Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Theosophy Paper Essay Example for Free
Theosophy Paper Essay Theosophy can be described as a collection of beliefs that have been put together to guard mode of operation of the theosophical society. This collection of beliefs is basically man’s effort to understand God through meditation , acts of love towards others, intensive study about various issues as well as living a life that is pure. The origin of theosophy can be traced back to a strong desire for spiritual enlightenment that existed among ancient cultures and which has continued on into modern society giving rise to very many religious beliefs over the span of time. This society is a modern movement whose members have a common interest of discovering the truth and understanding the real meaning of life. The theosophical society is a worldwide body whose origin dates as far back as 1875 when a Russian native by name Hellena P Blavatsky together with others came together to set up a movement whose main goal was to unite the human race beyond the boundaries of race, colour or any opinions which put together form a set of rules that govern how people should live. They also had a great desire to study the origin of all religions and their commonality. Membership of this society comprises people from different world religions brought together by a common search for truth and members are required to observe total tolerance for all without partiality to those are not tolerant themselves. This creates a mood of universal brotherhood amongst the followers and enables them to sit at the same discussion forums irrespective of theirs religious or cultural differences (http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpmanu/ryan-wh/wit-hp.htm). About the founder            Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was born in 1831 in the town of Ekaterinoslav in southern Russia where she grew up. In her adult years, she became a very widely travelled woman visiting countries such as Greece, France, India, Japan, Turkey and Britain among others. Apart from being the founder of the Theosophical movement, she is also author of a book on theosophy known as ‘The Secret Doctrine’. The main aim of her writings was to introduce various religious beliefs and philosophies found in Eastern religions to the West and through these writings try to integrate the two. A great part of her teachings have been derived from knowledge imparted on her by her masters; great teachers that she came into contact in the course of her travels in the East. Her teachings have greatly influenced the minds of men and women the world over as they engage in a continuous search for truth. It is these same masters who ordered her to travel to America where together with others who were engaged in the search for truth, they founded the theosophical society. H. P. Blavatsky died in London in 1891having established a worldwide movement of followers that have been committed to following her teachings (Charles Webster). About Theosophy            Theosophy does not hold any doctrine or opinion that should be followed by its members and no one is allowed to impose their beliefs, teachings of opinions on the other members. Members are encouraged to put others into consideration when expressing their thoughts although they have the liberty to do so. Theosophy preaches that there’s nothing within nature that happens by chance but that the universe has pre-set laws that determine how everything operates. The system also advocates that all human beings have a spiritual nature that never dies out and the aspect that dies out that constitutes the physical, emotional and mental nature of man. Theosophy gives detailed information about the creation of the universe and the human race. The universe is said to originate from some infinite unknown source and to this source it must also return. The various origins of creation given by different world religions are analysed critically to show their contradictions while at the same time relating all these religions to a common origin which is the wisdom religion. Followers of this doctrine are encouraged to critically examine their beliefs and point out the differences in their varied religious beliefs. Theosophy is the only movement that places great responsibility on each of its followers about examining their own beliefs. Members are required to come together into one large organisation based on universal brotherhood through exchanging ideas about their different religions, different views about science and their different understandings about philosophy. Philosophically, theosophy tries to explain the connection between the soul and the solar system. Religiously, it tries to design a direct path to achieving spiritual goals and scientifically, theosophy treats philosophy and religion as aspects of life that can only be understood through intensive search of knowledge which comes from religious study and research (Charles Webster). Theosophy verses religion            Theosophy is not a religion as the movement has no common beliefs or the worship of a common deity. Members trace their origins to very different religious backgrounds and when they meet, it is for the sole purpose of discussions on various issues or books that they have read in the course of their study. Through theosophy, members are taught that their religious background is not vital because all religions can be traced back to one common source. When an individual joins the theosophical movement, they have the privilege to maintain their present religion in the course of their study of theosophy as this is supposed to help them discover the common factor about all beliefs. All have the right to believe what they choose to believe in and no member is allowed to impose their beliefs on another with the intention of converting them.            Theosophy on the other hand can in itself be described as true religion as it gives every member the freedom to accept or reject any ideas read or put forward to them depending on the valuation that they give to the subject. The sole purpose of theosophy is to bridge the gap that exists between science and religion by explaining how each of these two aspects are interrelated. Religiously, these teachings try to explain the life’s main purpose, philosophically tries to explain why things are the way they are and scientifically how nature works (Pavri P.). Principles that govern theosophy            There are seven basic rules or principles that govern theosophy the first and foremost being the principle of reincarnation or rebirth. This principle explains that nature operates through a system of cycles that keep repeating themselves for example the seasons of the year, the revolution of the planets around the sun as well the birth, maturity and death of ideas to name but a few. Theosophy is also governed by the law of Karma that states that for every reaction, there must be an action meaning that for every input, there is an output of that there must be a source in order to get a result.            The doctrine of hierarchies is yet another principle that governs theosophy. This principle explains that nature operates through a system of hierarchies that are all inter-related for example the interdependence of all organs of the human body or the system of government in any society. Theosophy goes on to give another principle that emphasizes on the uniqueness of character in every living thing. This principle tries to explain why every being or thing behaves in the manner that it does. The principle of evolution adds to the list of principles and this one explains the progressive nature of evolution that finally reaches a certain limit that requires the subject in question to move up to another level.       There is also the principle of interaction that tries to relate the interaction of the mind and the physical to give either positive or negative results. Theosophy also tries to understand and teach about the foundation of human life or basically, its origin (http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpmanu/ryan-wh/wit-hp.htm). Theosophy and modern society            Human beings are bound to differ and what may begin as on united movement of group often disintegrates to give rise to various branches and sub-branches. Naturally, human beings are bound to differ over various ideas and norms depending on the place of their origin and such differences will certainly cause any movement to drift apart. It is this characteristic of human nature that has given rise to a diversity of religions and religious sects. Despite the effort made through theosophy to unite these world religions into a common search for truth, the theosophical movement itself has not been exempted from this concept of disagreements. As a result very many branches claiming to base their teachings on theosophy have come the whole world over. The idea of universal brotherhood however remains a common factor that unites all these groups as well as others in their endless search for truth.            The extent to which the movement has succeeded in uniting people is a topical issue. We are still living in a world that is deeply characterised by hatred and causing terror to one another. Nation is fighting against nation as each tries to impose its ideals on the other and even different societies within the same nation are constantly fighting amongst themselves. It is an end to such mayhem that theosophy tries to seek a solution by encouraging its followers to place great emphasis on an inner discernment of issues and rely heavily on ones own strength.  Because of man’s tendency to make mistakes in the course of his endeavours, the teachings of karma are emphasized. These teachings provide every member with extensive opportunity to learn new things and gain more experience while at the same time critically comparing various issues that com up in the course of learning. The karma helps those who practice it to deviate from a personal analyses of issues and encourages them to view things from a broader perspective as it is from such a deep search for truth that they can gain new strength.  Whether the spirit of universal brotherhood has succeeded in uniting people in modern day society is a very topical issue. Perhaps theosophy has suffered the same problems suffered by world religions; the lack of commitment to a chosen course. Maybe member meet together because it is yet another movement that sounds interesting and worth finding about and the story ends there (Pavri P.). Conclusion            Theosophy even though not a religion can be described as the true religion in that it its followers have been given the leeway to choose or reject anything depending on their personal valuation and subsequent conviction about any issue that crosses their path of thinking. It directs its followers on various ways of achieving higher levels of spirituality in their lives. According to theosophists, this world is the best place to live in and all resources must be used with all form of wisdom, given value and treated with great respect as a means of deriving satisfaction from life. It is only if man attaches great respect to the environment that he is living in and takes every responsibility to preserve nature and make it a better place that a change for the better can be evident in man. Theosophy explains that different human beings are not in reality different but that they are only different expressions of the same life and this therefore requires every human being to take full responsibility of themselves. According to theosophy, all humans should live harmoniously in their bind to teach others how they should live by setting good examples to them and speaking moderately. The aspect of combining religion and philosophy in the search for the real meaning of life makes it a scope of great criticism from those that have failed to find answers to their problems in theosophy and all those others that are opposed to occultism and spiritualism (Pavri P.). Works cited Ryan Charles J. What is Theosophy? A General View for Inquirers http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpmanu/ryan-wh/wit-hp.htm Charles Webster A Textbook of Theosophy Published 2007 Leadbeater Cosimo, Inc. Pavri P. Theosophy Explained in Questions and Answers Published 2005 Kessinger Publishing Bloomfield Maurice The Religion of the Veda the Ancient Religion of India Published 2005
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