Annie Besant and C.W Leadbeater were prominent members of the Theosophical Society, which was founded in 1875 to promote a new esoteric movement combining elements of mysticism, spiritualism, natural science, and both Eastern and Western religions. One of the foremost political activists of the day, Besant also campaigned for socialism, women’s rights, and Irish and Indian independence, becoming the first female president of the Indian National Congress in 1917. Previously a clergyman in the Church of England, C.W. Leadbeater joined the Theosophical Society in 1883. Among his books was an influential treatise on clairvoyance, published in 1899. He “discovered” Jiddu Krishnamurti on a beach in 1910, advising that the young boy be adopted by the Theosophical Society as its potential spiritual leader.
