Tag: Religion and Spirituality

Religion Posted on

The Nephilim

“The Sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” – Genesis 6:2 “Some commentators believe that the expression ‘sons of God’ refers to the ‘godly line’ of Seth, and ‘daughters of men’ to women form the line of Cain.” – Commentary on the Living Bible “The Book of Giants was another literary work concerned with Enoch, widely read (after translation into the appropriate languages) in the Roman empire….The ‘giants’ were believed to be the offspring of fallen angels (the Nephilim; also called Watchers) and human women.” – Robert Eisman and Michael Wise, The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered “The Nefilim were upon the Earth in those days and thereafter too. Those sons of the gods who cohabited with the daughters of the Adam, and they bore children into them. They were the Mighty Ones of Eternity, […] Read More

Blavatsky Posted on

“Is It Idle To Argue Further?”

Says Light, in its “Notes by the Way,” edited by “M.A. Oxon.”:     The current number of The Theosophist contains an important manifesto, which establishes and defines the ground finally taken up by that body. Shortly put, it is one of complete antagonism to Spiritualism. The Spiritualist believes that it is possible for spirits of the departed to communicate with this earth. Whatever divergence of opinion there may be among us in respect of other matters, we are agreed on this, the cardinal article of our faith. Our daily experience affirms its truth. The con sentient testimony of the most experienced among us agrees that, whether there be, or whether there be not, other agencies at work, the spirits we know of are human spirits who have once lived on this earth. To this the Theosophist returns the simple answer that we are mistaken. No spirits communicate with earth for […] Read More

Blavatsky Posted on

Chelas And Lay Chelas

As the word Chela has, among others, been introduced by Theosophy into the nomenclature of Western metaphysics, and the circulation of our magazine is constantly widening, it will be as well if some more definite explanation than heretofore is given with respect to the meaning of this term and the rules of Chelaship, for the benefit of our European if not Eastern members. A “Chela” then, is one who has offered himself or herself as a pupil to learn practically the “hidden mysteries of Nature and the 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. A man of profound knowledge, exoteric and esoteric, especially the latter; and one who has brought his carnal nature under subjection of the WILL; who has developed in himself both […] Read More

Blavatsky Posted on

Genius

    Genius! thou gift of Heaven, thou light divine!     Amid what dangers art thou doom’d to shine.     Oft will the body’s weakness check thy force,     Oft damp thy vigour, and impede thy course;     And trembling nerves compel thee to restrain     Thy nobler efforts to contend with pain     Or want, sad guest! . . .         – CRABBE     Among many problems hitherto unsolved in the Mystery of Mind, stands prominent the question of Genius. Whence, and what is genius, its raison d’être, the causes of its excessive rarity? Is it indeed “a gift of Heaven”? And if so, why such gifts to one, and dullness of intellect, or even idiocy, the doom of another? To regard the appearance of men and women of genius as a mere accident, a prize of blind chance, or, as dependent on physical causes alone, is only thinkable […] Read More

Blavatsky Posted on

Dialogues Between The Two Editors

On Astral Bodies, Or Doppelgangers     M.C. Great confusion exists in the minds of people about the various kinds of apparitions, wraiths, ghosts or spirits. Ought we not to explain once for all the meaning of these terms? You say there are various kinds of “doubles” – what are they?     H.P.B. Our occult philosophy teaches us that there are three kinds of “doubles,” to use the word in its widest sense. (I) Man has his “double” or shadow, properly so called, around which the physical body of the fœtus – the future man – is built. The imagination of the mother, or an accident which affects the child, will affect also the astral body. The astral and the physical both exist before the mind is developed into action, and before the Atma awakes. This occurs when the child is seven years old, and with it comes the responsibility attaching to […] Read More

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Is the Desire to ‘Live’ Selfish?

The passage, “to Live, to Live, TO LIVE must be the unswerving resolve,” occurring in the article on the Elixir of Life, published in the March and April Numbers of Vol. III of the Theosophist, is often quoted, by superficial readers unsympathetic with the Theosophical Society, as an argument that the above teaching, of occultism is the most concentrated form of selfishness. In order to determine whether the critics are right or wrong, the meaning of the word “selfishness” must first be ascertained. According to an established authority, selfishness is that “exclusive regard to one’s own interest or happiness; that supreme self-love or self-preference which leads a person to direct his purposes to the advancement of his own interest, power, or happiness, without regarding those of others.” In short, an absolutely selfish individual is one who cares for himself and none else, or, in other words, one who is […] Read More

Blavatsky Posted on

Echoes From India

What Is Hindu Spiritualism? Phenomena in India – beside the undoubted interest they offer in themselves, and apart from their great variety and in most instances utter dissimilarity from those we are accustomed to hear of in Europe and America—possess another feature which makes them worthy of the most serious attention of the investigator of Psychology. Whether Eastern phenomena are to be accounted for by the immediate interference and help of the spirits of the departed, or attributed to some other and hitherto unknown cause, is a question which, for the present, we will leave aside. It can be discussed, with some degree of confidence, only after many instances have been carefully noted and submitted, in all their truthful and unexaggerated details, to an impartial and unprejudiced public. One thing I beg to reaffirm, and this is, that instead of exacting the usual “conditions” of darkness, harmonious circles, and […] Read More

Blavatsky Posted on

Philosophers and Philosophicules

    We shall in vain interpret their words by the notions of our philosophy and the doctrines in our schools. – LOCKE Knowledge of the lowest kind is un-unified knowledge; Science is partially unified knowledge; Philosophy is completely unified knowledge. – HERBERT SPENCER, First Principles. New accusations are brought by captious censors against our Society in general and Theosophy, especially. We will summarize them as we proceed along, and notice the “freshest” denunciation. We are accused of being illogical in the “Constitution and Rules” of the Theosophical Society; and contradictory in the practical application thereof. The accusations are framed in this wise: In the published “Constitution and Rules” great stress is laid upon the absolutely non-sectarian character of the Society. It is constantly insisted upon that it has no creed, no philosophy, no religion, no dogmas, and even no special views of its own to advocate, still less to impose […] Read More

Blavatsky Posted on

Leo Tolstoi and His Unecclesiastical Christianity

Tolstoi is a great poet, a great artist, a great thinker. All through his life, both heart and mind have been occupied by one burning question, coloring more or less with its painful pressure all his works. We feel its overshadowing presence in the “History of my Childhood,” in “War and Peace,” in “Anna Karenina,” till at last it becomes the exclusive preoccupation of his later years, which have produced such works as “My Confession,” “In what does my Faith Consist?,” “What shall we Do?,” “Upon Life,” and the “Kreutzer Sonata.” This same question burns in the hearts of many, especially among Theosophists; it is indeed the question of life itself. “What is the meaning, the purpose of human life? What is the final outcome of the unnatural, distorted and falsified life of our civilisation, such as it is forced upon each of us individually? What shall we do […] Read More