This time we got two letters from Koot Hoomi. Much of the content is quite hard for me to grasp as Sinnet's writing is unavailable, but I'll try to dig in to the teachings behind the meat. If you got more light to shed on the letters or an interesting point about a paragraph I dismissed, please feel free to elaborate. Especially the letter No. 64 included so much that I had to leave juicy bits out of my already too long presentation.
Letter No. 63
Mahatma Letters wrote:It is Fern, Moorad Ali, Bishen Lal and other wrecks, over again. Why shall "would-be" chelas with such intense self personalities force themselves within the enchanted and dangerous circle of probation!
I guess self personalities refer to what now days are meant with the large ego with a lower case 'e'. If my interpretation isn't tilted too much, I'd say these two letters also contain alot of the problematics of one-eyed focus in certain aspects. Three examples of fallen would-be chelas are given;
Fern,
Moorad Ali and
Bishen Lal whose names we come by again in the next letter.
Letter No. 64
Mahatma Letters wrote:Good friend — this is not an answer to your last. The letter to my address sent by you through Mohini was never written by yourself. Verily it was penned by one, at that time, entirely under the influence of a creature of Attavada —
"The sin of Self, who in the Universe
As in a mirror sees her fond face shown"
— and only hers; whose every word he then implicitly trusted; perhaps, (this is to a certain extent a justification) because there came no half-expected interference, no word of warning from our quarters. Thus — no response to it, for we rather turn a new page.
I again use maybe not the best of sources, the various wiki sites though most of the quote is from another of these letters: ”Attavada [Sk. Atma-vada] ‘the doctrine of Self,’ both of which (in the case of the fifth principle, the soul) lead to the maya of heresy and belief in the efficacy of vain rites and ceremonies, in prayers and intercession”.
It seems KH is suggesting a pantheist approach towards ourselves and the ”creatures” or deities that make us. Not meaning those creatures have flashed their magic wands long ago to make us, but their active being is making what we are. To understand our construction will free us from the constructions our misconceptions have created. In this example it seems Sinnet has swam in visions of Maya and is unable to place trust in the Masters, and rather placing it to doubt. Apparently the problem has been the separatist thought of individuality, as if our construction would be a separate thing.
What are the ”real” parts of our construction then? One might think of monad, but isn't it rather the blueprint or nucleus of the construction and not the construction itself. Everything is real but the construction carries the burden of karma and Satan in his Saturnal aspect. The misconceptions that make us are like moonlights on the sea surface anxious to tell their mysteries, tales of their origin.
Mahatma Letters wrote:Ah, how long shall the mysteries of chelaship overpower and lead astray from the path of truth the wise and perspicacious as much as the foolish and the credulous! How few of the many pilgrims who have to start without chart or compass on that shoreless Ocean of Occultism reach the wished for land. Believe me, faithful friend, that nothing short of full confidence in us, in our good motives if not in our wisdom, in our foresight, if not omniscience — which is not to be found on this earth — can help one to cross over from one's land of dream and fiction to our Truthland, the region of stern reality and fact. Otherwise the ocean will prove shoreless indeed; its waves will carry one no longer on waters of hope but will turn every ripple into doubt, and suspicion; and bitter shall they prove to him who starts on that dismal, tossing Sea of the Unknown, with a prejudiced mind!
This section of the letters concern largely chelaship and here we are at the core of the subject. Striving for such heights naturally asks everything that the height itself is of. Chelaship feels a bit like an artificial 'program' as it seems to be made according to the surrounding cultures, but with those cultures in relationship with the laws of nature. Then again the whole concept of artificiality might be misunderstanding the totality of the world.
Mahatma Letters wrote:Nevertheless, feel not too much perplexed. The hour of trial is half over; try rather to understand the "why's and whatfor's" of the situation, to study more seriously the laws that govern our "Occult World." I grant you, those laws do seem very often unjust, even, at times cruel. But this is due to that fact that they were never meant either for the immediate redress of wrongs, or the direct help of those who offer at random their allegiance to the legislators. Still, the seemingly real, the evanescent and quick passing evils they bring about are as necessary to the growth, progress and final establishment of your small Th. Society as those certain cataclysms in nature, which often decimate whole populations, are necessary to mankind.
Adding anything to this feels banal, but this felt important to share.
Mahatma Letters wrote:It was absolutely necessary that within the personal experience of those few staunch members (yourself included) the secret working of Karma should take place; that its deeper meaning should be practically illustrated (as also its effects) — on those self-opinionated volunteers and candidates for chelaship who will rush under the dark shadow of her wheels.
When one starts to think of cause, effect, ethics and karma from the viewpoint of occult striving it often feels like deliberate practical tests are presented for oneself. If not so at the moment, then atleast following a failure that is faced with honesty.
Mahatma Letters wrote:——a chela whether selected or not, must perish, as a chela in the long run. Self personality, vanity and conceit harboured in the higher principles are enormously more dangerous than the same defects inherent only in the lower physical nature of man. They are the breakers against which the cause of chelaship, in its probationary stage, is sure to be dashed to pieces unless the would-be disciple carries with him the white shield of perfect confidence and trust in those he would seek out through mount and vale to guide him safely toward the light of Knowledge. The world moves and lives under the shadow of the deadly upas-tree of Evil; yet its dripping is dangerous to, and can reach only those whose higher and middle natures are as much susceptible of infection as their lower one. Its venomous seed can germinate but in a willing, well prepared soil. Bring to your memory the cases of Fern, Moorad Ali and Bishen Lal, good friend, and remember what you have learnt.
It feels a bit bizarre that something unclean could be harboured in the higher principles as I think it automaticly is of the lower principles. But creating a ”Self personality” and falling for vanity might be seen as obstacles going towards the higher principles. Elitism comes to mind and how one can puncture through it and let it bleed the real power which it was covered with.
Mahatma Letters wrote:"One who dug so many and deep pitfalls for her friends and brothers fell into them herself" — said M\ to H.P.B. on the night of the mutual revelations. I tried to, but could not save her. She had entered, or rather I should say — forced herself into the dangerous path, with a double purpose in view: (1) to upset the whole structure in which she had no part, and thus obstruct the path to all others, if she did not find the system and Society at the level of her expectations; and (2) to remain true and work out her chelaship and natural gifts, that are considerable indeed, only if those expectations were all answered. It is the intensity of that resolution that first attracted my attention. Led on gradually and gently into the right direction the acquisition of such an individuality would have been invaluable. But there are persons, who, without ever showing any external sign of selfishness, are intensely selfish in their inner spiritual aspirations.
Working in an occult society one propably finds multiple layers different people are focusing on and it might not always feel like the focus is meeting ones own expectations. I'm not sure if this talk of ”her” is about Blavatsky or Laura Carter Holloway-Langford (I guess the former), but it seems that she saw the work of TS or the anglo-indian shoot of it inadequate and looking to get it's structure reformed. The selfishness in this is not seeing the importance of the work others still need to go through. I'm sure this might look similar from ”down” to ”up” in that it's hard to see
all the aspects of the Work that require someone to work in a certain way. What is important in the Star of Azazel's work is the ability to see the importance of both the detail and the whole and the ability to conjoin the seemingly opposite focuses fruitfully in individual and shared work.