"Western" and "Eastern Wisdom". Anna Kingsford`s and Subba Row`s influence on the teaching of the Theosophy Society and the genesis of the Secret Doctrine.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Michael Bergunder
• Subject Area: Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
• Term: from 2012 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 226922402

The Theosophy Society was the preeminent esoteric association of the late 19th and early 20th century, which extensively defined the discourse on esotericism and had a global impact. In the year 1879, the Society, whose spiritual roots lay in European and American Spiritualism, relocated to India and based itself increasingly on Buddhist and Hindu teachings. As a result of this development, in 1888, a new systematic compilation of the Society`s doctrinal system under the title of the Secret Doctrine was published, which subsequently became the standard work of modern esotericism. Previous research has understood this development as though Theosophy reinterpreted its original western-orientated teachings in the spirit of the eastern teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism. The foundation of the project is the thesis that the sources present a much more complex picture, in which „East“ and „West“ do not so much turn out to be geographical references but rather strategic positionings.The two most important people, who confer legitimacy in these discussions of the early 1880s concerning the emergence of the „eastern“ and „western“ position, are examined. Anna Kingsford is considered the representative of a western Christian esotericism and the Indian Brahman, Subba Row, acted as the authentic Indian witness of the „eastern“ teachings. In the project, at first, as the necessary groundwork, both of their lives and works are analysed. Following on from this, their influence on the further formation of the Theosophy Society`s teaching in philological, concrete and ascertainable terms, whose provisional endpoint was reached in the Secret Doctrine, will be analysed. The results will also be relevant generally for a deeper understanding of the global discourse of the 19th century.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants