The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1897-10-08
Elementary Theosophy.

No 9.-The Theosophical Society and it's
Objects.
The direct agent for the dissemination
of TheosOphical truth in the present CEN
tury is the TheOsOphical Society, which
though founded no further back than
1879 now numbers among its members
thousands of earnest, cultured people,
persons who dare to think for themselves
and who have found in TheOSOphy more
than in anything else satisfactory solu-
tiOns to those questions which from the
beginning of the worlds history have puz-
zled mankind.
The society was founded by Madam
Helen Petrovna Blavatsky, a Russian of
noble birth, in conjunction with William
Quan Judge, New York lawyer, Col.
Henry Steele Olcott, a metropolitan
journalist, and others.
Madam Blavatsky was a unique person.
allty impulsive, brilliant, and according
to the testimony of many of those who
had the opportunity of coming directly in
contact with her, gifted with strange and
wonderful powers, which she claimed to
have developed under the tuition of the
adopts or mahatmas, about whom we
wrote i'll our last paper. Making such
claims, in this materalistic age, she was
OF course laughed at by the unthinking
world, reviled called an impostor and
charlatan,. and even prosecuted, but that
made but little difference to her or her
followers She as positively asserted the
truth of her claims, and sacrificed health,
position and ease to forward the cause
she loved so well. She had an enormous
capacity for work and never spared her
solf IA the ieaSt.. 5!ler writings were
voluminous, and thai masterpiece of
strange and archaic literature THE Sc
cret Doctrine, - which may be called the
theosophical bible, was the result of her
labOrs. 1t is in four massive volumes
only two of which have as yet been pub
lished. Her writings are all noted for
their purity of tone, their lofty ideas, and
the persistence with which she teaches
that it is only through unselfishness and
self-sacritice that one can attain the
heights of spiritual knowledge, and that
perfect union with the divine which is
the end and aim of all things.
Broad-minded and tolerant she had no
sympathy with creed or dogma and the
word bigOtry was not in her vocabulary;
and following her lead the TheOSophical
Society was founded on a basis broad
enough to include the followers of all re-
ligiOnS. 1t has neither creed nor dogma
and the ideas put forward in its literature
may be accepted or rejected as the MEM
berS think best.
Teaching as it does that everything in
nature has descended from one common
source, it is natural that the principal
aim and object OF the Society should be
to form the nucleus of a Universal Broth
erhOOd without any distinction whatever.
Sympathy with this object is the only
thing IT quired of person in order to be-
come a member. He may keep whatever
belief he may have if he wishes, and it is
a fact that there are in the Society per-
sons of all shades of belief and represen-
tatives of all religions from the Christian
to the Hindu.
The objects are the study of ancient
and modern religions, PHILOSOPHERS and
sciences andthe demonstration of the inn
pOrtance of such study; and the investi-
cation of the unexplained laws of nature
and the spiritual powers latent in man.
The Society has branches in all parts
of the world, but has had it's greatest
growth and success here in America.
The President of the TheOSOphical So
ciety in America is Z. T. Hargrove,
young, naturalized English barrister,
who was elected to the office at the death
of the former president, William q.
Judge, last spring, and the headquarters
for the country are in New York city.
There is also headquarters for New
England at "a Mt. Vernon street, Boston,
which has a general supervision of the
branches and work of the Society in this
section of the country.
CHAS. II. OIIN, f. r. 5.