Filename: +quot;RC1006.TXT+quot; Source: +quot;Blavatsky and the Secret Doctrine+quot; by

Filename: "RC1006.TXT"
Source: "Blavatsky and the Secret Doctrine" by Max Heindel

[PAGE 143]

                             INTRODUCTION:

   It would have been a real loss to all students of mysticism and 
metaphysics if this little essay on H.P. Blavatsky and "The Secret Doctrine" 
had not found its way into print. 

   Max Heindel, the Christian mystic, pays homage to Madame Blavatsky, the 
Oriental occultist. He sees above the little differences which divide the West 
from the East and rejoices in the great wisdom which has flowed forth out of 
Asia, rendering fertile the plains of the world's thought. Great is the mind 
which rejoices in the greatness of other minds. Max Heindel's tribute to the 
memory and work of Blavatsky and her Masters is a truly beautiful gesture in a 
world little given, alas, to such gentle impulses.

   We live a code of criticism and condemnation with small appreciation of the 
works of others. Sects and creeds build up walls about themselves, and only 
heroic souls in whom spiritual perceptions are truly awake can rise above 
these imaginary limitations. Think back over the books that you have read and 

[PAGE 144]

recall how seldom it is that any writer speaks well of another. Each man, firm 
in his own opinions, gives scant courtesy to the opinions of others. There are 
many teachers in this world who instruct with words, but only a few who 
instruct with the noble example of generous deeds.

   In his textbook of Christian metaphysics, "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-
Conception", Max Heindel refers to Madame Blavatsky as "a faithful pupil of 
Eastern Masters" and in the same paragraph he speaks of her great book "The 
Secret Doctrine" as an "unexcelled work." With his deep appreciation of 
spiritual values Max Heindel was eminently qualified to recognize the 
fundamental merit of Madame Blavatsky's work. The Christian mystic is here 
revealed as a sincere student of Oriental occultism. His summary of The 
Secret Doctrine in the latter part of this book reveals a remarkable grasp 
of the outstanding principles of the monumental spiritual traditions of 
Asia. In a few brief and simple words Mr. Heindel sums up Cosmogenesis, the 
creation of the world, and Anthropogenesis, the creation of man. Both 
Rosicrucians and Theosophists, in fact all sincere students of the occult 
sciences, will benefit from a consideration of this summary. 

   The manuscript of this present book may properly be considered as Max 

[PAGE 145]

Heindel's first literary effort. It was the beginning of a considerable 
metaphysical literature devoted to the application of mystical idealism to the 
living problems of s sorely afflicted mankind. It has been written that "the 
first shall be last." This little book brings into print the only remaining 
unpublished manuscript of Max Heindel. The manuscript originally consisted of 
the notes of two lectures delivered before the Theosophcial Society in Los 
Angeles. In the years which followed the preparation of these lectures Max 
Heindel greatly increased his store of mystical knowledge and has justly 
earned recognition as America's foremost Christian mystic. His reverence and 
respect for Madame Blavatsky in no way altered, however, and to the day of his 
death he always referred to her in terms of highest admiration. It was through 
the writings of Blavatsky that Max Heindel received in this life his first 
knowledge of occult sciences. He recognized gratitude to be the first law of 
occultism and his fine soul preserved to the end a beautiful spirit of 
gratitude for the inspiration and instruction he had gained from the Secret 
Doctrine.

   Both Madame Blavatsky and Mr. Heindel dedicated their lives to the service 
of mankind. Each was devoted to the dissemination of spiritual knowledge. Both 

[PAGE 146]

were rewarded for the most part by ingratitude, persecution and misunder-
standing. Both suffered from the falseness of friends and learned how cruel 
the world can be to those who seek to educate and improve it. Only the 
leader of a spiritual movement can realize how heavy a responsibility 
leadership can become. Madame Blavatsky had already passed into the 
invisible world before Max Heindel began his ministry. They never met upon 
the physical plane. Though denied personal acquaintance with the great 
Oriental occultist, Max Heindel came to understand Blavatsky through years 
of similar service to the same high ideals. He came to understand her as 
only a mystic can, and his appreciation of her loyalty and her patience was 
deepened by the adversities which he himself endured. 

   Both H.P Blavatsky and Max Heindel gave their lives in a beautiful service 
to the spiritual needs of the race. Both went to early graves, broken by 
responsibility and persecution. Each has left as a legacy to unborn 
generations a metaphysical literature which shall survive the visissitudes of 
time.

   The true purposes of mysticism are to perpetuate, interpret and apply the 
idealism of the race. Men turn to religion for guidance, encouragement and 
solace. We want religion to stand back of us when we try to live honest lives. 

[PAGE 147]

We want to know that there exists somewhere in the world a body of united 
people who are upholding spiritual values in a world of crumbling material 
manifestations. We are all seeking inspiration. We want ideals. We want a 
worthy purpose to unite us in action. We desire to establish in this vale of 
tears a spiritual structure which shall be elevated above the humdrum. We want 
to go out into life recognizing our spiritual institutions as oases in a 
desert of materialism.

   Civilization is in the throes of a great reconstruction period. As never 
before in recorded history men are seeking solutions to imminent and eminent 
problems. Church and State alike are reaching out to grasp something that is 
ecure, something they may cling to when the world they have known passes into 
oblivion.

   In all parts of the civilized world there are men and women devoted to 
mystical interpretations of life. These men and women are dedicated to a code 
of spiritual ethics which has as its foundation two great principles: the 
Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. These students are for the most 
part organized into various groups large and small for the express purpose of 
self-improvement and social betterment. Such groups may be classified under 

[PAGE 148]

two headings: First, those whose inspiration is fundamentally Christian; and 
second, those essentially Oriental. While these groups are divided, by 
emphasis, the fundamental purposes which they seek to attain are identical, 
for all enlightened religious movements have as their chief aim and purpose 
the regeneration of man, individual and collective.

   Max Heindel was a pioneer in Christian mysticism and Madame Blavatsky was 
a pioneer in Oriental occultism. Both established systems of thinking which 
spread rapidly throughout a soul-hungry humanity. Not only did they leave 
organizations of their own, but the seeds which they planted in the hearts of 
men have sprouted forth and borne fruit in many parts of the world, where 
other organizations have been established along similar lines. There is a 
considerable body therefore of mystics and occultists in America and their 
number is increased each day by earnest men and women whose hearts and minds 
are crying out for some reasonable explanation for the changes which are 
occurring in society. 

   Nearly all students of the occult sciences in America know the work which 
Madame Blavatsky and Max Heindel have accomplished. The lives of these two 
religious founders are a constant challenge to greater spiritual effort and 

[PAGE 149]

more unselfish devotion. If we admire these great leaders we shall desire to 
further their work by the intelligent perpetuation of their doctrines through 
word and action. During the period of the great Wrold War metaphysics lost a 
great opportunity to make a permanent contribution to the race by allowing 
itself to be broken up by internal disruptions and controversies. 
Organizations which should have been dedicated to the unselfish service of 
mankind instead wasted their energy in vain wranglings over personal issues of 
little if any importance.

   Our present crisis is far greater than the World War. The whole civilized 
world is struggling against selfishness and corruption. A new and great 
opportunity is at hand for the application of spiritual solutions to 
material problems. It is the duty of all spiritually enlightened individuals 
to forget all differences, sacrifice all personal ambitions, and rededicate 
themselves to the great ideals which brought their various orders and 
societies into existence. 

   During the great boom period immediately preceding the present economic 
crisis even mystical organizations were infected by the bacilli of wealth, 
personal ambition and exploitation. Personalities eclipsed principles and 

[PAGE 150]

individuals and organizations departed from those simple truths which are the 
essentials of intelligent living. Then came the collapse. Material values 
dropped like plummets to an unfathomable depth. Ambitions were scattered to 
the winds and the race was confronted with problems which can only be solved 
through a restatement of spiritual values and a rededication of men and 
organizations to principles of enlightenment and truth. 

   Suppose this very day H.P. Blavatsky, the lioness of the Theosophical 
Society, should return from the Amenti of the wise, and should demand an 
accounting from the members of the society she had founded. Who could stand 
before her and say honestly, "Beloved teacher, we have done our best, we 
have remained true to you and the Masters for whom you spoke." How many 
could say, "We have been honest, kind, just and impersonal; we have hewed 
true to the wisdom you gave us; we have spread your message; we have read 
your books; most of all we have remained absolutely free, as you bade us, 
from all disastrous entanglements and alliances." How many could say, "Here 
is your Society as clean as when you gave it to us." Could Theosophists do 
this or would they become abashed and unable to gaze into the great sad, 

[PAGE 151]

luminous eyes of the first and Greatest Theosophist? Could Madame Blavatsky 
walk through the corridors of Adyar and turn to those who represent her in 
the twentieth century and say, "Well done, good and faithful servants?" If 
she could not say this, why not? Is it because they have remembered her name 
and forgotten her work? Is it because weak, petty men and women have so 
forgotten the greater good that they have elevated themselves to power upon 
the wreakage of ideals? Theosophists of the world, rededicate yourselves to 
the noblest spirit that was among you, whose labors are your wealth, whose 
ideals are your purpose, and whose unselfish sacrifice is the cornerstone of 
your organization. 

   Suppose, in the same spirit, that Max Heindel returned to the fields of his 
earthly labors and in simple gabardine walked among his followers. Suppose he 
should say to them, "Brothers and sisters, have you loved one another? I 
planted a rose garden of virtues; have you tended it carefully? My name is 
upon your lips, but is my work in your hearts? Have you been true one to the 
other? Have you labored unselfishly, impersonally? Have you so greatly loved 
our Heavenly Father that you have loved all men also?" How would The 
Rosicrucians answer him? Could they say, "Beloved Brother, our constant 
inspiration, we have fulfilled your works in humility and gentleness. There 

[PAGE 152]

has been no pride among us, no selfishness, no personality, no small ambitions 
at a great cost. Here is the Fellowship you gave into our keeping. We can 
return it as beautiful, as clean, as united in holy purpose as you intended it 
to be. There is no jot and tittle observance here; we are united not in petty 
things but in great things. In the fifteen years since you passed away into 
greater life we have sought to do your work. We are as you intended us to be--
men and women in whom there is no guile." Would these words be true? If not, 
why would they not be true? Is man too weak to carry on a good work? Is his 
littleness so great and his greatness so little?

   If we should feel ashamed if our leaders should return to us again and we 
should know that we have failed them, let us rededicate ourselves to them. Let 
the spirit of H.P. Blavatsky be reborn in the heart of each Theosophist and 
the spirit of Max Heindel live again in the heart of each Rosicrucian. When 
this time comes, and may it come, the mystics and the occultists of the 
world can clasp hands across the gulf of their differences and, united in 
purpose, be an army of spiritual reconstruction marching like the prophets 
of old in the vanguard of progress. 
                                                          --Manly P. Hall 

[PAGE 153]

                               MAX HEINDEL: 

                            A SHORT BIOGRAPHY: 

   Max Heindel, known as the greatest western mystic of the twentieth century, 
was born on July 23rd, 1865, of the royal family of Von Grasshoffs, who were 
connected with the German Court during the lifetime of Prince Bismark. The 
father of Max Heindel was Francois L. von Grasshoff. He migrated, when quite a 
young man, to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he married a Danish woman of noble 
birth. Three children blessed this union, two sons and one daughter. The 
oldest of these sons was Carl Louis Von Grasshoff, who later adopted the pen 
name of Max Heindel. The father died when the eldest son was six years of age, 
leaving the mother with her three small children in very straitened 
circumstances.

   The mother's pride of family and name forced her with her family of three 

[PAGE 154]

children to live in genteel poverty so that the small income would suffice. 
Self-denial was carried to an extreme in order that her sons and daughter 
could have private tutors so that they might take their place in society as 
became the sons and daughters of nobility.

   This life did not please the eldest son who left home at the age of sixteen 
years and wounded his mother's pride by entering the ship-yards at Glascow, 
Scotland, where he learned the engineering profession. He was chosen as Chief 
Engineer of a trading steamer while yet very young. This took him into the 
Orient, and his trips all over the world in the capacity of engineer gave Max 
Heindel a great deal of knowledge of the world and its people. For a number of 
years he was Chief Engineer on one of the large passenger steamers of the 
Cunard Line plying between America and Europe.

   Between the years 1895, and 1901, he was a consulting engineer in the city 
of New York. His first marriage was full of disappointments and sorrow and 
ended by the death of his wife in 1905.

   Max Heindel came to Los Angeles, California, in 1903, where he acted as 
engineer for a time but ill luck overtook him. Hunger and privation were his 
daily companions but neverthless he was not idle. With a dauntless spirit and 

[PAGE 155]

a determination to succeed along more advanced mental lines, he became 
interested in the study of metaphysics and joined the Theosophical Society of 
Los Anegeles, of which he was vice-president in 1904 and 1905. His heart was 
ever longing for the knowledge of the deeper mysteries of life. His earlier 
years had been full of sorrow and had awakened his mind to search for the 
explanation of life and being and had created in him a desire to understand 
the sorrows, privations and sufferings of humanity. The thought which was ever 
uppermost in his mind was to find some means by which he could help to lift 
the burdens of his brothers and sisters in the world. This light began to dawn 
when he contacted the teachings which had been given out by Madame Blavatsky 
of the Theosophical Society. While connected with this society he met the 
woman who was years later to become his spiritual inspiration. She it was who 
helped him to find work, for Augusta Foss was also interested along similar 
lines of research and she was instrumental in interesting Max Heindel in the 
science of astrology. In this science he found a field with many possibilities 
in that it is truly a science of the soul. It gave him the key by which he 
could unlock the mysteries of man's inner nature. By learning to know and 
understand the weaknesses of character he could then help to guide and help 
them to find their proper place in the world. 

[PAGE 156] 

   Overwork and privation brought on a severe spell of heart trouble in 1905 
and for months he lay at the point of death but upon recovery he was even more 
keenly awake to the needs of humanity. He realized that it was not so much 
from the need of physical food that mankind suffered as it was because of soul 
hunger which lead them to do the things that brought suffering upon them. He 
started out on a lecture tour which eventually led him to Germany.

   While in Germany, in the fall of 1907, where he had gone with the hopes of 
contacting the Elder Brothers of the Rosicrucian Order, he was unsuccessful, 
as it appeared to him, and in great dejection he prepared to return to 
America; but one day a visitor appeared to him whom he later learned was an 
Elder Brother of the Rosicrucian Order, (and who became his Teacher). This 
Being was clothed in his vital body, and offered to impart to him the 
teachings for which he had spent time and money to find in Germany; but these 
teachings could only be given after he, Max Heindel, would make a solemn 
promise never to divulge them, (they must be kept secret). Having passed 
through an unhappy period of soul hunger he was most desirous of sharing his 

[PAGE 157]

knowledge with others, who like himself were also seeking, he refused to 
accept anything which he could not pass on to the world. The Teacher left him.

   Later the Teacher appeared in his room again and told him that he, Max 
Heindel, had stood his test. He stated that if he had accepted the offer, 
namely, to keep the teachings secret from the world, he, the Elder Brother, 
would have not returned. He was told that the candidate whom they had first 
chosen, who had been under their instruction for several years, had failed to 
pass his test in 1905; also that Max Heindel had been under the observation of 
the Elder Brothers for a number of years as the most fit candidate, should the 
first one fail. In addition he was told that the teachings must be given to the 
public before the close of the first decade of the century, whcih would be the 
end of December, 1909.

   At this last interview with the Teacher he was given instruction how to 
reach the Temple of the Rose Cross. At this Temple Max Heindel spent a little 
over one month in direct communication with and under the personal 
instructions of the Elder Brothers, who imparted to him the greater part of 
the teachings contained in "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception". The first 

[PAGE 158]

draft of this book, which was made while he was in the Temple, the Teacher 
told him was but an outline. The heavy psychic atmosphere of Germany was 
particularly adapted to the communication of mystical thought to the 
consciousness of the canididate, but he was told that the three hundred and 
fifty pages of manuscript which he had written would not satisfy him when he 
reached the electric atmosphere of America and that he would then wish to 
rewrite the entire book. In his great enthusiasm he at first doubted this. 
He felt that he had received a wonderfully complete message. But the Elder 
Brother's predictions were true. After Mr. Heindel had spent a few weeks in 
New York City, what the Elder Brother had told him proved to be a fact. The 
style in which the manuscript was written did not then please him, and he 
set about the work of rewriting. 

   He returned to America in the spring of 1909 where he at once started to 
formulate the Rosicrucian message which he had received from the Elder 
Brothers. This was given to the world in the form of a book entitled "The 
Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception", which is a masterpiece of mystical 
literature. It contains one of the most comprehensive, simply written, and 
complete histories of the evolution of the earth and man that has been 
written for centuries. A minister of one of the churches in the northwestern 

[PAGE 159]

part of America made the statement that he had two books on his library 
table which gave him his thoughts for his sermons; one was the Bible and the 
other was Max Heindel's "Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception" which unlocked the 
mysteries of the Bible to him. This book is now translated into eight 
different languages. 

   In November 1909, after a successful lecture tour, Max Heindel returned to 
Los Angeles where he met with much success in lecturing and teaching. 

   In August 1910, he was joined in marriage to Augusta Foss, the woman who 
had been instrumental in helping him to find the truth. With this added help 
and inspiration the field of his work so greatly increased that it soon became 
necessary that a Headquarters be esyablished for the purpose of disseminating 
the Rosicrucian Philosophy. For the first eight months these two pioneers 
lived in a small three room bungalow in Ocean Park, California, with little 
money but a determined spirit to start correspondence courses in the 
Rosicrucian philosophy. Later they moved permanently to Oceanside, California.

   In those ten years that Max Heindel lived, to start this great work for the 
Brothers of the Rose Cross, he gave as man volumes to the world as is 

[PAGE 160]

ordinarily given in the life-time of an author. His brain children are many 
and the following books, which this wonderful man left as a legacy to the 
world are:

   "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception" 
   "The Rosicrucian Mysteries" 
   "The Web Of Destiny" 
   "Teachings Of An Initiate" 
   "Freemasonry And Catholicism" 
   "Letters To Students" 
   "The Rosicrucian Philosophy In Questions And Answers" 
   "Gleanings Of A Mystic" 
   "Mysteries Of The Great Operas" 
   "The Rosicrucian Principles Of Child Training" 
   "How Shall We Know Christ At His Coming" 
   "The Mystical Interpretation Of Christmas" 
   "Simplified Scientific Astrology" 
   "The Message Of The Stars" 

   Max Heindel suffered constantly on account of injuries received while a 
young boy. A number of unsuccessful operations, which had removed some of the 
veins and arteries of his left leg, greatly interfered with the circulation in 

[PAGE 161]

the body. He later developed valvular heart trouble. However, he was blessed 
with an indomitable will and great energy, and would never permit physical 
disability to interfere with his work for humanity. He had a message to give 
to the soul sick world and nothing must interfere. many of his lessons, 
letters and books were written while propped up in bed, after spending nights 
of suffering. But the world did not know, for the faithful wife shielded him 
and was ever ready to assist and encourage him. These two souls faced many 
dark days together, but still happy in each others' love, knowing that they 
were the instruments by which a great message was to be given to the world.

   In the spring of 1910 after a course of lectures and lessons delivered in 
the City of Los Angeles, Max Heindel was taken seriously ill with leakage of 
the heart. While in the hospital, and after the consultation of several 
doctors, who, under the impression that their patient was unconscious, 
discussed his case by the side of his bed, he heard them state that Heindel 
could not live through the night, that his case was hopeless. After the 
doctors were gone, Max Heindel, with the assistance of his Teacher, worked on 
his body with the result that within three hours after the doctors had 

[PAGE 162]

pronounced his doom he requested a friend, who called to take him for an 
airing in a wheeled chair; and within one week after this experience Max 
Heindel was dictating his second book, "The Rosicrucian Philosophy In 
Questions And Answers" to a stenographer. After this book was finished Max 
Heindel again started a tour to lecture in the Sates of Washington and Oregon, 
but he was unable to stand the strain of meeting the public, so he returned to 
Southern California and again was seriously ill as a result of overwork. After 
this illness he was so filled with the desire to write that he dictated his 
third book, "The Rosicrucian Mysteries." Strange to say Max Heindel 
accomplished his best work immediately after each severe illness, then it 
seemed that he was closer to his Teacher and in rapport with the spiritual 
worlds.

   With very little money and a suffering body Max Heindel and his brave and 
loyal helpmate started their pioneer work in Oceanside, California, from where 
the Rosicrucian Teachings were distributed and spread over the entire globe. 
The various books have been translated and printed in foreign languages; 
lessons were being sent out by correspondence and groups formed in many of the 
larger cities. Like an endless chain the Teachings have spread, but the work 

[PAGE 163]

on the physical plane for this great messenger was drawing to a close. His 
companion had been well trained to carry on the work on the physical plane for 
a greater work awaited him on the higher planes. He was well aware that his 
days were few, and he prepared his work so that when his call came Mrs. 
Heindel could go on without him. The last few days of his life seemed very 
peaceful, even happy, wanting Mrs. Heindel with him in his office. After 
lunch on January 6th, 1919, she was called to her office to finish some work 
in directing the many secretaries. About 4 P.M. Max Heindel, who had drafted a 
letter to the local Postmistress, brought the letter into Mrs. Heindel's 
office for her approval, for he would never make any changes or start any new 
projects unless he consulted his trusted partner. While Mrs. Heindel was 
reading this letter, Max Heindel, who had been standing by her side, dropped 
slowly to the carpet; he did not fall heavily as is usually the case but as if 
lovinghands were holding him and laying him down gently. His last words as he 
looked up smiling into Mrs. Heindel's face were, "I am all right dear," and he 
passed into unconsciousness. With these loving words on his lips he passed 
into the Great Beyond, where he had through his devfotion to God and 
humanity prepared a great work with the band of "Invisible Helpers", through 

[PAGE 164]

which the work of healing is carried on. Is Max Heindel's work finished? No 
indeed, for the special work in which the Rosicrucian Order is interested is 
that of the Invisible Helpers--through which a great work of healing is 
being accomplished--Max Heindel was assured by his Teacher that he was the 
instrument through which a great movement was to be inaugurated, a movement 
which had a special mission: TO MAKE THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION A LIVING FACTOR IN 
THE LAND.

   The struggles of these two great messengers Madame Blavatsky and Max 
Heindel, were very similar. Both these spirits were encased in suffering 
bodies, and both were in need of financial help which was denied them, both 
were unappreciated and neglected by their friends until death had taken them, 
then the world began to realize their greatness.

   Max Heindel was a great admirer of Madame Blavatsky, he saw in her his own 
future struggles, he too after he had contacted the Brothers of the Rose 
Cross, with spirit aflame with the desire to give to the world this greater 
knowledge which he had contacted, knowing that his years were numbered and 
that his physical body could not long stand the strain of the pioneer life. 
Like Madame Blavatsky he was in constant physical pain and in great need of 

[PAGE 165]

help, both physical and financial. The struggle and hardships which both these 
souls suffered was greatly responsible in shortening their days in the 
physical body. But what a great work they have accomplished, what a BOON to 
humanity they have been.

   "Great truths are portions of the soul of man;
   Great souls are portions of eternity." 
                                        --Lowell.

[PAGE 166]

                    BLAVATSKY AND THE SECRET DOCTRINE:

                            BY MAX HEINDEL:

   "The Secret Doctrine" is one of the most remarkable books in the world. I 
realize how far beyond my feeble powers is the task of conveying an adequate 
idea of the teachings contained within its covers. It has a history, 
however, a history of peculiar interest to the student who from its rich 
store seeks to garner the wisdom which, as the apostle has said, is like 
meat fit only for the strong. How it came to be written, and under what 
circumstances it was written, and under what circumstances it was written, 
is the topic of this book. I shall endeavor to give in as simple and 
comprehensive language as possible an outline of the plan upon which the 
work was built and the teaching it reveals. The nature of the task is such 
that I am forced to quote freely from Theosophical literature, especially 
from Colonel Olcott's "Old Diary Leaves", Countess Wachmeister's 
"Reminiscences", "The Secret Doctrine" itself, and other works. 

[PAGE 167] 

   It is first necessary for us to realize that Madame Blavatsky, or as she 
liked to be called, H.P.B., was, as she herself often expressed it, only the 
compiler of the work. Behind her stood the real teachers, the guardians of the 
Secret Wisdom of the ages, who taught her all the occult lore which she 
transmitted in her writings. She had a threefold ability which eminently 
qualified her for the task. First, she was able to assimilate the 
transcendental knowledge which came to her. Second, she was a worthy 
messenger of the Masters. Third, she had a marvelous aptitude for rendering 
abstruse Eastern metaphysical thought into a form intelligible to Western 
minds, and for verifying and comparing Eastern Wisdom with Western Science. 
She also deserves great credit for her high moral courage in representing to 
the world thoughts and theories wholly at variance with materialistic science. 
Many of these teachings, however, have since been verified by science.

[PAGE 168]

   Humankind has always persecuted, tortured, and killed those who in thought 
have been in advance of their age. Witness Copernicus, whom only a natural 
death saved from a fate similar to that which half a century later overtook 
Bruno. Galileo was harassed all his life, and finally when old and broken in 
body and spirit by the abuse of the clergy, was forced to retract on his knees 
all of his teachings which was at variance with the commonly accepted views of 
the time. The same fate was shared by countless others. The seed which these 
men had son, however, was not only indestructible, but grew and grew until one 
day the world woke up to find that what once was denounced as heresy had 
become the commonly expressed opinion. Then came the epilog of the drama--when 
a Thorwaldsen immortalised in marble the same Nikolas Copernicus who, once 
persecuted, was proudly claimed as her son by Russia, or when amid the cheers 

[PAGE 169]

of his countrymen was reared the statue of Giordano Bruno on the same spot 
where fanatical monks had danced around his funeral pyre and burned the genius 
in the name of God.

   At one time in the history of the West, men were scourged for the sake of 
the Christian religion. When Christianity became strong, it attempted to 
suppress science, which was then but a fledgling. Science, however, grew 
stronger and stronger, gradually forcing the Church into its present 
apologetic attitude. Then the world slowly sank into a state of unbelief. 
Nothing which could not be weighed or measured was accepted. Anyone who dared 
to assert the existence of anything superphysical was at once stamped as an 
impostor. Science and religion vied with each other in their efforts to heap 
obloquy and opprobrium on such individuals.

   With the foregoing in mind, we can better appreciate the great moral 
courage of H.P.B., and see why that courage constituted one of her 
qualifications as a messenger of the Masters.

  In the same materialistic attitude of the world of that day is also to be 
found the reason for making use of phenomena. Many thoughtful persons have 
sincerely regretted that this part of the subject should ever have been taken 

[PAGE 170]

up by the Society, but H.P.B. always maintained that in the early days of her 
work these proceedings were absolutely necessary. This opinion was changed in 
the last years when the Master himself told her that phenomena had been a 
hindrance rather than a help to "The Secret Doctrine" in Europe and that it 
would have been better had only the philosophy been given. 

   In 1884 it was thought among the leaders of the Theosophical Society that 
the time had arrived for a revision and an amplification of Madame Blavatsky's 
first book "Isis Unveiled", and that she was to rewrite it, with the late T. 
Subba Row as co-editor. All through the year they collected material. Then 
Colonel Olcott and Mr. Cooper-Oakley formulated a plan, and it was announced 
that the work would be published in twenty parts of about seventy-seven pages 
each. But on the 8th of January, 1885, H.P.B.'s Master communicated to her the 
scheme of "The Secret Doctrine", and as a result, the original plans were 
abandoned.

   Soon afterwards the heart trouble from which Madame Blavatsky was suffering 
became so serious that her physician, Dr. Mary Scharlich, insisted upon her 
leaving India if she would save her life. Acting upon this advice, H.P.B. left 

[PAGE 171]

Adyar, the spot she loved most on earth, in the spring of 1885. We next find 
her installed in a cheap little inn on the northern slope of Vesuvius. The 
room is almost bare of furniture, the floor is of stone. Through the crevices 
in windows and door blows a cold wind which aggravates the rheumatism of the 
poor "old lady" as she sits writing at her rickety old table far from friends, 
alone in a foreign country, the language of whose inhabitants she did not 
understand, sick in body, and chafing under the injustice done her by those 
whom she had befriended. Thus, inauspicious were the circumstances attending 
the first work on "The Secret Doctrine".

   In the fall of 1885 she went to the quaint old German town of Wurzburg. 
What associations this name calls forth--thoughts of Martin Luther, the stern 
and unflinching reformer who vowed against the Romish priests though the roofs 
of the city were covered with devils.

   Not more staunch and unflicnhing was he than this new reformer who with 
dogged persistence, despite sickness and adverse criticism, toiled at her desk 
from day to day when she might have had ease and comfort.

[PAGE 172]

   Some time after Madame Blavatsky arrived at Wurzburg she was joined by the 
Countess Wachmeister, who loyally and lovingly helped in the great work. The 
number of visitors caused H.P.B. in a letter to a friend to write that the 
city was becoming a philosophical Medina. Continuing, she wrote:

   "I am only in the middle of Part One, but shall in a month send you the 
first six sections. I take from ISIS only facts, leaving out everything in the 
shape of dissertations, attacks on Christianity and Science--in short, all the 
useless stuff, and all that has lost its interest. Only myths, symbols and 
dogmas, explained from the esoteric point of view. It is actually and de facto 
a new work entirely. Cycles are explained from the occult side."

   Her insight into problems of philosophy, racial origins, fundamental bases 

[PAGE 173]

of religions, and keys to old symbols was phemonenal; yet it was not the 
result of study, for never was a student more eccentric and restless. Of 
trained literary faculty she had none. She wrote under inspiration; thoughts 
flashed through her brain like meteors. Scenes often painted themselves before 
her mental vision and died out when only half caught. Because of her excessive 
use of parentheses, many sentences were inordinately long. Like Shakespeare 
and other geniuses, she would take material where she found it, and work it 
into the mosaic upon which she put the stamp of her own individuality, and 
around which she wove the golden web of her own high powers.

   In one of her letters she announced that the enormous volume of 
introductory stanzas, the first chapter on the Archaic Period and Cosmogony, 
was ready. "But now," she goes on, "how send them to Adyar? Suppose they are 
lost! I do not remember one word of them and so we would be cooked! Well---has 
read them through twice and started the third time. He has not found one part 
to be corrected in the English, and he says he is amazed at the gigantic 
erudition and the soundness of it, showing the esotericism of the Bible and 
its incessant parallels with the Vedas and Brahmanas. This is a little more 

[PAGE 174]

wonderful yet than ISIS, that you corrected and Wilder suggested. Now I am 
absolutely alone with my armchair and inkstand and no books to speak of. In 
about four hours I wrote a whole section and the introduction of a whole 
Stanza (about forty pages) without any books around me. SIMPLY LISTENING--
simply listening."

   Can we realize what that means? She was merely writing what was transmitted 
to her clairaudiently, as Colonel Olcott and others had seen her do day to 
day. Herein lies the answer to the traducers who have accused her of 
plagiarism. I am satisfied that never in one instance was she guilty of having 
consciosuly appropriated another's writings. She may, however, have drawn them 
direct spiritually, or having received them second-hand from that great store-
house of human thought and mental products, the Akash, where, as drops are 
merged in the ocean, personal begetters of thought are lost in the infinite 
Mind, save to those most advanced intelligences who can count the sand grains 
or the drops in the ocean and pick out the atoms in their vortices.

   About December, 1886, Colonel Olcott received the first volume of "The 
Secret Doctrine" for revision by T. Subba Row and himself, but Mr. Row refused 
to do more than read it, saying that if he touched it he would have to rewrite 

[PAGE 175]

it, as it was full of mistakes. This was mere pique, but it had its effect, 
for when his remark was reported to H.P.B., she was greatly distressed. She 
set to work revising the manuscript carefully, correcting many errors due to 
slipshod literary methods, and with the help of friends, especially Bertram 
and Archibald Keightley, put the book into the shape in which it was first 
published.

   She was always eager to have her mistakes pointed out, and was also ready 
to correct them. The errors occurred especially in such of her writings as 
were not dictated to her psychically by the Master. Frequently she would 
ruthlessly destroy faulty pages. Often at a word from the Master she would 
consign to the flames reams of laboriously prepared and copied manuscript, to 
the intense grief of her friends. Countess Wachmeister related that one day 
when she went into Madame Blavatsky's writing room she found the floor strewn 
with discarded manuscript. To her question about it, H.P.B. replied, "Yes, I 
have tried twelve times to write this one page correctly and each time Master 
says it is wrong! I think I shall go mad writing it so often, but leave me 
alone; I will not pause until I have conquered it even if I have to go on all 
night." The Countess brought her a cup of coffee to refresh her and then left 

[PAGE 176]

her to pursue her weary task.

   An hour later Madame Blavatsky called her and said the task had been 
accomplished. The labor had been prodigious and the result small, as was often 
the case when she had been annoyed. This is apparent from her answer to the 
Countess' question as to how she could make mistakes in setting down what was 
given her. She replied, "Well, you see, it is like this. I make what I can 
only describe as a sort of vacuum in the air before me and fix my sight and my 
will intently upon it, and soon scene after scene passes before me like the 
successive pictures of a diorama; or, if I need a reference, as information 
from some book, I fix my mind intently, and the astral counterpart of the book 
appears and from it I take what I need. The more perfectly my mind is freed 
from distraction, the more easily I can do this, but after the annoying letter 
I had this morning I could not concentrate properly, and each time I tried I 
got the quotation all wrong. It is all right now, however, so Master says."

   H.P.B. often asked her friends in various parts of the world to verify 
quotations from books which could be found in libraries where such friends 
resided. Thus, she would need verification of a passage from a book of which 

[PAGE 177]

only one copy was extant and that in the Library of the Vatican. Again, a 
friend in London would be asked to verify a quotation from some document 
possessed only by the Britich Museum. It should be noted, however, that she 
needed only VERIFICATION. The subject matter she already had.

   Madame Blavatsky stated that she was only the mouthpiece of the Masters--
writing, speaking, and acting, as directed by them. This has been ridiculed 
and she herself caracterized as a rogue and an impostor. There are, however, 
certain incontrovertible facts to be taken into consideration by those who 
wish to form a fair and unbiased opinion. When she wrote "The Secret 
Doctrine" she had around her only a handful of ordinary books. From such 
sources she could have obtained but little to help her. We cannot in this 
way account for the extraordinary and prodigious knowledge manifest in "The 
Secret Doctrine". Most of the time during which the work was written, she 
was hundreds of miles from any library of consequence. Had she been able 
financially to travel from library to library she would have been physically 
unable to seek out the passages she is accused of having plagiarised. She 
never said that she discovered the knowledge she gave the world. Her 

[PAGE 178]

contention was that it came from the remote past; that it is in every 
scripture and in every philosophy. 

   The purpose of "The Secret Doctrine" is to quote from every scripture of 
every religion, from the writings of every people, in order to show the 
identity of the teachings and prove the antiquity of the subject-matter. 
What is new in the book lies not in the NATURE of its facts or ideas, for 
these can be found scattered among the works of various Orientalists and in 
the numerous sacred books which have long existed. What is new is the 
selection by H.P.B. from all sources of facts which together form a single 
mighty concept of the evolution of the universe and of man--the coherent 
synthesis of the whole cosmogony. She qualifies as the greatest Teacher of 
the time because she had real knowledge and not mere book learning. She had 
that which enabled her to gather from many books in many places the truths 
which, fitted together, made one great whole. She held the clue which she 
was able to follow with unerring accuracy through the maze, and show that 
each individual material held within itself the possibility of becoming the 
single edifice. 

   Her work is the more extraordinary because she did it without being a 
scholar; without having had the education whcih would have fitted her to some 

[PAGE 179]

extent for piecing together this knowledge; because she did what none of the 
Orientalists have done with all their learning, what not all of them together 
have done with all their knowledge of Eastern tongues and their study of 
Eastern literature. Not one of them out of such a motley of material was able 
to synthesize such a momentous work. Not on of them out of that chaos was able 
to build up a cosmos--but this Russian woman with little education did it. She 
who was no scholar and did not pretend to be one, somewhere gained a knowledge 
that enabled her to do what no one else--scholar or sciolist--has done. 
Somewhere she received that which made it possible for her to transform chaos 
to order and to produce a work which conveys to us an understanding of the 
universe and man. She said it was not hers. She frequently spoke of her own 
lack of knowledge, and referred to THOSE who taught her. This brings us to the 
other part of the attacks made on Madame Blavatsky, or rather on the Masters, 
the existence of whom is regarded as a myth.

   The learning and ability which she herself disclaims is not challenged by 
her enemies. They sometimes say that her knowledge is poorly digested, that 
she arranges her material badly, that her writings are misty, involved, self-

[PAGE 180]

contradictory. But that she possessed an extraordinary fund of varied 
knowledge bearing on out-of-the-way topics and obscure philosophies is freely 
admitted. If she was a fraud, why was she such a fool to invent imaginary 
Teachers? Why should she make them the fathers of her knowledge, and so become 
a target for abuse and slander, while she might have gained esteem, to say 
nothing of money, by the simple and easier course of taking the entire credit 
herself? Can anything more preposterous be imagined than for a Russian woman 
of noble family, married to a high official, go out into the world on a wild 
goose-chase after imaginary Teachers, and having acquired an immense mass of 
recondite knowledge at great cost and suffering, to throw away the credit of 
acquiring it, to ascribe it to nonexistent persons, to face slander, abuse and 
calumny instead of utilizing it in the common way, to be poor and despised 
when she might have been wealthy and honored? Looked at from any standpoint 
consistent with reason, the only tenable conclusion is that H.P.B. told the 
truth when she affirmed that her knowledge was received through the Masters of 
Wisdom.

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