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Annie Besant: Theosophical Society
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Annie Besant is fascinating if only for the amazing amount she managed to cram into her life. After leaving her strict clergyman husband (who denied her access to her child), Annie Besant joined the Free Thought society. She then published an early book on birth control, which was branded obscene, before taking on the cause of the Bryant and May Match Girls and organising their strike in 1888. In 1889 she became one of the first women to sit on a school board.
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Beyond all Annie Besant’s social activism and exoteric instructional work, she was an esoteric educator. And her great achievement in that role is attested, among other ways, by the Theosophical books she published or that were compiled from her inspiring talks. It would be unfeasible to attempt a full or even extensive listing here of her writings. But a sample of her publications, of varying lengths and perhaps familiarity, will suggest the range and depth of her writings:
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Annie Besant made Theosophy practical, by urging the members to theosophize various fields, such as the religious, social, economic and political fields. For this purpose, she instituted the Theosophical Order of Service, and the Sons of India in 1908.
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Annie Besant was convinced that her purpose in life was to educate people and to sway them according to whatever she considered the correct course of moral conduct. This kind of philosophy is contrary to what the Masters taught and unacceptable especially for the Theosophical Society. Dogmatism, religious or personal, had never been part of the original theosophical teachings. H.S. Olcott made that point very clear to the participants who represented the Theosophical Society at the 1893 World Parliament of Religions.[61] In addition, some years later she then demanded complete obedience from her followers, as evidenced in 1911 after Mrs. Besant was elected President of the TS and appointed herself as Outer Head [OH]. Whereas the original Pledge stipulated allegiance to one's Higher Self, she re-wrote the pledge taken by members of the Esoteric Section to then read:
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In addition to her impressive literary output, Annie Besant was actively engaged in other forms of instruction and education. She had succeeded Blavatsky as Outer Head of the Esoteric School, a position of primary importance for esoteric education. She was initiated into Co-Freemasonry in Paris, and reformed its practice in keeping with traditional Masonic respect for spiritual values. In 1908, a year after she succeeded Henry Steel Olcott as president of the Theosophical Society, she founded the Theosophical Order of Service, with a mission that was both active and educational. When the Liberal Catholic Church was formed, she gave it her respectful support. Annie Besant aided the cause of learning and service in a wide variety of forms, because different forms are needed by different people.
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Annie Besant was born in London in 1847. Her marriage to a clergyman at the age of 19 was ill-fated, as her independent spirit clashed with his traditional views. Annie rejected Christianity and joined the Secular Society. She began writing articles for the National Reformer, on issues contentious at the time, such as the rights of women and marriage.
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