And now it is time to put a stop to my abominable penmanship and so relieve you from the task. Yes — your "cosmogony"! Well, good friend, your cosmology is — between the leaves of my Khuddaka Patha — (my family Bible) — and making a supreme effort I will try to answer it as soon as I am relieved, for just now I am on duty. It is a life long task you have chosen, and somehow instead of generalizing you manage always to rest upon those details that prove the most difficult to a beginner. Take warning, my good Sahib. The task is difficult and K.H. in remembrance of old times, when he loved to quote poetry, asks me to close my letter with the following to your address:
"Does the road wind up-hill all the way?"
"Yes to the very end."
"Will the day's journey take the whole long day?"
"From morn to night, my friend."100
Knowledge for the mind, like food for the body, is intended to feed and help to growth, but it requires to be well digested and the more thoroughly and slowly the process is carried out the better both for body and mind.
I saw Olcott and instructed him what to say to our Simla Sage.101 If the O.L. rushes into epistolary explanations with him, stop her — as O. covered all the ground. I have no time to look after her, but I made her promise never to write to him without showing her letter first to you.
Namaskar.102
Yours
M.
Letter No. 43103 (ML-42) Rec. January 1882
This letter was received before K.H. resumed correspondence with Sinnett.
Received about February, 1882.
I say again what you like me not to say, namely that no regular instruction, no regular communication is possible between us before our mutual path is cleared of its many impediments, the greatest being the public misconception about the Founders. For your impatience you cannot nor will you be blamed. But if you fail to make a profitable use of your newly-acquired privileges, you would indeed be unworthy, friend. Three, four weeks more — and I will retire to give room with you all to him to whom that room belongs, and whose place I could but very inadequately occupy, for I am neither a scribe nor a Western scholar. Whether the Chohan finds yourself and Mr. Hume more qualified than he did before to receive instructions through us — is another question. But you ought to prepare for it. For much remains yet to break forth. You perceived, hitherto but the light of a new day — you may, if you try, see with K.H.'s help the sun of full noon-day when it reaches its meridian. But you have to work for it, work for the shedding of light upon other minds through yours. How, will you say? Hitherto of you two, Mr. H. was positively antagonistic to our advice, you — passively resisting it at times, often yielding against what you conceived your better judgment — such is my answer. The results were — what they had to be expected. No good or very little came out of a kind of spasmodic defence — the solitary defence of a friend presumably prejudiced in favour of those whose champion he had come out and a member of the Society. Mr. Hume would never listen to K.H.'s suggestion of a lecture in his house during which he might have well disabused the public mind of a part of the prejudice at least, if not entirely. You thought it was unnecessary to publish and spread among the readers as to who she was. Think ye, Primrose and Rattigan are likely to spread the knowledge and give out reports of what they know to be the case? And so on. Hints are all sufficient to an intelligence like yours. I tell you this for I know how profound and sincere is your feeling for K.H. I know how bad y'll feel, if when among us again you find that communication between you has not improved. And its sure to pass when the Chohan finds no progress since he made him have you. See what the Fragments — the most superb of articles — has done; how little effect it will produce unless the opposition is stirred up, discussion provoked and spiritualists forced to defend their foolish claims. Read editorial in Spiritualist November 18, "Speculation-Spinning" — she cannot answer it as either he or you might and the result will be that the most precious hints will fail to reach the minds of those craving for truth, for a solitary pearl is soon outshone in the midst of a heap of false diamonds, when there's no jeweller to point out its worth. So on again. What can we do! I hear already K.H. exclaiming.
It is so, friend. The pathway through earth-life leads through many conflicts and trials, but he who does naught to conquer them can expect no triumph. Let then the anticipation of a fuller introduction into our mysteries under more congenial circumstances, the creation of which depends entirely upon yourself inspire you with patience to wait for, perseverance to press on to, and full preparation to receive the blissful consummation of all your desires. And for that you have to remember that when K.H. shall say to you, Come up hither — you should be ready. Otherwise the all powerful hand of our Chohan will appear once more between you and Him.
Send both portraits sent to you from Odessa back to H.P.B., the O.L. when you [have] done with them. Write a few lines to the old Generaless104 to Odessa — for she sorely wants your autograph — I know. Remind her that both [of] you belong to one Society and are — Brothers, and promise help for her niece.
Letter No. 44105 (ML-13) Rec. January 1882
This letter is the first in the volume to deal specifically and exclusively with the teachings. It is also one of the few where we have both sides of the correspondence. In the originals in the British Museum the arrangement is rather curious. Sinnett's questions are on the left-hand side of the sheets, and the Mahatma' s replies are opposite them on the right-hand side. Where there was insufficient space, the Mahatma continued his comments on the back of the sheet. In a few instances he even used an additional sheet of paper, as his replies are much longer than the questions.
It will be remembered that in the letter written by Djual Khul for the Mahatma K.H. when the latter first returned from his retreat (Letter No. 37 [ML-37]) he mentioned that the Mahatma begged him (Sinnett) to proceed with his metaphysical studies and "not to be giving up in despair whenever you meet with incomprehensible ideas in M. Sahib' s notes." That comment referred to M.' s answers to Hume's questions which is found in the Appendix II of Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett (See Appendix III in this book). Sinnett had been instructed to copy those notes (see second paragraph of LBS-4 in Appendix). He did so and the answers raised many more questions in his mind, which he later submitted to M. They are answered in this letter. See also Letter No. 42 (ML-43): the Mahatma M. promises to "get to your 'cosmology' " as soon as he is "relieved." This refers to this letter, No. 44. The two sets of "Cosmological Notes" are of course supplementary but should not be confused.