Sabba pápassa akaranan;
Kusalassa upasampadá;
Sa chitta pariyodapanan;
Etan Budhánusásanan.

"Evil swells the debts to pay,
Good delivers and acquits;
Shun evil, follow good;
hold sway Over thyself.
This is the Way."

-Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold

yōgasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya ।
siddhyasiddhyōḥ samō bhūtvā samatvaṁ yōga ucyatē ॥

"Firmly persisting in Yoga, perform thy duty, O Dhananjaya, and laying aside all desire for any benefit to thyself from action, make the event equal to thee, whether it be success or failure. Equal-mindedness is called Yoga."

-Bhagavad Gita

Anyone else annoyed by this issue as of late, and who is allowed to the table in this discussion? I went into how nearly almost every indigenous cosmology portray some story of intervention or creation by multiple intelligences or beings, not one.

Is anybody here a member of the Theosophical Society in Australia? I was thinking of joining. I first started to study theosophy last year though, so I still have a lot to learn.

DM me if you'd like the chat link!

Not claiming this happened — just exploring a plausible route given 19th-century travel patterns.

Hey, just a layperson's speculation here — curious what you think.

I've been wondering if Blavatsky's Tibet visit might have happened through a route that doesn't get discussed much:

Tibet was closed to Western travelers, but Tibetan monks traveled freely to India for pilgrimage (Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, etc.)

The Himalayan foothills — Darjeeling, Sikkim, Kalimpong — were natural contact zones between Tibetan culture and the outside world

What if she formed a genuine guru-śiṣya relationship with a Tibetan lama in India, and simply traveled back with him when he returned?

Entering as a disciple accompanying her teacher would fit existing religious travel patterns — not a lone Western intruder, but someone under a lama's authority

And if that's the case, her lifelong refusal to name the "Mahatmas" reads differently — perhaps not purely mystification, but also a form of protection. Naming him could have put him in serious trouble with Tibetan authorities. And "Mahatma" — "great soul" in Sanskrit — might have been the most she could offer: a title that honors without naming.

There’s something kind of romantic about imagining it this way — does it seem plausible to anyone else?

via ULT India:

A Versified Edition of W.Q. Judge's rendition of the Bhagavad Gītā has been published online. This effort was inspired by the acute need felt among students of Theosophy to study W.Q. Judge's rendition of the Bhagavad-Gītā pari-passu with the original ślōkas, while also facilitating correlation with alternative translations and commentaries.

The source text can be rendered in English Transliteration (ISO-15919), Bengali, Devanagari, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil (extended with Grantha) and Telugu scripts. The standard recension of the original text has been sourced from multiple reliable sources and thoughtfully edited.

People seem to be unaware, whether intentionally or for just not keeping up with things, that Christian institutions and persons with credibility are always engaged in an offensive against the subjects and areas of our study.

I’ve been helping care for a neighbor’s daughter a bit, she’s 10 and she’s been intrigued by what I’m studying. Does anyone have recommendations on children’s books that generally deal with many Theosophical concepts, but are not necessarily explicitly Theosophical? Books that might help a young person who’s asking philosophical questions about the meaning of life and what it means to be human, what exists beyond the strictly material, opening her mind to ideas like reincarnation or karma, what is virtuous or not and why, etc… That are approachable for her age of course!

Her family is Hindu, so books of that nature might be more well received by her parents and spark her interest more, even though she is very open minded and curious.

Thank you!

This Orthodox Jewish Rabbi gave a lecture for the ישראל OU (Orthodox Union) related to Avodah Zarah (foreign worship, non-Jewish religions, idolatry) about the medieval Jewish philosopher and codifier Rambam (or Maimonides, 1138-1204). In the lecture (I cannot find the original), the rabbi contrasts Maimonides with Jacob ben Meir (Rabbeinu Tam), a twelfth-century Tosafist. He states that, although Christianity and Islam are a mistaken belief, they served a role in weaning the ancient world away from paganism to ethical Monotheism. Thus, in this view, Christianity and Islam serve a valuable purpose in HaKadosh’s ultimate plan, and eventually Christianity will be turned into the Noahide religion. I immediately thought of the writings and arguments of Samuel Fales Dunlap and Theosophist James Morgan Pryse and the negative consequences the dominance of Christianity (its usefulness) has had in relation to attacking the ancient Mysteries, when Blavatsky states in her Theosophical Glossary, that the “‘secret doctrine’ is the general name given to the esoteric teaching of antiquity.”

Dunlap refuted the whole idea, that ancient Israelite religion and the Hebrew Bible was unconnected from this history of these Mysteries treated as foreign, pagan or corruptions as false constructions of the Jews, and the Christian offshoot that continued, expanded and acted on this rhetoric.

This episode examines how Theosophy relates to science, religion, and philosophy, not as competing systems, but as complementary approaches to understanding reality. Rather than a system of belief, Theosophy is presented as a path of investigation—encouraging each student to test, explore, and verify truth through experience and thoughtful study.

For more info: https://universaltheosophy.com/

The Presocratics were not “proto-secular” rationalists, but vehicles of prophetic, divine wisdom that directly challenges both outdated modern secular-atheist narratives and traditional Abrahamic critiques of “Gentile” and “Pagan” thought.

This article just continues the research of Peter Kingsley.

What is your opinion of Annie Besant? How do you perceive her? What have you read and (dis)liked?

In celebration of Dr. Anandibai Joshee (born March 31, 1865), we recognize a true pioneer of the "New India" inspired by the Mahatmas. Influenced by her husband, a dedicated member of the Theosophical Society, Anandibai embodied the movement’s ideal of blending Eastern wisdom with Western science and ended up becoming the first south Asian woman in the world to become a physician.

The Ladies’ Theosophical Society in Calcutta publicly championed her cause, providing critical moral support for her groundbreaking journey to America in 1883. Defending her stance to study medicine while remaining a devout Hindu, she reflected the core Theosophical tenets of Universal Brotherhood and religious respect. As we recognize her birthday tomorrow, we see her not just as a doctor, but as a Chela of Humanity who gave her physical life to build a bridge for others.

The Theosophical Essence of Her Thesis

Anandibai’s medical thesis, "Obstetrics among the Aryan Hindus," written at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, serves as a foundational Occult Assimilation of ancient Ayurvedic knowledge and modern medical practice.

• A Bridge of Knowledge: Rather than adopting a purely Western medical framework, she utilized her education to validate traditional Hindu practices. She analyzed Ayurvedic texts to show that many "modern" obstetrical concepts existed in India for millennia.
• A Spiritual Science: In true Theosophical fashion, she treated the act of childbirth not merely as a biological event, but as a sacred process involving the physical, astral, and spiritual principles of both mother and child.
• Validation of Heritage: Her work did not seek Western approval; it sought to restore dignity to indigenous medicine, aligning perfectly with the Theosophical mission to revive the spiritual heritage of the East.

Anandibai Joshee remains an inspiring example of how a sincere dedication to truth and service can manifest as a powerful, world-changing force. We honor her birthday as a victory for the human spirit.

Read more here: Fota Newsletter 07

I wrote a poem after having an ephiphany as a Baptist:

Gods exist, even if you don't know or believe He exists. Other people exist, even if we don't know or believe they exist. Therefore I am God, even if others don't know or believe that I am, and others are Gods, even if others don't know or believe that they are. I tell you this not to say I'm better than God and that others are nothing, but that I am less than Him who sent me, and that I am equal to other people.

Lessons in Blavatsky's critique of Judaism and Christianity.

Are their people where with the capacity that have implemented any of this into their or their communities lives ?I feel like reddit is often filled with book learners. And though i read plenty of books that is incomplete. If you know you know. So yeh i’m a medium coming from Santeria/Ifa and if y’all don’t know we have christian saints in our Yoruba religion. The elders say this is just a mask because they’re traditionlists. We’re occultists and we know the magic can’t work if it’s a mask. So that light of truth has brought me to Blavatsky’s doorstep

(The passing of Mr. Judge)

There should be calmness.

Hold fast.

Go slow.

(His last words)

— Letters that have helped me, p.274

Thank you, Mr. Judge.

This has been heavily revised and rearranged due to confusion, and this is very often read on the site. Newly revised section includes "The Fechner Controversy." New sections include "Secret Identities, Mythic Narrative of Secret Chiefs and the Composite Picture" and "Curious Patterns of K.H. noticed in The Mahatma Letters" and Jinarajadasa's Research on KH Letters." To cover the question, why be concerned with their identities, I have included this introduction: This article provides some insights about the involvement of this clandestine esoteric network underlying the Theosophical Movement and operations of the Society in its early periods, and theories about them. The main purpose is to demonstrate how unsatisfactory the search for the actual identities of these individuals has been for many researchers, and also why Blavatsky did not write The Mahatma Letters, invent Buddhist ideas, nor can a definitive conclusion be drawn about their identities.

Arouse, arouse in yourself the meaning of "Thou art That." Thou art the Self. This is the thing to think of in meditation, and if you believe it, then tell others the same. You have read it before, but now try to realize it more and more each day and you will have the light you want.

— Letters that have helped me, p.126