History of Theosophy

Dromo's Den

THEOSOPHY (GK. theosophia, wisdom in divine things, knowledge concerning God, from theos, god + sophos, wise). A name used for any system of philosophy which starts from a supposed knowledge of God, and proceeds to state laws of the universe on the basis of revelation or of direct knowledge. Usually the claim of a supernatural revelation is made, though this is not essential, and usually, also, theosophy is mystical, holding that systems of truth are revealed through states of mystic feeling. The term has been applied to cults of varying tenets and diverse uses of the concepts of divinity at different periods. Ancient systems of belief falling under this head may be divided roughly into Oriental and Occidental, the former being the older. The earliest traces of theosophic thought are found in the Sanskrit Upanishads (q.v.), which represent mystic meditation on the nature of the All-Soul or Atman. It is in a sense true that all subsequent Hindu philosophy is theosophic. From India this mystical speculation spread to Persia, and from the Persians it was absorbed by the Arabs after their conquest of Iran. In a somewhat similar sense the Yi-King and the Tao-teh-King of China may be regarded as theosophic.

Among the Jews a theosophy attained wide currency in Europe between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. The teachings of the Cabbala (q.v.) as represented in the writings of Simeon ben Jochai and Moses de León, however, are so widely different from the theosophy of India as to preclude any idea of Hindu influence. On the other hand, the caballistic doctrines were profoundly modified by what may be regarded as the typical Occidental theosophy-Neoplatonism (q.v.), represented by Ammonius Saccas, Plotinus, Porphyrius, and Proclus- and by the Gnostics, represented by Valentinus and Basilides. In the Middle Ages theosophy was taught by Tauler, Eckhardt, Paracelsus, Van Helmont, Robert Fludd, Thomas Vaughan, Heinrich Kunrath, Jakob Boehme, Johann Georg Gichtel and later by Count Saint-Martin and Schelling. At different periods in history men appeared, claiming to teach the immortality of the soul, and the existence of a vast cosmos, moved by occult forces, of which cosmos this earth is but an infinitesimal part. They claimed to show the instability of material existence, the reality of an occult world reaching everywhere into ours.

In modern times the name "theosophy" has been given to a form of belief promulgated by a Russian, Madame Blavatsky (q.v.), who gave out doctrines concerning cosmogony and anthropology, which, she said, were obtained from certain Masters who had reached a higher plane of existence than ordinary mortals. The system of thought and the terms used are largely drawn from Hinduism and Buddhism. Adept, Master, Mahatma (q.v.) represent different degrees of individual spiritual development in the theosophical system, the Mahatma being the highest. The authoritative work on modern theosophy is Madame Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine, which states "the three fundamental propositions" as follows: (1) An omnipresent, eternal, boundless, and immutable principle on which all speculation is impossible, since it transcends the power of human conception and could only be dwarfed by any human expression or similitude. (2) The eternity of the universe in toto as a boundless plane, periodically the playground of numberless universes incessantly manifesting and disappearing- the law of periodicity. (3) The fundamental identity of all souls with the universal Over-Soul, the latter being itself an aspect of the unknown Root; and the obligatory pilgrimage of every soul- a part of the Over-Soul- through the cycle of incarnation in accordance with cyclic and karmic law, during the whole term. The esoteric philosophy admits of no privileges or special gifts in man save those won by his own Ego through personal effort and merit throughout a long series of reincarnations.

According to theosophic teaching, God is said to be infinite and absolute. Therefore, no attempt is made to qualify or describe the Great Unknown, which is the source of both matter and spirit. These are the two aspects of one root nature. According to immutable law, the spirit involves into matter and matter evolves the spirit. Thus there is a circulation downward and upward, from spirit into matter and from matter to spirit. Evolution is accepted, but only as half a law, whose other half is involution.

All worlds pass through seven great periods of manifestations called rounds. Spiritual at first, they become denser and darker in the downward cycle, the fourth of which is the densest and our present material world. Thence begins its upward movement towards spirituality. The advantage gained is the experience and ultimately the emancipation of the soul. In each of these rounds, periods of incalculable duration, there are seven great root races. Each root race has seven subdivisions or subraces corresponding with the rounds, which become more material from the first to the fourth. We are at present in the fifth subrace of the fifth root race, and on the upward cycle of the fourth round. Evolution is constant progress, an unfolding of consciousness from the most primitive forms of life to the highest intelligence.

All souls are the same in essence, but they differ in degrees of development; each bears a certain relation to the others and to the whole. The more advanced souls are the natural guardians of the less developed. Man is composed of seven principles, which are divided into a lower or mortal, and a higher or immortal nature. The lower nature, constituting his personality, is fourfold. One-fourth, the physical body, is visible, three-fourths invisible. These three are the astral or design body (linga śarīra), on which are molded the physical atoms, then the life principle, and the principle of desire. The physical body (sthūla śarīra) is material without form. It is held in form by the astral body, and moved to action by the fire of desire (kāma,). This fourfold nature is common to all animal beings, is mortal and subject to dissolution at death. The higher nature of man is threefold, the mind (manas), soul (buddhi), and spirit (ātman). The mind distinguishes man from the animal. Entering the animal body, the mind thinks of itself as separate from others. The soul is universal, overcoming separateness and showing relationship of soul with soul. The spirit is the one indivisible which passes through all things and unites them with each other. Death is the separation of the principles. The physical body returns to the elements which gave it. The astral body disintegrates more slowly. The life (prāna, literally "breath") passes at once into the universal life (jīva). Desire forms itself into a body (kāmarūpa) which gradually becomes exhausted, leaving seeds (skandhas), from which the returning soul forms a later and new personality.

The trinity of mind,. soul, and spirit, when freed from the trammels of a mortal garment, passes through certain states of consciousness until it reaches the condition called heaven (dēvacāna), where it enjoys a period of bliss and rest proportionate to its good thoughts and ideals while on earth. When these exalted ideals have been exhausted, its period of rest is at an end and it descends gradually to earth. The trinity, after enjoying its rest, and realizing those ideals which could not be attained on earth, is attracted again to earth by the unfulfilled longings and desires which remain behind as seeds. These it animates. It sinks into the emotional world, is attracted to a particular family, who can furnish a body and surroundings suited to its new experience, and is reborn into this world. The higher nature must become consciously immortal, i.e., it must acquire a continuity of consciousness, thus making it consciously immortal while in the physical body. One earth life is not sufficient. Hence rebirth into the school of life is the lot of the soul until all the lessons have been learned. This doctrine is closely associated with that of Karma, which is the law of balance, of action and reaction, of effect inevitably connected with the preceding cause. It returns to man measure for measure his good or evil thoughts and deeds. it is inseparable from reincarnation. When at last Karma is exhausted, and no desire, either good or evil, is left to produce a new Karma, then reincarnation will cease.

The phenomenon of life is a question of planes or states of consciousness. Human or "I am I" consciousness (manas) is the self -identifying of the consciousness, as being distinct and separate from others by the intelligent principle of mind. At this point a man may rise to the divine or sink below the consciousness of the brute at will. Universal or "I am thou and thou art I" consciousness (buddhi) is the relating of the elements and of all souls with each other, thus overcoming the sense of separateness of the mind by the principle of the divine soul. Divine consciousness (ātman) sees no separateness, but unites all as one.

Hell (avici) is a low and depraved condition on this earth. A life of intense selfishness and wickedness with no spiritual thoughts or aspirations causes the immortal soul to abandon the body before death. In such a case, it is not, however, the soul, but the body with the lower principles which is lost. After the death of such a body the desires with a reflection of the mind may be reincarnated in human form almost immediately. Such a creature is entirely material and animal, intensely selfish in its propensities, and doomed to final destruction, unless it makes a strong appeal to its divine soul, in which event the soul might again connect with it and try to help it on its upward path.

In man divine powers are latent, for he is essentially a soul, a divine being. By purification and training of the body, the latent and divine powers will develop and become active. In every period of evolution a number of souls reach perfection. They are men whom the bonds of personality no longer bind to the attractions of the senses. They have consciously related themselves to the source of their being and have become one with the divine. They watch over humanity and are its guardians. Although they have earned their freedom from rebirth, they prefer to remain in contact with men on earth, to teach and to guide them. At certain periods some appear among men as great lawgivers, rulers, teachers; and their agents found religious systems and schools of philosophy.

The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XXII (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 188-190.