Dusky Countenances: Ambivalent Bodies and Desires in the Theosophical Society

Abstract

M a d a M e H e l e n a P. B l ava t s k y , Col. Henry Olcott, and William Quan Judge founded the Theosophical Society in New York City on 17 November 1875. In a circular drafted by Olcott with Blavatsky’s assistance, the theosophists wrote that the goal of the members of the Theosophical Society was to acquire “an intimate knowledge of natural law, especially its occult manifestation,” in order to develop the latent powers in man and reveal the hidden mysteries of nature. Theosophists argued that such a society was necessary because of the historical stagnation produced by “dogmatic theology” and the “materialism of science,” which they claimed they countered by revealing to “Western nations the long-suppressed facts about Oriental religious philosophies, their ethics, chronology, esotericism and symbolism.” Indeed, the Theosophical Society’s mission was to create a universal and enlightened brotherhood that could overcome religious and racial divisions through, they continued, “a knowledge of the sublime teachings of that pure esoteric system of the archaic period, which are mirrored in the oldest Vedas, and in the philosophy of Gautama Buddha, Zoroaster, and Confucius.” According to Blavatsky, secluded masters living in Tibet, called “Mahatmas,” communicated these secret and hidden ancient precepts of the society to her and gave her the responsibility to disseminate their teachings to the uninitiated. In their travels from the United States to India in order