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This article is about the philosophy introduced by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky in association with Ascended Masters. See Theosophy (history of philosophy) for other uses.
Theosophy is a doctrine of religious philosophy and mysticism. Theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by the Occult Brotherhood to help humanity in evolving to greater perfection, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth. The founding members, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891), Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907), and William Quan Judge (1851–1896), established the Theosophical Society in New York City in 1875.
Etymology
Blavatsky addressed the name in the beginning of The Key to Theosophy:
Theosophy, literally "god-wisdom" (), designated several bodies of ideas predating Blavatsky:
The term appeared in Neoplatonism. Porphyry De Abstinentia (4.9) mentioned "Greek and Chaldean theosophy", Ἑλληνική, Χαλδαϊκὴ θεοσοφία. The adjective θεόσοφος "wise in divine things" was applied by Iamblichus (De mysteriis 7.1) to the gymnosophists (Γυμνοσοφισταί), i.e. the Indian yogis or sadhus.
The term was used during the Renaissance to refer to the spiritually-oriented thought and works of a number of philosophers, including: Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, Robert Fludd, and, especially, Jakob Böhme; the work of these early theosophists influenced the Enlightenment theologian Emanuel Swedenborg and philosopher Franz von Baader.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines theosophy as: "Any system of speculation which bases the knowledge of nature upon that of the divine nature", and in particular with reference to Böhme.
The three objects
The three declared objectives of the original Theosophical Society as established by Blavatsky, Judge and Olcott were as follows:
First — To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or color.
Second — To encourage the study of Comparative Religion, Philosophy, and Science.
Third — To investigate the unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in man."
Some might however dispute whether these were the original ones. Especially when one reads the original Preamble for the Society in the reference given here:
(Preamble of the T.S. Dated October 30, 1875 - reprinted in The Theosophical Forum, October 1947, pp. 582–7)
Another reference is this one from Blavatsky Collected Writings in an article by the Co-founder H. P. Blavatsky, published 1888 titled: "ORIGINAL PROGRAMME” MANUSCRIPT"
Basic Theosophical beliefs
A non-dogmatic and non-secterian Society
According to the Constitution of the Theosophical Society in the period 1875-1891 we find the following in the Constitution of January 1891: "No Fellow, Officer, or Council of the Theosophical Society, or of any Section or Branch thereof, shall promulgate or maintain any doctrinas being that advanced, or advocated by the Society. "
So one might say, that each member of the Theosophical Society forwarded their very own views, and they did not forward them on behalf of the Theosophical Society, a Society against dogmas and secterian behaviour. More info on this in the last reference.
The below words about various beliefs among the Theosophists are only correct so far as they have been given by some of the members of the Theosophical Society is concerned. Those who did not follow such philosophical views as the below were free as members of the original Theosophical Society in 1875-1891. This was however changed somewhere after the year 1891 among many of the later offshoot branches and break-away groups, - and according to some also within the Theosophical Society itself, when affiliated branch the Order of the Star in the East was formulated around the year 1910 or 1911 and later.
Evolution and Race
Theosophists believe that selflessness and traditional
virtues, lead people ever closer to their Divine Nature.
Planets,
solar systems,
galaxies, and the
cosmos itself are regarded as conscious entities, fulfilling their own evolutionary paths. The spiritual units of consciousness in the universe are the
Monads, which may manifest as angels, human beings or in various other forms. According to Blavatsky, the Monad is the reincarnating unit of the human soul, consisting of the two highest of the seven constituent parts of the human soul. All beings, regardless of stature or complexity, are informed by such a Monad.
Theosophical writings propose that human civilizations, like all other parts of the universe, develop cyclically through seven stages. Blavatsky posited that the whole humanity, and indeed every reincarnating human monad, evolves through a series of seven "Root Races". Thus in the first age, humans were pure spirit; in the second age, they were sexless beings inhabiting the now lost continent of Hyperborea; in the third age the giant Lemurians were informed by spiritual impulses endowing them with human consciousness and sexual reproduction. Modern humans finally developed on the continent of Atlantis. Since Atlantis was the of the cycle, the present fifth age is a time of reawakening humanity's psychic gifts. Blavatsky said: "these two other senses on the ascending arc be on the same respective planes as hearing and touch", or perhaps rather intuition and telepathy as the reference seems to say. The term psychic here really means the realization of the permeability of consciousness as it had not been known earlier in evolution, although sensed by some more sensitive individuals of our species. Blavatsky mentioned the psychic to be "the super-ethereal or connecting link between matter and pure spirit, and the physical."
Blavatsky suggested that most of present day humanity belongs to the fifth root race, the Aryans, which originally developed on Atlantis. It was her belief that the older races will eventually die out, as the fifth rootrace in time will be replaced by the more advanced peoples of the sixth root race which is set to develop on the reemerging Lemurian continent.
Blavatsky claimed that "The occult doctrine admits of no such divisions as the Aryan and the Semite, accepting even the Turanian with ample reservations. The Semites, especially the Arabs, are later Aryans—degenerate in spirituality and perfected in materiality." However, this statement was not made in a spirit of attacking any ethnicity.(The Key to Theosophy, p. 209: "St. Paul said," etc.) In fact, one of the main purposes of the Theosophical Society was "To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or colour."(see above at The Three Objects)
Guido von List (and his followers such as Lanz von Liebenfels) later took up some of Blavatsky's theories, mixing them with nationalism to formulate Ariosophy, a precursor of nazism. Ariosophy emphasized intellectual expositions of racial evolution. The Thule Society was one of several German occult groups drawing on Ariosophy to preach Aryan supremacy. It provides a direct link between occult racial theories and the racial ideology of Hitler and the emerging Nazi party."
The Septenary
Theosophists opine that the most material of the vestures of the Soul are interpenetrated by the particles of the more subtle vesture. For example they claim that -The "Sthula-Sarira" or most material body, is, as science is aware, mostly space at its atomic level (as all matter is known to be), and these interstitial spaces are inhabited by those subtler particles of the Astral Body or Linga sarira, and so on for the other more energy-like envelopes of the Soul. The important thing about this interpenetration of each sheath, is that we see the inner person as a fluid and unbroken continuity, although varying in density/flexibility and energy and therefore more and more susceptible to the behest of the Real Person - the Soul/Higher Self since they are less and less encumbered by material boundaries. Perhaps the image of a suspension or
colloid in chemistry is an apt perspective. And since matter is merely the material counterpart of consciousness (ultimately our aspect being pure consciousness), this interpenetration of sheaths allows for consciousness to interpenetrate Man's nature and explains how we are sensitive to what we think of as external stimuli, through the five senses.
Theosophy, as well as many other esoteric groups and
occult societies, claims in their
esoteric cosmology that the universe is ordered by the number
seven. The reincarnating consciousness of the monad utilizes spirit/matter forms in
seven bodies:
The first body is called sthula-sarira (Sanskrit, from sthula meaning coarse, gross, not refined, heavy, bulky, fat in the sense of bigness, conditioned and differentiated matter + sarira to moulder, waste away). A gross body, impermanent because of its wholly compounded character. The physical body is usually considered as the lowest substance-principle. The physical form is the result of the harmonious co-working on the physical plane of forces and faculties streaming through their astral vehicle or linga-sarira, the pattern or model of the physical body.
The second body is called Linga-Sarira, (Sanskrit, from linga meaning characteristic mark, model, pattern + sarira, from the verbal root sri to moulder, waste away). A pattern or model that is impermanent; the model-body or astral body, only slightly more ethereal than the physical body. It is the astral model around which the physical body is built, and from which the physical body flows or develops as growth proceeds.
The third body is prana (Sanskrit, from pra before + the verbal root an to breathe, to live). In theosophy, the breath of life. This life or prana works on, in, and around us, pulsating unceasingly during the term of physical existence. Prana is "the radiating force or Energy of Atma -- as the Universal Life and the One Self -- its lower or rather (in its effects) more physical, because manifesting, aspect. Prana or Life permeates the whole being of the objective Universe; and is called a 'principle' only because it is an indispensable factor and the deus ex machina of the living man."
The fourth principle is kāma (Sanskrit, from the verbal root kam meaning to desire). Desire; the desire principle is the driving, impelling force. Born from the interaction of atman, buddhi, and manas, kama per se is a colourless force, good or bad according to the way the mind and soul use it. It is the seat of the living electrical impulses, desires, and aspirations, considered in their energetic aspect.
The fifth principle is manas (Sanskrit, from the verbal root man meaning to think). The seat of mentation and egoic consciousness; in humanity Manas is the human person, the reincarnating ego, immortal in essence, enduring in its higher aspects through the entire manvantara. When embodied, manas is dual, gravitating toward buddhi in its higher aspects and in its lower aspects toward kama. The first is intuitive mind, the second the animal, ratiocinative consciousness, the lower mentality and passions of the personality.
The sixth principle or vehicle is Buddhi (Sanskrit, from the verbal root budh to awaken, enlighten, know). The vehicle of pure, universal spirit, hence an inseparable garment or vehicle of atman, which is, in its essence, of the highest plane of akasa or alaya. In man buddhi is the spiritual soul, the faculty of discriminating, the channel through which streams divine inspiration from the atman to the ego, and therefore that faculty which enables us to discern between good and evil: spiritual conscience. The qualities of the buddhic principle when awakened are higher judgment, instant understanding, discrimination, intuition, love that has no bounds, and consequent universal forgiveness.
The seventh is called Atman (Sanskrit). Self; pure consciousness, that cosmic self which is the same in every dweller on this globe and on every one of the planetary or stellar bodies in space. It is the feeling and knowledge of "I am," pure cognition, the abstract idea of self. It does not differ at all throughout the cosmos except in degree of self-recognition. It may also be considered as the First Logos in the human microcosm. During incarnation the lowest aspects of atman take on attributes, because it is linked with buddhi, as the buddhi is linked with manas, as the manas is linked with kama, etc.
See: Encyclopedic Theosophic Glossary
History
Original usage
Theosophists trace the origin of Theosophy to the universal striving for spiritual knowledge that existed in all cultures. It is found in an unbroken chain in
India but existed in ancient
Greece and is hinted in the writings of
Plato (427-347
BCE),
Plotinus (204-270) and other neo-Platonists, as well as
Jakob Boehme (1575–1624). Some relevant quotations:
: ...we are imprisoned in the body, like an oyster in his shell.
: — The Socrates of Plato, Phaedrus
: To the philosopher, the body is "a disturbing element, hindering the soul from the acquisition of knowledge..."
: ...what is purification but...the release of the soul from the chains of the body?
: — The Socrates of Plato, Phaedo
The Theosophical Society
Modern Theosophical
esotericism, however, begins with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891) usually known as Madame Blavatsky. In 1875 she founded the
Theosophical Society in
New York City together with Henry Steel Olcott, who was a
lawyer and
writer. During the Civil War Col. Olcott worked to root out corruption in war contracts. Blavatsky was a world traveler who eventually settled in India where, with Olcott, she established the headquarters of the Society in Bangalore. Her first major book
Isis Unveiled (1877) presented elements mainly from the Western wisdom tradition based on her extensive travels in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Her second major work
The Secret Doctrine (1888), contains a commentary on
The Book of Dzyan, and is based upon what she called an Unwritten Secret Doctrine (really the Wisdom tradition or Wisdom Religion allotted to Man), which is described as the underlying basis of all the religions of humanity. These writings, along with her
Key to Theosophy and
The Voice of the Silence are key texts.
Upon Blavatsky's death in 1891, several Theosophical societies emerged following a series of schisms. Annie Besant became leader in a way of the society based in Adyar, Chennai, India. Subsequent leaders of the Adyar Society include George Arundale, C. Jinarajadasa, Nilakanta Sri Ram, and the current President, Radha Burnier. William Quan Judge split off the American Section of the Theosophical Society in New York which later moved to Point Loma, Covina, and Pasadena, California under a series of leaders: Katherine Tingley, Gottfried de Purucker, Colonel Arthur L. Conger, James A. Long, Grace F. Knoche, and in March 2006 Randell C. Grubb. The great pulp fiction writer Talbot Mundy was a member of the Point Loma group, and wrote many articles for its newsletter. Yet another international theosophical organization, the United Lodge of Theosophists, was formed by Robert Crosbie. He was a student of William Quan Judge and after his death went to Point Loma in 1900 to help Katherine Tingley's Thesosphical society, and which he left in 1904 to found the ULT in 1909. He experienced a lack of respect for the original work of Blavatsky and W. Q. Judge in Tingley's work and wished to bring that original stream of study back to the world, through a re-presentation of unaltered original writings.
A great Theosophist of recent times was Geoffrey Hodson (1886 - 1983). He worked within the confines of the Adyar Society and demonstrated by his life and work that the ancient Path of Discipleship and Initiation is as accessible today as it ever was in the ancient world. A recently revised webite on Mr. Hodson's life and work has been published at http://www.geoffreyhodson.com.
Rudolf Steiner created a successful branch of the Theosophical Society in Germany. He focused on a Western esoteric path that incorporated the influences of Christianity and natural science, resulting in tensions with Annie Besant (cf. Rudolf Steiner and the Theosophical Society); these were seriously exacerbated by Steiner refusing members of the Order of the Star of the East membership in the Theosophical Society's German Section. Steiner was vehemently opposed to The Order of the Star of the East's proclamation that the young boy, Jiddu Krishnamurti, was the incarnation of Maitreya (who was believed to have "over-shadowed" Jesus Christ). (Krishnamurti later repudiated this role and left the Society to pursue an independent career of spiritual teaching.) In 1913 Steiner founded his own Anthroposophical Society; the great majority of German-speaking theosophists joined the new society, which grew rapidly. Steiner later became most famous for his ideas about education, resulting in an international network of "Steiner Schools", also known as Waldorf schools. Other influences of anthroposophical thought include biodynamic agriculture, anthroposophic medicine and the acting techniques of Michael Chekhov.
Charles Howard Hinton, a prominent British intellectual, also wrote extensively about Theosophy. After the death of William Quan Judge, another society, the United Lodge of Theosophists, emerged, recognizing no leader after Judge; it is now based in Los Angeles, California.
Other organizations loosely based on the theosophical teachings of Helena Blavatsky, Besant and Leadbeater include the Agni Yoga, and a group of religions based on Theosophy called the Ascended Master Teachings: the "I AM" Activity, The Bridge to Freedom and The Summit Lighthouse, which evolved into the Church Universal and Triumphant. These various offshoots dispute the authenticity of their rivals. Thus followers of the United Lodge of Theosophists will claim that only " the Writings of HPB, William Quan Judge and Robert Crosbie can be trusted to contain unadulterated concepts and ethical direction."
Influence
At its strongest in membership and intensity during the 1920s the parent Theosophical Society (or Theosophical Society Adyar) had around 7,000 members in the
USA.
The largest section of The Theosophical Society, the Indian section, at one time had more than 20,000 members, is now around 13,000. In the last several decades, there was a steady increase in membership in India, whereas outside India, the membership has been dropping. In the US, the current membership is around 3,900 which is about the same as it was in 1913, ninety-six years ago.
Theosophy or some say Neo-Theosophy was closely linked to the Indian independence movement: the Indian National Congress was founded across the street in 1885 during a Theosophical conference, and many of its leaders, including M. K. Gandhi were associated with theosophy.
The present-day New Age movement is to a considerable extent based on, or rather say derived from, the teachings of Blavatsky, though some writers have described Alice Bailey as the founder of the "New Age movement". However, the term was used prior to Bailey; a weekly Journal of Christian liberalism and Socialism called The New Age was published as early as 1894.
James R. Lewis and J. Gordon Melton, in Perspectives on the New Age wrote, "The most important—though certainly not the only—source of this transformative metaphor, as well as the term "New Age," was Theosophy, particularly as the Theosophical perspective was mediated to the movement by the works of Alice Bailey." Alice Bailey has also strongly influenced the teachings of Benjamin Creme.
Scholar Alvin Boyd Kuhn wrote his thesis, Theosophy: A Modern Revival of Ancient Wisdom, on the subject - perhaps the first instance in which an individual has been "permitted" by any modern American or European university to obtain his doctorate with a thesis on Theosophy.
Artists and authors who investigated Theosophy, aside from the musicians listed below, include James Jones and L. Frank Baum.
Some prominent Hindu leaders, such as Swami Vivekananda criticized Theosophy.
Music
Composers such as
Alexander Scriabin were Theosophists whose beliefs influenced their music, especially by providing a justification or rationale for their
dissonant counterpoint. According to
Dane Rudhyar, Scriabin was "the one great pioneer of the new music of a reborn Western civilization, the father of the future musician." (Rudhyar 1926b, 899) and an antidote to "the Latin reactionaries and their apostle,
Stravinsky" and the "rule-ordained" music of "
Schoenberg's group." (Ibid., 900-901) Scriabin devised a
quartal synthetic chord, often called his
"mystic" chord, and before his death Scriabin planned a multimedia work to be performed in the Himalayas that would bring about the
armageddon; "a grandiose religious synthesis of all arts which would herald the birth of a new world." (AMG ). This piece,
Mysterium, was never realized, due to his death in 1915.
See also
Maitreya (Theosophy)
Sanat Kumara
Kuthumi
Morya
Buddhist Theosophical Society
Great White Brotherhood
Ascended master
Jewish Theosophy
Spiritism
Allan Kardec
Notes
References
Blavatsky, Helena: The Key to Theosophy, ISBN 0-911500-07-3
Carlson, Maria. No Religion Higher than Truth: A History of the Theosophical Movement in Russia, 1875-1922. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-691-05682-X
René Guénon. Theosophy: History of a Pseudo-Religion (2004), Sophia Perennis. ISBN 0-900588-79-9
Roth, Christopher F., "Ufology as Anthropology: Race, Extraterrestrials, and the Occult." In E.T. Culture: Anthropology in Outerspaces, ed. by Debbora Battaglia. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2005.
Washington, Peter Madame Blavatsky's Baboon: Theosophy and the Emergence of the Western Guru (1993), London: Secker & Warburg. ISBN 0-436-56418-1 Review
External links
The Theosophical Network - Worldwide
Early Theosophical Publications Online
Online library, including works of G. de Purucker, H.P. Blavatsky and introductory manuals
Theosophical Society - North America
Theosophical Society in Southern Africa
Theosophy Library Online
Theosophical History
Blavatsky Study Center-Blavatsky Archives
Brazilian Society of Eubiose, with theosophical articles and reflections from Brazil
Category:Esoteric schools of thought
Category:Theosophy
