VI. Other Theosophical Lecture Series (1895-1930)

1893 The Theosophical Congress Held by the Theosophical Society at the Parliament of Religions, World's Fair of 1893, at Chicago, Ill., September 15, 16, 17. Report of Proceedings and Documents. New York: American Section Headquarters, Theosophical Society. Includes the following lectures by Besant: September 15: Theosophy As a System of Truths Discoverable and Verifiable by Perfected Men [also appears as 1893 pamphlet]; Karma, the Law of Causation, of Justice, and the Adjustment of Effects [also appears as 1893 pamphlet]. September 16: Theosophy and Modern Social Problems [also appears as 1893 pamphlet]; Theosophy and Ethics also appears as 1893 pamphlet; collected in 1912 Essays and Addresses, vol. 2: The Spiritual Life; reprinted in 1991 The Spiritual Life (Quest) and 1992 The Universal Law of Life (TPH)]; The Evolution of Man [collected in 1913 Essays and Addresses, vol. 3: Evolution and Occultism]. September 17: The Supreme Duty [collected in 1912 Essays and Addresses, vol 2: The Spiritual Life; reprinted in 1991 The Spiritual Life (Quest) and 1992 The Universal Law of Life (TPH).]

[1894 Melbourne Lectures. 1) The Dangers that Threaten Society; 2) The Evolution of Man; 3) Hypnotism and Mesmerism; 4) Reincarnation; 5) Theosophy and its Teachings. September 1894. Unpublished typescript.]

1895 The Birth and Evolution of the Soul. Lecture in two parts: 19 Avenue Road, London. TPS. [Extract reprinted in Theosophist (August 1897); collected in 1913 Essays and Addresses, vol. 3: Evolution and Occultism. Link is to 2nd ed. of 1903.]

1895 In the Outer Court. 1) Purification; 2) Thought Control; 3) The Building of Character; 4) Spiritual Alchemy; 5) On the Threshold. August 1895: Blavatsky Lodge, London. TPS. [1983 Quest Books reprint: From the Outer Court to the Inner Sanctum.]

1897 The Three Paths to Union with God. 1) Karma Marga; 2) Gynana Marga; 3) Bhakti Marga. October 19-21, 1896: Sixth Annual Convention of the Indian Section, Benares. TPS.

1898 Esoteric Christianity. 1) July 3, 1898: The Hidden Side of Religions; 2) July 17: The Trinity; Divine Incarnation; 3) July 24: The Atonement and the Law of Sacrifice; 4) July 31: Sacraments and Revelation; 5) August 7: Natural and Spiritual Bodies; Resurrection and Ascension. TPH [Not the same as 1901 Esoteric Christianity: The Lesser Mysteries; also published as separate pamphlets.]

[1899 The Ascent of Man. 1) Man as an Intelligent Entity (May 28, 1899: Queen’s Hall, London); 2) The Evolution of Form; 3) The Stage of the Savage; 4) The Stage of the Combatant. Unpublished in book form. Appears in Theosophist (February-April, June 1937).]

1899 Conférences de A. Besant à Paris en 1899. 1) La Sagesse antique; 2) Le Christianisme au point de vue théosophique; 3) L'ideal théosophique. Paris: Publications Théosophiques.

1899 Dharma; or The Meaning of Right and Wrong. 1) Differences; 2) Evolution; 3) Right and Wrong. October 25-27, 1898: Eighth Annual Convention of the Indian Section, Benares. TPS. [Link is to 3rd ed. of 1919.]

1901 Conférences du Congrès Théosophique de 1900. Three lectures by Besant, one by J. Chakravarti. 1) Spiritualité et psychism; 2) La science antique et la science moderne des émotions (Chakravarti); 3) Le but de la Société théosophique; 4) Les preuves de la Théosophie. Paris: Publications Théosophiques.

1902 The Three Paths and Dharma. TPS. [Combined edition of 1897 The Three Paths to Union with God and 1898 Dharma.]

1903 The Laws of the Higher Life. 1) The Larger Consciousness; 2) The Law of Duty; 3) The Law of Sacrifice. December 1902: 12th Annual Convention of the Indian Section, Benares. TPS.

1904 Theosophy and the New Psychology: A Course of Six Lectures. 1) The Larger Consciousness; 2) The Mechanism of Consciousness; 3) Sub-Consciousness and Super-Consciousness; 4) Clairvoyance and Clairaudience; 5) Telepathy; 6) Methods of Development. TPS.

[1904 The Dark Powers in Nature. 1) Their Work in Evolution; 2) The Judgement of Atlantis. Unpublished in book form. Appears in Theosophist (August-September 1937). June 1904: Blavatsky Lodge, London.]

1907 London Lectures of 1907. Queen’s Hall: 1) Psychism and Spirituality (June 16); 2) The Place of Masters in Religions (June 23); 3) Theosophy and the Theosophical Society (June 30). Blavatsky Lodge: 4) The Place of Phenomena in the Theosophical Society (June 13); 5) Spiritual and Temporal Authority (June 17); 6) The Relation of Masters to the Theosophical Society (July 4); 7) The Future of the Theosophical Society (July 11). Queen’s Hall, on taking office as President of the Theosophical Society: 8) The Value of Theosophy in the World of Thought (July 10) [Published as Mrs. Besant’s Presidential Address in Theosophical Review (August 1907)]; Essex Hall, Presidential Address to British Section of the Theosophical Society Convention: 9) The Field of Work of the Theosophical Society (July 7). TPS.

1907 Theosophical Lectures and Answers to Theosophical Questions. 1) Psychism and Spirituality; 2) The Place of Masters in Religions; 3) The Value of Theosophy in the World of Thought; 4) Theosophical Work in India; 5) Answers to Theosophical Questions. September 1907: Chicago. Chicago: Rajput Press. [The first lecture, Psychism and Spirituality, is identical in outline to, and different in detail from, the lecture of the same title in 1907 London Lectures.]

1908 Buddhist Popular Lectures. Delivered in Ceylon 1907. 1) At the Musaeus Girls’ School [The Education of Women]; 2) At the Ananda College: The Noble Eight-fold Path [reprinted in 1935 as Adyar Library Pamphlet Series, no. 192]; 3) At the Ananda College [Ideals]; 4) At the Public Hall [The Value of Theosophy]; 5) At Wijeyenande Vihare [The Five Precepts]; 6) At Galle [The Importance of Education in Building a Nation]; 7) November 27, 1907: At the Public Hall [collected in 1917 The Birth of New India as A Plea for the Simpler Life of the East]; 8) At Dharmarajah College [Building Character]. Ceylon. TPS.

1908 Australian Lectures 1908. 1) Theosophy and Christianity; 2) Do We Live on Earth Again? 3) Life after Death [reprinted in Adyar Bulletin (July 1908); and again in 1919 as Adyar Library Pamphlet Series, no. 99]; 4) The Power of Thought; 5) The Guardians of Humanity; 6) Nature’s Finer Forces [reprinted in 1918 as Adyar Library Pamphlet Series, no. 94]. Winter, 1908: Australia. Sydney: George Robertson.

1909 The Changing World and Lectures to Theosophical Students. Lectures to the Public: 1) The Deadlock in Religion, Science, and Art; 2) The Deadlock in Social Conditions: Luxury and Want Face to Face; 3) The New Doors Opening in Religion, Science, and Art; 4) Brotherhood Applied to Social Conditions; 5) The Coming Race; 6) The Coming Christ; 7) The Larger Consciousness and Its Value; 8) The Place of Theosophy in the Coming Civilisation (July 2, 1909: British TS Convention). Lectures to Theosophical Students: 9) The Sixth Sub-Race; 10) The Immediate Future [reprinted in 1910 as Adyar Popular Lectures Pamphlet Series, no. 15]; 11) The Catholic and the Puritan Spirit in the Theosophical Society: The Value and Danger of Each; 12) The Sacramental Life; 13) Address on White Lotus Day, 1909 [May 8, date of H. P. Blavatsky’s death]; 14) The Nature of the Christ (May 25, 1909: The Christo-Theosophical Society); 15) The Theosophical Student in the Face of Revelation, Inspiration, and Observation (July 4, 1909: British TS Convention) [Published posthumously in 1949 as pamphlet]. May-July 1909: London. TPS. [Index: 1910. Topical Index to the Changing World; Arranged by the Chicago Lodge, for the Use of Students. Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern. Link is to American ed. (Chicago: Theosophical Book Concern) of 1910.]

1910 Popular Lectures on Theosophy. 1) What Is Theosophy? 2) The Ladder of Lives; 3) Reincarnation: Its Necessity; 4) Reincarnation: Its Answers to Life’s Problems; 5) The Law of Action and Reaction; 6) Man’s Life in the Three Worlds. February-March, 1910: Adyar. TPS. [Also published as Adyar Popular Lectures Pamphlet Series, nos. 9-14.]

1911 The Immediate Future: Lectures Delivered in Queen’s Hall, London, 1911. 1) Impending Physical Changes (June 11); 2) The Growth of a World-Religion (June 18); 3) The Coming of a World-Teacher (June 25); 3) Social Problems: Self-Sacrifice, or Revolution? (July 2); 4) Religious Problems: Dogmatism, or Mysticism? (July 9). Fabian Society, Memorial Hall, London: 5) England and India. Assembly of the League of Liberal Christianity, Free Trade Hall, Manchester: 6) The Emergence of a World-Religion (Spring). TPS. [The second American edition, published by the Theosophical Press, Chicago, 1921, is not recommended: it drops the Foreword and Index, and in the process of resetting the type, a half dozen pages were garbled beyond readability with misplaced and wholly or partially repeated lines; the first American edition, published by the Rajput Press, Chicago, 1911, drops the Foreword, but retains the index, and appears to be otherwise consistent with the first British edition.]

1912 Initiation: The Perfecting of Man. 1) The Man of the World: His First Steps; 2) Seeking the Master; 3) Finding the Master; 4) The Christ-Life; 5) The Christ Triumphant and the Work of the Hierarchy; 6) Why We Believe in the Coming of a World-Teacher [also published as pamphlet]. March 1912: Queen's Hall, London. TPS.

1913 Man’s Life in This and Other Worlds. 1) Man's Life in the Physical World and the Meaning of Death; 2) Man's Life in the Astral World and after Death (November 17, 1912); 3) Man's Life in the Mental World and after Death; 4) The Spirit Who Is Man and the Spiritual Life. Victoria Town Hall, Madras. TPH. [Also published as Adyar Popular Lecture Pamphlet Series, nos. 22-25. The book simultaneously appeared in America under the title There Is No Death (Chicago, IL: Advanced Thought Publishers). The second lecture was republished in 1931 as Adyar Library Pamphlet Series, no. 156.]

1913 Super-Human Men in History and Religion. 1) Manifestation of Superhuman Beings in Our World (June 1, 1913: London); 2) Saviours of the World, or World-Teachers (June 15: Stockholm) [from Theosophist (September 1913)]; 3) “The Christ in Man” (June 17: Stockholm); 4) The Restoration of the Mysteries (June 8: London); 5) The Conditions of Intellectual and Spiritual Growth (June 15: Stockholm); 6) The Policy of The Theosophical Society (June 15: Stockholm; from the opening speech at the International Theosophical Congress) [from Theosophist (August 1913)]. TPS. [A fourth lecture in Stockholm, “The Christ in Man,” was lost due to the transcriber’s breakdown from overwork.]

1914 Mysticism. 1) The Meaning and Method of Mysticism; 2) The God-Idea [also published as 1914 pamphlet]; 3) The Christ-Idea; 4) The Man-Idea; 5) Interpretations. TPS.

1914 Theosophical Ideals and the Immediate Future. 1) Theosophy and Social Reform. Lecture of June 9, 1914: Kensington Town Hall, London. Other lectures by Laurence Houseman, Baillie Weaver, and Gertrude Colmore (Mrs. Baillie Weaver). TPS.

[1919 New Phases of Socialism. Six lectures. October-November, 1919. London: King's Hall, Covent Garden. Unpublished. Known only from printed program.]

1920 The Inner Government of the World. 1) Ishvara, the Builders of a Cosmos, the Hierarchy of our World, the Rulers, the Teachers, the Forces; 2) The Method of Evolution, the Building of Man, the Building of Races and Sub-Races, the Manus; 3) The Divine Plan, its Sections, Religions and Civilisations, the Present Part of the Plan. September, 1920: North Indian Convention of the Theosophical Society. TPH.

1920 The War and Its Lessons. 1) The War and the Builders of the Commonwealth (October 5, 1919); 2) The War and Its Lessons on Fraternity (October 12); 3) The War and Its Lessons on Equality (October 19); 4) The War and Its Lessons on Liberty (October 26). Queen’s Hall, London. TPH. [Also published as separate pamphlets.]

1921 Britain’s Place in the Great Plan. 1) The Inner Government of the World, or the Power that Makes for Righteousness; 2) The Outer Methods--The World’s Opportunity; 3) The Conflict of East and West; 4) The ideal of the Future. June-July, 1921: Queen’s Hall, London. TPH.

1922 Theosophical Christianity. Five Sermons. 1) The Christ Within (May 14, 1922); 2) The Initiations of the Christ (May 21, 1922); 3) The Value of Heaven (may 25, 1922); 4) The Risen and Ascended Christ (May 28, 1922); Man the Master of His Destiny (May 28, 1922). Liberal Catholic Church, Sydney, Australia. London: St. Alban Press.

1923 Brahmavidya: Divine Wisdom. Inaugural lectures for the Bhramavidyashrama. 1) Mysticism: God Manifesting as Will; 2) Religion: God Manifesting as Love; 3) Philosophy: God Manifesting as Understanding; 4) Literature and Art: God Manifesting as Beauty; 5) Science: God Manifesting as Knowledge; 6) Social Organisation: God Manifesting as Society. October 1922: Adyar. TPH. [Serialized in Theosophist in seven installments under separate chapter titles (January-July 1923).]

1924 Civilisation’s Deadlocks and the Keys. 1) Introductory; 2) The Religious Key; 3) The Educational Key; 4) The Scientific and Artistic Key; 5) The Key to a Human Society. June 1924: Queen’s Hall, London. TPH.

1925 World-Problems of To-day. 1) September 13, 1925: A Survey of World Conditions: Shall They Be Changed by Force or by Reason?; 2) September 30: The Problem of Colour; 3) October 7: The Problem of Nationality: To Whom Does a Nation Belong? National and International Morality; 4) October 14: The Problem of Education. Education and Culture: The Necessity of Beauty in the Life of a Nation; 5) October 21: The Problem of Capital and Labour: The Organisation of Production and Distribution; 6) October 28: The Problem of Government: Autocracy, Aristocracy, Democracy, Rights and Duties. Order or Chaos? Brotherhood or Death? London: Queen’s Hall. TPH. [Also published as pamphlets.]

1926 How a World-Teacher Comes, as Seen by Ancient and Modern Psychology. Four Lectures [no separate titles; the subjects are: 1) Introductory; 2) Eastern Evidence; 3) Western Evidence; 4) Superphysical Communication]. June-July, 1926: Queen’s Hall, London. TPH.

1926 The Theosophical Society and the Occult Hierarchy. Three lectures [no separate titles]. October 1925: Kensington Town Hall. [Subjects: 1) First stage in the life of the TS: Blavatsky and the Masters; 2) Second stage: Exoteric work, including regeneration of Buddhism, recovery of the Mysteries, coming of the World Teacher; 3) Third stage: Esoteric work, including the Esoteric Section and Co-Masonry. Appendix: The Esoteric Section.] TPH.

1927 Some American Lectures, to Members of the American Theosophical Society During the Annual Convention, Chicago 1926. 1) The Work of the Theosophical Society in Its First Half-Century; 2) The Work of the Theosophical Society in Its Second Half-Century; 3) Questions Propounded to and Answered by Dr. Annie Besant. Chicago: Theosophical Press.

1927 The New Civilisation. 1) The Crumbling of Civilisation; 2) The Religion of the New Civilisation; 3) Education in the New Civilisation; 4) Economics of the New Civilization. June 1927: Queen’s Hall, London. TPH.

[1928 An Empire of Force, or a Federation of Free Peoples. June-July: Queen’s Hall, London. 1) The Crumbling of the Empire of Force; 2) Foundations of the Federation of Free People; 3) Reconciliation of Independence and Unity; 4) A Vision of the Future. Unpublished.]

[1929 June: Four lectures at Queen’s Hall, London: 1) Not All of Me Shall Die; 2) The Facts of the Intermediate World; 3) The Facts of the Heavenly World; 4) The Return to the School of Life. Unpublished in book form. The first three lectures serialized in Theosophist (January, March-July 1931).]

1929 Five Sermonettes. 1) “God Is Love”; 2) “Love Casteth Out Fear”; 3) “I Am the True Vine”; 4) “Keep My Commandments”; 5) “God Is Bliss.” July 12-16, 1927: Liberal Catholic Church, Huizen, Holland. TPH.

1930 Theosophical World Congress Lectures. 1) Theosophy and World Conditions; 2) Right Civilisation. Lectures of August 1929: Chicago. TPH.