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The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett - 1923
By A. T. Barker
Letter No XXb
Received August 1882. Simla, July 25th.
My Dear Old Lady,
I began to try to answer N.D.K.'s letter at once so that if K. H. really meant the note to appear in this immediately '* next " appearing Theosophist for August it might just be in time. But I soon got into a tangle. Of course we have received no information that distinctly covers the question now raised, though I supfK>se we ought to be able to combine bits into an answer. The difficulty turns on giving the real explanation of Eliphas Levi's enigma in your note in the October Theosophist.
If he refers to the fate of this, at present existing race of mankind his statements that the intermediate majority of Egos are ejected from nature or annihilated would be in direct conflict with K.H.'s teaching. They do not die without remembrance, if they retain remembrance in Devachan and again recover remembrance (even of past personalities as of a book's pages) at the period of full individual consciousness preceding that of absolute conscious- ness in Pari Nirvana.
But it occurred to me—that E.L. may have been dealing with humanity as a whole, not merely with the fourth round men. Great numbers of fifth round personalities are destined to perish J understand and these might be his intermediate useless portion of mankind. But then the individual spiritual monads, as I understand the matter, do not perish whatever happens, and if a monad reaches the fifth round with all his previous personalities preserved in the pages of his book awaiting future perusal, he would not be ejected and annihilated because some of his fifth- round pages were ** unfit for publication." So again there is a difficulty in reconciling the two statements.
X. But again is it conceivable that a spiritual monad though surviving the rejection of its third and fourth round pages, cannot survive the rejection of fifth and sixth round pages. That failure to lead good lives in these rounds means the annihilation of the whole individual who will never then get to the seventh round at all.
But on the other hand if that were so the Eliphas Levi case would not be met by such a hypothesis, for long before then the individuals who had become co-workers with nature for evil would have been themselves annihilated by the obscuration of the planet X. between the fifth and sixth rounds—if not by the obscurationbetween the fourth and the fifth, for to every round there is oneobscuration we are told. (5) There is another difficulty here be-cause some fifth rounders being here already it is not clear whenthe obscuration comes on. Will it be behind the avant couriers ofthe fifth round, who will not count as commencing the fifth, thatepoch only really beginning after the existing race has totallydecayed out—but this idea will not work.
Having got so far in my reflections yesterday, I went up toHume to see if he could make out the puzzle and so enable meto write what was wanted for this post. But on looking into it and looking back to the October Theosophist we came to theconclusion that the only possible explanation was that the OctoberTheosophist note was utterly wrong and totally at variance withall our later teaching. Is that really the solution? 1 do notthink so or K.H. would not have set me to reconcile the two.
But you will see that at present, with the best will in the worldI am utterly unable to do the job set me, and if my dear Guardianand Master will kindly look at these remarks he will see thedilemma in which I am placed.
And then in the way which will be the least trouble to himselfeither through you or directly he will perhaps indicate the linewhich the required explanation ought to take. Manifestly it can-'not be done for the August number, but I am inclined to believehe never intended this as the time is now so short.
ght perhaps be able to take flight for here, and get a little restamong us. You know how glad at any time we should be to seeyou. Meanwhile my own individual plans are a little uncertain.I may have to return to Allahabad, in order to leave Hensman freeto go as sp>ecial correspondent to Egypt. I am fighting my proprietors tooth and nail to avert this result—but for a few days stillthe issue of the struggle will be uncertain.
Ever Yours,
APS
P.S. —As you may want to print the letter in this number,I return it herewith, but hope that this may not be the case andthat you will send it me back again so that I may duly i>erformmy little task with the help of a few words as to the line to befollowed.
