The Secret Teachers of the Western World

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This epic study unveils the esoteric masters who have covertly had an impact on the intellectual development of the West, from Pythagoras and Zoroaster to the little-known modern icons Jean Gebser and Schwaller de Lubicz. Running alongside the mainstream of Western intellectual history there is another current which, in a very real sense, should take pride of place, but which for the last few centuries has occupied a shadowy, inferior position, somewhere underground. This "other" stream forms the subject of Gary Lachman's epic history and analysis, THE SECRET TEACHERS OF THE WESTERN WORLD. In this clarifying, accessible and fascinating study, the accled historian explores the Western esoteric tradition a thought movement with ancient roots and modern expressions, which, in a broad sense, regards the cosmos as a living, spiritual, meaningful being and humankind as having a unique obligation and responsibility in it. This is in stark contrast to much of modern science, which sees the universe as a meaningless flow of matter and energy and human beings as pointless accidents within it. The historical roots of our "counter tradition," as Lachman explores, have their beginning in Alexandria around the time of Christ. It was then that we find the first written accounts of the ancient tradition, which had earlier been passed on orally. Here, in this remarkable city, filled with teachers, philosophers, and mystics from Egypt, Greece, Asia and other parts of the world, in a multi-cultural, multi-faith and pluralistic society much like our own, a synthesis took place, a creative blending of different ideas and visions, which gave the hidden tradition the eclectic character it retains today. We can see the history of our esoteric tradition as roughly forming three parts: Part One: After looking back at the earliest roots of the esoteric tradition in the mysteries of ancient Egypt and Greece, the historical narrative opens in Alexandria in the first centuries of the Chris