The Secret Doctrine – Abridged and Annotated by Michael Gomes
By Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891), abridged and annotated by Michael Gomes.
257 Pages | Published in 2009 | Softcover | Tarcher/ Penguin Books | ISBN: 9781585427086.
The Secret Doctrine, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky’s masterwork on the origin and evolution of the universe and humanity itself, is arguably the most famous, and perhaps the most influential, occult book ever written. Published since 1888 only in expensive, two-volume editions of some 1400 pages, it has long eluded the grasp of modern readers- until now.
More Details This single-volume edition, abridged and annotated by historian and Theosophical scholar Michael Gomes, places the ideas of The Secret Doctrine within reach of all who are curious. In particular, Gomes provides a critical sounding of the book’s famous stanzas on the genesis of life and the cosmos – mysterious passages that Blavatsky said originated from a primeval source and which form the heart of The Secret Doctrine. Gomes scrupulously scales down the book’s key writings on symbolism to their essentials, and offers notes and a glossary to illuminate arcane references. His historical and literary introduction casts new light on some of the book’s sources and on the career of its brilliant and elusive author, one of the most intriguing personages of the nineteenth century. At once compact and representative of the work as a whole, this new edition of The Secret Doctrine brings unprecedented accessibility to the key esoteric classic of the modern era.
Old Diary Leaves – Volume I, 1874-78
490 pages | Paperback | T.P.H. Adyar, India, 2002
Olcott tells of his association with his co-founder, Madame H.P. Blavatsky, and their work together for the cause of Theosophy. He writes of their contacts with the Mahatmas, of travels in many lands, and of the growth of The Theosophical Society from its small beginnings in New York in 1875 to an expanding international movement spread through many parts of the world.
To keep intact the true flavour of the early years of the Theosophical Society, Col. Olcott’s words are presented just as he wrote them .
More Details His comments include references to occasional differences of opinion with his close and trusted colleague, H.P. Blavatsky. These very human differences perhaps will cause the reader to react with a smile of relief, knowing that great leaders such as these were also subject to human frailty and to times of disagreement. Old Diary Leaves gives a personal evaluation only, and is not intended to represent an official history of The Theosophical Society. Henry Steel Olcott was born on 2 August 1832 in Orange, New Jersey. In his early life he became distinguished in the field of agriculture, and then later for his services to the US Government during the Civil War. In 1874, when investigating spiritualistic phenomena for some New York newspapers, he met H.P.Blavatsky and together they became the principal founders of The Theosophical Society. He devoted the rest of his life to work for the Society and related causes. He died on 17 February, 1907 at Adyar, Madras ( now Chennai) , India.
Esoteric Christianity – Or the Lesser Mysteries
245 pages | Paperback | Quest Books, 2006
Early Christianity held secrets equal to those of other great religions, says Annie Besant. It’s first followers guarded them As priceless treasures. After an increasingly rigid hierarchy began to bury these truths in the early centuries A.D., they were known only to a few initiates, who communicated them privately, often in obscure language. In Esoteric Christianity, Besant’s aim is to restore the secret truths underlying Christian doctrine. As public interest grows in the Gnostic Gospels and the mystical side of Christianity, Besant’s remarkable book, first published in 1901, is attracting new attention.
The word mystery, Besant says, is to be understood not as a puzzle but as a window to a higher dimension. Jesus’ birth is a metaphor for the rebirth we must all undergo to find the kingdom within. She take the same view in discussing the mythic Christ, the Atonement, the Resurrection and Ascension, the Trinity, Prayer, Forgiveness of Sins, the Sacraments, and Revelation. Richard Smoley’s introduction and brilliant notes make her classic work newly accessible for modern readers.
A Dictionary of Western Alchemy
By Jordan Stratford, with a Foreword by Jeffrey S. Kupperman, Ph.D.
135 Pages | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 9780835608978.
‘ And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places. ‘ – Isa, 45:3 (King James Version).
From Arabic al-kimia (of Egypt) and old Egyptian khem (black, fertile soil), alchemy is the ancient science of elements and interactions in both the natural and spiritual realms. Spanning 2.500 years and informed by Hermetic and Neoplatonist influences, it has been practiced in the classical Greco-Roman world, medieval Europe and the medieval Middle-East and Orient, and in current esoteric circles.
From page 40:
” This is true and remote from all cover of falsehood.
Whatever is below is similar to that which is above. Through this the marvels of the work of one thing are procured and perfected.
Also, as all things are made from one, by the consideration of one, so all things were made from this one, by conjunction.
The father of it is the sun, the mother the moon.
The wind bore it in the womb, the nurse is the earth, the mother of all perfection.
Its power is perfected if it is turned into earth.
Separate the earth from the fire, the subtle and thin from the crude and coarse, prudently, with modesty and wisdom.
This ascents from the earth into the sky and again descends from the sky to the earth, and receives the power and efficacy of things above and of things below.
By this means you will acquire the glory of the whole world, and so you will drive away all shadows and blindness.
For this by its fortitude snatches the palm from all other fortitude and power. For it is able to penetrate and subdue everything subtle and everything crude and hard.
By this means the world was founded
And hence the marvelous conjunctions of it and admirable effects, since this is the way by which these marvels may be brought about.
And because of this they called me Hermes Trismegistus, since I have the three parts of the wisdom and Philosophy of the whole universe.
My speech is finished which I have spoken concerning the Solar Work. “
From: The Emerald Tablet.
More Details This concise dictionary of alchemy provides clear access to one of the major roots of Western esoteric thought. Alchemists have three main pursuits: the transmutation of base metals into gold by means of the Lapis Philosophorum, the Philosopher’s Stone; the concoction of the Elixir of Life, a universal medicine; and the reconciliation between spirit and matter and direct knowledge of the Divine. The Dictionary of Western Alchemy contains the definition and etymology of hundreds of words and symbols, all relating to these three noble pursuits. Subjects include alchemical processes and procedures, the natural elements and apparatus used, major practitioners and philosophers, and concepts and beliefs. Distinguishing this guide from similar ones is the addition of etymology, which connects the language of alchemy to its Latin, Greek, and Arabic sources. Symbolic pictographs accompany half of the over four hundred entries, and a fascinating illustration from the long tradition of alchemical art introduces each letter of the alphabet. Most important is the author Jordan Stratford’s unique perspective as both a modern Gnostic priest and a Freemason. He brings to bear extensive knowledge of the depth psychology of C. G. Jung, who based his key concept of individuation on the premise that what the ancient alchemists truly sought was inner transformation.
Christian Gnosis
368 pages | Paperback | Quest books, 2011
“Because we are still comparatively unevolved, any god that we could fully understand would not be much of a god.”
—Charles W. Leadbeater
In Christian Gnosis, Charles W. Leadbeater reveals the inner teachings of early Christianity while supplying additional insight from a clairvoyant’s perspective.
More Details After he joined the Theosophical Society and became Presiding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church, Leadbeater continued to rise as a prolific author. His writings have influenced modern ideas about the occult more than any other writer, and his ideas have formed the basis for many contemporary spiritual and intellectual movements, which include being an inspiration for Kandinsky and Mondrian. As a former Anglican minister, Leadbeater always sought to reveal the lost nature of the holy sacraments and the Christian mysteries back to the people. He was a remarkable man who achieved both notoriety and fame, he made the most amazing claims for himself: he could, he said, communicate with angels, saints and gods; penetrate the cosmos and the atom with his clairvoyant gaze; and trace the history of the earth by psychic perception. At the heart of this book is a message for open-mindedness and a new attitude toward the idea of sin and human-kind’s purpose during their time on earth. Leadbeater’s approach and writing style has always been considered to be approachable to the common person, and this book is no exception. He begins by discussing the true nature of the God-head and exactly what it means that human beings are made in His image. Throughout the text he touches upon everything from angels, hell, the crucifixion, Our Lady, and the visions of St. John. Prepare yourself for an enlightening revelation. Christianity, as the western world has come to presume, is much deeper than the common public has led themselves to believe.
Commentaries on Living, Series 2
242 blz. | Paperback | Quest Books, 1997
Krishnamurti’s essential message is that to find truth, we must go beyond the limits of ordinary thought. In public talks worldwide, he strove to free listeners from conventional beliefs and psychological mind-sets in order to understand what is.
This second volume of the 3-part series includes discussions of creative happiness, devotion, worship, the fear of death, karma and an experience of bliss.
More Details This 3-volume series records his meetings with individual seekers from all walks of life, during which he comments on the struggles common to those who work to break the boundaries of personality and self-limitation. Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986) was a world-renowned speaker and spiritual leader. He authored over thirty books including The First and Last Freedom, the three part series Commentaries on Living, and the well-known classic, At the Feet of the Master. Quest has also published two books about this famous figure, The Inner Life of Krishnamurti and Krishnamurti:Two Birds on One Tree.
The Inner Life of Krishnamurti: Private Passion and Perennial Wisdom
By Aryel Sanat.
324 Pages | Published in 1999 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 083560781X.
Dutch translation: Het Innerlijke Leven van Krishnamurti | Published in 2005 | Softcover | Uitgeverij der Theosofische Vereniging in Nederland | ISBN: 9789061750857.
The real story of Krishnamurti’s inner life is shown to have critical implications for our understanding of Krishnamurti’s life and ideas and for our views of Theosophy, Buddhism, the teachings of Gurdjieff – indeed, the entirety of contemporary spiritual thought.
More Details Aryel Sanat’s meticulously researched and cogently argued exploration of Krishnamurti’s inner life and experiences explodes a number of popular myths about Krishnamurti, particularly that he denied the existence of the Theosophical Masters and disdained the esoteric side of the spiritual path. Rather, Sanat persuasively demonstrates, Krishnamurti had a rich and intense esoteric life. Moreover, the truths of the Ancient Wisdom, as revealed through the Masters, were a reality to Krishnamurti every day of his life, from his boyhood until his death. Aryel Sanat has lectured on and written about Krishnamurti and related subjects for thirty years. In addition to his work as an editor and translator, he has taught philosophy, logic, and humanities at the University of Miami.
The Wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras – A New Translation and Guide
By R. Ravindra
236 pages, Glossary | Gebonden/Hardcover | Morning Light Press, 2009
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the most authoritative classical text of yoga, is a teaching from the highest spiritual vision, that of a still mind. In this book Ravi Ravindra draws from the wisdom of many traditions as he explores the implications of the teaching in the Yoga Sutras.
More Details With a lucid translation, a luminous commentary and helpful practical suggestions, Ravindra invites the readers to engage with the questions which arise from the text as an aid to self-study and to relate the teaching to their daily lives.
“Ravi Ravindra writes with the authority and clarity of a spiritual master. Whether writing about Christianity, Buddhism or the teaching of Krishnamurti, he brings deep insight. Now he has clearly and admirably presented the Yoga Sutras. It will raise many questions for thoughtful readers. Highly recommended.” –Sri TKV Desikachar, author of The Heart of Yoga
Rebirth of the Occult Tradition – How the Secret Doctrine of H.P. Blavatsky was written
By Boris M. de Zirkoff (1902–1981).
78 Pages | First edition 1977, reprint 1990 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 0835675351.
Dutch translation: Aan de Bron van de Occulte Traditie – Uitgeverij der Theosofische Vereniging in Nederland | ISBN 9061750490.
This publication represents an historical introduction to the Two-Volume 1978 Edition of The Secret Doctrine. The epoch-making work known as The Secret Doctrine is the magnum opus of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891). Its subtitle is: ‘The Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy’.
The First Volume of The Secret Doctrine came off the Press on 20 October 1888. This fact is recorded by Richard Harte, then in London, and about to leave for India. In a set of the original edition (first printing), now in the archives of the present writer, there is, on the half-title page, a note in blue pencil signed by Richard Harte, which says:
” This is the first copy ever issued. I got it from Printer by special Messenger on the morning of the 20 Oct. ’88 as I was leaving the house 17 Lansdowne Road, with Col. Olcott for India (Col. went personally via Naples), The Second Vol. followed me to India. “ – R.H.
The Dream that never Dies – Boris de Zirkoff Speaks Out On Theosophy
By Boris de Zirkoff (1902–1981), compiled and edited by W. Emmett Small.
232 Pages | 1983 | Paperback | Point Loma Publications, California | ISBN: 0913004456.
The fifty selections in this compilation are from the independent Theosophical journal Theosophia, edited by Boris de Zirkoff from its inception in May, 1944, until his death on March 4, 1981, published and edited by Dara Eklund, one of de Zirkoff’s devoted assistants in his later years. It contains farewell words from friends around the world, three photographs of Boris in different periods of his life, and a picture of the Subba Row Medal presented to him on February 23, 1981, by Radha Burnier, President of the Theosophical Society (Adyar) in grateful recognition of his ”untiring efforts, during several decades, to make available to the world the wealth of knowledge contained in H.P.B.’s writings. ”
As the last driving relative of H.P. Blavatsky, Boris de Zirkoff held a unique place in the hearts of all Theosophists, and to them it has always seemed peculiarly appropriate that he should, in the karmis course of events, become the compiler-editor of Blavatsky Collected Writings.
Acknowledge the Wonder – Harmony with the Natural
148 pages | Paperback | Quest Books, 1988
This book points the reader toward a renewed sense of wonder and oneness with nature. With balance and beauty Wosmek delivers profound insights combining science, nature, art, philosophy, conscience, and a loving concern for all that lives.
The Occult Training of the Hindus
By Ernest Egerton Wood (1883 – 1965).
120 Pages | First edition 1931, 2nd edition 1952, 3rd edition 1990 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 817059149X.
As soon as one speaks in the Western world about Occultism in India, the imagination flies to travellers’ stories of marvels that they have seen in this country, of occurences demanding for their explanation faculties of sense, powers of consciousness and facts of nature beyond the common experience of humankind. Regarding these, I could personally relate a number of uncommon experiences, sprinkled among the events of a great many years spent in this land.
From page 120:
” Occultism may be defined as the use of the hidden powers in man to discover the hidden life in the world. It has thus rightfully been said, that it is ātmavidyā, the science of the Self, and that its object is to discover the Divine Mind in Nature and in oneself. Through the faculties and powers of the personality a man comes in contact with phenomena, and learns through them, as a child with toys. But with the powers of the higher Self – its will and love and thought, working in outward things, but unshaken by them, and not confused by personality – a man may penetrate through the veil of appearances, and the hidden reality in him will deal with the hidden reality behind phenomena. This man works through intuition – no longer a child, he deals with realities, not with toys. Such is the occultist, and to such goal is directed the occult training of the Hindus. “
The Self and Its Problems
By Charlotte W. Woods.
182 Pages | The Blavatsky Lecture for 1919 | Photo copy (1992) from the first edition published by The Theosophical Publishing House, London in 1922 | Kessinger Publishing Company, Montana U.S.A. | ISBN: 1564592642.
CONTENTS:
1. The Problem of the Self from Descartes to Kant.
2. The Problem of the Self in Current Philosophy.
3. The Problem of the Self in Theosophic Mysticism.
4. An Examination of the Forgoing Standpoints.
5. Conclusion.
From Chapter 4: ‘An Examination of the Forgoing Standpoints’:
” We have thus arrived at a definition of the self in our philosophy; it is the ground and condition of the manifold of experience, the unity, purpose, and wholeness, which give meaning to bare multiplicity and stability to that which is mobile and changing . . . “
The Seven Rays – Seven Types of Men
By Ernest Wood (1883 – 1965).
190 Pages | Copyright 1925, fourth Quest book printing 1989 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835604810.
Humanity, occultism teaches us, is divided into seven distinct groups called ‘rays’. Generally speaking, your strongest motivations indicate to which of the ‘ray’ groupings you belong. You are influenced by all seven rays, occultism suggests, but one of the seven predominates. Would you like to know which of the seven rays is yours? ‘With such knowledge‘, writes the author, ‘we are in a position to choose what games we will play in this life or ours.’ For instance if your ray is number one, you are inclined to be independent in spirit and strong intuition. Is this your ray?
From the Preface (p. viii):
” If there are seven rays or types, and each one of us belongs, as it were, especially to one of these, and conducts his pathway in life accordingly, will there not be a tendency to narrowness or over-specialization?
This is a question often asked. The answer is:
Not if we understand the situation. All the seven rays are always present in everybody, but one of them in each person is the captain of the team or the president of the board, and the other six rally round, and use their own specific talents to help carry out his purpose. “
Come Unto Me – And Other Writings
By Ernest Egerton Wood (1883 – 1965).
167 Pages | First edition 2000 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 817059426X.
Nearly every page of this book contains ‘gems of truth’ like the below – expressed simply, clearly and with gentle humour:
” I have not yet found the person, who does not teach me what not to do, as well as what to do “ – From Chapter 4: ‘Brotherhood’.
“ The truly great are not the abnormal, the miracle workers, but those whose lives are orderly and harmonious. ” – From Chapter 6: ‘Pleasure, Pain and Happiness’.
” Every finite thing and experience has it infinite pole, so that through a falling leaf or the song of a frog we may march straight into the unlimited and free. ” – From Chapter 10: ‘A Garden by the Water blows’.
” The only way to truth is to pratice truth itself ” – From Chapter 12: ‘The Pathless Land’.
From Chapter 2: ‘ Theosophical Beliefs’ (p. 18 & 19):
” Every human being has his or her own karma. Out of it, he must make beauty, just as the lotus comes out of the mud. Let him use his own thought, his own love, his own will, in those circumstances, which are his karma – no matter what that karma may be – and out of that will come the triumph of life over form. There will be something beautiful there, and in himself will come the intuition of life itself, so that he suddenly knows that he is life, and life is joy and freedom. Let him not make a mistake as though the lotus seed were to say: ‘I do not like this mud; I want golden sands in which to grow’, nor the materialistic mistake of thinking that the triumph of his life over forms means that he should do what are called ‘big’ things, or great things. Quality is the sign of the spirit, not quantity. “
The Yoga of Time Travel – How the Mind Can Defeat Time
258 pages | Paperback | Quest Books, 2004
Winner of ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award for Mind/Body/Spirit
Buddha said he could move backward through time, observes theoretical physicist Fred Alan Wolf. Time travel is not just science fiction; it may actually be possible. Wolf draws on yoga and quantum physics to show that time is a flexible projection of mind. Cheating time, he says, is an ancient metaphysical idea from the Vedas having to do with moving through meditation to a place where time stands still.
More Details In reader-friendly language, Wolf explores how time and thought are bound together and how a change in ego structure could allow freedom from time’s limitations. And he elaborates on benefits: Time travel, he asserts, could clarify our purpose; change our sense of self, the future, and death; and provide a hero’s journey that might aid the entire community. Fascinatingly, Wolf thinks that, under certain circumstances, we might not only visit but even alter the past, with a ripple effect on the present.
“Fred Alan Wolf is one of the most eloquent and clear scientists who explains the relationship between the laws of nature and consciousness. His book, THE YOGA OF TIME TRAVEL, will help you break the illusion of linear time and experience a domain that is eternal, timeless, and acausal. This experience helps conquer all fear including the fear of death and gives you a glimpse into the immortal nature of your soul.” — Deepak Chopra, author, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind and The Book of Secrets I enjoyed reading this book, and you will, too. Simply put, it is one of the most imaginative books I have read about the nature of time. It makes us wonder if time travel is possible, not only through the use of technology, but through yoga, which anyone can practice. —Amit Goswami, author of The Self-Aware Universe, The Visionary Window, and Physics of the SoulDe Zwarte Maan – Lilith, Isis en Goudroes
Door Bastiaan van Wingerden.
479 Pages | Eerste druk juni 2004 | Hardcover | Uitgeverij Lillalith, Amsterdam | ISBN: 9789080715516.
Spirituele Astrologie Boek 2.
Dit astrologische boek gaat over Lilith, de zwarte Maan, in de huizen en de aspecten erop. Het gaat over je aangeboren innerlijk weten, je higher self, je contact met gene zijde. In dit boek wordt het proces beschreven hoe je het kwijt raakt en hoe je het weer terug kan vinden. De zwarte Maan is een gouden intuïtie. De zwarte Maan wordt zwart genoemd, omdat je het niet kan zien. Het manifesteert zich niet in de stof. De zwarte Maan is een spiritueel kanaal. Het is een heel belangrijke factor in je leven. Het is je oerbewustzijn dat is, was en altijd zal zijn. Het is je kernkwaliteit. Iedereen ervaart de zwarte Maan op zijn eigen manier.
Dit boek behandelt de zwarte Maan als onderdeel van het systeem van Carteret. Het is een deel 2 uit een serie van 3. Deel 1 behandelt de Noordelijke Maansknoop, deel 2 Lilith, de zwarte Maan, en deel 3 Pluto.
Afkomstig uit: Hoofdstuk ‘Lilith in deze Tijd’ (p. 42 & 43):
” Lilith, de zwarte Maan, is een vorm van ervaren, een vorm van waarnemen, dat je hele wezen doordringt. Je kan aanvankelijk niet geloven dat iemand anders niet zo waarneemt. De zwarte maan is iets wat je bij de geboorte al kant en klaar in je hebt. Het is dus niet iets wat je wilt leren, zoals de Noordelijke Maansknoop. Het is een vrouwelijke vorm van waarnemen dat zich bevestigd wil zien in de stof. Om die bevestiging te krijgen heb je een stralend extravert principe nodig. Dat is een mannelijke kracht. Lilith, de zwarte Maan, is een vrouwelijk intuïtie, dat zich op een mannelijke manier wilt manifesteren. Lilith is de nachtheer van Leeuw. Deze zwarte Maan is van goud, niet van zilver. De maan is van zilver, de zwarte Maan van goud. Lilith is je higher self. “
Yeshua Buddha – An interpretation of New Testament theology as a meaningful myth
By Jay G. Williams.
134 Pages | Copyright 1978 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A | ISBN: 0835605159.
If you feel Christian dogma is in need of a new spark – a charge of vitality – based upon a deeper and more significant interpretation of Biblical stories, here is a dynamically different commentary upon the New Testament. Jay G. Williams approach to the study of the life of Christ simply overflows with intuitional creativity, permitting the student to find for him or herself trans-historical, yet new and existential situations in the Biblical story.
Buddha means ’the Enlightened One’ and the author uses the word in this generic sense. ‘My thesis‘, he writes, ‘is that the perennial philosophy, so well represented in Asia by Buddhism, provides a significant perspective from which to understand the life and teachings of Yeshua’. This is a radical departure book in which Yeshua Buddha and Gautama Buddha finally join hands to shed common light into the darkened cosmos.
From Chapter 7 – ‘Resurrection beyond the End’ (p.115):
” A disciple must take upon himself the discipline of Yeshua; yet this is no set of laws or doctrines which can be encompassed in a book. The Way has little to do with rules and dogmas. The Early Church was at least partially correct in this: it depended primarily upon a succession of apostolic teachers for the preservation of the church. Presumably such teachers did not purvey general theories but advised their disciples concerning effective ways to engage the old deluder in mortal combat. Therefore, all readers who have persevered this far are strongly urged to take what has been said with a grain of salt. The disciple must engage in battle, not just theorize about the nature of war. This book will only have performed its task if it has facilitated that first step along the Way. If it leads the reader to say, ‘O now I understand’, it has failed miserably. “
Child Exodus from Tibet
By Birgit van de Wijer.
144 Pages | April 2006 | Softcover | Birgit van de Wijer, uitgever | ISBN 9078464011.
Tibetan parents send their children to school abroad in massive numbers . . . thousands never arrive: they die from freezing, starvation, exhaustion, hypothermia; they are caught by the Chinese or Nepalese police and sent back over the border. How desperate must a parent be to entrust their child to strangers to undertake a thousand kilometre journey in a strange convoy over the snowbound Himalayas? Since the Chinese occupation of independent Tibet in 1950, the country has slowly been choking in a stranglehold. In the early Eighties, dying Tibet began to send its children to India.
In this book Birgit van de Wijer for the first time illuminates this horror from all angles: why children flee, how many flee, their escape routes, the risks they run, their reception in Nepal and India, and the psychological consequences. Above all, the children tell their stories themselves. The book is based on interviews, that the author conducted on the spot at great risk. The book grew from the conviction of an author, who hopes that this exodus can finally be stopped.
Between Two Worlds – The Riddle of Wholeness
By Frederic Wiedemann.
194 Pages | A Quest original, first edition 1986 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, London | ISBN: 0835606023.
” When clinical psychology rejects the soul, then clinical psychology loses its ability to heal “.
Being human is roughly half-way to divinity. Thus it is that we are caught between two worlds says Frederic Wiedemann. How can we bring together the material side of man with his transpersonal nature? Or is this an irresolvable paradox? The school of thought, that comes the closest to resolving the enigma is the twenty-year old transpersonal consciousness movement. This discipline provides Wiedemann with his ’take-off’ point as he focuses on the limitations of clinical psychology in its unwillingness to include spirit as a factor in therapy. To resolve this dilemma of body and spirit, the author uses the metaphor of the soul as the bridge between two worlds.
From Chapter 13 – ‘Making Decisions with Integrity’ (p. 166):
” If the soul perspective is used with the proper balance of power, wisdom, and love, then it offers a unique ethical direction, combining both the wisest teachings of religion and the deepest aspects of the human potential. But one must be willing to labor for it and to strive for it and to strive for a balance between immanence and transcendence. “
Little Tyke – The True Story of a Gentle Vegetarian Lionness
By Georges H. Westbeau.
150 Pages | Copyright 1975, first Re-Quest edition 1986 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835606058.
Born to be a bewildered and frustrated mother on a somber September day, the lionness Little Tyke set the world thinking anew. She was to fire the deepest thoughts within us and to remind us of an ancient prophecy. She was to bring out out heart-felt tenderness in a most unexpected manner.
A tragedy and a miracle were to occur minutes apart. The tragedy took only seconds. The miracle would last nine years, and to many it lasts to this very day . . .
From Chapter ‘The Vegetarian’ (p. 32, 33 & 34).
“At four years of age Little Tyke was a mature African lionness, and she weighed three hundred and fifty-two pounds. Every year, she became more gentle. We had practically given up the hope of creating in Little Tyke a taste for meat, […] On one occasion, I asked a young visitor this question, and it was he, who put my mind at ease. He turned to look at me with serious eyes, then asked; ‘Don’t you read your Bible?’ I admitted, I didn’t read it as much as I probably should. He continued; ‘Read Genesis 1:30 and you will get your answer. ‘ At my first opportunity I got my Bible and turned to the passage he had indicated. To my astonishment, I read these words:
‘And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat; and it was so.’
We didn’t worry anymore about Little Tyke’s diet. We had already worked out one which she loved. It consisted of cooked cereals, raw eggs and milk. Did she thrive on it? Well, one of this country’s most able zoo curators said Little Tyke was the best of her species he had ever viewed! “
The Guiding Light of Lao Tzu
By Lao Tse (601 BC – unknown), translated by Henry Wei.
234 Pages | First published 1982, 3rd printing 1988 | Paperback | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN:
Twenty-six centuries ago, a man called Lao Tzu offered a daringly new way of life to his countrymen. His work is called the TAO Teh Ching, a philosophy of pure beauty, rare charm, and great spiritual depth and represents a magnificent treatise on human rights. For centuries, it has been a source of inspiration for Chinese art, poetry and painting. In many of its moral viewpoints it is similar to Christianity. Indirectly, it also inspired the development of acupuncture, alchemy, astrology, and the martial arts (kung fu). Its quintessential teaching, however concerns yoga and meditation.
About the ‘Eternal Tao’ (p.22):
” There is something formless and perfect,
Existing before the birth of Heaven and Earth
How still it is! How quiet!
Abiding alone and unchanging,
It pervades everywhere without fail.
Well may it be called Mother of the World.
I do not know its name,
but label it TAO . . . “
Grammar for the Soul – Using Language for Personal Change
By Lawrence A. Weinstein.
155 Pages | First Quest edition 2008 | Hardcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. – ISBN 9780835608657
As unlikely as little punctuation marks and other grammatical elements may seem as tools for personal change, author Lawrence Weinstein shows how we use them can make a big difference in who we are and how we live. Consider these sentences of a job applicant:
‘What a great pleasure it was to meet you today!! The position sounds absolutely perfect for me!’
Such overuse of italics and intensifiers reflects a lack of trust in being heard. By cutting back on those devices – and discovering they aren’t needed – a person can begin to increase his or her capacity for trust in life. Topics of the book include:
- Grammar to restore the Ego
- Grammar for Mindfulness
- Tolerating ambiguity
- Getting out of one’s own way
Weinstein used to teach at Harvard, but don’t let that intimidate you. Though his book is ultimately serious in nature, drawing on both Western and Eastern traditions, his prose is witty, anecdotal, and packed with good, clear examples. He doesn’t claim that personal change occurs easily. But he muses, ‘for the right person, that mere featherweight, a comma can alter the course of a day’.
From the Introduction (p. 4):
” I have come to view the realm of grammar as a kind of rarified gymnasium, where – instead of weights, treadmill, mats, and a balance beam – one finds active verbs, periods, apostrophes, dashes and a thousand other pieces of linguistic equipment, each of which, properly deployed, can provide exercise for the spirit, like that which gym apparatus provides the body. Grammar can become a place to get in spiritual shape. “
Jacob Boehme – Western Esoteric Masters Series
By Jacob Boehme (1575 – 1624), edited by Robin Waterfield.
239 Pages | Copyright 2001 | Softcover | North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California | ISBN: 1556433573.
Hihgly regarded among Christian mystics, Jacob Boehme was famous for his inspired and provocative analysis of the nature and being of God. Grounded in Paracelsus, the Kabbala, astrology, alchemy and the Hermetic tradition, Boehme articulated a revelatory theology, which emphasized the process, whereby God comes to know Himself.
Boehme reasoned that from His illimitable oneness, God was unable to truly apprehend Himself as God in all His splendor. Thus, God had to become an incarnated, limited being, for only through experience could He satisfy His need for self-understanding. Driven by a series of spiritual epiphanies, Boehme boldly proclaimed his new revelations, rejecting the narrow dogmatism and bibliolatry of mainstream sentiment. His subsequent prosecution by church authorities led to banishment from his home town of Goerlitz, and continued harassment by more orthodox thinkers. After his death in 1624, his writings continued to provoke debate among mystics and scholars investigating the nature of good and evil, creation and God’s will.
This anthology serves an an introduction to Boehme’s thought and will bring readers deeper into his philosophy. Part One gives biography and context of Boehme’s writings and their influence on later scientists, alchemical researchers and poets. Part Two contains selections from Boehme’s works grappling with his main themes including the birth of God and the vindication of His goodness. Of particular interest are a number of letters from Boehme, which have never appeared previously in English.
Cyclic Evolution – A Theosophical View
By Adam Warcup.
144 Pages | Published in 1986 | Softcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, London | ISBN: 0722951507.
The current scientific perspective of the evolution of life on Earth is that of a linear progression from simple to complex. The theosophical perspective is radically different. It postulates a cyclic evolution both for Life itself and for individual genera and species, man included. It further postulates a non-physical component as integral to the whole process. Without this added dimension, evolution appears a to be a random process – a perspective wholly denied by Theosophy.
From the Introduction (p.1.):
” Man, Know Thyself, said the Delphic Oracle. Finding ourselves in a complex world, naturally we ask questions about ourselves and our origins. When we first see that this life is but one of many, we have merely answered the first question. This answer certainly gives life a greater meaning, but it also leads to other questions. Where did the process of rebirth start? Will it end, and if so, when? How did we become the complex psycho-spiritual beings we see ourselves to be? The theosophical literature which is concerned with cyclic evolution provides us with many clues, which lead towards, not so much final answers, as an understanding of the process. “
The Process of Self-Transformation – Exploring Our Higher Potential for Effective Living
343 Pages | First Quest Edition 2015 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 9780835609357.
Dutch translation: Het Proces van Zelf-Transformatie – Onderzoek van Ons Hogere Potentieel om Effectief te Leven | First edition 2017 | Uitgeverij der Theosofische Vereniging Nederland, Amsterdam | ISBN: 9789061750994.
This book is a modern restatement of this age-old Wisdom of humanity supplemented with specific tools that will help in accelerating the transformation of individuals. It was initially presented as a three-day workshop called the Self-Transformation Seminar. Because of the perceived effectiveness of its methods and approaches, it spawned a four-day youth camp for people from the ages thirteen to twenty-five called the Golden Link Youth Camp. Then, because of its impact on the young people who participated in the camps, the Golden Link School was established, which has since become an institution that offers tertiary courses and is now called Golden Link College.
From Appendix 3:
” Life is immensely complex. In understanding it more fully, we can’t limit ourselves to our respective areas of specialization, like a doctor who is good at curing diseases but fails miserably in dealing with marital or family problems. Genuine self-tranformation involves a well-balanced and well-rounded Wisdom regarding key-aspects of living. As facilitators, then, we need to widen our scope of comprehension such that we understand the dynamics of those key aspects – values, sorrows, pains, desires, fears, life’s purpose, relationships, the nature of consciousness, and so on. In deepening such understanding, our studies necessarily bring us to the fields of science, mysticism, psychology, religious experience, philosophy, physiology, social sciences and communication arts. “
The Gheranda Samhita – A Treatise on Hatha Yoga
Translated by Srisa Chandra Vasu (1861–1918).
132 Pages | First edition 1895, 2nd edition 1933, 3rd edition 1976 | Softcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 722950683.
From the Foreword:
Gheraṇd̯a Samhitā is a Tāntrika work, treating of Haṭha-Yoga. It consists of a dialogue between the sage Gheraṇd̯a and an enquirer called Caṇd̯akāpāli. The book is divided into seven Lessons or Chapters and comprises, in all, some three hundred and fifty verses. It closely follows in the foot-steps of the famous treatise on the Haṭha-Yoga, known as Haṭha-Yoga Pradīpikā. In fact, a large number of verses of Gheraṇd̯a Samhitā correspond verbatim with those of the Pradīpikā. It may, therefore be presumed that one has borrowed from the other, or both have drawn from a common source.
The book teaches Yoga under seven heads or Sādhanas. The first gives directions for the purification of the Body (inside and out). The second relates to Postures, third to Mudrās, the fourth to Pratyāhāra, the fifth to Prāṇāyāma, the sixth to Dhyāna, and the seventh to Samādhi. These are taught successively – a chapter being devoted to each.
The Gheranda Samhita – A Treatise on Hatha Yoga
Translated by Srisa Chandra Vasu (1861–1918).
132 Pages | First edition 1895, 2nd edition 1933, 3rd edition 1976 | Hardcover | The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 722950667.
From the Foreword:
Gheraṇd̯a Samhitā is a Tāntrika work, treating of Haṭha-Yoga. It consists of a dialogue between the sage Gheraṇd̯a and an enquirer called Caṇd̯akāpāli. The book is divided into seven Lessons or Chapters and comprises, in all, some three hundred and fifty verses. It closely follows in the foot-steps of the famous treatise on the Haṭha-Yoga, known as Haṭha-Yoga Pradīpikā. In fact, a large number of verses of Gheraṇd̯a Samhitā correspond verbatim with those of the Pradīpikā. It may, therefore be presumed that one has borrowed from the other, or both have drawn from a common source.
The book teaches Yoga under seven heads or Sādhanas. The first gives directions for the purification of the Body (inside and out). The second relates to Postures, third to Mudrās, the fourth to Pratyāhāra, the fifth to Prāṇāyāma, the sixth to Dhyāna, and the seventh to Samādhi. These are taught successively – a chapter being devoted to each.
Yogic Practice – Yama and Niyama
By S.S. Varma.
28 Pages | First edition 1991, first reprint 2002 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170591805.
Dutch translation: De Beoefening van Yoga – Yama en Niyama (1995, 2011) | Uitgeverij der Theosofische Vereniging in Nederland | ISBN: 9789061750918.
Yoga literally means ‘unification’, unification of the individual soul and the Oversoul and herewith unification of all that is. Everybody realizes he or she is one with the Divine, thus should realize he or she is one with everybody else. This is spirituality. Although this total unification marks its final goal, ‘yoga’ could be understood as much as ’the way towards’.
This booklet includes rules of ethical behavior. Yama comprises virtues, such as abstaining oneself from violence, lies and betrayal, robbery, unchastity and greed. Niyama covers living up to these commandments relating to purity, contentment, abstinence, self-study and self-surrender to God. In this little publication, Varma reveals the true essence of these virtues.
From page 17:
” Before dealing with the five elements of Niyama, it may be useful to consider the distinction between the Yamas and the Niyamas. Both seem to point at a common purpose – the transmutation of the lower nature to serve as a suitable vehicle of the Divine Life. The practices included in Yama are moral and prohibitive and lay the foundation of a yogic life, while those in Niyama are disciplinary and constructive in character and aim at organizing the life of the spiritual aspirant. “
Teachings on Discipleship – As Outlined in the Mahatma Letters
By S.S. Varma.
119 Pages | First edition 1995 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170592674.
Dutch translation: Leringen over Leerlingschap – Zoals Geschetst in de Brieven van de Meesters | Published in 2001 | Uitgeverij der Theosofische Vereniging in Nederland | ISBN: 9061750814.
The letters of the Mahatmas were received sometimes phenomenally and at other times in the ordinary way by post. They were not written in the usual way but precipitated. Though they are more than a hundred years old, and deal with persons no longer living and events long passed, the wisdom communicated through them is timeless. The story of the beginning of the correspondence and its continuance is inextricably bound with the history of the Theosophical Society. Probably there is nothing so unique in theosophical literature as these letters by the Adepts, who inspired the formation of the Theosophical Society and whose messenger Madame H.P. Blavatsky (HPB) was.
From Chapter 4 – ‘The Way to the Masters’ (p. 71):
” The popular idea that the Guru helps at times of difficulties probably is not quite correct. HPB was cured several times, but it has to be specially noted that it was not to help her, but in the interest of the work. In her own battles, she was left to her own devices. Thus it has been made clear that right up to Adeptship one has to depend on oneself alone:
The fact is, that to the last and supreme initiation every ‘chela’ – (and even some adepts) – is left to his or her own device and counsel. We have to fight our own battles, and the familiar adage – ’the adept becomes, he is not made’, is true to the letter. “
Mindscape – Exploring the Reality of Thought-Forms
By Bruce A. Vance.
197 Pages | A Quest Original, first edition 1990 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835606600.
‘ . . . a daring and provocative voyage through the nocturnal landscape ‘.
In Mindscape, Vance further charts the still largely unknown fathoms of our mental depths. He shows us that thoughts are real, not just in our heads. They project outward and take on forms in the superphysical field around us. Thoughts have an energy all their own, that can affect others through telepathy. In addition to having a reality beyond our minds, Vance says our thoughts create our world. Beliefs are powerful and tend to ‘come true’. If we believe we are ineffectual or ill, we will be; if we believe we are capable or healthy, we will be.
The author cites experiments in subatomic physics to show how powerful our mindsets are. To further support his views, Vance looks to the work of clairvoyants like Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854 – 1943) and cites cases of shamanistic journeys and out-of-body experiences. By becoming aware of our self-imposed limitations and our greater potential, we can release our mental energies and use them to greater advantage. Vance explains how!
From Chapter 9 – ‘The extended Reach of Mind’ (p. 185):
” So, what are the boundaries of mind? None. What are the boundaries of selfhood? None. And what are the boundaries of consciousness? There are none. The infinity of reality is open to us through exploring our mindscape. But we are physically incarnated for a purpose. There is something important to learn here. It has to do with the powers of creation, some of which are at our disposal. “
Dreamscape – Voyage in an Alternate Reality
By Bruce A. Vance.
180 Pages | A Quest Original, first edition 1989 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN 0835606481.
This voyage into alternate reality acquaints you with your dreaming self and teaches you the tools, language and dimensions of the dreamscape.
Much can be discovered in the shadow of your dreams. However, no one can interpret your dreams for you. If you wish to understand your dreams, then you must embark on a prolonged and serious exploration. This book guides you into this alternate reality. The dreamer is taught to record details and impressions, employing intuition for interpretation. In this strange realm, time and space take on new aspects. Problems are explored from a variety of angles for possible answers. The dreamer encounters dream teachers, who instruct us in the art of creating our own reality by placing pupils in scenarios and then helping them find their way out. Focused consciousness brings about lucid dreams, waking dreams, or even out-of-body experiences. Deeper into the dreamscape, one encounters even stranger dimensions where colors are tasted and shapes have sound.
From Chapter 4 – ‘On the Shores of the Dreamscape’ (p. 64):
” Frequently, within the Dreamscape, we manifest our desires, inclinations, hopes and fears in order to face and examine them. We may be wondering if we truly desire what we think we desire, and thus may be using the freedom of the Dreamscape to investigate. Therefore, though some fantasy scenarios require no deep interpretation, often on examination they will reveal clues to our personal drives and needs. Fantasy and adventure encounters within the Dreamscape are often private creations. We use the freedom we have in the dream environment to create things easily which we find hard or inadvisable to create in the physical environment. “
Hammering Hot Iron – A Spiritual Critique of Bly’s ‘Iron John’ (1990)
By Charles Upton.
246 Pages | First Quest Edition 1933 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 083560697X.
Hammering Hot Iron is a rare work, that raises important questions, draws vital distinctions, and elevates discourse within the spiritual community on the Men’s Movement, Jungian psychology, archetypical and mythological studies, and polytheistic religions. Drawing on the perennial philosophy, the universal expression of absolute truth, Upton offers a metaphysical and cultural critique of Robert Bly’s Iron John (1990). Upton adopts Bly’s shadow in the Jungian sense. His intellectual argument is masterfully intertwined with his own personal and spiritual journey, often expressed through original poetry.
From Chapter – ‘The Rejection of Transcendence (p.15):
” The Men’s Movement is a cultural phenomenon unique to our time. We’ve reached the point as a society, where the assumption that man are the dominant sex no longer protects them from a sense of radical imbalance and alienation. As almost anyone who looks can see, the storm of cultural and technological change now assaulting us had called all traditional male roles into question and replaced them with cartoonlike creatures. Caricatures, however, are not enough to live by. […] But what would it be like if men were simply – men? This is the question the Men’s Movement is trying its best to answer, on the wing in any way it can. The tradition of working consciously to redefine masculinity in the face of radical social transformation goes back at least as far as D.H. Lawrence, and includes, among others, writers like Henry Miller and perhaps Jack Kerouac. “
The Absolute – The Ultimate Reality (Parabrahman) (Blavatsky Lecture 1985)
By Harry Upadhyay, Ph.D.
32 Pages | 27 July 1985| Softcover | The Theosophical Society in England, London | No ISBN.
The Blavatsky Lecture delivered at the Annual Convention of The Theosophical Society in England at the University of Nottingham, 27 July 1985.
‘ADRISHTAM, AVYAVAHARYAM, AGRĀHYAM, ALAKSHNAM, ACHINTYAM, AVYAPADESHYAM’
‘Unperceivable, beyond empirical dealings, beyond grasp of the organs of action, uninferable, unthinkable, indescribable . . . ‘ – Māndukya Upanishad.
These words of the Māndukya Upanishad are not the only significant references to the Absolute, the Ultimate Reality; Parabrahman. Such words about Brahman and Ātman abound in most of the Upanishads. I quote here just a few. Maitri Upanishad says – ‘The Spirit Supreme is immeasurable, inapprehensible, beyond conception, never-born, beyond reasoning, beyond thought.’ Mundaka Upanishad says – ‘He cannot be reached by the senses, or by an austerity or sacred action . . . ‘
Sema-Kanda: Threshold Memories – A Mystic’s Story
By Coulson Turnbull (1864 – xxxx).
253 Pages | Photo copy of the original 1898 edition | A4 Softcover | Kessinger Publications LCC, Montana U.S.A. | ISBN: 1564596923.
Dedicated in humility
- To those who have watched the terrestrial transformations and eruptions, have asked for Why, and have received None.
- To those who, tired and home-weary, in a long and slow Journey , have yearned and sought for Justice and found her not.
- Tho those, who have suffered, as humans suffer waiting in Faith for liberation.
- To those hearts, who in Faith and Patience have mystic-wise found a golden thread so delicate, so strong, delicate as human frailty, yet strong to draw the tossed and home-weary from out the ocean’s tempest to the Harbor of Light, from out of the dark ocean’s tempest to the Light, divine in its cheer.
- To men and woman, Regenerate, to the Illumined Ones.
Psychism and the Unconscious Mind
Edited by H. Tudor Edmunds.
254 Pages | First Quest edition 1968, second edition 1974 | Softcover | Quest Books, USA | ISBN: 0835604128.
Collected Articles from the Science Group of the Theosophical Research Centre, London.
This book is the result of research and study by a group of distinguished British scientists, who have devoted much time and applied the training in their various disciplines to an unprejudiced investigation of the many areas of psychic manifestation. Their comments and discussions on such subjects as telepathy, clairvoyance, hypnosis, and effects of mindexpanding drugs, the human aura, and related subjects, are perceptive and informative. Because the writers are also students of Theosophy and Eastern philosophy, they have been able to add valuable insights to their considerations of the various phenomena without in any way lessening their objective and scientific approach to this still mysterious field of human experience.
From Chapter: ‘The Interior Organ of Perception (p.55):
Mind is the inner organ.
” So whether approached from within by the Eastern metaphysical insight or from without by an attempt to deduce an hypothesis to explain scientific observations, it would appear, that man’s mind is an inner organ, or instrument, of perception with a focus of ‘I-ness’ associated with the brain. It has the capacity of throwing up a three-dimensional field of imagined images, thoughts and feelings, themselves not spatial in a physical sense, but related to space by some method of direct correlation. They appear in a mental field, which is not the property of any one observer, but can only be termed a generalised mental field. “
Cagliostro – Maligned Freemason and Rosicrucian
By William Rutherford Hayes Trowbridge (1866-1940).
311 Pages | Facsimile edition of the Brentano’s, New York 1910 edition, published on January 1st, 1992 | A4 Softcover | Kessinger Publication Company Ltd. | ISBN: 1564590631.
CONTENTS
Preface by the Author
Bibliography
PART I
Chapter 1 – The Power of Prejudice
Chapter 2 – Guiseppe Balsamo
PART II
Chapter 1 – Cagliostro in London
Chapter 2 – Eighteenth Century Occultism
Chapter 3 – Masked and Unmasked
Chapter 4 – The Conquest of the Cardinal
Chapter 5 – Cagliostro in Paris
Chapter 6 – The Diamond Necklace Affair
Chapter 7 – Cagliostro’s Return to London
Chapter 8 – ‘Nature’s Unfortunate Child’
Index
From the Preface (p. xvii & xviii)::
” Though much has been written about Cagliostro, most of it is confined to articles in encyclopedias and magazines, or to descriptive paragraphs in works dealing with magic, freemasonry and the period in which he lived. This material may be describes as a footnote, which has been raised to the dignity of a page of history. […] It has been said that every book on Cagliostro must be a book against him. With this opinion I totally disagree. In choosing Cagliostro as the subject of an historical memoir I was guided at first, I admit, by the belief he was the arch-imposer he is popularly supposed to be. With his mystery, magic, and highly sensational career he seemed just the sort of picturesque personality I was in search of. The moment, however, I began to make my researches I was astonished to find how little foundation there was in point of fact for the popular conception. The deeper I went into the subject – how deep this has been the reader may gather from the Bibliography, which contains but a portion of the material I have sifted – the more convinced I became of the fallacy of this conception. “
This Dynamic Universe
Edited by Corona Trew and E. Lester Smith.
167 Pages | Copyright 1983 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 083560232X.
Offered in this book is a valuable link between the occult concepts that appear in the Magnum Opus of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky’s (1831 – 1891) The Secret Doctrine (1888) and the latest theories of science. This Dynamic Universe is quite unique as a resource for the serious student of creation and evolution, clarifying as it does, some of the more difficult principles dealing with man and the cosmos.
From Chapter 5 – ‘References to Fohat in The Secret Doctrine‘ (p. 30):
” The Manifested Universe (therefore) is pervaded by duality; which is, as it were, the very essence of its Ex-istence as ‘Manifestation’. But just as the opposite poles of Subject and Object, Spirit and Matter, are but aspects of the One Unity, in which they are synthesized, so, in the Manifested Universe, there is ’that’, which links Spirit to Matter, Subject to Object.
This something at present unknown to Western speculation, is called by the Occultists Fohat. It is the ‘bridge’ by which the Ideas existing in the Divine Thought are impressed on Cosmic Substance as the ‘Laws of Nature’. Fohat is thus the dynamic energy of Cosmic ideation; or regarded from the other side, it is the intelligent medium, the guiding power of all manifestation, the ‘Thought Divine’ transmitted and made manifest through the Dhyan Chohans, the Architects of the visible World. “
Adyar – The International Headquarters of the TS
By an anonymous author.
36 Pages | First edition, first reprint 2012; with pictures | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170592631.
The work of the Theosophical Society involves a way of life, which leads to Self-knowledge and knowledge of the Laws of being. Only when man begins to act, think, feel, and ‘be’ in accordance with the unchanging and unchangeable Laws, which pervade and regulate all things in the visible as well as the invisible worlds, does his psyche permit spiritual energy to flow through the hidden depths. Both individual regeneration and the reordering of human society in such a way that harmony, freedom and creativity flourish, depend on discovering the right way of living.
From Chapter 1 – ‘Early History’ (p. 1):
” A significant day in the history of the Theosophical Movement was 17 November 1875, for it was on that day that Madame H.P. Blavatsky and Col. H.S. Olcott founded the Theosophical Society. The venue was New York. However, it was soon apparent to them that India was to become the centre of the Society’s activities, and so they travelled to Bombay, arriving there on 16 February 1879, and from there they began to look for a suitable place for the Headquarters of the Society. On 31 March 1882, the Founders arrived in Madras and soon found a site called Huddleston Gardens on the South bank of the Adyar River. Their very first glance told them that ’their future home was found’. There were twenty-eight acres of wooded land and gardens surrounding a large bungalow and two smaller ones; and the price, and affordable Rs 8.500,- – a low price even for those days – was met through loans from members in the Society. They moved in on 19 December 1882 and on 1 January 1884 had repaid the loans. “
The Cynical Idealist – A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon
202 pages | Paperback | Quest Books, 2009
In The Cynical Idealist: A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon, author Gary Tillery brings readers the first spiritual and intellectual biography of this seminal musical and cultural figure. Much has been said about John Lennon the Beatle—his rock star evolution and tragic fate. More than a mundane, temporal biography covering Lennon’s life, music, and death, The Cynical Idealist is a soulful portrait of John Lennon’s very being, illuminating the spiritual transformation of a man who influenced the world in a way few others had during the course of the twentieth century.
More Details “It’s quite possible to do anything, but not if you put it on the leaders. You have to do it yourself. That’s what the great masters and mistresses have been saying since time began. They can point the way, leave signposts and little instructions in various books—the instructions are all there for all to see. I can’t wake you up; you can wake you up. I can’t cure you; you can cure you.” —John Lennon The world could not ignore something extraordinary in Lennon. What was it that set Lennon apart from his fellow bandmates, causing the media to label him the “intellectual” of the group? At just 23 years old, at the height of Beatlemania, the brash and young Lennon was on top of the world, even declaring the band’s popularity had eclipsed that of Jesus Christ. Despite his fame, internally, Lennon was experiencing a dark night of the soul. The turning point came for Lennon, locked in a bathroom during the winter of 1966. As he knelt at the pinnacle of his self-alienation, held hostage by his own existential and emotional breakdown, Lennon pleaded with God to show him the way. Lennon’s unrequited appeal proved to be the catalyst for his emergence as an iconoclast, albeit, altruistic leader. Tillery walks us through Lennon’s personal spiritual journey; his experimentation with drugs; his encounters with the Maharishi; his undertaking of primal scream therapy; and his relationship with Yoko Ono. John Lennon’s spiritual death and rebirth crystallized a global anthem of planetary peace and love that transcends labels, dogma, and social expectations, offering the gift of hope for the coming generation. Praised and ridiculed in equal measure, investigated by the FBI, hounded by the media and ultimately assassinated, Britain’s “Man of the Decade” ignited a revolution of our consciousness. This extraordinary figure deserves an extraordinary book and, in The Cynical Idealist, Tillery provides readers with a new and fascinating framework for assessing Lennon’s life and works.
The Natural Man – A Thoreau Anthology (A Quest Miniature)
119 pages | Paperback | Quest Books, 1988
This Quest Miniature presents a lively selection of Thoreau’s writings, topically arranged.
Popular quotes:
Page 1 – I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well.
Page 5 – If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
Page 7 – I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
More Details Page 8 – Not till we are lost, in other words not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations. Page 8 – Some are dinning in our ears that we Americans, and moderns generally, are intellectual dwarfs compared with the ancients, or even the Elizabethan men. But what is that to the purpose ? A living dog is better than a dead lion. Shall a man go and hang himself because he belongs to the race of pygmies, and not be the biggest pygmy that he can ? Let every one mind his own business, and endeavor to be what he was made. Page 31 – In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost ; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. Page 50 – I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil, — to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. Page 52 – At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be infinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable.
Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science -An Investigation into the Nature of Consciousness and Form
254 Pages | Copyright 1981, first edition, second printing | Softcover | The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0892131489.
From the Introduction:
The first 8 Chapters of this book are devoted to a critique of modern scientific theories and the parallel introduction of the basic elements of the theoretical system of bhakti-yoga. In the 9th Chapter, Thompson shows how these elements provide the theoretical framework for a practical process of obtaining absolute personal knowledge. The analysis of current mechanistic theories is intended to reveal some of their deficiencies, and to show the need for some kind of nonmechanistic alternative. This analysis does not prove that the systemof bhakti-yoga is the only possible alternative, but it does show that this system is a reasonable candidate.The validity of bhakti-yoga can be demonstrated conclusively only by means of the practical observational process of bhakti-yoga itself, and this is discussed in the 9th Chapter.
” In Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science Dr. Thompson makes a number of cogent arguments against the usual scientific picture of life and evolution (which do not accept the existence of higher or subtler levels of organization). He also presents a clear alternative model. I think it is an important book, which would be of interest to many people. “
- Brian Josephson – Nobel Prize for Physics (1973).
Alien Identities – Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena
447 Pages | Copyright & first edition 1993, 2nd printing 1994, revised 2nd edition 1995 | Softcover | Govardhan Hill Publishing, Alachua, Florida | ISBN: 0963530941.
Who are They? Where do They come from? What can we expect from Them?
Since 1947 researchers have exhaustively documented the reality of Ufo’s. But questions still remain about the origins of these strange craft and the intentions of the beings, who pilot them. In Alien Identities, Thompson shows, that the answers may lie in the records of an ancient civilization with thousands of years of contacts with extra-terrestial races. Startling parallels between modern UFO accounts and the ancient Sanskrit writings of India give fresh insights into the identity and purpose of UFO visitors.
From Chapter 6 – ‘Transhuman Contact in Vedic Civilization’ (p. 210);
” In the ancient Vedic civilization, contact with various nonhuman races was on a solid footing. Celestial ṛṣis and Devas would regularly visit the courts of great earthly kings. There were established diplomatic relationships and satisfying mutual understandings between leading members of human society and representatives of other societies in the cosmic hierarchy. This is illustrated by the description in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa of the Rājasūya sacrifice performed by King Yudhiṣṭhira, which took place according to traditional dating about 5.000 years ago in the city of Indraprastha, near present-day Delhi. “
The Union of All Faiths – In a Common Act of Worship
By anonymous authors. Authorities quoted amongst others: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891), Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854 – 1934), Alice Bailey (1880 – 1949), Geoffrey Hodson (1886 – 1983) and Alfred Trevor Barker (1893 – 1941).
27 Pages | Second edition, 7th reprint 2011 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170592186.
Prayers offered at International Conventions and Other Important Functions of the Theosophical Society.
From page 27:
” O Hidden Life! vibrant in every atom,
O Hidden Light! shining in every creature,
O Hidden Love! embracing all in Oneness,
May each who feels himself as one with Thee,
Know he is also one with every other. ”
– Annie Besant (1847 – 1933).
The Mystery Of Healing
By anonymous authors.
95 Pages | Published in 1958, First Quest Book revised edition 1968, third Quest printing 1981 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835601145.
In the last few decades, medicine has made vast strides, although there is still much to be learned about the basic problems of disease. At the same time, public interest in spiritual healing and unorthodox methods has greatly increased, often without critical or intelligent study of their results. Yet the most careful scientific scrutiny shows that in a small number of case quasi-miraculous cures do indeed occur.
In this book, the writers attempt to discuss the conditions, which allow exceptional cures to take place or which seem to prevent them. The fundamental question is: ‘What heals’? This raises further questions: Why does healing not always take place when all the apparently obvious conditions are there for it to do so? Moreover, why is it that sometimes a quite fantastic method will succeed when proved and tried medical treatment has failed?
The group, which produced this small book consists of qualified medical practitioners and psychotherapists, together with others who have had long experience with unorthodox methods of diagnosis and treatment. While acknowledging all that can be and has been done by medical science and psychotherapy to alleviate suffering, the conclusions arrived and emphasise the interior sources of healing that exist deep within each individual.
From Appendix A – ‘Karma and Health’ (p. 87):
” Thus in the case of illness – and for that matter in happy experiences also – the individual, who accepts the idea of karma can ask himself: ‘What am I doing to deserve this? And if he is in pain, ‘What is there in me that perpetuates this misery? In what way is my attitude towards it, or towards life itself, in error?’ And if this leads him to learn the lesson he has to learn, he may find himself quickly and unaccountably free of that situation. “
Theosophy and the Theosophical Society
By an anonymous author, compiled by Dr. C.V. Agarwal.
122 Pages | February 17th, 1991 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | No ISBN.
From the Foreword:
‘This booklet has been compiled by the General Secretary of the Indian Section of the Theosophical Scoiety, Dr. C.V. Agarwal, in order to provide the members of the Section with basic material about Theosophy and the work of the Society. There is an immense depth of understanding and awareness implied in the word ‘Theosophy’. The work of the Theosophical Society encompasses all aspects of human progress, both at the outer level os social and economic well-being as well as the more fundamental inner level of moral and spiritual development.
Reading a book is insufficient for learning Theosophy and carrying out the lofty aims of the Theosophical Society. Deep reflection, self-purification and a life of selfless service must be stimulated by reading. I trust that the publication of this booklet by the Indian Section will help to stimulate members and strengthen its work’.
– Radha S. Burnier (1923 – 2013), President of The Theosophical Society.
Science, Yoga and Theosophy
By several authors.
262 Pages | Published in 1977 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 835675300.
The Theosophical Society was formed at New York, November 17, 1875, and incorporated in Madras, India, April 3, 1905. The three declared Objects are:
1. To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour.
2. To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science.
3. To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man.
From the Chapter ‘Scientific Alchemy – The Physics of a New Age’ (p. 9):
” Plato’s dream of the philosopher-king is perhaps realizing its most practical actualization in the new physics: the union of the philosopher-scientist. The scientific method of the new physics is encompassing an imaginative wholeness, an indeterministic openness, that might best be conveyed by the language of poetry and philosophy, by the TAO. There is no dichotomy here between science and poetry; equation and verse together become a symbol for an expression of the reality of the universe. “
An Introduction to Hindu Symbolism
By Iqbal Kishen Taimni (1898–1978).
132 Pages | Second edition, second reprint 2012 | Softcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 9788170593065.
‘The truth hidden behind the symbols are so magnificent and of such deep import that devotion should become strengthened and not weakened on understanding the inner significance of the symbols’, says Dr. I. K. Taimni in his beautiful introduction to the book. Divided into nine chapters, this book helps to attain ‘some insight into popular literature like the Purânas‘, that embody as an integral part of it the highest wisdom though in a veiled form.
Besides dealing with the general principles of Hindu Symbolism, the Symbology of the Śiva-linga, Maheśa, Trideva are elaborately discussed by Dr, I.K. Taimni. The stories of Hiranyakaśipu and Bhasmāsura, the Churning of the Ocean and the Allegory in the Durgā-Saptaśati constitute different chapters.
More Details Besides dealing with the general principles of Hindu Symbolism, the Symbology of Siva-linga, Mahesa, Trideva, are Elaborately discussed by Dr. I. K. Taimni. The stories of Hiranyakasipu and Bhasmasura, the Churning of the Ocean and the Allegory in Durga-Saptasati constitute independent chapters.
Questions from the City, Answers from the Forest
183 Pages | First Quest edition 1999 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835607747.
” Sincere inquiry always sparks our movement towards truth. Deep questions signal the manifestation of the very energy through which we outgrow ourselves. “
So writes Ajahn Sumano Bhikku, American-born Buddhist monk now living in a simple meditation cave in Thailand. Born in Chicago, a law school graduate and real estate professional, Sumano abandoned his comfortable American lifestyle for the shaved head, begging bowl, and rigorous meditation schedule of a forest monk. In 1994-1995, Sumano conducted a series of question and answer evenings at a guest house in Thailand’s Kowyai National Park with English-speaking tourists. The heartfelt questions of these city people and the clear answers Sumano gave from his forest perspective form the basis of this remarkable book. Written on a battered, battery-powered laptop in his meditation cave, Sumano’s fascinating personal story and his refreshingly down-to-earth blend of American sensibility and Eastern practice will fascinate newcomers to Buddhist ideas as well as experienced practitioners.
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