Theos-Talk Archives (June 2003 Message tt00191)

Several years ago one Theosophical historian told me that he doubted 
the Bowen notes because he could NOT find any record of HPB holding 
such SD classes in late 1890-early 1891.

Below is the documentation that I found for such SD classes.

Claude F. Wright writing from London in Oct. 1890 stated:

". . . Our Blavatsky Lodge Meetings are held in the Lecture Hall on 
Thursdays, and each week sees them grow larger and larger. We have 
just started a course of discussions on 'Theosophy from the Root up' 
which will be continued for a long time: the first syllabus, 
extending to Dec. has been issued. BEFORE OUR MEETINGS WE HOLD A 
CLASS FOR THE STUDY OF THE SECRET DOCTRINE, WHICH LASTS FOR ABOUT AN 
HOUR AND A HALF. . . ." THE PATH, Dec. 1890, p. 295 Caps added.

In THE PATH for Nov. 1890 (see page 263), one finds the syllabus 
mentioned in the above statement.

It states that THEOSOPHY, FROM THE ROOT UP will be held on Thursday 
evenings, at 8:30 pm commencing October 9, 1890.

One of these Thursday meetings is on Dec. 4, 1890, according to the 
syllabus. See next document for more on this Dec 4th date.

>From the esoteric notebooks of Isabel Cooper-Oakley, one finds the 
following notes:

"At Secret Doctrine Class, December 4, 1890"

"H.P.B. said: 'The best of us in the future will be Manasa-putras, 
the lowest will be Pitris. We are several intellectual Hierarchies, 
here. . . " Quoted from THE THEOSOPHIST, June, 1931, p. 303.

Katinka, does Barry Thompson know about this material?

Daniel
BLAVATSKY STUDY CENTER/BLAVATSKY ARCHIVES
http://blavatskyarchives.com