Evolution in the Vishnu Purana
In H. P. Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine we find over 100 direct references to the Vishnu Purana, largely in her discussions of cosmic and… Read More »Evolution in the Vishnu Purana
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Articles from various theosophical authors.
Creation Stories: The Cosmogony Account from the Purāṇas
Part 1. On the Original Purāṇa-saṃhitā The first place that one would look when seeking knowledge of cosmogony from Indian… Read More »Creation Stories: The Cosmogony Account from the Purāṇas
“The One Form of Existence”: prabhavāpyaya in the Original Purāṇa-saṃhitā
“Book of Dzyan,” stanza 1, verse 8, is given by H. P. Blavatsky in The Secret Doctrine (vol. 1, p. 46)… Read More »“The One Form of Existence”: prabhavāpyaya in the Original Purāṇa-saṃhitā
The Seven Creations in the Puranas
The Seven Creations in the Puranas by Nancy Reigle H. P. Blavatsky tells us in the Proem of The Secret… Read More »The Seven Creations in the Puranas
Sāṃkhya and the Wisdom-Religion
The existence of the once universal Wisdom-Religion was made known to the modern world by H. P. Blavatsky, who called… Read More »Sāṃkhya and the Wisdom-Religion
Yoga in Daily Life
It is often thought that yoga, as expounded by the most famous authority on the subject, namely Patanjali, is something… Read More »Yoga in Daily Life
The Yoga of Dharana
Dharana is a Sanskrit word coming from the verb-root dhri — meaning to maintain, direct and resolve. Hence the term implies a… Read More »The Yoga of Dharana
Indian Yoga and the Modern World
In one of Dr. Paul Brunton’s earlier works, A Search in Secret India, he says that although Yoga “is one… Read More »Indian Yoga and the Modern World
Yoga and Enlightenment
There are several different schools of yoga. Best known in the West is hatha yoga. It involves bodily postures and… Read More »Yoga and Enlightenment
The Original Śaṅkarācārya
The once universal Wisdom Tradition, whose existence was made known to the modern world by H. P. Blavatsky, had been… Read More »The Original Śaṅkarācārya
Buddhism: The Path of Compassion
Buddhism is known as a religion of enlightenment and emancipation or freedom. Buddha is a generic name given to one… Read More »Buddhism: The Path of Compassion
The Birth of Zen Buddhism
It is said — and what is tradition but truth in the robes of poetry? — that once, when the… Read More »The Birth of Zen Buddhism
The Nature of Zen Buddhism
There are men, and plenty of them, who think that when something has been classified in accordance with the prevailing… Read More »The Nature of Zen Buddhism
In Search of Zen
Asked, “What is Zen?”, there is only one truthful answer, “That’s it!” For Zen is beyond description. It is the… Read More »In Search of Zen
Theosophy and Buddhism
Theosophy is the modern name given by H. P. Blavatsky towhat is described by her as the once universal but… Read More »Theosophy and Buddhism
Discovering the Tao Teh Ching
Lao-tzu’s Tao Teh Ching sat on the bookshelf for many years before it was finally dusted off and read. After… Read More »Discovering the Tao Teh Ching
Renovation Follows Renovation Without Cease
The Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao;The name that can be defined is not the unchanging… Read More »Renovation Follows Renovation Without Cease
The Three Noble Teachers of Ancient China
The following impromptu address was given during a long trip on a Chinese Cargo Liner. Each Sunday morning there was… Read More »The Three Noble Teachers of Ancient China
The Religion of China
The Chinese have the oldest and the finest civilisation extant, not excepting that of India. Compared with them we in… Read More »The Religion of China
War-Cry of the Soul
I will give you the story of Creation, as it was taught by the ancient Druids in Wales. It is… Read More »War-Cry of the Soul
The Riddle of Ancient Egypt
The ancient Egyptian civilizations is still strange to us after many decades of research into its features and history. It… Read More »The Riddle of Ancient Egypt
The Two Faces of Egypt
The resurgence of life during the vernal equinox has been celebrated by all peoples who have inherited from remotest antiquity… Read More »The Two Faces of Egypt
The Radiant Thread of Egyptian Myth
The ancient Egyptians believed that the numerous gods of their pantheon were emanations from the First Cause of all life… Read More »The Radiant Thread of Egyptian Myth
The Papyrus of Ani—Initiation and the After-Life
The idea that man has an immortal spiritual nature, or at least an ethereal body which survives death, has been… Read More »The Papyrus of Ani—Initiation and the After-Life
The Book of God
Here at hand is The Desatir, which Zoroastrians call the Book of God, the message-bearer and nourisher, not only of… Read More »The Book of God
The Story of Beginnings
The Persian story of beginnings is of the rebecoming, the renovation, of what has ever existed and is repeatedly refashioned… Read More »The Story of Beginnings
The Prophet of Light
Aid me by light, and vivify me by light, and guard me by light, and unite me unto light! I… Read More »The Prophet of Light
The “Vast Individual”
Mazdean teachings explain that because all creatures are equally important parts of one “Vast Individual,” whatever gives pleasure or pain… Read More »The “Vast Individual”
The Vision of Ardai Viraf
Happiness comes to him, through whom happiness goes out to others. — Ushtavaiti Gastha Alexander’s conquest of the 4th century… Read More »The Vision of Ardai Viraf
The Sacred Pilgrim in Greek Thought
If we consider man as composed of body, soul and spirit, then the sacred pilgrim in Greek thought is the… Read More »The Sacred Pilgrim in Greek Thought
The Ancient Mysteries:A Great Light, A Force for Good
It is probable that people in general do not realize that all who betake themselves to philosophy in the right… Read More »The Ancient Mysteries:A Great Light, A Force for Good
On Pythagoras
Pythagoras was born about 528 B.C., and his parents, Mnesarchus and Pythais were citizens of Samos and descendants of Ancaeus,… Read More »On Pythagoras
Pythagoras’ Contribution
The stream of an ancient wisdom flows out of a remote antiquity. At times traces of its existence are observable… Read More »Pythagoras’ Contribution
On Plato’s Theory of Ideas
A student at one of the Eastern colleges of the United States writes in that he has more questions than… Read More »On Plato’s Theory of Ideas
Plato on Intelligent Design: Truth, Beauty, and the Good
Perusing an internet forum on intelligent design some months ago brought me to an unusual post by David Alexander entitled… Read More »Plato on Intelligent Design: Truth, Beauty, and the Good
Plato’s Myths and the Mystery Tradition
Ever since the rise of Greek rationalism, and probably long before that, myths have had bad reviews. In the early… Read More »Plato’s Myths and the Mystery Tradition
The Gnosis according to Plato
The words gnosis and gnosticism have come into our thinking these days largely because of the discoveries of a Gnostic library at Nag Hammadi,… Read More »The Gnosis according to Plato
Ciphers and Civilizations
Imagine, if you will, a people who had a complex written language that suffered no major changes for more than… Read More »Ciphers and Civilizations
Ancient America
Part One In a just published book, Before Columbus (Crown Publishers, Inc., N.Y. 1971; 224 pages, $6.50; see review article, “A Question… Read More »Ancient America
Where Did the ‘Americans’ Come From?
Part One The question of how and when man first arrived in the Americas is far from settled, for the… Read More »Where Did the ‘Americans’ Come From?
The Theosophy of Ancient America
[Part 1] There was an ancient American theosophy which taught conceptions of the universe and of man just as lofty,… Read More »The Theosophy of Ancient America
The Maya Creation Story
People of all times and places have sought to understand how the universe came into being and how humanity developed.… Read More »The Maya Creation Story
Those Mysterious Maya?
The remains of Maya civilization were discovered during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by amateur archaeologists who came to Central… Read More »Those Mysterious Maya?
Aztec Calendar Stone
The most precious relic of Pre-Columbian culture in Mexico is the Aztec Calendar Stone. This immense object of basaltic porphyry… Read More »Aztec Calendar Stone
Karma in the Oglala Indian Tradition
karma, a Sanskrit word meaning “action,” is regarded as a law of absolute universal justice, in which effect is linked… Read More »Karma in the Oglala Indian Tradition
Theosophy among the Hopi
Much about the origin and age of the original inhabitants of America remains unknown. Popularizers still propagate the view of… Read More »Theosophy among the Hopi
Wisdom Teachings of the Hopi
Much of the wisdom of the American Indians is written in symbols — a language without letters or sounds that… Read More »Wisdom Teachings of the Hopi
Holy Wind, Holy Spirit
Although we live with the wind daily, delight in its blessings and suffer its wrath, how often do we question… Read More »Holy Wind, Holy Spirit