In the article “The Esoteric Character of The Gospels” (published in three parts in late 1887 and early 1888) H. P. Blavatsky writes:
“Millenarians and Adventists of robust faith, may go on saying that “the coming of (the carnalised) Christ” is near at hand, and prepare themselves for “the end of the world.” Theosophists – at any rate, some of them – who understand the hidden meaning of the universally expected Avatars, Messiahs, Sosioshes, and Christs – know that it is no “end of the world,” but “the consummation of the age,” i.e., the close of a cycle, which is now fast approaching. . . . There are several remarkable cycles that come to a close at the end of this [19th] century. First, the 5,000 years of the Kaliyuga cycle; again the Messianic cycle of the Samaritan (also Kabalistic) Jews of the man connected with Pisces (Ichthys or “Fish-man” Dag). It [i.e. the Messianic Cycle] is a cycle, historic and not very long, but very occult, lasting about 2,155 solar years, but having a true significance only when computed by lunar months. It occurred 2410 and 255 B.C., or when the equinox entered into the sign of the Ram [i.e. Aries], and again into that of Pisces. When it enters, in a few years, the sign of Aquarius, psychologists will have some extra work to do, and the psychic idiosyncrasies of humanity will enter on a great change.”
From this short passage, we can see that –
(1) The astrological or zodiacal Ages of approximately 2,155 years are being referred to and it is declared that the Age of Pisces or Piscean Age was then – at the end of the 19th century – virtually at its end, with the New Age of Aquarius or Aquarian Age due to begin “in a few years” from when that article was written. If one does the mathematics using the figures and dates give, the year 1900 would mark the dawning of the Aquarian Age . . . but we should note that HPB uses the word “about,” hence it would be overly hasty and presumptuous to conclude that 1900 definitely and exactly marked the beginning of the Age of Aquarius.
(2) The cycle of astrological ages – such as Aries, Pisces, Aquarius, and so on – is referred to as “the Messianic cycle” and described as “very occult.” And although HPB does not directly assert or distinctly spell out that “the close of a cycle” of this type and the dawning of the next is associated with the incarnation, appearance, or manifestation, of an Avatar, she does undeniably imply and insinuate it by connecting the two subjects inextricably together, by saying that “the close of a cycle, which is now fast approaching” directly relates to “the hidden meaning of the universally expected Avatars, Messiahs, Sosioshes, and Christs.”
But in her posthumously published article “Cycles and Avataras” she settles the matter by using that term “Messianic” as a synonym for “Avataric,” speaking of “the Avataric or Messianic Mystery.” We can therefore read the “Esoteric Character of The Gospels” quote as saying that each astrological Age is an Avataric cycle.
The expectation of an Avatar in this Age of Aquarius, and perhaps sometime near its dawning, is thus entirely justifiable from the perspective of the original teachings of Theosophy, leaving all the later versions of “Theosophy” aside for the moment.
Why then do the vast majority of Blavatsky students firmly disbelieve that there can be any new Avatar until over 400,000 years from now, which is when the Kali Yuga or “age of darkness” or “black age” is due to end according to the exoteric figures of Hinduism? It seems that there are three main reasons:
(1) Not having studied HPB’s writings as attentively or extensively as they might think.
Although most serious HPB students have read “The Esoteric Character of The Gospels” – perhaps many times – we know of barely any who have noticed the strong implications of the passage we quoted above, nor the wording in her “Cycles and Avataras” which confirms that implication.
Similarly, this extremely important statement seems to have gone entirely unnoticed or perhaps just ignored: “Any Brahminical or Buddhist Initiate . . . while deploring the present degenerated state of things, would place all his hope in the transient character of even the Kali Yuga, and trust in the speedy coming of the Kalki Avatar.” (HPB, “Miscellaneous Notes,” “Lucifer” February 1888)
This speaks of Hindu and Buddhist Initiates – whose knowledge of cycles we expect all students of Theosophy would acknowledge must far exceed their own – and says that they know the Kali Yuga to be transient and that the Coming of the Kalki Avatar (who Theosophy shows to be synonymous with the promised Maitreya spoken of in Buddhism) will come about speedily, i.e. quickly, i.e. soon. 427,000 years from now can hardly be considered soon or speedy, nor can the end of the Sixth Root Race or start of the Seventh, but the Eastern Initiates of 1888 apparently knew that it would be soon, and put their trust in that.
(2) Not having noticed that the figures and durations given to the Yuga, Root Race, and other cycles in the original Theosophical literature are repeatedly stated by H. P. Blavatsky, as well as William Q. Judge, to not be the real, actual, literal figures.
In his article titled “Cycles,” William Judge points out the hidden numerical code present in the figures of the Yuga chronology. Neither he nor HPB revealed the real meaning of the fact that all those durations add up to either 18 or 9 but the “Cycles” article helps us to realise that the numbers are symbolic. There are multiple statements from both HPB and WQJ which make clear that the real, actual durations of the various Yugas and cycles are not permitted by the Masters to be publicly revealed. Why then do most students of the original teachings speak and act as if the exoteric Hindu figures we are given are literal, actual, and unquestionable?
Some have noticed that in “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 67, HPB says, “Such computations as are given in Manu and the Puranas [Note: These ancient Hindu texts are the main source for the figures of the durations of Yugas, Manvantaras, Pralayas, Kalpas, etc.] – save trifling and most evidently intentional exaggerations – are, as already stated, almost identical with those taught in esoteric philosophy.” This tells us that these long figures do contain “intentional exaggerations” but that on the whole the figures are “almost identical” with those accepted by the Gupta Vidya or Secret Doctrine or Esoteric Philosophy of the Brotherhood of Masters of Wisdom.
From this we get the impression that as the true figures or numbers are not given to the public, the exoteric Hindu ones are considered by the Masters to be “close enough” to use. In Vol. 1, p. 206, we read that these are “the approximate duration” of the real figures. From this, one could imagine, perhaps, that the Kali Yuga, while not actually being as long as 432,000 years, is maybe 400,000 years or perhaps 300,000 years or something like that; durations which are still very long indeed.
In HPB’s first book, however, when speaking about the Yugas, she readily acknowledges what she calls “the enormous exaggerations of Hindu chronology.” (“Isis Unveiled” Vol. 1, p. 587) Not just slight exaggerations or “trifling” (i.e. very minor and inconsequential) ones but “enormous exaggerations.”
The figures cannot be both “trifling” and “enormous” in their degree of exaggeration; it can only be one or the other. This writer’s personal thought is that “enormous exaggerations” is correct and that this was later replaced by “trifling” so as to avoid persistent questions, curiosity, and inevitably incorrect speculations about the matter on the part of Theosophists. Perhaps it was decided that since the real figures cannot be given, it is better not to provoke too much “mental unrest” about what those real figures might be and instead put forward the well known Hindu figures in their place for the time being.
Nevertheless, “The Secret Doctrine” does affirm that “The 12,000 divine years [i.e. the name in Hinduism for the 4.32 million earthly years said to comprise the total of all four Yugas] of the gods [are] a cyclic blind [i.e. a deliberate veiling or concealment of the real esoteric truth about the cycles of time].” (Vol. 1, p. 450)
Yet even if one accepts that the figures are indeed “enormous exaggerations,” there is still the fact that both HPB and WQJ stated on numerous occasions that the first 5,000 years of the Kali Yuga would draw to a close between the end of 1897 and start of 1898. Such statements clearly indicate that we would be entering a second stage of Kali Yuga, rather than beginning the Satya Yuga or Golden Age in its place. HPB usually worded her statements about this point very precisely but in two places she presents the matter as if it would be the entire Kali Yuga that would end after its first 5,000 years:
“We are at the very close of the cycle of 5,000 years of the present Aryan Kaliyuga.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 612)
“There are several remarkable cycles that come to a close at the end of this century [i.e. at the end of the 19th century]. First, the 5000 years of the Kaliyuga cycle; again the [Age of Pisces] . . . lasting about 2,155 solar years . . . [the sun] enters, in a few years, the sign of Aquarius . . .” (“The Esoteric Character of The Gospels”)
Most would say that, in light of the rest of her statements, it is obvious that she here meant to say “the first cycle of 5,000 years” and “the first 5000 years of the Kaliyuga cycle.” But a few others make the point that surely she would have said that if that was what she meant and that these may thus actually be a subtle hint – subtle due to it not being permissible to openly state or reveal the whole truth of the matter at that time – that the Kali Yuga in its entirety would be ending then. In light of the ambiguity of these last two quotations, it seems advisable that we as students of Theosophy should be careful to not make definitive, categorical, authoritative, dogmatic statements on behalf of, or against, either point of view, but the fact does remain that these two statements are outweighed by numerous more statements specifying that it would be only the first 5,000 years of Kali Yuga ending at that time and a new Kali Yuga sub-cycle (of unstated length) beginning.
Based on repeated statements in the writings of HPB, most students of Original Theosophy say that the next Avatar will be Maitreya, the Kalki Avatar, but that this will not be until the end of the Kali Yuga in around 427,000 years from now, and that this will coincide with the end of the future Sixth Root Race and start of the Seventh Root Race. HPB does indeed make statements of this sort. But perhaps most have never gone beyond the surface of the statements to analyse the matter properly, for if they did they would find numerous contradictions and incompatibilities. For example . . .
“The Secret Doctrine” directly contradicts itself within just a few pages, by giving 25,000 years (the approximate duration of the “sidereal year” or “great year,” the precession of the equinoxes, or journey through all twelve astrological/zodiacal Ages) as the length of a family-race (of which there are 49 in each Root Race, making a Root Race 1,225,000 years long) and then stating that 25,000 years is actually the length of a sub-race (of which there are 7 in each Root Race, making a Root Race 175,000 years long) . . . and they cannot both be correct, so which is it, if either? In the same book, HPB indicates that in fact neither of them is genuinely correct, for with regard to the coming Sixth Root Race she writes: “When shall this be? Who knows save the great Masters of Wisdom, perchance, and they are as silent upon the subject as the snow-capped peaks that tower above them.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 445) If the 25,000 year figure did truly apply to either a family-race or a sub-race – which we now know from the statement last quoted cannot be the case, otherwise such an expression of great uncertainty would have been completely unnecessary – that would mean that, seeing as “The Secret Doctrine” says we are now close to the threshold of the sixth sub-race of the Fifth Root Race, there would be either 1,575,000 years or 225,000 years remaining until the end of the Sixth Root Race . . . and neither of these figures is 427,000 years nor close to it!
We completely understand why many Theosophists will not like or appreciate having the above pointed out but we also know that no-one who is familiar with “The Secret Doctrine” and the rest of HPB’s teachings can deny or refute what we have just demonstrated. We have not done this with the intent of in any way demeaning, depreciating, or criticising H. P. Blavatsky and her work, but merely to show and verify the point which she herself repeatedly made, i.e. that the real figures and durations of the cycles cannot be publicly revealed, or at least could not be done so during her era. This may well cause discomfort for those who have made Theosophy into a type of creed and religion for themselves but it is apparent that HPB and the Masters never intended it to be treated as such.
This is why we say that we Theosophists are never on shakier ground than when dogmatising or making categorical, authoritative statements on the subject of cycles based on the writings of H. P. Blavatsky and her colleague William Judge.
(3) The fact that – despite all of the above – HPB herself made definitely worded statements on multiple occasions denying that there could be any Avatar until the very far distant future.
“Avalokiteshwara . . . it is an error to say of him that he is a modern invention of the Northern Buddhists, for under another appellation he has been known from the earliest times. The Secret Doctrine teaches that “He who is the first to appear at Renovation will be the last to come before Re-absorption (pralaya).” Thus the logoi of all nations, from the Vedic Visvakarma of the Mysteries down to the Saviour of the present civilised nations, are the “Word” who was “in the beginning” (or the reawakening of the energising powers of Nature) with the One ABSOLUTE. . . . He will appear as Maitreya Buddha, the last of the Avatars and Buddhas, in the seventh Race. This belief and expectation are universal throughout the East. Only it is not in the Kali yug, our present terrifically materialistic age of Darkness, the “Black Age,” that a new Saviour of Humanity can ever appear.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 470)
“Kalki Avatar (Sk.). The “White Horse Avatar”, which will be the last manvantaric incarnation of Vishnu, according to the Brahmins; of Maitreya Buddha, agreeably to Northern Buddhists; of Sosiosh [i.e. Saoshyant], the last Hero and Saviour of the Zoroastrians, as claimed by Parsis; and of the “Faithful and True” on the white Horse (Rev. xix., 2). . . .This will take place at the end of the Kaliyuga 427,000 years hence. The latter end of every Yuga is called “the destruction of the world”, as then the earth changes each time its outward form, submerging one set of continents and upheaving another set.” (“The Theosophical Glossary” p. 170)
“Thus Kali-yuga – the black and evil age of the Brȃhmanas, during which the world expiates the sins of the three preceding yugas and to whose help no Avatȃra will come before its close – will last 432,000 years, while the total of the Mahȃ-yuga, made up of the Satya, Tretȃ, Dwȃpara and Kali-Yugas makes 4,320,000 years.” (“Reply to the Mistaken Conceptions of the Abbé Roca concerning my Observations on Christian Esotericism,” “Theosophy: Some Rare Perspectives” p. 92)
“Kaliyuga (Sk.). The fourth, the black or iron age, our present period, the duration of which is 432,000 years. . . . It began 3,102 years B.C. at the moment of Krishna’s death, and the first cycle of 5,000 years will end between the years 1897 and 1898.” (“The Theosophical Glossary” p. 170)
“To begin with, there are the teachings and the doctrines of Eastern Esotericism, which anticipate the Kalki-Avatara at the end of Kali-Yuga, while we are only at the beginning of it now. . . . The Kali-Yuga lasts 432,000 years, and the first 5,000 years thereof will not have expired until 1897.” (Notes on Abbé Roca’s “Esotericism of Christian Dogma,” “Theosophy: Some Rare Perspectives” p. 39)
“It is said that after the Kalki-Avatara (“He who is expected” on the White Horse, in the Apocalypse [i.e. the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament of the Christian Bible]) the Golden Age will begin and every man will become his own guru (spiritual teacher or “Shepherd”) because the divine Logos, whatever name it may be given will reign in each regenerated mortal. There can be no question, then, of a common “Shepherd” unless that Shepherd be entirely metaphorical. . . . the time is still far distant when “all the people of the universe will form one flock under one shepherd.” Human nature will have to be completely modified before it occurs. We will have to attain the Seventh Race, according to the prophecy of the Book of Dzyan, because it is then that the “Christos” . . . will reign in the soul of every individual, . . .” (Notes on Abbé Roca’s “Esotericism of Christian Dogma,” “Theosophy: Some Rare Perspectives” p. p. 41-42, 46)
Incidentally, it is interesting to see in this passage an indication that there are parts of the Secret Book of Dzyan that deal with this subject of the Coming of the Avatar. There is no reference to it in the Stanzas translated from the Book of Dzyan on the subjects of Cosmogenesis (cosmic evolution) and Anthropogenesis (human evolution) in the two volumes of “The Secret Doctrine,” which suggests that there may be far more to the Book of Dzyan than we have an inkling of. Some of the alleged further Stanzas of Dzyan transmitted to and published by American Theosophist Francia La Due of “The Temple of The People” in the early 1900s relate to this subject and were given the title of “Theogenesis,” meaning the evolution of the gods and the evolution of man into divinity.
“Dionysos is one with Osiris, with Krishna, and with Buddha (the heavenly wise), and with the coming (tenth) Avatar [i.e. the Kalki Avatar, numbered as the tenth in some Hindu systems, and according to Theosophy synonymous with the Buddha Maitreya], the glorified Spiritual Christos, who will deliver the suffering Chréstos (mankind, or Prometheus, on its trial). This, say Brahminical and Buddhistic legends, echoed by the Zoroastrian and now by the Christian teachings (the latter only occasionally), will happen at the end of Kaliyuga. It is only after the appearance of Kalki-Avatar, or Sosiosh [i.e. Saoshyant, the future Saviour or Messiah figure described in Zoroastrianism], that man will be born from woman without sin.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 420)
“And at the end of the Kali, our present age, Vishnu, or the “Everlasting King” will appear as Kalki, and re-establish righteousness upon earth. The minds of those who live at that time shall be awakened, and become as pellucid as crystal. “The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time (the sixth race) shall be as the seeds of other human beings, and shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Krita age of purity”; i.e., it shall be the seventh race, the race of “Buddhas,” the “Sons of God,” born of immaculate parents.” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 483)
That admittedly all seems very conclusive and even contains the direct assertion that “no Avatar” will come to help or assist humanity in the Kali Yuga “before its close . . . 427,000 years hence.”
But as we have shown earlier in this article, all of that is directly contradicted by various other statements in the writings of H. P. Blavatsky.
And there are other statements too, such as:
“The combination of the three figures, 4, 3, 2, with ciphers [i.e. zeros on the end] according to the cycle and Manvantara concerned, was, and is, pre-eminently Hindu. It will remain a secret even though several of its significant features are revealed. It relates, for instance, to the Pralaya of the races in their periodical dissolution, before which event [i.e. before the ending of each Root Race] a special Avatāra has always to descend and incarnate on earth.” (HPB, “Cycles and Avataras”)
If that is so, an Avatar would be due before the ending of the present Fifth Root Race, whereas in the above quotes HPB points only to the end of the Sixth Root Race or even the start of the Seventh Root Race before any other Avatar can manifest in our world.
“Esoteric philosophy teaches that the next Buddha will appear during the seventh (sub) race of this Round.” (HPB, “The Theosophical Glossary” p. 202, Entry for “Maitreya Buddha”)
There, she adds the important word “sub” in brackets rather enigmatically, thus transforming the teaching that Maitreya–Kalki is due in the Seventh Race into that of this Avatar being due in the seventh sub-race . . . but of which Root Race? No-one could be blamed for assuming the seventh sub-race of the Fifth Root Race to be intended, especially in light of the preceding quote. But as we also saw right at the start, she elsewhere shows that each astrological age of around 2,160 years is connected with an Avatar and that the New Age of Aquarius would begin in the early 20th century.
Hence the student of Theosophy is faced with various contradictions, which – unless one becomes an Initiate oneself – can only be dealt with by either (a) choosing to accept one’s most preferred variant of HPB’s statements on the subject and conveniently ignoring or forgetting about the others, (b) deciding that one cannot feel especially certain or confident about any of it and thus not dwelling on the subject any further, (c) looking elsewhere for possible answers, elucidations, or clarifications of the original Theosophical teachings on this undeniably important and relevant subject.
However, we definitely do not recommend giving credence or support to the claims and ideas on this subject promulgated by Adyar Theosophists such as C. W. Leadbeater, Annie Besant, and Alice Bailey. Their very popular version of the “Second Coming of Christ–Maitreya” has its real origins and basis in the self-proclaimed clairvoyant revelations of Leadbeater, who history shows to have been a thoroughly untrustworthy, consciously deceptive, and demonstrably immoral individual.
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WHAT EXACTLY IS AN AVATAR, ACCORDING TO THEOSOPHY?
The Sanskrit word “Avatar” or “Avatara” literally means “Descended One” or “One who has descended from a high place.”
H. P. Blavatsky’s “Theosophical Glossary” entry for “Avatara” simply defines it as “Divine incarnation. The descent of a god or some exalted Being, who has progressed beyond the necessity of Rebirths, into the body of a simple mortal.” (p. 44) Her “Glossary” entry for “Incarnations” (p. 154) adds that “Truly divine incarnation, or the avatar doctrine, constituted the grandest mystery of every old religious system!”
Theosophy thus speaks of Avatars as incarnations of the Logos or the divine universal Spirit. The famous opening words of John’s Gospel speak of the Word (“Logos” in the original Greek) as existing “in the beginning, with God and as God” and which produced all of manifestation and later “was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” Unlike Christianity, the Esoteric Philosophy does not believe that such a scenario is exclusively limited to the man known as Jesus or Yeshua.
HPB writes that “the logoi of all nations, from the Vedic Visvakarma of the Mysteries down to the Saviour of the present civilised nations, are the “Word” who was “in the beginning” (or the reawakening of the energising powers of Nature) with the One ABSOLUTE” and that this Word or Logos – whether under the Buddhist name of Avalokiteshwara (i.e. Avalokit-Ishwara, “the all-seeing Lord” or “the Lord who sees,” “the Lord who is the Witness” etc.) or any other – “has been known from the earliest times” and that it is He who will appear as Maitreya, the future Buddha prophesied and foretold by Gautama Buddha himself around 2,600 years ago. (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 470)
Perhaps the most famous of all statements regarding Avatars – descents of the Logos into physical incarnation for a specific great purpose – are the words of the Avatar known as Krishna, said to have been taught by him around 5,000 years ago and recorded in the Bhagavad Gita, chapter 4, verses 7-8, which William Q. Judge renders as:
“I produce myself among creatures, O son of Bharata, whenever there is a decline of virtue and an insurrection of vice and injustice in the world; and thus I incarnate from age to age for the preservation of the just, the destruction of the wicked, and the establishment of righteousness.” (p. 31, Theosophy Company edition)
It was remarked by HPB: “This “Mystery” is found, for him who understands its right meaning, in the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, in the Bhagavad Gita, chapter iv. [HPB then quotes Gita 4:4-9 and continues:] Thus, all the Avataras are one and the same: the Sons of their “Father,” in a direct descent and line, the “Father,” or one of the seven Flames becoming, for the time being, the Son, and these two being one – in Eternity. What is the Father? Is it the absolute Cause of all? – the fathomless Eternal? No; most decidedly. It is . . . called by the Hindus Ishvara, the Lord, . . . Truly, “for the salvation of the good and the destruction of wickedness,” the personalities known as Gautama, Shankara, Jesus and a few others were born each in his age, as declared – “I am born in every Yuga” – and they were all born through the same Power.” (“The Doctrine of Avataras” posthumously published)
In an article such as this, we cannot explore the subject in all its depth and detail but let’s now go a little deeper . . .
“It is Rama . . . who has issued from Brahman (neuter) through his [i.e. Brahman or the Absolute’s] terrestrial aspect, Vishnu, of which he [i.e. Rama] is the Avatara.” (HPB, “Reply to the Mistaken Conceptions of the Abbé Roca concerning my Observations on Christian Esotericism,” “Theosophy: Some Rare Perspectives” p. 77)
Rama, like Krishna and numerous others, are typically said in Hinduism to have been Avatars of Vishnu. But we do not usually think of Vishnu as being the “terrestrial” aspect of the Absolute, so what might this curious expression mean?
“We shall not be far wrong in inferring that the Avatars we are speaking of, were the manifestations of one and the same power, the Logos, which the great Hindu writers of old called Mahavishnu. Who then is this Mahavishnu? Why should this Logos in particular, if there are several other Logoi in the universe, take upon itself the care of humanity, and manifest itself in the form of various Avatars . . . A clear discussion of these questions will lead us into considerations that go far down into the mysteries of occult science, . . . Possibly some light will be thrown upon the subject in the forthcoming “Secret Doctrine;” but it would be premature for me to discuss the question at this stage. It will be sufficient for me to say, that this Mahavishnu seems to be the Dhyan Chohan that first appeared on this planet when human evolution commenced during this Kalpa, who set the evolutionary progress in motion, and whose duty it is to watch over the interests of mankind until the seven Manwantaras, through which we are passing, are over. . . . it has a distinct individuality of his own. It is Eswara [i.e. Ishwara, literally “The Lord,” the common Hindu term for the manifested God], and it is only as a Logos in the abstract that we have to consider it from present purpose.” (T. Subba Row, “Notes on The Bhagavad Gita” p. 55-57)
Indeed, H. P. Blavatsky’s approach – like that of her co-workers, including Subba Row – to subjects such as Avatars, Manus, Dhyani Buddhas, Logoi, and other such matters is almost always from an impersonal, theogonical, abstract, distant perspective, which tends to de-personalise the subject matter. That is not at all a criticism, for that is surely how she was meant to present it and is also most likely what was best suited for the late Victorian era. It is also a necessity, if one is to understand the metaphysical structure or framework of such subjects. It appears, however, that in reality the subject is far less “cold” and far more direct and simple than was permitted to be expressed in HPB’s era. For some examples of this, please see such articles as The Logos, The Logoi, and The Seven Highest Beings and Are The Masters Dhyanis, Kumaras, and Planetary Spirits? Subba Row’s approach is less abstract than HPB’s, however, as we’ll explore in just a moment.
“Krishna is generally supposed to be an Avatar. This theory of Avatars plays a very important part in Hindu philosophy; and, unless it is properly understood, it is likely that great misconceptions will arise from the acceptance of the current views regarding this Avatar. . . . If Avatars are possible at all, they can only be so with reference to the Logos, or Eswara [i.e. Ishwara], and not by any means with reference to what I have called Parabrahmam [i.e. Parabrahm or Parabrahman, the Absolute or Infinite Divine Principle]. . . . The real Krishna is not the man in and through whom the Logos appeared, but the Logos itself. Perhaps our respect will only be enhanced, when we see that this is the case of the Logos descending into a human being for the good of humanity. It . . . has perhaps greater power to exert itself for the purpose of doing good to humanity – not merely for the purpose of doing good to one man, but for the purpose of saving millions.” (T. Subba Row, “Notes on The Bhagavad Gita” p. 49-50, 53-54)
As one would expect, T. Subba Row explains that all Avatars are incarnations of the Logos. But he does not describe this Logos as an abstract, purely metaphysical Principle or an impersonal Force. Instead, the Logos we are speaking of is said by him to be a particular Dhyan Chohan – meaning in Theosophy a celestial Being, a cosmic God, etc. – who is particularly connected with our Earth as its Watcher and Guardian and has been so since the dawn of human evolution here. This Dhyan Chohan is not an impersonal collectivity or Hierarchy of multiple different Beings but “has a distinct individuality of his own.” So Subba Row is speaking of this individual divine entity as the Logos, as Ishwara, as the Lord. According to him, Avatars are cases of this Dhyan Chohan (or Maha Vishnu, literally “Great Vishnu”) incarnating Himself in mortal human bodies “for the good of humanity.”
The real Avatar therefore is not the mortal man of temporary earthly appearance – such as Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Adi Shankaracharya, and others – but the Logoic Being or Dhyan Chohan within that form, working and teaching through that persona. We can therefore say that although historical Avatars may be many, THE Avatar itself – or Himself – is ONE. Or in other words, we can distinguish between THE Avatar and Avataric incarnations.
The Logos as an abstract, purely metaphysical Principle or as an impersonal Force can hardly have in mind “the care of humanity” or the intention “to exert itself for the purpose of doing good to humanity . . . for the purpose of saving millions.” But Subba Row, as we have seen, is not speaking of the Logos in its most exalted transcendental sense but rather of that Logos in a particularised sense, i.e. of the “terrestrial aspect, Vishnu, of which [any past, present, or future Avatar of mortal body and temporary persona] is the Avatara,” to quote again HPB’s wording from several paragraphs ago. To understand this more clearly, we can again point to such articles on this site as The Logos, The Logoi, and The Seven Highest Beings and Are The Masters Dhyanis, Kumaras, and Planetary Spirits? It will there be seen that what Subba Row is expressing is completely in line with H. P. Blavatsky’s teachings. She also repeatedly endorsed and praised those lectures of his on the Bhagavad Gita and quoted from them numerous times in “The Secret Doctrine.”
In her posthumously published “The Doctrine of Avataras,” written after Subba Row’s book, we find HPB stating:
“The Buddhists have always stoutly denied that their BUDDHA was, as alleged by the Brahmans, an Avatara of Vishnu in the same sense as a man is an incarnation of his Karmic ancestor.
“They deny it partly, perhaps, because the esoteric meaning of the term “Maha Vishnu” is not known to them in its full, impersonal, and general meaning. There is a mysterious Principle in Nature called “Maha Vishnu,” which is not the God of that name, but a principle which contains Bija, the seed of Avatarism or, in other words, is the potency and cause of such divine incarnations. All the World-Saviours, the Bodhisattvas and the Avataras, are the trees of salvation grown out from the one seed, the Bija or “Maha Vishnu.” Whether it be called Adi-Buddha (Primeval Wisdom) or Maha Vishnu, it is all the same.”
In “Facts Underlying Adept Biographies” she similarly explains:
“It is found, as is now shown, even in the exoteric, distorted interpretations of the Vedas – of the Rig Veda, the oldest, the most trustworthy of all the four – this root and seed of all future Initiate-Saviours being called in it the Visvakarma, the “Father” Principle, “beyond the comprehension of mortals;” . . . that power, which the Hindus call the Bija, the “one seed,” or Maha Vishnu – a power, not the God – or that mysterious Principle that contains in Itself the Seed of Avatarism.”
Unlike Subba Row, however, she speaks of Maha Vishnu – or whatever other appropriate synonym from the world’s esoteric and mystical phraseologies – in a purely abstract and impersonal sense in those passages, and implies Maha Vishnu to be merely a “Principle” and a “Power.”
But if one compares this with “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 206-211, it can be seen that this is much the same language as that used to describe the Maha-Guru or Great Sacrifice or Solitary Watcher or Silent Watcher or Wondrous Being, the great Initiator of all the Initiates, who dwells on this Earth and is there frequently likened in His mysterious operations to a tree and a seed, who has put down “roots” through many personages in many places at many times throughout history. It is indicated that many of the great spiritual Teachers known to history were in some mysterious way a “branching off” from that Maha-Guru, although His own actual identity is not revealed or hinted at by HPB.
She does not directly call the Maha-Guru the ONE ever-present Supreme Avatar of the Logos, or the Logos on Earth, but that is certainly indicated as being the case if one reflects on her various statements., such as her describing Him as the highest Being “in the Heavens” and not only on Earth, in “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 282. The Great Sacrifice is the highest Being on Earth and in the Cosmos and can be both at once. He is shown to be the Lord of Shambhala and the supreme Head, Chief, or Leader of the entire worldwide Great Brotherhood of Initiates, Adepts, and Masters of Wisdom. For an article specifically about this Being, please see The Great Sacrifice: The Maha-Guru, The Silent Watcher, The Initiator.
“The “BEING” just referred to . . . is the Tree from which, in subsequent ages, all the great historically known Sages and Hierophants, such as the Rishi Kapila, Hermes, Enoch, Orpheus, etc., etc., have branched off. . . . He was the first of the FIRST, and he was the seed of all the others. There were other “Sons of Kriyasakti” produced by a second Spiritual effort, but the first one has remained to this day the Seed of divine Knowledge, the One and the Supreme among the terrestrial “Sons of Wisdom.”” (HPB, “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 207-211)
But what did T. Subba Row mean by the Logos or that particular Dhyan Chohan incarnating as an Avatar “for the purpose of saving millions”?
“On the other hand, regarded in the light of the LOGOS, the Christian Saviour, like Krishna, whether as man or logos, may be said to have saved those who believed in the secret teachings from “eternal death,” to have conquered the Kingdom of Darkness, or Hell, as every Initiate does. This in the human, terrestrial form of the Initiates, and also because the logos is Christos, that principle of our inner nature which develops in us into the Spiritual Ego – the Higher-Self – being formed of the indissoluble union of Buddhi (the sixth) and the spiritual efflorescence of Manas, the fifth principle. “The Logos is passive Wisdom in Heaven and Conscious, Self-Active Wisdom on Earth,” we are taught.” (HPB, “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 230-231)
Based on what we have shared and discussed in this section, we believe the question of “What exactly is an Avatar?” can in general be answered simply as: An Avatar is an embodiment, for a special and important mission, of the highest Being in the Cosmos, who is also the highest Being on Earth, and this is the Lord of Shambhala, the true Ruler of the world, the Maha-Guru or Great Sacrifice spoken of in “The Secret Doctrine.”
Yet we ought to add that as there are many Dhyan Chohans, any direct incarnation of a Dhyan Chohan can be considered as an Avatar of one degree or another. For example:
“. . . the Records of the “Thirty-five Buddhas of Confession,” as they are exoterically called. These personages, however, though called in the Northern Buddhist religion “Buddhas,” may just as well be called Rishis, or Avatars, etc., . . . these “Buddhas,” or the “Enlightened,” the far distant predecessors of Gautama the Buddha, and who represent, we are taught, once living men, great adepts and Saints, in whom the “Sons of Wisdom” had incarnated, and who were, therefore, so to speak, minor Avatars of the Celestial Beings . . .” (HPB, “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 2, p. 423)
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THE KINGDOM OF THE NEXT AVATAR
Many are likely to feel surprised as well as disheartened to learn from “The Secret Doctrine” and elsewhere that the “reign” or “kingdom of the next Avatar” “will be purely Spiritual and “not of this world.”” (“The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 378) They may also be surprised to learn that the same passage seemingly suggests or implies that it is He who Theosophists know of as the Master M. or Mahatma Morya who will be the promised Maitreya and Kalki Avatar:
“As the “Satya-yuga” is always the first in the series of the four ages or Yugas, so the Kali ever comes the last. The Kali yuga reigns now supreme in India, and it seems to coincide with that of the Western age. Anyhow, it is curious to see how prophetic in almost all things was the writer of Vishnu Purâna when foretelling to Maitreya [Note: The name Maitreya in Hindu literature does not typically refer to the Bodhisattva or Buddha Maitreya; Maitreya is a not uncommon name among Hindus and it is only in Buddhism that this name is associated with the Buddha of the Future.] some of the dark influences and sins of this Kali Yug. For after saying that the “barbarians” will be masters of the banks of the Indus, of Chandrabhaga and Kasmera, he adds:
““There will be contemporary monarchs, reigning over the earth – kings of churlish spirit, violent temper, and ever addicted to falsehood and wickedness. They will inflict death on women, children, and cows; they will seize upon the property of their subjects, and be intent upon the wives of others; they will be of unlimited power, their lives will be short, their desires insatiable. . . . People of various countries intermingling with them, will follow their example; and the barbarians being powerful (in India) in the patronage of the princes, while purer tribes are neglected, the people will perish (or, as the Commentator has it, ‘The Mlechchas will be in the centre and the Aryas in the end.’) Wealth and piety will decrease until the world will be wholly depraved. Property alone will confer rank; wealth will be the only source of devotion; passion will be the sole bond of union between the sexes; falsehood will be the only means of success in litigation; and women will be objects merely of sensual gratification. . . . . . External types will be the only distinction of the several orders of life; . . . . . a man if rich will be reputed pure; dishonesty (anyaya) will be the universal means of subsistence, weakness the cause of dependence, menace and presumption will be substituted for learning; liberality will be devotion; mutual assent, marriage; fine clothes, dignity. He who is the strongest will reign; the people, unable to bear the heavy burthen, Khara bhara (the load of taxes) will take refuge among the valleys. . . . Thus, in the Kali age will decay constantly proceed, until the human race approaches its annihilation (pralaya). . . . When the close of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being which exists, of its own spiritual nature . . . shall descend on Earth . . . (Kalki Avatar) endowed with the eight superhuman faculties. . . He will re-establish righteousness on earth, and the minds of those who live at the end of Kali Yuga shall be awakened and become as pellucid as crystal. The men who are thus changed . . . shall be the seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race who shall follow the laws of the Krita age, the age of purity. As it is said, ‘When the sun and moon and the lunar asterism Tishya and the planet Jupiter are in one mansion, the Krita (or Satya) age shall return.’
““ . . . . Two persons, Devapi, of the race of Kuru and Moru, of the family of Ikshwaku, continue alive throughout the four ages, residing at Kalapa [i.e. the name of the capital of Shambhala in the Kalachakra teachings of Tibetan Buddhism]. They will return hither in the beginning of the Krita age . . . Moru the son of Sighru through the power of Yoga is still living . . . . and will be the restorer of the Kshattriya race of the Solar dynasty.” ( Vâyu Purâna, Vol. III, p. 197). . . .
“Max Müller translates the name [Moru] as Morya, of the Morya dynasty, to which Chandragupta belonged (see Sanscrit Literature). In Matsya Purâna, chapter cclxxii, the dynasty of ten Moryas (or Maureyas) is spoken of. In the same chapter, cclxxii, it is stated that the Moryas will one day reign over India, after restoring the Kshattriya race many thousand years hence. Only that reign will be purely Spiritual and “not of this world.” It will be the kingdom of the next Avatar.” (HPB, “The Secret Doctrine” Vol. 1, p. 377-378)
As seen, the context in which those last statements appear is the subject of the Kalki Avatar, whose Buddhist equivalent is Maitreya. The reign of Morya “will be the kingdom of the next Avatar.” Not one of the future Avatars but the very next one after the time (end of the 19th century) that H. P. Blavatsky was writing. There is no getting away from the fact that this quoted passage – like numerous others we have seen from the pen of HPB in this article – puts this occurrence “many thousand years hence.” But there is also no getting away from the fact that the HPB quote from “The Esoteric Character of The Gospels” with which we began this article indicates that the next Avatar would manifest in the New Age of Aquarius, maybe near its start, which was to be somewhere near the first part of the 20th century, just as one cannot ignore the wording of her other statement which we quoted earlier: “Any Brahminical or Buddhist Initiate . . . while deploring the present degenerated state of things, would place all his hope in the transient character of even the Kali Yuga, and trust in the speedy coming of the Kalki Avatar.”
Several years prior to writing “The Secret Doctrine,” HPB wrote on this subject:
“Maitree [i.e. Maitreya] Buddha (the last Boddhisattva, or Vishnu in the Kalanki [i.e. Kalki] avatar) the tenth “messenger” expected on earth . . . But this will be the One Wisdom and will incarnate itself into the whole humanity collectively, not in a single individual. But of this mystery – no more at present.” (“Lamas and Druses”)
Her other statements regarding Maitreya or the Kalki Avatar – only some of which we have been able to fit into this article – make it quite plain that there is a distinct individual or Individuality involved. But if that Individuality’s reign is to be “purely Spiritual” and “not of this world” – or in other words, is to be “otherworldly,” whether that means not objectively observable or tangibly seen, or something else – it could be that the only real “incarnation” involved in this case will be one of Wisdom or Knowledge or Truth growing and expanding and unfolding in the consciousness of all human beings.
But, in light of all the apparent contradictions which we have uncovered, and the shortage of clear, direct, and thorough explanations, each student of the Theosophy of H. P. Blavatsky and her Teachers must decide for themselves what to make of all these many and varied statements. Some are bound to come to differing conclusions than others and that is perfectly fine and natural. It only becomes problematic when some insist dogmatically that their view is definitely the only right one and that those who do not agree with or accept it are traitors or heretics.
“We are all fellow-students, more or less advanced; but no one belonging to the Theosophical Society ought to count himself as more than, at best, a pupil-teacher – one who has no right to dogmatize.”
“Orthodoxy in Theosophy is a thing neither possible nor desirable. It is diversity of opinion, within certain limits, that keeps the Theosophical Society a living and a healthy body, its many other ugly features notwithstanding. Were it not, also, for the existence of a large amount of uncertainty in the minds of students of Theosophy, such healthy divergencies would be impossible, and the Society would degenerate into a sect, in which a narrow and stereotyped creed would take the place of the living and breathing spirit of Truth and an ever growing Knowledge.” (“Five Messages from H. P. Blavatsky to The American Theosophists” p. 4, 5)
Whilst HPB’s statements about the Maitreya–Kalki are generally worded in a way that points to the distant future, Robert Crosbie (the founder of the United Lodge of Theosophists) believed that those particular words in her article “The Esoteric Character of The Gospels” with which we began this present article (and which do not make reference to Maitreya or the Kalki Avatar) were in reality referring to her own incarnation, work, and mission. This is explored towards the end of our article Theosophy on The New Age of Aquarius, where we commented: “It seems safe to assume that in Robert Crosbie’s understanding, the real inner HPB – or the Adept or Master who occupied and worked through her physical form and persona – fulfilled the role of Avatar for the Aquarian Age.” It appears that B. P. Wadia – a later influential figure within the ULT – was of the same opinion. For more on this, please see the extensive study titled Who are you, Madame Blavatsky? However, this is not the only view of the matter within the United Lodge of Theosophists and it’s important to point out that HPB never claimed such a thing for herself, although there is no known rule that an Avatar is obligated to publicly identify themselves as one.
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This article may have raised more questions about various things. Please make use of the site search function (the magnifying glass symbol at the top of the page) and visit the Articles page to see the complete list of over 400 articles covering all aspects of Theosophy and the Theosophical Movement. A few which relate closely to this one and shed further light on this subject are:
THE LOGOS, THE LOGOI, AND THE SEVEN HIGHEST BEINGS
THE GREAT SACRIFICE: THE MAHA-GURU, THE SILENT WATCHER, THE INITIATOR
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