Customer Reviews

Isis Unveiled: Secrets of the Ancient Wisdom Tradition, Madame Blavatsky's First Work

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is one of the few books that humble me when I contemplate it. Rather, Madam Blavatsky's knowlege and intellect humbles me. Take just about any "newly rediscovered" esoteric topic of any worth and you will most probably find it explained in considerable detail in either this work or _The Secret Docrine_. I am dismayed that so few people, or biliographies, give credit to Madam Blavatsky, or to the Theosophical Society that she founded. I guess we are just too "quaint" and "old-fashion" for the "New Age."

There is just too much encyclopedic knowlege here to simply read through from scratch. You need to work up to it. Try a introductory text like _Ocean of Theosophy_ by William Q. Judge. However, do not be afraid to pick up either volume and simply "browse." I still do this after all these years- and I am still surprised and amazed at what I find.

One further thing, there has been a considerable amount of character assassination against Madam Blavatsky in the last few years. The authors that have penned these attacks have no understanding of the matters that they address. First of all, no one was a stronger critic of seances than Madam Blavatsky. Secondly, the Society has always held that one should never charge money for spiritual matters. As for the ad hominem attacks that she was grossly obese, well, this is the lowest form of slander and doesn't deserve comment. Simply take a look at any of the surviving photographs to see the truth.

Concerning attacks on Theosophical concepts such as the "seven races" and "seven globes", just keep in mind that the perenial philosophy holds that the highest part of what makes up a person pre-exists on a higher plane- and will return there after we cross over. Just remember the old gnostic concept of "seven heavens." Literalism is a mistake in theosophy, just as it has proven in fundamentalist Christianity.

I can only concur with the verdict of the other reviewers. Blavatsky - and 'Theosophy' generally - have been grossly under-rated and unfairly reviled in recent decades, frequently judged according to ill informed caricatures and distortions. Hence, there is a misleading preconception of Theosophy as occult 'hoo-hah,'or else a kind of 'cosmic porridge' and mish mash of all religion. But there are reasons for thinking that the basic principles of 'theosophy'must be the ultimate 'form' that any truly modern 'religion' will take - because it has had the courage and vision enabling it to perceive that there are no monopolies on the truth. Although fleshed out in encyclopaediac detail, 'Isis Unveiled' and 'The Secret Doctrine' both endeavour to make this point. On purely doctrinal terms, of course, nose against the page, one could spend an eternity - trying to figure out where the world's religious traditions truly converge. But by and large, organised or instutionalised religions have been loathe to relinquish their claim to monopolies on the truth. Blavatsky was very far-sighted in this respect, for her work prefigured the wider search for inter-faith understanding, which characterised the more promising features of religious renewal in the 20th c. Hence, Blavatsky's work has renewed significance and added meaning, at the beginning of a new century - and millennium. While fresh and lively thirty years ago, the search for spiritual alternatives and spirituality fit for a 'new age' has seen conservative reactions setting in. Doctrines once embraced by us - because of a perceived 'open-endedness' - have have since spawned some pretty rigid neo-orthodoxies, born of the the urge to make a fortress of the truth - and bolt the door shut against the rest of reality. Let's not forget the open-mindedness of people like the late D.T. Suzuki - who widened the spiritual horizons by exploring the dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity. Indeed, Suzuki even touched on the parallels between Buddhism - and certain aspects of Islam (i.e. Sufi teachings). Idries Shah spotted the parallels, even hazarding the claim that Zen was in fact inspired by Sufi influences, in part relying on old Chinese legends describing Bodhidharma as a Persian. In view of the Middle East crisis and those who forsee a 'clash of civilisations' - there is something to be said for Blavatsky's ideas, because the only answer is to keep widening the horizons. Come on guys! Let's get out of the religious closets - and live in the bare light of the truth! For all the detail heaped up in Blavatsky's writings, the ultimate point of it all - is to make us conscious of this central, underlying truth. We could make the 'New World' into another Alexandria, in which - rather than producing friction and tension, ethnic and religious diversity serve to richen the human spirit and community.As a multi-ethnic society, united in principle by a common constitution, the New World is - in embryo, a social and spiritual laboratory which could bring new light to the rest of the world. Blavatsky's vision spanned the ancient world and its mysteries, and also peered into the future - sensing seeds of potential. By no means a determinist, Blavatsky recognised that free will supervenes. The wisest expression of that 'free will' is actualise, spiritually, the potential latent in our age of intercultural and global awareness. Give Blavatsky the credit she rightly deserves. Our present economic policies do not work - and will not work, while governed by self-interest. What we really need is to is to see the 'global village' in a cosmic context.

Isis is a wonderful book that makes anyone, entering the 21st century, think of our real human being condition and the destiny of human race. Written so many decades ago, it retains the Blavatsky's wisdom and, if not so unveiled as the title states, opens a new vision to our past and, surely, our bright future.

This book is an awe inspiring introduction to the largely ignored esoteric knowledge and history that weaves throughout human history. Blavatsky delivers to humanity a potent clue toward much that is unknown by common people. Those who have read her works develop a new appreciation and respect for mystical traditions the world over and gain more discriminatory thinking, as they are less likely to buy the mass illusion spun by our modern culture. Fortunately, the interested student doesnt have to stop there; previously, those who were inspired by Blavatsky and other such writers were left to struggle with learning how to incorporate such knowledge or discover how to access it themselves, and because she and all other true initiates were unable to reveal the direct and practical instruction that any student would require in order to enter the path, there were and are many who end in frustration, unable to access the experiences and knowledge they crave so much. This is a great tragedy, but it is no longer necessary. This all changed in 1950 when Samael Aun Weor began publishing his works. His works are not erudite, full of bibliographic references or in depth historical analysis: his works are entirely practical, as he was the first initiate duly authorized to reveal to humanity what had always previously been hidden. Thus his works are full of techniques and instruction that every student can use in order to discover in themselves the truths expressed by all the great teachers of humanity. Thus his teachings have spread so thick in the Spanish-speaking countries that you find small towns that don't even have a post office but they will have a Gnostic School. He was allowed to do so because this humanity has become so degenerated and caught in lies and deception that there is no other hope save to offer them a last chance by revealing the beauty of the Great Arcanum in order that some may redeem themselves of the suffering we are all trapped within. Try "The Doomed Aryan Race" or "The Mystery of the Golden Blossom." You can find his works at the Gnostic Institute zshop.

I was greatly disappointed in these books. I've read a bit by the more modern theosophist authors and wanted to dig back into some of the "classic" texts. What I found in these 2 books is a strange pudding in which a few nuggets of knowledge are randomly interspersed with a big amorphous mass of diatribe against science (Vol 1) and Christian religion (Vol 2). Perhaps because I've already encountered most of the interesting knowlege in these books elsewhere I am more aware of the matirix of hate (too strong a word?) in which they were embedded. I think we all know that both science and religion have huge blind spots and that the christain church has actively persicuted any beliefs contrary to her own. Perhaps in HPB's time she felt that this needed to be known, but that hardly warrents 1400 pages of sledgehammering and repetition.

The book is also a mess to follow. Chapter headings generally have little or nothing to do with what is presented there, it is really a rambling random mess, not seeming to build or evolve in any rational way.

A much more coherent and informative book is The Secret Teacing of All Ages by Manley Hall. It contains much of what is here without the editorial commentary. Its half the length of this and twice as informative.

The two volumes of "Isis" treat of the interrelationship of science and religion as they correspond to the Ancient Wisdom, or Theosophy. The author, HPB, takes painstaking care to show how modern science (c. 1875ff.) is greatly at odds with theosophical science inasmuch as the ultra materialistic perspective of modern scientists prevents them from seeing the meta-reality of the science of the Ancient Wisdom.
HPB is quite thorough in venturing among a number of prominent scientists of her day--e.g. Farraday, Huxley, Cooke--and showing how their theories either: (1) were preceded by the Ancient philosophers/mystics or (2) are hopelessly obscured, and hence, invalid, due to the refusal of the modern scientist to accord well with principles that operate beyond the realm of the several measurable senses.
Consequently, HPB takes something of a polemical tone in these volumes, which, at times, can be somewhat tiring, as the volumes total 1400 pp.
The second volume treats of the development of religion from the most ancient times to the modern day, and attempts to show how the Ancient Wisdom beliefs were only taught to the initiates of the Inner Mysteries and how, over time, various perversions of that teaching got picked up by the profane and then layered over with ceremonies, rules and superstitions. Volume 2 shows, for instance, how sacred Egyptian temple rites devolved into the Greek religion of Eleusis, and how that developed into the Roman cult mythology and how Judaism was a pastiche of the faiths of Egypt, Persia (contemporary Iran), with Christianity being the latest of the religious heritage, excepting Islam.
In my opinion, humble though it be, HPB seeks to show how all religions form from one common thread and that, thus, there are far more similarities in our far-flung and diverse belief systems than there are differences. The author invites us to look beneath the superficial, what she calls, 'the husks', and into the 'true kernal', so that we can claim what was once lost.
Overall, I would recommend these volumes to the reader, assuming he has patience to wade through a fair amount of detail, has some ability to read Greek and Latin, and loves small-print footnotes. Even should the reader be unconvinced of HPB's thesis, she should come away with much food for thought.

I first read this book some thirty years ago and have reread it often. Combine it with Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine, Alice Bailey's Treatise on Cosmic Fire, Manley Hall's Secret Teachings of All Ages, and Douglas Baker's Esoteric Astrology and Dictionary of Astrology and you have just about the sum total of western knowledge worth knowing.

this version of Isis unveiled in abridged form is a good iniciation into the mystical words of blavatsky. Although it is not complete, and for full information one should read the full version of Isis unveiled this book is a good introduction. Also it has the advantage of bringing some words closer to modern world ideas, in a kind of way "translating" the book in a modern way.

First let me start by saying I am not a Theosophist - yet. Nevertheless I am active in the spiritual/hermetic/esoteric/occultic arena. I purchased this set because through all of my other studies there are frequent references to Blavatsky's works so I thought it was time for me to read what she wrote.

The first volume was a bit of a struggle for me. Blavatsky seems to make the assumption that when she refers to an event, place or person that the reader will instantly have intimate knowledge of what she is referring to and while that may have been true within her circle back in the late 19th century, it is no longer true and as a result many of the references are so obscure that the entire meaning is lost. In addition, Blavatsky often lets her own emotions/prejudices get the best of her and she rants endlessly on certain subjects based on nothing more then something that may have started out with a personality conflict between herself and others that she encountered. The second volume was a bit easier to read because so much of what she has to say has been repeated by many other authors over the years. The difference is that she has consolidated all of that knowledge into the second volume of this work.

Having said all of that, I found the books amazing. She really does cut a very wide swath across the subjects she is dealing with and few authors cover as many different subjects in two volumes of this size. Of course, if she had taken time to fully annotate and footnote all of her various references in way that is useful to a modern student, the approximately 1300 pages would probably expand to well over 2500 pages and that is exactly where the work frustrated me. It is fine that she glosses over some point in the main text, but it would be nice if there were complete footnotes that explain the background for some of her pronouncements.

At the same time there are definitely things in the book that are just plain wrong and we know better in modern times because information is just more readily available. Her ranting against Vampirism is just an example of this. When someone is gone, they are gone. We don't have to worry about driving wooden stakes through corpses to keep them in their grave. As for all of the seance matters that she rants about, such practices are far from the mainstream these days and the field is dominated by hoaksters. Sure, it makes people happy to think that they can communication with dead loved ones, but anyone who is a serious student of spirituality outside of religion would rather not be bothered with prevaricating elementals who have a good laugh at a human's expense.

In any case, after reading these two volumes I am pretty sure that I want to pursue some studies in theosophy. Not so much because I want to become a hard core theosophist, but because I think the knowledge that they bring to the table may be very useful as filler material for my other studies.

Blavatsky...
dear occultist,
... was a genius and the fact that she wrote so brilliantly in English, which was not even her native language, is amazing. Alas, the thesis in Vol. 1, while still valid and which involves her evidence and arguments that science is lacking when it endeavors to prove that only what is material and can be proven "scientifically" is worth considering in life, is contrasted against the science of the 19th century and would be much better if updated against what we have now come to learn and understand about the nature of the world and the universe. The data and articles she cites are, for the most part, long forgotten.
Vol. 2, however, which deals with religion, essentially sets out and, we think, demonstrates that nearly all religions, Christian, Hebrew/Judaic, Moslem, Egyptian, Caldean, etc. all stem from India and the earliest Hindu and Pre-Buddhic texts there. There is more to the vol. than that, but this is its essence.
We find it difficult to read Blavatsky without being utterly amazed at her erudition and the way she continually expands our knowledge and understanding. This is not a work for the faint of heart. We expect that only a truly devoted occultist would persevere to the end, but it is worth it.
kyela,
the silver elves