Theosofische Boekhandel Adyar

By Robert Ellwood.

226 Pages | A Quest original, first edition 1986, second printing 1994 | Quest Books, The Theosophical Publishing House, London. | ISBN: 0835606074.

Now over hundred years old, the Theosophical Society and its philosophy have grown to be an important voice in today’s world. The theosophical overview of creation is affecting the lives of an increasing number of people. More and more books are being addressed to the ideas of reïncarnation, karma, evolution, the Oneness of all life, the cyclic nature of creation, and the mystery of consciousness.

These are some of the major concepts that emanate from the ancient Wisdom and which are considered by Dr. Ellwood in this book. All of this new attention and respect is not surprising. For though theosophical ideas frequently antedate science as we know it by many millenia, these views, in their broad outline are consistent with present-day scientific knowledge.

From Chapter 3 – ‘The Human Experience’ (p. 104):

” Being, Consciousness and Mind or Bliss, are the divine Trinity within reflecting the cosmic, our ultimate nature and our inward highway to the Oneness of the universe. Yet we mostly know of these levels through their manifestations on more familiair planes, and then only if we are perceptive enough to have amid those manifestations, in the words of the poet:

. . . a sense sublime

Of something far more deeply interfused,

Whose dwelling is the light of the setting suns,

And the round ocean and the living air,

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man;

A motion and a spirit, that impels

All thinking things, all objects of all thought,

And rolls through all things. “

• Worthsworth, ‘Tintern Abbey’.

Nederlandse vertaling: Wat is Theosofie? Kosmos/Z&K Uitgevers, Utrecht/Antwerpen

Door George R.S. Mead (1863-1933), samengesteld door en met introductie van Peter Huijs.

256 Pages | Uitgegeven in 2013 | Hardcover | Rozekruis Pers, Haarlem | ISBN: 9789067324267.

In het Alexandrië van de eerste eeuwen van onze jaartelling kon je net zo gemakkelijk hindoes en boeddhisten tegenkomen als Babylonische magiërs of de eigen Egyptische priesters van Isis en Amon-Ra. Dat zag je terug in de fameuze bibliotheek van die stad: zij bood een weerspiegeling van de zucht naar universeel weten, dat de gehele stad doorademde. Een aparte plaats daarbinnen namen de mysteriereligies in. Mithras, Arideus, Zoroaster en de Chaldeeuwse mysterieleer trokken duizenden geïnteresseerden en gelukzoekers, maar ook serieuze zoekers naar een hogere waarheid. Deze laatsten waren aangetrokken door het opschrift dat boven de toegang hing: de plaats voor de genezing van de ziel. Het is de verdienste van Georg Mead, als eerste modern gnosticus, dat hij in deel II van Echo’s uit de Gnosis de exotische and voor ons op het eerste gezicht verbijsterende mysterieleringen van die dagen weet te plaatsen in context van het Westers denken. Mead maakt duidelijk, dat wat veraf en vreemd lijkt en geschilderd werd in de bonte kleuren van die tijd, niettemin deel uitmaakt van het universele weten van de mens, de gnosis van het hart, die de verborgen werelden van de geest doorpeilt.

” Zoekt u God, u zoekt het schone. Er is één pad, dat er heen leidt: toewijding verenigd met Gnosis. Want de toegewijde ziel stijgt op naar de geest, die haar naar het licht van de Gnosis leidt. En zo’n ziel wordt nooit moe God’s lof te zingen en zegeningen uit te storten over alle mensen en in navolging van haar meester allen goed te doen in woord en daad. ” – Hermes Trismegistus.

By Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854 – 1934), compiled by Pedro Oliveira with a Foreword by Robert Ellwood.

316 Pages | Second printing 2018 | Paperback | Olive Tree Publishing ISBN: 9780646973050.

Charles Webster Leadbeater  (1854 – 1934) joined the Theosophical Society in 1883 in London and travelled with H.P. Blavatsky (1831 – 1891) to India in 1884. He helped Col. Henry S. Olcott () in his work for Buddhist education in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. While at the Headquarters of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, Madras, in India, he was taught some meditation exercises by one of Madame Blavatsky’s spiritual Teachers, who had accepted him as a Chela (disciple), in 1884. The exercises helped him to develop the faculty of clairvoyance.

From 1900 to 1905 he was a popular international lecturer for the TS, concentrating his visits to the United States. Some American families wanted their sons to accompany him in his travels to be trained in Theosophical work by him. In 1906, he was charged by the leadership of the American Section of the TS with giving sexual education to some boys under his care. Something still taboo in those days, but nowadays considered to be part of a normal curriculum. Following an enquiry in London, presided over by Col. Olcott, he resigned his membership of the Society.

For many, the episodes of 1906 sealed his image as an immoral man, although he was never charged or prosecuted in any country. He never defended himself of the accusations. After 110 years, all his relevant correspondence regarding that crisis is gathered together in this book. For the first time, his full thoughts and views about those events are presented to the public. Here, CWL speaks.

From page 274:

” One evening, Mr. Leadbeater, on our return to his room after our swim, told me that one of the boys had a remarkable aura. I asked which one, and he said it was the boy named Krishnamurti. I was surprised, for I already knew the boys, as they had been coming to me and to Subramanyam in the evenings to help in connection with their school home work, and it was evident that Krishnamurti was not one of the bright students. Then Mr. Leadbeater told me that Krishnamurti would become a great spiritual leader and a great speaker. I asked, ‘How great?’ As great as Mrs. Besant’? He replied, ‘Much greater’. And shortly after that he said that Krishnamurti would be the vehicle for the Lord Maitreya, the coming Teacher, who inspired Jesus. He was directed to help in training the boy for that purpose, which would be fulfilled, he told me, ‘unless something goes wrong’. This, I want to emphasize, in justice to Mr. Leadbeater. ” (Ernest Wood)

By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).

50 Pages | First edition 1963, third edition, first reprint 2016 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170594642.

Annie Besant (1847 – 1933), second President of the Theosophical Society (1907 – 1933) was described as a ‘Diamond Soul’, for she had many brilliant facets to her character. She was an outstanding orator of her time, a champion of human freedom, educationist, philanthropist and author with more than three hundred books and pamphlets to her credit. She also guided thousands of men and women all over the world in their spiritual quest.

In 1896, Dr. Annie Besant gave four Convention Lectures on Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Chrisitianity at Adyar, Madras, on the twenty-first anniversary of the Theosophical Society, the President-Founder, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832 – 1907), being in the Chair. In 1901, she continued the series with another four lectures on Islam, Jainism, Sikhism and Theosophy or ‘Divine Wisdom’ as the common source of all religions at the twenty-sixth anniversary, Colonel Olcott again presiding. Each of the lectures on the seven religions has been published as a separate booklet with the exception of the lecture on Divine Wisdom, and the whole series as a single volume under the title Seven Great Religions.

From page 44:

”  The Buddha asks from his disciples, as the first qualification, that opening of the mind, which is identical with discrimination, or viveka – discrimination between the permanent and the impermanent. The second step is that regarding action, which teaches indifference to the fruits of action and is identical with vairāgya. Then follow the six qualities of the mind, the same six that are taught in Hinduism. Fourthly, the deep longing for liberation, the same as the mumukshā; and lastly, the gotrabhu, the same as adhikāri, when the man is ready for Initiation. “

By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).

47 Pages | First edition 1963, third edition 2005 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170594677.

Annie Besant (1847 – 1933), second President of the Theosophical Society (1907 – 1933) was described as a ‘Diamond Soul’, for she had many brilliant facets to her character. She was an outstanding orator of her time, a champion of human freedom, educationist, philanthropist and author with more than three hundred books and pamphlets to her credit. She also guided thousands of men and women all over the world in their spiritual quest.

In 1896, Dr. Annie Besant gave four Convention Lectures on Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Chrisitianity at Adyar, Madras, on the twenty-first anniversary of the Theosophical Society, the President-Founder, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832 – 1907), being in the Chair. In 1901, she continued the series with another four lectures on Islam, Jainism, Sikhism and Theosophy or ‘Divine Wisdom’ as the common source of all religions at the twenty-sixth anniversary, Colonel Olcott again presiding. Each of the lectures on the seven religions has been published as a separate booklet with the exception of the lecture on Divine Wisdom, and the whole series as a single volume under the title Seven Great Religions.

From page 1/2:

” Most people in thinking of the Sikh think of a gallant warrior, a brave soldier. But we shall err seriously if we look on him as only, or even as fundamentally a fighter. The movement itself is fundamentally a religious one. It grew up in the midst of Hinduism, having for its ideal the joining together of the Hindus and the Muslims in one league of love to God and service to man. The thought of its founder, Guru Nānak, as we find it expressed not only in his words, but far more in his life, was to join together these warring elements of the Indian people on a platform, that both could accept. “

By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).

21 Pages | First edition 1949, second edition 2005 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170594707.

Annie Besant (1847 – 1933), second President of the Theosophical Society (1907 – 1933) was described as a ‘Diamond Soul’, for she had many brilliant facets to her character. She was an outstanding orator of her time, a champion of human freedom, educationist, philanthropist and author with more than three hundred books and pamphlets to her credit. She also guided thousands of men and women all over the world in their spiritual quest.

In 1896, Dr. Annie Besant gave four Convention Lectures on Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Chrisitianity at Adyar, Madras, on the twenty-first anniversary of the Theosophical Society, the President-Founder, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832 – 1907), being in the Chair. In 1901, she continued the series with another four lectures on Islam, Jainism, Sikhism and Theosophy or ‘Divine Wisdom’ as the common source of all religions at the twenty-sixth anniversary, Colonel Olcott again presiding. Each of the lectures on the seven religions has been published as a separate booklet with the exception of the lecture on Divine Wisdom, and the whole series as a single volume under the title Seven Great Religions.

From page 1/2:

” One might almost sum up Jainism in a phrase, that we find in the Sutra Kritānga, that man by injuring no living creature reaches the Nirvāna, which is peace. That is a phrase, that seems to carry with it the whole of this religion – peace: peace between man and man, peace between man and animal, peace everywhere and in all things, a perfect Brotherhood of all that lives. Such is the ideal of the Jain, that he endeavours to realize upon earth. “

By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).

45 Pages | First edition 1963, third edition 2005 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170594650.

Annie Besant (1847 – 1933), second President of the Theosophical Society (1907 – 1933) was described as a ‘Diamond Soul’, for she had many brilliant facets to her character. She was an outstanding orator of her time, a champion of human freedom, educationist, philanthropist and author with more than three hundred books and pamphlets to her credit. She also guided thousands of men and women all over the world in their spiritual quest.

In 1896, Dr. Annie Besant gave four Convention Lectures on Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Chrisitianity at Adyar, Madras, on the twenty-first anniversary of the Theosophical Society, the President-Founder, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832 – 1907), being in the Chair. In 1901, she continued the series with another four lectures on Islam, Jainism, Sikhism and Theosophy or ‘Divine Wisdom’ as the common source of all religions at the twenty-sixth anniversary, Colonel Olcott again presiding. Each of the lectures on the seven religions has been published as a separate booklet with the exception of the lecture on Divine Wisdom, and the whole series as a single volume under the title Seven Great Religions.

From page 44/45:

” Thus universe succeeds universe, each aiding its successors until our thought fails to express itself, and the human faculty sinks down unable to soar further. Such, most imperfectly expressed, is the religion founded in immemorial antiquity, that has come down from the rshi-s. Such ought to be your religion, heirs of the past, descendants of those mighty ones! Just in so far as you live it, in so far are your really their heirs. Just in so far as this is dear to you and practised by you, are you learning the lesson of evolution as it was taught by them, and given to the people they instructed. Just so far are you profiting by opportunities greater than those offered to any other nation, opportunities that, wasted, will be bewailed by you under less favourable conditions in many a life to come. “

By Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891) with an introduction by A. Trevor Barker.

404 Pages | First published in 1925, 1973 facsimile edition | Hardcover | Theosophical University Press, Pasadena, California | ISBN: 9780911500233.

There are several references to the writing of The Secret Doctrine, which show to how great an extent the Masters were themselves responsible for that work. That is why the teaching of H.P.B. ‘remains for us the test and criterion of Theosophy, ‘ by which all other teaching on the subject must be judged.

From the Introduction (p. ix):

” After all, if the Masters do not know what Theosophy is, no one does, because in its essence, purity and completeness it is alone contained in the secret teaching of which the Guardians are the Masters Themselves. That teaching, as stated by H.P.B., ‘ is not the fancy of one of or several isolated individuals, but the fruit of work of thousands of generations of Adept Seers, ‘through who it was handed down from the first Divine Instructors of our Humanity. It is the substratum and basis of all the world-religions and philosophies, but its doctrines are the exclusive possession of none of them. It was the mission of Madame Blavatsky, under the instructions of those Adepts, to give to the world selected portions of that archaic teaching. It should be remembered that an Adept – a Master, is one who has achieved immortality, and therefore has the power to perceive Truth as it is and at will to reflect it without distortion. “

By an anonymous author.

22 Pages | Published during the International Convention 1991 | Booklet | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN:

SOOBIAH CHETTY’S REMINISCENCES OF MADAME H.P. BLAVATSKY

When Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891) and Henry Steel Olcott (1832 – 1907) visited Madras in 1882 and lectured in the Georgetown area, Grandhi Muthuswami Chetty who was a judge, listened to them. Though he was a rich man, he was spiritually dissatisfied, and though a Hindu desired to be converted to another religion. Muthuswami’s enquiring mind was kindled by the two foreign lecturers. He wrote down several questions about whether he should opt for another religion and left those papers in a cupboard in his house before he went to sleep in the night. Next morning, when he woke up and looked in the cupboard, to his amazement he found that all his questions had been answered.  Muthuswami was convinced by the answers and never became a convert, for he joined the Theosophical Society.

From page 18:

” Good bye dearest Soobhiya & may the Masters bless and protect you. If you do come it will be the happiest day I will have had in these three years of exile! . . . I hope your dear wife and children are all well. Give them my blessing if they accept it.

Yours ever affectionately,

H.P. Blavatsky

I send you my Lucifer, Love to all friends – if there are any left.

H.P.B. “

By Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854 – 1934).

203 Pages | First edition, 16th reprint 2016 | Softcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170592501.

A Textbook of Theosophy is an ideal primer for the student of Theosophy. It suggests that Theosophy comprises the best of religion, science and philosophy. The book presents a concise, clear description of the evolution of human beings and the solar system, and describes the divine inner nature of each one of us. Moreover, through discussing reincarnation and the purpose of life, it leads us to understand the after-death state. The book urges us to rise to the highest good within us: ‘God is Good, man is immortal, and as we sow, so must we reap.’

From Chapter 1 ‘What Theosophy is’ (p. 5 & 6):

” The existence of Perfected Men, and the possibility of coming into touch with them and being taught by them, are prominent among the great new thruths which Theosophy brings to the Western world. Another of them is the stupendous fact that the world is not drifting blindly into anarchy, but that its progress is under the control of a perfectly organized hierarchy, so that final failure even for the tiniest of its units is of all impossibilities the most impossible. “

By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).

319 Pages | Third edition, 2nd reprint, 2013 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170595083.

The religious life is a life of love and understanding, serving to unite all people and all beings in one Whole. In this brilliant series of lectures, Annie Besant, former President of The Theosophical Society (1907 – 1933), delves into the world’s Seven Great Religions and their intended role of uniting and elevating the world.

Small in compass, but peerless in depth and wisdom, this collection provides essential knowledge about Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism, and Sikhism, culminating in the fountainhead of all religions, the Divine Wisdom of Theosophy. In this book, students of Religion, as well as practitioners will find a source of inspiration and knowledge, urging all towards purity of life, universal love and aspiration to Truth.

From page 314:

” In the coming civilization men shall love each other, and worship under many forms the One, the Indivisible. For the truth is that the Divine Wisdom is like the sun in heaven that shines upon every part of the earth. It shines down into every man’s compound, no matter how high the walls that he may build around it, for the sun is higher than all. So does the Divine Wisdom shine down into every religion; and though a man build barriers, the sun of the Divine Wisdom is higher than them all and it shines on every man’s face and illuminates it. There are many faiths, because mankind needs manas, the mind, in order to grow and develop. Take a ray of the sunlight and pass it through a prism; on the other side, seven colours will be painted. Take the spiritual truth and pass it through the prism of the human intellect, and the one white Truth shines out in seven different colours. “

Compiled by Bhagavan Das (1869 – 1958).

683 Pages | Soft cover | First edition 1932, 2nd edition 1939 | Quest Books, U.S.A | ISBN: 9780835600071.

Eleven religions are usually regarded as living and current at present. These, proceeding from East to West, are: 1. Shintoism born in Japan, 2. Taoism (or Laotsism), and 3. Confucianism, in China; Vedism (or Vaidika Dharma, or Sanatana Dharma or Manava Dharma, now commonly called Hinduism), 5. Buddhism, 6. Jainism and 7. Sikhism, in India; 8. Zoroastrianism (or Parsism) in Iran (or Persia); 9. Judaism (or Hebraism, or Israelitism, or the Jewish religion), and 10. Christianity, in Palestine; 11. Islam (or Mohammedanism), in Arabia. Parallel passages have been gathered in this work from the universally recognised Scriptures, and also from some other generally and highly honored writings, of these eleven.

From ‘A Letter to the Reader´ as Preface to the Second Edition (p. xxv):

” Dear Reader, I pray you, unless you have found, and made sure of, a better way, to read about an Ancient Way, leisurely, in this book. Endeavour is made here, albeit very imperfectly, to expound, no new way, but the Way of the Ancients, a Way which is time-tested also to some extent. If you feel satisfied that that Way is worth experimenting with, then I pray you to do all you can to spread, as widely as may be possible for you, this Essential Message of all the Scriptures, as preparation for the Readjustment and Synthesis. “

Your respectful and sincere Well-wisher,

BHAGAVAN DAS.

By Pablo Sender.

201 Pages | First edition 2018 | Hardcover (cloth) | Fohat Production, Ojai, California | ISBN: 9780997553512.

Who are we? What is the purpose of life? How do we actualize our potential? These are the questions that thoughful people have asked since time immemorial. Evolution of Higher Consciousness is a comprehensive study of the teachings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831- 1891) on these issues.

Madame Blavatsky, co-founder of the Theosophical Society, was the pioneer of the esoteric renaissance that took place at the end of the nineteenth century. Ever since, her writings have served as foundational source for modern spirituality. In his book, Pablo Sender presents Blavatsky’s profound but frequently puzzling statements systematically and in clear, concise language. He throws light on the nature of our spiritual essence, its evolutionairy unfoldment, and the work that we can do in daily life to consciously participate in this cosmic journey.

From page 178:

“Within yourself is the light . . . The light of the higher self and of the Mahatma are not different from each other.

In the presence of the Master the lower nature is spontaneously transformed. This is why in the taijasic state there is no need to fight, control or manipulate the lower. Passions and afflictions are powerful only when the pure awareness identifies with them. This practice, along with the a general ‘effort’ at leading a spiritual life, will eventually make the temporary state of ‘manas taijasa” more and more available, until it becomes permanent in the union of buddhi-manas. When we are aware of our innate divine Wisdom, conscious of our identity with everything , and aware of our transcendental and immutable nature, the human evolutionairy pilgrimage comes to an end. New field of self-expression open up to the liberated consciousness, which now becomes a beneficent force aiding human and planetary evolution.

.  .  .

Joy unto ye, O Men of Earth.

A Pilgrim hath returned back ‘from the other shore’.

A Saviour of Mankind is born. “

• From: The Voice of Silence, fragment 3.

By Pablo Sender.

201 Pages | First edition 2018 | Soft cover | Fohat Production, Ojai, California | ISBN: 9780997553505.

Who are we? What is the purpose of life? How do we actualize our potential? These are the questions that thoughful people have asked since time immemorial. Evolution of Higher Consciousness is a comprehensive study of the teachings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831- 1891) on these issues.

Madame Blavatsky, co-founder of the Theosophical Society, was the pioneer of the esoteric renaissance that took place at the end of the nineteenth century. Ever since, her writings have served as foundational source for modern spirituality. In his book, Pablo Sender presents Blavatsky’s profound but frequently puzzling statements systematically and in clear, concise language. He throws light on the nature of our spiritual essence, its evolutionairy unfoldment, and the work that we can do in daily life to consciously participate in this cosmic journey.

From page 178:

“Within yourself is the light . . . The light of the higher self and of the Mahatma are not different from each other.

In the presence of the Master the lower nature is spontaneously transformed. This is why in the taijasic state there is no need to fight, control or manipulate the lower. Passions and afflictions are powerful only when the pure awareness identifies with them. This practice, along with the a general ‘effort’ at leading a spiritual life, will eventually make the temporary state of ‘manas taijasa” more and more available, until it becomes permanent in the union of buddhi-manas. When we are aware of our innate divine Wisdom, conscious of our identity with everything , and aware of our transcendental and immutable nature, the human evolutionairy pilgrimage comes to an end. New field of self-expression open up to the liberated consciousness, which now becomes a beneficent force aiding human and planetary evolution.

.  .  .

Joy unto ye, O Men of Earth.

A Pilgrim hath returned back ‘from the other shore’.

A Saviour of Mankind is born. “

• From: The Voice of Silence, fragment 3.

By Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891).

48 Pages | First edition, fourth reprint 2004 | Softcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170590310.

‘Theosophy is not a Religion‘ says Madame Blavatsky; it is Religion itself, the Wisdom Religion from which individual religions have sprung. It is the one bond of unitym whicb is so universal and all-embracing, that no man as no speck – from the gods and mortals down to animals, the blade of grass and atom – can be outside of its light. Therefore, any organization or body of that name must be necessarily be a Universal Brotherhood.

Theosophy can be practised by Christian or heathen, Jew or Gentile, by agnostic or materialist and atheist, provided that no one of these is a bigoted fanaticm who refuses to recognize as his brother or sister a person outside his own special creed or belief. Theosophy embraces every science in life, moral and physical, because it shows the connection of man and all things in the universe with each other.

From the Introduction:

” Religion is the best armour that man can have, but it is the worst cloak.  – Bunyan.

It is no exaggeration to say that there never was – during the present nineteenth century, at any rate – a movement, social or religious, so terribly misunderstood, or more blundered about than Theosophy – whether regarded theoretically as a code of ethics, or practically, in its objective expression, i.e.. the Society known by that name. “

By Alfred Percy Sinnett (1840 – 1921).

212 Pages | Adyar First Edition 2008 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170595434.

This book was published in 1883 and probably constituted the earliest sketch of esoteric teachings given in plain language. ‘Karma’ and ‘Reincarnation’ and other such terms, almost unknown in the West, thereafter came to be used in literary and theological circles.

The author candidly acknowledges that it was the ‘favour’ (of the Adepts) rather than ‘effort’ on his part that helped the writing of the book. He received teachings of great Spiritual Teachers or Mahatmas through Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891). The book gives occult details concerning the Universe and its planets, going beyond the material world.

From page 212:

” In that which really constitutes Buddhism we find a sublime simplicity, like that of Nature herself – one Law running into infinite ramifications – complexities of detail, it is true, as Nature herself is infinitely complex in her manifestations, however unchangeably uniform in her purposes, but always the immutable doctrine of causes and their effects, which in turn become causes again in an endless cyclic progression . . . “

By Michael Gomes.

25 Pages | Blavatsky Lecture 2017 | Soft cover | The Theosophical Publishing House, London | No ISBN.

‘The Blavatsky Lecture’ is one of the most prestigious presentations in the Theosophical Society. Partly, because of its longevity, continuity, subject matter, the eminence of its presenters, and the fact that for hundred years these lectures have been available as separate publications, the Blavatsky Lecture has achieved a unique position among Theosophical talks. It is the equivalent of the Academy Awards of Theosophy.

From page 20:

” One of the enduring benefits of Theosophy is that it is practical. Certainly, its teachings are filled with high ideas and often difficult concepts that challenge our thinking. How can the teachings on rounds, races, manvantara, dhyani chohans, sevenfold planes of being, etc. be claimed as ‘practical’? One way that H.P Blavatsky described Theosophy was, the accumulated Wisdom of the ages tested and verified by generations of seers, To the mentally lazy or obtuse it will always remain a riddle. The Wisdom is constant and unchanging, and has been accessible throughout the ages to those, who approach it properly. From the beginning one of the demands has been that the mental principle becomes consciously active. “

By Yvonne K. Burgess.

85 Pages | Printed 2009 | Softcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, London | No ISBN.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891) (HPB) reminded one group of students not long before she died that during the study of Theosophy, it was essential for them to bear in mind the reality of Oneness and to have an understanding of the importance of the monad. This aspect was recorded by one of those students, Robert Bowen. Also, in The Secret Doctrine I, p. 614 she states:

” Those unable to seize the difference between the monad – the Universal Unit – and the Monads or the manifested Unity, as also the ever-hidden and the revealed LOGOS or the Word, ought never to meddle in philosophy, let alone the Esoteric sciences. “

As a being, man is a perfected animal, the vehicle of a fully developed Monad, self-conscious and deliberately following its own line of progress, whereas in the insect, and even the higher animal, the higher triad of principles is absolutely dormant. – CW X p. 313.

By Susan Bayliss.

35 Pages | Softcover | Blavatsky Lecture 2014 | The Theosophical Publishing House, London | No ISBN.

Life is full of potentiality from ‘the circle of heaven’ to Mother Earth and all that live within her. The extent of this potential is hidden from us in our mundane world, concealed, according to the ‘Ancients’, behind a veil of illusion in which we live and experience our everyday lives. Out of nothingness came the ‘Great Illusion’ into a state of potentiality awaiting the impulse to become an expression of new life – a new universe. The same potentiality also lies within us and we too can awaken to a ‘new world’; a world in which we are transformed from a place of ignorance to a state of Knowledge and Wisdom. Our taks is to find the keys which open the the doorway to the higher life. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891) (HPB) in the Secret Doctrine (SD) describes the process of Life awakening at cosmic level, from potential space to the abstract space of ‘divine immaculate Mother-Nature’.

From page 29:

” In The Key to Philosophy, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891) tells us that the final goal cannot be reached in any way but through life experiences, and because most of this consists of pain and suffering, this is how we learn. Many of us will have seen the photograph of Einstein sittings at his desk with a copy of The Secret Doctrine lying there along with other books. He famously said that ‘The intellect has little to do on the road of discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why. All great discoveries are made in this way. “

By Geoffrey A. Barborka.

67 Pages | Blavatsky Lecture 1970 | Softcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, London. | No ISBN.

This Lecture commemorates the coming to the Western world of one who was the representative of a great Brotherhood – a Brotherhood which is known by many names. One of its epiphets, especially in connection with its origin, is a symbolic one; the Sons of Ad or Sons of Fire-Mist. Little has been written about these Sons. However, the meaning associated with the term is clear enough; for it links up with the name given to those Divine Beings who came to the assistance of humanity during one of its most critical periods. These are the Agnishvatta Pitris, the awakeners of the fire – which signifies the Mind-principle.

Geoffrey A. Barborka (1897 – 1982) was brought up at Point Loma, California. He had a classical education to which were added modern languages / German, French and Spanish+ and these were later supplemented by a study of Hebrew and Sanskrit. He is the author of a number of books, including The Divine Plan, H.P. Blavatsky, Tibet and Tulku and The Pearl of the Orient.

By Michael Gomes.

579 Pages | First edition, first reprint 2006 | Hardcover | The Theosophical Society, Adyar | ISBN: 8170593972.

With a title like H.P.B. Teaches, the reader may wonder: ‘teaches what‘? HPB herself gives the answer: ‘metaphysics, psychology, philosophy, ancient religions, zoology, natural sciences’. One might add occult symbolism, spiritual evolution, guidance on moral and social issues, after death states, cycles and human destiny. Aside from the major books she is famous for – Isis Unveiled (1877), The Secret Doctrine (1888), The Key to Theosophy and The Voice of Silence (1889) – it is estimated that in a brief span of seventeen years, from 1874 to 1891, Mme. Blavatsky wrote close to one thousand articles, essays, and letters to journals, which in many cases focus within the space of a few pages on the topics listed above.

For the first time in one volume a representative selection of articles by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891), co-founder of the Theosophical Society, is available. The forty articles in this book cover every facet of HPB’s writings in English, including one of her semi-fictional stories.

From page 21:

” Many thousand years ago the wise King Solomon declared that ‘There is nothing new under the Sun’, and the words of this very wise man ought to be repeated till the farthest ends of time. There is not a science, nor a modern discovery in any secretion of it, but was known to the Cabalists thousands of years since. This will appear a bold and ridiculous assertion, I know: and one apparently unconfirmed by any authority. But I will answer that where truth stares one in the face, there can be no other authority than one’s senses. “

By Michael Gomes.

49 Pages | Blavatsky Lecture 2007 | Softcover |  The Theosophical Publishing House, London | No ISBN.

On August 29, 1882, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832 – 1907), President-Founder of the Theosophical Society, was in Galle, Ceylon, on a lecturing tour to raise funds for the opening of the schools for Buddhist children. One of the people who came forward to contribute was a man, whose arm and leg had been paralyzed for eight years. Olcott, who had read the literature on animal magnetism, or mesmerism as it was also termed, and magnetic healing in his youth, says he was moved to try some healing passes with his hands over the man’s arm, telling him that he hoped he might feel better.

Later that evening the gentleman returned to thank the Colonel, saying indeed his condition had improved. This encouraged Olcott to treat the arm again. There was a marked improvement when he returned the next morning, and, after two more days of treatment, he could move his arm and open and close his hand. Olcott also tried working on the man’s leg, which responded well enough to allow his to walk freely and even run. To show his thanks, the now-healed man brought a friend, who was also paralyzed. When he was cured, others came in increasing numbers, to the point, the Colonel recalled, ‘within a week or so my house was besieged by sick persons from dawn until late night, all clamoring for the laying on of my hands’.

Within the space of a year, he would treat some 8.000 people, until, at the verge of his own health breaking down, he was ordered by his teacher to stop. This little-known episode in the work undertaken by Olcott offers and instructive glimpse into the revival of alternative healing that was occuring at the time and which has now entered the mainstream.

By Laurence J. Bendit and Phoebe D. Bendit.

192 Pages | First published in1950, Quest edition 1969 | Paperback | Quest Books, U.S.A. | No ISBN.

Is it possible to have genuine communication between the living and the dead and what are the obstacles, which stand in the way? Can we find some rational explanation for the phenomena of spiritualism and the seance room? These are some of the questions discussed in this book, written by a British psychiatrist, Dr. L.J. Bendit and his wife Phoebe D. Bendit-Payne, a natural clairvoyant. Her personal experience and his medical training uniquely qualified them to consider together these and other subjects, viewing them in the wider context of man’s nature and capacities. No pat answers are offered but rather the reader is encouraged to think for himself about the mystery of existence in this world and the next.

From the ‘Personal Forewords’ (p 21/22):

“ This book is an attempt to clear up some of that confusion. To some it may seem that it is not suffficiently scientific and takes too much for granted. To others it may appear too much so, and too destructive of comfortable beliefs. That cannot be helped. We have tried to keep an objective, scientific attitude to the subject, and to carry this attitude into realms where the scientific experimental method cannot be applied. But we have not hesitated to go beyond the point to which objectivity can take us, and have expressed something of our own beliefs. That we have done this does not weaken our position. Even scientists must be permitted to have beliefs based on inner knowledge and experience, and all that can legitimately be demanded of them in this realm is that they shall be tentative and suggestive, not dogmatic. “

By Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854 – 1934).

271 Pages | First edition, 7th reprint 2004 | Softcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 817059457X.

The author of this book, Charles Webster Leadbeater was a clairvoyant whose range of experience of occult phenomena and unusual happenings waa extraordinary. The Perfume of Egypt is a collection of ‘weird stories’, mostly about ghosts, which is both fascinating and informative, because they represent either personal experiences of the author or what he had heard directly from authentic sources.

Mr. Leadbeater himself brings to attention in his Foreword (page viii):

” I have written other and more serious books, in which such things as these are scientifically explained; in this volume my only desire is to help my readers to pass pleasantly a few hours of leisure time. “

Comments by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891) compiled by Lina Psaltis.

132 Pages | 1972, Second reprint 2006 | Hard cover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170594863.

Psychic phenomena, magic, hypnotism, spiritualism, planes of perception, dreams, and spiritual progress – these are some of the subjects discussed in this collection of excertps from the writings of one of the most famous occultists of history:

In this small book the compiler has drawn together from various sources some of the important and interesting statements made by H.P. Blavatsky more than a century ago on subjects, which are arousing wide interest today. Her comments not only reveal something of her profound knowledge and wisdom, but are also fascinating, informative and relevant. They contain valuable advice to those who would dabble in psychic realms without being aware of their dangers and pitfalls.

From page 104/105:

” The key in each degree is the ‘aspirant himself’. It is not the fear of God, which is the beginning of Wisdom, but the knowledge of SELF which is WISDOM ITSELF. How grand and true appears, thus, to the student of Occultism who has commenced to realize some of the foregoing truths, the answer given by the Delphic Oracle to all who came seeking after Occult Wisdom – words repeated and enforced again and again by the wise Socrates: MAN KNOW THYSELF . . . ” 

• From: Collected Writings, Vol. IX, p. 162.

By Stephen Mitchell.

223 Pages | Originally published by Harmony Books a divison of Random House Inc. in 2000, first paperback edition | Softcover | Three Rivers Press – The Crown Publishing Group, New York | ISBN: 0609810340.

Stephen Mitchell is widely known for his ability to make ancient Masterpieces thrillingly new, to step in where many have tried before and create versions that are definitive for our time. His celebrated translations of the Tao Te Ching, Rilke, and The B0ok of Job have won the hearts of readers and critics alike. The Bhagavad Gītā is universally acknowledged as one of the world’s literary and spiritual masterpieces. It is the core text of the Hindu tradition and has been treasured by American writers from Emerson to T.S. Eliot.

There have been more than two hundred English translations of the Gītā, but none of them, until now, is a superlative literary text in its own right. This translation sings with the clarity, the vigor, and the intensity of the original Sanskrit.

From Chapter 4 – ‘The Yoga of Wisdom’, (p. 72 & 73) [4.3 – 6 / 4.7 – 11]:

The Blessed Lord said:

” Many times I have been born, and many times you (Arjuna) have also. All these lives I remember; you recall only this one. Although I am unborn, deathless, the infinite Lord of all beings, through my own wondrous power I come into finite form. Whenever righteousness falters and chaos threatens to prevail, I take on a human body and manifest myself on earth.  In order to protect the good, to destroy the doers of evil, to ensure the triumph of righteousness, in every age I am born. Whoever knows, profoundly, my divine presence on earth is not reborn when he leaves the body, but comes to me. Released from greed, fear, anger, absorbed in me and made pure by the practice of wisdom, many have attained my own state of being. However men try to reach me, I return their love with my love; whatever path they may travel, it leads to me in the end. “

Translated by Laurie L. Patton.

234 Pages | First published by Penguin Classics in 2008 | Soft cover | Penguin Books, London | ISBN:  9780140447903.

” Know this: that with which all this world is woven is not to be destroyed. No one is able to effect the destruction of the imperishable . . . “

The Bhagavad Gītā is an early epic poem that recounts the conversation between Arjuna the warrior and his charioteer Krishna, a manifestation of God. In the moments before a great battle, Krishna sets out the important lessons Arjuna must learn to understand his own role in the war he is about to fight. Krishna reveals to Arjuna his true cosmic form and counsels the warrior to act according to his sacred obligations. Ranging from instructions on yoga to dense moral discussion, the Gita is one of the most important Hindu texts, and has served for centuries as an everyday, practical guide to living well,

From the Ninth discourse 17 – 20:

The Blessed One said:

” I am the father of the world – its mother, its arranger and its grandfather; I am what is to be known; the purifier; the sound ‘OM’; the Rig, the Sama and the Yajur Veda.

I am the way, the bearer, the great lord, the one who sees. I am home, and shelter, the heart’s companion. I am birth, death and sustenance; I am the house of treasure, and the eternal seed.

I give off heat, and I am the rain. I hold back and I send out. I am sweet immortality, as well as death; being and non-being, Arjuna.

Those who know the Vedas and drink Soma, cleansed of their evils seek heaven, and offer to me with sacrifices. They reach the pure world of Indra, and enjoy the divine pleasures of the gods in heaven. “

By Carl E. Woodham.

98 Pages | First printing 2000 | Hardcover | Torchlight Publishing, Badger | ISBN: 1887089268.

Based on the Bhagavad Gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977).

The Bhagavad Gītā, India’s greatest spiritual treatise, contains far too much drama to remain the exclusive property of philosophers and religionists. Woodham presents the timeless wisdom of the Gita in contemporary English poetry, bringing to life its ancient yet perennially applicable message. It recounts in metered stanzas the historic conversation between Krishna, the Supreme Mystic and the mighty warrior Arjuna as they survey the battlefield preparations for the greatest world war of all time.

Krishna’s illuminating conversation with Arjuna forms the core of the Mahābhārata’s teachings, that has proven so inspiring to millions. Yet, it’s easy to overlook Krishna in the thicket of Bhagavad Gītā translations. Most dismiss Krishna as a myth or a mouthpiece for some greater formless Being. To do so is to miss the central point of the Bhagavad Gītā: bhakti, or joyous loving devotion to Krishna. The greatest luminaries of India’s rich spiritual heritage, such as Ramanuja, Madhva and Caitanya, have all drawn this devotional conclusion from Bhagavad Gītā .

By L.H. Leslie-Smith.

69 Pages | Independent Journal Edition | Softcover | Theosophical History Center, London | No ISBN.

From its Preface:

” Although this brief sketch, undertaken at the request of the General Council of the Theosophical Society, covers most of the important events in the first century of the Society, it is no wise a history, not even a condensed history. For that, several years of research would have been required, instead of a few weeks. The booklet is a personal appraisement of the period. “

Founded in 1985, the Theosohical History Centre seeks to promote interest in the history of the Theosophical Society and related fields.

By Alfred Percy Sinnett (1840 – 1921).

27 Pages | Softcover | First published in 1893, 3rd edition 1958, reprinted 1970 | Henry Ling Limited, The Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset | ISBN: 722952503.

Two lectures delivered before The Theosophical Society, London, in 1892-93 and now reprinted in 1958 in respose to repeated requests arising out of modern interest in the Pyramids, Stonehenge and also Atlantis. Their value is felt to lie in the text as originally given, and no attempt has therefore been made to revise them.

By John S. Gordon.

36 Pages | Soft cover | August 2008 | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | No ISBN.

‘The Blavatsky Lecture’  delivered at the Summer School of The Foundation for Theosophical Studies, Wills Hall, The University of Bristol, Sunday August 2008.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891), as we know, at least once remarked that ‘Theosophy is not for dumbskulls!’ By that, her writings clearly demonstrate, she meant that the operative principles behind this all-embracing form of wisdom-philosophy have to be studied carefully and followed in practice before it can even begin to be properly understood. However, those principles are not be taken on board like some religious ritual, driven by blind faith and a happy assumption that somebody else will take up the full responsibility for explaining their full significance.

What Theosophy is and how it works cannot really be understood other than through direct experience of the principles behind the operation of consciousness itself is regarded by the cutting edge of modern science as the next major frontier to be crossed, it is this subject which I propose to address today – although not perhaps in the manner which an orthodox scientist might adopt.

By Kurt Leland.

516 Pages | Published in 2016 | Softcover | Ibis Press /  NICHOLAS HAYS, Inc., Lake Worth | ISBN: 9780892542192.

Scores of books have been written on the chakras – the psycho-energetic centers distributed along the spine, perceived clairvoyantly as wheels of light. Based on the teachings of Indian Tantra, the chakras have been used for centuries as focal points for healing, meditation, and achieving a gamut of physical. emotional, and spiritual benefits – from improved health to ultimate enlightenment.

Contemporary yoga teachers, energy healers, psychics, and self-help devotees think of the chakra system as thousands of years old. Yet the most common version in use in the West today came together as recently as 1977, the result of an unintentional, century-long collaboration between esotericists, clairvoyants, scholars of Indian philosophy, mythologists, psychologists, yogis, and energy healers.

Never before has the story been told of how the Western chakra system developed from its roots in Indian tantra, through Blavatsky to Leadbeater, Steiner to Alice Bailey, Jung to Joseph Campbell, Ramakrishna to Aurobindo, and Esalen to Shirley MacLaine and Barbara Brennan.

Leland has written on astral projection, near-death experiences, and the transcendent possibilities of music. He is a National Lecturer for the Theosophical Society America, and a classical musician and composer. He maintains a consulting and teaching practice called ‘Spiritual Orienteering’.

By Alfred Percy Sinnett (1840 – 1921).

212 Pages | Adyar First Edition 2008 | Paperback | ISBN: 9788170595434.

This book was published in 1883 and probably constituted the earliest sketch of esoteric teachings given in plain language. ‘Karma’ and ‘Reincarnation’ and other such terms, almost unknown in the West, thereafter came to be used in literary and theological circles.

The author candidly acknowledges that it was the ‘favour’ (of the Adepts) rather than ‘effort’ on his part that helped the writing of the book. He received teachings of great Spiritual Teachers or Mahatmas through Helena P. Blavatsky (1831 – 1891). The book gives occult details concerning the Universe and its planets, going beyond the material world.

From page 212:

” In that which really constitutes Buddhism we find a sublime simplicity, like that of Nature herself – one Law running into infinite ramifications – complexities of detail, it is true, as Nature herself is infinitely complex in her manifestations, however unchangeably uniform in her purposes, but always the immutable doctrine of causes and their effects, which in turn become causes again in an endless cyclic progression . . . “

By Hsün Tzu (born ca. 312 B.C.).

177 Pages | First edition 1963, 1966 | Softcover | Columbia University Press, New York | ISBN:

Translations from the Asian Classics

Hsün Tzu set forth the most complete, well-ordered philosophical system of his day. Although basically Confucian, he differed with Mencius, his famous predecessor in the Confucian school, by asserting that the original nature of man is evil. To counteract this evil, he advocated self-improvement, the pursuit of learning, the avoidance of obsession, and constant attention to ritual in all areas of life. He also expounded on such objects as military affairs, Heaven, music, and the rectification of names. On government, Hsün Tzu believed that the rulers of the nation should play a crucial role in the process of educating and uplifting the population.

With a translation by the noted scholar Burton Watson, Basic Writings includes an introduction to the philosopher in relation to Chinese history and thought. Readers familiair with Hsün Tzu’s work will find that Whatson’s lucid translation breathes new life into this classic. For those not yet acquainted with Hsün Tzu – Basic Writings will reach a new generation whol will find his ideas on government, language, and order and safety in society surprisingly close to the concerns of our age.

Door Vicente Hao Chin, Jr.

300 Pagina’s | Eerste druk december 2017 | Softcover | Uitgeverij der Theosofische Vereniging Nederland, Amsterdam | ISBN: 9789061750994.

English Original: The  Process of Self-Transformation – A Spiritual Guide for Effective Living | First edition, 2015 | Quest Books U.S.A. | ISBN: 9780835609357.

Een zelfhulpboek voor persoonlijke, spirituele groei en voor wereldburgerschap, nu in het Nederlands verkrijgbaar.

Hao Chin verstaat de kunst om een moeilijk onderwerp als zelf-transformatie in heldere bewoordingen te beschrijven, zelfs zodanig dat de lezer er direct praktisch mee aan de slag kan. De auteur heeft inmiddels gedurende talloze seminars veel mensen door het proces van zelf-transformatie geleid.

Emoties, die zich vaak lichamelijk uiten, en moeilijkheden die wij met ons denken opwerpen kunnen een effectief leven, persoonlijke groei en meditatie in de weg staan. Met de in dit boek beschreven aanpak om problemen via het lichaam bewust gewaar te zijn (self-awareness processing) en vervolgens los te laten, kunnen deze blijvend worden aangepakt.

Het boek bespreekt de gevolgen, die een dergelijke bewuste, assertieve en positieve levenshouding kan hebben voor familierelaties, voor opvoeding en onderwijs, en voor wereldburgerschap en vrede.

Vicente Hao Chin, Jr. was president van The Theosophical Society (Adyar) in de Filippijnen, is actief in de Theosophical Order of Service, en is de grondlegger van het Golden Link College in de Filippijnen, transformerend onderwijs voor minder bevoorrechte kinderen en jonge mensen. Hij schreef verschillende boeken, stelde de chronologische uitgave samen van de The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett, is een van de redacteuren van The Theosophical Encyclopedia en leidde zelf-transformatie seminars in meer dan twintig landen ter wereld.

By I. Jauli and E. Reig.

116 Pages | Uitgegeven in 2016 | Softcover | Vijay Nicole Imprints Private Limited, Chennai | ISBN: 9788182094475.

For many of the ancient traditions and some psychological approaches the great obstructer of the inner development is fear. It generates insecurity; it pressures the searcher to decline his intentions and finally, in order to sleep peacefully, he assumes that retracting and not acting was smart, however he loses the opportunity to experience life.

” If we understand that fears are just thoughts, we can free ourselves from them. ” –  Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986)

These thoughts are part of the personal shadow. They destroy the possibilities of living and reduce our potential. This book explains the personal shadow and its effects on life. The bird’s meaning of life is flying, that’s why it has wings, the snake is to slither and therefore it has a body equipped for this movement. Likewise, human beings possess divine potential and therefore they need to develop that potential. Shadows affect the inner development.

This book discusses:

1. Effect on inner development
2. Effects of management of light and shadow in the human being such as wisdom, ignorance, darkness and shadow
3. Explanation of shadow effects through fables
4. Approach of shadow in psychology
5. Methods to know our personal shadow and how to measure the effect of personal shadow in our lives?
6. An alchemy model to face the shadow
7. Transforming powers of change

This book also presents ideas and schemas, that combine science, philosophy and the ancient mystical traditions. It aims to help readers integrate their personal shadow and thus lead a fulfilling and productive life.

Door Danielle Audoin (1926 – 1917), in het Nederlands vertaald door Saskia Campert.

73 Pagina’s | Eerste druk mei 2015, 2de druk feb. 2018 | A6-formaat, softcover | Theosofische Vereniging in Nederland, Amsterdam | ISBN: 9789061750963.

Frans origineel: Les Marches d’Or de Helena P. Blavatsky  – Commentées par Danielle Audoin.

Er bestaat een heel korte tekst, De Gulden Treden, die te weinig bekend is onder theosofie studenten. Men zegt meestal: De Gulden Treden van HPB. Feitelijk is het een tekst die Helena P. Blavatsky (1831 – 1891), evenals een groot deel van haar werk, heeft ontvangen van een van haar Meesters. Een van de ‘Adepten’, die via haar, aan hen die in 1890 haar discipelen waren een leidraad hebben overgedragen, niet allen voor de persoonlijke ontwikkeling, maar ook voor de spirituele ontplooiing en het relationele leven.

De Dertien Aansporingen:

1. Een rein leven
2. Een open geest
3. Een zuiver hart
4. Een wakker verstand
5. Een onversluierde spirituele perceptie
6. Een broederlijke liefde voor allen
7. De bereidwilligheid om advies en instructie te geven en te ontvangen
8. Een loyaal plichtsbesef ten opzichte van de leraar
9. Een gewillig gehoorgeven aan de geboden van de Waarheid
10. Een moedig verdragen van persoonlijk onrecht
11. Een dapper opkomen voor onze principes
12. Een onverschrokken verdediging van hen die onrechtvaardig worden aangevallen
13. Een aandacht voortdurend gericht op het ideaal van menselijke vooruitgang en volmaaktheid dat de gewijde wetenschap beschrijft

By Mabel Collins (1851-1927).

160 Pages | First Quest Edition 1987, A Quest Miniature | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 9780835606141.

Dutch translation: Als de Zon Noordwaards Gaat | Published in 2004 | Uitgeverij Gabriël | ISBN 9080501735.

Mabel Collins, author of The Light On the Path, explores the link between the mystic recurrence of the Earth’s cycles of birth, death and rebirth with the seasonal regeneration of our own spiritual nature. Her meditative prose beautifully evokes the time-less sense of cosmic renewal and the consequent growth of consciousness that has its germination deep within those reflective months of quietude when the sun moves northward.

” I am often asked about the question of Time in regard to the great Ceremonies which take place at midnight when the spirits of men are most completely released from their bodies during the recurrent periods of light and darkness on the earth. Midnight means the deepest depth of the darkness: it has no connection with the arbitrary hours. Therefore, in time there is necessarily a difference according to what places on earth the disciples are dwelling in: and, as time does not exist except as an arbitrary temporary convenience, once outside the body man loses the sense of it. ” – Mabel Collins (1923).

From Chapter VII (p. 86):

” Now comes the awful test of obedience. The moment of decision, which arrive to the man, and to the disciple, as a climax to a series of events, these come within the domain and power of mankind. There are other far more awful moments when the hand of a supreme power interferes in the affairs of men, and when the man, even though he be a disciple, is helpless. There are decisions made in a court above us all, from which there is no appeal, which are carried out inexorably. Then there is no decision to be made by the man himself; he can only rebel or obey. The religious man calls this supreme power which gives, and takes away, God: occultists see it in the working of the law of Karma. Be it what it may, if the man rebels against it, the disciple may not. “

By Mabel Collins (1851 – 1927).

86 Pages | Third Adyar Edition, 1st reprint 2013 | Hardcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170595823.

‘These rules are written for all disciples’. As we have it present, this book was dictated by Master Hilarion through the mediumship of Mabel Collins. Master Hilarion received it from his own teacher, the ‘Great One’, who among Theosophical students is sometimes called ‘The Venetian’; but even He is the author only of part of it. It has passed through three phases.

Light on the Path was the first of three treatises, which occupy a unique position in our Theosophical literature – directions from those who have trodden the Path to those, who desire to read it.

By Virginia Hanson.

191 Pages | 1974, fourth printing 1988 – A Quest Miniature | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835604500.

Here are 366 Meditations – one for each day of the year. Each from the heart of a spiritually oriented philosopher, from Plato to Emerson to Sri Aurobindo to a host of theosophical students and scholars. Inside of this miniature Quest book is a complete philosophy for living: quiet, short, engaging thoughts, each alive with the spirit of being. In truth, this is not a book to be studied. It is a book to be carried in the pocket or purse. It is a book to be treasured.

From page 41:

” 25.  A doctrine of ‘Truth’, presenting itself without proof on the bare value of its own nobility, is as disturbing a factor to the majority of men as would be the stranger without name or country. We are afraid of it; it is to us an invasion from an unknown world. And such it is; it is an invasion from another world, from the only real world, the world of Reality . . . “

Door H. Mesker.

174 Pages | Uitgegeven in 2017 | Softcover | Ankh-Hermes B.V., Utrecht | ISBN: 9789020213515.

De I Tjing – Het Boek der Veranderingen wordt gezien als het belangrijkste boek uit de Chinese cultuur. De vierenzestig hoofdstukken van het boek bevatten een gesloten orderning, waarin alle veranderingen en situaties in het universum beschreven worden. De I Tjing toont je de wereld als een dynamisch geheel, waarin alles nauw met elkaar verbonden is, niets zonder reden gebeurt en waarin je zelf je levenspad kunt kiezen en bijsturen. Je kunt vragen stellen aan de I Tjing en in symbolische begrippen krijg je daar antwoord op.

De I Tjing Stap voor Stap geschreven door Harmen Mesker is een handleiding bij de herziene editie van de I Tjing-vertaling van Richard Wilhelm. Op begrijpelijke wijze legt dit boek uit hoe je de I Tjing kunt gebruiken en hoe je de antwoorden van het boek kunt lezen en interpreteren. Je leert:

• Hoe je vragen en situaties kunt voorleggen aan de I Tjing
• Hoe je met de muntenmethode een antwoord krijgt
• Hoe je de hexagrammen en hun gelaagde opbouw kunt duiden
• Wat de betekenis is van veelgebruikte begrippen in de I Tjing
• De achterliggende filosofie van het boek
• De indeling van de I Tjing
• Hoe je de duizendbladmethode voor het verkrijgen van een antwoord kunt uitvoeren.

Door Lao Tzu (601 BC – unknown), commentaar door Kristofer Schipper.

317 Bladzijden | Eerste druk 1988, 9de druk 2009 | Softcover | J.M. Meulenhoff Uitgeverij | ISBN:

In TAO beschrijft Kristofer Schipper in heldere taal de geschiedenis van de Chinese Leer. Hij verdiept zich in de rituelen, die erbij horen en de elementen, waaruit de leer is opgebouwd, zoals de grote aandacht voor het mensenlijk lichaam en de kosmologie. Tao is zowel een uitstekende inleiding voor buitenstaanders als waardevol studiemateriaal voor wie al meer vertrouwd is met de leer. Tao is veel meer dan een godsdienst, het is een manier van kijken en een manier van in het leven staan. Een religie zonder gelovigen en zonder canonieke leerstellingen.

Het boek biedt meerwaarde voor iedereen, die meer over China te weten wilt komen. In alles wat in de afgelopen eeuw in dit machtige rijk is voorgevallen, zowel onder het maoïsme als tijdens de gigantische industrialisatie, heeft de Tao bewust of onbewust doorgewerkt.

Kristofer Schipper was hoogleraar aan de Leidse Universiteit en aan de École Pratique des Hautes Études in Parijs en is opgeleid tot taoïstisch meester.

By Christmas Humphreys (1901 – 1983).

169 Pages | Softcover | Published in 1984 | Curzon Press and the Theosophical Publishing House U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835603067.

This work sets out to emphasize the inner life as a constant moving on and the mover as a pilgrim travelling along an ancient Way. This Way to ultimate Reality was called by Gautama the Buddha the ‘Middle Way’, the Path between the introverted life of contemplation and the extrovert life of action in the world of men. Whilst this book as a whole is of no one school of Buddhism, it aims toward an understanding and also an application of Buddhist principles in Western society, and a means whereby that Way may be traversed.

By C. Humphreys.

212 Pages | 5th printing 1999 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835605507.

‘ Satori is a stage along the way, a gateless gate that must be entered on the path to enlightenment. ‘

With profound inspiration and consummate compassion, the founder of the Buddhist Society in London invites serious students of spiritual evolution to us Western techniques to achieve satori, the experience of unity and divinity in all aspects of being. Each of us must stumble and bump our way in darkness and confusion along the path to enlightenment. In penetrating, genuine, and inspiring prose, Humphreys refocuses the Wisdom of Zen for the Western reader and illuminates that arduous road.

By Ravi Ravindra.

120 Pages | First Quest Edition and printing, 2014 | Soft cover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 2014020064.

na vijānāmi yadivedamasmi niṇyaḥ samnaddho manasā carāmi.

‘ I know not whether I am the same as this cosmos: a mystery am I, yet burdened by mind, I wander. ‘

• Rig Veda 1.164.37.

From the Preface:

” There are two great Mysteries: idam and aham, ‘cosmos’ and ‘myself’. What indeed is the person in this vast cosmos? In all the great traditions there are people, monuments, documents and ceremonies that can assist searchers. The Rig Veda is among the very earliest documents in which the sages speak of the call of Satyam, Ritam, and Brihat – ‘Truth’, ‘Order’ and ‘Vastness’. Similar Mysteries are spoken of in Psalm 8: ‘When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, / the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; / What is man, that thou art mindful of him?’

Throughout my life, I have been struck by the mysteries these quotations articulate. This is perhaps true for each of us: we cannot not be engaged by such questions. The search to understand and to stand under these mysteries is the pilgrimage for every person and within every tradition.”

By Ravi Ravindra.

302 Pages | First edition 2017 | Paperback | Shambhala Publications, Inc, Boulder, U.S.A. | ISBN:

‘ All there is, is KRISHNA. ‘

Upon hearing this famous and enigmatic line from the Gita’s seventh chapter when he was a boy, Ravi Ravindra embarked on a journey to understand its deep meaning. The search led him far beyond the tradition from which the text originally arose to an exploration of World Mystical Wisdom, including Zen, Christianity, Yoga, and particularly the teachings of J. Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986) and G.I. Gurdjieff (1866 – 1949).

Dr. Ravindra’s fresh prose translation with wide-ranging commentary is the fruit of that life-long process. It stands out from the many other versions with its assertion, that the Bhagavad Gita is at heart a universal Guide to navigating the battle of life required of each and every one of us. It is through that navigation, he shows, that we can discover and connect with the KRISHNA deep within ourselves: the Eternal Witness, who is above the battle, and who is, ultimately and joyfully, All there is . . .

By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).

87 Pages | First edition, 5th reprint, 2011 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170594406.

” VERILY THOSE WHO HAVE EYES TO SEE MAY SEE, AND THOSE WHO HAVE EARS TO HEAR MAY HEAR “.

This series of papers consist chiefly of extracts from letters received by from Indian friends. They contain thoughts that have been found helpful, and hence worth sharing with others. They are intended for those, who seek to learn to separate head-learning from ‘Soul-Wisdom’ and to live the higher life.

By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).

305 Pages | 7th Reprint, 2017 | Softcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170591832.

Mahābhārata is ‘one of the greatest books in the world‘ says Annie Besant (1847 – 1933), eminent scholar of Hinduïsm as well as Comparative Religion, and International President of the Theosophical Society (1907 – 1933), in the introduction to this book. It is the story of the Aryan race in India some 5.000 years ago and includes an account of the epic war between the Pandavas and Kauravas.

This book is based on notes of lectures delivered by Besant at the Central Hindu College Beneras (now Varanasi) in the first decade of this century. She describes the Mahābhārata as a great teacher of Ethics and Philosophy, an it is also history. The original Sanskrit verse, she says, ‘is the greatest poem in the world’.

By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).

78 Pages | 6th Edition, 2011 | Softcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170595687.

´Dharma´ is a term, which has now become part of the world vocabulary, but very few know the range and depth of its meaning. Annie Besant (1847 / 1933), having studied the great discourse on dharma of Bhisma in the Mahābhārata, introduces this complex and deep subject to the lay reader. Morality or dharma is subtle, varying from individual to individual, for it is the law by which inner nature unfolds in each one from his or her particular stage of evolution. This is a subject of great relevance to all individuals and nations of the world, treated in this book with the innate Wisdom and intuitive insight of the author.

By Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).

325 Pages | Published in 2017 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, London | ISBN: 9781999815707.

Social and political reformer, women’s rights activist, prolific writer and orator extraordinaire, was one of the best-known opinion-formers in late 19th-century- and early 20th century Britain and beyond. As president of the Theosophical Society from 1907 until her death, she made a major contribution to the occult and spiritual revival of the time.

In this new biography by Dr. Muriel Pécastaing-Boissière – senior lecturer in British civilization (Victorian Studies) at Sorbonne University, Paris –  links are explored between Besant’s freethinking socialism, feminism, criticism of the Empire and conversion to Theosophy.