A MAHATMA'S MESSAGE TO SOME BRAHMANS
A copy of the letter hereunder printed was sent me in 1893
by the Brahman gentleman mentioned therein, whose full name is
Benee Madhab Battacharya and who was at one time president of
the Prayag T.S. at Allahabad. He sent it to me after the publication
of my "Letter to the Brahmans" in order to try and
show me that the T.S. was in fact a Buddhist propaganda. The
original is in the possession of Mr. Sinnett, who informed me
not long ago that he thought he had it among his papers, but
had no leisure to look for it. It print it now for reasons which
will appear. It reads:
Message which Mr. Sinnett is directed by one of the Brothers
writing through Madame B[lavatsky], to convey to the native members
of the Prayag Branch of the Theosophical Society.
The Brothers desire me to inform one and all of you natives
that unless a man is prepared to become a thorough Theosophist,
i.e., to do what D. Mavalankar did-give up entirely caste,
his old superstitions, and show himself a true reformer (especially
in the case of child-marriage), he will remain simply a member
of the Society, with no hope whatever of ever hearing from us.
The Society, acting in this diretly in accord with our orders,
forces no one to become a Theosophist of the Second Section.
It is left with himself at his choice. It is useless for a member
to argue "I am one of a pure life, I am a teetotaller and
an abstainer from meat and vice, all my aspirations are for good,
etc." and he at the same time building by his acts and deeds
an impassible barrier on the road between himself and us. What
have we, the disciples of the Arhats of Esoteric Buddhism and
of Sang-gyas, to do with the Shasters and orthodox Brahmanism?
There are 100 of thousands of Fakirs, Sannyasis, or Sadhus leading
the most pure lives and yet being, as they are, on the path of
error, never having had an opportunity to meet, see, or
even hear of us. Their forefathers have driven the followers
of the only true philosophy upon earth away from India, and now
it is not for the latter to come to them but for them to come
to us, if they want us. Which of them, is ready to become a Budhist,
a Nastika, as they call us? None. Those who have believed
and followed us have had their reward. Mr. Sinnett and Hume are
exceptions. Their beliefs are no barriers to us, for they have
none. They may have bad influences around them, bad magnetic
emanations, the result of drink, society and promiscous physical
associations (resulting even form shaking hand with impure men),
but all this is physical and material impediments which with
a little effort we could counteract, and even clear away, without
much detriment to ourselves. Not so with the magnetic and invisible
results proceeding from erroneous and sincere beliefs. Faith
in the gods or god and other superstition attracts millions of
foreign influcences, living entities and powerful Agents round
them, with which we would have to use more than ordinary exercise
of power to drive them away. We do not choose to do so. We do
not find it either necessary or profitable to lose our time waging
war on the unprogressed planetaries who delight in personating
gods and sometimes well-know characters who have lived on earth.
There are Dhyan-Chohans and Chohans of darkness. Not what they
term devils, but imperfect intelligences who have never
been born on this or any other earth or sphere no more than the
Dhyan Chohans have, and who will never belong to the "Children
of the Universe," the pure planetary intelligences who preside
at every Manvantara, while the Dark Chohans preside at the Pralaya.
Now this is a genuine message from the Master, allowing of
course, for any minor errors in copying. Its philosophical and
occult references are furthermore confirmed by the manuscript
of part of the third volume of the Secret Doctrine, not yet printed.
We know also that Master K.H. informed Mr. Sinnett and others
that he was an esoteric Budhist; H.P.B. declared herself a Buddhist;
on my asking her in 1875 what could the Masters' belief be called
she told me they might be designated "pre-Vedic Budhists,"
but that no one would now admit there was any Buddhism before
the Vedas, so I had best think of them as Esoteric Buddhists.
But I am informed that Mrs. Besant has several times privately
stated that in her opinion the letter first above printed was
a "forgery or humbug" gotten up by H.P.B. I know that
Mr. Chakravarti has said the same thing, because he said it to
me in New York.
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