The move to Madras reflected one of Blavatsky's great passions, a passion which was to have a hefty impact upon the beliefs and goals of the society. In a time when Imperialism was grinding the country of India underfoot, Blavatsky was looking at Hindu culture with undisguised envy. Where British Colonialism saw a country of backwards heathens who worshipped at the altars of strange gods, Blavatsky saw a culture that was hundreds of years older than anything that could be boasted about in the West. Furthermore, she saw a culture that possessed a rare and profound knowledge of the metahpyiscal practices that she and her society sought to understand.

Blavatsky's sympathy for India helped give the Theosophical Society new direction. Under her guiding hand, their new goals included the establishment of an idealized Universal Brotherhood that would be blind to color, race, or creed; the study of India's metaphysical tradition and scripture; and an overall investigation of all the spiritual and psychic mysteries of nature. Although some might find Blavatsky's appropriation of Hindu mysticism and beliefs less than flattering, her work nevertheless inspired appreciation for Indian culture in her largely British and American audience. She was so successful in creating Indian sympathizers that for at least a little while she was suspected of being a spy.

The Theosophical Society was indelibly stamped with Blavatsky's passions and beliefs, and, after her death in 1891, the society stumbled a little in her absence. Significant figures who rose to the top included Annie Besant and Rudolph Steiner, who eventually moved on to found Anthroposophy. There were several schisms along the way, but the society never died out entirely. The Theosophical Society remains active today, both in America and on an international level, and the influence of Theosophical beliefs can still be seen throughout much of the modern New Age movement.