Theos-Talk Archives (January 2002 Message tt00277)

Steve:. It occurs to me you might want to check thearticle HPB's 
Meditation Diagram.Blavatsky's pathways formula."

Yes, this is from the end of her life in London where she had access 
to all kinds of things. The question I would have is particularly if 
she maybe developed the idea for the circular tree of life (her basic 
structure for the rounds) by lets say mirror gazing under influence 
possible of drugs, or was this already a pathway meditation formula 
in a particular secret society that time where she would have had 
some inside knowledge 0f, and if so, wich ?

This question would of course also stand in relationship with the 
early masters of the TS, watever these where.

Hartmann wrote Blavatsky to tell her that she really was talking 
about her "inner" experiences only. But Blavatsky scoffed him of and 
wrote back: "You have come to the conviction that the ,Masters' are, 
planetary spirits'-that's good; remain in that conviction.... I 
wish I could hallucinate myself to the same degree." (From letters of 
H. P. B. to Dr. Hartmann. 1885 to 1886," The Path 10 ,February 
1896:p. 366ff. )

W. Q. Judge interesting to note reported that Blavatsky in contrast 
to other members in the early TS had a difficult time to learn and ?
see? Planetary Spirits. Judge commented " H.P B. appears to have 
been greatly troubled, for though some members of the nascent 
Theosophical Society were able to get ,visions of pure Planetary 
Spirits,' she could only see ,earthly exhalations, elementary 
spirits' of the same category, which she said played the chief parts 
in materializing seances." (From "Letters of H. P. Blavatsky," The 
Path 9, no. 9 ,December 1894:p. 268.)

The belief that elementary spirits could be of assistance to do such 
immaginarry feats was a belief that stems directly from Renaisance 
magic theurgic grimoires. (I think you mentioned you wonderred one 
time what or if she herself believed in the possibility of 
materialisation.)

The above in any case seems to be rather different from what she was 
presenting to her students in London. 

There was also an Indian meditation teacher G.N.Chakravarti that time 
in London that Bertram Keightley and Annie Beant became students of 
for a duration of eleven years. (This is on p. 83 from Deveney's 
booklet on Astral Projection and the TS)
Brigitte