World-Mother

World-Mother is a phrase found in at least two major branches of the Theosophical movement.

Point Loma tradition

After the death of leader Katherine Tingley, the term World-Mother was applied to her by some Point Loma Theosophists.

Adyar tradition

The writings of C. W. Leadbeater, Annie Besant and a few later Theosophists of the Adyar tradition refer to this term. According to Leadbeater:

The World-Mother, then, is a mighty Being who is at the head of a great department of the organization and government of the world. She is in truth a mighty Angel, having under Her a vast host of subordinate Angels, whom She keeps perpetually employed in the work which is especially committed to Her. That work has so many and such wonderful ramifications that it is not easy to give even the most general idea of it in a few sentences. Let it suffice for the moment to say that in a very real sense all the women of the world are under Her charge, and most especially so at the time of their greatest trial, when they are exercising the supreme function given to them by God, and thus becoming mothers in very deed . . . This is perhaps Her greatest and most impressive function; but She has yet another which brings Her into the very closest connection with humanity, for She has made it a part of Her work to try to mitigate the suffering of the world, to act as the Consoler, the Comforter, the Helper of all who are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness or any other adversity

C. Jinarajadasa wrote that the "World-Mother" is "an official of the Great Hierarchy, a devi or goddess or angel, whose function is to represent certain embodiments of the feminine aspect of the dual nature of the Divine."

A group within the Theosophical Society in Adyar, India's Esoteric Section attempted in the 1920s to create an organization supporting rituals bringing forth the priestly qualities of women. "The first woman to be completely devoted to this work was the late Dr. Mary Rocke, who actually created a ritual of worship by women who were to dedicate themselves to the ideals presented to them by the Holy Mother. As Dr. Rocke could not herself for many reasons undertake the work of creating an organization, it was undertaken by an English lady, [Lady Emily Lutyens ] then in Australia. But this member slowly lost interest in the work. The work was then passed on to another lady, [Rukmini Devi Arundale] who undertook the responsibility, but who also similarly lost interest in it."

Rukmini Devi as the World-Mother

In much the same way that Jiddu Krishnamurti was proclaimed to be a vehicle of the World Teacher by Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater, Rukmini Devi Arundale was proposed for the same role in regards to the World-Mother. She wrote in a Foreword to Joseph E. Ross's book Spirit of Womanhood:

The name, 'World-Mother,' was new to me when I first heard those words in 1925. I did not realize that such a a Personage was worshipped in the West and did not understand the significance from the Western point of view. It is natural for me and many millions of Indians to worship the Goddess known in Sanskrit as Jagadamba - literally meaning 'Mother of the World.'

She went on to explain that the feminine spiritual quality is recognized in all women in India, so that even the humblest woman is addressed by strangers as "Mataji" or "Amma," meaning "mother." "Spiritual beauty is embodied in the ideal of the mother, and beyond, by the World-Mother.

Online resources

Articles

• The World Mother As Symbol And Fact by C. W. Leadbeater