The Theosophical Society’s move to Adyar

Record summary

Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott relocated the Theosophical Society’s central work to India, eventually establishing its headquarters at Adyar. The move connected Western occult revivalism with Hindu, Buddhist, and other South Asian sources, while also generating claims about hidden adepts, psychic communication, and visions. It matters for comparison because later occult narratives often treat Adyar as a contact zone between colonial observers and Indian religious traditions. The institutional history is well documented, but individual paranormal claims, cultural interpretations, and the degree of Indian agency remain disputed.