Writer Elena Blavatskaya - founder of the Theosophical Society. Biography, creativity

Writer Elena Blavatskaya was born July 31, 1831 in the city of Ekaterinoslav (present Dnepropetrovsk). She had a noble family tree. Her ancestors were diplomats and well-known officials. Elena's cousin - Sergei Yu. Vitte - was the Minister of Finance of the Russian Empire from 1892 to 1903.

Family and childhood

At birth, Elena Blavatsky had a German surname Gan, which she got from her father. Because 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 Nikifor Blavatsky - governor of Erivan province. However, the marriage did not last long. A few months after the wedding, Elena Blavatsky ran away from her husband, and then went to wander around the world. The first point of her journey was Constantinople (Istanbul).

Elena Blavatsky about Russia and her childhood in her homeland remembered with warmth. The family provided it with everything necessary, providing a quality education.

Traveling in youth

In the Turkish capital, the girl was engaged in the fact that she performed in the circus as a horsewoman. 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 the transfers sent to her by her father, Peter Alekseevich Ghana.

Since Elena Blavatsky did not keep a diary, her fate during the wanderings is traced quite vaguely. Many of her biographers disagree, where she managed to visit, and which routes were left only in rumors.

Most often, the researchers mention that in the late 40-ies the writer went to Egypt. The reason for this became the fascination with alchemy and freemasonry. Many members of the lodges had in their libraries books necessary for reading, among which were the volumes of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Nazarene Code, 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 associated, including "The Unmasked Isis". However, she will write books already in old age. In her youth, the girl gained experience and practical knowledge, living directly in the environment of different world cultures.

Arriving in Cairo, Elena went to the Sahara desert to study the Ancient Egyptian civilization. This people had nothing to do with the Arabs, who for several centuries had ruled the banks of the Nile. The knowledge of the ancient Egyptians spread to a wide variety of disciplines - from mathematics to medicine. It was they who became the subject of scrupulous study by Elena Blavatsky.

After Egypt there was Europe. Here she surrendered to 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 was in London. There she managed to meet the real Hindu for the first time. They were Mahatma Moriya. True, until today no evidence has been found for the existence of this man. Perhaps he was the illusion of Blavatsky, who practiced various esoteric and theosophical rites.

Anyway, Mahatma Moriya became the source of inspiration for Elena. In the 50's, she was in Tibet, where she studied local occultism. According to different estimates of the researchers, Elena Petrovna Blavatsky stayed there for about seven years, periodically traveling on trips to other parts of the world, including the US.

Formation of theosophical doctrine

It was in those years that the doctrine was formed, which Elena Petrovna Blavatskaya professed and propagated 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 the limits of science, which are accessible only to the elect and enlightened. It was a form of religious syncretism - a mixture of many cultures and myths of different peoples in one teaching. This is not surprising, because Blavatsky absorbed the knowledge of many countries, where she had time to visit in his youth.

The greatest influence on Elena was provided by Indian philosophy, which developed in isolation for many millennia. Also Blavatsky's Theosophy included Buddhism and Brahmanism, popular among the peoples of India. In her teaching Elena used the terms "karma" and "reincarnation". Teosophy teaching influenced such famous people as Mahatma Gandhi, Nicholas Roerich and Vasily Kandinsky.

Tibet

In the 50 years, Russia was periodically (so to speak, visited) by Elena Blavatsky. Biography of the woman surprised the local audience. She conducted large- scale spiritualistic sessions, which became popular in St. Petersburg. In the early 60's a woman visited the Caucasus, the Middle East and Greece. At the same time, she tried to organize a society of followers and like-minded people for the first time. In Cairo, she set to work. Thus appeared the "Spiritual Society". However, it did not last long, but it became another useful experience.

Then followed another long trip to Tibet - then Blavatsky visited Laos and the Karakoram Mountains. She managed to visit the closed monasteries, where no one Europeans stepped foot. But Elena Blavatskaya became such a guest.

The women's books contained many references to the culture of Tibet and life in Buddhist temples. It was there that the valuable materials included in the "Voice of Silence" were received.

Acquaintance with Henry Olcott

In the 70s, Elena Blavatsky, whose philosophy became popular, began the activities of a preacher and spiritual teacher. Then she moved to the United States, where she obtained citizenship and underwent the naturalization procedure. At the same time, her main ally becomes Henry Steel Olcott.

He was a lawyer who received the rank of colonel during the Civil War in the United States. He was appointed to the post of commissioner of the military ministry to investigate corruption in companies supplying ammunition. After the war he became a successful lawyer and a member of the New York College, which enjoys authority. 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 to start a writing career when the woman began to write the manuscripts of the Unmasked Isis.

Theosophical Society

November 17, 1875, Elena Blavatsky and Henry Olcott founded the Theosophical Society. His main goal was to unite like-minded people around the world, regardless of race, gender, caste and faith. For this purpose, activities have been organized to study and compare different 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 fixed in the charter of the Theosophical Society.

In addition to the founders, many well-known persons joined him. For example, it was Thomas Edison, entrepreneur and inventor, William Crookes (president of the Royal Society of London, chemist), French astronomer Camille Flammarion, astrologer and occultist Max Handel, etc. The Theosophical Society became a platform for spiritual disputes and disputes.

Start of writing

To spread the teachings of their organization, Blavatsky and Olcott in 1879 went to India. At this time Elena's writing activity is flourishing. Firstly, a woman regularly publishes new books. Secondly, it has established itself as a deep and interesting publicist. Her talent was also appreciated in Russia, where Blavatsky was published in the Moscow Gazette and the Russian Gazette. At the same time she was the editor of her own journal The Theosophist. In it, for example, for the first time a translation into English of the chapter from Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov appeared. It was a parable about the Grand Inquisitor - the central episode of the last book of the great Russian writer.

Travel Blavatsky formed the basis of her memoirs and travel notes published in various books. For example, the works "Mysterious tribes on the blue mountains" and "From the caves and hills of Hindustan". In 1880, Buddhism became a new object of research conducted by Elena Blavatsky. Comments on her works were published in a variety of newspapers and collections. In order to learn about Buddhism as much as possible, Blavatsky and Olcott went to Ceylon.

"Unmasked Isis"

"Unmasked Isis" 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, and so on.

In addition, Isis considered religious teachings: Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism. At first the book was conceived as an overview 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 announcement of the establishment of the movement was announced in New York, intensive work began on the writing of the book. Blavatsky was actively assisted by Henry Olcott, who at that time became her main companion and companion.

As the former lawyer himself recalled, Blavatsky never worked with such zeal and endurance. In fact, she summarized in her work all the multifaceted experience gained over many years of travel to different corners of 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 Coverlet of Isis. However, the British publisher, working on the first edition, found out that a book with this name had already been published (it was a common Theosophical term). Therefore, the final version of "The Unmasked Isis" was adopted. In it, Blavatsky's youthful interest in the culture of Ancient Egypt was reflected.

The book had many ideas and goals. For many years the researchers of Blavatsky's work 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 in itself the largest number of sources on theosophy and occultism that existed in the literature before. And this meant that the reader could come 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 Sienkiewicz (one of the most authoritative researchers of the bibliography of Blavatsky) in his own way formulated the main message of the "Unmasked Isis". In his work on the biography of the writer, he explained that this book is a model 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 managed to prove the existence of non-material substances.

Particular attention is paid to secret communities. They are Masons and Jesuits. Their knowledge became a fertile soil, which was used by Elena Blavatsky. Quotations from the Isis later began to appear in large numbers in the occult and theosophical writings of her 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 foreword the author explained that the conflict between these two schools is the key to understanding the world order.

Blavatsky criticized the thesis of scientific knowledge that there is no spiritual principle in man. The writer tried to find him through various religious and spiritual teachings. Some researchers of creativity Blavatsky 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 being hypocritical about their own teaching. In other words, Blavatsky declared that the adepts betrayed their origins (the Bible, the Koran, etc.).

The author examined the teachings of known 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 various readers. But this did not stop her from gaining cult popularity from another part of the audience. It was the success of the "Unmasked Isis" 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, the author of which was the same Elena Blavatsky. The biography of this woman says that it was a successful attempt to combine under the same cover numerous theosophical researches. The main source of inspiration for the "Voice of Silence" was the presence of a writer 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 began to texturally describe the Buddhist teachings. There is a detailed analysis of such terms as "Krishna", or "Higher Self." Most of the book was in Buddhist style. However, it was not an orthodox exposition of this religion. In it there was a mystical component customary for Blavatsky.

This work has become particularly popular with Buddhists. He survived many reprints in India and in Tibet, where for many researchers he became a reference book. It was highly appreciated by the Dalai Lama. The last of them (by the way, now living) himself wrote the preface for the "Voice of Silence" on the one hundredth anniversary of the first edition. This is an excellent foundation for those who want to understand and understand Buddhism, including the Zen school.

The book was presented to the writer Leo Tolstoy, who in his later years studied intensively all kinds of religions. A gifted copy is now kept 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 of the present in his publications, where he compiled wise excerpts from the books that influenced him (For Every Day, The Thoughts of Wise People, The Circle of Reading). Also the writer in one of his personal letters reported that the "Voice of Silence" contains a lot of light, but also touches on issues that a person is not able to cognize at all. It is also known that Tolstoy read the journal The Theosophist by Blavatsky, who greatly valued what he said in his diary.

The Secret Doctrine

"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 published already after her death in 1897.

The first volume analyzed and compared different views on the origin of the universe. The second considered human evolution. It touches on racial issues, and explores the way people develop 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 rendered by stanzas - verses from the Book of Dzian, which were often quoted in 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.

"Secret Doctrine" was the continuation of "The Unmasked Isis." In fact, it was a deeper look at the questions outlined in the first book of the writer. And in the work on the new edition of Blavatsky was assisted by her Theosophical Society.

The work on writing this monumental work was the most difficult test that Elena Blavatsky experienced. Books published earlier did not take as much energy as this. Numerous witnesses later in their memoirs noted that the author was leading herself to complete frenzy, when one page could correspond up to twenty times.

Archibald Keithley provided tremendous assistance in publishing this work. He was a member of the Theosophical Society since 1884, and at the time of writing the book was the general secretary of his branch in the UK. It was this man who personally edited the stack of sheets in meters. Most of the adjustments have affected the punctuation and some points important for the future edition. His final version was presented to the writer in 1890.

It is known that the "Secret Doctrine" enthusiastically re-read the great Russian composer Alexander Skryabin. At one time he was close to the theosophical ideas of Blavatsky. The man kept the book on his desk and publicly admired the writer's knowledge.

Last years

The activities of Blavatsky in India were crowned with success. There were opened branches of the Theosophical Society, which was popular with the local population. In recent years, Elena lived in Europe and stopped traveling because of deteriorating health. Instead, she began to write actively. That's when most of her books come out. Blavatsky died May 8, 1891 in London, after being ill with a severe form of flu.