Theosophical Encyclopedia

[Based on the article in the Theosophical Encyclopedia, by Richard W. Brooks and Jay G. Williams]

Theravāda Buddhism is sometimes referred to as “Southern Buddhism” because it is the form of Buddhism found mainly in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Southeast Asia. Actually, the term theravada (Sankrit sthaviravada, literally “the doctrine of the elders”) was used by only one of the sects of early Buddhism, However, modern usage now lumps those different sects together and considers the others to be offshoots of Theravada. The Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”) Buddhists, often referred to as “Northern Buddhists” because they are found mainly in Tibet, China, inner Asia, and Japan (as well as north Vietnam), considered the Theravadins to be an inferior form of Buddhism and referred to them as “Hinayana” (i.e., “the lesser vehicle”). Some Theravādins actually accepted that pejorative name, considering it an indication of humility, an important Buddhist virtue.

[Based on the article in the Theosophical Encyclopedia, by Vic Hao Chin]

Systems of mystical initiation in the Graeco-Roman world flourished for about two thousand years up to the fourth century. Many great persons of antiquity were known to be initiates of such schools, such as Plato, Pythagoras, Plutarch, Cicero, Iamblichus, and Porphyry, as well as Christian Fathers such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Ammonius Saccas. The Mysteries were sanctioned and publicly protected by the Greek states, and later by the Roman Empire, but declined and became prohibited when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century CE under the Emperors Constantine and Theodosius.

[Based on the article in the Theosophical Encyclopedia, by Philip S. Harris]

The information contained in this article was derived primarily from an article in the Theosophist of August 1927, pp. 549-560). The statements made in the article were reviewed (in 1994) by a highly placed authority in South Africa (who asked not to be named), and he verified the material, which is associated with the various gifted grades of Sangoma (in southern Africa, a witch doctor, usually a woman, claiming supernatural powers of divination and healing grades), only commenting that the information is partial. There is much more information that is given only to high initiates, face to face with the teacher, and not written down.

Sangoma

Richard Williams Brooks – USA

[From the Theosophical Encyclopedia Website; here slightly revised in content and adapted to Theosophy Forward style]

Atahualpa, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa or Atawallpa was the last Sapa Inca of the Tawantinsuyu before the Spanish conquest.

There is some discussion in Theosophical literature of the advanced Inca culture, but no mention of the rest of South America or of the religious ideas of native groups in the Caribbean — other than a passing reference by Helena P. Blavatsky to Voodoo (or Vodun) in Haiti (Secret Doctrine 2:209). The most highly developed civilizations of South America were on the western side of the continent south of Ecuador. Archeological evidence shows that several remarkable civilizations preceded the Inca culture in that area.

Richard Williams Brooks – USA

[From the Theosophical Encyclopedia Website; here slightly revised in content and adapted to Theosophy Forward style]

Mayan civilization, which began in the lowlands of Guatamala at least 1000 BCE, flourished from the mid-third to tenth centuries CE in the Yucatán (which included its principal city, Chichén Itzá), Campeche, Quintana Roo, and parts of Tabasco and Chiapas, as well as all of Belize, most of Guatamala, and parts of El Salvador and Honduras. The principal sources of our knowledge of Mayan religion are from their scripture, the Popol Vuh, (literally “Council Book”), the several Books of Chilam Balam of Chumayel (as well as that of Mani), a few surviving manuscripts, and their iconography. Much can also be inferred from their elaborate pyramidal temple complexes, some of which include sweathouses (see J. Eric S. Thompson, The Rise and Fall of Mayan Civilization, 2nd edition, 1966, pp. 73-74), reminiscent of the sweat lodges of natives of North America. Dark, underground rooms have also been uncovered in these temple complexes (see Thompson, p. 74); their use is open only to speculation, but they could possibly have been used for secret initiatory ceremonies. The Books of Chilam Balam, which date from around 1000 CE and after and are named after an order of priests, contain quite a bit of religious mythology as well as information about Mayan society and history; they were apparently based on earlier hieroglyphic codices now lost. Unfortunately, most of the surviving hieroglyphic writing on religious matters is presently undecipherable (see Thompson, p. 196).

Richard Williams Brooks – USA

[From the Theosophical Encyclopedia Website; here slightly revised in content and adapted to Theosophy Forward style]

Sri Sankaracarya

Advaita Vedanta is one of the major philosophical systems of India. Its present form derives from the writings of the eighth-nineth century philosopher Sri Sankaracarya or Sankara in short form, but it obviously has a more ancient history. Sankara identifies Gaudapada (seventh century) as his paramaguru, usually taken to mean “teacher’s teacher,” though that cannot be its meaning in this instance — perhaps “paramount teacher” would be more literally appropriate. But an initial formulation of the ideas of the school was made by Badarayana (sixth century BCE?) in his cryptic summation of the teachings of the principal Upanisads, variously called Vedanta Sutras or Brahma Sutras, the name Vedanta indicating that the system derives its philosophic inspiration from the end (anta) or final texts of the Vedas, which are the Upanisads. The school also interprets end to mean (as it does ambiguously in English as well as in Sanskrit) “final teaching” or “purpose.”

Richard Williams Brooks – USA

[From the Theosophical Encyclopedia Website; here slightly revised in content and adapted to Theosophy Forward style]

Hindu Temple at the Adyar Estate

The word Hindu derives from a Sanskrit word sindhu, “river,” which was applied to the first large river, now called the Indus, which the Aryans encountered upon their migration into the northwest area of the subcontinent. When the Greeks invaded, they modified the word to its present form and identified the people of the area as Hindus, i.e., “People of the River.” Annie Besant, as well as many Hindus, preferred the term Sanatana Dharma (literally “ancient law” or “eternal religion”) for the religion of the Hindus, although some scholars consider this more a description than a proper name. Manu, the ancient law-giver, seems to have used the term “arsa-dharma,” i.e., “the way of behavior given by the Rishis [ancient sages].”