Mahatma Letter to Trivedi - LMW 1 No. 44

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People involved
Written by:	Koot Hoomi
Received by:	N. O. Trivedi
Sent via:	unknown
Dates
Written on:	unknown
Received on:	March 1884
Other dates:	unknown
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Sent from:	unknown
Received at:	unknown
Via:	unknown

This letter is Letter No. 44 in Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, First Series. Mahatma Koot Hoomi responds to questions posed by Mr. Navtamram Ootamram Trivedi of Surat. In all editions before the First Series was resequenced in 1988, this was called Letter 31.

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Page 1 transcription, image, and notes

Question: – People of Guzarat are simple; they have a religious turn of mind, but they have been entangled in sectarian religions.

This is not peculiar to Guzerat. Almost everywhere it is so.

Question: – Can I bring them from exoteric religion to esoteric?

Not the work of a day nor of a few years. India has been going down for thousands of years. She must take equally long for her regeneration. The duty of the philanthropist is to work with the tide and assist the onward impulse.

Question: – I wish to form a club. . . to discuss. . .'Sanatana Dharma'; can I succeed?

No effort is ever lost, every cause must produce its effects. The result may vary according to the circumstances which form a part of the cause. It is always wiser to work and force the current of events than to wait for time – a habit which has demoralized the Hindus and degenerated the country.

Question: – If people can see phenomena they will listen... should I get the assistance of a high chela…in time of absolute necessity?

Those who are carried away by phenomena are generally the ones who being under the domain of Maya

NOTES:

• Guzarat is "a tract of territory reaching northwards from Bombay to Kathiawa."
• Sanatana Dharma is "a Sanskrit term for the old established and venerated formulas of orthodox Hinduism."

Page 2

are thus unable and incompetent to study or understand the philosophy. Exhibition of phenomena in such cases is not only a waste of power, but positively injurious. In some it encourages superstition, while in others it develops the latent germ of hostility towards philanthropists who would resort to such phenomena being shown. Both the extremes are prejudicial to real human progress which is happiness. For a time wonders may attract a mob, but that is no step towards the regeneration of humanity. As Subba Row has explained to you, the aim of the philanthropist should be the spiritual enlightenment of his fellow-men, and whoever works unselfishly to that goal necessarily puts himself in magnetic communication with our chelas and ourselves. Subba Row is the best person to advise you, but he is not a very good correspondent. Whatever has to be learnt from him must be done verbally.

K.H.

NOTES:

Context and background

Mr. Jinarajadasa provided these notes about this letter:

The questions were propounded in March 1884 by Mr Navatamram Ootamram Trivedi of Surat. He was a valiant worker to his end in 1907 in the cause of Theosophy. T. Subba Row was one of the pupils of the Master M., and he collaborated with H.P.B. in the work of the earlier volumes of The Theosophist. His many articles have been gathered together in the volume, Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row, B.A., B.L., F.T.S., published at Adyar.

Physical description of letter

The original letter is at the Adyar headquarters of the Theosophical Society.

Publication history

This letter was published in 1919 as Letter 31 in the first edition of Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, 1881-1888, later known as the First Series. When the 1988 edition resequenced the letters, this one became Letter 44.