The Schola Philosophicae Initiationis (School of Philosophical Initiation) was a

Theosophical Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

splinter group A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

created in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in 1928 by Eduardo Alfonso and

Mario Roso de Luna Mario Roso de Luna (Logrosán, March 15, 1872 – Madrid, November 8, 1931) was a Spanish lawyer, theosophist, journalist, writer, freemason and astrologist. Biography Known as the "Red Magician of Logrosán", Roso liked to define himself as a " ...

in response to what they considered the doctrinal deviations of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

, especially in reference to the proclamation of

Jiddu Krishnamurti Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected thi ...

as the World Teacher.

Foundation

In mid-1921, Mario Roso de Luna, with a dozen companions from Madrid, formed the ''Rama Hesperia,'' which kept close ties with the

Theosophical Society Adyar The Theosophy Society was founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. The designation 'Adyar' is sometimes added to the name to make it clear that this is the Theosophical Society headquartered there, after the American section ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

as well as with the dissident

Theosophical Society Pasadena The Theosophical Society (Pasadena) is a branch of Theosophy based in Pasadena, California. It claims to be the successor organization to the original Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875 in New York City. ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Around 1928, Roso de Luna and his group founded the initiatic philosophical school ''Schola Philosophicae Initiationis'' (SPI) that was "a reaction against the instability and indiscipline of the Theosophical Society."Alfonso, Eduardo: El porvenir de la Teosofía comprometido por la Sociedad Teosófica The declared objectives of the SPI were "the comparative study of the philosophies, sciences and arts in their mutual relations, and promoting the health and culture of its members as well as their moral progress".Alfonso, Eduardo: La Casa del Filósofo The new School bought a property in

Manzanares el Real Manzanares el Real is a 8,936 inhabitant town (2020 statistics fro in the northern area of the autonomous Community of Madrid. It is located at the foot of The Pedriza, a part of the Sierra de Guadarrama, and next to the ''embalse de Santillana' ...

in the

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munici ...

to build a center for advanced philosophical studies called ''The House of the Philosopher''. The School was based on three stages of knowledge "as corresponds to any initiatic society and consequently to the three objects of the Theosophical Society, that deep inside are nothing but the three initiatic grades of all corresponding institutions which, having been misunderstood and disrespected, have led the T.S. to disunity and mental anarchy". The disciples of the SPI followed a gradual and methodical program of studies covering the three stages: the first, studies on

Hygiene Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...

and

Morals Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

; the second on

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

; and the third on

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

Decline and dissolution

Mario Roso de Luna died in 1931, after which Dr. Eduardo Alfonso became the head of the School, continuing the instruction of disciples. However, after 1936, the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

caused the suspension of many of the philosophical and cultural activities in Madrid. At the end of the Civil War, Eduardo Alfonso was tried according to the “Law for the Repression of Masonry and Communism” and sentenced to several years of imprisonment which he served in a Burgos prison from 1942 to 1948. After serving his time, Alfonso was exiled to Latin America until 1966 when he returned to his Country.

References

{{reflist

External links

"The House of the Philosopher" (PDF in Spanish)
Esoteric schools of thought Theosophical Society