Esoteric schools of thought

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 113. Chapters: Druze, Catharism, Druid, Theosophy, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Caduceus, Rosicrucianism, Essenes, Anthroposophy, Hermeticism, Theosophical Society, Ismailism, The 36 tattvas, History of alchemy, I Ching, Ascended Master Teachings, Kaula, Fourth Way, Brethren of Purity, Alawi, Pythagoreanism, Kashmir Shaivism, Chinese alchemy, Kabbalah Centre, Epistles of Wisdom, Cao Dai, Great chain of being, Hermetic Qabalah, Svatantrya, Shaktipat, List of branches of the Anthroposophical Society in America, Rudolf Steiner's exercises for spiritual development, Anthroposophical view of the human being, Prakasa, Trika, Shabda, A¿¿a, Neopythagoreanism, Ibadat Khana, Schola Philosophicae Initiationis, Archeosofica, Archeosophical Society, Hierophant, Astara, Inc., Tantraloka, Batiniyya. Excerpt: (Arabic: ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ; Persian: ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ; Urdu: ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ) is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the mainstream Twelvers (). The get their name from their acceptance of as the appointed spiritual successor () to , wherein they differ from the Twelvers, who accept , younger brother of , as the true . Tracing its earliest theology to the lifetime of , rose at one point to become the largest branch of Shi'ism, climaxing as a political power with the Fatimid Empire in the tenth through twelfth centuries. Ismailis believe in the oneness of God, as well as the closing of divine revelation with , whom they see as the final Prophet and Messenger of God to all humanity. The and the Twelvers both accept the same initial A'immah from the descendants of through his daughter and therefore share much of their early history. Both Shi'ite groups see the family of (Ahl al-Bayt) as divinely chosen, infallible (ismah), and guided by God to lead the Islamic community (Ummah), a belief that distinguishes them from the majority Sunni branch of Islam. After the death of Muhammad ibn Ismail in the 8th century CE, the teachings of Ismailism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the deeper, esoteric meaning (batin) of the Islamic religion. With the eventual development of Twelverism into the more literalistic (zahir) oriented Akhbari and later Usooli schools of thought, Shi'ism developed into two separate directions: the metaphorical Isma¿ili group focusing on the mystical path and nature of Allah, with the "Imam of the Time" representing the manifestation of truth and reality, with the more literalistic Twelver group focusing on divine law (sharia) and the deeds and sayings (sunnah) of Muhammad and the Twelve Imams who were guides and a light to God. Though there are several paths (tariqah) within the Isma¿ilis, the term in today's vernacular generally refers to the Nizari path, which