Neo-Theosophy
Encyclopedia : N : NE : NEO : Neo-Theosophy
Neo-Theosophy was originally a derogatory term referring to books written by Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater on Theosophy, following the death of Madame Blavatsky in 1891. This material differed in a number of respects from Blavatsky's writings, and it was felt by many that this represented a depreciation or distortion of the original teachings.
The term was coined by F.T. Brooks around 1912 in a book called Neo Theosophy Exposed, which was the second part of an earlier book called The Theosophical Society and its Esoteric Bogeydom. Around 1924, Margaret Thomas published a book called Theosophy Versus Neo-Theosophy. This book is now available online, and presents a detailed and critical comparison between Blavatkyian Theosophy and Neo-Theosophy.
More recently the word has come to be used outside Theosophical circles to mean simply the style of post-Blavatskyian Theosophy presented by Leadbeater and Besant, Alice Bailey, and other writers of this tradition.
Neo-Theoosphy has exerted a very large influence on New Age metaphysics and modern esoteric thought.
External links
- [Lessons in Theosophy - Lesson 2, The History of the Theosophical Society] - brief neutral reference to Neo-Theoosphy
- [Theosophy Versus Neo-Theosophy] - online version of Margaret Thomas's book.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.