The Theosophical
Society in Australia

Brisbane Lodge

Canberra Group

Meets third Saturday of each month from 2 to 4pm

Coordinator: Gordon Herbert
Secretary: Barbara Harrod
Email: [email protected]
Bulletins: Current and previous Bulletins from the Canberra Group can be viewed at
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GxQUaqlCD4uJSwWoxNgurd6qZiq3TfZI?usp=sharing

Meeting place: Friends' Meeting House, 17 Bent Steet, Turner (on the corner of Bent and Condamine Streets)
Meet: 2 - 4 pm 3rd Saturday each month.


2024 Programme


2.00pm     Saturday 17 February

Topic:  The Spirituality of Theosophy & its Enduring Relevance in the Modern World

Presenter:  Gerard Brennan

About the Presentation

 In this presentation we will examine together some of the perennial ideas of the Ancient Wisdom and their influence on Western culture over time. This will include the fields of religion, the arts and science. We will also trace the development of Eastern philosophy and other spiritual traditions and the role of the TS in bringing this knowledge to the West. Is Theosophy a religion? If not what is it? We will explore these ideas collaboratively in an effort to deepen our appreciation of the enduring relevance of Theosophical teachings to our lives today.

About the Presenter:

 Gerard has a long standing interest in Theosophy as an Expression of the Divine Wisdom and has been a member of The Theosophical Society for many years. The idea of Universal Brotherhood is something that really interests him and he has also been interested in how to apply Theosophy to Our Daily Lives. Over the years he has had the good fortune to visit the International Headquarters in Adyar, India many times and he has enjoyed attending many Theosophical Conventions over the years. His professional background has been in teaching literature and history as a high school teacher.



2.00pm     Saturday 16 March

Topic:  Insights from Paramahansa Yogananda

Presenter:  Dr Grahame Crookham

About the Presentation

 Yogananda is best known for his highly popular book “Autobiography of a Yogi.” More recently Grahame read his two books “God talks to Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita” and “The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ With-in You”. Yogananda was assigned the task to spread the holy science of God-union (Kriya Yoga science) worldwide through the united original yoga of Krishna and original Christianity of Christ. This talk will present insights gained from the above readings, together with his Master’s book “The Holy Science” by Sri Yukteswar. Topics covered include the Absolute, the Trinity, Christ Consciousness, the process of creation/manifestation, the Gunas, the creative causal principles, the mental/astral/physical principles (Tattvas), the Tree of Life and the return journey.

About the Presenter:

Grahame was raised in the Catholic tradition, having attended Catholic primary and secondary schools. He was introduced to yogic philosophy in his early 20’s, became a devotee of Kriya Babaji Nagaraj in 1977 and has been a member of the Theosophical Society since 1987. He has an ongoing interest in the commonality between eastern and western thought, and the teachings of Jesus and Vedanta. 


2.00pm     Saturday 20 April

Topic:  Understanding the Writings of HP Blavatsky - Part 1: The One Life

Presenter:  Dr J E Cloutman

Jim Cloutman first joined the TS at age 16, in the early seventies. He has an honours degree in comparative religion from King’s College, London University. He is an educationalist by profession, with a PhD in adult education. His key interest is in helping learners develop, through education, emotional intelligence and the many emotion-al attributes that are so badly needed in today’s world, such as resilience, resourcefulness and adaptability.



2.00pm     Saturday 18 May

Topic:  The Fool’s Journey

Presenter:  Elayne Strahan

Elayne is a retired Commonwealth public servant with twenty-five years’ experience in social work practice, Commonwealth social research, policy development and program implementation for the Australian government. She has a social policy research Masters from the Australian Demographic Social Research Institute (ADSRI) at the Australian National University (ANU). Elayne has always had an interest in esoteric matters and has been involved in the spiritualist movement for forty years not just in Canberra but elsewhere in Australia.

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