A FREE INTRO TO THEOSOPHY
Let’s Start With What
Theosophy Is
The actual word Theosophy is a Greek
derivative meaning Divine Wisdom but that doesn’t mean much to the enquirer.
In the Theosophical Society the word has a
more specific meaning in relation to the work of Society co-founder Helena Petrovna
Blavatsky and later writers. H P Blavatsky’s mission was to interpret Eastern
Esoteric ideas for Western Society.
H P Blavatsky’s remit was to describe a
scheme for the existence of the Universe and to define man’s place within that
scheme. Her remit also encompassed study of the hidden dimensions of man and
his potential and also the Laws of Nature.
But It’s Not a Religion
H P Blavatsky presented her work as ideas
for consideration and not as dogma. This format has been upheld by the
Theosophical Society and everything is negotiable.
Members of the Theosophical Society are
simply required to agree with its 3 objects (outlined below)
Objects of the Society
1. To form a nucleus of the
Universal Brotherhood of Humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex,
caste or colour.
2. To encourage
the study of Comparative Religion, Philosophy and Science.
3. To investigate unexplained laws of
Nature and the powers latent in man.
How The
Theosophical Society Began
It all began in
The Theosophical Society was
founded by
Helena
Petrovna Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott who was an American
Civil War Colonel, journalist and lawyer and William
Quan Judge who was a New York lawyer.
The headquarters were
subsequently moved to their present location in
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The Secret Doctrine
H P Blavatsky wrote a voluminous amount of
Theosophical Literature but The Secret Doctrine, published 1888, is the big one
she is remembered for, and the major reference work for Theosophists. The book is divided into two sections,
Cosmogenesis (the coming into being of the Universe) and Anthropogenesis (the
coming into being of Mankind).
The Secret Doctrine is usually a rather
difficult work for beginners to tackle and we have provided some material on
this site which should make the way in to Theosophy much easier. But please
don’t give on the idea of reading The Secret Doctrine, you will probably move
on to it when you feel you are finding your feet with Theosophy.
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And Now,
A Quick Tour of
Theosophical Ideas
The overview of Theosophical ideas offered
her was written by mainstream Theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater. The work
is divided into short soundbites and Leadbeater has
an accessible journalistic style.
An Outline of Theosophy
By
Charles Webster Leadbeater
Advantage
Gained from this Knowledge
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The Rationale for Theosophy
A Rough
Outline of Theosophy by Annie Besant is a concise round up of Theosophical principles
which also examines the claims made by Theosophy. In addition, Annie Besant
summarizes the Theosophical position and approach;
“We, who are
Theosophists, allege that there exists a great body of doctrine philosophical,
scientific and ethical, which forms the basis of, and includes
all that is
accurate in, the philosophies, sciences, and religions of the ancient and
modern worlds.”
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Karma and Reincarnation
Theosophy postulates that Reincarnation or
the cycle of Death and Rebirth is an integral part of our evolution and that we
will all ultimately evolve beyond the need for further lives. For most of us
this is rather a long way off but in the meantime we can help ourselves along
and make the process a whole lot easier by studying the subject and striving to
exercise some personal control over our destiny. We have more control than we
might at first think.
In each life we have something to learn and
our teacher is the law of cause and effect or Karma. Karma is a correcting
process that pervades every level of existence without which the Universe would
simply be unworkable.
In Life and Life After Death, Annie Besant
covers the mechanics of the cycle of death and rebirth and what it means to the
end user. She outlines how the period between physical lives is a full
programme of events which can be difficult or easy depending on the life
previously lived and gives encouragement and warnings regarding the Karmic
consequences of our actions.
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Man’s Seven Principles
If you are reading this then you will
probably at least accept the possibility that there is more to us than our
physical bodies.
Theosophy postulates that we have seven
principles, sometime referred to as bodies.
Here is an outline of them with their
Sanskrit names and a brief description of their function.
Atma – The piece of the divine in everybody
sometime referred to as the Divine Spark.
Buddhi – Our individual spiritual identity.
This acts as a vehicle for the Atma
Manas – The Mind principle divided into
Higher Manas – spiritual ideals
Lower Manas – concrete and rational
thought.
There is a bridge between the two called the
Antahkarana. This is represented as Jacob’s Ladder in
the Christian Bible.
The Mortal & Immortal
Principles
Atma, Buddhi and higher Manas form the
immortal part of man. The four principles below are dumped at the end of your
physical life and you get new ones for your next life.
Prana – The life energy principle
Linga Sharira
– The model body or template for your physical body.
Sthula Sharira – Physical body – we are all familiar with this
one.
The sevenfold
constitution of man is covered in depth by the following articles;
(From a Textbook
of Theosophy)
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Evolution
The Theosophical concept of evolution is very
different from that of Charles Darwin who focused principally on the physical
and mental
development of ourselves and the animal
kingdom and the physical development plant kingdom.
The Theosophical model of evolution is very
complex and far reaching and a basic description is given here to give new
enquirers a handle on the subject.
Theosophy postulates that everything in the
universe is evolving but to simplify the explanation, the description here is
limited to the evolution of humanity and our planet.
The Earth is evolving just as we are and as
we are part of our planet, our evolution and the Earth’s evolution are
inseparable and interdependent. Theosophists refer to this interdependence of
Earth and human evolution as “Rounds and Races”
The Earth evolves through cosmic eras known
as Rounds made up of smaller cosmic eras known as Globes.
The term globe refers both to the Earth
that we recognize and six currently dormant companion Globes which function on
other planes of nature. These Globes are known as the Planetary Chain or Chain
of Globes.
A driving force composed of spiritual
entities known as the Lifewave passes through each Globe of the Chain one at a
time. This tour of the Globes is known as a Planetary Round. Our spiritual
entities are part of the Lifewave and we are on the fourth Globe of the Fourth
Round.
Seven Rounds or
(There are smaller Pralayas
between each Globe and each Round)
Humanity evolves through mass
reincarnations known as Root Races. There are seven Root Races per Globe and we
are the fifth on the current Globe.
In each phase of evolution there is something
to learn or develop.
This is a very basic outline and to move
forward with this topic here are W Q Judge’s article “Rounds and Races” and
“The Planetary Chains” by C
For more information on the Theosophical
model of Evolution here is a link to a website dedicated to the subject.
The Earth Base for Evolutionary Theosophy
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Involution and Evolution
(The Descent into Matter)
This explanation is applied
to Human Evolution but please note that everything in the Universe is evolving
on the same principle.
Theosophy postulates that
evolution is spiritual as well as physical whereas
We start out as Spiritual
Entities but you don’t get any experience for your evolution if you remain
spirit. Spirit can’t get its hands dirty so you need a vehicle and in our case
this is a physical body.
Spirit effectively descends
into matter in the form of the human body it enters and then having gained
experience (hopefully) will then rise out of it. The general idea is for us to
evolve by continually dropping down into matter (taking physical form) and then
coming back up again. This process is known as Involution and in Theosophy this
is an integral part of evolution.
Of course progress will be
made and this is on an upward spiral in which although we descend into matter,
both our Spiritual Entities and even the physical bodies we inhabit will slowly
evolve.
Involution
and Planetary Rounds
The progress of the Lifewave
through the Chain of Globes begins with passage through three increasingly more
physical Globes to our own, which is the most physical of all the Globes,
operating on the most physical cosmic plane. The Lifewave will then move up
through three less physical Globes to complete the Round.
In “The Earth Chain”, W Q Judge explains
the descent into matter of both the Earth and Humanity as an integral component
of the evolutionary process.
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The Moon is our Parent
Theosophy maintains that prior to engaging
in its journey through the Earth Chain of Globes, the Lifewave completed the
process with the Moon. The Moon like our Earth has a Chain of Globes and the
passage of the Lifewave has now completed its cycle. The Moon we can now see is
the moribund shell of the equivalent Globe to our own which operated on the
same plane of nature.
W Q Judge covers the subject of the Lifewave’s passage from the Moon in “The Earth Chain” (link
above) and also gives an excellent explanation in
“On Evolution” in response to a question
from an enquirer.
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A Word About Sanskrit
A brief
look at Theosophical writings will reveal that Theosophy uses Sanskrit terms to
describe many of its concepts
Theosophists
have good business and esoteric reasons for using Sanskrit terms. Sanskrit is
not just a language in the sense of verbal communication, it has other
dimensions and attributes that go far beyond practical everyday language.
Sanskrit
is the ancient religious, philosophical and scientific language of
By its
esoteric nature and rarified use, Sanskrit has also been protected from
distortion and pollution by other languages. English has the problem that some
words vary in meaning around the world.
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Cardiff, Wales, UK, CF24 – 1DL.
For more info on Theosophy
Try these
Cardiff Theosophical Society meetings
are informal
and there’s always a
cup of tea afterwards
The
Cardiff Theosophical Society Website
The
National Wales Theosophy Website
Dave’s
Streetwise Theosophy Boards
This
is for everybody not just people in Wales
Theosophy Cardiff’s Instant Guide to Theosophy
General pages
about Wales, Welsh History
and The History of
Theosophy in Wales
Teosofia en Cardiff (Página en Español)
One Liners & Quick Explanations
The Most Basic Theosophy Website in the Universe
If you run a Theosophy Study Group you can use
this as an introductory handout
The
South of Heaven Guide to
Theosophy and Devachan
The
preparation of this Website
The Spiritual Home of Urban Theosophy
The Earth Base for Evolutionary Theosophy
Classic Introductory
Theosophy Text
A Text Book of Theosophy By C
What Theosophy Is From the Absolute to Man
The Formation of a Solar System The Evolution of Life
The Constitution of Man After Death Reincarnation
The Purpose of Life The Planetary Chains
The Result of Theosophical Study
An Outstanding
Introduction to Theosophy
By a student of
Katherine Tingley
Elementary Theosophy Who is the Man? Body and Soul
Body, Soul and Spirit Reincarnation Karma
Preface to the American Edition Introduction
Occultism and its Adepts The Theosophical Society
First Occult Experiences Teachings of Occult Philosophy
Later Occult Phenomena Appendix
Preface
Theosophy and the Masters General Principles
The Earth Chain Body and Astral Body Kama – Desire
Manas Of
Reincarnation Reincarnation Continued
Karma Kama Loka
Devachan
Cycles
Arguments Supporting Reincarnation
Differentiation Of Species Missing Links
Psychic Laws, Forces, and Phenomena
Psychic Phenomena and Spiritualism