500 years ago, there lived a great doctor and healer, Paracelsus (1493 – 1541). He was born in Einsiedeln, Switzerland and died on 24th of September 1541 in Salzburg, Austria. He was a master of astrology, of alchemy, of symbols, numbers, signature, palmistry, physiognomy etc. He laid the foundation stone for many great, new medical and scientific developments, such as the homoeopathic teaching of Hahnemann.

When Dr K. Parvathi Kumar visited the birthplace of Paracelsus at Einsiedeln on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Paracelsus in 1993, he had a profound inner encounter with Paracelsus. In 1999, he inspired the foundation of the Paracelsus Center and later the PARACELSUS – HEALTH & HEALING journal.

Since November 2003, a group of volunteers has been publishing the 52-page print periodical in German, English and Spanish every month. The editor-in-chief was Dr K. Parvathi Kumar. The purpose of the publication was to collect and synthesise new and old knowledge about medicine and the art of healing from East and West in order to make it available to people. The whole production – content production, 3 languages translation, printing, shipping, marketing, subscription management and accountancy – was run by group members.

It was an incredibly intense and dedicated team training – acquiring skills in many fields, learning transnational collaboration, mobilising will for overcoming many obstacles. A quotation from Paracelsus:
“He who is artistic in his work, will produce wonders, which will be great and indescribable.” (Paracelsus, Vol. III, p 653)

A website for the journal was set up by a member containing general informations on the journal and on Paracelsus. In 2006, I took over running the site with the help of my youngest son. Later, others developed the site.

The Paracelsus Health & Healing Magazine was initially published in print for 13 years. It gradually developed in content and design to a remarkable level and achieved a high level of recognition among its readership.

From 2016 on, the magazine was published as an online publication free of charge. This allowed giving more comprehensive information about healing methods and traditional medical knowledge in the East and West. Within the limited framework of the resources, the team succeeded in inspiring a wider readership for the valuable articles. There was a continuous blessings of the project by Master Kumar, which was continued to be deeply felt even after his departure on 1 November 2022.

However, the decreasing willingness of authors to give their texts for free publication, the gradual stagnating use of the online magazine ‘Health & Healing’ by the readership and, above all, the rapid changes in Internet technology and user behaviour were realities observed by the team. They did not have the financial, technical, and human resources to continue the work.

They decided that the last article will be published on 7 November 2024, 21 years after the foundation of the magazine. All previously published issues shall continue to be available online and the website shall be maintained until further notice.

A warm ‘Thank you!’ for the great and selfless work done over 21 years – a triple septennium – creating a valuable treasure of knowledge.

Not all in the West know who Lord Krishna is and much less is known about his spiritual significance. Although he lived about 5300 years ago, his energy keeps on expressing on the planet. I read about Krishna in the 1970s and felt much fascinated.

27 years ago, Master Kumar inaugurated a Krishna statue in Wermelskirchen, Germany during a celebration of Krishna’s birthday in August 1997. The Master has gifted Krishna statues to group members from different countries around the globe and personally installed and consecrated them. It was a great program to anchor and strengthen the presence of Lord Krishna in the lives of those who came in contact.

I came with a group from Switzerland to Wermelskirchen; it was my first physical contact with Master Kumar and the World Teacher Trust.

It was a beautiful inauguration ceremony and ritual through which I came in touch with the magic of Lord Krishna’s soul music. And this touch of His presence was anchored in me. I felt drawn to the Krishna statue whenever I saw it again. It is not stone, but a living presence.

The inauguration was embedded in a seminar, where Sri Kumar spoke about the book “The Music of the Soul” by Master EK – the soul music with which Lord Krishna transformed people. The book and the soul music also left a lasting impact in my life.

Now, the statue was given to Sabine and Manfred to find a new permanent place at their home in Heiligenberg (meaning, the Holy Mountain) – in the rose garden that Manfred has cultured with much love and devotion. 10 days ago, a group of 9 members brought the statue from Northern Germany to the south. It was installed with a little ceremony and some more members joint the celebration.

I could not participate in this inauguration but I was involved in preparation work when I visited Manfred and Sabine for some days beginning of July. Inwardly, I was much there at the celebration and I received photos and video-clips of the beautiful inauguration: Klim Krishnaya, Govindaya, Gopijana Vallabhaya Namaha – the sacred sounds of mantras were blessing the atmosphere of the whole area and beyond.

4 weeks ago, I had given an envelope with a symbol and a little glass jewel for the place of the statue to a friend from Germany to send it to Heiligenberg. The envelope, however, did first a tour through southern France and now finally arrived in Heiligenberg. I was thrilled to see the new photos of the statue yesterday.

I share here the pics with you so that you too can feel the magnetism of the Presence of Lord Krishna.

The next day, together with part of the group, we moved to the Castillo de Maimón at the outskirts of Cordoba, the site where the May Call Day celebration was going to take place.

The name of the castle refers to Maimonides, a medieval Jewish rabbi, philosopher, astronomer and also physician of great renown, who was born and lived over years in Cordoba but later had to flee. We had seen his statue in the old Jewish quarter of Cordoba.

Inside the Castillo, there was a beautiful hall with a little fountain in the centre, where we met for some rituals.

The general group meetings, however, were in a smaller hall where the Cordoba group had arranged a beautiful altar and decorations. The group opened the May Call celebration by singing some songs with the fiery temperament of Southern Spain.

Spontaneous musical contributions were going on outside and in the evening, also with dancing. The enthusiasm caught the entire group.

There were inspiring talks by Guru Prasad and other group members, which were simultaneously translated into 3 other languages and broadcasted via Zoom. And there was also a video talk Master Kumar had given at the same place in Cordoba in 2015 – it was like seeing him live again.

The May Call Day celebration was indeed a day for reception and distribution of the Energy of Synthesis, the day of group initiation started by Master CVV in 1910 and celebrated since then.

For the fire ritual on May Call Day and the water ritual on 30 May, we gathered in the big hall. It was an intense experience of group consciousness and togetherness.

Besides the general group meetings, there were exchanges in small groups, like coordination of audiobook publishing or preparing the next year’s European May Call celebration. Above all, there were plenty of exchanges with old and friends – days of great intensity.

When we left the place in the morning of May 31st, full of joy, we suddenly saw in front of us a Jaguar having a number plate with KPK – the initials of Master KPK. We smiled about this greeting from the subtle planes.

Since several years now, we have been meeting for “CVV Sharing” group livings around the two equinoxes of the year. Like in the last years, we met springtime at the Seminarhof Drawehn in Kassau, in the Wendland region of northern Germany, for a four-day group living from Monday, 18 March to Thursday, 21 March, 2024.

The seminar place is situated on the edge of a small village and it has grown out of an old farmstead. Its centre is a beautiful 12-angular building with a spiral roof. Its large windows open a wide view over fields and forests. Meeting there physically for the group living itself is, in a way, just the end of a preparation work we did with a team over the last months.

We came from Denmark, Switzerland and different parts of Germany. We were 23 adult persons and a child and we were brought together in the spirit of the One Master Energy.

We followed a rhythm of prayers / meditation times each 3 hours, exchanges and group activities for tuning in to experience the energies at work and for sharing our impressions. “Experiment – Experience – Expression” is the motto of our meetings. And it was giving joy to all who participated, to meet again, to experience the group interactions and to express.

In the welcome round, members brought something from themselves, and the objects and symbols were arranged on a table as the group altar. We exchanged in smaller and bigger groups about what moves us and how we live with the influences of the present time.

There were little inputs and exchanges about “Where am I being unfaithful to myself / Where do I want to be more at peace with myself? / Which inner truth am I (not) living? What truth am I sure of?” And there was a contemplation/group work on “What has inspired me in the last six months?”

There was a concert and a presentation about “The magic of the voice”, and a talk about the Odyssey and qualities of the present time.

Wednesday early morning we met for an equinox meditation around the precise time of the Sun entering Aries (4:06 am). And in the afternoon we did a group walk through the nearby forest.

Thursday morning after meditation, there was a small fire ritual. And in the closing round, we spoke about the experiences during the group living. All felt this year’s meeting as very harmonious and well-balanced.

You can read about the journey to the CVV Sharing in a separate blogpost.

It is now a week ago that I started the journey back home from India and nearly five weeks since the start. Through the fog of inner and outer impressions, the contours of what I experienced slowly become clearer. In this mist, there is a light shining through which becomes stronger when I contemplate on it, and I might call it the essence. It is inside but it is shining into the outer as well. It has been impregnating me and keeps doing so.

The journey itself is like a multi-dimensional cinema experience – I go in and I go out again. And the intensity fades when the cinema show ends. With a cinema show, there is mostly no lasting impact. And it is the same with many things I encounter in India – they are not of relevance for my life in the West and face away again. But each journey is like a “reset” of my life which is not possible when I stay comfortably at home. It is a transformation experience. Such a pilgrimage journey helps me to better align to the purpose of my life. And gain fresh vigour and determination.

There were many exchanges, I saw saw many forms of community/communities and coherence/being together. With the group members and other people I encountered, I perceived an intense striving for divinity, expressing spirituality in daily life. It was much stronger perceivable than in the surroundings of my Western life. And this was very inspiring. Although I cannot and do not want to live and work and express myself in a way I saw in India – and I also saw forms which kept me at a distance and were disgusting – it gave me fresh resolve to express divinity and spirituality in my life and through the ways and forms which are possible in my surroundings. It is a matter of inner attitude. This fresh impulse is most essential for me.

The Triangular Book of Count Saint Germain

At the beginning of the journey, on the very first day, Sri Joshi showed Mark and me photos from a manuscript which he and Shreya had taken at the Getty Research Institute in LA, the Triangular Book of Count Saint Germain (Master CSG). I was very thrilled to see the beautiful drawings and writings in perfect handwriting mostly in cipher language. It was a touch of the great Master who had built a bridge of the wisdom of Hierarchy from the East to the West – although it still remains a mystery. I didn’t know about this book but we are reading in a German study group the “Most Holy Trinosophia” of Master CSG, which Master EK had mentioned, and Sri Joshi wanted to send the photos. I didn’t receive it but the information came in other ways, by sharing with group members and some further search: the entire book is scanned and online; it is translated into English here. There are two manuscripts of the Triangular Book, one dated 1775, the other 1750. There is a very interesting website about it, “The Triangular Book“, by an anonymous author, giving an aura of mystery. He hinted at a book and he might be the author himself, since he writes about “my publication of Triangular Book of St. Germain (Ouroboros Press, 2014). So, it is probably Nick Koss, who produced an exquisite limited edition reproduction published in Seattle, from where my friend Mark Ray came and where he passed over at return of our journey, completing his cycle on earth.

I do not know which is the relevance of all these impressions and all information about the “Triangular Book” of Master CSG for me. But I mention here this story because it shows well how mysteries reveal themselves when the time is ripe, even if it takes centuries. I learn not to rush but let things develop themselves.

And this is, where the end of my blog-posts about the “Journey to Group Livings of WTT in India” touches the beginning. The mystery of the extremely intense experiences of this journey.

Over the last months, Mark Ray and I had developed the plans for our journey to India. Mark was a third generation theosophist from Seattle, USA, in link with the Wisdom teachings since his youth. He studied psychology but preferred to work with his hands, so he specialised on renovating houses. For years, he was very active in the Theosophical Society Seattle, be it as president, be it in development of Indralaya, a theosophical center on Orcas Island committed to community and spiritual development.

Ever since he came into contact with the WTT he increasingly committed himself to build a bridge between theosophy and the World Teacher Trust teachings of Master KPK and Master EK. He met Master KPK at a group living in San Jose, California, in 2018 and again at the May Call 2019 at Mount Shasta, California. There, we shared a room together and very quickly became friends. For me, it was like meeting a brother in a deeper sense of the word.

We had been in regular monthly contact via Zoom. These were intense exchanges about many spiritual topics. And nearly at every exchange, Mark gave me profound astrological insights, be it from the perspective of Western or of Vedic astrology – in both, he was very well versed.

On 22 December early morning, we met at Bengaluru airport, he coming from Seattle via Frankfurt, me from Zurich via Abu Dhabi, arriving by chance at the same moment at the immigration counters.

Next day, we went to the Master Mountain Retreat Center in the Niligiris, the Blue Mountains of South India, the place of the ashram of the great Rishi Agastya, where we spent 4 days. Then we returned to Sadguru Tapovana, the WTT center in Bengaluru, where we participated at the December Call celebrations.

Afterwards we flew to Visakhapatnam and participated in the group living there.

We shared the room together over the entire journey and had intense exchanges. These were very harmonious days and Mark was continuously active speaking with members about their astrological charts. He had a GoPro camera with him and we did a number of video interviews about WTT activities at different places – we planned to do a report. And he recorded a gorgeous sunrise in the Nilagiris and we planned to do a video with an Indian bamboo flute player, Kaliprasad, whom we met in Bengaluru and in Vizag.

On Tuesday, 9 January, he started his return journey. From Vizag airport, he wrote to me at noon time:
“I didn’t get to say goodbye but we will see each other again soon on Zoom. I am at the airport and went through check in a security without problems. Then I found my hat upstairs and something western to eat. No more rice for a while. 🙂
There is now a blizzard warning over the mountains to my home so I may have to stay overnight at my sisters again. India has been very kind to me on this trip. I never felt afraid to walk on the streets and had no problems except for the bronchitis. It is hard to leave so many kind and spiritual people.(…) Now I have to formulate my thoughts on the trip and how to make the World Teacher Trust more universal. Meanwhile I will rest and reconnect with family. Thank you again for this great opportunity!”

About 3 hours later, he wrote: “I am in Bangalore now and at Terminal 2. The plane was about 30 minutes late but that is not a problem for me. My Lufthansa flight leaves at 3:30 am so I have a long wait.”
Then he wrote from Frankfurt: “I caught my last flight and am about to take off. Seattle in nine hours.”

This was the last e-mail. On arrival in Seattle, on the way through the customs, Mark (26 April 1954 – 10 Jan 2024) left the body and took the flight to the subtle planes of Light. It was the time of the new moon of Capricorn -Capricorn being the time of the beginning of the solar ascent symbolizing the ascent of the Soul out of the conditioning of matter. And the time of new moon symbolizes the beginning of a new cycle of further development – a very auspicious time for passing over to continue the path on the subtle planes.

Mark had been absorbing the impressions in India like a dry sponge, also with his video cam – I asked him, “will you find time for viewing all this?” But it was a profound soul experience he had – which also made him a bit careless about his health – not only me had warned him to protect his body better and that the warmth here is rough, carrying the energies of winter and affecting the bodies, esp. those from the West.
He got a bronchitis the last days and a doctor at the seminar and healing practitioners gave him medicine. His body was somehow weakened before the return flight but he seemed to be OK. There must be a deeper reason for his sudden passing. There were signs that his soul knew about the passing already: He told several friends from the group about dreams he had during the last nights where he saw faces, esp. of his mother, staring at him, and he asked a friend of mine, “What do they want to say to me, I do not understand.” She told him, “Ask them to tell you.”

These premonitions show that the veil between the spheres was becoming thinner already and that, though a great surprise on the outer, there was a knowledge in the inner of the coming departure.

Before his departure, he gave me all his video recordings, and we had planned to do some report about the journey He had recorded a most splendorous sunrise in the Nilagiris and I had contacted a very well-known bamboo flute player here who wants to play a morning raga for the sunrise video – in a way, this is for me an expression of the gift of Mark’s inner radiance as an inspiration to others, and as his life had been for many.

Mark, farewell and have a good continuation of your journey!

Early this morning Indian time, I came to know that another dear friend from Germany had passed over exactly the same day as Mark, Renate Vincent from Germany. She was one of the early German translators of the books of Master EK. About 2 years, Master Kumar asked me to keep actively contact with her, so we had a few talks and she joined my English online study group for a short while, but then other tasks made her resign. Renate, also to you a much blessed journey to the subtle spheres of Light!

This year’s January group living of the Western brotherhood of WTT in Visakhapatnam, India, was very special, and for me already before going there. It was my 21st journey to a January group living and the 23rd journey to WTT in India, the 27th journey to spiritual group livings in India since 1982. How would things be, a bit after Master KPK had passed over 1 November 2022? Sri Kumar had often explained that the MASTER is an eternal principle and that a teacher is just an expression of of the Master Consciousness.

Master KPK has left behind a great treasure of books, audio and video recordings having come from his tremendous work of teaching. We had planned to do a seminar in the rhythm of earlier group lives with the January 2016 recordings about “Female Hierarchy”. Master’s teachings had been most sublime and the video recordings had been well edited but aren’t published yet.

Guru Prasad, the son of the Master, or Bharath, a group member and family member, were always present to ensure that the projectors were working well. We were just a small group of 8 members from Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the US. But we felt we were gathered there by the will of the Master.

It was a harmonious gathering. And it was a surprising coincidence that at the beginning of the first lecture, Master KPK mentioned that the group lives in India started in January 1988 with a small group of 8 members from the West and then slowly grew with the years, with an average of 30-60 members.

From 2 to 9 January, we saw the 10 lectures of the 2016 seminar. We were all intensely absorbed into the presence of the Master – there was no feeling of seeing a YouTube video or that the presence of the Master was not physical – it was the Presence in the presence. The temple room is strongly vibrating through the ritualistic work having gone on since 1977 at this place, although the building changed. The rooms dedicated to Master EK and Master KPK are very magnetic with the presence of the energies of the Masters and it was an ongoing profound experience, like a focal point of a radiance of Light in a vibrating silence.

We were invited to the homes of Guru Prasad, Bharath – living now with his family in the 5th floor of Radha Madhavam – and other members. We made small excursions with their cars – to the Annadanan Project (explanations later), where there is now the storage of the Dhanishta Publications, to the Bala Bhanu School of WTT seeing the radiant faces of the children, and to the social service project of Master EK Samskruthi Sadan doing professional training programs, especially for empowering women, to the temple and service project of WTT “Hamsavanam” in Ramadri, to the new impressive temple compound of the Tirupati Devastanam on a hill dedicated to Lord Venkateshvara, to the office of Chartered Accountaints “Rao and Kumar” which the Master had developed over many years and where Guru Prasad, together with 10 other associates, and many interns, are doing an impressive professional activity. It was touching sitting at the places where the Master had been working.

We further followed water and fire rituals at Radha Madhavam and participated in beautiful music concerts – of Smt Padmavathi Pappu playing Vina, accompanied by her son Jayadev, and of Kaliprasad Indraganti, an excellent bamboo flute player together with a team of other musicians.

On the 9th of January, there was the end of the seminar and the valedictory function, expressing our gratitude to Guru Prasad and his wife Gayatri and the team of helpers from the Indian brotherhood.

On 10th of January, we visited the temple of Simhachalam dedicated to Lord Narasimha. It was very nice to be there again, like in many previous years. And in the evening, the Guru Puja celebration started, about I will report later. But something else also happened which impacted the entire group and especially me, about which I will the in the next blog post – the passing of my dear friend Mark Ray, who had started his home journey on the 9th.

In about a week, I will fly again to India. Why do I do this? Why do I do nearly the same tour like in previous years? Why do I do so, although my spiritual teacher, Master KPK (Sri Parvathi Kumar), has departed from the physical plane and thus, there are no more occasions for listening to his live teachings and being in his physical presence? – The photos here are from a group living in Visakhapatnam 20 years ago, January 2003, the first year of travelling with a digicam.

I heard from a number of friends, why they don’t go this year, why they don’t go anymore and why they don’t like to go anymore to India, to the group livings there.

I listened to them and asked myself deeper, “Why do I go to India, to the group livings of the World Teacher Trust over there, also this year? Is it by habit? By something extraordinary which I would find there?” Seen from an outer side, I had decided to go and accompany Mark, a good friend of mine from Seattle. And to do the journey in the traces of the previous year. And I cancelled my other ideas.

When thinking of the deeper reason for the present journey, my thoughts go back to my first journey to the WTT in India in Dec.-Jan 2000/01. There were some decisive statements of Master KPK which impregnated me. He said, “There are many reasons not to come to these group livings (he enumerated some such reasons) but they are all not valid for the soul.”

He explained the spiritual importance of coming to India in the month of Capricorn where the Sun starts his northern journey, from out of dense matter towards the light, the spirit. These statements deeply impressed me and made me say inwardly, ‘I will try to come to India every year to be there for the wisdom teachings of the Master’. And, with the exception of Corona time, it was always possible, in spite of many difficulties by profession, health and money.

These Aquarian wisdom teachings did not finish with the passing of the Master. They go on, also with the help of videos and with the members coming together for aligning to the wisdom in the group living at the place, where the Master was teaching. We are carrying on the work.

The place has been highly magnetised by Master KPK’s presence and the presence of Master EK, who lived there as well. It is very important to keep the rhythm alive, and the place is well suited to continue with the teachings. Although this year, the group coming from the West will be smaller than in other years, the ones who are coming are profound friends and fiery seekers. Therefore, I am very much looking forward to go again to the next group living.

I give you here a translation / extracts from the notes of the seminar January 2001 on ‘White Magic’, explaining why our coming to wisdom teaching group lives in India is so important:

“The land of India has been energized because the Great Beings have often passed over it with their light. That is why Master Djwhal Khul says: ‘India stands out as an outstanding spiritual energy…’
When we come to a place like this (in Radhamadhavam, the place where Sri Kumar lived), we don’t need to make much effort to calm the mind because the preparation here has taken some years, but we can all feel the difference here. This kind of atmosphere needs to be prepared so that you can get in touch with the spiritual energy through the mind.

This is one reason why India is a proper school of aspiration and endeavour. There, the knowledge of occultism goes back thousands of years and time has left its mark on the psyche of the people and has provided them with bodies that do not have the resistance that western bodies often have.

The environment has been permeated for a long time by the strong vibrations of the Great Ones who dwell within the borders of this land and who continually magnetize the surrounding ether as they travel and through their proximity. The ether is filled with the energy of the Great Ones because they frequently move within the boundaries of the land and the land has the advantage of having been prepared for occult practices for 10,000 of years. That is why about a dozen Sons of God are born in India every century.

Without our knowing it, people from all over the world visit India today to search for the spirit. The places where they look for it, they don’t find the spiritual because they are mostly looking for material things. That is why I often say to many of my brothers and sisters: Coming to India will help you in spiritual practice. Not because I am an Indian, but because the ether in India is so well prepared. Not because of the huge population of Indians. They only try to destroy and confuse this ether, but because the great beings enjoy moving in the ether within the boundaries of this country.

So we have the duty to prepare such places in the West as well and this is a work that takes 1000s of years and we already have this advantage in this country. Please pay attention, he (Master DK) does not mention any other nation in the Asian region. Basically, the prejudice of the West does not recognize this fact. But recognition would be helpful. If someone carries more light than others, then we should have the ability to recognize that. We should have the inclination to accept that. The refusal to accept it comes from pride. If we accept another person’s enlightenment, then we are included in the enlightenment. The beauty of India is that people who understand less of the truth are also accepted. Therein lies the occult power.

The result of your visit to India will enable you to establish a better rhythm within you and will open up a large field for ceremonial and ritual practice. Mantric and ceremonial undertaking. It will firstly provide a rhythm for man to gain, and secondly it will soothe him that his mind will become a tribune to receive the activity of mantras and rituals. Such preparation takes place in a subtle way.

These conditions are not found in the West. There, we find constant change in every branch of life, and the rapid and frequent change of life there causes such disturbances as they are opposed to any magical work. Further obstacles can be found in the strong development of the concrete mind. Now we are too weak to meet the concrete mind.

Slowly we will understand the obstacles mentioned here and also in Patanjali (The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali). And we will see what we can do then, as poor souls, to meet our strong personalities. It looks like the rat (the mind) wants to fight with the lion (the strong personality), but slowly when the rat meets the Ganesha (the wisdom) and belongs to the Ganesha, then the lion is no more. So we have to be connected to the divine.”

Yesterday, we met with the team of supporters for preparing the fourth Aquarian Salon, Saturday, 20 January 2024. We were 7 persons and it was 7 weeks in advance, because I will be in India until 3 days before the Salon I-4. And it was an extraordinary meeting:

Risa opened our meeting saying that we have been collaborating now since some time and most of us know each other just virtually, seeing heads on screen but not knowing much about the background of the individuals. And she invited us – living in different parts of the USA and of Europe – to share with the others how we came to the spiritual path leading us together now. We are forming a very Aquarian way of collaboration for the Aquarian Salon, inspiring and innovative, but it would deepen our relation if we know more about our personal background.

It was a tremendous experience to hear how all had been striving in different socio-cultural and geographical contexts to get into contact with the wisdom teachings of Spiritual Hierarchy and of Master KPK. I knew a few of the group since long but many new dimensions revealed. And it was astonishing to see how similar certain experiences were. This is not the place to go into detail but it was a very sacred opening of hearts giving insight to the spiritual fire burning in all. It was bringing us much closer to each other, feeling the presence.

Risa spoke about how, in their group in the US, they work with astrology and the wisdom teachings, on the basis of each the horoscopes of each member. And she invited us to share ours so that we see the energetic background of all of us and get a deeper understanding.

We then also spoke about our forming a new group now and how this is giving a good foundation for the collaboration in the future meetings of the Aquarian Salon.

If you are interested, please save the date: “Aquarian Salon I-4. Theme: Intuition and the Rain Cloud of Knowable Things”, Saturday, 20 January 2024. The meeting will start 7pm CET (UTC +1) / / 12pm CST (UTC -6), 10 am, PST (UTC -8).
Opening 6:45pm with guitar music, Zoom Meeting-ID: 839 0016 8325, Password: gam.
:: More information / Dates (PDF)

A new book of Blavatsky or a wrong claim? I was several times asked about this. Here are some explanations why Franz Hartmann should be considered the real author, not H.P.B. You also find fascinating information about Hartmann and the letters he received from Master Morya and Master Koot Hoomi.

A year ago, a friend informed me about a newly published book said to be of H.P. Blavatsky: “The Land of the Gods. The Long-Hidden Story of Visiting the Masters of Wisdom in Shambala” (Radiant Books 2022). Then, other friends also told me enthusiastically about the book.

I thought it would be a good travel reading for my journey to India in December 22 / January 23 and mentioned the book in the blog-post “On the Verge to India“. So, I bought it plus three additional copies as gifts for friends in India. However, too many other things kept me busy during the journey and afterwards that I didn’t read more of the book than the first 39 pages, the glossary at the end and scrolled through the book.

I saw that it is about journeys into inner dimensions with encounters of masters / adepts but I didn’t find any mention about Shambala inside the original text, only in the Publisher’s Note, the glossary at the end and the presentation of the editors. Although the story seemed to be interesting, I didn’t feel “drawn into the book” . Looking back, something didn’t make sense, and it didn’t really feel that this should be from Blavatsky.

For a group, I had translated to German (unpublished manuscript) two thirds of HPB’s book “From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan” containing stories which were of a different energy than the text of this Shambala book. Moreover, the two original versions of this latter book also weren’t published in HPB’s name but by Franz Hartmann:

In the ‘Publisher’s Note’ of the Shambala book it says: “This book was originally published anonymously by a mysterious ‘Student of Occultism’ in 1887 under the title An Adventure Among the Rosicrucians, yet with copyright in the name of Franz Hartmann. Helena Blavatsky reviewed it, describing it as: ‘A strange and original little story, charmingly fantastic, but full of poetic feeling and, what is more, of deep philosophical and occult truths, for those who can perceive the groundwork it is built upon.’
Those notes were originally written by H. P. Blavatsky because only she could gain access to the Holy of Holies on the Earth — the secret Abode of the Masters of Wisdom, known as Shambhala. In 1939, Helena Roerich, who continued Blavatsky’s mission in the 20th century, also confirmed her authorship: ‘This reporting about the inner life of the Brotherhood was recorded by Franz Hartmann, undoubtedly from the words of H. P. Blavatsky, conveyed with some changes in literary form.’
The Chief Stronghold of Shambhala is located in the heart of the Himalayas. However, the network of its Abodes is also spread within other mountainous and remote locations around the world, in the most inaccessible places. The notes that Madame Blavatsky prepared were, in fact, different stories that occurred both in the Himalayas and the Alps at various times, yet were later tied into one single story narrating the secret order of the Rosicrucians.”

Why should HPB not give her name for these stories or publish them with a pen name, like she had also done before? She never hesitated to give out occult stories. However, it definitely sells better when the new book is published in her name and as a rare new discovery.

What makes me more suspicious is the claim of the sub-title: “The Long-Hidden Story of Visiting the Masters of Wisdom in Shambala”. In esoteric folklore, there are quite a number of stories about a secret valley in the Eastern or Western mountains, be it Himalaya, Alps, or somewhere else, like Shangri-La or Lost Horizon, where adventurers have mystic experiences and meet sages like the figure of the Imperator in the said Shambala book, a mysterious world.

However, these stories have nothing to do with Shambala as described in the wisdom teachings. They are in a way distorted reflections of the reality of Sravasti, also called Shigatse or Tashi Lhunpo. The Roerichs, who had indeed come into contact with Shambala, through tremendous service, sacrifice, and self-offering, kept, as far as possible, silent about their visit.

Nicholas Roerich, however, did a number of paintings, like the last paintings of his life on “Order of Rigden Jyepo” a name of Sanat Kumara, the ruler of Shambala, or his painting ‘King of Shambhala‘ in the Zanabazar Art Museum in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia. Shambala is a very different reality than what has been given now in ‘The Land of the Gods’. See here.

I put the book aside. During a talk in August 23, a friend from Berlin mentioned the book and said that he had read the text of Hartmann (see here the PDF of “An Adventure Among the Rosicrucians” by Franz Hartmann, 1887) and that he is sure that this text is from Hartmann and not from Blavatsky. The editors of the ‘Land of the Gods’ had done various omissions and adaptations one of the omissions he found of particular interest in the original text:

On page 175f of ‘An Adventure…’, the author speaks about the sexual encounter with the Queen of the Nymphs: “A voluptuous sensation pervades my whole being…” and then he falls out of the subtle dimension and finds himself back on the physical plane, asking himself if all he experienced had merely been an illusion of his brain. Did the publishers omit this scene because they found it objectionable for giving the story in the name of HPB and as book about visiting the Masters of Wisdom in Shambala?

Last September, a friend from Miami asked me if I think that this book is from Blavatsky. I answered, I don’t know but I am sceptical. However, I didn’t know much about Franz Hartmann and wanted to know more about him. I searched the web and found information which fascinated me very much.

There is an article “Franz Hartmann: A Pioneer of the Theosophical Movement” by Susanne Hoepfl-Wellenhofer published in the Quest magazine in winter 2022 (you can download it here as a PDF). You get very interesting information about the life of Hartmann, who grew up in Bavaria. He spend the last years of his life in contact with an esoteric group of Rosicrucians in the pre-Alps, where you meet scenes as described in the said Shambala book.

Another article from a blog touched me even more: Franz Hartmann, ‘Correspondence with the Masters’ (see PDF here), a compilation of information about letters Hartmann received from Master Morya and Master Koot Hoomi. They give very interesting insights in why the Masters chose to work with Hartmann and what difficulties he faced. I don’t want to go more into this here but the texts are worth reading.

To close this article, I would like to give you here an extract from the biography “HPB. The Extraordinary Life and Influence of Helena Blavatsky, Founder of the Modern Theosophical Movement” (PDF) mentioning Hartmann at various places. Although HPB was sceptical towards Hartmann at the beginning, until Master Morya told her to trust him, they quickly became very good friends. And Hartmann stayed true and loyal towards her and the wisdom teachings of the Masters she had given out. He stood as a stronghold of defence against all attacks brought forward by the ignorants.

Read the last passage and think of how the book ‘An Adventure Among the Rosicrucians’, published by Franz Hartmann and now re-edited in a re-worked form as ‘The Land of the Gods’ under the name of H.P. Blavatsky might have come into existence.

Read more about Franz Hartmann, the forgotten mystic, and the Franz Hartmann Project.