Wim Leys – The Netherlands

The revival of the Theosophical Lodge of The Hague.

In 1897, thirteen Theosophists started the first lodge in The Netherlands, in The Hague. Within that year six other lodges in different Dutch cities were founded, and the Theosophical Society of The Netherlands was a fact. On May 14, 1897 the charter was signed by H.S. Olcott.

The number of members grew rapidly in the first decennium of the 20th  century, and in The Hague the building which was purchased in 1905 soon had become too small and in 1916 an enlargement was realized, directed by the Theosophical architect Karel De Bazel. This remained to be the location till 1991, when due to rising costs of maintenance, another building was purchased.

Drawing of the Building in The Hague

After World War II the archipelago of the Dutch Indies in the Indian Ocean, which had been colonised by the Dutch for three and a half centuries, became the independent Republic Indonesia. The revolution caused thousands of civilians to flee to The Netherlands, of whom many settled in The Hague. A large number of these had been members of the Theosophical Society in the Dutch Indies, and now joined the Lodge in The Hague, which became the largest lodge in the country.

Gilson Moraes Lara – Brazil

Hi there, my name is Gilson and I’m a military officer in the Brazilian army. I am not a member of the Theosophical Society but due to the fact that I need to read a lot of the material published on Theosophy Forward I have become very interested in what Theosophy has to offer.

I work in an IT unit, developing WebPages. Some years ago colleague of mine told me that I should participate in a project concerning the development of the on-line magazine Theosophy Forward. This would offer me a unique opportunity to help with the set-up of the first version of this independent magazine in 2009, thus increasing the magazine’s outreach on the worldwide internet.

Gilson at the control panel of Theosophy Forward

Theosophy Forward first went on the air in 2009 and it makes use of an open software source (OSS) applying “content management system” (CMS) Joomla, where one has the freedom to easily change the contents at any moment without having to depend on a technical or specialized administrator.

Anton Rozman – Slovenia

Today’s modern technology and the internet allow the individual Theosophical worker to act in the spirit of the Mahachohan's letter: “… For our doctrines to practically react on the so-called moral code, or the ideas of truthfulness, purity, self-denial, charity, etc., we have to preach and popularize knowledge of Theosophy. … the self-sacrificing pursuit of the best means to lead on the right path our neighbor, to cause to benefit by it as many of our fellow-creatures as we possibly can, which constitutes the true Theosophist.”

Anton Rozman

Throughout my life experiences I have been constantly wondered whether it is possible to turn the world into “a better place to live,” whether it is possible for human relationships to become more respectful and loving. This constant questioning and my attempts to contribute a little to make this happen with my limited strength and voluntary work, finally led me to Theosophy and the Theosophical Society.

John Algeo – USA

Theosophy in Manifold Ways

I work on (and I hope for) Theosophy in a variety of ways, such as contributing to Theosophy Forward with both articles and editing.

For a while, I was also working on a new, revised, and online version of the 2006 hard-back paper edition of the Theosophical Encyclopedia as its General Editor, alongside Vicente Hao Chin Jr. as Associate Editor, and Robert Ellwood as Consulting Editor. That proved to be more than I could handle, so I resigned from the formal position, but I still contribute to the project, which will cover subjects treated by any of the societies historically connected with Theosophy and will draw no distinctions of value among them. Strict neutrality is observed with respect to all variations within the tradition. As the character named Sgt. Joe Friday on the TV program Dragnet frequently said: “Just the facts, ma'am.”