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Rating: 
Summary: Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Review: First published in 1889 in France, "The Great Initiates" (TGI) reflects the author's lifelong quest for spiritual truth along the myriad byways of mythology and esoterica. According to the book's introductory biography, the author had experienced a "divine vision" in the cathedral of Strausbourg as a young boy shortly after the death of his mother. Orphaned in his youth, he later dedicated himself to recreating the sacred drama found in the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece for the purpose of modern consumption. The efforts of this calling, the author was convinced, would rekindle the spiritual awareness of the ancient world in what he considered to be the vacuous materialism of modern society. It was from a subsequent series of "visitations" that the author embarked upon what became a ten-year literary effort, which culminated with his list of the top seven prophets of all time: Rama, Krishna, Hermes, Moses, Orpheus, Pythagoras, and Jesus. The author had been made aware of the common source of spiritual illumination disseminated through these great initiates, whose all-encompassing theme includes such doctrines as reincarnation, panentheism, henotheism, and the "divine spark" within man. However, this prosaic sojourn is launched from the shores of incredulity. Chapter One considers the origins of humanity "according to esoteric traditions" (p. 36). Human civilization first began about five thousand years ago with the red race, having thrived on the "southern continent [i.e., Plato's Atlantis], while all of Europe and part of Asia were still under water" (37). This ill-fated journey forges on, plowing through the rolling waves of implausibility first by redefining mythology, then by rewriting history. Krishna becomes the "first of the Messiahs," the "eldest of the sons of God" (p. 79). Hence, with TGI's treatise on Krishna we see a pattern of messianic similitude emerge through parallel accounts of the Gospels' Virgin Birth (Chapter 8), the Sermon on the Mount (p. 111-112), the Good Samaritan (p. 112), the miraculous catch of fishes (p. 112), a woman anointing his feet (p. 114), and the triumphal entry into the temple city (p. 115-116). Moreover, Krishna is seen as having volunteered himself to be sacrificed as a reconciliatory offering, allowing his foes to tie him to a tree and pierce him with arrows in the chest. However, as Hindu scriptures have it, Krishna was incarnated as the seventh son of a married couple named Devaki and Vasu-deva, and was killed by a hunter who mistook him for a deer and shot him in the heel with a magic-laced arrow. TGI's normalization efforts continue by making Moses out to be a blood relative of Rameses and an initiate of Osiris (p. 172), whose Egyptian name was Hosarsiph (p. 178). Upon emerging from a ritual-induced coma to expatiate the murder of an Egyptian guard, the reborn visionary took to the desert with his new name Moses which, according to esoteric wisdom, means "The Saved One" (p. 186). Although TGI does not care to enlighten us as to which language this translation stems from, we know for sure that it was not taken from the Hebrew, in which Moses' name means "drawn out of the water," which is precisely what Pharaoh's daughter had done when she adopted the infant Moses (Exodus 2:10). But never mind that TGI lacks linguistic finesse, for a true understanding of Genesis is at hand. Having been so heavily influenced by Egyptian culture, Moses had originally written Genesis in hieroglyphics, the language of choice for those whose intentions are to embed multiple and hidden meanings into their prose. Alas, all but the "shallowest" of meanings were lost through subsequent translations, and Moses' original intent can now only be meted out with the aid of Kaballistic decoder rings and a little guidance from the learned. On a more tangible note, esoteric history has it that Moses led the Exodus with little resistance during an opportunistic time when Pharaoh Menephtah was predisposed to repelling an advancing Lybian army (p. 204-205). While there is no record of any Menephtah, there was a Pharaoh named Merneptah (1212-1202 B.C.), son of Seti I, who had defeated invaders from the Aegean Sea and had desolated Israel in the process. More down-to-earth historians have it that the Pharaoh of the Exodus was probably either Amunhotep II (ca. 1446 B.C.) or Rameses II (ca. 1290 B.C.). Last but not least, the good ship TGI ventures into stormy waters as it reinvents Jesus to render him worthy of the initiate's crown. The pre-existence of reincarnated souls is promulgated through Jesus by taking John 8:58 out of context (p. 427). It was through membership in the Essene cult that Jesus learned the esoteric teachings of Krishna, Osiris, Orpheus, and Pythagoras during his young adulthood (p. 438). Forget that no particular reason is given as to why a person brought up in an orthodox Jewish home would not have reviled these pagan teachings, and would have embraced the apocryphal Book of Enoch with great enthusiasm, from which the Essenes drew their knowledge regarding the Son of Man (p. 439). And wouldn't you know it, just as was the fate of Moses' contributions to higher meaning, the deeper esoteric teachings of Jesus were lost to antiquity by the second-century compilers of the Synoptic Gospels. No wonder, then, that much clarification is in order; it seems that the heavenly beings observed by the three apostles during the Transfiguration were not Moses and Elijah as recorded in the Gospels, but the six initiates that had preceded Jesus (p. 473)! Cap these novel concepts with denials of the Virgin Birth, the bodily resurrection, and the Second Coming, and our final destination emerges upon the horizon before us. However, there comes a time when some passengers aboard a ship without sails or a rudder may want to consider abandoning ship and taking their chances in the dinghy, for the captain of this cruise is of the opinion that, in addition to the initiate Jesus, angels have the power to forgive (p. 460). Imagine that.
Rating: 
Summary: A Theosophical Treatise
Review: First published in 1889 in France, "The Great Initiates" (TGI) reflects the author's lifelong quest for spiritual truth along the myriad byways of mythology and esoterica. According to the book's introductory biography, the author had experienced a "divine vision" in the cathedral of Strausbourg as a young boy shortly after the death of his mother. Orphaned in his youth, he later dedicated himself to recreating the sacred drama found in the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece for the purpose of modern consumption. The efforts of this calling, the author was convinced, would rekindle the spiritual awareness of the ancient world in what he considered to be the vacuous materialism of modern society. It was from a subsequent series of "visitations" that the author embarked upon what became a ten-year literary effort, which culminated with his list of the top seven prophets of all time: Rama, Krishna, Hermes, Moses, Orpheus, Pythagoras, and Jesus. The author had been made aware of the common source of spiritual illumination disseminated through these great initiates, whose all-encompassing theme includes such doctrines as reincarnation, panentheism, henotheism, and the "divine spark" within man. However, this prosaic sojourn is launched from the shores of incredulity. Chapter One considers the origins of humanity "according to esoteric traditions" (p. 36). Human civilization first began about five thousand years ago with the red race, having thrived on the "southern continent [i.e., Plato's Atlantis], while all of Europe and part of Asia were still under water" (37). This ill-fated journey forges on, plowing through the rolling waves of implausibility first by redefining mythology, then by rewriting history. Krishna becomes the "first of the Messiahs," the "eldest of the sons of God" (p. 79). Hence, with TGI's treatise on Krishna we see a pattern of messianic similitude emerge through parallel accounts of the Gospels' Virgin Birth (Chapter 8), the Sermon on the Mount (p. 111-112), the Good Samaritan (p. 112), the miraculous catch of fishes (p. 112), a woman anointing his feet (p. 114), and the triumphal entry into the temple city (p. 115-116). Moreover, Krishna is seen as having volunteered himself to be sacrificed as a reconciliatory offering, allowing his foes to tie him to a tree and pierce him with arrows in the chest. However, as Hindu scriptures have it, Krishna was incarnated as the seventh son of a married couple named Devaki and Vasu-deva, and was killed by a hunter who mistook him for a deer and shot him in the heel with a magic-laced arrow. TGI's normalization efforts continue by making Moses out to be a blood relative of Rameses and an initiate of Osiris (p. 172), whose Egyptian name was Hosarsiph (p. 178). Upon emerging from a ritual-induced coma to expatiate the murder of an Egyptian guard, the reborn visionary took to the desert with his new name Moses which, according to esoteric wisdom, means "The Saved One" (p. 186). Although TGI does not care to enlighten us as to which language this translation stems from, we know for sure that it was not taken from the Hebrew, in which Moses' name means "drawn out of the water," which is precisely what Pharaoh's daughter had done when she adopted the infant Moses (Exodus 2:10). But never mind that TGI lacks linguistic finesse, for a true understanding of Genesis is at hand. Having been so heavily influenced by Egyptian culture, Moses had originally written Genesis in hieroglyphics, the language of choice for those whose intentions are to embed multiple and hidden meanings into their prose. Alas, all but the "shallowest" of meanings were lost through subsequent translations, and Moses' original intent can now only be meted out with the aid of Kaballistic decoder rings and a little guidance from the learned. On a more tangible note, esoteric history has it that Moses led the Exodus with little resistance during an opportunistic time when Pharaoh Menephtah was predisposed to repelling an advancing Lybian army (p. 204-205). While there is no record of any Menephtah, there was a Pharaoh named Merneptah (1212-1202 B.C.), son of Seti I, who had defeated invaders from the Aegean Sea and had desolated Israel in the process. More down-to-earth historians have it that the Pharaoh of the Exodus was probably either Amunhotep II (ca. 1446 B.C.) or Rameses II (ca. 1290 B.C.). Last but not least, the good ship TGI ventures into stormy waters as it reinvents Jesus to render him worthy of the initiate's crown. The pre-existence of reincarnated souls is promulgated through Jesus by taking John 8:58 out of context (p. 427). It was through membership in the Essene cult that Jesus learned the esoteric teachings of Krishna, Osiris, Orpheus, and Pythagoras during his young adulthood (p. 438). Forget that no particular reason is given as to why a person brought up in an orthodox Jewish home would not have reviled these pagan teachings, and would have embraced the apocryphal Book of Enoch with great enthusiasm, from which the Essenes drew their knowledge regarding the Son of Man (p. 439). And wouldn't you know it, just as was the fate of Moses' contributions to higher meaning, the deeper esoteric teachings of Jesus were lost to antiquity by the second-century compilers of the Synoptic Gospels. No wonder, then, that much clarification is in order; it seems that the heavenly beings observed by the three apostles during the Transfiguration were not Moses and Elijah as recorded in the Gospels, but the six initiates that had preceded Jesus (p. 473)! Cap these novel concepts with denials of the Virgin Birth, the bodily resurrection, and the Second Coming, and our final destination emerges upon the horizon before us. However, there comes a time when some passengers aboard a ship without sails or a rudder may want to consider abandoning ship and taking their chances in the dinghy, for the captain of this cruise is of the opinion that, in addition to the initiate Jesus, angels have the power to forgive (p. 460). Imagine that.
Rating:
Summary: A Theosophical Treatise
Review: From the perspective of each of the religions whose founders are discussed, this book will seem to be very inaccurate, even offending. The reader should understand that this book is not religion or theology, it is theosophy. Not that I am an expert in this area, but it seems to me that this book is an accurate representation of the beliefs of theosophists. The origin of the races, the meaning and significance of religious symbolism, the advent of individuals who could bring spiritual truth to mankind by a mystical process are all the tennents of theosophy. If you are an historian, this book can provide you an interesting view of theosophical beliefs, at least around the turn of the 20th century. Likewise if you are a theologian. Schure's descriptions of the life and process of the great persons he covers is worth reviewing because they were mystical persons or at minimum practiced mystical religions.
Rating: 
Summary: An insightfull and transcendent history
Review: Written in a relaxed narrative, Schure rolls out exactly what he promises, ' a study of the secret history of religions', Centered upon the primary charismatic genius of Rama, Krishna, Moses, Orpheus, Pythagorous, Plato, and Jesus Christ, Schure ties together a greatly compelling story of the history and manifestation of revelation and enlightenment in human history, A great read.
Rating:
Summary: An insightfull and transcendent history
Review: Written in a relaxed narrative, Schure rolls out exactly what he promises, ' a study of the secret history of religions', Centered upon the primary charismatic genius of Rama, Krishna, Moses, Orpheus, Pythagorous, Plato, and Jesus Christ, Schure ties together a greatly compelling story of the history and manifestation of revelation and enlightenment in human history, A great read.
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