Mahatma Letter to H. S. Olcott - LMW 2 No. 37

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Quick Facts
People involved
Written by:	Morya
Received by:	Henry Steel Olcott
Sent via:	unknown
Dates
Written on:	unknown
Received on:	20 May 1883
Other dates:	unknown
Places
Sent from:	Calcutta
Received at:	probably Bombay
Via:	unknown

This is Letter No. 37 in Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Second Series. Henry Steel Olcott sent a note to Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Mahatma Morya added comments to it.

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Envelope

This envelope is very small and narrow – 1 11/12 inches wide and 4 inches long, with the return address:

From The Theosophist Office
ADYAR (Madras), India

Note written by Mahatma M. in blue pencil:

Moloney –

"Lookshun Thakoordada"

from M. "Chohan Rimbochey"

NOTES:

Lookshun Thakoordada was a nickname for Henry Steel Olcott, meaning "grandfather Lakshman". Its origin is unknown.

• Chohan Rimbochey, or "the glorious Chief", confirms that M. sent the letter.

Page 1 transcription, image, and notes

Letter from Colonel Olcott to H.P.B.

Letterhead: Theosophical Society - President's Office

Calcutta,

Sunday 20/5 [1883]

"Angel" OF Cheda Lal,

I must congratulate you on the nice mess you made of it in entrusting the up-country missions to that wild lunatic B.L. and then to think of your proposing to go to the expense and trouble of coming to Calcutta and proceeding to the N.W.P. and Panjab to set right the minds of the staunch and true chaps falsely charged by him

Written across the above, in blue pencil, is the following from Master M.:

Lookshun Thakoordada is mistaken. The “Angel of Cheda Lal” is not to be blamed. The Angel was ordered to consent for a great principle was involved in the trial. We wanted and will always have the inner man whenever offering himself for the tasks.

NOTES:

• "Angel" of Cheda Lal indicates an earnest member of Bareilly Branch, a Theosophical Society lodge in northern India.
• B.L. probably means Bishen Lal, President of Rohitcund Theosophical Society in Bareilly, India in the early 1880s.
• N.W.P." indicates the North-Western Provinces, an administrative region in British India.
• Moloney was H.P.B.'s nickname for Colonel Olcott in New York.
• Lookshun Thakoordada was a nickname for Henry Steel Olcott, meaning "grandfather Lakshman". Its origin is unknown.
• Chohan Rimbochey is the signature used by Mahatma Morya as a sign to Olcott that M. was the direct author of a message. It means "the Glorious Chief."

Page 2s

with maligning me! I’ve read their replies, but I could have drafted them all for you in advance just as well, from my personal knowledge of their characters. Well, let the manure-heap alone for me to fork over when I have had some rest at home.

To-day I speak at Bhowanipore, to-morrow at Town Hall here, and to-morrow night I go aboard the Tibre, which is to sail early Tuesday morning. Send the carriage for me at the proper time. I shall be glad to see you again.

Your affly.,

H.S.O.

NOTES:

• Affly. is an abbreviation for "affably."

Context and background

Mr. Jinarājadāsa noted:

"CHEDA LAL" - An earnest member of Bareilly Branch.

"MOLONEY “LOOKSHUN THAKOORDADA”" - Moloney was Colonel Olcott’s nickname in New York. How he acquired the second, Lookshun Thakoordada— “grandfather Lakshman” — is not known.

The Master M. usually signed only M. But as Colonel Olcott was sometimes suspicious that a verbal message might be from a pupil only, his Master arranged for the words “Chohan Rimbochey” — “the glorious Chief” — as sign that the message was directly from Him. See Letter 50.

Physical description of letter

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

Commentary about this letter

Mr. Jinarājadāsa provided this foreword on the series of letters numbered 28-45:

I have arranged the letters which follow, so far as possible, in the order in which they were received. On some, Colonel Olcott has made a memorandum of the date. For others, I have been able to get the date from his Diaries. There are a few, however, of which I am fairly certain as to the year, because of the first script of Master M. referred to already [see Morya:Writing style], but there is no indication anywhere as to the month. Some of the letters bear no signature.