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H.P. Blavatsky As I Knew Her

By Alice Leighton Cleather

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Chapter 5

N the spring of 1891 our beloved Teacher contracted avery severe form of influenza, and on May 8her Soul was released from the suffering body. Shewas undoubtedly " recalled," as I see it now, becausewe had all failed her ; even we, her own personal pupils ; I do not hesitate to assert it we could not " watch,even for one hour." We failed, too, on the most obviousand elementary point the practice of brotherhood, for there were jealousies and dissensions even in the I. G.For H. P. B. it must have been heart-breaking. Timeand again had she striven to form an inner body whichwould provide the one and only essential for the receptionof the esoteric teachings she was commissioned to giveout. As she wrote of just such a body as the I. G. : " Unless the greatest harmony reigns among the learners, no success is possible." And we proved quite unable to provide that one indispensable condition. The E. S. T. came first, then its higher degrees, and finally the I. G.But all was of no avail ; the material was bad, and so the Temple could not be reared ; neither could theCorner Stone be found.

In the preface to her first great work, Isis Unveiled, H. P. B. expressly declares it to be a direct challenge to all forms of ecclesiastical dogmatism, and " especially to the Vatican ..." Yet, in the face of this, wefind Mrs. Besant proclaiming a new dispensation onwhat is practically a Roman Catholic basis, and steering the whole movement under her control towards Rome,i.e., the very antithesis of all that H. P. B. taught and worked for. The means used is an anomalous body called the Liberal Catholic Church, with Mr. C. W. Leadbeater and others as its " Bishops " ; and dogmas like the Apostolic Succession are upheld, which H. P. B. denounced. The moral character of these " Bishops " is so notorious that I need not sully these memories by any but the barest mention. I shall deal more fully, later, and in a separate publication with this matter,1 which constitutes an indelible stain on Mrs. Besant's Society in recent years.

Some twenty years ago, or more, I came to the conclusion that H. P. B.'s passing sounded also the death-knell of the Theosophical Society, as such. But from a personal and interior point of view, it was even more tragic. For I am absolutely convinced that, WHEN H. P. B. LEFT US, THERE WAS NO LONGER ANY POSSIBILITY OF DIRECT COMMUNICATION WITH THE GREAT LODGE OF MASTERS, except of course, for individuals who were capable of rising to Their plane by interior effort and aspiration. If this be not so, why after her death do we find Mr. Judge and Mrs. Besant, apparently unable to rely on interior guidance, turning to supposed chelas, psychics, and clairvoyants in their efforts to re-establish communication with the Masters ? The answer is plain to anyone who has carefully studied what the Masters Themselves have written on the subject. In the long letter of rebuke to Colonel Olcott for his attitude towards H. P. B., received during his voyage to England in 1888, the Master K. H. writes: "Since 1885, I have not written, or caused to be written, save through her [H. P. B.'s] agency, direct or remote, a letter or line to anybody in Europe or America, nor communicated orally with, or through any third party . . . With occult matters she has everything to do. We have not abandoned her. She is not givenover to chelas. She is our direct agent."

Again, in a letter evidently to Miss Arundale andwritten in 1884 the same Master writes : " I take theopportunity, one of the last there are, to write to youdirectly, to say a few words. For you know, of course, that once H. P. B.'s aura in the house is exhausted, youcan have no more letters from me. " (Italics are mine.) H. P. B. stayed with the Arundales in June and July of that year, when she came over from Paris on a short visit to adjust certain troubles in the London Lodge. 

But there exists still stronger, direct, evidence as tothis. In a letter to Mrs. Langford (then Mrs. LauraHolloway, one of the " Two Chelas " who wrote Man]the Master K. H. writes in 1884. " . . .to help thecause in its present very complicated situation, we whoare forbidden to use our powers with Europeans can act but thro' our chelas or one like H. P. B. . . . Whereare the chelas strong enough to help us without the aidof our own powers " ? Incidentally it should be clear enough to anyone with a grain of intuition that H. P. B.was something much more than " a chela." Finally, H. P. B.'s Master Himself writes in relation to instructions (for the " Inner Circle " of the London Lodge)which, He says, " can pass only through the hands of Mr. Sinnett, as hitherto . . . remains the question,what means there are to correspond even with Mr. Sinnett ?H. P. B. will not undertake the sending on and transmission of the letters ; she has shown her willingness toself-sacrifice in this direction long enough . . . DamodarK. M. has the same and even more unwillingness. [name of another chela} has not reached that stage ofphysiological development that enables a chela to send andreceive letters. His evolution has been more upon theintellectual plane ..." (Italics are mine throughout.)

So we here see that a certain stage of" PHYSIOLOGICAL development " is an essential, and that only " one like H. P. B." or the Masters' own personal chelas like Damodar are capable of being intermediaries for "direct communication": and Damodar was, in consequence of his advanced " physiological development," able to go to the Masters, in Tibet, a year later. It is perfectly clear from these extracts, in short, that it was only possible for the Masters to communicate direct through H. P. B.'s agency, because as Their chosen Messenger she had been prepared by several years of training and instruction under Their direct personal guidance and supervision in Tibet. Through her They could act on this plane at any distance from her physical presence.

At that time it would not have been easy, or even possible, for those who found themselves left as leaders of the Movement both exoteric and esoteric to foresee all the ruin and confusion that would (and did) result from their taking for granted that, because H. P. B. was always in direct communication with the Masters, therefore the same would hold good in their case, bereft as they were of her guidance and, above all, of her presence. Mrs. Besant and Mr. Judge were duly appointed joint Outer Heads of the E. S. T. by the Inner Council, of which I was a member (Colonel Olcott never had any connection with the School) ; and as such felt themselves bound, in this high occult office, to act in the same way as H. P. B. as " intermediaries " between the students and the Masters. Mrs. Besant looked to Mr. Judge (as intermediary) at first. He, in his turn, presumably feeling the lack of inspiration since H. P. B.'s death, committed the fatal error of seeking communication through mediums, psychics, and clairvoyants, and giving out these communications as if they were received direct by himself. This I neither knew nor realised untilafter a long and painful experience of the character ofMrs. Tingley, his last inspirer, who was clever enough topersuade him to appoint her his successor. It was sheherself who told me, personally, that she dictated thefamous E. S. T. Circular headed " By Master's Direction," and signed by Mr. Judge, deposing Mrs. Besantfrom her position as joint Outer Head.

Mrs. Besant was then in India engaged, inter alia,in elaborating the charges against Mr. Judge, under thedirection of the Brahmin who was her latest adviser andguide. Mr. Judge's circular was a characteristic Tingleycounterstroke, and anyone familiar with her languageand methods (as I subsequently became) can easilyrecognise it throughout. Mr. Judge's style was totallydifferent and quite unmistakable. On the other handMrs. Besant was guilty of the very same thing of whichshe accused Mr. Judge viz., of " giving a misleadingmaterial form to messages from the Master." Equivocation of this kind was one of the fundamental causes of thecatastrophe which overtook the T. S. in 1895. Working" from within without," the E. S. T. the real heart ofthe Society was divided by the separation of the two" Outer Heads," and the disruption of the T. S. followedas a matter of course.

This evil precedent had been created by Mr. A. P.Sinnett during H. P. B.'s lifetime, for he had claimedindependent communication ever since he had enjoyedthe great privilege, through her agency, of the long corres-pondence with the Master K. H. which formed thematerial for The Occult World and Esoteric Buddhism.Mr. Sinnett's persistence in the claim of the continuanceof independent, direct communication with the Masterled to the statement He made to Colonel Olcott whichI have already quoted, and which He reiterated to 31 H. P. B. in 1890. This was in consequence of her having received a letter from Mr. Sinnett at that time, containing some rather impertinent (as from Mr. Sinnett to H. P. B.) statements about this Master, and again claiming that he was in direct communication with Him. That ever since 1885 all his alleged " communications " were received through crystal-gazing, mediums, and sensitives was told me by a member of his inner circle of students so far back as 1893. (See post p. 54 et seq.)

This sort of thing maybe perfectly satisfactory to those who are able to believe that the Masters would employ such agencies ; but it is quite another and, as I think, hardly an honest matter to give out information so " received " as " direct communications." Such an attitude the possibility of being able to take such a point of view shows a complete ignorance of the laws of Occultism governing the training of Adepts and the use of Their powers ; also of the vital distinction (so often drawn by H. P. B.) between the trained seer and the more or less irresponsible medium or clairvoyant. 

I had a recent confirmation of the very doubtful sources of Mr. Sinnett's so-called " occult " information from an English professor of an Indian University. Shortly after Mr. Sinnett's death in 1921, one of the sensitives whom he was wont to consult told this professor that on one occasion he had given Mr. Sinnett some " message " which he immediately decided came from the Master K. H. " He was so pathetically pleased, poor old chap, that I had not the heart to undeceive him," was the comment of the medium himself ! 

Had it not been for H. P. B., it is just possible that I myself might have figured as one of Mr. Sinnett's sensitives. I was seeing a good deal of both him and his wife, before H. P. B. moved into London from Maycot ; and one day Mr. Sinnett suggested that I should allow him to make the experiment of trying to " release " mysoul from the body, as I might then have some interestingexperiences. I thought so, too, although I then knewnothing of the dangers of such irresponsible practices.As a young girl I had been able to " turn tables," and tomesmerise people ; but I never took any real interestin this sort of thing, because the natural bent of my mindwas towards philosophy. However, on receiving fromMr. Sinnett the assurance that he would be able to bringmy soul safely back again, I consented to submit to theexperiment. His method proved to be the usual one.He asked me to lie down and close my eyes, and thenproceeded to make mesmeric passes. He told me thatI should soon " go off," and would then become consciouson " a higher plane." After what seemed to be aboutten minutes, and I was beginning to wonder when " I "should be " released," Mr. Sinnett said in a low voice: " Now you can't move your right arm." NaturallyI did so at once, and lifted my forearm, opening my eyesat the same time to look at him. I have rarely seenanyone so taken aback ; he had evidently thoughtI was " ofi." He seemed also quite annoyed by thefailure of the experiment, but said we would try againanother day. We never did, however, for soon afterwards H. P. B. moved into London, and I happened tomention the incident to her. She was really angry,and absolutely forbade me to permit Mr. Sinnett, oranyone else, to try such experiments again. Later on,of course, I came to learn the extreme danger of suchpractices, and that in the wrong hands they are formsof Black Magic.1

 I relate these few incidents, out of many that couldbe cited, in order to show the very questionable basis on which Mr. Sinnett's claim to " independent communication " rested. Although he had the inestimable privilege of association with H. P. B. in India, and she had put him in direct communication with the Master K. H., yet when this ceased, rather than admit it and be content to play a subordinate part, he declined to co- operate with H. P. B. in England, and resorted to these methods in a pitiful endeavour to maintain the high prestige he had acquired, through her. But his later writings are quite sufficient evidence that the source of his inspiration had long since ceased. Among these later writings must undoubtedly be included what he is pleased to call " A note of warning against too submissive an acceptance " of H. P. B/s explanation [the true Occult one of course] of spiritualistic phenomena, which he quotes in his Incidents in the Life of Madame Blavatsky. This " note " he added to the Edition dated 1913 (see Chap, viii, p. 140), and for sheer effrontery, and baseless assertions about her, it would be hard to beat. 

It may seem that much of the foregoing is in the nature of a digression, not germane to the subject of my memories of H. P. B. My answer is that I have to deal with those who with the notable exception of Mr. Judge drinking from the well of her wisdom ; using her name, her powers, and gifts, to forward their own ambitions and desires, yet think it no shame to spurn " the hand that fed them," and " deny " the source of their inspiration. In my view, therefore, anything I can do in adducing testimony to prove how unfounded, disloyal, and ungrateful are the claims of such people, is well done. For they have shamefully misrepresented H. P. B. and her teachings ; and, inasmuch as they were articulate and conformed to certain conventions, they have obtained the hearing denied to her by the world she came to enlighten and perchance to " save/' had it not rejected her Message. 

I must explain the insertion, here, of a reproduction of the Diploma which H. P. B. insisted on having specially drawn, by hand, and presenting . to Colonel Cleather. She always had the highest regard for him (and, incidentally, rolled him innumerable cigarettes !) ; while he, in his turn, never wavered in his affection for and belief in her, in spite of all the slanders which he had heard in India about her though he would never join the T. S.

The first time I took him up to Lansdowne Road to present him to H. P. B., I shall never forget how, onleaving the house after a wonderful talk he brought his clenched fist down on the open palm of his other hand with an emphatic bang, ejaculating : " Well ! I'll take my oath that woman never drank in her life ! " I should add that one of the cruellest and most persistent of the Simla slanders which he had heard, was that she " drank like a fish." 

I give this reproduction of the diploma because I believe it to be unique and therefore of interest.