The Objects of the Theosophical Society No
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Theosophy and the Origins of the Indian National Congress
THEOSOPHY AND THE ORIGINS OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS By Mark Bevir Department of Political Science University of California, Berkeley Berkeley CA 94720 USA [E-mail: [email protected]] ABSTRACT A study of the role of theosophy in the formation of the Indian National Congress enhances our understanding of the relationship between neo-Hinduism and political nationalism. Theosophy, and neo-Hinduism more generally, provided western-educated Hindus with a discourse within which to develop their political aspirations in a way that met western notions of legitimacy. It gave them confidence in themselves, experience of organisation, and clear intellectual commitments, and it brought them together with liberal Britons within an all-India framework. It provided the background against which A. O. Hume worked with younger nationalists to found the Congress. KEYWORDS: Blavatsky, Hinduism, A. O. Hume, India, nationalism, theosophy. 2 REFERENCES CITED Archives of the Theosophical Society, Theosophical Society, Adyar, Madras. Banerjea, Surendranath. 1925. A Nation in the Making: Being the Reminiscences of Fifty Years of Public Life . London: H. Milford. Bharati, A. 1970. "The Hindu Renaissance and Its Apologetic Patterns". In Journal of Asian Studies 29: 267-88. Blavatsky, H.P. 1888. The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy . 2 Vols. London: Theosophical Publishing House. ------ 1972. Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology . 2 Vols. Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House. ------ 1977. Collected Writings . 11 Vols. Ed. by Boris de Zirkoff. Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House. Campbell, B. 1980. Ancient Wisdom Revived: A History of the Theosophical Movement . Berkeley: University of California Press. -
Harry Collison, MA – Kingston University Working Paper ______
Harry Collison, MA – Kingston University Working Paper __________________________________________________________________________________________ HARRY COLLISON, MA (1868-1945): Soldier, Barrister, Artist, Freemason, Liveryman, Translator and Anthroposophist Sir James Stubbs, when answering a question in 1995 about Harry Collison, whom he had known personally, described him as a dilettante. By this he did not mean someone who took a casual interest in subjects, the modern usage of the term, but someone who enjoys the arts and takes them seriously, its more traditional use. This was certainly true of Collison, who studied art professionally and was an accomplished portraitist and painter of landscapes, but he never had to rely on art for his livelihood. Moreover, he had come to art after periods in the militia and as a barrister and he had once had ambitions of becoming a diplomat. This is his story.1 Collisons in Norfolk, London and South Africa Originally from the area around Tittleshall in Norfolk, where they had evangelical leanings, the Collison family had a pedigree dating back to at least the fourteenth century. They had been merchants in the City of London since the later years of the eighteenth century, latterly as linen drapers. Nicholas Cobb Collison (1758-1841), Harry’s grandfather, appeared as a witness in a case at the Old Bailey in 1800, after the theft of material from his shop at 57 Gracechurch Street. Francis (1795-1876) and John (1790-1863), two of the children of Nicholas and his wife, Elizabeth, née Stoughton (1764-1847), went to the Cape Colony in 1815 and became noted wine producers.2 Francis Collison received the prize for the best brandy at the first Cape of Good Hope Agricultural Society competition in 1833 and, for many years afterwards, Collison was a well- known name in the brandy industry. -
The Early Days of Theosophy in Europe by A.P
The Early Days of Theosophy in Europe by A.P. Sinnett The Early Days of Theosphy in Europe by A.P. Sinnett Theosophical Publishing House Ltd, London, 1922 NOTE [Page 5] Mr. Sinnett's literary Executor in arranging for the publication this volume is prompted to add a few words of explanation. There is naturally some diffidence experienced in placing before the public a posthumous MSS of personal reminiscences dealing in various instances with people still living. It would, however, be impossible to use the editorial blue pencil without destroying the historical value of the MSS. Mr. Sinnett's position and associations with the Theosophical Society together with his standing as an author in the Theosophical movement alike demand that his last writing should be published, and it is left to each reader to form his own judgment as to the value of the book in the light of his own study of the questions involved. Page 1 The Early Days of Theosophy in Europe by A.P. Sinnett CHAPTER - 1 - NO record could truly be called a History of the Theosophical Society if it concerned itself merely with events taking shape on the physical plane of life. From the first such events have been the result of activities on a higher plane; of steps taken by the unseen Powers presiding over human evolution, whose existence was unknown in the outer world when their great undertaking — the Theosophical Movement — was originally set on foot. To those known in the outer world as the Founders of the Theosophical Society — Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott — the existence of these higher powers, The Brothers as they were called at first, was more or less imperfectly comprehended. -
Tantra As Experimental Science in the Works of John Woodroffe
Julian Strube Tantra as Experimental Science in the Works of John Woodroffe Abstract: John Woodroffe (1865–1936) can be counted among the most influential authors on Indian religious traditions in the twentieth century. He is credited with almost single-handedly founding the academic study of Tantra, for which he served as a main reference well into the 1970s. Up to that point, it is practically impossible to divide his influence between esoteric and academic audiences – in fact, borders between them were almost non-existent. Woodroffe collaborated and exchangedthoughtswithscholarssuchasSylvainLévi,PaulMasson-Oursel,Moriz Winternitz, or Walter Evans-Wentz. His works exerted a significant influence on, among many others, Heinrich Zimmer, Jakob Wilhelm Hauer, Mircea Eliade, Carl Gustav Jung, Agehananda Bharati or Lilian Silburn, as they did on a wide range of esotericists such as Julius Evola. In this light, it is remarkable that Woodroffe did not only distance himself from missionary and orientalist approaches to Tantra, buthealsoidentifiedTantrawithCatholicism and occultism, introducing a univer- salist, traditionalist perspective. This was not simply a “Western” perspective, since Woodroffe echoed Bengali intellectuals who praised Tantra as the most appropriate and authen- tic religious tradition of India. In doing so, they stressed the rational, empiri- cal, scientific nature of Tantra that was allegedly based on practical spiritual experience. As Woodroffe would later do, they identified the practice of Tantra with New Thought, spiritualism, and occultism – sciences that were only re-discovering the ancient truths that had always formed an integral part of “Tantrik occultism.” This chapter situates this claim within the context of global debates about modernity and religion, demonstrating how scholarly approaches to religion did not only parallel, but were inherently intertwined with, occultist discourses. -
The Theosophical Seal by Arthur M. Coon the Theosophical Seal a Study for the Student and Non-Student
The Theosophical Seal by Arthur M. Coon The Theosophical Seal A Study for the Student and Non-Student by Arthur M. Coon This book is dedicated to all searchers for wisdom Published in the 1800's Page 1 The Theosophical Seal by Arthur M. Coon INTRODUCTION PREFACE BOOK -1- A DIVINE LANGUAGE ALPHA AND OMEGA UNITY BECOMES DUALITY THREE: THE SACRED NUMBER THE SQUARE AND THE NUMBER FOUR THE CROSS BOOK 2-THE TAU THE PHILOSOPHIC CROSS THE MYSTIC CROSS VICTORY THE PATH BOOK -3- THE SWASTIKA ANTIQUITY THE WHIRLING CROSS CREATIVE FIRE BOOK -4- THE SERPENT MYTH AND SACRED SCRIPTURE SYMBOL OF EVIL SATAN, LUCIFER AND THE DEVIL SYMBOL OF THE DIVINE HEALER SYMBOL OF WISDOM THE SERPENT SWALLOWING ITS TAIL BOOK 5 - THE INTERLACED TRIANGLES THE PATTERN THE NUMBER THREE THE MYSTERY OF THE TRIANGLE THE HINDU TRIMURTI Page 2 The Theosophical Seal by Arthur M. Coon THE THREEFOLD UNIVERSE THE HOLY TRINITY THE WORK OF THE TRINITY THE DIVINE IMAGE " AS ABOVE, SO BELOW " KING SOLOMON'S SEAL SIXES AND SEVENS BOOK 6 - THE SACRED WORD THE SACRED WORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Page 3 The Theosophical Seal by Arthur M. Coon INTRODUCTION I am happy to introduce this present volume, the contents of which originally appeared as a series of articles in The American Theosophist magazine. Mr. Arthur Coon's careful analysis of the Theosophical Seal is highly recommend to the many readers who will find here a rich store of information concerning the meaning of the various components of the seal Symbology is one of the ancient keys unlocking the mysteries of man and Nature. -
The Texts of Alice A. Bailey: an Inquiry Into the Role of Esotericism in Transforming Consciousness
THE TEXTS OF ALICE A. BAILEY: AN INQUIRY INTO THE ROLE OF ESOTERICISM IN TRANSFORMING CONSCIOUSNESS I Wightman Doctor of Philosophy 2006 University of Western Sydney. IN APPRECIATION This thesis would not have been possible without the care, support, enthusiasm and intellectual guidance of my supervisor, Dr Lesley Kuhn, who has followed my research journey with dedicated interest throughout. I also acknowledge the loving kindness of Viveen at Sydney Goodwill, who has continuously praised and encouraged my work, and provided me with background material on the kind of activities that the worldwide community of Alice A. Bailey students are involved in. I sincerely appreciate the role my husband, Greg, played, as my cosmic co-traveller. Without him this thesis would never have materialized, his tireless engagement throughout these years has bolstered my drive to proceed to the very end. Finally, I acknowledge my children, Victoria and Elizabeth, for tolerating my reclusive behaviour, and giving me the space I have needed to write. Philosophy, in one of its functions, is the critic of cosmologies. It is its function to harmonise, refashion, and justify divergent intuitions as to the nature of things. It has to insist on the scrutiny of ultimate ideas, and on the retention of the whole of the evidence in shaping our cosmological scheme. Its business is to render explicit, and –so far as may be – efficient, a process which otherwise is unconsciously performed without rational tests (Alfred North Whitehead 1938:7). TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Letter Code for the Bailey Texts v Abstract vi Chapter 1 Researching the work of Alice A. -
Blavatsky the Satanist: Luciferianism in Theosophy, and Its Feminist Implications
Blavatsky the Satanist: Luciferianism in Theosophy, and its Feminist Implications PER FAXNELD Stockholm University Abstract H. P. Blavatsky’s influential The Secret Doctrine (1888), one of the foundation texts of Theosophy, contains chapters propagating an unembarrassed Satanism. Theosophical sympathy for the Devil also extended to the name of their journal Lucifer, and discussions conducted in it. To Blavatsky, Satan is a cultural hero akin to Pro- metheus. According to her reinterpretation of the Christian myth of the Fall in Genesis 3, Satan in the shape of the serpent brings gnosis and liberates mankind. The present article situates these ideas in a wider nineteenth-century context, where some poets and socialist thinkers held similar ideas and a counter-hegemonic reading of the Fall had far-reaching feminist implications. Additionally, influences on Blavatsky from French occultism and research on Gnosticism are discussed, and the instrumental value of Satanist shock tactics is con- sidered. The article concludes that esoteric ideas cannot be viewed in isolation from politics and the world at large. Rather, they should be analyzed both as part of a religious cosmology and as having strategic polemical and didactic functions related to political debates, or, at the very least, carrying potential entailments for the latter. Keywords: Theosophy, Blavatsky, Satanism, Feminism, Socialism, Ro- manticism. In September 1875, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891) co-founded the Theosophical society in New York City. Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907), lawyer and journalist, was elected its first president. Blavatsky, however, became the chief ideologist, drawing authority from the com- munications concerning esoteric matters she claimed to receive from the mysterious ‘Mahatmas’ (or ‘Masters’). -
The Secret Doctrine Symposium
The Secret Doctrine Symposium Compiled and Edited by David P. Bruce THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY IN AMERICA P.O. Box 270, Wheaton, IL 60187-0270 www.theosophical.org © 2011 This page was intentionally left blank. Introduction In creating this course, it was the compiler’s intention to feature some of the most com- pelling and insightful articles on The Secret Doctrine published in Theosophical journals over the past several decades. Admittedly, the process of selecting a limited few from the large number available is to some extent a subjective decision. One of the criteria used for making this selection was the desire to provide the reader with a colorful pastiche of commentary by respected students of Theosophy, in order to show the various avenues of approach to Mme. Blavatsky’s most famous work. The sequence of the articles in the Symposium was arranged, not chronologically, nor alphabetically by author, but thematically and with an eye to a sense of balance. While some of the articles are informational, there are also those that are inspirational, historical, and instructional. It is hoped that the Symposium will encourage, inspire, and motivate the student to begin a serious and sustained exploration of this most unusual and important Theosophical work. Questions have been added to each of the articles. When referring to a specific quote or passage within the article, the page number and paragraph are referenced. For instance, (1.5) indicates the fifth paragraph on page one; (4.2) indicates the second paragraph on page four. A page number followed by a zero, i.e ., (25.0) would indicate that something is being discussed in the paragraph carried over from the previous page, in this case, page 24. -
Three Eminent Theosophists
Three Eminent Theosophists Three Eminent Theosophists v. 10.21, www.philaletheians.co.uk, 30 May 2021 Page 1 of 13 THEOSOPHY AND THEOSOPHISTS SERIES Three Eminent Theosophists 1 by Boris de Zirkoff 2 Archibald Keightley 1859–1930 3 Julia Wharton Keightley 1851–1915 8 Bertram Keightley 1860–1944 11 1 Title page illustration by James White, NeoWave Series 3. 2 [Boris Mihailovich de Zirkoff (Борис́ Михайлович́ Цирков́ ), 1902–1981, Russian-born American Theosophist, editor, and writer. He was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, March 7th 1902. His father was Mihail Vassilyevich de Zirkoff, a Russian general; his mother, Lydia Dmitriyevna von Hahn, who was a second cousin to Helena Pe- trovna Blavatsky. The Russian Revolution forced his family to flee in 1917 to Stockholm across Finland. De Zirkoff studied in European universities, where he specialized in languages and classics. “At Baden-Baden in Germany, he met a Russian American, Nikolai Romanoff, and learned from him about the existence, at Point Loma, close San Diego in California, of the organization, named Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Socie- ty. He wrote a letter to Mrs. Katherine Tingley, then head of the Society, and when she visited Europe, they met in Finland. Mrs. Tingley, who had learned that Boris was Blavatsky's relative, invited him to come to the head- quarters at Point Loma and promised him all the necessary help in regard to his travel to America.” — Anton Rozman. Also consult “De Zirkoff recalls his formative years in Russia,” in the same Series. — ED. PHIL.] Three Eminent Theosophists v. 10.21, www.philaletheians.co.uk, 30 May 2021 Page 2 of 13 THEOSOPHY AND THEOSOPHISTS SERIES ARCHIBALD KEIGHTLEY 1859–1930 From Blavatsky Collected Writings, (BIBLIOGRAPHY) IX pp. -
The Problems of a Gnostic Science: the Case of Theosophy's Occult
chapter 11 The Problems of a Gnostic Science: The Case of Theosophy’s Occult Chemistry The Relativist draws down the Veil of Isis, and says: this knowledge is for ever hidden from us. The Teachers in the Eastern Schools reverently lift the veil, and say: the solution of even these most inner mysteries, by searching, thou shalt find. G. E. Sutcliffe, Studies in Occult Chemistry and Physics (1923), xv ∵ Introduction: The Problems of a “Gnostic” Science1 Founded in 1875, in the middle of the so-called Victorian conflict between sci- ence and religion,2 the Theosophical Society has always exhibited an ambiva- lent attitude towards science and academic research. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891) and the early Theosophists claimed to seek a critical rec- onciliation between religion and science, guided by a quest for esoteric “higher truth”.3 The Theosophists’ goal was, in a sense, a “gnostic” one: the aim was to transcend the limits of reason and faith, and gaze through the veil of Isis to recover hidden, higher truths.4 As we shall see in the present chapter, this 1 Parts of the present chapter are based on an article published as Asprem, ‘Theosophical Attitudes toward Science’, while other parts are based on a paper given at the 3rd interna- tional conference of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism in Szeged, Hungary, in July 2011. 2 Cf. F. M. Turner, ‘The Victorian Conflict between Science and Religion’. 3 Note, however, that the original occasion for the Society’s founding appears to have been of more practical and explicitly magical nature, and especially focused on the practice of “astral travel”. -
6 'Mystic Hinduism9 Vedanta and the Politics of Representation
'Mystic Hinduism' 119 Locating the 'essence' of the Hindu tradition in origins (arche), in this case the ancient Vedas, however, was also prevalent among the nineteenth- century Hindu reformers as a nationalist and anti-colonial stratagem. For 9 Dayananda Saraswati and the Arya Samaj, for instance, the Samhitas were 6 'Mystic Hinduism the source of all legitimate manifestations of Hinduism and also provided evidence of the superiority of Hinduism over 'younger' religions such as Vedanta and the politics of Christianity. For Saraswati, Christianity was a poor imitation of the Hindu representation religion. Indeed, all knowledge, he believed, could be demonstrated to have originated in Mother India from time immemorial, including modern tech- nologies such as aircraft, long-forgotten and now claimed to be the sole invention of the colonizing Westerners. Equally, since William Jones had established an Indo-European link between Sanskrit and the classical languages of European culture, interest in comparative linguistics had devel- oped steadily among Orientalists and the search for a common They assert that the world is nothing but an illusion, a dream, a magic spell, Indo-European source most often turned its attentions eastwards. Saraswati and that the bodies, in order to be truly existent, have to cease existing in explicitly identified this 'Ur-language' with Vedic Sanskrit, now conceived as themselves, and to merge into nothingness, which due to its simplicity the 'mother of all languages'. This approach, of course, intersected well with amounts to the perfection of all beings. They claim that saintliness consists Romantic representations of India as the geographical point of origin of in willing nothing, thinking nothing, feeling nothing .. -
The Theosophical Society's Ongoing Problem of Emotion and Control
Taming the Astral Body: The Theosophical Society’s Ongoing Problem of Emotion and Control John L. Crow Florida State University Abstract In New York City in 1875, a group interested in Spiritualism and occult science founded what would become the Theosophical Society. Primarily the creation of Henry Steel Olcott and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the Theosophical Society went through a number of early incarnations. One original version promised to teach occult powers. After Blavatsky found that she could not honor earlier promises to teach occultism, she shifted the focus of the Society to one that promoted Universal Brotherhood instead, highlighting notions of the body and demanding the control of emotion as a means to rebuff demands for training. With this refocusing, Blavatsky reestablished control of the Society and asserted herself as the central channel of esoteric knowledge. Thus, by shifting the focus from the attainment of occult powers to the more ambiguous “spiritual enlightenment,” Blavatsky erected an elaborate, centralized system of delayed spiritual gratification, a system contingent upon the individual’s adoption of specific morals and values, while simultaneously maintaining control of the human body on all its levels: spiritual, social, physical, mental, and especially emotional. Introduction During a meeting of the Theosophical Society in New York City on October 18, 1876, the co-founder and legal counsel for the newly established organization, William Quan Judge (1851– 96), gave a lecture about his personal experiences in the study of Theosophy. He spoke about his recent experiences of astrally traveling and implanting his thoughts and ideas into the minds of others. He did this through focusing his will and commanding his “double,” or astral body, to go to these places and influence others.