Thus, pray have patience. Mr. Hume — if he only holds on to his resolutions — has a grand and noble work before him — the work of a true Founder of a new social era, of a philosophical and religious Reform. It is so vast and so nobly conceived, that if, as I hope, we will now finally agree, he will have quite enough to do during the interval that is necessary for me to probe and prepare Eglinton. I will write to Mr. Hume and answer his every point in a few days, explaining the situation as I conceive it. Meanwhile you would do well to show him this letter. Your Review of the Perfect Way is more perfect than its author's conception. I thank you, my friend, for your good services. You are beginning to attract the Chohan's attention. And if you only knew what significance that has, you would not be calculating to a nicety what reward you are entitled to for certain recent services mentioned.
Yours affectionately,
K. H.
Letter No. 64 (ML-131) Dated June 26, 1882
This is a letter from T. Subba Row to Sinnett. It will be remembered that H.P.B. had been trying to persuade him to instruct Sinnett in some of the deeper esoteric teachings. The Mahatma M. finally told Subba Row to undertake some instruction of the Englishmen.
Subba Row then wrote a letter to Sinnett (Letter No. 58) laying down the conditions to which the Englishmen would have to subscribe if this instruction was to be given. Sinnett replied to Subba Row, giving a rather reluctant and "qualified" assent and stating some conditions which the two Englishmen on their part wished to impose.
Subba Row sent this letter on to the Mahatma M., giving his opinion of the possibilities in connection with this instruction. Sinnett wrote to the Mahatma K.H. to find out what Subba Row had said about him, taking some exceptions to the strict conditions which had been imposed if the teachings were to be undertaken. The Mahatma K.H. extracted a few comments from Subba Row' s letter (then in the possession of the Mahatma M.) with M.' s permission, and passed them on to Sinnett, at the same time advising the latter not to undertake a task beyond his strength and abilities and indicating that he was not in accord with the Mahatma M.' s proposal to instruct Sinnett in true chela fashion — deeming this beyond Sinnett' s capacities (See Letter No. 59).
Coconada.
26th June, 1882.
To A. P. Sinnett, Esq., etc. etc. etc
Dear Sir,
Please kindly excuse me for not having sent you a reply to your letter up to this time. The qualified assent which you were pleased to give to the conditions laid down by me necessitated a reference to the Brothers for their opinion and orders. And now I am sorry to inform you that anything like practical instruction in the ritual of Occult Science is impossible under the conditions you propose. So far as my knowledge goes, no student of Occult Philosophy has ever succeeded in developing his psychic powers without leading the life prescribed for such students; and it is not within the power of the teacher to make an exception in the case of any student. The rules laid down by the ancient teachers of Occult Science are inflexible; and it is not left to the discretion of any teacher either to enforce them or not to enforce them according to the nature of the existing circumstances. If you find it impracticable to change the present mode of your life, you cannot but wait for practical instruction until you are in a position to make such sacrifices as Occult Science demands; and for the present you must be satisfied with such theoretical instruction as it may be possible to give you.
It is hardly necessary now to inform you whether the instruction promised you in my first letter under the conditions therein laid down would develop in you such powers as would enable you either to see the Brothers or converse with them clairvoyantly. Occult training, however commenced, will in course of time necessarily develop such powers. You will be taking a very low view of Occult Science if you were to suppose that the mere acquirement of psychic powers is the highest and the only desirable result of occult training. The mere acquisition of wonder-working powers can never secure immortality for the student of Occult Science unless he has learnt the means of shifting gradually his sense of individuality from his corruptible material body to the incorruptible and eternal Non-Being represented by his seventh principle. Please consider this as the real aim of Occult Science and see whether the rules you are called upon to obey are necessary or not to bring about this mighty change.
Under the present circumstances, the Brothers have asked me to assure you and Mr. Hume that I would be fully prepared to give you both such theoretical instruction as I may be able to give in the Philosophy of the Ancient Brahminical religion and Esoteric Buddhism.
I am going to leave this place for Madras on the 30th of this month.
I beg to remain your sincerely,
T. SUBBA ROW.
Letter No. 65138 (ML-11) Rec. June 30, 1882
This is the first of a series of three letters from the Mahatma K.H. directed to A. O. Hume.
Received by A.O.H, June 30th, 1882.
Simple prudence misgives me at the thought of entering upon my new role of an "instructor." If M. satisfied you but little I am afraid of giving you still less satisfaction, since besides being restrained in my explanations — for there are a thousand things I will have to leave unrevealed by my vow of silence — I have far less time at my disposal than he has. However, I'll try my best. Let it not be said that I failed to recognize your present sincere desire to become useful to the Society, hence to Humanity, for I am deeply alive to the fact that none better than yourself in India is calculated to disperse the mists of superstition and popular error by throwing light on the darkest problems. But before I answer your questions and explain our doctrine any further, I'll have to preface my replies with a long introduction. First of all and again I will draw your attention to the tremendous difficulty of finding appropriate terms in English which would convey to the educated European mind even an approximately correct notion about the various subjects we will have to treat upon. To illustrate my meaning I'll underline in red the technical words adopted and used by your men of Science and which withal are absolutely misleading not only when applied to such transcendental subjects as on hand but even when used by themselves in their own system of thought.