Theos-Talk Archives (November 2001 Message tt00519)

Hi Hoku. 

My recommendation is www.wisdomworld.org. Go there and read the "setting
the stage" series from start to finish and I believe that you will have a
clear understanding of Theosophy and how it relates to religion, science,
and philosophy. John DeSantis has done a masterful job of culling the
pages of Theosophy Magazine and reproducing that wisdom for all to share.

It worked for me. On reflection, I am convinced that had I tried to
rediscover my theosophical roots by participation in on-line chat lists
such as this one, I would never have succeeded. 

A more organized presentation of theosophy specifically from HPB's works
can be found at blavatsky.net. The basic list is a good place to ask
questions after reading the wisdom world material. The study list and the
Secret Doctrine list are great places to read what some current
theosophists think about the fundamentals tenets of theosophy. These lists
are moderated by good people who will go the extra mile to help. They
cannot however learn theosophy for you.

This list and theos-l and universal seekers is a good place to sound off
and strut one's understanding of theosophy in front of others. These lists
are not moderated and as such give the reader the opportunity to view and
assess the whole spectrum of theosophy including the lunatic fringes. 
There is much more disagreement on these lists (sometimes over the
slightest of things). Sometimes that can help one learn, but often it can
just lead to a 'lo here, lo there' syndrome that is annoying at best.

I am sure that Dallas and others will recommend their own recipe for
success. What I have outlined above works for me. Ultimately you will
have to rely on your own self-devised efforts to study and understand
theosophy.

goodwill,

Bill 

----------
> From: wauxhail@aol.com
> To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Theos-World A Starting Place
> Date: Monday, November 26, 2001 1:25 PM
> 
> To Anyone Who Can Help:
> 
> I've been reading the posts and following the links provided, but as 
> I am very new to Theosophy I can't seem to wrap my mind around most 
> of it and would like to ask for some guidance from the group as to 
> where is the best place to begin. There are so many books on the 
> subject but one can't read all of them at once and I do believe in 
> order to be able to comprehend fully everything there must be a 
> preferred starting place. Although I am quite familiar with the 
> ancient philosophers, it's been awhile since I read their works and 
> am afraid I've forgotten much of it; however, like languages, I 
> believe if I am guided to a beginning much of it will return to me 
> piecemeal. So, please, if one of you would kindly suggest a few good 
> books to get me rolling I would be most appreciative. Perhaps a 
> good "glossary" would be in order as well, as some of the terms I've 
> read here are quite unfamiliar to me. I must admit I've not gone 
> through the entire message list because I thought that would be 
> rather useless until I had a substantial foundation.
> 
> Hoku
> 
> 
> 
> 
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>