An Overview of The Mahatma Letters Mahatma. Letters

Transcription

1 An Overview of The

2 The Reference Books

3 Books on The to A. P. Sinnett - A.T. Barker The to A. P. Sinnett in chronological sequence arranged and edited by Vicente Hao Chin, Jr. Readers Guide to The to A. P. Sinnett - George E. Linton & Virginia Hanson The s And Their - Geoffrey Barborka An Introduction to The - V. Hanson Masters and Men - Virginia Hanson The Occult World - A. P. Sinnett The Story of The C. Jinarajadasa

4 More Books on The Early Teachings of the Masters - C. Jinarajadasa From The Masters Of The Wisdom, First & Second Series - C. Jinarajadasa The K. H. to C. W. Leadbeater C. Jinarajadasa Esoteric Buddhism - A. P. Sinnett of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett - A. T. Barker A Short History of the Theosophical Society - Josephine Ransom The Golden Book of the Theosophical Society - C. Jinarajadasa Damodar and the Pioneers of the Theosophical Movement - Sven Eek Autobiography of Alfred Percy Sinnett - A. P. Sinnett Reflections on an Ageless Wisdom Joy Mills Mrs. Holloway and the s Daniel Caldwell

5 The s

6 The s High Initiates and Members of the Occult Hierarchy Directed the founding of the Theosophical Society in 1875 Two of Them are especially concerned with The Theosophical Society A number of Adepts communicated with and guided the founders and members in the early days Much of the esoteric writings of H. P. Blavatsky including Isis Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine are attributed to the inspiration of the s

7 The Master M. In the present incarnation, a Rajput by birth Not proficient in English, spoke of himself as using words and phrases lying idle in my friend s brain Proficiency in different languages, including Chinese Wrote letter to a chela in Telugu script and spoke to one in person in Tamil Known to be the Master of H. P. Blavatsky, H. S. Olcott, Annie Besant and T. Subba Row

8 The Master K. H. In the present incarnation, a Kashmiri Brahmin by birth Spoke of himself in the letters as a Cis- and Trans-Himalayan cave-dweller Fluent in both English and French Consented to correspondence with A. P. Sinnett Known to be the Master of Damodar, C. W. Leadbeater, Geoffrey Hodson and Dora Kunz

9 The Master D. K. In the present incarnation, a Tibetan by birth Fluent in English A pupil of Master K. H. and served as His amanuensis for some of the letters Much involved in the early days of the TS Nicknamed the Disinherited and Benjamin (Gao Ben-jamin) in some of the letters Taught C. W. Leadbeater amongst others Precipitated a picture on silk for H. P. B. showing the abodes of the Masters M. and K. H.

10 A Ravine in Tibet

11 Mysteries Of The Occult Mail

12 Physical Fulcrum The Adepts and Their pupils were in their physical bodies in Tibet Phenomena had to be performed in India or Europe Needed a centre on the physical plane through which Their forces could be discharged Needed pupils attuned in vibration to the nature of the Masters serving as the physical fulcrums

13 Lack of Physical Fulcrum ML-52

14 Sending Letter to The Giving the letter to Madame Blavatsky Leaving the letter at a designated location Never sent ; letter was read as it was being written

15 Receiving Of Letter Phenomenal appearance Instantaneous formation Through the postal services Through others mail

16 Characteristics Of The

17 Stationery Used Thin, almost transparent-looking rice paper Replied on the same paper sent Written on to the blank parts of someone else s letter Made use of whatever stationery available, sometimes different types of paper were used in one letter

18 Writing Instruments? Some letters appear as though written in ink Some as though written by a heavy pencil Majority of Master K. H. s letters appearing in blue ink or heavy pencilling; in varying shades of blue Majority of Master M. s in red ink or red pencil; also in varying shades of red There were exceptions to the above

19 The Script The person issuing the letter has a characteristic calligraphy The letters were not hand-written The letters were impressed or precipitated After the process of precipitation is completed all mistakes are removed

20 Use Of Amanuenses The s do not write the letters personally but make use of amanuenses to physically produce the letters However, each amanuensis will adopt the same calligraphy with distinctive characteristics In some of the letters it is evident that more than one amanuenses were involved in producing a particular letter

21 Impressed Appearance of being imbedded into the paper, unlike ordinary handwritten letters which, of course, are placed on the surface of the paper by means of pen and ink (or pencil) The great majority of the letters may be classed as being imbedded, especially in the blue and red scripts

22 Precipitated Unique characteristic Impossible to duplicate a whole letter by the pen and ink process of handwriting Each letter is composed of small diagonal strokes

23 Sample of Precipitation

24 Correction of The unwanted word is simply lifted out of the paper, leaving a faint smudge in the paper The desired correction is then placed upon the smudged place All the same, the new word still gives the appearance of being imbedded in the paper

25 Sample of Correction

26 More Conventional Corrections Madmen are they, who, speculating but upon the present, wilfully shut their eyes to the past where when made already to remain naturally blind to the future! It depends entirely upon the social and moral conditions of the people in their bearing on these deepest and most mysterious questions which can stir the human mind the deific possibilities powers in man and the possibilities contained in nature. First, notify the public of the production of the note, the cup and the sundry product.. experiments with the cigarette papers, and let them digest these.

27 Conventional Correction

28 Conventional Corrections

29 Conventional Corrections

30 Sample of Master M. s Calligraphy

31 Another Sample of Master M. s Calligraphy

32 Another Sample of Master M. s Calligraphy

33 Sample of Master K.H. s Calligraphy

34 Another Sample of Master K.H. s Calligraphy

35 Another Sample of Master K.H. s Calligraphy

36 A Full Page of Master K.H. s Calligraphy

37 A Full Page of Master M. s Calligraphy

38 Both s Calligraphy in One Letter

39 Occult Censorship Sentences written by an Adept removed by Higher Power Postscript added by another Adept to an Adept s letter

40 Occult Censorship In the meantime I do not forget my promises to you. As soon as installed in your sleeping chamber I will try and.... (Here four lines in the original letter have been completely erased) I hope to be permitted to do so much for you. If, for generations we have shut out the world from the Knowledge of our Knowledge, it is on account of its absolute unfitness; and if, notwithstanding proofs given it still refuses yielding to evidence then will we at the End of this cycle retire into solitude and our kingdom of silence once more...

41 Sample Occult Censorship

42 Occult Censorship I ll close. Remember then on the 17th of July and (Here again six or seven lines in the original have been deleted.), to you will become the sublimest of realities. Farewell. Sincerely your s K. H.

43 Sample Occult Censorship

44 Occult Censorship Thanks. The little things prove very useful, and I gratefully acknowledge them. You ought to go to Simla. TRY. I confess to a weakness on my part to see you do so. We must patiently await, the results, as I told you of the Book. The blanks 1 are provoking and tantalizing but we cannot go against the inevitable. And as it is always good to mend an error I already did so by presenting the Occult World to the C s 2 notice. Patience, patience. Yours, ever

45 Change of Colour in Letter

46 Are the Perfect? that even an adept when acting in his body is not beyond mistakes due to human carelessness ML-130 Unless in writing to you one of us takes his pen as an adept and uses it from the first word to the last, in this capacity he is quite as liable to slips as any other man. ML-66

47 From The Adepts From The Master K. H. 208 The Master M. 76 The Master Serapis 22 The Master Hilarion 3 The Master Tuitit Bey 2 The Master Narayan 2 The Master D. K. 2 Total Published 315* * that we know of

48 Languages Used Mostly English Some letters in French Ramaswamier received a letter with three words in Telugu G. Muttuswamy Chetty, father of G. Soobiah Chetty received a letter from the Master K. H. in Tamil Latin, Greek, Italian, German, Chinese, Tibetan and Sanskrit phrases are found in some of the letters

49 Recipients of From The s

50 Some Recipients Of Received A. P. Sinnett 148 H. S. Olcott 54 H. P. Blavatsky 14 Mohini M. Chatterjee 14 A. O. Hume 13 Laura C. Holloway 12 S. Ramaswamier 9 R Keshava Pillai 4 Hubbe Schleiden 4 C. W. Leadbeater 3 Mary Gebhard 3

51 Recipients Francesca Arundale Annie Besant H. P. Blavatsky W. T. Brown Mohini M. Chatterjee Nadejda A. Fadeef E. W. Fern Frau Mary Gebhard Alkondavilli Govindacharya Prince Harisinghji Rupsinghji Franz Hartmann Laura C. Holloway William Hubbe-Schleiden A. O. Hume R. Keshava Pillai C. W. Leadbeater Damodar K. Mavalankar Navatamram Ootamram Trivedi Norendro Nath Sen H. S. Olcott Pandit Pran Nath S. Ramaswamier P. Sreenevas Row A.P. Sinnett John Smith G. Soobiah Chetty Sorabji J. Padshah T. Subba Row W. H. Terry Constance Wachtmeister

52 Historical Notes On The First known letter received by H.P.B. s aunt in Odessa in 1870, five years before the founding of the Theosophical Society Last known letter received by Annie Besant in 1900, nine years after the death of H.P.B. Between 1875 to 1888 over three hundred letters were known to be received, most of which by A. P. Sinnett A. P. Sinnett received from 1880 to 1885

53 First Letter Received on November 7, 1870 (5 years before the founding of the TS) Addressed to H. P. Blavatsky s aunt in Odessa, southwestern Ukraine Written by Master K. H. Delivered by Master M. in His mayavi-rupa Assuring H. P. B. s aunt that she was well

54 Envelope to Madame Fadeew

55 Letter to Madame Fadeew

56 The Story Of The To A. P. Sinnett

57 Alfred Percy Sinnett Appointed editor of The Pioneer in 1872 Heard about HPB and Isis Unveiled Met HPB and HSO and joined TS in 1879 Corresponded with the s Wrote The Occult World in 1881 and Esoteric Buddhism in 1883

58 Mrs. Patience Sinnett Married A. P. Sinnett in 1870 Gave birth to a son, Denny in May 1877 Much involved in the activities of the TS Recipient of the first Letter in India Witness to many phenomena A loyal supporter of the TS and its founders

59 WhenThe Sinnetts Joined The Theosophical Society A. P. Sinnett and Patience Sinnett joined the Theosophical Society on December 26, 1879 Col. Olcott wrote that during the ceremony of the acceptance into membership, when it came to the point where he himself asked the question as to whether the Masters heard the pledge of the candidates and approved of their admission into the Society, a voice was definitely heard responding: Yes, we do

60 Allan Octavian Hume Famed as an administrator and ornithologist Served as Commissioner of Customs Secretary to the Government of India, Received first letter from Master K.H. Nov 1, 1880 Father of the Indian National Congress, elected General Secretary

61 Chronology 1875 Nov 17 - Founding of the TS 1877 Sept 29 - Isis Unveiled published 1879 Feb 16 - Founders arrive in Bombay Feb 25 - A. P. Sinnett writes to founders Dec - Mr. & Mrs. Sinnett meet founders, join the TS 1880 (13 ) Sept 29 - Pink Note phenomenon Oct 3 - Teacup, Diploma & Brooch No. 1 phenomena Oct 13 - Sinnett writes 1st letter to Unknown Brother Oct 15 - Sinnett writes 2nd letter to Unknown Brother Oct 17 - Sinnett receives 1st letter from Master K. H. Oct 17 - A. O. Hume writes 1st letter to Master K. H. Oct 19 - Sinnett receives 2nd letter from Master K. H. Oct 20 - Brooch No. 2 phenomenon

62 Chronology 1881 (23 ) June - The Occult World by A. P. Sinnett was published Sept - Master M s first letter to A. P. Sinnett Oct - Master K. H. begins His retreat; Master M takes over the correspondence 1882 (65, including Letter from the Maha-Chohan) Nov - Sinnett terminated from The Pioneer Dec - TS Headquarters move to Adyar, Madras 1883 (17-10 up to March and 7 thereafter) Mar 30 - The Sinnetts departs India from Madras June 11 - Esoteric Buddhism was published Nov 21 - C. W. Leadbeater and William Crookes join the TS 1884 (14 ) June/July Masters portraits painted by Herr Schmeichen Oct 31 C. W. Leadbeater received the 1 st Letter from K.H (3 ) Sept/Oct - Sinnett receives last letter from the s

63 JAMMU Map Of India Showing Points Of Interest In Connection With The

64 How It All Started The founders visited the Sinnetts in Dec 1879 at Allahabad and stayed with them for 6 weeks They visited the Sinnetts again in Sept 1880 in Simla where numerous phenomena were performed starting with duplication of HPB s handkerchief with name embroidered Sept 29 Mrs. Sinnett received the Pink Note Oct 3: Teacup, Diploma and Water phenomena in the day and Brooch No. 1 phenomenon in the evening Oct 13: A. P. Sinnett wrote first letter Oct 15: A. P. Sinnett wrote second letter

65 The Teacup & Saucer

66 A. P. Sinnett Wrote To The Unknown Brother Inspired by all the phenomena he had experienced, he decided to write a letter to an Unknown Brother and asked if H.P.B. could deliver it for him Without waiting for a reply, he wrote a second letter a couple of days later

67 Master K.H. Responded It was Mr. Sinnett who of his own motion addressed to a Brother two long letters, even before Mad. B. had obtained either permission or promise from any of us to answer him, or knew to whom of us to deliver his letter. Her own chief having refused point blank to correspond, it was to me that she applied. Moved by regard for her, I consented, even telling her she might give you all my Thibetan mystic name, and I answered our friend s letter. ML-11

68 Summary of The to A. P. Sinnett Master K.H. Master M. Total Misc. 4 4 Total

69 The to A. P. Sinnett Master Master Total K.H. M. Total ML Appendix & LBS Total For APS For Hume For Others 4 1 5

70 Written By Others Included In The Book from the Master Djual Khool 2 from H. P. Blavatsky 9 from Damodar 1 from T. Subba Row 2 from A. O. Hume 2 from A. P. Sinnett 2 from H. S. Olcott 1 Total 19

71 From The Masters of The Wisdom LMW Series One 61 LMW Series Two 84 Total 145 Duplicates -6 Total 139

72 Written By The Masters from the Master K.H. 208 from the Master M. 76 from the Master Serapis 22 from the Master Hilarion 3 from the Master Tuitit Bey 2 from the Master Narayan 2 from the Master D.K. 2 Total 315

73 Recipients Recipient A. P. Sinnett 148 A. O. Hume 13 H. S. Olcott 54 HPB 14 Mohini Mohan Chatterjee 14 Laura C. Holloway 12 S. Ramaswamier 9 Hubbe Schleiden 4 R. Keshava Pillai 4 CWL 3 Mary Gebhard 3 Francesca Arundale 2 Others 35 Total 315

74 Why Was A.P. Sinnett Chosen? Earnestly interested in esoteric philosophy Sympathetic to the cause of the T.S. Initiated the correspondence with true sincerity and enthusiasm In an influential position to spread the knowledge to the West and Westernoriented Indians Past karmic links with the Masters

75 Why Did It All Happen? The founding of the Theosophical Society, the Masters direct communications with the early members, the letters, the distinguished leaders, etc. Part of the Centennial Effort by the Occult Hierarchy to help mankind

76 Publication of the was forbidden My letters must not be published, in the manner you suggest, but on the contrary, if you [would] save Djual K. trouble, copies of some should be sent to the Literary Committee at Adyar about which Damodar has written to you so that with the assistance of S.T.K. Charya, Djual K., Subba Row & the Secret Committee [from which H.P.B. was purposely excluded by us to avoid new suspicions & calumnies] they might be able to utilize the information for the realization of the object with which the Committee was started, as explained by Damodar in the letter written by him under orders. Letter 128

77 Publication of the was forbidden The letters, in short, were not written for publication or public comment upon them, but for private use, & neither M. nor I will ever give our consent to see them thus handled.. Letter 128 That was one of the reasons why I had hesitated to give my consent to print my private letters and specifically excluded a few of the series from the prohibition. Letter 130

78 Publication of the was forbidden When our first correspondence began, there was no idea then of any publications being issued on the basis of the replies you might receive. You went on putting questions at random, & the answers being given at different times to disjointed queries, & so to say, under a semi-protest were necessarily imperfect, often from different standpoints. When the publication of some of these were permitted for the Occult World, it was hoped that among your readers some may be able, like yourself, to put all the different pieces together & evolve out of them the skeleton, or a shadow of our system which, tho not exactly the original this would be an impossibility would be as near an approach to it as could be made by a non-initiate. But the results have proved quasidisastrous! We had tried an experiment and sadly failed! Letter 128

79 Publication of the was forbidden You may, if you choose so, or find necessity for it, use in Man * or in any other book you may chance to be collaborating for, anything I may have said in relation to our secret doctrines in any of my letters to Messrs. Hume or Sinnett. Those portions that were private have never been allowed by them to be copied by anyone; and those which are so copied have by the very fact become theosophical property. Besides, copies of my letters at any rate those that contained my teachings have always been sent by my order to Damodar and Upasika, and some of the portions even used in the Theosophist. You are at liberty to even copy them verbatim and without quotation marks. Letter from the Masters of the Wisdom, First Series, Letter 52 *Man, Fragments of Forgotten History

80 Preservation Of The To A.P. Sinnett The letters filled the wooden box A. P. Sinnett made for the letters in 1890 and much of a tin trunk A. P. Sinnett passed away on June 27, 1921 The To A. P. Sinnett was first published in December 1923 In 1939 the original letters were given irrevocably to the British Museum In 1952 the whole of the ML given to the British Museum was microfilmed into four reels The originals were expertly bound in six large hardbound volumes Also made into 35mm colour slides by the museum

81 Teachings Given In The To A. P. Sinnett

82 Teachings Given In The To A.P. Sinnett Teachings commence from Letter No. 18 which was received July 5, 1881 Chelaship Cosmology Doctrine of Cycles The One Element Devachan The Question of God Of Fakirs, Sannyasis, Sadhus and Gurus General knowledge

83 Chelaship Teachings found throughout the Qualifications for the study of Occultism Terms and Conditions of chelaship The Path of Occultism The speeding up of Karma Development of good as well as bad germs Personal counsel

84 Cosmology LBS-Appendix II; No. 18, 44, 46, 90 Real and Unreal Knowledge Primal Causes and Ultimate Effects The One Eternal Thing The Seven Kosmic Principles Cosmic or Unorganized Matter Spontaneous Generation Reality/Non-Being and Maya/Being The Universal Mind Beyond the Solar System

85 Doctrine of Cycles No. 18, 44, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 93A, 93B Rounds Manvantara and Pralaya The Seven Principles of Man The Individuality of Man Evolution of Life Rise and fall of continents Evolution of Chains

86 The One Element Letter No. 65, 67, 88, 90, 111 There is but one element in Nature (whether spiritual or physical) outside which there can be no Nature since it is Nature Consequently, spirit and matter are one, being but a differentiation of states not essences The notions of cosmic matter are diametrically opposed to those of western science To view the eternal Essence, the Swabhāvat not as a compound element, spirit-matter, but as the one element for which the English has no name It is both passive and active Pure Spirit Essence in its absoluteness and repose Pure matter in its finite and conditioned state even as an imponderable gas or that great unknown which science has pleased to call Force

87 Devachan Letter 68, 69, 70A, 70B, 70C, 71, 76, 85A, 85B, 93A, 93B, 104 Bardo the period between death and rebirth What happens when a man dies The cases of suicide and accidents The death struggle The Eighth Sphere Skandhas Cause and Effect The Reality of Devachan Life in Devachan Remembrance

88 The Question of God Letter No. 88, 30, 31 The Occult Philosophy The One Element Good and Evil Evil and Disease The Cause of Evil

89 Of Fakirs, Sannyasis, Sadhus and Gurus No. 30 & 31 There are 100 of thousands of Fakirs, Sannyasis and Sadhus leading the most pure lives, and yet being as they are, on the path of error, never having had an opportunity to meet, see or even hear of us. Faith in the Gods and God, and other superstitions attracts millions of foreign influences, living entities and powerful agents around them, with which we would have to use more than ordinary exercise of power to drive them away. We do not choose to do so. You are right: they say and affirm that the one and only God of the Universe was incarnated in their guru, and were such an individual to exist he would certainly be higher than any planetary. But they are idolators, my friend. Their guru was no initiate, only a man of extraordinary purity of life and powers of endurance. He had never consented to give up his notions of a personal god and even gods though offered more than once.

90 The Thank You!