Theosophical Enlightenment

Theosophical Enlightenment PDF Author: Joscelyn Godwin
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438404220
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
This is an intellectual history of occult and esoteric currents in the English-speaking world from the early Romantic period to the early twentieth century. The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875 by Helena P. Blavatsky, holds a crucial position as the place where all these currents temporarily united, before again diverging. The book's ambiguous title points to the author's thesis that Theosophy owed as much to the skeptical Enlightenment of the eighteenth century as it did to the concept of spiritual enlightenment with which it is more readily associated. The author respects his sources sufficiently to allow that their world, so different from that of academic reductionism, has a right to be exhibited on its own terms. At the same time he does not conceal the fact that he considers many of them deluded and deluding. In the context of theosophical history, this book is neither on the side of the blind votaries of Madame Blavatsky, nor on that of her enemies. It may, therefore, be expected to mildly annoy both sides.

Theosophical Enlightenment

Theosophical Enlightenment PDF Author: Joscelyn Godwin
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438404220
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 466

Get Book

Book Description
This is an intellectual history of occult and esoteric currents in the English-speaking world from the early Romantic period to the early twentieth century. The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875 by Helena P. Blavatsky, holds a crucial position as the place where all these currents temporarily united, before again diverging. The book's ambiguous title points to the author's thesis that Theosophy owed as much to the skeptical Enlightenment of the eighteenth century as it did to the concept of spiritual enlightenment with which it is more readily associated. The author respects his sources sufficiently to allow that their world, so different from that of academic reductionism, has a right to be exhibited on its own terms. At the same time he does not conceal the fact that he considers many of them deluded and deluding. In the context of theosophical history, this book is neither on the side of the blind votaries of Madame Blavatsky, nor on that of her enemies. It may, therefore, be expected to mildly annoy both sides.

Theosophical Enlightenment

Theosophical Enlightenment PDF Author: Joscelyn Godwin
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791421529
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description


Theosophy across Boundaries

Theosophy across Boundaries PDF Author: Hans Martin Krämer
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438480431
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 616

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Book Description
Theosophy across Boundaries brings a global history approach to the study of esotericism, highlighting the important role of Theosophy in the general histories of religion, science, philosophy, art, and politics. The first half of the book consists of seven perspectives on the activities of the Theosophical Society in very different regional contexts, ranging from India, Vietnam, China, and Japan to Victorian Britain and Israel, shedding new light on the entanglement of "Western" and "Oriental" ideas around 1900. The second half explores specific cultural influences that Theosophy exerted in the spheres of literature, art, and politics, using case studies from Sri Lanka, Burma, India, Japan, Ireland, Germany, and Russia. The examples clearly show that Theosophy was part of a truly global movement, thus providing an outstanding example of the complex entanglements of the global religious history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Theosophy, Imagination, Tradition

Theosophy, Imagination, Tradition PDF Author: Antoine Faivre
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791444351
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
A historical and interpretive study of three aspects of Western esotericism from the Renaissance to the twentieth century.

Initiates of Theosophical Masters

Initiates of Theosophical Masters PDF Author: K. Paul Johnson
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438407955
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
The author examines the careers of the most distinguished disciples of the Theosophical Masters. He begins by examining the concept of initiation promoted by the Theosophical movement's founders. Each section investigates a separate category of initiates, focusing consecutively on Hindus, Muslims, Bahais, Buddhists, and the Western female occultists. More than just a study of Theosophy, this book explores many related developments in political and religious history. Among the figures it illumines in new ways are Anagarika Dharmapala, Alexandra David-Neel, George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, and Isabelle Eberhardt. Its approach brings needed objectivity and balance to a topic too long mythologized by cultists and ignored by scholars.

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.

The Key to THEOSOPHY

The Key to THEOSOPHY PDF Author: H. P. Blavatsky
Publisher:
ISBN: 9782357286450
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description


The Theosophical Enlightenment

The Theosophical Enlightenment PDF Author: Joscelyn Godwin
Publisher: Suny Press
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
An enticing intellectual history of various esoteric currents from the early Romantic period to the early twentieth century. The author maintains that the Theosophical Society held a crucial position as the place where all those currents temporarily united, before diverging again.

The Theosophist

The Theosophist PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Theosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description


Theosophy and the Theosophical Society

Theosophy and the Theosophical Society PDF Author: Annie Besant
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Theosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description