BOOK "FIVE YEARS OF THEOSOPHY"

 

The full title is "Five Years of Theosophy. Mystical, Philosophical, Theosophical, Historical and Scientific Essays selected from The Theosophist"

 

This book was edited by Mohini Mohun Chatterji and Laura Carter Holloway, who selected and compiled the articles that they found most interesting from the first five years of existence of The Theosophist magazine, which is the main journal of the Theosophical Society of Adyar, and this period corresponds to the years in which Blavatsky was editing it.

 

This book was published for the first time in 1885, in London by the Reeves and Turner publishing house, consisting of 611 pages.

 

 

 

 

 

THE SECOND EDITION

 

The second edition was published in 1894 and revised by the English theosophist George Robert Snow Mead who added the following preface:

 

« The original edition of this book was edited by MMC, and published in 1885, but without a preface. The work consists of articles selected from the first five volumes of The Theosophist which was then edited by H.P. Blavatsky.

 

In revising the present edition, it was contemplated to omit several articles which fall below the level of the rest of the work. This would, however, have spoilt the new edition for reference purposes, hence no omissions has been made.

 

The revision consisted for the most part of a consistent transcription of Sanskrit terms and of a generally uniform style; a fuller index has been added, and in a few cases imperfect English has been corrected.

 

G.R.S.M.

London, 1894. »

 

 

 

 

 

THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

The articles were grouped into five themes:

 

 

MYSTICAL

 

The "Elixir of Life"

Is the Desire to "Live" Selfish?

Contemplation

Chelas and Lay Chelas

Ancient Opinions upon Psychic Bodies

The Nilgiri Sannyasis

Witchcraft on the Nilgiris

Shamanism and Witchcraft amongst the Kolarian Tribes

Mahatmas and Chelas

The Brahmanical Thread

Reading in a Sealed Envelope

The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac

The Sishal and Bhukailas Yogis

 

 

 

PHILOSOPHICAL

 

True and False Personality

Chastity

Zorastrianism on the Septenary Constitution of Man

Brahmanism on the Sevenfold Principle in Man

The Septenary Principle in Esotericism

Personal and Impersonal God

Prakriti and Parusha

Morality and Pantheism

Occult Study

Some Inquiries Suggested by Mr. Sinnett's "Esoteric Buddhism"

Sakya Muni's Place in History

Inscriptions Discovered by General A. Cunningham

Discrimination of Spirit and Not-Spirit

Was Writing Known Before Panini?

 

 

 

THEOSOPHICAL

 

What is Theosophy?

How a "Chela" Found His "Guru"

The Sages of the Himavat

The Himalayan Brothers—Do They Exist?

Interview with a Mahatma

The Secret Doctrine

 

 

 

HISTORICAL

 

The Puranas on the Dynasty of the Moryas and on Koothoomi

The Theory of Cycles

 

 

 

SCIENTIFIC

 

Odorigen and Jiva

Introversion of Mental Vision

"Precipitation"

"How Shall We Sleep?"

Transmigration of the Life Atoms

"OM" and its Practical Significance

 

 

Glossary

Index

 

 

 

 

 

INTERNET

 

On internet you find the following digital versions:

 

Online (ULT)

Online (Gutemberg)

Pdf modernized (ULT) 3.6 MB

Pdf facsimile 1885 (1^st edition) 12 MB

Pdf facsimile 1894 (2^nd edition) 11.7 MB

Epub 27 MB

Epub (no images) 400 kB

Kindle (no images) 1.6 MB

 

 

Other languages

 

Pdf in Spanish 1.6 MB