy]] to the modern world.
 
{{Col-begin|width=100%}}
{{Col-break|width=50%}}
* [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Life of HPB]]
* [[Blavatsky resources|Resources related to HPB]]
* [[Blavatsky correspondence|Correspondence of HPB]]
* [[:Category:Associates of HPB|Associates of HPB]]
* [[Blavatsky writings|Writings of HPB]]
* [[Blavatsky photographs and portraits|Photos of HPB]]
{{Col-break|width=50%}}
* [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]
* [[:Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine|Concepts in ''The Secret Doctrine'']]
* [[Three Fundamental Propositions]]
* [[Stanzas of Dzyan]]
* [[H.P.Blavatsky's heritage in the modern world|Heritage in the Modern World]]

{{Col-end}}

</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table>
<tr valign="top">
<td width=50% bgcolor="whitesmoke">
<div style=" font-size:130%; border:1px solid #ccc; background:#d8dfe8; margin:0; padding:.3em; color:#000;">Categories in the Theosophy Wiki</div><div style="padding:.4em;">
Categories in the Theosophy Wiki help to group together people, places, and concepts that have some common characteristic. These are the major groups of categories:
{{Col-begin|width=100%}}
{{Col-break|width=50%}}
'''People:''' 
* [[:Category:People|All people]]
* [[:Occupations|Occupations]]
* [[:Category:Theosophical Groups and Places|Theosophical Groups and Places]]
* [[:Category:Other Groups|Other Groups]]
* [[:Category:Famous people|Famous People]]
* [[:Category:Religious Affiliations|Religious Affiliations]]
* [[:Category:Nationalities|Nationalities]]
* [[:Category:Interests and Characteristics|Interests and Characteristics]]

{{Col-break|width=50%}}
'''Other Categories:''' 
* [[:Category:Concepts and Terminology|Concepts and Terminology]]
* [[:Category:Schools of Thought|Schools of Thought]]
* [[:Category:Events and history|Events and History]]
* [[:Category:Languages|Languages]]
* [[:Category:Mahatma Letters|Mahatma Letters]]
* [[:Category:Religions|Religions]]
* [[:Category:Publications and Art Works|Publications and Art Works]]
* [[:Category:Research tools|Research Tools]]
* [[:Category:Miscellaneous|Miscellaneous]]

{{Col-end}}

</td>

<td width=50% bgcolor="whitesmoke">
<div style=" font-size:130%; border:1px solid #ccc; background:#d8dfe8; margin:0; padding:.3em; color:#000;">Featured Article</div>
[[File:View from ESE with new driveway.jpg|center|220px|thumb|L. W. Rogers Building, 1927]]
The '''[[L. W. Rogers Building]]''' is the administrative center of the [[Theosophical Society in America]], located on the [[Olcott (campus)|headquarters campus]] in Wheaton, Illinois. The cornerstone was laid in a Co-Masonic ceremony led by [[Annie Besant]] on August 29, 2026, and the building was dedicated on August 28, 1927. Designed by Chicago architect '''Irving Kane Pond''', this building has been listed on the '''National Register of Historic Places''' in recognition of its architectural significance.

A '''[https://www.theosophical.org/workshops/centennial-open-house Centennial Open House]''' will take place on August 29, 2026, offering tours, exhibits, film, refreshments, and lectures on history and architecture. All are welcome to this free event.
</table>

'''This Web site is made possible by generous grants from [[The Kern Foundation]] and support from the [[Theosophical Society in America]].
[[es:]]
[[fr:]]
[[ru:]]
[[it:]]

[[Category:TSWiki infrastructure]]

Aura

2026-06-29T13:15:46Z

SysopJ: /* Articles */

'''Aura''' is an invisible emanation or field of subtle [[matter]] viewed by the [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyant]] as a luminous radiation surrounding a living creature or object.

The aura is said to have different "layers". There is mention to a "health aura" which follows the outline of the body. It has to do with what in [[Theosophy]] is called [[Liṅga-śarīra]]. Extending beyond this first layer, in an oval shape, there is an [[Emotional Body|emotional field]]. Next, going even beyond, there is a [[Mental Body|mental field]]. It is generally said that the various traits of the [[Principle#Individuality_and_personality|personality]] are associated with different colors manifesting in these layers of the aura. Finally, there is what has been called the [[Auric Egg]], which belongs to the [[Principle#Individuality_and_personality|individuality]] or the "real man".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 608.</ref>

How many layers can be seen by a sensitive will depend on his degree of clairvoyance. In general, only the first two layers of the aura are seen by untrained clairvoyants.

== General description ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] explained:

<blockquote>Here is an example of the relations of color to vibration well worthy of the attention of [[Occultism|Occultists]]. Not only [[Adept]]s and advanced [[Chela]]s, but also the lower order of psychics, such as [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyants]] and [[Psychometry|psychometrists]], can perceive a psychic Aura of various colors around every individual, corresponding to the temperament of the person within it. In other words the mysterious records within the [[Auric Egg]] are not the heirloom of trained Adepts alone, but sometimes also of natural psychics. Every human passion, every thought and quality, is indicated in the Aura by corresponding colors and shades of color, and certain of these are sensed and felt rather than perceived. The best of such psychics, as shown by Galton, can also perceive colors produced by the vibrations of musical instruments, every note suggesting a different color. As a string vibrates and gives forth an audible note, so the nerves of the human body vibrate and thrill in correspondence with various emotions under the general impulse of the circulating vitality of [[Prāṇa|Prâna]], thus producing undulations in the psychic Aura of the person which results in chromatic effects.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 621.</ref></blockquote>

== Additional resources==

===Articles===
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/Aura Aura] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/halo Halo] in Theosophy World.

* Callicott, Burton. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/mandorlas-halos-and-rings-of-fire "Mandorlas, Halos, and Rings of Fire"].
* Grynbaum, Gail A. [http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/TheosophyinHealingAddictions.pdf# "Theosophy in Healing Addictions" (auras as manifestations of energies)].
* Kunz, Dora van Gelder. [https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/DimensionsConsciousness.pdf Dimensions of Consciousness].
* Kunz, Dora van Gelder. '''[https://theosophy.wiki/en/File:Kunz_The_Conscious_Use_of_the_Aura.pdf The Conscious Use of the Aura]'''. Printed in South African journal ''The Link'', sometime in the range 1937-1948. From clipping found in the Mary K. Neff Papers, Records Series 25.08, Theosophical Society in America Archives.

=== Books ===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/sites/default/files/ebooks/marques_the_human_aura_1896.pdf# The Human Aura - A Study] by A. Marques

===Audio===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/hodson/The%20Aura:%20Its%20Colors%20and%20Their%20Meaning%20-%20Part%202.mp3# "The Aura: Its Colors and Their Meaning" - Part 1] and [https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/hodson/The%20Aura:%20Its%20Colors%20and%20Their%20Meaning%20-%20Part%202.mp3# Part 2] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://archive.org/download/1203_20191126/1201.mp3# The Inner Structure of Man and Its Effects on Daily Life] by Dora Kunz
*[https://ia600505.us.archive.org/2/items/phoebe-bendit-our-private-world-the-human-aura-1959-1-tape/Phoebe%20Bendit%20%EF%80%A0Our%20Private%20World-The%20Human%20Aura%EF%80%A0%201959%201Tape.mp3# Our Private World-The Human Aura] by Phoebe Bendit

=== Video ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdfdpLgFhUU The Scientific Study of Human Aura] on Hymorphia YouTube channel. Posted March 29, 2025.
== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]

Dora van Gelder Kunz

2026-06-29T13:13:32Z

SysopJ: /* Articles */

[[File:Dora Kunz 2.jpg|240px|right|thumb|Dora van Gelder Kunz as TSA president]]
'''Dora van Gelder Kunz''' ([[April 28]], 1904 – [[August 25]], 1999) was an American writer, psychic, healer, and leader in the [[Theosophical Society in America]], serving as the tenth President of that organization for twelve years.

''Note:'' Unless otherwise stated, the information in this article comes from the book '''''A Most Unusual Life: Dora van Gelder Kunz: Clairvoyant, Theosophist, Healer''''', by Frank Chelsey and Kirsten Van Gelder. Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books, 2015.

== Early life ==
[[File:Dora van Gelder.jpg|170px|right|thumb|Dora van Gelder in early 1920s]]
 
Dora van Gelder was born on a sugar plantation in Krebet on the island of Java, in what is now Indonesia. (In 1904 this southeast Asian country was known as the Dutch East Indies.) She was the eldest of four children, with three younger brothers: Henrik (Harry), born in 1907, Lucius in 1909, and Arthur in 1911. Their father was Karel Abraham Van Gelder, manager of a sugar plantation. Both of Dora's parents were members of the Theosophical Society; her mother, born Melanie von Motman Schiff, was president of the local lodge for some years, and the family hosted lodge meetings as well as speakers visiting from out of town. From the age of seven or so, Dora — a quiet, somewhat shy child — sat and listened during Theosophical meetings. She had already begun meditating, since her mother began teaching the children to meditate when they were five or six. The family library also interested Dora, who, while still a young girl, read various Theosophical works by [[H. P. Blavatsky]], [[Annie Besant]], and [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]]. Like her mother and grandmother, Dora was clairvoyant, and she appreciated Besant and Leadbeater’s book [[Thought Forms (book)|''Thought Forms'']], which is illustrated. The book allowed her to compare their impressions with her own.

Dora's three brothers were her playmates and classmates, since the children were tutored at home. As the only girl in the family she sometimes was rather lonely. It was still the Victorian age, and the life of a girl was quite restricted. Dora loved the natural world and, with no girlfriends her own age, she spent much of her time outdoors. Many (if not most) children are aware of nature spirits, and for Dora these beings were her beloved playmates. Her parents encouraged this interest.

Her maternal grandmother was widowed young and came to live with Dora's family. "Oma" was an herbalist with extensive knowledge and experience, in a place where doctors were few and far between, so she had many local clients. Dora had a deep bond with her grandmother, and the practicality and compassion she learned from Oma carried over into her adult life as an alternative healer.

Dora first met [[C. W. Leadbeater]] in 1911, when she was seven and he stayed with her aunt and uncle during his first visit to Java. During his second visit, in 1914, he stayed with Dora's family and noted both her shyness and her clairvoyance. Shortly after he left Java for Australia, World War I began. Due to the war, Mr. Leadbeater decided to stay in Sydney and start a school for children from Theosophical families. Having determined Dora's clairvoyant abilities, he wrote to her parents and asked that she be allowed to attend his school. By now Dora was 12, and her parents told her it was her decision. She was to meditate on it and they would abide by what she decided. Dora had some doubts about going, but in the end she felt sure it was the right thing for her to do. She would explain to her own students later that intuition coming from beyond our personality comes with a feeling of resolution.

== Life in Australia ==

Twelve-year-old Dora arrived in Sydney in late 1916, accompanied by her mother's sister. Tante Bet may have been the perfect chaperone and role model for Dora's situation — she was a suffragette who ran her own business, wore pants and suit jackets, and kept her hair short. As a woman who did not worry about other people's opinions, Bet helped Dora adjust to being the only girl in a student body of seven. The six boys had already begun their studies, and they already spoke English, which Dora had to learn.

A few months later, Mr. Leadbeater fell ill and was bedridden for a time. Another problem was that the school, although nominally coeducational, had no residential facilities for girls. Finally, Tante Bet had a business to run back home, so she and Dora returned to Java for a short time. Then [[Annie Besant|Mrs. Annie Besant]], the International President of the Theosophical Society, sent a woman doctor to Sydney to take care of Mr. Leadbeater. '''Dr. Mary Rocke''' was willing to be Dora's guardian, which Dora's parents also agreed to. So, Dora decided to return to Sydney, this time completely alone. In later years she reflected that
<blockquote>
:::[It] was a very decisive moment. My God, it changed my life, totally. ... I was never a child again in one way — I learned independence. I mean if you're alone in a foreign country you either break or fall [apart] ... I don't know what my life would have been or not have been; I can't tell you, but I chose it, not my parents.<ref>Chesley and van Gelder, ''A Most Unusual Life'' (Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books, 2015), 35.</ref>
</blockquote>

Although by 1920 there were more girls than boys at the school, Dora's initial role as the only girl meant she became Dr. Rocke's assistant. Having grown up with three brothers, Dora was well acquainted with accidents and injuries. While as an adult she came to be well known for her abilities as a healer, at the time she didn't particularly like nursing. She never held it against the boys, however — they became her family, and she considered them as such throughout her life.

World War I was under way during Dora's first couple of years in Sydney. Mr. Leadbeater, well known for his clairvoyance, had long been asked by Theosophists and others to contact deceased loved ones on "the other side." War casualties, of course, greatly increased these requests. As Mr. Leadbeater was still quite ill, he asked Dora to help him. She found the task of locating and interviewing the recently deceased to be very difficult; among other things, she had to learn to keep her emotions in check and simply pay attention to the job at hand. After each encounter, Dora dictated a letter to Mr. Leadbeater's secretary, who then gave it to him to read and sign. Dora continued to help him with these requests for several years after the war ended.

In 1919, Dora's family — her parents, three brothers, and grandmother — moved from Java to Sydney. Dora remained a student at Mr. Leadbeater's school while her brothers attended the local high school. Her parents immediately became involved with the local Theosophical group, which was thriving.

One of Dora's best friends among her schoolmates was Oscar Kollerstrom, who grew up in Sydney and who attended the [[Liberal Catholic Church]], as did Dora for several years. In 1922 Oscar started a Young Theosophists group, for which Dora was the secretary. Oscar moved to England a few years later, and Dora became president of the Australian Federation of Young Theosophists while continuing to serve as secretary for the Sydney group. She wrote articles for the journal of the World Federation, helped organize camping trips for the youth groups, and helped raise funds to send food to Theosophists in Russia who were struggling after the war.

Many local Theosophists were interested in cooperative living, and in the early 1920s Dora's parents sold their house and, with several other families, moved into [[The Manor|"The Manor,"]] a 55-room mansion overlooking Sydney harbor that had been empty for several years. Dora's father was the manager. The residents — by early 1923 there were nearly 30 — ate meals together and shared the various chores. Dora worked in the gardens, a pastime that she would continue for the rest of her life. Although her parents returned to Java in 1924 for financial reasons — her father had accepted a job, which he needed — the Manor remained an active hub of Theosophical life.

== Clairvoyance ==
As already noted, Dora became aware of the [[Deva|deva realm]] at a young age. Given her Theosophical household, her interest in angels and fairies was encouraged. She didn't just play with the nature spirits she encountered -- she studied them, not just during childhood but throughout her life. Her book '''''The Real World of Fairies''''' was a record of these studies. The manuscript, written in 1937 during the Depression, was shelved during World War II and then not published until 40 years later, in 1977. The foreword to the first edition was by [[Claude Bragdon]], a Theosophist and architect who noted that new frontiers in science, especially physics, were changing the materialist view of the world: "Astrophysics and chemistry now deal with phantasms which are nevertheless facts."<ref>Dora Kunz, ''The Real World of Fairies: A First-Person Account'' (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1977), ix.</ref> Both he and Dora also commented that the ability to perceive nature spirits has been a constant in human history, reported in every culture and every era.

When she was around 13, Mr. Leadbeater had his students begin clairvoyant investigations of religious ritual. Dora appreciated the opportunity to further her studies of the angelic realm. She participated in the Liberal Catholic Church for several years, and in 1924 wrote an article on these studies for an LCC publication.

As also noted, during World War I the teenage Dora began to assist C.W. Leadbeater in his efforts to contact the recently deceased, for family members who needed reassurance. The war and the world-wide flu epidemic of 1918 made this a heavy workload, one that was very difficult for young Dora. It seems to have been rather a trial by fire. Although she was familiar with ''viewing'' the astral plane, she had no training on how to function there. As Mr. Leadbeater was ill, the best he could do was answer her questions; he did not have the time or energy to teach her how to locate people who had passed on, how to interview them, or how to deal with the less savory energies of the astral plane. Dora found it helpful to read or re-read books by Mr. Leadbeater and Mrs. Annie Besant, but she still had to do a great deal of simply learning by doing.

Dora began teaching [[meditation]] at the Theosophical lodge in Sydney when she was 18. She also taught a class on clairvoyance, which she called an “additional sense.”<ref>Chesley and van Gelder, 54.</ref> A few years later she would occasionally write about clairvoyance as a regular columnist for the journal [[Theosophy in Australia (periodical)|''Theosophy in Australia'']]. She was 20 when she first wrote about medical clairvoyance, which she compared to being able to read the pages of a closed book.<ref>Chesley and van Gelder, 56.</ref> Dora would go on to help develop Therapeutic Touch, a "holistic, evidence-based therapy that incorporates the intentional and compassionate use of universal energy to promote balance and well-being."<ref>http://therapeutictouch.org/what-is-tt/</ref>

== Travel to the United States, Europe, and India ==

Dora had met [[Fritz Kunz]], her future husband, in 1922, when he and [[A. P. Warrington]], past president of the American Section of the TS, visited Sydney and stayed with the van Gelder family for six weeks. (That same year she also met [[Annie Besant|Mrs. Annie Besant]], the International President, for the first time.) A horseback riding accident in early 1924 left Dora with a severe concussion and chronic pain. By the following year, she still had severe headaches on occasion, and Fritz suggested that she try osteopathic treatment in the United States, with a practitioner he knew in Los Angeles. Dora went to California and was successfully treated by a blind osteopath who could "see energy fields and ... feel with his hands."<ref>Chesley and van Gelder, 70.</ref> Fritz took her to visit many Theosophists around the old Krotona location in Hollywood and in the new Krotona community that moved to Ojai, California in 1924. [[L. W. Rogers]] asked both Fritz and Dora to speak at the [[American Theosophical Society]] convention in Chicago in the summer of 1925. She charmed the audience with a talk on fairies, and impressed clerics of the [[Liberal Catholic Church]] when she spoke at their Clerical Synod on the Masters, speaking from "direct and personal knowledge."<ref>Robert Norton, ''The Willow in the Tempest'' (Ojai, CA: St Alban's Press, 1990), 77, 80. As cited in Chesley and van Gelder, 71.</ref>

After the convention, Dora spent some time in Rye, New York with Captain Ernest Sellon, his wife Barbara, and children John and Betty. She also visited with [[Robert Logan|Robert]] and Sara Logan, and with [[Beatrice Wood]].<Ref>Beatrice Wood ''I Shock Myself: The Autobiography of Beatrice Wood'' (San Francisco: Chronicle Books,1985), 78.</ref> She attended the 1925 Star Camp of the [[Order of the Star in the East]] at Ommen, The Netherlands, and then went to London to hear [[Annie Besant]] and [[Jiddu Krishnamurti|Krishnamurti]] speaking at Queen's Hall. A large group proceeded to Adyar for the [[Golden Jubilee Convention]] of the Theosophical Society. After a visit to Australia, Dora took a decision to move permanently to the United States.

[[File:Kunz_family_in_Rye.jpg|260px|thumb|right|Kunz family in Rye, New York]]

== Marriage and family life ==

Dora spent time in the homes of the Sellons, [[Beatrice Wood]], and [[Robert Logan|Robert]] and Sara Logan in 1926 and early 1927. Then, on May 16, 1927, she married Fritz Kunz in a quiet civil ceremony in Chicago. Fritz was in motion, as usual, for much of that year, working with a speakers' bureau. After they married, Dora traveled with Fritz as he toured. She often joked that she had spent her honeymoon at a federal prison in New Orleans, where he lectured. The Kunz family had difficulty in accepting the marriage of 23-year-old Dora to 39-year-old Fritz. His sisters Alma, Minna, and Litta were much older and regarded him as the baby of the family.

Just nine months into the marriage, a son, John Kunz, was born in Seattle on February 22, 1928. The family had an apartment in Seattle, but spent much of their time on the road as Fritz lectured for a living. Captain Sellon asked the Kunzes to help in developing the New York Theosophical Society. They became neighbors in Rye, New York, and the two families were very close geographically, socially, and philosophically. Dora introduced John Sellon to his future wife Emily.

== Activities in TSA ==

The Kunzes engaged very fully in the life of the '''New York Theosophical Society''', where Dora taught [[meditation]] for many years. She was President of the NYTS at one point. They were active in the '''New York Federation''', and later the '''Northeast Federation'''. During the late 1940s, Dora led the NYTS participation in an '''international relief project''' of the [[Theosophical Order of Service]] to assemble and ship parcels of food and clothing to Theosophists in parts of Europe that were devastated by World War II.

Fritz and Dora were instrumental in establishing Theosophical retreat centers that continue to be active: '''[[Indralaya]]''', on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands near Seattle, Washington, in 1927; and '''[[Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center |Pumpkin Hollow Farm]]''' near Craryville, New York, in 1936. They attempted to start another regional center, '''Camp Cimarroncita''' Taos, New Mexico, but it failed to thrive since there was no nearby Theosophical community to support it. Dora taught workshops at Indralaya and Pumpkin Hollow for many years.

Dora served three terms on the '''Board of Directors''' of the Theosophical Society in America, beginning in 1960.

== Therapeutic Touch ==
Nursing professor '''Dolores Krieger''' became acquainted with Dora Kunz in a meditation group. Together they studied the techniques of Hungarian healer '''Colonel Oszkar Estabany''' and developed the treatment method called '''[[Therapeutic Touch|Therapeutic Touch (TT)]]'''. This was the beginning of a lengthy collaboration in research, healing, and teaching. In 1972, they started to conduct workshops at [[Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center]], [[Indralaya]], and many other locations, and taught TT to thousands of health care professionals. Practitioners of TT consciously direct flows of energy near the human body to correct imbalances and subtly promote healing. Dora Kunz demonstrated a highly developed sensitivity:
<blockquote>
Through the use of this natural ability she was able to perceive blockages and dysrhythms in a patient's energy field, subtle disharmonies not accessible to other medical technologies. Dora diagnosed numerous perplexing cases referred by physicians and other scientists and often suggested treatments and resources for her patients.

Dora's abilities extended beyond the usual sense perception. For example, she was particularly known for her work with the unseen human field energies in an individual. Since childhood Dora was aware of such forces, and she made a lifetime study of how they work and how they relate to attitudes and emotions, this awareness later evolved into an understanding of the universal healing field from which both healers and patients can draw fresh, potent healing energies.<ref>"History of Therapeutic Touch at Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center," at [http://therapeutictouch.org/what_is_tt.html TherapeuticTouch.org].</ref>

</blockquote>

Kunz and Krieger developed methods for teaching these techniques. The Nurse-Healer Professional Association honored Mrs. Kunz in 1980 as "a model researcher, teacher, and practitioner of healing." Dolores Krieger published '''''The Spiritual Dimension of Therapeutic Touch''''' (Rochester, Vermont: Bear & Co., 2004), a compilation of case studies and transcriptions of lectures that had been presented by Dora Kunz.

[[File:Dora Kunz at 1975 NY centennial cropped.jpg|right|200px|thumb|1975 centennial in New York]]
== President of the TSA ==
Mrs. Kunz was elected as President of the Theosophical Society in America in the 1975 triennial elections. [[Ann Kerr]] resumed the Vice Presidency after serving as interim President when [[Joy Mills]] resigned before the end of her term at the request of [[John B. S. Coats]].

<blockquote>
Well-qualified for the office, Mrs. Kunz had previously served on the Board of Directors, was fully familiar with the Section through travels with her husband, Fritz, and had had the unique privilege not only of having been born into a theosophical family, but of having been associated with the Society's principal leaders since her young girlhood. She had also known well every previous General Secretary (of National President) of the American Section from Van Hook onwards, certainly a unique distinction."<ref>Joy Mills, ''100 Years of Theosophy: A History of The Theosophical Society in America'' (Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 186.</ref>
</blockquote>

During her four terms in office, Mrs. Kunz led the Society in many accomplishments:<ref>See Joy Mills, 185-199.</ref>

* In 1975, hosted the '''[[World Congress of the Theosophical Society (Adyar)#Sixth World Congress|Centennial World Congress]]''' in New York City, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the [[founding of the Theosophical Society]].
* in 1976, convened a '''Teacher Training Workshop''' at [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott]] to explore new methods of presenting [[Theosophy]].
* In 1977, established the '''Theosophical Research Institute''' that later came under the umbrella of the '''Theosophical Research Foundation'''.
* In 1982, introduced use of '''videotapes''' and '''audio cassettes.
* Began publication of the '''''Theosophical Research Journal''''', edited by Mrs. Kunz and Dr. Ralph Hannon.
* Formalized the '''[[Theosophical Worldview Statement|Theosophical Worldview statement]]'''that has since been published in [[The American Theosophist (periodical)|''The American Theosophist'']] and [[The Quest (periodical)|''The Quest'']] magazines.
* Expanded the collection of the '''[[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library|Olcott Library and Research Center]]'''.
* Modernized record keeping for the Society, including '''computerization''' of membership records, financial records, the library catalog, and electronic billing at the [[Theosophical Publishing House (Wheaton)|Theosophical Publishing House]].
* Offered many '''workshops''' on healing, meditation, Theosophy, and science.
* Introduced an annual '''Science Seminar''' of distinguished lecturers including [[Ravi Ravindra|Dr. Ravi Ravindra]], Dr. Kenneth Ring, and Dr. George Wald.
* Shifted location of '''annual convention''' to George Williams College in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, with the final day held at the Olcott campus.
[[File:Radha_and_Dora_greeting_HHDL.jpg|260px|right|thumb|Radha Burnier and Dora Kunz greeting the Dalai Lama]]
* Expanded and improved '''[[The American Theosophist (periodical)|''The American Theosophist'']]''', adding graphics, photographs, and special topical issues.
* Established a '''Graphics Department''' and a '''National Media Committee'''.
* Re-evaluated all radio tapes and scripts, creating the '''Eternal Quest Radio Series'''.
* Established five-year '''planning committees''' for fund-raising, publications, education, advisory functions, interior decorating, and operational efficiency.
* '''Surveyed the membership''' to identify professional backgrounds, interests, and capabilities.
* Participated in '''international events''' including European Federation Congress in 1978; World Congress in Nairobi 1882; and [[Inter-American Theosophical Federation|Inter-American Federation]] Conferences in 1979, 1984, and 1985, the latter being hosted at [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott]].

One of the biggest events of the Kunz administration occurred in 1981, when '''[[Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]]''' visited the Theosophical Society in America headquarters for two days. Dora Kunz and International Theosophical Society President [[Radha Burnier]] hosted his visit. On July 21 he gave a talk to members on "Buddha Nature" in a tent on the lawn. That evening he delivered a public address, called "Universal Compassion and Global Crisis," at nearby Wheaton North High School. He gave Mrs. Kunz a thanka that hangs in the Meditation Room of the [[L. W. Rogers Building|headquarters building]].

== Writings ==
[[File:Personal Aura cover.jpg|180px|right|thumb|Cover of ''The Personal Aura'']]

=== Articles===
As is customary for Presidents of the TSA, Mrs. Kunz acted as Editor in Chief of the national periodical, [[The American Theosophist (periodical)|''The American Theosophist'']], and she contributed to other Theosophical journals as well. The '''[[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]]''' lists:

* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Dora+van+Gelder+Kunz&s=author 9 articles by Dora van Gelder Kunz]'''.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Dora+Kunz&s=author 182 articles by Dora Kunz]'''.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Dora+van+Gelder+Kunz&s=title 12 articles about Dora van Gelder Kunz]'''.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Dora+Kunz&s=title 30 articles about Dora Kunz]'''.

* '''[https://theosophy.wiki/en/File:Kunz_The_Conscious_Use_of_the_Aura.pdf The Conscious Use of the Aura]'''. Printed in South African journal ''The Link'', sometime in the range 1937-1948. From clipping found in the Mary K. Neff Papers, Records Series 25.08, Theosophical Society in America Archives.

=== Books and pamphlets ===
She wrote several books and pamphlets:

* '''''The Real World of Fairies: A First-Person Account'''''. 2nd ed., Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1999. She described her childhood encounters with fairies and devas.
* '''''[https://archive.org/details/christmas-of-the-angels/page/n5/mode/2up Christmas of the Angels]''''' was a popular Christmas talk that has been issued as an audio recording and printed as a pamphlet. [However, Mrs. Kunz left a note disavowing authorship of the pamphlet. See TSA Archives, Kunz Family Collection, Records Series 25.01, Box 22, Folder 16.]
* '''''[https://archive.org/details/conscious-use-of-the-aura Conscious Use of the Aura]'''''. New York: The Anchorite Press, ca 1938. 8 pages.
* '''''The Personal Aura'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991. This volume is beautifully illustrated with watercolors of auras painted by Juanita Donahoo under the author's direction in 1931. It has been printed in several editions and languages.
* '''''Spiritual Aspects of the Healing Arts'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1985. This was a compilation of articles that was reprinted in 1995 under the name ''Spiritual Healing''.
* '''''The Spiritual Dimension of Therapeutic Touch'''''. Rochester, Vermont: Bear & Co., 2004. Written with Dolores Krieger.
* '''''The Chakras & the Human Energy Fields: Correlations Between Medical Science and Clairvoyant Observation'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989. Coauthor Dr. Shafica Karagulla. This described medical research with Dr. Karagulla, in which Dora used her perception of auras to describe patient conditions.

== Later years ==
[[File:Dora Kunz.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Dora Kunz]]
Mrs. Kunz died in Seattle on [[August 25]], 1999 after being a member of the Theosophical Society in America for 80 years. Many friends wrote memorials describing her warmth and compassion, energy, practicality, and the infectious spontaneity of her laughter.

== Biographical works ==

* Bragdon, Claude. '''''Merely Players'''''. New York, A.A. Knopf, 1929. One chapter is devoted to Mrs. Kunz. Limited availability at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3314925 Hathitrust].
* Chelsey, Frank, and Kirsten Van Gelder. '''''A Most Unusual Life: Dora van Gelder Kunz: Clairvoyant, Theosophist, Healer'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books, 2015. A biography by two people who knew her well. Illustrated.
* Karagulla, Dr. Shafica. '''''Breakthrough to Creativity'''''. New York: DeVorss & Company, 1967. This book about psychic abilities has material about Dora Kunz, referring to her by the pseudonym "Diane."

== Additional resources ==
===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/in-profound-gratitude "In Profound Gratitude"] by Edward Abdill. Originally published in ''The Quest'' 92.3 (May-June, 2004), 88.
*[https://www.theosophyforward.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1857:dora-van-gelder-kunz-a-tribute&catid=39&Itemid=293# "Dora van Gelder Kunz – A Tribute"] at ''Theosophy Forward''.
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/kunz-dora Kunz, Dora] in Theosophy World.

=== Audios===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Kunz,%20D/Meditation%20as%20Part%20of%20Life.mp3# "Meditation as Part of Life"].
*[https://www.theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Kunz,%20D/193%20Kunz,%20D%20-%20The%20Angelic%20Kingdom%20&%20its%20Relation%20to%20Man.mp3# "The Angelic Kingdom & its Relation to Man"].
* [https://archive.org/details/1365_20200103 The Masters of the Wisdom: The World, and the Theosophical Society Today]. Presented in 1982 at the Theosophical Society in America, Wheaton, Illinois. 61 minutes. Dora Kunz talks about the work of the Theosophical Society and the influence that the Masters of the Wisdom had on its founders, H. P. Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott.

=== Videos ===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YV_plwBDzM "The Structure and Function of the Chakras"] on YouTube. A case study of how a clairvoyant perceives a patient's chakras and their correlation with the body. From interview on 7/1/1986.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-ThwfVty6U "The Power of Thought in Regeneration"] on YouTube. Explains how our thoughts can affect others for better or worse. 1993 lecture at Theosophical Society in America.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE0yLYkVtUA "Mrs Dora van Gelder Kunz"] on YouTube. Presents Dora's work with Dr. Karagulla, clairvoyantly observing illnesses.

=== Archival collections ===

* '''Dora Kunz Papers'''. Records Series 08.10. Theosophical Society in America Archives. Official records, reports, and correspondence from Mrs. Kunz's term as TSA president.
* '''Kunz Family Collection'''. Records Series 25.01. Theosophical Society in America Archives. Correspondence, transcripts, photos, audio recordings, films, slides, and other archival materials from Fritz and Dora Kunz, and their son John.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Presidents of TSA|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:General Secretaries in TS Adyar|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Healers|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Leaders|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Lecturers|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Clairvoyants|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Therapeutic Touch|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Writers|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Nationality Naturalized American|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Nationality Dutch|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Clairvoyant research|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:TS Adyar|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:People|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]

Dora van Gelder Kunz

2026-06-29T13:12:00Z

SysopJ: /* Writings */

[[File:Dora Kunz 2.jpg|240px|right|thumb|Dora van Gelder Kunz as TSA president]]
'''Dora van Gelder Kunz''' ([[April 28]], 1904 – [[August 25]], 1999) was an American writer, psychic, healer, and leader in the [[Theosophical Society in America]], serving as the tenth President of that organization for twelve years.

''Note:'' Unless otherwise stated, the information in this article comes from the book '''''A Most Unusual Life: Dora van Gelder Kunz: Clairvoyant, Theosophist, Healer''''', by Frank Chelsey and Kirsten Van Gelder. Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books, 2015.

== Early life ==
[[File:Dora van Gelder.jpg|170px|right|thumb|Dora van Gelder in early 1920s]]
 
Dora van Gelder was born on a sugar plantation in Krebet on the island of Java, in what is now Indonesia. (In 1904 this southeast Asian country was known as the Dutch East Indies.) She was the eldest of four children, with three younger brothers: Henrik (Harry), born in 1907, Lucius in 1909, and Arthur in 1911. Their father was Karel Abraham Van Gelder, manager of a sugar plantation. Both of Dora's parents were members of the Theosophical Society; her mother, born Melanie von Motman Schiff, was president of the local lodge for some years, and the family hosted lodge meetings as well as speakers visiting from out of town. From the age of seven or so, Dora — a quiet, somewhat shy child — sat and listened during Theosophical meetings. She had already begun meditating, since her mother began teaching the children to meditate when they were five or six. The family library also interested Dora, who, while still a young girl, read various Theosophical works by [[H. P. Blavatsky]], [[Annie Besant]], and [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]]. Like her mother and grandmother, Dora was clairvoyant, and she appreciated Besant and Leadbeater’s book [[Thought Forms (book)|''Thought Forms'']], which is illustrated. The book allowed her to compare their impressions with her own.

Dora's three brothers were her playmates and classmates, since the children were tutored at home. As the only girl in the family she sometimes was rather lonely. It was still the Victorian age, and the life of a girl was quite restricted. Dora loved the natural world and, with no girlfriends her own age, she spent much of her time outdoors. Many (if not most) children are aware of nature spirits, and for Dora these beings were her beloved playmates. Her parents encouraged this interest.

Her maternal grandmother was widowed young and came to live with Dora's family. "Oma" was an herbalist with extensive knowledge and experience, in a place where doctors were few and far between, so she had many local clients. Dora had a deep bond with her grandmother, and the practicality and compassion she learned from Oma carried over into her adult life as an alternative healer.

Dora first met [[C. W. Leadbeater]] in 1911, when she was seven and he stayed with her aunt and uncle during his first visit to Java. During his second visit, in 1914, he stayed with Dora's family and noted both her shyness and her clairvoyance. Shortly after he left Java for Australia, World War I began. Due to the war, Mr. Leadbeater decided to stay in Sydney and start a school for children from Theosophical families. Having determined Dora's clairvoyant abilities, he wrote to her parents and asked that she be allowed to attend his school. By now Dora was 12, and her parents told her it was her decision. She was to meditate on it and they would abide by what she decided. Dora had some doubts about going, but in the end she felt sure it was the right thing for her to do. She would explain to her own students later that intuition coming from beyond our personality comes with a feeling of resolution.

== Life in Australia ==

Twelve-year-old Dora arrived in Sydney in late 1916, accompanied by her mother's sister. Tante Bet may have been the perfect chaperone and role model for Dora's situation — she was a suffragette who ran her own business, wore pants and suit jackets, and kept her hair short. As a woman who did not worry about other people's opinions, Bet helped Dora adjust to being the only girl in a student body of seven. The six boys had already begun their studies, and they already spoke English, which Dora had to learn.

A few months later, Mr. Leadbeater fell ill and was bedridden for a time. Another problem was that the school, although nominally coeducational, had no residential facilities for girls. Finally, Tante Bet had a business to run back home, so she and Dora returned to Java for a short time. Then [[Annie Besant|Mrs. Annie Besant]], the International President of the Theosophical Society, sent a woman doctor to Sydney to take care of Mr. Leadbeater. '''Dr. Mary Rocke''' was willing to be Dora's guardian, which Dora's parents also agreed to. So, Dora decided to return to Sydney, this time completely alone. In later years she reflected that
<blockquote>
:::[It] was a very decisive moment. My God, it changed my life, totally. ... I was never a child again in one way — I learned independence. I mean if you're alone in a foreign country you either break or fall [apart] ... I don't know what my life would have been or not have been; I can't tell you, but I chose it, not my parents.<ref>Chesley and van Gelder, ''A Most Unusual Life'' (Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books, 2015), 35.</ref>
</blockquote>

Although by 1920 there were more girls than boys at the school, Dora's initial role as the only girl meant she became Dr. Rocke's assistant. Having grown up with three brothers, Dora was well acquainted with accidents and injuries. While as an adult she came to be well known for her abilities as a healer, at the time she didn't particularly like nursing. She never held it against the boys, however — they became her family, and she considered them as such throughout her life.

World War I was under way during Dora's first couple of years in Sydney. Mr. Leadbeater, well known for his clairvoyance, had long been asked by Theosophists and others to contact deceased loved ones on "the other side." War casualties, of course, greatly increased these requests. As Mr. Leadbeater was still quite ill, he asked Dora to help him. She found the task of locating and interviewing the recently deceased to be very difficult; among other things, she had to learn to keep her emotions in check and simply pay attention to the job at hand. After each encounter, Dora dictated a letter to Mr. Leadbeater's secretary, who then gave it to him to read and sign. Dora continued to help him with these requests for several years after the war ended.

In 1919, Dora's family — her parents, three brothers, and grandmother — moved from Java to Sydney. Dora remained a student at Mr. Leadbeater's school while her brothers attended the local high school. Her parents immediately became involved with the local Theosophical group, which was thriving.

One of Dora's best friends among her schoolmates was Oscar Kollerstrom, who grew up in Sydney and who attended the [[Liberal Catholic Church]], as did Dora for several years. In 1922 Oscar started a Young Theosophists group, for which Dora was the secretary. Oscar moved to England a few years later, and Dora became president of the Australian Federation of Young Theosophists while continuing to serve as secretary for the Sydney group. She wrote articles for the journal of the World Federation, helped organize camping trips for the youth groups, and helped raise funds to send food to Theosophists in Russia who were struggling after the war.

Many local Theosophists were interested in cooperative living, and in the early 1920s Dora's parents sold their house and, with several other families, moved into [[The Manor|"The Manor,"]] a 55-room mansion overlooking Sydney harbor that had been empty for several years. Dora's father was the manager. The residents — by early 1923 there were nearly 30 — ate meals together and shared the various chores. Dora worked in the gardens, a pastime that she would continue for the rest of her life. Although her parents returned to Java in 1924 for financial reasons — her father had accepted a job, which he needed — the Manor remained an active hub of Theosophical life.

== Clairvoyance ==
As already noted, Dora became aware of the [[Deva|deva realm]] at a young age. Given her Theosophical household, her interest in angels and fairies was encouraged. She didn't just play with the nature spirits she encountered -- she studied them, not just during childhood but throughout her life. Her book '''''The Real World of Fairies''''' was a record of these studies. The manuscript, written in 1937 during the Depression, was shelved during World War II and then not published until 40 years later, in 1977. The foreword to the first edition was by [[Claude Bragdon]], a Theosophist and architect who noted that new frontiers in science, especially physics, were changing the materialist view of the world: "Astrophysics and chemistry now deal with phantasms which are nevertheless facts."<ref>Dora Kunz, ''The Real World of Fairies: A First-Person Account'' (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1977), ix.</ref> Both he and Dora also commented that the ability to perceive nature spirits has been a constant in human history, reported in every culture and every era.

When she was around 13, Mr. Leadbeater had his students begin clairvoyant investigations of religious ritual. Dora appreciated the opportunity to further her studies of the angelic realm. She participated in the Liberal Catholic Church for several years, and in 1924 wrote an article on these studies for an LCC publication.

As also noted, during World War I the teenage Dora began to assist C.W. Leadbeater in his efforts to contact the recently deceased, for family members who needed reassurance. The war and the world-wide flu epidemic of 1918 made this a heavy workload, one that was very difficult for young Dora. It seems to have been rather a trial by fire. Although she was familiar with ''viewing'' the astral plane, she had no training on how to function there. As Mr. Leadbeater was ill, the best he could do was answer her questions; he did not have the time or energy to teach her how to locate people who had passed on, how to interview them, or how to deal with the less savory energies of the astral plane. Dora found it helpful to read or re-read books by Mr. Leadbeater and Mrs. Annie Besant, but she still had to do a great deal of simply learning by doing.

Dora began teaching [[meditation]] at the Theosophical lodge in Sydney when she was 18. She also taught a class on clairvoyance, which she called an “additional sense.”<ref>Chesley and van Gelder, 54.</ref> A few years later she would occasionally write about clairvoyance as a regular columnist for the journal [[Theosophy in Australia (periodical)|''Theosophy in Australia'']]. She was 20 when she first wrote about medical clairvoyance, which she compared to being able to read the pages of a closed book.<ref>Chesley and van Gelder, 56.</ref> Dora would go on to help develop Therapeutic Touch, a "holistic, evidence-based therapy that incorporates the intentional and compassionate use of universal energy to promote balance and well-being."<ref>http://therapeutictouch.org/what-is-tt/</ref>

== Travel to the United States, Europe, and India ==

Dora had met [[Fritz Kunz]], her future husband, in 1922, when he and [[A. P. Warrington]], past president of the American Section of the TS, visited Sydney and stayed with the van Gelder family for six weeks. (That same year she also met [[Annie Besant|Mrs. Annie Besant]], the International President, for the first time.) A horseback riding accident in early 1924 left Dora with a severe concussion and chronic pain. By the following year, she still had severe headaches on occasion, and Fritz suggested that she try osteopathic treatment in the United States, with a practitioner he knew in Los Angeles. Dora went to California and was successfully treated by a blind osteopath who could "see energy fields and ... feel with his hands."<ref>Chesley and van Gelder, 70.</ref> Fritz took her to visit many Theosophists around the old Krotona location in Hollywood and in the new Krotona community that moved to Ojai, California in 1924. [[L. W. Rogers]] asked both Fritz and Dora to speak at the [[American Theosophical Society]] convention in Chicago in the summer of 1925. She charmed the audience with a talk on fairies, and impressed clerics of the [[Liberal Catholic Church]] when she spoke at their Clerical Synod on the Masters, speaking from "direct and personal knowledge."<ref>Robert Norton, ''The Willow in the Tempest'' (Ojai, CA: St Alban's Press, 1990), 77, 80. As cited in Chesley and van Gelder, 71.</ref>

After the convention, Dora spent some time in Rye, New York with Captain Ernest Sellon, his wife Barbara, and children John and Betty. She also visited with [[Robert Logan|Robert]] and Sara Logan, and with [[Beatrice Wood]].<Ref>Beatrice Wood ''I Shock Myself: The Autobiography of Beatrice Wood'' (San Francisco: Chronicle Books,1985), 78.</ref> She attended the 1925 Star Camp of the [[Order of the Star in the East]] at Ommen, The Netherlands, and then went to London to hear [[Annie Besant]] and [[Jiddu Krishnamurti|Krishnamurti]] speaking at Queen's Hall. A large group proceeded to Adyar for the [[Golden Jubilee Convention]] of the Theosophical Society. After a visit to Australia, Dora took a decision to move permanently to the United States.

[[File:Kunz_family_in_Rye.jpg|260px|thumb|right|Kunz family in Rye, New York]]

== Marriage and family life ==

Dora spent time in the homes of the Sellons, [[Beatrice Wood]], and [[Robert Logan|Robert]] and Sara Logan in 1926 and early 1927. Then, on May 16, 1927, she married Fritz Kunz in a quiet civil ceremony in Chicago. Fritz was in motion, as usual, for much of that year, working with a speakers' bureau. After they married, Dora traveled with Fritz as he toured. She often joked that she had spent her honeymoon at a federal prison in New Orleans, where he lectured. The Kunz family had difficulty in accepting the marriage of 23-year-old Dora to 39-year-old Fritz. His sisters Alma, Minna, and Litta were much older and regarded him as the baby of the family.

Just nine months into the marriage, a son, John Kunz, was born in Seattle on February 22, 1928. The family had an apartment in Seattle, but spent much of their time on the road as Fritz lectured for a living. Captain Sellon asked the Kunzes to help in developing the New York Theosophical Society. They became neighbors in Rye, New York, and the two families were very close geographically, socially, and philosophically. Dora introduced John Sellon to his future wife Emily.

== Activities in TSA ==

The Kunzes engaged very fully in the life of the '''New York Theosophical Society''', where Dora taught [[meditation]] for many years. She was President of the NYTS at one point. They were active in the '''New York Federation''', and later the '''Northeast Federation'''. During the late 1940s, Dora led the NYTS participation in an '''international relief project''' of the [[Theosophical Order of Service]] to assemble and ship parcels of food and clothing to Theosophists in parts of Europe that were devastated by World War II.

Fritz and Dora were instrumental in establishing Theosophical retreat centers that continue to be active: '''[[Indralaya]]''', on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands near Seattle, Washington, in 1927; and '''[[Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center |Pumpkin Hollow Farm]]''' near Craryville, New York, in 1936. They attempted to start another regional center, '''Camp Cimarroncita''' Taos, New Mexico, but it failed to thrive since there was no nearby Theosophical community to support it. Dora taught workshops at Indralaya and Pumpkin Hollow for many years.

Dora served three terms on the '''Board of Directors''' of the Theosophical Society in America, beginning in 1960.

== Therapeutic Touch ==
Nursing professor '''Dolores Krieger''' became acquainted with Dora Kunz in a meditation group. Together they studied the techniques of Hungarian healer '''Colonel Oszkar Estabany''' and developed the treatment method called '''[[Therapeutic Touch|Therapeutic Touch (TT)]]'''. This was the beginning of a lengthy collaboration in research, healing, and teaching. In 1972, they started to conduct workshops at [[Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center]], [[Indralaya]], and many other locations, and taught TT to thousands of health care professionals. Practitioners of TT consciously direct flows of energy near the human body to correct imbalances and subtly promote healing. Dora Kunz demonstrated a highly developed sensitivity:
<blockquote>
Through the use of this natural ability she was able to perceive blockages and dysrhythms in a patient's energy field, subtle disharmonies not accessible to other medical technologies. Dora diagnosed numerous perplexing cases referred by physicians and other scientists and often suggested treatments and resources for her patients.

Dora's abilities extended beyond the usual sense perception. For example, she was particularly known for her work with the unseen human field energies in an individual. Since childhood Dora was aware of such forces, and she made a lifetime study of how they work and how they relate to attitudes and emotions, this awareness later evolved into an understanding of the universal healing field from which both healers and patients can draw fresh, potent healing energies.<ref>"History of Therapeutic Touch at Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center," at [http://therapeutictouch.org/what_is_tt.html TherapeuticTouch.org].</ref>

</blockquote>

Kunz and Krieger developed methods for teaching these techniques. The Nurse-Healer Professional Association honored Mrs. Kunz in 1980 as "a model researcher, teacher, and practitioner of healing." Dolores Krieger published '''''The Spiritual Dimension of Therapeutic Touch''''' (Rochester, Vermont: Bear & Co., 2004), a compilation of case studies and transcriptions of lectures that had been presented by Dora Kunz.

[[File:Dora Kunz at 1975 NY centennial cropped.jpg|right|200px|thumb|1975 centennial in New York]]
== President of the TSA ==
Mrs. Kunz was elected as President of the Theosophical Society in America in the 1975 triennial elections. [[Ann Kerr]] resumed the Vice Presidency after serving as interim President when [[Joy Mills]] resigned before the end of her term at the request of [[John B. S. Coats]].

<blockquote>
Well-qualified for the office, Mrs. Kunz had previously served on the Board of Directors, was fully familiar with the Section through travels with her husband, Fritz, and had had the unique privilege not only of having been born into a theosophical family, but of having been associated with the Society's principal leaders since her young girlhood. She had also known well every previous General Secretary (of National President) of the American Section from Van Hook onwards, certainly a unique distinction."<ref>Joy Mills, ''100 Years of Theosophy: A History of The Theosophical Society in America'' (Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 186.</ref>
</blockquote>

During her four terms in office, Mrs. Kunz led the Society in many accomplishments:<ref>See Joy Mills, 185-199.</ref>

* In 1975, hosted the '''[[World Congress of the Theosophical Society (Adyar)#Sixth World Congress|Centennial World Congress]]''' in New York City, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the [[founding of the Theosophical Society]].
* in 1976, convened a '''Teacher Training Workshop''' at [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott]] to explore new methods of presenting [[Theosophy]].
* In 1977, established the '''Theosophical Research Institute''' that later came under the umbrella of the '''Theosophical Research Foundation'''.
* In 1982, introduced use of '''videotapes''' and '''audio cassettes.
* Began publication of the '''''Theosophical Research Journal''''', edited by Mrs. Kunz and Dr. Ralph Hannon.
* Formalized the '''[[Theosophical Worldview Statement|Theosophical Worldview statement]]'''that has since been published in [[The American Theosophist (periodical)|''The American Theosophist'']] and [[The Quest (periodical)|''The Quest'']] magazines.
* Expanded the collection of the '''[[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library|Olcott Library and Research Center]]'''.
* Modernized record keeping for the Society, including '''computerization''' of membership records, financial records, the library catalog, and electronic billing at the [[Theosophical Publishing House (Wheaton)|Theosophical Publishing House]].
* Offered many '''workshops''' on healing, meditation, Theosophy, and science.
* Introduced an annual '''Science Seminar''' of distinguished lecturers including [[Ravi Ravindra|Dr. Ravi Ravindra]], Dr. Kenneth Ring, and Dr. George Wald.
* Shifted location of '''annual convention''' to George Williams College in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, with the final day held at the Olcott campus.
[[File:Radha_and_Dora_greeting_HHDL.jpg|260px|right|thumb|Radha Burnier and Dora Kunz greeting the Dalai Lama]]
* Expanded and improved '''[[The American Theosophist (periodical)|''The American Theosophist'']]''', adding graphics, photographs, and special topical issues.
* Established a '''Graphics Department''' and a '''National Media Committee'''.
* Re-evaluated all radio tapes and scripts, creating the '''Eternal Quest Radio Series'''.
* Established five-year '''planning committees''' for fund-raising, publications, education, advisory functions, interior decorating, and operational efficiency.
* '''Surveyed the membership''' to identify professional backgrounds, interests, and capabilities.
* Participated in '''international events''' including European Federation Congress in 1978; World Congress in Nairobi 1882; and [[Inter-American Theosophical Federation|Inter-American Federation]] Conferences in 1979, 1984, and 1985, the latter being hosted at [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott]].

One of the biggest events of the Kunz administration occurred in 1981, when '''[[Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]]''' visited the Theosophical Society in America headquarters for two days. Dora Kunz and International Theosophical Society President [[Radha Burnier]] hosted his visit. On July 21 he gave a talk to members on "Buddha Nature" in a tent on the lawn. That evening he delivered a public address, called "Universal Compassion and Global Crisis," at nearby Wheaton North High School. He gave Mrs. Kunz a thanka that hangs in the Meditation Room of the [[L. W. Rogers Building|headquarters building]].

== Writings ==
[[File:Personal Aura cover.jpg|180px|right|thumb|Cover of ''The Personal Aura'']]

=== Articles===
As is customary for Presidents of the TSA, Mrs. Kunz acted as Editor in Chief of the national periodical, [[The American Theosophist (periodical)|''The American Theosophist'']], and she contributed to other Theosophical journals as well. The '''[[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]]''' lists:

* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Dora+van+Gelder+Kunz&s=author 9 articles by Dora van Gelder Kunz]'''.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Dora+Kunz&s=author 182 articles by Dora Kunz]'''.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Dora+van+Gelder+Kunz&s=title 12 articles about Dora van Gelder Kunz]'''.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Dora+Kunz&s=title 30 articles about Dora Kunz]'''.

* '''[[File:Kunz The Conscious Use of the Aura.pdf The Conscious Use of the Aura]]'''. Printed in South African journal ''The Link'', sometime in the range 1937-1948. From clipping found in the Mary K. Neff Papers, Records Series 25.08, Theosophical Society in America Archives.

=== Books and pamphlets ===
She wrote several books and pamphlets:

* '''''The Real World of Fairies: A First-Person Account'''''. 2nd ed., Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1999. She described her childhood encounters with fairies and devas.
* '''''[https://archive.org/details/christmas-of-the-angels/page/n5/mode/2up Christmas of the Angels]''''' was a popular Christmas talk that has been issued as an audio recording and printed as a pamphlet. [However, Mrs. Kunz left a note disavowing authorship of the pamphlet. See TSA Archives, Kunz Family Collection, Records Series 25.01, Box 22, Folder 16.]
* '''''[https://archive.org/details/conscious-use-of-the-aura Conscious Use of the Aura]'''''. New York: The Anchorite Press, ca 1938. 8 pages.
* '''''The Personal Aura'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991. This volume is beautifully illustrated with watercolors of auras painted by Juanita Donahoo under the author's direction in 1931. It has been printed in several editions and languages.
* '''''Spiritual Aspects of the Healing Arts'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1985. This was a compilation of articles that was reprinted in 1995 under the name ''Spiritual Healing''.
* '''''The Spiritual Dimension of Therapeutic Touch'''''. Rochester, Vermont: Bear & Co., 2004. Written with Dolores Krieger.
* '''''The Chakras & the Human Energy Fields: Correlations Between Medical Science and Clairvoyant Observation'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989. Coauthor Dr. Shafica Karagulla. This described medical research with Dr. Karagulla, in which Dora used her perception of auras to describe patient conditions.

== Later years ==
[[File:Dora Kunz.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Dora Kunz]]
Mrs. Kunz died in Seattle on [[August 25]], 1999 after being a member of the Theosophical Society in America for 80 years. Many friends wrote memorials describing her warmth and compassion, energy, practicality, and the infectious spontaneity of her laughter.

== Biographical works ==

* Bragdon, Claude. '''''Merely Players'''''. New York, A.A. Knopf, 1929. One chapter is devoted to Mrs. Kunz. Limited availability at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3314925 Hathitrust].
* Chelsey, Frank, and Kirsten Van Gelder. '''''A Most Unusual Life: Dora van Gelder Kunz: Clairvoyant, Theosophist, Healer'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books, 2015. A biography by two people who knew her well. Illustrated.
* Karagulla, Dr. Shafica. '''''Breakthrough to Creativity'''''. New York: DeVorss & Company, 1967. This book about psychic abilities has material about Dora Kunz, referring to her by the pseudonym "Diane."

== Additional resources ==
===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/in-profound-gratitude "In Profound Gratitude"] by Edward Abdill. Originally published in ''The Quest'' 92.3 (May-June, 2004), 88.
*[https://www.theosophyforward.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1857:dora-van-gelder-kunz-a-tribute&catid=39&Itemid=293# "Dora van Gelder Kunz – A Tribute"] at ''Theosophy Forward''.
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/kunz-dora Kunz, Dora] in Theosophy World.

=== Audios===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Kunz,%20D/Meditation%20as%20Part%20of%20Life.mp3# "Meditation as Part of Life"].
*[https://www.theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Kunz,%20D/193%20Kunz,%20D%20-%20The%20Angelic%20Kingdom%20&%20its%20Relation%20to%20Man.mp3# "The Angelic Kingdom & its Relation to Man"].
* [https://archive.org/details/1365_20200103 The Masters of the Wisdom: The World, and the Theosophical Society Today]. Presented in 1982 at the Theosophical Society in America, Wheaton, Illinois. 61 minutes. Dora Kunz talks about the work of the Theosophical Society and the influence that the Masters of the Wisdom had on its founders, H. P. Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott.

=== Videos ===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YV_plwBDzM "The Structure and Function of the Chakras"] on YouTube. A case study of how a clairvoyant perceives a patient's chakras and their correlation with the body. From interview on 7/1/1986.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-ThwfVty6U "The Power of Thought in Regeneration"] on YouTube. Explains how our thoughts can affect others for better or worse. 1993 lecture at Theosophical Society in America.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE0yLYkVtUA "Mrs Dora van Gelder Kunz"] on YouTube. Presents Dora's work with Dr. Karagulla, clairvoyantly observing illnesses.

=== Archival collections ===

* '''Dora Kunz Papers'''. Records Series 08.10. Theosophical Society in America Archives. Official records, reports, and correspondence from Mrs. Kunz's term as TSA president.
* '''Kunz Family Collection'''. Records Series 25.01. Theosophical Society in America Archives. Correspondence, transcripts, photos, audio recordings, films, slides, and other archival materials from Fritz and Dora Kunz, and their son John.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Presidents of TSA|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:General Secretaries in TS Adyar|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Healers|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Leaders|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Lecturers|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Clairvoyants|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Therapeutic Touch|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Writers|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Nationality Naturalized American|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Nationality Dutch|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:Clairvoyant research|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:TS Adyar|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]
[[Category:People|Kunz, Dora van Gelder]]

File:Kunz The Conscious Use of the Aura.pdf

2026-06-29T13:07:37Z

SysopJ: Article by Dora van Gelder Kunz from ''The Link'', a South African Section periodical, printed sometime 1937-1948. It was found in the Mary K. Neff Papers, Records Series 25.08, Theosophical Society in America Archives.

== Summary ==
Article by [[Dora van Gelder Kunz]] from ''The Link'', a South African Section periodical, printed sometime 1937-1948. It was found in the Mary K. Neff Papers, Records Series 25.08, Theosophical Society in America Archives.

User:SysopJ/My sandbox

2026-06-27T17:46:33Z

SysopJ: /* Personal life */

'''Irving Kane Pond''' (1857-1939) and his brother Allen Bartlitt Pond (1858–1929)

[[File:Autobiography of I K Pond.jpg|170px|right|thumb|''Autobiography'']]
== Personal life ==
[[File:Irving_Kane_Pond,_1876.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Irving Kane Pond, 1876]]

== Architectural work ==

=== Training and early work ===

=== Philosophy and style ===
<blockquote>
The Ponds sought to create a modern American architecture without rejecting architectural stylistic traditions, but simplifying them through the emphasis of geometry and the inherent quality of building materials and construction. In that regard, the Ponds were strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, with the emphasis on honest materials used honestly.<ref>David Swan, Preface to ''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Eliihu'' ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum (Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009), vii.</ref>
</blockquote>

Strong sense of social responsibility .....

<blockquote>
Stylistically Irving Pond did not totally fit in one category or another. He stood in the role of an intermediary, halfway between the revolutionary aesthetics and technology of the Chicago School and the Prairie School and the taste for traditional architecture his clients often felt that precedent or literary aesthetics required. His architecture used traditional materials especially brick and employed traditional forms such as gable roofs, but his designs embraced a geometric simplicity with no embellishments — a tenet of the Arts & Crafts movement.<ref>from Ravinia School nomination ..... </ref>
</blockquote>

=== Participation in architectural organizations ===

=== Gallery of architectural projects ===
'''The L. W. Rogers Building and similar structures'''
[[File:Rogers_Building_1a.jpg|center|400px|thumb|L. W. Rogers Building, 1926]]

<gallery widths="200px" perrow="4">
File:MIchigan Union, 1919.png|Michigan Union, 1919
File:Purdue Memorial Union, 1924.JPG||Purdue Memorial Union, 1924
File:MSU Union Building, 1925.jpg|Michigan State University Union, 1925
File:Kansas Memorial Union, 1927.png|Kansas Memorial Union, 1927
File:Michigan League, 1929.jpg|Michigan League, 1929
</gallery>

'''Examples of other buildings'''

<gallery widths="200px" perrow="4">
File:Highland Park Club House..png|Highland Park Club House, 1891
File:Oregon Public Library.jpg|Oregon Public Library, 1909
File:Manor House Kenosha.jpg|Manor House, Kenosha, WI, 1926
</gallery>

== Other activities ==

Chicago Literary Club
Hull-House
 
 
 
[[File:Big Top Rhythms.jpg|right|170px|thumb|''Big Top Rhythms'']]
=== Circus and acrobatics ===
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Social clubs and memberships ===

== Writings ==

* '''''The Meaning Of Architecture: An Essay In Constructive Criticism'''''. Boston, Marshall Jones Company, 1918. 226 pages, illustrations. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/971540.html Hathitrust] and several versions at [https://archive.org/details/meaningofarchite00pond Internet Archive]. A historical reproduction of the 1923 edition is available at [https://www.amazon.com/meaning-architecture-essay-constructive-criticism/dp/1117177548 Amazon.com].
* '''"Eliel Saarinen and his work a word of appreciation and greeting"'''. 1923. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=bctPAAAAMAAJ and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008062880&seq=1 Hathitrust]. Pages extracted from ''The Western Architect'' 32 no. 7 (July, 1923): 75-76 plus plates.
* '''''A Day Under the Big Top, a Study in Life and Art'''''. Chicago: Chicago Literary Club, 1924. 40 pages, with 4 diagrams. "Edition, five hundred and fifteen copies, printed for members of the club in the month of March, nineteen hundred and twenty-four." About circus and acrobatics. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=tWB0SUDY1JoC Google Books] and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062226652&seq=7 Hathitrust].
* '''''The College Union'''''. [New York], 1931. 16 pages. Limited availability at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004162973 Hathitrust] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=a_fVAAAAMAAJ Google Books].
* '''"Pullman - America's First Planned Industrial Town"'''. Illinois society of architects. ''Monthly bulletin'' vol. 18-19, nos. 12-1, June-July, 1934. 6-8 pages.
* '''''Big Top Rhythms: A Study in Art and Life''''', written and illustrated by Pond. Chicago, New York, Willett, Clark and Company, 1937. 229 pages, illustrations.
* '''''A Strange Fellow, and Other Club Papers''''', written and illustrated by Pond New York, Chicago, Priv. Print. by Willett, Clark and Company, 1938. 224 pages, illustrations. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/2976903.html Hathitrust], [https://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/OCA/Books2012-05/strangefellowoth00ilpond/ Open Content Alliance], and [https://archive.org/details/strangefellowoth00ilpond Internet Archive].
* '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond''''', written in the 1930s and published posthumously. Edited by Terry Tatum and David Swan. Oak Park, IL: Hyoogen Press, 2009.

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===

* Szuberla, Guy. "⁨Irving Kane Pond: a Michigan Architect in Chicago" ''Old Northwest'' 5 no. 2 (Summer, 1979): 109-140.

=== Books ===

* Pond, Irving Kane. '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Elihu''''' ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum. Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009.

=== Archival collections ===

* '''The University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library'''.
** [https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-bhl-852090 Pond Family Papers, 1841-1939]. "Correspondence of Elihu B. Pond, editor of Michigan Argus, his sons, Chicago architects, Irving Kane and Allen Bartlit Pond, founders of firm of Pond & Pond, and other family members; include materials concerning family affairs, architectural projects, Jane Addams and the work of Hull House, European travels, politics especially as relates to period of the Civil War and the election of 1896; also photographs, architectural drawings and other visual materials."
* '''The Art Institute of Chicago: Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives''', Chicago, Illinois.
** [https://www.artic.edu/artworks/262324/pond-and-pond-collection Pond and Pond Collection, c.1895-1938]. "Correspondence, albums, black and white photographic prints, architectural drawings, and architectural reprographic prints."
* '''The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts''', Chicago, Illinois.
** [https://explore.chicagocollections.org/ead/newberry/72/xw4 American Circus Collection, 1891-1939]. "Late 19th and early 20th century circus and theater related illustrations, publicity, programs, photographs and memorabilia" donated by Irving Kane Pond, 1939.
** [https://archives.newberry.org/repositories/2/resources/398 Chicago Literary Club records]. Irving Kane Pond was active in this club, and its records include "weekly papers read by over 250 members, but also correspondence, minutes, a visitors' register, cashbook, and scrapbooks."
* '''Columbia University Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library''', New York.
** [https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/pdf/cul-3460598.pdf Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue architectural drawings and papers 3460598]. Materials related to Irving Kane Pond, Claude Bragdon, and many other architects.
* '''Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog''' Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey, Washington DC.
** [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/il1014/ Junior League of Chicago, 1447 North Astor Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL]
* '''The Athenaeum of Philadelphia''', Philadelphia, PA.
** [https://archives.philaathenaeum.org/agents/people/116 Pond, Irving K. (Irving Kane), 1857-1939]. "Correspondence to Seeler from architects, designers, and/or members of theAmerican Institute of Architects, both in Boston and Washington DC."

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Architects|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:Writers|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:Nationality American|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:People|Pond, Irving Kane]]

File:Autobiography of I K Pond.jpg

2026-06-27T17:45:17Z

SysopJ: ''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond'' by Irving Kane Pond, 2009. Scanned from book cover.

== Summary ==
''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond'' by [[Irving Kane Pond]], 2009. Scanned from book cover.

User:SysopJ/My sandbox

2026-06-27T17:44:06Z

SysopJ: /* Other activities */

'''Irving Kane Pond''' (1857-1939) and his brother Allen Bartlitt Pond (1858–1929)

== Personal life ==
[[File:Irving_Kane_Pond,_1876.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Irving Kane Pond, 1876]]

== Architectural work ==

=== Training and early work ===

=== Philosophy and style ===
<blockquote>
The Ponds sought to create a modern American architecture without rejecting architectural stylistic traditions, but simplifying them through the emphasis of geometry and the inherent quality of building materials and construction. In that regard, the Ponds were strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, with the emphasis on honest materials used honestly.<ref>David Swan, Preface to ''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Eliihu'' ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum (Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009), vii.</ref>
</blockquote>

Strong sense of social responsibility .....

<blockquote>
Stylistically Irving Pond did not totally fit in one category or another. He stood in the role of an intermediary, halfway between the revolutionary aesthetics and technology of the Chicago School and the Prairie School and the taste for traditional architecture his clients often felt that precedent or literary aesthetics required. His architecture used traditional materials especially brick and employed traditional forms such as gable roofs, but his designs embraced a geometric simplicity with no embellishments — a tenet of the Arts & Crafts movement.<ref>from Ravinia School nomination ..... </ref>
</blockquote>

=== Participation in architectural organizations ===

=== Gallery of architectural projects ===
'''The L. W. Rogers Building and similar structures'''
[[File:Rogers_Building_1a.jpg|center|400px|thumb|L. W. Rogers Building, 1926]]

<gallery widths="200px" perrow="4">
File:MIchigan Union, 1919.png|Michigan Union, 1919
File:Purdue Memorial Union, 1924.JPG||Purdue Memorial Union, 1924
File:MSU Union Building, 1925.jpg|Michigan State University Union, 1925
File:Kansas Memorial Union, 1927.png|Kansas Memorial Union, 1927
File:Michigan League, 1929.jpg|Michigan League, 1929
</gallery>

'''Examples of other buildings'''

<gallery widths="200px" perrow="4">
File:Highland Park Club House..png|Highland Park Club House, 1891
File:Oregon Public Library.jpg|Oregon Public Library, 1909
File:Manor House Kenosha.jpg|Manor House, Kenosha, WI, 1926
</gallery>

== Other activities ==

Chicago Literary Club
Hull-House
 
 
 
[[File:Big Top Rhythms.jpg|right|170px|thumb|''Big Top Rhythms'']]
=== Circus and acrobatics ===
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Social clubs and memberships ===

== Writings ==

* '''''The Meaning Of Architecture: An Essay In Constructive Criticism'''''. Boston, Marshall Jones Company, 1918. 226 pages, illustrations. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/971540.html Hathitrust] and several versions at [https://archive.org/details/meaningofarchite00pond Internet Archive]. A historical reproduction of the 1923 edition is available at [https://www.amazon.com/meaning-architecture-essay-constructive-criticism/dp/1117177548 Amazon.com].
* '''"Eliel Saarinen and his work a word of appreciation and greeting"'''. 1923. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=bctPAAAAMAAJ and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008062880&seq=1 Hathitrust]. Pages extracted from ''The Western Architect'' 32 no. 7 (July, 1923): 75-76 plus plates.
* '''''A Day Under the Big Top, a Study in Life and Art'''''. Chicago: Chicago Literary Club, 1924. 40 pages, with 4 diagrams. "Edition, five hundred and fifteen copies, printed for members of the club in the month of March, nineteen hundred and twenty-four." About circus and acrobatics. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=tWB0SUDY1JoC Google Books] and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062226652&seq=7 Hathitrust].
* '''''The College Union'''''. [New York], 1931. 16 pages. Limited availability at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004162973 Hathitrust] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=a_fVAAAAMAAJ Google Books].
* '''"Pullman - America's First Planned Industrial Town"'''. Illinois society of architects. ''Monthly bulletin'' vol. 18-19, nos. 12-1, June-July, 1934. 6-8 pages.
* '''''Big Top Rhythms: A Study in Art and Life''''', written and illustrated by Pond. Chicago, New York, Willett, Clark and Company, 1937. 229 pages, illustrations.
* '''''A Strange Fellow, and Other Club Papers''''', written and illustrated by Pond New York, Chicago, Priv. Print. by Willett, Clark and Company, 1938. 224 pages, illustrations. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/2976903.html Hathitrust], [https://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/OCA/Books2012-05/strangefellowoth00ilpond/ Open Content Alliance], and [https://archive.org/details/strangefellowoth00ilpond Internet Archive].
* '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond''''', written in the 1930s and published posthumously. Edited by Terry Tatum and David Swan. Oak Park, IL: Hyoogen Press, 2009.

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===

* Szuberla, Guy. "⁨Irving Kane Pond: a Michigan Architect in Chicago" ''Old Northwest'' 5 no. 2 (Summer, 1979): 109-140.

=== Books ===

* Pond, Irving Kane. '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Elihu''''' ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum. Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009.

=== Archival collections ===

* '''The University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library'''.
** [https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-bhl-852090 Pond Family Papers, 1841-1939]. "Correspondence of Elihu B. Pond, editor of Michigan Argus, his sons, Chicago architects, Irving Kane and Allen Bartlit Pond, founders of firm of Pond & Pond, and other family members; include materials concerning family affairs, architectural projects, Jane Addams and the work of Hull House, European travels, politics especially as relates to period of the Civil War and the election of 1896; also photographs, architectural drawings and other visual materials."
* '''The Art Institute of Chicago: Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives''', Chicago, Illinois.
** [https://www.artic.edu/artworks/262324/pond-and-pond-collection Pond and Pond Collection, c.1895-1938]. "Correspondence, albums, black and white photographic prints, architectural drawings, and architectural reprographic prints."
* '''The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts''', Chicago, Illinois.
** [https://explore.chicagocollections.org/ead/newberry/72/xw4 American Circus Collection, 1891-1939]. "Late 19th and early 20th century circus and theater related illustrations, publicity, programs, photographs and memorabilia" donated by Irving Kane Pond, 1939.
** [https://archives.newberry.org/repositories/2/resources/398 Chicago Literary Club records]. Irving Kane Pond was active in this club, and its records include "weekly papers read by over 250 members, but also correspondence, minutes, a visitors' register, cashbook, and scrapbooks."
* '''Columbia University Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library''', New York.
** [https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/pdf/cul-3460598.pdf Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue architectural drawings and papers 3460598]. Materials related to Irving Kane Pond, Claude Bragdon, and many other architects.
* '''Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog''' Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey, Washington DC.
** [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/il1014/ Junior League of Chicago, 1447 North Astor Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL]
* '''The Athenaeum of Philadelphia''', Philadelphia, PA.
** [https://archives.philaathenaeum.org/agents/people/116 Pond, Irving K. (Irving Kane), 1857-1939]. "Correspondence to Seeler from architects, designers, and/or members of theAmerican Institute of Architects, both in Boston and Washington DC."

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Architects|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:Writers|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:Nationality American|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:People|Pond, Irving Kane]]

File:Big Top Rhythms.jpg

2026-06-27T17:42:22Z

SysopJ: Cover of ''Big Top Rhythms'' by Irving Kane Pond, 1937. Scanned from book.

== Summary ==
Cover of ''Big Top Rhythms'' by [[Irving Kane Pond]], 1937. Scanned from book.

Claude Fayette Bragdon

2026-06-24T20:46:03Z

SysopJ: /* Impact on Theosophical Society headquarters campus */

[[File:Claude Bragdon.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Claude Bragdon]]
'''Claude Fayette Bragdon''' (1866-1946) was an American architect, artist, writer, and publisher who was active in the [[Theosophical Society in America]]. He operated the [[Manas Press]] in Rochester, New York, and was the first publisher of [[P. D. Ouspensky|P. D. Ouspensky's]] work, '''''Tertium Organum'''''.

[[James Cousins|Dr. James Cousins]] referred to him as "Claude Bragdon of America to whom Architecture is Theosophy in stone."<ref>James H. Cousins, "The Life and Work of Jean Delville, Theosophist Painter-Poet." ''The Theosophist'' 47 no. 3 (December 1925): 396.</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Claude Bragdon was born on August 1, 1866 in Oberlin, Ohio. His father was George Chandler Bragdon (1832–1910), the editor of a succession of small-town newspapers in New York. The family moved several times to Adams, Ithaca, Utica, and Watertown as George established new papers, only to have the businesses fail despite his excellence as a writer and editor. Claude's mother was Katherine Elmina Shepherd.<ref> Claude Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs: An Autobiography'' (Rochester, NY: Manas Press, 1917), 3-4.</ref>

Claude worked after school in Oswego, lettering documents for a local architect. He was never able to attend college, but explored several potential careers. He apprenticed with an architect and with a wood engraver; worked as a cartoonist; and provided drawings to ''Scribner's'' magazine. After working in an architectural partnership for a few years, he was able to take off time to travel in Europe, spending most of his time sketching in Italy and France.<ref>Bragdon, ''Secret Springs'', 29-44.</ref>

[[File:Eugenie Macaulay Bragdon.png|right|140px|thumb|Eugenie Macauley Bragdon]]
== Personal life and marriages ==
[[File:Claude and Chalotte Bragdon, 1903.jpg|left|170px|thumb|Claude and Charlotte Bragdon,1903]]
Claude Bragdon was married twice. His first marriage was to Charlotte Coffin May Wilkinson (1872–1907) on November 3, 1902 in Syracuse, New York. She had been a brilliant student at Smith College, and was very active as an editor, social worker, and organizer for the National League of Women Workers, even though her health was fragile. Her social connections aided Bragdon's career.<ref>Claude Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs" An Autobiography'' (New York: Cosimo, 2005), 56-57.</ref> Their first son was Henry Wilkinson Bragdon (1906–1980). Charlotte died on December 16, 1907, immediately following the birth of their second son Chandler Bragdon (1907–1969). The father was left alone to raise the two young boys, with aid of a nurse and housekeeper. Both boys tooks degrees at Ivy League schools, and later at Cambridge University, having the kind of educational experience that Claude missed in his own life.

On July 13, 1912 he married Eugenie Macaulay. She was an intuitive woman, a psychic. Her husband documented her teachings in the book '''''Oracle''''' and in '''''Delphic Woman'''''. She died in 1920.

== Architectural career ==

''Claude Bragdon and the Beautiful Necessity '', a collection of essays edited by Eugenia Victoria Ellis, and ''Crystal and Arabesque'', a Bragdon biography by Jonathan Massey, provide a wealth of information and imagery from Bragdon's important architectural career, which is too broad a topic to cover here. He designed several major buildings in and around Rochester; bridges in Canada; and dozens of houses. Many were classically inspired and symmetrical, with influence from Bragdon's European tour. The First Universalist Church, the Bevier Memorial Building, and the Rochester Athletic Association feature patterned brock work, colored terra-cotta, and decorative cornices and arches.

Some of the structures for which he is best known include:

* '''Otis Arch''', a temporary structure built in 1900 to celebrate Civil War General Elwell Otis.
* '''Rochester Athletic Association''', 1903.
* '''Rochester First Universalist Church''', constructed in 1907-1908. Bragdon took satisfaction in it.<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 161.</ref>
* '''Bevier Memorial Building''', 1910, built for the Rochester Athenæum and Mechanics Institute, was a project Bragdon enjoyed. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
* '''New York Central Railroad Station''', 1914. Bragdon worked on this project for four years.<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 163-167.</ref>
* '''Rochester Chamber of Commerce''', 1917, a project sponsored by George Eastman, with whom Bragdon broke off relations after artistic differences.
* '''Hunter Street Bridge''', 1918, a concrete bridge over the Otonabee River in Peterborough Ontario, which Bragdon designed with engineer Frank Barber.<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 161-163.</ref>

<gallery widths="160px" perrow="5">
File:Otis Arch.JPG|<center>Otis Arch, 1900</center>
File:Rochester Athletic Association, 1903.jpg|<center>Rochester Athletic Association, 1903</center>
File:Rochester First Universalist Church.jpg|<center>Rochester First Universalist Church, 1907</center>
File:Bevier Memorial Building.jpg|<center>Bevier Memorial Building, 1903</center>
File:Bevier Memorial Building doorway.jpeg|<center>Bevier Memorial Building doorway, 1903</center>
File:Rochester-NYCentral-Railroad-Union-Depot-Bragdon.jpg|<center>NY Central RR Station, 1914</center>
File:NYC RR Station doorway.jpg|<center>NY Central RR Station doorway, 1914</center.
File:Chamber of Commerce interior.jpg|<center>Chamber of Commerce, 1917</center>
File:Hunter Street Bridge in Peterborough.png|<center>Hunter Street Bridge, 1918</center>
</gallery>

Bragdon was active in his profession as a writer and lecturer in addition to his architectural design work. He was a Fellow of the American Institute of Architecture; Scammon Lecturer at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1915; Lecturer on "Design in Space" at Princeton University in 1934; and a teacher of contemporary arts at Briarcliff Junior College. He especially admired the architectural work and personal qualities of '''Louis H. Sullivan''', with whom he corresponded, but was somewhat more reserved about '''Frank Lloyd Wright'''. He enjoyed the active mind of another contemporary, '''Ralph Adams Cram'''. <ref>Bragdon, ''Secret Springs'', 146-153.</ref>

[[File:Projective ornament chart.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Projective ornament]]
Following Sullivan's example of developing an individual style of ornamentation, Bragdon derived a new decorative mode from mathematics and geometry. He called it '''Projective Ornament'''.

<blockquote>
Architectural forms are usually the outgrowth of some structural necessity, but the same is not true of ornament, which develops not from the power and need to ''build'', but from the need to ''beautify.'' Arising thus from a psychological need rather than from a physical necessity, ornament is in some sort a ''mirror'' of consciousness, closely related to the psychological mood. Consciousness is now preoccupied with the '''fourth dimension''', and geometry being the field in which I had decided to search for a new ornamental mode expressive of modernity, it was in the geometry of four dimensions that I planted my metaphysical spade.
</blockquote>

His philosophy of architecture, as expressed in the '''Scammon Lectures''' of 1915 at the Art Institute of Chicago, is that there are '''two orders of architecture - ''arranged'' and ''organic'''''.<ref>Bragdon, ''Secret Springs'', 176.</ref>
<blockquote>
Arranged architecture is that produced by talent and governed by taste; organic architecture, on the other hand, is the product of some obscure inner necessity which is subconsious, and closely related to natural growth. The one unfolds, like a flower; the other is cut, like a gem.<ref>Bragdon, ''Secret Springs'', 176.</ref>
</blockquote>
He regarded Gothic architecture as organic, and Renaissance architecture as arranged: "Organic architecture, both in its forms and in the disposition of those forms, follows everywhere the line of least resistance... In arranged architecture, on the other hand, this principle yeilds precedence to a metaphysical ideal of pure or abstract beauty, achieved by the employment of forms, rhythms, and arrangements developed by a process of selection and survival." <ref>Bragdon, ''Secret Springs'', 176.</ref>
[[File:Song and light festival poster, 1918.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Festival poster, 1918]]

== Community singing events ==
[[File:Lanterns,1915.jpg|right|140px|thumb|Bragdon lantern designs]]
The first '''Festival of Song and Light''' took place on September 30, 1915 in a natural amphitheater of Highland Park, Rochester. Its roots were in a community chorus established by Harry Barnhart in 1913, and in a large party held by the Bragdons that featured colored lanterns. Bragdon described the festival:
<blockquote>
The chorus and band occupied the far end of a long valley. Ranged above them hung electric lamps concealed from the audience by circular and rectangular shields... which reflected the light backward and downward, creating a Watteauesque picture, as of some fête champêtre amid sylvan surroundings. Great lanterns of fanciful design hung high up in the loftiest trees, supplemented by a multitude of Japanese lanterns. The affair was so successful that it was repeated the following year."<ref>Claude Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs: an Autobiography'' (New York: Cosimo, 2005), 72-73.</ref>
</blockquote>
These events inspired similar festivals in Central Park of New York City, and in Syracuse and Buffalo, and in Plainfield, New Jersey. After World War I and a lapse of a few years, Barnhart and Bragdon produced an event in White Plains with an "all-Negro" chorus, and then a final series festivals with an African-American chorus of 1000 held in Madison Square Garden in 1931 with Harry conducting and Claude managing the lights. Bicycle races alternated with music, and several of these performances took place.<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 113-114.</ref>

== Colored lights and music ==

Bragdon was fascinated by the combination of colored lights with sound. He devoted chapter of his autobiography to the history of this subject and his own thoughts. He developed an organ keyboard associating the diatonic scale with the colors of the rainbow.

<blockquote>
My very first experiment convinced me that I should preoccupy myself less with the similarities between light and sound, music and colour, than with their differences.

Music unfolds in ''time''. Time implies ''succession''. Colour-music unfolds in ''space'', and space implies ''simultaneity''. If there be a workable correlation between music and mobile colour it should be sought, therefore, rather in the domain of harmony, which involves simultaneity, than in melody, which is succession. Moreover, the eye is more sluggish and less analytical than the ear, which means, in this connection that light-changes should succeed one another less rapidly than notes in music.

Accordingly, in my second experiment, without abandoning my colour-scale altogether, I attempted no arbitrary translation of music into colour, but rather the induction of a desired mood through the appeal of a kind of visible beauty made up of coloured light into which the element of mobility entered.<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 117-118.</ref>
</blockquote>

During the years of his marriage to Eugenie, Bragdon set up his color organ in an empty store, and then in the hayloft of a former stable. He worked late at night. "All alone in the cavernous spaces of that enormous hayloft, I would seat myself at the keyboard of my instrument and conjure out of the darkness forms and colours of such beauty that I often lost all sense of where I was."<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 119.</ref> '''Leopold Stokowski''' remarked to him that "in light there was probably an art greater even than music."<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 119.</ref> Eventually the cost of his experiments grew too great, and Bragdon scrapped his color-organ. Later, Kirpatrick Brice finance a laboratory in Huntington, Long Island, where Bragdon worked with painter Van Deering Perrine and Thomas Wilfred in a group called "The Prometheans" to create a "Clavilux."<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 120.</ref>

Bragdon continued for many years to explore the relationships of colors to emotions, studying the work of clairvoyants like Theosophists [[Charles Webster Leadbeater]] and [[Dora van Gelder Kunz]]. He believed that music is "mathematics made audible" and wanted to make mathematics visible through an animated cartoon technique. He drew hundreds of drawings to illustrate musical compositions, and a pantomime called ''The Immortal Beloved'', but never found a producer for the animations or pantomime.<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 125-127.</ref>

== Theatrical design career ==
[[File:Hamlet design, 1925.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Set design for ''Hamlet'', 1925]]
From a young age, Bragdon was drawn to the world of theater. When [[Walter Hampden]], the famous actor and producer, spent time in Rochester, he and the architect became fast friends. Bragdon designed sets for two of Hampden's Shakespearian productions.

<blockquote>
In the summer of 1923 Walter Hampden visited me in Rochester and announced that he was considering taking a year's lease of the National Theatre in New York. He did not want to do so, however, without my assurance that I would design and supervise his productions, as I had done previously in ''Hamlet'' and Macbeth''. Though this would involve moving to New Yo9rk and the abandonmnet of my architectural practice, I accepted his offer, interpreting it as the knocking of destiny at my door, for I had not been happy in Rochester after Eugenie's death.<ref>Claude Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs: an Autobiograph'' (New York: Cosimo, 2005), 72-73.</ref>
</blockquote>

Their first productions was ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', followed by ''The Light of Asia'', ''Caponsacchi'', ''Richilieu'', and ten others.<ref>''Walter Hampden in "Cyrano de Bergerac"''. New York: Arthur Klar, 1936. Theater program. Costumes and sets designed by Claude Bragdon.</ref>
<ref>''Walter Hampden in "Caponsacchi" and "Hamlet"''. New York: Arthur Klar, 1900. Theater program. Costumes and sets designed by Claude Bragdon.</ref>
<ref>''Catalog of an exhibition of drawings and designs for Walter Hampden's dramatic productions by Claude Bragdon.'' Buffalo : Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery, 1927.</ref>
<ref>Lytton, Edward Bulwer. ''Richilieu''. New York: Appleton, 1930. Playbill. "Poli's Theatre, S.Z. Poli, proprietor, direction Messrs. Lee and J.J. Shubert, T.D. Bonneville, Mgr., Walter Hampden in "Richelieu," a new version of Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton's play of the same name by Arthur Goodrich, entire scenic production designed and supervised by Claude Bragdon, staged and directed by Mr. Goodrich and Mr. Hampden."</ref><ref>Bragdon, Claude. "The Hamlet problem from the standpoint of the artist in the theatre." ''The Architectural Record'', Vol. 59, 1926, pp. 1-6.</ref> His work was in collaboration with '''[[Walter Hampden]]''', who produced, directed, and starred in many of the productions. Bragdon joined the American Federation of Labor, Scenic Artists' Local 829, a subsidiary of the Decorators' and Paperhangers' Union.<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 194-195.</ref>

During Bragdon's New York years, his best friends were Walter Kirkpatrick Brice or "Kirk," and Harry Barnhart, who had both moved from Rochester to NYC and continued to work in community chorus events. He had an active social life, associating with many artists, social reformers, and Theosophists. In 1924 he moved into a highrise hotel, the Shelton, where he lived for the rest of his life. Fellow residents included photographer '''Alfred Stieglitz''' and painter '''Georgia O'Keeffe'''.

[[File:Silver Circus book jacket.jpg|right|176px|thumb|Book jacket design]]

== Design work ==
Throughout his life, Bragdon engaged in thousands of design projects. He drew cartoons and illustrations; worked on lanterns for his festivals; designed book plates, book jackets, costumes, stained glass windows, gravestones, and innumerable other objects.

=== Book jackets ===

From the early days of his career, Bragdon designed '''"bindings for books"''' or book jackets, like these:
* ''At the Sign of the Sphinx: A Book of Charades'' by Carolyn Wells, New York: Stone and Kimball, 1896.<ref>See title page of book at [https://archive.org/details/atsignofsphinxbo00well Internet Archive].</ref>
* ''Stories from the Chap-book; Being a Miscellany of Curious and Interesting Tales, Histories, &c'', a compilation by many authors. Chicago: Herbert S. Stone and Company, 1896. <ref>See title page of book at [https://archive.org/details/storieschapbook00editrich Internet Archive], and [https://archive.org/details/beingmisctales00essarich Internet Archive].</ref>
* ''The Will of Song; a Dramatic Service of Community singing'' by Percy Mackay. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1910.
* ''Dostoevsky'' by André Gide. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1926.
* ''Cora'' by Ruth Suckow. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929.
* ''Silver Circus'' by A. E. Coppard. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929.

=== Examples of design work ===
[[File:Borzoi Books advertisement, 1928.jpg|right|360px|thumb|Advertisement showing projective ornament]]
Here are some examples of his designs:

<gallery widths="160px" perrow="5">
File:Chap Book poster, 1896.jpg|<center>Poster for ''Chap Book'', 1896</center>
File:Chicago Womens Club book plate, 1902.jpg|<center>Book plate, 1902</center>
File:Claude Bragdon Theosophical Library book plate.jpg|<center>Book plate</center>
File:Grueby Pottery circular.jpg|<center>Circular</center>
</gallery>

== Theosophical Society involvement ==

Claude Bragdon was introduced to [[Theosophy]] by his father, '''George C. Bragdon''', who joined the [[Theosophical Society]] on November 6, 1884.<ref>Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at [http://tsmembers.org/ http://tsmembers.org/]. See book 1, entry 3084 (website file: 1B/5).</ref> The '''Rochester Branch''' of the Society was formed on [[July 27]], 1882 by [[Josephine Cables]], her husband James, and fourteen others.<ref>Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at [http://tsmembers.org/ http://tsmembers.org/]. See book 1, entries 1285-1299 (website file: 1A/42).</ref> The lodge grew to at least 25 members, including '''[[Matilda Joslyn Gage]]''', a remarkable feminist and mother-in-law of [[L. Frank Baum]], who joined the lodge on March 26, 1885.<ref>Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at [http://tsmembers.org/ http://tsmembers.org/]. See book 1, entry 3274 (website file: 1B/11).</ref><ref>See [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/sp-1469793668 A Notable Theosophist: L. Frank Baum] by John Algeo.</ref> The Rochester area was described by [[William Quan Judge]] as "the vital centre" of Theosophy, with Genesee, White Lotus, and Iris lodges forming quickly.<ref>"The Rochester Theosophical Society" ''The Theosophist'' Supplement Vol. 6 (December, 1885), 162.</ref> Mrs. Cables published [[The Occult Word (periodical)|''The Occult Word'']], the first Theosophical periodical in the United States.

Bragdon wrote about incorporating Theosophy into his life on a Sunday morning in 1898 when he was reading [[Ralph Waldo Emerson|Ralph Waldo Emerson's]] ''Conduct of Life'':
<blockquote>
He [Bragdon's father] was a great admirer of Ralph Waldo Emerson, a life-size portrait of the Sage of Concord hung on our stair landing, and his complete works adorned our library shelves. One morning, when I was just emerging from my adolescence, I took up Emerson's ''Conduct of Life'', and became so utterly absorbed in it that I lost all sense of the passage of time...

I date my conversion to Theosophy from that hour, for Emerson's essays are so largely a distillation of the Ancient Wisdom through the consciousness of a New England Brahmin. Emerson and Thoreau were among the first Americans to read and ponder the ''Sacred Books of the East'' in English tranlation, and it is clear both from the record of their lives and from internal evidence that this coloured all their thought.

My more self-conscious and considered acceptance of the Theosophical cosmo-conception occurred years after my Emersonian initiation... I came upon ... A. P. Sinnett's ''Esoteric Buddhism''... I was completely fascinated; it was unlike anything I had ever read. I found there unfolded a conception of life and of the cosmos so sublime, so all-inclusive, and at the same time so reasonable and consistent, that it seemed to me to transcend the power of any merely human mind to have conceived; and because I could not but accept this teaching, I had also to accept the idea of superhuman intelligences...

I devoured other Theosophical books in my father's library, such as ''Isis Unveiled'', by Madame Blavatsky, ''The Perfect Way'', by Maitland and Kingsford, and ''Light on the Path;', by Mabel Collins.<ref>Claude Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs" An Autobiography'' (New York: Cosimo, 2005), 51-52. Chapter VI.</ref>
</blockquote>

The date of Claude Bragdon's acceptance as a member of the Society is not precisely known. Theosophy remained an intellectual pursuit to Bragdon, however, rather than a lifestyle, until he met [[C. Jinarajadasa]].<ref>Ibid, 54-55.</ref> Then a small group banded together to form the Genessee Lodge of the Theosophical Society on March 19, 1909, with Bragdon as president. He lectured, wrote, and distributed Theosophical booklets, placing his ''Episodes from an Unwritten History'' in every hotel room in Rochester.<ref>Ibid, 54-55.</ref>

in 1911 on June 6th in New York City, he and ATS president [[Weller Van Hook]] sponsored '''[[Walter Hampden|Walter Hampden's]]''' membership in the [[American Theosophical Society]].<ref>Membership Ledger Cards roll 3, number 03547. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>.

Bragdon was always a very active member at local and national levels. He served on the American Editorial Committee for [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']], along with [[Anita Henkel#Marriage and later years|H. Douglas Wild]] and [[Fritz Kunz]].<ref>"American Editorial Committee," ''The American Theosophist" 24.3 (March 1936), 70.</ref>

=== Lodge activities ===

Genesee Lodge worked with Rochester Lodge to draw high-caliber lecturers such as [[Irving S. Cooper]] and [[L. W. Rogers]] for public lectures and member classes.<ref>Lillian B. Daily, "The Field," ''The Theosophic Messenger'' 11.12 (September, 1910), 759.</ref> Genesee was able to purchase a headquarters building in 1915, and established a policy that no other organization could rent space in it. "It was thought best to take no risk of giving the public the impression that Theosophy is allied to [[Rosicrucianism]], [[New Thought]], or any other organizations however occult or progressive."<ref>"Lodge Notes from Here and There" ''The Messenger'' 11.12 (May 1924), 204.</ref> Bragdon was creative and successful in his efforts to increase lodge membership. In addition to lecturing for civic groups like the Century Club, he placed copies of some of his Theosophical writings in every hotel room in Rochester.

=== Manas Press ===

[[File:Entrance Arch 1.jpg|right|450px|thumb|Blueprint of Entrance Arch, 1940]]
Bragdon recognized the need for a publishing house to print Theosophical pamphlets and books. The '''[[Manas Press]]''' was esdtablished Rochester around October, 1909. It is especially noteworthy for publishing the first English-language edition of [[P. D. Ouspensky|P. D. Ouspensky's]] Russian work ''Tertium Organum'', and for printing Bragdon's excellent writings on Theosophy, art, and architecture. The publishing house was named after the Sanskrit term '''[[Manas]]''', or "mind," the intellectual faculty of human beings.

=== Impact on Theosophical Society headquarters campus ===

In 1926, when the [[American Theosophical Society]] was planning its new national center in Wheaton, Illinois, Bragdon was asked to serve as architect. He was then reorienting his career from architecture to stage design, so he declined. He recommended engaging Pond, Pond, Martin & Lloyd, the Chicago architectural firm headed by his friend Irving Kane Pond, and the Society followed his advice. The architects submitted two designs for consideration, and the Society's Board of Directors was evenly divided over which should be the finalist. President [[L. W. Rogers]] sent both drawings to Bragdon, who sent back a telegram saying that his preference would be the "asymmetrical" design, and that is the one that was built. It is now called the '''[[L. W. Rogers Building]]'''.

Bragdon did design an important structure at the [[Olcott (campus)|headquarters campus]] that was unveiled for members in a [[Co-Freemasonry|Co-Masonic]] dedication ceremony at the summer convention in 1940. An '''[[Bragdon Arch|arch]]''' was built at the Main Street entrance to the campus. The cost of the project was underwritten anonymously by a member from Portland, Oregon, later acknowledged to be John H. Mason. Two stone and brick support columns are topped by carved Platonic solids – a dodecahedron and an icosahedron. Between them is a wrought iron arch with the name of the Society in America]] and the TS emblem in the center. Originally a lighted lantern hung from the emblem, but it had to be removed in later years when vehicles became taller.

In 1942, then-President [[Sidney A. Cook]] wrote:
<blockquote>
As I look out my office window a car stops at our gateway, as cars often do, while its occupants read the bronze plaques on its pillars, moving from the one to the other to read the whole of the statements they contain as to the founding, the Founders and the principles. The car passes on, but our Headquarters has made its impression; the breadth and dignity of our principles have sown seed.
<ref>S.A.C.[Sidney A. Cook], "Our Gateway," ''The American Theosophist'' 30.3 (March, 1942), 70.</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1989, the entire gateway had to be moved a few feet to accommodate a turn lane in Main Street, when an apartment complex was built across the street. It remains one of the most admired features of the headquarters estate.

=== Lecturing ===

Much in demand as a lecturer, Bragdon spoke at many lodges in North America, such as Toronto, Hartford, and Buffalo; and in other venues like the International Hindustani Society and the Mecca Temple in New York. In the early 1920s he lectured at the '''Master Institute of United Arts''', founded by [[Nicholas Roerich]].<ref>Nicholas Roerich, ''Adamant'' (New York: Corona Mundi International Arts Center, 1923): back matter. Printed in Paris at Presse Franco-Russe. Available at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044034438218&seq=1 Hathitrust].</ref> For many years his center of activity was New York City, where he frequently lectured at the lodges and at the New York Theosophical Federation. Topics were wide-ranging, such as yoga, mysticism, science, music, the fourth dimension, the machine age, education, and Emerson.

== Later years ==

Mr. Bragdon passed away on [[September 17]], 1946.

== Association with famous people ==

While lecturing a Princeton, Bragdon met '''[[Albert Einstein]]''', who asked his opinion of thought transference. "I told him about certain significant experiments carried on in that field by Fritz Trautmann and myself."<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 108.</ref>

He was very close to '''[[Nicholas Roerich]]''', who gave him an ancient ring of turquoise and silver from a Tibetan lamasery and explored its symbolism.<ref>Bragdon, ''The Secret Springs'', 136.</ref>

'''Alfred Stieglitz''' and '''Georgia O'Keeffe''' lived in the same hotel that Bragdon used in New York, and spent a good deal of time in each other's company.

Others of whom he wrote in his autobiographical works include Herbert Stone, Gelett Burgess, Elbert Hubbard, Louis H. Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Adelaide Crapsey, Algernon Crapsey, and John Cowper Powys.

=== Manly P. Hall ===

Basanta Koomar Roy related a story about Bragdon's meeting with [[Manly P. Hall]]:
<blockquote>
The first question Mr. Claude Bragdon, American mystic, asked Mr. Hall immediately after their first meeting was:

"Mr. Hall, how do you know so much more about the mathematics of [[Pythagoras]] than even the authorities on the subject?"

Standing beside both these dear American friends of mine, I was wondering with trepidation in my heart what reply Mr. Hall would make.

"Mr. Bragdon," answered Mr. Hall quickly, unhesitatingly, and with a simultaneous flash of smile in his eyes and on his lips, "you are an occult philosopher. You know that it is easier to know things than to know how one knows those things."

In silence Claude Bragdon, the famous authority in the Fourth Dimension, looked at the radiant face, and into the fathomless eyes of Manly P. Hall; and in silence the four eyes spoke in the solemn language of the soul.<ref>Basanta Koomar Roy, "America's Timeless Philosopher." Horizon 1, no. 4 (November-December 1941), 15.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Writings ==

Claude Bragdon was a prolific writer, with a lively and engaging style, and amazing use of language. His earliest writings were contributions to magazines like ''Scribner's'', the ''Chap Book'', and ''The Philistine''.

=== Articles ===
Bragdon frequently wrote articles for Theosophical magazines. The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Claude+Bragdon&s=author 65 articles by Claude Bragdon]'''. Some of his books were serialized as "Theosophy and Architecture" and "H.P.B. and Theosophy." One interesting topic was "Camp Sherman," a military training facility in Ohio, which he visited in 1918.

He frequently submitted essays to magazines like ''Dial'' and ''Forum''; architectural and design journals; and early issues of ''Rosicrucian Digest'' published by A.M.O.R.C. Here are some examples:

* '''"Some Chinese Letters of Willard Straight"''' ''Scribner's'' June 1919. On China and the "Spirit of the East."
* '''"The Star of Perfection"''' ''Journal of Calendar Reform'' (December 1936): 175-177. Bragdon used ideas from the prospecuts of [[George H. Felt]].

=== Books and pamphlets ===
His books about architecture, art, and Theosophy are listed here in alphabetical order. Most are compilations of essays or lecture transcriptions. Major titles like ''Architecture and Democracy'', ''The Beautiful Necessity'', ''The Frozen Fountain'', and ''Projective Ornament'' have been reprinted many times and translated into multiple languages.

* '''''The Arch Lectures: Eighteen Discourses on a Great Variety of Subjects Delivered in New York, During the winter of 1940'''''. New York, Creative Age Press, 1942.
* '''''Architecture and Democracy'''''. New York, A. A. Knopf, 1918. Available at [https://archive.org/details/architectureandd12625gut Internet Archive], [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/423683.html Hathitrust], [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12625 Gutenberg.org], and other sources.
* '''''Argentina from a British Point of View'''''. [Place of publication not identified] : General Books, 2010.
* '''''The Beautiful Necessity: Seven Essays on Theosophy and Architecture'''''. 1910. Rochester, NY: Manas Press. 109 p. Available at [http://www.archive.org/details/beautifulnecessi00bragiala Internet Archive], [http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924008627949 Internet Archive], [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/4219201.html Hathitrust], [http://books.google.com/books?id=-gtQAAAAMAAJ Google Books], and [http://books.google.com/books?id=wtwtAAAAMAAJ Google Books].
* '''''A Brief Life of Annie Besant, President of the Theosophical Society'''''. Rochester, N.Y.: The Manas Press, 1909. 20 pages. Pamphlet.
* '''''Delphic Woman'''''. New York, London, A.A. Knopf, 1936. Twelve essays reprinted from ''The New Image'' and ''Old Lamps for New''.
* '''''Details from Italian palaces'''''. Rochester, N.Y.: Cutler Manufacturing Co., 1897.
* '''''Diary of Claude Fayette Bragdon'''''. [Watertown, N.Y.], [Printed by the Watertown Daily Times], 1974. "This diary ... was printed serially in the ''Watertown Daily Times'' in October, November and December of 1972." Introduction and notes by Henry W. Bragdon.
* '''''An Educated Heart'''''. Written with Katherine Susan Anthony. [New York] : [Dial Pub. Co.], 1910. Reviews of Visits to Walt Whitman in 1890-1891, by John Johnston and J.W. Wallace and The letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman. In a whole issue of the ''Dial'', v. 66, no. 781 (Jan. 11, 1919).
* '''''Episodes from an Unwritten History'''''. Rochester, NY: Manas Press. In 1910, an enlarged second edition was published. Available at [https://archive.org/details/episodesfromunwr00brag Internet Archive].
* '''''The Eternal Poles'''''. New York, A.A. Knopf, 1931.
* '''''Explorations into the Fourth Dimension'''''. Formerly ''Four Dimensional Vistas''.
* '''''Four Dimensional Vistas: a Primer of Higher Space'''''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1916. Available at [https://archive.org/details/fourdimensional00braggoog Internet Archive], [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/1448931.html Hathitrust], and [https://archive.org/details/fourdimensionalv11906gut Internet Archive].
* '''''The Frozen Fountain'''''. New York, A.A. Knopf, 1932. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/683025.html Hathitrust].
* '''''The Gift of Asia'''''. Rochester, N.Y.: Manas Press, 1914. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=WctTAAAAYAAJ Google Books] and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101065416800&view=1up&seq=5 Hathitrust].
* '''''The Golden Person of the Heart'''''. Gouverneur, N.Y., Brothers of the Book, 1898. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=0vBDAQAAMAAJ Google Books] and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435018158170&view=1up&seq=12 Hathitrust]. The "Golden Person" refers to the Higher Self.
* '''''The Hamlet Problem from the Standpoint of the Artist in the Theatre'''''. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1926. From ''The Architectural Record'', Vol. 59, 1926, pp. 1-6.
* '''''The "Heathen" Invasion; an Open Letter to the Editor of the Hampton-Columbian Magazine'''''. Rochester, N.Y.: Manas Press, 1911. 15 pages.
* '''''The Home of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce at Rochester, New York'''''. Boston: Rogers and Manson, 1918. A reprint from the ''Architectural Forum'' Dec. 1917.
* '''''An Introduction to Yoga'''''. New York, A.A. Knopf, 1933.
* '''''Karma Once More'''''. 1915. Pamphlet.
* '''''Man and Death'''''. 1915. Pamphlet.
* '''''Man the Square: a Higher Space Parable'''''. Rochester, N.Y.: Manas Press, 1912. 34p. Available at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924117653919&view=1up&seq=7 Hathitrust] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=1hw2AQAAMAAJ Google Books], both signed by author.
* '''"The Master of the Blue Cape"''' [story]. This inspired two members of the St. Petersburg Lodge to stage an impromptu play on December 21, 1938.<ref>''Bulletin of the Florida Federation''. January 15, 1939. From clipping in National Secretary's files for St. Petersburg Lodge. Theosophical Society in America.</ref>
* '''''Merely Players'''''. New York, A.A. Knopf, 1929. Essays continuing themes of "Old Lamps for New." Limited availability at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3314925 Hathitrust]. Personal accounts of "Purple Cow" poet Gelett Burgess; architects Harvey Ellis and Louis H. Sullivan; poet [[Kahlil Gibran]]; clairvoyant [[Dora van Gelder Kunz]]; mystic Francis Grierson; artists [[Nicholas Roerich]] and Van Deering Perrine; poets [[George William Russell]] (Æ) and Adelaide Crapsey; and Nicholas Bessaraboff.
* '''''The Message of Buddha'''''. Rochester, N.Y.: Manas Press, 1914. 15 pages.
* '''''Minor Italian Palaces'''''. Rochester, N.Y.: Cutler Manufacturing Co., 1897. Portfolio, 6 plates.
* '''''More Lives Than One'''''. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1938. Available at [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/1333280.html Hathitrust].
* '''''The New Image'''''. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1928. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/497788.html Hathitrust] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=v7U0AAAAMAAJ Google Books].
* '''''The New Rochester Chamber of Commerce Building'''''. Rochester, NY: 1919. Available at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435080569866&view=1up&seq=1 Hathitrust] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=lBtGAQAAMAAJ Google Books].
* '''''Old Lamps for New, or The Ancient Wisdom in the Modern World'''''. New York, A.A. Knopf, 1925.
* '''''Oracle'''''. Rochester, NY: Manas Press, 1921. 64 p. Portrait in frontispiece. Available at [https://archive.org/details/oracle00brag Internet Archive] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=bm1HAQAAMAAJ Google Books]. Bragdon collected messages that had been received by his deceased wife Eugenie Julier Macaulay Bragdon via automatic writing. Some are epigrammatic personal messages, and others are prophetic.
* '''''A Primer of Higher Space (the Fourth Dimension)'''''. Rochester, NY: Manas Press, 1913. 78 p. Illustrated. Available at [https://archive.org/details/aprimerhighersp00braggoog Internet Archive]. "The clearest and most capable presentation of the Fourth Dimension in our literature," per ''The Theosophical Messenger'', November 1928.
* '''''Projective Ornament'''''. Rochester NY: Manas Press, 1915. 78 p. Illustrated. Reprinted New York : A.A. Knopf, 1927.
* '''''Revival: an Introduction to Yoga'''''. 1933.
* '''''The Secret Springs: an Autobiography'''''. Rochester, N.Y.: Manas Press, 1917. Reprinted by New York: Cosimo Classics, 2005.
* '''''Self Education: An Address Given Before the Boston Architectural Club April the third 1909'''''. 1910. Rochester, NY: Manas Press. 16 p. Available at [https://archive.org/details/selfeducationadd00brag Internet Archive].
* '''''Six Lectures on Architecture'''''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1917. Scammon Lectures. Coauthors were Ralph Adams Cram and Thomas Hastings. Available at [https://archive.org/details/sixlectureson00cram Internet Archive], [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/907655.html Hathitrust], [https://books.google.com/books?vid=HARVARD:HN2WCM&printsec=titlepage#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books], and other sources. Bragdon lectures included "Organic Architecture" and "The Language of Form."
* '''''The Small Old Path'''''. Rochester, NY: Manas Press, 1911. 2nd edition. available at [https://archive.org/details/smalloldpathbycl00brag Internet Archive], [https://archive.org/details/sixlecturesonarc01cram Internet Archive], [https://archive.org/details/sixlecturesonarc00cram Internet Archive], and [https://archive.org/details/sixlecturesonarc1917cram Internet Archive].
* '''''Tapestry Brickwork'''''. Boston: Fiske & Co., 1909. "Artistic Brickwork: Its Achievements and Possibilities / by Claude Bragdon."
* '''''Theosophy and the Theosophical Society'''''. Rochester, NY: Manas Press, 1909. Available at [https://archive.org/details/theosophytheosop00brag Internet Archive]. Expanded in 1910 into ''Episodes from an Unwritten History''.
* '''''Wake Up and Dream!''''' [New York], [Outlook Co.], 1931. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/66291146.html Hathitrust].
* '''''Where Are You Going, My Pretty Maid?'''''. Wheaton, Ill.: League for American Womanhood, 1941. 7 pages. "An address delivered by Claude Bragdon before the friends of Carman Barnes, at the Arch Headquarters, 170 East 78th Street, New York, on the twentieth day of November, nineteen hundred and forty... Inquiry into the interests, activities, aspirations (if she has any), of the modern young woman, and an indication of the direction in which I think she should be headed." 7 pages.
* '''''Yoga for You'''''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943.

=== Forewords, chapters, translations, and other contributions ===

* Brandon, Wilfred. '''''Open the Door!'''''. New York, A.A. Knopf, 1935. Introduction by Claude Bragdon. Available at [https://archive.org/details/opendoor00bran Internet Archive] and [https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6317227M/Open_the_door! Open Library].
* Gargano, James W. '''''Critical Essays on Henry James: the Late Novels'''''. Boston, Mass. : G.K. Hall, 1987. Essay "The Golden Bowl: Thought as the Novelist's Sole Material" by Claude Bragdon.
* Hodson, Geoffrey, and Alexander Horne. '''''Some Experiments in Four Dimensional Vision'''''. Rider & co., 1933. Introduction by Claude Bragdon.
* Mallgrave, Harry Francis. '''''Architectural Theory'''''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007. Extract from ''Architecture and Democracy'' by Claude Bragdon.
* Mumford, Lewis. ''''' Roots of Contemporary American Architecture: a Series of Thirty-seven Essays Dating from the Mid-nineteenth Century to the Present'''''. New York : Reinhold, 1952. Essay "The Language of Form" by Claude Bragdon.
* Ouspenskii, P. D. '''''Tertium Organum: the Third Canon of Thought, a Key to the Enigmas of the World'''''. Rochester, NY: Manas Press, 1920. Translated from the Russian by Nicholas Bessaraboff and Claude Bragdon ; with an introduction by Claude Bragdon. Available at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31210000485068&view=1up&seq=5 Hathitrust], [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZuPWAAAAMAAJ Google Books], and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000108753777&view=1up&seq=9 Hathitrust].
* Parents Theosophical Research Group. '''''A Theosophical Guide for Parents'''''. Ojai, Calif.: Parents Theosophical Research Group, 1981, 1984. Essay "The Ritual of Play" by Claude Bragdon.
* Perrine, Van Dearing. '''''Van Dearing Perrine, the Light Years: [exhibition] November 2-December 16, 1989.''''' New York, N.Y.: Graham, 1989. Text by Claude Bragdon.
* Plummer, George Winslow. '''''Consciously Creating Circumstances'''''. West Hoathly [England] : Derricke Ridgway, 1953. Foreword by Claude Bragdon.
* Roerich, Nicholas. '''''Altai-Himalaya'''''. New York: Frederick A. Stokes & Co., 1930. Introduction by Claude Bragdon.
* Schmidt, Carl Frederick. '''''Cobblestone Architecture'''''. [Rochester, N.Y.], [Great lakes Press], 1944. Preface by Claude Bragdon.
* Society for the Study of Myth and Tradition. '''''Triad'''''. New York, N.Y.: Society for the Study of Myth and Tradition, 1989. Essay "An Architecture of Changeless Change" by Claude Bragdon. From ''Parabola'', the magazine of myth and tradition,; v. 14, no. 4.
* Sullivan, Louis H. '''''The Autobiography of an Idea'''''. New York, Press of the American Institute of Architects, 1924. Reprinted New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1956. Foreword by Claude Bragdon.
* Sullivan, Louis H. '''''Kindergarten Chats on Architecture, Education and Democracy'''''. [Lawrence? Kan.]: Scarab Fraternity Press, 1934. "First printed, in 1901, in fifty-two successive numbers of the Interstate architect and builder," per introduction. Edited and introduced by Claude F. Bragdon. Available at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x006193798&view=1up&seq Hathitrust] and [https://archive.org/details/kindergartenchat0000sull Internet Archive].
* Uhlfelder, Eric. '''''The Origins of Modern Architecture: Selected Essays from "Architectural Record." Mineola, N.Y. : Dover Publications, 1998. Essay "The New Architecture" by Claude Bragdon.

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===
* [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Claude+Bragdon&s=title 30 articles about Claude Bragdon]'''
* Brown, Frank Chouteau. '''"Shakespeare, Hampden and Bragdon"'''. ''The Drama''. 11: March 1921: 197-199.
* Costa, Erville. '''"Claude F. Bragdon, Architect, Stage Designer, and Mystic."''' ''Rochester ' 29' October 1967: 1-20.
* Massey, Jonathan. '''"Organic Architecture and Direct Democracy: Claude Bragdon's Festivals of Song and Light"'''. ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'' 65 no. 4 (2006): 578-613. Chicago, Ill.: Society of Architectural Historians, 2006.
* '''[https://www.libraryweb.org/rochimag/architecture/Architects/Bragdon/Intro.htm Claude Bragdon: His Work in Rochester].''' Photo essay from Monroe County Library System of Bragdon's work in Rochester.

=== Books and pamphlets ===
* Chait, Richard. '''''Rochester's Famed Bragdon Station: Its Architect, History, and Legacy'''''. Fairfax: Allegra, 2018. 130 pages.
* Ellis, Eugenia Victoria. '''''Claude Bragdon & the Beautiful Necessity: Eleven Essays'''''. Rochester, NY: Rochester Institute of Technology, 2010.
* Ellis, Eugenia Victoria. '''''Squaring the Circle: the Regulating Lines of Claude Bragdon's Theosophic Architecture'''''. Ph. D. dissertation; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; 2005. 389 pages.
* Fuchs, Theodore. '''''Stage Lighting'''''. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1929; reprinted., New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1957.
* Massey, Jonathan. '''''Art and Involution: Claude Bragdon's Projective Ornament'''''. Ph. D. dissertation; Princeton University; 2001.
* Massey, Jonathan. '''''Crystal and Arabesque: Claude Bragdon, Ornament, and Modern Architecture'''''. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009. 336 pages. This is an excellent biography of Bragdon's life and work.
* Meyers, Carole. '''''Wake Up and Dream!: Claude Bragdon's Idea of Theatre'''''. Undergraduate dissertation, University of Rochester class of 1988. Department of English, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 1987.
* Nixon, Mary. '''''Technically Symbolic: the Significance of Schema and Claude Bragdon's Sinbad Drawings in The Frozen Fountain'''''. Ph. D. dissertation in Architecture; University of Pennsylvania; 2005. 241 pages.
* Oenslager, Donald. '''''Stage Design, Four Centuries of Scenic Invention'''''. New York: The Viking Press, 1975.
* Siegfried, David Allen. '''''Claude Bragdon, Artist-in-the-Theatre'''''. Ph. D. dissertation; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; 1979.

=== Video ===

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbs3NQ2mf4c Thomas Wilfred - Master of Light]''' posted by ZCZ Films on Feb 19, 2018. Demonstration of the Clavilux that Wilfred worked on with Bragdon.

=== Archival records ===
* '''Theosophical Society in America Archives''' has architectural drawings related to the arch that Bragdon designed, and also a limited amount of correspondence to/from or about Bragdon.
* '''[https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/finding-aids/AB81 Bragdon Family Papers]''' at the University of Rochester, The Department of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation (RBSCP). This is a rich source of correspondence, drawings, photographs, and other materials.
* '''[https://maybragdon.lib.rochester.edu May Bragdon Diaries]''' at University of Rochester Libraries. See also [https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/may-bragdons-diaries-offer-window-into-past-179052 "May Bragdon Diaries offer online window into Rochester’s past"].
* '''[https://www.nypl.org/research/research-catalog/bib/b18930176 Claude Bragdon Scenic Designs]''' at the New York Public Library, in Performing Arts Research Collections - Theater. Call numbers CT-Vim 2010-047 Box 1 and 2, and T-Vim 2010-047 Oversized Folder 1.
* '''[https://www.libraryweb.org/rochimag/architecture/Architects/Bragdon/stone.htm Rochester Chamber of Commerce: Pictures from the Albert R. Stone Negative Collection]'''. Monroe County Library System. Photographs of Chamber of Commerce Building.

=== Websites ===

* '''[https://socks-studio.com/?s=Bragdon Sock Studio]''' has Bragdon drawings.

== Notes ==
<references/>
[[Category:Architects|Bragdon, Claude]]
[[Category:Writers|Bragdon, Claude]]
[[Category:Artists|Bragdon, Claude]]
[[Category:Editors|Bragdon, Claude]]
[[Category:Publishers|Bragdon, Claude]]
[[Category:Famous people|Bragdon, Claude]]
[[Category:TS Adyar|Bragdon, Claude]]
[[Category:Nationality American|Bragdon, Claude]]
[[Category:People|Bragdon, Claude]]

Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library

2026-06-24T14:44:13Z

SysopJ: /* Library catalog and affiliations */

[[File:Library_reading_room.jpg|385px|thumb|right|Library reading room]]
The '''Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library''' is the national library of the [[Theosophical Society in America]]. It is in the [[L. W. Rogers Building]] on the [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott]] campus, located in Wheaton, Illinois. It is named after the President-Founder of the international [[Theosophical Society]], '''[[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel Henry Steel Olcott]]'''.

The library catalog lists approximately 25,000 titles, including books, pamphlets, periodicals, and audiovisual materials. Library members throughout the United States can borrow items remotely. The library serves the public through participation in the RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois) Library System and the SWAN library consortium. The specialized collection is much in demand to university and public library patrons through interlibrary loan.

Information about the library is available on its '''[http://www.theosophical.org/library web page]'''.

== Founding of library ==
[[File:Library 1928.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Library in 1928]]

The basis for this library was established by [[L. W. Rogers]] while the organization, then called the [[American Theosophical Society]] (ATS), had its headquarters in Chicago. In 1923, he made a national appeal for donations of books, writing with his usual eloquence:
<blockquote>
A National Theosophical Society without a library is an absurdity. Our literature is the tangible expression of our philosophy and a fortress of spiritual strength. The American Theosophical Society should have the most complete library of theosophical and allied literature to be found in the nation. There are perhaps 200 books at headquarters ... Apparently, no systematic effort has ever been made to found a library that contains all the books that should be represented in such a collection.<ref>Joy Mills, ''100 Years of Theosophy: A History of the Theosophical Society in America'' (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 88.</ref>
</blockquote>

Many of the Society's local groups had previously established libraries, and circulation of books had been an important activity of the ATS since 1897. That year, four regional committees established for "propaganda work" were asked to take responsibility for circulating "book-boxes" among their branches (lodges). Each collection of texts was packed in a sturdy wooden box for shipping the lending libraries from one lodge to the next:

::Lending Library Box I: Manuals 1-7 — The Ancient Wisdom , Esoteric Buddhism, Birth and Evolution of the Soul, In the Outer Court, Voice of the Silence, Bhagavad Gita, Light on the Path

::Lending Library Box II: Key to Theosophy,— Growth of the Soul, Building of the Kosmos, Self and its Sheaths, Plotinus, Orpheus, Four Great Religions, Upanishads, Path of Discipleship, First Steps in Occultism, Three Paths to Union

::Lending Library Box III: The Secret Doctrine, 3 vols. and index, Isis Unveiled, Pistis Sophia, The Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Rao<ref>Annie Besant, "Theosophical Work," ''Mercury'' 3.12 (August, 1897), 379-380.</ref>

[[File:Olcott Library 1949.jpg|360px|right|thumb|Library around 1949]]
== Construction ==

When the Society moved to the Wheaton site in 1927, the south end of the building was expressly designed to house the library collection that was growing rapidly. The Society proposed to honor Mr. Rogers in 1932 by naming it the Rogers Library, but he preferred that it should be called the National Theosophical Library.<ref>L. W. Rogers, "Naming Our Library" ''The Theosophical Messenger'' 20 no.11 (November, 1932): 252.</ref><ref>"Addition to Headquarters Estate - Mr. Rogers Honored," ''The Theosophical Messenger'' 20.10 (October 1932), 227.</ref><ref>S.. A. C. <nowiki>[</nowiki>Sidney A. Cook<nowiki>[</nowiki>, "The National Theosophical Library," ''The American Theosophist'' 21.1 (January 1933), 21.</ref> In 1970, [[Joy Mills]] proposed renaming the library as '''"Olcott Library & Research Center"''' in honor of the Theosophical Society's Founder-President [[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel Henry S. Olcott]].<ref>Joy Mills ''100 Years of Theosophy: A History of The Theosophical Society in America'' (Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 172.</ref> Under [[John Algeo]], the name was adjusted to the current phrasing.<ref>John Algeo "President's Annual Report 1998" ''The Quest'' 86 no.10 (October, 1998): 4.</ref> For many years the library served as the location for monthly public open houses and teas, at which the guests were entertained by musical performances and speakers.

=== Expansion in 1962-63 ===

In 1962-63, the library was expanded with an eighteen-foot extension. The new portion of the building was designed by a husband-wife team of architects, Lillian and Wilbur Leenhouts, who were members of the Milwaukee Theosophical Society. Their design retained the original decorative stone window by having it moved due south into the new curved end of the building. Construction was supervised by engineer [[George Linton]]. The extension included shelving, a meeting room, Rare Books Room, and storage room on the upper level adjoining the balcony. On the ground floor, there was space for a librarians' office and ranges of shelving. A basement was excavated under the entire library, providing space for additional storage and processing areas. For many years a portion of the basement served as a shipping room.

[[File:Library South.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Library expansion in 1963]]
[[Henry A. Smith]] wrote of the expansion project:
<blockquote>
Our policy is to develop our library into an outstanding facility, and we hope it will ultimately be of sufficient scope to attract students form universities and colleges for research work, not only in Theosophy, but in religion and in philosophy generally, including that of the sciences.

As a matter of foresight we are also including a division for microfilm library. It is our hope that we may receive from International Headquarters a copy of the microfilm library developed there. It will be of interest to our members that through the courtesy of the American Section a complete unit of microfilming equipment and microfilming reading equipment was sent to [[Adyar (campus)|Adyar]] as a gift for the [[Adyar Library and Research Centre|new library]] there.

The new addition to our library grew out of a legacy amounting to $51,000 received from an ardent reader, Mr. James Arnott, in 1956. Since then these funds have been earning interest for the Society, an it was necessary to add relatively little over and above the principal and interest. The contract for the new addition is $78,935.<ref>Henry A. Smith, "The National President's Annual Report: Library Addition" ''The American Theosophist'' 50.9 (September, 1962): 176-177.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Collection development ==

In 1968 Mrs. Seetha Neelakantan, formerly of the [[Adyar Library and Research Centre]], began work at the Olcott Library to expand the collection related to Eastern religions.<ref>N. Sri Ram, "Presidential Address," ''The Report of the Theosophical Society, 1968'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing Company, 1969), 8.</ref> She supervised conversion of the shelf arrangement of that section to correspond to the modified Dewey Decimal System arrangement of Eastern religions books in Adyar. Support for her work was provided by [[The Kern Foundation]].

As new media became available over the years, the library collected appropriate items, including the output of the Audiovisual Department. Films, slides, audiocassettes, videocassettes, compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), and links to digital copies have each, in turn, taken their places in the collection.

== Collections ==
[[File:Library_2.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Steps to balcony. Photo by Glenn Kujansuu.]]
The circulating book collections focus on Theosophy, the Theosophical Movement, world religions, philosophy, science, art, healing, and other topics of interest to members. The library has reference works, fiction, biographies, and a children's section. The audiovisual collection includes CDs, DVDs, and audio and video cassettes. Many of the media were recorded by the Audiovisual Department of the [[Theosophical Society in America]], but there are also fine commercially produced works and some from the Great Courses series.

The Rare Books Room has the volumes that [[Boris de Zirkoff]] used to edit the [[H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings (book)|''H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings'']], and also the library of [[Mary K. Neff]], along with many old and rare works.

== Programs and activities ==
From its earliest days, the library has been a center of activity in the TSA headquarters. For many years, monthly lectures were offered to the public with tea and entertainment. The staff have used the reading room for Christmas and Halloween parties. It has been the site for many weddings, and some memorial services, including that of [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa]] in 1953. During summer conventions at the [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott campus]], the library has been a location for discussion groups and meetings. Wheaton lodges, including the current Wheaton Olcott Lodge, have used the library as a comfortable base for meetings.

In recent years, programs have included several webinar series, arts workshops, tea with the President, storytelling for children, a chess club, staff study groups, Sunday meditations, and a spiritual roundtable series.
[[File:Librarians June 2000.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Elisabeth Trumpler, Michael Gomes, and Lakshmi Narayanaswami in June, 2000.]]
== Library catalog and affiliations ==

A '''library union catalog''' was first established in June, 2000. The Sellon family and [[The Kern Foundation|the Kern Foundation]] provided grants to fund a new automated library system that supported a Web-based catalog shared with the [[Krotona Library]] and the [[Emily Sellon Memorial Library]]. Librarians Elisabeth Trumpler of Olcott, Lakshmi Narayanaswami of the Krotona Institute and Michael Gomes of New York spent a week in training sessions before the system was implemented.

Under the leadership of Marina Maestas, the library became a participant in the RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois) Library System and in the MAGIC (Multitype Automation Group in Cooperation) consortium of public, school, and other libraries. In 2017, the MAGIC libraries all joined the larger '''SWAN consortium''' (System Wide Automated Network) of 101 libraries in northern Illinois. Through SWAN, the library shares catalog and loan services, with a customized catalog interface that displays a moving stream of new titles and links to many other features of the library web page. After joining SWAN, the circulation of Theosophical Society books to the general public quadrupled.

The Olcott Library engages actively in '''interlibrary loans''', and its holdings can be viewed through OCLC Worldcat. The [[Krotona Library]] and the [[Emily Sellon Memorial Library]] are still tightly connected to the Olcott Library through this system.

The library was for many years affiliated with the American Theological Libraries Association, and still works closely with the University of Chicago's '''Regenstein Library''', which has a strong collection of Theosophical works.

== Digitization and preservation projects ==

Digitization is directly linked with preservation and accessibility. The library prioritizes material for digitization projects by their unique content and how difficult they may be to locate elsewhere. By digitizing the material that is often considered more obscure, titles are made more accessible by scholars, researchers and students of Theosophy worldwide and, at the same time, the physical format is better preserved for posteriety.

=== Microfilm collaborations ===

During the library's long affiliation with the '''American Theological Libraries Association''', the two organizations collaborated on several projects to microfilm periodicals. An example is [[The Vahan (periodical)|''The Vahan'']]. A complete run of the journal was compiled with help from [[Alexandria West Library]], and then microfilmed at the ATLA facilities in Chicago. ATLA has been digitizing all its films, but access is allowed only by subscription.

[[File:Scanner.jpg|200px|right|thumb|BookEye 4 scanner]]
=== BookEye 4 Scanner ===

Library and Archives Departments worked together in 2014 to put together a proposal to purchase a BookEye 4 scanner for the digitization of books and periodicals. The model selected is a tabletop scanner (rather than a big booth or heavy-duty production scanner) that can produce TIFF, JPEG, or PDF output up to 17x24 (or A2) in size. It can scan a book held gently in a cradle or flat, and has software to remove fingermarks and curvature. Searchable PDF files created with this technology are stored in the [https://archive.org/details/@the_theosophical_society_in_america Internet Archive], cataloged as digital objects in the library catalog, and are also linked from the Theosophy Wiki. Funding was put together from a bequest by Don Campbell and a grant from [[The Kern Foundation]].

These are some of the materials that have been digitized using this scanner:

* '''[[General Reports of the Theosophical Society]]''', 1898-present.
* '''[[Blavatsky Lectures]]''', 1918-present. These are also available as a [https://archive.org/details/blavatsky-lectures Blavatsky Lecture special collection] found at Internet Archive.
* [[The International Theosophical Year Book (periodical)|'''''The International Theosophical Year Book''''']], 1937-1942.
* '''''Om: A Treatise on Vedantic Raj Yoga Philosophy''''' by [[Sabhapaty Swami]] from images of the rare volume owned by [[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel Henry Steel Olcott]] and held by the [[Adyar Library and Research Centre]].
* '''''So Rich a Life''''', the Autobiography of [[Clara Codd]]. Scanned with permission of the TS in South Africa.
* [[The Theosophical Glossary (book)|'''''The Theosophical Glossary''''']] by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]]. This copy was annotated by [[Boris de Zirkoff]] from the Boris de Zirkoff Papers, Records 22, Theosophical Society in America Archives.
* '''Pamphlets and other lesser known works''' by [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa|C. Jinarājadāsa]]. See [[Jinarājadāsa writings]] for links through Theosophy.wiki or visit the [https://archive.org/details/jinarajadasa C. Jinarajadasa special collection on Internet Archive].
* [https://archive.org/details/ReportOfSPNE1918 '''''Report of the Society for the Promotion of National Education 1918''''']. From the Kunz Family Collection, Records 25.01, Theosophical Society in America Archives.
* [https://archive.org/details/ReportOfSPNE1919 '''''Report of the Society for the Promotion of National Education 1919''''']. From the Kunz Family Collection, Records 25.01, Theosophical Society in America Archives.
* '''[[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']]''' - dozens of issues have been scanned in a project supporting a ProQuest database.

For more titles, including downloadable audio recordings, visit the Theosophical Society in America's '''[https://archive.org/details/@the_theosophical_society_in_america Internet Archive collections]'''.

=== ProQuest ===

During 2015-2017, the library negotiated with the academic content provider [https://www.proquest.com/ ProQuest] to add the TSA's journals to the '''Religious Magazine Archive'''. In a massive effort, library staff packed up complete runs of [[The Theosophic Messenger (periodical)|''The Theosophic Messenger'']], [[Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger'']], [[The Theosophical Messenger (periodical)|''The Theosophical Messenger'']], [[The American Theosophist (periodical)|''The American Theosophist'']], [[Quest (periodical)|''The Quest'']], and [[Quest (periodical)|''Quest'']] and sent them to the vendor for digitization. The earliest journal, [[Mercury (periodical)|''Mercury'']], was scanned in-house using the BookEye 4 scanner, because the issues were considered too fragile and rare to ship. By October, 2017, most of the issues had been loaded into the ProQuest database, where they are available at academic libraries around the world. Individuals can subscribe to the database, although it is expensive. The Olcott Library staff also has access, and can print or download articles for members.

In a second project with ProQuest, the library has been scanning issues of '''[[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']]'''.

=== Pamphlets, books, and audio recordings ===

Pamphlets, audio recordings, and a few books from the library collection and the Archives Department are being digitized in-house and by vendors. They are posted on the Internet Archive under the contributor name '''[https://archive.org/details/@the_theosophical_society_in_america The Theosophical Society in America]'''. Some have been established as [https://archive.org/details/@the_theosophical_society_in_america/collections named collections]:

* '''[https://archive.org/details/Annie-Besant Annie Besant]''' - pamphlets.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/george-arundale George Arundale]''' - pamphlets.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/jinarajadasa C. Jinarājadāsa]''' - pamphlets.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/blavatsky-lectures Blavatsky Lectures]''' - reprints of lectures.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/general-reports-of-the-theosophical-society General Reports of the Theosophical Society]''' - scans of reports.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/theosophical-audio-library Theosophical Audio Library]''' - from magnetic tapes, audiocassettes, and CDs.

== Book sales ==
Members frequently donate books, which are very welcome. Donations are carefully evaluated. Some are added to the circulating collection; some duplicates are stored for future use; and others are sold to raise money that is used for collection development. The library always has a few volumes for sale in the reading room, and others are sold during the Summer National Convention in July and at TheosoFest in September. Many volumes are listed in the library's '''[https://www.abebooks.com/theosophical-society-library-wheaton-il-u.s.a/2766074/sf AbeBooks store]'''. All donations of books and money are tax-deductible.

== Video tour and tutorials ==

Library staff members have produced several videos to provide users with information needed to use library resources:

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IIp2RuaxnwY Take a Lively Tour Through the Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2DKJSXcd0K4 Tour the Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library Website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2DKJSXcd0K4 The "Browse" Function of the Library Catalog is a Powerful Tool]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bfvhByNsiWY Introducing the Theosophical Society Wiki]

[[File:Llibrary catalog pulldown.png|right|150px|thumb|Pulldown menu from library catalog]].

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===

* '''[https://www.theosophyforward.com/a-treasure-hidden-in-plain-sight-the-henry-s-olcott-memorial-library-in-wheaton,-illinois?fbclid=IwY2xjawRUm21leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFFQXFmNFA4a09PUmlpUXpTc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHoQ0_8ZEqG6Xo8goQlZ_4Ubizxzx8G5NXu_vFKbWsCi1pzb6u2H4dnNVnnzI_aem_w5st2O8ibflRRBb_GpxUIA "A Treasure Hidden in Plain Sight: The Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library in Wheaton, Illinois"]''' by Anna de Leon. Posted 18 April 2026 in ''Theosophy Forward''.

=== Website ===
Many resources are available in the [http://www.theosophical.org/library '''Website for the library''']. To find them, click on the '''Library Catalog'''. A pulldown menu is available by clicking the three bars at the top right of the catalog page.

[https://www.theosophical.org/reading-list '''Reading Lists'''] provide help to patrons who are looking for materials about a specific topic. There are also links to [https://www.theosophical.org/periodicals '''Theosophical periodicals'''] and resources that are available online.

=== Books ===

* '''[https://archive.org/details/olcott-library-annotated-reading-list Olcott Library Annotated Reading List]'''. 1988. Bound collection of reading lists featuring books in the library, arranged topically. These were written over several years, and compiled around 1988.

== Photo gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Library readers.jpg|Patrons in Reading Room.
File:Library_3.jpg|Balcony level. Photo by Glenn Kujansuu.
File:Library - stacks.JPG|Stacks on main floor.
File:Library - Indian dance performance.jpg|Indian dance performance.
File:Library - string duet performance.jpg|String duet performance.
File:Library meeting 2008.jpg|Discussion during 2008 convention.
</gallery>
== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Libraries and research centers]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]

User:SysopJ/My sandbox

2026-06-23T15:42:54Z

SysopJ: /* Gallery of architectural projects */

'''Irving Kane Pond''' (1857-1939) and his brother Allen Bartlitt Pond (1858–1929)

== Personal life ==
[[File:Irving_Kane_Pond,_1876.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Irving Kane Pond, 1876]]

== Architectural work ==

=== Training and early work ===

=== Philosophy and style ===
<blockquote>
The Ponds sought to create a modern American architecture without rejecting architectural stylistic traditions, but simplifying them through the emphasis of geometry and the inherent quality of building materials and construction. In that regard, the Ponds were strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, with the emphasis on honest materials used honestly.<ref>David Swan, Preface to ''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Eliihu'' ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum (Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009), vii.</ref>
</blockquote>

Strong sense of social responsibility .....

<blockquote>
Stylistically Irving Pond did not totally fit in one category or another. He stood in the role of an intermediary, halfway between the revolutionary aesthetics and technology of the Chicago School and the Prairie School and the taste for traditional architecture his clients often felt that precedent or literary aesthetics required. His architecture used traditional materials especially brick and employed traditional forms such as gable roofs, but his designs embraced a geometric simplicity with no embellishments — a tenet of the Arts & Crafts movement.<ref>from Ravinia School nomination ..... </ref>
</blockquote>

=== Participation in architectural organizations ===

=== Gallery of architectural projects ===
'''The L. W. Rogers Building and similar structures'''
[[File:Rogers_Building_1a.jpg|center|400px|thumb|L. W. Rogers Building, 1926]]

<gallery widths="200px" perrow="4">
File:MIchigan Union, 1919.png|Michigan Union, 1919
File:Purdue Memorial Union, 1924.JPG||Purdue Memorial Union, 1924
File:MSU Union Building, 1925.jpg|Michigan State University Union, 1925
File:Kansas Memorial Union, 1927.png|Kansas Memorial Union, 1927
File:Michigan League, 1929.jpg|Michigan League, 1929
</gallery>

'''Examples of other buildings'''

<gallery widths="200px" perrow="4">
File:Highland Park Club House..png|Highland Park Club House, 1891
File:Oregon Public Library.jpg|Oregon Public Library, 1909
File:Manor House Kenosha.jpg|Manor House, Kenosha, WI, 1926
</gallery>

== Other activities ==

Chicago Literary Club
Hull-House

=== Circus and acrobatics ===

=== Social clubs and memberships ===

== Writings ==

* '''''The Meaning Of Architecture: An Essay In Constructive Criticism'''''. Boston, Marshall Jones Company, 1918. 226 pages, illustrations. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/971540.html Hathitrust] and several versions at [https://archive.org/details/meaningofarchite00pond Internet Archive]. A historical reproduction of the 1923 edition is available at [https://www.amazon.com/meaning-architecture-essay-constructive-criticism/dp/1117177548 Amazon.com].
* '''"Eliel Saarinen and his work a word of appreciation and greeting"'''. 1923. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=bctPAAAAMAAJ and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008062880&seq=1 Hathitrust]. Pages extracted from ''The Western Architect'' 32 no. 7 (July, 1923): 75-76 plus plates.
* '''''A Day Under the Big Top, a Study in Life and Art'''''. Chicago: Chicago Literary Club, 1924. 40 pages, with 4 diagrams. "Edition, five hundred and fifteen copies, printed for members of the club in the month of March, nineteen hundred and twenty-four." About circus and acrobatics. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=tWB0SUDY1JoC Google Books] and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062226652&seq=7 Hathitrust].
* '''''The College Union'''''. [New York], 1931. 16 pages. Limited availability at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004162973 Hathitrust] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=a_fVAAAAMAAJ Google Books].
* '''"Pullman - America's First Planned Industrial Town"'''. Illinois society of architects. ''Monthly bulletin'' vol. 18-19, nos. 12-1, June-July, 1934. 6-8 pages.
* '''''Big Top Rhythms: A Study in Art and Life''''', written and illustrated by Pond. Chicago, New York, Willett, Clark and Company, 1937. 229 pages, illustrations.
* '''''A Strange Fellow, and Other Club Papers''''', written and illustrated by Pond New York, Chicago, Priv. Print. by Willett, Clark and Company, 1938. 224 pages, illustrations. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/2976903.html Hathitrust], [https://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/OCA/Books2012-05/strangefellowoth00ilpond/ Open Content Alliance], and [https://archive.org/details/strangefellowoth00ilpond Internet Archive].
* '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond''''', written in the 1930s and published posthumously. Edited by Terry Tatum and David Swan. Oak Park, IL: Hyoogen Press, 2009.

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===

* Szuberla, Guy. "⁨Irving Kane Pond: a Michigan Architect in Chicago" ''Old Northwest'' 5 no. 2 (Summer, 1979): 109-140.

=== Books ===

* Pond, Irving Kane. '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Elihu''''' ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum. Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009.

=== Archival collections ===

* '''The University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library'''.
** [https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-bhl-852090 Pond Family Papers, 1841-1939]. "Correspondence of Elihu B. Pond, editor of Michigan Argus, his sons, Chicago architects, Irving Kane and Allen Bartlit Pond, founders of firm of Pond & Pond, and other family members; include materials concerning family affairs, architectural projects, Jane Addams and the work of Hull House, European travels, politics especially as relates to period of the Civil War and the election of 1896; also photographs, architectural drawings and other visual materials."
* '''The Art Institute of Chicago: Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives''', Chicago, Illinois.
** [https://www.artic.edu/artworks/262324/pond-and-pond-collection Pond and Pond Collection, c.1895-1938]. "Correspondence, albums, black and white photographic prints, architectural drawings, and architectural reprographic prints."
* '''The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts''', Chicago, Illinois.
** [https://explore.chicagocollections.org/ead/newberry/72/xw4 American Circus Collection, 1891-1939]. "Late 19th and early 20th century circus and theater related illustrations, publicity, programs, photographs and memorabilia" donated by Irving Kane Pond, 1939.
** [https://archives.newberry.org/repositories/2/resources/398 Chicago Literary Club records]. Irving Kane Pond was active in this club, and its records include "weekly papers read by over 250 members, but also correspondence, minutes, a visitors' register, cashbook, and scrapbooks."
* '''Columbia University Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library''', New York.
** [https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/pdf/cul-3460598.pdf Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue architectural drawings and papers 3460598]. Materials related to Irving Kane Pond, Claude Bragdon, and many other architects.
* '''Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog''' Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey, Washington DC.
** [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/il1014/ Junior League of Chicago, 1447 North Astor Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL]
* '''The Athenaeum of Philadelphia''', Philadelphia, PA.
** [https://archives.philaathenaeum.org/agents/people/116 Pond, Irving K. (Irving Kane), 1857-1939]. "Correspondence to Seeler from architects, designers, and/or members of theAmerican Institute of Architects, both in Boston and Washington DC."

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Architects|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:Writers|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:Nationality American|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:People|Pond, Irving Kane]]

File:MSU Union Building, 1925.jpg

2026-06-23T15:41:20Z

SysopJ: Michigan State University Union Building, designed by Pond & Pond and built 1923-1925. From Wikimedia.

== Summary ==
Michigan State University Union Building, designed by Pond & Pond and built 1923-1925. From Wikimedia.

Krotona Institute of Theosophy

2026-06-23T14:20:33Z

SysopJ: /* Video */

[[File:Entrance sign.JPG|250px|right|thumb|Entrance to Krotona]]
The '''Krotona Institute of Theosophy''' is the headquarters of the [[Esoteric Section|Esoteric School of Theosophy]], also called the Esoteric Section, E.S. or E.S.T., for the United States and Canada. It is a residential spiritual community with a school, library, and bookshop intended to serve members of the Esoteric School and the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]], as well as the general public. The name Krotona was derived from the Crotona school of [[Pythagoras]]. The website is at '''[https://www.krotonainstitute.org/ https://www.krotonainstitute.org/]'''.

== History ==

President [[A. P. Warrington]] of the [[American Theosophical Society]] (now [[Theosophical Society in America]]) and his associates founded a spiritual center in Hollywood, California in 1912. He moved Society headquarters and book publishing from Chicago. Buildings sprang up on the new Krotona campus, to the great interest of local newspapers<ref>Newspaper clippings from the TSA Archives.</ref>, who often referred to it as the Krotona Colony. As the film industry grew and Hollywood boomed, Krotona's location site became less serene and more expensive to operate. The [[American Theosophical Society|American Theosophical Society's]] headquarters and publishing operations moved to a more central location in Chicago in 1920, under the guidance of new President [[L. W. Rogers]]. That left the American E.S. headquarters in Hollywood, along with the [[Order of the Star in the East]] and the [[Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross]].

See '''[[Krotona in Hollywood]]''' for more information about the Hollywood years of the Krotona Institute, from 1912-1924.

=== Locating in Ojai ===
[[File:Bon_voyage.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Warrington, Poutz, Nitya, Fritz, and Krishnamurti on shipboard]]
In 1922, Mr. Warrington traveled with [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]], his brother Jiddu Nityananda, [[Fritz Kunz]] and [[Marie Poutz]] from Australia to the United States. Krishnamurti and Nitya planned to continue by train and ship to Switzerland where a doctor would try to cure Nitya of his tuberculosis. Warrington suggested a side trip to Ojai, California:
<blockquote>
They traveled by train to Ventura and by automobile to Ojai, arriving on July 6. Warrington had arranged for them to share a rustic cottage amid the pine trees of the East End. They loved it, so much so that Besant arranged to buy the Pine Cottage for them, along with a nearby ranch house. (The brothers dubbed it Arya Vihara, Sanskrit for “Noble House.”) Alas, Nitya found no cure in Ojai; he would succumb to his disease within three years. But Krishnamurti would maintain a home here for the rest of his very long life.

With the future [[World Teacher]] now established in Ojai, Warrington decided that this was just the place for Krotona, too. In 1924 he moved the institute from Hollywood to a 118-acre ranch property atop a hill just south of Meiners Oaks. That set the stage for Besant herself, who came to Ojai in October 1926.''

Happy Valley remained undeveloped until the 1970s, but the Happy Valley Foundation never gave up on Besant’s vision. Today this property is host to the Besant Hill School of Happy Valley, the Beatrice Wood Center For the Arts, and the Ojai Foundation.<ref>[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-pilgrims/ Ojai Pilgrims] by Mark Lewis, posted December 19, 2019 at OjaiHub.</ref>
</blockquote>

Mr. Warrington had heard of Ojai through Theosophists Mary Gray, founder of the [[School of the Open Gate]], and [[Robert Kelsey Walton|Robert Walton]] of the [[Liberal Catholic Church]] in Hollywood. Both had built homes in Ojai, and actively lobbied for a move of Krotona from Hollywood to Ojai. Warrington purchased the 118-acre Kerfoot Ranch that is now called Krotona Hill. After some months he received permission from [[Annie Besant]] to move the E.S. center to the new location.

[[File:Initial Krotona staff.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Early staff at Krotona, Ojai]]

=== Early days in Ojai ===

George H. Hall was the general manager of Krotona in Ojai, as in Hollywood since 1920, and he asked [[Eugene Munson]] to be the superintendent on site from the earliest days of development in Ojai. The Munsons moved into the Kerfoot ranch house at first. In 1924 efforts focused on construction of the E.S. administration building, the library, several cottages, and infrastructure of roads, water tower, and garages. By the end of that year, the Munsons, Halls, and Marie Poutz had moved in. Mr. Warrington was in a sanatorium, recovering from illness. The following year, more roadways were made and landscaping began. More cottages were built, and Krotona Hall.

The photo at right shows early staff members Sarah Mayes, Mathilde Saizan, Maude Kimball, Marie Poutz, Mary Goldy, Billy Mayes, Eugene Munson, and Mattie Munson.

=== Annie Besant's first visit ===

In October, 1926, [[Annie Besant]] visited Krotona for the first time. As Outer Head of the [[Esoteric Section]], she had approved the move of Krotona Institute of Theosophy to Ojai, based primarily on the recommendation of Mr. Warrington. Complications of her political activities, legal matters, and her work as president of the international [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] had kept her from an earlier visit. In August she and [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]]
were present for the cornerstone ceremony in Wheaton, Illinois for the new headquarters of the [[American Theosophical Society]]. They arrived in Ojai in time to celebrate her birthday:
[[File:Krotona group on October 3, 1926.jpg|right|290px|thumb|Annie Besant on October 3, 1926]]
<blockquote>
October 1, in honor of Dr. Besant's 80th birthday, afternoon tea was served at Krotona to 150 to 200 friends. Standing on the veranda of the Krotona Library, Dr. Besant shared her first impressions of the Ojai Valley... Krishnaji also spoke about his first visit to the valley with his brother Nitya [in 1922]...<ref>Joseph E. Ross, ''Krotona in the Ojai Valley, 1923-1926''. Krotona series Volume 4. (Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009), 411.</ref>
</blockquote>
She met with Krotona's board about the future and welfare of the Ojai property. Among the attendees were [[A. P. Warrington]], [[Marie Poutz]], George and Grace Hall, [[Julia K. Sommer]], Max Wardall, Fred Hart, [[Eugene Munson]], and [[Irving S. Cooper]]. Among the questions considered was whether a motel should be built at the base of the hill as an income enterprise, and whether other organizations could be established at Krotona. Mrs. Besant firmly stated that no commercial enterprises should be there, as they would affect the atmosphere of the site. She declined to allow any masonic body or church on the Krotona property, but the Order of the Star in the East would be welcomed.<ref>Joseph E. Ross, ''Krotona in the Ojai Valley, 1923-1926''. Krotona series Volume 4. (Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009), 412-415.</ref>

Dr. Besant gave several public lectures attended by three thousand people. She left on a speaking tour, but returned to spend the winter in Ojai, leaving in April 1927. She was excited by the possibilities of the beautiful valley.

<blockquote>
Ojai, she announced, would become a model Theosophical community, dedicated to education, the arts, and general cultural uplift. To get the ball rolling, she purchased 465 acres in Upper Ojai, a property she dubbed Happy Valley. She created the Happy Valley Foundation to oversee its development.

She also bought 175 acres near Krotona, including an inviting oak grove suitable for public gatherings. Shrewdly, Besant also bought the local newspaper, The Ojai. Theosophists began flocking to the Ojai Valley, buying lots in the recently subdivided Meiners Oaks town site, or in the new Siete Robles subdivision east of downtown Ojai.<ref>[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-pilgrims/ Ojai Pilgrims] by Mark Lewis, posted December 19, 2019 at OjaiHub.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Philosophy and purpose ==
Krotona has been described in this way by its former Vice President, Hein van Beusekom:
<blockquote>
Krotona is the home of the central office of the Esoteric School of Theosophy in North America. The EST is an organization intended for those who are willing to make a special effort to live the theosophical life, which is a spiritual life having altruism as its keynote, and who are willing to accept certain ethical disciplines. The EST is open for those who have been a members of the Theosophical Society for at least two consecutive years, and who have demonstrated their willingness to work for Theosophy.

We reach out to the world through the Krotona School of Theosophy, Library and Quest Bookshop. The School offers an in-depth approach to the study of theosophical subjects, exploring the spiritual dimension as well as the intellectual. It is also a training center for members to prepare themselves to participate more fully in the Society 's work. Members are always welcome to come here for personal retreat or study.<ref>Hein van Beusekom, "Letter from Krotona Institute of Theosophy," ''The American Theosophist'' 80.4 (July/August 1992), 8-9.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[File:Krotona School of Theosophy.JPG|right|220px|thumb|Krotona School building]]

== Krotona School of Theosophy ==

One of the central activities of Krotona Institute of Theosophy has always been education. Until 1963, however, insufficient funding, financing, and housing greatly reduced educational activity. In 1958, [[The Kern Foundation]] improved the situation by donating the Kern guest houses for use of visitors. English Theosophists [[Laurence J. Bendit]] and [[Phoebe D. Bendit]] arrived in 1963 to reinvigorate the program, scheduling monthly public lectures, and seminars of three weekly meetings with discussion. Their efforts were highly successful.<ref>John A. Nimick, "Krotona Institute of Theosophy" ''The American Theosophist'' 51 no.17 (December, 1963): 295.</ref> [[Felix Layton]] and [[Eunice Layton]], lecturers known for their educational work around the world, arrived in 1977 and worked at Krotona until Felix died in 1991. Prominent Theosophists from all over the world have come to teach in the school, including [[Joy Mills]], [[Virginia Hanson]], [[Geoffrey Hodson]], and Shirley Nicholson. The current School Director, Maria Parisen, has provided a summary of activities. Bolding, spacing, and bracketed comments have been added for clarity:
<blockquote>
The Krotona School of Theosophy currently hosts 15-20 '''classes''' during six-week sessions September-May. Most are clearly theosophical in nature and taught by TS faculty, with an emphasis on active student participation. Classes are now usually hybrid, allowing classroom interaction with students on line. Sessions range from a single evening presentation to weekends and those ranging over several weeks.

A week-long intensive in partnership with the Kern Foundation '''Partners in Theosophy''' initiative is held annually in January. This invitational program, directed by Krotona resident Pablo Sender, prepares TS members for active service in the Society.

Every two years, a five day '''Secret Doctrine Forum''' brings together faculty and students from the TS and ULT [United Lodge of Theosophy].

Weekends in '''Spanish''' are offered in spring and fall, taught by local or international TS members. Class attendance overall averages around 25, recently ranging from 10-90.

Recently students from 25 states and 15 countries have participated, including from Ukraine and Russia.
'''Student scholarships''' are available for accommodations and/or tuition, with recipients helping in the school.

Our '''classroom''' is well-equipped with assistance from [[The Kern Foundation|the Kern Foundation]], and archival recordings are being digitized for additional future outreach.

The School is Krotona's hub for residents' regular potlucks and business meetings, student informal gatherings, special event planning, and for assisting other departments with advertising and materials design. Our student/faculty housing, consisting of comfortable apartments, is also perfect for TS members and groups on '''personal retreat''' along with Krotona's Guesthouse. Krotona School is managed and staffed completely by residents, all of whom give generously of their volunteer time, skills, insights, sense of humor and patience.<ref>Maria Parisen email to Janet Kerschner. March 28, 2024. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
</blockquote>
The faculty/student housing is shown on the left, with the Kern Guesthouse on the right.
{|style="margin: 0 auto;"
| [[File:Krotona housing.jpg|340px]] [[File:Kern Guest House and palm.JPG|290px]]
|}

[[File:OST Logo.png|right|160px|Thumb|OS logo]]
=== Online School of Theosophy ===

The '''Online School of Theosophy''' (OST) is a platform that offers self-paced educational courses built with interactive features and multimedia materials, linking to [https://theosophy.wiki/ Theosophy Wiki], YouTube, and other resources. Created as a cooperative effort between the [[Theosophical Society in America]] (TSA) and the [[Krotona Institute of Theosophy]], with the generous support of [[The Kern Foundation]], the OST began in 2018 and was launched during the 2019 Summer National Convention. More courses are being added all the time; now there are 25. As of January 2024, there were 2614 registered users from over 80 countries around the world.

== Features of Krotona ==

'''Krotona Hall''' provides space for lectures and meetings. The '''E.S. headquarters''' building is a house that was donated by Grace Duff Shaw, and houses administrative functions. Visitors seeking books can make purchases from a wide selection at '''Quest Bookshop'''.

The '''[[Krotona Library]]''' was one of the first buildings that went up in 1924. It houses a substantial collections of materials about Theosophy and related subjects for the use of staff and visitors. Lovely gardens provide a serene environment for meditation.

Krotona has also been home to various '''publishing''' activities, including Braille materials from the Theosophical Book Association for the Blind.

<gallery>
File:Hall door 2 .JPG|<center>Entrance to lecture hall</center>
File:Krotona library.jpg|<center>Krotona library building</center>
File:Krotona library entrance.jpg|<center>Krotona library entrance</center>
File:Bookshop 2.JPG|<center>Quest Bookshop</center>
File:Labyrinth at dusk.JPG|<center>Labyrinth at dusk</center>
File:Misty view to east.JPG|<center>Misty view to east</center>
File:View northwest from Krotona road in pm.JPG|<center>View to northwest</center>
File:Sanctuary young palm.JPG|<center>Sanctuary</center>
</gallery>

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===

The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Krotona+Institute&s=all 39 articles about the Krotona Institute of Theosophy]'''.

* '''[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/krotona-institute-theosophy Krotona Institute of Theosophy, The]''' in Theosophy World.
* '''[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/partners-theosophy Partners in Theosophy]''' in Theosophy World.
* '''[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-business/krotona-institute/ Krotona Institute]''' at Ojai Hub.
* '''[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-pilgrims/ Ojai Pilgrims]''' by Mark Lewis, posted December 19, 2019 at OjaiHub.

=== Books and pamphlets ===

For the most complete coverage of Krotona history, see the [https://www.krotonaarchive.com/Overview/KrotonaSeries Krotona Series] by Joseph E. Ross:
* Ross, Joseph E. '''''Krotona of Old Hollywood, 1866-1913'''''. Krotona series Volume 1. Montecito, Calif.: El Montecito Oaks Press, 1989.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''Krotona of Old Hollywood, 1914-1920'''''. Krotona series Volume 2. Montecito, Calif.: El Montecito Oaks Press, 2004.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''The New Krotona: From Hollywood to Ojai, 1921-1922'''''. Krotona series Volume 3. Montecito, Calif.: El Montecito Oaks Press, 2009.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''Krotona in the Ojai Valley, 1923-1926'''''. Krotona series Volume 4. Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''Krotona, Theosophy & Krishnamurti, 1927-1931'''''. Krotona series Volume 5. Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009.

Other books relevant to Krotona history:
* Mills, Joy Mills. '''''100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987.
* Vachet, Helene. '''''Taormina's Historic Past and Continuing Story: A Unique Spiritual Community in Ojai'''''. Minneapolis: MCP Books, 2016.

=== Audio ===

Many outstanding lectures have been recorded at Krotona over the years, and they are being made available on the Internet Archive at '''[https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Krotona%20Institute%20of%20Theosophy%22 Krotona Institute of Theosophy]'''.

=== Video ===

* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cZ6RAiHjJo Glimpses of Krotona]''''' by Richard A. Chesrow. 1953. This film, originally produced in 16 mm, captures activities at the Krotona School of Theosophy in 1953. Produced and Photographed by Dr. Richard A. Chesrow and narrated by Mrs. Ava Bowman, this film looks at the Krotona School of Theosophy in the early 1950's. Long sequences document the activities of the '''Theosophical Book Association for the Blind''' and the '''Round Table'''. The Theosophical Society in America was deeded this program as a gift from the estate of Dr. Richard A. Chesrow and, as such, holds the copyright to the program as of 2017. Posted on YouTube 22 June 2026.
* '''''[https://youtu.be/JdQQJq22Hko# The Krotona Experience: Krotona Institute and School of Theosophy]''''' by Steve Schweizer. Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Society in America, 2012. An overview of the Krotona Institute of Theosophy in Ojai, California.
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dascwq9YT9c Krotona Institute of Theosophy, Ojai, California, October 30, 2019'''''] by Rita Carbon. A visual tour of Krotona with music.
* ''''''[https://www.krotonainstitute.org/about/ A Theosophical Center in Ojai Since 1924]''''' in Krotona Institute of Theosophy website.
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lACSSEhAgvM&t=5s Krotona: An Enduring Vision]''''' by Steve Schweizer. A history of Krotona in Hollywood and Ojai, presented at the centennial celebration on April 21, 2024.

=== Websites ===
* '''[https://www.krotonainstitute.org/ Krotona Institute of Theosophy]'''
* '''[https://www.facebook.com/KrotonaInstituteofTheosophy/ Facebook]'''
* '''[https://study.theosophical.org/ Online School of Theosophy]'''

== Notes ==
<references/>
[[Category:Educational institutions and programs]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]

Krotona Institute of Theosophy

2026-06-23T14:09:42Z

SysopJ: /* Video */

[[File:Entrance sign.JPG|250px|right|thumb|Entrance to Krotona]]
The '''Krotona Institute of Theosophy''' is the headquarters of the [[Esoteric Section|Esoteric School of Theosophy]], also called the Esoteric Section, E.S. or E.S.T., for the United States and Canada. It is a residential spiritual community with a school, library, and bookshop intended to serve members of the Esoteric School and the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]], as well as the general public. The name Krotona was derived from the Crotona school of [[Pythagoras]]. The website is at '''[https://www.krotonainstitute.org/ https://www.krotonainstitute.org/]'''.

== History ==

President [[A. P. Warrington]] of the [[American Theosophical Society]] (now [[Theosophical Society in America]]) and his associates founded a spiritual center in Hollywood, California in 1912. He moved Society headquarters and book publishing from Chicago. Buildings sprang up on the new Krotona campus, to the great interest of local newspapers<ref>Newspaper clippings from the TSA Archives.</ref>, who often referred to it as the Krotona Colony. As the film industry grew and Hollywood boomed, Krotona's location site became less serene and more expensive to operate. The [[American Theosophical Society|American Theosophical Society's]] headquarters and publishing operations moved to a more central location in Chicago in 1920, under the guidance of new President [[L. W. Rogers]]. That left the American E.S. headquarters in Hollywood, along with the [[Order of the Star in the East]] and the [[Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross]].

See '''[[Krotona in Hollywood]]''' for more information about the Hollywood years of the Krotona Institute, from 1912-1924.

=== Locating in Ojai ===
[[File:Bon_voyage.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Warrington, Poutz, Nitya, Fritz, and Krishnamurti on shipboard]]
In 1922, Mr. Warrington traveled with [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]], his brother Jiddu Nityananda, [[Fritz Kunz]] and [[Marie Poutz]] from Australia to the United States. Krishnamurti and Nitya planned to continue by train and ship to Switzerland where a doctor would try to cure Nitya of his tuberculosis. Warrington suggested a side trip to Ojai, California:
<blockquote>
They traveled by train to Ventura and by automobile to Ojai, arriving on July 6. Warrington had arranged for them to share a rustic cottage amid the pine trees of the East End. They loved it, so much so that Besant arranged to buy the Pine Cottage for them, along with a nearby ranch house. (The brothers dubbed it Arya Vihara, Sanskrit for “Noble House.”) Alas, Nitya found no cure in Ojai; he would succumb to his disease within three years. But Krishnamurti would maintain a home here for the rest of his very long life.

With the future [[World Teacher]] now established in Ojai, Warrington decided that this was just the place for Krotona, too. In 1924 he moved the institute from Hollywood to a 118-acre ranch property atop a hill just south of Meiners Oaks. That set the stage for Besant herself, who came to Ojai in October 1926.''

Happy Valley remained undeveloped until the 1970s, but the Happy Valley Foundation never gave up on Besant’s vision. Today this property is host to the Besant Hill School of Happy Valley, the Beatrice Wood Center For the Arts, and the Ojai Foundation.<ref>[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-pilgrims/ Ojai Pilgrims] by Mark Lewis, posted December 19, 2019 at OjaiHub.</ref>
</blockquote>

Mr. Warrington had heard of Ojai through Theosophists Mary Gray, founder of the [[School of the Open Gate]], and [[Robert Kelsey Walton|Robert Walton]] of the [[Liberal Catholic Church]] in Hollywood. Both had built homes in Ojai, and actively lobbied for a move of Krotona from Hollywood to Ojai. Warrington purchased the 118-acre Kerfoot Ranch that is now called Krotona Hill. After some months he received permission from [[Annie Besant]] to move the E.S. center to the new location.

[[File:Initial Krotona staff.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Early staff at Krotona, Ojai]]

=== Early days in Ojai ===

George H. Hall was the general manager of Krotona in Ojai, as in Hollywood since 1920, and he asked [[Eugene Munson]] to be the superintendent on site from the earliest days of development in Ojai. The Munsons moved into the Kerfoot ranch house at first. In 1924 efforts focused on construction of the E.S. administration building, the library, several cottages, and infrastructure of roads, water tower, and garages. By the end of that year, the Munsons, Halls, and Marie Poutz had moved in. Mr. Warrington was in a sanatorium, recovering from illness. The following year, more roadways were made and landscaping began. More cottages were built, and Krotona Hall.

The photo at right shows early staff members Sarah Mayes, Mathilde Saizan, Maude Kimball, Marie Poutz, Mary Goldy, Billy Mayes, Eugene Munson, and Mattie Munson.

=== Annie Besant's first visit ===

In October, 1926, [[Annie Besant]] visited Krotona for the first time. As Outer Head of the [[Esoteric Section]], she had approved the move of Krotona Institute of Theosophy to Ojai, based primarily on the recommendation of Mr. Warrington. Complications of her political activities, legal matters, and her work as president of the international [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] had kept her from an earlier visit. In August she and [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]]
were present for the cornerstone ceremony in Wheaton, Illinois for the new headquarters of the [[American Theosophical Society]]. They arrived in Ojai in time to celebrate her birthday:
[[File:Krotona group on October 3, 1926.jpg|right|290px|thumb|Annie Besant on October 3, 1926]]
<blockquote>
October 1, in honor of Dr. Besant's 80th birthday, afternoon tea was served at Krotona to 150 to 200 friends. Standing on the veranda of the Krotona Library, Dr. Besant shared her first impressions of the Ojai Valley... Krishnaji also spoke about his first visit to the valley with his brother Nitya [in 1922]...<ref>Joseph E. Ross, ''Krotona in the Ojai Valley, 1923-1926''. Krotona series Volume 4. (Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009), 411.</ref>
</blockquote>
She met with Krotona's board about the future and welfare of the Ojai property. Among the attendees were [[A. P. Warrington]], [[Marie Poutz]], George and Grace Hall, [[Julia K. Sommer]], Max Wardall, Fred Hart, [[Eugene Munson]], and [[Irving S. Cooper]]. Among the questions considered was whether a motel should be built at the base of the hill as an income enterprise, and whether other organizations could be established at Krotona. Mrs. Besant firmly stated that no commercial enterprises should be there, as they would affect the atmosphere of the site. She declined to allow any masonic body or church on the Krotona property, but the Order of the Star in the East would be welcomed.<ref>Joseph E. Ross, ''Krotona in the Ojai Valley, 1923-1926''. Krotona series Volume 4. (Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009), 412-415.</ref>

Dr. Besant gave several public lectures attended by three thousand people. She left on a speaking tour, but returned to spend the winter in Ojai, leaving in April 1927. She was excited by the possibilities of the beautiful valley.

<blockquote>
Ojai, she announced, would become a model Theosophical community, dedicated to education, the arts, and general cultural uplift. To get the ball rolling, she purchased 465 acres in Upper Ojai, a property she dubbed Happy Valley. She created the Happy Valley Foundation to oversee its development.

She also bought 175 acres near Krotona, including an inviting oak grove suitable for public gatherings. Shrewdly, Besant also bought the local newspaper, The Ojai. Theosophists began flocking to the Ojai Valley, buying lots in the recently subdivided Meiners Oaks town site, or in the new Siete Robles subdivision east of downtown Ojai.<ref>[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-pilgrims/ Ojai Pilgrims] by Mark Lewis, posted December 19, 2019 at OjaiHub.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Philosophy and purpose ==
Krotona has been described in this way by its former Vice President, Hein van Beusekom:
<blockquote>
Krotona is the home of the central office of the Esoteric School of Theosophy in North America. The EST is an organization intended for those who are willing to make a special effort to live the theosophical life, which is a spiritual life having altruism as its keynote, and who are willing to accept certain ethical disciplines. The EST is open for those who have been a members of the Theosophical Society for at least two consecutive years, and who have demonstrated their willingness to work for Theosophy.

We reach out to the world through the Krotona School of Theosophy, Library and Quest Bookshop. The School offers an in-depth approach to the study of theosophical subjects, exploring the spiritual dimension as well as the intellectual. It is also a training center for members to prepare themselves to participate more fully in the Society 's work. Members are always welcome to come here for personal retreat or study.<ref>Hein van Beusekom, "Letter from Krotona Institute of Theosophy," ''The American Theosophist'' 80.4 (July/August 1992), 8-9.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[File:Krotona School of Theosophy.JPG|right|220px|thumb|Krotona School building]]

== Krotona School of Theosophy ==

One of the central activities of Krotona Institute of Theosophy has always been education. Until 1963, however, insufficient funding, financing, and housing greatly reduced educational activity. In 1958, [[The Kern Foundation]] improved the situation by donating the Kern guest houses for use of visitors. English Theosophists [[Laurence J. Bendit]] and [[Phoebe D. Bendit]] arrived in 1963 to reinvigorate the program, scheduling monthly public lectures, and seminars of three weekly meetings with discussion. Their efforts were highly successful.<ref>John A. Nimick, "Krotona Institute of Theosophy" ''The American Theosophist'' 51 no.17 (December, 1963): 295.</ref> [[Felix Layton]] and [[Eunice Layton]], lecturers known for their educational work around the world, arrived in 1977 and worked at Krotona until Felix died in 1991. Prominent Theosophists from all over the world have come to teach in the school, including [[Joy Mills]], [[Virginia Hanson]], [[Geoffrey Hodson]], and Shirley Nicholson. The current School Director, Maria Parisen, has provided a summary of activities. Bolding, spacing, and bracketed comments have been added for clarity:
<blockquote>
The Krotona School of Theosophy currently hosts 15-20 '''classes''' during six-week sessions September-May. Most are clearly theosophical in nature and taught by TS faculty, with an emphasis on active student participation. Classes are now usually hybrid, allowing classroom interaction with students on line. Sessions range from a single evening presentation to weekends and those ranging over several weeks.

A week-long intensive in partnership with the Kern Foundation '''Partners in Theosophy''' initiative is held annually in January. This invitational program, directed by Krotona resident Pablo Sender, prepares TS members for active service in the Society.

Every two years, a five day '''Secret Doctrine Forum''' brings together faculty and students from the TS and ULT [United Lodge of Theosophy].

Weekends in '''Spanish''' are offered in spring and fall, taught by local or international TS members. Class attendance overall averages around 25, recently ranging from 10-90.

Recently students from 25 states and 15 countries have participated, including from Ukraine and Russia.
'''Student scholarships''' are available for accommodations and/or tuition, with recipients helping in the school.

Our '''classroom''' is well-equipped with assistance from [[The Kern Foundation|the Kern Foundation]], and archival recordings are being digitized for additional future outreach.

The School is Krotona's hub for residents' regular potlucks and business meetings, student informal gatherings, special event planning, and for assisting other departments with advertising and materials design. Our student/faculty housing, consisting of comfortable apartments, is also perfect for TS members and groups on '''personal retreat''' along with Krotona's Guesthouse. Krotona School is managed and staffed completely by residents, all of whom give generously of their volunteer time, skills, insights, sense of humor and patience.<ref>Maria Parisen email to Janet Kerschner. March 28, 2024. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
</blockquote>
The faculty/student housing is shown on the left, with the Kern Guesthouse on the right.
{|style="margin: 0 auto;"
| [[File:Krotona housing.jpg|340px]] [[File:Kern Guest House and palm.JPG|290px]]
|}

[[File:OST Logo.png|right|160px|Thumb|OS logo]]
=== Online School of Theosophy ===

The '''Online School of Theosophy''' (OST) is a platform that offers self-paced educational courses built with interactive features and multimedia materials, linking to [https://theosophy.wiki/ Theosophy Wiki], YouTube, and other resources. Created as a cooperative effort between the [[Theosophical Society in America]] (TSA) and the [[Krotona Institute of Theosophy]], with the generous support of [[The Kern Foundation]], the OST began in 2018 and was launched during the 2019 Summer National Convention. More courses are being added all the time; now there are 25. As of January 2024, there were 2614 registered users from over 80 countries around the world.

== Features of Krotona ==

'''Krotona Hall''' provides space for lectures and meetings. The '''E.S. headquarters''' building is a house that was donated by Grace Duff Shaw, and houses administrative functions. Visitors seeking books can make purchases from a wide selection at '''Quest Bookshop'''.

The '''[[Krotona Library]]''' was one of the first buildings that went up in 1924. It houses a substantial collections of materials about Theosophy and related subjects for the use of staff and visitors. Lovely gardens provide a serene environment for meditation.

Krotona has also been home to various '''publishing''' activities, including Braille materials from the Theosophical Book Association for the Blind.

<gallery>
File:Hall door 2 .JPG|<center>Entrance to lecture hall</center>
File:Krotona library.jpg|<center>Krotona library building</center>
File:Krotona library entrance.jpg|<center>Krotona library entrance</center>
File:Bookshop 2.JPG|<center>Quest Bookshop</center>
File:Labyrinth at dusk.JPG|<center>Labyrinth at dusk</center>
File:Misty view to east.JPG|<center>Misty view to east</center>
File:View northwest from Krotona road in pm.JPG|<center>View to northwest</center>
File:Sanctuary young palm.JPG|<center>Sanctuary</center>
</gallery>

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===

The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Krotona+Institute&s=all 39 articles about the Krotona Institute of Theosophy]'''.

* '''[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/krotona-institute-theosophy Krotona Institute of Theosophy, The]''' in Theosophy World.
* '''[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/partners-theosophy Partners in Theosophy]''' in Theosophy World.
* '''[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-business/krotona-institute/ Krotona Institute]''' at Ojai Hub.
* '''[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-pilgrims/ Ojai Pilgrims]''' by Mark Lewis, posted December 19, 2019 at OjaiHub.

=== Books and pamphlets ===

For the most complete coverage of Krotona history, see the [https://www.krotonaarchive.com/Overview/KrotonaSeries Krotona Series] by Joseph E. Ross:
* Ross, Joseph E. '''''Krotona of Old Hollywood, 1866-1913'''''. Krotona series Volume 1. Montecito, Calif.: El Montecito Oaks Press, 1989.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''Krotona of Old Hollywood, 1914-1920'''''. Krotona series Volume 2. Montecito, Calif.: El Montecito Oaks Press, 2004.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''The New Krotona: From Hollywood to Ojai, 1921-1922'''''. Krotona series Volume 3. Montecito, Calif.: El Montecito Oaks Press, 2009.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''Krotona in the Ojai Valley, 1923-1926'''''. Krotona series Volume 4. Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''Krotona, Theosophy & Krishnamurti, 1927-1931'''''. Krotona series Volume 5. Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009.

Other books relevant to Krotona history:
* Mills, Joy Mills. '''''100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987.
* Vachet, Helene. '''''Taormina's Historic Past and Continuing Story: A Unique Spiritual Community in Ojai'''''. Minneapolis: MCP Books, 2016.

=== Audio ===

Many outstanding lectures have been recorded at Krotona over the years, and they are being made available on the Internet Archive at '''[https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Krotona%20Institute%20of%20Theosophy%22 Krotona Institute of Theosophy]'''.

=== Video ===

* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cZ6RAiHjJo Glimpses of Krotona]''''' by Richard A. Chesrow. 1953. This film, originally produced in 16 mm, captures activities at the Krotona School of Theosophy in 1953. Produced and Photographed by Dr. Richard A. Chesrow and narrated by Mrs. Ava Bowman, this film looks at the Krotona School of Theosophy in the early 1950's. A long sequence documents the activities of the '''Theosophical Book Association for the Blind'''. The Theosophical Society in America was deeded this program as a gift from the estate of Dr. Richard A. Chesrow and, as such, holds the copyright to the program as of 2017. Posted on YouTube 22 June 2026.
* '''''[https://youtu.be/JdQQJq22Hko# The Krotona Experience: Krotona Institute and School of Theosophy]''''' by Steve Schweizer. Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Society in America, 2012. An overview of the Krotona Institute of Theosophy in Ojai, California.
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dascwq9YT9c Krotona Institute of Theosophy, Ojai, California, October 30, 2019'''''] by Rita Carbon. A visual tour of Krotona with music.
* ''''''[https://www.krotonainstitute.org/about/ A Theosophical Center in Ojai Since 1924]''''' in Krotona Institute of Theosophy website.
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lACSSEhAgvM&t=5s Krotona: An Enduring Vision]''''' by Steve Schweizer. A history of Krotona in Hollywood and Ojai, presented at the centennial celebration on April 21, 2024.

=== Websites ===
* '''[https://www.krotonainstitute.org/ Krotona Institute of Theosophy]'''
* '''[https://www.facebook.com/KrotonaInstituteofTheosophy/ Facebook]'''
* '''[https://study.theosophical.org/ Online School of Theosophy]'''

== Notes ==
<references/>
[[Category:Educational institutions and programs]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]

Krotona Institute of Theosophy

2026-06-23T14:06:29Z

SysopJ: /* Video */

[[File:Entrance sign.JPG|250px|right|thumb|Entrance to Krotona]]
The '''Krotona Institute of Theosophy''' is the headquarters of the [[Esoteric Section|Esoteric School of Theosophy]], also called the Esoteric Section, E.S. or E.S.T., for the United States and Canada. It is a residential spiritual community with a school, library, and bookshop intended to serve members of the Esoteric School and the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]], as well as the general public. The name Krotona was derived from the Crotona school of [[Pythagoras]]. The website is at '''[https://www.krotonainstitute.org/ https://www.krotonainstitute.org/]'''.

== History ==

President [[A. P. Warrington]] of the [[American Theosophical Society]] (now [[Theosophical Society in America]]) and his associates founded a spiritual center in Hollywood, California in 1912. He moved Society headquarters and book publishing from Chicago. Buildings sprang up on the new Krotona campus, to the great interest of local newspapers<ref>Newspaper clippings from the TSA Archives.</ref>, who often referred to it as the Krotona Colony. As the film industry grew and Hollywood boomed, Krotona's location site became less serene and more expensive to operate. The [[American Theosophical Society|American Theosophical Society's]] headquarters and publishing operations moved to a more central location in Chicago in 1920, under the guidance of new President [[L. W. Rogers]]. That left the American E.S. headquarters in Hollywood, along with the [[Order of the Star in the East]] and the [[Order of the Temple of the Rosy Cross]].

See '''[[Krotona in Hollywood]]''' for more information about the Hollywood years of the Krotona Institute, from 1912-1924.

=== Locating in Ojai ===
[[File:Bon_voyage.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Warrington, Poutz, Nitya, Fritz, and Krishnamurti on shipboard]]
In 1922, Mr. Warrington traveled with [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]], his brother Jiddu Nityananda, [[Fritz Kunz]] and [[Marie Poutz]] from Australia to the United States. Krishnamurti and Nitya planned to continue by train and ship to Switzerland where a doctor would try to cure Nitya of his tuberculosis. Warrington suggested a side trip to Ojai, California:
<blockquote>
They traveled by train to Ventura and by automobile to Ojai, arriving on July 6. Warrington had arranged for them to share a rustic cottage amid the pine trees of the East End. They loved it, so much so that Besant arranged to buy the Pine Cottage for them, along with a nearby ranch house. (The brothers dubbed it Arya Vihara, Sanskrit for “Noble House.”) Alas, Nitya found no cure in Ojai; he would succumb to his disease within three years. But Krishnamurti would maintain a home here for the rest of his very long life.

With the future [[World Teacher]] now established in Ojai, Warrington decided that this was just the place for Krotona, too. In 1924 he moved the institute from Hollywood to a 118-acre ranch property atop a hill just south of Meiners Oaks. That set the stage for Besant herself, who came to Ojai in October 1926.''

Happy Valley remained undeveloped until the 1970s, but the Happy Valley Foundation never gave up on Besant’s vision. Today this property is host to the Besant Hill School of Happy Valley, the Beatrice Wood Center For the Arts, and the Ojai Foundation.<ref>[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-pilgrims/ Ojai Pilgrims] by Mark Lewis, posted December 19, 2019 at OjaiHub.</ref>
</blockquote>

Mr. Warrington had heard of Ojai through Theosophists Mary Gray, founder of the [[School of the Open Gate]], and [[Robert Kelsey Walton|Robert Walton]] of the [[Liberal Catholic Church]] in Hollywood. Both had built homes in Ojai, and actively lobbied for a move of Krotona from Hollywood to Ojai. Warrington purchased the 118-acre Kerfoot Ranch that is now called Krotona Hill. After some months he received permission from [[Annie Besant]] to move the E.S. center to the new location.

[[File:Initial Krotona staff.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Early staff at Krotona, Ojai]]

=== Early days in Ojai ===

George H. Hall was the general manager of Krotona in Ojai, as in Hollywood since 1920, and he asked [[Eugene Munson]] to be the superintendent on site from the earliest days of development in Ojai. The Munsons moved into the Kerfoot ranch house at first. In 1924 efforts focused on construction of the E.S. administration building, the library, several cottages, and infrastructure of roads, water tower, and garages. By the end of that year, the Munsons, Halls, and Marie Poutz had moved in. Mr. Warrington was in a sanatorium, recovering from illness. The following year, more roadways were made and landscaping began. More cottages were built, and Krotona Hall.

The photo at right shows early staff members Sarah Mayes, Mathilde Saizan, Maude Kimball, Marie Poutz, Mary Goldy, Billy Mayes, Eugene Munson, and Mattie Munson.

=== Annie Besant's first visit ===

In October, 1926, [[Annie Besant]] visited Krotona for the first time. As Outer Head of the [[Esoteric Section]], she had approved the move of Krotona Institute of Theosophy to Ojai, based primarily on the recommendation of Mr. Warrington. Complications of her political activities, legal matters, and her work as president of the international [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] had kept her from an earlier visit. In August she and [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]]
were present for the cornerstone ceremony in Wheaton, Illinois for the new headquarters of the [[American Theosophical Society]]. They arrived in Ojai in time to celebrate her birthday:
[[File:Krotona group on October 3, 1926.jpg|right|290px|thumb|Annie Besant on October 3, 1926]]
<blockquote>
October 1, in honor of Dr. Besant's 80th birthday, afternoon tea was served at Krotona to 150 to 200 friends. Standing on the veranda of the Krotona Library, Dr. Besant shared her first impressions of the Ojai Valley... Krishnaji also spoke about his first visit to the valley with his brother Nitya [in 1922]...<ref>Joseph E. Ross, ''Krotona in the Ojai Valley, 1923-1926''. Krotona series Volume 4. (Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009), 411.</ref>
</blockquote>
She met with Krotona's board about the future and welfare of the Ojai property. Among the attendees were [[A. P. Warrington]], [[Marie Poutz]], George and Grace Hall, [[Julia K. Sommer]], Max Wardall, Fred Hart, [[Eugene Munson]], and [[Irving S. Cooper]]. Among the questions considered was whether a motel should be built at the base of the hill as an income enterprise, and whether other organizations could be established at Krotona. Mrs. Besant firmly stated that no commercial enterprises should be there, as they would affect the atmosphere of the site. She declined to allow any masonic body or church on the Krotona property, but the Order of the Star in the East would be welcomed.<ref>Joseph E. Ross, ''Krotona in the Ojai Valley, 1923-1926''. Krotona series Volume 4. (Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009), 412-415.</ref>

Dr. Besant gave several public lectures attended by three thousand people. She left on a speaking tour, but returned to spend the winter in Ojai, leaving in April 1927. She was excited by the possibilities of the beautiful valley.

<blockquote>
Ojai, she announced, would become a model Theosophical community, dedicated to education, the arts, and general cultural uplift. To get the ball rolling, she purchased 465 acres in Upper Ojai, a property she dubbed Happy Valley. She created the Happy Valley Foundation to oversee its development.

She also bought 175 acres near Krotona, including an inviting oak grove suitable for public gatherings. Shrewdly, Besant also bought the local newspaper, The Ojai. Theosophists began flocking to the Ojai Valley, buying lots in the recently subdivided Meiners Oaks town site, or in the new Siete Robles subdivision east of downtown Ojai.<ref>[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-pilgrims/ Ojai Pilgrims] by Mark Lewis, posted December 19, 2019 at OjaiHub.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Philosophy and purpose ==
Krotona has been described in this way by its former Vice President, Hein van Beusekom:
<blockquote>
Krotona is the home of the central office of the Esoteric School of Theosophy in North America. The EST is an organization intended for those who are willing to make a special effort to live the theosophical life, which is a spiritual life having altruism as its keynote, and who are willing to accept certain ethical disciplines. The EST is open for those who have been a members of the Theosophical Society for at least two consecutive years, and who have demonstrated their willingness to work for Theosophy.

We reach out to the world through the Krotona School of Theosophy, Library and Quest Bookshop. The School offers an in-depth approach to the study of theosophical subjects, exploring the spiritual dimension as well as the intellectual. It is also a training center for members to prepare themselves to participate more fully in the Society 's work. Members are always welcome to come here for personal retreat or study.<ref>Hein van Beusekom, "Letter from Krotona Institute of Theosophy," ''The American Theosophist'' 80.4 (July/August 1992), 8-9.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[File:Krotona School of Theosophy.JPG|right|220px|thumb|Krotona School building]]

== Krotona School of Theosophy ==

One of the central activities of Krotona Institute of Theosophy has always been education. Until 1963, however, insufficient funding, financing, and housing greatly reduced educational activity. In 1958, [[The Kern Foundation]] improved the situation by donating the Kern guest houses for use of visitors. English Theosophists [[Laurence J. Bendit]] and [[Phoebe D. Bendit]] arrived in 1963 to reinvigorate the program, scheduling monthly public lectures, and seminars of three weekly meetings with discussion. Their efforts were highly successful.<ref>John A. Nimick, "Krotona Institute of Theosophy" ''The American Theosophist'' 51 no.17 (December, 1963): 295.</ref> [[Felix Layton]] and [[Eunice Layton]], lecturers known for their educational work around the world, arrived in 1977 and worked at Krotona until Felix died in 1991. Prominent Theosophists from all over the world have come to teach in the school, including [[Joy Mills]], [[Virginia Hanson]], [[Geoffrey Hodson]], and Shirley Nicholson. The current School Director, Maria Parisen, has provided a summary of activities. Bolding, spacing, and bracketed comments have been added for clarity:
<blockquote>
The Krotona School of Theosophy currently hosts 15-20 '''classes''' during six-week sessions September-May. Most are clearly theosophical in nature and taught by TS faculty, with an emphasis on active student participation. Classes are now usually hybrid, allowing classroom interaction with students on line. Sessions range from a single evening presentation to weekends and those ranging over several weeks.

A week-long intensive in partnership with the Kern Foundation '''Partners in Theosophy''' initiative is held annually in January. This invitational program, directed by Krotona resident Pablo Sender, prepares TS members for active service in the Society.

Every two years, a five day '''Secret Doctrine Forum''' brings together faculty and students from the TS and ULT [United Lodge of Theosophy].

Weekends in '''Spanish''' are offered in spring and fall, taught by local or international TS members. Class attendance overall averages around 25, recently ranging from 10-90.

Recently students from 25 states and 15 countries have participated, including from Ukraine and Russia.
'''Student scholarships''' are available for accommodations and/or tuition, with recipients helping in the school.

Our '''classroom''' is well-equipped with assistance from [[The Kern Foundation|the Kern Foundation]], and archival recordings are being digitized for additional future outreach.

The School is Krotona's hub for residents' regular potlucks and business meetings, student informal gatherings, special event planning, and for assisting other departments with advertising and materials design. Our student/faculty housing, consisting of comfortable apartments, is also perfect for TS members and groups on '''personal retreat''' along with Krotona's Guesthouse. Krotona School is managed and staffed completely by residents, all of whom give generously of their volunteer time, skills, insights, sense of humor and patience.<ref>Maria Parisen email to Janet Kerschner. March 28, 2024. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
</blockquote>
The faculty/student housing is shown on the left, with the Kern Guesthouse on the right.
{|style="margin: 0 auto;"
| [[File:Krotona housing.jpg|340px]] [[File:Kern Guest House and palm.JPG|290px]]
|}

[[File:OST Logo.png|right|160px|Thumb|OS logo]]
=== Online School of Theosophy ===

The '''Online School of Theosophy''' (OST) is a platform that offers self-paced educational courses built with interactive features and multimedia materials, linking to [https://theosophy.wiki/ Theosophy Wiki], YouTube, and other resources. Created as a cooperative effort between the [[Theosophical Society in America]] (TSA) and the [[Krotona Institute of Theosophy]], with the generous support of [[The Kern Foundation]], the OST began in 2018 and was launched during the 2019 Summer National Convention. More courses are being added all the time; now there are 25. As of January 2024, there were 2614 registered users from over 80 countries around the world.

== Features of Krotona ==

'''Krotona Hall''' provides space for lectures and meetings. The '''E.S. headquarters''' building is a house that was donated by Grace Duff Shaw, and houses administrative functions. Visitors seeking books can make purchases from a wide selection at '''Quest Bookshop'''.

The '''[[Krotona Library]]''' was one of the first buildings that went up in 1924. It houses a substantial collections of materials about Theosophy and related subjects for the use of staff and visitors. Lovely gardens provide a serene environment for meditation.

Krotona has also been home to various '''publishing''' activities, including Braille materials from the Theosophical Book Association for the Blind.

<gallery>
File:Hall door 2 .JPG|<center>Entrance to lecture hall</center>
File:Krotona library.jpg|<center>Krotona library building</center>
File:Krotona library entrance.jpg|<center>Krotona library entrance</center>
File:Bookshop 2.JPG|<center>Quest Bookshop</center>
File:Labyrinth at dusk.JPG|<center>Labyrinth at dusk</center>
File:Misty view to east.JPG|<center>Misty view to east</center>
File:View northwest from Krotona road in pm.JPG|<center>View to northwest</center>
File:Sanctuary young palm.JPG|<center>Sanctuary</center>
</gallery>

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===

The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Krotona+Institute&s=all 39 articles about the Krotona Institute of Theosophy]'''.

* '''[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/krotona-institute-theosophy Krotona Institute of Theosophy, The]''' in Theosophy World.
* '''[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/partners-theosophy Partners in Theosophy]''' in Theosophy World.
* '''[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-business/krotona-institute/ Krotona Institute]''' at Ojai Hub.
* '''[https://www.ojaihub.com/ojai-pilgrims/ Ojai Pilgrims]''' by Mark Lewis, posted December 19, 2019 at OjaiHub.

=== Books and pamphlets ===

For the most complete coverage of Krotona history, see the [https://www.krotonaarchive.com/Overview/KrotonaSeries Krotona Series] by Joseph E. Ross:
* Ross, Joseph E. '''''Krotona of Old Hollywood, 1866-1913'''''. Krotona series Volume 1. Montecito, Calif.: El Montecito Oaks Press, 1989.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''Krotona of Old Hollywood, 1914-1920'''''. Krotona series Volume 2. Montecito, Calif.: El Montecito Oaks Press, 2004.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''The New Krotona: From Hollywood to Ojai, 1921-1922'''''. Krotona series Volume 3. Montecito, Calif.: El Montecito Oaks Press, 2009.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''Krotona in the Ojai Valley, 1923-1926'''''. Krotona series Volume 4. Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009.
* Ross, Joseph E '''''Krotona, Theosophy & Krishnamurti, 1927-1931'''''. Krotona series Volume 5. Ojai, Calif.: Ojai Printing & Publishing Co., 2009.

Other books relevant to Krotona history:
* Mills, Joy Mills. '''''100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987.
* Vachet, Helene. '''''Taormina's Historic Past and Continuing Story: A Unique Spiritual Community in Ojai'''''. Minneapolis: MCP Books, 2016.

=== Audio ===

Many outstanding lectures have been recorded at Krotona over the years, and they are being made available on the Internet Archive at '''[https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Krotona%20Institute%20of%20Theosophy%22 Krotona Institute of Theosophy]'''.

=== Video ===

* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cZ6RAiHjJo Glimpses of Krotona]''''' by Richard A. Chesrow. 1953. This film, originally produced in 16 mm, captures activities at the Krotona School of Theosophy in 1953. Produced and Photographed by Dr. Richard A. Chesrow and narrated by Mrs. Ava Bowman, this film looks at the Krotona School of Theosophy in the early 1950's. The Theosophical Society in America was deeded this program as a gift from the estate of Dr. Richard A. Chesrow and, as such, holds the copyright to the program as of 2017. Posted on YouTube 22 June 2026.
* '''''[https://youtu.be/JdQQJq22Hko# The Krotona Experience: Krotona Institute and School of Theosophy]''''' by Steve Schweizer. Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Society in America, 2012. An overview of the Krotona Institute of Theosophy in Ojai, California.
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dascwq9YT9c Krotona Institute of Theosophy, Ojai, California, October 30, 2019'''''] by Rita Carbon. A visual tour of Krotona with music.
* ''''''[https://www.krotonainstitute.org/about/ A Theosophical Center in Ojai Since 1924]''''' in Krotona Institute of Theosophy website.
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lACSSEhAgvM&t=5s Krotona: An Enduring Vision]''''' by Steve Schweizer. A history of Krotona in Hollywood and Ojai, presented at the centennial celebration on April 21, 2024.

=== Websites ===
* '''[https://www.krotonainstitute.org/ Krotona Institute of Theosophy]'''
* '''[https://www.facebook.com/KrotonaInstituteofTheosophy/ Facebook]'''
* '''[https://study.theosophical.org/ Online School of Theosophy]'''

== Notes ==
<references/>
[[Category:Educational institutions and programs]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]

Theosophical Society (Adyar)

2026-06-23T13:55:40Z

SysopJ: /* Video */

UNDER CONSTRUCTION 
UNDER CONSTRUCTION 

[[File:Adyar viewed over river.jpg|360px|right|thumb|Adyar Theosophical Society Headquarters]]
The '''Theosophical Society''' based in Adyar, Chennai, India, is an international organization dedicated to the principles of [[Theosophy]]. More information is available on its [http://www.ts-adyar.org/ website].

== History ==
[[File:TS incorporation.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Incorporation, April 3, 1905]]
The [[Theosophical Society]] was [[Founding of the Theosophical Society|formed]] at New York on [[November 17]], 1875 by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]], [[Henry Steel Olcott]], [[William Quan Judge]], and other founders. On [[April 3]], 1905, it was incorporated at Chennai (Madras). Today the International TS has members in almost 70 countries around the world.

The Society was influential in the founding of many later esoteric movements, a number of which were founded by former TS members. Some notable cases are Dr. Gerard Encausse (Papus), founder of the modern Martinist Order; William W. Westcott, co-founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; Max Heindel, founder of The Rosicrucian Fellowship; Alice Bailey, founder of the Arcane School; [[Rudolf Steiner]], founder of the Anthroposophical Society; the Russian painter [[Nicholas Roerich]] and his wife Helena, founders of the Agni Yoga Society; Guy and Edna Ballard, founders of the "I AM Movement"; among others.

== Three Declared Objects ==

No acceptance of particular beliefs or practices is required to join The Theosophical Society. All in sympathy with its [[Objects of the Theosophical Society|three declared Objects]] are welcomed as members, which are:
 
 
:*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 unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in man.
 
These three Objects form the foundation for the work of the Theosophical Society. However, they can be interpreted on many levels. Dr. John Algeo, former president of the TS in America, wrote: “The Objects of the Theosophical Society, like all great statements, can be understood in more than one way.” For additional information, see [[Objects of the Theosophical Society]] and [[Universal Brotherhood]].

== Freedom of Thought ==

Any person in sympathy with the three Objects can join the Theosophical Society. The Society maintains the right of individual freedom of thought for every member, and nobody is asked to give up the teachings of their own faith, if they have any. To ensure this right, the General Council of The Theosophical Society passed the following resolution in 1924:

<blockquote>As the Theosophical Society has spread far and wide over the world, and as members of all religions have become members of it without surrendering the special dogmas, teachings and beliefs of their respective faiths, it is thought desirable to emphasize the fact that there is no doctrine, no opinion, by whomsoever taught or held, that is in any way binding on any member of the Society, none which any member is not free to accept or reject. Approval of its three Objects is the sole condition of membership. No teacher, or writer, from H.P. Blavatsky onwards, has any authority to impose his or her teachings or opinions on members. Every member has an equal right to follow any school of thought, but has no right to force the choice on any other. Neither a candidate for any office nor any voter can be rendered ineligible to stand or to vote, because of any opinion held, or because of membership in any school of thought. Opinions or beliefs neither bestow privileges nor inflict penalties. The Members of the General Council earnestly request every member of the Theosophical Society to maintain, defend and act upon these fundamental principles of the Society, and also fearlessly to exercise the right of liberty of thought and of expression thereof, within the limits of courtesy and consideration for others.</blockquote>

== Freedom of the Society ==

As every individual member of the Society is free to hold his (or her) own views and beliefs, and to follow their own practices, no one can impose their particular views or aims on the Society, which has its own declared Objects. To ensure this freedom of the organization, the General Council of The Theosophical Society passed the following resolution in 1949:

<blockquote>The Theosophical Society, while cooperating with all other bodies whose aims and activities make such cooperation possible, is and must remain an organisation entirely independent of them, not committed to any objects save its own, and intent on developing its own work on the broadest and most inclusive lines, so as to move towards its own goal as indicated in and by the pursuit of those objects and that Divine Wisdom which in the abstract is implicit in the title, The Theosophical Society. Since Universal Brotherhood and the Wisdom are undefined and unlimited, and since there is complete freedom for each and every member of the Society in thought and action, the Society seeks ever to maintain its own distinctive and unique character by remaining free of affiliation or identification with any other organisation.</blockquote>

== Organization and leadership ==

The TS is governed by the General Council that meets annually at the [[Adyar (campus)|headquarters]]. Officers include a president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. The General Council includes the General Secretary of each national section, plus some at-large and emeritus members.

These are the presidents since the 1875 [[Founding of the Theosophical Society|founding]] of the Society:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Term of Office
! President
|-
| 1875–1906
| [[Henry Steel Olcott]]
|-
| 1907–1933
| [[Annie Besant]]
|-
| 1933–1945
| [[George S. Arundale]]
|-
| 1945–1953
| [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa]]
|-
| 1953–1973
| [[Nilakanta Sri Ram]]
|-
| 1973–1979
| [[John B. S. Coats]]
|-
| 1980–2013
| [[Radha Burnier]]
|-
| 2014– present
| [[Tim Boyd]]
|}

== Headquarters ==

== Activities and programs ==

=== Annual convention ===

Each year in December, the Society holds its annual convention. The [[General Council]] meets, and members from around the world gather to hear excellent lecturers.

=== School of the Wisdom ===

=== Holidays and other celebrations ===

=== Walking the campus ===

The grounds are open twice daily for residents of Chennai who register as "walkers." In this way, members of the general public can enjoy the beauty and serenity of the campus.

== Publications ==

The Theosophical Society publishes books, periodicals, pamphlets, and reports through its publishing arm, [[Theosophical Publishing House (Adyar)|Theosophical Publishing House]], and the [[Vasanta Press]]. The official journal of the organization is '''[[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']]'''.

Each year the Society produces an '''[[General Reports of the Theosophical Society|General Report of the Theosophical Society]]''' that provides a statement by the President, financial statements, reports from each of the national sections, and other information. A copy is sent to the General Secretary of each national section and to other members of the [[General Council]], but this publication is not sold to the general public.

== Affiliated organizations ==
'''UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 
'''UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 
The great energy and wide-ranging interests of Theosophists has led to the creation of numerous organizations.

=== Directly affiliated ===

These organizations were founded by TS members, and are part of the fabric of the Theosophical Society as a whole. Most are separate legal entities such as not-for-profit corporations, and as such are subject to local or national regulation. Governance may be in the form of boards or committees; officers, staff members, and other participants are predominantly members of the Society.

* National sections of the Society
* Regional federations of sections
* Retreat centers and camps
* Lodges or branches affiliated directly rather than through national sections
* Publishing houses
* Groups supporting services offered at the Adyar headquarters:
** Baby Welcome
** Dispensary
**
* [[Esoteric Section|Esoteric School (Esoteric Section)]]
* [[Order of the Brothers of Service]]
* [[Theosophical Order of Service]]
* Theosophical Book Association for the Blind
* Theosophical Book Gift Institute
*
*

=== Indirectly affiliated ===

These organizations came into being through the efforts of TS members, but have missions, membership, and organizational structures that are completely separate from the Society.

* [[Society for the Promotion of National Education]]
* [[Young Men's Indian Association]]
* [[Order of the Star in the East]]
* [[Liberal Catholic Church]]
* Beauty Without Cruelty
* [[Bhārata Samāj]]
*

== Additional resources ==

=== Books and pamphlets ===
* Jinarajadasa, C. (1925). '''''The Golden book of the Theosophical Society: a brief history of the Society's growth from 1875-1955'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Published for the General Council of the Theosophical Society by the Theosophical Publishing House. xviii + 421 pp.; 1 folded leaf of plates; illustrations; 24 cm. Available at [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.237732 Internet Archive].

=== Articles ===
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/his/rules.htm# Rules and Regulations of the Theosophical Society (1905)] at Katinkahesselink.net
*[http://www.ts-adyar.org/content/early-history# Early History of the Theosophical Society] by International Headquarters of the TS (Adyar)
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/AwakeningInnerSelfAbdill.pdf# Awakening the Inner Self] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/lift-high-the-torch Lift High the Torch] by John Algeo
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/viewpoint-on-being-eclectic On Being Eclectic] by John Algeo
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/theosophys-most-holy-and-important-mission Theosophy's Most Holy and Important Mission] by John Algeo
*[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/articles/a-unique-spiritual-heritage-historical-review-of-the-theosophical-society-from-1875-1907 A Unique Spiritual Heritage] by Mary Anderson
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No151.pdf# The Future of the Theosophical Society] by Annie Besant
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No43.pdf# The Inner Purpose of the Theosophical Society] by Annie Besant
*[http://theosophy.katinkahesselink.net/radha-burnier/faq.htm# Answers to some questions about membership of the TS] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.ts-adyar.org/sites/default/files/pdf/Theosophist/Theosophist%201988/The%20Essential%20Work%20of%20the%20TS.pdf# The Essential Work of the Theosophical Society] by Radha Burnier
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/thinking-aloud-strength-or-weakness Strength or Weakness?] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/Burnier-aim-theosophy.html# What is our Aim?] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/NeutralityoftheTS.pdf# The Neutrality of the Theosophical Society] by Sidney Cook
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/his/chronol.htm# Theosophical Chronology] Compiled by Katinka Hesselink
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/when-you-are-one-with-every-heart-that-beats When You Are One with Every Heart That Beats] by Pedro and Linda Oliveira
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/RealWorkTS.pdf# The Real Work of the Theosophical Society] by N. Sri Ram
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/presidents-international Presidents, International] in Theosophy World

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=CC0BD2C6-C73B-4112-8A0F-E003C3AC7F6D# A Historical Look at the Theosophical Movement] by John Cooper
*[https://ia903101.us.archive.org/20/items/exploringnewdirections/Exploring%20New%20Directions.mp3# Exploring New Directions: A Panel Discussion] by Bing Escudero, Maria Parisen, and Roger Gemme

===Video===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4f7v2A4d6g Glimpses of Adyar] by Richard Chesrow. Produced and Photographed by Dr. Richard A. Chesrow, this silent film from 1950 looks at the 75th international convention of the Theosophical Society celebrating its Double Diamond Jubilee. The Theosophical Society in America was deeded this program as a gift from the estate of Dr. Richard A. Chesrow and, as such, holds the copyright to the program as of 2017. Posted on YouTube on 22 June 2026.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piiSJus4-S8 Mainstreaming Theosophy] by Vicente Hao Chin
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=6C8B1CBC-5802-4533-B3F3-29100F811D4B# Seven Presidents, Seven Eras: The Changing Face of Theosophy (6 Parts)] by Robert Ellwood and Joy Mills
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYk7f0zAvuM The Dawning of the Theosophical Age] by Michael Gomes
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5KDCzXNS6w Manifest Destiny: Theosophical History as Spiritual Narrative] by Michael Gomes
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTsdNWNLuzk Adyar: Home of the Theosophical Society Documentary] by Steve Schweizer
*[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG1SpKaIIjNqk39aC1A6hjA YouTube channel] of lectures given at Adyar

=== Bibliographies ===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/TheosophicalSociety.pdf# Bibliography on The Theosophical Society] at the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]]
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/TheosophicalHistory.pdf# Bibliography on Theosophical History] at the Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Organizations]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]

[[ru:Теософское общество (Адьяр)]]

Adyar (campus)

2026-06-23T13:54:50Z

SysopJ: /* Video */

'''Adyar''' is the name by which the headquarters estate of the [[Theosophical Society]] has been known since 1882.
[[File:Adyar view across river.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Headquarters viewed across Adyar River]]

== History ==
=== Purchase of the estate ===
On [[April 23]], 1882, [[Founders#"The Founders"|the Founders]], [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] and [[Henry Steel Olcott]], arrived by ship at Madras, where they met [[T. Subba Row]], Judge [[G. Muthuswamy Chetty]] and his sons [[G. Soobiah Chetty]] and [[G. Narasimhulu Chetty]], [[Ragunath Row]], among others.

''The Madras Times'' of April 24 or 25, 1882, describes their arrival as follows"

<blockquote>
THEOSOPHISM AT MADRAS. — Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott, the well-known founders of the Theosophical Society in Bombay, arrived at Madras on Sunday morning at nine o'clock. In anticipation of their arrival, the natives assembled, and made arrangements to give their visitors a formal reception at five o'clock in the evening. Accordingly, at the hour fixed, the native community mustered strong at the pier, among whom were the Hon'ble Rajah Gajapathi Row, the Dewan Bahadur Ragunatha Row, and several leading members and merchants of the community. Boats went out to meet the steamer, the one destined for the visitors tastefully decorated. After an interchange of compliments and much cheering, the visitors were ushered into a saloon carriage, afterwards to a carriage and four, and driven to the residence fitted up for them. . . . The Deputy Inspector of Schools read the following address: ”We, the undersigned, who entertain great respect for you, welcome you to the capital of Southern India. We need hardly express our appreciation of your valuable services for our country, and we trust that your advent here will be a means of placing within our reach the advantages afforded for investigating the mysteries of nature and psychical powers latent in man".<ref>A Sketch of the Theosophic Organization at http://hpb.narod.ru/SketchTheosophicOrganization.htm</ref>
</blockquote>

While the Founders were there, the [[Madras Theosophical Society]] was formed, and the idea of moving the Headquarters from Bombay to Madras (previously suggested by G. Soobiah Chetty) was discussed at a meeting.

[[File:Huddlestones Gardens.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Huddlestone's Gardens]]
On [[May 31]] the Chetty brothers took them to see a piece of property they recommended as the new headquarters site for the [[Theosophical Society]]: the "Huddlestone's Gardens". The Huddlestone family had been granted some property south of the Adyar River in the late 1780s, on which they built a country or "garden" house. But now the twenty-seven-acre property, containing a large house, two cottages, and other facilities, was on sale.

When the Founders saw the Huddlestone's Gardens [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] declared "Master wants this purchased". [[Henry Steel Olcott|Col. Olcott]] wrote that "at first glance [we] knew that our future home was found".

The Society had not enough funds to purchase the property but the necessary sum was advanced by a devoted member, [[P. Iyaloo Naidu]]. Then, a circular to collect donations from members was issued. On [[November 17]], exactly seven years after the founding of the [[Theosophical Society]], the final balance of Rs. 7,000 was paid by Judge G. Muthuswamy Chetty. This completed the sale and the title to the property passed to the Society.<ref>Adele Algeo, "Blavatsky at Adyar--From her Letters", The Theosophist 129:9 (June 2008),340.</ref>

On [[December 17]] the Founders left Bombay by train heading for Adyar, accompanied by the [[Emma Coulomb|Emma]] and [[Alexis Coulomb]], [[Damodar K. Mavalankar|Damodar]], [[Gwala K. Deb|"Mr. Deb"]], Dora Swami Naidu, and five Hindu servants. They arrived on the [[December 19|19th]]. On [[January 14]], 1883, Col. Olcott issued a circular regarding how Adyar was bought and paid for.

=== Growth of the estate ===
By the fiftieth anniversary of the [[Theosophical Society]], the Adyar headquarters had grown substantially. In 1908 she purchased the Blavatsky Gardens from the Prince of Arcot. More acquisitions followed: ['''bold''' emphasis added]:

<blockquote>
When [[Annie Besant|Mrs. Besant]] became President [in 1907], the Society owned 27 acres [11 hectares]. By the end of 1911, she had increased the Adyar Estate to 253 acres [102 hectares]. This was done by purchasing the properties which are now known as '''Blavatsky Gardens''', '''Olcott Gardens''', '''Besant Gardens''', '''Damodar Gardens''', and '''Besant Grove'''. '''Alsace Grove''' was added in 1910. At her appeal, members sent contributions to pay for the enlargement of the Society's estate, while she herself out of her earnings gave repeatedly large sums to the Society's budget. Many members have given not only donations in money but buildings also, to enable the work of the Society to be done more efficiently. B. Ranga Reddy gave '''Bhojansala'''; A Schwarz, Damodar Gardens; J. R. Aria, Besant Grove; and Charles Harvey, both '''Leadbeater Chambers''' and the new building of the '''Theosophical Publishing House'''. A Laundry and a Dairy were established, as also an electrical Power House to generate electricity for the estate.<ref>C. Jinarajadasa, ''The Golden Book of the Theosophical Society (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925), 172.</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Besant Grove ===

In 1909, early in the presidency of [[Annie Besant]], she accepted the gift of land that was named Besant Grove:
<blockquote>
JUST before leaving Adyar I received a very nice parting present. A friend, who withholds his name, purchased the plot of land of about twenty acres which occupies the corner where the Adyar river runs into the sea, being bounded thus on two sides by water, and which has as its southern boundary Olcott Gardens and as its western Blavatsky Gardens. This plot he has presented to me, labelling it Besant Grove. I have accepted it, in order to hand it over to the Theosophical Society, and it forms a very valuable addition to the Headquarters' property, completing the parallelo gram marked out by river, sea, and high-roads.<ref>Annie Besant, "On the Watch-Tower" ''The Theosophist'' 30.9 (June, 1909), 267.</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Incorporation into Madras ===

In 1946, during the administration of [[George S. Arundale|George S. Arundale]],

<blockquote>
A revolutionary change had taken place in the material affairs of Headquarters, Adyar, for in April it was incorporated into the Municipality of Madras. Being listed as a religious body the Society had paid few taxes, now every one of the sixty-six buildings, except the shrines of religions and the rooms of Dr. Besant, was to be taxed, also land not yet built upon. There was little to gain by being part of the Corporation, as Headquarters had its own water supply and obtained electric current in bulk from a company in Madras.<ref>Josephine Ransom, ''The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Book of the Theosophical Society: A Short History of the Society's Growth from 1926-1950'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1950), 174.</ref>
</blockquote>

He had to appeal to members and the national sections for more funds to cover the increased expenses.

== Adyar as an administrative center ==
'''THIS SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 
'''THIS SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 
=== Headquarters Building ===
<gallery widths="130px" heights="150px" perrow="5">
File:M 0087 - Judge sketch, 1884 .jpg|<center>1884 sketch by W. Q. Judge</center>
File:L 0152 - Judge sketch of Adyar HQ 1884.jpg|<center>1884 sketch by W. Q. Judge</center>
File:M 0088 - Judge sketch of HS TQ 1884.jpg|<center>1884 sketch by W. Q. Judge</center>
</gallery>

=== Administration Building ===

Annie Besant laid the cornerstone for the Administration Building on [[July 27]], 1913. This building provides office space for the International Secretary of the Society.

=== Vasanṭā Press ===

The [[Vasanṭā Press]] was established in 1909 by [[Annie Besant]].

<blockquote>
The Press Building was duly opened on April 15, 1909, with a slight, but pleasant ceremony. All the working people, headed by the Superintendent, and the residents in Headquarters, gathered in front of the doors of the large central room, and with a few words the President declared it open, throwing wide the doors and presenting the keys to the Superintendent. The whole company then walked round the hall, in the centre of which a typecase was placed as symbol. Flowers, fruits and sweets were distributed, two fires fires were lighted and camphor offered and burned, and the President announced that an extra day's pay would be given to each worker. It is interesting to note that even the small boys have a sense of the value and dignity of their work, "spreading knowledge over India." [The boys worked as typesetters.]<ref>"Notes" ''The Theosophic Messenger'' 10 no.10 (July, 1909): 474. Quoted from ''The Adyar Bulletin''.</ref>
</blockquote> It moved to its current location in 1968. The press prints books, pamphlets, and other publications produced by the [[Theosophical Publishing House (Adyar)|Theosophical Publishing House]], the [[Adyar Library and Research Centre]], and allied organizations.

=== Editorial Office for ''The Theosophist'' ===

IN 1913, the name of the "Theosophist Office" was changed to "T.P.H." and a new T.P.H Building was presented by C. R. Harvey.<ref>C. Jinarajadasa. ''The Golden Book of the Theosophical Society: A Brief History of the Society's Growth from 1875-1925'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing Co., 1925.), 235.</ref>

[[File:Leadbeater Chambers, new.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Leadbeater Chambers]]
=== Leadbeater Chambers ===

=== Blavatsky Bungalow ===

=== Bookstore ===

<gallery widths="130px" heights="150px" perrow="5">
File:Headquarters Building 1.JPG|<center>Headquarters Building</center>
File:Administration Building.jpg|<center>Administration Building</center>
File:Editorial Office.jpg|<center>Editorial Office</center>
File:Blavatsky Bungalow 1949.jpg|<center>Blavatsky Bungalow, 1949</center>
</gallery>

=== Maintenance Department ===

=== Garden Department ===

=== Child Welfare Centre ===

=== Animal Welfare ===

== Adyar as a spiritual center ==

Adyar is the spiritual center of the Theosophical Society. Members visit this center to offer service, to study, to attend classes and meetings, and to conduct personal retreats. To some the opportunity to spend time at Adyar is essentially a pilgrimage.

[[Annie Besant|Dr. Annie Besant]], the second international President of the Theosophical Society, referred to Adyar, as a '''"Flaming Centre"'''<ref>Josephine Ransom, ''The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Book of the Theosophical Society: a Short History of the Society's Growth from 1926-1950''. Adyar, India: Theosopohical Pub. House, 1950. "Flaming Centre" phrase is mentioned on page 484 as having appeared in February 1931 in an ES publication.</ref><ref>Annie Besant, "On the Watch-Tower" ''The Theosophist'' v52 (June 1931), 201. AB refers to the work at Adyar as a "flaming fire."</ref> from which the Powers of Wisdom and Compassion radiate their benevolent influences to the world. T. S President [[Nilakanta Sri Ram]] wrote of this:
<blockquote>
Dr Besant, our late President, wanted Adyar to be a Flaming Centre. But what kind of a flame? Again, I would say that it should be the flame of the deep, cool spaces, that each one metaphorically holds within himself, the flame that creates beauty, not ostentatiously but in a natural course, that creates music of the heart, a music which is one with its silence. Does not music, when it is divine, seem to melt into and become one with the silence of the heart which is receptive to the music?

Every one who is here at Adyar, or who wants to help the theosophical movement anywhere, should learn to live from his depths, not only realizing but becoming the very expression of the truths we call Theosophy. He should express them in his life, his relationships, his speech and all his little actions. That is one thing which [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|Brother Leadbeater]] taught those around him, that one can live a truly beautiful, spiritual life, even attending to the simple duties of one’s daily routine.<ref>N. Sri Ram, "On Adyar" reprinted in [http://www.singaporelodge.org/2019_february_news.htm Singapore Lodge newsletter] February 2019 from ''The Theosophist'' in March 1956.</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Esoteric Section ===

The [[Esoteric Section]] maintains private archives and the Shrine Room in the Headquarters Building. The Shrine Room was built in 1902.<ref>C. Jinarajadasa. ''The Golden Book of the Theosophical Society: A Brief History of the Society's Growth from 1875-1925'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing Co., 1925.), 232.</ref> While it is a separate organization from the Theosophical Society, its headquarters have been in Adyar for many decades and all E. S. members must be T. S. members in good standing. E. S. members are sincere students committed to a regimen of study, service, meditation, and lifestyle disciplines in order to achieve progress on their spiritual paths and to serve humanity. It is through the E. S. that Dr. Besant aspired to make Adyar into a "Flaming Centre."

=== Temples and shrines ===

Over the years,the Theosophical Society has tried to make its headquarters a welcoming place for people of all religions. Places of worship have been built to accommodate the spiritual needs of many communities.
[[File:Adyar Synagogue cornerstone.png|right|350px|thumb|Adyar Synagogue cornerstone, 1925]]
* Bharata Samaj Hindu Temple – cornerstone laid on May 1, 1921; consecrated by [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] on December 21, 1925. A centenary celebration, puja, and tree planting took place on May 1, 1921, and video is available on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ia325G9zg YouTube].
* [[Buddhist Shrine (Adyar)|Buddhist Temple]] – planned in 1883, and completed in 1925.
* Jain Temple
* Sikh Temple
* St. Michael and All Saints Liberal Catholic Church – dedicated at the 1937 convention.
* Mosque – dedicated at the 1937 convention.
* Zoroastrian Temple, constructed in mid 1920s.
* Jewish Synagogue – foundation laid in 1925, but the building was never completed.<ref>Annie Besant, "To Hebrew Theosophists" ''The Messenger'' 14.6 (November, 1926), 128.</ref>
* Masonic Temple – foundation laid in December, 1908; consecrated early in 1909.<ref>"Notes" ''The Theosophic Messenger'' 10 no10 (July, 1909): 474.</ref>
* Star Building, dedicated on January 17, 1913 for the use of the [[Order of the Star in the East]].

<gallery widths="130px" heights="150px" perrow="5">
File:Bharata_Samaj_Temple_Adyar.jpg|<center>Bharata Samaj Hindu Temple</center>
File:Buddhist_Shrine_(Adyar).jpg|<center>Buddhist Temple</center>
File:Sikh Shrine.JPG|<center>Sikh Shrine</center>
File:St Michael LCC.jpg|<center>Liberal Catholic Church</center>
File:Adyar Mosque front view.jpg|<center>Mosque</center>
File:Adyar Zoroastrian Temple.jpg|<center>Zoroastrian Temple</center>
File:Adyar Masonic Temple .jpg|<center>Masonic Temple</center>
</gallery>

=== Religious and spiritual events and rituals ===

[[File:H_S_Olcott_in_Adyar_Library.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Col. Olcott in Adyar Library]]

== Adyar as a place for study ==

When the [[Adyar Library and Research Centre]] was established by [[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel Olcott]] in 1886, local pandits began working with ancient palm leaf texts that he had collected; the work of transcribing and translating the Sanskrit and Pāli documents continues to this day. In the early days, housing was limited, living conditions were challenging, and few non-Indian members visited Adyar.

By 1925, that had changed:
<blockquote>
During [[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel Olcott's]] time, Adyar was not intended to be a place for students, but only for the few workers necessary for the administration of the Society. Mrs. Besant made special arrangements for the accommodation of such students as cared to come, for one or more years, both to study and to help in the work. This necessitated the erection of special students' quarters, and there are the present Bhojansala, Indian Quadrangle and Leadbeater Chambers.<ref>C. Jinarajadasa, ''The Golden Book of the Theosophical Society (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925), 172.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Clara Codd]] was one of the students who spent time studying at Adyar in 1910-1911, preparing for her career as a Theosophical lecturer. Adyar became a place to learn [[Theosophy]] and how to disseminate it.

=== Adyar Library and Research Centre ===

The [[Adyar Library and Research Centre]] maintains a collection of over 250,000 printed volumes and around 20,000 palm leaf manuscripts from India, Sri Lanka, China, and other places, along with historical maps and important runs of periodicals. Scholars from around the world visit Adyar to research the history of the Theosophical Movement and many other fields of study.

[[File:The Messenger at Adyar Museum.jpeg|right|240px|thumb|The Messenger at Adyar Museum, 2025]]
=== Archives and Museum ===

=== School of the Wisdom ===

The [[School of the Wisdom]] was inaugurated by President [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa|Jinarājadāsa]] on [[November 17]], 1949. It offers annual courses in [[Theosophy]] to advanced students.

== Social and educational services ==
=== Olcott Memorial School ===

The [[Olcott Memorial School]] was started by Col. [[Henry Steel Olcott]] in the year 1894 to empower economically disadvantaged children through the provision of free education. It was upgraded to the level of a High School in the year 1975, and in 2013 it was upgraded to further to the level of a Higher Secondary School (up to Class XII).

=== HPB Hostel ===

Provides a home for over 25 boys who are in need. They are students of the Olcott Memorial School.

=== Social Welfare Centre ===

The Social Welfare Centre takes care of around 100 infants, with free nutrition, clothes, pre-school training, and other services.

=== Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary ===

The dispensary is an outreach program for animal welfare run by the Theosophical Society in Besant Nagar, Chennai since about 1990; it was previously run by the Blue Cross of India beginning in 1965. The facility, also known as '''BMAD''', provides treatment to injured animals, and vaccinations are available. Abandoned animals are treated free of charge. Dogs, cats, sheep, goats, hens, and even bats have been served.

A renovation took place in 2017 to increase capacity and implement modern technology. Now the shelter can accommodate 150 dogs and 60 cats, and has an updated operating theater and ambulance.<ref>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/revamped-animal-hosp-in-adyar-cheers-pet-owners/articleshow/58250149.cms "Revamped animal hospital in Adyar cheers pet owners"] in ''The Times of India''. April 18, 2017. Accessed November 20,2019.</ref> Photos and videos are available on its '''[https://www.facebook.com/besantmemorialanimaldispensary/ Facebook page]''' and on an '''[https://www.instagram.com/besantmemorialanimaldispensary/?fbclid=IwAR2aUxEEnKo9VVFAE1npYK_s7khkxL2Clon-YAiqhm1kAo2_Xc6xXJwVRS8 Instagram]''' page that facilitates adoptions and donations. In a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36mK7OCqB60&t=8s YouTube interview], animal activist Shravan Krishnan talks about the '''wildlife center''' that has been established within the dispensary.<ref>"Interview with Shravan Krishnan - Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary" posted by the European School of Theosophy following a livestream on 18 September 2021. Animal activist Shravan Krishnan was interviewed by Erica Georgiades.</ref>

=== Besant Scout Training Centre ===

A campground and training facility for Boy Scouts was inaugurated in 1934 and named in honor of [[Annie Besant]], who helped to establish Boy Scouting in India. See also '''[[Boy Scout Movement and Theosophical Movement]]'''.

=== Adyar Theosophical Academy ===

In 2019, during the administration of [[Tim Boyd]], the '''[[Adyar Theosophical Academy]]''' was established, based on the philosophy and pedagogy of the '''Golden Link College''' in The Philippines.

== Features of the grounds ==

=== 1925 map ===

When [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa|Mr. Jinarājadāsa]] published '''''The Golden Book of the Theosophical Society''''' in 1925 to celebrate the Society's golden anniversary, he included this map:
{|style="margin: 0 auto;"
| [[File:Adyar map, 1925.jpg|700px ]]
|}

=== Trilithon Portals ===
[[File:Trilithon near west gate.JPG|right|300px|thumb|First Trilithon]]
Five carved stone gateways occupy prominent positions at Adyar. Colonel Olcott expressed his thanks at the 1905 Convention to:
<blockquote>
Pandits G. Krishna Shastri, K. Desikacharya, T. P. Prasramacharya, and C. Raghunathacharya for securing the gateways from the ancient ruined temple in the Arcot District and to Mr. T. Srinivas Ayengar for valuable help in carrying out the really stupendous task of getting the stones transported from that locality to Adyar without accident... An idea of the difficulties to surmount will be gathered from the fact that the two great columns of our present entrance gate, the Gate of Lions (''Sinha Dvaram'', in Sanskrit) weigh between six and seven tons each, and that they had to be removed from their plinths and transported a distance of four miles over a bad road and across the dried beds of two rivers to the railway station.<ref>H. S. Olcott, "President's Address" ''The Theosophist'' 27 (December, 1905), 2.</ref>
</blockquote>

* '''First Trilithon''' - The first gateway, called the "Gate of Lions," is at the '''main entrance'''.<ref>H. S. Olcott, "President's Address, 2.</ref> It was donated by Colonel Olcott.<ref>H. S. Olcott, "Note on the 30th Convention" ''The Theosophist'' 27 (December, 1905), 76.</ref> At the bases of the columns "H.P.B." is carved on one side, and "H.S.O." on the other.

* '''Second Trilithon''' - Prince [[Harisinghji Rupsinghji]] "donated in the name of his wife the second 'Trilithon,' which is '''west of the Headquarters Hall''' at Adyar."<ref>C. Jinarajadasa, ''Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Second Series'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925), 146.</ref>

* '''Third Trilithon''' - In 1905, [[José Xifré|Don José Xifré]] financed the carved stone '''gateway to the Vasantapuram village'''.<ref>''The International Theosophical Year Book 1938'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1938): 223.</ref> Colonel Olcott acted as his agent in the installation, because Sr. Xifré was in Madrid.<ref>W. A. English, "Monthly Financial statement" Supplement to ''The Theosophist'' 27 (December, 1905), xx.</ref>
<blockquote>
Our Thirtieth Anniversary... occurred on the seventeenth of last month [November], and on that day a perpetual memorial of the fortuitous event was erected in these grounds in the form of the majestic carved granite portal which stands at the mouth of the Avenue of Palms which leads from the now completed library building to the Indian village..."<ref>H. S. Olcott, "President's Address" ''The Theosophist'' 27 (December, 1905), 2.</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Vasantapuram ===

This Indian village was named "as a token of brotherly love to [[Annie Besant]], who has done so much to make known to the world the treasures of Aryan literature and the claims of the Aryan race to the love and homage of mankind."<ref>H. S. Olcott, "President's Address" ''The Theosophist'' 27 (December, 1905), 1-2.</ref> the name "Besant" was known as "Vasanta" in Tamil.

[[File:Dalai_Lama_at_tea_party_1959.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Dalai Lama under banyan tree]]

=== Banyan Tree ===
The enormous and venerable banyan tree has long been recognized as one of the largest of its species. It is estimated to be about 500 years old.

Many notable events have taken place under its branches, with as many as 3000 people sitting in the shade. On December 20, 1959, [[N. Sri Ram|Mr. N. Sri Ram]] entertained His Holiness [[Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama]] with a high tea attended by over 200 guests.<ref>Caroline Tess, "The Banyan Tree at Adyar" ''The Theosophist'' 81.6 (June 1960), 172.</ref>
</blockquote>

Unfortunately, the health of the banyan has been declining in recent years.
<gallery widths="160px" heights="150px" perrow="3">
File:Banyan tree 1.jpg|<center>Banyan tree, 1930s</center>
File:Banyan tree 1960.jpg|<center>Banyan tree, 1960</center>
File:Banyan tree sign.jpg|<center>Banyan tree sign, 2015</center>
</gallery>

=== Garden of Remembrance ===

On September 20, 1935, during the [[Diamond Jubilee Convention|Diamond Jubilee]] year of the Theosophical Society, the '''[[Garden of Remembrance at Adyar|Garden of Remembrance]]''' was dedicated. It was built on the site where a cornerstone had been laid in 1917 for Suryashrama ("the house of the sun"), which was intended to be the home of the [[Theosophical Order of Service#History|Order of Brothers of Service]]. This is the site of cremations of several Theosophical Society presidents, and is where ashes are buried. The central structure is a six-pointed star comprised of the two interlacing triangles featured in the [[Theosophical Seal|emblem]] of the Society.<ref>See [https://veludharan.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-garden-of-remembrance-theosophical.html this blog] for photos.</ref>

=== Gardens ===

Beautiful trees and flowering plants are found throughout the Adyar estate. Many members have brought plants from other continents to add variety to the gardens.

From the earliest days, various crops have contributed to the income of the estate and the diet of the staff. Coconuts, mangoes, jackfruit and other fruits continue to be grown. For a time, there was a rice paddy. In 1952, [[Sidney A. Cook|Mr. Cook]] wrote, "Once again the Society has grown on its estate India's finest paddy (rice) crop, a spectacular yield per acre of 3,850 pounds of very superior grade. Experiments are in progress to bring about further improvement. This yield comes from careful election of seed and thorough tilling by the still primitive bullock-drawn ploughs in suitable soil."<ref>"Sidney A. Cook, "Adyar Administrative Notes," ''The American Theosophist'' 40.5 (May, 1 952), 86.</ref>
<gallery widths="140px" heights="140px" perrow="15">
File:Garden Dept work area.jpg|<center>Garden Department</center>
File:Cannonball tree.jpg|<center>Cannonball tree</center>
File:Baobab tree.jpg|<center>Baobab tree</center>
File:Flowers at Leadbeater Chambers.JPG|<center>Flowers at Leadbeater Chambers</center>
File:White lotus.JPG|<center>White lotus</center>
File:Cattle in palm grove.jpg<center>Cattle in palm grove</center>

</gallery>

[[File:Path to the beach.JPG|right|280px|thumb|Path along Adyar River to the beach]]
=== Adyar River and beach ===
[[File:Adyar Beach.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Elliot's Beach]]
The Adyar River forms the north boundary of the Adyar estate. It flows eastward into the Bay of Bengal, although a sand bar often blocks the mouth of the river. Residents at Adyar often swam in the river and in the bay until recent decades, when huge population growth in Chennai led to pollution. Elliot's Beach (or Elliot Beach) along the bay is home to a fishing village. It was along that stretch of beach that [[Charles Webster Leadbeater]] first encountered [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]].
 
 
 

== Additional resources==

=== Books and pamphlets ===

These books contain history, descriptions, various photographs, maps and plans of the Adyar TS Estate in India. Thanks to Daniel H. Caldwell for compiling this list.

* Groves, C. R. (1950).''''' Adyar'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House. xvi + 119 pp.; 40 pp. of plates; illustrations; 17 x 12 cm.

* Jinarajadasa, C. (1925). '''''The Golden book of the Theosophical Society: a brief history of the Society's growth from 1875-1955'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Published for the General Council of the Theosophical Society by the Theosophical Publishing House. xviii + 421 pp.; 1 folded leaf of plates; illustrations; 24 cm. Available at [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.237732 Internet Archive].

* Krishnamurti, J., & Leadbeater, C. W. (1911). '''''Adyar, the home of the Theosophical Society'''''. Views taken expressly by Alcyone (J. Krishnamurti) with descriptive letterpress by C. W. Leadbeater. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophist Office. 9 pp.; mostly illustrations; plans, folded map; 20 x 25 cm.

* Neff, M. K. (1999). '''''Adyar: historical notes and features up to 1934'''''. Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House. 2nd ed. ix + 54 pp.; 18 cm. [1st ed. published in 1934 with title "A guide to Adyar".]

* Neff, M. K. (1934). '''''A guide to Adyar'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House. vi + 36 pp.; illustrations; 25 cm.

* Perkins, J. S. (1965). '''''Adyar: the international headquarters of the Theosophical Society'''''. Adyar, Madras, India, Theosophical Publishing House. 26 pp.; illustrations; 21 cm.

* Rama Rao, N. S. (1926). '''''Adyar, the international headquarters of the Theosophical Society: to commemorate Adyar Day 17 Feb 1926'''''. Adyar, India, Ojai Publishing Co. 20 pp.; illustrations; 21 cm.

* Theosophical Publishing House. (1999). '''''Adyar: the international headquarters of the Theosophical Society'''''. Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House. 36 pp.; colored illustrations; 26 cm.

=== Articles ===
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/chettyodl.htm# "Old Diary Leaves" (on the purchase of the Estate)] by G. Subbiah Chetty
*[http://www.singaporelodge.org/2019_february_news.htm "On Adyar"] by N. Sri Ram. Reprinted in the February 2019 Newsletter of the Singapore Lodge from the original printed in ''The Theosophist'', March, 1956.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/harvey-charles Harvey, Charles] in Theosophy World. Donated generously to build Leadbeater Chambers and other buildings.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/adyar-international-headquarters Adyar International Headquarters] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/banyan-tree Banyan Tree] in Theosophy World.

=== Video ===
* [https://youtu.be/kTsdNWNLuzk# Adyar: Home of the Theosophical Society] by Steve Schweizer (Documentary)
* [https://youtu.be/y9w6iJNSYuI# A Tour of Adyar] by Tim Boyd.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4f7v2A4d6g Glimpses of Adyar] by Richard Chesrow. Produced and Photographed by Dr. Richard A. Chesrow, this silent film from 1950 looks at the 75th international convention of the Theosophical Society celebrating its Double Diamond Jubilee. The Theosophical Society in America was deeded this program as a gift from the estate of Dr. Richard A. Chesrow and, as such, holds the copyright to the program as of 2017. Posted on YouTube on 22 June 2026.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59ia325G9zg Bharata Samaja Puja at TS Adyar Centenary of foundation stone laying of the temple]. May 1, 2021.

=== Photo collections ===
* [http://hpb.narod.ru/adyar/adyar.htm# Photos from Adyar].
* [http://ts-adyar.org# Official TS Adyar website] has albums of birds, flowers, insects, buildings, and pathways.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]

[[es:Adyar (campus)]]

The Key to Theosophy (book)

2026-06-22T21:34:59Z

SysopJ: /* Editions */

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Key to Theosophy'' (book)}}
 
 
 
'''''The Key to Theosophy''''' is a book published in 1889 by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] to introduce readers to [[Theosophy]] and the [[Theosophical Society]] in an accessible question-and-answer format.

== Writing and publication ==

The cost of publication was paid by an American, Edward Parker.

== Appendix to 1889 edition ==

A two-page appendix on '''"The Legal Status of the Theosophical Society"''' was contributed by an American judge from St. Louis, '''Augustus W. Alexander'''. The document was subtitled:
<blockquote>
The following Official Report, on which was granted a Decree of Incorporation to the St. Louis Theosophical Society, is an important document, as putting on record the view taken of the Theosophical Society – after a careful examination of witnesses on oath – by an American Court of Law.<ref>Augustus W. Alexander. "The Legal Status of the Theosophical Society." Appendix to [https://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/blavatsky_the_key_to_theosophy_1889.pdf ''The Key to Theosophy''] by H. P. Blavatsky. (London and New York: Theosophical Publishing Company, 1889), 309-310.</ref>
</blockquote>

Judge Alexander filed an ''amicus curiae'' brief making the case that incorporating under the statutory phrase "society formed for religious purposes" does not apply only to an organization established to practice a religion, but to one such as the Theosophical Society that encourages a study of religions. He wrote, "To teach religions is educational, not religious." The Theosophical Society in St. Louis was consequently able to incorporate.

== Editions ==

1889 edition:
* [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-hp.htm Theosophical University Press] - digitized text
* [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/keytotheosophy.html Universal Theosophy] - digitized text with corrected spelling of foreign terms [in progress]
* [http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/aKEY.htm ULT Phoenix] - digitized text
* [http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/blavatsky_the_key_to_theosophy_1889.pdf Blavatsky Archives] - PDF scanned from original

1890 Second Edition:

* '''[https://blavatskyarchives.com/key2ed.pdf Blavatsky Archives website]''' provides a facsimile PDF. This is the definitive edition, with a 60-page glossary prepared by HPB personally.

2006 edition:
* [http://www.theosophytrust.org/Online_Books/The_Key_to_Theosophy_V1.5.pdf Theosophy Trust] - searchable PDF

== Reviews ==

=== Mohandas Gandhi ===

[[Mohandas K. Gandhi]] spoke of ''The Key to Theosophy'' in his autobiography:
:"This book stimulated in me the desire to read books on Hinduism, and disabused me of the notion fostered by the missionaries that Hinduism was rife with superstition."<ref>[http://www.mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org/autobio/chap20.htm Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, Chapter 20]</ref>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.wisdomworld.org/additional/StudiesInTheOceanOfTheosophy/index.html# Notes on ''The Key to Theosophy'' (20-part series)] at WisdomWorld.org
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/key-theosophy Key to Theosophy, The] in Theosophy World

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=00D29EF0-ED72-49F4-B2C3-AB62246F4330# The Key to Theosophy (7 parts)] by John Algeo and Anton Lysy

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=3B9AE5C8-BED2-428B-90E5-44EAD406FA80# Studies in the Key to Theosophy (2 Parts)] by Ralph Hannon

== Notes ==
<references/>
[[Category:Books|Key to Theosophy, The]]

The Key to Theosophy (book)

2026-06-22T21:32:51Z

SysopJ: /* Editions */

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Key to Theosophy'' (book)}}
 
 
 
'''''The Key to Theosophy''''' is a book published in 1889 by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] to introduce readers to [[Theosophy]] and the [[Theosophical Society]] in an accessible question-and-answer format.

== Writing and publication ==

The cost of publication was paid by an American, Edward Parker.

== Appendix to 1889 edition ==

A two-page appendix on '''"The Legal Status of the Theosophical Society"''' was contributed by an American judge from St. Louis, '''Augustus W. Alexander'''. The document was subtitled:
<blockquote>
The following Official Report, on which was granted a Decree of Incorporation to the St. Louis Theosophical Society, is an important document, as putting on record the view taken of the Theosophical Society – after a careful examination of witnesses on oath – by an American Court of Law.<ref>Augustus W. Alexander. "The Legal Status of the Theosophical Society." Appendix to [https://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/blavatsky_the_key_to_theosophy_1889.pdf ''The Key to Theosophy''] by H. P. Blavatsky. (London and New York: Theosophical Publishing Company, 1889), 309-310.</ref>
</blockquote>

Judge Alexander filed an ''amicus curiae'' brief making the case that incorporating under the statutory phrase "society formed for religious purposes" does not apply only to an organization established to practice a religion, but to one such as the Theosophical Society that encourages a study of religions. He wrote, "To teach religions is educational, not religious." The Theosophical Society in St. Louis was consequently able to incorporate.

== Editions ==

1889 edition:
* [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-hp.htm Theosophical University Press] - digitized text
* [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/keytotheosophy.html Universal Theosophy] - digitized text with corrected spelling of foreign terms [in progress]
* [http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/aKEY.htm ULT Phoenix] - digitized text
* [http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/blavatsky_the_key_to_theosophy_1889.pdf Blavatsky Archives] - PDF scanned from original

2006 edition:
* [http://www.theosophytrust.org/Online_Books/The_Key_to_Theosophy_V1.5.pdf Theosophy Trust] - searchable PDF

For a facsimile PDF of the Second Edition, see '''[https://blavatskyarchives.com/key2ed.pdf Blavatsky Archives website]'''. This is the definitive edition, with a 60-page glossary prepared by HPB personally.

== Reviews ==

=== Mohandas Gandhi ===

[[Mohandas K. Gandhi]] spoke of ''The Key to Theosophy'' in his autobiography:
:"This book stimulated in me the desire to read books on Hinduism, and disabused me of the notion fostered by the missionaries that Hinduism was rife with superstition."<ref>[http://www.mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org/autobio/chap20.htm Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, Chapter 20]</ref>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.wisdomworld.org/additional/StudiesInTheOceanOfTheosophy/index.html# Notes on ''The Key to Theosophy'' (20-part series)] at WisdomWorld.org
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/key-theosophy Key to Theosophy, The] in Theosophy World

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=00D29EF0-ED72-49F4-B2C3-AB62246F4330# The Key to Theosophy (7 parts)] by John Algeo and Anton Lysy

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=3B9AE5C8-BED2-428B-90E5-44EAD406FA80# Studies in the Key to Theosophy (2 Parts)] by Ralph Hannon

== Notes ==
<references/>
[[Category:Books|Key to Theosophy, The]]

The Voice of the Silence (book)

2026-06-22T21:32:09Z

SysopJ:

'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''
 
'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''
 
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Voice of the Silence'' (book)}}
[[File:HPB - Voice of Silence (cover, pol).JPG|220px|right|thumb|Polish edition]]
'''''The Voice of the Silence''''' was written by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] in the later months of 1889. It is considered to be one of the great classics of [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature.

== History ==

== Structure and contents ==

== Reviews and commentary ==

=== D. T. Suzuki ===

[[D. T. Suzuki|Dr. D. T. Suzuki]] wrote: "Undoubtedly [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Madame Blavatsky]] had in some way been initiated into the deeper side of Mahayana teaching and then gave out what she deemed wise to the Western world..."<ref>''Eastern Buddhist'', old series, 5:377.</ref> He also commented: "Here is the real Mahayana Buddhism."<ref>''The Middle Way'' (August 1965), 90.</ref><ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Theosophy#Voice_of_the_Silence# Buddhism and Theosophy] at Wikipedia.</ref>

=== Dalai Lama ===

H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has been quoted: "I believe that his book (The Voice of the Silence by HPB) has strongly influenced many sincere seekers and aspirants to the wisdom and compassion of the Bodhisattva Path."<ref>Students of Theosophy, Estudiantes de Teosofia, Élèves de Theosophie Facebook page. December 27, 2016.</ref>

=== B. T. Chang ===

B. T. Chang, interpreter and one of the secretaries to the Tashi Lama, wrote:

:"Having appended a Chinese note to the end of this book, I am further requested by the editors to write a few lines in English. I deem it an honour and a privilege to do so, and offer herewith a recapitulation of what I have set forth in Chinese.

:Since its translation into English from the Tibetan by Madame H. P. Blavatsky, in 1890, this little book, the gem of Buddhist teachings, as enjoyed a wide circulation among Europeans and American interested in Buddhism. There is, therefore, little need for me to recommend it to foreign readers, except to point out that what is embodied in it comprises a part of the teachings of the Esoteric School.

:What strikes me most in the opening chapter is the sentence: "The Mind" - i.e., the Lower Mind - "is the Great Slayer of the Real. Let the Disciple slay the Slayer." These are the words that sound the keynote of the Buddha's teachings. Time and again the Buddha commands his disciples to suppress the activities of the Lower Mind for the benefit of the Higher Self, because anything and everything in the exterior Universe consists of nothing but sense-impressions created by one's Lower Mind, which is apt to lead the aspirant astray. The disciple should not seek truth elsewhere, but should try to find it within himself. He will then be able to hear the Voice of the Silence or, in the language of the Chinese Buddhists, the "Divine Voice of the Self". Traditions says that Avalokiteshwara attained the state of a Bodhisattwa after hearing the Divine Voice of the Self. This doctrine is greatly revered by the Chinese, who got it from the Sanskrit.

:Madame Blavatsky had a profound knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, and the doctrines she promulgated were those of many great teachers. This book is like a call to men to forsake desire, dispel every evil thought, and enter the true Path. In Fragment II the passage which likens the Mind to a mirror sounds exactly like what is stated in the Chuan Têng Lu, a Chinese Buddhist work of renown. This allegory also may have its own origin in some Sanskrit work, from which it found its way into both Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist works; or, more probably, the Tibetans have derived it from a Chinese source.

:In this materialistic world the majority of people, especially Europeans and American, always absurdly regard Buddhism as a system of philosophy which advocates nothing but passivity and inactivity. A perusal of this book will certainly dispel such mistaken notions from the minds of even the most skeptical.

:It has been suggested to me that for the benefit of the Chinese Buddhist, this work should be translated into Chinese. I quite agree with this idea, but pressure of work has hitherto prevented me from writing more than these few lines. Although they form an inadequate recognition of the merit of the book, I offer them because of my great reverence for its teachings; and I hope to be able to undertake the translation at some future time.

:Peking (Beijing), July, 1927

:B. T. Chang

== Editions ==

This book has been published in numerous editions and languages.

=== Online versions ===

* [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/voice/voice.htm 1889 edition in HTML format] from Theosophical University Press.
* [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/voiceofthesilence.html Universal Theosophy edition with corrected spelling of foreign terms.]
* [http://www.theosophytrust.org/Online_Books/Voice_of_the_Silence_V1.4.pdf Theosophy Trust].
* ULT Phoenix [http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/Avoice%20of.htm 1889 edition in HTML format] from PHX-ULT-Lodge.org.
* [http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/avoice.htm 1924 edition in HTML format] from PHX-ULT-Lodge.org.
* [http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/blavatsky__the_voice_of_the_silence_1889.pdf 1889 edition as PDF replica] from BlavatskyArchives.com.
* [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20The%20Voice%20of%20the%20Silence Teopedia] offers several editions.

== Additional resources ==

===Articles===

The Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals lists [https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Voice+Silence&s=all over 180 articles about ''The Voice of the Silence'']. The following articles come from various sources:

* [http://www.anandgholap.net/Voice_Of_Silence-Commentary-AB_CWL.htm# ''Talks on the Path of Occultism Volume II - The Voice of the Silence''] by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, at AnandGholap.net.
* [https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/selfstudy/Sample-VOS.pdf# ''Introductory Study Notes On "The Voice of the Silence"''] by Gaile V. Campbell. Theosophical Society in America Education Department, 1969, 2008.
* [http://hpb.narod.ru/voiceSilenceComments.htm# "Comments on ''The Voice of the Silence''"] by Clara Codd. From Canadian Theosophical Association.
* [http://www.easterntradition.org/article/Voice%20of%20the%20Silence%20-%20Bringing%20the%20Heart%20Doctrine%20to%20the%20West.pdf# "The Voice of the Silence: Bringing the Heart Doctrine to the West"] by Nancy Reigle. This was presented at The Works and Influence of H. P. Blavatsky Conference, held in Edmonton, Alberta, July 3-5, 1998. It was published in ''The Works and Influence of H. P. Blavatsky: Conference Papers'', Edmonton: Edmonton Theosophical Society, 1999, pp. 106-112; and reprinted in ''Blavatsky’s Secret Books: Twenty Years’ Research'', by David Reigle and Nancy Reigle, San Diego: Wizards Bookshelf, 1999, pp. 139-148. This online edition is published by Eastern Tradition Research Institute, 2004.
* [http://theosophy.org/Other%20or%20Uncertain/Studies%20in%20the%20Voice%20of%20the%20Silence%20(Wadia)/studies%20in%20voice_in.htm# "Studies in ''The Voice of the Silence''"] by B. P. Wadia. From ''The Theosophical Movement'' Vol. X (October, 1940), 189-91.
* [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/mary-magdalene-and-the-voice-of-the-silence Mary Magdalene and The Voice of the Silence] by Carol N. Ward.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/voice-silence Voice of the Silence, The] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/book-golden-precepts Book of the Golden Precepts, The] in Theosophy World.
* [https://archive.org/details/voiceofsilence0000hpbl/ ''The Voice of the Silence'': Introduction, Notes, and Index] by Arya Asanga (aka [[A. J. Hamerster]]). Published in the 1939, 1944, and 1959 Adyar editions

=== Books ===
* A Brother Server. '''''An Offering to the Voice of the Silence: V.R.S.''''' Los Angeles: Theosophical Publishing House (Krotona), 1918. 59 pages. Reprinted Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Press, 1964. The author was Vida Reed-Stone.
* Rohit Mehta. '''''[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/books/CreativeSilence/TheCreativeSilence.pdf The Creative Silence: Reflections on the Voice of the Silence]'''''. Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1957.

=== Study courses ===

* [https://theosophy.world/resource/introductory-study-notes-voice-silence "Introductory Study Notes on The Voice of the Silence"] by Gaile V Campbell. Theosophical Society in America, 2008. Second edition. Available from Theosophy World.

=== Audio ===
* [http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=F47A7560-2436-11D7-A532-0002B34FFCC4# The Voice of the Silence] by H. P. Blavatsky, narrated by Paul Meier. Professional actor Paul Meier recites passages from The Voice of the Silence, a spiritual guidebook intended to provide guidance for living and inner development written by H. P. Blavatsky. Theosophical Society in America, 1997.
* [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_01.mp3# The Voice of the Silence Part 1], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_02.mp3# Part 2], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_03.mp3# Part 3], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_04.mp3# Part 4], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_05.mp3# Part 5], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_06.mp3# Part 6], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_07.mp3# Part 7], by John Algeo
* [https://archive.org/details/voiceofthesilenceurban The Voice of the Silence] by Vonda Urban. Theosophical Society in America, 1992.

=== Video ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA7G1CQdSgE&list=PLrbyJv4tUQSQC3R4u06V2_O93LoGOMf6N# The Voice of the Silence (4 Talks)] by Pablo Sender.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6QvlR9WDnY The Voice of the Silence: A Manual for Mystics] by Erica Georgiades. Streamed live on May 31, 2020 at the European School of Theosophy.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lzAisk4a88 The Voice of the Silence] by David Bruce. Presented in 2020 at the Theosophical Society in America.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Books|Voice of the Silence, The]]

The Voice of the Silence (book)

2026-06-22T21:31:02Z

SysopJ: /* Online versions */

'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''
 
'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''
 
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Voice of the Silence'' (book)}}
[[File:HPB - Voice of Silence (cover, pol).JPG|220px|right|thumb|Polish edition]]
'''''The Voice of the Silence''''' was written by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] in the later months of 1889. It is considered to be one of the great classics of [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature.

== History ==

== Structure and contents ==

== Reviews and commentary ==

=== D. T. Suzuki ===

[[D. T. Suzuki|Dr. D. T. Suzuki]] wrote: "Undoubtedly [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Madame Blavatsky]] had in some way been initiated into the deeper side of Mahayana teaching and then gave out what she deemed wise to the Western world..."<ref>''Eastern Buddhist'', old series, 5:377.</ref> He also commented: "Here is the real Mahayana Buddhism."<ref>''The Middle Way'' (August 1965), 90.</ref><ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Theosophy#Voice_of_the_Silence# Buddhism and Theosophy] at Wikipedia.</ref>

=== Dalai Lama ===

H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has been quoted: "I believe that his book (The Voice of the Silence by HPB) has strongly influenced many sincere seekers and aspirants to the wisdom and compassion of the Bodhisattva Path."<ref>Students of Theosophy, Estudiantes de Teosofia, Élèves de Theosophie Facebook page. December 27, 2016.</ref>

=== B. T. Chang ===

B. T. Chang, interpreter and one of the secretaries to the Tashi Lama, wrote:

:"Having appended a Chinese note to the end of this book, I am further requested by the editors to write a few lines in English. I deem it an honour and a privilege to do so, and offer herewith a recapitulation of what I have set forth in Chinese.

:Since its translation into English from the Tibetan by Madame H. P. Blavatsky, in 1890, this little book, the gem of Buddhist teachings, as enjoyed a wide circulation among Europeans and American interested in Buddhism. There is, therefore, little need for me to recommend it to foreign readers, except to point out that what is embodied in it comprises a part of the teachings of the Esoteric School.

:What strikes me most in the opening chapter is the sentence: "The Mind" - i.e., the Lower Mind - "is the Great Slayer of the Real. Let the Disciple slay the Slayer." These are the words that sound the keynote of the Buddha's teachings. Time and again the Buddha commands his disciples to suppress the activities of the Lower Mind for the benefit of the Higher Self, because anything and everything in the exterior Universe consists of nothing but sense-impressions created by one's Lower Mind, which is apt to lead the aspirant astray. The disciple should not seek truth elsewhere, but should try to find it within himself. He will then be able to hear the Voice of the Silence or, in the language of the Chinese Buddhists, the "Divine Voice of the Self". Traditions says that Avalokiteshwara attained the state of a Bodhisattwa after hearing the Divine Voice of the Self. This doctrine is greatly revered by the Chinese, who got it from the Sanskrit.

:Madame Blavatsky had a profound knowledge of Buddhist philosophy, and the doctrines she promulgated were those of many great teachers. This book is like a call to men to forsake desire, dispel every evil thought, and enter the true Path. In Fragment II the passage which likens the Mind to a mirror sounds exactly like what is stated in the Chuan Têng Lu, a Chinese Buddhist work of renown. This allegory also may have its own origin in some Sanskrit work, from which it found its way into both Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist works; or, more probably, the Tibetans have derived it from a Chinese source.

:In this materialistic world the majority of people, especially Europeans and American, always absurdly regard Buddhism as a system of philosophy which advocates nothing but passivity and inactivity. A perusal of this book will certainly dispel such mistaken notions from the minds of even the most skeptical.

:It has been suggested to me that for the benefit of the Chinese Buddhist, this work should be translated into Chinese. I quite agree with this idea, but pressure of work has hitherto prevented me from writing more than these few lines. Although they form an inadequate recognition of the merit of the book, I offer them because of my great reverence for its teachings; and I hope to be able to undertake the translation at some future time.

:Peking (Beijing), July, 1927

:B. T. Chang

== Editions ==

This book has been published in numerous editions and languages.

=== Online versions ===

* [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/voice/voice.htm 1889 edition in HTML format] from Theosophical University Press.
* [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/voiceofthesilence.html Universal Theosophy edition with corrected spelling of foreign terms.]
* [http://www.theosophytrust.org/Online_Books/Voice_of_the_Silence_V1.4.pdf Theosophy Trust].
* ULT Phoenix [http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/Avoice%20of.htm 1889 edition in HTML format] from PHX-ULT-Lodge.org.
* [http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/avoice.htm 1924 edition in HTML format] from PHX-ULT-Lodge.org.
* [http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/blavatsky__the_voice_of_the_silence_1889.pdf 1889 edition as PDF replica] from BlavatskyArchives.com.
* [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20The%20Voice%20of%20the%20Silence Teopedia] offers several editions.

For a facsimile PDF of the Second Edition, see '''[https://blavatskyarchives.com/key2ed.pdf Blavatsky Archives website]'''. This is the definitive edition, with a 60-page glossary prepared by HPB personally.

== Additional resources ==

===Articles===

The Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals lists [https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Voice+Silence&s=all over 180 articles about ''The Voice of the Silence'']. The following articles come from various sources:

* [http://www.anandgholap.net/Voice_Of_Silence-Commentary-AB_CWL.htm# ''Talks on the Path of Occultism Volume II - The Voice of the Silence''] by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, at AnandGholap.net.
* [https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/selfstudy/Sample-VOS.pdf# ''Introductory Study Notes On "The Voice of the Silence"''] by Gaile V. Campbell. Theosophical Society in America Education Department, 1969, 2008.
* [http://hpb.narod.ru/voiceSilenceComments.htm# "Comments on ''The Voice of the Silence''"] by Clara Codd. From Canadian Theosophical Association.
* [http://www.easterntradition.org/article/Voice%20of%20the%20Silence%20-%20Bringing%20the%20Heart%20Doctrine%20to%20the%20West.pdf# "The Voice of the Silence: Bringing the Heart Doctrine to the West"] by Nancy Reigle. This was presented at The Works and Influence of H. P. Blavatsky Conference, held in Edmonton, Alberta, July 3-5, 1998. It was published in ''The Works and Influence of H. P. Blavatsky: Conference Papers'', Edmonton: Edmonton Theosophical Society, 1999, pp. 106-112; and reprinted in ''Blavatsky’s Secret Books: Twenty Years’ Research'', by David Reigle and Nancy Reigle, San Diego: Wizards Bookshelf, 1999, pp. 139-148. This online edition is published by Eastern Tradition Research Institute, 2004.
* [http://theosophy.org/Other%20or%20Uncertain/Studies%20in%20the%20Voice%20of%20the%20Silence%20(Wadia)/studies%20in%20voice_in.htm# "Studies in ''The Voice of the Silence''"] by B. P. Wadia. From ''The Theosophical Movement'' Vol. X (October, 1940), 189-91.
* [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/mary-magdalene-and-the-voice-of-the-silence Mary Magdalene and The Voice of the Silence] by Carol N. Ward.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/voice-silence Voice of the Silence, The] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/book-golden-precepts Book of the Golden Precepts, The] in Theosophy World.
* [https://archive.org/details/voiceofsilence0000hpbl/ ''The Voice of the Silence'': Introduction, Notes, and Index] by Arya Asanga (aka [[A. J. Hamerster]]). Published in the 1939, 1944, and 1959 Adyar editions

=== Books ===
* A Brother Server. '''''An Offering to the Voice of the Silence: V.R.S.''''' Los Angeles: Theosophical Publishing House (Krotona), 1918. 59 pages. Reprinted Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Press, 1964. The author was Vida Reed-Stone.
* Rohit Mehta. '''''[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/books/CreativeSilence/TheCreativeSilence.pdf The Creative Silence: Reflections on the Voice of the Silence]'''''. Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1957.

=== Study courses ===

* [https://theosophy.world/resource/introductory-study-notes-voice-silence "Introductory Study Notes on The Voice of the Silence"] by Gaile V Campbell. Theosophical Society in America, 2008. Second edition. Available from Theosophy World.

=== Audio ===
* [http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=F47A7560-2436-11D7-A532-0002B34FFCC4# The Voice of the Silence] by H. P. Blavatsky, narrated by Paul Meier. Professional actor Paul Meier recites passages from The Voice of the Silence, a spiritual guidebook intended to provide guidance for living and inner development written by H. P. Blavatsky. Theosophical Society in America, 1997.
* [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_01.mp3# The Voice of the Silence Part 1], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_02.mp3# Part 2], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_03.mp3# Part 3], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_04.mp3# Part 4], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_05.mp3# Part 5], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_06.mp3# Part 6], [https://archive.org/download/124301/1243_07.mp3# Part 7], by John Algeo
* [https://archive.org/details/voiceofthesilenceurban The Voice of the Silence] by Vonda Urban. Theosophical Society in America, 1992.

=== Video ===
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA7G1CQdSgE&list=PLrbyJv4tUQSQC3R4u06V2_O93LoGOMf6N# The Voice of the Silence (4 Talks)] by Pablo Sender.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6QvlR9WDnY The Voice of the Silence: A Manual for Mystics] by Erica Georgiades. Streamed live on May 31, 2020 at the European School of Theosophy.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lzAisk4a88 The Voice of the Silence] by David Bruce. Presented in 2020 at the Theosophical Society in America.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Books|Voice of the Silence, The]]

Blavatsky writings

2026-06-22T21:28:08Z

SysopJ: /* The Key to Theosophy */

[[File:1888 Kodak photo by W Q Judge.jpg|right|360px|thumb|HP Blavatsky working on ''Lucifer'', 1888<ref>This photo was taken by William Quan Judge using a Kodak camera in her home at No. 17 Lansdowne Road, London. The occasion was described in Volume 1 of ''Echoes from the Orient'', Judge's collected writings on pages 259 and 262-263. Photo courtesy of Will Thackara at International Theosophical Society (Pasadena); restoration of photo by Pavel Malakhov.</ref>]]
[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] was a prolific and skillful writer in English, French, and Russian. Her Theosophical works were produced first in English, and later translated by other people into many languages. Most of the Russian writing was travel stories and occult tales for popular consumption. Her contract to provide material to the publisher Katkoff was her principal source of income in the early 1880s.

This is a source of links to Web-based resources for the writings of [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]]. Sources for her letters are listed separately in '''[[Blavatsky correspondence]]'''.

== Chronological listing of major writings ==

*[[September 29]], 1877 - '''[[Isis Unveiled (book)|''Isis Unveiled'']]''' in 2 volumes.
*[[October 1]], 1879 - beginning of publication of '''[[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']]''' which she edited and to which she contributed frequently.
* September 1887 - beginning of publication of '''[[Lucifer (periodical)|''Lucifer'']]''' which she co-edited and to which she contributed frequently.
*[[October 20]], 1888 - '''[[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]''' Volume I published, followed by Volume II in December.
*July 1889 - '''[[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']]'''.
*Second half of 1889 - '''[[The Voice of the Silence (book)|''The Voice of the Silence'']]'''.
* 1890 - '''''Gems From the East'''''. It was first published by the Theosophical Publishing Society in London and New York in birthday book format, with illustrations by "F. W."
*1890-1891 - The '''[[Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge (book)|''Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge'']]''' were issued in two parts.

Published posthumously:

*1892 - '''[[The Theosophical Glossary (book)|''The Theosophical Glossary'']]'''. A digital version is available of [http://resources.theosophical.org/pdf/Authors/Blavatsky/Blavatsky_Theosophical_Glossary.pdf Boris de Zirkoff's annotated copy]. Also available at [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20Theosophical%20Glossary Teopedia].
*1892 - '''''Nightmare Tales'''''. Available at [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20Nightmare%20Tales Teopedia].
*1892 - '''''From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan'''''. Available at [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6687 Gutenburg.org], [https://www.theosophy.world/sites/default/files/ebooks/from_the-caves_of_hindustan.pdf Theosophy World], [https://archive.org/details/fromcavesjungles00blavuoft Internet Archive] (1908 edition), [https://manybooks.net/titles/blavatsketext04caves10.html ManyBooks.com], and other sources.
*1893 - '''''The People of the Blue Mountains'''''.
*1897 - '''''The Secret Doctrine, Volume III''''', first edition. This was compiled by [[Annie Besant]] and [[G. R. S. Mead]] from fragmented material left by Madame Blavatsky. This volume was much maligned, but defended by [[James Morgan Pryse]] and [[Daniel Caldwell]]. See [[The Secret Doctrine (book)#Theosophical Publishing House]].
*1985 - '''''The Inner Group Teachings of H.P. Blavatsky''''', first edition.
*1995 - '''''The Inner Group Teachings of H.P. Blavatsky''''', second edition.
*2010 - '''''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'''''.
*2014 - '''''The Secret Doctrine Wurzburg Manuscript'''''.

Online versions of most of Blavatsky's writings at [https://universaltheosophy.com/writings-hpb/ Universal Theosophy website].

== Collected Writings ==

The fifteen volumes of '''[[H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings (book)|''H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings'']]''' (fourteen volumes and index) include almost all of her known writings from 1874-1891, excluding personal letters. It is available online at [http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/ Katinka Hesselink's website], at [https://www.theosophy.world/resource/ebooks/collected-writings-h-p-blavatsky-edited-boris-de-zirkoff Theosophy World], and at [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20Collected%20Writings%20(1966-90) Teopedia]. The editor was [[Boris de Zirkoff]]. The first volume of her personal letters was edited by Dr. John Algeo and published by TPH in 2003 as part of the Collected Writings series. Publishing efforts leading into this series included '''''A Modern Panarion: A Collection of Fugitive Fragments from the pen of H.P. Blavatsky''''' (London, New York and Madras, 1895, 504 pp.) and the four volumes of '''''The Complete Works of H.P. Blavatsky''''' (London: Rider and Co., 1933-1936). See [[Collected_Writings_(book)#History|this history]] of the series.

== ''The Secret Doctrine'' ==

HPB's masterwork, '''[[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]''', was published in 1888 in two volumes.

* '''''The Secret Doctrine Volume I: Cosmogenesis'''''. 1888 edition. Full text online at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd/sd-hp.htm# Theosophical University Press Online] or available in PDF format at [http://www.philaletheians.co.uk/Study%20notes/Blavatsky%20Speaks/The%20Secret%20Doctrine%20(1888)%20Vol.%201%20of%202,%20Cosmogenesis.pdf Philalethians web page.]
* '''''The Secret Doctrine Volume II: Anthropogenesis'''''. 1888 edition. Full text online at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd/sd-hp.htm# Theosophical University Press Online] or available in PDF format at [http://www.philaletheians.co.uk/Study%20notes/Blavatsky%20Speaks/The%20Secret%20Doctrine%20(1888)%20Vol.%202%20of%202,%20Anthropogenesis.pdf Philalethians web page.]
* '''''The Secret Doctrine'' Volumes I and II'''. Searchable HTML text at [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/secretdoctrine.html# Universal Theosophy].
* '''''Pages from The Secret Doctrine: Version 1 Abridged'''''. Selections commended by H. P. Blavatsky and B. P. Wadia. Available at [http://www.philaletheians.co.uk/Study%20notes/Blavatsky%20Speaks/Pages%20from%20the%20Secret%20Doctrine%201%20-%20Abridged.pdf Philalethians web page.]
* '''''Pages from The Secret Doctrine: Version 2 Full Text'''''. Selections commended by H. P. Blavatsky and B. P. Wadia. Available at [http://www.philaletheians.co.uk/Study%20notes/Blavatsky%20Speaks/Pages%20from%20the%20Secret%20Doctrine%202%20-%20Full%20text.pdf Philalethians web page.]

* '''''The Secret Doctrine Index'''''. Prepared by John P. Van Mater. Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1997. Available at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd-index/dx-00hp.htm Theosophical University Press Online]. This valuable study aid, 441 pages in length, indexes major subject terms; foreign-language terms with 1888 and modern spellings; and people and works mentioned in the SD.

Several editions are available at [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20The%20Secret%20Doctrine Teopedia].

===''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' ===

In 2010 the I.S.I.S. Foundation (TS Point Loma-Blavatskyhouse) in The Hague published '''''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries. The Unpublished 1889 Instructions''''', transcribed and annotated by Michael Gomes.

PDF version available at [https://www.hightail.com/download/bWJvY05rdGpubVhvS3NUQw Blavatsky House]. HTML version available at [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/secretdoctrinedialogues.html# Universal Theosophy] and [http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/SD-Diialogues.htm ULT Phoenix] websites.

=== Wurzburg Manuscript ===

In 2014 the Eastern School Press in Colorado, USA, published '''''The Secret Doctrine Wurzburg Manuscript. The 1885-1886 Version with the Stanzas of Dzyan and H.P.B.’s Accompanying Commentaries''''', transcribed by David Reigle. Available online at [http://www.easterntradition.org/SD%20Wurzburg%20ms.%20complete%20book%20bc.pdf Eastern Tradition Research Institute]

== ''The Inner Group Teachings'' ==

In 1985 Point Loma Publications (San Diego, CA), published '''''The Inner Group Teachings of H.P. Blavatsky. To Her Personal Pupils, 1890-91''''', compiled by H. J. Spierenburg (Author). In 1995 a 2nd revised and enlarged edition was produced.

== ''Isis Unveiled'' ==

'''[[Isis Unveiled (book)|''Isis Unveiled'']]''' was HPB's first major work, in which she discussed scientific theories and religious beliefs of the time. Some of the information presented is considered to be inaccurate compared to her masterwork [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]. Searchable HTML version of 2 volumes in 1 at [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/isisunveiled.html Universal Theosophy]. Several editions are available at [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20Isis%20Unveiled Teopedia].

== ''The Key to Theosophy'' ==

'''[[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']]''' is a basic work about the principles of Theosophy, in which HPB answers questions. It was written in 1889. Sources of audio and printed versions, both free and commercial offerings, are listed at [http://blavatskyarchives.com/hpbwritingskey.htm KeytoTheosophy.Net.] Another HTML version at [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/keytotheosophy.html Universal Theosophy]. Several editions are available at [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20The%20Key%20to%20Theosophy Teopedia].

For a facsimile PDF of the Second Edition, see '''[https://blavatskyarchives.com/key2ed.pdf Blavatsky Archives website]'''. This is the definitive edition, with a 60-page glossary prepared by HPB personally.

== ''The Voice of the Silence'' ==

'''[[The Voice of the Silence (book)|''The Voice of the Silence'']]''' is a small volume that serves as a guide for those who wish to become disciples on the spiritual path.

* [[The Voice of the Silence (book)|''The Voice of the Silence'']]. 1889. HTML text available at [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/voiceofthesilence.html Universal Theosophy] with spelling of foreign terms corrected
* Sources of audio and printed versions, both free and commercial offerings, are listed at [http://voiceofthesilence.net./ voiceofthesilence.net.]
* Several editions are available at [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20The%20Voice%20of%20the%20Silence Teopedia].

== ''Theosophical Glossary'' ==

HPB also worked on a '''[[The Theosophical Glossary (book)|glossary of Theosophical terminology]]''', but did not live to complete it. The volume was published posthumously in 1892 after some editorial work by [[G. R. S. Mead]], but the final result was regarded as unsatisfactory by many Theosophists. Boris de Zirkoff wrote an illuminating study of the glossary in [http://resources.theosophical.org/pdf/Authors/De%20Zirkoff/De_Zirkoff_Who_Played_That_Trick.pdf "Who Played That Trick on H. P. B.? the Puzzle of 'The Theosophical Glossary.'"].<ref>Boris de Zirkoff, "Who Played That Trick on H. P. B.?", [[Theosophia (periodical)|''Theosophia'']] 24.113 (Winter, 1967-1968), 12.</ref>

* '''''[http://resources.theosophical.org/pdf/Authors/Blavatsky/Blavatsky_Theosophical_Glossary.pdf The Theosophical Glossary]''''' by H. P. Blavatsky. This link is [[Boris de Zirkoff|Boris de Zirkoff's]] personal annotated copy of the glossary.

== ''The Theosophist'' magazine ==

'''[[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']]''' magazine was established by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P. Blavatsky]] in 1879, and has been published continuously ever since. It is the flagship periodical of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)]].

== ''Lucifer'' magazine ==

'''[[Lucifer (periodical)|''Lucifer'']]''' was a magazine founded by H. P. Blavatsky in 1887.

* Volumes 1-10 and index available at Blavatsky Study Center [http://blavatskyarchives.com/luciferreprints.htm Blavatsky Study Center]
* Volumes 1-20 (some partial runs) available at [http://www.iapsop.com/archive/materials/lucifer/ IAPSOP website].

== Travel accounts ==

* '''''The Durbar in Lahore'''''. 1880-1881. Serially published in Russkiy Vestnik (''Russian Messenger''). In 1960-61 a translation was published in ''The Theosophist'' in eight parts. Boris de Zirkoff introduced that series: "The present English translation is based on a rough MSS. translation made many years ago by Miss Inga Sjostedt. It has been compared word for word with the original Russian text, worked over by the present writer [de Zirkoff], and thoroughly gone over and polished up by Mrs. Irene R. Ponsonby."
** Digital version in 2009 by Mark Jaqua at [https://www.scribd.com/document/21184316/The-Durbar-in-Lahore-Blavatsky Scribd.com]. Per Mark Jaqua: "H.P. Blavatsky's "This is my transcription and scans. This is the only book of Blavatsky's that has never been published in book-form."
** Another digital version is available in [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20From%20the%20Caves%20and%20Wilds%20(Jungles)%20of%20Hindustan Teopedia].
** Russian edition is available in print-on-demand format.
* '''''The People of the Blue Mountains'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Press, 1930. This was compiled from a series of five monthly installments written for the ''Russian Messenger'' newspaper between December 1884 and April 1885). Mrs. A. J. Gouffe made the translation for the 1930 edition.<ref>Library of Congress registration card. Records Series 16. Book Publishing. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
** Spanish translations, 1984, 2006.
** A digital version is available at [https://www.filosofiaesoterica.com/the-people-of-the-blue-mountains/ FilosofiaEsoterica website].
* '''''From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing Society; New York: The Path; Madras: Theosophical Society, Adyar, 1892, 1908. The 1908 edition is available at [https://archive.org/details/FromCavesJunglesOfHindustanHelenaPetrovnaBlavatskyAdyar/page/n3 Internet Archive]. Other editions and printings:
** Delhi: Indological Book House, 1892.
** London: Theosophical Publishing Society; New York: The Path; and Madras: Theosophical Society; 1892. A PDF is available at [https://docs.yandex.ru/docs/view?url=ya-disk-public%3A%2F%2FdFGWEVPYuWEOO%2B4ijEDRuMi1OiaYtmKpJ1Go1vke65I%3D%3A%2FText%2FEnglish%2FTheosophy%2FBlavatsky%20HP%2FBlavatsky%20HP%20-%20From%20the%20Caves%20and%20Wilds%20(Jungles)%20of%20Hindustan%2FBlavatsky%20H.P.%20-%20From%20the%20Caves%20and%20Jungles%20of%20Hindostan%20(1892).pdf&name=Blavatsky%20H.P.%20-%20From%20the%20Caves%20and%20Jungles%20of%20Hindostan%20(1892).pdf&nosw=1 Teopedia].
** Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Pub. House, 1975, 1994.
** '''''Mr. Peters and the Goddess'''''. Los Angeles, California: Philosophical Research Society, 1970s. Excerpt of ''The People of the Blue Mountains'''''.
** Digital versions available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/1300011.html Hathitrust], [https://archive.org/details/cu31924024113650 Internet Archive], and [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6687 Project Gutenberg].
** Numerous Russian editions and printings beginning in 1883; also Spanish translation, 2012.
'''NOTE: A new translation of ''Caves and Jungles'' from the Russian is being posted on the [https://en.teopedia.org/lib/HPB-Caves Teopedia] website.'''

== Translations into Russian ==

* '''''The Mystery of Edwin Drood''''', a posthumous work by Charles Dickens, was completed by spiritualist T. P. James, a practitioner of automatic writing. HPB translated this into Russian.<ref>H. P. Blavatsky letter to A. N. Aksakoff dated October 28, 1874. ''The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky, Volume I''(Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 2003), 35.</ref><ref>H. P. Blavatsky letter to A. N. Aksakoff dated November 14, 1874. ''The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky, Volume I''(Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 2003), 45.</ref> Russian text is available at [http://art-roerich.org.ua/?q=blavatskaya/articles.html the Bakhmut Roerich Society website].

[[File:Nightmare Tales cover by Machell.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Cover art by Reginald Machell]]

== Occult stories ==
* '''''Nightmare Tales'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing Society; New York; The Path; Madras: Theosophical Society, 1892. The cover art was by [[Reginald Machell]].<ref>"Nightmare Tales" ''Lucifer'' 10.57 (May, 1892), 264.</ref> An account in [[Lucifer (periodical)|''Lucifer'']] relates that both the cover art of ''Nightmare Tales'' and this illustration were created by [[Reginald Machell]], along with "some clever tailpieces, consisting of Japanese monsters of indescribable curliness."<ref>"Nightmare Tales" ''Lucifer'' 10.57 (May, 1892), 264.</ref> Other editions and translations:
** Point Loma, California: Aryan Theosophical Press, 1907.
** London, Los Angeles: Theosophical Publishing House, 1916.
** Digital editions at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/nightmar/night-hp.htm Theosophical University Press Online], [http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/blavatsky_nightmare_tales_1892.pdf Blavatsky Archives], [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/3424017.html Hathitrust], [https://library.biblioboard.com/content/73addcd0-e851-436b-92bf-bfdbbf7d2632 Biblioboard], [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20Nightmare%20Tales Teopedia], and others.

== Organizational lectures, instructions, and reports ==

* '''''The Original Programme of The Theosophical Society'''''. 1886. Available at [http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/theos/th-origp.htm Theosophy Northwest].
* '''''Madame Blavatsky's Esoteric Papers A Comprehensive Compilation of H. P. Blavatsky's Esoteric Papers'''''. 1888-1891. Compiled by Daniel Caldwell. Portions are available at the [http://esotericpapers.net/ Blavatsky Archives] and at [https://docviewer.yandex.ru/view/0/?*=OCe509OtFCml745kEHSIVowwrtx7InVybCI6InlhLWRpc2stcHVibGljOi8vZEZHV0VWUFl1V0VPTys0aWpFRFJ1TWkxT2lhWXRtS3BKMUdvMXZrZTY1ST06L1RleHQvRW5nbGlzaC9UaGVvc29waHkvQmxhdmF0c2t5IEhQL0JsYXZhdHNreSBIUCAtIEVzb3RlcmljLVBhcGVycy5kanZ1IiwidGl0bGUiOiJCbGF2YXRza3kgSFAgLSBFc290ZXJpYy1QYXBlcnMuZGp2dSIsIm5vaWZyYW1lIjpmYWxzZSwidWlkIjoiMCIsInRzIjoxNjYwNTg2Mzc2MDMwLCJ5dSI6IjkxNzIxMzg2NDE2MzcyNTQ1OTgifQ%3D%3D Teopedia].
* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/koothoomicommentaries.htm '''Some Commentaries on <nowiki>[</nowiki>H.P.B.'s Esoteric<nowiki>]</nowiki> Instructions I and II'''] compiled by Daniel Caldwell. Published by Blavatsky Archives. Reprinted from "Instruction VI," in ''E.S.T. Instructions: Nos. IV, V and VI.'' "This publication was issues in 1901 by The Eastern School of Theosophy, po. Box 1584, New York, N.Y."

== Pamphlets and articles ==

* '''''The Kabalah and the Kabalists'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1919. Adyar Pamphlet #105. Reprinted from "Kabalah and the Kabalists at the Close of the Nineteenth Century''Lucifer'' Vol X (May, 1892), 185-196. Available at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=yale.39002088664496;view=1up;seq=7 Hathitrust] and [https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No105.pdf Canadian Theosophical Association].
* '''[https://www.ts-adyar.org/sites/default/files/images/Events/5-HPB-What-Is-Truth.pdf What is Truth?]'''. From ''Lucifer'', February, 1888.

== Collections and compilations ==

=== The Lucifer Collection ===
Articles written by or edited by H. P. Blavatsky from 1887-1891 in her journal ''Lucifer'' have recently been collected into a series called [[Lucifer (periodical)#The Lucifer Collection|'''The Lucifer Collection''']].

=== Studies in Occultism series ===

'''''Studies in Occultism: a Series of Reprints from the Writings of H. P. Blavatsky''''' comprised six volumes of reprints issued in 1895 at New England Theosophical Corporation in Boston. These works were originally published in [[Lucifer (periodical)|''Lucifer'']] have been reissued numerous times. The text of each article is available online from Theosophical University Press, and PDFs of some are available from [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20Studies%20in%20Occultism Teopedia] and other sources.

::'''1''' – '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-prac.htm Practical Occultism]'''. '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-occ.htm Occultism versus the Occult Arts]'''. '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-bles.htm The Blessings of Publicity]'''.
::'''2''' – '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-hypn.htm Hypnotism]'''. '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-bkmg.htm Black Magic in Science]'''. '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-sign.htm Signs of the Times]'''.
::'''3''' – '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-pan.htm Psychic and Noetic Action]'''.
::'''4''' – '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-kosm.htm Kosmic Mind]'''. '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-dual.htm Dual Aspect of Wisdom]'''.
::'''5''' – '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-eso1.htm The Esoteric Character of the Gospels, Part 1]''', '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-eso2.htm Part 2]''', and '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-eso3.htm Part 3]'''. Also available at [http://iapsop.com/ssoc/1895__blavatsky___esoteric_character_of_the_gospels.pdf IAPSOP] and [https://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/blavatsky_studies_in_occultism_volume_5.pdf Blavatsky Archives].
::'''6''' – '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-ast.htm Astral bodies]'''. '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-cons.htm Constitution of the Inner Man]'''.

=== Other collections ===
* '''''Gems from the East: A Birthday Book of Precepts and Axioms'''''. A Birthday Book of Precepts and Axioms, compiled by H.P.B. from Oriental literature. It was first published in 1890 by the Theosophical Publishing Society in London and New York in birthday book format, with illustrations by "F. W." The original edition is available at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822035059872;view=1up;seq=2 Hathitrust] and [https://docs.yandex.ru/docs/view?url=ya-disk-public%3A%2F%2FdFGWEVPYuWEOO%2B4ijEDRuMi1OiaYtmKpJ1Go1vke65I%3D%3A%2FText%2FEnglish%2FTheosophy%2FBlavatsky%20HP%2FBlavatsky%20HP%20-%20Gems%20from%20the%20East%2FBlavatsky%20HP%20-%20Gems%20from%20the%20East%20(1890%2C%20scan).pdf&name=Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20Gems%20from%20the%20East%20(1890%2C%20scan).pdf&nosw=1 Teopedia], and a recent edition at [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ts/hpb-gems.htm Theosophical University Press Online]. Many later editions were published as books of quotations, without the birthday book format or illustrations. [See also [http://www.theosophyforward.com/articles/theosophy/1937-sources-of-the-gems-the-list-of-sources-of-the-aphorisms-used-in-gems-from-the-east-by-h-p-blavatsky Sources of the Gems] by Pavel Malakhov.]

* '''''Other Writings from H.P. Blavatsky's Pen'''''. Letters, articles, and E. S. instructions available at [http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/compitems2.htm#Blavatsky Blavatsky Archives]. Some are not in the Collected writings.
* '''''A Modern Panarion: A Compilation of Forgotten Fragments 1874-1884'''''. Edited and abridged by G.R.S. Mead, published in 1895. It is available at [http://theosophy.org/Blavatsky/Modern%20Panarion/Panarion.htm The Theosophy Company website] and at the [http://blavatskyarchives.com/modernpanarion.htm Blavatsky Archives]. This was a predecessor to the [[Collected Writings (book)|''H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings'']].
* '''''The Complete Works of H. P. Blavatsky'''''. Compiled by a committee including [[A. Trevor Barker]] and [[Boris de Zirkoff]] and published by Rider and CO. in four volumes from 1933-1936. Available as free e-books from [https://archive.org/details/completeworksofh0001blav Internet Archive] and [https://openlibrary.org/books/OL22900233M/The_complete_works_of_H._P._Blavatsky Open Library]. This was a predecessor to the [[Collected Writings (book)|''H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings'']].
*'''''Pamphlets by H. P. Blavatsky'''''. A compilation of articles arranged by topics by the United Lodge of Theosophists. Available at [http://www.ultindia.org/blavatsky_articles_topic.html# Ultindia.org]
*'''''Blavatsky Speaks'''''. A compilation of articles arranged by topics available at [http://www.philaletheians.co.uk/SN-blavatsky-speaks.htm# Philaletheians.co.uk]
*'''''Theosophical Literature by H. P. Blavatsky'''''. A collection of books and articles available at the [http://theosophy.org/blavatsky.htm# Theosophy Library Online]
* '''''Dynamics of the Psychic World; comments by H. P. Blavatsky on magic, mediumship, psychism, and the power of the spirit.'''''. Compiled with notes by Lina Psaltis. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972.

== Falsely attributed works ==

* '''''The Land of the Gods: The Long-Hidden Story of Visiting the Masters of Wisdom in Shambhala''''', published by Radiant Books in 2022, is a reissued edition of Franz Hartmann’s 1887 work '''''An Adventure among the Rosicrucians''''', though it has been incorrectly attributed to [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]]. The original text, authored by Hartmann — a German physician and mystic affiliated with the Theosophical movement — narrates the experiences of a spiritual seeker who, during travels in southern Bavaria, enters a visionary state and encounters Rosicrucian adepts within the esoteric domain of Shambhala. Blavatsky herself reviewed Hartmann’s original book in her journal Lucifer, praising its esoteric insights and identifying Hartmann as a “Student of Occultism.” See [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/book-review/the-land-of-the-gods-the-long-hidden-story-of-visiting-the-masters-of-wisdom-in-shambhala this book review] and [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100868320 Hathitrust for Hartmann's book].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Research tools]]
[[Category:Reading lists|Blavatsky]]
[[Category:Supplementary articles|Blavatsky]]

Education and the Theosophical Movement

2026-06-22T21:06:22Z

SysopJ: /* Books and pamphlets */

[[File:Olcott Memorial School, Adyar.jpg|right|400px|thumb|Olcott Memorial School, Adyar]]
Education has long been a focus of attention in most branches of the international [[Theosophical Movement]].

== Educational initiatives of the early Theosophical Society ==

=== Buddhist schools ===

The earliest involvement of the TS with education was in 1886, when the Society's president, [[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel Henry Steel Olcott]] began establishing schools in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), working with [[Sumangala|Sri Sumangala Thero]]. At that time, English missionaries dominated the educational options on that island. Buddhism was severely repressed, and many poor children had no access to schools. Olcott worked with local Buddhists to build schools, and brought in American, British, and Australian Theosophists to help organize them. He left a legacy of about 200 Buddhist schools in Ceylon, where he is a national hero. These schools were grounded in the local language, religion, and culture rather than trying to dispense Theosophy or Christianity. Olcott was aiming to provide a service, not to proselytize. These are some of the most prominent schools that are still in operation:
* '''[[Ananda College]]''' was founded on [[November 1]], 1886 in the capitol city of Colombo. In over 130 years of operation, the school has nurtured generations of leaders for Sri Lanka, with with 8,000 boys in 13 grades. It was named after a chief disciple of [[Gautama Buddha]].
* '''Mahinda College''' in Galle is another boys' school that has been hugely successful since its founding in 1893. [[Francis Lee Woodward]] was an early principal, and by 1907 had led a major expansion with construction of the main building that is still in use.
* '''Musaeus College''' is a girls' school, founded in 1891 in Colombo by [[Marie Musaeus-Higgins]] with help from Peter de Abrew and Wilton Hack, and Dr. W. A. English. Student enrollment is now over 6,700, with a staff of over 300 teachers

Other prominent schools included Dharmaraja College in Kandy, Maliydeva College in Kurunegala, Visakha Vidyalaya in Colombo (formerly Buddhist Girls College), Nalanda Colle in Colombo, and Mahamaya Vidyalaya in Kandy.

=== Panchama schools ===

Colonel Olcott was also concerned about the outcastes in India known as panchamas, dalits, harijans, or paraiyars (pariahs). Olcott established 5 schools in South India. Initially staff members were Westerners, because Hindu teachers considered the students to be untouchable. Several of the schools were taken over by the government. The [[Olcott Memorial High School]], established in 1894 as the [[Olcott Harijan Free School]], continues serving children at the international headquarters in [[Adyar (campus)|Adyar]].

=== Hindu schools ===

Olcott establishing many Hindu schools in India, joined by many American and British Theosophists in parallel with his efforts in Ceylon. After he died in 1906, [[Annie Besant]], his successor as president, carried on this work. She was very active in the Indian independence movement, and saw education as a high priority for creating generations of Indians who could bring their country into full equality with other nations in the modern world. She wrote:

<blockquote>
The great aim of our education is to bring out of the child who comes into our hands every faculty that he brings with him, and then to try to win that child to turn all his abilities, his powers, his capacities, to the helping and serving of the community of which he is a part.
</blockquote>

Mrs. Besant founded '''[[Central Hindu College]]''' in Benares (Varanasi) in 1898, along with its associated schools for boys and girls, and headed that initiative for 16 years.

=== Educational approach of early Theosophist-supported schools ===
These early school generally followed this approach:
* Native religious traditions were preserved or restored.
* Education was facilitated for girls and lower castes as well as boys.
* All religions, castes, and cultures were treated with respect.
* Native-born teachers taught religion, language, and arts suitable to the local population, while
* Western teachers offered modern educational methods, and taught sciences and business practices.
* Nationalism was encouraged, but along peaceful lines.

== Educational initiatives of TS, Adyar ==

The [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India]] has been the largest contingent of the Theosophical Movement for the past century, and its members have been responsible for many educational initiatives.

=== Theosophical Educational Trust ===

After hearing [[George S. Arundale]] speak about "Education as Service" at the 1912 annual convention of the Theosophical Society in Adyar, English Theosophist Ada Hope Russell Rea worked to establish the Theosophical Educational Trust in England. [[Annie Besant]] endorsed the concept in a letter to Trust secretary [[Josephine Ransom]] in 1913. The Garden City Theosophical School was opened in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, in 1915; the name was changed to Arundale School and later to '''St. Christopher School'''. That school is still in operation, but has not been under the control of any Theosophical organization since the late 1920s. Several other schools in England and Wales were affiliated with the Trust.

Following the English example, Besant founded the Theosophical Educational Trust in India. She was the Trust president, and [[Ernest Wood]] became the secretary. He became principal of the school at Madanapalle and later at other schools. By 1914 there were fifteen schools under the management of the TET in India. Wood said the Trust's purpose was:
<blockquote>
not to teach Theosophy, but to provide a more balanced education, which should awaken the emotions of the students along social and spiritual lines, and not confine itself to the intellect as was the prevailing mode.<ref>Ernest Wood, ''Is This Theosophy?''(London: Rider & Co., 1936), 199.</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Society for the Promotion of National Education ===

The '''[[Society for the Promotion of National Education]]''' (SPNE) was an organization established in 1916 in India to support the development of schools based in Indian languages, religions, and customs. on December 27, 1916, the [[Theosophical Educational Trust]], at its annual meeting, "resolved to make a present to the Society of its colleges and schools as far as possible." TS President Annie Besant was given authority to determine when and how the educational institutions should be transferred to the governance of the Society.

Staff and members of the Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Madras (now Chennai), India were heavily engaged in every aspect of SPNE's operation, although the two organizations were not legally connected. The participants were motivated by the desire to serve the Indian people and to prepare India to prepare for independence.

In 1924, the SPNE closed, and schools were merged back into the '''[[Theosophical Educational Trust]]'''.

=== Theosophical Fraternity in Education ===

The '''New Education Fellowship''' was an international organization dedicated to the ideals of progressive education. It was established in 1921 by Theosophist [[Beatrice Ensor]], founder of a progressive school in Letchworth, England, along with several colleagues. The fellowship spread its philosophy through such journals as "The New Era" (now "The New Era in Education") in England and Progressive Education in the United States.<ref>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/new-education-fellowship# New Education Fellowship] at The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. (March 18, 2024)]</ref> It is now known as the [https://kiecon.org/wef# World Education Fellowship].

In 1947 [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa]] wrote a brief account of an English organization, the '''Theosophical Fraternity in Education''':

<blockquote>
There is to-day a great movement called the New Education Fellowship. It has spread to most of the countries in Europe, and also to North America, and nearly all distinguished leaders of education are among its principal officers, or on its committees. It publishes a review in three languages. It has held its congresses in the principal capitals of Europe, and its two last congresses were in South Africa and Australia. But this powerful movement for the ideals of New Education began with a band of Theosophists in England, who created the "Theosophical Fraternity in Education." A few rich Theosophists then poured thousands of pounds into experimental schools in connection with this work of the Fraternity. To-day, in India, the Theosophists have New Education Schools in several places; there is a school in Australia, another in New Zealand. In fact, one of the first results of our study of Theosophy is to understand the child from a new standpoint.<ref>Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa, ''The New Humanity of Intuition'' (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1947), 136-137.</ref>
</blockquote>

In the United States, the '''[[School of the Open Gate]]''' was affiliated with the Fraternity, and [[Isabel Holbrook|Isabel B. Holbrook]] lectured on child psychology.<ref>"Miss Isabel B. Holbrook" ''The Messenger'' 6 no.11 (April, 1919): 342.</ref>

== Raja Yoga schools and Point Loma education ==
[[File:Katherine_Tingley.jpg|180px|right|thumb|Katherine Tingley]]
[[Katherine Tingley]] was the charismatic leader of a large branch of the Theosophical Movement called [[Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society]]. She and other Theosophists established a Raja Yoga school for children in 1900 at their colony in Point Loma, near San Diego. Other Raja Yoga schools operated briefly in Germany, Sweden, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Cuba. Madame Tingley said:

<blockquote>
I called the college Raja Yoga because that means the kingly union of mental, spiritual, and physical development, aimed to return to the pure ideal of Greek simplicity... A child at Point Loma is taken as a precious, wonderful entity and is developed as such.
</blockquote>

=== Educational approach ===

This is the educational approach of the Raja Yoga schools:

* School focused on intellectual formation and moral and spiritual development.
* Boys and girls followed the same curriculum, which was unusual in those days, but were separated except in music classes.
* Art, music, drama, and crafts were especially emphasized. All children learned to play musical instruments.
* The school was residential, and even children whose families lived in the Lomaland colony also boarded with classmates.
* Children spent a great deal of time outdoors.

=== School of Antiquity ===

'''School of Antiquity''' was the popular name of the '''School for the Revival of the Lost Mysteries of Antiquity''' or '''SRLMA'''. It was an educational enterprise established at [[Point Loma]] by [[Katherine Tingley]]. The cornerstone of the school was laid [[February 23]], 1897. Stones were collected from locations of psychic or energetic significance in Ireland, Holland, Austria, Switzerland, and elsewhere at Madame Tingley's direction, and were used in the foundation of the building. These stones were supposed to bind together ancient sites with the new temple in Point Loma.<ref>W. Michael Ashcraft, ''The Dawn of the New Cycle: Point Loma Theosophists and American Culture,'' (Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 2002), 48-49.</ref>

=== Theosophical University ===

A Theosophical University followed in 1919, teaching liberal arts, Sanskrit, science, philosophy, and Theosophy. Its '''[[Theosophical University Press]]''' publishes [https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ts/tup.htm Theosophical books] of high quality in several languages, and offers many works free on its [https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ts/tup-onl.htm website].

== Rudolf Steiner and Waldorf education==
[[File:Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Rudolf Steiner]]

[[Rudolf Steiner]] was active in the Theosophical Society from 1902 for about ten years, heading its German Section, after which he formed the Anthroposophical Society. Dr. Steiner was a genius who made major contributions in many fields, from Goethe scholarship to architecture to agriculture. In 1919, the owner of the Waldorf Astoria Cigarette Company in Stuttgart, Germany invited Dr. Steiner to educate the children of factory workers and managers together, in the interest of peace and social justice. Steiner trained teachers and had all grades operating at the original Waldorf School in a matter of months, with a complete and cohesive theory of child development. He said of education:

<blockquote>
Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility—these three forces are the very nerve of education.
</blockquote>

There are now more than 1,200 Waldorf schools and 1,900 Waldorf kindergartens around the world in over 80 countries. The United States, Germany, and the Netherlands are especially active in Waldorf education, with multiple training programs for teachers.

=== Educational approach ===

These are some of the elements of Waldorf education:
* Imaginative play is the work of young children.
* Reality is gradually introduced during the early years.
* Toys are objects made of natural materials designed to stimulate imagination, such as lengths of silk, wooden blocks, and plain dolls.
* The curriculum is concerned with developmental stages, unfolding consciousness, and age-appropriateness.
* Storytelling and fantasy are used to convey concepts.
* The atmosphere is one of beauty and harmony.
* Early cooperative activities foster social development.
* Emphasis is placed on the rhythms of the days and seasons.
* Children are engaged in a spiritual journey learning the inner realities of the physical world.

== Montessori education ==
[[File:Montessoris_at_Adyar.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Maria and Mario Montessori at Adyar]]

[[Maria Montessori|Dr. Maria Montessori]] was already well-established as an educator when she first met [[Annie Besant]], president of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society, Adyar]]. Theosophists were very interested in Montessori education, and used its principles in a class at National Hindu Girls’ School in Madras, under the supervision of the [[Society for the Promotion of National Education]]. When World War II made Dr. Montessori's life in Italy too dangerous, TS president [[George S. Arundale]] invited her to reside at the [[Adyar (campus)|Adyar headqarters]] of the TS in Madras (now Chennai), India. She and her son Mario used Adyar as their base of operations for ten years, conducting teacher training all over South Asia.

Worldwide, there are now almost 16,000 Montessori schools.

=== Educational approach ===
These are some elements of Montessori's educational approach:
* Fantasy is postponed until the child is grounded in reality.
* Tasks and activities are reality oriented.
* The intellect or "absorbent mind" is engaged early until the "reasoning mind" can take over.
* Children are free to choose their own activities, getting in touch with their inner teacher.
* Manipulative materials are designed to be aesthetically pleasing, and to support very specific educational goals.
* The atmosphere is calm and productive.
* Teacher is a facilitator of independent learning.
* Socialization begins with respecting the space of others.
* Older children voluntarily assist each other in learning.

== Krishnamurti education ==
[[File:Krishnamurti_2.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Jiddu Krishnamurti]]

As a young man in 1917, [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] described "the life of an ideal school where love rules and inspires, where the students grow into noble adolescents under the fostering care of teachers who feel the greatness of their vocation."<ref>Jiddu Krishnamurti, ''Education as Service'', 1917. Mentioned by Mary Lutyens in ''Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening'' (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975), 6.</ref>

=== Educational approach ===

These are some principles applied in Krishnamurti schools:
* School focus is on the development of the whole human being.
* Students learn to observe the world and act in the world without conditioning or self-centeredness.
* The school tries to establish an environment in which this kind of education and self-development can take place.
* Faculty work together to develop themselves as human beings who are capable of maintaining the educational environment.
* There is no fixed curriculum or method.

=== Krishnamurti schools ===

Krishnamurti founded several schools:

* [http://www.rajghatbesantschool.org/ Rajghat Besant School], built in Varanasi, India in 1934.
* [https://www.brockwood.org.uk/ Brockwood Park School] in Hampshire, England was established in 1969.
* [http://oakgroveschool.org/ Oak Grove School] in Ojai, California, built in 1975.
* [http://www.rishivalley.org/ Rishi Valley Education Center].
* [http://www.theschoolkfi.org/ "The School" at Damodar Gardens] in Chennai.
* '''Haridvanam''' in Bangalore.
* [http://www.sahyadrischool.org/ Sahyadri School] in Pune.
* [http://pathashaala.tcec-kfi.org/ Pathashaala] in Chennai.

He said,
<blockquote>
The purpose, the aim and drive of these schools is ... to create the right climate so that the child may develop fully as a complete human being. This means giving him the opportunity to flower in goodness so that he is rightly related to people, things and ideas, to the whole of life.
</blockquote>

During the 1940s he worked with Aldous Huxley, Robert Logan, the Rajagopals, and Dr. Guido Ferrando to develop the '''[https://www.besanthill.org/ Happy Valley School]''' on land purchased in 1926 by [[Annie Besant]]. This independent school does not necessarily follow the same educational approach as the others.

== Theosophical schools ==
Theosophical schools have existed all over the world, for various lengths of time. Communities have come together to create special schools in Australia and New Zealand, in England, The Netherlands, Poland, Java (Indonesia), and The Philippines. Teacher training programs were established in several countries. In addition to the formal preschools and grade schools, Theosophical lodges have often conducted regular classes in Theosophy for members' children, such as Lotus Circles, comparable to Christian Sunday schools.

There have been several attempts at establishing Theosophical universities. Huge energy has always been put into adult education in many forms – classes at lodges, camps, and retreat centers; lessons in periodicals and newsletters; mail-order instruction; lessons for prisoners; webinars; and now the [[Online School of Theosophy]].

=== Educational approach ===
Theosophical schools tend to be tailored to local populations, offering arts, crafts, and languages that are culturally appropriate. Activities of daily life are understood to be suffused with spiritual meaning. Self-awareness, meditation, yoga, and spiritual forms of the arts are usually taught.

The concepts central to Theosophy are subtly emphasized, such as:
* Unity of all life in a universe filled with energy and consciousness.
* Humans as energetic beings with a complex constitution.
* Spiritual evolution.
* Cyclicity of time.
* Interconnections of religion, philosophy, science, arts.
* Freedom of thought and belief.
* Responsibility for own spiritual development.

=== School initiatives ===

* [[Morven Garden School]] in Sydney, Australia.
* '''Vasanta Garden School''' in Auckland, New Zealand; opened on February 19, 1919.
* '''Arjuna schools''' in Java, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Fifteen Arjuna schools were thriving in the 1920s and 1930s, with a teacher training academy, but most closed during World War II. One school remains active today.
* '''Theosophical schools in Poland''', of which no details are available.

Apart from the establishment of individual schools, one initiative focused on curriculum and educational methods, headed by Theosophist [[Fritz Kunz]]. The '''[[Fritz_Kunz#FIE_and_Main_Currents_in_Modern_Thought|Foundation for Integrative Education]]''' was a group of scientists, scholars, and businessmen who wanted to improve education by including philosophy, religion, and art with modern science in a cohesive curriculum. Kunz organized lecture series, conferences, and seminars exploring new ways to integrate knowledge so that students would experience interconnectivity and wholeness. The Foundation in turn gave rise to the '''Center for Integrative Education''', which included stellar academicians such as Abraham Maslow, Henry Margenau, Kirtley Mather, F. S. C. Northrop, and Ervin Laszlo among its members. Kunz worked with his son John and others to establish the Cuisenaire Company as a provider of innovative materials for the teaching of mathematics.

== Golden Link Schools ==
[[File:GLCbldg_new.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Golden Link College]]

In 1986, Vic Hao Chin, a Theosophical leader in the Republic of the Philippines, established the first learning center leading to '''[[Golden Link College]]''' in 2002. The main campus at Caloocan City offers classes from preschool through collegiate courses. Other schools are located in:

* Cortes, Bohol
* Santa Maria, Bulacan
* Quezon City
* Philippine Lumen School, Bago City, Negros Occidental (affiliate)
* Alesna Integrated School, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu (affiliate)
* TOS Learning Center, Caloocan City (affiliate)

=== Educational approach ===

These schools have successfully combined elements of [[Jiddu Krishnamurti|Krishnamurti's]] teachings with [[Theosophy]] and government-mandated curriculum.

* Schools comply with requirements of the Philippine Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education.
* Schools are nonsectarian.
* Students are never motivated by fear, ranking, and comparison.
* Freedom of thought and expression are encouraged.
* Development of personality and character is a central tenet, with emphasis on self-awareness, self-mastery, effective relationships, values integration, and related subjects.
* High school and college students participate in a self-transformation program.
* College students have courses in:
** Theosophy and the Perennial Philosophy
** Introduction to Philosophy
** Comparative Religion
** Marriage and Parenting
** Theosophical Education and Alternative Education Approaches (for Teacher Education students)
** Parapsychology and Transpersonal Psychology (for Psychology students)

Vic Hao Chin says,
<blockquote>
It is important for a school to have teachers who are psychologically active, creative, and free. They themselves are not afraid to question things and hence tend to integrate their own understanding of life.

A wholesome school, then, must be able to prepare students to meet the demands of an adult life in terms of career, social skills, self-mastery, self-awareness, clarity of values, and an integrated philosophy of life.
</blockquote>

=== Adyar Theosophical Academy ===

The Golden Link approach has expanded to India. The [[Adyar Theosophical Academy]] was established in 2019 in Besant Gardens at the [[Adyar (campus)|Adyar headquarters]] of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] during the administration of [[Tim Boyd]].

== Educators in the Theosophical Movement ==

For a list of people who were educators in the Theosophical Movement, or who were influential to Theosophists, see '''[[:Category:Educators|Educators]]'''. Here are some of the most active teachers and organizers:

* '''In early Theosophical initiatives''': [[Henry Steel Olcott]], [[Charles Webster Leadbeater]], [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa|C. Jinarājadāsa]], [[Fritz Kunz]], [[Marie Musaeus-Higgins]], and [[Francis Lee Woodward]].

* '''In SPNE''': [[Annie Besant]], [[George S. Arundale]], [[Francesca Arundale]], [[James H. Cousins]], [[Margaret Cousins]], [[Fritz Kunz]], [[Ernest Wood]], [[Mary K. Neff]], [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa|C. Jinarājadāsa]], [[Nilakanta Sri Ram]], [[B. P. Wadia]], [[Bhagavan Das]], [[Hirendranath Datta]], [[S. Subramania Iyer|Sir S. Subramania Iyer]], [[P. K. Telang]], [[Frederick Gordon Pearce]], and [[P. K. Subramania Iyer]].

* '''In Point Loma's schools''': [[Charles J. Ryan]], [[Henry T. Edge]], [[August Neresheimer]], [[Geoffrey A. Barborka]], and [[Grace Knoche]].

* '''Professors who were prominent Theosophists''': [[Jirah Dewey Buck]], [[Seth Pancoast]], [[J. Émile Marcault]], [[José B. Acuña]], [[I. K. Taimni]], [[John Algeo]], [[Ravi Ravindra]], [[J. J. van der Leeuw]], [[Charles Elliott Fouser]], [[Oliver J. Schoonmaker]], [[Manilal N. Dvivedi]], and [[E. A. Wodehouse]].

* '''Other educators who were prominent Theosophists''': [[G. R. S. Mead]], [[Felix Layton]], [[Eunice Layton]], [[Anna Kamensky]], [[Pieter K. Roest]], [[Anita Henkel]], [[Joy Mills]], [[Ianthe H. Hoskins]], [[Emogene S. Simons]], and [[Julia K. Sommer]].

== Additional resources ==
=== Articles ===
*[http://theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Education_and_Theosophy# Education and Theosophy] at Theosopedia
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No16.pdf# Education in the Light of Theosophy] by Annie Besant
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/Siftings_V5_A5b.pdf# Notes on Theosophy and Education] by Bertram Keightley
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/3306-the-goal-of-education# The Goal of Theosophical Education] compiled by Vicente Hao Chin, Jr.
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/articles/theosophical_education_vhc.html# Theosophical Education and the Golden Link College] by Vicente Hao Chin, Jr.
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/onlinebooks/Readings%20on%20theosophical%20education.pdf# Readings on Theosophical Education] compiled by Vicente Hao Chin, Jr.
* [http://www.cwlworld.info/CWL_Buddhist_Revival_SL.pdf C. W. Leadbeater's Work for the Buddhist Revival Movement in Sri Lanka, 1886-1889], compiled by Pedro Oliveira for his CWLWorld website. Much information about establishment of Buddhist schools by Theosophists.

=== Books and pamphlets ===
* Arundale, Rukmini Devi. '''''[https://archive.org/details/the-teacher-and-the-pupil The Teacher and the Pupil]'''''. [Tiruvanmiyur, India]: [European Committee of the Besant Cultural Center], 19xx. 16 pages.
* Chaganti, Anthony. '''''[http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/1802/6/06_chapter%202.pdf# Theosophical Education]''''' Chapter II in Thesis ''Dr Annie Besant and her contributions to society and politics 1893-1933'' (See [http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/1802# Table of contents]).
* Chin, Jr., Vicente Hao '''''[http://www.theosophy.ph/onlinebooks/On%20Education%202007.pdf# On Education]'''''.
* Krishnamurti, J. '''''[http://www.fullbooks.com/Education-as-Service.html# Education as Service]'''''.
* Kulkarni, R. K. '''''Child Training: In the Light of Theosophy'''''. Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Press, 1927. Edited by Julia K. Sommer.
* Rajagopalacharya, D. '''''Service in Education'''''. Unidentified, ca 1920. Reprinted from ''Theosophy in Australasia'', April, 1920.
* Ransom, Josephine. '''''Our Philosophy of Education: [a lecture delivered before the theosophical fraternity in education, February, 1919.]'''''. London: Theosophical Fraternity in Education, 1919. Pamphlet.
* Ransom, Josephine. '''''Schools of Tomorrow in England'''''. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1919. Available at [http://www.unz.org/Pub/RansomJosephine-1919 Open Library] and [https://archive.org/details/schoolsoftomorro00ransiala Internet Archive].
* Whiting, Lilian. '''''[https://archive.org/details/katherine-tingley-and-her-raja-yoga-system-of-education Katherine Tingley and Her Raja Yoga System of Education]'''''. Point Loma, CA: Aryan Theosophical Press, 1919. 24 pages.

=== Video ===

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKAUjPc3SAc Education and the Theosophical Movement]''' by Janet Kerschner. Presented November 7, 2024 at the Theosophical Society in America.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0CQJ1xte-o&list=UUYArOqP3csnR0nSMZL5zasg&index=15 Lomaland's Raja Yoga Education]''' by Kenneth Small. Presented by the European School of Theosophy in the series called '''Wisdom from the Lomaland Theosophical Community (1897-1942)'''' May 3, 2025.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzYGVgIQPnU A Theosophical Educational Creed: Educational Futures & Transformational Learning]''' by M. Jayne Fleener. Presented November 20, 2025 by the Theosophical Society in America.

=== Websites ===
* [http://www.theosophy.ph/goldenlinkcollege.html# Golden Link College]
* [https://study.theosophical.org/ Online School of Theosophy]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Umbrella articles]]
[[Category:Theosophical worldview]]
[[Category:Educational institutions and programs]]

Josephine Ransom

2026-06-22T20:18:34Z

SysopJ: /* Books and pamphlets */

[[File:Josephine Ransom.jpg|190px|right|thumb|Josephine Ransom]]
'''Josephine Ransom''' was a lecturer and leader in the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India.]] She is best known as General Secretary of the Australian, South African, and English Sections, and left an important legacy in her book '''''A Short History of The Theosophical Society'''''.

== Early years ==

She was born Josephine Maria Davies on [[March 22]], 1879 in Armidale, Australia.
<blockquote>
She went to India as a young girl, drawn there by a deep affinity. She lived for a time in an Indian household in a period when such things were not done as easily and naturally as today. During that time she delved deeply into Eastern, and particularly Hindu, philosophy, becoming no mean Sanskrit scholar.<ref>""Josephine Ransom," ''The Theosophical Journal'' 2.1 (Jan-Feb 1961), 12.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Work in Theosophy and education ==

Mrs. Ransom was admitted as a Fellow of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India]] on [[November 23]], 1897. She became engaged in educational work among the Buddhists in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and India, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Benares from 1904-06.

On [[March 30]], 1907, she married Captain [[Sidney Ransom]] in London.<ref>The International Theosophical Year Book 1938 (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1938): 210.</ref> She and her husband served as lecturers in England and on the headquarters staff in Adyar. After her Australian lecture tour of 1912, she performed educational work in England, founding the Harrogate T. S. Training Centre and the Britain and India Society.<ref>The International Theosophical Year Book 1938: 210.</ref>

For a time she served as manager of the [[Theosophical Publishing House (Adyar)|Theosophical Publishing House in Adyar]]. From 1924-1926, she was '''General Secretary''' of the Australian Section; of the South African Section from 1926-1927; and then of the English Section from 1933-1936. She was also an executive of the European Federation, and served on the World Congress Committee in 1936.<ref>The International Theosophical Year Book 1938: 210.</ref>

== Editing ''Britain and India'' ==

In 1920, Mrs. Ransom and her husband edited a journal based in London:
<blockquote>
''Britain and India'' began in January 1920 as a monthly journal in order to promote understanding and unity between the two countries. It was edited by the Australian Theosophist, Mrs Josephine Ransom, in London, and was the organ of the Britain and India Association that began at the same time. The journal included articles ranging from political statements, reviews of books, interviews with key Indian individuals (including [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and Sarojini Naidu) to accounts of events in London for British and Indian audiences and reprints of speeches given by Indians in London halls (such as by [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa|C. R. Jinarajadasa]] and Yusuf Ali).

By August 1920, the journal had to be produced bi-monthly, and it was discontinued in December 1920 due to financial constraints. The journal was particularly concerned with responding to the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre in Amritsar and was keen to make sure the event was not forgotten in its readers' minds. It also promoted women's associations and education for Indian women in Britain. The journal provided regular accounts of the performances put on by Kedar Nath Das Gupta's Union of the East and West. On 30 October 1920, the association hosted a conference on India in London.<ref>[http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/britain-and-india "Britain and India"] at The Open University's website on "Making Britain: Discover how South Asians shaped the nation, 1870-1950." Accessed November 3, 2016.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Lecturing ==

Mrs. Ransom was much in demand as a lecturer, and toured in Australia, 1912; in India, 1936-1937; and several times in the United States. When she toured the U. S. in 1931-1932, she lectured in 36 cities in 18 states.<ref>"My Experience with Americans as Theosophists," ''The Theosophical Messenger'' 20.7 (July, 1932), 145.</ref> It was written that "her lectures were always brilliant and provocative, her insight into Hinduism, in particular, profound."<ref>""Josephine Ransom," ''The Theosophical Journal'' 2.1 (Jan-Feb 1961), 12.</ref>

In London she presented two [[Blavatsky Lectures]], '''[http://resources.theosophical.org/pdf/BL_1933_Ransom_The_Occult_Teachings_of_the_Christ.pdf "The Occult Teachings of the Christ"]''' in 1933 and '''[http://resources.theosophical.org/pdf/BL_1942_Ransom_The%20Direction_of_The_Theosophical_Society_by_Masters%20_of_Wisdom.pdf "The Direction of The Theosophical Society by Masters of Wisdom"]''' in 1942.

== Later years ==

She became International Vice-President in 1960, taking over from [[Sidney A. Cook]], but died before she had been in office long. Her death on [[December 2]] followed an accident and a period of four months in which she lay unconscious. She left a daughter, Dr. Shila Ransom, and sister Miss Annie Davies.<ref>""Josephine Ransom," ''The Theosophical Journal'' 2.1 (Jan-Feb 1961), 12.</ref> [[James S. Perkins]] took her place as Vice-President.

== Writings ==

=== Articles ===
Mrs. Ransom served as editor of [[Theosophy in Australia (periodical)|''Theosophy in Australia'']] from May, 1921 to June, 1927, working in Sydney, Australia. In addition, she wrote numerous articles for Theosophical periodicals, including [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']], [[The Theosophical Messenger (periodical)|''The Theosophical Messenger'']], [[The Adyar Bulletin (periodical)|''The Adyar Bulletin'']], and [[World Theosophy (periodical)|''World Theosophy'']]. The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=J+Ransom&s=author 149 articles by J Ransom or Josephine Ransom]'''.

She wrote many more anonymously for ''Theosophy in Australia''.

=== Books and pamphlets ===
She also wrote these books and pamphlets, in chronological order:
* '''''Indian Tales of Love and Beauty'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophy Office, 1912.
* '''''Schools of Tomorrow in England'''''. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1919. Available at [http://www.unz.org/Pub/RansomJosephine-1919 Open Library] and [https://archive.org/details/schoolsoftomorro00ransiala Internet Archive].
* '''''Our Philosophy of Education: [a lecture delivered before the theosophical fraternity in education, February, 1919.]'''''. London: Theosophical Fraternity in Education, 1919. Pamphlet.
* '''''Irish Tales of Love and Beauty'''''. London : Arthur H. Stockwell, 1924.
* '''''Madame Blavatsky as Occultist'''''. London: Theosophical Pub. House, 1931.
* '''''Racial problems in South Africa'''''. Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publ. House, 1932. Pamphlet.
* '''''Occult Teachings of the Christ According to The Secret Doctrine'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Pub. House, 1933. Available at [https://archive.org/details/BL1933RansomTheOccultTeachingsOfTheChrist Internet Archive]. 72 pages. Blavatsky Lecture, 1933.
* '''''Studies in the Secret Doctrine: Studies with Students at Olcott Sessions, Summer, 1932'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Press, 1934.
* '''''Self-Realization Through Yoga and Mysticism'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1936.
* '''''A Short History of The Theosophical Society'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Pub. House, 1938. The importance of this work is in its extensive use of archival materials in addition to such printed sources as ''Old Diary Leaves'' and ''The Golden Book of Theosophy''.
* '''''The Direction of The Theosophical Society by Masters of Wisdom'''''. London, 1942. Published lecture.
* '''''Years of Grandeur: Memories of Annie Besant'''''. With Sidney Ransom. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1949. From a presentation with Sidney Ransom. "Delivered at the headquarters of The Theosophical Society, London, on October 1, 1949."
* '''''The Key to Theosophy''''' by H. P. Blavatsky. London: Theosophical Pub. House, 1948. Abridged and edited by Josephine Ransom.
* '''''The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Book of the Theosophical Society: a Short History of the Society's Growth from 1926-1950'''''. Adyar, India: Theosopohical Pub. House, 1950.
* '''''Om Meditation'''''. Stockholm: Sv. teosof. bokförl., Högfeldt), 1964. Pamphlet. Swedish translation.

== Additional resources ==
* [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=Josephine+Ransom&s=title 25 articles about Josephine Ransom]'''.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/ransom-josephine-maria Ransom, Josephine Maria] in Theosophy World.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:General Secretaries in TS Adyar|Ransom, Josephine]]
[[Category:Writers|Ransom, Josephine]]
[[Category:Sanskrit scholars|Ransom, Josephine]]
[[Category:Lecturers|Ransom, Josephine]]
[[Category:Editors|Ransom, Josephine]]
[[Category:Educators|Ransom, Josephine]]
[[Category:Social activists|Ransom, Josephine]]
[[Category:Nationality Australian|Ransom, Josephine]]
[[Category:TS Adyar|Ransom, Josephine]]
[[Category:People|Ransom, Josephine]]

File:Mangore.jpeg

2026-06-16T12:07:27Z

SysopJ:

Portrait of [[Agustín Pío Barrios]]. Colorized image is used courtesy of Frederick Sheppard, per his email of 15 June 2026 to Janet Kerschner, Theosophical Society in America Archives.

Agustín Pío Barrios

2026-06-16T12:05:10Z

SysopJ:

[[File:Mangore.jpeg|right|250px|thumb|Agustín Pío Barrios. Image courtesy of Frederick Sheppard.]]
'''Agustín Pío Barrios''' was a Paraguayan composer and virtuoso performer of classical guitar music who was influenced by [[Theosophy]]. He sometimes used the names Agustín Barrios Mangoré and Nitsuga Mangoré in homage to Paraguay's native Guarani culture. Nitsuga is Agustin spelled backward.

== Personal life ==
[[File:Agustín Barrios 1910.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Barrios in 1910]]
Agustín Pío Barrios was born on [[May 5]], 1885 Paraguay to Doroteo Barrios and Martina Ferreira. There is some question of the location of his birth, which may have been in San Juan Bautista or in nearby Villa Florida, both of which are in the southern department [state] of Misiones. His family had great appreciation of the arts, and sent Agustin to study in the capital city of Asunciόn. At the age of fifteen he received a music scholarship at the Universidad Nacional de Asunciόn, and developed great interest in philosophy, literature, and mathematics. He spoke Spanish and Guarani, but could also read English, French, and German. In addition to music, Barrios was quite talented in poetry and in drawing.

Barrios married Gregoria Isabel Villalba. Their son Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba was born on July 4, 1908 in San Roque, Asunción, Paraguay.<ref>"Pedro Virgilio Barrios Villalba" in [https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Barrios_Villalba-1 Wikitree], which cites "Paraguay, registros parroquiales, 1754-2015," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRKT-9XW2?cc=1922527&wc=WXGH-Y8L%3A217758401%2C217758402%2C218073002%2C218806601 : 3 September 2019), Distrito Capital > Asunción > San Roque > Bautismos 1906-1914 > image 134 of 591; Arquidiócesis de Asunción (Archdiocese of Ascunción), Paraguay.</ref>

From 1903-1908, Barrios worked at various office jobs, but later was able to support his household with his music.

He died on [[August 7]], 1944 in San Salvador, El Salvador, where he had been employed as a professor for several years.

== Influence of Theosophy ==

[[Theosophy|Theosophist]] Professor '''Viriato Díaz Pérez''' was a strong influence on Barrios during his early years in Asunción, both intellectually and socially:
<blockquote>
Viriato Díaz Pérez, a Spaniard by birth who emigrated to Paraguay in the early 1900's. An intellectual, author of numerous books and articles, literary critic and teacher, Diaz Perez was also a follower of [[theosophy]]. He reputedly introduced Barrios to theosophic doctrines and beliefs. Diaz Perez's influence on him, particularly in the areas of aesthetics, philosophy and metaphysics was profound.

Díaz Pérez had an "international" perspective and strongly urged Barrios to leave Paraguay. In January of 1910, he wrote a letter of introduction to an Argentine friend, Señor Mario Villar Sáenz Valiente, publisher of the Buenos Aires newspaper ''La Nación''. . . He was the nephew of Roque Sáenz Peña, President of Argentina from 1910-14. . . Valiente, after hearing Barrios play in the town of Corrientes, invited him to come to Buenos Aires under his patronage.<ref>Richard Stover, ''Six Silver Moonbeams'' (Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992), 32-33.</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1912, Díaz Pérez was a founder and first President of the first [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] lodge established in Paraguay. During the 1929 lecture tour of [[C. Jinarajadasa]], the Paraguayan lodges were chartered into a national Section.<ref>"Theosophy in Paraguay," ''The Theosophical Year Book, 1937'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1937), 123.</ref> Possibly Barrios participated in lodge activities in Asunción.

Biographer Richard Stover wrote of Barrios:
<blockquote>
His religious convictions were more "theosophical" than strictly "Catholic". For him God and Nature are inextricably part of one another, and Man, being part of Nature, is part of God. The only substantiated comments made by Barrios regarding his religious views come from the Brazilian newspaper ''Jornal do Recife'' of January 5,1931:
<blockquote>
In spite of a severe religious education, my primitive pantheism has pointed me in the direction of Theosophy, the most human and rational of philosophic concepts. I believe in the immutable laws of Nature. And Humanity and the Good impregnate my spirit as the ethical end of all existence.
</blockquote>
Here his references to "severe religious education" and "primitive pantheism" are more an accommodation to bolster his identity as Chief Nitsuga Mangore than an accurate statement of facts. But his mentioning theosophy and the "immutable laws of Nature" can be seen as sincere and genuine. Barrios was a humanist, an idealist, a romantic. He intuitively recognized that there is a relationship between the good, the true and the beautiful and that all these realities are reflected in love towards life and one's fellow beings. Recognition of and resignation to these truths are powerfully expressed in the major key section of his last piece ''Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios'' – the composition closes with a definite affirmation of these eternal values that Barrios achieved and manifested throughout his life: love being the process, and truth, beauty and goodness being the byproducts.<ref>Stover, 199-200.</ref>
</blockquote>

Late in his life Barrios was also associated with Theosophist '''General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez''' (1882-1966), the President of El Salvador, who arranged for Barrios to have a professorship in San Salvador. Hernández Martínez joined the Theosophical Society in El Salvador in 1931, serving as president of the Teotle Lodge and as the General Secretary of the Section. During World War II he became a member of the Theosophical Society in America, joining the Brotherhood Lodge on October 15, 1944 while living in New Orleans, and then transferring to the Florida Group after a move to Miami Beach. He subsequently lived much of the rest of his life in Honduras, but maintained a membership in the Miami Lodge.<ref>"Maximiliano H. Martinez." Membership Ledger Sheets Roll 4. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref> While Hernández Martínez was interested in the occult and believed in [[reincarnation]], his brutal actions as President of El Salvador do not reflect Theosophists' commitment to [[Universal Brotherhood|brotherhood]].

It seems likely that Barrios participated in the Teotle Lodge in the early 1940s, from his own interest and out of respect to his powerful patron.

== Artistic career ==

During the course of his musical career, Barrios toured extensively to perform concerts. He composed more than 100 original works, and made at least 200 arrangements of works by other composers including Bach and Beethoven. His classical guitar performances were recorded as early as 1909. Early concerts were in Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil.

In the 1930s he began to appear in concerts wearing clothing that reflected the native Guarani culture of Paraguay. In concert he performed his own compositions under the name "Mangoré" or "Nitsuga Mangoré" for the first half of the program, wearing native attire such as a feathered headdress. After an intermission he reappeared in formal European clothing to play traditional classical guitar works and Bach.

In 1935 he spent a year with the Paraguayan ambassador to Mexico, Tomás Salomonis, traveling to Belgium, Germany and Spain with performances in Brussels and Madrid. After leaving Europe, he toured in in Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

=== Compositions ===

The style of Barrios' original compositions has been called "late Romantic." Central and South American folk songs influenced his work.

His revered 1921 composition '''''La Catedral''''' was inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach played on a pipe organ in a cathedral. In addition to becoming a staple of classical music repertoire, this work has been transcribed for piano, harpsichord, and marimba.

[[File:MANGORÉ bust.jpg‎|right|170px|thumb|Bust by Juan Gilberto Núñez]]

== Awards and honors ==

Barrios is a great source of national pride in his native country. A '''bank note''' in the denomination of 50,000 guaranies was issued by the government of Paraguay, with a portrait of Barrios on the front and a guitar on the back. In 1994 several '''stamps''' were issued to honor the 50th anniversary of Barrios' death. The Ministerio de Educación y Ciencias named a '''school''' after the artist in Villa Elisa, a city on the outskirts of Asunciόn.

A '''bust''' by sculptor Juan Gilberto Núñez was installed in the Teatro Municipal “Ignacio A. Pane” de Asunción. An '''international guitar competition''' is named for Agustin Barrios and features performance of his compositions.

<gallery widths="170px" heights="90px" perrow="5">
File:Barrios stamp 1994 portrait.jpg|<center>1994 stamp</center>
File:Barrios stamps 1994.png|<center>1994 stamps</center>
File:Barrios bank note.jpg|<center>Bank note</center>
File:Back of Barrios bank note.png|<center>Guitar on back of bank note</center>
</gallery>

== Additional resources ==

[[File:Six-Silver-Moonbeams.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Cover of biography]]

=== Biographies ===

* Fricke, Hannes. '''''Mythos Gitarre: Geschichte, Interpreten, Sternstunden'''''. Stuttgart: Reclam, 2013. 271 pages.
* Stover, Richard D. '''''Six Silver Moonbeams. The Life and Times of Agustín Barrios Mangoré'''''. Clovis, Calif.: Querico Publications, 1992. 271 pages. This first edition is available at [https://archive.org/details/sixsilvermoonbea00stov/ Internet Archive]. [http://www.ricoguitarnails.com/CDs/Six_Silver_Moonbeams.html A second, expanded edition] is 432 pages in length, and is described in Amazon.com: "featuring 200 photographs, numerous letters, drawings and poems of Barrios, concert programs (over a hundred), harmonic analysis of selected works, commentaries by John Williams, Leo Brouwer and Sila Godoy, original scores of numerous works, plus chapters on 'The Guitar in Paraguay,' 'Barrios and Segovia,' as well as a complete listing of Barrios’ works and recordings."

=== Websites ===
* [http://www.barrioscompetition.com/ '''Agustín Barrios''' International Guitar Competition]
* [https://www.portalguarani.com/891_agustin_pio_mangore_barrios/17030_mangore_interpreta_a_mangore.html '''Agustín Pío (Mangoré) Barrios'''] in Portal Guarani. Spanish.

=== Videos ===

Dozens of musicians have recorded performance of Barrios compositions on YouTube and other Internet platforms. For example, a YouTube search of [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=la+catedral+barrios+ "La Catedral Barrios"] provides well over 100 results. Numerous master classes and biographical videos are also available. Here are examples:

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAkiXlKAjTA Barrios: Life and Art of a Guitar Poet]''' on YouTube. Posted Oct 5, 2021 by Daniele Magli. 2013 film biography originally called '''Mangoré - Por Amor al Arte''' ["Mangoré - For the Love of Art"] in Spanish with English subtitles. 1 hour, 41 minutes. Directed by Luis R. Vera, starring Damián Alcázar, Rafael Alfaro, and Clotilde Cabral. Here is a [https://www.veojam.com/watch/1539774547 trailer].
* '''[https://www.veojam.com/watch/1417890628 Barrios Mangore - Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]'''. David Russell presents a session of a guitar master class teaching "Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios" (Alms for the Love of God), one of the most famous and most often performed Barrios compositions.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDdeoB2VyNI Pequeños Universos - Agustín Barrios "Mangoré"]'''. Television documentary from Argentina in Spanish. 26 minutes. Posted on YouTube by Julián Rodríguez Barrios, grandson of the composer.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7NgaWqJEyE Biografía de Agustin Barrios]'''. 33 minutes. Posted by Profesora Superior de Guitarra Clásica Claudia Delvalle. 2016.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcU4NA1P8qo Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios]''' performed by Ana Vidovic.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmc6KV0_UVM Ana Vidovic plays 'La Catedral' by Agustín Barrios Mangoré on a classical guitar]''' on SiccasGuitars YouTube channel. Posted June 19, 2015.

=== Audio recordings ===

* '''[https://archive.org/details/lp_john-williams-plays-music-of-agustn-barrio_john-williams-agustn-barrios-mangor John Williams Plays Music of Agustín Barrios Mangoré]'''. 8 compositions.
* '''[https://archive.org/details/podcast_cgu-concerts-at-cst-audio-seri_guitar-music-by-agustin-barrio_1000115892873 Guitar Music by Agustín Barrios Mangoré, and Others]''' by Matthew Butler. 2012.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXcfbaDK-0E BBC4 Great Lives - Agustin Barrios Mangore]'''. Radio program in which classical guitarist John Williams explains to Matthew Parris why he believes Paraguayan guitarist Agustin Barrios Mangore led a "great life." Also features Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Composers|Barrios]]
[[Category:Musicians|Barrios]]
[[Category:Poets|Barrios]]
[[Category:Famous people|Barrios]]
[[Category:Nationality Paraguayan|Barrios]]
[[Category:People|Barrios]]

Deva

2026-06-13T02:26:15Z

SysopJ: /* Additional resources */

'''Deva''' (Devanagari: देव) is the [[Sanskrit]] word for deity (female ''devī''). Derived from the root ''div'', "to shine or become bright," a deva is a “shining one.”

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] defined it as follows:

<blockquote>Deva (Sk.). A god, a “resplendent” deity. Deva-Deus, from the root div “to shine”. A Deva is a celestial being—whether good, bad, or indifferent. Devas inhabit “the three worlds”, which are the three planes above us. There are 33 groups or 330 millions of them.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 98.</ref></blockquote>

In one of [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']] the [[Koot Hoomi| Master K.H.]] says that there are two classes of devas or [[Dhyāni-Chohan]]s: the "Rupa-devas" (with "form" or objective) and the "Arupa-devas" ("formless" or subjective). They both were men in previous [[manvantara]]s.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 196.</ref>

== Additional resources ==
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/devas Devas] at Theosophy World

=== Articles ===
* [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/devic-consciousness?highlight=WyJkZXZpYyIsImt1bnoiXQ== Devic Consciousness] by Dora Kunz. Reprinted from "Devic Consciousness." ''Quest'' 97. 4 (Fall 2009): 152-153.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Sanskrit terms]]
[[Category:Hindu concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Hindu mythology]]
[[it:Deva]]
[[es:Deva]]

L. W. Rogers

2026-06-11T18:43:12Z

SysopJ:

[[File:LW Rogers 2.jpg|250px|right|thumb|L. W. Rogers]]
'''Louis William Rogers''' ([[May 28]], 1859 - [[April 18]], 1953) was an American lecturer and editor who served from 1920 to 1931 as General Secretary and President of the [[American Theosophical Society]] in the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society based in Adyar]]. A man of great energy and vision, he organized dozens of lodges in the United States, he was always known as "L. W."

== Personal life ==

Louis William Rogers was born in Benton, Linn County, Iowa on [[May 28]], 1859. He attended college, then taught in the public schools of Iowa and Kansas for five years, beginning late in the 1870s.<ref>Stuart B. Kaufman, Peter J. Albert, and Grace Palladino (eds.), ''The Samuel Gompers Papers: Volume 4: A National Labor Movement Takes Shape, 1895-98'', (Urbana, IL: Illinois University Press, 1991), 547-548.</ref> In the 1880s Rogers became a public lecturer in the [[Free Thought]] movement, which had Rationalism as its underlying philosophy. After a career as a union organizer and journalist, he became involved in the [[American Theosophical Society]], to which he devoted the rest of his life.

[[File:LWR with May S Rogers in Hollywood.jpg|right|320px|thumb|L. W. and May Rogers in Hollywood]]
[[File:Stanley Rogers at Adyar.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Stanley photographing dignitaries in Adyar, December 25, 1925. Proud parents at right.]]
=== Marriage and children ===

Around 1907, Rogers married Fannie May Strong, always known as '''"May"''' or "Maysie." She was born on January 13, 1877 in Ferndale, California, as the daughter of Jacob H. Strong and Frances Walker Strong.<ref>U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. Application for May Strong Rogers.</ref><ref>Cook County, Illinois, Birth Certificates Index, 1871-1922. Birth certificate for Stanley.</ref> Son '''Stanley''' was born in Illinois on October 4, 1908, and son '''Grayson''' followed on October 13, 1910 in New York.<ref>1910 U. S. Census.</ref><ref>1940 U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.</ref>

The family maintained a base in southern California, even though they traveled extensively on lecture tours. They owned a house at 2033 N. Argyle Avenue, in the Old Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles where the [[Krotona in Hollywood|Krotona colony]] had been established in 1911. [[Charles Hampton]] was a neighbor at 2041 N. Argyle. During the early days of Krotona, L.W. was the Propaganda Manager, and May was editor of [[The Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger,'']] the Society's journal.

May lived in Hollywood with the boys most of the time. In 1930 she and her sons were living there with a woman boarder, and their next-door neighbor was artist and Theosophist [[Beatrice Wood]]. Stanley was working as a teacher in a private school and 19-year-old Grayson was not employed. L. W. was not present. When the census was taken, he was in the Wheaton, Illinois headquarters of the American Theosophical Society, or else on the road lecturing.<ref>1930 U. S. Census.</ref> By 1940, both sons were still living with their mother at Argyle Avenue. Stanley worked for the Francis Bacon Foundation, and Grayson at the R. K. O. Studio.<ref>1940 U. S. Census.</ref><ref>1940 U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.</ref>

May Rogers was very active in the Theosophical Society. She accompanied her husband on many of his lecture tours, including two long visits to Australia. After L. W. had stirred up interest in a new location with his rousing public lectures, Maysie would teach a beginning class in [[Theosophy]] for two weeks, so that a new lodge could be left well-established. During the war years, she headed the Red Cross relief efforts; played music at Krotona concerts and Liberal Catholic Church services; served for a time as secretary to [[Annie Besant]] in Adyar in 1929; and was Vice President of the Southern California Federation. Mrs. Rogers was much loved by her coworkers: "She is everything that is loving, joyous, and beautiful, as well as gifted and capable."<ref>"Editor Visits Australia" ''The Messenger'' 6.1 (June 1918), 841.</ref>

Sons Grayson and Stanley were also involved with the Society. In 1926 [[George S. Arundale]], then General Secretary of the Australian Section, wrote that "We are indeed blessed with Mr. Stanley Rogers, a printing expert, the son of the American General Secretary and of Mrs. Rogers. What we should do without him I do not know."<ref>"News Items" ''The Messenger'' 14.3 (August 1926), 65.</ref> Stanley worked in the printing department of ''Advance! Australia.''<ref>"News Items" ''The Messenger'' 14.8 (Jan 1927), 180.</ref>

May survived her husband by thirteen years. She passed away on April 15, 1966 in Ojai, California.<ref>U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014.</ref>

== Railroad career and union activities ==

Rogers began a railroad career with a job as a brakeman, "when fresh from college," and went on to edit a series of periodicals related to railroads and the hazardous conditions of their union workers.<ref>"The New President" ''The Messenger'' 8.1 (June 1920), 446. This article was derived from a sketch by Bruno Ussher.</ref> In 1888 Rogers launched a short-lived newspaper, the ''Railroad Patriot'' of St. Joseph, Missouri.<ref>Kaufman, 547-548.</ref> The next year, he moved to Colorado, where he became active first in the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen and then in the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.<ref>Kaufman, 547-548.</ref> From 1889 to 1892 he edited several periodicals - the ''Railroad Brakemen's Journal'', the ''Denver Patriot'', and the ''Vona Herald''. Early in the 1890s Rogers returned to the Midwest, moving first to the rail hub of Galesburg, Illinois, then to Chicago, and finally in 1892 to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He published a new paper, the ''Age of Labor'', which merged in 1893 with ''The Labor Advocate'', a prominent labor newspaper of the day.<ref>Kaufman, 547-548.</ref> That year he helped to establish the Wisconsin Federation of Labor.<ref>Kaufman, 547-548.</ref> During this period he also fought for "child labor laws in the factories, and was a co-worker with Florence Kelly and Jane Addams of Hull House fame."<ref>"The New President" ''The Messenger'' 8.1 (June 1920), 446.</ref>

[[File:LW Rogers 6.jpg|170px|right|thumb|L. W. Rogers]]

=== American Railway Union activities ===

In 1894, former Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen official '''Eugene V. Debs''' established the American Railway Union (ARU), attempting to create an industrial union that joined all the railway workers in a powerful, centralized organization. Rogers became a member of the ARU's executive board, and was appointed editor of the organization's weekly newspaper, ''Railway Times''.<ref>Kaufman, 547-548.</ref> In 1894, the United States Attorney General responded to the ARU's famous '''Pullman Strike''' by issuing an injunction ordering the union to cease striking against any train carrying U.S. Mail.<ref>David Ray Papke, ''The Pullman Case: The Clash of Labor and Capital in Industrial America.'', (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1999), 40.</ref> L. W. Rogers, Eugene V. Debs, and two other union officials were found to be in contempt of the injunction, and they surrendered to authorities on [[July 17]], 1894. Bail was set at $3,000 each, and all four ARU officials waived the right to post bail. They were immediately taken to Cook County Jail. Rogers later recalled that the substantial amount set for bail was not the cause of the decision to waive bail, declaring, "If it was $2, I'd go to jail. This is a mighty test between labor and capital, and we will fight it to the finish."<ref>Quoted in Papke, ''The Pullman Case'', 44.</ref> The four were released on July 25.<ref name=Const72>J. Robert Constantine (ed.), ''Letters of Eugene V. Debs: Volume 1, 1874-1912'', (Urbana, IL: Illinois University Press, 1990), 72.</ref> After a trial, the union and its leaders were found guilty of having conducted an illegal strike in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.<ref>Papke, ''The Pullman Case,'' pp. 49-50.</ref> Rogers was sentenced to three months to be served in McHenry County Jail, which was served from June to August, 1895.<ref>Constantine (ed.), ''Letters of Eugene V. Debs: Vol. 1,'' pg. 98, fn. 9.</ref> Debs and the union were subjected to further charges in a case that was defended all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court by the famous orator '''Clarence Darrow''', although the unionists ultimately lost.

=== Later activities in unions and journalism ===

Rogers moved to Pueblo, Colorado, where he worked as an organizer for the American Federation of Labor, and edited another labor newspaper in 1896, the ''Industrial Advocate''.<ref>Kaufman, 547-548.</ref> He was sent by the ''Denver News'' "as special correspondent to the mining camps of the Rocky mountains, in the era when pistols and knives were relied upon to settle arguments." In 1897 he returned to Chicago to edit ''The Social Democrat'', the journal of Eugene V. Debs' new political party, the Social Democratic Party of America. He also helped to organize Debs' lecture tours for two years.<ref>Kaufman, 547-548.</ref> He remained involved with the labor movement, serving as President of the Michigan Federation of Labor from 1898 to 1899.<ref>Kaufman, 547-548.</ref>

== Theosophical Society activities ==
[[File:L W Rogers from MD TS.jpg|left|130px|thumb|L. W. Rogers]]
In the 20th Century, Rogers' attention turned to spirituality, after '''Eugene V. Debs''' gave him a book about reincarnation.<ref>Joy Mills, ''100 Years of Theosophy in America'', Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 68.</ref>. In 1903 Rogers joined the [[American Theosophical Society]] during a course of lectures by [[Charles Webster Leadbeater]] in Los Angeles.<ref name=Quest>Robert Bonnell and Leatrice Kreeger-Bonnell, ''Quest'', 92:6 (Nov.-Dec. 2004), 224-226. Available at [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/memories-of-l-w-rogers "Memories of L.W. Rogers,"].</ref><ref>"The New President" ''The Messenger'' 8.1 (June 1920), 446.</ref> He threw himself whole-heartedly into the Theosophical movement, lecturing extensively and publishing numerous books, articles, and pamphlets on [[Reincarnation|reincarnation]], life after death, [[Karma|karma]], and [[Dreams|dreams]], and other matters. A firebrand speaker, Rogers was much in demand as a lecturer. Within fifteen years he had organized 53 new lodges.<ref>""About the Candidates: L. W. Rogers," ''The American Theosophist" 33.4 (April, 1945), 86.</ref>

From April, 1908 to October, 1909 he edited a periodical with the name [[The American Theosophist (periodical)|''American Theosophist'']], published in Albany, New York.

Over the course of many years, Mr. Rogers maintained a close association with [[Annie Besant]] and [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]]. He made two '''world-wide lecture tours''' through Europe, the Far East, and Australia.<ref>""About the Candidates: L. W. Rogers," ''The American Theosophist" 33.4 (April, 1945), 86.</ref>

Mr. Rogers’ granddaughter, Virginia Roach, commented on his strong friendship with '''[[Manly Palmer Hall|Manly Hall]]''', in an interview conducted by Robert and Leatrice Bonnell: “They were the closest of friends and spent many evenings exchanging views of lecturing locations pointed out on a world map spread before them. She also recalled the many Hall lectures, which L. W. enthusiastically attended.”<ref>Robert Bonnell and Leatrice Kreeger-Bonnell, "Memories of L. W. Rogers" ''The Quest'' 92.6 (November-December 2004), 224-226. Available at [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/memories-of-l-w-rogers Quest website].</ref>

[[File:LW Rogers in Casper WY 1940.jpg|right|300px|thumb|L. W. Rogers with members in Caspar, Wyoming, 1940.]]

== Lecture tours ==

Both as a union organizer and as a Theosophical worker, Mr. Rogers was known for his great skill in lecturing. He delivered thousands of lectures, and is credited with establishing fifty lodges during the years 1905-1920.<ref>"Convention Tribute to Mr. Rogers" ''The American Theosophist'' 25 no. 9 (September 1937): 214.</ref>

Massive correspondence and clerical work was needed to plan a lecture tour - arranging schedules, venues, and publicity, travel and housing arrangements, usually in coordination with local residents. Rogers had his touring down to a science. He knew the railway routes and schedules, hotels and newspaper offices across the country. When visiting a new city as a Theosophical lecturer, he always started off with these three lectures:
* "Reincarnation as Soul Growth"
* "Moulding Our Destiny"
* "Delusions about Death"<ref>L. W. Rogers letter to H. Kay Campbell. January 18, 1927. Records Series 08.04. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>

=== Promotion of lectures ===

Rogers advocated for vigorous promotion of lectures, and for adequate funding for advertising and rental of venues:
<blockquote>
One of the lectures given in New York City early in March illustrates what can be done when the necessary funds for hall rent and advertising are supplied. We took Cooper Union, one of the largest halls in New York, for this lecture and advertised liberally in the daily papers, on the billboards and by distributing descriptive programs to the colleges and universities. The result was that the great hall was crowded with an earnest, thoughtful audience. The New York Papers reported the lecture, describing the hall as being "packed to the doors" and the Associated Press sent the report to its papers throughout the country. From states as remote as Texas and California I received marked copies of dailies [newspapers] containing column reports of the lecture. It was by far the largest audience that ever assembled in New York to hear a theosophical lecture, our famous President's lectures [Annie Besant] not excepted, and the sole reason was that we had, through the help of a generous member, the money to take the right hall and to properly advertise. We reached more people in that one lecture and doubtless did more to spread the light of theosophy than in all the rest of the year's work.<ref>L. W. Rogers. "Report of Field Work of the Years 1910-1911" ''The Theosophic Messenger'' 13 no.1 (October, 1911): 56.</ref>
</blockquote>

=== 1912-1913 lectures ===
In early 1913, Rogers held a series of Sunday evening public lectures in New York City at the Berkeley Theatre. Admission was free, but a collection was taken up at each event. These were the lecture topics:<ref>"Mr. Rogers' Lectures" ''The American Theosophist'' 14 no.5 (Feb 1913): 408.</ref>

:: January 5 - Self Development and the Way to Power
:: January 12 - Visible and Invisible Evolution
:: January 26 - The Common Sense of Reincarnation
:: February 2 - Theosophy and the Bible
:: February 9 - The Utility of Tolerance
:: February 16 - The Evolution of the Soul
:: February 23 - The Life Sublime

This was only one activity in this lecture tour, in which he instituted the concept of a '''circuit'''. His report to the 1913 convention gives an idea of his energy and organization:

<blockquote>
I began the year in October, 1912, with a course of lectures in Paterson, New Jersey, and in the last part of October commenced a course of Sunday evening lectures in the rooms of New York and Central Lodges, New York. Contemporaneously with those Sunday evening lectures I began a series of Sunday evening lectures in Brooklyn. These ran six or eight weeks. From November 21st to 30th, inclusive, I gave a course of lectures in Washington. The series of lectures given in New York continued until June with the exception of one Sunday evening, and on that occasion [[Claude Bragdon|Mr. Bragdon]] acted as a substitute.

During the course of lectures in New York we inaugurated something that, so far as I know, is entirely new in America in the way of propaganda work, and that was establishing a '''circuit''' comprised of large cities to be taken in connection with the Sunday evening lectures in New York. This included in the north, Albany, Rochester and Buffalo. Each Sunday evening I lectured in New York, Wednesday in Rochester, Friday in Albany. Other evenings were given up to extra engagements. When this course of lectures for the northern circuit was complete, we laid out a southern circuit comprising New York, Wilmington, and Washington. During the first part of the season I was busy in the north and in the latter part, in the south, while all the time the New York engagement ran unbroken.

The work in New York soon outgrew the lodge room. At one time we had 225 people in the room... We decided that a larger room must be secured and through the generosity of some of the members and many small contributions from nearly all of the members, we raised a fund of about five hundred dollars to pay the rent and advertising necessary for Berkeley Theatre... until March. By that time we had enough people interested to organize Unity Lodge...

In Wilmington the entire territory was new. I had been at Wilmington once before in February, then I went back for a short course and afterwards we included it in the regular circuit until sufficient interest was established to form a lodge. After the close of the New York work I stopped at Kingston on my way north; at Rochester a week; two weeks in Detroit, and, by an arrangement with Mr. Yarco, I went into Canada, and established a centre in Hamilton, consisting of about thirty people. Then, for want of anything better to do, I came to Chicago and put in four weeks, because when one cannot do special work in new territory, one must come into the old. From there I went to Sault Ste. Marie. I could not establish a centre in that city for want of a hall, but I did get an opera house for one night and had a splendid audience.

During the past year I have had the great pleasure of visiting twenty-three Theosophic centres, mainly those of the middle section of the country, which could be reached by a night’s journey, but latterly a trip was planned westward through Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, and northward along the Pacific Coast to, and including, Victoria and Vancouver, stopping at San Francisco, Oakland, and Seattle, thence eastward through Washington and Montana. Some of the points mentioned have been visited several times, namely Kansas City, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Omaha, and Council Bluffs.

I have delivered, outside of my home city Chicago, up to the present time [September 4], fifty-four public lectures, twenty-six talks to members only, held thirteen general [[Esoteric Section|E. S.]] meetings, and gave fourteen public lectures under the auspices of the [[Order of the Star in the East|O. S. E.]] Arrangements are already made for a ten-day course of lectures before the Northwestern Federation at Lake Shawnigan, beginning August 1st; also lectures to be given at the following cities: Tacoma, Victoria, Vancouver, Spokane, Butte, Anaconda, Helena, and Great Falls.<ref>"Report of L. W. Rogers" ''The Messenger'' 1 no.6 (Nov 1913): 101-102. This report was given at convention, September 4-8, 1913.</ref>
</blockquote>

=== 1918 Australian tour ===

In 1918 Mr. Rogers toured Australia as a lecturer, where large audiences heard him nightly in Sydney.<ref>"Mr. Cooper and Mr. Rogers" ''The Messenger'' 6 no. 4 (September 1918): 119.</ref> [[Irving S. Cooper]] was also in Sydney, assisting [[Charles Webster Leadbeater]] with matters related to the [[Liberal Catholic Church]] and occult properties of its mass. Cooper was well known to Rogers, having boarded with the Rogers family in 1910 in New Jersey. Mrs. Rogers also traveled separately to Australia with her young sons, who were then 7 and 9 years old. She wrote an account of her activities to ''The Messenger'':
<blockquote>
The particular task in which is just now her privilege and great joy to be engaged, is that of assisting Mr. Leadbeater in the preparation of several new Theosophical text-books. She is very, very busy and wonderfully happy over her great opportunity. When she returns to America, it will be with renewed inspiration and increased powers for helping the cause of Theosophy.<ref>"News from Mrs. Rogers" ''The Messenger'' 6 no. 4 (September 1918): 119.</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Challenges of touring ===

An incident in 1934 illustrates the challenges of cross-country lecture tours:
<blockquote>
Mr. Rogers and Grayson were on their way to Denver from St. Louis... when they struck an unexpected layer of loose sand, the car overturned and turned over at least twice on its way down an embankment. Mr. Rogers suffered a good many bruises and was badly shaken up, but a crushed finger was the only injury demanding hospital treatment. They were able to flag a train and get into Denver without too long delay, and Mr. Rogers kept his evening lecture engagement without allowing what he termed a rather disreputable appearance, to say nothing of a painful finger, to interfere.<ref>Anonymous, "Mr. Rogers' Accident" ''The American Theosophist'' 22 no. 6 (June, 1934): 139.</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1936, Rogers took a year off:
<blockquote>
After over thirty years of itinerant Theosophical lecturing from September to May, Mr. Rogers tells us that he has decided to take a full year of rest and will do no public lecturing anywhere before the autumn of 1937.<ref>"Mr. Rogers," ''The American Theosophist'' 24 no.10 (October, 1936): 236.</ref>
</blockquote>

In November, 1942, "due to a bad cold acquired on an overheated sleeper, Mr. Rogers has been in a hospital in Spokane with a mild case of pneumonia." He had to cancel the remainder of the tour and return to his home in Los Angeles to rest. He was then 82 years old.<ref>"Mr. Rogers Cancels" ''The American Theosophist'' 30.11 (November, 1942), 261.</ref>

== Vice President and Acting President ==

He was elected Vice President of the [[American Theosophical Society] in 1918 during the administration of [[A. P. Warrington]]. For nearly a year of his term, Rogers was assisting the Australian Section as a visiting lecturer, but the tour was cut short due to influenza. He was welcomed back to Krotona in mid-1919.<ref>"Mr. Rogers Returns" ''The Messenger'' 6.12 (May, 1919), 367.</ref> He lectured in Nevada and all along the Pacific coast.<ref>L. W. Rogers, "From Mr. Rogers" ''The Messenger'' 7.3 (August, 1919), 87-88.</ref>In August he proceeded to Alaska, where no Theosophical lecturer had ventured before, and then went on to Winnipeg.<ref>L. W. Rogers, "Organizing the Northland" ''The Messenger'' 7.3 (August, 1919), 74-75.</ref> During travels to remote locations, Rogers was always the journalist. He regularly sent back riveting travelogues of the places he visited – the weather, people, customs, geography, schools, and economy – and always the prospects for forming Theosophical lodges.

On March 18, 1920, [[A. P. Warrington]] addressed a letter to the Trustees of the Section, announcing his resignation, writing:
<blockquote>
It is a happiness to realize that we have as Vice-President so able and valuable a worker as Mr. Rogers to take the office of the National President. Because of his rare qualities and long devotion to the service, I lay down the duties of my office with serene confidence, well knowing that under his wise direction the affairs of the Section will be devotedly and successfully guided.<ref>''The Messenger'' 7 no. 11 (April, 1920): 337-338.</ref>
</blockquote>

== President of the American Theosophical Society ==

[[File:Rogers at desk 1927.jpg|300px|right|thumb|President L. W. Rogers at desk, 1927. Image from TSA Archives.]]
[[File:Rogers sculpture.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Ceramic sculpture of L. W. Rogers by Lillian Zimmermann]]

Unfortunately, Rogers stepped into the presidency at a time when the membership was deeply divided and agitated over the role of the Krotona Institute of Theosophy hosting the [[American Theosophical Society|American Theosophical Society's]] headquarters. International President [[Annie Besant]] was considering an equitable solution of the problem, whether the ATS should legally reincorporate in California, or whether the assets of Krotona should be sold and divided among several organizations. Members voted (in a nonbinding referendum) to give control of the Krotona property to the American Section, since they were dismayed at lack of clarity in Krotona fundraising efforts that failed to designate whether donations were intended to support KIT or ATS.

In his first actions as President, Rogers was decisive. Within a month, he changed the venue and schedule for the Thirty-Fourth Annual Convention from Seattle in March to Chicago in July, with the full agreement of the Board of Directors. The intention behind the change was to remove the convention from political turmoil.

The National Secretary, [[Foster Bailey]], was replaced by Mrs. Betsey Jewett. At the same time, Rogers removed the editor of the Society's periodical, [[The Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger'']], Alice Evans, who later became [[Alice Bailey]]. Mrs. Grace Boughton Voce became Editor. Woodruff Sheppard, the Publicity Director, was removed from his position, and Bruno Ussher temporarily took over.<ref>Mills, 68-69.</ref>

In May Rogers published a statement of policy that he had promised to the membership. While the [[American Theosophical Society]] was sound financially, its affairs were complicated by the economic disarray of the [[Krotona Institute of Theosophy]]. Ultimately the '''property in Hollywood''' was sold. The Esoteric Section moved to Ojai, California, and Rogers '''moved headquarters''' operations back to Chicago, which he considered to be more suitable due to its central location. The [[Theosophical Book Concern]] was re-established to increase publication and distribution of Theosophical books. His plan was to emphasize '''publishing''' as a major activity of the national organization, and to strengthen the local groups with '''national lecturers'''. In 1920 alone, he opened 55 branches of the Society. A tireless organizer, he continually lectured all over the country.

Some members pushed back against these changes and the way in which they were presented. A "Committee of Fourteen Hundred" was took form in the month following convention, with the objective to establish "genuine self-government in the American Section T.S., based on the true democracy of the Theosophical Society." Personal attacks were made on Rogers and Warrington in circulars and letters to editors. The turmoil involving this group and its predecessor, the "Towards Democracy League" are described in some detail by Joy Mills in her history ''100 Years of Theosophy''.<ref>Joy Mills, ''100 Years of Theosophy'', 67-82.</ref> After a turbulent convention in 1920, a triennial election was held at the 1921 convention, and Rogers was elected as President to continue his agenda.

By 1925, the headquarters location in Chicago had become very overcrowded, and an initiative was undertaken to find a '''new permanent location'''. Rogers and his board wanted to stay in a central location within 500 miles of Chicago, and to create a campus where administrative activities could be conducted along with educational events and retreats. The National Secretary H. Kay Campbell found suitable land in Wheaton, Illinois that eventually became known as the '''[[Olcott (campus)|Olcott campus]]'''. Members donated and loaned money so that the headquarters building could be built, and operations were moved into it in September 1927. The headquarters structure was eventually renamed the '''[[L. W. Rogers Building]]''' in honor of the President who made it happen.

Among the other accomplishments of the Rogers administration are these:<ref>Robert Bonnell and Leatrice Kreeger-Bonnell, "Memories of L. W. Rogers" ''The Quest'' 92 no. 6 (November-December 2004): 224-226. Available at [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/memories-of-l-w-rogers Quest website].</ref><ref>Mills, 82-98.</ref>

* Increasing '''membership''' from 3,000 to an all-time high of 8,713 members in 1921.
* Increasing the number of '''lodges''' from 100 to 209.
* Founding the [[Theosophical Book Gift Institute]].
* Revising the national '''by-laws''' to a more democratic platform, including election of Vice President and other officers who had previously been appointed.
* Founding the [[Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger'']] newsletter.
* Establishing the [[Theosophical Press]] (named by Gail Wilson).
* Encouraging [[Vegetarianism|vegetarianism]] for establishing a '''Vegetarian Cooking Club'''.
* Establishing a '''Purchasing Service Bureau''' managed by Dr. Ernest Stone to sell hard-to-find foods and other items to members.
* Sponsoring an excellent range of national lecturers, including [[Eugene Munson]], Claude Watson, Hilda Powell, [[Ernest Wood]], J. C. Chatterji, and others.
* Establishing a national library, now called the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

[[File:Rogers 90th birthday in 1949 .jpg|right|180px|thumb|90th birthday on May 28, 1949]]

== Later years ==

[[Sidney A. Cook]] took over as president in 1931. During the years after his presidency, Mr. Rogers continued to lecture around the country on behalf of the Society. In 1931 Mr. Rogers reported that 48 new members joined the St. Louis Lodge after a week of lectures, and regarded that as "the largest number ever obtained during a single week by one Lodge in his entire experience of 28 years."<ref>"What Lodges Are Doing" ''The Theosophical Messenger'' 19.5 (May, 1931), 402.</ref> Another spectacular success in his later years of lecturing came when he toured Mexico in 1939: "Inspired by the leadership of Mr. L. W. Rogers, thirty-eight members in Mexico City have joined hands in a new lodge for the spreading of Theosophy in Mexico. Mr. Rogers writes that thirty-six of these members are entirely new to the Society."<ref>"New Lodge In Mexico, " ''The American Theosophist'' 27. 10 (October, 1939), 239.</ref>

In order to reach southern and eastern locations more easily, Rogers moved in 1944 from California to St. Petersburg, Florida, but in 1947 at age 88 he announced his retirement from the lecture circuit.

Instead he undertook expansion of the [[Theosophical Book Gift Institute]]. In the first year he and Mrs. Lillian Carr of Paterson Lodge (New Jersey) placed 5-6 books in each of 502 institutions - 254 public libraries, plus academic libraries, and collections in hospitals, naval bases, and prisons.<ref>L. W. Rogers, "Theosophical Book Gift Institute in 1947" ''The American Theosophist'' 35.1 (January, 1947), 17-18.</ref>

The organization incorporated as an Illinois not-for-profit corporation in 1948. At the passing of Eugene Wix, who initially served as secretary-treasurer, Mr. Rogers took on the position of secretary, and [[Herbert A. Kern, Sr.]] became the treasurer. Rogers wrote,
<blockquote>
Mr. Kern is not only a long-time member of The Theosophical Society but is a man with very wide business experience. T. G. B. I. is indeed fortunate to have him on its working staff.

With this improvement in its working force T. G. B. I. will carry on the work with renewed energy. Its past work has scattered thousands of theosophical books over the nation; and they are now available to readers in scores of universities, colleges, public libraries, hospitals, on the ships of the United States Navy and in military camps and training stations.
<ref>"T. G. B. I. Affairs," ''The American Theosophist'' 36.5 (May, 1948), 119.</ref>
</blockquote>

Louis Rogers died in Santa Barbara, California, on [[April 18]], 1953.<ref>State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940-1997''. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. California, Death Index, 1940-1997.</ref>

== Editorial work ==

As President of the American Theosophical Society, Rogers was the editor of its journals. '''[[The Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger'']]''' was the national monthly magazine published until December, 1927, when it was renamed as '''[[The Theosophical Messenger (periodical)|''The Theosophical Messenger'']]''', using the same volume and issue numbering.

'''[[Ancient Wisdom (periodical)|''Ancient Wisdom'']]''' was a monthly periodical founded and edited by Charles E. Luntz, Sr. of St. Louis with L. W. Rogers in August, 1935. After the first six issues, Mr. Rogers reduced his participation and Mr. Luntz became the sole editor, publishing it privately at his own expense as a service to the Theosophical lodges.

Rogers also published '''[[The Voice (periodical)|''The Voice'']]''', beginning in 1952. He wrote:
<blockquote>
When I stopped lecturing the cause was not my health but my voice. After nearly forty years of it my voice was too worn for anything more than a few minutes at a time. It had been my intention to write one more book to discuss some important phases of Theosophy but it was finally decided instead to start a small monthly journal which can also be a teacher and enable me to continue my public work. The name of the new publication will be ''The Voice''. Published at Ojai, California, it will make its appearance in July. In form it will be a very small newspaper and that simplicity enables the subscription price to be only one dollar a year so that all who have the least interest in it will be able to have it.<ref>L. W. Rogers, "A New Publication by Mr. Rogers" ''The American Theosophist'' 40.8 (July, 1952), 140.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Writings about Theosophy ==

In 1949, Mr. Rogers was awarded the '''[[Subba Row Medal]]''' for his contributions to Theosophical literature.

Mr. Rogers wrote hundreds of columns and articles for [[The Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger'']], [[The Theosophic Messenger (periodical)|''The Theosophic Messenger'']], [[The American Theosophist (periodical)|''The American Theosophist'']], [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']], [[Discovery (periodical)|''Discovery'']], '''Ancient Wisdom''', and other periodicals. The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists:

* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=LW+Rogers&s=author 578 articles by "LW Rogers"]'''.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=L+W+Rogers&s=author 130 articles by "L W Rogers"]'''.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=LWR&s=author 340 articles by LWR]'''.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=LW+Rogers&s=title 25 articles about LW Rogers]'''.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=L+W+Rogers&s=title 8 articles about L W Rogers]'''.

These are some of his numerous books and pamphlets, listed in order of publication:

* '''''The Evidence for Theosophy: A Lecture'''''. Harrogate: Theosophical Publishing Committee, 1906.
* '''''The Occultism in Shakespeare's Plays'''''. New York: Theosophical Book Co., 1909. Available at [http://www.archive.org/details/occultisminshake00rogeuoft Internet Archive] and [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t9960fv2p;view=1up;seq=3 Hathitrust].
* '''''Occultism as a Factor in Civilization: A Lecture on the Two Phases of Human Evolution Represented in the Civilization of the Occident and the Orient'''''. Ridgewood, NJ: Theosophical Book Company, 1910.
* '''''The Hidden Side of Evolution: A Lecture on the Reasonableness of the Existence of a Spiritual Hierarchy and the Guidance of Human Evolution'''''. Chicago: L.W. Rogers, n.d. [c. 1910s].
* '''''What Theosophy Is'''''. Chicago: National Publicity Department, Theosophical Society, 1910.
* [https://archive.org/details/RogersSoulPowersAndPossibilities'''''Soul Powers and Possibilities: A Lecture on Some of the Methods by which those powers that are latent in all human beings may be evolved'''''.] Ridgewood, N.J.: Theosophical Book Co., 1910.
* '''''Karma: Nature's Law of Justice: A Lecture on the Law of Cause and Effect as Operating in Some of the Affairs of Love'''''. Los Angeles: Theosophical Book Concern, n.d. [c. 1910s].
* '''''Hints to Young Students of Occultism'''''.
**3rd Edition - Ridgewood, N.J.: The Theosophical Book Co., 1911. Available at [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t10p0zq0z;view=1up;seq=2 Hathitrust].
**4th Edition - Los Angeles: Theosophical Book Concern, 1917. Available at [Available at [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t10p0zq0z;view=1up;seq=2 Hathitrust] and [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t2j67cj36;view=1up;seq=5 another Hathitrust version].
**Chicago: Theosophical Theosophical Concern, 1931.
* '''''The Inspired Life'''''. Los Angeles: L.W. Rogers, 1915.
* '''''Self Development and the Way to Power'''''. Los Angeles: L.W. Rogers, 1916. Available at [http://www.contentreserve.com/TitleInfo.asp?ID={CD00D154-6AB7-4A42-ACB0-2536D65B5B72}&Format=50 Overdrive Content Reserve], [https://archive.org/details/selfdevelopmentw00rogerich Internet Archive], and [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b274153;view=1up;seq=5 Hathitrust].
* '''''Elementary Theosophy'''''. Los Angeles: Theosophical Book Concern, 1917. Seven more edition by Theosophical Press and Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton, Illinois. 1917 edition available online at [http://archive.org/details/elementarytheoso00rogerich Internet Archive] and [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433070227073;view=1up;seq=9 Hathitrust].
* '''''The Life Sublime'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1917.
* '''''Reincarnation from the Scientific Viewpoint: A Lecture''''' Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1917.
* '''''Reincarnation: Do We Live on Earth Again?''''' Chicago: National Publicity Dept., Theosophical Society, 1917.
* '''''The Logic of Reincarnation: A Lecture'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Co., 1918.
* '''''Beyond the Border: A Lecture'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Co., 1918.
* '''''Occultism as a Factor in Civilization: A Lecture'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1918.
* '''''Scientific Evidence of Future Life: A Lecture'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1918.
* '''''The Invisible World About Us: A Lecture on the Unseen Regions Beyond the Grasp of the Physical Senses and the Life We Live After Bodily Death'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1918. Available at [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b275302;view=1up;seq=3 Hathitrust].
* '''''Australian War Speeches and the Soldier Dead'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, c. 1918.
* '''''Dreams and Premonitions'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1923 and Wheaton, Ill.: The Theosophical Press, 1948.
* '''''Theosophical Questions Answered'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1924.
* '''''Gods in the Making, and Other Lectures'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1925. Republished in 1950 as '''''Man: An Embryo God, and Other Lectures'''''.
* '''''The Purpose of Life, and Other Lectures'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1925.
* '''''The Soldier Dead; and A Scientific Religion'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1925.
* '''''Universal Brotherhood'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Concern, 1925.
* '''''The Coming Civilization'''''. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1934.
* '''''Olcott Manual: First Series: Theosophy, Religion, Science, Philosophy'''''. With Annie Besant. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Press, 1934.
* '''''[https://archive.org/details/study-in-evolution A Study in Evolution]'''''. Chicago: Theo Book Company, 1936. 32 pages. Evolution in government and civilization.
* '''''Reincarnation, and Other Lectures'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Press, n.d. [1940s].
* '''''The Ghosts in Shakespeare: A Study of the Occultism in the Shakespeare Plays'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Press, 1949 and 1955; New York, Haskell House Publishers, 1972; and Folcroft, Pa.: Folcroft Library Editions, 1973. First edition was in 1925.
* '''''Man: An Embryo God, and Other Lectures'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Press, 1950. Published in 1925 as '''''Gods in the Making'''''.
* '''''Karma: The Law of Human Destiny'''''. New York: Philosophers Book Shop, n.d.
* '''''A World in Distress: the Remedy as Seen by the Theosophist''''' coauthored by C. Jinarājadāsa and Charles Leadbeater.

== Additional resources==
===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/memories-of-l-w-rogers Memories of L. W. Rogers] by Robert Bonnell and Leatrice Kreeger-Bonnell in ''The Quest'' Nov-Dec 2004.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._W._Rogers L. W. Rogers] in Wikipedia.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Presidents of TSA|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:General Secretaries in TS Adyar|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:Lecturers|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:Free Thought|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:Leaders|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:Editors|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:Writers|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:Social activists|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:Imprisoned|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:TS Adyar|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:Krotona Hollywood|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:Co-Masons|Rogers, L. W.]]
[[Category:People|Rogers, L. W.]]

L. W. Rogers Building

2026-06-11T13:43:19Z

SysopJ:

[[File:Rogers_Building_1a.jpg|470px|thumb|right|L. W. Rogers Building, front view, 2007]]
[[File:Historic Building plaque.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Historic building plaque, 2025]]
The '''L. W. Rogers Building''' is the headquarters of the [[Theosophical Society in America]], located on the [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott campus]] in Wheaton, Illinois. It houses the business offices, auditorium, classroom, meditation room, staff residences, guest rooms, and the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]]. The building came to be named after [[L. W. Rogers]], during whose term as Theosophical Society president it was built. It has been listed on the '''[https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/database-research.htm#table National Register of Historic Places]''' under Reference Number 100011694.

See more of the building in videos '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFXPgUdWdHw#t=60 The Theosophical Society in America: A Brief Tour]''' and '''[https://vimeo.com/1198174626 Centennial of Theosophical Society in Wheaton]'''.

== History ==
[[File:Rogers_at_desk_1927.jpg|200px|thumb|right|L. W. Rogers at his desk in 1927. Image from TSA Archives.]]

In 1925 the [[American Theosophical Society]], now known as the [[Theosophical Society in America]], purchased land in Wheaton, Illinois for a new headquarters campus. The Board of Directors approached architect [[Claude Bragdon]], a prominent member of the Society, to design a building to serve as the national administrative center. Bragdon was then closing down his architectural practice to begin a career in theatrical design, and recommended a Chicago architect, '''Irving Kane Pond''', of Pond & Pond, Martin & Lloyd, to take on the project. The architectural firm submitted two designs, and the Board could not decide between them, so President [[L. W. Rogers]] sent the drawings to Bragdon for review. Bragdon wired back that he preferred the asymmetrical design by Irving Pond over a symmetrical rendering by one of his partners.<ref>Claude Bragdon telegram to L. W. Rogers, 1926, TSA Archives.</ref>

The drawings from Irving Kane Pond's proposal were published in [[The Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger'']], and the members were excited to see them. The original art works were created with pen and pastels. Along with blueprints, correspondence, and specifications, they have been preserved using grant funding from the '''Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board''' by the Archives Department of the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Headquarters view from southeast.jpg|Headquarters from southeast
File:Reception Hall.jpg|Reception hall
File:Library.jpg|Library
File:Front Elevation.jpg|Front Elevation
File:First Floor Plan.jpg|First Floor Plan
File:Second Floor Plan.jpg|Second Floor Plan
File:Third Floor Plan.jpg|Third Floor Plan
File:Basement Plan.jpg|Basement Plan
File:Irving Kane Pond initials.jpg|Irving Kane Pond signature
</gallery>

== Cornerstone ceremony ==
[[File:Cornerstone_crowd.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Crowds at cornerstone ceremony.]]
[[File:Cornerstone_1.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Annie Besant in cornerstone ceremony.]]
[[File:Cornerstone_parchment.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Parchment sealed in cornerstone]]
Construction began in 1926, and the cornerstone was laid on the afternoon of Sunday, [[August 29|August 29th]] in a [[Co-Freemasonry|Co-Masonic]] ceremony led by [[Annie Besant]]. [The precise time was not recorded.] The event was heavily covered by the ''Chicago Tribune'' and other newspapers, and people came by the hundreds on the interurban trains from Chicago to be present. In the photograph at the right, Annie Besant and [[A. P. Warrington]] are in front; [[L. W. Rogers]] appears between them; and architect '''Irving Kane Pond''' is third from the right (older man in dark suit). [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] accompanied Annie Besant to Wheaton, but he does not appear in photographs of the ceremony. The architect mentioned the event in his autobiography. The cornerstone was filled with copies of major Theosophical texts such as ''The Secret Doctrine''. Also enclosed was a parchment signed by L. W. Rogers, vice president C. T. Holland, and the directors of the Board: Maude N. Couch, M. B. Hudson, E. C. Boxell, and H. Kay Campbell. Many prominent Theosophists were present, including [[Marie Poutz]], Albert Schwartz, [[Irving S. Cooper]], and [[Beatrice Wood]].

The cornerstone ceremony was featured in a '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH-vuNwK3RU 1926 silent film]''' that is available on YouTube.
 
 
 

== Dedication ceremony ==

A dedication ceremony was conducted by the international president of the Theosophical Society, [[George S. Arundale]] on [[August 28]], 1927. He appears in the middle of the photograph below that appeared in the ''Chicago Tribune''. His wife [[Rukmini Devi Arundale|Rukmini Devi]] and L. W. Rogers are at the left, and A. P. Warrington at the far right. On [[September 17|September 17th]] the staff moved their offices and residences from Chicago.
[[File:Rogers_Building_Dedication_2.jpg|260px|thumb|center|Dedication, August 28, 1927.]]

== Architecture ==
[[File:Rogers Building from northeast 1931.jpg|280px|left|thumb|Rogers Building in 1931, from northeast]]
The architecture of Irving Kane Pond is difficult to classify, but the Rogers Building is generally considered to be Collegiate Gothic in style, with interiors influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement. The exterior was constructed of Bedford limestone and red brick, with a carved stone lintel over the main entrance.

The original roof was a mixture of purple and green slates. The building's asymmetrical design helps to create an impression that the building evolved organically over time, adjusting to the needs of its inhabitants. In point of fact, the exterior appearance has hardly changed over the years, and most spaces in the building are still used for the same functions they were designed to support. Architectural elements on the exterior include horizontal band courses, dentils, and decorative windows. Inside, most rooms are accented simply with dark wood. The three areas with more interesting design features are the lobby, the library, and the meditation room.
 
 
 
== Photo gallery of construction and 1920s exteriors ==
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Construction1 1926 from SE.jpg|Construction site, taken from southeast in 1926
File:Construction2 1927 from SE.jpg|View from southeast in 1927
File:Construction3 from west July 1927.jpg|View from west in 1927
File:Construction4_from_NW_Jul_27_1927.jpg|View from northwest, July 27, 1927
File:From east 1927.jpg|View from east in 1927
File:Construction5_from_NE_July_1927.jpg|View from northeast, July, 1927
File:View from ESE with new driveway.jpg|View from east southeast, late in 1927
File:Rear view late 1920s.jpg|View from west, late 1920s
File:Rogers Building from NW.jpg|View from northwest, late 1920s
</gallery>

== Photo gallery of 1920s interiors ==
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Reception Hall 1.jpg|Reception hall
File:Reception Hall 2 .jpg|Reception hall
File:Presidents Office.jpg|President L. W. Rogers
File:Kay Campbell in office 1928.jpg|National Secretary Kay Campbell
File:Living Room.jpg|Living room
File:Library 1928.jpg|Library
File:Bookkeeping Office.jpg|Bookkeeping office
File:Records Office.jpg|Records office
File:Records Office 2.jpg|Records office
File:Bedroom 1928.jpg|Bedroom
File:Furnace Room 1927.jpg|Boiler room
</gallery>

== Lobby and murals ==

The lobby is a open two-story space with entrances on the east and west. An oriel window permits the President's secretary to see visitors from above. The outstanding feature of the lobby is the '''[[Murals at Olcott (art work)|mural]]''' painted by [[Richard Blossom Farley]] on commission from Theosophist and arts patron [[Georgine Shillard-Smith]]. '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quNwSxchQ18 "Murals at Olcott: Discover the Rich History and Symbolism of a Breathtaking Work of Art"]''' is a video presentation of its history and imagery.

== Meditation room ==

The meditation room is a serene space used only for meditation or meditation classes. Staff members gather every morning at 8:30 for 15 minutes for a group practice, and a healing group meets each Wednesday evening. Beautiful art works and oriental carpets line the room, including a thanka presented by the [[Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] in 1981 and a painting of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky by [[Gutzon Borglum]], sculptor of Mount Rushmore. Just outside the doors of the meditation room are two pastels by Theosophist [[Burton Callicott]] They are [[Mandorla (art work)|''Mandorla'']] and [[Antahkarana (art work)|''Antahkarana'']].

== Library ==
[[File:Library_reading_room.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Library reading room]]
The [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]], formerly known as the [[Olcott Library and Research Center]], is a beautiful space that is used for meetings and performances as well as traditional library activities. The library was expanded in 1964 to add space on three levels. The architects were Theosophists Lillian and Wilbur Leenhouts of Milwaukee.
 
== Auditorium ==
[[File:Auditorium.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Auditorium]]
The third-floor auditorium is used for lectures, workshops, yoga classes, conferences, and numerous other activities throughout the year. The space was remodeled in 2009, benefiting from the Bland administration's Capital Funds Campaign. A column was removed to improve sight-lines for the audience. The sub-floor was rebuilt and new carpeting was installed. Co-Masons donated a beautiful door and door frame featuring stained glass with the Society's emblem etched into it. New audiovisual equipment was installed to support Webcasts and recording of programs.

The anteroom to the auditorium was established as the '''Olcott Gallery''' during the administration of [[John Algeo]]. Exhibits were changed quarterly, with the artists are announced in [[The Quest (periodical)|''Quest'' magazine]]. In recent years a permanent display of photos has filled the gallery.
 
 

== Art works on permanent display ==
[[File:Krishnamurti painting.jpg|130px|right|thumb|J. Krishnamurti portrait. Painted from a photograph in 1926 by Henry Schwartz.]]
Numerous paintings, sculptures, Buddhist thankas, and oriental rugs decorate the building. Some of the most prominent works include:
* Madonna by Italian Renaissance painter Il Morreto (Alessandro Bonvicino, 1498-1554), in library.
* [[Schwartz Portrait of Krishnamurti (art work)|Portrait]] of [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]], by Henry Schwartz, in second-floor hall.
* Three paintings, ''Demon Queller'', ''Toys'', and ''Suffering Fools'', by [[Don Kruse]], temporarily in storage.
* Portrait of H. P. Blavatsky by [[Gutzon Borglum]], in Meditation Room.
* [[Antahkarana (art work)|''Antahkarana'']], pastel by [[Burton Callicott]], by Meditation Room door.
* [[Mandorla (art work)|''Mandorla'']], pastel by [[Burton Callicott]], by Meditation Room door.
* [[Mandorla No. 12 (art work)|''Mandorla No. 12'']], painting by [[Burton Callicott]], in staircase to auditorium.
* ''Tantric Circle'' sculpture, by Michael Cullen Todd, 1985, on front lawn.
* ''Slant'' sculpture, by David Middlebrook, 1984, on front lawn.
* Thanka donated by [[Dalai Lama]], 1981, in Meditation Room.
* Portrait of [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] by [[Erling Roberts]], temporarily in storage.
* [[The Three Objects (art work)|''The Three Objects'']], 1944, calligraphy by [[A. Theodore Bondy]], in second-floor hall.
* Bust of [[Annie Besant]] by D. R. Choudhri, 1935, in second-floor hall.
* Drypoint etching ''Buddha Serenity'' by Bertha Jaques, 1934, in Member Services office.
* Painting ''Toward the Light'' by [[E. L. Thomson]], in Webinar Department office.
* Portrait of [[Annie Besant]] by E. Hodgson Smart, temporarily in storage.

Buddhist scholar Glenn Mullin created a video tour called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaoly96xxBw Buddhist Art at the Theosophical Society in America].

== Kitchen and dining room ==

In 2010, the basement kitchen and dining area were extensively remodeled. The dining room was renamed '''Nicholson Hall''' in honor of the Nicholson family whose generous donation made the renovation possible.

== Guest rooms ==
[[File:Guest room.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Guest room]]
Guest rooms are available at modest cost for visitors such as lecturers, board members, and academic researchers. The building was designed to provide housing for staff members, and since September 1927, there have always been some employees living there.

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===
* [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/coloring-in-the-lines-around-my-think?highlight=WyJrcnVzZSJd Coloring in the Lines around My Think] by Don Kruse. This is an article by an artist who donated paintings that hang in the building.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Kane_Pond Irving Kane Pond] in Wikipedia.

=== Books ===
* '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Elihu'''''. Edited by David Swan and Terry Tatum. Oak Park, IL: Hyoogen Press, 2009. A photocopy of the handwritten manuscript for this autobiography is in the Theosophical Society in America Archives.

=== Video ===

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFXPgUdWdHw#t=60 The Theosophical Society in America: A Brief Tour]'''. Posted on YouTube on June 13, 2012. Narrated by Tim Boyd.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH-vuNwK3RU 40th Annual Convention of the American Theosophical Society]'''. Highlights of the 1926 annual convention in Chicago, including cornerstone ceremony for the new headquarters building.
* '''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaoly96xxBw Buddhist Art at the Theosophical Society in America]'''. A tour of the Buddhist art in the building, as described by Buddhist scholar Glenn Mullin.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quNwSxchQ18 Murals at Olcott: Discover the Rich History and Symbolism of a Breathtaking Work of Art]'''. A video presentation of the history and imagery of the murals.
* '''[https://vimeo.com/1198174626 Centennial of Theosophical Society in Wheaton]'''. Presented by Janet Kerschner and Alex Audziayuk at the Wheaton Public Library on May 13 2026, sponsored by the Wheaton Historic Commission. Posted June 3, 1926 on City of Wheaton TV. Note that the background, captions, and photo frames of most slides were altered for Vimeo.

=== Archival materials ===

* Theosophical Society in America '''Archives Department''' has architect's drawings, 1926 blueprints, correspondence, and detailed specifications for each subcontractor (plumbing, roofing, etc.). See Records Series 09.04.01 for Rogers Building Construction Records, and series 43 for Blue prints and Architectural Renderings.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]

L. W. Rogers Building

2026-06-10T21:05:00Z

SysopJ: /* Video */

[[File:Rogers_Building_1a.jpg|470px|thumb|right|L. W. Rogers Building, front view, 2007]]
[[File:Historic Building plaque.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Historic building plaque, 2025]]
The '''L. W. Rogers Building''' is the headquarters of the [[Theosophical Society in America]], located on the [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott campus]] in Wheaton, Illinois. It houses the business offices, auditorium, classroom, meditation room, staff residences, guest rooms, and the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]]. The building came to be named after [[L. W. Rogers]], during whose term as Theosophical Society president it was built. It has been listed on the '''[https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/database-research.htm#table National Register of Historic Places]''' under Reference Number 100011694.

See more of the building in a video '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFXPgUdWdHw#t=60 The Theosophical Society in America: A Brief Tour]'''.

== History ==
[[File:Rogers_at_desk_1927.jpg|200px|thumb|right|L. W. Rogers at his desk in 1927. Image from TSA Archives.]]

In 1925 the [[American Theosophical Society]], now known as the [[Theosophical Society in America]], purchased land in Wheaton, Illinois for a new headquarters campus. The Board of Directors approached architect [[Claude Bragdon]], a prominent member of the Society, to design a building to serve as the national administrative center. Bragdon was then closing down his architectural practice to begin a career in theatrical design, and recommended a Chicago architect, '''Irving Kane Pond''', of Pond & Pond, Martin & Lloyd, to take on the project. The architectural firm submitted two designs, and the Board could not decide between them, so President [[L. W. Rogers]] sent the drawings to Bragdon for review. Bragdon wired back that he preferred the asymmetrical design by Irving Pond over a symmetrical rendering by one of his partners.<ref>Claude Bragdon telegram to L. W. Rogers, 1926, TSA Archives.</ref>

The drawings from Irving Kane Pond's proposal were published in [[The Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger'']], and the members were excited to see them. The original art works were created with pen and pastels. Along with blueprints, correspondence, and specifications, they have been preserved using grant funding from the '''Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board''' by the Archives Department of the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Headquarters view from southeast.jpg|Headquarters from southeast
File:Reception Hall.jpg|Reception hall
File:Library.jpg|Library
File:Front Elevation.jpg|Front Elevation
File:First Floor Plan.jpg|First Floor Plan
File:Second Floor Plan.jpg|Second Floor Plan
File:Third Floor Plan.jpg|Third Floor Plan
File:Basement Plan.jpg|Basement Plan
File:Irving Kane Pond initials.jpg|Irving Kane Pond signature
</gallery>

== Cornerstone ceremony ==
[[File:Cornerstone_crowd.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Crowds at cornerstone ceremony.]]
[[File:Cornerstone_1.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Annie Besant in cornerstone ceremony.]]
[[File:Cornerstone_parchment.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Parchment sealed in cornerstone]]
Construction began in 1926, and the cornerstone was laid on the afternoon of Sunday, [[August 29|August 29th]] in a [[Co-Freemasonry|Co-Masonic]] ceremony led by [[Annie Besant]]. [The precise time was not recorded.] The event was heavily covered by the ''Chicago Tribune'' and other newspapers, and people came by the hundreds on the interurban trains from Chicago to be present. In the photograph at the right, Annie Besant and [[A. P. Warrington]] are in front; [[L. W. Rogers]] appears between them; and architect '''Irving Kane Pond''' is third from the right (older man in dark suit). [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] accompanied Annie Besant to Wheaton, but he does not appear in photographs of the ceremony. The architect mentioned the event in his autobiography. The cornerstone was filled with copies of major Theosophical texts such as ''The Secret Doctrine''. Also enclosed was a parchment signed by L. W. Rogers, vice president C. T. Holland, and the directors of the Board: Maude N. Couch, M. B. Hudson, E. C. Boxell, and H. Kay Campbell. Many prominent Theosophists were present, including [[Marie Poutz]], Albert Schwartz, [[Irving S. Cooper]], and [[Beatrice Wood]].

The cornerstone ceremony was featured in a '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH-vuNwK3RU 1926 silent film]''' that is available on YouTube.
 
 
 

== Dedication ceremony ==

A dedication ceremony was conducted by the international president of the Theosophical Society, [[George S. Arundale]] on [[August 28]], 1927. He appears in the middle of the photograph below that appeared in the ''Chicago Tribune''. His wife [[Rukmini Devi Arundale|Rukmini Devi]] and L. W. Rogers are at the left, and A. P. Warrington at the far right. On [[September 17|September 17th]] the staff moved their offices and residences from Chicago.
[[File:Rogers_Building_Dedication_2.jpg|260px|thumb|center|Dedication, August 28, 1927.]]

== Architecture ==
[[File:Rogers Building from northeast 1931.jpg|280px|left|thumb|Rogers Building in 1931, from northeast]]
The architecture of Irving Kane Pond is difficult to classify, but the Rogers Building is generally considered to be Collegiate Gothic in style, with interiors influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement. The exterior was constructed of Bedford limestone and red brick, with a carved stone lintel over the main entrance.

The original roof was a mixture of purple and green slates. The building's asymmetrical design helps to create an impression that the building evolved organically over time, adjusting to the needs of its inhabitants. In point of fact, the exterior appearance has hardly changed over the years, and most spaces in the building are still used for the same functions they were designed to support. Architectural elements on the exterior include horizontal band courses, dentils, and decorative windows. Inside, most rooms are accented simply with dark wood. The three areas with more interesting design features are the lobby, the library, and the meditation room.
 
 
 
== Photo gallery of construction and 1920s exteriors ==
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Construction1 1926 from SE.jpg|Construction site, taken from southeast in 1926
File:Construction2 1927 from SE.jpg|View from southeast in 1927
File:Construction3 from west July 1927.jpg|View from west in 1927
File:Construction4_from_NW_Jul_27_1927.jpg|View from northwest, July 27, 1927
File:From east 1927.jpg|View from east in 1927
File:Construction5_from_NE_July_1927.jpg|View from northeast, July, 1927
File:View from ESE with new driveway.jpg|View from east southeast, late in 1927
File:Rear view late 1920s.jpg|View from west, late 1920s
File:Rogers Building from NW.jpg|View from northwest, late 1920s
</gallery>

== Photo gallery of 1920s interiors ==
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Reception Hall 1.jpg|Reception hall
File:Reception Hall 2 .jpg|Reception hall
File:Presidents Office.jpg|President L. W. Rogers
File:Kay Campbell in office 1928.jpg|National Secretary Kay Campbell
File:Living Room.jpg|Living room
File:Library 1928.jpg|Library
File:Bookkeeping Office.jpg|Bookkeeping office
File:Records Office.jpg|Records office
File:Records Office 2.jpg|Records office
File:Bedroom 1928.jpg|Bedroom
File:Furnace Room 1927.jpg|Boiler room
</gallery>

== Lobby and murals ==

The lobby is a open two-story space with entrances on the east and west. An oriel window permits the President's secretary to see visitors from above. The outstanding feature of the lobby is the '''[[Murals at Olcott (art work)|mural]]''' painted by [[Richard Blossom Farley]] on commission from Theosophist and arts patron [[Georgine Shillard-Smith]]. '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quNwSxchQ18 "Murals at Olcott: Discover the Rich History and Symbolism of a Breathtaking Work of Art"]''' is a video presentation of its history and imagery.

== Meditation room ==

The meditation room is a serene space used only for meditation or meditation classes. Staff members gather every morning at 8:30 for 15 minutes for a group practice, and a healing group meets each Wednesday evening. Beautiful art works and oriental carpets line the room, including a thanka presented by the [[Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] in 1981 and a painting of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky by [[Gutzon Borglum]], sculptor of Mount Rushmore. Just outside the doors of the meditation room are two pastels by Theosophist [[Burton Callicott]] They are [[Mandorla (art work)|''Mandorla'']] and [[Antahkarana (art work)|''Antahkarana'']].

== Library ==
[[File:Library_reading_room.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Library reading room]]
The [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]], formerly known as the [[Olcott Library and Research Center]], is a beautiful space that is used for meetings and performances as well as traditional library activities. The library was expanded in 1964 to add space on three levels. The architects were Theosophists Lillian and Wilbur Leenhouts of Milwaukee.
 
== Auditorium ==
[[File:Auditorium.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Auditorium]]
The third-floor auditorium is used for lectures, workshops, yoga classes, conferences, and numerous other activities throughout the year. The space was remodeled in 2009, benefiting from the Bland administration's Capital Funds Campaign. A column was removed to improve sight-lines for the audience. The sub-floor was rebuilt and new carpeting was installed. Co-Masons donated a beautiful door and door frame featuring stained glass with the Society's emblem etched into it. New audiovisual equipment was installed to support Webcasts and recording of programs.

The anteroom to the auditorium was established as the '''Olcott Gallery''' during the administration of [[John Algeo]]. Exhibits were changed quarterly, with the artists are announced in [[The Quest (periodical)|''Quest'' magazine]]. In recent years a permanent display of photos has filled the gallery.
 
 

== Art works on permanent display ==
[[File:Krishnamurti painting.jpg|130px|right|thumb|J. Krishnamurti portrait. Painted from a photograph in 1926 by Henry Schwartz.]]
Numerous paintings, sculptures, Buddhist thankas, and oriental rugs decorate the building. Some of the most prominent works include:
* Madonna by Italian Renaissance painter Il Morreto (Alessandro Bonvicino, 1498-1554), in library.
* [[Schwartz Portrait of Krishnamurti (art work)|Portrait]] of [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]], by Henry Schwartz, in second-floor hall.
* Three paintings, ''Demon Queller'', ''Toys'', and ''Suffering Fools'', by [[Don Kruse]], temporarily in storage.
* Portrait of H. P. Blavatsky by [[Gutzon Borglum]], in Meditation Room.
* [[Antahkarana (art work)|''Antahkarana'']], pastel by [[Burton Callicott]], by Meditation Room door.
* [[Mandorla (art work)|''Mandorla'']], pastel by [[Burton Callicott]], by Meditation Room door.
* [[Mandorla No. 12 (art work)|''Mandorla No. 12'']], painting by [[Burton Callicott]], in staircase to auditorium.
* ''Tantric Circle'' sculpture, by Michael Cullen Todd, 1985, on front lawn.
* ''Slant'' sculpture, by David Middlebrook, 1984, on front lawn.
* Thanka donated by [[Dalai Lama]], 1981, in Meditation Room.
* Portrait of [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] by [[Erling Roberts]], temporarily in storage.
* [[The Three Objects (art work)|''The Three Objects'']], 1944, calligraphy by [[A. Theodore Bondy]], in second-floor hall.
* Bust of [[Annie Besant]] by D. R. Choudhri, 1935, in second-floor hall.
* Drypoint etching ''Buddha Serenity'' by Bertha Jaques, 1934, in Member Services office.
* Painting ''Toward the Light'' by [[E. L. Thomson]], in Webinar Department office.
* Portrait of [[Annie Besant]] by E. Hodgson Smart, temporarily in storage.

Buddhist scholar Glenn Mullin created a video tour called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaoly96xxBw Buddhist Art at the Theosophical Society in America].

== Kitchen and dining room ==

In 2010, the basement kitchen and dining area were extensively remodeled. The dining room was renamed '''Nicholson Hall''' in honor of the Nicholson family whose generous donation made the renovation possible.

== Guest rooms ==
[[File:Guest room.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Guest room]]
Guest rooms are available at modest cost for visitors such as lecturers, board members, and academic researchers. The building was designed to provide housing for staff members, and since September 1927, there have always been some employees living there.

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===
* [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/coloring-in-the-lines-around-my-think?highlight=WyJrcnVzZSJd Coloring in the Lines around My Think] by Don Kruse. This is an article by an artist who donated paintings that hang in the building.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Kane_Pond Irving Kane Pond] in Wikipedia.

=== Books ===
* '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Elihu'''''. Edited by David Swan and Terry Tatum. Oak Park, IL: Hyoogen Press, 2009. A photocopy of the handwritten manuscript for this autobiography is in the Theosophical Society in America Archives.

=== Video ===

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFXPgUdWdHw#t=60 The Theosophical Society in America: A Brief Tour]'''. Posted on YouTube on June 13, 2012. Narrated by Tim Boyd.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH-vuNwK3RU 40th Annual Convention of the American Theosophical Society]'''. Highlights of the 1926 annual convention in Chicago, including cornerstone ceremony for the new headquarters building.
* '''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaoly96xxBw Buddhist Art at the Theosophical Society in America]'''. A tour of the Buddhist art in the building, as described by Buddhist scholar Glenn Mullin.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quNwSxchQ18 Murals at Olcott: Discover the Rich History and Symbolism of a Breathtaking Work of Art]'''. A video presentation of the history and imagery of the murals.
* '''[https://vimeo.com/1198174626 Centennial of Theosophical Society in Wheaton]'''. Presented by Janet Kerschner and Alex Audziayuk at the Wheaton Public Library on May 13 2026, sponsored by the Wheaton Historic Commission. Posted June 3, 1926 on City of Wheaton TV. Note that the background, captions, and photo frames of most slides were altered for Vimeo.

=== Archival materials ===

* Theosophical Society in America '''Archives Department''' has architect's drawings, 1926 blueprints, correspondence, and detailed specifications for each subcontractor (plumbing, roofing, etc.). See Records Series 09.04.01 for Rogers Building Construction Records, and series 43 for Blue prints and Architectural Renderings.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]

L. W. Rogers Building

2026-06-10T21:00:07Z

SysopJ: /* Video */

[[File:Rogers_Building_1a.jpg|470px|thumb|right|L. W. Rogers Building, front view, 2007]]
[[File:Historic Building plaque.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Historic building plaque, 2025]]
The '''L. W. Rogers Building''' is the headquarters of the [[Theosophical Society in America]], located on the [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott campus]] in Wheaton, Illinois. It houses the business offices, auditorium, classroom, meditation room, staff residences, guest rooms, and the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]]. The building came to be named after [[L. W. Rogers]], during whose term as Theosophical Society president it was built. It has been listed on the '''[https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/database-research.htm#table National Register of Historic Places]''' under Reference Number 100011694.

See more of the building in a video '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFXPgUdWdHw#t=60 The Theosophical Society in America: A Brief Tour]'''.

== History ==
[[File:Rogers_at_desk_1927.jpg|200px|thumb|right|L. W. Rogers at his desk in 1927. Image from TSA Archives.]]

In 1925 the [[American Theosophical Society]], now known as the [[Theosophical Society in America]], purchased land in Wheaton, Illinois for a new headquarters campus. The Board of Directors approached architect [[Claude Bragdon]], a prominent member of the Society, to design a building to serve as the national administrative center. Bragdon was then closing down his architectural practice to begin a career in theatrical design, and recommended a Chicago architect, '''Irving Kane Pond''', of Pond & Pond, Martin & Lloyd, to take on the project. The architectural firm submitted two designs, and the Board could not decide between them, so President [[L. W. Rogers]] sent the drawings to Bragdon for review. Bragdon wired back that he preferred the asymmetrical design by Irving Pond over a symmetrical rendering by one of his partners.<ref>Claude Bragdon telegram to L. W. Rogers, 1926, TSA Archives.</ref>

The drawings from Irving Kane Pond's proposal were published in [[The Messenger (periodical)|''The Messenger'']], and the members were excited to see them. The original art works were created with pen and pastels. Along with blueprints, correspondence, and specifications, they have been preserved using grant funding from the '''Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board''' by the Archives Department of the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Headquarters view from southeast.jpg|Headquarters from southeast
File:Reception Hall.jpg|Reception hall
File:Library.jpg|Library
File:Front Elevation.jpg|Front Elevation
File:First Floor Plan.jpg|First Floor Plan
File:Second Floor Plan.jpg|Second Floor Plan
File:Third Floor Plan.jpg|Third Floor Plan
File:Basement Plan.jpg|Basement Plan
File:Irving Kane Pond initials.jpg|Irving Kane Pond signature
</gallery>

== Cornerstone ceremony ==
[[File:Cornerstone_crowd.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Crowds at cornerstone ceremony.]]
[[File:Cornerstone_1.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Annie Besant in cornerstone ceremony.]]
[[File:Cornerstone_parchment.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Parchment sealed in cornerstone]]
Construction began in 1926, and the cornerstone was laid on the afternoon of Sunday, [[August 29|August 29th]] in a [[Co-Freemasonry|Co-Masonic]] ceremony led by [[Annie Besant]]. [The precise time was not recorded.] The event was heavily covered by the ''Chicago Tribune'' and other newspapers, and people came by the hundreds on the interurban trains from Chicago to be present. In the photograph at the right, Annie Besant and [[A. P. Warrington]] are in front; [[L. W. Rogers]] appears between them; and architect '''Irving Kane Pond''' is third from the right (older man in dark suit). [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] accompanied Annie Besant to Wheaton, but he does not appear in photographs of the ceremony. The architect mentioned the event in his autobiography. The cornerstone was filled with copies of major Theosophical texts such as ''The Secret Doctrine''. Also enclosed was a parchment signed by L. W. Rogers, vice president C. T. Holland, and the directors of the Board: Maude N. Couch, M. B. Hudson, E. C. Boxell, and H. Kay Campbell. Many prominent Theosophists were present, including [[Marie Poutz]], Albert Schwartz, [[Irving S. Cooper]], and [[Beatrice Wood]].

The cornerstone ceremony was featured in a '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH-vuNwK3RU 1926 silent film]''' that is available on YouTube.
 
 
 

== Dedication ceremony ==

A dedication ceremony was conducted by the international president of the Theosophical Society, [[George S. Arundale]] on [[August 28]], 1927. He appears in the middle of the photograph below that appeared in the ''Chicago Tribune''. His wife [[Rukmini Devi Arundale|Rukmini Devi]] and L. W. Rogers are at the left, and A. P. Warrington at the far right. On [[September 17|September 17th]] the staff moved their offices and residences from Chicago.
[[File:Rogers_Building_Dedication_2.jpg|260px|thumb|center|Dedication, August 28, 1927.]]

== Architecture ==
[[File:Rogers Building from northeast 1931.jpg|280px|left|thumb|Rogers Building in 1931, from northeast]]
The architecture of Irving Kane Pond is difficult to classify, but the Rogers Building is generally considered to be Collegiate Gothic in style, with interiors influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement. The exterior was constructed of Bedford limestone and red brick, with a carved stone lintel over the main entrance.

The original roof was a mixture of purple and green slates. The building's asymmetrical design helps to create an impression that the building evolved organically over time, adjusting to the needs of its inhabitants. In point of fact, the exterior appearance has hardly changed over the years, and most spaces in the building are still used for the same functions they were designed to support. Architectural elements on the exterior include horizontal band courses, dentils, and decorative windows. Inside, most rooms are accented simply with dark wood. The three areas with more interesting design features are the lobby, the library, and the meditation room.
 
 
 
== Photo gallery of construction and 1920s exteriors ==
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Construction1 1926 from SE.jpg|Construction site, taken from southeast in 1926
File:Construction2 1927 from SE.jpg|View from southeast in 1927
File:Construction3 from west July 1927.jpg|View from west in 1927
File:Construction4_from_NW_Jul_27_1927.jpg|View from northwest, July 27, 1927
File:From east 1927.jpg|View from east in 1927
File:Construction5_from_NE_July_1927.jpg|View from northeast, July, 1927
File:View from ESE with new driveway.jpg|View from east southeast, late in 1927
File:Rear view late 1920s.jpg|View from west, late 1920s
File:Rogers Building from NW.jpg|View from northwest, late 1920s
</gallery>

== Photo gallery of 1920s interiors ==
<gallery widths="140px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Reception Hall 1.jpg|Reception hall
File:Reception Hall 2 .jpg|Reception hall
File:Presidents Office.jpg|President L. W. Rogers
File:Kay Campbell in office 1928.jpg|National Secretary Kay Campbell
File:Living Room.jpg|Living room
File:Library 1928.jpg|Library
File:Bookkeeping Office.jpg|Bookkeeping office
File:Records Office.jpg|Records office
File:Records Office 2.jpg|Records office
File:Bedroom 1928.jpg|Bedroom
File:Furnace Room 1927.jpg|Boiler room
</gallery>

== Lobby and murals ==

The lobby is a open two-story space with entrances on the east and west. An oriel window permits the President's secretary to see visitors from above. The outstanding feature of the lobby is the '''[[Murals at Olcott (art work)|mural]]''' painted by [[Richard Blossom Farley]] on commission from Theosophist and arts patron [[Georgine Shillard-Smith]]. '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quNwSxchQ18 "Murals at Olcott: Discover the Rich History and Symbolism of a Breathtaking Work of Art"]''' is a video presentation of its history and imagery.

== Meditation room ==

The meditation room is a serene space used only for meditation or meditation classes. Staff members gather every morning at 8:30 for 15 minutes for a group practice, and a healing group meets each Wednesday evening. Beautiful art works and oriental carpets line the room, including a thanka presented by the [[Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] in 1981 and a painting of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky by [[Gutzon Borglum]], sculptor of Mount Rushmore. Just outside the doors of the meditation room are two pastels by Theosophist [[Burton Callicott]] They are [[Mandorla (art work)|''Mandorla'']] and [[Antahkarana (art work)|''Antahkarana'']].

== Library ==
[[File:Library_reading_room.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Library reading room]]
The [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]], formerly known as the [[Olcott Library and Research Center]], is a beautiful space that is used for meetings and performances as well as traditional library activities. The library was expanded in 1964 to add space on three levels. The architects were Theosophists Lillian and Wilbur Leenhouts of Milwaukee.
 
== Auditorium ==
[[File:Auditorium.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Auditorium]]
The third-floor auditorium is used for lectures, workshops, yoga classes, conferences, and numerous other activities throughout the year. The space was remodeled in 2009, benefiting from the Bland administration's Capital Funds Campaign. A column was removed to improve sight-lines for the audience. The sub-floor was rebuilt and new carpeting was installed. Co-Masons donated a beautiful door and door frame featuring stained glass with the Society's emblem etched into it. New audiovisual equipment was installed to support Webcasts and recording of programs.

The anteroom to the auditorium was established as the '''Olcott Gallery''' during the administration of [[John Algeo]]. Exhibits were changed quarterly, with the artists are announced in [[The Quest (periodical)|''Quest'' magazine]]. In recent years a permanent display of photos has filled the gallery.
 
 

== Art works on permanent display ==
[[File:Krishnamurti painting.jpg|130px|right|thumb|J. Krishnamurti portrait. Painted from a photograph in 1926 by Henry Schwartz.]]
Numerous paintings, sculptures, Buddhist thankas, and oriental rugs decorate the building. Some of the most prominent works include:
* Madonna by Italian Renaissance painter Il Morreto (Alessandro Bonvicino, 1498-1554), in library.
* [[Schwartz Portrait of Krishnamurti (art work)|Portrait]] of [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]], by Henry Schwartz, in second-floor hall.
* Three paintings, ''Demon Queller'', ''Toys'', and ''Suffering Fools'', by [[Don Kruse]], temporarily in storage.
* Portrait of H. P. Blavatsky by [[Gutzon Borglum]], in Meditation Room.
* [[Antahkarana (art work)|''Antahkarana'']], pastel by [[Burton Callicott]], by Meditation Room door.
* [[Mandorla (art work)|''Mandorla'']], pastel by [[Burton Callicott]], by Meditation Room door.
* [[Mandorla No. 12 (art work)|''Mandorla No. 12'']], painting by [[Burton Callicott]], in staircase to auditorium.
* ''Tantric Circle'' sculpture, by Michael Cullen Todd, 1985, on front lawn.
* ''Slant'' sculpture, by David Middlebrook, 1984, on front lawn.
* Thanka donated by [[Dalai Lama]], 1981, in Meditation Room.
* Portrait of [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] by [[Erling Roberts]], temporarily in storage.
* [[The Three Objects (art work)|''The Three Objects'']], 1944, calligraphy by [[A. Theodore Bondy]], in second-floor hall.
* Bust of [[Annie Besant]] by D. R. Choudhri, 1935, in second-floor hall.
* Drypoint etching ''Buddha Serenity'' by Bertha Jaques, 1934, in Member Services office.
* Painting ''Toward the Light'' by [[E. L. Thomson]], in Webinar Department office.
* Portrait of [[Annie Besant]] by E. Hodgson Smart, temporarily in storage.

Buddhist scholar Glenn Mullin created a video tour called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaoly96xxBw Buddhist Art at the Theosophical Society in America].

== Kitchen and dining room ==

In 2010, the basement kitchen and dining area were extensively remodeled. The dining room was renamed '''Nicholson Hall''' in honor of the Nicholson family whose generous donation made the renovation possible.

== Guest rooms ==
[[File:Guest room.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Guest room]]
Guest rooms are available at modest cost for visitors such as lecturers, board members, and academic researchers. The building was designed to provide housing for staff members, and since September 1927, there have always been some employees living there.

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===
* [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/coloring-in-the-lines-around-my-think?highlight=WyJrcnVzZSJd Coloring in the Lines around My Think] by Don Kruse. This is an article by an artist who donated paintings that hang in the building.
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Kane_Pond Irving Kane Pond] in Wikipedia.

=== Books ===
* '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Elihu'''''. Edited by David Swan and Terry Tatum. Oak Park, IL: Hyoogen Press, 2009. A photocopy of the handwritten manuscript for this autobiography is in the Theosophical Society in America Archives.

=== Video ===

* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFXPgUdWdHw#t=60 The Theosophical Society in America: A Brief Tour]'''. Posted on YouTube on June 13, 2012. Narrated by Tim Boyd.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH-vuNwK3RU 40th Annual Convention of the American Theosophical Society]'''. Highlights of the 1926 annual convention in Chicago, including cornerstone ceremony for the new headquarters building.
* '''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaoly96xxBw Buddhist Art at the Theosophical Society in America]'''. A tour of the Buddhist art in the building, as described by Buddhist scholar Glenn Mullin.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quNwSxchQ18 Murals at Olcott: Discover the Rich History and Symbolism of a Breathtaking Work of Art]'''. A video presentation of the history and imagery of the murals.
* '''[https://vimeo.com/1198174626 Centennial of Theosophical Society in Wheaton]'''. Presented by Janet Kerschner and Alex Audziayuk at the Wheaton Public Library on May 13 2026, sponsored by the Wheaton Historical Commission. Posted June 3, 1926 on City of Wheaton TV. Note that the background, captions, and photo frames of most slides were altered for Vimeo.

=== Archival materials ===

* Theosophical Society in America '''Archives Department''' has architect's drawings, 1926 blueprints, correspondence, and detailed specifications for each subcontractor (plumbing, roofing, etc.). See Records Series 09.04.01 for Rogers Building Construction Records, and series 43 for Blue prints and Architectural Renderings.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]