Book Reviews

Blavatsky Unveiled: The Writings of H.P. Blavatsky in Modern English, Volume 1

Edited by MOON LARAMIE
Berkshire, England: Martin Firrell Company, 2020.  x + 457 pp., paper, $21.33.

According to a September 2016 article in the Washington Post, fewer and fewer American adults are reading literature of any kind. The Post was quoting from a recent report published by the National Endowment of the Arts. One indicator of this decline in serious reading was that in 1982, 57 percent of adults claimed to have read “at least one work of literature in the previous year,” while in 2015 it was only 43 percent—a decline of 24 percent. One wonders what it will be twenty years from now.

For those who have developed a love for literature, this is certainly a matter of concern. So too is it for those who admire and value the literature of H.P. Blavatsky and other Theosophical writers, much of which was written over a hundred years ago, in a style unfamiliar to those who have only read literature produced in the past ten or fifteen years.

This is one reason why British Theosophist Moon Laramie devoted four years to producing a version of Isis Unveiled that would appeal to younger audiences. The seminal literature of the Theosophical movement is profound and transformative, but the younger generation of today, whose reading consists largely of postings on social media, is deterred by the writing style of the late nineteenth century, with its longer and more complex sentence structures. As Laramie notes in his introduction, “to the modern eye, the linguistic style of Isis Unveiled can appear dense, convoluted and over-wrought.”

The other reason for Laramie’s book is “the obscure nature of many of Blavatsky’s references,” all of which “have been meticulously researched” and compiled in a seventy-five-page notes section at the end of the book.  

Let us take a few excerpts from Isis Unveiled and compare those with Laramie’s renditions, beginning with this passage from chapter 2:

Is it enough for man to know that he exists? Is it enough to be formed a human being to enable him to deserve the appellation of man? It is our decided impression and conviction, that to become a genuine spiritual entity, which that designation implies, man must first create himself anew, so to speak—i.e., thoroughly eliminate from his mind and spirit, not only the dominating influence of selfishness and other impurity, but also the infection of superstition and prejudice.

Below is Laramie’s streamlined rendition:

Is it enough merely for a man to know that he exists? Does he deserve the name “man” simply by being a human being? Surely the name “man” implies a spiritual being and to become a genuine spiritual entity man must first recreate himself. He must completely remove self-interest, superstition and prejudice from his mind and spirit.

Laramie’s version is shorter and gets right to the point. In today’s world, where everybody seems to be busier than ever, getting to the point is essential.

Let us now take a passage from chapter 6, first the original version, followed by the modern rendition:

One of the most interesting discoveries of modern times, is that of the faculty which enables a certain class of sensitive persons to receive from any object held in the hand or against the forehead impressions of the character or appearance of the individual, or any other object with which it has previously been in contact. 

One of the most interesting discoveries is the phenomenon of psychometry. A person with psychometric abilities is able to receive impressions from an object held in the hand or against the forehead. These impressions may reveal the character of the appearance of an individual who has been in contact with that object.

In terms of length, these passages are about the same, but Laramie’s version uses shorter sentences, which make it easier for the reader to follow the line of thought.

In this next comparison, Laramie not only streamlines Blavatsky’s original words but eliminates an anachronism (“of the present century”):

It may be noted, as an example of the inaccuracy of current notions as to the scientific claims of the present century, that the discoveries of the indestructibility of matter and force-correlation, especially the latter, are heralded as among our crowning triumphs.

Matter and energy are interchangeable and cannot be created or destroyed. The discovery of this principle is regarded as one of the greatest achievements of modern science.

In other instances, Blavatsky quotes from her sources in the original language, as in this quotation from the French revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre, which appears as an epigraph to chapter 3:

Qui, donc, t’a donné la mission d’annoncer au peuple que la Divinité n’existe pas . . . quel avantage trouves-tu à persuader à l’homme qu’une force aveugle préside à ses destinées et frappe au hazard [sic] le crime et la vertu?

Fortunately, Laramie has taken the trouble to translate it for us:

Who, then, gave you the mission to announce to the people that there is no God? What advantage is there in persuading man that nothing but blind force presides over his destiny and randomly punishes both crime and virtue?

The last example is taken from chapter 7. First, Blavatsky’s words: 

In what particular is the knowledge of the present century so superior to that of the ancients? When we say knowledge we do not mean that brilliant and clear definition of our modern scholars of particulars to the most trifling detail in every branch of exact science; or that tuition which finds an appropriate term for every detail insignificant and microscopic as it may be; a name for every nerve and artery in human and animal organisms, an appellation for every cell, filament, and rib in a plant; but the philosophical and ultimate expression of every truth in nature.

Laramie’s version:

In what way is modern knowledge superior to the knowledge held by the ancients? The word “knowledge” is used here to mean the deepest possible understanding of life itself—not the complex, convoluted explanations of science—not merely labeling everything as in modern education. Knowledge is more than learning a term for every nerve and artery in the body or simply remembering the name of every component of plant structure.

Readers can judge for themselves which version they prefer. If you are comfortable with the writings of Blavatsky and other Theosophists of her era, then this book is not meant for you. But if you have tried reading HPB and found it difficult because of the style in which it was written, then I strongly recommend this book for you.

In closing, I should note that Laramie’s new book covers only chapters 1 through 7 of Isis Unveiled. Translating the rest of volume 1 is a project that he has already undertaken, and I wish him well in this endeavor.

David Bruce

David Bruce is national secretary of the Theosophical Society in America.

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Key Thinkers of the Radical Right: Behind the New Threat to Liberal Democracy

Edited by MARK SEDGWICK
New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. xxvi + 325 pp., paper, $29.95.

Mark Sedgwick is the author of two books previously reviewed in these pages: Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century and Western Sufism: From the Abbasids to the New Age. With this new anthology, he breaks with his previous focus on Sufism, Islam, and esotericism to shed light on sixteen thinkers who have influenced or helped shape the present radical right in Europe and the U.S. That might seem like something of a non sequitur, but given that the far right has often railed against what they see as Muslim immigrants invading the West, this departure is not as far afield as it might initially seem.

In this volume, Sedgwick has limited his own writing to a thirteen-page introduction, while assembling a capable team of academics and a few lay researchers to each write a chapter on one of the key thinkers influencing the present radical right. These are gathered into three sections: “Classic Thinkers,” “Modern Thinkers,” and “Emergent Thinkers.”

The classic thinkers covered are Oswald Spengler (author of the oft-cited but rarely read The Decline of the West), revolutionary conservative Ernst Jünger, Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt, and the Italian Traditionalist Julius Evola. The modern thinkers consist of the French New Right theorists Alain de Benoist and Guillaume Faye, paleoconservative historian Paul Gottfried, columnist Patrick Buchanan, white nationalist Jared Taylor, Russian exponent of Eurasianism Alexander Dugin, and anti-Islamic zealot Bat Ye’or. The emergent thinkers are all associated with the so-called alt-right and are largely active on the Internet in one form or another: neoreactionary theorist Mencius Moldbug, white-nationalist publishers Greg Johnson and Richard B. Spencer, Jack Donovan of the so-called Manosphere, and Daniel Friberg, Swedish identitarian.

While I was already aware of most of the thinkers profiled (the only female included, Bat Ye’or, was new to me), I was impressed by how even-handed and well-informed the contributors were. The research is deep and generally accurate—at least as far as I could determine—and moral posturing and mudslinging are almost entirely absent. That is pretty remarkable for an examination of a political milieu which many people consider offensive and deplorable, if not downright dangerous. While a number of the thinkers covered here would match most people’s definitions of racist, anti-Semitic, and neofascist, the authors nevertheless consider their ideas and theories as necessary to understand in the interest of the big picture.

This strikes me as a textbook for a college course set on understanding the far right, not just condemning it. At a time when campuses seem overpopulated with students and instructors obsessed with “deplatforming” those they view as the enemy, Key Thinkers of the Radical Right offers insight instead of invective. (As such, it is my hunch that the book’s subtitle, Behind the New Threat to Liberal Democracy, was devised by the publisher’s marketing department as a sales-boosting come-on. The thinkers covered herein may be at odds with “liberal democracy,” but many of them are clearly highly intelligent and far more sophisticated than their run-of-the-mill critics.)

Perhaps of most potential interest to readers of Quest, a fair number of the people covered have ideas and theories drawing upon esoteric and spiritual traditions. Julius Evola considered himself a Traditionalist in the intellectual stream initiated by René Guénon, as do Dugin, Johnson, and Friberg. De Benoist and Donovan qualify as pagans, while Pat Buchanan is a devout Roman Catholic (though no fan of Pope Francis). Dugin is an Orthodox Christian of the Old Believers sect. Paul Gottfried, whose inclusion on the radical right I question, is Jewish and just a conservative of the Old Right mold (for which he coined the term “paleocon” in contrast to the hegemonic rise of the “neocons”).

All of which is to say that there is little uniformity among these thinkers and no monolithic ideological stance. If they share any basic beliefs, they would be that equality is hard to discern either between individuals or larger groupings; that leftist dreams of an end to war and injustice and a goal of eternal peace are delusional; that civilizations and cultures rise and fall, and in our era the trend is mostly downward; and that the present multicultural celebration of diversity is bound to lead to conflict and dysfunction.

Key Thinkers of the Radical Right fills in the nuances of these beliefs and provides considerable food for thought. While understanding the far right is not everyone’s cup of tea, an informed overview is valuable for those who wish to know what ideas and their messengers are at work in the outer regions of the zeitgeist.

Jay Kinney

Jay Kinney was founder and publisher of Gnosis: A Journal of the Western Inner Traditions and is a frequent contributor to Quest.

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Edited by ELIZABETH SELL
Auckland, New Zealand: Theosophical Publishing House, 2019. xii + 495 pp., cloth, NZ$60; available from https://theosophy.nz/shop

Called “one of the greatest Theosophists I have known” by John Vorstermans, president of the Theosophical Society in New Zealand, John Sell was active in the work of the TS for over sixty-five years. With a background in both psychology and education, he was deeply involved in developing a wide variety of innovative Theosophical study courses and training programs, including one in public speaking. These efforts formed the basis for similar courses and curricula used by Theosophical groups around the world.

While a charismatic teacher, excellent communicator, and dynamic organizer, John tended to avoid calling attention to himself. Although he had long planned to prepare a book that contained many of his courses, workshops, and other writings, he had put this project on hold in order to coedit (along with his wife, Elizabeth) the landmark three-volume series Sharing the Light, consisting of the writings of Geoffrey Hodson (1886–1983), one of the TS’s most respected teachers.

Ill health prevented Sell from completing his own book during his lifetime. Yet thanks to the herculean efforts of Elizabeth Sell, his essential teachings have been assembled in this highly practical and useful book, which will secure his legacy as one of the TS’s most inspiring teachers.

As a spiritual man with his feet planted firmly on the ground, John always stressed the importance of self-transformation and the application of spiritual teachings to everyday life. He wrote, “Each of us is fundamentally a Soul who is using a physical body, and emotional body and a mind while we are living on Earth.” Our goal in life is to develop, align, and refine these three bodies so that we become more soul-centered and responsive to the spiritual energies that surround us. This especially involves striving to live a righteous life of compassion, self-reflection, meditation, creative visualization, right human relationships, and selfless motivation in all of our endeavors.

This impressive collection contains a wealth of material for both individual and group study. Chapters focus on recognizing and utilizing incoming spiritual energies; techniques for self-transformation, meditation, and prayer (for both individuals and groups); the path of discipleship; understanding karma; aligning physical and subtle human bodies; understanding the Seven Rays; the power of forgiveness; and understanding death. I personally found the chapters about karma especially interesting, and feel that I now have a deeper and broader understanding of this ancient law than ever before.

The chapters about death were equally enlightening. John teaches that death, rather than being feared or rejected, should be viewed as an essential part of one’s evolutionary journey and as a source of creativity and freedom. He writes: “Theosophy teaches that we are not bodies that possess a Soul, but Souls who possess a body . . . As Souls, we are immortal beings that will live and grow throughout all eternity.” As in earlier sections, he offers practical advice, including suggestions for assisting others in the process of dying and sending loving energy to those who have recently died.

Several sections, especially those concerning techniques for self-transformation, meditation, and karma could be stand-alone books and study courses. Each section includes easy-to-understand, step-by-step instructions for integrating the ideas into daily spiritual practice, followed by examples and useful summaries. Self-evaluation forms encourage readers to confront and transform psychological issues that can hinder their journey to self-transformation.

Two aspects that come through in this book are John’s sincerity and his ability to engage the reader. I imagine that’s why, at least in part, his talks and workshops were highly effective: attendees felt that he truly cared about them. His concern and caring are evident in every chapter and provide uplifting support as the reader delves into what are often difficult and complex issues on the path to transformation. Concluding his chapter on “The Radiant Soul,” he wrote:

Seek for the Spiritual Light of Wisdom and Truth,
The Omnipresent and Eternal Light.
Walk towards the Love-filled Light.
Become the Light,
Radiate the Light,
Illumining the world and all Beings.

AUM.

Practical Spirituality also contains a useful article by Elizabeth Sell titled “Service: A Dynamic Challenge,” on the importance of committing ourselves to practical activities that are of lasting value to both the local and world communities. In addition to illustrations by John Sell and Lionel Taylor, Practical Spirituality contains several full-color reproductions of rare paintings by Elizabeth Sell that are as beautiful as they are inspiring.

This book is recommended for students who have at least a basic understanding of Theosophical teachings and terminology. At first one can feel overwhelmed by the quantity and range of material in this book’s nearly 500 pages. Rather than studying it from beginning to end, some readers may wish to focus on subjects of greatest personal interest and move to other writings later on. Others may prefer to study Practical Spirituality from beginning to end, either alone or as part of a study group. In wide-ranging compilations such as this one, some overlap of material is inevitable, but repetitions are appropriate to the subject matter presented in each chapter.

Practical Spirituality offers a wealth of useful, step-by-step teachings of Theosophy that will challenge, inform and inspire. In addition to being an important addition to the library of every Theosophical lodge or study center, this book will be a core text for individual students who wish to expand their insight, compassion, and understanding of life’s mysteries.

Nathaniel Altman

Nathaniel Altman has been a member of the Theosophical Society in America since 1970. He first met John and Elizabeth Sell in Adyar in 1975.

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Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World

PEMA CHÖDRÖN
Boulder, Colo.: Shambhala, 2019. 160 pp., paper, $22.95.

Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön is the author of a number of highly popular books, including When Things Fall Apart, Taking the Leap, and Living Beautifully. Chödrön, an American, holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and a master’s in elementary education and has been ordained as a nun in the lineage of the famed Tibetan teacher Chögyam Trungpa. She is resident teacher at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in North America established for Westerners. She is interested in establishing the monastic tradition in the West as well as in spreading Buddhist teachings and helping those in need through the Pema Chödrön Foundation. She has also spoken at the Theosophical Society.

In her latest book, Welcoming the Unwelcome, Chödrön shares many examples of negative states of mind and offers ways to deal with them. Her ideas are gems! The book, which is easy to read and understand, comprises twenty chapters and describes three meditation techniques, which can help the reader to apply Chödrön’s ideas to everyday events.

Readers receive practical tips for improving their lives, whether they look at things from a spiritual perspective or not. Chödrön writes: “Only by learning to fully embrace all aspects of ourselves—even the most seemingly negative elements of our minds and hearts—will we learn to fully embrace others. Only by discovering the basic goodness in both our lotus and our mud”—that is, in our positivity and negativity—“will we come to see the basic goodness of all living beings.”

Chödrön discusses bodhichitta, the awakening of the heart and mind in order to benefit others. A human being longs to help others and alleviate suffering in the world, but also tends to protect his or her heart from pain, and this can be a hard habit to break. When one realizes that it is unhelpful, one generates bodhichitta to counter the tendency. One can become brave and stand up and help relieve others from suffering. This awakening, Chödrön writes, is our true nature. It can happen with awareness and practice.

Chödrön asks, “Does it matter?” She gives questions such as these to ponder: “When I eat the last piece, or throw the can out the window, or glare at someone, does it matter? What are the consequences of my behavior?” Am I causing harm to myself or others? If I go off on someone, does it matter?”

Chödrön explains how the Buddha’s main concern was to help people become free of suffering. She also reminds us that habits are like grooves in the brain. Her book enables the reader to be more aware of old ways of doing things and shows how to change them. When guided by wisdom and kindness, the process can lead to personal awakening.

Challenges can bring changes and can uncover new direction and depth in a person’s life. They are part of the process that awakens the heart. Chödrön makes these challenges in life seem like golden opportunities to improve life for others on the planet.

The late Roshi Bernie Glassman’s mission is a good example. For many years, he worked with homeless people in Yonkers, New York. “I don’t really believe there’s going to be an end to homelessness,” he said, “but I go in every day as if it’s possible. And then I work individual by individual.”

One meditation in Welcoming the Unwelcome is the tonglen practice. It is a method for relieving suffering to help another. The meditator can breathe in with the wish to take away someone else’s pain. On the exhale, he or she visualizes what the person needs and imagines the other person having it. The practice helps the meditator to have compassion for others as well as himself or herself.

Chödrön does a thorough job of explaining bodhichitta and encourages the reader to engage in the process in order to make changes on an individual and collective level. She inspires us to alter our habits, open our hearts and minds, build up our bodhichitta muscles, and share love and compassion. As its subtitle indicates, this book has the possibility of bringing wholehearted living into a brokenhearted world.

Marie Otte

Marie Otte is a writer, meditation teacher, and astrologer. Her work has appeared in Quest, dreamnetworkjournal.com, and Satvidya.

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