Plotinus
Ammonius Saccas, like many other great Teachers, never committed anything to writing. Following the custom of the ancient Hierophants, he… Read More »Plotinus
Anon.
[This is used to represent any anonymously authored writings.]
Plato
One night in the year 407 B.C., Socrates had a dream. He saw a graceful white swan flying toward him… Read More »Plato
Plato and Aristotle
When Socrates was sixty years old, Plato, then a youth of twenty, came to him as a pupil. When Plato… Read More »Plato and Aristotle
Paracelsus: Philosopher
The transition from the fifteenth to the sixteenth century accomplished one of the most remarkable changes ever recorded of human… Read More »Paracelsus: Philosopher
Alexandria and Her Schools
The little island of Samothrace in the Aegean Sea, today barren and sterile, was once the home of great Adepts,… Read More »Alexandria and Her Schools
Paracelsus: Physician
It is an interesting fact, and one which should be carefully noted by all students of occultism, that many of… Read More »Paracelsus: Physician
The Kabala and the Kabalists
The Theosophists of the Middle Ages drew their occult knowledge from two streams of thought which, long before, had sprung… Read More »The Kabala and the Kabalists
Lieh Tzu
What Mencius was to Confucius, that Lieh Tzu and Chwang Tzu were to Lao Tzu. Lieh Tzu endeavored to draw… Read More »Lieh Tzu
Egyptian “Immortality”
Had nothing remained to us of the Book of the Dead but the Judgment Scene, it alone furnishes abundant evidence… Read More »Egyptian “Immortality”
Pythagoras
Twenty-five centuries ago the island of Samos was one of the garden spots of Ionia. Colonized hundreds of years before… Read More »Pythagoras
Sources of Early American Civilization
What is the origin of the American Indian? The civilizations of Persia, China and Egypt had their roots in the… Read More »Sources of Early American Civilization
First Century Christianity
Theosophy is the ancient Wisdom-Religion, as old as thinking man, and part of the work of the Theosophical Movement is… Read More »First Century Christianity
Zoroastrian Cosmo-Genesis
If the Orientalists, through their peculiar method of reading Zend, Pahalvi and Pazand, have disfigured the import of Zoroastrian texts,… Read More »Zoroastrian Cosmo-Genesis
Anton Mesmer
Mesmerism was from the philosophical standpoint the most pregnant of all discoveries, even though for the moment it propounded more… Read More »Anton Mesmer
Historical Difficulty—Why?
6. Is there not some confusion in the letter quoted on p. 62 of Esoteric Buddhism, where “the old Greeks… Read More »Historical Difficulty—Why?
Seeds and Seedlings: Evolution and the Evolver
Evolution is the oldest teaching in the world, and misconceptions and misunderstandings of it are as old as man. To… Read More »Seeds and Seedlings: Evolution and the Evolver
Principles, Rules, and Bye-Laws of the Theosophical Society [1880]
The Theosophical Society, or Universal Brotherhood Formed at New York, U. S. of America, October 30th, 1875. Principles, Rules, and… Read More »Principles, Rules, and Bye-Laws of the Theosophical Society [1880]
Zoroastrian Ethics
If the spirit of Vedanta singing through the Gita endeavors to bring the world to Dharma-Duty, the theme which Zoroastrianism… Read More »Zoroastrian Ethics
Word Puzzles: Evolution
Use of the term evolution has gone through many interesting stages. Following the advent of Darwin, this word served as… Read More »Word Puzzles: Evolution
Death of William Q. Judge
The editor of this magazine, President of the Theosophical Societies in America, Europe and Australasia, our trusted teacher and friend,… Read More »Death of William Q. Judge
Mr. Johnston and the Upanishads
To students who might be described as the second and third generations of the Theosophical Society, the Upanishads mean Mr.… Read More »Mr. Johnston and the Upanishads
Zoroastrian Metaphysics
The modern world has elevated the cult of the personal to an art; so much is this the prevailing ideal… Read More »Zoroastrian Metaphysics
Socrates
The Age of the Tyrants, which produced the “Seven Wise Men,” the early Ionian School and the Pythagorean School, ended… Read More »Socrates
The Light of the Dark Ages
The sixth century was the darkest period in the history of the Western world. It marks the mid-point, or nadir,… Read More »The Light of the Dark Ages
Eastern Doctrines in the Middle Ages
Ex Oriente Lux! Light comes front the East, not only in its material manifestation as the rising sun. but also… Read More »Eastern Doctrines in the Middle Ages
Charles Johnston, Orientalist, Dead
Charles Johnston, scholar, traveler and author, who translted many of the sacred writings of the East into English, died of… Read More »Charles Johnston, Orientalist, Dead
The Popol Vuh
The Popol Vuh was composed by a native of Guatemala in the 17th century from traditions handed down by the… Read More »The Popol Vuh
The Gnostics
In the first century before the Christian era, a fresh impulse was given to the work of the Theosophical Movement… Read More »The Gnostics
Seeds and Seedlings: The Doctrine of Perfectibility
This doctrine of the perfectibility of man is easily comprehended by some men, but is extremely difficult for others—due to… Read More »Seeds and Seedlings: The Doctrine of Perfectibility
William Quan Judge
The logic of discipleship is implicit in the fundamental law of cosmogenesis and cosmic evolution—the law of sacrifice. The disciple… Read More »William Quan Judge
The First Greek Philosophers
The millennium which extended from the time of Buddha and Pythagoras in the sixth century B.C., until the final suppression of… Read More »The First Greek Philosophers
Jacob Boehme
Jacob Boehme was born in the little village of Alt Seidenburg, near Goerlitz, in 1575. Although his Theosophical co-workers, Giordano… Read More »Jacob Boehme
Thomas Paine
On January 29, 1737, a son was born to Joseph Paine, a humble staymaker living in Thetford, England. A great… Read More »Thomas Paine
The Kings of China
In his Ocean of Theosophy William Q. Judge speaks of “ancient and honorable China” — ancient it is, for as… Read More »The Kings of China
Lao Tzu and the Taoists
H. P. Blavatsky described Lao Tzu as a God-like being and classed him with Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus, who “united… Read More »Lao Tzu and the Taoists
Brotherhood: The Law of Being
It has ever been the aim of true scientific research not so much to discover new phenomena and to record… Read More »Brotherhood: The Law of Being
Do the Adepts Deny the Nebular Theory?
1. Is the Nebular Theory, as generally held, denied by the Adepts? It seems hard to conceive of the alternate… Read More »Do the Adepts Deny the Nebular Theory?
The Kali Yuga in Hindu Chronology
Several weeks ago a communication was read at a regular meeting of this Branch, in which some references to the… Read More »The Kali Yuga in Hindu Chronology
Japanese Buddhist Sects
I In Japan there are twelve principal Buddhist sects, all of them having different names and with different reasons for… Read More »Japanese Buddhist Sects
On Tao
Like the Sanskrit Word Aum, Tao stands for that which is the source, the power, and the form of the… Read More »On Tao
Preamble of the Theosophical Society
The title of the Theosophical Society explains the objects and desires of its founders: they seek “to obtain knowledge of… Read More »Preamble of the Theosophical Society
Meditation and Self-Study
Atmanam atmana pasya Meditation and self-study are of immeasurable importance to every single person. They concern the longest journey of… Read More »Meditation and Self-Study
Reply to An English F.T.S.
[Note: the following represents the opening Reply to “Some Inquiries Suggested by Mr. Sinnett’s ‘Esoteric Buddhism’”] It was not in… Read More »Reply to An English F.T.S.
Is the Sun merely a Cooling Mass?
2. And, further, the time necessary for the manvantara even of one planetary chain, much more of all seven,—seems largely… Read More »Is the Sun merely a Cooling Mass?
Theosophy in Name and Reality
People are sometimes surprised to hear that Theosophy is radically different from any of the popular blends of science and… Read More »Theosophy in Name and Reality
Is Theosophy a “Revelation”?
“In thus affording even the superficial thinker and the weak or illogical reasoner a perfect basis for ethics and an… Read More »Is Theosophy a “Revelation”?
The Screen of Time
A new cycle has begun. The “turning inwards”—and homewards, of William Q. Judge was the signal for the dawn of… Read More »The Screen of Time
Messages From Masters
The subject of Messages from Masters is so much under discussion just now that a few words on it may… Read More »Messages From Masters