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Vegetarianism

2017-07-09T00:02:33Z

Jade Maestas: removed unverifiable quote

'''Vegetarianism''' is the theory and practice of voluntary abstinence from the consumption of any animal flesh (red meat, organ meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, and insects), and typically includes non-consumption of any other by-products of animal slaughter (such as animal rennet or gelatin). A vegetarian diet may consist of vegetables, fruits, seeds (legumes, nuts, grains), and other non-meat foods, such as fungi (mushrooms). While vegetarianism allows the consumption of animal products that are not directly derived from slaughter, such as dairy (milk, cheese), eggs, and honey, some people adhere to vegetarian diets that require the avoidance of these, or other foods, as well.<ref>[https://www.vegsoc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=508# What is a vegetarian?] by The Vegetarian Society</ref><ref>[https://navs-online.org/articles/why-avoid-hidden-animal-ingredients/# Why Avoid Hidden Animal Ingredients?] by The North American Vegetarian Society</ref>

[[File:Vegetarian food.jpg|right|350px]]

Four common types of vegetarian diets exist. They are:

*'''''Lacto-ovo-vegetarianism''''' - Eats: dairy, eggs, & non-animal-based foods.
*'''''Lacto-vegetarianism''''' - Eats: dairy & non-animal-based foods, but not eggs.
*'''''Ovo-vegetarianism''''' - Eats: eggs & non-animal-based foods, but not dairy.
*'''''Veganism''''' - Eats: only non-animal-based foods. Many vegans also avoid animal products used in non-edible ways, such as leather, beeswax, wool, or silk.<ref>[http://www.vegetarian-nation.com/resources/common-questions/types-levels-vegetarian//# Types of Vegetarianism] by Vegetarian Nation</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Egyptians Vegetarian.jpg|right|thumb|Vegetarian foods in ancient Egypt]]
The origins of vegetarianism are uncertain, however, vegetarianism was practiced as early as 3200 B.C.E. by various ancient Egyptian religious groups. Other ancient philosophies also embraced vegetarianism, including [[Hinduism]], [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Jainism]], and Brahmanism. Central to the beliefs of these traditions were the ideas of non-violence and respect for all life, as well as the experience that meat consumption hindered their spiritual and philosophical endeavors.<ref>[http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=830# World History of Vegetarianism] by Vegetarian Society.</ref> Many parallels exist between the beliefs of ancient vegetarians and modern vegetarians.

Vegetarianism was also prominent in ancient Greece, where its practice during the classical period was called "abstinence from beings with a soul" (Greek: ἀποχὴ ἐμψύχων). The [[Orphism|Orphic]] religious practitioners abstained from the flesh of animals. [[Pythagoras]] taught that vegetarianism was important for peaceful human interaction because slaughtering animals damaged the [[soul]]. This practice was also advocated by [[Socrates]], [[Plato]], Aristotle, Zeno (the founder of Stoicism), Seneca, Empedocles, [[Apollonius of Tyana]], [[Plotinus]], Porphyry (who wrote a treatise ''On abstinence from beings with a soul''), and others.

Many early Christians were vegetarian such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, and others, but this practice did not take hold among most followers. After the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity (4th-6th centuries) vegetarianism nearly disappeared from Europe until the Renaissance, where it reemerged. Leonardo da Vinci was among the first celebrities of the time who supported this practice.

== Reasons for Vegetarianism ==

Vegetarians have several different motives for not eating animal flesh. Some are motivated by considerations of health, while others are concerned for the ecology of the Earth. Some adopt the diet for ethical or philosophical reasons, believing that animals have the right not to be harmed, while others use vegetarianism as part of a spiritual practice. Below is a brief description of some of these reasons.

=== Animal rights ===
One of the reasons for vegetarianism is based on a concern for "animal rights". This philosophical view does not propose equality between human and non-human animals. It maintains that rights are derived from the capacity to experience pain, and since animals experience pain just as human beings do, they have the right to be free from harm. Therefore, it claims that animals should be allowed to enjoy the most basic rights that all sentient beings desire: the freedom to live a natural life free from human exploitation, and the avoidance of unnecessary pain, suffering, and premature death.<ref>See [http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/animalrights.htm# Primer on Animal Rights] at the Vegetarian Resource Group website</ref>

Some people oppose this idea arguing that rights are not derived from the capacity to experience pain but the ability to reason. Therefore, people have rights and animals do not.<ref>See [http://www.atlassociety.org/animal-rights-and-vegetarianism# Animal Rights And Vegetarianism] at the Atlas Society website</ref> However, this position is hard to justify because it would mean that babies (who cannot reason yet) or human beings with mental disabilities have no rights.

The underlying spirit in the concept of animal rights is that the lives of animals have their own purpose and do not exist to be useful to humans--whether for food, clothing, entertainment, experimentation, or any other reason.

=== Ecology ===
[[File:Veg. and Pollution.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Global Warming and meat consumption.]]
In 2006, a United Nations investigation found that raising livestock is one of the most damaging industries for the environment.<ref>[http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html# Livestock a major threat to environment] by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.</ref> Livestock production uses 26 percent of all arable land for grazing, and food for industrial livestock takes up an additional one-third. Combined, livestock production uses more than half of all the available farmland on the planet, land which could be used to support at least 8 times as many people, possibly as much as 54 times, if it were used to grow grain crops.<ref>[http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Aug97/livestock.hrs.html# Science News] by Cornell University: "U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat, Cornell ecologist advises animal scientists."</ref> In the U.S., 70% of all arable land is used to raise livestock.<ref>Marlow Vesterby et al., ''Major Uses of Land in the United States'', Resource Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Statistical Bulletin No. 973.</ref>

Grasslands and tropical forests are being destroyed at a rapid rate in order to increase available land for livestock feed and production. This deforestation and destruction contributes greatly to a loss of biodiversity. Additionally, the pollution, especially toxic runoff into water systems, causes great environmental damage. For instance, toxic runoff from industrial livestock production contributes significantly to the deadzone in the Gulf of Mexico. The deadzone encompasses 8,000 square miles of water in which there is too little oxygen for any significant life to survive. Further, livestock production accounts for 37% of methane emmissions, 65% of nitrous oxide emmisions, and 9% of all CO2 emissions. Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than is carbon dioxide.<ref>[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070220145244.htm# Harmful Environmental Effects Of Livestock Production On The Planet Increasingly Serious] at ScienceDaily.</ref>

=== Health ===

''The China Study'' (a massive epidemiological study performed on populations in China) revealed that great differences in the prevalence of disease existed between areas which consumed animal products and areas which did not. As animal product consumption approaches zero, a dramatic decrease in cancer and other Western disease occurs. When strictly vegan, cancer and heart attacks, two of the leading causes of death in Westernized society, are nearly non-existent. Even slight consumption of animal products is associated with a significant increase in the prevalence of disease. Animal products are either low in or do not contain nutrients which protect against cancer such as antioxidants, fiber, phytochemicals, folate, vitamin E, and vegetable protein. Compounding this problem, animal products contain large amounts of cancer causing substances including saturated fat, IGF-1, arachidonic acid, and cholesterol.<ref>Joel Fuhrman, ''Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss'' (New York: Little, Brown and Co., [2005]), 70.</ref>

Cancer is not the only disease influenced by animal products. Coronary heart disease directly increases with the consumption of animal protein, and decreases as consumption of legume and vegetable protein increases. A strong correlation exists between vegetable and fruit consumption and general health.<ref>Joel Fuhrman, ''Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss'' (New York: Little, Brown and Co., [2005]), 71.</ref>

== Vegetarianism and Theosophy ==
[[File:HPB - NY.JPG|left|130px]]
[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] was not a strict vegetarian herself, although she always recommended the vegetarian diet for aspirants whenever that was possible (we must remember that at the end of the 19th century it was quite difficult to be vegetarian in the West). However, there are evidences that she did follow this diet at some periods, and that she intended to make it a rule in the [[Theosophical Society]]. For example, in a letter to her sister [[Vera Petrovna de Zhelihovsky|Madame Zhelihovsky]], she wrote about a spiritual experience she had after following some [[Asceticism|ascetic]] practices, including vegetarianism:

<blockquote>In our Society everyone must be a vegetarian, eating no flesh and drinking no wine. This is one of our first rules. It is well known what an evil influence the evaporations of blood and alcohol have on the spiritual side of human nature, blowing the animal passions into a raging fire; and so one of these days I . . . resolved to fast more severely than hitherto. I ate only salad and did not even smoke for whole nine days, and slept on the floor. . .<ref>William Quan Judge, "Letters of H. P. Blavatsky - I", ''The Path'', 9:9 (December 1894), 268-269</ref></blockquote>

There are other mentions to the occult fact that the "evaporations" or "emanations" created by meat consumption generates an atmosphere that is inimical for spiritual influences. For example, [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] manifested an increased sensitivity to these conditions after a retreat where he is said to have taken a higher [[Initiation]]. When the International Headquarters of the [[Theosophical Society]] was in Bombay, the [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]] wrote:

<blockquote>Since my return I found it impossible for me to breathe—even in the atmosphere of the Headquarters! [[Morya|M.]] had to interfere, and to force the whole household to give up meat; and they had, all of them, to be purified and thoroughly cleansed with various disinfecting drugs before I could even help myself to my letters.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 49 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 138.</ref></blockquote>

However, in spite of the importance of a pure diet, this should not be taken as the only or the most relevant aspect of a spiritual life. As the Master wrote:

<blockquote>It is useless for a member to argue "I am one of a pure life, I am a teetotaller and an abstainer from meat and vice. All my aspirations are for good etc." and he, at the same time, building by his acts and deeds an impassable barrier on the road between himself and us.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 30 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 95.</ref></blockquote>

Mme. Blavatsky stated a similar concept:

<blockquote>[Eating meat] is no crime; it will only retard his progress a little; for after all is said and done, the purely bodily actions and functions are of far less importance than what a man thinks and feels, what desires he encourages in his mind, and allows to take root and grow there.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1968), 261.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, what a person does, feels, and thinks is always more important than the diet he follows. However, what he eats and drinks may make the purification of his nature more or less difficult.

=== Theosophical reasons ===

Although vegetarianism is not a requirement for membership in the [[Theosophical Society]] many of its members are vegetarians, and Theosophical principles encourage this way of life.

In her article "Have Animals Souls?" [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme Blavatsky]] supports vegetarianism as an act of compassion for the animals.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VII (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1958), 12-49.</ref> She also pointed out that meat consumption is an important cause of ill-health:

<blockquote>We believe that much disease, and especially the great predisposition to disease which is becoming so marked a feature in our time, is very largely due to the eating of meat, and especially of tinned meats. But it would take too long to go thoroughly into this question of vegetarianism on its merits.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1968), 261.</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Charlotte Caron.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Charlotte Caron combines photographs with painted animals.]]
In most of her writings, however, she focused on the pernicious effect that eating meat has for the [[Occultism|occult]] development of the aspirant:

<blockquote>The eating of meat strengthens the passional nature, and the desire to acquire possessions, and therefore increases the difficulty of the struggle with the lower nature.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 496.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When the flesh of animals is assimilated by man as food, it imparts to him, physiologically, some of the characteristics of the animal it came from. Moreover, [[Science#Occult Science|occult science]] teaches and proves this to its students by ocular demonstration, showing also that this "coarsening" or "animalizing" effect on man is greatest from the flesh of the larger animals, less for birds, still less for fish and other cold-blooded animals, and least of all when he eats only vegetables.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1968), 260.</ref></blockquote>

[[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] stated that eating meat attracts impure entities and [[elemental]]s. This becomes an important hindrance in the case of sensitives and [[Mediumship|mediums]]:

<blockquote>Both [[Edward Maitland|Maitland]] and herself [ [[Anna Bonus Kingsford]] ] as well as their circle — are strict vegetarians, while [[William Stainton Moses|S.M.]] is a flesh-eater and a wine and liquor drinker. Never will the [[Spiritualism|Spiritualists]] find reliable, trustworthy mediums and Seers (not even to a degree) so long as the latter and their “circle” will saturate themselves with animal blood, and the millions of infusoria of the fermented fluids.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 49 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 138.</ref></blockquote>

A number of Theosophists have supported vegetarianism as part of the spiritual life. Below are a number of reasons put forward by some prominent members of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)]]:

* '''''Interconnection with other Kingdoms of Nature'''''

According to [[Theosophy]] life, in all its variety, is one. We are all connected, not only with other human beings but with the whole planet and even the cosmos. Animals are therefore seen as humanity's less evolved siblings. Being in a position of power, humans should aid creatures that are lower in the chain of [[evolution]] instead of causing them pain and misery. Because of this deep interconnection a person cannot advance and grow in isolation from the rest of the world. According to [[Annie Besant]], the pain and disharmony of other sentient beings will eventually hinder his progress:

<blockquote>The misery that you cause is, as it were, mire that clings round your feet when you would ascend; for we have to rise together or to fall together, and all the misery we inflict on sentient beings slackens our human evolution, and makes the progress of humanity slower towards the ideal that it is seeking to realize.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy'', Adyar Pamphlet No. 27 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932), 19.</ref></blockquote>

When animals are slaughtered filled with pain and fear they send out a powerful, negative vibrations into the [[Astral Plane|astral plane]], which subsequently influences the material world. Any person who comes near these vibrations is also influenced by them, the sensitive being especially susceptible. Again, in Annie Besant's words:

<blockquote>This continual throwing down of these magnetic influences of fear, of horror, and of anger, and passion, and revenge, works on the people amongst whom they play, and tends to coarsen, tends to degrade, tends to pollute.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy'', Adyar Pamphlet No. 27 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932), 13-15.</ref></blockquote>

[[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] explains it similarly, stating that the pain and terror inflicted upon the animals butchered for our consumption is creating unseen, yet strong, forces which negatively affect us and our children, creating an atmosphere of fear and terror.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Vegetarianism and Occultism'', Adyar Pamphlet No. 33 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1913), 34.</ref>

* '''''The building of the subtle bodies'''''
[[File:Astral Grid.jpg|left|200px]]
The body is seen as the vehicle for the [[soul]]. It needs to be kept in as best of a condition as possible so that it is easier to develop the higher and more important aspects of our nature. A diet based on animal meat makes it more difficult for the soul to use its vehicles. Annie Besant wrote:

<blockquote>As we carry on the purification of the physical body by feeding it on clean food and drink, by excluding from our diet the polluting kinds of aliment - the blood of animals, alcohol and other things that are foul and degrading - we not only improve our physical vehicle of consciousness, but we also begin to purify the [[Astral Body|astral vehicle]] and take from the astral world more delicate and finer materials for its construction. The effect of this is not only important as regards the present earth-life, but it has a distinct bearing also . . . on the next [[Life After Death|post-mortem state]], on the stay in the [[Kāmaloka|astral world]], and also on the kind of body we shall have in the [[Reincarnation|next life upon earth]]. <ref>Annie Besant, ''Man and His Bodies'' (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1909), 44-45.</ref></blockquote>

C. W. Leadbeater explains further how the constitution of the physical body affects the subtle bodies:

<blockquote>As the astral body is the vehicle of the emotions and passions, it follows that a man whose astral body is of the ruder type will be chiefly amenable to the lower and rougher varieties of passion and emotion; whereas a man who has a finer astral body will find that its particles most readily vibrate in response to higher and more refined emotions and aspirations. Thus a man who is building for himself a gross and impure physical body is building for himself at the same time coarse and unclean astral and mental bodies as well. This effect is visible at once to the eye of the trained clairvoyant, and he will readily distinguish between a man who feeds his physical vehicle with pure food and another who contaminates it by intoxicating drink or decaying flesh.<ref>C. W. Leadbeater, ''The Hidden Side of Things'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 349.</ref></blockquote>

* '''''Responsibility'''''

Although animals are not necessarily being killed directly by meat-eaters, the Theosophical approach maintains that people eating meat are still responsible for the “deterioration in the moral character of the men on whom we throw this work of slaughtering”.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy'', Adyar Pamphlet No. 27 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932), 15.</ref> [[Geoffrey Hodson]] explains that forcing people to work in the meat processing industry is cruel. The industry causes people to lose their appreciation for life, and tends to derail their spiritual and cultural progress.<ref>Geoffrey Hodson, ''The Case for Vegetarianism'' (Auckland: The New Zealand Vegetarian Society, ca.1940), 4-5.</ref>

According to Annie Besant, an ethical rule is that no person should force another person to perform some duty that he or she is not willing to perform his or her self. If a person wants to eat meat, they should do the killing themselves.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy'', Adyar Pamphlet No. 27 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932), 15.</ref> Leadbeater strongly agrees with this sentiment, writing "It is universally recognized in law that ''qui facit per alium, facit per se''--whatsoever a man does through another, he does himself."<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Vegetarianism and Occultism'', Adyar Pamphlets No. 33 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1913), 22.</ref>

=== Vegetarianism in practice ===

Although vegetarianism is not a requirement for membership in the [[Theosophical Society]], many Theosophists have lead purely vegetarian diets, or move toward vegetarianism since the founding of the Society.

[[Anna Kingsford]] was an early advocate of vegetarianism. She graduated from a Paris university in 1880, one of the first women to graduate with a doctorate in medicine, so that she could argue for vegetarianism with more credibility. Her beliefs were very much in accordance with [[Theosophy]], and she became president of the [[London Lodge]] of the [[Theosophical Society]] in 1883.

Dr. Kingsford's belief was that as creatures more evolved than animals we should uphold a corresponding, higher moral quality of truthfulness, love, sympathy, and friendship. She believed that being human in form is less important than being human in spirit, and that as higher creatures, we should not mistreat and kill needlessly other creatures. Much like other prominent [[Theosophist|Theosophists]], she believed that ultimately speaking, all creatures are one.

Dr. [[Annie Besant]] was also an important advocate of vegetarianism. The souvenir book produced for the 1957 International Vegetarian Union Congress features some of her writings under "History of Vegetarianism."<ref>[http://www.ivu.org/history/besant/index.html# History of Vegetarianism] by International Vegetarian Union (IVU).</ref>

Theosophist [[Geoffrey Hodson]] was the founder and long-serving President of the New Zealand Vegetarian Society, while the Indian Vegetarian Congress was founded by [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]] in 1959, of which she served as President for many years.<ref>Indian Vegetarian Congress Website http://www.vegcongress.org/, accessed February 29, 2012.</ref> She was quoted as saying:

<blockquote>We always speak of rights of man and the freedom of the individual, but we forget that besides his rights, man has his responsibilities as well. These responsibilities do not merely extend to the poor and the suffering in the human kingdom, but also to the animal kingdom, which is even more helpless and in need of kindness and compassion. Surely, every living creature has its own right to happiness, and although it is true that there is so much cruelty and sorrow in nature, still there are many compensations and no cruelty in nature can equal that which is perpetrated by man.<ref>Shakuntala Ramani, ed., Rukmini Devi Arundale: Birth Centenary Commemorative Volume (Chennai, India: The Kalakshetra Foundation, 2003), 204. </ref></blockquote>
[[File:Purchasing Svc Bur TM June 1928.jpg|right|210px|thumb|Advertisement for Purchasing Service Bureau]]
A number of facilities operated by and conferences held by Theosophical groups generally offer ovo-lacto-vegetarian meal service, often with vegan options. Examples are the [[Adyar (campus)|Adyar campus]] of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] in India, the [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott campus]] of the [[Theosophical Society in America]], the [[Krotona Institute of Theosophy|Krotona Institute]], [[Point Loma]], the [[International Theosophical Centre]] at Naarden in The Netherlands, and [[Mt. Helena Retreat Centre of Theosophy]] in Perth, Australia. Members of the [[Esoteric Section]] always practice vegetarianism.

In the 1920s, the [[American Theosophical Society]] under President [[L. W. Rogers]] created a '''Purchasing Service Bureau''' in its Wheaton, Illinois headquarters to offer products that supported a vegetarian diet. The Society combined popular items into convenient packages like the $5.00 Family Order shown in the advertisement at the right. Protose meat substitute, Savita yeast extract, Zo breakfast cereal, and other products came from the Battle Creek Sanitarium Health Foods, developed by John Harvey Kellogg.

During World War II, when meat was rationed in the United States, Theosophists provided vegetarian recipes to local newspapers in an effort to facilitate change of diet. After the war, American Theosophists shipped thousands of parcels of peanut butter, cheeses, and other vegetarian foods to European members who needed sources of protein in their meatless meals.

Over the years Theosophists have written numerous vegetarian cookbooks. One of the earliest was ''Practical Vegetarian Cookery'', edited by the [[Constance Wachtmeister|Countess Wachtmeister]] and Kate Buffington David, published by [[Mercury Publishing Company]] in 1897.

==Other resources==

===Articles and pamphlets===
The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists over 170 articles with [http://www.austheos.org.au/cgi-bin/ui-csvsearch.pl?search=vegetarian "vegetarian"] in the title, reflecting interest in the subject from the 1880s to the present. Some articles and pamphlets are available online:
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/adyar_pamphlets/AdyarPamphlet_No27.pdf# Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.ivu.org/history/australia/5%20Theosophical%20Vegetarianism.pdf# Theosophical Vegetarianism in Australia] by Edgar Crook, published online by the International Vegetarian Union.
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/adyar_pamphlets/AdyarPamphlet_No33.pdf# Vegetarianism and Occultism] by C. W. Leadbeater
*[https://theosophical.org/online-resources/leaflets/25-online-resources/online-leaflets/1805-vegetarianism-and-theosophy# Vegetarianism and Theosophy] by The Theosophical Society in America
*[http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-evolution-human-origins/new-study-reveals-ancient-egyptians-were-mostly-vegetarian-001638# New study reveals ancient Egyptians were mostly vegetarian] at Ancient-Origins.net

=== Books ===
* [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_abstinence_00_eintro.htm Porphyry, On abstinence from animal food - Introduction], [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_abstinence_01_book1.htm# Book 1], [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_abstinence_02_book2.htm# Book 2], [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_abstinence_03_book3.htm Book 3], [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_abstinence_04_book4.htm and Book 4] Translated by Thomas Taylor

===Videos===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=3C57CAF3-FE33-45A0-A9A1-5ACDF9AF80BB# Vegetarianism and Spirituality] by Pat Davis

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical worldview]]
[[Category:Miscellaneous]]

Vegetarianism

2017-07-07T20:42:25Z

Jade Maestas: edited definition section and added sources

'''Vegetarianism''' is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of any animal flesh (red meat, organ meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, and insects), and typically includes abstention from by-products of animal slaughter and/or non-flesh parts of the body (such as animal rennet or gelatin). A vegetarian diet may consist of vegetables, fruits, seeds (legumes, nuts, grains), and other non-animal-based foods, such as fungi (mushrooms).<ref>[https://www.vegsoc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=508# What is a vegetarian?] by The Vegetarian Society</ref><ref>[https://navs-online.org/articles/why-avoid-hidden-animal-ingredients/# Why Avoid Hidden Animal Ingredients?] by The North American Vegetarian Society</ref>

[[File:Vegetarian food.jpg|right|350px]]

Practitioners of some types of vegetarianism also avoid consuming other animal products, such as dairy (milk, cheese), eggs, and honey. The four most common types of vegetarianism are:

*'''''Lacto-ovo-vegetarianism''''' - Eats: dairy, eggs, & non-animal-based foods.
*'''''Lacto-vegetarianism''''' - Eats: dairy & non-animal-based foods, but not eggs.
*'''''Ovo-vegetarianism''''' - Eats: eggs & non-animal-based foods, but not dairy.
*'''''Veganism''''' - Eats: only non-animal-based foods. Many vegans also avoid animal products used in non-edible ways, such as leather, beeswax, wool, or silk.<ref>[http://www.vegetarian-nation.com/resources/common-questions/types-levels-vegetarian//# Types of Vegetarianism] by Vegetarian Nation</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Egyptians Vegetarian.jpg|right|thumb|Vegetarian foods in ancient Egypt]]
The origins of vegetarianism are uncertain, however, vegetarianism was practiced as early as 3200 B.C.E. by various ancient Egyptian religious groups. Other ancient philosophies also embraced vegetarianism, including [[Hinduism]], [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Jainism]], and Brahmanism. Central to the beliefs of these traditions were the ideas of non-violence and respect for all life, as well as the experience that meat consumption hindered their spiritual and philosophical endeavors.<ref>[http://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=830# World History of Vegetarianism] by Vegetarian Society.</ref> Many parallels exist between the beliefs of ancient vegetarians and modern vegetarians.

Vegetarianism was also prominent in ancient Greece, where its practice during the classical period was called "abstinence from beings with a soul" (Greek: ἀποχὴ ἐμψύχων). The [[Orphism|Orphic]] religious practitioners abstained from the flesh of animals. [[Pythagoras]] taught that vegetarianism was important for peaceful human interaction because slaughtering animals damaged the [[soul]]. This practice was also advocated by [[Socrates]], [[Plato]], Aristotle, Zeno (the founder of Stoicism), Seneca, Empedocles, [[Apollonius of Tyana]], [[Plotinus]], Porphyry (who wrote a treatise ''On abstinence from beings with a soul''), and others.

Many early Christians were vegetarian such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, and others, but this practice did not take hold among most followers. After the Christianization of the Roman Empire in late antiquity (4th-6th centuries) vegetarianism nearly disappeared from Europe until the Renaissance, where it reemerged. Leonardo da Vinci was among the first celebrities of the time who supported this practice.

== Reasons for Vegetarianism ==

Vegetarians have several different motives for not eating animal flesh. Some are motivated by considerations of health, while others are concerned for the ecology of the Earth. Some adopt the diet for ethical or philosophical reasons, believing that animals have the right not to be harmed, while others use vegetarianism as part of a spiritual practice. Below is a brief description of some of these reasons.

=== Animal rights ===
[[File:Gandhi animal rights.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Gandhi on animal rights]]
One of the reasons for vegetarianism is based on a concern for "animal rights". This philosophical view does not propose equality between human and non-human animals. It maintains that rights are derived from the capacity to experience pain, and since animals experience pain just as human beings do, they have the right to be free from harm. Therefore, it claims that animals should be allowed to enjoy the most basic rights that all sentient beings desire: the freedom to live a natural life free from human exploitation, and the avoidance of unnecessary pain, suffering, and premature death.<ref>See [http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/animalrights.htm# Primer on Animal Rights] at the Vegetarian Resource Group website</ref>

Some people oppose this idea arguing that rights are not derived from the capacity to experience pain but the ability to reason. Therefore, people have rights and animals do not.<ref>See [http://www.atlassociety.org/animal-rights-and-vegetarianism# Animal Rights And Vegetarianism] at the Atlas Society website</ref> However, this position is hard to justify because it would mean that babies (who cannot reason yet) or human beings with mental disabilities have no rights.

The underlying spirit in the concept of animal rights is that the lives of animals have their own purpose and do not exist to be useful to humans--whether for food, clothing, entertainment, experimentation, or any other reason.

=== Ecology ===
[[File:Veg. and Pollution.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Global Warming and meat consumption.]]
In 2006, a United Nations investigation found that raising livestock is one of the most damaging industries for the environment.<ref>[http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html# Livestock a major threat to environment] by Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.</ref> Livestock production uses 26 percent of all arable land for grazing, and food for industrial livestock takes up an additional one-third. Combined, livestock production uses more than half of all the available farmland on the planet, land which could be used to support at least 8 times as many people, possibly as much as 54 times, if it were used to grow grain crops.<ref>[http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Aug97/livestock.hrs.html# Science News] by Cornell University: "U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat, Cornell ecologist advises animal scientists."</ref> In the U.S., 70% of all arable land is used to raise livestock.<ref>Marlow Vesterby et al., ''Major Uses of Land in the United States'', Resource Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Statistical Bulletin No. 973.</ref>

Grasslands and tropical forests are being destroyed at a rapid rate in order to increase available land for livestock feed and production. This deforestation and destruction contributes greatly to a loss of biodiversity. Additionally, the pollution, especially toxic runoff into water systems, causes great environmental damage. For instance, toxic runoff from industrial livestock production contributes significantly to the deadzone in the Gulf of Mexico. The deadzone encompasses 8,000 square miles of water in which there is too little oxygen for any significant life to survive. Further, livestock production accounts for 37% of methane emmissions, 65% of nitrous oxide emmisions, and 9% of all CO2 emissions. Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than is carbon dioxide.<ref>[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070220145244.htm# Harmful Environmental Effects Of Livestock Production On The Planet Increasingly Serious] at ScienceDaily.</ref>

=== Health ===

''The China Study'' (a massive epidemiological study performed on populations in China) revealed that great differences in the prevalence of disease existed between areas which consumed animal products and areas which did not. As animal product consumption approaches zero, a dramatic decrease in cancer and other Western disease occurs. When strictly vegan, cancer and heart attacks, two of the leading causes of death in Westernized society, are nearly non-existent. Even slight consumption of animal products is associated with a significant increase in the prevalence of disease. Animal products are either low in or do not contain nutrients which protect against cancer such as antioxidants, fiber, phytochemicals, folate, vitamin E, and vegetable protein. Compounding this problem, animal products contain large amounts of cancer causing substances including saturated fat, IGF-1, arachidonic acid, and cholesterol.<ref>Joel Fuhrman, ''Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss'' (New York: Little, Brown and Co., [2005]), 70.</ref>

Cancer is not the only disease influenced by animal products. Coronary heart disease directly increases with the consumption of animal protein, and decreases as consumption of legume and vegetable protein increases. A strong correlation exists between vegetable and fruit consumption and general health.<ref>Joel Fuhrman, ''Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss'' (New York: Little, Brown and Co., [2005]), 71.</ref>

== Vegetarianism and Theosophy ==
[[File:HPB - NY.JPG|left|130px]]
[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] was not a strict vegetarian herself, although she always recommended the vegetarian diet for aspirants whenever that was possible (we must remember that at the end of the 19th century it was quite difficult to be vegetarian in the West). However, there are evidences that she did follow this diet at some periods, and that she intended to make it a rule in the [[Theosophical Society]]. For example, in a letter to her sister [[Vera Petrovna de Zhelihovsky|Madame Zhelihovsky]], she wrote about a spiritual experience she had after following some [[Asceticism|ascetic]] practices, including vegetarianism:

<blockquote>In our Society everyone must be a vegetarian, eating no flesh and drinking no wine. This is one of our first rules. It is well known what an evil influence the evaporations of blood and alcohol have on the spiritual side of human nature, blowing the animal passions into a raging fire; and so one of these days I . . . resolved to fast more severely than hitherto. I ate only salad and did not even smoke for whole nine days, and slept on the floor. . .<ref>William Quan Judge, "Letters of H. P. Blavatsky - I", ''The Path'', 9:9 (December 1894), 268-269</ref></blockquote>

There are other mentions to the occult fact that the "evaporations" or "emanations" created by meat consumption generates an atmosphere that is inimical for spiritual influences. For example, [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] manifested an increased sensitivity to these conditions after a retreat where he is said to have taken a higher [[Initiation]]. When the International Headquarters of the [[Theosophical Society]] was in Bombay, the [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]] wrote:

<blockquote>Since my return I found it impossible for me to breathe—even in the atmosphere of the Headquarters! [[Morya|M.]] had to interfere, and to force the whole household to give up meat; and they had, all of them, to be purified and thoroughly cleansed with various disinfecting drugs before I could even help myself to my letters.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 49 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 138.</ref></blockquote>

However, in spite of the importance of a pure diet, this should not be taken as the only or the most relevant aspect of a spiritual life. As the Master wrote:

<blockquote>It is useless for a member to argue "I am one of a pure life, I am a teetotaller and an abstainer from meat and vice. All my aspirations are for good etc." and he, at the same time, building by his acts and deeds an impassable barrier on the road between himself and us.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 30 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 95.</ref></blockquote>

Mme. Blavatsky stated a similar concept:

<blockquote>[Eating meat] is no crime; it will only retard his progress a little; for after all is said and done, the purely bodily actions and functions are of far less importance than what a man thinks and feels, what desires he encourages in his mind, and allows to take root and grow there.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1968), 261.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, what a person does, feels, and thinks is always more important than the diet he follows. However, what he eats and drinks may make the purification of his nature more or less difficult.

=== Theosophical reasons ===

Although vegetarianism is not a requirement for membership in the [[Theosophical Society]] many of its members are vegetarians, and Theosophical principles encourage this way of life.

In her article "Have Animals Souls?" [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme Blavatsky]] supports vegetarianism as an act of compassion for the animals.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VII (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1958), 12-49.</ref> She also pointed out that meat consumption is an important cause of ill-health:

<blockquote>We believe that much disease, and especially the great predisposition to disease which is becoming so marked a feature in our time, is very largely due to the eating of meat, and especially of tinned meats. But it would take too long to go thoroughly into this question of vegetarianism on its merits.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1968), 261.</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Charlotte Caron.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Charlotte Caron combines photographs with painted animals.]]
In most of her writings, however, she focused on the pernicious effect that eating meat has for the [[Occultism|occult]] development of the aspirant:

<blockquote>The eating of meat strengthens the passional nature, and the desire to acquire possessions, and therefore increases the difficulty of the struggle with the lower nature.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 496.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When the flesh of animals is assimilated by man as food, it imparts to him, physiologically, some of the characteristics of the animal it came from. Moreover, [[Science#Occult Science|occult science]] teaches and proves this to its students by ocular demonstration, showing also that this "coarsening" or "animalizing" effect on man is greatest from the flesh of the larger animals, less for birds, still less for fish and other cold-blooded animals, and least of all when he eats only vegetables.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1968), 260.</ref></blockquote>

[[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] stated that eating meat attracts impure entities and [[elemental]]s. This becomes an important hindrance in the case of sensitives and [[Mediumship|mediums]]:

<blockquote>Both [[Edward Maitland|Maitland]] and herself [ [[Anna Bonus Kingsford]] ] as well as their circle — are strict vegetarians, while [[William Stainton Moses|S.M.]] is a flesh-eater and a wine and liquor drinker. Never will the [[Spiritualism|Spiritualists]] find reliable, trustworthy mediums and Seers (not even to a degree) so long as the latter and their “circle” will saturate themselves with animal blood, and the millions of infusoria of the fermented fluids.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 49 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 138.</ref></blockquote>

A number of Theosophists have supported vegetarianism as part of the spiritual life. Below are a number of reasons put forward by some prominent members of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)]]:

* '''''Interconnection with other Kingdoms of Nature'''''

According to [[Theosophy]] life, in all its variety, is one. We are all connected, not only with other human beings but with the whole planet and even the cosmos. Animals are therefore seen as humanity's less evolved siblings. Being in a position of power, humans should aid creatures that are lower in the chain of [[evolution]] instead of causing them pain and misery. Because of this deep interconnection a person cannot advance and grow in isolation from the rest of the world. According to [[Annie Besant]], the pain and disharmony of other sentient beings will eventually hinder his progress:

<blockquote>The misery that you cause is, as it were, mire that clings round your feet when you would ascend; for we have to rise together or to fall together, and all the misery we inflict on sentient beings slackens our human evolution, and makes the progress of humanity slower towards the ideal that it is seeking to realize.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy'', Adyar Pamphlet No. 27 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932), 19.</ref></blockquote>

When animals are slaughtered filled with pain and fear they send out a powerful, negative vibrations into the [[Astral Plane|astral plane]], which subsequently influences the material world. Any person who comes near these vibrations is also influenced by them, the sensitive being especially susceptible. Again, in Annie Besant's words:

<blockquote>This continual throwing down of these magnetic influences of fear, of horror, and of anger, and passion, and revenge, works on the people amongst whom they play, and tends to coarsen, tends to degrade, tends to pollute.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy'', Adyar Pamphlet No. 27 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932), 13-15.</ref></blockquote>

[[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] explains it similarly, stating that the pain and terror inflicted upon the animals butchered for our consumption is creating unseen, yet strong, forces which negatively affect us and our children, creating an atmosphere of fear and terror.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Vegetarianism and Occultism'', Adyar Pamphlet No. 33 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1913), 34.</ref>

* '''''The building of the subtle bodies'''''
[[File:Astral Grid.jpg|left|200px]]
The body is seen as the vehicle for the [[soul]]. It needs to be kept in as best of a condition as possible so that it is easier to develop the higher and more important aspects of our nature. A diet based on animal meat makes it more difficult for the soul to use its vehicles. Annie Besant wrote:

<blockquote>As we carry on the purification of the physical body by feeding it on clean food and drink, by excluding from our diet the polluting kinds of aliment - the blood of animals, alcohol and other things that are foul and degrading - we not only improve our physical vehicle of consciousness, but we also begin to purify the [[Astral Body|astral vehicle]] and take from the astral world more delicate and finer materials for its construction. The effect of this is not only important as regards the present earth-life, but it has a distinct bearing also . . . on the next [[Life After Death|post-mortem state]], on the stay in the [[Kāmaloka|astral world]], and also on the kind of body we shall have in the [[Reincarnation|next life upon earth]]. <ref>Annie Besant, ''Man and His Bodies'' (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1909), 44-45.</ref></blockquote>

C. W. Leadbeater explains further how the constitution of the physical body affects the subtle bodies:

<blockquote>As the astral body is the vehicle of the emotions and passions, it follows that a man whose astral body is of the ruder type will be chiefly amenable to the lower and rougher varieties of passion and emotion; whereas a man who has a finer astral body will find that its particles most readily vibrate in response to higher and more refined emotions and aspirations. Thus a man who is building for himself a gross and impure physical body is building for himself at the same time coarse and unclean astral and mental bodies as well. This effect is visible at once to the eye of the trained clairvoyant, and he will readily distinguish between a man who feeds his physical vehicle with pure food and another who contaminates it by intoxicating drink or decaying flesh.<ref>C. W. Leadbeater, ''The Hidden Side of Things'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 349.</ref></blockquote>

* '''''Responsibility'''''

Although animals are not necessarily being killed directly by meat-eaters, the Theosophical approach maintains that people eating meat are still responsible for the “deterioration in the moral character of the men on whom we throw this work of slaughtering”.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy'', Adyar Pamphlet No. 27 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932), 15.</ref> [[Geoffrey Hodson]] explains that forcing people to work in the meat processing industry is cruel. The industry causes people to lose their appreciation for life, and tends to derail their spiritual and cultural progress.<ref>Geoffrey Hodson, ''The Case for Vegetarianism'' (Auckland: The New Zealand Vegetarian Society, ca.1940), 4-5.</ref>

According to Annie Besant, an ethical rule is that no person should force another person to perform some duty that he or she is not willing to perform his or her self. If a person wants to eat meat, they should do the killing themselves.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy'', Adyar Pamphlet No. 27 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1932), 15.</ref> Leadbeater strongly agrees with this sentiment, writing "It is universally recognized in law that ''qui facit per alium, facit per se''--whatsoever a man does through another, he does himself."<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Vegetarianism and Occultism'', Adyar Pamphlets No. 33 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1913), 22.</ref>

=== Vegetarianism in practice ===

Although vegetarianism is not a requirement for membership in the [[Theosophical Society]], many Theosophists have lead purely vegetarian diets, or move toward vegetarianism since the founding of the Society.

[[Anna Kingsford]] was an early advocate of vegetarianism. She graduated from a Paris university in 1880, one of the first women to graduate with a doctorate in medicine, so that she could argue for vegetarianism with more credibility. Her beliefs were very much in accordance with [[Theosophy]], and she became president of the [[London Lodge]] of the [[Theosophical Society]] in 1883.

Dr. Kingsford's belief was that as creatures more evolved than animals we should uphold a corresponding, higher moral quality of truthfulness, love, sympathy, and friendship. She believed that being human in form is less important than being human in spirit, and that as higher creatures, we should not mistreat and kill needlessly other creatures. Much like other prominent [[Theosophist|Theosophists]], she believed that ultimately speaking, all creatures are one.

Dr. [[Annie Besant]] was also an important advocate of vegetarianism. The souvenir book produced for the 1957 International Vegetarian Union Congress features some of her writings under "History of Vegetarianism."<ref>[http://www.ivu.org/history/besant/index.html# History of Vegetarianism] by International Vegetarian Union (IVU).</ref>

Theosophist [[Geoffrey Hodson]] was the founder and long-serving President of the New Zealand Vegetarian Society, while the Indian Vegetarian Congress was founded by [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]] in 1959, of which she served as President for many years.<ref>Indian Vegetarian Congress Website http://www.vegcongress.org/, accessed February 29, 2012.</ref> She was quoted as saying:

<blockquote>We always speak of rights of man and the freedom of the individual, but we forget that besides his rights, man has his responsibilities as well. These responsibilities do not merely extend to the poor and the suffering in the human kingdom, but also to the animal kingdom, which is even more helpless and in need of kindness and compassion. Surely, every living creature has its own right to happiness, and although it is true that there is so much cruelty and sorrow in nature, still there are many compensations and no cruelty in nature can equal that which is perpetrated by man.<ref>Shakuntala Ramani, ed., Rukmini Devi Arundale: Birth Centenary Commemorative Volume (Chennai, India: The Kalakshetra Foundation, 2003), 204. </ref></blockquote>
[[File:Purchasing Svc Bur TM June 1928.jpg|right|210px|thumb|Advertisement for Purchasing Service Bureau]]
A number of facilities operated by and conferences held by Theosophical groups generally offer ovo-lacto-vegetarian meal service, often with vegan options. Examples are the [[Adyar (campus)|Adyar campus]] of the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] in India, the [[Olcott (campus)|Olcott campus]] of the [[Theosophical Society in America]], the [[Krotona Institute of Theosophy|Krotona Institute]], [[Point Loma]], the [[International Theosophical Centre]] at Naarden in The Netherlands, and [[Mt. Helena Retreat Centre of Theosophy]] in Perth, Australia. Members of the [[Esoteric Section]] always practice vegetarianism.

In the 1920s, the [[American Theosophical Society]] under President [[L. W. Rogers]] created a '''Purchasing Service Bureau''' in its Wheaton, Illinois headquarters to offer products that supported a vegetarian diet. The Society combined popular items into convenient packages like the $5.00 Family Order shown in the advertisement at the right. Protose meat substitute, Savita yeast extract, Zo breakfast cereal, and other products came from the Battle Creek Sanitarium Health Foods, developed by John Harvey Kellogg.

During World War II, when meat was rationed in the United States, Theosophists provided vegetarian recipes to local newspapers in an effort to facilitate change of diet. After the war, American Theosophists shipped thousands of parcels of peanut butter, cheeses, and other vegetarian foods to European members who needed sources of protein in their meatless meals.

Over the years Theosophists have written numerous vegetarian cookbooks. One of the earliest was ''Practical Vegetarian Cookery'', edited by the [[Constance Wachtmeister|Countess Wachtmeister]] and Kate Buffington David, published by [[Mercury Publishing Company]] in 1897.

==Other resources==

===Articles and pamphlets===
The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists over 170 articles with [http://www.austheos.org.au/cgi-bin/ui-csvsearch.pl?search=vegetarian "vegetarian"] in the title, reflecting interest in the subject from the 1880s to the present. Some articles and pamphlets are available online:
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/adyar_pamphlets/AdyarPamphlet_No27.pdf# Vegetarianism in the Light of Theosophy] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.ivu.org/history/australia/5%20Theosophical%20Vegetarianism.pdf# Theosophical Vegetarianism in Australia] by Edgar Crook, published online by the International Vegetarian Union.
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/adyar_pamphlets/AdyarPamphlet_No33.pdf# Vegetarianism and Occultism] by C. W. Leadbeater
*[https://theosophical.org/online-resources/leaflets/25-online-resources/online-leaflets/1805-vegetarianism-and-theosophy# Vegetarianism and Theosophy] by The Theosophical Society in America
*[http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-evolution-human-origins/new-study-reveals-ancient-egyptians-were-mostly-vegetarian-001638# New study reveals ancient Egyptians were mostly vegetarian] at Ancient-Origins.net

=== Books ===
* [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_abstinence_00_eintro.htm Porphyry, On abstinence from animal food - Introduction], [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_abstinence_01_book1.htm# Book 1], [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_abstinence_02_book2.htm# Book 2], [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_abstinence_03_book3.htm Book 3], [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/porphyry_abstinence_04_book4.htm and Book 4] Translated by Thomas Taylor

===Videos===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=3C57CAF3-FE33-45A0-A9A1-5ACDF9AF80BB# Vegetarianism and Spirituality] by Pat Davis

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical worldview]]
[[Category:Miscellaneous]]

Chela

2014-11-27T00:45:07Z

Jade Maestas: /* Online resources */

'''Chela''' (devanāgarī: चेल ''cela'') is a [[Sanskrit]] word that means "servant" or "slave." In [[Hinduism]] the term is used to denominate the religious student or disciple of a spiritual master or guru. In [[Theosophy]] the term is frequently used to refer to a person that has become a disciple of one of the [[Masters of Wisdom]], being thus a candidate for [[initiation]] into the [[occult science]]. Generally, speaking, there are three degrees of chelaship--that of a lay chela, a probationary chela, and a regular or accepted chela.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 469.</ref>

Some synonyms frequently found in the Theosophical literature are "Disciple" and "Lanoo".

== General Description ==

According to [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]], a Chela or Disciple:

<blockquote>. . . is one who has offered himself or herself as a pupil to learn practically the "hidden mysteries of Nature and the [[Siddhis|psychical powers]] latent in man." The spiritual teacher to whom he proposes his candidature is called in India a Guru; and the real Guru is always an [[Adept]] in the [[Occult Science]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 607.</ref></blockquote>

During the period of [[chelaship]] (which typically involves several [[reincarnation|incarnations]]) the aspirant will develop power and attain knowledge to become a helper of the [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]]'s work. This is why a prerequisite to be accepted as a chela is selflessness and love for humanity. [[Morya|Master M.]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>It is he alone who has the love of humanity at heart, who is capable of grasping thoroughly the idea of a regenerating practical [[Universal Brotherhood|Brotherhood]] who is entitled to the possession of our secrets. He alone, such a man - will never misuse his powers, as there will be no fear that he should turn them to selfish ends. A man who places not the good of mankind above his own good is not worthy of becoming our chela - he is not worthy of becoming higher in knowledge than his neighbour.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 33 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 100-101.</ref></blockquote>

For this reason, the way to attract the Master's attention is through acts of service and the development of purity and selflessness. [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] to [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]]:

<blockquote>To accept any man as a chela does not depend on my personal will. It can only be the result of one's personal merit and exertions in that direction. Force any one of the “Masters” you may happen to choose; do good works in his name and for the love of mankind; be pure and resolute in the path of righteousness [as laid out in our rules]; be honest and unselfish; forget your Self but to remember the good of other people – and you will have forced that “Master” to accept you.<ref>Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa, ''Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom'' First Series No. 7 (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 28.</ref></blockquote>

== Lay chelas ==

An aspirant attracts the attention of a [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]] before the former is fit to start a personal relationship with the latter as an accepted chela. This will be the result not of worldly or personal achievements and success, but of the development of the aspirant's spirituality. In the words of [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]]:

<blockquote>He [the aspirant] may create irresistible attractions and compel their [the Masters'] attention, but they [the attractions] will be spiritual, not mental or intellectual. . . . Once separated from the common influences of Society, nothing draws us to any outsider save his evolving spirituality. He may be a [[Francis Bacon|Bacon]] or an [[Aristotle]] in knowledge, and still not even make his current felt a feather's weight by us, if his power is confined to the [[Manas]]. . . . Manas, pure and simple, is of a lower degree, and of the earth earthly: and so your greatest men count but as nonentities in the arena where greatness is measured by the standard of spiritual development.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 374-375.</ref></blockquote>

An aspirant who is under the observation of a Master is regarded as a lay chela. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] described it as follows:

<blockquote>A Lay Chela is but a man of the world who affirms his desire to become wise in spiritual things. Virtually, every member of the [[Theosophical Society]] who subscribes to the second of our three [[Objects_of_the_Theosophical_Society#Development_of_the_Objects|"Declared Objects"]] is such; for though not of the number of true Chelas, he has yet the possibility of becoming one, for he has stepped across the boundary-line which separated him from the [[Mahatma]]s, and has brought himself, as it were, under their notice. The joining is then, the introduction; all the rest depends entirely upon the member himself, and he need never expect the most distant approach to the “favour” of one of our Mahatmas, or any other Mahatmas in the world should the latter consent to become known—that has not been fully earned by personal merit. The Mahatmas are the servants, not the arbiters of the [[Karma|Law of Karma]]. LAY CHELASHIP CONFERS NO PRIVILEGE UPON ANYONE EXCEPT THAT OF WORKING FOR MERIT UNDER THE OBSERVATION OF A MASTER.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 610-611.</ref></blockquote>

In the same article Mme. Blavatsky describes the qualifications needed for an accepted chela, and states that lay-chelas have to develop these qualities ''to some extent'' before they can advance further:

<blockquote>From Book IV of Kiu-ti, chapter on “the Laws of Upasana,” we learn that the qualifications expected in a Chela were:
 
1. Perfect physical health; 
2. Absolute mental and physical purity; 
3. Unselfishness of purpose; universal charity; pity for all animate beings; 
4. Truthfulness and unswerving faith in the law of Karma, independent of any power in nature that could interfere: a law whose course is not to be obstructed by any agency, not to be caused to deviate by prayer or propitiatory exoteric ceremonies;
5. A courage undaunted in every emergency, even by peril to life; 
6. An intuitional perception of one’s being the vehicle of the manifested Avalokitevara or Divine Atman (Spirit); 
7. Calm indifference for, but a just appreciation of everything that constitutes the objective and transitory world, in its relation with, and to, the invisible regions.
 
Such, at the least, must have been the recommendations of one aspiring to perfect Chelaship. With the sole exception of the first, which in rare and exceptional cases might have been modified, each one of these points has been invariably insisted upon, and all must have been more or less developed in the inner nature by the Chela’s UNHELPED EXERTIONS, before he could be actually put to the test.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 607-608.</ref></blockquote>

When the lay chela has developed these qualities to a certain extent he or she may be put on [[probation]] by a Master, thus becoming a "probationary chela". If he passes this stage successfully he can become an "accepted chela".

== Relationship with the Master ==

Accepted chelas are in touch with one of the [[Masters of Wisdom|Masters]] and are being trained by him. However, this does not mean that they are automatically put beyond error. Referring to this, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>What are Chelas, and what are their powers? Have they faults, and in what particular are they different from people who are not Chelas? Is every word uttered by a Chela to be taken as gospel truth? . . . Some persons have gone so far as to say that when a man is a Chela he is at once put upon a plane when each word that he may unfortunately utter is taken down as ''ex cathedra'', and he is not allowed the poor privilege of talking like an ordinary person. If it be found out that any such utterance was on his own account and responsibility, he is charged with having misled his hearers. Now this wrong idea must be corrected once for all.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 285.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, what a chela writes or says comes from his own understanding, except in rare occasions:

<blockquote>It may happen with them, as it does with any author occasionally, that they evolve either true or beautiful utterances, but it must not be therefore concluded that during that utterance the Guru was speaking through the Chela. If there was the germ of a good thought in the mind, the Guru’s influence, like the gentle rain upon the seed, may have caused it to spring into sudden life and abnormally blossom, but that is not the master’s voice. The cases in fact are rare in which the masters speak through a Chela.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 286.</ref></blockquote>

The influence of the Master on the disciple is a natural result of the close connection that gradually grows between them, and this influence is reciprocal. In the words of [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]]:

<blockquote>It is a familiar saying that a well matched couple ‘grow together’, so as to come to a close resemblance in features as well as in mind. But do you know that between adept and chela—master and pupil—there gradually forms a closer tie; for the psychic interchange is regulated scientifically, whereas between husband and wife unaided nature is left to herself. As the water in a full tank runs into an empty one which it is connected with; and as the common level will be sooner or later reached according to the capacity of the feedpipe, so does the knowledge of the adept flow to the chela; and the chela attains the adept level according to his receptive capacities. At the same time the chela being an individual, a separate evolution, unconsciously imparts to the master the quality of his accumulated mentality. The master absorbs his knowledge. . .<ref>Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa, ''Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom'' First Series No. 43 (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 92-93.</ref></blockquote>

It is important to keep in mind that the training a chela undergoes does not necessarily resemble the common idea of training. For example, it does not involve a constant conscious communication with the Master, where the disciple is always guided by him and told what to do or not to do. Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>In fact the Chela is an unfortunate man who has entered upon “a path not manifest,” and [[Kṛṣṇa|Krishna]] says that “that is the most difficult path.” Instead of being the constant mouthpiece of his Guru, he finds himself left more alone in the world than those who are not Chelas, and his path is surrounded by dangers which would appal many an aspirant, were they depicted in natural colours, so that instead of accepting his Guru and passing an entrance examination with a view to becoming Bachelor of the Art of Occultism under his master’s constant and friendly guidance, he really forces his way into a guarded enclosure, and has from that moment to fight and conquer—or die.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 285-286.</ref></blockquote>

A similar statement can be found in [[Mahatma Letter No. 95#Page 1 transcription, image, and notes|a letter]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]]:

<blockquote>We never guide our chelas (the most advanced even); nor do we forewarn them leaving the effects produced by causes of their own creation to teach them better experience.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 95 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 333.</ref></blockquote>

== According to A. Besant and C. W. Leadbeater ==

Dr. [[Annie Besant]] described a disciple in the following way:

<blockquote>A "disciple" is the name given, in the occult schools, to those who, being on the probationary path, are recognized by some Master as attached to Himself. The term asserts a fact, not a particular moral stage, and does not carry with it a necessary implication of the highest moral elevation. . . . [[Chelaship|Discipleship]] implies a past tie between Master and disciple, and a Master may recognise that tie, growing out of past relationship, with one who has still much to achieve; the disciple may have many and serious faults of character, may by no means—though his face be turned to the Light—have exhausted all the heavy Karma of the past, may be facing many a difficulty, fighting on many a battlefield with the legions of the past against him. The word "disciple" does not necessarily imply initiation, nor saintship; it only asserts a position and a tie—that the person is on the probationary path, and is recognised by a Master as His.<ref>Besant, Annie, ''Discipleship And Some Karmic Problems'' (Adyar Pamphlets, No 195, Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, March 1935),3-4.</ref></blockquote>

According to [[C. W. Leadbeater]] the stage of accepted disciple includes two degrees--"Acceptance" and "Sonship". During the acceptance the astral and mental bodies of the disciple are brought into union with those of the Master. The stage of Sonship involves the union of the causal body also:

<blockquote>We have already spoken of the close relation between an accepted pupil and his Master; all the time this intimacy has been steadily growing, and it usually happens that when the pupil is approaching the portal of Initiation the Master considers that the time is ripe for Him to draw the chela into a still deeper union. He is then called the Son of the Master, and the link is such that not only the lower mind but also the ego in the causal body of the pupil is enfolded within that of the Adept, and the latter can no longer draw a veil to cut off the neophyte.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Masters and the Path'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1992), 63.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==

*[[Chelaship]]
*[[Probation]]
*[[Initiation]]
*[[Masters of Wisdom]]

==Online resources==
===Articles & Pamphlets===
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/adyar_pamphlets/AdyarPamphlet_No11.pdf# ''Gurus and Chelas''] an article by E.T. Sturdy and a reply by Annie Besant
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/adyar_pamphlets/AdyarPamphlet_No25.pdf# ''Some Difficulties of the Inner Life''] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/arts/AreChelasMediums.htm# Are Chelas "Mediums"?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/arts/Chelas.htm# Chelas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/arts/ChelasAndLayChelas.htm# Chelas and Lay Chelas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/arts/PracticalOccultism.htm# Practical Occultism] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/arts/SpiritualProgress.htm# Spiritual Progress] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Why_Not_I-CWL.htm# "Why Not I?"] by C. W. Leadbeater

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Sanskrit terms]]
[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Hindu concepts]]

Buddhism

2014-11-27T00:35:56Z

Jade Maestas: /* Books */

'''Buddhism''' is a nontheistic religion that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based on teachings attributed to [[Gautama Buddha|Siddhartha Gautama]], who is commonly known as the Buddha, meaning "the awakened one".

== Twelve Nidanas ==

The concatenation of twelve nidanas as described in [[Buddhism]] is as follows:

1- From spiritual ignorance (avidyā) arises mental formations (saṃskāra).

2- From mental formations arises consciousness (vijñāna).

3- From consciousness arises name and form (nāmarūpa).

4- From name and form arise the sense organs and their objects (ṣaḍāyatana).

5- From sense organs and their objects arise contact (sparśa).

6- From contact arises sensation (vedanā).

7- From sensation arises craving (tṛṣṇā).

8- From craving arises clinging (upādāna).

9- From clinging arises becoming (bhava).

10- From becoming arises birth (jāti).

11 & 12- From birth arise aging and dying (jarāmaraṇa).

== Four Noble Truths ==

The four noble truths are:

The truth of dukkha (suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction)

The truth of the origin of dukkha

The truth of the cessation of dukkha

The truth of the path leading to the cessation of dukkha

== Noble Eightfold Path ==

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], who described it as the way leading to the cessation of [[suffering]] (dukkha) and the achievement of self-awakening:

1. Right view

2. Right intention

3. Right speech

4. Right action

5. Right livelihood

6. Right effort

7. Right mindfulness

8. Right concentration

== Nirvana ==

In the Madhyamaka tradition [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]] is understood as the absence of attachment, aversion and delusion with no possibility of their return. There is also broad agreement that language is limited to the everyday level of understanding and that the truth of nirvana is beyond the reach of language and of the conceptualization that makes language possible.<ref>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/madhyamaka# Madhyamaka] at Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</ref> However, some interpret it merely as the cessation of consciousness.

== Theosophical view ==

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] and her [[Masters of Wisdom|Masters]] claimed that the [[Esotericism|esoteric]] teachings of Buddhism are different from the commonly known ones.

=== Nidanas ===

In [[Stanzas of Dzyan#Stanza I|stanza I]], sloka 4 of [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']] the nidanas are called "the great causes of misery".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 38.</ref> Mme. Blavatsky defined them as follows:

<blockquote>The twelve Nidanas or causes of being. Each is the effect of its antecedent cause, and a cause, in its turn, to its successor; the sum total of the Nidanas being based on the four truths, a doctrine especially characteristic of the Hînayâna System. They belong to the theory of the stream of catenated law which produces merit and demerit, and finally brings [[Karma]] into full sway. It is based upon the great truth that [[reincarnation|re-incarnation]] is to be dreaded, as existence in this world only entails upon man [[suffering]], misery and pain; [[Death]] itself being unable to deliver man from it, since death is merely the door through which he passes to another life on earth after a little rest on its threshold—[[Devachan]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 39.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Q. Are Nidâna and Maya (the great causes of misery) aspects of the Absolute? 
A. Nidâna means the concatenation of cause and effect; the twelve Nidânas are the enumeration of the chief causes which produce the severest reaction or effects under the Karmic law. Although there is no connection between the terms Nidâna and Maya in themselves, Maya being simply illusion, yet if we consider the universe as Maya or illusion, then certainly the Nidânas, as being moral agents in the universe, are included in Maya. It is Maya, illusion or ignorance, which awakens Nidânas; and the cause or causes having been produced, the effects follow according to Karmic law. To take an instance: we all regard ourselves as Units, although essentially we are one indivisible Unit, drops in the ocean of Being, not to be distinguished from other drops. Having then produced this cause, the whole discord of life follows immediately as an effect; in reality it is the endeavour of nature to restore harmony and maintain equilibrium. It is this sense of separateness which is the root of all evil.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 326-327.</ref></blockquote>

=== Four Noble Truths ===

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] defined them as follows:

<blockquote>Aryasatyâni (Sk.). The four truths or the four dogmas, which are (1) Dukha, or that misery and pain are the unavoidable concomitants of sentient (esoterically, physical) existence; (2) Samudaya, the truism that suffering is intensified by human passions; (3) Nirôdha, that the crushing out and extinction of all such feelings are possible for a man “on the path”; (4) Mârga, the narrow way, or that path which leads to such a blessed result.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 33.</ref></blockquote>

According to her, there is an [[Esotericism|esoteric]] rendition of them, which is known to [[Initiation|Initiates]]:

<blockquote>Q. Are the Four Truths of the Hinayâna school the same as those mentioned by Sir Edwin Arnold in “The Light of Asia”; the first of which is the Path of Sorrow; the second of Sorrow’s cause: the third of Sorrow’s ceasing; and the fourth is the WAY? 
A. All this is theological and exoteric, and to be found in all the Buddhist scriptures; and the above seems to be taken from Singhalese or Southern Buddhism. The subject, however, is far more fully treated of in the Aryasangha School. Still even there the four truths have one meaning for the regular priest of the Yellow Robe, and quite another for the real Mystics.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 326.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Alone the Initiate, rich with the lore acquired by numberless generations of his predecessors, directs the “Eye of Dangma” toward the essence of things in which no Maya can have any influence. It is here that the teachings of esoteric philosophy in relation to the Nidanas and the Four Truths become of the greatest importance; but they are secret.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 45.</ref></blockquote>

=== Other concepts ===

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] rejected the interpretation that Nirvāṇa is simply the annihilation of consciousness. See [[Nirvāṇa#Theosophical view|Nirvāṇa]].

== Online resources ==
===Articles & Pamphlets===
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/adyar_pamphlets/AdyarPamphlet_No192.pdf# ''The Noble Eightfold Path''] by Annie Besant & C.W. Leadbeater
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1519# "The Three Refuges"] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1333# "The Radiant Mind"] by John Cianciosi

===Books===
*[http://www.seameo.org/vl/buddhistII/content.htm# ''Buddhist Questions and Answers''] by Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO)

===Audio===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/ellwood/The%20World%20of%20Religious%20Beliefs%20and%20Practices:%20Buddhism.mp3# "The World of Religious Beliefs and Practices: Buddhism"] by Robert Ellwood
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/govinda/Development%20of%20Buddhism.mp3# "Development of Buddhism"] by Lama Govinda
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/zahara/Buddhist%20Sacred%20Literature.mp3# "Buddhist Sacred Literature"] by Helen Zahara

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=96DCC948-E8CF-41CA-B68B-1979F79696AC# "The Buddhist Niyamas: Five Cosmic Laws"] by Olande Ananda
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=47EB7AD9-506C-4AD4-833C-2E216F73A8D6# "Buddha's Views on Sexuality and Marriage"] by John Cianciosi
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=96EC37DB-AEC2-45FF-8E52-2D64B0712EA7# "Four Emotions of the Buddha"] by John Cianciosi

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Religions]]

Buddhism

2014-11-27T00:35:24Z

Jade Maestas: /* Online resources */

'''Buddhism''' is a nontheistic religion that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based on teachings attributed to [[Gautama Buddha|Siddhartha Gautama]], who is commonly known as the Buddha, meaning "the awakened one".

== Twelve Nidanas ==

The concatenation of twelve nidanas as described in [[Buddhism]] is as follows:

1- From spiritual ignorance (avidyā) arises mental formations (saṃskāra).

2- From mental formations arises consciousness (vijñāna).

3- From consciousness arises name and form (nāmarūpa).

4- From name and form arise the sense organs and their objects (ṣaḍāyatana).

5- From sense organs and their objects arise contact (sparśa).

6- From contact arises sensation (vedanā).

7- From sensation arises craving (tṛṣṇā).

8- From craving arises clinging (upādāna).

9- From clinging arises becoming (bhava).

10- From becoming arises birth (jāti).

11 & 12- From birth arise aging and dying (jarāmaraṇa).

== Four Noble Truths ==

The four noble truths are:

The truth of dukkha (suffering, anxiety, dissatisfaction)

The truth of the origin of dukkha

The truth of the cessation of dukkha

The truth of the path leading to the cessation of dukkha

== Noble Eightfold Path ==

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], who described it as the way leading to the cessation of [[suffering]] (dukkha) and the achievement of self-awakening:

1. Right view

2. Right intention

3. Right speech

4. Right action

5. Right livelihood

6. Right effort

7. Right mindfulness

8. Right concentration

== Nirvana ==

In the Madhyamaka tradition [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]] is understood as the absence of attachment, aversion and delusion with no possibility of their return. There is also broad agreement that language is limited to the everyday level of understanding and that the truth of nirvana is beyond the reach of language and of the conceptualization that makes language possible.<ref>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/madhyamaka# Madhyamaka] at Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</ref> However, some interpret it merely as the cessation of consciousness.

== Theosophical view ==

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] and her [[Masters of Wisdom|Masters]] claimed that the [[Esotericism|esoteric]] teachings of Buddhism are different from the commonly known ones.

=== Nidanas ===

In [[Stanzas of Dzyan#Stanza I|stanza I]], sloka 4 of [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']] the nidanas are called "the great causes of misery".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 38.</ref> Mme. Blavatsky defined them as follows:

<blockquote>The twelve Nidanas or causes of being. Each is the effect of its antecedent cause, and a cause, in its turn, to its successor; the sum total of the Nidanas being based on the four truths, a doctrine especially characteristic of the Hînayâna System. They belong to the theory of the stream of catenated law which produces merit and demerit, and finally brings [[Karma]] into full sway. It is based upon the great truth that [[reincarnation|re-incarnation]] is to be dreaded, as existence in this world only entails upon man [[suffering]], misery and pain; [[Death]] itself being unable to deliver man from it, since death is merely the door through which he passes to another life on earth after a little rest on its threshold—[[Devachan]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 39.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Q. Are Nidâna and Maya (the great causes of misery) aspects of the Absolute? 
A. Nidâna means the concatenation of cause and effect; the twelve Nidânas are the enumeration of the chief causes which produce the severest reaction or effects under the Karmic law. Although there is no connection between the terms Nidâna and Maya in themselves, Maya being simply illusion, yet if we consider the universe as Maya or illusion, then certainly the Nidânas, as being moral agents in the universe, are included in Maya. It is Maya, illusion or ignorance, which awakens Nidânas; and the cause or causes having been produced, the effects follow according to Karmic law. To take an instance: we all regard ourselves as Units, although essentially we are one indivisible Unit, drops in the ocean of Being, not to be distinguished from other drops. Having then produced this cause, the whole discord of life follows immediately as an effect; in reality it is the endeavour of nature to restore harmony and maintain equilibrium. It is this sense of separateness which is the root of all evil.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 326-327.</ref></blockquote>

=== Four Noble Truths ===

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] defined them as follows:

<blockquote>Aryasatyâni (Sk.). The four truths or the four dogmas, which are (1) Dukha, or that misery and pain are the unavoidable concomitants of sentient (esoterically, physical) existence; (2) Samudaya, the truism that suffering is intensified by human passions; (3) Nirôdha, that the crushing out and extinction of all such feelings are possible for a man “on the path”; (4) Mârga, the narrow way, or that path which leads to such a blessed result.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 33.</ref></blockquote>

According to her, there is an [[Esotericism|esoteric]] rendition of them, which is known to [[Initiation|Initiates]]:

<blockquote>Q. Are the Four Truths of the Hinayâna school the same as those mentioned by Sir Edwin Arnold in “The Light of Asia”; the first of which is the Path of Sorrow; the second of Sorrow’s cause: the third of Sorrow’s ceasing; and the fourth is the WAY? 
A. All this is theological and exoteric, and to be found in all the Buddhist scriptures; and the above seems to be taken from Singhalese or Southern Buddhism. The subject, however, is far more fully treated of in the Aryasangha School. Still even there the four truths have one meaning for the regular priest of the Yellow Robe, and quite another for the real Mystics.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 326.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Alone the Initiate, rich with the lore acquired by numberless generations of his predecessors, directs the “Eye of Dangma” toward the essence of things in which no Maya can have any influence. It is here that the teachings of esoteric philosophy in relation to the Nidanas and the Four Truths become of the greatest importance; but they are secret.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 45.</ref></blockquote>

=== Other concepts ===

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] rejected the interpretation that Nirvāṇa is simply the annihilation of consciousness. See [[Nirvāṇa#Theosophical view|Nirvāṇa]].

== Online resources ==
===Articles & Pamphlets===
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/adyar_pamphlets/AdyarPamphlet_No192.pdf# ''The Noble Eightfold Path''] by Annie Besant & C.W. Leadbeater
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1519# "The Three Refuges"] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1333# "The Radiant Mind"] by John Cianciosi

===Books===
*[http://www.seameo.org/vl/buddhistII/content.htm# ''Buddhist Question and Answers''] by Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO)

===Audio===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/ellwood/The%20World%20of%20Religious%20Beliefs%20and%20Practices:%20Buddhism.mp3# "The World of Religious Beliefs and Practices: Buddhism"] by Robert Ellwood
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/govinda/Development%20of%20Buddhism.mp3# "Development of Buddhism"] by Lama Govinda
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/zahara/Buddhist%20Sacred%20Literature.mp3# "Buddhist Sacred Literature"] by Helen Zahara

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=96DCC948-E8CF-41CA-B68B-1979F79696AC# "The Buddhist Niyamas: Five Cosmic Laws"] by Olande Ananda
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=47EB7AD9-506C-4AD4-833C-2E216F73A8D6# "Buddha's Views on Sexuality and Marriage"] by John Cianciosi
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=96EC37DB-AEC2-45FF-8E52-2D64B0712EA7# "Four Emotions of the Buddha"] by John Cianciosi

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Religions]]

Bhagavadgītā (book)

2014-11-27T00:25:16Z

Jade Maestas: /* Additional resources */

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Bhagavadgītā'' (book)}}
 
 
 
== Digital versions ==

===Theosophical translations===
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/bhagavadgitawith00londiala#page/n15/mode/2up# Bhagavad-Gītā] Translated by Annie Besant and Bhagavan Das
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita/bg-eg-hp.htm# Bhagavad-Gita] Recension by W. Q. Judge

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/two-lost-keys# "Two Lost Keys: The Bhagavad-Gita - the Zodiac"] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1306# "Guidposts for Living: Bhagavad Gita"] by Joy Mills
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/OnBhagavadGita.htm# ''On the Bhagavad-Gita''] by T Subba Rao and Nobin K Bannerji

===Books===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/selfstudy/Gita.pdf# ''The Bhagavad Gita - A Study Course''] by John Algeo
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gods-bg/gh-bh-hp.htm# ''Gods and Heroes of the Bhagavad Gita''] By Geoffrey A. Barborka
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita-sr/nbg-hp.htm# ''Notes on the Bhagavad Gita''] by T. Subba Row

===Video===
*[http://www.itc-naarden.org/blog/?p=457 Ravi Ravindra on the Bhagavad Gita] from the International Theosophical Centre.

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=B10696CD-5627-4CB1-A9A6-3D3597A3598B# ''The Bhagavad Gita''] narrated by Paul Meier
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/algeo/The%20Bhagavad%20Gita%20for%20Today.mp3# "The Bhagavad Gita for Today"] by John Algeo

===Additional resources===
*[http://www.bhagavad-gita.us# The Bhagavad Gita with Commentaries of Ramanuja, Madhva, Shankara and others]
*[http://www.bhagavad-gita.org# Srimad Bhagavad-Gita]

[[Category:Books|Bhagavadgītā]]

Bhagavadgītā (book)

2014-11-27T00:24:18Z

Jade Maestas: /* Audio */

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Bhagavadgītā'' (book)}}
 
 
 
== Digital versions ==

===Theosophical translations===
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/bhagavadgitawith00londiala#page/n15/mode/2up# Bhagavad-Gītā] Translated by Annie Besant and Bhagavan Das
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita/bg-eg-hp.htm# Bhagavad-Gita] Recension by W. Q. Judge

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/two-lost-keys# "Two Lost Keys: The Bhagavad-Gita - the Zodiac"] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1306# "Guidposts for Living: Bhagavad Gita"] by Joy Mills
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/OnBhagavadGita.htm# ''On the Bhagavad-Gita''] by T Subba Rao and Nobin K Bannerji

===Books===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/selfstudy/Gita.pdf# ''The Bhagavad Gita - A Study Course''] by John Algeo
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gods-bg/gh-bh-hp.htm# ''Gods and Heroes of the Bhagavad Gita''] By Geoffrey A. Barborka
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita-sr/nbg-hp.htm# ''Notes on the Bhagavad Gita''] by T. Subba Row

===Video===
*[http://www.itc-naarden.org/blog/?p=457 Ravi Ravindra on the Bhagavad Gita] from the International Theosophical Centre.

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=B10696CD-5627-4CB1-A9A6-3D3597A3598B# ''The Bhagavad Gita''] narrated by Paul Meier
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/algeo/The%20Bhagavad%20Gita%20for%20Today.mp3# "The Bhagavad Gita for Today"] by John Algeo

===Additional resources===
*[http://www.bhagavad-gita.org# Srimad Bhagavad-Gita]
*[http://www.bhagavad-gita.us# The Bhagavad Gita with Commentaries of Ramanuja, Madhva, Shankara and others]

[[Category:Books|Bhagavadgītā]]

Bhagavadgītā (book)

2014-11-27T00:22:24Z

Jade Maestas: /* Books */

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Bhagavadgītā'' (book)}}
 
 
 
== Digital versions ==

===Theosophical translations===
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/bhagavadgitawith00londiala#page/n15/mode/2up# Bhagavad-Gītā] Translated by Annie Besant and Bhagavan Das
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita/bg-eg-hp.htm# Bhagavad-Gita] Recension by W. Q. Judge

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/two-lost-keys# "Two Lost Keys: The Bhagavad-Gita - the Zodiac"] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1306# "Guidposts for Living: Bhagavad Gita"] by Joy Mills
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/OnBhagavadGita.htm# ''On the Bhagavad-Gita''] by T Subba Rao and Nobin K Bannerji

===Books===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/selfstudy/Gita.pdf# ''The Bhagavad Gita - A Study Course''] by John Algeo
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gods-bg/gh-bh-hp.htm# ''Gods and Heroes of the Bhagavad Gita''] By Geoffrey A. Barborka
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita-sr/nbg-hp.htm# ''Notes on the Bhagavad Gita''] by T. Subba Row

===Video===
*[http://www.itc-naarden.org/blog/?p=457 Ravi Ravindra on the Bhagavad Gita] from the International Theosophical Centre.

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=B10696CD-5627-4CB1-A9A6-3D3597A3598B# The Bhagavad Gita] narrated by Paul Meier
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/algeo/The%20Bhagavad%20Gita%20for%20Today.mp3# The Bhagavad Gita for Today] by John Algeo

===Additional resources===
*[http://www.bhagavad-gita.org# Srimad Bhagavad-Gita]
*[http://www.bhagavad-gita.us# The Bhagavad Gita with Commentaries of Ramanuja, Madhva, Shankara and others]

[[Category:Books|Bhagavadgītā]]

Bhagavadgītā (book)

2014-11-27T00:21:08Z

Jade Maestas: /* Articles and pamphlets */

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Bhagavadgītā'' (book)}}
 
 
 
== Digital versions ==

===Theosophical translations===
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/bhagavadgitawith00londiala#page/n15/mode/2up# Bhagavad-Gītā] Translated by Annie Besant and Bhagavan Das
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita/bg-eg-hp.htm# Bhagavad-Gita] Recension by W. Q. Judge

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/two-lost-keys# "Two Lost Keys: The Bhagavad-Gita - the Zodiac"] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1306# "Guidposts for Living: Bhagavad Gita"] by Joy Mills
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/OnBhagavadGita.htm# ''On the Bhagavad-Gita''] by T Subba Rao and Nobin K Bannerji

===Books===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/selfstudy/Gita.pdf# The Bhagavad Gita - A Study Course] by John Algeo
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gods-bg/gh-bh-hp.htm# Gods and Heroes of the Bhagavad Gita] By Geoffrey A. Barborka
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gita-sr/nbg-hp.htm# Notes on the Bhagavad Gita] by T. Subba Row

===Video===
*[http://www.itc-naarden.org/blog/?p=457 Ravi Ravindra on the Bhagavad Gita] from the International Theosophical Centre.

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=B10696CD-5627-4CB1-A9A6-3D3597A3598B# The Bhagavad Gita] narrated by Paul Meier
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/algeo/The%20Bhagavad%20Gita%20for%20Today.mp3# The Bhagavad Gita for Today] by John Algeo

===Additional resources===
*[http://www.bhagavad-gita.org# Srimad Bhagavad-Gita]
*[http://www.bhagavad-gita.us# The Bhagavad Gita with Commentaries of Ramanuja, Madhva, Shankara and others]

[[Category:Books|Bhagavadgītā]]

Aura

2014-11-27T00:10:52Z

Jade Maestas: /* Online resources */

'''Aura''' is an invisible emanation or field of subtle [[matter]] viewed by the [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyant]] as a luminous radiation surrounding a living creature or object.

The aura is said to have different "layers". There is mention to a "health aura" which follows the outline of the body. It has to do with what in [[Theosophy]] is called [[Liṅga-śarīra]]. Extending beyond this first layer, in an oval shape, there is an [[Emotional Body|emotional field]]. Next, going even beyond, there is a [[Mental Body|mental field]]. It is generally said that the various traits of the [[Principle#Individuality_and_personality|personality]] are associated with different colors manifesting in these layers of the aura. Finally, there is what has been called the [[Auric Egg]], which belongs to the [[Principle#Individuality_and_personality|individuality]] or the "real man".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 608.</ref>

How many layers can be seen by a sensitive will depend on his degree of clairvoyance. In general, only the first two layers of the aura are seen by untrained clairvoyants.

== General description ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] explained:

<blockquote>Here is an example of the relations of color to vibration well worthy of the attention of [[Occultism|Occultists]]. Not only [[Adept]]s and advanced [[Chela]]s, but also the lower order of psychics, such as [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyants]] and [[Psychometry|psychometrists]], can perceive a psychic Aura of various colors around every individual, corresponding to the temperament of the person within it. In other words the mysterious records within the [[Auric Egg]] are not the heirloom of trained Adepts alone, but sometimes also of natural psychics. Every human passion, every thought and quality, is indicated in the Aura by corresponding colors and shades of color, and certain of these are sensed and felt rather than perceived. The best of such psychics, as shown by Galton, can also perceive colors produced by the vibrations of musical instruments, every note suggesting a different color. As a string vibrates and gives forth an audible note, so the nerves of the human body vibrate and thrill in correspondence with various emotions under the general impulse of the circulating vitality of [[Prāṇa|Prâna]], thus producing undulations in the psychic Aura of the person which results in chromatic effects.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 621.</ref></blockquote>

== Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Aura# "Aura"] at Theosopedia
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1348# "Mandorlas, Halos, and Rings of Fire"] by Burton Callicott
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/TheosophyinHealingAddictions.pdf# "Theosophy in Healing Addictions" (auras as manifestations of energies)] by Gail A. Grynbaum

===Audio===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/hodson/The%20Aura:%20Its%20Colors%20and%20Their%20Meaning%20-%20Part%202.mp3# "The Aura: Its Colors and Their Meaning" - Part 1] and [https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/hodson/The%20Aura:%20Its%20Colors%20and%20Their%20Meaning%20-%20Part%202.mp3# Part 2] by Geoffrey Hodson

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]

Ātman

2014-11-26T23:39:07Z

Jade Maestas: /* Online resources */

'''Ātman''' (devanāgarī: आत्मन्) is a [[Sanskrit]] word that means "self". In [[Hinduism|Hindu philosophy]], especially in the [[Vedānta]] school, it refers to one's ''true'' self beyond phenomena.

In the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature, it refers to the [[Seventh Principle|seventh principle]] in man and the cosmos. Atman is said to be a ray of the [[Absolute]] and, therefore, not individual. Each person participates of this universal principle, which manifests in him or her as the "Higher Self". However, ''per se'', atman is beyond consciousness or any other relative attribute. Its vehicle of expression in the differentiated universe is the sixth principle, or [[Buddhi]].

== Universal principle ==

Ātman, the [[Seventh Principle|seventh principle]], is frequently described by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] as being a ray of the [[Absolute]]:

<blockquote>The seventh [principle is] the synthesis of the six, and not a principle but a ray of the Absolute ALL—in strict truth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 232, fn.</ref></blockquote>

This being the case atman is, essentially, beyond any description:

<blockquote>Ātma is nothing; it is all absolute, and it cannot be said that it is this, that or the other. . . It is simply that in which we are.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 609.</ref></blockquote>

Since atman is omnipresent, it cannot be regarded as a human principle, but rather as a universal one:

<blockquote>Spirit (in the sense of the Absolute, and therefore, indivisible ALL), or Atma. As this can neither be located nor limited in philosophy, being simply that which IS in Eternity, and which cannot be absent from even the tiniest geometrical or mathematical point of the universe of matter or substance, it ought not to be called, in truth, a “human” principle at all.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'', (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 119.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The seventh [Principle] is not a human, but a universal principle in which Man participates; but so does equally every physical and subjective atom, and also every blade of grass and everything that lives or is in Space, whether it is sensible of it or not.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 630.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>We say that the Spirit (the "Father in secret" of Jesus), or Atman, is no individual property of any man, but is the Divine essence which has no body, no form, which is imponderable, invisible and indivisible, that which does not exist and yet is, as the Buddhists say of Nirvana. It only overshadows the mortal; that which enters into him and pervades the whole body being only its omnipresent rays, or light, radiated through [[Buddhi]], its vehicle and direct emanation.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), ???.</ref></blockquote>

== The Higher Self ==

When referring to the presence of atman in human beings, it is said to constitute the "higher self":

<blockquote>The Higher Self is Atma the inseparable ray of the Universal and ONE SELF. It is the God above, more than within, us.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 175.</ref></blockquote>

However, this does not mean that each person has his or her own higher self. In reality, there is only One self expressing through every person:

<blockquote>Atma, the "Higher Self," is neither your Spirit nor mine, but like sunlight shines on all. It is the universally diffused "divine principle," and is inseparable from its one and absolute Meta-Spirit, as the sunbeam is inseparable from sunlight.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'', (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 135. </ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>You must never say: “my Âtma”; you have no Âtma. This idea is the curse of the world. It has produced this tremendous selfishness, this egotism we say, “we are”, “my Âtma”, “my Buddhi”.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 646.</ref></blockquote>

== Conscious non-consciousness ==

Being a universal and absolute principle, ātman cannot be said to have [[consciousness]] as we know it, which is a relative attribute:

<blockquote>Consciousness implies limitations and qualifications; something [the object] to be conscious of, and someone [the subject] to be conscious of it. But Absolute Consciousness contains the cognizer, the thing cognized and the cognition, all three in itself and all three one.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 56.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Understand me, Ātman cannot be called infinite consciousness. It is the one Absolute, which is conscious non-consciousness. It contains everything, the potentiality of all; therefore, it is nothing at all. . . . It is “No Thing,” you understand?<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 609-10.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>He [man] starts downward as a simply spiritual entity—an unconscious seventh principle . . . with the germs of the other six principles lying latent and dormant in him.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 44 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 118.</ref></blockquote>

However, it should not be thought that atman is just a lack of consciousness. Its state is not what we know as consciousness and, to indicate this fact, it is said to be unconscious or non-conscious:

<blockquote>It must not be forgotten, also, that we give names to things according to the appearances they assume for ourselves. We call absolute consciousness “unconsciousness,” because it seems to us that it must necessarily be so.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 56.</ref></blockquote>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=%C4%80tman# "Ātman"] at Theosopedia
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1367# "The Becoming Self"] by Joy Mills

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Sanskrit terms|Atman]]
[[Category:Theosophical concepts|Atman]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine|Atman]]
[[Category:Hindu concepts|Atman]]

Angel

2014-11-26T23:34:42Z

Jade Maestas: /* Online resources */

'''Angel''', from the Greek ἄγγελος (''angelos'', "messenger"), in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, and the Quran, is a non-human spirit that acts as a messenger of [[God]].

It is believed that there are different kinds of angels arranged in hierarchies, but since the Biblical canon does not offer enough information, these hierarchies are highly speculative.

The most influential Christian classification was the one designed by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 4th or 5th century in his book De Coelesti Hierarchia (The Celestial Hierarchy).

== First Sphere ==

'''1. Seraphim''' (singular Seraph) – Isaiah 6:1-7. These angels are closest to God. It is said that such a bright light emanates from them that nothing, not even other angelic beings, can look upon them (the name Seraphim means "the burning ones"). They praise God: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. All the earth is filled with His Glory." There are four of them surrounding God's throne and their primary mission is to protect the throne. They have six wings: two cover their faces, two cover their bodies, and two cover their feet.

'''2. Cherubim''' (singular Cherub) – Genesis 3:24 and Ezekiel 10:1-22 - These angels are the second highest in the nine hierarchies of angels. Cherubim guard the way to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24)[4] and the throne of God (Ezekiel 28:14-16). They are fierce angels. When they come to earth, they have great power of apocalypse nature. They have four faces: one of a man, one of an ox, one of a lion, and one of an eagle.

'''3. Thrones''' or Elders – Colossians 1:16 – Their name literally means throne or highly ornamented chair. They are living symbols of God's justice and authority, and dispense God’s divine judgment.

== Second Sphere ==

'''4. Dominions''' – Colossians 1:16 - These are the angels of leadership, regulating the duties of the lower angels. They are also the angels who preside over nations, and give power to heads of government and other authority figures. The Dominions are believed to look like divinely beautiful humans with a pair of feathered wings, much like the common representation of angels.

'''5. Virtues''' or "Strongholds" – 1 Peter 3:22 - Their primary duty is to supervise the movements of the heavenly bodies and control the elements to ensure that the cosmos remains in order. They govern all nature and perform miracles.

'''6. Powers''', or "Authorities" – Colossians 1:16 - These angels are the bearers of conscience and the keepers of history. Their duty is to oversee the distribution of power among humankind, hence their name. They also control the border between heaven and earth. The Powers are warrior angels created to be completely loyal to God, who fight against evil. They are the angels of birth and death.

== Third Sphere ==

'''7. Principalities''' – Colossians 1:16 - These angels appear to collaborate in power and authority with the Powers. Their task is to oversee groups of people. They are in charge of the world’s nations, cities, and towns. Their duties include taking charge of religion, politics, and the duties of the angels on earth below them. They are the educators and guardians of the realm of earth. Like beings related to the world of the germinal ideas, they are said to inspire living things to many things such as art or science.

'''8. Archangels''' – 1 Thessalonians 4:16 - These angels are the chief angels, guardians of people and all things physical. They appear only in human form. They have the task of being God’s messenger to people at critical times of need.

'''9. Angels''' – Throughout the Bible - These are the lowest order of the angels, and are sent as messengers to mankind. They are the ones most concerned with the affairs of living things, and act as our personal guardian. They deliver prayers to God and God’s answers and messages to us.

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1375# "The Dark Side of Light"] by John Algeo
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/1385# "Angels, Mortals, and the Language of Love"] by Maria Parisen

===Audio===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/hodson/The%20Angelic%20Hosts.mp3# "The Angelic Hosts"] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/kunz/Christmas%20and%20the%20Angelic%20Forces.mp3# "Christmas and the Angelic Forces"] by Dora Kunz

[[Category:Christian concepts]]

Adyar (campus)

2014-11-26T23:28:29Z

Jade Maestas: /* Online resources */

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
 
 
 
[[File:Adyar view across river.jpg|500px|right|thumb|Headquarters viewed across Adyar River]]
== Purchase of the estate ==
On [[April 23]], 1882, [[Founders#"The Founders"|the Founders]] arrived by ship at Madras, where they met [[T. Subba Row]], Judge [[G. Muthuswamy Chetty]] and his sons [[G. Soobiah Chetty]] and [[G. Narasimhulu Chetty]], [[Ragunath Row]], among others.

''The Madras Times'' of April 24 or 25, 1882, describes their arrival as follows"

<blockquote>THEOSOPHISM AT MADRAS. — Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott, the well-known founders of the Theosophical Society in Bombay, arrived at Madras on Sunday morning at nine o'clock. In anticipation of their arrival, the natives assembled, and made arrangements to give their visitors a formal reception at five o'clock in the evening. Accordingly, at the hour fixed, the native community mustered strong at the pier, among whom were the Hon'ble Rajah Gajapathi Row, the Dewan Bahadur Ragunatha Row, and several leading members and merchants of the community. Boats went out to meet the steamer, the one destined for the visitors tastefully decorated. After an interchange of compliments and much cheering, the visitors were ushered into a saloon carriage, afterwards to a carriage and four, and driven to the residence fitted up for them. . . . The Deputy Inspector of Schools read the following address: ”We, the undersigned, who entertain great respect for you, welcome you to the capital of Southern India. We need hardly express our appreciation of your valuable services for our country, and we trust that your advent here will be a means of placing within our reach the advantages afforded for investigating the mysteries of nature and psychical powers latent in man".<ref>A Sketch of the Theosophic Organization at http://hpb.narod.ru/SketchTheosophicOrganization.htm</ref></blockquote>

While the Founders were there, the [[Madras Theosophical Society]] was formed, and the idea of moving the Headquarters from Bombay to Madras (previously suggested by G. Soobiah Chetty) was discussed at a meeting.

[[File:Huddlestones Gardens.jpg|400px|right|thumb|Huddlestone's Gardens]]
On [[May 31]] the Chetty brothers took them to see a piece of property they recommended as the new headquarters site for the [[Theosophical Society]]: the "Huddlestone's Gardens". The Huddlestone family had been granted some property south of the Adyar River in the late 1780s, on which they built a country or "garden" house. But now the twenty-seven-acre property, containing a large house, two cottages, and other facilities, was on sale.

When the Founders saw the Huddlestone's Gardens [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] declared "Master wants this purchased". [[Henry Steel Olcott|Col. Olcott]] wrote that "at first glance [we] knew that our future home was found".

The Society had not enough funds to purchase the property but the necessary sum was advanced by a devoted member, [P. Iyaloo Naidu]]. Then, a circular to collect donations from members was issued. On [[November 17]], exactly seven years after the founding of the [[Theosophical Society]], the final balance of Rs. 7,000 was paid by Judge G. Muthuswamy Chetty. This completed the sale and the title to the property passed to the Society.<ref>Adele Algeo, "Blavatsky at Adyar--From her Letters", The Theosophist 129:9 (June 2008),340.</ref>

On [[December 17]] the Founders left Bombay by train heading for Adyar, accompanied by the [[Emma Coulomb|Emma]] and [[Alexis Coulomb]], [[Damodar K. Mavalankar|Damodar]], [[Gwala K. Deb|"Mr. Deb"]], Dora Swami Naidu, and five Hindu servants. They arrived on the [[December 19|19th]]. On [[January 14]], 1883, Col. Olcott issued a circular regarding how Adyar was bought and paid for.

== Headquarters Building ==

== Archives and Museum ==

== Vasanṭā Press ==

The [[Vasanṭā Press]] was established in 1909 by [[Annie Besant]]. It moved to its current location in 1968. The press prints books, pamphlets, and other publications produced by the [[Theosophical Publishing House (Adyar)|Theosophical Publishing House]], the [[Adyar Library and Research Centre]], and allied organizations.

== Editorial Office ==

== Leadbeater Chambers ==

== Blavatsky Bungalow ==

== Adyar Library and Research Centre ==

== Religious buildings ==

== Bookstore ==

== Olcott Memorial School ==

The [[Olcott Memorial School]] was started by Col. [[Henry Steel Olcott]] in the year 1894 to empower economically disadvantaged children through the provision of free education. It was upgraded to the level of a High School in the year 1975, and in 2013 it was upgraded to further to the level of a Higher Secondary School (up to Class XII).

== HPB Hostel ==

Provides a home for over 25 boys who are in need.

== Social Welfare Centre ==

The Social Welfare Centre takes care of around 100 infants, with free nutrition, clothes, pre-school training, and other services.

== Animal Dispensary ==

The dispensary provides treatment daily to more than 30 animals a day.

== Trilithons ==

== Banyan Tree ==

== Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/chettyodl.htm# "Old Diary Leaves" (on the purchase of the Estate)] by G. Subbiah Chetty

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=9D6D07E1-4DD0-4BB4-AED4-789A8586FB40# Adyar: Home of the Theosophical Society] by Steve Schweizer (Documentary)

=== Additional resources===
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/adyar/adyar.htm# Photos from Adyar]
*[http://ts-adyar.org# Official TS Adyar website]
*[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/58969# Adyar TS Estate: Descriptions, Books, Maps, Videos, & Photos] compiled by Daniel Caldwell

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Places]]
[[Category:TS Adyar]]

Adepts

2014-11-26T00:49:15Z

Jade Maestas: /* General description */

'''Adept''' is a word that comes from the Latin ''adeptus'', meaning "obtained, attained". It is commonly used to describe a highly skilled person; an expert in a particular discipline.

In Theosophical literature this term is employed in connection with the [[Occult Science]] and the [[Esoteric Philosophy]]. The word is used to define a wide variety of degrees of knowledge of [[Occultism]], from relatively advanced students to Masters of the science. The term does not imply high spiritual and moral development, since there is mention to "white" and "black" Adepts, meaning those who use the [[Siddhi|occult powers]] for unselfish and selfish purposes respectively. The high Adepts working for the welfare of humanity are also known as [[Masters of Wisdom]], [[Mahātmas]], [[Arhat]]s, or simply "Brothers".

== General description ==

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] defines the term as follows:

<blockquote>Adept (Lat.). Adeptus, “He who has obtained” In Occultism one who has reached the stage of Initiation, and become a Master in the science of Esoteric philosophy.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 6.</ref></blockquote>

[[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K. H.]] wrote: "The adept is the rare efflorescence of a generation of enquirers".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence No. 2 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 6.</ref> Thus, relatively speaking, there are few Adepts in the world. As Mme. Blavatsky's stated: "Were adeptship easy of attainment many would achieve it, but it is the hardest task in nature".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 165.</ref>

In the Theosophical literature the high Adepts are Initiates of various degrees, of which there are seven.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'', vol. 2 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 614.</ref>

== Adepts and Masters ==

The word "Adept" was used in a general way by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]]. The word [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]], however, seems to be reserved to high adepts, who work in line with the evolutionary movement. This idea is expressed to certain extent by [[Charles Johnston]] in an article published in H. P. Blavatsky's ''Collected Writings'':

<blockquote>Then she told me something about other Masters and adepts she had known -- for she made a difference, as though the adepts were the captains of the occult world, and the Masters were the generals. She had known adepts of many races, from Northern and Southern India, Tibet, Persia, China, Egypt; of various European nations, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, English; of certain races in South America, where she said there was a Lodge of adepts.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 400.</ref></blockquote>

== Women Adepts ==

In May, 1880, [[Henry Steel Olcott|Col. Olcott]] wrote an article in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']] in answer to a claim by [[George Wyld|Dr. George Wyld]], who stated that no woman had become an Adept. The Colonel wrote:

<blockquote>It is equally incorrect to say that no woman has become an adept. Not to mention one example which will immediately recall itself to every Theosophist, I may say that I personally have encountered in India two other initiated women, and know of a number of others in the East.<ref>See [http://www.theosophical.org/component/content/article/65-olcott/1826# "Becoming a Theosophist"] by Henry S. Olcott</ref></blockquote>

In June, 1889, C. S. Stockholm sent a few questions to the editors of the Theosophical Journal ''Lucifer''. One of them was about the existence of Women Adepts:

<blockquote>Has any woman ever attained to Adeptship proper? Will her intellectual and spiritual nature and gifts permit it, even while supposing that her physical nature might endure the hardships therefrom indispensable?</blockquote>

To this, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] answered:

<blockquote>Woman has as good a chance as any man has to reach high Adeptship. Why she does not succeed in this direction in Europe is simply due to her early education and the social prejudice which causes her to be regarded as inferior to man.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 11 (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 301.</ref></blockquote>

[[Subba Row|T. Subba Row]], considered by Mme. Blavatsky to be her equal in occultism, wrote:

<blockquote>There are instances of females becoming the greatest Adepts. Whether an individual is male or female depends upon temperament as much as anything else. . . . There is one woman who still stands in the list of the Mahachohans of one of the greatest Rays--that to which H ... belongs. She is not merely a great Adept of that Ray, but had made many original discoveries. . .
There is a Ray specially adapted to women; it is sometimes called "the body of love". Its Logos is rather a female than a male; it belongs to the magnetic pole of the universe. I do not think there will ever be a female Adept of the First Ray, because it belongs entirely to the positive pole.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1931), 570.</ref></blockquote>

In ''The Theosophist'', October, 1883, "An Inquirer" asked:

<blockquote>Will you kindly let me know whether females can attain to adeptship, and whether female adepts exist at all?</blockquote>

To this, [[Damodar K. Mavalankar]], a [[chela]] of Mahatma [[K. H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>It is difficult to see any good reason why females should not become Adepts. None of us, Chelas, are aware of any physical or other defect which might entirely incapacitate them from undertaking the dreary ordeal. It may be more difficult, more dangerous for them than it is for men, still not impossible. The Hindu sacred books and traditions mention such cases, and since the laws of Nature are immutable, what was possible some thousand years ago must be possible now. . . . In Nepaul, we all know, there is a high female Adept. And in Southern India, flourished at a recent date, another great female Initiate named Ouvaiyar. Her mysterious work in Tamil on Occultism is still extant. It is styled Kural, and is said to be very enigmatically written, and consequently inexplicable. In Benares too lives a certain lady, unsuspected and unknown but to the very few. . .<ref>Sven Eek, ''Damodar and the Pioneers of the Theosophical Movement'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1965), 320.</ref></blockquote>

Mme. Blavatsky added an interesting perspective about the possibilities of high women adepts. In talking about the divine virgin figures such as the [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] [[Sophia]] she wrote:

<blockquote>[[Śakti]] being a female principle, it is fully manifested through a woman, although, properly speaking, the inner man is neither male, nor female. It is only the preponderance of either of the two principles (positive and negative) which determines the sex. Now, this preponderance is determined by the Law of Affinity; and hence in a woman is manifested abnormally the occult power represented by Śakti. She is moreover gifted with a wonderfully vivid imagination—stronger than man’s. And as the phenomenal is the realization or rather the manifestation of the IDEAL, which can be properly and strongly conceived only by a powerful IMAGINATION—a WOMAN-ADEPT can produce high occultists—a race of “Buddhas and Christs,” born “without sin.” The more and the sooner the animal sexual affinities are given up, the stronger and the sooner will be the manifestation of the higher occult powers which alone can produce the “immaculate conception.” And this art is practically taught to the occultists at a very high stage of initiation.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 262.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Brotherhood of Adepts]]
*[[Mahātma]]
*[[Masters of Wisdom]]
*[[Portraits of the Masters]]

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Adept# "Adept"] at Theosopedia
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/wqj/TheosophicalAdepts.pdf# ''Theosophical Adepts'' no. 12 (a collection of articles)] by William Q. Judge

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abdill/The%20Adepts:%20Our%20Brothers.mp3# "The Adepts: Our Brothers"] by Ed Abdill

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

Adepts

2014-11-26T00:47:15Z

Jade Maestas: /* Online resources */

'''Adept''' is a word that comes from the Latin ''adeptus'', meaning "obtained, attained". It is commonly used to describe a highly skilled person; an expert in a particular discipline.

In Theosophical literature this term is employed in connection with the [[Occult Science]] and the [[Esoteric Philosophy]]. The word is used to define a wide variety of degrees of knowledge of [[Occultism]], from relatively advanced students to Masters of the science. The term does not imply high spiritual and moral development, since there is mention to "white" and "black" Adepts, meaning those who use the [[Siddhi|occult powers]] for unselfish and selfish purposes respectively. The high Adepts working for the welfare of humanity are also known as [[Masters of Wisdom]], [[Mahātmas]], [[Arhat]]s, or simply "Brothers".

== General description ==

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] defines the term as follows:

<blockquote>Adept (Lat.). Adeptus, “He who has obtained” In Occultism one who has reached the stage of Initiation, and become a Master in the science of Esoteric philosophy.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 6.</ref></blockquote>

[[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K. H.]] wrote: "The adept is the rare efflorescence of a generation of enquirers".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence No. 2 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 6.</ref> Thus, relatively speaking, there are few Adepts in the world. As Mme. Blavatsky's stated: "Were adeptship easy of attainment many would achieve it, but it is the hardest task in nature".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 165.</ref>

In the Theosophical literature the high Adepts are Initiates of various degrees, of which there are seven.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'', vol. 2 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 614.</ref>

== Adepts and Masters ==

The word "Adept" was used in a general way by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]]. The word [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]], however, seems to be reserved to high adepts, who work in line with the evolutionary movement. This idea is expressed to certain extent by [[Charles Johnston]] in an article published in H. P. Blavatsky's ''Collected Writings'':

<blockquote>Then she told me something about other Masters and adepts she had known -- for she made a difference, as though the adepts were the captains of the occult world, and the Masters were the generals. She had known adepts of many races, from Northern and Southern India, Tibet, Persia, China, Egypt; of various European nations, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, English; of certain races in South America, where she said there was a Lodge of adepts.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 400.</ref></blockquote>

== Women Adepts ==

In May, 1880, [[Henry Steel Olcott|Col. Olcott]] wrote an article in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']] in answer to a claim by [[George Wyld|Dr. George Wyld]], who stated that no woman had become an Adept. The Colonel wrote:

<blockquote>It is equally incorrect to say that no woman has become an adept. Not to mention one example which will immediately recall itself to every Theosophist, I may say that I personally have encountered in India two other initiated women, and know of a number of others in the East.<ref>See [http://www.theosophical.org/component/content/article/65-olcott/1826# "Becoming a Theosophist"] by Henry S. Olcott</ref></blockquote>

In June, 1889, C. S. Stockholm sent a few questions to the editors of the Theosophical Journal ''Lucifer''. One of them was about the existence of Women Adepts:

<blockquote>Has any woman ever attained to Adeptship proper? Will her intellectual and spiritual nature and gifts permit it, even while supposing that her physical nature might endure the hardships therefrom indispensable?</blockquote>

To this, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] answered:

<blockquote>Woman has as good a chance as any man has to reach high Adeptship. Why she does not succeed in this direction in Europe is simply due to her early education and the social prejudice which causes her to be regarded as inferior to man.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 11 (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 301.</ref></blockquote>

[[Subba Row|T. Subba Row]], considered by Mme. Blavatsky to be her equal in occultism, wrote:

<blockquote>There are instances of females becoming the greatest Adepts. Whether an individual is male or female depends upon temperament as much as anything else. . . . There is one woman who still stands in the list of the Mahachohans of one of the greatest Rays--that to which H ... belongs. She is not merely a great Adept of that Ray, but had made many original discoveries. . .
There is a Ray specially adapted to women; it is sometimes called "the body of love". Its Logos is rather a female than a male; it belongs to the magnetic pole of the universe. I do not think there will ever be a female Adept of the First Ray, because it belongs entirely to the positive pole.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1931), 570.</ref></blockquote>

In ''The Theosophist'', October, 1883, "An Inquirer" asked:

<blockquote>Will you kindly let me know whether females can attain to adeptship, and whether female adepts exist at all?</blockquote>

To this, [[Damodar K. Mavalankar]], a [[chela]] of Mahatma [[K. H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>It is difficult to see any good reason why females should not become Adepts. None of us, Chelas, are aware of any physical or other defect which might entirely incapacitate them from undertaking the dreary ordeal. It may be more difficult, more dangerous for them than it is for men, still not impossible. The Hindu sacred books and traditions mention such cases, and since the laws of Nature are immutable, what was possible some thousand years ago must be possible now. . . . In Nepaul, we all know, there is a high female Adept. And in Southern India, flourished at a recent date, another great female Initiate named Ouvaiyar. Her mysterious work in Tamil on Occultism is still extant. It is styled Kural, and is said to be very enigmatically written, and consequently inexplicable. In Benares too lives a certain lady, unsuspected and unknown but to the very few. . .<ref>Sven Eek, ''Damodar and the Pioneers of the Theosophical Movement'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1965), 320.</ref></blockquote>

Mme. Blavatsky added an interesting perspective about the possibilities of high women adepts. In talking about the divine virgin figures such as the [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] [[Sophia]] she wrote:

<blockquote>[[Śakti]] being a female principle, it is fully manifested through a woman, although, properly speaking, the inner man is neither male, nor female. It is only the preponderance of either of the two principles (positive and negative) which determines the sex. Now, this preponderance is determined by the Law of Affinity; and hence in a woman is manifested abnormally the occult power represented by Śakti. She is moreover gifted with a wonderfully vivid imagination—stronger than man’s. And as the phenomenal is the realization or rather the manifestation of the IDEAL, which can be properly and strongly conceived only by a powerful IMAGINATION—a WOMAN-ADEPT can produce high occultists—a race of “Buddhas and Christs,” born “without sin.” The more and the sooner the animal sexual affinities are given up, the stronger and the sooner will be the manifestation of the higher occult powers which alone can produce the “immaculate conception.” And this art is practically taught to the occultists at a very high stage of initiation.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 262.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Brotherhood of Adepts]]
*[[Mahātma]]
*[[Masters of Wisdom]]
*[[Portraits of the Masters]]

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Adept# "Adept"] at Theosopedia
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/wqj/TheosophicalAdepts.pdf# ''Theosophical Adepts'' no. 12 (a collection of articles)] by William Q. Judge

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abdill/The%20Adepts:%20Our%20Brothers.mp3# "The Adepts: Our Brothers"] by Ed Abdill

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

At the Feet of the Master (book)

2014-11-26T00:43:15Z

Jade Maestas: /* Video */

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''At the Feet of the Master'' (book)}}

==Online resources==
===Books===
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/otherdocuments/AtTheFeetOfTheMaster_AlcyoneJKrishnamurti.pdf# ''At the Feet of the Master''] by Alcyone (Jiddu Krishnamurti)
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/books/ThoughtsOnAtTheFeetOfTheMaster_GSArundale.pdf# ''Thoughts on "At the Feet of the Master"''] by George S. Arundale
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/At_The_Feet_Of_The_Master-Commentary-AB_CWL.html# ''Talks on the Path of Occultism: A commentary on "At the Feet of the Master"''] by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater

===Audio===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/krishnamurti/At%20the%20Feet%20of%20the%20Master.mp3# ''At the Feet of the Master''] by Alcyone (Jiddu Krishnamurti)

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/programs/online-programs/living-theosophy-series/2246-at-the-feet-of-the-master-series# Living Theosophy: ''At the Feet of the Master'' (4 Talks)] by David Bruce, Tim Boyd, Pablo Sender, and Juliana Cesano.
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=FD5E167D-C9AD-4E6F-9FD4-976195DE8911# Guideposts for Living: ''At the Feet of the Master'' (2 Parts)] by John Algeo

[[Category:Books|At the Feet of the Master]]

Adepts

2014-11-26T00:38:11Z

Jade Maestas: /* Online resources */

'''Adept''' is a word that comes from the Latin ''adeptus'', meaning "obtained, attained". It is commonly used to describe a highly skilled person; an expert in a particular discipline.

In Theosophical literature this term is employed in connection with the [[Occult Science]] and the [[Esoteric Philosophy]]. The word is used to define a wide variety of degrees of knowledge of [[Occultism]], from relatively advanced students to Masters of the science. The term does not imply high spiritual and moral development, since there is mention to "white" and "black" Adepts, meaning those who use the [[Siddhi|occult powers]] for unselfish and selfish purposes respectively. The high Adepts working for the welfare of humanity are also known as [[Masters of Wisdom]], [[Mahātmas]], [[Arhat]]s, or simply "Brothers".

== General description ==

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] defines the term as follows:

<blockquote>Adept (Lat.). Adeptus, “He who has obtained” In Occultism one who has reached the stage of Initiation, and become a Master in the science of Esoteric philosophy.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 6.</ref></blockquote>

[[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K. H.]] wrote: "The adept is the rare efflorescence of a generation of enquirers".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence No. 2 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 6.</ref> Thus, relatively speaking, there are few Adepts in the world. As Mme. Blavatsky's stated: "Were adeptship easy of attainment many would achieve it, but it is the hardest task in nature".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 165.</ref>

In the Theosophical literature the high Adepts are Initiates of various degrees, of which there are seven.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'', vol. 2 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 614.</ref>

== Adepts and Masters ==

The word "Adept" was used in a general way by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]]. The word [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]], however, seems to be reserved to high adepts, who work in line with the evolutionary movement. This idea is expressed to certain extent by [[Charles Johnston]] in an article published in H. P. Blavatsky's ''Collected Writings'':

<blockquote>Then she told me something about other Masters and adepts she had known -- for she made a difference, as though the adepts were the captains of the occult world, and the Masters were the generals. She had known adepts of many races, from Northern and Southern India, Tibet, Persia, China, Egypt; of various European nations, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, English; of certain races in South America, where she said there was a Lodge of adepts.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 400.</ref></blockquote>

== Women Adepts ==

In May, 1880, [[Henry Steel Olcott|Col. Olcott]] wrote an article in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']] in answer to a claim by [[George Wyld|Dr. George Wyld]], who stated that no woman had become an Adept. The Colonel wrote:

<blockquote>It is equally incorrect to say that no woman has become an adept. Not to mention one example which will immediately recall itself to every Theosophist, I may say that I personally have encountered in India two other initiated women, and know of a number of others in the East.<ref>See [http://www.theosophical.org/component/content/article/65-olcott/1826# "Becoming a Theosophist"] by Henry S. Olcott</ref></blockquote>

In June, 1889, C. S. Stockholm sent a few questions to the editors of the Theosophical Journal ''Lucifer''. One of them was about the existence of Women Adepts:

<blockquote>Has any woman ever attained to Adeptship proper? Will her intellectual and spiritual nature and gifts permit it, even while supposing that her physical nature might endure the hardships therefrom indispensable?</blockquote>

To this, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] answered:

<blockquote>Woman has as good a chance as any man has to reach high Adeptship. Why she does not succeed in this direction in Europe is simply due to her early education and the social prejudice which causes her to be regarded as inferior to man.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 11 (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 301.</ref></blockquote>

[[Subba Row|T. Subba Row]], considered by Mme. Blavatsky to be her equal in occultism, wrote:

<blockquote>There are instances of females becoming the greatest Adepts. Whether an individual is male or female depends upon temperament as much as anything else. . . . There is one woman who still stands in the list of the Mahachohans of one of the greatest Rays--that to which H ... belongs. She is not merely a great Adept of that Ray, but had made many original discoveries. . .
There is a Ray specially adapted to women; it is sometimes called "the body of love". Its Logos is rather a female than a male; it belongs to the magnetic pole of the universe. I do not think there will ever be a female Adept of the First Ray, because it belongs entirely to the positive pole.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1931), 570.</ref></blockquote>

In ''The Theosophist'', October, 1883, "An Inquirer" asked:

<blockquote>Will you kindly let me know whether females can attain to adeptship, and whether female adepts exist at all?</blockquote>

To this, [[Damodar K. Mavalankar]], a [[chela]] of Mahatma [[K. H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>It is difficult to see any good reason why females should not become Adepts. None of us, Chelas, are aware of any physical or other defect which might entirely incapacitate them from undertaking the dreary ordeal. It may be more difficult, more dangerous for them than it is for men, still not impossible. The Hindu sacred books and traditions mention such cases, and since the laws of Nature are immutable, what was possible some thousand years ago must be possible now. . . . In Nepaul, we all know, there is a high female Adept. And in Southern India, flourished at a recent date, another great female Initiate named Ouvaiyar. Her mysterious work in Tamil on Occultism is still extant. It is styled Kural, and is said to be very enigmatically written, and consequently inexplicable. In Benares too lives a certain lady, unsuspected and unknown but to the very few. . .<ref>Sven Eek, ''Damodar and the Pioneers of the Theosophical Movement'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1965), 320.</ref></blockquote>

Mme. Blavatsky added an interesting perspective about the possibilities of high women adepts. In talking about the divine virgin figures such as the [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] [[Sophia]] she wrote:

<blockquote>[[Śakti]] being a female principle, it is fully manifested through a woman, although, properly speaking, the inner man is neither male, nor female. It is only the preponderance of either of the two principles (positive and negative) which determines the sex. Now, this preponderance is determined by the Law of Affinity; and hence in a woman is manifested abnormally the occult power represented by Śakti. She is moreover gifted with a wonderfully vivid imagination—stronger than man’s. And as the phenomenal is the realization or rather the manifestation of the IDEAL, which can be properly and strongly conceived only by a powerful IMAGINATION—a WOMAN-ADEPT can produce high occultists—a race of “Buddhas and Christs,” born “without sin.” The more and the sooner the animal sexual affinities are given up, the stronger and the sooner will be the manifestation of the higher occult powers which alone can produce the “immaculate conception.” And this art is practically taught to the occultists at a very high stage of initiation.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 262.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Brotherhood of Adepts]]
*[[Mahātma]]
*[[Masters of Wisdom]]
*[[Portraits of the Masters]]

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Adept# "Adept"] at Theosopedia
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/wqj/TheosophicalAdepts.pdf# ''Theosophical Adepts (12)'' (a collection of articles)] by William Q. Judge

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abdill/The%20Adepts:%20Our%20Brothers.mp3# "The Adepts: Our Brothers"] by Ed Abdill

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

At the Feet of the Master (book)

2014-11-26T00:27:02Z

Jade Maestas: grammar

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''At the Feet of the Master'' (book)}}

==Online resources==
===Books===
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/otherdocuments/AtTheFeetOfTheMaster_AlcyoneJKrishnamurti.pdf# ''At the Feet of the Master''] by Alcyone (Jiddu Krishnamurti)
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/books/ThoughtsOnAtTheFeetOfTheMaster_GSArundale.pdf# ''Thoughts on "At the Feet of the Master"''] by George S. Arundale
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/At_The_Feet_Of_The_Master-Commentary-AB_CWL.html# ''Talks on the Path of Occultism: A commentary on "At the Feet of the Master"''] by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater

===Audio===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/krishnamurti/At%20the%20Feet%20of%20the%20Master.mp3# ''At the Feet of the Master''] by Alcyone (Jiddu Krishnamurti)

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/programs/online-programs/living-theosophy-series/2246-at-the-feet-of-the-master-series# ''Living Theosophy Series: "At the Feet of the Master"'' (4 Talks)] by David Bruce, Tim Boyd, Pablo Sender, and Juliana Cesano.
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=FD5E167D-C9AD-4E6F-9FD4-976195DE8911# ''Guideposts for Living: "At the Feet of the Master"'' (2 Parts)] by John Algeo

[[Category:Books|At the Feet of the Master]]

At the Feet of the Master (book)

2014-11-25T23:59:10Z

Jade Maestas: removed/repaired duplicate and broken links

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''At the Feet of the Master'' (book)}}

==Online resources==
===Books===
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/otherdocuments/AtTheFeetOfTheMaster_AlcyoneJKrishnamurti.pdf# At The Feet of the Master] by Alcyone (J. Krishnamurti)
*[http://www.theosophical.ca/books/ThoughtsOnAtTheFeetOfTheMaster_GSArundale.pdf# Thoughts on "At the Feet of the Master"] by George S. Arundale
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/At_The_Feet_Of_The_Master-Commentary-AB_CWL.html# Talks on the Path of Occultism - At The Feet of the Master] by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater

===Audio===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/krishnamurti/At%20the%20Feet%20of%20the%20Master.mp3# At the Feet of the Master] by Alcyone (Jiddu Krishnamurti)

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=FD5E167D-C9AD-4E6F-9FD4-976195DE8911# Guideposts for Living: At the Feet of the Master (2 Parts)] by John Algeo
*[http://www.theosophical.org/programs/online-programs/living-theosophy-series/2246-at-the-feet-of-the-master-series# At the Feet of the Master (4 Talks)] by David Bruce, Tim Boyd, Pablo Sender, and Juliana Cesano.

[[Category:Books|At the Feet of the Master]]

Adepts

2014-11-10T21:57:26Z

Jade Maestas: /* Online resources */ fixed 3 broken links (blavatsky.net) by replacing them with 1 link (ultindia.org) to a .pdf pamphlet containing the 3 original articles and more

'''Adept''' is a word that comes from the Latin ''adeptus'', meaning "obtained, attained". It is commonly used to describe a highly skilled person; an expert in a particular discipline.

In Theosophical literature this term is employed in connection with the [[Occult Science]] and the [[Esoteric Philosophy]]. The word is used to define a wide variety of degrees of knowledge of [[Occultism]], from relatively advanced students to Masters of the science. The term does not imply high spiritual and moral development, since there is mention to "white" and "black" Adepts, meaning those who use the [[Siddhi|occult powers]] for unselfish and selfish purposes respectively. The high Adepts working for the welfare of humanity are also known as [[Masters of Wisdom]], [[Mahātmas]], [[Arhat]]s, or simply "Brothers".

== General description ==

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] defines the term as follows:

<blockquote>Adept (Lat.). Adeptus, “He who has obtained” In Occultism one who has reached the stage of Initiation, and become a Master in the science of Esoteric philosophy.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 6.</ref></blockquote>

[[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K. H.]] wrote: "The adept is the rare efflorescence of a generation of enquirers".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence No. 2 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 6.</ref> Thus, relatively speaking, there are few Adepts in the world. As Mme. Blavatsky's stated: "Were adeptship easy of attainment many would achieve it, but it is the hardest task in nature".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 165.</ref>

In the Theosophical literature the high Adepts are Initiates of various degrees, of which there are seven.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'', vol. 2 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 614.</ref>

== Adepts and Masters ==

The word "Adept" was used in a general way by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]]. The word [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]], however, seems to be reserved to high adepts, who work in line with the evolutionary movement. This idea is expressed to certain extent by [[Charles Johnston]] in an article published in H. P. Blavatsky's ''Collected Writings'':

<blockquote>Then she told me something about other Masters and adepts she had known -- for she made a difference, as though the adepts were the captains of the occult world, and the Masters were the generals. She had known adepts of many races, from Northern and Southern India, Tibet, Persia, China, Egypt; of various European nations, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, English; of certain races in South America, where she said there was a Lodge of adepts.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 400.</ref></blockquote>

== Women Adepts ==

In May, 1880, [[Henry Steel Olcott|Col. Olcott]] wrote an article in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']] in answer to a claim by [[George Wyld|Dr. George Wyld]], who stated that no woman had become an Adept. The Colonel wrote:

<blockquote>It is equally incorrect to say that no woman has become an adept. Not to mention one example which will immediately recall itself to every Theosophist, I may say that I personally have encountered in India two other initiated women, and know of a number of others in the East.<ref>See [http://www.theosophical.org/component/content/article/65-olcott/1826# "Becoming a Theosophist"] by Henry S. Olcott</ref></blockquote>

In June, 1889, C. S. Stockholm sent a few questions to the editors of the Theosophical Journal ''Lucifer''. One of them was about the existence of Women Adepts:

<blockquote>Has any woman ever attained to Adeptship proper? Will her intellectual and spiritual nature and gifts permit it, even while supposing that her physical nature might endure the hardships therefrom indispensable?</blockquote>

To this, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] answered:

<blockquote>Woman has as good a chance as any man has to reach high Adeptship. Why she does not succeed in this direction in Europe is simply due to her early education and the social prejudice which causes her to be regarded as inferior to man.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 11 (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 301.</ref></blockquote>

[[Subba Row|T. Subba Row]], considered by Mme. Blavatsky to be her equal in occultism, wrote:

<blockquote>There are instances of females becoming the greatest Adepts. Whether an individual is male or female depends upon temperament as much as anything else. . . . There is one woman who still stands in the list of the Mahachohans of one of the greatest Rays--that to which H ... belongs. She is not merely a great Adept of that Ray, but had made many original discoveries. . .
There is a Ray specially adapted to women; it is sometimes called "the body of love". Its Logos is rather a female than a male; it belongs to the magnetic pole of the universe. I do not think there will ever be a female Adept of the First Ray, because it belongs entirely to the positive pole.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1931), 570.</ref></blockquote>

In ''The Theosophist'', October, 1883, "An Inquirer" asked:

<blockquote>Will you kindly let me know whether females can attain to adeptship, and whether female adepts exist at all?</blockquote>

To this, [[Damodar K. Mavalankar]], a [[chela]] of Mahatma [[K. H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>It is difficult to see any good reason why females should not become Adepts. None of us, Chelas, are aware of any physical or other defect which might entirely incapacitate them from undertaking the dreary ordeal. It may be more difficult, more dangerous for them than it is for men, still not impossible. The Hindu sacred books and traditions mention such cases, and since the laws of Nature are immutable, what was possible some thousand years ago must be possible now. . . . In Nepaul, we all know, there is a high female Adept. And in Southern India, flourished at a recent date, another great female Initiate named Ouvaiyar. Her mysterious work in Tamil on Occultism is still extant. It is styled Kural, and is said to be very enigmatically written, and consequently inexplicable. In Benares too lives a certain lady, unsuspected and unknown but to the very few. . .<ref>Sven Eek, ''Damodar and the Pioneers of the Theosophical Movement'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1965), 320.</ref></blockquote>

Mme. Blavatsky added an interesting perspective about the possibilities of high women adepts. In talking about the divine virgin figures such as the [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] [[Sophia]] she wrote:

<blockquote>[[Śakti]] being a female principle, it is fully manifested through a woman, although, properly speaking, the inner man is neither male, nor female. It is only the preponderance of either of the two principles (positive and negative) which determines the sex. Now, this preponderance is determined by the Law of Affinity; and hence in a woman is manifested abnormally the occult power represented by Śakti. She is moreover gifted with a wonderfully vivid imagination—stronger than man’s. And as the phenomenal is the realization or rather the manifestation of the IDEAL, which can be properly and strongly conceived only by a powerful IMAGINATION—a WOMAN-ADEPT can produce high occultists—a race of “Buddhas and Christs,” born “without sin.” The more and the sooner the animal sexual affinities are given up, the stronger and the sooner will be the manifestation of the higher occult powers which alone can produce the “immaculate conception.” And this art is practically taught to the occultists at a very high stage of initiation.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 262.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Brotherhood of Adepts]]
*[[Mahātma]]
*[[Masters of Wisdom]]
*[[Portraits of the Masters]]

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Adept# Adept] at Theosopedia
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/wqj/TheosophicalAdepts.pdf# Theosophical Adepts (12)] by William Q. Judge (a collection of articles)

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abdill/The%20Adepts:%20Our%20Brothers.mp3# The Adepts: Our Brothers] by Ed Abdill

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

November 27

2014-05-13T20:21:31Z

Jade Maestas: /* Events */ edited links in first IATF congress

'''November 27''' is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar Gregorian Calendar]. It is preceded by [[November 26]], and succeeded by [[November 28]]. Following November 27, there are 34 days in the year.

==Events==
* 1963 – The first [[Inter-American Theosophical Federation|Inter-American Congress of the Theosophical Society]] began in Mexico City, Mexico. More than 300 members, including [[Henry A. Smith]], [[Joy Mills]], [[Ann Kerr]], [[Seymour D. Ballard]], and [[Felix Layton| Felix]] and [[Eunice Layton]], from 18 countries explored the theme of "Brotherhood".
*

==Births==
* YEAR – [[NAME]], SOMETHING ABOUT PERSON (d. YEAR) - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==Deaths==
* YEAR – [[NAME]], SOMETHING ABOUT PERSON (b. YEAR) - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==Holidays and observances==
* [[NAME OF HOLIDAY]], SOMETHING ABOUT THE HOLIDAY - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==External links==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_27 This Date in Wikipedia]

==Calendar==
{{months}}



[[Category:Calendar]]

November 27

2014-05-13T20:07:21Z

Jade Maestas: /* Events */ added first IATF congress

'''November 27''' is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar Gregorian Calendar]. It is preceded by [[November 26]], and succeeded by [[November 28]]. Following November 27, there are 34 days in the year.

==Events==
* 1963 – The first [[Inter-American Theosophical Federation|Inter-American Congress of the Theosophical Society]] began in Mexico City, Mexico. More than 300 members, including [[Henry A. Smith]], [[Joy Mills]], [[Ann Kerr]], [[Seymour D. Ballard]], and [[Felix Layton| Felix and Eunice Layton]], from 18 countries explored the theme of "Brotherhood".
*

==Births==
* YEAR – [[NAME]], SOMETHING ABOUT PERSON (d. YEAR) - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==Deaths==
* YEAR – [[NAME]], SOMETHING ABOUT PERSON (b. YEAR) - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==Holidays and observances==
* [[NAME OF HOLIDAY]], SOMETHING ABOUT THE HOLIDAY - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==External links==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_27 This Date in Wikipedia]

==Calendar==
{{months}}



[[Category:Calendar]]

July 11

2014-05-13T19:23:14Z

Jade Maestas: /* Deaths */

'''July 11''' is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar Gregorian Calendar]. It is preceded by [[July 10]], and succeeded by [[July 12]]. Following July 11, there are 173 days in the year.

==Events==
* YEAR – [[EVENT]] - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==Births==
* YEAR – [[NAME]], SOMETHING ABOUT PERSON (d. YEAR) - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==Deaths==
* 1929 – [[Katherine Tingley]], President of the [[Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society]]. (b. 1847)
*

==Holidays and observances==
* [[NAME OF HOLIDAY]], SOMETHING ABOUT THE HOLIDAY - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==External links==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_11 This Date in Wikipedia]

==Calendar==
{{months}}



[[Category:Calendar]]

July 6

2014-05-13T19:22:40Z

Jade Maestas: /* Births */

'''July 6''' is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar Gregorian Calendar]. It is preceded by [[July 5]], and succeeded by [[July 7]]. Following July 6, there are 178 days in the year.

==Events==
* 1907 – [[Annie Besant]] is elected international President of the [[Theosophical Society]]. She was reelected this day in 1914, 1921, and 1928.
*

==Births==
* 1847 – [[Katherine Tingley]], President of the [[Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society]]. (d. 1929)
* 1856 – [[T. Subba Row]], brilliant Advaita Vedantist and lawyer, early member of the [[Theosophical Society]]. (d. 1890)
*

==Deaths==
* 1842 – [[Helena Andreevna Hahn]], mother of [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] and well-known Russian writer, at the age of 28 of galloping consumption (b. 1814).
*

==Holidays and observances==
* [[NAME OF HOLIDAY]], SOMETHING ABOUT THE HOLIDAY - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==External links==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_6 This Date in Wikipedia]

==Calendar==
{{months}}



[[Category:Calendar]]

July 11

2014-05-13T19:20:54Z

Jade Maestas: /* Deaths */

'''July 11''' is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar Gregorian Calendar]. It is preceded by [[July 10]], and succeeded by [[July 12]]. Following July 11, there are 173 days in the year.

==Events==
* YEAR – [[EVENT]] - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==Births==
* YEAR – [[NAME]], SOMETHING ABOUT PERSON (d. YEAR) - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==Deaths==
* 1929 – [[Katherine Tingley]], President of the [[Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society]] (b. 1847)
*

==Holidays and observances==
* [[NAME OF HOLIDAY]], SOMETHING ABOUT THE HOLIDAY - THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE
*

==External links==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_11 This Date in Wikipedia]

==Calendar==
{{months}}



[[Category:Calendar]]