Bring4th

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I know close to nothing about this topic but would also like to express my interest in it

I have consumed a lot of their media.

Their origin story and such can be considered "meshing" with Law of One.

Their message and goal are positively polarized.

As with anything, take what you read and hear with a grain of salt.

However, what the Theosophical Society of America believes is a meshing of all major world religions and their esoteric school's teachings. They arrive at a culmination of all these teachings, as well as other reputable sources on esoteric knowledge from around the world.

They are accepting of all religious views, and do not push their views onto others. Their members are encouraged to come to their own conclusions from the wealth of knowledge they share among each other.

edit:
I'd like to add more to this. I was interested in the information they shared, but I had my doubts. I reached out to them via email, and asked if anyone would be willing to talk and help answer questions regarding these doubts.

My doubts were the following:

1) What is the significance of "race" in Blavatsky's writings? It mentions this "aryan race", why is there such a distinction, etc?
2) On the website, under "joining" for membership, there is a cheaper option for "prisoner". What exactly is this, and why does it cost money to become a member in the first place?
3) I hear there are ties of Nazism and their agenda with the Theosophical Society. What is up with this? Even Wikipedia seems to attack the society by drawing parallels from Blavatsky's mentioning of human races and the agenda of WWII Nazis.

A chairperson kindly responded with answers that cleared away these doubts. I will quote what she said in response to these doubts:
1)

Quote:In theosophy, the word "race" as it's used to discuss root races has a completely different meaning than it does in common conversation.  In normal conversation, the word "race" is used to denote physical features such as eye shape, skin color, etc.  The term "root race" in theosophy refers to a stage of development of consciousness.  In each of the seven root races, humanity learns different lessons.  My understanding is that most of the people alive on the planet today belong to the 5th root race (and probably belong to various sub-races within the root race), though I suppose some could still be learning the lessons of the 4th root race, as there is tremendous overlap in humanity's stages of development.  So if you were to try to discern someone's root race, you would have to know the totality of their consciousness rather than just look at their bodies.

Then too, we are each the sum total of our previous experiences (that's even true within one incarnation).  Whatever lessons we learned and whatever facilities we developed in previous root races remain with us.  And even though we're now in the 5th root race doesn't mean that we, as a group, have mastered all the lessons of the 4th root race.  It is said that common negative traits of the Atlantean root race (4th) were pride of intellect, indifference to moral and human values . . . do you see any carry-over of that in our world today? You see what I mean about the overlap.  

2) *note: I have paraphrased this because it references costs*
  The prisoner, free option for membership is for incarcerated individuals. The society decided to give a free membership to those who cannot afford it and those in extenuating circumstances. Incarceration is one such circumstance.
As for the membership fees, she suggests that it is like a form of commitment to learning and way of life. She also points out that membership fees can be waived if you feel that you cannot afford it for whatever reason, as the fee is not a requirement for membership.
3)

Quote:This is a two part question.  First, did the TS inspire the Nazi's?  This one just won't die.  Naturally, it is possible for anyone to take any teaching, misunderstand and misinterpret it to a tragic degree, and cause unthinkable pain in the world as a result. To anyone familiar with the TS, though, the idea is preposterous since the TS has as its first object a dedication to the brotherhood of humanity.  And Blavatsky said over and over that the ethics of theosophy were far and away more important than the metaphysical teachings.  She emphasized altruism above all.  The most fundamental teaching in theosophy is that all life is one.  This teaching gives rise to an ethic in life.  It results in a feeling of true brotherhood for our fellow humans, and in compassion and respect for animals, vegetation, mineral life and all life forms.  If someone truly grasps that teaching and its all-encompassing ramifications, then it escapes me how they could think that the TS "inspired" horrific human practices such as genocide.  In truth, though, this idea is typically promulgated by those who do not truly grasp the crux of theosophy.  And now I'll step off my soapbox so you can read a very thoughtful article by a Dutch theosophist whose writing I admire, Katinka Hesselink.  She has tackled this issue head-on numerous times and here is the current article I found on her website: http://www.katinkahesselink.net/faq/ariosophy.html

Second, Rudolph Steiner.  Here's my understanding of why he split from the TS (I'm laying all this out because I don't know what you've read, and there could be multiple explanations out there).  I don't know if this is true, but it's what I've read.  In the TS, we have very few rules, but there is one rule that is inviolable: freedom of thought.  It is inviolable, period.  All members are free to think for themselves.  In the earlier days of the TS, the leadership got incredibly carried away by the idea that part of the destiny of the TS was to find the next world teacher and present him to the world.  (I don't mean to cast stones, and I recognize that hindsight is 20/20.  They were doing what they thought was right at the time, and I'm convinced their hearts were in the right place.) They chose Jiddu Krishnamurti, who played the part for a time but rejected the role in 1929.  Before that time, though, there was much hoopla about TS members, usually the prominent ones, undergoing rapid-fire initiations so they could become "disciples" of the new world teacher.  Other leaders within the TS did what they could to put a stop to it.  It wasn't the prettiest chapter in theosophical history, but is productive of many lessons.  Steiner was evidently so turned off by the Krishnamurti phenomenon (in retrospect, who can blame him?) that he prohibited German TS members from belonging to Krishnamurti's pre-1929 organization, the Order of the Star.  By so doing, he violated German members' freedom of thought.  Annie Besant was international president at the time, and she tried diplomacy to get Steiner to remove his prohibition.  Steiner would not budge, and the General Council, the governing body of the international TS, reminded Annie Besant that under the bylaws, she had no choice but to revoke the German section's charter.  That's just what she did, and as a result we lost the whole German section of the TS in one swoop, as most German members followed Steiner.   I believe your question is whether all the hoopla to which Steiner objected is still present in the TS. The answer is no.  After such a regrettable chapter in our history, the pendulum has swung the other direction, and it's almost considered taboo to discuss your own or someone else's spiritual status.  What a pity that these purely personality-level disagreements resulted in a huge split of an organization dedicated to brotherhood.  Words fail.

As this is quoting an email I had with their public information email, I feel that it is acceptable to share with you the answers I received from my questions. I could have paraphrased her words, but I feel that would be disservice to the attempts she made in communicating her ideas.

The theosophy is of one of the least distorted esoteric schools in Earth. I reccommend not only Blavatsky but Charles Webster Leadbeater's and Annie Besant 's writings. The theosophic teachings are very similiar with The Ra Material, as Ra said "you have a need for the diversity of experiences in channeling which go with a more intensive, or as you might call it, advanced approach to the system of studying the patterns of the illusions of your body, your mind, and your spirit, which you call seeking the truth. We hope to offer you a somewhat different slant upon the information which is always and ever the same."

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The only theosophical writings I've ever been able to get in to were those of Alice A. Bailey who technically wasn't involved with Blavatsky, at least not directly.

(11-14-2017, 11:40 AM)GentleWanderer Wrote: [ -> ]And about the masters Koot Hoomi and Morya, did you think they existed ?

While I have consumed a lot of their media, I haven't happened upon references to Koot Hoomi or Morya. I was mostly interested in the origin story of the universe, as well as after death experiences, rather than the origin story of the TS.

I think these figures were rarely mentioned (if at all) in the books I've read, or of the lectures I've listened to. That is not to say they aren't referenced in other books or writings... It would take me many lifetimes to go through all the media offered to members of the TS.

As a member of the TS, you have freedom to read and learn whatever you're interested in. They have a physical and online library free for members to check things out from.

I suppose I simply wasn't as interested in that, as I've understood since before joining that Blavatsky was the founder. Regrettably, I never validated this knowledge. I suppose I find the names of the teachers less important than the message they share.