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The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky -- Vol. 1
[[Vol. 1, Page iii]]
THE SYNTHESIS
OF
SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND PHILOSOPHY.
by H. P. BLAVATSKY,
Author of "ISIS UNVEILED."
"There is no Religion higher than Truth."
Vol. I. -- COSMOGENESIS.
London:
THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED.
7, Duke Street, Adelphi, W.C.
WILLIAM Q. JUDGE,
117, Nassau Street, New York.
THE MANAGER OF THE THEOSOPHIST,
Adyar, Madras.
---
1888.
[[Vol. 1, Page iv]]
"Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1888,
by H. P. Blavatsky,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C."
[[Vol. 1, Page v]]
This Work
I Dedicate to all True Theosophists,
In every Country,
And of every Race,
For they called it forth, and for them it was recorded.
[[Vol. 1, Page vi -- blank]]
[[Vol. 1, Page vii]]
PREFACE.
THE Author -- the writer, rather -- feels it necessary to apologise for the long delay which has occurred in the appearance of this work. It has been occasioned by ill-health and the magnitude of the undertaking. Even the two volumes now issued do not complete the scheme, and these do not treat exhaustively of the subjects dealt with in them. A large quantity of material has already been prepared, dealing with the history of occultism as contained in the lives of the great Adepts of the Aryan Race, and showing the bearing of occult philosophy upon the conduct of life, as it is and as it ought to be. Should the present volumes meet with a favourable reception, no effort will be spared to carry out the scheme of the work in its entirety. The third volume is entirely ready; the fourth almost so.
This scheme, it must be added, was not in contemplation when the preparation of the work was first announced. As originally announced, it was intended that the "Secret Doctrine" should be an amended and enlarged version of "Isis Unveiled." It was, however, soon found that the explanations which could be added to those already put before the world in the last-named and other works dealing with esoteric science, were such as to require a different method of treatment: and consequently the present volumes do not contain, in all, twenty pages extracted from "Isis Unveiled."
The author does not feel it necessary to ask the indulgence of her readers and critics for the many defects of literary style, and the imperfect English which may be found in these pages. She is a foreigner, and her knowledge of the language was acquired late in life. The English tongue is employed because it offers the most widely-diffused medium for conveying the truths which it had become her duty to place before the world.
These truths are in no sense put forward as a revelation; nor does the author claim the position of a revealer of mystic lore, now made public for the first time in the world's history. For what is contained in this work is to be found scattered throughout thousands of volumes embodying the scriptures of the great Asiatic and early European religions, hidden under glyph and symbol, and hitherto left unnoticed because of this veil. What is now attempted is to gather the oldest tenets together and to make of them one harmonious and unbroken whole. The sole advantage which the writer has over her predecessors, is that she need not resort to personal speculations and theories. For this work is a partial statement of what she herself has been taught by more advanced students, supplemented, in a few details only, by the results of her
[[Vol. 1, Page]] viii
own study and observation. The publication of many of the facts herein stated has been rendered necessary by the wild and fanciful speculations in which many Theosophists and students of mysticism have indulged, during the last few years, in their endeavour to, as they imagined, work out a complete system of thought from the few facts previously communicated to them.
It is needless to explain that this book is not the Secret Doctrine in its entirety, but a select number of fragments of its fundamental tenets, special attention being paid to some facts which have been seized upon by various writers, and distorted out of all resemblance to the truth.
But it is perhaps desirable to state unequivocally that the teachings, however fragmentary and incomplete, contained in these volumes, belong neither to the Hindu, the Zoroastrian, the Chaldean, nor the Egyptian religion,.neither to Buddhism, Islam, Judaism nor Christianity exclusively. The Secret Doctrine is the essence of all these. Sprung from it in their origins, the various religious schemes are now made to merge back into their original element, out of which every mystery and dogma has grown, developed, and become materialised.
It is more than probable that the book will be regarded by a large section of the public as a romance of the wildest kind; for who has ever even heard of the book of Dzyan?
The writer, therefore, is fully prepared to take all the responsibility for what is contained in this work, and even to face the charge of having invented the whole of it. That it has many shortcomings she is fully aware; all that she claims for it is that, romantic as it may seem to many, its logical coherence and consistency entitle this new Genesis to rank, at any rate, on a level with the "working hypotheses" so freely accepted by modern science. Further, it claims consideration, not by reason of any appeal to dogmatic authority, but because it closely adheres to Nature, and follows the laws of uniformity and analogy.
The aim of this work may be thus stated: to show that Nature is not "a fortuitous concurrence of atoms," and to assign to man his rightful place in the scheme of the Universe; to rescue from degradation the archaic truths which are the basis of all religions; and to uncover, to some extent, the fundamental unity from which they all spring; finally, to show that the occult side of Nature has never been approached by the Science of modern civilization.
If this is in any degree accomplished, the writer is content. It is written in the service of humanity, and by humanity and the future generations it must be judged. Its author recognises no inferior court of appeal. Abuse she is accustomed to; calumny she is daily acquainted with; at slander she smiles in silent contempt.
De minimis non curat lex.
H.P.B.
London, October, 1888.
[[Vol. 1, Page ix]]
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
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PAGE.
The Need of such a Book ... xix.
The Antiquity of Documents and MSS. ... xxiii.
What the Book is intended to do ... xxviii.
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VOLUME FIRST.
COSMOGENESIS.
The Oldest MSS. in the world and its Symbolism ... 2
The One Life, Active and Passive ... 4
The Secret Doctrine -- Pantheism -- Atheism ... 6
"Space" in all Religions and in Occultism ... 9
Seven Cosmic Elements -- Seven Races of Mankind ... 12
The Three Postulates of the Secret Doctrine ... 14
Description of the Stanzas from the Book of Dzyan ... 20
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BOOK I. -- PART I.
COSMIC EVOLUTION.
SEVEN STANZAS FROM THE BOOK OF DZYAN ... 27
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STANZA I. -- THE NIGHT OF THE UNIVERSE... 35
The Seven Eternities ... 36
"Time" ... 37
The Universal Mind and the Dhyan Chohans ... 38
Nidana and Maya: The Causes of Misery ... 39
The Great Breath ... 43
Being and Non-Being ... 45
The Eye of Dangma ... 47
Alaya, the Universal Soul ... 49
[[Vol. 1, Page]] x CONTENTS.
STANZA II. -- THE IDEA OF DIFFERENTIATION ... 53
The Absolute knows Itself not ... 55
The Germ of Life was not yet ... 57
The Universe was still concealed in the Divine Thought ... 61
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STANZA III. -- THE AWAKENING OF KOSMOS ... 62
The Great Vibration ... 63
Nature's Symbols ... 65
The Power of Numbers ... 67
The Logoi and the Dragon ... 73
The Astral Light ... 75
Primeval Radiations from Unity ... 79
The Web of Being ... 83
Conscious Electricity: Fohat ... 85
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STANZA IV. -- THE SEPTENARY HIERARCHIES ... 86
The Sons of the Fire ... 86
The Vehicle of the Universe -- the Dhyan Chohans ... 89
The Army of the Voice ... 93
Speech and Mind ... 95
The Ogdoad and the Heptad ... 99
The Stellar "Sons of Light" ... 103
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STANZA V. -- FOHAT: THE CHILD OF THE SEPTENARY HIERARCHIES ... 106
The Fiery Whirlwind and the Primordial Seven ... 106
They Produce Fohat ... 108
The Correlation of the "Gods" ... 113
Evolution of the "Principles" of Nature ... 119
The Mystery of the Fire ... 121
The Secret of the Elements ... 123
The Square of the Tabernacle ... 125
The Planetary Spirits and the Lipika ... 129
The Ring "Pass Not" ... 130
The Sidereal Book of Life ... 131
The Soul's Pilgrimage and its "Rest" ... 134
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STANZA VI. -- OUR WORLD, ITS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ... 136
The Logos ... 136
Mystery of the Female Logos ... 137
[[Vol. 1, Page]] xi CONTENTS.
The Seven Layu Centres ... 138
The "Elementary Germs" ... 139
The Evolution of the Elements ... 140
The Building of the Worlds ... 145
A Neutral Centre ... 147
"Dead" Planets -- The Moon ... 149
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THEOSOPHICAL MISCONCEPTIONS ... 152
The Planetary Divisions and the Human Principles ... 153
The Moon ... 155
Transmigrations of the Ego ... 159
The Septenary Chain ... 161
Relation of the other Planets to the Earth ... 163
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EXPLANATIONS CONCERNING THE GLOBES AND THE MONADS ... 170
The Lunar Chain and the Earth Chain ... 172
The Earth, the Child of the Moon ... 173
Classification of the Monads ... 175
The Monad Defined ... 177
The Lunar Monads -- the Pitris ... 179
A Triple Evolution in Nature ... 181
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STANZA VI. -- CONTINUED ... 191
"Creation" in the Fourth Round ... 191
The "Curse," "Sin," and "War" ... 193
The Struggle for Life and the Birth of the Worlds ... 202
The Adepts and the Sacred Island ... 207
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STANZA VII. -- THE PARENTS OF MAN ON EARTH ... 213
Divisions of the Hierarchies ... 214
Correlations of Beings ... 223
What incarnates in Animal Man ... 233
Formation of Man: the Thinker ... 238
Occult and Kabalistic Pneumatics ... 243
Akasa and Ether ... 257
The Invisible "Lives" ... 259
Occult Vital Chemistry and Bacteriology ... 261
[[Vol. 1, Page]] xii CONTENTS.
The Watcher and his Shadow ... 265
Earth peopled by the Shadows of the Gods ... 267
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The pith and marrow of the Secret Doctrine ... 273
Hermes in Christian Garb ... 285
Some Occult Aphorisms ... 289
The Seven Powers of Nature ... 293
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BOOK I. -- PART II.
THE EVOLUTION OF SYMBOLISM IN ITS APPROXIMATE ORDER.
§§
I. SYMBOLISM AND IDEOGRAPHS ... 303
Emblem and Symbol differ ... 305
Magic Potency of Sound ... 307
Mystery Language ... 309
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II. THE MYSTERY LANGUAGE AND ITS KEYS ... 310
Egypt's many Religions ... 311
The Jews and their System ... 313
Moses copied from Sargon ... 319
Identity of Ancient Symbols ... 323
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III. PRIMORDIAL SUBSTANCE AND DIVINE THOUGHT ... 325
Divine Thought, or Cineritious Matter? ... 327
Ether and Intelligence ... 330
The Seven Prakritis ... 335
The Mystic Fire ... 339
One Tree of Knowledge ... 341
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IV. CHAOS -- THEOS -- KOSMOS ... 342
The Union of Chaos and Spirit ... 343
The Birth of Mind ... 345
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V. THE HIDDEN DEITY, ITS SYMBOLS AND GLYPHS ... 349
The Gnostic Idea ... 351
International Correlation of Gods ... 355
[[Vol. 1, Page]] xiii CONTENTS.
§§ PAGE.
Egg-born Logoi ... 363
The Winged Globe ... 365
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VII. THE DAYS AND NIGHTS OF BRAHMA ... 368
Human Gods and Divine Men ... 369
The Rebirth of Gods ... 371
The Puranic Prophecy ... 377
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VIII. THE LOTUS AS A UNIVERSAL SYMBOL ... 379
Exoteric and Esoteric ... 381
The Purity of early Phallicism ... 383
The Egyptian Lotus ... 385
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A Glance at the Lunar Myth ... 387
A Key-note to the Moon ... 389
Copies and Originals... 393
The Moon Bi-sexual ... 397
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X. TREE AND SERPENT AND CROCODILE WORSHIP ... 403
Degeneration of the Symbol ... 405
The Seven-headed Dragons ... 407
Dragon and Crocodile ... 409
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XI. DEMON EST DEUS INVERSUS ... 411
Death is Life ... 413
The Fall of the Angels ... 418
Transformation of the Legend ... 421
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XII. THE THEOGONY OF THE CREATIVE GODS ... 424
The Point within the Circle ... 426
The Logos or Verbum ... 429
The Factors of Creation ... 432
Identity of the Hierarchies in all Religions ... 438
Difference between the Aryan and Semitic Systems ... 444
[[Vol. 1, Page]] xiv CONTENTS.
§§ PAGE.
XIII. THE SEVEN CREATIONS ... 445
The Gnostic and the Hindu Versions ... 449
The Seven Puranic "Creations" ... 450
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XIV. THE FOUR ELEMENTS. ... 460
The "Gods" and the "Elements" ... 463
The Language of the Elements ... 464
Pagan and Christian Worship of the Elements ... 467
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XV. ON KWAN-SHI-YIN AND KWAN-YIN ... 470
Kwan-Shi-Yin and Phallicism ... 471
The Real Meaning ... 472
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BOOK I. -- PART III.
SCIENCE AND THE SECRET DOCTRINE CONTRASTED.
§§
I. REASONS FOR THESE ADDENDA ... 477
Occultism versus Materialism ... 479
The Sabbath of the Mystic ... 481
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II. MODERN PHYSICISTS ARE PLAYING AT BLIND MAN'S BUFF ... 482
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III. AN LUMEN SIT CORPUS NEC NON? ... 483
The Hypothetical Ether ... 485
Scientific Theories of its Constitution ... 489
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IV. IS GRAVITATION A LAW? ... 490
Intelligences or Blind Forces? ... 493
The Cause of Attraction ... 498
[[Vol. 1, Page]] xv CONTENTS.
§§ PAGE.
V. THE THEORIES OF ROTATION SCIENCE ... 500
Conflicting Hypotheses ... 502
More Hypotheses ... 505
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VI. THE MASKS OF SCIENCE ... 506
What are the "Forces?" ... 508
The View of the Occultists ... 510
Scientific and Occult Theories on Heat ... 515
The Atoms of Science ... 519
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VII. AN ATTACK ON THE SCIENTIFIC THEORY OF FORCE BY A MAN OF SCIENCE ... 523
Ether and Atoms ... 527
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VIII. LIFE, FORCE, OR GRAVITY? ... 529
Dr. Richardson on Nervous Ether ... 531
The Senses and their Action ... 535
Too much "Life" may Kill ... 539
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The Primordial Element ... 542
Elements and Meta-Elements ... 546
The Tree of Life and Being ... 549
Prof. Crookes on the Elements ... 552
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Mr. Keeley, an Unconscious Occultist ... 557
Inter-Etheric Waves ... 561
The Secrets of Sound and Odour ... 565
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Xl. ON THE ELEMENTS AND ATOMS ... 566
Metaphysical Chemistry ... 569
What are the Seven Planets? ... 575
The Cyclic Fall of the Gods ... 577
[[Vol. 1, Page]] xvi CONTENTS.
§§ PAGE.
XII. ANCIENT THOUGHT IN MODERN DRESS ... 579
All-Potential Unity ... 583
The "Seventh" in Chemistry ... 585
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XIII. THE MODERN NEBULAR THEORY ... 588
Forces are Emanations ... 591
What is the Nebula? ... 595
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XIV. FORCES -- MODES OF MOTION OR INTELLIGENCES? ... 601
The Vital Principle ... 603
Occult and Physical Science ... 605
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XV. GODS, MONADS, AND ATOMS ... 610
The Gods of the Ancients -- the Monads ... 613
The Monad and the Duad ... 617
The Genesis of the Elements ... 621
Hermes and Huxley ... 625
The Teaching of Leibnitz ... 627
The Monads according to Occultism ... 632
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XVI. CYCLIC EVOLUTION AND KARMA ... 634
Karmic Cycles and Universal Ethics ... 637
Destiny and Karma ... 639
Karma-Nemesis ... 643
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XVII. THE ZODIAC AND ITS ANTIQUITY ... 647
The Jewish Patriarchs and the Signs of the Zodiac ... 651
Zodiacal Cycles ... 656
Hindu Astronomy ... 661
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XVIII. SUMMARY OF THE MUTUAL POSITION ... 668
Science Confesses her Ignorance ... 669
Materialism is leading Europe towards a catastrophe ... 675
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[[Contents of Volume 2]]
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