I meant to write about the fire at the Theosophical Society as well, having grown up near the Theosophical Society in Adyar (Madras, now Chennai, South India), which I always believed to be the headquarters. I have fond memories of the stunning banyan tree there 😊 (https://www.ts-adyar.org/) and the influential figures associated with the Society, such as Annie Besant, George Arundale, and J. Krishnamurti. (Besides HPB i.e. Blavatsky and HSO, Colonel Olcutt of course!).
I hesitated because I'm aware of various discrepancies and conflicts such as a feud between Besant and Judge. For example, the Adyar Society’s Directory of Directories lists the Ojai, California retreat site but notably omits the Pasadena library and lists the national section at Wheaton, Il.
Imagining the East (2020) tries to correct some of the dynamics - the feuds between Besant and Judge; Mohini (part of the Bengal renaissance) resigning from TS Adyar, complaining to Judge, forcing HPB to write a critical letter to Judge, etc. etc. The fire is undoubtedly a loss, leading me to reflect, at least in this case, on how certain narratives tend to privilege specific losses over others.
Your Substack subtitle is right on! Thanks, again!
Me either (thought of her) but the material is overwhelming. I could spend the rest of my life reading nothing else. I wonder if anyone has done a study of impact on CA culture?
Oh yeah she was hugely influential as far as the New Age movement. In the past several years I have also heard a lot of criticism of her (links to globalism) and accusations that she was an intelligence asset. Regardless the disappearance of all that material is a loss to researchers. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-06-tm-6224-story.html
When you say the entire property of the Theosophical Society in Altadena has been destroyed, you are making a very false statement which is very misleading and upsetting! According to maps of the area, the compound, located on 643 E. Mariposa, still stands, along wtih the greenery surrounding it. Please be more mindful and responsible about your statements.
Kathleen, thank you for sharing this.
I meant to write about the fire at the Theosophical Society as well, having grown up near the Theosophical Society in Adyar (Madras, now Chennai, South India), which I always believed to be the headquarters. I have fond memories of the stunning banyan tree there 😊 (https://www.ts-adyar.org/) and the influential figures associated with the Society, such as Annie Besant, George Arundale, and J. Krishnamurti. (Besides HPB i.e. Blavatsky and HSO, Colonel Olcutt of course!).
I hesitated because I'm aware of various discrepancies and conflicts such as a feud between Besant and Judge. For example, the Adyar Society’s Directory of Directories lists the Ojai, California retreat site but notably omits the Pasadena library and lists the national section at Wheaton, Il.
Imagining the East (2020) tries to correct some of the dynamics - the feuds between Besant and Judge; Mohini (part of the Bengal renaissance) resigning from TS Adyar, complaining to Judge, forcing HPB to write a critical letter to Judge, etc. etc. The fire is undoubtedly a loss, leading me to reflect, at least in this case, on how certain narratives tend to privilege specific losses over others.
Your Substack subtitle is right on! Thanks, again!
Thank you for the expansion on this destruction January 25, 2025on where you wrote:
Truth in the Infopolis
Two Presidential Actions and the Burning of the Theosophical Library (Eaton Fire)
https://infophilia.substack.com/p/what-is-truth-in-the-infopolis
Thanks, Kathleen!
Yes I know it had many branches but wanted to draw attention to the fire which did destroy important materials.
Shows the necessity of digitizing a collection. Significant loss of some irreplaceable material.
Yes it does.
This is tragic. :(
it really is and has not gotten much attention.
I have not thought of Madame Blavatsky in quite a long time. So very sad to hear this! Thanks, Kathleen!
Me either (thought of her) but the material is overwhelming. I could spend the rest of my life reading nothing else. I wonder if anyone has done a study of impact on CA culture?
Wow. I didn't even know it existed and not it's gone.
I spent a long time trying to do this as it seems there are multiple branches including one in Wheaton, IL.
Also I had no idea how influential Madame Blavatsky was--she's in The Wasteland as Mme Sosostris and connected to Yeats.
I remember coming across her name in a poem by MacNeice (The Bagpipe Man) because it was so odd--"It’s no go the Yogi-Man, it’s no go Blavatsky,
All we want is a bank balance and a bit of skirt in a taxi."
And as I doodled around trying to write this I found more and more.
It would be a life work to study up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy_and_literature#
Oh yeah she was hugely influential as far as the New Age movement. In the past several years I have also heard a lot of criticism of her (links to globalism) and accusations that she was an intelligence asset. Regardless the disappearance of all that material is a loss to researchers. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-06-tm-6224-story.html
Damned shame. Very important to store irreplaceable items of merit in fire-proofed buildings.
When you say the entire property of the Theosophical Society in Altadena has been destroyed, you are making a very false statement which is very misleading and upsetting! According to maps of the area, the compound, located on 643 E. Mariposa, still stands, along wtih the greenery surrounding it. Please be more mindful and responsible about your statements.
For expansion of this topic see:
Truth in the Infopolis
Two Presidential Actions and the Burning of the Theosophical Library (Eaton Fire)
https://infophilia.substack.com/p/what-is-truth-in-the-infopolis
I was citing the library's statement: https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ts/h_tlc.htm
Have clarified. Thank you.