Theos-Talk Archives (May 2004 Message tt00106)

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Katinka Hesselink" <mail@k...> 
wrote:

> The way I heard it the Lama didn't say the Voice was an original
> Tibetan Buddhism book, but that it did contain Mahayana teachings. 
The
> preface by Boris de Zirkof to the Centenary edition of the Voice
> (quest) suggests a Tamil original... the mysteries are long from
> solved. But in the meantime it does remain a jewel of a text, 
whatever
> its source.

Katinka:

I found this interesting posting by Mr M K Ramadoss in the old theos-
l list. The mystery deepens:

"Voice of the Silence
Aug 07, 1996 08:24 PM
by ramadoss

There is a very interesting article on "How The Voice of Silence Was
Written" by Boris de Zirkoff. Boris was HPB"s grand nephew and was the
editor of the collected works. The article appeared in AT Nov/Dec 
1988. HPB's own preface indicates that the VOS was from the original 
work Book of the Golden Precepts. However there is a very interesting 
letter that HPB wrote to her sister Vera P de Zhelihovsky in Feb 1890 
wherein she says:

"They are grand aphorisms, indeed, I may say so, because you 
know I did not invent them! I only translated them from Telugu, the 
oldest South Indian dialect. There are three treatises, about morals, 
and the moral principles of the Mongolian and Dravidian mystics. Some 
of the aphorisms are wonderfully deep and beautiful. Here they have 
created a perfect *furor*, and I think they would attract attention 
in Russia, too. Won't you translate them? It will be a fine thing to 
do."

The above was published in The Path, New York, Vol X, December 1895, 
pp. 268. It is very interesting to note that HPB did not know Telugu. 
Then how did she translate? What occult/psychic method was used? 
These are very interesting questions. I do not know if any one will 
ever know."

Incidentally, Telugu is a South Indian language spoken in Andhra 
Pradesh, the region in which is generally believed Nagarjuna was born 
around 150 CE. One of the places in that state is 
called "Nagarjunakonda", "konda" being the Telugu word for hill.

Pedro