H.P. Blavatsky and the Secret Doctrine (Quest Book)

Rating:
Summary: Evolution and Involution: A Possible Convergence
Review: In this anthology of twenty-one essays, published as a companion volume to "An Abridgement of The Secret Doctine," editor Virginia Hanson brings together friendly perspectives on the still evolving significance of Blavatsky's monumental work of 1888. While the essays vary in quality and argumentative power, in consort they generate the sense that "The Secret Doctrine," when prunned of some of its outdated science, or even pseudo-science, still expresses an important and viable world-view that should be wrestled with by anyone interested in cosmology and human genesis. I have no doubts that H.P.B (as she is referred to in esoteric circles) was a genius of high order, although she many have had some borderline features that made her especially open to vibrations and forces that are otherwise outside of normal forms of awareness. Her culminating work was written under the impress of two Adepts who dictated passages to her or who showed her screen images of material they wanted transcribed. Were the Adepts (Koot Hoomi and Morya) actual living beings of supranatural wisdom (as she claimed),were they mental delusions (as many claim), or were they viable projections of her Self Archetype? I would argue that the last claim is certainly true, while the first might be true. The second claim seems to be without warrant, given the high calaber of the writing itself. One mark of the presence of the Self Archetype in a creative product is the unusually strong conjunction of coherence and power. This conjunction is well evident in "The Secret Doctrine." The essays in this book transform the basic categories of H.P.B. so that they can show their continuing relevance for science, the history of the visual arts, and theories of consciousness. Perhaps most difficult is the problem of reconciling the reigning neoDarwinian synthesis in biology, with its focus on random variation, natural selection, adaptability, and self-organization (for some theoriests) with H.P.B.'s thesis that all biological evolution is actually the result of a prior involution in which spiritual beings gradually become more and more encased in material shells. It is false to say that she simply rejected Darwin, as her views on his work are actually quite complex. But she felt that his conceptions had limited scope. Cosmic involution (the descent of spirit into matter) is temporally and ontologically prior to the more obvious mechanisms of biological evolution. Can these alternative views be joined together? Thinkers as diverse as Sri Aurobindo, the physicist Hugh Murdoch (in the anthology), and the physicist Amit Goswami, have argued that they can. The latter two thinkers use quantum theory in novel ways to show just how spirit can enter into certain moments of evolutionary openness to bring about the rare, but central, conjunction of involution (spirit) and evolution (matter). There are also some hints that H.P.B.'s cosmology might be friendly to quantum theory (especially quantum fluctuations), Big Bang genesis(which entails expanding space that is itself the definition of space), and, I might add, perhaps even superstring theory (not dealt with in this anthology as it antedates the theory). Of course, it is very hard to tie your star to any science that is always itself in an evolutionary development. Clearly, "The Secret Doctrine" has roots in classical Vedantic thinking and uses the "Vedas" and the "Upanishads" as sources to be taken with the utmost seriousness. H.P.B.'s thinking about karma, reincarnation, the human spiritual journey, and the nature of Brahman (what she calls the "Unknown Root"), are rich articulations of one of the major Hindu perspectives on these matters, i.e., that of Advaita (non-dual) Vedanta. So, whatever the validity of her scientific views, the underlying metaphysics is certainly one of the most honored conceptual and experiential perspectives in human history. Finally, the influence of "The Secret Doctine" is traced through literature (the Irish Renaissance) and the painting of Mondrian and Kandinsky. Professor John Algeo gives a masterful analysis of Kandinsky's manifesto, "Concerning the Spiritual in Art," as it was directly influenced by Blavatsky's works. He further shows how Kandinsky's theories on color and vibrations work out the principles of Blavatsky's cosmology. The only serious flaw in this anthology is the occasional attempt to contrast occult science with so-called materialist science. This leads, in one case, to a misguided effort to doubt the evidence of the fossil records to cast doubt on Darwin's theories. This is not necessary and only hurts the case of Blavatsky's claims. My sense is that with a lot of hard work, and some conceptual rethinking, Darwinian evolution can be shown to be on a different, but commensurate, path with her overall theory of cosmic and human involution. As I read H.P.B.'s books I am often reminded of Hegel's work, especially in his 1812 "Wissenschaft der Logic" (Science of Logic) where there is a similar story of the unfolding of involution and evolution in the self-directed momemtum of Absolute Spirit back into the material orders which it had initially dirempted from itself. "The Secret Doctrine" as retold in this anthology, is another such grand cosmic tale that has far more virtues than vices in its telling.

Rating:
Summary: Evolution and Involution: A Possible Convergence
Review: In this anthology of twenty-one essays, published as a companion volume to "An Abridgement of The Secret Doctine," editor Virginia Hanson brings together friendly perspectives on the still evolving significance of Blavatsky's monumental work of 1888. While the essays vary in quality and argumentative power, in consort they generate the sense that "The Secret Doctrine," when prunned of some of its outdated science, or even pseudo-science, still expresses an important and viable world-view that should be wrestled with by anyone interested in cosmology and human genesis. I have no doubts that H.P.B (as she is referred to in esoteric circles) was a genius of high order, although she many have had some borderline features that made her especially open to vibrations and forces that are otherwise outside of normal forms of awareness. Her culminating work was written under the impress of two Adepts who dictated passages to her or who showed her screen images of material they wanted transcribed. Were the Adepts (Koot Hoomi and Morya) actual living beings of supranatural wisdom (as she claimed),were they mental delusions (as many claim), or were they viable projections of her Self Archetype? I would argue that the last claim is certainly true, while the first might be true. The second claim seems to be without warrant, given the high calaber of the writing itself. One mark of the presence of the Self Archetype in a creative product is the unusually strong conjunction of coherence and power. This conjunction is well evident in "The Secret Doctrine." The essays in this book transform the basic categories of H.P.B. so that they can show their continuing relevance for science, the history of the visual arts, and theories of consciousness. Perhaps most difficult is the problem of reconciling the reigning neoDarwinian synthesis in biology, with its focus on random variation, natural selection, adaptability, and self-organization (for some theoriests) with H.P.B.'s thesis that all biological evolution is actually the result of a prior involution in which spiritual beings gradually become more and more encased in material shells. It is false to say that she simply rejected Darwin, as her views on his work are actually quite complex. But she felt that his conceptions had limited scope. Cosmic involution (the descent of spirit into matter) is temporally and ontologically prior to the more obvious mechanisms of biological evolution. Can these alternative views be joined together? Thinkers as diverse as Sri Aurobindo, the physicist Hugh Murdoch (in the anthology), and the physicist Amit Goswami, have argued that they can. The latter two thinkers use quantum theory in novel ways to show just how spirit can enter into certain moments of evolutionary openness to bring about the rare, but central, conjunction of involution (spirit) and evolution (matter). There are also some hints that H.P.B.'s cosmology might be friendly to quantum theory (especially quantum fluctuations), Big Bang genesis(which entails expanding space that is itself the definition of space), and, I might add, perhaps even superstring theory (not dealt with in this anthology as it antedates the theory). Of course, it is very hard to tie your star to any science that is always itself in an evolutionary development. Clearly, "The Secret Doctrine" has roots in classical Vedantic thinking and uses the "Vedas" and the "Upanishads" as sources to be taken with the utmost seriousness. H.P.B.'s thinking about karma, reincarnation, the human spiritual journey, and the nature of Brahman (what she calls the "Unknown Root"), are rich articulations of one of the major Hindu perspectives on these matters, i.e., that of Advaita (non-dual) Vedanta. So, whatever the validity of her scientific views, the underlying metaphysics is certainly one of the most honored conceptual and experiential perspectives in human history. Finally, the influence of "The Secret Doctine" is traced through literature (the Irish Renaissance) and the painting of Mondrian and Kandinsky. Professor John Algeo gives a masterful analysis of Kandinsky's manifesto, "Concerning the Spiritual in Art," as it was directly influenced by Blavatsky's works. He further shows how Kandinsky's theories on color and vibrations work out the principles of Blavatsky's cosmology. The only serious flaw in this anthology is the occasional attempt to contrast occult science with so-called materialist science. This leads, in one case, to a misguided effort to doubt the evidence of the fossil records to cast doubt on Darwin's theories. This is not necessary and only hurts the case of Blavatsky's claims. My sense is that with a lot of hard work, and some conceptual rethinking, Darwinian evolution can be shown to be on a different, but commensurate, path with her overall theory of cosmic and human involution. As I read H.P.B.'s books I am often reminded of Hegel's work, especially in his 1812 "Wissenschaft der Logic" (Science of Logic) where there is a similar story of the unfolding of involution and evolution in the self-directed momemtum of Absolute Spirit back into the material orders which it had initially dirempted from itself. "The Secret Doctrine" as retold in this anthology, is another such grand cosmic tale that has far more virtues than vices in its telling.