George Sidney Arundale (1 December 1878 - 12 August 1945) was a Theosophist, Freemason, president of the Theosophical Society Adyar and a bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church. He was the husband o...lihat lebih banyakGeorge Sidney Arundale (1 December 1878 - 12 August 1945) was a Theosophist, Freemason, president of the Theosophical Society Adyar and a bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church. He was the husband of the celebrated Indian dancer Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904-1986).
Born in Surrey, England, Arundale was adopted at a young age by his aunt Francesca, a wealthy Theosophist. Initially privately tutored, he later attended school in Germany before receiving his Master’s degree from St John’s College, Cambridge.
In 1902 he and his aunt moved to Varanasi, India, where he took a position as history teacher at the Central Hindu College (CHC) and was appointed its principal in 1909. He devoted himself to the activities of the Theosophical Society, settling at its sprawling campus at Adyar in Madras. There he met the family of Nilakanta Sastri, a fellow Theosophist, and fell in love with his daughter, Rukmini. They married in 1920, and Arundale mentored and encouraged Rukmini to develop her interest in classical dance.
He then accepted an offer at the Maharaja of Indore in central India to serve as the Commissioner of Education of that state, whilst continuing to devote much of his time to the activities of the Theosophical Society. In 1926 he became bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church and was also appointed General Secretary of the Theosophical Society in Australia, where he moved with his wife.
In 1934, Arundale became president of the Theosophical Society Adyar and founded the Besant Memorial School within the Society’s campus. In 1936, the Arundales founded Kalakshetra, a now venerable institution devoted to researching and teaching Indian classical dance.
In the last decade of his life, he wrote several books and monographs regarding Theosophy. He died peacefully in 1945 at his residence in Adyar, India, aged 66.lihat lebih sedikit