Theosophy
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Theosophy is a term which has been applied to various schools of Western mysticism. Its earliest prominent use is to designate the work of Jacob Boehme and those who embraced his ideas. In 1783, a group of English Behmenists were meeting as the "London Theosophical Society." In this case, the word theosophy is generally written with a lower case initial, and adherents of such theosophy are referenced as theosophers.
Helena Blavatsky and her collaborators instituted a Theosophical Society in 1875. The name was suggested by Charles Sotheran, a high-grade Freemason and esotericist who was familiar with Behmenist traditions. This new organization was a lecture society dedicated to topics of comparative religion and occultism, with ideals that included racial reconciliation and internationalism. Increasingly, this new Theosophy incorporated elements draw from Asian religious traditions, which were usually classed as "Esoteric Budhism" (sic, also the title of a book on the topic by A.P. Sinnett). The doctrines and institutions embodied in the Theosophical Society and its offspring are known as Theosophy with an initial capital, and its adherents are Theosophists. Theosophists maintain that Theosophy is a "body of truth" that forms the basis of all religions.
The article below is adapted from Wikipedia, and pending further editing, focuses exclusively on Theosophy and Theosophists, ignoring Behemenism and other earlier forms of theosophy.
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Basic Theosophical beliefs
Consciousness is universal and individual
According to theosophy, nature does not operate by chance. Every event, past or present, happens because of laws which are part of a Universal Paradigm. Theosophists hold that everything, living or not, is "impregnated" with Consciousness. This paradigm has been called variously: God (non personal), Law, Heaven, the Great Architect, Evolution, and Logos. The term used in this article is "paradigm."
Man is "provisionally" immortal
Theosophists believe that all human beings in their 'Higher Selves' are immortal, but their personalities are unconscious of the link with their Divine Nature and will perish unless they strive to effect a union of the two.
Reincarnation is universal
Like esoteric Buddhism, from which much of theosophical thought springs, theosophy teaches that beings have attained the human state through myriads of reincarnations, passing through the mineral, plant and animal stages since the birth of life on earth. However, theosophy differs from the exoteric belief that regression is possible. Humans cannot reincarnate as animals or plants again except in the rare cases of disintegrating 'lost souls'. However Man is only the epitome of physical life on earth and is not the end stage of evolution, which continues for three further stages in the form of the Dhyani Chohans or Buddhic beings.
Karma
There is a similarity to the beliefs of the Hindu Arya Samargh sect concerning Karma. Dharma and Cosmogony.Theosophy teaches that evil and good are the result of differentiation of spirit/matter in a cycle of becoming. There is a natural involution of spirit into matter followed by an evolution of matter back into spirit.The purpose of the Universe is for spirit to manifest itself self-consciously through seven stages.
Universal brotherhood
Theosophy teaches that every thing of whatever kind is from one divine source. All things are 'monads' in reality. All monads potentially possess the same principles and their forms and natures are an expression of their present consciousness level.
God's plan is evolution
Theosophists believe that religion, philosophy, science, the arts, commerce, industry, and philanthropy, among other "virtues," lead humans ever closer to "the Divine." This, in theosophy, is a continuation of the Divine purpose through evolution.
A brief history of Theosophy
Theosophists trace the origin of theosophy to the universal striving for divinity that existed in all ancient cultures. It is found in an unbroken chain in India but existed in ancient Greece and also in the writings of Plato (427-347 BC), Plotinus (204/5-270) and other neo-Platonists, as well as Jakob Boehme (1575-1624). Some relevant quotes:
- "...we are imprisoned in the body, like an oyster in his shell." The Socrates of Plato, Phaedrus
- To the philosopher, the body is "a disturbing element, hindering the soul from the acquisition of knowledge..."
- "...what is purification but...the release of the soul from the chains of the body?" The Socrates of Plato, Phaedo
Modern theosophical esotericism, however, begins with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) usually known as Madame Blavatsky. She is one of the founders of the Theosophical Society (in 1875 in New York City), together with Henry Steel Olcott, who was a lawyer and writer, and William Quan Judge. Madame Blavatsky was a world traveler who eventually settled in India where, again with Olcott, she established the headquarters of the Society. She claimed numerous psychic and mediumistic powers and incorporated these alleged powers into a blend of Eastern religions. These became the basic pillars of the Theosophical movement.
Theosophy and Aleister Crowley
Crowley considered it noteworthy that he was born in the same year as the founding of the Theosophical Society (1875). He was an admirer of the work of Anna Kingsford, who was briefly the head of the British section of the Theosophical Society, and whose Way to Christ was very influential on Samuel Mathers and other early members of The Golden Dawn. He later recognized Blavatsky as a Magister Templi in his A.'.A.'. grade system, and annotated an edition of her Voice of the Silence as Liber LXXI (http://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib71.html).
During Annie Besant's headship of the Theosophical Society, Crowley engaged in a long campaign to discredit the Society's leadership, and to insert himself at the head of the movement that they were building to recognize Krishnamurti as the "World Teacher." He also met with Katherine Tingley, who led a schismatic Theosophical group in California.
External links
- Blavatsky Archives (http://www.blavatskyarchives.com)
- Theosophical Society - Adyar (http://www.ts-adyar.org)
- Theosophical Society (Pasadena) (http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena)
- Theosophy Library Online (http://www.theosophy.org)
- United Lodge of Theosophists (http://www.ult.org)
A book review that compares the Theosophical Society and O.T.O. (http://scarletwoman.org/reviews/003g_bookofdzyan.html)
References
- Wikipedia (2004.) Theosophy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy). Retrieved June 11, 2004.
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