Edited and translated by Louise Carus.

214 Pages | First Quest Edition 2020. ‘NAPRA Nautilus Award Grand Winner 2003’. | Softcover, with pictures | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 9780835608138.

‘While Santa Claus just brings toys, St. Nicholas changes lives and brings real joy’! 

The Real St. Nicholas is a jubilant celebration of spiritual values and the true meaning of the holiday season. Santa Claus is only a nickname. The historical Nicholas was a fourth-century bishop in what is now modern Turkey. Over time, tales of his goodness spread as far as Karelia, bordering Finland and Russia, throughout Europe. The Dutch brought him to the New World as Sinterklaas.

While slimmer than Santa, St. Nicholas is much larger in Spirit. He is the patron Saint not only of children, but also of sailors, bakers, bankers, prisoners, pharmacists, maidens, merchants and, New York City. But the traditions around him have been lost in America. Louise Carus restores this important image of the kind, wise Elder with rare stories from Spain, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Russia and Armenia – among other countries. Most are simple folktales of powerful virtue. We hear of how Nicholas rescues orphans and soldiers, feeds the hungry, helps hapless lowers, outwits thieves and devils, and heals the ill and lame (including an ant!). An Afterword recounts modern legends of healing and rescue told by people living in Greece today.

The result is the best such collection available in English. It is a gift to all parents, educators, story loversm and others, who long to resanctify the holidays. There’s a story for each of the thirty-one days in December, but The Real St. Nicholas can inspire us on any day of the year.

Louise Carus, Ph.D., is a Jungian analyst and the editor of Betwixt and Between and Crossroads: two books on adolescent ‘rites of passage’ recognized as classics in the field.

From Chapter – ‘Signs of St. Nicholas Today’ (p. 191):

” A miller, Fragiadakis Mixales, who lives outside of  Zaros, Crete, told us this story about his daughter. It happened when the girl was about four years old and suffering from epilepsy:

‘After my daughter had had several seizures, my wife took her to our nearby St. Nicholas monastery. She laid her down to sleep just at the entrance of the monastery under an olive tree and then went into the church to pray for her healing. When my wife returned to our daughter, the little one awoke and said: ‘And old man with a white beard came and touched my hand and told me, ‘You are well now”.’

My daughter never had another seizure. She is married now, with two children, and lives in Athens. This true story is well known in my community. “

By Radha S. Burnier (1923 – 2013).

620 Pages | First edition 2009 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House Adyar | ISBN: 9788170595212.

Mrs. Radha Burnier served five terms as the President of the Theosophical Society, having taken office as the seventh President in 1980. The World Around Us is a compilation of Burnier’s ‘On The Watch-Tower’ notes, which appeared as her editorial articles in The President’s official monthly Journal The Theosophist between the years 1980 and 2007. The validity and teachings of these articles continue to be appreciated by many members of the Theosophical Society around the world.

Mrs. Burnier’s careful observation and deep perception of the modern world and of human nature in general, sensitively guides the reader to a better understanding of the Theosophic life. The compilation provides a rich source of handy reference material and comments of Wisdom on a wide range of subjects – social, geographical, environmental, and spiritual, among others – that rouse the reader to a better awareness and involvement in the world around us.

From Chapter 1 – ‘Theosophy and the Theosophical Society’ (p. 10):

” No Wisdom from above descends on anyone save on leaving every atom of selfishness or desire for personal ends. Nature gives her innermost secrets and imparts true Wisdom only to him or her, who seeks truth for its own sake and craves for knowledge in order to confer benefits on others, not on his or her own unimportant personality. “

Door J.M. Selleger-Elout

124 blz. | Gebonden/Hardcover | Uitgeverij der Theosofische Vereniging in Nederland, ca. 1959 (1ste druk)

De hut ligt heel, heel diep in het bos. Het is een houten hutje en ’s zomers is het begroeid met veel bloeiende klimplanten. Vlak bij is een kleine vijver. Daar wonen kikker Kwaak en zijn vrouwtje en de waterlelies hebben met hun wortels een huisje op de bodem gemaakt voor de Kwaakkikkers.
In de hut woont Lotusvrouwtje. Ze is al heel oud. Daarom is ze een beetje krom en als ze in het bos loopt, steunt ze op een stokje. Maar juist omdat ze zo erg oud is. heeft ze geleerd om met de dieren, met de bomen en de bloemen te praten. En zeg nu zelf: wat heb je aan dieren en bomen, als je er niet mee praten kunt?
Op een keer…. het was midden in de winter…. zat Lotusvrouwtje in de hut. Er was een gezellig open vuur, dat knapperde en knetterde. Kater Maas zat er voor en warmde zijn velletje. Boven aan de zolder hing spin Zilverdraad in haar mooie net en vlak voor het venster, maar aan de buitenkant, zat uil Rondoog en sloot zijn ogen voor het licht van de vlammen.
Plotseling was er een kleine jongen in de kamer.

By Surendra Narayan.

223 Pages | First Edition 1999 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170593263.

This Volume assembles the addresses and articles of Mr. Surendra Narayan, mainly published in The Theosophist during the period 1980 to 1995 when he was the International Vice-President of the Theosophical Society. With characteristic Wisdom, clarity, humanism and catholicity of outlook, these essays, written in an easy style, serve to enlighten and inspire the reader intellectually and spiritually. All serious students of life should find them interesting and useful.

Mr. Narayan comes from a family of Theosophists, who always stressed right living. He believes, that if humanity cannot attain liberation or Nirvana without living in this world, this world would not have been created. His lectures and articles have won appreciation in many countries.

From Chapter 36 – ‘Living in Richness’ (p. 220):

” The sages have said, that one who has risen above personal desires becomes free from anxiety, fear, worry and is ever tranquil, calm and joyous. Such a one does not want anything from anybody, is ever helpful to all, living like a king who is responsible in richness. In the Yoga Vāsishtha, such a person is spoken of as one from whom good qualities emanate all around, as white swans fly all over from a pure lake; having seen whom, having heard about whom, having met with whom and having remembered whom, all creatures feel joy. It then adds: Him or Her from whose heart emanates purity all around, the Guardian Angels of the world protect and support . . . “

By several contributors, edited by L.H. Leslie-Smith and a foreword by John B.S. Coats, international president of the Theosophical Society from 1972 to 1980.

255 Pages| Published in 1975 | Hardcover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 0835675068.

A group of essays by students of the occult concerning man’s immemorial and upceasing quest for reality. The Universal Flame is being published to mark the centenary of The Theosophical Society. The Society was founded in New York in 1875 and later moved its Headquarters to Adyar, now a suburb of Madras in Southern India, but at that time eight miles from the centre of the city. Adyar has remained the spiritual and administrative centre of the Society’s work since the original founders took up their residence here in 1882; and it is therefore a real happiness to present from International Headquarters this collection of essays to a world, in which growing interest in the search for Truth about Man, the Universe and God is becoming everyday more apparent.

From the backflap:

” These things shall be  – a loftier race

Then e’er the world hath known shall rise

With flame of freedom in their souls,

And light of knowledge in their eyes. “

• John Addington Symonds in: The Days That Are To Be.

By Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986), edited by David Skitt.

254 Pages | Published in 1996, first Indian edition 2001 | Softcover | Krishnamurti Foundation India, Chennai | ISBN: 8187326212.

In the last two decades of his life, Krishnamurti engaged in several discussions with scientists, Buddhist scholars, philosophers, artists, and a Jesuit priest. This Volume contains his conversations with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Renee Weber, David Bohm, Jonas Salk, Walpola Rahula, Bernard Levin, Huston Smith, Iris Murdoch, and Pupul Jayakar. These offer a profound insight into his philosophy of life.

In his Foreword to the book, editor David Skitt says: For the first-time reader, the range and vocabulary of these conversations may seem daunting. Is this philosophy, psychology, or religion? Or all three? Krishnamurti himself did not like giving a name to what he talked about. His agenda was very open-ended, always totally free to cover any aspect of the human condition. For Krishnamurti, a religious view of life is inseparable from exploring whether we mistakenly apply the biological model of evolution to the psychological sphere; and whether the computer is an accurate simulation of the human brain. For him, these are not incidental but crucial issues that determine the quality of our lives, not just topics of intellectual ‘interest’.

From Chapter – ‘What is Your Secret’ (p. 198)?:

“K: Again, what do you mean by ‘individual’?

BL: Well, we’re all independent, separate personalities.

K: Are we?

BL: Well, aren’t we?

K: I doubt it. We’re not individuals, we are the result of a million years of collective experiences, memories, all that. We think we are individuals, we think we are free, we are not. To us, freedom means choice. Choice means confusion, you don’t choose if you are clear.

BL: You said once, one of your most striking phrases as I remember, that your purpose was to set Man free.

K: Yes, it sounds . . . (laughs). “

By Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986), edited by David Skitt.

255 Pages | Published in 1996. The first Indian edition 2001 is available in our webshop here | Softcover | Thorsons, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, London & San Francisco | ISBN: 0722532849.

In the last two decades of his life, Krishnamurti engaged in several discussions with scientists, Buddhist scholars, philosophers, artists, and a Jesuit priest. This Volume contains his conversations with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Renee Weber, David Bohm, Jonas Salk, Walpola Rahula, Bernard Levin, Huston Smith, Iris Murdoch, and Pupul Jayakar. These offer a profound insight into his philosophy of life.

In his Foreword to the book, editor David Skitt says: For the first-time reader, the range and vocabulary of these conversations may seem daunting. Is this philosophy, psychology, or religion? Or all three? Krishnamurti himself did not like giving a name to what he talked about. His agenda was very open-ended, always totally free to cover any aspect of the human condition. For Krishnamurti, a religious view of life is inseparable from exploring whether we mistakenly apply the biological model of evolution to the psychological sphere; and whether the computer is an accurate simulation of the human brain. For him, these are not incidental but crucial issues that determine the quality of our lives, not just topics of intellectual ‘interest’.

From Chapter – ‘What is Your Secret’ (p. 198)?:

“K: Again, what do you mean by ‘individual’?

BL: Well, we’re all independent, separate personalities.

K: Are we?

BL: Well, aren’t we?

K: I doubt it. We’re not individuals, we are the result of a million years of collective experiences, memories, all that. We think we are individuals, we think we are free, we are not. To us, freedom means choice. Choice means confusion, you don’t choose if you are clear.

BL: You said once, one of your most striking phrases as I remember, that your purpose was to set Man free.

K: Yes, it sounds . . . (laughs). “

By Michael Gomes.

196 Pages | Copyright 2004 | Softcover | TRM – Theosophical Research Monographs | ISBN: 0974188905.

Theosophical Studies Presented to Ted G. Davy on His Seventy-fifth Birthday.

One of the writers in the present Volume, trying to articulate the contribution of Ted G. Davy to the field of Theosophical research, sent in the following: ‘He is not famous. It may be that when at last his life comes to an end, he will leave no more trace of his sojourn on this earth than a stone thrown into a river leaves on the surface of the water. Yet it may be that the way of life he has chosen for himself may have an evergrowing influence over his fellow men, so that, long after his death perhaps, it may be realized that there lived in this age a very remarkable creature. “

‘Remarkable’ would certainly be the word agreed upon by most of the presenters in this Volume. Aside from his role as mentor, friend, advisor to many in the field of Theosophical studies for almost half a century, Ted Davy functioned as editor of The Canadian Theosophist from 1961 – 1991. Continuing the tradition of its founder, A.E.S. Smythe, the Journal was regarded as ‘the conscience of the Theosophical movement‘.

From the end page:

” An Acrostic for Doris and Ted Davy by John Robert Colombo
Taken from the Index to H.P. Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine (1888: 3rd ed., reprinted 1928).
‘A strange story – a legend rather – ‘ Section XLI, ‘The Doctrine of Avataras, ‘ Volume III.

* * *

Doors of ancient dwellings

One manifested

Rounds, actuality of seven

Immetalized, light

Scale, angelic beings

&

Thought, abstract absolute

Earth-born cement, nitrogen

Dinosaurians of gigantic proportions

Dazzling face, great king

Astral, action comes from the North

Vault, starry

Year of Brahma. “

Compiled by G.A. Farthing.

84 Pages | 2003| Softcover |Theosophical Publishing House, London –  in collaboration with The Blavatsky Trust

These extracts from Helena Petrovna Blavatsky’s (H.P.B. ‘s) voluminous works are intended to give some information about Masonry and the flavour of her thinking on the subject as she dealt with it over the period of her writing from 1875 – 1891.

H.P.B. was exposed to Masonry via relatives and friends in her formative years, and later many of her associates were Masons. Among them were some, including Colonel Olcott (1832 – 1907), who helped in the founding of the Theosophical Society and became its first President. At the time of the founding of the Theosophical Society, however, there had been no public exposition of Theosophy. Later, there were intimations of it in Isis Unveiled and in many of H.P.B’s early writings. The great comprehensive teaching only came out in The Secret Doctrine published in 1888.

The significance of this in the matter of Masonry vis-a-vis Theosophy is that with the publication of the theosophical teachings sometimes hitherto closely guarded occult secrets were made public for the first time. Against this, as the reader of the extracts will perceive, the really significant secrets of Masonry, relating to the nature and processes of Nature herself, had been lost from early times.

Door Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986), Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891) en Mabel Collins (1851 – 1927), vertaald door Louis Geertman en Ali Ritsema.

223 Pagina’s | Eerste druk 2006 | Hardcover | Uitgeverij der Theosofische Vereniging in Nederland | ISBN: 9061750881.

English edition: Inspirations from Ancient Wisdom: At the Feet of the Master, Light on the Path, the Voice of the Silence | published in 1999 | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 978-0835607735.

Deze bundel omvat drie standaardwerken – drie ‘Gidsen’ voor het spirituele pad – op het gebied van spirituele ontwikkeling: De Stem van de Stilte, Licht op het Pad en Aan de Voeten van de Meester. De waarde van hun verschijning in de moderne wereld in de 19de, vroeg 20ste eeuw valt niet eenvoudig te omschrijven. Met gemak kan evenwel worden gezegd, dat zij mede aan de basis hebben gestaan van al wat men vandaag weet over de spirituele reis, het Pad, de verlichting, of de ultieme bevrijding uit het bestaan van aardse beperkingen. Zij geven lessen over ethiek, over de universeel geldende wet van compassie, over karma – of de wet van evenwicht – over hoe te handelen in onze zoektocht naar spiritualiteit.

Hun doel beperkt zich niet tot een algemeen gevoel van welzijn, maar is uiteindelijk om een omvattend beeld te geven van de heiligheid van het leven en een helpende hand te zijn voor de innerlijke mens, die worstelt om zijn ware gedaante aan de wereld te tonen.

Afkomstig van blz. 223:

LIEFDE

” Wachtend op het Woord van de Meester,

Uitziend naar het Verborgen Licht;

Luisterend om zijn bevelen op te vangen

In het heetst van de strijd;

Zijn kleinste teken ziend

Over de hoofden van het gewoel;

Zijn zwakste fluistering horend

Boven het luidste aardse gezang. “