132-599: Charles Webster Leadbeater ( / ˈ l ɛ d ˌ b ɛ t ər / ; 16 February 1854 – 1 March 1934) was a member of the Theosophical Society , Co-Freemasonry , an author on occult subjects, and the co-initiator, with J. I. Wedgwood , of the Liberal Catholic Church . Originally a priest of the Church of England , his interest in spiritualism caused him to end his affiliation with Anglicanism in favour of
264-464: A "torch-bearer of Truth", an emissary of a hidden Spiritual Hierarchy that, according to theosophists, guides the evolution of mankind. This was repeated by Besant as early as 1896; Besant came to believe in the imminent appearance of the "emissary", who was identified by theosophists as the so-called World Teacher . In 1909, soon after Besant's assumption of the presidency, Leadbeater "discovered" fourteen-year-old Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986),
396-474: A South Indian boy who had been living, with his father and brother, on the grounds of the headquarters of the Theosophical Society at Adyar , and declared him the probable "vehicle" for the expected " World Teacher ". The "discovery" and its objective received widespread publicity and attracted a worldwide following, mainly among theosophists. It also started years of upheaval and contributed to splits in
528-718: A book by the American birth-control campaigner Charles Knowlton . It claimed that working-class families could never be happy until they were able to decide how many children they wanted. It also suggested ways to limit the size of their families. The Knowlton book was highly controversial and was vigorously opposed by the Church. Besant and Bradlaugh proclaimed in the National Reformer : We intend to publish nothing we do not think we can morally defend. All that we publish we shall defend. The pair were arrested and put on trial for publishing
660-415: A book called Occult Chemistry . In 1906 Leadbeater became the centre of controversy when it emerged that he had advised the practice of masturbation to some boys under his care and spiritual instruction. Leadbeater stated he had encouraged the practice to keep the boys celibate, which was considered a prerequisite for advancement on the spiritual path. Because of the controversy, he offered to resign from
792-577: A building named for Leadbeater. After Blavatsky left Adyar in 1886 to return to Europe and finish writing The Secret Doctrine , Leadbeater claimed to have developed clairvoyant abilities. In 1889, Sinnett asked Leadbeater to return to England to tutor his son and George Arundale (1878–1945). He agreed and brought with him one of his pupils, Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa (1875–1953). Although struggling with poverty himself, Leadbeater managed to send both Arundale and Jinarajadasa to Cambridge University. Both would eventually serve as International presidents of
924-689: A close friendship. Besant made an abrupt public change in her political views, at the 1885 New Year's Day meeting of the London Dialectical Society, founded by Joseph Hiam Levy to promote individualist views. It followed a noted public debate at St. James's Hall on 17 April 1884, on Will Socialism Benefit the English People? , in which Bradlaugh had put individualist views, against the Marxist line of Henry Hyndman . On that occasion Besant still supported Bradlaugh. While Bradlaugh may have had
1056-515: A conquered race." She encouraged Indian national consciousness, attacked caste and child marriage, and worked effectively for Indian education. Along with her theosophical activities, Besant continued to actively participate in political matters. She had joined the Indian National Congress . As the name suggested, this was originally a debating body, which met each year to consider resolutions on political issues. Mostly it demanded more of
1188-514: A course of meditation practice "which awakened his clairvoyance." One day when the Master Kuthumi visited, he asked whether Leadbeater had ever attempted "a certain kind of meditation connected with the development of the mysterious power called kundalini ." The Master recommended him to make a "few efforts along certain lines," and told him that he would himself "watch over those efforts to see that no danger should ensue." Leadbeater accepted
1320-587: A degree course at London University. Then, 1879 to 1882, she was a student of physical sciences at Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution . Embarrassed by her activist reputation, the Institution omitted her name from the published list of graduands, and mailed her certificates to her. When Aveling in a speech in 1884 announced he had become a socialist after five years close study, Besant argued that his politics over that whole period had been aligned with Bradlaugh's and her own. Aveling and Eleanor Marx joined
1452-480: A few boys approaching maturity who came to him for help. He commented, "I know that the whole question of sex feelings is the principal difficulty in the path of boys and girls, and very much harm is done by the prevalent habit of ignoring the subject and fearing to speak of it to young people. The first information about it should come from parents or friends, not from servants or bad companions." The revelations regarding Leadbeater's advice prompted several members of
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#17328587382241584-594: A great deal that would shock you profoundly." But most members of the Council of the London Lodge approved the joining of Leadbeater. He was joined into the Theosophical Society together with professor Crookes and his wife. On that day at the Lodge meeting "have been some two hundred people present," including such as professor Myers , Stainton Moses and others. Blavatsky In a section I Meet Our Founder Leadbeater describes
1716-483: A legal battle to regain guardianship, against the will of the boys. Early in their relationship, Krishnamurti and Besant had developed a very close bond and he considered her a surrogate mother – a role she happily accepted. (His biological mother had died when he was ten years old.) In 1929, twenty years after his "discovery", Krishnamurti, who had grown disenchanted with the World Teacher Project , repudiated
1848-660: A new age and religion. Leadbeater assigned the pseudonym Alcyone to Krishnamurti and under the title "Rents in the Veil of Time", he published 30 reputed past lives of Alcyone in a series in The Theosophist magazine beginning in April 1910. "They ranged from 22,662 BC to 624 AD ... Alcyone was a female in eleven of them." Leadbeater stayed in India until 1915, overseeing the education of Krishnamurti; he then relocated to Australia. During
1980-537: A result of Leadbeater's presence there and Sydney became comparable to Adyar as a centre of Theosophical activity. In 1922, the Theosophical Society began renting a mansion known as The Manor in the Sydney suburb of Mosman . Leadbeater took up residence there as the director of a community of Theosophists. The Manor became a major site and was regarded as "the greatest of occult forcing houses". There he accepted young women students. They included Clara Codd, future President of
2112-483: A say for middle-class Indians in British Indian government. It had not yet developed into a permanent mass movement with a local organisation. About this time her co-worker Leadbeater moved to Sydney. In 1914, World War I broke out, and Britain asked for the support of its Empire in the fight against Germany . Echoing an Irish nationalist slogan, Besant declared, "England's need is India's opportunity". As editor of
2244-691: A similarly named group affiliated to Adyar which is based in Belfast but claims an all-Ireland jurisdiction. In addition to the stated objectives, as early as 1889 Blavatsky publicly declared that the purpose of establishing the Society was to prepare humanity for the reception of a World Teacher : according to the Theosophical doctrine described above , a manifested aspect of an advanced spiritual entity (the Maitreya ) that periodically appears on Earth in order to direct
2376-578: A small allowance from her husband. In 1878 Frank Besant successfully argued her unfitness, after Annie Besant's public campaigning on contraception , and had custody from then of both children. Later, Annie Besant was reconciled with her son and daughter. Her son Arthur Digby Besant (1869–1960) was President of the Institute of Actuaries, 1924–26, and wrote The Besant Pedigree (1930). Initially in London, Besant attempted to support her daughter, her mother (who died
2508-458: A son, Henry Trueman Wood, and one daughter. Her mother supported Henry's education at Harrow School , by running a boarding house there. Annie was fostered by Ellen Marryat, sister of the author Frederick Marryat , who ran a school at Charmouth , until age 16. She returned to her mother at Harrow self-confident, aware of a sense of duty to society, and under the influence of the Tractarians . As
2640-400: A table to its crown and lifting that also! I looked down to the feet of the table; they were about six inches from the carpet, and no human foot was touching them or near them! I passed my own foot underneath, but there was certainly nothing there—nothing physically perceptible, at any rate." The author says that he was not himself thinking of the phenomenon "in the least as a manifestation from
2772-450: A tone of military command the one word 'Mohini!' and then walked straight out of the door into the passage. The stately and dignified Mohini came rushing down that long room at his highest speed, and as soon as he reached the passage threw himself incontinently flat on his face on the floor at the feet of the lady in black. Many people arose in confusion, not knowing what was happening; but a moment later Mr. Sinnett himself also came running to
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#17328587382242904-643: A writer, and a close friend of Charles Bradlaugh . In 1877 they were prosecuted for publishing a book by birth control campaigner Charles Knowlton . Thereafter, she became involved with union actions, including the Bloody Sunday demonstration and the London matchgirls strike of 1888 . She was a leading speaker for both the Fabian Society and the Marxist Social Democratic Federation (SDF). She
3036-467: A young woman, she was also able to travel in Europe. In summer 1867, Wood and her mother stayed at Pendleton near Manchester with the radical solicitor William Prowting Roberts , who questioned Wood's political assumptions. In December of that year, at age 20, Annie married the cleric Frank Besant (1840–1917), younger brother of Walter Besant , an evangelical, serious Anglican . The Rev. Frank Besant
3168-401: Is Catholicism expressing the love of God to the full without the burdens of needless guilt and fear, and the false totem of the temporal powers of the church." It is an autobiographical book by Leadbeater; it was first published in 1930. Spiritualism and Theosophy Leadbeater tells that he was interested always in a variety of anomal phenomena, and if in any newspaper report it was said about
3300-507: Is a wholly independent organisation which claims to have received its charter directly from Helena Blavatsky. The original group contained (among others) George William Russell (A. E.) poet and mystic, and the leadership role later fell to Russell's friend P. G. Bowen, (author and teacher of practical occultism) and later still to Bowen's long time student Dorothy Emerson. The leadership of this group were students of Emerson. The independent Dublin organisation should not be confused with
3432-561: Is based in India and is known as the Theosophical Society ;– Adyar . The group led by Judge further splintered, after his 1896 death, into a faction led by Katherine Tingley , and another associated with Judge's secretary Ernest Temple Hargrove which split off in 1898. While Hargrove's faction no longer survives, the faction led by Tingley is known as the Theosophical Society with the clarifying statement, "International Headquarters, Pasadena, California ". A third organization,
3564-547: Is famous in India because Indian monk Swami Vivekananda addressed the same event. In 1895, together with the founder-president of the Theosophical Society, Henry Steel Olcott , as well as Marie Musaeus Higgins and Peter De Abrew , she was instrumental in developing the Buddhist school, Musaeus College , in Colombo on the island of Sri Lanka. Besant saw freemasonry, in particular Co-Freemasonry , as an extension of her interest in
3696-516: Is located at Adyar situated in the Indian city of Chennai . The Theosophical Society was officially formed in New York City , United States, on 17 November 1875 by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky , Colonel Henry Steel Olcott , William Quan Judge , and 16 others. It was self-described as "an unsectarian body of seekers after Truth, who endeavor to promote Brotherhood and strive to serve humanity." Olcott
3828-715: Is today based in Chennai , India, and is known as the Theosophical Society Adyar . Following the split, Besant devoted much of her energy not only to the society but also to India's freedom and progress. Besant Nagar , a neighbourhood near the Theosophical Society in Chennai, is named in her honour. In 1893, she was a representative of The Theosophical Society at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The World Parliament
3960-414: Is unthinkable to anyone who knew her... Her absolute genuineness was one of the most prominent features of her marvellously complex character." Letters from Kuthumi The author tells that during the study of spiritualism his greatest confidant was medium William Eglinton . On one of the spiritualistic séances Eglinton's spirit guide "Ernest" agreed to take Leadbeater's letter in order to transmit it to
4092-687: The "Masters" that according to Blavatsky were the inspiration behind the formation of the Theosophical Society, and were its hidden guides. This was the start of a long career with the Theosophical Society. During 1885, Leadbeater traveled with Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907), first President of the Theosophical Society, to Burma and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka ). In Ceylon they founded the English Buddhist Academy, with Leadbeater staying there to serve as its first headmaster under very austere conditions. This school gradually expanded to become Ananda College , which now has more than 6,000 students and has
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4224-571: The Bishop of Winchester . By 1881, he was living with his widowed mother at Bramshott in a cottage which his uncle had built, where he is listed as "Curate of Bramshott". He was an active priest and teacher who was remembered later as "a bright and cheerful and kindhearted man". About this time, after reading about the séances of reputed medium Daniel Dunglas Home (1833–1886), Leadbeater developed an active interest in spiritualism. His interest in Theosophy
4356-566: The British Empire . In 1907 she became president of the Theosophical Society, whose international headquarters were, by then, located in Adyar , Madras , ( Chennai ). Besant also became involved in politics in India, joining the Indian National Congress . When World War I broke out in 1914, she helped launch the Home Rule League to campaign for democracy in India, and dominion status within
4488-570: The Bryant & May match factory. She was drawn further into this battle of the "New Unionism" by a young socialist, Herbert Burrows , who had made contact with workers at the factory, in Bow . They were mainly young women, were very poorly paid, and subject to occupational disease, such as Phossy jaw caused by the chemicals used in match manufacture. Louise Raw in Striking a Light (2011) has, however, contested
4620-655: The Central Hindu School , and in 1922 she helped establish the Hyderabad (Sind) National Collegiate Board in Bombay (today's Mumbai ), India. The Theosophical Society Auditorium in Hyderabad, Sindh ( Sindh ) is called Besant Hall in her honor. In 1902, she established the first overseas Lodge of the International Order of Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain . Over the next few years, she established lodges in many parts of
4752-721: The Christian sacraments in The Science of the Sacraments: An Occult and Clairvoyant Study of the Christian Eucharist , one of the most significant works of Christian esotericism. In his prologue to the latest edition of this book, John Kersey refers to the Eucharist proposed by Leadbeater as "a radical reinterpretation of the context of the Eucharist seen within a theological standpoint of esoteric magic and universal salvation; it
4884-529: The Devachanic Plane (or The Heaven World) both of which contained writings on the realms the soul passes through after death. "For the first time among occultists, a detailed investigation had been made of the Astral Plane as a whole, in a manner similar to that in which a botanist in an Amazonian jungle would set to work in order to classify its trees, plants and shrubs, and so write a botanical history of
5016-583: The Irish Home Rulers and supported them in her newspaper columns during what are considered crucial years, when the Irish nationalists were forming an alliance with Liberals and Radicals. Besant met the leaders of the Irish home rule movement. In particular, she got to know Michael Davitt , who wanted to mobilise the Irish peasantry through a Land War, a direct struggle against the landowners. She spoke and wrote in favour of Davitt and his Land League many times over
5148-469: The Master Kuthumi . In this letter the author "with all reverence" wrote that ever since he had first heard of theosophy his one desire had been to place himself under Master as a chela (pupil). He also wrote about his current circumstances and asked whether a pupil needed to be in India for seven years of probation. Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy , an esoteric new religious movement . It
5280-648: The Order of the Star , a worldwide organization created by the leadership of the Theosophical Society to prepare the world for the Coming of the Maitreya , and abandoned his assumed role as the "vehicle" for the World Teacher . He eventually left the Theosophical Society altogether, yet remained on friendly terms with individual members of the Society. He spent the rest of his life traveling
5412-517: The Roman Catholic liturgy of his time, for which Leadbeater sought to remove what he regarded as undesirable elements, such as (in his view) the blatant anthropomorphisms and expressions of the fear and wrath of God, which he regarded "as derogatory alike to the idea of a loving Father and to the men He has created in His own image." "If Christians", he wrote, "had been content to take what Christ taught of
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5544-538: The Social Democratic Federation , followers of Marxism , and then the Socialist League , a small Marxist splinter group which formed around the artist William Morris . In 1883 Besant started her own periodical, Our Corner . It was a literary and in time a socialist monthly, and published George Bernard Shaw 's novel The Irrational Knot in serial form. Meanwhile, Besant built close contacts with
5676-533: The Theosophical Society in America , clairvoyant Dora van Gelder , another future President of the Theosophical Society in America who during the 1970s also worked with Delores Krieger to develop the technique of Therapeutic touch , and Mary Lutyens , who would later write an authorized Krishnamurti biography. Lutyens stayed there in 1925, while Krishnamurti and his brother Nitya stayed at another house nearby. The Manor became one of three major Theosophical Society sites,
5808-570: The United Lodge of Theosophists or ULT, in 1909 split off from the latter organization. In 1902, Rudolf Steiner became General Secretary of the German-Austrian division of the Theosophical Society . He maintained a Western-oriented course, relatively independent from the Adyar headquarters. After serious philosophical conflicts with Annie Besant and other members of the international leadership on
5940-586: The "triumphant" appearance of Blavatsky at a meeting of the London Lodge of the British Theosophical Society, where he saw her for the first time. "Suddenly and sharply the door opposite to us opened, and a stout lady in black came quickly in and seated herself at the outer end of our bench. She sat listening to the wrangling on the platform for a few minutes, and then began to exhibit distinct signs of impatience. As there seemed to be no improvement in sight, she then jumped up from her seat, shouted in
6072-465: The 1888 magnum opus of Helena Blavatsky. According to this view, humanity's evolution on earth (and beyond) is part of the overall cosmic evolution. It is overseen by a hidden spiritual hierarchy , the so-called Masters of the Ancient Wisdom , whose upper echelons consist of advanced spiritual beings. Blavatsky portrayed the Theosophical Society as being part of one of many attempts throughout
6204-640: The British Empire. This led to her election as president of the Indian National Congress, in late 1917. In the late 1920s, Besant travelled to the United States with her protégé and adopted son Jiddu Krishnamurti , who she claimed was the new Messiah and incarnation of Buddha. Krishnamurti rejected these claims in 1929. After the war, she continued to campaign for Indian independence and for the causes of theosophy, until her death in 1933. Annie Wood
6336-526: The Central Hindu College also agreed to the Government of India's precondition that the college should become a part of the new University. The Banaras Hindu University started functioning from 1 October 1917 with the Central Hindu College as its first constituent college. Blavatsky had stated in 1889 that the main purpose of establishing the society was to prepare humanity for the future reception of
6468-549: The Church were those who despised women the most, "Against the teachings of eternal torture, of the vicarious atonement, of the infallibility of the Bible, I leveled all the strength of my brain and tongue, and I exposed the history of the Christian Church with unsparing hand, its persecutions, its religious wars, its cruelties, its oppressions." In the section named "Its Evidences Unreliable" of her work "Christianity", Besant presents
6600-528: The Church. In 1873 she left him and went to London. She had a temporary place to stay, with Moncure Conway. The Scotts found her a small house in Colby Road, Upper Norwood . The couple were legally separated and Annie Besant took her daughter Mabel with her, the agreement of 25 October 1873 giving her custody. Annie remained Mrs. Besant for the rest of her life. At first, she was able to keep contact with both children and to have Mabel live with her; she also got
6732-570: The Father in heaven, they would never have saddled themselves with the jealous, angry, bloodthirsty Jehovah of Ezra, Nehemiah and the others – a god that needs propitiating and to whose 'mercy' constant appeals must be made." Thus the Credo of the Liberal Catholic Church liturgy for the shorter form of Holy Eucharist written by Leadbeater reads: Previously, Leadbeater had written on the energies of
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#17328587382246864-528: The Knowlton book. They were found guilty but released pending appeal. The trial became a cause célèbre , and ultimately the verdict was overturned on a technical legal point. Besant was then instrumental in founding the Malthusian League , reviving a name coined earlier by Bradlaugh. It would go on to advocate for the abolition of penalties for the promotion of contraception. Besant and Bradlaugh supported
6996-552: The Malthusian League for some 12 years. They were concerned with birth control, but were not neo-Malthusians in the sense of convinced believers in the tradition of Thomas Malthus and his demographic theories. Besant did advocate population control as an antidote to the struggle for survival . She became the secretary of the League, with Charles Robert Drysdale as President. In time the League veered towards eugenics , and it
7128-508: The Marxists. In her Autobiography , Besant follows her chapter on "Socialism" with "Through Storm to Peace", the peace of Theosophy. In 1888, she described herself as "marching toward the Theosophy" that would be the "glory" of her life. Besant had found the economic side of life lacking a spiritual dimension, so she searched for a belief based on "Love". She found this in Theosophy, so she joined
7260-454: The Society's agenda. After several iterations the Society's objectives were incorporated at Chennai (Madras) on 3 April 1905. The Three Objects of the Theosophical Society are as follows : Sympathy with the above objects was the sole condition of admission to the society. The Society was organized as a non-sectarian entity. The following was stated in the Constitution and Rules of
7392-419: The Society, Sinnett "became very grave and opined that that would hardly do," since Leadbeater was a clergyman. He had asked him why the Society discriminates against members according to the cloth. Sinnett replied: "Well, you see, we are in the habit of discussing every subject and every belief from the beginning, without any preconceptions whatever; and I am afraid that at our meetings you would be likely to hear
7524-456: The Theosophical Society ARTICLE I: Constitution ... ARTICLE XIII Offences The Society reformulated this view in a resolution passed by the General Council of the Theosophical Society on December 23, 1924. Three years before, in 1921, it was signed the institutive charter of the Spanish Sociedad Teosófica , which had local branches in Madrid , Tarrasa , Barcelona , Seville , Valencia , Alicante , Zanoni, Cadiz and Dharma. One of
7656-484: The Theosophical Society and doctrinal schisms in theosophy. Following the discovery, Jiddu Krishnamurti and his younger brother Nityananda ("Nitya") were placed under the care of theosophists and Krishnamurti was extensively groomed for his future mission as the new vehicle for the "World Teacher". Besant soon became the boys' legal guardian with the consent of their father, who was very poor and could not take care of them. However, his father later changed his mind and began
7788-423: The Theosophical Society headquarters in Adyar , India, a few months earlier. Following his "discovery", Krishnamurti was taken under the wing of the Society, and was extensively groomed in preparation for his expected mission. However, by 1925 Krishnamurti had begun to move away from the course expected of him by the leaders of the Theosophical Society Adyar and by many Theosophists. In 1929 he publicly dissolved
7920-427: The Theosophical Society in 1906, which was accepted. The next year Besant became president of the society and in 1908, with her express support, Leadbeater was readmitted to the society. Leadbeater went on to face accusations of improper relations with boys, but none of the accusations were ever proven and Besant never deserted him. Until Besant's presidency, the society had as one of its foci Theravada Buddhism and
8052-412: The Theosophical Society to ask for his resignation. The Society held proceedings against him in 1906. Annie Besant, elected president of the Society in 1907, later stated in his defense: Charges of misconduct that went beyond the advice he admitted giving were never proven. He nevertheless resigned. After Olcott died in 1907, Annie Besant became president of the society following a political struggle. By
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#17328587382248184-513: The Theosophical Society, a move that distanced her from Bradlaugh and other former activist co-workers. When Blavatsky died in 1891, Besant was left as one of the leading figures in theosophy and in 1893 she represented it at the Chicago World Fair . In 1893, soon after becoming a member of the Theosophical Society, she went to India for the first time. After a dispute the American section split away into an independent organisation. The original society, then led by Henry Steel Olcott and Besant,
8316-416: The Theosophical Society, where he became an associate of Annie Besant . He became a high-ranking officer of the Society and remained one of its leading members until his death in 1934, writing over 60 books and pamphlets and maintaining regular speaking engagements. Leadbeater was born in Stockport , Cheshire, in 1854. His father, Charles, was born in Lincoln and his mother Emma was born in Liverpool . He
8448-525: The Theosophical Society. After H. P. Blavatsky 's death in 1891, Annie Besant , an English social activist, took over leadership of the Theosophical Society along with Colonel Olcott. Besant met Leadbeater in 1894. The next year she invited him to live at the London Theosophical Headquarters, where H.P. Blavatsky died in 1891. Leadbeater wrote over 60 books and pamphlets during the period from 1895 to his death in 1934, many of which continued to be published until 1955. Two noteworthy titles, Astral Plane and
8580-454: The appearance of ghosts or other curious events in the troubled house, he had been going immediately to this location. In a large number of instances it was a blank — "either there was no evidence worth mentioning, or the ghost declined to appear when he was wanted." Sometimes, however, there were signs of some success, and soon he had collected "an amount of direct evidence" that could easily convince him. In attitude to spiritualism Leadbeater
8712-399: The author, the impression which Blavatsky made "was indescribable." She was looking straight through man, and obviously saw everything that was in one, and not everyone liked it. Sometimes Leadbeater heard from her very unpleasant revelations about those with whom she spoke. He's writing: "Prodigious force was the first impression, and perhaps courage, outspokenness, and straightforwardness were
8844-517: The better of the debate, followers then began to migrate into left-wing politics. George Bernard Shaw was the speaker on 1 January 1885, talking on socialism, but, instead of the expected criticism from Besant, he saw her opposing his opponent. Shaw then sponsored Besant to join the Fabian Society . The Fabians were defining political goals, rejecting anarchism in 1886, and forming the Fabian Parliamentary League, with both Besant and Shaw on its Council which promoted political candidacy. Unemployment
8976-402: The case of why the Gospels are not authentic: "before about A.D. 180 there is no trace of FOUR gospels among the Christians." Besant and Bradlaugh set up the Freethought Publishing Company at the beginning of 1877; it followed the 1876 prosecution of Charles Watts , and they carried on his work. They became household names later that year, when they published Fruits of Philosophy ,
9108-407: The central philosophical tenets promoted by the Society was the complex doctrine of The Intelligent Evolution of All Existence , occurring on a cosmic scale, incorporating both the physical and non-physical aspects of the known and unknown Universe, and affecting all of its constituent parts regardless of apparent size or importance. The theory was originally promulgated in the Secret Doctrine ,
9240-409: The coming decades. Bradlaugh's family circumstances changed in May 1877 with the death of his wife Susannah, an alcoholic who had left him for James Thomson . His two children, Alice then aged 21, and Hypatia then 19, returned to live with him from his in-laws. He had been able to take a house in St John's Wood in February of that year, at 20 Circus Road, near Besant. They continued what had become
9372-691: The daytime rather than at night—and set himself at that time to keep his mind for a few minutes entirely free from all earthly thoughts of any kind whatever and, when that is achieved, to direct the whole force of his being towards the highest spiritual ideal that he happens to know. He will find that to gain such perfect control of thought is enormously more difficult than he supposes, but when he attains it, it cannot but be in every way most beneficial to him, and as he grows more and more able to elevate and concentrate his thought, he may gradually find that new worlds are opening before his sight." Professor Robert Ellwood wrote that from 1884 to 1888 Leadbeater undertook
9504-613: The dead," but only as the disclosure of some unknown new force. Leadbeater says that the first theosophical book that fell into his hands was Sinnett's The Occult World . Histories contained in this book were for him very interested, but "its real fascination lay in the glimpses which it gave of a wonderful system of philosophy and of a kind of inner science which really seemed to explain life rationally and to account for many phenomena," which Leadbeater has watched. He had written to Sinnett, who invited him to come to London in order to meet. The author tells that when he had claimed of joining
9636-542: The death of Helena Blavatsky , competition emerged between factions within the Society, particularly among founding members. The organization split into the Theosophical Society Adyar ( Olcott - Besant ) and the Theosophical Society Pasadena ( Judge ). The former group, headquartered in India , is the most widespread international group holding the name "Theosophical Society" today. Theosophical Society-Adyar
9768-465: The door, went out and exchanged a few words, and then, re-entering the room, he stood up on the end of our bench and spoke in a ringing voice the fateful words: 'Let me introduce to the London Lodge as a whole—Madame Blavatsky!' The scene was indescribable; the members, wildly delighted and yet half-awed at the same time, clustered round our great Founder, some kissing her hand, several kneeling before her, and two or three weeping hysterically." According to
9900-603: The electors to vote for me, and the non-electors to work for me because women are wanted on the Board and there are too few women candidates." From the early 1880s Besant had also been an important feminist leader in London, with Alice Vickery , Ellen Dana Moncure and Millicent Fawcett . This group, at the South Place Ethical Society , had a national standing. She frequented the home of Richard and Emmeline Pankhurst on Russell Square , and Emmeline had participated in
10032-424: The end of 1888. Besant was further involved in the London dock strike of 1889 . The dockers, casual workers who were employed by the day, were led by Ben Tillett in a struggle for the "Dockers' Tanner". Besant helped Tillett draw up the union's rules and played an important part in the meetings and agitation which built up the organisation. She spoke for the dockers at public meetings and on street corners. Like
10164-466: The end of 1908, the International Sections voted for Leadbeater's readmission. He accepted and came to Adyar on 10 February 1909. At the time, Besant referred to Leadbeater as a martyr who was wronged by her and by the Theosophical Society, saying that "never again would a shadow come between her and her brother Initiate". In 1909 Leadbeater encountered fourteen-year-old Jiddu Krishnamurti at
10296-473: The evenings he became largely self-educated. For example, he studied astronomy and had a 12-inch reflector telescope (which was very expensive at the time) to observe the heavens at night. He also studied French, Latin and Greek. An uncle, his father's brother-in-law, was the well-known Anglican cleric William Wolfe Capes . By his uncle's influence, Leadbeater was ordained an Anglican priest in 1879 in Farnham by
10428-423: The evolution of humankind. The mission of these reputedly regularly appearing emissaries is to practically translate, in a way and language understood by contemporary humanity, the knowledge required to propel it to a higher evolutionary stage. If the present attempt, in the form of our Society, succeeds better than its predecessors have done, then it will be in existence as an organized, living and healthy body when
10560-479: The existence of clairvoyance and familiar with theosophical terms." Leadbeater claims that the "power to see what is hidden from ordinary physical sight" is an extension of common reception, and "describes a wide range of phenomena ." Leadbeater writes about the importance of control over thinking and the need for skill "to concentrate thought": "Let a man choose a certain time every day—a time when he can rely upon being quiet and undisturbed, though preferably in
10692-458: The first three degrees and Annie returned to England, bearing a Charter and founded there the first Lodge of International Mixed Masonry, Le Droit Humain." Besant eventually became the Order's Most Puissant Grand Commander and was a major influence in the international growth of the Order. Besant met fellow theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater in London in April 1894. They became close co-workers in
10824-587: The following year) and herself with needlework . Besant began in 1874 to write for the National Reformer , the organ of the National Secular Society (NSS), run by Charles Bradlaugh . She also continued to write for Thomas Scott's small press. On the account given by W. T. Stead , Besant had encountered the National Reformer on sale in the shop of Edward Truelove . Besant had heard of Bradlaugh from Moncure Conway. She wrote to Bradlaugh and
10956-537: The freethinker and publisher Thomas Scott . Encouraged by Scott, Besant wrote an anonymous pamphlet On the Deity of Jesus of Nazareth , by "the wife of a beneficed clergyman", which appeared in 1872. Ellen Dana Conway, wife of Moncure Conway befriended Annie at this time. The Besants made an effort to repair the marriage. The tension came to a head when Annie Besant refused to attend Communion , which Frank Besant demanded, now fearing for his own reputation and position in
11088-417: The historian who is in "full possession of this power" open up wonderful possibilities: "He has before him a field of historical research of most entrancing interest. Not only can he review at his leisure all history with which we are acquainted, correcting as he examines it the many errors and misconceptions which have crept into the accounts handed down to us; he can also range at will over the whole story of
11220-516: The historiography of the strike, stating that "A proper examination of the primary evidence about the strike makes it impossible to continue to believe that Annie Besant led it." William Morris played some part in converting Besant to Marxism, but it was to the Social Democratic Federation of Hyndman, not his Socialist League, that she turned in 1888. She remained a member for a number of years and became one of its leading speakers. She
11352-582: The inspiration of a number of Mahatmas , members of the Hierarchy. After Helena Blavatsky's death in 1891, the Society's leaders seemed at first to work together peacefully. This did not last long. Judge was accused by Olcott and then prominent Theosophist Annie Besant of forging letters from the Mahatmas; he ended his association with Olcott and Besant in 1895 and took most of the Society's American Section with him. The original organization led by Olcott and Besant
11484-520: The island of Sri Lanka , where Henry Olcott did the majority of his useful work. Under Besant's leadership there was more stress on the teachings of "The Aryavarta", as she called central India, as well as on esoteric Christianity. Besant set up a new school for boys, the Central Hindu College (CHC) at Banaras which was formed on underlying theosophical principles, and which counted many prominent theosophists in its staff and faculty. Its aim
11616-511: The jailed workers and support for their families. In its aftermath the Law and Liberty League, defending freedom of expression , was formed by Besant and others, and Besant became editor of The Link , its journal. Besant's involvement in the London matchgirls strike of 1888 came after a Fabian Society talk that year on female labour by Clementina Black . Besant wrote in The Link about conditions at
11748-551: The jungle. For this reason the little book, The Astral Plane, was definitely a landmark, and the Master as Keeper of the Records desired to place its manuscript in the great Museum." Highlights of his writing career included addressing topics such as: the existence of a loving God, The Masters of Wisdom, what happens after death, immortality of the human soul, reincarnation, Karma or the Law of Consequence, development of clairvoyant abilities,
11880-515: The last fourteen years, without any of these advantages and surrounded by hosts of hindrances which would not hamper the new leader. This was repeated by then prominent Theosophist Annie Besant in 1896, five years after Blavatsky's death. Besant, who became President of the Society in 1907, thought the appearance of the World Teacher would happen sooner than the time-frame in Blavatsky's writings, who had indicated that it would not take place until
12012-424: The last quarter of the 20th century. One of the people who expected the imminent reappearance of the Maitreya as World Teacher was Charles Webster Leadbeater , then an influential Theosophist and occultist . In 1909 he "discovered" Jiddu Krishnamurti, an adolescent Indian boy, who he proclaimed as the most suitable candidate for the "vehicle" of the World Teacher . Krishnamurti's family had relocated next to
12144-506: The late 1920s, Krishnamurti disavowed the role that Leadbeater and other Theosophists expected him to fulfil. He disassociated himself from the Theosophical Society and its doctrines and practices, and during the next six decades became known as an influential speaker on philosophical and religious subjects. In 1915 Leadbeater moved to Sydney, where he laid the foundation-stone of the Theosophical Hall, "King's Hall" on Hunter Street . He
12276-426: The marriage was already under strain. As Besant wrote in her Autobiography , "we were an ill-matched pair". Money was short and Frank Besant was parsimonious. Annie Besant was sure a third child would impose too much on the family finances. She wrote short stories, books for children, and articles, the money she earned being controlled by her husband. Besant began to question her own faith, after her daughter Mabel
12408-610: The match-girls, the dockers won public support for their struggle, and the strike was won. In 1889, Besant was asked to write a review for the Pall Mall Gazette on The Secret Doctrine , a book by H. P. Blavatsky . After reading it, she sought an interview with its author, meeting Blavatsky in Paris. In this way, she was converted to Theosophy. She allowed her membership of the Fabian Society to lapse (1890) and broke her links with
12540-454: The matchgirl organisation. Besant came out on top of the poll in Tower Hamlets , with over 15,000 votes. She wrote in the National Reformer : "Ten years ago, under a cruel law, Christian bigotry robbed me of my little child. Now the care of the 763,680 children of London is placed partly in my hands." Financial constraints meant that Besant closed down both Our Corner and The Link at
12672-475: The millennia by this hidden Hierarchy to guide humanity – in concert with the overall intelligent cosmic evolutionary scheme – towards its ultimate, immutable evolutionary objective: the attainment of perfection and the conscious, willing participation in the evolutionary process. These attempts require an earthly infrastructure (such as the Theosophical Society) which she held was ultimately under
12804-483: The most insignificant cases that had happened to her. She was a wonderful storyteller, who knew how to give a good story and make the right impression. "Whatever else she may have been, she was never commonplace. She always had something new, striking, interesting, unusual to tell us." In connection with the accusations of Blavatsky's enemies in her alleged fraud, cheating, forgery, Leadbeater writes: "The very idea of deception of any sort in connection with Madame Blavatsky
12936-474: The nature of thought forms, dreams, vegetarianism, Esoteric Christianity He also became one of the best known speakers of the Theosophical Society for a number of years and served as Secretary of the London Lodge . Clairvoyance is a book by Leadbeater originally published in 1899 in London. It is a study of a belief in seeing beyond the realms of ordinary sight. The author mainly appeals readers "convinced of
13068-449: The new torch-bearer of Truth. He will find the minds of men prepared for his message, a language ready for him in which to clothe the new truths he brings, an organization awaiting his arrival, which will remove the merely mechanical, material obstacles and difficulties from his path. Think how much one, to whom such an opportunity is given, could accomplish. Measure it by comparison with what the Theosophical Society actually has achieved in
13200-563: The oath of loyalty. It took more than six years before the matter was completely resolved, in Bradlaugh's favour, after a series of by-elections and court appearances. He was an individualist and opposed to socialism in any form. While he defended free speech, he was very cautious about encouraging working-class militancy. Edward Aveling , a rising star in the National Secular Society, tutored Besant during 1879, and she went on to
13332-427: The offer of the Master and became "day after day" working on this kind of meditation. He worked on the task assigned to him for forty-two days, and it seemed to him that he was already on the verge of achieving a result when Kuthumi intervened and "performed the final act of breaking through which completed the process," and enabled Leadbeater thereafter to use astral sight while as he was retaining full consciousness in
13464-613: The others being at Adyar and the Netherlands. The Theosophical Society bought The Manor in 1925 and during 1951 created The Manor Foundation Ltd, to own and administer the house, which is still used by the Society. It was also during his stay in Australia that Leadbeater became the Presiding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church and co-wrote the liturgy book for the church which is still in use today. The work represents an adaptation of
13596-506: The physical body. It is equivalent to saying that "the astral consciousness and memory became continuous," whether the physical body was awake or asleep. In the chapter "Simple Clairvoyance: Full" the author argues that an occultist -clairvoyant can "see" the smallest particles of matter, for example, a molecule or atom, magnifying them "as though by a microscope." In the chapter "Clairvoyance in Time: The Past" Leadbeater claims that before
13728-437: The polished surface of the table," and then began to spin so vigorously that it was difficult to keep on it their hands. Further, the author describes the events as follows: "Here was my own familiar silk hat, which I had never before suspected of any occult qualities, suspending itself mysteriously in the air from the tips of our fingers, and, not content with that defiance of the laws of gravity on its own account, attaching
13860-424: The private beach of the Theosophical Society headquarters at Adyar . Krishnamurti's family lived next to the compound; his father, a long-time Theosophist, was employed by the Society. Leadbeater believed Krishnamurti to be a suitable candidate for the "vehicle" of the World Teacher , a reputed messianic entity whose imminent appearance he and many Theosophists were expecting. The proclaimed savior would then usher in
13992-589: The rights of women and the greater brotherhood of man and saw co-freemasonry as a "movement which practised true brotherhood, in which women and men worked side by side for the perfecting of humanity. She immediately wanted to be admitted to this organisation", known now as the International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women, "Le Droit Humain" . The link was made in 1902 by the theosophist Francesca Arundale, who accompanied Besant to Paris, along with six friends. "They were all initiated, passed, and raised into
14124-598: The role that many theosophists expected him to fulfil. He dissolved the Order of the Star in the East , an organisation founded to assist the World Teacher in his mission, and eventually left the Theosophical Society and theosophy at large. He spent the rest of his life travelling the world as an unaffiliated speaker, becoming in the process widely known as an original, independent thinker on philosophical, psychological, and spiritual subjects. His love for Besant never waned, as also
14256-430: The second." Leadbeater writes that Blavatsky was the best interlocutor he had ever met: "She had the most wonderful gift for repartee; she had it almost to excess, perhaps." She also had knowledge of all sorts of things that relate to very different directions. She always had something to say, and it was never empty talk. She traveled a lot, and mostly on little-known places, and did not forget anything. She remembered even
14388-476: The special status of Christianity and allowed her to act as one of its public speakers. On 6 March 1881 she spoke at the opening of Leicester Secular Society 's new Secular Hall in Humberstone Gate, Leicester. The other speakers were George Jacob Holyoake , Harriet Law and Bradlaugh. Bradlaugh was elected to Parliament in 1881. Because of his atheism, he asked to be allowed to affirm , rather than swear
14520-684: The spiritual significance of Christ and on the status of the young boy Jiddu Krishnamurti (see section below), most of the German and Austrian members split off in 1913 and under Steiner's leadership formed the Anthroposophical Society , which then expanded to many other countries. The English headquarters of the Theosophical Society are at 50 Gloucester Place , London . The Theosophical Society in Ireland [3] , based in Pembroke Road, Dublin ,
14652-415: The theosophical movement and would remain so for the rest of their lives. Leadbeater claimed clairvoyance and reputedly helped Besant become clairvoyant herself in the following year. In a letter dated 25 August 1895 to Francisca Arundale, Leadbeater narrates how Besant became clairvoyant. Together they clairvoyantly investigated the universe, matter, thought-forms, and the history of mankind, and co-authored
14784-442: The time comes for the effort of the 20th century. The general condition of men's minds and hearts will have been improved and purified by the spread of its teachings, and, as I have said, their prejudices and dogmatic illusions will have been, to some extent at least, removed. Not only so, but besides a large and accessible literature ready to men's hands, the next impulse will find a numerous and united body of people ready to welcome
14916-535: The world as an independent speaker, becoming widely known as an original thinker on spiritual, philosophical, and psychological subjects. Well-known intellectuals associated with the Theosophical Society include Thomas Edison , William Butler Yeats , and Laura Carter Holloway . Annie Besant Annie Besant ( née Wood ; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist , theosophist , freemason , women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She
15048-419: The world from its very beginning." The book was reprinted several times and translated into some European languages. Second edition of the book was published in 1903, and third—in 1908. In 1906, critics were angered to learn that Leadbeater had given advice to boys under his care that encouraged masturbation as a way to relieve obsessive sexual thoughts. Leadbeater acknowledged that he had given this advice to
15180-554: Was a central issue of the time, and in 1887 some of the London unemployed started to hold protests in Trafalgar Square . Besant agreed to appear as a speaker at a meeting on 13 November. The police tried to stop the assembly, fighting broke out, and troops were called. Many were hurt, one man died, and hundreds were arrested; Besant offered herself for arrest, an offer disregarded by the police. The events became known as Bloody Sunday . Besant threw herself into organising legal aid for
15312-632: Was a graduate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge , ordained priest in 1866, but had no living: in 1866 he was teaching at Stockwell Grammar School as second master, and in 1867 he moved to teach at Cheltenham College as assistant master. In 1872, he became vicar of Sibsey in Lincolnshire, a benefice in the gift of the Lord Chancellor —who was Lord Hatherley , a Wood family connection, son of Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Baronet. The Besant family, with their two children, Arthur and Mabel , moved to Sibsey, but
15444-404: Was a prolific writer and a powerful orator. She addressed causes including freedom of thought , women's rights, secularism , birth control , Fabian socialism and workers' rights . Margaret Cole called her "the finest woman orator and organiser of her day". Besant opined that for centuries the leaders of Christian thought spoke of women as a necessary evil and that the greatest saints of
15576-726: Was accepted as an NSS member. She first heard him speak on 2 August 1874. Through Bradlaugh, Besant met and became a supporter of Joseph Arch , the farmworkers' leader. Her career as a platform speaker began on 25 August 1874, with topic "The Political Status of Women". The lecture was at the Co-operative Hall, Castle Street, Long Acre in Covent Garden. It was followed in September by an invitation from Moncure Conway to speak at his Camden Town church on "The True Basis of Morality". Besant published an essay under this title, in 1882. She
15708-536: Was also elected to the London School Board for Tower Hamlets , topping the poll, even though few women were qualified to vote at that time. In 1890 Besant met Helena Blavatsky , and over the next few years her interest in theosophy grew, whilst her interest in secular matters waned. She became a member of the Theosophical Society and a prominent lecturer on the subject. As part of her theosophy-related work, she travelled to India. In 1898 she helped establish
15840-483: Was an ardent supporter of both Irish and Indian self-rule . She became the first female president of the Indian National Congress in 1917. For fifteen years, Besant was a public proponent in England of atheism and scientific materialism. Besant's goal was to provide employment, better living conditions, and proper education for the poor. She became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society (NSS), as well as
15972-467: Was an only child. By 1861, the family had relocated to London, where his father was a railway contractor's clerk. In 1862, when Leadbeater was eight years old, his father died from tuberculosis . Four years later a bank in which the family's savings were invested became bankrupt. Without finances for college, Leadbeater sought work soon after graduating from high school in order to provide for his mother and himself. He worked at various clerical jobs. During
16104-418: Was born on 1 October 1847 in London , the daughter of William Burton Persse Wood (1816–1852) and his wife Emily Roche Morris (died 1874). Her father was English, attended Trinity College Dublin , and attained a medical degree; her mother was an Irish Catholic . Her paternal grandfather Robert Wright Wood was a brother of Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Baronet . Wood's father died when she was five years old, leaving
16236-651: Was founded in New York City , U.S. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky , a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the Theosophy movement, and Henry Steel Olcott , the society's first president. It draws upon a wide array of influences among them older European philosophies and movements such as Neoplatonism and occultism , as well as parts of Asian religious traditions such as Hinduism , Buddhism , and Islam . Antiquity Medieval Early modern Modern Iran India East-Asia The original organization, after splits and realignments, currently has several successors. Following
16368-414: Was from the outset an individualist organisation, also for many members supportive of a social conservatism that was not Besant's view. Her pamphlet The Law of Population (1878) sold well. Besant was a leading member of the National Secular Society alongside Charles Bradlaugh. She attacked the status of the Church of England as established church . The NSS argued for a secular state and an end to
16500-407: Was initially set up quite skeptical, but still one day decided to conduct an experiment with his mother and a some small boy, who, as they later discovered, "was a powerful physical medium ." They had a small round table with a leg in the middle and silk hat, which they put on the table, and then put their "hands upon its brim as prescribed." Surprisingly the hat gave "a gentle but decided half-turn on
16632-696: Was its first president, and remained president until his death in 1907. In the early months of 1875, Olcott and Judge had come to believe that, if Blavatsky was a spiritualist , she was no ordinary one. The society's initial objective was the "study and elucidation of Occultism , the Cabala etc." After a few years Olcott and Blavatsky moved to India and established the International Headquarters at Adyar , in Madras (now Chennai ). They were also interested in studying Eastern religions , and these were included in
16764-476: Was responsible for the construction of the Star Amphitheatre at Balmoral Beach in 1924. While in Australia he became acquainted with J. I. Wedgwood , a Theosophist and bishop in the Liberal Catholic Church who initiated him into Co-Masonry in 1915 and later consecrated him as a bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church in 1916. Public interest in Theosophy in Australia and New Zealand increased greatly as
16896-585: Was seriously ill in 1871. She consulted Edward Bouverie Pusey : by post he gave her advice along orthodox, Bampton Lecture lines, and in person he sharply reprimanded her unorthodox theological tendencies. She attended in London, with her mother, a service at St George's Hall given by the heterodox cleric Charles Voysey , in autumn 1871, and struck up an acquaintance with the Voyseys, reading in "theistic" authors such as Theodore Parker and Francis Newman on Voysey's recommendation. Voysey also introduced Besant to
17028-469: Was still a member of the Fabian Society, the two movements being compatible at the time. Besant was elected to the London School Board in 1888. Women at that time were not able to take part in parliamentary politics but had been brought into the London local electorate in 1881. Besant drove about with a red ribbon in her hair, speaking at meetings. "No more hungry children", her manifesto proclaimed. She combined her socialist principles with feminism: "I ask
17160-504: Was stimulated by A. P. Sinnett 's Occult World , and he joined the Theosophical Society in 1883. The next year he met Helena Petrovna Blavatsky when she came to London; she accepted him as a pupil and he became a vegetarian. Around this time he wrote a letter to Kuthumi , asking to be accepted as his pupil. Shortly afterward, an encouraging response influenced him to go to India ; he arrived at Adyar in 1884. He wrote that while in India, he had received visits and training from some of
17292-520: Was the case with Besant's feelings towards him; concerned for his wellbeing after he declared his independence, she had purchased 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land near the Theosophical Society estate which later became the headquarters of the Krishnamurti Foundation India. As early as 1902 Besant had written that "India is not ruled for the prospering of the people, but rather for the profit of her conquerors, and her sons are being treated as
17424-464: Was to build a new leadership for India. The students spent 90 minutes a day in prayer and studied religious texts, but they also studied modern science. It took 3 years to raise the money for the CHC, most of which came from Indian princes. In April 1911, Besant met Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and they decided to unite their forces and work for a common Hindu University at Banaras. Besant and fellow trustees of
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