Theosophy, Annie Besant and a forgotten lodge in Pune

Founded in 1882 by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, the Poona Lodge Theosophical Society still draws followers in Pune, though the numbers have been dwindling.

“Every centre of the Theosophical Society is called a lodge because people travelled from far and wide to attend meetings at these centres," explains Kaustubh Bhadbhade. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)

Written by: Shalmali Bhagwat

5 min readPuneJun 28, 2023 01:21 PM IST First published on: Jun 24, 2023 at 12:33 PM IST

In a bustling area in Pune, surrounded by educational institutions such as Fergusson College and Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, where students munch on sandwiches or race their bikes, lies a quiet lane. Here, a blue board announces the existence of The Poona Lodge Theosophical Society; alongside is another board advertising ‘Homeopathic medicines available’. A double-storied structure with grey bricks in an open courtyard surrounded by trees offers the perfect home for a movement which still draws followers in Pune.

The Theosophical Society was founded in America in 1875 by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, a veteran of the American Civil War, and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, a Russian occultist, to promote theosophy, a spiritual movement encompassing a wide range of beliefs marrying Eastern religious traditions, mainly that of Hinduism and Buddhism, with western esoteric thought. It emphasised the commonalities among religious traditions, underlying unity across religions.

“The seed of both (dominion status and Indian National Congress) was planted by the Theosophical Society,” Annie Besant wrote. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)

The Society’s first formal meeting in India was held in then Bombay on January 4, 1880, as per A Short History of Theosophical Society by Josephine Ransom, a theosophical lecturer and leader. The seventh anniversary of the Society was held in Bombay in 1882 and soon, a permanent international headquarters was set up at Adyar in Madras, now Chennai.

The Poona Lodge

As per Pune: Look and Outlook, a book published in 1951 by Pune Municipal Corporation about the city’s history, “Poona Lodge” was founded in 1882 by Colonel Olcott on a plot in Ambrai Camp donated by L R Gokhale. “Since 1927 the institution has had its own two-storeyed building,” the book says.

“Initially the assemblies of the society were usually in the Cantonment area in Pune, but the permanent residence was set up by then president Gokhale who leased out this land from Shirole. The cornerstone of this building was laid by Annie Besant in 1926,” Kaustubh Bhadbhade, secretary of the Society’s Pune branch, says. The Shirole family owned the land that the lodge was built on.

The cornerstone of the building was laid by Annie Besant. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)

“Every centre of the Theosophical Society is called a lodge because people travelled from far and wide to attend meetings at these centres. To follow theosophy, you are required to actively engage your thought processes and study the material. Hence these centres were called lodges which provided a place for the followers to rest and study in peace,” Bhadbhade explains.

Theosophy, politics and the Indian National Congress

Besant and Allan Octavian Hume, another staunch proponent of India’s freedom and co-founder of the Indian National Congress (INC), were both theosophists. Besant, in her book The Future of Indian Politics, writes about the birth of the INC at a theosophical convention.

“The seed of both (dominion status and Indian National Congress) was planted by the Theosophical Society,” writes Besant. At the Theosophical Convention in 1884, a small group of theosophists in Adyar decided to make an effort for political redemption. “They gathered a small meeting in Madras — there were only seventeen of them — and it was there that they decided to begin a National movement for the saving of the Motherland,” Besant further writes.

However, a lesser-known fact is that the foundation of the party was supposed to be laid in Pune but the venue was changed to Bombay due to a cholera outbreak in the city.

The Society’s first formal meeting in India was held in then Bombay on January 4, 1880. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)

“Hume came from Simla to attend the Bombay conference. He was made a member of the first Subjects Committee, 1887, and assisted in the framing of the Congress Rules. For these and other services he became known as the ‘Father of the Congress’,” writes Josephine Ransom

They still meet, every Sunday

Decades later, members assemble at the Pune lodge around 9 am every Sunday and start their session by reciting the Bharat Samaj Puja composed by J Krishnamurti. It is followed by a healing ritual, lectures on theosophy and then a meditation session. The campus also provides homeopathy services. On any Sunday, you can find approximately 10-odd followers on the campus, making the Poona lodge one of the few working lodges of the Theosophical Society in India.

“Theosophy requires a person to actively engage with their thought processes and compels you to think more than be instructive. That is why the number of followers has been dwindling over the years,” says Bhadbhade.