Isis Unveiled by H. P. Blavatsky, Kern Foundation, Michael Gomes (1997, Paperback, Abridged)

I bought this book by mistake, thinking it was the original work by Helena Blavatsky. It is in fact a reduction, by a prominent member of the Theosophical Society. Blavatsky's original text is a heavily annotated manuscript, containing much extraneous material and to some, cumbersome with digressions. To the scholar of Theosophy, however, I think that the original should be the primary text to study. I confess that I am only halfway through the abridged version, but think that probably it conveys the essence of Mme. B's thoughts at the time she wrote it, and certainly adequate for the beginning student of Theosophy. After I have finished this, I plan to go on to "The Secret Doctrine" which appears to be the central text of past and current Theosophical thinking. I will begin with the original text, however, since my objective is to obtain as clear an understanding of Theosophical teaching as I can, and surely consulting original texts must be the starting point of any such undertaking. Theosophy seems perhaps a tad 19th century, particularly in the contemporary world in which religion appears to manifest itself primarily in fundamentalist violence rather than providing an arena for spiritual questioning. This book is therefore important in trying to deemphasize some of the concerns of a hundred years ago, and demonstrating relevance to today's world of the remainder. To summarize: This book is good for a beginner, but for the real thing the original must be the text of choice.