The Silent Treatment: Helena P. Blavatsky's The Voice of the Silence and the Construction of Theosophical Scripture
The matriarch of Theosophy, Helena P. Blavatsky (1831–1891), wrote a short devotional text called The Voice of the Silence (1889) towards the end of her life that she intended as scripture and which has been endorsed with enthusiasm by individuals both within and outside the parent Theosophical Soci...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Californiarnia Press
2024
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| In: |
Nova religio
Year: 2024, Volume: 27, Issue: 4, Pages: 5-30 |
| Further subjects: | B
Helena P. Blavatsky
B Theosophical Society B New Religious Movements B Light on the Path B Mabel Collins B Scripture B Kundalini B The Voice of the Silence B iddhis(siddhis) |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The matriarch of Theosophy, Helena P. Blavatsky (1831–1891), wrote a short devotional text called The Voice of the Silence (1889) towards the end of her life that she intended as scripture and which has been endorsed with enthusiasm by individuals both within and outside the parent Theosophical Society. This article approaches the production of The Voice of the Silence as a case study in the construction of scripture, outlining the work’s doctrines (particularly regarding kundalini and the higher idhhis), describing the controversies that impelled Blavatsky to publish it, and exploring some of her key literary sources. It reveals that Blavatsky strategically rewrote an earlier publication, Light on the Path (1885), by the English Theosophist Mabel Collins (1851–1927). Blavatsky enriched her writing of The Voice of the Silence with material taken from a handful of articles on Hindu thought, including Yoga, written by Indian Theosophists and others. She responded to challenges to her authority by producing a new Theosophical scripture that addressed issues of spiritual and temporal power. |
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| ISSN: | 1541-8480 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Nova religio
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/nvr.2024.a929278 |