Isis Unveiled: Secrets of the Ancient Wisdom Tradition, Madame Blavatsky's First Work

by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

Book Overview

Creating a sensation when it was first published in 1877, the first major work by the young Russian noblewoman who would found the Theosophical Society devoted 1200 pages to the mysteries of ancient and modern science and theology. This new edition abridged by Theosophical scholar Michael Gomes breathes fresh life into this classic of Western esoteric thinking. Stripped of its lengthy quotations from other writers and its repetitious commentary, Isis...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0835607291
• ISBN13: 9780835607292
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Quest Books (IL)
• Length: 291 Pages
• Weight: 1.11 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Great Introduction - but not the method itself

This book is an awe inspiring introduction to the largely ignored esoteric knowledge and history that weaves throughout human history. Blavatsky delivers to humanity a potent clue toward much that is unknown by common people. Those who have read her works develop a new appreciation and respect for mystical traditions the world over and gain more discriminatory thinking, as they are less likely to buy the mass illusion spun by our modern culture. Fortunately, the interested student doesnt have to stop there; previously, those who were inspired by Blavatsky and other such writers were left to struggle with learning how to incorporate such knowledge or discover how to access it themselves, and because she and all other true initiates were unable to reveal the direct and practical instruction that any student would require in order to enter the path, there were and are many who end in frustration, unable to access the experiences and knowledge they crave so much. This is a great tragedy, but it is no longer necessary. This all changed in 1950 when Samael Aun Weor began publishing his works. His works are not erudite, full of bibliographic references or in depth historical analysis: his works are entirely practical, as he was the first initiate duly authorized to reveal to humanity what had always previously been hidden. Thus his works are full of techniques and instruction that every student can use in order to discover in themselves the truths expressed by all the great teachers of humanity. Thus his teachings have spread so thick in the Spanish-speaking countries that you find small towns that don't even have a post office but they will have a Gnostic School. He was allowed to do so because this humanity has become so degenerated and caught in lies and deception that there is no other hope save to offer them a last chance by revealing the beauty of the Great Arcanum in order that some may redeem themselves of the suffering we are all trapped within. Try "The Doomed Aryan Race" or "The Mystery of the Golden Blossom." You can find his works at the Gnostic Institute zshop.

The 'religion' of the 21st C.

I can only concur with the verdict of the other reviewers. Blavatsky - and 'Theosophy' generally - have been grossly under-rated and unfairly reviled in recent decades, frequently judged according to ill informed caricatures and distortions. Hence, there is a misleading preconception of Theosophy as occult 'hoo-hah,'or else a kind of 'cosmic porridge' and mish mash of all religion. But there are reasons for thinking that the basic principles of 'theosophy'must be the ultimate 'form' that any truly modern 'religion' will take - because it has had the courage and vision enabling it to perceive that there are no monopolies on the truth. Although fleshed out in encyclopaediac detail, 'Isis Unveiled' and 'The Secret Doctrine' both endeavour to make this point. On purely doctrinal terms, of course, nose against the page, one could spend an eternity - trying to figure out where the world's religious traditions truly converge. But by and large, organised or instutionalised religions have been loathe to relinquish their claim to monopolies on the truth. Blavatsky was very far-sighted in this respect, for her work prefigured the wider search for inter-faith understanding, which characterised the more promising features of religious renewal in the 20th c. Hence, Blavatsky's work has renewed significance and added meaning, at the beginning of a new century - and millennium. While fresh and lively thirty years ago, the search for spiritual alternatives and spirituality fit for a 'new age' has seen conservative reactions setting in. Doctrines once embraced by us - because of a perceived 'open-endedness' - have have since spawned some pretty rigid neo-orthodoxies, born of the the urge to make a fortress of the truth - and bolt the door shut against the rest of reality. Let's not forget the open-mindedness of people like the late D.T. Suzuki - who widened the spiritual horizons by exploring the dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity. Indeed, Suzuki even touched on the parallels between Buddhism - and certain aspects of Islam (i.e. Sufi teachings). Idries Shah spotted the parallels, even hazarding the claim that Zen was in fact inspired by Sufi influences, in part relying on old Chinese legends describing Bodhidharma as a Persian. In view of the Middle East crisis and those who forsee a 'clash of civilisations' - there is something to be said for Blavatsky's ideas, because the only answer is to keep widening the horizons. Come on guys! Let's get out of the religious closets - and live in the bare light of the truth! For all the detail heaped up in Blavatsky's writings, the ultimate point of it all - is to make us conscious of this central, underlying truth. We could make the 'New World' into another Alexandria, in which - rather than producing friction and tension, ethnic and religious diversity serve to richen the human spirit and community.As a multi-ethnic society, united in principle by a common constitution, the New World is - in embryo, a social and sp

"There is no religion higher than Truth."

This is one of the few books that humble me when I contemplate it. Rather, Madam Blavatsky's knowlege and intellect humbles me. Take just about any "newly rediscovered" esoteric topic of any worth and you will most probably find it explained in considerable detail in either this work or _The Secret Docrine_. I am dismayed that so few people, or biliographies, give credit to Madam Blavatsky, or to the Theosophical Society that she founded. I guess we are just too "quaint" and "old-fashion" for the "New Age." There is just too much encyclopedic knowlege here to simply read through from scratch. You need to work up to it. Try a introductory text like _Ocean of Theosophy_ by William Q. Judge. However, do not be afraid to pick up either volume and simply "browse." I still do this after all these years- and I am still surprised and amazed at what I find. One further thing, there has been a considerable amount of character assassination against Madam Blavatsky in the last few years. The authors that have penned these attacks have no understanding of the matters that they address. First of all, no one was a stronger critic of seances than Madam Blavatsky. Secondly, the Society has always held that one should never charge money for spiritual matters. As for the ad hominem attacks that she was grossly obese, well, this is the lowest form of slander and doesn't deserve comment. Simply take a look at any of the surviving photographs to see the truth. Concerning attacks on Theosophical concepts such as the "seven races" and "seven globes", just keep in mind that the perenial philosophy holds that the highest part of what makes up a person pre-exists on a higher plane- and will return there after we cross over. Just remember the old gnostic concept of "seven heavens." Literalism is a mistake in theosophy, just as it has proven in fundamentalist Christianity.

isis unveiled

I first read this book some thirty years ago and have reread it often. Combine it with Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine, Alice Bailey's Treatise on Cosmic Fire, Manley Hall's Secret Teachings of All Ages, and Douglas Baker's Esoteric Astrology and Dictionary of Astrology and you have just about the sum total of western knowledge worth knowing.

Great for anyone that seeks the real story of spirituality

Isis is a wonderful book that makes anyone, entering the 21st century, think of our real human being condition and the destiny of human race. Written so many decades ago, it retains the Blavatsky's wisdom and, if not so unveiled as the title states, opens a new vision to our past and, surely, our bright future.