Theosophical Society

This essay investigates the well-known, yet understudied, Bengali Theosophist Mohini Mohun Chatterji. In this essay, Mohini Chatterji's life and career will be discussed in relation to the Theosophical Society. His case will be seen as an example of how Bengali Theosophists played a significant role in the transcultural, entangled history of the global Theosophical movement, thus connecting Vedantic philosophy with occultism.

This chapter investigates the spiritualist and occult activities of the first Bengali Theosophist Peary Chand Mittra (1814–1883). Known for his social activism and literary works, Mittra was one of the most celebrated intellectuals of nineteenth-century Bengal. He earned a reputation in the spiritualist circles through his writings published in the notable spiritualist journals of Britain and America. It was through these works that Henry S. Olcott (1832–1907) and Helena P. Blavatsky (1831–1891) learned about him and inducted him as member of the Theosophical Society. He eventually went on to become the first President of the Calcutta lodge of the Theosophical Society. Tracing the footprints of Mittra, this chapter analyses the transcultural networks of esotericism and occultism, thus examining the early days of Theosophy in India.

This dissertation examines the life and work of Mrs. Rosa Frances Swiney (1847-1922), the feminist, eugenicist, and Theosophist. It uses her example to illustrate the impact Theosophy had on Britain’s First Wave Feminism, as well as to examine how her own historical background in imperial Britain influenced her interpretations of Theosophical ideas and concepts.
Therefore, this dissertation uses a biographical approach to analyse Swiney’s individual and gendered agency in the feminist and religious discourses of her time. It applies theories on the subject and its relation to its surrounding discourse to examine the possibilities and boundaries of Swiney’s agency, and, therefore, her impact on esotericism as well as British feminism.
It concludes that Swiney’s feminism was not only strongly shaped by Theosophy; in addition, her interpretations of Theosophy were highly influenced by the contemporary imperial discourses on motherhood, reproduction, and race, which affected Britain’s First Wave Feminism. This dissertation will illustrate how these contexts made Swiney’s individual agency possible, but, at the same time, restricted her impact on either Theosophy or feminism. It argues that the influence alternative religious, or esoteric movements, such as the Theosophical Society had on contexts like British feminism cannot be understood without analysing the specific historical context which produced the theosophical feminist individual.

The present study focuses on the activities of the first Polish Theosophical group, which for many reasons was never fully institutionally recognized. It was active from around 1905 and concentrated around Kazimierz Stabrowski (1869-1929), a Polish painter and the head of the Warsaw School of Fine Arts. The aim of this paper is to sociologically analyze this esoteric environment in Warsaw, which is treated here as an example of a cultic milieu from the perspective of visibility and recognition. Referring to the category of rejected knowledge (anomalies or the "cultural rubbish bin") and using the case of Stabrowski and other members of the group, the authors highlight their efforts in the struggle for the recognition of their ideas in various environments and trace the process of their exclusion. Further, they examine the status of the Theosophical current in the public discourse of the time, which was undoubtedly related to the scope of Theosophy itself, which largely focused on the liminal aspects of humanity and cognition.

This article presents and analyses the activities of the Association for Dutch Jewish Theosophists (VJT), which was formed during the Order of the Star of the East congress in 1926. The VJT, which has never been studied before, helped in altering the perception of Judaism in the Netherlands. Dutch Theosophists began to see Judaism and its mystical Kabbalah as a religion with a long history comparable to Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Prior to the VJT, several Dutch Jewish Theosophists developed other initiatives to educate their brethren and others about Judaism. Although none of these activities were long lasting, they illustrate that Theosophy was an incentive for Dutch Jewish Theosophists to have a fresh look at their own religion. This may even have led them to develop an affinity with progressive Judaism. These developments came to a halt when Jews began to be transported to Camp Westerbork.

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Thomas Moore Johnson, the Sage of the Osage, was a small town lawyer in western Missouri whose international correspondence was largely a result of The Platonist, a short-lived but influential journal he published intermittently from 1881 until 1888. Johnson rarely traveled far from Osceola, his birthplace, where he served as mayor for several terms, but through correspondence he became a key figure in the late 19th century American awakening of interest in Western esoteric traditions.
During the 1880s Johnson was instrumental in the nationwide expansion of two esoteric organizations, the Theosophical Society (TS) and the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor. Although Theosophy had developed a primary interest in Indian spiritual traditions, Johnson’s Platonist attracted the attention of TS leaders and members around the world. Johnson was a member of the American Board of Control of the TS as the Society began to establish branches throughout the United States. But within a short time he became more seriously committed to a secret society with a focus on Western rather than Eastern wisdom traditions, the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor.

Letters to the Sage, Volume One offers readers and scholars a rare glimpse into the relationships, organizational struggles, and intellectual and spiritual explorations of several of the key figures and locations in the early years of America’s occult revival. Containing over 200 letters from dozens of American and international cities, as well as what is perhaps the earliest known evidence of the organized study of the Tarot, Yoga, and Sufism in the United States, this is an essential book for those interested in the history of the American Midwest, esotericism, religion, and philosophy.

"Naphtali Herz Imber is famous as the author of the Jewish national anthem, “Hatikvah”
( “The Hope”). He is also quite well known for his non-conformism, vagabond lifestyle,
and excessive drinking. However, his interest in the occult and Kabbalah are much less
known. Imber wrote several articles on Jewish mysticism, translated some kabbalistic texts,
and published the first journal on Kabbalah—Uriel: A Monthly Magazine Devoted
to Cabbalistic Science (of which only one issue appeared). Although much scholarly literature
has been devoted to Imber and his famous poem, his interest in the occult and Jewish
mysticism has not been investigated. This article will discuss Imber’s encounter with latenineteenth-
century esotericism, specifically the doctrines of Laurence and Alice Oliphant
and the Theosophical Society. It presents Imber’s notions concerning Jewish mysticism and
examines the impact that the Theosophical Society and the Oliphants’ principles had on
his perception of Kabbalah. Finally, it discusses the connection between Imber’s Zionism
and his interest in Kabbalah and shows that his perception of Jewish mysticism, which
was greatly influenced by Western esoteric ideas, was shaped in the framework of fin de
siècle Orientalism and Jewish nationalism. Imber’s positive evaluation of Jewish mysticism
and its nationalistic interpretation anticipates the position of later Zionist scholars of
Jewish mysticism, whose vision of Kabbalah and Hasidism largely shaped the way Jewish
mysticism is perceived and studied today."

This inventory is basically a list of names with some additional info. It is part of the research carried out, and consequently a supplement to my article "The Association of Jewish Theosophists in the Netherlands: The Efforts of Louis Vet and Others to Revive Judaism," which will be published in Correspondences 7, no. 2 (2019): 411-39.

Atlantide, Lemuria, Hyperborea, Pan, Mu, e tanti altri. Il modo in cui l'essere umano ha dato sfogo alla propria creatività è reso manifesto dalla fantageografia e dalla moltitudine di ipotesi susseguitesi nel corso della storia e che, in particolare, alla fine del XIX secolo hanno visto il loro culmine nel crogiolo del neo-misticismo teosofico. Questo primo capitolo si concentra sulla genesi dei continenti le cui leggende hanno accompagnato la nostra infanzia, prefiggendosi di contestualizzare ed individuare la loro nascita ed il loro sviluppo nell'immaginario collettivo.

Öz Bu makalede Batı ezoterik geleneği içerisinde kendisine önemli bir yer bulan " teosofi " kavramı ve bu kavram adı altında oluşan öğretinin tarihi süreci ele alınacaktır. Günümüzde daha çok Helena Petrovna Blavatsky liderliğinde ortaya çıkan bir modern okültist hareket olan Teosofi Cemiyeti ile özdeşleşen teosofi kavramının, gelenekte daha farklı bir konuma sahip olduğu belirtilmelidir. Etimolojik olarak " ilahi bilgi/bilgelik " anlamına gelen teosofi kavramı, Tanrı'nın tecrübî, aşkın, gizli, doğrudan bilgisine işaret eder. Bu anlamda teosofi düşüncesi kökleri antik döneme kadar uzanan dini, mistik ve felsefi karakteri olan bir anlayışı ifade eder. Teosofinin Batı geleneğinde Hermetizm, gnostisizm, kabala, yeni-Platonculuk ve Hıristiyan mistisizmi ile ilişkisi vurgulanır. Bu çalışmada teosofi kavramı Teosofi Cemiyeti'nden soyutlanarak gelenekteki anlamıyla ve İslam düşüncesindeki iz düşümleriyle değerlendirilecektir. Abstract In this article will be approached that the concept of " theosophy " which finds itself a significant place in Western esoteric tradition and will be discussed that the teaching which has occured under the concept of theosophy and its historical process. Nowadays the concept of theosophy identify with the Theosophical Society which is an occultist movement led by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. But it should be noted that the concept of theosophy had an different location in tradition. Etymologically, theosophy means “divine knowledge/wisdom”; with this meaning it indicates the experiential, transcendent, secret and direct knowledge of god. In this sense the notion of theosophy dating back to ancient times which expresses a sense of religious, mystical and philosophical character. And in Western tradition the relation which theosophy has with Hermetism, gnosticism, kabbalah, neo-Platonism and Christian mysticism is emphasized. In this study the concept of theosophy by isolated from Theosophical Society will be evaluated with its traditional meaning and with its projections in Islamic thought.

The Polish Journal of the Arts and Culture, No. 13 (1/2015), p. 53-72.

The paper analyses the functioning of groups promoting Theosophical ideas in Poland from the beginning of the 20th century. Subsequent institutional stages of Theosophical groups are discussed, such as the Circle led by Kazimierz Stabrowski, the Alba lodge, the Warsaw Theosophical Society, the Polish Theosophical Societies in Warsaw and in Nydek, up to and including the registration of the Polish Theosophical Society as a section of The Theosophical Society in Adyar.

When speaking to her students, on June 20, 1889, H.P. Blavatsky, frustrated, scolded them claiming, " Look here, you Europeans ought never to have been given the seven principles. Well, perhaps in a hundred years you will understand it. It would be a thousand times better to hold to the old methods, those that I have held to in Isis Unveiled, and to speak about triple man: spirit, soul, and matter; then you would not fall into the heresies, in such heresies as you do. "  This terse response was to a series of questions her students asked about the principles that compose the human body. They were confused because the descriptions H.P.B. gave in The Secret Doctrine were far from clear. With the emergence of Theosophy, H.P. Blavatsky inaugurated a new system of occultism which offered descriptions of the subtle bodies that compose the human body. Initially claiming there were three divisions, she later expanded these to seven, ranging from the physical body to the immortal spirit. Yet, these descriptions were constantly changing, having a variety of labels, and arranged up in myriad ways. After her death in 1891, three prominent leaders in the Theosophical movement, Annie Besant, Charles W. Leadbeater, and C. Jinarajadasa took up the challenge of systematizing the representations of the subtle bodies, organizing the terminology, and standardizing the divisions. To do so, they fully embraced the rhetoric and aesthetics of modern science, deploying consistent language and labels, producing numerous graphs, illustrations, charts, and photographs, all in an effort to effectively map the composition of a person, and to have consistent terminology across Theosophical literature. By making a consistent map of the body, and claiming it was occult science, they built a foundation upon which Theosophy could thrive, and it did. During the first three decades of the twentieth century Theosophy grew rapidly worldwide, becoming a movement that counted a membership in the hundreds of thousands.

Presented at a 1998 AAR regional meeting, this paper provides historical context and commentary on H. P. Blavatsky's first theosophical article, written two months before the Theosophical Society was founded in September 1875, and which serves as a mission statement of her work to come.

The human body is at the center of all religions, Theosophy is no different. Because the body is ever present, it is often taken for granted or its centrality recedes into the background.  Theosophy, in contrast to other traditions, is more ambivalent about the body as Theosophy has an inherent tension arising from two of its informing ideological undercurrents, Platonic idealism and spiritualized materialism. As a result the doctrine casts the human body and its materiality as both a hindrance to spiritual development and a necessary component for humanities evolution towards spiritual perfection. These body issues are at the center of Theosophical doctrine, both in its regulation and discipline, as well as making the body a primary indicator of human development in by its composition, such as 6th root-race individuals having two spines, or having both sexes in one body. By focusing on the way Theosophy represents and disciplines the human body, we can begin to appreciate the way religions, in general, use the body as the means of both expressing doctrine, and also how traditions differentiate themselves from one another.

Theosophy across Boundaries brings a global history approach to the study of esotericism, highlighting the important role of Theosophy in the general histories of religion, science, philosophy, art, and politics. The first half of the book consists of seven perspectives on the activities of the Theosophical Society in very different regional contexts, ranging from India, Vietnam, China, and Japan to Victorian Britain and Israel, shedding new light on the entanglement of “Western” and “Oriental” ideas around 1900. The second half explores specific cultural influences that Theosophy exerted in the spheres of literature, art, and politics, using case studies from Sri Lanka, Burma, India, Japan, Ireland, Germany, and Russia. The examples clearly show that Theosophy was part of a truly global movement, thus providing an outstanding example of the complex entanglements of the global religious history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The original version of this article appeared in SYZYGY 6, no. 1-2 (Winter-Fall 1997) and reprinted in whole or in parts in later publications.  This latest, updated (2020) version has appeared in parts online.  The complete article appears here for the first time.

בשנת 1887 הכין ופרסם אברהם דוד יחזקאל בּפּונה שבהודו תרגום של ה'אדרא זוטא' לערבית–יהודית. מאמרו של בועז הוס סוקר את התרגום הזה ואת פרסומיו האחרים של יחזקאל בבית הדפוס שהקים בפונה. המאמר דן במפעל ההדפסה של יחזקאל, בקשריו עם ה'אגודה התאוסופית' ובפולמוס שהתעורר לאחר הדפסת התרגום. הוס מראה שהעניין של יחזקאל בקבלה התעורר בעקבות הצטרפותו ל'אגודה התאוסופית', ושהתורות התאוסופיות עיצבו את תפיסת הקבלה שלו, שבאה לידי ביטוי בתרגום ה'זוהר' ובמפעל ההדפסה שלו.