Theosophy is the renaissance of ancient spiritualism. Theosophy is Archaic Wisdom-Religion, as taught by Masters and Magi, Sages and Hierophants, Prophets and Philosophers, to the Elect — undisguised by symbols. It is Spiritual Knowledge, reasoned out and corroborated by personal experience. Diogenes Laërtius traces Theosophy to an epoch antedating the dynasty of the Ptolemies. But, in fact, Theosophy is much older: It is the parent stem of Archaic Wisdom. The term was revived in the 3rd century AD by Ammonius Saccas, the Alexandrian Socrates of Neo-Platonism, teacher of Plotinus, and founder of the Eclectic Theosophical System. Briefly, Eclectic Theosophy asserts that: 1. Humanity is a periodic emanation from a single noetic essence and, 2. When by exertion and merit, a mortal soul activates its latent faculties and potencies, it can be re-connected with its immortal noetic origin and source. Hence, the Buddhistic, Vedantic, and Magian or Zoroastrian systems were taught in the Eclectic Theosophical School along with all the philosophies of Greece. It was Theosophy which prompted such men as Hegel, Fichte, and Spinoza, to take up the labours of the old Grecian philosophers and speculate upon the One Substance — the Deity, the Divine All, proceeding from Divine Wisdom. And it was Theosophy that made it possible for great thinkers such as Plotinus, Schelling, and Emerson, to reflect upon man’s divine ancestry. What Theosophy is and is not. By looking inwards at the noumenal worlds and causes, Theosophy is Esoteric Science, par excellence. Exact Science is only concerned with phenomenal worlds and effects. Esoteric Science corroborates Nature’s metaphysics and Divine Laws; Exact Science, Its physics and natural laws. In Its fruition, Theosophy is Inner Knowledge about the divinity of Cosmos and Man, and a noetic progression from the known and knowable, to the unknown and, otherwise, unknowable. And, as such, It lies at the root of every moral philosophy, religion, and science. Theosophy is the world’s tree of knowledge and sum total of all sciences. Sophia is the accumulated wisdom of Divine Beings from the beginning of time, who have willingly accepted the harshness and drudgery of sentient life to help their toiling brothers. Theosophy is not a religion. It is but an analytical science, the ally of every honest religion. Being the culmination and practical demonstration of the Truths underlying every creed, Theosophy is compatible with every religion. It believes in no miracle, whether divine or devilish, and cherishes no anthropomorphic concepts, whether gods or demons. Theosophy discriminates between finite animal man, and Infinite Divine Man, and differs from the Vedantin doctrines. It is not even “esoteric” religion! Every old religion is but a chapter or two of the entire volume of archaic primeval mysteries — Eastern Occultism alone being able to boast that it is in possession of the full secret, with its seven keys. In other words, Theosophy is Religion itself! Loyalty to Truth is Its creed, Brotherhood of all beings, not just men, Its noble aim. Theosophy is Inner Wisdom or Divine Knowledge. It is at the heart of all religions and philosophies from the earliest time to the present day, embracing all domains of mundane knowledge and human endeavour. Yet, It is a practical, and an ethical philosophy, ever transcending self-imposed boundaries to expand consciousness, and to dispel lingering doubts. In short, Theosophy is Supernal Philosophy, Wisdom’s True Love, not mere verbiage. It is a philosophy to live by. Metaphysically, Theosophy is the accumulated testimony and wisdom of the ages. Theosophy is not knowledge of a “God,” It is knowledge of gods, Celestial Knowledge: a shoreless ocean of Everlasting Truth, Love, and Impartiality, monistic through and through. By seeking the One Truth, its allied with the ideals of every seeker of Truth. To fully define Theosophy, we must consider it under all its aspects. By means of Its Golden Precepts, those who are intellectually and ethically fit might gain insights of the inner world of being. There, mystics can see past, present, and future as in a mirror. Theosophy wakes up and frees the Heavenly Man from the clutches of Its outer shadow, so that He can live for others, here on Earth, unconstrained by his earthly jailer, forgetting himself in the midst of the many selves, in the words of a Philaletheian. Ethically, Theosophy is unconditioned love for humanity and for all that lives. Theosophy is philanthropy, par excellence, unconditioned and unreserved love for our fellow human beings and for all that lives, in thought and deed. It alone can restore hope and instil responsibility in a world suffocating from ignorance and its own misdeeds, by mediating between egotism and altruism. Even the great Law of Harmony depends on altruism! Theosophy’s aim and noble mission is to establish a community of spiritual thinkers who, by studying Its precepts and enriching everyday life with Its exalted ethics, can bring about a peaceful realignment of mainstream thought, as a matter of urgency! Warnings to aspirants. Those who do not enter inner life in the Spirit of Brotherhood; Those who try to degrade a noble philosophy into a den for immorality; Those who are ignorant of the dangers of psychic powers; And specially those who have already pledged to live for the World, Beware! Only purity of deed and thought can raise you to the company of your Divine Self.

The cis-Himalayan Mahatmas are Great Souls and Masters of Wisdom; their higher individuality is en rapport with the Universal Soul. Through occult training in successive births, the hold of lower Manas weakens until the whole Manas identifies with the Universal Soul, which runs through humanity at large, and lo and behold! a new Saviour of Mankind is born. Only a pure and unexpecting soul, whose brotherly love has uplifted his Manas above the fog of separateness, can ever hope to approach the majesty of a Mahatma. Manasic perception is enlightened belief without intellectual understanding. That is the real meaning of faith, not the blind belief implied by the religious meaning of faith. The adept is the rare efflorescence of a generation of enquirers. Their three higher aspects are merged into One. A Planetary Spirit can roam the interstellar spaces in full consciousness, while continue living on earth in his original body. That is highest form of adeptship man can hope for on our planet. Only an Occultist, by analysing and experiencing sentient life in all its phases, whether on earth or beyond, whether mineral, vegetable, animal, or spiritual life, can figure out the Great Problem of Consciousness. Spirit and Matter are co-existent, inseparable, interdependent, and convertible to each other. This androgynous Force is Mind and Soul. Since motion is all-pervading and absolute rest inconceivable, under whatever form or mask may appear, whether as light, heat, magnetism, chemical affinity or elec-tricity — all these must be phases of One and the same universal omnipotent Force. Consciousness is not only transformable into other aspects or phases of the all-pervading Force, but that it can be infused into, and animate, an artificial man. The three extant centres of Occult Brotherhood, though widely separated geographically, and as widely exoterically, promulgate the same esoteric doctrine. Self is a passing guest, whose concerns are all like a mirage of the great desert. It is upon the serene and placid surface of the unruffled mind that the visions gathered from the invisible find a representation in the visible world. Nature has linked all parts of her Empire together by subtle threads of magnetic sympathy. By subduing the lower Manas and thus identifying with his higher counterpart, man can become master and ruler over blind molecular motion.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1890 Edition.

The central tenets of Theosophia are not derived from any ancientor modern sect but represent the accumulated wisdom of the ages,the unrecorded inheritance of humanity. Its vast scheme of cosmicand human evolution furnishes all true seekers with the symbolicalphabet necessary to interpret their recurrent visions as well as theuniversal framework and metaphysical vocabulary, drawn from manymystics and seers, which enable them to communicate their ownintuitive perceptions. All authentic mystical writings are enrichedby the alchemical flavour of Theosophical thought. Theosophy isan integrated system of fundamental verities taught by Initiates andAdepts across millennia. It is the Philosophia Perennis, the philosophyof human perfectibility, the science of spirituality and the religion ofresponsibility. It is the primeval fount of myriad religious systemsas well as the hidden essence and esoteric wisdom of each. Man, animmortal monad, has been able to preserve this sacred heritage throughthe sacrificial efforts of enlightened and compassionate individuals,or Bodhisattvas, who constitute an ancient Brotherhood. They quietlyassist in the ethical evolution and spiritual development of the wholeof humanity. Theosophia is Divine Wisdom, transmitted and verifiedover aeons by the sages who belong to this secret Brotherhood. Sages,past and present, have accomplished the arduous transformation oftheir own natures, overcoming every vice and limitation and perfectingthemselves in noetic ideation and sacrificial action. Mahatmas orHierophants renounce everything for the sake of suffering humanity.

Theosophy is both a science and a religion, the science of Truth and the religion of Justice. And The Secret Doctrine infuses a raison d’être and intelligibility into a universe whose drift has been utterly unperceived by western thought.

The History of the Whole ́s Inner Wisdom (I)