Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom (book)

1923 edition

Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom was a two-volume set of books, compiled and edited by Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa, that provide text and commentary on letters sent to various individuals by the Masters of Wisdom or Mahatmas in the early days of the Theosophical Society.

For a complete listing of letters in these two volumes, see this table of contents. 

First Series, 1881-1888

This series was first published in 1919. Subsequent editions included corrections and additional letters. The most recent edition (1988) is organized in these sections:

• The Theosophical Society and Its Work.
• The Path of Discipleship.
• India and the Theosophical Movement.
• Letters of Personal Counsel.
• Letters to and about Damodar K. Mavalankar.
• Letters to and about Mrs. Laura C. Holloway.
• General.
• Marginal Letters.
• Additional Letters.
• NOTES TO LETTERS by C. Jinarājadāsa.

Editions

All editions of Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, 1881-1888 were published by the Theosophical Publishing House in Adyar and other locations. The Foreword was written by Annie Besant; the letters were transcribed and compiled by C. Jinarajadasa. Translated into Russian and Spanish.

• 1919 edition is available from Hathitrust and from Blavatsky Archives. It was published as a facsimile by Nabu Press [Kessinger], 2010, and is also available on microform from University of Chicago.
• 1923 Second Edition.
• 1945 Third Edition incorporates corrections, seven additional letters, and an index.
• 1948 Fourth Edition has the same material as the 1945 edition. The 1948 edition is available from TheosophyOnline.com.
• 1964 Fifth Edition adds thirteen more letters following the others, numbered in Roman numerals I to XII, with an unnumbered letter in the Conclusion. These new letters were written to or about Laura Carter Holloway. The title page changed to Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, 1870-1900 First Series.
• 1973 Sixth Printing, also called First Reprint, is like the 1964 edition.
• Later editions published in 1988 and 2011 using a different numbering scheme. Letters 1 through 29 remained the same, but were followed by the Laura Holloway letters 30-42. The next eleven letters were numbered 30-40 in the earlier editions. The final eight letters are the ones added in 1948. No explanation was given as to why the renumbering took place.

Second Series

This volume is divided into five sections:

• The French Letter of 1870 to Madame Fadéef, the aunt of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. This was the first letter from a Master of the Wisdom ever received. (This letter was included in the First Series but a facsimile of it for the first time is given here). In this section are also letters received in America 1875-76.
• Letters to Henry Steel Olcott, 1879-1884.
• Letters to Indian Chelas S. Ramaswamier, Mohini M. Chatterjee, and R. Keshava Pillai.
• Letters to German Theosophists Dr. Wilhelm Hübbe-Schleiden and Dr. Franz Hartmann.
• Miscellaneous Letters to Norendro Nath Sen, Edmond W. Fern, Harisinghji Rupsinghji, Sorabji J. Padshah, T. Subba Row, William H. Terry, John Smith, and other unknown recipients.

Editions

• 1925 edition. Available (for sale) at Google Books.
• 1926 American Edition was published by Theosophical Press, Chicago. It is available at IAPSOP website. Limited availability from Hathitrust.
• Second edition. Adyar, India, Theosophical Publishing House, 1973, 1977.

Index and commentaries

• Index to the Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, first and second series. Adyar, Madras, India: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1937.
• Theosophy as the Masters See It: Being an Account of the Society and Its Work as Outlined in the "Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom". 1953. Compiled by Clara M. Codd. 369 pages.
• The Story of the Mahatma Letters. 1946.
• The Story of the Mahatma Letters. 1977. Compilation including materials by A. P. Sinnett and H. P. Blavatsky.
• The Maha Chohan's Letter 1881 with a Commentary 1948.1966.
• Maha Chohan Letter with additional notes is available from Alpheus.org.