Glossary
to
The Voice of the Silence
L
The hand; according to Schlagintweit: the astrological symbol of the planet Mercury (see: Lhagpa).
Lama [bLa-ma] (Tib.) B. [III 11; Preface]
As a rule, he is a superior of a monastic order. A guru or teacher who has real spiritual authority. Often the word is used out of politeness as a title for a monk of any degree (T.G.).
The origin of the word is not evident and does not appear in common dictionaries (Sanskrit, Pāli, Chinese, Tibetan, even Mongolian). The term is hardly used by H.P.B. outside The Secret Doctrine (in the Stanzas of Dzyan, originating from the same source as The Voice of the Silence), namely in the sense of disciple or “Chela studying practical esotericism” (S.D. I, 71fn:†). See the article “Practical Occultism” (1888, originally published in Lucifer p. 150-4): the Chela rises from the status of mere Upāsaka (layman-disciple) to Lanoo-Upāsaka as soon as he has passed his first Initiation. The word may have a Chinese etymology, combining Nu (= slave, low servant) with La (the Chinese transcription of the Tibetan Lha meaning a god or divine Guru). See Chela.
The Hebrew version of the first names – Alphonse Louis – of the French occultist Constant (1810-1875), author of various books on the Qabbālāh, cited by H.P.B.
See Deva (Sk.). Lha usually refers to all categories of divinities and is, according to H.P.B., the term “which in Tibet generally indicates the great Adepts, just as the word Mahātma, Great Soul is given to the Initiates of India.”
The son of the moon, Mercury, (In Tibet as well as in classical India, where he has been given the name of Budha [cf. S.D. II, 45]). The planet Mercury. See Lagpa.
Vicious spirits, enemies of man (and the gods). See Asura.
Region, world; one of the subdivisions of the universe, ranging from the divine, or the Absolute, to the most material levels: particularly, a sphere or plane of experiences of consciousness.
Manner, method, mode of processing.
