Malaysia, Theosophy in
The Theosophical Society (TS) in Malaysia received its Charter on June 24, 1929, from the then President of the International Theosophical Society, Annie BESANT. Although relatively active in its formative years, the Society’s activities dwindled after the Second World War.
The Society then had a new lease of life after the late S. Narayanan assumed the presidency in the fifties and revived the activities of the lodges in Selangor, Seremban, Malacca, Johor Bharu and Penang.
Over the years, a number of activities have been undertaken by the Society. These activities include religious classes for children on Sundays which was organized in 1963 at the Seremban Lodge. Attended by over 80 children, this was followed by pre-school education introduced in 1967. To this date, the Montessori method of education is still being administered by the Seremban Lodge.
Apart from education, the Society has also organized spiritual retreats and a notable one was organized in May 1968 at Fraser’s Hill which attracted the participation of delegates from Penang and Singapore.
Over the years, the Society has also begun to play its part in hosting international conventions. In August 1969, the Peace Conference was held in Kuala Lumpur. Many well-known theosophists spoke at the conference which had the theme “Peace Through Unitive Understanding.” One of the speakers was the late Nataraja Guru who presented a paper on “Philosophy for the World.”
The celebration of the centenary year in 1976 saw Kuala Lumpur playing host to the Centenary Pacific Convention which drew the participation of both Malaysian and foreign delegates.
In and through all these events, one would remember with reverence the late President S. Narayanan and his dedicated devotion to the Malaysian and Indo-Pacific Theosophical Federation. His demise was a loss to the Society and theosophists in the country.
However, the foundations laid by him are being built upon and the Society continues to actively promote theosophy in the country. In 1997, the Society organized the Indo-Pacific Conference which was well attended by members from various countries.
