Finishing
Annie Besant biography. Biography of Anna Besant

Annie Besant biography. Biography of Anna Besant

Who is Annie Besant? We know her as a student and follower of Helena Blavatsky. Few people know more about this amazing woman - for example, that she was the president of the Theosophical Society. In addition, Annie is the author of a large number of theosophical works. We invite you to get acquainted in detail with the biography of Annie Besant and her work.

Biography

Annie was born in October 1847 in London. Her parents were followers of the Anglican Church, and therefore raised the girl in severity. Being an impressionable child, Annie embraced religion wholeheartedly. It is for this reason that Besant married a clergyman at the age of 19. However, the marriage was unsuccessful. Five years later, the couple separated. Annie abandoned religion because of internal contradictions: her sincerity and honesty awakened in her a protest against hypocrisy and stiffness.

An inquisitive mind and justice led the girl to socialism. She was greatly influenced by Charles Burrow, a popular public figure and leader of the socialist movement in England. Annie fought for the rights of the poor, did charity work. Thanks to her activities, canteens and hospitals for the poor were opened. There were also changes in my personal life. Annie Besant linked her life with an atheist and radical named Charles Bradlow.

New "faith"

For a long time, Annie was fascinated by the idea of socialism. She wrote passionate pamphlets and articles, was fluent in oratory. Annie was the leader of the socialist movement in England.

In addition to her main activity, Besant paid a lot of attention to self-education. The book of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky "The Secret Doctrine" did not pass by her. The synthesis of science, philosophy and religion interested Annie. She accepted this "religion" absolutely. Theosophy took over Besant. She began lecturing and publishing books. In 1907, Annie became head of the Theosophical Society and moved to India, where it was headquartered.

In the Theosophical Society, she did not leave charity. Her efforts contributed to the emergence of shelters and orphanages, food stations and hospitals.

Creative activity

As a writer, Annie was active. She has several dozen works to her credit, translated into different languages, including Russian. The books of Annie Besant are able to reveal to their readers the most secret depths of Divine wisdom. The writer calls to look for the Divine spirit not outside, but inside a person, and for this you need not only to believe and hope, but also to be convinced in his presence.

"Brotherhood of Religions"

One of the most interesting publications by Annie Besant is The Brotherhood of Religions. It is difficult to argue with the fact that so many religions have common features, which means, the writer assures, were given to people from one common source. That is, they have one goal - to help a person on the path to perfection. In the book, Annie cites passages from the scriptures collected from different peoples and testifying to the unity of the main religious movements.

"Ancient Wisdom"

For those who are just beginning to understand the intricacies of Theosophy, Annie Besant's book "Ancient Wisdom" will come to the rescue. Here, as simply as possible, the author introduces readers to the basics of mystical knowledge of God, reveals the essence of various laws, such as the law of karma, the law of reincarnation and the law of sacrifice. In addition, in the publication, a follower of Helena Blavatsky describes in detail the entire process of human ascent and introduces the structure of the cosmos.

In addition to the physical world, Annie argues, there are others. For example, astral, inhabited by natural elementals of five departments: earth, fire, water, ether and air. In Ancient Wisdom, Besant speaks of the temporary presence of people in this world. High-order creatures also live here. Another world is mental. It represents the realm of mind and consciousness. The mental world consists of the so-called matter of thought. Like the astral world, the mental world is inhabited by elementals and other beings. These creatures, according to Annie Besant, have vast knowledge, magnificent external form and incredible powers. In addition to these worlds, the author introduces readers to the buddhic, nirvanic and other, higher worlds.

For the first time this edition was translated into Russian in 1908 and published in the journal Theosophy Bulletin. Two years later, the book was published as a separate edition.

Does Theosophy Contradict Christianity?

Annie Besant answers this question in the book of the same name. According to the President of the Theosophical Society, if we consider Theosophy as a moral teaching and a philosophical system of thought, it is impossible to find anything in it that would be contrary to Christianity. On the contrary, Annie assures, people who profess Christianity can find help in this teaching, shed light on dark issues. In addition, theosophy is able to make faith higher and stronger.

"The Power of Thought"

In Annie Besant's book The Power of Thought, readers get acquainted with the nature of knowledge and cognition, their mechanisms. In addition, the author teaches them to develop memory, contemplate, educate the mind. After reading the book, one can experience restlessness and calmness, learn to communicate both with people and with God.

Having mastered the principles outlined in the book, the reader will be able to embark on the difficult path of unity with nature, and mental growth will accelerate several times! In addition, when creating your own world, Blavatsky's successor says, it is important to remember that circumstances always depend on a person's thoughts. Simply put, the law of the power of the mind is that a person is what he thinks. Thinking about insignificant things, people themselves become insignificant, and thinking about great things, people, on the contrary, rise.

"Thought Forms"

The fact that thoughts and desires affect not only a person’s life, but also the people around them, Annie Besant tells in the book Thought Forms. This study describes the power and nature of thoughts in vivid language, which means that it is perfect for readers who seek to understand these complex phenomena. This book has a large number of illustrations.

"Man and his body"

Man and His Bodies by Annie Besant is an introduction to Theosophy for beginners. It should be noted that it is very clear and concise. Without lengthy philosophical digressions, Anna describes all human bodies, the principles of their structure, and the features of their interaction. In addition, the author explains how to work with these bodies, and most importantly, why do it!

In his book, Annie writes that a person is a conscious "I", living and thinking. The bodies are the shells in which the "I" is enclosed. Through these bodies the individuality can function. It is worth noting that bodies are a temporary phenomenon, while the person himself is eternal, his soul develops and simply passes from one life to another, acquiring and leaving various bodies. Growth continues until a person reaches the highest level of consciousness - mental.

"Teaching of the Heart"

A simple book about the most important thing - that's how you can describe this edition of Annie Besant. What is it about? That love and spiritual life never diminishes. Most likely, the more and more actively they are spent, the more and stronger they become. And therefore, the author says from the pages of his book, you need to be in a state of joy and love, because joy is the main part of a person’s spiritual life.

As long as a person identifies himself only with the mind and body, not a single disturbance of the world can affect him. But as soon as there is a connection with the higher "I", a person is enveloped in great wisdom that controls the universe. And then any shocks will not be able to shake the inner harmony and peace that reigns in his soul.

Jiddu Krishnamurti
Annie Besant
Alice Bailey
Rudolf Steiner
Omraam Mikael Aivanhov
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff
Shri Rajneesh (Osho)

ANNY BEZANT (1847-1933)

Annie Besant. We know her as a student and follower of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, as the president of the Theosophical Society, as the author of many theosophical works. But her path to theosophy, to Divine wisdom, was full of inner struggle.

Annie Besant was born October 1, 1847, in England, in a family of zealous followers of the Anglican Church and was brought up in a strict religious spirit. Inquisitive, inquisitive and impressionable, she wholeheartedly accepted Anglicanism. The exalted structure of the religious young soul determined her ideal of life. A marriage to an Anglican priest followed, but the marriage was unsuccessful. Her inherent sincerity, inner honesty, raised a protest against the stiffness and hypocrisy of the Victorian rules of behavior supported by the church. A fierce inner struggle led to an outward rejection of religion. Annie Besant becomes an atheist.

A heightened sense of justice, an inquisitive mind, energy forced her to delve into the study of the theory of socialism. The leader of the socialist movement, the well-known public figure of England, Charles Burrow, of whom she became an employee, had a great influence on Annie Besant. She becomes a social reformer, and in the process her talent as an organizer is soon revealed. The struggle for the social rights of the poor captivated Annie Besant and highlighted all the bright features of her personality. Huge work on organizing charitable activities: collecting donations, opening canteens, hospitals for the poor. Speaking at meetings and rallies made the name of Annie Besant popular in London. The articles and pamphlets written by her were distinguished by sharpness of thought and passion. Her speeches were captivating, she was fluent in oratory. People were drawn to her, admiring her courage, brightness, and persuasiveness of her arguments. The articles were remembered by the figurativeness of the language, the severity of the style. Literary fame also came. Annie Besant became famous not only in London, but throughout England, becoming one of the leaders of the socialist movement.

Always devoting time to self-education, she did not miss the just published on English language The Secret Doctrine of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. The philosophical orientation of the mind of Annie Besant, the desire to get to the essence of phenomena prompted her to treat this theosophical work, which is a synthesis of religion, science and philosophy, with the deepest interest. The integrity and depth of the theosophical doctrine of the origin and evolution of the Cosmos and man, the truth of the teachings on the interconnection of all things as presented by Blavatsky conquered Annie Besant, a convinced socialist and ardent propagandist of atheism. Personal acquaintance with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, a deep study of the "Secret Doctrine", ancient esoteric postulates more and more convinced her of the need to radically change her life. A person known throughout England, at the head of the socialist movement, Annie Besant had to make her decision public, publicly announcing the change of ideals. Abandoning a prosperous career as a socialist leader, she publishes the pamphlet Why I Became a Theosophist, which traces all the stages of her internal struggle. Having withstood all the attacks and accusations, Annie Besant becomes an adherent of Theosophy.

The Theosophical Society, led by Blavatsky and located at that time in England, was going through hard times. The extraordinary personality of the president and the activities of the society were subjected to severe criticism both from official science and from representatives of the church. Annie Besant was not afraid of the opportunity to also become the object of criticism. On the contrary, with all her characteristic passion, she directs her extraordinary abilities to the rehabilitation of Theosophy.

Besant becomes not only a student of Blavatsky, but also an associate, and her brilliant organizational talent, her literary and oratorical gift are now manifested under the banner of Theosophy.

And here, in the Theosophical Society, the center of her activity is serving people, alleviating their lot. Again, Annie Besant deploys a wide network of charitable institutions - new shelters, food outlets, orphanages and hospitals are opening. This side of the activity won the popularity of the Theosophical Society and the gratitude to it from a huge number of people. The public recognition of the Theosophical movement also came.

The active creative activity of Annie Besant was aimed at popularizing the ideas of Blavatsky, at spreading theosophical views. She is driven by the conviction that "... for a person of ordinary mental development, with an ordinary education, accustomed to using reason in worldly affairs, to understand the main teachings of Theosophy as something coherent and synthesizing, nothing is required but unflagging attention and ordinary mental development". So Besant said in one of her many lectures.

A follower of Blavatsky, she defined Theosophy as a broad worldview, "... which is able to satisfy the mind as a philosophy and, at the same time, give the world a comprehensive religion and ethics ..." as "a single source from which all teachings, all the sacred books of the East, all the ancient teachings that have survived to this day, containing knowledge about God, about man, about the Universe.

Creative activity of Annie Besant was active and fruitful. The books published by her "On the Threshold of the Temple", "The Path to Initiation and Perfection of Man", "Spiritual Alchemy", "The Brotherhood of Religions", "The Laws of Higher Life" and many others reveal to the reader the depths of Divine wisdom.

After H. P. Blavatsky's death, Besant devoted much energy to preparing for the publication of the works left by the founder of the Theosophical Society, preserving for the reader every word of his Teacher.

In 1907, after the death of Blavatsky's deputy, Henry Olcott, Annie Besant herself became president of the Theosophical Society and led it for 26 years until 1933, until the end of her life.

The activities of the Society proceeded first in England, then in India, in Madras. All this time, Annie Besant's bright speeches, participation in congresses, and lectures contributed to the widespread dissemination of ancient knowledge and in India helped many to turn to their spiritual and philosophical roots. The social activity of the new president of the Theosophical Society draws her into the thick of politics, and since 1889. to 1891 she is the chairman of India's largest political party, the Indian National Congress. However, theosophy remains an urgent need for Besant, she still lectures, makes presentations, and works hard on books on theosophy.

The internal dispute with the church ended with the recognition that "in ancient times, Theosophy called religions to life, in our times it must justify them." This position led to the appearance of the book "Esoteric Christianity", where the reader finds a study of the roots of religions based on Besant's deepest knowledge of the ancient origins and works of the Church Fathers, the ancient Greek mysteries and the teachings of the Neoplatonists, the works of the Gnostics and comparative mythology. Annie Besant's bright literary talent is opened by her book "On the eve of the temple", where figuratively and colorfully, using ancient sacred chants, shows the path to the heights of spiritual knowledge. “But if you want to know,” writes Besant, “not only to hope, not only to longingly, not only to believe, but to know with certainty and conviction, unable to waver, then you must look for the Divine spirit not outside, but within yourself.”

Who is Annie Besant? Many people know this well. She is considered to be a follower. She was also a fighter for the rights of women around the world, a writer, orator and theosophist. We offer you the opportunity to learn more about this amazing woman!

Annie was born in London. It happened in October 1847. The girl's parents were supporters of the Anglican Church, and therefore her childhood years were spent in severity. Annie Wood (this was the name she bore before her marriage) was an extremely impressionable child, and therefore she accepted religion with all her heart. Probably, this was the reason why, at the age of 19, Annie married Frank Besant, a clergyman. True, this marriage cannot be called long - it lasted only five years. After parting with her husband, Annie Besant also abandoned religion: she was simply torn apart by internal contradictions, because the girl was sincere and honest, did not want to wear a mask of stiffness and hypocrisy. The desire for justice led Besant to socialism.

Charles Burrow, a well-known public figure and leader of the socialist movement in Foggy Albion, had an influence on Annie's entire subsequent life. Besant began the fight for the rights of the poor, was engaged in charity work. It is worth saying that thanks to the initiative of this unique personality, canteens and hospitals for the poor appeared in the country. There were changes in Annie's personal life - she married Charles Bradlow, a radical and atheist.

From Socialism to Theosophy

The idea of socialism fascinated Besant for a long time. All this time, Annie wrote pamphlets and articles, distinguished by passion and ardor. In addition, she became the leader of the British socialist movement.

Despite such employment, Annie Besant managed to educate herself. One day, a book by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky called The Secret Doctrine fell into her hands. The incredible synthesis of religion, science and philosophy interested the activist. Her contemporaries said that Annie accepted the new "religion" absolutely! Theosophy so captured Besant that she began to lecture, began to write books.

1907 was a special year in Annie's life - she became the leader of the Theosophical Society and even moved to India, where his headquarters were located. The new field of activity did not prevent the woman from doing good deeds - as before, Besant paid attention to the problems of socially unprotected segments of the population. Thanks to the efforts of Annie, shelters, food outlets and medical facilities appeared.

Writing activity

Annie Besant was an incredibly active writer. From under her pen came out more than a dozen works translated into different languages (including Russian). Her books reveal to readers the most secret depths of all religious wisdom. Annie says that the divine spirit cannot be looked for outside the human body, because it is hidden inside. To find him, faith alone is not enough - you need an unshakable conviction in his presence. The writer was able to answer the question of what theosophy is. Annie Besant writes:

Once a student asked the teacher about knowledge, and he said that there are two kinds of knowledge: lower and higher. Everything that can be taught by one person to another, all science, all art, all literature, even St. The Scriptures, even the Vedas themselves, were all classified as forms of lower knowledge. Then he proceeds to the fact that the highest knowledge is the knowledge of the One, knowing which, you will know everything. The knowledge of Him is Theosophy. This is "the knowledge of God, which is Eternal Life."

Quotes from books

Let's get acquainted with other quotes by Annie Besant. So, she argued - all religions were given to people from one source, they have similar truths and one goal. It is this thought that the writer dedicated to the book "The Brotherhood of Religions". Readers note that Annie managed to collect fragments from the Holy Scriptures of different peoples, proving the unity of religions. In this book, Besant writes the following:

All religions agree in the bright certainty that man is an Immortal Spiritual Being and that his purpose is to love, know and help throughout countless centuries.

In the same book, Annie says that any test that befalls a person is created by his own hands. The writer continues her conversation with the reader about religion in the book Esoteric Christianity:

The "goal of knowledge" is to know God, not just to believe in Him; become one with God, not just worship from afar.

By the way, this work was recognized as one of the best works of Besant. It was based on the work of Clement of Alexandria, the first fathers of the Church of Origen. Annie managed to tell readers about the sacraments of the first Christians, their mysteries in an accessible way. The author also introduces the history of Christian mysticism:

Myth is incomparably closer to truth than history, for history tells us only about cast shadows, while myth gives us information about the essence that casts these shadows from itself.

One of the simplest (but at the same time important books by Annie Besant) readers call The Teaching of the Heart. Here Annie writes that the spiritual life of a person and his love cannot decrease, rather, on the contrary - the more they are spent, the more power they gain! And therefore, the writer says to her readers, it is important to always be in a state of love and happiness, because joy is the main part of the life of any person.

Annie Besant

Confession

Foreword

Among the memoirs and autobiographies that mark the end of the century with their abundance, the new book of Annie Besant, a well-known public figure in England, attracts special attention. like diaries prominent people living the life of their age, Annie Besant's autobiography is an eloquent page in the psychology of the times. The future historian of the era we are living through will not pass by this truthful confession, which so simply depicts the spiritual life of a woman outstanding in mind and spiritual strength. The psychological interest of this "document humain" can only be compared with another woman's autobiography, the diary of Maria Bashkirtseva, which excited minds so much a few years ago.

Maria Bashkirtseva and Annie Besant are representatives of different trends of the same time, they reflect different aspects of modernity with equal fullness and sincerity, they are equally full of awareness of their strength and faith exclusively in the voice of their own soul. Maria Bashkirtseva was one of the first to reflect the new moods, combining extreme skepticism with idealistic and partly mystical impulses; her diary was the starting point of those complex literary and aesthetic movements, which were given the conditional, unexplaining nickname of decadence. The same psychological lining is felt in all the activities of Annie Besant and is reflected in her autobiography. The struggle of contradictory aspirations, the contrasts of faith and unbelief are transferred from the purely psychological area to the intellectual one; it is not occupied by the nuances of moods, but by the truth of certain convictions; it is not filled with a cult of itself, but with some kind of elemental love for humanity, a thirst for exploits of self-sacrifice. But the vicissitudes of her spiritual struggle, the anxious search for new forms corresponding to the depth of her impulses - all this makes the strong personality of the English preacher and agitator related to the artistic temperament of Bashkirtseva. Both of them strongly and profoundly reflected the nature of our transitional epoch - the thirst for faith and the need for love, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the inability to harmonize one's spiritual impulses with any of the existing religious or philosophical forms, the inability to complete, not knowing fluctuations, activity.

Annie Besant has greatly occupied the attention of English society over the past twenty years, and her name is associated with such opposite phenomena of social life that, it would seem, participation in one excludes the possibility of connection with another. Being the wife of an Anglican pastor, whom she married out of sympathy for his priestly mission, after a few years she openly severed all ties with the church and joined the atheistic movement, headed by the famous Bradlow. Incurring general indignation and sacrificing not only her position in society, but her maternal feelings, Annie Besant showed the consistency of her nature and did not stop at the practical consequences of her new convictions. A faithful assistant to Bradlow during the dark days of his political career, she was the leader of mass movements associated with the propaganda of materialism and showed moral courage close to heroism in her encounters with society. But in the midst of Bradlow's activity, Annie Besant suddenly - at least as it might have seemed to the public and even to friends of the ardent atheist - removed her signature from the cover of Bradlow's magazine and in the next issue of the magazine announced in print a new change in her beliefs, her disagreement with the teachings materialists. Very soon after that she became an active member of the socialist associations, joined the "Fabian Society" (Fabian Society) and all went into practical activities, guided by certain economic theories. This phase of her life was just as full of love for people and a willingness to serve them as the previous stages of her spiritual development, and her strong, talented personality left a deep imprint on socialist propaganda during the period of her participation in it.

But socialism was in Annie Besant the same transitional step as atheism. In 1889, in Paris, she met H. P. Blavatsky, who temporarily lived there; At first, carried away by her personal charm, she got to know her teaching more closely and found in Theosophy the solution of those spiritual doubts to which she did not find an answer either in Anglicanism or in the teachings of materialists and economists. Theosophy is the last doctrine that Annie Besant believed in and to which she remains true to this day. The former preacher of radical political theories, who denounced the exploitation of the capitalist system in front of meetings of many thousands of people, calling for open indignation, continues to speak to a crowd of thousands; her outstanding oratorical talent, the sincerity and persuasiveness of her speeches still attract a crowd of listeners to the readings and meetings she arranges. But the general tone of her sermons changed along with the changed content; not in economic theories she sees the salvation of mankind, but in the deepening of man into himself. An enthusiastic love of freedom has been replaced by a belief in inexorable "karma", and Annie Besant travels to all countries where the English language dominates, preaching an ascetic attitude to life and outlining the foundations of the teachings of the mahatmas. A zealous associate of Blavatsky during the latter's lifetime, devoted to the cause to fanaticism, Annie Besant became Blavatsky's successor after her death. At present she is chairman of the London branch of the Theosophical Society (Blayatsky Lodge), is in charge of the philanthropic affairs of the society and concentrates all spiritual forces on the propagation of Theosophy by pen and word, especially the word, which she masters so perfectly.

Whether Annie Besant has reached the final phase of her psychic life in Theosophy, this, of course, cannot be foreseen, despite the conviction with which she now speaks of the path she has found to the truth. One cannot doubt the sincerity of the theosophical views of Annie Besant, but one can hope that they will give way to a different worldview, the idealism of which does not need such confirmation as letters falling from the ceiling, the phenomena of astral bodies, etc. Annie Besant shares this hope of connoisseurs and well-wishers Gladstone, who devoted a long article to the analysis of her autobiography. "Let's hope," he says, "for her own sake, that Mrs. Besant will make a full circle of beliefs and end up somewhere near the point from which she left."

Annie Besant's autobiography gives an inside story of the astounding metamorphoses that dazzle her life. For superficial observers of human actions, these frequent and strange transitions caused only distrust in the strength of Annie Besant's character, condescending disregard for her feminine weakness and pliability; opinions were even expressed that the preacher, deprived of initiative, was primarily carried away by the people who were at the head of this or that movement, and following them, she became an obedient tool in their hands. Of course, the thought of Annie Besant's passivity disappears at the first acquaintance with the course of her life - not a woman's weakness, but heroic fortitude in the search for truth was needed in order to so fearlessly go against public opinion in matters of faith and morality, as did the woman who began his opposition activities since the age of twenty-five. Her intellectual life did not develop under foreign influences - this is clearly seen from the fact that the first and decisive doubts about the truth of church teachings arose in her amid the pietistic atmosphere of her family hearth; only having gone alone with herself a difficult path of hesitation and doubt and finally losing her faith, she began to look for people who shared her changed views. The same thing happened in the later moments of disappointments and transitions, from which she herself suffered the most, not considering herself, however, in the right to give up the truth, for the sake of external peace. Something deeper than external influences or the surface vacillation of an immature mind lies at the heart of Annie Besant's life. She vividly and fully reflected in herself the contrasts that coexist in the modern soul and bring anxiety not only to spiritual, but also to mental life.

The autobiography of Annie Besant illuminates step by step all the difficulties of her path, and in her simple and sincere presentation, the history of her doubts and searches becomes close and understandable to the modern reader. Many people with a sensitive soul went through the phases of spiritual life experienced by her, but few had the courage to harmonize their lives with the suggestions of the soul and, listening only to the voice of their own conscience, steadily follow the path of the cognized truth, no matter how others treat it.

Annie Besant's book was greeted by English critics with those contradictory reviews, which in most cases are found in works that bear the imprint of a strong individuality. Some understood its modern character and welcomed the sincere reflection of moods and thoughts close to everyone; others remained blind to the inner motives revealed by the author, and, having in mind only the facts, called spinelessness and mental weakness that, in essence, constitutes proof of the heroic strength of character. Annie Besant's critics were joined a few months ago by Gladstone, who wrote an article in the Nineteenth Century about her autobiography. This article decided the fate of the book, which immediately became famous, like everything that Gladstone mentions at least one word. It is characteristic that for all the integrity and positivity of his worldview, Gladstone raises his authoritative voice in defense of books that seem very far from his spiritual world. He brought into fashion, so to speak, Bashkirtseva's diary in England; now he came up with an article about Mrs. Besant. There is something spontaneous in the currents of time, if their reflection penetrates even into the consciousness of people who stand far from the very currents, but are sensitive to the phenomena of life around them.

Current page: 1 (the book has 14 pages in total)

Font:

100% +

Annie Besant
Confession

Foreword

Among the memoirs and autobiographies that mark the end of the century with their abundance, the new book of Annie Besant, a well-known public figure in England, attracts special attention. Like the diaries of prominent people living the life of their time, Annie Besant's autobiography is an eloquent page in the psychology of the times. The future historian of the era we are living through will not pass by this truthful confession, which so simply depicts the spiritual life of a woman outstanding in mind and spiritual strength. The psychological interest of this "document humain" can only be compared with another woman's autobiography, the diary of Maria Bashkirtseva, which excited minds so much a few years ago.

But socialism was in Annie Besant the same transitional step as atheism. In 1889, in Paris, she met H. P. Blavatsky, who temporarily lived there; At first, carried away by her personal charm, she got to know her teaching more closely and found in Theosophy the solution of those spiritual doubts to which she did not find an answer either in Anglicanism or in the teachings of materialists and economists. Theosophy is the last doctrine that Annie Besant believed in and to which she remains true to this day. The former preacher of radical political theories, who denounced the exploitation of the capitalist system in front of meetings of many thousands of people, calling for open indignation, continues to speak to a crowd of thousands; her outstanding oratorical talent, the sincerity and persuasiveness of her speeches still attract a crowd of listeners to the readings and meetings she arranges. But the general tone of her sermons changed along with the changed content; it does not see the salvation of mankind in economic theories, but in the deepening of man into himself. An enthusiastic love of freedom has been replaced by a belief in inexorable "karma", and Annie Besant travels to all countries where the English language dominates, preaching an ascetic attitude to life and outlining the foundations of the teachings of the mahatmas. A zealous associate of Blavatsky during the latter's lifetime, devoted to the cause to fanaticism, Annie Besant became Blavatsky's successor after her death. At present she is chairman of the London branch of the Theosophical Society (Blayatsky Lodge), is in charge of the philanthropic affairs of the society and concentrates all spiritual forces on the propagation of Theosophy by pen and word, especially the word, which she masters so perfectly.

This article decided the fate of the book, which immediately became famous, like everything that Gladstone mentions at least one word. It is characteristic that for all the integrity and positivity of his worldview, Gladstone raises his authoritative voice in defense of books that seem very far from his spiritual world. He brought into fashion, so to speak, Bashkirtseva's diary in England; now he came up with an article about Mrs. Besant. There is something spontaneous in the currents of time, if their reflection penetrates even into the consciousness of people who stand far from the very currents, but are sensitive to the phenomena of life around them.

Gladstone's article has a completely special character. The author rebels against the view of Annie Besant on the teaching of the Anglican Church about the atonement by Jesus Christ of the sins of mankind. He proves the groundlessness of her criticism of the teachings of the church and goes into arguments of a purely dogmatic nature. All his evidence is aimed at defending one point that embarrassed Annie Besant and led her to break with the church. But before entering into dogmatic details, Gladstone gives in a few words general characteristics autobiographies: “This book,” he says, “is of great interest. She inspires sympathy for the author, not only as a highly gifted person, but as a seeker of truth, although, unfortunately, at one point in the story, her reasoning causes an unpleasant impression. The last words refer to the contentious issue of reconciling the innocent suffering of Christ with the notion of God's justice.

Zin. Vengerov

Author's Preface

It is difficult to convey the story of someone else's life, but it becomes even more difficult when it comes to one's own life story. Even at best, the story will bear the stamp of vanity. The only justification for this kind of description is that the life of an average person reflects many other lives and, in such a troubled time as ours, can be the experience of not one, but several life stories. Thus, the writer of an autobiography does so in order to, at the cost of a certain amount of suffering, shed light on some of the problems that trouble his contemporaries; perhaps he will be able thereby to extend a helping hand to his brother struggling in the dark, and to encourage him at a moment of discouragement. All of us, men and women of a restless and sensitive generation, are surrounded by forces that we are vaguely aware of, but do not understand; superstitions, but we are even more alienated from atheism, we turn away from empty shells, experienced beliefs, but we feel an irresistible desire for spiritual ideals. We all experience the same anxiety, the same suffering, just as full of vague hopes and a passionate thirst for knowledge. It is therefore possible that the experience of one of us may be of benefit to others; it is possible that the history of the soul that went out alone, in the midst of darkness, and came to the light, overcame the storm and came to the world, will be able to bring a glimpse of light and calm into the darkness and storm of other lives.

Chapter I
"From the Eternal to the Transient"

On October 1st, 1847, as I know for certain, I opened my eyes for the first time and saw the light of London day at 5:39 pm.

It is always unpleasant for me to remember that I was born in London, while three-quarters of my blood and all my heart belong to Ireland. My mother was a full-blooded Irish, my father was an Irish maternal, and on his father belonged to the Devonshire Wood family. The Woods were of the native English farmer type, and managed their land in an honest and independent manner. In later times they began to gravitate towards intellectual pursuits, especially since Matthew Wood was elected mayor of London and fought on the side of Queen Caroline against her pious and gracious royal husband; he also provided substantial assistance to the Duke of Kent and was elevated for his services to a barony by the royal daughter, the Duke of Kent. Since then, the Woods have given England a Lord Chancellor in the person of the noble and pure soul Lord Gatherle, and many other members of the family have distinguished themselves in various ways in the service of the fatherland. But I still cannot overcome a certain annoyance at them for having brought English blood into the veins of my father, who had an Irish mother, was born in the north of Ireland and brought up at Trinity College Dublin. The Irish language sounds a special harmony to my ears, Irish nature is especially close to my heart. Only in Ireland does it happen that an exhausted woman dressed in tatters will kindly answer you the question of how to get to some old monument: “Here, dear,” she will say, “only go up the hillock and turn around the corner, and there everyone will show you road. And there you will see the place where the blessed Saint Patrick set foot on our land, and may he bless you.” In other countries, old women, with such poverty, are not so cheerful, friendly and talkative. And where, besides Ireland, will you see the population of a whole city pouring out to the station to say goodbye to half a dozen settlers, and forming a continuous mass of men and women who scurry back and forth and pile on one another, for the sake of the last kiss of the departing; everyone is crying and laughing at the same time, trying to cheer up their friends, and there is such excitement in the air that you begin to feel tightness in your throat and tears well up in your eyes at the moment the train leaves. Where, besides Ireland, will you happen to jostle through the streets in a bad gibberish, next to some silent Jervie, who, suddenly learning that spies from the "castle" are watching you, becomes talkative and friendly and begins to show you everything that might be of any interest? May the talkativeness and warm hearts of this people be blessed, so easy to lead, but so difficult to push around! Blessed be the ancient country, once inhabited by mighty sages and later turned into an island of saints! it will turn back into the island of wise men when the wheel of fate has come full circle.

My maternal grandfather was a typical Irishman. As a child, I felt great respect for him and some fear. He belonged to the wretched Irish family of Maurice, and in his youth he spent very cheerfully with his beautiful wife, as frivolous as himself, all the rest of his fortune. In old age, despite the whiteness of his long and thick hair, at the slightest provocation he revealed the ardor of Irish blood, he was quick-tempered to the point of rage, but very easily calmed down. My mother was the second daughter in a large family, growing more and more at the time cash became more and more impoverished. My mother was taken in by her unmarried aunt, whose memory passed through my mother's childhood into my own and influenced the character of both of us. This aunt, like most of the descendants of shabby families in Ireland, was very proud of her family tree, the basis of which was rooted in the inevitable "kings". Auntie's special kings were the "Seven Kings of France", the "Kings of Miles", and the tree that showed this origin was spread out in all its glory on the parchment that decorated the fireplace of the modest living room. This ugly document was an object of deep reverence for little Emilia, a reverence quite undeserved, as I dare to think, by unworthy kings, with whom, fortunately, she was in the most distant relationship. Expelled from France, probably not without sufficient reason, they went by sea to Ireland, and there they continued to lead their dissolute, predatory way of life. But it changes the course of time so surprisingly that these vicious and cruel natives have become something like a moral thermometer in the house of a good-natured Irish lady in the first half of our century. My mother told me that when she committed some misdeed as a child, her aunt raised her eyes above her glasses and, looking around at the offender with a stern look, said: “Emilia, your behavior is unworthy of being descended from the seven kings of France.” And Emilia, with her gray Irish eyes and thick black curls, began to weep with remorse and shame for her insignificance; she had a vague consciousness that these regal, undoubted for her ancestors would despise her, a petite, sweet girl, so unworthy of their imaginary greatness.

These fantastic shadows of the past had a strong influence on her in her childhood and made her run away from everything unworthy and petty. She was ready at the cost of all suffering to save herself from the slightest shadow of dishonor and instilled in me, her only daughter, the same proud and passionate horror of shame or well-deserved condemnation. It was suggested to me that one must always walk with one's head up in front of people and keep an unsullied name, because suffering can be endured, but dishonor never. A woman of a good circle should prefer starvation to debt; if her heart is breaking with pain, she should keep a smile on her face. I often thought that these lessons of isolation and proud sense of honor were a strange preparation for my turbulent life, which brought with it so much condemnation and slander; there is no doubt that this sensitivity to judgments about my personal purity and personal honor, instilled in me from childhood, increased my suffering when confronted with the indignation of society; the acuteness of these sufferings will be understood only by those who have gone through the same school of self-respect as I have. And yet, perhaps, my upbringing has led to another result, outweighing in its significance the increase in suffering in life; an insistent inner voice formed in me, rising up and inwardly establishing the purity of my intentions when a low lie touched me; he urged me to look with contempt at my enemies, not to condescend to justify or defend my actions, and to say to myself when the condemnations were loudest: “I am not what you think I am, and your sentence cannot change my nature. You cannot make me low, no matter what you think of me, and I will never be in my own eyes what I now seem to you. Thus, pride served me as a shield against moral humiliation, because although I had lost the respect of society, I could not bear the stain on myself in my own eyes - and this thing is not useless for a woman cut off, as I was at one time, from home. , friends and society. Therefore, peace to the ashes of the old aunt and her senseless kings, to whom I still owe something. I am grateful to the memory of this woman I have never seen for her concern for the upbringing of my mother, the most loving and gentle, proud and pure of women. How good it is if you can look back at the image of the mother as the ideal of all the most precious and lofty in childhood and early youth, when her face was the beauty of the house, and her love was both a sun and a shield. No later feeling in life can atone for the absence of an ideal attachment between mother and child. With us, this attachment has never diminished or weakened. Though my conversion of faith, and the social ostracism that it entailed, caused her great suffering and even hastened her death, it did not cast the slightest shadow into our hearts; although her requests were the most difficult to resist in later years, and I endured terrible agony in the struggle with her, even this did not form an abyss between us, did not bring coldness into our mutual relations. And I think of her today with the same love and gratitude with which I treated her during her lifetime. I have never seen a woman more selflessly devoted to those whom she loved, more passionately hating everything petty and base, more sensitive in matters of honor, more firm and at the same time more tender. She made my childhood bright as a fairy-tale world, she guarded me until my very marriage from any suffering that she could remove or endure instead of me, and she suffered more than I myself in all the difficult moments of my later life. She died in May, 1874, in a little house which I had hired for us at Norwood; grief, poverty and illness sapped her strength until old age.

My earliest memories are of the house and garden at Grove Road St. Jones Wood, where we lived when I was three and four years old, I remember my mother bustling around the dinner table to make everything cozy and welcoming for her husband's arrival; my brother, who is two years older than me, and I are waiting for dad; we know that he will cheerfully greet us, and that before dinner adults we will still be able to play and fool around with him. I remember how, on October 1st, 1851, I jumped out of my little bed early in the morning and announced in a triumphant voice: “Daddy! mother! I am four years old". On the same day, my brother, realizing that I had actually grown older, asked with a significant air at dinner: "Can't you give Annie a knife today, since she was four years old?"

In the same year, 1851, I experienced great chagrin when they did not take me to the exhibition, finding that I was still too small; I vaguely remember that my brother, to comfort me, brought me a multi-colored folding picture depicting all the delights of the exhibition, so that my curiosity flared up even more. What all these are distant, poor, meaningless memories. What a pity that the child cannot notice and observe, cannot remember and thus shed light on how the impressions of the external world are born in the human mind. If only we could remember the appearance of objects when they were first imprinted on our retina; if we recall how we felt when we first began to relate consciously to the outside world, when the faces of father and mother began to stand out from the surrounding chaos and become familiar objects, the appearance of which causes a smile, and the disappearance of which causes crying; if only memory were not shrouded in fog, when in later years we want to return in thought back to the dark time of childhood, how many lessons we would learn for the benefit of psychology now wandering in the dark, how many questions could be resolved, the answers to which we seek in vain in the West.

The next scene, which stands out clearly in my memory against the background of the past, refers to the time of my father's death. The events that caused his death are known to me from the stories of my mother. My father continued all his life to love the profession for which he was preparing in his youth; having many acquaintances among physicians, he sometimes went with them to hospitals or worked in the anatomical theater. It happened once that, while opening the corpse of a man who had died of transient consumption, my father cut his finger on the edge of the sternum. The wound healed with great difficulty, the finger was swollen and very inflamed. “If I were you, Wood, I would have my finger amputated,” said a surgeon friend who examined the finger a few days later. But others began to laugh at his advice, and my father, who was willing to agree to an amputation, decided to leave the matter to nature.

About the middle of August, 1852, he got wet while riding in the imperial omnibus in the rain, and caught a severe cold that fell on his chest. One of the famous doctors of that time was called, as skillful in his work as he was rude in handling. He carefully examined his father, listened to his chest, and left the room, accompanied by his mother. "What's wrong with him?" she asked, expecting an answer without any particular emotion, and thinking only that it would be unpleasant for her husband to sit at home for some time without doing anything. "Don't be discouraged," was the doctor's careless reply. "He has fulminant consumption and will not live more than six weeks." My mother leaned back at these words and fell to the ground like a stone. But love prevailed over grief, and in half an hour she was again at her husband's bed, not retreating from him day or night until his death.

I was lifted to his bed “to say goodbye to dear dad” the day before his death, and I remember how frightened I was by his wide eyes and strange voice, with which he took a promise from me to obey and love my mother, because dads there will be no more. I remember how I insisted that my dad kiss Sherry, the doll that I received as a gift from him a few days before, and how I began to cry and resist when they wanted to take me out of the room. The father died the next day, October 30; my brother and I were sent to my grandfather, my mother's father, and we returned home only a day after the funeral. When the moment of death arrived, my mother lost her strength and she was carried unconscious from the room. I was told later that, having regained consciousness, she began to persistently demand that she be left alone, and locked herself in her room for the night; The next morning, her mother, having finally persuaded her daughter to let her into her room, recoiled at the sight of her and shouted: “God, Emilia, why are you completely gray-haired!” And so it was; the black, shiny mass of her hair, which gave a special charm to her face by its contrast with her large gray eyes, turned gray from the suffering of this night; in my reminiscences, my mother's face is always framed by silvery, neatly combed hair, white as freshly fallen snow.

I heard from others that the mutual love of my parents was something truly beautiful, and no doubt that this was reflected in the character of the mother throughout her later life. The father was a man the highest degree intelligent and brilliantly educated; a mathematician and at the same time a connoisseur of classical languages, he was fluent in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, knew a little Hebrew and Old Irish, and was fond of studying ancient and new literatures. His favorite thing was to sit with his wife, reading aloud to her while she worked, now translating some foreign poet, now melodiously reciting the sonorous stanzas of "Queen Mab". While doing a lot of philosophy, he was imbued with deep skepticism; I was told by a very religious relative that my mother often had to leave the room in order not to listen to his frivolous mockery of the dogmas of the Christian church.

His mother and sister were strict Catholics and when he was dying they brought a priest into his room; the latter, however, had to leave immediately, in view of the anger of the dying man and the persistence of his wife, who decided not to allow the herald of a hated religion to her husband, so as not to overshadow his last moments.

Very well-read in the field of philosophical knowledge, my father was above the orthodox religion of his time; and his wife, whose boundless love excluded all criticism, tried to harmonize her religiosity with his skepticism, saying that "a woman must be pious," and a man has the right to read everything and think anything, so long as he remains an honest and decent person. . But the result of his free views of religion was a gradual change in its beliefs and some concessions to rationalism. In later years, she enjoyed reading the works of such people as Jowet, Colenzo, Stanley. The last of these seemed to her the ideal of a Christian gentleman, gentleness, broadmindedness, and beautiful piety. The nudity of ordinary evangelical worship offended her taste just as the lack of proof of evangelical principles revolted her reason. She loved to realize her Christianity in uplifting and artistic surroundings, to take part in divine services amid solemn music and in artistically built temples.

Westminster Abbey was her favorite church, thanks to its semi-darkness and solemnity; carved armchairs in which the choir is located and from which rhythmic singing is heard, the beauty of multi-colored windows, protruding arches united in separate groups of columns, the rich harmony of organ sounds, the ashes of the great people of the past around, the memory of the past, which is, as it were, part of the structure itself - all this gave in her eyes a special majesty of religion, exalted her soul.

To me, who was more passionate about religion, such elegant and refined piety seemed dangerous to true faith; she was unpleasantly struck by the fervor of my faith and its manifestation in life; it seemed to her an extreme, inconsistent with the graceful balance that a noble woman should possess. She was a person of old ideas, but I belonged by nature to fanatical natures. I often think, returning in my thoughts to the past, that a phrase never uttered was often asked to come out of her, which finally escaped before her death: “my dear,” she said, “you never upset me with anything but your own suffering; you have always been too full of the thought of religion.” And after that, she whispered, as if to herself: “Yes, this is Annie’s misfortune; she's too religious." It seems to me that the voice of the dying mother spoke the truth, and the dying eyes showed deep insight. Although at that moment, when I knelt before her bed, I was a heretic, from which society recoiled. My heart was full of faith, expressed in the passion of my denial of religion and revolutionary protest against dogmas that humiliate the mind and do not satisfy the soul. I went alone into the darkness, not because religion was inaccessible to me, but because it was not enough for me; she was too insignificant, banal, demanded too little for herself, conformed too much to earthly interests, was too prudent in her compromises with social conditions. The Roman Catholic Church, if it had taken possession of me, as it almost did, would have entrusted me with some dangerous and sacrificial mission and would have made me a martyr; the legally established church has turned me into an unbeliever and an enemy of religion.

Annie Besant biography. Biography of Anna Besant

Biography

New "faith"

Creative activity

"Brotherhood of Religions"

"Ancient Wisdom"

Does Theosophy Contradict Christianity?

"The Power of Thought"

"Thought Forms"

"Man and his body"

"Teaching of the Heart"

ANNY BEZANT (1847-1933)

From Socialism to Theosophy

Writing activity

Quotes from books

Annie Besant Confession

Foreword

Author's Preface

Chapter I "From the Eternal to the Transient"

Annie Besant
Confession

Chapter I
"From the Eternal to the Transient"