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It did not focus on psychic self defense as the TofC shows:
Quote:
I. Natural Law and Psychic Phenomena 1
II. Magic, Hypnotism and Witchcraft 14
III. Spiritualism and Mediumship . 32
IV. The Power of Thought 48
V. Spiritual Progress 60
VI. Planes of Perception . 91
VII. Soul Dynamics 107
Civilisation has ever developed the physical and the intellectual at the cost of the psychic and spiritual. The command over and the guidance of one's own psychic nature, which foolish men now associate with the super-natural, were with early Humanity innate and congenital, and came to man as naturally as walking and thinking.
[We explain the duty of self-sacrifice] by showing that altruism is an integral part of self-development. But we have to discriminate. A man has no right to starve himself to death that another man may have food, unless the life of that man is obviously more useful to the many than is his own life. But it is his duty to sacrifice his own comfort, and to work for others if they are unable to work for themselves. It is his duty to give all that which is wholly his own and can benefit no one but himself if he selfishly keeps it from others. Theosophy teaches self-abnegation, but does not teach rash and useless self-sacrifice, nor does it justify fanaticism.
The idea of Absolute Unity would be broken entirely in our conception had we not something concrete before our eyes to contain that Unity. And the deity, being absolute, must be omnipresent, hence not an atom but contains IT within itself. The roots, the trunk and its many branches are three distinct objects, yet they are one tree.
A high development of the intellectual faculties does not imply spiritual and true life. The presence in one of a highly developed human, intellectual soul (the fifth principle, or Manas), is quite compatible with the absence of Buddhi, or the spiritual soul. Unless the former evolves from and develops under the beneficent and vivifying rays of the latter, it will remain for ever but a direct progeny of the terrestrial, lower principles, sterile in spiritual perceptions; a magnificent, luxurious sepulchre, full of the dry bones of decaying matter within. Many of our greatest scientists are but animate corpses – they have no spiritual sight because their spirits have left them, or, rather, cannot reach them. So we might go through all ages, examine all occupations, weigh all human attainments, and investigate all forms of society, and we would find these spiritually dead everywhere.
Although Divine Wisdom or Theo-sophia has been the heart of most spiritual paths for aeons, the modern presentation was given by Helena Blavatsky, W.Q Judge, Katherine Tingley and others.
Here is a small work surveying some of the main teachings:
Seems a different jargon then mine, but appears to reflect much of the same methods that direct our spiritual goals.
The series of small manuals (topically arranged) by several authors was published again in 1930s. At this point the TS Point Loma Leader was G. de Purucker:
Long before Blavatsky started the Theosophical Society Mr Pillai met HPB's Master, who taught & inspired Pillai to bypass Christianity and embrace Indian philosophy. Pillai also met his Guru Deva - known as KH among early TS members.
Three great ideas. Among many ideas brought
forward through the Theosophical Movement there
are three which should never be lost sight of. Not
speech, but thought, really rules the world; so, if
these three ideas are good let them be rescued
again and again from oblivion.
The first idea is, that there is a great Cause —
in the sense of an enterprise — called the Cause of
Sublime Perfection and Human Brotherhood. This
rests upon the essential unity of the whole human
family, and is a possibility because sublimity in
perfectness and actual realization of brotherhood
on every plane of being are one and the same thing.
The second idea is, that man is a being who may
be raised up to perfection, to the stature of the
Godhead, because he himself is God incarnate.
This noble doctrine was in the mind of Jesus, when
he said that we must be perfect even as is the
Father in Heaven. This is the idea of human
perfectibility. It will destroy the awful theory of
inherent original sin which has held and ground
down the western Christian nations for centuries.
The third idea is the illustration, the proof, the
high result of the others. It is, that the great
Helpers of Humanity — those who have reached
up to what perfection this period of evolution and
this solar system will allow — are living, veritable
facts, and not abstractions, cold and distant. They
are, as our old H. P. Blavatsky so often said, living
men. These Helpers as living facts and high ideals
will fill the soul with hope, will themselves help
all who wish to raise the human race.
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