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Idra Zuta Kadisha: The Lesser Holy Assembly

Commentary/Translation/ by S. L. MacGregor Mathers, Kabbalah Unveiled, 1887

Chapter I.Which Containeth the Introduction. 1. Tradition.—On that day on which the Companions were assembled together in the house of… Read More »Idra Zuta Kadisha: The Lesser Holy Assembly

Sepher Yetzirah

Commentary/Translation/ by William Wynn Westcott, Collectanea Hermetica, 1893 [2nd Edition, updated from 1st ed. of 1887]

Preface to the Second Edition It has been at the earnest’ wish of many students, members of the Theosophical Society,… Read More »Sepher Yetzirah

Sariraka Upanishad

Translation/ by K. Narayanaswami Aiyer, Thirty Minor Upanishads, 1914

[Śārīraka-Upanishad]1 Om. The body is a compound of pṛthivī (earth) and other mahābhūtas (primordial elements, as pas or water, agni… Read More »Sariraka Upanishad

From Plato to the Neoplatonists

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, November, 1939

During the lifetime of Plato there was little if any dissension among his pupils. But after his death in 347… Read More »From Plato to the Neoplatonists

Zoroastrian Cosmo-Genesis

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, February, 1926

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

Paracelsus: Physician

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, April, 1938

It is an interesting fact, and one which should be carefully noted by all students of occultism, that many of… Read More »Paracelsus: Physician

Zoroaster, The Father of Philosophy

Article/ by Alexander Wilder, Universal Brotherhood Magazine, September, 1898

Seven cities are named as claiming to have been the birthplace of Homer. His great poem is the classic above… Read More »Zoroaster, The Father of Philosophy

Short Survey of the Vedanta System

Article/ by Paul Deussen with Charles Johnston, , 1912 [Appendix 1 of The System of the Vedanta]

1. Introductory. Fundamental thought of the Vedanta § 1. The fundamental thought of the Vedânta, most briefly expressed by the Vedic… Read More »Short Survey of the Vedanta System

Some Clarifications Regarding H. P. Blavatsky

Article/ by Mark Casady, Theosophy Nexus, January-August, 2014 [Serialized]

Blavatsky herself, I find was quite articulate in stating her case and a lot of the common critiques and misconceptions… Read More »Some Clarifications Regarding H. P. Blavatsky

Plato

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, August, 1939

One night in the year 407 B.C., Socrates had a dream. He saw a graceful white swan flying toward him… Read More »Plato

Mr. Johnston and the Upanishads

Editorial/ by Anon., Theosophical Quarterly, January, 1932 [Author signed “Q.” (Quaesitor?)]

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

The Mādhyamika School in China

Article/ by D. T. Suzuki, Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India, December, 1898

History. The introduction of the Mādhyamika philosophy into China, according to an opinion prevalent among Japanese and Chinese Buddhists, was… Read More »The Mādhyamika School in China

Anonymous Biography of Pythagoras, preserved by Photius

Translation/ by Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie, Pythagorean Sourcebook & Library, 1919

1. Plato was the pupil of Archytas, and thus the ninth in succession from Pythagoras; the tenth was Aristotle. Those… Read More »Anonymous Biography of Pythagoras, preserved by Photius

Sources of Early American Civilization

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, October, 1927

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

Zoroastrian Metaphysics

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, January, 1926

The modern world has elevated the cult of the personal to an art; so much is this the prevailing ideal… Read More »Zoroastrian Metaphysics

The Universal Brotherhood of Man

Article/ by E. Augustus Neresheimer, Universal Brotherhood Magazine, November, 1897

This ideal when first approached from an intellectual standpoint presents no great encouragement for the realization of its truth; its… Read More »The Universal Brotherhood of Man

Word Puzzles: Evolution

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, July, 1954

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

Preamble of the Theosophical Society

Article/ by Anon., October, 1875 [as reprinted in The Theosophical Forum, September 1947]

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

Anton Mesmer

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, August, 1938

Mesmerism was from the philosophical standpoint the most pregnant of all discoveries, even though for the moment it propounded more… Read More »Anton Mesmer

The Gnostics

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, September, 1936

In the first century before the Christian era, a fresh impulse was given to the work of the Theosophical Movement… Read More »The Gnostics

[Review: Letters That Have Helped Me, Vol. 2]

Review/ by Charles Johnston, Theosophical Quarterly, October, 1905

Letters That Have Helped Me, Vol. II., compiled by Jasper Niemand and Thomas Green. This is by far the most… Read More »[Review: Letters That Have Helped Me, Vol. 2]

Historical Difficulty—Why?

Article/Q & A/ by Anon., The Theosophist, October, 1883 [For notes on authorship see Blavatsky CW vol. 5, pp. 129-138]

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?

Sufism, or Theosophy from the Standpoint of Mohammedanism [Islam]

Article/ by Carl H. A. Bjerregaard, The Path, May-October, 1886 [Serialized]

The spirit of Sufism is best expressed in the couplet of Katebi: “Last night a nightingale sung his song, perched… Read More »Sufism, or Theosophy from the Standpoint of Mohammedanism [Islam]

Memorabilia of H.P.B.

Article/ by James Morgan Pryse, The Canadian Theosophist, March, 1935

When the editor of the Canadian Theosophist asked me, several years ago, to write my memoirs of H. P. B., I… Read More »Memorabilia of H.P.B.

The First Greek Philosophers

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, March, 1939

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

The Prehistoric Greeks

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, January, 1939

On a blustery February afternoon in 1874 the German-American archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann climbed the hard steep road leading to the… Read More »The Prehistoric Greeks

Man and Teacher

Editorial/ by Edward B. Rambo, Theosophy, May, 1896

Oh the mystery of the Divine Ego back of every manifestation in the physical! Which of us can write truly… Read More »Man and Teacher

Reincarnation: A Western Study of the Subject

Article/ by Edward Dwight Walker, The Path, April, 1887

Although commonly rejected throughout Europe and America, reincarnation is unreservedly accepted by the majority of mankind at the present day,… Read More »Reincarnation: A Western Study of the Subject

Meditation and Self-Study

Article/ by Anon., Hermes Magazine, March, 1976

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

Mystics and Mysticism in Christianity

Article/ by J. D. Buck, Theosophy, June, 1897

It is no part of the purpose of the writer of this paper to give a connected history of mysticism,… Read More »Mystics and Mysticism in Christianity

Hermes Trismegistus

Article/ by Isaac Myer, The Path, September, 1886

That a tablet, now called the Smaragdine, was found there is no doubt. Its discovery is attributed by tradition to… Read More »Hermes Trismegistus

Porphyry’s Life of Plotinus, and Order of His Writings

Translation/ by Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie, 1918 [Originally published in Plotinus: Complete Works]

I. Plotinus, like Porphyry, Despised His Physical Nature, but a Picture of Him was Secured. Plotinus the philosopher, who lived… Read More »Porphyry’s Life of Plotinus, and Order of His Writings

[An Experience of the Astral World]

Story/ by Julia Keightley, The Path, February, 1887

Recently the tea-table was chatting about the Widow’s escape from the Romish fold. She was nearly converted by the urbane… Read More »[An Experience of the Astral World]

Death of William Q. Judge

Editorial/ by Anon., Theosophy, April, 1896

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

The Light of the Dark Ages

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, October, 1937

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

Charles Johnston

Editorial/ by Clarence Carroll Clark, Theosophical Quarterly, January, 1932

I and mine do not convince by arguments, similes, rhymes, We convince by our presence.—Walt Whtiman Many times they mentioned… Read More »Charles Johnston

W. Q. Judge as Organizer

Editorial/ by A. H. Spencer, Theosophy, May, 1896

Into the lives of most of us there will come at some time or other an epoch when the struggling… Read More »W. Q. Judge as Organizer

Lieh Tzu

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, February, 1927

What Mencius was to Confucius, that Lieh Tzu and Chwang Tzu were to Lao Tzu. Lieh Tzu endeavored to draw… Read More »Lieh Tzu

Hey, just what is that there theosophy anyhow?

Article/ by Mark Casady, Theosophy Nexus, September, 2014 to January, 2016 [Serialized]

Sisters & brothers: Sometimes it is good to go back to the basics. To that effect, I wish to propose… Read More »Hey, just what is that there theosophy anyhow?

Confessio Fraternitatis

Translation/ by Thomas Vaughan, 1652

Whatsoever is published, and made known to everyone, concerning our Fraternity, by the foresaid Fama, let no man esteem lightly… Read More »Confessio Fraternitatis

Atmabodha Upanishad

Translation/ by K. Narayanaswami Aiyer, Thirty Minor Upanishads, 1914

[Ātmabodha Upanishad]1 Om. Prostrations to Nārāyana wearing conch, discus, and mace,2 by whom the Yogi is released from the bondage… Read More »Atmabodha Upanishad

Zoroastrianism

Article/ by S. D. Bharucha, The Path, May, 1894

The managers of the Parliament of Religions of the World’s Fair requested Mr. Narroji of London, a Parsee who is… Read More »Zoroastrianism

Socrates

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, July, 1939

The Age of the Tyrants, which produced the “Seven Wise Men,” the early Ionian School and the Pythagorean School, ended… Read More »Socrates

Visions by William Stainton Moses

Article/Review/ by Mark Casady, Theosophy Nexus, March-July, 2015 [Serialized]

I think the search is on for the lost Blavatsky/Moses letters – so allow me to introduce a thread on… Read More »Visions by William Stainton Moses

Notes on the Mādhyamika Philosophy

Article/ by D. T. Suzuki, Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India, 1898

The Mādhyamika School is known in China as the “Three Çāstra Sect” which was first introduced by Kumāra-jīva in A.D.… Read More »Notes on the Mādhyamika Philosophy

The Kali Yuga in Hindu Chronology

Article/ by Anon., The Path, July, 1890 [Author: G. E. W.]

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

Yoga and Common Sense

Article/ by J. H. Connelly, The Path, January, 1890

Simple, straightforward, and beguilingly easy as seems the knowledge presented in the “Yoga Aphorisms” of Patanjali—in their American version at… Read More »Yoga and Common Sense

The Kings of China

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, May, 1926

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

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