Theosophy

Barbara Hebert – USA

Barbara in action at Olcott in Wheaton 

Family, friends, health, and security are undeniably precious. Yet, as students of the Ageless Wisdom, we recognize that these aspects of life are temporary. A deeper question arises: What is important in terms of our spiritual life and growth? Is it mastering our thoughts and emotions, committing to daily study and meditation, weaving theosophical teachings into our everyday actions, or serving humanity? Each of these represents vital steps in our spiritual development.  

Pekka Ervast – Suomi (Finland)

A Brief Introduction by Antti Savinainen

Pekka Ervast (1875–1934) was a Finnish Rosicrucian Theosophist and spiritual researcher whose public work lasted for more than three decades. One might wonder what the meaning of the qualifier “spiritual researcher” is. To me, it means that the person conducting spiritual research is not just drawing on what they have learned from esoteric books about the invisible world, but also has their own firsthand knowledge. What, then, makes me claim that Ervast could conduct spiritual research in the same sense as, say, Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925)? My position is based on the extensive study of Ervast’s work for almost four decades, as well as on comparisons of his descriptions of the afterlife with scientific research on near-death experiences. See for instance: https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/life-review-at-the-gate-of-death

The origin of spiritual knowledge is supersensible, often called clairvoyance. As with any knowledge, it can be incomplete and open to amendments and corrections. It goes without saying that one must always approach knowledge claims, especially those that are not amenable to direct testing, with caution. Keeping this in mind, I encourage the reader to delve into the following Ervast’s lecture on a deeply serious topic, suicide. More about Ervast’s views on the afterlife can be found in the book From Death to Rebirth (2017), available online at:  :https://teosofia.net/e-kirjat/Pekka_Ervast-From_Death_to_Rebirth.pdf

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David M. Grossman – USA

Each of us is an individual spark emanating from the absolute, rays from the one spiritual sun, so to speak, journeying through the manifested universe. This is the basic teaching of Theosophy. Theosophy further points out that there is a purpose to all this, one that is imbedded in the fabric of our being, in every being in fact, as HPB puts it:

The radical unity of the ultimate essence of each constituent part of compounds in Nature—from Star to mineral Atom, from the highest Dhyan Chohan to the smallest infusoria, in the fullest acceptation of the term, and whether applied to the spiritual, intellectual, or physical worlds—this is the one fundamental law in Occult Science.

                                                                                                                   The Secret Doctrine, vol.1, pg.120

Ananya Sri Ram – USA

The author

On March 20, 1928, a little boy was born into a wealthy family. The little boy’s father was the president of a very successful business in the town where they lived. The little boy’s mother was the daughter of the man who owned the successful business. She originally wanted to study medicine, but settled for a life of volunteer work. She knitted sweaters for the American troops fighting the war in Europe and helped at the local hospital.

Tim Boyd - India, USA

The author, always observant, this time in black and white

Rather than speak in a theoretical manner, I prefer to address the Next Steps from the point of view of my own experience and that of my co-workers at Adyar. Let me give you two quotes that might season our conversation. The first is from the Mahatma Letters: “We advise — never order. But we do influence individuals.”

Pablo Sender – USA

Pablo Sender; this photo was taken in Italy, July-2025

From time to time, it is important to pause in our daily activities and pose certain probing questions to ourselves—questions that, while perhaps uncomfortable, can illuminate the nature of our commitments and motivations. One such question that merits consideration by those engaged in theosophical work is: “What do you love more, Theosophy or the Theosophical Society?”

Boris de Zirkoff – USA

Unique photo of the author while visiting the Cathedral (Il Duome) of Milan-Italy, accompanied by Axel von Fielitz-Coniar, a former General Secretary of the Adyar TS in Germany. Photo taken on May 26, 1959. (special thanks to Kenneth Small)

[Note from the editor. Theosophy Forward regularly publishes articles written by Boris de Zirkoff. The author is primarily known in theosophical circles as the compiler and editor of the Collected Writings which is to be considered to be his “life’s work” Compiling H.P.B.’s work undoubtedly was a phenomenal achievement, but there was so much more de Zirkoff should be recognized for. He was an outstanding speaker, travelled to and lectured in various countries, he wrote a number of books and edited his own magazine Theosophia from 1944 until his death in 1981. Your editor finds that this part of his legacy is surprisingly current and apt still, taken the fact that it was written decades ago.  The article below is based upon a tape recording of a private talk given by Boris de Zirkoff. It was initially transcribed on June 30, 1973, by Eldon Tucker, then later edited for publication].

For more on Boris de Zirkoff follow this link: https://theosophy.wiki/en/Boris_de_Zirkoff  

Wesley Amerman – USA

'Theosophists,' either individually or as members of the various Theosophical Societies, have a long history to live down. No one living today, of course, had anything to do with the problems of the early twentieth century, when our predecessors chased after 'Ascended Masters' and made gurus out of brilliant but fallible men and women. However, we are still in danger of repeating the mistakes of the past and of failing to learn from them. 

Deepa Padhi – India

Author Deepa Padhi is international Vice-President of the Theosophical Society in Adyar, Chennai, India, and President of the Theosophical Order of Service (TOS), Odisha Region, India 

Embracing spiritual wholeness is both an ancient and modern state of mind. In Mabel Collins’s The Idyll of the White Lotus there is an invocation to meditation, “The Three Truths”, the first verse of which reads:

The soul of man is immortal and its future is the future of a thing whose growth and splendor have no limit.

Tim Boyd - India, USA

Tim Boyd accompanied by two beautiful young ladies (daughters of a friend of his) 

I would like to share a few thoughts about the Theosophical Society’s 150- year history, a history that has been momentous and challenging. Also, we are here to talk about the future and about the moment in which we find ourselves now. There is an expression with which we are all familiar: “Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.” I take it as an advice, but for those who think that human nature is static and unchanging, the formula that the future equals the past is a gloomy arithmetic.

B.P. Wadia – India

Thou halt to live and breathe in all, as all that thou perceivest breathes in thee, to feel thyself abiding in all things, all things in SELF.

Be in full accord with all that lives; bear love to men as though they were thy brother-pupils, disciples of one Teacher, the sons of one sweet mother.

Of teachers, there are many; the MASTER-SOUL is one, Alaya, the Universal Soul. Live in that MASTER as ITS ray in thee. Live in thy fellows as they live in IT.

The Voice of the Silence

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Pekka Ervast’s talk at an esoteric meeting on April 6, 1931

[Compiled by Antti Savinainen] 

Dear friends! 

Madame Blavatsky founded the Esoteric Section, later renamed the Esoteric School, in 1888, after the Theosophical Society had generally lost its faith in the Masters. When the Society for Psychical Research published its report in 1885 claiming that Madame Blavatsky fabricated the Masters, theosophists began to doubt the existence of the Masters. This meant that the Masters had to withdraw from the Theosophical Society. When they discussed with Madame Blavatsky what could be done, it was decided to establish an inner circle within the Theosophical Society, where attempts would be made to contact the Master. The phrase “make contact with the Master” does not only mean making contact with a specific Master, but generally means that a person would come into contact with the cosmos itself and spiritual forces. The Masters are only one aspect of the spiritual forces of the cosmos; they represent the highest knowledge and wisdom here on earth. But the universe is full of all kinds of beings, not just a few dozen Masters, but countless multitudes of spiritual beings, some of whom are lower in development and have not yet reached the level of humans. In contrast, others are remarkable divine beings whose powers play a part in this universe, and with whom humans must come into contact.

David M. Grossman – USA

A point comes in our search for meaning in life where we are ready to take a next step. We know there is a higher side to things, that the “day to day” is the water flowing under the bridge, here today gone tomorrow.    

Traditionally people have sometimes turned to the spiritual life through various religious structures by withdrawing from physical worldly life, becoming nuns or monks as in Buddhism or Christianity, living in monasteries or in more extreme expressions as in the examples of Indian Yogis withdrawing into the proverbial cave and embracing the totally austere and solitary life for a time.    

Boris de Zirkoff – USA

Lesser known photo of Boris in his office, early 1950's 

(Written in 1951!)

While world statesmen and politicians are dividing humanity into respective "spheres of influence", and the scientists of the world are inventing more and more powerful weapons for still greater slaughter, a solution of the one basic problem remains practically ignored.

It is the problem of the appalling lack of ethical integrity - a condition which affects every aspect of our modern life and penetrates into every stratum and level of our civilization.

Kenneth Small – USA

With some commentary based on Helena Blavatsky’s The Voice of the Silence

“Self-Knowledge is of loving deeds the child” (1)

In a current media editorial, it was recently expressed (September 2025) as a wake-up call, the writer advocated: “Don’t express empathy without action”.  This is a timely insight applicable in today’s fractious world conditions, filled with contentious polarizing and competing ideas largely motivated by the rush for personal power. Conversely, we may say that it is imperative that “we don’t take action without empathy.”  Reflecting on this conundrum, what more all-encompassing insights may the Wisdom Traditions offer for understanding ‘empathy in action’ today?

Dara Eklund  USA

Dara lecturing at Olcott, Wheaton in 2012

The most acute loneliness one can experience is estrangement from one's True Self. We are burdened with a sense of loss or dejection when that inner Voice or Presence is not heard or felt. Some call it Conscience. I have heard a depressed friend once pronounce, "I have no conscience." He meant that he had not awakened his own conscience. Therefore, he could not recognize it in others. Yet, even a hardened criminal has a spark of nobility. Gottfried de Purucker once declared in a Lecture of July 22, 1930:

Conscience is the working of your spiritual being, a spiritual manifestation of the inner god of you, managing to send some faint gleams of light and truth and harmony and love into the poor, heavy, material brain-mind in which most men live and suffer and die.

Andrew Rooke – Australia

There is an old saying which says: “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” But looking around at the state of the world today, if we want a better world in the future, we are definitely going to have to learn a whole new ‘barrel of tricks’ at every level of human behavior and endeavor.

Ananya Sri Ram – USA

Ananya, the author, is the Director of the Krotona School of Theosophy 

Through the centuries, stories and fables have been used to teach us lessons about the many facets of life. Our spiritual life is no different. Religions around the world each have their own version of a particular lesson that is taught through the lens of that faith. The concept of the relativity and absoluteness of reality or the unreal and real is one such lesson. We can easily say “all is maya,” or “to know the Way, is not the Way,” and so on, but if we truly were able to grasp living according to the rhythms and laws of the One life, our world would be very different. We feel we know that which is considered Real, but the illusion we follow called life is so insidious, we often find ourselves caught in the raging waters of a river heading out to sea, struggling to hang on to anything that may “save” us.

David M. Grossman – USA

 Two Souls, One Heart - One Vision 

The story of HP Blavatsky leading up to her coming to New York in July 1873 and launching the Modern Theosophical Movement is a kind of epic story all by itself. But once she arrived in Manhattan, already a multicultural city of immigrants of over a million people,  almost immediately she settled into the work of preparation for what was to come. She connected up with the Spiritualist Movement which was receiving some notoriety at the time and becoming an annoying adversary to the then utterly materialistic mainstream scientific views dominating the “Halls of Learning.”

 It was while interfacing with the spiritualists by writing articles for the secular press and for “Spiritualist” journals and observing demonstrations of Spiritualistic phenomena, most famously at the Eddy Farm in Chittenden, Vermont that HPB first met Col. H. S. Olcott. He was covering the Spiritualists as a journalist, but we are told his real interest was to satisfy a curiosity that arose within him, checking for the authenticity or fraud concerning such phenomena. He wrote articles  in the NY Graphic and in 1875 published the book People from the Other World. Olcott was also captivated by a hidden side of nature (the occult world) that he was being made aware exists. And when he met Helena Petrovna Blavatsky at the Eddy farm this man of many talents had his life  redirected forever.

Antti Savinainen – Finland

My presentation is based on the teachings of Finnish theosophist Pekka Ervast (1875–1934) on the afterlife in Hades, which is a limited and protected part of a much larger astral plane. Typically, Hades is referred to as kamaloka in Theosophical sources. Ervast used the Finnish term ‘tuonela’, which best corresponds to Hades in Greek mythology.

Douglas Keene – USA

The author speaks in Adyar

In my March 2025 article for Theosophy Forward (“Unity in Times of Conflict-Part-1”) I wrote about the need for finding peace and harmony within a tumultuous and, at times, chaotic world. As mentioned, there is the need for unity, or as expressed in our first object “Universal Brotherhood”.  I would like to take these thoughts a bit further.

 Tim Boyd - India, USA

Tim Boyd

There is a habit, suggested by H. P. Blavatsky (HPB), which I have adopted. Whenever she would hear or read something that she felt was meaningful, she would write it down. She also would cut out newspaper articles, paste them in her scrapbooks, and comment in writing, even going so far as to add drawings elaborating her opinions. In the Adyar Archives there are 39 large, fascinating volumes of these collected scraps of thought. In 1890, a year before she died, HPB published a small book containing some of the quotes she had culled from a variety of sources. It was titled Gems from the East: A Birthday Book of Precepts and Axioms. It contained a brief quote for every day of the year, drawn chiefly from “Oriental” sources. Some examples of the pithy gems in the book are “A little hill in a low place thinks itself a great mountain”, “One proof is better than ten arguments”, and “The soul ripens in tears”. It is a mix of profound and humorous instruction for living.