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Isis Unveiled
''Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology'', published in 1877, is a book of esoteric philosophy and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's first major self-published major work text and a key doctrine in her self-founded Theosophical movement. The work has often been criticized as a plagiarized occult work, with scholars noting how Blavatsky extensively copied from many sources popular among occultists at the time. ''Isis Unveiled'' is nevertheless also understood by modern scholars to be a milestone in the history of Western esotericism.Johnson, K. Paul. (1994). ''The Masters Revealed: Madame Blavatsky and the Myth of the Great White Lodge''. State University of New York Press. pp. xv-x-x, 241-245. "The Western Esoteric Tradition has no more important figures in modern times than Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891)."Godwin, Joscelyn. ''The Theosophical Enlightenment'' (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1994)Bevir, Mark. ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the primary founder of Theosophy as a belief system. Born into an aristocratic family in Yekaterinoslav, Blavatsky traveled widely around the empire as a child. Largely self-educated, she developed an interest in Western esotericism during her teenage years. According to her later claims, in 1849 she embarked on a series of world travels, visiting Europe, the Americas, and India. She also claimed that during this period she encountered a group of spiritual adepts, the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom", who sent her to Shigatse, Tibet, where they trained her to develop a deeper understanding of the synthesis of religion, philosophy, and science. Both contemporary critics and later biographers have argued that some or all of these f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermetic Philosophy
Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical and religious tradition rooted in the teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretism, syncretic figure combining elements of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. This system encompasses a wide range of Western esotericism, esoteric knowledge, including aspects of alchemy, astrology, and theurgy, and has significantly influenced various mystical and occult traditions throughout history. The writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, often referred to as the ''Hermetica'', were produced over a period spanning many centuries () and may be very different in content and scope. One particular form of Hermetic teaching is the religio-philosophical system found in a specific subgroup of Hermetic writings known as the Hermetica#Religio-philosophical Hermetica, 'religio-philosophical' ''Hermetica''. The most famous of these are the ''Corpus Hermeticum'', a collection of seventeen Ancient Greek, Greek treatises written b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religious Text
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and admonitions for fostering a religious community. Within each religion, these texts are revered as authoritative sources of guidance, wisdom, and divine revelation. They are often regarded as sacred or holy, representing the core teachings and principles that their followers strive to uphold. Etymology and nomenclature According to Peter Beal, the term ''scripture'' – derived from (Latin) – meant "writings anuscriptsin general" prior to the medieval era, and was then "reserved to denote the texts of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible". Beyond Christianity, according to the ''Oxford World Encyclopedia'', the term ''scripture'' has referred to a text accepted to contain the "sacr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Revelation
Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and theology. Types Individual revelation Thomas Aquinas believed in two types of individual revelation from God in Christianity, God, ''general revelation'' and ''special revelation''. In general revelation, God reveals himself through his creation, such that at least some truths about God can be learned by the empiricism, empirical study of Physis, nature, physics, cosmology, etc., to an individual. Special revelation is the knowledge of God and spiritual matters which can be discovered through supernatural means, such as scripture or miracles, by individuals. Direct revelation refers to communication from God to someone in particular. Though one may deduce the existence of God and some of God's attributes through general revelation, certain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Key To Theosophy
''The Key to Theosophy'' is an 1889 book by Helena Blavatsky, expounding the principles of theosophy in a readable question-and-answer manner. It covers Theosophy and the Theosophical Society, Nature of the Human Being, Life After Death, Reincarnation, Kama-Loka and Devachan, the Human Mind, Practical Theosophy and the Mahatmas. The book is an introduction to Theosophical mysticism and esoteric doctrine. Nonviolent activist Mohandas Gandhi spoke of it in his autobiography: :"This book stimulated in me the desire to read books on Hinduism, and disabused me of the notion fostered by the missionaries that Hinduism was rife with superstition." See also * " Is Theosophy a Religion?" * Theosophy and Buddhism * Christianity and Theosophy Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus is the Son of God and rose from the dead after his crucifixion, whose coming as the messiah ( Christ) was prophesied in the Old Testament and chronicled in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Secret Doctrine
''The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy'', is a pseudoscientific esoteric book as two volumes in 1888 written by Helena Blavatsky. The first volume is named ''Cosmogenesis'', the second ''Anthropogenesis''. It was an influential example of the revival of interest in esoteric and occult ideas in the modern age, in particular because of its claim to reconcile ancient eastern wisdom with modern science. Proponents widely claim the literature contains clues as to how the nature of prayer was 'covered' and expunged from common wisdom, except for those with a keen eye. The book has been criticized for promoting pseudoscientific concepts and for borrowing those from other systems. Volume one (Cosmogenesis) In Volume One, Blavatsky details her interpretation of the origin and evolution of the universe itself, in terms derived from the Hindu concept of cyclical development. The world and everything in it is said to alternate between periods of activit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evolution
Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more or less common within a population over successive generations. The process of evolution has given rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organisation. The scientific theory of evolution by natural selection was conceived independently by two British naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, in the mid-19th century as an explanation for why organisms are adapted to their physical and biological environments. The theory was first set out in detail in Darwin's book ''On the Origin of Species''. Evolution by natural selection is established by observable facts about living organisms: (1) more offspring are often produced than can possibly survive; (2) phenotypic variatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended from a Common descent, common ancestor is now generally accepted and considered a fundamental scientific concept. In a joint presentation with Alfred Russel Wallace, he introduced his scientific theory that this Phylogenetics, branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding.. Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history and was honoured by Burials and memorials in Westminster Abbey, burial in Westminster Abbey. Darwin's early interest in nature led him to neglect his medical education at the University of Edinburgh Medical Schoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esoteric Christianity
Esoteric Christianity is a mystical approach to Christianity which features "secret traditions" that require an initiation to learn or understand. The term ''esoteric'' was coined in the 17th century and derives from the Greek (, "inner"). These spiritual currents share some common features, such as heterodox or heretical Christian theology; the canonical gospels, various apocalyptic literature, and some New Testament apocrypha as sacred texts; and '' disciplina arcani'', a supposed oral tradition from the Twelve Apostles containing esoteric teachings of Jesus the Christ. Esoteric Christianity is closely related to Gnosticism, and survives in a few modern churches. There are also esoteric Christian Societies such as the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. History Ancient roots Some modern scholars believe that in the early stages of proto-orthodox Christianity, a nucleus of oral teachings were inherited from Palestinian and Hellenistic Judaism. In the 4th century, it was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adepts
An adept is an individual identified as having attained a specific level of knowledge, skill, or aptitude in doctrines relevant to a particular occult discipline, such as alchemy or magic. According to magical tradition, adepts stand out from others due to their enhanced abilities. All human qualities are developed in them, including intelligence and spirituality. According to Theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater, anyone can become an adept through spiritual development and self-improvement, though others insist that initiation or esoteric transmission into a magical organization or tradition is a necessary preliminary. Etymology The word "adept" is derived from Latin ''adeptus'' 'one who has attained' (the secret of transmuting metals). A. E. Waite recounts the use of the term in alchemy in his 1926 book, ''The Secret Tradition of Alchemy''. Theosophy H. P. Blavatsky Madame Blavatsky makes liberal use of the term ''adept'' in her works to refer to their additional functi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emanationism
Emanationism is a speculative theory in the cosmology or cosmogony of certain religious and philosophical systems, that posits the concept of ''emanation''. According to this theory, emanation, from the Latin ''emanare'' meaning "to flow from" or "to pour forth or out of", is the mode by which all existing things are derived from a 'first reality', or first principle. In the emanationist concept all things are derived from this first reality or perfect God, by consecutive steps of degradation, to a lower degree of this first reality or God: at every consecutive step the emanating beings are less pure, less perfect, less divine. Emanationism posits a transcendent principle from which everything is derived, as opposed to creationism, that considers the universe to be created by a sentient God who is separate from creation, and to materialism, which posits no underlying subjective and/or ontological nature behind phenomena, all phenomena being considered immanent. Origins Ema ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neo-Platonic
Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common ideas it maintains is monism, the doctrine that all of reality can be derived from a single principle, "the One". Neoplatonism began with Ammonius Saccas and his student Plotinus (c. 204/5 – 271 AD) and stretched to the sixth century. After Plotinus there were three distinct periods in the history of neoplatonism: the work of his student Porphyry (third to early fourth century); that of Iamblichus (third to fourth century); and the period in the fifth and sixth centuries, when the academies in Alexandria and Athens flourished. Neoplatonism had an enduring influence on the subsequent history of Western philosophy and religion. In the Middle Ages, Neoplatonic ideas were studied and discussed by Christian, Jewish, and Muslim thinkers. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
