The Secret Doctrine (book)
The First Volume of The Secret Doctrine came off the Press on October 20, 1888. The first printing of 500 copies were exhausted before date of publication. The Second Volume is out towards the end of the year.
Writing
In May 1879, soon after moving to India, H. P. Blavatsky started designing a new book on Theosophy that would eventually become The Secret Doctrine.
In January 1884 the Supplement to The Theosophist published an advertising announcing that "a New Version of Isis Unveiled", which was to be published in monthly. Although Mme. Blavatsky had some written material to start the monthly installments, this never came to fruition in the way planned, due to ill-health, her travel to Europe, and the Coulomb affair.
In the fall of 1885, a few months after HPB moved to Wurzburg, Germany, she started working steadily on its writing. The Countess Wachtmeister moved with HPB to help her in this endeavor. As the writing of the book developed with the help of Masters M. and K.H., HPB realized it was much more than a rewriting of Isis Unveiled. In a letter to A. P. Sinnett she said she felt that this could vindicate the Theosophical Society after the unfavorable Report that Hodgson made.[1]
In the spring of 1886 she sent a preliminary manuscript of the first volume to Adyar, where T. Subba Row was supposed to read it and contribute in what had to do with Hindu philosophy. However, he refused to do so. HPB moved to Ostende, Belgium, where she continued working on the book.
By the end of March 1887 she fell gravely ill with a kidney infection. She was not expected to live. Master M. came at night and asked her if she wanted to be freed from the body or live, amidst much suffering, or live and finish The Secret Doctrine. She agreed on finishing the book. On May 1, 1887, she moved to London where a group of earnest students would help her finish and publish her book.
The First Volume of The Secret Doctrine came off the Press on October 20, 1888, while the Second Volume was out towards the end of the year.
Editions
Wurzburg manuscript
The Würzburg Manuscript of The Secret Doctrine was finally published in 2014 by David and Nancy Reigle. According to the editors:
It includes H. P. Blavatsky’s first translations of stanzas from the Book of Dzyan with her unrevised commentaries on them. Only the stanzas from the Würzburg manuscript had been published until now, not her unrevised commentaries on them. These comprise cosmogenesis, and a few on anthropogenesis. The Würzburg manuscript also includes a large introductory section, comprising about half the book. Most of the chapters in this introductory section were later published in the 1897 third volume of The Secret Doctrine. As with the commentaries on the stanzas, here we have her unrevised versions.
The so-called Würzburg manuscript is a partial copy of Blavatsky’s early manuscript of The Secret Doctrine, written while she was staying at Würzburg, Germany, and then at Ostende, Belgium, in 1885 and 1886. Her manuscript of the almost completed Secret Doctrine was copied by two or more scribes to send to India for revision by T. Subba Row, which revision did not occur. Only part of this copy has been found. What we have is estimated to be about a fourth or a third of the whole that was sent to India. Fortunately, it includes the whole cosmogenesis section, all seven stanzas and their commentaries.[2]
Online resources
Articles and pamphlets
- The Secret Doctrine as a Contribution to World Thought by Sri Madhava Ashish
- Second book Review of The Secret Doctrine by Annie Besant
- Mistaken Notions on the Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky
- Authorship of Secret Doctrine by William Q. Judge
- Hidden Hints in the Secret Doctrine - Part I and Part II by William Q. Judge
- The Secret Doctrine by Alvin Boyd Kuhn
- Study Course on The Secret Doctrine by Pablo Sender
- Book of Dzyan Studies by various contributors on Theosophy.net
Books
- Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge at ULT Phoenix's website
- The Secret Doctrine Dialogues at ULT Phoenix's website
- Reminiscences of H.P. Blavatsky and The Secret Doctrine by Countess Constance Wachtmeister
Audio
- Introduction to the Study of The Secret Doctrine - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 by Ed Abdill
- Secrets of The Secret Doctrine W. Doss McDavid
- Important Principles in The Secret Doctrine - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 by Joy Mills
Video
- Foundations of the Ageless Wisdom (5 Parts) by Ed Abdill
- The Secret Doctrine: Esoteric Insights and Spiritual Practice (8 Parts) by Pablo Sender
Other resoruces
- Compilation of articles related to the First Fundamental Proposition, Second Fundamental Proposition, and Third Fundamental Proposition at Philaletheians.co.uk