The Evidence of Things Not Seen
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Temenos Academy Online Papers Michaelmas Term
TEMENOS ACADEMY ONLINE PAPERS MICHAELMAS TERM 2020 7 A Secret Philosophy: W. B. Yeats and the Dublin Hermetic Society by Professor Grevel Lindop [Image: William Butler Yeats, by John Butler Yeats, 1900] 1 A SECRET PHILOSOPHY: W.B. YEATS AND THE DUBLIN HERMETIC SOCIETY (i) On June 16th 1885 a group of young men met in a modest upper room in York Street, near the centre of Dublin. They would call themselves the Dublin Hermetic Society, and they intended to explore ‘a philosophy which has until lately been kept entirely secret, or at most revealed only in symbolism’.1 The group had been called together by the young poet William Butler Yeats and his friend Charles Johnston. It was Yeats who gave the opening address. This was an important time in his life: three days earlier, he had celebrated his twentieth birthday; and his first published poems had appeared in the Dublin University Review just three months before that. We don’t know exactly what he said in those inaugural remarks, but later he recalled: I had, when we first made our Society, proposed for our consideration that whatever the great poets had affirmed in their finest moments was the nearest we could come to an authoritative religion, and that their mythology, their spirits of water and wind, were but literal truth.2 So poetry was involved from the start, with Yeats convinced (like Blake before him) that poets are the true prophets. He was also proposing the ‘literal’ (not merely metaphorical) existence of elemental spirits – that there are modes of existence, and living beings, inaccessible to our ordinary senses. -
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. -
THE ASCENDED MASTERS the Ascended Masters Are Perfect
THE ASCENDED MASTERS The Ascended Masters are perfect, fulfilled Beings, that work for our mental evolution and awakening. Being approached by Them is the purest and strongest bliss a person can get. In the small Ashram of Hilarion, in Kifissia (Athens, Greece), special healing techniques and activities that lead to our Awakening, are given through the 7 Ray Energymental Healing Seminars, in the form of Teachings grounded by the Ascended Masters. I will mention some impressions and facts from the 7 Ray Seminars. Master El Morya, although he may be regarded to be unreachable by some people, he has actually helped in the creation of this seminar. He has also helped the attendants evolve as far as it concerns protection and skills. He is the fastest and the most direct Ascended Master and makes you feel that you are continuously running to catch up with and conceive his Teaching. Only when you get rid of what slows down your evolution, he will let you relax! Master Lanto, unknown to many people, has really reversed many social standards through his Teaching and has caused inner conflict to many students who are not willing to receive his Teaching either because they are not ready, or because they are deeply constrained by certain social standards. These however, consist the most substantial Teaching generated by the 2nd Ray. Master Paul the Venetian always active and fast while transfering data, takes your voice if you need to stop talking for a while and he puts you in the trouble of changing the way you approach the basic sectors of your life. -
The Theosophist
THE THEOSOPHIST VOL. 133 NO. 2 NOVEMBER 2011 CONTENTS Buddhist Teachings on Relationships 3 Radha Burnier Live the Life and You Will Come to the Wisdom 8 Mary Anderson Coordination of Science and Human Values 14 C. A. Shinde Some Difficulties of the Inner Life — II 19 Annie Besant The Roots of Modern Theosophy 25 Pablo D. Sender The Life-Path of a Theosophist 32 Vinayak Pandya Theosophical Work around the World 37 International Directory 38 Editor: Mrs Radha Burnier NOTE: Articles for publication in The Theosophist should be sent to the Editorial Office. Cover Picture: Gate at the Headquarters Hall — by Richard Dvorak Official organ of the President, founded by H. P. Blavatsky, 1879. The Theosophical Society is responsible only for official notices appearing in this magazine. 1 THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY Founded 17 November 1875 President: Mrs Radha Burnier Vice-President: Mrs Linda Oliveira Secretary: Mrs Kusum Satapathy Treasurer: Miss Keshwar Dastur Headquarters: ADYAR, CHENNAI (MADRAS) 600 020, INDIA Secretary: [email protected] Treasury: [email protected] Adyar Library and Research Centre: [email protected] Theosophical Publishing House: [email protected] & [email protected] Fax: (+91-44) 2490-1399 Editorial Office: [email protected] Website: http://www.ts-adyar.org The Theosophical Society is composed of students, belonging to any religion in the world or to none, who are united by their approval of the Society’s Objects, by their wish to remove religious antagonisms and to draw together men of goodwill, whatsoever their religious opinions, and by their desire to study religious truths and to share the results of their studies with others. -
Echoes of the Orient: the Writings of William Quan Judge
ECHOES ORIENTof the VOLUME I The Writings of William Quan Judge Echoes are heard in every age of and their fellow creatures — man and a timeless path that leads to divine beast — out of the thoughtless jog trot wisdom and to knowledge of our pur- of selfish everyday life.” To this end pose in the universal design. Today’s and until he died, Judge wrote about resurgent awareness of our physical the Way spoken of by the sages of old, and spiritual inter dependence on this its signposts and pitfalls, and its rel- grand evolutionary journey affirms evance to the practical affairs of daily those pioneering keynotes set forth in life. HPB called his journal “pure Bud- the writings of H. P. Blavatsky. Her dhi” (awakened insight). task was to re-present the broad This first volume of Echoes of the panorama of the “anciently universal Orient comprises about 170 articles Wisdom-Religion,” to show its under- from The Path magazine, chronologi- lying expression in the world’s myths, cally arranged and supplemented by legends, and spiritual traditions, and his popular “Occult Tales.” A glance to show its scientific basis — with at the contents pages will show the the overarching goal of furthering the wide range of subjects covered. Also cause of universal brotherhood. included are a well-documented 50- Some people, however, have page biography, numerous illustra- found her books diffi cult and ask for tions, photographs, and facsimiles, as something simpler. In the writings of well as a bibliography and index. William Q. Judge, one of the Theosophical Society’s co-founders with HPB and a close personal colleague, many have found a certain William Quan Judge (1851-1896) was human element which, though not born in Dublin, Ireland, and emigrated lacking in HPB’s works, is here more with his family to America in 1864. -
Understanding Our Seven Principles
UNDERSTANDING OUR SEVEN PRINCIPLES A COMPILATION FROM H. P. BLAVATSKY AND WILLIAM Q. JUDGE Atma “Pure universal Spirit.” ["The Key to Theosophy" p. 92] "Higher Self. The Supreme Divine Spirit overshadowing man. The crown of the upper spiritual Triad in man - Atman." ["The Theosophical Glossary" p. 141, Entry for "Higher Self"] “Atma, the “Higher Self,” is neither your Spirit nor mine, but like sunlight shines on all. It is the universally diffused “divine principle,” and is inseparable from its one and absolute Meta-Spirit, as the sunbeam is inseparable from the sunlight.” ["The Key to Theosophy" p. 135] “This “Higher Self” is ATMA, and of course it is “non-materializable” … Even more, it can never be “objective” under any circumstances, even to the highest spiritual perception. For Atman or the “Higher Self” is really Brahman, the ABSOLUTE, and indistinguishable from it.” ["The Key to Theosophy" p. 174] “THE HIGHER SELF is - Atma, the inseparable ray of the Universal and ONE SELF. It is the God above, more than within, us. Happy the man who succeeds in saturating his inner Ego with it!” ["The Key to Theosophy" p. 175] “We apply the term Spirit, when standing alone and without any qualification, to Atma alone.” ["The Key to Theosophy" p. 115] “In hours of Samadhi, the higher spiritual consciousness of the Initiate is entirely absorbed in the ONE essence, which is Atman, and therefore, being one with the whole, there can be nothing objective for it. Now some of our Theosophists have got into the habit of using the words “Self” and “Ego” as synonymous, of associating the term “Self” with only man’s higher individual or even personal “Self” or Ego, whereas this term ought never to be applied except to the One universal Self.” ["The Key to Theosophy" p. -
Theosophy in Action by Roy Mitchell Theosophy in Action
Theosophy in Action by Roy Mitchell Theosophy in Action by Roy Mitchell This work of 1923 was published by the Blavatsky Institute of Canada as a memorial to Mr. Roy Mitchell who was the Founder and guiding genius of the Institute. FOREWORD Theosophy in Action deals with problems with which Theosophical students are particularly concerned and for this reason it may have a more limited appeal than the two books of Mr. Roy Mitchell which were published earlier by the Blavatsky Institute. The Exile of the Soul presented an ancient, but now seldom discussed, approach to the mystery of the duality of man's being. The far-reaching implications of the ideas presented there by Mr. Michell have not as yet been fully explored but later psychologists may acknowledge that in The Exile, Mr. Mitchell had anticipated some of their fondest theories and had suggested a basic clue to the understanding of the dichotomy of man's nature. Through Temple Doors :Studies in Occult Masonry was, as the title implies, an approach to Masonic symbolism in terms of the universal language of symbolism. Both these books have interested many readers who have little or no concern in Theosophy or the Theosophical Society. In Studies Mr. Mitchell sets forth the original idea behind the founding of the Theosophical Society in 1875. Its work was to be that of an 'interpreter'; it was not to impose any new creed or dogma upon mankind; its members were to be students who were concerned with 'studying and explaining with sympathy, with kindliness and with insight' those basic ideas which they had found had survived through the ages and which were of the essence of world religions and philosophies. -
“History of Education Society Bulletin” (1985)
History of Education Society Bulletin (1985) Vol. 36 pp 52 -54 MONTESSORI WAS A THEOSOPHIST Carolie Wilson Dept. of Education, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia In October 1947 Time magazine reported that world famous education- ist Dr. Maria Montessori, though 'almost forgotten', was none the less very much alive in India where she was continuing to give lectures in the grounds of the Theosophical Society's magnificent estate at Adyar on the outskirts of Madras. 1 Accompanied by her son Mario, Montessori had gone to India at the invitation of Theosophical Society President, George Arundale, in No- vember 1939 and had been interned there as an 'enemy alien' when Italy en- tered the Second World War in June 1940. The Dottoressa was permitted however, to remain at Adyar to continue her teacher training courses and later to move to a more congenial climate in the hills at Kodaikanal. 2 At the end of the War she made a short visit to Europe but returned to India to undertake the first teacher training course at the new Arundale Montessori Training Centre.3 The Centre was established as a memorial to former Theosophi- cal Society President, Dr. Annie Besant, whose centenary was being celebrat- ed at Adyar in October 1947.4 In view, no doubt, of her continued residence at Adyar and the gener- ous support the Theosophical Society extended to Montessori and Mario during the War years, the Dottoressa was asked on one occasion under the shade of the famous giant banyan tree at Adyar, whether she had in fact become a Theosophist. -
Painting the Masters. the Mystery of Hermann Schmiechen
Painting the Masters The Mystery of Hermann Schmiechen Massimo Introvigne (UPS, Torino, Italy) Besançon’s Forbidden Image One of the first books where sociology of religion met history of art was L’image interdite. Une histoire intellectuelle de l’iconoclasme, published by French social historian Alain Besançon in 1994 Iconoclasm vs Iconodulism The controversial book argued that Western art history is defined by opposition between iconoclasm (i.e the idea that the sacred should not be represented visually) and iconodulism (i.e support for sacred images) Although the terminology dates back to the Byzantine iconoclastic riots of the 8th century (right), modern Western iconoclasm originated with John Calvin (1509-1564) and became culturally dominant after the Enlightenment Iconoclasm: not against art, but against an art representing God or divine spirits Besançon’s definition of iconoclasm is not identical with some dictionary definitions of the same word. For him, iconoclasm is not against art and may even promote it. It only excludes from the field of art the representation of God and divine spirits or beings Image of Byzantine Emperor Leo III (685-741) on a coin: Leo, a leading iconoclast, was obviously not against representing himself Abstract Art as Iconoclasm Besançon* also argued that: 1. Iconoclasm is a distinctive trait of modernity, and abstract art is its most mature fruit 2. Symbolism, at first sight anti-iconoclastic, by substituting the Christian foundations of sacred art with a very different esoteric spirituality, in fact prepared the way for abstract iconoclasm 3. Several abstract painters, including Piet Mondrian (1872- 1944) passed at one stage through symbolism (Evolution, 1910-1911, left) * … with whom I do not necessarily agree Besançon and Theosophy Besançon claimed to be among the first social historians to devote serious attentions to Madame Blavatsky (1831-1891) and other Theosophical classics. -
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 Theosophist
THE THEOSOPHIST VOL. 135 NO. 7 APRIL 2014 CONTENTS On the Watch-Tower 3 M. P. Singhal The many lives of Siddhartha 7 Mary Anderson The Voice of the Silence — II 13 Clara Codd Charles Webster Leadbeater and Adyar Day 18 Sunita Maithreya Regenerating Wisdom 21 Krishnaphani Spiritual Ascent of Man in Secret Doctrine 28 M. A. Raveendran The Urgency for a New Mind 32 Ricardo Lindemann International Directory 38 Editor: Mr M. P. Singhal NOTE: Articles for publication in The Theosophist should be sent to the Editorial Office. Cover: Common Hoope, Adyar —A. Chandrasekaran Official organ of the President, founded by H. P. Blavatsky, 1879. The Theosophical Society is responsible only for official notices appearing in this magazine. 1 THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY Founded 17 November 1875 President: Vice-President: Mr M. P. Singhal Secretary: Dr Chittaranjan Satapathy Treasurer: Mr T. S. Jambunathan Headquarters: ADYAR, CHENNAI (MADRAS) 600 020, INDIA Secretary: [email protected] Treasury: [email protected] Adyar Library and Research Centre: [email protected] Theosophical Publishing House: [email protected] & [email protected] Fax: (+91-44) 2490-1399 Editorial Office: [email protected] Website: http://www.ts-adyar.org The Theosophical Society is composed of students, belonging to any religion in the world or to none, who are united by their approval of the Society’s Objects, by their wish to remove religious antagonisms and to draw together men of goodwill, whatsoever their religious opinions, and by their desire to study religious truths and to share the results of their studies with others. Their bond of union is not the profession of a common belief, but a common search and aspiration for Truth. -
Christianity and Theosophy
Christianity and Theosophy “Theosophy is an Eastern religion, isn’t it—sort of like Hinduism or Buddhism?” That question is wrong in two important ways. First, Theosophy is not a religion at all, but a way of viewing human nature and the world that is compatible with the nondogmatic aspects of any religion. Second, Theosophy is no more Eastern than it is Western—it seeks for what is in common to all cultures and religions and attempts to complement East and West with each other. Theosophists belong to many different religions: among them, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity; and within Christianity to churches such as the Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and many others. Theosophy presents the wisdom of the West to the East and the wisdom of the East to the West. Theosophy within Christianity The word Theosophy, meaning “divine wisdom,” designates an ancient outlook that recognizes within the many outward forms of religion an inner core shared by all of them. Theosophy and Christianity agree in their essence. Christianity provides a unique way of expressing the Wisdom Tradition of Theosophy, and Theosophy can enrich an understanding of the inner side of the Christian Way. The New Testament itself frequently alludes to profound religious truths lying underneath the outer words of the biblical text. Frequently we come across such passages as “I speak God’s hidden wisdom.” We read that some things are beyond human comprehension, but “these it is that God has revealed to us through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:7-10). The Apostle Paul goes on to tell recently converted Christians that he is unable to impart such wisdom because “indeed, you are still not ready for it, for you are still on the merely natural plane” (1 Corinthians 3:2).