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Dweller on the Threshold

2026-06-25T23:17:34Z

Pablo Sender: /* Shells */

[[File:Machell - Dweller on the Threshold.jpg|220px|right|thumb|''Dweller on the Threshold'' by Reginald Machell]]
The '''Dweller on the Threshold''' is a character in [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton]]'s 1842 novel [[Zanoni (book)|''Zanoni'']]. It is a malevolent entity embodying all the darkness that an individual has accumulated during all of his or her [[reincarnation|past lives]].

The "Dweller" is mentioned by different [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] authors, including [[Master]] [[Serapis]], who makes reference to it in several of his letters to [[H. S. Olcott]].

== Shells ==

According to [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]]'s view "Dweller" is a known term in [[occultism]]:

<blockquote>Dwellers (on the Threshold). A term invented by Bulwer Lytton in Zanoni; but in Occultism the word “Dweller” is an occult term used by students for long ages past, and refers to certain maleficent astral Doubles of defunct persons.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 106.</ref></blockquote>

In this view, the Dweller is the [[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]] of the previous incarnation of a materialistic person discarded by the [[Ego#Higher ego|Higher Ego]], which is attracted to it in its new incarnation:

<blockquote>In rarer cases, however, something far more dreadful may happen. When the lower Manas is doomed to exhaust itself by starvation; when there is no longer hope that even a remnant of a lower light will, owing to favorable conditions––say, even a short period of spiritual aspiration and repentance––attract back to itself its Parent Ego, then Karma leads the Higher Ego back to new incarnations. In this case the Kâma-Mânasic spook may become that which we call in Occultism the “Dweller on the Threshold.” This “Dweller” is not like that which is described so graphically in Zanoni, but an actual fact in nature and not a fiction in romance, however beautiful the latter may be. Bulwer must have got the idea from some Eastern Initiate. Our “Dweller,” led by affinity and attraction, forces itself into the astral current, and through the Auric Envelope of the new tabernacle inhabited by the Parent Ego, and declares war to the lower light which has replaced it. This, of course, can only happen in the case of the moral weakness of the personality so obsessed. No one strong in his virtue, and righteous in his walk of life, can risk or dread any such thing; but only those depraved in heart.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 636.</ref></blockquote>

A further explanation can be found in what was published as the third volume of [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]:

<blockquote>The “Dweller on the Threshold” is found in two cases: (a) In the case of the separation of the Triangle from the Quaternary; (b) When Kâmic desires and passions are so intense that the Kâma Rûpa persists in Kâma Loka beyond the Devachanic period of the Ego, and thus survives the reincarnation of the Devachanic Entity (e.g., when reincarnation occurs within two hundred or three hundred years). The “Dweller” being drawn by affinity towards the Reincarnating Ego to whom it had belonged, and being unable to reach it, fastens on the Kâma of the new personality, and becomes the Dweller on the Threshold, strengthening the Kâmic element and thus lending it a dangerous potency. Some become mad from this cause.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. V (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1971), 512.</ref></blockquote>

[[C. W. Leadbeater]] expressed a similar idea:

<blockquote>In the case of lower-class [[monad]]s with unusually strong astral bodies, who reincarnate after a very short interval, it sometimes happens that the shade or shell left over from the last astral life still persists, and in that case it is likely to be attracted to the new personality. When that happens it brings with it strongly the old habits and modes of thought, and sometimes even the actual memory of that past life.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Inner Life'' vol. 2, (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1912), ???.</ref></blockquote>

== Psychological trial ==

[[T. Subba Row]] described the image of the Dweller as being similar to that of the battle described in the [[Bhagavadgītā (book)|Bhagavad Gita]]. He wrote:

<blockquote>Philosophically it is the great battle in which the human Spirit has to fight against the lower passions in the physical body. Many of our readers have probably heard about the so-called ‘Dweller on the Threshold,’ so vividly described in [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton|Lytton]]’s novel, [[Zanoni (book)|Zanoni]]. According to this author’s description, the Dweller on the Threshold seems to be some [[elemental]], or other monster of mysterious form, appearing before the neophyte just as he is about to enter the mysterious land, and attempting to shake his resolution with menaces of unknown dangers if he is not fully prepared.
 
There is no such monster in reality. The description must be taken in a figurative sense. But nevertheless there is a Dweller on the Threshold, whose influence on the mental plane is far more trying than any physical terror can be. The real Dweller on the Threshold is formed of the despair and despondency of the neophyte, who is called upon to give up all his old affections for kindred, parents and children, as well as his aspirations for objects of worldly ambition, which have perhaps been his associates for many incarnations. When called upon to give up these things, the neophyte feels a kind of blank, before he realizes his higher possibilities. After having given up all his associations, his life itself seems to vanish into thin air. He seems to have lost all hope, and to have no object to live and work for. He sees no signs of his own future progress. All before him seems darkness; and a sort of pressure comes upon the soul, under which it begins to droop, and in most cases he begins to fall back and gives up further progress. But in the case of a man who really struggles, he will battle against that despair, and be able to proceed on the Path. . .
 
We are each of us called upon to kill out all our passions and desires, not that they are all necessarily evil in themselves, but that their influence must be annihilated before we can establish ourselves on the higher planes. The position of Arjuna is intended to typify that of a [[chela]], who is called upon to face the Dweller on the Threshold.<ref>T. Subba Rao, "On the Bhagavad Gita" Adyar Pamphlet No. 17, (Adyar, Madras:The Theosophist Office, 1912).</ref></blockquote>

== Additional resources==

===Articles and pamphlets===
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/dweller-threshold Dweller On The Threshold] at Theosophy World
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/DwellerOnTheThreshold_EBLytton.pdf "The Dweller on the Threshold"] by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton. An excerpt from ''Zanoni'' followed by notes from H. P. Blavatsky.
*[https://www.theosophy-ult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/The-Dweller-on-the-Threshold-R-Crosbie-WQ-Judge.pdf "The Dweller on the Threshold"] by Robert Crosbie. Published in ''Theosophy'' 9.4 (February 1921), 113.
*[https://www.theosophy-ult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/The-Dweller-on-the-Threshold-R-Crosbie-WQ-Judge.pdf "The Dweller of the Threshold"] by W. Q. Judge. Published under the pseudonym Eusebio Urban in ''The Path'', December, 1888. Reprinted in ''Theosophy'' 1.9 (July, 1913), 367.
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/DwellerThresholdFH.htm# "The Dweller of the Threshold"] by Franz Hartmann. Reprinted from ''The Theosophist'' XI (1889). Also issued as Adyar Pamphlet #115 and reprinted in ''The Theosophist'' 94 (January, 1973), 250.
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/shearman43.html# "The Dweller on the Threshold"] by Hugh Shearman. Published in ''The Theosophist'' April 1977.
*[http://www.teosofia.com/Mumbai/7209dweller.html# "The Dweller on the Threshold"] published in The Theosophical Movement

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]

Dweller on the Threshold

2026-06-25T23:16:52Z

Pablo Sender: /* Shells */

[[File:Machell - Dweller on the Threshold.jpg|220px|right|thumb|''Dweller on the Threshold'' by Reginald Machell]]
The '''Dweller on the Threshold''' is a character in [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton]]'s 1842 novel [[Zanoni (book)|''Zanoni'']]. It is a malevolent entity embodying all the darkness that an individual has accumulated during all of his or her [[reincarnation|past lives]].

The "Dweller" is mentioned by different [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] authors, including [[Master]] [[Serapis]], who makes reference to it in several of his letters to [[H. S. Olcott]].

== Shells ==

According to [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]]'s view "Dweller" is a known term in [[occultism]]:

<blockquote>Dwellers (on the Threshold). A term invented by Bulwer Lytton in Zanoni; but in Occultism the word “Dweller” is an occult term used by students for long ages past, and refers to certain maleficent astral Doubles of defunct persons.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 106.</ref></blockquote>

In this view, the Dweller is the [[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]] of the previous incarnation of a materialistic person discarded by the [[Ego#Higher ego|Higher Ego]], which is attracted to it in its new incarnation:

<blockquote>In rarer cases, however, something far more dreadful may happen. When the lower Manas is doomed to exhaust itself by starvation; when there is no longer hope that even a remnant of a lower light will, owing to favorable conditions––say, even a short period of spiritual aspiration and repentance––attract back to itself its Parent Ego, then Karma leads the Higher Ego back to new incarnations. In this case the Kâma-Mânasic spook may become that which we call in Occultism the “Dweller on the Threshold.” This “Dweller” is not like that which is described so graphically in Zanoni, but an actual fact in nature and not a fiction in romance, however beautiful the latter may be. Bulwer must have got the idea from some Eastern Initiate. Our “Dweller,” led by affinity and attraction, forces itself into the astral current, and through the Auric Envelope of the new tabernacle inhabited by the Parent Ego, and declares war to the lower light which has replaced it. This, of course, can only happen in the case of the moral weakness of the personality so obsessed. No one strong in his virtue, and righteous in his walk of life, can risk or dread any such thing; but only those depraved in heart.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 636.</ref></blockquote>

[[C. W. Leadbeater]] expressed a similar idea, in plainer language:

<blockquote>In the case of lower-class [[monad]]s with unusually strong astral bodies, who reincarnate after a very short interval, it sometimes happens that the shade or shell left over from the last astral life still persists, and in that case it is likely to be attracted to the new personality. When that happens it brings with it strongly the old habits and modes of thought, and sometimes even the actual memory of that past life.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Inner Life'' vol. 2, (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1912), ???.</ref></blockquote>

A further explanation can be found in what was published as the third volume of [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]:

<blockquote>The “Dweller on the Threshold” is found in two cases: (a) In the case of the separation of the Triangle from the Quaternary; (b) When Kâmic desires and passions are so intense that the Kâma Rûpa persists in Kâma Loka beyond the Devachanic period of the Ego, and thus survives the reincarnation of the Devachanic Entity (e.g., when reincarnation occurs within two hundred or three hundred years). The “Dweller” being drawn by affinity towards the Reincarnating Ego to whom it had belonged, and being unable to reach it, fastens on the Kâma of the new personality, and becomes the Dweller on the Threshold, strengthening the Kâmic element and thus lending it a dangerous potency. Some become mad from this cause.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. V (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1971), 512.</ref></blockquote>

== Psychological trial ==

[[T. Subba Row]] described the image of the Dweller as being similar to that of the battle described in the [[Bhagavadgītā (book)|Bhagavad Gita]]. He wrote:

<blockquote>Philosophically it is the great battle in which the human Spirit has to fight against the lower passions in the physical body. Many of our readers have probably heard about the so-called ‘Dweller on the Threshold,’ so vividly described in [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton|Lytton]]’s novel, [[Zanoni (book)|Zanoni]]. According to this author’s description, the Dweller on the Threshold seems to be some [[elemental]], or other monster of mysterious form, appearing before the neophyte just as he is about to enter the mysterious land, and attempting to shake his resolution with menaces of unknown dangers if he is not fully prepared.
 
There is no such monster in reality. The description must be taken in a figurative sense. But nevertheless there is a Dweller on the Threshold, whose influence on the mental plane is far more trying than any physical terror can be. The real Dweller on the Threshold is formed of the despair and despondency of the neophyte, who is called upon to give up all his old affections for kindred, parents and children, as well as his aspirations for objects of worldly ambition, which have perhaps been his associates for many incarnations. When called upon to give up these things, the neophyte feels a kind of blank, before he realizes his higher possibilities. After having given up all his associations, his life itself seems to vanish into thin air. He seems to have lost all hope, and to have no object to live and work for. He sees no signs of his own future progress. All before him seems darkness; and a sort of pressure comes upon the soul, under which it begins to droop, and in most cases he begins to fall back and gives up further progress. But in the case of a man who really struggles, he will battle against that despair, and be able to proceed on the Path. . .
 
We are each of us called upon to kill out all our passions and desires, not that they are all necessarily evil in themselves, but that their influence must be annihilated before we can establish ourselves on the higher planes. The position of Arjuna is intended to typify that of a [[chela]], who is called upon to face the Dweller on the Threshold.<ref>T. Subba Rao, "On the Bhagavad Gita" Adyar Pamphlet No. 17, (Adyar, Madras:The Theosophist Office, 1912).</ref></blockquote>

== Additional resources==

===Articles and pamphlets===
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/dweller-threshold Dweller On The Threshold] at Theosophy World
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/DwellerOnTheThreshold_EBLytton.pdf "The Dweller on the Threshold"] by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton. An excerpt from ''Zanoni'' followed by notes from H. P. Blavatsky.
*[https://www.theosophy-ult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/The-Dweller-on-the-Threshold-R-Crosbie-WQ-Judge.pdf "The Dweller on the Threshold"] by Robert Crosbie. Published in ''Theosophy'' 9.4 (February 1921), 113.
*[https://www.theosophy-ult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/The-Dweller-on-the-Threshold-R-Crosbie-WQ-Judge.pdf "The Dweller of the Threshold"] by W. Q. Judge. Published under the pseudonym Eusebio Urban in ''The Path'', December, 1888. Reprinted in ''Theosophy'' 1.9 (July, 1913), 367.
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/DwellerThresholdFH.htm# "The Dweller of the Threshold"] by Franz Hartmann. Reprinted from ''The Theosophist'' XI (1889). Also issued as Adyar Pamphlet #115 and reprinted in ''The Theosophist'' 94 (January, 1973), 250.
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/shearman43.html# "The Dweller on the Threshold"] by Hugh Shearman. Published in ''The Theosophist'' April 1977.
*[http://www.teosofia.com/Mumbai/7209dweller.html# "The Dweller on the Threshold"] published in The Theosophical Movement

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]

Dweller on the Threshold

2026-06-25T23:16:31Z

Pablo Sender: /* Shells */

[[File:Machell - Dweller on the Threshold.jpg|220px|right|thumb|''Dweller on the Threshold'' by Reginald Machell]]
The '''Dweller on the Threshold''' is a character in [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton]]'s 1842 novel [[Zanoni (book)|''Zanoni'']]. It is a malevolent entity embodying all the darkness that an individual has accumulated during all of his or her [[reincarnation|past lives]].

The "Dweller" is mentioned by different [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] authors, including [[Master]] [[Serapis]], who makes reference to it in several of his letters to [[H. S. Olcott]].

== Shells ==

According to [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]]'s view "Dweller" is a known term in [[occultism]]:

<blockquote>Dwellers (on the Threshold). A term invented by Bulwer Lytton in Zanoni; but in Occultism the word “Dweller” is an occult term used by students for long ages past, and refers to certain maleficent astral Doubles of defunct persons.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 106.</ref></blockquote>

In this view, the Dweller is the [[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]] of the previous incarnation of a materialistic person discarded by the [[Ego#Higher ego|Higher Ego]], which is attracted to it in its new incarnation:

<blockquote>In rarer cases, however, something far more dreadful may happen. When the lower Manas is doomed to exhaust itself by starvation; when there is no longer hope that even a remnant of a lower light will, owing to favorable conditions––say, even a short period of spiritual aspiration and repentance––attract back to itself its Parent Ego, then Karma leads the Higher Ego back to new incarnations. In this case the Kâma-Mânasic spook may become that which we call in Occultism the “Dweller on the Threshold.” This “Dweller” is not like that which is described so graphically in Zanoni, but an actual fact in nature and not a fiction in romance, however beautiful the latter may be. Bulwer must have got the idea from some Eastern Initiate. Our “Dweller,” led by affinity and attraction, forces itself into the astral current, and through the Auric Envelope of the new tabernacle inhabited by the Parent Ego, and declares war to the lower light which has replaced it. This, of course, can only happen in the case of the moral weakness of the personality so obsessed. No one strong in his virtue, and righteous in his walk of life, can risk or dread any such thing; but only those depraved in heart.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 636.</ref></blockquote>

[[C. W. Leadbeater]] expressed a similar idea, in planer language:

<blockquote>In the case of lower-class [[monad]]s with unusually strong astral bodies, who reincarnate after a very short interval, it sometimes happens that the shade or shell left over from the last astral life still persists, and in that case it is likely to be attracted to the new personality. When that happens it brings with it strongly the old habits and modes of thought, and sometimes even the actual memory of that past life.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Inner Life'' vol. 2, (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1912), ???.</ref></blockquote>

A further explanation can be found in what was published as the third volume of [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]:

<blockquote>The “Dweller on the Threshold” is found in two cases: (a) In the case of the separation of the Triangle from the Quaternary; (b) When Kâmic desires and passions are so intense that the Kâma Rûpa persists in Kâma Loka beyond the Devachanic period of the Ego, and thus survives the reincarnation of the Devachanic Entity (e.g., when reincarnation occurs within two hundred or three hundred years). The “Dweller” being drawn by affinity towards the Reincarnating Ego to whom it had belonged, and being unable to reach it, fastens on the Kâma of the new personality, and becomes the Dweller on the Threshold, strengthening the Kâmic element and thus lending it a dangerous potency. Some become mad from this cause.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. V (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1971), 512.</ref></blockquote>

== Psychological trial ==

[[T. Subba Row]] described the image of the Dweller as being similar to that of the battle described in the [[Bhagavadgītā (book)|Bhagavad Gita]]. He wrote:

<blockquote>Philosophically it is the great battle in which the human Spirit has to fight against the lower passions in the physical body. Many of our readers have probably heard about the so-called ‘Dweller on the Threshold,’ so vividly described in [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton|Lytton]]’s novel, [[Zanoni (book)|Zanoni]]. According to this author’s description, the Dweller on the Threshold seems to be some [[elemental]], or other monster of mysterious form, appearing before the neophyte just as he is about to enter the mysterious land, and attempting to shake his resolution with menaces of unknown dangers if he is not fully prepared.
 
There is no such monster in reality. The description must be taken in a figurative sense. But nevertheless there is a Dweller on the Threshold, whose influence on the mental plane is far more trying than any physical terror can be. The real Dweller on the Threshold is formed of the despair and despondency of the neophyte, who is called upon to give up all his old affections for kindred, parents and children, as well as his aspirations for objects of worldly ambition, which have perhaps been his associates for many incarnations. When called upon to give up these things, the neophyte feels a kind of blank, before he realizes his higher possibilities. After having given up all his associations, his life itself seems to vanish into thin air. He seems to have lost all hope, and to have no object to live and work for. He sees no signs of his own future progress. All before him seems darkness; and a sort of pressure comes upon the soul, under which it begins to droop, and in most cases he begins to fall back and gives up further progress. But in the case of a man who really struggles, he will battle against that despair, and be able to proceed on the Path. . .
 
We are each of us called upon to kill out all our passions and desires, not that they are all necessarily evil in themselves, but that their influence must be annihilated before we can establish ourselves on the higher planes. The position of Arjuna is intended to typify that of a [[chela]], who is called upon to face the Dweller on the Threshold.<ref>T. Subba Rao, "On the Bhagavad Gita" Adyar Pamphlet No. 17, (Adyar, Madras:The Theosophist Office, 1912).</ref></blockquote>

== Additional resources==

===Articles and pamphlets===
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/dweller-threshold Dweller On The Threshold] at Theosophy World
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/DwellerOnTheThreshold_EBLytton.pdf "The Dweller on the Threshold"] by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton. An excerpt from ''Zanoni'' followed by notes from H. P. Blavatsky.
*[https://www.theosophy-ult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/The-Dweller-on-the-Threshold-R-Crosbie-WQ-Judge.pdf "The Dweller on the Threshold"] by Robert Crosbie. Published in ''Theosophy'' 9.4 (February 1921), 113.
*[https://www.theosophy-ult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/The-Dweller-on-the-Threshold-R-Crosbie-WQ-Judge.pdf "The Dweller of the Threshold"] by W. Q. Judge. Published under the pseudonym Eusebio Urban in ''The Path'', December, 1888. Reprinted in ''Theosophy'' 1.9 (July, 1913), 367.
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/DwellerThresholdFH.htm# "The Dweller of the Threshold"] by Franz Hartmann. Reprinted from ''The Theosophist'' XI (1889). Also issued as Adyar Pamphlet #115 and reprinted in ''The Theosophist'' 94 (January, 1973), 250.
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/shearman43.html# "The Dweller on the Threshold"] by Hugh Shearman. Published in ''The Theosophist'' April 1977.
*[http://www.teosofia.com/Mumbai/7209dweller.html# "The Dweller on the Threshold"] published in The Theosophical Movement

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]

E. T. Sturdy

2026-06-16T21:31:54Z

Pablo Sender: /* Additional resources */

[[File:E. T. Sturdy2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|E. T. Sturdy]]
'''Edward Toronto Sturdy''' (1860 – [[March 15]], 1957) was a [[Sanskrit]] scholar, student of [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]], and a member of the [[Theosophical Society]]. He was part of the [[Esoteric Section#Inner Group|Inner Group]] formed by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] and the one who recorded what is today known as [[HPB's Diagram of Meditation]].

== Personal life ==

E. T. Sturdy was born around 1860 in Canada. He went to New Zealand at the age of 19. After some travels he left Wellington in 1888 to take up residence in London, so he could study with Madame Blavatsky. He was married in 1894. His son Ambrose was born in Edinburgh the following year, and daughter Dorothy two years later. By 1901 Sturdy had been widowed, and was living in London with two small children.<ref>1901 England Census.</ref> A wealthy property developer, he commissioned extensive remodeling of a house in the Dorset village [parish] of Burton Bradstock:
[[File:Norburton Hall.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Norburton House]]
<blockquote>
The name, Norburton House was adopted in 1902 when the owner, Edward T Sturdy (1860–1957) commissioned his uncle, who was an architect, to undertake major refurbishment and building works. A wing was added incorporating the main hall with its elaborately carved staircase and the leaded window together with the 3 guest bedrooms all of which reflect the Arts and Crafts movement.

Edward Sturdy had been a property developer based in London and his move to the countryside coincided with a revival in the use of traditional crafts as an antidote to mass production. The carved staircase and detailed stonemasonry in the main hall are wonderful examples of the Arts and Crafts movement. Edward Sturdy also studied philosophy and gained a reputation as a Sanskrit scholar and translator. His interest in Eastern cultures led him to travel quite extensively and it appears that it brought him into contact with Walter Crane, one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement. Walter Crane designed an elegant fireplace with peacocks in the East wing of the house. Evidence of Sturdy’s interests and travels is prevalent in the house and the grounds...
[[File:Norburton Hall mantel.jpg|250px|right|thumb|[[Theosophical Motto|TS motto]] over mantel at Norburton House]]
* The magnificent evergreens in the grounds are Cupressus Macrocarpas brought back from his travels in New Zealand
* The fireplace in the dining room incorporates peacocks, an important symbol in Islamic, Ancient Persian, Greek and Christian cultures representing purity, truth, wisdom and immortality.

The Sanskrit inscription (prayer) over the fire place in the main hall [[Theosophical Motto|“SATYAT NASTI PARA DORMA”]] has been translated by the British Museum to read ‘There is no higher law than truth’.<ref>"The Story of Norburton Hall" [http://www.burtonbradstock.org.uk/History/Norburton%20Hall%20History/Norburton%20Hall%20Index.htm# Burton Bradstock Village website].</ref>
</blockquote>

== Theosophical involvement==

In 1884, he heard about the [[Theosophical Society]] through a friend and sent a letter to [[Adyar (campus)|Adyar]]. He joined the Society on [[October 10]], 1885, as one of the first ten New Zealanders to become members.<ref>Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at [http://tsmembers.org/ http://tsmembers.org/]. See book 1, entry 3464 (website file: 1B/16).</ref><ref>Mary K. Neff, ''How Theosophy Came to Australia and New Zealand'' (Sydney: Australian Section Theosophical Society, 1943), 42-43.</ref><ref>Robert S. Ellwood, ''Islands of the Dawn'', (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993), 98-99.</ref> Interested in Indian philosophy, the next year he went to [[Adyar (campus)|Adyar]] hoping to get in touch with "learned Hindus". For a short time around March, 1887 he joined [[Henry Steel Olcott|H. S. Olcott]] who was on a tour in Northwest India. He, then, left for Ceylon to attend to some business for the TS.<ref>Henry Steel Olcott, ''Old Diary Leaves'' Third Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 422-423.</ref> Later, he went to London and met [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]], who had just moved there in May.

After a few months in London, Mr. Sturdy returned to New Zealand by way of New York. It is here that he met [[William Quan Judge|W. Q. Judge]]. Once back in his country he settled in Wellington and gathered some students around, which eventually lead to the formation of the first lodge in New Zealand, the Wellington Lodge, chartered in November 1888:

<blockquote>Among its members were Sir Harry Albert ATKINSON, Prime Minister of New Zealand; his wife Anne E. Atkinson; their son, E. Tudor Atkinson; M. van Staveren, a Jewish rabbi; H. M. Stowell (Hare Hongi), a Maori tohunga (priest); and Edward Tregear, a poet and Maori scholar, who wrote a book about the similarities of the Hindu and Maori languages.<ref>Philip Harris, ''Theosophical Encyclopedia'' (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 2006), 449.</ref></blockquote>

However, Mr. Sturdy left for England in December 1888 to become a student of Mme. Blavatsky, and after his departure the Wellington Lodge ceased to exist (it was rechartered in 1894).

He became a member of the [[Esoteric Section|Esoteric Section of Theosophy]] and one of the members of the "E.S.T. Council" appointed by HPB. He was also part of the European Advisory Council formed in July, 1890, which would assist her in her new function as the Presidential authority of the Theosophical Society in Europe. The other members of the Council were [[Annie Besant]], [[William Kingsland|W. Kingsland]], [[Herbert Burrows]], [[A. P. Sinnett]], [[Herbert Coryn|H. A. W. Coryn]], and [[G. R. S. Mead]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 264.</ref>

Mr. Sturdy was also a member of the [[Esoteric Section#Inner Group|Inner Group]] formed by HPB in August 1890. Many years later, in 1947, he wrote: "I think I must have been the most skeptical of all the members of HPB's Inner Group". He then proceeds to say that in time he had come to believe in Mme. Blavatsky and also in the [[Masters of Wisdom]] as "concrete individuals" and not only as ideals.<ref>E. T. Sturdy letter to [[Boris de Zirkoff]]. April 18, 1947. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. [[Theosophical Society in America]] Archives Department.</ref>

On April, 1891, ill and few weeks before dying, HPB was concerned that Mr. Sturdy had also been taken ill with influenza. When it was suggested that Mr. Mead should bring him to be nursed at Headquarters, she was much pleased and insisted on his being sent for at once.<ref>[http://blavatskyarchives.com/cooperl1891.htm# How She Left Us] by Laura M. Cooper.</ref>

Mr. Sturdy was present at the meeting at 19 Avenue Road on [[May 27]], 1891, when the E.S. was reorganized immediately after the death of HPB.

In August 1893 he published an article on Gurus and Chelas in [[Lucifer (periodical)|''Lucifer'']]. This induced Annie Besant to issue a critique in October of that year, taking a stand against the spirit behind Mr. Sturdy's article.

He was actively involved in the controversy that ended up with the secession of the American Section of the Theosophical Society led by [[William Quan Judge|Mr. Judge]]. He stayed with the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|TS Adyar]]. However, in 1894 he resigned from the Society to work independently.<ref>Mary K. Neff, ''How Theosophy Came to Australia and New Zealand'' (Sydney: Australian Section Theosophical Society, 1943), 44.</ref>

== Eastern philosophy ==

[[Theosophy]] was not his only inspiration. In 1940 he wrote: "What I have, I owe largely to [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]], to some extent to [[Anna Bonus Kingsford|Anna Kingsford]] and [[Edward Maitland]], and perhaps, most of all, to the Vedanta and Buddhist teachings".<ref>Robert S. Ellwood, ''Islands of the Dawn'', (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993), 98.</ref> In 1947 he wrote to [[Boris de Zirkoff]]:

<blockquote>Although I often refer to [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']], I am not so much of an [[Occultism|Occultist]], which HPB undoubtedly was, as a [[Mysticism|Mystic]] and follow in thought and effort the teachings of the [[Advaita Vedānta]] and [[Mahāyāna Buddhism]].<ref>E. T. Sturdy letter to [[Boris de Zirkoff]]. April 18, 1947. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. [[Theosophical Society in America]] Archives Department.</ref></blockquote>

=== Swami Vivekananda ===
[[File:Swami_Vivekananda_1893.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Swami Vivekananda]]
In 1895 Swami [[Vivekananda]] had been planning a visit to London; Miss [[Henrietta Müller]], who had already met him in America, extended an invitation from Mr. Sturdy to stay at his home in England.<ref>See [http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda_biography/09_experiences.htm Vivekananda - A Biography, Ch. 9, "Experiences In The West"] by Swami Nikhilananda</ref> Vivekananda gave a lecture October 22, 1895, at Prince’s Hall, of which Mr. Sturdy was the Chairman.<ref>Henry Steel Olcott, ''Old Diary Leaves'' Fifth Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1975), 404.</ref></blockquote> Eventually, Swami Vivekananda and Mr. Sturdy began to work together on an English translation of the Bhakti aphorisms of [[Narada]]. After a two months' stay in England, before leaving, he arranged that Mr. Sturdy should conduct classes in London till the arrival of a new Swami from India. Sturdy wrote of Swami Vivekananda:
<blockquote>
It is now some forty years since Vivekananda left this country, but the impression that he left with me is as vivid now as on the day that I said farewell to him.

I think this is largely accounted for... by a quality in him which is described by a Sanskrit word ''ojas'': it signifies bodily strength, virility and also vitality and splendour.

In fact he had a magnetic personality, associated with great tranquillity. Whether he was walking in the street or standing in a room, there was always the same dignity.

He had a great sense of humour and as a natural correlative, much pathos and pity for affliction. He was a charming companion and entered with ease into any environment he found. And I found that all classes of educated persons that he was brought in contact with looked up to and admired the innate nobility that was in the man. One felt at all limes that he was, to use a modern expression, "conscious of the presence of God". In walking, travelling, and leisure times, there constantly came from him some hardly formulated invocation or expression of devotion.

As a teacher he had a great capacity for perceiving the difficulty of an inquirer, and would elucidate it with great simplicity and point to its solution. At the same time he could enter into great intricacies of thought.

I remember well his discussion with Dr. Paul Deussen, the then head of Kiel University. He pointed out where Schopenhauer and Von Hartmann were wrong in founding their philosophy upon the blind will, the Unconscious, as contrasted with Universal Thought, which must precede all desiring or willing. Unfortunately that error continues today and vitiates a great deal of Western psychology by its using a wrong terminology.<ref>E. T. Sturdy in ''The Vedanta Kesari'' February, 1937. Quoted in [http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/reminiscences/294_ets.htm# Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda] and also in [http://www.vivekananda.net/PDFBooks/Reminiscences/Sturdy.html Vivekananda.net].</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Lafcadio Hearn ===
[[File:Lafcadio Hearn statue in Tokyo.png|170px|right|thumb|Lafadio Hearn statue in Tokyo]]
Another testimony of his pursuit of Eastern philosophy comes from the writer Lafcadio Hearn (a.k.a. Koizumi Yakumo) who wrote to a friend in April, 1898:

<blockquote>I have met a most extraordinary man. . . . His name is E. T. Sturdy. He has lived in India --up in the Himalayas for years-- studying Eastern philosophy; and the hotel delicacies will do him no good, because he is a vegetarian. He is a friend of [[Thomas William Rhys Davids|Professor Rhys-Davids]], who gave him a letter of introduction to me; and has paid for the publication of several Eastern texts--Pali, etc. Beyond any question, he is the most remarkable person I have met in Japan. Fancy a man independent, strong, cultivated, with property in New Zealand and elsewhere, voluntarily haunting the Himalayas in the company of Hindoo pilgrims and ascetics,--in search of the Nameless and the Eternal. Yet he is not a [[Theosophist]] exactly, nor a [[Spiritualism|Spiritualist]]. I did not get very near him--he has that extreme English reserve which deludes under the appearance of almost boyish frankness; but I think we might become fast friends did we live in the same city. He told me some things that I shall never forget,--very strange things.<ref>Elizabeth Bisland, ''The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn'', Volume 2 (Boston: Adamant Media Corporation, 2006), 380.</ref></blockquote>

==Later years==
[[File:E. T. Sturdy.jpeg|right|250px|thumb|E. T. Sturdy at Norburton Hall]]
In a letter to [[Boris de Zirkoff]] dated 18 April, 1947, he wrote: "I am the last of all her [[Esoteric Section#Inner Group|Inner Group]]. I live almost the life of a hermit, for my contact with the outer world is almost entirely by letters".<ref>Letter to [[Boris de Zirkoff]]. April 18, 1947. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. [[Theosophical Society in America]] Archives Department.</ref>

In [[March 13]], 1957, Mr. Sturdy had a slight stroke from which he recovered. However two days later, on [[March 15]], he passed on suddenly after lunch "without even a sigh", aged 97. It is reported he was reading an article on life after death in [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] thought written by his friend [[Christmas Humphreys]].

== Writings ==

=== Articles ===
The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=sturdy&s=author 18 articles by E. T. Sturdy]''' and '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=sturdy&s=title 6 articles about him]'''.

=== Books and pamphlets ===

* '''''Theosophy and Ethics'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1891. 8 pages.

== Additional resources==
=== Articles ===
* [https://theosophy.world/edward-t-sturdy-father-theosophy-new-zealand# Edward T. Sturdy - "Father of Theosophy in New Zealand"] by Richard Sell
* [http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/reminiscences/294_ets.htm# Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda] by E. T. Sturdy. Also available at [http://www.vivekananda.net/PDFBooks/Reminiscences/Sturdy.html Vivekananda.net].
* [http://www.vivekananda150jayanti.org/vivekvani/todays-special/24-april/Mr-E-T-Sturdy# Letters from Swami Vivekananda to Mr. E. T. Sturdy, April 24, 1895] and [http://www.vivekananda150jayanti.org/vivekvani/todays-special/14-september/Letter-to-Mr-E-T-Sturdy# September 14, 1899].
* [https://dorsetlife.co.uk/norburton-hall/# Norburton Hall] at DorsetLife.
* [http://www.burtonbradstock.org.uk/History/Norburton%20Hall%20History/Norburton%20Hall%20Index.htm# The Story of Norburton Hall] at Burtonbradstock Online.
* [https://norburtonhall.com/about/ About Norburton Hall] at NorburtonHall.com.

=== Pamphlets ===
* [https://archive.org/details/besantgurusandchelas1918m Gurus and Chelas] by E. T. Sturdy and a reply by Annie Besant Second edition. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House: 1918.

=== Archival materials ===

* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/sturdyletter.jpg Letter to Christmas Humphreys] at Blavatsky Archives website. Dated August 14, 1942.
* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/blavatsky_diagram_of_meditation.jpg Blavatsky Diagram of Meditation] in Blavatsky Archives. This is the '''original''' of H.P.B.'s Diagram of Meditation that E.T. Sturdy sent to Christmas Humphreys in 1942.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Associates of HPB|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:Sanskrit scholars|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:Inner Group of HPB|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:Business careers|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:Nationality Canadian|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:Nationality New Zealander|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:People|Sturdy, E. T.]]

Ernest Temple Hargrove

2026-06-16T21:18:22Z

Pablo Sender: /* Theosophical Society involvement */

[[File:Ernest Temple Hargrove.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Ernest Temple Hargrove]]

'''Ernest Temple Hargrove''' was an English barrister best known as the leader of a group of Theosophists based in New York who broke away from [[Katherine Tingley|Katherine Tingley's]] [[Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society]] to form the [[Theosophical Society in America (Hargrove)|Theosophical Society in America]] in 1898. This was the second of three organizations using that name. In 1908 the name was changed to "Theosophical Society."

== Personal life and career ==

Ernest Temple Hargrove was born [[December 17]], 1870 in Brentford in the west portion of London, England.<ref>England and Wales FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915.</ref> He arrived in New York on April 10, 1892, and on October 17, 1900 became a naturalized citizen of the United States.<ref>U. S. Immigration Records. New York District Court. 1910.</ref> In London he had been a barrister, but in the United States became a journalist and writer. While in New York, he became acquainted with many Theosophists, including the family of [[August Neresheimer|E. A. Neresheimer]]. Neresheimer's daughter Aimée (or Amy) was married to Ernest on January 17, 1899 in New York.<ref>New York Marriage Index, 1866-1937.</ref> Subsequently, the Neresheimers, Ernest and Aimée moved to Colorado. Ernest and Aimée had a son, William, born in 1902, and a daughter Joan, born in 1905. By 1910, though, the couple had divorced and Aimée was married to Denver lawyer Milton Smith.<ref>1910 U. S. Census.</ref> She died in Houston, Texas.

== Theosophical Society involvement ==

In New York, young Hargrove became acquainted with [[William Quan Judge]] and other Theosophists. On [[October 30]], 1891 Hargrove was admitted to membership of the [[Theosophical Society]].<ref>Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at [http://tsmembers.org/ http://tsmembers.org/]. See book 1, entry 7613 (website file: 1C/42).</ref>

During the last year of Judge's life [1895], Hargrove worked as his secretary. This was a difficult time, when Mr. Judge was mounting a defense against accusations by international Theosophical Society leaders [[Henry Steel Olcott]] and [[Annie Besant]]. Judge's health was declining, as he suffered from lingering effects of Chagas disease contracted in Venezuela. That year, Hargrove gave lectures in a tour of several cities:

<blockquote>
On December 22d Mr. Hargrove addressed over 600 people in the Academy of Music at Macon, Ga. Considering the comparatively small population of this city, such a gathering spoke volumes for the work of the local branch. Washington was reached on January 7th, a lecture being given that evening. Another on the 9th was attended by about 200 people and was well reported in the newspapers.<ref>Anonymous, "Movements of E. T. Hargrove" ''The Theosophical Forum'' 10 (February, 1896): 160.</ref>
</blockquote>

He continued for the next nine days in Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, and Philadelphia before his return to New York.

== Establishing Theosophical Society in America ==

A book of notable New Yorkers from 1899 listed Hargrove as a clergyman, ex-president of the "Theosophical Society in America and Europe," and former editor of ''Theosophy''.<ref>Moses King, ''Notable New Yorkers of 1896-1899: a companion volume to King's handbook of New York City''. New York: M. King, 1899.</ref>

[[File:Chapel of the Comforter.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Chapel of the Comforter, etching by Walter Pach]]
== Later years ==

After his divorce from Aimée, Hargrove did not remarry. Census records from 1910 list him as single, with the occupation of priest in a church.<ref>U. S. Census, 1910.</ref> His residence was Chapel Farm, Riverdale-on-Hudson, in the Bronx. He served at the Episcopalian '''Chapel of the Comforter''', where fellow Theosophists [[Clement Acton Griscom, Jr.]] and [[Henry Bedinger Mitchell]] were members, and where the funeral service for [[Charles Johnston]] was held in 1931. In addition to his priestly duties, Hargrove was president of the Griscom-Russell Co. and Jas. Reilly Repair & Supply Co., Riverdale-on-Hudson.<ref>New York city directory, 1925.</ref>

After Hargrove died on [[April 8]], 1939, his own service took place at the Chapel of the Comforter.

== Writings ==
Hargrove wrote numerous articles and edited the periodical [[Theosophy (periodical)|''Theosophy'']] during the years 1896-1897. the [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists:

* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=ETH+&s=author some articles under the initials ETH]'''. Search results are messy in this case.
* '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=+Hargrove++&s=author 40 articles as some variation of "Hargrove"]'''.

As editor of ''Theosophy'' he undoubtedly wrote numerous other articles that were not signed. He was also known to have used noms de plume such as Chew-Yew-Chang or Che-Yew Tsang.

He also worked for a journalist for other non-Theosophical periodicals and wrote books:
* '''''World Politics'''''. New York: R.F. Fenno & Co., 1898 and London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., 1898. 220 pages. Available at [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/15554839.html Hathitrust] and [https://archive.org/details/worldpolitics00hargrich Internet Archive].
* '''''An American view of the South African situation: How Australasia might help Great Britain'''''. New York: 1901. 64 pages. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=reUzAQAAMAAJ Google Books].
* '''''Life's Questions'''''.
* '''''Some Modern Failings'''''.

==Additional resources ==

* Page xii of ''Supplement to The Theosophist'' Volume XXII (December, 1900) has a few (unflattering) paragraphs about Hargrove as a journalist associated with the ''South Africa News'', published in Cape Town.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:TS Hargrove|Hargrove, Ernest Temple]]
[[Category:Nationality English|Hargrove, Ernest Temple]]
[[Category:Nationality Naturalized American|Hargrove, Ernest Temple]]
[[Category:Writers|Hargrove, Ernest Temple]]
[[Category:Editors|Hargrove, Ernest Temple]]
[[Category:Journalists|Hargrove, Ernest Temple]]
[[Category:Attorneys|Hargrove, Ernest Temple]]
[[Category:Christian clergy|Hargrove, Ernest Temple]]
[[Category:People|Hargrove, Ernest Temple]]

Mahatma Letter No. 113

2026-06-16T18:42:17Z

Pablo Sender: /* Page 2 */

{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = unknown
| receiveddate = early August 1883
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = unknown
| receivedat = London
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 113''' in ''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 82''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Context and background|Context and background]]. Letters from Sinnett followed on August 16 and '''[[Mahatma_Letter_of_Sinnett_to/from_KH_-_1883-09-18|September 18]]''', before the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] situation was resolved by a telegram and '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 114]]'''.
 
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
 
 
== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==

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strictly confidential

The "quart d'heure de Rabelais" has come. On your answer, consent or refusal — depends the resurrection of the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] — prostrated in a death-like [[Samadhi]], if not in actual death. If you believe in my word, and, leaving the Ryots to our care are prepared for a somewhat unclean work — from the European standpoint though — and consent to oppose our work apparently, serving our ends in reality and thus saving our respective countries from a great [[evil]] that overhangs both — then consent to the proposal that will be made to you from India.

You may work to all intents and purposes to oppose The Bengal Rent Bill, for do whatever you or others may, you will never be able to impede our work in the opposite direction. Therefore, — one scruple less as one non-permitted confidence more. A riddle, verily.

And now good friend, I must explain. Only you have to prepare your European, cultured notions of right and wrong to receive a shock. A plan of action of a purely Asiatic character is laid bare before you; and since I may not move one finger — nor would I if I could in this case — to guide your understanding or feelings it may be found too Jesuitical, to suit your taste. Alas for all! that you should be so little versed in the knowledge of [[Occultism|occult]] antidotes, as not to be able to perceive the difference between the Jesuitical "tout chemin est bon qui mene a Rome" added to the cunning and crafty — "the end justifies the means" — and the necessity of the practical application of these sublime words of [[Gautama Buddha|our Lord]]

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Quart d'heure de Rabelais''' means the moment that the bill has to be paid.
* '''Ryot''' was a general economic term for peasant tenants and cultivators, with no clearly defined rights against their landlords or zamindars. See note [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 2|below]].
* '''The Bengal Rent Bill''' (or Bengal Tenancy Act) finally passed in 1885, defined the rights of zamindars and their ryots in response to a widespread peasant revolt against increased rents and land revenues.
* '''Tout chemin est bon qui mène à Rome''' means "any road that leads to Rome is a good one". The usual saying is: "tous les chemins mènent à Rome", all roads lead to Rome.

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and Master: — "O ye Bhikkhus and Arhats — be friendly to the race of men — our brothers! Know ye all, that he, who sacrifices not his one life to save the life of his fellow-being; and he who hesitates to give up more than life — his fair name and honour to save the fair name & honour of the many, is unworthy of the sin-destroying, immortal, transcendent [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]." Well, it cannot be helped.

Allow me to explain to you the situation. It is very complicated; but to him who, without any previous training was able to assimilate so well some of our doctrines as to write [[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]] — the inner springs that we have to use ought to become intelligible.

(1) The Behar Chiefs propose one and a half lakhs down for the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]]; as much when they see you back to India, if the Bengal Rent Bill is opposed by the new paper and you promise to give them your support. Unless the proposition is accepted by you we may prepare for the final incremation of our Phoenix — and for good. Exclusive of this sum — Rs. 150,000 — we can count but upon Rs. 45,000 in shares — so far. But let the Raees put down cash and all will follow.

(2) If you refuse they will secure another editor: were there any danger for the ryots and the Bill they — the Raees or Zemindars would lose nothing thereby, except in the degree of cleverness of their editor; but they hope and are thoroughly unaware of being doomed — in the long run. The only and real loser in the case of refusal will be — India and

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Bhikkus''' are ordained Buddhist monks.
* '''Behar''' refers to Bihar, a region (now a state) in northeastern India.
* '''Raees''' (alternative spelling of Rais) is a historical title of royalty and nobility used in the Indian subcontinent; "A notable, a man of position" (see glossary in ''The Peasant and the Raj. Studies in agrarian society and peasant rebellion in colonial India''). The printed Second Edition wrongly spelled this word as "Races."
*'''Zemindars''' refers to Zamindars, who were aristocrat (typically hereditary) landlords, who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), etc., and were considered to be equivalent to lords and barons. Often zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British Rule.

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your own country — eventually. This is prophecy.

(3) The resistance to, and the intrigues set on foot by the Zemindars against the Bill are infamous in their nature, yet very natural. Those who examine things at the core, perceive the real culprit in Lord Cornwallis and the long line of his successors. However it may be infamous, as I say, there it is and cannot be helped for it is human nature itself; and, there is no more dishonour to support their claims from a legal standpoint on the part of an Editor, who knows them to be doomed, than there is for a Counsel to defend his client — a great criminal sentenced to be hung. I am now trying to argue from your European standpoint, for fear, and lest you should not be able to see things from our Asiatic point of view, or rather in the light we, who are enabled to discern future events — see them.

(4) A conservative Editor whose field of action will be found to run on parallel lines with that of a conservative Viceroy, will find himself having lost nothing in fact, for a slight opposition that cannot last long after all. There are great flaws in the present Bill, examined from its legal, dead-letter aspect.

(5) Owing to the idiotically untimely "Ilbert's Bill," and the still more idiotic "Saligram-Surendro" Contempt case, the agitation is carrying the population of India to the verge of self-destruction. You must not feel as tho' I were exaggerating if I say more: the English

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Lord Cornwallis''' refers to the 1st Marquess Charles Cornwallis (1738 – 1805) who in 1786 was made Governor-General and commander in chief in India. He is regarded as responsible for laying the foundation for British rule throughout India.
* The '''Ilbert Bill''' was introduced in 1883 by Viceroy Ripon, proposing to amend existing laws to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level.

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== Page 4 ==

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and especially Anglo-Indians are running the same course from an opposite direction. You are at liberty to refuse my warning: you will show yourself wise if you do not. To return to our direct object —

(6) There are several Englishmen of great intellect and ability, who feel ready to defend — (and even to ally themselves — with) the Zemindars — and oppose the Bill, against their own principles and feelings — simply because the Raees hate and oppose the man whom the rest of the Hindus profess, for the time being, to adore, and whom they are exalting with all the ardour of simple-minded, short-sighted savages. Thus the ryots cannot escape their fate for a few months longer whether you accept the offer or not. In the latter case, of course the paper scheme is at an end.

(7) At the same time it is better that you should be prepared to know the unavoidable results: there are ninety-nine chances against one, that — if the offer of the Zemindars is rejected — the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] will ever come into existence; not so long at any rate as the present agitation is going on. And when it finally fails as the project is bound to unless we become masters of the situation, then we will have to part. In order to obtain from the [[Chohan]] permission to defend the teeming millions of the poor and the oppressed in India bringing on to bear all our knowledge and [[Siddhi|powers]] — I had to pledge myself, in case of the Phoenix's failure to interfere no more with such worldly matters and —

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

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to bid an eternal farewell to the European element. [[Morya|M.]] and [[Djual Khool]] would have to take my place. On the other hand, should you consent to the offer, your opposition to the Rent Bill would have no more effect on our work — for the Ryots than a straw — to save a vessel from sinking; whereas, if another editor is selected we would have no pretext to exercise our influence on their behalf. Such is the situation. It is a curious medley with no raison d'etre in your opinion. You can hardly be expected by us to see clearly through it at present, nor is there much likelihood that you will judge it fairly owing to this Egyptian darkness of cross purposes; nor is there any special need you should, if the offer has to fall to the ground. But, if your answer is favourable, I may perhaps as well add a few particulars. Know then, that opposition notwithstanding, and just because of it, you will bring the great national boil to a head sooner than it could be otherwise expected. Thus, while carrying out strictly your programme and promise made to the Raees, you will be helping the events that have to be brought about to save the unfortunate population that has been sat upon ever since 1793 — the year of Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake. At the same time you may be doing immense good in every other direction. Recall the past and this will help you to see clearer into our intentions. When you took over Bengal from the native Rulers, there were a number of men

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''To bid an eternal farewell to the European element'''. In his next letter, Mahatma KH speaks of his "pledge to the Chohan" in less final terms, as "thenceforward abstain from collaboration with Europeans until some future and more favourable time."
* '''Raison d'etre''' a French phrase meaning "reason for existence".
* '''Egyptian darkness''' may be a reference to Exodus X.21-2 in which Moses, following Yahweh's order, "stretched out his hand towards heaven, and for three days there was thick darkness over the whole of Egypt".
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
* '''Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake''' probably refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, the best known provision of the Cornwallis Code. It was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the political realities of the Indian countryside.

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who exercised the calling of Tax Collectors under their Government. These men received, as you are aware, a percentage for collecting the rents. The spirit of the letter of the tithe and tribute under the Moossulman Rulers was never understood by the East India Company; least of all the rights of the ryots to oppose an arbitrary interchange of the Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah. Well, when the Zemindars found that the British did not exactly understand their position they took advantage of it, as the English had taken advantage of their force: they claimed to be Landlords. Weekly enough, you consented to recognise the claim, and admitting it notwithstanding the warning of the Moossulman who understood the real situation and were not bribed as most of the Company were — you played into the hands of the few against the many, the result being the "Perpetual Settlement" documents. It is this that led to every subsequent evil in Bengal. Seeing how the unfortunate ryots are regarded by your proud nation in the full progress of the 19th Century, being in your sight of far less value than a horse or cattle, it is not difficult to imagine how they were regarded by your countrymen then — a century ago — when every Englishman was a pious [[Christianity|Christian]] at heart and ordered by the [[Bible (book)|Bible]] to draw a broad distinction between the descendants of Ham and themselves — the heirs of the chosen people. The agreement drawn between Lord Cornwallis and the Raees

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Moossulman''' refers to Muslims.
* '''The East India Company''' was formed to pursue trade with the East Indies, and ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
* '''Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah''' or Law of Wazifa and Mukassimah, refers to the Muslim laws of taxes. Wazifa khiraj (or a fixed money-rate) imposed as a personal liability upon the cultivator for his holding (payable once a year); Mukassimah khiraj (or a share of the actual produce) payable in kind on every crop produced.
*'''Perpetual Settlement''' refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Page 5|previous note]] on "Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake".
* '''Descendants of Ham''' refers to the Biblical curse upon Ham's descendant's by Moses that forced them to live in Egypt and other parts of Africa; i.e., the dark-skinned peoples.
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

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which stipulated that the "black human cattle" should be treated by the Zemindars kindly and justly, and that they should not raise the rents of the ryots, etc. was a legal farce. The [[Chohan]] was then in India and he was an eye-witness to the beginning of horrors. No sooner had they secured the Perpetual Settlement Agreement that the Raees began to disregard their engagements. Failing to fulfil any of these they brought yearly ruin and starvation on the miserable Ryots. They exacted tribute, sold them up, and trumped up false charges against them under the name of Abwab. These "doors" and "openings" led them wherever they wanted and they levied for over 50 years most extraordinary taxes. All this the Zemindars have done and much more and they will be surely made to account for it. Things too horrible to mention were done under the eyes and often with the sanction of the Company's servants, when the Mutiny put a certain impediment by bringing as its result another form of Government. It is to redress the great wrong done, to remedy to the now irremediable that Lord Ripon took it into his head to bring forward the new Bill. It was not thought expedient by his Councillors (not those you know of) to crush the Zemindary system without securing at the same time popularity among the majority in another direction: hence "Ilbert's Bill" and some other trifles. We say then that to all appearance it is to redress the wrongs of the Past, that is the object of the present Bengal Rent Bill. My friend you are a

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
*'''Abwāb''' means "doors, sources of revenue". It was a tax or impost levied by a chief on a landowner.
*'''The Mutiny''' refers to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company, which was then formally dissolved and its ruling powers over India were transferred to the British Crown.
*'''Lord Ripon''' (George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon) was the British Viceroy of India from 1880-1884.
*'''The new Bill''' refers to the Ilbert Bill. See [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 3|previous note]].

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== Page 8 ==

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remarkably clever Editor and an astute and observant politician; and no one, perhaps, in all India goes as deep as you do into the inner constitution of the Anglo-Indian coups d'etat. Still you do not go far enough and the original primitive layers of the political soil as the genesis of some acts of my Lord Ripon were and are terra incognita to yourself as to so many others perhaps still older hands in politics than you are. Neither Lord Ripon nor his Councillors (those behind the veil) anticipate any great results during his power in India. They are more [[Occultism|Occultists]] than you may imagine. Their liberal reforms are not meant for India, to the weal or woes of which they are quite indifferent: they look far off to future results and — Press acts, Ilbert's Bills, Bengal Rent Bills and the rest are aimed at Protestant England which, very soon, too soon if Somebody or Something does not interfere, will find itself suffocating in the invisible coils of the Romish Apophis. Friend and Brother, the only one of your race whom I regard with a warm, sincere affection, take care! Do not reject too lightly my warning for it is a solemn one, and but a hint I am permitted to make. Political skepticism, like every other, scorns and laughs at the observations of those who do not belong to its factions. It finds out its mistakes when in a ditch. Beware for it is no more a simple ditch, but an abyss that is being prepared for you!

But let us see on what grounds an honest Englishman

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Coups d'etat''' is a French phrase for the sudden and illegal seizure of a government.
* '''Terra incognita''' is a Latin phrase meaning "unknown land".
* '''Romish Apophis'''. The term "Romish Catholic" was used in English by adherents of the Church of England for Catholics. Apophis was the Greek version of Apep, an evil god in ancient Egyptian religion depicted as a snake and a dragon, the deification of darkness and chaos.
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== Page 9 ==

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can oppose the Rent Bill. However great the misery of the Ryots even at present, however just the reprisals that are in store for the Zemindars, however human and generous, in short, on its surface the object of the Rent Bill, yet no honest Government strictly speaking has the right to break at will and its own pleasure solemn pledges and engagements. Because, it is found that the Raees have not fulfilled their part of the Agreement, it gives no right to the other party to make away with their signature and tear in shreds the Perpetual Settlement Agreement. The sins of the few cannot well be visited upon the many. There are heavy flaws in the present Rent Bill as there were in the old System; and, there is no clause in the old documents stipulated to the effect that the Settlement becomes nil at the will of the British. I will not enter upon the defects of the dead-letter meaning in either the one or other, but will limit myself by telling you that there are such flaws and that, until modified you have a perfect right to object to them. You are not expected to cause the Bill to be withdrawn but to simply support the Zemindars analysis of its defects. And this you can freely promise. However I must not seem trying to influence you one way or the other. Some of the claims of the Raees are infamous and no honest man can be made to support them; while others are not without a strong legal foundation in their favour. The Ruling power, for instance, was never yet and in no case

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See not one page 2.

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the proprietor of the Khirajee land — not even under the Moossulman laws and sway. You have thus the Spirit of Khiraj and Ooshr to work upon, in order to redeem your promise to the landowners and amuse them for a few months unto the day of the "almighty smash" that is in store for them. All that you are asked to do for the benefit of (your as well as) my country is, to overlook the ugly frontispiece of the edifice, taking into consideration only the real nature of the situation and the future good results, in case you should get over your very natural squeamishness. In a few days you may receive a formal proposal. Think well over it. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by any consideration in connection with my desires. If you honestly believe the offer inconsistent with your European notions and criterion of truth and honour refuse its acceptance without any hesitation and let me bid you a sad, though ever grateful and friendly farewell. I cannot expect to see you looking at things from my own standpoint. You look without, I see within. This is no hour for sentimentalities. The whole future of the "brightest (!) jewel" — oh, what a dark satire in that name! — in the Crown of England is at stake, and I am bound to devote the whole of my powers as far as the [[Chohan]] will permit me

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Khiraj and Ooshr'''. The ''kharaj'' was an agricultural tax levied by Muslim conquerors on their non-Muslim subject. Muslim landowners paid only ''ushr'', a religious tithe, which carried a much lower rate of taxation.
*'''Moossulman''' means Muslim.
*'''Brightest jewel'''. India was frequently referred to as the "the brightest jewel in the Crown of England".

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to help my country at this eleventh hour of her misery. I cannot work except with those who will work with us. Accuse me not, my friend, for you do not know you cannot know, the extent of the limitations I am placed under. Think not, that I am seeking to place a bait — an inducement, for you to accept that which would refuse under other circumstances, for I am not. Having pledged my solemn word of honour to Him to whom I am indebted for everything I am and know I am simply helpless in case of your refusal and — we will have to part. Had not the Rent Bill been accompanied by the din and clash of the Ilbert Bill and "contempt case" I would have been the first to advise you to refuse. As the situation stands now, however, and prohibited as I am to use any but ordinary powers — I am powerless to do both, and am constrained to choose between helping my hapless mother-country, and our future intercourse. It is for you to decide. And if this letter is fated to be my last, I beg you to remember — for your sake, not mine — the message I sent at Simla to yourself and [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] through [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] — "Lord Ripon is not a free agent; the real Viceroy and ruler of India is not at Simla but at Rome; and the effective weapon used by the latter is — the Viceroy's confessor."

Give, pray, my best wishes to [[Patience Sinnett|your lady]] and the "[[Percy Edensor Sinnett|Morsel]]". Be certain, that with a few undetectable

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Lord Ripon is not a free agent'''. He converted to Catholicism in 1874, following which he was generous in supporting Catholic educational and charitable works.

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mistakes and omissions notwithstanding, your "[[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]]" is the only right exposition — however incomplete — of our [[Esoteric Philosophy|Occult doctrines]]. You have made no cardinal, fundamental mistakes; and whatever may be given to you hereafter will not clash with a single sentence in your book but on the contrary will explain away any seeming contradiction. How greatly mistaken was [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s theory is shown by the "[[Chela]]" in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]. With all that, you may feel sure that neither [[Morya|M.]] nor I have contradicted each other in our respective statements. He was speaking of the inner — I, of the [[Inner and Outer Rounds|outer Round]]. There are many things that you have not learned but may some day; nor will you be able to ever comprehend the process of the [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscurations]] until you have mastered the mathematical progress of the inner and the outer Rounds and learned more about the specific difference between the seven. And thus according to [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]]'s philosophical conclusion we have no [[God]]? He is right — since he applies the name to an extra-cosmic anomaly, and that we, knowing nothing of the latter, find — each man his God — within himself in his own personal, and at the same time, — impersonal [[Avalokiteśvara|Avalokiteswara]]. And now — farewell. And if it is so decreed that we should correspond no more, remember me with the same sincere good feeling as you will ever be remembered by,

[[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]]

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''How greatly mistaken was Mr. Hume''' refers to the article "Cosmical Rings and Rounds" he wrote in ''The Theosophist'' June 1883 (p. 231), which was answered by the chela [[S. T. Krishnama Charya|S. T. K***Chary]] (p. 232). See [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/Theosophical%20Publications/The%20Theosophist/1883/theosophist_v4_n9_june_1883.pdf# here] a reprint of the article and its response.

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== Context and background ==

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 3. [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]] described the letter this way:
<blockquote>
In KH script on both sides of six sheets of white paper. The first four lines are in blue ink; the remainder is in green ink.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 182.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Mahatma Letter No. 113

2026-06-16T18:41:21Z

Pablo Sender: /* Page 2 */

{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = unknown
| receiveddate = early August 1883
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = unknown
| receivedat = London
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 113''' in ''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 82''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Context and background|Context and background]]. Letters from Sinnett followed on August 16 and '''[[Mahatma_Letter_of_Sinnett_to/from_KH_-_1883-09-18|September 18]]''', before the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] situation was resolved by a telegram and '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 114]]'''.
 
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
 
 
== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==

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strictly confidential

The "quart d'heure de Rabelais" has come. On your answer, consent or refusal — depends the resurrection of the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] — prostrated in a death-like [[Samadhi]], if not in actual death. If you believe in my word, and, leaving the Ryots to our care are prepared for a somewhat unclean work — from the European standpoint though — and consent to oppose our work apparently, serving our ends in reality and thus saving our respective countries from a great [[evil]] that overhangs both — then consent to the proposal that will be made to you from India.

You may work to all intents and purposes to oppose The Bengal Rent Bill, for do whatever you or others may, you will never be able to impede our work in the opposite direction. Therefore, — one scruple less as one non-permitted confidence more. A riddle, verily.

And now good friend, I must explain. Only you have to prepare your European, cultured notions of right and wrong to receive a shock. A plan of action of a purely Asiatic character is laid bare before you; and since I may not move one finger — nor would I if I could in this case — to guide your understanding or feelings it may be found too Jesuitical, to suit your taste. Alas for all! that you should be so little versed in the knowledge of [[Occultism|occult]] antidotes, as not to be able to perceive the difference between the Jesuitical "tout chemin est bon qui mene a Rome" added to the cunning and crafty — "the end justifies the means" — and the necessity of the practical application of these sublime words of [[Gautama Buddha|our Lord]]

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Quart d'heure de Rabelais''' means the moment that the bill has to be paid.
* '''Ryot''' was a general economic term for peasant tenants and cultivators, with no clearly defined rights against their landlords or zamindars. See note [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 2|below]].
* '''The Bengal Rent Bill''' (or Bengal Tenancy Act) finally passed in 1885, defined the rights of zamindars and their ryots in response to a widespread peasant revolt against increased rents and land revenues.
* '''Tout chemin est bon qui mène à Rome''' means "any road that leads to Rome is a good one". The usual saying is: "tous les chemins mènent à Rome", all roads lead to Rome.

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and Master: — "O ye Bhikkhus and Arhats — be friendly to the race of men — our brothers! Know ye all, that he, who sacrifices not his one life to save the life of his fellow-being; and he who hesitates to give up more than life — his fair name and honour to save the fair name & honour of the many, is unworthy of the sin-destroying, immortal, transcendent [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]." Well, it cannot be helped.

Allow me to explain to you the situation. It is very complicated; but to him who, without any previous training was able to assimilate so well some of our doctrines as to write [[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]] — the inner springs that we have to use ought to become intelligible.

(1) The Behar Chiefs propose one and a half lakhs down for the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]]; as much when they see you back to India, if the Bengal Rent Bill is opposed by the new paper and you promise to give them your support. Unless the proposition is accepted by you we may prepare for the final incremation of our Phoenix — and for good. Exclusive of this sum — Rs. 150,000 — we can count but upon Rs. 45,000 in shares — so far. But let the Raees put down cash and all will follow.

(2) If you refuse they will secure another editor: were there any danger for the ryots and the Bill they — the Raees or Zemindars would lose nothing thereby, except in the degree of cleverness of their editor; but they hope and are thoroughly unaware of being doomed — in the long run. The only and real loser in the case of refusal will be — India and

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Bhikkus''' are ordained Buddhist monks.
* '''Behar''' refers to Bihar, a region (now a state) in northeastern India.
* '''Raees'''. The printed Second Edition wrongly spelled this word as "Races." Raees (alternative spelling of Rais) is a historical title of royalty and nobility used in the Indian subcontinent; "A notable, a man of position" (see glossary in ''The Peasant and the Raj. Studies in agrarian society and peasant rebellion in colonial India'').
*'''Zemindars''' refers to Zamindars, who were aristocrat (typically hereditary) landlords, who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), etc., and were considered to be equivalent to lords and barons. Often zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British Rule.

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your own country — eventually. This is prophecy.

(3) The resistance to, and the intrigues set on foot by the Zemindars against the Bill are infamous in their nature, yet very natural. Those who examine things at the core, perceive the real culprit in Lord Cornwallis and the long line of his successors. However it may be infamous, as I say, there it is and cannot be helped for it is human nature itself; and, there is no more dishonour to support their claims from a legal standpoint on the part of an Editor, who knows them to be doomed, than there is for a Counsel to defend his client — a great criminal sentenced to be hung. I am now trying to argue from your European standpoint, for fear, and lest you should not be able to see things from our Asiatic point of view, or rather in the light we, who are enabled to discern future events — see them.

(4) A conservative Editor whose field of action will be found to run on parallel lines with that of a conservative Viceroy, will find himself having lost nothing in fact, for a slight opposition that cannot last long after all. There are great flaws in the present Bill, examined from its legal, dead-letter aspect.

(5) Owing to the idiotically untimely "Ilbert's Bill," and the still more idiotic "Saligram-Surendro" Contempt case, the agitation is carrying the population of India to the verge of self-destruction. You must not feel as tho' I were exaggerating if I say more: the English

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Lord Cornwallis''' refers to the 1st Marquess Charles Cornwallis (1738 – 1805) who in 1786 was made Governor-General and commander in chief in India. He is regarded as responsible for laying the foundation for British rule throughout India.
* The '''Ilbert Bill''' was introduced in 1883 by Viceroy Ripon, proposing to amend existing laws to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level.

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== Page 4 ==

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and especially Anglo-Indians are running the same course from an opposite direction. You are at liberty to refuse my warning: you will show yourself wise if you do not. To return to our direct object —

(6) There are several Englishmen of great intellect and ability, who feel ready to defend — (and even to ally themselves — with) the Zemindars — and oppose the Bill, against their own principles and feelings — simply because the Raees hate and oppose the man whom the rest of the Hindus profess, for the time being, to adore, and whom they are exalting with all the ardour of simple-minded, short-sighted savages. Thus the ryots cannot escape their fate for a few months longer whether you accept the offer or not. In the latter case, of course the paper scheme is at an end.

(7) At the same time it is better that you should be prepared to know the unavoidable results: there are ninety-nine chances against one, that — if the offer of the Zemindars is rejected — the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] will ever come into existence; not so long at any rate as the present agitation is going on. And when it finally fails as the project is bound to unless we become masters of the situation, then we will have to part. In order to obtain from the [[Chohan]] permission to defend the teeming millions of the poor and the oppressed in India bringing on to bear all our knowledge and [[Siddhi|powers]] — I had to pledge myself, in case of the Phoenix's failure to interfere no more with such worldly matters and —

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

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to bid an eternal farewell to the European element. [[Morya|M.]] and [[Djual Khool]] would have to take my place. On the other hand, should you consent to the offer, your opposition to the Rent Bill would have no more effect on our work — for the Ryots than a straw — to save a vessel from sinking; whereas, if another editor is selected we would have no pretext to exercise our influence on their behalf. Such is the situation. It is a curious medley with no raison d'etre in your opinion. You can hardly be expected by us to see clearly through it at present, nor is there much likelihood that you will judge it fairly owing to this Egyptian darkness of cross purposes; nor is there any special need you should, if the offer has to fall to the ground. But, if your answer is favourable, I may perhaps as well add a few particulars. Know then, that opposition notwithstanding, and just because of it, you will bring the great national boil to a head sooner than it could be otherwise expected. Thus, while carrying out strictly your programme and promise made to the Raees, you will be helping the events that have to be brought about to save the unfortunate population that has been sat upon ever since 1793 — the year of Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake. At the same time you may be doing immense good in every other direction. Recall the past and this will help you to see clearer into our intentions. When you took over Bengal from the native Rulers, there were a number of men

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''To bid an eternal farewell to the European element'''. In his next letter, Mahatma KH speaks of his "pledge to the Chohan" in less final terms, as "thenceforward abstain from collaboration with Europeans until some future and more favourable time."
* '''Raison d'etre''' a French phrase meaning "reason for existence".
* '''Egyptian darkness''' may be a reference to Exodus X.21-2 in which Moses, following Yahweh's order, "stretched out his hand towards heaven, and for three days there was thick darkness over the whole of Egypt".
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
* '''Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake''' probably refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, the best known provision of the Cornwallis Code. It was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the political realities of the Indian countryside.

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who exercised the calling of Tax Collectors under their Government. These men received, as you are aware, a percentage for collecting the rents. The spirit of the letter of the tithe and tribute under the Moossulman Rulers was never understood by the East India Company; least of all the rights of the ryots to oppose an arbitrary interchange of the Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah. Well, when the Zemindars found that the British did not exactly understand their position they took advantage of it, as the English had taken advantage of their force: they claimed to be Landlords. Weekly enough, you consented to recognise the claim, and admitting it notwithstanding the warning of the Moossulman who understood the real situation and were not bribed as most of the Company were — you played into the hands of the few against the many, the result being the "Perpetual Settlement" documents. It is this that led to every subsequent evil in Bengal. Seeing how the unfortunate ryots are regarded by your proud nation in the full progress of the 19th Century, being in your sight of far less value than a horse or cattle, it is not difficult to imagine how they were regarded by your countrymen then — a century ago — when every Englishman was a pious [[Christianity|Christian]] at heart and ordered by the [[Bible (book)|Bible]] to draw a broad distinction between the descendants of Ham and themselves — the heirs of the chosen people. The agreement drawn between Lord Cornwallis and the Raees

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Moossulman''' refers to Muslims.
* '''The East India Company''' was formed to pursue trade with the East Indies, and ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
* '''Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah''' or Law of Wazifa and Mukassimah, refers to the Muslim laws of taxes. Wazifa khiraj (or a fixed money-rate) imposed as a personal liability upon the cultivator for his holding (payable once a year); Mukassimah khiraj (or a share of the actual produce) payable in kind on every crop produced.
*'''Perpetual Settlement''' refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Page 5|previous note]] on "Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake".
* '''Descendants of Ham''' refers to the Biblical curse upon Ham's descendant's by Moses that forced them to live in Egypt and other parts of Africa; i.e., the dark-skinned peoples.
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

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which stipulated that the "black human cattle" should be treated by the Zemindars kindly and justly, and that they should not raise the rents of the ryots, etc. was a legal farce. The [[Chohan]] was then in India and he was an eye-witness to the beginning of horrors. No sooner had they secured the Perpetual Settlement Agreement that the Raees began to disregard their engagements. Failing to fulfil any of these they brought yearly ruin and starvation on the miserable Ryots. They exacted tribute, sold them up, and trumped up false charges against them under the name of Abwab. These "doors" and "openings" led them wherever they wanted and they levied for over 50 years most extraordinary taxes. All this the Zemindars have done and much more and they will be surely made to account for it. Things too horrible to mention were done under the eyes and often with the sanction of the Company's servants, when the Mutiny put a certain impediment by bringing as its result another form of Government. It is to redress the great wrong done, to remedy to the now irremediable that Lord Ripon took it into his head to bring forward the new Bill. It was not thought expedient by his Councillors (not those you know of) to crush the Zemindary system without securing at the same time popularity among the majority in another direction: hence "Ilbert's Bill" and some other trifles. We say then that to all appearance it is to redress the wrongs of the Past, that is the object of the present Bengal Rent Bill. My friend you are a

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
*'''Abwāb''' means "doors, sources of revenue". It was a tax or impost levied by a chief on a landowner.
*'''The Mutiny''' refers to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company, which was then formally dissolved and its ruling powers over India were transferred to the British Crown.
*'''Lord Ripon''' (George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon) was the British Viceroy of India from 1880-1884.
*'''The new Bill''' refers to the Ilbert Bill. See [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 3|previous note]].

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== Page 8 ==

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remarkably clever Editor and an astute and observant politician; and no one, perhaps, in all India goes as deep as you do into the inner constitution of the Anglo-Indian coups d'etat. Still you do not go far enough and the original primitive layers of the political soil as the genesis of some acts of my Lord Ripon were and are terra incognita to yourself as to so many others perhaps still older hands in politics than you are. Neither Lord Ripon nor his Councillors (those behind the veil) anticipate any great results during his power in India. They are more [[Occultism|Occultists]] than you may imagine. Their liberal reforms are not meant for India, to the weal or woes of which they are quite indifferent: they look far off to future results and — Press acts, Ilbert's Bills, Bengal Rent Bills and the rest are aimed at Protestant England which, very soon, too soon if Somebody or Something does not interfere, will find itself suffocating in the invisible coils of the Romish Apophis. Friend and Brother, the only one of your race whom I regard with a warm, sincere affection, take care! Do not reject too lightly my warning for it is a solemn one, and but a hint I am permitted to make. Political skepticism, like every other, scorns and laughs at the observations of those who do not belong to its factions. It finds out its mistakes when in a ditch. Beware for it is no more a simple ditch, but an abyss that is being prepared for you!

But let us see on what grounds an honest Englishman

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Coups d'etat''' is a French phrase for the sudden and illegal seizure of a government.
* '''Terra incognita''' is a Latin phrase meaning "unknown land".
* '''Romish Apophis'''. The term "Romish Catholic" was used in English by adherents of the Church of England for Catholics. Apophis was the Greek version of Apep, an evil god in ancient Egyptian religion depicted as a snake and a dragon, the deification of darkness and chaos.
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== Page 9 ==

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can oppose the Rent Bill. However great the misery of the Ryots even at present, however just the reprisals that are in store for the Zemindars, however human and generous, in short, on its surface the object of the Rent Bill, yet no honest Government strictly speaking has the right to break at will and its own pleasure solemn pledges and engagements. Because, it is found that the Raees have not fulfilled their part of the Agreement, it gives no right to the other party to make away with their signature and tear in shreds the Perpetual Settlement Agreement. The sins of the few cannot well be visited upon the many. There are heavy flaws in the present Rent Bill as there were in the old System; and, there is no clause in the old documents stipulated to the effect that the Settlement becomes nil at the will of the British. I will not enter upon the defects of the dead-letter meaning in either the one or other, but will limit myself by telling you that there are such flaws and that, until modified you have a perfect right to object to them. You are not expected to cause the Bill to be withdrawn but to simply support the Zemindars analysis of its defects. And this you can freely promise. However I must not seem trying to influence you one way or the other. Some of the claims of the Raees are infamous and no honest man can be made to support them; while others are not without a strong legal foundation in their favour. The Ruling power, for instance, was never yet and in no case

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See not one page 2.

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the proprietor of the Khirajee land — not even under the Moossulman laws and sway. You have thus the Spirit of Khiraj and Ooshr to work upon, in order to redeem your promise to the landowners and amuse them for a few months unto the day of the "almighty smash" that is in store for them. All that you are asked to do for the benefit of (your as well as) my country is, to overlook the ugly frontispiece of the edifice, taking into consideration only the real nature of the situation and the future good results, in case you should get over your very natural squeamishness. In a few days you may receive a formal proposal. Think well over it. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by any consideration in connection with my desires. If you honestly believe the offer inconsistent with your European notions and criterion of truth and honour refuse its acceptance without any hesitation and let me bid you a sad, though ever grateful and friendly farewell. I cannot expect to see you looking at things from my own standpoint. You look without, I see within. This is no hour for sentimentalities. The whole future of the "brightest (!) jewel" — oh, what a dark satire in that name! — in the Crown of England is at stake, and I am bound to devote the whole of my powers as far as the [[Chohan]] will permit me

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Khiraj and Ooshr'''. The ''kharaj'' was an agricultural tax levied by Muslim conquerors on their non-Muslim subject. Muslim landowners paid only ''ushr'', a religious tithe, which carried a much lower rate of taxation.
*'''Moossulman''' means Muslim.
*'''Brightest jewel'''. India was frequently referred to as the "the brightest jewel in the Crown of England".

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to help my country at this eleventh hour of her misery. I cannot work except with those who will work with us. Accuse me not, my friend, for you do not know you cannot know, the extent of the limitations I am placed under. Think not, that I am seeking to place a bait — an inducement, for you to accept that which would refuse under other circumstances, for I am not. Having pledged my solemn word of honour to Him to whom I am indebted for everything I am and know I am simply helpless in case of your refusal and — we will have to part. Had not the Rent Bill been accompanied by the din and clash of the Ilbert Bill and "contempt case" I would have been the first to advise you to refuse. As the situation stands now, however, and prohibited as I am to use any but ordinary powers — I am powerless to do both, and am constrained to choose between helping my hapless mother-country, and our future intercourse. It is for you to decide. And if this letter is fated to be my last, I beg you to remember — for your sake, not mine — the message I sent at Simla to yourself and [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] through [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] — "Lord Ripon is not a free agent; the real Viceroy and ruler of India is not at Simla but at Rome; and the effective weapon used by the latter is — the Viceroy's confessor."

Give, pray, my best wishes to [[Patience Sinnett|your lady]] and the "[[Percy Edensor Sinnett|Morsel]]". Be certain, that with a few undetectable

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Lord Ripon is not a free agent'''. He converted to Catholicism in 1874, following which he was generous in supporting Catholic educational and charitable works.

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mistakes and omissions notwithstanding, your "[[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]]" is the only right exposition — however incomplete — of our [[Esoteric Philosophy|Occult doctrines]]. You have made no cardinal, fundamental mistakes; and whatever may be given to you hereafter will not clash with a single sentence in your book but on the contrary will explain away any seeming contradiction. How greatly mistaken was [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s theory is shown by the "[[Chela]]" in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]. With all that, you may feel sure that neither [[Morya|M.]] nor I have contradicted each other in our respective statements. He was speaking of the inner — I, of the [[Inner and Outer Rounds|outer Round]]. There are many things that you have not learned but may some day; nor will you be able to ever comprehend the process of the [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscurations]] until you have mastered the mathematical progress of the inner and the outer Rounds and learned more about the specific difference between the seven. And thus according to [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]]'s philosophical conclusion we have no [[God]]? He is right — since he applies the name to an extra-cosmic anomaly, and that we, knowing nothing of the latter, find — each man his God — within himself in his own personal, and at the same time, — impersonal [[Avalokiteśvara|Avalokiteswara]]. And now — farewell. And if it is so decreed that we should correspond no more, remember me with the same sincere good feeling as you will ever be remembered by,

[[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]]

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''How greatly mistaken was Mr. Hume''' refers to the article "Cosmical Rings and Rounds" he wrote in ''The Theosophist'' June 1883 (p. 231), which was answered by the chela [[S. T. Krishnama Charya|S. T. K***Chary]] (p. 232). See [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/Theosophical%20Publications/The%20Theosophist/1883/theosophist_v4_n9_june_1883.pdf# here] a reprint of the article and its response.

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== Context and background ==

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 3. [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]] described the letter this way:
<blockquote>
In KH script on both sides of six sheets of white paper. The first four lines are in blue ink; the remainder is in green ink.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 182.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Mahatma Letter No. 113

2026-06-16T18:40:31Z

Pablo Sender: /* Page 2 */

{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = unknown
| receiveddate = early August 1883
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = unknown
| receivedat = London
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 113''' in ''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 82''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Context and background|Context and background]]. Letters from Sinnett followed on August 16 and '''[[Mahatma_Letter_of_Sinnett_to/from_KH_-_1883-09-18|September 18]]''', before the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] situation was resolved by a telegram and '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 114]]'''.
 
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
 
 
== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==

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strictly confidential

The "quart d'heure de Rabelais" has come. On your answer, consent or refusal — depends the resurrection of the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] — prostrated in a death-like [[Samadhi]], if not in actual death. If you believe in my word, and, leaving the Ryots to our care are prepared for a somewhat unclean work — from the European standpoint though — and consent to oppose our work apparently, serving our ends in reality and thus saving our respective countries from a great [[evil]] that overhangs both — then consent to the proposal that will be made to you from India.

You may work to all intents and purposes to oppose The Bengal Rent Bill, for do whatever you or others may, you will never be able to impede our work in the opposite direction. Therefore, — one scruple less as one non-permitted confidence more. A riddle, verily.

And now good friend, I must explain. Only you have to prepare your European, cultured notions of right and wrong to receive a shock. A plan of action of a purely Asiatic character is laid bare before you; and since I may not move one finger — nor would I if I could in this case — to guide your understanding or feelings it may be found too Jesuitical, to suit your taste. Alas for all! that you should be so little versed in the knowledge of [[Occultism|occult]] antidotes, as not to be able to perceive the difference between the Jesuitical "tout chemin est bon qui mene a Rome" added to the cunning and crafty — "the end justifies the means" — and the necessity of the practical application of these sublime words of [[Gautama Buddha|our Lord]]

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Quart d'heure de Rabelais''' means the moment that the bill has to be paid.
* '''Ryot''' was a general economic term for peasant tenants and cultivators, with no clearly defined rights against their landlords or zamindars. See note [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 2|below]].
* '''The Bengal Rent Bill''' (or Bengal Tenancy Act) finally passed in 1885, defined the rights of zamindars and their ryots in response to a widespread peasant revolt against increased rents and land revenues.
* '''Tout chemin est bon qui mène à Rome''' means "any road that leads to Rome is a good one". The usual saying is: "tous les chemins mènent à Rome", all roads lead to Rome.

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and Master: — "O ye Bhikkhus and Arhats — be friendly to the race of men — our brothers! Know ye all, that he, who sacrifices not his one life to save the life of his fellow-being; and he who hesitates to give up more than life — his fair name and honour to save the fair name & honour of the many, is unworthy of the sin-destroying, immortal, transcendent [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]." Well, it cannot be helped.

Allow me to explain to you the situation. It is very complicated; but to him who, without any previous training was able to assimilate so well some of our doctrines as to write [[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]] — the inner springs that we have to use ought to become intelligible.

(1) The Behar Chiefs propose one and a half lakhs down for the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]]; as much when they see you back to India, if the Bengal Rent Bill is opposed by the new paper and you promise to give them your support. Unless the proposition is accepted by you we may prepare for the final incremation of our Phoenix — and for good. Exclusive of this sum — Rs. 150,000 — we can count but upon Rs. 45,000 in shares — so far. But let the Raees put down cash and all will follow.

(2) If you refuse they will secure another editor: were there any danger for the ryots and the Bill they — the Raees or Zemindars would lose nothing thereby, except in the degree of cleverness of their editor; but they hope and are thoroughly unaware of being doomed — in the long run. The only and real loser in the case of refusal will be — India and

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Bhikkus''' are ordained Buddhist monks.
* '''Behar''' refers to Bihar, a region (now a state) in northeastern India.
* '''Raees'''. The printed Second Edition wrongly spelled this word as "Races." Raees (alternative spelling of Rais) is a historical title of royalty and nobility used in the Indian subcontinent; "A notable, a man of position" (See glossary in ''The Peasant and the Raj. Studies in agrarian society and peasant rebellion in colonial India'').
*'''Zemindars''' refers to Zamindars, who were aristocrat (typically hereditary) landlords, who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), etc., and were considered to be equivalent to lords and barons. Often zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British Rule.

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your own country — eventually. This is prophecy.

(3) The resistance to, and the intrigues set on foot by the Zemindars against the Bill are infamous in their nature, yet very natural. Those who examine things at the core, perceive the real culprit in Lord Cornwallis and the long line of his successors. However it may be infamous, as I say, there it is and cannot be helped for it is human nature itself; and, there is no more dishonour to support their claims from a legal standpoint on the part of an Editor, who knows them to be doomed, than there is for a Counsel to defend his client — a great criminal sentenced to be hung. I am now trying to argue from your European standpoint, for fear, and lest you should not be able to see things from our Asiatic point of view, or rather in the light we, who are enabled to discern future events — see them.

(4) A conservative Editor whose field of action will be found to run on parallel lines with that of a conservative Viceroy, will find himself having lost nothing in fact, for a slight opposition that cannot last long after all. There are great flaws in the present Bill, examined from its legal, dead-letter aspect.

(5) Owing to the idiotically untimely "Ilbert's Bill," and the still more idiotic "Saligram-Surendro" Contempt case, the agitation is carrying the population of India to the verge of self-destruction. You must not feel as tho' I were exaggerating if I say more: the English

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Lord Cornwallis''' refers to the 1st Marquess Charles Cornwallis (1738 – 1805) who in 1786 was made Governor-General and commander in chief in India. He is regarded as responsible for laying the foundation for British rule throughout India.
* The '''Ilbert Bill''' was introduced in 1883 by Viceroy Ripon, proposing to amend existing laws to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level.

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== Page 4 ==

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and especially Anglo-Indians are running the same course from an opposite direction. You are at liberty to refuse my warning: you will show yourself wise if you do not. To return to our direct object —

(6) There are several Englishmen of great intellect and ability, who feel ready to defend — (and even to ally themselves — with) the Zemindars — and oppose the Bill, against their own principles and feelings — simply because the Raees hate and oppose the man whom the rest of the Hindus profess, for the time being, to adore, and whom they are exalting with all the ardour of simple-minded, short-sighted savages. Thus the ryots cannot escape their fate for a few months longer whether you accept the offer or not. In the latter case, of course the paper scheme is at an end.

(7) At the same time it is better that you should be prepared to know the unavoidable results: there are ninety-nine chances against one, that — if the offer of the Zemindars is rejected — the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] will ever come into existence; not so long at any rate as the present agitation is going on. And when it finally fails as the project is bound to unless we become masters of the situation, then we will have to part. In order to obtain from the [[Chohan]] permission to defend the teeming millions of the poor and the oppressed in India bringing on to bear all our knowledge and [[Siddhi|powers]] — I had to pledge myself, in case of the Phoenix's failure to interfere no more with such worldly matters and —

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

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to bid an eternal farewell to the European element. [[Morya|M.]] and [[Djual Khool]] would have to take my place. On the other hand, should you consent to the offer, your opposition to the Rent Bill would have no more effect on our work — for the Ryots than a straw — to save a vessel from sinking; whereas, if another editor is selected we would have no pretext to exercise our influence on their behalf. Such is the situation. It is a curious medley with no raison d'etre in your opinion. You can hardly be expected by us to see clearly through it at present, nor is there much likelihood that you will judge it fairly owing to this Egyptian darkness of cross purposes; nor is there any special need you should, if the offer has to fall to the ground. But, if your answer is favourable, I may perhaps as well add a few particulars. Know then, that opposition notwithstanding, and just because of it, you will bring the great national boil to a head sooner than it could be otherwise expected. Thus, while carrying out strictly your programme and promise made to the Raees, you will be helping the events that have to be brought about to save the unfortunate population that has been sat upon ever since 1793 — the year of Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake. At the same time you may be doing immense good in every other direction. Recall the past and this will help you to see clearer into our intentions. When you took over Bengal from the native Rulers, there were a number of men

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''To bid an eternal farewell to the European element'''. In his next letter, Mahatma KH speaks of his "pledge to the Chohan" in less final terms, as "thenceforward abstain from collaboration with Europeans until some future and more favourable time."
* '''Raison d'etre''' a French phrase meaning "reason for existence".
* '''Egyptian darkness''' may be a reference to Exodus X.21-2 in which Moses, following Yahweh's order, "stretched out his hand towards heaven, and for three days there was thick darkness over the whole of Egypt".
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
* '''Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake''' probably refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, the best known provision of the Cornwallis Code. It was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the political realities of the Indian countryside.

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who exercised the calling of Tax Collectors under their Government. These men received, as you are aware, a percentage for collecting the rents. The spirit of the letter of the tithe and tribute under the Moossulman Rulers was never understood by the East India Company; least of all the rights of the ryots to oppose an arbitrary interchange of the Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah. Well, when the Zemindars found that the British did not exactly understand their position they took advantage of it, as the English had taken advantage of their force: they claimed to be Landlords. Weekly enough, you consented to recognise the claim, and admitting it notwithstanding the warning of the Moossulman who understood the real situation and were not bribed as most of the Company were — you played into the hands of the few against the many, the result being the "Perpetual Settlement" documents. It is this that led to every subsequent evil in Bengal. Seeing how the unfortunate ryots are regarded by your proud nation in the full progress of the 19th Century, being in your sight of far less value than a horse or cattle, it is not difficult to imagine how they were regarded by your countrymen then — a century ago — when every Englishman was a pious [[Christianity|Christian]] at heart and ordered by the [[Bible (book)|Bible]] to draw a broad distinction between the descendants of Ham and themselves — the heirs of the chosen people. The agreement drawn between Lord Cornwallis and the Raees

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Moossulman''' refers to Muslims.
* '''The East India Company''' was formed to pursue trade with the East Indies, and ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
* '''Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah''' or Law of Wazifa and Mukassimah, refers to the Muslim laws of taxes. Wazifa khiraj (or a fixed money-rate) imposed as a personal liability upon the cultivator for his holding (payable once a year); Mukassimah khiraj (or a share of the actual produce) payable in kind on every crop produced.
*'''Perpetual Settlement''' refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Page 5|previous note]] on "Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake".
* '''Descendants of Ham''' refers to the Biblical curse upon Ham's descendant's by Moses that forced them to live in Egypt and other parts of Africa; i.e., the dark-skinned peoples.
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

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which stipulated that the "black human cattle" should be treated by the Zemindars kindly and justly, and that they should not raise the rents of the ryots, etc. was a legal farce. The [[Chohan]] was then in India and he was an eye-witness to the beginning of horrors. No sooner had they secured the Perpetual Settlement Agreement that the Raees began to disregard their engagements. Failing to fulfil any of these they brought yearly ruin and starvation on the miserable Ryots. They exacted tribute, sold them up, and trumped up false charges against them under the name of Abwab. These "doors" and "openings" led them wherever they wanted and they levied for over 50 years most extraordinary taxes. All this the Zemindars have done and much more and they will be surely made to account for it. Things too horrible to mention were done under the eyes and often with the sanction of the Company's servants, when the Mutiny put a certain impediment by bringing as its result another form of Government. It is to redress the great wrong done, to remedy to the now irremediable that Lord Ripon took it into his head to bring forward the new Bill. It was not thought expedient by his Councillors (not those you know of) to crush the Zemindary system without securing at the same time popularity among the majority in another direction: hence "Ilbert's Bill" and some other trifles. We say then that to all appearance it is to redress the wrongs of the Past, that is the object of the present Bengal Rent Bill. My friend you are a

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
*'''Abwāb''' means "doors, sources of revenue". It was a tax or impost levied by a chief on a landowner.
*'''The Mutiny''' refers to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company, which was then formally dissolved and its ruling powers over India were transferred to the British Crown.
*'''Lord Ripon''' (George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon) was the British Viceroy of India from 1880-1884.
*'''The new Bill''' refers to the Ilbert Bill. See [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 3|previous note]].

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remarkably clever Editor and an astute and observant politician; and no one, perhaps, in all India goes as deep as you do into the inner constitution of the Anglo-Indian coups d'etat. Still you do not go far enough and the original primitive layers of the political soil as the genesis of some acts of my Lord Ripon were and are terra incognita to yourself as to so many others perhaps still older hands in politics than you are. Neither Lord Ripon nor his Councillors (those behind the veil) anticipate any great results during his power in India. They are more [[Occultism|Occultists]] than you may imagine. Their liberal reforms are not meant for India, to the weal or woes of which they are quite indifferent: they look far off to future results and — Press acts, Ilbert's Bills, Bengal Rent Bills and the rest are aimed at Protestant England which, very soon, too soon if Somebody or Something does not interfere, will find itself suffocating in the invisible coils of the Romish Apophis. Friend and Brother, the only one of your race whom I regard with a warm, sincere affection, take care! Do not reject too lightly my warning for it is a solemn one, and but a hint I am permitted to make. Political skepticism, like every other, scorns and laughs at the observations of those who do not belong to its factions. It finds out its mistakes when in a ditch. Beware for it is no more a simple ditch, but an abyss that is being prepared for you!

But let us see on what grounds an honest Englishman

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Coups d'etat''' is a French phrase for the sudden and illegal seizure of a government.
* '''Terra incognita''' is a Latin phrase meaning "unknown land".
* '''Romish Apophis'''. The term "Romish Catholic" was used in English by adherents of the Church of England for Catholics. Apophis was the Greek version of Apep, an evil god in ancient Egyptian religion depicted as a snake and a dragon, the deification of darkness and chaos.
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can oppose the Rent Bill. However great the misery of the Ryots even at present, however just the reprisals that are in store for the Zemindars, however human and generous, in short, on its surface the object of the Rent Bill, yet no honest Government strictly speaking has the right to break at will and its own pleasure solemn pledges and engagements. Because, it is found that the Raees have not fulfilled their part of the Agreement, it gives no right to the other party to make away with their signature and tear in shreds the Perpetual Settlement Agreement. The sins of the few cannot well be visited upon the many. There are heavy flaws in the present Rent Bill as there were in the old System; and, there is no clause in the old documents stipulated to the effect that the Settlement becomes nil at the will of the British. I will not enter upon the defects of the dead-letter meaning in either the one or other, but will limit myself by telling you that there are such flaws and that, until modified you have a perfect right to object to them. You are not expected to cause the Bill to be withdrawn but to simply support the Zemindars analysis of its defects. And this you can freely promise. However I must not seem trying to influence you one way or the other. Some of the claims of the Raees are infamous and no honest man can be made to support them; while others are not without a strong legal foundation in their favour. The Ruling power, for instance, was never yet and in no case

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See not one page 2.

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the proprietor of the Khirajee land — not even under the Moossulman laws and sway. You have thus the Spirit of Khiraj and Ooshr to work upon, in order to redeem your promise to the landowners and amuse them for a few months unto the day of the "almighty smash" that is in store for them. All that you are asked to do for the benefit of (your as well as) my country is, to overlook the ugly frontispiece of the edifice, taking into consideration only the real nature of the situation and the future good results, in case you should get over your very natural squeamishness. In a few days you may receive a formal proposal. Think well over it. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by any consideration in connection with my desires. If you honestly believe the offer inconsistent with your European notions and criterion of truth and honour refuse its acceptance without any hesitation and let me bid you a sad, though ever grateful and friendly farewell. I cannot expect to see you looking at things from my own standpoint. You look without, I see within. This is no hour for sentimentalities. The whole future of the "brightest (!) jewel" — oh, what a dark satire in that name! — in the Crown of England is at stake, and I am bound to devote the whole of my powers as far as the [[Chohan]] will permit me

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Khiraj and Ooshr'''. The ''kharaj'' was an agricultural tax levied by Muslim conquerors on their non-Muslim subject. Muslim landowners paid only ''ushr'', a religious tithe, which carried a much lower rate of taxation.
*'''Moossulman''' means Muslim.
*'''Brightest jewel'''. India was frequently referred to as the "the brightest jewel in the Crown of England".

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to help my country at this eleventh hour of her misery. I cannot work except with those who will work with us. Accuse me not, my friend, for you do not know you cannot know, the extent of the limitations I am placed under. Think not, that I am seeking to place a bait — an inducement, for you to accept that which would refuse under other circumstances, for I am not. Having pledged my solemn word of honour to Him to whom I am indebted for everything I am and know I am simply helpless in case of your refusal and — we will have to part. Had not the Rent Bill been accompanied by the din and clash of the Ilbert Bill and "contempt case" I would have been the first to advise you to refuse. As the situation stands now, however, and prohibited as I am to use any but ordinary powers — I am powerless to do both, and am constrained to choose between helping my hapless mother-country, and our future intercourse. It is for you to decide. And if this letter is fated to be my last, I beg you to remember — for your sake, not mine — the message I sent at Simla to yourself and [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] through [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] — "Lord Ripon is not a free agent; the real Viceroy and ruler of India is not at Simla but at Rome; and the effective weapon used by the latter is — the Viceroy's confessor."

Give, pray, my best wishes to [[Patience Sinnett|your lady]] and the "[[Percy Edensor Sinnett|Morsel]]". Be certain, that with a few undetectable

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Lord Ripon is not a free agent'''. He converted to Catholicism in 1874, following which he was generous in supporting Catholic educational and charitable works.

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mistakes and omissions notwithstanding, your "[[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]]" is the only right exposition — however incomplete — of our [[Esoteric Philosophy|Occult doctrines]]. You have made no cardinal, fundamental mistakes; and whatever may be given to you hereafter will not clash with a single sentence in your book but on the contrary will explain away any seeming contradiction. How greatly mistaken was [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s theory is shown by the "[[Chela]]" in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]. With all that, you may feel sure that neither [[Morya|M.]] nor I have contradicted each other in our respective statements. He was speaking of the inner — I, of the [[Inner and Outer Rounds|outer Round]]. There are many things that you have not learned but may some day; nor will you be able to ever comprehend the process of the [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscurations]] until you have mastered the mathematical progress of the inner and the outer Rounds and learned more about the specific difference between the seven. And thus according to [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]]'s philosophical conclusion we have no [[God]]? He is right — since he applies the name to an extra-cosmic anomaly, and that we, knowing nothing of the latter, find — each man his God — within himself in his own personal, and at the same time, — impersonal [[Avalokiteśvara|Avalokiteswara]]. And now — farewell. And if it is so decreed that we should correspond no more, remember me with the same sincere good feeling as you will ever be remembered by,

[[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]]

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''How greatly mistaken was Mr. Hume''' refers to the article "Cosmical Rings and Rounds" he wrote in ''The Theosophist'' June 1883 (p. 231), which was answered by the chela [[S. T. Krishnama Charya|S. T. K***Chary]] (p. 232). See [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/Theosophical%20Publications/The%20Theosophist/1883/theosophist_v4_n9_june_1883.pdf# here] a reprint of the article and its response.

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== Context and background ==

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 3. [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]] described the letter this way:
<blockquote>
In KH script on both sides of six sheets of white paper. The first four lines are in blue ink; the remainder is in green ink.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 182.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Mahatma Letter No. 113

2026-06-16T18:33:16Z

Pablo Sender: /* Page 2 */

{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = unknown
| receiveddate = early August 1883
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = unknown
| receivedat = London
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 113''' in ''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 82''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Context and background|Context and background]]. Letters from Sinnett followed on August 16 and '''[[Mahatma_Letter_of_Sinnett_to/from_KH_-_1883-09-18|September 18]]''', before the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] situation was resolved by a telegram and '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 114]]'''.
 
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
 
 
== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==

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strictly confidential

The "quart d'heure de Rabelais" has come. On your answer, consent or refusal — depends the resurrection of the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] — prostrated in a death-like [[Samadhi]], if not in actual death. If you believe in my word, and, leaving the Ryots to our care are prepared for a somewhat unclean work — from the European standpoint though — and consent to oppose our work apparently, serving our ends in reality and thus saving our respective countries from a great [[evil]] that overhangs both — then consent to the proposal that will be made to you from India.

You may work to all intents and purposes to oppose The Bengal Rent Bill, for do whatever you or others may, you will never be able to impede our work in the opposite direction. Therefore, — one scruple less as one non-permitted confidence more. A riddle, verily.

And now good friend, I must explain. Only you have to prepare your European, cultured notions of right and wrong to receive a shock. A plan of action of a purely Asiatic character is laid bare before you; and since I may not move one finger — nor would I if I could in this case — to guide your understanding or feelings it may be found too Jesuitical, to suit your taste. Alas for all! that you should be so little versed in the knowledge of [[Occultism|occult]] antidotes, as not to be able to perceive the difference between the Jesuitical "tout chemin est bon qui mene a Rome" added to the cunning and crafty — "the end justifies the means" — and the necessity of the practical application of these sublime words of [[Gautama Buddha|our Lord]]

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Quart d'heure de Rabelais''' means the moment that the bill has to be paid.
* '''Ryot''' was a general economic term for peasant tenants and cultivators, with no clearly defined rights against their landlords or zamindars. See note [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 2|below]].
* '''The Bengal Rent Bill''' (or Bengal Tenancy Act) finally passed in 1885, defined the rights of zamindars and their ryots in response to a widespread peasant revolt against increased rents and land revenues.
* '''Tout chemin est bon qui mène à Rome''' means "any road that leads to Rome is a good one". The usual saying is: "tous les chemins mènent à Rome", all roads lead to Rome.

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and Master: — "O ye Bhikkhus and Arhats — be friendly to the race of men — our brothers! Know ye all, that he, who sacrifices not his one life to save the life of his fellow-being; and he who hesitates to give up more than life — his fair name and honour to save the fair name & honour of the many, is unworthy of the sin-destroying, immortal, transcendent [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]." Well, it cannot be helped.

Allow me to explain to you the situation. It is very complicated; but to him who, without any previous training was able to assimilate so well some of our doctrines as to write [[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]] — the inner springs that we have to use ought to become intelligible.

(1) The Behar Chiefs propose one and a half lakhs down for the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]]; as much when they see you back to India, if the Bengal Rent Bill is opposed by the new paper and you promise to give them your support. Unless the proposition is accepted by you we may prepare for the final incremation of our Phoenix — and for good. Exclusive of this sum — Rs. 150,000 — we can count but upon Rs. 45,000 in shares — so far. But let the Raees put down cash and all will follow.

(2) If you refuse they will secure another editor: were there any danger for the ryots and the Bill they — the Raees or Zemindars would lose nothing thereby, except in the degree of cleverness of their editor; but they hope and are thoroughly unaware of being doomed — in the long run. The only and real loser in the case of refusal will be — India and

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Bhikkus''' are ordained Buddhist monks.
* '''Behar''' refers to Bihar, a region (now a state) in northeastern India.
* '''Raees''' is an alternative spelling of "Rais." Rais is a historical title of royalty and nobility in the Indian subcontinent used by rulers and chieftains of many princely states. The second edition wrongly spelled this word as "Races," while the chronological edition used Raises.
*'''Zemindars''' refers to Zamindars, who were aristocrat (typically hereditary) landlords, who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), etc., and were considered to be equivalent to lords and barons. Often zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British Rule.

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your own country — eventually. This is prophecy.

(3) The resistance to, and the intrigues set on foot by the Zemindars against the Bill are infamous in their nature, yet very natural. Those who examine things at the core, perceive the real culprit in Lord Cornwallis and the long line of his successors. However it may be infamous, as I say, there it is and cannot be helped for it is human nature itself; and, there is no more dishonour to support their claims from a legal standpoint on the part of an Editor, who knows them to be doomed, than there is for a Counsel to defend his client — a great criminal sentenced to be hung. I am now trying to argue from your European standpoint, for fear, and lest you should not be able to see things from our Asiatic point of view, or rather in the light we, who are enabled to discern future events — see them.

(4) A conservative Editor whose field of action will be found to run on parallel lines with that of a conservative Viceroy, will find himself having lost nothing in fact, for a slight opposition that cannot last long after all. There are great flaws in the present Bill, examined from its legal, dead-letter aspect.

(5) Owing to the idiotically untimely "Ilbert's Bill," and the still more idiotic "Saligram-Surendro" Contempt case, the agitation is carrying the population of India to the verge of self-destruction. You must not feel as tho' I were exaggerating if I say more: the English

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Lord Cornwallis''' refers to the 1st Marquess Charles Cornwallis (1738 – 1805) who in 1786 was made Governor-General and commander in chief in India. He is regarded as responsible for laying the foundation for British rule throughout India.
* The '''Ilbert Bill''' was introduced in 1883 by Viceroy Ripon, proposing to amend existing laws to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level.

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and especially Anglo-Indians are running the same course from an opposite direction. You are at liberty to refuse my warning: you will show yourself wise if you do not. To return to our direct object —

(6) There are several Englishmen of great intellect and ability, who feel ready to defend — (and even to ally themselves — with) the Zemindars — and oppose the Bill, against their own principles and feelings — simply because the Raees hate and oppose the man whom the rest of the Hindus profess, for the time being, to adore, and whom they are exalting with all the ardour of simple-minded, short-sighted savages. Thus the ryots cannot escape their fate for a few months longer whether you accept the offer or not. In the latter case, of course the paper scheme is at an end.

(7) At the same time it is better that you should be prepared to know the unavoidable results: there are ninety-nine chances against one, that — if the offer of the Zemindars is rejected — the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] will ever come into existence; not so long at any rate as the present agitation is going on. And when it finally fails as the project is bound to unless we become masters of the situation, then we will have to part. In order to obtain from the [[Chohan]] permission to defend the teeming millions of the poor and the oppressed in India bringing on to bear all our knowledge and [[Siddhi|powers]] — I had to pledge myself, in case of the Phoenix's failure to interfere no more with such worldly matters and —

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

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to bid an eternal farewell to the European element. [[Morya|M.]] and [[Djual Khool]] would have to take my place. On the other hand, should you consent to the offer, your opposition to the Rent Bill would have no more effect on our work — for the Ryots than a straw — to save a vessel from sinking; whereas, if another editor is selected we would have no pretext to exercise our influence on their behalf. Such is the situation. It is a curious medley with no raison d'etre in your opinion. You can hardly be expected by us to see clearly through it at present, nor is there much likelihood that you will judge it fairly owing to this Egyptian darkness of cross purposes; nor is there any special need you should, if the offer has to fall to the ground. But, if your answer is favourable, I may perhaps as well add a few particulars. Know then, that opposition notwithstanding, and just because of it, you will bring the great national boil to a head sooner than it could be otherwise expected. Thus, while carrying out strictly your programme and promise made to the Raees, you will be helping the events that have to be brought about to save the unfortunate population that has been sat upon ever since 1793 — the year of Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake. At the same time you may be doing immense good in every other direction. Recall the past and this will help you to see clearer into our intentions. When you took over Bengal from the native Rulers, there were a number of men

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''To bid an eternal farewell to the European element'''. In his next letter, Mahatma KH speaks of his "pledge to the Chohan" in less final terms, as "thenceforward abstain from collaboration with Europeans until some future and more favourable time."
* '''Raison d'etre''' a French phrase meaning "reason for existence".
* '''Egyptian darkness''' may be a reference to Exodus X.21-2 in which Moses, following Yahweh's order, "stretched out his hand towards heaven, and for three days there was thick darkness over the whole of Egypt".
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
* '''Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake''' probably refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, the best known provision of the Cornwallis Code. It was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the political realities of the Indian countryside.

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who exercised the calling of Tax Collectors under their Government. These men received, as you are aware, a percentage for collecting the rents. The spirit of the letter of the tithe and tribute under the Moossulman Rulers was never understood by the East India Company; least of all the rights of the ryots to oppose an arbitrary interchange of the Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah. Well, when the Zemindars found that the British did not exactly understand their position they took advantage of it, as the English had taken advantage of their force: they claimed to be Landlords. Weekly enough, you consented to recognise the claim, and admitting it notwithstanding the warning of the Moossulman who understood the real situation and were not bribed as most of the Company were — you played into the hands of the few against the many, the result being the "Perpetual Settlement" documents. It is this that led to every subsequent evil in Bengal. Seeing how the unfortunate ryots are regarded by your proud nation in the full progress of the 19th Century, being in your sight of far less value than a horse or cattle, it is not difficult to imagine how they were regarded by your countrymen then — a century ago — when every Englishman was a pious [[Christianity|Christian]] at heart and ordered by the [[Bible (book)|Bible]] to draw a broad distinction between the descendants of Ham and themselves — the heirs of the chosen people. The agreement drawn between Lord Cornwallis and the Raees

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Moossulman''' refers to Muslims.
* '''The East India Company''' was formed to pursue trade with the East Indies, and ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
* '''Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah''' or Law of Wazifa and Mukassimah, refers to the Muslim laws of taxes. Wazifa khiraj (or a fixed money-rate) imposed as a personal liability upon the cultivator for his holding (payable once a year); Mukassimah khiraj (or a share of the actual produce) payable in kind on every crop produced.
*'''Perpetual Settlement''' refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Page 5|previous note]] on "Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake".
* '''Descendants of Ham''' refers to the Biblical curse upon Ham's descendant's by Moses that forced them to live in Egypt and other parts of Africa; i.e., the dark-skinned peoples.
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

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which stipulated that the "black human cattle" should be treated by the Zemindars kindly and justly, and that they should not raise the rents of the ryots, etc. was a legal farce. The [[Chohan]] was then in India and he was an eye-witness to the beginning of horrors. No sooner had they secured the Perpetual Settlement Agreement that the Raees began to disregard their engagements. Failing to fulfil any of these they brought yearly ruin and starvation on the miserable Ryots. They exacted tribute, sold them up, and trumped up false charges against them under the name of Abwab. These "doors" and "openings" led them wherever they wanted and they levied for over 50 years most extraordinary taxes. All this the Zemindars have done and much more and they will be surely made to account for it. Things too horrible to mention were done under the eyes and often with the sanction of the Company's servants, when the Mutiny put a certain impediment by bringing as its result another form of Government. It is to redress the great wrong done, to remedy to the now irremediable that Lord Ripon took it into his head to bring forward the new Bill. It was not thought expedient by his Councillors (not those you know of) to crush the Zemindary system without securing at the same time popularity among the majority in another direction: hence "Ilbert's Bill" and some other trifles. We say then that to all appearance it is to redress the wrongs of the Past, that is the object of the present Bengal Rent Bill. My friend you are a

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
*'''Abwāb''' means "doors, sources of revenue". It was a tax or impost levied by a chief on a landowner.
*'''The Mutiny''' refers to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company, which was then formally dissolved and its ruling powers over India were transferred to the British Crown.
*'''Lord Ripon''' (George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon) was the British Viceroy of India from 1880-1884.
*'''The new Bill''' refers to the Ilbert Bill. See [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 3|previous note]].

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remarkably clever Editor and an astute and observant politician; and no one, perhaps, in all India goes as deep as you do into the inner constitution of the Anglo-Indian coups d'etat. Still you do not go far enough and the original primitive layers of the political soil as the genesis of some acts of my Lord Ripon were and are terra incognita to yourself as to so many others perhaps still older hands in politics than you are. Neither Lord Ripon nor his Councillors (those behind the veil) anticipate any great results during his power in India. They are more [[Occultism|Occultists]] than you may imagine. Their liberal reforms are not meant for India, to the weal or woes of which they are quite indifferent: they look far off to future results and — Press acts, Ilbert's Bills, Bengal Rent Bills and the rest are aimed at Protestant England which, very soon, too soon if Somebody or Something does not interfere, will find itself suffocating in the invisible coils of the Romish Apophis. Friend and Brother, the only one of your race whom I regard with a warm, sincere affection, take care! Do not reject too lightly my warning for it is a solemn one, and but a hint I am permitted to make. Political skepticism, like every other, scorns and laughs at the observations of those who do not belong to its factions. It finds out its mistakes when in a ditch. Beware for it is no more a simple ditch, but an abyss that is being prepared for you!

But let us see on what grounds an honest Englishman

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Coups d'etat''' is a French phrase for the sudden and illegal seizure of a government.
* '''Terra incognita''' is a Latin phrase meaning "unknown land".
* '''Romish Apophis'''. The term "Romish Catholic" was used in English by adherents of the Church of England for Catholics. Apophis was the Greek version of Apep, an evil god in ancient Egyptian religion depicted as a snake and a dragon, the deification of darkness and chaos.
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can oppose the Rent Bill. However great the misery of the Ryots even at present, however just the reprisals that are in store for the Zemindars, however human and generous, in short, on its surface the object of the Rent Bill, yet no honest Government strictly speaking has the right to break at will and its own pleasure solemn pledges and engagements. Because, it is found that the Raees have not fulfilled their part of the Agreement, it gives no right to the other party to make away with their signature and tear in shreds the Perpetual Settlement Agreement. The sins of the few cannot well be visited upon the many. There are heavy flaws in the present Rent Bill as there were in the old System; and, there is no clause in the old documents stipulated to the effect that the Settlement becomes nil at the will of the British. I will not enter upon the defects of the dead-letter meaning in either the one or other, but will limit myself by telling you that there are such flaws and that, until modified you have a perfect right to object to them. You are not expected to cause the Bill to be withdrawn but to simply support the Zemindars analysis of its defects. And this you can freely promise. However I must not seem trying to influence you one way or the other. Some of the claims of the Raees are infamous and no honest man can be made to support them; while others are not without a strong legal foundation in their favour. The Ruling power, for instance, was never yet and in no case

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See not one page 2.

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the proprietor of the Khirajee land — not even under the Moossulman laws and sway. You have thus the Spirit of Khiraj and Ooshr to work upon, in order to redeem your promise to the landowners and amuse them for a few months unto the day of the "almighty smash" that is in store for them. All that you are asked to do for the benefit of (your as well as) my country is, to overlook the ugly frontispiece of the edifice, taking into consideration only the real nature of the situation and the future good results, in case you should get over your very natural squeamishness. In a few days you may receive a formal proposal. Think well over it. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by any consideration in connection with my desires. If you honestly believe the offer inconsistent with your European notions and criterion of truth and honour refuse its acceptance without any hesitation and let me bid you a sad, though ever grateful and friendly farewell. I cannot expect to see you looking at things from my own standpoint. You look without, I see within. This is no hour for sentimentalities. The whole future of the "brightest (!) jewel" — oh, what a dark satire in that name! — in the Crown of England is at stake, and I am bound to devote the whole of my powers as far as the [[Chohan]] will permit me

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Khiraj and Ooshr'''. The ''kharaj'' was an agricultural tax levied by Muslim conquerors on their non-Muslim subject. Muslim landowners paid only ''ushr'', a religious tithe, which carried a much lower rate of taxation.
*'''Moossulman''' means Muslim.
*'''Brightest jewel'''. India was frequently referred to as the "the brightest jewel in the Crown of England".

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to help my country at this eleventh hour of her misery. I cannot work except with those who will work with us. Accuse me not, my friend, for you do not know you cannot know, the extent of the limitations I am placed under. Think not, that I am seeking to place a bait — an inducement, for you to accept that which would refuse under other circumstances, for I am not. Having pledged my solemn word of honour to Him to whom I am indebted for everything I am and know I am simply helpless in case of your refusal and — we will have to part. Had not the Rent Bill been accompanied by the din and clash of the Ilbert Bill and "contempt case" I would have been the first to advise you to refuse. As the situation stands now, however, and prohibited as I am to use any but ordinary powers — I am powerless to do both, and am constrained to choose between helping my hapless mother-country, and our future intercourse. It is for you to decide. And if this letter is fated to be my last, I beg you to remember — for your sake, not mine — the message I sent at Simla to yourself and [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] through [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] — "Lord Ripon is not a free agent; the real Viceroy and ruler of India is not at Simla but at Rome; and the effective weapon used by the latter is — the Viceroy's confessor."

Give, pray, my best wishes to [[Patience Sinnett|your lady]] and the "[[Percy Edensor Sinnett|Morsel]]". Be certain, that with a few undetectable

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Lord Ripon is not a free agent'''. He converted to Catholicism in 1874, following which he was generous in supporting Catholic educational and charitable works.

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mistakes and omissions notwithstanding, your "[[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]]" is the only right exposition — however incomplete — of our [[Esoteric Philosophy|Occult doctrines]]. You have made no cardinal, fundamental mistakes; and whatever may be given to you hereafter will not clash with a single sentence in your book but on the contrary will explain away any seeming contradiction. How greatly mistaken was [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s theory is shown by the "[[Chela]]" in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]. With all that, you may feel sure that neither [[Morya|M.]] nor I have contradicted each other in our respective statements. He was speaking of the inner — I, of the [[Inner and Outer Rounds|outer Round]]. There are many things that you have not learned but may some day; nor will you be able to ever comprehend the process of the [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscurations]] until you have mastered the mathematical progress of the inner and the outer Rounds and learned more about the specific difference between the seven. And thus according to [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]]'s philosophical conclusion we have no [[God]]? He is right — since he applies the name to an extra-cosmic anomaly, and that we, knowing nothing of the latter, find — each man his God — within himself in his own personal, and at the same time, — impersonal [[Avalokiteśvara|Avalokiteswara]]. And now — farewell. And if it is so decreed that we should correspond no more, remember me with the same sincere good feeling as you will ever be remembered by,

[[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]]

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''How greatly mistaken was Mr. Hume''' refers to the article "Cosmical Rings and Rounds" he wrote in ''The Theosophist'' June 1883 (p. 231), which was answered by the chela [[S. T. Krishnama Charya|S. T. K***Chary]] (p. 232). See [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/Theosophical%20Publications/The%20Theosophist/1883/theosophist_v4_n9_june_1883.pdf# here] a reprint of the article and its response.

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== Context and background ==

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 3. [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]] described the letter this way:
<blockquote>
In KH script on both sides of six sheets of white paper. The first four lines are in blue ink; the remainder is in green ink.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 182.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Mahatma Letter No. 113

2026-06-16T18:22:57Z

Pablo Sender:

{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = unknown
| receiveddate = early August 1883
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = unknown
| receivedat = London
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 113''' in ''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 82''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Context and background|Context and background]]. Letters from Sinnett followed on August 16 and '''[[Mahatma_Letter_of_Sinnett_to/from_KH_-_1883-09-18|September 18]]''', before the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] situation was resolved by a telegram and '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 114]]'''.
 
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 112|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 114|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
 
 
== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==

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strictly confidential

The "quart d'heure de Rabelais" has come. On your answer, consent or refusal — depends the resurrection of the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] — prostrated in a death-like [[Samadhi]], if not in actual death. If you believe in my word, and, leaving the Ryots to our care are prepared for a somewhat unclean work — from the European standpoint though — and consent to oppose our work apparently, serving our ends in reality and thus saving our respective countries from a great [[evil]] that overhangs both — then consent to the proposal that will be made to you from India.

You may work to all intents and purposes to oppose The Bengal Rent Bill, for do whatever you or others may, you will never be able to impede our work in the opposite direction. Therefore, — one scruple less as one non-permitted confidence more. A riddle, verily.

And now good friend, I must explain. Only you have to prepare your European, cultured notions of right and wrong to receive a shock. A plan of action of a purely Asiatic character is laid bare before you; and since I may not move one finger — nor would I if I could in this case — to guide your understanding or feelings it may be found too Jesuitical, to suit your taste. Alas for all! that you should be so little versed in the knowledge of [[Occultism|occult]] antidotes, as not to be able to perceive the difference between the Jesuitical "tout chemin est bon qui mene a Rome" added to the cunning and crafty — "the end justifies the means" — and the necessity of the practical application of these sublime words of [[Gautama Buddha|our Lord]]

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Quart d'heure de Rabelais''' means the moment that the bill has to be paid.
* '''Ryot''' was a general economic term for peasant tenants and cultivators, with no clearly defined rights against their landlords or zamindars. See note [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 2|below]].
* '''The Bengal Rent Bill''' (or Bengal Tenancy Act) finally passed in 1885, defined the rights of zamindars and their ryots in response to a widespread peasant revolt against increased rents and land revenues.
* '''Tout chemin est bon qui mène à Rome''' means "any road that leads to Rome is a good one". The usual saying is: "tous les chemins mènent à Rome", all roads lead to Rome.

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and Master: — "O ye Bhikkhus and Arhats — be friendly to the race of men — our brothers! Know ye all, that he, who sacrifices not his one life to save the life of his fellow-being; and he who hesitates to give up more than life — his fair name and honour to save the fair name & honour of the many, is unworthy of the sin-destroying, immortal, transcendent [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]." Well, it cannot be helped.

Allow me to explain to you the situation. It is very complicated; but to him who, without any previous training was able to assimilate so well some of our doctrines as to write [[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]] — the inner springs that we have to use ought to become intelligible.

(1) The Behar Chiefs propose one and a half lakhs down for the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]]; as much when they see you back to India, if the Bengal Rent Bill is opposed by the new paper and you promise to give them your support. Unless the proposition is accepted by you we may prepare for the final incremation of our Phoenix — and for good. Exclusive of this sum — Rs. 150,000 — we can count but upon Rs. 45,000 in shares — so far. But let the Raees put down cash and all will follow.

(2) If you refuse they will secure another editor: were there any danger for the ryots and the Bill they — the Raees or Zemindars would lose nothing thereby, except in the degree of cleverness of their editor; but they hope and are thoroughly unaware of being doomed — in the long run. The only and real loser in the case of refusal will be — India and

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Bhikkus''' are ordained Buddhist monks.
* '''Behar''' refers to Bihar, a region (now a state) in northeastern India.
* '''Raees''' is an alternative spelling of "Rais." Rai is a historical title of royalty and nobility in the Indian subcontinent used by rulers and chieftains of many princely states. The second edition wrongly spelled this word as "Races," while the chronological edition used Raises.
*'''Zemindars''' refers to Zamindars, who were aristocrat (typically hereditary) landlords, who held enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja (Great King), etc., and were considered to be equivalent to lords and barons. Often zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British Rule.

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your own country — eventually. This is prophecy.

(3) The resistance to, and the intrigues set on foot by the Zemindars against the Bill are infamous in their nature, yet very natural. Those who examine things at the core, perceive the real culprit in Lord Cornwallis and the long line of his successors. However it may be infamous, as I say, there it is and cannot be helped for it is human nature itself; and, there is no more dishonour to support their claims from a legal standpoint on the part of an Editor, who knows them to be doomed, than there is for a Counsel to defend his client — a great criminal sentenced to be hung. I am now trying to argue from your European standpoint, for fear, and lest you should not be able to see things from our Asiatic point of view, or rather in the light we, who are enabled to discern future events — see them.

(4) A conservative Editor whose field of action will be found to run on parallel lines with that of a conservative Viceroy, will find himself having lost nothing in fact, for a slight opposition that cannot last long after all. There are great flaws in the present Bill, examined from its legal, dead-letter aspect.

(5) Owing to the idiotically untimely "Ilbert's Bill," and the still more idiotic "Saligram-Surendro" Contempt case, the agitation is carrying the population of India to the verge of self-destruction. You must not feel as tho' I were exaggerating if I say more: the English

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Lord Cornwallis''' refers to the 1st Marquess Charles Cornwallis (1738 – 1805) who in 1786 was made Governor-General and commander in chief in India. He is regarded as responsible for laying the foundation for British rule throughout India.
* The '''Ilbert Bill''' was introduced in 1883 by Viceroy Ripon, proposing to amend existing laws to allow Indian judges and magistrates the jurisdiction to try British offenders in criminal cases at the District level.

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and especially Anglo-Indians are running the same course from an opposite direction. You are at liberty to refuse my warning: you will show yourself wise if you do not. To return to our direct object —

(6) There are several Englishmen of great intellect and ability, who feel ready to defend — (and even to ally themselves — with) the Zemindars — and oppose the Bill, against their own principles and feelings — simply because the Raees hate and oppose the man whom the rest of the Hindus profess, for the time being, to adore, and whom they are exalting with all the ardour of simple-minded, short-sighted savages. Thus the ryots cannot escape their fate for a few months longer whether you accept the offer or not. In the latter case, of course the paper scheme is at an end.

(7) At the same time it is better that you should be prepared to know the unavoidable results: there are ninety-nine chances against one, that — if the offer of the Zemindars is rejected — the [[Phoenix Venture|Phoenix]] will ever come into existence; not so long at any rate as the present agitation is going on. And when it finally fails as the project is bound to unless we become masters of the situation, then we will have to part. In order to obtain from the [[Chohan]] permission to defend the teeming millions of the poor and the oppressed in India bringing on to bear all our knowledge and [[Siddhi|powers]] — I had to pledge myself, in case of the Phoenix's failure to interfere no more with such worldly matters and —

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

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== Page 5 ==

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to bid an eternal farewell to the European element. [[Morya|M.]] and [[Djual Khool]] would have to take my place. On the other hand, should you consent to the offer, your opposition to the Rent Bill would have no more effect on our work — for the Ryots than a straw — to save a vessel from sinking; whereas, if another editor is selected we would have no pretext to exercise our influence on their behalf. Such is the situation. It is a curious medley with no raison d'etre in your opinion. You can hardly be expected by us to see clearly through it at present, nor is there much likelihood that you will judge it fairly owing to this Egyptian darkness of cross purposes; nor is there any special need you should, if the offer has to fall to the ground. But, if your answer is favourable, I may perhaps as well add a few particulars. Know then, that opposition notwithstanding, and just because of it, you will bring the great national boil to a head sooner than it could be otherwise expected. Thus, while carrying out strictly your programme and promise made to the Raees, you will be helping the events that have to be brought about to save the unfortunate population that has been sat upon ever since 1793 — the year of Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake. At the same time you may be doing immense good in every other direction. Recall the past and this will help you to see clearer into our intentions. When you took over Bengal from the native Rulers, there were a number of men

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''To bid an eternal farewell to the European element'''. In his next letter, Mahatma KH speaks of his "pledge to the Chohan" in less final terms, as "thenceforward abstain from collaboration with Europeans until some future and more favourable time."
* '''Raison d'etre''' a French phrase meaning "reason for existence".
* '''Egyptian darkness''' may be a reference to Exodus X.21-2 in which Moses, following Yahweh's order, "stretched out his hand towards heaven, and for three days there was thick darkness over the whole of Egypt".
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
* '''Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake''' probably refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, the best known provision of the Cornwallis Code. It was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land, with far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire Empire and the political realities of the Indian countryside.

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== Page 6 ==

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who exercised the calling of Tax Collectors under their Government. These men received, as you are aware, a percentage for collecting the rents. The spirit of the letter of the tithe and tribute under the Moossulman Rulers was never understood by the East India Company; least of all the rights of the ryots to oppose an arbitrary interchange of the Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah. Well, when the Zemindars found that the British did not exactly understand their position they took advantage of it, as the English had taken advantage of their force: they claimed to be Landlords. Weekly enough, you consented to recognise the claim, and admitting it notwithstanding the warning of the Moossulman who understood the real situation and were not bribed as most of the Company were — you played into the hands of the few against the many, the result being the "Perpetual Settlement" documents. It is this that led to every subsequent evil in Bengal. Seeing how the unfortunate ryots are regarded by your proud nation in the full progress of the 19th Century, being in your sight of far less value than a horse or cattle, it is not difficult to imagine how they were regarded by your countrymen then — a century ago — when every Englishman was a pious [[Christianity|Christian]] at heart and ordered by the [[Bible (book)|Bible]] to draw a broad distinction between the descendants of Ham and themselves — the heirs of the chosen people. The agreement drawn between Lord Cornwallis and the Raees

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Moossulman''' refers to Muslims.
* '''The East India Company''' was formed to pursue trade with the East Indies, and ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
* '''Law of Wuzeefa and Mookassimah''' or Law of Wazifa and Mukassimah, refers to the Muslim laws of taxes. Wazifa khiraj (or a fixed money-rate) imposed as a personal liability upon the cultivator for his holding (payable once a year); Mukassimah khiraj (or a share of the actual produce) payable in kind on every crop produced.
*'''Perpetual Settlement''' refers to the Permanent Settlement of Bengal. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 113#Page 5|previous note]] on "Lord Cornwallis's great political mistake".
* '''Descendants of Ham''' refers to the Biblical curse upon Ham's descendant's by Moses that forced them to live in Egypt and other parts of Africa; i.e., the dark-skinned peoples.
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.

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== Page 7 ==

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which stipulated that the "black human cattle" should be treated by the Zemindars kindly and justly, and that they should not raise the rents of the ryots, etc. was a legal farce. The [[Chohan]] was then in India and he was an eye-witness to the beginning of horrors. No sooner had they secured the Perpetual Settlement Agreement that the Raees began to disregard their engagements. Failing to fulfil any of these they brought yearly ruin and starvation on the miserable Ryots. They exacted tribute, sold them up, and trumped up false charges against them under the name of Abwab. These "doors" and "openings" led them wherever they wanted and they levied for over 50 years most extraordinary taxes. All this the Zemindars have done and much more and they will be surely made to account for it. Things too horrible to mention were done under the eyes and often with the sanction of the Company's servants, when the Mutiny put a certain impediment by bringing as its result another form of Government. It is to redress the great wrong done, to remedy to the now irremediable that Lord Ripon took it into his head to bring forward the new Bill. It was not thought expedient by his Councillors (not those you know of) to crush the Zemindary system without securing at the same time popularity among the majority in another direction: hence "Ilbert's Bill" and some other trifles. We say then that to all appearance it is to redress the wrongs of the Past, that is the object of the present Bengal Rent Bill. My friend you are a

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See note on page 2.
*'''Abwāb''' means "doors, sources of revenue". It was a tax or impost levied by a chief on a landowner.
*'''The Mutiny''' refers to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the East India Company, which was then formally dissolved and its ruling powers over India were transferred to the British Crown.
*'''Lord Ripon''' (George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon) was the British Viceroy of India from 1880-1884.
*'''The new Bill''' refers to the Ilbert Bill. See [[Mahatma_Letter_No._113#Page 3|previous note]].

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== Page 8 ==

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remarkably clever Editor and an astute and observant politician; and no one, perhaps, in all India goes as deep as you do into the inner constitution of the Anglo-Indian coups d'etat. Still you do not go far enough and the original primitive layers of the political soil as the genesis of some acts of my Lord Ripon were and are terra incognita to yourself as to so many others perhaps still older hands in politics than you are. Neither Lord Ripon nor his Councillors (those behind the veil) anticipate any great results during his power in India. They are more [[Occultism|Occultists]] than you may imagine. Their liberal reforms are not meant for India, to the weal or woes of which they are quite indifferent: they look far off to future results and — Press acts, Ilbert's Bills, Bengal Rent Bills and the rest are aimed at Protestant England which, very soon, too soon if Somebody or Something does not interfere, will find itself suffocating in the invisible coils of the Romish Apophis. Friend and Brother, the only one of your race whom I regard with a warm, sincere affection, take care! Do not reject too lightly my warning for it is a solemn one, and but a hint I am permitted to make. Political skepticism, like every other, scorns and laughs at the observations of those who do not belong to its factions. It finds out its mistakes when in a ditch. Beware for it is no more a simple ditch, but an abyss that is being prepared for you!

But let us see on what grounds an honest Englishman

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Coups d'etat''' is a French phrase for the sudden and illegal seizure of a government.
* '''Terra incognita''' is a Latin phrase meaning "unknown land".
* '''Romish Apophis'''. The term "Romish Catholic" was used in English by adherents of the Church of England for Catholics. Apophis was the Greek version of Apep, an evil god in ancient Egyptian religion depicted as a snake and a dragon, the deification of darkness and chaos.
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== Page 9 ==

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can oppose the Rent Bill. However great the misery of the Ryots even at present, however just the reprisals that are in store for the Zemindars, however human and generous, in short, on its surface the object of the Rent Bill, yet no honest Government strictly speaking has the right to break at will and its own pleasure solemn pledges and engagements. Because, it is found that the Raees have not fulfilled their part of the Agreement, it gives no right to the other party to make away with their signature and tear in shreds the Perpetual Settlement Agreement. The sins of the few cannot well be visited upon the many. There are heavy flaws in the present Rent Bill as there were in the old System; and, there is no clause in the old documents stipulated to the effect that the Settlement becomes nil at the will of the British. I will not enter upon the defects of the dead-letter meaning in either the one or other, but will limit myself by telling you that there are such flaws and that, until modified you have a perfect right to object to them. You are not expected to cause the Bill to be withdrawn but to simply support the Zemindars analysis of its defects. And this you can freely promise. However I must not seem trying to influence you one way or the other. Some of the claims of the Raees are infamous and no honest man can be made to support them; while others are not without a strong legal foundation in their favour. The Ruling power, for instance, was never yet and in no case

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Raees''' See not one page 2.

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== Page 10 ==

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the proprietor of the Khirajee land — not even under the Moossulman laws and sway. You have thus the Spirit of Khiraj and Ooshr to work upon, in order to redeem your promise to the landowners and amuse them for a few months unto the day of the "almighty smash" that is in store for them. All that you are asked to do for the benefit of (your as well as) my country is, to overlook the ugly frontispiece of the edifice, taking into consideration only the real nature of the situation and the future good results, in case you should get over your very natural squeamishness. In a few days you may receive a formal proposal. Think well over it. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by any consideration in connection with my desires. If you honestly believe the offer inconsistent with your European notions and criterion of truth and honour refuse its acceptance without any hesitation and let me bid you a sad, though ever grateful and friendly farewell. I cannot expect to see you looking at things from my own standpoint. You look without, I see within. This is no hour for sentimentalities. The whole future of the "brightest (!) jewel" — oh, what a dark satire in that name! — in the Crown of England is at stake, and I am bound to devote the whole of my powers as far as the [[Chohan]] will permit me

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Khiraj and Ooshr'''. The ''kharaj'' was an agricultural tax levied by Muslim conquerors on their non-Muslim subject. Muslim landowners paid only ''ushr'', a religious tithe, which carried a much lower rate of taxation.
*'''Moossulman''' means Muslim.
*'''Brightest jewel'''. India was frequently referred to as the "the brightest jewel in the Crown of England".

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== Page 11 ==

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to help my country at this eleventh hour of her misery. I cannot work except with those who will work with us. Accuse me not, my friend, for you do not know you cannot know, the extent of the limitations I am placed under. Think not, that I am seeking to place a bait — an inducement, for you to accept that which would refuse under other circumstances, for I am not. Having pledged my solemn word of honour to Him to whom I am indebted for everything I am and know I am simply helpless in case of your refusal and — we will have to part. Had not the Rent Bill been accompanied by the din and clash of the Ilbert Bill and "contempt case" I would have been the first to advise you to refuse. As the situation stands now, however, and prohibited as I am to use any but ordinary powers — I am powerless to do both, and am constrained to choose between helping my hapless mother-country, and our future intercourse. It is for you to decide. And if this letter is fated to be my last, I beg you to remember — for your sake, not mine — the message I sent at Simla to yourself and [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] through [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] — "Lord Ripon is not a free agent; the real Viceroy and ruler of India is not at Simla but at Rome; and the effective weapon used by the latter is — the Viceroy's confessor."

Give, pray, my best wishes to [[Patience Sinnett|your lady]] and the "[[Percy Edensor Sinnett|Morsel]]". Be certain, that with a few undetectable

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Lord Ripon is not a free agent'''. He converted to Catholicism in 1874, following which he was generous in supporting Catholic educational and charitable works.

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== Page 12 ==

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mistakes and omissions notwithstanding, your "[[Esoteric Buddhism (book)|Esoteric Buddhism]]" is the only right exposition — however incomplete — of our [[Esoteric Philosophy|Occult doctrines]]. You have made no cardinal, fundamental mistakes; and whatever may be given to you hereafter will not clash with a single sentence in your book but on the contrary will explain away any seeming contradiction. How greatly mistaken was [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s theory is shown by the "[[Chela]]" in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]. With all that, you may feel sure that neither [[Morya|M.]] nor I have contradicted each other in our respective statements. He was speaking of the inner — I, of the [[Inner and Outer Rounds|outer Round]]. There are many things that you have not learned but may some day; nor will you be able to ever comprehend the process of the [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscurations]] until you have mastered the mathematical progress of the inner and the outer Rounds and learned more about the specific difference between the seven. And thus according to [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]]'s philosophical conclusion we have no [[God]]? He is right — since he applies the name to an extra-cosmic anomaly, and that we, knowing nothing of the latter, find — each man his God — within himself in his own personal, and at the same time, — impersonal [[Avalokiteśvara|Avalokiteswara]]. And now — farewell. And if it is so decreed that we should correspond no more, remember me with the same sincere good feeling as you will ever be remembered by,

[[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]]

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''How greatly mistaken was Mr. Hume''' refers to the article "Cosmical Rings and Rounds" he wrote in ''The Theosophist'' June 1883 (p. 231), which was answered by the chela [[S. T. Krishnama Charya|S. T. K***Chary]] (p. 232). See [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/Theosophical%20Publications/The%20Theosophist/1883/theosophist_v4_n9_june_1883.pdf# here] a reprint of the article and its response.

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== Context and background ==

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 3. [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]] described the letter this way:
<blockquote>
In KH script on both sides of six sheets of white paper. The first four lines are in blue ink; the remainder is in green ink.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 182.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Augoeides

2026-06-02T22:25:42Z

Pablo Sender:

'''Augoeides''' (Αὐγοειδής, ''augoeidḗs'') is a Greek term meaning "luminous body" (from ''auge'' "bright light, radiance" + ''eidos'' "form, shape") used by Neoplatonists and later by [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton|Bulwer-Lytton]] in [[Zanoni (book)|Zanoni]].

H. P. Blavatsky writes:

<blockquote>Bulwer Lytton calls it the “Luminous Self”, or our [[Ego#Higher Ego|Higher Ego]]. But Occultism makes of it something distinct from this. It is a mystery. The Augoeides is the luminous divine radiation of the EGO which, when incarnated, is but its shadow-pure as it is yet. This is explained in the Amshaspends and their Ferouers.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 43-44.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The seventh aspect of this [[Auric Egg|individual aura]] is the faculty of assuming the form of its body and becoming the “Radiant,” the Luminous Augoeides. It is this, strictly speaking, which at times becomes the form called [[Māyāvi-Rūpa|Mâyâvi-Rûpa]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 526.</ref></blockquote>

== Additional resources ==
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/augoeides Augoeides] in Theosophy World

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Greek terms]]

Augoeides

2026-06-02T22:25:03Z

Pablo Sender:

'''Augoeides''' (Αὐγοειδής, Augoeidḗs) is a Greek term meaning "luminous body" (from ''auge'' "bright light, radiance" + ''eidos'' "form, shape") used by Neoplatonists and later by [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton|Bulwer-Lytton]] in [[Zanoni (book)|Zanoni]].

H. P. Blavatsky writes:

<blockquote>Bulwer Lytton calls it the “Luminous Self”, or our [[Ego#Higher Ego|Higher Ego]]. But Occultism makes of it something distinct from this. It is a mystery. The Augoeides is the luminous divine radiation of the EGO which, when incarnated, is but its shadow-pure as it is yet. This is explained in the Amshaspends and their Ferouers.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 43-44.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The seventh aspect of this [[Auric Egg|individual aura]] is the faculty of assuming the form of its body and becoming the “Radiant,” the Luminous Augoeides. It is this, strictly speaking, which at times becomes the form called [[Māyāvi-Rūpa|Mâyâvi-Rûpa]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 526.</ref></blockquote>

== Additional resources ==
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/augoeides Augoeides] in Theosophy World

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Greek terms]]

Root-Race

2026-05-22T17:22:58Z

Pablo Sender: /* Against racism */

'''Root-Race''' is a [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] concept that refers to successive evolutionary stages through which humanity goes in its pilgrimage on our physical plane. Seven of such root-races take place before completing the evolutionary cycle on this [[Globe|globe]], the Earth.

'''NOTE: The term Root-Race does not refer to ethnicities or to racial concepts of the modern world.'''

== General description ==

In the Theosophical view there are seven Root-Races or evolutionary cycles through which humanity evolves. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>Every life-cycle on [[Globe#Globe D|Globe D]] (our Earth) is composed of seven root-races. They commence with the Ethereal and end with the spiritual on the double line of physical and moral evolution—from the beginning of the terrestrial round to its close. (One is a “planetary round” from Globe A to Globe G, the seventh; the other, the “globe round”, or the terrestrial).<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 160.</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Root-Races tree.gif|right|200px]]
<blockquote>
# There are seven ROUNDS in every manvantara; this one is the Fourth, and we are in the Fifth Root-Race, at present. 
# Each Root-Race has seven sub-races. 
# Each sub-race has, in its turn, seven ramifications, which may be called Branch or “Family” races. 
# The little tribes, shoots, and offshoots of the last-named are countless and depend on Karmic action. 
Examine the “genealogical tree” hereto appended, and you will understand. The illustration is purely diagrammatic, and is only intended to assist the reader in obtaining a slight grasp of the subject. . . . 
The main stem of a tree may be compared to the root-race (A). 
Its larger limbs to the various sub-races; seven in number (B1, B2). 
On each of these limbs are seven branches, or family-races (C). 
After this the cactus-plant is a better illustration, for its fleshy “leaves” are covered with sharp spines, each of which may be compared to a nation or tribe of human beings.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 434-435.</ref></blockquote>

=== Seven Root-Races ===

The Root-Races go through a process of [[Evolution#Cyclic evolution|cyclic evolution]] going from subtlety to materiality and back to subtlety:

<blockquote>These Races evolve from ethereality to materiality, and from the latter back again into relative physical tenuity of texture, so every living (so-called) organic species of animals with vegetation included, changes with every new Root-Race.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 697.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Let us remember that the First Race is shown in Occult sciences as spiritual within and ethereal without; the second, psycho-spiritual mentally, and ethero-physical bodily; the third, still bereft of intellect in its beginning, is astro-physical in its body, and lives an inner life, in which the psycho-spiritual element is in no way interfered with as yet by the hardly nascent physiological senses.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 298-299, fn.</ref></blockquote>

These cycles take place throughout the seven [[Rounds]], and they vary in length:

<blockquote>The seven Rounds decrease and increase in their respective durations, as well as the seven races in each. Thus the 4th Rounds as well as every 4th race are the shortest, while the 1st and 7th Rounds as the 1st and 7th root races are the longest.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 117.</ref></blockquote>

It is important to keep in mind that the term Root-Races does not refer to ethnicities. They are different evolutionary stages humanity as a whole goes through successively. Besides, the same individuals that compose the current humanity have been [[Reincarnation|reborn]] in all the previous Root-Races. In [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]]'s words: "The mankind of the First Root-Race is the mankind of the second, third, fourth, fifth, etc."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), fn. 146.</ref>

Each Root-Race succeed each other, although there is a period of overlapping between the old forms dying out and the new forms beginning to be more and more dominant:

<blockquote>To show how the continents, races, nations and cycles overlap each other, one has but to think of Lemuria, the last of whose lands perished about 700,000 years before the beginning of the Tertiary period (see p. 65 of the same work), and the last of “Atlantis” only 11,000 years ago; thus both overlapping—one the Atlantean period, and the other the Aryan.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433, fn.</ref></blockquote>

The end of a Root-Race and the beginning of a new one is marked by important geological changes:

<blockquote>The periods of the great root races are divided from each other by great convulsions of Nature, and by great geological changes.<ref>Alfred Percy Sinnett, ''Esoteric Buddhism'', (London: Theosophical Publishing House LTD, 1972), 48.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Every root-race is separated by a catastrophe, a cataclysm—the basis and historical foundation of the fables woven later on into the religious fabric of every people, whether civilized or savage, under the names of “deluges,” “showers of fire” and such like.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XIV (Los Angeles, CA: Philosophical Research Society, 1950), 81, fn.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>At the close of every Root-Race there comes a cataclysm, in turn by fire or water. Immediately after the “Fall into generation” the dross of the third Root-Race–those who fell into sensuality by falling off from the teaching of the Divine Instructors–were destroyed, after which the Fourth Root-Race originated, at the end of which took place the last Deluge.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 608.</ref></blockquote>

There are also cataclysms half-way every cycle:

<blockquote>The approach of every new "obscuration" is always signalled by cataclysms — of either fire or water. But, apart from this, every "Ring" or Root Race has to be cut in two, so to say, by either one or the other.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 314.</ref></blockquote>

According to Blavatsky, at the beginning of a new Root-Race a great adept (Manu) incarnates, chooses the best portion of humanity as the seed of the next Root-Race, and lets the old civilization be destroyed in the cataclysms.

In the Hindu scripture ''Vishnu Purana'' (4:24) we find a similar concept:

<blockquote>When . . . the close of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being who exists of his own spiritual nature in the character of Brahma, and who is the beginning and the end, and who comprehends all things, shall descend upon earth: he will be born in the family of Viṣṇuyaśas, an eminent Brahman of Sambhala village, as Kalki, endowed with the eight superhuman faculties. By his irresistible might he will destroy all the Mlecchas and thieves, and all whose minds are devoted to iniquity. He will then reestablish righteousness upon earth; and the minds of those who live at the end of the Kali age shall be awakened, and shall be as pellucid as crystal. The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time shall be as the seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Krita age, or age of purity.</blockquote>

=== Seven Sub-races ===

Each root-race is divided into seven minor cycles called sub-races,<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 66 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 174-175.</ref> which are again subdivided into seven branch or family races. These sub-divisions is related to the modern concept of races and ethnicities.

It must be remembered that the sub-races refer to cultural qualities and not to the level of evolution of the [[soul]]. When asked if one's incarnations are "in sub-race progression," Annie Besant answered, "They do not follow any regular law of succession."<ref>Annie Besant, ''Theosophical Lectures'', (Chicago: The Rajput Press, 1907), 147.</ref> People incarnate in the various sub-races in different orders to gather experiences.

Currently, humanity is undergoing the fifth Root-Race stage, and has developed five sub-races. However, the majority of human beings are incarnated in cultures that derive from previous Root-Races, and that had their apex of development far in the past. [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>The majority of mankind belongs to the seventh sub-race of the fourth Root race, — the above mentioned Chinamen and their off-shoots and branchlets (Malayans, Mongolians, Tibetans, Javanese, etc., etc., etc.) and remnants of other sub-races of the fourth — and the seventh sub-race of the third race. All these, fallen, degraded semblances of humanity are the direct lineal descendants of highly civilized nations neither the names nor memory of which have survived except in such books as Popalvul and a few others unknown to Science.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 312.</ref></blockquote>

=== Against racism ===

When coming closer to a modern concept of ethnicity, Blavatsky clearly rejected the idea of one race being intrinsically better than another. Differences between them do exist, but they are only due to external conditions (culture, environment, geographical isolation, etc.) To appreciate correctly the Theosophical view on this subject, the most important point to grasp is that a person's real identity is considered to be at the level of the eternal ''spiritual'' self, and not at that of the ever-changing bodily conditions, which are allegorically seen as a mere clothing of the real spiritual individuality:

<blockquote>Everyone entering the [Theosophical] society is supposed to sympathize with the theory of essential brotherhood; a kinship which exists on the plane of the higher self, not on that of the racial, social, and mental dissimilarities and antipathies. These elements of discord pertain to the physical man and are the result of unequal development under the law of evolution. We believe the human body to be but the shell, cover, or veil of the real entity; and those who accept the esoteric philosophy and the theory of “Karma” (the universal law of ethical causation) believe that the entity, as it travels around certain major and minor cycles of existence with the whole mass of human beings, takes on a different body at birth, and shells it off at death, under the operation of this Karmic law. Yet though it may thus clothe and reclothe itself a thousand times in a series of reincarnations, the entity is unchanged and unchangeable, being of a divine nature, superior to all environments on the earthly plane. It is the physical body only which has racial type, color, sex, hatreds, ambitions, and loves. So then, when we postulate the idea of universal brotherhood, we wish it understood that it is held in no Utopian sense, though we do not dream of realizing it at once on the ordinary plane of social or national relations. Most assuredly, if this view of the kinship of all mankind could gain universal acceptance, the improved sense of moral responsibility it would engender would cause most social evils and international asperities to disappear; for a true altruism, instead of the present egoism, would be the rule the world over.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 302.</ref></blockquote>

Blavatsky also maintained the common origin of all races of humanity, even though they differ from each other:

<blockquote>It is the physical type and the outward appearance in the dress, that make of one individual a Chinaman and of another a European, and of a third a red-skinned American. The inner man is one and all are “Sons of God” by birth-right.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 65.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The unity of the human species was accepted by the illustrious Professor of Cambridge (U.S.A.) [Professor Agassiz] in the same way as the Occultists do—namely, in the sense of their essential and original homogeneity and their origin from one and the same source:—e.g., Negroes, Aryans, Mongols, etc., have all originated in the same way and from the same [[Pitris|ancestors]]. The latter were all of one essence, yet differentiated, because belonging to seven [[plane]]s which differed in degree though not in kind. That original physical difference was but little more accentuated by that of geographical and climatic conditions, later on.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 607, fn.</ref></blockquote>

Arguing against the European concept of the time that their races were intrinsically better than the Africans, Blavatsky explained:

<blockquote>The Africans have never left their continent for several hundred thousands of years. If to-morrow the continent of Europe were to disappear and other lands to re-emerge instead; and if the African tribes were to separate and scatter on the face of the earth, it is they who, in about a hundred thousand years hence, would form the bulk of the civilized nations. And it is the descendants of those of our highly cultured nations, who might have survived on some one island, without any means of crossing the new seas, that would fall back into a state of relative savagery. Thus the reason given for dividing humanity into superior and inferior races falls to the ground and becomes a fallacy.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 425.</ref></blockquote>

=== Races as schools ===

[[C. W. Leadbeater]] emphasized the view that the various cultures, societies, and ethnicities, as dynamic environments offering the incarnating souls opportunities to learn certain specific lessons, all of which the souls must learn:

<blockquote>Each unit [of humanity] lives his long series of progressive lives, not in one race but in many successive races, in order that he may learn the special lessons which each has to teach. One can image a soul incarnating in ancient India to develop religious fervour, in classical Greece to gain artistic capacity, in the Rome of the Caesars to learn the immense power of discipline and order, among ourselves at the present day to acquire the scientific habit of mind, and so on. 
The same great host of souls sweeps on through all ages, animating all the these races in turn, and learning from all; but the races themselves arise, grow, decay and fall as they are needed. So when a nation loses its former glory and falls behind in the race (as, for example, modern Greece seems to have done in comparison with ancient Greece), it does not mean that a certain group of men is decadent, but that there are at the moment no souls who need precisely the type of training which that race at its best used to give, or that that training is now being given elsewhere.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Hidden Side of Things'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), ???</ref></blockquote>

This also shows the important concept that the real individual (the soul) does not belong to any particular race. Races are just temporary experiences that do not define the soul inhabiting it at the moment.

== Early civilizations ==

In this view, there have been on Earth many civilizations of which we know nothing at the moment. [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>We affirm that a series of civilizations existed before, as well as after the Glacial Period, that they existed upon various points, of the globe, reached the apex of glory and — died.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 311.</ref></blockquote>

The Master was aware that all these teachings contradicted those of modern [[science]]. However, he stood by his knowledge:

<blockquote>You cannot think that we, who have such tremendous odds against the acceptance of our doctrine would deliberately go on inventing Races and sub-races (in the opinion of [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]) were not they a matter of undeniable fact.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 311.</ref></blockquote>

As to why we do not find remains of the previous civilizations, one of the reasons is that the Root-Races live on a different parts of the earth, many of which cyclically sink as a new piece of land rises to lodge the new Root-Race:

<blockquote>Our present continents have, like “[[Lemuria]]” and “[[Atlantis]],” been several times already submerged and had the time to reappear again, and bear their new groups of mankind and civilization; and that, at the first great geological upheaval, at the next cataclysm—in the series of periodical cataclysms that occur from the beginning to the end of every Round,—our already autopsized continents will go down, and the Lemurias and Atlantises come up again.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 310.</ref></blockquote>

Besides, as [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] explains, "every object of the civilized portions of humanity that inhabited those regions hav[e] been pulverized to dust by the great masses of travelling glaciers" leaving behind "only such rude implements as now found among those savage tribes".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 310.</ref></blockquote> This is what geologists usually find when they come upon some ancient remains in regions of the modern continents that where inhabited by past Root-Races.

== Root-Races==
=== First Root-Race ===
The First Root-Race was one of sexless ethereal beings devoid of understanding, language, or any cognitive activity. They were produced by the [[Barhishad|Barhishad Pitris]], who emanated ethereal forms from themselves. They are called the "Chaya Race," ''chāyā'' being a [[Sanskrit]] word that means "image or shadow." These forms were overshadowed by human [[Monad]]s. According to [[H. P. Blavatsky]], this Race developed on seven separate regions of an island positioned where the north pole is now.

Read more: [[First Root-Race]]

=== Second Root-Race ===
The Second Root-Race, also known as the "Sweat-born," was composed of heterogeneous, gigantic semi-human monsters, representing the early attempts of material nature at forming human bodies. This race was endowed with the first primitive spark of intelligence by the preservers (Râkshasas) and the incarnating gods ([[Asura]]s and the [[Kumara]]s). The Second Root-Race was more ethereal and less human than the later races, and they were eventually destroyed by cataclysmic events such as the displacement of great waters and changing ocean beds. They were devoid of the intellectual brain element, as they were on the descending arc of the evolutionary cycle.

Read more: [[Second Root-Race]]

=== Third Root-Race ===
The Third Root-Race, often referred to as the "Lemurian Race," marks a significant phase in the esoteric history of humanity, characterized by profound evolutionary changes in both physical form and modes of reproduction. This race is also considered one of the most mysterious and pivotal in the development of human consciousness and mind. This Root-Race underwent several stages of development, each marked by distinct changes in physiology and reproduction.

In the early phases, the Third Root-Race was almost sexless, gradually becoming bisexual or androgynous. This transformation was not abrupt but occurred over countless generations. The beings of this race were initially "sweat-born," a form of asexual reproduction where offspring emerged from the pores of the parent body. As the race evolved, it became androgynous, meaning individuals possessed both male and female characteristics. The mode of reproduction shifted to an egg-bearing process, which eventually gave rise to unisexual creatures, thus developing the differentiation of sexes. Once this Root-Race separated into distinct male and female sexes, it began to reproduce sexually, which allowed for greater genetic diversity and adaptability.

The physical evolution of the Third Root-Race's was not limited to reproductive changes; it also involved other significant transformations. Initially, the race was more ethereal and less dense, but as it progressed, the beings became more material and solidified in form. This densification was necessary to support the new mode of sexual reproduction.

Alongside physical changes, the Third Root-Race also experienced significant intellectual development. The race was endowed with the first primitive spark of intelligence by the incarnating gods, such as the [[Asura]]s and the [[Kumara]]s. This infusion of intelligence marked the beginning of self-awareness and the development of individual consciousness. The initial stages of the race were marked by a high degree of spiritual awareness and psychic abilities, which gradually declined as the race became more material.

Read more: [[Third Root-Race]]

=== Fourth Root-Race ===

Read more: [[Fourth Root-Race]]

=== Fifth Root-Race ===

Read more: [[Fifth Root-Race]]

=== Sixth Root-Race ===

<blockquote>There is a prophecy in certain Asiatic old books couched in the following terms, the sense of which we may make clearer by adding to it a few words in brackets. 
"And as the fourth (race) was composed of Red-yellow which faded into Brown-white (bodies), so the fifth will fade out into white-brown (the white races becoming gradually darker). The sixth and seventh Manushya (men?) will be born adults; and will know of no old age, though their years will be many. As the Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali (ages) have been each decreasing in excellence (physical as well as moral) so the ascending—Dvapara, Treta and Krita will be increasing in every excellence. As the life of man lasted 400 (years in the first, or Krita Yuga), 300 (years in Treta), 200 (years in Dvapara) and 100 (in the present Kali age); so in the next (the 6th Race) (the natural age of man) will be (gradually increased) 200, then 300 and 400 (in the two last yugas)".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 117.</ref></blockquote>

After [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] stated that the British Islands, France and other lands of the fifth Root-Race were going to sink, until they reappear at the end of the sixth Root-Race:

<blockquote>When they reappear again, the last seventh Sub-race of the sixth Root race of present mankind will be flourishing on "Lemuria" and "Atlantis" both of which will have reappeared also (their reappearance following immediately the disappearance of the present isles and continents), and very few seas and great waters will be found then on our globe, waters as well as land appearing and disappearing and shifting periodically and each in turn.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 314.</ref></blockquote>

=== Seventh Root-Race ===

<blockquote>By the middle of the Seventh Race, says an occult prophecy, the struggle of the two conflicting Powers ([[Buddhi]] and [[Manas#Lower_manas|Kama-Manas]]) will have almost died out. Everything that is irredeemably sinful and wicked, cruel and destructive, will have been eliminated, and that which is found to survive will be swept away from being, owing, so to speak, to a [[Karma|Karmic]] tidal-wave in the shape of scavenger-plagues, geological convulsions and other means of destruction. The [[Round#Fifth_Round|Fifth Round]] will bring forth a higher kind of Humanity; and, as intelligent Nature always proceeds gradually, the last Race of this Round must necessarily develop the needed materials thereof. <ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XIII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 128.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The last seventh Race will have its [[Buddha]] as every one of its predecessors had; but, its adepts will be far higher than any of the present race, for among them will abide the future [[Planetary Spirit|Planetary]], the [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dhyan Chohan]] whose duty it will be to instruct or "refresh the memory" of the first race of the [[Round#Fifth_Round|fifth Round]] men after this [[Globe#Globe D|planet]]'s future [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscuration]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 314.</ref></blockquote>

== Continents ==

Each Root-Race has a new continent. These have a particular name in the [[Esoteric Philosophy]], although [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Blavatsky]] did not publish them. She wrote:

<blockquote>Before we turn to the Anthropogenesis of the prehistoric Races, it may be useful to agree upon the names to be given to the Continents on which the four great Races, which preceded our Adamic Race, were born, lived, and died. Their archaic and esoteric names were many, and varied with the language of the nationality which mentioned them in its annals and scriptures. . . . 
Therefore, in view of the possible, and even very probable confusion, that may arise, it is considered more convenient to adopt, for each of the four Continents constantly referred to, a name more familiar to the cultured reader. It is proposed, then, to call the first continent, or rather the first terra firma on which the first Race was evolved by the divine progenitors: 

I. [[First Root-Race#The Imperishable Sacred Land|The Imperishable Sacred Land]]. . . . 
II. The “Hyperborean” will be the name chosen for the Second Continent. . . . 
III. The third Continent, we propose to call “[[Lemuria]].”. . . . 
IV. “[[Atlantis]]” is the Fourth Continent.. . . . 
V. The Fifth Continent was America; but, as it is situated at the Antipodes, it is Europe and Asia Minor, almost coeval with it, which are generally referred to by the Indo-Aryan Occultists as the fifth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 6-9.</ref></blockquote>

The different masses of land sink and resurface cyclically. The shift of continents is connected with a change in the axis of the Earth and an inversion of the poles:

<blockquote>That worlds (also Races) are periodically destroyed by fire (volcanoes and earthquakes) and water, in turn, and renewed, is a doctrine as old as man. Manu, Hermes, the Chaldees, all antiquity believed in this. Twice already has the face of the globe been changed by fire, and twice by water, since man appeared on it. As land needs rest and renovation, new forces, and a change for its soil, so does water. Thence arises a periodical redistribution of land and water, change of climates, etc., all brought on by geological revolution, and ending in a final change in the axis.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 725-726.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The poles inverted, in consequence of the great inclination of the axis, bringing each time as a result the displacement of the Oceans, the submersion of the polar lands, and the consequent upheaval of new continents in the equatorial regions, and vice versâ.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 360.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Why not admit—true, no one of them has ever thought of it—that our present continents have, like “Lemuria” and “Atlantis,” been several times already submerged and had the time to reappear again, and bear their new groups of mankind and civilization; and that, at the first great geological upheaval, at the next cataclysm — in the series of periodical cataclysms that occur from the beginning to the end of every Round,—our already autopsized continents will go down, and the Lemurias and Atlantises come up again.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993),???</ref></blockquote>

After quoting this Blavatsky clarifies: "Not the ''same'' identical continents, of course."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 333.</ref>

== Modes of reproduction ==

Below are the different modes of birth of the various Root-Races described in [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]:

* [[Barhishad|Barhiṣad Pitris]]: Self-existent

* [[First Root-Race]]: Self-born

* Early [[Second Root-Race]]: Budding
* Late Second Root-Race: Sweat-born

* Early [[Third Root-Race]]: Sweat-born
* Middle Third Root-Race: Egg-born
* Late Third Root-Race: Womb-born

== Development of language ==

== Additional resources ==
===Articles ===
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/root-races Root Races] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/hermaphrodite Hermaphrodite] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/hyperborean Hyperborean] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/sweat-born Sweat-born] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/egg-born Egg-born] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/dumb-races Dumb Races] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/chaya Chāyā] in Theosophy World.
* Algeo, John. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/humans-apes-and-the-felix-culpa Humans, Apes, and the Felix Culpa].
* Besant, Annie. [https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No76.pdf# The Coming Race].
* Clewell, Andre. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/how-do-we-teach-about-the-root-races?highlight=WyJtaWRzb3V0aCIsImZlZGVyYXRpb24iXQ== How Do We Teach about the Root Races]. ''Quest'' 108 no.4 (Fall, 2020): 24-25, 30.
* Ellwood, Robert. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/the-next-stages-in-human-spiritual-evolution-part-one The Next Stages in Human Spiritual Evolution, Part One].
* Ellwood, Robert. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/the-next-stages-in-human-spiritual-evolution-part-two The Next Stages in Human Spiritual Evolution, Part Two].
* Judge, William Q. [http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/onthe-future-a-few-reflections.htm# On the Future: A Few Reflections].
* Judge, William Q. [http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/rounds-and-races# Rounds and Races].
* Judge, William Q. [http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/why-races-die-out# Why Races Die Out].
* Mahnich, Jacques. [http://prajnaquest.fr/blog/the-dzogchen-tradition-teachings-a-parallel-with-the-s-d-cosmogenesis (On Modes of Reproduction) The Dzogchen Tradition Teachings – A Parallel with the S.D.].
* Santucci, James A. "The Notion of Race in Theosophy." ''Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions'' Vol. 11, No. 3 (February 2008), 37-63. Available from [https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2008.11.3.37?searchUrl=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dtheosophy%26Search.x%3D0%26Search.y%3D0%26wc%3Don&Search=yes&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents JSTOR].
* Tarn, Harold. [http://www.blavatskytrust.org.uk/html/a_blavatsky_lecture_1999.htm#rendnote135# The Soul's Imperative].

===Books and pamphlets===
* Arther, James. '''''[https://archive.org/details/occult-chronology/mode/2up Occult Chronology]'''''. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1943. 63 pages. James Arther is a pseudonym of A. J. Hamerster (1883-1951).
* Besant, Annie. '''''[http://www.anandgholap.net/Pedigree_Of_Man-AB.htm# The Pedigree of Man]'''''.
* Van Pelt, Gertrude W. '''''[https://archive.org/details/archaic-history-of-the-human-race/mode/2up Archaic History of the Human Race]'''''. Point Loma, Calif: Theosophical University Press, 1934. 52 pages.

=== Audio ===
* '''''Brotherhood and racial theory in The secret doctrine''''' by Pablo Sender. 2019. Available on CD from Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library. CD 1472.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

[[es:Raza-Raíz]]
[[it:Razze]]

Skandha

2026-05-21T20:48:44Z

Pablo Sender: /* In Theosophy */

[[File:Stone skandhas.jpg|250px|right|thumb|The five aggregates (''skandhas'')]]
'''Skandha''' (devanāgarī: स्कन्ध) is a [[Sanskrit]] term usually translated as "aggregate". It used in [[Buddhism]] to refer to the five functions or aspects that constitute the human being. In [[Theosophy]] the concept is frequently used in a similar way, though they are regarded to constitute the [[personality]] only, not the totality of a human being.

== In Buddhism ==

The [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] sūtras describe human beings as composed of five aggregates, nothing among them being a permanent "I":

* Rūpa ("form" or "matter"): The physical world and the material body.
* Vedanā ("sensation" or "feeling"): The pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral sensations arising from the perception of an object.
* Samjñā ("perception" or "cognition"): Recognition of the qualities of an object perceived.
* Samskāra ("mental formations" or "volition"): Volition and all types of mental habits, which trigger a reaction to the perception of an object. Connected to the formation of karma.
* Vijñāna ("consciousness" or "discernment"): Awareness of or sensitivity to an object.

== In Theosophy ==

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] defined them as follows:

<blockquote>“Bundles”, or groups of attributes; everything finite, inapplicable to the eternal and the [[absolute]]. There are five—esoterically, seven—attributes in every human living being, which are known as the Pancha Shandhas. . . . These unite at the birth of man and constitute his [[Principle#Individuality_and_personality|personality]]. After the maturity of these Skandhas, they begin to separate and weaken, and this is followed by jarâmarana, or decrepitude and [[death]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 301-302.</ref></blockquote>

Theosophical literature agrees with [[Buddhism]] that nowhere within the five skandhas can a real or permanent "I" be found. However, it postulates that the skandhas belong only to the [[personality]], and that beyond them there is the real [[Ego]]:

<blockquote>The personality with its Skandhas is ever changing with every new birth. . . . This is why we preserve no memory on the physical plane of our past lives, though the real "Ego" has lived them over and knows them all.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 131.</ref></blockquote>

Because they belong to the personality, the skandhas cannot follow the [[Ego#Higher ego|higher ego]] to [[Devachan]] after death. However, they are not merely dissolved, but "wait" for the return of the Ego to the new [[Reincarnation|incarnation]]:

<blockquote>Karma, with its army of Skandhas, waits at the threshold of Devachan, whence the Ego re-emerges to assume a new incarnation.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 141.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>They [the skandhas] remain as ''Karmic effects'', as germs, hanging in the atmosphere of the terrestrial plane, ready to come to life, as so many avenging fiends, to attach themselves to the new personality of the Ego when it reincarnates.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 154.</ref></blockquote>

As can be seen, the skandhas are intimately connected to the idea of [[karma]]. In fact, [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote: "The Buddhist calls this his 'Skandha', the Hindu gives it the name of 'Karma'".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' Appendix I (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 472.</ref>

=== Esoteric skandhas ===

As mentioned in the previous section, Mme. Blavatsky makes reference to two additional (esoteric) skandhas: Attavada and Sakkayaditthi. These concepts exist in Buddhism, but are not regarded as additional skandhas. The word ''sakkāya-diṭṭhi'' is [[Pali]] (from ''sakkāya'', "aggregates of existence" + ''diṭṭhi'', "wrong view or belief") and refers to the wrong idea that we are the personality formed by the five skandhas. The word ''attavāda'' is also Pali (from ''attan'', "self' + ''vada'', "theory"), and points to the illusion of the existence one's personal self as a substantial and permanent entity.

This idea that these qualities are esoteric skandhas was first mentioned in 1882, in [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters'']]:

<blockquote>It is the group of Skandhas that form and constitute the physical and mental individuality we call man (or any being). This group consists (in the exoteric teaching) of five Skandhas, namely: Rupa — the material properties or attributes; Vedana — sensations; Sanna — abstract ideas; Samkara — tendencies both physical and mental; and Vinnana — mental powers, an amplification of the fourth — meaning the mental, physical and moral predispositions. We add to them two more, the nature and names of which you may learn hereafter. Suffice for the present to let you know that they are connected with, and productive of Sakkayaditthi, the “heresy or delusion of individuality” and of Attavada “the doctrine of Self,” both of which (in the case of the fifth principle, the soul) lead to the maya of heresy and belief in the efficacy of vain rites and ceremonies, in prayers and intercession.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 199.</ref></blockquote>

Notice that the esoteric skandhas are said to belong to the [[manas]]ic principle, something that is confirmed in an article said to have been written by a [[chela]] or perhaps even a [[Master of Wisdom]]:

<blockquote>The participation of the ''manas'' in the [[Devachan]]ic bliss, does not add to, but on the contrary takes away from, the reality that would fall to the lot of the [[monad]] were it altogether free from its presence. Its bliss is an outcome of Sakkayaditthi, the delusion or “heresy of individuality,” which heresy, together with the attavadic chain of causes, is necessary for the monad’s future birth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1997), 78.</ref></blockquote>

In the writings of Blavatsky, these concepts are not interpreted as an absolute denial of the existence of self, as it is the case in Buddhism. They are presented as belief in a self ''that is separate from its universal source'':

<blockquote>The heresies of “Attavada” (belief in soul or self) and that of Sakkayaditthi (the delusion of individuality or personality, i.e., belief in a “I am” apart from Universal Existence."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 173.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>''Attavada'', the heresy of the belief in Soul or rather in the separateness of Soul or Self from the One Universal, infinite SELF.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Voice of the Silence'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1992), Glossary.</ref></blockquote>

===Dora Kunz commentary===
[[Dora van Gelder Kunz]] wrote:
<blockquote>
Each person comes into the world with certain attributes, or ''skandhas'', as the Buddhists call them: "conditions of existence" which we all bring with us at birth. While these are obviously connected with genetic factors, there is also a basic, unique individuality which is sometimes strangely different from the family pattern, with unaccountable idiosyncrasies. We know that during life the present is shaped for an individual by past experiences; reincarnation merely extends this past to include a larger heritage of assimilated experiences... 
The concept of ''skandhas'' comes closer, I believe, than any other to identifying the causal connection between our past in its entirety and what we now are. You could say that each one of us is "caused" by our heritage - physically, of course, but also mentally and emotionally. But, according to reincarnation, that heritage is not limited to this brief life, but extends far back to the dawn of our consciousness. It equally reaches into the most distant future, for what we are now - which includes the changes we make in ourselves - becomes the seeds of what we shall be. This is the essence of the evolution of consciousness.<ref>Dora van Gelder Kunz, ''The Personal Aura'' (Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 60-61.</ref>
</blockquote>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/skandha Skandha] in Theosophy World

===Videos===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJb20VzFO1w Karma, Skandhas, and Personality] by Shirley Nicholson

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Sanskrit terms]]
[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Buddhist concepts]]
[[Category:Hindu concepts]]
[[it:Skandha]]
[[es:Skandha]]

E. T. Sturdy

2026-05-21T19:45:47Z

Pablo Sender: /* Articles */

[[File:E. T. Sturdy2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|E. T. Sturdy]]
'''Edward Toronto Sturdy''' (1860 – [[March 15]], 1957) was a [[Sanskrit]] scholar, student of [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]], and a member of the [[Theosophical Society]]. He was part of the [[Esoteric Section#Inner Group|Inner Group]] formed by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] and the one who recorded what is today known as [[HPB's Diagram of Meditation]].

== Personal life ==

E. T. Sturdy was born around 1860 in Canada. He went to New Zealand at the age of 19. After some travels he left Wellington in 1888 to take up residence in London, so he could study with Madame Blavatsky. He was married in 1894. His son Ambrose was born in Edinburgh the following year, and daughter Dorothy two years later. By 1901 Sturdy had been widowed, and was living in London with two small children.<ref>1901 England Census.</ref> A wealthy property developer, he commissioned extensive remodeling of a house in the Dorset village [parish] of Burton Bradstock:
[[File:Norburton Hall.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Norburton House]]
<blockquote>
The name, Norburton House was adopted in 1902 when the owner, Edward T Sturdy (1860–1957) commissioned his uncle, who was an architect, to undertake major refurbishment and building works. A wing was added incorporating the main hall with its elaborately carved staircase and the leaded window together with the 3 guest bedrooms all of which reflect the Arts and Crafts movement.

Edward Sturdy had been a property developer based in London and his move to the countryside coincided with a revival in the use of traditional crafts as an antidote to mass production. The carved staircase and detailed stonemasonry in the main hall are wonderful examples of the Arts and Crafts movement. Edward Sturdy also studied philosophy and gained a reputation as a Sanskrit scholar and translator. His interest in Eastern cultures led him to travel quite extensively and it appears that it brought him into contact with Walter Crane, one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement. Walter Crane designed an elegant fireplace with peacocks in the East wing of the house. Evidence of Sturdy’s interests and travels is prevalent in the house and the grounds...
[[File:Norburton Hall mantel.jpg|250px|right|thumb|[[Theosophical Motto|TS motto]] over mantel at Norburton House]]
* The magnificent evergreens in the grounds are Cupressus Macrocarpas brought back from his travels in New Zealand
* The fireplace in the dining room incorporates peacocks, an important symbol in Islamic, Ancient Persian, Greek and Christian cultures representing purity, truth, wisdom and immortality.

The Sanskrit inscription (prayer) over the fire place in the main hall [[Theosophical Motto|“SATYAT NASTI PARA DORMA”]] has been translated by the British Museum to read ‘There is no higher law than truth’.<ref>"The Story of Norburton Hall" [http://www.burtonbradstock.org.uk/History/Norburton%20Hall%20History/Norburton%20Hall%20Index.htm# Burton Bradstock Village website].</ref>
</blockquote>

== Theosophical involvement==

In 1884, he heard about the [[Theosophical Society]] through a friend and sent a letter to [[Adyar (campus)|Adyar]]. He joined the Society on [[October 10]], 1885, as one of the first ten New Zealanders to become members.<ref>Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at [http://tsmembers.org/ http://tsmembers.org/]. See book 1, entry 3464 (website file: 1B/16).</ref><ref>Mary K. Neff, ''How Theosophy Came to Australia and New Zealand'' (Sydney: Australian Section Theosophical Society, 1943), 42-43.</ref><ref>Robert S. Ellwood, ''Islands of the Dawn'', (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993), 98-99.</ref> Interested in Indian philosophy, the next year he went to [[Adyar (campus)|Adyar]] hoping to get in touch with "learned Hindus". For a short time around March, 1887 he joined [[Henry Steel Olcott|H. S. Olcott]] who was on a tour in Northwest India. He, then, left for Ceylon to attend to some business for the TS.<ref>Henry Steel Olcott, ''Old Diary Leaves'' Third Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 422-423.</ref> Later, he went to London and met [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]], who had just moved there in May.

After a few months in London, Mr. Sturdy returned to New Zealand by way of New York. It is here that he met [[William Quan Judge|W. Q. Judge]]. Once back in his country he settled in Wellington and gathered some students around, which eventually lead to the formation of the first lodge in New Zealand, the Wellington Lodge, chartered in November 1888:

<blockquote>Among its members were Sir Harry Albert ATKINSON, Prime Minister of New Zealand; his wife Anne E. Atkinson; their son, E. Tudor Atkinson; M. van Staveren, a Jewish rabbi; H. M. Stowell (Hare Hongi), a Maori tohunga (priest); and Edward Tregear, a poet and Maori scholar, who wrote a book about the similarities of the Hindu and Maori languages.<ref>Philip Harris, ''Theosophical Encyclopedia'' (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 2006), 449.</ref></blockquote>

However, Mr. Sturdy left for England in December 1888 to become a student of Mme. Blavatsky, and after his departure the Wellington Lodge ceased to exist (it was rechartered in 1894).

He became a member of the [[Esoteric Section|Esoteric Section of Theosophy]] and one of the members of the "E.S.T. Council" appointed by HPB. He was also part of the European Advisory Council formed in July, 1890, which would assist her in her new function as the Presidential authority of the Theosophical Society in Europe. The other members of the Council were [[Annie Besant]], [[William Kingsland|W. Kingsland]], [[Herbert Burrows]], [[A. P. Sinnett]], [[Herbert Coryn|H. A. W. Coryn]], and [[G. R. S. Mead]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 264.</ref>

Mr. Sturdy was also a member of the [[Esoteric Section#Inner Group|Inner Group]] formed by HPB in August 1890. Many years later, in 1947, he wrote: "I think I must have been the most skeptical of all the members of HPB's Inner Group". He then proceeds to say that in time he had come to believe in Mme. Blavatsky and also in the [[Masters of Wisdom]] as "concrete individuals" and not only as ideals.<ref>E. T. Sturdy letter to [[Boris de Zirkoff]]. April 18, 1947. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. [[Theosophical Society in America]] Archives Department.</ref>

On April, 1891, ill and few weeks before dying, HPB was concerned that Mr. Sturdy had also been taken ill with influenza. When it was suggested that Mr. Mead should bring him to be nursed at Headquarters, she was much pleased and insisted on his being sent for at once.<ref>[http://blavatskyarchives.com/cooperl1891.htm# How She Left Us] by Laura M. Cooper.</ref>

Mr. Sturdy was present at the meeting at 19 Avenue Road on [[May 27]], 1891, when the E.S. was reorganized immediately after the death of HPB.

In August 1893 he published an article on Gurus and Chelas in [[Lucifer (periodical)|''Lucifer'']]. This induced Annie Besant to issue a critique in October of that year, taking a stand against the spirit behind Mr. Sturdy's article.

He was actively involved in the controversy that ended up with the secession of the American Section of the Theosophical Society led by [[William Quan Judge|Mr. Judge]]. He stayed with the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|TS Adyar]]. However, in 1894 he resigned from the Society to work independently.<ref>Mary K. Neff, ''How Theosophy Came to Australia and New Zealand'' (Sydney: Australian Section Theosophical Society, 1943), 44.</ref>

== Eastern philosophy ==

[[Theosophy]] was not his only inspiration. In 1940 he wrote: "What I have, I owe largely to [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]], to some extent to [[Anna Bonus Kingsford|Anna Kingsford]] and [[Edward Maitland]], and perhaps, most of all, to the Vedanta and Buddhist teachings".<ref>Robert S. Ellwood, ''Islands of the Dawn'', (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993), 98.</ref> In 1947 he wrote to [[Boris de Zirkoff]]:

<blockquote>Although I often refer to [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']], I am not so much of an [[Occultism|Occultist]], which HPB undoubtedly was, as a [[Mysticism|Mystic]] and follow in thought and effort the teachings of the [[Advaita Vedānta]] and [[Mahāyāna Buddhism]].<ref>E. T. Sturdy letter to [[Boris de Zirkoff]]. April 18, 1947. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. [[Theosophical Society in America]] Archives Department.</ref></blockquote>

=== Swami Vivekananda ===
[[File:Swami_Vivekananda_1893.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Swami Vivekananda]]
In 1895 Swami [[Vivekananda]] had been planning a visit to London; Miss [[Henrietta Müller]], who had already met him in America, extended an invitation from Mr. Sturdy to stay at his home in England.<ref>See [http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda_biography/09_experiences.htm Vivekananda - A Biography, Ch. 9, "Experiences In The West"] by Swami Nikhilananda</ref> Vivekananda gave a lecture October 22, 1895, at Prince’s Hall, of which Mr. Sturdy was the Chairman.<ref>Henry Steel Olcott, ''Old Diary Leaves'' Fifth Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1975), 404.</ref></blockquote> Eventually, Swami Vivekananda and Mr. Sturdy began to work together on an English translation of the Bhakti aphorisms of [[Narada]]. After a two months' stay in England, before leaving, he arranged that Mr. Sturdy should conduct classes in London till the arrival of a new Swami from India. Sturdy wrote of Swami Vivekananda:
<blockquote>
It is now some forty years since Vivekananda left this country, but the impression that he left with me is as vivid now as on the day that I said farewell to him.

I think this is largely accounted for... by a quality in him which is described by a Sanskrit word ''ojas'': it signifies bodily strength, virility and also vitality and splendour.

In fact he had a magnetic personality, associated with great tranquillity. Whether he was walking in the street or standing in a room, there was always the same dignity.

He had a great sense of humour and as a natural correlative, much pathos and pity for affliction. He was a charming companion and entered with ease into any environment he found. And I found that all classes of educated persons that he was brought in contact with looked up to and admired the innate nobility that was in the man. One felt at all limes that he was, to use a modern expression, "conscious of the presence of God". In walking, travelling, and leisure times, there constantly came from him some hardly formulated invocation or expression of devotion.

As a teacher he had a great capacity for perceiving the difficulty of an inquirer, and would elucidate it with great simplicity and point to its solution. At the same time he could enter into great intricacies of thought.

I remember well his discussion with Dr. Paul Deussen, the then head of Kiel University. He pointed out where Schopenhauer and Von Hartmann were wrong in founding their philosophy upon the blind will, the Unconscious, as contrasted with Universal Thought, which must precede all desiring or willing. Unfortunately that error continues today and vitiates a great deal of Western psychology by its using a wrong terminology.<ref>E. T. Sturdy in ''The Vedanta Kesari'' February, 1937. Quoted in [http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/reminiscences/294_ets.htm# Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda] and also in [http://www.vivekananda.net/PDFBooks/Reminiscences/Sturdy.html Vivekananda.net].</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Lafcadio Hearn ===
[[File:Lafcadio Hearn statue in Tokyo.png|170px|right|thumb|Lafadio Hearn statue in Tokyo]]
Another testimony of his pursuit of Eastern philosophy comes from the writer Lafcadio Hearn (a.k.a. Koizumi Yakumo) who wrote to a friend in April, 1898:

<blockquote>I have met a most extraordinary man. . . . His name is E. T. Sturdy. He has lived in India --up in the Himalayas for years-- studying Eastern philosophy; and the hotel delicacies will do him no good, because he is a vegetarian. He is a friend of [[Thomas William Rhys Davids|Professor Rhys-Davids]], who gave him a letter of introduction to me; and has paid for the publication of several Eastern texts--Pali, etc. Beyond any question, he is the most remarkable person I have met in Japan. Fancy a man independent, strong, cultivated, with property in New Zealand and elsewhere, voluntarily haunting the Himalayas in the company of Hindoo pilgrims and ascetics,--in search of the Nameless and the Eternal. Yet he is not a [[Theosophist]] exactly, nor a [[Spiritualism|Spiritualist]]. I did not get very near him--he has that extreme English reserve which deludes under the appearance of almost boyish frankness; but I think we might become fast friends did we live in the same city. He told me some things that I shall never forget,--very strange things.<ref>Elizabeth Bisland, ''The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn'', Volume 2 (Boston: Adamant Media Corporation, 2006), 380.</ref></blockquote>

==Later years==
[[File:E. T. Sturdy.jpeg|right|250px|thumb|E. T. Sturdy at Norburton Hall]]
In a letter to [[Boris de Zirkoff]] dated 18 April, 1947, he wrote: "I am the last of all her [[Esoteric Section#Inner Group|Inner Group]]. I live almost the life of a hermit, for my contact with the outer world is almost entirely by letters".<ref>Letter to [[Boris de Zirkoff]]. April 18, 1947. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. [[Theosophical Society in America]] Archives Department.</ref>

In [[March 13]], 1957, Mr. Sturdy had a slight stroke from which he recovered. However two days later, on [[March 15]], he passed on suddenly after lunch "without even a sigh", aged 97. It is reported he was reading an article on life after death in [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] thought written by his friend [[Christmas Humphreys]].

== Writings ==

The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=sturdy&s=author 18 articles by E. T. Sturdy]''' and '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=sturdy&s=title 6 articles about him]'''.

== Additional resources==
=== Articles ===
* [https://theosophy.world/edward-t-sturdy-father-theosophy-new-zealand# Edward T. Sturdy - "Father of Theosophy in New Zealand"] by Richard Sell
* [http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/reminiscences/294_ets.htm# Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda] by E. T. Sturdy. Also available at [http://www.vivekananda.net/PDFBooks/Reminiscences/Sturdy.html Vivekananda.net].
* [http://www.vivekananda150jayanti.org/vivekvani/todays-special/24-april/Mr-E-T-Sturdy# Letters from Swami Vivekananda to Mr. E. T. Sturdy, April 24, 1895] and [http://www.vivekananda150jayanti.org/vivekvani/todays-special/14-september/Letter-to-Mr-E-T-Sturdy# September 14, 1899].
* [http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2010/11/norburton-hall/# Norburton Hall] at DorsetLife.
* [http://www.burtonbradstock.org.uk/History/Norburton%20Hall%20History/Norburton%20Hall%20Index.htm# The Story of Norburton Hall] at Burtonbradstock Online.
* [http://www.norburtonhall.com/norburtonhall/history.html Norburton Hall History] at NorburtonHall.com.

=== Pamphlets ===
* [https://archive.org/details/besantgurusandchelas1918m Gurus and Chelas] by E. T. Sturdy and a reply by Annie Besant Second edition. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House: 1918.

=== Archival materials ===

* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/sturdyletter.jpg Letter to Christmas Humphreys] at Blavatsky Archives website. Dated August 14, 1942.
* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/blavatsky_diagram_of_meditation.jpg Blavatsky Diagram of Meditation] in Blavatsky Archives. This is the '''original''' of H.P.B.'s Diagram of Meditation that E.T. Sturdy sent to Christmas Humphreys in 1942.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Associates of HPB|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:Sanskrit scholars|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:Inner Group of HPB|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:Business careers|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:Nationality Canadian|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:Nationality New Zealander|Sturdy, E. T.]]
[[Category:People|Sturdy, E. T.]]

Animals

2026-05-18T22:08:06Z

Pablo Sender: /* Animal rights */

'''[ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION]''' 
'''[ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION]'''

The Animal Kingdom is the previous [[Evolution|evolutionary]] stage to human beings.

== Group-Soul evolution ==
[[File:Perkins - Group soul.JPG|right|300px|thumb|"Group-Soul Evolution" by James S. Perkins]]
[[James S. Perkins]] has written:
<blockquote>
Animal [[Consciousness|consciousness]] is not only [[Evolution|evolved]] through individual forms, but through group experience and growth. This group development occurs throughout the [[Chains|third chain]], particularly during the seven periods during which the Life wave occupies its [[Globes|Globe D]]. Animals are united in groups, each animal sharing the soul life of its group...

The group-soul is an admirable conveyance for sharing the collective experience of numbers of animals. A number of lions may be seen linked together in a single sphere of consciousness [in the '''illustration at right'''].

Through the common shelter of this immortal group-soul that is experiencing life and death in any forms, there is a constant stimulation of consciousness in all the creatures attached to the group. the sheltering feature of group-soul existence indicates that the animal is not aware of ''aloneness''...

In the illustration the star [[Monad]] above is radiating its influence into the sphere through the medium of an angelic presence that represents the immortal group-soul intelligence. This entity is visualized gathering the essential quality of each member's experiences and redistributing it to the whole group...

Into this arena of mutual existence radiates the dominant '''[[Seven Rays|ray]]''' influence from the Monad. The ray factor is a decisive feature in group-soul evolution. A first-ray Monad evolves through a first-ray group-soul; and only first-ray animals are attached to it. Lions will be found only in a first-ray group-soul. All animals are evolving their natures on one or another of the seven rays.

Thus it may be seen that there is a common influx of spiritual forces from above, in addition to the flow of impacts from all the environmental experiences pouring into the group-soul. Together these unfold the lion's characteristic nature and action...

There is individual progress in the group-soul. A domestic animal in a group-soul, due to human association, advances more rapidly than others of his type that remain in the wild kingdom. When this individual progress occurs, the group-soul may be reduced in number... Thus the animal unit of consciousness gradually approaches entry into the human kingdom.<ref>James S. Perkins, ''Visual Meditations on the Universe'' (Wheaton, IL:Theosophical Publishing House, 1984), 71-72.</ref></blockquote>

[[C. W. Leadbeater]] wrote:

<blockquote>Individualisation is possible only from seven kinds of animals—one for each of the seven great lines or types. Of these we already know certainly the elephant, the monkey, the dog and the cat; and the horse is possibly a fifth. Up to each of these heads of types leads a long line of wild animals, which has not yet been fully investigated; but we know that wolves, foxes, jackals and all such creatures culminate in the dog, and lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars and ocelots in the domestic cat. When we reach these seven individualisable animals we find usually only a few hundred attached to each group-soul, and as their development continues the souls break up rapidly.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Inner Life'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1912), ???.</ref></blockquote>

== Domestic animals==

Theosophical literature postulates that the contact of humans with domestic animals has an effect in their development and evolution. In a lecture given in 1895, [[Annie Besant]] stated:

<blockquote>If for a moment you will look at the lower animals you will see a startling difference between the wild and the domesticated. You will find in the domesticated animal very much more of what you would call mind than you find in the wild animal . . . that has never come across man at all.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Evolution And Occultism'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophist Office, 1913), ??.</ref></blockquote>

This effect, however, may be positive or negative. Again, in Annie Besant's words:

<blockquote>Supposing that you take a puppy, and supposing that from that puppy's birth you keep it continually with yourselves, and you do not permit it to associate with the lower creatures, but you keep it with yourselves. Some lonely person, for instance, takes a puppy, and it is always with him or her; what is the result? The result is that in that puppy, as it grows up, there is developed a startling amount of some quality that you are forced to call Intelligence. You will develop in it a limited reason; you will develop in it a limited memory; you will develop in it a limited judgment. Now, these are qualities of the mind, not qualities of Kama. How is it that in this lower animal these qualities are developed? They are developed artificially by the playing upon it of the human intelligence. To that animal the mind in you to some extent plays the part which the Son of Mind plays to Humanity; and thrown out from the comparatively developed Intelligence in man, these rays, these energetic rays of mental influence, vitalize the germ in the Kama of the animal and so produce artificially, as it were, an infant mind.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Evolution And Occultism'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophist Office, 1913), ??.</ref></blockquote>

However, she later amended this statement saying:

<blockquote>It is with much inner pleasure that I find that a statement current in Theosophical circles, and repeated by me above, is incorrect in fact. It seems, with regard to some animals at least--as the dog and the cat--that the development caused "by the playing upon it of human intelligence" is well caused, and lifts the animal forward, so that the germinating individuality does not return to animal incarnation, but awaits elsewhere the period at which its further development shall become possible. The "forcing" is therefore helpful and beneficial, not harmful, and we may rid ourselves of the incongruous idea that, in a universe built on and permeated by Love, the out-welling of compassion and love to our younger relatives is injurious to them.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Evolution And Occultism'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophist Office, 1913), ??.</ref></blockquote>

In [[C. W. Leadbeater]]'s words:

<blockquote>The animal if kindly treated develops devoted affection for his human friend, and also unfolds his intellectual powers in trying to understand that friend and to anticipate his wishes. In addition to this, the emotions and the thoughts of man act constantly upon those of the animal, and tend to raise him to a higher level both emotionally and intellectually.<ref>C. W. Leadbeater, ''A Textbook of Theosophy'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, ??), ??.</ref></blockquote>

There seems to be a limit beyond which human affection may stimulate wrong aspects in the animal. As Annie Besant stated:

<blockquote>Large numbers of the higher animals in a state of domestication have ... really become separate re-incarnating entities, although not as yet possessing a causal body―the mark of what is usually called individualisation. The envelope derived from the Group-Soul serves the purpose of a causal body... Following the analogy of human ante-natal life, we see that this stage corresponds with its last two months. A seven-months’ babe may be born and may survive, but it will be stronger, healthier, more vigorous, if it profits for yet another two months by its mother’s shielding and nourishing life. So is it better for the normal development of the Ego that it should not too hastily burst the envelope of the Group-Soul, but should still absorb life through it, and strengthen from its constituents the finest part of its own mental body. When that body has reached its limit of growth under these shielded conditions, the envelope disintegrates into the finer molecules of the sub-plane above it, and becomes, as above said, part of the causal body. 
It is the knowledge of these facts that has sometimes caused occultists to warn people who are very fond of animals not to be exaggerated in their affection, nor to show it in unwise ways. The growth of the animal may be unhealthily forced, and its birth into individuality be hastened out of due time. Man, in order to fill rightly his place in the world, should seek to understand nature and work with her laws, quickening indeed their action by the co-operation of his intelligence, but not quickening it to the point whereat growth is made unhealthy and its product frail and “out of season”. It is true that the Lord of Life seeks human co-operation in the working out of evolution, but the co-operation should follow the lines which His Wisdom has laid down.<ref>Annie Besant, ''A Study in Consciousness'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, ???), ??.</ref>
</blockquote>

An example of how an exaggerated domestication may have negative effects on the animal was given by [[C. W. Leadbeater]]:

<blockquote>[In the case of] the lap-dog who is pampered by some foolish mistress so that he gradually loses all the canine virtues, and becomes an embodiment of selfishness and love of ease, [the owner is] developing the lower instead of the higher instincts in the creatures committed to his care, thereby making bad karma himself, and leading a group-soul to make bad karma also. Man's duty towards the dog is clearly to evolve in him devotion, affection, intelligence and usefulness, and to repress kindly but firmly every manifestation of the savage and cruel side of his nature, which a brutalised humanity has for ages so sedulously fostered.<ref>C. W. Leadbeater, ''The Inner Life'' Vol II, (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1912), ??.</ref></blockquote>

Perhaps, the correct attitude is one in which humans offer animals love and care, stimulating in them higher qualities, while at the same time avoiding to over-anthropomorphize them, remembering that they are still part of the animal kingdom.

As it is today well-known, the affection of an animal for a human being can have beneficial effects on the latter. C. W. Leadbeater explained:

<blockquote>For thousand of years man has lived so cruelly that all wild creatures fear and avoid him, so the influence upon him of the animal kingdom is practically confined to that of the domestic animals. In our relations with these our influence over them is naturally far more potent than theirs over us, yet this latter is by no means to be ignored. A man who has really made friends with an animal is often much helped and strengthened by the affection lavished upon him. Being more advanced, a man is naturally capable of greater love than an animal is; but the animal's affection is usually more concentrated, and he is far more likely to throw the whole of his energy into it than a man is. 
The very fact of the man's higher development gives him a multiplicity of interests, among which his attention is divided; the animal often pours the entire strength of his nature into one channel, and so produces a most powerful effect. The man has a hundred other matters to think about, and the current of his love consequently cannot but be variable; when the dog or the cat develops a really great affection it fills the whole of his life, and he therefore keeps a steady stream of force always playing upon its object--a factor whose value is by no means to be ignored.<ref>C. W. Leadbeater, ''The Hidden Side of Things'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, ???), ??.</ref></blockquote>

Regarding those who are cruel to animals, or induce cruelty in animals, he added:

<blockquote>Association with man does not always improve the animal or tend to evolve it in the right direction. The sporting dog is taught by the hunter to be far more savage and brutal than it could ever become in any form of life that could come to it by nature; for the wild animal kills only to satisfy his hunger, and it is only man who introduces into animal life the wickedness of killing for the sake of the lust of destruction. However much his intelligence may be developed, it would have been far better for this unfortunate creature if he had never come into contact with humanity; for through him his group-soul has now made karma--karma of the most evil kind, for which other dogs which are expressions of that group-soul will have to suffer later in order that gradually the savagery may be weeded out.<ref>C. W. Leadbeater, ''The Inner Life'' Vol II, (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1912), ??.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The man who is so wicked as to provoke by cruelty the hatred and fear of domestic animals becomes by a righteous retribution the centre of converging forces of antipathy; for such conduct arouses deep indignation among nature-spirits and other astral and etheric entities, as well as among all right-minded men, whether living or dead.<ref>C. W. Leadbeater, ''The Hidden Side of Things'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, ???), ??.</ref></blockquote>

== Animal rights ==

Theosophists have always advocated for animal rights. For example, [[H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>Verily when the world feels convinced—and it cannot avoid coming one day to such a conviction—that animals are creatures as eternal as we ourselves, vivisection and other permanent tortures, daily inflicted on the poor brutes, will, after calling forth an outburst of maledictions and threats from society generally, force all Governments to put an end to those barbarous and shameful practices.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 49.</ref></blockquote>

In the Theosophical view, there is a moral responsibility for unnecessarily killing animals by modern people. As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>As it is no fault of the former, if born a "savage" with an instinct to kill — though it caused the death of many an innocent animal — why, if with it all, he was a loving father, son, husband, why should he not also enjoy his share of reward? The case would be quite different if the same cruel acts had been done by an educated and civilized person, from a mere love of sport. The savage in being reborn would simply take a low place in the scale, by reason of his imperfect moral development; while the Karma of the other would be tainted with moral delinquency.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 192.</ref></blockquote>

== See also==
*[[Kingdoms_of_Life#Animal_kingdom|Animal Kingdom]]
*[[Vegetarianism]]

== Additional Resources ==
===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/animals-and-us-quotations Animals and Us: Quotations] from Ahimsa, by Nathaniel Altman
*[https://www.anandgholap.net/Evolution_And_Occultism-AB.htm# "Men and Animals" in ''Evolution and Occultism'' Ch. 12 ] by Annie Besant
*[https://www.theosophytrust.org/430-have-animals-souls# Have Animals Souls?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[https://www.theosophytrust.org/590-why-do-animals-suffer# Why Do Animals Suffer?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/do-horses-gallop-in-their-sleep-the-problem-of-animal-consciousness Do Horses Gallop in Their Sleep: The Problem of Animal Consciousness] by Matt Cartmill
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/animals-and-humans-evolving-together-in-conscious-universe Animals and Humans: Evolving Together in Conscious Universe] by Judith Hensel
*[https://blavatsky.net/about-killing-animals/# About Killing Animals] by William Q. Judge
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/reincarnation-of-animals# Reincarnation in Animals] by William Q. Judge
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/qboidsq-the-group-soul-and-universal-brotherhood "Boids," the Group Soul, and Universal Brotherhood] by George M. Young
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/group-soul Group Soul] in Theosophy World

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]

Matter

2026-04-21T13:40:43Z

Pablo Sender: /* Physical matter */

'''Matter''', in the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view, is a manifestation of the One Principle beyond the range and reach of thought, the [[Absolute]]. Matter, as well as [[spirit]], are just aspects of this Principle, though they appear to our perception as being different:

<blockquote>[[Spirit]], [[life]] and matter, are not natural principles existing independently of each other, but the effects of combinations produced by eternal [[motion]] in [[Space]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 317.</ref></blockquote>

== General description ==

According to [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]], what we call "matter" is the phenomena that appears to our consciousness, "[[substance]]" being its [[noumenon]] or cause:

<blockquote>In strict accuracy—to avoid confusion and mis-conception—the term “Matter” ought to be applied to the aggregate of objects of possible perception, and “Substance” to noumena; for inasmuch as the phenomena of our plane are the creation of the perceiving [[Ego]]—the modifications of its own subjectivity—all the “states of matter representing the aggregate of perceived objects” can have but a relative and purely phenomenal existence for the children of our plane. As the modern [[Idealism|Idealists]] would say, the co-operation of Subject and Object results in the Sense-object or phenomenon.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 329.</ref></blockquote>

She explained that the [[Occultism|occult]] concept of matter is not limited to what can be perceived on the physical [[plane]]:

<blockquote>Matter, to the Occultist, it must be remembered, is that totality of existences in the Kosmos, which falls within any of the planes of possible perception.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 514.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, in its ultimate nature, matter is not different from [[spirit]]. In [[Mahatma Letter No. 90|one of his letters]], [[Koot Hoomi| Mahatma K.H.]] wrote to [[A. O. Hume]]:

<blockquote>The conception of matter and spirit as entirely distinct, and both [[Eternity|eternal]] could certainly never have entered my head, however little I may know of them, for it is one of the elementary and fundamental doctrines of [[Occultism]] that the two are one, and are distinct but in their respective manifestations, and only in the limited perceptions of the world of senses.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 90 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 282. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 90#Page 16|Mahatma Letter No. 90 page 16]].</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In the book of [[Tibetan Buddhist canon#Tantras|Kiu-te]], [[Spirit]] is called the ultimate sublimation of matter, and matter the crystallization of spirit. And no better illustration could be afforded than in the very simple phenomenon of ice, water, vapour and the final dispersion of the latter, the phenomenon being reversed in its consecutive manifestations and called the Spirit falling into generation or matter.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 90 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 283. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 90#Page 16|Mahatma Letter No. 90 page 16]].</ref></blockquote>

About this, [[W. Q. Judge]] wrote:

<blockquote>Theosophy postulates an eternal principle called the unknown . . . The perceived universe is the manifestation of this unknown, including spirit and matter, for Theosophy holds that those are but the two opposite poles of the one unknown principle. They coexist, are not separate nor separable from each other, or, as the Hindu scriptures say, there is no particle of matter without spirit, and no particle of spirit without matter.<ref>William Quan Judge, ''Theosophy Generally Stated'' ??????</ref></blockquote>

For this reason, matter in its essence (sometimes called "substance"), is seen as [[eternal]]. [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>Matter we know to be eternal, i.e., having had no beginning (a) because matter is Nature herself (b) because that which cannot annihilate itself and is indestructible exists necessarily — and therefore it could not begin to be, nor can it cease to be (c) because the accumulated experience of countless ages, and that of exact science show to us matter (or nature) acting by her own peculiar energy, of which not an atom is ever in an absolute state of rest, and therefore it must have always existed, i.e., its materials ever changing form, combinations and properties, but its principles or elements being absolutely indestructible.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 88 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 272. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 88#Page 16|Mahatma Letter No. 88 page 16]].</ref></blockquote>

Spirit (or life) and matter being the two aspects of the same [[principle]], there is no matter without spirit (or life), and no spirit without matter of some kind. [[H. P. Blavatsky]] is reported to have said:

<blockquote>There is no dead matter. Every last atom is alive. It cannot be otherwise since every atom is itself fundamentally Absolute Being. Therefore there is no such thing as ‘spaces’ of Ether, or Akasha, or call it what you like, in which angels and elementals disport themselves like trout in water. That’s a common idea. The true idea shows every atom of substance no matter of what plane to be in itself a LIFE.<ref>Robert Bowen, ''Madame Blavatsky on How to Study Theosophy'' (Wheaton, Il: Theosophical Society in America, [1989?]), 9.</ref></blockquote>

[[Theosophy]] postulates the existence of different states of matter, from the highest [[cosmic matter]] down to the physical matter, forming [[seven planes]] "each more dense on the way down to the plane of our senses than its predecessor, the substance in all being the same only differing in degree."<ref>William Quan Judge, ''Theosophy Generally Stated''??????</ref> All forms of matter are differentiations of a primordial one element, differentiation that is ultimately a [[māyā]] or illusion:

<blockquote>The homogeneous primordial Element is simple and single only on the terrestrial plane of consciousness and sensation, since matter, after all, is nothing else than the sequence of our own states of consciousness, and Spirit an idea of psychic intuition. Even on the next higher plane, that single element which is defined on our earth by current science, as the ultimate undecomposable constituent of some kind of matter, would be pronounced in the world of a higher spiritual perception as something very complex indeed.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1978), 542.</ref></blockquote>

== Differentiation of matter ==

The highest state of matter (many times referred to as "substance") is [[Mulaprakriti]], variously called "primordial cosmic substance"<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 24.</ref>, "undiferentiated cosmic substance"<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 75.</ref>, [[Substance#Pre-cosmic_substance|Pre-cosmic substance]], the root of matter, etc. During the [[manvantara|manvantaric]] impulse it becomes [[svabhavat]], and later [[akasha]] or the "cosmic substance". Further on this becomes [[cosmic matter]], which differentiates into the different manifested [[planes]].

The [[Stanzas of Dzyan#Stanza I|Stanza I.1]] states that before the re-awakening of the universe the "[[Space#Pre-Cosmic space|eternal parent]]" was "wrapped in her ever invisible robes." According to Mme. Blavatsky, the robes refer to "the substance . . . on the seventh plane of matter counting upwards, or rather from without within."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 35.</ref> These "robes," also referred to as "skins," are the germ for all the septenaries that will be manifested:

<blockquote>Q. What, then, are the seven layers of Space, for in the “Proem” we read about the “Seven-skinned Mother-Father”? 
A. Plato and Hermes Trismegistus would have regarded this as the Divine Thought, and Aristotle would have viewed this “Mother-Father” as the “[[privation]]” of matter. It is that which will become the seven planes of being, commencing with the spiritual and passing through the psychic to the material plane. The seven planes of thought or the seven states of consciousness correspond to these planes. All these septenaries are symbolized by the seven Skins.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 304.</ref></blockquote>

The opposite process, that of coming back to the source substance, was described by [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] in [[Mahatma Letter No. 90#Page 19|one of his letters]] as follows:

<blockquote>There is a moment in the existence of every molecule and atom of matter when, for one cause or another, the last spark of [[spirit]] or [[motion]] or [[life]] (call it by whatever name) is withdrawn, and in the same instant with the swiftness which surpasses that of the lightning glance of thought the atom or molecule or an aggregation of molecules is annihilated to return to its pristine purity of intra-cosmic matter. It is drawn to the mother fount with the velocity of a globule of quicksilver to the central mass.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 90 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 283.</ref></blockquote>

== Physical matter ==

At the end of the nineteenth century, the atoms were thought to be like small, hard, indivisible, "balls" of matter, with no motion. In 1888, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] quotes Professor Philip Spiller who wrote that "no atom, is in itself originally endowed with force, but that every such atom is absolutely dead, and without any power to act at a distance". To this, she commented:

<blockquote>Occultism says that in all cases when matter appears inert, it is the most active. A wooden or a stone block is motionless and impenetrable to all intents and purposes. Nevertheless, and de facto, its particles are in ceaseless eternal vibration which is so rapid that to the physical eye the body seems absolutely devoid of motion; and the spacial distance between those particles in their vibratory motion is—considered from another plane of being and perception—as great as that which separates snow flakes or drops of rain. But to physical science this will be an absurdity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), fn., 507-508.</ref></blockquote>

This was proved by [[Science]] in the following decades. In 1897, Physicist J. J. Thomson discovered the electron through his work on [[Radiant Matter|cathode rays]], thus overturning the belief that atoms were indivisible. In 1909 it was suggested that most the atom's mass was concentrated in a nucleus at the center of it, with electrons fast-moving around. After the 1920's the radius of the atoms began to be measured and it was discovered that most of the atom's volume consisted of empty space.

Mme. Blavatsky also proposed that the atoms can be divided "ad infinitum", which makes them "simple centers of force", a concept very close to the current one in Science:

<blockquote>The atom is elastic, ergo, the atom is divisible, and must consist of particles, or of sub-atoms. And these sub-atoms? They are either non-elastic, and in such case they represent no dynamic importance, or, they are elastic also; and in that case, they, too, are subject to divisibility. And thus ad infinitum, But infinite divisibility of atoms resolves matter into simple centres of force, i.e., precludes the possibility of conceiving matter as an objective substance.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 519.</ref></blockquote>

=== Is matter evil? ===

Spiritual traditions have often depicted matter as evil. The Theosophical tradition, postulating that the whole cosmos is a manifestation of [[Mahat|the universal mind]], does not support this view. For example, [[C. W. Leadbeater]] wrote:

<blockquote>The statement that all material things, all differences and limitations are evil is misleading. If by evil you mean what is ordinarily connoted by that word, and not some other and quite different notion of an abstract kind, then matter is not evil. Spirit and matter are equal. Matter is not in opposition to spirit. We find matter troublesome because of the bodies we have to use; but we are here in order to learn what without the physical life could not be conveyed to us. The physical plane experiences give a definiteness and precision to our consciousness and powers which we could never acquire on any plane unless we had spent the necessary time on this.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Inner Life'' (First Series), (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1917), ???.</ref></blockquote>

== Additional resources ==

=== Video ===
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5UAwvS8Hgg The Mists of Paroketh: The Veil of Illusion]''' from OnTimeTV YouTube channel. Posted May 11, 2008. Beautiful short film depicts our descent into matter and our return.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[es:Materia]]
[[it:Materia]]

Kingdoms of Life

2026-04-01T20:12:35Z

Pablo Sender: /* Monads and Monadic Essence */

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
 
 
 
'''The Kingdoms of Life''' in biology are the highest rank among the taxonomic categories, grouping together all forms of life that have certain fundamental characteristics in common. In modern science, organisms are classified into one of six Kingdoms of life. These Kingdoms are Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. Sometimes Archaebacteria and Eubacteria are grouped together under the single kingdom of "Monera".

The Esoteric philosophy considers that life pervades the whole universe and therefore includes minerals among its kingdoms. It also regards human beings as separate from animals, due to the former having acquired manas. Finally, it describes the existence of three non physical kingdoms. Thus, we find seven categories that include three elemental kingdoms, mineral, plants, animals, and human beings.

== General description ==

<blockquote>There are seven kingdoms. The 1st group comprises three degrees of [[Elemental|elementals]], or nascent centres of forces—from the first stage of differentiation of [[Mūlaprakṛti|Mulaprakriti]] to its third degree,—i.e., from full unconsciousness to semi-perception; the 2nd or higher group embraces the kingdoms from vegetable to man; the mineral kingdom thus forming the central or turning point in the degrees of the “Monadic Essence”—considered as an Evoluting Energy. Three stages in the elemental side; the mineral kingdom; three stages in the objective physical side—these are the seven links of the [[evolution]]ary chain. A descent of [[spirit]] into [[matter]], equivalent to an ascent in physical evolution; a reascent from the deepest depths of materiality (the mineral) towards its status quo ante, with a corresponding dissipation of concrete organisms up to [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]—the vanishing point of differentiated matter.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1997), 173-174.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Dividing our kingdoms into seven, the last four are what exoteric sciences divides into three. To this we add the kingdom of man or the Deva kingdom.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 186.</ref></blockquote>

The different kingdoms can be seen as constituting the seven principles of a [[Globe]]. As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>The correspondence between a mother-globe and her child-man may be thus worked out. Both have their seven principles. In the Globe, the elementals (of which there are in all seven species) form (a) a gross body, (b) her fluidic double (linga sariram), (c) her life principle (jiva); (d) her fourth principle kama rupa is formed by her creative impulse working from centre to circumference; (e) her fifth principle (animal soul or Manas, physical intelligence) is embodied in the vegetable (in germ) and animal kingdoms; (f) her sixth principle (or spiritual soul, Buddhi) is man (g) and her seventh principle (Atma) is in a film of spiritualized akasa that surrounds her.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 185.</ref></blockquote>

== Three elemental kingdoms ==

<blockquote>Now the life impulse reaches [Globe] “A” or rather that which is destined to become “A” and which so far is but cosmic dust. A centre is formed in the nebulous matter of the condensation of the solar dust disseminated through space and a series of three evolutions invisible to the eye of flesh occur in succession, viz., three kingdoms of elementals or nature forces are evoluted: in other words the animal soul of the future globe is formed; or as a Kabalist will express it, the gnomes, the salamanders, and the undines are created.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 184-185.</ref></blockquote>

== Mineral kingdom ==

<blockquote>The three [elemental] evolutions completed, palpable [[globe]] begins to form. The mineral kingdom, fourth in the whole series, but first in this stage leads the way. Its deposits are at first vaporous, soft and plastic, only becoming hard and concrete in the seventh ring.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 185.</ref></blockquote>

== Vegetable kingdom ==

== Animal kingdom ==

== Human kingdom ==

Theosophical teachings regard humanity as a kingdom of its own. This differs from the scientific view, which regards humans as part of the animal kingdom. Theosophical teachings, however, recognize that human beings, from the biological point of view, belong to the animal kingdom. Humanity is said to be a different kingdom by virtue of the spiritual states of consciousness available to it by means of the active [[manas]]ic principle:

<blockquote>Man is an animal on a higher plane of being and consciousness than is the animal. The man is a higher animal on a higher plane of consciousness than the animal; even the most abject savage is.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 521.</ref></blockquote>

The destiny of humanity is divine, since it will become the [[Pitris]] of a future humanity:

<blockquote>Who . . . knows, or can tell, what may happen when once the life cycle of this globe is run down and our mother earth herself falls into her last sleep? Who is bold enough to say that the divine Egos of our mankind—at least the elect out of the multitudes passing on to other spheres—will not become in their turn the “divine” instructors of a new mankind generated by them on a new globe, called to life and activity by the disembodied “principles” of our Earth?<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 309.</ref></blockquote>

== Monads and Monadic Essence ==

In early Theosophy, the difference between a Monad and the [[Monadic Essence]] was not well delineated. In an article on the mineral monad, [[H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>It would be very misleading to imagine a monad as a separate entity trailing its slow way in a distinct path through the lower kingdoms, and after an incalculable series of transmigrations flowering into a human being.... Instead of saying a mineral monad, the correcter phraseology in physical science which differentiates every atom, would of course have been to call it ''The'' Monad manifesting in that form of [[Prakriti]] called the mineral kingdom.... The Ocean does not divide into its potential and constituent drops until the sweep of the life-impulse reaches the evolutionary stage of man-birth. The tendency towards segregation into individual monads is gradual, and in the higher animals comes almost to the point.... The "Mineral Monad" is ''one''. The term merely means that the tidal wave of spiritual evolution is passing through that arc of its circuit. The “Monadic essence” begins to imperceptibly differentiate in the vegetable kingdom.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1997), 172-173.</ref></blockquote>

Later Theosophists such as [[C. W. Leadbeater]] proposed a more detailed view on this subject. According to him, there is a difference between monads, as divine sparks, and the "monadic essence" evolving through the "life-impulse" that he called the [[Three_Great_Outpourings#Second_Outpouring|"second outpouring"]] of divine life:

<blockquote>We are all familiar with the idea that before this [second] outpouring arrives at the stage of individualization at which it forms the [[causal body]] of man, it has passed through and ensouled in turn six lower phases of evolution--the animal, vegetable, mineral, and three elemental kingdoms. When energizing through those respective stages it has sometimes been called the animal, vegetable, or mineral monad--though this term is distinctly misleading, since long before it arrives at any of these kingdoms it has become not one, but many monads. The name was, however, adopted to convey the idea that, though differentiation in the monadic essence had already long ago set in, it had not yet been carried to the extent of individualization.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Astral Plane'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), ???.</ref></blockquote>

It is this outpouring that starts as a homogenous wave of divine life, gradually working its way out through [[Animals#Group-Soul_evolution|group souls]] that animate a progressively smaller number of organisms. Eventually, this outpouring generates a causal body, which allows for the "individualization" of the human Monad.

== See also ==
*[[Elemental]]
*[[Animals]]
*[[ML66|Mahatma Letter No. 66]]

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/clairvoyant-observation-of-minerals Clairvoyant Observation of Minerals] by Tony Bondar
*[http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/12/23/the-intelligent-plant# The Intelligent Plant] by Michael Pollan at The New Yorker

===Audios===
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/1198%20Hodson,%20G%20Animal%20Survival%20After%20Death.mp3# Animal Survival After Death] by Geoffrey Hodson

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Scientific concepts]]
[[it:Regni]]

Kingdoms of Life

2026-04-01T20:03:32Z

Pablo Sender: /* Monads and Monadic Essence */

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
 
 
 
'''The Kingdoms of Life''' in biology are the highest rank among the taxonomic categories, grouping together all forms of life that have certain fundamental characteristics in common. In modern science, organisms are classified into one of six Kingdoms of life. These Kingdoms are Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. Sometimes Archaebacteria and Eubacteria are grouped together under the single kingdom of "Monera".

The Esoteric philosophy considers that life pervades the whole universe and therefore includes minerals among its kingdoms. It also regards human beings as separate from animals, due to the former having acquired manas. Finally, it describes the existence of three non physical kingdoms. Thus, we find seven categories that include three elemental kingdoms, mineral, plants, animals, and human beings.

== General description ==

<blockquote>There are seven kingdoms. The 1st group comprises three degrees of [[Elemental|elementals]], or nascent centres of forces—from the first stage of differentiation of [[Mūlaprakṛti|Mulaprakriti]] to its third degree,—i.e., from full unconsciousness to semi-perception; the 2nd or higher group embraces the kingdoms from vegetable to man; the mineral kingdom thus forming the central or turning point in the degrees of the “Monadic Essence”—considered as an Evoluting Energy. Three stages in the elemental side; the mineral kingdom; three stages in the objective physical side—these are the seven links of the [[evolution]]ary chain. A descent of [[spirit]] into [[matter]], equivalent to an ascent in physical evolution; a reascent from the deepest depths of materiality (the mineral) towards its status quo ante, with a corresponding dissipation of concrete organisms up to [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]—the vanishing point of differentiated matter.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1997), 173-174.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Dividing our kingdoms into seven, the last four are what exoteric sciences divides into three. To this we add the kingdom of man or the Deva kingdom.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 186.</ref></blockquote>

The different kingdoms can be seen as constituting the seven principles of a [[Globe]]. As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>The correspondence between a mother-globe and her child-man may be thus worked out. Both have their seven principles. In the Globe, the elementals (of which there are in all seven species) form (a) a gross body, (b) her fluidic double (linga sariram), (c) her life principle (jiva); (d) her fourth principle kama rupa is formed by her creative impulse working from centre to circumference; (e) her fifth principle (animal soul or Manas, physical intelligence) is embodied in the vegetable (in germ) and animal kingdoms; (f) her sixth principle (or spiritual soul, Buddhi) is man (g) and her seventh principle (Atma) is in a film of spiritualized akasa that surrounds her.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 185.</ref></blockquote>

== Three elemental kingdoms ==

<blockquote>Now the life impulse reaches [Globe] “A” or rather that which is destined to become “A” and which so far is but cosmic dust. A centre is formed in the nebulous matter of the condensation of the solar dust disseminated through space and a series of three evolutions invisible to the eye of flesh occur in succession, viz., three kingdoms of elementals or nature forces are evoluted: in other words the animal soul of the future globe is formed; or as a Kabalist will express it, the gnomes, the salamanders, and the undines are created.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 184-185.</ref></blockquote>

== Mineral kingdom ==

<blockquote>The three [elemental] evolutions completed, palpable [[globe]] begins to form. The mineral kingdom, fourth in the whole series, but first in this stage leads the way. Its deposits are at first vaporous, soft and plastic, only becoming hard and concrete in the seventh ring.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 185.</ref></blockquote>

== Vegetable kingdom ==

== Animal kingdom ==

== Human kingdom ==

Theosophical teachings regard humanity as a kingdom of its own. This differs from the scientific view, which regards humans as part of the animal kingdom. Theosophical teachings, however, recognize that human beings, from the biological point of view, belong to the animal kingdom. Humanity is said to be a different kingdom by virtue of the spiritual states of consciousness available to it by means of the active [[manas]]ic principle:

<blockquote>Man is an animal on a higher plane of being and consciousness than is the animal. The man is a higher animal on a higher plane of consciousness than the animal; even the most abject savage is.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 521.</ref></blockquote>

The destiny of humanity is divine, since it will become the [[Pitris]] of a future humanity:

<blockquote>Who . . . knows, or can tell, what may happen when once the life cycle of this globe is run down and our mother earth herself falls into her last sleep? Who is bold enough to say that the divine Egos of our mankind—at least the elect out of the multitudes passing on to other spheres—will not become in their turn the “divine” instructors of a new mankind generated by them on a new globe, called to life and activity by the disembodied “principles” of our Earth?<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 309.</ref></blockquote>

== Monads and Monadic Essence ==

In early Theosophy, it was stated that there was a single mineral monad, which would gradually differentiate until becoming individual in the human kingdom:

<blockquote>It would be very misleading to imagine a monad as a separate entity trailing its slow way in a distinct path through the lower kingdoms, and after an incalculable series of transmigrations flowering into a human being.... Instead of saying a mineral monad, the correcter phraseology in physical science which differentiates every atom, would of course have been to call it ''The'' Monad manifesting in that form of Prakriti called the mineral kingdom.... The Ocean does not divide into its potential and constituent drops until the sweep of the life-impulse reaches the evolutionary stage of man-birth. The tendency towards segregation into individual monads is gradual, and in the higher animals comes almost to the point.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1997), 172-173.</ref></blockquote>

Later Theosophists such as [[C. W. Leadbeater]] proposed a more detailed view on this subject. According to him, there is a difference between monads, as divine sparks, and the "monadic essence" evolving through what he called the [[Three_Great_Outpourings#Second_Outpouring|"second outpouring"]] of divine life:

<blockquote>We are all familiar with the idea that before this [second] outpouring arrives at the stage of individualization at which it forms the [[causal body]] of man, it has passed through and ensouled in turn six lower phases of evolution--the animal, vegetable, mineral, and three elemental kingdoms. When energizing through those respective stages it has sometimes been called the animal, vegetable, or mineral monad--though this term is distinctly misleading, since long before it arrives at any of these kingdoms it has become not one, but many monads. The name was, however, adopted to convey the idea that, though differentiation in the monadic essence had already long ago set in, it had not yet been carried to the extent of individualization.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Astral Plane'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), ???.</ref></blockquote>

It is this outpouring that starts as a homogenous wave of divine life, gradually working its way out through [[Animals#Group-Soul_evolution|group souls]] that animate a progressively smaller number of organisms. Eventually, this outpouring generates a causal body, which allows for the "individualization" of the human Monad.

== See also ==
*[[Elemental]]
*[[Animals]]
*[[ML66|Mahatma Letter No. 66]]

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/clairvoyant-observation-of-minerals Clairvoyant Observation of Minerals] by Tony Bondar
*[http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/12/23/the-intelligent-plant# The Intelligent Plant] by Michael Pollan at The New Yorker

===Audios===
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/1198%20Hodson,%20G%20Animal%20Survival%20After%20Death.mp3# Animal Survival After Death] by Geoffrey Hodson

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Scientific concepts]]
[[it:Regni]]

Kingdoms of Life

2026-04-01T13:15:12Z

Pablo Sender:

{{Template:Article needs expansion}}
 
 
 
'''The Kingdoms of Life''' in biology are the highest rank among the taxonomic categories, grouping together all forms of life that have certain fundamental characteristics in common. In modern science, organisms are classified into one of six Kingdoms of life. These Kingdoms are Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. Sometimes Archaebacteria and Eubacteria are grouped together under the single kingdom of "Monera".

The Esoteric philosophy considers that life pervades the whole universe and therefore includes minerals among its kingdoms. It also regards human beings as separate from animals, due to the former having acquired manas. Finally, it describes the existence of three non physical kingdoms. Thus, we find seven categories that include three elemental kingdoms, mineral, plants, animals, and human beings.

== General description ==

<blockquote>There are seven kingdoms. The 1st group comprises three degrees of [[Elemental|elementals]], or nascent centres of forces—from the first stage of differentiation of [[Mūlaprakṛti|Mulaprakriti]] to its third degree,—i.e., from full unconsciousness to semi-perception; the 2nd or higher group embraces the kingdoms from vegetable to man; the mineral kingdom thus forming the central or turning point in the degrees of the “Monadic Essence”—considered as an Evoluting Energy. Three stages in the elemental side; the mineral kingdom; three stages in the objective physical side—these are the seven links of the [[evolution]]ary chain. A descent of [[spirit]] into [[matter]], equivalent to an ascent in physical evolution; a reascent from the deepest depths of materiality (the mineral) towards its status quo ante, with a corresponding dissipation of concrete organisms up to [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvana]]—the vanishing point of differentiated matter.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1997), 173-174.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Dividing our kingdoms into seven, the last four are what exoteric sciences divides into three. To this we add the kingdom of man or the Deva kingdom.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 186.</ref></blockquote>

The different kingdoms can be seen as constituting the seven principles of a [[Globe]]. As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>The correspondence between a mother-globe and her child-man may be thus worked out. Both have their seven principles. In the Globe, the elementals (of which there are in all seven species) form (a) a gross body, (b) her fluidic double (linga sariram), (c) her life principle (jiva); (d) her fourth principle kama rupa is formed by her creative impulse working from centre to circumference; (e) her fifth principle (animal soul or Manas, physical intelligence) is embodied in the vegetable (in germ) and animal kingdoms; (f) her sixth principle (or spiritual soul, Buddhi) is man (g) and her seventh principle (Atma) is in a film of spiritualized akasa that surrounds her.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 185.</ref></blockquote>

== Three elemental kingdoms ==

<blockquote>Now the life impulse reaches [Globe] “A” or rather that which is destined to become “A” and which so far is but cosmic dust. A centre is formed in the nebulous matter of the condensation of the solar dust disseminated through space and a series of three evolutions invisible to the eye of flesh occur in succession, viz., three kingdoms of elementals or nature forces are evoluted: in other words the animal soul of the future globe is formed; or as a Kabalist will express it, the gnomes, the salamanders, and the undines are created.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 184-185.</ref></blockquote>

== Mineral kingdom ==

<blockquote>The three [elemental] evolutions completed, palpable [[globe]] begins to form. The mineral kingdom, fourth in the whole series, but first in this stage leads the way. Its deposits are at first vaporous, soft and plastic, only becoming hard and concrete in the seventh ring.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 185.</ref></blockquote>

== Vegetable kingdom ==

== Animal kingdom ==

== Human kingdom ==

Theosophical teachings regard humanity as a kingdom of its own. This differs from the scientific view, which regards humans as part of the animal kingdom. Theosophical teachings, however, recognize that human beings, from the biological point of view, belong to the animal kingdom. Humanity is said to be a different kingdom by virtue of the spiritual states of consciousness available to it by means of the active [[manas]]ic principle:

<blockquote>Man is an animal on a higher plane of being and consciousness than is the animal. The man is a higher animal on a higher plane of consciousness than the animal; even the most abject savage is.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 521.</ref></blockquote>

The destiny of humanity is divine, since it will become the [[Pitris]] of a future humanity:

<blockquote>Who . . . knows, or can tell, what may happen when once the life cycle of this globe is run down and our mother earth herself falls into her last sleep? Who is bold enough to say that the divine Egos of our mankind—at least the elect out of the multitudes passing on to other spheres—will not become in their turn the “divine” instructors of a new mankind generated by them on a new globe, called to life and activity by the disembodied “principles” of our Earth?<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 309.</ref></blockquote>

== Monads and Monadic Essence ==

In early Theosophy, it was stated that there was a single mineral monad, which would gradually differentiate until becoming individual in the human kingdom. Later Theosophists such as [[C. W. Leadbeater]] proposed a more detailed view. According to him, there is a difference between monads, as divine sparks, and the "monadic essence" evolving through what he called the [[Three_Great_Outpourings#Second_Outpouring|"second outpouring"]] of divine life:

<blockquote>We are all familiar with the idea that before this [second] outpouring arrives at the stage of individualization at which it forms the [[causal body]] of man, it has passed through and ensouled in turn six lower phases of evolution--the animal, vegetable, mineral, and three elemental kingdoms. When energizing through those respective stages it has sometimes been called the animal, vegetable, or mineral monad--though this term is distinctly misleading, since long before it arrives at any of these kingdoms it has become not one, but many monads. The name was, however, adopted to convey the idea that, though differentiation in the monadic essence had already long ago set in, it had not yet been carried to the extent of individualization.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Astral Plane'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), ???.</ref></blockquote>

It is this outpouring that starts as a homogenous wave of divine life, gradually working its way out through [[Animals#Group-Soul_evolution|group souls]] that animate a progressively smaller number of organisms. Eventually, this outpouring generates a causal body, which allows for the "individualization" of the human Monad.

== See also ==
*[[Elemental]]
*[[Animals]]
*[[ML66|Mahatma Letter No. 66]]

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/clairvoyant-observation-of-minerals Clairvoyant Observation of Minerals] by Tony Bondar
*[http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/12/23/the-intelligent-plant# The Intelligent Plant] by Michael Pollan at The New Yorker

===Audios===
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/1198%20Hodson,%20G%20Animal%20Survival%20After%20Death.mp3# Animal Survival After Death] by Geoffrey Hodson

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Scientific concepts]]
[[it:Regni]]

Akashic Records

2026-03-11T12:28:38Z

Pablo Sender:

The term '''Akashic Records''' derives from the [[Sanskrit]] word "[[Akasha|''ākāśa'']]", which means "sky", "space", or 'æther'. The subtle [[matter]] that composes the different [[plane]]s of the cosmos has the ability to receive and record "impressions" of everything that happens on the [[Plane#Terrestrial_planes|terrestrial plane]]. These records, which can be seen by some [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyants]], exist on several planes. The records on the [[Astral Plane|astral plane]] (or [[Astral Light|astral light]]) are said to be fragmentary and unreliable. The ones preserved on the mental plane, though more difficult to access, are said to be accurate. The latter are the true "akashic" records. Overall, these records are sometimes described as the "memory of nature".

== General description ==

The akashic records were first mentioned in 1881, in [[Henry Steel Olcott|Col. Olcott]]'s book [[The Buddhist Catechism (book)|''The Buddhist Catechism'']]. There, he talks about "a permanency of records in the Akasha, and the potential capacity of man to read the same when he has evolved to the stage of true individual enlightenment."

An example of this ability can be found in one of the [[Mahatma Letter No. 130#Page 10|letters]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] Referring to an accusation of plagiarism the [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]] received, he explained the following to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>I have a habit of often quoting, minus quotation marks — from the maze of what I get in the countless folios of our Akasic libraries, so to say — with eyes shut. Sometimes I may give out thoughts that will see light years later; at other times what an orator, a Cicero may have pronounced ages earlier, and at others, what was not only pronounced by modern lips but already either written or printed — as in the [[Henry Kiddle#The Kiddle Incident|Kiddle case]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 130 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433.</ref></blockquote>

===Formation of the records===
[[File:Planes and Principles.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Principles and Planes according to H. P. Blavatsky]]
Clairvoyant [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] explained that "every object undoubtedly is throwing off radiations in all directions, and it is precisely in this way . . . that the âkâshic records seem to be formed.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 69.</ref>

The term "[[Ākāśa|akasha]]" is used in [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature to refer to the [[matter]] of the third plane (counting from the subtler to the denser kind). In our Earth, it corresponds with the mental or manasic plane.

Although we talk of these records as being on the akasha, [[Theosophist]] C. W. Leadbeater explained that they are really formed "on planes far beyond any that we can possibly know at present".<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 119.</ref> The true records are not within any of the [[Plane#Terrestrial_planes|terrestrial planes]], but on the [[Plane#Macrocosmic or Solar planes|macrocosmic ones]]:

<blockquote>Whatever happens within our system happens absolutely within the consciousness of its [[Logos]], and so we at once see that the true record must be His memory; and furthermore, it is obvious that on whatever plane that wondrous memory exists, it cannot but be far above anything that we know, and consequently whatever records we may find ourselves able to read must be only a reflection of that great dominant fact, mirrored in the denser media of the lower planes.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 123-124.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, a clairvoyant sees the reflections of the true records on the mental matter or on the [[Astral Light|astral light]]. Again, in C. W. Leadbeater's words:

<blockquote>The word ["akashic record"] is in truth somewhat of a misnomer, for though the records are undoubtedly read from the âkâsha, or matter of the mental plane, yet it is not to it that they really belong. Still worse is the alternative title, "records of the astral light", which has sometimes been employed, for these records lie far beyond the astral plane, and all that can be obtained on it are only broken glimpses of a kind of double reflection of them, as will presently be explained.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 118.</ref></blockquote>

== Astral Plane ==

When a person develops [[clairvoyance]] the plane that opens up to his or her perception is the one that is immediately "above" the physical--the [[Astral Plane|astral plane]] (also called [[Astral Light|astral light]]). [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] explained that on this plane we can find a record of everything that happened in the past:

<blockquote>According to [[Occultism|Occult]] teaching the Astral light is . . . the recorder of every thought; the universal mirror which reflects every event and thought as every being and thing, animate or inanimate. We call it the great Sea of Illusion, [[Māyā|Maya]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1918), 35.</ref></blockquote>

As can be seen in the quote, Mme. Blavatsky regards the astral light as illusory. In her writings she warns that "unless the [[Clairvoyance|Clairvoyant]] or Seer can get beyond this plane of illusion, he can never see the Truth, but will be drowned in an ocean of self-deception and hallucinations.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 361.</ref>

Clairvoyant [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] explained why the records seen on this plane are unreliable. He wrote:

<blockquote>On the astral plane it is at once evident . . . that what we are dealing with is only a reflection of a reflection, and an exceedingly imperfect one, for such records as can be reached there are fragmentary in the extreme, and often seriously distorted. We know how universally water is used as a symbol of the astral light, and in this particular case it is a remarkably apt one. From the surface of still water we may get a clear reflection of the surrounding objects, just as from a mirror; but at the best it is only a reflection - a representation in two dimensions of three-dimensional objects, and therefore differing in all its qualities, except colour, from that which it represents; and in addition to this, it is always reversed.
 
But let the surface of the water be ruffled by the wind and what do we find then? A reflection still, certainly, but so broken up and distorted as to be quite useless or even misleading as a guide to the shape and real appearance of the objects reflected. Here and there for a moment we might happen to get a clear reflection of some minute part of the scene - of a single leaf from a tree, for example; but it would need long labour and considerable knowledge of natural laws to build up anything like a true conception of the object reflected by putting together even a large number of such isolated fragments of an image of it.
 
Now in the astral plane we can never have anything approaching to what we have imaged as a still surface, but on the contrary we have always to deal with one in rapid and bewildering motion; judge, therefore, how little we can depend upon getting a clear and definite reflection. Thus a clairvoyant who possesses only the faculty of astral sight can never rely upon any picture of the past that comes before him as being accurate and perfect; here and there some part of it may be so, but he has no means of knowing which it is.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 124-125.</ref></blockquote>

For this and other reasons, unless a person is especially trained for the purpose, it is not possible to read the records accurately on this plane. In Mme. Blavatsky's words:

<blockquote>Seeing in the astral light is not done through [[Manas]], but through the [psychic] senses, and hence has to do entirely with sense-perception removed to a plane different from this, but more illusionary. The final perceiver or judge of perception is in Manas, in the Self; and therefore the final tribunal is clouded by the astral perception if one is not so far trained or [[Initiation|initiated]] as to know the difference and able to tell the true from the false.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 400-G.</ref></blockquote>

== Mental plane ==
As [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] stated in the previous quote, direct perception takes place on the manasic or mental plane, which is the plane of [[Ākāśa|akasha]]. It is on this spiritual plane that the truth behind appearances can be perceived. Theosophist [[Geoffrey Farthing]] writes:

<blockquote>The higher levels of Akasa concern the [[Triad#Human triad|spiritual triad]] of man, his [higher] [[Ego]]. It is in this way that the Ego can be regarded as omniscient. It has access, in the Akasa, to the noumena of all phenomena. This is properly the seeing into the Akashic records we hear about. Often, however, this expression is used to describe what is really [[Psychism|psychic vision]], personal clairvoyance, in the [[Astral Light]]. This is far from Egoic omniscience, an important difference that should be noted. Only a high [[Initiation|initiate]] can see into the spiritual levels of Akasa.<ref>Geoffrey Farthing, ''Exploring the Great Beyond'', (Wheaton, IL: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1978), 90-91.</ref></blockquote>

Clairvoyant [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] agrees on the idea that only on this level can the records be read accurately. In speaking of the general characteristics of the mental plane he explained:

<blockquote>We must not omit to mention the ever-present background formed by the records of the past — the memory of nature, the only really reliable history of the world. While what we have on this plane is not yet the absolute record itself, but merely a reflection of something higher still, it is at any rate clear, accurate, and continuous, differing therein from the disconnected and spasmodic manifestation which is all that represents it in the astral world. It is, therefore, only when a clairvoyant possesses the vision of this mental plane that his pictures of the past can be relied upon; and even then, unless he has the power of passing in full consciousness from that plane to the physical, we have to allow for the possibility of errors in bringing back the recollection of what he has seen.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Devachanic Plane'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1909), 28.</ref></blockquote>

At this point in [[evolution]] relatively few people are conscious on the mental plane when the body is in trance or sleeping. The ability to be aware on this plane while remaining in the waking state is even more rare, and cannot be attained without a systematic training guided by those who have already developed this ability. Again, in C. W. Leadbeater's words:

<blockquote>The accurate reading of the records, whether of one's own past lives or those of others, must not, however, be thought of as an achievement possible to anyone without careful previous training. As has been already remarked, though occasional reflections may be had upon the astral plane, the power to use the mental sense is necessary before any reliable reading can be done. Indeed, to minimise the possibility of error, that sense ought to be fully at the command of the investigator while awake in the physical body; and to acquire that faculty needs years of ceaseless labour and rigid self-discipline.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 148-149.</ref></blockquote>

== Buddhic plane ==

[[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] briefly described the seeing these records on the [[buddhi]]c plane as follows:

<blockquote>Great interest attaches to the experience of the clairvoyant with reference to these records when he stands upon the buddhic plane - the higher which his consciousness can reach even when away from the physical body until he attains the level of the [[Arhat]]s.
 
Here time and space no longer limit him; he no longer needs, as on the mental plane, to pass a series of events in review, for past, present and future are all alike simultaneously present to him, meaningless as that sounds down here.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 132.</ref></blockquote>

== Method ==

Since these records contain the whole past of everything that happened, finding exactly what record to read requires a certain method. The untrained [[Psychism|psychic]] normally uses [[Psychometry]], which requires the presence of a physical object related to that record. [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] explained:

<blockquote>How is it possible, amid the bewildering confusion of these records of the past, to find any particular picture when it is wanted? As a matter of fact, the untrained [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyant]] usually cannot do so without some special link to put him en rapport with the subject required. Psychometry is an instance in point, and it is quite probable that our ordinary [[memory]] is really only another presentment of the same idea. It seems as though there were a sort of magnetic attachment or affinity between any particle of matter and the record which contains its history - an affinity which enables it to act as a kind of conductor between that record and the faculties of anyone who can read it.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 139.</ref></blockquote>

In the case of a trained [[Occultism|occultist]], he can use the [[Kriyāśakti|power of his thought]] to recall the particular scene, or to search for it in the records:

<blockquote>Even a trained clairvoyant needs some link to enable him to find the record of an event of which he has no previous knowledge. If, for example, he wished to observe the landing of Julius Caesar on the shores of England, there are several ways in which he might approach the subject. If he happened to have visited the scene of the occurrence, the simplest way would probably be to call up the image of that spot, and then run back through its records until he reached the period desired. If he had not seen the place, he might run back in time to the date of the event, and then search the Channel for a fleet of Roman galleys; or he might examine the records of Roman life at about that period, where he would have no difficulty in identifying so prominent a figure as Caesar, or in tracing him when found through all his Gallic wars until he set his foot upon British land.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 139.</ref></blockquote>

==See also==
*[[Ākāśa|Akasha]]
*[[Astral Light]]
*[[Psychometry]]
*[[Memory]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[es:Registros Akáshicos]]

Akashic Records

2026-03-11T12:27:34Z

Pablo Sender:

The term '''Akashic Records''' refers to "[[Akasha|''ākāśa'']]", a [[Sanskrit]] word that means "sky", "space", or 'æther'. The subtle [[matter]] that composes the different [[plane]]s of the cosmos has the ability to receive and record "impressions" of everything that happens on the [[Plane#Terrestrial_planes|terrestrial plane]]. These records, which can be seen by some [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyants]], exist on several planes. The records on the [[Astral Plane|astral plane]] (or [[Astral Light|astral light]]) are said to be fragmentary and unreliable. The ones preserved on the mental plane, though more difficult to access, are said to be accurate. The latter are the true "akashic" records. Overall, these records are sometimes described as the "memory of nature".

== General description ==

The akashic records were first mentioned in 1881, in [[Henry Steel Olcott|Col. Olcott]]'s book [[The Buddhist Catechism (book)|''The Buddhist Catechism'']]. There, he talks about "a permanency of records in the Akasha, and the potential capacity of man to read the same when he has evolved to the stage of true individual enlightenment."

An example of this ability can be found in one of the [[Mahatma Letter No. 130#Page 10|letters]] from [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] Referring to an accusation of plagiarism the [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]] received, he explained the following to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>I have a habit of often quoting, minus quotation marks — from the maze of what I get in the countless folios of our Akasic libraries, so to say — with eyes shut. Sometimes I may give out thoughts that will see light years later; at other times what an orator, a Cicero may have pronounced ages earlier, and at others, what was not only pronounced by modern lips but already either written or printed — as in the [[Henry Kiddle#The Kiddle Incident|Kiddle case]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 130 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433.</ref></blockquote>

===Formation of the records===
[[File:Planes and Principles.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Principles and Planes according to H. P. Blavatsky]]
Clairvoyant [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] explained that "every object undoubtedly is throwing off radiations in all directions, and it is precisely in this way . . . that the âkâshic records seem to be formed.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 69.</ref>

The term "[[Ākāśa|akasha]]" is used in [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature to refer to the [[matter]] of the third plane (counting from the subtler to the denser kind). In our Earth, it corresponds with the mental or manasic plane.

Although we talk of these records as being on the akasha, [[Theosophist]] C. W. Leadbeater explained that they are really formed "on planes far beyond any that we can possibly know at present".<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 119.</ref> The true records are not within any of the [[Plane#Terrestrial_planes|terrestrial planes]], but on the [[Plane#Macrocosmic or Solar planes|macrocosmic ones]]:

<blockquote>Whatever happens within our system happens absolutely within the consciousness of its [[Logos]], and so we at once see that the true record must be His memory; and furthermore, it is obvious that on whatever plane that wondrous memory exists, it cannot but be far above anything that we know, and consequently whatever records we may find ourselves able to read must be only a reflection of that great dominant fact, mirrored in the denser media of the lower planes.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 123-124.</ref></blockquote>

Thus, a clairvoyant sees the reflections of the true records on the mental matter or on the [[Astral Light|astral light]]. Again, in C. W. Leadbeater's words:

<blockquote>The word ["akashic record"] is in truth somewhat of a misnomer, for though the records are undoubtedly read from the âkâsha, or matter of the mental plane, yet it is not to it that they really belong. Still worse is the alternative title, "records of the astral light", which has sometimes been employed, for these records lie far beyond the astral plane, and all that can be obtained on it are only broken glimpses of a kind of double reflection of them, as will presently be explained.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 118.</ref></blockquote>

== Astral Plane ==

When a person develops [[clairvoyance]] the plane that opens up to his or her perception is the one that is immediately "above" the physical--the [[Astral Plane|astral plane]] (also called [[Astral Light|astral light]]). [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] explained that on this plane we can find a record of everything that happened in the past:

<blockquote>According to [[Occultism|Occult]] teaching the Astral light is . . . the recorder of every thought; the universal mirror which reflects every event and thought as every being and thing, animate or inanimate. We call it the great Sea of Illusion, [[Māyā|Maya]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1918), 35.</ref></blockquote>

As can be seen in the quote, Mme. Blavatsky regards the astral light as illusory. In her writings she warns that "unless the [[Clairvoyance|Clairvoyant]] or Seer can get beyond this plane of illusion, he can never see the Truth, but will be drowned in an ocean of self-deception and hallucinations.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 361.</ref>

Clairvoyant [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] explained why the records seen on this plane are unreliable. He wrote:

<blockquote>On the astral plane it is at once evident . . . that what we are dealing with is only a reflection of a reflection, and an exceedingly imperfect one, for such records as can be reached there are fragmentary in the extreme, and often seriously distorted. We know how universally water is used as a symbol of the astral light, and in this particular case it is a remarkably apt one. From the surface of still water we may get a clear reflection of the surrounding objects, just as from a mirror; but at the best it is only a reflection - a representation in two dimensions of three-dimensional objects, and therefore differing in all its qualities, except colour, from that which it represents; and in addition to this, it is always reversed.
 
But let the surface of the water be ruffled by the wind and what do we find then? A reflection still, certainly, but so broken up and distorted as to be quite useless or even misleading as a guide to the shape and real appearance of the objects reflected. Here and there for a moment we might happen to get a clear reflection of some minute part of the scene - of a single leaf from a tree, for example; but it would need long labour and considerable knowledge of natural laws to build up anything like a true conception of the object reflected by putting together even a large number of such isolated fragments of an image of it.
 
Now in the astral plane we can never have anything approaching to what we have imaged as a still surface, but on the contrary we have always to deal with one in rapid and bewildering motion; judge, therefore, how little we can depend upon getting a clear and definite reflection. Thus a clairvoyant who possesses only the faculty of astral sight can never rely upon any picture of the past that comes before him as being accurate and perfect; here and there some part of it may be so, but he has no means of knowing which it is.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 124-125.</ref></blockquote>

For this and other reasons, unless a person is especially trained for the purpose, it is not possible to read the records accurately on this plane. In Mme. Blavatsky's words:

<blockquote>Seeing in the astral light is not done through [[Manas]], but through the [psychic] senses, and hence has to do entirely with sense-perception removed to a plane different from this, but more illusionary. The final perceiver or judge of perception is in Manas, in the Self; and therefore the final tribunal is clouded by the astral perception if one is not so far trained or [[Initiation|initiated]] as to know the difference and able to tell the true from the false.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 400-G.</ref></blockquote>

== Mental plane ==
As [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] stated in the previous quote, direct perception takes place on the manasic or mental plane, which is the plane of [[Ākāśa|akasha]]. It is on this spiritual plane that the truth behind appearances can be perceived. Theosophist [[Geoffrey Farthing]] writes:

<blockquote>The higher levels of Akasa concern the [[Triad#Human triad|spiritual triad]] of man, his [higher] [[Ego]]. It is in this way that the Ego can be regarded as omniscient. It has access, in the Akasa, to the noumena of all phenomena. This is properly the seeing into the Akashic records we hear about. Often, however, this expression is used to describe what is really [[Psychism|psychic vision]], personal clairvoyance, in the [[Astral Light]]. This is far from Egoic omniscience, an important difference that should be noted. Only a high [[Initiation|initiate]] can see into the spiritual levels of Akasa.<ref>Geoffrey Farthing, ''Exploring the Great Beyond'', (Wheaton, IL: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1978), 90-91.</ref></blockquote>

Clairvoyant [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] agrees on the idea that only on this level can the records be read accurately. In speaking of the general characteristics of the mental plane he explained:

<blockquote>We must not omit to mention the ever-present background formed by the records of the past — the memory of nature, the only really reliable history of the world. While what we have on this plane is not yet the absolute record itself, but merely a reflection of something higher still, it is at any rate clear, accurate, and continuous, differing therein from the disconnected and spasmodic manifestation which is all that represents it in the astral world. It is, therefore, only when a clairvoyant possesses the vision of this mental plane that his pictures of the past can be relied upon; and even then, unless he has the power of passing in full consciousness from that plane to the physical, we have to allow for the possibility of errors in bringing back the recollection of what he has seen.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''The Devachanic Plane'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1909), 28.</ref></blockquote>

At this point in [[evolution]] relatively few people are conscious on the mental plane when the body is in trance or sleeping. The ability to be aware on this plane while remaining in the waking state is even more rare, and cannot be attained without a systematic training guided by those who have already developed this ability. Again, in C. W. Leadbeater's words:

<blockquote>The accurate reading of the records, whether of one's own past lives or those of others, must not, however, be thought of as an achievement possible to anyone without careful previous training. As has been already remarked, though occasional reflections may be had upon the astral plane, the power to use the mental sense is necessary before any reliable reading can be done. Indeed, to minimise the possibility of error, that sense ought to be fully at the command of the investigator while awake in the physical body; and to acquire that faculty needs years of ceaseless labour and rigid self-discipline.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 148-149.</ref></blockquote>

== Buddhic plane ==

[[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] briefly described the seeing these records on the [[buddhi]]c plane as follows:

<blockquote>Great interest attaches to the experience of the clairvoyant with reference to these records when he stands upon the buddhic plane - the higher which his consciousness can reach even when away from the physical body until he attains the level of the [[Arhat]]s.
 
Here time and space no longer limit him; he no longer needs, as on the mental plane, to pass a series of events in review, for past, present and future are all alike simultaneously present to him, meaningless as that sounds down here.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 132.</ref></blockquote>

== Method ==

Since these records contain the whole past of everything that happened, finding exactly what record to read requires a certain method. The untrained [[Psychism|psychic]] normally uses [[Psychometry]], which requires the presence of a physical object related to that record. [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]] explained:

<blockquote>How is it possible, amid the bewildering confusion of these records of the past, to find any particular picture when it is wanted? As a matter of fact, the untrained [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyant]] usually cannot do so without some special link to put him en rapport with the subject required. Psychometry is an instance in point, and it is quite probable that our ordinary [[memory]] is really only another presentment of the same idea. It seems as though there were a sort of magnetic attachment or affinity between any particle of matter and the record which contains its history - an affinity which enables it to act as a kind of conductor between that record and the faculties of anyone who can read it.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 139.</ref></blockquote>

In the case of a trained [[Occultism|occultist]], he can use the [[Kriyāśakti|power of his thought]] to recall the particular scene, or to search for it in the records:

<blockquote>Even a trained clairvoyant needs some link to enable him to find the record of an event of which he has no previous knowledge. If, for example, he wished to observe the landing of Julius Caesar on the shores of England, there are several ways in which he might approach the subject. If he happened to have visited the scene of the occurrence, the simplest way would probably be to call up the image of that spot, and then run back through its records until he reached the period desired. If he had not seen the place, he might run back in time to the date of the event, and then search the Channel for a fleet of Roman galleys; or he might examine the records of Roman life at about that period, where he would have no difficulty in identifying so prominent a figure as Caesar, or in tracing him when found through all his Gallic wars until he set his foot upon British land.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 139.</ref></blockquote>

==See also==
*[[Ākāśa|Akasha]]
*[[Astral Light]]
*[[Psychometry]]
*[[Memory]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[es:Registros Akáshicos]]

The Secret Doctrine (book)

2026-03-02T11:29:14Z

Pablo Sender: /* Articles */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Secret Doctrine'' (book)}}
[[File:1888 SD.jpg|right|170px|thumb|1897 edition and 1895 Index]]
[[File:Theosophy Co SD.jpg|right|200px|thumb|1925 one-volume facsimile edition by the Theosophy Company]]
'''''The Secret Doctrine'', the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy''', is a two-volume work written by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]], which laid the foundation of modern [[Theosophy]]. It is regarded as "one of the monuments of modern esotericism. Originally published in 1888, it gave the spiritual history of the development of the cosmos (or kosmos, as the author would have it) and of human life on earth. In doing this Mme. Blavatsky drew on her impressive knowledge of myth and ancient scripture for verification of the lineage of her theories. The book has gone on to become one of the most influential expositions of esoteric ideas, and its two volumes, comprising more than fifteen hundred pages, remain in print." <ref> Gomes, Michael, Ed., ''The Secret Doctrine: The Classic Work by H. P. Blavatsky, abridged and annotated'', (New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2009), ix.</ref>

[[Charles Johnston]] wrote of the challenge of reading the books:
<blockquote>
I always think that to read the S.D. one must consider it an oriental work in which you have five lines of text, ten lines of commentary, and twenty lines of commentary on the commentary on each page - - very distressing to unaccustomed readers.<ref>Charles Johnston letter to J. D. Buck. November 17, 1891. Cincinnati Lodge Records. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Writing and publication of First and Second Volumes ==
[[File:Italian HPB Postcard Portrait.jpg|left|200px|thumb|1885 Portrait of H. P. Blavatsky from an Italian postcard]]
Two excellent books describe how ''The Secret Doctrine'' was written:

* '''''Rebirth of the Occult Tradition: How the Secret Doctrine of H. P. Blavatsky was written''''' by [[Boris de Zirkoff]]<ref>Published by Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, 1977, 2015.</ref>
* [http://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwell_the_writing_of_the_secret_doctrine_a_chronologypdf.pdf '''''The Writing of THE SECRET DOCTRINE: A Chronology'''''] by Daniel H. Caldwell.<ref>Published by the Blavatsky Study Center in Tucson, Arizona, 2015.</ref>

[[Charles Johnston]] described a writing process that differed from that used to create [[Isis Unveiled (book)|''Isis Unveiled'']]: "The Masters, instead of writing thru the H.P.B. body, as described by Olcott, when Isis was written; precipitated the Secret Doctrine texts onto the [[Astral Light]] from which H.P.B. laboriously copied it – word by word!"<ref> Eleanor Broenniman, "A Plea for Justice" ''The Theosophical Messenger'' 19.4 (April, 1931), 371.</ref>

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] is best known as the author of ''The Secret Doctrine'', the crowning achievement of her literary endeavors. In May 1879, soon after moving to India to lead the establishment of the Theosophical Society, she began to draft ''The Secret Doctrine''. It was intended as an enlarged and improved rendering of ''Isis Unveiled'' which, according to the Master K. H., writing in 1882, "really ought to be re-written for the sake of the family honour," and in which everything is "hardly sketched — nothing completed or fully revealed."<ref>[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/forum/f23n03p97_some-notes-on-the-secret-doctrine.htm# Some Notes on The Secret Doctrine] by Charles J. Ryan</ref>

In January 1884 the Supplement to [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']] published an advertisement announcing that "a New Version of [[Isis Unveiled (book)|''Isis Unveiled'']]," which was to be published as monthly articles. Although Mme. Blavatsky had some written material to start the monthly installments, this plan never came to fruition in the way planned, due to ill-health, her [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky#Visiting Europe|travel to Europe]], and the [[Hodgson_Report#Coulomb_affair|Coulomb affair]].

In January 1885 the monthly installments plan was dropped, and ''The Secret Doctrine'' was conceived as a book. In the fall of that year, a few months after HPB moved to Wurzburg, Germany, she started working steadily on writing. The [[Constance Wachtmeister|Countess Wachtmeister]] moved with HPB to help in this endeavor. As the writing of the book developed with the help of [[Morya|Masters M.]] and [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]], HPB realized it was much more than a rewriting of ''Isis Unveiled''. In a letter to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] she said she felt that this could vindicate the [[Theosophical Society]] after the unfavorable [[Hodgson Report|Report]] that Richard Hodgson had made.<ref>A. Trevor Barker, ''The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett'' Letter No. CXVI, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), 79.</ref>

In connection to the method of writing her book, HPB told Countess Wachtmeister (who had witnessed her struggle in writing a certain section on that day) the following:

<blockquote>Well, you see, what I do is this. I make what I can only describe as a sort of vacuum in the air before me, and fix my sight and my will upon it, and soon scene after scene passes before me like the successive pictures of a diorama, or, if I need a reference or information from some book, I fix my mind intently, and the astral counterpart of the book appears, and from it I take what I need. The more perfectly my mind is freed from distractions and mortifications, the more energy and intentness it possesses, the more easily I can do this; but today, after all the vexations I have undergone in consequence of the letter from X., I could not concentrate properly, and each time I tried I got the quotations all wrong. Master says it is right now, so let us go in and have some tea.<ref>Constance Wachtmeister, ''Reminiscences of H.P. Blavatsky and The Secret Doctrine'' (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1893), 33.</ref></blockquote>

In the spring of 1886 she sent a preliminary manuscript of the first volume to Adyar, where [[T. Subba Row]] was supposed to read it and contribute additional material related to [[Hinduism|Hindu philosophy]]. However, he refused to do so. HPB moved to Ostende, Belgium, where she continued working on the book.

By the end of March 1887 she fell gravely ill with a kidney infection, and was not expected to live. [[Morya|Master Morya]] came at night and asked her if she wanted to be freed from the body, or to live, with much suffering, to finish ''The Secret Doctrine''. She agreed to finish the book. On [[May 1]], 1887, she moved to London where a group of earnest students helped her to prepare the huge manuscript for publication.

The '''First Volume''' of ''The Secret Doctrine'' came off the press on [[October 20]], 1888 and all 500 copies were sold out before the date of publication. The '''Second Volume''' came out towards the end of the year. The third volume, in which HPB planned to write of the history of occultism and the lives of the adepts, was never completed under her supervision. She placed that work in the hands of [[Annie Besant]], who published it in June, 1897. See [[The Secret Doctrine (book)#Editions|Editions: Theosophical Publishing House]] below.

== Compilation and Publication of Third Volume ==

After the death of Madame Blavatsky, Annie Besant endeavored to compile the proposed '''Third Volume''' of the SD from the remaining manuscript pages. James Morgan Pryse wrote, "It [the manuscript] was in an unfinished state, and badly arranged. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] had rewritten some of the pages several times, with erasures and changes, but with nothing to indicate which copy was the final revision; Mrs. Besant had to decide that as best she might. As it contained far less matter than either of the other volumes, Mrs. Besant told me that she would pad it out by adding the E.S.T. Instructions, since H.P.B. had told her she might do so." He went on to say that critics of the third volume were unjust to Mrs. Besant and Mr. Mead.<ref>James Morgan Pryse, "An Important Statement by Mr. J. M. Pryse" ''The Messenger'' 14.6 (November, 1926), 125.</ref>

:(See [http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/sdiiipt5.htm# The Myth of the "Missing" Third Volume of The Secret Doctrine] by Daniel H. Caldwell)

== Wurzburg manuscript ==

Some of the original manuscript was not included in the first two volumes published. Portions have been lost, but through the scholarship of David and Nancy Reigle, the Würzburg Manuscript of ''The Secret Doctrine'' was finally published in 2014. A PDF edition is available at '''[http://www.easterntradition.org/article/Secret%20Doctrine%20Wurzburg%20Manuscript.pdf Eastern Tradition website]'''.

According to the editors:
[[File:Wurzburg manuscript.jpg|right|140px|thumb|Würzburg Manuscript, David and Nancy Reigle, 2014]]
<blockquote>
It includes H. P. Blavatsky’s first translations of stanzas from the [[Stanzas of Dzyan|Book of Dzyan]] with her unrevised commentaries on them. Only the stanzas from the Würzburg manuscript had been published until now, not her unrevised commentaries on them. These comprise cosmogenesis, and a few on anthropogenesis. The Würzburg manuscript also includes a large introductory section, comprising about half the book. Most of the chapters in this introductory section were later published in the 1897 third volume of The Secret Doctrine. As with the commentaries on the stanzas, here we have her unrevised versions.
 
 
The so-called Würzburg manuscript is a partial copy of Blavatsky’s early manuscript of The Secret Doctrine, written while she was staying at Würzburg, Germany, and then at Ostende, Belgium, in 1885 and 1886. Her manuscript of the almost completed Secret Doctrine was copied by two or more scribes to send to India for revision by [[T. Subba Row]], which revision did not occur. Only part of this copy has been found. What we have is estimated to be about a fourth or a third of the whole that was sent to India. Fortunately, it includes the whole cosmogenesis section, all seven stanzas and their commentaries.<ref>Posting by David and Nancy Reigle to Theos-Talk discussion group. May 5, 2014.</ref>
</blockquote>

Nicholas Weeks commented: "When compared with the SD III or CW XIV many passages gain a new perspective. A few of the differences from the WMS were bracketed in CW XIV, but there could have been many more."<ref>Nicholas Weeks email to Janet Kerschner. May 24, 2019. Theosophical Society in America Archives digital files.</ref>

== Book Reviews ==
=== Review by Annie Besant ===

In 1889, [[William Thomas Stead|W. T. Stead]], the famous Editor of the ''Pall Mall Gazette'' and founder of the journal ''Review of Reviews'', gave [[Annie Besant]] two large volumes of ''The Secret Doctrine'', asking her if she could review them. "My young men all fight shy of them, but you are quite mad enough on these subjects to make something of them." She wrote the review and published in ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' (London) on [[April 25]], 1889. It was reprinted in August of that year in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|''The Theosophist'']], and is available at [http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/besant1888.htm The Blavatsky Archives Online].
[[File:Annie Besant at desk.jpg|right|320px|thumb|Annie Besant]]
She described her experience in reading the book as follows:
<blockquote>
As I turned over page after page the interest became absorbing; but how familiar it seemed; how my mind leapt forward to presage the conclusions, how natural it was, how coherent, how subtle, and yet how intelligible. I was dazzled, blinded by the light in which disjointed facts were seen as parts of a mighty whole, and all my puzzles, riddles, problems, seemed to disappear. The effect was partially illusory in one sense, in that they all had to be slowly unravelled later, the brain gradually assimilating that which the swift intuition had grasped as truth. But the light had been seen, and in that flash of illumination I knew that the weary search was over and the very Truth was found.<ref>Annie Besant, ''An Autobiography'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1984), 310.</ref>
</blockquote>

Her review opens with these words:
<blockquote>
It would be difficult to find a book presenting more difficulties to the "reviewer with a conscience" than these handsome volumes bearing the name of Mdme. Blavatsky as author --- or, perhaps, it would be more accurate to say, as compiler and annotator. The subject-matter is so far away from the beaten paths of literature, science, and art; the point of view so removed from our Occidental fashion of envisaging the universe; the lore gathered and expounded so different from the science or the metaphysics of the West, that to ninety-nine out of every hundred readers --- perhaps to nine hundred and ninety-nine among every thousand --- the study of the book will begin in bewilderment and end in despair.<ref>[[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/besant1888.htm The Blavatsky Archives Online]].</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Stainton Moses and ''Pall Mall Observer'' ===

[[William Stainton Moses]] writing in [[Light (periodical)|''Light'']], quoted the book reviewer from the ''Pall Mall Observer'':
<blockquote>
The would-be reader must have an intense desire to know, and to know not merely the relations between phenomena but the causes of phenomena; he must be eagerly searching for that bridge between matter and thought, between the vibrating nerve-cell and percipiency... ; he must be free from the preposterous conceit... that this world and its inhabitants are the only inhabited world and the only intelligent beings in the universe; he must recognize that there may be, and most probably are, myriads of existences invisible, inaudible, to us, because we have no senses capable of responding to the vibrations that they set up, and which are non-existent to us, although in full activity, just as there are rays at either end of the solar spectrum quite as real as the visible rays although invisible to us.<ref>M. A. (Oxon.) [William Stainton Moses], "Notes by the Way," ''Light'' No. 435 Vol XI (May 4, 1889). Quoting the ''Pall Mall Observer'''s review of ''The Secret Doctrine''.</ref>
</blockquote>

Stainton Moses admitted to his own "absolute incapacity to tackle that mountain of promiscuous erudition in any manner at all likely to be profitable to me readers that has kept me silent with regard to its contents."<ref>M. A. (Oxon.) [William Stainton Moses], "Notes by the Way," ''Light'' No. 435 Vol XI (May 4, 1889).</ref>

== Structure of ''The Secret Doctrine'' ==

''The Secret Doctrine'' was originally published in two volumes, with three parts to each volume. Boris de Zirkoff explained its contents as follows:

<blockquote>The skeleton of Book I is formed by [[Stanzas of Dzyan|Seven Stanzas]] translated from the secret [[Book of Dzyan]], the original of which is written in the sacred language of the [[Initiation|Initiates]]—the [[Senzar]]. The stanzas and their commentaries and explanations form Part I of this First Book. Part II is devoted to the elucidation of the fundamental symbols contained in the great religions of the world, and the occult meaning of the hidden ideographs and glyphs. Part III outlines the contrasting views of [[Science#Modern_Science|Science]] and the Secret Doctrine and meets probable scientific objections by anticipation. This Part serves as a connecting link between the two volumes. 
The general arrangement of Volume II is similar to that of Volume I. It deals primarily with the [[Evolution]] of Man on this [[Globe#Globe D|Planet]]. Part I is based on Twelve Stanzas from the Book of Dzyan describing the gradual evolution of humanity through many occult stages, the origin of the lower [[Kingdoms of Life|kingdoms of nature]], the submergence of ancient continents, and presents a panoramic view of bygone civilizations. Part II deals with the Archaic Symbolism of the [[Religion|World-Religions]], with special emphasis on the [[Septenary Principle|Sevenfold]] and Quaternary classifications of elements and forces. Part III contrasts again the teachings of the Wisdom-Religion with those of the then current Science, mainly in the domain of Anthropology and Geology.<ref>Boris de Zirkoff, “What is ''The Secret Doctrine''”, Theosophia XXV:1</ref></blockquote>

Below are the titles of the main sections:
{{Col-begin|width=100%}}
{{Col-break|width=50%}}
:'''VOLUME I: COSMOGENESIS'''

::''Proem'' - [[Three Fundamental Propositions]]

::''Part I. Cosmic Evolution''
:::[[Stanzas_of_Dzyan#Cosmogenesis|Seven Stanzas from the Book of Dzyan]]
:::Summing Up - [[Recapitulation]]

::''Part II. The Evolution of Symbolism in its Approximate Order''

::''Part III. Science and The Secret Doctrine Contrasted''
{{Col-break|width=50%}}
:'''VOLUME II: ANTHROPOGENESIS'''

::''Preliminary Notes''

::''Part I. Anthropogenesis''
:::[[Stanzas_of_Dzyan#Anthropogenesis|[Twelve] Stanzas from the Book of Dzyan]]
:::Conclusion

::''Part II. The Archaic Symbolism of the World-Religions''

::''Part III. Addenda. Science and The Secret Doctrine Contrasted''
{{Col-end}}

== Study of ''The Secret Doctrine'' ==

Sanskrit scholar [[Charles Johnston]] wrote a letter to [[Jirah Dewey Buck|Dr. J. D. Buck]], discussing the "Secret Doctrine outline" that each of them planned to write:
<blockquote>
"I always think that to read the S. D. one must consider it an oriental work in which you have five lines of text, ten lines of commentary, and twenty lines of commentary on the commentary on each page -- very distressing to unaccustomed readers.

I hope to make a single volume of my outline, to sell for two shillings or so, but it will take me some months to finish it... Please send me any notes on my "outline" that occur to you; except your letter, I have not received any comment from anyone, though I believe the outline is appearing in India and America (Path) as well as here [London].<ref>Charles Johnston letter to J. D. Buck. November 17, 1891. Letter number 16. Cincinnati Theosophical Society Records. Records Series 20.02.01. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref><ref>Johnston’s Outline was published as "An Outline of the 'Secret Doctrine'" in [[Lucifer (periodical)|Lucifer]], from October, 1891 to May, 1892. See: ''Hidden Wisdom: Collected Writings of Charles Johnson'', 2014, Vol. 3, p. 241.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Robert Bowen|Commander Robert Bowen]] was a personal student of [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Madame Blavatsky]] in London. On April 19, 1891, he wrote notes about her recommendations for how to study ''The Secret Doctrine'':
<blockquote>
H. P. B. was specially interesting upon the matter of ''The Secret Doctrine'' during the past week. I had better try to sort it all out and get it safely down on paper while it is fresh in my mind. As she said herself, it may be useful to someone thirty or forty years hence...

First of all then, ''The Secret Doctrine'' is only quite a small fragment of the Esoteric Doctrine known to the higher members of the Occult Brotherhoods. It contains, she says, just as much as can be received by the World during this coming century...

Reading the ''SD'' page by page as one reads any other book (she says) will only end in confusion. The first thing to do, even if it takes years, is to get some grasp of "Three Fundamental Principles" give in ''Proem''. Follow that up by study of the ''Recapitulation'' - the numbered items in the ''Summing up'' to Vol. I (Part 1). Then take the ''Preliminary Notes'' (Vol. II) and the ''Conclusion'' (Vol. II).
<ref>Robert Bowen, notes on "''The Secret Doctrine and Its Study''", April 19, 1891. Notes recorded less than three weeks before the death of Madame Blavatsky.</ref>
</blockquote>

'''See [[Robert Bowen Notes (article)|Robert Bowen Notes]] for the complete text.'''

== Editions ==

* '''First edition in 2 vol., 1888'''. The first volume was published on [[October 20]]. The second volume was published towards the end of the year. Both volumes have a greyish binding bearing in the usual place the imprint: Theosophical Publishing Co., Ltd., London. They bear the inscriptions: "Printed by Allen Scott and Co., 30, Bouverie Street, E.C." facing the title-page; and "Entered at Stationer’s Hall. All Rights Reserved" facing the dedication.

:It seems that the sheets of the First Volume, most likely folded, were sent to [[William Quan Judge|W. Q. Judge]] in New York. The American edition was published in a dark brown and a dark blue binding, and bears the inscription: “Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1888, by H.P. Blavatsky, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D.C.” facing the dedication.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 157-158.</ref>

* '''Second edition in 2 vol., 1888'''. The 500 copies of the first printing of volume 1 were sold before date of publication to advance subscribers. This was followed by an immediate second impression, erroneously called “second edition”. It was only a second printing from the same plates, with a few minor inaccuracies rectified.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Se:cret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), [59].</ref>

[[File:1893 SD Vol II.jpg|right|200px|thumb|1893 edition]]
* '''Third and revised edition in 2 vol., 1893'''. The text in this edition was considerably revised, mainly by scholar and former secretary of [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]], [[G. R. S. Mead]],<ref>See [http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/mead1.htm# Facts about ''The Secret Doctrine''] by G.R.S. Mead</ref> with some involvement of [[Annie Besant]]. The corrections involved imperfect English and grammatical errors; transliteration of foreign terms; changes in punctuation, capitalization and italics; some footnotes of the original edition were incorporated to the main text; and any reference to HPB's projected Third or Fourth volumes that never saw the light were eliminated. As a result of this, the pagination in this edition is different from the two previous.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' Index, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 476-477.</ref> This drew criticism in some quarters by students who claimed some changes are not justifiable. According to printer [[James Morgan Pryse]]:

<blockquote>
"the printing was done from the type, but stereotype matrices were made in case another should be called for. When that time came, however, we found that the matrices had been accidently destroyed; and I, for one, was decidedly pleased at their loss, since it made opportune a much needed revision of the text, which arduous labor was undertaken by Mr. Mead and Mrs. Besant."<ref>James Morgan Pryse, "An Important Statement by Mr. J. M. Pryse" ''The Messenger'' 14.6 (November, 1926), 125.</ref>
</blockquote>

:When accusations were made that [[G. N. Chakravarti|Professor Chakravarti]] had influenced the revisions, [[Bertram Keightley]] vigorously responded:

<blockquote>
Our friend Mr. Chakravarti had nothing whatever to say or to do with reference to the second [revised] edition – the so-called Besant edition – of the ''Secret Doctrine''. It was far more Mr. Mead than Mrs. Besant who was responsible for it.<ref>C. Jinarajadasa, "The Writing of the Secret Doctrine" ''The Messenger'' 11.3 (Aug 1923), 43.</ref>
</blockquote>

:This widely circulated edition was published by [[Theosophical Publishing Society (London)|The Theosophical Publishing Society, London]]; ''The Path'' Office, New York; and ''The Theosophist'' Office, Adyar, and printed by the [[HPB Press|H.P.B. Press]], London.<ref>[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/forum/f23n03p97_some-notes-on-the-secret-doctrine.htm# Some Notes on The Secret Doctrine] by Charles J. Ryan</ref>

:This edition was reprinted by the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)]] in 1902, 1905, 1908, 1911.

* '''Index to the "Third and revised edition", 1895'''. This large and comprehensive Index prepared by [[A. J. Faulding|Mr. A. J. Faulding]] was published as a separate volume, substantially expanding the "Index to v. 1 & 2" in the first and second editions. A Concordance of pagination with the previous editions was included. The publishers were The Theosophical Publishing Society, London; ''The Path'' Office, New York; The Theosophical Publishing Society, Benares; and ''The Theosophist'' Office, Adyar.
[[File:1993 Quest Books BdeZ edition.jpg|right|180px|thumb|1993 Quest Books edition, edited by [[Boris de Zirkoff]]]]

=== Theosophical Publishing House ===

* '''First edition of Volume 3, 1897'''.

* '''Three-volume edition, 1911'''. Reprinted in 1913, 1918, 1921, and 1928.

* '''Fourth (Adyar) edition, 6 vol., 1938'''. Volume five of this edition contains the text of the 1897 Volume 3, and volume six is an Index. Many of the footnotes introduced into the text in 1893 were restored as footnotes, and the few left in the text were enclosed in square brackets. This edition was reprinted in [[Theosophical Publishing House (London)|London]] in 1950.

* '''Fifth (Wheaton) edition, 6 vol., 1946'''. (By the [[Theosophical Press]] in Wheaton, Ill.)

* '''Sixth (Wheaton) edition, 6 vol., 1952'''. (By the Theosophical Press in Wheaton, Ill.)

* '''Fifth (Adyar) edition, 6 vol., 1962'''.

* '''Sixth (Adyar) edition, 6 vol., 1971'''. Published by [[Theosophical Publishing House (Adyar)|Theosophical Publishing House (Adyar)]] and [[Theosophical Publishing House (Wheaton)|Theosophical Publishing House (Wheaton)]] with orange & white book jackets.

* '''Centenary Edition, 1988'''. Edited by [[Boris de Zirkoff]] in two volumes and Index, it follows the text and pagination of the original edition. Reprinted in 1993.

=== Theosophical University Press ===

In 1909 a new edition of Volumes I and II of ''The Secret Doctrine'' was produced by the [[Aryan Theosophical Press]], Point Loma, California (since then moved to Covina, California, and known as the [[Theosophical University Press]]) under the direction of [[Katherine Tingley]]. This is virtually a reprint of the original 1888 edition with a scholarly transliteration of [[Sanskrit]] words according to an accepted standard, some corrections of faulty Greek and Latin and of obvious typographical errors, and the occasional substitution of square brackets in place of parentheses for clearness. No changes were made in H. P. Blavatsky's language and no passages were eliminated. This is the standard edition still being published by the Theosophical University Press, Covina.<ref>[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/forum/f23n03p97_some-notes-on-the-secret-doctrine.htm# Some Notes on The Secret Doctrine] by Charles J. Ryan</ref>

The 1909 edition was reprinted in 1917 as Second Point Loma edition, bound in four volumes, and a Third Point Loma edition took place in 1925 (bound in two and four volumes), all published by the Aryan Theosophical Press.

The Fourth edition was published by the Theosophical University Press, Covina, California, in 1947, as a reprint of the 1925 edition. The edition of 1952 is ''verbatim'' with the original 1888 edition. This was reprinted in The Netherlands in 1963 and 1970, and in the United States in 1974.

=== The Theosophy Company ===

[[The Theosophy Company]] of Los Angeles published in 1925 a photographic facsimile of the two volumes of ''The Secret Doctrine'', bound in one volume. This edition provides the opportunity to study the work in exactly the way the author wrote it, although this edition perpetuates many typographical errors.<ref>[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/forum/f23n03p97_some-notes-on-the-secret-doctrine.htm# Some Notes on The Secret Doctrine] by Charles J. Ryan</ref> Several printings of it were issued in subsequent years.

=== Other digital sources ===

[https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20HP%20-%20The%20Secret%20Doctrine Teopedia] offers many editions and also the [https://disk.yandex.ru/d/SYgQwJzb3SfiqS/Text/English/Theosophy/Blavatsky%20HP/Blavatsky%20Lodge%20notes%201890-91 SD Commentaries].

== Translations ==

''The Secret Doctrine'' has been translated into numerous languages, including the following editions:
[[File:Secret_Doctrine_1-2_(Serbian).jpg|right|150px|thumb|Croatian edition]]
* '''Croatian'''

* '''Danish'''
** ''''' Den hemmelige lære: en syntese af videnskab, religion og filosofi''''' was published in 1975 by Strube.

* '''Dutch'''
** A. Terwiel translated '''''De geheime leer: de samenvatting van wetenschap, godsdienst en wijsbegeerte''''', which was published in Amsterdam by Theosofische Uitgeversmaatschappij, 1907-1911 and 1923.

* '''French'''
** '''''La doctrine secrète: synthèse de la science, de la religion & de la philosophie''''' was published in several editions by La Famille Théosophique in Paris.

* '''German'''
** The [[Franz Hartmann]] translation, '''''Grundriß der Geheimlehre''''', was published by Theosophisches Verlagshaus, Leipzig, in 1919.
** Robert Froebe's translation,'''''Die Geheimlehre : die Vereinigung von Wissenschaft, Religion und Philosophie'''', was published in Leipzig by Friedrich in 1900 and reissued in 1919 by Theosophisches Verlagshaus.

* '''Japanese'''
** '''''Shikuretto dokutorin uchu hasseiron''''' was translated by Emiko Tanka and Jeff Clark and published by Shinchigaku Kyokai Nippon Rojji of Tokyo in 1989. It is available at [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/79626207.html Hathitrust].
** '''''Shikuretto dokutorin o yomu''''' was translated by Masato Tojo and published in Tokyo by Shuppanshinsha in 2001.

* '''Portuguese'''
** '''''A doutrina secreta: síntese de ciência, filosofia e religião'''' was published in São Paulo, Brasil by Pensamento in 1995.

[[File:SD Russian.jpg|right|250px|thumb|First Russian edition, translated by H. I. Roeriсh, 1937]]
* '''Russian'''
** Translation by Russian Theosophical Society, 1910-15.
** H. I. Roeriсh, or Helena Ivanovna Roerich, wife of painter [[Nicholas Roerich]], translated '''''Tainaia doktrina: sintez nauki, religii i filosofii''''' in the early 1930s and published in Riga in 1937. She was able to complete the translation in less than two years due to her great proficiency with languages. It is the most well-known and widespread edition nowadays, which is under constant reprinting since 1991 (see [[:teopedia-ru-lib:Блаватская_Е.П._-_Тайная_доктрина_(публикации)|full list in Russian]]). This translation made from third edition.
** Third volume '''''Ezotericheskoe uchenie : Tainaia doktrina, t. III : kliuch k tainam drevnei i sovremennoi nauki i teologii''''' was translated by A.P. Heidok and published in 1993 in Moscow by Rossiiskoe teosofskoe obshchestvo (Russian Theosophical Society).
** Translation by V. V. Baziukin made from first edition. First volume published in 2012 online and in 2017 in hard copy in Delphis Publishing House; second volume published in 2020 in Delphis.
** ''Würzburg manuscript'' was translated by O. A. Fyodorova, 2020.
: See [[:teopedia-ru-lib:Блаватская Е.П. - Тайная доктрина|Teopedia]] for more information and links on different Russian editions.

* '''Spanish'''
** [[José Xifré|Don José Xifré]] of Spain, a personal pupil of [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]], published a Spanish translation in 1895-98, but almost every copy was destroyed by the Roman Catholic Church, according to [[Boris de Zirkoff]].<ref>Boris de Zirkoff letter to Willamay Pym. January 1, 1979. Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
[[File:Preston-Humphries abridgement of SD.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Preston-Humphries abridgement]]

== Writings and teachings on ''The Secret Doctrine'' ==

Theosophists worldwide have written and lectured about ''The Secret Doctrine''. The [[Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals]] lists '''[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/union_index/entries?q=The+Secret+Doctrine&s=title 1799 articles about Secret Doctrine]''', including reviews, excerpts, quotations, and analyses of the books' contents. That count is based only on the term "Secret Doctrine," and searching on additional terms reveals a vast periodical literature dealing with Blavatsky's masterwork.

=== Abridgements ===

Several authors have attempted to make ''The Secret Doctrine'' more accessible by creating abridgements and commentaries.

* Gomes, Michael, Ed. '''''The Secret Doctrine: The Classic Work by H. P. Blavatsky, abridged and annotated'''''. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2009.
: "This single-volume edition, abridged and annotated by historian and Theosophical scholar Michael Gomes, places the ideas of ''The Secret Doctrine'' within reach of all who are curious. In particular, Gomes provides a critical sounding of the book's famous stanzas on the genesis of life and the cosmos - mysterious passages that Blavatsky said originated from a primeval source and which form the heart of ''The Secret Doctrine''. Gomes scrupulously scales down the book's key writings on symbolism to their essentials, and offers notes and a glossary to illuminate arcane references. His historical and literary introduction casts new light on some of the book's sources and on the career of its brilliant and elusive author, one of the most intriguing personages of recent history. At once compact and representative of the work as a whole, this new edition of ''The Secret Doctrine'' brings unprecedented accessibility to the key esoteric classic of the modern era." <ref> Gomes, Michael, Ed., ''The Secret Doctrine: The Classic Work by H. P. Blavatsky, abridged and annotated'', (New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2009), from the book jacket.</ref>

* Preston, Elizabeth, and Humphreys, Christmas. '''''An Abridgement of The Secret Doctrine'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1966.
: "This book is the product of a team of scholars from many parts of the theosophical world. It can be regarded as an introduction to the complete work, but it is not a substitute for it. The Abridgement contains the basic principles in the actual words of Mme. Blavatsky from the 1888 edition ot THE SECRET DOCTRINE; matters that the compilers consider to be in these days of secondary importance have been left out." <ref>Advertisement in supplement to ''The Theosophical Journal'', Jan-Feb 1966.</ref> This abridgement was translated into German in 1984.

* Hillard, Katharine. '''''An Abridgment of the Secret Doctrine'''''. New York: Qauterly Book Department, 1907.
: This abridgement seeks to offer a somewhat simplified version of the book. All Sanskrit terms are translated into English and some paragraphs rearranged to facilitate easier reading. Also, the sevenfold division of man is simplified into the triune constitution of body, soul, and spirit.

=== References within ''The Secret Doctrine'' ===

The [[Theosophical University Press]] Online offers a highly useful series of references to sources related to SD quotations.

* [https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sdrefs/sdr_intro.htm Secret Doctrine References — An Introduction] by Ina Belderis.
* [https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sdrefs/sdr_vol-1.htm References — SD Volume 1].
* [https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sdrefs/sdr_vol-2.htm References — SD Volume 2].
* [https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sdrefs/sdr_biblio.htm Bibliography to References].

Richard I. Robb, through his Wizards Bookshelf publishing house, offered a '''Secret Doctrine Reference Series''' of rare titles referenced in the SD. See his essay '''[https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/ts/sdrefs-r.htm "Access to Great Ideas"]'''. Examples of books published in this outstanding series are:

* ''The Anugita'', translated by K. T. Telang.
* ''Iamblichus: On the Mysteries'', translated by Thomas Taylor.
* ''Sacred Mysteries among the Mayas and Quiches'', by Augustus Le Plongeon.
* ''The Book of Enoch the Prophet'', translated by Richard Laurence.

=== Commentaries ===

* Ashish, Madhava. '''''Man, Son of Man: In the Stanzas of Dzyan'''''. 1970. 352 pages.
: A continuation of ''Man, The Measure of All Things'' by Sri Krishna Prem, this book is a commentary to the stanzas of the second volume of ''The Secret Doctrine'' outlining the process of human evolution culminating in man as he is today.

* [[Geoffrey A. Barborka|Barborka, Geoffrey A.]] '''''[[The Divine Plan (book)|The Divine Plan]] – Written in the Form of a Commentary on H. P. Blavatsky's''''' '''Secret Doctrine''' – '''''Expressly for the Purpose of Those Who Wish to Read and Gain a Deeper Understanding of''''' '''“The Secret Doctrine”''' '''''– Presenting an Exposition of the Doctrines of the Esoteric Philosophy Analysing and Explaining All the Terms Used'''''. Adyar: [[Theosophical Publishing House (Adyar)|The Theosophical Publishing House]]. 1961.
: Barborka presents an exposition of the esoteric doctrines of Cosmogenesis from Volume I of ''The Secret Doctrine'', analyzing and explaining all the terms used. ''The Divine Plan'' is a particularly useful commentary, and stands as a classic of Theosophical literature in its own right.

* Barborka. Geoffrey A. '''''The Peopling of the Earth: A Commentary on Archaic Records in the Secret Doctrine'''''. 1975. 233 pages.
: Barborka recounts the story of how the first humans came to the Earth, as it is presented in the first three stanzas of the second volume of ''The Secret Doctrine''. The book offers the student a synthesis of the teachings and assistance in understanding the symbols and cryptic expressions used by Mme. Blavatsky. This book is continued by ''The Story of Human Evolution''.

* Barborka, Geoffrey A. '''''The Story of Human Evolution'''''. 1980. 147 pages.
: Based on Stanzas III to XII of the second volume of ''The Secret Doctrine'', the author presents the evolutionary stages which have been accomplished by human beings since coming to the Earth. This book is a continuation of ''The Peopling of the Earth''.

* Chodkiewicz, Kazimierz. '''''Occult Cosmogony: A Modern Commentary to the Stanzas of Dzyan'''''. 1957-1961. 5 vol.
: A commentary to the first volume of ''The Secret Doctrine'' comparing its teachings with the scientific knowledge of the time.

* Gomes, Michael, Ed. '''''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries: The Unpublished 1889 Instructions'''''. The Hague: I.S.I.S. Foundation, 2010.
: "Immediately after ''The Secret Doctrine'' was published, Blavatsky assembled a small group of students, at the Blavatsky Lodge in London, for more in depth inquiry and study of the ideas in the book. ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' contains the never before published transcription of the shorthand notes of these Blavatsky Lodge meetings. Here is Blavatsky in dialogue with her students: Provocative, insightful, spontaneous, and inspiring of the deeper meaning. It offers a unique opportunity to read Blavatsky’s direct, prescient answers to questions on Cosmogenesis, Fohat, the infinitude of the Atom, the nature of Consciousness etc., giving the reader the impression of participating in these Blavatsky Lodge meetings themselves." <ref>Gomes, Michael, Ed., ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries: The Unpublished 1889 Instructions'', (The Hague: I.S.I.S. Foundation, 2010), from the book jacket.</ref>

* Prem, Sri Krishna. '''''Man, the Measure of All Things: In the Stanzas of Dzyan'''''. 1969. 360 pages.
: Based on the Stanzas found in the first volume of ''The Secret Doctrine'', the author traces the story of the emergence of human consciousness from its divine source. It is a symbolic account of the evolution of the concrete universe.

* Preston, Elizabeth. '''''The Story of Creation: According to The Secret Doctrine'''''. 1968. 109 pages.
: The main teachings given in the Stanzas of Dzyan in the first volume of ''The Secret Doctrine'' are presented here in a simplified manner. Another essay by the same author, ''The Story of Man'', deals with the teachings found in the second volume of HPB’s book.

* Tordoff, Harvey. '''''O Lanoo!: The Secret Doctrine Unveiled'''''. 1999. 126 pages.
: A poetical re-writing of the Stanzas of Dzyan which forms the basis to ''The Secret Doctrine'', using HPB’s explanations it conveys the main concepts in simple, poetic, language.

=== Studies and courses ===
[[File:Approaching the SD.jpg|right|210px|thumb|Cover of Pablo Sender's book]]
* Algeo, John. '''''Getting Acquainted with The Secret Doctrine: A Study Course'''''. 2007. 60 pages.
: A course based on the [[Robert Bowen Notes (article)|notes taken by Robert Bowen]], a personal student of Mme. Blavatsky, which purportedly record her own advice as to how to approach the study of ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Argus, '''''A Voyage of Discovery in The Secret Doctrine: A Centennial Homage''''', 1988. 134 pages.
: A collection of essays on fundamental teachings found in ''The Secret Doctrine'', often containing comparisons with Western philosophies and modern scientific theories.

* Belderis, Jim. '''"The Eyes to See With: Working on The Secret Doctrine Index"'''. 1998. Reprinted from ''Sunrise'' magazine, February/March 1998. This offers insights gained while working on an index to ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Benjamin, Elsie. '''''Man at Home in the Universe: A Study of the Great Evolutionary Cycle'''''. 1981. 35 pages.
: A general study of the cyclic evolution of humanity through the different "Globes", "Rounds", "Root-Races", and "Sub-Races" as depicted in ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Besant, Annie. '''''The Pedigree of Man'''''. 1943. 211 pages.
: A study of man’s three-fold origins based on the second volume of ''The Secret Doctrine'', where Dr. Besant supplies information that further facilitates the study of HPB’s great work.

* Blavatsky, H. P. '''''Evolution and Intelligent Design in The Secret Doctrine: The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy'''''. c2006. 241 pages.
: A selection of passages from ''The Secret Doctrine'' dealing with this subject, offering a middle ground for a perspective that is both religious and rational.

* Bosman, Leonard. '''''Studies in the Secret Doctrine'''''. London: Dharma Press, 19xx. 20 pages.

* Cooper-Oakley, Isabel. '''''Studies in The Secret Doctrine'''''. 1895., 30 pages.
: Two studies, one on the Monad and the other on the Tetraktys and Tetragrammaton, based on the teachings given in ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Gardner, Edward. '''''The Fourth Creative Hierarchy'''''. 1913. 32 pages.
: A study about the information given in ''The Secret Doctrine'' concerning the origin and evolution of the Monads now incarnated in the human kingdom.

* Hanson, Virginia. '''''H. P. Blavatsky and The Secret Doctrine'''''. 1988. 240 pages.
: Appearing first as a companion volume to An Abridgement of ''The Secret Doctrine'', edited by E. Preston and C. Humphreys, this book offers a collection of articles by many well-known Theosophists that explore some of the contributions of HPB’s great opus to world thought.

* Judge, W. Q. '''''Hidden Hints in The Secret Doctrine'''''. 1892. 23 pages.
: Comments on selected passages from ''The Secret Doctrine'' by one of the founders of the Theosophical Society.

* Lancri, Salomon. '''''Selected Studies in The Secret Doctrine'''''. c1977. 86 pages.
: An outline of the main tenets in HPB’s work, supplying a useful guide for the student of ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Mills, Joy. '''''[https://archive.org/details/an-approach-to-the-study-of-the-secret-doctrine An Approach to the Study of the Secret Doctrine]'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1944. Pamphlet. 13 pages.
: An exploration into how to study ''The Secret Doctrine'', rather than what to study in it, based upon HPB’s own words and the advice of various renowned students.

* Mills, Joy. '''''Living in Wisdom: Lectures on The Secret Doctrine'''''. 1994. 57 pages. A collection of lectures by the very well-known Theosophist and student of ''The Secret Doctrine'', in which she elaborates on the mythological nature of the contents of HPB’s book, particularly in reference to the origins and development of man.

* Noia, Beverley B. '''''An Intuitive Approach to the Seven Stanzas of Dzyan'''''. 1986. 29 pages.
: This program offers a series of exercises aimed at stimulating an intuitive understanding of the Stanzas of Dzyan which form the basis of ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Ohlendorf, W. C.. '''''An Outline of The Secret Doctrine'''''. c1941. 75 pages.
: A brief outline of the origin of the universe and man on Earth, based on the explanations given in ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Preston, Elizabeth. '''''The Earth and its Cycles'''''. 1954. 160 pages.
: A comparison between results of geological and archaeological research and the statements of ''The Secret Doctrine'' regarding the history of Earth and the development of human beings.

* Ransom, Josephine. '''''Studies in The Secret Doctrine'''''. 1934. 172 pages.
: A series of studies by a very well-known student of ''The Secret Doctrine'' exploring the hierarchy of spiritual beings and their role in the evolution of human beings.

* Robertson, John K. '''''The Astrological Key to The Secret Doctrine'''''. 1977. 18 pages.
: An astrological interpretation of world mythologies helps the reader to understand the system underlying the Stanzas of ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Sender, Pablo. '''''Approaching the Secret Doctrine'''''. Fohat Productions, 2023.
: An approach that turns the study of the SD into a form of yoga, Dr. Sender presents Cosmogenesis in clear language with diagrams, followed by a series of meditations and exercises.

* Taylor, A. E. '''''The Secret Doctrine: Commentaries and Analogies''''' 1970-1971. 2 vol.
: By relating the esoteric principles expounded upon in the teachings of ''The Secret Doctrine'' to different aspects of human life, the author clarifies complex ideas for the reader.

* Theosophical Society (Great Britain). '''''Centenary of "The Secret Doctrine"'''''. 1888-1988. 24 pages.
: A series of articles about ''The Secret Doctrine'' to commemorate the centenary of the book’s publication.

* Theosophical Society (Pasadena, Calif.). '''''Report of Proceedings: Secret Doctrine Centenary'''''. 1989. 121 pages.
: The report of the proceedings of the Secret Doctrine Centenary, held at Pasadena, California, on October 29-30, 1988, including lectures, panels and discussions among several well-known students of ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Trew, Corona. '''''Studies in The Secret Doctrine'''''. 1969. 40 pages.
: A study course on the Stanzas of Dzyan, the basis of the first volume of ''The Secret Doctrine'' that clarifies the fundamental principles of the building and origin of the cosmos.

* Trew, Corona. '''''This Dynamic Universe'''''. c1983. 167 pages.
: Three essays by the Science Group of the English Theosophical Research Center about universal energy or Fohat, universal law, and the purpose of the universe, based upon teachings given in ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Two students. '''''Theosophical Gleanings'''''. 1978. 76 pages.
: A collection of articles originally published in 1890 in a theosophical journal, where two students of ''The Secret Doctrine'' offer a survey of the fundamental principles of cosmic evolution depicted in Mme. Blavatsky’s book.

* Van Pelt, Gertrude W.. '''''Archaic History of the Human Race'''''. c1979. 52 pages.
: Using numerous quotes from ''The Secret Doctrine'', the author offers a survey of the evolution of humankind, arranging the information in a systematic and chronological order.

* Wadia, B. P.. '''''Studies in The Secret Doctrine'''''. 1961-1963. 2 vol.
: A collection of articles written in two theosophical journals during the years 1922-25 (vol. 1) and 1934-36 (vol. 2), approaching different aspects of ''The Secret Doctrine''.

* Warcup, Adam. '''''Cyclic Evolution: A Theosophical View'''''. 1986. 144 pages.
: An account of the process of evolution of life, from the spiritual realms to the physical plane, according to Mme. Blavatsky and her teachers.

* Wizards Bookshelf. '''''Symposium on H. P. Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine'''''. 1984. 110 pages.
:Seventeen papers by authors from four countries, presented in a symposium held at San Diego, California, July 21-22, 1984.

* Wood, Ernest. '''''A "Secret Doctrine" Digest'''''. 1956. 480 pages.
: The author offers a presentation of the laws and facts of nature and life as taught by H. P. Blavatsky, trying to explain the teachings without introducing anything of his own.

== See also ==
*[[Book of Dzyan]]
*[[Stanzas of Dzyan]]
*[[Three Fundamental Propositions]]
*[[Recapitulation]]
*[[Robert Bowen Notes (article)|Robert Bowen Notes]]
*[[:Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine|Concepts in ''The Secret Doctrine'']]

== Additional resources==
===Articles ===
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/ashish.htm# ''The Secret Doctrine'' as a Contribution to World Thought] by Sri Madhava Ashish
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/his/besant2.html# Second book Review of ''The Secret Doctrine''] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mistaken-notions-on-the-secret-doctrine# Mistaken Notions on the Secret Doctrine] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/sdiiipt5.htm# The Myth of the "Missing" Third Volume of The Secret Doctrine] by Daniel H. Caldwell
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/reiglesd3.pdf# The Authenticity of the Third Volume of The Secret Doctrine] by David Reigle
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/authorship-of-the-secret-doctrine# Authorship of Secret Doctrine] by William Q. Judge
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/hidden-hints-in-the-secret-doctrine# Hidden Hints in the Secret Doctrine] by William Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sunrise/38-88-9/th-sdek.htm# The Secret Doctrine in the Light of 20th-Century Thought] by Jerry Hejka-Ekins
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/kuhnthesecretdoctrine.htm# The Secret Doctrine] by Alvin Boyd Kuhn
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/reiglecon.htm# The Book of Dzyan Research Reports] by David Reigle
*[https://pablosender.wordpress.com/about/the-secret-doctrine# Seven articles on ''The Secret Doctrine''] by Pablo Sender
*[http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/theos/th-kvms.htm# The Writing of The Secret Doctrine] by Kirby Van Mater
*[http://prajnaquest.fr/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010-2012-Book-of-Dzyan-Studies.pdf# Book of Dzyan Studies] by various contributors on Theosophy.net
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/leaflets/secretdoctrine/SecretDoctrine.pdf The Secret Doctrine and its Study] at Theosophical Society in America website
*[https://blavatskytheosophy.com/a-beginners-guide-to-studying-the-secret-doctrine/# A Beginner’s Guide To Studying ''The Secret Doctrine''] at Blavatsky Theosophy Group UK website
*Twenty-four articles compiled for [https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/selfstudy/Sample_SD_Symposium.pdf# The Secret Doctrine Symposium - Part 1] and [https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/selfstudy/Sample-SD-Symposium-2.pdf Part 2] by David Bruce
* ''Compilation of articles related to the'' [http://www.philaletheians.co.uk/SN-secret-doctrines-proposition-1.htm# First Fundamental Proposition], [http://www.philaletheians.co.uk/SN-secret-doctrines-proposition-2.htm# Second Fundamental Proposition], ''and'' [http://www.philaletheians.co.uk/SN-secret-doctrines-proposition-3.htm# Third Fundamental Proposition] at Philaletheians.co.uk
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/secret-doctrine Secret Doctrine, The] in Theosophy World
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/anthropogenesis Anthropogenesis] in Theosophy World

===Books===
*''Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge'' (HTML) at [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/transactions.html Universal Theosophy] and [http://www.phx-ult-lodge.org/Transactions.htm# ULT Phoenix's] websites
*''The Secret Doctrine Dialogues'' (HTML) at [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/secretdoctrinedialogues.html# Universal Theosophy] and [https://www.theosophy-ult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/secret-doctrine-dialogues.pdf ULT Phoenix's] websites
*[https://www.hightail.com/download/bWJvY05rdGpubVhvS3NUQw# The Secret Doctrine Commentaries (PDF)] at Point Loma Blavatsky House Website
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwell_the_writing_of_the_secret_doctrine_a_chronologypdf.pdf# The Writing of ''The Secret Doctrine''. A Chronology] by Daniel Caldwell
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Pedigree_Of_Man-AB.htm# The Pedigree of Man] by Annie Besant
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/TheosophicalGleanings_TwoStudents.pdf# Theosophical Gleanings] by Two Students (Annie Besant & Isabel Cooper-Oakley)
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/selfstudy/IntuitiveApproach.pdf# An Intuitive Approach to the Seven Stanzas of Dzyan] by Beverley Noia
*[http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/books/archaic/archaic1.htm# Archaic History of the Human Race] by Gertrude W. van Pelt
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/his/hpb_wach.htm# Reminiscences of H.P. Blavatsky and ''The Secret Doctrine''] by Countess Constance Wachtmeister
*[http://www.theosophy-ult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Studies-In-The-Secret-Doctrine.pdf# Studies in ''The Secret Doctine''] by B. P. Wadia

===Audio===
* '''Studies in the Secret Doctrine''' by [[Joy Mills]]. These recordings were taken from live class settings at the Theosophical Society in America headquarters. Some include class discussions.
** [https://archive.org/details/1339_20191228 Series 7]. 1983. 12 hours. An interpretation of stanza 6: slokas 1-4, from volume one of The Secret Doctrine exploring laya centers, fohat, planetary chains, and the triple scheme.
** [https://archive.org/search?query=creator%3A%22Joy+Mills%22 Series 8]. 1984. 6 hours.
** [https://archive.org/details/studies-in-the-secret-doctrine-series-9 Series 9]. 1987. 12 hours, 7 minutes.
** [https://archive.org/details/studies-in-the-secret-doctrine-series-10 Series 10]. 1985. 7 hours, 46 minutes.
** [https://archive.org/details/studiesinthesecretdoctrineser11 Series 11]. 1985. 4 hours, 30 minutes.
** [https://archive.org/details/10281norm Series 12]. 1985. 6 hours.
** [https://archive.org/details/10331norm Series 13]. 1986. 7 hours, 30 minutes.
** [https://archive.org/details/1019data Series 14]. 1987. 6 hours.
** [https://archive.org/details/studies-in-the-secret-doctrine-series-15 Series 15]. 1987. 4 hours, 40 minutes.
** [https://archive.org/details/studies-in-the-secret-doctrine-s-xvi Series 16]. 1987. 6 hours, 14 minutes.
** [https://archive.org/details/studies-in-the-secret-doctrine-series-17 Series 17]. 1988. 5 hours, 50 minutes.
* '''Cosmogenesis''' by Geoffrey Hodson. [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/081A%20Hodson,%20G%20-%20Cosmogenesis%20Creation%20of%20the%20Universe%20&%20Man%20-%20Part%201.mp3# Part 1], [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/081B%20Hodson,%20G%20-%20Cosmogenesis%20Creation%20of%20the%20Universe%20&%20Man%20-%20Part%202.mp3# Part 2], [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/081C%20Hodson,%20G%20-%20Cosmogenesis%20Creation%20of%20the%20Universe%20&%20Man%20-%20Part%203.mp3# Part 3], [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/081D%20Hodson,%20G%20-%20Cosmogenesis%20Creation%20of%20the%20Universe%20&%20Man%20-%20Part%204.mp3# Part 4], [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/081E%20Hodson,%20G%20-%20Cosmogenesis%20-%20Creation%20of%20the%20Universe%20&%20Man%20-%20Part%205.mp3# Part 5], [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/081F%20Hodson,%20G%20-%20Cosmogenesis%20-%20Creation%20of%20the%20Universe%20&%20Man%20-%20Part%206.mp3# Part 6], [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/081G%20Hodson,%20G%20-%20Cosmogenesis%20-%20Creation%20of%20the%20Universe%20&%20Man%20-%20Part%207.mp3# Part 7].
* [https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/mcdavid/Secrets%20of%20The%20Secret%20Doctrine.mp3# '''Secrets of The Secret Doctrine'''] W. Doss McDavid.
* [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Mills,%20J/1017%20Mills,%20J%20-%20Interpretation%20of%20the%20Secret%20Doctrine%20from%201888%20to%201988.mp3# Interpretation of The Secret Doctrine from 1888 to 1988] by Joy Mills
*[https://archive.org/download/1316_20191227/1314_01.mp3# Important Principles in The Secret Doctrine - Part 1], [https://archive.org/download/1316_20191227/1314_02.mp3# Part 2], [https://archive.org/download/1316_20191227/1315_01.mp3# Part 3], [https://archive.org/download/1316_20191227/1315_02.mp3# Part 4], [https://archive.org/download/1316_20191227/1316.mp3# Part 5] by Joy Mills
*[https://www.theosophy.world/resource/audio/joy-mills-secret-doctrine-talks# Secret Doctrine Talks in Naarden] by Joy Mills
*[https://archive.org/download/5983norm/5983norm.mp3# The Secret Doctrine: Cosmogenesis (Series #3) - Part 1], [https://archive.org/download/5983norm/5984norm.mp3# Part 2], [https://archive.org/download/5983norm/5985norm.mp3# Part 3], [https://archive.org/download/5983norm/5986norm.mp3# Part 4], [https://archive.org/download/5983norm/5987norm.mp3# Part 5], [https://archive.org/download/5983norm/5988norm.mp3# Part 6], by Pablo Sender
*[https://archive.org/download/secretdoctrineandamericahorowitz/SecretDoctrineAndAmerica_Horowitz.mp3# The Secret Doctrine and America] by Mitch Horowitz,

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e28A_I1cvU&list=PLPAXKoJZrGCny-HyPZiTwUbGrx_R1SCiT# Foundations of the Ageless Wisdom (5 Parts)] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14H8Rwj-enY&list=PLPAXKoJZrGClHPpQLikSaVCx6-8sPHqim Introduction to the Study of The Secret Doctrine (5 Parts)] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_R586lQCMc&list=PLPAXKoJZrGClo4d6Alb7ntprtnYkV_eGd The Secret Doctrine - A 100 Years Later (9 parts)] by Joy Mills
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDVAHHIV0ug&list=PLPAXKoJZrGCmYIPVe6FPjUcodtytdxR1s# The Cosmogonic Processes (13 Parts)] by Joy Mills
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU1MMabZf3A&list=PLgd5q-JA8xpLJbdIjnh-zB9dUa7Eb4oUt&t=389s# Fundamental Teachings in The Secret Doctrine (5 Parts)] Pablo Sender & Michele Sender
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRtuDWE10sVd6WEzYsItdZd3JSGjbEFwt The Secret Doctrine: Esoteric Insights (8 parts)] by Pablo Sender. 2013.
*[http://www.theosophical.org/online-programs/2880 Three Fundamental Propositions - Theory and Practice (8 Parts)] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC3Z59g-Lq4&list=PLgd5q-JA8xpIAatUDVMMR_PlFnyZ0ZI6e# Cosmogenesis 1st Series (6 Parts)] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJGAUrCrUnM&list=PLgd5q-JA8xpIwDcuC2T-vRQMbSM8vmkak# Cosmogenesis 2nd Series (6 Parts)] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOZUjqtWc5c&list=PLgd5q-JA8xpIgB34Kgf6Wh34RdydE1Dlo# Cosmogenesis 3rd Series (6 Parts)] by Pablo Sender

===Bibliographies===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/TheSecretDoctrine.pdf# Bibliography on ''The Secret Doctrine''] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

===Websites===
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd/sd-hp.htm ''The Secret Doctrine''] Theosophical University Press online edition.
*[https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/secretdoctrine.html ''The Secret Doctrine''] Universal Theosophy searchable online edition of the two volumes, with corrected spelling of foreign terms.
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sd-index/dx-00hp.htm Index to ''The Secret Doctrine''] Theosophical University Press online edition prepared by John P. Van Mater.
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/secret-doctrine# About ''The Secret Doctrine''] Compilation of material at Blavatsky Net.
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/invit-sd/invsd-hp.htm#contents An Invitation to ''The Secret Doctrine''] Includes ''The Secret Doctrine and Its Study'' by Robert Bowen, ''The Writing of The Secret Doctrine'' by Kirby Van Mater, and a ''Glossary of Terms'' by the Theosophical University Press.
*[http://wisdomworld.org/additional/StudiesInTheSecretDoctrine# Studies in ''The Secret Doctrine''] WisdomWorld.org.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Books|Secret Doctrine, The]]
[[es:La Doctrina Secreta (libro)]]
[[ru:Тайная_доктрина_(книга)]]
[[it:La Dottrina Segreta]]

HPB's Diagram of Meditation

2026-01-18T15:04:54Z

Pablo Sender: /* Videos */

The '''Diagram of Meditation''' is a tool for occult study used by Theosophists. It was transmitted by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]] to her student [[E. T. Sturdy]].

== History ==
Some time between 1887 and 1891, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] dictated a Diagram of Meditation to [[E. T. Sturdy]], one of her close students. The latter, gave the Diagram to his friend [[Christmas Humphreys]] who published it for the first time in the Nov/Dec. 1942 issue of ''Buddhism in England'' (later renamed ''The Middle Way'', in which journal it was reprinted in May/June 1944).

John Cooper, the Australian authority on Theosophical history, reports that in a "Draft Catalogue of Volumes and Pamphlets" dated 1957 and kept at the home of Mr. Christmas Humphreys, under item 344 it says: "Envelope addressed to Christmas Humphreys from [[E. T. Sturdy]] with 'A diagram of meditation made under H.P.B.'s direction over 50 years ago.' (This diagram was later published in The Middle Way and offprints taken.) Also letter from Sturdy dated 14.8.42."<ref>Anon., "A Reader's Note," Canadian Theosophist 67:5 (Nov.-Dec., 1986), 117.</ref>

The original diagram is in a private collection, but a scan has been published, with permission, at [https://blavatskyarchives.com/blavatsky_diagram_of_meditation.jpg BlavatskyArchives.com].

== Diagram ==
[[File:Diagram of Meditation.jpg|center|500px]]

== Additional resources ==

=== Articles ===

* [https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/articles/diagram-of-meditation Diagram of Meditation] by Mary Anderson. Originally published in ''The Theosophist'' (August, 2002) and ''Theosophy In Australia'' (March, 2003).
* [http://www.blavatskytrust.org.uk/html/articles/HPB_meditation_Yoga.html# H.P.B. on Meditation & Yoga] by Geoffrey Farthing. ''The Theosophist'' (December, 1992).
* [http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/meditation_hpb.html# HPB's Diagram of Meditation and the Process of Spiritual Transformation] by Roger Price. ''The Theosophist'' (May, 2003): 300-309.
* [https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/articles/hpbs-diagram-of-meditation HPB's Diagram Of Meditation] by Clara Codd. ''The Theosophist'' (January, 1968): 255-258.

=== Videos ===

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqx_gJQNBhg# Blavatsky's Diagram of Meditation: An Overview] by Michele Sender
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMlTagT7jNg# HPB's Diagram of Meditation, Part I], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-weTtL04YQ# Part II], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eyIccpC6ZQ# Part III], and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-49Mrrzdic0# Part IV] by Pablo Sender and Michele Sender
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgaXkwTbaUA# HPB's Diagram of Meditation] by John Algeo.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMqYhnJQAMo Design your Own Diagram] by Michele Sender

=== Additional resources ===

* '''[https://blavatskyarchives.com/blavatsky_diagram_of_meditation.jpg Blavatsky Diagram of Meditation]''' in BlavatskyArchives.com. This is the '''original''' of H.P.B.'s Diagram of Meditation that E.T. Sturdy sent to Christmas Humphreys in 1942.
* '''[http://www.dzyantheosophy.org/blavatskys-diagram-of-meditation.html# Blavatsky's Diagram of Meditation]''' at DzyanTheosophy.org

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]

Suicide

2025-12-16T19:19:05Z

Pablo Sender: /* Fate of the suicides */

'''Suicide''' (Latin ''suicidium'', from ''sui caedere'', "to kill oneself") is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. In the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view, a person that commits suicide is not actually killing himself but only killing his [[Sthūla-śarīra|physical body]] and its [[Liṅga-śarīra|subtle counterpart]]. The person remains conscious, stuck on the "atmosphere" of the earth ([[kāmaloka]]) until the time of natural death was supposed to occur. Only then the normal [[Life after Death|post mortem processes]] can take place:

<blockquote>The rule is, that a person who dies a natural death, will remain from "a few hours to several short years," within the earth's attraction, i.e., in the [[kāmaloka|Kama-Loka]]. But exceptions are, in the case of suicides and those who die a violent death in general. Hence, one of such Egos, for instance, who was destined to live — say 80 or 90 years, but who either killed himself or was killed by some accident, let us suppose at the age of 20 — would have to pass in the Kama Loka not "a few years," but in his case 60 or 70 years, as an [[Elementary]], or rather an "earth-walker"; since he is not, unfortunately for him, even a "[[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]]." Happy, thrice happy, in comparison, are those disembodied entities,who sleep their long slumber and live in dream in the bosom of Space!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 200.</ref></blockquote>

== Fate of the suicides ==

In [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], the fate of suicides is often described in dreadful ways. It is explained that those who killed themselves moved by criminal motivations, such as trying to escape the consequences of an evil act, find themselves still alive and conscious without a physical body, suffering with intensity. However, this is not the fate of all suicides. As [[Annie Besant]] explained:

<blockquote>Not all suicides, be it understood, [suffer this dreary fate] for self-murder is committed from many motives, but only such as are led up to by crime and are then committed in order to avoid the consequences.<ref>Annie Besant, ''The Ancient Wisdom'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1998), ???.</ref></blockquote>

When a person commits suicide due to mental illness, their fate is different, as stated in the following quotes by [[H. P. Blavatsky]] and [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]]:

<blockquote>Suicide [is] the most dastardly and cowardly of all actions, unless the ''felo de se'' [self-murder] is resorted to in a fit of insanity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 261.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>A man who causes his death in a fit of temporary insanity is not a ''felo de se'', to the great grief and often trouble of the Life Insurance Companies. Nor is he left a prey to the temptations of the [[Kama Loka]] but falls asleep like any other victim.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 70C (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 213-214.</ref></blockquote>

A latent danger for those who suffered sudden deaths, if they remain awake in Kama Loka, is the temptation to continue to engage with the physical world through mediums. Mahatma K.H. wrote:

<blockquote>There is another kind of "Spirits," we have lost sight of: the suicides and those ''killed by accident''. Both kinds can communicate, and both have to pay dearly for such visits. . . . This class is the one that the French [[Spiritism|Spiritists]] call — "les Esprits Souffrants." They are an exception to the rule, as they have to remain within the earth's attraction,and in its atmosphere — the [[Kama-Loka]] -- till the very last moment of what would have been the natural duration of their lives. In other words, that particular wave of life-evolution must run on to its shore.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 197. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 76#Page 1 transcription, image, and notes|Mahatma Letter No. 76, Page 1]]</ref></blockquote>

To try to engage in communication with the physical world they left through any kind of [[Mediumship|medium]] is harmful both for the soul still bound to the atmosphere of the earth as for the medium:

<blockquote>But it is a sin and cruelty to revive their memory and intensify their suffering by giving them a chance of living an artificial life; a chance to overload their [[Karma]], by tempting them into opened doors, viz., mediums and sensitives, for they will have to pay roundly for every such pleasure. I will explain. The suicides, who, foolishly hoping to escape life, found themselves still alive, — have suffering enough in store for them from that very life. Their punishment is in the intensity of the latter. Having lost by the rash act their [[Ātman|seventh]] and [[Buddhi|sixth]] [[Principle|principles]], though not for ever, as they can regain both — instead of accepting their punishment, and taking their chances of redemption, they are often made to regret life and tempted to regain a hold upon it by sinful means. In the Kama-Loka, the land of intense desires, they can gratify their earthly yearnings but through a living proxy; and by so doing, at the expiration of the natural term, they generally lose their monad for ever.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 197.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>And woe to those whose Trishna will attract them to mediums, and woe to the latter, who tempt them with such an easy Upadana. For in grasping them, and satisfying their thirst for life, the medium helps to develop in them — is in fact the cause of — a new set of [[Skandha]]s, a new body, with far worse tendencies and passions than was the one they lost. All the future of this new body will be determined thus, not only by the Karma of demerit of the previous set or group but also by that of the new set of the future being. Were the mediums and Spiritualists but to know, as I said, that with every new "angel guide" they welcome with rapture, they entice the latter into an Upadana which will be productive of a series of untold evils for the new [[Ego]] that will be born under its nefarious shadow, and that with every seance — especially for materialization — they multiply the causes for misery, causes that will make the unfortunate Ego fail in his spiritual birth, or be reborn into a worse existence than ever — they would, perhaps, be less lavishing their hospitality.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 200.</ref></blockquote>

==Online resources==

=== Books ===
* Westcott, William Wynn. ''Suicide: Its History, Literature, Jurisprudence, Causation, and Prevention''. London: Lewis, 1885. 191 pages. Available at [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/14774694.html Hathitrust] and [http://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b28099333 Wellcome Library].

===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/suicide Suicide] at Theosophy World
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/is-suicide-a-crime# Is Suicide A Crime?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/suicide-is-not-death# Suicide Is Not Death] by W. Q. Judge

== Notes ==
<references/>
[[Category:Theosophical worldview]]
[[es:Suicidio]]

Suicide

2025-12-16T19:16:49Z

Pablo Sender: /* Fate of the suicides */

'''Suicide''' (Latin ''suicidium'', from ''sui caedere'', "to kill oneself") is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. In the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view, a person that commits suicide is not actually killing himself but only killing his [[Sthūla-śarīra|physical body]] and its [[Liṅga-śarīra|subtle counterpart]]. The person remains conscious, stuck on the "atmosphere" of the earth ([[kāmaloka]]) until the time of natural death was supposed to occur. Only then the normal [[Life after Death|post mortem processes]] can take place:

<blockquote>The rule is, that a person who dies a natural death, will remain from "a few hours to several short years," within the earth's attraction, i.e., in the [[kāmaloka|Kama-Loka]]. But exceptions are, in the case of suicides and those who die a violent death in general. Hence, one of such Egos, for instance, who was destined to live — say 80 or 90 years, but who either killed himself or was killed by some accident, let us suppose at the age of 20 — would have to pass in the Kama Loka not "a few years," but in his case 60 or 70 years, as an [[Elementary]], or rather an "earth-walker"; since he is not, unfortunately for him, even a "[[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]]." Happy, thrice happy, in comparison, are those disembodied entities,who sleep their long slumber and live in dream in the bosom of Space!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 200.</ref></blockquote>

== Fate of the suicides ==

In [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], the fate of suicides is often described in dreadful ways. It is explained that those who killed themselves moved by criminal motivations, such as trying to escape the consequences of an evil act, find themselves still alive and conscious without a physical body, suffering with intensity. However, this is not the fate of all suicides. As [[Annie Besant]] explained:

<blockquote>Not all suicides, be it understood, [suffer this dreary fate] for self-murder is committed from many motives, but only such as are led up to by crime and are then committed in order to avoid the consequences.<ref>Annie Besant, ''The Ancient Wisdom'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1998), ???.</ref></blockquote>

When a person commits suicide due to mental illness, their fate is different, as stated in the following quotes by [[H. P. Blavatsky]] and [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]]:

<blockquote>Suicide [is] the most dastardly and cowardly of all actions, unless the ''felo de se'' [self-murder] is resorted to in a fit of insanity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 261.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>A man who causes his death in a fit of temporary insanity is not a ''felo de se'', to the great grief and often trouble of the Life Insurance Companies. Nor is he left a prey to the temptations of the [[Kama Loka]] but falls asleep like any other victim.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 70C (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 213-214.</ref></blockquote>

A latent danger for those who died sudden deaths, however, is the temptation to continue to engage with the physical world through mediums. Mahatma K.H. wrote:

<blockquote>There is another kind of "Spirits," we have lost sight of: the [[Suicide|suicides]] and those ''killed by accident''. Both kinds can communicate, and both have to pay dearly for such visits. . . . This class is the one that the French [[Spiritism|Spiritists]] call — "les Esprits Souffrants." They are an exception to the rule, as they have to remain within the earth's attraction,and in its atmosphere — the [[Kama-Loka]] -- till the very last moment of what would have been the natural duration of their lives. In other words, that particular wave of life-evolution must run on to its shore.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 197. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 76#Page 1 transcription, image, and notes|Mahatma Letter No. 76, Page 1]]</ref></blockquote>

To try to engage in communication with the physical world they left through any kind of [[Mediumship|medium]] is harmful both for the soul still bound to the atmosphere of the earth as for the medium:

<blockquote>But it is a sin and cruelty to revive their memory and intensify their suffering by giving them a chance of living an artificial life; a chance to overload their [[Karma]], by tempting them into opened doors, viz., mediums and sensitives, for they will have to pay roundly for every such pleasure. I will explain. The suicides, who, foolishly hoping to escape life, found themselves still alive, — have suffering enough in store for them from that very life. Their punishment is in the intensity of the latter. Having lost by the rash act their [[Ātman|seventh]] and [[Buddhi|sixth]] [[Principle|principles]], though not for ever, as they can regain both — instead of accepting their punishment, and taking their chances of redemption, they are often made to regret life and tempted to regain a hold upon it by sinful means. In the Kama-Loka, the land of intense desires, they can gratify their earthly yearnings but through a living proxy; and by so doing, at the expiration of the natural term, they generally lose their monad for ever.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 197.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>And woe to those whose Trishna will attract them to mediums, and woe to the latter, who tempt them with such an easy Upadana. For in grasping them, and satisfying their thirst for life, the medium helps to develop in them — is in fact the cause of — a new set of [[Skandha]]s, a new body, with far worse tendencies and passions than was the one they lost. All the future of this new body will be determined thus, not only by the Karma of demerit of the previous set or group but also by that of the new set of the future being. Were the mediums and Spiritualists but to know, as I said, that with every new "angel guide" they welcome with rapture, they entice the latter into an Upadana which will be productive of a series of untold evils for the new [[Ego]] that will be born under its nefarious shadow, and that with every seance — especially for materialization — they multiply the causes for misery, causes that will make the unfortunate Ego fail in his spiritual birth, or be reborn into a worse existence than ever — they would, perhaps, be less lavishing their hospitality.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 200.</ref></blockquote>

==Online resources==

=== Books ===
* Westcott, William Wynn. ''Suicide: Its History, Literature, Jurisprudence, Causation, and Prevention''. London: Lewis, 1885. 191 pages. Available at [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/14774694.html Hathitrust] and [http://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b28099333 Wellcome Library].

===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/suicide Suicide] at Theosophy World
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/is-suicide-a-crime# Is Suicide A Crime?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/suicide-is-not-death# Suicide Is Not Death] by W. Q. Judge

== Notes ==
<references/>
[[Category:Theosophical worldview]]
[[es:Suicidio]]

Avalokiteshvara

2025-12-13T16:58:02Z

Pablo Sender: /* In Theosophy */

'''Avalokiteshvara''' (devanāgarī: अवलोकितेश्वर Avalokiteśvara) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Portrayed in different cultures as either male or female, Avalokiteśvara is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream [[Mahayana Buddhism]].

The term is composed by the verbal prefix ''ava'', which means "down"; ''lokita'', a past participle of the verb lok ("to notice, observe") meaning "seen, observed"; and finally īśvara, "lord". The usual translation is the "Lord who looks down" where the use of the verb in an active sense ("to look" instead of "to be seen") is explained as an occasional irregularity of [[Sanskrit]] grammar.

== In Tibetan Buddhism ==

In Tibetan, Avalokiteśvara is known as Chenrezig, and the Dalai Lama is regarded as an emanation of him.

== In Chinese Buddhism ==

The Chinese translation for the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara is Guānshìyīn (Kwan-Shi-Yin), although the term Avalokita-svara is also used and translated as Guānyīn (or [[Kwan-Yin]]).

=== According to Mme. Blavatsky ===

Mame. Blavatsky maintained that Guānyīn and Guānshìyīn were two different deities:

<blockquote>Kwan-Shai-Yin is identical with, and an equivalent of the Sanskrit Avalokitêshvara, and as such he is an androgynous deity, like the Tetragrammaton and all the Logoi of antiquity. It is only by some sects in China that he is anthropomorphized and represented with female attributes, when, under his female aspect, he becomes Kwan-Yin, the goddess of mercy, called the "Divine Voice".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 72.</ref></blockquote>

For more information see [[Kwan-Yin]].

== In Theosophy ==

[[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] rejected Mr. Rhys Davids' translation of the term as "the Lord who looks down from on high", but explained that the real meaning is the reversed one:

<blockquote>Avalokita Isvar literally interpreted means "the Lord that is seen." "[[Īśvara|Iswara]]" implying moreover, rather the adjective than the noun, lordly, self-existent lordliness, not Lord.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 376.</ref></blockquote>

In this sense, Avalokiteshvara is dual, representing the seventh principle in both its unmanifested and manifested aspects:

<blockquote>Avalokitesvara is both the unmanifested Father & the manifested Son, the latter proceeding from, and identical with, the other; — namely, the [[Parabrahman|Parabrahm]] and [[Jīva#Jivatman|Jivatman]], the Universal and the individualized 7th Principle, — the Passive and the Active, the latter the Word, [[Logos]], the Verb.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 377.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Parabrahman or [[Adi-Buddha]] is eternally manifesting itself as Jivatma (7th principle) or Avalokiteswara.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 179.</ref></blockquote>

However, this term can also be taken in a second sense as the universal intelligence represented by the synthesis or collectivity of celestial beings. In Master KH's words:

<blockquote>It is, when correctly interpreted, in one sense "the divine Self perceived or seen by Self," the [[Ātman|Atman]] or 7th principle ridded of its [[Māyā|mayavic]] distinction from its Universal Source — which becomes the object of perception for, and by the individuality centred in [[Buddhi]], the 6th principle, — something that happens only in the highest state of [[Meditation#Samādhi|Samadhi]]. This is applying it to the microcosm. In the other sense Avalokitesvara implies the 7th Universal Principle, as the object perceived by the Universal Buddhi "Mind" or Intelligence which is the synthetic aggregation of all the [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dhyan Chohans]], as of all other intelligences whether great or small, that ever were, are, or will be.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 376.</ref></blockquote>

Some years later, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] publishes this passage with some differences, replacing the general term "Dhyan Chohans" by the more specific of [[Dhyāni-Buddha|"Dhyani-Buddhas"]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 472.</ref>

In this second meaning, Avalokiteshvara bears a resemblance with the idea of the [[Logos]] as a unified principle, and the [[Demiurge]] as the collectivity of creative celestial beings:

<blockquote>Avalôkitêswara is the great Logos in its higher aspect and in the divine regions. But in the manifested planes, he is, like Daksha, the progenitor (in a spiritual sense) of men.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 178.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Kwan-Shi-Yin is Avalokiteshwara, and both are forms of the seventh Universal Principle; while in its highest metaphysical character this deity is the synthetic aggregation of all the [[Planetary Spirit|planetary Spirits]], [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dhyani Chohans]]. He is the “Self-manifested;” in short, the "Son of the Father".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 471.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Avalokiteshvara (or Manwantaric intelligent nature crowned with humanity) — the mystic name given by us to the hosts of the Dhyan Chohans (N.B., the solar Dhyan Chohans or the host of only our solar system) taken collectively.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 181.</ref></blockquote>

== Additional resources ==
=== Articles ===
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/avalokitesvara Avalokitesvara] at Theosophy World

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Sanskrit terms]]
[[Category:Buddhist concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

Avalokiteshvara

2025-12-13T16:47:21Z

Pablo Sender: /* In Theosophy */

'''Avalokiteshvara''' (devanāgarī: अवलोकितेश्वर Avalokiteśvara) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Portrayed in different cultures as either male or female, Avalokiteśvara is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream [[Mahayana Buddhism]].

The term is composed by the verbal prefix ''ava'', which means "down"; ''lokita'', a past participle of the verb lok ("to notice, observe") meaning "seen, observed"; and finally īśvara, "lord". The usual translation is the "Lord who looks down" where the use of the verb in an active sense ("to look" instead of "to be seen") is explained as an occasional irregularity of [[Sanskrit]] grammar.

== In Tibetan Buddhism ==

In Tibetan, Avalokiteśvara is known as Chenrezig, and the Dalai Lama is regarded as an emanation of him.

== In Chinese Buddhism ==

The Chinese translation for the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara is Guānshìyīn (Kwan-Shi-Yin), although the term Avalokita-svara is also used and translated as Guānyīn (or [[Kwan-Yin]]).

=== According to Mme. Blavatsky ===

Mame. Blavatsky maintained that Guānyīn and Guānshìyīn were two different deities:

<blockquote>Kwan-Shai-Yin is identical with, and an equivalent of the Sanskrit Avalokitêshvara, and as such he is an androgynous deity, like the Tetragrammaton and all the Logoi of antiquity. It is only by some sects in China that he is anthropomorphized and represented with female attributes, when, under his female aspect, he becomes Kwan-Yin, the goddess of mercy, called the "Divine Voice".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 72.</ref></blockquote>

For more information see [[Kwan-Yin]].

== In Theosophy ==

[[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] rejected Mr. Rhys Davids' translation of the term as "the Lord who looks down from on high", but explained that the real meaning is the reversed one:

<blockquote>Avalokita Isvar literally interpreted means "the Lord that is seen." "[[Īśvara|Iswara]]" implying moreover, rather the adjective than the noun, lordly, self-existent lordliness, not Lord.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 376.</ref></blockquote>

In this sense, Avalokiteshvara is dual, representing the seventh principle in both its unmanifested and manifested aspects:

<blockquote>Avalokitesvara is both the unmanifested Father & the manifested Son, the latter proceeding from, and identical with, the other; — namely, the [[Parabrahman|Parabrahm]] and [[Jīva#Jivatman|Jivatman]], the Universal and the individualized 7th Principle, — the Passive and the Active, the latter the Word, [[Logos]], the Verb.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 377.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Parabrahman or [[Adi-Buddha]] is eternally manifesting itself as Jivatma (7th principle) or Avalokiteswara.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 179.</ref></blockquote>

However, it can also be taken as in a second sense, as the universal intelligence, manifested by the celestial beings. As Master KH stated:

<blockquote>It is, when correctly interpreted, in one sense "the divine Self perceived or seen by Self," the [[Ātman|Atman]] or 7th principle ridded of its [[Māyā|mayavic]] distinction from its Universal Source — which becomes the object of perception for, and by the individuality centred in [[Buddhi]], the 6th principle, — something that happens only in the highest state of [[Meditation#Samādhi|Samadhi]]. This is applying it to the microcosm. In the other sense Avalokitesvara implies the 7th Universal Principle, as the object perceived by the Universal Buddhi "Mind" or Intelligence which is the synthetic aggregation of all the [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dhyan Chohans]], as of all other intelligences whether great or small, that ever were, are, or will be.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 376.</ref></blockquote>

Some years later, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] publishes this passage with some differences, replacing the general term "Dhyan Chohans" by the more specific of [[Dhyāni-Buddha|"Dhyani-Buddhas"]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 472.</ref>

In this second meaning, Avalokisteshvara bears a resemblance with the idea of the [[Logos]] as a synthesis, and the [[Demiurge]] as a collective agregate of creative beings:

<blockquote>Avalôkitêswara is the great Logos in its higher aspect and in the divine regions. But in the manifested planes, he is, like Daksha, the progenitor (in a spiritual sense) of men.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 178.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Kwan-Shi-Yin is Avalokiteshwara, and both are forms of the seventh Universal Principle; while in its highest metaphysical character this deity is the synthetic aggregation of all the [[Planetary Spirit|planetary Spirits]], [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dhyani Chohans]]. He is the “Self-manifested;” in short, the "Son of the Father".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 471.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Avalokiteshvara (or Manwantaric intelligent nature crowned with humanity) — the mystic name given by us to the hosts of the Dhyan Chohans (N.B., the solar Dhyan Chohans or the host of only our solar system) taken collectively.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 181.</ref></blockquote>

== Additional resources ==
=== Articles ===
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/avalokitesvara Avalokitesvara] at Theosophy World

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Sanskrit terms]]
[[Category:Buddhist concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

Avalokiteshvara

2025-12-13T16:45:31Z

Pablo Sender: /* In Theosophy */

'''Avalokiteshvara''' (devanāgarī: अवलोकितेश्वर Avalokiteśvara) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Portrayed in different cultures as either male or female, Avalokiteśvara is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream [[Mahayana Buddhism]].

The term is composed by the verbal prefix ''ava'', which means "down"; ''lokita'', a past participle of the verb lok ("to notice, observe") meaning "seen, observed"; and finally īśvara, "lord". The usual translation is the "Lord who looks down" where the use of the verb in an active sense ("to look" instead of "to be seen") is explained as an occasional irregularity of [[Sanskrit]] grammar.

== In Tibetan Buddhism ==

In Tibetan, Avalokiteśvara is known as Chenrezig, and the Dalai Lama is regarded as an emanation of him.

== In Chinese Buddhism ==

The Chinese translation for the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara is Guānshìyīn (Kwan-Shi-Yin), although the term Avalokita-svara is also used and translated as Guānyīn (or [[Kwan-Yin]]).

=== According to Mme. Blavatsky ===

Mame. Blavatsky maintained that Guānyīn and Guānshìyīn were two different deities:

<blockquote>Kwan-Shai-Yin is identical with, and an equivalent of the Sanskrit Avalokitêshvara, and as such he is an androgynous deity, like the Tetragrammaton and all the Logoi of antiquity. It is only by some sects in China that he is anthropomorphized and represented with female attributes, when, under his female aspect, he becomes Kwan-Yin, the goddess of mercy, called the "Divine Voice".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 72.</ref></blockquote>

For more information see [[Kwan-Yin]].

== In Theosophy ==

[[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] rejected Mr. Rhys Davids' translation of the term as "the Lord who looks down from on high", but explained that the real meaning is the reversed one:

<blockquote>Avalokita Isvar literally interpreted means "the Lord that is seen." "[[Īśvara|Iswara]]" implying moreover, rather the adjective than the noun, lordly, self-existent lordliness, not Lord.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 376.</ref></blockquote>

In this sense, Avalokiteshvara respresents the seventh principle:

<blockquote>Avalokitesvara is both the unmanifested Father & the manifested Son, the latter proceeding from, and identical with, the other; — namely, the [[Parabrahman|Parabrahm]] and [[Jīva#Jivatman|Jivatman]], the Universal and the individualized 7th Principle, — the Passive and the Active, the latter the Word, [[Logos]], the Verb.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 377.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Parabrahman or [[Adi-Buddha]] is eternally manifesting itself as Jivatma (7th principle) or Avalokiteswara.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 179.</ref></blockquote>

However, it can also be taken as in a second sense, as the universal intelligence, manifested by the celestial beings. As Master KH stated:

<blockquote>It is, when correctly interpreted, in one sense "the divine Self perceived or seen by Self," the [[Ātman|Atman]] or 7th principle ridded of its [[Māyā|mayavic]] distinction from its Universal Source — which becomes the object of perception for, and by the individuality centred in [[Buddhi]], the 6th principle, — something that happens only in the highest state of [[Meditation#Samādhi|Samadhi]]. This is applying it to the microcosm. In the other sense Avalokitesvara implies the 7th Universal Principle, as the object perceived by the Universal Buddhi "Mind" or Intelligence which is the synthetic aggregation of all the [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dhyan Chohans]], as of all other intelligences whether great or small, that ever were, are, or will be.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 111 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 376.</ref></blockquote>

Some years later, [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] publishes this passage with some differences, replacing the general term "Dhyan Chohans" by the more specific of [[Dhyāni-Buddha|"Dhyani-Buddhas"]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 472.</ref>

In this second meaning, Avalokisteshvara bears a resemblance with the idea of the [[Logos]] as a synthesis, and the [[Demiurge]] as a collective agregate of creative beings:

<blockquote>Avalôkitêswara is the great Logos in its higher aspect and in the divine regions. But in the manifested planes, he is, like Daksha, the progenitor (in a spiritual sense) of men.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 178.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Kwan-Shi-Yin is Avalokiteshwara, and both are forms of the seventh Universal Principle; while in its highest metaphysical character this deity is the synthetic aggregation of all the [[Planetary Spirit|planetary Spirits]], [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dhyani Chohans]]. He is the “Self-manifested;” in short, the "Son of the Father".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 471.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Avalokiteshvara (or Manwantaric intelligent nature crowned with humanity) — the mystic name given by us to the hosts of the Dhyan Chohans (N.B., the solar Dhyan Chohans or the host of only our solar system) taken collectively.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 181.</ref></blockquote>

== Additional resources ==
=== Articles ===
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/avalokitesvara Avalokitesvara] at Theosophy World

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Sanskrit terms]]
[[Category:Buddhist concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

Mahatma Letter No. 67

2025-12-13T16:16:54Z

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{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. O. Hume]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = unknown
| receiveddate = July 10, 1882
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = unknown
| receivedat = [[Simla, India]]
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 67''' in''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 15''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 67#Context and background|Context and background]].

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From K.H. to [[Allan Octavian Hume|A.O.H.]] Received July 10th, 1882.

(1) Does every mineral form, vegetable, plant, animal, always contain within it that entity which involves the potentiality of development into a [[Planetary Spirit|planetary spirit]]? At this present day in this present [[Globe#Globe D|earth]] is there such an essence or [[spirit]] or [[soul]] — the name is immaterial in every mineral, etc.

(1) Invariably; only rather call it the germ of a future entity, which it has been for ages. Take the human foetus. From

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'''NOTES:'''
* Transcribed from a copy in [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|Mr. Sinnett]]'s handwriting. — ED.

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the moment of its first planting until it completes its seventh month of gestation it repeats in miniature the mineral, vegetable, and animal cycles it passed through in its previous encasements, and only during the last two, develops its future human entity. It is completed but towards the child's seventh year. Yet it existed without any increase or decrease aeons on aeons before it worked its way onward, through and in the womb of mother nature as it works now in its earthly mother's bosom. Truly said a learned philosopher who trusts more to his intuitions than the dicta of modern science. "The stages of man's intra-uterine existence embody a condensed record of some of the missing pages in Earth's history." Thus you must look back at the [[Kingdoms of Life#Animal kingdom|animal]], [[Kingdoms of Life#Vegetable kingdom|vegetable]] and [[Kingdoms of Life#Mineral kingdom|mineral]] entities. You must take each entity at its starting point in the [[manvantara|manvantaric]] course as the primordial cosmic atom already differentiated
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by the first flutter of the manvantaric life breath. For the potentiality which will develop finally in a perfected planetary spirit lurks in, is in fact that primordial cosmic atom. Drawn by its "chemical affinity" (?) to coalesce with other like atoms the aggregate sum of such united atoms will in time become a man-bearing [[globe]] after the stages of the cloud, the spiral and sphere of fire-mist and of the condensation, consolidation, shrinkage and cooling of the planet have been successively passed through. But mind, not every globe becomes a "man bearer." I simply state the fact without dwelling further upon it in this connection. The great difficulty in grasping the idea in the above process lies in the liability to form more or less incomplete mental conceptions of the working of the [[Elements#The One Element|one element]], of its inevitable presence in every imponderable atom, and its subsequent ceaseless and almost illimitable multiplication
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of new centres of activity without affecting in the least its own original quantity. Let us take such an aggregation of atoms destined to form our [[globe]] and then follow, throwing a cursory look at the whole, the special work of such atoms. We will call the primordial atom A. This being not a circumscribed centre of activity but the initial point of a manwantaric whirl of [[evolution]], gives birth to new centres which we may term B, C, D, etc., incomputably. Each of these capital points gives birth to minor centres, a, b, c, etc. And the latter in the course of evolution and involution in time develops into A's, B's, C's, etc., and so form the roots or are the developing causes of new genera, species, classes, etc., ad infinitum. Now neither the primordial A and its companion atoms, nor their derived a's, b's, c's, have lost one tittle of their original force or life-essence by
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the evolution of their derivatives. The force there, is not transformed into something else as I have already shown in my letter, but with each development of a new centre of activity from within itself multiplies ad infinitum without ever losing a particle of its nature in quantity or quality. Yet acquiring as it progresses something plus in its differentiation. Thus "force" so-called shows itself truly indestructible but does not correlate and is not convertible in the sense accepted by the Fellows of the R.S., but rather may be said to grow and expand into "something else" while neither its own potentiality nor being are in the least affected by the transformation. Nor can it well be called force since the latter is but the attribute of [[Yin Sin]] (Yin Sin or the one "Form of existence" also [[Adi-Buddha#Adi-Buddhi|Adi-Buddhi]] or [[Dharmakaya]] the mystic, universally diffused essence)

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Universally diffused essence''', as a definition for Yih-sin is taken from ''Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese'' (1871) by Samuel Beal.

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when manifesting in the phenomenal world of senses namely only your old acquaintance [[Fohat]]. See in this connexion [[Subba Row]]'s article "Aryan Arhat Esoteric Doctrines" on the seven-fold [[principle]]s in man; his review of your Fragments, pp. 94 and 95. The initiated Brahmin calls it (Yin Sin and Fohat) [[Brahman]] and [[Sakti]] when manifesting as that force. We will perhaps be nearer correct to call it infinite life and the source of all life visible and invisible, an essence inexhaustible ever present, in short [[Swabhavat]]. (S. in its universal application, Fohat when manifesting throughout our phenomenal world or rather the visible universe hence in its limitations). It is [[Evolution#Pravṛtti and Nivṛtti Mārgas|pravritti]] when active, [[Evolution#Pravṛtti and Nivṛtti Mārgas|nirvritti]] when passive. Call it the [[Śakti|Sakti]] of [[Parabrahman|Parabrahma]], if you like, and say with the Adwaitees (Subba Row is one) that

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''the Sakti of Parabrahama'''. The third chronological edition of the Mahatma Letters wrongly says, "the Sakti or Parabrahma."

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Parabrahm plus [[Māyā|Maya]] becomes [[Īśvara|Iswar]] the creative principle — a power commonly called [[God]] which disappears and dies with the rest when [[pralaya]] comes. Or you may hold with the northern Buddhist philosophers and call it [[Adi-Buddha#Adi-Buddhi|Adi-Buddhi]] the all-pervading supreme and absolute intelligence with its periodically manifesting Divinity — [[Avalokiteśvara|"Avalokiteshvara"]] (or Manwantaric intelligent nature crowned with humanity) — the mystic name given by us to the hosts of the [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dyan Chohans]] (N.B., the solar Dyan Chohans or the host of only our solar system) taken collectively, which host represents the mother source, the aggregate amount of all the intelligences that were[,] are or ever will be whether on our [[Planetary Chain|string]] of man-bearing planets or on any part or portion of our solar system. And this will bring you by

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analogy to see that in its turn [[Adi-Buddha#Adi-Buddhi|Adi-Buddhi]] (as its very name translated literally implies) is the aggregate intelligence of the universal intelligences including that of the [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dyan Chohans]] even of the highest order. That is all I dare now to tell you on this special subject, as I fear I have already transcended the limit. Therefore whenever I speak of humanity without specifying it you must understand that I mean not humanity of our [[Rounds#Fourth Round|fourth round]] as we see it on this speck of mud in space but the whole host already evoluted.

Yes as described in my letter — there is but one element and it is impossible to comprehend our system before a correct conception of it is firmly fixed in one's mind. You must therefore pardon me if I dwell on the subject longer than
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really seems necessary. But unless this great primary fact is firmly grasped the rest will appear unintelligible. This element then is the — to speak metaphysically — one sub-stratum or permanent cause of all manifestations in the phenomenal universe. The ancients speak of the five cognizable [[elements]] of ether, air, water, fire, earth, and of the one incognizable element (to the uninitiates) the [[Sixth Principle|6th principle]] of the universe — call it Purush Sakti, while to speak of the seventh outside the sanctuary was punishable with [[death]]. But these five are but the differentiated aspects of the one. As [[Principle#Seven principles in human beings|man is a seven-fold being]] so is the universe — the septenary [[Macrocosm and Microcosm|microcosm]] being to the septenary [[Macrocosm and Microcosm|macrocosm]] but as the drop of rainwater is to the cloud from whence it dropped and whither in the course of time it will return. In that one are embraced or included so many tendencies for the evolution of
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air, water, fire, etc. (from the purely abstract down to their concrete condition) and when those latter are called elements it is to indicate their productive potentialities for numberless form changes or evolution of being. Let us represent the unknown quantity as X; that quantity is the one eternal immutable principle — and A, B, C, D, E, five of the six minor principles or components of the same; viz., the principles of earth, water, air, fire and ether ([[Ākāśa|akasa]]) following the order of their spirituality and beginning with the lowest. There is a [[sixth principle]] answering to the sixth principle [[Buddhi]], in man (to avoid confusion remember that in viewing the question from the side of the descending scale the abstract All or eternal principle would be numerically designated as the first, and the phenomenal universe as the seventh, and whether belonging to man or to the
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universe — viewed from the other side the numerical order would be exactly reversed) but we are not permitted to name it except among the initiates. I may however hint that it is connected with the process of the highest intellection. Let us call it N. And besides these, there is under all the activities of the phenomenal universe an energizing impulse from X, call this Y. Algebraically stated, our equation would therefore read A+B+C+D+E+N+Y=X. Each of these six letters represents, so to speak, the spirit or abstraction of what you call elements (your meagre English gives me no other word). This spirit controls the entire line of evolution, around the whole manwantaric [[Law of Cycles|cycle]] in its own department — the informing, vivifying, impelling, evolving cause, behind the countless phenomenal manifestations in that department of
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Nature. Let us work out the idea with a single example. Take fire. D — the primal igneous principle resident in X — is the ultimate cause of every phenomenal manifestation of fire on all the [[globe]]s of the chain. The proximate causes are the evoluted secondary igneous agencies which severally control the seven descents of fire on each planet. (Every element having its seven principles and every principle its seven sub-principles and these secondary agencies before doing so, have in turn become primary causes.) D is a septenary compound of which the highest fraction is pure spirit. As we see it on our globe it is in its coarsest, most material condition, as gross in its way as is man in his physical encasement. In the next preceding globe to ours fire was less gross than here: on the one before
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that less still. And so the body of flame was more and more pure and spiritual less and less gross and material on each antecedent planet. On the first of all in the manwantaric chain, it appeared as an almost pure objective shining — the Maha Buddhi, sixth principle of the eternal light. Our globe being at the bottom of the arc where matter exhibits itself in its grossest form along with spirit — when the fire element manifests itself on the globe next succeeding ours in the [[Evolution#Descending and ascending arcs|ascending arc]] it will be less dense than as we see it. Its spiritual quality will be identical with that which fire had on the globe preceding ours in the descending scale; the second globe of the ascending scale will correspond in quality with that of the second anterior globe to ours in the descending scale, etc. On each globe of the chain
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there are seven manifestations of fire of which the first in order will compare as to spiritual quality with the last manifestation on the next preceding planet: the process being reversed, as you will infer, with the opposite arc. The myriad specific manifestations of these six universal elements are in their turn but the offshoots, branches or branchlets of the one single primordial "Tree of Life."

Take Darwin's genealogical tree of life of the human race and others and bearing ever in mind the wise old adage, "As below so above" — that is the universal [[Law of Correspondences|system of correspondences]] — try to understand by analogy. Thus will you see that in this day on this present earth in every mineral, etc., there is such a spirit. I will say more. Every grain of sand, every boulder or crag of granite, is that spirit crystallized or petrified. You hesitate. Take a primer

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of geology and see what science affirms there about the formation and growth of minerals. What is the origin of all the rocks, whether sedimentary or igneous. Take a piece of granite or sandstone and you find one composed of crystals, the other of grains of various stones (organic rocks or stones formed out of the remains of once living plants and animals, will not serve our present purpose: they are the relics of subsequent evolutions while we are concerned but with the primordial ones). Now sedimentary and igneous rocks are composed, the former of sand gravel and mud, the latter of lava. We have then but to trace the origin of the two. What do we find? We find that one was compounded of three elements or more accurately three several manifestations of the one element, — earth, water and fire, and that the other was similarly compounded (though under different physical conditions) out of

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cosmic matter — the imaginary materia prima itself one of the manifestations (6th principle) of the one element. How then can we doubt that a mineral contains in it a spark of the One as everything else in this objective nature does?

(2) When the [[pralaya]] commences what becomes of the [[Spirit]] that has not worked its way up to man?

(2) . . . The period necessary for the completion of the seven local or earthly — or shall we call it [[Chains and Rounds#World-Periods (Rings) and Root-Races|globe-rings]] (not to speak of the seven [[Round]]s in the minor [[Manvantara|manwantara]]s followed by their seven minor pralayas) — the completion of the so-called mineral cycle is immeasurably longer than that of any other kingdom. As you may infer by analogy every [[globe]] before it reaches its adult period, has to pass through a formation

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period — also septenary. Law in Nature is uniform and the conception, formation, birth, progress and development of the child differs from those of the globe only in magnitude. The globe has two periods of teething and of capillature — its first rocks which it also sheds to make room for new — and its ferns and mosses before it gets forest. As the atoms in the body change [every] seven years so does the globe renew its strata every seven cycles. A section of a part of Cape Breton coalfields shows seven ancient soils with remains of as many forests, and could one dig as deep once more seven other sections would be found following. . . .

There are three kinds of pralayas and manwantara: —

1. The universal or [[Pralaya#Maha-pralaya|Maha pralaya]] and manwantara.

2. The [[Pralaya#Solar pralaya|solar pralaya]] and manwantara.

3. The [[Pralaya#Planetary pralaya|minor pralaya]] and manwantara.

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*'''Cape Breton''' is a geographic region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and much of its recent economic history can be tied to the coal industry.

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manwantara begins. Then the whole universe must be re-evoluted de novo. When the pralaya of a solar system comes it affects that solar system only. A solar pralaya = 7 minor pralayas. The minor pralayas of No. 3 concern but one little string of globes, whether man-bearing or not. To such a string our Earth belongs.

Besides this within a minor pralaya there is a condition of planetary rest or as the astronomers say "death," like that of our present moon — in which the rocky body of the planet survives but the life impulse has passed out. For example. Let us imagine that our earth is one of a group of [[Planetary Chain|seven planets]] or man-bearing worlds more or less eliptically arranged. Our earth being at the exact lower central point of the orbit of evolution, viz., half way round — we will call the first [[Globe#Globe A|globe A]], the last Z. After each solar pralaya there is a complete destruction of our system and after each solar p. begins

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''de novo''' Latin for "anew," which means starting over.
*'''string of globes''' “We called chains ‘Strings’ in those days of lip-confusion.” <ref>Blavatsky, H.P. ''The Secret Doctrine'' Vol.1 (Wheaton: Theosophical Publishing House. 1993) 166.</ref>
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the absolute objective reformation of our system and each time everything is more perfect than before.

Now the life impulse reaches "A" or rather that which is destined to become "A" and which so far is but cosmic dust. A centre is formed in the nebulous matter of the condensation of the solar dust disseminated through space and a series of three evolutions invisible to the eye of flesh occur in succession, viz., [[Kingdoms of Life#Three elemental kingdoms|three kingdoms of elementals]] or nature forces are evoluted: in other words the [[Soul#Animal soul|animal soul]] of the future globe is formed; or as a [[Kabbalah|Kabalist]] will express it, the gnomes, the salamanders, and the undines are created. The correspondence between a mother-globe and her child-man may be thus worked out. Both have their seven [[principle]]s. In the Globe, the [[elemental]]s (of which there are in all seven species) form (a) her [[Sthūla-śarīra|gross body]], (b) her fluidic double

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'''NOTES:'''
*

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([[Liṅga-śarīra|linga sariram]]), (c) her life principle ([[Jīva|jiva]]); (d) her fourth principle [[Kāmarūpa|kama rupa]] is formed by her creative impulse working from centre to circumference; (e) her [[Manas#The "fifth principle" in The Mahatma Letters|fifth principle]] ([[animal soul]] or Manas, physical intelligence) is embodied in the vegetable (in germ) and animal kingdoms; (f) her sixth principle (or [[Soul#Spiritual Soul|spiritual soul]], [[Buddhi]]) is man (g) and her seventh principle ([[Ātman|atma]]) is in a film of spiritualized [[Ākāśa|akasa]] that surrounds her. The three evolutions completed: palpable globe begins to form. The mineral kingdom fourth in the whole series, but first in this stage leads the way. Its deposits are at first vaporous soft and plastic, only becoming hard and concrete in the seventh [[Chains and Rounds#World-Periods (Rings) and Root-Races|ring]]. When this ring is completed it projects its essence to [[Globe#Globe B|globe B]] — which is already passing through the preliminary stages of formation and mineral evolution begins on that globe. At this

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Fifth principle/Animal soul."''' In October 1881, A. O. Hume defines the animal soul as the combination of the "astral body (Liṅga-śarīra), the "astral shape" (Kāmarūpa), and the "animal or physical intelligence," referring to the Lower manas.

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juncture the evolution of the vegetable kingdom commences on globe A. When the latter has made its seventh ring its essence passes on to globe B. At that time the mineral essence moves to [[Globe#Globe C|globe C]] and the germs of the animal kingdom enter A. When the animal has seven rings there, its life principle goes to globe B, and the essences of vegetable and mineral move on. Then comes man on A, an ethereal foreshadowing of the compact being he is destined to become on our earth. Evolving seven parent races with many offshoots of sub-races, he, like the preceding kingdoms completes his seven rings and is then transferred successively to each of the globes onward to Z. From the first man has all the seven principles included in him in germ but none are developed. If we compare him to a baby we will be right; no one has ever, in the thousands of ghost stories

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'''NOTES:'''
*

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current, seen the ghost of an infant, though the imagination of a loving mother may have suggested to her the picture of her lost babe in dreams. And this is very suggestive. In each of the rounds he makes one of the principles develop fully. In the [[Round#First Round|first round]] his consciousness on our [[Globe#Globe D|earth]] is dim and but feeble and shadowy, something like that of an infant. When he reaches our earth in the [[Round#Second Round|second round]] he has become responsible in a degree, in the [[Round#Third Round|third]] he becomes so entirely. At every stage and every round his development keeps pace, with the globe on which he is. The [[Evolution#Descending and ascending arcs|descending arc]] from A to our earth is called the shadowy, the ascending to Z the "luminous" . . . We men of the [[Round#Fourth Round|fourth round]] are already reaching the latter half of the [[Root-Race#Fifth Root-Race|fifth race]] of our fourth round humanity, while the men (the few earlier comers) of the [[Round#Fifth Round|fifth round]],
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'''NOTES:'''
*

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though only in their first race (or rather class), are yet immeasurably higher than we are — spiritually if not intellectually; since with the completion or full development of their [[Manas|fifth principle]] (intellectual soul) they have come nearer than we have, are closer in contact with their sixth principle Buddhi. Of course many are the differentiated individuals even in the fourth r. as germs of principles are not equally developed in all, but such is the rule.

. . . Man comes on globe "A" after the other [[Kingdoms of Life|kingdoms]] have gone on. (Dividing our kingdoms into seven, the last four are what [[Exotericism|exoteric]] science divides into three. To this we add the kingdom of man or the [[Deva]] kingdom. The respective entities of these we divide into germinal, instinctive, semi-conscious, and fully conscious). . . . When all kingdoms have reached

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'''NOTES:'''
*

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[[Globe#Globe G|globe Z]] they will not move forward to re-enter A in precedence of man, but under a law of retardation operative from the central point — or earth — to Z and which equilibrates a principle of acceleration in the descending arc — they will have just finished their respective evolution of genera and species, when man reaches his highest development on globe Z — in this or any round. The reason for it is found in the enormously greater time required by them to develop their infinite varieties as compared with man; the relative speed of development in the rings therefore naturally increases as we go up the scale from the mineral. But these different rates are so adjusted by

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'''NOTES:'''
*

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man stopping longer in the inter-planetary spheres of rest, for weal or woe — that all kingdoms finish their work simultaneously on the planet Z. For example, on our globe we see the equilibrating law manifesting. From the first appearance of man whether speechless or not to his present one as a fourth and the coming fifth round being the structural intention of his organization has not radically changed. Ethnological characteristics however varied, affecting in no way man as a human being. The fossil of man or his skeleton whether of the period of that mammalian branch of which he forms the crown, whether cyclop or dwarf can be still recognised at a glance as a relic of man. Plants and animals meanwhile have become

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'''NOTES:'''
*

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more and more unlike what they were. . . . The scheme with its septenary details would be incomprehensible to man had he not the power as the higher [[Adept]]s have proved of prematurely developing his 6th and 7th senses — those which will be the natural endowment of all in the corresponding rounds. Our [[Gautama Buddha|Lord Buddha]] — a [[Round#Sixth Round|6th r. man]] — would not have appeared in our epoch, great as were his accumulated merits in previous [[reincarnation|rebirths]] but for a mystery. . . . Individuals cannot outstrip the humanity of their round any further than by one remove, for it is mathematically impossible — you say (in effect): if the fountain of life flows ceaselessly there should be men of all rounds on the earth at all times, etc. The hint about planetary rest
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'''NOTES:'''
*

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may dispel the misconceptions on this head.

When man is perfected ''qua'' a given round on Globe A he disappears thence (as had certain vegetables and animals). By degrees this Globe loses its vitality and finally reaches the moon stage, i.e., death, and so remains while man is making his seven rings on Z and passing his intercyclic period before starting on his next round. So with each Globe in turn.

And now as man when completing his seventh ring upon A has but begun his first on Z and as A dies when he leaves it for B, etc., and as he must also remain in the intercyclic sphere after Z, as he has between every two planets, until the impulse again thrills the chain, clearly

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''qua''' a Latin word meaning "in the capacity of"
*'''And now as man when completing his seventh ring upon A has but begun his first on Z''' – One interpretation of this statement might be that: as the last root race (ring) appears on globe A and bulk of the human kingdom is preparing to leave the globe A for globe B, that another portion of the human kingdom is already beginning its first root race (ring) of evolution on the last globe Z. This implies that humanity can be simultaneously evolving on multiple globes of a chain within a single round. One explanation is that this statement may be a reference to the [[Inner and Outer Rounds|Inner Round]].

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no one can be more than one round ahead of his kind. And Buddha only forms an exception by virtue of the mystery. We have fifth round men among us because we are in the latter half of our septenary earth ring. In the first half this could not have happened. The countless myriads of our fourth round humanity who have outrun us and completed their seven rings on Z, have had time to pass their intercyclic period begin their new round and work on to globe D (ours). But how can there be men of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th rounds? We represent the first three and the sixth can only come at rare intervals and prematurely like Buddhas (only under prepared conditions) and that the last-named the seventh are not yet evolved!

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'''NOTES:'''
*

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We have traced man out of a round into the [[Nirvāṇa|Nirvanic]] state between Z and A. A was left in the last round dead. As the new round begins it catches the new influx of life, reawakens to vitality and begets all its kingdoms of a superior order to the last. After this has been repeated seven times comes a [[Pralaya#Planetary pralaya|minor pralaya]]; the chain of globes are not destroyed by disintegration and dispersion of their particles but pass ''in abscondito''. From this they will re-emerge in their turn during the next septenary period. Within one solar period (of a p. & m.) occur seven such minor periods, in an ascending scale of progressive development. To recapitulate there are in the round seven planetary or earth rings for each kingdom
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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Abscondito''' is Latin for "secret," "hidden," "concealed," "covered."
*'''p. & m.''' probably means "pralaya and manvantara."
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and one [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscuration]] of each planet. The minor manwantara is composed of seven rounds, 49 rings and 7 obscurations, the solar period of 49 rounds, etc.

The periods with pralaya and manwantara are called by Dikshita "Surya manwantaras and pralayas." Thought is baffled in speculating how many of our solar pralayas must come before the great Cosmic night — but that will come.

. . . In the minor pralayas there is no starting de novo — only resumption of arrested activity. The vegetable and animal kingdoms which at the end of the minor manwantara had reached only a partial development are not destroyed. Their life or vital entities, call some of them ''nati'' if you will — find also their corresponding night and rest — they also have a Nirvana of their own. And why should they

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Dikshita''' Sanskrit for: one who is initiated, a pupil of a spiritual teacher.
*'''Surya''' Sanskrit for:solar
*'''Nati''' is the plural for the Latin word "''natus''". It means "sons" or "children". However, the word in Sinnett's transcription is not very clear. It may also have been ''nats'', in which case it is a Sanskrit term meaning "mime" or "dumb actor", and may be referring to the lower kingdoms that have not developed speech.

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not, these foetal and infant entities. They are all like ourselves begotten of the one element. . . . As we have our [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dyan Chohans]] so have they in their several kingdoms elemental guardians and are as well taken care of in the mass as is humanity in the mass. The one element not only fills space and is space, but interpenetrates every atom of cosmic matter.

When strikes the hour of the solar pralaya — though the process of man's advance on his last seventh round is precisely the same, each planet instead of merely passing out of the visible into the invisible as he quits it in turn is annihilated. With the beginning of the seventh Round of the seventh minor manwantara, every kingdom having now reached its last cycle, there remains on each planet after the exit of man

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*

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but the [[Māyā|maya]] of once living and existing forms. With every step he takes on the descending and ascending arcs as he moves on from Globe to Globe the planet left behind becomes an empty chrysaloidal case. At his departure there is an outflow from every kingdom of its entities. Waiting to pass into higher forms in due time they are nevertheless liberated: for to the day of that evolution they will rest in their lethargic sleep in space until again energized into life in the new solar manwantara. The old elementals — will rest until they are called to become in their turn the bodies of mineral, vegetable and animal entities (on another and a higher string of globes) on their way to become human entities (see Isis) while the germinal entities of the lowest forms, and in that time of general perfection there will remain but few of such — will hang in space
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'''NOTES:'''
*'''chrysaloidal''' resembling a chrysalis, the hardened case of a butterfly pupa.

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like drops of water suddenly turned to icicles. They will thaw at the first hot breath of a solar manwantara and form the soul of the future globes. . . . The slow development of the vegetable kingdom provided for by the longer inter-planetary rest of man. . . . When the solar pralaya comes the whole purified humanity merges into Nirvana and from that inter-solar Nirvana will be reborn in higher systems. The string of worlds is destroyed and vanishes like a shadow from the wall in the extinguishment of light. We have every indication that at this very moment such a solar pralaya is taking place while there are two minor ones ending somewhere.

At the beginning of the [[Manvantara#Solar manvantara|solar manwantara]] the hitherto subjective [[elements]] of the material world now scattered in cosmic dust — receiving their impulse from the new

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*

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[[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dyan Chohans]] of the new solar system (the highest of the old ones having gone higher) — will form into primordial ripples of life and separating into differentiating centres of activity combine in a graduated scale of [[Rounds|seven stages of evolution]]. Like every other orb of space our Earth has before obtaining its ultimate materiality — and nothing now in this world can give you an idea of what this state of matter is — to pass through a gamut of seven stages of density. I say gamut advisedly since the diatonic scale best affords an illustration of the perpetual rythmic motion of the [[Evolution#Descending and ascending arcs|descending and ascending cycle]] of [[Svābhāvat|Swabhavat]] — graduated as it is by tones and semi-tones.

You have among the learned members of your society one [[Theosophist]] who without familiarity with our [[occultism|occult]] doctrine, has yet intuitively grasped from scientific data the idea of a solar pralaya and its manwantara in their

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*

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beginnings. I mean the celebrated French astronomer [[Nicolas Camille Flammarion|Flammarion]] — "La Resurrection et la Fin des Mondes" (Chapter 4 res.). He speaks like a true seer. The facts are as he surmises with slight modifications. In consequence of the secular refrigeration (old age rather and loss of vital power), solidification and desiccation of the globes, the earth arrives at a point when it begins to be a relaxed conglomerate. Its period of child-bearing is gone by. Its progeny are all nurtured, its term of life is finished. Hence "its constituent masses cease to obey those laws of cohesion and aggregation which held them together." And becoming like a cadaver which abandoned to the work of destruction would leave each molecule composing it free to separate itself from the body for ever to obey in future the sway of new influences. The

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Secular refrigeration''' The periodical cooling and consequent consolidation of the crust of the globe: a term formerly used by geologists in reference to the supposed central heat, and even fluidity of the globe, and to the phenomena of its gradual refrigeration. <ref>William Thomas Brande, George William Cox, eds., ''A Dictionary of Science, Literature, & Art'' Volume 3. (London: Longmans, Green & Co. 1867) 399.</ref>
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attraction of the [[moon]] (would that he could know the full extent of its pernicious influence) would itself undertake the task of demolition by producing a tidal wave of earth particles instead of an aqueous tide.

His mistake is that he believes a long time must be devoted to the ruin of the solar system: we are told that it occurs in the twinkling of an eye but not without many preliminary warnings. Another error is the supposition that the earth will fall into the sun. The sun itself is first to disintegrate at the solar pralaya.

. . . Fathom the nature and essence of the [[Sixth Principle|sixth principle]] of the universe and man and you will have fathomed the greatest mystery in this our world — and why not — are you not surrounded by it? What are its familiar manifestations, mesmerism,

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'''NOTES:'''
* See also section ''"A Few Early Theosophical Misconceptions concerning Planets, Rounds, and Man"'' in ''The Secret Doctrine'' <ref>Blavatsky, H.P. ''The Secret Doctrine'' Vol.1 (Wheaton: Theosophical Publishing House. 1993) 156.</ref> for more information on the pernicious influence of moon.

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Od force, etc. — all different aspects of one force capable of good and evil applications.

The degrees of an [[Adept]]'s [[initiation]] mark the seven stages at which he discovers the secret of the sevenfold principles in nature and man and awakens his dormant powers.

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'''NOTES:'''
*

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== Context and background ==

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 6A. [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]] discussed this letter together with [[Mahatma Letter No. 66|Letter No. 66]]:
<blockquote>
These two letters, containing questions by [[Allan Octavian Hume|AOH]] and answers by [[Koot Hoomi|KH]], are among the most important in the book from a technical point of view. The originals are not available but were copied by [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|APS]] into his copy-book, in which he preserved copies of a number of important letters. It seems probable that these are accurate copies. The copy-book is in the British Museum.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 118.</ref>
</blockquote>
== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. O. Hume]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

[[it:Lettera dei Mahatma n° 15]]
[[es:CM67]]

Evolution

2025-12-05T21:28:33Z

Pablo Sender: /* Online resources */

'''Evolution''' is defined as "a process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state."<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evolution# Evolution] Merrian Webster Online Dictionary.</ref> This definition is accepted by Theosophical writers, although it is seen as incomplete. Theosophy proposes the existence of planes higher or subtler than the physical one and, therefore, the Theosophical view of evolution includes a previous stage where the spiritual nature "descends" into the physical, becoming denser and denser.

== General description ==

At the time when [[H. P. Blavatsky]] began her public writings, European interpretations about the course of time and the past had taken a materialistic turn. Darwin's theory of evolution led to the emergence of ideological materialism, which defended a view of matter as intrinsically capable of producing its own evolutionary possibilities. This meant that the development of life and human society happened "mechanically," that is, without the need of divine intervention or any other non-material influence. Humanity had slowly evolved from "ape-conditions" and lived in pitiful stone-age savagery until civilizations arose.<ref>Garry W. Trompf, "Imagining Macrohistory? Madame Blavatsky from ''Isis Unveiled'' (1877) to ''The Secret Doctrine'' (1888), Literature & Aesthetics 21 (1) (June, 2011), 48.</ref> As a response to this, H. P. Blavatsky proposed the existence (and primacy) of intellectual and spiritual aspects of evolution, beyond what is observable on the physical plane:

<blockquote>Modern, or so-called exact science, holds but to a one-sided physical evolution, prudently avoiding and ignoring the higher or spiritual evolution, which would force our contemporaries to confess the superiority of the ancient philosophers and psychologists over themselves. The ancient sages, ascending to the UNKNOWABLE, made their starting-point from the first manifestation of the unseen, the unavoidable, and from a strict logical reasoning, the absolutely necessary creative Being, the Demiurgos of the universe. Evolution began with them from pure spirit, which descending lower and lower down, assumed at last a visible and comprehensible form, and became matter. Arrived at this point, they speculated in the Darwinian method, but on a far more large and comprehensive basis.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), xxx-xxxi</ref></blockquote>

This first stage of "materialization of spirit" is sometimes called involution and it is related to the "[[Emanation|Doctrine of Emanation]]":

<blockquote>In its metaphysical meaning, it is opposed to Evolution, yet one with it. Science teaches that evolution is physiologically a mode of generation in which the germ that develops the foetus pre-exists already in the parent, the development and final form and characteristics of that germ being accomplished in nature; and that in cosmology the process takes place blindly through the correlation of the elements, and their various compounds. Occultism answers that this is only the apparent mode, the real process being Emanation, guided by intelligent Forces under an immutable LAW. Therefore, while the Occultists and Theosophists believe thoroughly in the doctrine of Evolution as given out by Kapila and Manu, they are Emanationists rather than Evolutionists. . . The controversy between the followers of this school and the Emanationists may he briefly stated thus: The Evolutionist stops all inquiry at the borders of "the Unknowable"; the Emanationist believes that nothing can be evolved--or, as the word means, unwombed or born--except it has first been involved, thus indicating that life is from a spiritual potency above the whole.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 113-114</ref></blockquote>

This idea of a spiritual evolution was very original at the time. Although many Hindus today may support it and regard it as part of their traditional teachings, this was not the case then. As scholar Meera Nanda wrote:

<blockquote>The entire repertoire of intellectual arguments used to dress up traditional Hindu cosmology in the scientistic costume of progressive evolutionism was created and popularized originally by Madame Blavatsky and her fellow the Theosophists. Hindu reformers of the so-called Indian Renaissance of the 19th century used the template provided by the Theosophists to trim and refashion traditional Hindu doctrines to meet the challenge of the modern world.<ref> Jim R. Lewis and Olav Hammer (eds.), ''Handbook of Religion and the Authority of Science'' vol. 3 (2010), 279–344.</ref></blockquote>

In fact, when Blavatsky first wrote about the idea of spiritual evolution as being part of the ancient wisdom-religion, she was criticized by the Hindus of the time, and had to defend her ideas by claiming that these teachings were present in Hinduism, but in a veiled and symbolic way.

== Triple evolutionary scheme ==

[[Theosophy]] postulates that the process of evolution takes place at three different levels:

<blockquote>It now becomes plain that there exists in Nature a triple evolutionary scheme, for the formation of the three periodical Upadhis; or rather three separate schemes of evolution, which in our system are inextricably interwoven and interblended at every point. These are the [[Monad]]ic (or spiritual), the intellectual, and the physical evolutions. These three are the finite aspects or the reflections on the field of Cosmic Illusion of [[Ātman|atma]], the seventh, the one reality.

1. The Monadic is, as the name implies, concerned with the growth and development into still higher phases of activity of the Monad in conjunction with: 

2. The Intellectual, represented by the Manasa-Dhyanis (the Solar Devas, or the [[Agnishvatta|Agnishwatta Pitris]]) the “givers of intelligence and consciousness”* to man and: 

3. The Physical, represented by the Chhayas of the [[Barhiṣad|lunar Pitris]], round which Nature has concreted the present physical body. This body serves as the vehicle for the “growth” (to use a misleading word) and the transformations through [[Manas]] and — owing to the accumulation of experiences — of the finite into the infinite, of the transient into the Eternal and [[Absolute]]. 

Each of these three systems has its own laws, and is ruled and guided by different sets of the [[Primordial Seven|highest Dhyanis or "Logoi"]]. Each is represented in the constitution of man, the [[Macrocosm and Microcosm|Microcosm of the great Macrocosm]]; and it is the union of these three streams in him which makes him the complex being he now is.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 181</ref></blockquote>

== Cyclic evolution ==

This process of evolution does not proceed in a straight line (as modern science proposes) but according to a [[Law of Cycles]]:

<blockquote>As the Theosophist has no desire to play at being a squirrel upon its revolving wheel, he must refuse to follow the lead of the materialists. He, at any rate, knows that the revolutions of the physical world are, according to the ancient doctrine, attended by like revolutions in the world of intellect, for the spiritual evolution in the universe proceeds in cycles, like the physical one. Do we not see in history a regular alternation of ebb and flow in the tide of human progress? Do we not see in history, and even find this within our own experience, that the great kingdoms of the world, after reaching the culmination of their greatness, descend again, in accordance with the same law by which they ascended? till, having reached the lowest point, humanity reasserts itself and mounts up once more, the height of its attainment being, by this law of ascending progression by cycles, somewhat higher than the point from which it had before descended. Kingdoms and empires are under the same cyclic laws as planets, races, and everything else in Kosmos.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XIII (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 264-265</ref></blockquote>

=== Descending and ascending arcs ===

<blockquote>Now it is universally admitted that the whole system of Nature is moving in a particular direction, and this direction, we are taught, is determined by the composition of two forces, namely, the one acting from that pole of existence ordinarily called “matter” towards the other pole called “spirit,” and the other in the opposite direction. The very fact that Nature is moving shows that these two forces are not equal in magnitude. The plane on which the activity of the first force predominates is called in occult treatises the “ascending arc,” and the corresponding plane of the activity of the other force is styled the “descending arc.” A little reflection will show that the work of evolution begins on the descending arc and works its way upwards through the ascending arc. From this it follows that the force directed towards spirit is the one which must, though not without hard struggle, ultimately prevail.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Los Angeles, CA: Philosophical Research Society, 1950), 340.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>In the evolution of man there is a topmost point, a bottom point, a descending arc, and an ascending arc. As it is “Spirit” which transforms itself into “matter” and (not “matter” which ascends — but) matter which resolves once more into spirit.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 66 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1998), 178.</ref></blockquote>

=== Pravṛtti and Nivṛtti Mārgas ===

In [[Hinduism]] there is the concept of two paths: the path of outgoing and desire and the path of return and renunciation:

<blockquote>Those on the path of desire (pravṛtti mārga) seek it through the enjoyments of this world (bhukti) or in the more durable, though still impermanent delights of heaven (svarga). He who is on the path of return (nivṛtti-mārga) seeks happiness, not in the created worlds, but in everlasting union with their primal source (mukti); and thus it is said that man can never be truly happy until he seeks shelter with Brahman, which is Itself the great Bliss (rasam hi vayam labdhvā ānandī bhavati). 
The eternal rhythm of the Divine Breath is outwards from spirit to matter and inwards from matter to spirit. Devī as Māyā evolves the world. As Mahāmāyā She recalls it to Herself. The path of outgoing is the way of pravṛ tti; that of return nivṛ tti. Each of these movements is divine. Enjoyment (bhukti) and liberation (mukti) are each Her gifts.
<ref>[http://www.hinduonline.co/HinduReligion/Saints/SirJohnWoodroffesWork/IntroductionToTantraShastra/ITS20FourAimsOfBeing.html# Four aims of Being] at Hindu Online</ref></blockquote>

== Gradual evolution ==

[[Morya|Mahatma M.]] wrote: "Nothing in nature springs into existence suddenly, all being subjected to the same law of gradual evolution."<ref>Vicent Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' Letter No. 44 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1998), 118.</ref> Also, in his ''Cosmological Notes'' he says that "Evolution means unfolding of the evolute from the involute, a process of gradual growth."<ref>Vicent Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' LBS-Appendix II (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1998), 516.</ref>

The axiom "A stone becomes a plant; a plant, a beast; a beast, a man; a man, a spirit; and the spirit, a god" refers to this gradual evolution in two ways. First, it shows how the [[Monad]] gradually passes from one kingdom to the other. The second interpretation refers to the idea that every human being recapitulates this evolution during the pre-natal life. Mme. Blavatsky explained it as follows:

<blockquote>What is the primitive shape of the future man? A grain, a corpuscle, say some physiologists; a molecule, an ovum of the ovum, say others. If it could be analysed—by the microscope or otherwise—of what ought we to expect to find it composed? Analogically, we should say, of a nucleus of inorganic matter, deposited from the circulation at the germinating point, and united with a deposit of organic matter. In other words, this infinitesimal nucleus of the future man is composed of the same elements as a stone—of the same elements as the Earth, which the man is destined to inhabit. Moses is cited by the Kabalists as authority for the remark that it required earth and water to make a living being, and thus it may be said that man first appears as a stone. 
At the end of three or four weeks the ovum has assumed a plant-like appearance, one extremity having become spheroidal and the other tapering like a carrot. Upon dissection it is found to be composed, like an onion, of very delicate laminæ or coats, enclosing a liquid. The laminæ approach each other at the lower end, and the embryo hangs from the root of the umbilicus almost like the fruit from the bough. The stone has now become changed, by “metempsychosis,” into a plant. Then the embryonic creature begins to shoot out, from the inside outward, its limbs, and develops its features. The eyes are visible as two black dots; the ears, nose, and mouth form depressions, like the points of a pineapple, before they begin to project. The embryo develops into an animal-like fœtus—the shape of a tadpole—and, like an amphibious reptile, lives in water and develops from it. Its Monad has not yet become either human or immortal, for the Kabalists tells us that this only occurs at the “fourth hour.” One by one the fœtus assumes the characteristics of the human being, the first flutter of the immortal breath passes through its being; it moves; and the divine essence settles in the infant frame, which it will inhabit until the moment of physical death, when man becomes a spirit.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 188.</ref></blockquote>

=== Acceleration and retardation ===

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote: "The Occultists believe in an inherent law of progressive development" and in a footnote she adds: "Checked and modified, however, by the Law of Retardation, which imposes; restriction on the advance of all species when a Higher Type makes its appearance".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 260.</ref> This law is "operative alike in the case of human races, animal species, etc."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 172.</ref>

This law of retardation, which operates from the beginning of the ascending arc, counterbalances the "law of acceleration" that is dominant in the descending arc.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), ???.</ref> As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] explains, these two laws work together to ensure that the new higher types overcome the old and more prominent ones:

<blockquote>The principle of acceleration and retardation applies itself in such a way, as to eliminate all the inferior stocks and leave but a single superior one to make the last ring.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 66 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), ???.</ref></blockquote>

These laws also time the evolution of all the different [[Kingdoms of Life|kingdoms of nature]] through the [[Round]], so that they end their respective [[Law of Cycles|cycles]] together in the last [[Globe]]:

<blockquote>Man comes on [[Globe#Globe A|globe “A”]] after the other kingdoms have gone on. . . . When all kingdoms have reached [[Globe#Globe G|globe Z]] they will not move forward to re-enter A in precedence of man, but under a law of retardation operative from the central point — or earth — to Z and which equilibrates a principle of acceleration in the descending arc — they will have just finished their respective evolution of genera and species when man reaches his highest development on globe Z — in this or any round. The reason for it is found in the enormously greater time required by them to develop their infinite varieties as compared with man; the relative speed of development in the rings therefore naturally increases as we go up the scale from the [[Kingdoms_of_Life#Mineral_kingdom|mineral]]. But these different rates are so adjusted by man stopping longer in the [[Pralaya#Obscuration|inter-planetary spheres of rest]], for weal or woe — that all kingdoms finish their work simultaneously on the planet Z.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 67 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), ???.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Law of Cycles]]
*[[Three Great Outpourings]]

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/evolution Evolution] at Theosophy World
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/involution Involution] in Theosophy World
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/descending-arc Descending Arc] in Theosophy World
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/ascending-arc Ascending Arc] in Theosophy World
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/humans-apes-and-the-felix-culpa Humans, Apes, and the Felix Culpa] by John Algeo
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/theosophical-study-classes/362-beyond-creationism-basic-course# Beyond Creationism and Darwinism] at Blavatsky Net
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/39-sciences/biology/evolution/68-hp-blavatsky-on-darwinism# Blavatsky on Darwinism] at Blavatsky.Net
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/LifeEvolvesinCycles.pdf# Life Evolves in Cycles] by Clara Codd
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/the-next-stages-in-human-spiritual-evolution-part-one The Next Stages in Human Spiritual Evolution - Part One] and [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/the-next-stages-in-human-spiritual-evolution-part-two Part Two] by Robert Ellwood
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/on-evolution# On Evolution] by William Q. Judge
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/thinking-aloud-blavatsky-on-evolution Thinking Aloud: Blavatsky on Evolution] by Anna Lemkow
*[http://pablosender.wordpress.com/about/theosophy-and-the-theosophical-society/there-is-no-psychological-evolution# There is No Psychological Evolution] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/from-the-editors-desk-spring-2012 From the Editor’s Desk: Evolution] by Richard Smoley
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/if-consciousness-is-evolving-why-aren-t-things-getting-better If Consciousness Is Evolving, Why Aren’t Things Getting Better?] by Gary Lachman

===Books and pamphlets===
* Besant, Annie. '''''[http://www.anandgholap.net/Pedigree_Of_Man-AB.htm# The Pedigree of Man]'''''.
* Wodehouse, E. A. '''''[https://archive.org/details/a-world-expectant A World Expectant]'''''. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Press, 1938. 78 pages.
* Rogers, L. W. '''''[https://archive.org/details/study-in-evolution A Study in Evolution]'''''. Chicago: Theo Book Company, 1936. 32 pages. Evolution in government and civilization.
* Wesner, Clarence Q. '''''[https://archive.org/details/where-are-the-missing-missing-links Where Are the Missing "Missing Links"?]''''''. [Point Loma: Theosophical University Press], 1930s.
* Groves, C. R. '''''[https://resources.theosophical.org/pdf/Series/Blavatsky%20Lectures/BL_1949_Groves_On_Order_and_Purpose_in_Evolution.pdf# On Order and Purpose in Evolution]'''''. London, The Theosophical Publishing House, 1949. 28 pages.

===Audios===
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Arundale,%20R/940%20Arundale,%20R%20-%20From%20Man%20to%20Superman.mp3# From Man to Superman] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://archive.org/download/1176norm/1176norm.mp3# The Sublime Purpose of Human Existence] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://archive.org/download/mantheradicalelementinevolutionmills/ManTheRadicalElementInEvolution_Mills.mp3# Man: The Radical Element in Evolution] by Joy Mills
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Mills,%20J/162%20Mills,%20J%20-%20The%20Human%20Journey,%20Quest%20for%20Self-Transformation.mp3# The Human Journey, Quest for Self-Transformation] by Joy Mills
*[https://archive.org/download/1175_20191126/1175.mp3# The Pulse of the Universe: The Laws of Change and Growth] by Emily B. Sellon
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Ram,%20S/163%20Ram,%20S%20-%20Evolution%20of%20Consciouness.mp3# Evolution of Consciousness] by N. Sri Ram
*[https://ia801508.us.archive.org/3/items/105002/1050_01.mp3# Man's Origin and Evolution] by Adam Warcup

===Videos===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68hBDtMrUc# The Next Stage in Human Spiritual Evolution] by Robert Ellwood
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f2DQ8U6HGM# The Obligatory Pilgrimage] by C. V. K. Maithreya
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLR9W_FcjGs&list=PLRtuDWE10sVdYiUIRrCSToDPsSuzBzyT6&index=5# Cosmic Evolution] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-FA-KiYKe4&list=PLRtuDWE10sVdYiUIRrCSToDPsSuzBzyT6&index=7# The Human Pilgrimage] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVkfPrC6qcY&t=1s# The Processes of Evolution] by Pablo Sender
*[https://youtu.be/QAyD4HE5YRk# Evolution--The Unfolding of Consciousness] by Theosophical Society in America
*[https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=8yrPiV2Yyxw# Creative Evolution] by Amit Goswami

===Additional resources===
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/darwin/# Design or Darwin] Collection of articles at Blavatsky Net

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[es:Evolución]]

Reincarnation

2025-12-05T21:18:05Z

Pablo Sender: /* Online resources */

[[File:Reincarnation by AB.jpg|right|220px|thumb|''Reincarnation'' by Annie Besant]]
'''Reincarnation''' literally means "to enter again the the flesh" (from Latin ''re''=again, ''in''=into, ''carnem''=flesh). It is the theory that after the death of the body, [[consciousness]] returns to life in a new physical form. In the Theosophical tradition, a [[Soul#Human_soul|human soul]] can only reincarnate in a human body. Other traditions accept the possibility of reincarnation in an animal or plant. Other terms frequently used interchangeably with the word reincarnation are metempsychosis and transmigration. In Buddhism, the preferred term is ''rebirth''.

The doctrine of reincarnation is a central tenet within the majority of Indian religions such as [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]], [[Sikhism]] and [[Buddhism]] (although the latter prefer to use the word re-birth). In the West, the idea was also fundamental to some [[Greek philosophy|Greek philosophers]] as well as in other religions such as [[Druidism]] and in some schools of [[Judaism]] and early [[Christianity]].

== General description ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] defined it as follows:

<blockquote>Reincarnation, or Re-birth; the once universal doctrine, which taught that the Ego is born on this earth an innumerable number of times. Now-a-days it is denied by Christians, who seem to misunderstand the teachings of their own gospels. Nevertheless, the putting on of flesh periodically and throughout long cycles by the higher human Soul (Buddhi-Manas) or Ego is taught in the Bible as it is in all other ancient scriptures, and "resurrection" means only the rebirth of the Ego in another form.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'', Glossary (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1972), 362-363.</ref></blockquote>

The entity that reincarnates is the [[Ego#Higher ego|higher ego]], and not the [[Principle#Individuality and personality|personalities]]:

<blockquote>It is the personal Ego—wrongly believed by the Spiritists to be reincarnated with its personal consciousness a number of times—that appears upon this earth but once, while the Individual Spiritual monad which—like an actor who, although appearing in, and personating every night a new character, is ever the same man—is that which appears on earth throughout the cycle in various personalities.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 549.</ref></blockquote>

People may reincarnate in very different social and financial conditions from one life to the next according to the [[Karma]] generated:

<blockquote>The Law of Affinity acts through the inherent Karmic impulse of the [[Ego]], and govern its future existence. Comprehending Darwin's Law of Heredity for the body, it is not difficult to perceive how the birth-seeking Ego may be attracted at the time of rebirth to a body born in a family which has the same propensities as those of the reincarnating Entity.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in Chronological Sequence'' No. 119 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 407-408.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The social status of a being is, of course, a result of Karma; the law being that "like attracts like". The renascent being is drawn into the gestative current with which the preponderating attractions coming over from the last birth make him assimilate. Thus one who died a ryot [peasant] may be reborn a king, and the dead sovereign may next see the light in a coolie's tent.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in Chronological Sequence'' No. 104 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 362.</ref></blockquote>

Although in general terms there is a certain learning from one incarnation to the next, simply going through incarnations does not imply a growth of the [[Soul#Human soul|Soul]]. In fact, the more consciousness is attached to physical life, the faster it will reincarnate:

<blockquote>What has the number of incarnations to do with the shrewdness, cleverness, or the stupidity of an individual? A strong craving for physical life may lead an entity through a number of incarnations and yet these may not develop its higher capacities.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in Chronological Sequence'' No. 119 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 407.</ref></blockquote>

== Time between reincarnations ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>Reincarnations in general take place after rather long periods passed in the intermediate and invisible spheres. So that if a Spiritist-Theosophist tells an Occultist-Theosophist that he is a reincarnation of Louis XV, or that Mrs. X is a reincarnation of Joan of Arc, the Occultist would answer that according to his doctrine it is impossible. It is quite possible that he might be a reincarnation of Sesostris or of Semiramis, but the time period that has passed since the death of Louis XV and even of Joan of Arc is too short according to our calculations, which are mathematically correct.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1997), 45.</ref></blockquote>

Roughly calculating the number of reincarnations of a person on a planet, the [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] makes the following statement:

<blockquote>One life in each of the seven [[Root-Race|root-races]]; seven lives in each of the 49 [[Root-Race#Sub-races|sub-races]] — or 7 x 7 x 7 = 343 and add 7 more. And then a series of lives in offshoot and branchlet races; making the total incarnations of man in each station or planet 777. . . . Let us take but one million of years — suspected and now accepted by your science — to represent man’s entire term upon [[Globe#Globe D|our earth]] in this [[Round]]; and allowing an average of a century for each life, we find that whereas he [a given person] has passed in all his lives upon our planet (in this round) but 77,700 years he has been in the subjective spheres 922,300 years. Not much encouragement for the extreme modern re-incarnationists who remember their several previous existences!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 66 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), ???.</ref></blockquote>

However, in the case of children who die, they reincarnate immediately, and many times in the same family. Annie Besant said:

<blockquote>Question — When a child dies at a very early age, is it at all likely to reincarnate with the same parents again if there is an opportunity?

Answer — Yes; it very often takes place. If the love is strong between parent and child, that same ego will seek another form in the same family, and very often the parent will recognize it. I know one lady who was passionately devoted to a child that died and had not the same feeling at all to her other children, until a child was born for whom all the former feeling was awakened, and before she heard of Theosophy she said it must be the same child come back. It was the same ego. Where the ties are strong they assert themselves in a very definite way.

Question — A child dying at the age of eleven would hardly have time to come back?

Answer — No; with a child of eleven it is a different matter altogether.

Question — How old can they be and come back without going through the complete cycle?

Answer — It depends very much on the stage of advancement. An ordinary person up to about seven years of age might be reborn with the same astral body without making a new mental body. But, after that, where the ego is woven into the body it has to pass on to the astral and heavenly world. Of course, a person dying at twelve or thirteen will come back more quickly, because there is so little to work out on the other side.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Theosophical Lectures'', (Chicago: The Rajput Press, 1907), 149.</ref></blockquote>

== Do we choose where to reincarnate? ==

<blockquote>The reincarnating ego has in a sense very little choice in the matter, if by this we mean a deliberate selecting of one’s future family. Such a choice as we understand it is almost non-existent, because the reincarnating ego has but just left the devachan and is sunken into the relative unconsciousness of the gestation period preceding rebirth, and thus is in no condition to choose with self-conscious intent. It is karma, which throughout controls these things; and karma in the abstract is infallible in its action.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 651.</ref></blockquote>

== Looking back at past lives ==

Renowned [[Clairvoyance|clairvoyant]], [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]], wrote:

<blockquote>Some [people] promptly begin to imagine recollections and declare that in their last incarnation they were Mary Queen of Scots, Cleopatra, or Julius Caesar! Of course such extravagant claims simply bring discredit upon those who are so foolish as to make them. . . .
 
It is quite true that some people have had glimpses of scenes from their past lives in dreams, but naturally these are usually fragmentary and unreliable. . . . Although there are several cases on record in which some well-remembered scene has thus come through from one life to another, a considerable development of occult faculty is necessary before an investigator can definitely trace a line of incarnations, whether they be his own or another man's. . .
 
To follow a person from this life to the one preceding it, it is necessary first of all to trace his present life backwards to his birth and then to follow up in reverse order the stages by which the Ego descended into incarnation.
 
This will obviously take us back eventually to the condition of the [[Ego]] upon its own plane - the arûpa level of [[devachan]], the highest levels of the mental plane; so it will be seen that to perform this task effectually the investigator must be able to use the sense corresponding to that exalted level while awake in his physical body - in other words, his consciousness must be centred in the reincarnating Ego itself, and no longer in the lower personality. In that case, the memory of the Ego being aroused, his own past incarnations will be spread out before him like an open book.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 149-151.</ref></blockquote>

At this point in [[evolution]] very few people are able to be aware on the mental plane while remaining in the waking state. This ability cannot be attained without a long and systematic training. Again, in C. W. Leadbeater's words:

<blockquote>The accurate reading of the [[Akashic_Records|records]], whether of one's own past lives or those of others, must not, however, be thought of as an achievement possible to anyone without careful previous training. As has been already remarked, though occasional reflections may be had upon the astral plane, the power to use the mental sense is necessary before any reliable reading can be done. Indeed, to minimise the possibility of error, that sense ought to be fully at the command of the investigator while awake in the physical body; and to acquire that faculty needs years of ceaseless labour and rigid self-discipline.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 148-149.</ref></blockquote>

When a clairvoyant is able to be aware on this high plane, he can not only become aware of his past lives but also trace the past lives of other people. C. W. Leadbeater explained the procedure as follow:

<blockquote>He would be able, if he wished, to examine the conditions of another [[ego]] upon that level and trace him backwards through the devachanic and astral lives which led up to it, until he came to the last physical death of that Ego, and through it to his previous life.
 
There is no way but this in which the chain of lives can be followed through with absolute certainty; and consequently we may at once put aside as conscious or unconscious impostors those people who advertise that they are able to trace out anyone's past incarnations for so many shillings a head. Needless to say, the true occultist does not advertise, and never under any circumstances accepts money for any exhibition of his powers.<ref>Charles Webster Leadbeater, ''Clairvoyance'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1986), 151-152.</ref></blockquote>

The [[Masters of Wisdom]] have the ability to see past lives of any person, though they do not seem to regard this information as too relevant for people. For example, in [[Mahatma Letter No. 93a#Page 2|one of his letters]], Mr. [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] asked [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]]: "Have you the power of looking back to the former lives of persons now living, and identifying them?" To this, the Master answered: "Unfortunately, some of us have. I, for one do not like to exercise it".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93a (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 304.</ref> When Mr. Sinnett asked if he would tell him something about his past lives, the Master said that he may talk about it in the future, but asked:

<blockquote>Would it not be still more proper to study our own present personality before attempting to learn anything of its creator, — predecessor, and fashioner, — the man that was?<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93a (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 304.</ref></blockquote>

== Symbols of reincarnation ==

Many symbols represent reincarnation, rebirth, and renewal. The '''lotus flower''' lifts out of the water and sinks again into the mud. The '''butterfly''' transforms from egg to caterpillar to pupa to the beautiful winged creature that breaks free from its chrysalis. '''Phoenix''' is a mythical bird that bursts into flame and leaves behind an egg in the ashes. A serpent represents renewal in shedding its skin and, in the symbol known as the '''[[ouroboros]]''', by swallowing its tail. The '''triskelion''' is an ancient symbol for the cycles of life, death and rebirth. The '''wheel of Samsara''' has been the subject of numerous artistic representations by Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains.

<gallery widths="150px" perrow="5">
File:White_Lotus.jpg|<center>Lotus</center>
File:Butterfly life cycle.jpg|<center>Butterfly</center>
File:Phoenix 2.jpg|<center>Phoenix</center>
File:Ouroboros.jpg|<center>Ouroboros</center>
File:Triskelion.png|<center>Triskelion</center>
File:Wheel of Samsara.jpg|<center>Wheel of Samskara</center>
</gallery>

==Online resources==
===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/reincarnation Reincarnation] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/reincarnations-duration-and-number Reincarnations, Duration and Number] in Theosophy World.
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/reincarnations-white-crow Reincarnation's White Crow: Ian Stevenson and Evidence of Past Lives] by John Algeo
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/reincarnation-the-evidence Reincarnation: the Evidence] by John Algeo
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/IdeaRe-birth.htm#idea1# The Idea of Re-birth] by Francesca Arundale and an essay by Karl Heckel
*[https://www.anandgholap.net/Memories_Of_Past_Lives-AB.htm# Memories of Past Lives] by Annie Besant
*[https://www.anandgholap.net/Necessity_For_Reincarnation-AB.htm# The Necessity for Reincarnation] by Annie Besant
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/Reincarnation_AnnieBesant.pdf# Reincarnation] by Annie Besant
*[https://www.anandgholap.net/AP/When_Man_Dies-AB.htm# When a Man Dies, Shall He Live Again?] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/isis-unveiled-and-theosophist-on-reincarnation# ''Isis Unveiled'' and ''The Theosophist'' on Reincarnation] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/blavatskykarmareincarnation.htm# Reincarnation and Karma] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/theories-about-reincarnation-and-spirits# Theories about Reincarnation and Spirits] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[https://www.theosophy.world/resource/why-do-we-not-remember-our-past-lives# Why do we not remember Our Past Lives?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[https://blavatsky.net/reincarnation-in-judaism-and-the-bible/ Reincarnation in Judaism and the Bible] by W. Q. Judge
*[https://blavatsky.net/respecting-reincarnation/ Respecting Reincarnation] by W. Q. Judge
*[https://blavatsky.net/transmigration-of-souls/ Transmigration of Souls] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/reincar/re-wqj.htm# The Necessity for Reincarnation] Attributed to William Q. Judge

=== Books and pamphlets ===
* Besant, Annie. '''''[http://www.anandgholap.net/Reincarnation-AB.htm Reincarnation]'''''.
* Pascal, Théophile. '''''[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/Reincarnation_DrTPascal.pdf Reincarnation - A Study in Human Evolution]''''',
* Pryce, James M. '''''[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/ReincarnationInTheNewTestament_JMPryce.pdf Reincarnation in the New Testament]'''''.
* Katsunoff, Robert G. '''''[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/DoesTheBibleTeachReincarnationAndKarma_RGKatsunoff.pdf Does the Bible Teach Reincarnation and Karma]'''''.
* Cooper, Irving S. '''''[https://www.theosophy.world/sites/default/files/ebooks/Reincarnation.pdf Reincarnation: A Hope of the World]'''''. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979.
* Wedgwood, James Ingall. '''''[https://archive.org/details/memory-of-previous-lives The Memory of Previous Lives]'''''. London: Theosophical Society, 1928. 20 pages.
* Woods, Charlotte. '''''[https://archive.org/details/philosophy-of-reincarnation The Philosophy of Reincarnation]'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1928. 44 pages.
* Wilkinson, Mary E.'''''[https://archive.org/details/turning-wheel The Turning Wheel]'''''. Sydney: Theosophical Publishing House, 1921. 76 pages.

===Audio===
*[https://ia801400.us.archive.org/19/items/basicteachingsoftheosophykarmiclawsandrebirthcycles/Basic%20Teachings%20of%20Theosophy%20Karmic%20Laws%20and%20Rebirth%20Cycles.mp3# Karmic Laws and Rebirth Cycles] by Bing Escudero
*[https://archive.org/download/1276_20190814/1276.mp3# Reincarnation: Fact of Fallacy?] Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/1199%20Hodson,%20G%20Remembering%20Past%20Lives.mp3# Remembering Past Lives] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://archive.org/download/1277_20191219/1277.mp3# Reincarnation: Some Objections Considered] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://archive.org/download/1275_20190814/1275.mp3# How the Human Soul Descends to Birth] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/804%20Hodson,%20G%20-%20Has%20Man%20Lived%20on%20Earth%20Before.mp3# Has Man Lived on Earth Before?] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Mills,%20J/091%20Mills,%20J%20-%20Rebirth%20-%20the%20Human%20Necessity.mp3# Rebirth - the Human Necessity] by Joy Mills
*[https://archive.org/download/reincarnationforeveryone/Reincarnation%20for%20Everyone.mp3# Reincarnation for Everyone] by James Perkins
*[https://archive.org/download/1194_20190814/1194.mp3# Through Death to Rebirth] by James Perkins
*[https://archive.org/download/1278_20191219/1278.mp3# Why Man Reincarnates on Earth] by James Perkins

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7TYUROVNzU# Reincarnation: The Untrue Fact] by John Algeo
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXT-7gUgHtc# Soul's Growth through Reincarnation] by David Bruce
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exO3j_h-I6o# Reincarnation: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Implications] by Barbara Hebert
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=676470CD-1725-4BFC-94DA-ADA2B7808959# Through Death to Rebirth] by James Perkins
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=07AC08AE-CA75-4781-9AC7-0B19555B5FB1# Reincarnation for Everyone] by James Perkins
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRHbYv3O2pE& Reincarnation] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTE24XIWWS8# Children Who Claim to Remember Previous Lives] by Ian Stevenson

== Additional resources ==
*[https://www.reincarnation-research.com Reincarnation Research website]
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/KarmaandReincarnation.pdf# Bibliography on Karma and Reincarnation] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Theosophical worldview]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Hindu concepts]]
[[es:Reencarnación]]

Life after Death

2025-12-05T20:45:39Z

Pablo Sender: /* Online resources */

[[File:Ascent of the Blessed.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Ascent of the Blessed by Bosch]]
According to the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] teachings after the [[death]] of the body, [[consciousness]] undergoes a series of transformations. The tendencies, emotions, thoughts, memories, and aspirations that were part of the [[Principle#Individuality_and_personality|personality]] are sorted out. Anything that belonged to the entirely personal and selfish aspect is discarded, while all that was of a generous or unselfish nature is preserved and assimilated by the [[Soul#Human soul|soul]]. In the writings of [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] and the [[Masters of Wisdom]] the most frequent description of the different stages after physical death include: a) [[kamaloka]], b) [[gestation period]], c) [[devachan]], and d) [[reincarnation]].

== General description ==
[[File:Divina Comedia.jpg|left|250px|thumb|After death landscape according to Dante]]
In the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view, [[death]] is not the end of conscious experience but, on the contrary, it is the beginning of a wider consciousness. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] said:

<blockquote>We accept consciousness after death, and say the real consciousness and the real freedom of the [[Ego]] or the [[soul]] begins only after the physical death of man. It is then that it is no longer impeded by terrestrial matter that it is free, that it can perceive everything.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 44.</ref></blockquote>

What is known as "death" involves the departure of the [[Prāṇa|vital principle]] and the consequent dissolution of the [[Sthūla-śarīra|physical body]] along with its [[Liṅga-śarīra|astral double]] of etheral matter. After this, comes a period of dissolution of the [[Soul#Animal soul|animal soul]] and the personal aspect of the [[Soul#Animal soul|human soul]] in [[Kāmaloka]]. Finally, the spiritual aspect of the human soul is assimilated by the [[Soul#Spiritual soul|spiritual soul]] in [[Devachan]]. In Mme. Blavatsky's words:

<blockquote>Soul being a generic term, there are in men three aspects of Soul - the terrestrial, or animal; the Human Soul; and the Spiritual Soul; these, strictly speaking, are one Soul in its three aspects. Now of the first aspect nothing remains after death; of the second (nous or [[Manas]]) only its divine essence if left unsoiled survives, while the third in addition to being immortal becomes consciously divine, by the assimilation of the higher Manas.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, "The Key to Theosophy" (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1972), 121-122.</ref></blockquote>

The [[Soul#Spiritual soul|spiritual soul]] or [[Buddhi]] is of a universal nature and, by itself, it lacks the element of self-awareness. After death it can become conscious of its own divine nature by assimilating the spiritual elements of the mental consciousness, if the person ever exercised this aspect of his mind.

The different stages have been described by [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] in [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 15|one of his letters]] as follows:

<blockquote>The period between death and rebirth . . . may last from a few years to a [[kalpa]]. It is divided into three sub-periods (1) when the [[Ego]] delivered of its mortal coil enters into [[Kāmaloka|Kama-Loka]] (the abode of [[Elementary|Elementaries]]); (2) when it enters into its "Gestation State"; (3) when it is reborn in the [[Devachan#Rupa and Arupa Lokas|Rupa-Loka]] of Deva-Chan. Sub-period (1) may last from a few minutes to a number of years — the phrase "a few years" becoming puzzling and utterly worthless without a more complete explanation; Sub-period (2) is "very long"; as you say, longer sometimes than you may even imagine, yet proportionate to the Ego's spiritual stamina; Sub-period (3) lasts in proportion to the good [[Karma|KARMA]], after which the [[monad]] is again [[reincarnation|reincarnated]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 194.</ref></blockquote>

== Kama-loka ==
[[File:Purgatorio de dante.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Purgatory according to Dante]]
After the disposal of the three lower [[principle]]s of consciousness that happen during physical [[death]], the four principles remaining enter in [[Kāmaloka]], which is an intermediate sphere between the physical and the spiritual. Before consciousness can pass on to [[devachan]], a "purification" of the psychic elements is necessary. As [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>When the spiritual [[monad]] striving to enter the Devachanic state is being subjected to the process of purification, what happens is this: personal consciousness, which alone constitutes the [[Ego#Lower ego|personal Ego]], has to rid itself of every earthly speck of grossly material taint before it becomes capable of living “in spirit” and as a spirit.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 328.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Kama-loka may be compared to the dressing-room of an actor, in which he divests himself of the costume of the last part he played before rebecoming himself properly - the immortal [[Ego]] or the Pilgrim cycling in his Round of Incarnations. The Eternal Ego [is] stripped in Kama-loka of its lower terrestrial principles, with their passions and desires. . . . But the process of stripping off the lower, the [[Kāma|fourth]] and [[Manas#Lower manas|part of the fifth]], principles is an unconscious one in all normal human beings. It is only in very exceptional cases that there is a slight return to consciousness in Kama-loka: and this is the case of very materialistic unspiritual personalities, who, devoid of the conditions requisite, cannot enter the state of absolute Rest and Bliss.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 164.</ref></blockquote>

During this period there is a tension between the two lower principles, which possess a tendency towards materiality, and the two higher, which are of a spiritual nature. What happens can be metaphorically seen as a "struggle" between the animal and the spiritual aspects of the soul ([[Kāma]] and [[Buddhi]] respectively) to assimilate [[Manas]]. In [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 11|one of his letters]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] explained the process as follows:

<blockquote>When man dies his [[Liṅga-śarīra|second]] and [[Prāṇa|third]] principles die with him; the lower triad disappears, and the fourth, fifth, [[Buddhi|sixth]] and [[Ātman|seventh]] principles form the surviving Quaternary. . . . Thenceforth it is a "death" struggle between the Upper and Lower dualities. If the upper wins, the sixth, having attracted to itself the quintessence of Good from the fifth — its nobler affections, its saintly (though they be earthly) aspirations, and the most Spiritualised portions of its mind — follows its divine elder (the 7th) into the "Gestation" State; and the fifth and fourth remain in association as an empty [[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]] . . . to roam in the earth's atmosphere, with half the personal memory gone, and the more brutal instincts fully alive for a certain period.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 192-193.</ref></blockquote>

After the death struggle the two higher principles, along with the spiritual essence of manas, enter into a [[Life after Death#Period of gestation|period of gestation]]. Meanwhile, the fourth principle (Kāma), with whatever personal and selfish element it could retain from the manasic principle, forms a shell and stays in Kāmaloka to be eventually dissolved. However, it may happen that the upper duad does not succeed in assimilating any spiritual essence from the lower one. In such a case that particular personal life is completely useless to the [[Monad]], and is "erased" from its records. As the Master continued saying:

<blockquote>If, on the other hand, it is the Upper Duality which is defeated, then it is the fifth principle that assimilates all that there may be left of personal recollection and perceptions of its personal individuality in the sixth. . . . The sixth and seventh [principles] — now a purely spiritual, individual MONAD, with nothing left in it of the late personality, having no regular “gestation” period to pass through (since there is no purified personal Ego to be reborn), after a more or less prolonged period of unconscious Rest in the boundless Space — will find itself reborn in another personality on the next planet. When arrives the period of “Full Individual Consciousness” — which precedes that of Absolute Consciousness in the [[Nirvāṇa#Parinirvāṇa|Pari-Nirvana]] — this lost personal life becomes as a torn out page in the great Book of Lives, without even a disconnected word left to mark its absence. The purified monad will neither perceive nor remember it in the series of its past rebirths — which it would had it gone to the “World of Forms” ([[Devachan#Rupa_and_Arupa_Lokas|rupa-loka]]) — and its retrospective glance will not perceive even the slightest sign to indicate that it had been.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 193.</ref></blockquote>

In this case, the discarded personal elements do not become a regular "shell" to be dissolved in Kāmaloka. With the additional consciousness gained by retaining all the manasic elements used in that incarnation, it has enough cohesion to be [[Reincarnation|reincarnated]] as a soul-less entity on earth. This state is called [[Avichi]] (see [[Life_after_Death#Avichi|below]]).

== Period of gestation ==

In most cases the upper duad finds some spiritual elements that allows it to be "born" in [[Devachan]]. But before this is possible the soul has to undergo a period of spiritual gestation. [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] wrote:

<blockquote>When the division of, or purification of the [[Manas|fifth principle]] has been accomplished in [[Kāmaloka|Kama loca]] by the contending attractions of the [[Kāma|fourth]] and [[Buddhi|sixth]] principles, the real [[Ego]] passes into a period of unconscious gestation . . . a spiritual ante-natal state at the entrance to spiritual life . . . and this period, in different cases, may be of very different duration--from a few moments to immense periods of years.<ref>Alfred Percy Sinnett, ''Esoteric Buddhism'' (San Diego, CA: Wizards Bookshelf, 1987), 96-97.</ref></blockquote>

According to [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] the gestation period "lasts from a few days to several years",<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 120-121.</ref> while [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote that it can be very long: "longer sometimes than you may even imagine, yet proportionate to the Ego's spiritual stamina".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 194.</ref>

It is usually said that the reviving of consciousness begins at the door of Devachan, once the struggle in Kama-Loka is over, but only after the period of gestation:<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 104 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 362.</ref>

<blockquote>That remembrance will return slowly and gradually toward the end of the gestation (to the entity or Ego), still more slowly but far more imperfectly and incompletely to the [[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]], and fully to the Ego at the moment of its entrance into the Devachan.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 104 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 362.</ref></blockquote>

However, there are some statements that indicate the possibility of consciousness before Devachan (see [[Devachan#Is there consciousness before Devachan?|below]]).

Regarding the total time elapsed by a normal person in Kāmaloka (that is, during the death struggle and the period of gestation), Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>The normal period during which any part of the consciousness remains in Kâma-Loka, i.e., is connected with the Kâma-Rûpa, is one hundred and fifty years. The Kâma-Rûpa eventually breaks up, and leaving in Kâma-Loka the [[Life-Atom#Tanhic_elementals|Tânhic Elementals]], its remaining portions [[Metempsychosis#Transmigration of atoms|go into animals]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 708.</ref></blockquote>

=== Read more ===
[[Gestation period]]

== Devachan ==
[[File:Paradise by Fanti at Melk Abbey.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Pallas Athena on a chariot drawn by lions as a symbol of wisdom, by G. Fanti]]
After the period of gestation, the new "devachanic ego" (that is, the pure elements of the [[Ego#Lower ego|personal ego]] that have been assimilated to the two higher [[principle]]s) begins to awaken in [[Devachan]]:

<blockquote>The Eternal [[Ego]] being stripped in [[Kāmaloka|Kama-loka]] of its lower terrestrial principles, with their passions and desires, it enters into the state of Devachan. And therefore it is said that only the purely spiritual, the non-material emotions, affections and aspirations accompany the Ego into that state of Bliss.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 164.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 5|one of his letters]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>"Who goes to Deva Chan?" The personal Ego of course, but beatified, purified, holy. Every Ego - the combination of the sixth and seventh principles - which after the period of unconscious gestation is reborn into the Devachan, is of necessity as innocent and pure as a new-born babe. The fact of his being reborn [in Devachan] at all, shows the preponderance of good over [[evil]] in his old personality. And while the [[Karma]] (of evil) steps aside for the time being to follow him in his future earth-[[reincarnation]]s, he brings along with him but the Karma of his good deeds, words, and thoughts, into this Devachan.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 190.</ref></blockquote>

In Devachan, the person enjoys the result of the good actions done in the life just finished, as well as receives a compensation for the unmerited suffering experienced:

<blockquote>Devachan is the idealized continuation of the terrestrial life just left behind, a period of retributive adjustment, and a reward for unmerited wrongs and sufferings undergone in that special Life.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 132.</ref></blockquote>

== Reincarnation ==

When the period of [[Devachan]] is over, the [[Ego#Higher ego|higher ego]] begins the process of [[reincarnation]]. Before it is reborn, however, it sees the life about to be started in its general characteristics, as delineated by its [[Karma]]. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>As the man at the moment of death has a retrospective insight into the life he has led, so, at the moment he is reborn on to earth, the Ego, awaking from the state of Devachan, has a prospective vision of the life which awaits him, and realizes all the causes that have led to it. He realizes them and sees futurity, because it is between Devachan and re-birth that the Ego regains his full manasic consciousness, and rebecomes for a short time the god he was, before, in compliance with Karmic law, he first descended into matter and incarnated in the first man of flesh.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 162-163.</ref></blockquote>

== Avichi ==

Most people go to Devachan, with the exception of those very materialistic, selfish, or evil, in whom there is no spiritual [[manas]]ic elements that can be assimilated by [[Buddhi]]. In this case, when no formation of a devachanic ego is possible, the higher principles fall into a state of unconsciousness<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 193.</ref> and the lower principles are eventually annihilated. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] explained:

<blockquote>The [[Ātman|seventh]] and the [[Buddhi|sixth]] [principles], that is to say the immortal [[spirit]] and its vehicle, the immortal or [[Soul#Spiritual soul|spiritual soul]], enter therein alone (an exceptional case). . . . The
[[Ego#Lower ego|personal EGO]] (the material soul) . . . in the case of the irredeemably wicked and when the spiritual and impersonal soul has nothing to withdraw from its individuality (terrestrial personality) because the latter had nothing to offer but the purely material and sensual - that becomes annihilated.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1997), 42.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 11|one of his letters]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] explained the fate of the lower duad when it assimilates all the [[manas]]ic elements as follows:

<blockquote>With all this additional stock, it will not remain in [[Kāmaloka|Kama-Loka]] — “the world of Desire” or our Earth’s atmosphere. In a very short time like a straw floating within the attraction of the vortices and pits of the Maelstrom, it is caught up and drawn into the great whirlpool of [[Ego#Lower ego|human Egos]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 193.</ref></blockquote>

Mme. Blavatsky elaborated:

<blockquote>Expelled forever from the consciousness of the Individuality (the [[Ego#Higher ego|reincarnating Ego]]), the physical atoms and psychic vibrations of the now separate personality are immediately [[reincarnation|reincarnated]] on the same earth, only in a lower and still more abject creature, a human being only in form, doomed to [[Karma|Karmic]] torments during the whole of its new life. Moreover, if it persists in its criminal or debauched course, it will suffer a long series of such immediate reincarnations.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 632-633.</ref></blockquote>

This state is called [[Avichi]] and could loosely be compared to a concept of [[hell]] for the lost personality (not for the [[Monad]]).

== Is there consciousness before Devachan? ==

In the early [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature there are several statements suggesting consciousness only begins after the struggle in [[Kama-Loka]] at the door of [[Devachan]]:

<blockquote>Every just disembodied four-fold entity — whether it died a natural or violent death, from suicide or accident, mentally sane or insane, young or old, good, bad, or indifferent — loses at the instant of [[death]] all recollection, it is mentally — annihilated; it sleeps it’s [[Akasha|akasic]] sleep in the [[Kama-loka]]. This state lasts from a few hours, (rarely less) days, weeks, months — sometimes to several years. All this according to the entity, to its mental status at the moment of [[death]], to the character of its [[death]], etc. That remembrance will return slowly and gradually toward the end of the [[Life after Death#Period of gestation|gestation]]. . .<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 85-B (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 263.</ref></blockquote>

However, there are some statements that open the possibility of consciousness before [[devachan]]. For example, [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>A “spirit,” or the [[Ego#Spiritual ego|spiritual Ego]], cannot descend to the [[Mediumship|medium]], but it can attract the spirit of the latter to itself, and it can do this only during the two intervals—before and after its “gestation period.” Interval the first is that period between the physical death and the merging of the spiritual Ego into that state which is known in the [[Esoteric Philosophy#Arhat Esoteric Philosophy|Arhat esoteric doctrine]] as “Bar-do.” We have translated this as the “gestation” period, and it lasts from a few days to several years, according to the evidence of the [[adepts]]. Interval the second lasts so long as the merits of the old Ego entitle the being to reap the fruit of its reward in its new regenerated Egoship. It occurs after the gestation period is over, and the new spiritual Ego is reborn—like the fabled Phœnix from its ashes—from the old one. The locality, which the former inhabits, is called by the northern Buddhist Occultists “Deva-chan”. . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 120-121.</ref></blockquote>

As can be seen, she describes here the following sequence:

1- Physical [[death]].

2- First interval.

3- [[Gestation period|Gestation]].

4- Second interval ([[Devachan]]).

She mentions that the [[Ego#Spiritual ego|Spiritual Ego]] can attract to its own sphere the spirit of the [[Mediumship|medium]] in either of the intervals, which suggests there can be consciousness before the [[Gestation|period of gestation]]. According to her, this can happen "when the intensity of the desire in the dying person to return for some purpose forced the higher consciousness to remain awake".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London:Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 151.</ref></blockquote>

=== According to Annie Besant ===

Dr. [[Annie Besant]] explained that "if a person has led a pure life and has steadfastly striven to rise and to identify himself with the higher rather than the lower part of his nature" the staying in [[Kāmaloka]] is short and normally unconscious. However, in those who during life have being attached to sensual pleasures the situation is different:

<blockquote>Human beings, who have quitted earth and in whom the kāmic elements were strong, may very readily be attracted by the kāmic elements in embodied men, and by their help become conscious again of the presence of the scenes they had left; and human beings still embodied may set up methods of communication with the disembodied, and may, as said, leave their own bodies for awhile, and become conscious in Kāmaloka by the use of faculties through which they have accustomed their consciousness to act.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Death--And After?'' (Adyar, Madras:Theosophical Publishing House, 1977), 31.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Death]]
*[[Kāmaloka]]
*[[Gestation period]]
*[[Devachan]]
*[[Avichi]]

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/death-and-after-death-states Death and After-Death States] in Theosophy World
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/death-second Death, Second] in Theosophy World
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/earthbound-entities Earthbound Entities] in Theosophy World
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/eight-sphere Eight Sphere] in Theosophy World.
*[https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/library/adyar-pamphlets-theosophy/108-life-and-life-after-death# Life, and Life After Death] by Annie Besant
*[https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/library/adyar-pamphlets-theosophy/61-when-a-man-dies-shall-he-live-again# When a Man Dies, Shall He Live Again?] by Annie Besant
*[https://blavatsky.net/dialogue-on-mysteries-of-after-life/# Dialogue On The Mysteries Of The After Life] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/life-and-death# Life and Death] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.teozofija.info/Theosophia/Theosophia_Vol26_No1.htm#AfterDeath# After Death: You are Yourself] by G. de Purucker
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/PersonalitySurvive.pdf# Does the Personality Survive?] by L. W. Rogers
*[https://blavatsky.net/what-is-death/ The Transpersonal Model of Death as Presented in Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy] by Jean-Louis Siémons
*[http://www.theosophical.org/online-resources/leaflets/1794# Death and Life Beyond] by Theosophical Society in America
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/afterdeathglossary.pdf After-Death Glossary] by Daniel Caldwell

===Books===
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/DeathAndAfterAB.html# Death - and After?] by Annie Besant
*[http://davidpratt.info/survival1.htm# Life beyond Death: evidence for survival] by David Pratt
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/AfterDeathConsciousnessA.htm# The After-death Consciousness and Processes] by Geoffrey Farthing
*[https://theosophy.wiki/w/images/c/cf/Books_on_Life_After_Death_-_D._Caldwell.pdf# Book list on "Life After Death"] compiled by Daniel H. Caldwell

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/codd/Life%20on%20the%20Other%20Side%20of%20Death.mp3 Life on the Other Side of Death] by Clara Codd
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/317%20Hodson,%20G%20Through%20the%20Gateway%20of%20Death.mp3# Through the Gateway of Death] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=2C93CB97-60D8-11D6-9AE9-003048223922# Tibetan Contributions to Our Knowledge of Death and Dying (4 parts)] by Glenn Mullin

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h6hm0as91s I'm Dead! Now What?] by Dick Brooks
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyIBbOkaDwU& A Theosophical View of Life after Death] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B9fFD4h_4M# What Happens When We Die] by Blavatsky Trust

== Additional resources ==
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/DyingLifeAfterDeath.pdf# Bibliography on Dying and Life after Death] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[es:Vida después de la muerte]]

Life after Death

2025-12-05T20:34:07Z

Pablo Sender: /* Online resources */

[[File:Ascent of the Blessed.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Ascent of the Blessed by Bosch]]
According to the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] teachings after the [[death]] of the body, [[consciousness]] undergoes a series of transformations. The tendencies, emotions, thoughts, memories, and aspirations that were part of the [[Principle#Individuality_and_personality|personality]] are sorted out. Anything that belonged to the entirely personal and selfish aspect is discarded, while all that was of a generous or unselfish nature is preserved and assimilated by the [[Soul#Human soul|soul]]. In the writings of [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] and the [[Masters of Wisdom]] the most frequent description of the different stages after physical death include: a) [[kamaloka]], b) [[gestation period]], c) [[devachan]], and d) [[reincarnation]].

== General description ==
[[File:Divina Comedia.jpg|left|250px|thumb|After death landscape according to Dante]]
In the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view, [[death]] is not the end of conscious experience but, on the contrary, it is the beginning of a wider consciousness. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] said:

<blockquote>We accept consciousness after death, and say the real consciousness and the real freedom of the [[Ego]] or the [[soul]] begins only after the physical death of man. It is then that it is no longer impeded by terrestrial matter that it is free, that it can perceive everything.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 44.</ref></blockquote>

What is known as "death" involves the departure of the [[Prāṇa|vital principle]] and the consequent dissolution of the [[Sthūla-śarīra|physical body]] along with its [[Liṅga-śarīra|astral double]] of etheral matter. After this, comes a period of dissolution of the [[Soul#Animal soul|animal soul]] and the personal aspect of the [[Soul#Animal soul|human soul]] in [[Kāmaloka]]. Finally, the spiritual aspect of the human soul is assimilated by the [[Soul#Spiritual soul|spiritual soul]] in [[Devachan]]. In Mme. Blavatsky's words:

<blockquote>Soul being a generic term, there are in men three aspects of Soul - the terrestrial, or animal; the Human Soul; and the Spiritual Soul; these, strictly speaking, are one Soul in its three aspects. Now of the first aspect nothing remains after death; of the second (nous or [[Manas]]) only its divine essence if left unsoiled survives, while the third in addition to being immortal becomes consciously divine, by the assimilation of the higher Manas.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, "The Key to Theosophy" (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1972), 121-122.</ref></blockquote>

The [[Soul#Spiritual soul|spiritual soul]] or [[Buddhi]] is of a universal nature and, by itself, it lacks the element of self-awareness. After death it can become conscious of its own divine nature by assimilating the spiritual elements of the mental consciousness, if the person ever exercised this aspect of his mind.

The different stages have been described by [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] in [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 15|one of his letters]] as follows:

<blockquote>The period between death and rebirth . . . may last from a few years to a [[kalpa]]. It is divided into three sub-periods (1) when the [[Ego]] delivered of its mortal coil enters into [[Kāmaloka|Kama-Loka]] (the abode of [[Elementary|Elementaries]]); (2) when it enters into its "Gestation State"; (3) when it is reborn in the [[Devachan#Rupa and Arupa Lokas|Rupa-Loka]] of Deva-Chan. Sub-period (1) may last from a few minutes to a number of years — the phrase "a few years" becoming puzzling and utterly worthless without a more complete explanation; Sub-period (2) is "very long"; as you say, longer sometimes than you may even imagine, yet proportionate to the Ego's spiritual stamina; Sub-period (3) lasts in proportion to the good [[Karma|KARMA]], after which the [[monad]] is again [[reincarnation|reincarnated]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 194.</ref></blockquote>

== Kama-loka ==
[[File:Purgatorio de dante.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Purgatory according to Dante]]
After the disposal of the three lower [[principle]]s of consciousness that happen during physical [[death]], the four principles remaining enter in [[Kāmaloka]], which is an intermediate sphere between the physical and the spiritual. Before consciousness can pass on to [[devachan]], a "purification" of the psychic elements is necessary. As [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>When the spiritual [[monad]] striving to enter the Devachanic state is being subjected to the process of purification, what happens is this: personal consciousness, which alone constitutes the [[Ego#Lower ego|personal Ego]], has to rid itself of every earthly speck of grossly material taint before it becomes capable of living “in spirit” and as a spirit.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 328.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Kama-loka may be compared to the dressing-room of an actor, in which he divests himself of the costume of the last part he played before rebecoming himself properly - the immortal [[Ego]] or the Pilgrim cycling in his Round of Incarnations. The Eternal Ego [is] stripped in Kama-loka of its lower terrestrial principles, with their passions and desires. . . . But the process of stripping off the lower, the [[Kāma|fourth]] and [[Manas#Lower manas|part of the fifth]], principles is an unconscious one in all normal human beings. It is only in very exceptional cases that there is a slight return to consciousness in Kama-loka: and this is the case of very materialistic unspiritual personalities, who, devoid of the conditions requisite, cannot enter the state of absolute Rest and Bliss.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 164.</ref></blockquote>

During this period there is a tension between the two lower principles, which possess a tendency towards materiality, and the two higher, which are of a spiritual nature. What happens can be metaphorically seen as a "struggle" between the animal and the spiritual aspects of the soul ([[Kāma]] and [[Buddhi]] respectively) to assimilate [[Manas]]. In [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 11|one of his letters]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] explained the process as follows:

<blockquote>When man dies his [[Liṅga-śarīra|second]] and [[Prāṇa|third]] principles die with him; the lower triad disappears, and the fourth, fifth, [[Buddhi|sixth]] and [[Ātman|seventh]] principles form the surviving Quaternary. . . . Thenceforth it is a "death" struggle between the Upper and Lower dualities. If the upper wins, the sixth, having attracted to itself the quintessence of Good from the fifth — its nobler affections, its saintly (though they be earthly) aspirations, and the most Spiritualised portions of its mind — follows its divine elder (the 7th) into the "Gestation" State; and the fifth and fourth remain in association as an empty [[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]] . . . to roam in the earth's atmosphere, with half the personal memory gone, and the more brutal instincts fully alive for a certain period.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 192-193.</ref></blockquote>

After the death struggle the two higher principles, along with the spiritual essence of manas, enter into a [[Life after Death#Period of gestation|period of gestation]]. Meanwhile, the fourth principle (Kāma), with whatever personal and selfish element it could retain from the manasic principle, forms a shell and stays in Kāmaloka to be eventually dissolved. However, it may happen that the upper duad does not succeed in assimilating any spiritual essence from the lower one. In such a case that particular personal life is completely useless to the [[Monad]], and is "erased" from its records. As the Master continued saying:

<blockquote>If, on the other hand, it is the Upper Duality which is defeated, then it is the fifth principle that assimilates all that there may be left of personal recollection and perceptions of its personal individuality in the sixth. . . . The sixth and seventh [principles] — now a purely spiritual, individual MONAD, with nothing left in it of the late personality, having no regular “gestation” period to pass through (since there is no purified personal Ego to be reborn), after a more or less prolonged period of unconscious Rest in the boundless Space — will find itself reborn in another personality on the next planet. When arrives the period of “Full Individual Consciousness” — which precedes that of Absolute Consciousness in the [[Nirvāṇa#Parinirvāṇa|Pari-Nirvana]] — this lost personal life becomes as a torn out page in the great Book of Lives, without even a disconnected word left to mark its absence. The purified monad will neither perceive nor remember it in the series of its past rebirths — which it would had it gone to the “World of Forms” ([[Devachan#Rupa_and_Arupa_Lokas|rupa-loka]]) — and its retrospective glance will not perceive even the slightest sign to indicate that it had been.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 193.</ref></blockquote>

In this case, the discarded personal elements do not become a regular "shell" to be dissolved in Kāmaloka. With the additional consciousness gained by retaining all the manasic elements used in that incarnation, it has enough cohesion to be [[Reincarnation|reincarnated]] as a soul-less entity on earth. This state is called [[Avichi]] (see [[Life_after_Death#Avichi|below]]).

== Period of gestation ==

In most cases the upper duad finds some spiritual elements that allows it to be "born" in [[Devachan]]. But before this is possible the soul has to undergo a period of spiritual gestation. [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] wrote:

<blockquote>When the division of, or purification of the [[Manas|fifth principle]] has been accomplished in [[Kāmaloka|Kama loca]] by the contending attractions of the [[Kāma|fourth]] and [[Buddhi|sixth]] principles, the real [[Ego]] passes into a period of unconscious gestation . . . a spiritual ante-natal state at the entrance to spiritual life . . . and this period, in different cases, may be of very different duration--from a few moments to immense periods of years.<ref>Alfred Percy Sinnett, ''Esoteric Buddhism'' (San Diego, CA: Wizards Bookshelf, 1987), 96-97.</ref></blockquote>

According to [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] the gestation period "lasts from a few days to several years",<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 120-121.</ref> while [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote that it can be very long: "longer sometimes than you may even imagine, yet proportionate to the Ego's spiritual stamina".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 194.</ref>

It is usually said that the reviving of consciousness begins at the door of Devachan, once the struggle in Kama-Loka is over, but only after the period of gestation:<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 104 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 362.</ref>

<blockquote>That remembrance will return slowly and gradually toward the end of the gestation (to the entity or Ego), still more slowly but far more imperfectly and incompletely to the [[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]], and fully to the Ego at the moment of its entrance into the Devachan.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 104 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 362.</ref></blockquote>

However, there are some statements that indicate the possibility of consciousness before Devachan (see [[Devachan#Is there consciousness before Devachan?|below]]).

Regarding the total time elapsed by a normal person in Kāmaloka (that is, during the death struggle and the period of gestation), Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>The normal period during which any part of the consciousness remains in Kâma-Loka, i.e., is connected with the Kâma-Rûpa, is one hundred and fifty years. The Kâma-Rûpa eventually breaks up, and leaving in Kâma-Loka the [[Life-Atom#Tanhic_elementals|Tânhic Elementals]], its remaining portions [[Metempsychosis#Transmigration of atoms|go into animals]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 708.</ref></blockquote>

=== Read more ===
[[Gestation period]]

== Devachan ==
[[File:Paradise by Fanti at Melk Abbey.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Pallas Athena on a chariot drawn by lions as a symbol of wisdom, by G. Fanti]]
After the period of gestation, the new "devachanic ego" (that is, the pure elements of the [[Ego#Lower ego|personal ego]] that have been assimilated to the two higher [[principle]]s) begins to awaken in [[Devachan]]:

<blockquote>The Eternal [[Ego]] being stripped in [[Kāmaloka|Kama-loka]] of its lower terrestrial principles, with their passions and desires, it enters into the state of Devachan. And therefore it is said that only the purely spiritual, the non-material emotions, affections and aspirations accompany the Ego into that state of Bliss.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 164.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 5|one of his letters]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>"Who goes to Deva Chan?" The personal Ego of course, but beatified, purified, holy. Every Ego - the combination of the sixth and seventh principles - which after the period of unconscious gestation is reborn into the Devachan, is of necessity as innocent and pure as a new-born babe. The fact of his being reborn [in Devachan] at all, shows the preponderance of good over [[evil]] in his old personality. And while the [[Karma]] (of evil) steps aside for the time being to follow him in his future earth-[[reincarnation]]s, he brings along with him but the Karma of his good deeds, words, and thoughts, into this Devachan.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 190.</ref></blockquote>

In Devachan, the person enjoys the result of the good actions done in the life just finished, as well as receives a compensation for the unmerited suffering experienced:

<blockquote>Devachan is the idealized continuation of the terrestrial life just left behind, a period of retributive adjustment, and a reward for unmerited wrongs and sufferings undergone in that special Life.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 132.</ref></blockquote>

== Reincarnation ==

When the period of [[Devachan]] is over, the [[Ego#Higher ego|higher ego]] begins the process of [[reincarnation]]. Before it is reborn, however, it sees the life about to be started in its general characteristics, as delineated by its [[Karma]]. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>As the man at the moment of death has a retrospective insight into the life he has led, so, at the moment he is reborn on to earth, the Ego, awaking from the state of Devachan, has a prospective vision of the life which awaits him, and realizes all the causes that have led to it. He realizes them and sees futurity, because it is between Devachan and re-birth that the Ego regains his full manasic consciousness, and rebecomes for a short time the god he was, before, in compliance with Karmic law, he first descended into matter and incarnated in the first man of flesh.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 162-163.</ref></blockquote>

== Avichi ==

Most people go to Devachan, with the exception of those very materialistic, selfish, or evil, in whom there is no spiritual [[manas]]ic elements that can be assimilated by [[Buddhi]]. In this case, when no formation of a devachanic ego is possible, the higher principles fall into a state of unconsciousness<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 193.</ref> and the lower principles are eventually annihilated. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] explained:

<blockquote>The [[Ātman|seventh]] and the [[Buddhi|sixth]] [principles], that is to say the immortal [[spirit]] and its vehicle, the immortal or [[Soul#Spiritual soul|spiritual soul]], enter therein alone (an exceptional case). . . . The
[[Ego#Lower ego|personal EGO]] (the material soul) . . . in the case of the irredeemably wicked and when the spiritual and impersonal soul has nothing to withdraw from its individuality (terrestrial personality) because the latter had nothing to offer but the purely material and sensual - that becomes annihilated.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1997), 42.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 11|one of his letters]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] explained the fate of the lower duad when it assimilates all the [[manas]]ic elements as follows:

<blockquote>With all this additional stock, it will not remain in [[Kāmaloka|Kama-Loka]] — “the world of Desire” or our Earth’s atmosphere. In a very short time like a straw floating within the attraction of the vortices and pits of the Maelstrom, it is caught up and drawn into the great whirlpool of [[Ego#Lower ego|human Egos]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 193.</ref></blockquote>

Mme. Blavatsky elaborated:

<blockquote>Expelled forever from the consciousness of the Individuality (the [[Ego#Higher ego|reincarnating Ego]]), the physical atoms and psychic vibrations of the now separate personality are immediately [[reincarnation|reincarnated]] on the same earth, only in a lower and still more abject creature, a human being only in form, doomed to [[Karma|Karmic]] torments during the whole of its new life. Moreover, if it persists in its criminal or debauched course, it will suffer a long series of such immediate reincarnations.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 632-633.</ref></blockquote>

This state is called [[Avichi]] and could loosely be compared to a concept of [[hell]] for the lost personality (not for the [[Monad]]).

== Is there consciousness before Devachan? ==

In the early [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature there are several statements suggesting consciousness only begins after the struggle in [[Kama-Loka]] at the door of [[Devachan]]:

<blockquote>Every just disembodied four-fold entity — whether it died a natural or violent death, from suicide or accident, mentally sane or insane, young or old, good, bad, or indifferent — loses at the instant of [[death]] all recollection, it is mentally — annihilated; it sleeps it’s [[Akasha|akasic]] sleep in the [[Kama-loka]]. This state lasts from a few hours, (rarely less) days, weeks, months — sometimes to several years. All this according to the entity, to its mental status at the moment of [[death]], to the character of its [[death]], etc. That remembrance will return slowly and gradually toward the end of the [[Life after Death#Period of gestation|gestation]]. . .<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 85-B (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 263.</ref></blockquote>

However, there are some statements that open the possibility of consciousness before [[devachan]]. For example, [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>A “spirit,” or the [[Ego#Spiritual ego|spiritual Ego]], cannot descend to the [[Mediumship|medium]], but it can attract the spirit of the latter to itself, and it can do this only during the two intervals—before and after its “gestation period.” Interval the first is that period between the physical death and the merging of the spiritual Ego into that state which is known in the [[Esoteric Philosophy#Arhat Esoteric Philosophy|Arhat esoteric doctrine]] as “Bar-do.” We have translated this as the “gestation” period, and it lasts from a few days to several years, according to the evidence of the [[adepts]]. Interval the second lasts so long as the merits of the old Ego entitle the being to reap the fruit of its reward in its new regenerated Egoship. It occurs after the gestation period is over, and the new spiritual Ego is reborn—like the fabled Phœnix from its ashes—from the old one. The locality, which the former inhabits, is called by the northern Buddhist Occultists “Deva-chan”. . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 120-121.</ref></blockquote>

As can be seen, she describes here the following sequence:

1- Physical [[death]].

2- First interval.

3- [[Gestation period|Gestation]].

4- Second interval ([[Devachan]]).

She mentions that the [[Ego#Spiritual ego|Spiritual Ego]] can attract to its own sphere the spirit of the [[Mediumship|medium]] in either of the intervals, which suggests there can be consciousness before the [[Gestation|period of gestation]]. According to her, this can happen "when the intensity of the desire in the dying person to return for some purpose forced the higher consciousness to remain awake".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London:Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 151.</ref></blockquote>

=== According to Annie Besant ===

Dr. [[Annie Besant]] explained that "if a person has led a pure life and has steadfastly striven to rise and to identify himself with the higher rather than the lower part of his nature" the staying in [[Kāmaloka]] is short and normally unconscious. However, in those who during life have being attached to sensual pleasures the situation is different:

<blockquote>Human beings, who have quitted earth and in whom the kāmic elements were strong, may very readily be attracted by the kāmic elements in embodied men, and by their help become conscious again of the presence of the scenes they had left; and human beings still embodied may set up methods of communication with the disembodied, and may, as said, leave their own bodies for awhile, and become conscious in Kāmaloka by the use of faculties through which they have accustomed their consciousness to act.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Death--And After?'' (Adyar, Madras:Theosophical Publishing House, 1977), 31.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Death]]
*[[Kāmaloka]]
*[[Gestation period]]
*[[Devachan]]
*[[Avichi]]

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/death-and-after-death-states Death and After-Death States] in Theosophy World
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/death-second Death, Second] in Theosophy World
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/earthbound-entities Earthbound Entities] in Theosophy World
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/eight-sphere Eight Sphere] in Theosophy World.
*[https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/library/adyar-pamphlets-theosophy/108-life-and-life-after-death# Life, and Life After Death] by Annie Besant
*[https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/library/adyar-pamphlets-theosophy/61-when-a-man-dies-shall-he-live-again# When a Man Dies, Shall He Live Again?] by Annie Besant
*[https://blavatsky.net/dialogue-on-mysteries-of-after-life/# Dialogue On The Mysteries Of The After Life] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/life-and-death# Life and Death] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/AfterDeathConsciousnessA.htm# The After-death Consciousness and Processes] by Geoffrey Farthing
*[http://www.teozofija.info/Theosophia/Theosophia_Vol26_No1.htm#AfterDeath# After Death: You are Yourself] by G. de Purucker
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/PersonalitySurvive.pdf# Does the Personality Survive?] by L. W. Rogers
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/near-death-experiences/36-topics/reincarnation/near-death-exp/62-what-is-death# The Transpersonal Model of Death as Presented in Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy] by Jean-Louis Siémons
*[http://www.theosophical.org/online-resources/leaflets/1794# Death and Life Beyond] by Theosophical Society in America
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/afterdeathglossary.pdf After-Death Glossary] by Daniel Caldwell

===Books===
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/DeathAndAfterAB.html# Death - and After?] by Annie Besant
*[http://davidpratt.info/survival1.htm# Life beyond Death: evidence for survival] by David Pratt
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AfterDeathConsciousnessAndProcesses_GFarthing.pdf# After Death Consciousness and Processes] by Geoffrey Farthing
*[https://theosophy.wiki/w/images/c/cf/Books_on_Life_After_Death_-_D._Caldwell.pdf# Book list on "Life After Death"] compiled by Daniel H. Caldwell

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/codd/Life%20on%20the%20Other%20Side%20of%20Death.mp3 Life on the Other Side of Death] by Clara Codd
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/317%20Hodson,%20G%20Through%20the%20Gateway%20of%20Death.mp3# Through the Gateway of Death] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=2C93CB97-60D8-11D6-9AE9-003048223922# Tibetan Contributions to Our Knowledge of Death and Dying (4 parts)] by Glenn Mullin

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h6hm0as91s I'm Dead! Now What?] by Dick Brooks
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyIBbOkaDwU& A Theosophical View of Life after Death] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B9fFD4h_4M# What Happens When We Die] by Blavatsky Trust

== Additional resources ==
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/DyingLifeAfterDeath.pdf# Bibliography on Dying and Life after Death] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[es:Vida después de la muerte]]

Logos

2025-12-04T22:36:38Z

Pablo Sender: /* Online resources */

[[File:Logos in Greek.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Word "logos" in Greek spelling]]
'''Logos''' (λόγος) is a Greek word that means "word," "speech," "reason" or "account". It became a technical term in philosophy beginning with [[Heraclitus]] (ca. 535–475 BC), who used the term for a principle of order and knowledge.<ref>''Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy'' (2nd ed): Heraclitus, 1999.</ref> [[H. P. Blavatsky]] defined it as, "The manifested deity with every nation and people; the outward expression, or the effect of the cause which is ever concealed."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 190.</ref> In her writings, the concealed cause of the logos is frequently referred to as the "unmanifested logos," and there are also references to a semi-manifested logos.

== General description ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] gave a general definition of the term ''Logos'', from an esoteric perspective, as follows:

<blockquote>The esoteric meaning of the word Logos (speech or word, Verbum) is the rendering in objective expression, as in a photograph, of the concealed thought. The Logos is the mirror reflecting DIVINE MIND, and the Universe is the mirror of the Logos, though the latter is the esse of that Universe. As the Logos reflects all in the Universe of Pleroma, so man reflects in himself all that he sees and finds in his Universe, the Earth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 25.</ref></blockquote>

When talking a bout the manifestation of the cosmos, Blavatsky talks about three Logoi: "the unmanifested '[[Father (symbol)|Father]],' the semi-manifested 'Mother' and the Universe, which is the third Logos of our philosophy or [[Brahmâ]]."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 332.</ref> These three Logoi can be seen as "the personified symbols of the three spiritual stages of [[Evolution]]."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 334</ref> Yet all the three Logoi are one.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XI (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 487.</ref>

<blockquote>There is no differentiation with the First Logos; differentiation only begins in latent World-Thought, with the Second Logos, and receives its full expression, i. e., becomes the "Word" made flesh--with the Third.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 359.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The point within the circle which has neither limit nor boundaries, nor can it have any name or attribute. This first unmanifested Logos is simultaneous with the line drawn across the diameter of the Circle. The first line or diameter is the Mother-Father; from it proceeds the Second Logos, which contains in itself the Third Manifested Word.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 314.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>There seems to be great confusion and misunderstanding concerning the First and Second Logos. The first is the already present yet still unmanifested potentiality in the bosom of Father-Mother; the Second is the abstract collectivity of creators called “Demiurgi” by the Greeks or the Builders of the Universe. The third logos is the ultimate differentiation of the Second and the individualization of Cosmic Forces, of which Fohat is the chief; for Fohat is the synthesis of the Seven Creative Rays or Dhyan Chohans which proceed from the third Logos.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 334.</ref></blockquote>

== First Logos ==
[[File:First Logos red.jpg|left|200px]]
The First Logos is unmanifested, and it is the first stage in the process of reawakening of the cosmos from the rest in [[pralaya]]. It is the Pre-Cosmic Ideation that [[Radiation|radiates]] from (or in) the Absolute. This Logos is frequently depicted as a white "potential" point in a black circle.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 351-352.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>When the first Logos radiates through primordial and undifferentiated matter there is as yet no action in Chaos. “The last vibration of the Seventh Eternity” is the first which announces the Dawn, and is a synonym for the First or unmanifested Logos. There is no Time at this stage. There is neither Space nor Time when beginning is made; but it is all in Space and Time, once that differentiation sets in.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 358.</ref></blockquote>

Associated to the unmanifested Logos is the idea of a [[The Ray (symbol)|"ray"]] that flashes out from it, and begins the differentiation in matter:

<blockquote>The Ray [is] periodical. Having flashed out from this central point and thrilled through the Germ, the Ray is withdrawn again within this point and the Germ develops into the Second Logos, the triangle within the [[Egg#Mundane_egg|Mundane Egg]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 351.</ref></blockquote>

== Second Logos ==
[[File:Second Logos.jpg|left|200px]]
The concept of the Second Logos is somewhat problematic. It is frequently seen as a bridge between the unmanifested and the manifested Logoi, "the Second Logos partaking of both the essences or natures of the first and the last.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 359.</ref> Because of this, this Logos is sometimes said to be semi-manifested: "the three Logoi [are] the unmanifested “Father,” the semi-manifested “Mother” and the Universe, which is the third Logos of our philosophy or Brahmâ".

Because of its dual nature, the second Logos is sometimes spoken of as unmanifested, and in other occasions as being manifested. Besides, sometimes Blavatsky talks of only two Logoi: the unmanifested and the manifested, assimilating the semi-manifested Logos to these two. In these instances, when she speaks of the "second Logos" she is referring to the manifested one, that is, the Third Logos in the three-fold classification.

The word "mother" is not always associated to the second Logos. Most frequently we find that of [[Father-Mother]]:

<blockquote>At the time of the primordial radiation, or when the Second Logos emanates, it is Father-Mother potentially, but when the Third or manifested Logos appears, it becomes the [[Mother_(symbol)#Virgin_mother|Virgin-Mother]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 358.</ref></blockquote>

The ray that comes from the first Logos begins the process of differentiation in the [[Substance#Pre-cosmic_substance|pre-cosmic substance]], and this produces the Second Logos. If we consider the first Logos as a potential point, the second is seen as the first real (or maybe, dimensional) point:

<blockquote>The first stage is the appearance of the potential point in the circle—the unmanifested Logos. The second stage is the shooting forth of the Ray from the potential white point, producing the first point, which is called, in the Zohar, Kether or Sephira. The third stage is the production from Kether of Chochmah, and Binah, thus constituting the first triangle, which is the Third or manifested Logos.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 352.</ref></blockquote>

In fact, the "point" of the second Logos is in the "[[Egg#Mundane egg|mundane egg]]", and is said to be an abstract triangle :

<blockquote>The Point in the Circle is the Unmanifested Logos, the Manifested Logos is the Triangle. . . . It is this ideal or abstract triangle which is the Point in the Mundane Egg, which, after gestation, and in the third remove, will start from the Egg to form the Triangle. This is Brahmâ-Vâch-Virâj in the Hindu Philosophy and Kether-Chochmah-Binah in the Zohar.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 351.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The point in the Circle is the Unmanifested Logos, corresponding to Absolute Life and Absolute Sound. The first geometrical figure after the Circle or the Spheroid is the Triangle. It corresponds to Motion, Color and Sound. Thus the Point in the Triangle represents the Second Logos, “Father-Mother,” or the White Ray which is no color, since it contains potentially all colors. It is shown radiating from the Unmanifested Logos, or the Unspoken Word. Around the first Triangle is formed on the plane of Primordial Substance in this order (reversed as to our plane).<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 564.</ref></blockquote>

=== Origin of the Dhyāni-Buddhas ===

The second Logos in the "[[Anupādaka|Arupa world]]" is said to emanate the [[Dhyāni-Buddhas]]:

<blockquote>This is the second logos of creation, from whom emanate the seven (in the exoteric blind the five) Dhyani Buddhas, called the Anupadaka, “the parentless.” These Buddhas are the primeval monads from the world of incorporeal being, the Arupa world, wherein the Intelligences (on that plane only) have neither shape nor name, in the exoteric system, but have their distinct seven names in esoteric philosophy.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 571.</ref></blockquote>

However, they seem to be emanated from the unmanifested aspect of this Logos:

<blockquote>The former [Dhyāni-Buddhas] only are called Anupadaka, parentless, because they radiated directly from that which is neither Father nor Mother but the unmanifested Logos.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 344.</ref></blockquote>

"That which is neither Father nor Mother" is probably refers to this Logos in its character of "[[Father-Mother]]".

== Third Logos ==

This is the manifested Logos, called [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']] the “luminous sons of manvantaric dawn”.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 485.</ref> Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>When the hour strikes for the Third Logos to appear, then from the latent potentiality there radiates a lower field of differentiated consciousness, which is Mahat, or the entire collectivity of those Dhyan-Chohans of sentient life of which Fohat is the representative on the objective plane and the Manasaputras on the subjective.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 360.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Then, at the first radiation of dawn, the “Spirit of God” (after the First and Second Logos were radiated), the Third Logos, or Narayan, began to move on the face of the Great Waters of the “Deep.”<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 379.</ref></blockquote>

Some synonyms in other traditions are [[Mahat]] ([[Hinduism]]), [[Adam Kadmon]] ([[Kabbalah]]),<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 6.</ref> Protogonos (Greek/Orphic)<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 592.</ref>, [[Brahmā]] (Hinduism), among others.

=== First manifested Logos ===

In some passages Mme. Blavatsky speaks of a ''manifested'' "First Logos". For example, she says:

<blockquote>The first is the Mother Goddess [ [[Mūlaprakṛti]] ], the reflection of the subjective root [ [[Parabrahman]] ], on the first plane of Substance. Then follows, issuing from, or rather residing in, this Mother Goddess, the unmanifested Logos, he who is both her Son and Husband at once, called the “concealed [[Father (symbol)|Father]].” From these proceeds the first-manifested Logos, or Spirit, and the Son from whose substance emanate the Seven Logoi, whose synthesis, viewed as one collective Force, becomes the Architect of the Visible Universe.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 303.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The First Manifested Logos is the Potentia, the unrevealed Cause; the Second, the still latent thought; the Third, the Demiurgus, the active Will evolving from its universal Self the active effect, which, in its turn, becomes the cause on a lower plane.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 351.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The Ah-hi are the primordial seven rays, or Logoi, emanated from the first Logos, triple, yet one in its essence.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 317.</ref></blockquote>

This First Logos, "triple" in essence, cannot be the First unmanifested Logos which admits not plurality:

<blockquote>Moreover, in Occult metaphysics there are, properly speaking, two “ONES”—the One on the unreachable plane of Absoluteness and Infinity, on which no speculation is possible, and the Second “One” on the plane of Emanations. The former can neither emanate nor be divided, as it is eternal, absolute, and immutable. The Second, being, so to speak, the reflection of the first One (for it is the Logos, or Eswara, in the Universe of Illusion), can do all this. It emanates from itself . . . the seven Rays or Dhyan Chohans.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 130.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Âkâsa [is] the Universal Space in which lies inherent the eternal Ideation of the Universe in its ever-changing aspects on the planes of matter and objectivity, and from which radiates the First Logos, or expressed thought.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 13.</ref></blockquote>

It is possible that the manifested Logos also undergoes the stages of first, second and third, on the manifested plane.

=== Divine Thought ===

"Divine Thought" is a phrase frequently used by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]], for the "[[Cosmic Ideation]]",<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 326.</ref> and considered it as "the Logos, or the male aspect of the Anima Mundi, Alaya".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 58.</ref> In it "lies concealed the plan of every future Cosmogony and Theogony".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 1.</ref> The Upadhi of Divine Thought is [[Ākāśa|Akasha]], the Primordial Substance.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 326.</ref>

Talking about the [[Lotus (symbol)|lotus]] as a symbol, Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>The underlying idea in this symbol is very beautiful, and it shows, furthermore, its identical parentage in all the religious systems. Whether in the lotus or water-lily shape it signifies one and the same philosophical idea—namely, the emanation of the objective from the subjective, divine Ideation passing from the abstract into the concrete or visible form. For, as soon as DARKNESS—or rather that which is “darkness” for ignorance—has disappeared in its own realm of eternal Light, leaving behind itself only its divine manifested Ideation, the creative Logoi have their understanding opened, and they see in the ideal world (hitherto concealed in the divine thought) the archetypal forms of all, and proceed to copy and build or fashion upon these models forms evanescent and transcendent. 
At this stage of action, the Demiurge is not yet the Architect. Born in the twilight of action, he has yet to first perceive the plan, to realise the ideal forms which lie buried in the bosom of Eternal Ideation, as the future lotus-leaves, the immaculate petals, are concealed within the seed of that plant.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 380.</ref></blockquote>

The Cosmos is fashioned by the [[Builders]], following the plan traced out for them in the Divine Thought.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 339.</ref> This thought impregnates matter,<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 340.</ref> and can be perceived "by the numberless manifestations of Cosmic Substance in which the former is sensed spiritually by those who can do so".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 327.</ref>

It is important to keep in mind that the phrase "Divine Thought" neither implies the idea of a Divine thinker<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 61.</ref> nor of a process of thinking:

<blockquote>It is hardly necessary to remind the reader once more that the term “Divine Thought,” like that of “Universal Mind,” must not be regarded as even vaguely shadowing forth an intellectual process akin to that exhibited by man.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 1, fn.</ref></blockquote>

== Female Logos ==

Mme. Blavatsky stated that female deities such as [[Vāc]], [[Isis]], Mout, [[Shekinah]] (Sephira), [[Kwan-Yin]], etc. represent the female aspect of the creator:

<blockquote>They are all the symbols and personifications of Chaos, the “Great Deep” or the Primordial Waters of Space, the impenetrable veil between the incognisable and the Logos of Creation. “Connecting himself through his mind with Vach, Brahma (the Logos) created the primordial waters.” In the Kathaka Upanishad it is stated still more clearly: “Prajapati was this Universe. Vach was a second to him. He associated with her . . . she produced these creatures and again re-entered Prajapati.”* (* This connects Vâch and Sephira with the goddess Kwan-Yin, the "merciful mother", the divine VOICE of the soul even in Exoteric Buddhism; and with the female aspect of Kwan-Shai-yin, the Logos, the verbum of Creation, and at the same time with the voice that speaks audibly to the Initiate, according to Esoteric Buddhism. Bath Kol, the filia Vocis, the daughter of the divine voice of the Hebrews, responding from the mercy seat within the veil of the temple is—a result).<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 431.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Kwan-Yin, [is] the “Divine Voice” literally. This “Voice” is a synonym of the Verbum or the Word: “Speech,” as the expression of thought. Thus may be traced the connection with, and even the origin of the Hebrew Bath-Kol, the “daughter of the Divine Voice,” or Verbum, or the male and female Logos, the “Heavenly Man” or Adam Kadmon, who is at the same time Sephira. The latter was surely anticipated by the Hindu Vâch, the goddess of Speech, or of the Word. For Vâch—the daughter and the female portion, as is stated, of Brahmâ, one “generated by the gods”—is, in company with Kwan-Yin, with Isis (also the daughter, wife and sister of Osiris) and other goddesses, the female Logos, so to speak, the goddess of the active forces in Nature, the Word, Voice or Sound, and Speech. If Kwan-Yin is the “melodious Voice,” so is Vâch; “the melodious cow who milked forth sustenance and water” (the female principle)—“who yields us nourishment and sustenance,” as Mother-Nature. She is associated in the work of creation with the Prajâpati. She is male and female ad libitum ["as you desire"], as Eve is with Adam. And she is a form of Aditi—the principle higher than Ether—in Akâsa, the synthesis of all the forces in Nature; thus Vâch and Kwan-Yin are both the magic potency of Occult sound in Nature and Ether—which “Voice” calls forth Sien-Tchan, the illusive form of the Universe out of Chaos and the Seven Elements.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 473.</ref></blockquote>

The female logoi are many times regarded as triple: the mother, wife, and daughter of the male Logos.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 136.</ref> This has to be interpreted in a cosmic sense, where "mother, wife and daughter" are different stages of differentiation of the primordial matter in which develops the Logos:

<blockquote>There is certainly a cosmic, not a physiological meaning attached to the Indian allegory, since Vâch is a permutation of Aditi and Mulaprakriti (Chaos), and Brahmâ a permutation of Naràyana, the Spirit of God entering into, and fructifying nature; therefore, there is nothing phallic in the conception at all.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 431.</ref></blockquote>

== The Army of the Voice ==

In [[Stanzas of Dzyan#Stanza IV|Stanza IV.4]] there is a mention to "the Army of the Voice". Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>This Sloka gives again a brief analysis of the Hierarchies of the Dhyan Chohans, called Devas (gods) in India, or the conscious intelligent powers in Nature. To this Hierarchy correspond the actual types into which humanity may be divided; for humanity, as a whole, is in reality a materialized though as yet imperfect expression thereof. The “army of the Voice” is a term closely connected with the mystery of Sound and Speech, as an effect and corollary of the cause—Divine Thought.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 93.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The “Army of the Voice”, is the prototype of the “Host of the Logos,” or the “WORD” of the Sepher Jezirah, called in the Secret Doctrine “the One Number issued from No-Number”—the One Eternal Principle. The esoteric theogony begins with the One, manifested, therefore not eternal in its presence and being, if eternal in its essence; the number of the numbers and numbered—the latter proceeding from the Voice, the feminine Vâch, Satarupa “of the hundred forms,” or Nature. It is from this number 10, or creative nature, the Mother (the occult cypher, or “nought,” ever procreating and multiplying in union with the Unit “1,” one, or the Spirit of Life), that the whole Universe proceeded.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 94.</ref></blockquote>

== Ancient Greek philosophy ==

The 6th-century-BC philosopher from Ephesus, [[Heraclitus]], seems to be the first to pay special attention to the concept of ''logos''. He defined the logos as "that universal principle which animates and rules the world." The logos behind cosmic process was similar to the reasoning power in human beings. The logos is an eternal law or principle governing the cosmos, bringing rational order and purpose to it. Galen, the influential Greek philosopher and physician of the Roman empire, described the Logos in a pantheistic way, stating that he "did not make the world as an artisan does his work, but it is by wholly penetrating all matter that he is the demiurge of the universe."<ref>Galen, "De qual. incorp." in "Fr. Stoic.", ed. von Arnim, II, 6.</ref>

Stoics also saw the logos as an active spiritual principle that permeated and animated reality. They identified this logos with reason and God, and regarded it to be indestructible. The other fundamental principle conforming nature was a passive one, representing substance or matter (the four classical elements of earth, water, fire, and air).

Among Neoplatonists, the term Logos was interpreted in different ways. In one meaning, it was an inherent formative principle that guides the form and function of different organisms. In another meaning logos (as divine reason) binds the elements of the trinity composed of the soul (''psyche''), the intellect (''nous''), and the One (''monas'').

== Christianity ==

In Christianity, the word ''logos'' (Latin "verbum," English "word") is use as a name or title of Jesus Christ, seen as the pre-existent second person of the Trinity. This comes from the Gospel of John, 1:1–18, which states:

:"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

However, following the original Greek more closely, some scholars argue that the correct translation should be:

:"In the beginning was the ''logos'', and the ''logos'' was with God (''theos''), and the ''logos'' was a god (''theon'')."<ref>David Bentley Hart, ''The New Testament: A Translation'', (Yale, 2017), 168</ref>

==Online resources==
=== Articles ===
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/logos Logos] in Theosophy World
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/adi-sanat Adi-Sanat] in Theosophy World
* [http://prajnaquest.fr/blog/?s=the+three+logoi# The Three Logoi] by Ingmar de Boer

=== Audios ===
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/308%20Hodson,%20G%20The%20Supreme%20Deity%20of%20the%20Universe.mp3# The Supreme Deity of the Universe] by Geoffrey Hodson

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Greek terms]]
[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[es:Logos]]
[[it:Logos]]

Chelaship

2025-12-04T21:54:22Z

Pablo Sender: /* Additional resources */

'''Chelaship''' or '''Discipleship''' is a term that denotes the process of [[probation]] and training by which an aspirant is prepared for [[Initiation]] by a [[Masters of Wisdom|Master of Wisdom]].

== General description ==

[[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote to [[Charles Webster Leadbeater|C. W. Leadbeater]]:

<blockquote>Chelaship is an educational as well as probationary stage and the chela alone can determine whether it shall end in adeptship or failure. Chelas from a mistaken idea of our system too often watch and wait for orders, wasting precious time which should be taken up with personal effort.<ref>Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa, ''Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom'' First Series No. 7 (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 30.</ref></blockquote>

The path begins with the placing of the aspirant on [[probation]] under the watch of a [[Masters of Wisdom|Master]]. It is only after the aspirant passes the tests and trials of this stage that he or she can be accepted as a regular [[chela]] and begin a training which, when successful, will end with the attainment of [[Adept]]ship. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>To offer oneself as a candidate for Chelaship is easy enough, to develop into an Adept the most difficult task any man could possibly undertake. There are scores of “natural-born” poets, mathematicians, mechanics, statesmen, etc., but a natural-born Adept is something practically impossible. For, though we do hear at very rare intervals of one who has an extraordinary innate capacity for the acquisition of occult knowledge and power, yet even he has to pass the selfsame tests and [[probation]]s, and go through the same self-training as any less endowed fellow aspirant. In this matter it is most true that there is no royal road by which favourites may travel.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 607.</ref></blockquote>

Because of its difficulty and the need to be ready for chelaship, it is frequently recommended that the aspirant should simply work for humanity and let the opportunity present itself when the time is ripe. In this connection, Master K.H. wrote to a member of the [[Theosophical Society]]:

<blockquote>Sigh not for chelaship; pursue not that, the dangers and hardships of which are unknown to you.
 
Verily many are the [[chela]]s offering themselves to us, and as many have failed this year as were accepted on [[probation]]. Chelaship unveils the inner man and draws forth the dormant vices as well as the dormant virtue. Latent vice begets active sins and is often followed by insanity. Out of 5 [[Chela#Lay chelas|lay chelas]] chosen by the Society and accepted under protest by us, 3 have become criminals and 2 are insane...
 
Be pure, virtuous, and lead a holy life and you will be protected. But remember, he who is not as pure as a young child better leave chelaship alone.<ref>Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa, ''Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom'' First Series No. 9 (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 31.</ref></blockquote>

During the period of probation, which typically (but not always) lasts seven years, the aspirants are subjected to tests "to prove their fitness, and develop the qualities necessary to the security of both Master and pupil".<ref>Blavatsky, H. P., ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1962), 155-162.</ref> This marks the beginning of the chela's training. This training, however, is not one where the Master is constantly guiding the chela and telling him or her what to do. The necessary learning takes place through what happens in daily life and the chela's efforts to act according to the ideal put before him. In a letter to [[Franz Hartmann]], [[Morya|Master M.]] writes:

<blockquote>We are leaders but not child-nurses. The weak ones, not the strong ones, are in a constant need of definite 'orders,' and at times our chelas satisfy their wishes. This is willing slavery, but no healthy growth. Step forward and try to see clearly yourself what is most needed for the [[Theosophical Society|Society]]. Seek out what your duty may be, and carry it out. If you do the right thing, I will be at your side; but I will not give any advice, and will not involve myself in anything, unless it be unavoidably required, and you were in great doubt.<ref>Sven Eek, ''Damodar and the Pioneers of the Theosophical Movement'' (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1965), 605.</ref></blockquote>

== Rules for Chelaship ==

In 1887 [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] received the query "Whether a would-be-theosophist-occultist is required to abandon his worldly ties and duties such as family affection, love of parents, wife, children, friends, etc.?" H.P.B answered:

<blockquote>No follower of theosophy, least of all a disciple of the "Masters of Theosophy" (the chela of a guru), would ever be accepted on such conditions. Many were the candidates, but "few the chosen." Dozens were refused, simply because married and having a sacred duty to perform to wife and children. None have ever been asked to forsake father or mother; for he who, being necessary to his parent for his support, leaves him or her to gratify his own selfish consideration or thirst for knowledge, however great and sincere, is "unworthy" of the Science of Sciences, "or ever to approach a holy MASTER".<ref>Blavatsky, H. P., ''Collected Writings'' vol. VIII (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1990), 292.</ref></blockquote>

To illustrate her point, Mme. Blavatsky published some of the rules that the [[Masters of Wisdom|Masters]] had in Tibet to admit chelas into their Temples:

<blockquote>The Rules, however, of chelaship, or discipleship, are there, in many a Sanskrit and Tibetan volume. In Book IV of Kiu-ti, in the chapter on "the Laws of Upasans" (disciples), the qualifications expected in a "regular chela" are: (1) Perfect physical health. (2) Absolute mental and physical purity. (3) Unselfishness of purpose; universal charity; pity for all animate beings. (4) Truthfulness and unswerving faith in the laws of Karma. (5) A courage undaunted in the support of truth, even in face of peril to life. (6) An intuitive perception of one's being the vehicle of the manifested divine Atman (spirit). (7) Calm indifference for, but a just appreciation of, everything that constitutes the objective and transitory world. (8) Blessing of both parents and their permission to become an Upasan (chela); and (9) Celibacy, and freedom from any obligatory duty.<ref>Blavatsky, H. P., ''Collected Writings'' vol. VIII (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1990), 294.</ref></blockquote>

In April, 1888, Mme. Blavatsky publishes the article "Practical Occultism" in her periodical [[Lucifer (periodical)|''Lucifer'']]. There, she gives some more specific "conditions under which alone the study of Divine Wisdom can be pursued with safety." Several of the rules published in this article have to do with the necessary external conditions (physical and magnetic) as well as the relationship among co-disciples. Regarding this last point, there is an interesting concept given by [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] in [[Mahatma_Letter_No._129#Page 1 transcription, image, and notes|one of his letters]]:

<blockquote>Even the chelas of the same guru are often made to separate and keep apart for long months while the process of development is going on — simply on account of the two contrary magnetisms that attracting each other prevent mutual and INDIVIDUALIZED development in some one direction.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in Chronological Sequence'' No. 129 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 430. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 129#Page 1|Mahatma Letter No. 129 page 1]].</ref></blockquote>

Other rules describing the expected attitudes in an accepted chela who is being trained to develop psychic and spiritual [[Siddhis|powers]] were also published, as for example:

<blockquote>6. Those who desire to acquire the knowledge leading to the Siddhis (occult powers) have to renounce all the vanities of life and of the world (here follows enumeration of the Siddhis). (...) 7... His thoughts must be predominantly fixed upon his heart, chasing therefrom every hostile thought to any living being. It (the heart) must be full of the feeling of its non-separateness from the rest of beings as from all in Nature; otherwise no success can follow. (...) 9. The mind must remain blunt to all but the universal truths in nature. . . . 10. No animal food of whatever kind, nothing that has life in it, should be taken by the disciple. No wine, no spirits, or opium should be used: for these are like the Lhamayin (evil spirits), who fasten upon the unwary, they devour the understanding. (...) 11. Meditation, abstinence in all, the observation of moral duties, gentle thoughts, good deeds and kind words, as good will to all and entire oblivion of Self, are the most efficacious means of obtaining knowledge and preparing for the reception of higher wisdom. 12. It is only by virtue of a strict observance of the foregoing rules that a Lanoo can hope to acquire in good time the Siddhis of the Arhats, the growth which makes him become gradually One with the UNIVERSAL ALL.<ref>Blavatsky, H. P., ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1962), 159-160.</ref></blockquote>

After this article was published some members questioned the "practicality" of some of the requirements for chelaship, especially those dealing with the external conditions required. In June, 1889, she answers:

<blockquote>Chelaship has nothing whatever to do with means of subsistence or anything of the kind, for a man can isolate his mind entirely from his body and its surroundings. Chelaship is a state of mind, rather than a life according to hard and fast rules on the physical plane. This applies especially to the earlier, [[probation]]ary period, while the rules given in ''Lucifer'' for April last pertain properly to a later stage, that of actual occult training and the development of occult powers and insight. These rules indicate, however, the mode of life which ought to be followed by all aspirants so far as practicable, since it is the most helpful to them in their aspirations. 
It should never be forgotten that [[Occultism]] is concerned with the inner man who must be strengthened and freed from the dominion of the physical body and its surroundings, which must become his servants. Hence the first and chief necessity of Chelaship is a spirit of absolute unselfishness and devotion to Truth; then follow self-knowledge and self-mastery. These are all-important; while outward observance of fixed rules of life is a matter of secondary moment.<ref>Blavatsky, H. P., ''Collected Writings'' vol. XI (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), fn. 300-301.</ref></blockquote>

== According to A. Besant and C. W. Leadbeater ==

Both [[Annie Besant]] and [[C. W. Leadbeater]] promoted the book [[At the Feet of the Master (book)|''At the Feet of the Master'']] as "a statement so concise and yet so complete, so simple and yet so all-inclusive"<ref>Leadbeater, C. W., ''The Masters And The Path'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925),53.</ref> about the necessary preparation to pass through the portal of Initiation. In this book, the qualifications given by [[Shankaracharya]] in his Vivekacudamani (''viveka'', ''vairagya'', ''shatsampatti'', and ''mumukshutva'') are used as a model, though in some cases are translated differently. The qualifications are: Discrimination, Desirelessness, Good Conduct (Self-control as to the Mind, Self-control in Action, Tolerance, Cheerfulness, One-pointedness, and Confidence), and Love. About these qualifications [[Annie Besant|Dr. Besant]] said:

<blockquote>What of the famous qualifications for initiation which he must now seek to make his own? They are not asked for in perfection, but some possession of them there must be ere the portal may swing open to admit him. . . . The completion of the qualities may be left for the other side, if the beginnings are seen; but the initiate must fill up the full tale, and the more there is lacking the more will there be to be done.<ref>Besant, Annie, ''Discipleship And Some Karmic Problems'' (Adyar Pamphlets, No 195, Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, March 1935), 6-7.</ref></blockquote>

=== Stages of Chelaship ===

The path of chelaship is sometimes called "probationary path", and when successfully trodden leads to the Path Proper, which begins at the [[Initiation#First Initiation|first Initiation]]. The stages of chelaship were not described in detail in early theosophical literature. They were developed in the writings of [[Annie Besant]] and [[C. W. Leadbeater]]. Its stages were described by [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa|C. Jinarājadāsa]] as follows:

<blockquote>The first stage is that of the Probationary Pupil, when a Master of the Wisdom puts the aspirant “on [[Probation]]”. This is done either on the physical or the astral plane, but more usually on the latter. . . . If, after seven years of testing, the pupil on Probation is found to have grown in self-sacrifice to man and to God, his Master then finally receives the pupil into the stage of [[Chela#Accepted Chelas|Acceptance]]. . . . A still closer link between Master and pupil takes place at the next stage, when the pupil becomes the “Son of the Master”. . . . Coincident usually with the stage of the Son of the Master, the pupil is presented by his Master to the Great White Brotherhood for Initiation.<ref>Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa, ''First Principles of Theosophy'', (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1967), 336-343.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Spiritual Path]]
*[[Chela]]
*[[Probation]]
*[[Initiation]]

== Additional resources ==
=== Articles and pamphlets ===
*[http://www.philaletheians.co.uk/Study%20notes/Theosophy%20and%20Theosophists/Hartmann%20on%20how%20to%20enter%20the%20Path%20to%20Infinite%20Life.pdf# How to Enter the Path to Infinite Life] by Franz Hartmann
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/path/v03n04p105_to-aspirants-of-chelaship.htm# To Aspirants for Chelaship] by William Q. Judge
*[https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/library/adyar-pamphlets-theosophy/188-discipleship-karmic-problems# Discipleship and Some Karmic Problems] by Annie Besant. Adyar Pamphlet No. 195.
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/QualificationsForChelashipMMC.html# Qualifications For Chelaship] by Mohini M. Chatterjee. Adyar Pamphlet No. 127.

=== Books ===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/sites/default/files/ebooks/AtTheFeetOfTheMaster_JKrishnamurti.pdf# At the Feet of the Master] by Alcyone (J. Krishnamurti)
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Path_Of_Discipleship-AB.htm# The Path of Discipleship] by Annie Besant

===Audio===
*[https://archive.org/download/1151_20191125/1151.mp3# The Path to the Masters of Wisdom] by Clara Codd
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/plummer/Is%20Discipleship%20Possible%20in%20the%20West.mp3# Is Discipleship Possible in the West?] by L. Gordon Plummer

===Video===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/online-programs/recent-webcasts/2356# Approaches to Discipleship and the Theosophical Society] by C.V.K. Maithreya

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Sanskrit terms]]
[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Hindu concepts]]

Masters of Wisdom

2025-12-04T21:38:59Z

Pablo Sender: /* Online resources */

The '''Masters of Wisdom''', or simply "The Masters" are [[initiation|initiates]] in the [[occultism|occult]] science and esoteric philosophy, who take disciples or [[chelas]]. [[H. P. Blavatsky]], in the glossary of her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] defined the Theosophical concept of "Master" as follows:

<blockquote>'''Master.''' A translation from the Sanskrit Guru, "Spiritual teacher," and adopted by the Theosophists to designate the Adepts, from whom they hold their teachings.<ref>Helena Ptrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key To Theosophy'', Glossary (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1972), 348.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters of Wisdom are sometimes referred indistinctly as "Brothers", "[[Adepts]]", or "[[Mahatmas]]."

== General description==

The Masters are [[Occultism|occultists]] who have developed the psychic and spiritual [[Siddhi|powers]] that are still latent in most human beings:

<blockquote>A Mahatma is a personage who, by special training and education, has evolved those higher faculties and has attained that spiritual knowledge which ordinary humanity will acquire after passing through numberless series of incarnations during the process of cosmic evolution, provided, of course, that they do not go, in the meanwhile, against the purposes of Nature. . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 239.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The occultist, when he has identified himself thoroughly with his [[Ātman|Atma]], acts upon the [[Buddhi]], for, according to the laws of Cosmic [[Evolution]], the [[Puruṣa|Purusha]] — the universal seventh principle––is perpetually acting upon and manifesting itself through [[Prakṛti|Prakriti]]—the universal [[sixth principle]]. Thus the MAHATMA, who has become one with his [[seventh principle]]—which is identical with Purusha, since there is no isolation in the spiritual [[monad]]—is practically a creator, for he has identified himself with the evoluting and the manifesting energy of nature.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 261-262.</ref></blockquote>

However, this should not give the impression that the Masters are "ascended" or incorporeal spirits. Blavatsky stated, "They are living men, not 'spirits' or even [[Nirmanakaya]]s."<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref> Similarly, in her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] we find the following dialogue:

<blockquote>ENQUIRER. Who are they, finally, those whom you call your "Masters"? Some say they are "Spirits," or some other kind of supernatural beings, while others call them "myths." 
THEOSOPHIST. They are neither. I once heard one outsider say to another that they were a sort of male mermaids, whatever such a creature may be. But if you listen to what people say, you will never have a true conception of them. In the first place they are living men, born as we are born, and doomed to die like every other mortal.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters are thus incarnated in a body, and live in physical locations in different parts of the world. For this reason, even Masters are subject to physical limitations when acting through the body. As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote in [[Mahatma Letter No. 130#Page 10|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>For you know — or think you know, of one [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]] — and can know but of one, whereas there are two distinct personages answering to that name in him you know. The riddle is only apparent and easy to solve, were you only to know what a real Mahatma is. You have seen by [[Henry Kiddle#The Kiddle Incident|the Kiddle incident]] — perchance allowed to develop to its bitter end for a purpose — that even an "[[adept]]" when acting in his body is not beyond mistakes due to human carelessness.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 130 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433.</ref></blockquote>

Although the Masters known through the Theosophical literature use a male body, there are testimonies by a number of [[chela]]s that there are [[Adepts#Women Adepts|women adepts]], even of the highest degree.

=== Lifespan ===

Blavatsky said that the Masters "have discovered means to make their bodies last far longer than the norm." This is connected to the popular idea of the "elixir of life," which, according to her, is a metaphor for "a real occult process, warding off age and dissolution for periods which would seem fabulous."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VIII (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960) 399-400</ref></blockquote>

In a famous article, [[The "Elixir of Life"]], written by a former disciple of the Masters, the author claims that those who follow this process can live a thousand years or so. However, Blavatsky rejected this notion, saying:

<blockquote>Their [the Masters'] knowledge and learning are immense, and their personal holiness of life is still greater — still they are mortal men and none of them 1,000 years old, as imagined by some.<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref></blockquote>

Similarly, she stated:

<blockquote>I have never heard of mortal man, layman, or Adept, who could live even half the [969] years allotted to Methuselah. Some Adepts do exceed, by a good deal, what you would call the ordinary age; yet there is nothing miraculous in it, and very few of them care to live very long.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

A reference as to how long a human body may last was given by [[Damodar K. Mavalankar]] in a letter to [[W. Q. Judge]], saying, "At the most, how long can a human life last? Not more than four hundred years."<ref>See [http://www.dailytheosophy.net/0001-home-2/03-literature-2/03-1-fundamental-theosophical-literature-inleiding-links/eastern-school-of-theosophy/lettres-by-damodar-k-mavalankar-to-william-quan-judge/# Letters by Damodar K. Mavalankar to William Quan Judge]</ref> This is repeated by Judge in his book [[The Ocean of Theosophy (book)|''The Ocean of Theosophy'']].<ref>William Quan Judge, ''The Ocean of Theosophy'', (Pasadena: Theosophical University Press, 2011), 37.</ref>

== Renouncing Nirvana ==

An important feature of the Masters of Wisdom is that, although they have attained the right to enter in [[Nirvāṇa]] they renounce to it in order to stay in touch with humanity. This is the same concept of the [[Bodhisattva]]s in [[Mahayana Buddhism]], which was not very well know at the time to the Western world:

<blockquote>. . .the hitherto very esoteric doctrine of the Nirmanakayas was lately brought forward as a proof and explained in the treatise called ''The Voice of the Silence''. These Nirmanakayas are the Bodhisattvas or late Adepts, who having reached Nirvana and liberation from rebirth, renounce it voluntarily in order to remain invisibly amidst the world to help poor ignorant Humanity within the lines permitted by Karma.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 12 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 31. </ref></blockquote>

This is evidently a sacrifice on their part, renouncing to live in a state of bliss on higher planes to incessantly work on the lower ones. As [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote to [[A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>I will be busy night and day, morning, noon, and evening. At times I feel a passing regret that the Chohans should not evolute the happy idea of allowing us also a "sumptuary allowance" in the shape of a little spare time. Oh, for the final Rest! for that Nirvana where — "to be one with Life, yet — to live not." Alas, alas! having personally realized that: ". . . the Soul of Things is sweet, The Heart of Being is celestial Rest," one does long for — eternal REST!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203-204.</ref></blockquote>

== Their Work ==

When asked by [[Charles Johnston]] about their work she answered: "You would hardly understand, unless you were an adept. But they keep alive the spiritual life of mankind."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401.</ref> He then asked her how the adepts guide the souls of men, to which [[H. P. Blavatsky]] answered:

<blockquote>In many ways, but chiefly by teaching their souls direct, in the spiritual world. But that is difficult for you to understand. This is quite intelligible, though. At certain regular periods, they try to give the world at large a right understanding of spiritual things. One of their number comes forth to teach the masses, and is handed down to tradition as the Founder of a religion. Krishna was such a Master; so was Zoroaster; so were Buddha and Shankara Acharya, the great sage of Southern India. So also was the Nazarene. He went forth against the counsel of the rest, to give to the masses before the time, moved by a great pity, and enthusiasm for humanity; he was warned that the time was unfavorable, but nevertheless he elected to go, and so was put to death at the instigation of the priests. . . . 
But that is not the only work of the adepts. At much shorter periods, they send forth a messenger to try to teach the world. Such a period comes in the last quarter of each century, and the Theosophical Society represents their work for this epoch.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401-402.</ref></blockquote>

One must bear in mind, however, that there are different types of Adepts corresponding to the [[Seven Rays]] of the Logos, and they may have different functions. As [[T. Subba Row]] stated:

<blockquote>In the adept hierarchy, there are always seven classes of adepts, corresponding to the seven rays of the Logos. Two of these classes of adepts are so mysterious, and their representatives on earth are so rare, that they are seldom spoken of. Perhaps one or two adepts of these two mysterious orders appear every two or three thousand years.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 106.</ref></blockquote>

There are some references to some kind of involvement of the Masters in political or social matters. For example in [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters'']], the [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] around November 1880:

<blockquote>A crisis, in a certain sense, is upon us now, and must be met. I might say two crises — one, the Society's, the other for Tibet. For, I may tell you in confidence, that Russia is gradually massing her forces for a future invasion of that country under the pretext of a Chinese War. If she does not succeed it will be due to us; and herein, at least we will deserve your gratitude. You see then, that we have weightier matters than small societies to think about; yet, the T.S. must not be neglected.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 5 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 15.</ref></blockquote>

Another reference by the same Master, written around July, 1882, states:

<blockquote>The Egyptian operations of your blessed countrymen involve such local consequences to the body of [[Occultism|Occultists]] still remaining there and to what they are guarding, that two of our adepts are already there, having joined some Druze brethren and three more on their way. I was offered the agreeable privilege of becoming an eye-witness to the human butchery, but — declined with thanks. For such great emergency is our Force stored up, and hence — we dare not waste it on fashionable tamasha.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203.</ref></blockquote>

[[T. Subba Row]] described the function of the Masters in nature as follows:

<blockquote>The adept hierarchy is as strictly a product of nature as a tree is: it has a definite and indispensable purpose and function in the development of the human race: this function is to keep open the upward path, through which descend the light and leading without which our race would require to make each step by the wearisome, never ending method of trial and failure in every direction, until chance showed the right way.

In fact the function of the adept hierarchy is to provide religious teachers for the stumbling masses of mankind.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 113.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma_Letter_No._112#Page 3|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] talks about another aspect of their work. He mentions the Masters' "prime duty of gaining knowledge and disseminating through all available channels such fragments as mankind in the mass may be ready to assimilate".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 112 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 382.</ref></blockquote>

Regarding their roles as teachers, they do not impart information to their chelas as regular teachers do, but rather train them to develop their abilities so that they can perceive truths by their own means. As Subba Row explained:

<blockquote>Our Gurus, be it remember, never teach us as our English school masters. Nothing by word. They simply impress in our minds and help us develop the higher [[Round#Fifth_Round|fifth rounder's]] faculty.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''T. Subba Row Collected Writings'' vol. I (San Diego, USA: Point Loma Publications, 2001), 15.</ref></blockquote>

This is confirmed in the following testimony from H. P. Blavatsky:

<blockquote>Knowledge comes in visions, first in dreams and then in pictures presented to the inner eye during meditation. Thus have I been taught the whole system of evolution, the laws of being and all else that I know—the mysteries of life and death, the workings of karma. Not a word was spoken to me of all this in the ordinary way, except, perhaps, by way of confirmation of what was thus given me—nothing taught me in writing.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 13 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 285.</ref></blockquote>

== Witnesses ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] claimed personal contact with Mahatmas living in Tibet, Ladakh, India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. During her lifetime and since her death, there has been a great deal of controversy and skepticism concerning their existence. Almost all of HPB's critics have doubted the actual existence or reality of her Masters. However, more than twenty five people testified to having seen and/or been in contact with the Mahatmas during Madame Blavatsky's life time.

Daniel Caldwell has compiled detailed accounts and testimonies of all these witnesses in the following books:

* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas]
* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf# The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India]
* [https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf# Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas]

== See also ==
*[[Mahatma]]
*[[Adepts]]
*[[Brotherhood of Adepts]]
*[[Chela]]
*[[Chelaship]]
*[[Initiation]]
*[[Occultism]]
*[[Portraits of the Masters]]
*[[:Category:Mahatmas and Adepts|A list of Wiki articles on individual Mahatmas and Adepts]]

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/working-as-colleagues-of-the-masters Working as Colleagues of the Masters] by Ed Abdill
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No101.pdf# Is Belief in the Masters Superstitious or Harmful?] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Super-Human%20Men-%20Annie%20Besant.htm# Superhuman Men - in History and in Religion] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/can-the-mahatmas-be-selfish# Can The Mahatmas Be Selfish?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[https://www.theosophy.world/resource/madame-blavatsky-himalayan-brothers# Madame Blavatsky on "The Himalayan Brothers"] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mahatmas-and-chelas# Mahatmas and Chelas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/theosophical-mahatmas# The Theosophical Mahatmas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-14.htm# The "Theosophical Mahatmas"] in ''The Key to Theosophy'' Section 14, by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Masters.pdf# Masters and Gurus] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/PerfectedOnes.pdf# The Perfected Ones] by Clara Codd
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway1.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Instruments - Part 1] and [http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway2.htm# Part 2] by Laura Holloway
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/wqj/TheosophicalAdepts.pdf# Theosophical Adepts (a collection of articles)] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/masters-adepts-teachers-and-disciples# Masters, Adepts, Teachers, and Disciples] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Teacher.pdf# Who Is The Teacher?] by Joy Mills
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/how-the-masters-know-truth How the Masters Know Truth] by Shirley J. Nicholson
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/mahatmas-versus-ascended-masters Mahatmas versus Ascended Masters] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/participating-in-the-work-of-the-masters-of-wisdom Participating in the Work of the Masters of Wisdom] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/who-are-the-masters Who Are the Masters?] An Interview with Joy Mills by Richard Smoley

===Books===
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/besant_h_p_blavatsky_and_the_masters_of_wisdom_1907.pdf# H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of the Wisdom] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Masters-AB.htm# The Masters] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/hpb/TeachersDiscp.pdf# Teachers And Disciples] A compilation of articles H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/kuhnmahatmaletters.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Alvin B. Kuhn
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpmanu/mahat_ch/m_c-hp.htm# Mahatmas and Chelas] by Leoline L. Wright
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf# The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf# Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell
* Caldwell, Daniel H. ''[https://blavatskyarchives.com/hollowaybook.pdf Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas: Articles by Laura C. Holloway with Letters from H.P. Blavatsky, Master K.H. and Master M.]''. The Blavatsky Study Center, 2012.

===Audio===
*[https://archive.org/download/1151_20191125/1151.mp3# The Path to the Masters of Wisdom] by Clara Codd
*[https://archive.org/download/1365_20200103/1365.mp3# The Masters of the Wisdom: The World, and the Theosophical Society Today] by Dora Kunz
*[https://archive.org/download/1364_20191228/1364.mp3# The Masters and the Future of the Theosophical Society] by Dora Kunz
*[http://www.old.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/sanat/Krishnamurti%20on%20the%20Masters.mp3# Krishnamurti on the Masters] by Aryel Sanat
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abdill/The%20Adepts:%20Our%20Brothers.mp3# "The Adepts: Our Brothers"] by Ed Abdill

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRS5NcAidxo# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Theosophical Society in America
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7QW0CGyvkY# The Mahatmas, Their Letters, and The Path] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLOfiqc0c4A# In Their Own Words - Wisdom from the Mahatmas] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBU6S8Yutbk# The Masters of the Wisdom] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErsV6ugfxxo# The Masters and Their Wisdom - Part 1] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNK9_L9haCw The Masters and Their Wisdom Part 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTkChZrBw_0 Part 3], and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0OnqpG0yAY Part 4] by Tim Boyd
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hidDBxWetAg# The Hierarchy of Earth's Adepts: Part 1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNAn9vHIm5M# Part 2] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcxsYqiYRA# The Mahatmas: Working with the Wise Ones for a Better World] by Barbara Herbert

== Additional resources ==
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/Masters_of_Wisdom_and_their_Teachings.pdf# Bibliography on the Masters of Wisdom and their Teachings] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Mahatmas and Adepts]]

[[es: Maestros de Sabiduría]]
[[ru:Мастера Мудрости]]

Plane

2025-11-25T22:07:44Z

Pablo Sender: /* Books and pamphlets */

'''Plane''' is a term that in some spiritual and esoteric philosophies is used to refer to a locality or dimension, which can be physical or non-physical. The original source of the word "plane" in this context seems to be the late [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonist]] [[Proclus]], who frequently used the word ''platos'' (πλάτος) meaning "amplitude, breadth, broadness, width", as in the expression ''en to psuchiko platei''.<ref>J. J. Poortman, ''Vehicles of Consciousness'' vol. II (Utrecht, The Netherlands: The Theosophical Society in the Netherlands 1978), 54</ref>

== Definition ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] defined the word ''plane'' as follows:

<blockquote>'''Plane'''. From the Latin planus (level, flat) an extension of space or of something in it, whether physical or metaphysical, e.g., a “plane of consciousness”. As used in Occultism, the term denotes the range or extent of some state of consciousness, or of the perceptive power of a particular set of senses, or the action of a particular force, or the state of matter corresponding to any of the above.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 6.</ref></blockquote>

[[Annie Besant]] explained:

<blockquote>A plane may be defined as a state marked off by clear characteristics; it must not be thought of as a place, [Page 9] as though the universe were made up of shells one within the other like the coats of an onion. The conception is metaphysical, not physical, the consciousness acting on each plane in fashion appropriate to each.<ref>Annie Besant, ''A Rough Outline of Theosophy'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1921), ???.</ref></blockquote>

== Seven planes ==
[[File:Planes - HPB.jpg|right|200px]]
The [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature postulates that the universe is [[Septenary Principle|seven-fold]]:

<blockquote>Our philosophy teaches us that, as there are seven fundamental forces in nature, and seven planes of being, so there are seven states of consciousness in which man can live, think, remember and have his being.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Key to Theosophy'', (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 89.</ref></blockquote>

This septenary structure repeats itself at the level of the universe, the solar system, the earth, the human being, etc. Although the higher universal planes are beyond the human conception, the lower are within the range of human endeavor:

<blockquote>Believing in seven planes of Kosmic being and states of Consciousness, with regard to the Universe or the Macrocosm, we stop at the fourth plane, finding it impossible to go with any degree of certainty beyond. But with respect to the Microcosm, or man, we speculate freely on his seven states and principles.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Key to Theosophy'', (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 90.</ref></blockquote>

== Macrocosmic or Solar planes ==

[[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] described the manifested universe and everything in it as being [[Septenary Principle|sevenfold]]. She claimed the states of consciousness in the universe as a whole (frequently called "Kosmos" by her) was beyond the possibility of explanation. Therefore, she limited herself to describe the seven principles in the solar system (called macrocosmos) which are reflected in human beings (microcosmos):

<blockquote>The student will observe that the study of the States of Consciousness is confined to Consciousness as manifesting in the solar system. Any attempt to figure Consciousness in KOSMOS would have deceived the student by inducing him to believe that such Kosmic Consciousness could be explained, whereas the whole of even the lowest plane of Kosmos transcends the highest Adept on earth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 657.</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Macrocosmic Planes.jpg|200px|left]]
7th- Auric envelope or Atmic: This is the Cosmic [[Auric Egg]], also called [[Hiraṇyagarbha]]

6th- [[Ālaya]]: The Universal Soul or Oversoul.

5th- [[Mahat]]: The Universal Mind or Divine Thought.

4th- [[Fohat]]: The Cosmic Energy

3rd- [[Jīva|Jiva]]: The Universal Life.

2nd- [[Astral]]: The Astral model, reflecting on the lower planes.

1st- [[Prakṛti|Prakiti]]: The physical plane of the solar system, which is again divided into seven sub-planes.

<blockquote>This diagram represents the type of the solar system. 
The three higher divisions of this plane are inconceivable to us, and are only reached by the highest Adept in Samâdhi. Esoterically, Samâdhi is the highest state on earth attainable while in the body. Beyond that the Initiate must become a Nirmânakâya. The highest Adept begins his Samâdhi on the fourth macrocosmic plane, and cannot pass out of the solar system. When such an Adept begins his Samâdhi, he is on a par with some of the Dhyâni-Chohans, but transcends them as he rises to the seventh plane, Nirvâna. 
The “SILENT WATCHER” [see The Secret Doctrine, Vol. I, pp. 207, 208] is on the fourth plane. 
The Pratyeka-Buddha, the Buddha of Selfishness––called because of this spiritual selfishness “the rhinoceros,” the solitary animal––can never pass beyond the third plane, that of Jîva. Such a one has conquered, indeed, his material desires, but he has not yet freed himself from his mental and spiritual longings. It is the Buddha of Compassion only that can transcend this third macrocosmic plane.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 658-659.</ref></blockquote>

Although human beings cannot perceive these higher planes, there is a [[correspondence]] between them and his [[principles]], and therefore, he can experience their reflection on his own level:

<blockquote>These seven planes correspond to the seven states of consciousness in man. It remains with him to attune the three higher states in himself to the three higher planes in Kosmos. But before he can attempt to attune, he must awaken the three “seats” to life and activity.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 199</ref></blockquote>

== Prakritic planes ==

The lowest, or first, macrocosmic plane is called "prakritic":

<blockquote>Prakriti, the lowest plane of macrocosmic consciousness, represents the “body” of the solar systems, with its own seven subdivisions, or the seven states of Prâkritic consciousness, each corresponding to a state of the macrocosmic consciousness.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 659.</ref></blockquote>

This plane is also divided into seven sub-planes, as follows:

<blockquote>7th

6th, or Alayic-Prakritic

5th, or Mahatic

4th, or Fohatic

3rd, or Jaivic

2nd, or Astral

1st, or Objective (Terrestrial)</blockquote>

Mme. Blavatsky only explained the different states of consciousness experienced on the [[Astral Plane#Astral Prakritic consciousness|Astral Prakritic plane]] and the Objective Prakritic, or Terrestrial (see below).

=== According to C. W. Leadbeater ===

[[C. W. Leadbeater]] explained the relationship between the terrestrial planes and the Prakritic as follows:

<blockquote>Each physical globe has its physical plane (including its atmosphere), its astral plane, and its mental plane, all interpenetrating one another, and therefore occupying the same position in space, but all quite apart from and not communicating with the corresponding planes of any other globe. It is only when we rise to the lofty levels of the buddhic plane that we find a condition common to, at any rate, all the planets of our chain. 
Notwithstanding this, there is, as stated above, a condition of the atomic matter of each of these planes which is cosmic in its extent; so that the seven atomic sub-planes of our system, taken apart from the rest, may be said to constitute one cosmic plane - the lowest, sometimes called the cosmic-prakritic. The interplanetary ether, for example, which appears to extend through the whole of space - indeed must do so, at least to the farthest visible star, otherwise our physical eyes could not perceive that star - is composed of physical ultimate atoms in their normal and uncompressed condition. But all the lower and more complex forms of ether exist only (so far as is at present known) in connection with the various heavenly bodies, aggregated round them just as their atmosphere is, though probably extending considerably further from their surface.<ref>C. W. Leadbeater, ''The Devachanic Plane''</ref></blockquote>

== Terrestrial planes ==

The first, or lowest of the prakritic plane, is called the Objective Prakritic or Terrestrial. It is also divided into seven sub-planes as follows:

<blockquote>7. Atmic consciousness, that of the Para-Ego.

6. Buddhic, Inner-Ego.

5. Manasic, Higher or Individual Ego

4. Kama-Manasic, Personal Ego or Higher Psychic

3. Pranic-Kamic or Psychic (instinct)

2. Astral (things are reversed)

1. Objective (plane of the senses)</blockquote>

The states of consciousness on the seven subplanes of this Terrestrial plane have been described as follows:

<blockquote>1. Objective Sensuous Consciousness. The consciousness that pertains to the five physical senses in man and rules in animals, birds, fishes, some insects, etc. Here are the “Lives”; their consciousness is in Âtma-Buddhi; they are entirely without Manas.

2. Astral Instinctual Consciousness. The consciousness of sensitive plants, of ants, spiders, and some night-flies (Indian), but not of bees. Among other animals the non-mammalian vertebrates are without this consciousness, but the placental mammals have all the potentialities of human consciousness, though of course dormant, or latent, at present. On this plane is the consciousness of idiots. The common phrase, “he has lost his mind,” is an occult truth; for when, through fright or other cause, the lower mind becomes paralyzed, then the consciousness acts on the astral plane. The study of lunacy will throw much light on this point. This may well be called the “nerve plane.” It is cognized by our “nervous senses,” of which, as yet, modern physiology knows nothing. Hence it is that a clairvoyant can read with the eyes bandaged, with the tips of the fingers, the pit of the stomach, etc. This consciousness is greatly developed in the deaf and dumb. On this plane everything is reversed, reflected upside down.

3. Kâma-Prânic, or Physiological-Emotional Consciousness. This is the general life-consciousness which belongs to the objective world, even to the stone; for if the stones were not living they could not decay, crumble away, or emit a spark. Affinity between chemical elements is a manifestation of this, Kâma-Prânic consciousness. To this plane, also, belong the life-preservative instincts, as for instance that which prevents a kitten going into the water and getting drowned.
[A stone could not crumble unless there was life throughout it; for the crumbling is not due only to friction by water, air, etc., or the action of frost, but to the fact that every particle in the stone is in a state of active vibration, performing rhythmical motions, not in a state of inertia. These life-waves, pulsing in the stone, throw its molecules apart, thus enabling foreign matters and influences to enter between them, force them farther apart, and so cause crumbling away. Even this is not all: the vibratory action of the life itself, apart from any interference from without, tends to ultimately disrupt the combinations of molecules that make up the stone.]

4. Kâma-Mânasic, or Psychic, or Passional-Emotional Consciousness. In animals and idiots the instinctual consciousness on the lower planes of sensation is in this state; in man these are rationalized. For instance, if a dog is shut up in a room, it has the instinct to get out, but is unable to do so because this instinct is not sufficiently rationalized to take the means necessary for its liberation. A man at once takes in the situation, and lets himself out. The highest degrees of this Kâma-Mânasic consciousness are psychic, there being within this sub-plane, as with all others, seven degrees from the instinctual and psychic.

5. Mânasic or Mental-Emotional Consciousness. From this plane Manas stretches up to Mahat.

6. Buddhic, or Spiritual Emotional Consciousness. The plane of Buddhi or of the Auric Envelope. From this plane consciousness goes to the “Father in Heaven,” Âtman, reflecting all that is in the Auric Envelope. The Mânasic and Buddhic states cover the planes from the Noëtic to the Divine, but it is impossible at this stage to define them intelligibly. Call the highest plane x if you will. You can’t understand it.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 661-662.</ref></blockquote>

In the teachings of the "Inner Group" there is the following additional information was given:<ref>Henk J. Spierenburg (compiler), ''The Inner Group Teachings of H. P. Blavatsky'' (San Diego, CA: Point Loma Publications, Inc, 1995), 29</ref>

<blockquote>
1. This objective, or sensuous, plane is that which is sensed by the five physical senses.

2. On its second plane, objects are reversed.

3. Its third plane is psychic, here is the instinct which prevents a kitten going into the water and getting drowned.
 
The following table of the terrestrial consciousness was given:

1. Sensuous
2. Instinctual
3. Physiological emotional
4. Passional
5. Mental
6. Spiritual
7. X</blockquote>

== Human States of Consciousness ==

Human beings are the microcosmos of the macrocosmos. They also show a septenary consciousness:

<blockquote>This figure represents the human consciousness, which may be on any of the planes or sub-planes of Prakriti. The names represent the correspondences of the human principles, so called, with the Prâkritic and the macrocosmic States of Consciousness.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 659.</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Human States of Cosnciousness.JPG|200px|left]]

7th Auric or Atmic

6th Buddhi-Manasic

5th Manasic

4th Kama-Manasic

3rd Kama-Pranic

2nd Astral

1st Objective

These states of consciousness take place on any of the Prakritic planes.

== Later teachings ==

[[Annie Besant]] and [[C. W. Leadbeater]] offered a modified organization of the planes, not based on the different states of consciousness possible in them, as [[H. P. Blavatsky]] did, but on the kind of matter they are composed of. Thus, they regarded the Manasic and Kama-Manasic planes as being really one, the mental plane, which can be subdivided into higher (manasic) and lower (kama-manasic). Their Astral plane included Blavatsky's Pranic-Kamic and Astral (or at least its higher sub-planes), while the physical plane could be subdivided in two: the "dense" half (which corresponds with the "objective"), and the etheric (which probably corresponds with the lower subplanes of Blavatsky's "astral". Buddhi and Atman remain the same.

== See also ==
*[[Loka]]

== Additional resources ==
=== Articles ===
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/planes-theosophy Planes in Theosophy] in Theosophy World
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/mental-plane Mental Plane] in Theosophy World
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/adi-plane Adi Plane] in Theosophy World
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/anupadaka-plane Anupadaka Plane] in Theosophy World

=== Books and pamphlets ===
* [https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/library/adyar-pamphlets-theosophy/40-the-reality-of-the-invisible-and-the-actuality-of-the-unseen-worlds# The Reality of the Invisible and the Actuality of the Unseen Worlds] by Annie Besant

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[es:Planos]]

Astral Light

2025-11-18T18:57:48Z

Pablo Sender: /* Astral "tablets" */

'''Astral Light''' is a term used by the French [[Occultism|occultist]] [[Eliphas Levi]] to refer to the medium of all light, energy and movement, much in accordance with the theory of the [[Ether|luminiferous ether]] commonly held in the nineteenth century. In his view the astral light was a fluidic life force that fills all space and living beings.

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] adopted the term and used it in her writings. The Astral Light is not a universal [[principle]], but belongs to our planet. Being a lower aspect of the universal [[Ākāśa]], it embraces the second, third, and fourth of the [[Plane#Prakritic planes|Prakritic planes]], although sometimes it is characterized as being only the second plane, corresponding with the [[Liṅga-śarīra]] in human beings.

The Astral Light receives the "impressions" produced on the Terrestrial plane and retains a record of all that happens. It also mirrors the higher planes. However, due to its nature, the reflections are fragmentary and misleading. The Astral Light responds to the will-power and can therefore be used to produce some occult and psychic [[phenomena]].

== General description ==

The Astral Light is not a universal [[principle]], but belongs to our planet, embracing the three lower non-objective [[Plane#Prakritic planes|Prakritic planes]]:

<blockquote>The Astral Light is that which mirrors the three higher planes of consciousness, and is above the lower, or [[Plane#Solar or Prakritic planes|terrestrial plane]]; therefore it does not extend beyond the fourth plane, where, one may say, the Akâsa begins. There is one great difference between the Astral Light and the Akâsa which must be remembered. The latter is eternal, the former periodic. The Astral Light changes not only with the [[Manvantara|Maha manvantaras]] but also with every sub-period and planetary cycle or [[Round]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 360-361.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The invisible region that surrounds our [[Globe#Globe D|globe]], as it does every other, and corresponding as the second Principle of Kosmos (the third being [[Prāṇa|Life]], of which it is the vehicle) to the [[Liṅga-śarīra|Linga Sharira]] or the Astral Double in man. A subtle Essence visible only to a clairvoyant eye, and the lowest but one (viz., the earth), of the Seven Akâsic or Kosmic Principles.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1918), 35.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The Astral Light is not a universally diffused stuff, but pertains to our earth and all other bodies of the system on the same plane of matter with it. Our Astral Light is, so to speak, the Linga-Sharîra of our earth; only instead of being its primordial prototype, as in the case of our Chhâyâ, or Double, it is the reverse. While the human and animal bodies grow and develop in the model of their antetypal Doubles, it is the Astral Light that is born from the terrene emanations, grows and develops after its prototypal parent.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 613.</ref></blockquote>

== The "Great Serpent" ==

The Astral Light is originally a pure reflection of the higher planes. However, since it also absorbs the emanations (thoughts and emotions) produced on our plane, in the course of human [[evolution]] it becomes "polluted". This pollution is reflected on earth and becomes a source of moral and physical suffering to humanity:

<blockquote>As the [[Esoteric Philosophy]] teaches us, the Astral Light is simply the dregs of Akâsa or the Universal Ideation in its metaphysical sense. Though invisible, it is yet, so to speak, the phosphorescent radiation of the latter, and is the medium between it and man’s thought-faculties. It is these which pollute the Astral Light, and make it what it is—the storehouse of all human and especially psychic iniquities. In its primordial genesis, the astral light as a radiation is quite pure, though the lower it descends approaching our terrestrial sphere, the more it differentiates, and becomes as a result impure in its very constitution. But man helps considerably in this pollution, and gives it back its essence far worse than when he received it.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 251.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Eliphas Levi calls it the great Serpent and the Dragon from which radiates on Humanity every evil influence. This is so; but why not add that the Astral Light gives out nothing but what it has received; that it is the great terrestrial crucible, in which the vile emanations of the earth (moral and physical) upon which the Astral Light is fed, are all converted into their subtlest essence, and radiated back intensified, thus becoming epidemics--moral, psychic and physical.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1918), 35.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Read and study what Éliphas Lévi says of the Astral Light, which he calls Satan and the Great Serpent. The Astral Light has been taken too literally to mean some sort of a second blue sky. This imaginary space, however, on which are impressed the countless images of all that ever was, is, and will be, is but a too sad reality. It becomes in, and for, man—if at all psychic—and who is not?—a tempting Demon, his “evil angel,” and the inspirer of all our worst deeds. It acts on the will of even the sleeping man, through visions impressed upon his slumbering brain (which visions must not be confused, with the “dreams”), and these germs bear their fruit when he awakes.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 252.</ref></blockquote>

== Astral tablets ==

The astral light has the ability to receive and store "impressions", and therefore. Thus, it retains a record of everything that happens. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] explained:

<blockquote>The Astral Light . . . reflects on its lower individual plane the life of our Earth, recording it on its "tablets".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 357.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>According to Occult teaching the Astral light is . . . the recorder of every thought; the universal mirror which reflects every event and thought as every being and thing, animate or inanimate. We call it the great Sea of Illusion, Maya.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1918), 35.</ref></blockquote>

The astral light not only records present and past events, but also holds a kind of "sketch" of future ones:

<blockquote>It is on the indestructible tablets of the astral light that is stamped the impression of every thought we think, and every act we perform; and that future events — effects of long-forgotten causes — are already delineated as a vivid picture for the eye of the seer and prophet to follow.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 178.</ref></blockquote>

As can be gathered from the previous quote, the [[Adept]]s can access the "tablets" of the astral light and use them as a source of information. Mme. Blavatsky stated:

<blockquote>All things that ever were, that are, or that will be, having their record upon the astral light, or tablet of the unseen universe, the [[Initiation|initiated]] adept, by using the vision of his own spirit, can know all that has been known or can be known.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 588.</ref></blockquote>

Another example based on personal experience is the help Mme. Blavatsky had from the Adepts in writing her book [[Isis Unveiled (book)|''Isis Unveiled'']]. She wrote:

<blockquote>It was neither a “spirit” nor “spirits” but living men who can draw before their eyes the picture of any book or manuscript wherever existing, and in case of need even that of any long forgotten and unrecorded event, who helped “Mme. Blavatsky.” The astral light is the store-house and the record book of all things, and deeds have no secrets for such men. And the proof of it may be found in the production of Isis Unveiled.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 250.</ref></blockquote>

These records can also be accessed by the uninitiated, if he or she has developed [[clairvoyance]]. Mme. Blavatsky described one of the techniques sometimes used for this purpose as follows:

<blockquote>If the Astral Light is collected in a cup or metal vessel by will-power, and the eyes fixed on some point in it with a strong will to see, a waking vision or “dream” is the result, if the person is at all sensitive. The reflections in the Astral Light are seen better with closed eyes, and, in sleep, still more distinctly.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 257.</ref></blockquote>

However, due to its nature, the visions seen by the uninitiated are often distorted reflections of the real:

<blockquote>The Astral Light . . . reflects everything reversed in its treacherous wave (both from the upper planes and from its lower solid plane, the earth). Hence the confusion of its colors and sounds in the perception and clairaudience of the sensitive who trusts to its records––be that sensitive a Hatha-Yogi or a medium.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 613.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The prototypes or ideas of things exist first on the plane of Divine eternal Consciousness and thence become reflected and reversed in the Astral Light, which also reflects on its lower individual plane the life of our Earth, recording it on its “tablets.” Therefore, is the Astral Light called illusion. It is from this that we, in our turn, get our prototypes. Consequently unless the Clairvoyant or Seer can get beyond this plane of illusion, he can never see the Truth, but will be drowned in an ocean of self-deception and hallucinations.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 361.</ref></blockquote>

For this and other reasons, trying to train oneself into seeing in the Astral Light is not recommended:

<blockquote>Seeing in the astral light is not done through [[Manas]], but through the senses, and hence has to do entirely with sense-perception removed to a plane different from this, but more illusionary. The final perceiver or judge of perception is in Manas, in the Self; and therefore the final tribunal is clouded by the astral perception if one is not so far trained or [[Initiation|initiated]] as to know the difference and able to tell the true from the false. Another result is a tendency to dwell on this subtle sense-perception, which at last will cause an atrophy of Manas for the time being. This makes the confusion all the greater, and will delay any possible initiation all the more or forever. Further, such seeing is in the line of [[phenomena]], and adds to the confusion of the Self which is only beginning to understand this life; by attempting the astral [perception] another element of disorder is added by more phenomena due to another plane, thus mixing both sorts up. The [[Ego]] must find its basis and not be swept off hither and thither. The constant reversion of images and ideas in the astral light, and the pranks of the [[elemental]]s there, unknown to us as such and only seen in effects, still again add to the confusion. To sum it up, the real danger from which all others flow or follow is in the confusion of the Ego by introducing strange things to it before the time.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 400-G.</ref></blockquote>

=== Memory ===

The Astral Light records what takes place, not only on a global level, but also at the level of personal experience:

<blockquote>Nothing that takes place, no manifestation however rapid or weak, can ever be lost from the Skandhic record of a man’s life. Not the smallest sensation, the most trifling action, impulse, thought, impression, or deed, can fade or go out from, or in the Universe. We may think it unregistered by our memory unperceived by our consciousness, yet it will still be recorded on the tablets of the astral light.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 130 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 415.</ref></blockquote>

According to [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]], the faculty of [[memory]] is related to the ability of [[consciousness]] to read into the person's record of the astral light.

=== Memory of past lives ===

Mme. Blavatsky claimed that the recognition of people and places not known before are not necessarily a proof of the "soul's memory" but the ability to read these things on the astral light:

<blockquote>The well-known fact — one corroborated by the personal experience of nine persons out of ten — that we often recognize as familiar to us, scenes, and landscapes, and conversations, which we see or hear for the first time, and sometimes in countries never visited before, is a result of the same causes [as the near-death review]. Believers in reïncarnation [of the same personality] adduce this as an additional proof of our antecedent existence in other bodies. This recognition of men, countries, and things that we have never seen, is attributed by them to flashes of soul-memory of anterior experiences. But the men of old, in common with mediæval philosophers, firmly held to a contrary opinion.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 179.</ref></blockquote>

For more information see also [[Akashic Records]].

== Magic agent ==

In [[Isis Unveiled (book)|''Isis Unveiled'']] Blavatsky writes that the Astral light is related to some occult and psychic [[phenomena]]:

<blockquote>The same as the sidereal light of [[Paracelsus]] and other [[Hermeticism|Hermetic]] philosophers. Physically, it is the ether of modern science. Metaphysically, and in its spiritual, or [[Occultism|occult]] sense, ether is a great deal more than is often imagined. In occult physics, and [[alchemy]], it is well demonstrated to enclose within its shoreless waves not only Mr. Tyndall’s “promise and potency of every quality of life,” but also the realization of the potency of every quality of spirit. Alchemists and Hermetists believe that their [[astral]], or sidereal ether, besides the above properties of sulphur, and white and red magnesia, or magnes, is the [[Anima Mundi|anima mundi]], the workshop of Nature and of all the cosmos, spiritually, as well as physically. The “grand magisterium” asserts itself in the phenomenon of mesmerism, in the “levitation” of human and inert objects; and may be called the ether from its spiritual aspect.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Isis Unveiled'', vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), xxv.</ref></blockquote>

Eliphas Lévi called it the “grand Agent Magique” (great Magic agent) although Mme. Blavatsky says this is so "only so far as Black Magic is concerned".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 254.</ref>

== According to Éliphas Lévi ==

 Much of the theory connected with the idea of the astral light has its origin in the writings of [[Éliphas Lévi]], where it plays a key role. In his book Dogma and Ritual of High Magic the astral light is strikingly described as a blind, amoral, universal force that sweeps all before it in a perpetual and restless search for equilibrium. According to Lévi, men achieve true freedom and moral stature only when they are able to rise above and act upon this constant, purposeless flux through the exercise of intelligence, and especially will.<ref> Williams, A. Thomas. Eliphas Levi: Master of Occultism. The University of Alabama Press, 1975. Page 101</ref>

Writing of the astral light, Éliphas Lévi says that <blockquote> "there exists in nature a force infinitely exceeding that of steam, a force that would enable the man capable of seizing and directing it to change the face of the world. The ancients knew this force: it consists in a universal agent whose supreme law is equilibrium and whose direction is directly related to the great arcanum of transcendental magic. Through the use of this agent one can change the very order of the seasons, produce the phenomenon of day in the middle of the night, enter instantaneously into contacts with the farthest ends of the earth, see events on the other side of the world, as [[Apollonius of Tyana]] did, heal or attack at a distance, and confer on one’s speech universal success and influence. This agent, barely glimpsed by the groping disciples of [[Mesmer]], is nothing other than the first matter of the great work of the medieval adepts".<ref> Lévi, Éliphas Lévi. Dogme et ritual de la haute maigc. Paris: G. Bailliaére, 1856. Page 45</ref><ref>Williams, A. Thomas. Eliphas Levi: Master of Occultism. The University of Alabama Press, 1975. Page 101</ref></blockquote>

Éliphas Lévi wrote that the astral light was created when God uttered the words: “Let there be light”. It is a surrounding fluid that penetrates all things. It is “indifferent in itself” and can be used for good or evil. He further notes that the astral light performs another important function: it is a kind of universal record keeper that registers all of our desires, intentions and, acts. <ref>Williams, A. Thomas. Eliphas Levi: Master of Occultism. The University of Alabama Press, 1975. Page 101-102</ref> 
 Éliphas Lévi believed in the connection between Heaven and Earth and never questioned the Hermetic principle “As above, so below”. But he used a new terminology for his theories and ensured the spread of the new term “astral light”. <ref>Monika Hauf, Kompendium der Magie und des Okkultismus. Leipzig, Germany: Bohmeier Verlag, 2016, page 150.</ref>

Even though [[H. P. Blavatsky]] adopted the term she explains that Éliphas Lévi sometimes identifies the Astral Light with what Theosophists call [[Akasha]].<ref>Blavatsky, Helena. The Secret Doctrine Volume I, Cosmogenesis. The Theosophical Publishing House, London. Page 254, footnote (Stanza VII, sloka 5)</ref>

==See also==
*[[Ākāśa]]
*[[Akashic Records]]
*[[Memory]]

== Additional resources ==
===Articles===
* [https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/Astral-Light Astral-Light] at Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/azoth Azoth] in Theosophy World.
* [http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/books/wqj-all/j-astral-a.htm# The Astral Light - A Theosophist's View of It] By William Q. Judge
* [http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/true-progress.htm# True Progress - Is it Aided by Watching the Astral Light?] By William Q. Judge
* [https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/Siftings_V3_A7b.pdf# The Astral Light] by Louise A. Off

=== Books ===
* [http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpmanu/astral/astral.htm The Astral Light] by Henry T. Edge

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[it:Luce astrale]]
[[es:Luz Astral]]

Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas (book)

2025-11-05T20:42:49Z

Pablo Sender: /* Letters published in this book */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas'' (book)}}

'''''Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas''''' was researched and compiled by Daniel H. Caldwell, and published by The Blavatsky Study Center in 2012. It is comprised of '''articles''' written by [[Laura C. Holloway]] about her experiences with the [[Mahatma|Mahatmas]], and '''correspondence''' to and about her from [[H. P. Blavatsky]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]], and [[Morya|Master M.]] in a chronological presentation.

== Newly discovered letters ==

'''Sixteen of the 44 letters were previously unpublished in book form.''' Color images of these letters were printed with permission from the Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera, Winterthur Library, Winterthur, Delaware.<ref>[http://www.winterthur.org/ Winterthur.org website.]</ref> Mr. Caldwell wrote in his introduction to the book:
<blockquote>
Research in 2004-2005 led me to the discovery of thirteen original letters from the Mahatmas Koot Hoomi and Morya as well as three original letters from Madame Blavatsky. These sixteen original letters are preserved among the papers of Mrs. Holloway at the '''Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library''' in Delaware (US) <nowiki>[</nowiki>[http://www.winterthur.org http://www.winterthur.org].<nowiki>]</nowiki><ref>Daniel H. Caldwell, Introduction to ''Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas''. The Blavatsky Study Center, 2012.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Articles by Laura C. Holloway ==

Several articles that Mrs. Holloway wrote for the popular press reflect on her experiences with [[Theosophy]] and the [[Masters of the Wisdom|Masters]] are presented in ''Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas''. Links are provided to these articles where posted in the Blavatsky Archives website.

* '''[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway5.htm "The Theosophists"]''' – reprinted from ''The Leader'', October 14, 1888, p. 14.
* '''[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway3.htm "Blavatsky's Mesmerism"]''' – reprinted from ''Current Literature'' (New York), March 1889, pp. 243-244.
* '''[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway4.htm "Madame Blavatsky: A Pen Picture"]''' – reprinted from ''The Word'' (New York), February 1912, pp. 262-269.
* "Master! I Come! They Will Be Done!" – reprinted as an excerpt from [[Man: Fragments of Forgotten History (book)|''Man: Fragments of a Forgotten History'']].
* '''[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway1.htm "The Mahatmas and Their Instruments" Part I]''' – reprinted from ''The Word'' (New York), May 1912, pp. 69-72.
* '''[http://blavatskyarchives.com/holloway2.htm "The Mahatmas and Their Instruments" Part II]''' – reprinted from ''The Word'' (New York), July 1912, pp. 200-206.

== Letters published in this book ==

Most letters in ''Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas'' are available online through links to wiki articles. Those links are in the "Where Published" column in the table below. The source books referenced in the "Where Published" column are abbreviated this way:

:: '''MHM''' – [https://blavatskyarchives.com/hollowaybook.pdf# ''Mrs. Holloway and the Mahatmas''] compiled by Daniel Caldwell
:: '''LMW 1''' – [[Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom (book)|''Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom'']] First Series
:: '''ML to APS''' – [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']]
:: '''HPB to APS''' – [[The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett'']]

::{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; background:Seashell; width:95 %;"
|-
! Letter Number
! Page Numbers
! Sent by
! Addressed to
! Date(s)
! Where Published
|-
| '''|1'''
| '''62-63'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| [written] 24 April 1884
| '''[[Blavatsky Letter to Holloway - MHM No. 1|MHM No. 1]]'''
|-
| '''2'''
| '''64'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| May-June 1884
| '''[[Blavatsky Letter to Holloway - MHM No. 2|MHM No. 2]]'''
|-
| '''3'''
| '''65'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| second week of July 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to H. P. Blavatsky - MHM No. 3|MHM No. 3]]'''
|-
| '''4'''
| '''66-71'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| middle of July 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to H. P. Blavatsky - MHM No. 4|MHM No. 4]]'''
|-
| '''5'''
| '''72-75'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| middle of July 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to H. P. Blavatsky - MHM No. 5|MHM No. 5]]'''
|-
| '''6'''
| '''76-79'''
| '''[[Morya|M.]]'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| middle of July 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to H. P. Blavatsky - MHM No. 6|MHM No. 6]]'''
|-
| '''7'''
| '''81'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| 16 July 1884
| '''[[Blavatsky Letter to Sinnett - LBS No. 38|HPB to APS No. 38]]'''
|-
| '''8'''
| '''82'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| 16 July 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. B|ML to APS No. B]]'''
|-
| '''9'''
| '''82'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| 17 July 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Holloway - LMW 1 No. 35|LMW-1 No. 35]]'''
|-
| '''10'''
| '''83-85'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| 18 July 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 126|ML to APS No. 126]]'''
|-
| '''11'''
| '''86-88'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| 19 July 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 127|ML to APS No. 127]]'''
|-
| '''12'''
| '''89-91'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Francesca Arundale]]''' OR HPB??
| before 21 July 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to H. P. Blavatsky - LMW 1 No. 33|LMW 1 No. 33]]'''
|-
| '''13'''
| '''92-95'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| 4 August 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Holloway - LMW 1 No. 34|LMW 1 No. 34]]'''
|-
| '''14'''
| '''96-97'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| a Theosophical group
| 10 August 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to a Group - MHM No. 14|MHM No. 14]]'''
|-
| '''15'''
| '''98-101'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| before 15 August 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to H. P. Blavatsky - MHM No. 15|MHM No. 15]]'''
|-
| '''16'''
| '''102'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| before 15 August 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 129|ML to APS No. 129]]'''
|-
| '''17'''
| '''103-106'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| before 15 Aug 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Holloway - MHM No. 17|MHM No. 17]]'''
|-
| '''18'''
| '''107-108'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| before 15 August 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to H. P. Blavatsky - LMW 1 No. 39|LMW 1 No. 39]]'''
|-
| '''19'''
| '''109-111'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| before 16 Aug 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Holloway - MHM No. 19|MHM No. 19]]'''
|-
| '''20'''
| '''112-117'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| middle of August 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to H. P. Blavatsky - MHM No. 20|MHM No. 20]]'''
|-
| '''21'''
| '''118-123'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| 22 August 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Holloway - LMW 1 No. 30|LMW 1 No. 30]]'''
|-
| '''22'''
| '''124'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[H. S. Olcott]]'''
| late August 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to H. S. Olcott - LMW 1 No. 37|LMW 1 No. 37]]'''
|-
| '''23'''
| '''125'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| late August or early September 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Holloway - LMW 1 No. 38|LMW 1 No. 38]]'''
|-
| '''24'''
| '''126'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Francesca Arundale]]'''
| early September 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to F. Arundale - LMW 1 No. 4|LMW 1 No. 4]]'''
|-
| '''25'''
| '''127'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Mary Gebhard]]'''
| September 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Mary Gebhard - MHM No. 25|MHM No. 25]]'''
|-
| '''26'''
| '''127'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Mary Gebhard]]'''
| 28 September 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Mary Gebhard - MHM No. 26|MHM No. 26]]'''
|-
| '''27'''
| '''128'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| late September 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Holloway - MHM No. 27|MHM No. 27]]'''
|-
| '''28'''
| '''129-132'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| 1-4 October 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Holloway - LMW 1 No. 36|MHM No. 28]]'''
|-
| '''29'''
| '''133-134'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| 1-4 October 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 130|ML to APS No. 130]]'''
|-
| '''30'''
| '''135'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| 4 October 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Holloway - MHM No. 30|MHM No. 30]]'''
|-
| '''31'''
| '''136'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| October 1884
| '''[[Blavatsky Letter to K. H. - MHM No. 31|MHM No. 31]]'''
|-
| '''32'''
| '''137-138'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| 18 October 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to H. P. Blavatsky - MHM No. 32|MHM No. 32]]'''
|-
| '''33'''
| '''139-140'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| 10 October 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 131|ML to APS No. 131]]'''
|-
| '''34'''
| '''141-143'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[Francesca Arundale]]'''
| before 15 October 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to F Arundale - LMW 1 No. 20|LMW 1 No. 20]]'''
|-
| '''35'''
| '''144-149'''
| '''[[Laura C. Holloway]]'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| before 15 October 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter to Holloway - MHM No. 35|MHM No. 35]]'''
|-
| '''36'''
| '''150'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| 15 October 1884
| '''[[Blavatsky Letter to Sinnett - LBS No. 39|HPB to APS No. 39]]'''
|-
| '''37'''
| '''151'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| early-mid November 1884
| '''[[Blavatsky Letter to Sinnett - LBS No. 40|HPB to APS No. 40]]'''
|-
| '''38'''
| '''152'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| 8 November 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 133|ML to APS No. 133]]'''
|-
| '''39'''
| '''153-156'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| mid-late November 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 134|ML to APS No. 134]]'''
|-
| '''40'''
| '''157'''
| '''[[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| 1884
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 128|ML to APS No. 128]]'''
|-
| '''41'''
| '''157'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| '''[[William Quan Judge]]
| 1 May 1885
| '''[[Blavatsky Letter to Judge - MHM No. 41|MHM No. 41]]'''
|-
| '''42'''
| '''158'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| "To The Theosophists"
| [written] 7 November 1885
| '''[[Blavatsky Letter to a Group - MHM No. 42|MHM No. 42]]'''
|-
| '''43'''
| '''159-160'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| 17 March 1886
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 140|ML to APS No. 140]]'''
|-
| '''44'''
| '''161'''
| '''[[H. P. Blavatsky]]'''
| '''[[A. P. Sinnett]]'''
| March-April 1886
| '''[[Mahatma Letter No. 141|ML to APS No. 141]]'''
|-
|}

== Additional resources ==

* Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna), 1831-1891. [Collection of materials on theosophy]. 1884-[1920]. Call Number ASC 1198. See [http://findingaid.winterthur.org/html/HTML_Finding_Aids/ASC1198.htm Finding Aid]. Edward Deming Andrews Memorial Shaker Collection. The Winterthur Library. Winterthur, Delaware.
* Holloway, Laura C. (Laura Carter), 1848-1930. Scrapbook and library, circa 1860-1929. Call Number Col. 900. See [http://findingaid.winterthur.org/html/HTML_Finding_Aids/COL0900.htm Finding Aid]. The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera. The Winterthur Library. Winterthur, Delaware.
* Holloway, Laura C. (Laura Carter), 1848-1930. Papers. 1874-1926, bulk dates 1902-1926. Call Number ASC 1202. See [http://findingaid.winterthur.org/html/HTML_Finding_Aids/ASC1202.htm Finding Aid]. Edward Deming Andrews Memorial Shaker Collection. The Winterthur Library. Winterthur, Delaware.

== Notes ==
<references/>
[[Category:Books|Mrs. Holloway]]

Life after Death

2025-11-05T20:37:18Z

Pablo Sender: /* Articles and pamphlets */

[[File:Ascent of the Blessed.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Ascent of the Blessed by Bosch]]
According to the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] teachings after the [[death]] of the body, [[consciousness]] undergoes a series of transformations. The tendencies, emotions, thoughts, memories, and aspirations that were part of the [[Principle#Individuality_and_personality|personality]] are sorted out. Anything that belonged to the entirely personal and selfish aspect is discarded, while all that was of a generous or unselfish nature is preserved and assimilated by the [[Soul#Human soul|soul]]. In the writings of [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] and the [[Masters of Wisdom]] the most frequent description of the different stages after physical death include: a) [[kamaloka]], b) [[gestation period]], c) [[devachan]], and d) [[reincarnation]].

== General description ==
[[File:Divina Comedia.jpg|left|250px|thumb|After death landscape according to Dante]]
In the [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] view, [[death]] is not the end of conscious experience but, on the contrary, it is the beginning of a wider consciousness. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] said:

<blockquote>We accept consciousness after death, and say the real consciousness and the real freedom of the [[Ego]] or the [[soul]] begins only after the physical death of man. It is then that it is no longer impeded by terrestrial matter that it is free, that it can perceive everything.<ref>Michael Gomes (transcriber), ''The Secret Doctrine Commentaries'' (The Hague: I.S.I.S. foundation, 2010), 44.</ref></blockquote>

What is known as "death" involves the departure of the [[Prāṇa|vital principle]] and the consequent dissolution of the [[Sthūla-śarīra|physical body]] along with its [[Liṅga-śarīra|astral double]] of etheral matter. After this, comes a period of dissolution of the [[Soul#Animal soul|animal soul]] and the personal aspect of the [[Soul#Animal soul|human soul]] in [[Kāmaloka]]. Finally, the spiritual aspect of the human soul is assimilated by the [[Soul#Spiritual soul|spiritual soul]] in [[Devachan]]. In Mme. Blavatsky's words:

<blockquote>Soul being a generic term, there are in men three aspects of Soul - the terrestrial, or animal; the Human Soul; and the Spiritual Soul; these, strictly speaking, are one Soul in its three aspects. Now of the first aspect nothing remains after death; of the second (nous or [[Manas]]) only its divine essence if left unsoiled survives, while the third in addition to being immortal becomes consciously divine, by the assimilation of the higher Manas.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, "The Key to Theosophy" (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1972), 121-122.</ref></blockquote>

The [[Soul#Spiritual soul|spiritual soul]] or [[Buddhi]] is of a universal nature and, by itself, it lacks the element of self-awareness. After death it can become conscious of its own divine nature by assimilating the spiritual elements of the mental consciousness, if the person ever exercised this aspect of his mind.

The different stages have been described by [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] in [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 15|one of his letters]] as follows:

<blockquote>The period between death and rebirth . . . may last from a few years to a [[kalpa]]. It is divided into three sub-periods (1) when the [[Ego]] delivered of its mortal coil enters into [[Kāmaloka|Kama-Loka]] (the abode of [[Elementary|Elementaries]]); (2) when it enters into its "Gestation State"; (3) when it is reborn in the [[Devachan#Rupa and Arupa Lokas|Rupa-Loka]] of Deva-Chan. Sub-period (1) may last from a few minutes to a number of years — the phrase "a few years" becoming puzzling and utterly worthless without a more complete explanation; Sub-period (2) is "very long"; as you say, longer sometimes than you may even imagine, yet proportionate to the Ego's spiritual stamina; Sub-period (3) lasts in proportion to the good [[Karma|KARMA]], after which the [[monad]] is again [[reincarnation|reincarnated]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 194.</ref></blockquote>

== Kama-loka ==
[[File:Purgatorio de dante.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Purgatory according to Dante]]
After the disposal of the three lower [[principle]]s of consciousness that happen during physical [[death]], the four principles remaining enter in [[Kāmaloka]], which is an intermediate sphere between the physical and the spiritual. Before consciousness can pass on to [[devachan]], a "purification" of the psychic elements is necessary. As [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>When the spiritual [[monad]] striving to enter the Devachanic state is being subjected to the process of purification, what happens is this: personal consciousness, which alone constitutes the [[Ego#Lower ego|personal Ego]], has to rid itself of every earthly speck of grossly material taint before it becomes capable of living “in spirit” and as a spirit.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 328.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Kama-loka may be compared to the dressing-room of an actor, in which he divests himself of the costume of the last part he played before rebecoming himself properly - the immortal [[Ego]] or the Pilgrim cycling in his Round of Incarnations. The Eternal Ego [is] stripped in Kama-loka of its lower terrestrial principles, with their passions and desires. . . . But the process of stripping off the lower, the [[Kāma|fourth]] and [[Manas#Lower manas|part of the fifth]], principles is an unconscious one in all normal human beings. It is only in very exceptional cases that there is a slight return to consciousness in Kama-loka: and this is the case of very materialistic unspiritual personalities, who, devoid of the conditions requisite, cannot enter the state of absolute Rest and Bliss.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 164.</ref></blockquote>

During this period there is a tension between the two lower principles, which possess a tendency towards materiality, and the two higher, which are of a spiritual nature. What happens can be metaphorically seen as a "struggle" between the animal and the spiritual aspects of the soul ([[Kāma]] and [[Buddhi]] respectively) to assimilate [[Manas]]. In [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 11|one of his letters]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] explained the process as follows:

<blockquote>When man dies his [[Liṅga-śarīra|second]] and [[Prāṇa|third]] principles die with him; the lower triad disappears, and the fourth, fifth, [[Buddhi|sixth]] and [[Ātman|seventh]] principles form the surviving Quaternary. . . . Thenceforth it is a "death" struggle between the Upper and Lower dualities. If the upper wins, the sixth, having attracted to itself the quintessence of Good from the fifth — its nobler affections, its saintly (though they be earthly) aspirations, and the most Spiritualised portions of its mind — follows its divine elder (the 7th) into the "Gestation" State; and the fifth and fourth remain in association as an empty [[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]] . . . to roam in the earth's atmosphere, with half the personal memory gone, and the more brutal instincts fully alive for a certain period.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 192-193.</ref></blockquote>

After the death struggle the two higher principles, along with the spiritual essence of manas, enter into a [[Life after Death#Period of gestation|period of gestation]]. Meanwhile, the fourth principle (Kāma), with whatever personal and selfish element it could retain from the manasic principle, forms a shell and stays in Kāmaloka to be eventually dissolved. However, it may happen that the upper duad does not succeed in assimilating any spiritual essence from the lower one. In such a case that particular personal life is completely useless to the [[Monad]], and is "erased" from its records. As the Master continued saying:

<blockquote>If, on the other hand, it is the Upper Duality which is defeated, then it is the fifth principle that assimilates all that there may be left of personal recollection and perceptions of its personal individuality in the sixth. . . . The sixth and seventh [principles] — now a purely spiritual, individual MONAD, with nothing left in it of the late personality, having no regular “gestation” period to pass through (since there is no purified personal Ego to be reborn), after a more or less prolonged period of unconscious Rest in the boundless Space — will find itself reborn in another personality on the next planet. When arrives the period of “Full Individual Consciousness” — which precedes that of Absolute Consciousness in the [[Nirvāṇa#Parinirvāṇa|Pari-Nirvana]] — this lost personal life becomes as a torn out page in the great Book of Lives, without even a disconnected word left to mark its absence. The purified monad will neither perceive nor remember it in the series of its past rebirths — which it would had it gone to the “World of Forms” ([[Devachan#Rupa_and_Arupa_Lokas|rupa-loka]]) — and its retrospective glance will not perceive even the slightest sign to indicate that it had been.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 193.</ref></blockquote>

In this case, the discarded personal elements do not become a regular "shell" to be dissolved in Kāmaloka. With the additional consciousness gained by retaining all the manasic elements used in that incarnation, it has enough cohesion to be [[Reincarnation|reincarnated]] as a soul-less entity on earth. This state is called [[Avichi]] (see [[Life_after_Death#Avichi|below]]).

== Period of gestation ==

In most cases the upper duad finds some spiritual elements that allows it to be "born" in [[Devachan]]. But before this is possible the soul has to undergo a period of spiritual gestation. [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] wrote:

<blockquote>When the division of, or purification of the [[Manas|fifth principle]] has been accomplished in [[Kāmaloka|Kama loca]] by the contending attractions of the [[Kāma|fourth]] and [[Buddhi|sixth]] principles, the real [[Ego]] passes into a period of unconscious gestation . . . a spiritual ante-natal state at the entrance to spiritual life . . . and this period, in different cases, may be of very different duration--from a few moments to immense periods of years.<ref>Alfred Percy Sinnett, ''Esoteric Buddhism'' (San Diego, CA: Wizards Bookshelf, 1987), 96-97.</ref></blockquote>

According to [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]] the gestation period "lasts from a few days to several years",<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 120-121.</ref> while [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote that it can be very long: "longer sometimes than you may even imagine, yet proportionate to the Ego's spiritual stamina".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 194.</ref>

It is usually said that the reviving of consciousness begins at the door of Devachan, once the struggle in Kama-Loka is over, but only after the period of gestation:<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 104 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 362.</ref>

<blockquote>That remembrance will return slowly and gradually toward the end of the gestation (to the entity or Ego), still more slowly but far more imperfectly and incompletely to the [[Kāmaloka#Shells|shell]], and fully to the Ego at the moment of its entrance into the Devachan.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 104 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 362.</ref></blockquote>

However, there are some statements that indicate the possibility of consciousness before Devachan (see [[Devachan#Is there consciousness before Devachan?|below]]).

Regarding the total time elapsed by a normal person in Kāmaloka (that is, during the death struggle and the period of gestation), Mme. Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>The normal period during which any part of the consciousness remains in Kâma-Loka, i.e., is connected with the Kâma-Rûpa, is one hundred and fifty years. The Kâma-Rûpa eventually breaks up, and leaving in Kâma-Loka the [[Life-Atom#Tanhic_elementals|Tânhic Elementals]], its remaining portions [[Metempsychosis#Transmigration of atoms|go into animals]].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 708.</ref></blockquote>

=== Read more ===
[[Gestation period]]

== Devachan ==
[[File:Paradise by Fanti at Melk Abbey.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Pallas Athena on a chariot drawn by lions as a symbol of wisdom, by G. Fanti]]
After the period of gestation, the new "devachanic ego" (that is, the pure elements of the [[Ego#Lower ego|personal ego]] that have been assimilated to the two higher [[principle]]s) begins to awaken in [[Devachan]]:

<blockquote>The Eternal [[Ego]] being stripped in [[Kāmaloka|Kama-loka]] of its lower terrestrial principles, with their passions and desires, it enters into the state of Devachan. And therefore it is said that only the purely spiritual, the non-material emotions, affections and aspirations accompany the Ego into that state of Bliss.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IX (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 164.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 5|one of his letters]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>"Who goes to Deva Chan?" The personal Ego of course, but beatified, purified, holy. Every Ego - the combination of the sixth and seventh principles - which after the period of unconscious gestation is reborn into the Devachan, is of necessity as innocent and pure as a new-born babe. The fact of his being reborn [in Devachan] at all, shows the preponderance of good over [[evil]] in his old personality. And while the [[Karma]] (of evil) steps aside for the time being to follow him in his future earth-[[reincarnation]]s, he brings along with him but the Karma of his good deeds, words, and thoughts, into this Devachan.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 190.</ref></blockquote>

In Devachan, the person enjoys the result of the good actions done in the life just finished, as well as receives a compensation for the unmerited suffering experienced:

<blockquote>Devachan is the idealized continuation of the terrestrial life just left behind, a period of retributive adjustment, and a reward for unmerited wrongs and sufferings undergone in that special Life.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 132.</ref></blockquote>

== Reincarnation ==

When the period of [[Devachan]] is over, the [[Ego#Higher ego|higher ego]] begins the process of [[reincarnation]]. Before it is reborn, however, it sees the life about to be started in its general characteristics, as delineated by its [[Karma]]. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>As the man at the moment of death has a retrospective insight into the life he has led, so, at the moment he is reborn on to earth, the Ego, awaking from the state of Devachan, has a prospective vision of the life which awaits him, and realizes all the causes that have led to it. He realizes them and sees futurity, because it is between Devachan and re-birth that the Ego regains his full manasic consciousness, and rebecomes for a short time the god he was, before, in compliance with Karmic law, he first descended into matter and incarnated in the first man of flesh.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 162-163.</ref></blockquote>

== Avichi ==

Most people go to Devachan, with the exception of those very materialistic, selfish, or evil, in whom there is no spiritual [[manas]]ic elements that can be assimilated by [[Buddhi]]. In this case, when no formation of a devachanic ego is possible, the higher principles fall into a state of unconsciousness<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 193.</ref> and the lower principles are eventually annihilated. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] explained:

<blockquote>The [[Ātman|seventh]] and the [[Buddhi|sixth]] [principles], that is to say the immortal [[spirit]] and its vehicle, the immortal or [[Soul#Spiritual soul|spiritual soul]], enter therein alone (an exceptional case). . . . The
[[Ego#Lower ego|personal EGO]] (the material soul) . . . in the case of the irredeemably wicked and when the spiritual and impersonal soul has nothing to withdraw from its individuality (terrestrial personality) because the latter had nothing to offer but the purely material and sensual - that becomes annihilated.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. V (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1997), 42.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma Letter No. 68#Page 11|one of his letters]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] explained the fate of the lower duad when it assimilates all the [[manas]]ic elements as follows:

<blockquote>With all this additional stock, it will not remain in [[Kāmaloka|Kama-Loka]] — “the world of Desire” or our Earth’s atmosphere. In a very short time like a straw floating within the attraction of the vortices and pits of the Maelstrom, it is caught up and drawn into the great whirlpool of [[Ego#Lower ego|human Egos]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 193.</ref></blockquote>

Mme. Blavatsky elaborated:

<blockquote>Expelled forever from the consciousness of the Individuality (the [[Ego#Higher ego|reincarnating Ego]]), the physical atoms and psychic vibrations of the now separate personality are immediately [[reincarnation|reincarnated]] on the same earth, only in a lower and still more abject creature, a human being only in form, doomed to [[Karma|Karmic]] torments during the whole of its new life. Moreover, if it persists in its criminal or debauched course, it will suffer a long series of such immediate reincarnations.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 632-633.</ref></blockquote>

This state is called [[Avichi]] and could loosely be compared to a concept of [[hell]] for the lost personality (not for the [[Monad]]).

== Is there consciousness before Devachan? ==

In the early [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] literature there are several statements suggesting consciousness only begins after the struggle in [[Kama-Loka]] at the door of [[Devachan]]:

<blockquote>Every just disembodied four-fold entity — whether it died a natural or violent death, from suicide or accident, mentally sane or insane, young or old, good, bad, or indifferent — loses at the instant of [[death]] all recollection, it is mentally — annihilated; it sleeps it’s [[Akasha|akasic]] sleep in the [[Kama-loka]]. This state lasts from a few hours, (rarely less) days, weeks, months — sometimes to several years. All this according to the entity, to its mental status at the moment of [[death]], to the character of its [[death]], etc. That remembrance will return slowly and gradually toward the end of the [[Life after Death#Period of gestation|gestation]]. . .<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 85-B (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 263.</ref></blockquote>

However, there are some statements that open the possibility of consciousness before [[devachan]]. For example, [[H. P. Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>A “spirit,” or the [[Ego#Spiritual ego|spiritual Ego]], cannot descend to the [[Mediumship|medium]], but it can attract the spirit of the latter to itself, and it can do this only during the two intervals—before and after its “gestation period.” Interval the first is that period between the physical death and the merging of the spiritual Ego into that state which is known in the [[Esoteric Philosophy#Arhat Esoteric Philosophy|Arhat esoteric doctrine]] as “Bar-do.” We have translated this as the “gestation” period, and it lasts from a few days to several years, according to the evidence of the [[adepts]]. Interval the second lasts so long as the merits of the old Ego entitle the being to reap the fruit of its reward in its new regenerated Egoship. It occurs after the gestation period is over, and the new spiritual Ego is reborn—like the fabled Phœnix from its ashes—from the old one. The locality, which the former inhabits, is called by the northern Buddhist Occultists “Deva-chan”. . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. IV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 120-121.</ref></blockquote>

As can be seen, she describes here the following sequence:

1- Physical [[death]].

2- First interval.

3- [[Gestation period|Gestation]].

4- Second interval ([[Devachan]]).

She mentions that the [[Ego#Spiritual ego|Spiritual Ego]] can attract to its own sphere the spirit of the [[Mediumship|medium]] in either of the intervals, which suggests there can be consciousness before the [[Gestation|period of gestation]]. According to her, this can happen "when the intensity of the desire in the dying person to return for some purpose forced the higher consciousness to remain awake".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London:Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), 151.</ref></blockquote>

=== According to Annie Besant ===

Dr. [[Annie Besant]] explained that "if a person has led a pure life and has steadfastly striven to rise and to identify himself with the higher rather than the lower part of his nature" the staying in [[Kāmaloka]] is short and normally unconscious. However, in those who during life have being attached to sensual pleasures the situation is different:

<blockquote>Human beings, who have quitted earth and in whom the kāmic elements were strong, may very readily be attracted by the kāmic elements in embodied men, and by their help become conscious again of the presence of the scenes they had left; and human beings still embodied may set up methods of communication with the disembodied, and may, as said, leave their own bodies for awhile, and become conscious in Kāmaloka by the use of faculties through which they have accustomed their consciousness to act.<ref>Annie Besant, ''Death--And After?'' (Adyar, Madras:Theosophical Publishing House, 1977), 31.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Death]]
*[[Kāmaloka]]
*[[Gestation period]]
*[[Devachan]]
*[[Avichi]]

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/death-and-after-death-states Death and After-Death States] in Theosophy World
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/death-second Death, Second] in Theosophy World
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/earthbound-entities Earthbound Entities] in Theosophy World
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/eight-sphere Eight Sphere] in Theosophy World.
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No108.pdf# Life, and Life After Death] by Annie Besant
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No61.pdf# When a Man Dies, Shall He Live Again?] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/17-hpblavatsky/hpb-articles/270-dialogue-on-mysteries-of-after-life# Dialogue On The Mysteries Of The After Life] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/life-and-death# Life and Death] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/AfterDeathConsciousnessA.htm# The After-death Consciousness and Processes] by Geoffrey Farthing
*[http://www.teozofija.info/Theosophia/Theosophia_Vol26_No1.htm#AfterDeath# After Death: You are Yourself] by G. de Purucker
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/PersonalitySurvive.pdf# Does the Personality Survive?] by L. W. Rogers
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/near-death-experiences/36-topics/reincarnation/near-death-exp/62-what-is-death# The Transpersonal Model of Death as Presented in Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy] by Jean-Louis Siémons
*[http://www.theosophical.org/online-resources/leaflets/1794# Death and Life Beyond] by Theosophical Society in America
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/afterdeathglossary.pdf After-Death Glossary] by Daniel Caldwell

===Books===
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/DeathAndAfterAB.html# Death - and After?] by Annie Besant
*[http://davidpratt.info/survival1.htm# Life beyond Death: evidence for survival] by David Pratt
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AfterDeathConsciousnessAndProcesses_GFarthing.pdf# After Death Consciousness and Processes] by Geoffrey Farthing
*[https://theosophy.wiki/w/images/c/cf/Books_on_Life_After_Death_-_D._Caldwell.pdf# Book list on "Life After Death"] compiled by Daniel H. Caldwell

===Audio===
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/codd/Life%20on%20the%20Other%20Side%20of%20Death.mp3 Life on the Other Side of Death] by Clara Codd
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/317%20Hodson,%20G%20Through%20the%20Gateway%20of%20Death.mp3# Through the Gateway of Death] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[http://www.theosophicalinstitute.org/medialibrary/viewtitle.php?titleid=2C93CB97-60D8-11D6-9AE9-003048223922# Tibetan Contributions to Our Knowledge of Death and Dying (4 parts)] by Glenn Mullin

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h6hm0as91s I'm Dead! Now What?] by Dick Brooks
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyIBbOkaDwU& A Theosophical View of Life after Death] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B9fFD4h_4M# What Happens When We Die] by Blavatsky Trust

== Additional resources ==
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/DyingLifeAfterDeath.pdf# Bibliography on Dying and Life after Death] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[es:Vida después de la muerte]]

Meditation

2025-10-24T16:30:36Z

Pablo Sender: /* Additional resources */

'''Meditation''' is defined by [[H. P. Blavatsky]] as a practice to attain "a state of abstraction which carries the ascetic practising it far above this plane of sensuous perception and out of the world of matter."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 101.</ref>

== General description ==

In the Theosophical tradition, the process of meditation is generally seen as threefold. [[J. I. Wedgwood]] wrote:

<blockquote>Meditation is often divided into three stages: Concentration, Meditation, Contemplation. It may be still further subdivided, but it is unnecessary to do so here; on the other hand the beginner should bear in mind that meditation is a science of a life-time, so that he must not expect to attain to the stage of pure contemplation in his earlier efforts.<ref>J. I. Wedgwood, [http://hpb.narod.ru/tph/JIW_M4BE.HTM# Meditation for Beginners]</ref></blockquote>

The Theosophical practice of meditation

<blockquote>...has as its object spiritual, mental and ethical development, and the control of the mind and feelings. It does not aim at developing psychic faculties "from below upwards."<ref>J. I. Wedgwood, [http://hpb.narod.ru/tph/JIW_M4BE.HTM# Meditation for Beginners]</ref></blockquote>

Theosophical meditations are not subject to the dangers that exist when a person is trying to set in motion psychic energies for which they may not be prepare or know the right method. For this reason, the aspirant does not have to be under the careful watch and guidance of a guru, which often generates dependence. As Blavatsky wrote:

<blockquote>Any virtuous man can reach by Naljor-ngonsum ("meditation by self perception") the intuitive comprehension of the four truths, without either belonging to a monastic order or having been initiated.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XIV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1995), 438.</ref></blockquote>

== Concentration ==

The acquisition of concentration is necessary for the aspirant who wished to grow in the occult life. Blavatsky wrote to the members of her Esoteric Section:

<blockquote>For instruction in Practical Occultism it is necessary to have acquired power of concentration, and then to receive certain definite directions. The latter would be of little use to a student who has not already attained the power of concentrating his Mind and Will. This power should be cultivated and trained in the Lower Degrees, and it is to this end that the Rule ordering daily meditation was laid down. There is no other way of attaining the power of concentration, and without this power, largely developed, no progress can be made in Practical Occultism, no beginning even of it being possible.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 702-703.</ref></blockquote>

Concentration is not easy for many reasons. One of the unacknowledged obstacles for meditation is the action of the [[elemental]]s:

<blockquote>In dreams, and also whenever we calmly sit for any sort of meditation, one of the first things to happen is that the Elementals begin to present to our inner eyes pictures of all sorts, and the kind of picture presented will be the result of the prior thoughts and also of the state we are in both mentally and physically. For if we are disturbed or harassed in any way in thought, the pictures will be more and more confused in fact, though sometimes having no appearance on the surface of being in confusion.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 693.</ref></blockquote>

Although watching the breathing is a popular technique to generate some level of mental stillness, and may be good as a preliminary practice, Blavatsky regarded it as insufficient to bring our consciousness to the higher nature:

<blockquote>An affected detestation of the world, and the tedious and useless practice of the counting of inhalations and exhalations as a means to produce absolute tranquillity of mind or meditation, have brought this school [the Yogacharya of Aryasanga] within the region of Hatha-Yoga and have made it heir to the Brahmanical ''tīrthika'' [non-Buddhist].<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XIV (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1995), 434.</ref></blockquote>

One technique she recommended is the meditation in the heart:

<blockquote>And so with regard to concentration the Blessed MASTER Koot Hoomi ... writes:

:Your best method is to concentrate on the Master as a Living Man within you. Make His image in your heart, and a focus of concentration, so as to lose all sense of bodily existence in the one thought.

So again He says:

:The great difficulty to be overcome is the registration of the knowledge of the Higher Self on the physical plane. To accomplish this, the physical Brain must be made an entire blank to all but the Higher Consciousness.

When the Brain is thus rendered a blank, an impression from the Heart may reach it and be retained; and this is what is spoken of on p. 618, with regard to the Chela, who is able to hold only parts of the knowledge gained. The above-quoted letter says:

:In acquiring the power of concentration the first step is one of blankness. Then follows by degrees consciousness, and finally the passage between the two states becomes so rapid and easy as to be almost unnoticed.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 696.</ref></blockquote>

=== Self-examination ===

Blavatsky answered the question "Is the practice of concentration beneficent?" as follows:

<blockquote>Genuine concentration and meditation, conscious and cautious, upon one's lower self in the light of the inner divine man and the [[Paramita]]s, is an excellent thing. But "to sit for [[Yoga]]" with only a superficial and often distorted knowledge of the real practice, is almost invariably fatal; for ten to one the student will either develop mediumistic powers himself or lose time and get disgusted both with practice and theory.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 603.</ref></blockquote>

== Meditation ==
'''THIS SECTION IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 
'''THIS SECTION IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION''' 

== Contemplation ==

The higher states of consciousness cannot be attained through personal effort:

<blockquote>The Riddhi Pâda, lit., the four “Steps to Riddhi”, are the four modes of controlling and finally of annihilating desire, memory, and finally meditation itself--so far as these are connected with any effort of the physical brain--meditation then becomes absolutely spiritual.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Theosophical Glossary'' (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 324.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Real ecstasy was defined by Plotinus as "the liberation of the mind from its finite consciousness, becoming one and identified with the infinite." This is the highest condition, says Prof. Wilder, but not one of permanent duration, and it is reached only by the very very few. It is, indeed, identical with that state which is known in India as Samadhi. The latter is practised by the Yogis, who facilitate it physically by the greatest abstinence in food and drink, and mentally by an incessant endeavour to purify and elevate the mind. Meditation is silent and unuttered prayer, or, as Plato expressed it, "the ardent turning of the soul toward the divine; not to ask any particular good (as in the common meaning of prayer), but for good itself -- for the universal Supreme Good" of which we are a part on earth, and out of the essence of which we have all emerged. Therefore, adds Plato, "remain silent in the presence of the divine ones, till they remove the clouds from thy eyes and enable thee to see by the light which issues from themselves, not what appears as good to thee, but what is intrinsically good."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'', (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 10-11.</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[HPB's Diagram of Meditation]]

== Additional resources ==

===Articles===
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/Meditation# Meditation] at Theosophy World.
*[https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/samadhi Samadhi] at Theosophy World.
*[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/articles/why-meditate Why Meditate?] by K. Arunachalam
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/MeditationAbdill.pdf# Meditation Is Not What You Think] by Ed Abdill
*[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/articles/hpbs-diagram-of-meditation HPB's Diagram of Meditation] by Mary Anderson
*[http://www.blavatskytrust.org.uk/html/articles/HPB%20on%20meditation%20and%20Yoga.html# H.P.B. on Meditation & Yoga] by Geoffrey Farthing
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/culture-of-concentration-part-I.htm# Culture of Concentration, Part I] and [http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/culture-of-concentration-part-II.htm# Part II] by William Q. Judge
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/meditation-concentration-will.htm# Meditation, Concentration, Will] by William Q. Judge
*[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/articles/contemplation-mavalanka# Contemplation] by Damodar K. Mavalankar
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/the-theosophical-path-of-meditaiton The Theosophical Path of Meditation] by Pablo D. Sender
*[https://www.theosophyforward.com/the-nature-of-theosophical-meditation The Nature of Theosophical Meditation] by Pablo D. Sender
*[http://hpb.narod.ru/tph/HSH_MEDI.HTM# Meditation] by Hugh Shearman
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/shearman4.html# Some Thoughts on Meditation] by Hugh Shearman
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/InterestingAspectsMeditation.pdf# Some Interesting Aspects of Meditation] by I. K. Taimni
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/PlacidLakeoftheMind.pdf The Placid Lake of the Mind] by Helen Zahara. ''The American Theosophist''. November, 1970.
*[https://theosophicalsociety.org.au/statics/the-art-of-meditation The Art of Meditation] by The Theosophical Society in Australia

=== Books ===

* Wedgwood, James Ingall. '''''[https://archive.org/details/meditation-for-beginners Meditation for Beginners]'''''. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1961. 59 pages. 4th edition. Also available at [http://hpb.narod.ru/tph/JIW_M4BE.HTM# Narod].

===Audios===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abbenhouse/Meditation:%20A%20Way%20of%20Knowing.mp3# Meditation: A Way of Knowing] by Dorothy Abbenhouse
*[https://archive.org/download/1039_20190718/1038.mp3# How to Meditate - Part 1] and [https://archive.org/download/1039_20190718/1039.mp3# Part 2] by Dorothy Abbenhouse
*[https://archive.org/download/1296_20191220/1296.mp3# The Basis of Meditation] by Radha Burnier
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/cianciosi/The%20Meditative%20Path.mp3# The Meditative Path] by John Cianciosi
*[https://archive.org/download/1297_20191220/1297.mp3# Meditation] by Clara Codd
*[https://archive.org/details/1215_20190827# The Wings of the Soul] by Clara Codd
*[https://archive.org/download/1037_20190718/1037.mp3# The Science of Meditation] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/1201%20Hodson,%20G%20Leads%20A%20Group%20Meditation.mp3# Guided Group Meditation] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Hodson,%20G/1127%20Hodson,%20G%20-%20Yoga%20of%20Light%20-%20Meditation.mp3# A Yoga of Light Meditation] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/kunz/Meditation%20as%20Part%20of%20Life.mp3# Meditation as Part of Life] by Dora Kunz
*[https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Mehta%2C%20R/Rohit%20Mehta%20Reel%20Tape%20Side%201%20Long.mp3# Meditation - Part 1] and [https://theosophy.world/sites/default/files/audio/Mehta%2C%20R/Rohit%20Mehta%20Reel%20Tape%20Side%202%20Long.mp3# Part 2] by Rohit Mehta
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/mehta/The%20Science%20of%20Meditation%20-%20Part%201.mp3# The Science of Meditation - Part 1] and [https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/mehta/The%20Science%20of%20Meditation%20-%20Part%202.mp3# Part 2] by Rohit Mehta
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/neelakanta/Meditation:%20A%20Way%20of%20Life.mp3# Meditation: A Way of Life] by Seetha Neelakantan
*[https://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/tsa/How%20to%20Meditate.mp3# How to Meditate] by Theosophical Society in America

===Videos===

*[https://youtu.be/g0MHb2lmg-g# Talks on Meditation Part 1: The Higher and Lower Mind], [https://youtu.be/WOpwqbbiVMw# Part 2: Awareness and Non-Attachment ], [https://youtu.be/JBi0dhDjIW0# Part 3: Intuition], and [https://youtu.be/T1vYJhfdk5c# Part 4: The Benefits of Meditation] by Vic. Hao Chin
*[https://youtu.be/PzWTO76MXnk# Guided Meditation] by Vic. Hao Chin
*[https://youtu.be/FcdDAGm5K8E# Meditation. Theory and Practice - Part 1] and [https://youtu.be/UueJTYnJ3UA Part 2] by Maria Parisen
*[https://youtu.be/bzEMOdHupK4 Meditation. Part 1: Definition and Foundations] and [https://youtu.be/ntxQ2l7DLao# Part 2: The Process of Meditation] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7yGqpzNKt0 Meditation and the Higher Consciousness] by Pablo Sender

=== Bibliographies ===
*[http://www.dzyantheosophy.org# Dzyan Theosophy: The Theosophical Path of Meditation]
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/Meditation.pdf# Bibliography on Meditation] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].
*[http://www.katinkahesselink.net/other/meditation.html# Articles on Theosophical Meditation] at KatinkaHesselink.net

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]

Masters of Wisdom

2025-10-24T16:15:45Z

Pablo Sender: /* Articles and pamphlets */

The '''Masters of Wisdom''', or simply "The Masters" are [[initiation|initiates]] in the [[occultism|occult]] science and esoteric philosophy, who take disciples or [[chelas]]. [[H. P. Blavatsky]], in the glossary of her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] defined the Theosophical concept of "Master" as follows:

<blockquote>'''Master.''' A translation from the Sanskrit Guru, "Spiritual teacher," and adopted by the Theosophists to designate the Adepts, from whom they hold their teachings.<ref>Helena Ptrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key To Theosophy'', Glossary (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1972), 348.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters of Wisdom are sometimes referred indistinctly as "Brothers", "[[Adepts]]", or "[[Mahatmas]]."

== General description==

The Masters are [[Occultism|occultists]] who have developed the psychic and spiritual [[Siddhi|powers]] that are still latent in most human beings:

<blockquote>A Mahatma is a personage who, by special training and education, has evolved those higher faculties and has attained that spiritual knowledge which ordinary humanity will acquire after passing through numberless series of incarnations during the process of cosmic evolution, provided, of course, that they do not go, in the meanwhile, against the purposes of Nature. . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 239.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The occultist, when he has identified himself thoroughly with his [[Ātman|Atma]], acts upon the [[Buddhi]], for, according to the laws of Cosmic [[Evolution]], the [[Puruṣa|Purusha]] — the universal seventh principle––is perpetually acting upon and manifesting itself through [[Prakṛti|Prakriti]]—the universal [[sixth principle]]. Thus the MAHATMA, who has become one with his [[seventh principle]]—which is identical with Purusha, since there is no isolation in the spiritual [[monad]]—is practically a creator, for he has identified himself with the evoluting and the manifesting energy of nature.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 261-262.</ref></blockquote>

However, this should not give the impression that the Masters are "ascended" or incorporeal spirits. Blavatsky stated, "They are living men, not 'spirits' or even [[Nirmanakaya]]s."<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref> Similarly, in her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] we find the following dialogue:

<blockquote>ENQUIRER. Who are they, finally, those whom you call your "Masters"? Some say they are "Spirits," or some other kind of supernatural beings, while others call them "myths." 
THEOSOPHIST. They are neither. I once heard one outsider say to another that they were a sort of male mermaids, whatever such a creature may be. But if you listen to what people say, you will never have a true conception of them. In the first place they are living men, born as we are born, and doomed to die like every other mortal.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters are thus incarnated in a body, and live in physical locations in different parts of the world. For this reason, even Masters are subject to physical limitations when acting through the body. As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote in [[Mahatma Letter No. 130#Page 10|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>For you know — or think you know, of one [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]] — and can know but of one, whereas there are two distinct personages answering to that name in him you know. The riddle is only apparent and easy to solve, were you only to know what a real Mahatma is. You have seen by [[Henry Kiddle#The Kiddle Incident|the Kiddle incident]] — perchance allowed to develop to its bitter end for a purpose — that even an "[[adept]]" when acting in his body is not beyond mistakes due to human carelessness.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 130 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433.</ref></blockquote>

Although the Masters known through the Theosophical literature use a male body, there are testimonies by a number of [[chela]]s that there are [[Adepts#Women Adepts|women adepts]], even of the highest degree.

=== Lifespan ===

Blavatsky said that the Masters "have discovered means to make their bodies last far longer than the norm." This is connected to the popular idea of the "elixir of life," which, according to her, is a metaphor for "a real occult process, warding off age and dissolution for periods which would seem fabulous."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VIII (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960) 399-400</ref></blockquote>

In a famous article, [[The "Elixir of Life"]], written by a former disciple of the Masters, the author claims that those who follow this process can live a thousand years or so. However, Blavatsky rejected this notion, saying:

<blockquote>Their [the Masters'] knowledge and learning are immense, and their personal holiness of life is still greater — still they are mortal men and none of them 1,000 years old, as imagined by some.<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref></blockquote>

Similarly, she stated:

<blockquote>I have never heard of mortal man, layman, or Adept, who could live even half the [969] years allotted to Methuselah. Some Adepts do exceed, by a good deal, what you would call the ordinary age; yet there is nothing miraculous in it, and very few of them care to live very long.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

A reference as to how long a human body may last was given by [[Damodar K. Mavalankar]] in a letter to [[W. Q. Judge]], saying, "At the most, how long can a human life last? Not more than four hundred years."<ref>See [http://www.dailytheosophy.net/0001-home-2/03-literature-2/03-1-fundamental-theosophical-literature-inleiding-links/eastern-school-of-theosophy/lettres-by-damodar-k-mavalankar-to-william-quan-judge/# Letters by Damodar K. Mavalankar to William Quan Judge]</ref> This is repeated by Judge in his book [[The Ocean of Theosophy (book)|''The Ocean of Theosophy'']].<ref>William Quan Judge, ''The Ocean of Theosophy'', (Pasadena: Theosophical University Press, 2011), 37.</ref>

== Renouncing Nirvana ==

An important feature of the Masters of Wisdom is that, although they have attained the right to enter in [[Nirvāṇa]] they renounce to it in order to stay in touch with humanity. This is the same concept of the [[Bodhisattva]]s in [[Mahayana Buddhism]], which was not very well know at the time to the Western world:

<blockquote>. . .the hitherto very esoteric doctrine of the Nirmanakayas was lately brought forward as a proof and explained in the treatise called ''The Voice of the Silence''. These Nirmanakayas are the Bodhisattvas or late Adepts, who having reached Nirvana and liberation from rebirth, renounce it voluntarily in order to remain invisibly amidst the world to help poor ignorant Humanity within the lines permitted by Karma.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 12 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 31. </ref></blockquote>

This is evidently a sacrifice on their part, renouncing to live in a state of bliss on higher planes to incessantly work on the lower ones. As [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote to [[A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>I will be busy night and day, morning, noon, and evening. At times I feel a passing regret that the Chohans should not evolute the happy idea of allowing us also a "sumptuary allowance" in the shape of a little spare time. Oh, for the final Rest! for that Nirvana where — "to be one with Life, yet — to live not." Alas, alas! having personally realized that: ". . . the Soul of Things is sweet, The Heart of Being is celestial Rest," one does long for — eternal REST!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203-204.</ref></blockquote>

== Their Work ==

When asked by [[Charles Johnston]] about their work she answered: "You would hardly understand, unless you were an adept. But they keep alive the spiritual life of mankind."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401.</ref> He then asked her how the adepts guide the souls of men, to which [[H. P. Blavatsky]] answered:

<blockquote>In many ways, but chiefly by teaching their souls direct, in the spiritual world. But that is difficult for you to understand. This is quite intelligible, though. At certain regular periods, they try to give the world at large a right understanding of spiritual things. One of their number comes forth to teach the masses, and is handed down to tradition as the Founder of a religion. Krishna was such a Master; so was Zoroaster; so were Buddha and Shankara Acharya, the great sage of Southern India. So also was the Nazarene. He went forth against the counsel of the rest, to give to the masses before the time, moved by a great pity, and enthusiasm for humanity; he was warned that the time was unfavorable, but nevertheless he elected to go, and so was put to death at the instigation of the priests. . . . 
But that is not the only work of the adepts. At much shorter periods, they send forth a messenger to try to teach the world. Such a period comes in the last quarter of each century, and the Theosophical Society represents their work for this epoch.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401-402.</ref></blockquote>

One must bear in mind, however, that there are different types of Adepts corresponding to the [[Seven Rays]] of the Logos, and they may have different functions. As [[T. Subba Row]] stated:

<blockquote>In the adept hierarchy, there are always seven classes of adepts, corresponding to the seven rays of the Logos. Two of these classes of adepts are so mysterious, and their representatives on earth are so rare, that they are seldom spoken of. Perhaps one or two adepts of these two mysterious orders appear every two or three thousand years.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 106.</ref></blockquote>

There are some references to some kind of involvement of the Masters in political or social matters. For example in [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters'']], the [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] around November 1880:

<blockquote>A crisis, in a certain sense, is upon us now, and must be met. I might say two crises — one, the Society's, the other for Tibet. For, I may tell you in confidence, that Russia is gradually massing her forces for a future invasion of that country under the pretext of a Chinese War. If she does not succeed it will be due to us; and herein, at least we will deserve your gratitude. You see then, that we have weightier matters than small societies to think about; yet, the T.S. must not be neglected.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 5 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 15.</ref></blockquote>

Another reference by the same Master, written around July, 1882, states:

<blockquote>The Egyptian operations of your blessed countrymen involve such local consequences to the body of [[Occultism|Occultists]] still remaining there and to what they are guarding, that two of our adepts are already there, having joined some Druze brethren and three more on their way. I was offered the agreeable privilege of becoming an eye-witness to the human butchery, but — declined with thanks. For such great emergency is our Force stored up, and hence — we dare not waste it on fashionable tamasha.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203.</ref></blockquote>

[[T. Subba Row]] described the function of the Masters in nature as follows:

<blockquote>The adept hierarchy is as strictly a product of nature as a tree is: it has a definite and indispensable purpose and function in the development of the human race: this function is to keep open the upward path, through which descend the light and leading without which our race would require to make each step by the wearisome, never ending method of trial and failure in every direction, until chance showed the right way.

In fact the function of the adept hierarchy is to provide religious teachers for the stumbling masses of mankind.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 113.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma_Letter_No._112#Page 3|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] talks about another aspect of their work. He mentions the Masters' "prime duty of gaining knowledge and disseminating through all available channels such fragments as mankind in the mass may be ready to assimilate".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 112 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 382.</ref></blockquote>

Regarding their roles as teachers, they do not impart information to their chelas as regular teachers do, but rather train them to develop their abilities so that they can perceive truths by their own means. As Subba Row explained:

<blockquote>Our Gurus, be it remember, never teach us as our English school masters. Nothing by word. They simply impress in our minds and help us develop the higher [[Round#Fifth_Round|fifth rounder's]] faculty.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''T. Subba Row Collected Writings'' vol. I (San Diego, USA: Point Loma Publications, 2001), 15.</ref></blockquote>

This is confirmed in the following testimony from H. P. Blavatsky:

<blockquote>Knowledge comes in visions, first in dreams and then in pictures presented to the inner eye during meditation. Thus have I been taught the whole system of evolution, the laws of being and all else that I know—the mysteries of life and death, the workings of karma. Not a word was spoken to me of all this in the ordinary way, except, perhaps, by way of confirmation of what was thus given me—nothing taught me in writing.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 13 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 285.</ref></blockquote>

== Witnesses ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] claimed personal contact with Mahatmas living in Tibet, Ladakh, India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. During her lifetime and since her death, there has been a great deal of controversy and skepticism concerning their existence. Almost all of HPB's critics have doubted the actual existence or reality of her Masters. However, more than twenty five people testified to having seen and/or been in contact with the Mahatmas during Madame Blavatsky's life time.

Daniel Caldwell has compiled detailed accounts and testimonies of all these witnesses in the following books:

* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas]
* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf# The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India]
* [https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf# Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas]

== See also ==
*[[Mahatma]]
*[[Adepts]]
*[[Brotherhood of Adepts]]
*[[Chela]]
*[[Chelaship]]
*[[Initiation]]
*[[Occultism]]
*[[Portraits of the Masters]]
*[[:Category:Mahatmas and Adepts|A list of Wiki articles on individual Mahatmas and Adepts]]

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/working-as-colleagues-of-the-masters Working as Colleagues of the Masters] by Ed Abdill
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No101.pdf# Is Belief in the Masters Superstitious or Harmful?] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Super-Human%20Men-%20Annie%20Besant.htm# Superhuman Men - in History and in Religion] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/can-the-mahatmas-be-selfish# Can The Mahatmas Be Selfish?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mdm-blavatsky-on-the-himalayan-brothers# Madame Blavatsky on "The Himalayan Brothers"] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mahatmas-and-chelas# Mahatmas and Chelas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/theosophical-mahatmas# The Theosophical Mahatmas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-14.htm# The "Theosophical Mahatmas"] in ''The Key to Theosophy'' Section 14, by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Masters.pdf# Masters and Gurus] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/PerfectedOnes.pdf# The Perfected Ones] by Clara Codd
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway1.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Instruments - Part 1] and [http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway2.htm# Part 2] by Laura Holloway
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/wqj/TheosophicalAdepts.pdf# Theosophical Adepts (a collection of articles)] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/masters-adepts-teachers-and-disciples# Masters, Adepts, Teachers, and Disciples] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Teacher.pdf# Who Is The Teacher?] by Joy Mills
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/how-the-masters-know-truth How the Masters Know Truth] by Shirley J. Nicholson
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/mahatmas-versus-ascended-masters Mahatmas versus Ascended Masters] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/participating-in-the-work-of-the-masters-of-wisdom Participating in the Work of the Masters of Wisdom] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/who-are-the-masters Who Are the Masters?] An Interview with Joy Mills by Richard Smoley

===Books===
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/besant_h_p_blavatsky_and_the_masters_of_wisdom_1907.pdf# H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of the Wisdom] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Masters-AB.htm# The Masters] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/hpb/TeachersDiscp.pdf# Teachers And Disciples] A compilation of articles H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/kuhnmahatmaletters.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Alvin B. Kuhn
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpmanu/mahat_ch/m_c-hp.htm# Mahatmas and Chelas] by Leoline L. Wright
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf# The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf# Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell

===Audio===
*[https://archive.org/download/1151_20191125/1151.mp3# The Path to the Masters of Wisdom] by Clara Codd
*[https://archive.org/download/1365_20200103/1365.mp3# The Masters of the Wisdom: The World, and the Theosophical Society Today] by Dora Kunz
*[https://archive.org/download/1364_20191228/1364.mp3# The Masters and the Future of the Theosophical Society] by Dora Kunz
*[http://www.old.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/sanat/Krishnamurti%20on%20the%20Masters.mp3# Krishnamurti on the Masters] by Aryel Sanat
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abdill/The%20Adepts:%20Our%20Brothers.mp3# "The Adepts: Our Brothers"] by Ed Abdill

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRS5NcAidxo# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Theosophical Society in America
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7QW0CGyvkY# The Mahatmas, Their Letters, and The Path] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLOfiqc0c4A# In Their Own Words - Wisdom from the Mahatmas] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBU6S8Yutbk# The Masters of the Wisdom] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErsV6ugfxxo# The Masters and Their Wisdom - Part 1] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNK9_L9haCw The Masters and Their Wisdom Part 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTkChZrBw_0 Part 3], and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0OnqpG0yAY Part 4] by Tim Boyd
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hidDBxWetAg# The Hierarchy of Earth's Adepts: Part 1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNAn9vHIm5M# Part 2] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcxsYqiYRA# The Mahatmas: Working with the Wise Ones for a Better World] by Barbara Herbert

== Additional resources ==
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/Masters_of_Wisdom_and_their_Teachings.pdf# Bibliography on the Masters of Wisdom and their Teachings] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Mahatmas and Adepts]]

[[es: Maestros de Sabiduría]]
[[ru:Мастера Мудрости]]

Masters of Wisdom

2025-10-24T16:03:59Z

Pablo Sender: /* Books */

The '''Masters of Wisdom''', or simply "The Masters" are [[initiation|initiates]] in the [[occultism|occult]] science and esoteric philosophy, who take disciples or [[chelas]]. [[H. P. Blavatsky]], in the glossary of her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] defined the Theosophical concept of "Master" as follows:

<blockquote>'''Master.''' A translation from the Sanskrit Guru, "Spiritual teacher," and adopted by the Theosophists to designate the Adepts, from whom they hold their teachings.<ref>Helena Ptrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key To Theosophy'', Glossary (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1972), 348.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters of Wisdom are sometimes referred indistinctly as "Brothers", "[[Adepts]]", or "[[Mahatmas]]."

== General description==

The Masters are [[Occultism|occultists]] who have developed the psychic and spiritual [[Siddhi|powers]] that are still latent in most human beings:

<blockquote>A Mahatma is a personage who, by special training and education, has evolved those higher faculties and has attained that spiritual knowledge which ordinary humanity will acquire after passing through numberless series of incarnations during the process of cosmic evolution, provided, of course, that they do not go, in the meanwhile, against the purposes of Nature. . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 239.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The occultist, when he has identified himself thoroughly with his [[Ātman|Atma]], acts upon the [[Buddhi]], for, according to the laws of Cosmic [[Evolution]], the [[Puruṣa|Purusha]] — the universal seventh principle––is perpetually acting upon and manifesting itself through [[Prakṛti|Prakriti]]—the universal [[sixth principle]]. Thus the MAHATMA, who has become one with his [[seventh principle]]—which is identical with Purusha, since there is no isolation in the spiritual [[monad]]—is practically a creator, for he has identified himself with the evoluting and the manifesting energy of nature.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 261-262.</ref></blockquote>

However, this should not give the impression that the Masters are "ascended" or incorporeal spirits. Blavatsky stated, "They are living men, not 'spirits' or even [[Nirmanakaya]]s."<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref> Similarly, in her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] we find the following dialogue:

<blockquote>ENQUIRER. Who are they, finally, those whom you call your "Masters"? Some say they are "Spirits," or some other kind of supernatural beings, while others call them "myths." 
THEOSOPHIST. They are neither. I once heard one outsider say to another that they were a sort of male mermaids, whatever such a creature may be. But if you listen to what people say, you will never have a true conception of them. In the first place they are living men, born as we are born, and doomed to die like every other mortal.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters are thus incarnated in a body, and live in physical locations in different parts of the world. For this reason, even Masters are subject to physical limitations when acting through the body. As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote in [[Mahatma Letter No. 130#Page 10|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>For you know — or think you know, of one [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]] — and can know but of one, whereas there are two distinct personages answering to that name in him you know. The riddle is only apparent and easy to solve, were you only to know what a real Mahatma is. You have seen by [[Henry Kiddle#The Kiddle Incident|the Kiddle incident]] — perchance allowed to develop to its bitter end for a purpose — that even an "[[adept]]" when acting in his body is not beyond mistakes due to human carelessness.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 130 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433.</ref></blockquote>

Although the Masters known through the Theosophical literature use a male body, there are testimonies by a number of [[chela]]s that there are [[Adepts#Women Adepts|women adepts]], even of the highest degree.

=== Lifespan ===

Blavatsky said that the Masters "have discovered means to make their bodies last far longer than the norm." This is connected to the popular idea of the "elixir of life," which, according to her, is a metaphor for "a real occult process, warding off age and dissolution for periods which would seem fabulous."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VIII (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960) 399-400</ref></blockquote>

In a famous article, [[The "Elixir of Life"]], written by a former disciple of the Masters, the author claims that those who follow this process can live a thousand years or so. However, Blavatsky rejected this notion, saying:

<blockquote>Their [the Masters'] knowledge and learning are immense, and their personal holiness of life is still greater — still they are mortal men and none of them 1,000 years old, as imagined by some.<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref></blockquote>

Similarly, she stated:

<blockquote>I have never heard of mortal man, layman, or Adept, who could live even half the [969] years allotted to Methuselah. Some Adepts do exceed, by a good deal, what you would call the ordinary age; yet there is nothing miraculous in it, and very few of them care to live very long.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

A reference as to how long a human body may last was given by [[Damodar K. Mavalankar]] in a letter to [[W. Q. Judge]], saying, "At the most, how long can a human life last? Not more than four hundred years."<ref>See [http://www.dailytheosophy.net/0001-home-2/03-literature-2/03-1-fundamental-theosophical-literature-inleiding-links/eastern-school-of-theosophy/lettres-by-damodar-k-mavalankar-to-william-quan-judge/# Letters by Damodar K. Mavalankar to William Quan Judge]</ref> This is repeated by Judge in his book [[The Ocean of Theosophy (book)|''The Ocean of Theosophy'']].<ref>William Quan Judge, ''The Ocean of Theosophy'', (Pasadena: Theosophical University Press, 2011), 37.</ref>

== Renouncing Nirvana ==

An important feature of the Masters of Wisdom is that, although they have attained the right to enter in [[Nirvāṇa]] they renounce to it in order to stay in touch with humanity. This is the same concept of the [[Bodhisattva]]s in [[Mahayana Buddhism]], which was not very well know at the time to the Western world:

<blockquote>. . .the hitherto very esoteric doctrine of the Nirmanakayas was lately brought forward as a proof and explained in the treatise called ''The Voice of the Silence''. These Nirmanakayas are the Bodhisattvas or late Adepts, who having reached Nirvana and liberation from rebirth, renounce it voluntarily in order to remain invisibly amidst the world to help poor ignorant Humanity within the lines permitted by Karma.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 12 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 31. </ref></blockquote>

This is evidently a sacrifice on their part, renouncing to live in a state of bliss on higher planes to incessantly work on the lower ones. As [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote to [[A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>I will be busy night and day, morning, noon, and evening. At times I feel a passing regret that the Chohans should not evolute the happy idea of allowing us also a "sumptuary allowance" in the shape of a little spare time. Oh, for the final Rest! for that Nirvana where — "to be one with Life, yet — to live not." Alas, alas! having personally realized that: ". . . the Soul of Things is sweet, The Heart of Being is celestial Rest," one does long for — eternal REST!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203-204.</ref></blockquote>

== Their Work ==

When asked by [[Charles Johnston]] about their work she answered: "You would hardly understand, unless you were an adept. But they keep alive the spiritual life of mankind."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401.</ref> He then asked her how the adepts guide the souls of men, to which [[H. P. Blavatsky]] answered:

<blockquote>In many ways, but chiefly by teaching their souls direct, in the spiritual world. But that is difficult for you to understand. This is quite intelligible, though. At certain regular periods, they try to give the world at large a right understanding of spiritual things. One of their number comes forth to teach the masses, and is handed down to tradition as the Founder of a religion. Krishna was such a Master; so was Zoroaster; so were Buddha and Shankara Acharya, the great sage of Southern India. So also was the Nazarene. He went forth against the counsel of the rest, to give to the masses before the time, moved by a great pity, and enthusiasm for humanity; he was warned that the time was unfavorable, but nevertheless he elected to go, and so was put to death at the instigation of the priests. . . . 
But that is not the only work of the adepts. At much shorter periods, they send forth a messenger to try to teach the world. Such a period comes in the last quarter of each century, and the Theosophical Society represents their work for this epoch.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401-402.</ref></blockquote>

One must bear in mind, however, that there are different types of Adepts corresponding to the [[Seven Rays]] of the Logos, and they may have different functions. As [[T. Subba Row]] stated:

<blockquote>In the adept hierarchy, there are always seven classes of adepts, corresponding to the seven rays of the Logos. Two of these classes of adepts are so mysterious, and their representatives on earth are so rare, that they are seldom spoken of. Perhaps one or two adepts of these two mysterious orders appear every two or three thousand years.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 106.</ref></blockquote>

There are some references to some kind of involvement of the Masters in political or social matters. For example in [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters'']], the [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] around November 1880:

<blockquote>A crisis, in a certain sense, is upon us now, and must be met. I might say two crises — one, the Society's, the other for Tibet. For, I may tell you in confidence, that Russia is gradually massing her forces for a future invasion of that country under the pretext of a Chinese War. If she does not succeed it will be due to us; and herein, at least we will deserve your gratitude. You see then, that we have weightier matters than small societies to think about; yet, the T.S. must not be neglected.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 5 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 15.</ref></blockquote>

Another reference by the same Master, written around July, 1882, states:

<blockquote>The Egyptian operations of your blessed countrymen involve such local consequences to the body of [[Occultism|Occultists]] still remaining there and to what they are guarding, that two of our adepts are already there, having joined some Druze brethren and three more on their way. I was offered the agreeable privilege of becoming an eye-witness to the human butchery, but — declined with thanks. For such great emergency is our Force stored up, and hence — we dare not waste it on fashionable tamasha.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203.</ref></blockquote>

[[T. Subba Row]] described the function of the Masters in nature as follows:

<blockquote>The adept hierarchy is as strictly a product of nature as a tree is: it has a definite and indispensable purpose and function in the development of the human race: this function is to keep open the upward path, through which descend the light and leading without which our race would require to make each step by the wearisome, never ending method of trial and failure in every direction, until chance showed the right way.

In fact the function of the adept hierarchy is to provide religious teachers for the stumbling masses of mankind.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 113.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma_Letter_No._112#Page 3|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] talks about another aspect of their work. He mentions the Masters' "prime duty of gaining knowledge and disseminating through all available channels such fragments as mankind in the mass may be ready to assimilate".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 112 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 382.</ref></blockquote>

Regarding their roles as teachers, they do not impart information to their chelas as regular teachers do, but rather train them to develop their abilities so that they can perceive truths by their own means. As Subba Row explained:

<blockquote>Our Gurus, be it remember, never teach us as our English school masters. Nothing by word. They simply impress in our minds and help us develop the higher [[Round#Fifth_Round|fifth rounder's]] faculty.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''T. Subba Row Collected Writings'' vol. I (San Diego, USA: Point Loma Publications, 2001), 15.</ref></blockquote>

This is confirmed in the following testimony from H. P. Blavatsky:

<blockquote>Knowledge comes in visions, first in dreams and then in pictures presented to the inner eye during meditation. Thus have I been taught the whole system of evolution, the laws of being and all else that I know—the mysteries of life and death, the workings of karma. Not a word was spoken to me of all this in the ordinary way, except, perhaps, by way of confirmation of what was thus given me—nothing taught me in writing.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 13 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 285.</ref></blockquote>

== Witnesses ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] claimed personal contact with Mahatmas living in Tibet, Ladakh, India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. During her lifetime and since her death, there has been a great deal of controversy and skepticism concerning their existence. Almost all of HPB's critics have doubted the actual existence or reality of her Masters. However, more than twenty five people testified to having seen and/or been in contact with the Mahatmas during Madame Blavatsky's life time.

Daniel Caldwell has compiled detailed accounts and testimonies of all these witnesses in the following books:

* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas]
* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf# The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India]
* [https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf# Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas]

== See also ==
*[[Mahatma]]
*[[Adepts]]
*[[Brotherhood of Adepts]]
*[[Chela]]
*[[Chelaship]]
*[[Initiation]]
*[[Occultism]]
*[[Portraits of the Masters]]
*[[:Category:Mahatmas and Adepts|A list of Wiki articles on individual Mahatmas and Adepts]]

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/working-as-colleagues-of-the-masters Working as Colleagues of the Masters] by Ed Abdill
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No101.pdf# Is Belief in the Masters Superstitious or Harmful?] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Super-Human%20Men-%20Annie%20Besant.htm# Superhuman Men - in History and in Religion] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/can-the-mahatmas-be-selfish# Can The Mahatmas Be Selfish?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mdm-blavatsky-on-the-himalayan-brothers# Madame Blavatsky on "The Himalayan Brothers"] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mahatmas-and-chelas# Mahatmas and Chelas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/theosophical-mahatmas# The Theosophical Mahatmas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-14.htm# The "Theosophical Mahatmas"] in ''The Key to Theosophy'' Section 14, by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Masters.pdf# Masters and Gurus] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/mastersencounterswith.htm# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] Compiled and edited by Daniel H. Caldwell
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/olcottandmahatmas.htm Colonel Henry S. Olcott's Testimony about His Meetings with the Master Morya] Compiled and edited by Daniel H. Caldwell
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/PerfectedOnes.pdf# The Perfected Ones] by Clara Codd
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway1.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Instruments - Part 1] and [http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway2.htm# Part 2] by Laura Holloway
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/wqj/TheosophicalAdepts.pdf# Theosophical Adepts (a collection of articles)] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/masters-adepts-teachers-and-disciples# Masters, Adepts, Teachers, and Disciples] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Teacher.pdf# Who Is The Teacher?] by Joy Mills
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/how-the-masters-know-truth How the Masters Know Truth] by Shirley J. Nicholson
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/mahatmas-versus-ascended-masters Mahatmas versus Ascended Masters] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/who-are-the-masters Who Are the Masters?] An Interview with Joy Mills by Richard Smoley

===Books===
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/besant_h_p_blavatsky_and_the_masters_of_wisdom_1907.pdf# H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of the Wisdom] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Masters-AB.htm# The Masters] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/hpb/TeachersDiscp.pdf# Teachers And Disciples] A compilation of articles H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/kuhnmahatmaletters.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Alvin B. Kuhn
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpmanu/mahat_ch/m_c-hp.htm# Mahatmas and Chelas] by Leoline L. Wright
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf# The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf# Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell

===Audio===
*[https://archive.org/download/1151_20191125/1151.mp3# The Path to the Masters of Wisdom] by Clara Codd
*[https://archive.org/download/1365_20200103/1365.mp3# The Masters of the Wisdom: The World, and the Theosophical Society Today] by Dora Kunz
*[https://archive.org/download/1364_20191228/1364.mp3# The Masters and the Future of the Theosophical Society] by Dora Kunz
*[http://www.old.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/sanat/Krishnamurti%20on%20the%20Masters.mp3# Krishnamurti on the Masters] by Aryel Sanat
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abdill/The%20Adepts:%20Our%20Brothers.mp3# "The Adepts: Our Brothers"] by Ed Abdill

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRS5NcAidxo# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Theosophical Society in America
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7QW0CGyvkY# The Mahatmas, Their Letters, and The Path] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLOfiqc0c4A# In Their Own Words - Wisdom from the Mahatmas] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBU6S8Yutbk# The Masters of the Wisdom] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErsV6ugfxxo# The Masters and Their Wisdom - Part 1] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNK9_L9haCw The Masters and Their Wisdom Part 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTkChZrBw_0 Part 3], and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0OnqpG0yAY Part 4] by Tim Boyd
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hidDBxWetAg# The Hierarchy of Earth's Adepts: Part 1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNAn9vHIm5M# Part 2] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcxsYqiYRA# The Mahatmas: Working with the Wise Ones for a Better World] by Barbara Herbert

== Additional resources ==
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/Masters_of_Wisdom_and_their_Teachings.pdf# Bibliography on the Masters of Wisdom and their Teachings] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Mahatmas and Adepts]]

[[es: Maestros de Sabiduría]]
[[ru:Мастера Мудрости]]

Masters of Wisdom

2025-10-24T15:54:03Z

Pablo Sender: /* Witnesses */

The '''Masters of Wisdom''', or simply "The Masters" are [[initiation|initiates]] in the [[occultism|occult]] science and esoteric philosophy, who take disciples or [[chelas]]. [[H. P. Blavatsky]], in the glossary of her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] defined the Theosophical concept of "Master" as follows:

<blockquote>'''Master.''' A translation from the Sanskrit Guru, "Spiritual teacher," and adopted by the Theosophists to designate the Adepts, from whom they hold their teachings.<ref>Helena Ptrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key To Theosophy'', Glossary (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1972), 348.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters of Wisdom are sometimes referred indistinctly as "Brothers", "[[Adepts]]", or "[[Mahatmas]]."

== General description==

The Masters are [[Occultism|occultists]] who have developed the psychic and spiritual [[Siddhi|powers]] that are still latent in most human beings:

<blockquote>A Mahatma is a personage who, by special training and education, has evolved those higher faculties and has attained that spiritual knowledge which ordinary humanity will acquire after passing through numberless series of incarnations during the process of cosmic evolution, provided, of course, that they do not go, in the meanwhile, against the purposes of Nature. . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 239.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The occultist, when he has identified himself thoroughly with his [[Ātman|Atma]], acts upon the [[Buddhi]], for, according to the laws of Cosmic [[Evolution]], the [[Puruṣa|Purusha]] — the universal seventh principle––is perpetually acting upon and manifesting itself through [[Prakṛti|Prakriti]]—the universal [[sixth principle]]. Thus the MAHATMA, who has become one with his [[seventh principle]]—which is identical with Purusha, since there is no isolation in the spiritual [[monad]]—is practically a creator, for he has identified himself with the evoluting and the manifesting energy of nature.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 261-262.</ref></blockquote>

However, this should not give the impression that the Masters are "ascended" or incorporeal spirits. Blavatsky stated, "They are living men, not 'spirits' or even [[Nirmanakaya]]s."<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref> Similarly, in her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] we find the following dialogue:

<blockquote>ENQUIRER. Who are they, finally, those whom you call your "Masters"? Some say they are "Spirits," or some other kind of supernatural beings, while others call them "myths." 
THEOSOPHIST. They are neither. I once heard one outsider say to another that they were a sort of male mermaids, whatever such a creature may be. But if you listen to what people say, you will never have a true conception of them. In the first place they are living men, born as we are born, and doomed to die like every other mortal.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters are thus incarnated in a body, and live in physical locations in different parts of the world. For this reason, even Masters are subject to physical limitations when acting through the body. As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote in [[Mahatma Letter No. 130#Page 10|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>For you know — or think you know, of one [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]] — and can know but of one, whereas there are two distinct personages answering to that name in him you know. The riddle is only apparent and easy to solve, were you only to know what a real Mahatma is. You have seen by [[Henry Kiddle#The Kiddle Incident|the Kiddle incident]] — perchance allowed to develop to its bitter end for a purpose — that even an "[[adept]]" when acting in his body is not beyond mistakes due to human carelessness.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 130 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433.</ref></blockquote>

Although the Masters known through the Theosophical literature use a male body, there are testimonies by a number of [[chela]]s that there are [[Adepts#Women Adepts|women adepts]], even of the highest degree.

=== Lifespan ===

Blavatsky said that the Masters "have discovered means to make their bodies last far longer than the norm." This is connected to the popular idea of the "elixir of life," which, according to her, is a metaphor for "a real occult process, warding off age and dissolution for periods which would seem fabulous."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VIII (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960) 399-400</ref></blockquote>

In a famous article, [[The "Elixir of Life"]], written by a former disciple of the Masters, the author claims that those who follow this process can live a thousand years or so. However, Blavatsky rejected this notion, saying:

<blockquote>Their [the Masters'] knowledge and learning are immense, and their personal holiness of life is still greater — still they are mortal men and none of them 1,000 years old, as imagined by some.<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref></blockquote>

Similarly, she stated:

<blockquote>I have never heard of mortal man, layman, or Adept, who could live even half the [969] years allotted to Methuselah. Some Adepts do exceed, by a good deal, what you would call the ordinary age; yet there is nothing miraculous in it, and very few of them care to live very long.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

A reference as to how long a human body may last was given by [[Damodar K. Mavalankar]] in a letter to [[W. Q. Judge]], saying, "At the most, how long can a human life last? Not more than four hundred years."<ref>See [http://www.dailytheosophy.net/0001-home-2/03-literature-2/03-1-fundamental-theosophical-literature-inleiding-links/eastern-school-of-theosophy/lettres-by-damodar-k-mavalankar-to-william-quan-judge/# Letters by Damodar K. Mavalankar to William Quan Judge]</ref> This is repeated by Judge in his book [[The Ocean of Theosophy (book)|''The Ocean of Theosophy'']].<ref>William Quan Judge, ''The Ocean of Theosophy'', (Pasadena: Theosophical University Press, 2011), 37.</ref>

== Renouncing Nirvana ==

An important feature of the Masters of Wisdom is that, although they have attained the right to enter in [[Nirvāṇa]] they renounce to it in order to stay in touch with humanity. This is the same concept of the [[Bodhisattva]]s in [[Mahayana Buddhism]], which was not very well know at the time to the Western world:

<blockquote>. . .the hitherto very esoteric doctrine of the Nirmanakayas was lately brought forward as a proof and explained in the treatise called ''The Voice of the Silence''. These Nirmanakayas are the Bodhisattvas or late Adepts, who having reached Nirvana and liberation from rebirth, renounce it voluntarily in order to remain invisibly amidst the world to help poor ignorant Humanity within the lines permitted by Karma.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 12 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 31. </ref></blockquote>

This is evidently a sacrifice on their part, renouncing to live in a state of bliss on higher planes to incessantly work on the lower ones. As [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote to [[A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>I will be busy night and day, morning, noon, and evening. At times I feel a passing regret that the Chohans should not evolute the happy idea of allowing us also a "sumptuary allowance" in the shape of a little spare time. Oh, for the final Rest! for that Nirvana where — "to be one with Life, yet — to live not." Alas, alas! having personally realized that: ". . . the Soul of Things is sweet, The Heart of Being is celestial Rest," one does long for — eternal REST!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203-204.</ref></blockquote>

== Their Work ==

When asked by [[Charles Johnston]] about their work she answered: "You would hardly understand, unless you were an adept. But they keep alive the spiritual life of mankind."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401.</ref> He then asked her how the adepts guide the souls of men, to which [[H. P. Blavatsky]] answered:

<blockquote>In many ways, but chiefly by teaching their souls direct, in the spiritual world. But that is difficult for you to understand. This is quite intelligible, though. At certain regular periods, they try to give the world at large a right understanding of spiritual things. One of their number comes forth to teach the masses, and is handed down to tradition as the Founder of a religion. Krishna was such a Master; so was Zoroaster; so were Buddha and Shankara Acharya, the great sage of Southern India. So also was the Nazarene. He went forth against the counsel of the rest, to give to the masses before the time, moved by a great pity, and enthusiasm for humanity; he was warned that the time was unfavorable, but nevertheless he elected to go, and so was put to death at the instigation of the priests. . . . 
But that is not the only work of the adepts. At much shorter periods, they send forth a messenger to try to teach the world. Such a period comes in the last quarter of each century, and the Theosophical Society represents their work for this epoch.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401-402.</ref></blockquote>

One must bear in mind, however, that there are different types of Adepts corresponding to the [[Seven Rays]] of the Logos, and they may have different functions. As [[T. Subba Row]] stated:

<blockquote>In the adept hierarchy, there are always seven classes of adepts, corresponding to the seven rays of the Logos. Two of these classes of adepts are so mysterious, and their representatives on earth are so rare, that they are seldom spoken of. Perhaps one or two adepts of these two mysterious orders appear every two or three thousand years.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 106.</ref></blockquote>

There are some references to some kind of involvement of the Masters in political or social matters. For example in [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters'']], the [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] around November 1880:

<blockquote>A crisis, in a certain sense, is upon us now, and must be met. I might say two crises — one, the Society's, the other for Tibet. For, I may tell you in confidence, that Russia is gradually massing her forces for a future invasion of that country under the pretext of a Chinese War. If she does not succeed it will be due to us; and herein, at least we will deserve your gratitude. You see then, that we have weightier matters than small societies to think about; yet, the T.S. must not be neglected.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 5 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 15.</ref></blockquote>

Another reference by the same Master, written around July, 1882, states:

<blockquote>The Egyptian operations of your blessed countrymen involve such local consequences to the body of [[Occultism|Occultists]] still remaining there and to what they are guarding, that two of our adepts are already there, having joined some Druze brethren and three more on their way. I was offered the agreeable privilege of becoming an eye-witness to the human butchery, but — declined with thanks. For such great emergency is our Force stored up, and hence — we dare not waste it on fashionable tamasha.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203.</ref></blockquote>

[[T. Subba Row]] described the function of the Masters in nature as follows:

<blockquote>The adept hierarchy is as strictly a product of nature as a tree is: it has a definite and indispensable purpose and function in the development of the human race: this function is to keep open the upward path, through which descend the light and leading without which our race would require to make each step by the wearisome, never ending method of trial and failure in every direction, until chance showed the right way.

In fact the function of the adept hierarchy is to provide religious teachers for the stumbling masses of mankind.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 113.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma_Letter_No._112#Page 3|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] talks about another aspect of their work. He mentions the Masters' "prime duty of gaining knowledge and disseminating through all available channels such fragments as mankind in the mass may be ready to assimilate".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 112 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 382.</ref></blockquote>

Regarding their roles as teachers, they do not impart information to their chelas as regular teachers do, but rather train them to develop their abilities so that they can perceive truths by their own means. As Subba Row explained:

<blockquote>Our Gurus, be it remember, never teach us as our English school masters. Nothing by word. They simply impress in our minds and help us develop the higher [[Round#Fifth_Round|fifth rounder's]] faculty.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''T. Subba Row Collected Writings'' vol. I (San Diego, USA: Point Loma Publications, 2001), 15.</ref></blockquote>

This is confirmed in the following testimony from H. P. Blavatsky:

<blockquote>Knowledge comes in visions, first in dreams and then in pictures presented to the inner eye during meditation. Thus have I been taught the whole system of evolution, the laws of being and all else that I know—the mysteries of life and death, the workings of karma. Not a word was spoken to me of all this in the ordinary way, except, perhaps, by way of confirmation of what was thus given me—nothing taught me in writing.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 13 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 285.</ref></blockquote>

== Witnesses ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] claimed personal contact with Mahatmas living in Tibet, Ladakh, India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. During her lifetime and since her death, there has been a great deal of controversy and skepticism concerning their existence. Almost all of HPB's critics have doubted the actual existence or reality of her Masters. However, more than twenty five people testified to having seen and/or been in contact with the Mahatmas during Madame Blavatsky's life time.

Daniel Caldwell has compiled detailed accounts and testimonies of all these witnesses in the following books:

* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas]
* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf# The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India]
* [https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf# Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas]

== See also ==
*[[Mahatma]]
*[[Adepts]]
*[[Brotherhood of Adepts]]
*[[Chela]]
*[[Chelaship]]
*[[Initiation]]
*[[Occultism]]
*[[Portraits of the Masters]]
*[[:Category:Mahatmas and Adepts|A list of Wiki articles on individual Mahatmas and Adepts]]

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/working-as-colleagues-of-the-masters Working as Colleagues of the Masters] by Ed Abdill
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No101.pdf# Is Belief in the Masters Superstitious or Harmful?] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Super-Human%20Men-%20Annie%20Besant.htm# Superhuman Men - in History and in Religion] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/can-the-mahatmas-be-selfish# Can The Mahatmas Be Selfish?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mdm-blavatsky-on-the-himalayan-brothers# Madame Blavatsky on "The Himalayan Brothers"] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mahatmas-and-chelas# Mahatmas and Chelas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/theosophical-mahatmas# The Theosophical Mahatmas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-14.htm# The "Theosophical Mahatmas"] in ''The Key to Theosophy'' Section 14, by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Masters.pdf# Masters and Gurus] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/mastersencounterswith.htm# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] Compiled and edited by Daniel H. Caldwell
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/olcottandmahatmas.htm Colonel Henry S. Olcott's Testimony about His Meetings with the Master Morya] Compiled and edited by Daniel H. Caldwell
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/PerfectedOnes.pdf# The Perfected Ones] by Clara Codd
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway1.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Instruments - Part 1] and [http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway2.htm# Part 2] by Laura Holloway
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/wqj/TheosophicalAdepts.pdf# Theosophical Adepts (a collection of articles)] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/masters-adepts-teachers-and-disciples# Masters, Adepts, Teachers, and Disciples] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Teacher.pdf# Who Is The Teacher?] by Joy Mills
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/how-the-masters-know-truth How the Masters Know Truth] by Shirley J. Nicholson
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/mahatmas-versus-ascended-masters Mahatmas versus Ascended Masters] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/who-are-the-masters Who Are the Masters?] An Interview with Joy Mills by Richard Smoley

===Books===
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/besant_h_p_blavatsky_and_the_masters_of_wisdom_1907.pdf# H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of the Wisdom] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Masters-AB.htm# The Masters] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/hpb/TeachersDiscp.pdf# Teachers And Disciples] A compilation of articles H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/kuhnmahatmaletters.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Alvin B. Kuhn
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpmanu/mahat_ch/m_c-hp.htm# Mahatmas and Chelas] by Leoline L. Wright
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf|A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf| The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf| Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell

===Audio===
*[https://archive.org/download/1151_20191125/1151.mp3# The Path to the Masters of Wisdom] by Clara Codd
*[https://archive.org/download/1365_20200103/1365.mp3# The Masters of the Wisdom: The World, and the Theosophical Society Today] by Dora Kunz
*[https://archive.org/download/1364_20191228/1364.mp3# The Masters and the Future of the Theosophical Society] by Dora Kunz
*[http://www.old.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/sanat/Krishnamurti%20on%20the%20Masters.mp3# Krishnamurti on the Masters] by Aryel Sanat
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abdill/The%20Adepts:%20Our%20Brothers.mp3# "The Adepts: Our Brothers"] by Ed Abdill

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRS5NcAidxo# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Theosophical Society in America
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7QW0CGyvkY# The Mahatmas, Their Letters, and The Path] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLOfiqc0c4A# In Their Own Words - Wisdom from the Mahatmas] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBU6S8Yutbk# The Masters of the Wisdom] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErsV6ugfxxo# The Masters and Their Wisdom - Part 1] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNK9_L9haCw The Masters and Their Wisdom Part 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTkChZrBw_0 Part 3], and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0OnqpG0yAY Part 4] by Tim Boyd
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hidDBxWetAg# The Hierarchy of Earth's Adepts: Part 1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNAn9vHIm5M# Part 2] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcxsYqiYRA# The Mahatmas: Working with the Wise Ones for a Better World] by Barbara Herbert

== Additional resources ==
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/Masters_of_Wisdom_and_their_Teachings.pdf# Bibliography on the Masters of Wisdom and their Teachings] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Mahatmas and Adepts]]

[[es: Maestros de Sabiduría]]
[[ru:Мастера Мудрости]]

Masters of Wisdom

2025-10-24T15:53:29Z

Pablo Sender: /* Witnesses */

The '''Masters of Wisdom''', or simply "The Masters" are [[initiation|initiates]] in the [[occultism|occult]] science and esoteric philosophy, who take disciples or [[chelas]]. [[H. P. Blavatsky]], in the glossary of her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] defined the Theosophical concept of "Master" as follows:

<blockquote>'''Master.''' A translation from the Sanskrit Guru, "Spiritual teacher," and adopted by the Theosophists to designate the Adepts, from whom they hold their teachings.<ref>Helena Ptrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key To Theosophy'', Glossary (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1972), 348.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters of Wisdom are sometimes referred indistinctly as "Brothers", "[[Adepts]]", or "[[Mahatmas]]."

== General description==

The Masters are [[Occultism|occultists]] who have developed the psychic and spiritual [[Siddhi|powers]] that are still latent in most human beings:

<blockquote>A Mahatma is a personage who, by special training and education, has evolved those higher faculties and has attained that spiritual knowledge which ordinary humanity will acquire after passing through numberless series of incarnations during the process of cosmic evolution, provided, of course, that they do not go, in the meanwhile, against the purposes of Nature. . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 239.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The occultist, when he has identified himself thoroughly with his [[Ātman|Atma]], acts upon the [[Buddhi]], for, according to the laws of Cosmic [[Evolution]], the [[Puruṣa|Purusha]] — the universal seventh principle––is perpetually acting upon and manifesting itself through [[Prakṛti|Prakriti]]—the universal [[sixth principle]]. Thus the MAHATMA, who has become one with his [[seventh principle]]—which is identical with Purusha, since there is no isolation in the spiritual [[monad]]—is practically a creator, for he has identified himself with the evoluting and the manifesting energy of nature.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 261-262.</ref></blockquote>

However, this should not give the impression that the Masters are "ascended" or incorporeal spirits. Blavatsky stated, "They are living men, not 'spirits' or even [[Nirmanakaya]]s."<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref> Similarly, in her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] we find the following dialogue:

<blockquote>ENQUIRER. Who are they, finally, those whom you call your "Masters"? Some say they are "Spirits," or some other kind of supernatural beings, while others call them "myths." 
THEOSOPHIST. They are neither. I once heard one outsider say to another that they were a sort of male mermaids, whatever such a creature may be. But if you listen to what people say, you will never have a true conception of them. In the first place they are living men, born as we are born, and doomed to die like every other mortal.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters are thus incarnated in a body, and live in physical locations in different parts of the world. For this reason, even Masters are subject to physical limitations when acting through the body. As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote in [[Mahatma Letter No. 130#Page 10|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>For you know — or think you know, of one [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]] — and can know but of one, whereas there are two distinct personages answering to that name in him you know. The riddle is only apparent and easy to solve, were you only to know what a real Mahatma is. You have seen by [[Henry Kiddle#The Kiddle Incident|the Kiddle incident]] — perchance allowed to develop to its bitter end for a purpose — that even an "[[adept]]" when acting in his body is not beyond mistakes due to human carelessness.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 130 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433.</ref></blockquote>

Although the Masters known through the Theosophical literature use a male body, there are testimonies by a number of [[chela]]s that there are [[Adepts#Women Adepts|women adepts]], even of the highest degree.

=== Lifespan ===

Blavatsky said that the Masters "have discovered means to make their bodies last far longer than the norm." This is connected to the popular idea of the "elixir of life," which, according to her, is a metaphor for "a real occult process, warding off age and dissolution for periods which would seem fabulous."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VIII (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960) 399-400</ref></blockquote>

In a famous article, [[The "Elixir of Life"]], written by a former disciple of the Masters, the author claims that those who follow this process can live a thousand years or so. However, Blavatsky rejected this notion, saying:

<blockquote>Their [the Masters'] knowledge and learning are immense, and their personal holiness of life is still greater — still they are mortal men and none of them 1,000 years old, as imagined by some.<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref></blockquote>

Similarly, she stated:

<blockquote>I have never heard of mortal man, layman, or Adept, who could live even half the [969] years allotted to Methuselah. Some Adepts do exceed, by a good deal, what you would call the ordinary age; yet there is nothing miraculous in it, and very few of them care to live very long.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

A reference as to how long a human body may last was given by [[Damodar K. Mavalankar]] in a letter to [[W. Q. Judge]], saying, "At the most, how long can a human life last? Not more than four hundred years."<ref>See [http://www.dailytheosophy.net/0001-home-2/03-literature-2/03-1-fundamental-theosophical-literature-inleiding-links/eastern-school-of-theosophy/lettres-by-damodar-k-mavalankar-to-william-quan-judge/# Letters by Damodar K. Mavalankar to William Quan Judge]</ref> This is repeated by Judge in his book [[The Ocean of Theosophy (book)|''The Ocean of Theosophy'']].<ref>William Quan Judge, ''The Ocean of Theosophy'', (Pasadena: Theosophical University Press, 2011), 37.</ref>

== Renouncing Nirvana ==

An important feature of the Masters of Wisdom is that, although they have attained the right to enter in [[Nirvāṇa]] they renounce to it in order to stay in touch with humanity. This is the same concept of the [[Bodhisattva]]s in [[Mahayana Buddhism]], which was not very well know at the time to the Western world:

<blockquote>. . .the hitherto very esoteric doctrine of the Nirmanakayas was lately brought forward as a proof and explained in the treatise called ''The Voice of the Silence''. These Nirmanakayas are the Bodhisattvas or late Adepts, who having reached Nirvana and liberation from rebirth, renounce it voluntarily in order to remain invisibly amidst the world to help poor ignorant Humanity within the lines permitted by Karma.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 12 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 31. </ref></blockquote>

This is evidently a sacrifice on their part, renouncing to live in a state of bliss on higher planes to incessantly work on the lower ones. As [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote to [[A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>I will be busy night and day, morning, noon, and evening. At times I feel a passing regret that the Chohans should not evolute the happy idea of allowing us also a "sumptuary allowance" in the shape of a little spare time. Oh, for the final Rest! for that Nirvana where — "to be one with Life, yet — to live not." Alas, alas! having personally realized that: ". . . the Soul of Things is sweet, The Heart of Being is celestial Rest," one does long for — eternal REST!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203-204.</ref></blockquote>

== Their Work ==

When asked by [[Charles Johnston]] about their work she answered: "You would hardly understand, unless you were an adept. But they keep alive the spiritual life of mankind."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401.</ref> He then asked her how the adepts guide the souls of men, to which [[H. P. Blavatsky]] answered:

<blockquote>In many ways, but chiefly by teaching their souls direct, in the spiritual world. But that is difficult for you to understand. This is quite intelligible, though. At certain regular periods, they try to give the world at large a right understanding of spiritual things. One of their number comes forth to teach the masses, and is handed down to tradition as the Founder of a religion. Krishna was such a Master; so was Zoroaster; so were Buddha and Shankara Acharya, the great sage of Southern India. So also was the Nazarene. He went forth against the counsel of the rest, to give to the masses before the time, moved by a great pity, and enthusiasm for humanity; he was warned that the time was unfavorable, but nevertheless he elected to go, and so was put to death at the instigation of the priests. . . . 
But that is not the only work of the adepts. At much shorter periods, they send forth a messenger to try to teach the world. Such a period comes in the last quarter of each century, and the Theosophical Society represents their work for this epoch.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401-402.</ref></blockquote>

One must bear in mind, however, that there are different types of Adepts corresponding to the [[Seven Rays]] of the Logos, and they may have different functions. As [[T. Subba Row]] stated:

<blockquote>In the adept hierarchy, there are always seven classes of adepts, corresponding to the seven rays of the Logos. Two of these classes of adepts are so mysterious, and their representatives on earth are so rare, that they are seldom spoken of. Perhaps one or two adepts of these two mysterious orders appear every two or three thousand years.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 106.</ref></blockquote>

There are some references to some kind of involvement of the Masters in political or social matters. For example in [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters'']], the [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] around November 1880:

<blockquote>A crisis, in a certain sense, is upon us now, and must be met. I might say two crises — one, the Society's, the other for Tibet. For, I may tell you in confidence, that Russia is gradually massing her forces for a future invasion of that country under the pretext of a Chinese War. If she does not succeed it will be due to us; and herein, at least we will deserve your gratitude. You see then, that we have weightier matters than small societies to think about; yet, the T.S. must not be neglected.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 5 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 15.</ref></blockquote>

Another reference by the same Master, written around July, 1882, states:

<blockquote>The Egyptian operations of your blessed countrymen involve such local consequences to the body of [[Occultism|Occultists]] still remaining there and to what they are guarding, that two of our adepts are already there, having joined some Druze brethren and three more on their way. I was offered the agreeable privilege of becoming an eye-witness to the human butchery, but — declined with thanks. For such great emergency is our Force stored up, and hence — we dare not waste it on fashionable tamasha.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203.</ref></blockquote>

[[T. Subba Row]] described the function of the Masters in nature as follows:

<blockquote>The adept hierarchy is as strictly a product of nature as a tree is: it has a definite and indispensable purpose and function in the development of the human race: this function is to keep open the upward path, through which descend the light and leading without which our race would require to make each step by the wearisome, never ending method of trial and failure in every direction, until chance showed the right way.

In fact the function of the adept hierarchy is to provide religious teachers for the stumbling masses of mankind.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 113.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma_Letter_No._112#Page 3|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] talks about another aspect of their work. He mentions the Masters' "prime duty of gaining knowledge and disseminating through all available channels such fragments as mankind in the mass may be ready to assimilate".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 112 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 382.</ref></blockquote>

Regarding their roles as teachers, they do not impart information to their chelas as regular teachers do, but rather train them to develop their abilities so that they can perceive truths by their own means. As Subba Row explained:

<blockquote>Our Gurus, be it remember, never teach us as our English school masters. Nothing by word. They simply impress in our minds and help us develop the higher [[Round#Fifth_Round|fifth rounder's]] faculty.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''T. Subba Row Collected Writings'' vol. I (San Diego, USA: Point Loma Publications, 2001), 15.</ref></blockquote>

This is confirmed in the following testimony from H. P. Blavatsky:

<blockquote>Knowledge comes in visions, first in dreams and then in pictures presented to the inner eye during meditation. Thus have I been taught the whole system of evolution, the laws of being and all else that I know—the mysteries of life and death, the workings of karma. Not a word was spoken to me of all this in the ordinary way, except, perhaps, by way of confirmation of what was thus given me—nothing taught me in writing.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 13 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 285.</ref></blockquote>

== Witnesses ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] claimed personal contact with Mahatmas living in Tibet, Ladakh, India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. During her lifetime and since her death, there has been a great deal of controversy and skepticism concerning their existence. Almost all of HPB's critics have doubted the actual existence or reality of her Masters. However, more than twenty five people testified to having seen and/or been in contact with the Mahatmas during Madame Blavatsky's life time.

Daniel Caldwell has compiled detailed accounts and testimonies of all these witnesses in the following books:

* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas]
* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India]
* [https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas]

== See also ==
*[[Mahatma]]
*[[Adepts]]
*[[Brotherhood of Adepts]]
*[[Chela]]
*[[Chelaship]]
*[[Initiation]]
*[[Occultism]]
*[[Portraits of the Masters]]
*[[:Category:Mahatmas and Adepts|A list of Wiki articles on individual Mahatmas and Adepts]]

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/working-as-colleagues-of-the-masters Working as Colleagues of the Masters] by Ed Abdill
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No101.pdf# Is Belief in the Masters Superstitious or Harmful?] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Super-Human%20Men-%20Annie%20Besant.htm# Superhuman Men - in History and in Religion] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/can-the-mahatmas-be-selfish# Can The Mahatmas Be Selfish?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mdm-blavatsky-on-the-himalayan-brothers# Madame Blavatsky on "The Himalayan Brothers"] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mahatmas-and-chelas# Mahatmas and Chelas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/theosophical-mahatmas# The Theosophical Mahatmas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-14.htm# The "Theosophical Mahatmas"] in ''The Key to Theosophy'' Section 14, by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Masters.pdf# Masters and Gurus] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/mastersencounterswith.htm# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] Compiled and edited by Daniel H. Caldwell
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/olcottandmahatmas.htm Colonel Henry S. Olcott's Testimony about His Meetings with the Master Morya] Compiled and edited by Daniel H. Caldwell
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/PerfectedOnes.pdf# The Perfected Ones] by Clara Codd
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway1.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Instruments - Part 1] and [http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway2.htm# Part 2] by Laura Holloway
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/wqj/TheosophicalAdepts.pdf# Theosophical Adepts (a collection of articles)] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/masters-adepts-teachers-and-disciples# Masters, Adepts, Teachers, and Disciples] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Teacher.pdf# Who Is The Teacher?] by Joy Mills
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/how-the-masters-know-truth How the Masters Know Truth] by Shirley J. Nicholson
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/mahatmas-versus-ascended-masters Mahatmas versus Ascended Masters] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/who-are-the-masters Who Are the Masters?] An Interview with Joy Mills by Richard Smoley

===Books===
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/besant_h_p_blavatsky_and_the_masters_of_wisdom_1907.pdf# H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of the Wisdom] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Masters-AB.htm# The Masters] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/hpb/TeachersDiscp.pdf# Teachers And Disciples] A compilation of articles H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/kuhnmahatmaletters.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Alvin B. Kuhn
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpmanu/mahat_ch/m_c-hp.htm# Mahatmas and Chelas] by Leoline L. Wright
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf|A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf| The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf| Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell

===Audio===
*[https://archive.org/download/1151_20191125/1151.mp3# The Path to the Masters of Wisdom] by Clara Codd
*[https://archive.org/download/1365_20200103/1365.mp3# The Masters of the Wisdom: The World, and the Theosophical Society Today] by Dora Kunz
*[https://archive.org/download/1364_20191228/1364.mp3# The Masters and the Future of the Theosophical Society] by Dora Kunz
*[http://www.old.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/sanat/Krishnamurti%20on%20the%20Masters.mp3# Krishnamurti on the Masters] by Aryel Sanat
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abdill/The%20Adepts:%20Our%20Brothers.mp3# "The Adepts: Our Brothers"] by Ed Abdill

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRS5NcAidxo# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Theosophical Society in America
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7QW0CGyvkY# The Mahatmas, Their Letters, and The Path] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLOfiqc0c4A# In Their Own Words - Wisdom from the Mahatmas] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBU6S8Yutbk# The Masters of the Wisdom] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErsV6ugfxxo# The Masters and Their Wisdom - Part 1] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNK9_L9haCw The Masters and Their Wisdom Part 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTkChZrBw_0 Part 3], and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0OnqpG0yAY Part 4] by Tim Boyd
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hidDBxWetAg# The Hierarchy of Earth's Adepts: Part 1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNAn9vHIm5M# Part 2] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcxsYqiYRA# The Mahatmas: Working with the Wise Ones for a Better World] by Barbara Herbert

== Additional resources ==
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/Masters_of_Wisdom_and_their_Teachings.pdf# Bibliography on the Masters of Wisdom and their Teachings] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Mahatmas and Adepts]]

[[es: Maestros de Sabiduría]]
[[ru:Мастера Мудрости]]

Masters of Wisdom

2025-10-24T15:37:02Z

Pablo Sender:

The '''Masters of Wisdom''', or simply "The Masters" are [[initiation|initiates]] in the [[occultism|occult]] science and esoteric philosophy, who take disciples or [[chelas]]. [[H. P. Blavatsky]], in the glossary of her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] defined the Theosophical concept of "Master" as follows:

<blockquote>'''Master.''' A translation from the Sanskrit Guru, "Spiritual teacher," and adopted by the Theosophists to designate the Adepts, from whom they hold their teachings.<ref>Helena Ptrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key To Theosophy'', Glossary (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1972), 348.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters of Wisdom are sometimes referred indistinctly as "Brothers", "[[Adepts]]", or "[[Mahatmas]]."

== General description==

The Masters are [[Occultism|occultists]] who have developed the psychic and spiritual [[Siddhi|powers]] that are still latent in most human beings:

<blockquote>A Mahatma is a personage who, by special training and education, has evolved those higher faculties and has attained that spiritual knowledge which ordinary humanity will acquire after passing through numberless series of incarnations during the process of cosmic evolution, provided, of course, that they do not go, in the meanwhile, against the purposes of Nature. . .<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 239.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The occultist, when he has identified himself thoroughly with his [[Ātman|Atma]], acts upon the [[Buddhi]], for, according to the laws of Cosmic [[Evolution]], the [[Puruṣa|Purusha]] — the universal seventh principle––is perpetually acting upon and manifesting itself through [[Prakṛti|Prakriti]]—the universal [[sixth principle]]. Thus the MAHATMA, who has become one with his [[seventh principle]]—which is identical with Purusha, since there is no isolation in the spiritual [[monad]]—is practically a creator, for he has identified himself with the evoluting and the manifesting energy of nature.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 261-262.</ref></blockquote>

However, this should not give the impression that the Masters are "ascended" or incorporeal spirits. Blavatsky stated, "They are living men, not 'spirits' or even [[Nirmanakaya]]s."<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref> Similarly, in her book [[The Key to Theosophy (book)|''The Key to Theosophy'']] we find the following dialogue:

<blockquote>ENQUIRER. Who are they, finally, those whom you call your "Masters"? Some say they are "Spirits," or some other kind of supernatural beings, while others call them "myths." 
THEOSOPHIST. They are neither. I once heard one outsider say to another that they were a sort of male mermaids, whatever such a creature may be. But if you listen to what people say, you will never have a true conception of them. In the first place they are living men, born as we are born, and doomed to die like every other mortal.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

The Masters are thus incarnated in a body, and live in physical locations in different parts of the world. For this reason, even Masters are subject to physical limitations when acting through the body. As [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote in [[Mahatma Letter No. 130#Page 10|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>For you know — or think you know, of one [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]] — and can know but of one, whereas there are two distinct personages answering to that name in him you know. The riddle is only apparent and easy to solve, were you only to know what a real Mahatma is. You have seen by [[Henry Kiddle#The Kiddle Incident|the Kiddle incident]] — perchance allowed to develop to its bitter end for a purpose — that even an "[[adept]]" when acting in his body is not beyond mistakes due to human carelessness.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 130 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433.</ref></blockquote>

Although the Masters known through the Theosophical literature use a male body, there are testimonies by a number of [[chela]]s that there are [[Adepts#Women Adepts|women adepts]], even of the highest degree.

=== Lifespan ===

Blavatsky said that the Masters "have discovered means to make their bodies last far longer than the norm." This is connected to the popular idea of the "elixir of life," which, according to her, is a metaphor for "a real occult process, warding off age and dissolution for periods which would seem fabulous."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VIII (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960) 399-400</ref></blockquote>

In a famous article, [[The "Elixir of Life"]], written by a former disciple of the Masters, the author claims that those who follow this process can live a thousand years or so. However, Blavatsky rejected this notion, saying:

<blockquote>Their [the Masters'] knowledge and learning are immense, and their personal holiness of life is still greater — still they are mortal men and none of them 1,000 years old, as imagined by some.<ref>Manly P. Hall, "Madam Blavatsky - A Tribute," Theosophia (May-June, 1947), 11.</ref></blockquote>

Similarly, she stated:

<blockquote>I have never heard of mortal man, layman, or Adept, who could live even half the [969] years allotted to Methuselah. Some Adepts do exceed, by a good deal, what you would call the ordinary age; yet there is nothing miraculous in it, and very few of them care to live very long.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Key to Theosophy'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, [1987]), Section 14, p. ???.</ref></blockquote>

A reference as to how long a human body may last was given by [[Damodar K. Mavalankar]] in a letter to [[W. Q. Judge]], saying, "At the most, how long can a human life last? Not more than four hundred years."<ref>See [http://www.dailytheosophy.net/0001-home-2/03-literature-2/03-1-fundamental-theosophical-literature-inleiding-links/eastern-school-of-theosophy/lettres-by-damodar-k-mavalankar-to-william-quan-judge/# Letters by Damodar K. Mavalankar to William Quan Judge]</ref> This is repeated by Judge in his book [[The Ocean of Theosophy (book)|''The Ocean of Theosophy'']].<ref>William Quan Judge, ''The Ocean of Theosophy'', (Pasadena: Theosophical University Press, 2011), 37.</ref>

== Renouncing Nirvana ==

An important feature of the Masters of Wisdom is that, although they have attained the right to enter in [[Nirvāṇa]] they renounce to it in order to stay in touch with humanity. This is the same concept of the [[Bodhisattva]]s in [[Mahayana Buddhism]], which was not very well know at the time to the Western world:

<blockquote>. . .the hitherto very esoteric doctrine of the Nirmanakayas was lately brought forward as a proof and explained in the treatise called ''The Voice of the Silence''. These Nirmanakayas are the Bodhisattvas or late Adepts, who having reached Nirvana and liberation from rebirth, renounce it voluntarily in order to remain invisibly amidst the world to help poor ignorant Humanity within the lines permitted by Karma.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 12 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991), 31. </ref></blockquote>

This is evidently a sacrifice on their part, renouncing to live in a state of bliss on higher planes to incessantly work on the lower ones. As [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote to [[A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>I will be busy night and day, morning, noon, and evening. At times I feel a passing regret that the Chohans should not evolute the happy idea of allowing us also a "sumptuary allowance" in the shape of a little spare time. Oh, for the final Rest! for that Nirvana where — "to be one with Life, yet — to live not." Alas, alas! having personally realized that: ". . . the Soul of Things is sweet, The Heart of Being is celestial Rest," one does long for — eternal REST!<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203-204.</ref></blockquote>

== Their Work ==

When asked by [[Charles Johnston]] about their work she answered: "You would hardly understand, unless you were an adept. But they keep alive the spiritual life of mankind."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401.</ref> He then asked her how the adepts guide the souls of men, to which [[H. P. Blavatsky]] answered:

<blockquote>In many ways, but chiefly by teaching their souls direct, in the spiritual world. But that is difficult for you to understand. This is quite intelligible, though. At certain regular periods, they try to give the world at large a right understanding of spiritual things. One of their number comes forth to teach the masses, and is handed down to tradition as the Founder of a religion. Krishna was such a Master; so was Zoroaster; so were Buddha and Shankara Acharya, the great sage of Southern India. So also was the Nazarene. He went forth against the counsel of the rest, to give to the masses before the time, moved by a great pity, and enthusiasm for humanity; he was warned that the time was unfavorable, but nevertheless he elected to go, and so was put to death at the instigation of the priests. . . . 
But that is not the only work of the adepts. At much shorter periods, they send forth a messenger to try to teach the world. Such a period comes in the last quarter of each century, and the Theosophical Society represents their work for this epoch.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 8 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960), 401-402.</ref></blockquote>

One must bear in mind, however, that there are different types of Adepts corresponding to the [[Seven Rays]] of the Logos, and they may have different functions. As [[T. Subba Row]] stated:

<blockquote>In the adept hierarchy, there are always seven classes of adepts, corresponding to the seven rays of the Logos. Two of these classes of adepts are so mysterious, and their representatives on earth are so rare, that they are seldom spoken of. Perhaps one or two adepts of these two mysterious orders appear every two or three thousand years.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 106.</ref></blockquote>

There are some references to some kind of involvement of the Masters in political or social matters. For example in [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters'']], the [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]] around November 1880:

<blockquote>A crisis, in a certain sense, is upon us now, and must be met. I might say two crises — one, the Society's, the other for Tibet. For, I may tell you in confidence, that Russia is gradually massing her forces for a future invasion of that country under the pretext of a Chinese War. If she does not succeed it will be due to us; and herein, at least we will deserve your gratitude. You see then, that we have weightier matters than small societies to think about; yet, the T.S. must not be neglected.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 5 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 15.</ref></blockquote>

Another reference by the same Master, written around July, 1882, states:

<blockquote>The Egyptian operations of your blessed countrymen involve such local consequences to the body of [[Occultism|Occultists]] still remaining there and to what they are guarding, that two of our adepts are already there, having joined some Druze brethren and three more on their way. I was offered the agreeable privilege of becoming an eye-witness to the human butchery, but — declined with thanks. For such great emergency is our Force stored up, and hence — we dare not waste it on fashionable tamasha.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 203.</ref></blockquote>

[[T. Subba Row]] described the function of the Masters in nature as follows:

<blockquote>The adept hierarchy is as strictly a product of nature as a tree is: it has a definite and indispensable purpose and function in the development of the human race: this function is to keep open the upward path, through which descend the light and leading without which our race would require to make each step by the wearisome, never ending method of trial and failure in every direction, until chance showed the right way.

In fact the function of the adept hierarchy is to provide religious teachers for the stumbling masses of mankind.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 113.</ref></blockquote>

In [[Mahatma_Letter_No._112#Page 3|one of his letters]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]], [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] talks about another aspect of their work. He mentions the Masters' "prime duty of gaining knowledge and disseminating through all available channels such fragments as mankind in the mass may be ready to assimilate".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 112 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 382.</ref></blockquote>

Regarding their roles as teachers, they do not impart information to their chelas as regular teachers do, but rather train them to develop their abilities so that they can perceive truths by their own means. As Subba Row explained:

<blockquote>Our Gurus, be it remember, never teach us as our English school masters. Nothing by word. They simply impress in our minds and help us develop the higher [[Round#Fifth_Round|fifth rounder's]] faculty.<ref>Tallapragada Subba Row, ''T. Subba Row Collected Writings'' vol. I (San Diego, USA: Point Loma Publications, 2001), 15.</ref></blockquote>

This is confirmed in the following testimony from H. P. Blavatsky:

<blockquote>Knowledge comes in visions, first in dreams and then in pictures presented to the inner eye during meditation. Thus have I been taught the whole system of evolution, the laws of being and all else that I know—the mysteries of life and death, the workings of karma. Not a word was spoken to me of all this in the ordinary way, except, perhaps, by way of confirmation of what was thus given me—nothing taught me in writing.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'', vol. 13 (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 285.</ref></blockquote>

== Witnesses ==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] claimed personal contact with Mahatmas living in Tibet, Ladakh, India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. During her lifetime and since her death, there has been a great deal of controversy and skepticism concerning their existence. Almost all of HPB's critics have doubted the actual existence or reality of her Masters. However, more than twenty five people testified to having seen and/or been in contact with the Mahatmas during Madame Blavatsky's life time.

Daniel Caldwell has compiled detailed accounts and testimonies of all these witnesses in the following books:

* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf|A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas]
* [https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf| The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India]
* [https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf| Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas]

== See also ==
*[[Mahatma]]
*[[Adepts]]
*[[Brotherhood of Adepts]]
*[[Chela]]
*[[Chelaship]]
*[[Initiation]]
*[[Occultism]]
*[[Portraits of the Masters]]
*[[:Category:Mahatmas and Adepts|A list of Wiki articles on individual Mahatmas and Adepts]]

==Online resources==
===Articles and pamphlets===
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/working-as-colleagues-of-the-masters Working as Colleagues of the Masters] by Ed Abdill
*[https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No101.pdf# Is Belief in the Masters Superstitious or Harmful?] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Super-Human%20Men-%20Annie%20Besant.htm# Superhuman Men - in History and in Religion] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/can-the-mahatmas-be-selfish# Can The Mahatmas Be Selfish?] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mdm-blavatsky-on-the-himalayan-brothers# Madame Blavatsky on "The Himalayan Brothers"] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/mahatmas-and-chelas# Mahatmas and Chelas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/theosophical-mahatmas# The Theosophical Mahatmas] by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/key/key-14.htm# The "Theosophical Mahatmas"] in ''The Key to Theosophy'' Section 14, by H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Masters.pdf# Masters and Gurus] by Radha Burnier
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/mastersencounterswith.htm# A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] Compiled and edited by Daniel H. Caldwell
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/olcottandmahatmas.htm Colonel Henry S. Olcott's Testimony about His Meetings with the Master Morya] Compiled and edited by Daniel H. Caldwell
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/PerfectedOnes.pdf# The Perfected Ones] by Clara Codd
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway1.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Instruments - Part 1] and [http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/holloway2.htm# Part 2] by Laura Holloway
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/wqj/TheosophicalAdepts.pdf# Theosophical Adepts (a collection of articles)] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/masters-adepts-teachers-and-disciples# Masters, Adepts, Teachers, and Disciples] by W. Q. Judge
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/articles/Teacher.pdf# Who Is The Teacher?] by Joy Mills
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/how-the-masters-know-truth How the Masters Know Truth] by Shirley J. Nicholson
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/mahatmas-versus-ascended-masters Mahatmas versus Ascended Masters] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/who-are-the-masters Who Are the Masters?] An Interview with Joy Mills by Richard Smoley

===Books===
*[http://blavatskyarchives.com/theosophypdfs/besant_h_p_blavatsky_and_the_masters_of_wisdom_1907.pdf# H. P. Blavatsky and the Masters of the Wisdom] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Masters-AB.htm# The Masters] by Annie Besant
*[http://www.ultindia.org/pamphlets/hpb/TeachersDiscp.pdf# Teachers And Disciples] A compilation of articles H. P. Blavatsky
*[http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/kuhnmahatmaletters.htm# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Alvin B. Kuhn
*[http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/gdpmanu/mahat_ch/m_c-hp.htm# Mahatmas and Chelas] by Leoline L. Wright
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellencounterscomp.pdf|A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://blavatskyarchives.com/caldwellchelas777.pdf| The Mahatmas and Their Chelas in India] by Daniel Caldwell
*[https://www.blavatskyarchives.com/olcott_and_mahatmas_2025.pdf| Henry S. Olcott and the Mahatmas] by Daniel Caldwell

===Audio===
*[https://archive.org/download/1151_20191125/1151.mp3# The Path to the Masters of Wisdom] by Clara Codd
*[https://archive.org/download/1365_20200103/1365.mp3# The Masters of the Wisdom: The World, and the Theosophical Society Today] by Dora Kunz
*[https://archive.org/download/1364_20191228/1364.mp3# The Masters and the Future of the Theosophical Society] by Dora Kunz
*[http://www.old.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/sanat/Krishnamurti%20on%20the%20Masters.mp3# Krishnamurti on the Masters] by Aryel Sanat
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/Downloads/mp3/abdill/The%20Adepts:%20Our%20Brothers.mp3# "The Adepts: Our Brothers"] by Ed Abdill

===Video===
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRS5NcAidxo# The Mahatmas and Their Letters] by Theosophical Society in America
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7QW0CGyvkY# The Mahatmas, Their Letters, and The Path] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLOfiqc0c4A# In Their Own Words - Wisdom from the Mahatmas] by Ed Abdill
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBU6S8Yutbk# The Masters of the Wisdom] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErsV6ugfxxo# The Masters and Their Wisdom - Part 1] by Pablo Sender
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNK9_L9haCw The Masters and Their Wisdom Part 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTkChZrBw_0 Part 3], and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0OnqpG0yAY Part 4] by Tim Boyd
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hidDBxWetAg# The Hierarchy of Earth's Adepts: Part 1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNAn9vHIm5M# Part 2] by Geoffrey Hodson
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcxsYqiYRA# The Mahatmas: Working with the Wise Ones for a Better World] by Barbara Herbert

== Additional resources ==
*[http://www.theosophical.org/files/resources/library/Bibliography/Masters_of_Wisdom_and_their_Teachings.pdf# Bibliography on the Masters of Wisdom and their Teachings] from the [[Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]
[[Category:Mahatmas and Adepts]]

[[es: Maestros de Sabiduría]]
[[ru:Мастера Мудрости]]

Mahatma Letter No. 101

2025-10-06T18:55:47Z

Pablo Sender: /* Page 25 */

{{Infobox MLbox
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia = unknown
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate = December 31, 1882
| receiveddate = January 6, 1883
| otherdate = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom = [[Madras, India]]
| receivedat = [[Allahabad, India]]
| vialocation = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 101''' in ''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 57''' in '''Barker numbering.''' See below for [[Mahatma Letter No. 101#Context and background|Context and background]].
 
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 100|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 102|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
 
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 102|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 108|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
 
 
== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==

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My dear friend,

I approach a subject which I have purposely avoided for several months, until furnished with proofs that would appear conclusive even in your sight. We are not — as you know — always of the same way of thinking; nor has that which to us is — FACT — any weight in your opinion unless it violates in no way the Western methods of judging it. But now the time has come for us, to try to have you, at least, understand us better than we hitherto have been even by some of the best and most earnest amongst western [[Theosophist]]s — such for instance as [[C. C. Massey]]. And though I would be the last man living to seek

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'''NOTES:'''
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to make you follow in my wake as your "prophet" and "inspirer," I would, nevertheless, feel truly sorry were you ever brought to regard me as a "moral paradox," having to suffer me either as one guilty of a false assumption of powers I never had, or — of misusing them to screen unworthy objects and, as unworthy persons. [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]]'s letter explains to you what I mean; that which seems conclusive proof to him and unimpeachable evidence, is neither for me — who know the whole truth. On this last day of your year 1882, his name comes third on the list of failures, — something (I hasten to say for fear of a new misconception) that has nothing to do whatever with the present

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'''NOTES:'''
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arrangement regarding the proposed new Branch in London, yet everything with his personal progress. I deeply regret it, but have no right to bind myself so securely to any person or persons by ties of personal sympathy and esteem that my movements shall be crippled, and I, unable to lead the rest to something grander and nobler than their present faith. Therefore, I choose to leave him in his present errors. The brief meaning of this is the following: [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]] labours under the strangest misconceptions, and (literally) "dreams dreams" — though no [[Mediumship|medium]], as his friend, [[William Stainton Moses|Mr. S. Moses]]. With all he is the noblest, purest, in short, one of the best men I know, though occasionally too trusting in wrong directions. But he lacks

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entirely — correct [[intuition]]. It will come to him later on, when neither [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] or [[Henry Steel Olcott|Olcott]] will be there. Until then — remember, and tell him so: we demand neither allegiance, recognition (whether public or private) nor will we have anything to do with, or say to the [[London Lodge|British Branch]], — except through you. Four Europeans were placed on [[probation]] twelve months ago; of the four — only one, yourself, was found worthy of our trust. This year it will be Societies instead of individuals that will be tested. The result will depend on their collective work, and [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]] errs when hoping that I am prepared to join the motley crowd of [[Anna Bonus Kingsford|Mrs. K.'s]] "inspirers." Let them remain under their masks of St. John

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Four Europeans'''. The four Europeans put on probation in 1882 may have been [[Edmond W. Fern]], [[Allan Octavian Hume|Allan O. Hume]], [[C. C. Massey]], and [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|Alfred P. Sinnett]].

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the Baptists and like Biblical aristocrats. Provided the latter teach [[Esoteric Philosophy|our doctrines]] — however muddled up with foreign chaff — a great point will be gained. [[C. C. Massey|C.C.M.]] wants light — he is welcome to it — through you. Since it is all he wants what matters it whether he regards the "light-bearer" handing his torch to you — as a man of clean or unclean hands, so long as light itself is not affected by it? Only let me give you a warning. An affair now so trivial as to seem but the innocent expression of feminine vanity may, unless at once set aright, produce very [[evil]] consequences. In a letter from [[Anna Bonus Kingsford|Mrs. Kingsford]] to Mr. Massey conditionally accepting the

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''foreign chaff''' probably refers to the Biblical metaphor "to separate the wheat from the chaff," in which the chaff is the inedible, useless portion of the wheat grain.
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presidentship of the [[London Lodge|British T.S.]] she expresses her belief — nay, points it out as an undeniable fact — that before the appearance of [[The Perfect Way (book)|"The Perfect Way"]] no one "knew what the Oriental school really held about [[Reincarnation]]"; and adds that "seeing how much has been told in that book the [[adept]]s are hastening to unlock their own treasures, so 'grudgingly doled out hitherto' (as [[Allan Octavian Hume|H.X.]] puts it)." [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]], thereupon gives in reply a full adherence to this theory, and blossoms into an adroit compliment to the lady that would not discredit a plenipotentiary. "Probably," says he, "it is

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felt (by the [[Masters of Wisdom|Brothers]]) that a community among whom such a work as [[The Perfect Way (book)|"The Perfect Way"]] can be produced and find acceptance is ready for the light!" Now, let this idea gain currency, and it will tend to convert into a sect the school of the highly estimable authoress, who, albeit a [[Round#Fifth Round|fifth rounder]], is not exempt from quite a considerable dose of vanity and despotism, hence — bigotry. Thus, elevate the misconception into an undue importance; impair thereby her own spiritual condition by feeding the latent sense of Messiahship; and you will have obstructed the cause of free and general independent enquiry which her "Initiators" as well as we would

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wish promoted. Write then, good friend, to [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]] the truth. Tell him that you were possessed of the Oriental views of [[reincarnation]] several months before the work in question had appeared — since it is in July (18 months ago) that, you began being taught the difference between Reincarnation a la [[Allan Kardec]], or personal rebirth — and that of the Spiritual [[Monad]]; a difference first pointed out to you on [[July 5]]th at Bombay. And to allay another uneasiness of hers, say that no allegiance by her to the [[Masters of Wisdom|"Brothers"]] will be expected, (nor even accepted if offered) in as much as we have no present intention of making any further

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''a la''' or '''á la''' is a French expression meaning "in the style of."
* '''Allan Kardec''' was the pen name of a French Spiritist and educator.

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experiments with Europeans and will use no other channel than yourself to impart our [[Esoteric_Philosophy#Arhat_Esoteric_Philosophy|Arhat philosophy]]. The intended experiment with [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] in 1882 failed most sadly. Better than your Wren are we entitled to the motto, festina lente!

And now, you will please follow me into still deeper waters. An unsteady, wavering, suspicious candidate at one end of the line; a declared unprincipled, (I say the word and maintain it) vindictive enemy at the other end; and you will agree that between London and Simla we are not very likely to appear in either a very attractive or anything like a true light. Personally such a state of things is hardly calculated to deprive us of sleep; as regards the future progress of the British

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''"Your Wren"''' may refer to Sir Christopher Wren, one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.
* '''Festina lente''' is a classical adage and oxymoron meaning "make haste slowly", usually rendered in English as "more haste, less speed".

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T.S. and a few other [[Theosophist]]s, the current of enmity travelling between the two places is sure to affect all those who will find themselves on its way — even yourself, in the long run, perchance. Who of you could disbelieve the explicit statements of two "gentlemen" both noted for their intellectual eminence, and one of whom, at least, is as incapable of uttering an untruth as of flying in the air. Thus, end of the [[Law of Cycles|cycle]] notwithstanding, there is a great personal danger for the [[London Lodge|Bsh. T.S.]] as for yourself. No harm can come now to the [[Theosophical Society|Society]]; much mischief is in store for its proposed Branch and its supporters, unless [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|yourself]] and [[C. C. Massey|Mr. Massey]] are furnished with some facts and a key to the true situation. Now, if for certain and very good reasons, I have to leave C.C.M. to his delusions of guilt, regarding [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H.P.B.]], and my own moral shakiness, the time is

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'''NOTES:'''
* The '''two "gentlemen"''' probably refers to [[A. O. Hume]] and C. C. Massey, who were both attacking [[H. P. Blavatsky]] and the [[Theosophical Society]].

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ripe to show to you [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] in his true light, thus making [a]way with one false witness against us, while deeply regretting the fact that I am bound by the rules of [[Brotherhood of Adepts|our Order]], and my own sense of honour (however little it may be worth in the eyes of a European) not to divulge at present certain facts that would show [[C. C. Massey|C.C.M.]] at once, how deeply he is in error. I may tell you no news if I say that it was Mr. Hume's attitude when the [[Simla Eclectic Theosophical Society|Eclectic]] was formed that caused our chiefs to bring [[Edmond W. Fern|Mr. Fern]] and Mr. Hume together. The latter reproached us vehemently for refusing to take in as [[chela]]s — himself, and that, sweet, handsome, spiritual and truth aspiring boy — Fern. We were daily dictated laws, and as daily taken to task for being unable to realize our own interests. And it will be no news though it may

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disgust and shock you, to learn that the two were brought into the closest relationship in order to bring out their mutual virtues and defects — each to shine in his own true light. Such are the laws of Eastern [[probation]]. [[Edmond W. Fern|Fern]] was a most remarkable [[Psychism|psychic]] subject, naturally — very spiritually inclined, but corrupted by Jesuit masters, and with his [[Buddhi|sixth]] and [[Ātman|seventh]] [[Principle]]s completely dormant and paralysed within him. No idea of right and wrong whatever; in short — irresponsible for anything but the direct and voluntary actions of the animal man. I would not have burdened myself with such a subject knowing beforehand that he was sure to fail. [[Morya|M.]] consented, for the chiefs have so wished it; and he deemed it useful and good to show to you the

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moral stamina and worth of him whom you regarded and called a friend. [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. H.]] — you think, though lacking the finer, better feelings of a gentleman is yet one by his instincts as well as by birth. I do not pretend to be thoroughly well acquainted with the code of honour of Western nations. Yet, I doubt, whether a man who, during the absence of the proprietor of certain private letters, avails himself of the key from the pocket of a waistcoat carelessly left on the verandah during work, opens with it the drawer of a writing desk, reads the private letters of that person, takes notes from them and then uses those contents as a weapon to satisfy his hatred and vindictiveness against their writer — I doubt, I say, even in the West such a man would be regarded as the ideal of even the average gentleman. And this

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and much more, I maintain, was done by [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]. Had I told you of it last August you would have never believed me. And now I am prepared to prove it over his own signature. Having been caught in the same honest occupation by [[Morya|M.]] twice, my Brother wrote purposely (or rather caused [[Damodar K. Mavalankar|Damodar]] purposely to write) a certain letter to [[Edmond W. Fern|Fern]] enclosing a copy of a letter of Mr. H.'s to me. The knowledge of their contents was to bring out to light, when the time came, the true gentlemanly instincts and the honesty of him, who sets himself so high above humanity. He is now caught in his own meshes. Hatred, and the irresistible thirst of abusing and vilifying in a letter to [[Henry Steel Olcott|Olcott]] one, who is so immeasurably higher than all his detractors, have led Mr. Hume into an

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imprudent confession. When caught and cornered — he resorts to a down-right, bare-faced LIE.

I am going, after this preliminary entree en matiere and necessary explanation to make you acquainted with certain extracts from private letters not intended for your eye, nevertheless, far from "confidential," since in nearly every one of them [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. H.]] begs the addressee to have them read by other [[theosophist]]s. I hope this will not be imputed to me as a mark of "ungentlemanly instincts" by you. As to every other man, since, now-a-days, a man universally recognised as a "gentleman" is often a low wretch, and gentleman-like externals often hide the [[soul]] of a villain — he is welcome to regard me in any light he pleases. These extracts I give you because it

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Entrée en matière''' is a French expression meaning "introduction".

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becomes absolutely necessary that you should be correctly informed of the true nature of him, who now passes his time in writing letters to the London [[theosophist]]s and candidates for membership — with the determined object of setting every mystic in the West against a [[Brotherhood of Adepts|Brotherhood]] of "atheists, hypocrites and sorcerers." It will help to guide your action in the event of possible contingencies, and mischief caused by your friend and our well-wisher, who, while denouncing [[Morya|my Brother]], my more than friend, as a pilferer, coward, liar, and the incarnation of baseness, insults me with words of pitying praise which he thinks I am traitor enough to accept and imbecile enough not to weigh at their value. Remember — such a friend is to be guarded against as one

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takes precautions against a duellist who wears a corslet beneath his shirt. His good actions are many, vices far more numerous; the former have always been largely controlled and promoted by his inordinate self-love and combativeness; and if it is not yet determined which will finally control the impetus whose outcome will be his [[reincarnation|next birth]], we may prophesy with a degree of perfect assurance, that he will never become an [[adept]] either in this or his future life. His "Spiritual" aspirations received a full chance to develop. He was tested, as all have to be — as the poor moth was, who was scorched in the candle of [[Rothney Castle]] and its associations — but the victor in the struggle for adeptship was ever Self and Self alone. His cerebral visions have already painted for him the image of a new Regenerator of Mankind in place of the [[Masters of Wisdom|"Brothers"]] whose ignorance and [[Magic#Black_magic|black magical]] dealings

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Rothney Castle''' was the home of [[Allan Octavian Hume|A. O. Hume]] in Simla.

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he has found out. That new [[Avatāra|Avatar]] does not live at Almorah but on Jakko. And so the demon — Vanity — which has ruined [[Dayānand Sarasvatī|Dayanand]] is ruining our quondam friend and preparing him to make an assault upon us and the [[Theosophical Society|T.S.]] far more savage than the Swami's. The future however may take care of itself; I shall only have to trouble you now with the data above indicated. You will now realize, perchance, why I was made to collect evidence of his untruthful, cunning nature, in October last. Nothing, my friend, — even apparently absurd and reprehensible actions — is done by us without a purpose.

On the 1st of December, [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. H.]] writing to [[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel O.]] said of us: "As for the [[Masters of Wisdom|Brothers]], I have a sincere affection

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Does not live at Almorah but on Jakko'''. Almora is a district in India where lived a swami who had become Mr. Hume's teacher. Jakko Hill is the location where Hume Lived.

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for [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]] and always shall have, and as for the others I have no doubt that they are very good men, and acting according to their lights. But as to their system, I am, of course, entirely opposed, . . . but that has nothing to do with the exoteric practical aims of the [[Theosophical Society|T.S.]] in which and in their furtherance I can as cordially and cheerfully co-operate with your good [[Masters of Wisdom|Brothers]] as etc. etc."

Eight days earlier (22nd November,) he had written to [[P. Srinivasa Rao|P. Sreenevas Row]], Judge S.C.C. at Madras, — "I find the [[Brotherhood of Adepts|Brotherhood]] a set of wicked selfish men, caring as a body for nothing but their own spiritual development (mind, in this respect [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]] is an exception but he is I believe the only one) and their system one of deception and tainted largely with sorcery (!) in that they employ spooks, i.e. [[Elemental|elementals]]

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to perform their [[phenomena]]. As to deception, once a man has become a [[chela]] and bound himself by the vows they exact, you cannot believe a word he says; . . . he will lie systematically; as for sorcery, the fact is that until the time of [[Tsongkhapa|Sonkapa]], . . . they were a set of unmitigated, vile sorcerers. . . . Every chela is a slave — a slave of the most abject description — a slave in thought, as well as in word and deed. . .; our [[Theosophical Society|Society]] is an edifice noble in outside show — but built not on the rock of ages, but on the shifting sands of atheism, a whited sepulchre all bright . . . inside full of deceit and the dead bones of a pernicious, jesuitical system. . . . You are at liberty to make what use you please of this letter inside the Society," etc.

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On the 9th of the same month he wrote to [[Henry Steel Olcott|Mr. Olcott]] of the "manifest selfishness of the [[Brotherhood of Adepts|Brotherhood]], intent solely on their spiritual development."

On the 8th of September in a letter to 12 [[chelas]] (the very ones he was referring to in the letter to Judge [[P. Srinivasa Rao|Sreenavas Row]] of November 22nd — after having received from them an exasperatingly candid joint reply to the aforesaid diplomatic letter — as liars and bound slaves) — he said, as you know, he "should not have expected any European to read between the lines," of his plot in the [[Allan Octavian Hume|HX]] letter in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]; but "a set of Brahmins . . . the subtlest minds, in the world . . . not ordinary Brahmins, but men of the highest, noblest training, etc" (!!). They — "may rest assured that I (he) shall

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'''NOTES:'''
* The '''12 chelas''' issued a "Protest"<ref>See [http://www.katinkahesselink.net/blavatsky/articles/v4/y1882_102.htm# "A Protest"] for a reproduction of this document.</ref> as a response to Mr. Hume's article published in ''The Theosophist'' in Sept., 1882, p. 326.

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never say or do anything that is not for the advantage of the [[Masters of Wisdom|Brothers]], the [[Theosophical Society|Society]] and all its objects." . . . (Thus it seems the charges of sorcery and dishonesty is to the "advantage" of Asiatic [[adept]]s). In this same letter, if you remember, he adds that it "is the most efficient weapon for the conversion of the infidels at home yet forged," and that he "of course expected" (by writing this letter in [[The Theosophist (periodical)|the Theosophist]]) "to take our dear [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|old lady]] in — I could not take her into the plot," etc. etc.

With all his cunning and diplomacy he really seems to suffer from a loss of memory. Not only had he taken the "dear old lady" into the plot in a long private letter written to her a few hours after the said "efficient

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weapon" had been sent for publication, (a letter sent by her to you and which you lost in your packing up at Simla to come down) but he had actually gone out of his way to put a few words of explanation on the back of the said "Letter." It is preserved as every other MSS. by [[Damodar K. Mavalankar|Damodar]] and the note runs thus . . . "Please print this carefully and without alteration. It answers admirably Davison's and other letters from home." . . . (Extracts from these letters were enclosed in his manuscript). . . . We can't long, I fear, bolster up — but hints like these will help to break the fall" etc. . . .

Having thus himself forged this most efficient

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Davison''' refers to William Ruxton Davison, an ornithologist who served as a curator of Mr. Hume's personal bird collection, and probably as Mr. Hume's personal secretary.

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weapon for the conversion of the infidels at home, as to our actual existence, and unable henceforth to deny it, what better antidote than to add to the hints therein contained full and well defined charges of sorcery, etc.?

When accused by the 12 Chelas in their joint answer to his letter to them, of a deliberate falsification of facts with reference to the "dear Old Lady" whom he had, notwithstanding all he could say to the contrary, "taken into the plot" he writes in a letter to [[T. Subba Row|Subba Row]] that he had never done so. That his letter to the "Madam" explaining to her the whys and reasons for that "Letter" of his by [[Allan Octavian Hume|"H.X."]] — was written and sent to her long after the said

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''12 Chelas'''. See [[Mahatma Letter No. 101#Page 21|previous note]].

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denunciatory Letter "was already in print." To this [[T. Subba Row|Subba Row]], in his letter to whom he had bitterly abused and vilified [[Morya|M.]], answered by quoting to him the very words he had written on the back of the manuscript thus showing to him how useless was any further falsehood. And now you may judge of his love for Subba Row!

And now comes the bouquet. Writing on the 1st of December to [[Henry Steel Olcott|Mr. Olcott]] (letter first above referred to), [[Allan Octavian Hume|he]] distinctly claims [[Siddhi|adept powers]]. "I am very sorry I cannot join you in the body in Bombay — but — if allowed I may nevertheless perhaps assist you there . . ." Yet in [[Edmond W. Fern|Fern]]'s case he says "it is a perfect chaos and no one can tell what

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is really owing and what is not;" and several letters upon the same topic teem with acknowledgment that he had no power to see what was going on "during the past six months." Quite the contrary, it would seem, since in a letter to me within this period he describes himself as "not on a level spiritually with him ([[Edmond W. Fern|Fern]]) [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|Sinnett]]" and others. He did not dare brag to me of his spiritual [[clairvoyance]]; but now, having "broken forever with the Tibetan Sorcerers" his potential [[Siddhi|adept powers]] have suddenly developed into monstrous proportions. They must have been from birth marvellously great since, he informs [[Henry Steel Olcott|Olcott]] (same letter) that a "certain amount

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of [[Prāṇāyāma|Pranayam]] for a few months (six weeks in all) was necessary to ensure [[Meditation#Concentration|concentration]] — at first. . . . I have passed that stage and — I AM A [[Yoga|YOGI]]."

The charge preferred now against him is of so grave a character, that I would have never asked you to believe it on my simple assertion. Hence — this long letter, and the following evidence which, please read with the utmost care and drawing your conclusions solely on that evidence.

In his July letter to me he imputes to us the blame for [[Edmond W. Fern|Fern]]'s course of falsehood, his pretended visions and pretended inspirations from us; and in the letter to [[Henry Steel Olcott|Mr. Olcott]] (December 1st) he charges [[Morya]], my beloved brother, with acting "in a most dishonourable manner," adding that he has

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"never since looked upon him as a gentleman, for having caused [[Damodar K. Mavalankar|Damodar]] . . . to send [[Edmond W. Fern|Fern]] a transcript of my confidential report on him. . . ." This he regards as "a dishonourable breach of confidence" — so gross that "[[Morya|Moriar]] was afraid (!!) to let even [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]] know how he had stolen and made a bad use of my letter to him. K.H. is a gentleman I believe and would scorn so base an act." No doubt, I would had it been done without my knowledge and were it not absolutely necessary — in view of clearly foreseen events to bring [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] to betray himself and thus counteract the influence and authority of his vindictive

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== Page 29 right ==

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nature. The letter so transcribed was not marked confidential, and the words "I am ready to say so to [[Edmond W. Fern|Fern]]'s face, at any day" — are there. However — the unmeasured abuse and his truly saintly and gentlemanly indignation at [[Morya|M.]]'s treachery are followed by these words of confession (*); very startling as you will see: ". . . Fern does not, let me do him that justice, know to this day that I knew of this" i.e. of the letter pilfered by M. and sent to Fern through [[Damodar K. Mavalankar|Damodar]]. In short, then [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] had means of reading the contents of a private letter addressed to Fern registered, sent to his (Mr. Hume's) care, kept in a drawer of a table belonging

(*) Fern was at Bombay and he dreaded the just denial of even a "rascal".

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to the house. The proof is complete since it is himself who furnishes it. How then? Of course, either by reading its physical substance with his natural eyes, or, its [[astral]] essence by [[Siddhi|transcendental power]]. If the latter, then by what brief forcing system was the psychic power of this "[[Yoga|yogi]]," who, in July last, was "not on a level spiritually" with yourself, or even with [[Edmond W. Fern|Fern]], suddenly shot out into such full flower and fruitage, whereas it takes even us, trained "sorcerers" ten or fifteen years to acquire it? Besides, if, this and other letters to Fern, were presented to him in the "[[Astral Light|astral light]]" (as he maintains in his letter in reply to [[Henry Steel Olcott|Colonel O.]]'s query, herein enclosed), how comes it that the benevolent Almorah genius (through whose help he suddenly acquired such tremendous powers) could cause him to take note of the contents, to read word for word and to remember ONLY such letters as were kept by Fern — in accordance with [[Morya|M]]'s positive orders — in his desk in [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s house? While, WE DEFY HIM to repeat one word of other and (for him) far more important letters sent by my Brother to the "probationary [[chela]]" in which the latter was forbidden to keep them at [[Rothney Castle]], but had them securely shut up in a locked desk at his own house? These queries,

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'''NOTES:'''
*'''Almorah genius''' refers to a swami known in Theosophical history as "The Swami of Almora", who was Mr. Hume's guru for a while.
*'''[[Rothney Castle]]''' was Mr. Hume's home.

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arising at [[Morya|M.]]'s will in [[Henry Steel Olcott|Olcott]]'s mind he flatly put the question to [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]. As M.'s [[chela]] revering him, of course, as a Father as well as Teacher he very properly put to this Censor Elegantiarum the direct question whether he had been himself guilty of the very "dishonourable" breach of gentlemanlike conduct of which he was complaining in Morya's case. (And unjustly as you now see; for what he did had my approval, since it was a necessary part of a preconceived plan to bring out — besides Mr. H.'s true nature, — of a disgraceful situation, itself developed by the wicked appetites, follies and [[Karma]] of sundry weak men — ultimate good, as you will find).

We have no gentlemen — now

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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Censor Elegantiarum''' is a Latin expression that can be translated as "censor of elegance." The phrase "arbiter elegantiarum" is more commonly used, meaning a "judge of taste or elegance."

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at all events, that would come up to the Simla standard — in Tibet, though many honest and truthful men. To [[Henry Steel Olcott|Mr. Olcott]]'s question came a reply so reeking with deliberate, bare falsehood, foolish vanity, and so miserable an attempt to explain away the only possible theory that without the owner's knowledge he had read his private correspondence, that I have asked [[Morya]] to procure it for me for you to read. After doing this you will kindly return it to me through [[Dharbagiri Nath]] who will be at Madras within this week.

I have done an unpleasant and distasteful task, but a great point will be achieved if it helps

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you to know us better — whether your European standard of right and wrong inclines the scales in your opinion either one way or the other. Perchance, you may find yourself in [[C. C. Massey|C.C.M.]]'s attitude deploring to find yourself obliged to either accept or reject for ever such a "distressing moral paradox" as myself. No one would regret it more deeply than I; but our Rules have proved wise and beneficient to the world in the long run, and the world in general and its individual units especially are so terribly wicked that one has to fight each one with his or her own weapons.

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As the situation stands at present, and though we would not allow too much "procrastination," it does seem desirable that you should go for a few months home — say till June. But unless you go to London and with [[C. C. Massey|C.C.M.]]'s help explain the true situation and establish the Society yourself, [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]'s letters will have done too much harm to undo the mischief. Thus your temporary absence will have achieved a dual good purpose: the foundation of a true theosophical occult Society, and the salvation of a few promising individuals for future careers, now jeopardized. Besides, your absence from India will not be an unmixed [[evil]], since the friends of the country

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will feel your loss, and perhaps be all the more ready for your recall: especially if [[The Pioneer (periodical)|the "Pioneer"]] changes its tone. Some of your holiday time it might be agreeable to you to utilize in one form or another of [[Theosophy|theosophical]] writing. You have now a large store of materials, and if you would contrive to get copies of the didactic papers given to [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]] it would be a timely precaution. He is a prolific letter writer and now that he has disburdened himself of all restraints he will bear close watching. Remember the [[Chohan]]'s prophesy.

Yours ever sincerely,

[[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]]

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== Context and background ==

[[C. C. Massey]], says the Mahatma, is third on the list of failures. A bit further down, he says "Four Europeans were placed on probation twelve months ago. . ." These were Massey, [[A. O. Hume]], [[A. P. Sinnett]], and [[Fern]]. So far, only Sinnett "was found worthy of our trust."

[[London Lodge|The Theosophical Society in London]] had nearly collapsed and efforts were being made to rejuvenate it under the leadership of [[Anna Kingsford|Mrs. Anna Kingsford]]. She had "conditionally" accepted the post of President although there was some delay in her taking over the office. She was a vegetarian and anti-vivisectionist, and in one place the Mahatma states that for these reasons her [[phenomena]] were more reliable than those of most well-known [[spiritualism|spiritualists]]. [[H. P. Blavatsky|H.P.B.]] did not have a very high opinion of Mrs. Kingsford. According to one letter from H.P.B. to Sinnett (LBS, p. 22), it was Massey who first proposed her name as President of the British Theosophical Society.

== Physical description of letter ==

The original is in the British Library, Folio 2. According to [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]], the letter was written:
<blockquote>
KH script in dull black ink on 9 folded small sheets of white paper. Some words have been scratched out, and in one place there is some interlining in ''red ink''. The final two pages are on larger-sized paper. On the third folded sheet, a portion of the writing is in dull red ink.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 165.</ref>
</blockquote>

== Publication history ==

== Commentary about this letter ==
A letter from [[C. C. Massey]] of London to the Mahatma is enclosed to this one. Massey, says the Mahatma, is third on the list of failures. A bit further down, he says "Four Europeans were placed on probation twelve months ago. . ." These were Massey, [[A. O. Hume]], [[A. P. Sinnett]], and [[Edmond W. Fern]]. So far, only Sinnett "was found worthy of our trust."

The [[London Lodge|Theosophical Society in London]] had nearly collapsed and efforts were being made to rejuvenate it under the leadership of [[Anna Bonus Kingsford|Mrs. Anna Kingsford]]. She had "conditionally" accepted the post of President although there was some delay in her taking over the office. She was a vegetarian and anti-vivisectionist, and in one place the Mahatma states that for these reasons her phenomena were more reliable than those of most well-known spiritualists. [[H. P. Blavatsky]] did not have a very high opinion of Mrs. Kingsford. According to one letter from H.P.B. to Sinnett (LBS, p. 22), it was Massey who first proposed her name as President of the British Theosophical Society.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:ML needs background]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Root-Race

2025-10-02T20:36:08Z

Pablo Sender: /* Against racism */

'''Root-Race''' is a [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] concept that refers to successive evolutionary stages through which humanity goes in its pilgrimage on our physical plane. Seven of such root-races take place before completing the evolutionary cycle on this [[Globe|globe]], the Earth.

'''NOTE: The term Root-Race does not refer to ethnicities or to racial concepts of the modern world.'''

== General description ==

In the Theosophical view there are seven Root-Races or evolutionary cycles through which humanity evolves. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>Every life-cycle on [[Globe#Globe D|Globe D]] (our Earth) is composed of seven root-races. They commence with the Ethereal and end with the spiritual on the double line of physical and moral evolution—from the beginning of the terrestrial round to its close. (One is a “planetary round” from Globe A to Globe G, the seventh; the other, the “globe round”, or the terrestrial).<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 160.</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Root-Races tree.gif|right|200px]]
<blockquote>
# There are seven ROUNDS in every manvantara; this one is the Fourth, and we are in the Fifth Root-Race, at present. 
# Each Root-Race has seven sub-races. 
# Each sub-race has, in its turn, seven ramifications, which may be called Branch or “Family” races. 
# The little tribes, shoots, and offshoots of the last-named are countless and depend on Karmic action. 
Examine the “genealogical tree” hereto appended, and you will understand. The illustration is purely diagrammatic, and is only intended to assist the reader in obtaining a slight grasp of the subject. . . . 
The main stem of a tree may be compared to the root-race (A). 
Its larger limbs to the various sub-races; seven in number (B1, B2). 
On each of these limbs are seven branches, or family-races (C). 
After this the cactus-plant is a better illustration, for its fleshy “leaves” are covered with sharp spines, each of which may be compared to a nation or tribe of human beings.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 434-435.</ref></blockquote>

=== Seven Root-Races ===

The Root-Races go through a process of [[Evolution#Cyclic evolution|cyclic evolution]] going from subtlety to materiality and back to subtlety:

<blockquote>These Races evolve from ethereality to materiality, and from the latter back again into relative physical tenuity of texture, so every living (so-called) organic species of animals with vegetation included, changes with every new Root-Race.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 697.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Let us remember that the First Race is shown in Occult sciences as spiritual within and ethereal without; the second, psycho-spiritual mentally, and ethero-physical bodily; the third, still bereft of intellect in its beginning, is astro-physical in its body, and lives an inner life, in which the psycho-spiritual element is in no way interfered with as yet by the hardly nascent physiological senses.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 298-299, fn.</ref></blockquote>

These cycles take place throughout the seven [[Rounds]], and they vary in length:

<blockquote>The seven Rounds decrease and increase in their respective durations, as well as the seven races in each. Thus the 4th Rounds as well as every 4th race are the shortest, while the 1st and 7th Rounds as the 1st and 7th root races are the longest.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 117.</ref></blockquote>

It is important to keep in mind that the term Root-Races does not refer to ethnicities. They are different evolutionary stages humanity as a whole goes through successively. Besides, the same individuals that compose the current humanity have been [[Reincarnation|reborn]] in all the previous Root-Races. In [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]]'s words: "The mankind of the First Root-Race is the mankind of the second, third, fourth, fifth, etc."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), fn. 146.</ref>

Each Root-Race succeed each other, although there is a period of overlapping between the old forms dying out and the new forms beginning to be more and more dominant:

<blockquote>To show how the continents, races, nations and cycles overlap each other, one has but to think of Lemuria, the last of whose lands perished about 700,000 years before the beginning of the Tertiary period (see p. 65 of the same work), and the last of “Atlantis” only 11,000 years ago; thus both overlapping—one the Atlantean period, and the other the Aryan.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433, fn.</ref></blockquote>

The end of a Root-Race and the beginning of a new one is marked by important geological changes:

<blockquote>The periods of the great root races are divided from each other by great convulsions of Nature, and by great geological changes.<ref>Alfred Percy Sinnett, ''Esoteric Buddhism'', (London: Theosophical Publishing House LTD, 1972), 48.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Every root-race is separated by a catastrophe, a cataclysm—the basis and historical foundation of the fables woven later on into the religious fabric of every people, whether civilized or savage, under the names of “deluges,” “showers of fire” and such like.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XIV (Los Angeles, CA: Philosophical Research Society, 1950), 81, fn.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>At the close of every Root-Race there comes a cataclysm, in turn by fire or water. Immediately after the “Fall into generation” the dross of the third Root-Race–those who fell into sensuality by falling off from the teaching of the Divine Instructors–were destroyed, after which the Fourth Root-Race originated, at the end of which took place the last Deluge.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 608.</ref></blockquote>

There are also cataclysms half-way every cycle:

<blockquote>The approach of every new "obscuration" is always signalled by cataclysms — of either fire or water. But, apart from this, every "Ring" or Root Race has to be cut in two, so to say, by either one or the other.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 314.</ref></blockquote>

According to Blavatsky, at the beginning of a new Root-Race a great adept (Manu) incarnates, chooses the best portion of humanity as the seed of the next Root-Race, and lets the old civilization be destroyed in the cataclysms.

In the Hindu scripture ''Vishnu Purana'' (4:24) we find a similar concept:

<blockquote>When . . . the close of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being who exists of his own spiritual nature in the character of Brahma, and who is the beginning and the end, and who comprehends all things, shall descend upon earth: he will be born in the family of Viṣṇuyaśas, an eminent Brahman of Sambhala village, as Kalki, endowed with the eight superhuman faculties. By his irresistible might he will destroy all the Mlecchas and thieves, and all whose minds are devoted to iniquity. He will then reestablish righteousness upon earth; and the minds of those who live at the end of the Kali age shall be awakened, and shall be as pellucid as crystal. The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time shall be as the seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Krita age, or age of purity.</blockquote>

=== Seven Sub-races ===

Each root-race is divided into seven minor cycles called sub-races,<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 66 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 174-175.</ref> which are again subdivided into seven branch or family races. These sub-divisions is related to the modern concept of races and ethnicities.

It must be remembered that the sub-races refer to cultural qualities and not to the level of evolution of the [[soul]]. When asked if one's incarnations are "in sub-race progression," Annie Besant answered, "They do not follow any regular law of succession."<ref>Annie Besant, ''Theosophical Lectures'', (Chicago: The Rajput Press, 1907), 147.</ref> People incarnate in the various sub-races in different orders to gather experiences.

Currently, humanity is undergoing the fifth Root-Race stage, and has developed five sub-races. However, the majority of human beings are incarnated in cultures that derive from previous Root-Races, and that had their apex of development far in the past. [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>The majority of mankind belongs to the seventh sub-race of the fourth Root race, — the above mentioned Chinamen and their off-shoots and branchlets (Malayans, Mongolians, Tibetans, Javanese, etc., etc., etc.) and remnants of other sub-races of the fourth — and the seventh sub-race of the third race. All these, fallen, degraded semblances of humanity are the direct lineal descendants of highly civilized nations neither the names nor memory of which have survived except in such books as Popalvul and a few others unknown to Science.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 312.</ref></blockquote>

=== Against racism ===

When coming closer to a modern concept of ethnicity, Blavatsky clearly rejected the idea of one race being intrinsically better than another. Differences between them do exist, but they are only due to external conditions (culture, environment, geographical isolation, etc.) To appreciate correctly the Theosophical view on this subject, the most important point to grasp is that a person's real identity is considered to be at the level of the eternal ''spiritual'' self, and not at that of the ever-changing bodily conditions, which are allegorically seen as a mere clothing of the real spiritual individuality:

<blockquote>Everyone entering the [Theosophical] society is supposed to sympathize with the theory of essential brotherhood; a kinship which exists on the plane of the higher self, not on that of the racial, social, and mental dissimilarities and antipathies. These elements of discord pertain to the physical man and are the result of unequal development under the law of evolution. We believe the human body to be but the shell, cover, or veil of the real entity; and those who accept the esoteric philosophy and the theory of “Karma” (the universal law of ethical causation) believe that the entity, as it travels around certain major and minor cycles of existence with the whole mass of human beings, takes on a different body at birth, and shells it off at death, under the operation of this Karmic law. Yet though it may thus clothe and reclothe itself a thousand times in a series of reincarnations, the entity is unchanged and unchangeable, being of a divine nature, superior to all environments on the earthly plane. It is the physical body only which has racial type, color, sex, hatreds, ambitions, and loves. So then, when we postulate the idea of universal brotherhood, we wish it understood that it is held in no Utopian sense, though we do not dream of realizing it at once on the ordinary plane of social or national relations. Most assuredly, if this view of the kinship of all mankind could gain universal acceptance, the improved sense of moral responsibility it would engender would cause most social evils and international asperities to disappear; for a true altruism, instead of the present egoism, would be the rule the world over.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 302.</ref></blockquote>

Blavatsky also maintained the common origin of all races of humanity, even though they differ from each other:

<blockquote>It is the physical type and the outward appearance in the dress, that make of one individual a Chinaman and of another a European, and of a third a red-skinned American. The inner man is one and all are “Sons of God” by birth-right.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 65.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The unity of the human species was accepted by the illustrious Professor of Cambridge (U.S.A.) [Professor Agassiz] in the same way as the Occultists do—namely, in the sense of their essential and original homogeneity and their origin from one and the same source:—e.g., Negroes, Aryans, Mongols, etc., have all originated in the same way and from the same [[Pitris|ancestors]]. The latter were all of one essence, yet differentiated, because belonging to seven [[plane]]s which differed in degree though not in kind. That original physical difference was but little more accentuated by that of geographical and climatic conditions, later on.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 607, fn.</ref></blockquote>

Arguing against the European concept of the time that their races were intrinsically better than the Africans, Blavatsky explained:

<blockquote>The Africans have never left their continent for several hundred thousands of years. If to-morrow the continent of Europe were to disappear and other lands to re-emerge instead; and if the African tribes were to separate and scatter on the face of the earth, it is they who, in about a hundred thousand years hence, would form the bulk of the civilized nations. And it is the descendants of those of our highly cultured nations, who might have survived on some one island, without any means of crossing the new seas, that would fall back into a state of relative savagery. Thus the reason given for dividing humanity into superior and inferior races falls to the ground and becomes a fallacy.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 425.</ref></blockquote>

== Early civilizations ==

In this view, there have been on Earth many civilizations of which we know nothing at the moment. [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>We affirm that a series of civilizations existed before, as well as after the Glacial Period, that they existed upon various points, of the globe, reached the apex of glory and — died.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 311.</ref></blockquote>

The Master was aware that all these teachings contradicted those of modern [[science]]. However, he stood by his knowledge:

<blockquote>You cannot think that we, who have such tremendous odds against the acceptance of our doctrine would deliberately go on inventing Races and sub-races (in the opinion of [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]) were not they a matter of undeniable fact.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 311.</ref></blockquote>

As to why we do not find remains of the previous civilizations, one of the reasons is that the Root-Races live on a different parts of the earth, many of which cyclically sink as a new piece of land rises to lodge the new Root-Race:

<blockquote>Our present continents have, like “[[Lemuria]]” and “[[Atlantis]],” been several times already submerged and had the time to reappear again, and bear their new groups of mankind and civilization; and that, at the first great geological upheaval, at the next cataclysm—in the series of periodical cataclysms that occur from the beginning to the end of every Round,—our already autopsized continents will go down, and the Lemurias and Atlantises come up again.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 310.</ref></blockquote>

Besides, as [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] explains, "every object of the civilized portions of humanity that inhabited those regions hav[e] been pulverized to dust by the great masses of travelling glaciers" leaving behind "only such rude implements as now found among those savage tribes".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 310.</ref></blockquote> This is what geologists usually find when they come upon some ancient remains in regions of the modern continents that where inhabited by past Root-Races.

== Root-Races==
=== First Root-Race ===
The First Root-Race was one of sexless ethereal beings devoid of understanding, language, or any cognitive activity. They were produced by the [[Barhishad|Barhishad Pitris]], who emanated ethereal forms from themselves. They are called the "Chaya Race," ''chāyā'' being a [[Sanskrit]] word that means "image or shadow." These forms were overshadowed by human [[Monad]]s. According to [[H. P. Blavatsky]], this Race developed on seven separate regions of an island positioned where the north pole is now.

Read more: [[First Root-Race]]

=== Second Root-Race ===
The Second Root-Race, also known as the "Sweat-born," was composed of heterogeneous, gigantic semi-human monsters, representing the early attempts of material nature at forming human bodies. This race was endowed with the first primitive spark of intelligence by the preservers (Râkshasas) and the incarnating gods ([[Asura]]s and the [[Kumara]]s). The Second Root-Race was more ethereal and less human than the later races, and they were eventually destroyed by cataclysmic events such as the displacement of great waters and changing ocean beds. They were devoid of the intellectual brain element, as they were on the descending arc of the evolutionary cycle.

Read more: [[Second Root-Race]]

=== Third Root-Race ===
The Third Root-Race, often referred to as the "Lemurian Race," marks a significant phase in the esoteric history of humanity, characterized by profound evolutionary changes in both physical form and modes of reproduction. This race is also considered one of the most mysterious and pivotal in the development of human consciousness and mind. This Root-Race underwent several stages of development, each marked by distinct changes in physiology and reproduction.

In the early phases, the Third Root-Race was almost sexless, gradually becoming bisexual or androgynous. This transformation was not abrupt but occurred over countless generations. The beings of this race were initially "sweat-born," a form of asexual reproduction where offspring emerged from the pores of the parent body. As the race evolved, it became androgynous, meaning individuals possessed both male and female characteristics. The mode of reproduction shifted to an egg-bearing process, which eventually gave rise to unisexual creatures, thus developing the differentiation of sexes. Once this Root-Race separated into distinct male and female sexes, it began to reproduce sexually, which allowed for greater genetic diversity and adaptability.

The physical evolution of the Third Root-Race's was not limited to reproductive changes; it also involved other significant transformations. Initially, the race was more ethereal and less dense, but as it progressed, the beings became more material and solidified in form. This densification was necessary to support the new mode of sexual reproduction.

Alongside physical changes, the Third Root-Race also experienced significant intellectual development. The race was endowed with the first primitive spark of intelligence by the incarnating gods, such as the [[Asura]]s and the [[Kumara]]s. This infusion of intelligence marked the beginning of self-awareness and the development of individual consciousness. The initial stages of the race were marked by a high degree of spiritual awareness and psychic abilities, which gradually declined as the race became more material.

Read more: [[Third Root-Race]]

=== Fourth Root-Race ===

Read more: [[Fourth Root-Race]]

=== Fifth Root-Race ===

Read more: [[Fifth Root-Race]]

=== Sixth Root-Race ===

<blockquote>There is a prophecy in certain Asiatic old books couched in the following terms, the sense of which we may make clearer by adding to it a few words in brackets. 
"And as the fourth (race) was composed of Red-yellow which faded into Brown-white (bodies), so the fifth will fade out into white-brown (the white races becoming gradually darker). The sixth and seventh Manushya (men?) will be born adults; and will know of no old age, though their years will be many. As the Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali (ages) have been each decreasing in excellence (physical as well as moral) so the ascending—Dvapara, Treta and Krita will be increasing in every excellence. As the life of man lasted 400 (years in the first, or Krita Yuga), 300 (years in Treta), 200 (years in Dvapara) and 100 (in the present Kali age); so in the next (the 6th Race) (the natural age of man) will be (gradually increased) 200, then 300 and 400 (in the two last yugas)".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 117.</ref></blockquote>

After [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] stated that the British Islands, France and other lands of the fifth Root-Race were going to sink, until they reappear at the end of the sixth Root-Race:

<blockquote>When they reappear again, the last seventh Sub-race of the sixth Root race of present mankind will be flourishing on "Lemuria" and "Atlantis" both of which will have reappeared also (their reappearance following immediately the disappearance of the present isles and continents), and very few seas and great waters will be found then on our globe, waters as well as land appearing and disappearing and shifting periodically and each in turn.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 314.</ref></blockquote>

=== Seventh Root-Race ===

<blockquote>By the middle of the Seventh Race, says an occult prophecy, the struggle of the two conflicting Powers ([[Buddhi]] and [[Manas#Lower_manas|Kama-Manas]]) will have almost died out. Everything that is irredeemably sinful and wicked, cruel and destructive, will have been eliminated, and that which is found to survive will be swept away from being, owing, so to speak, to a [[Karma|Karmic]] tidal-wave in the shape of scavenger-plagues, geological convulsions and other means of destruction. The [[Round#Fifth_Round|Fifth Round]] will bring forth a higher kind of Humanity; and, as intelligent Nature always proceeds gradually, the last Race of this Round must necessarily develop the needed materials thereof. <ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XIII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 128.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The last seventh Race will have its [[Buddha]] as every one of its predecessors had; but, its adepts will be far higher than any of the present race, for among them will abide the future [[Planetary Spirit|Planetary]], the [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dhyan Chohan]] whose duty it will be to instruct or "refresh the memory" of the first race of the [[Round#Fifth_Round|fifth Round]] men after this [[Globe#Globe D|planet]]'s future [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscuration]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 314.</ref></blockquote>

== Continents ==

Each Root-Race has a new continent. These have a particular name in the [[Esoteric Philosophy]], although [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Blavatsky]] did not publish them. She wrote:

<blockquote>Before we turn to the Anthropogenesis of the prehistoric Races, it may be useful to agree upon the names to be given to the Continents on which the four great Races, which preceded our Adamic Race, were born, lived, and died. Their archaic and esoteric names were many, and varied with the language of the nationality which mentioned them in its annals and scriptures. . . . 
Therefore, in view of the possible, and even very probable confusion, that may arise, it is considered more convenient to adopt, for each of the four Continents constantly referred to, a name more familiar to the cultured reader. It is proposed, then, to call the first continent, or rather the first terra firma on which the first Race was evolved by the divine progenitors: 

I. [[First Root-Race#The Imperishable Sacred Land|The Imperishable Sacred Land]]. . . . 
II. The “Hyperborean” will be the name chosen for the Second Continent. . . . 
III. The third Continent, we propose to call “[[Lemuria]].”. . . . 
IV. “[[Atlantis]]” is the Fourth Continent.. . . . 
V. The Fifth Continent was America; but, as it is situated at the Antipodes, it is Europe and Asia Minor, almost coeval with it, which are generally referred to by the Indo-Aryan Occultists as the fifth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 6-9.</ref></blockquote>

The different masses of land sink and resurface cyclically. The shift of continents is connected with a change in the axis of the Earth and an inversion of the poles:

<blockquote>That worlds (also Races) are periodically destroyed by fire (volcanoes and earthquakes) and water, in turn, and renewed, is a doctrine as old as man. Manu, Hermes, the Chaldees, all antiquity believed in this. Twice already has the face of the globe been changed by fire, and twice by water, since man appeared on it. As land needs rest and renovation, new forces, and a change for its soil, so does water. Thence arises a periodical redistribution of land and water, change of climates, etc., all brought on by geological revolution, and ending in a final change in the axis.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 725-726.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The poles inverted, in consequence of the great inclination of the axis, bringing each time as a result the displacement of the Oceans, the submersion of the polar lands, and the consequent upheaval of new continents in the equatorial regions, and vice versâ.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 360.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Why not admit—true, no one of them has ever thought of it—that our present continents have, like “Lemuria” and “Atlantis,” been several times already submerged and had the time to reappear again, and bear their new groups of mankind and civilization; and that, at the first great geological upheaval, at the next cataclysm — in the series of periodical cataclysms that occur from the beginning to the end of every Round,—our already autopsized continents will go down, and the Lemurias and Atlantises come up again.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993),???</ref></blockquote>

After quoting this Blavatsky clarifies: "Not the ''same'' identical continents, of course."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 333.</ref>

== Modes of reproduction ==

Below are the different modes of birth of the various Root-Races described in [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]:

* [[Barhishad|Barhiṣad Pitris]]: Self-existent

* [[First Root-Race]]: Self-born

* Early [[Second Root-Race]]: Budding
* Late Second Root-Race: Sweat-born

* Early [[Third Root-Race]]: Sweat-born
* Middle Third Root-Race: Egg-born
* Late Third Root-Race: Womb-born

== Development of language ==

== Additional resources ==
===Articles ===
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/root-races Root Races] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/hermaphrodite Hermaphrodite] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/hyperborean Hyperborean] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/sweat-born Sweat-born] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/egg-born Egg-born] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/dumb-races Dumb Races] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/chaya Chāyā] in Theosophy World.
* Algeo, John. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/humans-apes-and-the-felix-culpa Humans, Apes, and the Felix Culpa].
* Besant, Annie. [https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No76.pdf# The Coming Race].
* Clewell, Andre. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/how-do-we-teach-about-the-root-races?highlight=WyJtaWRzb3V0aCIsImZlZGVyYXRpb24iXQ== How Do We Teach about the Root Races]. ''Quest'' 108 no.4 (Fall, 2020): 24-25, 30.
* Ellwood, Robert. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/the-next-stages-in-human-spiritual-evolution-part-one The Next Stages in Human Spiritual Evolution, Part One].
* Ellwood, Robert. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/the-next-stages-in-human-spiritual-evolution-part-two The Next Stages in Human Spiritual Evolution, Part Two].
* Judge, William Q. [http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/onthe-future-a-few-reflections.htm# On the Future: A Few Reflections].
* Judge, William Q. [http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/rounds-and-races# Rounds and Races].
* Judge, William Q. [http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/why-races-die-out# Why Races Die Out].
* Mahnich, Jacques. [http://prajnaquest.fr/blog/the-dzogchen-tradition-teachings-a-parallel-with-the-s-d-cosmogenesis (On Modes of Reproduction) The Dzogchen Tradition Teachings – A Parallel with the S.D.].
* Santucci, James A. "The Notion of Race in Theosophy." ''Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions'' Vol. 11, No. 3 (February 2008), 37-63. Available from [https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2008.11.3.37?searchUrl=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dtheosophy%26Search.x%3D0%26Search.y%3D0%26wc%3Don&Search=yes&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents JSTOR].
* Tarn, Harold. [http://www.blavatskytrust.org.uk/html/a_blavatsky_lecture_1999.htm#rendnote135# The Soul's Imperative].

===Books and pamphlets===
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Pedigree_Of_Man-AB.htm# The Pedigree of Man] by Annie Besant

=== Audio ===
* '''''Brotherhood and racial theory in The secret doctrine''''' by Pablo Sender. 2019. Available on CD from Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library. CD 1472.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

[[es:Raza-Raíz]]
[[it:Razze]]

Root-Race

2025-10-02T20:34:13Z

Pablo Sender: /* Against racism */

'''Root-Race''' is a [[Theosophy|Theosophical]] concept that refers to successive evolutionary stages through which humanity goes in its pilgrimage on our physical plane. Seven of such root-races take place before completing the evolutionary cycle on this [[Globe|globe]], the Earth.

'''NOTE: The term Root-Race does not refer to ethnicities or to racial concepts of the modern world.'''

== General description ==

In the Theosophical view there are seven Root-Races or evolutionary cycles through which humanity evolves. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote:

<blockquote>Every life-cycle on [[Globe#Globe D|Globe D]] (our Earth) is composed of seven root-races. They commence with the Ethereal and end with the spiritual on the double line of physical and moral evolution—from the beginning of the terrestrial round to its close. (One is a “planetary round” from Globe A to Globe G, the seventh; the other, the “globe round”, or the terrestrial).<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 160.</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Root-Races tree.gif|right|200px]]
<blockquote>
# There are seven ROUNDS in every manvantara; this one is the Fourth, and we are in the Fifth Root-Race, at present. 
# Each Root-Race has seven sub-races. 
# Each sub-race has, in its turn, seven ramifications, which may be called Branch or “Family” races. 
# The little tribes, shoots, and offshoots of the last-named are countless and depend on Karmic action. 
Examine the “genealogical tree” hereto appended, and you will understand. The illustration is purely diagrammatic, and is only intended to assist the reader in obtaining a slight grasp of the subject. . . . 
The main stem of a tree may be compared to the root-race (A). 
Its larger limbs to the various sub-races; seven in number (B1, B2). 
On each of these limbs are seven branches, or family-races (C). 
After this the cactus-plant is a better illustration, for its fleshy “leaves” are covered with sharp spines, each of which may be compared to a nation or tribe of human beings.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 434-435.</ref></blockquote>

=== Seven Root-Races ===

The Root-Races go through a process of [[Evolution#Cyclic evolution|cyclic evolution]] going from subtlety to materiality and back to subtlety:

<blockquote>These Races evolve from ethereality to materiality, and from the latter back again into relative physical tenuity of texture, so every living (so-called) organic species of animals with vegetation included, changes with every new Root-Race.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 697.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Let us remember that the First Race is shown in Occult sciences as spiritual within and ethereal without; the second, psycho-spiritual mentally, and ethero-physical bodily; the third, still bereft of intellect in its beginning, is astro-physical in its body, and lives an inner life, in which the psycho-spiritual element is in no way interfered with as yet by the hardly nascent physiological senses.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 298-299, fn.</ref></blockquote>

These cycles take place throughout the seven [[Rounds]], and they vary in length:

<blockquote>The seven Rounds decrease and increase in their respective durations, as well as the seven races in each. Thus the 4th Rounds as well as every 4th race are the shortest, while the 1st and 7th Rounds as the 1st and 7th root races are the longest.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 117.</ref></blockquote>

It is important to keep in mind that the term Root-Races does not refer to ethnicities. They are different evolutionary stages humanity as a whole goes through successively. Besides, the same individuals that compose the current humanity have been [[Reincarnation|reborn]] in all the previous Root-Races. In [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]]'s words: "The mankind of the First Root-Race is the mankind of the second, third, fourth, fifth, etc."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), fn. 146.</ref>

Each Root-Race succeed each other, although there is a period of overlapping between the old forms dying out and the new forms beginning to be more and more dominant:

<blockquote>To show how the continents, races, nations and cycles overlap each other, one has but to think of Lemuria, the last of whose lands perished about 700,000 years before the beginning of the Tertiary period (see p. 65 of the same work), and the last of “Atlantis” only 11,000 years ago; thus both overlapping—one the Atlantean period, and the other the Aryan.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 433, fn.</ref></blockquote>

The end of a Root-Race and the beginning of a new one is marked by important geological changes:

<blockquote>The periods of the great root races are divided from each other by great convulsions of Nature, and by great geological changes.<ref>Alfred Percy Sinnett, ''Esoteric Buddhism'', (London: Theosophical Publishing House LTD, 1972), 48.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Every root-race is separated by a catastrophe, a cataclysm—the basis and historical foundation of the fables woven later on into the religious fabric of every people, whether civilized or savage, under the names of “deluges,” “showers of fire” and such like.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XIV (Los Angeles, CA: Philosophical Research Society, 1950), 81, fn.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>At the close of every Root-Race there comes a cataclysm, in turn by fire or water. Immediately after the “Fall into generation” the dross of the third Root-Race–those who fell into sensuality by falling off from the teaching of the Divine Instructors–were destroyed, after which the Fourth Root-Race originated, at the end of which took place the last Deluge.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. X (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 608.</ref></blockquote>

There are also cataclysms half-way every cycle:

<blockquote>The approach of every new "obscuration" is always signalled by cataclysms — of either fire or water. But, apart from this, every "Ring" or Root Race has to be cut in two, so to say, by either one or the other.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 314.</ref></blockquote>

According to Blavatsky, at the beginning of a new Root-Race a great adept (Manu) incarnates, chooses the best portion of humanity as the seed of the next Root-Race, and lets the old civilization be destroyed in the cataclysms.

In the Hindu scripture ''Vishnu Purana'' (4:24) we find a similar concept:

<blockquote>When . . . the close of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being who exists of his own spiritual nature in the character of Brahma, and who is the beginning and the end, and who comprehends all things, shall descend upon earth: he will be born in the family of Viṣṇuyaśas, an eminent Brahman of Sambhala village, as Kalki, endowed with the eight superhuman faculties. By his irresistible might he will destroy all the Mlecchas and thieves, and all whose minds are devoted to iniquity. He will then reestablish righteousness upon earth; and the minds of those who live at the end of the Kali age shall be awakened, and shall be as pellucid as crystal. The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time shall be as the seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Krita age, or age of purity.</blockquote>

=== Seven Sub-races ===

Each root-race is divided into seven minor cycles called sub-races,<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 66 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 174-175.</ref> which are again subdivided into seven branch or family races. These sub-divisions is related to the modern concept of races and ethnicities.

It must be remembered that the sub-races refer to cultural qualities and not to the level of evolution of the [[soul]]. When asked if one's incarnations are "in sub-race progression," Annie Besant answered, "They do not follow any regular law of succession."<ref>Annie Besant, ''Theosophical Lectures'', (Chicago: The Rajput Press, 1907), 147.</ref> People incarnate in the various sub-races in different orders to gather experiences.

Currently, humanity is undergoing the fifth Root-Race stage, and has developed five sub-races. However, the majority of human beings are incarnated in cultures that derive from previous Root-Races, and that had their apex of development far in the past. [[Koot Hoomi|Mahatma K.H.]] wrote:

<blockquote>The majority of mankind belongs to the seventh sub-race of the fourth Root race, — the above mentioned Chinamen and their off-shoots and branchlets (Malayans, Mongolians, Tibetans, Javanese, etc., etc., etc.) and remnants of other sub-races of the fourth — and the seventh sub-race of the third race. All these, fallen, degraded semblances of humanity are the direct lineal descendants of highly civilized nations neither the names nor memory of which have survived except in such books as Popalvul and a few others unknown to Science.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 312.</ref></blockquote>

=== Against racism ===

When coming closer to a modern concept of ethnicity, Blavatsky clearly rejected the idea of one race being intrinsically better than another. Differences between them do exist, but they are only due to external conditions (culture, environment, geographical isolation, etc.)

To appreciate correctly the Theosophical view on this subject, the most important point to grasp is that a person's real identity is considered to be at the level of the eternal ''spiritual'' self, and not at that of the ever-changing bodily conditions, which are allegorically seen as a mere clothing of the real spiritual individuality:

<blockquote>It is the physical type and the outward appearance in the dress, that make of one individual a Chinaman and of another a European, and of a third a red-skinned American. The inner man is one and all are “Sons of God” by birth-right.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 65.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Everyone entering the [Theosophical] society is supposed to sympathize with the theory of essential brotherhood; a kinship which exists on the plane of the higher self, not on that of the racial, social, and mental dissimilarities and antipathies. These elements of discord pertain to the physical man and are the result of unequal development under the law of evolution. We believe the human body to be but the shell, cover, or veil of the real entity; and those who accept the esoteric philosophy and the theory of “Karma” (the universal law of ethical causation) believe that the entity, as it travels around certain major and minor cycles of existence with the whole mass of human beings, takes on a different body at birth, and shells it off at death, under the operation of this Karmic law. Yet though it may thus clothe and reclothe itself a thousand times in a series of reincarnations, the entity is unchanged and unchangeable, being of a divine nature, superior to all environments on the earthly plane. It is the physical body only which has racial type, color, sex, hatreds, ambitions, and loves. So then, when we postulate the idea of universal brotherhood, we wish it understood that it is held in no Utopian sense, though we do not dream of realizing it at once on the ordinary plane of social or national relations. Most assuredly, if this view of the kinship of all mankind could gain universal acceptance, the improved sense of moral responsibility it would engender would cause most social evils and international asperities to disappear; for a true altruism, instead of the present egoism, would be the rule the world over.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1988), 302.</ref></blockquote>

Blavatsky also maintained the common origin of all races of humanity, even though they differ from each other:

<blockquote>The unity of the human species was accepted by the illustrious Professor of Cambridge (U.S.A.) [Professor Agassiz] in the same way as the Occultists do—namely, in the sense of their essential and original homogeneity and their origin from one and the same source:—e.g., Negroes, Aryans, Mongols, etc., have all originated in the same way and from the same [[Pitris|ancestors]]. The latter were all of one essence, yet differentiated, because belonging to seven [[plane]]s which differed in degree though not in kind. That original physical difference was but little more accentuated by that of geographical and climatic conditions, later on.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 607, fn.</ref></blockquote>

Arguing against the European concept of the time that their races were intrinsically better than the Africans, Blavatsky explained:

<blockquote>The Africans have never left their continent for several hundred thousands of years. If to-morrow the continent of Europe were to disappear and other lands to re-emerge instead; and if the African tribes were to separate and scatter on the face of the earth, it is they who, in about a hundred thousand years hence, would form the bulk of the civilized nations. And it is the descendants of those of our highly cultured nations, who might have survived on some one island, without any means of crossing the new seas, that would fall back into a state of relative savagery. Thus the reason given for dividing humanity into superior and inferior races falls to the ground and becomes a fallacy.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 425.</ref></blockquote>

== Early civilizations ==

In this view, there have been on Earth many civilizations of which we know nothing at the moment. [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] wrote to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:

<blockquote>We affirm that a series of civilizations existed before, as well as after the Glacial Period, that they existed upon various points, of the globe, reached the apex of glory and — died.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 311.</ref></blockquote>

The Master was aware that all these teachings contradicted those of modern [[science]]. However, he stood by his knowledge:

<blockquote>You cannot think that we, who have such tremendous odds against the acceptance of our doctrine would deliberately go on inventing Races and sub-races (in the opinion of [[Allan Octavian Hume|Mr. Hume]]) were not they a matter of undeniable fact.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 311.</ref></blockquote>

As to why we do not find remains of the previous civilizations, one of the reasons is that the Root-Races live on a different parts of the earth, many of which cyclically sink as a new piece of land rises to lodge the new Root-Race:

<blockquote>Our present continents have, like “[[Lemuria]]” and “[[Atlantis]],” been several times already submerged and had the time to reappear again, and bear their new groups of mankind and civilization; and that, at the first great geological upheaval, at the next cataclysm—in the series of periodical cataclysms that occur from the beginning to the end of every Round,—our already autopsized continents will go down, and the Lemurias and Atlantises come up again.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 310.</ref></blockquote>

Besides, as [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] explains, "every object of the civilized portions of humanity that inhabited those regions hav[e] been pulverized to dust by the great masses of travelling glaciers" leaving behind "only such rude implements as now found among those savage tribes".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 310.</ref></blockquote> This is what geologists usually find when they come upon some ancient remains in regions of the modern continents that where inhabited by past Root-Races.

== Root-Races==
=== First Root-Race ===
The First Root-Race was one of sexless ethereal beings devoid of understanding, language, or any cognitive activity. They were produced by the [[Barhishad|Barhishad Pitris]], who emanated ethereal forms from themselves. They are called the "Chaya Race," ''chāyā'' being a [[Sanskrit]] word that means "image or shadow." These forms were overshadowed by human [[Monad]]s. According to [[H. P. Blavatsky]], this Race developed on seven separate regions of an island positioned where the north pole is now.

Read more: [[First Root-Race]]

=== Second Root-Race ===
The Second Root-Race, also known as the "Sweat-born," was composed of heterogeneous, gigantic semi-human monsters, representing the early attempts of material nature at forming human bodies. This race was endowed with the first primitive spark of intelligence by the preservers (Râkshasas) and the incarnating gods ([[Asura]]s and the [[Kumara]]s). The Second Root-Race was more ethereal and less human than the later races, and they were eventually destroyed by cataclysmic events such as the displacement of great waters and changing ocean beds. They were devoid of the intellectual brain element, as they were on the descending arc of the evolutionary cycle.

Read more: [[Second Root-Race]]

=== Third Root-Race ===
The Third Root-Race, often referred to as the "Lemurian Race," marks a significant phase in the esoteric history of humanity, characterized by profound evolutionary changes in both physical form and modes of reproduction. This race is also considered one of the most mysterious and pivotal in the development of human consciousness and mind. This Root-Race underwent several stages of development, each marked by distinct changes in physiology and reproduction.

In the early phases, the Third Root-Race was almost sexless, gradually becoming bisexual or androgynous. This transformation was not abrupt but occurred over countless generations. The beings of this race were initially "sweat-born," a form of asexual reproduction where offspring emerged from the pores of the parent body. As the race evolved, it became androgynous, meaning individuals possessed both male and female characteristics. The mode of reproduction shifted to an egg-bearing process, which eventually gave rise to unisexual creatures, thus developing the differentiation of sexes. Once this Root-Race separated into distinct male and female sexes, it began to reproduce sexually, which allowed for greater genetic diversity and adaptability.

The physical evolution of the Third Root-Race's was not limited to reproductive changes; it also involved other significant transformations. Initially, the race was more ethereal and less dense, but as it progressed, the beings became more material and solidified in form. This densification was necessary to support the new mode of sexual reproduction.

Alongside physical changes, the Third Root-Race also experienced significant intellectual development. The race was endowed with the first primitive spark of intelligence by the incarnating gods, such as the [[Asura]]s and the [[Kumara]]s. This infusion of intelligence marked the beginning of self-awareness and the development of individual consciousness. The initial stages of the race were marked by a high degree of spiritual awareness and psychic abilities, which gradually declined as the race became more material.

Read more: [[Third Root-Race]]

=== Fourth Root-Race ===

Read more: [[Fourth Root-Race]]

=== Fifth Root-Race ===

Read more: [[Fifth Root-Race]]

=== Sixth Root-Race ===

<blockquote>There is a prophecy in certain Asiatic old books couched in the following terms, the sense of which we may make clearer by adding to it a few words in brackets. 
"And as the fourth (race) was composed of Red-yellow which faded into Brown-white (bodies), so the fifth will fade out into white-brown (the white races becoming gradually darker). The sixth and seventh Manushya (men?) will be born adults; and will know of no old age, though their years will be many. As the Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali (ages) have been each decreasing in excellence (physical as well as moral) so the ascending—Dvapara, Treta and Krita will be increasing in every excellence. As the life of man lasted 400 (years in the first, or Krita Yuga), 300 (years in Treta), 200 (years in Dvapara) and 100 (in the present Kali age); so in the next (the 6th Race) (the natural age of man) will be (gradually increased) 200, then 300 and 400 (in the two last yugas)".<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. VI (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 117.</ref></blockquote>

After [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] stated that the British Islands, France and other lands of the fifth Root-Race were going to sink, until they reappear at the end of the sixth Root-Race:

<blockquote>When they reappear again, the last seventh Sub-race of the sixth Root race of present mankind will be flourishing on "Lemuria" and "Atlantis" both of which will have reappeared also (their reappearance following immediately the disappearance of the present isles and continents), and very few seas and great waters will be found then on our globe, waters as well as land appearing and disappearing and shifting periodically and each in turn.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 314.</ref></blockquote>

=== Seventh Root-Race ===

<blockquote>By the middle of the Seventh Race, says an occult prophecy, the struggle of the two conflicting Powers ([[Buddhi]] and [[Manas#Lower_manas|Kama-Manas]]) will have almost died out. Everything that is irredeemably sinful and wicked, cruel and destructive, will have been eliminated, and that which is found to survive will be swept away from being, owing, so to speak, to a [[Karma|Karmic]] tidal-wave in the shape of scavenger-plagues, geological convulsions and other means of destruction. The [[Round#Fifth_Round|Fifth Round]] will bring forth a higher kind of Humanity; and, as intelligent Nature always proceeds gradually, the last Race of this Round must necessarily develop the needed materials thereof. <ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''Collected Writings'' vol. XIII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982), 128.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The last seventh Race will have its [[Buddha]] as every one of its predecessors had; but, its adepts will be far higher than any of the present race, for among them will abide the future [[Planetary Spirit|Planetary]], the [[Dhyāni-Chohan|Dhyan Chohan]] whose duty it will be to instruct or "refresh the memory" of the first race of the [[Round#Fifth_Round|fifth Round]] men after this [[Globe#Globe D|planet]]'s future [[Pralaya#Obscuration|obscuration]].<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 314.</ref></blockquote>

== Continents ==

Each Root-Race has a new continent. These have a particular name in the [[Esoteric Philosophy]], although [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Blavatsky]] did not publish them. She wrote:

<blockquote>Before we turn to the Anthropogenesis of the prehistoric Races, it may be useful to agree upon the names to be given to the Continents on which the four great Races, which preceded our Adamic Race, were born, lived, and died. Their archaic and esoteric names were many, and varied with the language of the nationality which mentioned them in its annals and scriptures. . . . 
Therefore, in view of the possible, and even very probable confusion, that may arise, it is considered more convenient to adopt, for each of the four Continents constantly referred to, a name more familiar to the cultured reader. It is proposed, then, to call the first continent, or rather the first terra firma on which the first Race was evolved by the divine progenitors: 

I. [[First Root-Race#The Imperishable Sacred Land|The Imperishable Sacred Land]]. . . . 
II. The “Hyperborean” will be the name chosen for the Second Continent. . . . 
III. The third Continent, we propose to call “[[Lemuria]].”. . . . 
IV. “[[Atlantis]]” is the Fourth Continent.. . . . 
V. The Fifth Continent was America; but, as it is situated at the Antipodes, it is Europe and Asia Minor, almost coeval with it, which are generally referred to by the Indo-Aryan Occultists as the fifth.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 6-9.</ref></blockquote>

The different masses of land sink and resurface cyclically. The shift of continents is connected with a change in the axis of the Earth and an inversion of the poles:

<blockquote>That worlds (also Races) are periodically destroyed by fire (volcanoes and earthquakes) and water, in turn, and renewed, is a doctrine as old as man. Manu, Hermes, the Chaldees, all antiquity believed in this. Twice already has the face of the globe been changed by fire, and twice by water, since man appeared on it. As land needs rest and renovation, new forces, and a change for its soil, so does water. Thence arises a periodical redistribution of land and water, change of climates, etc., all brought on by geological revolution, and ending in a final change in the axis.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 725-726.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The poles inverted, in consequence of the great inclination of the axis, bringing each time as a result the displacement of the Oceans, the submersion of the polar lands, and the consequent upheaval of new continents in the equatorial regions, and vice versâ.<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 360.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>Why not admit—true, no one of them has ever thought of it—that our present continents have, like “Lemuria” and “Atlantis,” been several times already submerged and had the time to reappear again, and bear their new groups of mankind and civilization; and that, at the first great geological upheaval, at the next cataclysm — in the series of periodical cataclysms that occur from the beginning to the end of every Round,—our already autopsized continents will go down, and the Lemurias and Atlantises come up again.<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 93b (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993),???</ref></blockquote>

After quoting this Blavatsky clarifies: "Not the ''same'' identical continents, of course."<ref>Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, ''The Secret Doctrine'' vol. II, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 333.</ref>

== Modes of reproduction ==

Below are the different modes of birth of the various Root-Races described in [[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]:

* [[Barhishad|Barhiṣad Pitris]]: Self-existent

* [[First Root-Race]]: Self-born

* Early [[Second Root-Race]]: Budding
* Late Second Root-Race: Sweat-born

* Early [[Third Root-Race]]: Sweat-born
* Middle Third Root-Race: Egg-born
* Late Third Root-Race: Womb-born

== Development of language ==

== Additional resources ==
===Articles ===
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/root-races Root Races] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/hermaphrodite Hermaphrodite] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/hyperborean Hyperborean] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/sweat-born Sweat-born] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/egg-born Egg-born] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/dumb-races Dumb Races] in Theosophy World.
* [https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/chaya Chāyā] in Theosophy World.
* Algeo, John. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/humans-apes-and-the-felix-culpa Humans, Apes, and the Felix Culpa].
* Besant, Annie. [https://cdn.website-editor.net/e4d6563c50794969b714ab70457d9761/files/uploaded/AdyarPamphlet_No76.pdf# The Coming Race].
* Clewell, Andre. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/how-do-we-teach-about-the-root-races?highlight=WyJtaWRzb3V0aCIsImZlZGVyYXRpb24iXQ== How Do We Teach about the Root Races]. ''Quest'' 108 no.4 (Fall, 2020): 24-25, 30.
* Ellwood, Robert. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/the-next-stages-in-human-spiritual-evolution-part-one The Next Stages in Human Spiritual Evolution, Part One].
* Ellwood, Robert. [https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/the-next-stages-in-human-spiritual-evolution-part-two The Next Stages in Human Spiritual Evolution, Part Two].
* Judge, William Q. [http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/onthe-future-a-few-reflections.htm# On the Future: A Few Reflections].
* Judge, William Q. [http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/rounds-and-races# Rounds and Races].
* Judge, William Q. [http://www.blavatsky.net/index.php/why-races-die-out# Why Races Die Out].
* Mahnich, Jacques. [http://prajnaquest.fr/blog/the-dzogchen-tradition-teachings-a-parallel-with-the-s-d-cosmogenesis (On Modes of Reproduction) The Dzogchen Tradition Teachings – A Parallel with the S.D.].
* Santucci, James A. "The Notion of Race in Theosophy." ''Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions'' Vol. 11, No. 3 (February 2008), 37-63. Available from [https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2008.11.3.37?searchUrl=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dtheosophy%26Search.x%3D0%26Search.y%3D0%26wc%3Don&Search=yes&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents JSTOR].
* Tarn, Harold. [http://www.blavatskytrust.org.uk/html/a_blavatsky_lecture_1999.htm#rendnote135# The Soul's Imperative].

===Books and pamphlets===
*[http://www.anandgholap.net/Pedigree_Of_Man-AB.htm# The Pedigree of Man] by Annie Besant

=== Audio ===
* '''''Brotherhood and racial theory in The secret doctrine''''' by Pablo Sender. 2019. Available on CD from Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library. CD 1472.

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Theosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Concepts in The Secret Doctrine]]

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