The Society

1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?

Julian  Ochoa Sanchez, born in Colombia, lived 20 years in Australia and I have officially been a TS member since 2002. Currently I live in Germany

1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?

My name is Justin David Tanksley, I am from Aurora Illinois in the United States and I have been a member of the TS-Adyar since October of 2017.

Jasn Nicolaas Kind -- Brazil

The year 2020 caused much hardship, but it was actually not that bad a year. Mother Nature taught us a painful lesson, and it is to be hoped that we earthlings have learned at least something. (have we … ?)The upcoming vaccinations are but a sort of plaster to stop the bleeding, much more is needed in order to prevent yet another pandemic. So, roll up your sleeves, let’s get on with the work, making 2021 a truly great year! PEACE AND LOVE FOLKS.

Photo © David M. Grossman        

Theosophically speaking, the year 2020 ended with the 145th International Convention with as theme Cycles of Awareness, from December 27 – 30. For many months the Convention Team, consisting of Tim Boyd. Barbara Hebert, Marja Artamaa, Krista Umbjarv, Chally Romero and the Technical Team located in, and operating from Adyar worked tirelessly to make it all happen. Next to those two teams, dozens of other dedicated workers contributed; just think of all the translators who had taken it upon them to convert English into nine (!!) other languages. editors, additional technicians and many others.

The specific role of International Secretary Marja Artamaa, who is originally from Finland but resides in Adyar, needs to be mentioned here because it was of the utmost importance. Her skilled work and project management added to the success of the “145^th”.

1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS? 

My name is Ananda Winter Marques. I am from Brazil and have been member of the TS since 2011.

1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?

My name is Lonny Marie García Hernández. I’m from Puerto Rico, a tropical island in the Caribbean.

I visited the Theosophical Society in Puerto Rico for the first time in September 2015 and became a formal member on November 22, 2015.

1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?

My name is CHANDRAKANT ANKUSH SHINDE, I am from India, Maharashtra state — Member of the T.S. since 1975.

1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?

My name is Charles Angelo Boeira, I'm from the south of Brazil, now residing in Brasília, the country's capital. I have been attending events of the Theosophical Society since 2005, but I only became an affiliated member in 2015.

[Note from the editor: José presented his mini interview in both Spanish and English. Although Theosophy Forward mostly publishes the interviews in English, we gladly also print the Spanish version simultaneously]  

1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?

¿Cuál es su nombre, de dónde es y cuánto tiempo ha sido miembro de la ST?

Mi nombre es José Leonardo Curihuinca Becerra, nacido en 1951 en el sur de Chile, en una zona donde se radican muchos exponentes de la raza nativa Mapuches. Mi primer apellido corresponde a dicha etnia aborigen y el segundo no. En mi juventud, después de titularme de Ingeniero Agrícola en mi ciudad natal (Temuco), emigré y me radiqué por razones laborales en la ciudad de Santiago -la capital de Chile-, donde me desempeñé en mi profesión; en la actualidad, después de una vida de trabajo, a mis 68 años estoy felizmente en retiro.

En cuanto a mi conocimiento de la ST, ocurrió en Santiago de Chile -en 1980-, donde reconocí o felizmente, me reencontré con la Teosofía, pues desde la primera conferencia pública que escuché, comprendí que eran conceptos y enseñanzas ya conocidas por mí, pues, en mi íntima convicción cuando las escuché por primera vez, las acepté sin reparos, como algo muy natural y que sus conceptos era como piezas de un puzle que encajaban perfectamente en las dudas que tenía acerca de mí vida. En esa íntima convicción, rápidamente solicité mí Ingreso y desde entonces, soy Miembro, desde junio de 1980, siendo en la actualidad el Miembro más antiguo de la ST en mi país, con un poco más de 40 años de membresía.

My name is José Leonardo Curihuinca Becerra. I was born in 1951 in the south of Chile, in an area where many descendents of the native Mapuche live. My first surname corresponds to that ethnic group but the second one does not. In my youth, after graduating as an agricultural angineer in my hometown Temuco, I moved and settled for work-reasons in the city of Santiago, the capital of Chile, where I worked in my profession. Today, after a lifetime of work, at the age of 68, I am happily in retirement.

As for my introduction to the TS, it happened in Santiago de Chile in 1980, where I recognized, and reconnected with Theosophy. From the first public conference I heard, I understood that there were concepts and teachings which were already familiar to me. Well, in my intimate conviction, when I heard them for the first time, I accepted them without hesitation, as something very natural. The concepts were like pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly into the doubts I had about my life. I quickly applied for my membership and since June 1980, I have been a member. Currently I am the the oldest member of the TS in my country, with a over 40 years of membership.

Tim Wyatt – England

The author

In just a few dozen months The Theosophical Society will celebrate its 150^th anniversary, a major milestone for any organisation and especially the TS which has been beset by challenges, obstacles, conflicts and divisions from the very outset.

Two questions immediately spring to mind:

1. What has the TS achieved over the past fifteen decades?
2. Will the TS survive in its present form for another 150 years?

The brief answers to these twin questions are: A great deal. And definitely not.

1. What's your name, where are you from and how long you have been a member of the TS?

My name is Paurnamasi Pattnaik. I am from Bhubaneswar, Odisha which is located in the eastern part of India. I have been associated with the TS since my childhood and formally I became a member starting 2001.

Catalina Isaza Cantor – Colombia, India

Statues of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott in Adyar's Headquarters building

It is a pleasure and an honor to celebrate Adyar Day in Adyar itself, the international headquarters of the Theosophical Society (TS), and to be able to share some thoughts about the deep imprint that this place generates. Living and working in Adyar (and even visiting the place for a period of time) are not only great pleasures but also opportunities for transformation. Once one becomes a member of the TS, the name Adyar becomes familiar thanks to anecdotes from other members, documentaries, writings, images, and so on. Once we begin to learn more about the place, a deep affection for it is born, as well as a yearning to visit this sanctuary some day.

1. What’s your name, where are you from and how long have you been a member of the TS?

My name is Pranab Misra, I am from Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, in India and have been a member of Utkal Theosophical Federation since the latter part of 2018.