London Lodge

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London Lodge (German: London Loge ) was the name for an English lodge of the Theosophical Society . Her full name was London Lodge of the Theosophical Society , later renamed The Eleusinian Society . Until the 1910s it held a prominent position within the theosophical organization.

history

The London Lodge was founded on June 27, 1878 in London by Charles Carleton Massey (1838-1905) under the name of the British Theosophical Society of the Arya Samaj of Aryavart . After the TG lodges in Liverpool and on Corfu , which were set up unofficially, i.e. without a deed of foundation from the parent company , it was the first official lodge of the Theosophical Society since its foundation on November 17, 1875 in New York . Massey had been authorized to found it by a deed of foundation issued in 1876 by Henry Steel Olcott , President of the Theosophical Society.
The new society, mostly just British Theosophical Society or British TS for short, had the addition Arya Samaj in its name because the Theosophical Society had merged on May 22, 1878 with the Hindu reform movement Arya Samaj . In line with the new organization, the name of the Theosophical Society was also changed to Theosophical Society of the Arya Samaj . It was planned that all subsequent lodges should also have the addition Arya Samaj in their name, but in fact this only happened in this case. After the Arya Samaj and the Theosophical Society were finally separated in March 1882, the originally abbreviated name British Theosophical Society was used.
On June 3, 1883, the name was again changed to London Lodge of the Theosophical Society , usually London Lodge TS or simply London Lodge . On February 20, 1909, there was a temporary separation from the now Theosophical Society Adyar (Adyar-TG), the now independent society called The Eleusinian Society . In spring 1911 the reunification with the Theosophists followed under the former name of London Lodge.

The goals of the organization were:

  1. Exploring the nature and energy of the soul and spirit of man through investigation and experiment.
  2. To increase the sum of human health, virtue, knowledge, wisdom and happiness.
  3. Members promise to do all of this with all their might and live a life of temperance, purity, and brotherly love. They believe in a great first intelligent cause and in the divine filiation of the spirit of man and consequently in the immortality of this spirit and the universal brotherhood of the human race.
  4. Society is in connection and sympathy with the Arya Samaj of Aryavart, whose goal is to elevate humanity from the prevailing degenerate, idolatrous and impure forms of worship through a truly spiritual training.

In step 3 of this by Charles Carleton Massey list formulated the Theosophical Society for a hitherto completely new formulation was brotherhood (Engl. Brotherhood ) or universal brotherhood , a direct outflow of contact with the Arya Samaj. This expression was taken up by Henry Steel Olcott and used in the changed objective for the entire Theosophical Society. This setting of the course was an important door opener for the Theosophical Society in Hindu India , and in Buddhist Sri Lanka and paved the Theosophical dissemination over the whole world.

The first President of the then British TS was Charles Carleton Massey from June 27, 1878 to January 6, 1883 . He was succeeded on January 7, 1883 Anna Kingsford . Under her leadership, the renaming of the London Lodge took place on June 3, 1883 . Kingsford sought to convey a theosophical view that was shaped by the Western mystery tradition. In April / May 1883 Alfred Percy Sinnett joined the London Lodge and shortly polarized the events in the lodge through his views centered on the Masters of Wisdom . In the autumn of 1883 the London Lodge split into two competing camps, on the one hand the followers of Sinnett, completely devoted to the new theosophical cult around the Tibetan "masters". On the other hand, a smaller proportion continued to sympathize with Kingsford's beliefs, which were deeply rooted in European history. The disputes led to a new election in early April 1884. As a compromise candidate, Gerard B. Finch was elected as the new president. Sinnett, as the contact person to the "Masters", remained the most important person within the London Lodge. Accordingly, theosophical circles often spoke of "Sinnett's London Lodge". Sinnett became president in the 1880s.

On May 19, 1887, 14 members of the London Lodge founded the Blavatsky Lodge , the second official theosophical lodge in England and the third in Europe, after the Germania Lodge in Germany. In December 1888, Henry Steel Olcott founded a separate British section of the Theosophical Society, the British Section of the Theosophical Society , in which all lodges in Great Britain were brought together. The London Lodge, however, remained autonomous outside the British section. When Helena Blavatsky founded a European section, the European Section of the Theosophical Society, in 1890 , the London Lodge was only nominally a member. When the Theosophical Society split up as a result of the Judge Case in 1895, the London Lodge followed the Theosophical Society Adyar (Adyar-TG).

Charles Webster Leadbeater had become a member of the London Lodge on November 21, 1883 and thus joined the Theosophical Society. On May 16, 1906, the Council of the British Section Leadbeater excluded from the Adyar-TG for alleged homosexual relationships with its students. After Annie Besant became the new president of Adyar-TG in June 1907, she pushed through the resumption of Leadbeater. This led, among other things, to disagreements at the London Lodge and on February 20, 1909, to the exit from the Adyar-TG. The now independent organization was called The Eleusinian Society . In spring 1911, under a special status that guaranteed extensive independence, it was reunited with the Adyar-TG under the former name of London Lodge.

The special importance of the London Lodge within the Theosophical Society and later Adyar-TG resulted primarily from the fact that it was the first official Theosophical Lodge. The spread of theosophical teaching in Europe began here, several lodges were founded in other European countries by members of the London Lodge. The membership or later presidency of Alfred Percy Sinnett was another important point. Sinnett's books on the masters of wisdom have been part of the canon of theosophical literature since their respective publication from 1881 and their author has accordingly been among the most important representatives of the theosophical idea. In accordance with its special status, Sinnett ran the London Lodge largely autonomously and went his own way in the curriculum, which was sometimes completely contrary to the views of the parent company. At times, Sinnett's London Lodge was in open conflict with Blavatsky and Olcott. This factor also set the London Lodge apart from other theosophical lodges.

From around the middle of the 1910s, the information about the London Lodge tears down, it is unclear whether and in what form the lodge continued to exist.

literature

  • Alfred Percy Sinnett: Early Days of Theosophy in Europe . Kessinger Publishing , Whitefish 2003, ISBN 0766139530
  • Alfred Percy Sinnett: Transactions of the London Lodge of the Theosophical Society 1895-1913. Kessinger, Whitefish 2003, ISBN 0766131157

Web links