Theos-Talk Archives (September 1998 Message tt00114)

Daniel Caldwell wrote:


> > Consult the original edition or a facsimile of the Voice. On p.
> > 80 HPB wrote:
> >
> > "These . . . count Dhasena, Dhyana and Samadhi and embraces the three
> > under the generic name of SANNYAMA."
> >
> > Dr. H.J. Spierenburg in his THE BUDDHISM OF H.P. BLAVATSKY quotes this
> > and then comments (p. 166 fn):
> >
> > "I have not found the terms Dhasena and SANNAYAMA."


Paul Bazzar commented:


> Exactly.  How many scholars have "found" Senzar, for example?


Daniel Caldwell replies:

I would suggest that "Dhasena" is actually "Dharana"
and "SANNYAMA" is "SAMYAMA"  Consult various
translations of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Book III, verse 4
which reads:

"The three together [Dharana, Dhyana & Samadhi] on the same object
is called Samyama."

Another translation:

"The three taken together constitute Samyama."


Dhasena
Dharana

Sannyama
Samyama

*I consider these typos overlooked in the proofreading.*

These corrected spellings now make sense out of what HPB writes:

"These . . . count Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi and
embraces the three under the generic name of SAMYAMA."

Consult THE VOICE, pp. 78 and 79 (notes 36 & 38) for the correct
spelling----Dharana, which HPB writes is"the sixth stage of
development".

Dhyana then is the 7th and Samadhi is the 8th stage.  Also
see these terms in HPB's THEOSOPHICAL GLOSSARY.

On the other hand you may want to believe that they ["Dhasena" and
"SANNYAMA"] are unknown Senzar words or occult codes
for something else, etc.

If I was an editor of the VOICE, I would NOT change the
spelling in HPB's text but would add an editorial note
with these suggested corrections.  Then the reader would
know what is printed in the 1889 edition but would also have
the editorial suggestion.  Then he/she could decide "what is what."

Daniel Caldwell