Theos-Talk Archives (June 2007 Message tt00130)

Did Blavatsky read the PATH article 
in which Julia quotes the Master's letter??

Jake,

I previously wrote:

=========================================
In general, it is not
a stretch to suppose that Madame
Blavatsky read each and every issue
of THE PATH as it was published.
==========================================

To this in your recent reply, you write:

=========================================
I don't believe she did, almost
sure she did not - she had way to
much to do, writing from daybreak
'til night. As well.... people and
Ver Planck have the right to their
own statements, un-interferred with
by Blavatsky or anyone - unless it
gets toooo far outside the aims of
the society.
=========================================

But this issue was (so I thought) solved
way back.

Actually the more specific question to ask is:

Did Blavatsky read the article in which Julia quotes the Master's 
letter??

I posted my detailed research on this on Theos-Talk
last autumn (2006) and reposted it again a few days ago to Theos-Talk.

BELOW is the gist of what I found.

-----------------------------------------------------------
...Julia contributes the LEAD article (main article) to this July 
[1889] issue of THE PATH. This article is titled:

"Judge the Act: Not the Person: Adepts and Mediums."

This 9 page article is a DEFENSE of H.P. Blavatsky against the
accusations of Mabel Collins.

Julia signs the article with her pseudonym: Jasper Niemand.

On the second page (p. 98) of this lead article, Julia writes:

"What is our present Duty? Hear the words of the Master. "Judge
the action, not the person. You never know the true motives. Never
judge human nature on its lowest level. Every one has a potential
Dugpa in him."

The footnote to this Master quote reads:

"Dugpa, black magician; one devoted wholly to self. This [quotation
above] and other quotations [later in this same article] are from
the private letters of the Adept."

I have added the explanatory words in brackets [ ].

You can see here that even the title for this lead article was taken
from this letter from "the Master"!

Then on the sixth and seventh pages of this article, Julia quotes
the lengthy extracts which constitute part of the KH Concentration
letter.

She prefaces the quotations as follows:

"...let us read some remarks fron an Oriental Adept which came into
our possession many months ago...."

See the photofacsimile of these two pages at:

http://blavatskyarchives.com/pathjuly1889.htm

Now did H.P. Blavatsky read this issue of THE PATH?

Was HPB aware that in this article Julia quotes from these private
letters of the Adept, including what we are calling the KH
Concentration letter?

In general, it is not a stretch to suppose that Madame Blavatsky
read each and every issue of THE PATH as it was published. We know
that HPB had a high regard for this magazine and in fact THE PATH
was one of the three main Theosophical periodicals of the time, the
other two being HPB's LUCIFER and Adyar's THE THEOSOPHIST.

But yesterday as I was researching this KH Concentration letter I
discovered evidence that shows that indeed HPB read this issue of
THE PATH and IN FACT read Julia's lead article.

Turn to the original edition of THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY, page 38 and
one finds HPB writing:

=====================================================
This shows that their idea of honour is an imperfect one. How can
they be right? As well said in the Path, our theosophical organ at
New York, treating of such a case: "Suppose that a soldier is tried
for infringement of oath and discipline, and is dismissed from the
service. In his rage at the justice he has called down, and of whose
penalties he was distinctly forewarned, the soldier turns to the
enemy with false information, -- a spy and traitor -- as a revenge
upon his former Chief, and claims that his punishment has released
him from his oath of loyalty to a cause." Is he justified, think
you? Don't you think he deserves being called a dishonourable man, a
coward?
=====================================================

HPB is in fact quoting from Julia's article!

HPB is quoting from page 98 of that article where the private letter
of the Master is quoted which again reads:

"Judge the action, not the person. You never know the true
motives. Never judge human nature on its lowest level. Every one
has a potential Dugpa in him."

And the following I just discovered like 3 minutes ago:

On page 51 of THE KEY, Madame Blavatsky again writes:

====================================================
As well expressed in the N. Y. "Path" just cited on this subject, "A
pledge once taken, is for ever binding in both the moral and the
occult worlds. If we break it once and are punished, that does not
justify us in breaking it again, and so long as we do, so long will
the mighty lever of the Law (of Karma) react upon us." (The Path,
July, 1889.)
======================================================

Again HPB is here quoting from Julia's own words from her article
titled: "Judge the Act: Not the Person: Adepts and Mediums."
....

[In light of the above evidence,] HPB was aware of Julia' stirring 
defense of her in this article and no doubt was also aware that in 
this same article Julia gives TWO quotes from the private letters of 
the said Adept/Master [KH].
-----------------------------------------------------------


Daniel
http://hpb.cc