Editing Helena Blavatsky (section)

=== Theosophical movement ===

According to Kalnitsky, the Theosophical movement of the nineteenth century was created and defined in the main through the astuteness and conceptual ideas provided by H.P. Blavatsky. He stated that "without her [[charismatic leader]]ship and uncompromising promotion of the Theosophical agenda, it appears unlikely that the movement could have attained its unique form."{{sfn|Kalnitsky|2003|p=331}} By the time of her death in 1891 she was the acknowledged head of a community numbering nearly 100,000, with journalistic organs in London, Paris, New York and Madras.<ref>''[[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]]'' 1911, Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna</ref> Her writings have been translated and published in a wide range of European and Asian languages.{{sfn|Cranston|1993|p=xxii}}

Blavatsky's Theosophy redirected the interest in Spiritualism toward a more coherent doctrine that included cosmology with theory of evolution in an understanding of humanity's spiritual development.{{sfn|Goodrick-Clarke|2004|p=18}} Further, it took the traditional sources of Western esotericism and globalized them by restating many of their ideas in terminology adopted from Asian religions.{{sfn|Goodrick-Clarke|2004|p=18}} Blavatsky's Theosophy was able to appeal to women by de-emphasizing the importance of gender and allowing them to take on spiritual leadership equal to that of men, thus allowing them a greater role than that permitted in traditional Christianity.{{sfn|Bednarowski|1980|p=222}}

Since its inception, and through doctrinal assimilation or divergence, Theosophy has also given rise to or influenced the development of other mystical, philosophical, and religious movements.{{sfn|Melton|1990|pp=xxv–xxvi}}
During the 1920s the [[Theosophical Society Adyar]] had around 7,000 members in the U.S.{{sfn|Tillett|1986|pp=942–947}} There also was a substantial following in Asia. According to a Theosophical source, the Indian section in 2008 was said to have around 13,000 members while in the US the 2008 membership was reported at around 3,900.{{sfn|TIS|2009}}