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Ross Scott met [[Founders#The Founders|the Founders]] aboard the ship "Speke Hall" in February 1879, as they were sailing to Bombay He was a young Irishman and British civil servant who was on his way to his post in North India.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 244.</ref> Col. Olcott called him "a noble fellow and an Irishman of the better sort".<ref>Henry Steel Olcott, ''Old Diary Leaves'' Second Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 16.</ref>
Ross Scott met [[Founders#The Founders|the Founders]] aboard the ship "Speke Hall" in February 1879, as they were sailing to Bombay. He was a young Irishman and British civil servant who was on his way to his post in North India.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 244.</ref> Col. Olcott called him "a noble fellow and an Irishman of the better sort".<ref>Henry Steel Olcott, ''Old Diary Leaves'' Second Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 16.</ref> [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]], however, considered him coarse fibered.


[[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] asked [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]: "I have a favour to ask of you: try and make friends with Ross Scott. I need him".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 20 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 76.</ref> Mr. Sinnett considered him coarse fibered. On [[August 21]], 1881, he was chosen as secretary of the newly fromed [[Simla Eclectic Theosophical Society]].
[[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] asked Mr. Sinnett: "I have a favour to ask of you: try and make friends with Ross Scott. I need him".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 20 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 76.</ref> On [[August 21]], 1881, he was chosen as secretary of the newly fromed [[Simla Eclectic Theosophical Society]].
 
Mr. Scott received some letters from the [[Masters of Wisdom|Masters]], saw one of them, and was put on [[probation]], although eventually failed. Later, he became a magistrate in the Central Provinces.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 244.</ref>


== Marriage ==
== Marriage ==


According to [[Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']]:
Ross Scott married [[Maria Jane Burnby Hume|Minnie Hume]], only daughter of [[Allan Octavian Hume|A. O. Hume]], on [[December 28]], 1881. This marriage seems to have been a request from the [[Masters of Wisdom|Masters]]. The [[Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']] states:


<blockquote> Ross received a letter from [[Morya|M]] in the late fall of 1881 ([[Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett (book)|LBS]] x-c). . . M asked APS to discuss certain things with Scott. Apparently he had an injured leg which the [[Mahatmas]] promised [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|HPB]] they would cure if Scott passed the six months probation on which he had been placed. HPB was told by the Mahatmas to try to find a suitable wife for him - certainly one of the strangest things in the [[Mahatma letters|Letters]]. He married Minnie Hume, only daughter of [[Allan Octavian Hume|AOH]], on December 8 [or 28?], 1881 ([[Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett (book)|LBS]], p. 15). It appears that he failed his probation, partially because of his wife's attitude toward the Adepts. Later, he became a magistrate in the Central Provinces. [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|ML]] index; [[Damodar and the Pioneers of the Theosophical Movement (book)|D]], p. 645; [[Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett (book)|LBS]], p. 44.<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 244.</ref>
<blockquote>HPB was told by the Mahatmas to try to find a suitable wife for him - certainly one of the strangest things in the [[Mahatma letters|Letters]].<ref>George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., ''Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'' (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 244.</ref></blockquote>
</blockquote>
 
This is confirmed in a letter from [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]. She asked the Masters to help Mr. Scott and "... was told to provide him with a wife — 'Miss Hume would do first rate for him'."<ref>A. Trevor Barker, ''The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett'' Letter No. 10c, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), ???.</ref>
 
It was seen later that this was part of Mr. Scott's [[probation]].


== Master M. appears ==
== Master M. appears ==


In Josephine Ransom’s Short History of the Theosophical Society p. 165, she relates that...
[[Morya|Mahatma M.]] "projected himself" to Ross Scott on [[January 5]], 1882.<ref>A. Trevor Barker, ''The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett'' Letter No. CLVI, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), 310.</ref></blockquote> This was confirmed by [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] who in October 1882 told Mr. Sinnett that Mr. Scott had received a visit from Master M. "in astral shape".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 92 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 299.</ref>
 
[[Josephine Ransom]] writes:
 
<blockquote>Early in January [1882], Ross Scott and his wife (Miss M. Hume, only daughter of A. O. Hume) were in Bombay on their honeymoon and spent most of their time at the Crow's Nest. One evening, when a group had gathered at the house, the Master M. appeared and was distinctly seen by Ross Scott, Bhavani Shankar, Damodar and others.<ref>Josephine Ransom, ''A Short History of The Theosophical Society'' (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 165.</ref></blockquote>
 
== Probation ==
 
Scott's marriage was part of his probation, to see if he remained true to his convictions despite the influence of his wife. [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Mme. Blavatsky]] wrote in a letter to [[Alfred Percy Sinnett|A. P. Sinnett]]:
 
<blockquote>His very marriage was to serve a lesson hereafter for both of us, to show how human nature was variable. When I bothered them repeatedly to make R. Scott happy to cure him of his leg, I was told to provide him with a wife — "Miss Hume would do first rate for him" — and then said K. H. — "if he proves faithful and true and the influence of his wife leaves him unshaken in his beliefs and true to his old friends then we will attend to his leg." Six months Probation was allowed to Scott. Only six months — though he knew it not — and now behold the fruit! Did not M. write to him before his marriage that he would not correspond with him until after his marriage for reasons he could not tell him and which he did not divulge, even to me until their departure from here Jan. 12th.<ref>A. Trevor Barker, ''The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett'' Letter No. 10c, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), ???.</ref></blockquote>
 
[[Maria Jane Burnby Hume|Mrs. Scott]] eventually became jealous of the influence Mme. Blavatsky and the [[Masters]] had on her husband and Ross Scott finally turned against them. In HPB's words:


...During January and February the Master M. appeared often and was seen by many... One evening, when a group had gathered at the house, the Master M. appeared and was distinctly seen by Ross Scott, Bhavani Shanker, Damodar and others.
<blockquote>She owes her husband to the Brothers and me. What more natural than that she should traduce both the "Brothers" and myself! She is afraid in her little petty jealousy lest they or I should retain our hold upon her husband — hence the policy -- ''des finesses comme de fil blanc''!<ref>A. Trevor Barker, ''The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett'' Letter No. 10c, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), ???.</ref></blockquote>


This was confirmed by [[Koot Hoomi|Master K.H.]] in October 1882 who told Mr. Sinnett that Mr. Scott received a visit from [[Morya|M.]] "in astral shape".<ref>Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., ''The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence'' No. 92 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 299.</ref>
Eventually, [[Morya|Master M.]] told Mme. Blavatsky "that Scott had been tested and found shaky".<ref>A. Trevor Barker, ''The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett'' Letter No. 10c, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), ???.</ref>


== Notes ==
== Notes ==

Revision as of 19:20, 6 August 2013

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Ross Scott met the Founders aboard the ship "Speke Hall" in February 1879, as they were sailing to Bombay. He was a young Irishman and British civil servant who was on his way to his post in North India.[1] Col. Olcott called him "a noble fellow and an Irishman of the better sort".[2] A. P. Sinnett, however, considered him coarse fibered.

Master K.H. asked Mr. Sinnett: "I have a favour to ask of you: try and make friends with Ross Scott. I need him".[3] On August 21, 1881, he was chosen as secretary of the newly fromed Simla Eclectic Theosophical Society.

Mr. Scott received some letters from the Masters, saw one of them, and was put on probation, although eventually failed. Later, he became a magistrate in the Central Provinces.[4]

Marriage

Ross Scott married Minnie Hume, only daughter of A. O. Hume, on December 28, 1881. This marriage seems to have been a request from the Masters. The Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett states:

HPB was told by the Mahatmas to try to find a suitable wife for him - certainly one of the strangest things in the Letters.[5]

This is confirmed in a letter from Mme. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett. She asked the Masters to help Mr. Scott and "... was told to provide him with a wife — 'Miss Hume would do first rate for him'."[6]

It was seen later that this was part of Mr. Scott's probation.

Master M. appears

Mahatma M. "projected himself" to Ross Scott on January 5, 1882.[7] This was confirmed by Master K.H. who in October 1882 told Mr. Sinnett that Mr. Scott had received a visit from Master M. "in astral shape".[8]

Josephine Ransom writes:

Early in January [1882], Ross Scott and his wife (Miss M. Hume, only daughter of A. O. Hume) were in Bombay on their honeymoon and spent most of their time at the Crow's Nest. One evening, when a group had gathered at the house, the Master M. appeared and was distinctly seen by Ross Scott, Bhavani Shankar, Damodar and others.[9]

Probation

Scott's marriage was part of his probation, to see if he remained true to his convictions despite the influence of his wife. Mme. Blavatsky wrote in a letter to A. P. Sinnett:

His very marriage was to serve a lesson hereafter for both of us, to show how human nature was variable. When I bothered them repeatedly to make R. Scott happy to cure him of his leg, I was told to provide him with a wife — "Miss Hume would do first rate for him" — and then said K. H. — "if he proves faithful and true and the influence of his wife leaves him unshaken in his beliefs and true to his old friends then we will attend to his leg." Six months Probation was allowed to Scott. Only six months — though he knew it not — and now behold the fruit! Did not M. write to him before his marriage that he would not correspond with him until after his marriage for reasons he could not tell him and which he did not divulge, even to me until their departure from here Jan. 12th.[10]

Mrs. Scott eventually became jealous of the influence Mme. Blavatsky and the Masters had on her husband and Ross Scott finally turned against them. In HPB's words:

She owes her husband to the Brothers and me. What more natural than that she should traduce both the "Brothers" and myself! She is afraid in her little petty jealousy lest they or I should retain our hold upon her husband — hence the policy -- des finesses comme de fil blanc![11]

Eventually, Master M. told Mme. Blavatsky "that Scott had been tested and found shaky".[12]

Notes

  1. George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 244.
  2. Henry Steel Olcott, Old Diary Leaves Second Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 16.
  3. Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence No. 20 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 76.
  4. George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 244.
  5. George E. Linton and Virginia Hanson, eds., Readers Guide to The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (Adyar, Chennai, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 244.
  6. A. Trevor Barker, The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett Letter No. 10c, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), ???.
  7. A. Trevor Barker, The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett Letter No. CLVI, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), 310.
  8. Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence No. 92 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 299.
  9. Josephine Ransom, A Short History of The Theosophical Society (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1989), 165.
  10. A. Trevor Barker, The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett Letter No. 10c, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), ???.
  11. A. Trevor Barker, The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett Letter No. 10c, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), ???.
  12. A. Trevor Barker, The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett Letter No. 10c, (Pasadena, CA: Theosophical University Press, 1973), ???.