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Impact of Theosophical Society in Transfer of Eastern Teachings to The West

Yıl 2016, Cilt: 19 Sayı: 50 (19-12-2016), 9 - 32, 19.12.2016
https://doi.org/10.15745/da.280589

Öz
















Theosophical Society, is a
modern esoteric and occultist movement, which was founded in 1875 in the United
States. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, doctrinal leader of the Society is a
mysterious character. For a while Blavatsky was one of the members of the spiritualism,
then she abandoned the spiritualist thought and founded the Theosophical Society
with presidency of her fellow H. S. Olcott. A few years the society continued
to work in USA. Theosophical movement which tended towards to Western esoteric
and occult tradition moved to India in 1879. From this date, Indian teachings
has been dominant in the Theosophical literature. In this sense, the society
showed a syncretic nature, literally. Society played an important role in
transfering the concepts of Indian teachings and beliefs, especially
reincarnation and karma to the Western world. Literature of the society was
instrumental in many Westerners recognition of the Eastern teachings.  Theosophy lodges was almost the center of the
Eastern teachings. Even Mahatma Gandhi expressed the impact of the Theosophical
Society to his recognition of his own culture.
Many
people who tended to Indian beliefs familiarized Hinduism and Buddhism through
the society. Despite receiving some criticisms, the translations of basic
Indian texts which society made
managed to directing the attention of many people to
the Eastern teachings. Today, Society has special significance in Tibet's great
importance in Western world as an exotic and mistyc land. Blavatsky's doubtful
Tibet trip and the Tibetian mahatmas which were production of her myth maker
mind was instrumental in Tibet's being as a mysterious center.  Society was also a pioneer in the publication
and promotion of secret Tibetian texts in the West. In addition to this, the
society has also received serious criticism that it has degenerated Indian
teachings. This study aims to evaluate the role of the Theosophical Society in
transfering Eastern teachings to the West.
    

Kaynakça

  • Alexander, Kay (1992), “Roots of The New Age”, James R. Lewis, J. Gordon Melton (Ed.), Perspectives on the New Age, New York: State University of New York Press, Albany, ss. 30-47.
  • Atkinson, William Walker (2010), Reincarnation and the Law of Karma, New York: Cosimo, Inc., ss. 72-73.
  • Barrett, David (2011), A Brief Guide to Secret Religions: A Complete Guide to Hermetic, Pagan and Esoteric Beliefs, Robinson.
  • Bauman, Martin (2012), “Modernist Interpretations of Buddhism in Europe”, David McMahan (Ed.), Buddhism in the Modern World, New York: Routledge.
  • Borup, Jorn (2004), “Zen and the Art of Inverting Orientalism: Buddhism, Religious Studies and Interrelated Networks”, Peter Antes, Armin W. Geertz, Randi Ruth Warne (Ed.), New Approaches to the Study of Religion, C. I, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co. ss. 451-488.
  • Buckland, Raymond (2005), The Spirit Book: The Encyclopedia of Clairvoyance, Channeling, and Spirit Communication, USA: Visible Ink Press.
  • Burton, Dan; Grandy, David (2005), Büyü Gizem ve Bilim: Batı Uygarlığında Okült, Çev. Yasemin Tokatlı, İstanbul: Varlık Yayınları.
  • Caldwell, Daniel H. (2001), The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky: Insights Into the Life of a Modern Sphinx, U.S.: Quest Books.
  • Chant, Dell De (2009), “World Religions Made in USA: Metaphysical Communities – Christian Science and Theosophy”, Jacob Neusner (Ed.), World Religions in America, USA: Westminster John Knox Press, ss. 251-267.
  • Chatterjee, Margaret (2005), Gandhi and the Challenge of Religious Diversity: Religious Pluralism Revisited, New Delhi, India: Promilla & Co.
  • Chopra, Deepak (2006), Life After Death: The Burden of Proof, New York: Three Rivers Press.
  • Chryssides, George D. (2001), Exploring New Religions, New York: Continuum.
  • Crow, John L. (2008), “Allan Bennett and the Emergence of Buddism in the West”, Insight Magazine, Ağustos, ss. 30-33.
  • Dalai Lama [Tenzin Gyatso] (1996), The Opening of the Wisdon Eye, Illinois: The Theosophical Publishing House.
  • Djurdjevic, Gordan (2014), India and the Occult: The Influence of South Asian Spirituality on Modern Occultism, New York: Palgrave Macmilan.
  • Dodin, Thierry; Räther, Heinz (2001), “Imaginin Tibet: Between Shangri-La and Feudal Oppression”, Thierry Dodin, Heinz Räther (Ed.), Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies, Somerville, USA: Wisdom Publicationss, Inc. ss. 395-396.
  • Enciclopedia of American Religious History (2009), Edward L. Queen, Stephen R. Prothero, Gardiner H. Shattuck, (Ed.), C. I-II-III, Facts on File.
  • Evola, Julius (1996), Çağdaş Ruhçuluğun Maske ve Yüzleri, İstanbul: İnsan Yayınları.
  • Faivre, Antoine (2010), “Modern Western Esorteric Currents in the Work of Mircea Eliade: The Extent and Limits of Their Presence”, Christian K. Wedemeyer, Wendy Doniger (Ed.), Hermeneutics, Politics, and the History of Religions: The Contested Legacies of Joachim Wach and Mircea Eliade, Oxford University Press.
  • Faivre, Antoine (2000), Theosophy, Imagination, Tradition: Studies in Western Esotericism, Translated by Christine Rhone, New York, Albany: State University Press.
  • Gandhi, M. K. (yayım yılı yok), An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Çev. Mahadev Desai, Ahmedabad, Navajivan Publishing House.
  • Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2004), Helena Blavatsky, Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (Ed.), Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books.
  • Guenon, Rene (2004), Theosophy: History of a Pseudo Religion, Trans. by Alvin Moore, Jr. Cecil Bethell, Hubert and Rohini Schiff, Hillsdale NY: Sophia Perennis.
  • Gül, Ali (2016), Helena Petrovna Blavatsky ve Modern Teosofi: Tarih & Öğreti, İstanbul: İz Yayıncılık.
  • Hammer, Olav (2004), Claiming Knowledge, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill.
  • Heyward, Nigel (20.07.2014), “Woodward, Frank Lee (1871-1952)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, (çevrimiçi) http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/woodward-frank-lee-9183.
  • Hexham, Irving; Poewe, Karla (2000), Understanding Cults and New Age Religions, Vancouver, Canada: Regent College Publishing.
  • Izzo, David Garrett (2009), The Influence of Mysticism on 20th Century British and American Literature, USA: McFarland Company, 2009.
  • Jones, Constance; Ryan, James D. (2007), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, USA: Facts On File, Inc.
  • Lavoie, Jeffrey D. (30.05.2015), “The Spiritualism of Madame Blavatsky: An Introdution to Western Esotericism and Writings of a Victorian Occultist”, Ex Historia, ss. 214-246, (çevrimiçi)https://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/collegeofhumanities/history/exhistoria/volume4/Supplement-Lavoie.pdf.
  • Lopez, Donald S. (1998), Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, Chicago, USA: The University of Chicago Press, Ltd.
  • Melton, J. Gordon (2008), The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena, Canton: Visible Ink Press.
  • McCann, Gillian (2012), Vanguard of the New Age: The Toronto Theosophical Society, 1891-1945, Canada: McGill University Press.
  • McClelland, Norman C. (2010), Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma, USA,:McFarland Company.
  • Müller, Max (18.04.2015), “Esoteric Buddhism”, [ilk yayım yeri The Nineteenth Century (London), May 1893, ss. 767-788], (çevrimiçi) http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/muller1.htm.
  • Nanda, Meera (2010), “Madame Blavatsky’s Children: Modern Hindu Encounters with Darwinism”, James R. Lewis, Olav Hammer (Ed.), Handbook of Religion and the Authority of Science, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV, ss. 279-344.
  • Nath, Samir (1998), Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Buddhism, C. III, New Delhi: Sarup& Sons.
  • Neuhaus, Thomas (2012), Tibet in the Western Imagination, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Olcott, Henry S. (MDCCCLXXXV / 1887), Tehosophy: Religion and Occult Science, London: George Redway.
  • Olcott, Henry S. (12.01.2014), Old Diary Leaves, (çevrimiçi) http://www.theosophy.ph/onlinebooks.html.
  • Oldmeadow, Harry (2004), Journeys East: 20th Century Western Encounters with Eastern Religious Traditions, Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom Books.
  • Özkan, Ali Rafet (1998), “Teosofi ve Yeni Çağ Hareketi”, Dinler Tarihi Araştırmaları [Dinler Tarihi Araştırmaları Sempozyumu (I : 1996 : Ankara)], Ankara: Dinler Tarihi Derneği Yayınları.
  • Pedersen, Poul (2001), “Tibet, Theosophy, and The Psychologization of Buddhism”, Thierry Dodin, Heinz Räther (Ed.), Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies, Somerville MA, USA: Wisdom Publishing, Inc.
  • Pike, Sarah M. (2004), New Age and Neopagan Religions in America, New York: Columbia University.
  • Saks, David (Pesach 2013), “Soulmates: The Story of Mahatma Gandhi and Herman Kallenbach”, Jewish Affairs, C. 68, No. 1, Ed. David Saks.
  • Santucci, James A. (2005), “The Theosophical Society”, James R. Levis, Jesper Aagaard Petersen (Ed.), Controversial New Religions, New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Sutcliffe, Steven (2007), “The Origins of ‘New Age’ Religion Between the Two World War”, Daren Kemp, James R. Lewis (Ed.), Handbook of New Age, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, NV, ss. 51-76.
  • TenDam, Hans (2012), Exploring Reincarnation, Tasso Uitgeverij BV-Ommen.
  • The Campbell Theosophical Research Library (10.08.2016), (çevrimiçi) http://www.austheos.org.au/clibrary/bindex-olcott.html.
  • The Wisdom of Buddhism (1987), Christmas Humphreys (Ed.), London Buddhist Society.
  • The Life and Letters of Friedrich Max Müller, (2005), C. II, Georgina Adelaide (Ed.), New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, ss. 350-351.
  • Theosophical University Press: Online Literature (12.12.2014), (çevrimiçi) http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ts/tup-onl.htm.
  • Wallace-Murphy, Tim (2010), Hidden Wisdom: The Secrets of the Western Esoteric Tradition, New York: The Disinformation Company Ltd.
  • Wessinger, Catherine (1995), “Hinduism Arrives in America: The Vedanta Movement and The Self-Realization Fellowship”, Timothy Miller (Ed.), America’s Alternative Religion, New York: State University of New York Press, ss. 173-174.
  • Woodward, F. L. (2002), Some Sayings of the Buddha: According to the Pali Canon, India: Asian Educational Services.
  • Yitik, Ali İhsan (1996), Hint Kökenli Dinlerde Karma İnancının Tenasüh İnancıyla İlişkisi, İstanbul: Ruh Madde Yayınları.
  • York, Michael (2004), The A to Z of New Age Movements, UK: Scarecrow Press, Inc.
  • York, Michael (2008), “New Religious Movements, Hindu Role In”, Denise Cush, Catherine A. Robinson, Michael York (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, New York: Routledge. ss. 555-562.

Doğu Öğretilerinin Batıya Aktarılmasında Teosofi Cemiyeti’nin Etkisi

Yıl 2016, Cilt: 19 Sayı: 50 (19-12-2016), 9 - 32, 19.12.2016
https://doi.org/10.15745/da.280589

Öz
















Teosofi Cemiyeti, 1875
yılında ABD’de kurulan bir modern ezoterik ve okültist harekettir. Cemiyetin
doktrinel lideri gizemli bir kişilik olan Helena Petrovna Blavatsky’dir.
Temelde Batı ezoterik ve okült geleneklerine yönelen Teosofi hareketi 1879
yılında Hindistan’a taşındı. Bu tarihten itibaren Teosofi literatürüne Hint
öğretileri hâkim oldu. Bu anlamda cemiyet tam anlamıyla senkretik bir yapı
sergiledi. Cemiyet reenkarnasyon ve karma başta olmak üzere Hint düşünce ve
inanç dünyasının kavramlarını Batı’ya taşımada önemli rol oynadı. Ürettiği
literatür birçok Batılının Doğu öğretilerini tanımasına vesile oldu. Mahatma
Gandhi dahi öz kültürünü tanımada Teosofi Cemiyeti’nin etkisini ifade etmiştir.
Bugün Batı dünyasında Tibet’in egzotik ve mistik bir merkez olarak tanınmasında
ise cemiyetin özel bir yeri vardır. Tüm bunların yanında cemiyet Hint
öğretilerini yozlaştırdığı hususunda ciddi eleştiriler de almıştır. Bu çalışma
Teosofi Cemiyeti’nin Doğu öğretilerini Batı’ya taşımadaki rolünü
değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. 

Kaynakça

  • Alexander, Kay (1992), “Roots of The New Age”, James R. Lewis, J. Gordon Melton (Ed.), Perspectives on the New Age, New York: State University of New York Press, Albany, ss. 30-47.
  • Atkinson, William Walker (2010), Reincarnation and the Law of Karma, New York: Cosimo, Inc., ss. 72-73.
  • Barrett, David (2011), A Brief Guide to Secret Religions: A Complete Guide to Hermetic, Pagan and Esoteric Beliefs, Robinson.
  • Bauman, Martin (2012), “Modernist Interpretations of Buddhism in Europe”, David McMahan (Ed.), Buddhism in the Modern World, New York: Routledge.
  • Borup, Jorn (2004), “Zen and the Art of Inverting Orientalism: Buddhism, Religious Studies and Interrelated Networks”, Peter Antes, Armin W. Geertz, Randi Ruth Warne (Ed.), New Approaches to the Study of Religion, C. I, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co. ss. 451-488.
  • Buckland, Raymond (2005), The Spirit Book: The Encyclopedia of Clairvoyance, Channeling, and Spirit Communication, USA: Visible Ink Press.
  • Burton, Dan; Grandy, David (2005), Büyü Gizem ve Bilim: Batı Uygarlığında Okült, Çev. Yasemin Tokatlı, İstanbul: Varlık Yayınları.
  • Caldwell, Daniel H. (2001), The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky: Insights Into the Life of a Modern Sphinx, U.S.: Quest Books.
  • Chant, Dell De (2009), “World Religions Made in USA: Metaphysical Communities – Christian Science and Theosophy”, Jacob Neusner (Ed.), World Religions in America, USA: Westminster John Knox Press, ss. 251-267.
  • Chatterjee, Margaret (2005), Gandhi and the Challenge of Religious Diversity: Religious Pluralism Revisited, New Delhi, India: Promilla & Co.
  • Chopra, Deepak (2006), Life After Death: The Burden of Proof, New York: Three Rivers Press.
  • Chryssides, George D. (2001), Exploring New Religions, New York: Continuum.
  • Crow, John L. (2008), “Allan Bennett and the Emergence of Buddism in the West”, Insight Magazine, Ağustos, ss. 30-33.
  • Dalai Lama [Tenzin Gyatso] (1996), The Opening of the Wisdon Eye, Illinois: The Theosophical Publishing House.
  • Djurdjevic, Gordan (2014), India and the Occult: The Influence of South Asian Spirituality on Modern Occultism, New York: Palgrave Macmilan.
  • Dodin, Thierry; Räther, Heinz (2001), “Imaginin Tibet: Between Shangri-La and Feudal Oppression”, Thierry Dodin, Heinz Räther (Ed.), Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies, Somerville, USA: Wisdom Publicationss, Inc. ss. 395-396.
  • Enciclopedia of American Religious History (2009), Edward L. Queen, Stephen R. Prothero, Gardiner H. Shattuck, (Ed.), C. I-II-III, Facts on File.
  • Evola, Julius (1996), Çağdaş Ruhçuluğun Maske ve Yüzleri, İstanbul: İnsan Yayınları.
  • Faivre, Antoine (2010), “Modern Western Esorteric Currents in the Work of Mircea Eliade: The Extent and Limits of Their Presence”, Christian K. Wedemeyer, Wendy Doniger (Ed.), Hermeneutics, Politics, and the History of Religions: The Contested Legacies of Joachim Wach and Mircea Eliade, Oxford University Press.
  • Faivre, Antoine (2000), Theosophy, Imagination, Tradition: Studies in Western Esotericism, Translated by Christine Rhone, New York, Albany: State University Press.
  • Gandhi, M. K. (yayım yılı yok), An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Çev. Mahadev Desai, Ahmedabad, Navajivan Publishing House.
  • Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2004), Helena Blavatsky, Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (Ed.), Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books.
  • Guenon, Rene (2004), Theosophy: History of a Pseudo Religion, Trans. by Alvin Moore, Jr. Cecil Bethell, Hubert and Rohini Schiff, Hillsdale NY: Sophia Perennis.
  • Gül, Ali (2016), Helena Petrovna Blavatsky ve Modern Teosofi: Tarih & Öğreti, İstanbul: İz Yayıncılık.
  • Hammer, Olav (2004), Claiming Knowledge, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill.
  • Heyward, Nigel (20.07.2014), “Woodward, Frank Lee (1871-1952)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, (çevrimiçi) http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/woodward-frank-lee-9183.
  • Hexham, Irving; Poewe, Karla (2000), Understanding Cults and New Age Religions, Vancouver, Canada: Regent College Publishing.
  • Izzo, David Garrett (2009), The Influence of Mysticism on 20th Century British and American Literature, USA: McFarland Company, 2009.
  • Jones, Constance; Ryan, James D. (2007), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, USA: Facts On File, Inc.
  • Lavoie, Jeffrey D. (30.05.2015), “The Spiritualism of Madame Blavatsky: An Introdution to Western Esotericism and Writings of a Victorian Occultist”, Ex Historia, ss. 214-246, (çevrimiçi)https://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/collegeofhumanities/history/exhistoria/volume4/Supplement-Lavoie.pdf.
  • Lopez, Donald S. (1998), Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West, Chicago, USA: The University of Chicago Press, Ltd.
  • Melton, J. Gordon (2008), The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena, Canton: Visible Ink Press.
  • McCann, Gillian (2012), Vanguard of the New Age: The Toronto Theosophical Society, 1891-1945, Canada: McGill University Press.
  • McClelland, Norman C. (2010), Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma, USA,:McFarland Company.
  • Müller, Max (18.04.2015), “Esoteric Buddhism”, [ilk yayım yeri The Nineteenth Century (London), May 1893, ss. 767-788], (çevrimiçi) http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/muller1.htm.
  • Nanda, Meera (2010), “Madame Blavatsky’s Children: Modern Hindu Encounters with Darwinism”, James R. Lewis, Olav Hammer (Ed.), Handbook of Religion and the Authority of Science, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV, ss. 279-344.
  • Nath, Samir (1998), Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Buddhism, C. III, New Delhi: Sarup& Sons.
  • Neuhaus, Thomas (2012), Tibet in the Western Imagination, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Olcott, Henry S. (MDCCCLXXXV / 1887), Tehosophy: Religion and Occult Science, London: George Redway.
  • Olcott, Henry S. (12.01.2014), Old Diary Leaves, (çevrimiçi) http://www.theosophy.ph/onlinebooks.html.
  • Oldmeadow, Harry (2004), Journeys East: 20th Century Western Encounters with Eastern Religious Traditions, Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom Books.
  • Özkan, Ali Rafet (1998), “Teosofi ve Yeni Çağ Hareketi”, Dinler Tarihi Araştırmaları [Dinler Tarihi Araştırmaları Sempozyumu (I : 1996 : Ankara)], Ankara: Dinler Tarihi Derneği Yayınları.
  • Pedersen, Poul (2001), “Tibet, Theosophy, and The Psychologization of Buddhism”, Thierry Dodin, Heinz Räther (Ed.), Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies, Somerville MA, USA: Wisdom Publishing, Inc.
  • Pike, Sarah M. (2004), New Age and Neopagan Religions in America, New York: Columbia University.
  • Saks, David (Pesach 2013), “Soulmates: The Story of Mahatma Gandhi and Herman Kallenbach”, Jewish Affairs, C. 68, No. 1, Ed. David Saks.
  • Santucci, James A. (2005), “The Theosophical Society”, James R. Levis, Jesper Aagaard Petersen (Ed.), Controversial New Religions, New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Sutcliffe, Steven (2007), “The Origins of ‘New Age’ Religion Between the Two World War”, Daren Kemp, James R. Lewis (Ed.), Handbook of New Age, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, NV, ss. 51-76.
  • TenDam, Hans (2012), Exploring Reincarnation, Tasso Uitgeverij BV-Ommen.
  • The Campbell Theosophical Research Library (10.08.2016), (çevrimiçi) http://www.austheos.org.au/clibrary/bindex-olcott.html.
  • The Wisdom of Buddhism (1987), Christmas Humphreys (Ed.), London Buddhist Society.
  • The Life and Letters of Friedrich Max Müller, (2005), C. II, Georgina Adelaide (Ed.), New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, ss. 350-351.
  • Theosophical University Press: Online Literature (12.12.2014), (çevrimiçi) http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ts/tup-onl.htm.
  • Wallace-Murphy, Tim (2010), Hidden Wisdom: The Secrets of the Western Esoteric Tradition, New York: The Disinformation Company Ltd.
  • Wessinger, Catherine (1995), “Hinduism Arrives in America: The Vedanta Movement and The Self-Realization Fellowship”, Timothy Miller (Ed.), America’s Alternative Religion, New York: State University of New York Press, ss. 173-174.
  • Woodward, F. L. (2002), Some Sayings of the Buddha: According to the Pali Canon, India: Asian Educational Services.
  • Yitik, Ali İhsan (1996), Hint Kökenli Dinlerde Karma İnancının Tenasüh İnancıyla İlişkisi, İstanbul: Ruh Madde Yayınları.
  • York, Michael (2004), The A to Z of New Age Movements, UK: Scarecrow Press, Inc.
  • York, Michael (2008), “New Religious Movements, Hindu Role In”, Denise Cush, Catherine A. Robinson, Michael York (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, New York: Routledge. ss. 555-562.
Toplam 58 adet kaynakça vardır.

Ayrıntılar

Bölüm Makaleler
Yazarlar

Ali Gül

Yayımlanma Tarihi 19 Aralık 2016
Yayımlandığı Sayı Yıl 2016 Cilt: 19 Sayı: 50 (19-12-2016)

Kaynak Göster

ISNAD Gül, Ali. “Doğu Öğretilerinin Batıya Aktarılmasında Teosofi Cemiyeti’nin Etkisi”. Dini Araştırmalar 19/19-12 (Aralık 2016), 9-32. https://doi.org/10.15745/da.280589.