Garden of Remembrance at Adyar

Plaque honoring Radha Burnier

The Garden of Remembrance in the Adyar headquarters of the Theosophical Society is a lovely setting honoring the lives of important leaders of the Society. Ashes from each of the deceased presidents of the Society are present, along with those of Charles Webster Leadbeater. It served as the inspiration for gardens created in 1937 at the International Theosophical Centre in Naarden, The Netherlands, and in 2001 at the Olcott headquarters campus of the Theosophical Society in America.

For additional photographs, see Veludharan's Temples Visit blog.

History

International president Annie Besant died on September 20, 1933 and was cremated in Adyar at a site near the Adyar River, not far from where the first president Colonel Henry Steel Olcott had been cremated in 1907.

Two years later, on September 20, 1935, during the Diamond Jubilee year of the Theosophical Society, the Garden of Remembrance was dedicated. The ashes of Mrs. Besant's coworker Charles Webster Leadbeater were interred at that time.

In 1937, with the permission of president George S. Arundale, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hotchener took a little soild from the exact spot of Dr. Besant's cremation. On July 19, 1939, that soil was planted with a tree to commemorate Annie Besant's last lecture at the Olcott headquarters. The Hotcheners wanted to create a physical connection between Adyar and Olcott. The Garden of Remembrance at Olcott was created in 2001 very near to that memorial tree.

Layout of the garden

The central structure of the garden is a six-pointed star comprised of the two interlacing triangles featured in the emblem of the Society. Plaques are attached to the sides of the star honoring each of the people buried there. Lotus pools are in the background.