The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy (1st edition, 2 vols., 1888) is a pseudoscientific esoteric work written by Madame Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891), founder (1875) of the religious movement known as Theosophy.

Volume 1 is sub-titled Cosmogenesis, and Volume 2 is sub-titled Anthropogenesis.

The Secret Doctrine is an influential example of the revival of interest in esoteric and occult ideas in the modern age, in particular because of its claim to reconcile ancient eastern wisdom with modern science. Proponents widely claim the literature contains clues as to how the nature of prayer was 'covered' and expunged from common wisdom, except for those with a keen eye. It has been criticized for promoting pseudoscientific concepts and for borrowing without credit those from other systems. According to Fritze:

<blockquote>Unfortunately the factual basis for Blavatsky's book is nonexistent. She claimed to have received her information during trances in which the Masters of Mahatmas of Tibet communicated with her and allowed her to read from the ancient Book of Dzyan. The Book of Dzyan was supposedly composed in Atlantis using the lost language of Senzar but the difficulty is that no scholar of ancient languages in the 1880s or since has encountered the slightest passing reference to the Book of Dzyan or the Senzar language. It is said to have been heavily influenced by occult and oriental works.

L. Sprague de Camp, in his book Lost Continents, paraphrased William Emmette Coleman's opinion that Blavatsky's main sources were "H. H. Wilson's translation of the ancient Indian Vishnu Purana; Alexander Winchell's World Life; or, Comparative Geology; Donnelly's Atlantis; and other contemporary scientific, pseudo-scientific, and occult works, plagiarized without credit and used in a blundering manner that showed but skin-deep acquaintance with the subjects under discussion." De Camp described the book as a "mass of plagiarism and fakery".

The book has also been accused of antisemitism and criticized for its emphasis on race. Historian Hannah Newman has noted that the book "denigrates the Jewish faith as harmful to human spirituality". Historian Michael Marrus has written that Blavatsky's racial ideas "could be easily misused" and that her book had helped to foster antisemitism in Germany during World War II.

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

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  • , introduction by Manly Palmer Hall.
  • Keightley, Archibald Account of the Writing of "The Secret Doctrine".
  • Kuhn, Alvin Boyd (1930) Theosophy: A Modern Revival of Ancient Wisdom, PhD Thesis. Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Publishing. Chap. viii "The Secret Doctrine", pp. 193–230. .
  • Wachtmeister, Constance Reminiscences of H.P. Blavatsky and "The Secret Doctrine".
  • Сенкевич, Александр Николаевич (2012) Елена Блаватская. Между светом и тьмой – М.: Алгоритм. Гл. "Тайная доктрина", стр. 455–462. .
  • The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 1 and Vol.2 online version
  • The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 1 and Vol.2 1888 First Edition, Updated and Corrected.
  • The third volume of The Secret Doctrine
  • The Secret Doctrine Net
  • The Secret Doctrine at Blavatsky.Net
  • The Book of Dzyan Research Reports by David Reigle