G. R. S. Mead

George Robert Stow Mead (sometimes George Robert Stowe Mead, GRS Mead and usually only GRS Mead ) ( born March 22, 1863 in Peckham (now in London ), England; † September 28, 1933 in London) was an English author, theosophist and founder of the Quest Society.

  • 2.1 As a writer
  • 2.2 The Translator

Life and work

Childhood, career, marriage

Mead was born today as younger of two children of Robert and Charlotte Mead on 22 March 1863 in Peckham, a part of London's City district London Borough of Southwark. He grew up in Nuneaton, the father was a colonel in the artillery in the British Army. After visiting the King's School in Rochester, he studied from 1881 at St John 's College, Cambridge mathematics. After a short time he was on this study, however, changed to Classic Classical Studies ( Classics ) as well as Latin and ancient Greek. 1884 Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in 1886. At the University of Oxford, he seems to have begun the study of Eastern philosophy, whether he finished this is unclear. Until 1889 he worked as a teacher at a private school.

1899 married Mary Mead, the Theosophist Laura Cooper ( 1857-1924 ), whom he had met in the Theosophical Society. The marriage remained childless.

The Theosophist

After the first degree as a bachelor, he joined in 1884 at the London Lodge of the Theosophical Society, and thus. After he had first met Helena Petrovna Blavatsky in May 1887 he gave his occupation as a teacher in 1889 on, was her private secretary and joined the Blavatsky Lodge in which he later led as president. In addition to the completion of Blavatsky correspondence he supported it as an assistant with the publication of her magazine Lucifer and was born on July 9, 1890 Secretary General of the newly created European Section of the Theosophical Society, the European Section of the Theosophical Society. After Blavatsky's death, on May 8, 1891, he organized and led her cremation.

When Annie Besant editor of the journal was Lucifer, he was her deputy, from September 1887, the main responsibility, he was responsible for the renaming of the sheet in The Theosophical Review. In 1891 he also took over the publication of the theosophical magazine The Vahan and got together in 1893 with the revision of the work Besant The Secret Doctrine (Vol. 1 2) for the 3rd edition ( revised 3rd edition based on this the complete German translation ). The employees at the controversial third volume of the Secret Doctrine, which was published in 1897 by Besant, he refused, however. Because of the increase of his activity as a writer and translator, he resigned in April 1898 from his post as Secretary General of the European section back.

Charles Webster Leadbeater was expelled on May 16, 1906 for alleged homosexual relationship with his students from the Theosophical Society. After Annie Besant became the new president of the Theosophical Society in June, 1907, she sat in January 1909 with the resumption Leadbeater. Mead was opposed strongly against this decision and when this was unsuccessful, he entered, in addition to a number of other Theosophists, on 20 February 1909 from the Theosophical Society and laid back all offices.

Subsequently, on 11 March 1909 he founded his own, independent of the Theosophical Society organization, the quest Society. To this end, he founded the journal The Quest for which he also served as editor. The world economic crisis in 1929 also brought Mead and a number of members of the Quest Society in financial difficulties, so that the organization had to be resolved in 1930 and the magazine The Quest has been set.

The author

His work included the topics of Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Hermeticism and religion. He translated in 1896 as the first Pistis Sophia into English until now (2006 ) is no better transmission of this work before. In addition, he has published in the journals Lucifer, The Theosophical Review, The Vahan and The Quest, a series of articles. As one of the few theosophical authors obtained some of his works at the established scientific recognition. Friedrich Max Müller and Carl Gustav Jung thanked him for his work. Was because of his membership in the Theosophical Society, and is still often considered his work only with prejudice.

Works (selection)

As the author

  • Did Jesus Live 100 BC. Kessinger, Whitefish 1997, ISBN 1-56459-130-1. ( Reprint of 1903)
  • Echoes from the Gnosis. Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton 2005, ISBN 0-8356-0841-7.
  • Simon Magus. Publish Indy 2006, ISBN 1-4280-0042-9. ( Reprint of 1892)

As a translator

  • Orpheus, The Theosophy of the Greeks. Adamant Media, Boston 2005, ISBN 1-4021-8316- X. ( Reprint of 1896)
  • Pistis Sophia, The gnostic tradition of Mary Magdalene, Jesus, and his disciples. Dover Publications, Mineola 2005, ISBN 0-486-44064-8.
  • Thrice Greatest Hermes. Samuel Weiser, Newburyport 2001, ISBN 0-87728-947-6. ( Reprint of 1906)
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