Confusing the Esoteric with the Exoteric:T. Subba Row on Advaita Vedånta by David Reigle

T. Subba Row is regarded by Theosophists as an authority on the esoteric teachings that constitute the Wisdom Tradition now known as Theosophy. However great his knowledge of the esoteric teachings may have been, his writings show a strange confusion regarding the exoteric or known teachings of his own tradition, Advaita Vedånta. He has inexplicably attributed the esoteric teachings to exoteric Advaita Vedånta. H. P. Blavatskydrew upon him as an authority in her own writings, which are the fundamental sourcebooks of Theosophy. This confusion has in this way entered her primary work, The Secret Doctrine. Advaita Vedånta has thus been seriously misrepresented in Theosophical writings and has been taken to support esoteric teachings that it does not in fact support. No one appreciates having his or her beliefs misrepresented. This does an injustice to the adherents of Advaita Vedånta and does a disservice to the teachings of Theosophy. But there is more.

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The foregoing article was written by David Reigle in 2009. It is herepublished for the first time, by Eastern Tradition Research Institute,copyright 2009.