How to Study the Stanzas of Dzyan

Without a shadow of a doubt, the Books of Dzyan, revealed in H.P. Blavatsky's *Secret Doctrine*, represent one of the most hermetic works in existence. Such is the degree of difficulty that the work makes few concessions to either the common reader or the most educated. For all of them, encountering such texts is like trying to penetrate a tropical forest overgrown with vines and thorns that impede their progress at every inch. Such is the concentration of symbols: numbers, geometries, metaphors, etc.

Paradoxically, studying their hermeneutics doesn't seem to help much in understanding their mysteries either. It's not uncommon for ancient theosophists to try again and again, only to repeat their frustration. Lacking the appeal to understanding, many decide to simply accept the givens and elect the text as a statute of faith. Thus, a new creed is born, ignoring the warnings given. As if the author didn't insist at every step that she was dealing with secret matter, that many veils still existed, and some had not even the shadow of a solution in her time. Indeed, everything suggests that in Blavatsky we have an expression of that familiar reading of the word "revelation," in the sense of merely renewing the veils. 

What are HPB's great works called, anyway?! "The Veil of Isis" was the original title for "Isis Unveiled," and the other is "The Secret Doctrine." These names suggest that Blavatsky never intended to truly reveal knowledge, but rather to comment extensively on the Mysteries. Indeed, Blavatsky herself states that all existing "hermeneutical" works based on the original manuscripts of the Stanzas of Dzyan, whether esoteric or exoteric, are called "commentaries." For all these reasons, she abounds in allusions to the existence of veils in these works.

Unveiling something is different; it's making information accessible to reason and subject to instrumentalization. In true occultism, there is nothing that doesn't have a practical and relevant message for the student. Therefore, the prudent student would do well to see Blavatsky's efforts not as a complete unveiling of Dzyan's mysterious texts, but rather as a series of clues about their contents.

Of course, knowing such things still doesn't help the reader interested in the true answers much. All that can be hoped for at this point is to prepare the mind for the true journey. Indeed, it helps little to advance if we don't have a minimum of support: a compass, a map, directions, references, etc. However, even many of the instruments common to the researcher are deprived here: origins, form of recording, context, destination… everything that is offered seems to serve more to divert the gaze than to truly sharpen the focus. However, part of the path has been relatively cleared at this point. In Blavatsky's time, such documents might have been shrouded in great legend and mystery, but not so much today. 

It already seems established that we are dealing with the reproduction of ancient tantric manuscripts. These are not exceptional antiquities, but rather documents of a traditional pattern from broad regions of the East, engraved on palm leaves and well preserved by the Himalayan climate. The content of the writings is not clearly identified, but they share points in common with known texts from the Kalachakra system or the "Wheel of Time"—indeed, one of the words that appears most frequently there is "wheels," large and small, referring to Ezekiel's visions of "wheels within wheels."

At first glance, we seem to be dealing with some mysterious astrological or even astronomical compendium. However, a more discerning look might allow us to consider the times in which the wheels appear, and then we would be faced with a cosmology that could be both macrocosmic and microcosmic—that is, in terms of chakras, also called "wheels" in Tibet. In any case, the best way to approach a tantric document is from an occult perspective.

Símbolo do Kalachakra

Blavatsky actually worked extensively with a mesocosm reading, that is, the intermediate sphere of "races." Yet the results of her efforts were vague, revealing the complexities of language. Indeed, the Books of Dzyan do not easily reveal their mysteries. For a Buddhist reader, the text will seem difficult because it is replete with Hindu terms, while the Kalachakra is generally considered a Tibetan tantra. However, many tantras were developed from India or even Nepal. Perhaps the Books of Dzyan have still preserved much of their original content, which only reinforces their preciousness. In this case, it would be important for it to be analyzed by Hindus as well, not just Buddhists.

And indeed, it will be in the light of Hinduism that many answers can finally be found. Blavatsky's enigmatic allusions to "races" can be reasonably understood both in light of the system of ashramas or stages of life in Brahmanism,(1) as well as in light of the Hindu initiatory system, as suggested by terms like "Hansa" (the name of the third initiation) in the context of the "third race," among other common mental, technical, and initiatory attributes. The Vedic ashramas represent a spiritual science of perfect use of space-time, thus representing a socialization of the knowledge of the Initiatory Schools.

All of this can place us in an initiatory, sociological, or anthropological context. Next, we find a series of narratives about social conflicts between followers of the Builders and the recalcitrant, in what we can consider the processes of transition of "rounds," that is, the arrival of the fourth round, or of a new "great wheel," as the terms given above suggest.(2) Kalachakra literature is very important in Tibet and has inspired Great sagas were told through myths involving the sacred kings of Shambhala in light of the prophecies of the coming of the avatar Kalki. Therefore, the prophetic context of the text cannot be overlooked.

Several interpretations can probably be made around this, as is customary with other Hindu epics. Blavatsky also drew on the Puranas of India, in addition to incorporating the language of the racial anthropology of her time, combined with Western myths and modern evolutionary elements.

Everything seems to suggest that Blavatsky still had few hermeneutical resources, as traditional books from the East were just beginning to be translated in her time. In this regard, the efforts made around Tibetan Mahayana literature, so to speak, such as "The Voice of the Silence," stand out as most successful in her production. True Tantrism is necessarily hidden, and its keys are only given directly from master to disciple. It is said that Blavatsky finally managed to enter Tibet after many attempts, receiving initiations and instructions there. However, there is no real proof of this, and the results of her work are also sometimes unclear.

Today, there are certainly many more resources available to undertake the adventure of studying the Dzyan Stanzas. The importance of this work's conferral on the West should be appreciated, as if the Masters were sending important information through a trusted messenger. This does not mean that the messenger was even the most capable of translating the text, or that all the keys could be delivered immediately. It was then sufficient to provide the information and offer some clues as to its contents.

Dalai Lama e Mandala Kalachakra

Not by chance, but even reinforcing this entire context, the Dalai Lama has stated that the Kalachakra represents a tantra that is especially important for the West. And one of the reasons for this would be precisely the prophecies surrounding it. Tibet itself was involved in prophecies by the 13th Dalai Lama who predicted its invasion followed by the flight of the Tibetans and the spread of the Dharma in the West.

If you found these considerations interesting, all of this is further developed in the new studies we have carried out on the Stanzas of Dzyan through the work “Secret Keys of the Books of Dzyan”.

Notes:

1. The first "races" of the Stanzas of Dzyan would therefore not be those abstractions presented in the Secret Doctrine, but rather initiations or ashramas (or Vedic stages of life) defined in the traditional order: 1. Reclusive yogis, 2. Devotees/married people, 3. Initiates/teachers (Hansa in the text, the name of the third initiation).

2. For us, this is the transition from a Pralaya to the current Manvantara, although Blavatsky prefers to give a specific and absolute understanding to these terms. Nevertheless, there are many scales of Manvantaras and Pralaya, which are the days and nights of Brahma. In Hindu literature, even personal death represents a form of Pralaya, followed by the Manvantara of the next incarnation.

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About the Author

Luís A. W. Salvi (LAWS) has been studying the Ancient Mysteries for over 50 years. A specialist in the Philosophies of Time and Practical Esotericism, he also develops works in the areas of Perennialism, Deep Psychology, Esoteric Anthropology, Holistic Sociology and others. He has already published dozens of works through Editorial Agartha, in addition to maintaining the Agartha wTV Channel.