H. P. BLAVATSKY’S LIFE AND WORK. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891), one of the founders of the Theosophical Society, was a remarkable woman who has made a great impact on the thought of the Western world. In her own day, she was controversial because of her remarkable abilities of extrasensory perception, her forthright and outspoken nature, and her fearless attacks on hypocrisy and bigotry. Even today, she continues to be the center of curiosity and attention as the precursor of ‘new’ ideas. Her great metaphysical knowledge is embodied in her literary work, which has directly or indirectly influenced inquiring minds all over the world. Helena Blavatsky was born of a noble family at Ekakrinoslav in Russia. From earliest childhood she attracted attention with her ability to produce psychic phenomena at will. Yet she was not interested in such powers for their own sake, but used them to demonstrate the principles and laws of nature that govern them. She became a student of metaphysical lore and travelled to many lands, including Tibet, in search of hidden knowledge.

Those were extraordinary travels for a lone woman in the nineteenth century. In the 1870s H. P. B came to New York and, with Colonel H. S. Olcott, William Q. Judge and others, formed the Theosophical Society in 1875. In 1878 H. P. Blavatsky became an American citizen, the first Russian woman ever to do so. In 1879 she and Col. Olcott moved to India, and in 1882 they established the headquarters of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, near Madras. This remains the international headquarters for the Society, which is now established in sixty countries of the world. In 1885 H. P. Blavatsky went to Europe and settled in London, where she completed her magnum opus, The Secret Doctrine. Much of the knowledge in this book and her other writings was derived from Eastern teachers, with whom she came in touch early in life.

EARLY WRITINGS AND ISIS UNVEILED. Through her many writings, H. P. Blavatsky – ‘Madame Blavatsky’ or ‘HPB’ as she came to be known – has shared some of her extensive knowledge of the philosophies and religions of the world, the wisdom of the East and the West, symbolism, metaphysics, esoteric philosophy, and the practical application of all these to life. She was a prolific writer, and newspaper and magazine articles on a variety of subjects flowed steadily from her pen. These works fill fifteen volumes of her fully indexed Collected Writings.  The first major book by H. P. Blavatsky was Isis Unveiled, in two volumes. It created a sensation when published in New York City in 1877; the first edition of 1,000 copies sold out in ten days. Within seven months, three printings had been issued. The book has as its subtitle ‘A Master Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology.’ Volume 1 deals with claims of ‘infallibility’ for science, while volume 2 deals with similar claims for religion. Both show that the Ancients had a wisdom that has been partly forgotten in our time.

 

THE SECRET DOCTRINE. Blavatsky’s greatest work is The Secret Doctrine. This book appeared in1888 in two large volumes, the first concerned with cosmogenesis, the study of the origin and development of the universe, and the second with anthropogenesis, the study of the origins and development of humanity. This book continues in greater detail the themes set forth in Isis Unveiled, its subtitle. The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy,’ expressing the aim of the work. HPB made it clear that The Secret Doctrine was not written as a revelation but is rather a collection of fragments scattered throughout thousands of volumes embodying the scriptures of the great Asian and pre-Christian European religions and philosophies.Furthermore, she strongly rejected the dogmatic interpretation of any of her work. The reader is asked to study the ideas from this or any other source only in the light of common human experience and reason.

In addition to Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine, H. P. Blavatsky wrote a number of shorter books. One of these, The Key to Theosophy, is a valuable introduction to theosophical thought and philosophy, dealing especially with the implications of Theosophy for living. This book is written in the form of questions and answers, focussing upon who we are and how we relate to the world around us.

Blavatsky is remembered not only for her works of scholarship and her industry but also for a modest little book of spiritual insight and instruction called The Voice of the Silence.

It is her translation of an old Eastern manuscript and includes her explanations and comments on a series of percepts offered to those seeking the path to enlightenment. Wisdom and an understanding heart are evident in the skill with which HPB has safeguarded the original poetic imagery as she rendered the ancient verses into English prose. First printed in the late nineteenth century, The Voice of the Silence has been published in many editions and languages. It is read and treasured around the world for its poetic imagery and spiritual power. The voice of the Silence is “Dedicated to the few.”

H. P. Blavatsky devoted her life to the service of humanity, to bringing the Wisdom of the ancients back into the awareness of her contemporaries. The Divine Wisdom, which she called Theosophy, inspires a compassion for the sufferings of our fellow human beings and a practical altruism that seeks not merely to alleviate the symptoms of misery, but to remove its cause: ignorance of our fundamental unity with all other beings. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky’s life and work were directed to that goal.