Lemuria

The term "Lemuria" was coined by zoologist Philip Sclater in 1864 to explain the distribution of lemurs. Helena Blavatsky adopted it for Theosophy, associating it with ancient Eastern cosmologies describing a lost continent and the origin of humanity's third root race.

A MKulern term first u.sed by .some naturalists, and now adopted by Theosophists, to indicate a continent that, accordinrj to the Secret Doctrine of the East, preceded Atlantis. Its Eastern name would not reveal much to European ears. Leon, Mosis dr. The name of a Jewish Rabbi in tlie Xlllth century, accused of having compo.scd the Zuhar which he gave out as the true work of Simeon Ben Jachai. His full name is given in Myer's Qahhalah as Rabbi Moses bcn-Shera-Tob de Leon, of Spain, the same author proving very cleverly that de Leon was }wt the author of the Zohar. Fewwill .say he was. but every one nnist suspect ]\Ioses de Leon of perverting considerably tiie original Book of Sph ndour (Zohar). Tliis sin. however, may be .shared by him with the ]\Iedia3val "Christian Kabalists" and by Knorr von Rosenroth especially. Surely, neither Rabbi Simeon, condemned to death by Titus, nor his son, Rabbi Eliezer, nor his secretary Rabbi Abba, can be charged with introducing into the Zohar purely Christian dogmas and doctrines invented by the Church Fathers several centuries after the death of the former Rabbis. This would be stretching alleged divine projihecy a little too far.

In the grand, often bewildering, architecture of esoteric thought, Lemuria emerges not as a geological certainty but as a profound symbol. Helena Blavatsky, ever the alchemist of ancient wisdom, seized upon the naturalist's term and infused it with the potent myths of Eastern cosmogonies. It is, in her telling, the spectral ancestor of Atlantis, a continent sunk beneath the waves of time, but more importantly, the birthplace of humanity's third root race. This is not a simple tale of lost geography; it is a narrative of spiritual evolution, a primordial epoch where consciousness was perhaps less individuated, more attuned to the subtle currents of existence.

The allure of Lemuria lies in its promise of a forgotten origin, a time when humanity was closer to a divine source, unburdened by the complexities of modern consciousness. It speaks to a deep human yearning for a lost golden age, a primal innocence from which we have, in some sense, fallen. Scholars like Mircea Eliade, in his exploration of the eternal return and the myth of the origin, would recognize in Lemuria the archetype of the sacred geography, a place where the divine and the human were intimately intertwined. Carl Jung, too, might see in it a manifestation of the collective unconscious, a potent archetype surfacing to express our deep-seated need to understand our roots, both physical and spiritual.

The idea of a continent preceding Atlantis, a cradle of humanity's nascent spiritual awareness, invites contemplation on the very nature of evolution. It suggests that progress is not merely linear but cyclical, involving periods of immense spiritual blossoming followed by decline and submergence, only to rise again in new forms. Lemuria, therefore, becomes a metaphor for the spiritual potential dormant within us, a reminder that our lineage stretches back to a time of greater cosmic harmony, a harmony we are perhaps still seeking to reclaim. It is a myth that, like all potent myths, offers not factual history but a profound orientation towards the mysteries of existence and our place within them.

RELATED_TERMS: Atlantis, Root Races, Theosophy, Akashic Records, Ancient Wisdom, Spiritual Evolution, Lost Civilizations, Myth of Origin