Theos-Talk Archives (December 2002 Message tt00010)

Bhakti Ananda Goswami, 

You wrote in part:

"In HPB's time and culture, it would have been extremely difficult 
for her to 'be her/ HIM SELF'. Thus, HPB coped with her frustration 
by expressing 'her' MASCULINE GENDER IDENTITY through her MAHATMAS. 
The men she IDENTIFIED WITH were like the Kashmiri Rajas. Thus 
her 'mystical form' as SERAPIS was like these heroic figures. She was 
not a girl or women in awe of them, 'she' felt 'herself' to BE ONE OF 
THEM. For her, the life of HPB was probably less real than that of 
her Mahatmas, especially Master SERAPIS, whom she identified with."

Quoted from: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/9952

I'm wondering exactly how you came to these conclusions. Is this 
just mere speculation on your part or do you have some evidence that 
would verify your "psychoanalytic" assessment?

Furthermore, it is hard to understand exactly what you are getting 
out. For example, you write:

"Thus, HPB coped with her frustration by expressing 'her' MASCULINE 
GENDER IDENTITY through her MAHATMAS."

What exactly does that mean?

Can you relate this vague statement of yours, for example, to the 
following two accounts?

Here is the first account.

In "Old Diary Leaves," Volume II, pp. 254-255, Colonel Olcott wrote 
of his encounter with a Master on Oct. 26, 1880 at the Golden Temple
at Amritsar, India:

"At a shrine where the swords, sharp steel discs, coats of mail, and 
other warlike weapons of the Sikh warrior priests are exposed to view 
in charge of the akalis, I was greeted, to my surprise and joy, with 
a loving smile by one of the Masters, who for the moment was figuring 
among the guardians, and who gave each of us [HPB and Olcott] a fresh 
rose, with a blessing in his eyes."

In Olcott's own handwritten diary, the entry for October 26, 1880 
reads: 

"...In the afternoon we went to the Golden Temple again & found it as 
lovely as before. Saw some hundreds of fakirs & gossains more or less 
ill-favored. A Brother there saluted H.P.B. and me & gave us each a 
rose." 

B.A.G., how does this encounter with a Master relate to your 
statement that "HPB coped with her frustration by expressing 'her' 
MASCULINE GENDER IDENTITY through her MAHATMAS."

Or take the second account.

Colonel Olcott tells us:

"[On July 15, 1879, Mahatma Morya] visited me in the flesh at Bombay, 
coming in full daylight, and on horseback. He had me called by a 
servant into the front room of HPB's bungalow (she being at the
time in the other bungalow talking with those who were there). He 
came to scold me roundly for something I had done in TS matters, and 
as HPB was also to blame, he telegraphed to her to come, that is to 
say, he turned his face and extended his finger in the direction of 
the place she was in. She came over at once with a rush and, seeing 
him, dropped on her knees and paid him reverence. My voice and his 
had been heard by those in the other bungalow, but only HPB and I, 
and the servant saw him."

Quoted from: Hume, A. O. Hints on Esoteric Theosophy, No. 1: Is 
Theosophy a Delusion? Do the Brothers Exist? Calcutta, India: 
Calcutta Central Press, 1882.

In Colonel Olcott's diary for July 15, 1879, the following entry
is written: "[I] had visit in body of the Sahib!! [He] sent Babula to 
my room to call me to HPB's bungalow, and there we had a most
important private interview. Alas! how puerile and vain these men 
make one feel by contrast with them."

Please tell us B.A.G. how your statements quoted at the beginning of 
this posting relate to these two encounters with HPB's Masters.

As regards your vague statements about Serapis, can your relate your 
statement to the testimonies I gave in the following posting?

See my posting at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theos-talk/message/9959

Daniel H. Caldwell

---------------------------------------
BLAVATSKY ARCHIVES
http://blavatskyarchives.com
Publishes rare & hard-to-find source
documents on Madame H.P. Blavatsky.
---------------------------------------
ESOTERIC WORLD OF MADAME BLAVATSKY
http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/esotericworldam.htm
This book contains a unique collection of
rare reminiscences of H.P. Blavatsky's life.
---------------------------------------
Theosophyonthe.NET
http://theosophyonthe.net
Easy Net Access to the Classics of Theosophy
---------------------------------------
Theosophy.INFO
http://theosophy.info
Introductions to Theosophy
---------------------------------------
You can always access our main site
BLAVATSKY ARCHIVES by simply typing
into the URL address bar the following
6 characters: hpb.cc