On The Secret Doctrine
By T. Padma
“The Secret Doctrine” is published by adept Madame H.P. Blavatsky in 1888 to propagate Theosophical Philosophy. Presented as a synthesis of Science, Religion and Yoga it covers a mind boggling number of subjects ranging from the origin and evolution of the human race to esoteric insights into cosmology and cosmogony.
It consists of two volumes - Cosmogenesis and Anthropogenesis. Madame Blavatsky herself stated that her book is more like a cryptic treasure vault than a discursive treatise and that the understanding of what she wrote will be in the nature of a revelation that will unfold itself in accordance with the level of evolution of mankind at any particular point in Time. The sacred nature of this book is indicated by its motto “Satyat nasti paro dharmah” There is no Religion higher than Truth. Its universal relevance and trans-cultural appeal are rightly captured in its dedicatory statement:
This work
I Dedicate to all True Theosophists,
In every Country
And of every Race,
For They called it forth, and for them it was recorded.
Two other volumes, intended as a sequel to this book, were not published as the author felt that people of the earth were not yet ready to receive the knowledge contained in them.
“The Secret Doctrine” is not an expanded version of Blavatsky’s earlier book “Isis Unveiled” though its primary focus also is on esoteric science. Though her native tongue is Russian, Madame Blavatsky chosen to write “The Secret Doctrine” in English as the English language has been prophesied by adepts to be the “lingua franca” connecting different races of people from different parts of the world. Madame Blavatsky in the Preface to “The Secret Doctrine” makes it clear that all the “Truths” dealt with in the book are culled from the ancient scriptures of the Great Asiatic and early European faiths. She says that these truths were till then hidden under the “veil of glyphs and symbols” and that her objective is to “gather the oldest tenets together and to make of them one harmonious and unbroken whole”. As it is not a specialised study limited to any one religious denomination but represents the essence of the teachings of “the Hindu, the Zoroastrian, the Chaldean, the Egyptian, the Buddhist, the Islamic and the Christian religions, it rightly highlights not the many differences among them but the common spiritual yearning that was the propelling force behind their inception. Besides establishing man in his rightful place in the cosmic scheme, the striving of “The Secret Doctrine” is to underscore the impeccable precision and perfection evident in the working of the laws of Nature. Madame Blavatsky’s use of verses from “The Book of Dzyan” as keys to unlock the mysteries of elemental forces have initiated generations of seekers into the mystic dimension of science. “Dzyan” connotes dhyana and Jnana. As expounded in Books on Buddhism the goal of Jnana is to “reform oneself by meditation and knowledge”. But as rightly stated by Madame Blavatsky it is not her intention (as it is not the intention of any Adept for that matter) to trivialise esoteric truths by giving out “promiscuously to a mocking unbelieving world that which has been so effectually concealed from it for long aeons and ages”. The knowledge given in The Secret Doctrine goes beyond the ethics required to reform oneself and encompasses the mystery of life beyond earthly existence.
The knowledge that was once accessible only to a handful of Arhats is now presented in “The Secret Doctrine” for the edification of all sincere seekers. Tradition has it at that even today hundreds of books on esoteric Buddhism lie concealed in the cellar of a temple in a remote village of Tibet. When most ancient books have disappeared without trace and some like those by Lao-tse are so extensively misinterpreted that except to a handful of initiates his real message is not available. Similar is the case with most Chaldean books, books on astronomy in particular. Forgers like Esuebius have added to the confusion of the establishing the authenticity of many so called ancient texts. India’s most cherished scripture, “Rigveda” and most Egyptians religious texts are not fully understood to this day by Orientalists because they lack the ‘key’ that will explain their cryptic significance. Most Buddhistic lore given up as “lost” by many Europeans may still be hidden in lamaseries and monasteries. Madame Blavatsky cites Swami Dayananda Saraswathi’s faith in the existence of sacred books containing “primeval revelation”. Not only Indians but Mongolians also speak of such secret libraries stowed away in remote deserts. Madame Blavatsky’s “Secret Doctrine” is a compilation of Truths gathered from such texts, which till now were hidden from view. Potent knowledge as that contained in ancient books and now dealt with in “The Secret Doctrine” cannot be given to people unless and until they are ready to receive it.
The “truths” given in this book on the sevenfold nature of man are given against the backdrop of the planetary chain and the seven races of men it brought into being. The occult connotation of septenary division, in its relation to plane planet and race is explained vividly in The Secret Doctrine. Like all authentic scriptures “The Secret Doctrine” “transmits” Truth, received in a state of heightened perception.