As the whole subject of aliens and UFOs has become indelibly associated in people’s minds with lurid absurdities and sensationalism, it is no wonder that most serious students of Theosophy tend to avoid the subject altogether. This is of course also due to the fact that Theosophical teachings say almost nothing at all about this topic, which did not become a major topic of interest to people until around the middle of the 20th century, when sightings of UFOs and descriptions of alien encounters began to occur at an astounding pace in all parts of the world, although most frequently reported or recorded in the USA and the UK.
In her main work “The Secret Doctrine,” H. P. Blavatsky, the main founder of the Theosophical Society at the end of the 19th century, did very briefly affirm the existence of beings on other (though not necessarily all other) planets, using such terms as “the men from other planets” and “the races of Mars and Venus.” (Vol. 2, p. 698-699)
She affirmed that the advanced Occultists or Esotericists on our Earth possess definite knowledge that all planets either “are, were, or will be, “man-bearing.”” (p. 699) And: “Great adepts (those initiated of course), trained seers . . . can claim thorough acquaintance with the nature and appearance of planets and their inhabitants belonging to our solar system . . . They know that almost all the planetary worlds are inhabited, but can have access to – even in spirit – only those of our [solar] system.” (p. 701)
A few pages later, she remarked that “it seems perfectly useless to go into detailed questions of the physiology, etc., etc., of these hypothetical inhabitants, since after all the reader can arrive only at an imaginary extension of his familiar surroundings. . . . The humanities of other worlds differ from us, as much in their inner organization as in their external physical type.” (p. 707)
Since most Blavatsky students will accept these statements as true and based on the direct knowledge of either herself and/or her Eastern Adept-Teachers – often referred to as the Masters of Wisdom or Mahatmas – it does not seem at all illogical or far-fetched to consider that at least some of “the humanities of other worlds” would be sufficiently advanced to construct spacecraft capable of flying to other parts of our shared solar system, just as our humanity here on this world is capable of that very same thing. If we can do it, why should they not be able or inclined to do so?
Of course, the fact that our spacecraft have not yet observed any sign at all of beings living on other planets seems to strongly imply that there are no “aliens” after all. However, one of the main teachings of “The Secret Doctrine” is that every physical planet is part of its own “planetary chain” of seven globes, only one of which – the physical material one – is visible to ordinary sight, the other six existing on more subtle levels or layers of reality. Only one of such globes in a chain is “in use” by that planet’s humanity at any particular time, since that humanity is said to slowly evolve sequentially through its seven globes, with the physical globe being middle in succession.
Since in our case, evolution is currently active and proceeding on the physical globe of our Earth Chain, the sight and perceptions of earthly humanity are confined solely to the physical material level of being. Due to various reasons, evolution proceeds at different rates on different planets of our system. In “The Secret Doctrine” (Vol. 1, p. 165) it is stated that there is “life on Mars” but it seems to be implied that it is currently taking place on one of the non-physical globes of the Mars Chain, the physical and physically visible globe of that Chain currently being in a state of “obscuration” known in Sanskrit as “pralaya”; in other words, a temporary paralysis and lifelessness until the evolutionary life wave of Mars passes once more onto the physical level.
But as Theosophy provides no explanations with which to make sense of or form clear conclusions about the proliferation of UFO sightings that have become quite commonplace and well known since the time that HPB and her few trusted colleagues wrote their books, most Theosophists, as said already, tend to avoid the subject.
Some conclude that since HPB didn’t mention UFOs, they must be of next to no importance and thus not something to even bother learning about or researching. Others more open-mindedly acknowledge that all the evidence indicates they are something important but do not feel able to deduce whether the UFOs and their occupants are a hostile and malevolent or helpful and benevolent presence in our skies. One contemporary Theosophical writer expresses the view that UFOs do not even exist physically but belong to the astral plane – the psychic realm that surrounds and to some extent interpenetrates the physical – and are seen or perceived as a result of the growing astral sight of humanity. We are not in a position to declare that he is mistaken but to us this hypothesis seems rather implausible, due to a wide array of reasons.
It should be borne in mind that the majority of all known UFO sightings are probably not what people think or claim them to be. Over-credulity and naivety need to be guarded against in this as in other spheres. Nick Pope, who worked for several years in the UFO research department of the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence, has stated that he and his team were able to trace 95% of reported UFO sightings within the UK to much more mundane causes. But he adds that 5%, including some of the most remarkable and astounding, remain unsolved and unsolvable, yet undeniably real and actual.
Most readers will be aware that the governments of some countries are now starting to take this whole subject far more seriously and investigate and discuss it much more openly than has ever been the case before. As “UFO,” although simply standing for “Unidentified Flying Object,” has become associated in most people’s mind with science fiction style ideas of aliens, some governments and agencies now use the fresh and untarnished acronym UAP instead, standing for “unidentified aerial phenomena” and “unidentified anomalous phenomena.”
As we all know, there are also today many reported cases of supposed “alien abduction” where hostile extraterrestrials are described as taking humans onto their ship and then probing or abusing them in various ways.
Unlike UFOs seen in the sky and attested to by multiple witnesses, the UFOs and aliens involved in stories of abduction are rarely, if ever, seen by anyone other than the individual undergoing that experience. While some of those encounters may well be the result of drugs or mental illness or delusions of some type, we do not personally dismiss them all as sheer nonsense. But we suspect that many of them are more likely to be a type of astral experience – i.e. something undergone on the astral plane – rather than an actual physical happening. This seems attested to by the fact that in descriptions of “alien abductions” the victim often wakes up from it all to find themselves in their bed, at home.
Some may point out that some of these victims awake with unexplained yet undeniable scratches, bruises, or cuts, on their physical body. But in our article Theosophy on The Astral Body we provided some quotes from H. P. Blavatsky on the phenomenon of “repercussion,” which she explains by saying that “whatever hits or affects the astral reacts by repercussion on the physical body.” We commented: “This process of repercussion from astral to physical body may explain many – though not all – cases of waking up with unexplained bruises or injuries; the people we have known who had such experiences were, by their own admission, in a very disturbed state of mind for some time prior to the experiences. It may therefore be that this led to their undergoing some type of “attack” on their astral body from negative entities on the astral plane while their body was asleep. But Theosophy’s mention of repercussion is also intended as a warning for those who prematurely attempt astral projection or astral travel, which are something different from this.”
It is by no means only alleged victims of aliens who sometimes wake up with unexplained bruises, scratches, and injuries. But why some of these unfortunate souls have memories that associate this directly with extraterrestrials and UFOs is a problem we are not sufficiently competent to attempt to solve.
Leaving aside the subject of apparent abductions, it is this writer’s personal opinion that the work of UFOs is a purely altruistic, compassionate, yet impersonal one that deals with collective humanity as a whole, rather than with isolated individuals. In the 75+ years since sightings of them became commonplace, they have not once been seen trying to wage war on planet Earth, bomb any buildings, or attack any human beings, though they have had plenty of time and opportunity to do so, as well as seemingly possessing more than sufficient technological capabilities. Undeniably, their presence and activities often make people feel alarmed, afraid, and uncomfortable, but so does anything which we do not at all understand (fear is the child of ignorance, as Theosophy states) and so would any object or being whose “vibrations” are extremely different from and unfamiliar to our own. Masses of repeated evidence strongly suggests that they are trying to protect our Earth and its atmosphere from such disastrous phenomena as nuclear explosions, atomic bombs, and other such ravages of modern military experimentation and warfare.
Where the apparent spacecraft and their pilots or operators actually come from we would not like to speculate but we believe the following set of articles may reliably confirm what we have proposed in the preceding paragraph:
* Why Have There Been So Many UFO Sightings Near Nuclear Facilities?
https://www.history.com/news/ufos-near-nuclear-facilities-uss-roosevelt-rendlesham
* The Pentagon Is Investigating UFOs That Possibly Turned Off (Nuclear) Warheads
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a43033115/pentagon-investigating-ufos-nuclear-warheads/
* Why Do UFO Sightings Keep Happening Near Nuclear Sites?
https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7bxdx/why-do-ufo-sightings-keep-happening-near-nuclear-sites
The above-linked article says in part:
“The Enmyoin Temple in the Fukushima prefecture of Japan is now known colloquially by a different name, said its Chief Monk, Tomonori Izumi: “The Miracle Temple.” . . . On March 11 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was the site of one of the worst nuclear disasters ever after an earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused its electrical grid to fail. The simultaneous disasters laid waste to much of the surrounding area, but “miraculously, the temple was untouched.”
““The UFO’s came after the explosion. There were so many of them. I was shocked,” said the monk in the fourth episode of the VICE Studio’s Netflix docuseries series Encounters: “Lights Over Fukushima.”
““Radioactive energy was leaking everywhere. I believe the UFOs came to readjust the flood of radioactive energy in order to save us. That’s my theory, anyway,” said Izumi.
“Just like after the Fukushima disaster, UFO’s have been documented repeatedly around places where humans have spawned nuclear activity. There are “very clear connections” between UFO sightings and nuclear sites “going back decades,” said author Dr. Jensine Andresen. . . .
““It goes back to the 1930s when the science and research was being done to understand fission. But then it really heats up in the 1940s, in particular, right after the detonation of the two atomic bombs in Japan in 1945. Then it is decisive, it’s conclusive. You see one after another event occurring in proximity specifically to sites associated with nuclear weapons,” said Andresen.
“There are numerous cases, she said, listing sightings near Kirtland Air Force Base, Sandia National Laboratories, and other places “where nuclear weapons were stored.” . . .
“Andresen said one of the clearest examples of these sorts of activities around nuclear facilities was the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine.
““There was a lot of UFO activity reported there also. At the height of the fire in Chernobyl, the reading was 3000 milliroentgens, which is a unit of ionizing radiation. And right at the height of the fire, many people observed a UFO come, stayed for 3 minutes, shone a light right at Unit 4 and departed,” she said. “They took another reading and it had apparently dropped to 800. Just in a few minutes. That seems like a very conscious attempt to remediate the danger caused by the malfunction there.””
* Ukrainian Troops Film Disc-Shaped UFO Hovering Over Warzone
https://metro.co.uk/2024/02/28/ukrainian-troops-film-disc-shaped-ufo-hovering-warzone-20363238/
* ‘Cosmic’ and ‘Phantom’ UFOs Are All Over Ukraine’s Skies, Government Report Claims
https://www.space.com/ukraine-ufo-uap-report
UFO sightings and encounters do not only take place in the Western world, like many might think. They are far from being solely a Western phenomenon and occur in the East and Asia too, though such incidents as these rarely become widely heard of or well known in the West. The following is reported as occurring within the Trans-Himalayan region near Ladakh, an area specially associated in Theosophical literature with the Masters’ Brotherhood:
* Mystery Sighting Spooks Soldiers: Army, astronomers and DRDO have been unable to establish the origins of the unidentified luminous flying objects over India’s Himalayan border with China.
https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/20121112-ufo-seen-in-ladakh-jammu-and-kashmir-by-indian-army-itbp-760402-2012-11-01
The 14th Dalai Lama has stated to Dr. Alexander Berzin that UFOs are connected with, and work in unison with, Shambhala.
Until such a future time as reliable and authoritative statements and explanations are given on these subjects from someone of the occult stature of H. P. Blavatsky or her Adept-Teachers, it cannot be claimed that Theosophy itself provides any categorical view or teaching about UFOs, although, as seen, it does repeatedly assert the reality of the existence of what most people call “aliens” or “extraterrestrials.” But it is certainly good to keep in mind that this world is surrounded and pervaded by occult realities and to remember that there is so much as yet that we human beings know absolutely nothing about.
“. . . there are inhabited worlds besides our own with humanities entirely different from each other as from our own – as maintained in the Occult Sciences.” (H. P. Blavatsky, “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 708-709)
T H E O S O P H Y 
Very interesting article.