THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AND THE INTERNATIONAL VEGETARIAN UNION: AN ANCIENT PARTNERSHIP

By Marly Winckler

STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
GATEWAYS TO MYSTICAL

EUROPEAN SCHOOL OF THEOSOPHY
ASCONA 2024
SWITZERLAND
11–16 NOVEMBER

THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AND THE INTERNATIONAL VEGETARIAN UNION: AN ANCIENT PARTNERSHIP

Marly Winckler – IVU Chair

International Vegetarian Union
Promoting healthier, sustainable and ethical diets since 1908.

In the lecture THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AND THE INTERNATIONAL VEGETARIAN UNION: AN ANCIENT PARTNERSHIP I explored the involvement of prominent figures from the Theosophical world, such as Rukmini Devi and Geoffrey Hodson, in the International Vegetarian Union (IVU).

1908 - IVU was founded in Dresden

• The International Vegetarian Union - IVU - is a global Union of Vegetarian and Vegan Societies.

The IVU was founded in 1908 in Dresden, Germany, being the oldest international vegetarian organization.

2008 – The IVU celebrated its centenary in Dresden

• Since then, a series of World Vegetarian Congresses have been held on most continents, and in 2008 the IVU returned to Dresden for the 38th Centenary Congress.
• Starting in 2012, this major global event was renamed the "IVU World Vegfest".
• As of 2019, the event is known as The IVU Vegan Festival.

The first 50 years

In its first 50 years, 1908–58, IVU held 15 World Vegetarian Congresses –
14 of them in Europe.

1. 1908 Dresden, Germany
2. 1909 Manchester, England
3. 1910 Brussels, Belgium
4. 1913 The Hague, The Netherlands
5. 1923 Stockholm, Sweden
6. 1926 London, England
7. 1929 Steinschönau, Czechoslovakia
8. 1932 Berlin/Hamburg, Germany
9. 1935 Daugaard, Denmark
10. 1938 Oslo/Hurdals Verk, Norway
11. 1947 Stonehouse, England
12. 1950 Oosterbeek, The Netherlands
13. 1953 Sigtuna, Sweden
14. 1955 Paris, France
15. 1957 – Delhi/Bombay/Madras/Calcutta

GANDHI ARRIVED IN LONDON IN 1888
HE JOINED THE TS IN 1891

• In his autobiography, he says:

Toward the end of my second year in England, I met two Theosophists, brothers, and both unmarried. They spoke to me about the Gita. They were reading Sir Edwin Arnold’s translation – The Song Celestial – and invited me to read the original with them. I felt ashamed because I had not read the divine poem either in Sanskrit or Gujarati.I was forced to tell them that I had not read the Gita, but that I would be happy still to read it with them, and that although my knowledge of Sanskrit was limited, I hoped to understand the original well enough to see where the translation failed to convey the meaning. I began to read the Gita with them... the book seemed to me of inestimable value.

• Gandhi then began reading Theosophical literature and related works, such as The Light of Asia by Edwin Arnold and The Key to Theosophy by Blavatsky.
• Gandhi met Madame Blavatsky and Besant in 1889 while studying law in the U.K. He had read the books written by both women and joined the Blavatsky Lodge of the Theosophical Society in 1891.

1954 - Request to hold a World Vegetarian Congress in India

Rukmini Devi Arundale, was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, and an activist for animal welfare. She was vice-president of IVU for 31 years, and organized the first IVU Congress outside Europe in 1947, which drew crowds and was attended by political, religious, and cultural authorities, including the President of India and the Dalai Lama. Rukmini founded the Indian Vegetarian Congress, of which later Radhar Burnier was vicepresident. Rukmini Devi features in India Today’s list of ‘100 People Who Shaped India’.

1955 – RUKMINI DEVI WAS NOMINATED VICE PRESIDENT OF IVU IN PARIS

• 1954 – The IVU Executive Committee received a request to hold a World Vegetarian Congress in India in 1957, but it was decided it 'must be held in Europe out of loyalty to the nations who had built the IVU.' – all Congresses had been in Europe up to then.
  • The plans for a 50th anniversary Congress in Germany in 1958 eventually fell through and the offer from India was accepted.
• 1955 – Extracts from the minutes of the Business Meeting at the 1955 IVU Congress, held in Paris, France:
  • Present: Honorary Officials and Official Representatives of National Societies including ... India, ...
  • The following additional Vice Presidents were elected: (present Vice-Presidents being re-elected en bloc): Mr. J. N. Mankar (India); Mrs. Nehna Vakil (India); Mrs. Rukmini Devi Arundale (India); Mr. Maganlal Shah (India); ...
  • RUKMINI WAS NOMINATED VICE-PRESIDENT OF IVU

1957 – 15th IVU World Vegetarian Congress – Delhi / Bombay / Madras / Calcutta

• Gandhi’s desire, expressed in 1891, for a Congress to be held in India did not come to fruition during his lifetime, which was cut short by his assassination in January 1948.
• However, in the early 1950s, a group of Indians began efforts to achieve this goal – and finally, in December 1957, they held the 15th IVU World Congress.
• The 1957 Congress saw the first move outside of Europe, with a huge event in four Indian cities and vast crowds at each of them.
• The inaugural speech was given by Rajendra Prasad, first President of the India Republic.

Pioneer schools linking vegetarianism with education

1. The Fruitlands School (USA): Founded by Bronson Alcott in 1843 as part of the Fruitlands community in Massachusetts. The school and community were dedicated to a vegan diet (although the term wasn’t used then), abstaining from meat, dairy, and even honey.
2. The Vegetarian Home (USA): Started by William Horsell in 1847 in Ramsgate, England, and later moved to London. The school was associated with the broader vegetarian movement and influenced health and education.
3. Monte Verità (Switzerland): Though not a formal school, the Monte Verità community, founded in 1900 near Ascona, had educational programs promoting natural living, vegetarianism, and holistic health, attracting figures like Rudolf von Laban and other reformers.
4. Ewell College (UK): Founded by Dr. Thomas Allinson in the late 19th century, this school promoted a vegetarian diet, natural hygiene, and progressive education in line with Allinson’s holistic health practices.
5. Arundale School (UK): Founded by George Arundale in Letchworth, in 1915, this school was vegetarian and aligned with Theosophical ideals. It combined progressive education and spiritual principles, including vegetarianism.
6. Northwood School (UK): Connected to the broader Garden City movement, this institution embraced vegetarianism as part of its progressive, nature-centered education.

Rukmini Devi Arundale

1957 – 15th World Vegetarian Congress – Delhi / Bombay / Patna / Madras / Calcutta – it lasted 16 days

• Rukmini Devi was Vice-president of IVU (1955–86) from the World Congress in Paris, until her death in 1986 and president of the All India Reception Committee.

“I cannot think of a greater occasion nor of a more appropriate person to inaugurate this Congress. Dr. Rajendra Prasad has been a vegetarian all his life and is a true representative of the ideal of Ahimsa, which is so vital a part of this country's tradition, preached and practised by our greatest Teachers such as the Buddha, Mahavira, Guru Nanak and others. He has also lived and worked in close association with Gandhiji. – Rukmini

GLORIA GASQUE – THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF IVU
RUKMINI DEVI ARUNDALE WAS AN INDIAN THEOSOPHIST, DANCER AND AN ACTIVIST FOR ANIMAL WELFARE – SHE FEATURES IN INDIA TODAY’S LIST OF ‘100 PEOPLE WHO SHAPED INDIA’.

• Rukmini Devi Arundale was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, and an activist for animal welfare.
• She was the first woman in Indian history to be nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.
• At the 1982 IVU Congress, in Germany, Mrs. Arundale was elected as a Fellow of IVU and at the next Congress, Baltimore, USA, in 1984, she was given the Mankar Memorial award for her services to IVU.

Gloria Gasque was the first woman president of IVU, from 1955 to 1959.

1957 – Gloria Gasque IVU President
by Rukmini Devi Arundale M.P. Chairman, All India Reception Committee

Our warmest welcome is offered to the President of the Congress, Madame Clarence Gasque. She is the President of the International Vegetarian Union and it is due to her encouragement and enthusiasm that this Congress as well as similar Congresses in the past have been made possible. Under her direction, the International Vegetarian Union has been giving magnificent service to the world. I am fortunate in having known her for many years and I know she combines the rare virtues of compassion and generosity.

In her acceptance of the ideal of brotherhood she includes not only human beings but also the animal kingdom. It is difficult to express in words our gratitude to her for taking so much trouble to guide the work of the Congress and for coming such a long way to preside on this occasion. - RUKMINI

The Indian Vegetarian Congress - 1959

• Rukmini Devi Arundale founded the Indian Vegetarian Congress in 1959, where she served as President for many years.
• Her niece Radha Burnier, International President of Theosophical Society, was Vice President of the Indian Vegetarian Congress.
• Radha was actively involved with service-oriented organizations that deal with education, animal welfare, vegetarianism, environmental issues, and so on.
• Mrs. Burnier was also the International President of the Theosophical Order of Service (TOS), which is active all over the world. The TOS was founded by Annie Besant in 1908.
• Sri Ram, the President of TS, was Hon. Patron of the Congress in 1957 as well as Dr. Bhagavan Das.
  

I am a vegetarian, first and foremost, because I clearly feel in my heart that all life is sacred and part of a single Existence. When someone feels this, nothing can persuade them to harm or destroy.

Reason also tells us that when we kill and feed on other creatures, many problems are created, not only ecological but also health-related and others. But these are secondary. RADHA BURNIER

Geoffrey Hodson

Geoffrey Hodson was the Director of Studies at the School of Wisdom of the Theosophical Society in Adyar, India, for some years. He was also the vice-president of IVU for 27 years and the founder and president of the New Zealand Vegetarian Society. Both Theosophical leaders, Rukmini and Hodson, were passionate advocates of vegetarianism, not only for ethical reasons but also for its believed benefits to health and spiritual evolution. Their contributions to the vegetarian movement and IVU were examined in this presentation, highlighting the importance of practical idealism in promoting healthier and more compassionate lifestyles.

Geoffrey Hodson – 1886–1983

• Geoffrey Hodson was born in 1886 in England and died in Auckland, New Zealand in 1983.
• Hodson joined the Theosophical Society in 1912 and was later appointed one of its teachers.
• In 1940 he was invited to tour New Zealand, where he became, in 1943, the Founder and President of the New Zealand Vegetarian Society and its president until the 1970s and President of the Council of Combined Animal Welfare Organisations of New Zealand.
• Hodson was a Past President of the Theosophical Order of Service in New Zealand for many years.

Geoffrey Hodson enumerated seven reasons for a vegetarian diet:

1. Hygienic – because meat is "highly putrefactive" and poisoned by pain.
2. Anatomical – because the teeth and alimentary canal in humans are not suited to eating of meat.
3. Economic – since more people can be supported by farmed land than pasturage.
4. Humanitarian – to avoid the cruelty inherent in breeding, transporting, and killing animals.
5. Altruistic – to keep other people from having to perform slaughter.
6. Aesthetic – to promote beauty and refinement and avoid coarseness and cruelty.
7. Spiritual – to recognize the unity of men and animals.

Helen and Scott Nearing

Helen Nearing, the mother of the "back to the land movement," who advocated for a simpler and more purposeful life in the countryside. Her book Living the Good Life inspired many young people to follow the principles of sustainability and vegetarianism.

After the Congress, I met Helen at the library of the Theosophical Society in The Hague, and I asked if she had any connection with the Society. She went to a shelf, took down The Years of Awakening, a biography of Krishnamurti, showed me a photo, and said, "that's me."

Helen was Krishnamurti’s "sweetheart" during a gathering in Australia, under Leadbeater’s guidance. Helen Knothe was the daughter of Theosophists and a born vegetarian.

Life and death of Krishnamurti – Mary Lutyens

• Mary Lutyens was a born vegetarian, and 'Lady Emily,' her mother and a Theosophist, was the wife of architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and daughter of Lord Lytton, Viceroy of India. Edwin Lutyens was the builder of New Delhi.
• Lady Emily Lutyens left an account of those years; like many in society, she was a vegetarian and also vice-president of the Vegetarian Society of UK.
  

Scott Nearing – Vice President of IVU

• Professor Scott Nearing speaking to an Indian audience at Arya Sangha Hall, in Bombay, during his visit to India, where he was welcomed by the Committee of the World Vegetarian Congress.
• Rukmini Devi Arundale speaking. Others, (from left to right): Mr. N. Nielsen, Shri J.N. Mankar, Professor Scott Nearing (USA), and the Rajkumar of Vizianagram.
  

Helen Nearing – 1994

• She and her husband Scott Nearing participated in many IVU Congresses, with Scott being a member of the IVU Council and vice president for many years.

We are all together in this world – people, plants, and animals – and it’s best if we make the most of our opportunities. We are all here for some purpose: I believe it is to live a good life, individually and collectively. That means, as human beings, we must cause the least possible harm to other humans, to animals, and to the environment as a whole, and do as much good as possible. Live simply, not elaborately; consume as little as possible, not as much as possible. If you have any religion, let it be one of help, love, and unity. In this way, we fulfill the purpose and do our part in the great plan. It’s as simple as that. Vegetarianism alone is not enough: we must go further. We must have the best possible relations with everything that lives. We must be a conscious part of the whole and live for the whole. We can be alive and live life even under adverse conditions. A good life is possible for everyone – for people, for plants, for animals, and for the soil itself. If we are simple, loving, kind, and considerate, all of us – people, plants, and animals – can realize all our possibilities. HELEN NEARING

Dr. M. M. Bhamgara
Joint Regional Secretary for India and the East of IVU 1977–86

• Dr. M. M. Bhamgara, Outstanding Naturopath and crusader of vegetarianism.
• At the 1st Asian Vegetarian Union Congress, 2001 – Goa, India.
• "Vegetarian of the year – National" Award was given to Dr. Bhamgara.
• I met him in the first IVU Congress I attended in 1994, in The Hague.

New Zealand Vegetarian Society

• Diana Dunningham Chapotin is a lifelong vegetarian and a staunch advocate for vegetarianism. She has been involved with the French Vegetarian Association and served as TOS International Secretary (Theosophical Order of Service).

Diana Chapotin said:

The former president of the Vegetarian Society in New Zealand, Margaret Johns, is my first cousin. The current president, Julia Clements, is my niece. My godfather, Geoffrey Hodson, founded the Vegetarian Society in the 1940s, and it has been run by Theosophists ever since. DIANA CHAPOTIN

Nathaniel Altman and Victoria Moran

• Nathaniel Altman is a Brooklyn-based writer, teacher, and counselor who has authored more than twenty published books on peace studies, healthy diets, alternative healing, nature, and relationships. He was a faculty member at the Krotona School of Theosophy in Ojai, California. Eating for Life — the first volume on vegetarianism to be published in the U.S. in the 20th Century. He wrote it in Wheaton, Illinois, headquarters of the Theosophical Society in America.
• Victoria Moran - An author, with 12 titles extant, including Main Street Vegan and Creating a Charmed Life. Coming in December 2017 is The Main Street Vegan Academy Cookbook. Victoria was working at the Library of TS in America when Nathaniel wrote that book.
• In 2021 I participated with Victoria in the book Vegan Voices – A collection of informative, diverse, evocative, and inspiring essays from over 50 vegan activists, educators, artists, and changemakers on the whys and wherefores of the vegan diet and lifestyle.

Dr Anna Kingsford

Anna Kingsford (1846–1888) (née Bonus, September 16, 1846 – February 22, 1888) was a prominent English Theosophist in the 1880s, best known as the co-author with Edward Maitland of The Perfect Way.She was one of the first women to become a physician in England; mystic and poet; feminist; and avid anti-vivisectionist and vegetarian.

Books

• The Perfect Way in Diet
• Addresses and Essays on Vegetarianism

COUNTESS CONSTANCE WACHTMEISTER – THE FIRST VEGETARIAN RECIPES BOOK PUBLISHED IN CALIFORNIA

• Practical Vegetarian Cookery. San Francisco: Mercury Publishing Co.; Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern, 1897. With Kate Buffington Davis.

Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater

Vegetarianism and Occultism – Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater

• Health and Spirituality - Geoffrey Hodson
• Geoffrey Hodson was vice-president of the IVU for 27 years and founded the New Zealand Vegetarian Society.

• The TOS – an activist branch of TS – encourages its members to work in the community promoting various good causes, including animal welfare and vegetarianism.
• Leaders of the Theosophical Society, Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater, both wrote books promoting vegetarianism.
• Besant wrote, Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy (1895), and Leadbeater wrote, Vegetarianism and Occultism(1913), and both frequently raised the issue on their speaking platforms.
• Members of the TS were also key in the foundation of the Veg Soc in Australia.
• Besant founded the TOS in 1908 – the same year of the foundation of IVU.

Lady Dowding - 1908–1993

Muriel Dowding, in 1953, in her fake fur robes for the coronation of Elizabeth II.Muriel Dowding, Baroness Dowding was an English humanitarian and animal rights activist known for championing anti-vivisection, vegetarianism, and the improvement of animal welfare. Like her second husband Lord Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, she was a vegetarian, an anti-vivisectionist, spiritualist, and theosophist.She coined the term cruelty-free and was a pioneer of the cruelty-free movement.The Theosophical Order of Service works with BWC, which has centers in Adyar and Varanasi, India.

ISRAEL 20th International Vegetarian Union Congress, 1969

• The Marquis de St. Innocent, President of the I.V.U., has asked us to give our readers the following information:
  • In appreciation of outstanding contributions made by Lady Dowding and her dedicated co-workers to the vegetarian cause, the International Vegetarian Union is offering two “Beauty Without Cruelty Youth Prizes” to be awarded at the forthcoming I.V.U. World Congress in Israel next November. First Prize of one hundred dollars for the best expression of the humanitarian ideal in three words. Second Prize, fifty dollars.
  • Typical examples of the ideal in three words: Mahatma Gandhi's "Renounce and Enjoy," Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s "Respect for Life," and best of all Lady Dowding’s "Beauty without Cruelty."

Lady Emily Lutyens – 1874–1964 and Mary Lutyens 1908–1999

• Lutyens [née Bulwer-Lytton], Lady Emily, theosophist, was the daughter of (Edward) Robert Bulwer-Lytton, first earl of Lytton (1831–1891), a diplomatist and poet, and his wife, Edith Bulwer-Lytton (1841–1936).
• Emily Lutyens was in many ways ahead of her time. A fearless and outspoken critic of the casual racism of the British in India, she was a feminist, a vegetarian, and a socialist.
• Mary Lutyens was a British author who is principally known for her biographical works on the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti.

The International Vegetarian Union - IVU

IVU vocation

• IVU vocation since its inception has been to bring vegetarians and supporters from all regions of the world together to celebrate our food options.
• We are a “neutral field” where different organizations can meet, share, learn from each other, and get inspired.

The IVU Congresses has been completely vegan since 1994 – near 30 years now!

• 1994 – The Hague. From this point forward, all IVU events became vegan.
• 1997 – The IVU website started a collection of recipes – entirely vegan from the beginning. We now have over 3,000 in English with more in other languages.
• 21st Century – Most veg organizations worldwide now promote veganism as the ideal, regardless of whether they are called 'vegetarian' or 'vegan'.

The keepter of History of Vegetarianism

Instagram today is a snapshot of our times, with images that are quickly replaced – but it is crucial that we preserve our history and learn from it.IVU already has an important repository of the World’s History of Vegetarianism – and we aim to expand our collection.

And yet…

• Even after more than a century of vegetarian societies around the world, meat consumption has increased substantially and continues to rise.
• In the past, IVU and nearly all the vegetarian organizations primarily relied on donations from wealthy individuals and volunteer work.
• This remains the case for most veg organizations around the world today.
• It is time for the movement to become more professional, working with the industry, governments, and citizens to advance towards a plant-based society.

The future has arrived

• Although meat consumption worldwide is still rising, the outlook suggests a decline in the near future.
• Cultured and plant-based meats are here to stay and will occupy an important space. The same can be said about eggs, milk, and dairy alternatives.
• Today there are more and more professional vegetarian organizations and an increased number of events, products, and fairs happening all around the world.
• The industry, which was once more focused on opposing us, is now actively developing products for this segment.

IVU today

Apart from the events around the world…

• VEGAN NUTRITION GUIDE which can serve as a reference for vegetarian organizations worldwide (or not).
• VEGAN FOOD ACADEMY – a vegan cooking school that aims to bring together recipes from around the world.
• IVU VEGAN CERTIFICATION Project, set to be implemented as a pilot program in Vietnam.

The IVU GUIDE TO VEGAN NUTRITION

• The International Vegetarian Union's Vegan Nutrition Guide for Adults was developed by its Department of Medicine and Nutrition with the purpose of providing scientifically based information that can serve as a foundation for medical and nutritional practices worldwide.
• Structured with a high level of scientific rigor, and after analyzing more than 750 peer-reviewed scientific articles, this work provides the healthcare professional with the tools to support individuals who adopt a vegan diet in a healthy and safe manner.
  

Vegan Food Academy

• Vegan Food Academy, a vegan cooking school that aims to bring together recipes from all over the world, providing a platform to showcase and celebrate unique food cultures, ingredients, preparation techniques, spices, flavors, and colors.
• Healthy recipes focus on plants, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts, which should make up the majority of what you eat.
• A Training Center aiming to teach about vegan lifestyle.
• 49th IVU World Vegan Festival - VIETNAM – 2025

See you in Vietnam!