The San Francisco Lodge of the Theosophical Society was founded on August 10, 1901. Our Motto is "No Religion Higher Than Truth, No Power Greater Than Love." We serve the Three Avowed Objects of the Theosophical Society. The Society was initially founded in N.Y.C. on November 17, 1875. The International Theosophical Society is based in Adyar, India and the Theosophical Society of America is based in Wheaton, IL.
On White Lotus Day, May 8th, 2026, We Honor the Legend & Legacy of the Incomparable H.P.B.
"Thou canst not travel on the Path before thou has become that Path itself." - H.P. Blavatsky, Voice of the Silence
“Darkness radiates the light, and light drops one solitary ray into the mother-deep.” - H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine
White Lotus Day (May 8th) is the anniversary of the passing of H.P. Blavatsky, the great mystic, adventurer and mother of modern Theosophy. Each year at this time those who carry on celebrate both her remarkable life and her profound contribution to the advance of human evolution.
Om Mani Padma Hum!
A few jewels from the writings of H.P. Blavatsky -
"We must prepare and study truth under every aspect, endeavoring to ignore nothing, if we do not wish to fall into the abyss of the unknown when the hour shall strike."
"Everything in the Universe, throughout all its kingdoms, is conscious: i.e., endowed with a consciousness of its own kind and on its own plane of perception."
“The wheel of the Good Law moves swiftly on. It grinds by night and day. The worthless husks it drives from out the golden grain, the refuse from the flour. The hand of fate guides the wheel; the revolutions mark the beatings of the heart of manifestation.”
“The whole order of nature evinces a progressive march towards a higher life.”
“Nature isn’t, as your scientists seem to believe, an agglomeration of fundamentally different objects and elements; Nature is a whole, and everything in the organism acts and is acted on by every other thing contained therein.”
“We cut these numerous windings in our destinies daily with our own hands, while we imagine that we are pursuing a track on the royal high road of respectability and duty, and then complain of those ways being so intricate and so dark. We stand bewildered before the mystery of our own making, and the riddles of life that we will not solve, and then accuse the great Sphinx of devouring us.”
“The Universe is the periodical manifestation of this unknown Absolute Essence.”
"To live to benefit [human]kind is the first step." - H. P. Blavatsky, The Voice of the Silence On May 8th, White Lotus Day, Theosophists everywhere celebrate the life & work of the great HPB
THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF SAN FRANCISCO MAY-JUNE 2026 PROGRAM
ON-LINE: Sunday, 5/17/26, at 6 p.m. - Richard Power presents "Vectors of Reality, Part 2: The Gaian Mysteries"
NO MEETING Sunday, 5/24/26 - We Honor Memorial Day
IN-PERSON: Sunday, 6/7/26, 4 to 6 p.m. - Jonathan J. Levine presents "Before & After: The Art of Transfiguration"
ON-LINE: Sunday, 6/21/26, at 6 p.m. - Richard Power presents "Vectors of Reality, Part 3: The True, The Good, The Beautiful"
NO MEETING Sunday, 6/28/26 - We Celebrate San Francisco P-R-I-D-E!
Here is the Zoom registration link for the "Vectors of Reality" series -
Richard Power - "Vectors of Reality, A Series of 4 Talks on the Mystical Dimensions of Life on Earth"
4/19/26, 6 pm Pacific - Part 1: Spacetime
5/17/26, 6 pm Pacific - Part 2: Gaian Mysteries
6/21/26, 6 pm Pacific - Part 3: The True, The Good, The Beautiful
7/19/26, 5 pm Pacific - Part 4: The Nature of Reality
This event is the sequel to last year's "Verities of Being."
As with "Verities of Being," the first three talks will be held online via Zoom and the fourth talk will be held both online via Zoom and in-person at the Lodge.
Here is the Zoom registration link for this series of talks:
You will receive confirmation email, with further information.
After each talk concludes, it will be made available via YouTube and Substack.
Meanwhile, here are links to digital artifacts of the “Verities of Being” series, including full videos on YouTube & full text, slides & embedded video on Substack:
Richard Power - Verities of Being, Part I: Shadow (SFTS Lodge 6/15/25)
This self-originated Clear Light, eternally unborn, is a parentless babe of Wisdom. Wondrous is this. Being non-created, it is Natural Wisdom. Wondrous is this. Not having known birth, it knows not death. Wondrous is this. - Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation Translated & Edited by the great Dr. W.Y. Evans-Wentz
THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF SAN FRANCISCO MARCH-APRIL 2026 PROGRAM
ON-LINE Sunday, 3/22/26, at 6 p.m. - Jeff Curtis presents "New Light on the Nature of 'Self'"
IN PERSON: Sunday, 3/29/26, 4 to 6 p.m. - Conversations in Theosophy
ON-LINE: Sunday, 4/19/26, at 6 p.m. - Richard Power presents "Vectors of Reality, Part 1: Spacetime"
IN-PERSON: Sunday, 4/26/26, 4 to 6 p.m. - Conversations in Theosophy
SPECIAL EVENTS
Our 2026 Lenten Sutra Readings continue -
Friday 3/6, 6 pm: Great Liberation
Friday 3/13, 6 pm: Diamond Sutra
Friday 3/20, 6 pm: Great Liberation
Friday 3/27, 6 pm: Diamond Sutra
Friday 4/3, 6 pm: Great Liberation
All 2026 Lenten Sutra Readings are both IN-PERSON at the Lodge & ON-LINE via Zoom.
Here is the link to register for attending the Lenten Readings on-line via Zoom:
Bill Moyers interviews Coleman Barks, PBS, circa early 1990
One morning, in December 1992, my phone rang. "Hello, Richard? This is Coleman Barks. I hear you've written a book about Joe Miller."
That phone call was the beginning of a collaboration which MIRACULOUSLY put "Great Song: Life & Teachings of Joe Miller" into people's hands a mere year after his death.
I had indeed recorded, transcribed & annotated the talks of the legendary American sage Joe Miller. Joe had read the manuscript. No one else had. We agreed I would only publish it after his death.
Then Joe died in August 1992 & Guin died that November.
A mutual friend mentioned my project to Coleman.
Coleman had visited Joe. They had laughed & sung & told each other stories.
Coleman got it. Sitting there in Joe & Guin's flat on Nob Hill, Coleman knew he was in the presence of something rare, something blessed.
Thanks to PBS interviews w/ the great Bill Moyers, Coleman's brilliant star was on the rise.
Fiercely independent, in those formative years of his fame, Coleman self-published his Rumi poems. Maypop Books. My work on Joe would be the only book in his catalog that wasn't either a collection of his Rumi renderings or his own poetry.
A poet & mystic, Coleman understood why I needed to bold, italicize & even use ALL CAPS to imbue the printed text w/ a sense of Joe's powerful spoken word shakti.
Coleman understood my right brain approach to how the book was organized. He let the book be itself, something unlike anything else, a rare artifact carrying within it the truth of a rare being.
His edits only strengthened & amplified what I was doing.
We brainstormed the book title on a long phone call. Somehow we ended up talking about that majestic Rilke poem (trans. by Anita Barrows & Joanna Macy) -
"I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world. I may not complete this last one but I will give myself to it.
I circle around God, around the primordial tower. I’ve been circling for thousands of years and I still don’t know: am I a falcon, a storm, or a great song?"
That's how "Great Song: Life & Teachings of Joe Miller" got its name.
Coleman Bryan Barks of Athens, GA passed peacefully at home on February 23, 2026 surrounded by loved ones. He was born on April 23, 1937 to Elizabeth Bryan and Herbert Bernard Barks. He grew up on the campus of Baylor School in Chattanooga. He earned his BA at UNC Chapel Hill, his MA at the University of California, Berkeley, and returned to UNC for his doctorate. Barks joined the faculty of the University of Georgia English Department in 1967 until his retirement as professor emeritus in 1997.
In 1976, Barks’ close friend, the poet Robert Bly, showed him some academic translations of Jalal al-Din Rumi, the thirteenth-century mystic Persian poet. Bly urged Barks to “release the poems from their cages.” Later, Barks became a student of the Sri Lankan Sufi mystic Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. Thus began his long and illustrious career translating Rumi. His translations have sold millions of copies and have been translated into many languages spanning 41 countries, inspiring readers worldwide.
In addition to his Rumi translations, Barks was an acclaimed poet in his own right. Much of his finest work – including notes on his process – is archived with the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia.
Barks lived in Athens, Georgia for most of his adult life. Although internationally acclaimed, he was always approachable at his favorite corner seat at The Manhattan Cafe, Jittery Joe’s, or the Five Points Waffle House, ready and willing to talk about poetry, politics, or the Georgia Bulldogs. Generous with friends and strangers alike, he enjoyed laughing, dinners, conversation, buck dancing and singing, with some partiality to shape-note hymns. He found particular inspiration and peace near rivers and creeks. Outside of the written word, he expressed himself creatively through stonework and painting. He was a devoted and playful grandfather, always instilling an appreciation for whimsy and art in his children and grandchildren. His work and life were infused with humor and joy.
You will receive a confirmation email with further information,
The Readings will be held every Friday and conclude on Good Friday, April 4th.
We will alternate between the "Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation" and the "Diamond Sutra," starting tonight with the "Great Liberation"
Join us!
Here is a precious video from our archives, the legendary American sage Joe Miller reading the "Great Liberation" 39 years ago! "So long as love remembers ..."
