The American Minervan

Tag: Hinduism

  • Jewish Kabbalah and Hindu Account of the Origin of the Universe: Cosmological Notes

    Jewish Kabbalah and Hindu Account of the Origin of the Universe: Cosmological Notes

    INTRODUCTION This article aims to demonstrate a fundamental unity of ancient esoteric wisdom traditions by comparing Hindu cosmogony with Jewish cosmogony in addition to correcting certain ideas about shared geometric symbolism. These systems are not oppositional but “two leaves on the same stem,” sharing an identical esoteric core that originates from a primordial universal secret…

  • Albert Pike’s Life and Philosophical Legacy in American Esotericism

    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…

  • Alan Watts – Man in Nature: The Mechanical Theory of Nature in Western Tradition

    Alan Watts – Man in Nature: The Mechanical Theory of Nature in Western Tradition

    ALAN WATTS ON THREE THEORIES OF NATURE AND THE MECHANICAL THEORY OF NATURE IN WESTERN TRADITION

  • The Connection of Theosophy to Tibet, Iran and Chaldea

    The Connection of Theosophy to Tibet, Iran and Chaldea

    The Connection of the Theosophy of the Trans-Himalayan Adepts to Tibetan Buddhism, Kabbalism, Ancient Iran and Chaldea “No comparison between our real Brahmanical and the Tibetan esoteric doctrines will be possible unless one ascertains the teachings of that so-called “Aryan doctrine,” . . . and fully comprehends the whole range of the ancient Aryan philosophy.” — T.…

  • Kumari Jayawardena: “The White Woman’s Other Burden.” Blavatsky and Emancipation in South Asia

    Kumari Jayawardena: “The White Woman’s Other Burden.” Blavatsky and Emancipation in South Asia

    From the outset, Kumari Jayawardena’s “The White Woman’s Other Burden” (1995) demonstrates, theosophy emphasized the absence of any distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color in its theory and practice; and gender equality was therefore, one of its distinctive features. The 1995 work of Jayawardena details the roles and activities of foreign women in…

  • Interpretations of Serpents and Dragons in Theosophy and Ancient Mythology

    Interpretations of Serpents and Dragons in Theosophy and Ancient Mythology

    Part I. ON “Human Serpents” and Immortal Sages: ANCIENT INITIATES CALLED SERPENTS MEANING “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew x: xvi) ⊕ “(…) the “Serpent” and “Dragon” were the names given to the “Wise Ones,” the initiated adepts…