Theos-Talk Archives (May 2003 Message tt00153)

Theosophy has many skeptics, some of whom make
convincing arguments while others are laudable. I
found the below argument to be in the former category.
Have a read....

http://skepdic.com/theosoph.html

theosophy

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"We assert that the divine spark in man being one and
identical in its essence with the Universal Spirit,
our "spiritual Self" is practically omniscient, but
that it cannot manifest its knowledge owing to the
impediments of matter. Now the more these impediments
are removed, in other words, the more the physical
body is paralyzed, as to its own independent activity
and consciousness, as in deep sleep or deep trance,
or, again, in illness, the more fully can the inner
Self manifest on this plane. This is our explanation
of those truly wonderful phenomena of a higher order,
in which undeniable intelligence and knowledge are
exhibited. " [Madame Blavatsky] 

"...we are imprisoned in the body, like an oyster in
his shell." [The Socrates of Plato, Phaedrus] 

To the philosopher, the body is "a disturbing element,
hindering the soul from the acquisition of
knowledge..." 

"...what is purification but...the release of the soul
from the chains of the body?" The Socrates of [Plato,
Phaedo] 


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Theosophy, or divine wisdom, refers either to the
mysticism of philosophers who believe that they can
understand the nature of God by direct apprehension,
without revelation, or it refers to the esotericism of
eclectic collectors of mystical and occult
philosophies who claim to be handing down the great
secrets of some ancient wisdom. 

Theosophical mysticism is indebted to Plato (c.
427-347 BCE), Plotinus (204/5-270) and other
neo-Platonists, and Jakob Boehme (1575-1624), among
others. It experienced its last great Western
philosophical burst in 19th century German Idealism.
The mystical tradition continues to be a strong
element in many non-Western philosophies, such as
Indian philosophy. 

Theosophic esotericism begins with Helena Petrovna
Blavatsky (1831-1891) usually known as Madame
Blavatsky, one of the co-founders of the Theosophical
Society in New York in 1875. The esoteric theosophical
tradition of Blavatsky is indebted to several
philosophical and religious traditions:
Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Gnosticism, Manichaeism, the
Cabala, among others. 

Her harshest critics consider Madame Blavatsky to be
"one of most accomplished, ingenious, and interesting
impostors in history." Her devoted followers consider
her to be a saint and a genius. [They claim she
discovered the true nature of light either by
clairvoyance or intuition alone, without any need for
scientific training or communication with other
scientists.] Since these characteristics are not
contradictory, it is possible she was both a fraud and
a saintly genius. Much of what is believed about
Blavatsky originates with Madame herself, her devoted
followers or her enemies. Nevertheless, a few things
seem less dubious than others. She seems clearly to
have been widely traveled and widely read. Blavatsky
claims she spent several years in Tibet and India
being initiated into occult mysteries by various
"masters" (mahatmas or adepts) especially the Masters
Morya and Koot Hoomi, who had "astral" bodies. These
Adepts were said to dwell in the Himalayas, Egypt,
Tibet and other exotic places. They are known for
their extraordinary psychic powers and are the sacred
keepers of some mysterious "Ancient Wisdom". They are
not divine, she said, but more highly evolved than the
rest of us mere mortals. (Evolution, according to
Blavatsky, is a spiritual process.) Their goal is to
unite all humanity in a Great White Brotherhood,
despite the fact that they dwell in the remotest
regions of the world and apparently have as little
contact with the rest of us as possible. 

Blavatsky's deceptions

Blavatsky seems clearly to have had an overpowering
personality. She was knowledgeable of the tricks of
spiritualists, having worked for one in Egypt, and in
the early days of the Theosophical Society seems
clearly to have used trickery to deceive others into
thinking she had paranormal powers. She most certainly
faked the materialization of a tea cup and saucer, as
well as written messages from her Masters, presumably
to enhance her credibility. She certainly claimed to
have paranormal experiences, but whether she really
believed she was clairvoyant or possessed psychic
powers, I can't say. 

In 1875 she founded the Theosophical Society in New
York City in collaboration with Henry Steele Olcott, a
lawyer and writer, and W. Q. Judge. She met Olcott in
1874 while he was investigating the spiritualism of
the Eddy brothers in Vermont. They continued to meet
with other like-minded seekers and together founded
their society. A few years later, she and Olcott went
to India together and established Theosophical
headquarters there. She left under a cloud of
suspicion in 1885, having been accused of faking
materializations of teachings from her Masters. Back
in Europe in 1888 she published her major work The
Secret Doctrine. The book "is an attempt...to
reconcile science, the Ancient Wisdom, and human
culture through...cosmology, history, religion, and
symbolism." (Ellwood) According to Blavatsky herself,
"The chief aim of the...Theosophical Society [was] to
reconcile all religions, sects and nations under a
common system of ethics, based on eternal verities." 

She did not reject religions such as Christianity and
Hinduism, but claimed that all religions have an
exoteric and an esoteric tradition. The exoteric
traditions are unique and distinct for each religion.
The esoteric doctrine is the same for all. She claimed
to be passing on the wisdom of the shared esoteric
doctrines. And even though she had an early
association with spiritualism, she eventually claimed
that "the spirits of the dead cannot return to earth
-- save in rare and exceptional cases...." 

One might wonder why, if Theosophy is so ancient and
universal, it was so unknown until 1875. Madame had an
answer. This was due to "willing ignorance". We humans
have lost "real spiritual insight" because we are too
devoted to "things of sense" and have for too long
been slaves "to the dead letter of dogma and
ritualism." "But the strongest reason for it," she
said, " lies in the fact that real Theosophy has ever
been kept secret." There were several reasons why it
was kept secret. "...Firstly, the perversity of
average human nature and its selfishness, always
tending to the gratification of personal desires to
the detriment of neighbours and next of kin. Such
people could never be entrusted with divine secrets.
Secondly, their unreliability to keep the sacred and
divine knowledge from desecration. It is the latter
that led to the perversion of the most sublime truths
and symbols, and to the gradual transformation of
things spiritual into anthropomorphic, concrete, and
gross imagery -- in other words, to the dwarfing of
the god-idea and to idolatry." [The Key to Theosophy]
One wonders, what in the world was any different in
the late 19th century? If at that time humans were any
less perverse, selfish, materialistic, profane, etc.,
than they had ever been, this should come as a great
shock to all social historians. 

Ancient wisdom

What was this "Ancient Wisdom" which the theosophists
promised to share? It is truly an eclectic compilation
of Hindu, Egyptian, Gnostic and other exotic
scriptures and teachings, neo-Platonism, and stories
like the Atlantis myth. These are philosophies and
stories for those who shake and quiver at the sound of
such words as secret, special, spiritual,
enlightenment, transformation, esoteric, occult,
divine, ancient wisdom, cosmic, vision, dynamics,
golden, Isis, mysteries and masters. They promise
escape from the evils of the world, especially the
body, while providing an explanation for Evil. They
claim to know that the reason spiritual progress is so
slow in coming is because of all this horrible stuff
in the universe called "matter." They promise the
power of divinity while providing an explanation for
miracles which takes them out of the realm of the
supernatural and puts the believer into the center of
the spiritual universe. They promise union with some
great moral purpose while offering membership in an
isolated society of very special beings. But, probably
the biggest attraction to joining such an esoteric
society is that you don't have to go to college and
you don't have to read Kant. 

What you do need, though, is a penchant for the
occult. This is dangerous stuff, according to
Blavatsky, but theosophy can help. 

When ignorant of the true meaning of the esoteric
divine symbols of nature, man is apt to miscalculate
the powers of his soul, and, instead of communing
spiritually and mentally with the higher, celestial
beings, the good spirits (the gods of the theurgiests
of the Platonic school), he will unconsciously call
forth the evil, dark powers which lurk around humanity
-- the undying, grim creations of human crimes and
vices -- and thus fall from theurgia (white magic)
into goetia (or black magic, sorcery). [What Is
Theosophy?]

According to Madame, "...no one can be a true
Occultist without being a real Theosophist; otherwise
he is simply a black magician, whether conscious or
unconscious. " She even thought that mesmerism and
hypnotism were occult arts. 

Occult sciences are not, as described in
Encyclopaedias, "those imaginary sciences of the
Middle Ages which related to the supposed action or
influence of Occult qualities or supernatural powers,
as alchemy, magic, necromancy, and astrology," for
they are real, actual, and very dangerous sciences.
They teach the secret potency of things in Nature,
developing and cultivating the hidden powers "latent
in man," thus giving him tremendous advantages over
more ignorant mortals. Hypnotism, now become so common
and a subject of serious scientific inquiry, is a good
instance in point. Hypnotic power has been discovered
almost by accident, the way to it having been prepared
by mesmerism; and now an able hypnotizer can do almost
anything with it, from forcing a man, unconsciously to
himself, to play the fool, to making him commit a
crime -- often by proxy for the hypnotizer, and for
the benefit of the latter. Is not this a terrible
power if left in the hands of unscrupulous persons?
And please to remember that this is only one of the
minor branches of Occultism. [The Key to Theosophy]

Blavatksy may have understood the secret of the divine
essence, but I don't think she understood the nature
of hypnosis or mesmerism. However, I believe she was
right when she claimed that "...the ecstatic trance of
mystics and of the modern mesmerists and
spiritualists, are identical in nature, though various
as to manifestation." [What Is Theosophy?] I believe
that none of these so-called "trance" states is a
unique state of consciousness, though they are states
of mind, states governed by social role-playing rules,
a position argued for by many contemporary
psychologists including Nicholas P. Spanos. 

Where are the plaudits?

The reader may wonder why theosophy isn't universally
recognized as the salvation of mankind. For some it
may have been the messenger which kept them away. Many
people are not likely to take seriously a Russian
noblewoman who claimed to have had childhood visions
of a tall Hindu who eventually materialized in Hyde
Park and became her guru and advisor. Many skeptics
scoff at her noble origins and subsequent employment
as a circus performer and séance assistant, plus we
take seriously the charges of deception for whatever
noble motive. For others, it may be the doctrines
which keep us away. Despite the stated moral goals,
and the desire for peace on earth and good will toward
men and women, there is the small problem of astral
bodies, evolution of spiritual races, Aryans,
paranormal powers, Atlantis, the so-called Ancient
Wisdom, etc. To some this may seem better than the
Incarnation, transubstantiation and the Trinity, but
to skeptics this is just more metaphysical codswallop.
Finally, others may be repelled by the self-discipline
required of theosophy. 

...the foremost rule of all is the entire renunciation
of one's personality -- i. e., a pledged member has to
become a thorough altruist, never to think of himself,
and to forget his own vanity and pride in the thought
of the good of his fellow-creatures, besides that of
his fellow-brothers in the esoteric circle. He has to
live, if the esoteric instructions shall profit him, a
life of abstinence in everything, of self-denial and
strict morality, doing his duty by all men. 

"...every member must be either a philanthropist, or a
scholar, a searcher into Aryan and other old
literature, or a psychic student." (The Key to
Theosophy)

It is not an easy life, pursuing the path of the
mahatmas and the Ancient Wisdom, striving to unite all
humankind into a Great Brotherhood of spiritually
evolved beings with secret knowledge of such great
vacation spots for astrals as Atlantis. Plus, perhaps
there were inconsistencies or inadequacies in the
secret doctrines, as the group seemed to splinter and
dissipate after the death of Madame. Her dream of a
Brotherhood of Man remains a dream, although there are
Theosophical societies all over the world


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