Young Theosophists, Federation of

The Young Theosophists’ movement came into being in 1923 at the Vienna Congress. For some time it has been recognized that younger members of the Society had a need to express themselves theosophically and to have an input into lodge programming. The General Council of The Theosophical Society, in 1925 voted to make special arrangements to facilitate the work of younger members and, as a consequence, Youth Lodges were formed consisting of minors and adults up to the age of 25. The movement spread rapidly and soon there were Federations in many countries, including Australia, Burma, India, South Africa, and the U.S. At the Diamond Jubilee Convention The Theosophical Society in 1935, a World Federation of Young Theosophists was formed with George S. ARUNDALE as Honorary President, Śrimati Rukminī Devi ARUNDALE as President, and John COATS and Alex Elmore as joint Secretaries.

The stated objects of the Federation were:

(1) To spread the teachings of theosophy among the youth of the world.

(2) To support and strengthen in all possible ways the Theosophical Society.

(3) To promote good citizenship — national and international.

By 1938, there were a number of periodicals dedicated to the movement: Fraternity in Australia, Burma News in Burma, The Canadian Young Theosophist in Canada, Juventud Teosófica in Cuba, Maandblad van de Ver “Jong Theosofen in Nederlands” in the Netherlands, The Torch in New Zealand, and The Young Theosophist in the U.S. By 1980, the name was changed to “World Theosophical Youth Federation.” While some of these periodicals are no longer in existence, a number of active workers for The Theosophical Society have come out of this movement over the years.