THEOSOPHY AND THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETIES
By Dr. James Santucci
Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies
California State University
Fullerton, CA 92834-6868
Yet another look at Headquarters Building, with the well-known River Bungalow visible on the right.
Photo: © Richard Dvořák
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PUBLICATIONS and EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
The first magazine of the Theosophical Society, The Theosophist, was initiated with the October 1879 issue in Bombay under the editorship of H.P. Blavatsky. The periodical, published at the international headquarters in Adyar, Chennai, continues to this day and is the official organ of the international President of the T.S. (Adyar).
Cover of the first issue of The Theosophist
CLICK ON THE COVER TO GO TO THE CURRENT ISSUES
Tim Boyd, International President of the TS-Adyar, Editor of the Theosophist
Also published are the Adyar Newsletter and Adyar Library Bulletin. Quest and Messenger are both published by the T.S. in America, and journals are published by each of the fifty-one national sections of the Society. In addition to periodical literature, the T.S. also carries on an active publishing program through The Theosophical Publishing House in Adyar (India) and Wheaton, (Illinois), the headquarters of the Theosophical Society in America, and in Quezon City, Philippines. The T.P.H. of the T.S. in America also publishes Quest Books, books devoted to a variety of subjects that reflect the Theosophical viewpoint in its broadest perspective. Additional outreach of the T.S. in America comes in the form of audio and video recordings, webcasts and webinars.
The Theosophical Society (Pasadena) through its publishing arm, Theosophical University Press, features the source literature and classics of Theosophy, including the works of H.P. Blavatsky, W.Q. Judge, Katherine Tingley, G. de Purucker, and others. An extensive library is available online. Currently, the Society is focusing on placing its publication online at its official website CLICK ON THE LINK: https://www.theosociety.org
Its most work has been to trace the references of Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine:
CLICK ON THE LINK: https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sdrefs/sdr_vol-1.htm and
CLICK ON THE LINK: https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sdrefs/sdr_vol-2.htm
The Theosophy Company, the fiduciary agent of The United Lodge of Theosophists, publishes the journal Theosophy. In addition, Vidya is published by students at the Santa Barbara Lodge U.L.T., California, and The Theosophical Movement, founded by B.P. Wadia, is published in Bombay, India.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO GO TO THE VIDYA WEBSITE
CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO GO TO THE WEBSITE OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT AND ITS CURRENT ISSUES
Both the Theosophical Society (Pasadena)—through its Theosophical University Press—and U.L.T.—through the Theosophy Company—publish the major works of Blavatsky (The Secret Doctrine and Isis Unveiled) and Judge (The Ocean of Theosophy) as well as a variety of other works.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO GO TO THE WEBSITE OF THE TEMPLE OF THE PEOPLE
The Temple of the People publishes the quarterly, The Temple Artisan, at Halcyon as well as several works unique to its organization, Theogenesis, Temple Messages, Teachings of the Temple, and From the Mountain Top.
The Word Foundation publishes The Word, revived in 1986, as well as the works of Harold W. Percival, as mentioned in part 4.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO GO TO THE WEBSITE OF THE WORD FOUNDATION
Point Loma Publications published The Eclectic Theosophist from 1971 to 1995, first as a bimonthly journal, later as a quarterly, under the joint editorship of W. Emmett Small (1903–2001) and Helen Todd (until her death in 1992). Point Loma Publications also published a variety of works that were originally issued during the Point Loma years of the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society as well as a number of original works, including The Buddhism of H. P. Blavatsky by H. J. Spierenburg, The Way to the Mysteries by L. Gordon Plummer, and Introduction to Sanskrit by Thomas Egenes.
In early 2007, the entire inventory of P. L. P. was relocated to a site outside Dulzura, California, east of San Diego, where during the extraordinary wildfires of October 2007 about 95 percent of the entire inventory was destroyed. The contents of the archives that burned were those that had already been photocopied by Jerry and April Hejka-Ekins of Alexandria West Archives (Turlock, CA) in the mid-1990s. These photocopies, together with other archival material not in Dulzura were then then sent to Herman and Johanna Vermeulen, both of the Theosophical Society (Point Loma , Covina, the Hague) to be digitally copied in the Netherlands and then returned. Many of the Lomaland and Theosophical historical photo archival albums assembled and composed by Helen Harris were not stored in Dulzura and so survived the fire.
Since the time of the fire a total reorganization of the focus and networking of Theosophical activity was instituted. Collaboration with other Theosophical publishing groups in Europe and elsewhere maintained the availability of books previously published, beginning with reprinting a number of out of print books and formatting them as digital publications. Additionally, Point Loma Publications has now been renamed the “Point Loma School of Theosophic Perennialism,” of which Point Loma Publications is its publishing outreach arm. The School holds regular classes and presentations in San Diego and co-hosts presentations with “Blavatsky House” in The Hague, the Netherlands, the annual “Point Loma Convivium: Theosophic Insight on Religion, Philosophy, Science and the Arts.” Collaboration with the Point Loma Netherlands group on publishing and other activities also ended in 2014-15.[1]
CLICK ON THE COVER OF LUCIFER TO GO TO THE WEBSITE OF THE TS-POINT LOMA
The Theosophical Society Point Loma currently publishes the quarterly magazine Lucifer, which was introduced in 2013. The Society also maintains titles by H. P. Blavatsky, Katherine Tingley, and Gottfried de Purucker, in addition to sponsoring symposia on topics including The Secret Doctrine, mysticism, and the meaning of life. Online lectures are also presented on topics relevant to Theosophical teachings.
FOOTNOTES PART 5
[1] My thanks to Mr. Kenneth Small for providing information on Point Loma Publications.
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SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY, PART 1 - 5
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This article is published in collaboration with Professor James Santucci, editor of Theosophical History. For more interesting articles and subscriptions follow this link: https://theohistory.org/
