Theos-Talk Archives (January 1994 Message tl00109)

Arvind:

     Greetings from disaster free (for the moment) Central
California!

     I will Get the Sloss book out to you.

 >      Yes, this is for the Facsimile edition. You probably saw
in
 > Barborka a statement to the effect that she doesn't make a list
 > of the seven keys. This is a very different statement than what

 > you asked e.g. "I donot think that HPB has spoken explicitly
 > about the seven keys anywhere." To your original question--yes

 > she does speak explicitly of them. She also names the seven
keys
 > are and gives examples of their use. But no, she doesn't make
a
 > list like she does with the principles. But I can give you a
 > whole list of things that she doesn't give lists of, and like
the
 > seven keys, they are all major themes in the SD. The seven
 > principles where not part of a major theme, so they were listed.

 > This has to do with the way the book is written, and doesn't
mean
 > that she was with holding anything back on this issue.

 I'll look at the SD ref. over the weekend. In Barborka's preface
 to the Divine Plan on p. xv appears this (last para): "..Since the

 Seven Keys were not provided in the volumes, the writer submits
that
 he has attempted to present a guide-book towards their
understanding,
 expressly for those who wish to read and study these ancient
 teachings."

     You would have to have known Geoffrey to get the full
appreciation of the Irony of this quote you gave. Geoffrey was a
very sweet person and at the same time a very odd duck. As a young
man, he had set the whole of the SD on linotype. He was also
knowledgeable about Sanskrit and Tibetan, and designed the first
Sanskrit alphabet to be used in hot type. He is heralded as one of
the few real authorities on the SD--and in many ways he is
absolutely deserving of this title. But sometimes he would say and
write the damnedest things! My teacher once asked him about the
five Mystery planets, and he replied that he had "never heard of
them." Since Geoffrey had grown up in the Point Loma Society, his
not "having heard" of the five mystery planets is simply
unbelievable.

     To interpret the above quote from his Preface to mean that the
seven keys are not in the SD is Ludicrous. Of course Geoffrey knew
the seven keys were named in the SD. I had given a set of
references where they are named. If I can find them, then Geoffrey
certainly could. So what does he mean by "the seven keys were not
provided in the volumes..." ? I think the meaning reveals itself
in the second half of the sentence: "...the writer submits that he
has attempted to present a *guide-book towards their
understanding*, expressly for those who wish to read and study
these ancient teachings." In other words, he is assuming that they
are named, but is telling his readers that since an in depth and
explicit understanding of the usage of the keys was not provided,
he has written this book to help in their understanding. Obviously
he cannot write a book helping us to understand seven keys that are
never given. And this is just what Geoffrey's book does; it helps
the student to gain a better understanding of the use of those
seven keys, in order to better understand the material she has
provided from the major religions and mythologies in this book. A
study of his book will show that he didn't bring any revelations--
he just explained what was written. As you read more of Geoffrey,
you will find that his dry-as-dust style and often ambiguous
sentences are his trade mark.

     Frankly, I don't use Geoffrey's book when I teach the SD for
two reasons: 1. His dry style puts students to sleep, 2. and I
prefer to expose students directly to the primary material, rather
than having them read a secondary book telling them what the
original book says. I think people are better off reading the
primary material first, then read the many commentaries that are
available later.

     Will, other than those several items that you are going to get
back to me on, I think we have addressed all of the issues so far
raised. Once you get back to me on those issues still up in the
air, we will be in a position to evaluate where we are and move
forward.

Best

Jerry Hejka-Ekins