Re-writing the Secret Doctrine

Out of the discussion about the origin of the Stanzas of Dzyan, a group of members of this community realized that H. P. Blavatsky's book, the Secret Doctrine, has some features that makes it difficult for the current public, (both inside and outside Theosophical circles) to approach its study.
The purpose of this Blog is to discuss whether the relevant content presented by H. P. Blavatsky can be re-organized, annotated, and brought up to date, so that the principles of the Esoteric Philosophy can reach people in this new century.

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Comment by David Reigle on March 30, 2011 at 3:35pm: I was hoping that Pablo might respond to your suggestion about a recap, Christian. He may still be working on re-writing The Secret Doctrine on his own, since the discussion stopped here. In any case, I am glad that you found excerpts of this on Google and that it drew you in to Theosophy.net.

Comment by Christian von Lahr on March 23, 2011 at 2:55pm: This might be a blog where a recap could be useful, as it is likely to grow enormously. I'm thinking were going to need some consolidated statement of issues, and possible solutions in this recap so there ensues some working document to undertake the changes being discussed.

Comment by Christian von Lahr on March 23, 2011 at 2:51pm: I found exerpts of this on Google, and it is what drew me to Theosphy.net. I look forward to reading all the comments, as I have not yet accomplished that.

Comment by Nicholas Weeks on November 30, 2010 at 5:41pm: No, not all of it. That Appendix 1 in CW 14 gives the first several pages of it. The chart on 472 is great, because it lists all the places where the WMS was published and where not.

Comment by Pablo Sender on November 30, 2010 at 5:31pm: It is handwritten. If I remember right, much of its content was published by Besant in the "Third Volume" of the SD, and later reproduced in the HPB Collected Writings. I do not know, however, if the totality of it was published.

Comment by Nicholas Weeks on November 30, 2010 at 5:09pm: Is this a typed copy or the handwritten MS?

I had forgotten that CW 14, in Appx 1 has background on the First Draft, plus a chart giving where varied parts of it have been published. This appendix is not online though.

Comment by Pablo Sender on November 30, 2010 at 3:33pm: I worked in the Archives at Adyar for two years, and there is a copy of the Wurzburg manuscript in good condition, laminated. I am sure that if somebody has a serious project to publish it they would collaborate with it. But they protect old documents so I do not think they would allow somebody to manipulate it and scan it with a vague proposal of a future possible publication.
So, if there is a serious project, and there are the funds to carry it out, I'm sure the manuscript would be available.

Comment by Nicholas Weeks on November 30, 2010 at 3:01pm: Good question David. There are almost unreadable microfilm & microflow copies in Wheaton & maybe Adyar. I do not know if the entire First Draft MS has even been put into typescript. What is the condition of the original at Adyar? Someone with youth & time needs to check up and report.

Comment by David Reigle on November 30, 2010 at 12:22pm: Nicholas, what is the problem regarding making available the Wurzburg manuscript, the first draft of The Secret Doctrine? Who has it? Why doesn't someone just walk in, pick it up, scan it, and post it? How hard can this be? I do not imagine that we are dealing with something like the Chinese Communist government, as Prof. Ernst Steinkellner et al have to deal with, where everything is delicate and every step must be taken gingerly if they want access to the Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts preserved in Tibet. But the fourteen-year experience of Daniel Caldwell in getting out the previously unpublished Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge would make me think that perhaps we are dealing with something like this. Is this possible, in democratic countries in 2010?

Comment by Pablo Sender on November 30, 2010 at 11:39am: Thanks David. Yes, now, my thought is that if there is a Sanskrit version of the Stanzas, HPB did not have access to it because otherwise she would've used the Sanskrit terms from them (since Sanskrit was better known than Tibetan she struggled to find Sanskrit synonyms to the Tibetan terms used in the Stanzas).