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Varaha Upanishad

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

[Varāha]1 Chapter I The great sage Ṛbhu performed penance for twelve deva (divine) years. At the end of the time,… Read More »Varaha Upanishad

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

First Century Christianity

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

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

Brotherhood

Article/ by J. D. Buck, The Path, November, 1889

A great deal has been recently written in regard to the Brotherhood of Man. It is a frequent theme in… Read More »Brotherhood

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

The Similitudes of Demophilus

Translation/ by William Bridgman, 1804 [Originally published in Translations from the Greek]

1. Flattery is like painted armour, because it affords delight, but is of no use. 2. Learning is similar to a golden… Read More »The Similitudes of Demophilus

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

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

Was Writing Known Before Panini?

Article/ by Anon., The Theosophist, October, 1883 [Author signed as “A Chela”]

I am entrusted with the task of putting together some facts which would support the view that the art of… Read More »Was Writing Known Before Panini?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[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?

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 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

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

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

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

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

The Ancient Wisdom of the Maoris

Article/ by John St. Clair, Theosophy, April, 1897

In his reports of the World’s parliament of religions at Chicago, Mr. Stead has a fine portrait of Tawhiao the… Read More »The Ancient Wisdom of the Maoris

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

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 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

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]

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

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

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

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

Thomas Paine

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

On January 29, 1737, a son was born to Joseph Paine, a humble staymaker living in Thetford, England. A great… Read More »Thomas Paine

Do the Adepts Deny the Nebular Theory?

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

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?

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?

Lao Tzu and the Taoists

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

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

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

Brotherhood: The Law of Being

Article/ by Anon., Universal Brotherhood Magazine, September, 1899 [Author signed as “Pentaur”]

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

Buddhism, The Fulfilment of Hinduism

Lecture/ by Swami Vivekananda, September, 1893

I am not a Buddhist, as you have heard, and yet I am. If China, or Japan, or Ceylon follow… Read More »Buddhism, The Fulfilment of Hinduism

Seeds and Seedlings: The Doctrine of Perfectibility

Article/ by Anon., Theosophy Magazine, September, 1956

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

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

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