Theos-Talk Archives (June 2002 Message tt00063)

The Theosophy Company on their website describes H.P.
Blavatsky's book titled TRANSACTIONS OF THE BLAVATSKY
LODGE as follows:

"In 1889, when H.P.B. was in London, the weekly
meetings of the Blavatsky Lodge was devoted to the
discussion of the archaic 'Stanzas' on which The
Secret Doctrine is based. Transactions provides . . .
H.P.B.'s answers to metaphysical and scientific
questions, as stenographically reported, and
afterwards revised by her for publication. . . ."

In an introductory note prefacing the original
edition(s) of 1890/1891 of the Transactions, we find
the following information:

"The . . . transactions are compiled from shorthand
notes taken at the meetings of the Blavatsky Lodge of
the Theosophical Society, from January 10th to June
20th, 1889, being somewhat condensed from the original
discussions."

". . . the members of the 'B.L. of the T. S.' agreed
to devote the debates of the weekly [Thursday]
meetings to each stanza and sundry other metaphysical
subjects."

"The questions were put by members. . . . The answers
in all cases are based on the shorthand Reports, and
are those . . . as given by H. P. B. herself."

In H.P.B.'s magazine Lucifer, it was noted that the
reports of the Transactions [covering the meetings of
Jan. 10 through June 20, 1889] were transcribed in
"twenty-four large longhand folios." Lucifer, October
15th, 1890, p. 165

Part I of the Transactions was published as a book in
London in March 1890.

Part I consisted of material discussed by H.P.
Blavatsky at the following meetings:

Meeting 1. January 10, 1889 [Stanza I, sl. 1-2]
Meeting 2. January 17, 1889 [Stanza I, sl. 3-4]
Meeting 3. January 24, 1889 [Stanza I, sl. 5-8]
Meeting 4. January 31, 1889 [Stanza I, sl. 6-9; Stanza
II, sl. 1-2]
Appendix on Dreams

Part II of the Transactions was published in January
1891.

Part II consisted of material discussed by
H.P.Blavatsky at the following meetings:

Meeting 5. February 7, 1889 [Stanza II, sl. 3-4]
Meeting 6. February 14, 1889 [Stanza III, sl. 1]
Meeting 7. February 21, 1889 [Stanza III, sl. 2-4]
Meeting 8. February 28, 1889 [Stanza III, sl. 5-8]
Meeting 9. March 7, 1889 [Stanza III, sl. 10-11]
Meeting 10. March 14, 1889 [Stanza IV, sl. 1-6]

In February, 1891, Alice Leighton Cleather wrote:

"The second part of the 'Transactions -- Blavatsky
Lodge,' is now out, and the third [part] will shortly
follow." Theosophist, April 1891, p. 438.

H.P. Blavatsky died in May 1891 and Part III of the
Transactions was NEVER published.

It should be emphasized that the discussions in the
published Parts I and II cover only the first four
stanzas of Volume I of THE SECRET DOCTRINE.

Part III would, no doubt, have contained H.P.B.'s
additional insightful and valuable comments on Stanza
V and possibly even on Stanzas 6 and 7.

What happened to the remaining unpublished Blavatsky
material that was contained in the "twenty-four large
longhand folios"? This unpublished material would
have contained the discussions held with H.P.B. at
Blavatsky Lodge meetings from March 21 to June 20,
1889. A total of 14 meetings!

Several years ago I discovered the whereabouts of the
missing "large longhand folios". Several of the
folios are still missing but the majority survive.
At one point I was allowed to peruse the extant folios
and discovered that H.P. Blavatsky's discussions and
comments on Stanzas 5 and 6 survive. Unfortunately,
the folio containing HPB's comments on Stanza 7 did
NOT survive the ravages of time and is still lost. 

It is my sincere hope that the current "keeper" of the
folios will soon permit HPB's unpublished valuable
comments on Stanzas 5 and 6 to be published for the
benefit of all Blavatsky and Theosophical students
throughout the world.

More in Part II.

Daniel H. Caldwell

BLAVATSKY ARCHIVES
http://blavatskyarchives.com/introduction.htm



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