Annie Besant
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"Esoteric Christianity Or, The Lesser Mysteries" is a 1898 work by Annie Besant (1847-1933). Besant was a British theosophist, socialist, writer, activist, orator, and staunch advocate for Irish and Indian independence. She was a prolific author, writing more than three hundred books and pamphlets during her life. Within this volume, Besant explores the hidden teachings and ideas that underpin orthodox Christianity, examining Christ in terms of mythic...
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This early work by Annie Besant was originally published in 1907 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Introduction to Yoga' is a collection of Besant's lectures (delivered at the 32nd Anniversary of the Theosophical Society in 1907.) They were intended to give an outline of Yoga, in order to prepare the student to take up, for practical purposes, the Yoga sutras of Patanjali, the chief treatise on Yoga. They may,...
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Seven is one of the most important numbers in the teachings of theosophy, the wisdom-religion. It is a key by which are revealed and explained many of the mysteries of nature, for in theosophy it is taught that number and numbers underlie all the processes of creation. This numerical key of seven lies at the root of all evolution, whether physical or spiritual. It is therefore important both in its meanings and application.
There is nothing arbitrary...
There is nothing arbitrary...
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First published in 1879, "Marriage - As It Was, As It Is, and As It Should Be" is a short pamphlet written by British writer and activist Annie Besant on the subject of marriage and women's marital rights. Within it Besant outlines the contemporary British marriage laws, which consider women to be merely property of their husbands, and offers suggestions as to how the law can be improved to furnish women with equal rights to men. Despite having been...
5) Karma
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EVERY thought of man upon being evolved passes into the inner world, and becomes an active entity by associating itself, coalescing we might term it, with an elemental—that is to say, with one of the semi-intelligent forces of the kingdoms. It survives as an active intelligence—a creature of the mind's begetting—for a longer or shorter period proportionate with the original intensity of the cerebral action which generated it. Thus...
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Yoga is a science, and not a vague, dreamy drifting or imagining. It is an applied science, a systematized collection of laws applied to bring about a definite end. It takes up the laws of psychology, applicable to the unfolding of the whole consciousness of man on every plane, in every world, and applies those rationally in a particular case. This rational application of the laws of unfolding consciousness acts exactly on the same principles that...
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Out of the darkness, through the open window of Birth, the life of a man comes to the earth; it dwells for a while before our eyes; into the darkness, through the open window of Death, it vanishes out of our sight. And man has questioned ever of Religion, Whence comes it? Whither goes it? And the answers have varied with the faiths.
Death consists, indeed, in a repeated process of unrobing, or unsheathing. The immortal part of man shakes off...
Death consists, indeed, in a repeated process of unrobing, or unsheathing. The immortal part of man shakes off...
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As knowledge increases, the attitude of science towards the things of the invisible world is undergoing considerable modification. Its attention is no longer directed solely to the earth with all its variety of objects, or to the physical worlds around it; but it finds itself compelled to glance further afield, and to construct hypotheses as to the nature of the matter and force which lie in the regions beyond the ken of its instruments. Ether is...
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According to Theosophy, the generally prevailing idea that man is a body and has a soul should be reversed. The physical body, it is maintained, is not the real man, and to regard it so is equivalent to mistaking a house for the one who dwells within it. Man—the true man—is the monad, a fragment of divinity, a spark of the divine flame. In the well known Biblical story, when Jesus had driven the money-changers out of the temple, he said...
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These lectures are intended to give an outline of Yoga, in order to prepare the student to take up, for practical purposes, the Yoga sutras of Patanjali, the chief treatise on Yoga. I have on hand, with my friend Bhagavan Das as collaborateur, a translation of these Sutras, with Vyasa's commentary, and a further commentary and elucidation written in the light of Theosophy. To prepare the student for the mastering of that more difficult task, these...
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The source from which a universe proceeds is a manifested Divine Being, to whom in the modern form of the Ancient Wisdom the name LOGOS, or Word has been given. The name is drawn from Greek Philosophy, but perfectly expresses the ancient idea, the Word which emerges from the Silence, the Voice, the Sound, by which the worlds come into being. We must now trace the evolution of spirit-matter, in order that we may understand something of the nature of...
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Published in 1897, Ancient Wisdom is Annie Besant's elementary review of the general principles and truths that are the foundations of theosophical teachings. She shows how the sevenfold nature of the human individual-both the higher cerebral aspects and lower bodily ones-fit in with the cosmos and concepts such as karma and reincarnation. Chapters concern the relationship of the Physical to the Mental as well as the Astral, Kamaloka, Devachan, and...
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The Essays which form the present book have been written at intervals during the last five years, and are now issued in a single volume without alterations of any kind. I have thought it more useful-as marking the gradual growth of thought-to reprint them as they were originally published, so as not to allow the later development to mould the earlier forms. The essay on "Inspiration" is, in part, the oldest of all; it was partially composed some seven...
14) Theosophy
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Besant had found the economic side oflife lacking a spiritual dimension, so shesearched for a belief based on "Love". Shefound this in Theosophy, so she joinedthe Theosophical Society, a move thatdistanced her from Bradlaugh and otherformer activist co-workers. Her decisionto join the Theosophical Society met astorm of criticism from her formerassociates in London. To explain herchange of view, on August 4 and 11,1889, she delivered a lecture in the...
15) Modern Socialism
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Modern socialism has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This...
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Author Annie Besant states that this book is intended for those seeking to live the "Higher Life" or are treading the Path of Discipleship. The letters contained in this text express the importance of selfless devotion and service, the beauty of suffering and sacrifice, and the dissolution of the ego. The terminology is Indian but most expressions can be understood without prior knowledge. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the Occult,...
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The key to living spiritually in the modern world, says this classic writer, "depends upon one's attitude." The principles Besant set forth over 70 years ago are no different today. She shows that the value of the spiritual path is not in the goal but in the striving, and offers clear principles for those with the courage to try.
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Those of you who are familiar with your own sacred literature will know how great a part is played therein by those spiritual Intelligences who are spoken of as the Devas, or Gods. As I said yesterday, the existence, the presence, and the working of these Intelligences in the administration of nature, in the carrying out of the will of Íshvara, are recognised in every great faith that the world has known. The Hindu speaks of them sometimes as Suras,...
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Annie Besant was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist, and campaigner for Indian nationalism.
Regarded as a champion of human freedom, she was an ardent supporter of both Irish and Indian self-rule. She was also a prolific author with over three hundred books and pamphlets to her credit. As an educationist, her contributions included being one of the founders of the Banaras Hindu University....
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Qu'est-ce que le Karma? Comment fonctionne-t-il? Peut-il être modifié selon notre volonté? Figure centrale du mouvement théosophique, Annie Besant aborde ici de façon didactique le concept de Karma qu'elle envisage comme une loi de cause à effet déterminée par nos actions et dont les conséquences ont des applications dans toutes les sphères de la vie, y compris après la mort.
Dans cette édition, la mise en page et la taille des caractères...