Esoteric Philosophy

Esoteric Philosophy is a phrase frequently used in Theosophical literature to refer to a body of knowledge about the cosmos, the divine, and the human being, which does not take into account only in their visible aspect but, more predominantly, their invisible, metaphysical, or spiritual dimension. Thus the Esoteric Philosophy often presents a synthesis of science, religion, and philosophy. Although some tenets of this philosophy have been made public, its real teachings are know only to the initiates.

General description

H. P. Blavatsky wrote:

The Esoteric philosophy is alone calculated to withstand, in this age of crass and illogical materialism, the repeated attacks on all and everything man holds most dear and sacred, in his inner spiritual life. The true philosopher, the student of the Esoteric Wisdom, entirely loses sight of personalities, dogmatic beliefs and special religions. Moreover, Esoteric philosophy reconciles all religions, strips every one of its outward, human garments, and shows the root of each to be identical with that of every other great religion.

Although the Esoteric Philosophy can be regarded as essentially one and the same around the world, its expressions vary according to the culture or religion a particular brotherhood of initiates belong to. Thus, we find references in the Theosophical literature to an "Arhat Esoteric Philosophy", which is connected to an esoteric Buddhist approach, while the "Aryan Esoteric Philosophy" has Hinduism as religious background.

Arhat Esoteric Philosophy

This branch of the Esoteric Philosophy is the body of teachings held by the "trans-Himalayan Arhat Esoteric School" to which Mahatmas such as Koot Hoomi, Morya, and Djual Khool belong. These teachings have also been called "Chaldeo-Tibetan esoteric doctrines" or "Arhat secret doctrine".

Since H. P. Blavatsky and some of the Mahatmas declared themselves to be "Buddhists" and associated to the Gelugpas, the Arhat Esoteric Philosophy has been criticized when its teachings did not agree with the "exoteric" Buddhism held by different sects. However, this criticism is based on a mistaken idea. The esoteric teachings are different from the exoteric in many respects. As Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

The popular Lamaism, when compared with the real esoteric, or Arahat Buddhism of Tibet, offers a contrast as great as the snow trodden along a road in the valley, to the pure and undefiled mass which glitters on the top of a high mountain peak.

Mme. Blavatsky claimed that the Prasaṅgika Mādhyamaka teaching, on which the Gelugpa school is based, "broke away from the purely esoteric schools". She said the teachings they propose "is a semi-exoteric and very popular system among the literati and laymen", and that they offer "an anti-esoteric and most rationalistic system". Nevertheless, she conceded that some of the Tibetan schools still had their "esoteric divisions", although their doctrines are not known by regular monks:

The Prasanga School is surely the Advaita Philosophy of the land. It was divided into two: one was originally founded by Bhâvaviveka, the Svâtantrika Mâdhyamika School, and the other by Buddhapâlita; both have their exoteric and esoteric divisions. It is necessary to belong to the latter to know anything of the esoteric doctrines of that sect, the most metaphysical and philosophical of all.

This is why Master K.H. tells Mr. Sinnett in one of his letters:

Yourself and Mr. Hume have received now more information about the A[rhat] E[soteric] Philosophy than was ever given out to non-initiates within my knowledge."

This clearly means that their philosophy is not public, whether in Buddhism or any other religion.

There are several reasons why some of the Mahatmas claim to be Buddhists, even if their teachings are different in many respects from what the world knows as "Buddhism". One of them was given by Master K.H. as follows:

Many prefer to call themselves Buddhists not because the word attaches itself to the ecclesiastical system built upon the basic ideas of our Lord Gautama Buddha’s philosophy, but because of the Sanskrit word “Buddhi” — wisdom, enlightenment; and as a silent protest to the vain rituals and empty ceremonials which have in too many cases been productive of the greatest calamities. Such also is the origin of the Chaldean term Mage.

Terminology

It has been said the Arhat Esoteric Philosophy uses a secret language known as Senzar. But even when they use terms known in other philosophies, the meanings that they attach to them may be different from the esoteric ones:

All the words and sentences placed in brackets in the Stanzas and Commentaries are the writer’s. In some places they may be incomplete and even inadequate from the Hindu standpoint; but in the meaning attached to them in Trans-Himalayan Esotericism they are correct. In every case the writer takes any blame upon herself. Having never claimed personal infallibility, that which is given on her own authority may leave much to be desired, in the very abstruse cases where too deep metaphysic is involved. The teaching is offered as it is understood; and as there are seven keys of interpretation to every symbol and allegory, that which may not fit a meaning, say from the psychological or astronomical aspect, will be found quite correct from the physical or metaphysical.

Relationship to Buddhism

Sometimes H. P. Blavatsky and the Mahatmas are criticized because some of their teaching do not agree with the exoteric Buddhism known to scholars, practitioners, and general public. However, such a complete agreement should not be expected since it is clearly stated that the Arhat Esoteric Philosophy transcends the Buddhist teachings. In her "Introduction" to the first volume of The Secret Doctrine Mme. Blavatsky deals at length with this question:

Furthermore, the records we mean to place before the reader embrace the esoteric tenets of the whole world since the beginning of our humanity, and Buddhistic occultism occupies therein only its legitimate place, and no more. Indeed, the secret portions of the “Dan” or “Jan-na” (“Dhyan”) of Gautama’s metaphysics—grand as they appear to one unacquainted with the tenets of the Wisdom Religion of antiquity—are but a very small portion of the whole. The Hindu Reformer limited his public teachings to the purely moral and physiological aspect of the Wisdom-Religion, to Ethics and MAN alone. Things “unseen and incorporeal,” the mystery of Being outside our terrestrial sphere, the great Teacher left entirely untouched in his public lectures, reserving the hidden Truths for a select circle of his Arhats. The latter received their Initiation at the famous Saptaparna cave (the Sattapanni of Mahavansa) near Mount Baibhâr (the Webhâra of the Pali MSS). . . Thus the reader is asked to bear in mind the very important difference between orthodox Buddhism—i.e., the public teachings of Gautama the Buddha, and his esoteric Budhism.

Aryan Esoteric Philosophy

Also referred to as "Brahmanical esoteric doctrine" (see "Brahmanical and Arhat esoteric doctrines")

Further reading

• Esoteric Philosophy at Theosopedia