Colonel Henry Steel Olcott - a superior man

Radha Burnier

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott was undoubtedly a person who stood head and shoulders above most people. He made his mark in many fields because, wherever he lived and worked, he manifested qualities of heart and mind which made him worthy to be called a superior man, a term that Confucius used.

As a young man he gained fame by establishing a model farms for scientific agriculture, and shortly afterwards a pioneer agriculture school where systematic training was given. At the age of 23, he was offered the chair of Scientific Agriculture in Athens by the Government of Greece, which he refused. Soon afterwards he was offered the Directorship of the Agricultural Bureau in Washington, DC, which he also declined. This early outstanding success was due to his initiative, energy, and devotion to the welfare of humanity. What he did was not out of desire to distinguish himself or make profit, a pure spirit of altruism animated his actions.

Theosophical Society

Annie Besant was to write later that the experience and qualities he acquired in these secular activities prepared him for the work he was to do later to inspire numerous people to support the ideal of universal brotherhood without any distinction of race, religion caste, etc., and the work of the Theosophical Society.

Time and again he declined prestigious and lucrative offers in order to do what was more worthwhile from a loftier viewpoint. We shall not here describe in detail the role he played in eradicating corruption in the US Army, or how he gained a reputation in journalism, first as an agricultural correspondent, and later as an investigating journalist working for prestigious papers such as the New York Tribune, the new York Sun, and the New York Graphic.

Human needs

His life was an example of how so-called worldly activities, when imbued with the right qualities, can make a person eligible to lead the world towards moral and spiritual progress. He was President of the Theosophical Society from its inception in 1875 until his death in 1907. But he was no nominal office-holder, he was a leader in the very best sense of the term. Being the head of an organization dedicated to world brotherhood and peace among the peoples of the earth requires not only ordinary business capacities, but a deep understanding from a spiritual point of view of human psychology and human needs - and this he had.

As a journalist, when he met Madame H. P. Blavatsky in a place where important spiritual phenomena were occurring, a whole facet of his personality, which brought him close to several Eastern Mahatmas, was ignited. Blavatsky taught the Ancient Wisdom in a form needed by the world at that time, particularly the Western world. But it was because of Olcott and his enormous power to present and spread the Wisdom Teaching that the countless people the world over were influenced, and are still being influenced, to change their mode of life.

Col. Olcott knew how to create a constitutional framework for the Theosophical Society which was completely adapted to its aims and character. The constitution framed by him has proved its worth and borne testimony to his farsightedness for a century and a quarter. It combines all the necessary provisions for individual members to have freedom in the search for truth and the application of right principles in their lives and, at the same time, for promoting an attitude of cooperation, mutual tolerance, and solidarity in carrying on work for the welfare of all humans as well as the creatures whom Theosophists generally regard as 'younger brothers'. It is rarely that an organization stresses the need for a relationship among altruistic people with common aims in which there is both individual freedom and a strong sense of unity. Unity without blind conformity is a major characteristic of the TS.

Olcott's dynamism deeply affected the Asiatic mind when it was in danger of sinking into a state of passivity and conformity under a compelling authority that did not brook a spirit of research and inquiry. New energy was instilled into the Buddhist, Hindu, Zoroastrian, and other people whom he contacted and addressed, The then British government's allegation that the Founders of the Society were spies (particularly Blavatsky) was a reaction to the enormous success they had, as a team in stirring the dormant consciousness of subjugated peoples.

Col. Olcott was a man of very great integrity and uprightness. This enabled him to prosecute on behalf of the government of the US even people of importance who were involved in corrupt practices in supplying material, etc. for the US Army and Navy. His Old Diary Leaves (which every member of the TS should read) contain a very humorous account of the Colonel's visit to Jammu and Kashmir, where he had been invited by the Maharaja himself.

One of the officials of the state was sent down to Lahore, which is now in Pakistan, in order to escort him. The Maharaja's custom was to present cash and costly clothing to his visitors, but the Col, refused to swerve from his principles and said he would not accept a single rupee. Long arguments and dispatch of telegrams did not facilitate agreement until it was decided that the presents would be received by Olcott only in his official capacity as President of the Theosophical Society and receipted for. The Col. makes it clear in his Diary that as President of the Society he was ready to accept any gifts, however large, that involved no wrong to anybody.

After amicably setting this matter, the Colonel enjoyed the lavish hospitality of the Maharaja, being taken part of the way on royal elephants and lodged in grand style, and looked after by an Army of servants. Many other less amusing incidents about the Colonel's strict probity can be found in the historical account of the Society's progress given in the Dairy Leaves.

Collecting donations

The above should not produce an impression of a formidable personality. Olcott was a jovial, kind, and universally friendly person. C.W. Lead beater and A.I. Cooper - Oakley were young workers in 1885 at the Headquarters in Adyar.

Despite the heavy load of work that Olcott had, he always found time for these young men, cheering and encouraging them in their tasks. Olcott had his own special way of collecting donations. After the annual Theosophical Convention at Adyar, which was free for delegates in those days, he would create hilarious enthusiasm by the way in which he called upon people to donate what they could.

After he started the Olcott Memorial School, there were some boys who learned enough to become teachers in their turn, and the President of the TS sometimes entertained them by floating on the Adyar River with a cigar in his mouth and a newspaper in his hands!

We can do no better on the occasion of the centennial of Olcott's departure for the higher worlds than to sacrifice personal aims and ambitions and make universal brotherhood a living reality, and also open the way for genuine spiritual teachings to take root in the hearts of men and women in every part of the earth.

To habit of viewing the Universe and men's lives as a divinely wonderful system, in which progress towards ultimate perfection by means of conscious effort is the furthest analysis which we can make of the purpose of existence, results in a desire to exert the necessary effort in order to ensure for ourselves, and for those whom we can help, as much of that progress as is realizable at present. It is impossible for anyone seriously to believe that this world is governed by a law of absolute justice - that as we sow, so shall we reap - without finding his ideas of the value of life, and of the things of life, radically affected thereby.