Collected Writings (book)

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Collected Writings

The H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings, the works of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, were edited by Boris de Zirkoff and Dara Eklund. The set comprises fourteen volumes of published articles, notes, and Blavatsky's diaries, with biographical details on the people mentioned, a historical survey of the period, and an index. Volume XV is a comprehensive index.

History

After the death of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky on May 8, 1891, members of the Theosophical Society began to gather her writings for publication. An "H.P.B. Memorial Fund" was established. The first and only volume of the "The H.P.B. Memorial Fund Series" was published in 1895 as A Modern Panarion: A Collection of Fugitive Fragments from the pen of H.P. Blavatsky (London, New York and Madras, 1895, 504 pp.) containing a selection from articles from Spiritualistic journals and The Theosophist. That volume is available at Teopedia.

Almost thirty years passed before Boris de Zirkoff took up his life work of publishing the writings of H.P.B. in 1924. He was then residing in San Diego headquarters of the Point Loma Theosophical Society, during the administration of Katherine Tingley. For the next six years he compiled material and verified facts, conducting a huge international correspondence. His initial focus was the period 1874-79.

In August, 1929, Dr. Gottfried de Purucker, then Head of the Point Loma Theosophical Society, was approached regarding the plan of publishing a uniform edition of H.P.B.’s writings. This idea was immediately accepted, and a small Committee was formed to help with the preparation of the material. It was intended from the outset to start publication in 1931, as a tribute to H.P.B. on the Centennial Anniversary of her birth, provided a suitable publisher could be found.[1]

Early in 1930, A. Trevor Barker, of London, compiler of The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett wrote to Gottfried de Purucker that he and his friend Ronald A.V. Morris were engaged in a similar compilation project. They merged their efforts into those underway at Point Loma. Barker suggested Rider and Company of London to be the publisher.

Zirkoff suggested broadening the initiative:

In the meantime, namely, on April 1, 1930, the suggestion had been made by the Compiler [Zirkoff] that this entire work become an Inter-Organizational Theosophical project in which all Theosophical Societies would collaborate. Since this idea dovetailed with the Fraternization Movement inaugurated by Dr. G. de Purucker at the time, it was accepted at once and steps were taken to secure the cooperation of other Theosophical Societies.[2]

Mrs. Annie Besant, President of the Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Madras, India, immediately agreed.

After a period of preliminary correspondence, constructive and fruitful literary teamwork was established with the officials at the Adyar Headquarters. The gracious permission of Dr. Annie Besant to utilize material in the Archives of The Theosophical Society at Adyar, and the wholehearted collaboration of C. Jinarājadāsa, A.J. Hamerster, Mary K. Neff, N. Sri Ram, and others, extending over a number of years, have been factors of primary importance in the success of this entire venture....

While work proceeded on various portions of the mass of material already available, the main effort was directed towards completing Volume I of the Series, which was to cover the period of 1874-1879. This volume proved, in some respects, to be the most difficult to produce, owing to the fact that material for it was scattered over several continents and often in almost unprocurable periodicals and newspapers of that era.[3]

Volume I was ready for the printer in August, 1931, but was not actually issued until early 1933, under the title of The Complete Works of H.P. Blavatsky. Barker was nominally the editor, under a stipulation of the contract with Rider and Company. Three additional volumes were issued 1933-1936. World War II delayed further work, and all the plates and stock of books in the Complete Works series were destroyed in wartime bombings.[4]

In the postwar years, Boris de Zirkoff completed compilation of Volume V. He published it through a collaboration with Manly P. Hall and the Philosophical Research Society under the new series title H. P. Blavatsky Collected Writings. Volume VI was issued in 1954 by the Blavatsky Writings Publication Fund in Los Angeles. All subsequent volumes were published by the Theosophical Publishing House in Adyar, Madras, India, which later reissued Volumes I-VI in their series. After the death of Mr. Zirkoff in 1981, his longtime associate Dara Eklund completed the final volumes XIII and XIV, with a cumulative index as Volume XV.

Editions

Published by Rider

The first four volumes were produced by Rider & Co. in London under the name The Complete Works of H. P. Blavatsky. Available as free e-books from Internet Archive and Open Library.

  • Volume I. 1933.
  • Volume II. 1933.
  • Volume III. 1935.
  • Volume IV. 1936.

Published by Manly P. Hall

  • Volume V, 1883 - Los Angeles: Philosophical Research Society, 1950. 416 pages.

Published by Theosophical Publishing House

Note: Digital versions of all volumes are also available at Teopedia.
  • Volume II, 1897-1880 - Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House; Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1967. 590 pages. Available at Theosophy World and KatinkaHesselink.net.
  • Volume III, 1881-1882 - Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House; Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1968. 583 pages. Available at Theosophy World and KatinkaHesselink.net.
  • Volume IV, 1882-1883 - Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House; Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1969. 718 pages. Available at Theosophy World and KatinkaHesselink.net.
  • Volume V, 1883 - Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House; Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1969??. 416 pages??. Available at Theosophy World and KatinkaHesselink.net.
  • Volume VI, 1883-1884-1885 - Los Angeles [Calif.]: Blavatsky Writings Publication Fund, 1954. 481 pages. Second edition, 1975. Available at Theosophy World and KatinkaHesselink.net.
  • Volume XI, 1889 - Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House; Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973. 632 pages. Available at Theosophy World and KatinkaHesselink.net.
  • Volume XII, 1889-1890 - Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House; Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House 1980. 859 pages. Available at Theosophy World and KatinkaHesselink.net.
  • Volume XIII, 1890-1891 - Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House; Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1982. 465 pages. Available at Theosophy World and KatinkaHesselink.net.
  • Volume XIV, Miscellaneous - Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House; Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1985. 733 pages. Compiled with assistance of Dara Eklund. Available at Theosophy World and KatinkaHesselink.net.
  • Volume XV, Cumulative Index - Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House; Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House, 1991. 633 pages. Edited by Dara Eklund. Available at Theosophy World.

Additional resources

  • Boris de Zirkoff Papers. Records Series 22. Theosophical Society in America Archives. This archival collection comprises the research papers, correspondence, and photographs used by Boris de Zirkoff and Dara Eklund to edit the Collected Writings.
  • Boris de Zirkoff, "The Writings of H. P. Blavatsky". This Preface was printed in every volume of the CW, and is published here by the Philalethians.
  • Do Blavatsky's Books Need Rewriting? at BlavatskyTheosophy.com website. This is a critique of "corrections" made to Blavatsky's writing by Boris de Zirkoff and other editors.

Notes

  1. ↑ Boris de Zirkoff, "The Writings of H. P. Blavatsky". This Preface was printed in every volume of the CW.
  2. ↑ Zirkoff, "The Writings of H. P. Blavatsky".
  3. ↑ Zirkoff, "The Writings of H. P. Blavatsky".
  4. ↑ Geoffrey A. Barborka, H. P. Blavatsky, Tibet and Tulku (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1966), 164.
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