The Theosophical Society (TS) was founded in New York, in 1875, by Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (HPB) and associates. HPB (1831 - 1891) was a Russian émigré who had travelled and studied widely in search of the meaning of Life. She always claimed that neither the name of the society nor its doctrines were in any way new, but represented the Ancient Wisdom (Sanskrit, Sanatana Dharma) that lies behind all revealed religions. The motto of the TS is: "There is no Religion Higher than Truth".

 

HPB wrote various books, including most famously "The Secret Doctrine" (SD, 1888), in response to Darwin's "Origin of Species" (1859). She stated famously that "Nature is not (just) a fortuitous concurrence of atoms". The SD describes a source reality that is boundless, eternal, and unknowable. We call this "The Absolute" - it is not a personal deity in the traditional image. The Absolute manifests the Universe and everything in it on seven planes, from Spirit to Matter, while remaining immanent in everything as the Christ Spirit (the TS actually uses this term), and human beings as parts of the Universe are similarly constituted. Thus there is no problem with how spirit and matter can interact - they are part of the one Universal manifestation of the Absolute, just the same "stuff" but on different "levels of vibration" (think of white light being split into different colours by a prism).

 

The Universe is in itself an organic whole, alive, intelligent, and conscious, which evolves under natural law together with everything in it. This evolution is orderly and leads to the emergence of ever higher forms of life, from plant, to animal, human, and

beyond. We each have a responsibility to co-operate with this Universal evolution, to develop our latent powers and use them in ways that help others to further the cosmic plan. In addition each being has a personal nature that seeks expression and fulfilment, and ideally all beings co-operate for mutual fulfilment. This is the rational basis for ethics and spirituality - no rituals, dogmas, or priestly hierarchies are required.

 

The Universe, and everything in it, ourselves included, is evolving on all planes, so not just physically (a la Darwin), but mentally and spiritually, and the goal is eventual return to the Spirit having learnt the lessons of many incarnations. So the TS has no ritual, dogma, hierarchy, etc. - as with the UC, the goal is personal development on all levels, keeping the eventual goal of progress in sight, and learning to help others progress also. I find these ideas entirely compatible with Unitarian concepts.

 

Theosophy is sometimes regarded as an Eastern religion, like Hinduism or Buddhism. However, Theosophy is not a religion at all, but a way of viewing human nature and the world that is compatible with the nondogmatic aspects of any religion; it seeks for what is common to all cultures and religions. Theosophists belong to many different religions: among them, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. The word Theosophy, meaning “divine wisdom,” designates an ancient outlook that recognizes within the many outward forms of religion an inner core shared by all of them.

 

Theosophists try to explore the ways in which great truths are expressed in the various religions of the world and to recognize their inner or hidden meaning. The two major works of HPB, Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine, contain many ideas that can help to elucidate scriptures. For example, the Eastern idea of karma is evident in the Bible. The concept of reincarnation is implicit as an underlying assumption, which helps an understanding of some otherwise perplexing passages. Christ’s life story can be seen as representing the birth, crucifixion, and resurrection of the Christ spirit in all of us as we make the spiritual journey described in Theosophical literature.

 

We human beings are a process within the evolutionary development of the universe. . From a Darwinian standpoint, evolution is the adaptation of living forms to their environment, by which species survive or die out. Theosophy holds in addition that evolution is a threefold process involving the development of physical form, intellect, and greater awareness of spiritual unity.

 

In Theosophy, human beings are held to possess many rather distinct aspects, including the physical body and its energies, the ordinary mind with its abilities to think and feel, and also higher mind aspects that involve creativity, rational comprehension, and the spiritual life. In particular, we are all held to have the "divine spark" or Christ Spirit within us, which is the basis for enlightened humanitarian ethics as well as the Unitarian type of spiritual approach, accepting all paths as valid to the extent that they embody the Truth, and accepting that the Truth is manifest more clearly over time ("progressive revelation").

 

In particular, we are held to be a conjunction of a permanent element, the "higher self" (HS), consisting of divine spark and higher mind, together with the "lower self", "everyday self", or "personality", composed of body, vital energy, and ordinary mind, which is acquired at birth, develops during life, and is dissolved at death, whereupon the HS (eventually) seeks a new personality in reincarnation.

 

The idea is that the HS is initially a sort of blank slate, with only the impulse to grow, develop, and experience on the various planes of existence, but for this it needs a vehicle capable of interacting with the material and astral worlds. So the personality is important, provided it is used for spiritual growth and the right sort of personal fulfilment in the world, as opposed to aggression, hedonism, egotism, etc. Sound familiar? This is the basis for the disapproval of the "seven deadlies" and corresponding terms in the world's great religions - we have to avoid getting caught up in the personality as if it were everything, when it is only a (vital) part of our make-up.

 

I like the image of the NASA Mars Rover, "Curiosity", which has its own power source and inboard computer to make decisions, but also has a (possibly tenuous) link to Earth for overall guidance and occasional course setting. Many of us have had "Houston, we have a problem" moments, when we have sought guidance from "on high" - generally, in TS terms, from our own HS, or possibly other exalted sources - when our daily routines and objectives bring us into serious difficulties.

 

The TS speaks of a "rainbow bridge" (or "Jacob's ladder") linking the personality with the HS. If we build this link - by seeking and following the advice of the HS - in the end we may hope to become enlightened, with both sides of our natures integrated. Jungian psychology has some ideas on these lines, although not articulated so clearly. The TS would agree that dreams and other experiences may often embody insights from our higher nature.

 

The TS requires no allegiance to any beliefs or values other than those expressed in our three "objectives" (below, our mission statement):

 

1: To form the nucleus of a universal family of humanity, regardless of age, sex, creed, caste, colour, nationality, etc.

2: To study comparative science, philosophy, and religion.

3: To investigate the powers latent in Nature and Humanity.

 

Dr Mike Rutter, ( Vice President Manchester City TS) 2017