The Letters of H. P. Blavatsky to A. P. Sinnett

Letter No. 111

My dear Mr. Sinnett,

Wanted to write with Arthur — found myself too lazy — no time rather. Now you have learnt I suppose, that it was not "erratic" geniuses alone as you kindly call me, who fall occasionally into wild "flapdoodles" and make mistakes. Luckily I was lazy and did not write then and there to poor Judge, to give him a bit of my mind for refusing to print your article. Poor fellow — he who sent you a proof sheet out of pure Yankee courtesy and you imagining that he refused to print it at all! You were "dreaming a dream" surely, when you read his blue pencil marginal remarks; and I read only your letter and sent the whole to Arthur, who read both, found out your mistake and grinned at both of us for our troubles. Well? —

Thanks for Transactions. Very interesting, your mesmerism. Only why can't you ever write about India or Indians without allowing your pen to run away with your ineradicable prejudices at the expense of truth and fact? You will be caught one of these days — my tender friend, and repent. You want to write esoteric facts and you give instead English race prejudice. Believe me I speak seriously. You cannot remodel esoteric History to suit your little likings and dislikes. You say, p. 20 (last lines), "In the same way, taking races into account, the people of India as a race, are immensely more susceptible to mesmerism than Europeans; probably because, as a race, they are on a somewhat lower level of cosmic evolution." Now, indeed? And you call this esoteric theosophy and theosophic teachings? How many times have I told you that if, as a race, they are lower than Europeans it is only physically and in the matter of civilisation or rather what you yourselves have agreed to regard as civilisation — the purely external, skin deep polish, or a whitened sepulchre with rottenness inside, of the Gospel. Hindus are spiritually intellectual and we physically spiritual. Spiritually they are immensely higher than we are. The physical point of evolution we have reached only now — they have reached it 100,000 years ago, perhaps. And what they are now spiritually you may not hope to reach in Europe before some milleniums yet. They are almost ready for the evolution of their sixth race units, and Europe has yet to whistle for them and must thank her stars for evoluting even occasionally Hindu like spiritual and beautiful characters. And then on p. 21 you say "The supreme perfection of sensitiveness that brings about capacity for clairvoyance . . . . . . I should be disposed to regard as an attribute of a finely developed and advanced organism" — the latter, with your permission, snuffs out clairvoyance and generally sensitiveness. The weaker the physical, the stronger spiritual perceptions. Then, by saying "that the quality of sensitiveness exhibited by an inferior race, or an inferior class, is itself inferior to that which reappears in persons spiritually advanced beyond the point of the maximum physical intellectuality." If instead of physical you had said psycho-physical or spiritual it would be more correct. You must have written your Transaction — in sulks. However it may be I am sorry to have to contradict you in the Secret D. I have written that long ago — and it is diametrically opposite to what you say and as it was dictated to me.

Yours faithfully the same,
H.P.B.



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