Theos-Talk Archives (April 2003 Message tt00175)

H P B and the MASTERS

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Recently there have been some queries and controversy concerning
H P B --

The questions is asked: Is she alive or is she dead?

Perhaps some of these quotations about her and her work given
from the perspective of the MASTERS OF WISDOM -- the ELDER
BROTHERS -- will be of help.

Theosophy has been called a history of the development of the
spiritual nature of mankind. On this, Patanjali, an ancient sage
wrote:

"The Universe, including the visible and the invisible, the
essential nature of which is compounded of purity, action, and
rest, and which consists of the elements and the organs of
action, exists for the sake of the soul's experience and
emancipation....

The soul is the Perceiver; is assuredly vision itself pure and
simple; unmodified; and looks directly upon ideas.

For the sake of the soul alone, the Universe exists.

Although the Universe in its objective state has ceased to be, in
respect to that man who has attained to the perfection of
spiritual cultivation, it has not ceased in respect to all
others, because it is common to others besides him.

The conjuncture of the soul with the organ of thought, and thus
with nature, is the cause of its apprehension of the actual
condition of the nature of the universe and of the soul itself.

The cause of this conjuncture is what is what is to be quitted,
and that cause is ignorance."
PATANJALI'S YOGA SUTRAS, pp. 25-27 rendition by W. Q. Judge


More importantly, the contention has been that Theosophy as a
body of information and historical facts is inaccurate, even
deceptive. Detractors have raised old calumnies and slanders
that were put quashed, and put to rest, decades back, but they,
the modern detractors, depend on the ignorance and apathy of the
public in the matter of determining the truth by reference to the
documents that embody the history of events concerning Theosophy,
and its significant effect on Science, and world thought.

Each reader or investigator has to make their own decisions. They
have to do the investigation themselves, or, they place
unverified trust on the dicta of others.

The Masters have offered the necessary criteria for us to
consider in regard to Theosophical methods of work and personal
duty:

"A band of students of the Esoteric Doctrines, who would reap any
profit spiritually must be in perfect harmony and unity of
thought. Each one individually and collectively has to be
utterly unselfish, kind and full of good-will towards each other
at least--leaving humanity out of the question; there must be no
party spirit among the band, no backbiting, no ill-will, or envy
or jealousy, contempt or anger."
LETTERS from the MASTERS OF WISDOM, (I) p. 16-7


Others believe that the SPIRIT which incarnated in that body,
known to all as Mme. H. P. Blavatsky, continues, alive and
powerful -- depending on her wisdom -- Deathless, they claim
the immortal Spirit continues its majestic progress, ever onward
to higher and wider spheres of wisdom and assistance to the Human
Race. And as the THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT was founded to provide
this, it is continually supported by H P B.

Such Beings as the Masters of Wisdom, and, that bright Spirit
known to us as H P B, once like we, determined that they would
know all that this world and Universe offered. They decided to
investigate the hidden laws and powers of interactive Nature.
Theosophy is the record of their endeavour. The SECRET DOCTRINE
give an outline of its breadth and depth. [see SECRET DOCTRINE
I 272-3]

The fundamental doctrines of Theosophy are:

1.) the immortality of all Spiritual Souls;

2.) the common bond of Karma which serves as a basis for
interaction, as it unites the causal motive for action with the
exact results returning to the individual that generated them;

3.) a process of evolution that is continuous and extends from
the smallest part of the vast UNIVERSE to its utmost limits, the
least has the same potentials of the most advanced; and

4.) a common goal: SPIRITUAL PERFECTION, which is open to all,
and embraces all that can be known of the Universe and its
uncountable components. That is Universal WISDOM.

It is hoped that some of the information given below will tend to
make clear an understanding of the respect given to H P B by some
of her contemporaries, and by Those whom she named her "Masters."

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H P B -- Her Mission and "Position"


As we look back at the life and work of H. P. Blavatsky, we her
students, recall with gratitude the debt that we owe to her.
Except for her work and devotion we would possibly never have had
the opportunity that has been ours to know about Theosophy, and
to be able to study it.

A number of her students have left on record their appreciation.


"...the [Theosophical] movement has grown most in consequence of
the effort of those who are devoted to an ideal, inspired by
enthusiasm, filled with a lasting gratitude to H.P.Blavatsky.
Their ideal is the service of Humanity, the ultimate potential
perfectibility of man as exemplified by the Masters and Adepts of
all ages, including the present...if it had not been for her the
T.S. with its literature would not have come into existence."
(W Q Judge, Articles (U L T) Vol. II 20-1)


One may ask if there is a possibility of our contacting the
Masters and HPB, and the answer is that we have their philosophy
and teachings as they were originally recorded. Anyone who
studies those puts themselves into contact with HPB and the
Masters. A student once wrote:

"...for those who have studied in the right way plenty of proof
has been offered; for others that proof exists within themselves
The former class has had tangible evidence in the way of letters
and appearances of the Adepts before their eyes; the latter
concluded long ago that the Masters are necessities of
evolution...in the West the idea of the existence of the Adepts
and of Their connection with our movement was first brought
forward in this century [the 19th] and in our Society by
H.P.Blavatsky, who, consistently throughout her career, has
declared that the Adepts--whom she was pleased to call her
Masters--directed her to engage in this work and have always
helped and directed her throughout...

They have adopted the TS as one of Their agents in this century
for disseminating the truth about man and nature...Their motive
is to help the moral--and hence external -- progress of humanity,
and their methods to work from behind the scenes by means of
agents suited for the work...the agency is not restricted to one
person, but that all sincere lovers of truth are used to that
end, whether they know it or not...the personal effort put forth
by the members will not account for the spreading of the
movement...As the Masters exist, so They help us; and as we
deserve, so will They repay." (WQJ ARTICLES (ULT) Vol. II pp.
79-80)


"...while the THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT of today was distinctly
under the care of the Adepts, it was not the only one through
which effect was sought to be made on the race-thought and
ethics, but that in many different ways efforts were constantly
put forward ...she insisted that the T S wears the badge...of the
Eastern and Ancient Schools...the old and united Lodge of Adepts
...[It would be reasonable to say]...that Brotherhood has the
knowledge and power... to use every agency which is in touch with
humanity."
WQJ ARTICLES (ULT) Vol. , Vol. I, pp. 244


Mr. W. Q. Judge, collaborated closely with HPB and Col. Olcott
from the beginning of the THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY and was one of the
three Founders of the THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY [BLAVATSKY: Collected
Works (TPH) Vol. I, p. 121-5] who supported it until their
death, wrote:

"I think that the way for all western theosophists is through
H.P.B. I mean that as she is the T.S. incarnate--its mother and
guardian, its creator--the Karmic laws would naturally provide
that all who drew this life through her belonged to her, and if
they denied her, they need not hope to reach [Masters], for how
can they deny her who gave this doctrine to the western world?
They share her Karma to little purpose if they think they can get
round this identification and benefit, and [Masters] want no
better proof that a man does not comprehend their philosophy.
This would, of course, bar him from [Masters] by natural laws (of
growth)...[those] who undervalue her gift and her creation, have
not imbibed the teaching and cannot assimilate its benefits. She
must be understood as being what she is to the T.S., or
Karma...is not understood, nor the first laws of occultism."
LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME , p. 110


After the physical death of Mme. Blavatsky on May 8th 1891, in
answer to a friend, he wrote:

"...we believe that H.P.B. will be for some time occupied in
training a new instrument, and one not so young as to be useless
at the present cyclic crisis...she left everything in order. All
things were planned out, and evidence was abundantly had to the
effect that she knew her departure was near... looking upon her
as an Adept, whose chief work was done outside of the objective
body, it was reasonable to suppose that she is now enabled to
use, upon higher (or inner) planes of being, the power previously
expended in the maintenance of that body."
LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME, p. 155 [U L T Edition]


HPB had written in this regard:

"That for several years I will not be able to help it [the T S]
on, and steer its course, because I will have to act in a body
which will have to be assimilated to the Nirmanakaya, because
even in occultism there are such things as a failure and a
retardment and a misfit..." HPB -
LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME , p. 281


In another article, Mr. Judge wrote:

"...but H.P.Blavatsky, who then as afterwards was really the
central figure, has for the present left this life. The first
great change, then, between seventeen years ago and now is the
removal from the scene of the personage who, for so long was the
pivot of the whole movement...[in 1879] upon the advent of the
two pioneers in Asia [ HPB and Col. Olcott, who went to India as
a Committee for the THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY based in New York ]
...in order that the influence of the mysterious and distant East
might react upon the West and enable us to bring to light again
important religious and philosophical truths. This reaction
came, and manifesting in America with full force, a host of
Branches began to arise...all with one accord must draw their
chief inspiration from the life, the labors, and the words of
that wonderful and still faintly understood woman, Helena, P.
Blavatsky."
WQJ Art. II 148 "SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO," Path, Nov. 1892


Regarding HPB, the Adepts wrote:

"...They say that the Ego of that body she uses was and is a
great and brave servant of the Lodge, sent to the West with a
mission with full knowledge of the insult and 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.'"	WQJ ART II 18)

And Mr. Judge added:

"[As to H. P. B.]... those who cannot understand her had best not
try to explain her...she knew...that high and wise servants of
the Lodge have remained with the West since many centuries for
the purpose of helping it on its mission and destiny. That work
it would be well for members of the T. Mvt. to continue without
deviating, without excitement, without running to extremes...the
truth of the soul's life is in no special quarter of the
compass..."
(LETTERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME , p. 76)


According to HPB:

"...there are certain persons on this earth, living and working
as ordinary human beings and members of society, whose informing
divine part is so immeasurably high in development that they as
such high beings have a definite status and function in the
"supersensuous regions."

To this Mr Judge added:

"...she herself was such a case, and that "H P B" whether hourly
in the day or at night when all around was still, had a "status
and function" in other spheres where she consciously carried on
the work of that high station, whatever it was...[She wrote in
one place] " I am conscious day and night, and have much to do
and to endure in both these existences from which you, being
half-conscious, are happily saved."	WQJ ART I 616


What then was the nature of HPB's Mission? The following is one
person's view:

"...when the great leader is H.P.Blavatsky, a whole host of
principles and postulates as to certain laws of nature cluster
around her name. For not only was she one who brought to us from
the wiser brothers of the human family a consistent philosophy of
the solar system, but in herself she illustrated practically the
existence of the supersensuous world and of the powers of the
inner and astral man...and theory or assertion touching on her
relations with the unseen and with the Masters she spoke for
inevitably opens up the discussion of some law or principle.

Many things were said about H.P.B. in her lifetime by those who
tried to understand her, some of them being silly and some
positively pernicious. The most pernicious was that made by
[A.P.S.] in London in the lifetime of H.P.B. and before the
writing of the Secret Doctrine, that she was deserted by the
Masters and was the prey of elementals and elemental forces...if
true, then anything she might say as from the Masters which did
not agree with the opinion of the one addressed could be disposed
of as being only the vaporing of some elementals."	WQJ ARTICLES
(ULT) Vol. II 13


"H.P.Blavatsky was the head, front, bottom, top, outskirts, past
and future of the theosophical society...Not only was H.P.B.
predominant with us in 1875, but she is yet."
WQJ Art II 161 "A Reminiscence," PATH, Feb. 1893 / Mar. 1895



HOW DO THE MASTERS LOOK AT H.P.B.?


"...imperfect as may be our visible agent...yet, she [HPB] is the
best available at present, and her phenomena have for about half
a century astounded and baffled some of the cleverest minds of
the age."	MAHATMA LETTERS , p. 9-10


"After nearly a century of fruitless search, our chiefs had to
avail themselves of the only opportunity to send out a European
body upon European soil to serve as a connecting link between
that country and our own...my brother M. made to you through her
a certain offer...you had but to accept it, and at any time you
liked, you would have had for an hour or more, the real
baitchooly to converse with, instead of the psychological cripple
you generally have to deal with now."
M L 203-4


"On the 17th of November next [1882] the septenary term of trial
given the Society at its foundation in which to discreetly
"preach us" will expire. One or two of us hoped that the world
had so far advanced intellectually, if not intuitionally, that
the Occult doctrine might gain an intellectual acceptance, and
the impulse given for a new cycle of occult research...consent
was given for the trial. It was stipulated, however, that the
experiment should be made independently of our personal
management; that there should be no abnormal interference by
ourselves.

So casting about we found in America the man to stand as
leader--a man of great moral courage, unselfish, and having other
good qualities. He was far from being the best, but...he was the
best available. With him we associated a woman of most
exceptional and wonderful endowments. Combined with them she had
strong personal defects, but just as she was, there was no second
to her living fit for this work. We sent her to America, brought
them together--and the trial began.

>From the first both he and she were given to clearly understand
that the issue lay entirely with themselves. And both offered
themselves for the trial...For 6 1/2 years they have been
struggling against such odds as would have driven off any one who
was not working with the desperation of one who stakes life and
all he prizes on some desperate supreme effort. Their success
has not equaled the hopes of their original backers, phenomenal
as it has been in certain directions. In a few more months the
term of probation will end. If by that time the status of the
Society as regards ourselves --the question of the "Brothers" be
not definitely settled (either dropped out of the Society's
programme or accepted on our own terms) that will be the last of
the "Brothers" of all shapes and colors, sizes or degrees. We
will subside out of public view like a vapour into the ocean.
Only those who have proved faithful to themselves and to Truth
through everything, will be allowed further intercourse with
us..."	M L 263-4


"You can never know her [HPB] as we do, therefore--none of you
will ever be able to judge her impartially or correctly. You see
the surface of things; and what you would term "virtue," holding
but to appearances, we--judge but after having fathomed the
object to its profoundest depth, and generally leave the
appearances to take care of themselves. In your opinion H.P.B.
is...a quaint, strange woman, a psychological riddle...We on the
other hand, under the garb of eccentricity and folly--we find a
profounder wisdom in her inner Self than you will ever find
yourselves able to perceive...we...light daily upon traits of her
inner nature the most delicate and refined, and which would cost
an uninitiated psychologist years of constant and keen
observation, and many an hour of close analysis and efforts to
draw out of the depth of that most subtle of mysteries--human
mind--and one of the most complicated machines,---H.P.B.'s
mind--and thus learn to know her true inner Self."	M L 314


"The Lhas or adept alone possesses the real, his mind being en
rapport with the Universal Mind. The Lhas has made a perfect
junction of his soul with the Universal Mind in its fullness,
which makes him for the time a divine being existing in the
region of absolute intelligence, knowledge of natural laws or
Dgyu..."	HPB to APS 376



H.P.B. ON HERSELF


"I never gave myself out for a full-blown occultist, but only for
a student of Occultism for the last thirty or forty years. Yet I
am enough of an occultist to know that before we find the Master
within our own hearts and seventh principle--we need an outside
Master...I got my drop from my Master (the living one)...He is a
Saviour, he who leads you to finding the Master within yourself.
It is ten years already that I preach the inner Master and God
and never represented our Masters as Saviours in the Christian
sense."
[ HPB to Dr. Hartmann ] PATH, Vol. X, p. 367


"...as I venerate the Master, and worship MY MASTER--the sole
creator of my inner Self which but for His calling it out,
awakening it from its slumber, would never have come to conscious
being--not in this life, at all events..."	Letters of HPB to APS,
p. 104



ON THE SECRET DOCTRINE


"The Secret Doctrine was the universally diffused religion of the
ancient and prehistoric world."
[ SD I xxxiv ]

"These truths are in no sense put forward as a revelation, nor
does the author claim the position of a revealer of mystic lore
now made public for the first time in the world's history."
[ SD I vii ]

"We give facts and show land-marks: let the wayfarer follow
them. What is given here is amply sufficient for this century."
[ SD II 742 ]

"There are more secrets of Initiation given out in the
Introductory Chapter than in all Isis...Fancy Masters giving out
the secret of the "Divine Hermaphrodite" even ! and so on."
[ HPB Letters to A.P.Sinnett, p. 172-3 ]



HOW OTHERS LOOK ON H.P.B.?


"H.P.B. was the Messenger from the Great Lodge to the western
world. W.Q.J. was a co-founder and co-worker with H.P.B. from
the beginning. It will be well to remember that HPB and WQJ were
not accorded the positions They held through any authority, but
through recognition of Their knowledge and power. They were sui
generis; all others are but students. Those who belittle Judge
will also be found belittling HPB." F P 5


"HPB was the Direct Agent of the Lodge--and this is explicitly
stated to be the fact by the Master K.H. ...then we must go to
the records left by Her and Her Colleague, W.Q.J., for direction
in all matters pertaining to the Theosophical Movement."	F P
34


"In the introduction to the SECRET DOCTRINE, H.P.Blavatsky
boldly affirms the existence of a great Fraternity of Men,
Adepts, who preserve the true philosophy through all changes, now
revealing it, and again, at certain eras, withdrawing it from a
degraded age; and emphatically she says that the doctrine is
never a new one, but only a handing on again of what was always
the system... [Further she adds] in the twentieth century of our
era scholars will begin to recognize that the S.D. has neither
been invented nor exaggerated, but, on the contrary, simply
outlined; and finally, that its teachings antedate the Vedas."

"...the Messenger from the great Fraternity--she herself being
the one for this Century--she observes significantly: that "In
Century the 20th some disciple more informed, and far better
fitted, may be sent by the Masters of Wisdom to give final and
irrefutable proof that there exists a science called Gupta-Vidya;
and that, [it] the source of all religions and philosophies now
known to the world...is at last found."	WQJ ART II 81-2



MASTERS AND THEIR "POSITION"


"We have offered to exhume the primeval strata of man's being,
his basic nature, and lay bare the wonderful complications of his
inner Self...and demonstrate it scientifically...It is our
mission to plunge and bring the pearls of Truth to the
surface...For countless generations hath the adept builded a fane
of imperishable rocks, a giant's Tower of INFINITE THOUGHT,
wherein the Titan dwelt...emerging from it but at the end of
every cycle, to invite the elect of mankind to cooperate with him
and help in his turn enlighten superstitious man...until that day
when the foundations of a new continent of thought are so firmly
built that no amount of opposition and ignorant malice guided by
the Brethren of the Shadow will be found to prevail. But until
that day of final triumph, someone has to be sacrificed--though
we accept but voluntary victims. The ungrateful task did lay her
[HPB] low and desolate in the ruins of misery, misapprehension,
and isolation: but she will have her reward in the hereafter for
we never were ungrateful..." M L 51


"...our true progress lies in fidelity to Masters as ideals and
facts."...I think a constant reliance on Masters as such ideals
and facts--or either--will lead the T S on to greater work...I
belong to that class of persons in the T S who out of their own
experience know that the Masters exist and actually help the T
S...I am not acting impulsively in my many public statements as
to the existence of Masters and help from Them. It is done under
an old order of Theirs and under a law of mind. The existence of
Masters being a fact, the assertion of that fact so often made in
America has opened up channels in men's minds which would have
remained closed had silence been observed about the existence of
those Beings...Experience has shown that a springing up of
interest in Theosophy has followed declaration, and men's minds
are more powerfully drawn away from the blank Materialism
teaching."	WQJ ART II 43


"...no worker, however feeble or insignificant, is outside the
range of Master's eye and help."
WQJ ART II 47


"...I can swear it, the Masters are watching us all, and, without
fail, when we come to the right point and really deserve, They
manifest to us. At all times I know They help and try to aid us
as far as we will let Them. Why, the Masters are anxious (to use
a word of our own) that as many as possible may reach to the
state of power and love They are in. Why, then, suppose They
help not? As They are Atman and therefore the very law of Karma
itself, They are in everything in life, and in every phase of our
changing days and years. If you will arouse your faith on this
line you come nearer to help from Them than you will recognize."
LETTERS p. 68


"To meditate on the Higher Self is difficult. Seek, then, the
bridge--the Masters."
LETTERS p. 112


"...the Master-Soul is one"...[Thou art THAT.] VOICE , p. 54


"...the light of the ONE MASTER, the one unfading golden light of
Spirit, shoots its effulgent beams on the Disciple from the very
first. Its rays thread through the thick dark clouds of
matter..."	VOICE p. 19


" ...the best and most important teacher is one's seventh
principle [Atma] centred in the sixth [Buddhi]." LETTERS p. 96


"The Masters are not Eastern nor Western, but universal."
LETTERS p. 109


"And whoever therefore wants to see the real MAHATMA, must use
his intellectual sight. He must so elevate his Manas that its
perception will be clear...His vision will then be bright and he
will see the MAHATMAS wherever he may be, for, being merged into
the sixth and seventh principles, which are ubiquitous and
omnipresent, the MAHATMAS may be said to be everywhere." HPB
ART I 294


"...the image of the Master is the best protection against lower
influences; think of the Master as a living man within you."
LETTERS p. 164


"The whole sweep, meaning, and possibility of evolution are
contained in the word Mahatma...those great souls who have
triumphed before us...but just because they are of the human
race." WQJ ART II 39


"A Mahatma is not only an Adept, but much more...This does not
mean a noble-hearted man merely, but a perfected being, one who
has attained to the state...when time and space are no obstacles
to sight, to action, to knowledge or to consciousness...to
possess information of a decidedly practical character concerning
the laws of nature, including that mystery for science --the
meaning, operation and constitution of life itself..."	ECHOES p.
23


"...more help could be given to the movement in America because
the fact of their existence was not concealed from motives of
either fear or doubt...Occult help from Masters requires a
channel just as much as any other help does...the persons to be
acted on must take part in making the channel or line for the
force to act, for if we will not have it they cannot give it.
Now as we are dealing with the mind and nature of man, we have to
throw out the words which will arouse the ideas connected with
the forces we desire to have employed. In this case the words
are those which bring up the doctrine of the existence of Adepts,
Mahatmas, Masters of wisdom. Hence the value of the declaration
of our beliefs."	WQJ ART II 41


Q.:--	"What then are the Adepts doing?

A.:-- (a) Assisting all good movements by acting on men from
behind the scenes through mental influence.
(b) Preparing as many men and women who are fit for it
so that they may, in their next incarnation, appear in the world
as active devotees to the good of the Human Family.
(c) Spreading now, through impulses given in many
places which must not be mentioned, a philosophy of life which
will gradually affect the race mind, and in particular the
active, conquering Western peoples, thus preparing the whole
people to change and evolve yet further and further until evils
disappear and better days and people reappear."
WQJ ARTICLES II 53-4


"...if it were possible to alter the state of things and to make
a peaceful earth and a right humanity without following the law
of evolution, they would willingly do it, but mankind can only be
altered step by step. [The Masters] have also stated that they
do not make themselves objectively known to believers in them
except in those cases where those believers are ready in all
parts of their nature, are definitely pledged to them, with the
full understanding of the meaning of the pledge. But they have
also stated that they help all earnest seekers after truth, and
that it is not necessary for those seekers to know from where the
help comes so long as it is received...The Masters do help
powerfully, though unseen, all those who earnestly work and
sincerely trust in their higher nature, while they follow the
voice of conscience without doubt or cavil."	FORUM ANSWERS
75-76


"...remember what was long ago said--that the Master would manage
results. You must not manage, precipitate, nor force...As chelas
and students conceal rather than give out your inner psychic
life, for by telling of it your proper progress is hindered...By
gentleness, detachment, strict attention to duty, and retiring
now and then to the quiet place, bring up good currents and keep
back all evil ones...A steady mind and heart stands still and
quiet until the muddy stream rolls clear."	WQJ LETTERS p. 84


"The Occult Science is not one in which secrets can be
communicated of a sudden...till the neophyte attains to the
condition necessary for that degree of illumination to which, and
for which, he is entitled and fitted, most if not all of the
Secrets are incommunicable. The receptivity must be equal to the
desire to instruct. The illumination must come from
within...Fasting, meditation, chastity of thought word and deed;
silence for certain periods to enable nature herself to speak to
him who comes to her for information; government of the animal
passions and impulses; utter unselfishness of intention, the use
of certain incense and fumigations for physiological purposes,
have been published as the means since the days of Plato and
Iamblichus in the West..."
M L p. 282-3

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Part II follows

DTB