This book is a modern and accessible translation of the “Secret Doctrine” by H. P. Blavatsky, based on the text of the first edition of the book, which was published during the author’s lifetime. This truly great work lifts the curtain on the hidden meanings and mysteries of our lives, as well as the past, present and future of humanity. Volume I deals with the formation of the Universe, examines in detail the fundamental symbolism used by the great religions and mythologies of the world, and also contains a whole storehouse of scientific, religious and philosophical truths.
For the first time, the Russian-speaking reader was able to fully become acquainted with the “Secret Doctrine” – this fundamental work in the field of theosophy – thanks to the translation of Elena Ivanovna Roerich, another great compatriot of ours. Every seeker of Truth both in modern Russia and beyond its borders has every reason to treat with a feeling of deepest gratitude to all areas of Helena Roerich’s activity and, in particular, to that part of her ascetic work that is associated with the translations of fundamental theosophical works, such as “The Secret Doctrine” by H. P. Blavatsky and “Letters of the Mahatmas to A. P. Sinnett.” However, as any theosophist is well aware, everything in the world develops cyclically, experiencing a period of infancy, maturity and, alas, inevitable old age. The world must develop and move forward. The need for a new translation is ripe, and this is obvious from a number of signs. When embarking on a new translation of The Secret Doctrine, the translator sought, valuing every thought of H.P.B., to present it in a more modern and generally accepted literary Russian language and to make the Russian text of this book, most complex in depth and richness of thoughts, both more readable and more precise in meaning. The task was set to make such a translation (how successful this was, the reader can judge) so that Helena Petrovna Blavatsky would speak to the modern reader in today’s language.