A herética e bela Sra. Annie Besant

[Flávio Bittencourt]

A herética e bela Sra. Annie Besant

Primeira mulher eleita Presidente do Congresso Nacional da Índia (1917), adotara o jovem indiano Krishnamurti como filho.

(http://www.christopherfowler.co.uk/blog/2008/10/21/revealed-the-next-bryant-may-book/)

(http://www.christopherfowler.co.uk/blog/2010/06/24/flaming-heck/)

 (http://www.christopherfowler.co.uk/blog/2009/01/05/new-readers-start-here/)

MATCH WORKERS FROM BRYANT & MAY, c. 1880s [CERCA DE DÉCADA DE 1880]

(http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/annie_besant.html)

 

Shakuntala pára para olhar atrás de Dushyanta, pintura de Ravi Varma (1848-1906)

(http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalidasa)

(http://www.indiapicks.com/stamps/Art_Artists/Art_Main.htm)

  

BESANT E SEU FILHO ADOTIVO KRISHNAMURTI 

(SÓ A FOTO, SEM A LEGENDA ACIMA ENSAIADA:

http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/annie_besant.html)

ANNIE BESANT

(http://filosofiaimortal.blogspot.com/2010/08/annie-besant.html)

"ANNIE BESANT FOI CONSIDERADA, ANOS DEPOIS DE

TER FALECIDO, UMA VERDADEIRA

VISIONÁRIA SOCIAL"

(COLUNA "Recontando estórias do domínio público")

Not out of right practice comes right thinking, but out of right thinking comes right practice. It matters enormously what you think. If you think falsely, you will act mistakenly; if you think basely, your conduct will suit your thinking.
Annie Besant

(http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/annie_besant.html)

(http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/rockaway-beach/)

The Bathing Hour: Trouville (Salon of 1880)

Facsimile of a sketch from the original painting by Augustus George Heaton
 

 

(http://www.shellbellestikihut.com/2009/07/vintage-beach-photos-1880.html)

"Vintage Beach Photos - 1880

This week's vintage photo is even older than the one I posted last Monday of the Beach Police from 1922! The information from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division titles this as: Men, women, and children in bathing suits on dock, sailboats, and in water; Frances Benjamin Johnston sits on edge of small catboat. From the Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection, it carries a created/published date ca. 1880. Don't forget, you can click on any of the images to see a larger version.


As usual, I am fascinated with the bathing suits worn in different time periods and this one is no exception. My curiosity was peaked as to why only one name was included in the description, so I googled her name and found the following information on Wiki:

Frances "Fannie" Benjamin Johnston (15 January 1864–16 May 1952) was one of the earliest American female photographers and photojournalists. (...)".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(http://www.shellbellestikihut.com/2009/07/vintage-beach-photos-1880.html)

 

 

The bathing hour, Trouville. (1883)

 (http://openlibrary.org/works/OL96429W/India_in_1880)

 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Fox-Hunting-Mustang-Bolan-Pass-India-1880-print-/270579373781)

ANNIE BESANT NOS ANOS 1880

(http://dheerajbhatt.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html)

(http://www.travelindia-guide.com/indian-stamps/collection/1963.php)

                  EM MEMÓRIA DAS ILUSTRES SENHORAS

                  FRANCES BENJAMIN JOHNSTON (1864 - 1952), FOTÓGRAFA E FOTOJORNALISTA, E

                  ANNIE WOOD BESANT (1847 - 1933), ESCRITORA, PARLAMENTAR, FILÓSOFA,

                  LÍDER FEMINISTA E ADMINISTRADORA

5.4.2011 - A culta e bela Annie Besant foi uma das primeiras feministas da história - Grande oradora de sua época, Annie Wood Besant (1847 - 1933), escritora-parlamentar, deixou-nos uma vasta obra literária sobre teosofia.  F. A. L. Bittencourt ([email protected])

"Terça-feira, 24 de agosto de 2010

Biografia: Annie Besant

 

Annie Wood Besant nasceu em 1847 e casou-se em Hasting, Sussex, com o reverendo Frank Besant, irmão mais novo de Walter Besant. Seu casamento durou seis anos e eles se separaram em 1873. Foi dada a seu marido a custódia permanente de seus dois filhos, Mabel e Arthur. Ela lutou pelas causas que acreditava serem justas, iniciando com a liberdade de pensamento, direitos das mulheres, secularismo (ela era membro líder da Sociedade Nacional Secular, ao lado de Charles Bradlaugh), controle de natalidade, socialismo Fabiano e direito dos trabalhadores.

 

Sua mais notável vitória neste período foi a greve que ela liderou em 1888 para melhorar a saúde e segurança das trabalhadoras de uma fábrica de fósforos. Durante aquele período a indústria de fósforo era extremamente poderosa, uma vez que a energia elétrica não estava ao alcance de todos e fósforos eram essenciais para acender velas, lampiões de gás etc. A greve de Annie Besant marcou história, pois foi a primeira vez que alguém desafiou com sucesso os fabricantes de fósforos; também foi considerada uma marca de vitória dos primeiros anos do movimento socialista na Inglaterra.

 

Teosofia

 

Em 1889 ela foi solicitada a escrever uma crítica sobre a Doutrina Secreta, um livro escrito por Blavatsky. Depois de ler, ela fechou uma entrevista com a autora, convertendo-se ao estudo da teosofia e tornando-se membro da Sociedade Teosófica.

 

Algum tempo após o falecimento de Blavatsky, Besant acusou William Quan Judge, líder da seção estadunidense da Sociedade Teosófica, de falsificar cartas dos Mahatmas. Tal conflito causou na época a separação de uma grande parte das lojas nos Estados Unidos da Sociedade Teosófica. Annie Besant em 1903 mudou-se para Índia e em 1908 foi eleita presidente internacional da Sociedade Teosófica, posição esta que ocupou até falecer em 1933.

 

Ordem Mística do Templo da Rosacruz

 

Em 1912 Annie Besant, Marie Russak e James Ingall Wedgwood fundaram a Ordem do Templo da Rosa-Cruz. Em razão dos numerosos problemas originados na Inglaterra durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial, as atividades tiveram que ser suspensas.

 

Besant retornou a suas tarefas como Presidente Mundial da Sociedade Teosófica, Wedgwood seguiu trabalhando como bispo da Igreja Católica Liberal e Russak manteve contato na Califórnia com Harvey Spencer Lewis, ao qual ajudou na elaboração dos rituais da Ordem Rosa-cruz AMORC.

Besant teve participação também na Ordem Maçonica Mista Le Droit Humain.

 

Índia

 

Na Índia, fundou a Liga Nacionalista Indiana. Ela dedicou-se não somente a Sociedade Teosófica, mas também ao progresso e liberdade da India. Foi a primeira mulher eleita Presidente do Congresso Nacional da Índia. Besant Nagar e um bairro (próximo a Sociedade Teosófica) em Chennai nomeado em honra a ela.

 

Krishnamurti

 

Adotou como filho o jovem indiano Krishnamurti, que era tido pelos teósofos como um grande mestre.

 

BIOGRAFIA:

(Alguns dos livros abaixo são links para a versão digital gratis.)

Brahmavidya - Sabedoria Divina
Dharma
Karma
O Enigma da Vida
O Homem e Seus Corpos
Reencarnação
Sugestões para o Estudo do Bhagavad-Gita
Um Estudo Sobre o Karma
A vida do Homem em Três Mundos
Formas de Pensamento
Ocultismo, Semi-ocultismo e Pseudo-ocultismo
Vegetarianismo e Ocultismo
A Doutrina do Coração
A Vida Espiritual
Os Ideais da Teosofia
Sabedoria Antiga
Os Avatares
Morte... e Depois?
Os Mestres
Do Recinto Externo ao Santuário Interno
Um Estudo Sobre a Consciência
A Sabedoria dos Upanixades
O Homem - Donde e Como Veio, e Para Onde Vai?
O Poder do Pensamento
Introdução ao Ioga
O Cristianismo Esotérico

Em inglês:

The Political Status of Women (1874)
Marriage, As It Was, As It Is, And As It Should Be: A Plea For Reform (1878)
The Law Of Population (1877)
Autobiographical Sketches (1885)
Why I became a Theosophist (1889)
An Autobiography (1893)
The Ancient Wisdom (1898)
Thought Forms (1901)
Bhagavad Gita (Tradução) (1905)
Introduction to Yoga (1908)
Occult Chemistry
The Doctrine of the Heart (1920)
Esoteric Christianity
super-Human Men
Theosophy and the new Psychology

Fonte: Wickipédia e 4shared

 

Postado por Alexander Zimmer às 10:30  

Marcadores: Teosofia".

 

(http://filosofiaimortal.blogspot.com/2010/08/annie-besant.html)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thought-form of the music of Charles Gounod, according to Besant and C.W. Leadbeater in Thought-Forms (1901)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Besant)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annie Besant in Sydney, Australia, 1922

 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Besant)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

===

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

"Annie Besant (1847- 1933), English social reformer, author (The Political Status of Women,1874; Marriage, As It Was, As It Is, And As It Should Be: A Plea For Reform, 1878; The Law Of Population, 1877), freedom fighter and worldwide head of the Theosophy movement   Born Annie Wood in Clapham, London, her childhood was unhappy after her father's death when she was five. Besant was educated by Ellen Marryat, sister of the noted writer of sea adventures, Frederick Marryat. Miss Marryat was a strict Calvinist, but she saw to it that Annie's education was not too narrow and included travel in Europe. In 1867, Annie Wood married a vicar, Frank Besant, resulting in the birth of two children, but her increasingly irreligious views – when she refused to attend communion, Frank ordered her to leave the family home – led to a legal separation in 1873, with her husband retaining custody of their son (and she later lost custody of their daughter because of her progressive views). At this point, Annie Besant completely rejected Christianity and in 1874 joined the Secular Society.  She studied science at university, something considered very unfeminine at the time, but did not ever take her degree, because there “was one examiner in the University who told her beforehand that however brilliantly she might do the papers which were set, he would not pass her, because he had a strong antipathy toward her atheism and to certain of her activities for the masses, which he considered immoral” (Nethercot, Arthur H, The First Five Lives of Annie Besant, p. 186). Advocate of contraception Annie Besant was a member of the National Secular Society, which preached 'free thought' and of the Fabian Society, the noted socialist organisation whose members included George Bernard Shaw, Sidney Webb and Beatrice Webb. In the 1870s, Besant edited, with National Secular Society founder Charles Bradlaugh, the weekly National Reformer, which advocated such advanced ideas as trade unions, national education, women's right to vote, and contraception. In 1877, Besant and Bradlaugh were convicted of selling birth control pamphlets in the slums of London; in court they argued that “we think it more moral to prevent conception of children than, after they are born, to murder them by want of food, air and clothing.” They were sentenced to six months imprisonment for publishing “an obscene libel”, but the verdict was overturned on appeal and the publicity helped to liberalise public attitudes. However, her activism in this case cost Annie custody of her daughter, Mabel, whose custody was awarded to Frank Besant on his application. Besant soon wrote and published her own book advocating birth control, The Law of Population. That a woman would advocate birth-control received wide-publicity, with newspapers such as The Times of London accusing Besant of writing “an indecent, lewd, filthy, bawdy and obscene book”.     The Bryant & May ‘Matchgirls Strike’   Dear Lady they have been trying to get the poor girls to say that it is all lies that has been printed and trying to make us sign papers that it is all lies; dear Lady nobody knows what it is we have put up with and we will not sign them. We thank you very much for the kindness you have shown to us. My dear Lady we hope you will not get into any trouble on our behalf as what you have spoken is quite true. Anonymous letter received by Annie Besant from a Bryant & May worker (July 4, 1888)   After joining the Social Democratic Federation, Annie started her own campaigning newspaper, The Link. On June 23, 1888, Besant wrote an article, ‘White Slavery in London’, in The Link, the consequence of which was a three-week strike among the employees of the Bryant & May match company, whose female workers worked fourteen hours a day for a wage of less than five shillings a week. In this she was aided by HH Champion. (Ironically, perhaps, Bryant and May was founded in 1852 by two Quakers, William Bryant and Francis May, with the specific aim of making only safety matches, no doubt because of the founders' social conscience.) This action, in which Besant campaigned with Catherine Booth of the Salvation Army, was the first strike by unorganized workers to gain national publicity. The ‘Matchgirls Strike’ was also successful at helping to inspire the formation of unions all over Britain, and Bryant & May workers gained some protection against the appalling conditions under which they had formerly worked, and the yellow phosphorus-induced diseases that had plagued them. Yellow or white phosphorus caused yellowing of the skin, hair loss and phosphorus disease  (‘phossy jaw’ a necrosis of the jaw). Symptoms included the whole side of the face turning first green and then black, the discharge of foul-smelling pus, and usually death. … in the case of Caroline Hawkins, the first symptoms of the poisoning were detected on Jan 19 last. She had been at work in a Lucifer match factory – work which was always attended with danger from the inhalation of the fumed which arose, which brought on necrosis of the jaw, cases of which were not infrequent. Daily Chronicle, June 2, 1898 Annie Besant, together with William Stead, Catharine Booth, William Booth and Henry Hyde Champion continued the campaign against the use of yellow phosphorus and in 1891 the Salvation Army opened its own match-factory in East London. Using only harmless red phosphorus, the workers were soon producing six million boxes a year and paying the ‘matchgirls’ fourpence a gross (144 boxes), twice as much as Bryant & May paid their workers. These new matches, tipped with harmless red phosphorus, were sold under the brand-name ‘Lights in Darkest England’, and their success is one of the reasons that many corporations today make match heads that are artificially coloured red, as a reassurance to customers. The success of the matchgirl strike, and then the dockers strike that followed, gave impetus to what became known as ‘new unionism’ or the mass organisation of unskilled labour, the rise of progressive politics in Britain, and the establishment of the Labour Party.  Besant joined the socialist group, the Fabian Society, and in 1889 contributed to the influential book, Fabian Essays, which also included articles by George Bernard Shaw, Sidney Webb, Sydney Olivier, and others.   Her love for India She was converted to Theosophy after reviewing The Secret Doctrine by Madame Helene Blavatsky in 1889. Soon after becoming a member of the Theosophical Society, Besant went to India for the first time (1893). Thereafter she devoted much of her energy not only to the Theosophical Society, but also to India's freedom and progress. Annie Besant, said Mahatma Gandhi, awakened India from her deep slumber – Gandhi had portraits of Jesus, Tolstoy, Annie Besant and a few others where he lived when he was in South Africa (source), but in later years the two had a falling out and she opposed him. She started the Home Rule League in India for obtaining the freedom of the country and reviving the country's cultural heritage, attended the 1914 session of the Indian National Congress and was elected its president in 1917. Because of her activism for Home Rule for India, during the First World War she was interned by the British authorities. Even while in India, Besant continued to write letters to British newspapers arguing the case for women's suffrage and in 1911 was a keynote speaker at an important NUWSS suffragist rally in London. With Charles Webster Leadbeater she investigated paranormal phenomena such as clairvoyance. The two became embroiled over Leadbeater's advice to young boys to masturbate, which was highly controversial at the time, forcing Leadbeater to leave the Theosophical Society in 1906. In 1908 he was back in the fold, through the agency of Besant, who had been elected president of the Theosophical Society in 1907.  Annie Besant was also largely responsible for the upbringing of the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, shown at right with his mentor.Krishnamurti grew discontent with his role as a kind of messiah and in 1929 finally disbanded the Order of the Star of the East, of which Besant had been instrumental in making him the leader, and which was founded to support him. Krishnamurti's decision impacted heavily on Annie Besant's spirit, as it went against her whole belief system. She tried to accommodate Krishnamurti's views into her life, but never really succeeded. However, these two remarkable people remained friends until, in her beloved India, she passed away on September 20, 1933".     (http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/annie_besant.html)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(http://serrasagrada.blogspot.com/2008/05/sociedade-teosfica-portuguesa.html)