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Incidents In The Life Of Madame Blavatsky
''Incidents in the Life of Madame Blavatsky: compiled from information supplied by her relatives and friends'' is a book originally published in 1886 in London; it was compiled by a member of the Theosophical Society, A. P. Sinnett, who was the first biographer of H. P. Blavatsky (née Hahn). Sinnett describes the many unusual incidents in Blavatsky's life beginning from her childhood in Russia, and asserts that Blavatsky had "an early connection with the supernatural world;" Sinnett also writes about Blavatksy's short, unlucky marriage and "decade of extensive global travels," about her period of learning in Tibet, and the "criticism she received about some of her 'phenomena' and practices." From history of compilation Washington wrote that Blavatsky with Sinnett and his wife Patience has been in sincere friendship, and over a decade (1879–89), she led with them the correspondence and has supplied to the author the materials for her biography. The book was "an attempt to ree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Percy Sinnett
Alfred Percy Sinnett (18 January 1840 – 26 June 1921) was an English author and theosophist. Biography Sinnett was born in London. His father died while he was young, as in 1851 Sinnett was listed as a "Scholar – London University", living with his mother Jane, who is listed as a widow and whose occupation is listed as "Periodical Literature"; his older sister Sophia, age 22, was a teacher. Jane's sister Sarah, age 48, was also a teacher. In 1870 Sinnett married his wife Patience, probably in the London area. He is listed in the 1871 England Census at age 31, as a Journalist, born in Middlesex. His wife Patience is 27, and her mother Clarissa Edenson a "Landowner", is living with them.By 1879, Sinnett had moved to India where he was "... the Editor of ''The Pioneer'', the leading English Daily of India..." He relates in his book, ''The Occult World'' that: "...on the first occasion of my making Madame Blavatsky's acquaintance she became a guest at my home at Allaha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Steel Olcott
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason and the co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first well-known American of European ancestry to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. His subsequent actions as president of the Theosophical Society helped create a renaissance in the study of Buddhism. Olcott is considered a Buddhist modernist for his efforts in interpreting Buddhism through a Westernized lens. Olcott was a major revivalist of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and he is still honored in Sri Lanka for these efforts. Olcott has been called by Sri Lankans "one of the heroes in the struggle of our independence and a pioneer of the present religious, national and cultural revival". Biography Olcott was born on 2 August 1832 in Orange, New Jersey, the oldest of six children, to Presbyterian businessman Henry Wyckoff Olcott and Emily Steele Olcott. As a child, Olco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddy Brothers
The Eddy Brothers were William and Horatio Eddy, two American mediums best known in the 1870s for their alleged psychic powers. Magicians and skeptics dismissed the Eddy brothers "spirit" materializations as blatant frauds. Biography The brothers were sons of Zephaniah Eddy and his wife Julia Maccombs, natives of Vermont. It was alleged that their family could be traced back to the Salem witch trials, and that they had a long history of psychic ability. Growing up on a small farm in Chittenden, Vermont, both brothers claimed to have exhibited strong psychic abilities from an early age. Both the sons took up mediumship and held séances, in which it was alleged that they produced ectoplasm materializations and communicated with spirit guides. William would work in a séance cabinet on occasion and his brother Horatio would sit outside a cloth screen where it was alleged that spirits would play musical instruments behind the screen. In 1870, William and Horatio were living with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Materialization (paranormal)
In spiritualism, paranormal literature and some religions, materialization (or manifestation) is the creation or appearance of matter from unknown sources. The existence of materialization has not been confirmed by laboratory experiments. Numerous cases of fraudulent materialization demonstrations by mediums have been exposed. History In the early 20th century a series of exposures of fraudulent activity led to a decline of materialization séances. The poet Robert Browning and his wife Elizabeth attended a séance on 23, July 1855 in Ealing with the Rymers. During the séance a spirit face materialized which Home claimed was the son of Browning who had died in infancy. Browning seized the "materialization" and discovered it to be the bare foot of Home. To make the deception worse, Browning had never lost a son in infancy. Browning's son Robert in a letter to ''The Times'', December 5, 1902 referred to the incident "Home was detected in a vulgar fraud." The British materializatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediumship
Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or ghost, spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spirit conduit (channeling), channelling, including table-turning, séance tables, trance, and ouija. Belief in psychic ability is widespread despite the absence of objective evidence for its existence. Scientific researchers have attempted to ascertain the validity of claims of mediumship. An experiment undertaken by the British Psychological Society led to the conclusion that the test subjects demonstrated no mediumistic ability. Mediumship gained popularity during the nineteenth century, when ouija boards were used as a source of entertainment. Investigations during this period revealed widespread fraud—with some practitioners employing techniques used by Magic (illusion), stage magicians—and the practice began to lose credibilit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
René Guénon
René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as ''Abdalwâhid Yahiâ'' (; ''ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Yaḥiā'') was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from esotericism, "sacred science" and "traditional studies" to symbolism and initiation. In his writings, he proposes "to expound directly some aspects of Eastern metaphysical doctrines" of "universal character", or "to adapt these same doctrines for Western readers while keeping strictly faithful to their spirit", following the Hindu pedagogy of "handing down" the doctrines while reiterating their "non-human character". Initiated into Islamic esotericism from as early as 1910 when he was 24, he mainly wrote and published in French, and his works have been translated into more than twenty languages; he also wrote in Arabic an article for the journal ''Al Marifah''. Biography René Guénon was born in 1886 in Blo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apport (paranormal)
In parapsychology and spiritualism, an apport is the alleged paranormal transference of an article from one place to another, or an appearance of an article from an unknown source that is often associated with poltergeist activity or séances. Apports reported during séances have been found to be the result of deliberate fraud. No medium or psychic has demonstrated the manifestation of an apport under scientifically controlled conditions. History A famous apport fraud is attributed to Charles Bailey (1870–1947). During a séance, Bailey produced two live birds out of thin air but was undone when the dealer who sold him the birds appeared in the crowd. Common objects that are produced are stones, flowers, perfumes, and animals. These objects are said to be "gifts" from the spirit(s). In March 1902 in Berlin, police officers interrupted a séance of the apport medium Frau Anna Rothe. Her hands were grabbed and she was wrestled to the ground. A female police assistant physicall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samadhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the ''Yoga Sutras'' of Patanjali. In the oldest Buddhist suttas, on which several contemporary western Theravada teachers rely, it refers to the development of an investigative and luminous mind which is equanimous and mindful. In the yogic traditions, and the Buddhist commentarial tradition on which the Burmese Vipassana movement and the Thai Forest tradition rely, it is interpreted as a meditative absorption or trance, attained by the practice of '' dhyāna''. Definitions ''Samadhi'' may refer to a broad range of states. A common understanding regards ''samadhi'' as meditative absorption: * Sarbacker: ''samādhi'' is meditative absorption or contemplation. * Diener, Erhard & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mantra
A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Feuerstein, Georg (2003), ''The Deeper Dimension of Yoga''. Shambala Publications, Boston, MA Some mantras have a syntactic structure and literal meaning, while others do not. The earliest mantras were composed in Vedic Sanskrit in India. At its simplest, the word ॐ (Aum, Om) serves as a mantra, it is believed to be the first sound which was originated on earth. Aum sound when produced creates a reverberation in the body which helps the body and mind to be calm. In more sophisticated forms, mantras are melodic phrases with spiritual interpretations such as a human longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Some mantras without literal meaning are musically uplifting an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pskov
Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: Pskov is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It served as the capital of the Pskov Republic and was a trading post of the Hanseatic League before it came under the control of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. History Early history Pskov is one of the oldest cities in Russia. The name of the city, originally Pleskov (historic Russian spelling , ''Plěskov''), may be loosely translated as "he townof purling waters". It was historically known in English as Plescow. Its earliest mention comes in 903, which records that Igor of Kiev married a local lady, Olga (later Saint Olga of Kiev). Pskovians sometimes take this year as the city's foundation date, and in 2003 a great jubilee took place to celebrate Pskov's 1,100th anniversary. The f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occult
The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism and their varied spells. It can also refer to supernatural ideas like extra-sensory perception and parapsychology. The term ''occult sciences'' was used in 16th-century Europe to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic. The term ''occultism'' emerged in 19th-century France, amongst figures such as Antoine Court de Gébelin. It came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky. Throughout the 20th century, the term was used idiosyncratically by a range of different authors, but by the 21st century was commonly employed – including by academic scholars of esotericism – to refer to a range of e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siddhi
In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation and yoga. The term ṛddhi (Pali: ''iddhi'', "psychic powers") is often used interchangeably in Buddhism. Etymology ''Siddhi'' is a Sanskrit noun which can be translated as "knowledge", "accomplishment", "attainment", or "success". Method The ''Visuddhimagga'' is one of the texts to give explicit details about how spiritual masters were thought to actually manifest supernormal abilities. It states that abilities such as flying through the air, walking through solid obstructions, diving into the ground, walking on water and so forth are achieved through changing one element, such as earth, into another element, such as air. The individual must master '' kasina'' meditation before this is possible. Dipa Ma, who trained via the Visuddhim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
