Masters of the Ancient Wisdom
Encyclopedia
The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings originally identified by the Theosophists
Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the world. Sometimes they are referred to by Theosophists as Elder Brothers of the Human Race, Adepts, Mahatmas, or simply as The Masters.
Helena Blavatsky was the first person to introduce the concept of the Masters to the West. At first she talked about them privately, but she stated that after a few years two of these adepts, Kuthumi
(K.H.) and Morya (M.), agreed to maintain a correspondence with two British Theosophists – Alfred P. Sinnett and A. O. Hume. This communication took place from 1880 to 1885, and during those years the reputed existence and objectives of the Mahatmas became public. The original letters are currently kept in the British Library
in London
and have been published as the Mahatma Letters
.
or nirvana
). This prevents him from being in touch with humanity, since he has to abandon the lower vehicles of consciousness. By contrast, the Theosophical Masters, out of compassion, decide to give up entering into nirvana so that they remain able to help us in our struggle to realize Truth.
The Mahatmas are in this respect what the Mahayana
Buddhists call bodhisattvas. They choose to retain the body, not because of any fault in their development but as an act of self-sacrifice. Possessing a physical body subjects the adepts to certain unavoidable limitations. As Blavatsky said, they “are living men, born as we are born, and doomed to die like every mortal.” Being perfect yogis, they have learned how to take care of their bodies so that they can live much longer than ordinary human beings; nevertheless, the bodies must eventually die.
The Mahatma Letters have several statements about the limitations intrinsic in leading a physical existence. For example, Mahatma K.H. wrote: “I was physically very tired by a ride of 48 hours consecutively.” He also stated that he is limited to his physical senses and the functions of his brain “when I sit at my meals, or when I am dressing, reading or otherwise occupied” (Barker and Chin, 257).
But the physical body is where the Masters’ evolutionary development is the least apparent. It is said that if we see an adept on the physical plane, we may not even recognize him as anything more than a good and wise man. Yet on the inner planes, his nature is far beyond that of those who are still caught in the illusion. In their letters, the Mahatmas differentiate between the “inner man” (the spiritual Self of the adept which is relatively omniscient and beyond limitations) and “the outer man,” which is a very limited expression of the spiritual Self working through the psychophysical personality. This is why K.H. wrote: “We are not infallible, all-foreseeing ‘Mahatmas’ at every hour of the day.” As he explained: “An adept—the highest as the lowest—is one only during the exercise of his occult powers.”
said that the least part of their work is done here, in connection with the physical plane. In Theosophy, as well as in most serious spiritual traditions, the physical plane is seen as an illusion. The Maha Chohan, one of the highest adepts, said: “Teach the people to see that life on this earth, even the happiest, is but a burden and an illusion.” This concept echoes the teachings of Plato, who said this world is just the shadow of Reality. It is also related to the first Noble Truth the Buddha taught after his enlightenment: “All is dukkha
(suffering) in this world.” This is one reason why they live in seclusion—most of their activity takes place on the higher planes.
Why they do not spend their time in connection with the physical plane is based on a profound knowledge of the structure of the cosmos. Blavatsky wrote: "It will be easily seen by any one who examines the nature of occult dynamics, that a given amount of energy expended on the spiritual or astral plane is productive of far greater results than the same amount expended on the physical objective plane of existence".
So what is the Masters’ work on these higher planes? This complex subject is beyond the scope of this article. When asked about this, Blavatsky answered: “You would hardly understand, unless you were an Adept. But they keep alive the spiritual life of mankind.”
Theosophy says that the psychological ego is false, that the idea that we are this body, emotions, and mind is a mistake of perception and the source of sorrow. It says that real happiness comes only as an unsought by-product of reducing rather than increasing our attachment and identification with the personal. This is why Blavatsky wrote that “Occultism is not . . . the pursuit of happiness as man understands the word; for the first step is sacrifice, the second renunciation.” K.H. agreed with this when he wrote: “We—the criticized and misunderstood Brothers—we seek to bring men to sacrifice their personality—a passing flash—for the welfare of the whole humanity.”. The Theosophical Mahatmas would never pay attention to personal desires. During the early times of the Theosophical Society, some members, completely misunderstanding the nature of the Mahatmas, would bring HPB some personal requests to ask of them. In a letter Blavatsky explained: "The Masters would not stoop for one moment to give a thought to individual, private matters relating but to one or even ten persons, their welfare, woes and blisses in this world of Maya [illusion], to nothing except questions of really universal importance. It is all you Theosophists who have dragged down in your minds the ideals of our Masters; you who have unconsciously and with the best of intentions and full sincerity of good purpose, desecrated Them, by thinking for one moment, and believing that They would trouble Themselves with your business matters, sons to be born, daughters to be married, houses to be built, etc. etc.
The Mahatmas do not communicate indiscriminately with people who fail to realize the illusion of the personal self, or who are driven by desires, fears, and ambitions: "They work on this plane through two kinds of agents: direct and indirect. Any person sincere and unselfish working in the line of the Masters’ work may receive their inspiration even if they do not know it. Their direct agents are their accepted disciples, who work consciously with the Masters."
Their influence is always available for those of us acting with selflessness and compassion, even though they may be completely unaware of this. As K.H. wrote to Annie Besant: “At favorable times we let loose elevating influences which strike various persons in various ways.” Thus any philanthropic act we perform may be part of the Mahatmas’ work. However, only accepted disciples have a conscious and personal relationship with them. The moral and spiritual qualifications needed to be an accepted disciple are very deep and demanding, and very few in humanity are at the level of spiritual maturity to achieve this. (For a description of these qualifications see At the Feet of the Master and Light on the Path.)
was founded, Guy Ballard
introduced the concept of "Ascended Masters
", founding what later became known as the Ascended Master Teachings
. Guy Ballard and Elizabeth Clare Prophet
from the 1960s to the 1990s added more than 200 new "Ascended Masters" that they claimed to receive dictations from in addition to receiving dictations from the original Masters of the Ancient Wisdom of Theosophy. However, the Theosophical Masters differ from the Ascended ones in many respects.
For example the so-called Ascended Masters, as their name suggests, are supposed to be Masters who have experienced the miracle of ascension, as it is said Jesus did. The original teaching, channeled by Guy Ballard, was that a new Ascended Master would not die but would take the body up with him. This teaching of ascension is in direct opposition to the Theosophical teachings. Mahatma K.H. refers to the idea disparagingly in one of his letters to Sinnett: “There was but one hysterical woman alleged to have been present at the pretended ascension, and . . . the phenomenon has never been corroborated by repetition.”. Mme. Blavatsky also rejects ascension as a fact, calling it “an allegory as old as the world.” In the Theosophical view, the Masters of Wisdom retain their physical bodies.
The Masters of the Wisdom are not like the Ascended ones, who are said to become Godlike, all-powerful beings beyond the laws of nature. In their teachings, the Theosophical Masters even denied that such beings exist. Mahatma K.H. wrote: “If we had the powers of the imaginary Personal God, and the universal and immutable laws were but toys to play with, then indeed might we have created conditions that would have turned this earth into an Arcadia for lofty souls.” In their letters, the Mahatmas constantly talk about the “immutable laws” of the universe, and that they can help humanity only within the limits of these laws.
Proponents of the Ascended Masters sometimes attempt to account for these discrepancies by claiming that when the TS was founded most of the Theosophical Mahatmas were still “unascended Masters.” This leaves room to detach the Ascended Masters from the limitations that all the Mahatmas, “the highest as the lowest,” are said to have. But according to the Theosophical teachings, the higher the adept, the less we are likely to hear from him: "The more spiritual the Adept becomes, the less can he meddle with mundane, gross affairs and the more he has to confine himself to a spiritual work. . . . The very high Adepts, therefore, do help humanity, but only spiritually: they are constitutionally incapable of meddling with worldly affairs."
Theosophy says that the psychological ego is false, that the idea that we are this body, emotions, and mind is a mistake of perception and the source of sorrow. It says that real happiness comes only as an unsought by-product of reducing rather than increasing our attachment and identification with the personal. This is why Blavatsky wrote that “Occultism is not . . . the pursuit of happiness as man understands the word; for the first step is sacrifice, the second renunciation.” K.H. agreed with this when he wrote: “We—the criticized and misunderstood Brothers—we seek to bring men to sacrifice their personality—a passing flash—for the welfare of the whole humanity.”. The Theosophical Mahatmas would never pay attention to personal desires. During the early times of the Theosophical Society, some members, completely misunderstanding the nature of the Mahatmas, would bring HPB some personal requests to ask of them. In a letter Blavatsky explained: "The Masters would not stoop for one moment to give a thought to individual, private matters relating but to one or even ten persons, their welfare, woes and blisses in this world of Maya [illusion], to nothing except questions of really universal importance. It is all you Theosophists who have dragged down in your minds the ideals of our Masters; you who have unconsciously and with the best of intentions and full sincerity of good purpose, desecrated Them, by thinking for one moment, and believing that They would trouble Themselves with your business matters, sons to be born, daughters to be married, houses to be built, etc. etc.
And yet this kind of interest is a very marked feature of the Ascended Masters. They Ascended Masters Teachings even teach ways to dissolve unpleasant karma, a conception that the Theosophical Mahatmas emphatically opposed. K.H. wrote: "Bear in mind that the slightest cause produced, however unconsciously, and with whatever motive, cannot be unmade, or its effects crossed in their progress—by millions of gods, demons, and men combined." The Ascended Masters are portrayed as cosmic fathers who will take care of their followers’ problems. In contrast, Mahatma M. said: “ We are leaders but not child-nurses.”
suggests in his book The Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood that the Masters that Madam Blavatsky claimed she had personally met are idealizations of certain people she had met during her lifetime.
Also see the article “Talking to the Dead and Other Amusements” by Paul Zweig New York Times October 5, 1980, which maintains that Madame Blavatsky's revelations were fraudulent.
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the world. Sometimes they are referred to by Theosophists as Elder Brothers of the Human Race, Adepts, Mahatmas, or simply as The Masters.
Helena Blavatsky was the first person to introduce the concept of the Masters to the West. At first she talked about them privately, but she stated that after a few years two of these adepts, Kuthumi
Kuthumi
The Master Kuthumi, sometimes spelled Koot Hoomi, Kut Humi, rarely Kut-Hu-Mi, Master K.H., or simply K.H. in Theosophy, is regarded as one of the "Masters of the Ancient Wisdom." According to Theosophy, Kuthumi is considered to be one of the members of the Spiritual Hierarchy called the Masters of...
(K.H.) and Morya (M.), agreed to maintain a correspondence with two British Theosophists – Alfred P. Sinnett and A. O. Hume. This communication took place from 1880 to 1885, and during those years the reputed existence and objectives of the Mahatmas became public. The original letters are currently kept in the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and have been published as the Mahatma Letters
Mahatma Letters
The Mahatma Letters are letters that were claimed to be written by the Theosophical Mahatmas or Masters of the Ancient Wisdom to certain Theosophists, especially A. P. Sinnett, A. O. Hume, Henry Steel Olcott, Helena Blavatsky, C. W. Leadbeater and others....
.
Physical nature of the Masters of the Wisdom
The Masters of the Wisdom are enlightened yogis, similar in certain respects to those traditionally known in the East. However, there is a difference. An enlightened one, after having realized Truth, has gained the right to merge with the All in a state of absolute bliss (called mokshaMoksha
Within Indian religions, moksha or mukti , literally "release" , is the liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and reincarnation or rebirth.-Origins:It is highly probable that the concept of moksha was first developed in...
or nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
). This prevents him from being in touch with humanity, since he has to abandon the lower vehicles of consciousness. By contrast, the Theosophical Masters, out of compassion, decide to give up entering into nirvana so that they remain able to help us in our struggle to realize Truth.
The Mahatmas are in this respect what the Mahayana
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhists call bodhisattvas. They choose to retain the body, not because of any fault in their development but as an act of self-sacrifice. Possessing a physical body subjects the adepts to certain unavoidable limitations. As Blavatsky said, they “are living men, born as we are born, and doomed to die like every mortal.” Being perfect yogis, they have learned how to take care of their bodies so that they can live much longer than ordinary human beings; nevertheless, the bodies must eventually die.
The Mahatma Letters have several statements about the limitations intrinsic in leading a physical existence. For example, Mahatma K.H. wrote: “I was physically very tired by a ride of 48 hours consecutively.” He also stated that he is limited to his physical senses and the functions of his brain “when I sit at my meals, or when I am dressing, reading or otherwise occupied” (Barker and Chin, 257).
But the physical body is where the Masters’ evolutionary development is the least apparent. It is said that if we see an adept on the physical plane, we may not even recognize him as anything more than a good and wise man. Yet on the inner planes, his nature is far beyond that of those who are still caught in the illusion. In their letters, the Mahatmas differentiate between the “inner man” (the spiritual Self of the adept which is relatively omniscient and beyond limitations) and “the outer man,” which is a very limited expression of the spiritual Self working through the psychophysical personality. This is why K.H. wrote: “We are not infallible, all-foreseeing ‘Mahatmas’ at every hour of the day.” As he explained: “An adept—the highest as the lowest—is one only during the exercise of his occult powers.”
Their Work for Humanity
Annie BesantAnnie Besant
Annie Besant was a prominent British Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self rule.She was married at 19 to Frank Besant but separated from him over religious differences. She then became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society ...
said that the least part of their work is done here, in connection with the physical plane. In Theosophy, as well as in most serious spiritual traditions, the physical plane is seen as an illusion. The Maha Chohan, one of the highest adepts, said: “Teach the people to see that life on this earth, even the happiest, is but a burden and an illusion.” This concept echoes the teachings of Plato, who said this world is just the shadow of Reality. It is also related to the first Noble Truth the Buddha taught after his enlightenment: “All is dukkha
Dukkha
Dukkha is a Pali term roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, discontent, unsatisfactoriness, unhappiness, sorrow, affliction, social alienation, anxiety,...
(suffering) in this world.” This is one reason why they live in seclusion—most of their activity takes place on the higher planes.
Why they do not spend their time in connection with the physical plane is based on a profound knowledge of the structure of the cosmos. Blavatsky wrote: "It will be easily seen by any one who examines the nature of occult dynamics, that a given amount of energy expended on the spiritual or astral plane is productive of far greater results than the same amount expended on the physical objective plane of existence".
So what is the Masters’ work on these higher planes? This complex subject is beyond the scope of this article. When asked about this, Blavatsky answered: “You would hardly understand, unless you were an Adept. But they keep alive the spiritual life of mankind.”
Theosophy says that the psychological ego is false, that the idea that we are this body, emotions, and mind is a mistake of perception and the source of sorrow. It says that real happiness comes only as an unsought by-product of reducing rather than increasing our attachment and identification with the personal. This is why Blavatsky wrote that “Occultism is not . . . the pursuit of happiness as man understands the word; for the first step is sacrifice, the second renunciation.” K.H. agreed with this when he wrote: “We—the criticized and misunderstood Brothers—we seek to bring men to sacrifice their personality—a passing flash—for the welfare of the whole humanity.”. The Theosophical Mahatmas would never pay attention to personal desires. During the early times of the Theosophical Society, some members, completely misunderstanding the nature of the Mahatmas, would bring HPB some personal requests to ask of them. In a letter Blavatsky explained: "The Masters would not stoop for one moment to give a thought to individual, private matters relating but to one or even ten persons, their welfare, woes and blisses in this world of Maya [illusion], to nothing except questions of really universal importance. It is all you Theosophists who have dragged down in your minds the ideals of our Masters; you who have unconsciously and with the best of intentions and full sincerity of good purpose, desecrated Them, by thinking for one moment, and believing that They would trouble Themselves with your business matters, sons to be born, daughters to be married, houses to be built, etc. etc.
Their Relation to Humanity
The adepts are impersonal, universal forces, and respond only to those who are developing in that direction. Mme. Blavatsky wrote: "Although the whole of humanity is within the mental vision of the mahatmas, they cannot be expected to take special note of every human being, unless that being by his special acts draws their particular attention to himself. The highest interest of humanity, as a whole, is their special concern, for they have identified themselves with that Universal Soul which runs through Humanity, and he, who would draw their attention, must do so through that Soul which pervades everywhere."The Mahatmas do not communicate indiscriminately with people who fail to realize the illusion of the personal self, or who are driven by desires, fears, and ambitions: "They work on this plane through two kinds of agents: direct and indirect. Any person sincere and unselfish working in the line of the Masters’ work may receive their inspiration even if they do not know it. Their direct agents are their accepted disciples, who work consciously with the Masters."
Their influence is always available for those of us acting with selflessness and compassion, even though they may be completely unaware of this. As K.H. wrote to Annie Besant: “At favorable times we let loose elevating influences which strike various persons in various ways.” Thus any philanthropic act we perform may be part of the Mahatmas’ work. However, only accepted disciples have a conscious and personal relationship with them. The moral and spiritual qualifications needed to be an accepted disciple are very deep and demanding, and very few in humanity are at the level of spiritual maturity to achieve this. (For a description of these qualifications see At the Feet of the Master and Light on the Path.)
Masters of Wisdom versus Ascended Masters
In 1930, fifty-five years after the Theosophical SocietyTheosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
was founded, Guy Ballard
Guy Ballard
Guy Warren Ballard was an American mining engineer who became, with his wife, Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard, the founder of the "I AM" Activity....
introduced the concept of "Ascended Masters
Ascended master
Ascended Masters, in the Ascended Master Teachings is derived from the Theosophical concept of Masters of the Ancient Wisdom or "Mahatmas", though they differ in important aspects...
", founding what later became known as the Ascended Master Teachings
Ascended Master Teachings
The students of "Ascended Master Teachings" organizations believe that the Presence of Life/God - Individualizes as the "I AM", and incarnates throughout the created universes until it achieves The Ascension . The "Teachings" as all Religious Teachings.....
. Guy Ballard and Elizabeth Clare Prophet
Elizabeth Clare Prophet
Elizabeth Clare Prophet was an American spiritual author and lecturer who was the leader of The Summit Lighthouse and Church Universal and Triumphant, a New Age religious movement which gained media attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s while preparing for potential nuclear disaster.During...
from the 1960s to the 1990s added more than 200 new "Ascended Masters" that they claimed to receive dictations from in addition to receiving dictations from the original Masters of the Ancient Wisdom of Theosophy. However, the Theosophical Masters differ from the Ascended ones in many respects.
For example the so-called Ascended Masters, as their name suggests, are supposed to be Masters who have experienced the miracle of ascension, as it is said Jesus did. The original teaching, channeled by Guy Ballard, was that a new Ascended Master would not die but would take the body up with him. This teaching of ascension is in direct opposition to the Theosophical teachings. Mahatma K.H. refers to the idea disparagingly in one of his letters to Sinnett: “There was but one hysterical woman alleged to have been present at the pretended ascension, and . . . the phenomenon has never been corroborated by repetition.”. Mme. Blavatsky also rejects ascension as a fact, calling it “an allegory as old as the world.” In the Theosophical view, the Masters of Wisdom retain their physical bodies.
The Masters of the Wisdom are not like the Ascended ones, who are said to become Godlike, all-powerful beings beyond the laws of nature. In their teachings, the Theosophical Masters even denied that such beings exist. Mahatma K.H. wrote: “If we had the powers of the imaginary Personal God, and the universal and immutable laws were but toys to play with, then indeed might we have created conditions that would have turned this earth into an Arcadia for lofty souls.” In their letters, the Mahatmas constantly talk about the “immutable laws” of the universe, and that they can help humanity only within the limits of these laws.
Proponents of the Ascended Masters sometimes attempt to account for these discrepancies by claiming that when the TS was founded most of the Theosophical Mahatmas were still “unascended Masters.” This leaves room to detach the Ascended Masters from the limitations that all the Mahatmas, “the highest as the lowest,” are said to have. But according to the Theosophical teachings, the higher the adept, the less we are likely to hear from him: "The more spiritual the Adept becomes, the less can he meddle with mundane, gross affairs and the more he has to confine himself to a spiritual work. . . . The very high Adepts, therefore, do help humanity, but only spiritually: they are constitutionally incapable of meddling with worldly affairs."
Theosophy says that the psychological ego is false, that the idea that we are this body, emotions, and mind is a mistake of perception and the source of sorrow. It says that real happiness comes only as an unsought by-product of reducing rather than increasing our attachment and identification with the personal. This is why Blavatsky wrote that “Occultism is not . . . the pursuit of happiness as man understands the word; for the first step is sacrifice, the second renunciation.” K.H. agreed with this when he wrote: “We—the criticized and misunderstood Brothers—we seek to bring men to sacrifice their personality—a passing flash—for the welfare of the whole humanity.”. The Theosophical Mahatmas would never pay attention to personal desires. During the early times of the Theosophical Society, some members, completely misunderstanding the nature of the Mahatmas, would bring HPB some personal requests to ask of them. In a letter Blavatsky explained: "The Masters would not stoop for one moment to give a thought to individual, private matters relating but to one or even ten persons, their welfare, woes and blisses in this world of Maya [illusion], to nothing except questions of really universal importance. It is all you Theosophists who have dragged down in your minds the ideals of our Masters; you who have unconsciously and with the best of intentions and full sincerity of good purpose, desecrated Them, by thinking for one moment, and believing that They would trouble Themselves with your business matters, sons to be born, daughters to be married, houses to be built, etc. etc.
And yet this kind of interest is a very marked feature of the Ascended Masters. They Ascended Masters Teachings even teach ways to dissolve unpleasant karma, a conception that the Theosophical Mahatmas emphatically opposed. K.H. wrote: "Bear in mind that the slightest cause produced, however unconsciously, and with whatever motive, cannot be unmade, or its effects crossed in their progress—by millions of gods, demons, and men combined." The Ascended Masters are portrayed as cosmic fathers who will take care of their followers’ problems. In contrast, Mahatma M. said: “ We are leaders but not child-nurses.”
Skeptical view
K. Paul JohnsonK. Paul Johnson
Kenneth Paul Johnson is a historian of esotericism who has written books on Theosophy and Edgar Cayce. He was a member of both the Theosophical Society and the Association for Research and Enlightenment from the late 1970s intermittently through the early 2000s. In 2005 he joined the Church of...
suggests in his book The Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood that the Masters that Madam Blavatsky claimed she had personally met are idealizations of certain people she had met during her lifetime.
Also see the article “Talking to the Dead and Other Amusements” by Paul Zweig New York Times October 5, 1980, which maintains that Madame Blavatsky's revelations were fraudulent.
See also
- Ascended masters
- Hodgson ReportHodgson ReportThe Hodgson Report was a report by the Society for Psychical Research on Madam Blavatsky and the Mahatma Letters.-History:Richard Hodgson, a member of the SPR and a research worker of paranormal phenomena, was sent to India. Hodgson's task was to examine if the mode of appearance attributed to the...
- Initiation (Theosophy)Initiation (Theosophy)Initiation is a concept in Theosophy that there are nine levels of spiritual development that beings who live on Earth can progress upward through. Within these levels, there are four basic levels of spiritual development that human beings on Earth progress through as they reincarnate, although...
- TheosophyTheosophyTheosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
Further reading
- Campbell, Bruce F. A History of the Theosophical Movement Berkeley:1980 University of California Press
- Godwin, Joscelyn The Theosophical Enlightenment Albany, New York: 1994 State University of New York Press
- Johnson, K. Paul The Masters Revealed: Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Brotherhood Albany, New York: 1994 State University of New York Press
- Melton, J. Gordon Encyclopedia of American Religions 5th Edition New York:1996 Gale Research ISBN 0-8103-7714-4 ISSN 1066-1212 Chapter 18--"The Ancient Wisdom Family of Religions" Pages 151-158; see chart on page 154 listing Masters of the Ancient Wisdom; Also see Section 18, Pages 717-757 Descriptions of various Ancient Wisdom religious organizations
- Sender, Pablo Mahatmas versus Ascended Masters Wheaton, Il:Quest Summer 2011, The Theosophical Society in America. Online access.