Theos-Talk Archives (January 2008 Message tt00165)

"Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, popularly called either Madame Blavatsky 
or simply HPB, stands out as the fountainhead of modern occult 
thought...." J. Gordon Melton, New Age Encyclopedia, 1990.

"Helena Petrovna Blavatsky...is surely among the most original and 
perceptive minds of her time....[In her two major 
books]....lies...the first philosophy of psychic and spiritual 
evolution to appear in the modern West...."  Theodore Roszak. The 
Unfinished Animal. 1975.

"Blavatsky's esoteric synthesis has served as a basic source for 
later esotericists, literati, scientists, and entire movements, 
including the New Age.   Unlike most of her contemporaries, she is as 
visible today as any modern trendsetting guru, and she will most 
likely remain the most memorable and innovative esotericist of the 
19th century."  James A. Santucci in Dictionary of Gnosis & Western 
Esotericism, 2005.


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The most basic fact of our existence is our awareness of self. We 
know we are alive but we see that people around us shift and change. 
Some are born; others die. But does death annihilate our 
consciousness, as well as destroy the body? Is there some kind of 
life after death? Why were we born in the first place? And having 
been born, why do we live? Many are asking, "What's it all about?" 

Yet in our modern world, reliable answers to such important questions 
are hard to discover. Many of us cannot find really satisfying 
answers from materialistic science, academic philosophy, or orthodox 
religion (Christian or otherwise). There is also a great 
proliferation of occult, metaphysical, Eastern and New Age groups 
offering their own "answers" to these perplexing questions. For the 
seeker with a genuine hunger for truth, the task of choosing among 
these conflicting authorities and contradictory answers can be 
difficult and confusing. 

"But surely somewhere," our minds cry out, "there must be available 
satisfying answers to these questions. Surely somewhere there must be 
preserved a true universal knowledge concerning humanity and the 
world in which we live. Surely somewhere there is such a source of 
wisdom." 

During the late 19th century, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) 
pointed to that Source of Wisdom. She called it the Ancient Wisdom 
and gave to it the Greek name of Theosophia or Theosophy ("Divine 
Wisdom" or "the wisdom of the gods"). H.P. Blavatsky stated that 
there is an ancient school of Adepts or Masters who know directly, 
inwardly and truly this Divine Wisdom. Madame Blavatsky said that she 
was taught Theosophy by some of these Adepts. 

Madame Blavatsky was the chief founder of the modern Theosophical 
Movement which was established to form the nucleus of a worldwide 
association of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, 
caste or color. She is also the author of The Secret Doctrine, the 
great sourcebook on Theosophy. This work in two large volumes shows 
the universality and the great age of the Theosophical system of 
thought. H.P.B. promoted a greater Western acquaintance with Eastern 
religions and philosophies and brought the teachings of reincarnation 
and karma into common knowledge in the Western world. 

A forceful and gifted individual, H.P. Blavatsky wrote in a 
forthright and powerful style challenging the confusion and 
absurdities of religious orthodoxy, exposing some of the fallacies of 
materialistic science, and assailing some of the claims of 19th 
century Spiritualism. She presented ideas and teachings which seemed 
like pretentious nonsense to her orthodox contemporaries. 
Furthermore, H.P.B. demonstrated psychic powers of a startling 
character, and said she was in contact with certain highly evolved 
Masters. 

It was inevitable that H.P.B. should make enemies on every hand who 
published slanderous untruths as to her dishonesty, the fraudulence 
of her psychic phenomena, the non-existence of her Masters, and the 
worthlessness of Theosophy. But how much of truth is there in these 
accusations? Careful, detailed research into the primary source 
documents clearly shows that the attacks on H.P.B. lack a solid 
basis. 

And though it is still fashionable in some circles to write 
disparagingly about Madame Blavatsky, the fact is that many of the 
things she said, that were incomprehensible to 19th century 
scholarship and science, have been confirmed by scholars and 
scientists in the last 100 years. Recent developments and advances in 
parapsychology and transpersonal psychology make it clear that the 
psychic and spiritual faculties H.P. Blavatsky wrote about and that 
she herself manifested are actual powers and abilities of the human 
psyche and spirit. 

In order to present the Theosophical or Occult Philosophy to the 
world, Madame Blavatsky wrote Isis Unveiled (1877), The Secret 
Doctrine (1888), The Key to Theosophy (1889), The Voice of the 
Silence (1889) and other works. 

What did H.P. Blavatsky teach? She outlined the fundamental 
principles of Theosophy which deal with (1) the unity of LIFE, (2) 
the law of cycles, and (3) the progressive unfoldment of 
consciousness in all kingdoms of nature (both visible and invisible). 
H.P.B. taught the origin and development of the universe and the 
origin and evolution of humanity. She described the birth, growth and 
death of planets and solar systems, and set forth humanity's 
evolution and history on this planet. H.P.B. outlined the tree and 
its branches: the original Esoteric Teaching or Primordial Tradition 
and some of its branches extant in the various world religions, 
ancient mythologies, and metaphysical philosophies. 

She gave out the truth in detail about the complex sevenfold nature 
(spiritual and psychological) of a human being and about life after 
death. She taught the twin doctrine of karma and reincarnation. 
Madame Blavatsky also set forth a clear and comprehensive rationale 
for psychic and spiritualistic, mystical and spiritual phenomena and 
experiences. Madame Blavatsky taught that self- responsibility, 
ethics and altruism (service to others) are essential to true 
spiritual unfoldment. She pointed towards humanity's future destiny 
and evolution and showed the Path which each of us must travel in 
order to awaken our latent spiritual powers and abilities and to 
realize our essential identity with the UNIVERSAL SELF. 

What of the influence of Madame Blavatsky and her teachings? During 
her lifetime, H.P.B.'s brilliant conversations, profound knowledge of 
occult subjects, and reputation for psychic powers drew worldwide 
attention to her work. Since her death in 1891, her teachings have 
influenced the thinking of inquiring minds throughout the world. The 
writings of H.P. Blavatsky and her Masters furnish suggestions, clues 
and guidance for the study of Nature and Humanity, such as few other 
existing sources can supply. 

For more information on Madame Blavatsky and the teachings of 
Theosophy, see: 

Homepage of The Blavatsky Study Center
http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/longseal22.htm