Customer Reviews

Esoteric Christianity or The Lesser Mysteries

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_I have read this work three times over the years and I still find it hard to believe that it was first published in 1901.

_The author's goal is no less than the revitalization of true Christianity- by the restoration of its mysteries. She does an excellent job of examining the historical record to show both that 1) all other religions have their outer and inner teachings, and 2) it is only Christianity that seems to have had its inner teachings purposely amputated. She shows through examination of scripture and the writings of the Apostolic Fathers that such teachings undoubtedly existed. She shows Paul to have been a true Gnostic.

_In an attempt to reconstruct the inner, esoteric, teachings she shows that all one can ever really write or reveal are the lesser of the mysteries. These are the allegorical interpretations of the deeper spiritual truths and symbolism contained in the parables told to the masses. These are the truths that would just confuse minds that are not ready for them. It is reflection upon these lesser mysteries and their meaning that may open the door to the divine revelation of the greater mysteries, where the teachers are angelic and Christ is the hierophant.

_It is shown that even though an apparent war was waged to expunge the mysteries from Christianity by the Church bureaucracy (who apparently could not, or would not, comprehend them) the tradition never the less survived. The golden chain is shown to stretch across the ages in the teachings of the receptive whether there are attempts to suppress it or not: Pythagoras, Plato, Proclus, Iamblichus, Plotinus, Psuedo-Dionysis, Aquinas, Tauler, Eckhart, Thomas a Kempis, Giordano Bruno, Bohme, etc., etc., etc. In spite of persecution and isolation, the Divine Wisdom, the Gnosis, the Philosophia Perennis, the Theosophia breaks through again and again.

_Why is it so important then that the mysteries be restored to the Church? Without them, it is essentially an empty shell. Any good that is done is superficial- if not accidental. Worse, it becomes a barrier to those who seek the reunion with the Divine that all men and women inherently hunger for. When the ineptitude and corruption of a supposedly spiritual institution drives good people away from God then it must be reformed or bypassed.

How many priests have been ordained in anticipation of the revealing of the inner mysteries- only to find that no one else in the priesthood knew any more about them than they did....

Annie Besant was President of Theosophical Society at the beginning of 20th century. Theosophy, however concerned by all religions, is based at the origin on hindouism and buddhism teachings. It is in this context that this book takes all its interest. Annie Besant tells us about secret teachings that were given to early christians and that was hidden by the church. Jesus Christ is described as a great master of the great white brotherhood and as one the humanity great teachers such as Buddha Siddarta or Krishna. Whatever the truth is, what impressed me, is that the author gives some good esoteric interpretations of christian rituals such as water baptism or eucharisty. She develops further some initiatic subjects such as redemption, sacrifice, god trinity, sins forgiveness and much more. My conclusion is that it is a good esoteric study of christianism!

_This is the third time that I have read this book over the years- I still find it hard to believe that it was first published in 1901.

_The author's goal is no less than the revitalization of true Christianity- by the restoration of its mysteries. She does an excellent job of examining the historical record to show both that 1) all other religions have their outer and inner teachings, and 2) it is only Christianity that seems to have had its inner teachings purposely amputated. She shows through examination of scripture and the writings of the Apostolic Fathers that such teachings undoubtedly existed. She shows Paul to have been a true Gnostic.

_In an attempt to reconstruct the inner, esoteric, teachings she shows that all one can ever really write or reveal are the lesser of the mysteries. These are the allegorical interpretations of the deeper spiritual truths and symbolism contained in the parables told to the masses. These are the truths that would just confuse minds that are not ready for them. It is reflection upon these lesser mysteries and their meaning that may open the door to the divine revelation of the greater mysteries, where the teachers are angelic and Christ is the hierophant.

_It is shown that even though an apparent war was waged to expunge the mysteries from Christianity by the Church bureaucracy (who apparently could not, or would not, comprehend them) the tradition never the less survived. The golden chain is shown to stretch across the ages in the teachings of the receptive whether there are attempts to suppress it or not: Pythagoras, Plato, Proclus, Iamblichus, Plotinus, Psuedo-Dionysis, Aquinas, Tauler, Eckhart, Thomas a Kempis, Giordano Bruno, Bohme, etc., etc., etc. In spite of persecution and isolation, the Divine Wisdom, the Gnosis, the Philosophia Perennis, the Theosophia breaks through again and again.

_Why is it so important then that the mysteries be restored to the Church? Without them, it is essentially an empty shell. Any good that is done is superficial- if not accidental. Worse, it becomes a barrier to those who seek the reunion with the Divine that all men and women inherently hunger for. When the ineptitude and corruption of a supposedly spiritual institution drives good people away from God then it must be reformed or bypassed.

How many priests have been ordained in anticipation of the revealing of the inner mysteries- only to find that no one else in the priesthood knew any more about them than they did....

I was somewhat wary of opening this little book by Anne Besant -- as I was quite aware of her fierce radical and Theosophical background -- which could interfere with a truly beneficial presentation of Esoteric Christianity. But I did open this slim work and read from it at various spots at once -- as Anne Besant continued to surprise me with both her deep insight AND sympathy for Esoteric Christianity -- as NOT opposed to Exoteric Christianity. Indeed she makes spot-on usage of World Religion, Western History and Exoteric Christianity -- with strong support of and to Exoteric Christianity. Her background even is seen to give her determination and special angles on this special topic -- even if such extra angles may be uncomfortable for narrow-minded or close-hearted folks.

Her general approach has a fluid, clear and sharp rationale -- effectively seeing aspects as they are via certain critical angles. Such as her looking at The Christ from three views -- historical, mythical and mystical -- with a coherent chapter for each. Each and every chapter has such a coherent theme -- and they match very well what a seeker would want to know about Esoteric Christianity in harmony with Exoteric Christianity. A great example of this is chapter five "The Mythic Christ". From the start of this chapter, Anne Besant gives a surprisingly strong defense of Jesus -- versus attackers using Comparative Mythology against Religion. Indeed she uses such rationale to defend and extend the Legacy of Jesus. Her special point-of-view does stand out here with wide and deep connections to other Traditions and Ideas -- but focused on supporting the Legacy of Jesus. She supports Prayer, Trinity and other traditional Christian aspects likewise. These Thematic Chapters are done so well-and-good that I feel it wise to quote in full her Afterword to sum up "Esoteric Christianity" +++

"We have reached the end of a small work on a great subject, and have only lifted a corner of the Veil that hides the Virgin of Eternal Truth from the careless eyes of men. The hem of her garment only has been seen, heavy with gold, richly light with pearls. Yet even this, as it waves slowly, breathes out celestial fragrances -- the sandal and rose-attar of fairer worlds than our own. What should be the unimaginable glory, if the Veil were lifted, and we saw the face of the divine Mother, and in Her arms the Child who is the very Truth? Before that Child the Seraphim ever veil their faces, who then of mortal birth may look on Him and live?

Yet since man abides His very Self, who shall forbid him to pass within the Veil and to see with 'open face the glory of the Lord'? From the Cave to highest Heaven, such was the pathway of the Word made Flesh, and known as the Way of the Cross. Those who share the manhood also share the Divinity, and may tread where He has trodden. "What Thou art, That am I." "

Based on the reputation of Annie Besant, and the fact that I am a fan of writings about esoteric Christianity, I was anxiously looking forward to getting this book, and then to reading it. However, my enthusiasm waned rather quickly upon opening the book and beginning to read the text -- the presentation is quite confusing and disjointed, really a jumble. I worked my way through the book and found gems of Christian mysteries buried in the text, but it was quite a challenge, and I would find it difficult to recommend Esoteric Christianity to others. As an option, I would highly recommend Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition by Richard Smoley.

"Esoteric Christianity" is a book originally published in 1905. The author, Annie Besant, was the leader of the Theosophical Society Adyar, a new religious movement originally founded by the colourful Madame Blavatsky. Although most members were Westerners (Besant was British), the society was headquartered in India. Besant subsequently played a certain role in the Indian independence movement, as well.

This new edition was published by Quest Books in 2006, and includes an introduction by Richard Smoley. He has also written a number of critical notes. I don't know whether Smoley is a member of the Adyar society, but it's intriguing that Quest Books (Adyar's publishing arm) lets somebody criticize Annie Besant! New religious movements are usually more dogmatic and inflexible.

The message of "Esoteric Christianity" is a blend of Theosophy and moderate Gnosticism, which Besant claims is the real but secret message of Christianity. The closest thing to moderate Gnosticism in the ancient church would have been the Alexandrian fathers, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, and Besant therefore gives them a prominent place in her narrative. She has also discovered a remarkable statement by Ignatius, in which this literalist Church Father mentions the existence of a secret message! (I also "discovered" this quotation a few years ago.) Valentinus, Pistis Sophia and even the epistles of Paul are other sources Besant believes points to the esoteric message.

Besant believes that the literalism of the official Churches is an acute threat to Christianity, since modern man simply cannot believe in such a simplistic message. However, her alternative isn't rationalist liberal theology, but rather a kind of occultism. Ironically, her occult explanations of miracles, transubstantiation, prayer and the resurrection are just as "supernatural" as the (non)-explanations of official Christianity, making her esoteric message feel closer to Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy than to modern, rationalist Protestantism. For instance, Besant literally believes in angels answering prayers.

Besant's exposition of the Gospels is contradictory. On the one hand, she believes that an event can be both literally true and yet have a spiritual significance pointing to the supernatural. (This position is similar to that of the Church Fathers!) But if so, why not take the Gospels literally, while claiming that the Gnostic message is an addendum? However, Besant doesn't seem to take the Gospels very literally, despite her view that even the physical resurrection could be literally real (she believes the physical body can be re-animated by a highly developed spiritual body). Instead, she spins a ridiculous theory according to which the real Jesus lived 100 BC, the only "proof" for such a theory being some modern clairvoyant (unclear which one - Leadbeater? Blavatsky?). Why not admit that Jesus did live during the rule of Pontius Pilate and explain all his miracles in the occult manner?

The editor Smoley takes Besant to task for her strict belief in karma and consequent denial of the power to forgive sins. I never read Smoley's own books, but apparently he is closer to "official" Christianity on this point. In that, he is surely right: the main difference between the Gospels and the Eastern conception of karma is precisely the remission of sins - that's why Jesus is said to have come in the first place. To Besant, sins cannot really be forgiven unless the karmic debt is repaid in some horrendous fashion, and when Jesus "forgives" sins in the Gospels, he is simply stating that the individual in question has *already* repaid his karma with the appropriate sufferings. Her view of the crucifixion and resurrection, while surprisingly "literal", has nothing to do with remission of sins either, but is rather a demonstration of the power of spiritual evolution - everyone can become a Christ. It's also a kind of allegory for the initiation into the "Lesser Mysteries".

From a scholarly viewpoint, most of what Annie Besant is saying in "Esotetic Christianity" can be problematized. Most scholars would argue that she is projecting the views of Valentinus, Clement, Origen and even Blavatsky onto the earliest Church, which had a different message. Still, her book is interesting, precisely because of her more sophisticated, semi-literalist stances. Also, it's interesting that Besant somehow assumed that her occult and supernaturalist explanations of the Gospel stories would appeal to a rationalist audience. Perhaps they did - she was there, I wasn't. Today, however, I suspect that her book might rather appeal to decidedly non-rationalist New Age believers or even some Catholics of a more mystical bent.

Once again, a commendation to Quest Books to republish "Esoteric Christianity" with critical comments by a sympathetic fellow traveller.

Five stars.

Esoteric Christianity is a beautiful path...in this book the "lesser mysteries" are a balm to my soul and have helped to alleviate that disquiet voice that has so often railed against organized religion. This book will enlighten you and amaze you and fill your spirit with its magic.