Theos-Talk Archives (January 2011 Message tt00168)

Here is what I found in the SD Commentaries which was published last year
and I am hoping that the copyright holders will make it available for free
to theosophists soon. (Let us all pray, meditate or whatever???)

âMme. Blavatsky: You call it Sabbath, it is no fault of mine. Well, then, we
will go on. Moreover, you have to learn. the etymology of the word Fohat.
There is where it becomes difficult to understand. It is a Turanian compound
word. "Pho" is the word. "Pho" was once and is derived from the Sanskrit
"bhu," meaning existence, or rather the essence of existence. Now,
"Swayambhu" is Brahma and man at the same time. "Swayambhu" means
self-existence and self-existing; it means also Manvantara. It means many,
many things according to the sense in which you take it, and one must know
exactly whether the accent is on the "m" or on the "u", or where it is, for
therein lies the difference. Take "bhu." It means earth, our earth. Take
"Swayambhu." It means divine breath, self-existence, that which is
everlasting, the eternal breath. To this day in China, Buddha is called
"Pho."

A Lady: Is not the first meaning, breath?

Mme. Blavatsky: It is not. It is self-essence. It is very difficult for me
to translate it to you. Look at the Sanskrit dictionaries. They will give
you 100 etymologies, and they won't know what it is. It is existence, it is
self-evolution, it is earth, it is spirit, everything you like. It depends
on the accent, and how it is placed. That is a very difficult thing. In this
sense, certainly it comes from bhu and sva.â

MKR


On Sun, Jan 16, 2011 at 6:41 PM, email2cal <email2cal@e2_ghv0u1Gj9hzaNB7Zo_Qv91KeMKc2SZ3anxi5kA86zPSyPRf__k9sdlO7SjVkXG4qe2b4DFdAg.yahoo.invalid> wrote:

>
>
> >Dear friends My views are: A bit more info about FOHAT could be
> >important. I will quote from Blavatsky and insert a few comments
> >of my own based on my own...
>
> Thanks for the quotes, they are helpful to understand what Fohat is. On the
> other hand, it's not that important to know the etymology of this term.
>
> Max
>
>  
>


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