Contents:
The Theosophical Society
Objects of the TS
Basic Ideas of Theosophy
What Is Theosophy?
What are the Theosophists?
Seal of The Theosophical Society
On Theosophy and Madame Blavatsky
Notes on Madame Blavatsky's Baboon
Definition
A compound Greek word: theos, a "divine being," a "god"; sophia, "wisdom"; hence divine wisdom. Theosophy is the majestic Wisdom-Religion of the archaic ages and is as old as thinking man. It was delivered to the first human protoplasts, the first thinking human beings on Earth, by highly intelligent spiritual entities from superior spheres. This Ancient Doctrine, this Esoteric System, has been passed down from guardians to guardians to guardians through innumerable generations until our own time. Further-more, portions of this original and majestic System have been given out at various periods of time to various races in various parts of the world by those Guardians when humanity stood in need of such extension and elaboration of spiritual and intellectual thought.
Theosophy is not a syncretistic philosophy-religion-science, a system of thought or belief which has been put together piecemeal and consisting of parts or portions taken by some great mind from other various religions or philosophies. This idea is false. On the contrary, theosophy is that single system or systematic formulation of the facts of visible and invisible Nature, which, as expressed through the illuminated human mind, takes the apparently separate forms of science and of philosophy and of religion. We may likewise describe theosophy to be the formulation in human language of the nature, structure, origin, destiny, and operations of the kosmical universe and the multitudes of beings which infill it.
It might be added that theosophy, in the language of H. P. Blavatsky, is "the sub-stratum and basis of all the world-religions and philosophies, taught and practised by a few elect ever since man became a thinking being. In its practical bearing, Theosophy is purely divine ethics; the definitions in dictionaries are pure nonsense, based on religious prejudice and ignorance."
