Tim Boyd – India, USA
Tim Boyd speaks
The Theosophical Society (TS) came into being 150 years ago. Its purpose was stated by its principal founder as to make it known “that such a thing as Theosophy exists”. During its time it has attracted people from all walks of life, including some of the most advanced thinkers and creative people in the world. All of them knew what it was that drew them to it, but if asked to explain, the answers varied. During the lifetime of H. P. Blavatsky (HPB) her magnetic personality, combined with her enthralling capacity to describe the many strange and remarkable things she had seen in her global travels piqued people’s interest. The fact that she was constantly producing a range of psychic phenomena further added to her attraction.
Over the years many sincere, knowledgeable, and prominent members of the TS have developed descriptions of Theosophy. Often those descriptions have resulted in disagreements, even acrimonious separations, because one’s view of such an important subject does not conform to the view of another. It is one thing to disagree about the price of a house, or the best route to a destination, but when the disagreement centers on the nature of the universe and the intelligences that guide it, tempers can flare. If one had any doubt about it, just look at human history. More blood has been spilt in the name of God than any other cause.
But what is Theosophy?
Because (wisely) no formal definition was given by the TS founders, we as members have been obliged to develop at least some partial idea for ourselves.
During the lifetime of the Buddha there were a number of metaphysical questions that he refused to answer, even though directly asked. His stated reason for withholding an answer was that any answer he would give would only result in confusion. His view was that it would encourage a distracting false understanding of a subject that was not merely beyond the questioner’s grasp, but irrelevant to the task of self-transformation.
When it comes to Theosophy there are clear categories that these definitions fall into.
For some, Theosophy is the study of its wealth of teachings on a vast range of subjects — cycles of unfoldment, planes of consciousness, descriptions of the birth and development of the human being and humanity itself, of the birth and unfoldment of the cosmos, and so on. From this point of view, it is seen as an inexhaustible fount of knowledge, providing answers and explanations for the deep mysteries of life: Who am I? Why am I here? What happens when we die? What is the nature of the human being, the universe?
Theosophy as a system of knowledge
Some of the most prominent “secondgeneration theosophists” gave definitions of Theosophy emphasizing facts and a system of knowledge. For example:
Theosophy may be described to the outside world as an intelligent theory of the universe. . . . It is a statement of the great facts of Nature so far as they are known — an outline of the scheme of our corner of the universe. — C. W. Leadbeater
And another by Geoffrey Hodson:
Theosophy is the body of truths which forms the basis of all religions, and which cannot be claimed as the exclusive possession of any. It offers a philosophy which renders life intelligible, and which demonstrates the justice and the love which guide its evolution.
It puts death in its rightful place, as a recurring incident in an endless life, opening the gateway to a fuller and more radiant existence. It restores to the world the Science of the Spirit, teaching man to know the Spirit as himself and the mind and body as his servants. It illuminates the Scriptures and doctrines of religions by unveiling their hidden meanings, and thus justifying them at the bar of intelligence, as they are ever justified in the eyes of intuition.
A list of the headings in the book, First Principles of Theosophy by C. Jinarâjadâsa (the fourth president of the TS), gives an indication of the approach to Theosophy as a system of knowledge: Evolution of Life and Form; Rise and Fall of Civilizations; Laws of Reincarnation; Law of Karma; Invisible Worlds; Man in Life and Death; Evolution of Animals; Work of the Triple Logos; Kingdoms of Life; Evolution of Matter and Force; Evolution of Life; Nature’s Message of Beauty; Evolution of Consciousness; Inner Government of the World; Path of Discipleship; God’s Plan; and so on.
Principles and a Different Way of Thinking
One of the frequent observations of those embarking on a study of Theosophy is that so much of its teachings are abstract. Such a strong focus on the invisible abstract creates challenges for students. A different way of thinking needs to develop.
HPB’s constant emphasis was on deductive, top-down reasoning — moving from principles to specifics. At its best it leads to an intuitive approach to understanding. So much of normal education focuses on its opposite, inductive reasoning — the attempt to derive universals from particulars. She suggested that the student employ the Hermetic Axiom as a foundation for study:
As is the inner, so is the outer; as is the great, so is the small; as it is above, so it is below: there is but ONE LIFE AND LAW.
I.K. Taimni, a professor of chemistry, TS author, and a profound thinker/practitioner of yoga philosophy, made the following comment:
Once we have derived or discovered a principle by correct and reliable methods we can depend upon it under all kinds of circumstances. But when we are dealing with a mass of detailed facts we are liable to trip any moment. The reason for this is obvious. All principles and relations exist in the realm of the Universal Mind as eternal verities and are not subject to change or modification. The phenomena, on the other hand, form a flowing stream, every part of which is changing all the time.
The Broad Canvas of Theosophy
For some, Theosophy is confined to only those teachings that were given by H. P. Blavatsky during her lifetime. For others, the views of “second generation theosophists” like C. W. Leadbeater, Annie Besant, Geoffrey Hodson, J. Krishnamurti, or Taimni take precedence.
For some, Theosophy is to be found in its history, the network of people and activity that have influenced global culture through the worlds of art, science, politics, literature, spirituality, religion, and so forth. To some others, it reveals itself in conscious, compassionate activity — service — to others. For yet others, it is only to be understood in the profound experience of meditative silence and mystical union. It is a broad canvas on which we find our place, and establish our relationship with the Ageless Wisdom.
Theosophy is both knowledge and wisdom, and the mystical experience of union.
From Fragmentation to Union
The literature of Theosophy is strewn with hints, suggestions, clues that point us toward some deepening realization of a direction from which to approach our study/practice.
In the Mahatma Letters, the statement is made that we are “the temporarily isolated fragments of the Universal Soul”. It helps us to be aware that our condition of isolation and the self-centered behaviors that accompany it are temporary. From the theosophical perspective, we have a role in determining how long such a condition lasts. To become an active participant in ending our fragmentation is a focus of Theosophy and one of the purposes of the TS. The result of the resolution to our isolation is an end to our fragmented existence.
In many of the Ageless-Wisdom traditions there are recurring images that describe both our current condition and our potential future state. In the Bible there is a phrase: “In my Father’s house there are many mansions (dwelling places).”
Within the Universal Consciousness there is an infinity of spaces within which “temporarily isolated fragments” dwell, each one trying to define the Father’s house by the limits of their isolated space and understanding. It is like living in a closet and trying to project that limitation onto a palace and onto a kingdom. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave illustrates how a shadow world formed the basis of the cave dwellers’ limited understanding and conditioned their projection of what the rest of the world must be.
The Mystical Interpretation of Theosophy
What is it that lies on the other side of fragmentation? Union, unity, selflessness. At its deepest levels, Theosophy is both a description and guide to the experience of Oneness. Below are the comments of three past TS presidents on this mystical interpretation of Theosophy.
Annie Besant The obtaining of “a direct knowledge of God” is . . . the ultimate object of all Theosophy, as it is the very heart and life of all true Religion; this is “the highest knowledge, the knowledge of Him by whom all else is known”; but the lower knowledge, that of the knowable “all else”, and the methods of knowing it, bulk largely in theosophical study.
Radha Burnier True Occultism or Theosophy is the “Great Renunciation of the self”, unconditionally and absolutely, in thought as in action.
Georhe Arundale Theosophy is God’s knowledge of Himself.
There is One Life, is a description of Theosophy. There is One Life which is imprinted in all of the lesser lives it contains, is another description. There is One Life whose operations in the various lives/worlds/universes is like this (Theosophy information/facts/truths), is yet another. These are mystical, abstract, archetypal, and practical descriptions, yet still somehow incomplete for a word that is so easy to say.
Theosophy in the Words of HPB and the Mahatmas
I close with some quotes from HPB . . .
Theosophy is the accumulated wisdom of the ages, tested and verified by generations of seers. To the mentally lazy or obtuse, Theosophy must remain a riddle.
Real Theosophy IS ALTRUISM, and we cannot repeat it too often. It is brotherly love, mutual help, unswerving devotion to Truth. If once people do but realize that in these alone can true happiness be found, and never in wealth, possessions, or any selfish gratification, then the dark clouds will roll away, and a new humanity will be born upon earth.
Theosophy, in its abstract meaning, is Divine Wisdom, or the aggregate of the knowledge and wisdom that underlie the Universe — the homogeneity of eternal good; and in its concrete sense it is the sum total of the same as allotted to man by Nature, on this earth, and no more. . . .
Theosophy is the shoreless ocean of universal truth, love, and wisdom, reflecting its radiance on the earth, while the Theosophical Society is only a visible bubble on that reflection.
Theosophy is divine nature, visible and invisible, and its Society, human nature trying to ascend to its divine parent.
Theosophy, finally, is the fixed eternal sun, and its Society the evanescent comet trying to settle in an orbit to become a planet, ever revolving within the attraction of the sun of truth.
Theosophy is not a religion, but it is the essence of all religion.
The essence of Theosophy is the perfect harmonizing of the divine with the human in man, the adjustment of his god-like qualities and aspirations, and their sway over the ter-restrial or animal passions in him. Kindness, absence of every ill feeling or selfishness, charity, goodwill to all beings, and perfect justice to others as to oneself are its chief features. He who teaches Theosophy preaches the gospel of goodwill; and the converse of this is true also — he who preaches the gospel of goodwill, teaches Theosophy. H. P. Blavatsky . . .
… and finally from one of her Masters:
Theosophy is no new candidate for the world’s attention, but only the restatement of principles which have been recognized from the very infancy of mankind.
Mahatma KH
The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett.
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This article was also published in The Theosophist, VOL. 148 NO. 1 OCTOBER 2026
The Theosophist is the official organ of the International President, founded by H. P. Blavatsky on 1 Oct. 1879.
To read the OCTOBER 2026 issue click HERE
