This is the most significant theosophical work of Alfred Sinnett, a close friend of Helena Blavatsky and founding member of the Theosophical Society. Based on the so-called "Mahatma Letters" purported to have been written by initiates of Buddhist occultism, it was one of the first books published with the intention of explaining theosophy to the general public. The controversy resulting from the publication of this book was a major contributing factor in the schism between Buddhist and Christian theosophists. While the sources of this books are questionable, its value as an early syncretic interpretation of Buddhist thought is significant.