Classic Book Discusses the
Region of Nilgiri, in Southern India
Joana Maria Ferreira de Pinho
A traditional house in the Nilgiri
Hills, South India.
Reading
is an act of freedom which transcends barriers of space and time. The only
obstacle we may face while reading a good book is our own inability to fly with
the words and the spirit animating them. We overcome the difficulty once the
process of reading with the soul becomes a habit.
On
the pages of a book one can travel to places physically inaccessible and get to
know about people of different traditions. It makes no difference how far distant
they are in time or space. A good book is like a bridge. It leads one’s consciousness
to other aspects of reality. One such work is “The People of the Blue Mountains”,
in whose pages H.P. Blavatsky writes about the Nilgiri Hills, in Southern India,
and the unknown tribes which lived there.
That
mountainous region was seen by the Indians as a magic territory and a dwelling place
of the gods. No mortal would dare tread on its soil. There were many stories,
legends and superstitions around those blue mountains; nobody had the courage
to explore them. Up to 19th century the mountains and their inhabitants were
inaccessible to India not because of any geographical or physical difficulty,
but due to the feelings of respect, fear and devotion.
The
Nilgiri Hills had their beauty and magic revealed to the world after the
curiosity of two British citizens, Kindersley and Whish, made them organize an
expedition. The book “The People of the Blue Mountains” describes their
adventure on the basis of the reports published at the time, which HPB
collected. The volume includes the narrative of her own visit to the hills, in
1883. Readers of the book can have the feeling that they themselves are breathing,
in 19th century, the pure atmosphere of that region and seeing with their own
eyes the beauty and the mystery of Nilgiri.
H.P.
Blavatsky said that “apparently the ‘Blue Mountains’ were a region selected by
Nature for her world-wide varieties of vegetation”.[1] The audacity of the “Westerners” made it possible to discover a
natural world that nobody had imagined could exist in Indian soil. And our
civilization also came to know of the existence of two tribes whose origin even
today is a mystery to researchers: the Kouroumbs
(dwarfs) and the Todds (giants).
The
word ‘Todd’ is also spelled ‘Toda’.
By
having some information about these two tribes we expand our knowledge of
mankind’s history. The Kouroumbs were seen as a savage people, as excellent
hunters and practitioners of sorcery. Only the Todds were respected by them. The
Todds had no god and used no weapons. While living in a region with many wild
tigers and elephants, the Todds were never attacked by them. In their language
there was no direct word for lie or falsehood. They were vegetarians and their
life concentrated around their sacred buffalos.
An
important aspect of the book is in the fact that through History, testimony,
research and reflection about the discoveries, Helena Blavatsky makes in it a
manifesto against Western materialism. The Kouroumbs and the Todds represent
two aspects of human nature: darkness and light, evil and goodness. The Kouroumbs
hate, the Todds love. The Kouroumbs produce sickness in those who hate, and the
Todds heal the sick through love. The wisdom of the Todds says:
“The
fire of the sun is composed of the fires of love. (…) Each good man, white or black, is a Todd. Wicked men do not love;
that is why they cannot go up into the sun.” [2]
The
Sun is a symbol of the higher self or spiritual soul. Helena Blavatsky writes:
“I
know of no example of a Todd having consented to care for some one and not having
cured him. But it is only rarely that he consents. He will never touch a
drunkard or a debauched person. ‘We heal through the love flowing from the sun, and this love will have no effect upon a
wicked man’, the Todds claim.” [3]
Humans
must preserve the goodness which makes the healing possible.
The
good is the great power and constitutes the law. The “evil” is but the good which
did not happen yet, the place where a healing must occur in due time, once conditions
are favourable.
NOTES:
[1] “The People of the
Blue Mountains”, Helena P. Blavatsky, Theosophical Press, Wheaton, Illinois, USA,
227 pages, online edition “The Aquarian Theosophist”, 2018. The book is
available in our associated websites: see p. 53.
[2] “The People of the Blue Mountains”, H.P.B.,
p. 184. See the link on note [1]
above.
[3] “The People of the Blue Mountains”, H.P.B., p. 187. See
more on the Todds in the 1877 book “Isis Unveiled”, Helena Blavatsky, original
edition, volume II, pp. 613-615. “Isis
Unveiled” is available at our associated websites.
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See the book “The People of the Blue Mountains”, by Helena P. Blavatsky.
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The above
article is a translation by CCA of Joana’s article “Blavatsky e as Montanhas Azuis”, which is published in our
associated websites.
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On 14 September 2016, after examining the state of the
esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students decided to found the Independent Lodge of Theosophists. Two
of the priorities adopted by the ILT
are learning from the past and building a better future.
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