Imagining the East: The Early Theosophical Society PDF
Preview Imagining the East: The Early Theosophical Society
Imagining the East OXFORD STUDIES IN WESTERN ESOTERICISM Series Editor Henrik Bogdan, University of Gothenburg Editorial Board Egil Asprem, University of Stockholm Jean- Pierre Brach, École Pratique des Hautes Études Dylan Burns, Freie Universität Berlin Carole Cusack, University of Sydney Gordan Djurdjevic, Simon Fraser University Christine Ferguson, University of Stirling Peter Forshaw, University of Amsterdam Olav Hammer, University of Southern Denmark Wouter Hanegraaff, University of Amsterdam Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol Jeffrey Kripal, Rice University James R. Lewis, University of Tromsø Jesper Aa. Petersen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Michael Stausberg, University of Bergen RECYCLED LIVES A History of Reincarnation in Blavatsky’s Theosophy Julie Chajes THE ELOQUENT BLOOD The Goddess Babalon and the Construction of Femininities in Western Esotericism Manon Hedenborg- White GURDJIEFF Mysticism, Contemplation, and Exercises Joseph Azize INITIATING THE MILLENIUM The Avignon Society and Illuminism in Europe, 1779– 1822 Robert Collis and Natalie Bayer IMAGINING THE EAST The Early Theosophical Society Tim Rudbøg and Erik Reenberg Sand Imagining the East The Early Theosophical Society Edited by TIM RUDBØG AND ERIK REENBERG SAND 1 3 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2020 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress ISBN 978– 0– 19– 085388– 4 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed by Integrated Books International, United States of America Contents Acknowledgments vii List of Contributors ix Introduction 1 Tim Rudbøg and Erik Reenberg Sand PART 1. APPROACHES TO THE EAST 1. Adventures in “Wisdom-L and”: Orientalist Discourse in Early Theosophy 13 Christopher Partridge 2. Orientalist vs. Theosophist 33 Donald S. Lopez Jr. PART 2. REPRESENTATIONS OF THE EAST 3. H. P. Blavatsky’s Acquaintance with the Language of the Gods 55 James A. Santucci 4. Early Debates in the Reception of Buddhism: Theosophy and Esoteric Buddhism 75 Tim Rudbøg 5. H. P. Blavatsky’s Early Reception of Hindu Philosophy 97 Tim Rudbøg and Erik Reenberg Sand 6. The Mahatma Letters 121 Joscelyn Godwin 7. “The Real Pure Yog”: Yoga in the Early Theosophical Society and the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor 143 Patrick D. Bowen 8. Emergent Representations of the East: The Role of Theosophical Periodicals, 1879– 1900 165 Gillian McCann 9. Theosophy and Modernism: A Shared but Secret History 187 David Weir vi Contents PART 3. INTERACTIONS WITH THE EAST 10. Theosophy in the Bengal Renaissance 209 K. Paul Johnson 11. The Marriage between the Theosophical Society and the Arya Samaj 229 Erik Reenberg Sand 12. The West Moves East: Blavatsky’s “Universal Brotherhood” in India 247 Tim Rudbøg 13. Allan Octavian Hume, Madame Blavatsky, and the Foundation of the Indian National Congress 273 Isaac Lubelsky 14. Theosophy, Cultural Nationalism, and Home Rule 289 Mark Bevir 15. Experiments with Theosophical Truth: Gandhi, Esotericism, and Global Religious History 311 Michael Bergunder Afterword 339 Tim Rudbøg and Erik Reenberg Sand Index 343 Acknowledgments We would like to thank Christine Rudbøg and Simon Beierholm for their inval- uable help in preparing the manuscript for publication and Ida Skovhus Hansen for her arduous work in constructing the index. We would also like to thank The Blavatsky Trust for supporting the Copenhagen Center for the Study of Theosophy and Esotericism (CCSTE) and all our colleagues with whom we have had fruitful discussions leading to the realization of this project. List of Contributors Michael Bergunder; Professor Religious Studies and Intercultural History, Heidelberg University Mark Bevir; Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for British Studies, Berkeley Patrick D. Bowen; PhD, independent Joscelyn Godwin; emeritus, Professor of Music, Colgate University K. Paul Johnson; independent Donald S. Lopez Jr.; Professor of Buddhist Studies Department Chair, University of Michigan Isaac Lubelsky; Lecturer, The Open University of Israel Gillian McCann; Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts & Science - Religions & Cultures, Nipissing University Christopher Partridge; Professor, Lancaster University, UK Tim Rudbøg; Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen Erik Reenberg Sand; emeritus, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen James A. Santucci; emeritus, Professor of Comparative Religion at California State University, Fullerton David Weir; emeritus, Professor Faculty Humanities and Social Sciences, The Cooper Union, Manhattan, NY
The list of books you might like
