Theos-Talk Archives (November 2002 Message tt00311)

Dallas: "Examination of some letters at high magnification clearly 
shows that what appears to the unaided eye as a continuous line ... 
is in fact a close series of very fine
lines each separated from the other by a white space. ... Needless to 
say that at the time of such precipitation (in the period between 
1880 and 1885) no technology existed in the West that could produce 
such an effect.

Not true. This just means the letters were painted on using a brush 
and not written with a pen.

You left off the most interesting quote, which spells out how a 
letter could be produced from out of space and not merely written on 
existing paper.

Some comments:

KH: "Bear this in mind and be prepared for it in London.

This is probably a reference to the letters produced by Laura 
Holloway for Sinnett.

KH: "we employ agents??the best available. Of these, for the past 
thirty years, the chief has been the personality known as H.P.B."

Meaning she was one of the amanuensis chelas.

"Through the means of the Astral Light and the help of Elementals ..."

The fact that elementals were involved is the reason the matter was 
considered a risky one.

"Matter is held suspended in the air about us. Every particle of 
matter, visible or still unprecipitated, has been through all 
possible forms, existing, as they all do, in the Astral Light and
then by effort of the Will and Imagination to clothe the form with 
the matter by precipitation.

The "form" referred to here is rupa in Sanskrit, and is the kama rupa 
to which I referred.

"it may be pushed to a greater limit, which, when reached, causes the 
Imagination to evolve in the Astral substance an actual image or form 
which may then be used in the same way as an iron molder uses a mold 
or sand for the molten iron.

The "mold" is the kama rupa. Bear in mind that Judge knew little 
about this process.

Consider this: any piece of matter can be conceptually decomposed 
into three independent things: the atoms of which it is composed, the 
cohesion which holds the atoms together, and the form or rupa into 
which the cohesion holds said atoms.

"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?making process of precipitation. 
It depends entirely upon the chela's state of development, how 
accurately the ideas may be transmitted

This is a reference to the "amanuensis chelas" who were never 
identified by name but of which there appear to have been two: HPB 
and Damodar.

If the process was "impressing upon his mind the ideas they wish 
expressed" then it is likely HPB took those impressions and phrased 
them in her own words, which is why the letters have her 
characteristic style. The problem is then whether they really were 
someone else's thoughts or not.

"The message has to be seen in the astral light in facsimile, and 
through that astral matrix, I precipitate the whole of it."

The "facsimile" is the kama rupa.

"It's different, though, if Master sends me the paper and the message 
already done."

This would be a reference to materializing the paper itself with the 
lettering on it. The process is described in the quote 
aforementioned.

"Some years ago H.P.B. was charged [ by A.P.Sinnett ] with misuse of 
Mahatmas' names and handwritings, with forgery of messages from the 
Mahatmas

Sinnett claims HPB admitted it, and said no harm done since he was 
not fooled.

"if the Letter to some Brahmins ["Prayag Letter" ?? Mahatma Letters, 
p. 461?3 ??] is a fraud, as Col. Olcott and another say, then all the 
rest are, also."

Dangerous statement.