|
THE ESOTERIC PAPERS OF MADAME BLAVATSKY |
|
H.P.B. in 1889 Introduction For the past 20 years I have been researching H.P. Blavatsky's esoteric school and collecting various editions of her esoteric papers. This compilation provides facsimiles of many of the original esoteric papers issued by Madame Blavatsky. Some of the documents reproduced in this volume have never been reprinted since first issued. In fact, this volume is the most comprehensive collection of H.P.B.'s esoteric papers now available. The documents in the main section of this work (pp. 1-335) have been arranged more of less in chronological order. Additional material will be found in the four appendixes (pp. 337-673). For an overview of the material in this compilation, see the Table of Contents (pp. vii-x). I have also added quotes from various published and unpublished letters of H.P.B. in which she mentions her work in the esoteric school. Unfortunately, when I first compiled these extracts, I did not list the sources from which I gathered the quotes. Prior to publication of this work, I was unable to go back and provide the proper references. Nevertheless, all quotes are from authentic letters written by H.P. Blavatsky. There are a number of diagrams that were in color but in this reprint we were not able to provide colored reproductions. For a 22-page overview of H.P.B.'s esoteric school and the major papers issued, see" A Historical Introduction" by Daniel H. Caldwell and Henk J. Spierenburg in The Inner Group Teachings of H.P. Blavatsky, compiled and annotated by Henk J. Spierenburg, 2nd revised and enlarged edition, San Diego, California, Point Lorna Publications, 1995. The esoteric papers in this compilation supplement and complement the material found in the following sources:
Readers may send comments and feedback on this volume to: Daniel H. Caldwell Thanks to Kessinger Publishing [http://www.kessinger.net]
for Daniel H. Caldwell *** THE ESOTERIC PAPERS OF MADAME BLAVATSKY
Master Morya H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION "After a long conversation with Master -- the first for a long, long time ... [e]ither I have to return to India to die this autumn, or I have to form between this and November next a nucleus of true Theosophists, a school of my own, with no secretary, only myself alone, with as many mystics as I can get to teach them. I can stop here, or go to England, or whatever I like ..." H.P. Blavatsky THE FORMATION OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION The E.S. was started in November 1888. In
May, 1887, I sent the following to H.P.B.
18th May. Dear H.P.B. -- Please reply to this. So many people are beginning to ask me to be Chelas that I must do something, so I have drawn up the enclosed paper which you can send me with some formalities on it as you think right to do so --- or whatever I ought to have. If you do not think so, then please tell me in what way I had best proceed. I know a good many good ones who will do well and who will form a rock on which the enemy will founder, and this plan would encourage them. So fiat something. As ever, WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. Enclosed paper: To WILLIAM Q. JUDGE: --- You are directed to draw together all those persons, members of the Theosophical Society in the U.S., who have or express the desire to serve the cause of the Blessed Masters. This you are to do with the understanding in writing in every case that the persons taken are not thereby made Chelas of the Masters, but simply that they are thus given a chance to make a preliminary trial of themselves, and in each case you will take from the applicant an expression in writing, before making your private register of the names, that they well understand the basis on which you thus take them. Nothing is promised; each will have just what he or she deserves --- no more, no less. And all must be faithful to the Cause, to Masters, and to the founders of the Theosophical Society. Given [etc.] H.P.B. replied that I might go ahead without the paper and soon she would do something else. Later, at the time she was explaining in London the plan of the E.S.T., I telegraphed her asking her to "make public the Inner Section". That telegram was received in the presence of Dr. Keightley and others. She then told me to come to London and help, which I did. The E.S. was founded on the exact lines of the above papers. William Q. Judge THE BLAVATSKY LODGE AND THE ESOTERIC SECTION OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY "The Esoteric Section was formed in October 1888, quite obviously from the nucleus of students who had taken the Pledge of Blavatsky Lodge not so very many months before." Katherine A. Beechey [The following extracts are from an article by Katherine A. Beechey on the history of the Blavatsky Lodge, London.] "The Pledge of the (Blavatsky) Lodge "... The following Minute concerns the meeting of the (Blavatsky) Lodge held on the 19th January 1888, "at which the President read a letter from Mr. Keightley; this letter communicated his ideas on the Pledge of the Lodge. "This is the first mention in the Minutes of 'the Pledge of the Lodge' though subsequently references occur frequently. If we turn now to the end of this first Minute Book [of the Blavatsky Lodge] we find a page headed 'Pledge of the Lodge' in violent ink, and underneath are set out the six clauses thereof, as follows:
FROM THE MINUTE BOOK OF THE BLAVATSKY LODGE 1. I pledge myself to endeavor to make Theosophy a living factor in my life. 2. I pledge myself to support, before the world, the Theosophical movement, its leaders and its members. 3. I pledge myself never to listen without protest to any evil thing spoken of a brother Theosophist and to abstain from condemning others. 4. I pledge myself to maintain a constant struggle against my lower nature, and to be charitable to the weaknesses of others. 5. I pledge myself to do all in my power, by study or otherwise, to fit myself to help and teach others. 6. I pledge myself to give what support I can to the movement in time, money, and work. So Help me, My Higher Self. "Here follow the signatures of twenty members of the Lodge, the first eight being written in violet ink, as was the Pledge itself. "... we are told in a statement made by Dr. Archibald Keightley ... on 5th January 1895 that 'all the founders of the Blavatsky Lodge were pledged, and for many months after the foundation each member who joined was pledged, among other things, to make Theosophy a living power in this life ... The original intention of the Lodge is shown by an article written by myself in Lucifer (September, 1888). This article is entitled 'The Meaning of a Pledge'. All members who entered the Lodge signed that Pledge in a book kept for that purpose. "... the Pledge was not instituted until the beginning of 1888, while other facts make it probably that it was not in operation after the end of the same year, though 'the Pledge of the First Degree of the Blavatsky Lodge', which was instituted on 16th February 1888, may have been in operation for some months longer ... "... on February 2 the meeting had had to be postponed 'owing to the entrance of strangers' seems to indicate that the Lodge meetings were not open to the public ... "For the next month or two the Minutes simply record the proposal and election of new members and their signing of the Pledge... "... there is a gap in the Minutes of the Blavatsky Lodge from July 1888 to September 1889... "The Esoteric Section was formed in October 1888, quite obviously from the nucleus of students who had taken the Pledge of Blavatsky Lodge not so very many months before ..." [Reprinted from H.P. Blavatsky in London" by Katherine A. Beechey, The Theosophist, May, 1937, pp. 155-159.] *** KOOT HOOMI IN LONDON, JULY 1888 "...K H... only a few months ago ... [was here] in flesh & bones. But He is gone, was in London only eleven days, in July." H.P. Blavatsky *** A MEMORANDUM OF THE MASTER'S REMARKS [1] [Note by C. Jinarajadasa: "This...Letter...is not in the handwriting of any of the Masters. It is in the handwriting of H.P.B., written on thin notepaper in pencil. It is evident that it is a memorandum of the remarks of the Master K.H. regarding the situation of the T.S. in 1888...The remarks of Master K.H. may have been one reason why H.P.B. insisted on forming the E.S.T., or in case Colonel Olcott refused, on making a separate division for Europe of the Parent Theosophical Society under her direction. Happily, the Letter [from K.H.]... which [Olcott] received [August 22, 1888] on board S.S. Shannon, broke down his opposition, and the two old comrades met in friendship, and the E.S.T. was born." [2] [The Master is dictating his comments to H.P.B.:) "Such are the reasons why if he [H.S.
Olcott] still occasionally feels M
[H.P.B. notes that she 'told him [the Master] the question put to me by Olcott...' To this question, the Master replies: "He [Olcott] wants to know why? Because the [Theosophical] Society has liberated itself from our grasp and influence and we have let it go---we make no unwilling slaves. He says he has saved it? He saved its body, but he allowed through sheer fear, to its soul to escape, and it is now a soulless corpse, a machine run so far well enough, but which will fall to pieces when he is gone. Out of the three objects the second alone is attended to, but it is no longer either a brotherhood, nor a body over the face of which broods the Spirit from beyond the Great Range. [4] His [Olcott's] kindness and love of peace are great and truly Gautamic in their spirit; but he has misapplied that kindness..." [This memorandum goes on to talke about Alfred J. Cooper-Oakley and says among other things:] "...[A.J. Cooper-Oakley] for four years never wrote a letter to a theosophist without enclosing in it a Parthian arrow against the Prest. Founder [Olcott] and his Co-Founder [H.P.B.]..." [Also the following is mentioned by the Master:] "...we are told that the 'Masters' are in direct correspondence and communication with C.O. [Cooper-Oakley]---their true delegate being now at Madras---S.R. [T. Subba Row] [5]...Henry feared to break with C.O. lest he should lost S.R. and N.C. [Neil Cook]; and now he lost N.C. and S.R. [6]..." [NOTE: The present compiler is of the opinion that this memorandum of the Master's comments was probably written sometime during July, 1888.] _______________ Notes: This is letter 47 in Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom 1870-1900, First Series, transcribed and compiled by C. Jinarajadasa, Adyar, Madras, India, The Theosophical Publishing House, 1973, pp. 100-103. 2. Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom 1870-1900, First Series, 1973 printing, p. 139-140. 3. K.H. in his letter to Olcott on board the S.S. Shannon writes: "With yourself our relations are direct, and have been with the rare exceptions you know of, like the present, on the psychical plane, and so will continue thro' force of circumstances. That they are so rare --- is your own fault as I told you in my last." Does the phrase "as I told you in my last" refer back to this memorandum in H.P.B.'s handwriting? See Letter 19, the "S.S. Shannon" Letter, in Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, 1879-1900. First Series, 1973 edition, p. 46. 4. Compare these statements with those of H.P.B. in her E.S.T.S. Preliminary Memorandum (dated London, Dece. 14, 1888): "The Theosophical Society has just entered upon the fourteenth year of its existence; and if it has accomplished great, one may almost say stupendous, results on the exoteric and utilitarian plane, it has proved a dead failure on all those points which rank foremost among the objects of its original establishment. Thus, as a "Universal Brotherhood," or even as a fraternity, one among many, it has descended to the level of all those Societies whose pretensions are great, but whose names are simply masks, -- nay, even shams. Nor can the excuse be pleaded that it was led into such an undignified course owing to its having been impeded in its natural development, and almost extinguished, by reason of the conspiracies of its enemies openly begun in 1884. Because even before that date there never was that solidarity in the ranks of our Society which would not only enable it to resist all external attacks, but also make it possible for greater, wider, and more tangible help to be given to all its members by those who are always ready to give help when we are fit to receive it. When trouble arose, too many were quick to doubt and despair, and few indeed were they who had worked for the Cause and not for themselves. The attacks of the enemy have given the Society some discretion in the conduct of its external progress, but its real internal condition has not improved, and the members, in their efforts towards spiritual culture, still require that help which solidarity in the ranks can alone give them the right to ask. The Masters can give but little assistance to a Body not thoroughly united in purpose and feeling, and which breaks its first fundamental rule -- universal brotherly love.... For this reason it is now contemplated to gather the "elect" of the T.S. and to call them to action. It is only by a select group of brave souls, a handful of determined men and women hungry for genuine spiritual development and the acquirement of soul-wisdom, that the Theosophical Society at large can be brought back to its original lines. It is through an Esoteric Section alone -- i.e., a group in which all the members, even if unacquainted with one another, work for each other, and by working for all work for themselves -- that the great Exoteric Society may be redeemed and made to realize that in union and harmony alone lies its strength and power. The object of this Section, then, is to help the future growth of the Theosophical Society as a whole in the true direction, by promoting brotherly union at least among the few...." 5. In a letter dated July 12, 1888, H.P.B. relates the following to Mr. Khandalavala: "Mrs. C.O. [Isabel Cooper-Oakley] said to the Countess [Wachtmeister] several times that her 'Alf' [Alfred Cooper-Oakley] is constantly receiving through S.R. letters from the Master, my Master!! One of such letters (a copy) she showed and read to the Countess, to prove to her that she and S.R. and C.O. and Cook all believed in the Master. Now I know that my Master (whom they called Mahatma Morya) has never since I left Adyar written one single line to anyone at Adyar, or Madras, or India, except a few words once to H.S.O. [Olcott]. I have Master's assurance to this effect...surely something must be rotten 'in the State of Denmark'. This is private and confidential, and meant for you alone. You can ask the Countess if you like..." 6. In The Theosophist, June, 1888, Supplement, p. xli, it is announced that T. Subba Row and J.N. Cook have resigned membership in The Theosophical Society. In a letter dated July 11, 1888, William Judge refers to these resignations: "The last 'Theosophist' announces the resignations of Subba Row and Dr. Cooke." *** The Meaning of a Pledge It has been thought advisable that members of a certain Occult lodge of the T.S. should have the meaning of the Pledge they are about to take laid before them as plainly as possible. At any rate, that those who have previously signed the Pledge shall lay before those who are about to do so all that they understand this Pledge to mean and what its signature involves. The Pledge runs as follows: "1. I pledge myself to endeavor to make Theosophy a living factor in my life. "2. I pledge myself to support, before the world, the Theosophical movement, its leaders and its members. "3. I pledge myself never to listen without protest to any evil thing spoken of a brother Theosophist and to abstain from condemning others. "4. I pledge myself to maintain a constant struggle against my lower nature, and to be charitable to the weaknesses of others. "5. I pledge myself to do all in my power, by study or otherwise, to fit myself to help and teach others. "6. I pledge myself to give what support I can to the movement in time, money, and work. "So Help me, My Higher Self." It is at once plain that this is not a general Pledge like that which is taken so lightly by members of the Theosophical Society; but that it is a specific undertaking to do and to endeavor to do certain things. Also that it is given under an invocation: --
The term "Higher Self" has recently come into considerable use -- at any rate so far as the Theosophical Society is concerned. To those who have studied the meaning of the words it is at once evident that to "take an oath" in the ordinary fashion of Christians is much less serious than a Pledge in presence of the "Higher Self." The "Higher Self," moreover, is not a sort of sublimated essence of any one man; a sort of spiritualised "personality." It is universal and secondless and in such a sense the term "my Higher Self" seems misplaced. But every man, however dimly, is a manifestation of the Higher Self, and it is by the connection of the Jiva, the Monad, with the secondless "Higher Self" that it is possible to use the term. What then does the invocation mean? The man who takes his Pledge in the right spirit calls upon It, and calls every help and blessing from It to his assistance. By an intense desire to be under Its protection he (though It per se is latent and passive) places himself under the protection of the active and beneficent powers that are the direct rays of the Absolute Higher Secondless Self. But if a man takes his Pledge and betrays his Higher Self, he risks every evil and brings it upon himself. Thus then, he who remains true to the Pledge has nothing to fear; but he who has no confidence in himself to keep the Pledge when taken, had better leave it and, much more, leave Occultism alone. Breaking this Pledge cannot, then, involve penalty on the "Higher Self," but it can affect the individual man. The "Higher Self" is immortal, but the Monad exists as a separate individual only during the Manvantaras, and around it various personalities are formed. This incarnates at every new birth, and not only can be, but is, punished if such a Pledge is broken. Once that it has progressed far enough to recognize the glorious light of the Higher Self and desire to live in it, the breaking of the Pledge tends towards a condition which would preclude the possibility of that light not only benefiting the Monad, but even reaching it. Thus all men are in the presence of two forces in nature. One of them active and beneficent, whose aid and assistance is directly invoked by the Pledge; the other active, but maleficent, which is represented by beings who have a distinct interest in preventing the operation of the Pledge, and in hindering the work of the Theosophical Society. We see this more clearly when we know that we Pledge ourselves to be active, and not merely to endeavor to be. Further, there are powers on the earth and in the flesh, as well as in the astral light, who desire to prevent and hinder the Pledge from taking effect. Some of these act consciously in this manner, and others because they are driven to such conscious action, but without any knowledge of the reason or force which drives them thereto. We are to endeavor to "make Theosophy a living factor in our lives." Before we can endeavor to do this, much less do it effectually, we must first understand what Theosophy is, and actually define to ourselves what we individually mean by Theosophy. Now it is exactly this definition, its want, and our ignorance generally which hitherto has prevented us from carrying out this endeavor. Nothing need here be said of the Theosophical Society and the benefit which would come to it by even a small section of its members actually making Theosophy the living factor in their lives. Very few do so, and it is only too true that a member of the Theosophical Society is not necessarily a Theosophist. But those who take this Pledge are not content to remain nominally members of the Society, but aspire to be Theosophists indeed. And therefore it is so necessary that all should learn what a Theosophist is, and what any man must do to make Theosophy a living factor in his life. As a negative definition nothing could be better than the definition in Lucifer, No. 3:
But this definition also contains a positive side. It is not sufficient merely to abstain from doing that which is condemned in this definition. The negative side alone is useless to those who take this Pledge -- and not merely useless, for it involves practically the breaking of the Pledge. The Pledge demands not only that the man who takes it shall abstain from evil doing but, more, that he shall positively work altruistically and defend any innocent person as he would himself. Many men may be so colorless as not to offend against the negative clauses of the Pledge and definition; but few are they who are sufficiently positive in their own character as not only not to offend against these clauses but also work in the opposite direction. For the greatest importance does not consist in "I will not" but in the "I will do." Thus some strength is needed for impersonality. This impersonality is of two kinds, negative and positive. For the negative, strength is needed to fight against the forces of heredity and education, and prevent obedience to the instincts and acquired habits of this and other incarnations. But greater strength is needed to cross the zero-point and create new instincts and habits in the midst of conditions of life and habits of thought which are violently opposed to the new creation. And it would seem that strength is required so that it would be possible to conquer the tendencies of a devil and grow up into divinity. And if we regard the Pledge generally it would seem to be an admirable instrument, in view of the above quoted definition, for finding out and assailing everybody on their weak points. As men and women the Pledge compels us to refrain from acting and thinking in our daily life as our education has hitherto compelled us to do. If we do not so refrain, we do not make Theosophy a living factor in our lives. And more, while we are engaged in this difficult task, the positive side appears and we are told that we have to do other things as difficult - otherwise we are not Theosophists. The second clause of the Pledge will prove a stumbling block to many lukewarm members of the Theosophical Society. Many may be in complete accord with the objects of the Theosophical Society, so far as they understand them, but also be in complete disagreement with the leaders of the Society and their method of work. Not only may they disagree but also be in either open or concealed hostility to those leaders and many of the members. It is of no use to disguise from ourselves the fact that this has been the case, and unfortunately may be so again. We work for "Universal Brotherhood" and we are at enmity with our immediate neighbors. This then we pledge ourselves to put a stop to, and to excise the tendency from our natures. Thus clause 2 has special reference to certain persons, arising out of the general circumstances. The question naturally arises: "Of what use is a Theosophical Society with such aims, when it is composed of such diverse elements?" And again: "Has the Society any coherence and purpose which shall make it a living power in the society by which it is surrounded?" For an analogy exists; And the Society is an individual among societies, just as men and women are individuals. And it may here be emphatically stated that the power and force of any given body is not the total force of its component units, but that the body has an individual force and power of its own apart from them. One has but to turn to the chemistry of "alloys" to see that this is true. If then we regard the Society, it does not seem that any of its strength is due to the united purpose and action of its individual members. But it has a great purpose, and to this a certain number of devoted individuals have sacrificed all that lay in their power. Among these the founders and present leaders of the Society are notable examples. The result is that the Society continues to exist exoterically. But the continued existence of the Society is not due to these few individual efforts alone but to the underlying influence of those under whose direction the Society was founded by its present leaders, and to the fostering care of those Masters in Wisdom, after it was founded. Clause 3 opens out to many, as the Society is at present constituted, a good deal of casuistical reasoning. It has been said, and it would seem truly said, that it is perfectly open to those who are true Theosophists to condemn an act but not the actor. But this will be found to be a distinction which is very subtle and difficult to make in life. Light on the Path, too, warns the aspirant against self-righteousness of a like character, "for the soiled garment you shrink from touching may have been yours yesterday, may be yours tomorrow." Thus those who take this Pledge are about to meet a very subtle difficulty (for in life the act and the actor are indissolubly connected), unless they have attained the power of observing and reading on a plane which is at present beyond the reach of the majority of mankind. However, even if this power is beyond reach at present, it is at all events right for those who aspire to be Theosophists to try. We can at least put a bridle on our physical lips and endeavor to do so on our mind, and thus abstain from "condemning others." For the silent condemnation of the mind would seem more "vicious" than physical speech, for, at any rate in the "judge," it is a form of moral cowardice. And herein lies the casuistry. For apart from the definition in Lucifer, it has been open to those who take the Pledge to consider that their human brothers are not "Brother Theosophists," and therefore that it is legal to judge and condemn. Thus if it could be clearly proven that any man or woman has erred against the said definition it might be possible to receive absolution from the pledge "never to listen without protest to an evil word spoken" of them. But the definition stops this with its "whether a brother Theosophist or not," and agrees with the legal maxim which is so seldom acted upon -- always to consider a man innocent until proven guilty. Suspicion is a dangerous guest to harbor, and we are finally brought back to the fact that it is best to "judge not that yea be not judged." Clauses 4 and 5 are the completion of resolutions which go straight to the centre of all that militates against Theosophy and against its forming a living factor in men's lives. In this sense Clause 6 is a completion also. But the power to help and teach others can only be found in the united spirit of life, which is a spirit of absolute equality and in the sense that to the Theosophist every man is a teacher. Clause 6 is a ratification of all that has gone before, but places it in more definite terms. Thus then before this Pledge is taken it is necessary for all who aspire to take it to carefully ascertain, before pledging themselves to work and activity for Theosophy, what Theosophy really is. Is Theosophy identical with the practice of the Theosophical Society? If it is not, ought it to be? Shall I endeavor to make it so? In pledging myself to work for it, am I in the near or distant future, in this or in some succeeding reincarnation, looking for a reward? It would then seem that one of the first requisites is to endeavor to "Know Thyself." Such a Pledge must not be taken lightly nor in a spirit of mere emotionalism. It has to be taken with a stern resolution to ever and ever more fully carry out its requirements, even at all costs to the man who takes it. It is taken at the risk of the man who takes it in a thoughtless spirit without examining what it really means and without the intention of making its fulfillment the supreme object of his life. It is necessary "to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest" the truths which exist in Theosophy and then perhaps there may dawn upon the world the day when all men shall be as brothers, and Universal Brotherhood shall be a reality and the guide of all existence. One who is Pledged. [Reprinted from Lucifer, September, 1888, pp. 63-67.] *** For the past 12 years I have been imparting, & transmitting esoteric teachings without enacting any pledge or imposing conditions to several — more or less known individuals among others — a few Hindus. Since the explosion of the infamous Hodgson & Coulomb conspiracy against me some of my ex-pupils ill-grounded in the theosophical spirit, have, for various reasons deserted me, after posing for chelas. The latter attitude they would not abandon, however. Hence since that time, they have been giving out travestied versions of the esoteric philosophy, composed of one part of truths, & three parts misconceptions & conceit. Thus great confusion, & contradictory statements have been made in print, all of which have been pitched back upon my unfortunate head. Not only that, but with the idea of making themselves more important they have pretended that my occult knowledge had faded away during my illness; that even[?] Masters have turned away from me to them, & that I was now the prey of Elementals & half-fledged chelas! Many, however, wish me to continue my instructions. But I am not willing to do so, save under restrictions shown by experience to be necessary. I am determined not to permit any longer the Master's names to be desecrated & dragged in the mire of idiotic criticism. Now the "Blavatsky Lodge" of the T.S. was the outgrowth of this idea being composed of a few dozens of such friends, as are willing to enter with, & follow me in a spirit of candid loyalty on the path of true Occultism.... ...Col. Olcott is here also to organize a British Section of the T.S. including all the British Branches; & I am organizing with his help to form a special centre — an adjunct to the IInd Section of accepted Chelas (such as the Presid. Founder, Mr. Judge & a few others) of exclusively occult students, willing to accept, not as dogmas but as a basis for self-evolution — the teachings of which I am the channel & which I cannot impart except to pledged members; for I cannot give them out in the "Secret Doctrine." H.P. Blavatsky
Henry S. Olcott *** LODGES OF
MAGIC
If rumour be true, some of the English rural districts, especially Yorkshire, are overrun with fraudulent astrologers and fortune-tellers, who pretend to be Theosophists, the better to swindle a higher class of credulous patrons than their legitimate prey, the servant-maid and callow youth. If the "lodges of magic," suggested in the following letter to the Editors of this Magazine, were founded, without having taken the greatest precautions to admit only the best candidates to membership, we should see these vile exploitations of sacred names and things increase an hundredfold. And in this connection, and before giving place to our friend's letter, the senior Editor of LUCIFER begs to inform her friends that she has never had the remotest connection with the so-called "H (ermetic) B (rotherhood) of L (uxor)," and that all representations to the contrary are false and dishonest. There is a secret body -- whose diploma, or Certificate of Membership, is held by Colonel Olcott alone among modern men of white blood -- to which that name was given by the author of "Isis Unveiled" for convenience of designation, [2] but which is known among Initiates by quite another one, just as the personage known to the public under the pseudonym of "Koot Hoomi," is called by a totally different name among his acquaintance. What the real name of that society is, it would puzzle the "Eulian" phallicists of the "H. B. of L." to tell. The real names of Master Adepts and Occult Schools are never, under any circumstances, revealed to the profane; and the names of the personages who have been talked about in connection with modem Theosophy, are in the possession only of the two chief founders of the Theosophical Society. And now, having said so much by way of preface, let us pass on to our correspondent's letter. He writes:
"A." [William A. Ayton] In the above note of our venerable and learned friend is the echo of the voices of ninety-nine hundredths of the members of the Theosophical Society: one-hundredth only have the correct idea of the function and scope of our Branches. The glaring mistake generally made is in the conception of adeptship and the path thereunto. Of all thinkable undertakings that of trying for adeptship is the most difficult. Instead of being obtainable within a few years or one lifetime, it exacts the unremittent struggles of a series of lives, save in cases so rare as to be hardly worth regarding as exceptions to the general rule. The records certainly show that a number of the most revered Indian adepts became so despite their births in the lowest, and seemingly most unlikely, castes. Yet it is well understood that they had been progressing in the upward direction throughout many previous incarnations, and, when they took birth for the last time, there was left but the merest trifle of spiritual evolution to be accomplished, before they became great living adepts. Of course, no one can say that one or all of the possible members of our friend "A"'s ideal Cagliostrian lodge might not also be ready for adeptship, but the chance is not good enough to speculate upon: Western civilization seems to develop fighters rather than philosophers, military butchers rather than Buddhas. The plan "A" proposes would be far more likely to end in mediumship than adeptship. Two to one there would not be a member of the lodge who was chaste from boyhood and altogether untainted by the use of intoxicants. This is to say nothing of the candidates' freedom from the polluting effects of the evil influences of the average social environment. Among the indispensable pre-requisites for psychic development, noted in the mystical Manuals of all Eastern religious systems, are a pure place, pure diet, pure companionship, and a pure mind. Could "A" guarantee these? It is certainly desirable that there should be some school [3]of instruction for members of our Society; and had the purely exoteric work and duties of the Founders been less absorbing, probably one such would have been established long ago. Yet not for practical instruction, on the plan of Cagliostro, which, by-the-bye, brought direful suffering upon his head, and has left no marked traces behind to encourage a repetition in our days. "When the pupil is ready, the teacher will be found waiting," says an Eastern maxim. The Masters do not have to hunt up recruits in special __________ shire lodges, nor drill them through mystical non-commissioned officers: time and space are no barriers between them and the aspirant; where thought can pass they can come. Why did an old and learned Kabalist like "A" forget this fact? And let him also remember that the potential adept may exist in the White chapels and Five Points of Europe and America, as well as in the cleaner and more "cultured" quarters; that some poor ragged wretch, begging a crust, may be "whiter-souled" and more attractive to the adept than the average bishop in his robe, or a cultured citizen in his costly dress. For the extension of the theosophical movement, a useful channel for the irrigation of the dry fields of contemporary thought with the water of life, Branches are needed everywhere; not mere groups of passive sympathisers, such as the slumbering army of churchgoers, whose eyes are shut while the "devil" sweeps the field; no, not such. Active, wide-awake, earnest, unselfish Branches are Deeded, whose members shall not be constantly unmasking their selfishness by asking "What will it profit us to join the Theosophical Society, and how much will it harm us?" but be putting to themselves the question "Can we not do substantial good to mankind by working in this good cause with all our hearts, our minds, and our strength?" If "A" would only bring his __________ shire friends, who pretend to occult leanings, to view the question from this side, he would be doing them a real kindness. The Society can get on without them, but they cannot afford to let it do so. Is it profitable, moreover, to discuss the question of a Lodge receiving even theoretical instruction, until we can be sure that all the members will accept the teachings as coming from the alleged source? Occult truth cannot be absorbed by a mind that is filled with preconception, prejudice, or suspicion. It is something to be perceived by the intuition rather than by the reason; being by nature spiritual, not material. Some are so constituted as to be incapable of acquiring knowledge by the exercise of the spiritual faculty; e.g. the great majority of physicists. Such are slow, if not wholly incapable of grasping the ultimate truths behind the phenomena of existence. There are many such in the Society; and the body of the discontented are recruited from their ranks. Such persons readily persuade themselves that later teachings, received from exactly the same source as earlier ones, are either false or have been tampered with by chelas, or even third parties. Suspicion and inharmony are the natural result, the psychic atmosphere, so to say, is thrown into confusion, and the reaction, even upon the stauncher students, is very harmful. Sometimes vanity blinds what was at first strong intuition, the mind is effectually closed against the admission of new truth, and the aspiring student is thrown back to the point where he began. Having jumped at some particular conclusion of his own without full study of the subject, and before the teaching had been fully expounded, his tendency, when proved wrong, is to listen only to the voice of his self-adulation, and cling to his views, whether right or wrong. The Lord Buddha particularly warned his hearers against forming beliefs upon tradition or authority, and before having thoroughly inquired into the subject. An instance. We have been asked by a correspondent why he should not "be free to suspect some of the so-called 'precipitated' letters as being forgeries," giving as his reason for it that while some of them bear the stamp of (to him) undeniable genuineness, others seem from their contents and style, to be imitations. This is equivalent to saying that he has such an unerring spiritual insight as to be able to detect the false from the true, though he has never met a Master, nor been given any key by which to test his alleged communications. The inevitable consequence of applying his untrained judgment in such cases, would be to make him as likely as not to declare false what was genuine, and genuine what was false. Thus what criterion has any one to decide between one "precipitated" letter, or another such letter? Who except their authors, or those whom they employ as their amanuenses (the chelas and disciples), can tell? For it is hardly one out of a hundred "occult" letters that is ever written by the hand of the Master, in whose name and on whose behalf they are sent, as the Masters have neither need nor leisure to write them; and that when a Master says, "I wrote that letter," it means only that every word in it was dictated by him and impressed under his direct supervision. Generally they make their chela, whether near or far away, write (or precipitate) them, by impressing upon his mind the ideas they wish expressed, and if necessary aiding him in the picture-printing process of precipitation. It depends entirely upon the chela's state of development, how accurately the ideas may be transmitted and the writing-model imitated. Thus the non-adept recipient is left in the dilemma of uncertainty, whether, if one letter is false, all may not be; for, as far as intrinsic evidence goes, all come from the same source, and an are brought by the same mysterious means. But there is another, and a far worse condition implied. For all that the recipient of "occult" letters can possibly know, and on the simple grounds of probability and common honesty, the unseen correspondent who would tolerate one single fraudulent line in his name, would wink at an unlimited repetition of the deception. And this leads directly to the following. All the so-called occult letters being supported by identical proofs, they have all to stand or fall together. If one is to be doubted, then all have, and the series of letters in the "Occult World," "Esoteric Buddhism," etc., etc., may be, and there is no reason why they should not be in such a case-frauds, "clever impostures," and "forgeries," such as the ingenuous though stupid agent of the "S.P.R." has made them out to be, in order to raise in the public estimation the "scientific" acumen and standard of his "Principals." Hence, not a step in advance would be made by a group of students given over to such an unimpressible state of mind, and without any guide from the occult side to open their eyes to the esoteric pitfalls. And where are such guides, so far, in our Society? "They be blind leaders of the blind," both falling into the ditch of vanity and self-sufficiency. The whole difficulty springs from the common tendency to draw conclusions from insufficient premises, and play the oracle before ridding oneself of that most stupefying of all psychic anæsthetics -- IGNORANCE. _______________ Notes: 1. Documents on view at LUCIFER Office, viz., Secret MSS. written in the handwriting of--(name suppressed for past considerations), "Provincial Grand Master of the Northern Section." One of these documents bears the heading, "A brief Key to the Eulian Mysteries," i.e. Tantric black magic on a phallic basis. NO; the members of this Occult Brotherhood "do not boast of their knowledge." Very sensible on their part: least said soonest mended. 2 in "Isis Unveiled," vol. ii, p. 308. It may be added that the "Brotherhood of Luxor" mentioned by Kenneth Mackenzie (vide his Royal Masonic Cyclopaedia) as having its seat in America, had, after all, nothing to do with the Brotherhood mentioned by, and known to us, as was ascertained after the publication of "Isis" from a letter written by this late Masonic author to a friend in New York. The Brotherhood Mackeri6e knew of was simply a Masonic Society on a rather more secret basis, and, as he stated in the letter, he had heard of, but knew nothing of our Brotherhood, which having had a branch at Luxor (Egypt), was thus purposely referred to by us under this name alone. This led some schemers to infer that there was a regular Lodge of Adepts of that name, and to assure some credulous friends and Theosophists that the "H. B. of L." was either identical or a branch Of the same, supposed to be near Lahore!! -- which was the most flagrant untruth. 3. See the next page of this compilation for Colonel Olcott's announcement of the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society. [Reprinted from Lucifer, October, 1888] *** THE ESOTERIC SECTION OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY Owing to the fact that a large number of Fellows of the Society have felt the necessity for the formation of a body of Esoteric students, to be organized on the ORIGINAL LINES devised by the real founders of the T.S., the following order has been issued by the President Founder:— I. To promote the esoteric interests of the Theosophical Society by the deeper study of esoteric philosophy, there is hereby organized a body, to be known as the “Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society.” II. The constitution and sole direction of the same is vested in Madame H. P. Blavatsky, as its Head; she is solely responsible to the Members for results; and the section has no official or corporate connection with the Exoteric Society save in the person of the President-Founder. III. Persons wishing to join the Section, and willing to abide by its rules, should communicate directly with: Mme. H. P. BLAVATSKY, 17 Lansdowne Road, Holland Park, London, W. (Signed) H. S. OLCOTT, [Lucifer, Vol. III, No. 14, October, 1888, p. 176] *** "LONDON, 9th October, 1888. "THE ESOTERIC SECTION OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. "I. To promote the esoteric interests of the Theosophical Society by the deeper study of esoteric philosophy, there is hereby organized a body, to be known as the 'Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society.' "II. The constitution and sole direction of the same is vested in Madame H. P. Blavatsky, as its Head; she is solely responsible to the Members for results; and the section has no official or corporate connection with the Exoteric Society save in the person of the President-Founder. "Persons wishing to join the Section, and willing to abide by its rules, should communicate directly with: Mme. H. P. BLAVATSKY, 17 Lansdowne Road, Holland Park, London, W. "(Sd.) H.S. OLCOTT, "Attest: [Reprinted from Henry S. Olcott's Old Diary Leaves, 1975 edition, Vol. IV, pp. 62-63. *** THE FORMATION OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION "In Lucifer for October, 1888, a notice had appeared to the effect that an 'Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society' was to be formed under H.P.B., and that those who wished to join and abide by its Rules should send in their names. Mrs. Chowne [1] and I, also Colonel Chowne, if I remember rightly, at once responded; but for some time we heard nothing. Then, one day, Mrs. Chowne came down to Harrow to see me -- I was ill at the time -- bringing the E.S.T. Pledge from H.P.B. for me to write out and sign. She said that H.P.B. had told her that, on our sending in our signed Pledges, each one would be 'tested' (i.e., 'examined for fitness') on inner planes, by the Master. Mrs. Chowne’s exact words were, "taken out and tested." Our past lives would be called up, and upon what was there seen and known of our real selves, would depend whether or not we were accepted as candidates. She told me later that, when she handed our signed Pledges to HPB, she had looked very seriously—almost solemnly—at her, and said, "It is a great trust that you have given me." So we waited; days, even weeks, passed, and nothing occurred. I had almost forgotten what Mrs. Chowne had warned me might happen, until, one Tuesday night, (it was full Moon, I remember) I had the most wonderful experience, save one, that had ever happened to me. I knew I was myself, lying half awake, half asleep, in my own room at home. Yet I was also in an Egyptian temple of extraordinary grandeur, and going through things quite unspeakable and most solemn. This experience began soon after 10 pm, and almost exactly as a neighboring church clock struck midnight, I lost consciousness in an overpowering and almost terrible blaze of light, which seemed completely to envelope me. The next morning I recorded all I could remember in my diary, and on Thursday went up to Lansdowne Road as usual for the Lodge meeting. I was a little early, but HPB at work in the inner room must have known who had arrived, for she called me in and, turning round, said most seriously: "Master told me last night that you are accepted." Nothing more; but I at once realized vividly that my experience the previous Tuesday night had indeed been my "testing." Thereupon I related the whole thing to HPB, who only nodded several times, but made no remark whatever about it. Mrs. Chowne told me afterwards that she
and her husband had had similar experiences, adding that only a few of
the first applicants were so "tested"; that it did not, in fact, apply
generally. Certainly I never heard from anyone else that they had been
told what Mrs. Chowne told me. Members of the E.S.T. were all known by
numbers (the uneven ones), and the Chownes and myself, and two others,
... received the first five single numbers...." Notes: 1. "... I find the name of Mrs. Chowne immediately coming into my mind; for she was intimately bound up with the circumstances and events attending my admission into that body (E.S.T.S.]. She and her husband, Colonel Chowne, were personal friends of H.P.B., who had stayed with them in India, where he was stationed when she was there (from '79 to '85); and she had no more loyal or staunch adherents and supporters...." Alice Leighton Cleather| *** PLEDGE CARD SENT BY H.P. BLAVATSKY TO AN APPLICANT (FACSIMILE OF 1888 ORIGINAL)
THE ESOTERIC SECTION OF THE T.S. Dear I forward you herewith a copy of the Rules and Pledge for Probationers of the Esoteric Section of the T.S. Should you be unable to accept them, I request that you will return this to me without delay. H.P.Blavatsky *** RULES OF THE ESOTERIC SECTION (PROBATIONARY) OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 1. No person shall belong to the Esoteric Section who is not already a Fellow of the Theosophical Society. 2. Application for membership in the Esoteric Section must be accompanied by a copy of the Pledge hereto appended, written out and signed by the Candidate, who thereupon enters upon a special period of probation, which commences from the date of his signature. 3. All members shall be approved by the Head of the Section. 4. He who enters the Esoteric Section is as one "newly born"; his past -- unless connected with crime, social or political, in which case he cannot be accepted -- shall be regarded as never having had existence in respect of blame for actions committed. 5. Groups of Theosophists belonging to the Esoteric Section may be formed under a charter from the Head of the Section. 6. Any member joining the Section expressly agrees, without reservation, Clause II of the Pledge. 7. To preserve the unity of the Section, any person joining it expressly agrees that he shall be expelled, and the fact of his expulsion made public to all members of the Section, should he violate any one of the three following conditions:-
*** PLEDGE OF PROBATIONERS IN THE ESOTERIC SECTION OF THE T.S. 1. I pledge myself to endeavor to make Theosophy a living power in my life. 2. I pledge myself to support, before the world, the Theosophical movement, it's leaders and it's members; and in particular to obey, without cavil or delay, the orders of the Head of the Esoteric Section in all that concerns my relation with the Theosophical movement. 3. I pledge myself never to listen, without protest, to any evil think spoken of a brother Theosophist, and to abstain from condemning others. 4. I pledge myself to maintain a constant struggle against my lower nature, and to be charitable to the weakness of others. 5. I pledge myself to do all in my power, by study and otherwise, to fit myself to help and teach others. 6. I pledge myself to give what support I can to Theosophical movement, in time, money, and work. 7. I pledge myself to preserve inviolable secrecy as regards signs and passwords of the Section and all confidential documents. So help me, my Higher Self. Signed.............................. *** The arrangements with regard to the circulation of the Esoteric Teaching, which will be given to members of the Section, will be communicated to them in due course. *** H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION "... almost the whole of the 'London Lodge'---'Blavatsky Lodge' like one man, the 'Cambridge Theos. Society'... as also the 'Dublin', 'Liverpool' & 'Glascow' Branches have signed it [the E.S.T.S. pledge] and thus sworn allegiance....From America ditto & France re ditto...." "...K.H....only a few months ago...[was here] in flesh & bones. But He is gone, was in London only eleven days, in July." H.P. Blavatsky *** H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION "... a new Section---the Esoteric Section of the T.S.---has just been established and announced in 'Lucifer' No. 14. This gives me work to do more than ever, for I am the sole responsible Head of it, and am independent of the Adyar administration — save the Prest Founder. Such a Section was clamoured for, for a long time, but Col. Olcott preferred to leave all the Branches exoteric for fear of some new conspiracy against Theosophy and myself. However, while on his way to Europe a day from Brindisi he received a letter from one of the Masters ... with instructions. Regardless of the sneers and insults from scoffers which were sure to come down on his head, his love of justice forced him to publish those portions of it that concerned me personally and determined my position in the T.S. I enclose it. It was printed in 'Lucifer' in a very fragmentary state...." H.P. Blavatsky *** CERTIFICATE OF MEMBERSHIP SIGNED BY H.P. BLAVATSKY (FACSIMILE OF 1888 ORIGINAL)
THE ESOTERIC SECTION OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. Brother Henry Travers Edge having signed the pledge, is hereby admitted to the Section as a PROBATIONER. Date: Nov. 7, 1888. Signed H.P. Blavatsky *** H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION "...the Esoteric Section does not 'conflict' with your previous Chelaship, but it does 'embrace' and expands it. That is to say, as my dear and beloved friend, Brother and Son, W.Q. Judge, will be chartered to represent me in the U.S.A., he will receive instructions from me, and you (of the Aryan Lodge) from him..." H.P. Blavatsky *** H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION "The Esoteric Section is to be a School for earnest Theosophists who would learn more (than they can from published works) of the true Esoteric tenets.... There is no room for despotism or ruling in it; no money to pay or make; no glory for me, but a series of misconceptions, slanders, suspicions, and ingratitude in almost an immediate future: but if out of the .... Theosophists who have already pledged themselves I can place on the right and true path half a dozen or so, I will die happy. Many are called, few are chosen. Unless they comply with the lines you speak of, traced originally by the Masters, they cannot succeed. I can only show the way to those whose eyes are open to the truth, whose souls are full of altruism, charity, and love for the whole creation, and who think of themselves last. The blind....will never profit by these teachings. They would make the 'strait gate' a large public thoroughfare leading not to the Kingdom of Heaven, now and hereafter, to the Buddha-Christos in the Sanctuary of our innermost souls, but to their own idols with feet of clay....The Esoteric Section is not of the earth, earthy; it does not interfere with the exoteric administration of Lodges; takes no stock in external Theosophy; has no officers or staff; needs no halls or meeting rooms...Finally, it requires neither subscription fees nor money, for 'as I have not so received it, I shall not so impart it', and that I would rather starve in the gutter than take one penny for my teaching the sacred truths....Here I am with perhaps a few years or a few months only (Master knoweth) to remain on earth in this loathsome, old, ruined body; and I am ready to answer the call of any good Theosophist who works for Theosophy on the lines traced by the Masters, and as ready as the Rosicrucian pelican to feed with my heart's blood the chosen 'Seven'. He who would have his inheritance before I die...let him ask first. What I have, or rather what I am permitted to give, I will give." H.P. Blavatsky *** "I have your letter of Dec. 3 inquiring about the Esoteric Sec. T.S. My old friend Mr. W.Q. Judge has been here with me....As you are a friend of his I can explain to you briefly. I leave to him as my sold U.S. representative to go into matters more fully with you & all others in the Section or out of it. "The 'obedience to the Head of the Sec.' is solely obedience to my direction as to the method of study. None of these probationary students are put under 'orders' requiring blind obedience, but are required to exercise the intellect, judgment & discretion. Hence I should never ask you to do that which will conflict with your duties as a man or citizen. I reserve all my 'orders' to be carried out implicitly for certain chelas who are in a position not only to desire to carry them out but also whose circumstances permit it; & those chelas are those who have been initiated in a way as yet unknown to you. They reached it after long years of struggle. "As this degree is probationary it is to prove & try & select out of the mass of Theosophists those who really have at heart the true desire to go forward & to benefit the race. Time enough to issue orders for blind execution when I have those chelas who can execute them. "Yet this degree is very serious, in this, that it begins at the foundation & is a necessary step in theosophic development. All will receive as they deserve... "One question: if you were ill & called a physician, w'd you not obey his orders? If you learnt a language w'd you not follow the directions of your professor; & if a soldier in the army those of your superior? Of course one who joins must have confidence in me otherwise better he should never join at all." H.P. Blavatsky *** H.P.B.'s APPOINTMENT OF W.Q. JUDGE (FACSIMILE OF 1888 ORIGINAL)
KNOW ESOTERIC SECTION As head of the Esoteric Section of the
Theosophical Society I hereby declare that William Q. Judge of New York,
U.S., in virtue of his character, as a ___ of thirteen years standing
and of the trust and confidence reposed in him, is my only
representative for said Section in America and he is the sole channel
through whom will be sent and received all communications between the
members of said Section and myself, and to him full faith, confidence
and credit in that regard are to be given.
H.P. Blavatsky *** I now send you this, all of it being either direct quotations from the messages to me, or else in substance what I am directed to say to you, the different details and elaborations being my own. I had hoped that no such statement would be necessary, but the hope was vain. I have put off writing it since March, 1894, when I issued a circular to the Theosophical Society regarding certain charges which were made against me; but now I am obliged to send this or else to fail in the performance of my duty to you and to the whole T.S. movement, of which the E.S.T. is the real heart. In March this letter seemed to me to be as necessary as it is now, but I was then directed to wait for the conclusion of the matter of the charges made against me, as those had to be first settled and disposed of for the benefit of the constitutional organization. I have since seen the wisdom of this direction, for had I said then what I say now the whole matter would have been mixed up in every way. We have now to deal with the E.S.T. and with our duty to it and to each other; and among those others, to Mrs. Besant. This is issued in the E.S.T. under the protection of the pledges made by all its members. It is impossible to see them and converse with them, and I have to take the risk of print. If the matter becomes public it will be the fault of those who are not able to keep their pledges, and not my fault nor Karma. First let me tell you briefly of the E.S.T. foundation and history, and of the Inner Group. I am not a pledged member of the E.S.T.
and never made a pledge in it, as my pledges were long before to the
Master direct; I was one of its founders, with H.P.B.
18th May. Dear H.P.B. --- Please reply to this. So many people are beginning to ask me to be Chelas that I must do something, so I have drawn up the enclosed paper which you can send me with some formalities on it as you think right to do so --- or whatever I ought to have. If you do not think so, then please tell me in what way I had best proceed. I know a good many good ones who will do well and who will form a rock on which the enemy will founder, and this plan would encourage them. So fiat something. As ever, WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. Enclosed paper: To WILLIAM Q. JUDGE: --- You are directed to draw together all those persons, members of the Theosophical Society in the U.S., who have or express the desire to serve the cause of the Blessed Masters. This you are to do with the understanding in writing in every case that the persons taken are not thereby made Chelas of the Masters, but simply that they are thus given a chance to make a preliminary trial of themselves, and in each case you will take from the applicant an expression in writing, before making your private register of the names, that they well understand the basis on which you thus take them. Nothing is promised; each will have just what he or she deserves --- no more, no less. And all must be faithful to the Cause, to Masters, and to the founders of the Theosophical Society. Given [etc.] H.P.B. replied that I might go ahead without the paper and soon she would do something else. Later, at the time she was explaining in London the plan of the E.S.T., I telegraphed her asking her to "make public the Inner Section". That telegram was received in the presence of Dr. Keightley and others. She then told me to come to London and help, which I did. The E.S. was founded on the exact lines of the above papers. I do not wish to place myself on the high level of H.P.B., but in Occultism of Master’s Lodge a lower Chela is often used as the instrument for pointing out even to such a great character as H.P.B. the times and seasons and sometimes the plan. That I did in this case, and by the direction of the Master. H.P.B.’s promulgations followed the ideas and also the words in part of my paper. An Inner Group was later on formed by H.P.B. at London, so that she might give out teachings to be recorded by the members, and, if possible, teach them practical occultism. Of this Mrs. Besant, with George Mead to help her, was made the Secretary, because she had great ability in a literary way, was wholly devoted, and perfectly fit for the task. But this did not make her a Teacher. And even when she bid adieu to H.P.B. on her leaving Europe for America in April, 1891, the very last thing H.P.B. put into her hands as she left her presence, into which she never again entered, was the sealed statement that made her Recorder of the teachings. H.P.B. knew that she would not live to see Annie Besant again, and if she were to have been constituted a "Teacher", that would have been the time to give her the position. But she did not. The death of H.P.B. destroyed of course any further value in the office of "Recorder." I am a member of the Inner Group, and have been since 1891. It was needless to speak of this before now. The conversations of H.P.B. with the Inner Group were taken down in a more or less fragmentary form by the different members in notes, and later Mrs. Besant and George Mead wrote them out as Secretaries. I have a complete copy of these, and so has each member of the Inner Group, and those copies comprise all the "Instructions" left in the possession of Mrs. Besant or the Inner Group. In my possession and within my control is a large body of Instructions given to me all the time from 1875, which I shall give out and have given out, as far as I am directed. Read page xix of Secret Doctrine (Introduction to vol. I), where H.P.B. says she taught Colonel Olcott and two Europeans. I am one of the latter. Colonel Olcott is the old standard-bearer, and has been the medium for teaching, himself having Chelas whom he has instructed, but always on the lines laid down by the Master through H.P.B. He was selected by the Master to do a certain and valuable work not possible for anyone else, and he was never taken into the E.S. by a pledge, for, like myself, he was in the very beginning pledged directly to the Master. His main work has been that great and far-reaching work in the world, among not only ordinary people, but with kings and rulers, for the sake of this cause which the Masters knew he was to do for them. Mrs. Annie Besant has been but five years in this work, and not all of that time engaged in occult study and practice. Her abilities as a writer and speaker are rare and high for either man or woman, her devotion and sincerity of purpose cannot be doubted. She gave many years of her life to the cause of the oppressed as she understood it: against the dread blight of materialistic belief in herself, she worked thus without hope in a future life and in every way proved her altruistic purpose and aim. Since 1889 she has done great service to the T.S. and devoted herself to it. But all this does not prevent a sincere person from making errors in Occultism, especially when he, as Mrs. Besant did, tries to force himself along the path of practical work in that field. Sincerity does not confer of itself knowledge, much less wisdom. H.P.B. and all the history of occultism say that seven years of training and trial at the very least are needed. Mrs. Besant has had but five. Mistakes made by such a disciple will ultimately be turned to the advantage of the movement, and their immediate results will be mitigated to the person making them, provided they are not inspired by an evil intention on the person’s part. And I wish it to be clearly understood that Mrs. Besant has had herself no conscious evil intention; she has simply gone for awhile outside the line of her Guru (H.P.B.), begun work with others, and fallen under their influence. We should not push her further down, but neither will the true sympathy we have blind our eyes so as to let her go on, to the detriment of the movement. I could easily retire from the whole T.S., but my conceptions of duty are different, although the personal cost to myself in this work is heavy, and as I am ordered to stay I will stay and try my best to aid her and everyone else as much as possible. And the same authority tells me that "could she open her eyes and see her real line of work, and correct the present condition in herself as well as the one she has helped to make in the T.S. and E.S.T., she would find herself in mental, physical and spiritual conditions of a kind much better than ever before, for her present state is due to the attacks of the dark powers, unconsciously to her." And now it becomes necessary under instructions received to give the members of the School some account of the things behind the scenes in connection with the recent investigation attempted at London upon the charges against me. The two persons around whom its noise arose are Mrs. Besant and myself. Prior to that in 1891, after the death of H.P.B., Col. H. S. Olcott, the President, was the center of a disturbance due to his resignation, and that disturbance was due to the same forces working from behind to try and disintegrate the T.S. by causing its old-time President to leave office before his death. The recent troubles centered around us because I was made the object of an attack in the guise of an attempt to purify the Society, and Mrs. Besant was thrown forward as the official accuser of myself -- a friend who was certified to her by H.P.B., her teacher, and well known as working for the T.S. for many years. All this needs light, and the best interests of Mrs. Besant and of the E.S.T. demand that some of the secret history shall be given out, however disagreeable it may be, in order that the very purgation which was improperly directed to the wrong quarter shall take place now. The difficulty arose when in January or February Annie Besant finally lent herself unconsciously to the plot which I detail herein; but prior to that (from August, 1893), those managing that plot had begun to work upon her. The plot exists among the Black Magicians, who ever war against the White, and against those Black ones we are constantly warned by H.P.B. This is no fiction, but a very substantial fact. I have seen and also been shown the chief entity among those who thus work against us and who desire to destroy the whole movement and especially to nullify the great work which H.P.B. began for the Western nations. These Black Magicians have succeeded in influencing certain Brahmans in India through race-pride and ambition, so that these, for their own advantage, desire to control and manage the T.S. through some agent and also through the E.S.T. They of course have sought, if possible, to use one of our body, and have picked out Mrs. Besant as a possible vehicle. One object of the plot is to stop the current of information and influence started by H.P.B. by deflecting thought back to modern India. To accomplish this it is absolutely necessary to tear down the tradition clustering around the work of H.P.B.; her powers and knowledge have to be derogated from; her right to speak for the Masters has to be impugned; those Masters have to be made a cold abstraction; her staunch friends who wish to see the real work and objects carried on have to be put in such a position as to be tied hand and foot so as not to be able to interfere with the plans of the plotters; it has to be shown that H.P.B. was a fraud and forger also. These men are not the Chelas of our Masters. The name of the person who was worked upon so as to, if possible, use him as a minor agent of the Black Magicians and for the influencing of Mrs. Besant is Gyanendra N. Chakravarti, a Brahman of Allahabad, India, who came to America on our invitation to the Religious Parliament in 1893. At the first sincerely desirous of helping the race by bringing to the American people the old truths of his forefathers, he nevertheless, like so many before him, permitted ambition to take subtle root in his heart. Fired with the ambition of taking position in the world as a Guru, though doubtless believing himself still a follower of the White Brotherhood, he is no longer in our lines; on the contrary, his mediumship and weakness leave him a vehicle for other influences also. He was then a Chela of a minor Indian Guru and was directed to come to America by that Guru who had been impressed to so direct him by our Master. That he was not a Chela of our Master he distinctly admitted to several persons, among others to me. While in that relation he was telepathically impressed in Chicago with some of the contents of a message received by me from the Master. It corroborated outwardly what I had myself received. It was however but a part and was moreover deficient in matter, Chakravarti himself being only aware of it as a mental impression, and I am informed that at the time he was not fully aware of what he was doing. His ability to be used as an unconscious vehicle was made known to me when he was made to receive the message. Although he was not fully aware of it, not only was the whole of his tour here well guarded and arranged, but he was personally watched by agents of the Masters scattered through the country unknown to him, who reported to me. On several occasions he has taken people into his confidence, believing that he was instructing them, when in fact they were observing him closely for the Lodge, helping him where right, and noting him fully, though they did not tell him so. This was also so in those parts of his tour when he believed himself alone or only with Mrs. Besant. His report of the message is as follows: "You should tell Judge that we are satisfied with his work in America. He has our best thanks for his exertions in the field of Theosophy. He should try his best to keep always in the light of his higher nature, and thus alone he will be able to find out truth from its shadow. Thus alone he will be able to shut out the powers of darkness that every now and again try to smother his true and noble self which is pure and sincerely devoted to us." I informed Mrs. Besant in September, 1893, of the message. But afterwards, when Mr. Chakravarti’s work under me was finished, and when ambition, aroused through that visit, had grown strong, he tried to destroy the effect of that message on Mrs. Besant’s mind by cunningly construing it to mean that, although I was thus in all things commended, yet the last part of it contradicted the first and supported the charge of forgery and lying. This is madness when not deliberate. The psychological delusion of Mrs. Besant is also here shown: for she said that perhaps I would rely on that message to refute the charges, and if I should, the last paragraph of it was the part that would go to show that the Masters knew I was guilty. She accepted the cunning construction, permitting herself to think that the Master could commend me for all the work I had done, of which the pretended acts of forgery would be a part, and at the same time send me a delusive message, part of which was to be immediately used as condemnation if brought forward by me. If I was guilty of what I was accused, then Master would be shown as conniving at forgery and lying --- a most impossible thing. The only other possibility is that Mr. Chakravarti and I "got up" the message. But he and Mrs. Besant have admitted its genuineness, although she is perfectly unable herself to decide on its genuineness or falsity. But further, Mrs. Besant admitted to several that she had seen the Master himself come and speak through my body while I was perfectly conscious. And still further, H.P.B. gave me in 1889 the Master’s picture on which he put this message: "To my dear and loyal colleague, W. Q. Judge". Now, then, either I am bringing you a true message from the Master, or the whole T.S. and E.S.T. is a lie, in the ruins of which must be buried the names of H.P.B. and the Masters. All these stand together or they fall together. Let it be proved that H.P.B. is a liar and a fraud, and I will abandon the T.S. and all its belongings; but until so proved I will remain where I was put. Lastly, as final proof of the delusions worked through this man and his friends I will mention this: Many years ago (in 1881) the Masters sent to the Allahabad Brahmans (the Prayag T.S.) a letter which was delivered by H.P.B. to Mr. A. P. Sinnett, who handed a copy over to them, keeping the original. It dealt very plainly with the Brahmans. This letter the Brahmans do not like, and Mr. Chakravarti tried to make me think it was a pious fraud by H.P.B. He succeeded with Mrs. Besant in this, so that since she met him she has on various occasions said she thought it was a fraud by H.P.B., made up entirely, and not from the Master. I say now on Master’s authority that it was from the Master, and is a right letter. Only delusion would make Mrs. Besant take this position; deliberate intention makes the others do it. It is an issue that may not be evaded, for if that letter be a fraud then all the rest sent through our old teacher, and on which Esoteric Buddhism was made, are the same. I shall rest on that issue; we all rest on it. Mrs. Besant was then made to agree with these people under the delusion that it was approved by the Masters. She regarded herself as their servant. It was against the E.S.T. rules. When the rule is broken it is one’s duty to leave the E.S.T.; and when I got the charges from her I asked her to leave it if it did not suit her. The depth of the plot was not shown to Mrs. Besant at all, for if it had been she would have refused. Nor was Col. Olcott aware of it. Mrs. Besant was put in such a frightful position that while she was writing me most kindly and working with me she was all the time thinking that I was a forger and that I had blasphemed the Master. She was made to conceal from me, when here, her thoughts about the intended charges, but was made to tell Mr. B. Keightley in London and possibly few others. Not until the time was ripe did she tell me, in her letter in January, from India, asking me to resign from the E.S.T. and the T.S. offices, saying that if I did and would confess guilt all would be forgiven and everyone would work with me as usual. But I was directed differently and fully informed. She was induced to believe that the Master was endorsing the persecution, that he was ordering her to do what she did. At the same time, I knew and told her that it was the plan there to have Col. Olcott resign when I had been cut off, the presidency to be then offered to her. It was offered to her, and she was made to believe it was the Master’s wish for her "not to oppose". She then waited. I did not resign, and the plot so far was spoiled for the time. The delusion was so complete that she did not take the pains to contradict the rumor sent out by others, attached to her name, that Master ordered her to do as she did. Why? Because the Brahmans and their agents had made her silent. Showing the delusion further, note this: She wrote me that I must "resign the office of successor to the President", the hint being that this was one of the things Master wanted me to do. The fact was I had no such office and there was no such thing to resign. The Master knew it, and hence he never ordered it. She felt and expressed to me the greatest pain to have to do such things to me. I knew she so felt, and wrote her that it was the black magicians. She replied, being still under the delusion, that I was failing to do Master’s will. Her influencers also made her try psychic experiments on me and on two others in Europe. They failed. On me they had but a passing effect, as I was cognizant of them; on one of the others they reacted on health, although she did not desire any harm at all; she was made to think it best and for my good. She then sent word to these people that she had not succeeded. This is all the effect of pure delusion; the variance between such things and her usual character is shown in her all the time writing me the most kind letters. In all this Mr. Chakravarti was her guide, with others. She was writing him all the time about it. He went so far as to write me on a matter he was supposed to know nothing of: "No matter what Annie may do to you as Co-Head of the E.S., she means you no harm". He must have known what she was doing from her. It was quite true, and I knew why it was true that she meant no harm -- she was deluded. Informed as I was of all these inside facts, I drew up under Master’s direction my circular on the charges in March, 1894, and there outlined what would be done. It was all done as I said and as the Master in March told me would be the case. The London investigation ended as Master predicted through me in my circular, and for the benefit of the T.S. But all that time the conspirators used all means against me. They had all sorts of letters sent me from India with pretended messages from the Masters asking me to resign and confess. One of those was anonymous and signed "A Brahman who loves you". I know the author. The object of these things was to confuse my mind if possible and render me unfit to act at all, while they went on with the plot and the influencing of Mrs. Besant. But Master kept me informed and told me what steps to take. He even told me that, much as it might seem the contrary from the official papers, Col. Olcott would be the central figure and the one through whom the adjustment of the matter would come. This also turned out true. The Master says that the T.S. movement was begun by Them in the West by western people, and that it is not Their desire to turn it into a solely eastern movement nor to have us run after the present East and its exoteric teachers; they confirm the statement so often made by H.P.B. that there are not to-day in modern India any true Initiates teaching the people; that cyclic law requires the work in the West for the benefit of the world; that They do not live in India, and that They find it very hard to break down the walls of theological and other prejudices in the East; that the Egos of the West include many who helped to make the religion, the philosophy, and the civilization of the ancient East; that the new race is being prepared for in the West, and to divert thought back to the teachers of to-day in the East would be dangerous; that many Initiates have remained with the West as Nirmanakayas for its help in its destiny, and that through the great work in the West the whole East as well as West will be benefited. And They say that if the task of raising up the almost suffocated spirituality of India could have been done by working wholly there and thus benefiting the West, the time spent by the Messengers of the Lodge in the West was wasted. They also say that Nature’s laws have set apart woe for those who spit back in the face of their teacher, for those who try to belittle her work and make her out to be part good and part fraud; those who have started on the path through her must not try to belittle her work and aim. They do not ask for slavish idolatry of a person, but loyalty is required. They say that the Ego of that body she used was and is a great and brave servant of the Lodge, sent to the West for a mission with full knowledge of the insult and the obloquy to be surely heaped upon that devoted head; and they add: "Those who cannot understand her had best not try to explain her; those who do not find themselves strong enough for the task she outlined from the very first had best not attempt it". The T.S. and its devoted members should so pursue the aim that the great work may at last be accomplished, so that when the next great Messenger shall arrive the obstacles that were found in 1875 will not be there, to be again overcome only through long years of effort. A distinct object H.P.B. had in view I will now on the authority of the Master tell you. The work of the dark powers and their conscious and unconscious agents is against this object. They wish to defeat it. It is an object of the highest value and of the greatest scope, unrevealed before by H.P.B. to anyone else that I know of, though possibly there are those to whom she hinted it. All her vast work in the West, with western people, upon western religions and modern science, was toward this end, so that when she comes again as Messenger --- as hinted at in the Key to Theosophy --- much of the preparatory work should have been done by us and our successors. It is, the establishment in the West of a great seat of learning where shall be taught and explained and demonstrated the great theories of man and nature which she brought forward to us, where western occultism, as the essence combined out of all others, shall be taught. This stupendous object the Black Lodge would prevent. And even the exoteric theological Brahman would also prevent it, because it will in the end obliterate that form of caste which depends alone on birth, for there will be developed those whose inner vision will see the real caste of the inner man and put him down in a lower one for his discipline if he is not truly in his place. To-day the four natural castes are all confused, and those who are black within strut about as keepers of the key to the shrine of truth, when in fact they should be lower down, as learners. Shall her great object be worked against by us and its foundations overthrown? Never, if the vast powers of the Masters can be drawn to its support; never, if we are faithful to our pledges and to our trust. I also state, on the same authority, that H.P.B. has not reincarnated. That Ego is quite conscious and working toward the final accomplishment of the end in view, which depends very largely upon the members of the Theosophical Society, and on their loyalty. If the plotters succeed, the Black Lodge will win by turning our thoughts to the modern East with its Yogis and Fakirs, its hide-bound castes, its subtle and magnificently intellectual theology, its Hatha Yoga and all the dangers attending that. In some minds this question has arisen: "Why does not the Master objectively communicate directly at one and the same time with Col. Olcott and all these others, so as to stop all trouble, and by bringing about a clear understanding smooth out all difficulties?" To do this would be contrary to the rule and dangerous for us. The force given out by doing it would allow --- through the law of equal reaction --- a similar amount of force to the Black Lodge, who also would be thus shown those who were involved. Greater trouble would follow. This law is well known. How often has H.P.B. said that, while such exercise of power cannot hurt the Adept, it arouses the sentinels at the threshold, who then precipitate themselves on the unprotected neophyte. Were it now done, then all the hundreds connected with us would be targets for assaults, on this plane of desires and passions, by the dark powers. The Masters protect us while we are still without our own weapons, by keeping themselves on the spiritual plane --- save to those who have obtained the means for self-protection. And in this is much information as well as warning. It is not well to vibrate a string that you want to raise up to a high note, unless you are strong enough to stand the consequences of its inevitable vibration to one equally low. At that low point lie the dark forces, and the vibrations rouse them up. We must be sure of the below before we try to go to the above. Practices, such as the Indian books are full of, lead to unwise vibrations, before we are ready. When we are encased in the steel of true devotion it will be time to try those experiments. We are all therefore face to face with the question whether we will abide by Masters and their Messenger on the one hand, or by the disrupting forces that stand on the other, willing to destroy our great mission if we will but give them the opportunity. WILLIAM Q. JUDGE. "I have been asked as to the writing of
The Book of Rules, and can only say that, to my knowledge, Mr. Judge
wrote The Book of Rules under the guidance of Master M. and H.P.B.
Archibald Keightley "The Archives of the E.S. (Pasadena) contain Mr. Judge's handwritten draft of the Preliminary Memorandum and Rules, with H.P.B.'s changes, delestions and additions. This document has been seen many times by the present writer.... Boris de Zirkoff
William Q. Judge
*** PRELIMINARY MEMORANDUM OF THE E.S.T.S. (FACSIMILE OF 1888 ORIGINAL) STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL
The Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society Preliminary Memorandum [Strictly Private, Confidential, Personal, for Members only.] One object of the present memorandum is to give an opportunity to anyone who has signed the pledge to withdraw it, should such person feel unable or unwilling to accept fully and without reserve the instructions which may be given, or the consequences that may result, and to do the duties whose performance shall be asked. It is but fair to state at once that such duties will never interfere with, nor encroach upon, the probationer's family duties; on the other hand, it is certain that every member of the Esoteric Section will have to give up more than one personal habit, such as practiced in social life, and to adopt some few ascetic rules. Therefore, anyone who wishes to retire after reading what follows, can have his name removed from the list, and the pledge returned, by applying in writing to that effect with postage enclosed. Such applications to be made within three weeks from the receipt of this; by members in Europe directly to H.P. Blavatsky, 17 Lanadowne Road, Holland Park, London, and by members in America to William Q. Judge, General Secretary American Section, T.S.; Box 2,659, New York. This degree of the Esoteric Section is probationary, and its general purpose is to prepare and fit the student for the study of practical occultism or Raj yoga. Therefore, in this degree, the student -- save in exceptional cases -- will not be taught how to produce physical phenomena, nor will any magical powers be allowed to develop in him; nor, if possessing such powers naturally, will he be permitted to exercise them before he has thoroughly mastered the knowledge of self, of the psycho-physiological processes (taking place on the occult plane) in the human body generally, and until he has in abeyance all his lower passions and his personal self. The real Head of the Esoteric Section is a Master, of whom H.P. Blavatsky is the mouthpiece for this Section. He is one of those Adepts referred to in theosophical literature, and concerned in the formation of the Theosophical Society. It is through H.P. Blavatsky that each member of this section will be brought more closely than hitherto under His influence and care if found worthy of it. No student, however, need inquire which of the Masters it is. For it does not matter in reality; nor is there any necessity for creating one more chance for indiscretion. Suffice to say, such is the law in the East. Each person will receive in the way of enlightenment and assistance, just as much as he or she deserves and no more; and it is to be distinctly understood that in this Body and these relations no such thing is known as favor -- all depends upon the person's merits -- and no member has the power or knowledge to decide what either he or another is entitled to. This must be left to those who know -- alone. The apparent favor shown to some, and their consequent apparent advancement, will be due to the work they do, to the best of their power, in the cause of Universal Brotherhood and the elevation of the Race. No man or woman is asked or supposed to do any more than his or her best; but each is expected to work to the extent of their ability and powers. The value of the work of this Section to the individual member will depend entirely upon: 1st. The person's power to assimilate the teachings and make them a part of his being; and 2nd. Upon the unselfishness of the motives with which he seeks for this knowledge; that is to say, upon whether he has entered this Section determined to work for humanity, or with only the desire to benefit or gain something for himself alone. Let all members, therefore, take warning in time, and seriously examine into their motives, for to all those who join this Section certain consequences will ensue. And at this stage it is perhaps better that the applicants should learn the reason for the formation of this Section, and what it is expected to achieve:- The Theosophical Society has just entered upon the fourteenth year of its existence; and if it has accomplished great, one may almost say stupendous, results on the exoteric and utilitarian plane, it has proved a dead failure on all those points which rank foremost among the objects of its original establishment. Thus, as a "Universal Brotherhood," or even as a fraternity, one among many, it has descended to the level of all those Societies whose pretensions are great, but whose names are simply masks, -- nay, even shams. Nor can the excuse be pleaded that it was led into such an undignified course owing to its having been impeded in its natural development, and almost extinguished, by reason of the conspiracies of its enemies openly begun in 1884. Because even before that date there never was that solidarity in the ranks of our Society which would not only enable it to resist all external attacks, but also make it possible for greater, wider, and more tangible help to be given to all its members by those who are always ready to give help when we are fit to receive it. When trouble arose, too many were quick to doubt and despair, and few indeed were they who had worked for the Cause and not for themselves. The attacks of the enemy have given the Society some discretion in the conduct of its external progress, but its real internal condition has not improved, and the members, in their efforts towards spiritual culture, still require that help which solidarity in the ranks can alone give them the right to ask. The Masters can give but little assistance to a Body not thoroughly united in purpose and feeling, and which breaks its first fundamental rule -- universal brotherly love, without distinction of race, creed or color; nor to a Society, many members of which pass their lives in judging, condemning, and often reviling other members in a most untheosophical, not to say disgraceful, manner. For this reason it is now contemplated to gather the "elect" of the T.S. and to call them to action. It is only by a select group of brave souls, a handful of determined men and women hungry for genuine spiritual development and the acquirement of soul-wisdom, that the Theosophical Society at large can be brought back to its original lines. It is through an Esoteric Section alone -- i.e., a group in which all the members, even if unacquainted with one another, work for each other, and by working for all work for themselves -- that the great Exoteric Society may be redeemed and made to realize that in union and harmony alone lies its strength and power. The object of this Section, then, is to help the future growth of the Theosophical Society as a whole in the true direction, by promoting brotherly union at least among the few. All know that this end was in view when the Society was established, and even in its mere unpledged ranks there was a possibility for development and knowledge, until it began to show want of real union; and now it must be saved from future dangers by the united aim, brotherly feeling, and constant exertions of the members of this Esoteric Section. Therefore, anyone who has signed the pledge without realizing this is earnestly recommended to reconsider his position, and to withdraw unless he is prepared to devote himself to the carrying out of his purpose. Once offered the grand example of practical altruism, of the noble lives of those who learn to master the great knowledge but to help others, and who strive to acquire powers but to place them at the service of their fellow-men, the whole theosophical community may yet be steered into action, and led to follow the example set before them. The Esoteric Section is thus "set apart" for the salvation of the whole Society, and its course from its first steps will be arduous and uphill work for its members, though a great reward lies behind the many obstacles once they are overcome. He who wants to follow the working of his inner self and nature for the purpose of self-mastery, has to understand them by comparison; he has to strive to fathom the mysteries of the human heart in general, before he can hope to learn the whole truth about the mysteries of his own soul. The power of Occult self-introspection is too limited in its area if it does not go beyond the Self, and the investigation of isolated instances will remain forever fruitless if we fail to work it out on firmly established principles. We cannot do good to ourselves -- on a higher plane -- without doing good to others, because each nature reacts upon other natures; nor can we help others without this help benefiting ourselves. Disappointment is sure to come to those who have joined this Section for the purpose of learning "magic arts" or acquiring "occult training" for themselves, quite regardless of the good of other people less determined. Abnormal, artificially-developed powers -- except those which crown the efforts of the Black Magician -- are only the culmination of and reward for, labors bestowed unselfishly upon humanity, upon all men, whether good or bad. Forgetfulness of the personal Self and sincere altruism are the first and indispensable requisites in the training of those who are to become "White Adepts" either in this or a future incarnation. If any member of this Section agrees to all this, and yet says to himself that, notwithstanding what is said, he will seek for the knowledge for himself, caring little -- provided he acquires the powers -- as to whether he shall end as a Black or White Adept, let him know that disaster awaits him much sooner than he thinks, and that, although he tries to conceal his motive, it will be known and shall cause a reaction upon him which no one will be able to avert. No blame will be attached to anyone for a constitutional lack of capacity for assimilating the teachings given, if he works earnestly and continually, if his aspirations do not relax or weaken; his efforts will be known in the right quarter, and it is in strict accordance with his deserts that help will be given him when he expects it the least. Let every member know, moreover, that the time for such priceless acquisition is limited. The writer of the present is old; her life is well-nigh worn out, and she may be summoned "home" any day and almost any hour. And if her place is even filled up, perchance by another worthier and more learned than herself, still there remain but twelve years to the last hour of the term -- namely, till December the 31st, 1899. Those who will not have profited by the opportunity (given to the world in every last quarter of a century), those who will not have reached a certain point of psychic and spiritual development, or that point from which begins the cycle of adeptship, by that day -- those will advance no further than the knowledge already acquired. No Master of Wisdom from the East will himself appear or send any one to Europe or America after that period, and the sluggards will have to renounce every chance of advancement in their present incarnation -- until the year 1975. Such is the Law, for we are in Kali Yuga -- the Black Age -- and the restrictions in this cycle, the first 5000 years of which will expire in 1897, are great and almost insuperable. As to the relations of the Masters to this Section, it may be further said, paradoxically, that with Them everything is possible and everything is impossible. They may or may not communicate personally on the outer plane with a member, and those who are continually wishing to receive "orders," or communications directly from Them on this plane, either phenomenally or otherwise, will in all probability be disappointed. The Masters have no desire to prove Their power or give "tests" to anyone whatever. And the fact that a member has concluded that a crisis of some kind or other is at hand, when, according to his wise opinion, the Master or Masters ought to speak and interfere personally, is no sound reason for such an outward interference. It is, however, right that each member, once he believes in the existence of such Masters, should try to understand what their nature and powers are, to reverence Them in his heart, to draw near to Them, as much as in him lies, and to open up for himself conscious communication with the guru to whose bidding he has devoted his life. This can only be done by rising to the spiritual plane where the Masters are, and not by attempting to draw them down to ours. Inasmuch as growth in spiritual life comes from within, members must not expect to receive any other communications than those through H.P.B. The additional help, instruction, and enlightenment, will come from the inner planes of being, and will, as said, always be given when deserved. To achieve this, the attitude of mind in which the teachings given are to be received is that which shall tend to develop the faculty of intuition. The duty of members in this respect is to refrain from arguing that the statements made are not in accordance with what other people have said or written, or with their own ideas upon the subject, or that, again, they are apparently contrary to any accepted system of thought or philosophy. Practical esoteric science is altogether sui generis. It requires all the mental and psychic powers of the student to be used in examining what is given, to the end that the real meaning of the Teacher may be discovered, as far as the student can understand it. He must endeavor as much as possible to free his mind, while studying or trying to carry out what is given him, from all the ideas which he may be impressed upon him apart from the words in which they are clothed. Otherwise, there is constant risk of his ideas becoming colored with preconceived notions as those of the writers of certain otherwise excellent works upon esoteric subjects who have made the occult tenets more subservient to modern Science than to occult truth. In order, also, that the student may receive as much benefit as possible, it is absolutely essential that the superficial and inattentive habits of thought, engendered by Western civilization, shall be given up, and the mind concentrated upon the instructions as a whole as well as upon every word in them. To this end students are required to practice the habit of careful and constant concentration of mind upon every duty and act in life they may have to do, and not to reserve their efforts in that direction for the consideration of these teachings only. The student must make all his desires lean to, and centre upon, the acquirement of spiritual knowledge, so that the natural tendency of his thought may be in that direction. He must, therefore, in every moment of leisure revert to these subjects, as well as have a special time set apart for their consideration. Students must not look for tests and trials of a special nature; these will come in the affairs of life and in relations with fellow-men. Specific tests will not in general be given, but even the manner in which the student approaches these teachings will be in itself a test or trial. The Masters do not judge students simply by their ability to do this or that special or difficult thing, but by the actual self-development and progress accomplished. In entering this Section, the student begins to look his own nature in the face, and in accordance with the intensity of his aspirations, will be his difficulties. These difficulties may exhibit themselves on the physiological, mental, moral, or psychic planes of his being, or in the circumstances of his life. Having signed the pledge, his first failure to keep any one of its clauses is the failure to stand the first trial. Such a failure, however, is not defeat, so long as a further sincere endeavor is made. RULES In the following the masculine includes the feminine; the singular, the plural; and vice versa. 1. Groundless condemnation on hearsay of others, theosophists or not, must be refrained from, and charity to each other's faults widely practiced within, as well as without, the theosophical area. 2. Repetition of statements or gossip derogatory of others must be avoided. But condemnation of crime, of social evils and systems of every description, in the abstract, is a duty of every member. Above all, the duty of every member is to fight against cant, hypocrisy, and injustice in every shape. 3. A derogatory or slanderous statement made against a fellow theosophist in the presence of a member, shall not be permitted by him to pass without protest, unless he knows it is true, in which case he should remain silent. 4. No member shall boast of being in this Section. 5. No member shall pry into the standing in this Section of a Brother, nor shall he uninvited seek to know if another theosophist is a member of it. Members may use the password of the Section for the purpose of recognition, but never from curiosity, nor a desire to discover if the person addressed is a member of the Section. 6. Any member may, if he chooses, remain unknown as such, and that desire, if suspected by others, must not be talked about nor referred to. 7. If a member, whether falsely or truly, asserts that he has received letters or communications from Masters, unless directed to divulge the same, he will ipso facto cease to derive any benefit from the teachings, whether the fact be known or unknown to himself or to others. A repetition of such offense gives the Head of the Section the right to expel the offender in discretion. In every case where a member shall receive a letter or communication purporting to come from Master or Masters, and which directs the divulgation of its contents or a part thereof, the same before being divulged shall be communicated to H.P.B. directly, if the recipient is in Europe, and to William Q. Judge, if in America, for transmission to said H.P.B. For deception is easy, and, without great experience, members are not able to decide whether such a communication is genuine or not. 8. No member shall, under any circumstances, bring any charge or whatever nature against another member, whether to H.P.B., William Q. Judge, or any other member of the Section. This rule does not imply that the Masters condone, excuse, or tolerate any fault or crime. But no member is the judge of the acts of another member or theosophist, in this Section less than in any other. For, while in every Exoteric Branch, its President and Council decide upon any charges against their Fellows, in this Section each member is to be judged by his Karma and the Masters alone. 9. No member shall pretend to the possession of psychic powers that he has not, nor boast of those which he may have developed. Envy, jealousy, and vanity are insidious and powerful foes to progress, and it is known from long experience that, among beginners especially, the boasting of, or calling attention to, their psychic powers almost invariably causes the development of these faults and increases them when present. Hence -- 10. No member shall tell to another, especially to a fellow-member, how much he has progressed or what recognition he has received, nor shall he by hints cause such to be known. Where students of similar tastes and dispositions desire to form a group or groups for mutual help in training, application must be made to H.P.B. for permission and advice as to the same. But hasty judgment as to the advisability of forming such groups must be avoided. For it may so happen, that two or more members united by a real friendship, may yet be so contrary in their magnetic idiosyncrasies and conditions that their friendship may be changed into hatred on the occult plane, if they form groups without esoteric knowledge. 11. No member shall ask for any orders or instructions as to the conduct of his business affairs or the management of his social relations, or the ordinary affairs of life, nor as to the cure of diseases, whether in himself or in any other person. Questions relative to the instructions given will alone be accepted and attended to. 12. It is required of a member that when a question arises it shall be deeply thought over from all its aspects, to the end that he may find the answer himself; and in no case shall questions be asked out of curiosity, nor until the person has exhausted every ordinary means of solving the doubt or of acquiring himself the information sought. Otherwise his intuition will never be developed. He will not learn self-reliance; and two of the main objects of the Section will be defeated. For an adept becomes such by his own exertions, by the self-development of his own power; and no one but himself can effect this work. "An adept becomes, he is not made." The office of Guru or Guide is to adjust the disciple in his progress, and not to drag or push him forward. 13. The use of wine, spirits, liquors of any kind, or any narcotic or intoxicating drug, is strictly prohibited. If indulged in, all progress is hindered, and the efforts of teacher and pupil alike are rendered useless. All such substances have a direct pernicious action upon the brain, and especially upon the "third eye," or pineal gland (vide "Secret Doctrine," Vol. II, p. 288 [d] et seq. ) They prevent absolutely the development of the third eye, called in the East "the Eye of Shiva." 14. The moderate use of tobacco is not prohibited, for it is not an intoxicant; but its abuse, like that of everything else -- even pure water or bread -- is prejudicial. 15. As to diet: The eating of meat is not prohibited, but if the student can maintain health on vegetables or fish, such diet is recommended. The eating of meat strengthens the passional nature, and the desire to acquire possessions, and therefore increases the difficulty of the struggle with the lower nature. 16. Each member is expected to set apart a certain time of the day or night, of not less than half an hour's duration, for meditation upon the instructions received, for self-examination and self-study. If possible, the place selected for this should be used for no other person, nor for any other purpose; but the providing of such a special place, if inconvenient, is not insisted upon. 17. Harboring doubt as to the existence of Masters in general is no crime, since it is often but the effect of ignorance, and comes involuntarily. But it will inevitably prevent the pupil from attracting the attention of the Master; and he will fail to draw to himself His influence. Suspicions as to the character of the members of the Section are also prejudicial to advancement. In short, any malevolent feeling, especially malice, envy or revenge toward any person high or low, creates peculiarly obstructive conditions in the student's path, and will absolutely prevent progress of every sort. The elimination of the desire for reward aids the student in his development. 18. No member of this section shall belong to any other body, association, or organization for the purpose of mystic study or occult training, except Masonry and the Odd Fellows, if they so desire. But they must be as careful to guard the secrecy of this Section from Masons as they are to preserve the secrets of Masonry from Theosophists. The reason for this rule is so self-evident as to need no explanation. 19. It is expected that all members of this Section shall have the following books and magazines where they can be referred to, as constant reference to them will be made in the course of the instruction, and no extended extracts will be furnished. Works on metaphysics and articles expounding the teachings of our Special School should be procured. The following books and theosophical magazines should be especially attended to: -
This rule is not intended to force members into the purchase of these books and magazines, but the undersigned has no time to copy extracts, giving explanations that have already appeared in print. Much has been already published, and it will be necessary to refer very often to such matter, and if a member is actually unable to procure the publications referred to, it is expected that others who are able will, upon request, furnish the desired book or a copy of the matter referred to. And herein the plea of poverty -- if a pretense -- will be as prejudicial to the student as any other vice. 20. As "the first test of true apprenticeship is devotion to the interest of another," it is expected that members will endeavor to fully comply with clauses 1 and 5 of the pledge. Theosophy must be made a living power in life, and, as a beginning, it must be applied in all relations, whether business, social, or personal. "The doctrine," as a whole, "promulgated by the Adepts being the only true one, must -- supported by such evidence as they are prepared to give -- become ultimately triumphant as every other truth. Yet it is absolutely necessary to inculcate it gradually, enforcing its theories, unimpeachable facts for those who know, with direct inferences deduced from and corroborated by the evidence furnished by modern exact science. For these doctrines to practically react on the life through the so-called moral code or the ideas of truthfulness, purity, self-denial, charity, etc., we have to preach and popularize a knowledge of Theosophy. It is not the individual or determined purpose of attaining oneself Nirvana, which is, after all, only an exalted and glorious selfishness, but the self-sacrificing pursuit of the best means to lead our neighbor on the right path, and cause as many of our fellow creatures as we possibly can to benefit by it, which constitutes the true Theosophist." 21. Members of the Section will therefore not neglect the exoteric branches of the Theosophical Society, but are expected to infuse into those as much energy in theosophical work as they can. Although all cannot be teachers, yet each one can familiarize himself with theosophical doctrines, and promulgate them to those who are inquiring. "There is hardly a theosophist in the whole Society unable to effectually help it by correcting erroneous impressions of outsiders, if not by actually propagating the ideas himself." The efforts of those members who benefit the Cause should never be impeded by criticism on the part of others who do nothing, but all should be encouraged and as much help given as is possible, even if that assistance be limited through circumstances to mere encouragement. Every sincerely based work for theosophy will bear good fruit, no matter how inappropriate it may appear in the eyes of those members who have set to themselves and everybody else only one definite plan of action. Further rules will be made if exigency requires. ORGANIZATION The communications to be made will be forwarded in Europe directly from H. P. Blavatsky; in America all communications will be sent through William Q. Judge, P.O. Box 2659, New York, U.S.A.; and all questions addressed to H. P. Blavatsky by members of this Section in America must be forwarded to said William Q. Judge, and shall bear upon them the number of the member as found on his certificate. As some early certificates of admission were sent without bearing this reference number, every member holding such a certificate should immediately apply for his number. William Q. Judge is authorized to establish regulations in his discretion in respect to the method to be followed in America for the transmission of communications, questions and answers, and also in respect to the appointment of assistant secretaries. (Signed) H. P. B. LONDON, December 14, 1888. *** H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION [Lucifer, December, 1888, p. 341.] P.S. -- Is not the "Esoteric Section" of the T.S. likely to run counter to the views of your Editorial on “Lodges of Magic”? Who is to ensure that the Esoteric Members are not only willing to, but will “abide by its rules”? A.E. 6th November, 1888. _______________ NOTE. *** H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION "Ask Judge for the confidential rules (a pamphlet) issued for those of the Esoteric Section, and send him your Number ..." H.P. Blavatsky "It is to preserve Theosophists from such dangers that the 'Esoteric Section' of the T.S. has been founded. It's Preliminary Rules and Bye laws prove that the way to the acquisition of occult powers and the conquest of the secrets of Nature leads through the Golgotha and the Crucifixion of the personal Self. The selfish and the faint-hearted need not apply." H.P. Blavatsky *** LETTER TO E.S.T.S. MEMBERS IN U.S.A. BY WILLIAM Q. JUDGE (FACSIMILE OF 1889 ORIGINAL) E.S.T.S. Members of this Section will please observe the following, directed by H.P.B. 1. Each letter from a member sent to H.P.B. or the undersigned, must bear upon it the address of the sender. 2. The envelope in which each letter concerning the work of the Section is sent must be marked "private". 3. No letters about books, magazines, or other business not connected with the Section shall be sent in the same envelope which contains any reference to this Section; and in letters referring to this Section there shall be no remittances, orders or queries about any other business whatever. 4. Attention is called to the rule that all communications relating to this Section from American members must be sent through the undersigned, and in each case the necessary foreign postage [5 cts. per 1/2 oz.] must be enclosed. Several members may perhaps think the foregoing unnecessary but as already in several cases there have been violations, as the other work of those who have charge of this Section is already sufficiently onerous. January 7, 1889. William Q. Judge *** H.P. BLAVATSKY ON THE ESOTERIC SECTION "It is only now that I begin to work in dead earnest; & if out of the 300 Esoterists & Theosophists whom I am now beginning to teach, I succeed in having only two dozen to whim I will have imparted even half the knowledge I have & emplanted in them only a tithe of my enthusiasm I shall have succeeded in my mission & my work will live for ever." H.P. Blavatsky WILLIAM JUDGE ON THE E.S.T.S. "The first instruction will soon be forwarded from London...." William Q. Judge Letter dated Feb. 13, 1889
|
from New York:
