“A Comparative Failure”
From some of the incidents in the history of the Theosophical Society we can learn almost as much as from… Read More »“A Comparative Failure”
Letter No. 38 to A. P. Sinnett
{Written & received, London, late October 1884, just prior to H.P.B.’s October 31 departure for India via Liverpool.} Mr. Sinnett,… Read More »Letter No. 38 to A. P. Sinnett
[Christianity in Japan]
History repeats itself. The rise and triumph of Christianity and its general spread in the West were due originally to… Read More »[Christianity in Japan]
[On Dr. Elliott Coues]
Strange things occur in this sublunary world; but the strangest of all is, that a recognized American scientist of great… Read More »[On Dr. Elliott Coues]
[On Zagovarivayt]
Article selection by N. A. Fadeeff | Note by H.P.B. In Astrachan, on the Caspian Sea, there was, during our… Read More »[On Zagovarivayt]
“It’s the Cat!”
(Dedicated to those Members of the T.S. whom the cap may fit.) “Let ignominy brand thy hated name;Let modest matrons… Read More »“It’s the Cat!”
[On William Oxley]
Selections from correspondence by A. D. Bathell | Notes by H.P.B. To the Editor of Lucifer.1 No doubt many of… Read More »[On William Oxley]
[On Evidence of the Third Eye]
Questions by C. Carter Blake | Editor’s Note by H.P.B. . . . I therefore respectfully ask the Editor of… Read More »[On Evidence of the Third Eye]
Are all Russian Ladies Russian Agents?
A certain young lady, by name A. de Grasse Stevens, has excited no small indignation in the Russian camp by… Read More »Are all Russian Ladies Russian Agents?
Christian or Mental Science
Article selections by Reginald Birney | Notes by H.P.B. I heard once of a distinguished physician who told his class… Read More »Christian or Mental Science
From the Note Book of an Unpopular Philosopher (3)
THOUGHTSON THE BIRTHDAY OF LUCIFER Ever Onward. In its ceaseless, and also too rapid, flight along the path of Eternity,… Read More »From the Note Book of an Unpopular Philosopher (3)
Impersonality
The desire for union with one’s Higher Self is general among Theosophists and even with many who do not call… Read More »Impersonality
[The Bride Sophia vs. Succubi & Incubi]
[The following was an Editorial Note by H.P.B. in reply to an article titled “A Sufi’s Mystical Apologue” by A.J.C.]… Read More »[The Bride Sophia vs. Succubi & Incubi]
Theosophy and Orthodoxy
The question “What is Theosophy?” demands an answer from those who assume to be its exponents. No doubt it may… Read More »Theosophy and Orthodoxy
Letter No. 10 (A. P. Sinnett to A. O. Hume)
{Concerning William Eglinton and the “Vega Incident,” see Hints on Esoteric Theosophy, 2nd ed. pp. 108 et seq.} Various Letters… Read More »Letter No. 10 (A. P. Sinnett to A. O. Hume)
Letter No. 9 to A. P. Sinnett
{November} 14th. {1881} Meerut, Your telegram just received. Now what does that mean? I knew it was coming for M.… Read More »Letter No. 9 to A. P. Sinnett
Children Allowed to Train Themselves for Murder
Correspondence by “Ariadna” | Reply by H.P.B. “Ariadna” writes:— English folk are fond of maintaining the superiority of their national… Read More »Children Allowed to Train Themselves for Murder
Letter No. 12 to A. P. Sinnett
{Adyar, Dec. 16+, 1883} There’s a love chit for you just received. I guess my Boss splits himself owing to… Read More »Letter No. 12 to A. P. Sinnett
[On Abhiñña]
Article selection by A.J.C. | Note by H.P.B. The five, so-called, supernatural powers of the Buddhists—the Abhidagna,1 are 1st, Clairvoyance;… Read More »[On Abhiñña]
[On Chinese History and Biblical Chronology]
Article selections by Andrew T. Sibbald | Notes by H.P.B. About two thousand years before our Christian era, the Chinese… Read More »[On Chinese History and Biblical Chronology]
The Purpose of Life
Who is there among men to whom a certain knowledge of the purpose of life would not be welcome? Probably… Read More »The Purpose of Life
What Theosophy and its Society Should Be
The letter from which the following pages are translated—and which was never meant for publication—was recently addressed to one of… Read More »What Theosophy and its Society Should Be
The Sacred Mission of the S.P.R.
All our friends remember the astounding story, born and elaborated in the head of a too zealous “Researcher” sent to… Read More »The Sacred Mission of the S.P.R.
[On Atoms and the Sun]
Article selections by Clara J. Bloomfield-Moore | Notes by H.P.B. . . . Ether in its high tenuous condition is… Read More »[On Atoms and the Sun]
A Danger Signal
“Initiates are sure to come into the company of the Gods.”—Socrates, in the Phaedo. In the first number of the… Read More »A Danger Signal
Our Society’s “Agapæ.”
Our Brothers in France had a happy idea in establishing what we might call theosophical agapæ, minus the mystic and… Read More »Our Society’s “Agapæ.”
[On Ireland and Atlantis]
Questions by C. Carter Blake | Editor’s Note by H.P.B. . . . It behoves me, therefore, to ask you:—… Read More »[On Ireland and Atlantis]
[On a Bogus “Occult” Order]
We copy the following curious advertisement from The Two Worlds, a spiritualistic paper. “Mr. Joseph Blackburn, of Keighley, has taken… Read More »[On a Bogus “Occult” Order]
[On the “Accursed”]
Kindly condescending to notice, and even to review (!!), our December number of Lucifer, the Saturday Review, in its issue… Read More »[On the “Accursed”]
[On Tukaram Tatya]
[Tukaram Tatya Padval (1836–1896) is] the most active and indefatigable of all our Bombay Theosophists in the spread of Sanskrit… Read More »[On Tukaram Tatya]
Man Know Thyself
The above words are familiar to most men, and to most have but little meaning. Centuries of dogmatic theology, with… Read More »Man Know Thyself
Our Christian 19th Century Ethics
As civilization progresses, moral darkness pervades the alleged light of Christianity. The chosen symbol of our boasted civilization ought to… Read More »Our Christian 19th Century Ethics
Apollonius, Sage of Tyana
During the first century A.D. the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea comprised the known Western world, where the Roman empire… Read More »Apollonius, Sage of Tyana
“The Empty Vessel Makes the Greatest Sound.”
Miss Susie C. Clark, of Cambridgeport, Mass., says in substance: “I am a mental healer … Of late rumours reach… Read More »“The Empty Vessel Makes the Greatest Sound.”
Blind Leaders of the Blind
“The work now submitted to public judgment is the fruit of a somewhat intimate acquaintance with Eastern adepts and study… Read More »Blind Leaders of the Blind
[Definitions of Adept and Initiate]
Article selection by Josef B. Widen | Note by H.P.B. . . . It has been stated that it requires… Read More »[Definitions of Adept and Initiate]
Butler Exposed
The New York World of Feb. 1st. exposes the whole scheme in the following up-and-up manner: Members of the Boston… Read More »Butler Exposed
Professor Elliot Coues and Koot Hoomi
To the Editor of “Light.” Sir,—In answer to Professor Elliot Coues’ reference to me, in his letter upon Psychometry, in… Read More »Professor Elliot Coues and Koot Hoomi
[On the books of Mabel Collins]
To the Editor of “Light.” Sir,—The letter of Dr. E. Coues, republished from the Religio-Philosophical Journal, in your issue of… Read More »[On the books of Mabel Collins]
[On Olcott and Buddhism]
Esoteric Buddhism is decidedly on the brain of our journalists. This is what we read in the Times of the… Read More »[On Olcott and Buddhism]
A Few Queries
Questions by C.S. | Answers by H.P.B. As you kindly invite questions relating to Theosophy, I make free to put… Read More »A Few Queries
The Work of the “Esoteric Section of the T.S.”
To All the “Pledged” Theosophists. The Washington Evening Star of June the 22nd, 1889, contains an article full of the… Read More »The Work of the “Esoteric Section of the T.S.”
A Year on the Path
The present issue of this magazine closes the first year of its publication. It was not started because its projectors… Read More »A Year on the Path
Thoth, Divine Scribe
Who is this Thoth, of whom so many explanations are made, and who remains, even so, mysterious, inscrutable? We find… Read More »Thoth, Divine Scribe
Dhammapada, Wisdom of the Buddha
Contents Illustration of Palm Leaf Manuscript Foreword Introduction Acknowledgments Canto I – The Twin Verses II – On Vigilance III –… Read More »Dhammapada, Wisdom of the Buddha
The Wisdom of Emptiness
Understanding “emptiness” is presented in Buddhism as the culmination of religious training. It is attained through the systematic practice of… Read More »The Wisdom of Emptiness
Egyptian Teachings in the Light of Theosophy
Verily there was some truth in the old saying, “The Wisdom of the Egyptians.” . . . — H. P.… Read More »Egyptian Teachings in the Light of Theosophy
[Review:] The Mayan Popol Vuh
Dennis Tedlock’s recent translation of the Quiche Mayan Popol Vuh* is one of the finest, and as such is attracting widespread attention.… Read More »[Review:] The Mayan Popol Vuh