Theosophy: The search for the purpose of life

By Roz Brown

      In the early 1400s, the so-called gypsies crossed into central Europe from the continent of Asia , having traveled from northern India to areas of Germany , England and Wales . The Europeans were both drawn to and repelled by these dark-skinned nomads in their colorful clothes, and mistakenly believed they were from Egypt . They called them the "Egyptians," eventually shortened to gyptians and finally gypsies. The gypsies did not correct the misunderstanding. Instead, they carried with them tarot cards and would work magic, do spells and perform divination such as fortune telling, palmistry and tea leaf readings. People treated them as mystics, and the gypsies were happy to oblige.

      Much the same can be said for the controversial Russian occultist, H.P. Blavatsky, the founder of theosophy, a belief based on the mystical insight into the nature of God and soul. Blavatsky is sometimes referred to as the Russian Sphinx. By definition, a sphinx is someone difficult to know or understand, and Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was all of that and more. Her biographers describe her as a Russian-born noblewoman, world traveler, student of religions, respected psychic and outspoken iconoclast. But she has also been called a psychological enigma, a puzzle and a fraud. Nonetheless, her devotion to creating a system of religion with a theme of common humanitarianism has had a lasting effect.

      Theosophy was first known as a religion based on special mystical insights. Its definition has since evolved to mean "knowledge of or about God" and by its practitioners is called "the wisdom religion."

      What is generally referred to in Western society as theosophy dates back to 1875, when Blavatsky-along with Henry Steele Olcott, a lawyer, journalist and Civil War administrative hero-organized the Theosophical Society in New York City . The term theosophy-theos meaning "god" and sophos meaning "wise"-was chosen to describe their vision because it seemed to express their goals to identify esoteric truth, while at the same time covering the aspects of occult scientific research. When the society was formed in 1875, it had three objectives:

1. To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity-to accept that we are all inherently one, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color;

2. To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science; and

3. To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man. To Blavatsky, that meant encouraging the study of those laws least understood by modern people, what she called the occult sciences.

      The "brotherhood of man" concept was taken directly from the Buddhist tradition, and within four years of establishing the Theosophical Society in New York , Blavatsky and Olcott traveled to India where they established the international headquarters in 1882. To that end, they hoped to bring people together, to reconcile religions and philosophies, both Eastern and Western.

      Many influential people of the day were attracted to theosophy including playwright Oscar Wilde, poet W.B. Yeats, author George Bernard Shaw, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, inventor Thomas Edison and scholar Rudolf Steiner, once the Society's president before promoting his own movement, the Anthroposophical Society.

      Today, the Theosophical Society's national headquarters are located in Wheaton , Illinois , just outside of Chicago , with the international headquarters located in Adyar, Chennai ( Madras ), India .

      Theosophy does not promote a particular doctrine, and the only binding principal is common humanitarianism and transcendentalism, and the admonition to search for the purpose of life through study, reflection and purity.

      In Denver , the Theosophical Society holds public programs at the Denver Public Library to explore topics related to the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science. According to Olivia Hansen, president of the Denver chapter, "We are non-sectarian and non-dogmatic. Our members belong to many different religions, and we encourage them to embrace divinity through whatever approach seems appropriate for them." In other words, one person who belongs to the Society may practice the Eastern traditions of meditation and yoga, but a good many others may not.

      Recent programs have been about education and art, dharma and morality, and the amazing nature of animals. Speakers are usually local, but have also include Dora Kunz, one of the founders of Therapeutic Touch, and Dr. Stephan Hoeller, speaking on Jung and the Lost Gospels.

      "We are seeking greater insights into life and divinity that can help us find our path within," says Hansen. "To that end, we advocate study, meditation and service. You can read and study many philosophical concepts, and you should, but if you care about brotherhood, the world and yourself, you need to help make things better."

      According to the Dictionary of the Unexplained (edited by Richard Cavendish, Penguin Books, 1976), the broadness of theosophy's appeal has always been its greatest strength. "Theosophy was welcomed into the 'progressive' circles of Europe and America almost as a universal palliative," Cavendish says, "for it embodied in one magnificently undefined whole the idealistic aspirations of a large section of the educated or semi-educated classes."

      As might be expected, as soon as the Theosophical Society began to experience recognition, critics emerged. One investigator wrote that Blavatsky's "miracles" were trickery, manufactured by Blavatsky and her followers to exaggerate her supernatural powers.

      That explains why Robert Todd Carroll, author of The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions ( New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, 2003), is both complimentary and critical of theosophy. On the one hand, it is praised for its "eclectic compilation of Hindu, Egyptian, Gnostic and other exotic scriptures and teachings." But there's a caveat. The author goes on to say, "These are philosophies and stories for those who shake and quiver at the sound of such words as secret, special, spiritual, enlightenment, transformation, esoteric, occult, divine, ancient wisdom, cosmic, vision, dynamics, golden, Isis, mysteries and masters."

      It's difficult to argue, however, with Blavatsky's gift for conveying her message. She writes: "Theosophy, on earth, is like the white ray of the spectrum, and every religion only one of the seven prismatic colors. Ignoring all the others, and cursing them as false, every special colored ray claims not only priority, but to be that white ray itself, and anathematizes even its own tints from light to dark, as heresies." She believed that Theosophy was a path to discovering that all religions had something to offer, and to that end, eternal truth would not be embraced until artificial polarizations created by religions were abandoned.

      The Book of World Religions, edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Hamlyn Publishing Group, 1971), points out that the "impact of world religions upon each other is one of the most significant events of our time," and credits the Theosophical Society in part with bringing the Hindu ideas of monism, pantheism and reincarnation to the Western world. If the point of studying religion is to develop a greater understanding for others, Blavatsky and Olcott's Society has been wildly successful.

 

 

Resources, local and beyond

For more information on theosophy, see the following:

. Isis Unveiled, by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Theosophical University Press, 1999)

. Spiritualism, Madame Blavatsky, and Theosophy: An Eyewitness View of Occult History, by Rudolf Steiner (Steiner Books, Inc., 2001)

. The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy, by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, originally published 1888

. Theosophical Siftings: A Collection of Essays (Kessinger Publishing Company, 2003)

. Years of Theosophy: A History of the Theosophical Society in America , by Joy Mills (The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987)

. www.theosophy.org

. www.thesociety.org