Theosophy - a synthesis of science, religion and philosophy

A brief history of Theosophy.
Theosophy as known to the modern world was founded by the Russian initiate Helena Petrovna Blavatsky in New York in 1875 as an attempt to spread divine truth to the intellectually advanced part of humanity. However, "the Ancient Wisdom" has always existed in the world, either openly as Theosophy is taught today, or in the past, in Egypt, Greece and Atlantis where there were great temples and initiation schools run by the Earth's Hierarchy, or hidden, as in the Middle Ages amongst the alchemists, Rosicrucians and Freemasons, who were persecuted by both the clergy and the secular powers who (rightly) felt their power threatened by the truths which these hidden societies represented.

What is Theosophy?
Theosophy is "A synthesis of science, religion and philosophy", and its motto is: "There is no religion higher than Truth". Practically, Theosophy presents itself today as a vast spiritual and cosmological system which seeks to investigate and explain Cosmos and man's role herein, both on the basis of occult research (research based on extrasensory perception, be it clairvoyance, clairvoyance, visions, telepathically received messages or memories or visions retrieved through hypnotic regression, i.e. from higher states of consciousness) which is taught by a number of Theosophical groups around the world.

Leading figures in Theosophy
Some of the most important figures of Theosophy in this and the former century have been: H. P. Blavatsky, Annie Besant, Helena Roerich, Charles. W. Leadbeater, Geoffrey Hodson, Alice A. Bailey, Corine Heline and Dion Fortune, and currently operating we have teachers and writers such as Torkom Saraydarian, Benjamin Creme, Michael Robbins and Asger Lorentsen.

Theosophical teachings
While Theosophy is an ever-expanding science, a dynamic living teaching, which originates in the cosmic mind or the being which we call God, represented by myriads of beings on many different planes of existence and levels of consciousness and development, most Theosophical groups today base their understanding on the teachings which were given through Alice A. Bailey in the 1930's and 1940's from her Tibetan teacher, Dhjwal Khul. These books present a spiritual cosmology which describes the universe as a vast, living being, containing myriads of other living beings within it, all evolving towards higher and higher states of consciousness and experience.

The Great Plan
Theosophy explains how evolution on the planet Earth follows a certain scheme, the Great Plan, which is laid out from higher planes of consciousness. The Great Plan for this Earth is part of the plan for the evolution of the solar system, and so it continues upwards, plans within plans and cycles within cycles. On this Earth, the Great Plan is implemented by the Earth's Spiritual Hierarchy, also called the Great White Brotherhood, and it was the Hierarchy that founded the Theosophical Society through Helena Blavatsky and began releasing Theosophy to the public in 1875 as a part of their work for the enlightenment of humanity.

The Hierarchy
The Hierarchy consists of perfected men and women who have finished the cycles of reincarnation on this planet or another, and have learnt to master their human and spiritual nature and the forces of the three lower worlds - the physical, the emotional and the mental. They express perfected love and wisdom (seen with human eyes, for there is always a higher standard of perfection which can be attained), and have chosen to remain here on the Earth to serve humanity's and the Earth's growth. Some of the Hierarchy's Masters are known from their earlier incarnations: The Master Jesus from his incarnation in Palestine where he helped to anchor a vast impulse of love and founded the Christian religion, and from his later incarnation as Appolonia of Tyana. Buddha is known from his incarnation as Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism; Kuthumi from his earlier incarnations as Pythagoras, one of the great teachers of Ancient Greece, and as Francis of Assisi, one of the greatest saints of the Catholic Church, and Mary is known from her incarnation as Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The work of individual members of the Hierarchy is described in many books, for instance:: C. W. Leadbeater: "The Masters and the Path"; Alice A. Bailey: "The Externalisation of the Hierarchy" and Asger Lorentsen: "Man's Inner Structure". Other well-known Masters of the Hierarchy are Hilarion (known from his incarnation as St. Paul, who helped to spread Christianity in Asia Minor), Sct. Germain (known from his incarnation as the Count of Sct. Germain in the 18th century and the inspirator behind most of the Freemason and occult lodges in Europe), Morya (who was the inspirator, together with Kuthumi and Dhjwal Khul, behind the foundation of the Theosophical Society) and finally Maitreya, known from his earlier incarnation as Krishna, and as the real inspirator behind Christianity, since it was him who overshadowed Jesus during the last three years of his life in Palestine. Maitreya is known as Maitreya Buddha in the East, and as Christ in the West, and he is the leader of the Earth's spiritual Hierarchy and embodies the heart centre of this planet.