NOTES

The kiss of death for the modern Theosophical Society was not, as K. Paul Johnson once wrote from his view, the Blavatskycentrism of the 70s-80s, itself likely the reaction to Leadbeater’s influence in the 20th century. Take this example, about influence and power in the age of social media. The New York Times in 2017 published an article from a journalist, that interviewed a White Nationalist (see NYT calls H.P. Blavatsky an Anti-Semitic influence on Nazis). This White Nationalist, Tony Hovater, as noted by the journalist in his home, kept The Secret Doctrine on his book shelf. What do you think the journalist did when he saw The Secret Doctrine? Perhaps, he already knew about The Secret Doctrine, or did a quick search about it. It is more than likely, he found a quick summary of the work? No, he specifically found a source from an encyclopedia titled Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution, Volume 1 (2005). The journalist did not interview a Theosophist about it, or even provide for his readers a counter-argument, perhaps simply because defenses of Theosophy and H.P. Blavatsky against the charge it teaches antisemitism are written on sites and not in books. Is the fault of the perception that the Theosophical Society was founded by and is centered on H.P. Blavatsky, K.H. and Morya the fault of H.P. Blavatsky, or Theosophists, or is it not a fact, that biographies, definitions and academic papers written about Theosophy contribute to this Blavatskycentrism, since H.P. Blavatsky is the main one accused? Is she not worth defending? The anti-Blavatsky attitude internally, specifically after her death with Leadbeater’s influence continued on. This is what is steadily giving the kiss-of-death to Theosophy. In many books, the researcher often mentions Theosophy and Anthroposophy together, perhaps simply because Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy is described as an offshoot of the Theosophical Society and sounds similar. Rudolf Steiner spoke many lies about the writings, inspiration and mission of Blavatsky, the secret sponsors and the Theosophical Society in order to give credence and authority to the Leadbeater-Besantian wing, and his own German-centric inspired ideas to create Anthroposophy. The lies and slurs of Steiner, as detailed greatly in Rudolf Steiner’s Lies about H.P. Blavatsky, Dr. Rudolf Steiner on Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Dr. Rudolf Steiner on the Mahatmas, set up his Anthroposophy, which went in a distinctly anti-Eastern, Christian direction. This was also his wife, Marie Steiner-von Sivers‘s question posed to him, whether it “was possible to create a spiritual movement based on Western tradition and the impetus of Christ.” Likewise, without Leadbeater, Besant and others also engaging in the same behavior and attitude towards Blavatsky they would not have been able to take that Theos. Soc. into the new Papal direction they almost fully-succeeded in doing.

So, when Jim Stewartson is able to reach fifty-thousand people in a social media post, and I do not even reach beyond twenty, he has more influence to falsely spread claims like Sean Stone and Gypsy Taub are theosophists, because Gypsy Taub believes in Lemuria and Ascended Masters (not a theosophical concept).

Firstly, Jim Stewartson does not provide a source, and secondly, any honest person would find this to be an evolution of distorted and appropriated ideas. This is used to tie Theosophy to I AM and to the Christian right-wing. He brings up Mike Flynn, claiming that Mike Flynn believes in a one world religion, but this too is misleading. Mike Flynn is advocating Christianity in Mike Flynn calls for U.S. to have one religion. So do the Christians and Muslims. Ultra-Christian, or anything to do with the “Revival of Christianity” is not a mission of the Theosophical movement. Mike Flynn believes he is recruiting an “Army of God” to lead the U.S. towards “One nation under God, and one religion under God.” This is Dominion theology, or what trends on social media as “Christofascism,” not “Theosophical fascism.” No Theosophist believes this, and no true Theosophist would be cheating the public with spreading Dominionist notions about the role of Church and State (see Alice Bailey and her Christianised Pseudo-Theosophy). Christian Dominionism being falsely called “Theosophical Fascism” is pure cognitive dissonance.

Also, how mental do you have to be to confidently say, that is what Theosophists believe in, while stupidly including Theosophy in an anti-Christian conspiracy, for which one has provided absolutely zero evidences for. These are manipulations of either self-delusion, or intentional malice.

When these people continuously pop out of the woodwork, there is no K. Paul Johnson. There is hardly anyone, but a few that can be counted on one-hand defending Theosophy STILL publicly. You think including Theosophy as a verb and buzzword in every religious conspiracy theory is just about Theosophy? It is generally aimed at Occultism and occultists.

We are told, that we live in a time of Post-Truth, where “facts don’t matter anymore,” because of the evolution of the internet and social media. The age of Post-Truth has been here ever since the Christianization of the Roman Empire. In the latter, it is masterfully demonstrated, that nothing has to be true, or fact for the masses to believe in it and spread it to posterity. Should we then play the same game and cheat the public? No. While, I do not believe everything Blavatsky posited, I believe my stance against the anti-Blavatsky attitude is just even simply on the basis, that malice against her in our time is completely odd and unjustified. The woman has not seemed to have had a day since born and post-death to be seen in any other light by the public. The kiss of death for the modern Theosophical movement is an utter lack of cohesion in tackling that attitude, which seems to overtake gratitude, fact-checking, networking, and learning how others are gaming the modern internet, or social media to spread falsities with as much fervor as certain other esotericists. Blavatsky dedicated her life and work to the spread of esoteric philosophy and ethical reform. This is constantly becoming overshadowed by attempts to continue to solidify her legacy under claims of being a spy, a plagiarist, an antisemite and simply a fraud (see The Hodgson-Coulomb Case and Other Charges refuted or countered) by people with social media influence. It should be met with as equal or greater a force of unity. Books like, Alison Stone’s Women Philosophers in Nineteenth-Century Britain (2023) seriously examines the place of women like H.P. Blavatsky left out in history. I want to see more of that, not the slanderous, tabloid style of work for the past century about what cigars she smoked, her weight and chuckles about the existence of Atlantis!