Theos-Talk Archives (November 2001 Message tt00474)

Reg.:If the Hiraf document and I agree already more so Isis, mention 
India and some oriental terms, they didn't have
to be authentic Sout Asian (wich certainly would be the case if there 
was a true South Asian (India) or have, "oriental Masters" living in 
Tibet involved as Daniel believes.

The idea of an "Oriental Cabbalah" was common in Western, esoteric 
circles during the time of Blavatsky, but these where Western, 
misconcepted ideas of the Orient. Blavatsky could have read about  
them easely in various books..
A "Chinese pre-Kabbala" was promulgated by the Chevalier Andrew 
Michael Ramsay, who had a major influence on Écossais and Swedish 
Freemasonry; see [A.M. Ramsay], The Philosophical Principles of 
Natural and Revealed Religion (Glasgow: Robert Foulis, l748-49), II, 
173-85, 304, 356, 537-38.
Already in 1705 La Crequinière wrote" Agreement of the Customs of 
East Indians with Those of the Jews" (l705), and of wich Swedenborg 
owned a copy, who in turn in "Conjugial Love" (published in 
London, ), described a secret mystical society, in which "spirits 
from Asia" teach inititiates how to meditate and merge Yogic with 
Kabbalistic practices. 
Swedenborg even predated the idea of the latter Stanza?s of Dzyan 
idea by claiming that that angels had explained to him that the Old 
Testament was modeled on an original text from Central Asia.

It is rather in these quarters that we have to look for expressions 
by HPB early on regarding "the eastern Cabalah" and so on. But 
the "cabalah" is and remains far eastern inspired or to be more 
specific, was an invention of Spanish jews in the later middle ages 
in Europe, and the "cabalah" version that Blavatsky and other 
occultist of that time in their wishful thinking where referring to 
wasn't even the Spanish late middle ages version, instead, this whas 
the so called "western" caballah developed by renaissance 
hermeticists because they believed the Jewish where the oldest 
civilization on earth that time (according to the bible wich was 
believed to be historical fact), and next came then an equally large 
fantasy of the romantic period above. 
See also: Philangi Dasa, Swedenborg the Buddhist; or, The Higher 
Swedenborgianism, Its Secrets and Thibetan Origin ,Los Angeles: 
Buddhistic Swedenborgian Brotherhood,1887.
Note that Blavatsky and Olcott where still living in the US at this 
time, and would move to India the following year and 
become "Budhists".

Swedenborg even predated the idea of the latter Stanza's of Dzyan 
idea by claiming that that angels had explained to him that the Old 
Testament was modeled on an original text from Central Asia.

Daniel: "Are you trying to tell us that "Swedenborg 
the Buddhist" had some influence on HPB and Olcott? "

Did you read the links I gave you, what is your opinion about them ?
http://www.geocities.com/rewaldsen/blavsynthesis.html

http://www.geocities.com/rewaldsen/mastershbp3.html

http://www.geocities.com/rewaldsen/angelicmaster.html

http://www.geocities.com/rewaldsen/finalyears.html

http://www.geocities.com/rewaldsen/rosicrucianm.html

There are many more parts in Brendan French's thesis (and Swedenborg 
the Buddhist) specificly referring to HPB/Swedenborg, but I can 
simple not quote more then what I did, mails might in fact be simple 
deleted if I do.

However in addition there are also pages 85, 87, and to some degree 
83, that refer the choosing of the name "TS" in New York by Sotheran 
based on the Swedenborg Theosophical Society of in London.
Brigitte