The Secret Doctrine: A Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy

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The Secret Doctrine: A Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 436 ratings · 31 reviews

Continuously in print for over 100 years, the SD remains today the most comprehensive sourcebook of the esoteric tradition, outlining the fundamental tenets of the "Secret Doctrine of the Archaic Ages." Challenging, prophetic, and strikingly modern, it directly addresses the perennial questions: continuity of life after death, purpose of existence, good and evil, conscious...more

Paperback, 1571 pages

Published December 28th 1999 by Theosophical University PR (first published 1888)

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Sep 01, 2012 Gregg rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: metaphysics

When I first considered reading the The Secret Doctrine, I thought I had a pretty good back ground in the understanding of esoteric interpretations of nature. I quickly realized that if I read the material at that point, I would only attain a C-average understanding. This for me would be unacceptable. I knew that there would need to be a lot of mental upgrading. I first picked out 10 books that would get me from where I was, to where I needed to be, here are the books in the order that I read th...more When I first considered reading the The Secret Doctrine, I thought I had a pretty good back ground in the understanding of esoteric interpretations of nature. I quickly realized that if I read the material at that point, I would only attain a C-average understanding. This for me would be unacceptable. I knew that there would need to be a lot of mental upgrading. I first picked out 10 books that would get me from where I was, to where I needed to be, here are the books in the order that I read them - The Astral plane, This Dynamic Universe , The solar system , A Geometry of Space Consciousness , Eckankar, The key to Secret Worlds , How you can explore Higher dimensions of Space & Time, The Evolution of Consciousness, The Secret Doctrine-The abridge version. Along with this mental preparation came a fair amount of physical preparation. There was the every other day 5 mile bike ride, the in between days of various fitness training, as well as a reduction in my intake of stress. I looked at these books as my intellectual Mt-Everest. One would not try to climb Mt. Everest without adequate preparation. I had to get used to the sentence structure, the phraseology , as well as the profoundness of the material. I found the volume on Cosmogenesis to be the most interesting. The postulate that the universe existed before it was aware of itself brought a tear to my eye. The belief that God had to figure out a way to create itself from "nothing", was a high non-pareil. Also when you begin to study the mechanics of non-being, this can only hasten ones journey back to the source (non-being). The reading of the text, The solar system by A.E Powell, really helped me to understand vol two, Anthropogensis. The concepts, the wording, and the time line were very similar. Volume two allowed me to unite all the mythologies of all the cultures into one homogeneous whole.
I will have more to say in part two of my review. I want to detail more of the ideals expressed.

The first volume Cosmogenesis deals with the mechanics of how God created itself. Like all of us , God had existence before it was aware of itself. We had life after conception, but we did not have self awareness until around the age of 3 or 4. The same is true for all entities, and non entities. The treaties on Cosmogenesis goes into detail as to how God created itself from the great potential. Before anything can exist the "potential" has to exist first, even when it comes to God. Before God could actualize itself, it had to create the tools of existence. It first had to create space, and then it had to create time, and then it had to create form (geometry) or matter, (which is just folded space). Imagine space as a flat table cloth, now imagine that you twist up a little piece of the table cloth, there you have a disturbance, and that disturbance or "change" is matter. Matter is to space, what Ice is to water. Oh yes, what say you. From these manifestations God poured itself into its newly created universe, and this act represented a type of self awareness for God. I liked how the author interpreted the more arcane text,(stanzas) of the various religions into a practical explanation for a contemporary audience. The section on non-being which predates existence, starts on page 44. It was the non-beings that yearned to exist that caused creation to "be". It was because these non-existence creatures of nothing, seeking to understand the absent of reality, that a potential God brought forth a secondary reality to give them expression in the great actualization we call the Metaverse. The reading is slow and tedious, but when that ah moment of intellectual illumination surges through your being, the time invested is a small price to pay. I could not find any holes in the logic of her presentations, and the route she takes the reader on shows the mark of a true teacher. Another section that tickled my fancy was that on the subject of sacred geometry. The first "thing" that was created, were patterns in the void. These shapes define what is in the shape, and what is outside. This sets up a differentiation in the symmetry of nothing. From there the phenomenon of motion was introduce, and that became the bases for a type of life. Pythagoras was a great teacher of sacred geometry, and I would recommend his teachings to further your understanding of the subject. I cannot say enough about the debt humanity owes to Madam Blavatsky. "Her" ideals as they are expressed in the text are a great boom to our understanding of what is, and a profound boost to aid us in our journey home. The text on anthropogenesis deals mainly with human consciousness, and the forms it has had to function through. It talks about the different changes and rounds as well as the root races, and sub races, and how those races brought out different characteristics of awareness, that the developing consciousness had to unfold to become aware of the laws of nature, which is called evolution. The text states that as consciousness dabbled in physical reality it became more engrossed in the forms it began to inhabit. At some point this consciousness began to forget its true home, because in the physical form they could feel more alive, if only in a limited physical sense . At this stage the young consciousness cannot function on its own plane (the 5th dimension) it must work its way up. Its like being able to do more under the influence of some substance, and you come to think that is normal, and the old dull way is abnormal and is to be avoided. To some schools of thought this came to be known as the "fall" of mankind, as the soul (consciousness) became enmeshed in physical reality, which was the natural course of evolution. When the young consciousness or souls saw the quagmire they had made, some of them refused to complete the cycle of their curriculum of learning, this was known as the rebellion, or the war in heaven. It would be like a child refusing to complete the rest of the school year, because of one rough day. These young souls supposedly were lead by one entity who sought to "modify" the plan of nature. This entity was known as the bringer of knowledge (choice). Why, it thought, should we be giving free will, and we can't use it ? This adventurous young soul came to be known as Lucifer in the various religions and myths. If I'm to understand the readings this being was one of the saviors of humanity by being the first to "use" free will as compare to just intellectualizing it. We see this being bringing choice to other human creations. In the "story" of Adam and Eve they were just automatons who were basically robots with no chance for advancement. Ask yourself, what did Adam and Eve do in the garden all day, remember they had all eternity to do it!! Could they feel pain ? mentally or physically ? could they get bored ? could they leave the garden ? did they have hunger pangs, if so then it wouldn't be paradise. Lucifer/Satan as the parable goes, offered Adam and Eve a "choice" stay here and remain ignorant, or exercise your free will and explore the wonders of existence, with responsibilities and consequences. The only true freedom is to be more than that which created you. One ideal the text ends with is describing the next race (not skin color) that will bring about other traits of consciousness, that of intuition and empathy . This round, or period will last about 700 years. The secret Doctrine does a good job in explaining these scenarios from a Theosophical point of view. Whether you agree with such esoteric views is secondary to the fact that at least you're open minded enough to at least considered them. For this we should be thankful that Madam Blavatsky presented these interpretations in what I think are a very lucid and pragmatic way, and for this I give her all the stars. (less)

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Apr 05, 2010 AirWind rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: esoteric_philosophy

A must reference book for serious seekers and researchers of esoteric philosophies and modern occultism! Not necessarily an easy read. HP Blavatsky's writing style was a bit crude as her native language is not English. But the ideas presented, I believe, formed the basis of the modern occult movement - both eastern and western. I started reading this one when I was still in senior high school and finally "finished" reading it a few years back. Its like it took me 15 years to read it! :) But Im n...more

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May 02, 2008 David rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: philosophers: scientists/mystics

Shelves: philosophy, mythology

This gives a historical, ecumenical, esoteric analytic & synthetic 'a priori' overview of worldwide science, religion, and philosophy. This, her vol. 3, and _Isis_Unveiled_ are my favourite books because they are the heaviest reading I have ever come across. One to Five percent of it I do not understand, though most of it scientifically (at least philology) details deep religious topics with logical interfaith philosophy, as well as many scientific topics (up to 1800s) in an 'a priori' philo...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Teza rated it 1 of 5 stars

@Bayandu and others who are smart and enlightened enough to discern the difference between true genius and absurdity. Kudos to you and thanks for your insightful and honest opinions! The author of these writings was indeed either a disillusioned racist, a fraudulent racist...or both. Also, if her English was so poor that she could not even read and write properly in English, then how can we be for certain know much of the missing gaps in the stories, facts, messages, practices etc she collected...more

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Jul 29, 2009 Andrew Hennessey rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was in volume 3 of the secret doctrine that I found the issues that 1930's nazi Germany found pleasing in Blavatskys work .. in the chapter on Root Races ... but volume 1 still remains an important and very ancient contribution to 21st Century chaos theory [logos-outpouring-vehicles:] - the suppressed law of emergence written up in Hindu terminology

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Sep 04, 2009 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion

this book took me FOREVER to read. I think it's almost 1000 pages. plus it was written over a 100 years ago so it may as well be in another language as far as i'm concerned. (actually it may have been translated into english from another language if i'm not mistaken).

i started out interested and then about half way through i lost interest but finished it partly out of spite becuase i had invested so much time reading it. there are a lot of books out there that more less explain this book so if...more

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Dec 17, 2010 Brenda Tucker rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I couldn't completely understand what was written in THE SECRET DOCTRINE until I had continued on my search by studying The Saint Germain Foundation, "I AM" Temple books, decrees, and dictations. In 1995, after 20 years of studying theosophy and "I AM" Temple, I had an epiphany and I now think that THE SECRET DOCTRINE needs to be revisited by our scholars in a way that I can instruct them in.

The seven races are beautiful, but largely unfounded until we can arrange them on a descending and ascend...more I couldn't completely understand what was written in THE SECRET DOCTRINE until I had continued on my search by studying The Saint Germain Foundation, "I AM" Temple books, decrees, and dictations. In 1995, after 20 years of studying theosophy and "I AM" Temple, I had an epiphany and I now think that THE SECRET DOCTRINE needs to be revisited by our scholars in a way that I can instruct them in.

The seven races are beautiful, but largely unfounded until we can arrange them on a descending and ascending arc. Then we can see that the descent of the human kingdom took place in 3 stages (or races as H.P.B. refers to them.) The reason that it occurs in 3 stages is that when one kingdom is descending into another and taking up residence inside the mind and body of the kingdom materialized on earth, at first the higher kingdom is too non-material to exist side by side with the material kingdom. One kingdom hovers above the other until through time, the two kingdoms meet on common ground, that which is neither material nor spiritual. When this occurs, a second race or stage begins to be followed by a third. The energies of the two kingdoms blending in one cause the lower kingdom to ascend again and this time (3rd race of stage) the lower kingdom is hovering in a spiritual or semi-etheric state above the higher kingdom which has taken the form from the lower.

The 4th race is strictly human. No other evolving kingdom is present.

During the 5th through 7th races, humans become visited by a higher kingdom which I have named girasas. The girasas kingdom hovering above and influencing human actions and thoughts is what makes us a 5th race. While it is true that there are also genetic forms associated with this kingdom, the way that the 5th race body is developed has not been securely presented. In order for a 5th race body to exist, the 5th race body from the previous round (a water-based round)had to be drawn from the earth and converted into a form suitable for existence on earth. (Naturally, that would include legs and breathing.) When the 5th race body was ready, it served as the Adam for the 5th race. There is an Adam for each of the races, because the body which was preserved from the last round is acquired to serve as a starting point during the present round. At some point, a prototype of the race will be buried for re-enlivenement during the next round.

Because we are still the 5th race, we do not know face to face what it is like to live with the girasas kingdom. We will not fully be capable of knowing and living with them (in a dual or androgynous relationship - both in the same body) until the Adam (or shista) for the next race is again discovered in its preservation place and re-enlivened to serve as a starting point for this type of existence. Eventually, due to the pressure of living with such an advanced life form, humans will ascend and leave the earth, only to be followed once again by a descent into an animal kingdom.

While most people would suggest that how could this be since we still live with animals on earth. I suggest to you that these animals and plants and all of nature, exclusive of humans are involving lives or angels. The involving angels accompany each evolving kingdom and serve as our environment. The actual evolving kingdoms all ascend when the higher kingdom accomplishes their descent. It is possible that certain involving angels are actually transferred from one kingdom to the next as the angels improve by being exposed to denser forms of matter. It actually helps the angelic kingdoms to transfer them to governance by a lower kingdom. In this way, the environments appear to improve with the evolution of the e. kingdom.

This also helps us find agreement with the idea that life is illusion. It appears to us that animals have evolved from dinosaur into mammals because we exist with those forms. However, it is possible that e. animals have only reached a midpoint in their evolution and the mammalian forms were brought with the human kingdom for the purpose of serving as our environment (as well as other purposes in our physical development). In this way, all of the angelic kingdoms use these vast arrays of form that show progression or regression at different times in their existence. A form could be used by either evolving or involving life, and in fact, it is thought that by the angels being in these advanced animal forms, the e. animal is actually helped by the "conditioning" of matter to acquire that advanced state (or one like it) at some point in their future.

(less)

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Oct 06, 2010 Bayandur rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, new-age

This book is complete garbage. The author's incompetence is obvious, she just took everything that was known of Eastern religious and philosophic systems in the 19th century Europe, everything the pseudo-intellectual mass wanted to believe, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Anti-Semitic and Aryan ideologies - everything that wanted to be believed and wasn't systematized yet. She spoke of mahatmas from Hinduism, though there are none there: there are Wise Men - the Rishi, but their role is different...more

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Feb 24, 2013 AirWind rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: esoteric_philosophy

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Oct 15, 2012 Ayam Abraxas rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hands down, the most enlightening book I have ever read. Although there is debate as to the authenticity of some of the information, the book discusses our pre-history Atlantean and Lemurian ancestors, their beliefs and how they descended down into modern culture today. It describes the genetic engineering of mankind by the Annunaki (Elohim). The book is absolutely massive, but well worth the time and effort.

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Jul 14, 2012 Michael Riedyk rated it 1 of 5 stars

Poorly written junk. Mrs. Blavatsky (who later in life turned out to be a fraud) mixed concepts of different religions and added a massive amount of fantasy resulting in a book that has NOTHING to do with reality, truth, philosophy or spirituality (unless you missed the last 100 years in science and philosophy). It does not contain any valuable life lesson. Don't waste your time on this.

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Mar 02, 2010 Gianetta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very intriguing. Very intense. It took all my brain power on an intellectual level, but I connected at a deeper, core level much more readily. Though, I can't say that every concept and principle resonated, the overall work assimilated well to the grander scheme of all I've learned thus far on the subjects.

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Apr 23, 2013 Van Derek rated it 3 of 5 stars

Compulsory reading for theosophists or anyone interested in esoteric philosophy or spiritualism. Theosophical thinking has changed the direction of many lives including the poet William Butler Yeats. This is a highly creative work of spiritualism, to be absorbed and IMHO not to be taken too literally.

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Sep 25, 2012 Vlad Popescu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: spiritual-path

Fara Doamna Blavatsky, fara aceasta carte in special, probabil ca occidentul ar fi fost mult mai rudimentar din punct de vedere spiritual. Indiferent ce am fi adus din orient.

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May 02, 2012 Robert Ingram rated it 2 of 5 stars

Blavatskys mind vomited. For almost an instant, I believed I could feel the earth vibrating. It's a good thing I was stoned at the time, or I might have believed it.

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Nov 30, 2008 Betsy marked it as to-read

Shelves: history

allegedly part of basis for 3rd Reich's rationale for Aryan race, according to natgeotv.com program called Hitler and the Occult

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Feb 09, 2012 Walter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Is a book you have to wade through, but it is well worth the effort you put into it. It is very enlightening.

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Sep 26, 2012 Steven rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: hermetic-library, metaphysiques

This book defined the modern esoteric tradition. Straight from the sane/insane Source of All.

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Nov 26, 2012 Tyler Murset rated it 4 of 5 stars

This mostly went over my head, but what I understood I liked.

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Mar 14, 2013 Tamara Orlando rated it 5 of 5 stars

Complex thought! From an amazingly fascinating woman.

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Sep 18, 2012 Randy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Adds perspective to all the other metaphysical texts

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Sep 03, 2010 Tamara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Absolute must for any Theosophy scholar or mystic.

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Sep 11, 2009 Jessica marked it as to-read

I do not have this book yet. Has anyone ever read it?

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Jan 03, 2013 Grace Zales rated it 3 of 5 stars

Light reading, interesting for a gullible reader. Not for an skeptical person. A part history of magic collection do.

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Sep 19, 2009 Glenn Horne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Profoundly interesting, poorly written

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Jan 25, 2008 Sally rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: theosophy

Brings together a great deal of mythological, 19th-century scientific, and religious material to show the unity behind human traditions throughout time and culture. Principles are universal, whatever one may think of the details.

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Nov 27, 2007 Fostergrants rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternate-reality

i liked this for what i learned about so many alternative belief systems. this woman has a complicated brain! if you don't stop reading once in a while to go for a walk or get some fresh air you will fry quickly.

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Dec 26, 2007 Kyle is currently reading it

A little obscure, it's interesting to see one of the earliest attempts at a westerner coming to understand Buddhism and Hinduism. It's also really weird.

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Oct 12, 2009 Sally rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: theosophy

This is an excellent abridgment of a very long and complexly written book. It makes a good introduction to her thought.

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Jan 17, 2008 Brandon Kendall rated it 5 of 5 stars

HP Blavatsky was truly the mother of modern occultism. Almost as complex and confusing as the vedas.

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