The Theosophical Society in America (TSA) is a member-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the teaching of Theosophy and affiliated with the international Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India. The name "Theosophical Society in America" was legally adopted by the American Theosophical Society in 1934."The Name That Is Ours," The American Theosophist 22 no. 9 (September 1934): 193. Previously, other organizations had used the same name during the years 1895–98 and 1898–1908.
History Russian expatriate Helena Blavatsky and American colonel Henry Steel Olcott founded the Theosophical Society with attorney William Quan Judge and others in late 1875 in New York City.Michael Gomes, Dawning of the Theosophical Movement (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987): 86-89. After its two major co-founders departed for India in 1879 to establish the international headquarters of the Society in Adyar, India (near Madras, now known as Chennai), judge carried on the work of promoting Theosophy within the United States. By 1886, he had established an American section of the international Society with branches in fourteen cities. Rapid growth took place under his guidance: by 1895, there were 102 American branches with nearly six thousand members.Bruce F. Campbell, Ancient Wisdom Revived: A History of the Theosophical Movement (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980), 104. Blavatsky died in 1891, leaving Olcott and English social activist Annie Besant as the principal leaders of the international movement based in Adyar and Judge heading the American section.
In 1894, an event known as the "Judge Affair" occurred. Judge came under fire after being accused of falsifying correspondence with the so-called Mahatmas.Ivey, "Organizing Theosophy in the United States," 21. Although he denied the accusation, the event caused a break in the Society known as the "Great Split". Partially due to the "Great Split", during the contentious Ninth Annual Convention of the American section in 1895, 83 Theosophical lodges voted for autonomy from the international Theosophical Society Adyar. The international president-founder, Olcott, interpreted this action as secession and revoked the charters of those lodges, whose members reorganized into the first Theosophical Society in America under Judge.Campbell, 111. After Judge's death the following year, Katherine Tingley stepped into the leadership of that organization; in 1898, she folded the Theosophical Society in America into the Universal Brotherhood, resulting in the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society.W. Michael Ashcraft, The Dawn of the New Cycle (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2002), 37-38. After several changes in location and name, the successor organization is now known as the Theosophical Society Pasadena. Tingley's authority over the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society was based in spiritual power and brought back reverence for occultism and spiritualism. Many Theosophists did not approve of the absolute authority she claimed over the Society, so a Theosophist named Hargrove and a few hundred others left Tingley's society.Ivey, "Organizing Theosophy in the United States," 25. His group became the Theosophical Society in America (Hargrove). Other groups that split off from Tingley's organization over the years became the Theosophical Society of New York, the United Lodge of Theosophists, and the Temple of the People in Halcyon, California.Curuppumallage Jinarajadasa, The Golden Book of the Theosophical Society: a Brief History of the Society's Growth from 1875-1955 (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925), 141. The second Theosophical Society in America, headed by Ernest Temple Hargrove, dropped the words "in America" from its name in 1908."T. S. Activities," Theosophical Quarterly 6 no. 1 (July, 1908): 88.
Five American lodges that had opposed the 1895 secession retained their affiliation with the international Society in Adyar. They formed a new American section known as the American Theosophical Society under the leadership of Alexander Fullerton.Joy Mills, 100 Years of Theosophy: A History of the Theosophical Society in America (Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 27-29. Extensive lecture tours by Annie Besant and Constance Wachtmeister elicited much new interest in the American Theosophical Society, so that by 1900, the organization claimed 1286 members and 71 branches.Mills, 34.
In an attempt to clarify the complex history of the Theosophical movement in the United States, Dorothy Bell has created a diagram along the lines of a family tree, which can be viewed at American Family Tree of Theosophy.
The American Theosophical Society was legally renamed The Theosophical Society in America in 1934 and has existed under that name since. Like other Theosophical groups, the organization aspires to educate the public about the principles of Theosophy through publications, public programs, and local group activities.
Philosophy In the mid- to late 1800s, the Theosophical Society as a whole took an experiential approach to religion that was, in part, a reaction to Orthodox Christianity's focus on dogma. This is why much of Theosophy is focused on an ostensibly scientific conception of religion, with laws and theories of its own.Gauri, Viswanathan. "Theosophical Society." Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism Online, 2018, doi:https://doi.org/10.1163/2212-5019_beh_COM_9000000280 For Theosophists, a scientific approach is how one can get to the common truths that Theosophists believe are behind all religious traditions. Although Theosophy is largely concerned with the more intellectual path to truth and to the Objects, because Blavatsky's involvement in the occult spheres, Theosophy has taken influence from Western mysticism, spiritualism, and esotericism. Later, critiques of her occult practices caused a general move away from spiritualism, but it remained an undertone in later practice. It was after Blavatsky and Olcott journeyed to India in 1879 that Asian religion and philosophy became so central to Theosophist philosophy. Thus, Theosophists in America drew inspiration for their philosophies from Asian religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as Neoplatonic and Gnostic texts. Using these philosophies, Theosophists endeavored to trace a common religious and philosophical origin back to the East.
Currently, members of the Theosophical Society follow the three Objects and continue to practice interest in study and spiritual self-transformation. Theosophists consider that belief should be the result of individual study, experience, and insight, rather than reliance on dogma. They see each religion as an expression of divine wisdom, adapted to the needs of a particular time and place. Theosophy regards the universe as alive and interrelated, with an intelligent order guiding the cyclical evolution of all life. The Theosophical Society supports the right of individual freedom of thought for every person, and no doctrine is in any way binding on any member of the Society.
Objects The three declared Objects of the Theosophical Society are: To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color. To encourage the comparative study of religion, philosophy, and science. To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in humanity
Mission statement The Theosophical Society in America encourages open-minded inquiry into world religions, philosophy, science, and the arts in order to understand the wisdom of the ages, respect the unity of all life, and help people explore spiritual self-transformation.
Organization The modern Theosophical Society in America is a member-based not-for-profit corporation. It is incorporated in the state of Illinois with federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. The national headquarters has been located in Wheaton, Illinois since 1927. About 115 local groups include branches (also called lodges) and smaller study centers. As of 2008, the membership comprised about 4000 people.
Leadership The TSA is governed by a board of directors that meets at the national headquarters. Officers include a president, vice president, national treasurer, and national secretary. Two directors are elected by members from each of three geographical districts in the United States.
The national president also has the title of General Secretary for the American section of the Theosophical Society Adyar based in Chennai, India, and participates in the General Council that governs the international Society. These are the presidents since the 1895 reorganization of the American Society: Term of Office President 1895–1907 Alexander Fullerton 1907–1912 Weller van Hook 1912–1920 A. P. Warrington 1920–1931 L. W. Rogers 1931–1945 Sidney A. Cook 1945–1960 James S. Perkins 1960–1965 Henry A. Smith 1965–1974 Joy Mills 1974–1975 Ann Wylie 1975–1987 Dora van Gelder Kunz 1987–1993 Dorothy Abbenhouse 1993–2002 John Algeo 2002–2011 Betty Bland 2011–2017 Tim Boyd 2017–2023 Barbara Hebert 2023–Present Douglas Keene
National headquarters Under Alexander Fullerton, the American Theosophical Society (now known as Theosophical Society in America) was based in New York City, but his successor, Dr. Weller van Hook, moved the headquarters to Chicago in 1907. A. P. Warrington transferred operations to Hollywood in 1912, where the Theosophical colony of Krotona was established. Most of the colony later moved north to Ojai, California, while the headquarters returned to Chicago in 1920.
During his presidency, L. W. Rogers sought to establish a permanent headquarters in a central and accessible location. He led a search for land where a new headquarters could be established. Dozens of sites within of Chicago were considered before an appropriate property was located in Wheaton, Illinois. This western suburb of Chicago met all the search criteria in that it was centrally located, with excellent rail transportation, a serene rural atmosphere, and affordable land. In 1925 the Society purchased almost of farmland, and immediately began planting a grove of trees.Mills, 91.
At the recommendation of Theosophist and architect Claude Fayette Bragdon, the Chicago architectural firm of Pond & Pond, Martin & Lloyd was engaged to design the headquarters building. Annie Besant laid cornerstone on 29 August 1926 in a ceremony that was attended by Jiddu Krishnamurti and a huge crowd.Theosophical Society in America, "Laying the Cornerstone," The Messenger 14 no. 3 (August 1926): 55 In September 1927 staff members moved operations to the new structure, which was eventually named the L. W. Rogers Building.Jeff Gresko, "The Final Touches," The Messenger no. 25 (November 1998): 1. Designed in a collegiate Gothic style by Irving Kane Pond, the three-story building consists of offices, library, classroom, auditorium, meditation room, kitchen, dining room, garage, and residential wing for staff members and visitors. In 1931 Mrs. C. Shillard-Smith, commissioned painter Richard Blossom Farley to create the colorful mural of evolving life that is still on view in the two-story lobby.Mills, 101.
The campus grew over the years, mostly through donations of land by generous members. In 1932, the headquarters estate came to be known as "Olcott", in honor of co-founder Colonel Henry Steel Olcott.Mills, 104-5. For several decades, postal mail was delivered simply to "Olcott, Wheaton, Illinois." The property now comprises almost . The Quest Book Shop and Theosophical Publishing House are housed in the Mills Building, named after president Joy Mills. The scenic grounds are open to the public, and feature a pond, groves, gardens, and a labyrinth. Video tours of the campus are available.
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