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According to some musicology and religious studies scholars, after the foundation of the Theosophical Society (1875), some professional musicians became interested in Theosophy,[2][3] and many Theosophists often engaged in music.[2][4][5][6] Several composers like Alexander Scriabin, Cyril Scott, Luigi Russolo chose Theosophy as the main ideological and philosophical basis of their work.[2][7][8][note 2] Prof. Julia Shabanova[12] stated that music, having both "existential and metaphysical" traits, extends comprehension of the world to its "universal constants". The European thought of the 19th century, which was in the period of the emergence of modern Theosophy in the process of "changing the philosophical and worldview paradigms", needed this.[13]
Plate G. The Theosophical "music-form" by Charles Gounod.
An Indian philosopher Iqbal Taimni wrote that the term Logos of a "manifested system", used in the Theosophical literature, is equivalent to the Hinduist concept Shabda Brahma, where Shabda means "sound" in its most broad meaning.[15][note 3] Hinduists claim that the first act of creation was the emergence of a "subtle sound vibration" that gave birth to all "forms of the material world". Each sound created a form, and "combinations of sound created complicated shapes".[18][note 4]
Professor of musicology Joscelyn Godwin wrote that The Secret Doctrine states, "Sound may be produced of such a nature that the pyramid of Cheops would be raised in the air".[20] A religious studies scholar Tim Rudbøg has argued that Instructions for the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society contain tables and diagrams of correspondence between the musical scale and other septenary principles of Theosophy.[2][21]
Musicologist Luciano Chessa wrote that, in the Theosophists Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater's opinion, sounds and noises create in "matter" of the thin plane the "forms" visible to some people.[22] They argued also that whenever a "composer writes music", his emotions are reflected in the shape of "luminous projections" in his aura. They called these projections "thought-forms".[note 5] In the process of performing a composition, the musician also "expresses" his own emotions, which "produce other thought-forms". Moreover, the music itself produces "sound-forms", that may be called music-forms, which, although similar to thought-forms, are not them technically and, therefore, are not reflected in the aura, but they are projected, as Chessa noted, "onto the sky above the performance venue".[23][note 6][note 7]
Moreover, he added, "thought-forms" are created, according to Theosophy, also by hearers who react to "both the music and the [music] forms". In addition, the thought-forms of the performer and the hearers, as well as the sound-forms created by the music, arise simultaneously, although the thought-forms are not capable of influencing "more voluminous sound-forms". Besant and Leadbeater argued that, just as thought-forms correspond to thoughts and emotions, the characteristics of each music-form "correspond" to the elements of the music that gave rise to this form. For each "musical characteristic (harmony, melody, rhythmicalarticulation, form, timbre, etc.) there exist a corresponding form and color that render that characteristic with extraordinary precision." The size of music-form and the time it takes to stay in space varies depending on the "dynamics, timbre, quality of musical execution, and other parameters". The more the "spiritual" significance of music, the clearer, brighter and more voluminous its music-form. In addition, these forms emit vibrations in all directions throughout the "entire duration of their existence" (sometimes more than 2 hours). Thus, a musician, due to the vibrations of the music-form created by him, can influence, according to the Theosophists, many people, without meeting them on the physical plane.[27]
According to composer Kurt Leland, musical art can be called the "most Theosophical" of arts,[note 8] and "even without knowing" the three objectives of the Theosophical Society,[29] "composers and performers often promote them, and listeners experience their effects."[30] He wrote that one of the forms of world music, of particular interest to Theosophists, is kirtan, Indian religious singing of excerpts in Sanskrit which is considered to possess "great spiritual power". A leader sings a mantra, and the choir then repeats it. This enhances its spiritual significance, thus the music raises consciousness to "higher states".[31]
In Prof. Godwin's opinion, music was among "many accomplishments" of Helena Blavatsky, the key ideologist of the Theosophical Society.[2][note 9] In 1844, on her first visit to London, "she took piano lessons from Ignaz Moscheles", and later she performed "at a charity concert" with Clara Schumann and Arabella Goddard playing Robert Schumann's piece for three pianos.[2][35]Henry Olcott stated that he learned from Blavatsky's relatives that a few months before her arriving in America, she had traveled under the pseudonym "Madame Laura" to Italy and Russia with several concert tours.[36] Olcott wrote in his memoirs:
[Blavatsky] was a splendid pianist, playing with a touch and expression that were simply superb. Her hands were models—ideal and actual—for a sculptor and never seen to such advantage as when flying over the keyboard to find its magical melodies.[36][2]
There are many testimonies of occult musical phenomena observed in the presence of Blavatsky. For example, according to Henry Olcott, many times he and other Blavatsky's companions "were regaled with most exquisite music", which by itself appeared in any place of the room where they were located.[37][note 10]Alfred Percy Sinnett wrote about music originating in places designated by Blavatsky herself.[39] The play on the closed musical instruments, which she was also demonstrating, is well known to the members of the spiritualistseances.[40][note 11]
Britten
In 1875, Emma Hardinge Britten (1823–1899) participated in the formation of the Theosophical Society.[42] Her musical talent manifested itself already in childhood, and at the age of 11 she gave music lessons. According to Godwin, from among the first Theosophists she was the only one professionally associated with music—she worked in the Paris studio of Sébastien Érard as a "piano demonstrator" and composed "music for her spiritualist educational program".[2][43] There are several compositions and songs written by her under a pseudonym "Ernest Reinhold".[5] In the 1840s and early 1850s, she was an opera singer and then an actress at the Adelphi Theatre and other theaters in London.[44]
Bailly
An ancient Egyptian anthem, "restored" by Edmond Bailly (1912).
Edmond Bailly (born Henri-Edmond Limet; 1850–1916) was a poet, musician, publisher, and one of the leading Theosophists in France. He had a classical music education.[46] In 1887, Bailey established the publishing house "Independent Art" (French: Librairie de l'art Independant) for the support of occultism and symbolism.[note 12] In his office he opened a salon that turned into a meeting place of the writers and musicians of Paris.[note 13][2][48][49][50][51]
In September 1912, a magazine The Theosophist published a note on the new music work[45] of Bailly:
Those who were present, in 1906, at the third Congress of the Federation of the European Sections of the Theosophical Society, will remember that curious Egyptian chant which was sung by a chorus to the accompaniment of harps, under the direction of Monsieur Bailly. In the Transactions of the Congress the score was printed together with a short introductory note. Since then M. Bailly has continued his researches concerning this ancient piece of music and considerably amplified his notes. The above mentioned booklet is the result: a re-edition of the score and a recast and greatly extended introduction.[52][note 14]
Prof. Jann Pasler wrote that Bailly outlined in 1900 in his book Sound in nature (French: Le Son dans la nature[54]) his ideas about "Hindu musical philosophy".[55] In 1913 he organized in Paris the first concert of the Hindu sitar player Inayat Khan (1894–1938).[56][note 15]
Composer Cyril Scott (1879–1970)[57] had been actively participating in the work of the Theosophical Society. He claimed that not only many aspects of politics and culture are reflected in music, but also that "changes in musical style often mysteriously precede and influence changes in politics and culture".[31] As Theosophist, Scott studied the occult influence of music, after which he published his findings in a book Music: Its Secret Influence Throughout the Ages,[58] dedicating it to the MasterKoot Hoomi and to the memory of his pupil, Nelsa Chaplin.[6] Scott believed that the mahatma not only played an important role in "his musical career", but also inspired him to write this book.[2][59][note 16]
According to Prof. Antoine Faivre, it is "difficult to discuss" musical esotericism without taking into account the opinion of the composers, in particular, stated in the work by Cyril Scott Music: Its Secret Influence Throughout the Ages.[61] Godwin praised Scott's comments[62] on the occult meaning of correlation of sound and color.[63] Brendan French wrote that influence of Scott "on esoteric movements has been significant".[64]
In Scott's opinion, the music by Handel, for example, promoted to the fact that affectation, haughtiness, and formalism were usual to many people of the Victorian era which was filled with "conventions". He wrote that these imperfections of human characters should be considered as a result of the influence of his music on these characters:
Those who have closely examined Handel's technique will observe that he had a strong predilection for the repetition of single chords, for two or more bar phrases, and for sequences,—viz.: the reiteration of a phrase in a different position or on a different degree of the scale. Thus, apart from its emotional content, Handel's music was pre-eminently formal in character, consequently it was formal in effect. If, however, we combine its emotional qualities with its formalism, and to repetition and musical imitativeness—for sequence is but imitativeness—add grandeur, the net result is the glorification of repetition and imitativeness; and if we translate all this from the planc of music to that of human conduct, we get love of outward ceremony and adherence to convention.[65][note 17]
According to musicologist Arthur Eaglefield Hull, Scott's Theosophical and occult studies deeply influenced his music. In 1919, he wrote about Scott as follows:
Doubtless too, the music of others whom he admires Wagner, Strauss, Stravinsky, Debussy, Grainger, Ravel has stimulated his muse in a healthy way. But there is a power within him which gives impulse more than any other: it is the joyful welling forth of music itself as a natural force. It often gushes out after the manner of an extemporaneous performance in a sheer glad carolling, a happy warbling like that of the natural song birds, out of the very joy of life itself.[67]
In addition to music, Renato de Grandis (1927–2008) had been interested in philosophy, poetry, and painting. He engaged in research in the field of Theosophy, Buddhism, and Kabbalah. This was bound with the long journeys, especially in Asia. De Grandis was "an active member of the Italian Section" of the Theosophical Society. He founded the International Center for the Theosophical Research in Cervignano del Friuli (Italian: Centro Internazionale di Studi Teosofici di Cervignano del Friuli). He wrote the Theosophical books Teosofia di base, Teosofia contemporanea, Theos-Sophia, Abhidharma e Psicologie Occidentali, in addition, he published comments to the Book of Dzyan and The Voice of the Silence by Helena Blavatsky.[2][73][72][74][75]
According to musician Gary Lachman, in the last years of his life, Richard Wagner (1813–1883) had been endorsing ideas "remarkably similar to Madame Blavatsky's".[81] He had been saying of "universal currents of Divine Thought", "vibrating ether", and the "great cosmic law". He believed that music is capable of introducing an audience into a state of trance, provoking a kind of "musical clairvoyance".[82] Prof. Wouter Hanegraaff wrote that Wagner's "great music dramas were sometimes interpreted from esoteric perspectives".[83] Wagner believed in the "spiritual oneness of all living things, abhorred cruelty to animals and was a vegetarian".[84]
Speaking of the impact of Wagner's music, Cyril Scott wrote that the basis of his general composition idea was "a profound spiritual principle" of "unity in diversity".
As the waves of the ocean are each different, yet are one with it and inseparable from it, so each melody was one with the great art-work of which it formed a part. Wagner's music was the prototype of the principle of co-operation against competition; symbolically speaking it symbolized the mystic truth that each individual soul is unified with the All-soul, the All-pervading Consciousness.[85]
Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915) composed ten piano sonatas, some of which, according to composer Kurt Leland, "have Theosophical subtexts". For example, the Fourth Sonata is about "flight toward a star, as in the experience of astral projection", the Seventh, subtitled White Mass, is about the "mystical forces unleashed in a magical ceremony", and the Ninth, subtitled Black Mass, is about "purging the corresponding dark forces". The Eighth Sonata "uses five musical fragments to represent the constant interplay of the elements earth, water, air, fire, and, as he called it, 'the mystical ether'".[31][note 24][note 25]
Even before he became acquainted with Theosophy, Scriabin became interested in philosophy of Hinduism, which had become one of the sources of Blavatsky's teachings. This is evidenced in the Katha Upanishad from the composer's personal library with notes made by his hand. Scriabin emphasized those places in the book that illuminate idea of the universal community, the absolute unity of the world.[88] Musicologist Dmitry Shumilin stated that in 1905, in Paris, Scriabin began to study the French translation of Blavatsky's book The Key to Theosophy (French: La Clef de la Theosophie). Scriabin became acquainted with her book The Secret Doctrine no later than October 1905. This book has become for him the most authoritative source of information of occult nature, as well as a "storehouse" of new creative ideas.[89][note 26] All of the work from Scriabin's latest period, albeit in varying degrees, was imbued with ideas, concepts, and provisions set forth in The Secret Doctrine.[91] Shumilin wrote:
Scriabin not only read this work, he studied it as a textbook, examined it how the newly founded ancient manuscript, trying to comprehend and assimilate the ideas contained in the book. More than 513 text fragments ranging in length from several words to one and a half pages are differently highlighted by the composer in five volumes of the French edition of The Secret Doctrine (French: La Doctrine Secrete).[92][note 27]
The hypothetical ability of a person to perceive "spiritual" reality is one of the problems that worried Scriabin most of all. In The Secret Doctrine, he singled out many fragments describing "paranormal abilities".[94] In addition to works by Blavatsky, Scriabin read books by Besant and Leadbeater, in particular, their Thought-Forms, which describe the "correlations" between sound, color and emotions.[95][note 28]
Shumilin noted that idea of unity is the basic idea of both Theosophy and Scriabin's philosophy. The "principle of unity", which he often mentioned, talking on its "immutable action", is, in Scriabin's opinion, a universal law. He accepted with "great enthusiasm" Blavatsky's concept about a singular source of all religions and religious-philosophical systems, as well as the proclamation by the Theosophists the idea of universal brotherhood as the highest ethical value. In Theosophy, the composer had saw that "reality" which was "desired" for him. On the basis of his own experience, he concluded that Blavatsky's assertions were true, and for him as an artist it was precisely this criterion that was decisive.[98]
Prof. Maria Carlson wrote that Scriabin based "directly" on the Theosophical doctrine in his theory that the creation of music is a "theurgic act" of divine play. Like the Symbolist writers, he was interested in the Theosophical concept of theurgy, the meaning of spells and rhythm as a deeply "magic" act, sobornost as "mystical experience, art as a form of religious action, and the synthesis of matter and spirit".[99] Musicologist Victor Yekimovsky[ru] noted that Scriabin's Theosophy has a common mystical denominator with religion, generated by the hyperbolization of the ideas of "universal love".[100][note 29] Scriabin considered music a means of transforming humanity, accelerating his spiritual evolution. He dedicated the last years of his life to the Mysterium, a giant drama combining music, dance, theater, poetry with religious ritual, trying to create a synthesis of the emotional and spiritual aspects.[2][102][3][103][note 30]
In Scott's opinion, Scriabin sought to synthesize all the arts, attempting to demonstrate visually the occult law of correlations "as above, so below". He became the first Russian composer who was able to combine a "theoretical knowledge of occultism" with music, believing that he should in this way "convey to the world" a spiritual "message".[106]
According to Godwin, Gustav Theodore Holst (1874–1934) was a friend of the Theosophists Clifford Bax,[note 31]G. R. S. Mead, and Alan Leo.[2] Holst was being interested in Theosophy, although he did not become a member of the Theosophical Society. He studied Hindu philosophy and Sanskrit, translated texts from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Rigveda and created several vocal compositions for his own translations and for words of Kālidāsa as well as other Indian poets. He composed a chamber opera Savitri in 1908 and The Hymns of Rigveda, for a womanish choir, in 1909. In 1913, Clifford Bax and Alan Leo introduced him to the basics of astrology, and Leo's book The Art of Synthesis inspired him to create a seven-movement symphonic suite The Planets (1914–16). Describing in his book the astrological characteristics, Leo devoted on a separate chapter to each planet. The last part of the suite "Neptune, the Mystic" obtained a name of the 12th chapter from the book by Leo. In 1917, Holst has written The Hymn of Jesus, containing Gnostic text translated by George Mead.[2][107][108][3][109]
Luigi Russolo (1885–1947) was a composer, painter, and one of the ideologists of futurism, inventor of "various kind of the mechanical and electrical tools" for noise music.[110] According to Chessa, Russolo, along with studies in the field of the "physics of light, sound, waves, acoustics, magnetism", was interested in spiritualism and metaphysics. Judging by his "personal documents" and stories of his acquaintances, his worldview did not actually differ from the "Theosophical orthodoxy", which proclaimes the reality of the superphysical world. To develop his concept of the "art of noises", he used the Theosophical ideas about sound and music "forms",[111][112] taken from the books by Besant and Leadbeater.[113]
In Chessa's opinion, Theosophy is the "key" that makes it possible to "identify, decode, and contextualize" Russolo's interest in the occult, which is present in his compositions: from his "printmaking and paintings" to his theoretical works on music.[1]
According to the Russian Musical Encyclopedia[ru] (ME), compositions by Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) are related to the "religious theme" and the mystical ideas of their author, who believed in the "divine origin" of music.[114] His pantheistic love for nature manifested itself in the interest for singing of birds—he considered them, with his characteristic mysticism, "the servants of the spirituality".[114][115][note 33] Yekimovsky noted several moments pointing to the "Theosophical nature" of his worldview.[116] Messiaen studied the rhythms of ancient Indian music, creating his own rhythmic "dictionary" based on the "deçi-tâlas" formulas systematized by the Indian musicologist Sarangadeva.[117] The title of his popular composition Turangalîla-Symphonie (1948) is composed from two Sanskrit words, "Turanga" and "lîla", and it may be translated as "hymn to joy".[118] According to composer Kurt Leland, in his Quartet for the End of Time, Messiaen "may have produced the ideal piece of Theosophical music." It supportes "brotherhood and oneness," originates from the "study of sacred scripture," investigates philosophical concepts such as "timelessness", and changes the "consciousness of listeners."[119][120]
Messiaen's synesthesia was bidirectional, because music created for him color, and color sounded like music. He was completely persuaded that his experience was not an illusion, and he invented a way to describe "music in color terms". He could talk about "color chords" and could say that they were "colored" by the harmonies, and not "harmonized in the classical sense".[121][122][note 34] According to Messiaen's stories about his "color" hearing, when he listened to music or read a musical score, he sensed specific colors that "swirled, moved, mixed" in the same way as sounds.[124][note 35] However, unlike Scriabin, he did not seek to demonstrate his color visions.[126] Nevertheless, between Scriabin and Messiaen, as Yekimovsky wrote, "amazing" parallels can be drawn:
The central themes of both composers' creativity are both cosmogony and universal ('fatal', by definition of Messiaen) love, and a kind of 'supra-church' scale of thinking, of course, the religious-mystical interpretation of the ideas of Apocalypse, the creation of the world ('Divine play', according to Scriabin), and the literary-theatrical mystery-play—Scriabin conceived his Mysterium for all mankind—Messiaen intended to perform his Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (more modestly) on openly air, on a high mountain, for example, in La Grave, opposite a glacier of La Meije, against the backdrop of a powerful and majestic landscape.[100]
Original text (in Russian)
Центральными темами творчества обоих композиторов являются и космогоничность, и всечеловеческая ("фатальная" – по определению Мессиана) любовь, и своеобразная "надцерковность" масштабов мышления, конечно же, религиозно-мистическая трактовка идей Апокалипсиса, сотворения мира ("божественная игра" – по Скрябину, и литературно-театрализованная мистериальность – Мистерию Скрябин задумал для всего человечества, Мессиан – более скромно – предназначал своё И чаю воскрешения для исполнения "на открытом воздухе, на высокой горе, на Грав, напротив ледника Мейж – на фоне могущественного и величественного пейзажа."
In musicologist Svetlana Savenko[ru]'s opinion, Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928–2007), who was a student of Messiaen, embodied in contemporary music, "Wagner's typology". This is confirmed by such his features as the "theurgic character" of creativity and the desire to form an "artistic cosmos".[127] According to ME, his compositions are associated with the "cosmic mystery".[128] Many researchers have noted the "esoteric character" of his musical ideas.[2][129][note 37] Godwin stated that Stockhausen's creativity "best exemplifies the Theosophical program of brotherhood, ecumenism, and research into human potential". Intending to produce a "transformative effect" on the listeners, he filled his heptalogyLicht (1977–2003) with "esoteric ideas", partly taken from The Urantia Book.[2][131][note 38]
All religions, both Western and Eastern, were acceptable to Stockhausen, and he made no secret of his faith in reincarnation and astrology. In his music of the late 60s one can notice the influence of the Buddhist culture, meditative practice, and Zen philosophy. He believed that "Lucifer's Requiem" from his Saturday may be played after a person's death during 49 days to help his/her soul in "the journey through the bardo". "World music" was seemed to him as the result of the combination of Western rationalism and Eastern mysticism.[133]
Godwin noted that Scriabin's dream of a "new age" spherical hall for music was partially realized in 1970, when Stockhausen's works were performed in the West German pavilion at the World Exhibition Expo '70 in Osaka.[134][131][note 39]
According to Albert Goldman, Elvis Presley's biographer, Presley was interested in "Blavatsky's writings and those of her disciples", like Besant and Leadbeater. Goldman wrote that Presley's "favourite reading included Leadbeater's The Inner Life[ru], from which he often read aloud before going on stage to perform."[136]
In 1975, Todd Rundgren used for his compositions in the second side of the album Initiation[138][139] headlines from the Theosophical book A Treatise on Cosmic Fire by Alice Bailey.[140] That same year, Rundgren's rock band Utopia recorded an album Another Live, which included compositions "Another Life" and "The Seven Rays", associated with the Theosophical concepts, like reincarnation and "seven rays".[141]
Peter Mills, author of the book Hymns to the Silence: Inside the Words and Music of Van Morrison stated that Van Morrison[142] was seriously interested in the occult side of music.[143] In Mills's opinion, Morrison's enthusiasm for music and his interest in esoteric spirituality, which appeared later, "are not as far apart as they would at first seem."[144] He has read books like Music: Its Secret Influence Throughout the Ages[58] by Cyril Scott, The Secret Power of Music[145] by David Tame, and also many books by Alice Bailey.[146]Nevill Drury wrote about the Morrison's album Beautiful Vision (1982) that its texts were inspired by the Theosophical publications of Bailey and her "Tibetan Master", especially for songs "Dweller on the Threshold" and "Aryan Mist".[147][note 40]
Criticism of the Theosophical "music-forms"
Prof. Godwin wrote about the forms which were "created," according to Besant and Leadbeater, by "music of Mendelssohn, Gounod, and Wagner" (on Plates M, G, and W respectively; "the latter's forms being no less than 900 feet tall") as follows:
One would like to ask many questions of the authors [of a book Thought-Forms]. First, did Besant and Leadbeater both "see" these apparitions? If so, did they agree in every detail? I suspect that Leadbeater alone was responsible. Then, did he really stand half a mile from the church to witness Wagnerian splendor filling the firmament? He could not have heard the music from there; did he see it emerge the moment the organist struck the ivories? The situation reeks of improbabilities. The only thing of which one can be certain is that at some point, the clairvoyant(s) sat down with the artist and supervised his or her painting.[148]
Prof. Hanegraaff called Leadbeater "self-appointed visionary" who interpreted his own mental imagery as "clairvoyant perception."[149][note 41]
↑ According to musicologist Luciano Chessa, Theosophy is the "key" that makes it possible to "identify, decode, and contextualize" Russolo's interest in the occult, which is present in his compositions: from his "printmaking and paintings" to his theoretical works on music.[1]
↑ In September 2013, an academic conference Enchanted Modernities: Theosophy and the Arts in the Modern World was held at the University of Amsterdam, at which about 50 reports were presented to an audience of 150 scholars.[9] Of these reports, at least 10 dealt with the question of Theosophy and music.[10] At this conference, Christopher Scheer (Utah State University) pointed out that relations "between music and Theosophical thought has broad cultural implications."[11]
↑ According to Advaita, birth of the "world from the word (shabda) does not mean that the word constitutes the material cause of the world as Brahman does."[16] "The fundamental theory of Indian classical music, as indeed of all Indian art and poetry, is grounded in the theory of Nada Brahman or Shabda Brahman and is linked with the Vedic religion."[17]
↑ Taimni mentioned "patterns which are called Chladni's figures" that prove the creative ability of sound.[19]
↑ Taimni stated that "thoughts, feelings, emotions", by their very nature, are vibrations in the "matter of the subtler planes", and they generate forms that can be seen "objectively".[15]
↑ Forms created by music, strictly speaking, are not thought-forms, but, nevertheless, they do not arise without "the thought of the composer".[24] Later, Leadbeater explained that mental, astral, and etheric structures are built up "by the influence of sound", and that "forms, created by the performers of the music, must not be confounded with the magnificent thought-form which the composer himself made as the expression of his own music in the higher worlds."[25]
↑ Blavatsky "possessed great natural musical talents."[33] According to Prof. Wouter J. Hanegraaff, she inherited the "intellectual and imaginative talents [including musical] from the maternal family line."[34]
↑ According to Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, paranormal music varies from inspired performances of mediums and compositions dictated by "spirit musicians" to music that sounds without any visible material source.[38]
↑ René Guénon wrote that the Theosophical phenomena were the following: "knocking at will, tingling of invisible bells, the carrying and 'materialization' of all sorts of objects, and above all, 'precipitation' of letters sent by 'astral' means."[41]
↑ The spiritistseances were also held here, often with the participation of Debussy and Satie. They played their music on the piano placed in the back room.[47]
↑ Bailly's Le Chant des Voyelles for women's choir, flutes and harps "was first performed in early June 1906". Bailly wrote in foreword to his score that "the accompaniment by Harps and Double Flutes[disambiguation needed], the latter scarcely found outside the cases of large museums, can be replaced by a harmonium (also flute, English horn)".[53]
↑ Khan later gave "several lectures on music and philosophy". In 1914, he spoke at the congress of the International Musical Society.[56]
↑ Scott stated that "his personal contact" with the mahatmas began in 1919-20.[60]
↑ Scott believed that the "depictive value of music over and above that of literature, drama, painting and poetry, consists in its total lack of restrictedness, and in its direct appeal to the intuition or subconscious".[66]
↑ In 1905, MacCarthy was allowed to participate in a work of the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society.[69]
↑ Commenting on this illustration, the researchers of esotericism wrote that, according to the Theosophists, Wagner's organ music produces on the astral plane the "weird mountains in pink, green and red".[80]
↑ Prof. Christopher Partridge wrote that a Russian concert pianist Yevgeny Sudbin noted Scriabin believed "he was 'practising sorcery' whenever playing this [Ninth] sonata."[86][87]
↑ In Prof. Wouter Hanegraaff's opinion, it can be unequivocally stated that esotericism had "a major influence" on compositions of Alexander Scriabin.[83]
↑ Scriabin considered Blavatsky's attempt to unite religion, philosophy, and science into one teaching as "quite reasonable and successful".[90]
↑ These 5 volumes, which belonged to the composer, are stored in Scriabin State Memorial Museum[ru] with a lot of notes and underscores, which testifies to a thorough study of the text. He noted more than 500 fragments in these volumes.[93]
↑ Scriabin did not consider himself the Theosophist and categorically objected to the promotion of Theosophy through his working,[96] nevertheless, he involved "many Theosophical ideas" into his works and also "experimented with synesthesia".[97]
↑ In Yevgeny Sudbin's opinion, Scriabin "arrived at theosophy almost intuitively and combined it with a dash of mysticism."[86] "He was very much a mystic and indeed his first symphony composed in 1900 has a choral finale that glorifies art as a form of religion."[101]
↑ Scriabin's Mysterium had to surpass "even the greatest ambitions of Wagner".[104] For his project, the composer used as a basis the concept of cosmogenesis and anthropogenesis, presented in Blavatsky's Theosophy.[105]
↑ Hanegraaff pointed out that creativity of Stockhausen is an "ultimate example of how avant-garde music can be wholly grounded in an esoteric worldview".[130]
↑ Savenko called his theatrical super cycle Light "the most ambitious" of the [realized] musical projects.[132]
↑ Dmitry Shumilin wrote that Scriabin's "ideas influence" was quite noticeable in the work of Stockhausen.[135]
↑ In Hanegraaff's opinion, progress of rock music was exerted by the fashion of "alternative spiritualities" that emerged in the 1960s due to the "influences from Oriental as well as Western esoteric traditions".[130]
The term occult sciences was used in the 16th century to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic. The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, where it came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus, and in 1875 was introduced into the English language by the esotericist Helena Blavatsky. Throughout the 20th century, the term was used idiosyncratically by a range of different authors, but by the 21st century was commonly employed – including by academic scholars of esotericism – to refer to a range of esoteric currents that developed in the mid-19th century and their descendants. Occultism is thus often used to categorise such esoteric traditions as Spiritualism, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and New Age.
Christian theosophy, also known as Boehmian theosophy and theosophy, refers to a range of positions within Christianity which focus on the attainment of direct, unmediated knowledge of the nature of divinity and the origin and purpose of the universe. They have been characterized as mystical philosophies. Theosophy is considered part of Western esotericism, which believes that hidden knowledge or wisdom from the ancient past offers a path to enlightenment and salvation.
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was a Russian occultist, philosopher, and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an international following as the leading theoretician of Theosophy, the esoteric religion that the society promoted.
The Theosophical Society was an organization formed in the United States in 1875 by Helena Blavatsky to advance Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments, currently has several successors. Following the death of Blavatsky, competition within the Society between factions emerged, particularly among founding members and the organisation split between the Theosophical Society Adyar (Olcott-Besant) and the Theosophical Society Pasadena (Judge). The former group, headquartered in India, is the most widespread international group holding the name "Theosophical Society" today.
Charles Webster Leadbeater was a member of the Theosophical Society, author on occult subjects and co-initiator with J. I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church.
Alfred Percy Sinnett was an English author and theosophist.
The mental plane, or world of thought, in Hermeticism, Theosophical, Rosicrucian, Aurobindonian, and New Age thought refers to the macrocosmic or universal plane or reality that is made up purely of thought or mindstuff. In contrast to Western secular modernist and post-modern thought, in occult and esoteric cosmology, thoughts and consciousness are not just a byproduct of brain functioning, but have their own objective and universal reality quite independent of the physical. This reality itself constitutes only one gradation in a whole series of planes of existence. In most such cosmologies and explanations of reality, the mental plane is located between, and hence is intermediate between, the astral plane below and the higher spiritual realms of existence above.
Theosophical teachings have borrowed some concepts and terms from Buddhism. Some theosophists like Helena Blavatsky, Helena Roerich and Henry Steel Olcott also became Buddhists. Henry Steel Olcott helped shape the design of the Buddhist flag. Tibetan Buddhism was popularised in the West at first mainly by Theosophists including Evans-Wentz and Alexandra David-Neel.
The term Neo-Theosophy is a term, originally derogatory, used by the followers of Blavatsky to denominate the system of Theosophical ideas expounded by Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater following the death of Madame Blavatsky in 1891. This material differed in major respects from Blavatsky's original presentation, but it is accepted as genuinely Theosophical by many Theosophists around the world.
The Order of the Star in the East (OSE) was an international organisation based at Benares (Varanasi), India, from 1911 to 1927. It was established by the leadership of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, Chennai, in order to prepare the world for the arrival of a messianic entity, the so-called World Teacher or Maitreya. The OSE acquired members worldwide as it expanded in many countries; a third of its diverse membership c. 1926 was unaffiliated with the Theosophical Society. The precursor of the OSE was the Order of the Rising Sun and the successor was the Order of the Star. The precursor organisation was formed after leading Theosophists discovered a likely candidate for the new messiah in the then–adolescent Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986), a South Indian Brahmin who was installed as Head of the Order. Almost two decades later Krishnamurti rejected the messianic role, repudiated the Order's mission, and in 1929 disbanded the OSE's successor. The founding and activities of these organisations, as well as the largely unexpected dissolution of the OSE's successor, attracted widespread media attention and public interest. They also led to crises in the Theosophical Society and to schisms in Theosophy.
In Theosophy, the Maitreya or Lord Maitreya is an advanced spiritual entity and high-ranking member of a hidden Spiritual Hierarchy, the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom. According to Theosophical doctrine, one of the Hierarchy's functions is to oversee the evolution of humankind; in accord with this function the Maitreya is said to hold the Office of the World Teacher. Theosophical texts posit that the purpose of this Office is to facilitate the transfer of knowledge about the true constitution and workings of Existence to humankind. Humanity is thereby assisted on its presumed cyclical, but ever progressive, evolutionary path. Reputedly, one way the knowledge transfer is accomplished is by Maitreya occasionally manifesting or incarnating in the physical realm; the manifested entity then assumes the role of World Teacher of Humankind.
Man: Whence, How and Whither, A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation, published in 1913, is a theosophical book compiled by the second president of the Theosophical Society (TS) - Adyar, Annie Besant, and by a TS member, Charles W. Leadbeater. The book is a study on early times on planetary chains, beginnings of early root races, early civilizations and empires, and past lives of men.
Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late nineteenth century. It was founded primarily by the Russian immigrant Helena Blavatsky and draws its beliefs predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorised by scholars of religion as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism, it draws upon both older European philosophies such as Neoplatonism and Asian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
Thought-Forms: A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation is a theosophical book compiled by the members of the Theosophical Society A. Besant and C. W. Leadbeater. It was originally published in 1901 in London. From the standpoint of Theosophy, it tells regarding visualization of thoughts, experiences, emotions and music. Drawings of the "thought-forms" were performed by painters Varley, Prince, and McFarlane.
Christianity and Theosophy, for more than a hundred years, have had a "complex and sometimes troubled" relationship. The Christian faith was always the native religion of the great majority of Western Theosophists, but many came to Theosophy through a process of examination or even opposition to Christianity. According to professor Robert S. Ellwood, "the whole matter has been a divisive issue within Theosophy."
Modern Theosophy is classified by prominent representatives of Western philosophy as a "pantheistic philosophical-religious system." A Russian philosopher Vladimir Trefilov claimed that Blavatsky's doctrine was formed from the beginning as a synthesis of philosophical views and religious forms of the various ages and peoples with modern scientific ideas. An author of The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Michael Wakoff stated that Blavatskian Theosophy was based on Buddhist and Hindu philosophy, and fragments of the Western esotericism with using an "absolutist metaphysics." In The New Encyclopedia of Philosophy it is said Blavatsky's Theosophy is an attempt to merge into a universal doctrine all religions by revealing their "common deep essence" and detection of "identity meanings of symbols," all philosophies, and all sciences.
"What Is Theosophy?" is an editorial published in October 1879 in the Theosophical magazine The Theosophist. It was compiled by Helena Blavatsky and included into the 2nd volume of the Blavatsky Collected Writings. According to a doctoral thesis by Tim Rudbøg, in this "important" article Blavatsky "began conceptualizing her idea of 'Theosophy'."
Hinduism is regarded by modern Theosophy as one of the main sources of "esoteric wisdom" of the East. The Theosophical Society was created in a hope that Asian philosophical-religious ideas "could be integrated into a grand religious synthesis." Prof. Antoine Faivre wrote that "by its content and its inspiration" the Theosophical Society is greatly dependent on Eastern traditions, "especially Hindu; in this, it well reflects the cultural climate in which it was born." A Russian Indologist Alexander Senkevich noted that the concept of Helena Blavatsky's Theosophy was based on Hinduism. According to Encyclopedia of Hinduism, "Theosophy is basically a Western esoteric teaching, but it resonated with Hinduism at a variety of points."
According to some literary and religious studies scholars, modern Theosophy had a certain influence on contemporary literature, particularly in forms of genre fiction such as fantasy and science fiction. Researchers claim that Theosophy has significantly influenced the Irish literary renaissance of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, notably in such figures as W. B. Yeats and G. W. Russell.
According to many art history and religious studies scholars, modern Theosophy had important influence for the contemporary visual arts, in particularly, for painting and drawing. They note that after the foundation of the Theosophical Society (1875), many professional artists had a fancy for Theosophy, at the same time, some Theosophists worked in the visual arts. However, such artists like Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Luigi Russolo chose Theosophy as the main ideological and philosophical basis of their work.
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