|
 "Theosophy
is no new candidate for the world's attention, but only the restatement
of principles which have been recognized from the very infancy of mankind."
The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett
. Alfred Percy Sinnett (shown
picture)
The few words on Theosophy given at the end of Paper No.1, if studied
closely, will be found to express its essential character. Derived from
the two Greek words, theos (a god, the Deity) and sophia (wisdom), THEOSOPHY
may be defined as "knowledge of divine things" or "Divine
Wisdom such as that possessed by the gods."
The Theosophical Glossary adds the explanation that it is "the substratum
and basis of all the world-religions and philosophies, taught and practised
by a few elect ever since man became a thinking being."
In recent times many students have attempted to define THEOSOPHY in words
intended to convey the vastness of the knowledge embraced by the word:
for example, "the majestic Wisdom-Religion of the archaic ages",
"Divine Knowledge or Science", "a scientific religion and
a religious science", "religion of the highest order, but not
expressed exclusively in the terms of anyone religion."
Among the variety of terms by which the ancient and universal system
is designated, we recognize Esoteric Philosophy, Secret Doctrine, Occult
Science, the Wisdom-Religion, Gupta Vidya.
Each term gives prominence to one or other aspect of the theosophical
system. These significant adjectives are found repeated throughout the
literature: secret, esoteric, archaic, occult, universal.
Theosophy exists and has always existed. It did not have to be invented
but discovered. The truths of life are inherent in Nature - they are Nature.
The scheme presented under this name is vast and immeasurably complex.
By persevering study of the literature one may come to discern its basic
principles, few indeed in number, yet constituting the foundation of the
whole system.
| 1) All Existence is ONE THING. It is not an addition sum
of separate parts but is a Whole, the ALL, the source of all manifested
things. |
| 2) The operation of the processes by which the ONE manifests as
the Many is governed by Law, universal, unaltering and unalterable. |
| 3) Man, under whatever aspect he is viewed, is
inseparable from the Whole - an epitome of the universe. |
A fine modem re-statement of the nature and scope of Theosophy is given
in the opening paragraph of Deity, Cosmos and Man, by Geoffrey
Farthing. His book is particularly valuable in that it introduces students
to the encyclopaedic volumes with which Madame Blavatsky ushered in a
new age of enlightenment.
Esoteric Science may be defined as the body of religious , philosophical
and scientific teachings that form the core of a universal and timeless
Wisdom tradition: religious, for it is concerned with the ultimate source
of being and man's relation to it; philosophical, for it embraces the
great questions of the origin and nature of man and the universe ...;
scientific, for its methods are essentially empirical, its exponents
having individually and independently tested and corroborated the teachings
received from earlier generations of wise men.
Although the Wisdom is ancient, its teachings have remained largely inaccessible
to the general public in the modem world until the publication first of
Isis Unveiled in 1877 and then of The Secret Doctrine in
1888 -a work which has remained in print ever since.
Summarizing the contents of The Secret Doctrine, Madame Blavatsky
explains:
These truths are in no sense put forward as a revelation, nor does
the author claim the position of a revealer of mystic lore, now made
public for the first time in the world's history. For what is contained
in this book is to be found scattered throughout thousands of volumes
embodying the scriptures of the great Asiastic and early European religions,
hidden under glyph and symbol, and hitherto left unnoticed because of
this veil. What is now attempted is to gather the oldest tenets together
and to make them one harmonious and unbroken whole.
The five-fold aim of this tremendous work, the restoration in our time
of the Wisdom tradition, is clearly set out in the Preface:
-to show that Nature is not "a fortuitous concurrence of atoms";
-to assign to man his rightful place in the scheme of the Universe;
-to rescue from degradation the archaic truths which are the basis of
all religions;
-to uncover, to some extent, the fundamental unity from which they all
spring;
-finally, to show that the occult side of Nature has never been approached
by the Science of modern civilization.
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FURTHER READING LIST FOR STUDENTS
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Isis Unveiled (2 vols) - H. P. Blavatsky
The Secret Doctrine (2 vols) - H. P. Blavatsky
Esoteric Buddhism - A. P. Sinnett
Deity, Cosmos and Man - Geoffrey A. Farthing
Foundations of Esoteric Philosophy - ed. lanthe H. Hoskins
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