Alfred Percy Sinnett

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alfred Percy Sinnett

Alfred Percy Sinnett (born January 18, 1840 in London , England , † June 26, 1921 ) was an English journalist , author and theosophist .

Life

Alfred Percy Sinnett was one of five children. His father died in 1845 and his mother, Jane Sinnett, supported the family by writing articles for several English newspapers. From this side, Sinnett grew up already influenced by writing. He began his journalistic career in Hong Kong in 1865 with the Hong Kong Daily Press , returned to London in 1868 and became editor of the Evening Standard , while also writing for the Daily Telegraph . In 1870 he married Patience Edensor (Mrs. AP Sinnett, Patience Sinnett) (1844-1908), the marriage resulted in son Denny (Dennie) (1877-1908). Denny died of tuberculosis in 1908 , and Patience of cancer that same year . In 1872 the family moved to India , where he accepted a prestigious post in Allahabad as editor of the influential British / Indian newspaper The Pioneer . Because of this position, he was one of the most influential Englishmen in India to work outside government agencies. In 1875, Sinnett returned to London for three months, where he came into contact with spiritualism , which fascinated him.

In 1877/78 he read Helena Blavatsky's recently published book Isis unveiled and was enthusiastic about it. When the Theosophists Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott reached India on February 16, 1879 in Mumbai , he found out a few days later and in February 1879 he contacted the Theosophists by letter. After a long correspondence, Blavatsky and Olcott visited Sinnett in Allahabad in early December 1879. From this a friendship developed, Sinnett took a liking to theosophy and joined the Theosophical Society together with his wife Patience in December 1879 , where he quickly gained influence. In the following years, at the instigation of Sinnett, a series of articles on theosophy appeared in the Pioneer , which had a major influence on the rapid spread of this teaching in India. In November 1882 he gave up the post with the pioneer in order to found his own newspaper, The Phoenix , entirely devoted to theosophical teaching . The project failed, however, whereupon he and his family returned to England in the spring of 1883.

Between October 1, 1880 and March 1885, Sinnett and his wife Patience received letters from the Masters of Wisdom , which were later published as The Mahatma Letters to AP Sinnett . They are a collection of teachings from the earlier "masters" Morya and Koot Humi . Sinnett's books The Occult World and Esoteric Buddhism are based on these letters. They made the Theosophical Society known far beyond the borders of England. He bequeathed the originals of these “master's letters” to the British Museum ; today they are in the British Library .

Arriving in England, Sinnett sought to gain influence in the theosophical London Lodge . This soon led to conflicts with Anna Kingsford , President of the London Lodge, and in the autumn of 1883 to the split into two competing camps. After Kingsford left in 1884, and a transition period under the compromise president Gerard B. Finch, Sinnett took over the sole presidency of the London Lodge in the 1880s. Little by little he removed it further and further from its parent organization, the Theosophical Society, and ran it practically sovereignly and largely independently from around the mid-1890s. From 1904 to 1907 he was editor of the theosophical journal Broad Views at the London Lodge . After the Judge Case , which led to the split in the Theosophical Society in 1895, on July 4, 1895, Sinnett took over the office of Vice President of what was now the Theosophical Society Adyar .

He was a member of the Société magnétique de France and from 1896 at the latest a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn .

plant

English version

  • The Occult World. London 1881
  • Esoteric Buddhism. London 1883
  • Married by degrees. A play in 3 acts. London 1911
  • In the next world. Actual narratives of personal experiences by some who have passed on. (= Theosophical Publishing Society), London 1914
  • The spiritual powers and the war. London 1915
  • Unseen Aspects of the War. Two articles by A [lfred] P [ercy] Sinnett. London 1916
  • The Mahatma Letters to AP Sinnett from the Mahatmas M. & KH 2nd edition, London 1926
  • The rationale of mesmerism. Boston 1892
  • The early days of theosophy in Europe. London 1922 (published posthumously)

German editions

  • The occult world. Leipzig undated (1896)
  • The esoteric teaching or secret Buddhism. Leipzig 1884
  • The growth of the soul. Leipzig 1910

literature

  • Autobiography of Alfred Percy Sinnett. (= Theosophical History Center Publications), London 1986, ISBN 0-948753-02-1

Correspondence

  • Helena P. Blavatsky: The letters of HP Blavatsky to AP Sinnett and other miscellaneous letters. London 1925

Web links

Single receipts

  1. ↑ Receipt of vice presidency (page 253f.)
personal data
SURNAME Sinnett, Alfred Percy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sinnett, AP
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English journalist, author and theosophist
DATE OF BIRTH January 18, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH June 26, 1921