Imagining the East

Imagining the East PDF Author: Erik Reenberg Sand
Publisher:
ISBN: 0190853883
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
The essays in Imagining the East explore how Theosophists during the formative period imagined the religions and cultures of the East. The authors examine the relationship of such representations to orientalism, the history of ideas, politics, and culture at large and discuss how these esoteric or theosophical representations mirrored conditions and values current in nineteenth-century mainstream intellectual culture. The essays also look at how the early Theosophical Society's representations of the East differed from mainstream 'orientalism' and how the Theosophical Society's mission in India was distinct from that of British colonialism and Christian missionaries.

Early Accomplishments of the Theosophical Society

Early Accomplishments of the Theosophical Society PDF Author: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Publisher: Philaletheians UK
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 17

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Book Description
Our declared objects and principles are not merely unobjectionable, but admirably calculated to do good to mankind. Yet, assorted conspirators and calumniators have kept a multitude of religiously-inclined persons from enjoying the happiness they would have had by understanding Theosophy as it really is, and making it the guiding rule of their conduct.

The Theosophical Society

The Theosophical Society PDF Author: Jeffrey D. Lavoie
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
ISBN: 1612335535
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
This peer-reviewed study represents a culmination of years of research into the history of the Theosophical Society. In this unique project which combines biographies with source analyses, Jeffrey D. Lavoie records a detailed history of the early Theosophical Society and examines its relationship with the modern Spiritualist movement between the years 1875-1891. Special attention has been paid to some of the neglected figures associated with these organizations including Arthur Lillie- the Gnostic-occultist and early critic of the Theosophical Society; the Davenport Brothers- the Spiritualist mediums who developed many of the standard elements which became associated with modern Spiritualism; Alfred Wallace- the prominent scientist, Spiritualist, and supposed member of the Theosophical Society and many others. This work will appeal to a wide array of readers including those interested in modern religious movements, Western Esotericism, South Asian history, and Victorian studies.

Imagining the East

Imagining the East PDF Author: Erik Reenberg Sand
Publisher:
ISBN: 0190853883
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
The essays in Imagining the East explore how Theosophists during the formative period imagined the religions and cultures of the East. The authors examine the relationship of such representations to orientalism, the history of ideas, politics, and culture at large and discuss how these esoteric or theosophical representations mirrored conditions and values current in nineteenth-century mainstream intellectual culture. The essays also look at how the early Theosophical Society's representations of the East differed from mainstream 'orientalism' and how the Theosophical Society's mission in India was distinct from that of British colonialism and Christian missionaries.

The Key to Theosophy

The Key to Theosophy PDF Author: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Theosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description


Thought-forms

Thought-forms PDF Author: Annie Besant
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Theosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description


Occult America

Occult America PDF Author: Mitch Horowitz
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0553385151
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
From its earliest days, America served as an arena for the revolutions in alternative spirituality that eventually swept the globe. Esoteric philosophies and personas—from Freemasonry to Spiritualism, from Madame H. P. Blavatsky to Edgar Cayce—dramatically altered the nation’s culture, politics, and religion. Yet the mystical roots of our identity are often ignored or overlooked. Opening a new window on the past, Occult America presents a dramatic, pioneering study of the esoteric undercurrents of our history and their profound impact across modern life.

Beyond Belief

Beyond Belief PDF Author: Jill Roe
Publisher: UNSW Press
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description


Theosophy

Theosophy PDF Author: René Guénon
Publisher: Sophia Perennis
ISBN: 9780900588808
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
Since the late nineteenth century, the Theosophical Society has been a central force in the movement now known as the New Age. Just as the Communist Party was considered 'old hat' by peace activists in the '60s, so the Theosophical Society was looked upon by many in the 'spiritual revolution' of those years as cranky, uninteresting, and passé. But the Society, like the Party, was always there, and-despite its relatively few members-always better organized than anybody else. Since then, the Society's influence has certainly not waned. It plays an important role in today's global interfaith movement, and, since the flowering of the New Age in the '70s, has established increasingly intimate ties with the global elites. And its various spinoffs, such as Elizabeth Clare Prophet's Summit Lighthouse, and Benjamin Crème's continuing attempt to lead a 'World Teacher Maitreya' onto the global stage-just as the Society tried to do in the last century with Krishnamurti-continue to send waves through the sea of 'alternative' spiritualities. Guénon shows how our popular ideas of karma and reincarnation actually owe more to Theosophy than to Hinduism or Buddhism, provides a clear picture of the charlatanry that was sometimes a part of the Society's modus operandi, and gives the early history of the Society's bid for political power, particularly its role as an agent of British imperialism in India. It is fitting that this work should finally appear in English just at this moment, when the influence of pseudo-esoteric spiritualities on global politics is probably greater than ever before in Western history.

At the Feet of the Master

At the Feet of the Master PDF Author: Jiddu Krishnamurti (Alcyone)
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781442158887
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 106

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Book Description
At the Feet of the Master was the first book published by Jiddu Krishnamurti. Written when he was 14 under the name "Alcyone" and published in 1910, it has been translated into 40 languages. There has been some debate over whether the author was Krishnamurti or his mentor C.W. Leadbeater. Krishnamurti never said that he wrote the work, and in the foreword he says: "These are not my own words but of the Master who taught me." He was referring to Leadbeater's claim that the Master Kuthumi was releasing the instruction to the young boy during the night while he was asleep. The book is considered a theosophical classic.

The Theosophical Movement heralds a new era in the affairs of the world

The Theosophical Movement heralds a new era in the affairs of the world PDF Author: William Quan Judge
Publisher: Philaletheians UK
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 29

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Book Description
The Theosophical Movement was started among Western people by Western people, in the country where the preparations for the new Root Race are already going on. One object of the Movement runs along two parallel lines: 1. The union of the West with the East by reviving in the East of the towering eminence which once were hers. 2. The development in the West of that Occultism which is appropriate for it so that it may, in its turn, uplift the Eastern fatherland of virtues. Organisations, like men, tend to fall into ruts of mental and psychic action which, once established, are difficult to obliterate. It is more difficult to touch the heart of those who, crippled by metaphysical dogmatism, have built a hard shell around themselves and contradict a priori that which clashes with their encrusted notions, than to warm up the cockles of the occidental heart, which is neither encumbered with deeply entrenched opinions laid on a foundation of oriental mysticism, nor buttressed with a pride inherited from the past. Heaven’s Light always shines in the heart of every man. That Light is our true Master. All other Masters are but servants of the same Light; in it all Lodges beat to heaven’s own music. Woe to those who, having started in the path with the aid of Madame Blavatsky, shall in any way try to belittle her and her work. “The angered gods have feet of wool.” Those who are partial receive but a limited view of truth. The elementals are partial forms, while the human soul is total and, according to the power and purity of that form which it inhabits, “waits upon the Gods.” Pure motive is prerequisite to True Knowledge. Devotion to others is prerequisite to True Magic. The magic amulet which alone can protect the aspirant from evil is harmlessness and that boundless love of humanity and self-sacrifice which led Buddha to say: “Let the sins of this dark age fall on me.” Motive alone determines whether an out of body experience is horrendous or tremendous. The greatest struggle and yet the highest honour for the man of flesh is to transfer all the love and affection from his little self to all selves, and love them with all his heart. This kind of total yet joyful surrender will please the Higher Self, who the Lord of all living beings and Master of Compassion in the Universe. The evolutionary cycle of the Universal Monad necessitates an eternal spiral journey of spirit into the darkness of matter, with a proportionate obscuration of spirit (though the two are one, active and passive by turns), followed by an inverse ascent of spirit towards its previous state and finally the defeat of matter. The diastole and systole of the heart (one spiral moving inside the other) are caused by the rhythmic movement of Akasha, the Soul of the World. But do not rush to grasp that movement too soon, for when heart beats too fast it destroys life. The Light of Atma-Buddhi is a spiralling force which, if misused, it can kill. It is much easier and safer to sink back into the Eternal than to dive in. Resist without resistance. No replies should be made to attacks. The elementals are mirrors of our own mind and of the mental strata formed by the age, the race, and the nation we are living in. Their action is invariably automatic and unconscious. They can only be contacted through correlations of colours and sounds. Fear them not, nor recoil in horror or repulsion. While the lower mind keeps whirling in a narrow circle, seemingly dead, kept alive by its own motion, the higher mind watches over and waits patiently for its hour to strike. When spirit wills, matter obeys. Whoever feels his heart beating in unison with the great heart of humanity; whoever feels his interests are one with those who are poor and less fortunate than himself; every man or woman who is ready to hold out a helping hand to those who suffer; whoever understands the true meaning of the word “egoism,” is a Theosophist by birth and right. The American Republic was meant to be a brotherhood of nations, and that is the core value of its declaration and constitution, and the symbol of Western Occultism — “a new era in the affairs of the world.” We are all bound together in one living whole. Hence the thoughts and acts of one react upon all, and vice versa. Theosophy is the only universal system of philosophy and high ethics underpinned by Divine Laws, which underlies the religions of every age. Practical Occultism is incidental to the journey along the path. Between theoretical Occultism or Theosophy, and practical Occultism or Occult Science, there is a bottomless pit. Let us all draw closer together in mind and heart, soul and act, and try thus to make that true brotherhood through which alone our universal and personal progress can come.