Did José Rizal and Helena Blavatsky Meet in London?
Picture this: London, 1888. Two fascinating people are
living in the same city, both brilliant in their own ways. One is José Rizal,
the Filipino hero fighting for his country's freedom through his writing. The
other is Helena Blavatsky, the mysterious Russian woman who started the
Theosophical Society and claimed to know ancient secrets.
Here's the thing that makes you wonder: they were both
spending their days at the British Museum, probably sitting in the same reading
room, buried in old books and manuscripts. Did they ever look up from their
research and strike up a conversation? Nobody knows for sure, but it's fun to
think about.
Two Strangers in the Same Neighborhood
Rizal had rented a place at 37 Chalcot Crescent in Primrose
Hill. Nice area, walking distance to the British Museum. He was there doing
serious research, digging through historical documents about the Philippines.
Specifically, he was working on this old Spanish book called "Sucesos de
las Islas Filipinas" by Antonio de Morga. Rizal wanted to show Filipinos
their real history, not the version the Spanish colonizers were telling them.
Meanwhile, Blavatsky was living about four miles away at 17
Lansdowne Road in Holland Park. She was putting the finishing touches on her
massive book, "The Secret Doctrine." Think ancient wisdom, mystical
teachings, that sort of thing. And where do you go in London when you need to
research ancient texts and artifacts? The British Museum, of course.
The Daily Grind of 19th Century Intellectuals
Both Rizal and Blavatsky probably had similar routines.
Rizal was disciplined about his schedule. He'd wake up, do some writing or
translation work, then head to the museum for research. Blavatsky was more of a
night owl, often working until dawn, but she'd still make her way to the museum
during the day to dig through their collections.
The British Museum's Reading Room was the place to be if you
were serious about research. Picture a huge circular room filled with desks,
surrounded by towering shelves of books. Scholars from all over the world would
sit there for hours, completely absorbed in their work. It's easy to imagine
both Rizal and Blavatsky claiming their favorite spots, day after day.
What Are the Chances?
Think about it. Two intellectuals, both foreigners in
London, both spending their days in the same reading room. Rizal was curious
about everything, including philosophy and mysticism. Blavatsky was interested
in reform movements around the world. Their paths almost had to cross at some
point, right?
Rizal wasn't just focused on politics. He was fascinated by
big ideas about human nature, spirituality, and how societies change.
Blavatsky, despite all her talk about ancient mysteries, was also concerned
with practical things like social reform and human rights. They would have had
plenty to talk about.
What Would They Have Talked About?
If they did meet, imagine that conversation. Rizal could
have shared his ideas about waking up the Filipino people and fighting
oppression through education and truth-telling. Blavatsky might have talked
about her theories on human evolution and ancient wisdom traditions.
But here's what would have really gotten them talking:
spirituality, God, and organized religion. Both of them had some pretty strong
opinions about how the church was messing things up.
If you read Rizal's novels and then pick up Blavatsky's
books, you'll find the same thread of thinking running through both. They
weren't against God or spirituality. They were against what they saw as fake
religion, the kind that put priests between people and their faith.
Rizal once wrote to a group of Filipino women, telling them
straight up: "You know that the will of God is not that of the priests;
that religiousness does not consist of long periods spent on your knees, nor of
endless prayers, big rosaries, and grimy scapularies, but of good conducts,
firm intention and honest judgment."[1]
Now listen to what Blavatsky had to say about the same
topic: "If both Church and priest could but pass out of the sight of
the world as easily as their names do now from the eye of our reader, it would
be a happy day for humanity. New York and London might then soon become as
moral as a heathen city unoccupied by Christians; Paris be cleaner than the
ancient Sodom."[2]
Harsh? Absolutely. But you can see they were on the same
wavelength. Both believed that real spirituality was about how you lived your
life, not about following rituals or obeying clergy.
They both believed that knowledge could change the world.
Rizal thought understanding real history could free his people from mental
colonization. Blavatsky thought understanding spiritual truths could free
humanity from ignorance. Different approaches, but the same basic idea.
Maybe Rizal would have been intrigued by Blavatsky's stories
about traveling in India and Tibet. Maybe Blavatsky would have been interested
in Rizal's perspective on how colonialism affected indigenous cultures. They
were both outsiders in London, both trying to bridge different worlds through
their writing.
Why This Matters
We'll probably never know if they actually met. There's no
diary entry, no letter, no witness account. But the possibility is intriguing
because it represents something bigger. London in the 1880s was this amazing
crossroads where ideas from all over the world were mixing together.
You had people like Rizal bringing Asian perspectives on
freedom and identity. You had people like Blavatsky trying to synthesize
Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. The British Museum was like the
internet of its day, a place where anyone with curiosity and determination
could access humanity's collected knowledge.
Whether they met or not, both Rizal and Blavatsky left their
mark on history. Rizal inspired a revolution and became a martyr for Philippine
independence. Blavatsky launched a spiritual movement that's still around
today. They both prove that sometimes the most important changes start with
someone sitting in a library, reading old books, and imagining a different
future.
The fact that they might have shared the same reading room
makes that moment in history feel more real, more human. Two people, far from
home, united by their belief that ideas have power. Not a bad legacy for a
chance encounter that may or may not have happened.