Today we celebrate the 53rd anniversary of the foundation of the World Teacher Trust (WTT). It happened on Saturday, 18 November 1971. (As per Indian counting, it is the 54th anniversary since the seed of the Trust started sprouting.)

The WTT was founded on 18 November 1971, in the month of Scorpio, spiritually the darkest time of the year, but the moment to prepare the ascent.

Already 94 years earlier, on 17 November 1875, there was the foundation of the Theosophical Society with Helena P. Blavatsky. This was an important step to reveal the Masters and their work to a wider public.

This work is continued by the World Teacher Trust. On the foundation day of WTT, Master EK showed the pictures of Lord Maitreya, Master Morya and Master Kuthumi to those present. He said that these Masters form the core triangle of the WTT and guide the Trust invisibly. He said that their Plan has been worked out for over 5000 years on this planet and they work as per the instructions of Lord Krishna. And he mentioned that one of the aims of the WTT is to bring the Hierarchy into manifestation.

In May 2020 Master KPK (Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar) spoke at the WTT India council assembly of heads of groups (Ganapatis) about the next foundation day, 18th November 2020, where 49 (7*7) years of service would conclude for him:

“The World Teacher Trust, founded by Master EK on 18th November 1971, tended to be a great banyan tree sheltering many true seekers all over the globe. This is purely Master’s grace.

It has become like Theosophical Society founded by Mme. Blavatsky, The Lucis Trust founded by Mme. Alice A Bailey and The Agni Yoga Society founded by Mme. Helena Roerich.

These four are global organizations externalized the most ancient teachings of the Hierarchy whose head is The World Teacher, Lord Maitreya.

The World Teacher Trust is today extremely liked organization which is due to the three preceding trusts.

Master EK made a happy blend of Sanatana Dharma. He knitted together all teachings to be brought onto one platform and give a way of life which is global. For this Master Jupiter Sage Agastya, Master CVV gave a grand push.

I want to share with all group heads be it council members or ganapatis, by 18th November 2020, 49 (7*7) years of service concludes. It is my duty to inform you all since I continue to be its mentor. Kindly share with all group members and do your best in your groups to celebrate 18 November 2020.

‘Group is the Master’. Where group is alive, Master’s presence is abundant.”

May the flame of this grand work keep growing and may we contribute to it by our fiery aspiration and dedication to the purpose of the Work.

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.

25 August we celebrate the 141st (Indian counting 142nd) birthday of Master MN (Sri Mynampati Narasimham). He was born 1883 in Naidupeta, a village in Andhra Pradesh, India, and passed over 11 March 1940.

The video “Master MN – The Pole Star of Master CVV Yoga” has just been published. It contains a few life events of Master MN narrated by Master KPK during the May Call 2011 seminar.

You find here the biography “Master MN – The Fiery Flame” (PDF) by Master KPK.

Below, there is an extract from the fascinating talk of Master KPK about Master MN during the during Master MN Birthday Celebration 2021:

Master MN is novel in his approach. His outer appearances were considered very modern in those times. We cannot know his inner side of life by looking at his outer appearances. Even while associating with Master EK, I used to think of Master MN. I used to feel “why is it that Master EK invoked Master MN in the prayer though Master CVV directly contacted Master EK? If Master MN is invoked, why not others like Master VPS?”
Once I asked this question to Master EK and he answered “Master MN is the fulfilled one in the path of Master CVV and he stands as a pole star in the yoga of Master CVV. What Swami Vivekananda is to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Master MN is to Master CVV. The work to be done mostly comes to us through Master MN and he is mainly responsible for the spread of Master CVV yoga in the west.”
From then on, I realised that we should relate to Master MN as well. Master MN looks to those who are sincere in their prayers. Master MN prefers to work in the background but I tried to bring him to the foreground by relating to him.
During initial years, there used to be only pictures of Master CVV and Master EK on the altar during the prayers. After Master EK left the physical, I felt that Master MN’s picture should also be added to the altar. I got an oil painting of Master MN done by a painter by name Sastry with a small reference picture I had. That is the picture that we mostly use on the altar now. I personally have some experiences with Master MN and he brought about some important changes within me. Many changes that happen during prayers are spearheaded by Master MN himself.
I came to know that the occult meditations copies with Master EK came from a place called Ongole, the place where Master MN resided. I felt like visiting Ongole once and I went there. I visited the house of Master MN which was renovated into a function hall at that time. I came to know through an acquaintance that when Master lived in Guntur, he used to visit Ongole every week on Sunday for almost a year and conducted prayers at a house in Ongole. This information affirmed to me the importance of Master MN in this yoga. I even visited that house a few times. Later, I visited Ongole few more times to participate in Lotus Congregations organised by followers of Master MN. In this manner, these visits helped me relate well to Master MN.
Another way to relate to Master MN is through fire ritual. That is why we have been conducting a fire ritual once a week at Radhamadhavam since 1988. Many people got their life problems solved by attending these fire rituals on a regular basis. Groups even in the west started conducting fire rituals during group lives and even some groups conduct it on a weekly basis.
Some of the contents of the book “Master MN” in English were dictated by Master MN himself. Even the language is his own which is why the language in some of the chapters is different from the rest of my writings. I prefer to write in simple words and simple sentences because I feel that the objective of language is to convey our ideas to others in a manner they can understand. This is what I learnt from teacher Sri CP Rao during my initial years of Chartered Accountant practice. That is why I try to avoid complex and compound sentences.
So parts of the chapters narrating Master MN’s crisis in life, his initiation, his practice and his departure are in the words of Master MN himself. So translating this book into Telugu is not an easy task. Do not feel otherwise but the complete spirit of the book cannot be carried into a translated version of the book. So the effect is different when it is directly dictated into a language compared to its translated version. I will always recommend reading books in the language originally written instead of translated versions. That is also why I keep asking people to learn English because Masters of Wisdom decided to disperse wisdom in the English language. In the present world, everyone would be benefited by learning English.
Master MN remained in the physical only for 57 years and in that short span itself he experienced splendorous objective as well as subjective life. He met Master CVV when he was 36 years old. If we observe the meeting was arranged by nature by bringing together different situations. He wanted to go to Srirangam with him family but got stuck in Chennai at the house of his maternal uncle Janakiram. That is when he came to know of Master CVV and got more intrigued. It was just a few days to December Call and at the instance of his uncle, he got to meet Master CVV on the December Call day. From that day itself, he was deeply connected to the path and had deep interactions with Master CVV. Some letters exchanged between Master CVV and Master MN are also given in the book. If you read them, you will understand the bond they shared.
Master CVV had a special liking for Master MN and he himself called Master MN as “Little Master”. I also gave some anecdotes of how some supernatural acts happened through Master MN after he reached a fulfilled state in the path. It is just to show that nothing is impossible for one who progresses in the path. Master MN also had a splendorous outer life yet he lived with no particular interest in wealth. His profession continued well while he kept growing in yoga as well. Master CVV always emphasized on one having a profession or business to sustain oneself without depending on others. Both Master MN and Master EK demonstrated that aspect in their lives.
Master MN kept working and money came as and when required. He never bothered to count or accumulate wealth. The law in creation ensures that work comes to oneself as per one’s karma and due reward also comes in tune with karma and time whether one seeks it or not. One who knows and believes in this law does not worry of reward or remuneration and only attends to the work sincerely. Master MN lived in such a manner. So whatever came was being continuously used to offer food to others. He became very courageous once he stabilized in this path and had no worries in life because he surrendered everything to the Master.
This is a message for all of us. For one who is oriented towards inner life and practice, the outer life moves on effortlessly. One just needs to have faith and work by completely surrendering to the Master. Remember that Master MN is actively present in all group activities that happen in the name of Master CVV. He will be invisibly present in all our group lives though we hardly recollect him. He works like an invisible fire. He is the fiery element in this yoga path while Master CVV is the airy element.
Let us all be sincere in our prayers and invoke Master CVV, Master MN and Master EK with intent. If you do so, the Master energy takes you over, works with you, causes transformation in you and uplifts you. How well it works depends on your aspiration and devotion. May the Master bless you all and may we all be blessed to walk the path. Let us all remain on the path without getting deviated and we will surely reach the destination.

The earth sign Virgo represents the World Mother and is the sign of purity. A virgin mind is a clean mind which only reflects. The members of the Hierarchy have such a virgin mind, in which the Light of the World Mother is reflected. They can be impressed by the divine Plan and radiate it down on earth. Virgo calls upon us to cultivate purity in food and drink as well as purity in thought, word and deed. Once our mind is free of impurities, the holy child of the Virgin, our soul consciousness, can be born within us.

The Images of Synthesis for the month of Virgo illustrate the related symbolism. You find there all previous Virgo paintings with detailed explanations in four languages (en/de/es/fr). You can also download print-versions for free. Find here the Images of Synthesis with short extracts from the wisdom teachings. Or subscribe to the Lunar Messenger newsletter giving thoughts from the wisdom teachings to inspire putting them into practice.

In 2022, Master K. Parvathi Kumar had published the book on “Shambala” and he also had given several proposals for a humble cooperation with Shambala.
By this, he intended to strengthen our awareness of Shambala and to awaken an increasing part humanity towards the fact and truth of Shambala.

There is now a web-page in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish (Telugu will follow soon) about “Aligning to Shambala“. It contains all related information for the general public. You also find information about how to use this symbol of Shambala for visualisation/meditation.

And here are some blogposts on Shambala published earlier.

Next Sunday, there is the second full moon of Cancer. This full moon is celebrated as the full moon of the teacher (Guru Poornima) and it is dedicated to the great Master of Wisdom Vedavyasa. Vedavyasa is the teacher who arranged the Vedic wisdom into 18 Puranas, and he gave the great epic poem Mahabharata with the Bhagavad Geeta as well as the Bhagavatam.
It is said that he has ascended to higher planes but gives his presence at this full moon.
Here you can find the “Invocation of the Hierarchy of Teachers“

Master KPK used to give Guru Poornima messages – here is a collection of these messages given by the Master from 2007 – 2022 at Bhagyanagaram / Hyderabad.
This is the Guru Poornima Message 2011:

Your Teacher is in you. This is the truth.

You will find your Teacher depending upon the degree of sincerity with which you aspire to follow the Light, to follow the Truth.

As far as possible, apply whatever little knowledge that you already hold, in your daily life.

Be truthful to yourself. Be sincere in what you do. Be intent-full. Be playful in your pleasure time.

Do not submit yourself to too many rules and regulations. Your sincere aspiration leads you to a guide, a teacher in the outer world. If he is a true Teacher, he leads you to the Teacher in you, who awaits you in your heart. He shows you the way to find your Teacher in your heart.

He may let you initially to depend upon him, but he would not let you to be his dependent for all times to come.

A true teacher leads the true aspirant to the One Teacher who is in the heart of one’s own being. He gives the technique and also gives certain tips to establish contact with the Teacher in you. The purpose of a true teacher is to lead you to the Teacher in you, who leads you further to the Truth in you.

You will realise in due course that, verily the Truth, the Teacher and you are but one and the same. Be sincere in your approach and wait with patience.

Picture: Statue of Vedavyasa created by the Ukrainian artist Alexey Leonov.

On 8th of May, the “White Lotus Day”, we commemorate Helena P. Blavatsky, the great Bringer of Light for the Aquarian Age. We have been doing so since the beginning of our blog 18 years ago. If you would like to know more about the life of the Madam, please find here a biographical sketch about the life and work of HPB.

Master KPK often spoke about the greatness of Madam Blavatsky and what she had done for spirituality. He also gave several books about HPB, her teachings and the impact of her life:

• “The Golden Stairs“
• “Teachings of Madame HPB“
• “The Theosophical Movement“
• 3 volumes on “Lectures on Secret Doctrine”, see here (all books are there available as free PDFs).

May we recollect on the White Lotus Day that Helena Blavatsky brought out the truth about the Masters of Wisdom through her books and that she opened the door for us to link to the Spiritual Hierarchy. We pay homage to her by practically integrating the wisdom into our lives.

See below the words of Master KPK from a discourse on 08th of May 2016 at Visakhapatnam:

“8th May is celebrated as White Lotus Day in the Theosophical Societies. On this day, Madam HPB passed over in the year 1891 and after the departure, she attained a permanent place in the Ashram of a Grand Master in Himalayas. Grand Masters themselves declared this day as “White Lotus Day” because to fulfil their grand Plan, Madam HPB was born. She was a highly pure soul which can be compared to a ‘White lotus’. It is said that there was no other being as pure as her, at the time when she was in a body. She went through lot of hardships in her life and worked towards the establishment of truth and Divine Wisdom on the planet. It is considered a highly difficult task because it is the age of Kali and lot of lies was spreading around and the messengers of Kali were very powerful in their work. Through her, the Divine wisdom spread all over the globe.

So on this day, we should recollect her. She keeps giving her presence to all groups which aspire to learn and practice the path to Divinity. She has a body of light and she is always prepared to grace sincere aspirants. She was given the title “Upasika” by the Grand Masters. It means she was highly devoted to the Divine and his work.

She was born in the early hours of 12th of August and she departed on 8th of May. This day is also celebrated in the Ashrams of Grand Masters because she gained a permanent position in the Ashram through her sincere work. She did not care for the physical body at any point of time. She sustained immense pain in the physical to fulfil the work. She did not leave the body until she completed the book “Secret Doctrine”. She was even suggested by Master Devapi to leave the body prior to that but she did not agree and remained in the body until the work was complete.

The truth that the Hierarchy of Masters exist on the planet and they keep guiding the humanity in the path of ascent, is known to very few. Though it is written in the Indian Scriptures, Indians too did not recognize them. We recognized them only when Madam HPB brought out the truth about them through her books. Only through her, we could get a link to the Hierarchy of Masters. She is the gateway to enter the Ashrams of those Masters. That is why we should recollect her regularly.

She is an embodiment of wisdom and through her we were presented with the knowledge relating to Cosmo-Genesis and Anthropo-Genesis. This knowledge was not available to the mankind earlier, in such detail. So on this day, I took time at the beginning of this discourse to recollect her and her work. She is very much liked by all the Masters of Wisdoms and we gain their blessing by remembering her.”

Have a good White Lotus Day!

Master KPK has given 1 May als the birthday of Master CSG, the Count Saint Germain. It is a date to remembers the one who is the Master of the Violet Flame, the 7th Ray of ritual and ceremonial order.

In 2013, Sri Kumar spoke about Saint Germain during a small group life in Hergiswil, Switzerland. Please find below an extract of the notes from this meeting and also a picture of Master CSG from a group life 2013 in Spain. Master KPK also gave a book about this great Master (PDF). May we align well to the energy of 7th Ray and thus, to the Master by following rhythm in our lives. This way, we gain Swaraj, self-rule, the central quality of the 7th Ray.

“Nature cooperates with self-governed persons. To rule others is not seen as a very divine activity. It is like ruling a group of animals that are together. A group of sheep or cows or other animals requires a leader, man himself doesn’t require a leader. It is the high quality that he governs all that is with him. He governs his mind, his senses and body and keeps the whole system in order. He governs his speech, his thoughts, his movements. He governs will, knowledge and intelligent action. Thus he is the king of his life. The 7th ray is called Svaraj in Sanskrit, meaning self-rule. A Master of Wisdom is working for it specifically. He was here for many centuries and for the moment he is on the American continent; he is called Master Rakoczy or Count Saint Germain. The number is 7, the colour is violet. He enables all to govern themselves, and the method he follows in a ritual.

In the South and North American continent the 7th Ray Master and energies brought liberty from colonisation. All liberty movements conducted in the South and North America were conducted under the guidance of the 7th Ray Master.

Before the French revolution the Master was living for many centuries in Europe, but from the French revolution’s time the dukes and kings got fear. He prophesied for 100 years that they will fall if they don’t listen. And they did not listen. At the time of revolution he went to South America and North America. The ashram of the Master is very etheric, but he has several places in North and South America but the activity is global.

There are so many disciples of the Master functioning on the whole earth. Friday night is very important to walk into the energy of the violet flame. Every Friday the Master meets and gives presence to the groups who gather and follow a code of conduct given by the Master.”

On several occasions, Master KPK had spoken about the importance of celebrating the festivals of Good Friday / Passover and Easter.
On 3 April 2021, during the online lecture to members of “Merry Life” teachings, he had explained the esoteric understanding of the festivals and their times. Please see below the extract on this teaching.
As per this understanding, Good Friday will be this year Friday 5th of April 2024, and Easter Sunday, 7th of April.

With clarifications I did with Sri Kumar for the production of the Astro Diary of WTT, he had explained that in years where Good Friday is at the very end of Aries and the following New Moon is already in Taurus, the third Friday in the month of Aries preceding New Moon might be taken as Good Friday.
For cases, where the new moon is at the very beginning or early days of Aries, the Master gave different indications like celebrating in such years Good Friday in the third week of Aries, not around New Moon. He said that it is not possible to always reconcile lunar and solar rhythms, but that the Good Friday should be in Aries, not Taurus.

“Some of you may have been going through the sublime thought of Good Friday this weekend but the truth is Good Friday is next Friday.

I have given this information in the little book on Good Friday. It is hinted at in the ‘Spiritual Astrology’ of Master EK. It was also hinted at in varieties of ways by Madame Blavatsky in The Secret Doctrine.

Good Friday or the festival of Passover is an age-old tradition. It did not start with Jesus the Christ. It was there before and Jesus Christ, in tune with the time plan, took birth and conducted his work and in tune with the time plan he departed. That is where he is great.

But the tradition of Good Friday emerges from a deeper understanding of astrology which we call esoteric astrology. Later, it developed into exoteric astrology.

Good Friday happens on the Friday which is very near to the New Moon of Aries. It was also so with Jesus the Christ. His crucifixion was on Friday. He went through the Passover on Saturday and successfully ascended on Sunday which we call Easter Sunday.

But this is an annual process for all beings who are on ascent; for all disciples to ascend. This arc is very important because Sun is in exaltation in Aries. Moon recedes towards the Sun. Around the New Moon the mind, the personality, everything joins the soul. The soul escapes from the body into higher realms.
According to the plan, some of them may pass over into higher circles, some of them will come down to serve the humanity.
From Taurus onwards via Gemini and Cancer and some of the others, like aspirants and humanity at large, they go through the cycles again and again and again.

Passover is a function of passing over into higher circles consciously. Passover is a function that enables a disciple to consciously pass over into higher circles. It has to be practised on every Friday night because every weekend is meant for it.

From Friday to Sunday, it is a weekly Passover which we have to relate to.
Instead of visualising the weekends to relate to the practices of Passover, the impact of Kali is such that we, the humanity at large, enters into weekend programmes, picnics, parties, indulgence into senses, into food, into sensuous enjoyments, all kinds of things and returns on Monday to join the work again.
That is a weekend programme which is absolutely the reverse of the Passover. It is on account of Kali that most of the people utilise the weekend to get weakened bodily, sensuously and mentally.

But weekend is meant for strengthening oneself with the like of buddhi, soul and super soul. The reverse is worked out because when we do not have the right knowledge and the right practice, we do not adopt to the time plan.

The Old Testament says that the whole creation is made in seven days. Four days from Thursday night to Monday you move forward and on Friday you return back. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are to return. Friday night, Saturday night Sunday night are meant to return back to your source. From Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday you can expand into objectivity. Weekly activity can also be seen as a movement into objectivity and subjectivity.

Likewise, the monthly activity can also be seen in that manner. From New Moon to Full Moon expand into objective world. From Full Moon to New Moon, you withdraw gradually and by around the New Moon you be with yourself, relating to the personality, relating to the soul, and the soul integrating with the super soul.

These are the rhythms that the time cycles teach us. Time cycles are essentially important for disciples. We have to follow the time cycles and move forward. Because Time is the other name for the Lord in creation and beyond Time it is Absolute God. It is Time and Space, presided over by Absolute God, that conduct the whole creation.

We move forward and backward even on a daily basis. As you awaken, you move with your awareness into objectivity. As you slip back into sleep you withdraw your awareness into your own source. It is a daily happening. Within a day there are quarterly happenings. Within the week there is a movement towards objectivity and subjectivity and within a year also you do that.

Passover is essentially meant for passing over to higher circles specially for those who have fulfilled their obligations in relation to the physical plane. It is a great festival.
Passover is a great festival where man consciously passes over via his forehead and Sahasrara. That is the theme.

In the case of Jesus Christ, it so happened that it was not only nearing the New Moon, it was also a solar eclipse day which confirms that it is a New Moon because solar eclipse happens only during New Moon times and not during Full Moon time.

Full Moon time we have the lunar eclipse. When Jesus Christ passed over, it was a solar eclipse. That is the second dimension.

The third dimension is, which I have been giving you through the teachings of Blavatsky. The lunar phases are different from the solar days. In Secret Doctrine, Madame Blavatsky writes very clearly and these dimensions I have brought out of The Teachings of Madame Blavatsky via Vaisakh Newsletter.

We shall have to separately follow the tithis or the moon phases. Do not mix it up with the dates which are coming from Roman times as solar days. Before solar days there was also prominence for the lunar calendar.
Even the Jewish system follows the lunar calendar. Indian system follows the lunar calendar. While solar calendar is popular, lunar calendar holds certain secrets and we shall get into them when we get into the inner side of our being.

So, when Jesus passed over, around Friday it started. The New Moon was approaching, the solar eclipse had happened and it all happened in the far end of the month of Aries.

Therefore, next week Friday stands greater eligibility to conduct the Good Friday function. …

The Jews conduct this festival of Sabbath every Friday which is very age-old. The Indians relate to Krishna or the World Mother on Friday evenings. Even the latest religion that we have, Islam, they also take Friday as very important. Jumu’ah, they call it. It is a day to return and relate to the Divine more and more. By Sunday, you can experience the soul that you are, in three days’ time.

This is how festivals are conceived in an esoteric manner. But mostly festivals are done putting on new clothes, taking nice showers here and there, putting on lot of ornaments, making social parties, and spending time in dance and song. That is festival of personality. This is a different festival; it is a festival of the soul.”

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.