Pearls of Wisdom from a Master of Wisdom

A Master of Wisdom, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky · The Masters Speak Series · 15 pages

Fifteen pages opened by an abstract and train of thoughts. It divides in two: a first part answering the question of who the Mahatmas are, and a second gathering short passages from a Master under the heading the file is named for.

The answer to the first question is put as a process rather than a definition. The Mahatmas are called great souls whose higher individuality is en rapport with the universal soul, and the account of how that comes about is precise: through occult training in successive births the hold of the lower Manas weakens, until the whole Manas identifies with the universal soul that runs through humanity at large — at which point, the text says, a new saviour of mankind is born. Who may approach such a being is answered just as plainly: only a pure and unexpecting soul whose brotherly love has lifted his Manas above the fog of separateness. A definition of faith is offered along the way which is worth noticing, because it is not the usual one — manasic perception is called enlightened belief without intellectual understanding, and that, rather than blind belief, is said to be the real meaning of the word. The first part closes with an explanation of occult letter-transmission by thought transference. The second part is a series of short passages. The adept is described as the rare efflorescence of a generation of enquirers, who must obey the inward impulse to become one; a Planetary Spirit is said to be able to roam interstellar space in full consciousness while still living on earth in his original body, and this is named as the highest form of adeptship a man can hope for on this planet. Only an occultist, by analysing and experiencing sentient life in all its phases — mineral, vegetable, animal or spiritual — is held able to work out the great problem of consciousness. A note on the three extant centres of the occult brotherhood observes that though widely separated geographically and as widely separated in their outward forms, they promulgate the same esoteric doctrine. The passage most likely to be remembered is the shortest: self is a passing guest, whose concerns are all like a mirage of the great desert.

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