Read an Excerpt
Reflections on an Ageless Wisdom
A Commentary on the Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett
By Joy Mills Theosophical Publishing House
Copyright © 2010 The Theosophical Society in America
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8356-3120-4
CHAPTER 1
COMMENTARY ON THE LETTERS
LETTER 1
"Esteemed Brother and Friend"—so runs the salutation that initiates a remarkable correspondence. We may pass over those words all too quickly, as Sinnett himself might have done, in our eagerness to get on with the letter itself. Yet significantly, at the very outset of responding to Sinnett's initial inquiry—which Sinnett had addressed "to the Unknown Brother"—one of the "Brothers," as HPB told Sinnett they call themselves, establishes a beautiful relationship with Sinnett: brother and friend. It implies a relationship deeper than that of the ordinary teacher and pupil, for it suggests warmth of understanding and affectionate kinship. The Mahatma is writing, not from some superior position—although he is, of course, superior in his occult status, knowledge, and wisdom—but as a good friend might write to one whom he would lovingly guide along the way. It is as though KH (who signs this and several subsequent letters with his full mystic name, Koot Hoomi Lal Singh) has read not simply the words in Sinnett's first letter, nor even just between the lines, but has seen into Sinnett's heart, recognizing there a longing of which Sinnett was not even aware.
Throughout the correspondence, KH often addresses Sinnett in this manner. Sinnett, on his part, comes to address the Mahatma as "Dear Guardian." Quite a different relationship was established with the other major recipient of the Mahatma letters, A. O. Hume, who KH addresses as "Dear Sir" in the first letter responding to Hume's inquiries. We may also note the various salutations the Mahatma M uses when writing to Sinnett: "Very kind Sinnett Sahib" in his first letter, "My dear young friend" a little later, and later still, "My impatient friend." Of course, many of the letters carry no opening salutation at all.
We can reflect on the meaning of an initial greeting in our own lives. When answering—even by e-mail—a letter from someone we do not know, the salutation can establish at the outset whether the relationship will be quite formal or warm and friendly. How do we address, even in conversation, those who come to us with questions? Do we treat each questioner as friend and brother (or sister), or as someone to be readily dismissed?
Note, then, the patience of KH's response. Not taking up more than four pages in the published book, the original letter consists of six sheets handwritten on both sides of the paper. We will have occasion throughout our study of these letters to note KH's patience in explaining matters to Sinnett, a virtue not always easy for many of us to emulate. Here, at the very outset of what came to nearly 150 letters, the Mahatma recognized not only Sinnett's sincerity and his longing for spiritual understanding but, even more, Sinnett's possible usefulness in advancing the cause of truth.
Evidence for that possibility is patent in the penultimate paragraph of the first letter, where the Mahatma urges Sinnett to "notify the public" of the various phenomena that have already occurred. As a journalist and editor of an influential newspaper in India, Sinnett was in the unique position of serving as a "truthful and intelligent witness" to those phenomena, taking the onus of this responsibility from HPB's shoulders. Sinnett, in fact, is told that not only does he have a right to assert the validity of his own testimony but, more important, he has a "sacred duty to instruct the public and prepare them for future possibilities by gradually opening their eyes to the truth."
Perhaps there is a lesson for us in these words. Are we willing to stand by what we know? Is it our "sacred duty" to aid in the dissemination of a philosophy that has meant so much in our own lives?
Having considered the salutation with which the letter opens, we can move on to the letter itself. What does the letter tell Sinnett, and what is it telling us today? First, of course, that the Mahatmas "work by natural not supernatural means and laws," which means that a lawfulness underlies all things, all phenomena, all nature. Further, KH may be giving a clue to the "natural ... means and laws" by which all things work when, a little later in the letter, he tells Sinnett that to understand the production of phenomena (and we may remember that the entire manifested system is a phenomenon in the true sense of the term) requires a "thorough knowledge of Akas, its combinations and properties."
Sinnett would have been familiar with the term akasha from his reading of Isis Unveiled. In that work, HPB refers to akasha as "designat[ing] the imponderable and intangible life principle.... It enters into all the magical operations of nature, and produces mesmeric, magnetic, and spiritual phenomena" (Isis, 1:139–40n). In a fuller explication of the term, HPB states: "The language of the Vedas shows that the Hindus of fifty centuries ago ascribed to it the same properties as do the Thibetan [sic] lamas of the present day; that they regarded it as the source of life, the reservoir of all energy, and the propeller of every change of matter.... Akasa is the indispensable agent of every Kritya (magical performance) either religious or profane" (Isis, 1: xxvii). Particularly relevant and certainly very helpful is a contemporary reference in Science and the Akashic Field by Ervin Laszlo, a professor of philosophy, systems theory, and futures studies. He proposes that the idea of an akashic field, in addition to solving contemporary puzzles in the fields of cosmology, quantum physics, biology, and consciousness research, provides "an integral theory of everything."
Even a limited grasp of the concept of akasha gives us a key to understanding both the interconnectedness and the coherence of all universal processes, and therefore the production of such phenomena as those exhibited by HPB and even of these letters. In quite simplistic terms, not only is the akashic field, as Dr. Laszlo proposes, the, or at least one of the, fundamental fields of the universe, a holographic information field, but it is also analogous to light (which is one of its basic characteristics, the other being sound) in that it is both matter and energy. We will have occasion to refer to this concept again when we consider Letter 88, the famous "Notes" given to A. O. Hume for a chapter he was writing on God.
As we know from Sinnett's account of the beginning of his correspondence with the Mahatmas, the journalist was eager not only to prove that scientifically inexplicable phenomena could be produced by such individuals as HPB as well as her Teachers, but even more, to prove that such Teachers as the Mahatmas do actually exist. That eagerness, evidenced by his proposal for what he felt was a "fool-proof" test (see Occult World, 82), led the Mahatma, in refusing the test, to emphasize two significant and related points. The first, and perhaps the simpler to consider, concerns the nature of proof and the role of the skeptic. Just what constitutes proof of anything? We may say that we were an eyewitness to a certain event, only to be contradicted by another claimant to that designation. There are those today who say that the existence of the letters is no proof that they were written by Mahatmas or even by advanced pupils (chelas) of such wise individuals. So KH asks Sinnett, "Would the lifetime of a man suffice to satisfy the whole world of skeptics?" As every student knows when attempting to explain some Theosophical doctrine to a skeptical friend, skepticism is not easily conquered!
Doubt and skepticism nevertheless have their uses. As KH notes: "The only salvation of the genuine proficients in occult sciences lies in the skepticism of the public." In a later letter (Letter 29, page 93), the Mahatma M addresses both Sinnett and Hume in the same vein: "Please realize the fact that so long as men doubt there will be curiosity and enquiry, and that enquiry stimulates reflection which begets effort." KH continues in the first letter, "The charlatans and the jugglers are the natural shields of the 'adepts.' The public safety is only ensured by our keeping secret the terrible weapons which might otherwise be used against it, and which, as you have been told, became deadly in the hands of the wicked and selfish." This is further emphasized by M in Letter 29 (page 93): "Let our secret be once thoroughly vulgarized and not only will sceptical [sic] society derive no great good but our privacy would be constantly endangered and have to be continually guarded at an unreasonable cost of power."
The second, closely related fact that KH points to concerns the possible consequences of producing the phenomena requested. There is, as KH puts it, an "inexorable shadow which follows all human innovations," or, we might say, the law of karma decrees that every action has its inevitable reaction on the individual or individuals who initiated the action. How often do we consider the possible consequences of our undertakings? The question of motive is addressed in Letter 2. But here in the first letter Sinnett is called on to recognize the need for a "thorough knowledge of the people around you," and what might well occur were the Master to accede to Sinnett's desire.
Even today, when Theosophical ideas are more widely known and a considerable literature exists expounding those ideas, how many are genuinely interested in what KH calls "these abstruse problems ... the deific powers in man and the possibilities contained in nature"? These, we may note, are the "problems" addressed in the Third Object of our Society. All too often it is assumed that the "powers latent" within us are the psychic ones, but what, it may be asked, are the "deific powers"? And if we are to explore the "hidden laws in nature," what are nature's infinite possibilities?
Defining what he calls the "characteristics of your age," KH states unequivocally: "As for human nature in general, it is the same now as it was a million of years ago: Prejudice based upon selfishness; a general unwillingness to give up an established order of things for new modes of life and thought ... pride and stubborn resistance to Truth." And he adds: "We know something of human nature, for the experience of long centuries—aye, ages—has taught us. And we know, that so long as science has anything to learn, and a shadow of religious dogmatism lingers in the hearts of the multitudes, the world's prejudices have to be conquered step by step, not at a rush."
However much we may feel humanity has advanced in the century and more since Sinnett read those words—with all that science has discovered about our universe and all that is within it, and with parliaments and alliances that promote interfaith and interreligious understandings—has human nature changed? Because the Mahatmas did open the door to their world of wisdom, and because Sinnett and HPB and those who followed in their footsteps wrote and spoke and lived in the light of that world, surely some small progress has been achieved. But the fact remains: our work is not yet done, and reading this letter should stir us to a renewal of purpose and a new clarity of vision for the path that lies ahead.
Before leaving Letter 1, I would like to call attention to another letter from KH, one written to W. T. Brown in 1883 and published in Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, First Series. Brown, a Scottish-born lawyer, joined the Society in London and went to India in 1883, where he joined Colonel H. S. Olcott and Damodar K. Mavalankar on a tour in North India. Later, while visiting the United States, Brown wrote a series of articles about his experiences, "Scenes in My Life," which were published in The Post Express of Rochester, New York.
During the course of their tour in North India, when in Lahore, Brown, Olcott, and Mavalankar were visited by the Mahatma KH in person. Later, it appears that Brown must have requested the Mahatma to perform some phenomenon that would, to quote KH's letter, "leave no room in the minds of your countrymen for doubt." Like Sinnett, Brown evidently wanted further proof, to which KH responded: "Pray, can you propose any test which will be a thorough and perfect proof for all?" Then the Mahatma continues:
Do you know what results would follow from your being permitted to see me here in the manner suggested by you and your reporting that event to the English Press? Believe me they would be disastrous for yourself. All the evil effects and bad feelings which this step would cause would recoil upon you and throw back your own progress for a considerable time and no good will ensure.... If you are earnest in your aspirations, if you have the least spark of intuition in you, if your education of a lawyer is complete enough to enable you to put facts in their proper sequence and to present your case as strongly as you in your innermost heart believe it to be, then you have material enough to appeal to any intellect capable of perceiving the continuous thread underneath the series of your facts. For the benefit of such people only you have to write, not for those who are unwilling to part with their prejudices and preconceptions for the attainment of truth from whatever source it may come. It is not our desire to convince the latter.... Moreover, our existence would become extremely intolerable, if not impossible, were all persons indiscriminately convinced.
So, it may be suggested, there is still a need for us today to consider to whom we are speaking when we talk of the existence of Mahatmas or Adepts, as well as where and when we voice our own inner convictions. In a world where so many claim exalted spiritual status, how should we convey what seems to us to be the truth?
Letter 1 concludes with the word that we find the Mahatmas using again and again to encourage those who would seek to unlock the treasure box of wisdom: TRY!
* * *
LETTER 2
As we know from Sinnett's own account (see Occult World), such was his eagerness to prove the existence of the "Brothers," as well as to show that he knew the Western mind far better than his illustrious correspondent, that he wrote again, even more urgently pressing his case for what he considered indisputable proof. Almost immediately KH responded at some length, setting forth two important considerations, as valid today as when they were written in October of 1880: the methodology for studying the "occult sciences" and the motive for undertaking such study.
The term "occult science"—as also "occult" and "occultism"—was often used in early Theosophical literature as both a synonym for Theosophy and to refer to what might more properly be called the occult arts or practices, such as the production of phenomena, clairvoyance, clairaudience, astral travel, various forms of divination, and the whole range of psychic abilities. To understand such arts, the Mahatma tells Sinnett, the student needs to "penetrate behind the veil of matter into the world of primal causes," which means to study first the universal principles underlying the phenomenalistic world, which are the main subject matter of Theosophy.
Throughout this letter KH emphasizes the distinction between the methodology of "occult science" and that of Western science, with which Sinnett was so familiar. To quote: "Occult science has its own methods of research as fixed and arbitrary as the methods of its antithesis physical science are in their way." The methodology for studying occult science involves two significant factors: first, a genuine spirit of inquiry free of preconceived notions, and second, an appropriate way of life. Concerning the first factor, KH writes: "The adept is the rare efflorescence of a generation of enquirers; and to become one, he must obey the inward impulse of his soul irrespective of the prudential considerations of worldly science or sagacity."
As HPB points out in a letter published in the journal Spiritual Scientist in September 1875 (CW, 1:128), the aspirant in the occult or hermetic sciences must "part, once for all, with every remembrance of his earlier ideas, on all and on everything. If he wants to succeed he must learn a new alphabet on the lap of Mother Nature, every letter of which will afford a new insight to him, every syllable and word an unexpected revelation." Later, in her Preliminary Memorandum establishing the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society, HPB describes the spirit of inquiry in these words:
The attitude of mind in which the teachings given are to be received is that which shall tend to develop the faculty of intuition.... Practical esoteric science is altogether sui generis. It requires all the mental and psychic powers of the student to be used in examining what is given, to the end that the real meaning of the Teacher may be discovered, as far as the student can understand it. He must endeavor as much as possible to free his mind, while studying or trying to carry out that which is given him, from all the ideas which he may have derived by heredity, from education, from surroundings, or from other teachers. His mind should be made perfectly free from all other thoughts.... Otherwise, there is constant risk of his ideas becoming ... colored with preconceived notions. (CW, 12:492)
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Reflections on an Ageless Wisdom by Joy Mills. Copyright © 2010 The Theosophical Society in America. Excerpted by permission of Theosophical Publishing House.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
