Esoterisch Onderricht in de Oosterse School

Stenographic records of the meetings of the Katherine Tingley Memorial Group

This book gives a picture of the special task that Gottfried de Purucker had to fulfill on behalf of the Masters of Wisdom, Compassion and Peace. As Leader of The Theosophical Society and Teacher of the Eastern School, he not only clarified the fundamental principles of Theosophy, but also corrected many misconceptions and erroneous ideas that had grown up over the years.
This publication is unique because of the translation of the original – by Gottfried de Purucker himself authorized – reports of several years of study of the Katherine Tingley Memorial Group, a branch of the Eastern School. Acquainting oneself with these profound, universal teachings of Theosophy places a great responsibility on the shoulders of the Teacher, as well as of the translator, publisher and especially: the reader. For the Esoteric Teaching in the Eastern School is in principle bound to severe discipline and training. In this light, to acquaint oneself with the contents means: to take upon oneself the obligation to make use of it for the benefit of all humanity, disregarding any personal advantages or disadvantages. For all who dare to accept this consequence, the contents will prove to be a true treasure trove. This publication is seeing the light of day precisely because only the knowledge of Theosophy can erect a dam against advancing materialism with all its excesses.
In over 1400 pages, an unmistakable explanation is given of the spiritual foundation of life. Gottfried de Purucker explains the often complicated technical teachings about man and his dwelling place, the universe, in his well-known clear and understandable way. The ancient and proven form of question and answer has been chosen for this. Not only has the book become very readable, due to the extensive table of contents and index it can also be used as a study book / reference work.
Many subjects that were considered difficult by students of the Eastern School were explained in more detail by G. de Purucker at a later stage, in the form of additional instructions. These explanations are also included in full in this publication, realized by the ISIS Foundation.

Gottfried de Purucker was Leader of The Theosophical Society until his death in 1942. In 1929 he succeeded Katherine Tingley as such, thus following the spiritual line of Leadership begun by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and continued by William Quan Judge and Katherine Tingley.
As the son of Swiss parents, G. de Purucker was born in the United States in 1874, after which he was educated in Geneva. During his education he specialized in classical and modern languages: Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Anglo-Saxon, Sanskrit, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and English, French, as well as German. Especially his great knowledge of Sanskrit – the 'Language of the Gods' – and Hebrew has proven to be of inestimable value in his theosophical work. In 1896 he met Katherine Tingley, at that time Leader of The Theosophical Society, who visited Geneva during her first world trip. After several major trips in South America he stayed in Paris for a few years. There he worked, among other things, on the editorial staff of the Daily Messenger. In 1903 he settled permanently at the International Theosophical Headquarters in Point Loma, California.
As Leader, G. de Purucker immediately began to work on an enlargement of The Theosophical Society, along lines previously agreed upon by him and Katherine Tingley. In 1931 G. de Purucker came to Europe and visited countries such as England, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, as well as the Netherlands.
Under his inspiring leadership, The Theosophical Society flourished to an unprecedented extent.

G. de Purucker is best known for many books that are still relevant today, such as Foundations of Esoteric Philosophy, Man in Evolution, Golden Rules of Esoteric Philosophy, HP Blavatsky: The Mystery, The Masters and the Path of Occultism, Clothed with the Sun, Death and Beyond, Occult Glossary and Wind of the Spirit (all available at Stichting ISIS). Other works by him are: The Esoteric Tradition, Studies in Occult Philosophy, Questions We All Ask and Messages to Conventions,

Table of contents
Part 1: Monads. Sambhala. Spiritual Will. Teachers and Chelas. Origin of Thought. Masters. Compassion. Karman. Cycles. Theosophical Movement. Construction of Planetary Chain.

Part 2: Manasaputras. Man is composite. Life wave. Nirvana. Consciousness is essence. Devachan. Sleep and death are one. Elementals. Spiritual awakening. Who are the Gods?