Theosophical Society,
THE
LIFE OF
H P Blavatsky
Life with H P Blavatsky
By
Countess
Constance Wachtmeister
This account taken from Reminiscences of H P Blavatsky and The
Secret Doctrine covers the period during the writing of the Secret Doctrine
when H P Blavatsky received news of the damaging report by the Society for
Psychic Research. This was a very difficult time for H P Blavatsky and the
Theosophical Society
The
description of a single day will serve to give an idea of the routine
of
her life at this time.
At
for
Madame Blavatsky, who, after this slight refreshment, rose and dressed, and by
She
told me that this was her invariable habit, and that breakfast would be served
at eight. After breakfast she settled herself at her writing desk and the day's
work began in earnest. At
Comfortably
seated in her big armchair, HPB used to arrange her cards for a game of
patience, as she said, to rest her mind. It seemed as if the mechanical process
of laying her cards enabled her mind to free itself from the pressure of such
concentrated labor of the day's writing. She never cared to talk of Theosophy
in the evenings. The mental tension during the day was so severe that she
needed, above all things, rest; and so I produced as many journals and
magazines as I could to read the articles and passages that I thought most
likely to interest and amuse her.
At
Thus
our days passed with the same routine; the only change worth noticing
being
that sometimes she would leave the door open between her writing room and the
dining room where I sat, and then from time to time we would converse together,
or I would write letters for her, or discuss the contents of those we had
received.
Our
visitors were very few. Once a week the doctor called to enquire after
HPB's
health, and he would stay gossiping for more than an hour. Sometimes, but
rarely, our landlord would tell a good story of life as he saw it though his
spectacles, and many a laugh we had all together - a pleasant interruption to
the daily monotony of our work.
At
this time I learned little more concerning The Secret Doctrine other than that
it was to be a work far more voluminous than Isis Unveiled. It would consist,
when completed, of four volumes, and that it would give out to the world as
much of the esoteric doctrine as was possible at the present stage of human
evolution.
"It
will, of course, be very fragmentary," she said, "and there will, of
necessity, be great gaps left but it will make men think, and as soon as they
are ready more will be given out."
"But
that will not be," she added after a pause, "until the next century,
when men will begin to understand and discuss this book intelligently."
Soon,
however, I was entrusted with the task of making fair copies of HPB's
manuscript, and then of course I began to get glimpses of the subject matter of
The Secret Doctrine.
I
have previously not alluded to the presence at Würzburg of a Hindu gentleman,
who for a time, was a prominent figure in our little society.
It
was at Adyar one day that an Indian, begrimed with dirt, clad in tattered
garments, and with a miserable expression of countenance, made his way into
Madame Blavatsky's presence. He cast himself at her feet and with tears in his
voice and eyes entreated her to save him. On enquiry it appeared that in a mood
of religious exaltation he had wandered away into the jungle with the intention
of renouncing society, becoming a "forest-dweller", and devoting
himself to religious contemplation and yoga practices. There he had joined a
yogi who was willing to accept him as his chela or pupil, and had spent some
time in the study of the difficult system of Hatha Yoga, a system which relies almost
exclusively on physiological processes for the development of psychic powers.
At
last, overcome by terror at his experiences, and the formidable training he had
to undergo, he made his escape from his guru. By what circumstances he was led
to HPB we don't know, but he reached her, and she comforted him and calmed his
mind, clothed and fed him, and then, at his request, began to teach him the
truly spiritual path of development, the Raja Yoga philosophy. In return he
vowed a life-long devotion, and when she left
He
was a little man, of nervous temperament, with bright beady eyes. During the
first few days that I spent at Würzburg he was for ever talking to me,
translating stories from his Tamil books, and relating all sorts of wonderful
adventures that had happened to him when he was in the forest with his Hatha
Yoga master. But he did not remain long in Würzburg. Madame Gebhart sent him a
cordial invitation to pay her a visit at Elberfeld, and so one morning, after
an effusive scene of leave-taking with HPB, during which he declared that she
had been more than a mother to him, that life, he departed - I regret to say
never to return.
Too
soon flattery turned his head and his heart, and the poor little man was false
to all that should have been most sacred to him.
I
wish to pass very lightly over incidents such as this, which, I am sorry to
say, was not an isolated instance of ingratitude and desertion, but was,
perhaps the one which affected HPB most painfully. I mention it here to show an
example of the mental distress which, added to physical maladies and weakness,
rendered progress with her task slow and painful.
The
quiet studious life that I have tried to describe continued for some little
time, and the work progressed steadily, until one morning, a thunderbolt
descended upon us. By the early post, without a word of warning, HPB received a
copy of the well known report of the Society fro Psychic research. It was a
cruel blow, and, in the form it took, wholly unexpected. I shall never forget
that day nor the look of blank and stony despair that she cast on me when I
entered her sitting room and found her with the book open in her hands.
“This”
she cried “Is the Karma of the Theosophical Society, and it falls upon me. I am
the scapegoat. I am made to bear all the sins of the Society and now I am
dubbed the greatest impostor of the age, and a Russian spy into the bargain,
who will listen to me or read The Secret Doctrine ? How can I carry on Master’s work ? O
cursed phenomena, which I only produced to please private friends and instruct
those around me. What an awful Karma to bear ! How shall I live through it ? If
I die Master’s work will be wasted and the society will be ruined !”
In
the intensity of her passion at first she would not listen to reason, but
turned against me saying, “ Why don’t you go ? Why don’t you leave me ? You are
a Countess, you cannot stop here with a ruined woman, with one held up to scorn
before the whole world, one who will be pointed at everywhere as a trickster
and an imposter. Go before you are defiled by my shame.
“HPB,”
I said, as my eye met hers with a steady gaze, “you know that Master lives and
he is your Master, and that the theosophical Society was founded by Him, how
then can it perish ? And since I know this as well as you, since for me, now,
the truth has been placed beyond the possibility of doubt, how can you for one
moment suppose that I could desert you and the Cause we are both pledged to serve
? Why, if every member of the Theosophical Society should prove traitor to that
Cause you and I would remain, and would wait and work until the good time come
again.”
Letters
came in containing nothing but recrimination and abuse, resignation of Fellows
and apathy and fears on the part of those who remained. It was a trying time;
and the very existence of the Theosophical Society seemed threatened, and HPB
felt as if it were crumbling away from under her feet.
The
situation does improve and a clear indication of HPB’s resilience is given in a
letter from Countess
Wachtmeister to A P Sinnet
Cardiff Blavatsky Archive
Theosophical Society, Cardiff Lodge, 206 Newport Road,
Cardiff CF24 – 1DL