1ST May 1913 – 20th May 2002
Let us make ourselves available for service  
Gool was born in Karachi on 1st May 1913, the fifth child of Behramji and Pirojabai Birdie. The good upbringing she received from her parents was amply evident in the intelligence, courage and graciousness she was to demonstrate as an adult.

She received her education at the illustrious Mama Parsi Girls’ School, Karachi, where she showed signs of leadership from a young age, also ranking high, no matter where one saw her – in the class-room, on the play-ground, on the stage, as a Blue Bird or as a Girl Guide. A school mate recalls; "Because she was courageous, wise and sympathetic, we, the girls, took our little problems to her to be solved, and we sought guidance and comfort from her." Indeed at School she won the hearts of everyone – the students and teachers alike. On completion of her formal education she served, for a while, as a teacher at her Alma Mater.


It was Jamshed Nusserwanjee’s [a great social reformer and the first Mayor of Karachi] magnetism that drew Gool towards the Theosophical Society. She joined the Karachi Theosophical Society on 13th April 1935 and in doing so found her life’s mission. From the very beginning she was a working member, giving of her time and her means to the work of the Society and the promotion of its noble objects. In the first seventeen years of her membership she was an able lieutenant to Jamshed Nusserwanjee and the Society’s other leaders of that generation. After the passing of Jamshed Nusserwanjee in 1952, she was at the helm of the Society’s affairs in Pakistan, working tirelessly and selflessly, and guiding the work with wisdom and courage. As one member put it; "Gool has made Jamshed relive for us." She has been an example to all of us, albeit an example difficult to live up to. It is to Gool that we owe our beautiful and well-equipped building – the Jamshed Memorial Hall – and also the goodwill our Society enjoys in this city and country.

In the 1950s she formed in Karachi a Branch of the Theosophical Order of Service, [the social welfare arm of the Theosophical Society.] The Order is still very active and deeply involved with an educational support programme for needy school and college students, a Montessori School for low income families, literacy programmes in poverty-stricken areas, and relief and rehabilitation of destitute individuals and families.

Inspired by her realization of the Oneness of all Life, Gool extended her compassionate activities to the animal kingdom. In innumerable articles and lectures she pleaded for kindness and compassion towards animals. A life-long vegetarian herself, she founded the Pakistan Vegetarian Society and its magazine, ‘VegeVoice’, both of which are being currently revived.

It is from the spiritual percept of Theosophy and noble objects of the Theosophical Society that Mrs. Gool K. Minwalla found the inspiration for her useful and dedicated life of service.
 

 


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