The Theosophical Society was founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge, and others in New York City on November 17, 1875. In 1882 the international headquarters of the Society was established at Adyar, near Madras. This remains the headquarters for the Society, which is now established in fifty countries of the world.

Today, our society is composed of students, belonging to any religion in the world or to none, who are united by their approval of the Society's Objects, by their wish to remove religious antagonisms and to draw together men of goodwill whatsoever their religious opinions, and by their desire to study religious truths and to share the results of their studies with others.

Our bond of union is not the profession of a common belief, but a common search and aspiration for Truth. We hold that Truth should be sought by study, by reflection, by purity of life, by devotion to high ideals, and we regard Truth as a prize to be striven for, not as dogma to be imposed by authority.

We consider that belief should be the result of individual study or intuition, and not its antecedent, and should rest on knowledge, not on assertion.

We extend tolerance to all, even to the intolerant; not as a privilege they bestow but as a duty we perform, and we seek to remove ignorance, not punish it.

We see every religion as an expression of the Divine Wisdom and prefer its study to its condemnation, and its practice to proselytism. Peace is our watchword, as Truth is our aim.