Mahatma - Encyclopedia

Mahatma is Sanskrit for "Great Soul." This epithet is applied to people like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (who was so qualified by Nautamlal Bhagavanji Mehta on January 21, 1915 at Kamribai School in Jetpur, India) and is used to refer to adepts, liberated souls, or professionals. To see the actual document with this citation visit http://kamdartree.com/mahatma_kamdar.htm.

The word was popularised in theosophical literature in the late 19th century when Madame Helena P. Blavatsky, one of the founders of the Theosophical Society, claimed that her teachers were adepts or Mahatmas who reside in Tibet.

The Ascended Masters are sometimes given this title by some Theosophists. According to some Theosophical and New Age teachings, the Mahatmas are not disembodied beings, but people involved in overseeing the growth of individuals and the development of civilisations.

Blavatsky was the first person in modern times to claim contact with the Theosophical Adepts, especially the Masters Koot Hoomi and Morya. She affirmed that in her writings she was giving out the teachings of the Great White Brotherhood.

In September and October 1880, Mme. Blavatsky visited A. P. Sinnett at Simla in northern India. The serious interest of Sinnett in the Theosophical teachings of Mme. Blavatsky and the work of the Theosophical Society prompted Mme. Blavatsky to establish a contact by correspondence between Sinnett and the two Adepts who were sponsoring the Society, K.H. and M.

From this correspondence Sinnett wrote The Occult World (1881) and Esoteric Buddhism (1883), both of which had an enormous influence in generating public interest in theosophy. The replies and explanations given by the Mahatmas to the questions by Sinnett are embodied in their letters from 1880 to 1885, published in London in 1923 as The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett. The Mahatmas also corresponded with a number of other persons during the early years of the Theosophical Society. Many of these letters have been published in two volumes titled Letters from the Masters of the Wisdom, Series 1 and Series 2.

There has been a great deal of controversy concerning the existence of these particular Adepts. Mme. Blavatsky's critics have doubted the existence of her Masters. See, for example, W.E. Coleman's "exposes." More than twenty five individuals testified to having seen and been in contact with these Mahatmas during H.P.Blavatsky's lifetime. For a detailed chronological listing of these testimonies, see A Casebook of Encounters with the Theosophical Mahatmas. In recent years, K. Paul Johnson has promoted an interesting but controversial theory about the Masters.

After H.P.B.'s death in 1891, numerous individuals have claimed to be in contact with her Adept Teachers and have stated that they were new "messengers" of the Masters conveying various esoteric teachings. For more details, see Madame Blavatsky & the Latter-Day Messengers of the Masters.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Mahatma", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page