Articles related to the Ancient Wisdom

It is a strange fact that life exists only in that elusive moment which is the present, not in the past or in the future. The future is really a thought from the standpoint of -the present, and the past, even the event of the past instant, is only a memory. But in between is that intangible hardly discernible moment which we call the present.

The present tendency of education is to make them [Indians] materialistic and root out spirituality.With a proper understanding of what their ancestors meant by their writings and teachings, educationwould become a blessing whereas now it is often a curse. . . . This changed attitude toward the olderphilosophy would influence native Princes and wealthy men to endow normal schools for the…

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.

According to H. P. Blavatsky, the Brotherhood of Adeptsto which her teachers belong, known as the Trans-Himalayan Brotherhood, makes an attempt during the last quarter of every century to bring to the Western world some of the teachings of the Wisdom Tradition preserved in the East. The Theosophical Society founded by her in 1875 is said to be that attempt for the nineteenth century

Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) was the founder of the Gelugpa or “Yellow Hat” order of Tibetan Buddhism. This soon became the dominant order in Tibet, making Tsongkhapa Tibet’s most influential teacher. Not only was this great reformer the leading teacher of the known or exoteric teachings, but according to Theosophical sources, he was also the leading teacher of the secret or esoteric teachings, the…

It has now become possible to identify the specific school or tradition of Buddhism in Tibet that represents the doctrinal position of the Wisdom Tradition known today as Theosophy. Itis the “Great Madhyamaka” or “Great Middle Way” (in Tibetan, dbu ma chen po) school or tradition. This tradition, preserved for the last millennium in Tibet, has only become known to us in recent years.

Ancient India is considered to be the spiritual motherland of our planet. According to The Secret Doctrine, it was the home of the once universal Wisdom Tradition. From ancient India, called Åryåvarta, the wisdom teachings went forth into all the religions and philosophies of the world. H. P. Blavatsky writes:
For Åryåvarta, the bright focus into which had been poured in the beginning…

Sankaracarya, the preceptor (åcårya) ̨ Sankara, is regarded by Blavatsky as a great teacher of the Wisdom Tradition, or the esoteric Philosophy. In her primary work, The Secret Doctrine, he is referred to as “the greatest Initiate living in the historical ages,” and as “the greatest of the Esoteric masters of India.” The philosophy promulgated by him, the Advaita or non-dual school of Vedånta…

The existence of the once universal Wisdom-Religion was made known to the modern world by H. P. Blavatsky, who called its modern form Theosophy. She early on described its original form as “pre-Vedic Buddhism.” Today, no one knows of any pre-Vedic Buddhism. Buddhism is thought to have originated with Gautama Buddha around 500 B.C.E., while the Vedas are much older than that.

Theosophy is the modern name given by H. P. Blavatsky to what is described by her as the once universal but now hidden Wisdom-Religion, the parent source of all known religions.

The books of Kiu-te, as most Theosophists know, are said to be the source from which the Stanzas of Dzyan in The Secret Doctrine were translated. We are told that besides the secret books of Kiu-te from which the Stanzas of Dzyan were translated, there exist public books of Kiu-te, found in the libraries of Tibetan monasteries.1 Yet these public books of Kiu-te remained, for all practical…

The Master stood on a great ledge of rock extending far out over a precipice that seemed miles below. With his face lighted by the first rays of the coming day that shot across the peaks above him and with his hands clasped behind him he waited in silence for the coming of the pupil to whom he had signalled.

ADEPT is a word that comes from the Latin adeptus, meaning "obtained, attained". It is commonly used to describe a highly skilled person; an expert in a particular discipline.

In Theosophical literature this term is employed in connection with the Occult Science and the Esoteric Philosophy. The word is used to define a wide variety of degrees of knowledge of Occultism, from relatively…

There are Dhyan-Chohans and "Chohans of Darkness," not what they term devils but imperfect “ Intelligences " who have never been born on this or any other earth or sphere no more than the “ Dhyan Chohans" have and who will never belong to the “ builders of the Universe," the pure Planetary Intelligences, who preside at every Manvantara while the Dark Chohans preside at the Pralayas.

Theosophy embodies both ancient and modern expressions of the Ageless Wisdom and it has been entrusted to theosophists as a heritage for preservation and dissemination. This body of knowledge can be archived in virtual reality and human memory; it can be accessed for interpretation; and it could serve as an agenda of action.

The problems of life, to be even faintly understood, must be viewed from a great standpoint. Man is not a newly created, arbitrarily endowed being. He is a creature in process of evolution, and not only one life, but many lives are his in the great school of the world, which is the field of his growth and development.

Those who have written on the transmission of the Hebrew Scriptures tell us concerning the sacred books that the utmost jealousy was observed in regard to a single “jot or tittle” being omitted or added; that any such departure from faithfulness in transcription was sufficient to bring about the destruction of the imperfect copy. There are some who deny the possibility of any great accuracy in…

Some theosophical students have written that true Theosophy does not have core teachings or doctrine

It is only the knowledge of the constant re-births of one and the same individuality throughout the life-cycle; the assurance that the same MONADS have to pass through the "Circle of Necessity," rewarded or punished by such rebirth for the suffering endured or crimes committed in the former life.

There are three truths which are absolute, and which cannot be lost, but yet may remain silent for lack of speech.

The world-view of every individual is compounded of many dimensions of experience (including those that are tacit and unacknowledged as well as those which are consciously affirmed), but it is fundamentally based on one’s conception of reality. When we speak of the world, we do not mean the facts of existence of the things and events we encounter, but rather the basic set of metaphors in terms…

Dorothy Bell is well known as an international educator in Theosophy.  She considers that it is the way we each see life that influences our understanding of our world.

We enter this life by the gateway of birth and after spending about 70 years on this planet under all kinds of…

INTRODUCTION

Great value is to be found in this little pamphlet by Mr. Geoffrey Hodson, value in three categories. Firstly, not much information on Kundalini and its inherent awakening power has been openly given to the world, for there are infinite dangers in its misuse and misdirected development. Therefore, this brief treatise affords an interesting…

The following set of instructions were given by Madame Blavatsky,  a Principal Co-Founder of the Theosophical Society, to some of her earnest students in London in 1888:

GEOFFREY HODSON was born on the 12th of March 1886 at Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, England at 6:55 am. He was the eldest of five children, three boys and two girls.

His occult experiences began when he was about five or six years old. He had dream experiences in the half waking state and this seemed to be connected with Kundalini. Here are Mr Hodson’s words describing that event.

In a letter, Dorothy Bell shares thoughts on the power of a theosophical worldview to unravel a universal problem.

A letter to my Sister in India…  On the Equality of Men and Women

Namaste, dear Sister Deepa,

The Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling are a fantastically magical phenomenon. Coming out of nowhere in the publishing world, they rapidly became the best-selling young people’s books of our time, and the movies based upon them have been equally popular.

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the world’s great spiritual texts to which we may look for guidance for living a meaningful or a significant existence. Through centuries it has inspired thinkers, scholars, social activists, and people from all walks of life. It has been translated into nearly as many languages as are spoken on the planet, and commentaries on it have been produced throughout time…

Lecture delivered at the 116th International Convention at Adyar, December 1991. Originally published in The Theosophist, February 1992.

Comments on "The Voice of the Silence"

by Clara Codd

Part-1-

I think this is the most sublime and splendid scripture that ever was written. Everybody has a favourite. Dr. Arundale, I remember, liked At the Feet of the Master, that was his beloved, and Dr. Besant The Bhagavad Gita,…