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The Esoteric Tradition hhee EsotericEsoteric Tradition Tradition G.G. DDEE PURUCKERPURUCKER H. P. Blavatsky pointed to the funda mental concepts of The Secret Doctrine (1888) as comprising the principles of an ancient wisdom existing long before the dawn of history. Underlying and seeding the world’s spiritual traditions, it is this doctrine and wisdom-teaching which G. de Purucker unfolds in The Esoteric Tradition. This 3rd & Revised edition offers a broad, yet detailed introduction to theosophy, synthesizing philosophy, science, and reli- gion in a way that enables the reader to see universes, worlds, humanity, and all nature as different aspects of one evolving cosmic pattern. And throughout the tapestry runs the thread of altruism and service as the way towards bettering all life. Topics include: what theosophy is and is not; the origin and structure of the universe; karma and reincarnation; cycles of human evolution; processes of death and rebirth; good and evil; divinity and the Hier ararchy of Compassion; avatars, buddhas, and christs; mediums vs. mediators; the esoteric schools and the great teachers of man- kind — these and much more contribute to the panorama of The Esoteric Tradition. Cover Design: Patrice Hughes G. de Purucker was born in 1874 at Suffern, New York, son of an Anglican minister who later served as chaplain of the American Church in Geneva, Switzerland. There he was educated in private schools and by tutors, specializing in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek in preparation for the ministry. However, sub- sequent study of the early Church Fathers, Eastern philosophies, and Sanskrit led him to theos ophy with its broad comprehension of all religions, philosophies, and sciences. Dr. de Purucker was head of the Theosophical Society from 1929 until his death in 1942. Perhaps his greatest contribution to spiritual thought has been his elucidation of the writ- ings of H. P. Blavatsky. Free catalog on request Theosophical University Press Post Office Box C Pasadena, California 91109–7107 www.theosociety.org PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / SCIENCE H. P. Blavatsky and “The Secret Doctrine” Allegory and mystical symbolism Behind the veils with science How the One becomes the Many Karma, fatalism, and free will The evolutionary pathway to the gods Heavens, hells, and after-death states Reimbodiment as taught through the ages Mysteries of man’s inner nature Seers vs. visionaries The secret doctrine of Gautama the Buddha The Esoteric Schools ISBN 978-1-55700-217-4 9 781557 002174 the esoteric tradition by the same author: The Dialogues of G. de Purucker Fountain-Source of Occultism The Four Sacred Seasons Fundamentals of the Esoteric Philosophy Man in Evolution Messages to Conventions Occult Glossary The Path of Compassion Questions We All Ask The Story of Jesus Studies in Occult Philosophy Wind of the Spirit The Esoteric Tradition G. de Purucker 3rd & Revised Edition H THEOSOPHICAL UNIVERSITY PRESS pasadena, California h Theosophical University Press Post Office Box C Pasadena, California 91109-7107 www.theosociety.org (626) 798-3378 [email protected] 2013 3rd & Revised Edition Copyright © 2011 by Theosophical University Press. All rights reserved. First Edition © 1935 by G. de Purucker Second Edition, 1940 ISBN 978-1-55700-216-7 (PDF eBook) ISBN 978-1-55700-217-4 (softcover) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Purucker, G. de (Gottfried), 1874-1942 The esoteric tradition / G. de Purucker. — 3rd & revised edition. pages cm The original two-volume set of The Esoteric Tradition was compiled from material dictated by G. de Purucker over the course of some time and contained much that was repetitious. The major task of editing and condensing the text was done by A. Studley Hart and Grace F. Knoche. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-55700-217-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-55700- 216-7 (pdf ebook) 1. Theosophy. 2. Reincarnation. I. Hart, A. Studley, editor. II. Knoche, Grace F., editor. III. Title. BP565.P8E8 2012 299'.934—dc23 2011053413 Manufactured in the United States of America Contents Foreword to the 3rd & Revised Edition vii To the Reader ix Introduction 1 1. Theosophy: the Mother of Religions, Philosophies, and Esoteric Sciences 11 2. Allegory and Mystical Symbolism 29 3. Worlds Visible and Invisible 49 4. How the One Becomes the Many 71 5. Monads, Souls, and Atoms 99 6. The Evolutionary Pathway to the Gods 127 7. On the Evolution of Human and Animal Beings 147 8. The Turning of the Wheel 171 9. Behind the Veils with Science 201 10. Webs of Destiny 241 11. Heavens and Hells 279 12. Reimbodiment as Taught through the Ages 311 1 3. How Man Is Born and Reborn 351 14. “Life” in Fact and in Theory 379 15. The Astral Light and the Life-Atoms 401 16. Death and After: A Study of Consciousness 425 1 7. Circulations of the Cosmos 451 vi The Esoteric Tradition 18. Birth and Before Birth 477 1 9. Great Sages and the Cosmic Hierarchy 491 20. Pneumatology and Psychology: Mysteries of Man’s Inner Nature 509 21. Great Seers versus Visionaries 541 22. The Esoteric Schools 561 23. The Secret Doctrine of Gautama the Buddha 585 24. Some Misunderstood Teachings of the Mysteries 603 Sources Cited 627 Index 633 Foreword to the 3rd & Revised Edition The original two-volume edition of The Esoteric Tradition was com piled from material dictated by G. de Purucker over the course of some time and contained much that was repetitious. The major task of editing and condensing the text into a single volume was done by A. Studley Hart and Grace F. Knoche. Spelling, capitalization, and foreign transliterations have been modernized, and quotations have been rechecked. Randell C. Grubb and the TUP editorial staff October 23, 2011 To those who have bestowed the Priceless, who have given immeasurably, and to their Sublime Cause, these volumes are offered with measureless reverence and devotion. To the Reader (Reprinted from the First Edition) he writing of these volumes has not been an easy task, and this T for a number of reasons, first and foremost among which has been the lack of leisure-hours to devote to it. Dictation proceeded from the first page to the last in a hurry and often at high speed, for it was the only way of producing this work within a reasonable time after its forthcoming publication had first been mentioned by the author in the summer of 1934. Had time been taken to prepare the manuscript in a manner pleasing to the author himself and his co- workers, its appearance might have been delayed for a year or two, or possibly longer. In that event the author would have been able to follow the most excellent advice offered by the genial Horace, the Latin poet, in his Satires, I, x, 72-3: Saepe stilum vertas, iterum quae digna legi sint scripturus. However, there has been no time to “reverse the pencil” for the purpose of erasing, nor has there been any leisure for revision and for the polishing of phrases. It is due in large part to the devotion and enthusiasm of a number of friends and students attached to the different departments at the International Theosophical Headquarters at Point Loma, that The Esoteric Tradition now at last is given to its readers. To Dr. Joseph H. Fussell, who read the proof-sheets and offered valuable sugges- tions; Miss Helen Savage, who did the secretarial work; Mrs. Hazel Minot, responsible for checking and verifying of quotations; Mrs. Guy Ponsonby and Mr. S. Hecht, who prepared the copious index; Miss Elizabeth Schenck, Miss Grace Knoche, and Mr. W. E. Small, who read proof: to these and to all others who have helped in any way whatsoever to forward the publication of this book, the author gives his grateful thanks. Special mention should be made of the Theosophical University Press, where everyone, the Manager and the Assistant Manager and x The Esoteric Tradition all others composing the staff, cooperated to devote what time could be set aside from the regular issuing of our various magazines and other routine press-work, to the composition and later printing of these volumes. As regards a number of citations appearing in this work and taken from books written in languages other than English, mostly in ancient tongues, it may be as well to say that wherever possible the author has used standard or popular translations, but in certain cases where he felt better satisfied with his own renderings, he has done the work of translation himself. One cannot too often repeat what H. P. Blavatsky pointed out in her ‘Introductory’ to The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, p. xix: It is above everything important to keep in mind that no theosophical book acquires the least additional value from pretended authority. Every Theosophical book must stand on its own ground of merit, and if it have demerit greater than its merit, by that demerit it will fall — and the sooner it falls the better for all concerned. The present writer feels this fact very strongly in connection with these volumes, his own latest contribution to Theosophical literature; and, although they are for him and his co-workers a labor of pure theo- sophical devotion and love, he not only expects but desires that these volumes shall speak solely for themselves, and shall stand upon their own grounds of appeal. What is good in them will endure: if there is anything that is not good, let it perish and perish rapidly. Works like this present literary venture are badly needed in the world today. The dissemination of Theosophical thought among men can be aided greatly by new presentations of the age-old verities preserved by the Masters of Wisdom and of Compassion from im- memorial ages in the past.
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