A defence of the life and work of spiritual leader Madame Blavatsky (1831-1891) by one of her fellow theosophists.

"If this work is of men it will come to nothing: but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it " -Rabbi Gamaliel, Acts 5:38?39 Was Theosophical Society founder Helena P. Blavatsky a prophetess or charlatan? Since the 1870's detractors have lambasted both her character and ideas. Yet, H.P.B.'s reputation has continued to grow. Theosophy's non-dogmatic and ecumenical approach to spirituality offers 21st Century seekers a viable alternative to religious fundamentalism. Today thousands of people on every continent belong to the Theosophical Society. All of Madame's books and articles remain in print. The freshness and wit of her letters make them seem as if they were written yesterday. Though controversial, she's withstood time's test. Madame Blavatsky Revisited tells H.P.B.'s remarkable story in an entertaining manner.

The life and times of Helena Blavatsky, the controversial religious guru who cofounded the Theosophical Society and kick-started the New Age movement. Recklessly brilliant, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky scandalized her 19th century world with a controversial new religion that tried to synthesize Eastern and Western philosophies. If her contemporaries saw her as a freak, a charlatan, and a snake oil salesman, she viewed herself as a special person born for great things. She firmly believed that it was her destiny to enlighten the world. Rebelliously breaking conventions, she was the antithesis of a pious religious leader. She cursed, smoked, overate, and needed to airbrush out certain inconvenient facts, like husbands, lovers, and a child. Marion Meade digs deep into Madame Blavatsky’s life from her birth in Russia among the aristocracy to a penniless exile in Europe, across the Atlantic to New York where she became the first Russian woman naturalized as an American citizen, and finally moving on to India where she established the international headquarters of the Theosophical Society in 1882. As she chased from continent to continent, she left in her aftermath a trail of enthralled followers and the ideas of Theosophy that endure to this day. While dismissed as a female messiah, her efforts laid the groundwork for the New Age movement, which sought to reconcile Eastern traditions with Western occultism. Her teachings entered the mainstream by creating new respect for the cultures and religions of the East—for Buddhism and Hinduism—and interest in meditation, yoga, gurus, and reincarnation. Madame Blavatsky was one of a kind. Here is her richly bizarre story told with compassion, insight, and an attempt to plumb the truth behind those astonishing accomplishments.

Colonel Olcott wrote what he then thought was the truth, honestly and sincerely; and, as I had a determined object in view, I did not seek to disabuse him too rudely of his dreams. It was only after the formation of The Theosophical Society in 1875, that he learned the whole truth! But when Colonel Olcott clearly says in his book that instead of being controlled by spirits to do their will, it is I who control the so-called “spirits,” yet he was made to say by Mr. Lillie that it is I who was controlled! I had known “John King” since 1860, for it was the form of an Eastern adept, who has since gone for his final initiation, passing through and visiting us in his living body on his way, at Bombay. What right does Mr. Lillie has to cross-examine me? But since he chooses to take such liberties, I will tell him plainly that he himself knows nothing, not only of initiations and Tibet (not even exoteric), let alone Esoteric Buddhism. Yet he who knows nothing of either Tibet or Buddhism, tries his best to make out Madame Blavatsky a liar in a cunning attempt to elevate himself above his station. Accusations and insinuations against one whom no insult of his can reach, are worthless and unworthy of a self-proclaimed Buddhist. Mr. Lillie is ruining terribly his reputation as an Orientalist. Indeed, before this controversy is settled, he may lay bare the last shreds of his supposed oriental learning for all to see. The irrepressible Arthur Lillie, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, continues his extravagant tirade against Madame Blavatsky. He keeps feeding his censer with his own incense with endless heaping of malignant nonsense, peppered with misconceptions, blunders, and unfair insinuations. His tactics are a sort of guerrilla skirmishing; one answers and corrects one set of blunders when, forthwith, there appears a fresh series. Mr. Lillie is a base man indeed who, having had truth revealed to him under the seal of secrecy, and solemnly pledged himself never to reveal the information, does nevertheless divulge it to the profane. I was a Spiritualist well before the truth of modern Spiritualism. As regards to mediums, séances, and the spiritualistic “philosophy,” so-called — belief in the latter alone constituting a Spiritualist. It is most unfortunate that Mr. Lillie hardly ever knows what he is talking about.

This peer-reviewed study represents a culmination of years of research into the history of the Theosophical Society. In this unique project which combines biographies with source analyses, Jeffrey D. Lavoie records a detailed history of the early Theosophical Society and examines its relationship with the modern Spiritualist movement between the years 1875-1891. Special attention has been paid to some of the neglected figures associated with these organizations including Arthur Lillie- the Gnostic-occultist and early critic of the Theosophical Society; the Davenport Brothers- the Spiritualist mediums who developed many of the standard elements which became associated with modern Spiritualism; Alfred Wallace- the prominent scientist, Spiritualist, and supposed member of the Theosophical Society and many others. This work will appeal to a wide array of readers including those interested in modern religious movements, Western Esotericism, South Asian history, and Victorian studies.

In view of the sustained attack by Anglo-Indian and English journals, we are obliged to enter the arena of controversy, under the penalty of having our silence construed into tacit consent. The torrent of letters from our opponents, pouring upon us from all sides, compelled us to lower the flag of truce which we have hitherto presented to spiritualists. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. The peacock’s feathers of the Indian Dailies and Weeklies, which are made to clumsily cover the ugly bird beneath, now painfully ruffled stand on end, can no longer hide the ravenous crow. Christian charity and malicious slandering of innocent people are mutually exclusive with the true religion of Christ (who has nothing to do with modern christrinity), however much they have become synonymic in the mind of some Bishops and their clergy. Those Anglo-Indian editors who done their best to injure the Theosophists, not only they patently failed in their unholy attempt, they did help our Branches to skyrocket worldwide. The sanctioning and spreading of flagrant untruths and malicious innuendoes, constitutes a dishonourable and venomous act — all the more reprehensible as it comes from the missionary press of Bombay. The clerical and Jesuitical policy is to disseminate false rumours, malicious backbiting, wicked and stupid cock-and-bull stories, by salaried catechists, zenana-missionaries, and padris under the sanction and with the blessings of their respective Bishops. We are charged with anti-Christism, while we are guilty but of anti-clericalism; and with a “fierce hatred of the Church,” when we confess but to a ferocious contempt for the ecclesiastical system — the system that crucifies its Christ daily, tramples His commands in the dust under his feet, and disfigures His noblest and most divine teachings! Other persons, nobler and far higher in social position than we, humble Theosophists, are no better protected against scurrilous abuse in the Indian Empire; and thus we find ourselves standing on parallel lines with His Excellency, the Viceroy of India.

The Third Reich proves Lord Byron's maxim that truth is stranger than fiction. Hitler's mania made the Reich surreal. This book documents his neuroses, charisma, ruthlessness, and "storybook" rise to power. It's alarming that an astute psychopath with acting ability became an absolute dictator in a modern European state. German political naivety contributed to his miraculous ascent. During election campaigns between 1927 and 1933 Hitler posed as an anti-Communist savior, while concealing his real agenda of war, genocide, and quack "eugenics." The Surreal Reich closely examines all leading Nazis. It shows how Hitler had different sets of favorites at various times. Dietrich Eckart, Rudolf Hess, and Ernst Rohm in the early years; Hermann Goering and Josef Goebbels through the middle period, then Heinrich Himmler and Martin Bormann from 1939 to 1945. Nazism's heyday occurred during an era of supposed progress. Yet escalating war casualties in that "enlightened age" tell a different story. 620,000 people died in America's Civil War, only 5% of them civilians. World War I caused approximately 16 million fatalities. Most of the 5 million non-combatants succumbed from starvation or Spanish Influenza. World War II resulted in 60 million deaths, 52% of them civilians. One warped "idealist" sparked that fruitless orgy of destruction: Adolf Hitler.

At the age of 17, rejecting nineteenth-century materialism, Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891) left her native Russia and traveled through India, Tibet, Egypt, Europe, and the Americas seeking out the sources of ancient wisdom as a key to spiritual truth. In 1875 in New York, she co-founded the Theosophical Society for the study of occult traditions. Many popular ideas of rediscovered ancient wisdom, including reincarnation and karma, trace their origin to Helena Blavatsky and Theosophy. This anthology includes material on her life and travels, as well as excerpts from her major works.