| Description |
1 online resource (vi, 384 pages) |
| Series |
Oxford studies in Western esotericism |
|
Oxford studies in Western esotericism.
|
| Contents |
Adventures in "Wisdom-land": Orientalist Discourse in Early Theosophy / Christopher Partridge -- Orientalist vs. Theosophist / Donald S. Lopez, Jr. -- H. P. Blavatsky's Acquaintance with the Language of the Gods / James A. Santucci -- Early debates in the reception of Buddhism: Theosophy and Esoteric Buddhism / Tim Rudbøg -- H.P. Blavatsky's early reception of Hindu Philosophy / Tim Rudbøg and Erik Reenberg Sand -- The Mahatma Letters / Joscelyn Godwin -- "The real pure Yog": Yoga in the early Theosophical Society and the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor / Patrick D. Bowen -- Emergent Representations of the East: The Role of Theosophical Periodicals, 1879-1900 / Gillian McCann -- Theosophy and Modernism: A Shared but Secret History / David Weir -- Theosophy in the Bengal Renaissance / K. Paul Johnson -- The Marriage between the Theosophical Society and the Arya Samaj / Erik Reenberg Sand -- The West moves East: Blavatsky's "Universal Brotherhood" in India / Tim Rudbøg -- Allan Octavian Hume, Madame Blavatsky, and the Foundation of the Indian National Congress / Isaac Lubelsky -- Theosophy, Cultural Nationalism, and Home Rule / Mark Bevir -- Experiments with Theosophical Truth: Gandhi, esotericism, and global religious history / Michael Bergunder |
| Summary |
"The Theosophical Society (est. 1875 in New York by H. P. Blavatsky, H. S. Olcott, and others) is increasingly becoming recognized for its influential role in shaping the alternative new religious and cultural landscape of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and perhaps especially for being an early promoter of interest in Eastern religions and philosophies. Many scholars now point to the Theosophical Society’s early popularization of Eastern concepts in the West and that Blavatsky and Olcott were the first known Westerners to convert to Buddhism, but despite this increasing awareness many of the central questions relating to the early Theosophical Society and the East still remain largely unexplored. This volume is the first academic anthology specifically dedicated to a more detailed study of the early Theosophical Society and the East (1875–1900). In addition to locating and analyzing new historical material, this book explores how the Theosophists approached the East and how in so doing they were similar to and different from Orientalists at the time. It explores how Theosophists represented the East and engaged with the people they came into contact with. Major topics include Sanskrit, Buddhism, Hindu philosophy, Eastern masters, yoga, and how such subjects were written about in Theosophical journals and in modernist literature. The innovative studies in this volume also explore the close relation between Theosophy, Hindu reform movements, and Indian politics and thereby offer new insights into the role of modern esotericism, globalization, and cross-cultural dynamics in the nineteenth century"--Publisher's description |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Audience |
Specialized |
| Notes |
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (Oxford Scholarship Online, viewed on April 16, 2021) |
| Subject |
Theosophical Society (Chennai, India)
|
| SUBJECT |
Theosophical Society (Chennai, India) fast (OCoLC)fst01864893 |
| Subject |
Theosophy -- History
|
|
Theosophy.
|
| Genre/Form |
History.
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| Author |
Rudbøg, Tim, editor.
|
|
Reenberg Sand, Erik, editor.
|
| ISBN |
9780190853914 |
|
0190853913 |
|
9780190853891 |
|
0190853891 |
|
