The Secret Doctrine: The Classic Work, Abridged and Annotated

Our lives are to explore various thoughts.. that jar our present constructs. We create, discover, explore, develop, and cultivate a greater variety of living fully and committed.

I took a class with Dr. Santucci, one of the leading scholars of Theosophical studies and editor of the journal "Theosophical History." I didn't really appreciate how big of a name Dr. Santucci is in the field until his name popped up in several of the books I was reading for this class, including Jocelyn Godwin's "Theosophical Enlightenment." Gomes was highly recommended by Dr. Santucci because of how thorough Gomes knowledge of the topic is and how long he has been studying and pursuing the topic.Frankly, after taking two different classes that focused heavily or exclusively on theosophy, I have personally decided I am not a fan of the Secret Doctrine; to say it is complex and obscure is putting it nicely and gently. Frankly, I find it makes little to no sense, and if it weren't for previous exposure to some key concepts of Hinduism, I would have been completely lost. That being said, the books and articles I read that were written by Gomes were the ones that made the most sense and were most clearly presented and seemed to have pulled from multiple sources to verify the information.If you are going to read "The Secret Doctrine" I would personally recommend getting this book first as an introduction, and then investing in the Keys to the Secret Doctrine (Golden Keys? I can't find the specific title I was looking for, if I find it I'll add it to this review later) and actual unabridged volumes of the Secret doctrine; if you dive head in, you may very well lose your mind.By the way, good luck!

Worth the read

I got this as a gift for someone who was interested in reading books by this author. He said it was interesting, but did mention that this is a condensed version of a much larger work (so just fyi). I was not aware of that when I ordered it. However the book was in great condition and arrived promptly in time for Christmas.

The person I gave this book to gave me a review to post here. They said that the book is insightful as to what is going on with religion today and why so many things are being done today. This book also explains why after World War II the Japanese were forced to remove all religious symbology from their daily lives.

This book was the major kick-start to the modern occult revival in the early 1900s. Very useful to the serious scholar. The print version is much easier to follow than the kindle version, due to the author's copious use of footnotes which often continue on to the next page, which on the kindle, interrupt the main text and cause some difficulty in following the thread.

Awesome Book. and even more amazing that Madame Blavatsky compiled this much information in the 1800's without a computer! This copy is edited and I have no complaints that a educated person condensed and explained and arranged the text for easier reading and understanding. A must for a person interested in ancient wisdom . Five stars. A must for any library.

Awesome book for those with an OPEN MIND. I Enjoy taking this book with little chunks at a time and how it applies to this universe and more specifically my own life. Highly recommend this for those who enjoy asking questions!