Occultism in the Upanishads
“The true desires are overlaid with false; though true, there is a false covering-up of them. For if any one belonging to him is gone,… Read More »Occultism in the Upanishads
Articles from various theosophical authors.
“The true desires are overlaid with false; though true, there is a false covering-up of them. For if any one belonging to him is gone,… Read More »Occultism in the Upanishads
Part I There are six great systems of philosophical thought, all native to the soil of India, which are accounted “orthodox” in that land where… Read More »The Sankhya Philosophy
A summer evening, high among the Alps; the in-gathering of purple twilight veils the world in mystery; the hills, with their curtains of pines; the… Read More »Fear and Valor
Idolatry The outward form of idolatry is but a veil, concealing the one Truth like the veil of the Saitic Goddess. Only that truth, being… Read More »Fragments: on Idolatry, Avataras, Initiations, Cycles and Modern Fallacies
Works by specialists and scholars have to be treated with a certain respect, due to science. But such works as Payne Knight’s On the Worship… Read More »Buddhism, Christianity and Phallicism
Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom. We were talking of lucent intervals, when the primeval sunlight breaks through our clouds:… Read More »Thyself and Thy King
It is part of the strange, deceptive quality of things, that nothing should teach us so much of life, nothing should so much open our… Read More »Eloquent, Just, and Mighty Death
Contents I. The Three Kinds of Karma II. Karma in the Upanishads III. Karma in the Bhagavad Gita IV. Krishna’s Teaching on Karma V. Karma… Read More »Karma: Works and Wisdom
Time is endlessly long.—GOETHE. Somebody made the remark, the other day, that Providence must be an Irishman, because, in the celestial economy, there is such… Read More »The World Without End-Hour
There are certain things connected with the personality of the great leader which have to be referred to and explained every now and again even… Read More »H. P. B. was Not Deserted by the Masters
“As the web-wombed spider puts forth and draws to him, as trees come forth upon the earth, as from a living man his locks and… Read More »Self and Eternal
There is a charming story in one of the Upanishads, a story full of the most delicate humour, which tells how the manifested forces of… Read More »Sanskrit’s Nearest Neighbour
“After this, I said, imagine the enlightenment and ignorance of our nature in a figure: Behold! human beings living in a sort of underground den,… Read More »The Subjective and the Objective
Long after the passing of Cuchullain, when the father of Oscar, the old man eloquent, had again become young in the morning breath of the… Read More »The White of the Dawn
There are events common to human life, events small and inconsiderable in seeming, which, in their ulterior development and under the ripening hand of time,… Read More »William Quan Judge
The subject relates to our conduct toward and treatment of our fellows, including in that term all people with whom we have any dealings. No… Read More »How Should We Treat Others
[Note: this was serialized in The Path, Feb.-Mar. and concluded in Theosophy, Apr., 1896] Forever hiding futurity, the Screen of Time hangs before us, impenetrable.… Read More »The Screen of Time
A question has been asked about the meaning of the frequent references to the Vedas; whether they have any settled correspondences, as for instance in… Read More »An Answer
In reading Theosophical literature one is often confronted by the words Mahayuga, Kaliyuga, Manvantara, Kalpa, etc. No doubt all of the older members of the… Read More »Yugas
Theosophy [from Gr. θεόσοφία knowledge of divine things, deriv. of θεόσοφος wise about God; θεόσ God + σοφός, wise]: a name which, as specifying a… Read More »Theosophy [A Definition]
Not exactly a trap, though even if a very valuable truth has allowed itself to be caught therein. It happened after this wise. It had… Read More »A Trap for a Friend
In one of the letters written by the Master K.H. and printed by Mr. Sinnett it is said the world [including doubtless East and West]… Read More »Claiming to be Jesus
The earnest, devoted student can hardly believe that there exist any theosophists sincerely holding a belief in theosophical doctrines but who are, at the same… Read More »Mechanical Theosophy
. . . Beheld the Gods all, sweatless, steady-eyed, their flower-wreaths fresh and dust-free, as they stood, touching not the ground; but he, doubled by… Read More »The Books of Hidden Wisdom
Some years ago one of those Masters in whom so many of our members believe directed H.P.B. to write a letter for him to a… Read More »Each Member a Centre
The story of this Rajput Sage is a very ancient and very significant one. We have two versions of it, both very ancient; and from… Read More »A Rajput Sage
From ignorance of the truth about man’s real nature and faculties and their action and condition after bodily death, a number of evils flow. The… Read More »Theosophy and Capital Punishment
“I would like you to reflect for a moment on the history of the Society. Eighteen years ago it was founded, and I am talking… Read More »Words to Remember
There is a very great difference between the Theosophical Movement and any Theosophical Society. The Movement is moral, ethical, spiritual, universal, invisible save in effect,… Read More »The Theosophical Movement
That view of one’s Karma which leads to a bewailing of the unkind fate which has kept advantages in life away from us, is a… Read More »Advantages and Disadvantages in Life
“To freedom you are called, Brothers!—only that your freedom be not a pretext for the flesh. But serve each other by love. But if you… Read More »Uncomfortable Brothers
“In the highest golden veil is the stainless, partless Eternal, the pure, the Light of lights, whom the Self-knowers know. “The sun shines not there,… Read More »The Message of India
A satirical critic of our orientalists once said that their capacity, like the Word divine in the heavens, had three grades: they could edit a… Read More »Lovers of the East: Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765-1837)
We have seen how Anquetil Duperron, a Lover of the East, brought to Europe the first seed of Indian Wisdom after years of toil and… Read More »Lovers of the East: Sir William Jones (1746-1794)
The probable genesis, the constitution, the movements, and the functions of comets have engaged the greatest attention of astronomers. They very often appear to defy… Read More »Comets
Who opened the doors of the east to the west? Who brought to the west the light of the east? Who were the ministers of… Read More »Lovers of the East: Anquetil Duperron (1731-1805)
I. Introductory “When to the session of sweet silent thought”, as Shakespeare says, “I conjured up remembrance of things past”—as one feels in duty bound… Read More »Talks About Indian Books
Among many ideas brought forward through the theosophical movement there are three which should never be lost sight of. Not speech, but thought, really rules… Read More »Three Great Ideas
(1) How many years are there in Kali Yuga? (2) Will the sixth sub-race begin very soon, that is, will it be at the end… Read More »Kali Yuga and the Coming Race
All readers of T. S. [Theosophical Society] literature are aware that the terms Theosophy, Secret Doctrine, and Wisdom-Religion are generally used as synonymous. While such… Read More »The Old Wisdom-Religion
The following suggestions arise from experience and are due to facts in the Theosophical world. Don’t speak or write as if morality and ethics were… Read More »Theosophical Don’ts
My sister, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, nee de Hahn, better known in our country under the nom de plume of Radha-Bai, which she adopted for her writings in Russia,… Read More »Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
“What are your proofs?” is often asked of the Theosophical student who believes in reincarnation and Karma, who holds to the existence of the astral… Read More »Wrong Popular Notions
The theory is widely known among the members of the Society that at the close of each century a spiritual movement is made in the… Read More »Will Masters’ Help Be Withdrawn in 1898 until 1975?
A correspondent is confused on this subject from the statement in What is Theosophy by Mr. Old, that we are in the midst of the… Read More »The Kali Yuga
Occult Teachings Student.—What is Occultism? Sage.—It is that branch of knowledge which shows the universe in the form of an egg. The cell of science… Read More »Conversations on Occultism [2nd Series]
The complexity of this subject makes treatment of it difficult. So little is known, and challenge of power to know is so natural, that any… Read More »Communications from “Spirits”
“Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.” (BACON,… Read More »The Ethics of Study
The objection is often urged against Theosophical theories that they were produced by Eastern nations, and if we are to judge by India of today… Read More »Vast Works of the Past
As a student of Theosophy and human nature I have been interested in the discussion of the subject of self-murder to which The World has… Read More »Suicide is Not Death
Through Dreams The dream state is common to all people. Some persons say they never dream, but upon examination it will be found they have… Read More »Proofs of the Hidden Self
If the negative argument as to the newness of Indian writing is entirely worthless, can we build up any positive argument in its place? Let… Read More »The Antiquity of Indian Writing
It has been the custom of many people to belittle the ancients by assuming that they knew but little of mechanics, certainly not so much… Read More »An Ancient Telephone
[Note:] The Midwinter Fair at San Francisco had annexed to it a Religious parliament modeled after the first great one of 1893 at Chicago. Dr.… Read More »Points of Agreement in All Religions
As one of those who helped to form the Theosophical Society, I may claim to speak with personal knowledge of the facts, and having worked… Read More »The T.S. and its Basis
The subject of Messages from Masters is so much under discussion just now that a few words on it may be timely and appropriate. In… Read More »Messages From Masters
Probably no heavenly body has received as much attention from men in all ages as our moon. Many causes contributed to this. The moon is… Read More »Moon’s Mystery and Fate
Our brother George R. S. Mead, the General Secretary of the European Section T.S., has held that whether or not Origen, the greatest of the… Read More »Christian Fathers on Reincarnation
Brother Charles Johnston, F.T.S., formerly of the Dublin Lodge in Ireland, is a member of the Royal Academy of Science and retired from the British… Read More »The Red Rajputs
The managers of the Parliament of Religions of the World’s Fair requested Mr. Narroji of London, a Parsee who is in Parliament, to advise as… Read More »Zoroastrianism
Very little has been said on the question whether or not the theory of Reincarnation applies to animals in the same way as to man.… Read More »Reincarnation of Animals
ZEALOUS THEOSOPHIST. Don’t you think the Theosophical Society ought to take some definite stand on the questions of reform? Constitutional Theosophist. What put that into… Read More »Theosophical Society and Reforms
In 1875, ’76, ’77 and ’78 my intimacy with H.P.B. gave me many opportunities for conversing with her on what we then called “Magic.” These… Read More »Conversations on Occultism with H.P.B.
Ex Oriente Lux! Light comes front the East, not only in its material manifestation as the rising sun. but also spiritually as the all-illuminating sun… Read More »Eastern Doctrines in the Middle Ages
The Upanishads, Buddha, and Sankara: these are the three great lights of Indian wisdom. The Upanishads far away in the golden age; in the bright… Read More »Sankara, the Teacher
The whole mystic fraternity of Astrologers is now engaged in showing how the heavens portend great changes on this our earth. They agree with H.P.B.,… Read More »Direful Prophecies
The breath of the Indian Renaissance, so long foretold, so long in coming, begins to blow in our faces; to whisper strange, half-heard secrets in… Read More »Indian Ideals
The lost chord of Christianity is the doctrine of Reincarnation. It was beyond doubt taught in the early days of the cult, for it was… Read More »Reincarnation in Judaism and the Bible
[Note:] This article was originally written for the N.Y. World, at request. What is the hypnotic force or influence? What really happens when a hypnotic… Read More »Hypnotism
Hence one whose fire is burned out is reborn through the tendencies in mind; according to his thoughts he enters life. But linked by the… Read More »Upanishads on Re-Birth
It is said that long ago, in the childhood of the world, the senses were so fine that we could hear the growing of the… Read More »The Heritage of the Brahmans
“From every page of the Upanishads, deep, original, lofty thoughts step forth to meet us while a high and holy earnestness breathes over all. This… Read More »The Great Upanishads
[Note: “This article was printed in the Jenness Miller Illustrated Monthly, possibly some time in 1893. It is here reproduced from an undated page torn… Read More »Hypnotism and Theosophy
The claim is made that an impartial study of history, religion and literature will show the existence from ancient times of a great body of… Read More »Theosophy Generally Stated
THEOSOPHISTS! let us consult together. Let us survey the army, the field of battle, and the fighters. Let us examine our ways and our speech,… Read More »“Blavatskianism” In and Out of Season
I have been asked to write anything known to me personally about the writing of The Secret Doctrine by H.P.B. As but little time was then… Read More »About “The Secret Doctrine”
No. I. Precipitation The word “precipitation” means to throw upon or within. This term is used in chemistry to describe the fact of a substance,… Read More »Occult Arts
So many persons have come to suppose that Spiritualism took its rise through the rappings at Rochester under the mediumship of the Fox sisters, it… Read More »Before American Spiritualism
“It is well known that, from the point of view of the colouring, human races can be divided into four principal groups: white, yellow, black,… Read More »The Red Rajputs
Ladies and gentlemen: This is our last meeting; it is the last impulse of the Cycle which we began when we opened our sessions at… Read More »Cycles and Cyclic Law
MR. CHAIRMAN; brothers and sisters; men and women; members of the Parliament of Religions: The Theosophical Society has been presenting to you but one-half of… Read More »[Theosophical Doctrine]
THE SOCIETY ABSOLUTELY UNSECTARIAN, WITHOUT A CREED, AND OPEN TO PERSONS OF ALL FAITHS. ACCEPTANCE OF DOCTRINES LARGELY TAUGHT IN THEOSOPHICAL LITERATURE NOT INCUMBENT. ITS… Read More »Organized Life of the Theosophical Society
I have been requested to speak on the subject of Universal Brotherhood as a fact in nature; not as a theory, not as a Utopian… Read More »Universal Brotherhood a Fact in Nature
Behold how like the moon reflected in the tranquil waves, Alaya is reflected by the small and by the great, is mirrored in the tiniest… Read More »The Law of Analogy
[Note: This article refers to disagreements upon a certain theosophical idea on the nature of Mars and Mercury and their relation to the Earth. For… Read More »Mars and Mercury: A Possible Solution
The publication of the following article was inadvertently delayed.—H.S. Olcott. I am moved to say a word, not by way of fomenting controversy, but merely… Read More »India and Her Theosophists
I find on p. 92 of Vol. II, Secret Doctrine, the heart of man described as consisting of four lower cavities and three higher divisions.… Read More »The Secret Doctrine and Physiology
TO THE PATH:—Please resolve a doubt. Are members of the T.S. required to become flabby in character upon entering the Society, and to give up… Read More »Our Convictions
Place has been given to Mr. Sinnett’s admirably written article “Esoteric Teaching” 1 for two good reasons: first, because he requested its publication, and second,… Read More »How to Square the Teachings
Modern science is a bugbear for many a good Theosophist, causing him to hide his real opinions for fear they should conflict with science. But… Read More »The Adepts and Modern Science
The conversion to the religion of the Prophet Mohammed of Alexander Russell Webb, F.T.S., and his establishing in New York a paper devoted to Islamism,… Read More »Regarding Islamism
Do not make statements that tend to mix up the Theosophical Society with any religious belief, political theory, or social observance or non-observance. Beware of… Read More »Cautions in Paragraphs
In the June Path there was printed a review of a pamphlet issued by the London Lodge T. S., and this magazine may perhaps be… Read More »Mars and Mercury
These three, meditation, concentration, will, have engaged the attention of Theosophists perhaps more than any other three subjects. A canvass of opinions would probably show… Read More »Meditation, Concentration, Will
The following excellent remarks are probably the oldest in the world upon the vice of gambling. They are found in Rig Veda, x, 34. It… Read More »Rig-Veda on Gambling
The Theosophical Society has been in existence since November, 1875, having been then founded in New York with the following objects: First.—To form the nucleus… Read More »Theosophical Objects
This article is meant for members of the T.S., and chiefly for those who keep H.P.B. much in mind, whether out of respect and love… Read More »Masters, Adepts, Teachers, and Disciples
Tibetan Buddhism, from which most of the technical terms in the Secret Doctrine are drawn, has been hitherto almost an “unknown land” in the study… Read More »Tibetan Buddhism
The word “glamour” was long ago defined in old dictionaries as “witchery or a charm on the eyes, making them see things differently from what… Read More »Glamour
The subject of spiritualism brings us face to face with the history of the Theosophical Society and the true progress of the human soul. When… Read More »Spiritualism