One of Leadbeater’s most controversial – if to his disciples, most exciting – works was The Masters and the Path, originally published by the Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, 1925, with a “Second Edition – Revised and Enlarged” published in 1927, and a number of later editions, usually (especially after the failure of The Coming) carefully edited.
The text had been originally published in private journals of the Esoteric Section (ES) of the Theosophical Society, and it was only (as Annie Besant wrote in her Foreword to the 2nd edition) because of “The rapid changes in the world of thought, arising from the nearness of the Coming of the World-Teacher” that is was considered to make the material publicly available.
Josephine Ransom (the principal biographer of the Theosophical Society of Adyar) claimed that “The Masters and the Path” “was based on teachings given by the Master K.H. to a group of pupils about 1897.” (A Short History of the Theosophical Society, 1875-1937 Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, 1938, p.472).
(Cid's note: That's a huge lie because the book "The Masters and the Path" is full of falsehoods.)
This, presumably, refers to teachings allegedly given through Leadbeater to an esoteric group founded by A.P. Sinnett within the London Lodge of the Theosophical Society.
In 1882, in the midst of the period in which he was receiving letters from the Masters (1880-1885). Sinnett had worked on a proposal for a grade structure for the Third Section of the Theosophical Society, and received Mahatmic advice on this subject (see Mahatma Letter No XXXV).
The Master advised that, because of the limited education of many “Asiatics”, it was virtually impossible to create a system of grades which would be suitable to both easterners and westerners, but nevertheless gave encouragement for the development of a “scheme of ‘Degrees’”. Sinnett’s proposal appears to have been of seven degrees, but nothing seems to have come of it.
The Inner Group of the London Lodge eventually included Sinnett, William Scott-Elliot, Francesca Arundale, Mr and Mrs Varley, and Leadbeater. Sinnett published Transactions of the London Lodge on the basis of papers prepared for the group, and which he claimed included material deriving from contact with KH through various psychics, including Laura Holloway, but most notably through “Mary” (i.e. Maude Travers).
The use of “Mary” declined after her marriage in 1893 and ended in 1898. From 1889 to 1894 Sinnett used Leadbeater as a medium through whom messages from the Masters could be obtained. In June, 1894, Annie Besant was admitted to the Inner Group of the London Lodge.
(Even
genuine mediums are deceived by deceitful astral entities, but
Leadbeater was not a medium; he only pretended to be one so that Sinnett
would continue to help him, and he deceived Sinnett by transmitting
incorrect but pleasing teachings, such as assuring him that Blavatsky
had been wrong and that he was correct when he stated that Mars and
Mercury also belong to the terrestrial chain.)
Leadbeater’s involvement with the Inner Group ceased when he moved into the Avenue Road, London, house which was occupied by Besant and other Theosophical workers; he was then financially supported by Besant, and by his own Theosophical publications.
Jinarajadasa published some of the teachings received through Leadbeater in a number of (now very rare) Esoteric Section pamphlets: for example, C.W. Leadbeater Some Fundamental Teachings Outer Head of the ES, Adyar, 1937.
THE TESTIMONY OF JINARAJADASA
Of this work, Jinarajadasa wrote in his foreword:
« The papers in this compilation were all written by Brother C. W. Leadbeater about the years 1892-95, in London. The manuscript book, from which the papers which follow are reprinted, is in my own handwriting.
Brother Leadbeater used to write first on small pieces of paper, usually the inside of envelopes received with letters; from them I copied into manuscript books. It is from the papers in this manuscript book in my handwriting that later he compiled the larger work The Masters and the Path.
(Mr. Ernest Wood assisted greatly in compiling this work; he was an excellent amanuensis, and Brother Leadbeater often relied on him to shape unrevised manuscripts, reports of lectures, etc., into literary form for publication.)
At this period which I mention, there existed in London two groups of occult students who were dedicated to the work of the Masters. The first group was that which had gathered round H. P. B. at the London Headquarters, and after her death continued as the Inner Circle of the E. S. T. (Esoteric Section of Theosophy) with Brother Annie Besant as the head.
The second group was that which had gathered round Mr. A. P. Sinnett since 1883. On the arrival of Brother Leadbeater and myself in London at the end of 1889, we became members of the second group, as both of us were guests, of Mr. Sinnett, and lived with him for two years.
In 1894, Sister Besant too became a member. Later, some of us of this London Lodge Group were admitted by her into the E. S. T. into its highest grade.
(By
that time, the EST had already deteriorated because Besant had
increasingly replaced Blavatsky's teachings with Leadbeater's
pseudo-teachings.)
The members of this group of Mr. Sinnett numbered at this time about twenty. They met fairly frequently, and took up various aspects of Theosophical teachings for study and discussion.
After several such discussions, some member of the group would be charged with the work of gathering what material he could from Theosophical works, The Secret Doctrine in particular; it was his task then to formulate the topic in a paper to be read to the group for further discussion. Thus, for instance, during several meetings much time was spent in trying to understand the subject of root races and sub-races.
The material in The Secret Doctrine was not adequate; the principal defect was the lack of definition as to what constitutes the difference between one root race and another, and how a new root race arose out of the old.
One member was instructed to read as many works as he could on Ethnology, and to report what they conveyed regarding the various races. This work was done by Mr. John Varley, who after three months’ study read a paper. The value of this paper lay in pointing out the great contradictions and gaps in the theories of the ethnologists.
Questions on the races were then formulated by the group, to be presented to the Masters. The questions were presented by Brother Leadbeater to the Master K. H. The Master, however, did not answer them, but passed them on to the Master M., saying that they appertained to the department of His Brother.
It was also the Master M. who answered the questions regarding the formation of the Solar System. The answers of the Master M. were written down by Brother Leadbeater as accurately as he could recollect, and as mentioned above, I myself copied them down into a manuscript book.
Regarding the subject of the Rays, for several years there had existed with him a small memorandum, with a table of the Rays, but there were no explanations; I recollect his saying frequently that it was a very secret memorandum of the teachings given at Adyar by the Master D. K. in 1885-6, concerning matters not revealed to the world.
The other papers contain teachings which Brother Leadbeater had received at various times from the Master K. H. and His senior pupils; here and there he has added to them explanations of his own, in order to make the subject clearer. The paper on the Aura was the result of his own investigations. »
(It
is false that Masters Kuthumi, Morya, and their most advanced disciples
transmitted these teachings to Leadbeater; he claimed this only to
deceive his followers.)
THE TESTIMONY OF ERNEST WOOD
Ernest
Wood assisted Leadbeater on several of his books and was called to
Sydney in 1924 to help Leadbeater with various writing projects and
stayed with him at the large residence where Leadbeater lived like a
king: The Manor.
And regarding the writing of the book "The Masters and the Path," Ernest Wood wrote the following:
« I found Bishop Leadbeater in bed. He had been suffering for a long time from rheumatic fever, and his hands, which lay outside the bed-cover were terribly twisted. My sympathy flamed up. I did not know how to express myself.
After a little time our conversation turned to the subject of his books. He told me that he did not know whether he had much longer to live. He would like to have all his latest discoveries and thoughts put into books, that they might be correctly stated and recorded before he passed away.
He had given many talks, and there were reports of these which would serve as a basis for books. During the eleven years he had written only three books – only one of real importance, The Science of the Sacraments, a study of the church rituals, describing what was clairvoyantly seen in connection with them.
(Leadbeater's clairvoyance was nonexistent; what he put in his book was a product of his imagination.)
I remarked that there were some twenty or thirty fine-looking people in the community, and no doubt as soon as he was a little better they would rally round and help him to bring his literary works up to date.
“No,” he sadly replied. “If you do not stay they will never be done. Several people have tried, without success.”
So I stayed, for over four years – with some small interludes of travel.
The first book we selected was intended to publish all he knew about the Masters and discipleship to them. It was called The Masters and the Path. Some material had already been gathered together. I collected all the reports of Bishop Leadbeater’s talks touching on these subjects, and then every day sat at his bedside and read what I had written up from these and from notes of our conversations.
One of my little accomplishments acquired at Adyar was the ability to write in the style of either Mr. Leadbeater or Mrs. Besant, and neither of them could tell that paragraphs written by me had not been written by themselves. Then there would be questions, discussions, and alterations and additions where necessary.
In all my work with Mr. Leadbeater at Adyar there had seldom been any actual dictation, except in The Lives of Alcyone and in the last rescension of The Beginnings of the Sixth Root Race. Now there was no dictation at all. I must have written about half of The Masters and the Path, some parts of it containing my own ideas, as well as language, submitted to him for incorporation.
A new thing was his statement that, surprising at it might seem, he had seen God (the Solar Logos) in personal form; I wrote it up suitably and put it in the book.
(That was another Leadbeater lie.)
A curious thing happened a few days after we had started work. I was sitting near his bed one afternoon when I suddenly felt something break open (like the bursting of a seed pod) in my head, and from it a cold current flooded my whole body, passing down the spine in waves and radiating from every part of the body.
It seemed to me that this was not my own force, but was coming into me through my head, and that it was going out from me direct to Bishop Leadbeater. I was also aware that it was a healing current of some kind. After several minutes it died away, and I never mentioned it to Bishop Leadbeater, nor to others, except in a letter to Mrs. Besant.
I do not know anything more about this phenomenon, which occurred quite outside my will. But it did coincide with an abrupt change in Bishop Leadbeater’s condition. In a few days he was able to move about, and then it was only a matter of weeks until he had straightened himself up, and even his hands assumed their normal form.
When we were about half-way through the preparation of The Masters and the Path Bishop Leadbeater one day showed me a document which he said had been given to him by a Master at Adyar many years before. It was simply a table of the rays or types of humanity. He thought it might be incorporated into the book, but there were some points he could not understand – he indicated three items in particular. I looked at the diagram, and at once exclaimed: “But I can explain these items.”
I gave him my explanations of the points in question. He was much astonished and asked me where I got this knowledge of a rather obscure subject. I told him that before leaving India I had been now and then receiving what seemed to me like internal communications on this subject of the rays or types of men.
Sometimes there had been a voice, but generally ideas had been, as it were, insinuated into my mind, quite distinctly with the feeling of the presence of an intelligence other than my own. In this way I had accumulated a quantity of notes on the subject.
I had been speaking on it occasionally at theosophical gatherings in America, without saying anything about occult experiences in connection with it, if such they could be called. It happened in Chicago that some of the members, particularly one, Dr. Beckwith, a leader there, had taken my information very seriously, and I was consequently much troubled, as I had no wish to lead others where I was myself somewhat blind.
Late one night, as I was travelling along in an otherwise empty carriage on the elevated railway in Chicago, and I was brooding in a troubled way over this point, something electrical in my immediate atmosphere caused me to look up and I saw, or thought I saw, the Master standing there; and he said: “Do not be troubled about that information about the rays. It is quite correct. I gave it to you.”
(Ernest Wood most likely imagined that.)
When I had recounted this to Bishop Leadbeater, he said: “Well, we will not do any more of my work until you have written a book of your own on the seven rays.”
He put his work aside. I set to work on my own book. Early every morning I made notes for the day’s dictation. During the day I dictated. In eight days my book was ready for the press. I gave the manuscript to Bishop Leadbeater with the request to paint out any errors or defects, but after a few days he returned it to me saying: “I should not like to interfere with anything coming from that source.”
The book was duly published, and created quite a sensation among the Theosophists, who translated it into several languages, but no mention was made of the history I have recounted above. Afterwards, whenever I raised my voice against “authority” in the theosophical movement, Bishop Leadbeater would say to me: “But we regard you as our authority on the rays!”
I could not, however, agree with him. Such experiences as I had had might very well be the work of the subconscious mind. »
(Ernest Wood, Is This Theosophy? London, Rider and Co., 1936, p.288-291)
Source:
https://cwledbeater.wordpress.com/2016/06/10/origins-of-the-masters-and-the-path/
https://cwledbeater.wordpress.com/2016/06/11/ernest-wood-on-the-masters-and-the-path/
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