Twenty-One Occult
Stories By Two
Founders of the
Modern Esoteric Movement
H. P. Blavatsky
and W. Q. Judge
W.Q. Judge, H. P. Blavatsky and the front cover of the
1984 edition
A 2012 Note to the Present Online Edition
Being universal
wisdom, Theosophy cannot be limited to any outward form of study, perception or
transmission.
It must speak to the multiple areas of human brain. It
has to enlighten every nook and corner of one’s soul.
The magazine founded by H.P. Blavatsky in 1879 - “The Theosophist” - was “devoted to Oriental Philosophy, Art,
Literature and Occultism”. Theosophical books and magazines typically
include stories and poems.
In her writings, H.P.B. often quotes poets. She extensively
discusses Russian novelists like Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Turgenev, and
sometimes she translated texts by them. She defined French writer Balzac as “an
unconscious Occultist”, and among her articles on the relation between
theosophy and fiction literature one can find “The Tidal Wave”, where she comments:
“Dickens and
Thackeray both born a century too late - or a century too early - came between
two tidal waves of human spiritual thought, and though they have done yeoman
service individually and induced certain partial reforms, yet they failed to
touch Society and the masses at large. What the European world now needs is a
dozen writers such as Dostoyevsky, the Russian author, whose works, though terra
incognita for most, are still well known on the Continent, as also in
England and America among the cultured classes.”
Many of the following stories by H. P. Blavatsky and
W. Q. Judge study, describe and dismantle subconscious mechanisms of ignorance
and fear in human psyche. Readers who
are more inclined to look for optimism than depression have nothing to lose in
carefully reading and reflecting about them, even when the narratives show the
dark side of human life, for they help one get rid of the causes of emotional
suffering.
One of such stories, “The Ensouled Violin”[1],
has an earlier and shorter version written by a Master of the Wisdom. This was
published in “The Theosophist”,
January 1880, pp. 95-97, being signed by “Hillarion Smerdis, F.T.S.” , and
dated “Cyprus, October 1st, 1879”. [2]
Boris de Zirkoff highlighted the fact that on letter
20 of the “Letters From the Masters of the Wisdom” (TPH),
First Series, a Mahatma writes, while referring to Ms. Laura Holloway:
“…She will have in good time the help of the adept who
writes stories with H.P.B.”
There can be no doubt that this was a mention to
Master H.
We must thank the Theosophy
Company (India) for the authorization to publish the present book in our associated
websites.
Every story in this collection provides the reader
with a valuable lesson in theosophy. The book includes an Appendix on Oriental
Psychology (p. 234) and a Glossary starting at page 239.
The
Editors.
NOTES:
[1] This
particular story is full of symbolism, and its lessons can be applied to
various situations according to the law of analogy. Another story of great
interest to long-standing students of H.P.B. is the Cagliostrian tale “An Unsolved Mystery”. Good research done
by Boris de Zirkoff on “An Unsolved
Mystery” can be seen at the “Collected
Writings”, H.P. Blavatsky, TPH, vol.
V, pp. 159-162. Regarding Cagliostro, the “unsolved” inconsistencies present in
that story should be seen as “blinds”.
[2] The same central idea of “The Ensouled Violin” inspires the 1998
Warner Brothers motion picture “The Red
Violin”, 130 m., directed by François Girard. The film is available in DVD.
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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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