The () was an international organization based at Benares (Varanasi), India, from . It was established by the leadership of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, Madras (Chennai) to prepare the world for the arrival of a reputed messianic entity, the World Teacher or Maitreya. The OSE acquired members worldwide as it expanded in many countries; a third of its diverse membership was unaffiliated with the Theosophical Society. The precursor of the OSE was the (, also at Benares) and the successor was the (, based at Ommen, the Netherlands). The precursor organization was formed after leading Theosophists discovered a likely candidate for the new Messiah in the thenadolescent Jiddu Krishnamurti , a South Indian Brahmin who was installed as Head of the Order. Almost two decades later Krishnamurti rejected the messianic role, repudiated the Order's mission and in 1929 disbanded the OSE's successor. The founding and activities of these organizations as well as the largely unexpected dissolution of the OSE's successor, attracted widespread media attention and public interest. They also led to crises in the Theosophical Society and to schisms in Theosophy. Krishnamurti's later multi-decade career as a notable independent philosopher has been a factor in evaluations of the OSE and its mission.
Background
One of the central tenets of late 19th-century Theosophy as promoted by the Theosophical Society was the complex doctrine of intelligent evolution of all This was said to be occurring on a Cosmic scale, across the physical and non-physical aspects of the known and unknown Universe, and affecting all of its constituent parts regardless of apparent size or importance. The theory was originally described in The Secret Doctrine a book by Helena Blavatsky, a Russian occultist who was one of the founders of contemporary Theosophy and the Theosophical
According to this view Humankind's evolution on Earth (and beyond) is part of the Cosmic It is reputedly overseen by , whose upper ranks consist of advanced spiritual beings. Blavatsky stated she was in contact with members of the reputed hierarchy; she described the Theosophical Society as one of the hierarchy's many attempts (or "impulses") through the millennia, to guide Humanity in line with the intelligent evolutionary scheme to its ultimate, immutable objective: the attainment of perfection and the conscious participation in the evolutionary These attempts may require an Earth-based infrastructure (such as the Theosophical Society) to pave the way for the hierarchy's physically appearing emissaries, "the torch-bearer of The mission of these reputedly regularly appearing emissaries is to practically translate, in a way and language understood by contemporary humanity, knowledge that would help it reach a higher evolutionary
History
Early history
Blavatsky wrote about the possible impact of Theosophy and the Theosophical Society in her book The Key to Theosophy (published 1889):
Based on this and other Blavatsky writings, Theosophists expected the future arrival of the "next impulse"; additional information was the purview of the Society's Esoteric Section, which Blavatsky had founded and originally
After Blavatsky's death in 1891, influential British Theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater expanded on her writings about the Masters and their He formulated a Christology that identified Christ with the Theosophical representation of the Buddhist concept of Maitreya, and stated the entity occupied one of the highest positions in the hierarchy. Leadbeater believed that Maitreya-as-Christ had manifested on Earth on several occasions, often using a specially prepared individual as a "vehicle". The incarnated Maitreya assumed the role of World Teacher, dispensing knowledge about underlying truths of
Annie Besant, another well-known and influential British Theosophist (and eventual close associate of Leadbeater's), was also interested in the appearance of the next emissary from the spiritual During the she became progressively convinced, along with Leadbeater and others, that this would happen sooner than in Blavatsky's stated They came to believe it would involve the imminent reappearance of Maitreya as World Teacher, a monumental event in the Theosophical However, not all Theosophical Society members accepted Leadbeater's and Besant's ideas on the matter; the dissidents accused them of deviating from Theosophical orthodoxy and along with other concepts developed by the two, their elaborations on the Theosophical Maitreya were derisively labelled Neo-Theosophy by their
Besant became President of the Theosophical Society in adding considerable weight to the belief of Maitreya's impending manifestation; this became a commonly held expectation among She had been commenting on the arrival of the next emissary as early as 1896; by 1909 the proclaimed "coming Teacher" was a main topic of her lectures and
"Discovery" of Jiddu Krishnamurti
Sometime in the first half of 1909 (likely between and ) Leadbeater encountered Jiddu Krishnamurti, a fourteen-year-old South Indian Brahmin, at the private beach of the Theosophical Society Headquarters in At the time , was employed by the Society; the family, in poor condition, lived next to the compound. Leadbeater was a controversial figure whose knowledge of Occult matters was highly respected by the Society's leadership, and was considered clairvoyant by He was by then looking for suitable prospects for the "vehicle" of the World Teacher, and was struck by Krishnamurti's "remarkable aura" upon meeting him. Leadbeater came to believe the boy who was not the first or only candidate was the most promising, notwithstanding Krishnamurti's reputedly poor appearance, dull personality, and lackluster Despite Narayaniah's reservations, Leadbeater soon placed Krishnamurti and at the latter's insistence his inseparable younger brother Jiddu Nityananda ("Nitya"), under his and the Society's care. In Besant, as President of the Society and head of its Esoteric Section, admitted the Jiddu brothers into In she became their legal guardian; the boys had already been separated from their family and moved into the Theosophical
Following the "discovery" Leadbeater began occult examinations of Krishnamurti, to whom he had assigned the pseudonym the name of a star in the Pleiades star cluster and of characters from Greek Leadbeater's belief in the boy's suitability was strengthened by his clairvoyance-aided investigations of Krishnamurti's reputed past and future lives. Records of these investigations were published in Theosophical magazines starting and in a book in They were widely discussed within the Society as according to Leadbeater, contemporary Theosophists were involved in various "lives of Alcyone". Such reputed involvement became a matter of status and prestige among Theosophists; it also contributed to factionalism within the In the meantime, Krishnamurti readily submitted to a comprehensive multi-year regimen of physical, intellectual, social and spiritual training in preparation for his probable future
Order of the Rising Sun
Included in Krishnamurti's spiritual training was reputedly instruction delivered directly by the Masters, who had accepted him as pupil. In part of this instruction was published by the Theosophical Society as the first work "by Alcyone", in a booklet entitled At the Feet of the Master. The book became very popular among Theosophists and around the same time (officially, in the was founded at Benares (Varanasi) by George Arundale, a prominent Theosophist. Arundale, Principal of the Central Hindu College (CHC), was impressed by Alcyone and his writings, and formed the Order around a CHC-based study group of disciples headed by Krishnamurti. The new entity was generally focused on the expected World Teacher, yet the recently discovered Krishnamurti-Alcyone was somewhat obliquely at the center of its attention. Ernest Armine (E.A.) Wodehouse, Professor of English at the CHC, was a member and commented, were no blind devotees, prepared to see in him nothing but Had there been a trace in him of conceit or affection, or any posing as the 'holy child' or of priggish self-consciousness, we would undoubtebly have given an adverse
The activities and proclamations of Leadbeater, Besant and other senior Theosophists regarding Krishnamurti and the expected Teacher became entangled in prior disputes within and without the Theosophical Society, and the subject of new The evolving controversies as well as objections by Hindu members of the CHC faculty, prompted Besant to disband the organization in however a replacement had already been
Order of the Star in the East
In Besant founded the () based again at Benares, which replaced the Order of the Rising Sun. It was named after the Star of Bethlehem, signifying the proclaimed approach of the new manifestation of Christ- The top positions of the organization were filled: "Mrs Besant and Leadbeater were made Protectors of the new Order of which Krishna was the Head, Arundale Private Secretary to the Head, and Wodehouse News about Krishnamurti, the Order and its mission received widespread publicity and worldwide press coverage; the publicity may have been at least partly driven by aspects of the era's prevailing
Objective and principles
The goal of the OSE was to inform the world about the arrival of the World Teacher, correct misconceptions regarding his mission, and remove physical obstacles and difficulties from his By the Order had members worldwide; most of them were also members of the Theosophical The only precondition for membership was acceptance of the "Declaration of Principles", which stated the following:
The organization had no other rules and there were no fees or subscriptions. New members received an OSE certificate and could thereafter display the organization's emblem, a silver five-pointed star.
Activities
Following its establishment the OSE began its mission in earnest. Lecture tours, meetings and other activities were undertaken by prominent members of the Order. Articles and pamphlets about the OSE and its mission, published regularly by Theosophical were joined by an official bulletin, The Herald of the Star, initially based at Adyar, which started publication in
As Krishnamurti came of age, he embarked on an intensified schedule of lectures and discussions in several countries and acquired a large following among the membership of the Theosophical National Sections of the Order were eventually formed in more than forty countries and An affiliated international youth organization, the Servants of the Star, was established in London, England in with Krishnamurti's younger brother Nitya as its Head; it accepted persons years of age as
On during a ceremony officiated by Krishnamurti at the close of the annual Theosophical Convention (held that year at Benares), those present were said to be suddenly overwhelmed by a strange feeling of "tremendous power", which seemed to be flowing through Krishnamurti. In Leadbeater's description, "it reminded one irresistibly of the rushing, mighty wind, and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. The tension was enormous, and every one in the room was most powerfully affected." The next day, at a meeting of the Esoteric Section, Besant for the first time stated that it was clear Krishnamurti was the required vehicle. Thereafter, became a "sacred day" for the
In 1912 Krishnamurti's father sued Besant to revoke her guardianship of his sons, which he had previously granted. Among the reasons stated in Narayaniah's deposition were accusations regarding Leadbeater's character and objections to the alleged deification of Krishnamurti, blamed on Besant's "announcement that he was to be the Lord Christ, with the result that a number of respectable persons had prostrated before him." Besant eventually won the case on