With the approach of springtime we enter a new season of reviews looking into important events in the Life and Work of Mme Blavatsky and how these now affect the vitality of the Theosophical Movement in 21st c. and the robustness of the social, scientific and religious reforms that were and still remain in the hearts of so many.

We start with a contemporary article on the wills made by HPB before she died in London in 1891 and what may have happened following her death.  It is based on the research by the author of “The Judge Case” and is in that book, reproduced here. 

Also in this edition is a Wiki review of the Anugita, which will be serialised in Supplements.  The Anugita is a work of ageless practical esoteric instruction often quoted in original theosophical writing, with only one hard to find translation.

These two articles come well recommended – to understand the history of the movement is a vital part of the work, so if you are inclined do feel empowered to print and distribute the PDF to your study group or those who may be interested.

Namaste! 

The Editors 

Click to read the PDF

The Wills of Helena P. Blavatsky

A Mystery about H.P.B. and events in London, 1891 

Shortly after reviewing “The Secret Doctrine” Annie Besant joined the Theosophical Society on March 10th, 1889.  Besant had made a name for herself as one of England’s finest orators and her abilities were needed by the growing Society.

Besant showed great promise as a student of Theosophy and was soon sitting at H.P.B.’s side acknowledging her as her new guru. She was quickly brought in as a pledged member of the Esoteric Section. Just one month before her death H.P.B. appointed Besant (April 1st, 1891) as the Chief Secretary of the Inner Group of the Esoteric Section and Recorder of the Teachings, [1] and arranged for her to go to America to meet William Q. Judge and deliver Blavatsky’s message to the American Convention held April 26th – 27th, 1891, as her special delegate. 

At the time Besant accepted that Judge was an Occultist, a view she later discounted. On May 8th Blavatsky died in London while Besant was on her way back from America. 

Besant had sailed for England on May 6^th and, upon receiving word of Blavatsky’s death, Judge followed on May 13^th, 1891. Olcott would not sail from India until June 15^th. Evidentiary facts have been gathered and are presented here for consideration regarding that period between Blavatsky’s death on May 8^th and the time of Judge’s arrival in London on May 21^st, 1891. 

19 Avenue Road where HPB died

Blavatsky executed her first Will before she left India in early 1885. According to Olcott she drew up a Will on January 31st, 1885.

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Olcott stated:

“The witnesses were P. Sreenivasa Row, E.H. Morgan, T. Subba Rao, and C. Ramiah. It contains a clause to the effect that she wishes her ashes to be buried within the compound of the Headquarters at Adyar; and another request that annually, on the anniversary of her death, some of her friends should assemble here and read a chapter of the ‘Light of Asia’ and one of ‘Bhagavad Gita’.” [2]  

This is the Will and Testament which is being kept at Adyar to this day, and considered Blavatsky’s official Will.  

But it was not the Last Will and Testament she executed.

A second Will was drawn up in March 1887 while Blavatsky was living in Ostend with Countess Wachtmeister, who looked after her needs. Ten days before leaving Ostend she lost consciousness while sitting in her chair. Sylvia Cranston recounts from Wachtmeister’s notes:

“When the lawyer, doctor, and consul arrived, they found a joyous party. The doctor kept repeating, ‘But she should be dead, . . . she should be dead.’  He had never known a case in which a person in such condition recovered.  The drawing of the will went smoothly until the lawyer learned HPB had left all her worldly goods to the countess and nothing to her relatives. Fearing the countess had exercised undue influence on her mind, he objected, but HPB vehemently opposed. Madame Gebhard, to avoid a scene, gently informed the lawyer, ‘perhaps when you know the amount which Madame Blavatsky has to will away, you will have no further objections to making the will as she desires, for had Madame Blavatsky died, there would not have been sufficient money to pay for her funeral expenses’.”

“The party broke up several hours later. Departing, the American consul laughingly said: ‘Well, I think this is enough fatigue for a dying woman!’ [3]” 

Wachtmeister continued:

“I will add that I never saw that will again. After HPB’s death at Avenue Road, London, on May 8, 1891, I went to Ostend to see the lawyer and asked him what had been done with the will. He told me that after my departure he had given the will to HPB. I suppose that she must have destroyed the deed, as it was never found among her papers.” [4]

Blavatsky’s second Will, although very different from the first in content, has one element of similarity – both Wills were drawn up at moments of her pending death.

At the end of March 1889, a few months after “The Secret Doctrine” was published, according to Cheiro, a famous palm reader who was in London at the time, Blavatsky invited him to visit her one evening at Avenue Road. Blavatsky had deduced from evaluating her own palm that her life was nearing its end. She apparently contacted Cheiro to verify her conclusions and give her a time frame in which she could expect the inevitable. Again according to Cheiro, Blavatsky thanked him after his reading and said, “Your warning will do me good, for I will now put my papers in order and prepare in earnest for the short time that lies before me.” [5] Although a third Will has never been acknowledged, it can be assumed from Blavatsky’s supposed comments that she was taking this seriously and that she would take the time to draw up another Last Will and Testament.

In her 1887 Will, Blavatsky had apparently left nothing to Olcott and nothing for Adyar either; all was to go to Countess Wachtmeister who was looking after her night and day and receiving no compensation in return. H.P.B.’s circumstances had changed drastically since then and a very different Will was needed to reflect this new status. Judge had become her most trustworthy supporter and the most dedicated to the CAUSE. Blavatsky eventually came to realize that her own Master had initiated him in 1884 and she depended on Judge for the many tasks she needed done. In one of her letters she wrote: “I trust Judge more than anyone in the world. . . .” [6]

Recognizing Blavatsky’s involvement with Judge in all aspects of theosophical work, and the fact that Besant had only recently joined the Society, it would seem reasonable to assume that Blavatsky would not have designated Besant as the main benefactor in her Will. Olcott mentioned that when he had arrived at the London headquarters on September 4th, 1889, he “found Mrs. Annie Besant living in the house, having just come over from the Secularists into our camp, with bag and baggage”. [7] Besant claimed, and declared some months after Blavatsky’s death, that she was “the person who arranged H.P. Blavatsky’s business affairs in England” [8] during that time. It would be reasonable to expect, therefore, that Besant was the person in charge of Blavatsky’s Last Will and Testament and would have known where to find it after her death.

It is reasonable to deduce that Blavatsky drafted a new Will sometime after Cheiro’s visit and also to assume that Blavatsky drew up her Last Will and Testament circa August 1890 when a Deed of Trust was executed in which Annie Besant’s property at 19 Avenue Road was officially vested into the hands of trustees as a headquarters for the British Section.[9] It was agreed at the time that -

“On the one hand, it was not right to have left the house in Mrs. Besant’s name, and on the other, Madame Blavatsky’s health precluded it being in her own name.” [10]

Once again Blavatsky’s  health was a major concern.

Following are several reasons why a third Will is a possibility:

1)  On July 27th, 1886, Blavatsky had offered Judge her royalties from “The Secret Doctrine” and “Isis Unveiled”.

2)  In August 1886 Blavatsky asked Judge to help her get her royalties from J.W. Bouton for her “Isis Unveiled”. She protested that the money was being sent to Olcott at Adyar while she needed the funds to survive (See “The Judge Case”, E. Pelletier, Chronology, Aug. 22, 1886 entry for more details).

3)  Olcott mentioned years later in “Old Diary Leaves” that “she also offered to turn over her share of the Theosophist to Judge and make him her successor.” [11]

4)  When Blavatsky wrote her second Will she wanted Wachtmeister to have all, but her “Secret Doctrine” had not been published yet, nor had the Esoteric Section been formed.

5)  When Olcott, a lawyer, finally declared six months after Blavatsky’s death that there was a Will, he carefully worded his speech at the Sixteenth Convention and Anniversary of the Theosophical Society at Adyar. He stated:  “In the will that she executed here, she left me everything and offered her sister the copyrights to her books. . . .” [12] [Italics added, EP]
      He not only omitted any reference to the 1887 (second) Will, he carefully avoided mentioning the words “Last Will and Testament” when proclaiming Blavatsky’s Will. (Years later in “Old Diary Leaves” he did write that “she executed what proved to be her Last Will and Testament. . . . 31st January 1885.” [13]). Also, in the published transcript of this Will there is no mention of copyrights being offered to her sister.

6)  Blavatsky had subsequently made arrangements regarding her share of the net profits from the sale of her books (in 1888 and 1890) and they did not include monies going to Adyar. [14]

7)  In the interview by William Mulliss in October 1926, Besant claimed that she had been appointed H.P.B.’s literary executor. [See “The Judge Case”, E. Pelletier, Appendix H for full text.] In “Rebirth of the Occult Tradition”, Boris de Zirkoff wrote: “As far as English Law is concerned, a Literary Executor can be appointed only in a Will.” [15] It is possible that Besant was in fact appointed Literary Executor – in a Will that would have been executed after she became associated with Blavatsky.

8)  It would have been out of character and imprudent for Blavatsky not to have had a new Will executed to reflect changed circumstances.

9)  If Blavatsky did destroy the second Will, as Wachtmeister speculates, she would not have done so without another Will to replace it, as it is obvious after reading “Why I Do Not Return To India” that she would not leave everything to Olcott and Adyar as stipulated in her first Will.

The interesting question which arises is, what was Judge so concerned about that he would send a telegram from New York, on May 9th, to 19 Avenue Road telling the members there to “Do nothing till I come”? [16]  This was done shortly upon receiving word of Blavatsky’s death and only a few days after Besant’s departure from New York on May 6th, 1891.

Blavatsky had appointed Judge as “my only representative for [the Esoteric] section in America” on December 14th, 1888. On December 25th, 1889, she appointed Olcott as her “Sole official representative for the Esoteric Section in Asiatic countries”, although Olcott’s position appeared to be mostly in an administrative capacity. Neither was in England at the time of Blavatsky’s death. Judge, who H.P.B. claimed  “had been a part of herself and of the Great Lodge ‘for aeons past’ ” [17],  felt very responsible for preserving the integrity of the E.S. materials. H.P.B. had reinforced this in her circular “Notice” of August 9th, 1890, in which she stated that all orders in E.S. Instructions issued in the U.S. would only be through Judge or directly by herself. This would have been reason enough to spring Judge into action and immediately send that telegram.

Edmund Garrett, Editor of the “Westminster Gazette” and a friend of Besant, reported that “Avenue-road was at first inclined to resent this ukase”, [18] that is, an official order, having the force of law. Interestingly, this telegram of Judge’s is mentioned by various authors [19] but it never appeared in any official theosophical periodicals of the time. The telegram appears to have been expurgated.

By the time Judge arrived in London on May 21st, Besant was already wearing Blavatsky’s ring and Blavatsky’s body had been cremated. Was Judge the one who was supposed to receive H.P.B.’s ring after her death? There is sufficient information included in the Chronology and Appendix A to cover the details surrounding this ring. It will not, therefore, be repeated here.

No Will was ever presented to Judge while he was in England. He may not have known at that time that there was a Will but likely expected there would be. Judge had represented Blavatsky in other legal matters before and would therefore have found it strange that he was not presented with her Will while in London. Some years later, Besant admitted that she destroyed very important documentary evidence in her possession related to the “Judge Case” stating, “I destroyed all the letters I had received from Mr. Judge, as I could not carry them with me round the world. . . .” [20] Could it be that Blavatsky did have a third Last Will and Testament and that it suffered the same fate?

The Mystery Will

Olcott did not arrive in London until nearly two months after Blavatsky’s death. Upon word of her death Bertram Keightley went to Colombo on May 21st, 1891, where he was to meet Olcott on the 28th. [21] However, Olcott only arrived in Colombo on June 10th, from Adelaide, met Bertram and sailed on to Bombay. They left Bombay on a French steamer on June 15th and reached Marseilles on July 2nd. When they arrived in London, on July 4th, they were greeted by Judge who took them to headquarters at 19 Avenue Road “where [Olcott] had an affectionate greeting from Mrs. Besant and other residents of the house.” [22]

Olcott described what happened shortly after he arrived:

“Mrs. B. and I visited the bedroom of H.P.B., and, after a time of solemn meditation, pledged ourselves to be true to the Cause and to each other. The death of my co-Founder had left me as the recognized sole centre of the movement, and it seemed as if the hearts of all our best workers warmed towards me more than they had ever done before.” [23]

There are no reasons to not take Olcott’s description of events at face value, although the incident does seem rather strange. A few days later he stated:

“I passed some time alone in her room, and I received there what was necessary for my guidance in the future; I may simply say, in one word, the gist of it was that I should continue the work as though nothing whatever had happened. . . .” [24]

One does wonder if Olcott gave all the details of the event or did he purposely leave out some very important information – information that would have undermined Olcott’s authority and the whole Adyar organization that he had built. Apart from the loss of his “chum”, could the contents of a possible third Will have contributed to Olcott’s melancholy after her death while he was in London? Judge realized a few months later, when the two of them were in California, that something was troubling Olcott. He included in a cable to Besant on October 26th, 1891: “There is something wrong with H.S. Olcott.” [25] 

Serious questions arise concerning what occurred in H.P.B.’s bedroom. Why wasn’t Judge included in this little private parley? Why were none of the other residents at headquarters invited into Blavatsky’s room with Olcott and Besant? Why Blavatsky’s room at all?

Olcott first met Besant the night of his arrival in London, September 5th, 1889, when he came to settle his differences with H.P.B. regarding the E.S. and other matters. Besant, a Secularist at the time, had just joined the ranks of the Movement. Olcott immediately took to her and thought she was “a natural Theosophist”. Ten years later he recalled an incident that transpired that evening:

“She had not, I believe, made one public discourse in support of Theosophy, nor had she said one word of the sort during the conversation between her and H.P.B. and myself. . . . I recollect taking her then by the hand and saying, just at parting: ‘I think you will find yourself happier than you have ever been in your life before, for I see you are a mystic and have been frozen into your brain by your environment’.” [26] 

Olcott quickly became an admirer of Besant’s lecturing abilities after listening to her on a number of occasions.
Now, after having met barely two years prior, they forged an alliance that was only jeopardized once, shortly after Blavatsky’s death. What kind of tête-à-tête did they have to suddenly come out from Blavatsky’s bedroom pledging allegiance to each other and to be true to the Cause? Which Cause? Based on the premise that there was a third Will, this would have been the most opportune time for Besant to hand it over to Olcott. Besant, living in the same house as Blavatsky and looking after her business affairs, may well have been the only person who knew of the existence of Blavatsky’s Will.  Perhaps when she arrived in London from New York she immediately read the Will, pondered upon its contents, and wondered what to do with it.

Again presuming the third Will existed, in all probability after reading it Besant was determined to show it to Olcott first, since he was the President of the Society, and let him decide what to do. Besant must have felt it her duty to personally hand over Blavatsky’s Will to him. She appeared to believe at the time that the Esoteric Section was part of the whole Society and that Olcott as its President was, therefore, “the only one who represents the mission from the Masters themselves”. [27] This belief becomes even more evident when reading her statement and resolution at the Annual Convention at Adyar in 1894. [28]

Supposing that in Blavatsky’s Will there was nothing bequeathed to Olcott or to Adyar, would that not have been of concern enough to Besant for her to wait until Olcott’s arrival to determine what to do next? And she was not about to question her perception – her truth.

Shortly after joining the Society Annie Besant gave two lectures at the Hall of Science, August 4th and 11th, 1889, on “Why I Became A Theosophist.” There she described her loyalty to truth as she saw it.

“An imperious necessity forces me to speak the Truth, as I see it, whether the speech please or displease, whether it bring praise or blame. That one loyalty to Truth I must keep stainless, whatever friendships fail me or human ties be broken. She may lead me into the wilderness yet must I follow her; she may strip me of all I love, yet I must pursue her; though she slay me yet I trust in her; and I ask no other epitaph on my tomb but “She tried to Follow Truth”. [29]  [Italics added]

Following up on the possibility that there was a third Will, could the Cause that Olcott and Besant both adopted following their tête-à-tête have been to maintain the status quo of the Theosophical Society as she envisioned it was and to which Olcott had dedicated his life’s work? The premise that in this probable third Will Blavatsky made Judge one of her benefactors, but not Adyar, would have been reason enough for Besant and Olcott to have pledged allegiance to each other. This Will was their little secret. If Besant did hide the supposed Will until Olcott saw it, would Olcott not have felt a deep sense of gratitude toward her? How could Olcott ever repay her for having saved the Society – Adyar, which he considered to be the center of the Theosophical Movement. Olcott’s actions certainly lend credence to this probability and he certainly supported Besant as much as anyone could thereafter. As mentioned earlier, Olcott would likely have found some very disturbing information in Blavatsky’s Will – information he decided would never be revealed and it never was, but there is sufficient evidence to establish the probability that a third Will existed and that Olcott chose to withhold it.

Judge might have suspected that Blavatsky had another Will when he sent that telegram on May 9th, but he apparently never made a fuss about it. Judge may not have cared much about a Will; his main concern was the CAUSE.

Like H.P.B., Judge was fully aware that Olcott’s Executive responsibility was centered from the first on being the President and that his authority was mainly exoteric. Judge, on the other hand, although closely involved with exoteric matters, was mainly concerned with the Esoteric and was loyal to the Theosophical CAUSE and to its great Teachers. Olcott was always concerned with promoting and sustaining the headquarters as the center of the organization. He seemed to lose track of the original CAUSE and of the main objectives while still believing that he was following orders from the Masters and was loyal to H.P.B. In a letter to Olcott in April 1885 she paraphrased K.H. as saying that Olcott had managed to save the Society’s body but had lost its soul.
NOTES:

[1] The title conferred on Besant by H.P.B. was nothing more than that of  “Chief” Secretary to take notes just as one would for any other meeting. There was no occult status to this position other than that her notes would have been the ones kept on record. This position  would be the first step taken for training in her role as pupil. Besant never actually recorded a meeting of the Inner Group. She missed meetings, and then H.P.B. died.

[2] “Old Diary Leaves”, Fourth Series (1910), p.418; “The Theosophist”, Vol. 60, February 1939, pp.355-360; “The Theosophist”, May 1892, Supp. p.lix..

[3] “H.P.B.”, by Sylvia Cranston, p.321.

[4] “Reminiscences of H.P.B.”, p.64 (Quest, 1976) or pp.77-78 (1893).

[5]  “Mysteries and Romances of the World’s Greatest Occultists”, by Cheiro (Count Louis Hamon), London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 1935; p.178. Also see Fohat magazine, Vol. 5, Spring 2001, p.6.

[6] “Irish Theosophist”, Vol. 3, June 1895, p.156.

[7] “Old Diary Leaves”. Fourth Series (1910), p.171.

[8] “The Theosophist”, Vol. 13, March 1892, Supp. p.xlv.

[9] “The lease of 19, Avenue Road, purchased for 1,600 pounds  in 1883, was given to H.P.B. in 1890 by the then owner, and by H.P.B.’s wish was at once vested in the hands of trustees. . . . The lease was burdened with a mortgage . . . the responsibility for this remaining with the donor of the lease. A cheque for [405 pounds, 16s, 11d.] was given to Annie Besant [by a theosophist who requested anonymity] last month, and paid by her to the mortgagees, thus releasing the property.” (“The Vahan”, Second Series, No. 2, September 1, 1891, p.7.) In December 1896 Olcott named some of the prominent financial supporters: “The Blavatsky Lodge acquired permanent premises in Avenue Road, through the abundant generosity of Mrs. Besant, the Countess Wachtmeister, the Messrs. Keightley and others. . . .”. See “General Report of the 21st Anniversary of the T.S.”, 1896, p.15, and “A Historical Restropect – 1875-1896 – of the Theosophical Society”, p.14.

[10] “General Report of the 15th Convention and Anniversary of the TS”, 1890, p.59. In “A Short History of the T.S.”, p.257, Ransom writes this as having taken effect in August 1889. The “General Report”, however, states that  “in the early part of this year [1890] . . . the Theosophical Society had become possessed, through Mrs. Annie Besant’s generosity, of the lease of her house as its Head-Quarters . . .”, p.58. Alterations were undertaken and additions built. The headquarters were inaugurated July 3rd, 1890. “The Theosophist”, Vol. 11, August 1890, pp.661-662.

[11] “Old Diary Leaves”, Third Series (1904), p.379.

[12] “General Report of the 16th Convention and Anniversary of the TS”, 1891, p.49.

[13] “Old Diary Leaves”, Fourth Series (1910), p.418.

[14] See “The Judge Case”, Ernest Pelletier, Chronology, Apr. 4, 1888 and March 9, 1890 entries.

[15] “Rebirth of the Occult Tradition”, pp.65-66.

[16] See “The Judge Case”, E. Pelletier, Chronology, May 9, 1891(est.) entry.

[17] “Irish Theosophist”, Vol. 4, March 1896, p.115.

[18] “Isis Very Much Unveiled”, 2nd ed., p.28.

[19] For example: Arthur H. Nethercot mentions this telegram on p.357 in “The First Five Lives of Annie Besant”. His references are “The Theosophist”, July 1891; “Bright”, pp.20-21; Williams, “The Passionate Pilgrim”, p.204. We do not have the reference for Bright and the latter is mentioned on p.205 not 204; the first reference does not exist in “The Theosophist”.

[20] “The Case Against W.Q. Judge”, p.82.
 
[21] “The Theosophist”, Vol. 12, June 1891, Insert in Supp. at p.lxxi.

[22] “Old Diary Leaves”, Fourth Series (1910), pp.301-303.

[23] “Old Diary Leaves”, Fourth Series (1910), p.303.

[24] “The Theosophist”, Vol. 12, September 1891, p.707.

[25] “The Case Against W.Q. Judge”, p.42.

[26] “Old Diary Leaves”, Fourth Series (1910), p.172.

[27] Annie Besant’s “Address of Welcome to the President-Founder”  at the First Annual Convention of the T.S. in Europe, held in London, July 9th and 10th. 1891. “The Theosophist”, Vol. 12, September 1891, pp.705-706.

[28] “General Report of the 19th Anniversary of the TS”, 1894, pp.39-46.

[29] “A Short History of the T.S.”, p. 257.

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The above text is an excerpt from the book  “The Judge Case, A Conspiracy Which Ruined The Theosophical CAUSE” by Ernest E. Pelletier (Edmonton Theosophical Society, Edmonton, Canada, 2004.)

See  pp. 351-353 of its “Supplement”.  The text has been published also by FOHAT magazine, Canada, Winter 2008 edition.

www.filosofiaesoterica.com
www.esoteric-philosophy.com

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As we approach the winter solstice on 21st December with the inner forces coming into balance in the laya state, it is the winter transition or pralaya at the trough of the annual cycle.  Meanwhile on the outer plane, much of the other world rushes into celebrations of Christmas with its periodic Saturnalian excess.

Students of the perennial philosophy, who must live and work in both worlds, remembering they are in it but not of it, and like the earth they also strive to pass through the ‘laya’ into a new state.

We start this month’s AQ with an extract from Theosophy Watch on a simple meditation for transcending that which holds us back (on p 1), followed by the second excellent piece on chelaship (p 2).

There is much more besides, on “sleep paralysis” that affects perhaps as many as one in 20 people (p 5 – are you one?), on the ethical power of consumers, especially relevant at this time of year (p 6), on water found on the moon (p 7) and pictures of monsters of the oceans (p 8).

Wishing all our readers a fruitful New Year,

The AQ Editors

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Realizing Buddha Nature

“The Self is the Friend of Self and Also Its Enemy” – W. Q. Judge

Esteemed Tibetan Buddhist Scholar and Teacher Anam Thubten Rinpoche’s Message of Infinite Love Resonates in Turbulent Times.

“If we are still wondering how to awaken, I suggest that we meditate now and then and focus on the following question:

‘What is holding me back from realizing my true nature, my Buddha Nature?’

Sandy Frazier

“This is a very powerful inquiry. I am sharing this based on my own meditation practice. This is one of my favorite meditations because it always takes me to the place where I cannot blame anybody or anything for my lack of awakening.

“When we open our hearts and let go of all of our theories and speculations, when we are not distracted even by spiritual fantasies, when we simply wholeheartedly and courageously inquire into what is holding us back, that is all that we need to do.

What’s Holding Us Back?

“Or we can just ask the truth, ‘What is holding me back from awakening right now?’ Either way we can’t find any answer because there is nobody there. There is nothing holding us back and that’s why we never really find any answers.

“Next we might ask, “If there are no obstacles holding me back, then why am I not awakened right now?” And when we look we realize that we are attached to our thoughts.

“That’s all that is happening. Samsara is nothing more than our identification with thoughts. That’s all there is. There is nothing there except thoughts.”

from “No Self, No Problem” by Anam Thubten, edited by Sharon Roe, published by Snow Lion Publications.
Curtsey of http://theosophywatch.com  The Mystic Power posted on Dec 15, 2009 by theosophywatch

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Dear Readers

There is a quiet revolution going on in our engagement with schools.  The difference one knowledgeable person – a retired School Principal – can make to the life chances of hundreds of pupils is extraordinary.  It’s inspired, careful work.  Read about it on page 1.

‘Qualifications for Chelaship’ starts on page 2, on “the power of the Adepts over forces of nature… and their goodness and their solicitude for the welfare of the race”.

There’s lots more inside: on growing wheatgrass, the dangers of MSG in our diet and an announcement from a new study group in Toronto Canada – have a look inside and spread the word.

Grateful thanks to you all for your contributions and making the AQ what it is.  Why not do a little propaganda of your own – if you feel like it, print it off and pass it around.

The Editors

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A Quiet Revolution 

by Ann Colburn, “Once Upon a School” http://onceuponaschool.org/stories/232

[An inspiring account of how one person’s work can affect the life chances of many pupils in the critical teenage years at school.  Ed]

I have always been dismayed by the discrepancy between the poor educational opportunities of low-income students in the inner-city in contrast to that of affluent students in private education…

One of the biggest problems for students in inner-city schools is setting goals for after graduation and making a practical plan for reaching those goals.

Far too many students do not make it to graduation and the result is a huge pool of under-educated young people, too many of whom end up stuck in poverty in dead-end jobs or in jail.  I wanted to help inner-city students dream a positive future and create a viable plan to achieve their goals.

What we did

The director of the Academy of Finance (AOF) at Manual Arts High School noticed my work with a few of his students who had been chosen for the One Voice Scholars program. 

He asked if I would be willing to work with his whole class of seniors to enable them to reach goals similar to the One Voice scholars.

He offered me class time in his block schedule to work with the entire class and encouraged me to meet with students one on one to create a plan tailored to each student’s dreams, needs and individual situation.

Manual Arts High School, 4131 S Vermont Ave a few blocks from the ULT in LA, USA.

Each year for the seven years I have worked with the program, I have expanded my understanding of how to help these students succeed. I now reach out to students beginning in 9th grade to help them to see that college and a better life is in their future…

In the larger school, fewer than half of entering freshmen graduate. Of those who do graduate only 15% or so go to college. In the AOF program, 99% graduate and 90% go on to college.

The remaining students enroll in trade programs. One or two have gone into the military.  We have not had to find much funding for our college program, since it is run by volunteers …

In general the AOF students fund-raise constantly for better classroom equipment, textbooks, desks and even a culminating senior trip to Washington DC.

~ End ~

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Dear Readers

Welcome to this month’s AQ,  and thank you for all your contributions over the summer months.  We start with “Degrees of realized knowledge” - its simple, direct theosophy speaks to the heart.

Have a look what else is inside:

Contemplating “What is War?”  on p 3 … it comes to mind that the coming together of something good with something bad is a very creative moment.

“Oriental Philosophy & Literature” by H.P.Blavatsky p 3, “since human nature is ever identical and as there is but one Absolute Truth,  it is possible to effect a reciprocal alliance for the research of that basic Truth.”

The rival to the Bible, p 6. The scattered parts of what is probably the oldest known Bible are being reunited for the first time. It is markedly different from its modern equivalent. What’s left out?

Solar Plane flies day & night with no fuel, no pollution, p 6. Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard has unveiled a prototype of the solar-powered plane he hopes eventually to fly around the world.

The Financial Crisis and the Role of Managers, p 10, a Correspondent writes from Austria on “Understanding the Human Element in Economic Crisis” and the role managers are playing.

Conference opening panel

On p 11 there a some early pictures from the ULT Conference in LA and a paragraph on ‘The AQ and you’ and other selections.

Wednesday Study class before the conference

Wisdom In Action, p 12, has the timeless advice ’Do not try to open up conscious communication with beings on other planes… danger lies that way and because of the power and disposition of the dark forces to simulate beings of Light.’

If you can, please do print off a copy (double sided, if the printer does it) and leave it out for others.  Spread the word, we may only be a few, but “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”, or as science has it, ”the hundredth-monkey effect”.

Happy reading,

The Editors

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Degrees of realized knowledge

“I have found that doing what comes, with all my heart, mind and strength, in time brought me to another place and opportunity and always to a better advantage.

“I have seen in many the attitude, “I don’t like this,” or, “I must have something better”, lead to perpetual change, dissatisfaction and poor results, invariably. 

swan by ancient temple

“On the other hand, I have seen those whom neither sickness nor any other cause could deter, nor diminish their courage and efforts, gain success, the reason being that no opportunity was overlooked and no effort too great for them.  It was really an unconscious fulfilling of karma on their part. 

“Both are interwoven and interblended at every point.  The student should see clearly that his present existence is his opportunity to live and learn as well as learn to live to the best advantage;  it contains and presents the opportunities which, if rejected, will come before us in one form or another until we realize that a step forward can be taken in no other way than by over-coming obstacles and thus, defects.  How wonderfully and perfectly this works.”    (R Crosbie)

Robert Crosbie opened up a way for all students to work for Theosophy and Humanity regardless of conditions or abilities.

He showed us that we do not need to depend on leaders but that each one can take hold of the ideas and begin the journey on the path.  The path of service, study and application.

The platform of U.L.T. is open to all who wish to work in promulgating and understanding the writings of  H.P. Blavatsky and W.Q. Judge. 

From whatever place our karma has put us we prepare for talks or presentations of Theosophy, we study to prepare to facilitate a group meeting, we contemplate the three fundamentals or declaration so as to be better able to answer questions.

This is difficult to do and Robert Crosbie aids the student.

“We can get rid of our hindrances only by following the Path…what we need to do is forget our estimation of ourselves, be that good or bad, and just work on.  We shall find more strength and larger opportunities as we move along that road.”

He knew very well that our karma and our work in Theosophy are not separate and that there is great knowledge and progress when they are interblended.

_________________

Robert Crosbie 1849 - 1919

It is the understanding of Theosophy that opens up the mind to see the truth in all forms and to discern that truth from dogma.  Dogma feeds the personal man and makes him comfortable.  This kind of comfort silences the inner life which depends on an unrelenting search for Truth.

Our evolution, our awakenings will be by individual effort.  U.L.T. gives all students the opportunity to take up this work in earnest. 

It is not about waiting for an adept, great teacher or leader to come in our midst, or to look about for such a being, but it is about each student taking hold of the Ideas presented by H.P.B. and W.Q Judge and working to be the better able to help in the cycles ahead.

It is not an easy path, this path of “self induced and self devised effort”. It  takes into account all lives and beings visible and invisible and cannot exclude anything or anyone.

The weekly meetings and daily work of U.L.T. give a framework for this effort.

All can begin in some small way.  Each one determining the effort for themselves.  This kind of self-determined obligation and the mutual support offered by a group of students gives aid in checking, testing and verifying all the ideas presented in Theosophy.

“…ULT is more closely akin to a journal of ideas than to an organ given over to agreement as to duties, responsibilities, and opportunities.  The ideal aim in ULT is to stir the initiative of anyone who may feel moved to contribute his thoughts to a journal, to seek to serve the ends for which it stands, from his own unique vantage point, just as anyone, likewise, may enter into the work of the ULT,…. 

“To implement this end… had best be a brotherhood symbolized by organically growing objectives, rather than by objectives fixed in constitutional definition.  Just as Judge’s “Path” was an organic growth, a fruition of years of Theosophical study, so it is the aim of ULT to provide a place and an atmosphere conducive to the Theosophical unfoldment…

“This is in truth an “absorbing” and “lofty” work.  Constant vigilance is necessary, but the vigilance of self-examination, not the vigilance practiced by those who feel the weight and destiny of a complicated organization upon their shoulders. 

“Self examination when practiced by working members, serves automatically as encouragement to the pondering of philosophical principles.  One who seeks truth concerning himself, also, learns that something new can be gained each day from a study of…. the Three Fundamental propositions in “The Secret Doctrine”. 

“This sort of meditation – upon one’s own present stance in relation both to degrees of realized knowledge and degrees of self-admitted ignorance, in relation to Theosophy – constitutes the real strength of ULT.”

[from a contributor, with extracts from Theosophy Vol. 46 page 241]

To read PDF click link below or paste into browser:

http://aquariantheosophist.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/10-july-august-09-aquarian-theosophist.pdf

Venus - the morning and evening star

The Supplement contains the full text of the new play about the  three Theosophical Founders in 1875 – in it William Q Judge is given a leading role with a monologue at the end that finishes:

“Brothers and Sisters… this Society must not fail.  It will not fail. 

As you’ve just heard, we are entering a New Cycle with all the opportunities that it offers! Humanity has a choice; it can either move further down that road to where its goals are wealth, possessions and selfish gratification, or up towards a Golden Age of compassionate love and the true joy that comes from an awareness that none of us are separate but integral parts of the whole of Nature…

So, though many attempts will be made to break our resolve through slander, malice and deliberate distortions of what we are attempting to teach – and, more importantly, to show by the way we live – it is only indifference that can seriously weaken our cause.  

To study what The Masters have given us is a privilege.  What individually you do with that privilege is up to you.

Remember, when we have gone on, you will be the Society’s advocates; you will be its emissaries.  And remember too that wonderful phrase – our “Inner Abiding Presence”. Draw comfort from the thought of its existence, or – dare I say – from its realisation.”

The play is written by Alan Hughes from the London Adyar TS and its even-handed view of the founders is most warmly welcomed to the AQ. 

Justice for Judge:

The Supplement also contains a so far unreported letter from Canada to the Adyar TS’s International President  from Bruce Mac Donald, that unpicks some of the obstacles at Adyar in restoring Judge’s good name. 

Further it points out the responsibilities of the TS to ‘live the life’ - through impersonal and enlightened leadership which is so clearly needed as an example in these days of drab materialism: in it is asked:

“What is Adyar doing in order to point people in the right direction [not more material progress but a spiritual message]?   William Q. Judge could very well hold the key of a Theosophical Renaissance.”

With best wishes,

The Editors

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Dear Readers

Welcome to the May-June issue of the AQ. It’s full of readers contributions and comment – our thanks to you for them.

This month the layout of the blog has been simplified so it’s not more than a click or two from downloading the PDF.

Inside you will find:

Setting apart a half an hour – on meditation and a “Happy 100th Birthday” to ULT, on p 1.

“Understanding the Human Element in Economic Crisis” is a review of the problem of work and reward, originally from ‘Manas’ 1948, p 2.

47 m Year Old Ancestor or Astral Shell? News and comment on an important fossil find, p 4

The Kogi & how their Shamans see us, native American Indian culture whose roots are perennial, p 5 and more inside.

Wishing you a happy read, the AQ editors

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“Everything that comes for us to do contains a lesson for us. We should not forget that, ever. What comes at any time at any time contains in it the thing we need; so whether it seems hard, troublesome, or pleasant, there is something in it for us.”

from Robert Crosbie’s writings, founder of the ULT, 1909 d. 25th April 1919

Setting apart a half an hour

When we try to still the mind, we become aware of the disturbances. This is the best part.

This is where our work is, to discern the real from the unreal. If we have no obstacles in meditation, we have just put ourselves into a happy meadow, which will be more of a retreat from conditions rather than remembering SELF while in any and all conditions.

To be always aware of our seven fold natures, to be always ready to adjust when needed, to find causes, and attachments. To understand this lower nature and the personality as the unreal, yet “teachable”. To form it to be of service to the Self of all beings.

From the “Theosophical Movement” of Feb.17, 2009

“how can we suppose that with half-an-hour meditation and the remaining 23 and ½ hours spent the way we like would enable us to concentrate? Our whole day should be an exercise in concentration. We allow our energies to drain away by engaging in idle conversations, mental ramblings, re-living the past experiences or being anxious about this that have not yet happened. Every moment must be spent usefully.”

How do we make every moment count? The practice of Dhyana is the practice of unremitting concentration and contemplation.

“How are we going to arrange our life in a proper manner so that it will aid in our half-hour meditation?” page 125 of Feb. 2009 “Theosophical Movement”.

“Let us hit the mark, O friend! and that mark is the indestructible, the highest spiritual life we are at any time capable of.” William Q. Judge.

To apply this effort, “The Line of Life’s Meditation” says:

Columns at Karnak

“The one, who lives entirely on the plane of sense gratification, will draw from the higher planes the energies required for the fulfillment of his desires and aspirations on the lower plane…. On the other hand, in case of a person who has purer desires and who aspires higher, fixes the “centre of attraction” on the higher plane.

The energies on the lower plane are drawn there, resulting in increase of spirituality…. We create our “centre of attraction” on the higher plane, more markedly, when we take a vow, a pledge or a resolve. (see April 09 AQ article on Chelas on p 5)…

In that we focus our mind and heart on the higher plane and earnestly desire to purify our lower nature….Such a vow brings to the surface every latent quality in a person’s nature, leading to an all-round development.”

So it seems that to purify our lower nature, we must be aware of it and there is nothing like a good solid obstacle to bring this lower nature to our attention, so that we may begin that process.

Happy 100th Birthday

We wish the many students and associates of the ULT a happy 100th birthday this month, celebrating the 100 years of work for the Movement since Robert Crosbie started the ULT in Los Angeles in 1909.

The unusual character of the ULT – not being an organisation nor having any officials, but simply a group of free volunteers – has enabled it to prosper.

We hope you will join us in wishing it well in the 100 years to come.

The AQ Editors

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Hello all

You’re invited to read the letters sent in for the April “Justice for Judge” movement in this AQ Supplement.

The devotion and gratitude shown to WQJ is inspiring – do read a few.   Some have an elegant, simple sincerity (Letter #16), others go into important historical context (#13) and a remarkable one (#2) is signed by 26 people from Mexico. In all, 44 people signed letters.

To make your voice also count, you may consider joining the campaign in April 2010, and 2011… until justice is done where it’s due.

The AQ Editors

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W Q Judge photo

Justice to Judge 

Brasília                                                                                                          May 14, 2009

 Dear Friends,

 This is the 2009 Report on the Letters to Adyar, on Justice to Judge.

 It goes to all 2009 letter-senders and to a few more friends of the initiative who may not have sent letters in 2009.

 This report includes only the letters whose copies have been sent to us, and which are reproduced below.  Other letters have been sent to Adyar whose copies did not arrive to us so far, and therefore are not formally counted here.

 We have been sending letters to Mrs. Radha Burnier for four years now.  It is just the beginning of a movement  to yearly celebrate W.Q. Judge’s life and work for humanity, while also writing about him to our friends in Adyar.  Local and national initiatives are important.  Each letter is open and should be published, discussed and circulated among students of Theosophy everywhere. 

Therefore — besides keeping the chain of yearly  letters to Adyar,  which is the formal  foundation of the movement — there is a number of creative initiatives which may be taken in the future, whenever possible around April 13^th.

 What has been part of the movement’s rhythm so far?

 1) In 2006, six letters were sent from four countries.

2) In 2007, we had ten letters from five countries.

3) In 2008, eleven letters were sent from five countries.

4) In 2009, we have eighteen letters from  six countries.

The 2009 countries are:

Argentina – one letter;
England – one letter;
Mexico – two letters;
Portugal – two letters;
Germany – two letters;
Brazil – ten letters.         [18 in total]

Ms. Sieglinde Plocki, Berlin, reports that besides the letters copied to us, independent letters have been yearly sent to Ms. Radha Burnier since 2007 from Germany by Dr. Cécile Leclercq and by Ms. Eva Jahn. Unfortunately, copies of these letters are not present in our files so far, and therefore are not formally included in our reports. We have a sense that other letters may have been sent to Adyar and not reported to us. This is OK, although our archives are considered useful as an exercise of longer term, historical memory.

One of the 2009 letters, from Mexico, was signed by 26 theosophists of Merida city. Another one, from Germany, was signed by two theosophists. We have ten letters from different cities in Brazil this year. Brazil has grown in the number of letters; Mexico has grown in the number of people signing the letters, which is, no doubt, an improvement for the initiative. Canada did not write this year. But we have two letters from Portugal and one letter from Argentina, so the number of countries gets to six, while in 2008 we had five countries.

We can see that 44 people signed and sent 18 air mail letters to Adyar from six countries, asking for justice to William Judge. One idea, present in one of the letters reproduced below, seems to deserve a special place in this report. It’s in a letter from the German theosophist Sieglinde Plocki:

“Theosophy teaches (…) that it is our duty never to give up when we are striving for justice, especially if it is for somebody, who cannot defend himself. We will therefore never give up to request justice for William Quan Judge.”

Indeed, it seems that long-term time is of the essence in theosophical matters.

You will see below all of the 2009 letters and their senders. After that, we reproduce the short reports of previous years.

Remember you can see more about Letters to Adyar: Justice to Judge, in English language, in the corresponding section at our site www.filosofiaesoterica.com Its direct link is http://www.filosofiaesoterica.com/lettersadyar

Commentaries, suggestions and corrections to the present report are most welcome.

Thanks and greetings to you all, Carlos

 6. April 09 AQUARIAN THEOSOPHIST SUPPLEMENT v1  (the letters start on p. 2)

• new play about the three founders of the TS in 1875 (extract below from page 1)
• Root Causes ”The Error of Violence” on p 3
• Experiences of a Chela on p 5
• Franklin on Humility & the Virtues p 7
• B.P.Wadia and the early ULT p 8… and don’t miss
• the book review of  the excellent “Is there no other way? – The search for a nonviolent future” p 11

on the founding of the TS –

opens with Narrator, H.P.Blavatsky and Col H.S.Olcott

 extract from Part 1:

 Narrator: … but first, there’s someone else I want to introduce to you all.    So if you’d take a seat.   Colonel, I would like to call forward (raises voice) Mr. William Quan Judge!

          (HSO sits next to HPB as WQJ comes forward, bows to HPB, shakes hands with HSO and turns to face the audience)

         Mr. Judge, we think of you now as the third member of the theosophical ‘trinity’, but am I not right in saying that your doctor many years ago would not have believed such a career as yours would be possible.

  WQJ: He pronounced me dead.

 Narr: Could you elaborate a little, please?

 WQJ:  Not really. I was dead. The doctor had said to my parents who were at the bedside: “I’m deeply sorry, but your son is dead”.

 Narr: (pause) I suspect that everyone in this room feels there’s something more you have to tell us.

WQJ: Well, you can imagine my parents’ surprise when I not only opened my eyes but then started to tell them of having been somewhere else. 

Narr: And in the following months this visiting “somewhere else” continued each time you slept?

WQJ: My mother was a strict Methodist and hated any talk about mysticism and things like reincarnation or the religions of the East.

Narr: And your dreams were of places in the East?

WQJ: Yes, in India. But they weren’t dreams. I was there  – as a boy – a boy of noble birth. Then - (pause)

Narr: Yes?

WQJ: Then he – or rather I – that is, the I in India, died too (pause) Well, actually he didn’t die but he became one with me; or I became one with him. (turns to HPB) Please, Madame, can you explain this better?

HPB: Use your intuition, Judge, and try to understand.

WQJ: To this day I’m not really sure why it was but when I recovered after that near death in Ireland, I found I had an intense interest in books on occultism, and mesmerism and such like. Poor Mother. She felt she’d brought some sort of changeling into the world. And it was doubly “poor Mother” as she exhausted herself giving birth to seven children.

HSO: Didn’t you tell me she died soon after that seventh birth?

WQJ: (pause) Yes. (pause) Father decided that perhaps we’d have a better life in America, so to the United States we came.

————–from Part 4: —————

 HPB: (still writing) That One religion of Nature from which every dogma has grown and – and become sadly materialised, (pretends to gather up papers, stands up, kisses WQJ and follows HSO, waving as she goes)

         (pause)

 Narr: Our revels now are – almost – ended. To round off the story of the formation of our Society this evening, I would like to ask Mr Judge if he would care to say a few closing words – Mr Judge.

 WQJ: (to Narr.) Thank you, Mr – er – thank you. (faces audience)

 Brothers and Sisters, it is surely unnecessary to say to you – members of the T.S. as you all are – that this Society must not fail. It will not fail. As you’ve just heard, we are entering a New Cycle with all the opportunities that it offers!

  Humanity has a choice; it can either move further down that road to where its goals are wealth, possessions and selfish gratification, or up towards a Golden Age of compassionate love and the true joy that comes from an awareness that none of us are separate but integral parts of the whole of Nature.

We have been assured by The Masters that in this task, as long as The Theosophical Society exists, the link between them and ourselves will be maintained.

So, though many attempts will be made to break our resolve through slander, malice and deliberate distortions of what we are attempting to teach -and, more importantly, to show by the way we live – it is only indifference that can seriously weaken our cause.

To study what The Masters have given us is a privilege. What individually you do with that privilege is up to you.

Remember, when we have gone on, you will be the Society’s advocates; you will be its emissaries. And remember too that wonderful phrase - our “Inner Abiding Presence”. Draw comfort from the thought of its existence, or – dare I say – from its realisation.

Therefore, dear friends, whatever your achievements or failures; whenever come your times of happiness or sorrow; wherever you go, may your Inner Abiding Presence always guide you.  (puts hands together)  Namaste.

              (turns to Narr:) Namaste.

              Narr: Namaste.

THE END

 Permission to reprint these extracts were kindly given by the author, Alan Hughes, from the Adyar TS in London UK.

The full text will be reprinted in the May Supplement.

 [...]

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Dear Readers and Correspondents

Some of the items in this month’s edition are a letter calling for your support for the Justice for Judge campaign for 13th April, his birthday. The letter is on p 4 – just send an email to lutbr@terra.com.br to ask about supporting this important action (or use the clickable links which now work in the PDF).

- a frank and honest letter from a serving police officer on the lack of incentive to cure of many of society’s ills. This is the first of a series on root causes which you are invited to contribute suggestions to – just reply to Jerome or me.

- an account by the late Dallas TenBroeck of how B.P.Wadia and others formed the early ULT Lodges in the US, India and Europe

- the lead article on the great feelings of unity and brotherhood that were brought about by the first 10 years of theosophical work of India, such as breaking down caste and race barriers and the formation of the Indian National Congress. Perhaps we can reflect on this to provide context for what are today’s challenges.

The Editors and Contributors

“If your brain wavers, then give it a long rest and do simple constant acts of kindness for others” - W. Q. Judge, Letters 1:179

The First 10 Years in India & Now?

As a student of theosophy one should know what has been achieved through it’s influence. 
Looking at the years 1879 to 1889 we see the Theosophical Society made a significant impression on the lives of many, not only in America and Europe, but perhaps nowhere more so than in India, Ceylon and the Far East.
In late 1878 Mme H.P.Blavatsky and Col Olcott left the 27 year old William Judge  alone in the USA but for General Doubleday and some other figures, all of whom later dropped out of active work.  

“Our Three Objects” No.1 on Brotherhood
“When we arrived in India, in February, 1879, there was no unity between the races and sects of the Peninsula, no sense of a common public interest, no disposition to find the mutual relation between the several sects of ancient Hinduism, or that between them and the creeds of Islam, Jainism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. [... continued in PDF]

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ONE night in the year 407 B.C., Socrates had a dream.

He saw a graceful white swan flying toward him with a melodious song trilling from its throat. The next morning Plato came to him and asked to become his pupil.

Socrates saw before him a handsome youth of twenty years, with the broad shoulders of an athlete, the noble brow of a philosopher and the limpid eyes of a poet. He knew that Plato belonged to one of the most illustrious families of  Greece, being descended, on his mother’s side, from the house of Solon, and with the blood of the ancient Kings of Attica flowing through his veins.

This was the beginning of a tender and intimate relationship which lasted until the day of Socrates’ death. While other pupils formulated one-sided systems which but partially represented the ideas of Socrates, Plato used those ideas as seeds which he planted, nourished and developed in the rich soil of his own superior mind, making the full-blown blossoms a memorial offering to the simple nobility of his teacher.

After the death of Socrates, Plato went to Megara and joined the Socratic School of Euclid (not the famous geometer, who lived in Alexandria in the time of Ptolemy I, but a disciple of Socrates who excelled in logical disputation).
From there he went to Cyrene, where Theodorus instructed him in mathematics. Thence to southern Italy, where he studied the science of numbers under the three most famous Pythagoreans of the day. Then into Egypt, to
receive the instructions of the learned doctors and priests of that ancient land.

Some say that he visited Persia and Babylonia, where he was initiated into the Chaldean Mysteries. Others say that he went as far as India. [... continued]

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