the.com/theosophy
Mixing religion, mysticism, and science into one answer and calling it ancient wisdom.
means A spiritual philosophy claiming direct, mystical insight into the divine nature of reality, often blending ideas from multiple religions and esoteric traditions into one unified system.
from From Greek theos (god) and sophia (wisdom) — literally 'god-wisdom.' The term surfaces in late antiquity among Neoplatonist thinkers, then gets revived repeatedly by mystics who want a word for knowledge of the divine gained through direct insight rather than doctrine or reasoning. It becomes a proper noun in the 19th century when the Theosophical Society popularizes it as the name for their own syncretic blend of Eastern and Western esoteric teaching — which is the sense that stuck.
- founded by
- Helena Blavatsky, 1875, in New York City
- core claim
- all religions share one secret, lost truth
- big influence
- shaped Gandhi, Yeats, and modern New Age thought
- key text
- The Secret Doctrine, dense enough to deter skeptics