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{{Infobox_MLbox
'''Wizards Bookshelf''' was a publishing house operated by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Blavatsky]] scholar Richard Robb. Based in San Diego, California, the company was founded in 1972 and continued producing books until 2002[?].  
| header1 = People involved |
| writtenby        = [[Koot Hoomi]]
| receivedby        = [[A. P. Sinnett]]
| sentvia          = [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|H. P. Blavatsky]]
| header2 = Dates
| writtendate      = unknown
| receiveddate      = October 20, 1880
| otherdate        = unknown
| header3 = Places
| sentfrom          = unknown
| receivedat        = [[Simla, India]]
| vialocation      = unknown{{pad|9em}}
}}
This is '''Letter No. 3a''' in''' [[The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett (book)|''The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett'']], 4th chronological edition'''. It corresponds to '''Letter No. 3a''' in '''Barker numbering.''' [[Mahatma Letter No. 3a#Context and background|Context and background]].
<br>
<br>
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 2|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter chrono]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 3b|Next letter chrono'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<br>
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 2|'''<nowiki> < </nowiki>'''Prev letter Barker]]</big>{{pad|3em}}
<big>[[Mahatma Letter No. 3b|Next letter Barker'''<nowiki> > </nowiki>''']]</big>
<br>
<br>


== Page 1 transcription, image, and notes ==
== The Secret Doctrine Reference Series ==


{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
=== History of the series ===
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
I saw [[Koot Hoomi|K.H.]] in [[Astral Body|astral form]] on the night of 19th of October, 1880, — waking up for a moment but immediately afterwards being rendered unconscious again (in the body) and conscious out of the body in the adjacent dressing-room where I saw another of the [[Brothers]] afterwards identified with one called "[[Serapis]]" by [[H. S. Olcott|Olcott]], — "the youngest of the [[chohan]]s."


The note about the vision came the following morning, and during that day, the 20th, we went for a picnic to Prospect Hill, when the "[[Brooch#Brooch_No._2|pillow incident]]" occurred.
Mr. Robb wrote about the beginnings of Wizards Bookshelf in ''Sunrise'' in November 1975:
<blockquote>
''The Secret Doctrine'' was written for the Western world to stem the tide of abject materialism. No messenger made his appearance in glowing aura to impress the multitude and, if he had, he would probably have been completely ignored. Instead, we have a book designed to gain acceptance in the minds of thinking men for many long years to come. The form and content of the S.D. is such that the student is constantly referred to the thoughts and ideas of hundreds of authors, all of whom are generally tending in the same direction.


{{Col-break|width=3%}}
Some people have claimed that the 750 and more books cited are merely proofs. But what are proofs? If these references are by sheer weight of numbers designed to force people to believe the validity of the teachings developed in the S.D., then surely the exposition could have been far more explicit and detailed, thus removing from the mind of the inquirer any chance of doubt. But this is not the case. As stated in the Preface, there is simply not room enough to explain the complete scheme of nature in two volumes. It would take a thousand volumes. Moreover, the ideas expressed are often obscure to the Western mind, because we have no background. Background in these areas is best supplied by the very sources that are used, and the reader will discover that there are perhaps 40 or 50 out of the 750+ books referred to that are mentioned with regularity.
When I first became interested in The Secret Doctrine, an interest that was fostered by happenstance — an encounter with a copy of The Mahatma Letters in a small bookstore in New Orleans — I felt the work was utterly impossible, that there was little chance that I would ever be able to understand it. However, I found parts so interesting that I continued to read. Whole paragraphs passed without the least bit of comprehension, but occasionally a page really made sense to me.


{{Col-break|width=15%}}
That was in 1965. Several people told me that the S.D. could not be read per se, but used only as a sort of dictionary or reference work. Be that as it may, I started and read the entire two volumes all the way through. When I had finished, two things were uppermost in my mind: first, that I was utterly ignorant; and secondly, that my education had left me totally unprepared for the study of The Secret Doctrine. Here was a range of knowledge that required effort and scholarly endeavor, books that I had never heard of before, whole subject areas that were foreign to me. As it turned out, I really was motivated to begin my education over again. And in so doing I set out to find some of the books quoted or referred to in the S.D. Of course, these were rather scarce and I didn't locate them immediately. However, after a time I discovered a copy of ''The Source of Measures'' on a used book list and sent away for it. The parts of [[J. Ralston Skinner|Skinner's]] treatise that I did understand were an absolute revelation to me. "Why," I thought, "hadn't the Masons made a point of preserving this text, so rare and valuable as it is?" Inquiries of local Masons indicated that they possessed little knowledge of the subject matter. At length, I became convinced of the absolute necessity of preserving the text of ''The Source of Measures'', regardless of cost or its public acceptance. Some day, somewhere, there would be men who would fasten upon these ideas. Though utterly unacquainted with the publishing industry, I did finally succeed in reprinting 535 copies. Response to advertisements was nonexistent. However, a few copies were sold, and I was encouraged to the extent that I considered a second title — ''The Book of Enoch''. Since then the list of titles has steadily grown.
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/3A-0_Cover_sheet_6030.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/3A-0_Cover_sheet_6030_thm.jpg]


{{Col-break|width=30%}}
Thus the "Secret Doctrine Reference Series" (published by Wizards Bookshelf) came into being. It is fundamentally designed to guarantee future generations access to the ideas contained in the already rare and difficult-to-obtain titles of past centuries. These works, if hard to find today, will be impossible to locate a hundred years from now.
'''NOTES:'''
There are many whose spiritual longing and philosophical inquiry are too sacred to be exposed among strangers or even among friends who they suspect may have entirely different views. The fact is, it is the written word that allows the student the privacy of his own thoughts, that gives rise to the most profound aspirations and the most intuitive insights It is literature, then due to its impersonal character, its relative permanence and its very silence, that has motivated us.
* '''The "pillow incident"''' refers to a [[phenomenon]] in which [[Brooch#Brooch_No._2|Mrs. Sinnett's brooch]] was materialized inside a pillow.
</blockquote>
 
{{Col-end}}
 
== Page 2 ==
 
{{Col-begin|width=98%}}
{{Col-break|width=55%}}
My good "Brother,"
 
In dreams and visions at least, when rightly interpreted there can hardly be an "element of doubt." . . . . I hope to prove to you my presence near you last night by something I took away with me. Your lady will receive it back on the Hill. I keep no pink paper to write upon, but I trust modest white will do as well for what I have to say.
 
[[Koot Hoomi|Koot' Hoomi Lal Sing]].
 
{{Col-break|width=3%}}
 
{{Col-break|width=15%}}
[http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/3A-1_6031.jpg http://www.theosophy.wiki/mywiki/images/ML/3A-1_6031_thm.jpg]
 
 
{{Col-break|width=30%}}
'''NOTES:'''
* '''"Something I took away with me"''' refers to Mrs. Sinnett's brooch, which was [[Brooch#Brooch_No._2|materialized]] the next day.
* '''pink paper''' refers to a phenomenon on September 20, when Mrs. Sinnett received a KH note on HPB's pink paper.
 
{{Col-end}}
 
== Context and background ==
 
Mr. Sinnett had been asking for some direct evidence of occult phenomena, and he was extremely eager for some kind of immediate personal contact with the Mahatma K.H.
 
To read about the "pink paper"' phenomenon, see [[The Occult World (book)|''The Occult World'']] by A. P. Sinnett, pp.4-56 and [[Old Diary Leaves (book)|''Old Diary Leaves'']] by H. S. Olcott, volume 2, p.232.


== Physical description of letter ==
Richard Robb wanted  wrote:  
 
The original letter in in Folio 1 at the British Library. According to [[George Linton]] and [[Virginia Hanson]]:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
The explanatory note by [[A. P. Sinnett|APS]] preceding the message from [[Koot Hoomi|KH]] is on smooth white note paper, written in black ink (It is interesting that all the letters received while [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|HPB]] was at [[Simla, India|Simla]] during that season are in this color of ink.) ML-3A, is on this same type of folded note paper and in black ink. The script is finer than in the previous two letters. Again, the signature is in a darker ink and different script from the body of the letter.<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), 39.</ref>
[[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']] is a timeless synthesis of philosophy, science, religion, history and metaphysics; its bibliography of over 1,000 books and journals draws upon many languages, and it has been called the most abstruse work in English.<ref>Richard Robb email to Michael Conlin. October 29, 2023. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


== Publication history ==
=== List of titles in the series ===
 
 
== Commentary about this letter ==
 
 
== Notes ==
== Notes ==
<references/>
<references/>
<br>
== Additional resources ==
[[es:Carta de los Mahatmas No. 3a]]
[[it:Lettera dei Mahatma n° 3a]]


[[Category:ML from Koot Hoomi]]
[[Category:Publishing houses|Wizards Bookshelf]]
[[Category:ML to A. P. Sinnett]]
[[Category:ML with images]]
[[Category:ML needs commentary]]

Revision as of 19:12, 9 November 2023

Wizards Bookshelf was a publishing house operated by Blavatsky scholar Richard Robb. Based in San Diego, California, the company was founded in 1972 and continued producing books until 2002[?].

The Secret Doctrine Reference Series

History of the series

Mr. Robb wrote about the beginnings of Wizards Bookshelf in Sunrise in November 1975:

The Secret Doctrine was written for the Western world to stem the tide of abject materialism. No messenger made his appearance in glowing aura to impress the multitude and, if he had, he would probably have been completely ignored. Instead, we have a book designed to gain acceptance in the minds of thinking men for many long years to come. The form and content of the S.D. is such that the student is constantly referred to the thoughts and ideas of hundreds of authors, all of whom are generally tending in the same direction.

Some people have claimed that the 750 and more books cited are merely proofs. But what are proofs? If these references are by sheer weight of numbers designed to force people to believe the validity of the teachings developed in the S.D., then surely the exposition could have been far more explicit and detailed, thus removing from the mind of the inquirer any chance of doubt. But this is not the case. As stated in the Preface, there is simply not room enough to explain the complete scheme of nature in two volumes. It would take a thousand volumes. Moreover, the ideas expressed are often obscure to the Western mind, because we have no background. Background in these areas is best supplied by the very sources that are used, and the reader will discover that there are perhaps 40 or 50 out of the 750+ books referred to that are mentioned with regularity. When I first became interested in The Secret Doctrine, an interest that was fostered by happenstance — an encounter with a copy of The Mahatma Letters in a small bookstore in New Orleans — I felt the work was utterly impossible, that there was little chance that I would ever be able to understand it. However, I found parts so interesting that I continued to read. Whole paragraphs passed without the least bit of comprehension, but occasionally a page really made sense to me.

That was in 1965. Several people told me that the S.D. could not be read per se, but used only as a sort of dictionary or reference work. Be that as it may, I started and read the entire two volumes all the way through. When I had finished, two things were uppermost in my mind: first, that I was utterly ignorant; and secondly, that my education had left me totally unprepared for the study of The Secret Doctrine. Here was a range of knowledge that required effort and scholarly endeavor, books that I had never heard of before, whole subject areas that were foreign to me. As it turned out, I really was motivated to begin my education over again. And in so doing I set out to find some of the books quoted or referred to in the S.D. Of course, these were rather scarce and I didn't locate them immediately. However, after a time I discovered a copy of The Source of Measures on a used book list and sent away for it. The parts of Skinner's treatise that I did understand were an absolute revelation to me. "Why," I thought, "hadn't the Masons made a point of preserving this text, so rare and valuable as it is?" Inquiries of local Masons indicated that they possessed little knowledge of the subject matter. At length, I became convinced of the absolute necessity of preserving the text of The Source of Measures, regardless of cost or its public acceptance. Some day, somewhere, there would be men who would fasten upon these ideas. Though utterly unacquainted with the publishing industry, I did finally succeed in reprinting 535 copies. Response to advertisements was nonexistent. However, a few copies were sold, and I was encouraged to the extent that I considered a second title — The Book of Enoch. Since then the list of titles has steadily grown.

Thus the "Secret Doctrine Reference Series" (published by Wizards Bookshelf) came into being. It is fundamentally designed to guarantee future generations access to the ideas contained in the already rare and difficult-to-obtain titles of past centuries. These works, if hard to find today, will be impossible to locate a hundred years from now. There are many whose spiritual longing and philosophical inquiry are too sacred to be exposed among strangers or even among friends who they suspect may have entirely different views. The fact is, it is the written word that allows the student the privacy of his own thoughts, that gives rise to the most profound aspirations and the most intuitive insights It is literature, then due to its impersonal character, its relative permanence and its very silence, that has motivated us.

Richard Robb wanted wrote:

The Secret Doctrine is a timeless synthesis of philosophy, science, religion, history and metaphysics; its bibliography of over 1,000 books and journals draws upon many languages, and it has been called the most abstruse work in English.[1]

List of titles in the series

Notes

  1. Richard Robb email to Michael Conlin. October 29, 2023. Theosophical Society in America Archives.