How well do you know “The Secret Doctrine”?

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW H. P. BLAVATSKY’S BOOK

“THE SECRET DOCTRINE”?

~ A Self-Test for Personal Use ~

IMPORTANT NOTE

The most important and enduring way to know “The Secret Doctrine” is through meditation and deep reflection upon the truths it contains, assimilating them so that they become a permanent part of our being. This means that both the head and heart are brought into play – and into unison. However, if one wishes to aid others in study, understanding, and promulgation of “The Secret Doctrine,” it is also necessary to have a good and accurate theoretical and memory-based familiarity with the book, its structure, and its contents, and this is what the following test relates to.

(1) The opening page says that the Secret Doctrine itself is the synthesis of three things. What are they?

(2) Can you give a brief but clear summary, in your own words, of the Three Fundamental Propositions presented in the Proem in Volume 1?

(3) True or false? – There are three further propositions presented at the start of Volume 2. If true, can you remember exactly what they are?

(4) How many Stanzas from the Book of Dzyan are given at the beginning of Volume 1 and how many at the beginning of Volume 2?

(5) Each of the shlokas (verses) of the Stanzas in the second volume are progressively numbered. What is the total number and why is it significant?

(6) True or false? – There are titles provided for each of the Stanzas. If true, where can one find these titles?

(7) The diagram on p. 200 of Volume 1 is very important. Can you remember the names (in order) applied to “the four lower planes of Cosmic Consciousness”?

(8) Does “The Secret Doctrine” talk about and refer to the “Seven Rays”? If so, how does it describe them?

(9) Between p. 272-282 of the first volume there are some very important “summing up” points. How many are there? And how many of them can you remember in terms of their content?

(10) Does H.P. Blavatsky mention anything in these two volumes about a “third volume” of “The Secret Doctrine”? If so, what does she say?

(11) Can you fill in the missing word or words?

(a) “UNIVERSAL MIND WAS NOT, FOR THERE ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ __.”

(b) “FOHAT IS THE _____ AND ___ ____ IS THE RIDER.”

(d) “Primordial _______ and _____ Thought”

(e) “Gods, Monads, and _______”

(f) “The _____ of the Mindless.”

(g) “THEN THE THIRD EYE _____ NO ______.”

(h) “The Imperishable _______ Land”

(12) “The Secret Doctrine” teaches that man is not descended from the apes but that the apes are descended from man. Can you describe how, when, and why this happened?

(13) At the end of the Preface in Volume 1, HPB states five main aims of the book. What are they?

(14) What is the last sentence at the very end of the second volume?

PLEASE NOTE: If there are any answers you are unsure of, they can all be found in the book itself. The Masters K.H. and M. described “The Secret Doctrine” as the “triple production” of Themselves with Their “Direct Agent” HPB and said that it is to be the source of information and instruction “for the earnest student” for many long years to come…for “it will take centuries before much more is given from it.” It is the Master Work of Theosophy.