The writer Elena Blavatsky was born on July 31, 1831 in the city of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk). She had a noble family tree. Her ancestors were diplomats and famous officials. Elena's cousin - Sergey Yulievich Witte - served as Minister of Finance of the Russian Empire from 1892 to 1903.
Family and childhood
At birth, Elena Blavatsky had the German surname Gan, which she inherited from her father. Due to the fact that he was a military man, the family had to constantly move around the country (St. Petersburg, Saratov, Odessa, etc.). In 1848, the girl was engaged to Nicephorus Blavatsky - the governor of Erivan province. However, the marriage did not last long. A few months after the wedding, Elena Blavatsky ran away from her husband, after which she went on a journey around the world. The first point of her journey was Constantinople (Istanbul).
Elena Blavatsky remembered warmly about Russia and her childhood in her homeland. The family provided her with everything necessary, providing a quality education.
Youth Travel
In the Turkish capital, the girl was engaged in performing in the circus as a rider. When, as a result of an accident, she broke her arm, Elena decided to move to London. She had money: she herself earned, and received transfers sent to her by father Peter Alekseevich Gan.
Since Elena Blavatsky did not keep diaries, her fate during wanderings is tracked rather vaguely. Many of her biographers disagree on where she managed to visit, and which routes were only rumored.
Most often, researchers mention that in the late 40s, the writer went to Egypt. The reason for this was the passion for alchemy and Freemasonry. Many members of the lodges had compulsory reading books in their libraries, among which were the volumes of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Code of Nazarenes, the Wisdom of Solomon, etc. For the Masons, there were two main spiritual centers - Egypt and India. It is with these countries that numerous explorations of Blavatsky are connected, including "Isis Unveiled". However, she will write books at an advanced age. In her youth, the girl gained experience and practical knowledge, living directly in an environment of different world cultures.
Arriving in Cairo, Elena went to the Sahara desert to study the ancient Egyptian civilization. This nation had nothing to do with the Arabs, who had ruled for several centuries on the banks of the Nile. The knowledge of the ancient Egyptians spread to a variety of disciplines - from mathematics to medicine. It was they who became the subject of a thorough study of Elena Blavatsky.
After Egypt there was Europe. Here she indulged in art. In particular, the girl took piano lessons from the famous Bohemian virtuoso Ignaz Mosheles. Having gained experience, she even gave public concerts in European capitals.
In 1851, Elena Blavatsky traveled to London. There she managed to meet for the first time with a real Indian. It was Mahatma Moriya. True, to this day, no evidence has been found of the existence of this person. Perhaps he was an illusion of Blavatsky, practicing various esoteric and theosophical rites.
One way or another, Mahatma Moriah became a source of inspiration for Elena. In the 1950s, she ended up in Tibet, where she studied local occultism. According to various estimates of researchers, Elena Petrovna Blavatsky stayed there for about seven years, periodically going on trips to other parts of the world, including the United States.
The formation of theosophical teachings
It was during these years that a doctrine was formed, which Elena Petrovna Blavatsky professed and promoted in her works. It was a peculiar form of Theosophy. According to her, the human soul is one with the deity. This means that in the world there is some knowledge beyond science that is available only to the elect and enlightened. It was a form of religious syncretism - a cross between many cultures and myths of different nations in one teaching. This is not surprising, because Blavatsky absorbed the knowledge of many countries where she managed to visit in her youth.
The greatest influence on Helen was made by Indian philosophy, which developed in isolation over many millennia. Blavatian theosophy also included Buddhism and Brahmanism, popular among the peoples of India. In her teaching, Elena used the terms karma and reincarnation. The doctrine of Theosophy influenced such famous people as Mahatma Gandhi, Nikolai Roerich and Vasily Kandinsky.
Tibet
In the 1950s, Elena Blavatsky periodically visited Russia (so to speak, on short visits). The biography of the woman surprised the local audience. She held crowded spiritualistic sessions that became popular in St. Petersburg. In the early 60s, a woman visited the Caucasus, the Middle East and Greece. Then she tried for the first time to organize a society of followers and like-minded people. In Cairo, she set to work. So the Spiritual Society came into being. However, it did not last long, but it became another useful experience.
This was followed by another long trip to Tibet - then Blavatsky visited Laos and the Karakorum mountains. She managed to visit closed monasteries, where not a single European foot had gone before. But Elena Blavatsky became such a guest.
The woman’s books contained many references to the culture of Tibet and life in Buddhist temples. It was there that valuable materials were obtained that were included in the Voice of Silence publication.
Meet Henry Alcott
In the 70s, Elena Blavatsky, whose philosophy became popular, began the activity of a preacher and spiritual teacher. Then she moved to the United States, where she received citizenship and went through the naturalization process. Then, Henry Steel Alcott becomes her main ally.
It was a lawyer who received the rank of colonel during the Civil War in the United States. He was appointed Special Commissioner of the War Department to investigate corruption in ammunition supply companies. After the war, he became a successful lawyer and a member of the New York college, which is respected. His specialization included taxes, duties and property insurance.
Alcott's acquaintance with spiritualism occurred back in 1844. Much later, he met Elena Blavatsky, with whom he went to travel the world and teach. He also helped her begin her writing career when the woman set to work on the manuscript of Isis Exposed.
Theosophical Society
On November 17, 1875, Helen Blavatsky and Henry Alcott founded the Theosophical Society. His main goal was the desire to unite like-minded people around the world, regardless of race, gender, caste and faith. To this end, activities were organized to study and compare various sciences, religions and philosophical schools. All this was done in order to learn the laws of nature and the universe, unknown to mankind. All these goals were enshrined in the charter of the Theosophical Society.
In addition to the founders, many famous people joined it. For example, it was Thomas Edison - an entrepreneur and inventor, William Crookes (president of the Royal Society of London, chemist), French astronomer Camille Flammarion, astrologer and occultist Max Handel, etc. Theosophical Society became a platform for spiritual debate and debate.
The beginning of writing
To spread the teachings of their organization, Blavatsky and Olcott went to India in 1879. At this time, the writing activity of Elena is in full swing. First, a woman regularly publishes new books. Secondly, she has established herself as a deep and interesting publicist. Her talent was also appreciated in Russia, where Blavatsky was published in the Moscow Gazette and the Russian Bulletin. Then she was the editor of her own journal "Theosophist". In it, for example, for the first time appeared a translation into English of a chapter from Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov. It was a parable about the Grand Inquisitor - the central episode of the last book of the great Russian writer.
Blavatsky’s travels formed the basis of her memoirs and travel notes published in various books. An example is the work "Mysterious tribes on the blue mountains" and "From the caves and wilds of Hindustan." In 1880, Buddhism became the new subject of research conducted by Elena Blavatsky. Reviews of her works were published in various newspapers and collections. In order to learn as much as possible about Buddhism, Blavatsky and Olcott went to Ceylon.
Isis Unveiled
Isis Unveiled was the first major book published by Elena Blavatsky. It was published in two volumes in 1877 and contained a huge layer of knowledge and reasoning about esoteric philosophy.
The author tried to compare the numerous teachings of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The text contained a large number of references to the works of Pythagoras, Plato, Giordano Bruno, Paracelsus, etc.
In addition, Isis considered religious teachings: Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism. At first, the book was conceived as a review of the eastern schools of philosophy. Work began on the eve of the founding of the Theosophical Society. The organization of this structure delayed the release of the work. Only after the establishment of the movement was announced in New York did intensive writing work begin. Blavatsky was actively helped by Henry Alcott, who at that time became her main ally and associate.
As the former lawyer himself recalled, Blavatsky had never worked with such zeal and endurance. In fact, she summarized in her work all the multifaceted experience gained over many years of traveling around the world.
At first, the book was to be called “The Key to the Mysterious Gates,” which the author reported in a letter to Alexander Aksakov. Later it was decided to headline the first volume as “The Isis Veil”. However, the British publisher, who worked on the first edition, found out that a book with that title had already been published (it was a common Theosophical term). Therefore, the final version of Isis Unveiled was adopted. Blavatsky's youthful interest in the culture of Ancient Egypt was reflected in it.
The book had many ideas and goals. Over the years, researchers of Blavatsky’s creativity have formulated them in different ways. For example, the first publication in the UK contained a preface from the publisher. In it, he informed the reader that the book contains the largest number of sources on Theosophy and Occultism, which had existed in literature before. And this meant that the reader could get as close as possible to the answer to the question of the existence of secret knowledge, which served as the source of all religions and cults of the peoples of the world.
Alexander Senkevich (one of the most respected scholars of the Blavatsky bibliography) formulated in his own way the main message of Isis Unveiled. In his work on the biography of the writer, he explained that this book is an example of criticism of church organization, a collection of theories about psychic phenomena and the secrets of nature. "Isis" analyzes the secrets of Kabbalistic teachings, the esoteric ideas of Buddhists, as well as their reflection in Christianity and other world religions. Senkevich also noted that Blavatsky was able to prove the existence of substances of an intangible nature.
Particular attention is paid to secret communities. These are the Masons and the Jesuits. Their knowledge became the fertile soil used by Elena Blavatsky. Quotes from Isis later began to appear en masse in the occult and theosophical writings of its followers.
If the first volume of the publication was focused on the study of science, then the second, on the contrary, considered theological issues. In the preface, the author explained that the conflict of these two schools is the key in understanding the world order.
Blavatsky criticized the thesis of scientific knowledge that there is no spiritual principle in a person. The writer tried to find him through various religious and spiritual teachings. Some researchers of Blavatsky’s creativity note that in her book she offers the reader indisputable evidence of the existence of magic.
The second theological volume analyzes various religious organizations (for example, the Christian Church) and criticizes them for the hypocritical attitude to their own teaching. In other words, Blavatsky stated that adherents betrayed their origins (Bible, Quran, etc.).
The author examined the teachings of famous mystics who contradicted world religions. Exploring these philosophical schools, she tried to find a common root. Many of her theses were both anti-scientific and anti-religious. For this, "Isis" was criticized by a variety of readers. But this did not stop her from gaining cult popularity from another part of the audience. It was the success of Isis Unveiled that enabled Blavatsky to expand her Theosophical Society, which acquired members in all corners of the world, from America to India.
Voice of Silence
In 1889, the book The Voice of Silence was published, authored by the very same Elena Blavatsky. The biography of this woman says that it was a successful attempt to combine numerous theosophical research under one cover. The main source of inspiration for Voice of Silence was the writer’s stay in Tibet, where she became acquainted with the teachings of Buddhists and the isolated life of local monasteries.
This time, Blavatsky did not compare or evaluate several philosophical schools. She took up the textured description of Buddhist teachings. It contains a detailed analysis of terms such as “Krishna,” or “Higher Self.” Most of the book was in the Buddhist style. However, it was not an orthodox exposition of this religion. There was a mystical component familiar to Blavatsky in it.
This work has become especially popular among Buddhists. He has withstood many reprints in India and Tibet, where for many scholars he has become a handbook. She was praised by the Dalai Lama. The last of them (by the way, now living) himself wrote the preface for “Voice of the Silence” on the hundredth anniversary of the first edition. This is an excellent foundation for those who want to know and understand Buddhism, including the Zen school.
The book was donated by the writer Leo Tolstoy, who in his last years intensively studied a variety of religions. A gift copy is now stored in Yasnaya Polyana. The author signed the cover, calling Tolstoy “one of the few who can comprehend and understand what is written there.”
The count himself spoke warmly about the present in his publications, where he compiled wise excerpts from the books that influenced him ("For Every Day", "Thoughts of Wise People", "Reading Circle"). The writer also in one of his personal letters said that the “Voice of Silence” contains a lot of light, but also touches on issues that a person is not able to recognize at all. It is also known that Tolstoy read the magazine Theosophist by Blavatsky, who greatly appreciated what he spoke about in his diary.
The Secret Doctrine
The Secret Doctrine is considered the last work of Blavatsky, in which she summed up all her knowledge and conclusions. During the life of the writer, the first two volumes were published. The third book was released after her death in 1897.
The first volume analyzed and juxtaposed various views on the origin of the universe. The second examined human evolution. It raised racial issues, and also explored the path of development of people as a biological species.
The last volume was a collection of biographies and teachings of some occultists. A great influence on the Secret Doctrine was made by the stanzas - verses from the Book of Jian, which were often quoted on the pages of the work. Another source of texture was the previous book, The Key to Theosophy.
The new publication was distinguished by a special language. The writer used a huge number of symbols and images generated by a variety of religions and philosophical schools.
The Secret Doctrine is a continuation of Isis Exposed. In fact, it was a deeper look at the issues outlined in the first book of the writer. And in working on a new edition of Blavatsky, her Theosophical Society helped.
The work on writing this monumental work was the most difficult test that Elena Blavatsky survived. Books published earlier did not take as much power as this. Numerous witnesses later in their memoirs noted that the author brought herself to complete frenzy, when one page could correspond up to twenty times.
Great help in publishing this work was provided by Archibald Keitley. He was a member of the Theosophical Society since 1884, and at the time of writing the book was the secretary general of his office in the UK. It was this man who personally edited a pile of sheets a meter high. Basically, the adjustments affected punctuation and some points that are important for the future publication. His final version was presented to the writer in 1890.
It is known that The Secret Doctrine was enthusiastically re-read by the great Russian composer Alexander Skryabin. At one time, theosophical ideas of Blavatsky were close to him. The man constantly kept the book on his desktop and publicly admired the writer's knowledge.
Last years
Blavatsky's activity in India was crowned with success. There were opened branches of the Theosophical Society, which was popular among the local population. In her last years, Elena lived in Europe and stopped traveling due to poor health. Instead, she began to write actively. It was then that most of her books came out. Blavatsky died on May 8, 1891 in London, after having been ill with a severe form of flu.