Theosophical Encyclopedia

[Introduction: Theosophy, far from being inconsistent or incompatible with the Christian Way, is in fact its other side. Theosophy merits consideration by all who wish to make their Christian faith both more intelligible to their minds and more alive in their hearts. It agrees with St. Paul that Christ is within us. It teaches people not to leave the religion in which they have heard God speak but, rather, to live it more fully and perceive it more clearly.

The emphasis in Christ’s teachings on the love of God and of one’s neighbor is also echoed by Theosophy. That love is not an emotion or a sentimental affection. It is rather what is called in Greek “agape,” a recognition of a greater Reality in human experience and a concern for the welfare of others. In Theosophy it is called “altruism,” a recognition that, as we and others are ultimately one, their good is also ultimately ours.

Those who take their stand in the eternal verities, on the inner or hidden aspect of Christianity, are like the man in the parable who “had the sense to build his house on rock” (Matthew 7:24). Such people can view without alarm the shifting sands of criticism and doubt that arise in each new age. Storms may come, winds may blow, but the house stands, for its occupants are no longer in bondage to the letter of the law. They hold to that hidden spiritual foundation of which external facts are but the sign and symbol. In possession of the Divine Wisdom, they know the truth that makes us free.]

(1893-1941). A Theosophist who is particularly noted for compiling and publishing The MAHATMA LETTERS TO A. P. SINNETT in December 1923.

Alfred Trevor Barker

Barker was born October 10, 1893, at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. There are no records extant regarding his education, but his work for the Theosophical Society (TS) was of such a standard that he obviously had a good general education. Several references accord him the title “Doctor,” but it is not clear when and where he gained this degree. In 1926 he published H. P. Blavatsky’s Letters to A. P. Sinnett.

He originally joined the Theosophical Society (Adyar), but resigned in 1925; he joined the Point Loma Theosophical Society in July 30, 1930. Barker was for a number of years the President of the English Section of the Point Loma Theosophical Society. He died at Torquay, Devon, England on July 17, 1941.

(1881-1958). A Theosophist who was one of the pioneers for the cause of the common laborer, and for independence for India. He established the first labor union in India, and worked in the Home Rule Movement of India, leaving perceptible theosophical traces on all he supported; this was in the teens and the twenties of the 20th century. Wadia joined the Theosophical Society (TS) in 1903. During the thirty-five years after his resignation in 1922 from the TS he lived and labored anonymously through the UNITED LODGE OF THEOSOPHISTS (1922-1958) for the cause of Those whom Theosophists call the Masters of Wisdom.

Wadia was born on October 8, 1881, in Bombay, India. He was a direct descendant of the philanthropic brothers Bahmanji Pestonji and Ardeshir Harmosji Wadia, the founders of the Wadia Parsi (i.e., Zoroastrian) Fire temple in Bombay.

B. P. Wadia

Wadia’s studies took him up to the “matriculation examination” (1899). Thereafter, for a short time he worked for an English firm, but resigned when he found that service in its business house meant at times a deliberate departure from truth, on occasions, when business interest demanded it.

In 1896 an enigmatic person known as Count De Das, visited Uruguay, as recorded in a 1912 issue of a magazine entitled Faro Oriental (Eastern Beacon). After his visit, the word “theosophy” became known in Uruguay through the foundation of a group known as “Centro Ocultista y Teosófico” (Occult and Theosophical Center). Many intellectuals became members of this group, one of whom was Joaquín Carbonell, born in Spain but working at the University of Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay, as professor of lineal and topographic drawing.

Uruguay from space

About 1896 or 1897, Mr. Carbonell publicly declared he believed in the existence of an occult world, a declaration that shows how much interest existed in the study of Theosophical ideas. By 1900 two Theosophical Lodges and some study centers operated as part of the Argentine Section.

(1893- 1934). Eminent Theosophical writer. He was born on August 26, 1893, and joined the Theosophical Society – Adyar in 1914. Van der Leeuw gained his LL.D. at Leiden for a treatise on cyclic law. He was ordained a priest of the Liberal Catholic Church. He was General Secretary of the Netherlands Section 1930-31, was awarded the Subba Row Medal in 1925 for his book The Fire of Creation, and founded the King Arthur School for boys in Sydney, Australia, which continued only for a year. He was killed in June 1934 when his aircraft crashed during a solo flight in South Africa.

His small book, Gods in Exile, (1986, T.P.H., Madras) is particularly significant as one of the few Theosophical texts that offers a way to apply the teaching to practical ends, that is, to raise consciousness to a higher level. First published in 1926, it has remained in print to this day, running through eight editions.

Publications include: The Conquest of Illusion, (1928); Gods in Exile, (1926); The Fire of Creation (1925).

(1912-2001). Prominent member of the Theosophical Society - Adyar. Hoskins was born December 23, 1912, in Florence, Italy. She was one of twins born to Richard and Ida Hoskins. Her twin sister was named Aglaia. At the outbreak of World War I the family was repatriated to Britain in August 1915.

After the war the family resided in Enfield, Middlesex, and it was here that Ianthe Hoskins graduated from Enfield County Grammar School, continuing her education at Westfield College, Hampstead, where she gained a B.A. degree in French and Latin. Work was hard to obtain during the years of the Great Depression, but eventually she secured a post as teacher at King Edward VI Grammar School.

Ianthe Helen Hoskins

Hoskins joined the Theosophical Society in 1936 and her professional work took her to many places in England and as a consequence she was, over time, a member of seven different lodges. In 1950, at the age of 38, she delivered the prestigious Blavatsky Lecture entitled The Science of Spirituality.

Hoskins retired from teaching in her mid-fifties to devote her time to her Theosophical work. In 1968, 1970 and 1993 she was Director of the School of the Wisdom at the International Headquarters, Adyar, and conducted courses in 1983, 1986 and 1989 at Krotona, California. In 1982 she helped to launch the European School of Theosophy at which she served as an instructor every year until the late 1990s. Being fluent in English, French, Spanish and German she was welcomed in many countries as a speaker for the Theosophical Society.

She was a keen exponent of Raja Yoga and published a book on the subject entitled The Flower of Yoga. Hoskins served for a number of years as General Secretary of the English Section.

She died in London and her body was cremated in Eltham Crematorium, South London, on September 20, 2001.

(1865-1949). Artist and author. Ryan was born in Halifax, England. His father was Irish, descended from the Ryans of Idrone, Tipperary; his mother was English. Ryan became an artist like his father whom he succeeded as headmaster of the government School of Art in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Both father and son exhibited at the Royal Academy, London.

In 1894, Ryan joined the Theosophical Society, Point Loma, and in 1900 was invited by Katherine Tingley to its international headquarters then in Point Loma, California. For a near half-century until his death Ryan contributed his literary, artistic and scientific talents to instructing both young and adult students there and at Covina, where the headquarters and university were transferred in 1942. Ryan is best known to theosophists for his work, H. P. Blavatsky and the Theosophical Movement (1937).