The Dalai Lama and the theory of incarnations Even in early Buddhism, the doctrine of rebirth was developed, genetically dating back to the theories of the Upanishads. This is the theory of karmic rebirth, which boils down to the disintegration of the dharma complex after death and its restoration in a new form in

The Russian traveler and occultist claimed to have learned the secrets of lost civilizations and secret societies. Helena Blavatsky was one of the most enigmatic figures of the 19th century, and her views on the subjects of beings who control the fate of the Earth, forgotten history and the errors of faith in God are controversial to this day.

Many people share the views expressed by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky without even knowing it. This Russian occultist, writer, thinker and founder of the Theosophical movement was one of the most controversial personalities of the second half of the 19th century.

She was born into a wealthy family with esoteric traditions. Since childhood, she had been in contact with secret knowledge and had innate psychic abilities.

After escaping from her much older husband, she traveled the world, trying to penetrate the secrets of disappeared civilizations and secret societies.

She shared her knowledge with anyone who wanted to know, claiming that it came to her from the great masters who controlled the development of mankind. For some, a guru, for others, a charlatan, but, nevertheless, she became an icon and a legend. Who was she really?

Helena Blavatsky: from birth to secret teachings

Describing her biography briefly is like trying to retell “War and Peace” in a few sentences.

She was born in 1831 into an aristocratic family. Her mother, Elena Andreevna Fadeeva, was the daughter of Princess Elena Dolgorukova.

Blavatsky's birthplace was Dnepropetrovsk, which housed the unit of her father, Captain Peter Alekseevich von Hahn, born into a Russified German family. He was not present at the birth of his daughter because he was sent to Poland to suppress the November uprising.

Blavatsky's mother, a famous writer and translator of her time, died of tuberculosis at the age of 28. Elena's guardians were the Fadeevs, who lived in Saratov, where her grandfather was the governor.

As a child, Helena Blavatsky was spoiled and naughty. She also loved to read and make up stories. Just like her mother and grandmother, she received a good education at home.

Her desire to study the secret teachings and philosophies of the East had several sources. One of them was a library with a collection of esoteric books that belonged to her great-grandfather, a high-ranking Mason.

She was encouraged to pursue further spiritual quests, according to Professor Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, author of Blavatsky's biography, by Alexander Golitsyn, a friend of her family and a member of an influential princely family.

The beginning of changes in the life of Helena von Hahn was a bad relationship with Nikifor Blavatsky, 22 years older, the vice-governor of Yerevan in 1849. The young wife ran away and began a journey that would fill the rest of her life.

A description of her voyages would take up too much space, but it is worth emphasizing that their goal was to study the occult at its origins, including the study of ancient texts and Kabbalah. Initially, she was oriented towards Western Europe and the Middle East and always traveled in company (for example, prospective lovers).

As one story goes, in Egypt she met a Coptic man who told her about the books that were kept in Tibet and advised her on how to expand her knowledge and skills. Even more important was a meeting in London, where she met a Hindu Mahatma (spiritual teacher) named Morya. He said that Blavatsky has an extremely important mission to fulfill.

Moriah, she later wrote, was the man she saw in her dreams as a child. He lived in a monastery near Tashilhunpo Shigatse (Tibet), where he had a school for adepts together with another master Kut Hoomi. Both were West Indians and had traveled to Europe.

These were, however, not ordinary monks, but "more knowledgeable individuals" - representatives of the upper class of people known as the "Great White Brotherhood" who control the development of mankind.

Helena Blavatsky was chosen by these masters of ancient knowledge to impart certain transcendental truths to the people of the West.

After several trips, in particular to India and the USA, in 1868 Helena Blavatsky ended up in Tibet for two years and, most likely, was there secretly, since the country was practically inaccessible to white “aliens”.

Gary Lanchman, another Blavatsky biographer, says this achievement makes her one of the greatest travelers of the 19th century. Although he is not ready to give a 100% guarantee that she actually visited the Himalayas. But perhaps she got there disguised as a merchant or pilgrim. It is worth noting that this is not the first such incident in her life. Blavatsky claimed that she had previously fought as a man dressed as Garibaldi's soldier.

What happened in Tibet is a legend that could have been created by Blavatsky herself. In addition to studying Buddhism, which became the core of her philosophy, there she learned about ancient secrets and trained psychic abilities in practice under the guidance of the monks mentioned above.

This included a "course" in telepathy, clairvoyance and even the materialization of objects. In later life, Elena demonstrated these capabilities, but opinions regarding them always differed.

In the Himalayas, Blavatsky also learned the Senzar language, which - as she wrote - is “unknown to philology” and is the speech of all “high adepts”. She did not specify what language she was talking about, although there are suspicions that it could be Sanskrit. She needed it for research on Dzyan, the contents of which were strictly protected. It consisted of rhyming stanzas, and its origin has been rejected by science.

Helena Blavatsky published comments on the book in her opus “The Secret Doctrine” (published in 1888 under the title “The Secret Science”). In turn, “Isis Revealed,” published a year earlier, presented Elena’s views on many controversial issues: from the nature of consciousness, thinking and reality (which she considered an illusion) to a description of secret societies and intelligent races that previously inhabited the planet.

Forgotten Civilizations and the Evil God

Blavatsky's views, like her life, are difficult to convey concisely (the two books mentioned together have about 2000 pages).

The axis of her concept was the belief in the existence of universal principles that formed the basis of the world's religions. They compete with each other, that's why they are bad, but they all come from the same "trunk".

Ultimately, all the great will fall, and there will be a return to the original truth. The closest thing to it is Hermeticism - an ancient religion based on the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus and which provided a theoretical basis for the philosophy of magicians and occultists.

Helena Blavatsky speaks of the brotherhood of all people, regardless of skin color, race or religion. This postulate is justified by the statement that we all carry within us the “core of divinity” and we are all connected to each other.

It is worth noting that one of the characteristic elements of Elena’s beliefs was the “Akashic Chronicles” - a non-physical collection of all information in the cosmos, access to which can only be obtained by a highly spiritual person.

In her system, everything in the Universe develops cyclically, as the Book of Dzyan teaches. If something was a stone, then in some next cycle it will become a person. The purpose of incarnations is to improve oneself. Over time, the soul begins to understand the principles that govern the Universe and becomes a being like the angels who live in a completely different dimension.

According to Blavatsky, there are seven levels of existence: from the lowest physical to the abstract Atma. Interestingly, she recognized that after achieving a certain level of self-awareness, a person can unlock the memory of past lives.

As for the personal Christian God, Blavatsky directly stated that such a thing does not exist, calling this concept “a collection of contradictions and impossibilities.”

She once even caused a significant scandal by exposing herself to the wrath of believers by saying that God was angry because he created man “impulsively,” as a being completely and blindly subject to him. And only Lucifer opened the eyes of people, so honor must be given to him. The reaction to these words was expected, and Blavatsky had to get used to all sorts of insults directed at her.

The Forgotten History of Humanity

The most original group of her views was associated with the “forgotten history” of humanity. “The discoveries of modern science do not contradict the oldest traditions, which indicate that our race is extremely mature,” she said, adding that before man on Earth there were many other intelligent species, often more advanced.

These were the so-called indigenous races, of which we are the fifth. There should be a total of seven, each with seven subclasses. The sixth should appear in the 28th century. It is interesting that on Earth - according to Blavatsky - it is still possible to find living “representatives” of older races.

According to what she learned from strictly kept records, the most ancient inhabitants of the planet were ethereal beings, reproducing by fission.

In the next eon after their disappearance, the Hyperboreans appeared - a yellow-skinned race living in the tropics, which were located where the Arctic and circumpolar regions are now located.

When they became extinct, the Lemurians appeared, inhabiting a now-defunct continent in the Indian Ocean, which disintegrated millions of years ago as a result of volcanic activity (their descendants are the Bigfoot).

The next race appeared 4.5 million years ago in Africa. These were dark-skinned people who later colonized Atlantis, developing advanced technologies. Some representatives of this race had psychic abilities. There were also .

When their civilization collapsed as a result of the war, these people moved to the territory of modern America, and their descendants are the Incas, Indians and peoples of the Mongoloid race. Refugees from Atlantis founded several ancient civilizations, including Egypt.

Indians

According to Blavatsky, the predecessor of the fifth root race was a man whom the Hindus call Manu. Over the millennia, different subgroups developed within its context, from Indians to Germans and Slavs.

According to Elena, a new group of people will appear in the near future and evolve in the United States.

Interestingly, in The Secret Doctrine she also writes about the “teacher of the fifth humanity.” She mentioned "the snakes that came down again and made peace with the fifths and were instructed." The memory of this is preserved in myths and legends.

Theosophical Society and death

After returning from Tibet with a baggage of esoteric knowledge, Blavatsky had to find a way to convey it to society. She was then a little-known person and, as Goodrick-Clark mentions, her big “debut” came around 1873, when she became close to the American spiritualists - supporters of contacts with other worlds through spiritualistic seances.

Elena’s main companion was lawyer and journalist Henry S. Alcott, with whom in 1875 they came up with a name for the direction of “spiritual knowledge” they promoted. It was theosophy (Greek: “divine knowledge”).

The fellowship founded by Blavatsky began to unite followers of the occult and parapsychology, including celebrities (for example, Thomas Edison and Jack London).

The traveler's character makes itself felt and soon Blavatsky went to India with Alscott, despite having previously received American citizenship. In 1882, the partnership acquired property in Adyar, where its headquarters were located, although the colonial authorities constantly monitored the occultists as a “suspicious element.”

Elena gradually lost her health and soon she was recommended to change the climate to a milder one. Meanwhile, the Theosophical movement and the work of its creator became more popular, although she herself was often criticized and condemned.

Blavatsky died suddenly in London in 1891 as a result of complications from influenza. Earlier in the city, she began publishing the scandalous magazine “Lucifer”.

There were many other scandals, schisms, accusations and supernatural phenomena in Blavatsky's life. The colorful nature is perhaps reflected in the eclectic nature of her views, in which hermetic, Hindu and Buddhist roots can be found, as well as inspiration from ancient philosophy, mythology and Kabbalah.

All this was put in the original order, but there was nothing new here. In addition, the French thinker and expert in esoteric traditions Rene Guenon said that it is difficult to find “something innovative” in her teachings. This is simply a synthesis of knowledge from many sources, which is not the effect of mystical illumination.

Today remains a somewhat forgotten figure, and her books, although readable, are already a little outdated. But several things, however, remained after it, and these are: the popularity of the idea of ​​reincarnation and cyclicity among Europeans, the renewal of the legend of Atlantis, the creation of the myth of Lemuria, as well as convincing people of the existence of a “forgotten history” and the need for scientific research into phenomena related to human consciousness. Theosophy, however, had a different fate.

It seems that her message was only partially understood and accepted by the generation living in the 21st century. The most important ideas of brotherhood, self-improvement, selfless service have not found recognition to such an extent as to become a tangible element of social life.

Blavatsky, it seems, foresaw this, emphasizing that the “eternal wisdom” to which Theosophy refers was able to survive all the cataclysms, which means that our civilization, focused on consumption, ego affirmation and materialism, is not completely lost. And we can only hope that it was a prophetic voice.

In the limited space of our article, we aim to show how Theosophy, or Divine Knowledge-Wisdom, the first manifestations of which are lost in prehistoric times, is the rational cause or metaphysical substance of every civilization, the sacralizing cover of civilization, unless humanity itself throws off the protective covers from civilization and does not remain unarmed before the onslaught of chaos caused by him.

The Renaissance of the Theosophical Tradition in the last third of the 19th century, brought to life by its initiated bearer, the Adept of the Hidden Wisdom, Mrs. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, was due to the following reasons. European civilization, having firmly stood on the rails of scientific and technological progress back in the 16th century, was approaching its civilizational rift or, in the words of O. Spengler, its decline. Hypertrophied enthusiasm for the mechanistic side of life, great learning with little knowledge, gave rise to tendencies of destruction of both man himself as a psychosomatic whole, and devastation, depletion of the environment, replaced the reality of the spiritual evolution of the individual, which was always cultivated in the East, by the involution of the spirit and the capitalization-materialization of all sides of life. Thus, the vulgar materialism of science, atheism and spiritualism bring to life the promulgation of a new aspect of the One Eternal Truth at a specific stage of historical existence and consciousness and in the form in which the most mentally active part of humanity is ready to perceive it. An unhealthy thirst for domination over both the natural world and the world of its hidden forces gives rise to the need to reconstruct a “bridge”, as a new wave of Theosophy, between the secular and scientistically oriented Euro-American civilization and Metaphysical reality (the self-existent world of Ideas, according to Plato) , the connection with which is still preserved in the spiritual traditions of the East.

What side of its face did Theosophy reveal to the world at the end of the 19th century and what specific historical goals did it pursue?

It was time for the West, mired in a mechanical worldview, on the one hand, and in religious prejudices, on the other, to be reminded that, ultimately, it is not the arbitrariness of a separate, self-enclosed and lost self-identity personality that creates the course of earthly history, but the Intelligent Forces of the Cosmos that determine the vector of human evolution as a fragment of the evolution of the Cosmos. The narrow religious dogmas of warring orthodox faiths also do not lead to the understanding that “there is no religion higher than Truth.” In this regard, Elena Petrovna Blavatsky reveals in her first fundamental work “Isis Unveiled” (1874) the main provisions of the Esoteric philosophy of the East, summarizing them in 10 points at the end of the second volume of this work. Blavatsky reduced her role only to their recording and transmission. This is what she says about this in the preface to her main work, The Secret Doctrine, which was published in 1888:

“These truths are in no way presented as revelation, nor does the author claim to be the exposer of mystical knowledge being made public for the first time in the history of the world. For what is contained in this work may be found scattered among thousands of volumes containing the Scriptures of the great Asiatic and early European religions, hidden in glyphs and symbols and, by virtue of this veil, hitherto neglected. Now an attempt is being made to bring together the most ancient foundations and make of them one harmonious and inseparable whole.”

So, E.P. Blavatsky is trying to systematically expound the fundamental principles of esoteric philosophy, proclaimed in her work - “Isis Unveiled”. It must be said that the striking contrast between this first attempt at a concise presentation and the later formulations of the Secret Doctrine eloquently testifies to Blavatsky’s own growth both as a teacher and as a student.

Let us dwell on the main provisions of theosophical teaching. E.P. herself Blavatsky recommended starting reading the encyclopedic work "The Secret Doctrine" - a synthesis of science, religion and philosophy - in the following sequence: three fundamental provisions, four main ideas, six numbered points, five proven facts, and, finally, ten points summarizing the essence of the "Unveiled" Isis." But in addition to all the enumerations, ideas and principles (and before them), in the opinion of E.P. Blavatsky, there exists as a necessary condition the affirmation of the One - the nameless Reality from which everything arose and in which everything exists. A true understanding of Theosophy is impossible without constant reference to this idea of ​​the fundamental and ultimate Unity.

Esoteric philosophy claims that behind the external diversity of the empirical world lies a single Reality, the source and cause of everything that was, is and will be. The great interpreter of the Vedic tradition, Sri Shankaracharya, illustrates this statement with the example of clay, which, no matter what form it is given, remains the only reality of objects, while its forms and names are nothing more than a deceptive, transitory appearance. Likewise, all things arising from the One Supreme are, in their essential nature, nothing other than this Supreme itself. All the infinite phenomena of the manifested Universe, everything in it - from the highest to the lowest, from the largest to the smallest - is the One, clothed in names and forms.

The doctrine of the fundamental Unity of all things is the hallmark of the Theosophical system. Thus, none of the doctrines based on the recognition of the original duality, whether they are talking about the separation of spirit and matter, about the different natures of God and man, or about good and evil as eternal realities, can have any relation to Theosophy.

“The fundamental unity of the ultimate nature of every part composing Nature - from the stars to the mineral atom, from the highest Dhyan-Khogan to the smallest ciliate, in the full acceptance of this term, and whether it be applied to the spiritual, or mental or physical world - this is unity there is a single, fundamental law of Occult Science."

In conversations with her students in London, Blavatsky repeatedly repeated that the study of the Secret Doctrine cannot provide a complete and complete picture of the world. It was written, Blavatsky said, to LEAD TO THE TRUTH. To help the student in the process of growing his understanding, Elena Petrovna indicated four main ideas that should never be lost sight of.

“No matter what you study in The Secret Doctrine, the following ideas should underlie all ideas and concepts that arise:

A) Fundamental Unity of all things. This unity has nothing to do with the usual concept of unity that we have in mind when we say that a nation or an army is one, or that two planets are united by lines of magnetic attraction. This is not the Theosophical teaching. It says that unity is ONE WHOLE, and not a collection of heterogeneous things, even interconnected ones. The basis of everything is the One Being. This Being is nothing other than the Absolute in its first manifestation. And if it is absolute, then nothing exists outside of it. This is All-being. Thus, it is obvious that this basic ONE EXISTENCE, or Absolute Being, must be present as Reality in any of the existing forms.

Atom, Man and God, all together and each individually, are ultimately nothing other than this Absolute Being, which is their TRUE INDIVIDUALITY. It is this idea that must constantly serve as the basis of any idea that arises in the process of studying the Secret Doctrine. As soon as you forget about it (and it’s easy to do this, getting lost in the labyrinth of Esoteric Philosophy), the idea of ​​SEPARATION immediately arises, and the study loses all meaning.

B) The second idea that you need to remember all the time: DEAD MATTER DOES NOT EXIST. Even the smallest atom is endowed with life. It cannot be otherwise: after all, every atom at its core is Absolute Being.

C) The third main idea is that Man is a Microcosm. And if so, then all the main Hierarchies are contained in it. In reality, there is neither Macrocosm nor Microcosm, but only the One Existing. Great and small exist only in limited consciousness.

D) The fourth and final basic idea to remember is expressed in the Great Hermetic Axiom. It truly represents the sum and synthesis of all other ideas.

Both within and without; both in great and in small: as above, so below; there is only ONE LIFE AND ONE LAW; and he who realizes it is the One. There is neither external nor internal; there is neither big nor small; there is neither high nor low in the Divine Order.

Regardless of what you study in The Secret Doctrine, everything you read should be perceived in the light of these basic ideas."

The basis of the theosophical tradition, as H. P. Blavatsky emphasizes, are three fundamental provisions set out in the “Prologue” to the “Secret Doctrine”.

The Secret Doctrine is essentially a commentary on selected stanzas from the Book of Dzyan, which in Tibetan means Wisdom, divine knowledge. In accordance with the accepted spelling, the title of Blavatsky's book is given in quotation marks, and her references to ancient esoteric philosophy are capitalized: The Secret Doctrine.

“So, the Secret Doctrine establishes three fundamental, basic provisions:

1. The Omnipresent, Eternal, Boundless and Immutable PRINCIPLE, about which no reasoning is possible, for it exceeds the power of human understanding and can only be belittled by human expressions and similes. He is beyond the level and attainment of thought and, according to the words of Mundukya, “Unthinkable and Unspeakable.”

It is Beingness rather than Being - Sat in Sanskrit - and transcends thinking and reasoning.

This Being is symbolized in the Secret Doctrine under two aspects. On the one hand - Absolute, Abstract Space, representing pure subjectivity, the only thing that no human mind can either remove from its worldview or imagine it as in itself; on the other hand – Absolute, Abstract movement, representing Unconditional Consciousness. This last aspect of the One Reality is also symbolized by the term Great Breath. Thus, the first fundamental axiom of the Secret Doctrine is this metaphysical One Absolute BEING, symbolized by the finite mind as the theological Trinity.

Parabrahman, the One Reality, the Absolute, is the realm of Absolute Consciousness, that is, that Essence that is beyond any relation to conditional existence; the conventional symbol of which is conscious existence. But as soon as we mentally move away from this (for us) absolute Negation, we get duality in the opposition of Spirit (or Consciousness) and Matter, Subject and Object.

Spirit (or Consciousness) and Matter, however, must be considered not as independent realities, but as two symbols or aspects of the Absolute, Parabrahman, which forms the basis of conditioned Being, subjective or objective.

Considering this metaphysical triad as the Root from which all manifestation proceeds, the Great Breath assumes the character of a Pre-Cosmic Thought-ground. It is the fons et origo of the Force, as well as of all individual Consciousness, and supplies the guiding intelligence in the vast task of Cosmic Evolution. On the other hand, the Pre-Cosmic Root-Substance (Mulaprakriti) is that aspect of the Absolute which underlies all objective planes of Nature.

Just as the Pre-Cosmic Thought-Ground is the root of each individual Consciousness, so the Pre-Cosmic Substance is the substratum of Matter in the various stages of its differentiation.

Therefore, the Manifested Universe is full of duality, which is, as it were, the very essence of its Manifested Existence. But precisely, just as the opposite poles of subject and object, Spirit and Matter, are only aspects of the Unity in which they are synthesized, so in the Manifested Universe there is “that” that connects Spirit with Matter, subject and object.

This something, still unknown to the speculation of the West, is called Fohat by the occultists. This is the “bridge” through which the Ideas existing in the Divine Thought are imprinted on the Cosmic Substance as the Laws of Nature. Fohat is thus the dynamic energy of the Cosmic Thought Ground. Considering him from the other side, he is a rational mediator, the guiding force of all manifestations, the Divine Thought, transmitted and manifested by the Dhyan-Khohans, the Builders of the visible World. So from the Spirit or Cosmic Substance are those several vehicles in which this consciousness is individualized and develops into self-consciousness - or reflective - consciousness. Yet Fohat, in its various manifestations, is the mysterious link between Mind and Matter, the life-giving principle electrifying every atom to life.

The Secret Doctrine further states:
2. The Eternity of the Universe as a whole, as a boundless plan (projection) periodically - “a list of countless Worlds, constantly appearing and disappearing”, called “Manifesting Stars” and “Sparks of Eternity”.

This second statement of the Secret Doctrine refers to the absolute universality of this law of periodicity, ebb and flow, increase and decrease, seen and established by physical science in all departments of Nature.

In addition, the Secret Doctrine teaches:
3. The basic identity of all souls with the Universal Supreme Soul, the latter Itself being an aspect of the Unknown Root; and the obligatory journey for each soul - a spark of the Supreme soul - through the Cycle of Incarnations, or Necessities, according to the Law of Cycles and Karma, throughout the entire period. The Basic Doctrine of Esoteric Philosophy admits neither advantages nor special gifts in man, except those won by the Ego itself through personal efforts and achievements during a long series of metempsychosis and incarnations.

These are the fundamental concepts on which the Secret Doctrine rests." We present these basic concepts in abbreviation.

After three fundamental provisions of E.P. Blavatsky recommended starting to study the six numbered points placed in the “Result” section at the end of the 1st part (“Cosmic Evolution”) of the first volume, trying to summarize the provisions of the Secret Doctrine set out in the 1st part. However, here too she repeatedly turns to the basic law of the entire system - the Unity of all things.

1) “The Secret Doctrine is the accumulated Wisdom of the Ages. It is useless to say that the system here considered is not the invention of one or a few individuals, but is the uninterrupted record of many thousands of generations of clairvoyants, whose respective experiments were to explore and test the traditions transmitted orally from one early Race to another, the traditions of the teachings given by the highest and the highest Beings who guarded the infancy of humanity, also that for many centuries the “Wise People” of the fifth Race - the Sages who were among those saved from the last Cataclysm and the change of continents - spent their lives not teaching, but learning. How did they do this? Answer: by comparing, exploring and testing the traditions of antiquity in all departments of Nature through direct visions, insights of the great Adepts, i.e. people who have developed and improved their physical, mental, psychic and spiritual organisms to the extreme limits. No vision of just one Adept was accepted until it had been tested and confirmed by the visions of other Adepts - received so as to be independent evidence - and by centuries of experience.

2) The fundamental law in this system, the central point from which everything arises, around which and to which everything gravitates and on which its entire philosophy hangs, is the One, Homogeneous, Divine SUBSTANCE - PRINCIPLE, the One Initial Cause.

This is the Omnipresent Reality, impersonal, for it contains everything and everyone. Its impersonality is the main idea of ​​the System. It is latent in every atom of the Universe and is this Universe itself.

3) The Universe is a periodic manifestation of this unknown Absolute Entity. It is best described as neither Spirit nor Matter, but both at the same time.

4) The Universe with everything in it is called Maya, because everything in it is temporary, from the fleeting life of a firefly to the life of the Sun. Compared with the immutability of the ONE and with the immutability of this Principle, the Universe with its fleeting, ever-changing forms must inevitably appear to the mind of the philosopher as nothing more than a will-o'-the-wisp. However, the universe is real enough for the conscious beings that inhabit it, who are as unreal as itself.

5) Everything in this Universe, in all its kingdoms, has consciousness; that is, endowed with the consciousness inherent in his species and on his plane of knowledge. There is no such thing as "dead" or "blind" matter, for there is no blind or unconscious Law. Such concepts have no place in the ideas of Occult Philosophy. The latter never stops at superficial evidence, and for her noumenal natures are more real than their objective counterparts; in this it is similar to the system of medieval nominalists, for whom universals were realities, and particulars existed only nominally and in the human imagination.

6) The Universe is generated and directed from the inside out. As above, so below, as in Heaven, so on Earth, and man, the Microcosm and a miniature copy of the Macrocosm, is a living witness to this Universal Law and its mode of operation. We see that every outer movement, action or gesture, whether volitional or mechanical, organic or mental, is produced and preceded by an inner feeling or emotion, will or desire, thought or mind. the same is true in the external, or manifested, Universe. The entire Cosmos is directed, controlled and animated by almost endless series of Hierarchies of conscious Beings, each of which has a destined mission and who - whether we give them this or that name, whether we call them Dhyan Chohans or Angels - are "Messengers" only in that sense that they are intermediaries of Karmic and Cosmic Laws. They vary infinitely in their respective degrees of consciousness and intelligence; and to call them pure Spirits, without a single earthly admixture, “which alone becomes the prey of time,” means only to indulge poetic fantasies. For each of these Beings either was a man in the previous Manvantara, or is preparing to become one, if not in the present, then in the future Manvantara. They are perfected men when they are not rudimentary men; and in their higher, less material spheres they differ morally from earthly human beings only in that they are devoid of a sense of self and a human emotional nature - two purely earthly characteristics.

The whole order of Nature testifies to progressive progress towards a higher life. what is called “unconscious Nature” is in reality the totality of forces wielded by semi-intelligent beings (Elementals), guided by High Planetary Spirits (Dhyan Chohans), the totality of which forms the Manifested Verb of the Unmanifested Logos and constitutes at the same time the Mind of the Cosmos and its Immutable Law.” .

The genesis of Theosophy dates back to prehistoric antiquity. Theosophy and Theosophists have existed since time immemorial, when the first glimmer of nascent thought led man to try to formulate his own independent opinion. As history shows, it was revived by Ammonius Saccas, who lived in Alexandria in the 2nd - 3rd centuries AD, the founder of the Neoplatonic school of Philaletes, or “lovers of truth.” The goal and task of Ammonius Saccas was the reconciliation of all sects, people and nations under one faith - in the Supreme Eternal, Unknowable and Inexpressible Power, ruling the Universe with unshakable eternal laws. He set out to substantiate the very foundations of Theosophy, which were initially uniform in all countries; he wanted to persuade humanity to put aside disputes and strife and unite in thoughts and intentions, like children of a common mother; wanted to cleanse the ancient religions of the dross of the subjective element, unifying and explaining them on the basis of purely philosophical principles. That is why, along with all the philosophers of Greece, Buddhism, Vedanta and Zoroastrianism were also studied in the eclectic theosophical school. And the goal was to elevate, awaken the human mind by contemplating and studying the Absolute Truth.

Thus, Theosophy is an ancient Wisdom-Religion, an esoteric doctrine that was once known in all countries that pretend to be civilized. According to E.P. Blavatsky, all the writings of those times depict this “Wisdom” as an emanation of the divine Principle, and a clear understanding of this is reflected in such names as the Indian Buddh, the Babylonian Nebo, the Thoth of Memphis and Hercules of Greece, as well as in the names of the goddesses - Metis, Neith, Athena, Sophia of the Gnostics and, finally, the Vedas themselves, the name of which comes from the word “to know.”

As for the Supreme, Unknowable and Absolute Essence, the One and Omnipresent, which has always been the central idea of ​​Theosophy, then whether we take to consider this concept the teachings of the Pythagorean Greeks, the Chaldean Kabbalah or the philosophy of the Aryans, the result will be the same. The Primary Monad in the Pythagorean system, which dissolves in darkness and which is Darkness itself (for human consciousness), was the basis of all things; this idea, in all its integrity, can be seen in the philosophical systems of Leibniz and Spinoza. The God of Theosophists is not the personal, anthropomorphic God of Christians or Mohammedans, but the Fiery Principle of Life, which permeates everything and everyone, or the Divine Unknowable First Cause, which exists by itself and has no Creator, or Absolute Consciousness, as in the Vedantic concept of Brahma, or the Divine Wisdom, Formless and Non-Existent, like the Kabbalistic Ein Soph. “By reflection, self-knowledge and discipline of thought, the soul can be raised to the vision of eternal truth, goodness and beauty - the vision of God - this is epoptia,” say the Greeks.

The Alexandrian Theosophists were divided into neophytes, initiates and teachers, or hierophants; they borrowed their principles from the ancient mysteries of Orpheus, who, as Herodotus writes, brought them from India. Also, the philosophy of Plato, according to Porphyry from the Neoplatonic school, was taught and illustrated in the Eleusinian mysteries, according to E.P. Blavatsky, is "a finely crafted compendium of the difficult-to-understand systems of old India (Vyasa, Jaimini, Vrihaspati, Sumati and many others)." Consequently, the genesis of Theosophy, as Esoteric philosophy, remains Eastern, or more precisely Indian. There is no older sacred land than ancient Aryavarta in esoteric wisdom and civilization, although, according to H.P. Blavatsky, modern India, which Blavatsky knew very well, has become her pitiful shadow, having noticeably deteriorated in this regard.

Moreover, as already mentioned, THEOSOPHY is a RELIGION OF WISDOM, but not Buddhism. What is the difference between Buddhism, the religion founded by Prince Kapilavastu, and Buddhism (with one, not two “ds”), the “teaching of wisdom”, which is synonymous with Theosophy. Blavatsky answers this question as follows: “The same is the difference between the secret teachings of Christ, which were called “the secrets of the kingdom of heaven,” and the later rituals and dogmatic theology of the church and sects. "Buddha" means enlightened by bodhi, or insight, wisdom. Its roots and branches go back to the esoteric teachings that Gautama transmitted only to his chosen arhats." The similarity between the ethics of Theosophy and the ethics of the religion of the Buddha reaches almost identity. Blavatsky concludes: “But how much more majestic and noble, more scientific and philosophical, this teaching turns out to be, even in its dead letter, in comparison with any other church or religion! And yet, Theosophy is not Buddhism.”

Nor is it a copy of Neoplatonic theosophy. But the revival of the work of the “god-scholar” Ammonius Saccas and his reminder to all nations that they are all children of “one mother.”

Theosophy can be called exact psychology. It develops direct contemplation in a person - what Schelling called “the realization of the identification of object and subject in the individual”; under the influence of the knowledge of esoteric hypony, or hidden meaning, man perceives divine thoughts and things as they really are and, in conclusion, “becomes the receiver of the World Soul.” In addition to this psychological, spiritual factor, Theosophy cultivates all branches of science and art. Alchemy, perceived by many as a spiritual philosophy, as well as a physical science, belongs to the teachings of the Theosophical school. As Mr. Kenneth R.H. writes in the 19th century. Mackenzie, himself a mystic and theosophist, in his wonderful fundamental work, The Royal Masonic Encyclopedia: “Purely speculative, without creating any schools, it still exerts a silent influence on philosophy, and doubtless, when the time comes, these silently advanced ideas may give even a new direction of human thought."

Whose ally is Theosophy? As her priestess answers in the 19th century, to those who, following their own path, seriously seek knowledge of the Divine First Cause, man’s relationship to it and its natural manifestations. She is also an honest ally, unlike many others reputed for exact physical science, until the latter invades the field of psychology and metaphysics.

In addition, continues E.P. Blavatsky, Theosophy is the ally of every decent, honest religion that agrees to be judged in the same way as it judges others. Those books that contain the most self-evident truths are for her Inspiration (but not Revelation). Since each of the books contains a human element, she treats them all with respect, as smaller brothers of the Book of Nature. And the innate abilities of the soul to read and correctly perceive the latter must be constantly developed. Ideal laws can only be realized intuitively; they are not subject to argumentation and dialectic, and no one can understand or correctly perceive them through the explanations of another mind, even if it claims to be a clear revelation. Truth is always subjective; it cannot be objectified through the human brain.

Also, despite the insufficiency of higher spiritual intuition, Theosophy is an ally of honest science, for it creates the idea of ​​a new God and puts us on the path of knowing the causes of everything that we see, thereby freeing human thought and driving out prejudices.

Practical Theosophy is not just a single science, it embraces all the sciences of life, morals and physics. And she studies the mysteries of the Universe not through the ideas of orthodox religion and science, but through the study of the inner man. For God is inside, in the core of man, and through the core there is access to Infinity.

Thus, Theosophy is not a religion, but because of its integrity and universality it can be called WISDOM-RELIGION. Theosophy in its embodiment is spiritual knowledge itself - the very essence of philosophical and theistic questions. “de facto, Theosophy claims to be both RELIGION and SCIENCE, for Theosophy is the essence of both. Theosophy is a divine science and a moral code."

Having introduced the reader in such detail to the main provisions of the theosophical system, let us ask ourselves the question of the applied goals of Theosophy as a socio-cultural phenomenon; for the worldwide Theosophical movement has existed since 1875 (and to this day, with its headquarters at Adyar, Madras, India), since the founding of H.P. Blavatsky and Colonel G.S. Olcott of the Theosophical Society in New York, which was fundamentally different from church organizations, Christian and spiritualist sects, which provide communication with the Higher World for money, through a system of rigid dogmas and superstitions. The Theosophical Society may also be called the “Universal Brotherhood of Men.” If Theosophy is the vast ocean of universal Truth, then the Society is only the repository of all the truths spoken by the great seers, initiates and prophets of historical and prehistoric times, so far as they are accessible to us. Therefore, in the opinion of its Initiated Founder, the Theosophical Society is simply a channel through which, to a greater or lesser degree, flow into the world the truths which are to be found in the totality of what the great teachers of mankind have said.

The objects of the Theosophical Society are as follows:

"1. World Brotherhood;
2. No discrimination between members, regardless of their personal merits;

3. Study of the philosophical teachings of the East - mainly India,

4. consistently present them to the public in various works interpreting exoteric religions in the light of esoteric teaching;

5. To resist materialism and theological dogmatism in any way, through demonstrating the hidden forces of Nature, still unknown to science, as well as the mental and spiritual powers of Man; trying at the same time to expand spiritualistic views, demonstrating that there are other, many other factors at work, producing other phenomena, besides the “spirits” of the dead. We must avoid prejudices and superstitions, first of all identifying them; and hidden forces, beneficial and harmful, have always surrounded us, declaring their presence in various ways, therefore, to the best of our abilities, this also needs to be said,” writes E.P. Blavatsky.

Returning to the goals of the “New Eurasian Project of Russia”, it seems that New Eurasianism, having as its source the teachings of the ancient Aryans, just like Theosophy, should contribute to the formation of the core of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity without differences of race, skin color or religion, which is the primary goal of the Theosophical worldview and movement.

After all, the philosophy of New Eurasianism is an attempt to strategically unite East and West, not a mechanical connection, but a synthesis of the most productive features of their cultures and civilizations. Universal and esoteric (in the sense of “inner” and “hidden”, and not “closed” and “dark”) at the same time the doctrine of Theosophy as a universal tradition of the One Sacred Wisdom, in our opinion, is the immutable basis of such a synthesis, because it is free from restrictions and differences regional religions, exoteric (i.e. external, public) in essence. It is Theosophy, as a synthetic ideological movement, with a pronounced Eastern dominant knowledge-wisdom, based on the Archaic Tradition, that seems to us to be the philosophical basis of New Eurasianism.

Theosophy lives simultaneously both in Space and on Earth, and the future lies behind it. It seems that it is in Religion-Wisdom, and not in confessional dogmatism and orthodoxy, that we must look for the national idea. And that idea will be UNITY. The world is One, there is no other.

The idea of ​​Cosmic evolution is defining for this Tradition of the Hidden Wisdom. Namely, it considers man not as a “crown” - the final result of Creation, but as a link in the ascending chain of Cosmic evolution.

In the conditions of post-industrial civilization, today, obviously, only the Republic of Kazakhstan in the post-Soviet space is fulfilling the mission of the New Eurasian civilization, reviving as a Eurasian power. Read about this in the innovative work of G.A. Yugaya “Holography of the Universe and the new universal philosophy (revival of metaphysics and revolution in philosophy).” - M., 2007. pp.136-137. Also in the landmark work of P.P. Globa, a famous astrologer and candidate of history. Sciences, “The Teaching of the Ancient Aryans” (M., 2007), which opens the veil of time, giving the opportunity to come into contact with the Teaching of the Unified Cosmic Law, the custodians of which were the ancient Aryans (on New Eurasianism, see: part 1 op. cit., “Mission of the Great steppes”, pp. 128-178.).

There is no doubt that the Eurasian Union, initiated by the Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, is one of the most promising forms of new statehood in the post-Soviet space, it is a call from the sacred “middle land” to unite the Eurasian peoples, belonging only to different branches of the same Tree with common, Aryan roots.

NOTES

1. Quoted from: Blavatsky E.P. The Secret Doctrine: In 2 vols. Translation from English E.I. Roerich. - Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, 1991.

2. Blavatskaya E.P. Isis Unveiled: In 2 vols. Translation from English A.P. Haydoka. M., 1992. T.2. Ss. 490-493.

3. Foundations of esoteric philosophy. Per. from English - M., 1996. P.8.

4. Blavatskaya E.P. The Secret Doctrine. T.1, p.170.
5. Foundations of esoteric philosophy. Per. from English - M., 1996. P.9.

6. Ibid., pp. 9-11.
7. The Secret Doctrine, vol. 1, p. 48-53.
8. The Secret Doctrine, vol. 1, pp. 339-345.

9. It should be said that in the works of E.P. Blavatsky: “Isis Unveiled”, “The Key to Theosophy”, “Theosophical Dictionary”, etc. you can glean much more information about Ammonius Saccas than in the academic publications of modern historians of philosophy, such as: History of Philosophy: West - Russia - East. Book 1: Philosophy of antiquity and the Middle Ages / Ed. prof. N.V. Motroshilova. – M., 2000. Or in the New Philosophical Encyclopedia of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2001. Or in Greek philosophy. T.1. Per. from French/Ed. Monica Canto-Sperber. – M.: “GLK” Yu.A. Shichalina, 2006. Or in the book by John M. Rist “Plotinus: the path to reality.” Per. from English Publishing house Oleg Abyshko. – St. Petersburg, 2005.

Where one can even find discrepancies in the date of birth of Plotinus, a student of Ammonius Saccas, who was the same to Plotinus as Socrates was to Plato.

10. Blavatskaya E.P. Key to Theosophy. Per. from English - M., 2004. P. 348.

11. Isis Unveiled, vol. 1, p. 20.
12. Key to Theosophy, p. 19.
13. Ibid., p. 20.
14. Ibid., p. 355.
15. Ibid., p. 380.
16. Ibid., p. 428-429.

But a real philosopher, if he wants to find the truth, no matter where it is hidden, should not be captured by his own likes and dislikes, for in this case he is likened to a person looking at the world through rose-colored or black glasses. And therefore, in my article I want to give a generalized statement of the fundamental concepts and theories that HPB left us without commenting on them.

It is very difficult to isolate individual themes in the voluminous and complex works written by her, but we will try to do so.

God

H.P.B. asserts that there is no personal, personified God. Her position is exclusively pantheistic. And no one has the right, she believes, to claim the role of God’s representative on earth. Moreover, each person, as he opens up to the spiritual, becomes more and more involved in this Divine Essence and therefore feels its Presence. God, called “That,” whose name is ineffable, unknowable by human reason, is a Mystery. Man can only understand what his mind can comprehend, and therefore he has always attributed to God those qualities and attributes that were considered the best in each era and in each particular place. It got to the point that many peoples, having gone to extremes, became convinced that God belongs only to them, that they are the chosen ones, and their enemies are damned - “God”, who is their personal property, destroys their enemies, tramples, drowns or burns .

H.P.B. was opposed to any religious discrimination, because she knew how relative and short-lived any beliefs are. No one has absolute Truth, everyone has only an incomplete, distorted idea of ​​it. H.P.B. rejected any kind of inquisition, be it initiated by Ashoka or Torquemada. She reminded us that our choice of one religion or another is determined by the place of our birth, the era and family traditions. H.P.B. was an opponent of any racism, and especially spiritual racism.

Everything that a person is capable of mystically perceiving is only a rational, definite idea of ​​what we conventionally call “That”. And therefore, in the minds of different peoples of antiquity, similar ideas constantly arose about the existence of “intermediary gods” - countless, usually invisible creatures that control the nature of man and all objects. In this hierarchy, every material form, starting with atoms and ending with galaxies, is “controlled” by some more subtle essence of Nature. In addition, there are Masters of Wisdom through whom Apprenticeship becomes possible.

Cosmogenesis

The cosmos, as the Neoplatonist Marcion said, is Macrobios, a huge living being, constantly renewed, like any mineral, plant, animal or person. In this Cosmos, a person in himself has no special significance; he is only one of many transitory phenomena of the physical world.

The dimensions of the Cosmos are incomprehensible to the human mind, but this does not characterize the Cosmos, but rather us as people. Our ability to understand the Cosmos increases or decreases depending on whether astronomical sciences develop or decline. Ultimately, all we know about the Universe is an image that changes over time. Beyond these ideas, which reflect the characteristics of the culture and mentality of a particular period of human history, there are ancient teachings supposedly transmitted to people by the Gods. H.P.B. uses primarily the Tibetan Book of Dzyan. This teaching describes the visible Cosmos as the only thing that we, at our current stage of development, are able to perceive. The cosmos is an extremely complex organism, the forms of matter and energy of which have no limits. Moreover, in addition to “our” Cosmos, there are others, more or less similar to it, but they are inaccessible to our understanding due to the limitations of our mind.

The entire Cosmos and every part of it are born, live, reproduce and die, like any living creature. The cosmos expands and contracts (Pralaya and Manvantara) in the process of cosmic breathing (Kriya), based on the harmony of opposites.

As the ancient texts say, the reasons and purposes of the existence of the Cosmos “not even the greatest seer of the highest heavens knows.” This is a Sacrament, a Sacrament of Sacraments. The beginning and end of the Cosmos elude the perception of even those whose consciousness is awakened by initiation and adeptship.

Anthropogenesis

Geological disasters, caused in particular by the abuse of Marmash energy (perhaps something similar to modern atomic energy), destroyed Atlantis, but its colonies remained in different parts of the globe. The large island with its capital gradually fell apart until it became Poseidonis; The Egyptians told Plato about it, and he described it in Timaeus. Poseidonis, the last fragment of the continent, sank into the waters of the ocean, which was later called the Atlantic, about 11,500 years ago.

Currently living on Earth are representatives of the Third Race, the race of giants - blacks; representatives of the Fourth Race - red-skinned Americans and yellow-skinned Asians descended from the Atlanteans; and the modern masters of the world are representatives of the Fifth Race, or Aryans, a white race settled in Europe, America and Asia.

Nature laws

Dharma is a universal law that directs everything towards the ultimate goal, towards purpose. This is the path (Sadhana) established by God for everyone. He who tries to avoid the Dharma suffers blows and suffers, but he who acts in accordance with the Dharma does not suffer. Every creature can deviate from its path; in humans, this possibility is due to relative free will. The wheel of reincarnation (Samsara) provides a person with the opportunity to act rightly or wrongly, but any excess of the first or second gives rise to Karma, “Action”, in which cause is inevitably combined with effect. Forgiveness, HPB teaches, is not an act of politeness and nobility, and it has more than just psychological consequences. She does not believe in the remission of sins, but only believes that they can be atone for by merciful deeds.

Since no one is able to either “get rid of” or “pay off” all the accumulated Karma in one incarnation, karmic seeds (skandhas) lead to new incarnations, which follow one after another (with a break in time) until the driving force dries up. the power of Karma. Then Nirvana comes (going beyond the limits of multiplicity), but it is not the true goal, but only a pause on the “Path of Souls”.

All Souls differ in their manifestation in human form, but are the same in essence, regardless of gender or race. Everyone has equal rights - in accordance with their merits, with the level of spiritual development. You can go forward or not along the “Path of Souls” - it depends on the way you think, feel and act. But according to the Dharma program, a certain limit is set for man, and therefore he cannot descend to the level of animals or rise to the level of gods. A human being is always reincarnated only into a human being - of the race and gender that suits him best or is necessary for him to satisfy the thirst for knowledge (Avidya).

As the myth of the dolphin, which was part of the Eleusinian Mysteries, teaches, everything disappears, only to appear again in time. However, in fact, nothing disappears or dies, but only sinks under water and reappears on the surface... cyclically, since in our world everything is cyclical, in the transcendental there is nothing linear, everything meets again in the unity of Fate.

Life after death

As Plato writes, the desire for the dead gives impetus to the sexual desire of those couples who are capable of reproduction. The soul enters the body of the human fetus in the fourth month of uterine development. Gradually, etheric and more subtle elements penetrate a person, causing the life experience of previous incarnations to manifest over the years; The ages of 7, 14 and 21 are especially important.

In the case of natural death, death from old age, human shells also fade away gradually, starting with the physical body, which, by slowing down its vital functions, allows other shells to prepare for departure from this world. H.P.B. does not attach too much importance to this process; on the contrary, he believes that in old age the thirst for the end of the current incarnation intensifies. (Undoubtedly, one can recall many examples that contradict this. But these are consequences of distortions that arise under the pressure of the surrounding world.)

Parapsychological phenomena

We repeat that it is impossible to briefly describe in a magazine article everything achieved by this great philosopher and magician of the 19th century. However, we hope that we have awakened in the reader the interest and desire to study more deeply the topics covered in this article and get to know Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, such an amazing and incomprehensible person.

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