Krotona Institute of Theosophy

Entrance to Krotona

The Krotona Institute of Theosophy is the headquarters of the Esoteric School of Theosophy (E.S. or EST) 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, as well as the general public. The name Krotona was derived from the Crotona school of Pythagoras.

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 from Chicago. Buildings sprang up on the Hollywood Hills, to the great interest of local newspapers, 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's headquarters moved to a more central location in Chicago in 1920, under the guidance of new President L. W. Rogers, leaving American E.S. headquarters in Hollywood, along with its educational activities; 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

Warrington, Poutz, Nitya, Fritz, and Krishnamurti on shipboard

In 1922, Mr. Warrington was traveling 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:

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.

Mr. Warrington had heard of Ojai through Theosophists Mary Gray, founder of the School of the Open Gate, and 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. She had not yet seen the valley, but visited in October, 1926, staying until April, 1927. She was excited by the possibilities of the beautiful valley.

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.

Early staff at Krotona, Ojai

Early days in Ojai

The photo at right shows Sarah Mayes, Mathilde Saizan, Maude Kimball, Marie Poutz, Mary Goldy, Billy Mayes, Eugene Munson, and Mattie Munson.

Philosophy and purpose

Krotona has been described in this way by its former Vice President, Hein van Beusekom:

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.

Krotona School building

Krotona School of Theosophy

One of the central activities at Krotona is education.

Comfortable housing is available for teachers, students, and people attending retreats, just across from the school building, and in the guest house built with with support of The Kern Foundation.

Krotona Photo Gallery

Photos taken by Janet Kerschner in March, 2013.

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  Entrance to lecture hall
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  Krotona library building
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  Krotona library entrance
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  Quest Bookshop
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  Labyrinth at dusk
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  Misty view to east
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  View to northwest

Additional resources

Websites

• Krotona Institute of Theosophy
• Facebook

Books

• Mills, Joy Mills. 100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987.
• 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.
• Vachet, Helene. Taormina's Historic Past and Continuing Story: A Unique Spiritual Community in Ojai. Minneapolis: MCP Books, 2016.

Articles

• Krotona Institute of Theosophy, The in Theosophy World.
• Partners in Theosophy in Theosophy World
• Krotona Institute at Ojai Hub.
• Ojai Pilgrims by Mark Lewis, posted December 19, 2019 at OjaiHub.

Video

• 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. Available as DVD.
• 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.
• Krotona Institute of Theosophy, Ojai, California, October 30, 2019 by Rita Carbon. A visual tour of Krotona with music.
• 'A Theosophical Center in Ojai Since 1924 in Krotona Institute of Theosophy website.