It is now very difficult to say what was the real ancient Aryan
doctrine. If an inquirer were to attempt to answer it by an analysis
and comparison of all the various systems of esotericism prevailing in
India, he will soon be lost in a maze of obscurity and uncertainty. No
comparison between our real Brahmanical and the Tibetan esoteric
doctrines will be possible unless one ascertains the teachings of that
so-called "Aryan doctrine," and fully comprehends the whole range of the
ancient Aryan philosophy. Kapila's "Sankhya," Patanjali's "Yog
philosophy," the different systems of "Saktaya" philosophy, the various
Agamas and Tantras are but branches of it. There is a doctrine, though,
which is their real foundation, and which is sufficient to explain the
secrets of these various systems of philosophy and harmonize their
teachings. It probably existed long before the Vedas were compiled, and
it was studied by our ancient Rishis in connection with the Hindu
scriptures. It is attributed to one mysterious personage called
Maha.*.....
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* The very title of the present chief of the esoteric Himalayan
Brotherhood.--Ed. Theos.
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The Upanishads and such portions of the Vedas as are not chiefly devoted
to the public ceremonials of the ancient Aryans are hardly intelligible
without some knowledge of that doctrine. Even the real significance of
the grand ceremonials referred to in the Vedas will not be perfectly
apprehended without its light being throw upon them. The Vedas were
perhaps compiled mainly for the use of the priests assisting at public
ceremonies, but the grandest conclusions of our real secret doctrine are
therein mentioned. I am informed by persons competent to judge of the
matter, that the Vedas have a distinct dual meaning--one expressed by
the literal sense of the words, the other indicated by the metre and the
swara (intonation), which are, as it were the life of the Vedas.
Learned Pundits and philologists of course deny that swara has anything
to do with philosophy or ancient esoteric doctrines; but the mysterious
connection between swara and light is one of its most profound secrets.
Now, it is extremely difficult to show whether the Tibetans derived
their doctrine from the ancient Rishis of India, or the ancient
Brahrnans learned their occult science from the adepts of Tibet; or,
again, whether the adepts of both countries professed originally the
same doctrine and derived it from a common source.* If you were to go
to the Sramana Balagula, and question some of the Jain Pundits there
about the authorship of the Vedas and the origin of the Brahmanical
esoteric doctrine, they would probably tell you that the Vedas were
composed by Rakshasas** or Daityas, and that the Brahmans had derived
their secret knowledge from them.***
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* See Appendix, Note I.
** A kind of demons-devil.
*** And so would the Christian padris. But they would never admit that
their "fallen angels" were borrowed from the Rakshasas; that their
"devil" is the illegitimate son of Dewel, the Sinhalese female demon;
or that the "war in heaven" of the Apocalypse--the foundation of the
Christian dogma of the "Fallen Angels" was copied from the Hindu story
about Siva hurling the Tarakasura who rebelled against the gods into
Andhahkara, the abode of Darkness, according to Brahmanical Shastras.
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Do these assertions mean that the Vedas and the Brahmanical esoteric
teachings had their origin in the lost Atlantis--the continent that once
occupied a considerable portion of the expanse of the Southern and the
Pacific oceans? The assertion in "Isis Unveiled," that Sanskrit was the
language of the inhabitants of the said continent, may induce one to
suppose that the Vedas had probably their origin there, wherever else
might be the birthplace of the Aryan esotericism.* But the real
esoteric doctrine, as well as the mystic allegorical philosophy of the
Vedas, were derived from another source again, whatever that may be--
perchance from the divine inhabitants (gods) of the sacred island which
once existed in the sea that covered in days of old the sandy tract now
called Gobi Desert. However that may be, the knowledge of the occult
powers of Nature possessed by the inhabitants of the lost Atlantis was
learnt by the ancient adepts of India, and was appended by them to the
esoteric doctrine taught by the residents of the sacred island.** The
Tibetan adepts, however, have not accepted this addition to their
esoteric doctrine; and it is in this respect that one should expect to
find a difference between the two doctrines.***
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* Not necessarily. (See Appendix, Note II.) It is generally held by
Occultists that Sanskrit has been spoken in Java and adjacent islands
from remote antiquity.--Ed. Theos.
** A locality which is spoken of to this day by the Tibetans, and called
by them "Scham-bha-la," the Happy Land. (See Appendix, Note III.)
*** To comprehend this passage fully, the reader must turn to vol. I.
pp. 589-594 of "Isis Unveiled."
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The Brahmanical occult doctrine probably contains everything that was
taught about the powers of Nature and their laws, either in the
mysterious island of the North or in the equally mysterious continent of
the South. And if you mean to compare the Aryan and the Tibetan
doctrines as regards their teachings about the occult powers of Nature,
you must beforehand examine all the classifications of these powers,
their laws and manifestations, and the real connotations of the various
names assigned to them in the Aryan doctrine. Here are some of the
classifications contained in the Brahmanical system: