A Short Note on the Libraries
Kept by Initiates and Mahatmas
Helena P. Blavatsky
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Editorial Note:
Helena P. Blavatsky wrote of “several esoteric
schools” that claim to be “in possession of the
sum total of sacred and philosophical works in MSS.
and type”. (“The Secret Doctrine”, Vol. I, p. xxiii.)
The following fragment is reproduced from the
volume “From the Caves and Jungles of Hindustan”,
by H. P. Blavatsky, T.P.H., USA, 720 pp., see pp. 74-77.
(Carlos Cardoso Aveline)
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Generally speaking, the position of archaeologists in India is a sad one. The masses, immersed in ignorance, are utterly unable to be of any use to them, while the learned Brahmanas, initiated into all the mysteries of the secret libraries in the pagodas, remain silent and do all they can to prevent archeological research. However, after all that has occurred, it would be unjust to find fault with the conduct of the Brahmanas in these matters.
The bitter experience of many centuries has taught them that their only salvation was in distrust and caution, without which their national history and their most sacred treasures would have been irrevocably lost. Political upheavals and Moslem invasions which have for so many centuries torn India and shaken that country to its very foundations, the all-destructive fanaticism of the Moslem vandals, and the Catholic padris, capable of any cunning scheme to secure manuscripts and destroy them – all these more than justify the Brahmanas.
However, in spite of these destructions occurring through the centuries, there exist in many places in India vast libraries, access to which would shed a bright light not only on the ancient history of India itself, but also on the darkest problems of universal history. Some of these libraries, filled with priceless manuscripts, are in the possession of native princes and of the pagoda priests subservient to them, but the greater part is in the hands of the Jainas (the oldest sect) and of the Rajputana Thakurs [1], whose ancient hereditary castles are scattered all over Rajasthan [2], like so many eagle’s aeries on the summits of rocks.
The existence of the celebrated collections at Jaisalmer and Pathana are known to the government, but they remain wholly beyond its reach. The manuscripts are written in an ancient and long forgotten language, intelligible only to the high priest and his initiated librarians. One thick folio is considered so sacred and inviolable that it is fastened to a heavy golden chain in the center of the temple of Chintamani in Jaisalmer (the capital of the Rajputana desert), and is taken out to be dusted and rebound only at the advent of each new pontiff. This is the work of Somaditya Sauracharya, a great high priest, well-known in history, who lived prior to the Moslem invasion. His mantle is still preserved in the temple, and every new high priest dons it at his initiation.
Col. James Tod [3], who spent so many years in India and gained the love of the people as well as of the Brahmanas – which no other Englishman ever had or will have – a man who became attached to these people with all the strings of his soul, and who wrote the only true history of India [4], never was permitted to touch this folio. Rumor says an offer was made to take him into this sect, with the promise that he would be initiated then into all the mysteries. Being a passionate archaeologist, he almost resolved to accept but, forced to go to England on account of his health, he died before he could return to his second fatherland. Thus the mystery of this new Sibylline Book [5] remains unsolved.
NOTES:
[1] Note by H. P. Blavatsky:
“The Thakurs occupy in India a position similar to that held by European feudal barons of the middle ages. Nominally they are dependent on their native ruling princes or on the British Government; but de facto they are entirely independent. Their castles are built on inaccessible rocks, and in addition to the obvious difficulty of reaching them other than in single file, they claim another advantage, namely, that of being interconnected by underground passages, the secret of which is inherited from father to son. We have visited two such underground halls, one of which was big enough to contain a whole village. Only yogins and initiated adepts (apart from their owners) are allowed free access to them. It is well known that no torture would ever induce any of them to reveal the secret, especially when one bears in mind the fact that they daily inflict torture upon themselves.”
[2] Rajasthan: a State in NW India. (CCA)
[3] At this point the editor of HPB’s “Collected Writings”, Boris de Zirkoff, says in a footnote that Colonel James Tod (1782-1835) wrote a two volume work entitled “Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan…”. It was published in London in 1829-1832. (CCA)
[4] Boris de Zirkoff underlines the fact that this is a reference to “Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan…”. (CCA)
[5] A Sibylline book is a collection of oracular utterances. (“Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language”, Portland House, N.Y., 1989 edition.) (CCA)
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Our readers are invited to see the text “The Importance of Esoteric Libraries”, which is available at our associated websites.
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In September 2016, after a careful analysis of the state of the esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students decided to form the Independent Lodge of Theosophists, whose priorities include the building of a better future in the different dimensions of life.
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