Mahatma Letter to H. S. Olcott - LMW 2 No. 16: Difference between revisions

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People must respect [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|her]] purity and virtue for she deserves it. [[Henry Steel Olcott|Brother Henry]] must have the Wisdom of the Serpent and gentleness of a Lamb. For he who hopes to solve in time the great problems of the Macrocosmal World and conquer face to face the [[Dweller on the Threshold|Dweller]], taking thus by violence the threshold on which lie buried nature’s most mysterious secrets, must [[Try]], first, the energy of his Will power, the indomitable resolution to succeed, and bringing out to light all the hidden mental faculties of his [[Atma]] and highest intelligence, get at the problems of Man’s Nature and solve first the mysteries of his heart.
People must respect [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|her]] purity and virtue for she deserves it. [[Henry Steel Olcott|Brother Henry]] must have the Wisdom of the Serpent and gentleness of a Lamb. For he who hopes to solve in time the great problems of the Macrocosmal World and conquer face to face the [[Dweller on the Threshold|Dweller]], taking thus by violence the threshold on which lie buried nature’s most mysterious secrets, must [[Try]], first, the energy of his Will power, the indomitable resolution to succeed, and bringing out to light all the hidden mental faculties of his [[Atma]] and highest intelligence, get at the problems of Man’s Nature and solve first the mysteries of his heart.
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'''NOTES:'''
* '''Dweller''' refers to the [[Dweller on the Threshold]] described in [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton|Lytton]]’s novel, [[Zanoni (book)|''Zanoni'']]; a menacing entity that attempts to shake one's resolution.
* '''[[Try|try]]''' is an exhortation that appears frequently in the Mahatma letters.
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Be careful, O Brother mine! On the wise accomplishment of that mission depend the future prosperity of the cause of Truth, the happiness of thy Sister and thy own welfare.
Be careful, O Brother mine! On the wise accomplishment of that mission depend the future prosperity of the cause of Truth, the happiness of thy Sister and thy own welfare.
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'''NOTES:'''
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* '''Dweller''' refers to the [[Dweller on the Threshold]] described in [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton|Lytton]]’s novel, [[Zanoni (book)|''Zanoni'']]; a menacing entity that attempts to shake one's resolution.
* '''Lodge''' refers to the [[Brotherhood of Adepts]].  
* '''[[Try|try]]''' is an exhortation that appears frequently in the Mahatma letters.


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Latest revision as of 16:46, 11 January 2022

Quick Facts
People involved
Written by: Serapis Bey
Received by: Henry Steel Olcott
Sent via: unknown 
Dates
Written on: unknown
Received on: 25 June 1875
Other dates: unknown
Places
Sent from: unknown
Received at: unknown
Via: unknown

This is Letter No. 16 in Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Second Series. In it Mahatma Serapis Bey advises Henry Steel Olcottin dealing with the troubled Helena Petrovna Blavatsky.[1] Letters 9-20 of this series are closely related.

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Page 1 transcription, image, and notes

People must respect her purity and virtue for she deserves it. Brother Henry must have the Wisdom of the Serpent and gentleness of a Lamb. For he who hopes to solve in time the great problems of the Macrocosmal World and conquer face to face the Dweller, taking thus by violence the threshold on which lie buried nature’s most mysterious secrets, must Try, first, the energy of his Will power, the indomitable resolution to succeed, and bringing out to light all the hidden mental faculties of his Atma and highest intelligence, get at the problems of Man’s Nature and solve first the mysteries of his heart.

IMAGE NOT
AVAILABLE

NOTES:

  • Dweller refers to the Dweller on the Threshold described in Lytton’s novel, Zanoni; a menacing entity that attempts to shake one's resolution.
  • try is an exhortation that appears frequently in the Mahatma letters.


Page 2

Be careful, O Brother mine! On the wise accomplishment of that mission depend the future prosperity of the cause of Truth, the happiness of thy Sister and thy own welfare.

The blessing and spiritual influence will follow thy steps. Write to our suffering Sister daily. Comfort her aching heart and forgive the childish shortcomings of one whose true and faithful heart takes no shares with the defects resulting of an early spoilt childhood. You must address your reports and daily notes while in Boston to the Lodge through Brother John, not omitting the cabalistic signs of Solomon on envelope.

Thy faithful brother,

SERAPIS

LMW2-16_2_thm.jpg

NOTES:

Context and background

Mr. Jinarājadāsa provided this background information on the series of letters numbered 9-20:

The letters which follow, all written by the Master Serapis, deal with certain incidents in the life of H.P.B., of which there has been scarcely any mention. Colonel Olcott describes in Old Diary Leaves the Philadelphia marriage of H.P.B., but evidently he has forgotten the true reason for it, for the account he gives of H.P.B.’s explanation of it differs from that given by the Master S. The man whom H.P.B. married was little better than a workman. He had lately come to America from Tiflis in Russia, and had built up a small business as an importer and exporter. He was sincerely drawn to Spiritualism, and evidently in the beginning was desirous of helping H.P.B. to carry out her great schemes to found a spiritual philosophy. On the strict understanding that his privileges as husband would only consist in making a home for her, so that she might carry out the plan of the Brotherhood, H.P.B. married him, though a woman of her aristocratic nature must have felt intensely humiliated to be linked to such a peasant. There was a stipulation that, even though married, she should retain her own name of Blavatsky. After H.P.B. left him, he obtained a decree of divorce, so that when she started for India, the sad incident of the second marriage was utterly closed...[2]

Physical description of letter

The original of this letter is preserved at the Theosophical Society, Adyar, Chennai, India. Mr. Jinarājadāsa wrote:

Five of the letters of the Master Serapis were received through the post, and their envelopes still remain, and bear the postmark. Four of them were posted in Philadelphia and one in Albany. Colonel Olcott received them in New York at his house, or in Boston care of the Postmaster. Seven of the letters are written on green paper with black ink.[3]

Publication history

Commentary about this letter

Mr. Jinarājadāsa provided this commentary:

Throughout these letters about H.P.B., there are several references to the “Dweller on the Threshold.” This mysterious phrase occurs in Zanoni. It is evident that challenging the Dweller, and risking one’s very existence in the process, is one of the trials of the Initiate. There is no clue in the letters showing of what type were the dangers which confronted H.P.B., so that her very life was at stake.

These letters to Colonel Olcott from the Master S. mention incidents in H.P.B.’s inner life. As none have a right to peer inquisitely into the workings of the soul, I have omitted all references to such incidents, extracting out of the letters only such teachings as seem to me to have value to earnest students.[4]

Additional resources

Notes

  1. C. Jinarājadāsa, Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Second Series (Adyar, Madras,India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1925), 38-39.
  2. C. Jinarājadāsa, 21.
  3. C. Jinarājadāsa, 22.
  4. C. Jinarājadāsa, 21-22.