Category: Theosophy
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William Q. Judge on the Decline of Modern India
Interestingly, William Q. Judge was hopeful for a New Era of Philosophical Renaissance in the West through the Theosophical Movement, and foresaw a high influence (or intrusion) from India he called the “Yogi craze” entering the West. Judge might have believed, that his vision of Theosophy could curtail this current of false gurus from European…
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From Nabta Playa to the Osirian Mysteries: Africa’s Claim to the Primordial Wisdom Tradition
How nineteenth-century esotericists ignored Africa’s ancient Wisdom Traditions, limiting their focus to Biblical interpretations, which expanded into understanding Indo-Iranian roots. INTRODUCTION The concept of a single primordial Wisdom Tradition, or even just the origins of “Holy Wisdom” as it was constituted in Western religious and philosophical literature (particularly in the nineteenth-century, to the medieval Alchemists…
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Albert Pike’s Life and Philosophical Legacy in American Esotericism
This article is a combination of transcription and summation of Canadian philosopher Manly P. Hall’s Seminars on the life and ideas of Albert Pike in 1958 tracing the origins of the Wisdom Tradition, which often takes on a form of mythmaking in Masonic lore. A more in-depth factual biography of Albert Pike’s life, views and…
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Pan-Esotericism in African Religious Tradition: Roots of the “Divine Spark”
The “divine spark” refers to the inner divine principle that makes a being fully human and capable of ultimate spiritual realization. The claim made by certain European racist occultists (e.g., some 19th–20th century esoteric racists) that Black Africans or people of African descent lack the “divine spark” (the Logos, Atman, Nous, scintilla animae) is philosophically,…
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The “Divine Spark” in White Racist Biopolitics
If you have kept up, this has a relation to Theosophy in its global context, particularly when addressing the teachings of ancestral and ancient Native American and African philosophical religious traditions. In the midst of researching the life and ideas of Scottish-Rite Freemason Albert Pike based on Manly P. Hall’s lecture, because his toppled statue…
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Investigating Jamal al-Din’s influence on Noble Drew Ali and Black American New Religious Movements
INTRODUCTION ON BLACK AMERICAN RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE FROM NEW WORLD TO NEW THOUGHT In a recent article about the concept of “Divine Messengers” in Islam and Theosophy, one of the key points I wanted to guide you into considering there are many influences that underlie modern understandings of religion, esotericism and theological study in the West,…
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Islam and Theosophy: Are Jesus and Buddha “Divine Messengers?”
Are Jesus and Buddha “Divine Messengers?” (Two-Fold Answer): The concept of the lineage of Prophetic Wisdom and Divine (or Spiritual Messengers) is a concept I came to when studying the history of both Manichaeism and Islam. This is not an odd thing to hear among Muslims. Some simply mention to me, that traditionally, there are…
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The “Racial Karma” of the White Conquerors
Helena Blavatsky and her teachers (defending India’s civilization and history) wrote about the “racial karma” of “the White conquerors” (after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire), i.e., colonialism, and her teachers explained that “civilization is an inheritance.” There were very important things stated in the letter with that statement. Sometimes, it was stated that no degree of patriotism or nationalism can stem the tide of…
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Blavatsky and Mazzini’s Vision of Progress
Blavatsky and Mazzini adopted the same view towards communism and socialism. Both maintained a unique position in republicanism as a force for the progress of a moralistic and humanitarian syncretic religious vision, “universal brotherhood,” and ethical duty-driven virtue. This vision was divorced from socialism and communist revolutionaries, the emergent “new atheism” of that time (which…
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Notes on Theosophy, Ismaili Cosmology, and Jamal al-Din Connection
NOTES Theosophical Positions are rooted in pre-Islamic doctrines, and this is supported by the research from Eastern Tradition archive’s Book of Dzyan Research Reports series. This series methodically verifies Blavatsky’s sources as traceable in extant Buddhist scriptures, such as Tsongkhapa’s Gelugpa texts on the Wisdom Tradition. Be very careful in connecting the socio-political and Masonic…
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The Identity of Alice Bailey’s “Tibetan Source” Djwhal Khul
There is no animosity the writer has against the works of historian, K. Paul Johnson. It is perhaps true to state, that if it was not for K. Paul Johnson, I would have taken no interest as I have been able to replicate in the political and historical side of the history of American esotericism…
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How to Identify Bad Research about Theosophy in Academia and Social Media
TECHNICALITIES OF BAD RESEARCH ON THEOSOPHY, BLAVATSKY AND THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY HISTORY When people write about Theosophy, they mix many fantasies into history, and they repeatedly use words like “Ascended Masters,” “the Great White Lodge,” the “Great White Brotherhood,” and “Mahatmas of Agartha.” The history of the Theosophical Movement is not one continuous or consistent flow…
The American Minervan 