One
of the Inner Sources of
Modern
Theosophical Movement
Carlos
Cardoso Aveline
Chandragupta Maurya, the first emperor
of
India, from an Indian Postal Stamp
issued in 2001
1. Ashoka, a Pioneer of Ecology
In her “Atlas of Ancient Worlds”, Dr. Anne Millard sums
up:
“A Dynasty of Kings called the Mauryans
ruled India from 322-185 BC. They came to power hundreds of years after the
collapse of the great Indus Valley civilization. By about 600 BC the Aryan
invaders of the Indus Valley had merged with the rest of the Indian population.
They introduced their Sanskrit language and composed sacred hymns, called the
‘Vedas’, that laid the foundation of their society and Hindu religion. But the
country was still divided into small, rival kingdoms that were constantly
challenging each other for overall power.”
Actually, the Vedas are much older than Dr. Anne Millard supposes. Her
narrative is not accurate regarding dates, but it gives us a general view of
facts.
She goes on:
“However there was a bigger threat from
the West. In 330 BC Alexander the Great, who had recently defeated the
Persians, marched his army into India. But the troops were exhausted, and after
only a few months they headed home. It was at this point that a young Indian
warrior, Chandragupta Maurya, seized power. First, he overthrew the ruling
kingdom of Magadha. Then he challenged the Greek general Seleucus, who had
taken over part of Alexander’s empire. Chandragupta proved to be a clever ruler
and a great soldier. By the time his grandson Ashoka took over, India was
already united into its first great empire.” [1]
The karma of a country or civilization
is related to the way its people behave regarding forests and animals, and Emperor Ashoka
protected both. He saw the importance of
forests for the future of India.
Yet he started his life leading wars:
“The Mauryan Empire reached its peak
under the rule of Ashoka. He came to power in about 272 BC with a reputation
for war and violence. Under his leadership, the empire grew even bigger. The
turning point in Ashoka’s life came after the battle of Kalinga. During the
bloody battle against the Kalinga army more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians
were killed. Ashoka was so horrified by all the bloodshed that he converted to
Buddhism. From then on his leadership changed. He began to practice Buddha’s
laws of non-violence and encouraged peace between all people. He arranged for
hospitals to be built, and introduced plans to protect the forests.”
Planting trees, preserving native
forests and protecting the wildlife were three priorities in Ashoka’s India. The
emperor was against the sacrifice of animals. He is probably the first king in
History to establish public policies for the preservation of animal life, as
one can see by his edits written in stone and scattered in different places of
the country.
“In his enthusiasm for Buddhism”, says Dr.
Millard, “Ashoka built, and encouraged others to build, monasteries and sacred
mounds called stupas. He also erected polished sandstone pillars across the
empire. The pillars were engraved with pledges to rule with kindness and
truth.”
The divine knowledge inspiring modern
theosophy is essentially the same as the wisdom taught by emperor Ashoka. The
Mauryan Dynasty relates to the essence and the source of the theosophical
movement.
2. A Question on the Moryas and Koothumi
In December 1883, Helena Blavatsky was the editor of
“The Theosophist” in India when the magazine published on page 99 a thoughtful
letter asking a question with regard to the Mauryas and the rishi
Koothoomi.
The letter said:
“It is stated in Matsya
Purana, Chapter 272, that ten Moryas would reign over India, and would be
succeeded by Shoongas, and that Shata Dhanva will be the first of these ten
Maureyas (or Moryas).”
“In Vishnu Purana
(Book IV, Chapter 4) it is stated that there was in the Soorya Dynasty a king
called ‘Maru, who, through the power of
devotion (Yoga), is still living in the village called Kalapa’, in the
Himalayas (Vide p. 197, Vol. III, by
Wilson), and who ‘in a future age, will
be the restorer of the Kshatriya race in the solar dynasty’, that is, many
thousands of years hence.”
“In another part of the same Purana, Book IV, Chapter 24, it is stated that ‘upon the cessation of the race of Nanda, the
Mauryas [2] will possess the earth, for Kautilya will place Chandragupta on the
throne’. Col. Tod considers Morya, or Maurya, a corruption of Mori, the
name of a Rajput tribe. The Tika on
the Mahavansa thinks that the princes
of the town Mori were thence called Mauryas. Vachaspati, a Sanskrit
Encyclopaedist, places the village of Kalapa on the northern side of the
Himalayas - hence in Tibet. The same is stated in Chapter 12 (Skanda) of Bhagavat. ‘The Vâyu Purana seems to declare that he [Maru] will re-establish the
Kshatriyas in the nineteenth coming yuga’.
(Vol. III, p. 325.)”
The letter concluded:
“In Chapter VI, Book III of Vishnu Purana, a Rishi called Koothumi is mentioned. Will any of
our brothers tell us how our Mahatmas stand to these revered personages? Yours
obediently, R. Ragoonath Row, Madras Theosophical Society.”
The above question is significant in the 21st century,
for some forms of pseudo-theosophy implicitly deny the existence of the masters
of the wisdom, adopting an appearance of scholarly
skepticism, while others distort the information available on the masters by
developing an emotional worship of fake portraits and imaginary teachers. Blind
devotion and blind skepticism are twin brothers in Karma.
3. Ancient Scriptures, on the Dynasty
The answer from Helena Blavatsky to the question
submitted by R. Ragoonath Row is entitled “Editor’s Note”. She said:
“In the Buddhist Mahavanśa,
Chandagutta or Chandragupta, Ashoka’s grandfather, is called a prince of the
Moriyan dynasty as he certainly was - or rather - as they were, for there were
several Chandraguptas.”
“This dynasty, as said in the same book, began with
certain Kshatriyas (warriors) of the Sâkya line closely related to Gautama
Buddha who crossing the Himavantah (Himalayas) ‘discovered a delightful location, well-watered, and situated in the
midst of a forest of lofty bo and other trees. There they founded a town, which
was called by its Sâkya lords - Moriya-Nagara.’ Prof. Max Müller would see
in this legend a made-up story for two reasons:
“(1) A desire on the part of the Buddhists to connect
their king Ashoka, ‘the beloved of gods’ with Buddha, and thus nullify the
slanders set up by the Brahmanical opponents to Buddhism to the effect that Ashoka
and Chandragupta were Sudras; and”
“(2) because this document does not dovetail with his
own theories and chronology based on the cock-and-bull stories of the Greek
Megasthenes and others.”
Blavatsky proceeds:
“It is not the princes of Moriya-Nagara who owe their
name to the Rajput tribe of Mori, but the latter that became so well known as
being composed of the descendants of the first sovereign of Moriya, Nagari-Môrya.
The subsequent destiny of that dynasty is more than hinted at, on pages 39 and
40 (footnote) in the November number of ‘The
Theosophist’. Page 43 of the same magazine gives full details.” [3]
As to the name Koothumi or Koothoomi, the founder of
the theosophical movement says:
“The name of Rishi Koothumi is mentioned in more than
one Purana, and his Code is among the 18 Codes written by
the various Rishis and preserved at Calcutta in the library of the Asiatic
Society. But we have not been told whether there is any connection between our
Mahatma of that name, and the Rishi, and we do not feel justified in
speculating upon the subject. All we know is, that both are Northern Brahmans,
while the Môryas are Kshatriyas. If any of our Brothers know more or can
discover anything relating to the subject in the Sacred books, we will hear of
it with pleasure.”
Blavatsky concludes:
“The words: ‘the
Moryas will possess the earth for Kautilya will place Chandragupta on the
throne’, have in our occult philosophy and interpretations a dual meaning.
In one sense they relate to the days of early Buddhism, when a Chandragupta
(Morya) was the King ‘of all the earth’,
i. e., of Brahmans who believed
themselves the highest and only representatives of humanity for whom Earth was
evolved. The second meaning is purely
esoteric. Every adept or genuine Mahatma is said to ‘possess the earth’, by
the power of his occult knowledge. Hence - a series of 10 Moryas, all initiated
adepts, would be regarded by the occultists, and referred to, as ‘possessing
all the earth’ or all its knowledge. The names of ‘Chandragupta’ and ‘Kautilya’
have also an esoteric significance. Let our Brother ponder over their Sanskrit
meaning, and he will perhaps see what bearing the phrase - ‘for Kautilya will place Chandragupta upon the throne’ - has upon the Moryas
possessing the earth. We would also remind our Brother that the word ‘Itihâsa’, ordinarily translated as ‘history’,
is defined by Sanskrit authorities to be the narrative of the lives of some august
personages, conveying at the same time meanings of the highest moral and occult
importance.” [4]
Life examples of great sages are sources of
inspiration for truth-seekers living in any time or nation.
4. A Royal Line of Eastern Chohans
The article “Sakya Muni’s Place in History” [5] tells the story of the seven golden
statues of Lord Buddha, made by order of the first Council one year after his
bodily death.
The statues had a destination to be reached in due
time in the Himalayas.
As decades and centuries passed, the first statue was
plundered by robbers and melted. The
second one had a similar fate. The third was rescued by a Chinese military from
a barbarous tribe of Bhons. The fourth statue was sunk during the third century
of “Christian” era, together with the ship that carried it. The fifth one
reached its destination just in time, thanks to Arhat Kasyapa. And so did the
last two statues. [6]
Kasyapa belonged to the dynasty of Moryas, founded by
one of the Chandraguptas. He had left the convent of Panch-Kukkutarama carrying
the fifth statue in the year 436, Western era.[7]
A long footnote in the article “Sakya Muni’s Place in
History” says that there are memoirs containing the record of the sage’s daily
life. The article then makes a statement regarding the Mauryan dynasty in both
ancient and contemporary times:
“These texts [the
memoirs] have ever been in the possession of the superiors of the first
Lamasery built by Arhat Kasyapa in Bod-Yul [Tibet],
most of whose Chohans were the descendants of the dynasty of the Moryas, there
being up to this day three of the members of this once royal family living in
India.” [8]
At this point, it must be said that the physical
locations of sages are of no real importance. Their work transcends the realm of
matter and unfolds on a planetary scale.
While pseudo-Tibetan Buddhism obeys to the laws of
propaganda more than anything else, the inner impulse inspiring the
theosophical movement comes from secluded spots in different continents with
which superficial esotericists and “Buddhists” have no chance to have real
affinity. It is hoped that the number will grow of theosophists who seek to
live in harmony with the spiritual (not geographical) sources of the
theosophical effort.
5. A Long-term Project to Help Mankind
In the volume one of “The Secret Doctrine”, Helena
Blavatsky gives her readers more information on the mission of the Mauryan
Dynasty, while compiling and summing up data given in previous texts.
She writes:
“The Kali yuga
reigns now supreme in India, and it seems to coincide with that of the Western
age. Anyhow, it is curious to see how prophetic in almost all things was the
writer of Vishnu Purana when
foretelling to Maitreya some of the dark influences and sins of this Kali Yug.”
Blavatsky then quotes these sentences from the “Vishnu
Purana”, which occur right after the scripture says that the “barbarians” and
their mentality will dominate India:
“There will be contemporary monarchs, reigning over
the earth - kings of churlish spirit, violent temper, and ever addicted to
falsehood and wickedness. They will inflict death on women, children, and cows;
they will seize upon the property of their subjects, and be intent upon the wives of others; they will be of unlimited
power, their lives will be short, their desires insatiable. (….) Wealth and
piety will decrease until the world will be wholly depraved. Property alone
will confer rank; wealth will be the only source of devotion; passion will be
the sole bond of union between the sexes; falsehood will be the only means of
success in litigation; and women will be objects merely of sensual
gratification. (...) External types will
be the only distinction of the several orders of life; (….) a man if rich
will be reputed pure; dishonesty (anyaya)
will be the universal means of subsistence, weakness the cause of dependence,
menace and presumption will be substituted for learning; liberality will be
devotion; mutual assent, marriage; fine clothes, dignity. (….) When the close
of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being which exists, of
its own spiritual nature (….) shall descend on Earth (….) (Kalki Avatar) endowed with the eight superhuman faculties. (….) He
will re-establish righteousness on earth, and the minds of those who live at
the end of Kali Yuga shall be awakened and become as pellucid as crystal.” [9]
While the prophecy refers to wider cycles, it is also
useful for the meditation of those who live in the 21st century.
On p. 378, volume I of “The Secret Doctrine”, Blavatsky
quotes from the “Vayu Purana”:
“….Two persons, Devapi, of the race of Kuru and Moru,
of the family of Ikshwaku, continue alive throughout the four ages, residing at
Kalapa.[10] They will return hither
in the beginning of the Krita age ….. Moru the son of Sighru through the power
of Yoga is still living……. and will be the restorer of the Kshattriya race of
the Solar dynasty. (‘Vayu Purana’,
Vol. III, p. 197).”
This is long-term future. It means the mission of
Mauryan Dynasty will not be interrupted any time soon.
Regarding the term “Moru”, HPB writes in two footnotes
on the same page, the first of which restates an idea that has been already
said:
* “The ‘Vayu Purana’
declares that Moru will re-establish the Kshattriya in the Nineteenth coming
Yuga. (See ‘Five years of Theosophy’, p. 483. ‘The Moryas and Koothoomi’.)”
* “Max Müller
translates the name as Morya, of the Morya dynasty, to which Chandragupta
belonged (see Sanskrit Literature). In ‘Matsya Purana’, chapter cclxxii, the
dynasty of ten Moryas (or Maureyas) is spoken of. In the same chapter, cclxxii,
it is stated that the Moryas will one day reign over India, after restoring the
Kshattriya race many thousand years hence. Only that reign will be purely
Spiritual and ‘not of this world’. It will be the kingdom of the next Avatar.
Colonel Tod believes the name Morya (or Maureyas)
a corruption of Mori, a Rajpoot tribe, and the commentary on Mahavansa thinks
that some princes have taken their name Maurya from their town called Mori, or,
as Professor Max Müller gives it, Morya-Nagara, which is more correct, after
the original Mahavansa. Vachaspattya, we are informed by our Brother, Devan
Badhadur R. Ragoonath Rao, of Madras, a Sanskrit Encyclopedia, places Katapa
(Kalapa) on the northern side of the Himalayas, hence in Tibet. The same is
stated in chapter xii. (Skanda) of Bhagavat, Vol. III, p. 325.”
The topic deserves calm consideration, for it refers
to the higher aspects of the Effort that guides our mankind along the path to
wisdom and across obstacles of every kind.
The collective journey is probationary, just as the
individual journey of every pilgrim: each and all must share the common karma
of humanity. Human evolution is safe,
thanks to the Universal Law and to those impersonal souls who protect mankind
according to Law.
6. A Cyclic Help That Does Not Fail
The prophecy saying that a great sage
will rescue mankind from ignorance is included in several writings by Helena Blavatsky.
It is, of course, also found in different
ways in various religious traditions, including Judaism. It is from the Jewish
Scriptures that Christianity and Islam derived their own versions of the cyclic
law.
The timing of the sacred Return is
recurrent and multiple. The help to mankind takes place on various occasions
according to the Law of Karma. It depends on human beings deserving it and
being entitled to it.
Justice is pendulum-like in movement,
and Krishna says on chapter 4 of the Bhagavad-Gita:
“I produce myself among creatures, O son
of Bharata, whenever there is a decline of virtue and an insurrection of vice
and injustice in the world; and thus I incarnate from age to age for the
preservation of the just, the destruction of the wicked, and the establishment
of righteousness.” [11]
The same passage appears in the book
“Gita the Mother, Commentary by Dnyaneshwar Maharaj”, better known as “Dnyaneshvari”.
There we find a subtle explanation of great technical importance:
“Only the wise ones know Me in My incarnation.”
[12]
Facts are facts, and not everyone enjoys
looking at them.
Cycles long and short interact. Eternity
can be found in the fraction of one second, and universal law is present in
daily life. While great events may be distant, the transcendent teachings about
them constitute a source of inspiration to every earnest theosophist, for whom
it is always possible to make effective efforts according to his or her
strength.
The study of large cycles and the long-term action of Sages to guide mankind is therefore an essential aspect in any serious
theosophical study.
Helena Blavatsky wrote while referring
to Tsong-kha-pa, the great adept and Buddhist reformer.
“Among the commandments of Tsong-kha-pa
there is one that enjoins the Rahats (Arhats) to make an attempt to enlighten the
world, including the ‘white barbarians’, every century, at a certain specified
period of the cycle.”
She then speaks of failure, but we know
there is actually no failure in well-made and well-meaning attempts: apparent
failures are preparations leading to victory. Her own mission was innerly
victorious, and outwardly a defeat, due to karma and the betrayal of many
immediately after her death in 1891.
HPB says:
“Up to the present day none of these
attempts has been very successful. Failure has followed failure. Have we to
explain the fact by the light of a certain prophecy? It is said that up to the
time when Pan-chen-rin-po-che (the Great Jewel of Wisdom) [13] condescends to be reborn in the land of the Pelings
(Westerners), and appearing as the Spiritual Conqueror (Chom-den-da), destroys
the errors and ignorance of the ages, it will be of little use to try to uproot
the misconceptions of Peling-pa (Europe): her sons will listen to no one.” [14]
The idea of a “spiritual conqueror” as
mentioned by HPB seems to coincide in general terms with the prophecies referring
to the Mauryan Dynasty. And Blavatsky wrote more on the subject.
7. The Planetary Network of Wisdom
Every grand idea and ideal may induce
ill-informed or naïve people to illusion. In accordance with this axiom, the
number of pseudo-Avatars, would-be Christs and candidates to the position of
“great teacher of humanity” has not been small in the last two thousand years
or so.
The theosophical movement is no
exception.
Mrs. Annie Besant, for instance,
abandoned true theosophy soon after H.P. Blavatsky died and succeed in
conquering political power in the movement. In the first decades of the 20th
century, Mrs. Besant dedicated her political talents to produce a parody of
Christ’s return. Perhaps unconsciously to herself, she used Mr. Jiddu
Krishnamurti as her puppet, until he got tired of the farce and gave up playing
the role of Lord Christ in 1929.[15]
The wall of delusions surrounding true
facts in theosophy serves as a barrier of tests, which will be successfully crossed
by those who are entitled to it.
While unconsciously betraying the
theosophical cause, Annie Besant served humanity in a bizarre way. She led many
into dire confusion, and this very fact forces the movement to develop a better
degree of discernment by overcoming the illusions created by her. Obstacles are
part of life: defeats give us lessons, treason stimulates a stronger sense of
loyalty, and the mission of the true theosophical movement is greater than its
mistakes. Sacred wisdom can always be understood by those who have an
impersonal, calm, honest attitude toward its universal tenets.
The
true doctrine regarding a long-term work for a better future of mankind is
given by HPB in various texts in somewhat different ways. One example can be
found on pp. 104-105 of volume VI of her Collected Writings, in a passage of
her article “Tibetan Teachings”.
To begin with, she refers to the source
of the information:
“The notes that follow are compiled, or
rather translated, as closely as the idiomatic differences would permit, from
Tibetan letters and manuscripts, sent in answer to several questions regarding
the western misconceptions of Northern Buddhism or Lamaism. The information
comes from a Gelung of the Inner Temple - a disciple of Bas-pa Dharma, the
Secret Doctrine.”
And these are the first words of the
statement she transmits:
“Brothers residing in Gya-Peling - British
India - having respectfully called my master’s attention to certain incorrect
and misleading statements about the Good Doctrine of our blessed Phag-pa
Sang-gyas - most Holy Buddha - as alleged to be carried on in Bhod-Yul, the
land of Tibet, I am commanded by the revered Ngag-pa to answer them. I will do
so, as far as our rules will permit me to discuss so sacred a subject openly. I
can do no more, since, till the day when our Pan-chen-rin-po-che shall be
reborn in the lands of the Pelings - foreigners - and, appearing as the great
Chom-dan-da, the conqueror, shall destroy with his mighty hand the errors and
ignorance of ages, it will be of little, if of any, use to try to uproot these
misconceptions.”
At this point HPB explains:
“A prophecy of Tsong-ka-pa is current in
Tibet to the effect that the true doctrine will be maintained in its purity
only so long as Tibet is kept free from the incursions of western nations,
whose crude ideas of fundamental truth would inevitably confuse and obscure the
followers of the Good Law. But, when the western world is more ripe in the
direction of philosophy, the incarnation of Pan-chen-rin-po-che - the Great
Jewel of Wisdom - one of the Teshu Lamas, will take place, and the splendour of
truth will then illuminate the whole world. We have here the true key to
Tibetan exclusiveness.”
The undeniable importance of Asia in the
work of the Adepts for the good of mankind should not lead the student to think
that the only source of inspiration for the theosophical effort is located in
that continent.
True Adepts are silently and intensely active
in all time in different continents. HPB personally visited some of them in
Egypt, in South America, Central America, and North America. Europe is not
abandoned.[16] However, the only way
to know something about the Masters and their Disciples is by inner affinity
with the Cause of Human Progress. Personal curiosity is often worse than
useless, but co-workers are welcome to the Cause.
The essence of things is by definition
beyond the world of appearance.
In Judaism, Pythagoreanism and
Theosophy, the letters of the alphabet and numbers have several layers of
meaning and magnetism. It is worthwhile to contemplate what HPB wrote about the
letter that opens the name of the Mauryan Dynasty, and the name of her teacher.
She explains in “The Secret Doctrine”:
“…The Lotus and Water are among the
oldest symbols, and in their origin are purely Aryan, though they became common
property during the branching-off of the fifth race. Let us give an example.
Letters, as much as numbers, were all mystic, whether in combination or each taken
separately. The most sacred of all is the letter M. It is both feminine and
masculine, or androgyne, and is made to symbolize WATER, the great deep, in its
origin. It is mystic in all the languages, Eastern and Western, and stands as a
glyph for the waves, thus:
.”
.”
Blavatsky proceeds:
“In the Aryan Esotericism, as in the
Semitic, this letter has always stood for the waters; e.g., in Sanskrit MAKARA - the tenth sign of the Zodiac - means a
crocodile, or rather an aquatic monster associated always with water. The
letter MA is equivalent to and corresponds with number 5 - composed of a binary, the symbol of the two sexes
separated, and of the ternary, symbol
of the third life, the progeny of the binary.
This, again, is often symbolised by a Pentagon,
the latter being a sacred sign, a divine Monogram.”
Many sacred terms start with “M”:
“MAITREYA is the secret name of the Fifth Buddha, and the Kalki Avatar of the Brahmins - the last
MESSIAH who will come at the culmination of the Great Cycle. It is also the
initial letter of the Greek Metis or Divine
Wisdom; of Mimra, the ‘word’ or Logos; and of Mithras (the Mihr), the Monad, Mystery. All these are born in, and from, the great Deep, and are
the Sons of Maya - the Mother; in
Egypt, Mouth, in Greece Minerva (divine wisdom), Mary, or Miriam, Myrrha, etc.; of
the Mother of the Christian Logos, and of Maya,
the mother of Buddha. Madhava and Madhavi are the titles of the most
important gods and goddesses of the Hindu Pantheon. Finally, Mandala is in Sanskrit ‘a circle’ or an
orb (the ten divisions of the Rig Veda).
The most sacred names in India begin with this letter generally - from Mahat, the first manifested intellect,
and Mandara, the great mountain used
by the gods to churn the Ocean, down
to Mandakin, the heavenly Ganga (Ganges), Manu, etc., etc.”
Blavatsky then asks:
“Shall this be called a coincidence? A
strange one it is then, indeed, when we find even Moses - found in the water of
the Nile - having the symbolical consonant in his name. And Pharaoh’s daughter
‘called his name Moses ….. because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of WATER’ (Exod.
ii., 10.) Besides which the Hebrew sacred name of God applied to this letter M is Meborach, the ‘Holy’ or the ‘Blessed’ and the name for the water of
the Flood is M’bul. A reminder of the ‘three
Maries’ at the Crucifixion and their connection with Mar, the Sea, or Water,
may close this example. This is why in Judaism and Christianity the Messiah is
always connected with Water, Baptism, the Fishes
(the sign of the Zodiac called Meenam
in Sanskrit), and even with the Matsya (fish)
Avatar, and the Lotus - the symbol of the womb, or the water-lily, which is the
same.”
“In the relics of ancient Egypt”, says the
great Russian disciple of the Masters, “the greater the antiquity of the votive
symbols and emblems of the objects exhumed, the oftener are the lotus flowers
and the water found in connection with the Solar Gods.” [17]
Blavatsky’s study in the letter “M” and
the way she thinks while examining the issue serve as practical examples of universal consciousness.
In theosophy, one’s mind expands and one’s
heart remains simple. Discernment gets sharper as common sense unfolds. One must
be a personal friend of the Void, for
the Void is the place where each thing and universal truth dwell. As the consciousness
of a student embraces the Ocean of time and wisdom, his feet get firmer on the
ground.
NOTES:
[1] From “Atlas of Ancient Worlds”, a pictorial
atlas of past civilizations, by Dr. Anne Millard, Illustrated by Russell
Barnett, published by Dorling Kindersley, London-New York-Stuttgart, 1994, 64
pp., see p. 46.
[2] Note by H.
P. Blavatsky: “Of the dynasty of Moriyan Sovereigns”, as said in the Mahâvanśa - the particulars of this
legend are recorded in the Atthakathâ
of the Uttaravihâra priests.
[3] Boris de Zirkoff reports that this refers to the same
text as on pp. 246-247, and 256-258, in Vol. V of the “Collected Writings”.
[4] Besides “The Theosophist”, December 1883, p. 99,
Blavatsky’s answer will be found in the book “Five Years of Theosophy”, pp.
483-484, and in her “Collected Writings”, volume VI, pp. 40-42.
[5] First-published in the November 1883 edition of “The
Theosophist”, pp. 38-43. Also published in “Five Years of Theosophy” (Theosophy
Co., pp. 365-388) and in “Collected Writings” of H.P. Blavatsky, TPH, volume V,
pp. 241-259. On the fact that the statues date from the first year after Sakya
Muni’s death, see footnote on p. 246, “Collected Writings”, volume V.
[6] “Collected Writings”, vol. V,
p. 246.
[7] “Collected Writings”, vol. V,
p. 245.
[8] “Collected Writings”, vol. V,
p. 246, footnote.
[9] “The Secret Doctrine”, vol. I,
pp. 377-378.
[10] Note by HPB: “Matsya Purana” gives “Katapa”.
[11] “The Bhagavad-Gita”, from the Sanskrit by William Q. Judge, Theosophy
Co., Los Angeles, 1986, 133 pages, Chapter Fourth, see p. 31.
[12] “Gita
the Mother, Commentary by Dnyaneshwar Maharaj”, translated in English by Manu
Subedar, Kalyani publishers, New Delhi, India, 1972, 318 pp., see chapter 4, p.
81.
[13] Note by HPB: A title of the
Tashi-lhunpo Lama.
[14] See
volume XIV, page 431, of HPB’s Collected Writings (TPH).
[15] See in our websites the articles “The Making of an Avatar”,
“Krishnamurti and Theosophy”, and “Krishnamurti on Besantian Delusions”, by
Carlos Cardoso Aveline; besides “Besant Announces She Is An Adept”, by Mary
Lutyens.
[16] To
know more about the work of the Masters in different parts of the world,
readers will find in our associated websites the articles “The Observatory of
Luxor” and “The Ancient Theosophy in the Andes”, both by C. C. Aveline.
[17] “The Secret Doctrine”, H. P. Blavatsky, Theosophy Co., volume I, pp.
384-385.
000
In September 2016, after a careful
analysis of the state of the esoteric movement, a group of students decided to
form the Independent Lodge of
Theosophists, whose priorities include the building of a better future in
the different dimensions of life.
000
