Theosophy is based on the teachings of its founder, H. P. Blavatsky, who is sometimes referred to as Madame Blavatsky, or “H.P.B.” Blavatsky understood and loved America for “its noble freedom,” and was proud to be a citizen. Blavatsky was born in 1831 in Dniepropetrovsk (now in the Ukraine, formerly a province of the USSR) and descended from German and Russian nobility. Her mother, who was a well-known writer, died of consumption when Helena was ten years old. Blavatsky traveled extensively through the Middle East, India, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and Europe; New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, and finally, Tibet, where she studied Tibetan philosophy.
Blavatsky co-founded the Theosophical Society in New York City in 1875 with the motto, “There is no Religion higher than Truth.” (Her co-founders were William Quan Judge and Henry S. Olcott.) Blavatsky’s most well-known work, The Secret Doctrine, contains ideas familiar to those who have studied the Vedantas (Hindu holy scripture).
Regarding existence, Blavatsky states, “Parabrahm (the One Reality, the Absolute) is the field of Absolute Consciousness, i.e., that Essence which is out of all relation to conditioned existence, and of which conscious existence is a conditioned symbol. But once that we pass in thought from this (to us) Absolute Negation, duality supervenes in the contrast of Spirit (or consciousness) and Matter, Subject and Object.
Spirit (or Consciousness) and Matter are, however, to be regarded, not as independent realities, but as the two facets or aspects of the Absolute (Parabrahm), which constitute the basis of conditioned Being whether subjective or objective. Considering this metaphysical triad as the Root from which proceeds all manifestation, the great Breath assumes the character of precosmic Ideation. It is the fons et origo of force and of all individual consciousness, and supplies the guiding intelligence in the vast scheme of cosmic Evolution. On the other hand, pre-cosmic root-substance (Mulaprakriti) is that aspect of the Absolute which underlies all the objective planes of Nature.”
(a Latin term meaning “source and origin”)
The purpose of Theosophy is not only to comprehend reality and the soul, and not only to understand the great Eastern religious texts, but to discover what principles, or secrets, unite the world’s religions, sciences, and philosophies. The word “Theosophy” derives from the Greek words theos, meaning divinity and sophia, which means wisdom. Theosophy answers the great questions of humanity, such as “Who am I?” “Where am I going?” and “What am I doing here?” Theosophists realize the brotherhood of man by showing the real unity and essential non-separateness of every being.
Theosophy’s principles include a belief that the universe itself is an organic whole, alive, intelligent, conscious, and divine; that the laws of nature are the result of intelligent forces; and a belief that karma operates at all levels, ensuring harmony and balance.
In Los Angeles, The United Lodge of Theosophists is located at 245 West 33rd Street near the USC campus, and can be reached by telephone at (213) 748-7244 or by e-mail at [email protected]
Sunday morning classes are held in English from 9:15 to 10:15AM, and Spanish from 10:30AM to 12:oo noon. Sunday evening classes are from 7:30PM to 8:45PM. Classes are also held several times throughout the day on Wednesdays and Fridays. For more information
Visit the official United Lodge of Theosophists Los Angeles website at: http://ult-la.org/.
