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10 - Reception of occultism in India: the case of the Holy Order of Krishna

Henrik Bogdan
Affiliation:
University of Gothenburg
Henrik Bogdan
Affiliation:
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Gordan Djurdjevic
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada
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Summary

“Do what thou wilt,” then, is the categorical imperative of the Hindu-Yogi Philosophy.

(Bhikshu 1928)

If then the West would take a leader for their occult rejuvenation we would recommend Crowley as the one man that can unite and equilibrate the magic symbols of East and West.

(The Kalpaka, September 1929)

The discussion of the term “Western” in Western esotericism – and by extension the Western understanding of occultism - often focuses on the various problems connected to the construct of the “West”, and the tendency among a number of scholars to exclude traditions that are viewed as being non-Western, such as Jewish and Islamic forms of esotericism, but also various Eastern traditions. Yet, it is evident that non-Western traditions have exerted a profound influence on Western esotericism and occultism. A case in point is, of course, the theosophy of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–91) and Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907), which to a large extent can be described as a Western interpretation of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, set within the context of nineteenth-century occultism. In this chapter I would like to discuss the other side of the encounter of occultism with Eastern spiritual practices, that is the migration of occultism into a Hindu context.

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Publisher: Acumen Publishing
Print publication year: 2013

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