Knowing Theosophy
The Theosophical Society was founded in New York on 17th November 1875 by H. P. Blavatsky and H. S. Olcott; it became a nonprofit corporation in Madras on the 3rd April 1905. It lacks any sectarian spirit and it is made of people who look for the truth, who try and serve the spiritual life of the humankind and, for this purpose, they make an effort to stop materialism and make spiritual aspiration re-live.
Its goals are:
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To create a nucleus of Universal Brotherhood of the humankind, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color.
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To encourage the study of comparative religions, philosophy and science.
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To investigate the unexplained laws of Nature and the latent powers of man.
The aspirant members of the Society are not asked which religious opinions they profess, neither is anybody allowed to interfere with them; but everybody must show the same respect for his fellow members’ religion as he expects for his own.
The Society doesn’t have any dogmas and therefore there aren’t any heretics. It doesn’t exclude any individual because they don’t believe in the theosophical teachings; he can refute them all except for the human Brotherhood and still have a right to be part of it.
Theosophists realize that precisely because the intellect can perform at its best in its own atmosphere of freedom, the truth is better seen when there aren’t any conditions to the right of investigation and methods of research. For the theosophist the truth is such a supremely important issue that he doesn’t want to put anybody any limits on how, where and why to look for it.
The Theosophical Society is the maid of Divine Wisdom and its motto is:‘There isn’t a highest religion than Truth’.
In every error it looks for the nucleus of truth inside it; this truth explains the life of the error and the charm it has on human minds.
Each religion, philosophy, science and activity gets its attributes of beauty and truth from the Divine Wisdom, but it cannot claim its exclusive ownership over the others. Theosophy doesn’t belong to the Theosophical Society, but the Theosophical Society belongs to Theosophy.
The Theosophical Society is made of scholars belonging to any religion of the world or none of them, united in the approval of the above mentioned goals, in the common desire to eliminate religious antagonism, to join together good-willing men of any religious opinion, to study the truth wherever it is and to share the result of their studies with the other members. Their joining bond is not a common profession of faith, but the research of truth and the common aspiration to it. They think that the truth must be found through study, reflection, purity of life, devotion to high ideals; they also consider the truth as a prize to gain and not as a dogma that can be imposed upon them by an authority.
They think that faith must be the result of study and individual intuition and not come before them; it must be based on cognition and assertion. They extend tolerance to everybody, even to the intolerant people, not as the award of a prize but as a duty; they also try and get rid of ignorance, not to punish it.
They consider every religion as an expression of the Divine Wisdom and prefer its study to its condemnation, practice to proselytism. Peace is their motto. Truth is their goal.
Theosophy is the whole of truths that make the base of every religion and that cannot be claimed as exclusive property of any of them. It presents a philosophy that makes life intelligible and demonstrates the justice and love that rule its evolution; it puts death in its rightful place, that is as a recurring incident in an endless life that opens the doors to a more complete and radiant existence. It gives the science of Spirit back to the world, teaching man to recognize the Spirit as himself and his mind and body as useful instruments. It enlightens the scriptures and doctrines of religions, unveiling its hidden meanings and justifying them at the tribunal of intelligence like they are always justified to the eyes of intuition.
The members of the Theosophical Society study these truth and theosophists try and experience them. Whoever is willing to study, to practice tolerance, to aim high and to work with perseverance is welcome as a member; it is up to him, then, to become a true theosophist. 
