Memorable Recollections

from the life of the author of the "Lotusblten."

By Franz Hartmann, M.D.

One morning in the year 1883, Dr. Hartmann dreamt while he rested half-awake and saw a letter, in a handwriting which was unknown to him. Also, unknown foreign postage stamps were pasted on, not as is commonly done on the addressed side of the letter, but on the sealed flap side. After breakfast he proceeded to the post office and found in his box the above actual described letter. It was in the writing of Colonel Olcott, which contained an invitation to Dr. Hartmann to come to India and take part in the control of the theosophical movement. A feeling of inner mental conviction, more reliable than all outward motives, said to him that this is the right one and that he can dedicate his future activity towards no better purpose than this. Therefore, he prepared for his departure and left Georgetown [Colorado] on September 21, 1883. (1)

"India!O, what magic dwells within this word!India! the country of wisdom, the land of magic! What was European science other than a childs game in comparison with the higher knowledge among the best of Brahmans? Was it not discoursed upon through all the world by Col. Olcott, that at the nose tip of an Indian fakir there sits more true knowledge than in the heads of all our scholars!? The Theosophical Society did not begin to awaken until the appearance in India of the glorious Aryavarta, awakening through the breath of freedom, which travailed across to America! India, the land of the mysteries, the realm of the adepts; what precious mysteries may be hidden in your womb, which is our determination to bring into clear focus." (2) This may have been an approximation of Dr. Hartmanns sensations, as the steamboat neared the Indian coast. First a faint ill-defined stripe appeared upon the horizon, which continued to become clearer, then the white houses and palaces of Madras became visible. Yet in a short time the people on the bank could now be clearly seen, men with white robes and variegated turbans; women with dazzlingly colored cloth dresses, between them halfnaked coolies. Stop!The machine, which had worked so long day and night, stopped to pant, the ship stood still and the anchor rattled in the depths. II. INDIA

Before we continue with our report, it is necessary to mention some specific but general things concerning the theosophical movement and to mention the "Theosophical Society" in particular. It is known to every mystic, that ever since primeval times an alliance of philosophers has existed, i.e. illuminated people, who have attained a higher degree of self-knowledge and are dedicated to the deeper mysteries of nature. Their effort is to help mankind and wherever the opportunity allows, to disseminate light and enlightenment through the world. Eckartshausen says pretty much the same:

"Few people dedicate themselves to true wisdom; thus there is so much error in the world; wisdom requires truth, and truth goodness, and this is rare among scholars. Thus is their pride, thus is their wisdom a folly. Learn, above all, to know the futility of your self. You gain nothing through the self. Never be proud of your own knowledge; everything comes from God, (3) which is wisdom itself. "There were always people who searched for wisdom in the purity of their heart; but they lived in secret and did good works without ostentation. Many of them were laughed at while others became the sacrifice of prejudice and error, but the wisdom always remained wisdom and their followers worked towards the great plan of divinity into the activity of human welfare. Seas separate the land which inhabit the Ways of those countries from those of the children of error. Their island lies removed from any discovered areas and will remain undetected until human eyes can endure the light of the divine sun. Rarely is a mortal granted access to their holy shores. But at certain time periods their ambassadors become dispatched to the known continents. Their work is to disseminate light, to look for light, wherever it may flow out. These emissaries were sent out to disseminate God-wisdom in calm ways; they are known as the most hidden mysteries of nature; they join with men, who are on the path of excellence and truth, informing them of the hidden sciences and leading them to the light, to tranquillity and to wisdom." (4) This partial, allegorically-held description has become clear to us through our own experiences, to grasp the fact that the society of the Way or "adepts" is a spiritual community, to which all people, who have attained a certain degree of self-knowledge, meet in the spirit, even if they are bodily separated from each other by the oceans. The "island," which is mentioned, is the realm of knowledge, which indeed is surrounded by the sea of ignorance on which the storms of passion rule and remains undetected and cannot be found. But this talk is also not entirely based on purely spiritual things; for the adepts, of whom the author speaks, are men who live as such on earth and, as it is said, in Tibet and Egypt near lonely, remote places. There are unfolded "powers" in them which are "spiritual" or rather "divine," from which modern psychology knows yet nothing, through which they are capable of seeing and working at distances. Since they have accomplished

the method of self-controlling the power over the elemental-beings, they may effect magical "wonders" such as, e.g. the so-called "spirit-writings" phenomena and consummated other things, over which one "wonders" only because one does not understand them.(6) The method which they use to unite with veracious beings is through the long-distance effect of thought. Whoever can arise to their sphere can partake of their influences. The existence of the adepts has been widely contested, but the author has come, through his personal experiences, to the entire conviction that such wise people really live on earth (readied with magical powers), which one calls "Adepts," or "Mahatmas" (great souls) are also known as the "Illuminated," really live on earth; that some of them live in Tibet, and that H. P. Blavatsky, just as she always maintained, was their student. In order to be such a student they did not need her to be a perfect saint or a fully educated Adept. And then there are all the errors disseminated about her, due in part to a lack of judgment, which lead, in part, back to her enemies and their envy of her. Just as water flows everywhere where canals are present so that one may find ones way, so too does divine wisdom flow, which is the sum total of the supreme intelligences in the universe and disseminates light into all hearts where no insurmountable resistance is found. It penetrates into all churches and systems and always brings more enlightenment everywhere, even though gradually. The spirit of wisdom is therefore not the monopoly and property of any society, but is the driving force of that movement, which now is disseminated over the entire earth and throughout all the branches of science and art, asserting itself within social relationships. One can rightly call this movement "theosophical," because it is based upon the knowledge of truth. When this knowledge has not yet consciously shown itself everywhere, it is only felt like a dark feeling within the human heart. The "Theosophical Society" however was called into existence by H. P. Blavatsky in order to be a radiatory force-center of this movement. It should, so was it the intent of the adepts, exist from noble, good, loving, intelligent and energetic persons, from people whose souls are great enough in order to embody in love the whole world where their spirit illuminates enough in order to be a light unto itself, disseminating the light received by the sun of wisdom throughout the world. As well, the light of enlightenment and the warmth of love should emanate from this center and gradually penetrate through all classes; the strong helping the weaker and the weaker helping those who are still weaker than he is. And since not every person is capable of receiving the light directly from the sun of wisdom and taking it in to himself (since he would be blinded by its direct light) so too are the teachers of wisdom the moon, who return back to us the light of the sun in a milder form to illuminate the darkness of ignorance, passed down to that of the human, who becomes accustomed to the soothing light and eventually is capable of enduring the light of the sun himself. So should the sun of wisdom be the central sun at the heaven of the Theosophical Society, the adepts the moon and each member attain to the self-knowledge of a star, a light for all. The purpose of the Society is threefold. Above all it is to be a nucleus of a universal brotherhood of humanity, irrespective of religious and other disagreements, imbued with the spirit of tolerance.

As such, it was put forth as an almost impossible condition. Because most humans have such little tolerance, their Society can not be imbued with their spirit. Indeed, it is exactly the diversity of opinions which cause people to mutually tear themselves to pieces. It is because of this tendency which can not be easily shaken off, that one can be entered on the list of members of a Theosophical Society. Because of the diversity of opinions no general agreement can be set up and even when all people were to assume one and the same opinion, so would such an opinion no longer be a true perception. Such a condition would be the greatest misfortune for mankind, for with the blind acceptance of truth of an idea resting on ignorance all ones thoughts and searches would have an end. Only then can equality of view unite all people, if they all concurred toward the same point of view and all have come to a state of self-knowledge. Such a society would then no longer be only "theosophical," but a society of real Theosophists. However if the diversity of knowledge and imagination can not unite the person, the love of the True can. The love of the True however is the belief in the supreme ideal, which is not in the head or in the realm of the imagination, but in the heart. Where the love of the good in each person recognizes good, which is also still hidden, it is there the person recognizes his own divine self; there this divine love unites all people in God. Therefore the revival of divine love in the heart and not empty knowledge, should be the first object of the Theosophical Society. However, standing against this divine-realization (Theosophy) there existed the reversed world-view, which takes the light for the essence and substitutes self-delusion in place of the exclusive indivisible deity. Thus it now required, above all, to instruct those who searched after the truth and self-knowledge, so that they could free themselves from their errors. Since it would have been better to show an example through the study of the writings of the Paths, philosophers and initiates of antiquity, above all however, what would have been better than to give the explanations through those of the "adepts," i.e. by those humans who had attained to the level of divine self-knowledge? Through them the hidden sense of the allegories and fables as found in the religious books of the people was revealed through the light of truth. Therefore the study of theology and philosophy was the second objective of the Theosophical Society. Unfortunately many people forgot and passed over the first objective. They wanted to satisfy their bare scientific curiosity; everything possible concerning the origin of the world, to know about the afterlife and so forth, to enrich their own earthly knowledge, but only a few aspired to that love which recognizes God in all nature. Thus, the name "Theosophy" often became merely the designation for another metaphysical or theological speculation. In fact no one can become a real Theosophist, if Theosophy, that is, the spiritually-divine self-knowledge, has not been felt and becomes within him a living power. This divinerealization ascribes to the inner divine person, not however the earth-born earthly humans. The spiritually divine person must be realized in the consciousness of the individual; then his knowledge can illuminate the earthly spirit of the person. For this reason, the third object of the Society was the research of occult powers, and the unfoldment of the hidden nature of the higher soul powers in the consciousness of the person. It should teach every person to know his own higher nature, which can only be brought about through the exercise of virtue, justice, truth, goodness, etc.

But how little does the world and especially the scholars understand these three aims of the Theosophical Society, despite all that has been said and written about it. Particularly the third object attracted a certain quantity of fanatics and dreamers who believed that, for that reason, they could concern themselves to learn sorcery and conjuring, or to attain in an easy way the possession of occult powers and use them for selfish purposes. If H. P. Blavatsky had not supported her doctrines through facts, she would have set them in motion only in the realm of theory and no doubt some centuries would have passed before the world would have considered more closely the important question of a higher world-view. Now, since she was in possession of mystical powers, she was able to give frequent tests of this teaching. For her, the souls of many people were read like an open book; she could give answers as to the contents of sealed letters and she could give the correct answer to previously asked questions; the astral-world appeared right at home to her, just like the physical world. She could arbitrarily produce different phenomena similar to the media of the spiritualists without their knowing how it happens, as if they were produced involuntarily. All these phenomena naturally had the sole purpose of making people to more attentively study the theosophical doctrines and the higher science, and to excite in them the ability of self-thought. Even when H. P. Blavatsky, as it was maintained by her enemies, would have produced such phenomena through sleight of hand, she still would have fulfilled her aim and cheated no one. They cost nothing. It was the bell ringing which proclaimed the existence of the school of wisdom. But there were always a number of people, especially among the half-learned, who were only interested in the bell-ringing and did not trouble themselves with the school; they racked their brains over how well the phenomena would be produced and lost their minds over it. Because they could not understand the purpose of the process and were not familiar with it, they confused the end with the means, and thus considered the production of occult feats as the purpose of the society and the feats themselves as deceit or fraudulence. It is easy to comprehend, that if an earthworm could think and saw an eagle fly, it would hold this for deceit or deception; for since it can not fly, flight is altogether an impossibility for it. So it is also with everything and everyone, which can never raise themselves above the level of the seeming, beliefs and imaginings. For it is the inductive conclusion based on false requirements the supreme; of the divine powers hidden in the soul they know nothing, because they do not profess trust. Still, it was the mysterious which was the great magnet which attracted large numbers around H. P. Blavatsky. Their mystical nature was roused, but so too were the many socalled dreamers and fanatics. Wherever Colonel Olcott beat his clamorous drum, it was there one spoke of miracles and the reputation of phenomena attracted many curiosity seekers who often found something better than the expected marvels. In India, however, something else contributed to the fast growth of the Theosophical Society. There was the subjugation by foreigners for centuries, which splintered a nation by the prejudice of caste. With the scorns of Europeans whose feet trodded over others, in cowardly fear they wounded as a tyrant, no doubt knowing the trod upon did not have the force to help themselves. No doubt it was mostly the Christian missionaries who

contributed to the corruption of morality; for although many among the Indians had lost the key to the understanding of their theology, there also had remained among them enough of those who still had the requisite knowledge to see that in the allegories taught to them by the missionaries and their perverted interpretations, it was a caricature of their own [East Indian] doctrines; so much so that some Brahmans could instruct the Christian missionaries in their Christian religion, but not conversely. Naturally this could not be so, as to scorn the religious ignorance of the Europeans and no doubt they guarded themselves well, taking note to desist from doing so. Thus emerged hypocrisy, cowardice and a cringing of the stomach. The English were outwardly considered and honored as unapproachable higher beings and secretly hated as the devil. There the American Colonel Olcott appeared like a saving angel and preached the doctrine of equality among all people. In exuberant words he praised the glory of splendid Aryavarta (old India), which maintained the same superiority over the European civilization and the worthlessness of the European world-view in comparison with the ancient-Indian learning, indeed he maintained to have been an Indian in his last incarnation. He explained to the Indians the secret meaning of the Christian symbols and thereby publicly exposed the ignorance of the missionaries. He showed that the doctrine of Christ is the same as the doctrine of Krishna, only changed in its outer form; that the basis of all great religionsystems is the one and same knowledge of the truth, and that in order to attain to the true religion, one need only discover the truth in his own religion. Even after a cold rainy day when the sun suddenly appears before an anthill, everything becomes alive. If one pushes in with the stick, everything runs through a course of confusion. The newly opened light roused patriotic feelings in the hearts of the Indian, and some, who did not understand the equality all people and had fear before the Europeans, now believed at least just as well as an Englishman, if not much better. Olcott was considered by many as the savior of India. Many pupils of the European schools had interpreted that it would no longer be necessary to study European natural science. They applied for favors from the master and expected from them such advice with regard to their personal affairs. They wanted to save themselves the trouble of having to learn something or having to work. Instead, they wanted to lead a tranquil life and become a "Yogi" (saint). Because the Protestant missionaries saw their reputations and incomes threatened by this excitement, they became angered themselves, and it is conceivable, since they could accomplish nothing with the weapons of the spirit, that they had to take refuge through the personal attacks on the character of H. P. Blavatsky. Thus, this is how the conditions were at the headquarters upon Dr. Hartmanns arrival in India and we now return to this point in time. The ship threw out the anchor and soon there appeared on board a deputation of natives, members of the T.S. [Theosophical Society], to festively receive the newly arrived, and to deliver to him a writing from H. P. Blavatsky, wherein she called to welcome him "to his home." He then climbed from the very well-built boats (because of the surrounding surf) on to a carriage which is used in the country. The journey went along the shore; first past palatial buildings, then through the narrow streets of the quarters of the natives, then along

the country road planted with bread trees, groups of houses, coconut palms, Moslem cherry courts and individually lying graves varied with meadows, ponds and forest. Then it went over a large bridge across the Adyar River and after a few minutes the carriage pulled in through the gateway of the wall which enclosed the park, which separated the headquarters of the Theosophical Society from the entire orb of the outside world. This headquarters was located in the Adyar district, a suburb of Madras, and belonged to a village named Urur, which was inhabited by fishermen. The building consisted of a delightfully convenient bungalow with a portico adorned with columns. At the back of the house flowed the Adyar River, which flowed a modest distance to the sea. Because of its proximity to the sea, the ebb and flow of the tide caused it to alternately flux twice a day with sweet and salty water as a bath, and the spacious park was occupied with mangos, coconut palms and the larch-surrounding Casuarina trees. Some, although cautious, remarks which were made to him along the way by the accompanying Brahmans, appeared to imply that not everything at the headquarters was just as one would have wished it and that really neither the president, nor H. P. Blavatsky, but a certain Madame C. . . . was the mistress of the house. She had known H. P. Blavatsky in Egypt and after she had become impoverished there, had come with her man to Adyar, where both of them were hospitably taken in by H. P. Blavatsky. Monsieur C, a Frenchman, whose trade was a carpenter, supervised the servants, took care of repairs and other things, while his wife not only took her place as a housekeeper but also as a companion of H. P. Blavatsky and as an adviser to Col. Olcott and chief-overseer over everything else having to do with housekeeping. She understood fortune-telling and had learned various skills in an Egyptian harem, e.g. learned the manufacture of magic mirrors and could prophesize well, and had so acquired the favor of the president that in his absence no one was allowed to enter his room but her; for, as he maintained, no one other than herself diffused "a good magnetism." Dr. Hartmann had come to India with great enthusiasm. His main purpose was H. P. Blavatsky, whose spirit (her writings) inspired him with so much admiration that he came to learn directly from her. But also, the headquarters was the center of the world to him; the "Rome"not of churchianity but of the divine-wisdom, Col. Olcott appeared to him as the Hierophant, the chelas (a pupil of the Adept) as the apostles, free from all human passions, fulfilling all humanity out of divine love, full of high intelligence and radiating the light of truth; for how could they be otherwise than the disciples of wisdom? The study of Theosophy was for him a serious, high and holy matter, which had nothing to create with the frippery of this world. How astonished he was, just as he made entrance in the park, to see by the entrance on the right and left a large manufactured elephant made from blue packing paper. The blue elephants should be symbols of power and wisdom, but they were unfortunately only a caricature. Was this an omen? Dr. Hartmann had hoped to find gods, should he also find here human weaknesses? Indeed he has also found here many human weaknesses, however we are only concerned in these papers with memorable memories.

Concerning his acquaintance with H. P. Blavatsky the author says the following:

"Similar to my arrival in Adyar, I was greeted by H. P. Blavatsky, who from the first moment I laid eyes on her possessed my fullest sympathy. With that sympathy I stood on a friendly footing up to the end of her life, even though we had on chance occasions to anger one another. It is now put before me the difficult task to make an attempt to give a picture of H. P. Blavatsky; an attempt which has already been made by many, although up until now none have been successful. She has been indulged like many other mystics; they have foolishly raised that person (with skin and hair) upwards to heaven; while others have unjustifiably crucified and condemned her; none have completely understood her and none can fully understand and describe such person , because there are often contradictory natures in her which are quite distinctive; namely the wavering spirit of the earth, the always changeable and mortal personality, and the immortal, individual, illuminated soul. With an ordinary person one finds as a rule little diversity in his character; he remains rather constant in his virtues and weaknesses; he follows today perhaps this mood and tomorrow another; however the moods never come out. He always remains small in his pettiness, even though this shows itself in various forms; he is rarely great. Compared to this, an Adept, whose personality is always imbued by his higher consciousness, is also always the same, but on a much higher level. He is, in comparison to the routine person, a god. H. P. Blavatsky was neither a god, nor a commonplace person, for she hovered, so to say, between heaven and earth. Soon she flew up to the supreme regions and had concourse with the gods; not in her imagination, but with full consciousness; then she descended to earth and was like a stubborn child with multifarious moods that were difficult to satisfy. This is different than mediumism. Every occultist knows there are distinct conditions of consciousness, where each has his own abilities of perception and memories; in each type of perception there is a completely other person. A drunk remembers what he has done during his last intoxication, even though at the interim he knew nothing of it during his sobriety; a somnambulist communicates with the spiritual world while his body sleeps and knows nothing from that world upon awakening as to what he saw and heard there. H. P. Blavatsky was neither drunk nor somnambulistic as she could displace her consciousness on a higher level of existence and when she again descended she was reminded at to what had happened there. No doubt there is in every person a double nature, the higher and the personal "I." But in the commonplace person the higher lies dormant, or the light of the consciousness of the god-being is only like a twilight in the consciousness of the earthly person. In H. P. Blavatsky she was awakened to the higher "I" consciousness; she was at the same time both an inhabitant of the higher world and an inhabitant of the earth. Therefore she has been understood by no one. She had not only spirit, but there was in her a spiritual individuality, which is called upasika, (7) tied to a lively and recalcitrant organism furnished with a fiery and difficult to dominate tempered Russian lady by the name of H. P. Blavatsky. Whoever

wants to know the character of upasika, they must look for the spirit in H. P. Blavatskys written works. The personality of H. P. Blavatsky was only an instrument of her interior "I"; her personal errors have nothing to do with her work towards the welfare of humanity. The biographers, who have written books on H. P. Blavatsky, have described only an illusion; they have never known upasika, but only the house in which it inhabited. But also the views which are disseminated concerning the personal character of H. P. Blavatsky, rest for the greater part on error; the errors which she did not have were imputed, and the errors which she did have were exaggerated. She appeared unpredictable; unpretentious and again demanding, patient and impatient, meek and hot-tempered, concealed and a tendency to gossip, good-natured and quarrelsome, and so on, depending on what was correct. Due to her lively imagination she was bent towards exaggerations, she raising her friends to heaven or at the next moment sending them, because of any displeasure, to the abyss of hell. But neither the one nor the other was meant to be taken serious. Heavenly quiet ruled in upasika; Blavatsky was like a soap-blister with an always changing opalescence. The defamations however, which were disseminated over Blavatsky, come entirely from persons who believe that they are thoroughly made to be the same as the adepts and could arrive at that state with high honors and wealth, without comprehending that their own megalomania barred their way. Disappointed, they swept the fang of defamation against their benefactress. Now upasika and H. P. Blavatsky have separated themselves from each other and the latter has no more interest for us. Her works have given mankind enough food for thought for the next centuries. Upasika however has not died, but works onward, even though in another way, still to the betterment of mankind. End of Installment 1

Go to Installment 2
May 7, 2000

Endnotes
(1) Translators note: We begin with a brief paragraph at Lotusblten X/62 (Nov. 1897): 832. [Return to text.] (2) Translators note: This paragraph and the subsequent text continues uninterruptedly beginning at Lotusblten X/69 (Dec. 1897): 891, etc. [Return to text.] (3) Translators note: The reader should be aware of Franz Hartmanns position and view of the term "God" from the German word "Gott." In the German, Gott has many levels of meaning for the same word. Hartmanns interpretation was not a belief in an extracosmic or personal god, but was similar to Jacob Bhmes, described by H. P. Blavatsky as a belief in God "not as a personal being, but as an eternal unit, the Universal Substance undefined by any human qualification, the unfathomable; as incomprehensible to human understanding as the "absolute nothing." The ascription of God as a pronoun has certainly caused problems through the ages for the anthropomorphic interpreter, especially when it should

have been implied as universal and eternal divine Law. I have translated the following from K. O. Schmidts Mysterien der Seele. Dynamische Theosophie von A-Z. Ein Franz Hartmann-Brevier, pp. 81-82, which is a compilation of Franz Hartmanns definitions and terms from numerous articles and statements. Hartmann states "the word God, which analogously means the good, was originally a neuter term. First, after the introduction of Christianity, God was transformed into the God. "In the Indian mysticism the original basis of all That or being is denoted as Parabrahman, as the divine-absolute. First at the beginning of creation Brahman appears in manifestation as Brahma. "All religions mean by the word God the same. It is only one God, but there are multifarious powers. There is only one life, but it reveals itself in multifarious forms. There is only one light, but it appears in creatures in various degrees in manifestation. It is only one love, but it works differently according to the object on which it conforms. "The pious fanatic considers God as some outsider and inaccessible and as the object of hope or fear. Such belief is self-illusion. He first comes more closely to the truth, if we find God personally in us and Him (It) in us. We have then overcome the illusion of duality and have come to the unity on which all mysticism and Theosophy aims as on that alone is the real. "We honor God through the knowledge of His presence in us, our life through good deeds and our neighbors thereby, that we see God, the good, in them and beyond. To recognize the essence of God, one must comprehend the nature of divine love. Love can not be taught, only those who have practiced it, they know. "God can, as Master Eckhart (5) says, not be described. All characteristics, which we ascribe to Him, say nothing of His nature. It is useless to arrive through scientific research towards God-knowledge. However let us direct our view towards the truth, that God is omnipresent. That which is difficult then becomes easy. For if He is omnipresent, He is also in us personally and we need then only to get to know that in us even in truth, in order to recognize God. With God-knowledge we attain God-wisdom in the supreme sense of the word. God-wisdom or Theosophy means knowledge of God as the spirit of good and of love." [Return to text.] (4) Karl von Eckartshausen. "Aufschlsse ber Magie." [Explanations Concerning Magic.] Mnchen 1790. Bd. II. S. 197 [Munich, 1790. Vol. II, page 197]. Translators note: It should be noted, a papal bull was issued against Karl von Eckartshausen (1752-1803). [Return to text.]

(5) Translators note: Franz Hartmann first wrote about Meister (Master) Eckhart in: "The Foundation of Christian Mysticism according to Master Eckhart." Lucifer XI/66 (Feb. 1893). [Return to text.] (6) It need hardly be mentioned that the acquisition of such occult powers is not the primary aim of the spiritual rebirth in man; no doubt the man does attain, through this rebirth, to a higher existence and may in the outcome also possess the property of higher powers. [Return to text.] (7) Upasika (Tibetan) means a "pupil," a feminine disciple (chela) of the Master. Translators note: Upasika is the feminine Sanskrit form "upsik," which in general means a lay devotee, worker or servant of a religious teacher such as the Buddha. [Return to text.]