The Theosophy of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Theosophy (gr. "Divine Wisdom" or "Knowledge of God") is a religious movement of the 19th century, initiated by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891). Theosophy shares much with certain types of thought from classical antiquity (for example, Neoplatonism), and from Eastern philosophies. Not in vain, Blavatsky dedicated himself to continually traveling around the world, not only spreading her new religion, but also studying and learning. From all of this we can extract the basis of what Theosophy meant to her and what it still means to a large part of Theosophists: the recovery of a universal religion, which at some point in the past was divided and was losing its essence.
Its logo and shield are also a multiple fusion: two intertwined triangles that form a six-pointed star (symbolizing the seal of Solomon), which in its upper interior has an Anhk, the Egyptian symbol of life, and are surrounded by the serpent. Ouroboros, the one who devours herself, and who represents time, cycles and eternity in many mythologies of the ancient world. As a crown, it has at the top a swastika, an Indo-European solar symbol (perverted by the Nazis), and above it, the syllable Om, sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism. Its motto is: There is no greater religion than the truth. This sentence, as inspiring as it is confusing, summarizes quite well the different positions that were taken about Theosophy.
While this universalist vision was criticized by many historians and theologians, others saw in it proof of the need for modern religious syncretism, especially in a Western world where science reigned and at the same time Eastern spiritualities were rediscovered as models of life. We also have those who see it as an esoteric movement, since it brings together many occult aspects related to intuitive perception. Bavlatsky herself identified the one who would be her future teacher, having seen him in different previous visions. Some think that Theosophy triumphed exclusively because it emerged at a time of boom for occult movements and orders. But let's talk about Helen, who is truly the founder, to understand what the early followers may have perceived of her, and how Theosophy has continued to this day.
Life of Helena Blavatsky
Daughter of a German colonel and a Russian aristocrat, Helena grew up with her grandparents in Saratov. Having access to a good education, she learned music and literature, and became interested in Freemasonry and the occult. Embellishment or not of her story, it is said that already at that time she had had several predictive episodes in her life. She married the then vice-governor of Yerevan, a region of Armenia, at the age of seventeen, taking her married name from that moment on: Blavatsky. Although getting married was an opportunity for her to leave Saratov, the difference in age and interests made her try to escape several times, succeeding three months later, fleeing first to Tbilisi, and then traveling through several countries in Europe, using the picaresque and the admiration of those who listened to them.
She met with her father in London, and in 1851, she recognized Rajput Mahatma (also called R.M. or M.M), who would be her teacher, and whom, according to her, she had seen in numerous visions, without knowing his identity. She continued her travels throughout the American continent, and later through Java and India. She managed to enter Tibet in 1855 and there she trained with her teacher.
A few years later her trips continued, highlighting her trip to Egypt, where she intended to found a Spiritist Society, but her approach, different from that of Allan Kardec, did not work, apart from the fact that, according to her testimony, there were too many scammers.
It was in 1857 when she founded the Theosophical Society in New York, together with General Henry Olcott, a follower of Theravada Buddhism, and lawyer William Quan Judge, passionate about occultism, among others. In 1878 the headquarters were moved to Adyar, in India. However, after the death of Bavlatsky, and the election of Annie Besant, a former British activist, as the new president, the first split of the Theosophical society occurred, when William Q. Judge, who did not share the more orientalist vision of Besant and Olcott, formed the American Theosophical Society.
Foundations of Theosophy and works of Bavlatsky.
It was always admirable that a woman without formal education gathered so much knowledge, and it was so extremely well cited. While others gathered gigantic libraries, it seems that in her travels Helena had created her own world library, demonstrating that the classism of education had nothing to do with the true desire to learn.
Among his works, Isis Unveiled (1877) undoubtedly stands out, where he criticizes the blind dogmatism of science and the spiritual distortion of current religions, a work supposedly written mediumistically with his teachers from Tibet, and The Secret Doctrine (1888). which brought together material from different cultures and religions, making a comparison that for a long time was considered a Bavlatsky fantasy, but over time it was shown that all the texts cited came from authentic sacred texts from different regions of the world. It concludes the universal physical and spiritual union, and the need for harmony between science, philosophy and religion.
In the Golden Scale, Bavlatsky expresses what will be the "thirteen moral precepts" of the theosophist, or as she says, the steps to achieve the theosophical goal of Truth. These precepts are:
1. A clean life, through analysis and reflection.
2. A mind open to knowledge, flexible, capable of understanding the Whole.
3. A pure, devoted heart, far from discord
4. An intellect eager to know, always willing to learn something new, is the key to approaching the Truth.
5. An unveiled spiritual perception, since for Bavlatsky, the original religion was progressively veiled by divine symbols and religious hierarchies. You have to remove them to reach the primordial Truth, one of the ways is Enlightenment.
6. Brotherly affection, following the three refuges of Buddhism: brotherhood, duty and love.
7. Willingness to give and receive advice and teachings. Giving is a form of love, giving and receiving knowledge is a higher form.
8. Sense of duty towards the Master, understood not as submission, but as harmony and humility.
9. Voluntary obedience to the Truth. In line with the previous one, place trust in those who teach us and follow our path with faith in what we do and believe.
10. A courageous spirit to endure personal injustices. Injustice, hatred and slander are the weapons of the weak, which is why the Theosophist must never allow himself to be carried away by the greatest weaknesses of the Soul. This step is one of the most difficult.
11. Strong declaration of theosophical principles, and defense thereof. One should not regret or be ashamed of seeking and following the Truth.
12. Defense of those unjustly attacked. The defense of oneself is a pure survival instinct, the defense of others is an act guided by courage and love, which enlarges the soul. It is one of the most difficult steps.
13. A constant look at the ideal of progress and perfection. The search should not stop, it should not be considered that one has absolute knowledge, there is always someone to help and teach and someone who can help and teach us more.
As can be seen, many of these precepts are very similar to the commandments and manifestations of many other religions. Likewise, the strong influences of Buddhist thought about the immutability of the soul and enlightenment can be traced.
Theosophy and esotericism
The key to Theosophy is the work by which Theosophy was undoubtedly included as an esoteric movement, when dealing with The Search for Truth, especially through Eastern methods. Its relationship with Buddhist and Tibetan thought earned it the name New Age movement for a time, although it has rarely been included among them. Rather, it has a greater relationship with the Gnostics. Theosophy itself is called esoteric insofar as its teachings and precepts require work on occult and mystical things, for example, they widely accept mediumistic capacity; However, although they accept that theosophists can practice any religion externally, they do tend to criticize the "purely practical" esoteric tradition, considering that, except for astrology, none has offered clear precepts or historical comparatives of learning or explanation.
On the other hand, regarding occultism, it seems that a Theosophist may or may not be an occultist; However, a true occultist must be, whether he knows it or not, a Theosophist. Occultism is considered a form of search for Truth and knowledge, the problem comes when occultism is mixed with superficial esotericism.
Theosophists consider esoteric and occult acts as authentic and truthful, they are samples of the secret formulas of nature. However, those who approach practical esotericism and occultism without sufficient theory or study run the serious risk of falling into magical processes with forces that they do not know how to handle.
Regarding spiritualism, they do not believe in the manifestation of spirits as spiritualists believe, that is, as spirits of the dead that can communicate with the permission of a divine entity. They consider that spirit manifestations are actually manifestations of the astral body, or remains thereof, including ambiguous paranormal phenomena. Although they accept mediums and trance states, the messages or acts performed during these states are the result of the "divine spark" within each human being, in union with the All. It is not possible to think about the post-mortem existence of individual spirits, however, they do believe in incarnations.
Theosophy today
Spread throughout the world, there are headquarters of the so-called Theosophical Society in several European countries, in the United States and Canada, in several Latin American countries, in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan and of course in India. There is also the Pan-African Theosophical Foundation.
Given the freedom of thought that is put forward as a theosophical principle, there are very different teaching models between the headquarters, especially due to cultural environments. They agree on the principles set forth by Bavlatsky, but in the subsequent dissertations there are ideas and opinions that vary, and other topics that they prefer not to touch on (especially political and social topics).
Every day, May 8, the anniversary of Helena Bavlatsky's "disincarnation" is celebrated, that is, her death and therefore the abandonment of this plane. On this day, passages from Baghavad Gita and The Light of Asia are read, as she requested. The day is known as White Lotus Day, named after her friend Olcott, who a year later discovered that abundant white lotuses had bloomed unusually on that day.
Pietro V. Carracedo Ahumada – pietrocarracedo@gmail.com
Bibliography:
-Filoramo, G. Diccionario Akal de las Religiones. Akal, 2001.
-Santucci, J.A. Theosophy and the Theosophical Society. Theosophical History Centre, 1985.
-VV.AA. Handbook of Theosophical Current. Rothstein, Hammer (ed.). Brill. Leiden-Boston, 2013.
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