Morya, also spelt Maurya, is one of the "

Masters of the Ancient Wisdom Ascended masters, also known as Mahatmas, are believed in several theosophical and related spiritual traditions to be spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans. Through a series of spiritual transformations, ...

" within modern Theosophical beliefs. He is believed by followers of Theosophism to be one of the

Mahatmas Mahātmā (English pronunciation: , , ) is an honorific used in India. The term is commonly used for Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who is often referred to simply as "Mahatma Gandhi". Albeit less frequently, this epithet has also been used wit ...

who inspired the founding of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...

and was engaged in a correspondence with two English Theosophists living in India, A. P. Sinnett and A. O. Hume. The correspondence was published in 1923 by A. Trevor Barker in the book '' The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett''.

History

H. P. Blavatsky originally described the existence of a spiritual master whom she considered her guru, and who went by, among other names, Morya. Blavatsky said that Morya and another master, Koot Hoomi, were her primary guides in establishing the

. Blavatsky also wrote that Masters Morya and Koot Hoomi belonged to a group of highly developed humans known to some as the Great White Brotherhood or the White Lodge (though this is not how they described themselves). Master Morya's personality has been depicted in some detail by various theosophical authors. A man "living on the earth, but possessed of developed senses that laughed at time and space." On the other hand, author P. Jenkins challenges that there is little evidence that Blavatsky's Masters, including Morya, ever existed. Author K. Paul Johnson wrote that Blavatsky gave conflicting versions of her meeting with Morya and suggests Blavatsky fictionalized the story, basing it on her encounter with an Italian political activist. After Blavatsky's death, theosophists and others continued claiming to have met Morya or to have received communications from him.

William Quan Judge William Quan Judge (April 13, 1851 – March 21, 1896) was an American mystic, esotericist, and occultist, and one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society. Biography Judge was born in Dublin, Ireland. When he was 13 years old, ...

, the leader of the American Section of the Theosophical Society, stated privately that he had received letters from Morya and other Adepts.

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

, head of the European Section and co-head of the Esoteric Section with Judge, made public statements supporting the genuineness of those letters; but she later accused Judge of falsifying them, asserting that her suspicions of him were confirmed by the visitation of a Mahatma, presumably Master Morya, to whom she was linked. The ensuing controversy led to the break-up of the Society in 1895, but leaders in the increasingly fragmented movement continued making claims about having received communications and visitations from the Masters connected with the cause. Theosophical writings offered vivid descriptions of Morya, his role in the Brotherhood, and his past lives.

Incarnations

Morya's earliest notable claimed incarnation is recorded by

and C.W. Leadbeater (from, the source states, their research into the " akashic records" at the Theosophical Society headquarters in Adyar (Tamil Nadu), India conducted in the summer of 1910) as having been an emperor of Atlantis in 220,000 BC, ruling from his palace in the capital city, the ''City of the Golden Gates''. According to the Ascended Masters teachings, some of the later incarnations that Morya is said to have had include: * Melchior (one of the three wise men—the one who gave

myrrh Myrrh (; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the '' Commiphora'' genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used ...

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

) *

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

of Camelot *

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

(

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

) *

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

( Mogul Emperor) * Shams Tabrizi * Sir Thomas More * Sergius of Radonezh

Skeptical view

K. Paul Johnson suggests in his book ''The Masters Revealed: Madame Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Lodge'' that the Masters that Madame Blavatsky claimed she had personally met are idealizations of certain people she had met during her lifetime.Johnson, K. Paul ''The Masters Revealed: Madame Blavatsky and Myth of the Great White Lodge'' Albany, New York: 1994 State University of New York Press

References

Sources

* Besant, Annie and Leadbeater, C.W. ''Man:How, Whence, and Whither?'' Adyar, India:1913—Theosophical Publishing House * Leadbeater, C.W. ''The Masters and the Path'' Adyar, Madras, India: 1925—Theosophical Publishing House * Prophet, Mark L. and Elizabeth Clare ''Lords of the Seven Rays'' Livingston, Montana, U.S.A.:1986 - Summit University Press

External links

{{Authority control Ascended Master Teachings Masters of the Ancient Wisdom Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints