Bahman Pestonji Wadia

Bahman Pestonji Wadia or Bomanji Pestonji Wadia (born October 8, 1881 in Mumbai , India , † August 20, 1958 in Bangalore , India) was an Indian / American theosophist . He was first a member of the Adyar Theosophical Society , and later the United Lodge of Theosophists . Often his name is abbreviated to BP Wadia , BP Wadia or just BPW .

Live and act

Childhood, youth and work

Wadia was born in Mumbai on October 8, 1881, the eldest of 4 children of Pestonji Cursetji Wadia and Mithabai Wadia . The father was the owner of a textile company , the family was wealthy. After attending primary and secondary school in Mumbai, he enrolled at the local college in 1900 . But before he could begin his studies, he had to take a job in a British textile company, in accordance with his father's request . Four weeks later, the father died and Wadia, although largely unprepared and uninterested, took over the father's textile company. When a favorable opportunity arose, he sold the company in 1904. From the sales proceeds he cared for his mother and siblings, for whom he had to pay according to Indian tradition as the oldest male member of the family, and from then on he devoted himself to theosophy . In 1928 he married Sophia Camacho (1911–1986), who worked with him for theosophy, the marriage remained childless.

In the Adyar Theosophical Society

Through a family friend, Wadia had come into contact with the theosophy of the Adyar- Theosophical Society (Adyar-TG) at a young age and had taken a liking to it. In 1903 he joined the Mumbai Lodge of the Adyar-TG and in 1908 he moved to Adyar , to the headquarters of the Adyar-TG. There he rose quickly, became head of the publishing house Theosophical Publishing House and deputy editor of the magazine The Theosophist . Following the example of Annie Besant , the then President of the Adyar-TG, he was involved in the Indian independence movement and was close to the Indian National Congress . There he organized in 1918 the first union of textile workers, the Madras Textile Workers' Union , whose president he was too. In 1919 he undertook together with Besant u. a. a trip to Europe to visit the Adyar TG lodges there, but also to represent the interests of the Indian independence movement in London . Wadia finally extended the trip to the USA and Canada , where he gave lectures and visited TG boxes. In Los Angeles he came into contact with the United Lodge of Theosophists (ULT), which had been founded in 1909 by Robert Crosbie .

The theosophy of Helena Blavatsky had changed and developed further in the Adyar-TG over the years, whereas the ULT was strictly oriented towards the literal interpretation of Blavatsky. Wadia had earlier complained to Adyar that the teaching no longer corresponded exactly to the wording of the founder, and was dissatisfied with this situation. At the ULT he now found a theosophy which largely corresponded to his ideal of “pure teaching”. At the end of 1919 he returned to India and tried in the following years to convince Annie Besant and the Adyar-TG of a change of direction similar to the ULT, but he was not heard. On July 18, 1922, he therefore resigned from the Adyar TG, traveled to Los Angeles and joined the ULT.

At the United Lodge of Theosophists

Spirit of optimism

When Wadia first visited the United Lodge of Theosophists (ULT) in Los Angeles in November 1919 , its founder Robert Crosbie had only died on June 25 of that year. Although the ULT had no hierarchical organization and Crosbie himself was only a simple member, his guiding hand was missing everywhere and the dissolution of the ULT was already being considered. Wadia, also just a simple member of the ULT, brought new courage and verve to the resigned team from 1923, strengthened self-confidence and reoriented the organization on an expansion course. He promoted the existing study groups and created new groups through lectures and written instructions.

expansion

In 1923 he founded several new lodges on the east coast of the USA , and in 1925 he succeeded in founding the first lodge outside the USA in Great Britain . France followed in 1928 and, in 1929, a lodge in Mumbai to compete with the Adyar-TG in their own country . From 1930 he brought out a new magazine, The Aryan Path , especially for India. On August 11, 1945, Wadia founded The Indian Institute of World Culture (IIWC) in Bangalore , a sister organization of the ULT specially geared to Indian conditions. During his work for the ULT, other lodges were founded in the USA, India, the Netherlands and Belgium . Overall, the organization reached a considerable size during Wadia's time and spread all over the world. Mainly because of his commitment, the ULT is one of the most important theosophical societies worldwide today (2006) .

Death and obituary

Wadia died on August 20, 1958 at the age of 76 in Bangalore. The following day, according to Hindu tradition , his body was cremated and the ashes were scattered in the Kaveri River . He was a member of the PEN club . A street in Bangalore, BP Wadia Road , is named after him.

Works

• Growth through service . The Theosophical association of New York, New York 1922
• Problems of national and international politics . Theosophical association of New York, New York 1922
• Studies in "The Secret Doctrine" . Theosophy Co. (India), Bombay 1963
• The building of the home . Indian Institute of World Culture, Bangalore 1959
• The inner ruler . Theosophical association of New York, New York 1922
• Theosophy and new thought . The Cosmopolitan press, Bombay 1907
• Thus have I heard leading articles from "The Aryan Path" . Indian Institute of World Culture, Bangalore 1959

Web links

• Short biography with pictures and hyperlink list to online texts (English)
• Comprehensive biography (abbreviated )
• Extensive biography (complete) with literature references (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Extensive biography at katinkahesselink.net, accessed on February 12, 2017.
2. ↑ Extensive biography in 7 parts ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at theosophy.com, accessed February 12, 2017. 
3. ↑ Extensive biography (complete) with references from teosofiskakompaniet.net, accessed on February 12, 2017.
4. ↑ Biography with pictures at teosofiskakompaniet.net, accessed on February 12, 2017.