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Theosophy
Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neoplatonism and Indian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Although many adherents maintain that Theosophy is not a religion, it is variably categorized by Religious studies, religious scholars as both a new religious movement and a form of occultism from within Western esotericism. As presented by Blavatsky, Theosophy teaches that there is an ancient and secretive brotherhood of spiritual adepts known as the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, Masters, who are found around the world but primarily centered in Tibet. These Masters were alleged by Blavatsky to have cultivated great wisdom and supernatural powers, and Theosophists believe they initiated the modern Theosophical movement through disseminating their teachings via Blavatsky. Theosop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helena Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born Mysticism, mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the primary founder of Theosophy as a belief system. Born into an aristocratic family in Yekaterinoslav, Blavatsky traveled widely around the empire as a child. Largely self-educated, she developed an interest in Western esotericism during her teenage years. According to her later claims, in 1849 she embarked on a series of world travels, visiting Europe, the Americas, and India. She also claimed that during this period she encountered a group of spiritual adepts, the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom", who sent her to Shigatse, Tibet, where they trained her to develop a deeper understanding of the synthesis of religion, philosophy, and science. Both contemporary critics and later biographers have argued that some or all o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the Theosophy movement, and Henry Steel Olcott, the society's first president. It draws upon a wide array of influences among them older European philosophies and movements such as Neoplatonism and occultism, as well as parts of eastern religious traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. The founders described "Theosophy" as the synthesis of science, religion and philosophy. It notes that the purpose of human life is spiritual emancipation and the human soul undergoes reincarnation upon bodily death according to a process of karma, referring to the principles from Indian religions. Around 1880, Blavatsky and Olcott moved to India, and the organization split into the Theosophical Society (Adyar, India) and the Theosophical Society (Pasade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masters Of The Ancient Wisdom
Ascended masters, also known as Mahatmas, are believed in several theosophical and related spiritual traditions to be spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans. Through a series of spiritual transformations, or initiations, they are said to have achieved a higher state of being. Although the terms '' mahatma'' and ''ascended master'' are often used synonymously, the Ascended Master Teachings define them differently, associating "ascended master" with a higher level of spiritual attainment, specifically the Sixth Initiation or Ascension. This contrasts with "Masters of Light", "Healers", or "Spiritual Masters", who are said to have taken the Fifth Initiation and reside in a fifth dimension. The term ''ascended master'' was first used by Baird T. Spalding in 1924 in his series of books ''Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East'' (DeVorss and Co.). Godfre Ray King (Guy Ballard) further popularized this concept of spiritual masters wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theosophical Society In America
The Theosophical Society in America (TSA) is a member-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the teaching of Theosophy and affiliated with the international Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India. The name "Theosophical Society in America" was legally adopted by the American Theosophical Society in 1934.Anonymous, "The Name That Is Ours," ''The American Theosophist'' 22 no. 9 (September 1934): 193. Previously, other organizations had used the same name during the years 1895–98 and 1898–1908. Philosophy The Theosophical Society is composed of individuals united by their concurrence with its three Objects, by their dedication to promoting brotherhood, and by their interest in study and spiritual self-transformation. Theosophists consider that belief should be the result of individual study, experience, and insight, rather than reliance on dogma. They see each religion as an expression of Divine Wisdom, adapted to the needs of a particular time and place. Theoso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isis Unveiled
''Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology'', published in 1877, is a book of esoteric philosophy and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's first major self-published major work text and a key doctrine in her self-founded Theosophical movement. The work has often been criticized as a plagiarized occult work, with scholars noting how Blavatsky extensively copied from many sources popular among occultists at the time. ''Isis Unveiled'' is nevertheless also understood by modern scholars to be a milestone in the history of Western esotericism.Johnson, K. Paul. (1994). ''The Masters Revealed: Madame Blavatsky and the Myth of the Great White Lodge''. State University of New York Press. pp. xv-x-x, 241-245. "The Western Esoteric Tradition has no more important figures in modern times than Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891)."Godwin, Joscelyn. ''The Theosophical Enlightenment'' (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1994)Bevir, Mark. ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Secret Doctrine
''The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy'', is a pseudoscientific esoteric book as two volumes in 1888 written by Helena Blavatsky. The first volume is named ''Cosmogenesis'', the second ''Anthropogenesis''. It was an influential example of the revival of interest in esoteric and occult ideas in the modern age, in particular because of its claim to reconcile ancient eastern wisdom with modern science. Proponents widely claim the literature contains clues as to how the nature of prayer was 'covered' and expunged from common wisdom, except for those with a keen eye. The book has been criticized for promoting pseudoscientific concepts and for borrowing those from other systems. Volume one (Cosmogenesis) In Volume One, Blavatsky details her interpretation of the origin and evolution of the universe itself, in terms derived from the Hindu concept of cyclical development. The world and everything in it is said to alternate between periods of activit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Quan Judge
William Quan Judge (April 13, 1851 – March 21, 1896) was an American mystic, esotericist, and occultist, and one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society. Biography Judge was born in Dublin, Ireland. When he was 13 years old, his family emigrated to the United States. He became a naturalized citizen of the US at age 21 and passed the New York state bar exam, specializing in commercial law. Judge was one of the seventeen co-founders of the Theosophical Society. Like Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott, he stayed in the organization when others left. When Olcott and Blavatsky left the United States for India, he stayed behind to manage the Society's work, all the while working as a lawyer. When Blavatsky and Olcott left America, they left Theosophy in North America in Judge's hands. While Judge kept in close contact with both Blavatsky and Olcott through correspondence, there was little if any organized activity for the next several years. His d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occultism
The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysticism. It can also refer to paranormal ideas such as 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, among 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 'occult' was used idiosyncratically by a range of different authors. By the 21st century the term 'occultism' was commonly employed –including by academic scholars in the field of Western esotericism studi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emanationism
Emanationism is a speculative theory in the cosmology or cosmogony of certain religious and philosophical systems, that posits the concept of ''emanation''. According to this theory, emanation, from the Latin ''emanare'' meaning "to flow from" or "to pour forth or out of", is the mode by which all existing things are derived from a 'first reality', or first principle. In the emanationist concept all things are derived from this first reality or perfect God, by consecutive steps of degradation, to a lower degree of this first reality or God: at every consecutive step the emanating beings are less pure, less perfect, less divine. Emanationism posits a transcendent principle from which everything is derived, as opposed to creationism, that considers the universe to be created by a sentient God who is separate from creation, and to materialism, which posits no underlying subjective and/or ontological nature behind phenomena, all phenomena being considered immanent. Origins Ema ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Olcott
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (2 August 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer, Freemason (member of Huguenot Lodge #448, now #46) 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 Europeanized lens. Olcott was a major revivalist of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and he is still honored in Sri Lanka for these efforts. Vice President of the Ananda College Old Boys Association Samitha Seneviratne has said that "Col. Olcott's contribution towards the betterment of our country, nation, religion, justice and good conduct has been so great that he remains in our hearts forever". Biography Olcott was born on 2 August 1832 in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katherine Tingley
Katherine Augusta Westcott Tingley (July 6, 1847 – July 11, 1929) was a social worker and prominent Theosophy (Blavatskian), Theosophist. She led the Theosophical Society Pasadena, American Section of the Theosophical Society after W. Q. Judge. She founded and led the Theosophical community Lomaland in Point Loma, San Diego. Early life Tingley was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on July 6, 1847, the daughter of James P. and Susan Westcott, of early Colonialism, colonial ancestry. Career She was employed as a social worker in New York City when she met William Quan Judge. She joined the Theosophical Society on October 13, 1894. In 1895, disputes between Judge and Annie Besant led to a split, with Judge taking most of the American section with him. After converting Tingley to Theosophy, Judge appointed her as the Outer Head of the Theosophical Society. became the new head of the Theosophical Society Pasadena, Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society, although her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (other), lifespan in a different physical form or physical body, body after biological death. In most beliefs involving reincarnation, the soul of a human being is immortality, immortal and does not disperse after the physical body has perished. Upon death, the soul merely becomes transmigrated into a newborn baby or into an animal to continue its immortality. (The term "transmigration" means the passing of a soul from one body to another after death.) Reincarnation (''punarjanman'') is a central tenet of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. In various forms, it occurs as an esoteric belief in many streams of Judaism, in certain Paganism, pagan religions (including Wicca), and in some beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and of Australian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
