Female Initiates of the Christian Era: Madame Blavatsky, the messenger of the masters

.media

She reminded the world of the message that the voice of silence exists within each of us.

Text: Grupo de autores Logon-Brazil Image: Seven790612 via Pixabay

You may have never heard of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, but you should know that our understanding of the world probably would not be the same without the legacy of

03 September 2019

this Russian woman born in a noble family in 1831. She opened minds and hearts, rescued the faith of thousands, questioned centuries-old dogmas and pointed out what almost no one could see, being consecrated as one of the most extraordinary figures of the nineteenth century. She exerted great influence on artists such as the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, who translated into Portuguese one of the wisdom texts that she brought to the West (The Voice of the Silence), and on men of the stature of Gandhi, Mondriaan, Bernard Shaw, Aldous Huxley, among many others.

At a time when women had a secondary role in society and lacked full control over their lives, Blavatsky positioned herself ahead of her time. As a young woman, she broke a mistaken marriage and traveled the world searching for the Truth, diving into knowledge and cultivating spirituality.

Madame Blavatsky (as she was known) was a culturally well-developed and well-educated woman, who was a possessor of privileged intelligence. It is said that she had psychic powers rarely to be found in one single person. In Tibet, where one of her travels led her, she would have been instructed in secret teachings by initiates and teachers who entrusted her with the mission of rescuing genuine spirituality in a world that had become increasingly materialistic. To her, it would be possible to make alive again the very ancient spiritual traditions.

The initial step for this was given when she launched Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology. Published in New York in 1877, her first work astonished many intellectuals of the time, among religious, orientalists, and scientists. In this work, Madame Blavatsky gave convincing proof of having a deep understanding of the spiritual traditions of humanity, demonstrating knowledge of the esoteric teachings underlying all of them. With Isis Unveiled, she uncovered the invisible world and placed it before the general public.

Continuing her task, in 1888 she published The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy, which would come to be considered her masterpiece and would become a classic of esotericism. Until then, the esoteric knowledge coming from the East was little spread in the West, being restricted to a few circles. Also, it can be said that even in these circles the horizon was limited. Blavatsky's books, especially the two formerly cited, were a strong blow to the crystallized ideas of the time, an attack on the dogmatism and superstitions of religions, as well as the materialism that enriched science.

In this way, Blavatsky provoked an immense spiritual revolution in the world. She

rescued the genuine sense of Gnosis by continuing to write what she called the "history of the losers," in clear reference to the fact that the official Church had pursued the Gnostic sects existing since the dawn of Christianity and exterminated many of its adherents.

She devoted her life entirely to the dissemination of an inner work, which was the result of her own pursuit.

Blavatsky shows the characteristics of those initiated in the Universal Truth, and after more than a century of her passing, which occurred in 1891, it is relatively easy to synthesize her main achievements.

In order to arouse people's interest in a broader understanding of nature, she at first attracted their attention with demonstrations of her psychic powers. It was as if she said, "Look, I can explain more about this to you." She was always available, to the point, and clear. She exposed herself, and then she explained herself. In explaining herself, she explained the Universe, the Truth.

Later, she reminded the world of the message that the voice of silence exists within each of us, regardless of who or what we are. Each one can hear his or her inner voice, each one, in his or her singularity and contradictions, can listen to it. Attitude is at the same time the impulse, the will, and the surrender.

What, however, crowns her position as one of the great Initiates in the Universal Truth is the fact that she undeniably contributed to the formation of yet another link in the chain of Universal Fraternities. 

She helped to spread a true and spiritual understanding of the ancient Eastern teachings of the Seven Rishis, Hinduism, and Buddhism. And also she rekindled interest in the hermetic-gnostic mysteries and knowledge, opening the way for the emergence of various esoteric movements and Gnostic schools, among which is the Spiritual School of the Golden Rosycross.

The female figure of Helena Blavatsky stimulated a spiritual wave that led the world and prepared it for the Age of Aquarius, whose strength is calling the human being back to his/her original essence.

Sources:Helena P. Blavatsky - Isis Unveiled - A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology - Volume 1, 1995

Daniel Caldwell - The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky - Scenes of the Life of a Modern Sphinx, 2003Peter Huijs, Called by the World Heart, 2015."The rediscovery of Gnosis III". In: Pentagram Magazine, 2015, #3.