H.P.B. Suggests W. Q. Judge
Will Replace
Her After “The Secret
Doctrine” is Published
Helena P. Blavatsky
H.P.B. and William Judge
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Editorial Note:
The following
letter from H. P. Blavatsky
to W. Q. Judge is
dated 3 November, 1886.
We reproduce it
from “Theosophical History”
magazine, volume
V, Number 3, July 1994, pp. 86-88.
We thank the
magazine for publishing this document.
Underlined words
are thus in the original. Sometimes,
they are
underlined with a double line in the
transcription
made by Mr.
Michael Gomes. We don’t take that into
consideration. Words
in square brackets, followed by question
marks, are attempts by the transcriber to understand
the original.
In this letter H.P.B. suggests she might die soon after the
publication of “The Secret Doctrine”, and W.Q. Judge could
replace her worldwide or take her place in North America. She says:
“Well, Sir & my only friend the
crisis is nearing. I am
ending my S.D. & you are
going to replace me or take my place in
America. I know you will
have success if you do not lose heart; but
do, do remain true
to the Masters & their theosophy & the names.”
That means that in November 1886 H. P. Blavatsky had
already
a glimpse or two of the movement’s future after her
departure. In
obtaining such a broad view of things she had help
from Masters. In
this regard see for instance the letter from H.P.B. to
Patience Sinnett
dated 23 July 1885, in “Letters from HPB to A. P.
Sinnett”, T.U.P.,
Letter XLV, pp. 104-106. Another hint or evidence can
be found in
her famous “Bird’s Eye View” paragraph, which
is part of a letter to
Judge dated August 12, 1887. It has been reproduced in
a number of
places, including “The Friendly Philosopher”, by
Robert Crosbie
(Theosophy Co., Los Angeles, 1946, 415 pp.), at pp. 108
and 389.
We add a few explanatory notes to the text of the present
letter.
(Carlos Cardoso Aveline)
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
private
& confidential
Ostende Nov. 3, 86
My dear Judge,
Yours received - and Mr. Harte’s [1] papers read all carefully &
with attention. What can I say? Only that I am with you heart and soul
but I am not at one with Arthur [2] who
acts as no worst enemy could with regard to Olcott. That H.S.O. [3] is a d----d fool, with the best intentions is
known; that he bows before Science & titles - is also true, otherwise he
would not be the Yankee he is, but that he is the best & the most reliable
of friends & faithful to his word to the backbone - is equally true. Once
he sees his stupid mistake he will be all right again, that’s sure. I sent him
the papers with a letter that will make him [sneeze?] & curse me. Well, I
don’t care. I know he is going against Masters’ wish in more than one thing;
& yet imagines he is following Their wish but he mistakes the voice of his
own flapdoodle Self - for Master’s voice. But he is honest & he never backbites.
What he has to say he tells a man right to his face.
Please assure Arthur that he may be very wise
in the eyes of his generation, but that nevertheless he is damned mistaken when
he writes to his mother that the “O.L.”[4]
was fooled by Coues. The O.L. was not. She never answered C.’s letters
but once for twenty of his letters & she never wrote to him one line ever
since the last letter written from Elberfeld. I did not tell right to his face
that he humbugged & bamboozled - simply because I did not want to make an
enemy; & secondly - because he [is] really a psychic and a crazy man in the
bargain who will become a raving madman one of these days if he does not drop
certain practices I know of. But the charge of his being with the
Jesuits is foolish. He may be a Jesuit himself but he would never have made himself
such a transparently idiotic fool if he were really under the advice of
Jesuits. It’s all Arthur’s fancies.
One thing Judge, private & confidential.
Try to save the best little woman that ever lived: Mrs. Emily Bates [5] of Philadelphia. She does not know him
as we do; she pities him & has almost consented to marry him who feigns
love only for her wealth. She stopped with me for over a month - she is
fully devoted to me & the Society. But if he gets hold of her - she is
lost. Once she knows who & what he really is she will not sacrifice
herself. But now without loving him she imagines him a hero, a martyr
& with womanly flapdoodle generosity has taken it into her head to save him
from himself!! I saw the letters he wrote to her immediately after his
divorce.[6] Do a theosophical work Judge & try to save
her. He is a blackguard in more than one way.
Well, there’s an answer to the “Cables Brown”
manifesto.[7] If you will
not, or cannot publish it in “Path” please send it to Adyar. I felt
bound to say what I thought of W.T. Brown of Glascow. The fool changes ideas
& Masters like match boxes - & tho’ I do not name him he & others
will recognize Mr. W.T. Brown in the portrait, too kind, too generous & too
good for him. But he is a fool & I pity him.
Well, Sir & my only friend the
crisis is nearing. I am ending my S.D. & you are going to
replace me or take my place in America.[8]
I know you will have success if you do not lose heart; but do, do
remain true to the Masters & their theosophy & the names.
If you do not like my article send it
back.
Thank Mr. Harte for his kind letters. I swear
I have no time to answer. I hardly find two minutes to answer you & Olcott.
Funny things in preparation. May They help you and allow us to give you
our best blessings.
I am offered any amount of money - an income,
board, lodging, all free to come to America
& work without you i.e. against.
Of course I sent them to hell. I rather lose the whole American lot to the
last man Arthur included than you. Perhaps soon now, you will know why,
Yours ever
H.P. Blavatsky
NOTES:
[1] Richard Harte .
[2] Arthur Gebhard.
[3] Henry S. Olcott.
[4] “O.L.” – “Old Lady”, that is, H. P. Blavatsky.
[5] At this point the
transcriber Michael Gomes says in a note:
“Mary Emily Bates
(1835–1906), recently widowed in March 1886. At the suggestion of Coues, she
was elected to the American Board of Control at the annual meeting of July 4, 1886.
She married Elliott Coues in Oct. 1887.”
[6] A note by the
transcriber says: “Coues
obtained his divorce from Jeannie Augusta Coues July 27, 1886.”
[7] A note by the transcriber
explains: “A joint article titled “The Theosophical Mahatmas” from Mrs. Josephine
Cables, editor of the Rochester Occult Word, and W.T. Brown, recently of
the Adyar headquarters, had appeared in the Oct.-Nov. issue of Mrs. Cables’
magazine. It criticized the non-responsiveness of the Mahatmas to the members.
Mme. Blavatsky’s stinging reply was published in Judge’s Path for Dec.
1886.”
[8] S.D. - “The Secret
Doctrine”. In this sentence H.P.B.
suggests that once she finishes the S.D. she may die and William Judge will “take
her place” either worldwide or in North America. Indeed she died a few years
after the publication of “The Secret Doctrine” and he might have replaced her
in her international work, but could only “take her place” from North America
instead. Indeed, W.Q. Judge’s work in
the USA was the basis for the preservation of the original teachings of H. P. B.
during the cycle of pseudo-theosophy. The same passage in H.P.B.’s letter
suggests that Judge would have to face significant challenges in “replacing”
H.P.B., and so he did. The present letter includes these significant sentences:
“Funny things in preparation. May They
help you and allow us to give you our best blessings.” It is also worthwhile to meditate upon the
implications of the two final sentences in the letter.
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On the role of the esoteric movement in the
ethical awakening of mankind during the 21st century, see the book “The Fire and Light of Theosophical Literature”, by
Carlos Cardoso Aveline.
Published in
2013 by The Aquarian Theosophist,
the volume has 255 pages and can be obtained through Amazon Books.
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